She is the most beautiful woman in the world. (NOT She is the most beautiful woman of the world.)

I am the happiest woman in the world. (NOT I am the happiest woman of the world.)

He is the best player in the team. (NOT He is the best player of the team.)

But of can be used before plural nouns and pronouns.

She is the fastest player of them all. (NOT She is the fastest player in them all.)

Of can also be used before singular quantifiers like lot and bunch.

He is the best of the lot.

Infinitives after superlatives

An infinitive structure can be used after a superlative. This has the same meaning as a relative clause.

Who is the youngest person to become the President of the US? (= Who is the youngest person who has become the President of the US?)

This structure can also be used after words like first, last and next.

She is the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. (= She is the first woman who has won the Nobel Prize for Literature.)

Incorrect: He behaved cowardly.
Correct: He behaved in a cowardly manner.
Correct: He behaved like a coward.

Incorrect: He laughed silly.
Correct: He gave a silly laugh.

Incorrect: He lives miserly.
Correct: He lives in a miserly way.

In the sentences given above the words cowardly, silly and miserly are all adjectives which cannot be used to modify verbs. And because there are no adverbs for these meanings we have to use adverb phrases like ‘in a cowardly manner’ and ‘in a miserly way’ to express the same idea.

Incorrect: Just I had gone when he came.
Correct: I had just gone when he came.

Incorrect: Still I love you.
Correct: I still love you.

The adverbs still and just go before the verb. If there is an auxiliary verb, the adverb goes after the auxiliary verb and before the main verb. If there is no auxiliary verb, the adverb goes before the main verb. If there are two auxiliary verbs, the adverb goes between them.

I am still waiting for your reply. (NOT I still am waiting for your reply.) (NOT I am waiting still for your reply.)
They have just been informed. (NOT They have been just informed.)
She has just arrived. (NOT She just has arrived.)

1. She spoke in a loud voice.

2. He is the only fast bowler in the team.

3. He lives in the next house.

4. He made a quiet exit through the back door.

5. He can bowl really fast.

6. You must always aim high.

7. She sings well.

8. He is the only child of his parents.

9. We started early in the morning.

10. Are you an early riser?

11. There is not much truth in what he says.

12. He succeeded by dint of hard work.

Answers

1. Loud – adjective (modifies the noun voice)

2. Fast – adjective (modifies the noun bowler)

3. Next – adjective (modifies the noun house)

4. Back – adjective (modifies the noun door)

5. Fast – adverb (modifies the verb bowl)

6. High – adverb (modifies the verb aim)

7. Well – adverb (modifies the verb sings)

8. Only – adjective (modifies the noun child)

9. Early – adverb (modifies the verb started)

10. Early – adjective (modifies the noun riser)

11. Much – adjective (modifies the noun truth)

12. Hard – adjective (modifies the noun work)

She is a beautiful girl. (NOT She is a beautiful.)

But there are some exceptions.

The + adjective

The structure the + adjective is used to talk about certain well-known groups of people in particular physical or social condition. The most common expressions of this kind are:

The blind
The deaf
The mute
The dead
The injured
The old
The poor
The rich
The unemployed
The jobless
The young
The mentally ill

The government should do something for the handicapped.
The jobless are losing hope.
The rich should help the poor.
The dead leave their blessings upon the living.

Note that the expressions the dead, the poor, the rich etc are always plural. The rich means ‘all rich people’. Similarly, the blind means ‘all blind people’.

Note that these expressions cannot be used with a possessive ’s.

We say the problems of the poor or poor people’s problems and not the poor’s problems.

Adjectives are not normally used in this way without the.

The rich doesn’t care about the poor. (NOT Rich doesn’t care about poor.)

There are some exceptions to this rule.

Adjectives without the are possible after quantifiers like many and more. Adjectives can also be used without the after possessives and in paired structures with and or or.

An ideal society should provide opportunities for both rich and poor.

1. The —————- part of the film is more interesting than the former part.

2. He is ——————- than I expected.

3. Have you heard the —————– news?

4. Ours is the —————– house in the street.

Answers

1. latter

2. later

3. latest

4. last

Fill in the blanks with ‘elder’, ‘eldest’, ‘older’ or ‘oldest’.

1. He is the —————– man in the village.

2. My ————— brother is a doctor.

3. She is —————- than me.

4. This is Antonio, the duke’s —————- son.

Answers

1. oldest

2. elder / eldest

3. older

4. eldest

Fill in the blanks with ‘nearest’ or ‘next’.

1. This is the ——————- hospital to my house.

2. The post office is ————– to my house.

3. The injured were taken to the —————— hospital.

4. His house is —————- to mine.

Answers

1. nearest

2. next

3. nearest

4. next

Fill in the blanks with further or farther.

1. After this he made no —————- remarks.

2. Kolkata is ——————- from the equator than Colombo.

Answers

1. further

b) farther / further

Notes

Later and latest refer to time; latter and last refer to position.

Elder and eldest are used only of persons, not of animals or things. Nowadays, these two adjectives are only used to talk about the members of the same family. Note that elder cannot be followed by than. Older and oldest are used of both people and things.

Nearest means the shortest distance  away. Next refers to one of a sequence of things coming one after the other.

Both further and farther are used to express distance. Further is also used to mean ‘additional’.

Gradable adjectives can be used with expressions like too, as, so, enough, extremely, very, rather, pretty, a little, a bit etc.

The tea is too hot.

She is very beautiful.

She looked rather unhappy.

It is quite interesting.

I am extremely grateful.

I am a little anxious about his health.

It was a bit annoying.

She is old enough to marry.

Note that a little and a bit are usually used before adjectives and adverbs expressing negative ideas.

I was a little tired.

Enough follows its adjective.

The policeman didn’t run fast enough to catch the thief. (NOT The policeman didn’t run enough fast to catch the thief.)

She isn’t old enough to have grandchildren. (NOT She isn’t enough old to have grandchildren.)

Indeed can be used after very + adjective/adverb to show emphasis.

It was very tragic indeed.

Note that indeed cannot normally be used without very.

Most is sometimes used with the same meaning as very before adjectives. This is common in a very formal style.

That was most kind of you. (= That was very kind of you.)

Not very expresses quite a low degree.

It is not very expensive. (= It is quite cheap.)

I am not very impressed with this idea. (= I am not at all impressed with this idea.)

She is not very beautiful. (= She is plain.)

She is a very beautiful girl. (NOT She is a very beautiful.)

Here the sentence wouldn’t make complete sense, if we leave out the noun after the adjective. However, a noun which has already been mentioned is often left out after an adjective.

‘Have you got any rice?’ ‘Do you want white or brown?’ (= Do you want white rice or brown rice?)

The + adjective

The structure the + adjective (without a following noun) is used to talk about certain groups of people. Examples are: the blind, the dead, the deaf, the disabled, the accused, the injured, the unemployed etc.

The injured were taken to the hospital.
The disabled are God’s special children.
He is collecting money for the blind and the deaf.
The government should do something for the unemployed.

Notes

Note that ‘the blind’ means ‘all blind people’. Similarly, ‘the dead’ means ‘all dead people’. Note that expressions like ‘the dead’, ‘the deaf’ etc., are always plural and are followed by plural verbs.

These expressions cannot be used with a possessive ’s.

The problems of the unemployed should be properly addressed. (NOT The unemployed’s problems …)

In this structure adjectives are not normally used without the.

He provided the poor with food. (NOT He provided poor with food.)

Adjectives of Nationality

Some adjectives of nationality ending in –sh or –ch can be used after the without a following noun. Examples are: the Dutch, the English, the Spanish, the Irish, the Scottish, the British, the French etc.

Note that these expressions are always plural. The French means all French people. To talk about one person, for example, we say ‘a Frenchman’ or ‘a Frenchwoman’.

In some cases there are specific nouns to refer to the people of a particular nation. For example the Danish people are called the Danes. Similarly, the Turkish people are called the Turks. In cases where such nouns exist, these are preferred to expressions with the …ish.

The Danes are the happiest people in the world.

Adjectives of color, origin, material and purpose usually go in that order.

A blue German leather bag
A brown Spanish glass mug
An Arabian glass flower vase

Adjectives of size, length and height usually go before words of color, origin, material and purpose.

A round glass table (NOT a glass round table)
A tall ancient oak tree (NOT an ancient tall oak tree)

Adjectives which express judgments and attitudes usually go before all other adjectives. Examples are: lovely, nice, wonderful, surprising, silly, foolish etc.

A silly fat woman

Numbers usually go before other adjectives.

Eight large stones
The third big shock

Note that the ordinal adjectives first, second, third etc., usually go before the cardinal adjectives one, two, three etc.

The first two chapters
My last two jobs

Note that when more than two adjectives come before a noun, we generally use commas to separate them especially if the adjectives are long.

An expensive, ill-planned, wasteful project

Note that commas are usually dropped before short adjectives.

A tall fair beautiful girl
A tall dark handsome fellow

We heard a loud noise. (Loud – adjective)
He talked loud. (Loud – adverb)

He is a fast bowler. (Fast – adjective)
A fast (adjective) bowler bowls fast (adverb).

She lives next door. (Next – adjective)
When I next see him, I will speak to him. (Next – adverb)

Adverbs with two forms

Some adverbs have two forms. While one of these forms looks exactly like the adjective, the other form ends in –ly.

Examples are given below.

He talked very loud.
He talked very loudly.

Here the adverbs loud and loudly modify the verb talked.

Note that in some cases the two forms of the adverb may have different meanings.

Compare:

John worked hard. (Here the adverb hard means diligently.)
I could hardly see anything. (Here the adverb hardly means scarcely.)

He arrived late. (Opposed to early)
I have not seen him lately. (Here lately means recently.)

I am pretty impressed with her performance. (= I am quite impressed with her performance.)
She is prettily dressed. (= She is neatly/elegantly dressed.)

Some adverbs are used as nouns after prepositions.

They live far from here. (Here the adverb here is used as a noun meaning ‘this place’.)
He comes from there. (Here the adverb there is used as a noun meaning ‘that place’.)
By then the thief had escaped. (Here the adverb then is used as a noun meaning ‘that time’.)
Since when have you taken to drinking? (When=what time)

Adverbs are sometimes used like adjectives modifying nouns. This, for example, happens when some participle or adjective is understood.

The then Prime Minister = The Prime Minister then ruling
A down train = A down-going train
The above statement = The statement given above

The as an adverb

In the following sentences the is not the definite article. It is actually an old demonstrative pronoun used as an adverb.

The more the merrier
The fewer the better
The earlier the better
The sooner the better

Note that the can be used as an adverb only with an adjective or another adverb in the comparative degree.

Double comparatives and double superlatives were once common in English, but now they are not used.

It was the most unkindest cut of all. (Shakespeare – Note the use of the double superlative)

The above sentence is incorrect in modern English.

Incorrect: Seldom had the little town seen a more costlier wedding.
Correct: Seldom had the little town seen a costlier wedding.

But lesser which is a double comparative is an exception to this rule.

Choose the lesser of the two evils.

Note also the use of preferable which has the force of a comparative and is followed by to. It is wrong to say more preferable or most preferable.

He has a plan of his own which he finds preferable to that of any other plan. (NOT He has a plan of his own which he finds more preferable than …)

Correct use of less

In informal English it is common to use less before plural nouns. Note that this is considered incorrect in a formal style.

No fewer than 50 children were present. (Formal)
No less than 50 children were present. (Informal)

Perfect adjectives

Certain adjectives do not admit of comparison because their meaning is already superlative. Examples are: perfect, ideal, unique, round, square, complete, extreme and universal. Nothing can be more complete or more perfect. It is therefore wrong to say: most unique, most ideal, or roundest.

But we still say, for instance:
This is the most perfect specimen I have seen.

The phrase two first is a meaningless expression. We should say, ‘the first two’.

The first two chapters of the novel are rather dull.

Verbal and Oral

Verbal means ‘pertaining to words’. Oral means ‘delivered by word of mouth’. The opposite of written is oral, not verbal.

Your written statement differs from your oral (not verbal) statement in several respects.

The photograph will give the reader a far better idea of the structure than any verbal description.

The expression ‘our mutual friend’ is not correct. We should say ‘our common friend’.

They were introduced to each other by a common friend. (NOT … by a mutual friend.)