Descriptive Adjectives

There are many kinds of adjectives. Among them there is a category of descriptive adjectives. Descriptive adjectives describe nouns or pronouns in detail by giving an attribute to that particular word. They usually express things through the five senses (touch, taste, sight, smell, and sound).

This is a delicious sandwich

Descriptive adjectives can be organized into the following categories according to their structure:

simple adjectives are the most basic type of descriptive adjectives. Aspects such as feelings, time, sound, quantity, taste, appearance, size, age, color, shape, and material are expressed through simple adjectives.

It was a beautiful day yesterday. Clear sky, sweet smell of blossoming trees, green grass, cheerful people... It seemed as if the world had united to celebrate the coming of spring

compound adjectives are created when two words are combined to create a descriptive adjective. The two words are typically connected with a hyphen.

Pam was a baby-faced long-legged girl

Guided Practice#

We bought a spacious apartment in a quite part of our town.

The food smelled awful, it tasted horrible, and it did not look tasty.

I wanted to buy three white wooden chairs.

Ann is an example of a girl next-door. She's sweet, kind, and has a lot in common with boys.

Pay attention to the order of adjectives in a sentence.

When we were kids my friend was a (funny-looking, short) boy. And he grew up to be a (tall, young, drop-dead, gorgeous) man.

Short Story using Descriptive Adjectives#

-I've heard that you are going to move abroad next month.

-Yes that's true. We are going to sunny Spain.

-I think I know the reason behind this. After living here in ice-cold Finland you want something less depressing weather-wise.

-Yeah, exactly! We want to explore the narrow streets of Madrid, dine at small family restaurants, enjoy magnificent sunsets...

-You're going to love it there then!

Independent Practice#

Spot the descriptive adjectives in the following sentences.

I saw a lovely young, good, intelligent, fascinating woman, such as I had never before.
... to understand the mystery of this uninteresting, good, simple-hearted man, who argued with such wearisome good sense.
... and the kept near the more solid people, looking listless and superfluous, with a submissive, uninterested expression, as though he had been brought there for sale.

Form compound descriptive adjectives.

If someone resembles a bird, he is ....................
If someone broke your heart, you are ....................
If you use your left hand to do everything, you are ....................

Put the adjectives into the correct order.

Jim drew a picture of .................... dragons. (three-headed, two)
Jack bought a/an .................... ring. (diamond, expensive, engagement)
She was a .................... lady. (self-centered, young)