Adjectives, The Order of Adjectives in a Series, Comparative and Superlative Adjectives, Comparative Sentences

In this unit you will learn:

Adjectives

The Order of Adjectives in a Series

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Comparative Sentences

Reading

Consider the uses of modifiers in this paragraph rich in adjectives from Thomas Wolfe's Look Homeward, Angel. Adjectives are bold; participles, verb forms acting as adjectives, are underlined. Some people would argue that words that are part of a name - like East India Tea house - are not really adjectival and that possessive nouns - father's, farmer's - are not technically adjectives, but we've included them in our analysis of Wolve's text. Note that such an abundance of adjectives would be uncommon in contemporary prose.

He remembered yet the East India Tea house at the Fair, the sandalwood, the turbans, and the robes, the cool interior and the smell of India tea; and he had felt now the nostalgic thrill of dew-wet mornings in Spring, the cherry scent, the cool clarion earth, the wet loaniness of the garden, the pungent breakfast smells and the floating snow of blossoms. He knew the inchoate sharp excitement of hot dandelions in young earth; in July, of watermelons bedded in sweet hay, inside a farmer's covered wagon; of cantaloupe and crated peaches; and the scent of orange rind, bitter-sweet, before a fire of coals. He knew the good male smell of his father's sitting-room; if the smooth worn leather sofa, with the gaping horse-hair rent; of the blistered varnished wood upon the hearth; of the heated calf-skin bindings, of the flat moist plug of apple tobacco, stuck with a red flag; of wood-smoke and burnt leaves in October, of the brown tired autumn earth; of honey-suckle at night; of warm nasturtiums, of a clean ruddy farmer who comes weekly with printed butter eggs, and milk; of fat limp underdone bacon and of coffee; of a bakery-oven in the wind; of large deep-hued stringbeans smoking-hot and seasoned well with salt and butter; of a room of old pine boards in which books and carpets have been stored, long closed; of Concord grapes in their long white baskets.

Ways with Words

An antonym is a word that means the opposite of another. For example, the opposite of short is long, the opposite of old is young. Try to find the antonyms of the adjectives in the text.

Now complete the following sentences with one suitable word meaning the opposite of the word in capital letters:

a. Jack much prefers being EMPLOYED to being .......

b. Alex did a number of TEMPORARY jobs before he managed to find a ....... position.

c. The first shop he opened was a BIG SUCCESS but the second was a total .......

d. Many people would rather work .....than FULL-TIME.

e. The management said salaries had INCREASED, but official reports showed that as a matter of fact they had ......

Grammar Reference

Position of adjectives

Adjectives are words that describe or modify a noun/ nouns in the sentence: the tall man, the fat lady, a serious commitment, a month's pay, a five-month-old child, the unhappiest, richest man.

Unlike adverbs, which often seem capable of popping up almost anywhere in a sentence, adjectives nearly always appear immediately before the noun or noun phrase that they modify. Sometimes they appear in a string of adjectives, and when they do, they appear in a set order according to category.

The Order of Adjectives in a Series

It would take a linguistic philosopher to explain why we say little yellow house and not yellow little house or why we say blue Italian sports car and not Italian blue sports car. The order in which adjectives in a series sort themselves out is perplexing for people learning English as a second language. It takes a lot of practice with a language before this order becomes instincti 111c23b ve, because the order seems quite arbitrary. There is however a pattern.

The categories in the following table can be described as follows:

Capitalising proper adjectives

When an adjective owes its origins to a proper noun, it should probably be capitalised. Thus we write (about) Christian music, French fries, the English Parliaments, a Shakespearian play, a Faulknerian style, the Nixon era, a Renaissance/ Romantic/ Victorian poet.

Collective adjectives

When the definite article, the, is combined with an adjective describing a class or group of people, the resulting phrase can act as a noun: the poor, the rich, the oppressed, the homeless, the lonely. The difference between a collective noun (which is usually regarded as singular but which can be plural in certain contexts) and a collective adjective is that the latter is always plural and requires a plural verb:

The rural poor have been ignored by the media.

The rich are not supposed to help the poor.

The young at heart are always a joy to be around.

Adjectival opposites

The opposite or the negative aspect of an adjective can be formed in a number of ways. One way, of course, is to find an antonym. The opposite of beautiful is ugly, the opposite of young is old. Another way to form the opposite of an adjective is with a number of prefixes. The opposite of fortunate is unfortunate, the opposite of prudent is imprudent, the opposite of considerate is inconsiderate, the opposite of honourable is dishonourable, the opposite of alcoholic is non-alcoholic, the opposite of being properly filled is misfilled. If you are not sure of the spelling of adjectives modified in this way by prefixes (or which is the appropriate prefix), you will have to consult a dictionary, as the rules for the selection of a prefix are complex and too shifty to be trusted. The meaning itself can be tricky; for instance, flammable and inflammable mean the same thing.

A third means of creating the opposite of an adjective is to combine it with less or least to create a comparison which points in the opposite direction. Interesting shades of meaning and tone become available with this usage. They are figures of speech. For instance, an euphuism is created if we say that This is the least beautiful city in the state instead of This is the ugliest city in the state. A candidate for a job can still be worthy and yet less worthy of consideration than another candidate. It's probably not a good idea to use this construction with an adjective that is already negative: He is less unlucky than his brother, although that is not the same thing as saying he is luckier than his brother. Use the comparative less when the comparison is between two things or people; use the superlative least when the comparison is among many things or people.

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Form

° Short adjectives double the consonant when the final consonant is preceded by a short vowel: fat/ fatter/ the fattest, hot/ hotter/ the hottest, etc.

°° Elder and the eldest are used only attributively, in family relationships (My elder brother is twenty four).

* Farther/ the farthest are used to relate to distance (I live farther than you.); further/ the furthest are used in relation to time, quantity. The latter has also an abstract meaning. (Give me further details in order to understand it better.)

** Former means of an earlier period or the first of two (In former times, people used typing machines instead of computers.); the foremost means chief (The foremost welder in this factory is John.); the first means initial (Americans claim that the first movie was made in the United States.).

*** Latter means the second of two (I've met John and Cindy: the former is a student in Philology, the latter is a student in Foreign Languages); the latest means the most recent (He bought the latest novel by J. Fowles.); the last means final: ( Shakespeare's last play).

****The nearest is used for distance (Could you tell me the way to the nearest library?); the next refers to order. (The next bus comes in an hour.)

Less versus fewer

When making a comparison between quantities we often have to make a choice between the words fewer and less. Generally, when we're talking about countable things, we use the word fewer, when we're talking about measurable quantities that we cannot count, we use the word less.

She had fewer chores, but she also had less energy

We do, however, use less when referring to statistical or numerical expressions:

It's less than four miles to Dallas.

He's less than six feet tall.

Your essay should be a thousand words or less.

In these situations, it's possible to regard the quantities as sums of countable measures.

Taller than I/me?

When making a comparison with than we end with a subject form: taller than I/she.

We are looking for the subject form: He is taller than I am/ she. (We leave out the verb in the second clause, am or is.) Some good writers, however, will argue that the word than should be allowed to function as a preposition. If we can say He is tall like me/ her, then (if than could be prepositional like like) we should be able to say, He is taller than me/her. It's an interesting argument, but - for now, anyway - in formal, academic prose, use the subject form in such comparisons.

We also want to be careful in a sentence such as I like him better than she/her. She will mean that you like this person better than she likes him;  her would mean that you like this male person better than you like that female person. (To avoid ambiguity and the slippery use of than, we could write I like him better than she does or I like him better than I like her. )

More than/ over?

In the United States, we usually use more than in countable numerical expressions, meaning in excess of or over. In England, there is no such distinction. For instance, in the U.S., some editors would insist on more than 40,000 traffic deaths in one year, whereas in the UK, over 40,000 traffic deaths would be acceptable. Even so in the U.S., however, you will commonly hear over in numerical expressions of age, time or height: His sister is over forty; she is over six feet tall. We've been waiting well over two hours for her.

Good versus well

In both casual speech and formal writing, we frequently have to choose between the adjective good and the adverb well. With most verbs, there is no ambiguity: when modifying a verb, use the adverb.

He swims well.

He knows very well who the murderer is.

However, when using a linking verb or a verb that has to do with the five human senses, you can use the adjective instead.

How are you? I'm feeling good, thank you.

After a bath, the baby smells so good.

Many careful writers, however, will use well after linking verbs relating to health, and this is perfectly all right. In fact, to say that you are good or that you feel good usually implies not only that you are OK physically but also that your spirits are high:

How are you?

I am well, thank you.

Bad versus badly

According to the same rule that applies to good versus well, use the adjective form after verbs that have to do with human feelings. You feel bad when something bad happens. If you felt badly it would mean that something was wrong with your faculties for feeling.

Comparative Sentences

In relation to the degrees of comparison, there are idiomatic expressions with two comparatives:

Form:

the+ comparative ...... the+ comparative ...

The bigger the essay, the better.

The more mass in the body, the less acceleration.

The more we are, the more fun we'll have.

Controlled Practice

Translate into English:

a. Ea avea o masină sport albastra.

b. Noi am citit un articol interesant de 5 pagini în "Literary Magazine".

c. El colectioneaza vase vechi, frumoase din portelan.

d. Ai încercat sa descifrezi acel text din engleza veche?

e. El el reprezentantul angajatilor tineri de la departamentul de marketing.

f. Am discutat astazi la psihologie cele  patru tipuri de temperament: sanguin, melancolic, coleric si flegmatic.

g. El este un fumator învederat. Fumeaza doua pachete de tigari pe zi.

h. As vrea sa-mi cumpar un pulover din lâna scotiana.

Talk about the two possible meanings of the following sentences. Translate them into Romanian:

She bought Egyptian cotton shirts.

She fed her dog biscuits.

Women students are tempting new subjects.

Translate into English:

a. Cu cât mai repede învătăm engleza, cu atât mai bine. 

b. Ei fac în continuare investigatii. 

c. Eroarea este mai mare în al doilea caz decât în primul. 

d. Cu cât astept mai mult, cu atât ma enervez mai tare.

e. Avem nevoie de mai multe computere în acest laborator.

f. Studentul acesta este cel mai tânăr dintre toti.

g. Problema aceasta este cea mai dificilă cu care m-am confruntat vreodată.

h. Ideea ta e mai bună, dar solutia mea este mai ieftină decât a ta.

i. Engleza devine din ce în ce mai importantă în întreaga lume.

j. Dintre cele două romane, primul este mai scurt, iar al doilea este mai lung.

. Supply the comparative or the superlative form of the adjectives in brackets:

a. He is (lazy) student in the class.

b. She is looking for a (big) company than the one she is working with now.

c. He was unable to get (far) information.

d. The results were (bad) than expected.

e. Today, (great) care is taken to prevent accidents.

f. (Many) heating devices are required to keep the oil from freezing in the intense cold.

g. He needed (little) knowledge of computer skills than he thought they would expect him to.

h. (Difficult) problem was solved by means of computerised technology.

i. She found (few) grammar mistakes in John's essay than in Mary's one.

j. Darwin was one of (quarrelsome) scientists.

Here are some of the things John said about the cities he visited. Some are facts and some are his opinions. Complete his sentences:

a. London is, of course, much older ...... Los Angeles, but it isn't .... than Athens. Athens is .... oldest city I have ever seen.

b. London doesn't have .... buildings than Athens, but it has older ones .... the ones in Los Angeles and Tokyo.

c. Tokyo's exciting, but, for an architect, London is .... exciting .... Tokyo, and, of course, Los Angeles is .... ..... exciting of all.

d. Los Angeles has .... parks than Tokyo, but London has .... .... parks. There are five in the city centre.

e. In comparison to our cities, these are .... interesting from the point of view of the buildings people built there.

Fill in the gaps with one of the phrases below:

Missing phrases: environmentally friendly; the most expensive; too expensive; the largest; more environmentally sound

If one of your criteria in choosing a car is its design, the Mercedes is far more attractive than any others. Yet at the same time you should think that, even if their cars are very elegant and ...., they are .... for common people. The Electrolite is ...... than the others as it is equipped with a filter fitted to remove toxins from the waste water that escapes from it. The latest Mercedes model is of course .... and ... ,yet, if you want to have a car for a life save your money and buy it.

Fill in the adequate form of the adjective:

a. From these two photographs the smaller is the best/the better.

b. He needs some/ any months of training.

c. They have invited any/ many people.

d. Sometimes food eaten at home is the better/ better than food eaten in a restaurant.

e. A bigger dictionary is always more complete/ completer  than a smaller one.

f. Your first paper was good/ better but this one is even best/ better.

g. Which of the two students is more hardworking/ the more hardworking?

h. The sooner/ sooner you get here, the more relaxed/ the most relaxed you will feel.

i. He has retired and few/ little friends visit him.

Complete the sentences with adjectives ending in -able,-ible, -uble, -ful, -ous, -ed or -ant derived from the verbs and nouns given in brackets:

a. They waited in the hall for five hours; they were very (patience).

b. The weather here is very (change).

c. There are very few types of plants (eat) on this island.

d. Almost all the currencies in this area are (convert).

e. The (colour) balloons attract the children in the park.

f. You are in the (envy) position of owning half of the firm.

g. His appearance at the party was (pleasure).

h. The family of gipsy across the street live in a (pity) state.

i. It was a (moment) opportunity.

j. I spent a most (enjoy) night talking to my old friend George.

k. You should always be (confidence) in yourself to succeed.

l. Hungary has few (navigate) waterways.

m. Jack was extremely (mischief) that evening.

n. Those children's minds are very (impress) sometimes.

o. When you go to that refined place, your behaviour must be (courtesy).

p. Strangely enough, they didn't complain of the (object) smell from the garbage disposal.

q. We like the privacy of a (fence) yard.

Complete each of these sentences with an adjective from the following list: unprintable, mistrustful, underdone, overwhelming, unruly, inaccessible, overconfident, dishonest.

a. They are not .... , they take everything for granted.

b. Because of the snow, there are three places in Predeal which are ... .

c. The roast beef is ... . We are not cannibals!

d. She had an ..... success due to the publication of her latest novel.

e. I've never seen such a .... person: he lies and cheats everybody whenever he feels like.

f. They had to use guns against that ..... crowd.

g. He shouldn't have believe your words, he has been .... .

h. The story you want to publish is ..... , there are too many obscenities in it.

Complete the sentences with negative adjectives derived from the verbs in brackets by using the suffixes -able, -ible, or -uble and the negative prefixes in- or un-.

a. Heroes finally disappear, but their words are (destroy).

b. Freedom of speech is regarded today as an (alienate) right.

c. Because you have been so stubborn, their decision to sell the house is (revoke).

d. The Romanian word dor is almost (translate) into English.

e. He is the greatest comic ever, his jokes are (imitate).

f. Adults change into old persons by almost (perceive) stages.

g. They were the first to search that (penetrate) jungle.

h. This pair of trousers is especially made to be (shrink).

i. (Number) changes took place in the office while I was away.

Put the adjectives in brackets in the correct order:

a. (.) shirts are a gift for me. (new, silk, two, those).

b. He is (.) teacher. (woman, French, young, a, pleasant).

c. Does he have (.) motorbike? (blue, a, racing, new).

d. She intends to buy (.) coat. (wool, winter, black and white, thick).

e. Tom doesn't like (.) children. (two, nasty, these, ugly).

f. They used to live in a (.) house. (brick-built, huge, old, country, grey).

g. This library has (.) books. (Russian, old, many, valuable, very).

h. Mary is looking for (.) fountain pen. (blue, a, Chinese, expensive, light).

i. She has found (.) in the park. (canvas, Italian, two pairs of, white and red, for jogging).

j. Several (.) began last week. (good, radio programmes, very, and interesting, English, for teaching foreign languages).

Choose the correct word (adjective or adverb) according to the meaning:

a. She used to work (hard, hardly) for the exam.

b. You have (hard, hardly) read anything this week.

c. They were (deep, deeply) impressed by our success.

d. My friends entered (deep, deeply) in the cave.

e. My friend sold me the TV set (cheap, cheaply).

f. He stood firm on position, he acted (cool, coolly).

g. Jet airliners can fly (high, highly) in the sky.

h. That blue dress cost (dear, dearly).

i. He wasn't allowed to hit (low, lowly) for fear he should hurt his opponent.

j. Your position in this company is quite (low, lowly).

The following sentences are incorrect. Reformulate them so that they express the same meaning but use the comparative of superiority of the antonym:

a. This poem is less good than your last one.

b. My cousin is much less rich than he looks.

c. This room is less wide than the previous one.

d. The water was less deep than they hoped.

e. His office is less near than mine.

f. A car is less quick than an airplane.

g. It is less dangerous to climb the Carpathians than to climb the Alps.

h. The wound is less bad than you thought at the beginning.

i. After that heavy rain the air is less dry that it was before.

Fill in with less or fewer:

a. You have always had . . toys than the other little boys.

b. The English drink . . tea than milk.

c. There was . . rain last summer.

d. This plant employs . . men than women.

e. There are . . Italians than Greeks in our town.

f. She writes . . prose than poetry.

g. . . students will get scholarships next year.

h. George has . . American cars than Jack.

i. There will be . . snow this winter.

j. We have . . money for our holiday than last year.

Choose the correct form of the adjective in brackets:

a. Which village is (further, farther, farthest) of all?

b. Who is the (oldest, eldest) in the family?

c. I had to choose between French and English; I chose the (last, later, latter).

d. My colleague's (last, latest) article has just been published.

e. She lived (nearest, next) door when she was young.

f. (Further, Farther) Mike realised he must return the stolen goods at once.

g. I was wondering where the (nearest, next) bus station was.

h. You needed (farther, further) advice to continue your investigation.

i. I've bought two bananas and ate the (latter, later).

Translate into English using intensifiers:

a. Cu cât copiii sunt mai neascultatori, cu atât parintii sunt mai nemultumiti.

b. La auzul bubuiturii, deveni din ce în ce mai nelinistit.

c. Noua sa biblioteca e cu mult mai mare decât cea veche.

d. Ţi-am adus cele mai proaspete fructe pe care le-am gasit.

e. Este cu mult mai greu decât mi-am imaginat.

f. Crede cu tarie ca aceasta e absolut cea mai frumoasa dintre concurente.

g. Cu cât alergi mai mult, cu atât slabesti mai tare.

h. Nu am mai avut rabdare sa stam pâna la sfârsitul meciului pentru ca a devenit din ce în ce mai putin interesant.

i. Aceasta este cea mai buna cale posibila de a o face sa renunte la tigari.

j. Se subrezeste pe zi ce trece.

Choose the word or phrase which best completes each sentence. Explain the meaning.

a. My grandfather never remembers anything; he has a memory like a (bucket, mouse, sieve).

b. The Jackson brothers get on like (a house on fire, fish and chips, two peas in a pod, clockwork). They never argue.

c. I can tell that you have eaten a lot lately; you are as heavy as (a corpse, lead, an elephant)!

d. Putting your jewelry in this box is as safe as (houses, a bank, gold bars, a vault).

e. Speak louder, please! He is as deaf as (a post, a leaf, a politician).

f. She was as pleased as (a poppy, a sunflower, punch, pound notes) when she won the first prize.

g. That vampire hasn't been banished from town, I saw him last night, as (real, true, good, large) as life.

h. They will never eat so much ice-cream, they were as sick as a (pig poodle, horse, dog, donkey).

i. The shoes fit you like (a glove, glue, a mould, a pillowcase) since you mended them.

j. He drunk a lot yesterday, although normally he is as sober as (Sunday, a judge, a priest, a Muslim).

Select the colour: white, grey, yellow, pink, green, blue.

a. They were tickled . . when the teacher congratulated them.

b. I was given the . . light to announce the winner.

c. To tell a . . lie sometimes does not hurt anybody's feelings.

d. You can shout at him until you are . . in the face, he won't listen to you.

e. Mary was . . with envy when her sister married a handsome young man.

f. They say that lacking . . matter is worse than lacking beauty.

g. Even if they got a lot of nice gifts, they also got some . . elephants.

h. They were really . . to leave us here without protecting us.

Confusing words:

a. My parents have (decisive/conclusive) evidence that I smoke.

b. Kelly has always wanted to live in a (luxurious/luxuriant) mansion.

c. He doesn't like (urbane/urban) life, he would like to live in the mountains.

d. I am not that (credible/credulous) to believe everything I am told.

e. Your proposal proves not too expensive, therefore it is (practicable/practical).

f. Terry chose a (distinctive/distinct) nuance of red for her nail polish.

g. The food you are eating right now is quite (deficient/defective) in fats.

h. The President was very (official/officious) while giving his speech.

i. In Australia there are (strict/severe) regulations with regard to kangaroos.

j. I've been trying to decipher the manuscript for more than 6 hours because his handwriting is totally (eligible/illegible).

k. A (classic/classical) case of tuberculosis has been discovered in this school.

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the adjectives in brackets:

a. Try to be a little (precise), please.

b. She doesn't believe that these cigarettes are any (good) than the Russian ones.

c. Your garden has (narrow) alleys than those from our park.

d. Which are the (breath-taking) views in your country?

e. The (cold) the weather, the (low) the temperatures.

f. Then the show became ever (funny).

g. It is (hard) for my nephew to understand the problem than for his (old) sister.

h. In autumn, nights become (longer) till December, the 22^nd.

i. His story became (interesting) the more we listened.

j. They have the (complete) understanding of the problem.

Translate into English:

a. Primul film nu este atât de reusit ca al doilea si nici atât de haios.

b. Parcul acela nu este foarte întins; de fapt, este cel mai putin întins din tot orasul.

c. Fotoliul din odaia mea este greu, biroul este si mai greu dar biblioteca este cea mai grea din casa.

d. George este chipes, dar fratele sau mai tânar este cel mai chipes baiat din câti am vazut.

e. Pacientul se simte bine astazi, dar nu este atât de bine încât sa se dea jos din pat.

f. Domnul Smith este foarte batrân, dar varul sau mai mare este cu 5 ani mai în vârsta decât el.

g. Dictionarul pe care l-ai cumparat cu doua zile în urma este gros ca o caramida!

h. Multi oameni perfect sanatosi nu sunt la fel de utili societatii ca unii oameni cu deficiente fizice.

i. Problema era mai delicata decât mi-am putut eu imagina vreodata.

j. Nu am întâlnit o persoana mai cunoscuta în cercul guvernamental decât ea.

Rewrite the sentences putting the words into the correct order:

a incredibly/ holiday/ wonderful/ was/ the.

b Enormous/ they/ old/ staying/ house/ brown/ are/ an/ in.

c and/ looks/ now/ old/ she/ fresh/ rather.

d close/ are/ buddies/ extremely/ we.

e this/ man/ Pam/ wonder/ really/ I/ marry/ to/wants/if

f people/ true/pork/that/never/is/drink/it/these/alcohol/no/eat/and?

g life/movie/in/such/I/never/my/seen/a/have/boring

h that/ motorbike/have/since/when/new/had/they?

Put the adjectives in brackets into the comparative or superlative form:

The company's twelve-monthly report shows that sales figures were (low) than the previous year. This is no surprise due to the recession but what is (unacceptable) than this is the clear proof that some of our (old) clients have switched to another supplier. We are aware that there are (cheap) suppliers than ourselves but this may not be the (essential) factor. One old client was heard to say that their new supplier was (professional) and (flexible) than we are. If this is the case, then this is (disturbing) than anything else. The economic situation is getting (critical) and if we don't compare favorably with our (big) competitors, then we will not survive. We used to have the (high) standing in the business but we are in danger of losing that for good. It is not easy to be the (good) but that is what we should be aiming for.

Complete the sentences with participles as adjectives, using the verbs below. The verbs with adverbs should be used to form compound adjectives:

dry, change, act well, keep beautifully, bring up well, continue, break, decline fast, steal, tailor beautifully, brush well, relax, think clearly, park, write well, embarrass, build well, plan badly, boil, love.

a. It was a very restful holiday so we feel much more . now.

b. I saw a very . play.

c. I kept calling her by her nickname; it was very . .

d. The . kettle filled the little girl with fear.

e. He's a very . boy: he always behaves himself well.

f. She may have suffered of a . heart.

g. Her hair is always very . .

h. The increase in divorce shows a . attitude to marriage.

i. Sharon is a good person to have in meetings as she's very . .

j. Shortage of gas is a . problem for us.

k. Our chalet is old but it's very . .

l. It was a . escape and so it was doomed to failure.

m. Bears are a . species in that part of the country as many of them are killed every summer.

n. That's a . suit she has bought.

o. Mother needs some . fruit to put in the cake.

p. This is a . garden: you must spend at least three hours a day working on it.

q. It was a very . article.

r. You may be charged with receiving . stolen cars.

s. They're a very . family and they understand each other perfectly.

t. They should not park near . cars.

Complete the following sentences with an adjective formed from one of the verbs or nouns below plus a suffix:

act, care, change, comfort, describe, dread, enjoy, forget, grace, motion, power, rely, submit, tire, truth

a. They had a lovely holiday; it was thoroughly enjoyable.

b. She never remembers your birthday; I don't know why she's that . .

c. There's nothing I can do about it; I'm totally. .

d. Everybody believes what Jack says because he's always been . .

e. My friend never seems to run out of energy; he's completely . .

f Jane Austen was a very . writer; she gives you a very good feel for the places and characters in her novels.

g. He has said he'll be here and I'm sure he will. He's very. .

h. They always do what you tell him to do: he's just so. .

i. You're so . : you're always dropping plates on the floor.

j. I love to watch the swans on the lake: they're so . .

k. The lion stayed . as it waited to pounce on the gazelle.

l. It's a very . climate; the weather can be completely different from one day to another.

m. It's important to keep . after you retire.

n. The armchairs he has just bought are really . . My back never hurts while sitting in them.

o. The situation in the oil-polluted gulf is . . Thousands of fish are dying every day.

Put the following adjectives into the correct column:

patient, relevant, attractive, literate, flexible, regular, agreeable, mature, convenient, tasteful, moral legal, responsible, significant, possible, legible, honest, rational, explicable, justified, mortal, reversible, destructible, perfect, friendly, soluble, polite, logical, interesting, separable, replaceable

Put the adjectives in brackets into the comparative or superlative form. Some of the comparatives are formed with less:

Mary, who lives in Leeds, is on the phone to her friend Jane, who has recently moved to the countryside.

Mary: So, how do you like living in the new place?

Jane: Oh, it's very nice. The house is much . (spacious) than the house we had in Liverpool and one of the . (good) things is being able to walk out of the back door into our own garden.

Mary: Mm, that is wonderful. So, it's much (good) than Liverpool, isn't it?

Jane: Well, I'm not sure I would say that. It's certainly . (polluted) here and I think it's . (stressful) and that must be good for me. But it's just so much . (quiet) here and that takes some time to get used to. I suppose sometimes I miss the clamour of Liverpool. Going out shopping in Liverpool was so much . (interesting) than it is here. The people here are so much . (varied) than they are in Liverpool.

Mary: Yes, that's quite true. But it's so much . (busy) on the streets in Liverpool. It must be nice to walk around somewhere that's much . (crowded).

Jane: Well, sometimes it is. Anyway, at least I'm going to Liverpool again next weekend. I'm . (excited) about that than I am about anything here.

Mary: Oh dear. You seem to be thinking that you haven't made the . (good) decision.

Jane: Well, perhaps I'll feel . (settled) here after a few weeks. Who knows?

Mary: Yes, probably. I personally think you're really lucky to be where you are. When I came to visit you, I thought it was one of the . (beautiful) places I had ever seen.