Adjective Quizzes: Printables to Practice the Essentials

Adjectives are describing words that modify nouns. Test your ability to identify an adjective in context with an elementary-level adjectives quiz. Remember, there are some clues that can help you find an adjective in a sentence, including its placement in front of a noun or between an article and a noun.

Read the following sentences. Which word in the parentheses is an adjective from the sentence?

1. The shy boy hid behind his mother’s skirt. (boy, behind, shy)
2. Two black cats slept in the sunshine. (black, cats, sunshine)
3. I opened the door to find a tattered envelope on the step. (door, opened, tattered)

4. Please give me the red balloon before I leave. (balloon, red, before)

5. Do you still have a bad cold? (bad, still, you)

If you'd like more of a challenge, download a complete adjective quiz with answers. It includes additional sentences with adjectives to identify.

Did you find all the adjectives? Check your answers to the practice questions.

1. The shy boy hid behind his mother’s skirt. (boy, behind, shy)
2. Two black cats slept in the sunshine. (black, cats, sunshine)
3. I opened the door to find a tattered envelope on the step. (door, opened, tattered)
4. Please give me the red balloon before I leave. (balloon, red, before)
5. Do you still have a bad cold? (bad, still, you)

In English, adjectives go in a certain order when describing something. For many native speakers, this order is automatic, but it’s important to memorize it if you are learning English. Take a upper elementary adjective quiz to test your understanding of the order of adjectives.

Read the following sentences and the adjectives in parentheses. What is the proper order for the adjectives in each sentence?

1. She counted (large, three, red) trucks going by her window.

2. I packed my (flowered, old, big) suitcase and loaded it into the car.

3. In the field, I saw (small, many, pink) flowers.

4. For the holiday dinner, my grandmother served a (golden-brown, roasted, huge) turkey.

5. We opened the basket and saw (tiny, striped, orange) kittens inside.

Finding the correct order for a list of adjectives is trickier than it seems! Try out a printable quiz with additional sentences and a helpful answer key.

See how your answers compare with the solutions to the above sentences. Did you put your adjectives in the proper order?

1. She counted (three large red) trucks going by her window.
2. I packed my (big old flowered) suitcase and loaded it into the car.
3. In the field, I saw (many small pink) flowers.
4. For the holiday dinner, my grandmother served a (huge golden-brown roasted) turkey.
5. We opened the basket and saw (tiny, orange, striped) kittens inside.

Proper use of adjectives means that you can use all forms of adjectives, including comparatives and superlatives. Take this upper elementary quiz to see how you stack up.

Read the sentences below. Decide which is the most appropriate form of the adjective.

1. This is the __________ cake I have ever seen. (most prettiest, prettiest, prettily)

2. When the rotten egg broke open, it released a __________ smell. (disgusting, disgustingest, disgustingly)

3. On the day I was supposed to meet him, I came down with the __________ cold. (worst, baddest, most baddest)

4. Are you going to the ______ dance? (wintery, winterest, winter)

5. My favorite cup is the _______ one that belonged to my grandfather. (chipped, chip, chippedly)

Download a printable version of these exercises below. You can choose the best option in this adjective quiz with answers.

Compare your answers to the practice questions with the answers below. How well did you do with these adjectives?

1. This is the prettiest cake I have ever seen.
2. When the rotten egg broke open, it released a disgusting smell.
3. On the day I was supposed to meet him, I came down with the worst cold.
4. Are you going to the winter dance?
5. My favorite cup is the chipped one that belonged to my grandfather.

You can use an adjective quiz to test your own knowledge or help others assess their understanding of this important part of speech. These ideas can help you use quizzes to learn more about adjectives and their use:

• Start by printing the PDF files of the quizzes. You can hand them out to students or friends and practice together.
• Use these adjective worksheets to gain more hands-on experience with adjectives. Then, move on to the quizzes.
• Practice with adjective activities before taking the quiz. These are a fun way to get even better at using adjectives.
• Try timing yourself with the quiz. How quickly can you get through the questions and answer them correctly?
• Move on to a basic English grammar test when you’re ready to expand your skills.

Use adjective lesson plans and quizzes to get comfortable with adjectives. As you become more familiar with adjectives, their uses and meanings, you will become a more precise speaker and will develop your ability to effectively describe things for other people. Your adjective vocabulary will increase exponentially.