Word Lists for Growing Your Vocabulary--Adjectives

Today in class we reviewed adjectives--words that modify (describe or limit) nouns. In the English language, many words can be used as more than one part of speech. You can use some words as either a noun or an adjective, depending on what the word does in a sentence. In the following sentences, the word in red is a noun when its job (its task) is to name a person, place, or thing. It is an adjective when its job is to describe a noun--to tell us what kind, how many, which one, etc.--so that we know more about that person, place, or thing.

I am studying grammar. (grammar is a noun that names the thing that I am studying)

I am reading a grammar book. (grammar is an adjective that tells what kind of book I am reading)

John loves to play soccer. (soccer is a noun that names an activity--a thing--that John loves to do)

John watches a soccer game on TV every weekend. (soccer is an adjective that tells what kind of game John watches--not a baseball game, not a basketball game, but a soccer game)


Many adjectives turn into nouns by referring to persons that have a certain quality. For example, The rich has the job of a noun in the following sentence, because it means rich people or rich ones: "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer." Other examples: the poor, the famous, the young.


My suggestion: Click on the link below for a list of 58 adjectives you can use to describe people. Under the "Things You Can Do with This Word List" menu, select "Dictionary Flashcards." If you don't know what the first word means, click on one of the dictionary link buttons to look it up. English dictionary links are on the right and links to dictionaries in a few other languages are on the left (note: not all of the links work!). If you already know what the word means, click the "Get a Word" button to bring up another word from the list. You can also type in your own word and click a dictionary link to get a definition.

58 Adjectives to Describe People

Then test your knowledge of opposite pairs of words. Review the list of opposite words at the link below (most are adjectives, but there are a couple of pairs of prepositions in the list--can you find them?). From the "Things You Can Do with This Word List" menu, select "Speedwords." After you select your speed you will see a word in blue. You have to click on the yellow letters underneath to spell out the opposite of the word in blue (only letters that are actually part of the answer are listed).

Opposite Words (38 pairs)