94 Confusing

adjectives

UnfOftunately, Gareth Farnham

IS badly injured and won't be
able to play fOf some weeks.
He has Cl damaged ankle.

1 injured, hurt. wounded and damaged

It is easy to con fu se adjectives that have similar meanings. Wc use injurel/, II/Ifl and wOllnded
to talk about people o r animals.
• Injured and IlIIrt arc si milar - we can be injured or hurt in acciden ts and natural disasters:
Garetl! Fart/llam ;s batlly inju red. Sometimes horses get l/lIrl when IIIey are racing_
• We use wOllnded when wc are hurt by a weapon, such as a gun or a knife:
They set up (I hospiUl1 (or wo"nded soldiers.
• We use damaged to talk about things and parts of the body:
Tile enlist' 0rllle flood was a da maged pipeline. Hr has a (/twICIse(/ knee .
• Wc don't usually put hurt before a noun: }{ There's u IlUrt h fJrse ill this mce.
More on adjectives ending in -ed ,.. Unit 19.3

2 sensible and sensitive (to)

Sensible means 'showing good judgement': It's sensible 10 keep allole o(YOllr fJlIssport ,,"mber.
Sensi[ive means 'easily upset or offended ': Victoria 's very sensitive (lbout lIer rell/wir.
• Note that sf7lsitive 10 = affected by something, often physically: My skill is very sensitive
to the Slltl - I go red very e(lsily.
A I ca ll ', e(lt spicy (ood. 1 {"'ego' a st."sihle slomac/1. ./ I 've got a sensitive stomach.

3 likeable and sympathetic

We use likeable about people to mean 'pleasant and friendly': lasol/ 's alc(lIly Iikea l}le guy.
We use sympathetic about people who are able to feel sorry about another person 's
problems: My IJOss was very sympll tlletic when/ told /,il1l a/x)!It my bad back.
A f've IJecomc r('(llIy (riCl/dly with my new neighbour. 1 SllC's ~'Cr,. Sf"'1HtlItef.fr.
./ She's very likeable.

4 amusing and enjoyable

We use amI/sing when we find something funny (it makes us laugh):
That new comedy series is very (lmusing, isn 't it?
YOllr (other'S got a great sellse o( Immollr - he's very ",,,us ing to listen to.
We use enjoY(lble when something is a pleasant activity:
T/l(lIIks (or ill viting us to your party. It was very enjoyable.
Tlwl was all elljoYllble evenil1g - Geoff and SlIe (Ire a/ways good company.
A We can use amusing, but not en;oyable, to describe a person: 1 ¥Sur (atllt!r's l'ef)' t'nje,oaole.

5 expensive and valuable

ExIJCllsive mean s 'costing a lot of money': Kyle hollgllt me some expensive perfume.
We don 't often go fa flml restaural1t. It's very expensive.
Valuahle means 'worth a lot of money': My grandmother left me a va luable (/lItique rins·
I (ouI/d this old painting at a charity SllOp. If wasn't expensive but I thillk if could be really
valllable.

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 Practice
1 Choose the correct words in italics. SJll listen and check .
o Don't buy YOUT food at the new shop in the main road - it's really valllable l€xpellsiv~
Damon can't play in the badminton competition because he's injured / damaged.
2 It isn't very .~·emible I semitive to go walking ill high-heeled shoes.
3 I can' t talk 10 my best friend about my problem s. She isn't very likeable I sympathetic.
4 I like Harry b<.>cause he makes me laugh - he's very amusillg / enjoyable.
5 You can borrow my pea rl necklace tonight but don 't lose it - it's very expel/sive I va/llab/e.
6 I've gOl a lJurt / (m illjllred shoulder from last night's iudo class.
7 Those onions are making me sneeze - my nose is very sensible / sensitive.
8 The builder says O UT roof is badly wOllllded I da maged, and we need a new o ne.

2 Complete the sentences, with the adjectives from the box. The re are two e xtra adjectives.

damaged enjoyable in ju red hurt likeable

sen sible sensitive s),FfIJ:lathetic valuable

o A cou ple of my fri ends are very .. q.~~~~ . li steners.

I Visitin g an art gallery is a(o) .... ..... ................. ... way o f spending an afternoon.
2 My eyes are very .... .. .. ............. .. ...... to tile sun so I have to wear su nglasses.
3 My daughter wou ld like a job cari ng for .. .. . animals.
4 Please return immediately any goods that have been ... ... ................ . in t he post.
5 My most ... .............. .............. possession is a gold watch .
6 I thin k you' ll get on witb Judy's brother; he's very pleasant and .. ........ .... ...

3 Complete the te lepho ne conversation with suitable adjectives from

this unit. ~ liste n a nd check.
A Good morning, Frobisher Martia l Arts Institute.
B Oh, hello. I'm calling to ask about your self-defence classes. Arc they (0) .~.~.~~~. ?
A Well, o ur group classes are £'10 an hour. Tell me, why do YOll want to learn self-defence'!
B Well , t here've been a lot of muggings round here recently and I walk home every night.
A Mmm. Do you cmy anything (I) ..... ......... ,............. with you?
B No, well, only my laplo p; it was qu ite (2) .... ... ....... ........... .... when I bought it, but it's
old n ow. To be honest, I'm more worried about getting (3) .................... .. ........ .
A That's understandable. It's certainly (4) ..................... to get some kind of tra ining in
case you're ever in a dangerous situation. Would you like to enrol for a class with Peter?
He's very experienced. All his students say he's very (5) ..... _. ...... .. ...... .. - very pl easant,
and that his classes are (6) .. .... ........... _... _.... ... - everyone h as a good time in them.
S OK, when can I start?

4 Write sentence s about yo urself, using the w ords in brackets.

o (sensi ble) Jjhl~. r~. !'! ..~~:f.~.i};1.~.P.t:~~~.~.. ...................... _.
1 (most val uable)
2 (been in jured)
::1 (sensitive)
4 (en joyable)

6 "' ',." .' 283

a) 1 . Mrs Bosch had stripes on her skirt. She was wearing a _____ blouse to match.
2. This blouse has short sleeves, but I prefer a long________ one. 3. Give me all the
details, I need a _______description. 4. There were crowds of people in the streets. The
streets were_____ . 5. She was in a hurry, that’s why we had a _____ talk.

b) 1. I doubt if he was right. His story is very_________ 2. She always cheers other
people up. She is such a ________person herself. 3. Ann is such a beauty. She resembles
her___ mother.

c) 1. This show differs from all the other shows I’ve seen this year. It’s so ___________ .
2. Mr Bogart has a lot of confidence in all he says and does. He is such a ________
person. 3. She likes independence. She is s o _____________ .

d) 1 . My friend enjoys driving, he found it an____ experience. 2. You can rely on Peter,
he is such a ________ person. 3. I wish I could agree with you, but it’s difficult to be

2. WORD ORDER: ADJECTIVE + NOUN

Sometimes we use two or more adjectives together:
□ There was a beautiful large round wooden table in the kitchen.
Adjectives like new/large/round/wooden are fact adjectives. They give us objective information
about age, size, colour, etc. Adjectives like nice/beautiful are opinion adjectives. They tell
us what someone thinks of something.

OPINION ADJECTIVES G O BEFORE FACT ADJECTIVES

opinion fact noun
nice sunny day
delicious hot soup
an intelligent young man
beautiful large round wooden table

WE PUT FACT ADJECTIVES IN THIS ORDER:

o What Where What is it

How big? How old? О colour? О from? О made of? О NOUN

a tall young man

big blue eyes
a small black plastic bag
a large old French armchair
an old Russian song

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1. Materials (nouns) behave like adjectives when we use them to form compound nouns:
□ a shirt (noun) made of cotton (noun) a cotton shirt.
2. We can have three-word compound nouns. “Material” comes before “purpose” or “use”:
□ a clock made of plastic used in the kitchen a plastic kitchen clock.
Adjectives ao in front of nouns.
We cannot separate a compound noun by an adjective:
□ a good plastic kitchen clock. (Not “a plastic good kitchen clock”).

SUMMARY:

opinion size age shape colour from where made of noun noun
a wonderful old green Chinese handmade carpet

EXERCISES_______________________________________

Ex. 1. (A, B) Put the adjectives in brackets in the correct position.

Example: a modern house (attractive) - an attractive modern house

1. a vounq qirl (prettv)
2. a handsome man (vounq)
3. a kitchen cupboard (oak)
4. brown baa (leather)
5. an American film (old)
6. bia eves (blue)
7. a cold dav(rainv)
8. a hot bath (nice)
9. an old coat (worn)
10. a red car (old/little)
11. a aold watch (small/antiaue)
12. a little villaae (old/lovelv)
13. Iona eve-lashes (black/thick)
14. an old mansion (stone/Enalish)

Ex. 2. (A, B) Make two-word and three-word nouns.

1. a dress made of silk - a silk dress.

2. railinas made of iron
3. a table used in the kitchen
4. a table made of plastic/used in the kitchen

Ex. 3. (В, C) You’re looking for items you want to buy. Begin each sentence with:
I’m looking fo r....

Model: polished - beautiful - wadrobe - oak - antique - French.

I'm looking for a beautiful antique polished French oak wardrobe.
1. sports car - well-maintained - second-hand - with a low mileage

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2. leather - Italian - a pair of - shoes - black - which I can use for work

3. cottage - stone-built - small - old - country

4. cotton - shorts - summer - white - for my holiday

Ex. 4. Translate into English.

1. Хлопчатобумажная рубашка; 2. Маленькая черная металлическая коробка; 3. Уродливое

зеленое платье; 4. Красивые светлые длинные волосы; 5. Интересное старое французское
полотно (картина); 6. Необычные золотые серьги ручной работы; 7. Незабываемое
двухдневное путешествие на лодке; 8. Дорогой старый круглый дубовый стул ручной
работы.

THE USE OF ADJECTIVES AFTER VERBS

After be/look/feel/seem/smell/taste/sound we use adjectives:

□ Do you feel tired? The dinner smells good.
□ Tom sounded angry. Your friend seems nice.
After other verbs we use adverbs (badlyZwell/carefullv) (see “Adverbs”):
□ Drive carefully. Susan plays tennis well.
□ John behaved badly last night.

(= seem) + adjective □ Tom looked sad when I saw him.

NB!
(at) + adverb □ Tom looked at me sadly.

(taste, feel, smell)

EXERCISES______________________________________________ __

Ex. 5. (A, B) Supply adjectives or adverbs in the following sentences.

1. The child’s skin feels________ .

Everything went________ . (smooth/smoothly).
2. You cook________ .
Your cooking is________ . (good/well)
3. The water smells________ .
The film ended________ . (bad/badly)
4. She looked________ .
He answered________ . (nice/nicely)

Ex. 6. (B) Translate the words in brackets.

1. What beautiful flowers. They (хорошо пахнут) too.

2. Jack read his new story to me. It (звучало интересно). I hope the editor will like it.
3. I can’t eat it. It (ужасно на вкус) and too much salt.

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4. Iwasn’t very well yesterday but today I (чувствую себя прекрасно).
5. Have you been out in the rain? You (выглядишь промокшим).
6. Ann (казалась расстроенной) yesterday. Do you know what had happened?

Ex. 7. (B) Translate the sentences.

1. Он з л о посмотрел на меня, когда я прервал (interrupt) его.

2. Пожалуйста, закрывай дверь тихо, ребенок спит.
3. Ты можешь быть хоть минутку спокойным? Я так устала. Посиди спокойно (quiet).
4. Том прекрасно себя ведет и хорошо готовит.
5. Мне это не нравится, все это дело выглядит небезопасным (safe).
6. Все волнения были позади. Он прибыл живым и здоровым.
7. Поторопись! Ты такой медлительный.
8. Суп вкусный (прекрасный на вкус).
9. Веди машину осторожно. Кажется, дорога очень скользкая (slippery).
10. Она была печальна; она печально смотрела на меня.

3. THE C O M PA R IS O N O F ADJECTIVES
COMMON COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE FORMS:

We use the comparative when comparing one person or thing with another.
We use the superlative when comparing one person or thing with more than one.

ADJECTIVES COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

One-syllable and some two- ... + -er ... + -est
syllable words ending in hot hotter hottest
-y, - er, - ow, -le large larger largest
narrow narrower narrowest
simple simpler simplest

Two or more syllable words more +... most +...

beautiful more beautiful the most beautiful
interesting more interesting the most interesting
Irregular forms good better the best
bad worse the worst
old older the oldest
elder the eldest
far farther the farthest
further the furthest

SPELLING RULES

1. Adjectives like hot (big, fat, sad, wet) double the consonant:
hot - hotter - the hottest.
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 Adjectives - Adverbs - Comparisons / Too - Enough G
Some pairs of adverbs have different meanings
deep = a long way down (He dug deep into the ground.) deeply = greatly (The scientist was deeply
respected.)
free = =
without cost (Children travel free on buses.) freely willingly (He spoke freely about his past.)
hard = with effort (He works hard.) hardly = scarcely (I hardly see him.)
high =
to / at a high level (The pilot flew high above the clouds.) highly =
very much (She is highly
regarded by her employers.)
last = after all others (He got here last.) lastly = finally (Lastly, read the instructions then do the test.)
late = not early (They arrived late.) lately = recently (I haven't seen him lately.)
near = close (I live near the school.) nearly = almost (I have nearly finished.)
pretty = fairly (I thought the film was pretty awful.) prettily = in a pretty way (She smiled prettily.)
short = suddenly (The driver stopped short.) shortly = soon (He will be arriving shortly.)
wide = far away from the right point (He threw the ball wide.)
=
widely to a large extent (It's widely believed that the Prime Minister will resign soon.)

Underline the correct item.

The arrow flew wide / widely of the target. 12 The rooms were pretty / prettily furnished.
2 Computers are wide / widely used in schools. 13 He tries very hard / hardly to make her happy.
3 Students can enter the museum free / freely on 14 Jim hard / hardly goes out these days.
Saturdays. 15 Tommy came last / lastly in the 100m sprint.
4 He free / freely admitted that he was guilty. 16 Last / Lastly, I would like to thank the chef for
5 I like sitting near / nearly the fire . providing such a delicious meal.
6 Be careful! You near / nearly hit the window. 17 Mr Tibbs isn't in at the moment but he'll be here
7 She left too late / lately to catch the train . short / shortly.
8 Have you seen any good films late / lately? 18 The woman stopped short / shortly when she
9 She loved her brother deep / deeply. saw the robber.
10 To find water, they had to dig deep / deeply into 19 The eagle was flying high / highly in the sky.
the ground. 20 My father is a high / highly respected surgeon.
11 I think he's a pretty / prettily good singer, actually.

Order of Adjectives
• Adjectives normally go before nouns. She bought an expensive house. Adjectives can also be
used without a noun after certain verbs (appear, be, feel , etc.). His new house is expensive.
• The adjectives afraid, alone, alive, awake, asleep, glad , etc. are never followed by a noun.
The baby was asleep. (NOT: aR as!99fJ Baby)
• Nouns can be used as adjectives if they go before another noun. They have no plural form
in this case. Could you repair the garden gate? a two-week holiday (NOT: a 1:\',19 W99K6 f:1oli~)
• Certain adjectives can be used as plural nouns referring to a group of people in general.
These are: the poor, the rich , the blind , the young, the old, the disabled, the homeless, the
hungry, the strong, the deaf, the living , the dead , the sick, the elderly, etc. The government
must provide more homes for the homeless. (homeless people in general). When we want to refer
to a specific person / group, then we add the word 'people' or 'man / woman'.
The homeless people in our city grow in number.
• Opinion adjectives (wonderful , awful , etc.) go before fact adjectives (large, old , etc.).
She lives in a lovely big flat. She bought a beautiful leather bag.
• When there are two or more fact adjectives, they normally go in the following order:
Fact Adjectives
---,---. used for /
opinion size age shape colour ongln matenal b b t noun
_ ea ou I
i That's a I wonderful
---I
large old rectangular black
.......
Chinese I wooden i linen Ichest.
....1_

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G Adjectives - Adverbs - Comparisons / Too - Enough

6 Put the adjectives in the correct order.

a(n) Asian / little / pretty girl • ~ prt<.t;C-y,. littk, h~itm gjr:l. ......................................•...
2 a(n) wedding / expensive / white / dress ..•.........................................•........•••.•
3 a detective / new / brilliant / French / film ......................................................... .
4 a(n) Greek / ancient / fascinating / monument •................••.......•..........................
5 a(n) pair of / black / walking / old / shoes ....................................•....................
6 a red and white / lovely / Turkish / chess set ..................................................... .

7 ,. Put the adjectives in the correct order.

s
Dear Laura,
J'm writing to thank you for the fabulous gift you sent me. It was very kind of you. It looks
terrific in my newly redecorated room.
· your I
Sznce ast" vlSzt, I 've put up a pazr r...........
. oJ•1(1) .. PP.mle Italian (purp Iej'T
.ItaItan
' ) curtazns
.
and a(n) 2) ............................... (modern/large) painting. My parents bought
me a(n) 3) ................................. (antique/big/black) bed and some
4) .................. . ................. (colourful/lovely) linen sheets. We recently went
to a flea market where I found a 5) ............................... (wooden/round/small)
table. I put it next to my wardrobe. Your 6) .............•••....•.......... (silver/beautiful)
vase looks great on it!
I hope you can visit me soon so you can see the changes J've made.
Yours,
Lucy

8 Fill in the gaps with the and one of the adjectives from the list.

• young . 9HRQ • disabled • hungry • sick • elderly

The students threw a concert to raise money for 3 There is extra space in the new cinema for
..... the; .b.lil1~...... . .. .................. to sit and watch a film .
2 Concern is a charity organisation wh ich gives 4 We should respect . .. ................ .
food to .................... in Africa, Asia and 5 ................ have a lot of energy.
the Caribbean . 6 Lisa is a nurse who looks after ............... .

9 Turn the following into adjectives as in the example:

a book report that is five pages long 4 a street which goes one way
.... ~. fi.vt:.-P.~0(J. PP'Qtr.e;p9rt. .............. .
2 a holiday which lasts three weeks 5 a building which has ten storeys

3 a lesson which takes place in the morning 6 a table on wh ich coffee is served

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20

1 Orde r of adjectives
We someti mes put more t han one ad jective in front of a noun. We put 'opin ion ' adjectives
(w hat we think, not facts), e.g. amu zi"s- borillg, comfortable. before others:
Look at tllest' amazing multi-coloured tropical fis h.
{love lily comfo rtable old leatller a rm chair.
We put adjectives describing type or purpose (what something is for) next to the noun .
These adjectives arc often pari of the noun (>-- Unit 98.1):
Amazing multi-colollred trop ica l fish . ("" type of fish)
A 10llg steel hU1Itillg knife. (= knife used for hunting)
When we use other adjectives we usually put them in this order:
oPi origl material type/pu~ NOUN
(aJ valuable large round Italian be<koom mirror
(an) old red silk wedding dress
We don't usually use morc than three or four adjectives in front of a noun. If we want to
gi ve more information we use another clause or sentence:
X ,.. <I,. /lJlcle 11C/5 1/ rM!~' wllll~hle J~rse 8k! hlflc!f. UI/III/I! sports fRr.
./ My uncle Il(Is a large black Italian sports car, Wlliell is old ami recllly \lall/able,

2 Making adjectives stronger or weaker

We ca n use adverbs of degree, e.g. really, to make most adjectives stronger or weaker:
'/ thillk they're beautiful.' 'Yes, / t/link tlley're really beautiful,' (stronger mean i ng).
'T/w/ film was boring.' 'Well, it was sliglltly boring, bllt some parts were OK. ' (weaker
meaning)

WEAK ER .<r-------------------------~~ .. STRONGER

a little/a biuslighrfy fr'Jlr/y quire rather/pretty very realiy extremely

• We don't use a little and a bit with adjectives which com e before a noun:
X ! htlllgllt R hit e:Il(H'tlsil'e watch. ./ 'nIl' watch I bo/lS/lt was Cl bit exp ensive.
• We often use ratller wit h negative ad jectives: It's mtller cold today. Slle's ra ther bossy.
• When we use quite or miller with positive adjectives it often mean s something is
surprising: That lessoll was ra t/ler interesting. (more i.nteresting than I expected)
• When a noun follows quite/rat/ler + adjective we add aAm:
He was quite /lice. - He was quite a n ice persoll.
Tlwrs rather expensive. - Tlwrs ra ther cm expensive hotel.
FORMALITY CHECK We don' t usually use a bit or pretty in formal Engli sh:
X The Piglit 19 Ma/Rs a will he R bit lale ,tfle 191K.,d Il'l'a t/It¥.
./ Tile {lig/lt to Malaga will be slightly la te dlle lo bad weather.

58
 Practice
1 Put the words in brackets in the correct order and complete the sentences.
&ID listen and check.
o Sa mira owns a .~.'<JY..'I~.f"""'.~ .............. . . .. ...... .... .. .. ... armchair. (French, lovely, old)
1 Tom lives in a ......... ............. ................... cottage by the sea. (stone, li ttle, pleasant)
2 We bo ugh t a ... ...... ...... ........... .. ........ chest of drawers fo r t he bedroom. (wooden, big, new)
3 Did Melinda wear her .............. . ..................... dress to t he party? (pretty, sil k, blue)
4 Their new ho use has a ...................... room. (living, big, nice)
5 David gave her a ..... .. .............. plcture fra me. (round, silver, sma ll)
6 Rembrandt was a ...... ........ .... ... ..... .................. artist. (seventeent h-century, Dutch, fa mous)
7 It's onc of those ............... .. ........... ...... . .... machines. (Germa n, wash ing, ex pensive)
8 Where's that . ....... ..... .. .. ......... .............. ....: I"-shi rl you used to wear? (cotton, red, ho rrible)

2 Read the sentences and choose the best words in italics for each meaning.
o Thai mea l was really expensive! less lIIore ex pensive tha n I expected
I I need something a little la rger. mllc" s iShtly large r
2 The weather's pretty hot here. very / //Ot very hot
3 I was shocked by that fil m - it was rather violent. more violent tlla/I / llot as vio/em (IS I like
4 I' m sorry I'm a bit late. a fl!lv minutes / sevem /llOllrs late
5 She's quite a good artist, despite her lack of training. better /lla/l / 110r as good as I expected
6 This trai n is extremely fast. very / 1/01 very fast

3 Complete the email with the words and phrases in the box. Be careful,
only one of the phrases in each pair is correct. listen and check. am
r i red quite o ld I a qu ite old o ld wooden I wooden old
reall y good I good really rat her ex pensive I a q uite expensive very I a bit
tourist nice I nice tourist pretty late I late pretty lovely large I la rge lovely

SlJbJfa. INews from Kyoto

Hi lordi
Today is our third day in Kyoto. Yesterday the weather was CO) . .r:~#y..J~.~ ~. . . .. so we
took a (1) .. ..... .... ..... ...... ..... .. . trip to a place called Ginkakuji, just outside the city. The
place is amazing and has (2) ... ........... ...... .. .. ...... gardens and a waterfall. The garden
is (3) .. ... ... ...... ... . ... ... - It was built in 1460 by one of the Shoguns. There are lots of
beautiful (4) .............................. .
buildings and ponds full of
(S) ............... . .............. fish. It's
(6) .......... .. ... .......... peaceful.
It was (7) ... .. ......... ......... .. ... .
to get in, but then everything
IS expensive in Japan I It was

(B) .. ... . ............ .. when I

got back to the hotel, so I didn't
have time to send you an email.

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