Adjectives - (non) gradable

Adjectives - (non)gradable

An adjective describes a noun. It comes before the noun.
It’s a beautiful building.

We describe adjectives as gradable and non-gradable.
That means that we can or cannot make them stronger or weaker with an adverb.

For example, we can say

This book is very interesting.

Don’t talk to Jenny, she’s very angry.

The exercise was quite hard.

To make the adjective stronger we can use extremely, very, really, a bit.
To make the adjective weaker, we can use not very and quite.

Sorry, I can’t stop, I’m extremely busy.

Non-gradable adjectives cannot be made stronger or weaker.
Non-gradable adjectives already describe a quality that is extreme. For example, freezing, exhausted, starving.

The food was absolutely superb.

You can use really with gradable and non gradable adjectives.

But you can use adverbs such as absolutely, really, totally, completely or utterly to emphasis the adjective.
E.g. It’s absolutely freezing here.

Superlatives of adjectives - 2

Beware: Do not confuse adjectives and adverbs.
2-syllable adverbs ending in -y form their superlative with the words the most.

Of all the people I know my father drives the most quickly (quickliest).

Other adjectives with two syllables:
Other 2-syllable adjectives: use the most with the unchanged adjective

The most boring thing about ESL class is doing grammar exercises.
My sister is the most careful person I know.

Exceptions
The superlative of some shorter 2-syllable adjectives can be formed with -est.
- simple - simplest
- clever - cleverest
- narrow - narrowest

To be sure which comparative method to use, you will need to consult a good dictionary.

Superlatives of adjectives - 3

Adjectives of three syllables or more:
Adjectives with 3 or more syllables: use the most with the unchanged adjective

Some people think that Russian is the most difficult language.
Albert Einstein was the most intelligent person in history.
My most enjoyable class is English.

Irregular forms
Following are two common irregular comparative/superlative forms:

good - better - the best
bad - worse - the worst

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Auteur: VO-content
Laatst gewijzigd: 2021-01-21 17:20:46
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