Adjectives are one of the most important parts of any language. Without them, you couldn’t describe the smell of a flower, how someone makes you feel, or how food tastes. They add texture and life to a language.

There are tens of thousands of adjectives (and adverbs) in English, and while you don’t have to learn all of them, it’s essential that you learn at least a few dozen – if not a few hundred – so you can accurately and fully express yourself. But how do you do this? Here are three simple steps to learn English adjectives.

3 Simple Steps to Learn English Adjectives

1. One Theme at a Time

One of the best ways to learn vocabulary in general is to learn words based on a common theme. For example, one day you can focus on food; the next you can study personality; the next, sounds.

There are websites and books that organize vocabulary around themes. Check out The Learn English Network and languageguide.org to see words grouped around a number of categories.

But don’t just read lists of words; make lists or spider diagrams of adjectives around themes relevant to you. Writing words down helps you remember them better.

In addition, write sentences using the adjectives you learn and try to use them in conversation as much as possible. Focus on one or two themes per week – you’ll be able to learn English adjectives better if you’re learning fewer of them and using them as much as possible.

2. Learn Opposites

Another way you can organize your learning is to learn adjective opposites. This method is especially helpful for beginners. You can find lists of opposite adjectives online; for example, go to My English Pages for a list of opposites and exercises.

A thesaurus is also a great resource; a thesaurus provides synonyms (and antonyms) for words rather than definitions. After you find (or make) a list of adjectives around a certain theme, go to thesaurus.com and add more synonyms and antonyms to your list.

3. Don’t Forget Adjective Order

It’s also important to study the grammar related to adjectives, which means you must learn how to properly order adjectives in a sentence. Unfortunately, we can’t just list adjectives in any order – there are rules for which come first, second, third, and so on.

Native speakers are often unaware that there are rules governing adjective order; they simply learn it from experience. English learners, however, must study the rules.

So what are these rules? You can find thorough explanations and exercises in textbooks and online but here are the general guidelines.

First, we use adjectives of general opinion – words like good, bad, and beautiful.

Next, come adjectives that express a specific opinion; in other words, adjectives that describe particular kinds of things like food, furniture, and people. For example, delicious could describe a food, and comfortable could describe furniture.

Next up are adjectives describing size, then shape, and so on. It’s a bit confusing. The more you read, listen to, and study English, the more natural adjective order will become for you.

The Wide World of Adjectives

There are thousands of adjectives in English, so learning them takes time. Simplify your learning by studying adjectives by theme and studying opposites.

Be sure to study all the categories of adjectives: these include not only descriptive adjectives like big, lovely, etc., but also possessive adjectives such as my and theirs, comparative adjectives such as more, larger, heavier, and so forth.

The past simple is a very common tense in English. There are several tenses that describe the past in English, such as the past simple, the past continuous, and the past perfect. As the name implies, the it is the simplest of these.

For example: He studied English last night.

The verb in this sentence, study, is in the past simple tense.

Using the Past Simple

1. Describe a Finished Action

Use it to describe a finished action in the past that happened once or more than once. The key here is that the action is finished. It doesn’t continue now.

For example: “I called him at 6:00.”

Called is the past tense form of the word call. The sentence implies that it’s after 6:00 – maybe it’s the same day, maybe it’s not – and the action is finished. You’re not on the phone with him anymore.

2. Describe an Action in the Past

Use it to describe an action in the past interrupting another past action. We use the past simple when we are referring to an action that took place in the middle of another action in the past.

For example: “I dropped the spoon while I was cooking.”

This means that the person started cooking first, then while she was cooking she dropped the spoon. The implication is that these two actions happened at the same time, but she dropped the spoon after she started cooking. The phrase was cooking is in the past continuous tense.

3. Describe Multiple Actions in the Past

Use it for multiple actions in the past happening one after another. The past simple is also used to describe a series of finished actions that happened in the past.

For example: “He put on his coat, opened the door, and went outside.”

These actions happened one after another. First, he put on his coat, then he opened the door, then he went outside. He didn’t do them at the same time.

4. Look for Signal Words

Signal words are words like first, therefore, or while; they are used to connect ideas and show a logical relationship between ideas. They show time and order, comparison and contrast, cause and effect, and more.

In relation to the past simple, signal words can signal to the listener or reader if an action happened in the past and whether or not it’s finished.

For example: “They met four months ago.”

The word ago connotes that the action is finished. They met – this is a one-time action – and now, presumably, they know each other. Another common signal word is last.

For example: “She bought the car last Friday.”

This indicates that the action happened in the past, on the most recent Friday, and is finished.

5. Learn Irregular Verbs

This is a big one. In English there are regular verbs and irregular verbs. With regular verbs, you add -ed to the end of the base form of the verb. So, the past simple form of clean is cleaned.

Irregular verbs don’t have a regular past simple form; they have many different forms and they simply have to be memorized. For example, the past of eat is ate; the past of buy is bought; drink becomes drank; and so on.

It’s very important to learn irregular verbs. You can find lists, examples, and exercises online.

You are learning or learned the present simple verb tense in your first ESL grammar class, but you still might be making these mistakes. Check your understanding and challenge yourself to master these rules.

The Present Simple Verb Tense

We use the present simple to talk about actions that are either normal or usual. These actions might be a habit, a hobby, or an event that frequently occurs.

Usually, you can add an -s or -es to the end of a base or infinitive verb (See examples below).

Spelling Mistakes

Changing y to i

Are you changing your y’s to i’s? Verbs that end in -y, such as study are spelled differently.

To spell these verbs correctly, simply change the y to an i. Then add the -es to the end of the word (See examples below).

Sibilant Sounds to -es

What are sibilant sounds? These are sounds that you make by placing your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Letters such as ch, sh, ss, tch, x, and zz make sibilant sounds.

When a verb ends with these sounds, you need to change the spelling to end with an -es (See examples below).

Grammar Mistakes

Be Versus Do

The negative verb tense is used to talk about actions or events that do not usually happen. Most of the time, we use the negative form of the verb do to express things that don’t happen. For example, to express the negative of the verb travel, you can say, I do not travel.

Be careful not to use the verb be when talking about things that do not usually happen. Saying, I am not travel is incorrect. We only use the verb to be when talking about our states of being, not our actions.

I, He, She, They, We, It

Always remember which pronouns require verbs that end in -s. Try to memorize these verb tenses so that you don’t make this simple mistake.

Irregular Verbs

Some verbs are irregular and follow different rules (See below). The verbs go, do, be, and have are commonly used, so be sure you learn how to use them correctly.

Yes/No Question Form

When you ask questions, you should use the verb do. Be careful not to use the verbs be, go, or have.

For example, Does she walk to work? is correct. However, the sentence, Goes she to work? is incorrect.

Try to get into the habit of using do when asking a yes/no question so that you don’t make this simple mistake.

Exercises to Help You Avoid These Mistakes

Are you making these present simple mistakes in your English? There are many websites online where you can test yourself. Here are some short exercises for practicing these specific problems.

• Match the verb ending with the correct subject: Here is a huge collection of exercises. These are sure to prevent you from making these present simple mistakes.
• Ending verbs with an s, es, or ies: See how well you can spell different verbs. Also, there are tons of other practice tests in the left column of this page.
• Online practice for yes/no questions: These short tests require you to fill in the missing verbs in order to write the question form in the present simple.

Everyone makes mistakes from time to time. You can not change the fact that you are an ESL English user. That’s the wonderful and unique thing about you. However, you don’t need to make these simple mistakes when you use English.

Now that you know about these common errors, try to memorize the rules and avoid using the wrong grammar and spelling. Good luck!