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English Quiz - Adjectives (Questions)

Adjectives are descriptive words. The word 'yellow' in the phrase 'the yellow balloon' is descriptive of the balloon's colour. It tells you more about the balloon. Without adjectives, stories would be very boring. Here are three examples of adjectives: big, dangerous and black. How might a sentence be improved by using these three adjectives? Let's see.

With these examples, you can almost picture the scene in your mind. Do this 11-Plus English quiz and perhaps you'll also learn a few new adjectives and some good quotations (words written or said - usually by famous people).

1. In the sentence below, which words are adjectives?
Peter saw two, big, black, scary dogs.
[ ] two
[ ] big, black
[ ] big, black, scary
[ ] two, big, black, scary
2. In the sentence below, which words are adjectives?
He was not only insolent and idle, he was also very mean.
[ ] insolent
[ ] insolent, idle
[ ] insolent, idle, mean
[ ] insolent, idle, very, mean
3. In the sentence below, which words are adjectives?
The cunning fox was trying to catch the clever, little, red hen.
[ ] cunning
[ ] cunning, clever
[ ] cunning, clever, little
[ ] cunning, clever, little, red
4. In the sentence below, which words are adjectives?
She has the peculiar habit of playing the violin whenever there is a bright moon on a cloudless night.
[ ] peculiar, bright
[ ] peculiar, bright, cloudless
[ ] bright, cloudless
[ ] cloudless
5. In the sentence below, which words are adjectives?
"The reasoning of the strongest is always the best" (La Fontane, Fables)
[ ] strongest
[ ] best
[ ] strongest, best
[ ] strongest, always, best
6. In the sentence below, which words are adjectives?
He is hungry and thirsty.
[ ] hungry, thirsty
[ ] There are no adjectives in this sentence
[ ] hungry
[ ] thirsty
7. In the sentence below, which words are adjectives?
If you quickly finish your English homework, you can have a tasty treat.
[ ] quickly, English, tasty
[ ] tasty
[ ] English, tasty
[ ] finish, have
8. In the sentence below, which words are adjectives?
She wrote quickly and neatly; she was truly a quick and neat writer.
[ ] quickly, neatly
[ ] quickly, quick
[ ] neatly, neat
[ ] quick, neat
9. In the sentence below, which words are adjectives?
Mike runs fast, but Henry runs faster than him. Anyway, Dave runs the fastest of all.
[ ] There are no adjectives in this sentence
[ ] fast, faster
[ ] fast
[ ] fast, faster, fastest
10. In the sentence below, which words are adjectives?
Henry wrote well in his exams, but Susan wrote better: she is a really good student.
[ ] well, better, good
[ ] well, better, really, good
[ ] good
[ ] really, good
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English Quiz - Adjectives (Answers)
1. In the sentence below, which words are adjectives?
Peter saw two, big, black, scary dogs.
[ ] two
[ ] big, black
[ ] big, black, scary
[x] two, big, black, scary
Numbers can be nouns as well as adjectives. When a number is used on its own it is a noun: 'The number of digits in a UK telephone number is eleven'. When it is used to describe a noun, it is an adjective: 'This is an eleven digit telephone number'
2. In the sentence below, which words are adjectives?
He was not only insolent and idle, he was also very mean.
[ ] insolent
[ ] insolent, idle
[x] insolent, idle, mean
[ ] insolent, idle, very, mean
If you picked answer 4, you probably aren't sure about the word 'very'. Very can be used both as an adverb and as an adjective: it is an adverb if it is used before an adjective or adverb: 'He always does his homework very quickly'. 'Yellow is a very bright colour'. On the other hand, it is an adjective if it is used before a noun: 'He put his hand into the very bottom of the barrel'. By the way, here are some useful definitions: 'insolent' means very rude; 'idle' means lazy; and 'mean' means tightfisted or stingy
3. In the sentence below, which words are adjectives?
The cunning fox was trying to catch the clever, little, red hen.
[ ] cunning
[ ] cunning, clever
[ ] cunning, clever, little
[x] cunning, clever, little, red
The words for colours are also adjectives. By the way, here's a useful definition: 'cunning' means sly, sneaky or foxy
4. In the sentence below, which words are adjectives?
She has the peculiar habit of playing the violin whenever there is a bright moon on a cloudless night.
[ ] peculiar, bright
[x] peculiar, bright, cloudless
[ ] bright, cloudless
[ ] cloudless
That was easy. By the way, here's a useful definition: 'peculiar' means unusual, odd, strange or weird
5. In the sentence below, which words are adjectives?
"The reasoning of the strongest is always the best" (La Fontane, Fables)
[ ] strongest
[x] best
[ ] strongest, best
[ ] strongest, always, best
'The strongest' is not an adjective in this example: it names the group of people whose reasoning is always the best. Think of it like 'the homeless', 'the blind', 'the rich', and so on: they are simply labels for groups of people. 'Best' is the superlative form of good. The superlative form describes the highest degree or value of the quality described. For example, 'He is the best man in the team'. Some adjectives have irregular forms: for example, 'good-better-best' and 'bad-worse-worst'. LEARN THESE IRREGULAR FORMS. 'Always' is an adverb: an adverb is a word that modifies (changes or varies) the meaning of a verb, adjective or adverb. In some cases, it modifies a noun or a pronoun. Here's an example: 'She sang beautifully'. Most adverbs end in -ly
6. In the sentence below, which words are adjectives?
He is hungry and thirsty.
[x] hungry, thirsty
[ ] There are no adjectives in this sentence
[ ] hungry
[ ] thirsty
In this sentence, the adjectives come AFTER the pronoun 'he'
7. In the sentence below, which words are adjectives?
If you quickly finish your English homework, you can have a tasty treat.
[ ] quickly, English, tasty
[ ] tasty
[x] English, tasty
[ ] finish, have
Be careful not to confuse adjectives with adverbs
8. In the sentence below, which words are adjectives?
She wrote quickly and neatly; she was truly a quick and neat writer.
[ ] quickly, neatly
[ ] quickly, quick
[ ] neatly, neat
[x] quick, neat
Quickly and neatly are adverbs: an adverb is a word that modifies (changes or varies) the meaning of a verb, adjective or adverb. In some cases, it modifies a noun or a pronoun. Here's an example: 'She danced wonderfully'. Most adverbs end in -ly
9. In the sentence below, which words are adjectives?
Mike runs fast, but Henry runs faster than him. Anyway, Dave runs the fastest of all.
[x] There are no adjectives in this sentence
[ ] fast, faster
[ ] fast
[ ] fast, faster, fastest
There are no adjectives in these sentences: they are all adverbs. An adverb is a word that modifies (changes or varies) the meaning of a verb, adjective or adverb. In some cases, it modifies a noun or a pronoun. Here's an example: 'They ate their food quickly'. Most adverbs end in -ly; unfortunately, 'fast' is one of those adverbs that doesn't end in -ly and whose form is the same as the adjective 'fast' - 'fast-faster-fastest'. Here 'fast' is used as an adverb because it describes how the people run: we say it modifies the verb 'to run'. Three other adverbs that fall into the same group as 'fast' are 'hard', 'early' and 'far'
10. In the sentence below, which words are adjectives?
Henry wrote well in his exams, but Susan wrote better: she is a really good student.
[ ] well, better, good
[ ] well, better, really, good
[x] good
[ ] really, good
Just one adjective folks: the rest are adverbs. An adverb is a word that modifies (changes or varies) the meaning of a verb, adjective or adverb. In some cases, it modifies a noun or a pronoun. Here's an example: 'They fought bravely'. Most adverbs end in -ly. 'Well' is the adverb of 'good': 'well-better-best'. DON'T SAY: 'He wrote good'. Use 'well' to describe how someone does something