The rules for the formation of degrees of comparison of adjectives can be very clearly represented in the form of a table:

Comparison of adjectives in English, table 1.

As can be seen from the table, the degrees of comparison of adjectives are formed in one of two ways:

1) The ending is added to short words –Er (for comparative degree) or ending -est (for superlatives).

For example, the word cheap (cheap), consists of one syllable, so its comparative and excellent look like this:

2) A particle is added before the long word more (for comparative degree) or particle most (for superlatives). For example, the word beautiful consists of 3 syllables, therefore, to form a comparative and superlative degree, you need to use the more / most particles

Note that no matter whether the word is long or short, the definite article the must be added before the superlative.

As you can see, the rules for the formation of degrees of comparison are quite simple. But there are exceptions to any rule.

Exceptions. Adjectives whose degrees of comparison need to be remembered.

There are 8 adjectives exceptions, which do not form the degree of comparison according to the general rule. Here is a list of them:

Table 2. Exceptions in the degree of comparison of adjectives in English.

This list must be learned by heart. Since, adjectives from this list are very often used in oral speech.

How do you spell the degrees of comparison of adjectives?

When adding -er / -est to an adjective, there are a few simple rules to follow:

1) If at the end of the adjective there is the letter "e", then the letter "e" does not need to be doubled. For example:

3) The letter "y" at the end of the word is replaced with the letter "i":

If something remains incomprehensible to you, you can read

Adjective- a word that describes the signs, properties or qualities of a noun.

Adjectives can describe any signs (properties or qualities) of a noun, such as:

• colour: red (red), green (green), blue (blue, cyan), yellow (yellow);
• age: old (old), new (new), young (young), ancient (ancient);
• the quality or value of the item: expensive (expensive), refined (reworked), cheap (cheap), nice (cute);
• human qualities: smart (smart), beautiful (beautiful), friendly (friendly), short (low);
• emotional state of a person: happy (happy), sad (sad), ecstatic (excited), tired (tired); etc

Comparative adjectives(or comparative adjectives)

Adjectives are often used for comparison purposes. Such adjectives are called comparative adjectives. To get a comparative adjective, either add the suffix “-er” to the main form of the adjective, or put the service word “more” before the adjective.

Excellent adjectives(or superlative adjectives)

The adjective superlatively describes the most extreme case and is used to characterize an item that is "the most ..." among a number of items. To form an adjective in superlative degree, you need to either add the suffix “-est” to the main form of the adjective, or put the service word “most” before the adjective.

Single-syllable adjectives

Usually, the comparative form of adjectives, consisting of one syllable, is formed by adding the suffix “-er” to the basic form, and the superlative form using the suffix “-est”.

For example:

Two-syllable adjectives

The comparative degree of adjectives consisting of two syllables is formed by adding the suffix “-er” to the basic form or by using the word “more” before this adjective. For superlative education, the suffix “-est” or the word “most” is added.

For example:

Usually, if an adjective ends with the letter “-y”, then the letter “-y” is removed, and instead the suffix “-ier” is added to the base of the word for a comparative degree, or the suffix “-iest” for a superlative degree.

Here are some examples of the formation of comparative and superlatives for adjectives consisting of one syllable, using the service words "more" and "most".

When forming a comparative or superlative degree of adjectives, it is important to use only one of the possible suffixes / service words:

"More" or

Adjectives with three or more syllables

The comparative degree of adjectives consisting of three syllables is formed using the word "more", which is placed before this adjective. To form a superlative degree, the word “most” is added in the same way.

For example:

Exceptions to the general rule

Some adjectives are incorrect, that is, the comparative and superlative degrees for them are not formed according to general rules. Such adjectives must be remembered.

For example:

Use of adjectives

Typically, adjectives are placed directly in front of the noun they describe.

For example:

They bought a new (adjective) computer (noun).

He has a nice (adjective) bicycle (noun).

I like green (adjective) apples (noun) more than red (adjective) apples (noun).

Sometimes adjectives can be placed after the noun being defined.

For example:

Let’s try something (noun) new (adjective).

He likes his coffee (noun) black (adjective).

In addition, adjectives can be placed after the verb “to be”.

For example:

I am (verb “be”) friendly (adjective).

Angelina (noun) is (verb “be”) beautiful (adjective).

The girls (noun) are (verb “be”) diligent (adjective).

Vacation (noun) will be (verb “be”) fun (adjective).

English Joke

Four Jewish ladies are playing Bridge.
Betty sighs and says, "Oy ..."
Freda nods, sighs, and says, "Oy vey!"
Kitty says, "Oy veys meer!"
Charlotte chimes in: “Enough talk about the children already. Let's get back to the game. "

As in Russian, English adjectives tell about the signs of an object or phenomenon (or qualities of a person).

In a nutshell, an adjective is a word that clarifies a noun. Adjectives describe the size, shape, age, color, origin, or material of which the item is made.

When destinations usually the word of another part of speech acts as an adjective:

How do you recognize an adjective?

Often English adjectives end with one of the following suffixes:

Able / -ible - adorable ( charming), invisible ( invisible), responsible ( responsible), uncomfortable ( inconvenient)

Al - educational ( educational), gradual ( gradual), illegal ( illegal), nocturnal ( night), viral ( viral)

An - American ( american), Mexican ( mexican), urban ( urban)

Ar - cellular ( cellular), popular ( popular), spectacular ( spectacular), vulgar ( vulgar)

Ent - intelligent ( smart), potent ( efficient), silent ( silent), violent ( cruel)

Ful - harmful ( harmful), powerful ( powerful), grateful ( grateful), thoughtful ( thoughtful)

Ic / -ical - athletic ( athletic), energetic ( vigorous), magical ( magic), scientific ( scientific)

Ine - canine ( canine), equine ( horse), feminine ( feminine), masculine ( courageous)

Ile - agile ( mobile), fragile ( fragile), docile ( obedient), fertile ( fertile)

Ive - informative ( informative), native ( native), talkative ( talkative)

Less - careless ( careless), endless ( endless), homeless ( homeless), timeless ( eternal)

Ous - cautious ( careful), dangerous ( dangerous), enormous ( huge), precious ( valuable)

Some - awesome ( awesome), handsome ( beautiful), lonesome ( alone), wholesome ( useful)

Remember, however, that things are not so simple in English! Many adjectives end in - y, -ary and - ate - but many nouns and adverbs also end in - y, many nouns end in - ary, and many nouns and verbs end in - ate... Be careful!

Where to put the adjective?

An adjective can come before a noun. Then that's the definition.

The adjective can come after the verb to be... Then it's part of the predicate.

Adjectives can appear after the following verbs: appear (to appear), become (to become), feel (to feel), get (to receive), go (to go), keep (to store), turn (to turn, become).

Are there adjectives without nouns?

Yes, an adjective can stand without a noun: in this case, the adjective denotes a community of people, objects or phenomena, united by one sign. For example:

• the rich = rich people (implies all rich people)
• the young \u003d young people(we are talking about young people, youth)

And don't forget to use before the adjective in this case!

And here is an example from the fairy tale "Cinderella":

• “The good must be put in the dish, the bad you may eat if you wish. ” (“Put the good in the dish, you can eat the bad if you want.”)

Another example, this time about the Scots:

• The Scottish live in the North of the United Kingdom. (Scots live in northern part of the United Kingdom.)

Can two or more adjectives stand side by side?

Yes. Several adjectives can be placed before a noun:

• a fat old cat ( fat old cat)

or after a verb (for example to be) - in this case, the union is put between the last two adjectives “ and”:

• It was cold, wet and windy... - It was cold, damp and windy.

Adjectives ending in - ing and - ed

These are participles that act as adjectives.

1. Adjective before a noun:

2. Adjective after the verb:

Grammatical constructions for comparing adjectives

There are three degrees of comparison of adjectives:

Positive ( positive);

Comparative ( comparative);

Excellent ( superlative).

1. Comparison ( -er / -est)

clean → cleaner → (the) cleanest (pure -\u003e cleaner -\u003e purest)

Used with the following adjectives:

1.1. Single syllable adjectives

1.2. Two-syllable adjectives with specific endings

1.2.1. Two-syllable adjectives ending in - y

1.2.2. Two-syllable adjectives ending in -er

1.2.3. Two-syllable adjectives ending in -le

1.2.4. Two-syllable adjectives ending in -ow

1.3. Spelling of adjectives with the endings -er / -est

2. Comparison with more - most

Used with all adjectives with more than one syllable (except for some adjectives with two syllables - see 1.2).

3. Incorrect adjectives

4. Special cases

Some adjectives have two forms of comparison ( -er / est and more / most).

5. Adjectives with different meanings

What is the order of adjectives?

When several adjectives are in a row, they must appear in a specific order. Native speakers place them correctly on a whim; those who have just begun to study for, need to remember this order.

The order is:

• determinative ( determiner): article ( a, an, the), ordinal or cardinal, possessive pronoun ( my, his, her, its, your, our, their) or demonstrative pronoun ( this, that, these, those)
• observation / opinion: beautiful (beautiful), expensive (expensive), gorgeous (luxurious), broken (broken), delicious (delicious) ugly (ugly)
• the size: huge (huge), tiny (tiny), 4-foot-tall (4 feet)
• the form: square (square), circular (round), oblong (oval)
• age: 10-year-old (10 years old), new (new), antique (old)
• colour: black (the black), red (red), blue-green (blue-green)
• origin: Roman (Roman), English (English), Mongolian (Mongolian)
• material: silk (silk), silver (silver), plastic (plastic), wooden (wood)
• determinant ( qualifier) - a noun or verb that acts as an adjective

This is the order for adjectives when they come before a noun. In English, they are separated by commas:

• My beautiful, big, circular, antique, brown, English, wooden coffee table was broken. - My beautiful large round antique brown English wood coffee table was broken.

If adjectives come after the verb “ to be”, Then the determinant ( qualifier) remains with the noun at the beginning of the sentence. Adjectives are separated by commas, and the last two are separated by “ and”. For example:

• My coffee table is beautiful, big, circular, antique, brown, English and wooden. - My coffee table is beautiful, large, round, antique, brown, English and wood.

Here are some examples of the order of adjectives:

The most important English adjectives

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