Introduction to the adjective
 

What's basic and important?

An adjective is a word that describes people, things, situations, thoughts, etc.

Examples: a small child, a round table, a nasty accident, a useful idea, Main look-up word: adjectives

Adjectives are often used to compare things.

My village is (better, smaller, sunnier, more modern, more successful) than yours. Peace is (the best, the most important, the most difficult) thing to achieve. Look-up word: comparison

Try to learn the simple rules of "short" and "long" comparison

Short: cool - cooler - the coolest Long: reasonable - more reasonable - the most reasonable Look-up words: (the) positive, (the) comparative, (the) superlative

Rule:

All one-syllable words (fast, slow, sweet, etc.) and some two-syllable words (funny, easy, silly, etc.) take the short form. Three-syllable words and some two-syllable words take the long form.

Try to think of adjectives as belonging to four different groups:

quality (bad, dangerous, sweet, young, etc.) class or type (democratic, modern, private, religious, western, etc.) colour (white, blue, red, etc.) stress or emphasis (absolute, pure, total, and a few more)

(Learn to) use your grammar book

Learn to find things in your grammar book. Use the look-up words that you find below.

qualitative adjectives classifying adjectives colour adjectives emphasizing adjectives