An adjective is a word that says something about a noun. Adjectives usually go before the nouns modified by them. They may also go after verbs like is, am, are, was and were. Examples of adjectives are: clever, kind, heavy, good, bad, ugly, important, tasty, short, big etc. Numbers and names of colours are also adjectives.

Study the examples given below.

• She is a pretty girl. (Here the adjective pretty says something about the girl. It goes before the noun (girl) it modifies.)
• That was a clever decision. (Here the adjective clever modifies the noun decision and goes before it.)
• He is a wise man. (Here the adjective wise modifies the noun man and goes before it.)

Adjectives can also go after the verb be. The different forms of the verb be are: is, am, are, was, were

• That was dangerous. (Here the adjective dangerous goes after the verb was and says something about the subject that.
• Dogs are loyal. (Here the adjective loyal says something about dogs and goes after the verb are.
• Raju is angry. (Here the adjective angry says something about Raju and goes after the verb is.)

Worksheet 1

Underline the adjectives in the following sentences.

1. She was wearing a blue dress.

2. The soup was delicious.

3. She is an intelligent girl.

4. The fox is a cunning animal.

5. That was a brilliant idea.

6. He is not very tall.

7. You are my best friend.

8. I ate two mangoes in the morning.

9. She was wearing a golden bangle.

10. She doesn’t have many friends.

11. It was a difficult question.

12. They have a large house.

13. He is the oldest man in the village.

14. That was the happiest day of my life.

15. I enjoy listening to soft music.

16. I ate two apples.

17. They are famous.

18. He is very slow.

19. The soup was delicious.

20. Everyone respects honest people.

21. He asked a difficult question.

22. This is my third attempt.

23. Don’t be silly.

24. The coat was expensive.

25. She is good and kind.

Answers

1. blue, 2. delicious, 3. intelligent, 4. cunning, 5. brilliant, 6. tall, 7. best, 8. two, 9. golden, 10. many, 11. difficult, 12. large, 13. oldest, 14. happiest, 15. soft, 16. two, 17. famous, 18. slow, 19. delicious, 20. honest, 21. difficult, 22. third, 23. silly, 24. expensive, 25. good, kind

Kinds of adjectives

There are mainly three types of adjectives. They are: adjectives of quality, adjectives of quantity and adjectives of number.

Adjectives of quality describe a particular quality or nature of the noun. Examples are: pretty, beautiful, green, tough, easy, large, big etc.

Adjectives of number answer the question how many. Examples are: one, two, three, first, second, third, few, many etc.

Adjectives of quantity answer the question how much. Examples are: some, much, any, little, less, least etc.

Kinds of Adjectives Worksheet

Underline the adjectives in the following sentences and state their kind.

1. It was an interesting movie.

2. She is a nice girl.

3. That was a clever idea.

4. This is a wooden table.

5. I gave her some food.

6. There were few students in the class.

7. I didn’t do much work today.

8. Can you give me a little water?

9. The mangoes are very sweet.

10. She was wearing a woolen coat.

11. It was a tough task.

12. I bought a new book yesterday.

13. There are two apples in the fridge.

14. She has three dogs and five cats.

15. The way was long.

Answers

1. interesting (Adjective of quality)

2. nice (Adjective of quality)

3. clever (Adjective of quality)

4. wooden (Adjective of quality)

5. some (Adjective of quantity)

6. few (Adjective of number)

7. much (Adjective of quantity)

8. a little (Adjective of quantity)

9. sweet (Adjective of quality)

10. woolen (Adjective of quality)

11. tough (Adjective of quality)

12. new (Adjective of quality)

13. two (Adjective of number)

14. three, five (Adjective of number)

15. long (Adjective of quality)

Worksheet 2

Underline the adjectives in the following sentences and state their kind.

1. That was a beautiful frock.

2. She was very old.

3. It was a difficult question.

4. You are my best friend.

5. I didn’t each much food.

6. There were several people in the room.

7. Few students took the test.

8. I could answer only six questions.

9. She won the second prize.

10. It was a difficult task.

11. Have we got enough food?

12. She does not have many friends.

13. Can I have some oil?

14. He is very weak.

15. It was an easy task.

16. The soup is delicious.

17. There is little water in the pond.

18. She does not have any friends.

19. She did not show any interest in my work.

20. That was not the right thing to do.

21. She is a brilliant student.

22. She has won several awards.

23. He is shorter than his brother.

24. India is a large country.

Answers

1. beatiful (Adjective of quality)

2. old (Adjective of quality)

3. difficult (Adjective of quality)

4. best (Adjective of quality)

5. much (Adjective of quantity)

6. several (Adjective of number)

7. Few (Adjective of number)

8. six (Adjective of number)

9. second (Adjective of number)

10. tough (Adjective of quality)

11. enough (Adjective of quantity)

12. many (Adjective of number)

13. some (Adjective of quantity; when some and any are used with uncountable nouns, they are adjectives of quantity)

14. weak (Adjective of quality)

15. easy (Adjective of quality)

16. delicious (Adjective of quality)

17. little (Adjective of quantity)

18. any (Adjective of number; when some and any are used with plural nouns, they are adjectives of number)

19. any (Adjective of quantity)

20. right (Adjective of quality)

21. brilliant (Adjective of quality)

22. several (Adjective of number)

23. shorter (Adjective of quality)

24. large (Adjective of quality)

Worksheet 3

1. It was too warm so I ………………… my coat off. (take)

2. ‘Where did you go on holiday?’ ‘We ……………. to the US.’ (go)

3. The film was good. I ……………….. (enjoy) it very much.

4. I knew she ……………… (sleep) so I ……………….. (not disturb) her.

5. When I opened the window, a bird ………………. into the room. (fly)

6. The room was very hot. I …………………. comfortably. (not sleep)

7. The hotel was quite affordable. It ……………… much to stay there. (not cost)

8. I was in a hurry so I ………………… to take my umbrella. (forget)

9. I ………………… out last night because I was too tired. (not go)

10. They ………………… (not invite) us to the party so we …………………. (not go)

Answers

1. took, 2. went, 3. enjoyed, 4. was sleeping, did not disturb, 5. opened, flew, 6. was, did not sleep, 7. was, did not cost, 8. forgot, 9. didn’t go, 10. did not invite, did not go

Notes

The past perfect tense is used for the earlier of two past actions. It is not used when we are talking about just one past action. For example, we do not use the past tense to say that something had happened sometime ago. We use the simple past tense for this meaning.

• He met with an accident yesterday. (NOT He had met with an …)
• She hadn’t paid the bill so they cut her internet connection off.

Worksheet 4

Underline the adjectives in the following sentences.

Adjectives are words used to describe nouns. They tell us something about the quality or quantity of nouns.

1. That was a wonderful experience.

2. She is a meritorious student.

3. It was a sprawling bungalow.

4. That was really kind of you.

5. She was the kindest woman I have ever met.

6. The cops still have no idea about his mysterious disappearance.

7. It was a difficult task.

8. The job was easier than I thought.

9. She was wearing a blue dress.

10. I read an interesting novel the other day.

11. I have bought some apples.

12. She doesn’t have any friends that she can trust.

Answers

1. wonderful, 2. meritorious, 3. sprawling, 4. kind, 5. kindest, 6. no, mysterious, 7. difficult, 8. easier, 9. blue, 10. interesting, 11. some, 12. any

Worksheet 5

Fill in the blanks with an appropriate adjective. Choose your answers from the given options.

(fabulous, intelligent, clever, soft, sharp, heavy, generous, funny, red, old, ferocious, mischievous)

1. The ………………………. boy always lands himself in trouble,

2. My grandmother is a ……………………… woman.

3. He cracked a ……………………. joke.

4. This legend is as ……………………… as the hills.

5. Parrots have ……………………… beaks.

6. The table is too ……………………. for me to move.

7. This knife is not very ………………………..

8. It was a ……………………. performance.

9. The ……………………. boy quickly solved the problem.

10. Silk is a …………………… material.

11. A tiger is a …………………….. animal.

12. They devised a ………………….. plan to overcome the difficulty.

Answers

1. mischievous, 2. generous, 3. funny, 4. old, 5. red, 6. heavy, 7. sharp, 8. fabulous, 9. intelligent, 10. soft, 11. ferocious, 12. clever

Worksheet 6

Underline the adjective in the following sentences.

1. I saw a black cat playing in my backyard.

2. She was wearing a blue dress.

3. He wore a funny cat.

4. That was a wonderful place.

5. Don’t ask silly questions.

6. She was an old woman.

7. I went to a cheap restaurant.

8. You have got a golden voice.

9. They have a big house in the city.

10. He is a great actor.

11. It was a difficult question.

12. You are my best friend.

13. The hostess was a kind woman.

14. She is a pretty girl.

15. That was a brilliant idea.

Answers

1. black, 2. blue, 3. funny, 4. wonderful, 5. silly, 6. old, 7. cheap, 8. golden, 9. big, 10. great, 11. difficult, 12. best, 13. kind, 14. pretty, 15. brilliant