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Anca Cehan
English majors, year II, autumn semester
Lecture 12
Adjectives
Adjectives and adverbs are two of the four lexical word classes (nouns and
verbs are the other two.) Adjectives and adverbs are very common in all registers,
but less common than nouns and verbs. Adjectives and adverbs differ in their
frequencies across registers. Like nouns, adjectives are more common in news
and academic prose than in conversation. But the distribution of adverbs is like
the distribution of verbs: most common in conversation and fiction.
These facts reflect the typical uses of adjectives and adverbs. Adjectives
commonly modify nouns, so they add to the informational density of registers like
academic prose. In contrast, adverbs often occur as clause elements
(adverbials); they occur together with lexical verbs adding information to the short
clauses of conversation and fiction. Beyond their overall distributions, there is a
great deal of variation in the form, meaning, and syntactic roles of adjectives and
adverbs.
1 Characteristics of adjectives
Certain characteristics are typical of adjectives, although not all adjectives
have all of these characteristics. Adjectives that have these characteristics are
called central adjectives. Adjectives with fewer of the characteristics are
peripheral adjectives.
1.1 Defining characteristics of adjectives
A Morphological characteristics
Central adjectives can be inflected to show comparative and superlative
degree, as with big, bigger, biggest.
B Syntactic characteristics
Central adjectives serve both attri buti ve and predi cati ve syntactic roles.
In attributive position, an adjective is part of a noun phrase: it precedes and
modifies the head noun.
Predicative adjectives are not part of a noun phrase, but instead
characterize a noun phrase that is a separate clause element. Usually
predicative adjectives occur as subject predicatives following a copular
verb:
That'll be quite impressive.
Here the adjective impressive describes the subject that. Predicative
adjectives also occur as object predicatives:
Even Oscar Wilde called it charmi ng.
Here the adjective charming describes the object it.
C Semantic characteristics
Central adjectives are descriptive. They typically characterize the referent
of a nominal expression (e.g. bl ue and white flag, unhappy childhood). In
addition, they are gradabl e, which means that they can show different degrees of
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a quality. Gradable adjectives can take comparative and superlative forms (e.g.
close, closer, closest) and can be modified by an adverb of degree, such as
very.
The two couples were very cl ose.
Many of the most common adjectives in English are central adjectives that
share all of these characteristics. These include color adjectives (e.g. red,
dark), adjectives of size and dimension (e.g. big, long), and adjectives of time
(e.g. new, old).
1.2 Peripheral adjecti ves
Peripheral adjectives share some but not all of the defining characteristics of
adjectives (see table below). As the table also shows, the concept of 'central vs.
peripheral' is not a clear dichotomy. Big is a central adjective and exhibits all the
characteristics listed above. Some adjectives, such as beautiful, have all the
characteristics of central adjectives except that they cannot be inflected to show
comparative or superlative degree (*beautifuller). Other adjectives lack other
characteristics. For example, absolute is not gradable (something cannot be more or
less absolute). Afraid is gradable but it does not occur in attributive position, and it
cannot be inflected (*afraider). In prescriptive usage, alive is not a gradable adjective
since something is either alive or dead. However, alive does sometimes occur with an
adverb of degree:
The center of the city is very alive.
Many peripheral adjectives occur in only attributive or predicative roles, but not
both. For example, unable is used only predicatively, while mere is used only attributively.
Heisenberg was totally unable to answer them. <not *an unable
Heisenberg>
Some of them are very young, mere children. <not *children who are mere>
Variability in the defining characteristics of adjectives
morphological
inflection
attributive
role
predicative
role
descriptive
meaning
gradable example
+ + + + + big
- + + + + beautiful
- + + ? - absolute
- - + + + afraid
- - + + ? alive
- + + - + different
- + ? + ? lone
? + - - - mere
1.3 Frequency of attributive and predicative roles
The distribution of attributive and predicative adjectives differs across
registers. In news and academic prose, attributive adjectives are much more
common than predicative adjectives. In conversation, both functions are relatively
rare.
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In news and academic prose, attributive adjectives are an important device
used to add information to noun phrases. For example (adjectives are in bold,
head nouns are underlined):
With economic specialization and the development of external economi c
linkages, division of labor intensifies, a merchant class is added to the
pol i ti cal elite, and sel ecti ve migration streams add to the social and ethnic
complexity of cities.
In contrast, the roughly equal frequency of predicative and attributive
adjectives in conversation reflects a much greater reliance on clauses rather than
noun phrases. For example, in the following conversation sample, notice
how speakers use predicative adjectives to characterize events and people:
A: Getting a B is good enough for him.
B: That's great.
A: Especially for people in med school - I think a lot of them are so used to
being -
B: Super-achievers.
A: Super-achievers that they cant slow down, but, uh, Trey's not that way. He's
real laid-back. <note: med school = medical school>
Specific adjectives have a strong preference for predicative or attributive
position. For example, adjectives with the prefix a- are usually predicative. All the
following adjectives occur over 98 per cent of the time in a predicative role:
abed, ablaze, abreast, afraid, aghast, aglow, alike, alive, alone, askew, asleep,
aware.
In contrast, adjectives ending in -al show a strong preference for attributive
position. All the following common adjectives occur in attributive position over 98 per
cent of the time: general, industrial, local, national, social.
2 The formati on of adj ecti ves
New adjectives can be formed through three processes:
using participial forms
adding word endings or derivational suffixes
compounding (i.e. combining two words).
2.1 Parti ci pi al adj ecti ves
Both -ing and -ed participial forms can be used as adjectives. Most participial
adjectives are derived from verbs (e.g. promising, surprised, determined). In fact, when a
participle follows the verb be, it is sometimes difficult to know whether to analyze it as
an adjective or a main verb.
New participial adjectives can also be formed by adding a negative prefix to

an
already existing adjective (e.g. uninteresting from interesting).
Many -ing and -ed participial forms can serve both attributive and predicative
functions (e.g. boring, thrilling, confused, excited). However, participial adjectives
are generally more common with attributive uses. Some of the most common
participial adjectives are as follows:
common -ing participial adjectives:
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amazing, boring, corresponding, encouraging, exciting, existing, following,
increasing, interesting, leading, missing, outstanding, promising, remaining,
threatening, underlying, willing, working
common -ed participial adjectives:
advanced, alleged, armed, ashamed, bored, complicated, confused, depressed,
determined, disabled, disappointed, educated, excited, exhausted, frightened,
interested, pleased, surprised, tired, unemployed, unexpected, worried.
2.2 Adjectives with derivational affixes
Many adjectives are formed by adding an adjective suffix to a noun or verb. For
example:
noun suffix derived adjecti ve
cord + -less cordless
effect + -ive effective
verb suffix derived adjecti ve
continue + -ous continuous
elude + -ive elusive
Adjectives can also be formed from other adjectives, especially by using the
negative prefixes un-, in-, and non- (e.g. unhappy, insensitive, nonstandard).
Derived adjectives are by far most common in academic prose; they are
rare in fiction and conversation. Adjectives formed with the suffix -al are by far more
common than adjectives formed with any other suffix.
The suffix -al is extremely productive in academic prose; it is used to form
many new adjectives, though these adjectives occur only rarely. Most of these
adjectives are very specialized words, such as adrenocortical, carpopedal, and
tubulointerstitial. At the same time, some -al adjectives are common in all registers,
such as central, final, general.
The suffixes -ent, -ive, and -ous are also relatively common. Many
adjectives ending in -ent, such as different and persistent, are derived from a
verb (differ, persist). However it is hard to determine the source of adjectives like
patient, frequent, recent. Adjectives in -ive also have several sources: some are
formed from verbs (active, adaptive, relative), some are formed from nouns (instinctive
from instinct), and others are more difficult to analyze (e.g. aggressive). Finally, most -
ous adjectives are similar to -al adjectives in being highly specialized (e.g. floriferous,
umbrageous). However, there are some more common -ous adjectives, like
serious, obvious, previous.
2.3 Adj ecti val compounds
Adjectival compounds are made from a combination of more than one word,
resulting in a compact expression of information. They take many forms, including:
adjective +adjective grayish-blue, infinite-dimensional
adjective +noun full-time, cutting-edge, large-scale
noun +adjective butterfly-blue, age-old, life-long
adverb+-ed participle ill-suited, newly-restored, so-called
adverb + -ing participle free-spending, slow-moving, tightly-fitting
adverb +adjective highly-sensitive, already-tight, grimly-familiar
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reduplicative wishy-washy, roly-poly, goody-goody
noun +ed-participle church-owned, classroom-based, horse-drawn
noun +ing-participle eye-catching, law-abiding, nerve-wracking
In some cases, the individual items in a compound can be derived from other
words (e.g. grayish from gray). Some compounds would be analyzed as two words if the
hyphen was omitted (e.g. highly sensitive).
Adjectival compounds are common in the written registers, especially news.
They are most common as attributive adjectives.
Adjectival compounds present a compact form of information. Often,
alternative expressions would require a full clause, usually a relative clause. Thus, an
attack that was motivated by racism becomes a racially-motivated attack. Consider the
following example from a news text:
1 In a speech before the ballot, Mr. Kovac - whose career includes a stint as an
economic advisor to Cuban leader Fidel Castro in the 1960s - said he was in
favour of 'sociall y-oriented' market policies.
2 'I agree with the principles of a market economy which are socially
ori ented' he told parliament.
This example provides a contrast between the use of an adjectival compound
in writing (1) and a fuller relative clause in quoted speech (2). The compound is
used to compress information into a two-word expression, which is used as an
attributive adjective in a noun phrase. In speech, without time for planning or editing,
relative clauses seem easier to produce for certain kinds of information. In contrast,
the more compact expression resulting from a compound attributive adjective is
used by writers who have time for planning and editing.
One type of compound is more common in conversation: the reduplicative
compound (e.g. wishy-washy, roly-poly). These compounds are different from the
other compounds because the two parts rarely occur separately. They also usually
play with sounds, which make them more suited to conversation.
Concl usi ons
Adjectives have certain typical characteristics in their form, meaning, and use.
Central adjectives share all of the characteristics.
Peripheral adjectives vary in the extent to which they share the characteristics.
Adjectives have two major functions: attributive and predicative.
New adjectives can be formed in three ways: the use of participial forms, the
use of derivational suffixes, and compounding.
3 Adjectives: roles and meanings
3.1 Semantic categories of adjectives
There are two major semantic categories of adjectives: descriptors and
classifiers.
Descri ptors are adjectives that describe color, size and weight, chronology
and age, emotion, and other characteristics. They are typically gradable. For
example:
color descriptors: black, white, dark, bright, blue, brown, green, grey, red.
size/quantity/extent descriptors: big, deep, heavy, huge, long, large, little, short, small,
thin, wide.
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time descriptors describe chronology, age, and frequency: annual, daily, early
late, new, old, recent, young.
evaluative/emotive descriptors denote judgments, emotions, and emphasis:
bad, beautiful, best, fine, good, great, lovely, nice, poor.
miscellaneous descriptors cover many other kinds of characteristics: appropriate,
cold, complex, dead, empty, free, hard, hot, open, positive, practical, private, serious,
strange, strong, sudden.
Cl assi fi ers limit or restrict a noun's referent, rather than describing
characteristics in the way that descriptors do. For example:
relational/classificational/restrictive classifiers limit the referent of a noun in
relation to other referents:
additional, average, chief, complete, different, direct, entire, external, final, following,
general, initial, internal, left, main, maximum, necessary, original, particular, previous,
primary, public, similar, single, standard, top, various.
affiliative classifiers identify the national or social group of a referent:
American, Chinese, Christian, English, French, German, Irish, United.
topical/other classifiers give the subject area or specific type of a noun:
chemical, commercial, environmental, human, industrial, legal, medical, mental,
official, oral, phonetic, political, sexual, social, visual.
The distinction between descriptors and classifiers is not always clear.
Many topical classifiers, for instance, provide descriptive content while they also
limit the reference of the head noun (e.g. chemical, medical, political).
Most classifiers are non-gradable. This means that they usually cannot take
modifiers of degree or comparative/superlative forms. For example, we cannot say
*very medical or *more additional.
Some adjectives can serve as both classifiers and descriptors, depending
on their context of use. For example, the expressions in the left-hand column
contain a descriptor, while the same adjective is a classifier in the right-hand
column.
descriptor classifier
a popul ar girl in high school popul ar vote, popul ar opinion
cri mi nal activity cri mi nal l aw
a primary issue pri mary school
The most common adjectives often have a range of meanings. For example, old
is descriptive of age (an old radio, old newspapers), but it can also be used to express
evaluation or emotion (poor old Rusty, good old genetics). Even within a single category,
an adjective can have more than one meaning. Poor as a descriptor, for instance, can
mean either 'lacking financial resources' (a poor country) or 'not good' (poor health).
Meanings can also vary with syntactic role or register. For example, the
predicative use of poor usually refers to the financial situation (We're very poor), while
the attributive use is often associated with an emotive meaning, especially in fiction
(e.g. the poor devil, the poor little kid).
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3.2 Adjectives in combination
Sometimes adjectives are used in combination for a particular semantic
effect.
A Repeated comparative adjectives
Especially in fiction, two identical comparative adjectives are sometimes
joined by and to denote an ever-increasing degree of the adjective. For example,
funnier and funnier is a way of saying 'increasingly funny.' Typical examples include:
1 His need for food grew slighter and slighter.
2 Her visits to the country to see her son became rarer and rarer.
3 See the branches get smaller and smaller and smaller.
Repeated adjectives typically occur after resulting copular verbs, such as grew
in 1, become in 2, and get in 3. Example 3 also shows that more than one repetition is
possible.
Some adjectives make comparatives with more rather than with an -er ending.
In this case, the structure repeats the more rather than the adjective itself:
It got more and more popular strangely enough.
B The intensifiers good and and nice and
Sometimes adjectives are conjoined with good or nice in order to intensify the
meaning of the adjective. For example, good and sorry intensifies the meaning of sorry;
it does not add the individual meaning of 'good'. Sequences of this type occur in
predicative rather than attributive position. They are typical of fictional dialogue and
natural conversation:
Furthermore, we'll end this conversation when I'm good and ready.
The combination nice and is especially common:
Good for your teeth. Makes your teeth nice and strong.
In contrast, similar sequences in attributive position do not intensify the
meaning of the second adjective. Rather, the first adjectivegood or nice
retains its meaning:
There are many good and prosperous people here.
This example does not refer to very prosperous people', but rather people
who are both good and prosperous.
3.3 Attributive adjectives
Attributive adjectives usually modify common nouns (underlined below):
Yes, it's a bad attitude.
It had been his favorite toy.
Attributive adjectives can also modify proper place nouns:
old fashioned Episcopalian New York
ancient Mesopotamia
Less commonly, they modify the name of a person:
little Laura Davies
the late John C. Drennan
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Attributive adjectives can also modify personal pronouns. Although these
adjective + personal pronoun combinations are generally rare, they do occur
occasionally in conversation and fiction, especially in exclamations. Lucky, poor, and
silly are the most common adjectives modifying personal pronouns:
Lucky you!
Not like poor me.
'Si l l y old him,' Lally laughed.
3.4 Most common attributive adjectives in conversation and academic prose
Descriptors are relatively common in both registers, while classifiers are found
much more commonly in academic prose. Most of the frequent descriptors in
conversation are simple one-syllable words. Most of these adjectives describe
size, time, or personal evaluations. Evaluative adjectives are the most common:
That's a good film.
He had this really nice cap.
Even the adjective old, usually classified as a time adjective, is often used for an
evaluative meaning in conversation:
The old pig!
Yeah. Same old stuff.
Several of the most common attributive adjectives in conversation are
contrasting pairs: little/big, new/old, black/white, good/bad, same/different.
Academic prose shows a much greater use of classifiers, especially relational
and topical adjectives:
relational adjectives:
the same physical units, basi c processes, general method, whol e number
topical adjectives:
social status, human nature, sexual development, natural law, public policy,
political economy, experimental physics.
These adjectives are important in specifying the reference of noun phrases.
In addition, academic prose writers use evaluative adjectives to express judgments of
what is important, unusual, appropriate, and so on: important consequences,
special cases, appropriate conditions, right level.
3.5 Predi cati ve adj ecti ves
Predicative adjectives occur with two syntactic roles: subject predicati ve
and object predicative.
A Subject predicati ves
Subject predicatives complement a copular verb. They characterize the
nominal expression that is in subject position (underlined):
1 She seems quite nice really.
2 That's right.
3 It would be easier, quicker, and cheaper.
4 The tendencies are not significant and get weaker when data are corrected
for guessing.
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For example in 1, the predicative adjective nice is an evaluation characterizing
the subject pronoun she.
Many of the most frequent predicative adjectives occur with a phrasal or
clausal complement of their own. That is, they have a prepositional phrase, to-
infinitive clause, or that-clause that complements their meaning. For example
(complements are in [ ]):
phrasal complements
Well you're good [at remembering numbers].
That's nice [of you].
A system concept is subject [to several constraints].
clausal complements:
'You look good enough [to eat],' he said.
/ am sure {the warm affinities between Scots and Jews arise out of
appreciation of herrings].
In general, English does not allow adjectives with prepositional or clausal
complements to occur in attributive position.
B Object predicati ves
Object predicatives occur with complex transitive verbs, following the direct
object. Rather than characterizing the subject, they characterize the object. For
example (direct objects are underlined, and the object predicative is in bold):
/ said you've got all your priorities wrong.
I had it ri ght the first time, didn't I?
She had considered it infinitely vul gar and debased.
She has since declared herself bankrupt.
4 Ot her synt act i c r ol es of adj ect i ves
Besides their attributive and predicative uses, adjectives can serve several
other roles, including postposed modifiers, noun phrase heads, clause linkers, free
modifiers, and exclamations. (Adjectives also have an important role in
comparative clauses.)
4.1 Adjectives as postposed modifiers
A postposed adjective is part of a noun phrase but it follows the head word.
Postposed adjectives are most common with compound indefinite pronouns as
heads, such as no one, anything, or somebody:
It's a shame if you haven't got anyone musi cal here.
/ think they are doing everything possi ble to protect the workers.
In addition, postposed adjectives appear in some fixed expressions, e.g.
attorney general, heir apparent, notary public, Asia Minor.
Similarly, when a modifying adjective phrase is very long, the adjective
phrase will often follow the head noun:
It's a, a lounge not much bi gger than the one we've got now.
He drew from the high soprano instrument sounds totally different from what
we think of as saxophone tone.
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4.2 Adjectives as noun phrase heads
Adjectives can also function as the head of a noun phrase. Adjectives in this
role can be modified by adverbs (e.g. very in 2 below), which is typical of adjectives
but not nouns. However, these adjectives can also take premodifiers (e.g. real
working in 3 below), which is typical of nouns:
1 Everyone picks on the Welsh, don't they?
2 / think the contrast between the very ri ch and the very poor in this
country is disgusting.
3 These people may be the real working poor, the elderly, the very young, the
unemployed, or the transient.
As these examples illustrate, the adjective-headed noun phrase usually refers to a
group of people with the characteristic described by the adjective; thus, the elderly
refers to 'elderly people in general'. The definite article (the) is typically used with
adjectives as noun phrase heads.
4.3 Adjectives as linking expressions
An adjective sometimes serves to link clauses or sentences to one
another. Adjectives in this role can also have modifiers (e.g. still more in 2):
1 Worse he had nothing to say.
2. Still more important, children who grew up in elite homes enjoyed
advantages that helped them maintain elite status.
Such linking adjective phrases often express stance.
4.4 Adjecti ves as free modi fi ers
Adjectives can also be syntactically free modifiers of a noun phrase. These
adjective phrases modify a noun phrase, but they are not syntactically part of the noun
phrase; in fact, the adjective phrase has a peripheral role in the clause. These
structures are most common in fiction. They typically occur in sentence-initial position.
Below, the free modifiers are in bold and the noun phrases they modify are in [ ]:
Green, bronze and golden [it] flowed though weeds and rushes.
Delicate and light bodied, [it] is often confused with American blended
whiskey and thus called rye.
Free modifiers can also occur in sentence-final position:
[Victor chucked], highly amused.
4.5 Adjectives as exclamations
Adjectives often serve as exclamations, especially in conversation and fictional
dialog:
Great! I need some of those.
Good! I like that.
Other examples in conversation: Excellent! Bloody brilliant! Sorry! Oh dear!
Amazing! Wonderful! Super! Super-duper! <note: bloody is a taboo word that may be
offensive to some people>
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Conclusions
Adjectives can have two different kinds of meaning: they can be descriptors or
classifiers.
Adjectives are sometimes combined in interesting ways: repetition of a comparative
adjective shows increasing intensity (e.g. smaller and smaller], combination with
good and or nice and intensifies the meaning (e.g. good and ready}.
Attributive adjectives occur mainly before common nouns, but they can also
occur before proper nouns and personal pronouns.
o The frequency and use of attributive adjectives varies greatly between
conversation and academic prose.
Predicative adjectives can function as subject predicatives or object predicatives.
o Conversation and academic prose tend to use different kinds of predicative
adjectives.
Only a few adjectives are common in both predicative and attributive
positions.
Adjectives have five syntactic roles in addition to their attributive and
predicative roles: postposed modifier, noun phrase head, linking expression,
exclamation, and free modifier.

Bibliography:
Biber D., Conrad S., Leech G. (2002) Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written
English, Longman
Downing A (2006) English Grammar. A University Course, Routledge
Greenbaum S., Quirk R. (1990) A Students Grammar of the English Language, Longman
Huddleston R., Pullum G., et al. (2002) The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, CUP
Leech G. (1989) An A Z of English Grammar and Usage, Nelson
Quirk, R., Greenbaum S., Leech G., Svartvik J . (1972) A Grammar of Contemporary English,
Longman
Celce-Murcia M., Larsen-Freeman D. (1999) The Grammar Book, Heinle and Heinle
Vere G., Cehan A., Andriescu I. (1998) A Dictionary of English Grammar, Polirom

Exam questi ons:
1. Why are adjectives common in academic prose?
2. What is the defining morphological characteristic of central adjectives?
3. What is the defining syntactic characteristic of central adjectives?
4. Give an example sentence of your own with a central adjective in attributive
position.
5. Give an example sentence of your own with a central adjective in predicative
position.
6. What is the semantic characteristic of central adjectives?
7. Give an example sentence of your own with a central adjective modified by an
adverb of degree.
8. What is a peripheral adjective? Explain and illustrate with an example of your
own.
9. Explain why wonderful is / is not a central adjective.
10. In a sentence of your own give an example of adjective that can be used
only attributively.
11. In a sentence of your own give an example of adjective that can be used
only predicatively.
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12. What are the processes by which new participial adjectives can be
formed? Give examples in sentences of your own.
13. Use a compound adjective with the structure adjective + adjective in a
sentence of your own.
14. Use a compound adjective with the structure adjective + noun in a
sentence of your own.
15. Use a compound adjective with the structure noun +adjecti ve in a
sentence of your own.
16. Use a compound adjective with the structure adverb + -ed participle in a
sentence of your own.
17. Use a compound adjective with the structure adverb + -ing participle in
a sentence of your own.
18. Use a compound adjective with the structure adverb + adjecti ve in a
sentence of your own.
19. Use a reduplicative adjective in a sentence of your own.
20. Use a compound adjective with the structure noun + -ed participle in a
sentence of your own.
21. Use a compound adjective with the structure noun + -ing participle in a
sentence of your own.
22. What are the major semantic categories of adjectives? Exemplify each
category in a sentence of your own.
23. In two sentences of your own, illustrate how the same adjective can be
either descriptive or classifying.
24. Can adjectives modify personal pronouns? If so, give an example in a
sentence of your own.
25. In a sentence of your own, use an adjective as subject predicative.
26. In a sentence of your own, use an adjective as subject predicative
followed by a phrasal complement.
27. In a sentence of your own, use an adjective as subject predicative
followed by a clausal complement.
28. In a sentence of your own, use an adjective as object predicative.
29. In a sentence of your own, illustrate the postposition of adjectives with an
indefinite pronoun as head.
30. In a sentence of your own, illustrate the postposition of adjectives in fixed
phrases.
31. Can adjectives be noun phrase heads? If so, give with an example of
your own.
32. In a sentence of your own, illustrate the function of the adjective as a
linking expression.