Adjectives and comparison

Adjectives describe nouns: their colour, size, quality or character. In English an adjective never changes — it does not agree with the noun in number or case: a tall boy — tall girls (✗ talls girls). The real difficulties lie elsewhere: forming comparatives and superlatives correctly, ordering several adjectives, distinguishing -ed and -ing adjectives, and telling adjectives from adverbs. In the exam, comparison appears in grammar questions, and in Writing it is the main tool for comparing graphs and tables.

§1. Where adjectives go and adjective order

Adjectives stand in two positions:

• Before a noun (attributive): a beautiful city, old buildings.
• After linking verbs (be, look, seem, feel, smell, taste, sound, become, get): She looks tired. This soup tastes good. (✗ tastes well) It’s getting dark.

After a linking verb we use an adjective, not an adverb, because it describes the subject: The music sounds beautiful.

When several adjectives come together, they follow a fixed order, from general opinion to specific facts:

a lovely small old round brown Italian wooden dining table — such long strings are rare; in practice two or three adjectives are typical: a beautiful old Uzbek carpet, a big black leather bag.

Worked example

Put the words in order: carpet / silk / red / beautiful / a.

1. beautiful is an opinion, so it comes first.
2. red is a colour, after the opinion.
3. silk is a material, closest to the noun.
4. The article goes at the start and the noun at the end.
5. Answer: a beautiful red silk carpet.

§2. Comparatives and superlatives

The comparative compares two things; the superlative picks out the highest degree among three or more.

Spelling: big → bigger → the biggest (a single vowel + consonant doubles the consonant), nice → nicer (just -r), dry → drier.

Irregular forms must be learned:

The comparative is followed by than: Tashkent is bigger than Samarkand. The superlative takes the and often in (a place) or of (a group): the highest mountain in the world, the best of all. With pronouns: She is taller than me (informal) / than I am (formal).

Worked example

This test was ___ (difficult) than the last one.

1. The sentence contains than, so a comparative is needed.
2. difficult has three syllables.
3. Long adjectives do not take -er; they use more.
4. Answer: more difficult.

§3. Equality and other comparative structures

• as + adjective + as — equal: She is as tall as her brother. The adjective is in its basic form.
• Negative: not as/so + adjective + as — less: My room is not as big as yours.
• Intensifying: much / far / a lot + comparative — much better, far more expensive (✗ very better).
• A small difference: a bit / slightly + comparative — slightly cheaper.
• the + comparative…, the + comparative… — linked change: The more you read, the better you write.
• comparative + and + comparative — gradual change: It’s getting colder and colder. more and more popular.
• the same as, different from, similar to: My phone is the same as yours.

§4. -ed and -ing adjectives

Pairs of adjectives formed from verbs are often confused:

• -ed — how a person feels: I am bored / interested / tired / surprised / confused.
• -ing — the effect a thing or person has, what causes the feeling: The film is boring / interesting / tiring / surprising / confusing.

I was bored because the lesson was boring. If you say I am boring, you are saying that you are a dull person.

Worked example

The news was ___ (shock), and everyone was ___ (shock).

1. The first gap describes news, which causes a feeling → -ing: shocking.
2. The second gap describes people, who experience the feeling → -ed: shocked.
3. Answer: shocking, shocked.

§5. Adjectives and adverbs

Adverbs are usually formed by adding -ly: quick → quickly, careful → carefully, happy → happily, simple → simply. An adverb describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb: She drives carefully. An adjective describes a noun: She is a careful driver.

Exceptions:

• good → well: He is a good player. He plays well.
• fast → fast, hard → hard: He works hard. (hardly means “almost not”: I hardly know him).
• late → late (lately means “recently”).
• friendly, lovely, lonely, lively, elderly are adjectives even though they end in -ly: a friendly person (as an adverb: in a friendly way).

§6. Comparison in Writing and Speaking

When describing graphs and tables or comparing options, comparison is the main tool:

In Speaking, upgrade basic adjectives: instead of good — excellent, impressive, outstanding; instead of bad — terrible, disappointing, awful; instead of big — huge, enormous, vast. Strong adjectives (huge, freezing, fascinating) take absolutely, not very: absolutely huge.

Worked example

Of all the subjects, maths was ___ (popular).

1. Of all the subjects signals the highest degree within a group → superlative.
2. popular has three syllables → the most.
3. Answer: the most popular.

Check yourself

1. It’s the ___ (bad) day of my life.

2. My room is not as ___ (big) as yours.

3. I’m really ___ (excite) about the trip.

4. He speaks English very ___ (good).

5. The ___ you practise, the ___ you get. (much, good)

6. This flower smells ___ . (sweet / sweetly)

7. The second test was slightly ___ (easy) than the first.

8. Our new flat is twice as ___ (large) as the old one.

Common mistakes

• Double comparatives: ✗ more better, ✗ the most biggest → ✓ better, the biggest.
• that instead of than: ✗ bigger that → ✓ bigger than.
• very with a comparative: ✗ very taller → ✓ much taller.
• Confusing -ed/-ing: ✗ I am boring (meaning a feeling) → ✓ I am bored.
• Adding -s to adjectives: ✗ differents books → ✓ different books.
• An adverb after a linking verb: ✗ It tastes well → ✓ It tastes good.