- Some can be followed by preposition + noun / -ing.
I'm interested in cookery.
I'm interested in learning to cook. - Some can be followed by infinitives.
You don't look nappy to see me.
The soup is ready to eat. - An infinitive may have its own subject, introduced by for:
- Some adjectives can be followed by clauses.
I'm glad that you were able to come.
It's important that everybody should feel comfortable. - And many adjectives can have more than one kind of complement.
I'm pleased about her promotion.
I'm pleased to see you here.
I'm pleased that we seem to agree. - We rarely put adjective + complement before a noun.
He's a difficult person to understand.
(*not He's a difficult to understand person)
When several adjectives come before a noun (or when nouns are used to modify another noun), they usually have to be put in a particular order. For instance, we say a fat old lady, *not an old fat lady; a small, shiny, black leather handbag, *not a leather, black, shiny, small handbag.
Unfortunately, the rules for adjective order are very complicated, and different grammars disagree about the details. Here are some of the most important rules:
color, origin, material and purpose
Adjectives (or modifying nouns) of color, origin, material and purpose
usually go in that order.
leather, riding boots
beer, mug, glass flower vase
red, Spanish
a brown, German
a Venetian
II) Other adjectives
- Other adjectives usually go before words of colour, origin, material and purpose. It is impossible to give exact rules, but adjectives of size, length and height often come first.
the round glass table (not the glass round table)
a big, modern brick house (*not house, modern, brick)
long, flexible steel poles a tall, ancient oak- tree
Judgements and attitudes
- Adjectives which express judgements or attitudes usually come before all others. Examples are lovely, definite, pure, absolute, extreme, perfect, wonderful, silly.
a lovely, long, cool drink. Who's that silly fat man over there?
Numbers usually go before adjectives:
Six, large eggs. The second, big shock.
First, next and last most often go before one, two, three etc:
the first three days (more common than the three first days)
my last two jobs
Commas
Before nouns, we generally use commas between adjectives (especially in longer sequences) which give similar kinds of information, for example in physical descriptions.
a lovely, long, cool, refreshing drink
an expensive, ill-planned, wasteful project
But commas can be dropped before short common adjectives.
a tall(,) dark(,) handsome cowboy
III) adjectives: position
1 - attributive and predicative position
Most adjectives can go in two main places in a sentence:
- before a noun ('attributive position')
after foe, seem, look, become and other 'copular' verbs ('predicative position')
That dress is new, isn 't it? She looks rich. I feel unhappy.
- For adjectives with pronouns: (e.g. Poor you!)
2 - adjectives used only in attributive position
Some adjectives are used only (or mostly) in attributive position. After a verb, other words must be used. Common examples of such adjectives are:
elder and eldest (mainly British English) Compare:
My elder sister is a pilot. She's three years older than me. (referring to relationships that have lasted a long time) Compare:
a live fish = It's still alive. old (not dead)
an old friend (not the same as a friend who is old) little Compare:
a nice little house The house is quite small. intensifying (emphasising) adjectives
He's a mere child, (but not That child is more.)It's sheer madness, (but not That madness is sheer
3 - adjectives used only in predicative position
Some adjectives beginning with a-, and a few others, are used mainly in predicative position - after a verb. Common examples: afloat, afraid, alight, alike, alive, alone, asleep, awake. Compare:
- The baby's asleep.
a sleeping baby (not -anrosieep-baby)
- The ship's still afloat. a floating leaf
- He was afraid.
a frightened man
The adjectives ill and well are most common in predicative position. Before a noun, many people prefer other words. Compare:
- He's very well.
a healthyI fit man. You look ill.
Nurses look after sick people.
- 4 attributive adjectives after nouns
In older English, it was quite common to put attributive adjectives after nouns, especially in poetry and songs.
He came from his palace grand. In modern English, this is only possible in a few cases. It happens in some fixed phrases.
Secretary General court martial (= military court)
Poet Laureate President elect
Attorney General - Some adjectives can be used after nouns in a similar way to relative clauses. This is common with adjectives ending in -able, -ible.
Send all the tickets available (=... tickets which are available.) It's the only solution possible.
Some adverbs can also be used like this:
the woman upstairs, the people outside
Before a noun, present refers to time; after a noun it means 'here/there', 'not absent'. Compare:
the present members (= those who are members now)
the members present (= those who are/were at the meeting) - Before a noun, proper means 'real', 'genuine' (especially British English).
- After a noun it refers to the central or main part of something. Compare: Snowdon's a proper mountain, not a hill. After two days marching through the foothills, they found themselves at the base of the mountain proper.
- 5 - something, everything, etc:
Adjectives come after something, everything, anything, nothing, somebody, anywhere and similar words.
Have you read anything interesting lately?
Let's go somewhere quiet.
Adjectives come after the measurement noun in most expressions of measurement.
two metres high
two miles long
ten years older
7 - attributive adjectives with complements:
When an adjective has its own complement (e.g. skilled at design), the whole expression normally comes after the noun in attributive position.
We are looking for people skilled at design (*not ... skilled at design people.)
A relative clause is often more natural:
We are looking for people who are skilled at design.
In some cases an adjective can be put before a noun and its complement after it. This happens with different, similar, the same; next, last, first, second etc; comparatives and superlatives; and a few other adjectives like difficult and easy.
a different life from this one
the next house to the Royal Hotel (especially GB)
the second train from this platform
the best mother in the world
a difficult problem to solve
8 - verb + object + adjective:
Another possible position for adjectives is after the object, in the structure verb + object + adjective:
I'll get the car ready.
Do I make you happy?
Let's paint the kitchen yellow
III) adjectives: position after as, how, so, too
Normally adjectives go after the article a/an:
a beautiful voice
But after as, how, so, too and this/that meaning, adjectives go before a/an. This structure is common in a formal style:
as I how I so I too I this I that + adjective + a/an + noun
I have as good a voice as you. How good a pianist is he?
It was so warm a day that I could hardly work.
She is too polite a person to refuse.
I couldn't afford that big a car.
The structure is not possible without a/an.
I like your country - it's so beautiful.
(*not I like your so beautiful country)
Those girls are too kind to refuse (*not They are too kind girls to refuse)
IV) adjectives with and
When two or more adjectives (or other modifiers) come together, we sometimes put and before the last one and sometimes not. It depends partly on their position in the sentence.
- 1 after a verb:
When adjectives come in predicative position we usually put and before the last one.
He was tall, dark and handsome.
You're like a winter's day: short, dark and dirty. In a very literary style, and is sometimes left out.
My soul is exotic, mysterious, incomprehensible. - 2 before a noun:
In attributive position (before a noun), and is less common.
a tall, dark, handsome cowboy However, and is possible when the adjectives describe the same kind of thing (for example appearance or character).
a cruel (and) vicious tyrant
a tall (and) elegant lady And has to be used when two or more adjectives (or other modifiers) refer to different parts of something.
a yellow and black sports cara concrete and glass factory
We cannot usually leave out a noun after an adjective.
Poor little boy! (*not Poor little!)
The most important thing is to be happy (*not The most important is to be happy)
But there are some exceptions:
well-known groups
The + adjective is used to talk about certain well-known groups of people, especially those in a particular physical or social condition:
He's collecting money for the blind.
The unemployed are losing hope.
The meaning is usually general, but occasionally a more limited group is referred to.
After the accident, the injured were taken to hospital.
The most common expressions of this kind are:
the blind, the old
the dead, the poor
the deaf, the rich
the handicapped, the unemployed
the jobless, the young
the mentally ill
The above expressions are always plural: the dead means 'all dead people' or 'the dead people', but not 'the dead person'. Note that these expressions cannot be used with a possessive 's.
the problems of the poor or poor people's problems (*not the poor's problems)
Adjectives are not normally used in this way without the.
This government doesn't care about the poor (*not ... about poor)
However, adjectives without the are sometimes possible after quantifiers like many and more, in paired structures with and or or, and after possessives:
There are more unemployed than ever before.
opportunities for both rich and poor
Give me your tired, your poor,...
adjectives of nationality
- A few adjectives of nationality ending in -sh or -ch are used after the without nouns. They include Irish, Welsh, English, British, Spanish, Dutch, French.
The Irish are very proud of their sense of humour. These expressions are plural; singular equivalents are for example an Irishwoman, a Welshman (not a Welsh).
Where nouns exist, these are preferred to expressions with the.. .ish:we say the Danes or the Turks, not the Danish or the Turkish.
IV) singular/plural: examples
In a few formal fixed phrases, the + adjective can have a singular meaning. These include the accused, the undersigned, the deceased, the former and the latter.
The accused was released on bail.
... Mr Gray and Mrs Cook; the latter is a well-known designer.
Plural meanings are also possible (e.g. The accused were released on bail).
V) abstract ideas
Adjectives are sometimes used after the to refer to general abstract ideas, especially in certain kinds of philosophical writing. (Examples: the beautiful, the supernatural, the unreal.) These expressions are singular. She's interested in the supernatural.
VI) leaving out nouns
We often leave out a noun that has already been mentioned, or which does not need to be mentioned, when thinking about a choice between two or more different kinds of thing.
'Do you have any bread?' 'Do you want white or brown?'
I'd like two three-hour video-cassettes and one four-hour.
Superlatives are often used in this way:
I'm the tallest in my family.
We bought the cheapest
Color adjectives can sometimes have a plural -s in this situation:
Wash the reds and blues separately (= red and blue clothes)
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