Intermediate adjectives. 45 questions on order of adjectives, demonstrative adjectives, and participial adjectives.
What this test covers
- Order of Adjectives
- Demonstrative Adjectives
- Participial Adjectives
Answer the 45 questions below. Each answer is checked straight away, with an explanation. Press Submit at the end to get your score and save it to your dashboard. Answers are not kept if you leave before submitting.
All 45 questions with answers
Pick an answer for each question to see if you are right, with the explanation. Submit when you are done; you can submit before answering them all.
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Q1She bought a beautiful ___ table for her living room.
Answer: A. small round wooden
When using multiple adjectives, English follows a standard order: Opinion, Size, Shape, Age, Color, Origin, Material, Purpose. Here, 'small' (size) comes before 'round' (shape), which comes before 'wooden' (material).
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Q2He drives a ___ sports car.
Answer: D. fast new red
Adjectives follow a specific order: Opinion ('fast') comes before Age ('new'), which comes before Color ('red'). Choice 'new fast red' is incorrect because opinion adjectives almost always precede factual adjectives like age and color.
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Q3They live in a ___ house on the hill.
Answer: B. large old stone
The correct sequence follows the Size-Age-Material order. 'Large' (size) is placed first, followed by 'old' (age), and then 'stone' (material). Placing the material 'stone' before 'large' or 'old' breaks the natural flow of English adjective ordering.
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Q4I bought a pair of ___ shoes.
Answer: C. black leather running
The order of adjectives requires Color ('black') to come before Material ('leather'), followed by Purpose ('running'). In English, the purpose of an object is always placed closest to the noun it modifies.
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Q5It was a ___ day.
Answer: D. long hot summer
Adjective order usually places Size/Length ('long') before Temperature ('hot'), and finally the Type or Purpose ('summer'). Using 'hot' or 'summer' at the beginning makes the sentence sound unnatural to native speakers.
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Q6She wore a ___ dress to the party.
Answer: D. beautiful blue silk
Opinion adjectives like 'beautiful' always come before physical descriptions. After opinion, we place Color ('blue') and then Material ('silk'). Therefore, 'beautiful blue silk' is the only grammatically correct sequence.
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Q7He is a ___ man.
Answer: C. friendly tall young
Opinion adjectives should precede physical attributes. 'Friendly' is an opinion/quality, followed by 'tall' (size/height) and 'young' (age). Phrases like 'young friendly tall' are incorrect because the opinion is not in the primary position.
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Q8We saw a ___ movie last night.
Answer: D. funny old French
Adjectives follow the order: Opinion ('funny'), Age ('old'), and Origin ('French'). Descriptors of origin like 'French' are almost always placed immediately before the noun.
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Q9Look at that ___ vase.
Answer: C. ugly antique plastic
Follow the standard order: Opinion ('ugly'), Age ('antique'), and Material ('plastic'). Placing the material 'plastic' before the age 'antique' is a common mistake that violates the standard adjective hierarchy.
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Q10She has ___ hair.
Answer: A. long wavy brown
For physical descriptions of hair, the order is Size/Length ('long'), followed by Shape/Style ('wavy'), and then Color ('brown'). 'Long wavy brown' follows this size-shape-color sequence correctly.
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Q11He owns an ___ car.
Answer: D. expensive vintage German
The correct sequence is Opinion ('expensive'), then Age ('vintage'), and finally Origin ('German'). Origin always sits closer to the noun than opinion or age.
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Q12It is a ___ box.
Answer: A. small square metal
Adjectives should be ordered by Size ('small'), then Shape ('square'), and then Material ('metal'). This follows the physical description rule where size typically precedes shape.
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Q13___ shoes over there are mine.
Answer: B. Those
Demonstrative adjectives must agree with the noun's number and distance. 'Shoes' is plural, and the clue 'over there' indicates distance. 'Those' is used for plural nouns that are far away, while 'these' is used for plural nouns nearby.
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Q14Can you pass me ___ book right here?
Answer: D. this
The noun 'book' is singular, and the context clue 'right here' indicates the object is close to the speaker. 'This' is used for singular nouns nearby, whereas 'that' would be used for a singular noun at a distance.
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Q15___ apples in the basket are rotten.
Answer: D. These
The noun 'apples' is plural, and the phrase 'in the basket' implies they are close to the speaker. 'These' is the correct plural demonstrative for nearby objects. 'This' and 'That' are singular and cannot modify 'apples'.
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Q16I don't like ___ painting on the wall across the room.
Answer: D. that
The noun 'painting' is singular, and the context clue 'across the room' suggests distance. 'That' is used for singular objects far away. 'Those' and 'these' are incorrect because they are plural.
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Q17Are ___ your keys in your pocket?
Answer: B. those
Demonstratives are chosen from the speaker's point of view, and 'keys' is plural, which rules out the singular forms 'this' and 'that.' Since the keys are in 'your pocket' — close to the listener rather than the speaker — 'those' is the correct plural demonstrative for objects near the person being addressed. 'These' would only be correct if the keys were close to the speaker.
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Q18___ days, it's much colder than it was last month.
Answer: C. These
In time expressions, 'these days' is a fixed idiom referring to the current period (the present). 'These' is plural to match 'days.' 'Those days' would refer to a specific period in the past.
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Q19Look at ___ bird flying high in the sky.
Answer: D. that
The noun 'bird' is singular. The context 'flying high in the sky' indicates the bird is far from the speaker, making 'that' the correct choice. 'This' is used for nearby objects, and 'those' is plural.
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Q20___ students in the back row are talking.
Answer: C. Those
The noun 'students' is plural. The 'back row' context indicates distance from the speaker (usually a teacher at the front). Therefore, 'those' is the correct plural demonstrative for distant objects.
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Q21I really enjoy ___ kind of music we are listening to right now.
Answer: C. this
The noun 'kind' is singular. The context 'right now' implies the music is being experienced in the present moment. 'This' is the singular demonstrative for something close in time or space.
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Q22Who owns ___ car parked outside?
Answer: C. that
The noun 'car' is singular. Being 'parked outside' implies it is at a distance from the speaker who is likely inside. 'That' is the singular demonstrative used for distant objects.
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Q23___ flowers right here are beautiful, aren't they?
Answer: C. These
The noun 'flowers' is plural. The context clue 'right here' indicates the flowers are close to the speaker, so 'these' is the correct plural demonstrative for nearby objects. 'Those' is used for plural nouns at a distance.
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Q24The lecture was so ___. I fell asleep.
Answer: A. boring
Participial adjectives ending in -ing describe the characteristic of a thing (the cause of a feeling). The lecture is the cause, so it is 'boring.' The -ed ending ('bored') describes how a person feels (the effect).
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Q25I was very ___ by the news.
Answer: D. shocked
Participial adjectives ending in -ed describe a person's feelings or reaction to something. Since 'I' am the one experiencing the emotion, 'shocked' is correct. 'Shocking' would describe the news itself.
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Q26The instructions were very ___.
Answer: A. confusing
The instructions are the cause of the feeling, so we use the -ing form 'confusing.' Using 'confused' would imply the instructions themselves felt a sense of uncertainty, which is impossible for inanimate objects.
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Q27She felt ___ after working all day.
Answer: D. tired
Adjectives ending in -ed describe a person's state or emotion. 'She' is experiencing the physical effect of work, so she is 'tired.' 'Tiring' would describe the work itself.
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Q28It was an ___ experience.
Answer: A. exciting
We use -ing adjectives to describe the nature or quality of an event or experience. Since the experience caused excitement, it was an 'exciting' experience. 'Excited' would describe the person having the experience.
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Q29He was ___ when he saw the results.
Answer: A. surprised
The -ed ending is used to describe a person's reaction to a situation. Here, 'he' is experiencing the emotion of surprise, so 'surprised' is correct. 'Surprising' would describe the results themselves.
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Q30The roller coaster ride was ___.
Answer: B. frightening
To describe the quality of the ride, we use the -ing adjective 'frightening.' If you want to describe how the people on the ride felt, you would say they were 'frightened.'
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Q31I am ___ with this weather.
Answer: D. annoyed
Use the -ed ending ('annoyed') to describe a person's feeling or state of mind. The weather is 'annoying' (the cause), which makes the speaker 'annoyed' (the result).
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Q32The final score was ___.
Answer: D. disappointing
The -ing form 'disappointing' describes the nature of the score. The score cannot feel an emotion, so the -ed form 'disappointed' would be incorrect in this context.
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Q33Are you ___ in learning French?
Answer: D. interested
When asking about a person's feelings or desire to do something, use the -ed adjective 'interested.' 'Interesting' is used to describe the thing (French) that causes interest.
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Q34The book was so ___ that I finished it in one day.
Answer: B. captivating
We use 'captivating' (-ing) to describe the quality of the book that holds one's attention. 'Captivated' (-ed) would describe the person reading the book.
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Q35He is a ___ boy.
Answer: A. five-year-old
When a measurement is used as a compound adjective before a noun, it is hyphenated and the noun inside the adjective stays singular. Therefore, 'five-year-old' is correct, whereas 'five-years-old' is incorrect.
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Q36She is very fond ___ jazz music.
Answer: A. of
This is a dependent preposition. The adjective 'fond' is always paired with the preposition 'of.' Other prepositions like 'with' or 'at' are grammatically incorrect in this collocation.
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Q37I am tired ___ waiting for the bus.
Answer: B. of
The adjective 'tired' uses the preposition 'of' when it means you have had enough of something or are frustrated by it. Note that 'tired from' can be used for physical exhaustion, but 'tired of' is the standard phrase for impatience.
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Q38He is quite good ___ playing the piano.
Answer: B. at
The adjective 'good' (and its opposite 'bad') is followed by the preposition 'at' when describing a skill or ability. Using 'in' or 'with' in this context is a common mistake for learners.
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Q39They are worried ___ the upcoming exam.
Answer: B. about
The standard preposition used with the adjective 'worried' is 'about.' This collocation is used to express concern regarding a specific event or situation.
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Q40She is proud ___ her daughter's achievements.
Answer: A. of
'Proud' is always followed by the preposition 'of' when identifying the source of the pride. 'Proud with' or 'proud at' are incorrect English collocations.
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Q41This car is similar ___ the one I had before.
Answer: A. to
The adjective 'similar' is followed by the preposition 'to.' While some languages use a word equivalent to 'with,' in English, we always say 'similar to' to show comparison.
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Q42My opinion is different ___ yours.
Answer: D. from
In standard English, the adjective 'different' is followed by the preposition 'from.' While 'different than' is common in American English and 'different to' in British English, 'different from' is globally accepted as the standard.
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Q43He is very keen ___ learning new languages.
Answer: C. on
The adjective 'keen' (meaning very interested or enthusiastic) is followed by the preposition 'on' and a gerund (-ing verb). 'Keen at' or 'keen in' are not used in English.
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Q44Who is responsible ___ this mess?
Answer: D. for
The adjective 'responsible' is followed by the preposition 'for' when identifying who is in charge or who caused something. Other prepositions like 'in' or 'with' do not fit this collocation.
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Q45The city is famous ___ its beautiful architecture.
Answer: B. for
The adjective 'famous' is followed by the preposition 'for.' This collocation is used to indicate the reason or characteristic for which someone or something is well-known.
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