Practice
Adjectives exercise 2: choose natural descriptive forms
A small word can change the picture. Compare a tired traveler with a tiring journey. One word describes the person; the other describes the journey.
Choose an adjective form and position that gives a clear, natural description in a short English sentence.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
a beautiful old house /ə ˈbjuːtɪfəl əʊld haʊs/
The short answer
Put most adjectives before a noun, or after be. Choose an -ed adjective for a person's feeling and an -ing adjective for the thing that causes that feeling.
The museum is interesting, but the children are bored.
Why it works: Interesting describes the museum. Bored describes the children's feeling.
5 more examples
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We chose a quiet table near the window.
Quiet comes before the noun table.
Not this:The table near the window
was quiet. What changes: This sentence is possible only when the table is part of a quiet setting. The first sentence directly describes the table you choose. -
Her new shoes are comfortable.
Comfortable comes after be and describes the shoes.
Not this:Her
comfortable new shoesare by the door. What changes: Before the noun, comfortable and new work together to identify the shoes. -
The long meeting made everyone tired.
Tired describes how the people feel after the meeting.
Not this:The long meeting was
tiring. What changes: Tiring describes the meeting because it causes the feeling. -
They live in a beautiful old house.
Opinion usually comes before age when more than one adjective comes before a noun.
Not this:They live in an
old beautiful house. What changes: People may understand this, but beautiful old house is the more usual adjective order. -
These instructions look clear.
Clear follows look and describes the instructions.
Not this:These are
clearly writteninstructions. What changes: Clearly is an adverb. It describes the way the instructions are written, not the instructions themselves.
Read the full guide
Read the noun or situation first. Then decide what you need to describe: a quality, a feeling, or the thing that creates that feeling. That decision usually tells you which adjective belongs in the sentence.
Find the noun first
An adjective gives more information about a noun. Before choosing a word, find the person, place, or thing that you want to describe.
We chose a quiet table near the window.
Quiet tells you what kind of table the group chose.
The red bus stops outside the library.
Red gives information about bus before the noun appears.
Which word is the adjective in a small garden: small or garden?
Small is the adjective. It describes the garden.
Choose a natural position
Most adjectives go before a noun. They can also come after be, seem, look, feel, or become. Both positions are common, but the sentence pattern changes.
Her new shoes are comfortable.
Comfortable follows are, so it describes the subject shoes.
She bought comfortable new shoes.
Here comfortable and new both come before shoes.
Complete the sentence: The soup tastes ____. Choose good or well.
Use good. Taste is a linking verb here, so good describes the soup.
Keep the adjective unchanged
English adjectives usually do not take a plural ending. The noun can be singular or plural, but the adjective stays the same.
There are three empty seats at the back.
Empty stays the same even though seats is plural.
We packed two heavy bags.
Use heavy, not heavies, before the plural noun bags.
Choose the natural phrase: two small rooms or two smalls rooms.
Use two small rooms. The adjective does not become plural.
Separate feelings from causes
Many adjective pairs end in -ed and -ing. The -ed form usually describes a person's feeling. The -ing form usually describes a person, thing, or situation that creates that feeling.
The long meeting made everyone tired.
Tired describes the people after the meeting.
The long meeting was tiring.
Tiring describes the meeting because it causes tiredness.
Choose the word for a student after a difficult exam: exhausted or exhausting.
Use exhausted. It describes the student's feeling or condition after the exam.
Put more than one adjective in a useful order
When several adjectives come before a noun, English speakers often put opinion before size, age, shape, color, origin, material, and purpose. Use only the adjectives that help the listener identify the thing.
They live in a beautiful old house.
Beautiful gives an opinion, so it comes before old, which gives the house's age.
He carried a small black backpack.
Size comes before color in this common pattern.
Which phrase sounds more natural: a lovely round bowl or a round lovely bowl?
Use a lovely round bowl. Opinion usually comes before shape.
Check whether you need an adjective or an adverb
An adjective describes a noun. An adverb often describes an action. After a linking verb, choose an adjective. Before an action verb, you may need an adverb instead.
These instructions look clear.
Clear describes instructions after the linking verb look.
The teacher explained the instructions clearly.
Clearly describes explained, the action the teacher performed.
Complete the sentence: Please speak ____. Choose quiet or quietly.
Use quietly because it describes the action speak.
Before you go
Remember this
Use an adjective before a noun or after a linking verb such as be or look. Keep adjectives unchanged with plural nouns. Use -ed for a feeling and -ing for the thing that causes it. When you use several adjectives, put an opinion such as beautiful before an age word such as old.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Adjectives exercise 2: choose natural descriptive forms"
Where do adjectives go in an English sentence?
Put an adjective before the noun when it identifies the noun, as in We chose a quiet table. Put it after a linking verb when it gives information about the subject, as in Her new shoes are comfortable.
We chose a quiet table near the window.
Do English adjectives change for plural nouns?
No. English adjectives usually keep the same form with singular and plural nouns. Say three empty chairs or two heavy bags, not empties chairs or heavies bags.
The table near the window was quiet.
What is the difference between tired and tiring?
Tired describes the person who has the feeling. Tiring describes the event or thing that causes it. A long meeting can be tiring, and the people at the end of it can be tired.
Her new shoes are comfortable.
What is the usual order of adjectives before a noun?
When you need more than one adjective, a common order starts with opinion, then size, age, shape, and color. Beautiful old house and small black backpack follow that pattern. Use fewer adjectives when extra detail does not help.
Her comfortable new shoes are by the door.
When should I use an adjective instead of an adverb?
Use an adjective after a linking verb to describe a noun or subject: The instructions look clear. Use an adverb to describe an action: The teacher explained the instructions clearly.
The long meeting made everyone tired.