What Adjectives Are
An adjective is a word that says what something is like — big, new, tired, delicious. English gives it exactly two places to stand, and the whole chapter is about telling them apart.
BEFORE THE NOUNa + adjective + noun
First a, then big, then house.
I live in a big house.
The adjective slots in between the article and the noun it describes.
AFTER BEsubject + be + adjective
First the house, then is, then big.
The house is big.
Here the adjective ends the sentence, and no article goes with it.
Notice what the adjective does not do in either sentence: it does not change. Many languages make the describing word agree with the noun — one form for one thing, another for several, another again by gender. English asks for none of that. Big is big in every sentence you will ever write.
TRY IT
- Question 1
"They live in a flat."
- Question 2
"The coffee hot."
The two positions
BEFORE A NOUN
a / an / theadjectivenoun
a big house
The adjective goes between the article and the noun. Add more nouns and it still does not move: two big houses.
AFTER BE
Sbeadjective
The house is big.
No article and no noun after it — be plus the adjective is already a whole sentence.
VERY + ADJECTIVE
veryadjective
The house is very big.
Very strengthens an adjective and stands immediately in front of it, in either position: a very big house.
PLURAL: WHAT CHANGES, WHAT DOES NOT
- carcars
- househouses
- bigbig
- newnew
the noun takes -s · the adjective takes nothing → two big cars, never two bigs cars
It never takes -s for a plural (two big cars), and it never changes for a man or a woman (a tall boy, a tall girl). Whatever the noun does, the adjective stays exactly as the dictionary prints it.
TRY IT
- Question 1
"I want ."
- Question 2
"My brother is ."
- Question 3
"This book is interesting."
The everyday ones to start with
SIZE AND SHAPE
They live in a big house.
The first group most learners need, and the easiest to picture.
Signal words: big · small · long · short · tall
HOW SOMEONE FEELS
The children are hungry.
These almost always turn up after be, because they describe a person's state.
Signal words: happy · sad · tired · hungry · busy
AGE AND PRICE
It is a new phone.
Useful in a shop, and the pair old / new is the one you will reach for daily.
Signal words: new · old · cheap · expensive · free
WHAT YOU THINK OF IT
The food is delicious.
An opinion rather than a fact — and the group very is most at home with.
Signal words: good · bad · beautiful · delicious · interesting
Adjective + noun vs. be + adjective
Both sentences below describe the same house. What changes is whether the noun is still in the sentence — and that decides whether an article is needed.
| ADJECTIVE + NOUN | BE + ADJECTIVE | |
|---|---|---|
| Example | a big house | The house is big. |
| Article | Needed with a singular noun: a big house | None at all: It is big. |
| Where it sits | In front of the noun | At the end, after be |
| In the plural | two big houses — the noun takes the -s | The houses are big. — be changes, big does not |
| With very | a very big house | The house is very big. |
| Never say | a house big · two bigs houses | The house is a big. · The house big. |
The last row names both traps at once. On the left, a house big is the order most of the world's languages use and English does not; two bigs houses copies the noun's plural onto a word that has no plural. On the right, The house is a big leaves an article dangling with no noun to introduce, and The house big has forgotten the verb altogether.
TRY IT
- Question 1
"They have two cars."
- Question 2
"Her sister is ."
Common mistakes
Incorrect:I have a house beautiful.
Correct:I have a beautiful house.
The adjective goes in front of the noun in English, not after it.
Incorrect:They have two bigs cars.
Correct:They have two big cars.
The noun carries the plural -s; an adjective never does.
Incorrect:My sister very tall.
Correct:My sister is very tall.
An adjective cannot be the verb of a sentence, so be has to be there.
Incorrect:Her sister is beautiful girl.
Correct:Her sister is a beautiful girl.
A singular noun needs its article, and the article opens the whole phrase.
Incorrect:The house is a big.
Correct:The house is big.
After be the adjective stands alone; an article would need a noun to introduce.
Incorrect:It is a car very fast.
Correct:It is a very fast car.
Very and its adjective move together, and both go in front of the noun.
Incorrect:He is very much tired.
Correct:He is very tired.
Very much goes with verbs; a plain very is what strengthens an adjective.
Quick check · 5 questions
Choose the right order:
I have a new phone.
- A. a new phone — Correct
- B. a phone new
- C. new a phone
Answer: A. a new phone
The adjective slides in between the article and the noun. Many languages put it after the noun, and that habit is what produces "a phone new".
Which sentence is correct?
The soup is hot.
- A. is hot — Correct
- B. is a hot
- C. hot
Answer: A. is hot
With no noun there is nothing for an article to attach to. Option C drops the verb entirely, and an adjective cannot be the verb of an English sentence.
Which sentence is correct?
Hà Nội is a big city.
- A. a big city — Correct
- B. big city
- C. city big
Answer: A. a big city
The article opens the whole phrase, adjective included: a big city, never big a city.
Choose the right word:
This bag is very expensive.
- A. very — Correct
- B. very much
- C. many
Answer: A. very
Very much goes with verbs (I like it very much) and many goes with countable nouns. In front of an adjective the word is very.
Choose the correct form:
There are three tall students in the room.
- A. tall — Correct
- B. talls
Answer: A. tall
The noun carries the plural; the adjective stays exactly as the dictionary prints it, however many students there are.
