by R. S. Karunaratne

Adjectival phrases with prepositions

An adjectival phrase does not begin with ‘who, which’ or ‘that.’
It usually begins with a preposition.
We read the books in the library.

Rama admired the ring on Kanchana’s finger.
The soldiers put up tents around the lake.
The poor family lived in a hut by the river.

There is a temple near the shopping centre.
They put up a two-storeyed building next to the theatre.
A boy with brown eyes sat next to me.

When an adjectival phrase describes the subject of the sentence, it comes between the subject and the finite verb.

The finite verb should agree with the subject.
The plays at the Tower Hall were exciting.
The play at the Elphinstone was exciting.

The room between the library and the laboratory is occupied by the librarian.
The house next to ours is still vacant.
The big man in front of me is blocking my view.
An adjectival phrase does not have a finite verb.

However, an adjectival clause has a finite verb.
Rama admired the ring on Kanchana’s finger. (Adjectival phrase)
Rama admired the ring that was on Kanchana’s finger. (adjectival clause)

The clown is the man in funny clothes. (Adjectival phrase)
The clown is the who is in funny clothes. (adjectival clause)

The children attended the exhibition at the National Art Gallery. (Adjectival phrase)

The children attended the exhibition which was held at the National Art Gallery. (Adjectival clause)

The lady in blue is my sister. (Adjectival phrase)
The lady who is in blue is my sister. (Adjectival clause)
The money under the pillow belongs to me. (Adjectival phrase)
The money which is under the pillow belongs to me. (Adjectival clause)

[Activity]

Rewrite the following sentences using adjectival clauses.

Check your answers with the key.

1. The girl in a red costume is my sister. ................................................
2. The tall man with a walking stick is my grandfather. ............................................
3. The hedge around my garden has a large hole. ........................................................
4. We visited a temple by the river. .....................................................................
5. The trees along the river bank are lovely. ...............................................................

Key:

1. The girl who is in a red costume is my sister.
2. The tall man who carries a walking stick is my grandfather.
3. The hedge that is around my garden has a large hole.
4. We visited a temple that was by the river.
5. The trees that are along the river bank are lovely.

A rich vocabulary will help you to speak and write English more effectively than others.

Here is a carefully selected set of words used in model sentences.

Pick up the right meaning for the words in bold type. check your answers with the key.

1. Barbara took elocution lessons to make her accent sound more genteel.

(a) being very polite
(b) stupid
(c) eloquent

2. The jocund mood of my birthday party was shattered by the sudden blackout.

(a) sad
(b) pleasant
(c) angry

3. Some people become loquacious when they are under the influence of liquor.

(a) sleepy
(b) violent
(c) talkative

4. Although John’s political columns are often tendentious, I find them quite entertaining.

(a) sarcastic
(b) opinionated
(c) rambling

5. The manager was unprepared for his assistant’s truculent outburst.

(a) fierce
(b) sudden
(c) calculated

6. Roger’s vacuous stare confirmed that he was a drug addict.

(a) fierce
(b) vicious 
(c) empty

7. Venal officials in the government service are the real enemies of the people.

(a) who can be easily satisfied
(b) who can be promoted
(c) who can be bribed

8. The amorphous monster in the science fiction frightened young readers.

(a) shapeless
(b) big
(c) small

9. After skipping lunch we had a gargantuan appetite for dinner.

(a) small
(b) huge
(c) poor

10. If you have an iota of sympathy, you will support the poor family.

(a) a very small quantity
(b) a big amount
(c) a negligible quantity

[Key:]

1. (a) 2. (b) 3. (c) 4. (b) 5. (a) 6. (c) 7. (c) 8. (a) 9. (b) 10. (a)

Starters:

The use of adjectives

The adjective usually comes before the noun.
Shane lives in a modern house.
It’s a nice day today.
Eva has got blue eyes.
There’s a very old temple in the village.

I do not like Italian food.
Malalasekara knew many foreign languages.

There are many old people in the homes for the aged.
The endings of adjectives do not change.
Now he is doing a different job.
The workers come from different places.

Bullfighting is a dangerous sport.
Some people like to do dangerous sports.
Rex drives an expensive car.

All the company directors have expensive cars.
This is a sharp knife.
These are sharp knives.
Old people like to talk about the past.

The old man could not recognize me.
We use adjectives after ‘Be’ verbs.
(be, am, is, are, was, were)

The weather is nice today.
The flowers you brought are very beautiful.

A: Close the window, please.
B: Why? Are you cold?

The novel wasn’t interesting.
His lecture was boring.
Be silent! The principal is coming.

We use adjectives after certain verbs such as “look, feel, smell, taste” and “sound.”You look tired.

We feel tired.Your story sounds interesting.
This flower smells good.
We are Sri Lankans.It is interesting.
The apple tastes good.

[Activity]

In the following conversation “B” doesn’t agree with “A”.

Use the words in brackets.

Check your answers with the key.

1. A: You sound happy.
B: Do I? (feel) I ...............................

2. A: He is Indian.
B: Is he? (sound) He ...........................

3. A: Swarna is very rich.
B: Is she? (look) She ..............................

4. A: You look sad.
B: Do I? (feel) I ..................................

5. A: I am Sri Lankan.
B: Are you? (sound) You .............................

6. A: Sri Lankans are very friendly.
B: Are they? (look) They .............................

7. A: Her meal looks good.
B: Does it? (taste) It ...............................

8. A: The building is nice.
B: Does it? (look) It ...............................

9. A: This is a new film.
B: Is it? (look) It ................................

10. A: I am surprised.
B: Are you? (look) You .........................

[Key:]

1. I don’t feel happy.
2. He doesn’t sound Indian.
3. She doesn’t look very rich.
4. I don’t feel sad.
5. You don’t sound Sri Lankan.
6. They don’t look friendly.
7. It doesn’t taste good.
8. It doesn’t look nice.
9. It doesn’t look new.
10. You don’t look surprised.

Adjectives from nouns

It is useful to know how to build word families. For a start, let’s make adjectives from nouns.

Write the relevant adjectives against the nouns and check your answers with the key.

[Nouns] [Adjectives]

1. keenness ...................
2. keep ...................
3. kindness ...................
4. knowledge ...................
5. laugh ...................
6. law ...................
7. laziness ...................
8. lead ...................
9. learning ...................
10. legality ....................
11. length ...................
12. lie ...................
13. life ...................
14. light ...................
15. likelihood ..................
16. limit ...................
17. literature ..................
18. liveliness ..................
19. loss ...................
20. love ...................
21. low ...................
22. luck ...................
23. machine ...................
24. magic ...................
25. man ...................
26. management ..................
27. mark ...................
28. market ...................
29. marriage ....................
30. match ...................
31. material ....................
32. meaning ....................
33. measure ....................
34. medicine ....................
35. memory ....................
36. mentality ....................
37. method ....................
38. mind ....................
39. miss ....................
40. mistake ....................

[Key:]

1. keen
2. kept
3. kind
4. known
5. laughable
6. lawful
7. lazy
8. leading
9. learned
10. legal
11. lengthy
12. lying
13. lifeless
14. light
15. likely
16. limited
17. literary
18. live
19. lost
20. lovable
21. lowly
22. lucky
23. mechanical
24. magical
25. manly
26. manageable
27. marked
28. marketable
29. married
30. matching
31. materialistic
32. meaningful
33. measurable
34. medical
35. memorable
36. mental
37. methodical
38. mindless
39. missing
40. mistaken