Find 6 English adjectives. Compound adjectives in English

When learning adjectives, one of the important topics is learning complex English adjectives. Why are they called that and how are they formed? Let's take a closer look in the article.

Ways of education

Adjectives are called compound adjectives because they are paired with two or more words that belong to different parts of speech. For example:

• adjective + noun + ending -ed :

  black-haired (black-haired). That beautiful black-haired girl is my sister. “That beautiful black-haired girl is my sister.”

• numeral + noun :

  three-hour (three-hour). We watched three-hour film yesterday. – Yesterday we watched a three-hour film.

• numeral + noun + -ed :

  one-sided (one-sided). This is one-sided road. - This is a one-way road.

• adjective or adverb + Participle II :

  well-done (well done). This is well-done work. - This is a job well done.

• adjective, noun or adverb + present participle :

  good-looking (beautiful, well-groomed) Melanie isn’t only good-looking, but a very clever woman. – Melanie is not only beautiful, but also a very smart woman.

All compound adjectives use a hyphen. It is needed to avoid ambiguity in the sentence. For example:

You should hire more qualified personnel. – You must hire more qualified personnel.
You have more-qualified personnel. – You have highly qualified personnel on your staff.

In the first case, we are talking about the need to hire more employees; in the second case, it is said that the employees know their job well.

With or without a hyphen?

To find out whether to put a hyphen or not, you need to look where the adjective is. If it costs:

• after a noun, the adjective is used without a hyphen.

  For example:
  He stayed in the hotel with five stars. – He stayed in a five-star hotel.

• before a noun, a hyphen is written.

  For example:
  He stayed in a five-star hotel. – He stayed in a five-star hotel.

Examples

In order for you to better understand the topic of complex adjectives in English, we will look at examples below.

TOP 4 articleswho are reading along with this

• This is a well-dressed woman. – This woman is dressed with taste (that is, well dressed).
• James is an easy-going person. – James is a funny guy
• Pete is already ten-year old boy, but he is badly-behaved one. – Petya is already 10 years old, but he was poorly brought up.
• This is an ill-equipped hospital. – This is a poorly equipped hospital.
• Only hard-working people can achieve high goals. – Only hardworking people can achieve high goals.
• I can’t work at full-time job, that’s why I chose a part-time vacancy. – I can’t work full time, so I chose a half-day job.
• If you want to speak Spanish as soon as possible, you should enroll in three-month courses. – If you want to speak Spanish as quickly as possible, you should enroll in a three-month course.

If a compound adjective contains a noun, it is used in the singular. For example: two-year-old boy - two-year-old boy. 4.6. Total ratings received: 106.

Hello! We have already learned verbs in English and studied tables of English pronouns. It's time to relax a little and study adjectives in English. These words are very important for a lively and rich English speech, so if you want to become a full member of the English-speaking society, then you just need to know at least the basic adjectives.

English adjectives The adjective is the main part of speech that denotes a sign of a phenomenon, person or object - green room, warm rain, good friend. Answers the question (which ones? which one? which one?). As you can see from the question, unlike the Russian language, adjectives in English do not change according to gender, number and cases, and do not form short forms, so learning them is much easier.

A number of English adjectives in their form, that is, in their spelling, are no different from adverbs. To distinguish them, it is necessary to remember that adverbs define an adjective, a verb or another adverb - well (good), little (little), late (late), and adjectives - noun - well (good), little (small), late (late).

According to their meaning, adjectives in English are divided into:

• Relative- cannot be combined with an adverb very (Very) and do not form degrees of comparison. There are much fewer of them, they convey such signs of a phenomenon, person or object that cannot be present in them to a lesser or greater extent. For example: the scene is central (central), material - g lass (glass) etc.
• Quality- a larger group. They denote characteristics that may be inherent in a person, object or phenomenon to a lesser or greater extent, therefore qualitative adjectives form three degrees of comparison: excellent, comparative and positive. Eg, soft - soft(positive) - softer - softer(comparative) - softest - softest(excellent). From qualitative ones the corresponding abstract nouns are formed - darkness (darkness), cold (cold).

Like Russian, English has adjectives:

• Simple- in them, except for the root, there is no suffix and prefix: little (small), black (black), short (short)
• Derivatives- in these words both the root, the prefix and the suffix are highlighted: unkind (unkind), beautiful (beautiful), untrue (wrong)
• Composite (complex)- consist of several stems, most often separated by a hyphen: snow-white (snow-white), high-bred (well-mannered), red-hot (hot).

It is necessary to distinguish between English adjectives that end in “ -ing" And " -ed" You need to know this so as not to confuse them with past verbs, gerunds and participles. In this case, you need to be guided by their role and place in the sentence. In a word on "-ing" usually describe the impression of an object, phenomenon or person, and in words "-ed"- the state of the person himself.

Study Table No. 1. What words did you know? Write down new words for you along with the translation and learn:

The role of adjectives in a sentence

The Adjective refers to a pronoun or, most often, a noun. In a sentence it can perform the following functions:

1. Definitions(Attributive adjectives) - He wears black shoes (He wears black shoes), comes before a noun. If there are demonstrative, possessive pronouns and an article, then the adjective is placed between the determiner of the noun and the noun itself: Moscow is a beautiful city (Moscow is a beautiful city). If the Adjective is preceded by an adverb of degree, which enhances its meaning, then the defined noun is omitted, but the meaning is implied: I thought shi very clever (woman) - I thought she was very smart (woman).

In the case when a noun is determined by several adjectives at once, then those Adjectives that reflect the state of things are located closer, and then words that express an opinion: It was a nice sunny day - It was a nice sunny day. The fact that it is a sunny day is a fact, a state, but the fact that it is glorious is a subjective opinion.

Study Table No. 2 to find out the rules for the placement of adjectives characterizing a noun:

Attributive adjectives are placed after the noun if:

• An adjective modifies an indefinite pronoun: There is nothing wrong
• The adjective itself has a dependent word in the comparative construction: They have a court yard larger than yours (They have a larger yard than yours)
• The definition is expressed by the words present (present), absent (absent) and some other words: Absent will not be in a rate

2. Compound nominal predicate (predicative) — His shoes are red (His shoes are red), comes after the linking verb - to be (is, am, are, was...): Moscow is beautiful (Moscow is beautiful (beautiful). A number of other verbs can be used in the same capacity: to get, to turn, to become, to look, to seem - Shi is getting old (She is getting old).

Adjectives such as well (good health) and ill (sick), as well as words starting with “a” - awake (awake), asleep (sleeping), afraid (scared), alive (alive) and others are used exclusively in the function predicative and they lack degrees of comparison: Hi is ill again (He is sick again).

Adjectives for everyday communication

Adjectives that denote shapes, tastes, sizes, colors and qualities are very important, since they are most often used in everyday everyday communication.
Carefully study table No. 3. Try to remember the most common words, write down the most difficult ones:

In the article we will talk about words that often cause difficulties for our compatriots, because they are translated into Russian as actions, but in English they are used - attention - as signs.

Actions (verbs, i.e. words that answer the question “what to do?”) and signs (adjectives, words that answer the questions “which?”, “which?”, “which?”, etc.) in Different languages ​​really sometimes do not correspond to each other. Now we will look at several of the most frequently used words, which Russian-speaking students often make mistakes precisely because of this insidious feature.

1. (be) afraid (of/to)

Transcription and translation:/ [bi efr`aid] - to be afraid

Meaning of the word: Feeling afraid of something, worrying about your own safety

Use:

In Russian, " afraid" is a verb (what to do?). In English, afraid is an adjective (" afraid"). This means that he demands before himself be.

For example: She fears (is afraid of) snake. John fears (is afraid to) drive along this road.

Please also note that afraid of we use it if we want to deliver further item(snakes), afraid to- If action(to ride).

Examples:

At first I was afraid to jump with parachute, but then I got tired of Peter calling me a coward.
At first I was afraid to skydive, but then I got tired of Peter calling me a coward.

What are you afraid of?
What are you afraid of?

2. (be) ashamed (of/to)

Transcription and translation:/ [bi esh`eymd] - to be ashamed

Meaning words: Feeling shame and discomfort because of something you or someone else has done

Use: In Russian there is a verb " be ashamed"(what to do?) or even an expression" ashamed". In English, this is 100% an adjective - something like " ashamed".

For example: Volume was ashamed (was ashamed of) his unbalanced brother. Nellie I was ashamed (was ashamed to) appear on the street with a scar on your face.

Here we see the same situation as with afraid: item requires of, action - to.

Examples:

Are you at least ashamed of the things you"ve done?
Are you even ashamed of what you did?

After the party he was deeply ashamed of his own behavior.
After the party he felt ashamed of his own behavior.

3. (be) late (for)

Transcription and translation:/ [bi late] - to be late, to be late

Meaning of the word: When something happens later than expected

Use:

There is no word for “to be late” in English, but there is an adjective that can be literally translated as “late.”

For example: He is forever is late (is late). I don't want be late (be late).

If you need to clarify what exactly we are late for, use for: He is today I'm late (was late) to work (for work).

Examples:

4. (be) nervous (about)

Transcription and translation:/ [bi n`yoves] - to be nervous, to worry

Meaning of the word: Worry about something that might happen

Use:

When we indicate a subject of concern, we use about.

For example: I I'm worried (I'm nervous about) about the upcoming performance. When he nervous (is nervous), his voice is shaking.

Examples:

I was very nervous when I first heard this news.
I was very nervous when I first heard the news.

Why are you so nervous? Relax!
Why are you so nervous? Relax!

5. (be) scared (of/to)

Transcription and translation:/ [bi sk`ead] - to be afraid

Meaning of the word: Feeling afraid of something or worried about what might happen

Use:

The meaning of this word differs little from that discussed above. afraid. Except that scared is a more colloquial word and is often used when talking about “frivolous” fears: that is, about things that are more unpleasant than dangerous.

For example: He fears (is scared to) perform on stage. She fears (is sacred of) cockroaches.

Examples:

My youngest daughter is scared to be left alone at home.
My youngest daughter is afraid to stay home alone.

My cat is so aggressive that even my dog ​​is scared of it!
My cat is so aggressive that even my dog ​​is afraid of her!

6. (be) surprised

Transcription and translation:/ [bi sepr`aid] - to be surprised

Meaning of the word:Feeling surprised by something unexpected

Use:

In Russian we can express this idea in two ways: using the adjective “surprised” (as in English), or using the verb “to be surprised”. In English, only the first of these options is possible here.

For example: I surprised (was surprised) when he agreed with me. I I'm surprised (I"m surprised) that no one told you.

Examples:

The boss was pleasantly surprised when he saw the results of our work.
The boss was pleasantly surprised when he saw the results of our work.

I was surprised that John remembered about my birthday!
I was surprised that John remembered my birthday!

As you can see, foreigners think a little differently, so be sure to check the words in the dictionary and be prepared for the fact that Russian actions can be English signs :). Now let's practice the words described above in a consolidation task!

Reinforcement task

Translate the sentences into Russian. Leave your answers in the comments below the article.

1. She lied to us and is not even ashamed of it!
2. I always put my passport in my inside pocket because I'm afraid of losing it.
3. He smokes when he is nervous.
4. It's your first day at work - you shouldn't be late!
5. He is ashamed of his feelings.
6. You're late: we decided everything without you!
7. Are you afraid to tell the truth?
8. Were you nervous before the interview?
9. Tom is afraid to invite Sarah to the cinema.
10. If you are afraid of wolves, then do not go into this forest.
11. She will be so surprised when she sees these flowers!
12. You trained a lot - I'm not surprised that you won.

This page presents English adjectives, which are most often used in speech. If you know these English adjectives, your understanding of texts of general topics and average complexity will increase by about 30-50%.

According to the American linguistic organization the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), there are 2,265 most frequently used words in the English language. Of these, 528 are adjectives. But only one hundred of them have the highest degree of usability. If we were asked which English adjectives should be learned first, we would recommend the following:

100 ENGLISH ADJECTIVES with the greatest degree of usage

1. other - different
2. new - new
3. good - good
4. high - high
5. old - old
6. great – big, huge, great
7. big - large
8. American - American
9. small - small
10. large – big
11. national - national
12. young - young
13. different - different
14. black - black
15. long – long, long
16. little – small
17. important – important
18. political – political
19. bad – bad
20. white - white
21. real – real
22. best - best
23. right – correct, true
24. social – social
25. only - only
26. public - public
27. sure – confident
28. low - low
29. early - early
30. able – capable
31. human - human
32. local - local
33. late – late
34. hard - difficult
35. major – main, main
36. better – more good, better
37.economic – economic
38. strong – strong
39. possible – possible
40. whole - whole
41. free – free
42. military – military
43. true - true
44. federal - federal
45. international – international
46. ​​full – complete
47. special – special, special
48. easy - light
49. clear – clear
50. recent - recent
51. certain – certain
52. personal - personal
53. open - open
54. red – red
55. difficult - difficult
56. available – available, available
57. likely – likely
58. short – short
59. single – the only one, unmarried, unmarried
60. medical – medical
61. current – ​​real, current
62. wrong – incorrect, incorrect
63. private – personal, private
64. past – past
65. foreign – foreign
66. fine – excellent, wonderful
67. common – ordinary
68. poor – weak
69.natural – natural
70. significant – significant
71. similar – similar
72. hot - hot
73. dead - dead
74. central – central
75. happy – happy
76. serious - serious
77. ready – ready
78. simple - simple
79. left – left
80. physical – physical
81. general – general
82. environmental – ecological
83. financial – financial
84. blue - blue
85. democratic - democratic
86. dark – dark
87. various – various
88. entire – complete
89. close – close, close
90. legal – legal
91. religious – religious
92. cold – cold
93. final – final
94. main – main
95. green - green
96. nice – excellent
97. huge – huge
98. popular – popular
99. traditional - traditional
100. cultural – cultural

We hope that the given list of English adjectives will be useful not only for beginners in learning English, but also for advanced students.

Suffixes that are derived from real ones

For starters, let’s remember the elementary words associated with the structure of words. The basis words - this is its root. Console - an element of a word that stands before the root. Suffix - an element of a word that comes after the root of the word.

For example,happy(happy) →happy(basic words)

unhappy(unlucky) →un happy(prefix + main word)

teach(learn) →teach(basic words)

teacher(teacher) →teach er (basic words + suffix)

As can be seen from the examples, English words are formed with the help of additional suffixes or prefixes, or of both at the same time. We look at the suffixes that are formed from different parts of speech and are common in the English language.

So, the first group of suffixes are suffixes that form Pri-la-ga-tel-noe from the essence.

Suffix - y indicates the quality, property, chosen basis of the word.

For example,sun (sun) -suny (solar),

taste (taste) -tasty (delicious),

fun (ve-se-lie) -funny (funny).

Suffix - ly indicates the presence of qualities, defined by the main ones, that is, by the original noun.

For example,friend (friend) -friendly (friendly),

cost (price) -costly (Expensive),

day (day) -daily (daily).

Suffix - ous also indicates a property, a quality, derived from a noun.

For example,danger (danger) -dangerous (dangerous),

fame (fame) -famous (famous),

adventure (advance) -adventureous (brave).

Suffix - ful means there are some qualities.

For example,power (strength) -powerful (strong),

success (success) -successful (successful),

beauty (kra-so-ta) -beautyful (Beautiful).

Suffix - less indicates the absence of a property or quality.

For example,home (house) -homeless (homeless),

use (use-use-zo-va-nie) -useless (useless),

fear (fear) -fearless (fearless).

Suffix - ish may mean there are signs in a weak state.

For example,red (red-but-ta) -reddish (reddish),

fool (stupid) -foolish (silly),

self (personality) -selfish (selfish).

Or suffix - ish, like suffixes - ese, - ian may indicate affiliation with the nationality.

For example,Poland (Poland) -Polish (Polish),

China (China) -Chinese (Chinese),

Ukraine(Ukraine) -Ukraineian (Ukrainian).

Suffixes that are derived from verbs

The second group of suffixes are those suffixes that can help us understand pri-la-ga-tel-nye from verbs.

Suffix - able indicates the presence of signs, properties, qualities.

For example,pay(to pay) -pay able (solvent),

eat(There is) -eat able (edible),

remark(note) -remark able (wonderful).

Suff-fi-sy - ive And - ent also mean the presence of properties and qualities that are the basis of the word.

For example,act(act) -act ive (active),

differ(every time) -differ ent (different),

depend(per-network) -depend ent (dependent).

Prefixes, which formulate applica- tions

English adjectives can be used not only to add suffix, but also to add -le-ni-em prefixes to the main word. The most common countries prefixes with a negative meaning.

For example,happy(happy) -un happy(unhappy),

known(famous) -un known(unknown),

possible(possible) -im possible(impossible),

regular(correct) -ir regular(wrong),

active(active) -in active(inactive).

SOURCES

http://interneturok.ru/ru/school/english/5-6-klassy/unit-7/slovoobrazovanie-prilagatelnyh?seconds=0&chapter_id=2116