Common Adjectives
Learn common English adjectives that describe people, things, places, and animals, such as big, small, tall, and short, in this A1 grammar lesson.
What are adjectives?
Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns (people, things, places, animals).
They give more information about something.
- a small house
- a red dress
- a happy child
- an old car
- She is tall.
Adjectives help describe things more clearly.
Common types of adjectives
Size
| Opposites | Example |
|---|---|
| big / small | a big dog / a small room |
| tall / short | a tall man / a short child |
| long / short | a long pencil / a short pencil |
Tiny means very small: a tiny box.
Color
In British English, colour is spelled with ou. In American English, it is spelled color.
| Colors | Examples |
|---|---|
| blue | a blue bag |
| green | a green tree |
| red | a red car |
| yellow | a yellow flower |
| black | a black cat |
| white | a white shirt |
Age
| Opposites | Examples |
|---|---|
| old / new | an old phone / a new bike |
| young / old | a young child / an old man |
Common feelings
| Contrasting pairs | Examples |
|---|---|
| happy / sad | a happy child / a sad student |
| hungry / full | The child is hungry. / The child is full. |
| scared / not scared | The child is scared. / The child is not scared. |
Opinion
| Opposites | Examples |
|---|---|
| good / bad | a good movie / a bad movie |
| beautiful / ugly | a beautiful garden / an ugly building |
| interesting / boring | an interesting book / a boring lesson |
Film and movie mean the same thing. Film is more common in British English, and movie is more common in American English.
Bored describes how you feel. Boring describes someone or something that makes you feel bored.
- I am bored. / This film is boring.
✗ I am boring. → ✓ I am bored. (when you mean you have nothing to do)
Difficulty, price, speed, and condition
| Adjectives | Examples |
|---|---|
| easy / difficult | an easy test / a difficult question |
| expensive / cheap | an expensive phone / a cheap ticket |
| fast / slow | a fast train / a slow bus |
| clean / dirty | a clean kitchen / dirty hands |
| full / empty | a full bottle / an empty cup |
Full also has two meanings. A person who is full is not hungry. A bottle that is full is not empty. Use the context to understand its meaning.
Temperature and weather
| Opposites | Examples |
|---|---|
| hot / cold | a hot day / a cold drink |
| warm / cool | a warm room / a cool evening |
| sunny / cloudy | a sunny morning / a cloudy sky |
| wet / dry | wet shoes / dry clothes |
Character
| Contrasting pairs | Examples |
|---|---|
| kind / unkind | He is very kind. / He is unkind. |
| friendly / unfriendly | The waiter is friendly. / The waiter is unfriendly. |
How to use adjectives in sentences
Adjective + noun
Structure: a/an/the + adjective + noun; number + adjective + plural noun. We usually put the adjective before the noun.
Choose a or an from the sound at the start of the adjective, not the noun: an old car but a big apple.
Examples
- I have a small house.
- She is wearing a red dress.
- We watched a good movie.
- He has two big dogs.
Noun + be + adjective
Structure: Noun + be + adjective
Use the adjective after the verb be (am/is/are). We also often use adjectives after look and feel.
Present be forms: I am, you/we/they are, he/she/it is.
To make a negative sentence, use be + not + adjective: The house is not big.
Examples
- The house is small.
- The house is not big.
- Her dress is red.
- The children are happy.
- You look tired.
- I feel happy.
Be + adjective questions
To ask about a description, put be before the subject.
Structure: Be + subject + adjective?
- Is the house big?
- Are the children happy?
- Is your bag red?
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
Do not add -s to adjectives.
- ✗ two bigs houses → ✓ two big houses
Quick check
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Adding more detail
Using more than one adjective
When two or more adjectives come before a noun, they usually follow an order. A useful basic order is:
opinion + size + age + color + noun
You do not need to use every type.
- a big red dog (size + color)
- a small blue bag (size + color)
- a beautiful old house (opinion + age)
- a nice new black phone (opinion + age + color)
- a lovely big old house (opinion + size + age)
Say a big red dog, not a red big dog. Size normally comes before color.
- ✗ a black new phone → ✓ a new black phone
- ✗ an old beautiful house → ✓ a beautiful old house
Using very, really, not very, and too
Before a noun, put very or really before the adjective:
- a very small house
- a really good movie
After be, put very or really before the adjective too:
- The house is very small.
- The movie was really good.
Use not very + adjective after be to make a negative description less strong:
- The film is not very good.
Use too + adjective to mean more than you want or need:
- The coffee is too hot. I cannot drink it yet.
Common mistakes
- ✗ a house small → ✓ a small house
- ✗ She is beautiful girl. → ✓ She is a beautiful girl.
- ✗ He is a happy. → ✓ He is happy.
Key takeaways
- Adjectives describe nouns.
- Adjectives usually come before nouns.
- Adjectives can also come after be.
- Adjectives do not change for plural nouns.
- With more than one adjective, size usually comes before color: a big red dog.
- Very and really go before an adjective and make its meaning stronger.
Quick practice
- Put the words in order: red / a / big / car.
- Make this sentence a question: The children are happy.
Answers
- a big red car
- Are the children happy?
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A1 Common Adjectives
76 wordsLast updated October 14, 2026