Larisa Lubimova – English Grammar with Kudjo. Part 4 Понятная и забавная грамматика для детей и взрослых (страница 9)

And a few adjectives ending in -able/-ible can also be used before or after nouns:

They are ready for any imaginable situation. They are ready for any situation imaginable.

EXERCISE 1

Find the proper adjective and put it into the correct place in the sentence (before or after words in bold type): alike, alone, alive, mere, afraid of, quiet, imaginable, possible, living, prone to, sheer, frightening

1 Chilly wasn’t the lynx at all.

2 Kit and the lynx are in many ways.

3 Kudjo is in the middle of nowhere now.

4 Kit is trouble. After all, he is a kid.

5 It was luck to find Kit in that pit.

6 There’s nothing in the forest anymore.

7 The lynx told the friends about crazy scientists doing experiments on animals that are.

8 After hearing it, everybody wanted to escape somewhere.

9 It was the only solution.

WORD ORDER OF ADJECTIVES

In general, the correct order of adjectives in English is this:

Opinion (nice, ugly, lovely)

Size / Weight (small, large, heavy)

Age (old, new, ancient)

Shape (round, rectangular, square)

Colour (red, dark-blue, turquoise)

Origin /Nationality (Japanese, Russian, English)

Material (stone, fur, paper)

Purpose/Type (hiking, writing, summer)

It’s rare to use more than 3 adjectives. But the adjectives you do use should follow this order, at least, approximately.

When there are two or more colour adjectives, use and: yellow and orange fur.

We usually don’t use and with other adjectives if they are before a noun: a huge brown lynx

However, we can use and with other adjectives if they are after the noun: The lynx was huge and brown.

When there are two or more adjectives of the same category, the more general adjective goes before the more specific one: a nice friendly lynx

EXERCISE 2

Put the adjectives in the correct order (use commas or and if necessary):

1 Luna has a /denim/ big/ shabby/ old/ backpack.

2 The lynx’s tail is /strong/ beautiful/.

3 They looked into the /trap/ deep/ scary/ hole.

4 The dogs found a /leather/ red/ stylish/ brick/ collar and immediately recognised it.

5 There was /plastic/ square/ lunch/ one/ old/ box with a /beef/ tiny/ sausage in it.

6 The lynx led them to a /enormous/ frightening/ cold/ cave covered with /mossy/ big/ brown/ old/ green/ branches.

7 The night was so /hot/ humid/ that the dogs were happy to relax in the coolness of the cave.

8 They were /sleepy/ exhausted/ depressed/.

9 Kit saw /white/ several/ big/ clean/ bones and shrank back from the sight of them.

EXERCISE 3

Describe the following using at least 3 adjectives in the correct order:

1 your favourite bag

2 an item of the clothes you are wearing now

3 your phone

4 your bedroom

5 your pen

6 your today’s breakfast

7 your town

8 your favourite cup

9 Kit

COMPOUND ADJECTIVES

Some adjectives have more than one word. For example: a blue-eyed lynx

They are called compound adjectives. Compound adjectives often include participles: a smart-looking dog, a much-hated scientist.

When they are before a noun, we use a hyphen – but when they are after a noun and the verb «to be» or another linking verb, we do not:

Akita-Inu is a long-legged dog. Akita-Inu is long legged.

The exception is with adverbs ending in —LY. These do not require a hyphen: This evil scientist is widely known all over the forest.

There is an additional detail with compound adjectives involving numbers – when they are before the noun, we do not include —s:

The lynx has a ten-month-old kitten. Her kitten is ten months old.

EXERCISE 4

Make compound adjectives to describe the following:

For example,

a dog who loves having fun – a fun-loving dog

1 a pit which is monitored closely —

2 a trip of two days —

3 a knife that cuts sharply —