Overview of Short Adjectives and Long Adjectives in English

In English, adjectives are divided into two forms: short adjectives and long adjectives. The different usage structures of these two types of adjectives often lead to confusion for many learners. In this article, PREP will help learners gain more knowledge about short adjectives and long adjectives, providing examples and exercises to help you understand them better!

I. What are short and long adjectives?

1. What are short adjectives?

Short adjectives have only one syllable, such as "fast, good, tall, nice...". Additionally, adjectives with two syllables and the second syllable ending in "-y, -er, -le, -ow, -et" are also considered short adjectives. For example: happy, purple, hollow, quiet...

• Hanna seems very nice. 
• Jenny loved that red car. 

2. What are long adjectives?

Long adjectives have two or more syllables, such as pleasant, expensive, intellectual... Additionally, there are adjectives that have two syllables but can function as both short and long adjectives, despite ending in "-le, -er, -et, -ow," such as quiet, simple, happy...

• Jenny likes long stories with surprising endings. 
• Harry is a very careful worker. 

II. The difference between long and short adjectives

When it comes to comparison structures in English, learners often think of the two most common forms: the comparative and the superlative.

1. Comparative with short adjectives and long adjectives

The comparative structure with both short and long adjectives is commonly used when learners want to compare the characteristics of two objects.

Comparative structure:

Adj (short) + er + than

More + Adj (long)  + than

For example:

Note: For short adjectives,

• When ending with a consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) pattern, short adjectives need to double the final consonant before adding the "-er" suffix. For example:
  • big →  bigger
  • hot →  hotter
• When ending with the "-y" suffix, short adjectives need to change the "y" to "i" and add the "-er" suffix. For example:
  • happy →  happier
  • healthy →  healthier
• When the "-e" suffix is already present, short adjectives only need to add "-r" to form the comparative structure. For example:
  • late →  later
  • large →  larger

The complete comparative structure for both short and long adjectives is as follows:

2. Superlative with short adjectives and long adjectives

The superlative structure with both short and long adjectives is used when learners want to talk about the object with the most outstanding characteristic. The structures are as follows:

The + Adj (short) + est

The most + Adj (long)

In the superlative form, short adjectives add the "-est" suffix and are placed after the definite article "the." On the other hand, long adjectives only need "the most" placed before the adjective to form the superlative structure. The complete structures for short and long adjectives in the superlative form are as follows:

Note:

• When ending with a vowel-consonant pattern, short adjectives need to double the final consonant before adding the "-est" suffix. For example:
  • big → the biggest
  • hot → the hottest
• When ending with the "-y" suffix, short adjectives need to change the "y" to "i" and then add the "-est" suffix. For example:
  • happy → the happiest
  • healthy → the healthiest
• When the "-e" suffix is already present, short adjectives only need to add "-st" to form the superlative structure. For example:
  • late → the latest
  • large → the largest

III. Some special cases of short adjectives and long adjectives

1. Irregular short and long adjectives

Let's take a look at the table below to learn about some irregular short and long adjectives that have different comparative and superlative forms:

For example:

• Kathy plays tennis better than I do. 
• Gwen is my elder sister. 

2. Adjectives with dual usage

Adjectives ending in "-le, -er, -et, -ow" are considered both short and long adjectives. Therefore, we can use both forms: adding "-er" and "-est" at the end or adding "more" and "the most" before the adjective.

For example:

• I’ve always thought that Kathy was cleverer/ more clever than her brother.
• Anna’s new bed is narrower/ more narrow than the old one. 

3. Short adjectives ending in "ed" combined with "more" or "most"

Short adjectives ending in "-ed" can still be used with "more" or "most" in comparative and superlative structures as follows:

• Pleased → more pleased, most pleased.
• Tired → more tired, most tired.
• Worried → more worried, the most worried.

For example:

• Hanna is most tired at night. 
• There’s no one Jenny is more pleased to see have success than John. 

IV. Counting Syllables - Identifying Short adjectives and Long Adjectives

The simplest way to distinguish between short and long adjectives is by counting the number of syllables when pronouncing the word. You need to count the syllables of the adjective based on the vowels (u, e, o, a, i) and the letter "y" in the word. Here are the guidelines:

• If the adjective has 1 vowel or vowel cluster "u, e, o, a, i, y" and does not include the letter "e" at the end, then it is a short adjective. For example:
  • Tall has one "a" vowel sound → Short adjective with 1 syllable.
  • Dead has the vowel cluster "ea" → Short adjective with 1 syllable.
• If the adjective has 2 or more separate vowels or vowel clusters "u, e, o, a, i, y" and does not count the letter "e" at the end of the word, then it is a long adjective. For example:
  • Happy has the vowels "a" and "y" → Long adjective with 2 syllables.
  • Beautiful has the vowel cluster "eau" and the vowels "i" and "u" → Long adjective with 3 syllables.

V. Exercises on Short adjectives and Long Adjectives with Answers

Exercise 1: Below is the Short and Long Adjectives list. Please differentiate them and fill in the corresponding column.

small, thin, difficult, cheap, expensive, wonderful, thick, enjoyable, ambitious, fast, ugly, terrible.

Exercise 2: Choose the correct answer

• Jenny’s house is _______ than mine.
• A. smaller
• B. the smallest
• C. the smaller
• Harry bought _______  T-shirt from this shop.
• A. the cheaper
• B. the cheapest
• C. cheaper
• Kathy is _______ than her mother.
• A. older
• B. the older
• C. the oldest

Answer key

Exercise 1:

Exercise 2:

• A
• B
• A

This article has provided the complete knowledge about short adjectives and long adjectives in English that PREP has compiled for you. Hopefully, you have a clear understanding of short and long adjectives in English. Please refer to the appropriate learning paths at PREP to achieve your desired goals.