Adjectives

essential

important

necessary possible

unnecessary

unusual

usual

e.g. It's difficult for young people on their own.

It was unusual for them to go away at the weekend.

4. Some adjectives can be used alone, or used with different prepositions.

• used alone, with an impersonal subject and ‘of ’ and the subject of the action, or with a personal subject and ‘to’ and the object of the action

cruel

friendly

generous good

kind

mean nasty

nice

polite rude

unfriendly

unkind

e.g. It was rude of him to leave so suddenly.

She was rude to him for no reason.

• used alone, with ‘about’ to specify a thing or ‘with’ to specify a person

angry

annoyed delighted

disappointed fed up

furious happy

upset

e.g. She was still angry about the result.

They're getting pretty fed up with him.

Adjectives with ‘to’-infinitive or ‘that’-clauses

1. After link verbs, we often use adjectives that describe how someone feels about an action or situation. With some adjectives, we can add a ‘to’-infinitive clause or a ‘that’-clause to say what the action or situation is.

afraid

anxious

ashamed disappointed

frightened

glad happy

pleased

proud sad

surprised

unhappy

If the subject is the same in both clauses, we usually use a ‘to’-infinitive clause. If the subject is different, we must use a ‘that’-clause.

e.g. I was happy to see them again.

He was happy that they were coming to the party.

We often use a ‘to’-infinitive clause when talking about future time in relation to the main clause.

e.g. I am afraid to go home.

He was anxious to leave before it got dark.

We often use a ‘that’-clause when talking about present or past time in relation to the main clause.

e.g. He was anxious that the passport was missing.

They were afraid that I might have talked to the police.

2. We often use ‘sorry’ with a ‘that’-clause. Note that ‘that’ is often omitted.

e.g. I'm very sorry that I can't join you.

I'm sorry I'm so late.

3. Some adjectives are not usually used alone, but have a ‘to’-infinitive clause after them to say what action or situation the adjective relates to.

able

apt

bound due

inclined

liable likely

prepared

ready unlikely

unwilling

willing

e.g. They were unable to help her.

They were not likely to forget it.

I am willing to try.

I'm prepared to say I was wrong.

4. When we want to express an opinion about someone or something, we often use an adjective followed by a ‘to’-infinitive clause.

difficult easy impossible possible right wrong

e.g. She had been easy to deceive.

The windows will be almost impossible to open.

Am I wrong to stay here?

5. With some adjectives, we use a ‘that’-clause to express an opinion about someone or something.

awful

bad

essential extraordinary

funny

good important

interesting

obvious sad

true

e.g. I was sad that people had reacted in this way.

. It is extraordinary that we should ever have met!

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.

e.g. It was easy to find the path.

It was good of John to help me.

It was difficult for her to find a job.

Adjectives ending in ‘-ing’ or ‘-ed’

1. 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.

alarming

amazing

annoying

astonishing

boring charming

confusing

convincing

depressing

disappointing embarrassing

exciting

frightening

interesting

shocking surprising

terrifying

tiring

welcoming

worrying

e.g. He lives in a charming house just outside the town.

She always has a warm welcoming smile.

2. We use some ‘-ing’ adjectives to describe something that continues over a period of time.

ageing

booming decreasing

dying existing

increasing living

remaining

e.g. Britain is an ageing society.

Increasing prices are making food very expensive.

3. 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.

alarmed

amused

astonished

bored delighted

depressed

disappointed

excited frightened

interested

satisfied

shocked surprised

tired

troubled

worried

e.g. She looks alarmed about something.

A bored student complained to his teacher.

She had big blue frightened eyes.

Note that the past participles of irregular verbs do not end in ‘-ed’, but can be used as adjectives.

e.g. The bird had a broken wing.

His coat was dirty and torn.

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.

He became even more depressed after she died.

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.

convinced

delighted

finished interested

involved

pleased prepared

scared

thrilled tired

touched

worried

e.g. The Brazilians are pleased with the results.

He was always prepared to account for his actions.

She was scared that they would find her.