English Conversation Course: GRAMMAR: Tobe and Adjectives

English Conversation Course: GRAMMAR

Rules/Aturan

Adjectives are invariable: (Kata sifat  tidak berubah bentuk)
They do not change their form depending on the gender or number of the noun.

Kata sifat tidak berubah bentuknya kata sifat juga

tidak tergantung pada gender atau jumlahkata benda lihat contoh dibawah ini

A beautiful lady

Some beautiful ladies

To emphasise or strengthen the meaning of an adjective use 'very' or 'really':

Untuk menekankan atau memperkuat makna dari penggunaan kata sifat 'sangat' atau 'benar-benar':

A very Beautiful lady

Some really beautiful ladies.

(BUT see also Modifiers/Adverbs/ Tapi Lihat juga penggunaan modifier/kata keterangan)

Position of adjectives/ Posisi kata sifat

a) Usually in front of a noun (biasanya didepan kata benda): A beautiful girl.

b) After verbs like  ( setelah kata kerja seperti) "to be", "to seem" , "to look", "to taste":

Examples/contoh

·         The boy is smart ( anak itu cerdas)

·         He  looks funny ( dia kelihatan lucu)

·         This Gado-gado tastes delicious. ( gado-gado ini terasa lezat)

c) After the noun: in some fixed expressions: ( Setelah kata benda: pada beberapa ungkapan)

Examples

·         The Princess Royal  ( Putri Bangsawan)

·         The President elect  (Presiden terpilih)

·         a court martial        (pengadilan militer)

d) After the noun with the adjectives involved, present, concerned:  (setelah kata benda dengan kata sifat involved, present, concerned )

Examples/contoh

1.    I want to see the people involved/concerned (= the people who have something to do with the matter)/ Saya ingin bertemu orang – orang yang terlibat/berhubungan)

2.    Here is a list of the people present (= the people who were in the building or at the meeting) ( ini daftar orang-orang yang hadir )

Be careful! When these adjectives are used before the noun they have a different meaning:

(Hati-hati) apabila kata sifat dibawah ini digunakan sebelum kata benda memiliki arti yang berbeda)

·         An involved discussion = detailed, complex  ( diskusi yang rumit)

·         A concerned father = worried, anxious ( ayah yang khawatir)

·         The present situation = current, happening now ( situasi saat ini)

FORM AND FUNCTION OF ADJECTIVES

BENTUK DAN FUNGSI KATA SIFAT

Function of Adjectives / FUNGSI KATA SIFAT

Adjectives can: KATA SIFAT DAPAT

Describe feelings or qualities:Menerangkan kualitas dan perasaan

Examples

·         He is a lonely man / dia seorang laki-laki yang kesepian

·         They are honest people / mereka orang jujur

Give nationality or origin: menerangkan kebangsaan dan asal- usul

Examples

·         Pierre is French / Pierre orang Perancis

·         This clock is German / Jam ini dari /buatan Jerman

·         Our house is Victorian / Rumah kami bergaya Victoria

Tell more about a thing's characteristics: menerangkan lebih rinci tentang karakteristik suatu benda/hal

Examples

·         A wooden table. / sebuah meja terbuat dari kayu

·         The knife is sharp. / Pisau itu tajam

Tell us about age: Menerangkan usia

Examples

·         He's young man / dia laki-laki muda

·         My coat is very old / Jaket saya sangat tua

Tell us about size and measurement: Menerangkan ukuran dan sais

Examples

·         John tall man. /John laki-laki yang tinggi

·         This is a very long film. / film ini sangat panjan

Tell us about colour: menerangkan warna

Examples

·         Paul wore a red shirt. /Paul mengenakan kemeja berwarna merah

·         The sunset was crimson and gold. / Matahari terbenam itu berwarna merah tua(lembayung) dan dan keemasan

Tell us about material/what something is made of: Menerangkan bahan. Dari apa sesuatu dibuat

Examples

·         It was a wooden table / ini adalah sebuah meja yang terbuat dari kayu

·         She wore a cotton dress / Dia mengenakan gaun dari Katun

Tell us about shape: menerangkan Bentuk

Examples

·         A rectangular box / sebuah kotak persegi panjang

·         A square envelope / sebuah amplop Persegi

Express a judgement or a value: mengungkapkan nilai atau penilaian

Examples

·         A fantastic film  / sebuah film yang fantastis

·         Grammar is boring. Grammar yang membosankan

Order of Adjectives ( susunan/ urutan kata sifat )

Rules/Aturan

Where a number of adjectives are used together, the order depends on the function of the adjective. The usual order is: ketika beberapa kata sifat digunakan secara bersam-sama, urutannya tergantung pada fungsingnya. Biasanya urutan sebagai berikut:

Value/opinion, Size, Age/Temperature, Shape, Colour, Origin, Material

Nilai/opini, ukuran, usia/suhu, bentuk, warna, asal-usul, bahan

Value/opinion	delicious, lovely, charming
Size	small, huge, tiny
Age/Temperature	old, hot, young
Shape	round, square, rectangular
Colour	red, blonde, black
Origin	Swedish, Victorian, Chinese
Material	plastic, wooden, silver

Examples:

·         a lovely old red post-box / Sebuah kotak pos  yang indah berwarna merah dan tua

·         some small round plastic tables / Beberapa Meja plastic beerbentuk bulat yang kecil

·         some charming small silver ornaments/ beberapa ornamen perak yang kecil dan menawan 

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES

FORMING THE COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE

Using the comparative of adjectives in English is quite easy once you have understood the few simple rules that govern them. Below you will find the rules with examples for each condition. If you are not sure what a syllable or a consonant is - have a look here.

Rules/Aturan

Number of syllables	Comparative	Superlative (see rule)
one syllable	+ -er	+ -est
tall	taller	tallest
one syllable with the spelling consonant + single vowel + consonant: double the final consonant:
fat	fatter	fattest
big	bigger	biggest
sad	sadder	saddest
Number of syllables	Comparative	Superlative
two syllables	+ -er OR more + adj	+ -est OR most + adj
ending in: -y, -ly, -ow ending in: -le, -er or -ure these common adjectives - handsome, polite, pleasant, common, quiet
happy	happier/ more happy	happiest/ most happy
yellow	yellower/ more yellow	yellowest/ most yellow
simple	simpler/ more simple	simplest/ most simple
tender	tenderer/ more tender	tenderest/ most tender
If you are not sure, use MORE + OR MOST + Note: Adjectives ending in '-y' like happy, pretty, busy, sunny, lucky etc:. replace the -y with -ier or -iest in the comparative and superlative form
busy	busier	busiest
Number of syllables	Comparative	Superlative
three syllables or more	more + adj	most + adj
important	more important	most important
expensive	more expensive	most expensive

Examples

·         A cat is fast, a tiger is faster but a cheetah is the fastest

·         A car is heavy, a truck is heavier, but a train is the heaviest

·         A park bench is comfortable, a restaurant chair is more comfortable, but a sofa is the most comfortable

IRREGULAR COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES

These adjectives have completely irregular comparative and superlative forms:

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative
good	better	best
bad	worse	worst
little	less	least
much	more	most
far	further / farther	furthest / farthest

NOT AS + ADJECTIVE + AS

Difference can also be shown by using not so/as ...as:

Examples

·         Mont Blanc is not as high as Mount Everest

·         Norway is not as sunny as Thailand

·         A bicycle is not as expensive as a car

·         Arthur is not as intelligent as Albert

COMPARISONS OF QUANTITY

To show difference: more, less, fewer + than
To show no difference: as much as , as many as, as few as, as little as

COMPARISONS OF QUANTITY

To show difference: more, less, fewer + than

Examples:

With countable nouns: more / fewer

·         Eloise has more children than Chantal.

·         Chantal has fewer children than Eloise.

·         There are fewer dogs in Cardiff than in Bristol

·         I have visited fewer countries than my friend has.

·         He has read fewer books than she has.

With uncountable nouns: more / less

·         Eloise has more money than Chantal.

·         Chantal has less money than Eloise.

·         I spend less time on homework than you do.

·         Cats drink less water than dogs.

·         This new dictionary gives more information than the old one.

So, the rule is:

MORE + nouns that are countable or uncountable
FEWER + countable nouns
LESS + uncountable nouns

COMPARISONS OF QUANTITY

Rules

To show no difference: as much as , as many as, as few as, as little as

·         as many as / as few as + countable nouns

·         as much as / as little as + uncountable nouns

Examples:

With countable nouns:

·         They have as many children as us.

·         We have as many customers as them.

·         Tom has as few books as Jane.

·         There are as few houses in his village as in mine.

·         You know as many people as I do.

·         I have visited the States as many times as he has.

With uncountable nouns:

·         John eats as much food as Peter.

·         Jim has as little food as Sam.

·         You've heard as much news as I have.

·         He's had as much success as his brother has.

·         They've got as little water as we have.