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Adjective

The document discusses the role of participles as noun modifiers and their evolution into adjectives in various languages, with examples from English. It also outlines the specific order of attributive adjectives in English, categorized by opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, and purpose. Additionally, it mentions the placement of determiners and postdeterminers in relation to adjectives.

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2 views

Adjective

The document discusses the role of participles as noun modifiers and their evolution into adjectives in various languages, with examples from English. It also outlines the specific order of attributive adjectives in English, categorized by opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, and purpose. Additionally, it mentions the placement of determiners and postdeterminers in relation to adjectives.

Uploaded by

magzmagz96
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Many languages have participle forms that can act as noun modifiers either alone or as

the head of a phrase. Sometimes participles develop into functional usage as


adjectives. Examples in English include relieved (the past participle of relieve), used as
an adjective in passive voice constructs such as "I am so relieved to see you". Other
examples include spoken (the past participle of speak) and going (the present participle
of go), which function as attribute adjectives in such phrases as "the spoken word" and
"the going rate".

Other constructs that often modify nouns include prepositional phrases (as in "a
rebel without a cause"), relative clauses (as in "the man who wasn't there"),
and infinitive phrases (as in "a cake to die for"). Some nouns can also take
complements such as content clauses (as in "the idea that I would do that"), but these
are not commonly considered modifiers. For more information about possible modifiers
and dependents of nouns, see Components of noun phrases.

Order
[edit]
In many languages, attributive adjectives usually occur in a specific order. In general,
the adjective order in English can be summarised as: opinion, size, age or shape,
colour, origin, material, purpose.[9][10][11] Other language authorities, like the Cambridge
Dictionary, state that shape precedes rather than follows age.[9][12][13]

Determiners and postdeterminers—articles, numerals, and other limiters


(e.g. three blind mice)—come before attributive adjectives in English. Although certain
combinations of determiners can appear before a noun, they are far more circumscribed
than adjectives in their use—typically, only a single determiner would appear before a
noun or noun phrase (including any attributive adjectives).

1. Opinion – limiter adjectives (e.g. a real hero, a perfect idiot) and adjectives of
subjective measure (e.g. beautiful, supportive) or value (e.g. good, bad, costly)
2. Size – adjectives denoting physical size (e.g. tiny, big, extensive)
3. Age – adjectives denoting age (e.g. young, old, new, ancient, six-year-old)
4. Shape or physical quality – adjectives describing more detailed physical
attributes than overall size (e.g. round, sharp, turgid, thin)
5. Colour – adjectives denoting colour or pattern (e.g. white, black, pale, splotchy)
6. Origin – denominal adjectives denoting source
(e.g. Japanese, volcanic, extraterrestrial)
7. Material – denominal adjectives denoting what something is made of
(e.g., plastic, metallic, wooden)
8. Qualifier/purpose – final limiter, which sometimes forms part of the (compound)
noun (e.g., high chair, northern cabin, passenger car, book cover)

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