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.