Lengua Inglesa II2009-2010

Topic 3: Grammatical UnitsSubtopic 4: The Adjectival Phrase

Tom MortonIV-bis 205

tom.morton@uam.es

3.4 The Adjectival Phrase

• Forms of adjectives:• Simple: tall• Derived: friendly• Participial: drunken

• Functions: • Epithet: His brilliant acting• Cs: The acting was brilliant• Co: I consider that offensive• Adjunct: I’m receiving you loud and clear.• Disjunct: Strange, I never suspected him

1. The Adjectival Phrase

3.4 The Adjectival Phrase

• Adjectives can be premodified by either:• Grading (slightly, somewhat, very, extremely, overly):

• A slightly bent wire, an extremely overweight dog

• Comparison (more, most, less, least)• the least bent wire, the most overweight dog

• Not all adjectives can be graded or compared:• Comparable: more beautiful, the most red• Noncomparable (ungradable):

NATIONALITIES: French, Spanish, etc. MISC.: dead, alive, broken, etc.

• Comparison can also be done morphologically:the bigger/biggest

3. Adjective Premodification

3.4 The Adjectival Phrase

Say which of the adjectives as used in the following phrases can be graded

(1) shallow water; (2) the closing date; (3) a daily newspaper;(4) a small size;(5) the probable outcome; (6) the main reason; (7) a fast driver; (8) the political consequences.

(From Downing and Lock 2nd edition)

Exercise 2: Gradability

3.4 The Adjectival Phrase

• Comparing with Adjective Phrases:

3. Adjective Premodification: Comparison

Morphological

Premodifier

Absolute superiority

the easiest the most difficult

Comparative sup. easier more difficult

Equality as easy/difficult

Comparative inf. less easy/difficult

Absolute inferiority

the least easy/difficult

3.4 The Adjectival Phrase3. Adjective Premodification: Comparison

Number of syllables

Form Examples

1 syllable adj +er small smallerbig bigger

2 syllables: - ending in –y

- others

adj –y +er

more adj

early earlier

social more social

3 or more syllables more adj difficult more difficult

3.4 The Adjectival Phrase

Say which of the following adjectives should be inflected (-er, -est) for grading and which take more/most):

riskyrealvariedbluetypicalmistakenfriendlyuser-friendlysmalltightgenerousbitter

(From Downing and Lock 2nd edition)

Exercise 3: Morphology or Syntax?

Inflected or analytic?

Inflected

riskybluefriendlysmalltightbitter* (bitterest)

Analytic

realvariedtypicalmistakenuser-friendlygenerousbitter (more bitter)

3.4 The Adjectival Phrase

Provide the comparative and superlative forms for the following:

Exercise 4: Comparative/Superlative

Absolute Comparative Superlative

big

brave

free

early

good

bad

far / /

old / /

3.4 The Adjectival Phrase

Provide the comparative and superlative forms for the following:

Exercise 4: Comparative/Superlative

Absolute Comparative Superlative

big bigger biggest

brave braver bravest

free freer freest

early earlier earliest

good better best

bad worse worst

far farther/further farthest/furthest

old older/elder oldest/eldest

My elder/older sister

The older car.She is older. She is elder

good

good at grammar

very good

very good indeed

very good indeed at grammar

Michael is

ADJECTIVAL GROUP

m h m c

h good

hc good at grammar

mh very good

mhm very good indeed

mhmc very good indeed at grammar

3.4 The Adjectival Phrase

• Adjectives that take complementation: I was afraid that he was not comingHe was conscious that he was late (aware, certain)She was fond of chocolate. (obligatory)

• These represent mental states • The complentation represents the object of the

mentation• Note the correspondence¨:

• He was afraid that He feared that ...• She was conscious that He knew that ...• She was fond of She liked

4. Adjectival Post-modification

Complement the adjectives

1. Jasmine and Nick are keen to take up golf.

2. I am sorry …………………………..

3. My girlfriend is insistent ………………..

4. You are right …………………………….

5. We are convinced ……………………..

6. The manager is confident ………………

7. You must be crazy ………………………

8. I am happy ……………………………

9. I’m glad ………………………………..

10. His new book is likely …………………………….

3.4 The Adjectival Phrase

• Comparative postmodification: Another form of postmodification makes the attribute relative to some other case:

She was quicker than MaryThis music is livelier than the other.He is more eloquent than me.I am less talented at this than you.

• Sufficiency (enough):It is hot enough now

4. Adjectival Post-modification (ii)

3.4 The Adjectival Phrase

• Adjectives can be classified in terms of the slots they can fill:• Epithet vs. Complement• Most adjectives can be both Epithet and

Complementthe beautiful girl / the girl is beautiful

• Some can be Epithet only (with the intended sense):

an old friend, a complete fool

• Some can be Complement only:• Health adjs.: ill, well, faint, unwell (vs. the sick man)

2. Classes of adjectives

Syntactic functions of AdjPs/AdjGs

(pre-) modifier in a NG

heavy rain,

an old friend

(post-) modifier in a NG

something cheap, the person responsible

head of a NG the French, the young, the most expensive

complement of a prepostion

at last, for good, in short

modifier in an AdjG

bright red, pale blue, red hot

AdjGs in groups:Subject compliment

The acting was brilliant

Object compliment

I consider that offensive

AdjGs in clauses

It was always a surprise to me that I was good at games. It was an even greater surprise that I was exceptionally good at two of them: one called fives, the other, squash-racquets. Fives, which many of you will know nothing about, was taken seriously at Repton and we had a dozen massive glass-roofed fives courts kept always in perfect condition. We played the game of Eton-fives, which is always played by four people, two on each side, and basically it consists of hitting a small, hard, white, leather-covered ball with your gloved hands, The Americans have something like it which they call handball, but Eton-fives is far more complicated because the court has all manner of ledges and buttresses built into it which help to make it a subtle and crafty game.

Fives is possibly the fastest ball-game on earth, far faster than squash, and the little ball ricochets around the court at such a speed that sometimes you can hardly see it. You need a swift eye, strong wrists and a very quick pair of hands to play fives well, and it was a game I took to right from the beginning. You may find it hard to believe, but I became so good at it that I won both the junior and the senior school fives in the same year when I was fifteen.

AdjG as Cs in clause AdjG as m in NG AdjG as Co in clause