13 Feb Opposite adjectives part I
Adjectives are very useful when it comes to describing different animate and inanimate objects, since they characterize them. Students learn to name their character traits, as well as the properties of items which surround them, like a favourite thing or device. These are the tasks that adjectives are needed for.
How to teach adjectives in a foreign language?
Learning and using opposite adjectives may turn out to be the best method. That’s why, at the beginning, 9 pairs of such parts of speech are presented:
big – small
duży – mały
long – short
długi-krótki
ugly – pretty
brzydki-ładny
old – young
stary-młody
tall – short
wysoki – niski
new – old
nowy- stary
slow-fast
wolny- szybki
bad – good
zły-dobry
cold – hot
zimny-gorący
Adjective-based Memory games
For sure, everybody knows the rules of memory games. Because there are 9 pairs in a set but only 16 flashcards, there are two triples:
new-old-young
long-tall-short
Using them, we can make the task tougher; however, if you want to practise vocabulary first, it’s better to put these extra cards aside.
Opposite adjectives part I
It’s worth practising adjectives using pairs of opposites. Younger children can try to show each of them using gestures, e.g. big – small; with older ones, we can practise speaking as well, like in this example:
What’s the opposite of “big”?
The opposite of “big” is “small”.
