Adjective

Most adjectives move freely between the attributive and the predicative position. But some are fixed. They work in one position only, and the exam sets its traps on exactly these.

1. Attributive-only adjectives. These are used only before a noun. Using them after a linking verb is wrong.

elder, little, mere (only), sheer (complete), utter (complete), floating, blazing, waking, main / prime / principal / chief (most important), exterior, interior, lesser, former, latter, etc.

Some fixed expressions break the pattern (ill health, glad tidings). Everyday English also uses a few of these words in the other position (the boy is little), but exam keys follow the lists given here.

> Nearby is also an adverb after a verb (The shop is nearby), and that use is correct. What the exam tests is the adjective before a noun: nearby, not near.

Before a noun, nearby is the usual word for place (a nearby shop); near is also used before a noun in some expressions (the near future, in the near distance).

✔ You can stay in the nearby village.
✘ You can stay in the near village. (use nearby)

Attributive-only adjectives are used only in the positive degree. They do not take more, most, -er or -est.

✘ This is the most main problem. (drop most)
✘ It was a more sheer waste of time. (drop more)

Adjectives that come only before a noun: elder, little, mere, sheer, floating, blazing, exterior, interior, ulterior, waking, main, live, chief.

2. Predicative-only adjectives. These are used only after a linking verb. Using them before a noun is wrong.

afraid, afloat, ablaze / alight, alike, alone, asleep, awake, aware, ashamed, alive, addicted, glad, ill, well, etc.

Trick: most of the predicative-only adjectives start with the letter a.

If such an idea is needed before a noun, take another adjective with the same meaning.

Some come in pairs: blazing (before a noun) and ablaze (after a verb), floating and afloat, waking and awake. Also alike becomes similar and ill becomes sick before a noun.

3. The + adjective. When the is placed before some adjectives, the adjective stands for that whole community and works like a plural common noun: the blind, the deaf, the destitute, the poor, the dead, the rich, the wealthy, the dying, the elderly, the faithful, the homeless, the injured, the insane, the jobless, the old, the young.

✔ They provided food for the poor.
✔ This is the hospital for the blind.
✔ The rich are not always happy. (plural verb)
✘ The rich should help poor. (use the poor)

An adjective describes a noun or a pronoun. An adverb describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb. So before choosing between sweet and sweetly, ask one question: which word is it describing?

1. After a linking verb, use an adjective. A linking verb does not show an action; it joins the subject to a quality. The common ones are be (is, am, are, was, were), seem, appear, become, look, feel, smell, taste, sound, grow, turn, remain. The word that follows describes the subject, so it is an adjective.

[[parse: S=The cake | V=tasted | C=sweet]]

✔ Raman ate the cake and said that it tasted sweet.
✘ Raman ate the cake and said that it tasted sweetly. (use sweet)
✔ The lions became violent when the visitors threw stones at them.
✘ The lions became violently. (use violent)
✔ Neem tastes bitter, but it is very useful.
✘ Neem tastes a little bitterly. (use bitter)

[[say:radhika| Taste is a verb. Why do we not put an adverb after it?]]

[[say:sir| Ask whether the subject is doing something. The cake is not tasting anything; it only has a taste. So tasted is a linking verb and the word after it describes the cake. Compare She tasted the soup carefully: here she is doing the tasting, so an adverb is right.]]

2. After an action verb, use an adverb. When the verb shows an action, the word after it tells us how the action is done.

[[parse: S=She | V=sings | A=gracefully]]

✔ She sings gracefully.
✔ Malati has a difficult job, but she does it well.
✘ Malati has a difficult job, but she does it good. (use well)
✔ Rama can bowl fast.
✘ Rama can bowl fastly. (there is no word fastly)

Good is an adjective; its adverb is well. (Well is an adjective only when it means "in good health": I am well.) Fast and hard are both adjective and adverb: a fast runner, she runs fast.

3. Before a noun, use an adjective, never an adverb.

✔ He made a quick decision without considering the facts.
✘ He made a quickly decision. (use quick)
✔ Human activity has a negative effect on wetlands.
✘ Human activity has a negatively effect on wetlands. (use negative)

4. An adverb describes an adjective. Several qualities of one noun are given by several adjectives, not by adverbs. An adverb is used only when it describes the adjective next to it.

✔ His son wasted his honestly earned money.
✘ His son wasted his honest earned money. (earned is an adjective here, so it needs an adverb)
✔ He has a completely wooden table.
✔ A beautiful tall girl.
✘ He has a beautifully wooden table. (use beautiful, because beauty is a quality of the table)

The positive degree is the plain form of the adjective (or adverb). We use it when nothing is being compared, and we also use it to show that two things are equal, with as … as and so … as. When two unlike things are compared this way (as brave as a lion), the figure of speech is called a simile.

1. as + positive degree + as. Whatever stands between the two as is always in the positive degree.

✔ Rahul is as good as Sushant.
✔ Raman is as bad as Raju. (not worse, not worst)
✔ Radhika is as brave as a lion.
✘ Rudra is as wiser as Meera. (use wise)
✘ Rahul thinks he is as smarter as his friends. (use smart)

2. 'as … as' and 'so … as'. As … as can be used in positive and negative sentences. So … as is used only in negative sentences.

✔ Rahul is as good as Sushant.
✔ Rahul is not as good as Sushant.
✔ Rahul is not so good as Sushant.
✘ Rahul is so good as Sushant. (so … as needs a negative)
✘ Ram is not so happier as Shyam. (use happy)

> If the sentence is negative and both as and so are in the options, choose so: the examiner wants to know whether so … as is known. If the sentence is positive, only as … as can be right.

3. An adjective or an adverb between the two as? If a linking verb comes before as … as, an adjective sits between them. If an action verb comes before it, an adverb can sit between them, and it also stays in the positive degree.

✔ This place looks as good as the one we visited yesterday. (looks is a linking verb, so the adjective good)
✔ She sings as gracefully as Lata Mangeshkar. (sings is an action verb, so the adverb gracefully)
✔ No other person can do it as well as Mohan. (do is an action verb, so well, not good)
✘ She sings as better as a trained vocalist. (use as well as)

4. No comparison, no -er / -est. If a sentence only describes a quality and compares nothing, the adjective stays in the positive degree. Look for the signs of comparison: than, of all, in the class, the … the. If none is there, the plain form is right.

✘ A student becomes dearer to the teachers by working for the school. (use dear)
✘ Kalidasa was a greater classical Sanskrit poet of India. (use a great)
✘ There is only one way to have a happier married life. (use happy)
✘ How can someone walk this farthest just for peace of mind? (use far)
✘ Shimla is the more beautiful hill station in Himachal Pradesh. (use a very beautiful)

The comparative degree compares two things: one person, thing, place or group with another. It is made with -er or more, and it goes with than.

[[parse: S=Radhika | V=is | C=taller | CONJ=than | X=her sister]]

1. 'Than' needs a comparative. Wherever than appears, the word just before it must be in the comparative degree. An article is used only if a noun follows the adjective; if there is no noun, there is no article.

✔ Ram is more intelligent than Shyam.
✔ She runs faster than her brother. (adverbs follow the same concept)
✘ My car is best than yours. (use better)
✘ Chetan's room is clean than Ram's room. (use cleaner)
✘ We need bigger box than this. (use a bigger box, because a noun follows)

2. Never double the degree. *-er* and more together are wrong. If an adjective is already in the comparative or the superlative, more or most must not be added before it.

✘ He is more better than his brother. (drop more)
✘ She is more smarter than her sister. (drop more)
✘ This is the most biggest mistake of my life. (drop most)
✘ The new smartphone is much more sleeker than the previous model. (drop more; much is fine)
✔ New Delhi is hotter than Chandigarh.

3. Relatively and comparatively are followed by the positive degree, not by the comparative. If than is needed after the adjective, write the comparative and drop relatively or comparatively.

✘ This place is comparatively safer. (use safe)
✘ My father is comparatively better today. (use good)
✘ This book is relatively good than that one. (use better)
✔ This book is better than that one. (drop relatively)

4. Two qualities of the same person or thing. When two qualities of one person are compared, write more + positive degree before than, and a positive degree after it. Do not add -er to the adjective.

✘ Gold is costlier than useful. (use more costly than useful)
✘ Rohan is wiser than stronger. (use more wise than strong)
✔ Harish is more clever than wise.

5. Choosing between two. For a choice out of two, the comparative is used with the and of the two.

✔ She is the smarter of the two.
✘ She is the smartest of the two. (only two, so the comparative)

6. The … the … pattern. When one change brings another, both parts take the + comparative.

✔ The more it rains, the worse the roads become.
✔ The higher you go, the cooler it gets.
✘ The higher you go, the more cooler it gets.

Some adjectives are already comparative in meaning. Most of them end in -ior: senior, junior, superior, inferior, prior, preferable. The verb prefer belongs to the same family. These words have only one form, and two concepts go with them.

1. Do not put more before them when comparing with to (more senior to me is wrong), because the comparison is already inside the word. (A more senior colleague and the most senior officer are fine.)
2. After them use to, not than.

✘ Radhika is senior than me. (use senior to me)
✘ Satyam is more junior to me. (drop more)
✘ Shimla is more preferable than Manali. (use preferable to)
✔ He was senior to me in college.
✔ This phone is superior to the old one.

The verb 'prefer'. It also takes to, never than.

✔ I prefer tea to coffee.
✘ I prefer tea than coffee. (use to)
✔ I prefer walking to driving.

Two adjectives in one sentence. If one adjective takes to and the other takes than, write each word separately with its own adjective. If both take the same word (both to or both than), write it only once, after the later adjective.

✔ The new product is inferior to but costlier than its alternatives. (one needs to, the other needs than)
✔ His cell phone is different from and costlier than mine.
✔ Ravi is senior and superior to Mohan. (both need to, so it is written once, after the latter)
✔ She is wiser and smarter than her sister. (both need than, so it is written once, after the latter)

Elder. In some books to is seen added after elder. That is wrong. Elder is attributive-only (it stands only before a noun), and such adjectives take neither to nor than. Anterior and posterior are different: like senior and junior, they do take to (anterior to, posterior to).

✘ She is elder than me.
✘ She is elder to me.
✘ She is my elder.
✔ She is my elder sister.
✔ She is older than me.

1. Compare like with like. When we compare with than, as … as or so … as, the two things compared must be of the same kind: a person with a person, a city with a city, weather with weather.

✔ Mumbai is better than Delhi. (city with city)
✘ The weather of Mumbai is better than Delhi. (weather with a city)
✔ The weather of Mumbai is better than that of Delhi.

In the second sentence the weather of Mumbai is compared, so after than we need the weather of Delhi. As weather has already been written once, we do not repeat it; we put a pronoun in its place, and that stands for weather (a singular noun).

✔ Mumbai's weather is better than Delhi's.
✔ The roads of Mumbai are wider than those of Delhi.
✔ The roads in Mumbai are wider than those in Delhi.
✘ The prices in Delhi are higher than Pune. (use those in Pune)

2. 'Other' and 'else'. A comparative, or as … as, compares two different groups. If the person or thing being compared is itself a member of the group, set it apart: put other before the noun, or else after an indefinite pronoun (everyone, anyone, someone).

✔ Radhika is a better singer than any boy in her class. (she is a girl; the boys are a different group)
✘ Rahul is a better singer than any boy in his class. (Rahul is himself a boy of the class)
✔ Rahul is a better singer than any other boy in his class.
✘ Ram is stronger than everyone in his class.
✔ Ram is stronger than everyone else in his class.
✘ Gold is more expensive than any metal. (gold is also a metal)
✔ Gold is more expensive than any other metal.
✔ Diamond is more expensive than any metal. (diamond is not a metal, so no other)

(With a superlative, other and else are not used; see the superlative units.)

3. One idea, three ways. The same meaning can be written in the superlative, the positive or the comparative degree.

✔ Ram is the best student in my class. (superlative)
✔ No other student in my class is as good as Ram. (positive)
✔ Ram is better than any other student in my class. (comparative)
✘ No boy in the class is smarter than Ravi. (use no other boy)

All three sentences about Ram mean the same.

The superlative degree chooses one out of all (more than two). The usual signals are of all, among, in the class, ever, one of.

[[parse: S=Rohan | V=is | C=the tallest boy | P=in his college]]

1. 'The' comes before the superlative. A superlative points at one thing only, so it takes the article the. The article a cannot stand before a true superlative (a most in point 2 means very).

✘ He is a most intelligent boy of our society. (use the most)
✘ Radhika is most beautiful girl I have ever met. (use the most beautiful)
✘ Babbal is a oldest member of our club. (use the oldest)
✘ This boy is cleverest of all in the class. (use the cleverest)
✔ Radhika is the most beautiful girl I have ever met.

2. 'Most' can also mean 'very'. Most is used in the sense of very as well. Then nothing is being chosen out of a group, and the article is a, not the. Use the only when the sentence has the sense of "one out of all".

✔ She is the most beautiful girl of our class. (one out of all, so the most)
✔ She is a most beautiful girl. (= a very beautiful girl; no group, so a)
✘ She is the most beautiful girl. (no group is mentioned, so the has nothing to pick from)

> In sentence one the group is our class. In sentence three there is no group, so the most beautiful is wrong; a most beautiful means very beautiful.

3. 'One of the' + superlative + plural noun. One of the and some of the are followed by the superlative and a plural noun.

✔ This is one of the best movies I have ever seen.
✘ This is one of best movies I have ever seen. (use the best)
✘ The Taj Mahal is one of the much popular wonders of the world. (use the most popular)
✔ The river Ganga has some of the purest water on earth.
✘ The river Ganga has some of the purer water on earth. (use purest)

4. The 'ever' pattern. When a superlative is followed by a relative clause with ever, it takes the.

✔ That was the worst movie I have ever seen.
✔ Among all the diplomatic envoys, she is the most trusted.

1. Two or more than two? The superlative is used to choose one out of more than two. After it we generally use of or in with the group. When there are only two, the comparative is used.

✘ He is the better singer in the country. (use the best)
✘ Ram is the wiser student of the school. (use the wisest)
✘ Of the three runners, he was the faster. (use the fastest)
✘ Alaska is the colder of all the states. (use the coldest)
✔ She is the smarter of the two.
✘ She is the smartest of the two. (only two, so the comparative)

Signals of a superlative: of all, among all, of the three, in the country, in the world, ever.

2. Of or in, never 'than'. A superlative picks one out of its own group, so it is followed by of or in, not by than.

✘ Harsha is the tallest than all the other boys in his colony. (use of all the boys)
✘ Ashoka was the greatest than all the Mauryan emperors. (use of the Mauryan emperors)
✔ Rohan is the tallest boy in his college.

3. No 'other' or 'else'. In the superlative the comparison is among members of one group, so other and else are not used.

✘ He is the best of all the other students. (drop other)
✘ This is the wisest of all the other decisions. (drop other)
✔ He is the best of all the students.

4. The same person in different situations. When one person or thing is compared with itself in different situations or times, the is not used before the superlative.

✘ She is the best when she is motivated. (use best)
✔ She is the best in our team. (compared with the other people of the team)
✔ She is best in the mornings. (compared with her own behaviour at other times)
✔ Radhika is cutest when she wears a red saree.
✔ Rajasthan is best in winter. (compared with its own other seasons)
✔ Rajasthan is the best in winter. (compared with the other states)

5. Worse and worst. Bad is the positive degree, worse is the comparative and worst is the superlative. When the sentence points to "the worst of all", whether through ever, in a decade or of all, the word is worst.

✘ His worse mistake was that he had left home without informing any of us. (use worst)
✘ This is the worse famine this country has seen in a decade. (use worst)
✔ That was the worst movie I have ever seen.

This unit gathers the finer points of comparison that appear again and again.

1. Adjectives joined by and, but, or, nor. They are written in the same degree, and also in the same form. Judge the degree by reading the whole sentence.

✘ He is wise and smarter than his brother. (use wiser and smarter)
✘ Radhika is tall and cutest girl in the town. (use the tallest and cutest girl)
✘ Radhika is a tall and cutest girl and I like her. (use tall and cute, because nothing is compared)
✘ The movie was both interesting and entertain. (use entertaining, an adjective like interesting)

2. More / most with two joined adjectives. If both adjectives need more or most, it is written generally with the first one only. A separate more or most with each is also not wrong.

✔ Abhishek is the most intelligent and courageous employee of all.
✔ Abhishek is the most intelligent and most courageous employee of all.
✔ She is not only more talented but also more experienced than her competitors.

3. One adjective with -er / -est, the other with more / most. SSC keys put the *-er / -est* adjective first and the more / most adjective after it. The reverse order is also grammatical in real English; the exam simply prefers this one.

✘ He is the most intelligent and smartest boy in the class. (use the smartest and most intelligent)
✘ Rudra is more honest and friendlier than Rishabh. (use friendlier and more honest)

4. Change of state. When the state of something is changing, we use two structures. Structure 1: from + positive degree + to + comparative degree (change from one state to another). Structure 2: comparative + and + comparative (continuous change, with verbs like grow, become, get, turn).

✔ His condition got from bad to worse.
✘ His condition got from bad to worst.
✘ His condition got from worse to worst.
✔ The weather grew colder and colder as the expedition advanced.
✔ His condition is becoming worse and worse day by day.
✔ Our first trip was an interesting one, but our second trip was even more interesting.
✘ The weather is growing coldest.

The superlative is fixed. Something that has become the worst cannot get any worse, so a change is never shown with a superlative.

5. Colours. A colour takes *-er / -est*. But when *-ish* is added to a colour, the word talks about a shade, and then more / most are used.

6. Half, twice, thrice. With these words the comparative cannot be used; as … as is used instead. With two times, three times, both comparative + than and as … as are correct.

✘ Ankit is twice older than his brother. (use twice as old as)
✘ This book is thrice costlier than this diary. (use thrice as costly as)
✔ Rahul is twice as wise as Mohit.
✔ The new model costs twice as much as last year's model. (not twice more than)
✔ This car is two times costlier than this bike.
✔ This car is two times as costly as this bike.
✔ It took three times as long as I expected.

1. Different degrees take different adverbs. Always keep in mind that an adjective in one degree goes with one set of adverbs and not with another.

✘ Your house is too smaller to accommodate a family of 10 people. (use small)
✘ I am too busiest this week. (use busy)
✘ This week I am a lot busy. (use busier)
✘ He is not wiser enough to answer this question. (use wise)
✘ Among the five players, he is by far the better player. (use the best)
✘ He is very better now. (use much better)
✔ He is much better now.
✔ He is very much better now.
✔ He is much the best student of all.

Before a comparative adjective + noun, much / far are the usual adverbs (a much better plan); no and any also work (no better choice, any better idea). Very is the error.

✔ There are much nicer shops in the town centre.
✔ There are far nicer shops in the town centre.
✘ There are very nicer shops in the town centre. (use much nicer)

The article goes before the superlative, with the adverb before the article. Very is normally written with the positive degree, but it can also stand before a superlative; then an article or a possessive must come before it.

✘ He is the nearly best boy of our class. (use nearly the best)
✔ He is much / by far / clearly the best student of the class.
✘ He is very best student of the class.
✔ He is the very best student of the class.
✔ He is my very best student.

2. Gradable and non-gradable adjectives. Most adjectives that describe a quality are gradable: dark, bad, new, old, young, smart, beautiful, important, difficult, hard. Everything we have studied in the degrees of comparison was about gradable adjectives. Non-gradable adjectives are those whose degree cannot be raised or lowered, because the word is already extreme or absolute: *impossible, alive, dead, essential, perfect, absolute, complete, excellent, unique, extreme, supreme, exhausted, chief, permanent, furious, circular, square, flat, round, eternal, universal, true, false, identical, parallel, full*. Two persons who are dead: who is more dead? That is not possible, and it is the same with the other words.

Take special care: errors are set by adding more, most, very, fairly or *-er, -est* to a non-gradable adjective. With these words only adverbs like absolutely, perfectly, completely and quite are normally used. (In emphatic writing more perfect or most unique occur, but the exam treats them as errors.)

✘ This is the most unique thing. (use a unique thing)
✘ The painting is the most unique of all the pieces. (use This painting is unique)
✘ It is very essential for the work. (drop very)
✘ Throw a rounder stone to create ripples in the water. (use a round stone)
✔ It is absolutely essential for the work.

An extreme word can be connected with the mid word of the same idea, and the pair remembered.

A note. A few non-gradable adjectives can take a comparative or a superlative when they are used in another meaning.

✔ After the death of her only son, her life became emptier. (emptier = unhappier)
✘ This glass of water is emptier than that one. (empty = with nothing in it)

We have met the postpositive position already: the adjective comes right after the noun or pronoun. This unit lists when that happens.

1. After an indefinite pronoun. An adjective that modifies an indefinite pronoun (some / any / no / every + thing / one / body / where, and those) is placed after it.

✔ I need something special.
✔ Is there anything interesting on television?
✔ Nobody important came to the meeting.
✘ We must punish all responsible those. (use those responsible)

2. A comparative with a noun. When a noun is also used with a comparative adjective, the adjective can stand before the noun or after it.

✔ We need a bigger box than this.
✔ We need a box bigger than this.

3. So big a house. Sometimes a noun is qualified in the postpositive structure. It is mostly used in replies to questions.

Question: Which of the houses do you want?
✔ I want a house this big.
✔ I don't want a house that costly.
✔ I want a house so big that I can have a big party.

4. Adjectives ending in -able / -ible, and participles. Adjectives like imaginable, possible, available and participles (V1 + ing or V3) can be used before a noun (attributively) or after it (postpositively).

✔ I was left with my broken heart.
✔ I was left with my heart broken.
✔ The available route is convenient.
✔ The route available is convenient.

5. The adjective and its complement. If an adjective has its own complement (an infinitive with to + V1, or a preposition + noun), it is written after the noun, and the complement follows it.

✔ He is a happy man.
✘ He is a happy man to help. (to help belongs to happy)
✔ He is a man happy to help.
✔ There were many sad guests.
✘ There were many sad guests to leave early.
✔ There were many guests sad to leave early.

When an infinitive or a prepositional phrase comes after adjective + noun, ask whom it belongs to. If it belongs to the noun, the adjective stays before the noun. If it belongs to the adjective, the adjective goes after the noun.

✔ The teacher explained the hidden meaning of the poem. (of the poem belongs to meaning, so hidden stays before it)
✔ The teacher explained the meaning hidden in the poem. (in the poem belongs to hidden, so hidden goes after the noun)
✔ They found an unknown place in the hills. (in the hills belongs to place)
✔ They found a place unknown to them. (to them belongs to unknown)
✔ We are looking for some people skilled in content creation.
✔ He is a boy ready to fight.

6. Worth. Worth is an adjective that, when used with a noun, always stands after the noun. The structures are: noun + worth + amount; noun + worth + V-ing; be + worth + V-ing.

✘ I bought a worth ₹200 watch. (use a watch worth ₹200)
✘ It was a worth buying watch. (use a watch worth buying)
✔ I bought a watch worth ₹200.
✔ It was a watch worth buying.
✔ This watch was worth buying.
✔ This film is worth watching.

7. Enough. Enough comes before a noun (a determiner) and after an adjective or adverb (an adverb). If the adjective is used with enough and a noun, the adjective is written after the noun.

✔ We have fast cars.
✘ We have fast enough cars.
✔ We have cars fast enough.
✔ We have enough cars.
✘ I am enough rich to buy this car. (use rich enough)
✘ I don't have money enough to buy this car. (use enough money)
✔ She is wise enough not to interfere.
✔ The container is not big enough to meet the demand.

8. General quality or particular situation. Some adjectives change their meaning with the position. Before the noun they give a general quality. After the noun they are the reduced form of a relative clause and talk about a particular situation. The words in this group: general, visible, present, possible, available, concerned, responsible, opposite.

Even a predicative-only adjective can come after a noun: A lot of people gathered to see the house ablaze.

9. Fixed phrases. In some fixed phrases the adjective always comes after the noun: God Almighty, battle royal, attorney general, code red, time immemorial, Elizabeth the Second, Barack Obama Senior, Martin Luther King Junior.

✘ We pray to almighty God. (use God Almighty)
✘ I have lived here from immemorial time. (use time immemorial)
✔ Elizabeth the Second, Martin Luther King Junior

1. The order of adjectives. When adjectives of different kinds stand together before a noun, they follow a fixed order.

[[chips: Opinion | Size | Age | Shape | Colour | Origin | Material | Purpose]]

Opinion → Size → Age → Shape → Colour → Origin → Material → Purpose + Noun

The way to remember it: OSASCOMP. Opinion-based words come first and fact-based words come later; the nearer a word is to the noun, the more it belongs to the thing itself.

✘ The woman had black long hair. (use long black hair)
✘ I have a green old sofa. (use an old green sofa)
✔ What is the price of this fancy pink dress?
✔ She was a smart tall Indian astronaut.
✔ Rimjim received a very colourful illustrated children's atlas.

2. Comma or 'and' between adjectives. One noun can have more than one adjective. When two or more adjectives of different kinds stand before the noun, we write no comma and no and between them. If they are of the same category, we put and between them.

✔ a black plastic marker (colour + material: no comma, no and)
✔ a black and white shirt (both are colours)
✔ a political and economic issue (both are kinds of issue)

3. Cardinal and ordinal numbers. Cardinals show a number or quantity (one, two, three). Ordinals show sequence (first, second, third, next, last).

When a cardinal is used like a determiner, it comes before the noun, and the noun after it (except for one) is plural. When a cardinal is used like an adjective, it is written after the noun, and the noun before it always stays singular.

✔ One boy.
✔ Two boys.
✘ Open your book at page tenth.
✔ Open your book at page ten.
✔ Open your book at the tenth page.
✔ Please refer to page 15.

An ordinal is used with the: the + ordinal + noun.

✘ Mr Prabhakar was first man to arrive at the venue. (use the first man)
✘ My apartment is situated on second floor. (use on the second floor)
✘ A first Indian who went to space was Rakesh Sharma. (use The first Indian)
✔ I have got a second chance. (in the sense of "one more", a is used)
✔ Siraj has got a second wicket.

When a cardinal and an ordinal come together, the ordinal is written first.

✔ Virat Kohli has booked the first twenty rooms of this hotel.
✔ The first three boys will get a prize.
✔ Please stay for the next few days.
✘ The ten first boys will be awarded. (use the first ten boys)
✘ She will be away for the few next days. (use the next few days)

Some adjectives look alike, and the exam asks which one fits. Learn them in pairs, with the sense that separates them.

1. Last and latest. Last means final, the end of a sequence. Latest means the most recent, with the possibility that something more may come; it speaks of time.

✔ What is the latest news?
✔ She was the last to arrive.
✔ I caught the last bus home.
✔ This was Mahatma Gandhi's last book. (he wrote no more)
✔ This is Shashi Tharoor's latest book. (more may follow)

2. Elder / eldest and older / oldest. Elder / eldest are used for blood relations, and only before a noun. Older / oldest are used for things, animals and persons outside the family, and they go with than.

✔ His eldest son lives in Mumbai.
✔ My elder son is five years older than my younger son.
✔ Your son is older than mine.
✔ I am five years older than my brother.
✘ I am elder than my brother. (elder cannot take than)
✔ I have three sisters: Meera is the eldest and Charu is the youngest.
✔ She is the oldest member of our town. (not a family relation)

> In the family sense older / oldest is also possible, but elder / eldest are preferred: "My elder / older sister is an artist. His eldest / oldest son is still at school."

3. Farther and further. Farther is for distance. Further is for "additional". Nearest and next: nearest is the one very close; next is the one that follows.

✔ She lives at the farther end of the lane.
✔ I did not receive any further order.
✔ The hospital is farther from my house than the school.
✔ Which is the nearest hospital?
✔ The bank is in the next building.

4. Tall and high. Tall is the word for people. For things, high tells the height above the ground, and tall things such as trees and buildings can use either.

✘ Radhika is 160 cm high. (use tall)
✔ Radhika is 160 cm tall.
✔ The mountain is 3000 metres high.

5. Later and latter. Later means at a time after this, as in a later date and I will call you later. Latter is the second of two, and takes the. The first of the two is the former.

✔ I will call you later.
✔ If we have to choose between green and yellow bananas, we often go for the latter option.
✔ Between Raima and Saima, the former is intelligent, while the latter is beautiful.
✘ Sachin is greater than latter. (use than the latter)

6. Less, lesser and fewer. Less is a smaller amount, mainly with things that cannot be counted. Lesser is an adjective, used only before a noun, for a smaller degree or level. For countable things, few / fewer are used. Less is also normal with measurements (less than five minutes, less than 20 kg).

✔ Storage is less of a problem than it used to be.
✔ They pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of criminal damage.
✔ The higher one climbs, the less oxygen there is. (oxygen cannot be counted)
✔ No fewer than fifty students were absent. (No less than fifty is also used as an idiom for emphasis.)
✔ Less rainfall means fewer traffic accidents.

7. Good and well; glad and happy. Well tells about health (I am well), good tells about quality or character (he is good, it is good). Glad is not used before a noun; happy is.

8. Measure adjectives. Some adjectives are used for measurement. They come in pairs, one for the upper range and one for the lower range. To state a measurement we generally use only the upper-range adjective.

✘ The book is 3 cm thin. (use thick)
✘ My brother is 22 years young. (use old)
✘ The canal is 10 metres narrow. (use wide)
✔ The book is 3 cm thick.