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.
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
1.
compulsive
a.
answers
2.
constructive
b.
behaviour
3.
evasive
c.
criticism
4.
exhaustive
d.
gambler
5.
expensive
e.
heat
6.
impressive
f.
plot
7.
impulsive
g.
results
8.
inventive
h.
society
9.
oppressive
i.
tastes
10.
lO.permissive
j.
tests
SET B
1.
confidential
a.
buy
2.
critical
b.
experience
3.
economical
c.
illness
4.
fanatical
d.
information
5.
hysterical
e.
moment
6.
magical
f.
reaction
7.
mystical
g.
relationships
8.
personal
h.
review
9.
psychological
i.
supporters
10.
10. terminal
j.
tests
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'.
Group A
Group Â
brother
maternal
woman
canine
friend
terrestrial
god
fraternal
tun
manual
year
mental
mother
divine
man
feline
cat
oriental
dog
cerebral
mind
feminine
brain
masculine
sight
annual
touch
amicable
hand
visual
house
comic(al)
earth
tactile
east
domestic
V. Choose the adjective (of Germanic, Greek or Latin origin) which best fits the meaning of these sentences.
Many of Escher’s paintings make use of eve/optical illusions.
The police were to call on several eve/optical witnesses to give evidence.
Harvard has a world-famous law/legal school.
Every citizen has a law/legal right to protect himself against attack.
Because he was so young, he went before the child/iuvenile court, and was later interviewed by a senior/an elder police officer.
Mr.Green is a tooth/dental surgeon.
There is now a walking/pedestrian precinct in the town/urban centre.
Animals which are active during the day are called diurnal/ daily animals.
Animals which are active during the hours of darkness are called nightly/nocturnal animals.
10. There is a difference between calendar months and moon/lunar months.