| |  Lesson I: ADJECTIVES -English Grammar
How to Use Adjectives An adjective describes how something 'is'. For this reason, we usually use the verb 'to be' when using adjectives. Adjectives are used to describe nouns. Example: He is a good doctor. Rule: Adjectives describe nouns. The adjective is always invariable. Example: beautiful trees, they are happy Be careful! * Adjectives don't have a singular and plural form OR a masculine, femine and neuter form. * Adjectives are always the same! Never add a final -s to an adjective. * Adjectives can also be placed at the end of a sentence if they describe the subject of a sentence. Example: My doctor is excellent. NOT!!: difficults books Rule: Adjectives are placed before the noun. Example: a wonderful book very interesting people Be careful! * Don't place an adjective after the noun NOT!!: an apple red Adjective Placement When using more than one adjective to describe a noun place the adjectives in the following order before the noun. NOTE: We usually use no more than three adjectives preceding a noun. 1. Opinion Example: an interesting book, a boring lecture 2. Dimension Example: a big apple, a thin wallet 3. Age Example: a new car, a modern building, an ancient ruin 4. Shape Example: a square box, an oval mask, a round ball 5. Color Example: a pink hat, a blue book, a black coat 6. Origin Example: some Italian shoes, a Canadian town, an American car 7. Material Example: a wooden box, a woolen sweater, a plastic toy Here are some examples of nouns modified with three adjectives in the correct order based on the list above. Notice that the adjectives are not separated by commas. * A wonderful old Italian clock. (opinion - age - origin) * A big square blue box. (dimension - shape - color) * A disgusting pink plastic ornament. (opinion - color - material) * Some slim new French trousers. (dimension - age - origin) |