Read clear grammar explanations and example sentences to help you understand how adjectives are used. Then, put your grammar knowledge into practice by doing the exercises.
Choose a topic and start improving your English grammar today.
Average
Hello Team. Could you please help me choose the correct answer? Why? What is the difference between them?
- He asked me so many (confused - confusing) questions to which I couldn't answer.
hello, could you please explain to me what is the difference in using the adjective -ic and -ical? like what is the difference in using electric and electrical? magic and magical? historic and historical? politic and political? is there any consistent rules for this?
Kathy's worn out, It's been a long day.
He's surprised by a bump on the road, makes a false move, and almost falls.
Here in the above sentences what is the contraction " 's " for. It is " has or is worn out" and "he is or he has surprised".
Could you explain it clearly. I find it difficulty most of the time.
Regards Jitu_Jaga
Kathy is worn out.
We know this because when 'wear out' means 'very tired', it is intransitive, i.e. has no object. Therefore the form 'Kathy has worn out' is not grammatical. We could say 'Kathy has worn herself out', but we need the object 'herself' (or some other object) for this to be correct.
He is surprised by a bump.
This is a passive construction -- the phrase 'by a bump' shows this. Passive verbs are formed with the verb 'be' (or sometimes 'get') + v3, so it has to be 'is surprised'.
This grammar can indeed be tricky. I hope that helps.
'Near' can be an adverb, an adjective or a preposition. In your example it is an adverb. At first glance this seems strange as we normally see adjectives as complements of link verbs such as 'be'. However, certain adverbs and adverbials can be used in this way, especially those which show location in time or space. 'Near' is an example of these.
It's a difference in focus, not meaning. The typical word order is "I bought a new car". In this sentence, the car seems the main focus, and "new" adds some description of the car.
In "I bought a car new", the focus seems to be on "new" instead. Somebody may choose to say this if that is their main point - they really want to tell someone that it was new, and not a second-hand car (for example).
Hello,
I would like to ask about the following phrase:
I am familiar with his/her earth.
What does it mean?
Is it a correct expression?
Do we often use it?
Thank you in advance
I've never heard this expression before and I'm not sure what the speaker/writer means. It is grammatically fine, but the meaning isn't clear to me. However, it might well make sense in the context that it was said/written. Do you know what the context was?
Hello,
I saw a video with a chef -cook who talked about a country that he visited in order to try a new local cuisine.He said that as he was talking about the local chef-cook
OK, the meaning is clearer now. The speaker is saying that he knows and understands the local land, sea, environment (etc.) of that chef, and the things that grow and live there which can be used in cooking. It's an unusual expression but it makes sense in that context.
Hello,
I would like to ask if the following are correct
-I am afraid it is far from my house or
-I am afraid it is far from where I live
Thank you in advance
The context might influence what these two sentences would mean, but in general 'excess meat' would mean 'extra meat', i.e. meat that isn't needed and 'excessive meat' would mean 'too much meat'.
The second sentence could be acceptable but it would depend upon the context. We only use 'another' when the noun to which it refers is very clear from the context, so sentence #2 would only occur if in the previous sentence there was something to refer back to:
Today was a horrible day!
I know, and tomorrow could be another (horrible day).
Hello,
I would like to ask which of the following is correct
I will try to find a ticket in a fair price/affordable/logical price
-I would like to saythat I want to buy a ticket in a price that I can afford (not necessarily very cheap but not expensive as well)
Thank you in advance
For what you explain, I think the best option is something like 'I'll try to find an affordable ticket'.
It's also possible to say 'a ticket at an affordable price' or 'a ticket for a fair price'. The first one means the same as 'an affordable ticket'. The second could mean the same thing, but also mentions the possible fairness or unfairness of the prices.
'affordable' really has nothing to do with fairness. It's more about what you can spend given the amount of money you have and considering your other expenses.
Hello. Could you please hep me choose the correct choice? With or without a hyphen? Why?
- When someone has a strong will, we say they're ............ .
(strong-willed - strong willed"
Thank you.
Compound adjectives are sometimes hyphenated and sometimes not. I don't think there is a rule which allows you to work this out; you simply need to learn it as you do the spelling.
Hello. Could you please help me? In a test, I faced this qustion but I couldn't choose which one as I thought both are wrong, right?
- Which of the following sentences isn’t punctuated correctly?
A. A 20 year old student has won the gold medal.
B. What a wonderful jacket When did you buy it?
Thank you.
1. Is it correct to say "I have all the necessary" in the meaning of "I have all the necessary things"? Can I skip "things"? If so, can I do the same with another adjectives, for example "We are chasing the superficial" instead of "We are chasing the superficial things"?
Thank you very much indeed for your precious help in learning English and I'm grateful for your answer to this post beforehand!!!
It's not grammatically correct to do this but occasionally a phrase is sufficiently common for it to become a saying and I think 'I have all the necessary' is one such (still uncommon) example. However, this does not mean that you can generalise a rule from it with other adjectives.
"The weather is expected to improve tomorrow". What tense is the sentence in?. "Expected" is the past simple of expect, but in this sentence we are talking about the future? Could expected also be an adjective?
Many thanks if you can clarify this!
'is expected' is the verb 'expect' in the present simple of the passive voice. We often use a 'to'-infinitive after the verb 'expect', so 'to' is not a preposition here.
'expected' can also be an adjective, but here it is not. People sometimes talk, for example, about the 'expected price' of something or an 'expected child'. In general it's a somewhat formal word, so it's not so common.
Which preposition should we use:
(a) Islands of Japan were mostly formed by/ of/ with earthquakes and volcanoes.
(b) With/ from/ of the resources it buys, Japan makes products to sell all over the world.
If I had to choose among those three options, I'd probably go with 'by', but what I'd recommend is doing an internet search on the topic and following the language that you see there. As far as I know, that kind of preposition phrase after 'be formed' is unusual. Please note also that we say 'The Islands of Japan' -- the definite article is usually used with groups of islands.
In the case of (b), I'd say both 'with' and 'from' work.
Hello,
i would like to ask i the following is correct
If a magazine/site includes art topics of high quality can we say
"The magazine provides art in a delicate and refined way"
Thank you in advance
I'm not sure 'provides' is the verb you need here. Perhaps 'presents' or 'makes art accessible'. However, it's hard to give you any suggestions without knowing your magazine.
Hello,
The magazine has topics for classical ballet.Is the following sentence correct?
The magazine/site presents topics in a delicate and refined way
(I would like to emphasize that it includes topics of high quality)
Thank you in advance
The sentence is grammatically correct, but I'm not sure it says what you want it to. To me, there's a difference between high-quality topics and presenting topics in a delicate and refined way. I guess it depends on what you mean by 'high quality'.
Hello. Could you please help me? Which sentence is correct? Why?
- We had a few minutes walk to the shops.
- We had a few minutes' walk to the shops.
- We had a few-minute walk to the shops.
Thank you.
I'd recommend the second one. People often leave out the apostrophe (as in the first one), but it's not correct in writing without it.
The third option is an interesting one. As far as I know, it is grammatically well-formed, but I don't think anyone would use it naturally. People do say things like 'a five-minute walk', but I don't think I've ever said, heard or read 'a few-minute'.
Hello. Could you please help me? Which word is correct in the following sentence? Why?
- It was a ......... successful year.
(spectacular - spectacularly)
Thank you.
"Spectacular" may be possible, as an adjective describing "year". However, since both adjectives here are quite long, I would expect most people would use a comma or linking word between them, to clarify the structure.
A "day off" is a day when you don't need to work. For example, if you work from Monday to Friday, then Saturday and Sunday are your days off.
An "off day" is a day when you don't do something as well as you normally do. For example, if a football player normally plays very well but today they played badly, you can say that they had an off day today.
Actually, it's the same case as in my previous message about "deeply rooted". Most dictionaries and guides would write it as "newly born babies" (without a hyphen), but as I mentioned before, not all writers actually follow these guidelines!
"New" can be an adverb, so "new-born babies" is also possible (as well as other hyphenated constructions such as "new-found", e.g. "new-found freedom"). However, it's more common to use "newborn" (unhyphenated), which exists as a word by itself. See this entry in the Cambridge Dictionary: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/learner-english/newborn
Hello Team. Could you please help me choose the correct answer? Why? What is the difference between them?
- He asked me so many (confused - confusing) questions to which I couldn't answer.
Thank you.
Hello Ahmed Imam,
-ed adjectives describe a characteristic of the thing described.
-ing adjectives describe what effect the thing has.
For example:
He is a frightened man. [he feels nervous; he is scared]
He is a frightening man. [he makes other people feel nervous; when I see him, I am scared]
In your example the questions do not feel confused. Rather, they make you confused. Therefore the correct form is 'confusing'.
You can read more about -ed and -ing adjectives here:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/english-grammar-reference/adjectives-ing-ed
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/adjectives-forms#adjectives-forms__202
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/plus/quiz/grammar/adjectives-1
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
hello, could you please explain to me what is the difference in using the adjective -ic and -ical? like what is the difference in using electric and electrical? magic and magical? historic and historical? politic and political? is there any consistent rules for this?
thank you for explaining sir :)
Hello ashiecajlenreese,
There's a very detailed explanation of these suffixes on this page:
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Commonly-Confused-Suffixes-ic-vs-ical.htm
You can also find a discussion here:
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/6581/why-is-it-geometric-but-theoretical/6600#6600
I don't think there's anything to add to the information there. I hope it's helpful.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello The LearnEnglish Team,
Kathy's worn out, It's been a long day.
He's surprised by a bump on the road, makes a false move, and almost falls.
Here in the above sentences what is the contraction " 's " for. It is " has or is worn out" and "he is or he has surprised".
Could you explain it clearly. I find it difficulty most of the time.
Regards Jitu_Jaga
Hello Jitu_Jaga,
These are:
We know this because when 'wear out' means 'very tired', it is intransitive, i.e. has no object. Therefore the form 'Kathy has worn out' is not grammatical. We could say 'Kathy has worn herself out', but we need the object 'herself' (or some other object) for this to be correct.
This is a passive construction -- the phrase 'by a bump' shows this. Passive verbs are formed with the verb 'be' (or sometimes 'get') + v3, so it has to be 'is surprised'.
This grammar can indeed be tricky. I hope that helps.
Best wishes,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team
Thank you Kirk, now I understand it better..
Hello,
"This house is quite near." In this sentence, is "near" an adjective or adverb?
Hello Curious Sabbir,
'Near' can be an adverb, an adjective or a preposition. In your example it is an adverb. At first glance this seems strange as we normally see adjectives as complements of link verbs such as 'be'. However, certain adverbs and adverbials can be used in this way, especially those which show location in time or space. 'Near' is an example of these.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello
Can I use blue-eye girls instead of blue-eyed girls?
Thank you very much for help.
Hello Username656602,
No, that's not correct. You need to use 'eyed', which is the adjectival form. It's similar to other phrases of this type:
blue-eyed girls
red-haired boys
long-limbed athletes
bald-headed teachers
etc
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello,
can you tell me what is the difference between"I bought a new car “and "I bought a car new”
Thank you very much,
Hi Username656602,
It's a difference in focus, not meaning. The typical word order is "I bought a new car". In this sentence, the car seems the main focus, and "new" adds some description of the car.
In "I bought a car new", the focus seems to be on "new" instead. Somebody may choose to say this if that is their main point - they really want to tell someone that it was new, and not a second-hand car (for example).
I hope that helps to understand it.
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Hello,
I would like to ask the following
The comparative of happy is
I am more happy OR
I am happier
Thank you in advance
Hello Nagie23,
Both forms are used but I think 'happier' is more common.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello,
I would like to ask about the following phrase:
I am familiar with his/her earth.
What does it mean?
Is it a correct expression?
Do we often use it?
Thank you in advance
Hi Nagie23,
I've never heard this expression before and I'm not sure what the speaker/writer means. It is grammatically fine, but the meaning isn't clear to me. However, it might well make sense in the context that it was said/written. Do you know what the context was?
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Hello,
I saw a video with a chef -cook who talked about a country that he visited in order to try a new local cuisine.He said that as he was talking about the local chef-cook
Hi Nagie23,
OK, the meaning is clearer now. The speaker is saying that he knows and understands the local land, sea, environment (etc.) of that chef, and the things that grow and live there which can be used in cooking. It's an unusual expression but it makes sense in that context.
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Hello,
I would like to ask if the following are correct
-I am afraid it is far from my house or
-I am afraid it is far from where I live
Thank you in advance
Hi Nagie23,
Yes, both of them are correct.
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Hello dear team,
Cut the excess/excessive meat. Which one is true?
Thank you
Hello Hosseinpour,
The context might influence what these two sentences would mean, but in general 'excess meat' would mean 'extra meat', i.e. meat that isn't needed and 'excessive meat' would mean 'too much meat'.
All the best,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team
Thank you sir for the help and time.
Thank you
Hello, dear teachers and team!
Could you please clarify the following:
Which option (if any) is correct:
1. Tomorrow could be different.
2. Tomorrow could be another.
The meaning is that each day is not the same and things are changing unexpectedly. I'm hesitant whether "another" can be used apart from a noun.
I'm very grateful to you for your constant help and thank you very much indeed for answering this very comment beforehand!!!
Hello howtosay_,
The first sentence is fine.
The second sentence could be acceptable but it would depend upon the context. We only use 'another' when the noun to which it refers is very clear from the context, so sentence #2 would only occur if in the previous sentence there was something to refer back to:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello,
I would like to ask which of the following is correct
I will try to find a ticket in a fair price/affordable/logical price
-I would like to saythat I want to buy a ticket in a price that I can afford (not necessarily very cheap but not expensive as well)
Thank you in advance
Hello Nagie23,
For what you explain, I think the best option is something like 'I'll try to find an affordable ticket'.
It's also possible to say 'a ticket at an affordable price' or 'a ticket for a fair price'. The first one means the same as 'an affordable ticket'. The second could mean the same thing, but also mentions the possible fairness or unfairness of the prices.
'affordable' really has nothing to do with fairness. It's more about what you can spend given the amount of money you have and considering your other expenses.
All the best,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team
Hello. Could you please hep me choose the correct choice? With or without a hyphen? Why?
- When someone has a strong will, we say they're ............ .
(strong-willed - strong willed"
Thank you.
Hello Ahmed Imam,
Strong-willed is spelled with a hyphen.
Compound adjectives are sometimes hyphenated and sometimes not. I don't think there is a rule which allows you to work this out; you simply need to learn it as you do the spelling.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello. Could you please help me? In a test, I faced this qustion but I couldn't choose which one as I thought both are wrong, right?
- Which of the following sentences isn’t punctuated correctly?
A. A 20 year old student has won the gold medal.
B. What a wonderful jacket When did you buy it?
Thank you.
Hi Ahmed Imam,
Yes, I agree with you. Both need corrections. A needs hyphenation (20-year-old student) and B needs an exclamation mark (jacket!).
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Hello!
Could you please help me with the following:
1. Is it correct to say "I have all the necessary" in the meaning of "I have all the necessary things"? Can I skip "things"? If so, can I do the same with another adjectives, for example "We are chasing the superficial" instead of "We are chasing the superficial things"?
Thank you very much indeed for your precious help in learning English and I'm grateful for your answer to this post beforehand!!!
Hello howtosay_,
It's not grammatically correct to do this but occasionally a phrase is sufficiently common for it to become a saying and I think 'I have all the necessary' is one such (still uncommon) example. However, this does not mean that you can generalise a rule from it with other adjectives.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi,
"The weather is expected to improve tomorrow". What tense is the sentence in?. "Expected" is the past simple of expect, but in this sentence we are talking about the future? Could expected also be an adjective?
Many thanks if you can clarify this!
Hello Russell_S,
'is expected' is the verb 'expect' in the present simple of the passive voice. We often use a 'to'-infinitive after the verb 'expect', so 'to' is not a preposition here.
'expected' can also be an adjective, but here it is not. People sometimes talk, for example, about the 'expected price' of something or an 'expected child'. In general it's a somewhat formal word, so it's not so common.
Its antonym 'unexpected' is probably more common.
All the best,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team
Which preposition should we use:
(a) Islands of Japan were mostly formed by/ of/ with earthquakes and volcanoes.
(b) With/ from/ of the resources it buys, Japan makes products to sell all over the world.
Hello jakirislam,
If I had to choose among those three options, I'd probably go with 'by', but what I'd recommend is doing an internet search on the topic and following the language that you see there. As far as I know, that kind of preposition phrase after 'be formed' is unusual. Please note also that we say 'The Islands of Japan' -- the definite article is usually used with groups of islands.
In the case of (b), I'd say both 'with' and 'from' work.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello,
i would like to ask i the following is correct
If a magazine/site includes art topics of high quality can we say
"The magazine provides art in a delicate and refined way"
Thank you in advance
Hello Nagie23,
I'm not sure 'provides' is the verb you need here. Perhaps 'presents' or 'makes art accessible'. However, it's hard to give you any suggestions without knowing your magazine.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello,
The magazine has topics for classical ballet.Is the following sentence correct?
The magazine/site presents topics in a delicate and refined way
(I would like to emphasize that it includes topics of high quality)
Thank you in advance
Hello Nagie23,
The sentence is grammatically correct, but I'm not sure it says what you want it to. To me, there's a difference between high-quality topics and presenting topics in a delicate and refined way. I guess it depends on what you mean by 'high quality'.
Best wishes,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello. Could you please help me? Which sentence is correct? Why?
- We had a few minutes walk to the shops.
- We had a few minutes' walk to the shops.
- We had a few-minute walk to the shops.
Thank you.
Hello Ahmed Imam,
I'd recommend the second one. People often leave out the apostrophe (as in the first one), but it's not correct in writing without it.
The third option is an interesting one. As far as I know, it is grammatically well-formed, but I don't think anyone would use it naturally. People do say things like 'a five-minute walk', but I don't think I've ever said, heard or read 'a few-minute'.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello. Could you please help me? Which word is correct in the following sentence? Why?
- It was a ......... successful year.
(spectacular - spectacularly)
Thank you.
Hi Ahmed Imam,
I think "spectacularly" is the better option. "Spectacularly successful" is quite a common collocation. You can see more examples of it here: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/spectacularly-successful
"Spectacular" may be possible, as an adjective describing "year". However, since both adjectives here are quite long, I would expect most people would use a comma or linking word between them, to clarify the structure.
I hope that helps.
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
What is the difference between day off and off day
Hi Lamastry,
A "day off" is a day when you don't need to work. For example, if you work from Monday to Friday, then Saturday and Sunday are your days off.
An "off day" is a day when you don't do something as well as you normally do. For example, if a football player normally plays very well but today they played badly, you can say that they had an off day today.
I hope that helps!
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello. Could you please help me understand the difference between "newly-born babies" and "new-born babies"?
Thank you.
Hi Ahmed Imam,
Actually, it's the same case as in my previous message about "deeply rooted". Most dictionaries and guides would write it as "newly born babies" (without a hyphen), but as I mentioned before, not all writers actually follow these guidelines!
"New" can be an adverb, so "new-born babies" is also possible (as well as other hyphenated constructions such as "new-found", e.g. "new-found freedom"). However, it's more common to use "newborn" (unhyphenated), which exists as a word by itself. See this entry in the Cambridge Dictionary: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/learner-english/newborn
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team