Adjectives

Comparative and superlative adjectives; position; order;

adjectives ending in -mg and -ed

Context listening

n You are going to hear some advertisements. Before you listen, look at the photos and guess what will
be advertised.

og listen and check if you were right.

In Di)Listen to the advertisements again and write the words which describe these people and things.
Stop the recording when you need to.

I The sort of person you can become _

2 The lions and monkeys:

3 The way you feel before phoning The Sparklers: _
4 The variety of games:

4 ELIO ' Listen again and fill in the gaps with the words that describe these people and things. Stop the
recording when you need to.

1 professional, advisers route welcome facilities

2 day out wildlife park brochure
offers
3 carpets sinks and surfaces finger marks
prices
4 savings road races and fantasy lands _ graphics
battles

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Grammar
flComparative and superlative adjectives
Adjectives are words which describe nouns (things and people). Compare with adverbs in Unit 8.

Adjective Comparative Superlative

one syllable add -er add -est

strong stronger the strongest
great
You can become stronger at Transformers Fitness Centre.
We've got the greatest variety of games ever!

two syllables, ending in -y drop -y and add -ier drop / and add -iest
tidy tidier the tidiest
funny
Their flat is ddier than ours.
They're the funniest monkeys you've ever seen.

two/three/four syllables more + adjective the most + adjective

famous more self-confident the most self-confident
beautiful
self-confident You can become a more self-confident person.
He is the most famous actor in the film.

A few two-syllable adjectives (e.g. quid, pleasant, common, polite) sometimes also use -er or -est
It's quieter than any garden I've visited before.
Two-syllable adjectives ending in ow and -er can usually add -er or -est:
clever —0 cleverer narrow -P he narrowest
Two-syllable adjectives ending in le usually add -r or -st:
simple -0 simpler —0 the simplest
Most one-syllable adjectives ending in one vowel + -6,-d, -g, -n, -p or -t double the last letter before adding
-er Or -est:
big —0 bigger sad -0 the saddest
A few adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms:
good —0 better —0 best bad —0 worse -4 worst far —0 farther/further —0 farthest/furthest

flComparative structures
We can use comparative structures to say that:
things are more:
Our prices are better than those of our rivals.
We have a more exciting range of games than you'll see anywhere else.
things are less:
Pre-owned games usually aren't as/so expensive as new ones.
The games in the sale are much less expensive than usual.
or things are equal:
Fantasy games are as popular as football games with our customers.

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flAdjectives ending in -ing and -ed

Some common adjectives are formed from verbs and have both -ing and -ed forms.
We use the -ed form to describe our feelings:
Frn tired. (= a description of how I feel: I've used
up all my energy so I need a rest)
We use the -ing form to describe the things which
make us feel like this:
This work is tiring. (= a description of the work
it takes a lot of energy to do it)
Compare these sentences:

Its a boring film. The visitors are bored.

(= there's no action in it) (= they have nothing to do)
We had a relaxing holiday. Good driving instructors always have a relaxed manner.
(= the atmosphere was restful) (= they don't seem nervous)

That was a very satisfying meal. The airline has many satisfied customers.
(= there was plenty to eat) (= the customers feel happy)

4 Adjective position
Adjectives in English usually go in front of the word they describe
We visited an old house. We saw some beautiful paintings and some elegant furniture.
Adjectives can also follow verbs such as be, get, become, look, seem, appear, sound, taste, smell and feel:
Everything seemed pleasant when we started. The flowers smelt beautiful and the gardens looked wonderful. But
the weather got very hot and we all felt exhausted by the end of the day
There are many nouns in English which are used as adjectives:
a diamond ring a library book a seaside hotel folk music strawberry jam

nAdjective order
When we use more than one adjective, we usually put diem in a certain order. We say
a strange old wooden chair (not a
We usually begin with adjectives which give an opinion or general impression:
a dangerous old car a delicate oval tray a valuable silver spoon
Adjectives giving factual information usually follow the opinion/impression adjective and go in this order

Size Age / Shape I Colour Origin Material Purpose

an enormous old red car

a small oval French mirror
an antique silver soup spoon

Two colour adjectives are separated by and:

a black and white photograph
When we put more than one adjective after a verb, we use and before the last one:
The day was hot and tiring.
Lord Byron was described as mad, bad and dangerous to know.

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Grammar exercises
II Complete this email with the comparative or superlative form of the adjectives and any other words
(e.g. the, as, so, than) that are needed.

Hi Lily

Well, we've moved at last! When we first got here, the house seemed (1) targer
(large) than we remembered, because it was empty, but now it's got our fumiture in it, it doesn't
feel (2) (spacious) before We've got to do some decorating, and that
will be (3) (expensive) we expected because the walls are in a
(t) (bad) condition than we thought. But we'll manage somehow, and soon
we'll have (5) (smart) house in the town. And if your Uncle Bob has his way,
we'll have KO (lovely) garden as well. We'll also be (7)
(poorland (8) (exhausted) householders in the country, but never mind. We still
think moving here is (9) (good) thing we've done for years. We can't imagine now
why we didn't do it when we were (10) (young)

Come and see us soon. Catch a train if you can, because it's almost (11) (cheap)
the bus, and the railway station is (12) (near) our end of town.

Love, Auntie Rosie

E1 Choose the correct adjectives.

1 James told us some fascinating/fascinated stories about the music business.
2 Why are you looking so depressing / depressed? What's wrong?
3 Sarah's got an amazing / amazed collection of computer games.
4 Felix has this really annoying / annoyed habit of reading my emails.
5 The boring / bored students started causing trouble in class.
6 I watched the show for a while, but it wasn't really interesting / interested, so I left.
7 The food in this canteen is absolutely disgusting! disgusted.
8 The astronaut gave a relaxing / relaxed wave and entered the space capsule.

Correct the mistake in each of the following sentences by Cambridge First candidates.

1 I would like to join the club as I have been interesting in local history for a longtime. ustexesterl

2 Young people find it bored to visit art galleries at the weekend.

3 The hotel is situated in a place that is as beautiful than any other place in the country.

4 It is easyer for me to do my studies now that I have bought a computer.

5 It's more quicker to learn a language if you study in that country.

6 I think that animals are more safe in zoos than in other places.
7 If we plant more trees, the city will be greenner and pleasanter.
8 She feels even more worse now that everybody knows about her bad news.

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4 Choose the correct sentence from each pair.

1 a That was the worse film I've ever seen!

b That was the worst film I've ever seen! if
2 a Michael's got a fantastic new leather jacket
b Michael's got a leather new fantastic jacket.
3 a I didn't eat any bread because I thought it looked as stale.
b I didn't eat any bread because I thought it looked stale.
4 a Our last holiday wasn't so enjoyable than this one.
b Our last holiday wasn't so enjoyable as this one.
5 a The frightening teenagers locked the door and called the police.
b The frightened teenagers locked the door and called the police.
6 a Lucia should catch an earlier train if she wants to get to London by five.
b Lucia should catch a more earlier train if she wants to get to London by five.
7 a Our hockey team plays in blue white striped shirts.
b Our hockey team plays in blue and white striped shirts.
8 a I think your new dress looks beautiful.
b I think your new dress looks beautifully.

111 Look at this designer's sketch of a costume for a film and complete the notes.
Fill in the gaps with adjectives for each part of the costume.
enorniCu5

Chinese

AVect silk
tight
yettow

Leather eLegant

ridal
long

1 an enormous round blue hat

2 a shirt
3 a ring
4 a pair of boots
5 a pair of trousers

s8