You know that an adjective takes the gender of its noun: , . For more than one, it has a plural too, the same for men, women and things: The neighbours are nice. The houses are old and lovely.
Some adjectives make the plural with an ending, -in or -i. Many more change their shape inside, like the nouns , : becomes , becomes . These broken plurals are best learnt with the word, as Anna hears them on the phone: , new cakes.
Adjectives in the plural
| Masculine | Feminine | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| With an ending: -in or -i | |||
| good, nice | |||
| good, nice | |||
| happy | |||
| happy | |||
| strong | |||
| strong | |||
| tired | |||
| tired | |||
| A new shape: the broken plural | |||
| big | |||
| big | |||
| small, little | |||
| small, little | |||
| new | |||
| new | |||
| old (of things) | |||
| old (of things) | |||
| beautiful, lovely | |||
| beautiful, lovely | |||
| tall, long | |||
| tall, long | |||
| short | |||
| short | |||
| young | |||
| young | |||
| old (of people) | |||
| old (of people) | |||
never changes: , . For people, , is a kinder word than :
The colours have a plural of their own, and three of them sound alike: , , . , grey, simply adds -i. , brown, never changes.
The colours in the plural
| Masculine | Feminine | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| black | |||
| black | |||
| red | |||
| red | |||
| green | |||
| green | |||
| yellow | |||
| yellow | |||
| grey | |||
| grey | |||
| brown | |||
| brown | |||
To describe someone, say what they have, with : He has brown eyes. , hair, is all of it together, a collective noun like : it is masculine and singular, so , . , eyes, is a pair, and a pair takes the plural: , black eyes; , big eyes.
Describing someone
| Word | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| hair (all of it) · long black hair | ||
| hair (all of it) · long black hair | ||
| curls · curly hair | ||
| curls · curly hair | ||
| · | eyes (a pair) · black eyes · big eyes | |
| eyes (a pair) · black eyes · big eyes | ||
| brown · brown eyes | ||
| brown · brown eyes | ||
| glasses · with glasses | ||
| glasses · with glasses | ||
Id-djar qodma u sbieħ, ħdejn il-wied.The houses are old and lovely, by the valley.
Id-djar qodma u sbieħ, ħdejn il-wied.The houses are old and lovely, by the valley.
Il-ġirien tajbin ħafna.The neighbours are very nice.
Il-ġirien tajbin ħafna.The neighbours are very nice.
Ġorġ twil, għandu għajnejn kannella u xagħar iswed, kollu kaboċċi.Ġorġ is tall, with brown eyes and black hair, all curls.
Ġorġ twil, għandu għajnejn kannella u xagħar iswed, kollu kaboċċi.Ġorġ is tall, with brown eyes and black hair, all curls.
Is-Sinjura Marija żgħira u anzjana, bin-nuċċali.Mrs Marija is small and elderly, with glasses.
Is-Sinjura Marija żgħira u anzjana, bin-nuċċali.Mrs Marija is small and elderly, with glasses.
Ċikku għandu għajnejn ħodor u kbar.Ċikku has big green eyes.
Practice 1/5 · Finding words
Find the words
Tap the adjectives in the plural.
, .
The houses are old and lovely, by the valley.
, .
The houses are old and lovely, by the valley.
.
The neighbours are very nice.
.
The neighbours are very nice.
, !
New cakes every morning!
, !
New cakes every morning!
, .
Ġorġ has black hair, all black curls.
, .
Ġorġ has black hair, all black curls.
.
Ella and Ċikku are happy.
, .
Lina and Ġorġ are tall, and Marija is small.
, .
The cats are big, and the dogs are small.
.
Lina's chairs are red.
.
Lina's chairs are red.
.
Ċikku has green eyes.
Practice 2/5 · The right form
One or more?
Choose the form that fits the noun: masculine, feminine or plural.
Il-ġirien ħafna.
The neighbours are very nice.
Il-ġirien ħafna.
The neighbours are very nice.
Id-djar .
The houses are old.
Id-djar .
The houses are old.
Ir-raħal ħafna.
The village is very pretty.
Ir-raħal ħafna.
The village is very pretty.
Id-djar .
The houses are lovely.
Id-djar .
The houses are lovely.
Kull filgħodu, kejkijiet !
New cakes every morning!
Kull filgħodu, kejkijiet !
New cakes every morning!
Ġorġ .
Ġorġ is tall.
Ġorġ .
Ġorġ is tall.
Lina u Ġorġ .
Lina and Ġorġ are tall.
Is-Sinjura Marija .
Mrs Marija is small.
Ella u ħuha .
Ella and her brother are little.
Ella u ħuha , imma Ġorġ twil.
Ella and her brother are short, but Ġorġ is tall.
Ella u Ċikku .
Ella and Ċikku are happy.
Ġorġ u Lina .
Ġorġ and Lina are strong.
Ġorġ u Ċikku .
Ġorġ and Ċikku are tired.
Ġorġ u Ċikku .
Ġorġ and Ċikku are tired.
Colours, and other plurals
Choose the right word for the gap.
Ġorġ għandu xagħar .
Ġorġ has black hair.
Ġorġ għandu xagħar .
Ġorġ has black hair.
Għandu kaboċċi .
He has black curls.
Għandu kaboċċi .
He has black curls.
Ċikku għandu għajnejn .
Ċikku has green eyes.
Is-siġġijiet ta' Lina .
Lina's chairs are red.
Il-lampa .
The lamp is red.
Is-sufan .
The sofa is yellow.
Is-siġġijiet il-ġodda .
The new chairs are yellow.
Il-qtates tan-numru sebgħa .
The cats of number 7 are grey.
In-nanna u n-nannu ta' Anna? Huma .
Anna's grandmother and grandfather? They're old.
Fil-Belt, il-ġirien tiegħi .
In Valletta, my neighbours are young.
Ċikku għandu għajnejn .
Ċikku has big eyes.
Practice 3/5 · Fill the gaps
Who is who?
Fill the gaps with the words from the box.
Ġorġ . Għandu għajnejn kannella u xagħar .
Ġorġ is tall. He has brown eyes and black hair.
Is-Sinjura Marija u anzjana, bin-nuċċali.
Mrs Marija is small and elderly, with glasses.
Ella u ħuha . Ella għandha xagħar .
Ella and her brother are little. Ella has long hair.
Ċikku qattus . Għandu għajnejn .
Ċikku is a big cat. He has green eyes.
Id-djar tar-raħal u .
The houses of the village are old and lovely.
Ġorġ u Lina mhux : huma .
Ġorġ and Lina aren't short: they're tall.
Il-ġirien , u l-kejkijiet ta' Lina kull filgħodu.
The neighbours are nice, and Lina's cakes are new every morning.
Ġorġ u Lina , imma issa .
Ġorġ and Lina are strong, but now they're tired.
Practice 4/5 · Building sentences
Put the words in order
Put the words in order.
The houses are old and lovely.
The houses are old and lovely.
The neighbours are very nice.
The neighbours are very nice.
Ġorġ is tall and has black hair.
Ġorġ is tall and has black hair.
Ċikku has green eyes.
Ella and her brother are little.
The cats are grey and big.
Lina's chairs are red.
Ġorġ and Lina aren't short.
Anna's grandmother and grandfather are old.
The new chairs are yellow.
My neighbours are young.
Practice 5/5 · In situations
The right words
Choose the right words for the situation.
Anna asks what Ġorġ looks like. Tell her he's tall, with black hair, all curls.
You say:
One man: twil. Xagħar is one mass of hair, masculine and singular: xagħar iswed.
Anna asks what Ġorġ looks like. Tell her he's tall, with black hair, all curls.
You say:
One man: twil. Xagħar is one mass of hair, masculine and singular: xagħar iswed.
Describe Mrs Marija to Anna. She's small and elderly, with glasses.
You say:
Describe Mrs Marija to Anna. She's small and elderly, with glasses.
You say:
Tell Anna that Ċikku has green eyes.
You say:
Eyes are a pair, and a pair takes the plural: għajnejn ħodor.
Tell Anna that Ċikku has green eyes.
You say:
Eyes are a pair, and a pair takes the plural: għajnejn ħodor.
Anna asks about the neighbours. Tell her they're very nice.
You say:
Anna asks about the neighbours. Tell her they're very nice.
You say:
Tell Anna that the houses in the village are old and lovely.
You say:
Several houses: the plural, qodma u sbieħ.
Tell Anna that the houses in the village are old and lovely.
You say:
Several houses: the plural, qodma u sbieħ.
Unit complete
