11. Qualifiers - Adjectives and Adverbs

8/13/2019 11. Qualifiers - Adjectives and Adverbs

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CHAPTER 11

QUALIFIERS: ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

Adjectives

Characteristics

The form of a word in English does not indicate its syntactic function. Some suffixes are indeed found

only with adjectives (-ous), but many common adjectives have no identifying shapegood, hot, little, young,

fat etc. !any adjectives inflect for the comparative and superlative hot, hotter, hottest. "ut many do not

allow inflected forms. !any adjectives provide the base from which adverbs are derived by means of an #ly

suffix merry merrily. Some do not allow this derivational process. $here are few adjectives that are

themselves derived from an adjectival base in this way kindly, which also functions as an adverb.!ost adjectives can be both attributive and predicative but some are either attributive only or

predicative only. $wo other features usually apply to adjectives

%) !ost can be pre-modified by the intensifier very, e.g.

The newly married couple is still very happy.

&) !ost of the adjectives have comparative and superlative forms. $he comparison may be achieved

with inflections

They are the happiest couple I know.

'r it can be realised by using the pre-modifiers moreand most

My students are more intelligent than yours.

They are the most intelligent students Ive ever had.

n adjective phrase is a phrase with an adjective as head, as in

(He was so very misera!le, or as a single word, as in

(He was)misera!le.

Syntactic functions of adjectives

"ttri!utive and predicative. djectives are attributive when they pre-modify nouns, i.e. they appear

between the determiner and the head of the noun phrase the kind woman, his main concern. redicative

adjectives can be

a) Subject complementHer work is easy.

b) 'bject complementHe succeeded in making his wife misera!le.

$hey can be complement to a subject made up of a finite clause

If the weather will improve is dou!tful.

'r a non-finite clause

#oming here was dreadful.

*n the same way, adjectives can be object complement to clauses

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$very!ody thought that what he had undertaken%having worked so hard was foolish.

$he adjective functioning as object complement often expresses the result of the process denoted by

the verb

He pushed the door open. ($hus, the door was open.)

Post-position

Adjectives can sometimes be post-positioned, i.e. they can sometimes follow the noun they modify.

post-positioned adjective (together with any complementation it may have) can have the function of a

relative clause. *ndefinite pronouns ending in !ody, &one, &thing, &where can be modified only post-

positively

He !ought something more e'pensive(which was more expensive).

ost-position is obligatory for a few adjectives, and they have a different sense when they occur in

either position. $he most common are elect (soon to ta/e office) and proper(as strictly defined) thepresident elect the elect (specially chosen)committee, the #ity of ondon proper a proper answer (the

answer was correct).

*n several compounds (mostly titles) the adjective is post-positioned, the most common being

attorney general, !ody politic, court martial, heir apparent, notary pu!lic (mE), postmaster general,

governor general, poet laureate, sergeant ma)or, "sia Minor, hope eternal, penny dreadful*, sum total, time

immemorial.

ost-position (more than attributive position) is usual for a few a&adjectives and for a!sent,present

and especially "rE concerned, involved, responsi!le which normally do not occur attributively in the

relevant sense

The children are asleep so do !e +uiet.

The people involved(connected with this)fled the country.

He presented a very involved(complicated) theory.

*t is unusual to pre-position an entire adjective phrase in which the adjective is followed by a

complement

The hardest to teach students were in the second year.

n adjective modified by enough, tooorsocan be separated from its complementation if the modified

adjective is positioned before the indefinite article of the noun phrase

He is (not tall enough a !oy to reach the top shelf.

He thought him too small a !oy to play chess.

$he construction with enoughand toocan be possible only if the adjective phrase is part of the subject

complement or object complement, and with enoughit is more common if the adjective is pre-modified by

not. 0ithso, the construction is also possible if the adjective phrase is part of the subject or object

-o witty a !oy to understand everything is worth giving a prie.

/ou will never see so stu!!orn a man to do what he is asked to.

%or 1 - horrible cheap boys paper full of crude situations and highly colored excitement (trashy periodicals).

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Head of noun phrase

Adjectives can often function as heads of noun phrases and then they do not ta/e the number or

genitive case mar/ers and must ta/e a definite determiner. 3sually, such adjectives have personal reference

The !adly wounded need great attention.

The young in spirit en)oy life.

The wise look for the wiser for advice.

The old who resist change can e'pect violence.(4uir/ and 5reenbaum %66 %%7)

$hese adjectives have generic and plural reference. Some adjectives denoting nationalities can be

noun-phrase heads

The 0ritish often fought against the 1rench.$hese noun phrases have generic reference and ta/e a plural verb, but they cannot be modified by

adverbs. $hey can be modified by adjectives, which are normally non-restrictive, e. g.,

The hospita!le 2anish are proud of their households, is interpreted as

The 2anish, who are hospita!le, are proud of their households.

ost-modifying prepositional phrases and relative clauses can be either restrictive or non-restrictive

The Irish (who live in "merica often visit their country of origin.

The 2utch, who are very industrious, take pride in their em!roidery.

Some adjectives can function as noun-phrase heads when they have abstract reference. $hey ta/e the

verb in the singular. few can be modified by adverbs and include, in particular, superlatives,

The latest (i.e. the latest news)is that she is going to leave the country for good.

The very !est (i.e. the very best part)is in the last pages of the !ook.

He dislikes facing the unknown.

Non-finite adjective clauses

An adjective (alone or as head of an adjective phrase) can function as a non-finite clause. $he clause

can precede or follow the subject of the main clause

Almost exhausted, the man went on digging.

The man, almost exhausted, went on digging.

The man went on digging, almost exhausted.

$he implied subject is usually the subject of the sentence but if the clause contains other clause

constituents, its subject can be other than the subject of the sentence

He told off the !oy, +uiet now on his chair.

$he implied subject of the adjective clause can be the whole of the main clause

-trange, it was 3ane who started the gossip.

$his sentence has the same meaning as

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That it was 3ane who started the gossip is strange.

n adverb, with almost the same meaning, may sometimes replace an adjective functioning as a non-

finite clause

$'haustingly%$'hausted, the man went on digging.

$he adjective, unli/e the adverbs, allows a that- or how-clause to follow

-trange that they showed up so late.

-trange how they hate each other.

*n such cases, itsis not stated and the adjective is not followed by a comma.

Contingent adjective clause

This clause expresses the circumstance or condition under which what is said in the main clause

applies. subordinator, which can be omitted, is often present.

4hen ripe, these peaches are delicious.$he implied subject of the contingent adjective clause is usually either the subject of the main clause

or the object

They could eat it cold.

/ou must !eat the iron when hot.

$he adjective then usually comes at the end and could be regarded as a complement.

Exclamatory adjective sentence

An adjective as head of an adjective phrase or standing alone can be an exclamation

How nice of you5

How wonderful5 $'cellent5

Adjectives attributive only

Adjectives used only in an attributive position do not always characterise the referent of the noun

directly. 8or instance, an old frienddoes not imply that the person is old but refers to a long period of time.

djectives that characterise the referent of the noun directly are called inherent, those that do not are termed

non-inherent. Some non-inherent adjectives occur also predicatively. 8or example, both a new learnerand a

new friendare non-inherent, though the former can be used predicatively

That learner is new.

My friend is new.

few words with emotional impact are restricted to attributive position, e.g., you poor man, that

wretched woman.

ntensifying adjectives

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According to 4uir/ and 5reenbaum, some adjectives have a heightening or lowering effect on the

noun they modify. $hey can be divided, according to their meaning, into emphasi:ers and amplifiers.

Emphasi:ers have a general heightening effect. mplifiers place the noun upwards, at the upper extreme of

the scale. Emphasi:ers are attributive only a certain (sure winner, an outright lie, pure (sheer fa!rication,

a real (undou!ted hero. mplifiers are central adjectives when they are inherent a complete victory 6 thevictory was complete7 their e'treme condemnation 6 their condemnation was e'treme7 his great folly 6 his

folly was great.

0hen they are non-inherent, they are attributive only a complete fool 6 the fool is complete7 a

perfect idiot 6 the idiot is perfect.'ther examples of amplifiers that are attributive only a close friend, his

entire salary, utter folly, the very end, a strong opponent, a great supporter. ;ertain intensifying adjectives

are always attributive mere, sheer,andutter.

!imiter adjectives

They particularise the reference of the noun the main reason, the only occasion, the precise reason,

the same student.Some of these have homonyms. 8or instance certain in a certain personis a limiter (a

particular person), while in a certain winnerit is an intensifier (a sure winner).

Adjectives related to adverbials

Other adjectives that are attributive only can be related to adverbials. $hese non-inherent adjectives

include my former friend1formally my friend, an occasional visitor1 occasionally a visitor.

Some re


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Adjectives that occur in predicative positions are more li/e verbs and adverbs. $hey usually refer to a

condition rather than to a characteristic. $he most common are those referring to health or lac/ of health

faint, ill, well, unwell. larger group includes adjectives that can or must ta/e complementation, e.g. afraid

(that, of, a!out, conscious (that, of, fond (of, loath (to. !any resemble verbs semantically

He is afraid to do it 6 He fears to do it.*n merican use sick is the exception among the health adjectives because it is used mostly

attributively the sick woman 6 the woman is sick.

Sub-classification of adjectives according to their meanings

*. -tate%dynamic. djectives are naturally state, but many can act as dynamic. !ost adjectives that are

li/ely to be measured (careful, naughty, lovely) are capable of being dynamic. state adjective such asfat

cannot be used with the progressive aspect or with the imperative

Hes !eing fat.0e fat5

*n contrast we can use calmas a dynamic adjective

Hes !eing calm.

0e calm5

'ther adjectives that can be dynamic are awkward, !rave, careful, careless, cruel, e'travagant,

foolish, funny, good, greedy, impudent, irrita!le, )ealous, naughty, noisy, rude, and timid.

**. 8rada!le%non&grada!le.!ost adjectives are gradable. $hey can be modified by adverbs, which

convey the degree of intensity of the adjective. 5radability includes comparison fat fatter & fattest7

interesting more interesting most interesting, and other forms of intensification very slim, so dull,

e'tremely careless.

ll dynamic adjectives are gradable. !ost stative adjectives (!ig, round) are gradable but some are

non-gradable, mainly technical adjectives li/e atomic (scientist), or hydrochloric(acid) and adjectives

denoting origin9omanian.

***.Inherent%non&inherent.!ost adjectives are inherent.0igis inherent in a !ig cat, the standard being

the relative si:e of cats, in contrast with a little cat. 0ig is non-inherent in a !ig fool, the standard being

degrees of foolishness, in contrast with a !it of a fool.

$he construction the > comparative > the can be used with adjectives and adverbs to show cause and

effect a change is followed by another,

The more you study, the more you know. The more you know, the more you forget. The more you

forget, the less you know. The less you know, the less you forget. The less you forget, the more you

know. Then, why study:

Adjectives$ %ord order

When we use more than one adjective to describe a noun, we have to ta/e care with the word order.

!uch depends on the emphasis a spea/er wishes to ma/e. general guide is as follows

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djective usual order

?oun

4uality si:e@age@shape color origin past participle

0eautiful small old round !rown 1rench handmade ta!le

5eneral


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It is extremelydangerous to clim! that mountain.

$noughpost-modifies adjectives, as in clever enough. 3sually the modifying adverb is an intensifier,

the most used being very. 'ther adverbs areso, pretty, rather, unusually, +uite, and un!elieva!ly. !any are

restricted to a small set of lexical items, e.g. deeply (anxious), highly (intelligent), strikingly (beautiful),

sharply(critical). !any intensifiers can modify adjectives, adverbs and verbs.

&) Modifier of adver!as in the examples

It is raining very heavily.

He has said so very many stupid )okes that Im tired of him.

s with adjectives, the only post-modifier is enough, as in cleverly enough. few intensifying

adverbs, particularly rightand well, pre-modify particles in phrasal verbs

He knocked the man right out.

)Modifier of prepositional phrases . $he few adverbs that pre-modify particles in phrasal verbs also

pre-modify prepositions or prepositional phrases

The arrow went right to the target.

Her fianc; is dead against using make up.

2) Modifier of determiner, pre&determiner, post&determiner. *ntensifying adverbs can pre-modify

indefinite pronouns, pre-determiners and cardinal numerals


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- time the meeting yesterday7 the day after tomorrow.

*ndefinite pronouns, wh-pronouns, and wh-adverbs are post-modified by elsesomeone else, all else,

who else, what else, etc.$lsealso post-modifies compounds with wheresomewhere, anywhere, everywhere,

nowhere elseetc.

Adverb as complement of preposition

Some place and time adverbs function as complement of a preposition. Hereand thereta/e the most

prepositions along, around, down, from, in, near, on, out (of, over, round, through under, and up . Home

can be complement of the prepositions at, from, near, toward(s. 'thers go only with the preposition from

a!ove, a!road, !elow, downstairs, indoors, inside, outdoors, outside, upstairs, within, without. (see 4uir/ et

al.)

"egrees of comparison for adjectives and adverbs ntensification'

There are three degrees of comparison

- ositive or the base kind, hastilyA

- comparative kinder, more hastilyA

- superlative kindest, most hastily.

$he comparative is used for a comparison between two items, and the superlative where more than

two are involved. $he superlative is sometimes used for a comparison between two,

He is the prettiest of the two sisters, but this is rather informal.

0e can express comparison by

%) the inflected forms in #erand #est for short adjectives (one or two syllables)A

&) with moreand most for long adjectives (two or more syllables)A

) for e


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(Ho%) *uestions and measure phrases

How is used as a pro-form for degree intensifiers of the adjective or adverb in


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*n other cases there is no corresponding adverb form of the same lexical item, so that only the

adjective form is available

4e returned early%fast%late today.(4uir/ et al. %66 %7)

Adjective and noun

Some items can be both adjectives and nouns. 8or instance, criminalis an adjective in that it can be

used both attributively (a criminal law) and predicatively (The way he !ehaved seemed criminal to us ). "ut

criminalalso has all the characteristics of a noun,

The criminals were in)ected the lethal dose eventually.

#riminalis thus both an adjective and a noun, and the relationship between the adjective criminaland

the noun criminalis that of conversion. Examples of other converted nouns are

There are a lot of !lacks in this town.

The ancients conception on supernatural was not very different from ours.The no!les and the poor cannot sit at the same ta!le.

?ouns can pre-modify other nouns a town hall, a city council, a stone fence, a love story, summer

weather. *n this function, the attributive nouns resemble adjectives. Fowever, the basically nominal character

of these pre-modifiers is shown by their correspondence to prepositional phrases with the noun as

complement the council of the city, a fence (made of stone, a story a!out love, weather (usual in summer.

Some nouns can function both attributively and predicatively. $hese nouns are li/e adjectives because they

do not vary in number. $he nouns denote material from which things are made, or refer to style the concrete

floor 6 that floor is concrete(of concrete)AMeisner porcelain 6 this porcelain is Meisner.Some nouns can

appear in predicative noun phrases afterseem

/our !rother seems a fool.

His !oyfriend seems very much an "ustralian.

Her painting seems nonsense to me.

Adjective and participles

Many adjectives have the same form as participles

His opinions are very !affling.

The policeman seemed very much surprised !y the course of the action.

$hese adjectives can also be attributive his !affling opinions, the surprised policeman. $he #ed

participle of intransitive verbs can also be used attributively the escaped convict (the convict who escaped),

a grown girl(a girl who has grown up). 'nly with some of these is the predicative use allowed

The convict is escaped.

Her daughter is grown(not common in "rE butfull&grownorgrown&upis perfectly acceptable).

0e can have ambiguous sentences where the ambiguity depends on whether we have a participle or an

adjective

They were (very relieved (to find their house not !roken into# adjective.

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9. sum small contained that the familyKs total of the house possessions.

=. from is there the gods has immemorial belief that been world governed time by.

7. in family house elect will with the entire president live official an his.

6. answered proper been the present has not by


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+. Everybody agrees that computers have, in a very fundamental way, changed our lives.

9. "eing caught in the act, the burglar gave its name with a nervous and shaking voice.

=. ?ot trusting the weather forecast, the hi/ers very wiselytoo/ more warm clothes with them.

7. *t was well /nown that the late rime !inister had wor/ed for the peopleKs welfare with unremitting

effort.

6. $he producer remade this film with complete lack of originality.

%B. Fe brought up the topic of his debts at a very inconvenient time.

6). Fill in the ga's with the right adverb r adverbial cnstr#ctin fr! the list.

% by and large, & firstly, however, moreover, + certainly, 9 on the whole, = funnily enough, 7 on the

contrary, 6 in other words, %B on the other hand.

%. ..0y and large.., everybody has achieved their tas/s.

&. I, *Kd li/e to be sure that everybody is present.

. Fe agreed with his wife to throw a party, I, reluctantly.

2. She saw that there was a man immediately behind her. I, he was observing her insistently.

+. $odayKs inflation increase is Itoo high.

9. $he countryside visited was Ivaried and scenic.

=. I, he fell for all our jo/es.

7. eople donKt go there in !arch. 1 I, they go there as itKs not noisy at this time of the year.6. $he mobile library services have been reorganised. I, they visit fewer places.

%B. Fospitals may lose money. "ut, I, many lives are saved.

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11. Qualifiers - Adjectives and Adverbs