English Adjectives: Forms and Functions

Adjectives are fundamental building blocks in English, adding descriptive power to our language. Understanding English Adjectives: Forms and Functions is crucial for anyone looking to improve their grammar and writing. This article will break down how adjectives work, their various forms, and their important roles in sentences, making it perfect for students preparing for exams or simply aiming for clearer communication.

What are English Adjectives and Their Functions?

The adjective system encompasses all words and phrases that modify a noun, telling us what a person or thing is like. They provide crucial information about:

• Quality: nice, beautiful
• Size: big, large
• Age: old, young
• Temperature: cold, hot
• Shape: round, square
• Colour: red, blue
• Origin: French, American

Some words naturally function only as adjectives (e.g., big, nice). Others are formed from different word classes using derivational morphemes (suffixes) or prefixes.

How English Adjectives are Formed: Suffixes, Prefixes, and Compounds

Adjectives can be created or modified in several ways:

1. Derivational Suffixes

• From Nouns:
• -al: person – personal
• -ary: custom – customary
• -ful: beauty – beautiful
• -ish: fool – foolish
• -ly: friend – friendly
• -ous: nerve – nervous
• -y: cloud – cloudy
• From Verbs:
• -able: agree – agreeable
• -ent: depend – dependent
• -ible: sense – sensible
• -ive: attract – attractive

2. Participial Adjectives

These are adjectives formed from verbs using –ing or –ed endings:

• -ing adjectives: interesting, disappointing, impressing, boring
• -ed adjectives: interested, disappointed, impressed, bored

3. Prefixes

Prefixes are often added to adjectives to give them a negative meaning:

• dis-: agreeable – disagreeable
• un-: pleasant – unpleasant
• im-: possible – impossible
• ir-: regular – irregular

4. Compound Adjectives

Compound adjectives combine two or more words, often hyphenated, to act as a single descriptive unit:

• With participles: absent-minded, short-sighted, time-consuming
• With prefixes and suffixes: water-resistant, health-conscious
• With cardinal numbers and nouns: a five-year-old girl, a ten-minute-break

Gradable vs. Non-Gradable Adjectives: Understanding Degrees of Description

Adjectives can be categorized based on whether they can express varying degrees of a quality.

1. Gradable Adjectives

These adjectives can be modified by words like very, too, enough and can form comparative and superlative degrees.

• very big, too happy, strong enough
• bigger, biggest; happier, happiest

2. Non-Gradable Adjectives

Also known as absolute or extreme adjectives, these cannot be premodified by very or take comparative/superlative forms because they express an absolute quality.

• (Incorrect: very perfect, more perfect) Correct: absolutely perfect, nearly perfect

Syntactic Functions of English Adjectives: Attributive and Predicative Positions

From a syntactic perspective, the ability to function attributively and predicatively is a central feature of adjectives.

Attributive Adjectives

Attributive adjectives appear before the noun they modify, typically between a determiner and the noun in a noun phrase.

• my favourite book
• a large house

Predicative Adjectives

Predicative adjectives occur in the predicate of a sentence, usually after a linking verb (like be, look, seem, feel), without directly preceding a noun.

• The book is interesting.
• She looks happy.

Most adjectives can be used both attributively and predicatively; these are considered central adjectives.

Adjectives with Complementation and Postposition

Adjectives with complementation (a prepositional phrase or a to-infinitive clause) normally require postposition, meaning they follow the noun they modify, rather than appearing in the attributive position.

• They have a large house. (attributive)
• They have a house larger than yours. (postpositive with complementation)
• Students brave enough to attempt the course deserve to succeed. (postpositive with complementation)

Adjectives with Different Meanings Based on Position

Some adjectives change their meaning depending on whether they are used attributively or predicatively.

• Predicative: Mrs Smith is 80. She is very old now. (refers to age)
• Attributive: My old friend hasn't arrived yet. (refers to a long-standing friendship, not necessarily age)
• Predicative: Jane is late. (refers to being behind schedule)
• Attributive: My late cousin... (refers to someone who has passed away)

Adjectives Used Only Predicatively

Some adjectives are exclusively predicative and cannot be used before a noun:

• Describing health: well, unwell, faint, ill
• The patient felt ill. (But note: a faint sound - here 'faint' doesn't refer to health and can be attributive. Also, an ill omen, ill manners can be attributive with a different sense of 'ill'.)
• Beginning with 'a-': ablaze, afloat, afraid, alive, asleep, awake
• The child is asleep. (Compare with attributive forms: a burning house, a floating log, a living creature, a sleeping baby, a waking dream)
• Describing feelings/reactions: content, pleased, glad, upset, sorry
• Followed by prepositions: fond of, aware of, interested in

Adjectives Used Only Attributively

Conversely, some adjectives are exclusively attributive and cannot be used in the predicate:

• sheer, mere, utter
• With the sense of 'very': complete, perfect, total, close, pure nonsense
• Restricting noun reference: the only way, main problem, certain value, sole interest

Postpositive Adjectives: Adjectives Following the Noun

Adjectives can sometimes appear immediately after the noun or pronoun they modify. This is called postposition.

• Attorney General, President Elect, Heir Apparent, Governor General, Asia Minor, sum total, time immemorial, body politic

Postposition is also common for adjectives like absent, present, concerned, involved, responsible when they refer to temporary attributes rather than permanent ones.

• the proper question (appropriate/correct) vs. the question proper (the question itself)

A postpositive adjective can often be seen as a reduced relative clause:

• something that is useful → something useful
• anyone who is intelligent → anyone intelligent
• something that is important → something important

Adjectives as Heads of Noun Phrases

Adjectives can also function as the head of a noun phrase, especially when referring to groups of people or abstract concepts.

There are three main types:

1. Adjectives premodifying personal nouns: These can become NP heads denoting classes or categories of people.

• the old people → the old (referring to all elderly people)
• Examples: the young, the poor, the innocent, the blind

2. Adjectives denoting nationalities: These refer to people of a certain nationality.

• Examples: the Dutch, the Irish, the French

3. Adjectives with abstract reference: These take singular concord.

• Examples: the exotic, the unreal, the exciting, the unknown

Noun Modifiers: Nouns Behaving Like Adjectives

Nouns modifying other nouns (noun modifiers) behave similarly to adjectives. They usually appear before the noun they modify.

• a gold medal, a gold chain

If the product is literally made of the material, they are used without derivational morphemes. Exceptions exist, like a wooden chair or a woollen pullover.

However, if they carry a metaphorical meaning (meaning 'like...'), they often take derivational morphemes:

• Compare: a silver ring (material) vs. the silvery light of the moon (like silver)
• Compare: the stone age (material) vs. a stony face (like stone, unfeeling)
• Compare: a stone wall (material) vs. a stony silence (like stone, hard/unyielding)
• Compare: a silk blouse (material) vs. a silky voice, silken hair (like silk, smooth)
• Compare: brass objects (material) vs. brazen corruption (like brass, bold/shameless)

Ordering Multiple Adjectives: A Guide to Placement

When using more than one adjective to describe a noun, a specific word order is generally followed to ensure clarity and natural flow. The usual order is:

Quality + Size / Age / Shape + Colour + Origin + Past Participle + Compound Noun

• Example: a beautiful (Quality) large (Size) old (Age) round (Shape) blue (Colour) French (Origin) painted (Past Participle) wooden (Compound Noun) box.

FAQ: English Adjectives for Exams and Beyond

What are the main forms of English adjectives?

English adjectives can take various forms, including basic adjectives (big, nice), participial adjectives (interesting, bored), and compound adjectives (absent-minded, five-year-old). Many are also formed by adding suffixes to nouns or verbs (personal, agreeable) or prefixes for negation (unpleasant).

How do attributive and predicative adjectives differ?

Attributive adjectives come before the noun they modify (e.g., a tall building). Predicative adjectives appear after a linking verb and describe the subject (e.g., The building is tall). While many adjectives can be both, some are exclusively one or the other (e.g., asleep is only predicative, main is only attributive).

Can nouns function like adjectives in English?

Yes, nouns can function as modifiers, behaving like adjectives when they come before another noun to describe it (e.g., a gold medal, a stone wall). These are often called noun modifiers or attributive nouns. Sometimes, they take derivational suffixes when used metaphorically (silvery light, stony face).

What is the correct order for multiple adjectives before a noun?

The general order for multiple adjectives is: Quality, followed by Size/Age/Shape, then Colour, Origin, Past Participle, and finally Compound Noun (e.g., a beautiful large old round blue French painted wooden box). Following this order helps ensure natural-sounding descriptions in English.

When do adjectives appear after the noun (postpositive position)?

Adjectives appear in the postpositive position (after the noun) in specific cases: with complementation (e.g., a house larger than yours), in certain fixed phrases (Attorney General), and when describing temporary attributes for words like concerned, involved, responsible (e.g., the people present).