22 English Adjectives Every Beginner Should Know

Starting to learn a new language is exciting, even though it might not always be easy. We want to practice and say all kinds of things, but we feel like we’re missing the words and don’t know where to start. If that’s how you feel, you’ll surely find this list of the 22 most common English adjectives in everyday conversations useful.

There are many kinds of adjectives, but this list focuses on qualifying adjectives, which let us talk about the qualities or characteristics of a noun. For example, This film is bad. With these adjectives, you can express how you’re feeling, give your opinion on something, talk about time and describe objects or people.

Before moving on to the list, you should know three very important things about adjectives in English:

• When they accompany a noun, adjectives always come before the noun: They have a small house. 
• When they’re used with a verb like to be, they come after the verb: The hotel is cheap.
• Adjectives in English don’t have a grammatical gender or number, meaning that they don’t change based on the noun they describe. For example, He is young and They are young.

The 22 Most Common English Adjectives

1. Good

• This coffee is good.
• I am good.

2. Big

• This shirt is very big.

3. Small

• He wants a small sandwich.

4. Hot

• The tea is hot.
• It is hot today.  

5. Cold

• The food is cold.
• I am cold.  

6. Expensive

• The supermarket is expensive.

7. Difficult

• This game is difficult, I don’t understand the rules.

8. Easy

• These exercises are very easy.

9. Free

• Are you free on Friday?
• There is free Wi-Fi in the coffee shop.

10. Open

• Are there any open restaurants now? 

11. Closed

• All the shops are closed until tomorrow.

12. Sick

• They are sick today.

13. Nice

• My colleagues are nice.
• Your apartment is very nice.

14. Hungry

• I am hungry, let’s go eat something.  

15. Late

• They are late for the meeting.

16. Right

• Do you know the right answer?
• You are right.

17. Happy

• We are happy to be here.

18. New

• Do you like my new jacket?

19. Old

• We live in an old building.
• She is 26 years old.

20. Tall

• My sister is tall.

21. Ready

• Are you ready to go?

22. Far

• The park is far from here, let’s take the subway.