Grammar
In this section, you will find information about adjectives, adverbs, comparatives and superlatives.
- Adjectives and adverbs
- Comparatives of adjectives
- Superlatives of adjectives
- Comparatives and superlatives of adverbs
Adjectives
What are adjectives?
Adjectives are words that tell us something about a noun (zelfst. nw), pronoun (pers. vnw.), impression or situation.
What do adjectives modify (change)?
Adjectives can modify nouns or pronouns/names.
| person |
thing |
| Mandy is a careful girl |
This is a nice car |
| Mandy is careful |
The car is nice |
| She is careful |
It is nice |
Where do adjectives go?
An adjective can be put before the noun. Then it is an attribute (eigenschap).
| person |
thing |
| Mandy is a careful girl |
This is a nice car |
An adjective can be put after the verb to be (is).
Then it is part of the predicate (gezegde).
| person |
thing |
| The girl is careful |
This car is nice |
Adjectives can also put after the following verbs:
to + appear, become, feel, get, go, keep, turn, look, like, smell, sound, taste and other verbs of experience.
Examples:
- The steak smells fantastic
- She turned red
- He got excited
- It tastes awful
Adverbs
What are adverbs?
Adverbs tell us in what way someone does something.
Adverbs can modify verbs (here: drive), adjectives or other adverbs.
| adjective |
adverb |
| Mandy is a careful girl |
Mandy drives carefully |
| She is very careful |
She drives carefully |
Explanation:
Mandy is a careful driver.
This sentence is about Mandy, the driver, so use the adjective.
Mandy drives carefully.
This sentence is about her way of driving, so use the adverb
An adverb answers the question: how?
Form of the adverb: adjective + -ly
| adjective |
adverb |
| dangerous |
dangerously |
| careful |
carefully |
| nice |
nicely |
| horrible |
horribly |
| easy |
easily |
| electronic |
electronically |
Adverbs formed from adjectives ending -y, pronounced like Dutch 'ie'
If the adjective ends in -y, change the final -y to -i. Then add -ly:
happy - happily
but:
shy – shyly (the 'y' in 'shy' does not sound like Dutch 'ie'.)
Adverbs 2
Adverbs formed from adjectives ending in -le
If the adjective ends in -le, drop the -e, and replace it with -y:
terrible – terribly
Adverbs formed from adjectives ending in -e
If the adjective ends in -e, then add -ly:
safe - safely
NB: Not all words ending in -ly are adverbs:
- adjectives, ending in -ly: friendly, silly, lonely, ugly
- nouns, ending in -ly: ally, bully, Italy, melancholy
- verbs, ending in -ly: apply, rely, supply
NB 2: There is no separate adverb for an adjective already ending in -ly.
Irregular forms
There are some irregular forms, where the adverb has a stem that differs from the adjective.
Other irregular forms show no difference between the adjective and the adverb.
| adjective |
adverb |
| good |
well |
| fast |
fast |
| hard |
hard |
Comparatives of adjectives - 1
Comparative is the grammar name used when comparing two things.
The two basic ways to compare are using as ... as or than.
She's twice as old as her sister.
I'm almost as good in maths as in science.
Russian is not quite as difficult as Chinese.
It's much colder today than it was yesterday.
This grammar topic is easier than most others.
I find science more difficult than mathematics.
Comparisons with as ... as versus comparisons with than:
When comparing with as ... as, the adjective does not change.
When comparing with than, however, some changes are necessary.
Comparatives of adjectives - 2
Comparing with than : Look at the number of syllables the adjective has:
Adjectives of one syllable:
1. syllable adjectives: add -er to the adjective
My sister is much taller than me.
It's colder today than it was yesterday.
Note: If the word ends: consonant-vowel-consonant, then the last consonant is usually doubled in the comparative.
big - bigger, fat - fatter, hot - hotter
Adjectives of two syllables ending in -y:
2. syllable adjectives ending in -y: change the -y to -ier
She's looking happier today.
This grammar topic is easier than the last one.
Why is everyone else luckier than me?
Comparatives of adjectives - 3
Other adjectives with two or more syllables:
Other 2-syllable adjectives: use more with the unchanged adjective
The shops are always more crowded just before Christmas.
Is there anything more boring than reading about grammar?
My sister is more careful with her writing than I am with mine.
Exceptions
The comparative of some shorter 2-syllable adjectives can be formed with -er.
- simple - simpler
- clever - cleverer
- narrow - narrower
To be sure which comparative method to use, you will need to consult a good dictionary.
Adjectives with three syllables or more:
Adjectives with 3 or more syllables: use more and unchanged adjective
Russian grammar is more difficult than English grammar.
My sister is much more intelligent than me.
I find maths lessons more enjoyable than science lessons.
Superlatives of adjectives - 1
In the superlative you talk about one thing only and how it is the best, worst, etc.
You do not compare two things. The following guidelines apply to the superlative:
Adjectives with one syllable:
1-syllable adjectives: add -est to the adjective (plus the)
My sister is the tallest in our family.
Yesterday was the coldest day of the year so far.
Note: If the word ends: consonant-vowel-consonant, then the last consonant is usually doubled in the superlative.
big - biggest, fat - fattest, hot - hottest
Adjectives of two syllables ending in -y:
2-syllable adjectives ending in -y: change the -y to -iest (plus the)
The richest people are not always the happiest.
Which do you think is the easiest language to learn?
She's the luckiest person I know.
Superlatives of adjectives - 2
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.
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
Comparatives and superlatives of adverbs
Adverbs of one syllable:
- one syllable adverbs: add -er/-est (+ the)
I can run faster than you. / I can run the fastest in my class.
She works harder than me. / She works the hardest of all students.
- Other adverbs: use more / the most
She ran more quickly than me. / Of all the students she ran the most quickly.
Informal forms of adverbs
In informal English we often hear the adjectival comparative/superlative.
For example with quickly:
She ran quicker than me.
She ran the quickest. (instead of more quickly – the most quickly)
Formal forms of of the pronouns with comparisons
Many educated English speakers add prefer to use the subject form (onderwerp) rather than the object form (meewerkend voorwerp) ,especially in formal situations.
They say, for example:
She ran more quickly than I did.
