someone or something, we often use an adjective followed by a 'to'-infinitive clause. table>
difficult easy impossible possible right
wrong
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e.g. She had been easy to deceive. p> The windows will be almost impossible to open. p> Am I wrong to stay here? p> 5. With some adjectives, we use a 'that'-clause to express an opinion about someone or something. table>
awful extraordinary important sad
bad funny interesting true
essential good obvious
e.g. I was sad that people had reacted in this way. p>. It is extraordinary that we should ever have met! p> 6. We can also use adjectives with 'to'-infinitive clauses after' it 'as
the impersonal subject. We use the preposition 'of' or 'for' to indicate
the person or thing that the adjective relates to. p> eg It was easy to find the path. p> It was good of John to help me. p> It was difficult for her to find a job. p> Adjectives ending in '-ing' or '-ed'
We use many '-ing' adjectives to describe the effect that something has on
our feelings, or on the feelings of people in general. For example, if we
talk about 'a surprising number', we mean that the number surprises us. table>
alarming charming embarrassing surprising
amazing confusing exciting terrifying
annoying convincing frightening tiring
astonishing depressing interesting welcoming
boring disappointing shocking worrying
e.g. He lives in a charming house just outside the town. p> She always has a warm welcoming smile. p> We use some '-ing' adjectives to describe something that continues over a
period of time.
ageing decreasing existing living
booming dying increasing remaining
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e.g. Britain is an ageing society. p> Increasing prices are making food very expensive. p> Many '-ed' adjectives describe people's feelings. They have the same form
as the past participle of a transitive verb and have a passive meaning. For
example, 'a frightened person' is a person who has been frightened by
something. table>
alarmed delighted frightened surprised amused depressed interested tired
astonished disappointed satisfied troubled
bored excited shocked worried
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e.g. She looks alarmed about something. p> A bored student complained to his teacher. p> She had big blue frightened eyes. p> Note that the past participles of irregular verbs do not end in '-ed', but
can be used as adjectives.
eg The bird had a broken wing. p> His coat was dirty and torn. p> 4. Like other adjectives, '-ing' and '-ed' adjectives can be:
used in front of a noun
They still show amazing loyalty to their parents. <
This is the most terrifying tale ever written.
I was thanked by the satisfied customer.
The worried authorities cancelled the match.
used after link verbs
It's amazing what they can do.
The present situation is terrifying.
He felt satisfied with all the work he had done.
My husband was worried.
modified by adverbials such as 'quite', 'really', and 'very'
The film was quite boring.
There is nothing very surprising in this.
She was quite astonished at his behaviour.
He was a very disappointed young man.
Used in the comparative and superlative
His argument was more convincing than mine. p> He became even more depressed after she died. p> This is one of the most boring books I've ever read.
She was the most interested in going to the cinema.
5. A small number of '-ed' adjectives are normally only used after link
verbs such as 'be', 'become', or 'feel'. They are related to transitive
verbs, and are often followed by a prepositional phrase, a 'to'-infinitive
clause, or a' that'-clause. table>
convinced interested prepared tired
delighted involved scared touched
finished pleased thrilled worried
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e.g. The Brazilians are pleased with the results. p> He was always prepared to account for his actions. p> She was scared that they would find her. br/>
Conclusion
The subject of our investigation was adjectives. What we have learnt about adjectives is that most English adjec...
