An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises

CHAPTER IV
ADJECTIVES

CLASSIFICATION OF ADJECTIVES

169. An adjective is a word which describes or limits a substantive.

An adjective is said to belong to the substantive which it describes or limits.

An adjective which describes is called a descriptive adjective; one which points out or designates is called a definitive adjective (§ 13).

Most adjectives are descriptive: as,—round, cold, red, angry, graceful, excessive, young, sudden, Roman.

Note. Many descriptive adjectives are compound (see § 64): as,—steadfast, lionlike, fireproof, downright, heartsick, everlasting, brown-eyed, broad-shouldered, ill-tempered, dear-bought, far-fetched, never-ending, self-evident, self-important. “He was a matter-of-fact person.” “Tom is hail-fellow-well-met with everybody.” “This is an out-of-the-way place.” “A dashing, down-at-the-heel youth answered my knock.”

170. A proper noun used as an adjective, or an adjective derived from a proper noun, is called a proper adjective and usually begins with a capital letter.

Note. Many so-called proper adjectives begin with a small letter because their origin is forgotten or disregarded: as,—china dishes, italic type, mesmeric power, a jovial air, a saturnine expression, a mercurial temperament, a stentorian voice.

171. Definitive adjectives include:—pronouns used as adjectives (as, this opportunity; those pictures; either table; what time is it?); numeral adjectives (as, two stars; the third year); the articles, a (or an) and the.

Pronouns used as adjectives (often called pronominal adjectives) have been studied under Pronouns—demonstratives (§§ 131–134), indefinites (§§ 135–142), relatives (§§ 143–162), interrogatives (§§ 163–167).

Numeral adjectives will be treated, along with other numerals (nouns and adverbs), in §§ 204–208.

The articles will be treated in §§ 173–180.

172. Adjectives may be classified, according to their position in the sentence, as attributive, appositive, and predicate adjectives.

1. An attributive adjective is closely attached to its noun and regularly precedes it.

• The angry spot doth glow on Cæsar’s brow.
• O you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome!
• Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look.

2. An appositive adjective is added to its noun to explain it, like a noun in apposition (§ 88, 5).

3. A predicate adjective completes the meaning of the predicate verb, but describes or limits the subject.

Predicate adjectives are common after is (in its various forms) and other copulative verbs, particularly become and seem (§ 17).

• The sea is rough to-day.
• Burton soon became cautious in his judgments.
• You seem anxious about your future.
• The air grew hot and sultry.
• Our first experiment proved unsuccessful.
• The milk turned sour.
• Our agent proved trustworthy.

Note. The construction of the predicate adjective is similar to that of the predicate nominative (§ 88, 2). Both are known as complements, because they complete the meaning of a verb.

After look, sound, taste, smell, feel, a predicate adjective is used to describe the subject. Thus,—

• Your flowers look thrifty. [Not: look thriftily.]
• Their voices sound shrill. [Not: sound shrilly.]
• This apple tastes sweet. [Not: tastes sweetly.]
• The air smells good. [Not: smells well.]
• The patient feels comfortable. [Not: feels comfortably.]

THE ARTICLES

173. The adjectives a (or an) and the are called articles.

1. The definite article the points out one or more particular objects as distinct from others of the same kind.

• The train is late.
• Here is the key.
• The children are in the next room.

2. The indefinite article a (or an) designates an object as merely one of a general class or kind.

• Lend me a pencil.
• I have a cold.
• A young man answered my knock.

The article a is a fragment of ān (pronounced ahn), the ancient form of the numeral one; an keeps the n, which a has lost. The is an old demonstrative, related to that.

174. The with a singular noun sometimes indicates a class or kind of objects.

• The scholar is not necessarily a dryasdust.
• The elephant is the largest of quadrupeds.
• The aëroplane is a very recent invention.
• Resin is obtained from the pine.

Note. In this use the is often called the generic article (from the Latin genus, “kind” or “sort”). The singular number with the generic the is practically equivalent to the plural without an article. Thus in the first example the sense would be the same if we had, “Scholars are not necessarily dryasdusts.”

175. An adjective preceded by the may be used as a plural noun.

• The brave are honored.
• The rich have many cares.
• The strong should protect the weak.

176. An is used before words beginning with a vowel or silent h; a before other words. Thus,—

• an owl;
• an apple;
• an honest man;
• a stone;
• a pear.

177. Special rules for a or an are the following:—

1. Before words beginning with the sound of y or w, the form a, not an, is used.

This rule covers all words beginning with eu and many beginning with u. Note that the initial sound is a consonant, not a vowel. An was formerly common before such words (as,—an union, such an one), but a is now the settled form.

2. Before words beginning with h and not accented on the first syllable, an is often used. Thus, we say—

• a his´tory;
• BUT, an histor´ical novel.

In such cases, the h is very weak in sound, and is sometimes quite silent, so that the word practically begins with a vowel. Usage varies, but careful writers favor the rule here given. An was formerly more common before h than at present.

178. With two or more connected nouns or adjectives the article should be repeated whenever clearness requires (cf. § 123).

• I have consulted the secretary and the treasurer. [“The secretary and treasurer” would imply that the same person held both offices.]
• I found an anchor and a chain. [“An anchor and chain” would suggest that the chain was attached to the anchor.]
• In some towns there are separate schools for the boys and the girls; in others the boys and girls attend the same schools.
• He waved a red and white flag.
• He waved a red and a white flag.

179. A is often used distributively, in the sense of each.

• I paid five dollars a pair for my shoes.
• The letter-carrier calls twice a day.
• My class meets three times a week.

In such phrases a is better than per, except in strictly commercial language.

180. When used with adjectives, the articles precede, except in a few phrases: as,—

• Such an uproar was never heard.
• Many a man has tried in vain.

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES

181. In comparing objects with each other, we may use three different forms of the same adjective.

• Thomas is strong.
• William is stronger than Thomas.
• Herbert is strongest of the three.

This inflection of adjectives is called comparison, and the three forms are called degrees of comparison.

182. The degrees of comparison indicate by their form in what degree of intensity the quality described by the adjective exists.

There are three degrees of comparison,—the positive, the comparative, and the superlative.

1. The positive degree is the simplest form of the adjective, and has no special ending.

It merely describes the quality, without expressing or suggesting any comparison.

Thomas is strong.

Thus, the positive degree of the adjective strong is strong.

2. The comparative degree of an adjective is formed by adding the termination er to the positive degree.

It denotes that the quality exists in the object described in a higher degree than in some other object.

William is stronger than Thomas.

Thus, the comparative degree of the adjective strong is stronger.

3. The superlative degree is formed by adding est to the positive degree.

It denotes that the quality exists in the highest degree in the object described.

Herbert is strongest of the three.

Other examples of the comparison of adjectives are:—

183. Rules of Spelling.

1. Adjectives ending in silent e drop this letter before the comparative ending er and the superlative ending est. Thus,—

• wise, wiser, wisest;
• pure, purer, purest;
• handsome, handsomer, handsomest.

2. Most adjectives ending in y change y to i before the endings er and est. Thus,—

• silky, silkier, silkiest;
• glossy, glossier, glossiest;
• sorry, sorrier, sorriest.

3. Adjectives having a short vowel and ending in a single consonant double this before the endings er and est. Thus,—

• dim, dimmer, dimmest;
• sad, sadder, saddest;
• fit, fitter, fittest;
• big, bigger, biggest;
• red, redder, reddest;
• hot, hotter, hottest.

184. Many adjectives are compared by prefixing the adverbs more and most to the positive degree.

Many adjectives of two syllables and most adjectives of three or more syllables are so compared. Thus,—

• recent, more recent, most recent;
• terrible, more terrible, most terrible;
• triumphant, more triumphant, most triumphant;
• economical, more economical, most economical.

Some adjectives may be compared in either way.

Note. The adverbs less and least may be used with an adjective, if one wishes to run down the scale of comparison: as,—terrible, less terrible, least terrible. This idiom, however, should not be regarded as comparison of the adjective. “Superlative” means “in the highest degree,” and is not applicable to least terrible, which means “terrible in the lowest degree.”

IRREGULAR COMPARISON

185. Several adjectives have irregular comparison.²³

Old has comparative older or elder, superlative oldest or eldest. Elder or eldest may be used with certain nouns of relationship, or in the phrases the elder and the eldest.

Elder is also used as a noun: as,—“You should respect your elders.”

Next is a superlative of nigh. It is used only in the sense of “the very nearest.”

• I live in the next street.
• The next time he comes, I shall refuse to see him.

186. A few superlatives end in -most. With these, one or both of the other degrees are commonly wanting.

Note. The ending -most is not the adverb most. It is a very old superlative ending -mest changed under the influence of the adverb most.

187. For adjectives incapable of comparison, see § 202. For special rules for the use of comparative and superlative, see §§ 199–203.

188. In parsing an adjective, tell whether it is descriptive or definitive, mention the substantive to which it belongs, and specify the degree of comparison.