(BUT see also Modifiers/Adverbs)
3. Position of adjectives:
a) Usually in front of a noun: A beautiful girl.
b) After verbs like "to be", "to seem" , "to look", "to taste":
•The girl is beautiful
•You look tired
•This meat tastes funny.
c) After the noun: in some fixed expressions:
•The Princess Royal
•The President elect
•a court martial
the adjectives involved, present, concerned:
1.I want to see the people involved/concerned (= the people who have something to do with the matter)
2.Here is a list of the people present (= the people who were in the building or at the meeting)
Be careful! When these adjectives are used before the noun they have a different meaning:
•An involved discussion = detailed, complex
•A concerned father = worried, anxious
•The present situation = current, happening now

FUNCTION
Adjectives tell us more about a noun. They can:
Describe feelings or qualities:
He is a lonely man
They are honest people
Give nationality or origin:
Pierre is French
This clock is German
Our house is Victorian
Tell more about a thing's characteristics:
A wooden table.
The knife is sharp.
Tell us about age:
He's a young man
My coat is very old
Tell us about size and measurement:
John is a tall man.
This is a very long film.
Tell us about colour:
Paul wore a red shirt.
The sunset was crimson and gold.
Tell us about material/what something is made of:
It was a wooden table
She wore a cotton dress
Tell us about shape:
A rectangular box
A square envelope
Express a judgement or a value:
A fantastic film
Grammar is boring.

 
IRREGULAR COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES
These adjectives have completely irregular comparative and superlative forms:

ADJECTIVES
Section Menu
FORM AND FUNCTION OF ADJECTIVES
Form
Function
Order
COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES
Forming the Comparative and Superlative
Irregular Comparatives and Superlatives
the + Superlative
The Comparative + than
As + adjective + as
Not as + adjective + as
Comparisons of quantity

NOT AS + ADJECTIVE + AS
Difference can also be shown by using not so/as ...as:
•Mont Blanc is not as high as Mount Everest
•Norway is not as sunny as Thailand
•A bicycle is not as expensive as a car
•Arthur is not as intelligent as Albert

ORDER
Where a number of adjectives are used together, the order depends on the function of the adjective. The usual order is:
Value/opinion, Size, Age/Temperature, Shape, Colour, Origin, Material

 Examples:
•a lovely old red post-box
•some small round plastic tables
•some charming small silver ornaments
COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES
THE + SUPERLATIVE
'the' is placed before the superlative:
For example: He is the richest man in the world.

ADVERBS

ADVERBS OF CERTAINTY
These adverbs express how certain or sure we feel about an action or event.
Common adverbs of certainty:
certainly, definitely, probably, undoubtedly, surely
Adverbs of certainty go before the main verb but after the verb 'to be':
•He definitely left the house this morning.
•He is probably in the park.
With other auxiliary verb, these adverbs go between the auxiliary and the main verb:
•He has certainly forgotten the meeting.
•He will probably remember tomorrow.
Sometimes these adverbs can be placed at the beginning of the sentence:
•Undoubtedly, Winston Churchill was a great politician.

BE CAREFUL! with surely. When it is placed at the beginning of the sentence, it means the speaker thinks something is true, but is looking for confirmation:
Example:
•Surely you've got a bicycle?
See also ADVERBS OF ATTITUDE
COMPARATIVE FORMS OF ADVERBS
In general, comparative and superlative forms of adverbs are the same as for adjectives:
•add -er or -est to short adverbs:

 

 Example:
•Jim works harder than his brother.
•Everyone in the race ran fast, but John ran the fastest of all.
with adverbs ending in -ly, use more for the comparative and most for the superlative:

Example:
•The teacher spoke more slowly to help us to understand.
•Could you sing more quietly please?
Some adverbs have irregular comparative forms:
 

Example:
•The little boy ran further than his friends.
•You're driving worse today than yesterday !
BE CAREFUL! Sometimes 'most' can mean 'very':
•We were most grateful for your help
•I am most impressed by this application.