Adjectives describe nouns: a new car, a busy office. In English they never change form and go before the noun or after be: The report is long.
Adjectives are words that describe a noun in a sentence by adding a quality or attribute (size, shape, color, etc.). One could say, adjectives “modify” a noun, as they change its meaning slightly. Adjectives are always in singular form, even if the noun they are describing is in plural form.
Some adjectives are: beautiful, sad, rich, horrible, boring.
Adjectives usually occur before a noun (a beautiful house) or after the verb “to be” (The house is beautiful).
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| busy | having a lot to do | Mondays are always busy at the office. |
| helpful | happy to help; useful | The IT team is very helpful. |
| anxious | worried and nervous | I feel anxious before a big presentation. |
| polite | having good manners; respectful | Our receptionist is always polite to visitors. |
| large | big | We need a large room for the training. |
| expensive / cheap | costing a lot of money / costing little money | The hotel is expensive, but the food is cheap. |
| hard-working | putting a lot of effort into work | She is a hard-working project manager. |
| boring | not interesting | The meeting was long and boring. |
| honest | telling the truth | We want honest feedback from our customers. |
Work through the exercises, then test yourself with the quiz. Learn from your mistakes and try again as often as you like.
Write the sentence again with the adjective in brackets in the correct position.
We have a client. (new)
adjective before the noun
We have a new client.
She drives a car. (red)
adjective before the noun
She drives a red car.
It is a day. (sunny)
adjective before the noun
It is a sunny day.
They are colleagues. (helpful)
no -s on the adjective
They are helpful colleagues.
I need a coffee. (strong)
adjective before the noun
I need a strong coffee.
The reports are on my desk. (old)
adjective before the noun
The old reports are on my desk.
He has an idea. (interesting)
a/an goes before the adjective
He has an interesting idea.
We stayed in a hotel. (cheap)
adjective before the noun
We stayed in a cheap hotel.
Each sentence has one mistake with the adjective. Write the correct sentence.
They are news employees.
adjectives have no plural
They are new employees.
I have a meeting important at ten.
word order
I have an important meeting at ten.
She has two bigs offices.
adjectives have no plural
She has two big offices.
The coffee is very hots.
adjectives have no -s
The coffee is very hot.
We have a client happy.
word order
We have a happy client.
Take a free placement test and get your CEFR level, then start with the topics that fit it.
