ENGLISH LANGUAGE GRAMMAR - PARTS OF SPEECH

ADJECTIVES

TOPICS IN FORM AND FUNCTION OF ADJECTIVES

• Form
• Function
• Order

TOPICS IN COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES

• Forming the Comparative and Superlative
• Irregular Comparatives and Superlatives
• the + Superlative
• The Comparative + than
• As + adjective + as
• Not as + adjective + as
• Comparisons of quantity

FORM AND FUNCTION OF ADJECTIVES

FUNCTION
Adjectives tell us more about a noun. They can:

Describe feelings or qualities:

                        He is a lonely man
                        They are honest people

Give nationality or origin:

                        Pierre is French
                        This clock is German
                        Our house is Victorian

Tell more about a thing's characteristics:

                        A wooden table.
                        The knife is sharp.

Tell us about age:

                        He's a young man
                        My coat is very old

Tell us about size and measurement:

                        John is a tall man.
                        This is a very long film.

Tell us about colour:

                        Paul wore a red shirt.
                        The sunset was crimson and gold.

Tell us about material/what something is made of:

                        It was a wooden table
                        She wore a cotton dress

Tell us about shape:

                        A rectangular box
                        A square envelope

Express a judgement or a value:

                        A fantastic film
Grammar is boring.

FORM
1. Adjectives are invariable:
They do not change their form depending on the gender or number of the
noun.

 A hot potato                   Some hot potatoes

2. To emphasise or strengthen the meaning of an adjective use 'very' or
'really':

  A very hot potato                Some really hot potatoes.

3. Position of adjectives:
a) Usually in front of a noun: A beautiful
girl.

b) After verbs like "to be", "to seem" , "to
look", "to taste":

• The girl is beautiful
• You look tired
• This meat tastes funny.

c) After the noun: in some fixed
expressions:

• The Princess Royal
• The President elect
• a court martial

the adjectives involved, present, concerned:

    1. I want to see the people involved/concerned (= the people who
         have something to do with the matter)
    2. Here is a list of the people present (= the people who were in the
         building or at the meeting)

Be careful! When these adjectives are used before the noun they have a
different meaning:

• An involved discussion = detailed, complex
• A concerned father = worried, anxious
• The present situation = current, happening now

ORDER
Where a number of adjectives are used together, the order depends on the
function of the adjective. The usual order is:

Value/opinion, Size, Age/Temperature, Shape, Colour, Origin, Material

Value/opinion            delicious, lovely, charming

Size                     small, huge, tiny
Age/Temperature          old, hot, young
Shape                    round, square, rectangular
Colour                   red, blonde, black
Origin                   Swedish, Victorian, Chinese
Material                 plastic, wooden, silver

Examples:

• a lovely old red post-box

• some small round plastic tables

• some charming small silver ornaments

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES - THE + SUPERLATIVE
'the' is placed before the superlative:

For example: He is the richest man in the world.

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES - IRREGULAR COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES
These adjectives have completely irregular comparative and superlative forms:

     Adjective        Comparative                  Superlative
                      better                       best
     good
                      worse                        worst
     bad
                      less                         least
     little
                      more                         most
     much
                      further / farther            furthest / farthest
     far

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES - FORMING THE COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE
Number of syllables             Comparative                    Superlative
one syllable                    + -er                          + -est
tall                            taller                         tallest

one syllable with the spelling consonant + single vowel + consonant: double the
final consonant:
fat                             fatter                         fattest
big                             bigger                         biggest
sad                             sadder                         saddest

Number of syllables             Comparative                    Superlative
two syllables                                                  + -est OR most + adj
                                + -er OR more + adj
ending in: -y, -ly, -ow
ending in: -le, -er or -ure
these common adjectives - handsome, polite, pleasant, common, quiet


happy                           happier/ more happy            happiest/ most happy
yellow                          yellower/ more yellow          yellowest/ most yellow
simple                          simpler/ more simple           simplest/ most simple
tender                          tenderer/ more tender          tenderest/ most tender

If you are not sure, use MORE + OR MOST +
Note: Adjectives ending in '-y' like happy, pretty, busy, sunny, lucky etc:. replace
the -y with -ier or -iest in the comparative and superlative form

busy                            busier                         busiest

Number of syllables             Comparative                    Superlative
three syllables or more         more + adj                     most + adj
important                       more important                 most important

expensive                       more expensive                 most expensive

Examples:
a. A cat is fast, a tiger is faster but a cheetah is the fastest
b. A car is heavy, a truck is heavier, but a train is the heaviest
c. A park bench is comfortable, a restaurant chair is more comfortable, but a sofa
is the most comfortable

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES - COMPARATIVE + THAN
To compare the difference between two people, things or events.

Examples:

• Mt. Everest is higher than Mt. Blanc.
  
• Thailand is sunnier than Norway.
  
• A car is more expensive than a bicycle.
  
• Albert is more intelligent than Arthur.
  
COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES - AS + ADJECTIVE + AS
To compare people, places, events or things, when there is no difference,
use as + adjective + as:

• Peter is 24 years old. John is 24 years old. Peter is as old as John.
  
More examples:

• Moscow is as cold as St. Petersburg in the winter.
  
• Ramona is as happy as Raphael.
  
• Einstein is as famous as Darwin.
  
• A tiger is as dangerous as a lion.
  
COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES - NOT AS + ADJECTIVE + AS
Difference can also be shown by using not so/as ...as:

• Mont Blanc is not as high as Mount Everest
  
• Norway is not as sunny as Thailand
  
• A bicycle is not as expensive as a car
  
• Arthur is not as intelligent as Albert
  
COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES - COMPARISONS OF QUANTITY
To show no difference: as much as , as many as, as few as, as little as
To show difference: more, less, fewer + than

Examples:

• With countable nouns: more / fewer

• Eloise has more children than Chantal.
  
• Chantal has fewer children than Eloise.
  
• There are fewer dogs in Cardiff than in Bristol
  
• I have visited fewer countries than my friend has.
  
• He has read fewer books than she has.
  
• With uncountable nouns: more / less

• Eloise has more money than Chantal.
  
• Chantal has less money than Eloise.
  
• I spend less time on homework than you do.
  
• Cats drink less water than dogs.
  
• This new dictionary gives more information than the old one.
  
• So, the rule is:

  MORE + nouns that are countable or uncountable
  FEWER + countable nouns
  LESS + uncountable nouns

To show no difference: as much as , as many as, as few as, as little as

• as many as / as few as + countable nouns
  
• as much as / as little as + uncountable nouns
  
Examples:

• With countable nouns:

• They have as many children as us.
  
• We have as many customers as them.
  
• Tom has as few books as Jane.
  
• There are as few houses in his village as in mine.
  
• You know as many people as I do.
  
• I have visited the States as many times as he has.
  
• With uncountable nouns:

• John eats as much food as Peter.
  
• Jim has as little food as Sam.
  
• You've heard as much news as I have.
  
• He's had as much success as his brother has.
  
• They've got as little water as we have.