Adjectives

Adjectives

1. modifier, qualifies or limits the meaning of a noun or a pronoun

   • classification
     • semantic-syntactic
       • intensifying (only attributive)
         • Emphasizers: They have a general heightening effect (the simple true, a certain winner)
         • Amplifiers: They scale upwards from the standard (a complete victory, the very end)
         • Downtoners: They have a lowering effect (a slight effort)
         • Restrictive adjective: They restrict the reference of the noun (the exact answer, the same student)
         • Denominal Adjectives: They are non-inherent attributive adjective derived from agentive nouns referring the activity of the noun or to a material (a woolen dress, an atomic scientist)
         • Related to Adverb: some non-inherent attributive-only adjective can be related to adverbials (a hard worker, a big eater)
   • they answer the questions: what kind? Which one(s)? How much? How many?
   • Characteristics
     • Morphological: Derivation with affixes (a-, -y, -ful, -less, -able, -ic). Invariable words (for garden, case an number)
     • Notional: They qualify things, people and states, providing fuller or more limited
       • Gradable: they refer to qualities which can be weaker or stronger (important, slow, valuable, vigorous,good, bad,ugly, angry...)
         • Comparatives are used to compare differences between the two objects they modify (larger, smaller)
         • Superlatives are used to describe an object which is at the upper or lower limit of a quality (the tallest, the smallest)
       • Non-gradable: They indicate extreme or absolute qualities. They represent the limits of a scale (brilliant, correct, really, perfect...)
       • Statives: They denote a state (tall, reach,brunette, black)
       • Dynamic: They denote an action or getting to a state (careful, polite, faithful, kind...)
       • Non-inherent: they do not characterize the referent of the noun directly (a new friend, a golden girl)
       • Inherent: They characterize the referent of the noun directly (a black coat, a wooden cross)
     • Functional
       • Attributive: Their structure (before the noun) is used when the information is not the purpose of the statement
       • Predicative: their structure (after the link verb) is used when the information is the main purpose, the complement
     • Inflection -er and -est in comparison (biggest, bigger, more popular, the most popular
   • Compound adjective: It is a word composed of two or more words. Sometimes these words are hyphenated (landmark decision, hometown hero...)
     • 1. Noun + Adjective: world- famous, smoke-free 2. Noun + Present Participle: heart-breaking, eye-opening 3. Noun + Past Participle: hand-made, heart-felt 4. Adjective + Noun: deep-sea, deep-set
     • 5. Adjective + Past Participle: new-laid, long-awaited 6. Adjective + Present Participle: easy-going, good-looking 7. Adverb + Past Participle: well-known, brightly-lit 8. Number + noun: Forty-minute, two-year-old
   • Descriptive Adjectives
     • Proper adjectives: They are formed from a proper noun (Italian bread, Midas touch...)
   • Adjectives order
     • 1. Determiners or numbers: articles (a, an, the). 2. Opinion: subjective evaluation or personal opinion ( good, bad...) 3. Size: big, small 4. Shape: round, square... 5. Age: old, young... 6. Color: blue,black... 7. Nationality: Italian, French... 8. Architectural: Greek, Gothic... 9. Material: wood, gold... 10. Purpose: soccer ball, history class...

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