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What is the Difference between Adjectives

and Adverbs?
Fuente: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/536/01/

The Basic Rules: Adjectives

Adjectives modify nouns. To modify means to change in some way. For example:

• "I ate a meal." Meal is a noun. We don't know what kind of meal; all we know is that someone ate a

meal.
• "I ate an enormous lunch." Lunch is a noun, and enormous is an adjective that modifies it. It tells

us what kind of meal the person ate.

Adjectives usually answer one of a few different questions: "What kind?" or "Which?" or "How many?" For

example:

• "The tall girl is riding a new bike." Tall tells us which girl we're talking about. New tells us what kind

of bike we're talking about.


• "The tough professor gave us the final exam." Tough tells us what kind of professor we're talking

about. Final tells us which exam we're talking about.


• "Fifteen students passed the midterm exam; twelve students passed the final exam." Fifteen and

twelve both tell us how many students; midterm and final both tell us which exam.

So, generally speaking, adjectives answer the following questions:

• Which?

• What kind of?

• How many?

The Basic Rules: Adverbs

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. (You can recognize adverbs easily because many of

them are formed by adding -ly to an adjective, though that is not always the case.) The most common question

that adverbs answer is how.


Let's look at verbs first.

• "She sang beautifully." Beautifully is an adverb that modifies sang. It tells us how she sang.

• "The cellist played carelessly." Carelessly is an adverb that modifies played. It tells us how the

cellist played.

Adverbs also modify adjectives and other adverbs.

• "That woman is extremely nice." Nice is an adjective that modifies the noun woman. Extremely is

an adverb that modifies nice; it tells us how nice she is. How nice is she? She's extremely nice.
• "It was a terribly hot afternoon." Hot is an adjective that modifies the noun afternoon. Terribly is an

adverb that modifies the adjective hot. How hot is it? Terribly hot.

So, generally speaking, adverbs answer the question how. (They can also answer the questions when, where,

and why.)

Some other rules:

Most of the time, adjectives come before nouns. However, they come after the nouns they modify, most often

when the verb is a form of the following:

• be

• feel

• taste

• smell

• sound

• look

• appear

• seem

Some examples:

• "The dog is black." Black is an adjective that modifies the noun dog, but it comes after the verb.

(Remember that "is" is a form of the verb "be.")


• "Brian seems sad." Sad is an adjective that modifies the noun Brian.

• "The milk smells rotten." Rotten is an adjective that modifies the noun milk.

• "The speaker sounds hoarse." Hoarse is an adjective that modifies the noun speaker.
Be sure to understand the differences between the following two examples:

"The dog smells carefully." Here, carefully describes how the dog is smelling. We imagine him sniffing very

cautiously.

But:

"The dog smells clean." Here, clean describes the dog itself. It's not that he's smelling clean things or

something; it's that he's had a bath and does not stink.

Adjectives: how to put them in the right


order
Si siempre te habías preguntado en qué orden van los adjetivos en inglés...

Fuente: www.learn4good.com/languages/evrd_grammar/adjective_order.htm

In English, it is common to use more than one adjective before a noun - for example, "He's a silly young fool,"

or "she's a smart, energetic woman." When you use more than one adjective, you have to put them in the right

order, according to type. This page will explain the different types of adjectives and the correct order for them.

Opinion An opinion adjective explains what you think about something (other people may not agree with you). Examples:
silly, beautiful, horrible, difficult
Size A size adjective, of course, tells you how big or small something is. Examples:
large, tiny, enormous, little
Age An age adjective tells you how young or old something or someone is. Examples:
ancient, new, young, old
Shape A shape adjective describes the shape of something. Examples:
square, round, flat, rectangular
Colour A colour adjective, of course, describes the colour of something. Examples:
blue, pink, reddish, grey
Origin An origin adjective describes where something comes from. Examples:
French, lunar, American, eastern, Greek
Material A material adjective describes what something is made from. Examples:
wooden, metal, cotton, paper
Purpose A purpose adjective describes what something is used for. These adjectives often end with "-ing". Examples:
sleeping (as in "sleeping bag"), roasting (as in "roasting tin")
Some examples of adjective order

Opinion Size Age Shape Colour Origin Material Purpose


A Silly young English man
A huge round metal bowl
A small red sleeping bag

Categoría: Adjectives and Adverbs

LIST OF COMMON ADJECTIVES


Fuente: http://www.inglestotal.com/adjectives/

Size / Tamaño:

1.average – promedio 2.big – grande 3.colossal – colosal 4.fat – gordo 5.giant – gigante 6.gigantic –

gigantesco 7.great – gran 8.huge – enorme 9.immense – inmenso 10.large – grande 11.little – chico / pequeño

12.long – largo 13.massive – massivo 14.miniature – muy pequeño 15.petite – chico 16.short – corto 17.small

– pequeño 18.tall – alto 19.tiny – diminuto

Shape / Forma:

20.broad – amplio 21.chubby – rechoncho / gordito 22.crooked – chueco / torcido 23.curved – curvo 24.deep –

profundo 25.flat – plano 26.high – alto 27.hollow – hueco 28.low – bajo 29.narrow – estrecho 30.round –

redondo 31.skinny – flaco 32.square – cuadrado 33.steep – inclinado 34.straight – derecho 35.wide – ancho

Taste – Touch / Sabor – Tacto

46.bitter – amargo 47.delicious – delicioso 48.fresh – fresco 49.juicy – jugoso 50.ripe – maduro 51.rotten –

podrido / putrefacto 52. salty – salado 53. sour – acido 54.spicy – picante 55.stale – rancio / pasado 56.sticky

– pegajoso 57. strong – fuerte 58.sweet – dulce 59.tasteless – sin sabor 60. tasty – sabroso 61.thirsty –

sediento 62.greasy – grasoso 63.filthy – sucio 64. hard – duro 65.hot – caliente 66.icy – helado 67.loose – flojo

/ suelto 68.melted – derretido 69.plastic – plástico 70.rainy – lluvioso 71.rough – áspero 72.scattered –

disperso 73.sharp – filoso 74.silky – sedoso 75.slippery – resbaloso 76.smooth – suave 77.soft – suave 78.
solid – solido 79.steady – firme 80.sticky – pegajoso 81.tender – tierno / suave 82.tight – ajustado 83.uneven –

desnivelado 84.weak – debil 85.wet – mojado 86.wooden – de madera

Feelings (Bad) / Sentimientos (malos)

87.afraid – asustado 88.angry – enojado 89.annoyed – molesto / estar harto 90.anxious – ansioso 91.arrogant

– arrogante 92.ashamed – avergonzado 93.awful – terrible 94.bad – malo 95.bored – aburrido 96.confused –

confundido / confuso 97.cruel – cruel 98.dangerous – peligroso 99.defeated – derrotado 100.defiant –

desafiante 101.depressed – deprimido 102.disturbed – perturbado 103.embarrassed – tener vergüenza

104.envious – envidioso 105.evil – malo / malvado 106.fierce – feroz 107.foolish – tonto / absurdo 108.frantic –

frenético 109.frightened – asustado 110.grieving – afligido 111.helpless – desamparado 112.homeless – sin

hogar 113.hungry – hambriento 114.hurt – herido 115. ill – enfermo 116.jealous – celoso 117. lonely – solo

118.mysterious – misterioso 119.naughty – travieso / malcriado 120.nervous – nervioso 121.repulsive –

repulsivo 122.selfish – egoista 123.sore – inflamado / adolorido 124.tense – tenso 125.terrible – terible

126.tired – cansado 127.troubled – preocupado 128.upset – molesto 129.weary – cansado 130.worried –

preocupado

Feelings (good) / Sentimientos (buenos)

131.brave – valiente 132.calm – calmado 133.charming – encantador 134.cheerful – alegre 135.comfortable –

cómodo 136.cooperative – cooperativo 137. courageous – valeroso 138.determined – resuelto 139. eager –

impaciente 140. elated – exaltado 141.energetic – energético 142.enthusiastic – entusiasta 143.excited –

emocionado 144.exuberant – exuberante 145.fair – justo 146.loyal – fiel 147.fantastic – fantástico 148.fine –

bien 149.friendly – amigable 150.funny – gracioso 151.gentle – gentil 152.glorious – glorioso 153.happy – feliz

154.healthy – saludable 155.helpful – util 156.hilarious – hilarante 157.jolly – muy feliz 158.kind – bueno /

gentil 159.lovely – amoroso 160.lucky – afortunado 161.obedient – obediente 162.perfect – perfecto

163.pleasant – agradable 164.proud – orgulloso 165.silly – tonto 166.splendid – espléndido 167.successful –

exitoso 168. victorious – victorioso 169.vivacious – vivaz 170.witty – ingenioso 171.wonderful – maravilloso

172.zealous – entusiasta
EXERCISE 1

Write down the correct form of the word in brackets (adjective or adverb).

1. Tom is (slow) . He works .

2. Sue is a (careful) girl. She climbed up the ladder .

3. The dog is (angry) . It barks .

4. He acted (excellent) . He's an actor.

5. They learn English (easy) . They think English is an language.

6. Max is a (good) singer. He sings .

7. It's (awful) cold today. The cold wind is .

8. Dogs rely on their noses as they can smell (extreme / good) . If that is true, why

does dog food smell so (terrible) ?

9. The little boy looked (sad) . I went over to comfort him and he looked at me

10. I tasted the soup (careful) but it tasted (wonderful) .

ANSWERS

1. Tom is slow. He works slowly .


2. Sue is a careful girl. She climbed up the ladder carefully .
3. The dog is angry. It barks angrily .
4. He acted excellently. He's an excellent actor.
5. They learn English easily. They think English is an easy language.
6. Max is a good singer. He sings well .
7. It's awfully cold today. The cold wind is awful .
8. Dogs rely on their noses as they can smell extremely well. If that is true, why does dog food smell so
terrible ?
9. The little boy looked sad. I went over to comfort him and he looked at me sadly .
10. I tasted the soup carefully but it tasted wonderful .
EXERCISE 2

Fill in the words in brackets as adjective or adverb like in the example.

Example: Peter works ______ (slow).

Answer: Peter works slowly.

1) He reads a book. (quick)

2) Mandy is a girl. (pretty)

3) The class is loud today. (terrible)

4) Max is a singer. (good)

5) You can open this tin. (easy)

6) It's a day today. (terrible)

7) She sings the song . (good)

8) He is a driver. (careful)

9) He drives the car . (careful)

10) The dog barks . (loud)

ANSWERS

1) He quickly reads a book.


2) Mandy is a pretty girl.
3) The class is terribly loud today.
4) Max is a good singer.
5) You can easily open this tin.
6) It's a terrible day today.
7) She sings the song well.
8) He is a careful driver.
9) He drives the car carefully.
10) The dog barks loudly.

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