Active Grammar 2 - Nigel Turton 2007
Unit 3 Adjectives
● What is an adjective?
● Comparing with adjectives
● What is an adjective?
(tall, happy, blue)
Are you good at guessing games?
WHAT AM I?
Clues
1. I live in hot countries.
2. My ears are very big.
3. I am very strong.
4. My nose is very long.
5. I am very heavy.
6. I have grey skin.
7. My skin is very thick.
8. My eyes are quite small.
9. I am not very good at dancing.
10. I like flying in jumbo jets.
Some words tell us what someone or something is like. These words are called adjectives.
With adjectives you can talk about the size of something.
big eyes
small eyes
You can talk about the colour of something.
a red dress
a green dress
You can tell people how you feel.
You can say what you think about something.
An adjective often comes in front of a noun.
An adjective can also come later in the sentence, after verbs like be and feel.
You never add an -s to an adjective.
PRACTICE
1 Here is another guessing game. What is the answer?
Clues
a. I am a fast swimmer.
b. My teeth are very sharp.
с. I can be very dangerous.
d. My jaws are very strong.
e. I am good at hunting.
Answer: ...
2 How many adjectives are there in the five clues? List them.
a ...
b ...
c ...
d ...
e ...
3 Make up three sentences about your partner. In each sentence, use one word from each box.
e.g. Tom has black hair. His eyes are brown.
He has strong legs.
a. ...
b. ...
c. ...
● Comparing with adjectives
(tall, taller, tallest)
What does David want to buy?
When you compare people or things, you usually put -er or -est at the end of an adjective.
Grammar Help
With some adjectives, you double the last letter before adding -er or -est.
fat fatter the fattest
thin thinner the thinnest
hot hotter the hottest
big bigger the biggest
sad sadder the saddest
fit fitter the fittest
You do not odd -er or -est to long adjectives.
Grammar Help
With long adjectives, you use more and most.
expensive more expensive the most expensive
comfortable more comfortable the most comfortable
difficult more difficult the most difficult
beautiful more beautiful the most beautiful
interesting more interesting the most interesting
PRACTICE
1 Look at the pictures and make sentences like this:
a Jill is taller than Tim.
b ...
c ...
d ...
e ...
f ...
2 Look at the family photograph and answer the questions.
a Who is the youngest?
b Who is the tallest?
c Who looks the saddest?
d Who has the longest hair?
e Who has the biggest eyes?
f Who has the smallest nose?
g Who has the shortest hair?
h Who is wearing the most expensive clothes?