Adjectives - B2

Comparative and superlative adjectives; position; order; adjectives ending in -ing and -ed

You are going to hear some advertisements. Before you listen, look at the photos and guess what will be advertised.

Listen and check if you were right.

Listen to the advertisements again and write the words which describe these people and things. Stop the recording when you need to.

Listen again and fill in the gaps with the words that describe these people and things. Stop the recording when you need to.

Adjectives are words which describe nouns (things and people).

A few two-syllable adjectives (e.g. quiet, pleasant, common, polite) sometimes also use -er or -est:

It’s quieter than any garden I’ve visited before.

A few two-syllable Two-syllable adjectives ending in -ow and -er can usually add -er or -est:

clever ➞ cleverer

narrow ➞ the narrowest

Two-syllable adjectives ending in -le usually add -r or -st:

simple ➞ simpler ➞ the simplest

Most one-syllable adjectives ending in one vowel + -b, -d, -g, -n, -por -tdouble the last letter before adding -er or -est:

big ➞ bigger

sad ➞ the saddest

A few adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms:

good ➞ better ➞ best

bad ➞ worse ➞ worst

far ➞ farther/further ➞ farthest/furthest

things are more:

Our prices are better than those of our rivals.

We have a more exciting range of games than you’ll see anywhere else.

things are less:

Pre-owned games usually aren’t as/so expensive as new ones.

The games in the sale are much less expensive than usual.

or things are equal:

Fantasy games are as popular as football games with our customers.

Some common adjectives are formed from verbs and have both -ing and -ed forms.

We use the -ed form to describe our feelings:

I’m tired. (= a description of how I feel: I’ve used up all my energy so I need a rest)

We use the -ing form to describe the things which

make us feel like this:

This work is tiring. (= a description of the work: it takes a lot of energy to do it)

It’s a boring film. (= there’s no action in it)

The visitors are bored. (= they have nothing to do)

We had a relaxing holiday. (= the atmosphere was restful)

Good driving instructors always have a relaxed manner. (= they don’t seem nervous)

That was a very satisfying meal. (= there was plenty to eat)

The airline has many satisfied customers. (= the customers feel happy)

Adjectives in English usually go in front of the word they describe:

We visited an old house. We saw some beautiful paintings and some elegant furniture.

Adjectives can also follow verbs such as be, get, become, look, seem, appear, sound, taste, smell and feel:

Everything seemed pleasant when we started. The flowers smelt beautiful and the gardens looked wonderful. But the weather got very hot and we all felt exhausted by the end of the day.

There are many nouns in English which are used as adjectives:

When we use more than one adjective, we usually put them in a certain order. We say:

a strange old wooden chair

(not a wooden old strange chair)

We usually begin with adjectives which give an opinion or general impression:

a dangerous old car

a delicate oval tray

a valuable silver spoon

Adjectives giving factual information usually follow the opinion/impression adjective and go in this order:

Two colour adjectives are separated by and:

a black and white photograph

When we put more than one adjective after a verb, we use and before the last one:

The day was hot and tiring.

Lord Byron was described as mad, bad and dangerous to know.