Unit 8
Making Descriptions
Adjectives describe nouns and are usually placed before the nouns they describe:
This is good food.
He’s a nice man.
She has an expensive car.
I got cheap tickets.
A form of the verb be can separate an adjective from the noun (or pronoun) it describes:
The food is good.
That man is nice.
Her car is expensive.
The tickets were cheap.
Two adjectives can be connected by the word and:
Her car is big and expensive.
The man is smart and nice.
A comma is used to separate adjectives when there are more than two:
Her car is big, comfortable, and expensive.
The man is smart, nice, and handsome.
Adjectives That Describe People
Adjectives describe a person’s physical and personal characteristics. They answer the questions, “What are you like?” “What is she like?” “What is he like?” and “What are they like?” Review the words in the following list:
exercise 8-1
Fill in each blank with one or several words from the list.
1. I am _________________________________________________________________.
2. My neighbors are _________________________________________________________________.
3. A friend of mine is _________________________________________________________________.
4. I don’t know anyone who is _________________________________________________________________.
5. Most of the people I see every day are _________________________________________________________________.
Antonyms
Antonyms are two words with opposite meanings. The adjectives in the following exercises are antonyms of the adjectives in the previous list, but not in the same order.
exercise 8-2
Fill in the antonym for each adjective using the list provided.
exercise 8-3
Fill in the antonym for each adjective using the list provided.
exercise 8-4
Fill in the antonym for each adjective using the list provided.
Prefixes
Many antonyms can be formed by adding a prefix to an adjective. The prefixes in-, im-, ir-, and un- all mean “not.”
exercise 8-5
Fill in the antonym for each adjective using the prefixes indicated.
in-
Suffixes
Some adjectives are formed by adding a suffix to a noun:
Some (but not all) adjectives that end in -ful have antonyms that end in -less:
exercise 8-6
Write in the antonyms for the adjectives indicated. (Be careful—some of these are tricky!)
The following are also adjective suffixes: -ent, -able, -ible, -ic, -ly, and -ive. Review the adjectives in the following chart:
exercise 8-7
Fill in each blank with the best word from the prefix group indicated.
-ent
1. A person who is smart is __________________________________________________.
2. Someone who persists doesn’t stop trying; that person is __________________________________________________.
3. Someone who succeeds alone, who doesn’t depend on help from others, is
__________________________________________________.
4. People who demand action, or insist on it, are __________________________________________________.
-able/-ible
5. People who welcome you to their home are __________________________________________________.
6. A person who is pleasant, kind, helpful, and friendly is __________________________________________________.
7. Someone who does his work well and on time is __________________________________________________.
8. Babies are cute; when they smile they are __________________________________________________.
9. A person who believes ridiculous stories is __________________________________________________.
10. People who can adapt to others’ needs are __________________________________________________.
-ic
11. People who expect a good future are __________________________________________________.
12. People who expect a bad future are __________________________________________________.
13. A person who is good at sports, such as tennis or football, is __________________________________________________.
14. Someone who needs to own expensive things is __________________________________________________.
15. A person who believes the future will be almost perfect is __________________________________________________.
-ly
16. A person who has a beautiful personality is __________________________________________________.
17. Someone who has a lot of energy and enthusiasm is __________________________________________________.
18. People who are afraid to act are __________________________________________________.
19. A person who likes to talk to and help others is __________________________________________________.
20. A person who has no friends is probably __________________________________________________.
-ive
21. Creative people have new ideas; they are __________________________________________________.
22. A person who likes to control the actions of others is __________________________________________________.
23. A person who gets other people to form an opinion is __________________________________________________.
24. People who demand to be first are __________________________________________________.
25. A person who is thankful is __________________________________________________.
Using Adjectives with Other Words
A/an, the, this, that, these, those, my, your, his, her, our, and their are determiners. An adjective goes between the determiner and the noun it describes:
the irresponsible student
those aggressive lawyers
my adorable friend
our athletic neighbor
The word a goes before an adjective that begins with a consonant sound; an goes before an adjective that begins with a vowel sound:
a creative child
an independent woman
exercise 8-8
Write a or an in the blank before each adjective.
1. He is ________ good friend.
2. She is __________ interesting girl.
3. My coworker is ___________ optimistic person.
4. Her doctor is capable surgeon.
5. That politician is aggressive leader.
exercise 8-9
Use at least ten adjectives from this unit to describe yourself and other people you know. Be sure to write complete sentences.
1. ______________________________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________________________________
5. ______________________________________________________________________________
6. ______________________________________________________________________________
7. ______________________________________________________________________________
8. ______________________________________________________________________________
9. ______________________________________________________________________________
10. ______________________________________________________________________________
Proper Adjectives
Proper adjectives describe people or things by their place of origin or group association. Proper adjectives are written with a capital letter:
exercise 8-10
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate proper adjectives.
1. Most of the people who live in my neighborhood are ________________________________________.
2. I work with a lot of ________________________________________ people.
3. I know only a few ________________________________________ people.
4. ________________________________________ music is my favorite.
5. ________________________________________ food is delicious.
Adjectives That Describe a Person’s Condition
Adjectives describe a person’s condition. They answer the questions, “How are you?” “How is she?” “How is he?” and “How are they?” Review the words in the following list:
exercise 8-11
Circle the word that best fills in each blank.
1. I had to eat something because I was so _______________.
2. I didn’t call you because I knew you were _______________.
3. We are leaving at 6:00 tomorrow morning. Please be _______________.
4. If you are, get a drink from the refrigerator.
5. We’re sorry you are and hope you feel better soon.
6. If you are too, put on a sweater.
Antonyms
Review the adjectives in the following list:
alive
anxious/upset/nervous
clean
cool
dissatisfied
full
hot
rested
sad/depressed
well
exercise 8-12
Find in the previous list the antonym for each of the following adjectives.
The conjunction but between adjectives indicates contrast:
I’m fine but tired.
She is sick but comfortable.
They are hungry but happy.
We’re nervous but ready.
exercise 8-13
Answer each question in complete sentences, using at least ten different adjectives. Connect two adjectives with and or but. Use commas when you have more than two adjectives together.
1. How are you today? ____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
2. How is your best friend? __________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
3. How is everyone in your family? _____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Adjectives That Describe Objects
Size
Review the following adjectives that describe things by their size:
exercise 8-14
Write the antonyms for the following.
exercise 8-15
Describe by size five objects that you see right now. Be sure to write in complete sentences.
1. _________________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________________
4. _________________________________________________________________________
5. _________________________________________________________________________
Shape
Review the following adjectives that describe things by their shape:
diamond-shaped
rectangular
round
square
triangular
exercise 8-16
Answer each question in a complete sentence.
1. What do you see that is round?
_______________________________________________________________________
2. What do you have that is square?
_______________________________________________________________________
3. What traffic sign is triangular?
_______________________________________________________________________
4. What is the shape of this book?
_______________________________________________________________________
5. What is the shape of a baseball field?
_______________________________________________________________________
Color
Review the following adjectives that describe things by their color:
exercise 8-17
Describe five things you see by their color. Use complete sentences.
1. ________________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________________________________________
Quality
Review the following adjectives that describe things by their quality:
exercise 8-18
Match the adjectives in the left column with their antonyms in the right column.
Condition
Review the following adjectives that describe things by their condition:
exercise 8-19
Write the antonym to each of the following adjectives.
exercise 8-20
Describe the condition of five things you have.
1. ________________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________________________________________
Adjectives That Describe Places
Review the following adjectives that describe places:
exercise 8-21
Find the antonyms to the following adjectives in the previous list, and write them in the blanks:
exercise 8-22
Use at least ten adjectives from the previous list to describe the place you are in right now.
1. __________________________________
2. __________________________________
3. __________________________________
4. __________________________________
5. __________________________________
6. __________________________________
7. __________________________________
8. __________________________________
9. __________________________________
10. __________________________________
Adjectives That Describe the Weather
Review the adjectives in the following list:
exercise 8-23
Complete the following chart by listing the adjectives that describe pleasant weather and those that describe unpleasant weather.
exercise 8-24
Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate words from the previous list.
1. I don’t like to go out on a(n) ____________________________ day.
2. In January the weather is often ____________________________.
3. In May it is usually ____________________________ where I live.
4. Today where I live it is ____________________________.
5. People often go swimming when it is ____________________________.
6. It is dangerous to drive when it is ____________________________.
7. It’s good to have an umbrella on a day ____________________________.
8. It’s a good idea to wear a hat when it is ____________________________.
9. A hat can blow off if it is ____________________________.
10. You need a light jacket when it is ____________________________.