Adjectives

Adjectives describe or modify nouns.

I like fairy tales. A fairy tale is an imaginary story that has unrealistic characters in a fantastic background. It makes me forget about the real world and refreshes my tired mind.

Adjectives generally appear immediately before the noun.

• A pretty girl
• Red flowers
• A long stick
• Heavy boxes
• Warm weather

Commonly, adjectives of opposite meaning are formed by adding a prefix such as un, in, or dis.

• clear – unclear, important – unimportant, predictable – unpredictable, believable – unbelievable, common – uncommon, aware – unaware, ambiguous – unambiguous, conventional – unconventional, certain – uncertain
• definite – indefinite, correct – incorrect, comparable – incomparable, complete – incomplete, evitable – inevitable, expensive – inexpensive
• able – disable, assemble – disassemble, content – discontent, similar – dissimilar

When using a string of adjectives, they should appear in a set order: size/shape + age + color + origin + material.

• A big brown house
• A small old English desk
• A beautiful black Italian leather purse
• Delicious Chinese food

The + adjective describes a class or group of people and acts as a noun.

• the old, the young, the poor, the rich, the oppressed, the homeless, etc.
• This popular TV show is loved by the old.

[Quiz 7.1]

Write opposite adjectives using the appropriate prefix.

1) Clear –                     
2) Definite –                     
3) Correct –                     
4) Expensive –                     
5) Complete –                     


[Quiz 7.2]

Underline all adjectives in the following sentences.

In the spring, red roses blossom in my cute small garden. The beautiful birds also sing in the big oak tree.

View Answers

[7.1]
1) unclear
2) indefinite
3) incorrect
4) inexpensive
5) incomplete

[7.2]
red, cute, small, beautiful, big, oak