Unit 14: Quality, Degree and Comparsion Flashcards
Expression of Quality is…
The manifestation of the characteristics of someone or something.
Classifications of Adjectives
- According to their position (attributive, predicative and postpositive)
- According to their Function (limiter, inherent and non-inherent)
- According to their Morphology (participles, adjectives as heads of NP, Nouns as premodifiers, compound premodifiers and intensifier adjectives)
Attributive Adjectives
Modify the noun by appearing between the determiner and the noun, or in front of the noun in the absence of a determiner
Predicative Adjectives
Appear after the verb (copula) They can function as subject or object complement
Postpositive Adjectives
They follow the item they modify. They can be considered a reduced relative clause. They may have a temporal implication.
Limiter Adjectives
Particularise the reference noun
Inherent Adjectives
They are predicative and characterise the noun directly (the snow is white)
Non-inherent Adjectives
They are attributive only and do not characterise the noun directly (an old friend)
Participles as Adjectives
Present participle is active and means: Having the effect of…
Past participle is pasive and means: affected by…
They can occur predicative and attributive.
Adjectives as Heads of Noun Phrases
Take definite determiner, has no genitive case inflection nor plural and makes a general reference. They may be a class of people or an abstract quality
Nouns as Premodifiers
Function similar to quality adjective by being positioned in front of the head
Compound Premodifiers
Combinations of words functioning as a single noun or adjective
Sequence of Premodifiers order
OPSHACOM: opinion+ shape+ age+ colour+ origin+ material
Intensifying Adjectives
They have a heightening or lowering effect. Two semantic subclasses can be identified: emphasizers and amplifiers.
Emphasizers adjectives
Have a general heightening effect and are attributively only
Amplifiers Adjectives
Denote the upper extreme of a scale or high position in it they are central when they are non-inherent, but when they are non-inherent they are attributive.
Types of Relative Clauses
Defining, non-defining and conective
Defining Relative Clauses
Describe the preceding name in a way so as to distinguish it from the rest of the same class
Choosing Relative Pronouns
It is a twofold consideration. First, to their function as subject, object or possessive, and secondly to the type of reference they are making: personal or non personal
Non- Defining Clauses
They are placed after nouns that are definite already, they add extra information to the meaning of the noun, but they are not essential; if omitted, the sentence is perfectly comprehensible
Expression of Degree
Degree can be applied to gradable words; whose meaning can be understood in terms of a scale
Function of degree adverbs
They can act as premodifiers (with nouns and adverbials) or as adverbials (with verbs)
Types of Degree Adverbs
Scale: they indicate a relative position in a scale. They can range from extreme position, slightly intensified meaning and decreased degree.
Limit: they indicate the end point of a scale. They can stress the fact that the quality is used to its fullest extent or that it is near the limit.
Expression of Comparsion
In grammatical terms, comparsion can be the comparative type (saying that one object has more of the quality in question than other) or superlative type (selecting an object as the one with the highest intensity)
