Form And Function Of Adjectives

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Form of Adjectives


1. Adjectives are invariable:
They do not change their form depending on the gender or number of the noun.

A hot potato Some hotpotatoes
2. To emphasise or strengthen the meaning of an adjective use 'very' or 'really':

A very hot potato

Some really hot potatoes.​

Position of adjectives
a) Usually in front of a noun: A beautiful girl.

b) After verbs like "to be", "to seem" , "to look", "to taste":


Examples

• The girl is beautiful
• You look tired
• This meat tastes funny.

c) After the noun: in some fixed expressions:

Examples

• The Princess Royal
• The President elect
• a court martial

d) After the noun with the adjectives involved, present, concerned:

Examples

1. I want to see the people involved/concerned (= the people who have something to do with the matter)
2. Here is a list of the people present (= the people who were in the building or at the meeting)

Be careful! When these adjectives are used before the noun they have a different meaning:

• An involved discussion = detailed, complex
• A concerned father = worried, anxious
• The present situation = current, happening now

 

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Function of Adjectives

Adjectives can:
Describe feelings or qualities:

Examples

• He is a lonely man
• They are honest people

Give nationality or origin:

Examples

• Pierre is French
• This clock is German
• Our house is Victorian

Tell more about a thing's characteristics:

Examples

• A wooden table.
• The knife is sharp.

Tell us about age:

Examples

• He's young man
• My coat is veryold

Tell us about size and measurement:

Examples

• John tall man.
• This is a very long film.

Tell us about colour:

Examples

• Paul wore a red shirt.
• The sunset was crimson and gold.

Tell us about material/what something is made of:

Examples

• It was a wooden table
• She wore a cotton dress

Tell us about shape:

Examples

• A rectangular box
• A square envelope

Express a judgement or a value:

Examples

• A fantastic film
• Grammar is boring.

 

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Order of Adjectives

Rules
Where a number of adjectives are used together, the order depends on the function of the adjective. The usual order is:

Value/opinion, Size, Age/Temperature, Shape, Colour, Origin, Material

• 
  
• Value/opinion - delicious, lovely, charming
• Size - small, huge, tiny
• Age/Temperature - old, hot, young
• Shape - round, square, rectangular
• Colour - red, blonde, black
• Origin - Swedish, Victorian, Chinese
• Material - plastic, wooden, silver

Examples:

• a lovely old red post-box
• some small round plastic tables
• some charming small silver ornaments