Adjectives 3

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

1) unclear
2) indefinite
3) incorrect
4) inexpensive
5) incomplete

red, cute, small, beautiful, big, oak