English for Academic Administration
Grammar
Adjectives & Adverbs 1
Adjectives and Adverbs
Adjectives
ƒ
Adverbs
sad, angry, smart, new, angry, red, old, quiet, clever, free,
ƒ
happy, busy, …
quickly,
correctly, quietly, usually, frequently, fast, easily,
carefully, well, …
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adjectives describe what something / someone is like
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adverbs describe how something is done
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adjectives describe nouns and pronouns
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they define verbs
•
“This is one of the beautiful buildings.”
•
“Sarah paints beautifully.”
•
“The music is too loud.”
•
“Mark speaks loudly.”
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most adverbs are formed from adjectives by adding “-ly”
•
quick
•
angry
•
happy
Ö
Ö
Ö
quickly
angrily
happily
BUT: well, fast, …
ƒ
“Ann is beautiful.”
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“Ann sings beautifully.”
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“The car is slow.”
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“Marc drives slowly.”
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“The room is warm.”
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“Joe smiles warmly.”
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“The 747 is a fast plane.”
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“The 747 flies fast.”
Comparison with “-er” / “-est”:
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one-syllable adjectives (clean, new, cheap)
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two-syllable adjectives ending in -y or -er (easy, happy, pretty,
dirty, clever)
Comparison with “-er” / “-est”:
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adverbs with only one syllable are compared by adding “-er” /
“est”
hard
harder
hardest
old
older
oldest
fast
faster
fastest
clever
cleverer
cleverest
late
later
latest
happy
happier
happiest
(final “y” after a consonant becomes “i”)
English for Academic Administration
Grammar
Adjectives & Adverbs 1
Comparison with “more” and “most”:
Comparison with “more” and “most”:
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adjectives of three or more syllables
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two-syllable adjectives not ending in “-y” / “-er”
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adverbs ending in “-ly” are usually compared with “more” /
“most”
beautiful
more beautiful
most beautiful
quickly
more quickly
most quickly
difficult
more difficult
most difficult
carefully
more carefully
most carefully
tragic
more tragic
most tragic
frequently
more frequently
most frequently
irregular comparison:
irregular comparison:
good
better
best
well
better
worse
bad
worse
worst
badly
worse
worst
much
more
most
little
less
least
many
more
most
much
more
most
little
less
least
(wenig)
far
farther
farthest
little
smaller
smallest
(klein)
far
further
furthest