Evaluative Adjectives

From Beginner to Expert - The Complete Guide

An evaluative adjective shows someone's opinion or judgment about a person, place, thing, or idea. It answers questions like: What do you think of it? How does it feel to you?

Key Concepts

  • Describes with opinion: Evaluative adjectives are subjective, not factual.
  • Used before nouns: Often appear before the noun they describe.
  • Answer "What kind of?" questions: e.g., What kind of movie? → "boring movie"

Examples of Evaluative Adjectives

  • Positive: wonderful, helpful, brilliant, kind, entertaining
  • Negative: rude, awful, boring, terrible, lazy
  • Neutral/Opinionated: strange, weird, surprising, unusual
Quick Examples:
  • She's a brilliant student. (positive)
  • That's a terrible idea. (negative)
  • It's a strange book. (neutral)

Beginner Level: Spotting Evaluative Adjectives

Look for adjectives that show feelings or thoughts, not facts.

  • "It's a bad meal." (Evaluative)
  • "It's a red apple." (Not evaluative - factual)

Intermediate Level: Building Better Sentences

Use evaluative adjectives to express opinions clearly in writing or speech.

  • The teacher gave us a helpful worksheet.
  • They watched a boring movie last night.
  • This is a dangerous road. Drive slowly!

Advanced Level: Layers of Evaluation

You can use more than one evaluative adjective in a sentence. Be careful with order and tone.

  • "He's a rude, arrogant man."
  • "It was a deeply moving, unforgettable experience."

Evaluative vs Descriptive Adjectives

Type Function Example
Evaluative Shows opinion or feeling It's a terrible storm.
Descriptive Gives factual detail It's a large storm.

Real-Life Usage

1. People

  • He's a kind neighbor.
  • She's a rude customer.

2. Experiences

  • That was a wonderful trip!
  • It was a boring lecture.

3. Food

  • This cake is delicious.
  • The soup tastes disgusting.

4. Ideas

  • That's a smart solution.
  • It's a stupid excuse.

Common Mistakes

Watch out for:
  • Using descriptive instead of evaluative when opinion is needed.
  • ✖ That's a big book. (Not evaluative)
  • ✔ That's a boring book. (Evaluative)
  • Mixing tone: Be polite in formal writing!
  • ✖ The guest was annoying. (Too direct in formal writing)
  • ✔ The guest was a bit difficult. (Softer tone)

Why Learn Evaluative Adjectives?

  • Express opinions: Share your thoughts more clearly.
  • Improve writing: Makes descriptions more engaging.
  • Useful in speaking: Helps you explain how you feel about things.

Fun Activities

1. Opinion Match

Match nouns with fitting evaluative adjectives. Example: "cake" + "delicious," not "boring."

2. Adjective Ladder

Write adjectives from weak to strong: e.g., "nice → great → amazing → incredible"

3. Rewrite Game

Change a sentence with neutral adjectives to one with evaluative ones.

Example:

  • Original: "She gave a long speech."
  • Rewritten: "She gave a brilliant speech."

Quick Quiz

Which are evaluative adjectives?

  1. That is a clever solution.
  2. The green dress is expensive.
  3. He is a horrible driver.
  4. The table is wooden.
  5. This was a helpful video.

Answers: Clever, horrible, helpful are evaluative. Green and wooden are not—they're descriptive!