Некоторые имена прилагательные в английском языке могут употребляться в значении существительных. В данном случае они употребляются со значением множественного числа, обозначая всех лиц или группу лиц, обладающих данным признаком, не принимают окончания -s и употребляются с определённым артиклем.
| The old do not always understand the young. | Старики не всегда понимают молодёжь. |
| The injured were taken to hospital. | Раненные были отравлены в больницу. |
Прилагательные, обозначающие национальность могут превращаться в существительные, обозначающие лиц данной национальности:
а) прилагательные, оканчивающиеся на -an, -ian (Italian итальянский, German немецкийи т. д.), превращаясь в существительные, во множественном числе принимают окончание - s:
| a Norwegian норвежец | two Norwegians два норвежца |
| an American американец | two Americans два американца |
Во множественном числе такие существительные могут употребляться для обозначения данной нации в целом. В этом случае перед ними стоит определённый артикль: the Americans американцы, the Russians русские;
б) прилагательные, оканчивающиеся на -se и -ss (Chinese китайский, Swiss швейцарскийи т. д.), превращаясь в существительные, употребляются со значением как единственного, так и множественного числа. Во множественном числе они не принимают окончания -s и могут употребляться также для обозначения данной нации в целом. В этом случае перед ними стоит определенный артикль:
| a Swiss швейцарец | two Swiss два швейцарца | the Swiss швейцарцы |
| a Japanese японец | two Japanese два японца | the Japanese японцы |
в) Прилагательные, оканчивающиеся на -sh и -ch (English английский, French французский и т. д.), превращаясь в существительные, употребляются с определённым артиклем со значением множественного числа для обозначения данной нации в целом: the French французы, the English англичане, the Dutch голландцы, the Spanish испанцы. Когда речь не идет о нации в целом, употребляются составные существительные, образованные от данного прилагательного и существительных man, woman, men, women:
| a Dutchman голландец | three Frenchmen три француза |
Место прилагательного в предложении
Имя прилагательное в функции определения стоит перед тем существительным, к которому оно относится, а в функции именной части составного сказуемого после глагола-связки.
| I have a white kitten. | У меня белый котёнок. |
| My kitten is white. | Мой котёнок белый. |
Когда существительное определяется двумя или более прилагательными, они обычно идут в следующем порядке: мнение/размер/возраст/форма/цвет/ происхождение/материал/для чего используется/существительное – an expensive large old rectangular white Greek marble dinner table.
EXERCISES
| Exercise 1. | Give the comparative and superlative of the following adjectives. |
| accurate | famous | inconvenient | rich | stupid |
| brilliant | fat | intelligent | shallow | thin |
| careful | funny | lonely | sharp | tight |
| clever | gay | meaningless | shy | ugly |
| deep | glad | narrow | silly | wicked |
| dry | grey | real | strange | yellow |
| Exercise 2. | Supply the missing forms. |
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative | |
| 1. | good | ||
| 2. | worse | ||
| 3. | farthest | ||
| 4. | further | ||
| 5. | eldest | ||
| 6. | older | ||
| 7. | near | ||
| 8. | last | ||
| 9. | later | ||
| 10. | little |
| Exercise 3. | Pick the correct words in the brackets. |
| 1. | My father is as ____ (old, older, the oldest) as his father. |
| 2. | She is ____ (pretty, prettier, prettiest) than her sister. |
| 3. | You are not as ____ (clever, cleverer, the cleverest) as your brother. |
| 4. | That pond is the ____ (shallow, shallower, shallowest) in this area. |
| 5. | That has to be the ____ (interesting, more interesting, most interesting) book I have read. |
| 6. | Which university offers ____ (the good, the better, the best) degree courses? |
| 7. | This clown is not as ____ (funny, funnier, funniest) as the other one. |
| 8. | He is the ____ (bad, worse, worst) pupil in the group. |
| 9. | The second half of the play was ____ (little, less, the least) interesting. |
| 10. | What is ____ (far, farther, the farthest) distance you have ever run? |
| Exercise 4. | Use either as … asornot as … asin the sentences below. |
| Model: | Ben Nevis is ____ as Mont Blanc (not / high). Ben Nevis is not as high as Mont Blanc. |
| 1. | My car is ____ his car. (fast) |
| 2. | Kate is ____ Jane. (not / tall) |
| 3. | Thiscake is ____ that cake. (not / tasty) |
| 4. | This copy is ____ the other one. (bad) |
| 5. | Oliver is ____ Peter. (optimistic) |
| 6. | Today it’s ____ yesterday. (not / windy) |
| 7. | The tomato soup was ____ the mushroom soup. (delicious) |
| 8. | Apple juice is ____ lemonade. (not / sweet) |
| 9. | Oleg is ____ Alex. (brave) |
| 10. | Silver is ____ gold. (not / heavy) |
| Exercise 5. | Fill in the correct form of the words in brackets (comparative or superlative) . |
| 1. | My piece of cake is ____ (big) than yours. |
| 2. | This photo is ____ (beautiful) than that one. |
| 3. | This is the ____ (interesting) book I have ever read. |
| 4. | Non-smokers usually live ____ (long) than smokers. |
| 5. | Which is the ____ (small) animal in the world? |
| 6. | A holiday by the sea is ____ (good) than a holiday in the mountains. |
| 7. | It is strange but often a coke is ____ (expensive) than a beer. |
| 8. | Who is the ____ (old) man on earth? |
| 9. | The weather this summer is even ____ (good) than last summer. |
| 10. | He was the ____ (clever) thief of all. |
| Exercise 6. | Insert the appropriate form of the adjective given in brackets and supply the article where necessary. |
| 1. | The theatre is one of ____ buildings in the city (beautiful). |
| 2. | Kate always chooses ____ way (easy). |
| 3. | I cannot imagine ____ situation (awkward). |
| 4. | I don’t like your behaviour. You ought to be ____ (respectful). |
| 5. | That article was ____, this one is still ____ (good, good). |
| 6. | Are there ____ tickets available (cheap)? |
| 7. | The book was not so ____ as I expected (interesting). |
| 8. | She is a ____ teacher I have ever seen. And today she has been ____ than ever (kind, kind). |
| 9. | Ann is ____ student in the group (intelligent). |
| 10. | This is ____way to the airport (short). |
| Exercise 7. | Read and translate the sentence. Find and comment on the substantivized adjectives. |
| 1. | There are many variables and unknowns. |
| 2. | The green of the trees was exquisite. |
| 3. | The Dutch are friendly people. |
| 4. | He basked in the company of the young. |
| 5. | We must take the bitter along with the sweet. |
| 6. | The poor must stand together everywhere. |
| 7. | The prospect of a new business deal gave her a high. |
| 8. | His illustrated talk presented the highs and lows of his journey. |
| 9. | The Englishare well-known for their mastery of sailing. |
| Why do you ignore the obvious? | |
| 11. | The navy was in the thick of the fighting. |
| 12. | She always tries to see the best in people. |
| 13. | He was a German through and through. |
| 14. | He is working like a black. |
| 15. | We must turn human wrongs into human rights. |
| 16. | The mysterioushas always attracted people. |
| 17. | Chinesehas become one of the most popular languages among European students. |
| Exercise 8. | Put the adjectives in the correct order. |
| 1. | a(n) ____ dress | ||||||
| A. | silk | B. | white | C. | long | D. | expensive |
| 2. | a(n) ____ wall | ||||||
| A. | brick | B. | red | C. | high | ||
| 3. | ____ shoes | ||||||
| A. | smart | B. | those | C. | brown | D. | snake-skin |
| 4. | a(n) ____ house | ||||||
| A. | old | B. | brick | C. | ugly | D. | urban |
| 5. | a(n) ____ motorbike | ||||||
| A. | Japanese | B. | green | C. | fantastic | ||
| 6. | a(n) ____ spoon | ||||||
| A. | plastic | B. | nice | C. | little | D. | blue |
| 7. | a(n) ____ coin | ||||||
| A. | gold | B. | round | C. | tiny | D. | Russian |
| 8. | a(n) ____ armchair | ||||||
| A. | new | B. | wooden | C. | black | D. | huge |
| 9. | a(n) ____ song | ||||||
| A. | sentimental | B. | Irish | C. | old | ||
| 10. | ____ hair | ||||||
| A. | fair | B. | wavy | C. | long | D. | lovely |
| Exercise 9. | Put the adjectives in the correct order. |
| 1. | Why can’t you wear your ____ (pink, silk) dress tonight? |
| 2. | That ____ (foreign, old) woman needs help. |
| 3. | Tom never lets his sister drive his ____ (sports, expensive) car. |
| 4. | When travelling to Peru, make sure you visit the ____ (ancient, Inca) ruins. |
| 5. | Jane has just bought a ____ (silk, pretty, purple) dress. |
| 6. | She put her copybook in a ____ (plastic, small, brown) bag. |
| 7. | He was a very good-looking man with ____ (dark, long, lovely) hair. |
| 8. | It’s a day. Let’s go to the ____ (bright, sunny, lovely) beach. |
| 9. | He has bought a ____ (new, sports, Japanese, red) car. |
| 10. | My brother has just got engaged to a ____ (blonde, beautiful, Swedish, young) girl. |
| 11. | The boy needs ten ____ (cotton, small, white) balls for that activity. |
| 12. | The only thing stolen was a(n) ____ (Swiss, valuable, gold, antique) watch. |
Наречие (The Adverb)
Наречием называется часть речи, указывающая на признак действия или на различные обстоятельства, при которых протекает действие. Наречие относится к глаголу и показывает как, где, когда и т. д. совершается действие.
| I haven’t seen him recently. | Я его в последнее время не видел. |
| I always get up early. | Я всегда встаю рано. |
| Sasha works hard. | Саша работает усердно. |
Иногда наречие может относиться к другому наречию либо прилагательному, указывая на их признаки.
| You are very beautiful. | Ты очень красивая. |
| She knows English quite well. | Она знает английский достаточно хорошо. |
В предложении наречие служит обстоятельством.
