Grammar book · Words and sentences
Adjectives
ቅጽሎች (adjectives)
Adjectives describe nouns. In English they never change for plural or gender, they come before the noun or after be, and they follow a fixed order when there are several. They also make comparatives (cheaper, more expensive) and superlatives (the cheapest).
Where adjectives go, and their order
An adjective goes before the noun (a cheap apartment) or after be, look, feel, seem, get (The apartment is cheap. You look tired.). It never takes -s: two big houses, not two bigs houses. Amharic changes adjectives for plural and gender (ትልቅ / ትልልቅ, ትንሽ / ትንሿ); English does not. With several adjectives, English uses a fixed order: opinion – size – age – shape – colour – origin – material – purpose – noun.
In Amharic
ቅጽል ከስሙ በፊት (a cheap apartment) ወይም ከ be, look, feel, seem, get በኋላ ይገባል (The apartment is cheap። You look tired።)። -s በፍጹም አይወስድም፦ two big houses እንጂ two bigs houses አይደለም። አማርኛ ቅጽሎችን ለብዙና ለጾታ ይቀይራል (ትልቅ / ትልልቅ)፤ እንግሊዝኛ አይቀይርም። ብዙ ቅጽሎች ሲኖሩ እንግሊዝኛ ቋሚ ቅደም ተከተል አለው፦ አስተያየት – መጠን – ዕድሜ – ቅርጽ – ቀለም – መነሻ – ቁስ – ዓላማ – ስም።
| Opinion | Size | Age | Shape | Colour | Origin | Material | Purpose | Noun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a beautiful | old | Ethiopian | song | |||||
| a nice | big | white | car | |||||
| a | small | round | wooden | dining | table | |||
| some lovely | new | blue | cotton | dresses | ||||
| a | black | leather | work | bag |
- Two or three adjectives is normal; more sounds unnatural.
- Nationality adjectives take a capital letter: Ethiopian food, a Mexican restaurant.
- Adjectives never take -s: the new rules, three tall men.
- We found a nice two-bedroom apartment.
- She bought a beautiful white traditional dress.
- The new neighbours seem friendly.
- He drives an old red Toyota.
- The weather is getting cold.
-ed or -ing? bored and boring
Many feeling adjectives have two forms. The -ed form describes how a person feels: I'm bored, I'm interested, she's tired. The -ing form describes the thing or person that causes the feeling: The meeting is boring, the job is tiring. If you say I'm boring, you mean other people find you dull.
In Amharic
ብዙ የስሜት ቅጽሎች ሁለት ቅርጽ አላቸው። የ -ed ቅርጹ አንድ ሰው እንዴት እንደሚሰማው ይገልጻል፦ I'm bored (ሰልችቶኛል)፣ I'm interested፣ she's tired። የ -ing ቅርጹ ስሜቱን የሚፈጥረውን ነገር ወይም ሰው ይገልጻል፦ The meeting is boring (ስብሰባው አሰልቺ ነው)፣ the job is tiring። I'm boring ካሉ ሌሎች እርስዎን አሰልቺ ሆነው ያገኙዎታል ማለት ነው።
| -ed: how I feel | -ing: what causes it |
|---|---|
| bored | boring |
| tired | tiring |
| interested | interesting |
| confused | confusing |
| excited | exciting |
| worried | worrying |
| surprised | surprising |
- People feel -ed; things are -ing. A person can also be -ing if they cause the feeling: He's an interesting man.
- Prepositions after -ed: interested in, bored with, worried about, excited about, tired of.
- The tax form is confusing. I'm really confused.
- We're excited about our trip to Ethiopia.
- Twelve-hour shifts are tiring.
- I'm interested in the warehouse job.
- It's worrying that rent keeps going up.
Comparatives, superlatives and as … as
To compare two things, use the comparative + than: Denver is colder than Las Vegas. Amharic says ከላስ ቬጋስ ይበርዳል, putting ከ before the thing compared; English puts than after the adjective. For the top of a group, use the + superlative: the cheapest store, the most expensive car. To say two things are equal, use as + adjective + as; for not equal, not as … as.
In Amharic
ሁለት ነገሮችን ለማነጻጸር comparative + than ይጠቀሙ፦ Denver is colder than Las Vegas። አማርኛ “ዴንቨር ከላስ ቬጋስ ይበርዳል” ይላል፣ “ከ”ን ከሚነጻጸረው ነገር በፊት ያደርጋል፤ እንግሊዝኛ than የሚለውን ከቅጽሉ በኋላ ያደርጋል። ለቡድን የመጀመሪያ the + superlative ይጠቀሙ፦ the cheapest store, the most expensive car። ሁለት ነገሮች እኩል መሆናቸውን ለመናገር as + ቅጽል + as፤ እኩል ላለመሆን not as … as።
| Adjective | Rule | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|---|
| one syllable: cheap | + er / + est | cheaper | the cheapest |
| ends in -e: nice | + r / + st | nicer | the nicest |
| one vowel + consonant: big | double the consonant | bigger | the biggest |
| ends in -y: easy | y → ier / iest | easier | the easiest |
| two or more syllables: expensive | more / the most | more expensive | the most expensive |
| irregular: good / bad / far | — | better / worse / farther | the best / the worst / the farthest |
- Never use more with -er: cheaper (not more cheaper).
- as … as uses the plain adjective: as big as, not as bigger as.
- Make the difference bigger or smaller with much, a lot, a little: much cheaper, a little bigger.
- The new apartment is bigger than our old one.
- This is the best Ethiopian restaurant in the city.
- Summer in Las Vegas is hotter than in Addis.
- My commute isn't as long as yours.
- Gas is a little more expensive this week.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| They are good workers. | Adjectives never take -s. | |
| a white car | The adjective goes before the noun. | |
| I am bored in this class. | Use -ed for how you feel. | |
| This store is cheaper. | Don't use more with an -er comparative. | |
| She is taller than me. | Comparatives take than, not from (Amharic ከ). | |
| a beautiful red dress | Opinion comes before colour. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
Choose the right order.
The movie was really ___.
I'm ___ in the cashier job.
Comparative of “big”: ___
Superlative of “easy”: the ___
This phone is ___ than that one.
Comparative of “good”: ___
My car is as old ___ yours.
Phoenix is hotter ___ Denver.
Correct it: “They have two smalls children.” → They have two ___ children.
It's ___ day of the year.