10 Adjectives that confuse us the most!

Can you imagine a world of conversation where no one would ever describe anything? It is here that the adjectives are useful.

However, many of us often get confused with some very commonly used words like 'many' or 'much', 'a few' or 'few', 'further or farther' etc.

So, here we get you the ten most commonly used and confused adjectives with a focus on the right way to use them in your sentences.

Want to learn them too? Read ahead.

1) Some, Any

Some is used

i. When you want to speak positively
ii. When you mean a little, a few or a small quantity
iii. When you want to offer or request something

For e.g.

There are some chocolates in the jar.

Will you have some coffee?

Will you get some grocery for me?

On the contrary, 'Any' is used

i. To indicate negation or when you expect negative answer to your question.
ii. After If
iii. After Hardly/ Scarcely

For e.g.

I will not buy any dresses

Were there any students in the class today?

If there are any rashes on the body, contact the doctor immediately.

There are hardly any cattle left in the vicinity.

2) Less, Lesser

When we want to talk about something which is 'not too much in a quantity', we use 'Less'.

For e.g. "My bag is less heavy than yours"

While 'Lesser' is the advanced form of 'less', it means "not greater than the other of same type'.

"Who is the lesser intelligent of the two?"

3. Much, Many

Both these words mean "a lot of" but 'much' is used to indicate quantity and 'many' is used to represent the number.

For e.g. I don't have much time to spend on this work.

Maria has many books on Indian History.

4) All, Whole

All and whole both convey completeness of something without missing any part.

'All' shows the total of many things together while 'whole' implies the total of one thing.

For e.g. If you say, "I ate all the pizzas", it means that you ate 100% of many pizzas.

But, when you say, "I ate the whole Pizza", it means you ate 100% of one pizza

5) Farther, Further

When you justify the nouns with some physical distance like miles, km, inches etc.  then 'Farther' is preferred, while 'Further' helps you to show something additional or extra.

For e.g. Pune is farther from Mumbai than Nashik.

Further cultural activities will be conducted in an auditorium.

6) Common, Mutual

In a mutual relationship, you reciprocate the same way as the other person does.

For e.g. The newly married couple has a good mutual understanding.

Mutual respect is the key to a successful relationship

When something is shared by many, it is "common"

For e.g. The "common" bathroom on the ground floor is neat and clean.

7) Older, Elder

These two adjectives are quite confusing when we want to compare the ages of people.

Older is used for people, animals and things. It is used for people not belonging to the same family.

For e.g.  Out of the two friends, Jennifer is older.

Elder is used for the members of the same family.

For e.g. "Smith is my elder brother."

Sometimes, 'elder' is also used to show respect to one's position or achievement.

e.g. Mr. Harry is an elder member of High court.

8) First, Former, Foremost

When we want to convey the idea of order or position, 'First' is the correct word.

For e.g. It was her first job.

Former refers to the first one of the two mentioned things. It also refers to the position you previously held.

For  e.g. The former part of the drama was very funny.

Kapil Dev, the former captain of Indian cricket team was a great batsman.

Foremost is something which is noteworthy and holds the prime importance.

For e.g. Punctuality is the foremost etiquette in the office.

Our 'first' and 'foremost' duty is towards our nation.

9) Few, a few, very few

This is a set of very commonly confused adjectives. Let's see what they actually mean:

i. Few: It means "not many" and is the opposite of "many"

For e.g. "Few cities in India have museums".

Few children have joined the karate classes this year.

ii. A few: It means "some" and is the opposite of "none"

Can you get me a few flowers?

We are on a vacation for a few days.

A few words of sympathy will make him feel better.

iii. 'The Few' refers to 'a number which is not many but all there is'.

So, when you say, "The few stories that she wrote are popular", it shows that she did not write many stories but the ones she wrote are popular.

10. Little, a little, the little

i. When we say 'little', it means "not so much". Like 'few', the word 'little' also gives a negative sense. For e.g. "There is little hope of his survival."

ii. 'A little' means 'some but not much' and is used in positive sense.

e.g. There is a little tension in the family.

iii. 'The little' expresses something like "an amount which is not too much, but all that there is".

For e.g. The little information he had about the current affairs helped him crack the competitive exam.