Academic English > Grammar > Adjectives
Adjectives (الـصفات) describe nouns (الأسـماء) and pronouns (الضمائر).
In the phrase, “the old man” the word old is an adjective because it describes the man.
Adjectives usually come before the noun they describe, e.g. “a beautiful horse.”
Lucy is a tall lady.
James is an intelligent man.
Adjectives can be used to compare and contrast things.
Comparative and superlative adjectives
Lucy is taller than Daisy (comparing Lucy to Daisy).
Lucy is the tallest lady in the class (comparing Lucy to all other ladies).
James is more intelligent than John (comparing James to John).
James is the most intelligent man in the class (comparing James to all other men).
| Describing | Adjectives |
| Quantity | – no, few, several, some – many, lots, big, great, (…a higher number of…), (…a larger number of…) |
| Age | – young, old, (…lives for longer than…) |
| Cost | – cheap, expensive |
| Size | – small, large, big – short, tall, long |
| Speed | – slow, quick, fast |
| Temperature | – cold, cool, warm, hot |
| Weight | – light, heavy – small, big |
| Colour | – light, bright, radiant – dark, pale, dull |
| Distance | – close, near, short – long, far, distant |