ESL Grammar: ADJECTIVES (2) – Opposites

In this ESL grammar lesson, students must match the adjectives on the left with their opposites on the right.

Adjectives are words that describe nouns, and learning their opposites can expand your vocabulary and improve your English skills. This beginner-level lesson will introduce you to common adjectives and their opposites, helping you to describe things more accurately.

ESL Grammar: What is an Adjective?

An adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun. It gives more information about the noun’s size, shape, color, quantity, and other qualities.

Examples:

• Big house (size)
• Round ball (shape)
• Red apple (color)

ESL Grammar: Common Adjectives and Their Opposites

Size

• Big ↔ Small
  • The big dog is friendly.
  • The small cat is cute.

Temperature

• Hot ↔ Cold
  • The coffee is hot.
  • The ice cream is cold.

Age

• Old ↔ Young
  • The old man walks slowly.
  • The young girl runs fast.

Speed

• Fast ↔ Slow
  • The cheetah is fast.
  • The turtle is slow.

Height

• Tall ↔ Short
  • The building is tall.
  • The tree is short.

The beginner-level grammar lesson below focuses on the concept of adjectives and their opposites in a clear and simple manner to help young ESL learners to understand this concept. Our series of ESL grammar lessons on subjects and verbs introduce these concepts and reinforce them through helpful and instructive exercises.

This lesson is available for free download, and you can download many more English grammar lessons focusing on all different parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and lots more!) in our comprehensive, beginner-level ESL grammar textbook Great, Great Grammar! (Book 1: Parts of Speech).