Adjectives and adverbs
| Adjective | Adverb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| quick | quickly | He is a quick runner. · He runs quickly. |
| careful | carefully | Drive carefully. |
| good | well | She's a good driver. · She drives well. |
| fast, hard, late, early | fast, hard, late, early (same form) | He works hard. (hardly means almost not) |
After linking verbs (be, seem, look, feel, sound, taste, smell, become, get), use an adjective: "You look tired." · "This soup tastes good."
Common mistakes
- ✗Wrong: He speaks English very good.✓Right: He speaks English very well.
-ed and -ing adjectives
| -ing: what causes the feeling | -ed: how the person feels |
|---|---|
| The lecture was boring. | We were bored. |
| The news is surprising. | I was surprised. |
| The movie was frightening. | The children were frightened. |
Common mistakes
- ✗Wrong: I am very interesting in history.✓Right: I am very interested in history.
Comparatives and superlatives
| Adjective | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| one syllable: tall | taller (than) | the tallest |
| ends in -e: large | larger | the largest |
| one vowel + one consonant: big | bigger | the biggest |
| two syllables ending in -y: easy | easier | the easiest |
| most adjectives of two or more syllables: difficult | more difficult | the most difficult |
| irregular: good, bad | better, worse | the best, the worst |
| irregular: far | farther, further | the farthest, the furthest |
| irregular: much / many, little | more, less | the most, the least |
A few two-syllable adjectives can also take -er: quieter, simpler, narrower.
- The new rifle is lighter than the old one.
- This is the most difficult exercise of the course.
Common mistakes
- ✗Wrong: She is more taller than me.✓Right: She is taller than me.
- ✗Wrong: It's the most cheapest one.✓Right: It's the cheapest one.
As… as, and other comparisons
| Structure | Example |
|---|---|
| as + adjective or adverb + as (equal) | He is as tall as his father. |
| not as / not so… as (less) | The test was not as hard as I expected. |
| the same + noun + as | She is the same age as me. |
| twice / three times as… as | This truck is twice as heavy as that one. |
| the + comparative…, the + comparative | The more you practice, the better you get. |
| comparative + and + comparative | It's getting colder and colder. |
| different from · similar to | My answer is different from yours. |
Common mistakes
- ✗Wrong: He is as tall than me.✓Right: He is as tall as me.
Too, enough, so and such
| Structure | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| too + adjective (+ to + verb) | more than is right | He is too young to drive. |
| adjective + enough (+ to + verb) | sufficient | He is old enough to drive. |
| enough + noun | a sufficient quantity | We don't have enough water. |
| so + adjective or adverb + that | a result | It was so cold that the engine froze. |
| such (a/an) + adjective + noun + that | a result | It was such a cold night that the engine froze. |
Common mistakes
- ✗Wrong: He is enough old.✓Right: He is old enough.
The order of adjectives
When several adjectives come before a noun, the usual order is: opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, purpose, then the noun.
- a nice big old house · a small black leather bag · a new American fighter jet
Quick check
Choose an answer: the explanation appears straight away.
1This test is ___ than the last one.
2The more you read, ___ your vocabulary becomes.
3She speaks English very ___.
4It was ___ hot day that we stopped training.
5The briefing was so ___ that half the class fell asleep.
More practice: sample questions on this topic, with answers.
All 48 questions on this topic, in a new order each time.