Basic Adjectives
A1 · BeginnerAdjectivesAn adjective describes a noun — what kind of thing it is, what it's like, or how it looks, feels or tastes.
What you'll learn
- Adjectives describe nouns — people, places and things
- Two positions: before the noun (a big house) or after a linking verb (the house is big)
- English adjectives never change form for plural or gender
- Common types: size, age, color, opinion, shape, origin
What an adjective does
An adjective gives extra information about a noun — it answers questions like 'what kind?', 'what color?' or 'how big?'. Adjectives make your English more specific and interesting: instead of 'a car', you can say 'a fast red car'.
Two positions: before the noun, or after a linking verb
Most adjectives can go in two places. Before the noun (this is called attributive position): 'a big house'. Or after a linking verb like be, look, seem, feel, taste, or sound (this is called predicative position): 'The house is big.'
Both positions use the exact same adjective form — English never adds an ending to match the position.
Adjectives never change form
This is the single most important rule for beginners: an English adjective is exactly the same word whether it describes one thing or many, a man or a woman. There is no plural -s, no gender ending, nothing.
'Two red cars' — not 'two reds cars'. 'A tall man', 'a tall woman' — the adjective tall never changes.
Real English
Watch out
English adjectives never take a plural -s, even when the noun is plural.
In English, an adjective before a noun always comes directly before it — never after.
After a linking verb (be, look, taste, feel, seem, sound), use the plain adjective, not the -ly adverb form.
Choose a or an based on the sound right after it — intelligent starts with a vowel sound, so it needs an, even though the noun (student) starts with a consonant.
Real life — Describing a new apartment
"So, what's the new apartment like?"
"It's small, but it's really bright, and the kitchen is modern."
"Is it expensive?"
"Not too bad, actually — and the neighborhood is quiet."
Practice
Exercise 1 · Choose the correct word
This is a ___ house.
Exercise 2 · Choose the correct word
The coffee tastes ___.
Exercise 3 · Choose the correct word
My brother is very ___.
Exercise 4 · Fix the mistake
Fix the mistake:
Exercise 5 · Choose the correct word order
She has ___ hair.
Exercise 6 · Choose the correct word
The children look ___.
Exercise 7 · Sort the adjectives into groups
0 / 6 sorted
Exercise 8 · Complete the sentence
Complete: This bag is very ___. (means it costs a lot of money, one word)
Exercise 9 · Complete the sentence
Complete: The weather is ___ today. (means not warm, one word)
Exercise 10 · Build the sentence
Exercise 11 · Fix the mistake
Fix the mistake:
Quick challenge
Five quick questions to check what stuck.
Question 1 / 5
Score: 0/0
This is a ___ dog.
You learned
- An adjective describes a noun — what kind, what color, what size, how it feels.
- Adjectives go before the noun (a big house) or after a linking verb (the house is big).
- English adjectives never change form for plural or gender.
- After linking verbs like taste, look, feel and seem, use the plain adjective, not an -ly adverb.
Related grammar lessons
Adjective Order
Learn the natural order for stacking two or more adjectives before a noun — opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material — so your descriptions sound native.
Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
Learn how to compare things in English with -er/-est and more/most, including the spelling rules and the irregular forms you just have to memorize.
-ed vs -ing Adjectives
Learn the difference between adjectives like bored and boring — -ed describes how someone feels, -ing describes the thing or situation that causes the feeling.
As...As Comparisons
Learn how to say two things are equal with as...as, how to say they're not equal with not as...as, and how to compare by a multiple with twice/half as...as.