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adjectives in any order, depending on the quality you want to emphasize. In practice, however, there is a normal order.
When you use two or more adjectives in front of a noun, you usually put an adjective that expresses your opinion in front
of an adjective that just describes something.
 You live in a nice big house.
He is a naughty little boy.
She was wearing a beautiful pink suit.
2 When you use more than one adjective to express your opinion, an adjective with a more general meaning
such as `good', `bad', `nice', or `lovely' usually comes before an adjective with a more specific meaning such as `comfortable', `clean',
or `dirty'.
I sat in a lovely comfortable armchair in the corner.
He put on a nice clean shirt.
3 You can use adjectives to describe various qualities of people or things. For example, you might want to
indicate their size, their shape, or the country they come from.
Descriptive adjectives belong to six main types, but you are unlikely ever to use all six types in the same noun group. If
you did, you would normally put them in the following order:
sizeageshapecolournationalitymaterial
This means that if you want to use an `age' adjective and a `nationality' adjective, you put the `age' adjective first.
We met some young Chinese girls.
Similarly, a `shape' adjective normally comes before a `colour' adjective.
He had round black eyes.
Other combinations of adjectives follow the same order. Note that `material' means any substance, not only cloth.
There was a large round wooden table in the room.
The man was carrying a small black plastic bag.
4 You usually put comparative and superlative adjectives in front of other adjectives.
Some of the better English actors have gone to live in Hollywood.
These are the highest monthly figures on record.
5 When you use a noun in front of another noun, you never put adjectives between them. You put any adjectives
in front of the first noun.
He works in the French film industry.
He receives a large weekly cash payment.
6 When you use two adjectives as the complement of a link verb, you use a conjunction such as `and' to link
them. With three or more adjectives, you link the last two with a conjunction, and put commas after the others.
The day was hot and dusty.
The room was large but square.
The house was old, damp and smelly.
We felt hot, tired and thirsty.
Unit 33 Adjective + `to' or `that'
Main points
* Adjectives used after link verbs are often followed by `to'-infinitive clauses or `that'-clauses.
* Some adjectives are always followed by `to'-infinitive clauses.
* You often use `to'-infinitive clauses or `that'-clauses after adjectives to express feelings or opinions.
* You often use `to'-infinitive clauses after adjectives when the subject is impersonal `it'.
1 After link verbs, you often use adjectives that describe how someone feels about an action or situation. With
some adjectives, you can add a `to'-infinitive clause or a `that'-clause to say what the action or situation is.
 afraid, anxious, ashamed, disappointed, frightened, glad, happy, pleased, proud, sad, surprised, unhappy
If the subject is the same in both clauses, you usually use a `to'-infinitive clause. If the subject is different, you must use a
`that'-clause.
I was happy to see them again.
He was happy that they were coming to the party.
You often use a `to'-infinitive clause when talking about future time in relation to the main clause.
I am afraid to go home.
He was anxious to leave before it got dark.
You often use a `that'-clause when talking about present or past time in relation to the main clause.
He was anxious that the passport was missing.
They were afraid that I might have talked to the police.
2 You often use `sorry' with a `that'-clause. Note that `that' is often omitted.
I'm very sorry that I can't join you.
I'm sorry I'm so late.
3 Some adjectives are not usually used alone, but have a `to'-infinitive clause after them to say what action or
situation the adjective relates to.
able, apt, bound, due, inclined, liable, likely, prepared, ready, unlikely, unwilling, willing
They were unable to help her.
They were not likely to forget it.
I am willing to try.
I'm prepared to say I was wrong.
4 When you want to express an opinion about someone or something, you often use an adjective followed by a
`to'-infinitive clause.
difficult, easy, impossible, possible, right, wrong
She had been easy to deceive.
The windows will be almost impossible to open.
Am Iwrong to stay here?
Note that in the first two examples, the subject of the main clause is the object of the `to'-infinitive clause. In the third
example, the subject is the same in both clauses.
5 With some adjectives, you use a `that'-clause to express an opinion about someone or something.
awful, bad, essential, extraordinary, funny, good, important, interesting, obvious, sad, true
I was sad that people had reacted in this way.
It is extraordinary that we should ever have met!
6 You can also use adjectives with `to'-infinitive clauses after `it' as the impersonal subject. You use the
preposition `of' or `for' to indicate the person or thing that the adjective relates to.
It was easy to find the path.
It was good of John to help me.
It was difficult for her to find a job.
See Unit 17 for `it' as impersonal subject.
See Unit 47 for more information about adjectives followed by `of' or `for'.
 Unit 34 `-ing' and `-ed' adjectives
Main points
* Many adjectives ending in `-ing' describe the effect that something has on someone's feelings.
* Some adjectives ending in `-ing' describe a process or state that continues over a period of time.
* Many adjectives ending in `-ed' describe people's feelings.
1 You use many `-ing' adjectives to describe the effect that something has on your feelings, or on the feelings of
people in general. For example, if you talk about `a surprising number', you mean that the number surprises you.
alarmingcharmingembarrassingsurprising
amazingcharmingexcitingterrifying
annoyingcharmingfrighteningtiring
astonishingdepressinginterestingworrying
boringdisappointingshockingwelcoming
He lives in a charming house just outside the town.
She always has a warm welcoming smile.
Most `-ing' adjectives have a related transitive verb.
See Unit 51 for information on transitive verbs.
2 You use some `-ing' adjectives to describe something that continues over a period of time.
ageingdecreasingexistingliving
boomingdyingincreasingremaining
Britain is an ageing society.
Increasing prices are making food very expensive.
These adjectives have related intransitive verbs.
See Unit 51 for information on intransitive verbs.
3 Many `-ed' adjectives describe people's feelings. They have the same form as the past participle of a transitive
verb and have a passive meaning. For example, `a frightened person' is a person who has been frightened by something.
alarmeddelightedfrightenedsurprised
amuseddepressedinterestedtired
astonisheddisappointedsatisfiedworried
boredexcitedshocked
She looks alarmed about something.
A bored student complained to his teacher.
She had big blue frightened eyes.
Note that the past participles of irregular verbs do not end in `-ed', but can be used as adjectives. See pages 216-217 for
a list of irregular past participles.
The bird had a broken wing.
His coat was dirty and torn. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]