Adjectives in English

Rules for using adjectives in English

Invariable

The adjective does not change regardless of whether it refers to a subject made up of one or several things or people.

Examples:

• My favourite flowers are roses. (My favorite flowers are roses).
• She owns a large apartment. (She owns a large apartment).

Before the noun

In most cases, the adjective will be placed before the noun.

Examples:

• I watched an awesome show. (I saw an awesome show).
• She owns a large apartment. (She owns a large apartment).
• Her apartment is in Houston. (Her apartment is in Houston).

Order of adjectives in English

Most of the time, the maximum number of adjectives present in an English sentence is 3 since adding more makes the message harder to understand. Also, adjectives must always follow the same order: Opinion, size, age, color, origin, material and purpose (Opinion, Size, Age, Colour, Origin, Material and Purpose: OSACOMP).

Examples:

• A beautiful small old red round Norwegian fabric armchair. (A Norwegian fabric armchair, round, red, old, small and beautiful).
• A comfortable big new blue tight Russian furry jacket. (A furry, Russian, tight, blue, new, big and comfortable jacket).

Types of adjectives

There are six types of adjectives in English which you can see below. For now, we only name them but we will be adding links to each of them so you can get more information if you are interested.

Types:

1. Descriptive adjectives: good, bad, thin,fat, blonde, caring, stubborn, smart. Within this subgroup you will find superlative adjectives and comparatives.
2. Demonstrative adjectives: this, that, these and those.
3. Quantitative adjectives: none, some, any, many, little, few, much, enough.
4. Possessive adjectives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their.
5. Interrogative adjectives: what, how, when, why, which, whose.
6. Numerical adjectives: one, seven, fifteen, two hundred, first, ninth, twenty second, a half, triple.

Example sentences with adjectives

• These are my phrases. (These are my sentences)
• I have a basic level of English. (I have a basic level of English)
• Paola is a popular girl. (Paola is a very popular girl)
• Julian has a fast car. (Julian has a fast car)
• This house is very big. (This house is very big)
• That is my bicycle over there. (That bicycle over there is mine)
• The large swimming pool is being renovated. (The large pool is being renovated)

Exercises on adjectives

Complete the following sentences with the corresponding adjective in English.

1. My ____ sister is away. (intelligent)
2. The Vatican is a _____ country. (small)
3. They’re saying this winter is going to be _____. (cold)
4. My mom says I have a ____ room. (clean)
5. Who’s speaking? _____ is Michael. (Hint: demonstrative adjective)
6. Carlota is one a _____ girl. (creative)
7. She won the _____ prize. (second)
8. My brother is an ________ person. (impatient)
9. This semester, I’m going to be a _______ student. (busy)
10. _______ are his favourite shirts. (Those)

Answers: smart, small, cold, clean, this creative, second, most, busy, responsible, those.