V. Choose the adjective (of Germanic, Greek or Latin origin) which best fits the meaning of these sentences.

CHECK YOUR ADJECTIVE VOCABULARY

I. Read and translate the sentences. Pay attention to the descriptions given in them. Apply to a dictionary if necessary.

1. Harry looked nothing like the rest of the family. Uncle Vernon was large and neckless, with an enormous black moustache; Aunt Petunia was horse-faced and bony; Dudley was blond, pink and porky. Harry, on the other hand, was small and skinny, with brilliant green eyes and jet-black hair that was always untidy. He wore round glasses, and on his forehead was a thin scar.

2. Mrs.Reynolds was a tall, striking woman in her late forties, with blond hair and a typical pink English complexion. She had a friendly smile and an assertive yet sympathetic way about her.

3. Tonight Samantha wore well-tailored blue jeans, a white cotton shirt, a black gabardine blazer, and highly polished black Oxfords with white socks.

4.1 shivered. It was a damp November night and quite cold, typical English winter weather.

5. It was a radiant day, the sky was a high blue and clear, and the sun was brilliant.

6. It was a blustery day. There was a high wind that blew the new green leaves off the trees. It was a chilly morning but the sky was a cerulean blue filled with puffy white clouds that raced across the great arc of the sky.

(from ‘Harry Potter ’ by J.K.Rowling)

II. Which of the given words (in each number of adjectives) does not fit the meaning of the adjective line.

1.

1. misjudging, mistaken, wrong, miserable, misguided
2. huge, extensive, various, gigantic, immense
3. useless, pragmatic, unhelpful, unnecessary, worthless
4. instinctive, automatic, spontaneous, rational, reflex
5. personal, intimate, conscious, private, secret
6. false, fake, untrue, deceptive, imperfect
7. cured, healed, healthy, crooked, better
8. advantageous, adventurous, beneficial, worthwhile, valuable
9. academic, scholarly, erudite, ridiculous, bookish
10. sound, able-bodied, strong, fit, tender

III. Match each adjective on the left with a noun on the right. Use each word once only. (You may find more than one noun will fit with some of the adjectives). Translate these common expressions.

SET A

SET B

IV. Can you match the everyday nouns (of Germanic origin) in group A with the corresponding adjectives (of Latin origin) in group B? For example, the noun sun' has a corresponding adjective 'solar' in addition to the adjective 'sunny'.