AdjectivesРефераты >> Иностранные языки >> Adjectives
1) They may indicate a class of persons in a general sense (e.g. the poor = poor people, the dead = dead people, etc.) Such adjectives are plural in meaning and take a plural verb.
e.g. The old receive pensions.
The young are always romantic, aren’t they?
The blind are taught trades in special schools.
If we wish to denote a single person we must add a noun.
e.g. The old man receives a pension.
If we wish to refer to a particular group of persons (not the whole class), it is aslo necessary to add a noun.
e.g. The young are usually intolerant.
The young men are fishing.
Some adjectives denoting nationalities (e.g. English, French, Dutch) are used in the same way.
e.g. The English are great lovers of tea.
There were a few English people among the tourists.
2) Substantivized adjectives may also indicate an abstract notion. Then they are singular in meaning and take a singular verb.
e.g. The good in him overweighs the bad.
My mother never lost her taste for extravagant.
Syntactic Functions of Adjectives.
Adjectives may serve in the sentence as:
1) an attribute
e.g. Do you see the small green boat, which has such an odd shape?
The lights of the farm blazed out in the windy darkness.
Adjectives used as attributes usually immediately precede the noun. Normally there is no pause between the adjective and the noun. Such attributes are called close attributes.
However, an adjective placed in pre-position to the noun may be separated from it by a pause. Then it becomes a loose attribute.
e.g. Clever and tactful, George listened to my story with deep concern.
Yet loose attributes are more often found in post-position to the noun.
e.g. My father, happy and tired, kissed me good-night.
2) a predicative
e.g. Her smile was almost professional.
He looked mature, sober and calm.
3) part of a compound verbal predicate
e.g. He stood silent, with his back turned to the window.
She lay motionless, as if she were asleep.
4) an objective predicative
e.g. I thought him very intelligent.
She wore her hair short.
5) a subjective predicative
e.g. The door was closed tight.
Her hair was dyed blonde.
It should be noted that most adjectives can be used both attributively and predicatively, but some, among them those beginning with a-, can be used only as predicatives (e.g. afraid, asleep, along, alive, awake, ashamed and also content, sorry, well, ill, due, etc.)
A few adjectives can be used only as attributes (e.g. outer, major, minor, only, whole, former, latter and some others)
Position of Adjectives.
1 Most adjectives can be used in a noun group, after determiners and numbers if there are any, in front of the noun.
e.g. He had a beautiful smile.
She bought a loaf of white bread.
There was no clear evidence.
2 Most adjectives can also be used after a link verb such as ‘be’, ‘become’, or ‘feel’.
e.g. I'm cold.
I felt angry.
Nobody seemed amused.
3. Some adjectives are normally used only after a link verb.
| afraid alive alone | asleep aware content | due glad ill | ready sorry sure | unable well |
I wanted to be alone.
We were getting ready for bed.
I'm not quite sure.
He didn't know whether to feel glad or sorry.
4. Some adjectives are normally used only in front of a noun.
| eastern northern southern western | atomic countless digital | existing indoor introductory maximum | neighbouring occasional outdoor |
For example, we talk about ‘an atomic bomb’, but we do not say ‘The bomb was atomic’.
He sent countless letters to the newspapers.
This book includes a good introductory chapter on forests.
5. When we use an adjective to emphasize a strong feeling or opinion, it always comes in front of a noun.
| absolute complete entire | outright perfect positive | pure real total | true utter |
Some of it was absolute rubbish.
He made me feel like a complete idiot.
6. Some adjectives that describe size or age can come after a noun group consisting of a number or determiner and a noun that indicates the unit of measurement.
| deep high | long old | tall thick | wide |
He was about six feet tall.
The water was several metres deep.
The baby is nine months old.
Note that you do not say ‘two pounds heavy’, you say ‘two pounds in weight’.
7. A few adjectives are used alone after a noun.
| designate | elect | galore | incarnate |
She was now the president elect.
There are empty houses galore.
8. A few adjectives have a different meaning depending on whether they come in front of or after a noun.
| concerned | involved | present | proper | responsible |
For example, ‘the concerned mother’ means a mother who is worried, but ‘the mother concerned’ means the mother who has been mentioned.
It's one of those incredibly involved stories.
The people involved are all doctors.
I'm worried about the present situation.
Of the 18 people present, I knew only one.
Her parents were trying to act in a responsible manner.
We do not know the person responsible for his death.
Order of Adjectives.
1. We often want to add more information to a noun than you can with one adjective, so we need to use two or more adjectives. In theory, we can use the adjectives in any order, depending on the quality you want to emphasize. In practice, however, there is a normal order.
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