Bahasa Inggeris notes, unit 4

Grammar: adjectives, adverbs and comparison

Textbook English Form 1 KSSM (2016, older edition) — skills-based units for the UASA, pages Skills unit (UASA Paper format)

What this chapter covers

I can put adjectives in the right place, before a noun or after be, look, feel and seem (4.1)
I can put two or three adjectives in the right order, like "a lovely old wooden house" (4.1)
I can choose between -ed and -ing adjectives, like bored and boring (4.2)
I can make adverbs of manner, like carefully, happily and well, and put them after the verb or the object (4.3)
I can use always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely and never in the right position (4.4)
I can make comparatives and superlatives, including better, best, worse and worst (4.5)
I can compare with as ... as and not as ... as (4.6)
I can find and correct adjective and adverb errors in a UASA Paper 1 Part 2 text (4.7)

This unit is about the words that describe. Adjectives describe people, places and things. Adverbs describe actions: how, how often, how well. We also use them to compare: bigger, the biggest, as big as. In the UASA, these words are tested in Paper 1 Part 2 (find and correct the error), and you need them to read prices, results and timetables in Parts 1 and 4, and to write good descriptions in Paper 2.

4.1Adjectives: where they go and their order

An adjective describes a noun (a person, place or thing): a tall boy, a noisy market, spicy sambal.

Two places for an adjective

Position	Pattern	Examples
Before the noun	a / the + adjective + noun	a new bag; the busy road; fresh fruit
After be and linking verbs	be / look / feel / seem / taste / smell / sound / become + adjective	The road is busy. You look tired. This durian smells strong. The song sounds sad.

An adjective never changes for plural nouns: one red flower, ten red flowers. English does not say "reds flowers".

The order of two or three adjectives

When there is more than one adjective before a noun, they usually go in this order. You do not need to learn every column; just remember that opinion comes first and what it is made of comes last, just before the noun.

1 Opinion	2 Size	3 Age	4 Shape	5 Colour	6 Origin	7 Material	Noun
lovely		old				wooden	house
	big			black			cat
beautiful				blue		silk	baju kurung
	small		round		Japanese		bowl
delicious					Malaysian		food

Say it in order

Opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material: "Our small aunt sells colourful orange mangoes." (O-S-A-S-C-O-M)
a nice big room; a tiny new phone; an old brown leather bag; a long white table

Common mistakes
"a car red" ✗ → a red car ✓ (in English the adjective comes before the noun, not after it as in Malay "kereta merah")
"a red big ball" ✗ → a big red ball ✓ (size before colour)
"beautifuls flowers" ✗ → beautiful flowers ✓
"She very pretty." ✗ → She is very pretty. ✓ (do not forget is / are)

Put the words in order: (a) a / plastic / blue / chair (b) an / old / interesting / book (c) a / cotton / white / shirt / new

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(a) a blue plastic chair (colour, material) (b) an interesting old book (opinion, age) (c) a new white cotton shirt (age, colour, material)

4.2-ed and -ing adjectives

An -ed adjective tells us how a person feels. An -ing adjective describes the thing (or person) that causes the feeling.

-ed (how I feel)	-ing (what makes me feel it)
I am bored.	The talk is boring.
We were excited about the trip.	The trip was exciting.
Lina is interested in robots.	Robots are interesting.
He felt tired after the run.	The 5 km run was tiring.
I was surprised by the results.	The results were surprising.
The children were frightened.	The thunder was frightening.
She was embarrassed when she fell.	Falling on stage is embarrassing.
I am confused about the homework.	The instructions are confusing.
We were amazed by the fireworks.	The fireworks were amazing.

Ask: Who feels it? A person feels → -ed. The thing that gives the feeling → -ing. A person can be -ing too: "Our new teacher is interesting" means she makes the lessons interesting.

Common mistakes
"I am very boring today." ✗ (this means you make other people bored!) → I am very bored today. ✓
"I am interesting in football." ✗ → I am interested in football. ✓
"The match was very excited." ✗ → The match was very exciting. ✓

Choose: (a) The haunted house at the funfair was (frightened / frightening). (b) Amin was (disappointed / disappointing) with his score.

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(a) frightening (the house causes the fear) (b) disappointed (Amin feels it)

4.3Adverbs of manner: how we do things

An adverb of manner tells us how someone does something. Most are made from an adjective + -ly: She is a careful rider. She rides carefully.

Spelling rules

Adjective	Rule	Adverb
slow, quiet, careful, loud	add -ly	slowly, quietly, carefully, loudly
happy, easy, angry, noisy	-y → -ily	happily, easily, angrily, noisily
gentle, simple, terrible	-le → -ly	gently, simply, terribly
fantastic, basic	-ic → -ically	fantastically, basically
good	irregular	well
fast, hard, early, late	no change	fast, hard, early, late

Hardly means "almost not" ("I hardly slept"), and lately means "recently". So "He works hard" (a lot) is very different from "He hardly works" (almost no work)!

Where does it go?

Put the adverb of manner after the verb, or after the object if there is one. Do not put it between the verb and the object.

Pattern	Example
verb + adverb	The baby is sleeping quietly. Kumar runs fast.
verb + object + adverb	Mei Ling speaks Mandarin fluently. Please close the door gently.

Adjective or adverb?

Adjective (describes a noun, or comes after be / look / feel / smell / taste)	Adverb (describes a verb: how?)
Siti is a good singer.	Siti sings well.
The bus driver was careful.	The bus driver drove carefully.
The cake looks beautiful.	Mak Cik Ros decorated the cake beautifully.
This soup tastes good.	My brother cooks well.

Common mistakes
"She sings very beautiful." ✗ → She sings very beautifully. ✓
"He plays badminton very good." ✗ → He plays badminton very well. ✓
"She speaks well English." ✗ → She speaks English well. ✓
"The food smells deliciously." ✗ → The food smells delicious. ✓ (after smell, use an adjective)
"Drive slow!" is common in speech, but in the UASA write slowly.

Friendly, lovely, lonely, ugly end in -ly but they are adjectives: a friendly girl. There is no word "friendlily"; say "She smiled in a friendly way."

Correct the error: (a) Please write neat in your exercise book. (b) Our team played very good yesterday.

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(a) neat → neatly (b) good → well

4.4Adverbs of frequency: how often

Adverbs of frequency tell us how often something happens. We often use them with the present simple tense for habits.

Adverb	How often	Example
always	100%	I always brush my teeth before bed.
usually	about 90%	We usually have rice for dinner.
often	about 70%	Daniel often plays futsal after school.
sometimes	about 50%	It sometimes rains in the afternoon.
rarely / seldom	about 10%	My grandfather rarely eats fast food.
never	0%	Aisyah never drinks fizzy drinks.

Position: three rules

Rule	Pattern	Example
1. Before the main verb	subject + adverb + verb	She often walks to school.
2. After am / is / are / was / were	subject + be + adverb	He is always cheerful. They were never late.
3. Between a helping verb and the main verb	can / will / should / have / don't + adverb + verb	You should always wear a helmet. I don't usually eat breakfast. I have never seen snow.

Sometimes and usually can also go at the start: "Sometimes we go to Melaka." Phrases like once a week, twice a month, every day go at the end: "I visit my grandmother every weekend."

Common mistakes
"I go always to the library." ✗ → I always go to the library. ✓
"She never is late." ✗ → She is never late. ✓
"I don't never eat durian." ✗ → I never eat durian. ✓ (never is already negative)
"He always help his mother." ✗ → He always helps his mother. ✓ (the adverb does not change the -s rule)

Put the word in the right place: (a) My father is busy on Mondays. (always) (b) We can see the Petronas Twin Towers from our flat. (sometimes)

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(a) My father is always busy on Mondays. (after is) (b) We can sometimes see the Petronas Twin Towers from our flat. (between can and see; "Sometimes we can see..." is also correct)

4.5Comparatives and superlatives

We use a comparative to compare two things: Ali is taller than Ben. We use a superlative for one out of three or more: Ali is the tallest boy in the class.

How to make them

Adjective	Rule	Comparative	Superlative
Short (one syllable): tall, cheap, fast	+ -er / -est	taller, cheaper, faster	the tallest, the cheapest, the fastest
Ends in -e: nice, large, safe	+ -r / -st	nicer, larger, safer	the nicest, the largest, the safest
One vowel + one consonant: big, hot, thin, wet	double the last letter	bigger, hotter, thinner, wetter	the biggest, the hottest, the thinnest, the wettest
Ends in -y: happy, easy, busy, heavy	-y → -ier / -iest	happier, easier, busier, heavier	the happiest, the easiest, the busiest, the heaviest
Long (most two-syllable words not ending in -y, and all longer words): famous, expensive, beautiful, difficult	more / the most	more famous, more expensive	the most famous, the most expensive

Irregular forms: learn these by heart

Adjective / adverb	Comparative	Superlative
good / well	better	the best
bad / badly	worse	the worst
far	farther / further	the farthest / the furthest
many / much	more	the most
little (amount)	less	the least

Patterns in a sentence

Pattern	Example
A + be + comparative + than + B	Langkawi is bigger than Pangkor Island.
A + be + the + superlative + (noun) + in + place / group	Gunung Kinabalu is the highest mountain in Malaysia.
the + superlative + of + a number / all	Mira is the youngest of the three sisters.
Adverbs compare too	Kumar runs faster than me. Please speak more slowly. Siti sings the best.

Three bags at the shop

Bag A RM25, Bag B RM39, Bag C RM52.
Bag B is more expensive than Bag A. Bag A is cheaper than Bag C.
Bag C is the most expensive. Bag A is the cheapest of the three.

Common mistakes
"more taller" ✗ → taller ✓ (never use more and -er together)
"more better" ✗ / "gooder" ✗ → better ✓
"the most tallest" ✗ → the tallest ✓
"She is taller from me." ✗ / "taller compare to me" ✗ → She is taller than me. ✓
"He is tallest boy in the class." ✗ → He is the tallest boy in the class. ✓ (do not forget the)
"the best student of Malaysia" ✗ → the best student in Malaysia ✓ (use in with places and groups)
"bigest", "hoter" ✗ → biggest, hotter ✓ (double the letter)

Complete: (a) Today is ______ (hot) than yesterday. (b) This is ______ (interesting) book in the library. (c) My handwriting is ______ (bad) than my brother's.

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(a) hotter (b) the most interesting (c) worse

4.6As ... as and not as ... as

as + adjective + as means the two things are the same. not as + adjective + as means the first one is less. The adjective stays in its plain form (no -er, no more).

Pattern	Example	Meaning
A + be + as + adjective + as + B	Aiman is as tall as his father.	They are the same height.
A + be + not as + adjective + as + B	The bus is not as fast as the LRT.	The LRT is faster.
with an adverb	I can't swim as well as my sister.	My sister swims better.
the same + noun + as	My bag is the same colour as yours.	Both bags are one colour.

Same meaning, different sentence

The red shirt costs RM30. The blue shirt costs RM25.
The blue shirt is cheaper than the red shirt.
= The blue shirt is not as expensive as the red shirt.
= The red shirt is more expensive than the blue shirt.

Common mistakes
"as taller as" ✗ → as tall as ✓
"as tall than" ✗ → as tall as ✓
"same like" ✗ / "same with" ✗ → the same as ✓

Rewrite with not as ... as: "A durian is heavier than a mangosteen."

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A mangosteen is not as heavy as a durian.

4.7Exam skill: correcting adjective and adverb errors (Paper 1 Part 2)

In Paper 1 Part 2 you read one text with eight underlined errors. You write the correct word for each one. The errors are often tenses, pronouns, articles and prepositions, and UASA practice papers also test adjectives and adverbs. Each correct word gets 1 mark, so spelling counts.

Method: four steps

Step	What to do
1. Read the whole sentence	Do not look only at the underlined word. Read to the full stop.
2. Ask what job the word does	Does it describe a noun, or come after be / look / feel? → adjective. Does it describe how someone does an action? → adverb.
3. Look for signal words	than → comparative. the ... in / of → superlative. as ... as → plain adjective. A person who feels → -ed. A thing that causes a feeling → -ing.
4. Write only the correct word(s), spelt correctly	Check the spelling rules: happier, biggest, carefully. Read the sentence again with your word in it.

Worked example

"Our class was very (1) exciting when we won the quiz. The questions were (2) more harder than last year's, but we answered them (3) quick."

(1) Who feels it? The class feels the excitement, so use -ed: excited.
(2) Signal word: than, so it is a comparative. Hard is short, so we add -er only. Never use more and -er together: harder.
(3) It describes how we answered (a verb), so we need an adverb: quickly.

If the underlined word is already an adjective but the sentence needs the comparative or superlative form, the answer is often two words: "the famousest" → most famous. Write all the words you need.

Find and correct: "My grandmother cooks (a) good. Her rendang is the (b) more delicious in our family, and it is (c) as spicier as my mother's."

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(a) well (how she cooks) (b) most delicious (the ... in our family = superlative) (c) as spicy as (plain form between as ... as)

Reading for comparison (Paper 1 Parts 1 and 4)

Short notices, price lists and results tables often hide a comparison. The question may say cheaper, the longest or as ... as, but the text only gives numbers. Work it out:

Worked example

Kedai Kopi Seri Pagi
Teh tarik RM2.50
Kopi O RM2.00
Milo ais RM3.50

"Kopi O is the cheapest drink." Compare all three prices: RM2.00 is the lowest, so this is True.
"Teh tarik is as expensive as Milo ais." RM2.50 is not the same as RM3.50, so this is False.

Remember: for time in a race, a smaller number is faster. For price, a smaller number is cheaper.

Summary

Topic	Remember
Adjective position	Before the noun (a red car) or after be / look / feel / smell / taste (It looks new). No plural -s.
Adjective order	Opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material + noun: a lovely old wooden house.
-ed / -ing	-ed = how a person feels (bored). -ing = what causes it (boring). interested in.
Adverbs of manner	adjective + -ly (careful → carefully, happy → happily); good → well; fast, hard, early, late stay the same. After the verb or the object.
Adverbs of frequency	always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, never. Before the main verb, after be, between a helping verb and the main verb.
Comparatives	short + -er (+ than); long: more + adjective (+ than). Never "more taller".
Superlatives	the + -est / the most ... (in / of). Never "the most tallest".
Irregular	good/well → better → the best; bad/badly → worse → the worst; far → farther/further → the farthest/furthest.
As ... as	as tall as (same); not as tall as (less). Plain adjective in the middle. the same as, not "same like".
Part 2 method	Read the whole sentence, decide the word's job, look for signal words (than, the ... in, as ... as), write the correct word and check spelling.