Adjectives Flashcards
ISSUE 1
Form
Attributive function
Precedes an NP
Precative function
Occurs at predicate
Postnominal
Ellipsis of a relative clause
Immediately follows the NP
Adjectives and homomorphs
Examples
Fast
They went home fast.
The was known for his fast sprint.
Two other characteristics of adjectives
- Modified by an intensifier very
1. Takes comparative and superlative forms
Exclusively in attributive position
- The determined reference (restrictive): the very/particular man
- Importance: their main/prime/ principal) faults
- Recognized by law or custom: the lawful/legal/true heir
- Denominal: a medical doctor, an atomic physicist, a reserve officer
- Time reference: the future king, the former chairperson, the present monarch
- Geographical reference: a Southern gentleman, the urban crisis, a rural mail carrier
- Intensifying or emphasizing: a total stranger, a mere child, sheer fraud, utter nonsense
- Showing the uniqueness: the sole survivorm the only nominee,a single individual
Only precative
- Beginning with an a- prefix: asleep, alert
- Health adjectives: ill, poorly, well, faint, unwell
- Adjectives which can take complementation: able, afraid, answerable, averse, aware
ISSUE 2
MEANING
What’s the meaning difference?
- That person is responsible.
- That responsible person
- Trustworthy or to blame
2. Trustworthy
The relationship of adjectives and modified NP
- When the adj is attributive
- When the adj is precative
- More permanant or characteristic
2. Temporary states or specific events
Potential ambiguity of precative adjectives
The house is pink.
The pink house
The house is pink in the sunset
Why most health adj are used precatively?
Attributive position tends to reject the temporary and occasionalw
Compare the following compound attributive adj
Your play-writing friend
*The leg-breaking man
The friend habitually writes plays
But the man does not break a leg as a customary action
Xxxxxxxx
Compare Drunk and drunken
Drunken is used only as attributive adj: the drunken tiger
Drunk is used as precative: he got drunk
Q. Does drunken has more permanent or customary meaning than drunk?
Three way ambiguity of the English phrase: an old friend
- A friend who is old
- A friend whom I have had for a long time
- A former friend ( not my friend any more)
ISSUE3
Adjectives and participle
When is the verbal force of the participle explicit?
- When an D.O. is present
2. When a by-agent phrase with a personal agent is present
How to differentiate the particle from the participial adjective?
The presence of very together with an explicit indicator of verbal force would produce an unacceptable sentence.
*His views were very alarmaing his audience.
When -ed or -ing form is adjective..
- When they cooccur with a by-phrase containing a nonpersonal NP:
I’m very disturbed by your attitude.
2. When it is compounded with another element: It is (very) heart-breaking.
Cf. -ing, -ed participles can be attributive: a married couple, a crying baby
Different participle forms for verbal and adjectival use
You have drunken too much - drunk(en) driving/ driver
Have you shaved? - a clean-shaven young man
This shirt has shrunk - a shrunken shirt
