ADJECTIVES AND AP

Lecture #2: 2011-02-23

REVIEWWhat have we done so far?

REVIEW – AP and ADJECTIVES• An ADJECTIVE PHRASE is a phrase headed by an

ADJECTIVE.• We analyzed ADJECTIVE PHRASES from several

different perspectives:• SYNTAX, MORPHOLOGY AND SEMANTICS– SYNTAX (i.e. their function and position in the sentence):• INDEPENDENT APs (function as SENTENCE

ELEMENTS/SYNTACTIC CONSTITUENTS: Cs and Co)– E.g. Cs: He is happy. Co: The clown made her happy.

• DEPENDENT APs (function as PARTS OF OTHER PHRASES: modifiers of NPs)– E.g. [NPA happy dog] is a fed dog.

REVIEW – AP and ADJECTIVE• SYNTAX (i.e. their function and position in the sentence):• WHEN THERE IS MORE THAN ONE DEPENDANT APs IN

FRONT OF A NOUN, THEIR ORDER IS FIXED:• SUBJECTIVE (e.g. beautiful, interesting, boring, etc.)• OBJECTIVE (size, shape, age, color, participle, origin, material)• IF THERE IS MORE THAN ONE AP OF THE SAME TYPE: THE

SHORTEST AP (number of syllables) COMES FIRST• THIS ORDER CAN BE VIOLATED ONLY IF ONE / SOME OF

THE APs IS /ARE VERY LONG (the number of syllables): [hot] [cute] [handsome] [Italian] [extremely and amazingly intelligent] guy

REVIEW – AP and ADJECTIVE• MORPHOLOGY = form of the phrase• ADJECTIVE PHRASES, regarding their form, can be:• SIMPLE > HEAD ONLY > e.g. beautiful• COMPLEX > PREMODIFICATION and/or POSTMODIFICATION

(complementation)• COMPLEX AP WITH PREMODIFICATION:

• [AP [Advvery] beautiful]• THE ONLY POSSIBLE PREMODIFICATION FOR AN AP IS AN ADVERB

• COMPLEX AP WITH POSTMODIFICATION:• beautiful [PPbeyond comprehension]• beautiful [CL non-finiteenough to be put in the shop window]• beautiful [CL finite whatever frame you put around it]

REVIEW – AP and ADJECTIVE• MORPHOLOGY = form of the phrase• ADJECTIVE PHRASES, if headed by GRADABLE

ADJECTIVES, can express three degrees of comparison:– POSITIVE (nice)– COMPARATIVE (nicer)– SUPERLATIVE (nicest)

• COMPARISON CAN BE:– to the same degree (He is as clever as he she is.)– to a higher degree (He is more clever than she is.)– to a lower degree (He is less clever than she is.)

REVIEW – AP and ADJECTIVE• SEMANTICS = meaning of the phrase• ADJECTIVE PHRASES, regarding the meaning expressed by the

head adjective, can be classified according to three criteria:– GENERAL SEMANTIC PROPERTY: stative vs. dynamic– GRADABILITY: gradable vs. non-gradable– INHERETANCE: inherent vs. non-inherent

• COMPARISON CAN BE:– to the same degree (He is as clever as he she is.)– to a higher degree (He is more clever than she is.)– to a lower degree (He is less clever than she is.)

INHERENT vs. NON-INHERENT• inherent, adj. =a quality that is inherent in something

is a natural part of it and cannot be separated from it• Not all adjectives characterize the referent of the

noun directly:– an old friend ≠ my friend is old– Here “old” refers to the friendship and it does not

characterize the person.• Adjectives that characterize the referent of the noun

directly are called INHERENT, and those that do not are called NON-INHERENT.

Who/what can be INHERENTLY happy?

happy girl happy rock

Who/what can be INHERENTLY hard?

hard rockhard Rock

Who/what can be INHERENTLY wooden?

wooden Nichols Cage

wooden table

And now…

Something that we started last week, but did not finish it.

EVEN MORE ADJECTIVES!!!

SYNTACTIC BEHAVIOUR OF ADJs

HAPPY:• Mary is a happy girl.• A happy girl in the

corner is called Mandy.• The girl in the corner is

happy. • The award made her

happy.

UTTER:• Mary is an utter fool.• A utter fool can never

comprehend such complex ideas.

• *The girl in the corner is utter.

• *The award made her utter.

SYNTACTIC CLASSIFICATION OF ADJECTIVES (pg. 96) i.e. THEIR SYNTACTIC BEHAVIOR

syntactic classification of adjectives

CENTRAL PERIPHERAL

This classification is based on syntactic functions which adjectives can perform.

Adjectives that can have BOTH attributive and predicative function are called CENTRAL. E.g. a happy girl vs. The girl is happy. / He made her happy.

Adjectives that have EITHER attributive or predicative function are called PERIPHERAL. E.g. an utter fool vs. *The fool is utter.

SYNTACTIC CLASSIFICATION OF ADJECTIVES – peripheral adjectives (pg. 96)

PERIPHERAL ADJECTIVES

attributive only

predicative only

PERIPHERAL As: ATTRIBUTIVE ONLY

• Adjectives that are attributive only are adjectives that DO NOT CHARACTERIZE THE REFERENT OF THE NOUN DIRECTLY.

• In other words: ATTRIBUTIVE ONLY ADJECTIVES ARE TYPICALLY NON-INHERENT.

• Depending on its meaning, a single adjective can be attributive only, central OR predicative only.

SENSE 1:• An old man entered the room. = The man who entered

the room was old. (INHERENT)SENSE 3:• An old friend helped me. ≠ The friend who helped me

was old. (NON-INHERENT)SENSE 5:• Good old Mum wants some time off. ≠ My Mum is old.

(NON-INHERENT)

Depending on its meaning, a single adjective can be

attributive only, central OR predicative only.

PERIPHERAL As: ATTRIBUTIVE ONLY

• Adjectives that are attributive only are adjectives usually CLASSIFIED INTO FOUR GROUPS.

• INTENSIFYING ADJECTIVES• RESTRICTIVE ADJECTIVES• ADJECTIVES RELATED TO ADVERBIALS• DENOMINAL ADJECTIVES

ATTRIBUTIVE ONLY: INTENSIFYING As

• There are adjectives that have a hightening effect on the noun they modify, or the reverse, lowering effect. Such adjectives are called INTENSIFYING ADJECTIVES.

• EMPHASIZERS (sheer madness)• AMPLIFIERS (complete fool)• DOWNTONERS (slight effort)MOST OF THEM ARE USUALLY ATTRIBUTIVE ONLY.

ATTRIBUTIVE ONLY: INTENSIFYING As:DOWNTONERS: ERROR IN THE WORKBOOK• The adjectives that have a lowering effect, i.e.

DOWNTONER ADJECTIVES are CENTRAL ADJECTIVES (NOT ATTRIBUTIVE ONLY):

• a slight effort = The effort was slight.

• a feeble joke = The joke was feeble.

ATTRIBUTIVE ONLY: INTENSIFYING As:EMPHASIZERS

• The adjectives that have a GENERAL HEIGHTENING effect, i.e. EMPHASIZER ADJECTIVES are ATTRIBUTVE ONLY:

• a clear failure≠ The failure was clear.

• sheer arrogance ≠ His arrogance was sheer.

• plain nonsense ≠ The nonsense was plain.EMPHASIZERS ARE NON-INHERENT.

ATTRIBUTIVE ONLY: INTENSIFYING As:AMPLIFIERS: confusion in the workbook

• The adjectives that SCALE THE MEANING UPWARDS FROM AN ASSUMED NORM, i.e. AMPLIFIER ADJECTIVES can be ATTRIBUTVE ONLY OR CENTRAL, depending on whether they are INHERENT OR NON-INHERENT.

• a complete victory= The victory was complete. (INHERENT)

• a complete fool ≠ The fool is complete. (NON-INHERENT)

• great destruction= The destruction was great. (INHERENT)

• a great fool ≠ The fool is great. (NON-INHERENT)

ATTRIBUTIVE ONLY: INTENSIFYING As:RESTRICTIVE ADJECTIVES

• The adjectives that RESTRICT THE REFERENCE OF THE NOUN EXCLUSIVELY, PARTICULARLY OR CHIEFLY, are called. RESTRICTIVE ADJECTIVES and they are ATTRIBUTVE ONLY:

• the main reasin≠ The reason was main.

• a certain person ≠ The person was certain.

• the very man ≠ The man was very.VERY is usually and ADVERB, but it can sometimes be a RESTRICTIVE ADJECTIVE, as shown here.

ATTRIBUTIVE ONLY: INTENSIFYING As:RESTRICTIVE ADJECTIVES

• Adjectives that ARE DERIVED FROM ADVERBS OR ADVERBIAL CONSTRUCTIONS, i.e. ADJECTIVES RELATED TO ADVERBIALS are ATTRIBUTVE ONLY. They are NON-INHERENT.

• my former friend≠ My friend is former. (~ formerly my friend)

• past students ≠ The students are past. (~students from the past)

• the late president ≠ The president is late.SOMETIMES an adjective related to adverbials can be ATTRIBUTIVE ONLY or CENTRAL, depending on the noun which it modifies.

ATTRIBUTIVE ONLY: INTENSIFYING As:RESTRICTIVE ADJECTIVES

• a good thief≠ The thief is good. (~ he thieves well)

• a good writer = The writer is good.

• a poor liar ≠ The liar is poor. (~ he lies poorly)

• the poor man (who went bankrupt) = The man is poor.

ATTRIBUTIVE ONLY: INTENSIFYING As:DENOMINAL ADJECTIVES

• Adjectives that ARE DERIVED FROM NOUNS, i.e. DENOMINAL ADJECTIVES are ATTRIBUTVE ONLY. They are NON-INHERENT.

• a criminal lawyer≠ The lawyer is criminal. (~ he specializes in criminal law)

• an atomic scientist ≠ The scientis is atomic. (~ he specializes in atomic science)SOMETIMES an adjective related to adverbials can be ATTRIBUTIVE ONLY or CENTRAL, depending on the noun which it modifies.

PERIPHERAL As: PREDICATIVE ONLY

• Adjectives that are predicative only are adjectives usually REFER TO A (TEMPORARY) CONDITION RATHER THAN CHARACTARIZE THE REFERENT OF THE NOUN.

• There are two groups of predicative only adjectives (based on their syntactic behavior):

• PREDICTIVE ONLY ADJECTIVES WITHOUT COMPLEMENTATION– She is well. ≠ a well she. / ≠ She is well of age.

• PREDICTIVE ONLY ADJECTIVES WITH OPTIONAL COMPLEMENTATION– She is afraid of the dark. / She is afraid. ≠ an afraid she

PERIPHERAL As: PREDICATIVE ONLY:NO COMPLEMENTATION

• Adjectives that are predicative only and do not tolerate complementation, are most commonly those referring to health or lack of health of an animate being.

• FAINT• WELL• ILL (mostly in formal BrE)• UNWELL• SICK (mostly in formal BrE)

PERIPHERAL As: PREDICATIVE ONLY:NO COMPLEMENTATION

• Adjectives that are predicative only and can take optional complementation, are mostly a-adjectives.

• able (to)• afraid (that, of, about) • aware (of)• fond (of)• loath (to)• tantamount (to)

Now…

… more adjectives.

• Angry with him, she stormed out of the room.• Uneasy, he just sat and waited to receive a

call.• When nervous, count to ten. When really

nervous, count to twenty.• Magnificent!• How nice of you!

• WHAT ARE THESE STRUCTURES? • HOW SHOULD WE CLASSIFY THEM?

ADJECTIVE CLAUSES (pg. 96)

ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

VERBLESS ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

CONTINGENT ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

EXCLAMATORY ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

VERBLESS ADJECTIVE CLAUSES• Uneasy, he just sat and waited to receive a call.• When the phone finally rang he reached for it, almost

panicky.• Angry with him, she stormed out of the room.• Extremely surprised at the outcome of the vote, she suddenly

found herself in front of the journalists.

• Verbless adjective clauses (VAC) are adjective phrases which have the meaning of a whole clauses.

• They are actually clauses from which the SUBJECT and THE MAIN VERB HAVE BEEN LEFT OUT:– (He was) Uneasy, he just sat and waited to receive a call.

• They can be FINAL or INITIAL in the sentence.

VERBLESS ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

• Verbless adjective clauses (VAC) should not be confused with SENTENTIAL ADVERBIALS:

• Nervous, he opened the door. > VAC• Nervously, he opened the door. > SENTENTIAL

ADVERBIAL• Angry (with him), she stormed out of the room. > VAC• Angrily with him, she stormed out of the room. >

ungrammatical• Angrily, she stormed out of the room. > SENTENTIAL

ADVERBIAL

VERBLESS ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

• Verbless adjective clauses (VAC) usually contain just the head adjective and its postmodification.

• However, sometimes they are introduced by SUBORDINATORS:

• When nervous, count to ten. • There berries are edible, but only when fresh. • If possible, be there on time.

• THESE VERBLESS CLAUSES ARE CALLED CONTINGENT ADJECTIVE CLAUSES.

VERBLESS ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

• Verbless adjective clauses (VAC) can sometimes be used in complete isolation, as if they were sentences.

• This is only possible if they are used to express EMOTIONALLY COLORED STATES.

• Excellent! Nice! Perfect! Magnificent!• How nice of you! So very kind of you!

• THESE VERBLESS ADJECTIVE CLAUSES ARE CALLED EXCLAMATORY ADJECTIVE CLAUSES.

DIGRESSION: THE USE OF ADJECTIVES

• Columbia University in the City of New York (Columbia University)

• Famous alumni include:– Theodoere Roosevelt– Franklin Roosevelt– Barack Obama– Warren Buffet– Orhan Pamuk– and more that 40 Nobel-prize laureates

Why is that important?

DIGRESSION: THE USE OF ADJECTIVES• At Columbia University in the City of New York (Columbia

University), in the course entitled “Academic Writing”, students are instructed that:

• “Adjectives are the enemy of nouns, and adverbs are the enemy of everything else.”

• Why would anyone say something like that?• Snap question: Who’s the greatest American writer?• Most people would say ERNEST HEMINGWAY.• Hemingway wrote sentences made up solely of nouns and verbs.• The resulting student sentences turned out to be starved of

punctuation and severely sparing of word pictures of action, appearance, aspiration, and feeling— some of the very functions adjectives fulfill especially well.

• Want to be Hemingway redivivus? Eschew modifiers.• THINK AGAIN!

DIGRESSION: THE USE OF ADJECTIVES

• Adjectives have long suffered from bad press. The Highly Selective Dictionary of Golden Adjectives for the Extraordinarily Literate proves that breaking certain rules can make written and spoken language that much livelier, adding much-needed color, style, and adornment. With this addition to the popular Highly Selective series, the "golden" adjective, at last, gets the star treatment it deserves. From adventitious to zaftig, renowned lexicographer Eugene Ehrlich has collected more than 850 of the most interesting and engaging adjectives in the English language and has provided concise definitions and instructive usage examples. Whether you're a writer, a speaker, or a word buff, this compendious, trenchant, laudable, and all-around fantabulous volume will help you put panache back into your prose.

And now…

…the most evil POS of them all..

ADVERBS!!!

FINALLY!!!!!!!!

ADVERBS?

ADVERBS

• Usually, people call them “the short words” or “insignificant little words”.

• Normally, teachers tell their students that they can be omitted from the sentence

• Why do they then even exist in a language?• What do they contribute to the sentence, if

they contribute anything?• Let’s see…

HE GOT KILLED. (no adverbs)

He nearly got killed. He got brutally killed.

SHE SLEEPS. (no adverbs)

She hardly ever sleeps. She sleeps soundly.

INSIGNIFICANT LITTLE WORDS?

HOW TO RECOGNIZE AN ADVERB?I.E. WHAT IS THEIR FORM?

FORMS OF ADVERBS

DIGRESSION: AmE vs. BrEor

HOW TO TELL WHAT’S AN Adv AND WHAT’S AN Adj.

DRIVE ANGRY

THE ADVERB PARADIGM

WHAT IS AN ADVERB PHRASE?

THE ADVERB PHRASE

• The adverb phrase is a phrase that has an adverb as its head.

• The AdvP can have the following forms:– AdvP = Adv e.g. carefully– AdvP = Adv Adv e.g. very carefully– AdvP = Adv Adv e.g. carefully enough– AdvP = Adv Adv Cl e.g. so fast that I couldn’t see it

fast enough to escapeo AdvP = (Adv) Adv PP e.g. (much) better than Bill

WHAT IS THE FUNCTION OF THE ADVERB PHRASE?

SYNTACTIC FUNCTION OF ADVERBS (pg. 99)

SYNTACTIC FUNCTION OF ADVERBS

INDEPENDENTDEPENDENT (PART OF OTHER PHRASES)

ADVERBIAL:He speaks slowly.

MODIFIER:extremely slowvery slowlyrather a messstraight through the wallover ten victims

COMPLEMENT OF PREPOSITION:over heretill thenfrom inside

INDEPENDENT ADVERBS = ADVERBIALS

ADVERBIALS

INTEGRATED into the CLAUSE STRUCTURE

Primarily NON-LINKING:

Provide speaker’s comment

PERIPHERAL in the CLAUSE STRUCTURE

Primarily LINKING:

connect sentences

DISJUNCTS CONJUNCTS

ADJUNCTS

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.

Never in my entire life have I seen such a beauty!

NEGATIVE AND LOCATIVE INVERSION

LOCATIVE INVERSION

• LOCATIVE INVERSION is mainly limited to:– Adverbials of place– Verbs such as BE, COME, GO, SIT, LIE, STAND

• LOCATIVE INVERSION is used to put FOCUS on the subject, which is the most important part of the sentence.

ADVERBIAL +VERB +SUBJECTHere comes the taxiIn the town squarestands the market hallUp went the prices

NEGATIVE INVERSION• To EMPHASIZE A NEGATIVE, we can place it AT THE FRONT

OF THE CLAUSE. However, this triggers an obligatory change of word order, i.e. inversion:

She at no time mentioned her earlier marriage.→ At no time did she mention her earlier marriage.

He hasn’t once offered to help.→ Not once has he offered to help.

NEGATIVE INVERSION 2 special cases

• SCARCELY & HARDLY vs. NO SOONER

Scarcely / hardly + PAST PERFECT, WHEN + SIMPLE PAST

Scarcely had I arrived at the station when the train came in.Scarcely had I passed from them, when I found her whom my soul loveth.

No sooner + PAST PERFECT, THAN + SIMPLE PAST

No sooner had I put the phone down than it rang again.No sooner had I left the house than it started raining.

And now …

… let’s finish (off) adverbs and adjectives!

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

Comparison of ADJs & ADVs• Comparison is a grammatical means which makes it

possible to express the relative DEGREE of a property when compared in relation to a reference value (BASIS OF COMPARISON)

• Comparison of ADJs & ADVs can be analyzed from two different theoretical viewpoints:– Morphological analysis (i.e. the analysis of form)– Semantic analysis (i.e. the analysis of meaning)

• Comparison of ADJs and ADVs is semantically restricted: ONLY GRADABLE ADJs AND ADVs CAN BE COMPARED: √faster vs. *deader

COMPARISON OF ADJs & ADVs: morphological analysis

• Both the ADJECTIVAL PARADIGM and the ADVERB PARADIGM consist of three forms:– THE POSITIVE (ADJ: e.g. big ;ADV: e.g. well)– THE COMPARATIVE(ADJ: e.g. bigger ;ADV: e.g. better)– THE SUPERLATIVE (ADJ: e.g. biggest ;ADV: e.g. best)

• The comparative and superlative forms can be inflected (e.g. bigger) or periphrastic (e.g. more interesting), and the choice between the two is largely determined by the length of the adjective.

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES:morphological analysis (1/2)

• INFLECTED FORMS: monosyllabic adjectives– big-bigger-biggest– but (some exceptions): unhappy-unhappier…

• BOTH INFLECTED AND PERIPHRASTIC: disyllabic adjectives ending in:– -y: funny– -ow: narrow– -le: gentle– -er/ure: clever– other: common, handsome, polite, quite, wicked…

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES:morphological analysis (2/2)

• PERIPHRASTIC FORMS: trisyllabic or longer adjectives– interesting, more interesting, most interesting

• IRREGULAR COMPARISON: good, bad, far, old, late, little, well/ill (health)

COMPARISON OF ADVERBS:morphological analysis

• INFLECTED FORMS: monosyllabic adverbs– Isn’t it possible for them to come earlier?– Who jumped highest in last year’s Olympics?

• PERIPHRASTIC FORMS: disyllabic and longer adverbs– This book explains things a bit more comprehensively

than the other one.– The new hotel is the more elegantly designed building in

the city.• IRREGULAR COMPARISON: well, badly, far, little, much

COMPARISON OF ADJs & ADVs:semantic analysis

TYPES OF COMPARISON

Comparison of equivalence Comparison of non-equivalence

to a higher degree

to a lower degree

comparison of sufficiency

comparison of excess

Comparative – for comparison between 2 persons, items etc.Superlative – for comparison between more than 2 persons, items, etc.Basis of comparison – either overt or implied

Ana is cleverer/more clever than Jane (is).John is the politest of the students.

STRUCTURES USED TO EXPRESS COMPARISON

• Adjective Phrase with complementation:– AP=A+PP John is as tall as Peter.– AP=A+clause John is as tall as Peter is.

• Adverb Phrase with complementation:– AdvP=AdvP+PP I can play tennis much better than Joe.– AdvP=AdvP+cl I play tennis much better than he ever will.

• Noun Phrases with complementation:– NP=Q+N+PP I have more friends than Bill.– NP=Q+N+cl I have more friends than Bill does.

• Comparative clauses are complement clauses of ADJs, ADVs and Ns used for expressing comparison:

I love you AdvP [more than you think].He is not AP [as clever as she is].She has NP [more friends than you can imagine].

1. Adjectives are a part of speech that:

a) attribute properties to other words.b) describe nouns.c) provide detailed information about qualities

that can be expressed by the noun.d) end in –able and -ic.e) tell us more about the noun which they

modify.

End

2. Syntactically/grammatically speaking, what is the best definition of an ADJECTIVE PHRASE:

a) A phrase that describes nouns.b) A phrase that usually functions as an

attribute or a complementc) A phrase that is compatible with features of

the nound) A phrase that has an adjective as its head.e) A phrase

End

3. The paradigm of an ADJECTIVE PHRASE has:

a) one form.b) two forms.c) three forms.d) four forms.e) five forms.

End

4. The paradigm of an ADJECTIVE PHRASE has:

a) one form.b) two forms.c) three forms.d) four forms.e) five forms.

End

5. The comparative and superlative forms of the adjective paradigm are only available for:

a) stative adjectives.b) dynamic adjectives.c) gradable adjectives.d) non-gradable adjectives.e) adjectives ending in –ic, -able, -ful and -some.

End

6. Stative adjectives are not compatible with two verbal categories. They are:

a) perfective aspect.b) progressive aspect.c) subjunctive mood.d) imperative mood.e) indicative mood.

End

7. Because it is possible to say both “Jane is [happy].” and “Jane is [a [happy] girl].” Adjectives such as “happy“ are called:a) versatile.b) universal.c) multifunctional.d) multi-positional.e) central.

End

8. Because it is not possible to say both “Jane is [utter].” and “Jane is [an [utter] fool].” Adjectives such as “utter“ are called:a) non-versatile.b) peripheral.c) monopositional.d) monofunctional.e) marginal.

End

9. If one wants to describe a chair as “beautiful”, “Italian”, “white” and “small”, we can say that this is:a) an Italian small white beautiful chair.b) a small Italian white beautiful chair.c) a beautiful Italian small white chair.d) a beautiful white small Italian chair.e) a beautiful small white Italian chair.

End

10. Semantically, the adjective “good” in a phrase “a good friend” is:

a) inherent.b) non-inherent.

End

THE END

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!CU NEXT WEEK!