Adjectives · Year 5
An adjective describes a noun: it tells us what something is like. a tall girl, a red bus, The soup is hot. In English an adjective comes before the noun, or after verbs like is and looks. When there are several, they go in a fixed order.
Key facts
- An adjective goes before its noun: a red car (not a car red), or after be, look, feel, seem: She looks happy.
- Adjectives don't change for the plural: a big dog, two big dogs.
- Several adjectives usually go in this order: opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, then the noun: a lovely little old red wooden box.
- Adjectives ending in -ed describe how someone feels: I was bored. Adjectives ending in -ing describe what causes the feeling: The film was boring.
- Precise adjectives make writing better: enormous, freezing and delighted say more than big, cold and happy.