Common Adjectives
1. What are adjectives?
Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns (people, things, places, animals).
They give more information about something.
Examples:
- a small house
- a red dress
- a happy child
- an old car
Adjectives help describe things more clearly.
2. Common types of adjectives
Size
big, small, tall, short, long, tiny
Examples:
- a big dog
- a small room
Color
blue, green, red, yellow, black, white
Examples:
- a blue bag
- a red car
Age
old, new, young
Examples:
- an old phone
- a new teacher
Feelings
happy, sad, tired, angry
Examples:
- a happy child
- a tired student
Opinion
good, bad, nice, beautiful
Examples:
- a good movie
- a beautiful garden
Difficulty
easy, hard, difficult
Hard = difficult.
Examples:
- an easy test
- a difficult question
3. How to use adjectives in sentences
3.1 Adjective + noun
Structure: (a/an/the) + adjective + noun (for singular nouns). We usually put the adjective before the noun.
Examples:
- a small house
- a red dress
- a happy child
Full sentences:
- “I have a small house.”
- “She is wearing a red dress.”
- “We watched a good movie.”
- “He has two big dogs.”
3.2 Noun + be + adjective
Structure: Noun + be + adjective
Use the adjective after the verb be (am/is/are).
Present be forms: I am, you/we/they are, he/she/it is.
Examples:
- “The house is small.”
- “Her dress is red.”
- “The children are happy.”
4. Adjectives do not change
Adjectives stay the same in singular and plural sentences.
Examples
- one big house
- two big houses
- one happy child
- three happy children
We do not add -s to adjectives.
Incorrect: two bigs houses
Correct: two big houses.
5. Recap examples
Remember: adjectives can go (1) before a noun or (2) after be.
Size
- adjective + noun: a small house
- be + adjective: The house is small.
Color
- adjective + noun: a red dress
- be + adjective: The dress is red.
Age
- adjective + noun: a new phone
- be + adjective: The phone is new.
Opinion
- adjective + noun: a good book
- be + adjective: The book is good.
6. Key takeaways
- Adjectives describe nouns.
- Adjectives usually come before nouns.
- Adjectives can also come after be.
- Adjectives do not change for plural nouns.
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Vocabulary in this lesson
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Common adjectives
A1A1 Common Adjectives
27 wordssmall
adjective
Not large in size or amount
I have a small dog.
good
adjective
Of high quality; pleasing and positive.
She is a good student.
bad
adjective
Not good; unpleasant or of poor quality.
This food tastes bad.
hot
adjective
Having a high temperature; warm or heated.
The soup is too hot to eat.
cold
adjective
Having a low temperature; not warm
It is very cold outside today.
fast
adjective
Moving or capable of moving at high speed.
He has a fast car.
slow
adjective
Not fast; taking a long time to move or operate.
The turtle is slow.
old
adjective
Having lived for a long time; not young.
My grandmother is very old.
new
adjective
Recently made, produced, or discovered; not existing before.
I bought a new car.
long
adjective
Measuring a great distance from one end to the other.
The river is long and winding.
short
adjective
Having less length than usual or expected.
She wore a short dress to the party.
easy
adjective
Not difficult; simple to do or understand.
This math problem is easy.
hard
adjective
Solid or firm; difficult to break or damage.
The rock is very hard.
rich
adjective
Having a lot of money or valuable possessions.
She is a rich woman who owns several houses.
poor
adjective
Having little money or few possessions; not wealthy.
The poor family lived in a small house.
beautiful
adjective
Pleasing to the senses or mind; attractive.
The sunset is beautiful.
ugly
nice
adjective
Pleasant or agreeable in nature.
She has a nice smile.
mean
adjective
Not kind or friendly; unkind.
The mean girl bullied her classmates.
safe
adjective
Protected from danger or harm.
Make sure the door is safe before you leave.
dangerous
adjective
Able or likely to cause harm or injury.
The storm is dangerous for small boats.
sweet
adjective
Having a pleasant taste like sugar or honey
The cake is very sweet.
sour
adjective
Having a taste that is sharp, acidic, or tangy.
The lemon is sour.
clean
adjective
Free from dirt or unwanted marks
The kitchen is very clean after the renovation.
dirty
adjective
Not clean; covered with dirt or stains.
My hands are dirty after playing in the mud.
cheap
adjective
Low in price; not expensive.
These shoes are very cheap; I bought them on sale.
expensive
adjective
Costing a lot of money; high in price.
The new car is very expensive.
Last updated May 28, 2026