Read each passage and fill in the missing adjectives using the word bank. Each text has several gaps.
Sort adjectives into the correct register. Click a word, then click a column. 24 words per set.
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An adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun. At elementary level, the challenge is vocabulary. At B2-C2, the vocabulary is largely there - the real errors come from using adjectives in the wrong way: wrong intensifier, wrong form, wrong preposition.
This guide targets the four problems that most reliably mark advanced learner output as non-native: gradability (very furious), -ed vs -ing (I was boring), adjective + preposition (afraid from), and position (the asleep baby).
✗ I was very exhausted after the match.
✓ I was utterly exhausted after the match.
exhausted is a strong adjective - it does not take very
Exist on a scale - can be modified by very, quite, fairly, extremely.
tired, angry, happy, cold, surprised
Already extreme in meaning - take absolutely, utterly, completely.
exhausted, furious, thrilled, freezing, devastated
Absolute or classifying - cannot logically be made more or less.
unique, impossible, dead, pregnant, identical
-ed/-ing forms from verbs, often confused by learners at all levels.
bored/boring, excited/exciting, confused/confusing
Gradable adjectives describe properties that exist on a scale: you can be a little tired or very tired. Strong adjectives already contain an extreme meaning: exhausted means completely tired. Combining a gradable intensifier (very, quite, fairly) with a strong adjective is a clear and common error at C1-C2.
✗ She was very furious. - furious already means very angry
✗ It was quite filthy. - filthy already means very dirty
✓ She was absolutely furious.
✓ It was completely filthy.
| Gradable | Strong equivalent(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| angry | furious / livid | livid is slightly more formal; furious is more common |
| tired | exhausted / shattered | shattered is informal British English |
| happy | thrilled / elated / overjoyed | elated and overjoyed are more formal/written |
| sad | devastated / heartbroken / distraught | devastated implies unexpected loss; distraught implies visible distress |
| cold | freezing / arctic | arctic is hyperbolic informal usage |
| hot | boiling / sweltering / scorching | sweltering and scorching typically describe weather or conditions |
| dirty | filthy / disgusting / revolting | disgusting and revolting add a moral disgust element |
| hungry | starving / ravenous | ravenous is slightly more formal |
| surprised | astonished / astounded / flabbergasted | flabbergasted is informal; astounded implies scale or degree |
| funny | hilarious / hysterical | hysterical is informal; hilarious is safe in all contexts |
| bad | terrible / dreadful / appalling | appalling adds a sense of moral shock |
| good | excellent / outstanding / superb / brilliant | brilliant is extremely common in informal British English |
| scared | terrified / petrified | petrified is common in informal speech |
| big | enormous / massive / colossal / gigantic | colossal often collocates with failure, task, waste |
| small | tiny / minute / minuscule | minute (adj) = very small; pronounced /ˈmaɪnjuːt/ |
Exam relevance: Cambridge C1/C2 Part 1 MCQ uses wrong intensifier + strong adjective combinations as distractors. In Part 4 KWTs, you often need to replace a gradable + very/extremely phrase with the strong adjective equivalent. Learn these pairs actively.
Intensifiers modify the degree of an adjective. The critical rule is that gradable and strong adjectives take different intensifiers - and mixing them is an immediate error signal to a native speaker.
| Intensifier | Used with | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| very | Gradable only | very tired, very happy, very cold |
| extremely | Gradable only | extremely difficult, extremely unlikely |
| quite | Both - meaning shifts | quite tired (= fairly); quite exhausted (= completely) |
| fairly / rather | Gradable only | fairly common, rather unusual |
| absolutely | Strong and non-gradable | absolutely exhausted, absolutely unique |
| utterly | Strong (often negative) | utterly devastated, utterly hopeless, utterly ridiculous |
| completely / totally | Strong and non-gradable | completely wrong, totally unnecessary |
| deeply | Emotional gradable adjectives | deeply concerned, deeply moved, deeply offended |
| highly | Specific gradable adjectives | highly unlikely, highly recommended, highly skilled |
| bitterly | Negative emotional adjectives | bitterly disappointed, bitterly cold, bitterly regretted |
| perfectly | Adjectives meaning correct or acceptable | perfectly normal, perfectly reasonable, perfectly clear |
Note on quite: In British English, quite behaves differently with gradable and strong adjectives. Quite tired = fairly tired. Quite exhausted = completely exhausted. The meaning shifts depending on the adjective type. American English uses quite more uniformly to mean fairly.
Non-gradable adjectives describe properties that are absolute (something either is or is not) or classifying (assigning things to categories). Logically, they cannot be made more or less - something is either dead or alive, married or unmarried.
True or false - no middle ground exists.
dead, alive, empty, full, pregnant, identical
Assigns something to a type or category.
nuclear, digital, British, medical, financial
Already contain “completely” in their meaning.
unique, impossible, perfect, infinite, universal
In informal speech, speakers sometimes “grade” these for emphasis - understood as hyperbole.
“This is the most unique design I’ve seen.”
✗ She’s very pregnant.
✗ That’s very perfect.
✗ It’s completely impossible. - impossible already means not possible at all
✓ She’s pregnant. / It’s absolutely impossible.
Note: impossible takes absolutely for emphasis - not because it is being graded. The intensifier signals “I want to emphasise this”, not “somewhat impossible”.
Participial adjectives are one of the most reliable B2-C2 error markers. The rule is consistent and absolute: -ing describes the cause or source; -ed describes the feeling experienced by a person (or animal).
The film was boring. (= the film caused boredom - it is the source)
I was bored. (= I experienced boredom - I am the experiencer)
The results were surprising. (= the results caused surprise)
She was surprised. (= she felt surprised)
✗ I was very boring at the party. - this means you caused boredom in others
✓ I was very bored at the party.
| -ing (cause / source) | -ed (experiencer) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| boring | bored | The most commonly confused pair |
| exciting | excited | - |
| interesting | interested | - |
| confusing | confused | - |
| exhausting | exhausted | exhausting = very tiring as a cause or experience |
| frustrating | frustrated | - |
| satisfying | satisfied | - |
| disappointing | disappointed | - |
| embarrassing | embarrassed | - |
| alarming | alarmed | alarming is very common in news and written English |
| overwhelming | overwhelmed | - |
| inspiring | inspired | - |
Quick test: Ask “who or what has the feeling / causes the feeling?” If the subject is a person experiencing the emotion → -ed. If the subject is a thing, situation, or event causing the emotion → -ing. This test works 100% of the time with these pairs.
When more than one adjective precedes a noun, English follows a fixed order. Native speakers apply this instinctively - breaking it sounds immediately wrong even if the listener cannot identify why.
The mnemonic OSASCOMP (Opinion-Size-Age-Shape-Colour-Origin-Material-Purpose) covers the main categories, though different grammars vary slightly on the middle positions.
✓ a lovely small old rectangular green French silver whittling knife
Opinion → Size → Age → Shape → Colour → Origin → Material → Purpose → Noun
✓ a gorgeous long black leather coat
✗ a black gorgeous long leather coat
Most noun phrases use two or three adjectives at most. The most common friction points in learner writing are opinion before size (a nice big house, not a big nice house) and colour before origin (a little red Chinese box, not a little Chinese red box).
When two adjectives come from the same category (e.g. two colours), use and: a red and white flag.
Cambridge note: Adjective order is not directly tested in most Cambridge exams, but it appears implicitly in Writing tasks and is a reliable marker of C1-C2 fluency in open answers.
Adjective + preposition combinations are collocations - the preposition is fixed and cannot be changed or swapped. There is no rule; they must be learned as units. These are heavily tested at C1 and C2 (Part 1 and Part 4).
Dual prepositions: Some adjectives take different prepositions depending on whether the following word refers to a person or a thing - angry with someone, angry about something. Learn both patterns: disappointed with the result but disappointed by her behaviour.
Most adjectives can appear both before a noun (attributive position) and after a linking verb (predicative position). A small but important set of adjectives is restricted to one position only - using them in the wrong position is a clear error.
These adjectives cannot follow linking verbs like be, seem, appear, become.
✓ the former president
✗ The president was former.
✓ It was sheer nonsense.
✗ The nonsense was sheer.
These adjectives - many beginning with a- - can only follow a linking verb and cannot directly precede a noun.
✓ The baby is asleep.
✗ the asleep baby → use: the sleeping baby
✓ She was afraid.
✗ an afraid person → use: a frightened person
Pattern: The a- prefix (from Old English on-) is the reason most predicative-only adjectives begin with a: asleep, awake, alive, alone, afraid, ablaze, alight, ashamed, ashore. When you encounter an a- adjective, check whether it can precede a noun before using it attributively.
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