Basics. Adjectives and Adverbs.
Adjectives and Adverbs
Adjectives
Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns.
Adjective + noun: The adjective comes before the noun it modifies.
- Example: She has a red car.
Be/am/is/was + adjective: The adjective follows a form of the verb "to be".
- Example: The weather is warm today.
Look/feel/smell/taste/sound + adjective: The adjective follows a sensory verb.
- Example: The cake smells delicious.
Adverbs
Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
Comparison with adjectives: Adjectives modify nouns, while adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
- Example: She speaks slowly (adverb). She is a slow speaker (adjective).
Words that are both adjectives and adverbs: Some words, like "hard", "fast", "late", and "early", can function as both adjectives and adverbs.
- Example: He works hard (adverb). He has a hard job (adjective).
Good and well: "Good" is an adjective, while "well" is an adverb.
- Example: She is a good student. She did well on the test.
Comparatives & Superlatives
Comparatives and superlatives are used to compare differences between two or more things. Here's how they are formed for different types of adjectives:
| Type of Adjective | Example | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 syllable | tall | taller | tallest |
| 2 syllable, ending with -y | happy | happier | happiest |
| 2 or more syllables | beautiful | more beautiful | most beautiful |
Examples:
- John is tall, but Mark is taller. Peter is the tallest of them all.
- She was happy yesterday, but today she is even happier. On her birthday, she was the happiest I've ever seen her.
- This painting is beautiful, but that one is more beautiful. The one in the gallery is the most beautiful of all.
There are also some irregular comparatives and superlatives:
| Adjective | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| good | better | best |
| bad | worse | worst |
| far | farther | farthest |
Examples:
- Mary is a good student, but Jane is better. Sarah is the best student in the class.
- His performance was bad, but her performance was even worse. The worst performance, however, was by the last contestant.
His house is far from the city, but her house is even farther. Their cousin's house is the farthest of all.
Using more/less, most/least: These words can be used to create comparative and superlative forms.
- Example: She is more intelligent than her brother. He is the least experienced worker.
Modifiers with comparatives: Phrases like "a little older" or "much older" can be used with comparatives.
- Example: She is a little taller than her sister.
Not as ... as ...: This phrase can be used to show equality.
- Example: He is not as tall as his brother.
Superlatives with ever: Phrases like "the best I've ever seen" can be used with superlatives.
- Example: This is the best movie I've ever seen.
Enough
"Enough" is used to indicate that something is sufficient.
Enough + noun: In this case, "enough" comes before the noun it modifies.
- Example: We have enough food for the party.
Enough without a noun: "Enough" can be used on its own to indicate that something is sufficient.
- Example: "Do you want more cake?" "No, thanks. I've had enough."
Adjective + enough: In this case, "enough" comes after the adjective it modifies.
- Example: The water is warm enough to swim in.
Too
"Too" is used to indicate that something is excessive or more than necessary.
Too + adjective/adverb: In this case, "too" comes before the adjective or adverb it modifies.
- Example: The coffee is too hot to drink.
Too much/many: These phrases are used to indicate that something is excessive.
- Example: I ate too much food at the party.
Too vs not enough: "Too" indicates excess, while "not enough" indicates insufficiency.
- Example: The soup is too salty, but the bread is not salty enough.
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English Grammar Basics
"English Grammar Basics" tag marks quiz and explainers that intend to provide a solid foundation in English language grammar. This includes all the major concepts and topics in English grammar, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, tenses, voice, mood, and sentence structure. The explanations we provide in quiz intro sections are clear and concise, making it easy for learners of all levels to understand. These quizzes are designed to be fun and engaging, helping you to retain the information more effectively. Whether you're a beginner or looking to refresh your knowledge, look for content marked with the "English Grammar Basics" tag for everything you need to master English language grammar.
Adjective and Adverb
English distinguishes between adjectives, which qualify nouns and pronouns, and adverbs, which mainly modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Not all languages make this exact distinction; many (including English) have words that can function as either. For example, in English, fast is an adjective in "a fast car" (where it qualifies the noun car) but an adverb in "he drove fast" (where it modifies the verb drove).
Adjective
An adjective is word whose main syntactic role is to modify a noun or noun phrase. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Adjectives are one of the main parts of speech of the English language, although historically they were classed together with nouns. Certain words that were traditionally considered to be adjectives, including the, this, my, etc., are today usually classed separately, as determiners.
Adverb
An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective, determiner, clause, preposition, or sentence. Adverbs typically express manner, place, time, frequency, degree, level of certainty, etc., answering questions such as how?, in what way?, when?, where?, and to what extent?. This function is called the adverbial function, and may be realized by single words (adverbs) or by multi-word expressions (adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses).
Adverbs are traditionally regarded as one of the parts of speech. However, modern linguists note that the term "adverb" has come to be used as a kind of "catch-all" category, used to classify words with various different types of syntactic behavior, not necessarily having much in common except that they do not fit into any of the other available categories (noun, adjective, preposition, etc.)
Adverb
An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective, determiner, clause, preposition, or sentence. Adverbs typically express manner, place, time, frequency, degree, level of certainty, etc., answering questions such as how?, in what way?, when?, where?, and to what extent?. This function is called the adverbial function, and may be realized by single words (adverbs) or by multi-word expressions (adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses).
Adverbs are traditionally regarded as one of the parts of speech. However, modern linguists note that the term "adverb" has come to be used as a kind of "catch-all" category, used to classify words with various different types of syntactic behavior, not necessarily having much in common except that they do not fit into any of the other available categories (noun, adjective, preposition, etc.)
Comparative and Superlative
Some adjectives are comparable. For example, a person may be polite, but another person may be more polite, and a third person may be the most polite of the three.
The word more here modifies the adjective polite to indicate a comparison is being made, and most modifies the adjective to indicate an absolute comparison (a superlative).
In English, many adjectives can take the suffixes -er and -est (sometimes requiring additional letters before the suffix; see forms for far below) to indicate the comparative and superlative forms, respectively:
- great, greater, greatest
- deep, deeper, deepest*
Some adjectives are irregular in this sense:
- good, better, best
- bad, worse, worst
- many, more, most (sometimes regarded as an adverb or determiner)
- little, less, least
Some adjectives can have both regular and irregular variations:
- old, older, oldest
- far, farther, farthest
also
- old, elder, eldest
far, further, furthest
Another way to convey comparison is by incorporating the words more and most. There is no simple rule to decide which means is correct for any given adjective, however.
The general tendency is for simpler adjectives, and those from Anglo-Saxon to take the suffixes, while longer adjectives and those from French, Latin, Greek do not—but sometimes sound of the word is the deciding factor.
Many adjectives do not naturally lend themselves to comparison. For example, some English speakers would argue that it does not make sense to say that one thing is more ultimate than another, or that something is most ultimate, since the word ultimate is already absolute in its semantics. Such adjectives are called non-comparable or absolute.
Nevertheless, native speakers will frequently play with the raised forms of adjectives of this sort.
Although pregnant is logically non-comparable (either one is pregnant or not), one may hear a sentence like She looks more and more pregnant each day. Likewise extinct and equal appear to be non-comparable, but one might say that a language about which nothing is known is more extinct than a well-documented language with surviving literature but no speakers, while George Orwell wrote All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.
These cases may be viewed as evidence that the base forms of these adjectives are not as absolute in their semantics as is usually thought. Comparative and superlative forms are also occasionally used for other purposes than comparison.
In English comparatives can be used to suggest that a statement is only tentative or tendential: one might say John is more the shy-and-retiring type, where the comparative more is not really comparing him with other people or with other impressions of him, but rather, could be substituting for on the whole.
Adjective
In linguistics, an adjective is a describing word, the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified.
Adjectives are one of the English parts of speech, although they were historically classed together with the nouns. Certain words that were traditionally considered to be adjectives, including the, this, my, etc., are today usually classed separately, as determiners.
A1 / Elementary / Beginners
A CEFR A1 level English language user is considered a beginner. At this level, an individual is expected to have a basic understanding of the English language, including basic vocabulary and grammar. They should be able to understand and use simple phrases and sentences in order to meet basic needs and engage in simple, everyday conversations. They should also be able to understand simple instructions and signs in English.
At A1 level, they are able to understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. They can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has. They can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.
Difficulty: Easy
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