Practice
Adjectives of quality: examples and use
A quiet room, a reliable friend, and a difficult decision all use adjectives to tell us more about a noun. These are adjectives of quality because they describe a characteristic, not a number, owner, or material.
Use an adjective of quality to describe what a person or thing is like, and place it naturally before a noun or after a linking verb.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
adjective of quality /ˈædʒɪktɪv əv ˈkwɑləti/
The short answer
Use an adjective of quality to describe a characteristic. Put it before a noun, as in a careful driver, or after a linking verb, as in The driver is careful. The adjective does not change for singular and plural nouns.
The careful driver checked the map before leaving.
Why it works: Careful tells us what kind of driver this is. It describes the driver's behavior.
5 more examples
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We chose a quiet table near the window.
Quiet describes the atmosphere at the table. It comes before the noun it describes.
Not this:We chose a
wooden tablenear the window. What changes: Wooden identifies the material. It gives information about the table, but it does not describe a quality such as quiet, useful, or beautiful. -
Her explanation was clear and useful.
Both adjectives follow was and describe the explanation.
Not this:Her explanation was
for the new staff. What changes: For the new staff is a prepositional phrase. It tells us who received the explanation, not what the explanation was like. -
The narrow path became muddy after the rain.
Narrow describes the path before the noun. Muddy follows became and describes its new condition.
Not this:The path became
a shortcutafter the bridge opened. What changes: A shortcut is a noun phrase after became. It identifies what the path became rather than describing a quality. -
They hired two experienced assistants.
Experienced describes the assistants. The form stays experienced even though assistants is plural.
Not this:They hired two assistants
from the local college. What changes: The phrase names where the assistants came from. It does not describe their quality. -
This solution sounds practical.
Practical follows the linking verb sounds and describes the solution.
Not this:This solution
sounds like the earlier plan. What changes: Like the earlier plan compares two things. Practical gives a direct description of the solution.
Read the full guide
Choose the adjective by meaning first. A quality adjective tells the reader what the noun is like. It may give a fact, such as blue or narrow, or an opinion, such as useful or boring. Then check its position in the sentence.
Describe what the noun is like
A quality adjective adds a characteristic to a noun. It can tell you that a suitcase is heavy, a street is narrow, or a colleague is patient. The word answers the question What is it like?
We need a reliable printer for the office.
Reliable describes what kind of printer the office needs.
Which word describes the suitcase in a heavy suitcase?
Heavy is the adjective of quality because it describes the suitcase.
Put the adjective before the noun
Most often, an adjective of quality comes directly before the noun. This position helps the reader identify the noun and its characteristic together.
A noisy bus passed the library.
Noisy comes before bus and describes the sound of the bus.
Put the words in order: coat / comfortable / a.
Write a comfortable coat. Comfortable comes before the noun coat.
Use a linking verb after the noun
The adjective can also come after a linking verb. Common linking verbs include be, seem, become, feel, look, sound, and smell. In this pattern, the adjective still describes the subject.
The instructions seem clear.
Clear describes the instructions after the linking verb seem.
Choose the word that completes the sentence: The soup smells ___.
Use delicious. The soup smells delicious. Delicious describes the soup.
Keep adjectives unchanged for plural nouns
English adjectives usually do not change for plural nouns. A helpful neighbor and helpful neighbors use the same adjective. The noun changes to show plural, but helpful does not.
The new phones are light and durable.
Phones is plural, but light and durable do not take an extra ending.
Choose the correct phrase: three useful apps or three usefuls apps?
Use three useful apps. Useful stays the same before a plural noun.
Choose the word that matches the meaning
A quality adjective can state a feature or an opinion. Blue, old, and narrow give different kinds of description. Interesting, helpful, and disappointing show a reaction or judgment. Check that the word says what you mean.
The museum has an interesting exhibition about local history.
Interesting gives the speaker's positive judgment about the exhibition.
Choose a word for a meeting that used time well: efficient or green?
Use efficient if you mean that the meeting used time well.
Before you go
Remember this
Use an adjective of quality to say what a noun is like. Put it before the noun or after a linking verb. Keep the same adjective form with singular and plural nouns, and choose a word that describes a real characteristic rather than ownership, number, or material.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Adjectives of quality: examples and use"
What is an adjective of quality?
An adjective of quality describes a characteristic of a person, place, thing, or idea. In a quiet street, quiet describes the street. The characteristic may be a fact, such as narrow or blue, or an opinion, such as useful or boring.
We chose a quiet table near the window.
Is a qualitative adjective the same as an adjective of quality?
Usually, yes. Both labels are used for an adjective that describes what something is like. Many learner dictionaries and grammar resources also use the broader label descriptive adjective. Focus on the job of the word in the sentence rather than the label alone.
We chose a wooden table near the window.
Where do adjectives of quality go in a sentence?
They usually go before a noun, as in a useful tool. They can also follow a linking verb, as in The tool is useful. Linking verbs include be, seem, become, feel, look, sound, and smell when they connect the subject to a description.
Her explanation was clear and useful.
Do quality adjectives change for plural nouns?
No. English adjectives normally keep the same form with singular and plural nouns. Say a quiet room and quiet rooms. The noun changes for plural, but the adjective does not become quiets.
Her explanation was for the new staff.
How is an adjective of quality different from a material adjective?
A quality adjective describes a characteristic, such as soft, strong, or expensive. A material adjective tells you what something is made of, such as wooden, metal, or plastic. Both can appear before a noun, but they give different kinds of information.
The narrow path became muddy after the rain.