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Unit 14
Adjectives
Describing people, places, and things
What are Adjectives?
Adjectives are words that describe nouns — they tell us what something or someone is like. They make our sentences more colorful and meaningful.
Adjectives answer questions like: What kind? How big? How many? Which one?
Examples: It's a beautiful day. / She is a kind person. / This is an interesting book.
Position of Adjectives
Important: After sense verbs (taste, smell, look, feel, sound) use ADJECTIVES, not adverbs.
❌ The soup tastes well. ✅ The soup tastes good.
| Type | Example | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Before a noun | a small car / an old house | Most common position |
| After be / look / feel / seem | The car is small. / She looks tired. | After linking verbs |
| After sense verbs | The soup tastes good. / It smells fresh. | Used with sense verbs (use adjective, not adverb!) |
Very or Too?
Turkish çok can mean both very and too, but in English they are different:Very and too both mean "a lot", but they are not the same:
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| very | a lot (neutral or positive) | This tea is very hot. (I can still drink it carefully.) |
| too | more than you want — a problem | This tea is too hot. (I can't drink it.) |
| really / so | informal "very" | The film was really good! |
Adjective Order
When you use two or more adjectives, follow this order:
- Opinion → Size → Age → Shape → Color → Origin → Material → Purpose → Noun
- Example: a beautiful big old red Italian leather bag
- Example: a nice small white cat (opinion + size + color)
- Example: a long wooden table (shape + material)
- You don't need all categories — just follow the general order.
Common Adjective Types
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Appearance / Size | tall, short, fat, thin, big, small, beautiful, handsome, ugly |
| Age / Condition | new, old, young, modern, clean, dirty, broken |
| Feelings / Personality | happy, sad, angry, kind, rude, friendly, lazy, hard-working |
| Color | red, blue, green, yellow, black, white, purple, gray |
| Weather / Temperature | hot, cold, warm, cool, rainy, sunny, windy, stormy |
-ed vs -ing Adjectives
Rule of thumb: People feel -ed (the result). Things are -ing (the cause).
- interested / interesting
- tired / tiring
- excited / exciting
- confused / confusing
- relaxed / relaxing
- surprised / surprising
| Type | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ed | how a person FEELS | I'm bored. (I feel bored.) |
| -ing | what CAUSES the feeling | The film is boring. (It makes me bored.) |
Adjective + Preposition Combinations
Some adjectives are always followed by specific prepositions. Learn them as chunks:
| Adjective | Preposition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| good / bad | at | She's good at tennis. |
| interested | in | I'm interested in art. |
| afraid | of | He's afraid of spiders. |
| famous | for | Paris is famous for fashion. |
| angry | with (person) / about (thing) | She's angry with me about the delay. |
| proud | of | We're proud of our team. |
| worried | about | I'm worried about the exam. |
Comparative & Superlative (Quick Intro)
Don't worry — this is just an introduction. You'll study comparatives and superlatives in detail in the A2 level!
| Form | Example | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Comparative | big → bigger | add -er (short adjectives) |
| Superlative | big → biggest | add -est (short adjectives) |
| Comparative | beautiful → more beautiful | use "more" (long adjectives) |
| Superlative | beautiful → most beautiful | use "most" (long adjectives) |
Examples
Subject
Verb
Auxiliary
Object
Adjective
Adverb
Preposition
Hover over any word to see its role.
subjectItverbisaadjectivebeautifulobjectday
↳ Adjective before noun
subjectSheverblooksadjectivetired
↳ After a linking verb
subjectIverbhaveaadjectivesmalladjectivewhiteobjectcat
↳ Adjective order: size → color
subjectThe filmverbwasadverbreallyadjectiveboring
↳ -ing adjective: describes the cause
subjectI'madjectiveinterestedprepositioninobjecthistory
↳ Adjective + preposition: "interested in"
Common Mistakes
a car red
→
a red car
Adjective comes BEFORE the noun in English.
She is a tired.
→
She is tired.
No "a" before adjective alone (without a noun).
He's afraid from dogs.
→
He's afraid of dogs.
"Afraid" always takes "of", not "from".
I'm boring in this class.
→
I'm bored in this class.
Use -ed for feelings (you feel bored). -ing describes the cause.
She has hairs long.
→
She has long hair.
Adjective + noun order. Also "hair" is uncountable here.
The soup tastes well.
→
The soup tastes good.
After sense verbs, use ADJECTIVES, not adverbs.
I'm interested on art.
→
I'm interested in art.
"Interested" always takes "in", not "on".
They are very goods students.
→
They are very good students.
Adjectives never take a plural -s.
It is beautiful a city.
→
It is a beautiful city.
The article comes before the adjective: a + adjective + noun.
This bag is very expensive. I can't buy it.
→
This bag is too expensive. I can't buy it.
"Too" shows a problem (more than you want).