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ADJECTIV ES

Pattham P. Varindhorn K.

DYNAMIC AND STATIVE ADJECTIVE

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DYNAMIC ADJECTIVE
Dynamic adjectives signify attributes or characteristics that can usually be

controlled by the person/animal/etc. possessing them. They also can be used in imperative structures,

Be careful! Dont be rude! Be quiet!

In addition, according to the rules of English syntax, dynamic adjectives can be

inserted into a be + -ing structure, e.g.


She is being careful. The doctor was being rude. Are they being quiet?

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STATIVE ADJECTIVE
Stative adjectives denote fairly fixed, they typically cannot be

controlled (white, tall, round). These states are not usually be used in imperative structures, e.g.
* Be white! * Dont be tall! * Be round!

Additionally, unlike dynamic adjectives, they cannot be used in be

+ -ing structures, e.g.


* She is being white. * The doctor was being tall.

* Are they being rotund?

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GRADABLE AND NONGRADABLE ADJECTIVE

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GRADABLE AND NON-GRADABLE ADJECTIVES


We have seen that adjectives qualify nouns, i.e. they describe

qualities of nouns. Some of these qualities can vary in intensity, e.g.


slightly cold - cold - very cold - extremely cold somewhat bright - quite bright - bright - really bright - exceptionally bright fairly fast - fast - very fast - extraordinarily fast

We see, therefore, that some adjectives (such as cold, bright and

fast) can be graded, i.e. they are gradable.

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GRADABLE AND NON-GRADABLE ADJECTIVE


Gradable Adjectives can be modified by intensifying adverbs.

Grading adverb slightly somewhat very

Gradable adjective cold bright fast

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GRADABLE AND NON-GRADABLE ADJECTIVE


A gradable adjective can also have comparative and superlative

forms:
big, bigger, the biggest hot, hotter, the hottest important, more important, the most important

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GRADABLE AND NON-GRADABLE ADJCTIVE


In contrast, some qualities cannot usually vary in intensity, e.g.
* slightly dead - dead - very dead - extremely dead * somewhat pregnant - quite pregnant - pregnant - really pregnant -

exceptionally

pregnant

* fairly impossible - impossible - very impossible - extraordinarily impossible

Consequently, some adjectives (such as dead, pregnant and

impossible) cannot be graded, i.e. they are non-gradable.

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GRADABLE AND NON-GRADABLE ADJECTIVE


However, a non-gradable adjective can be used with "non-

grading adverbs".

Non-grading adverb

Grading adjective

utterly
totally nearly essentially

excellent
dead impossible chemical

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GRADABLE AND NON-GRADABLE


Some adjectives may have more than one meaning or sense. It's

possible for the same adjective to be gradable with one sense and non-gradable with another sense.
Adjective
She sounded slightly foreign. Hes advising on foreign policy. "The" is a very common word in English. gradable nongradable gradable nongradable

Definition
measurable quality particular type (of policy) prevalent shared

The two countries' common border poses problems.

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INHERENT AND NONINHERENT ADJECTIVE

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INHERENT AND NON-INHERENT ADJECTIVES


Adjectives also denote some attribute of the noun which they

modify. For instance, the phrase a red car may be said to symbolize a car which is red. In fact most adjective-noun sequences such as this can be loosely reformulated in a similar way:
an old man

~a man who is old

difficult questions ~questions which are difficult something understood ~something which is understood the people responsible ~the people who are responsible

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INHERENT AND NON-INHERENT ADJECTIVES


However, not all adjectives are related to the noun in the same way. For example this phrase small businessman

The sentence does not describe an attribute of the businessman. It cannot be reformulated as a businessman who is small. Instead, it refers to a businessman whose business is small.

We refer to adjectives of this type as NON-INHERENT adjectives. They

refer less directly to an attribute of the noun than inherent adjectives do.

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INHERENT AND NON-INHERENT ADJECTIVES


Inherent distant hills a complete chapter a heavy burden a social survey an old man Non-inherent distant relatives a complete idiot a heavy smoker a social animal an old friend

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OTHER WORDS USED AS ADJECTIVES

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DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVE

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DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVE
The demonstrative adjectives "this," "these," "that," "those," and

"what " are used to demonstrate or indicate specific things.


I'm going to open that present. Those socks look warm.

A demonstrative adjective may look like a demonstrative pronoun,

but it is used differently in the sentence: it is an adjective, used to modify a noun or pronoun.

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DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVE
When the librarian tripped over that cord, she dropped a pile of

books. In this sentence, the demonstrative adjective "that" modifies the noun "cord" and the noun phrase "that cord" is the object of the preposition "over."
This apartment needs to be fumigated.

Here "this" modifies "apartment" and the noun phrase "this apartment" is the subject of the sentence.
Even though my friend preferred those plates, I bought these.

In the dependent clause, "those" modifies "plates" and the noun phrase "those plates" is the object of the verb "preferred." In the independent clause, "these" is the direct object of the verb "bought."

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INTERROGATIVE ADJECTIVE

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INTERROGATIVE ADJECTIVE
An interrogative adjective is like an interrogative pronoun,

except that it modifies a noun or noun phrase rather than standing on its own
Interrogative Adjective is used with nouns to ask questions.

What, whose, and which are Interrogative Adjectives.

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INTERROGATIVE ADJECTIVE
Examples :
Which is the shortest method?
What is your plan? Whose car is this? Whose work is this? What type of gun is it? Where are you going?

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INTERROGATIVE ADJECTIVE
Which plants should be watered twice a week?

Like other adjectives, "which" can be used to modify a noun or a noun phrase. In this example, "which" modifies "plants" and the noun phrase "which plants" is the subject of the compound verb "should be watered"
What book are you reading?

In this sentence, "what" modifies "book" and the noun phrase "what book" is the direct object of the compound verb "are reading."

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POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE

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POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE
A possessive adjective modifies a noun by telling whom it belongs

to. It answers the question "Whose?"


Possessive adjectives include his, her, its, my, our, their, and your.
You can share my rice.
Have you seen their house?

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POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE
I can't complete my assignment because I don't have the textbook.

In this sentence, the possessive adjective "my" modifies "assignment" and the noun phrase "my assignment" functions as an object. Note that the possessive pronoun form "mine" is not used to modify a noun or noun phrase.
What is your phone number.

Here the possessive adjective "your" is used to modify the noun phrase "phone number"; the entire noun phrase "your phone number" is a subject complement. Note that the possessive pronoun form "yours" is not used to modify a noun or a noun phrase.

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POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE
The bakery sold his favorite type of bread.

In this example, the possessive adjective "his" modifies the noun phrase "favorite type of bread" and the entire noun phrase "his favorite type of bread" is the direct object of the verb "sold."
After many years, she returned to her homeland.

Here the possessive adjective "her" modifies the noun "homeland" and the noun phrase "her homeland" is the object of the preposition "to." Note also that the form "hers" is not used to modify nouns or noun phrases.

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INDEFINITE ADJECTIVE

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INDEFINITE ADJECTIVE
An indefinite adjective is similar to an indefinite pronoun, except

that it modifies a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase.

An indefinite adjective gives indefinite, or general, information.

Often, it answers the question "How much?.


Some common indefinite adjectives are all, any, each, every, few,

many, and some.

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INDEFINITE ADJECTIVE
Many people believe that corporations are under-taxed.

The indefinite adjective "many" modifies the noun "people" and the noun phrase "many people" is the subject of the sentence.

The title of Kelly's favorite game is "All dogs go to heaven."

Here the indefinite pronoun "all" modifies "dogs"

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INDEFINITE ADJECTIVE
I will send you any mail that arrives after you have moved to Sudbury.

The indefinite adjective "any" modifies the noun "mail" and the noun phrase "any mail" is the direct object of the compound verb "will send."
They found a few goldfish floating belly up in the swan pound.

In this example the indefinite adjective modifies the noun "goldfish" and the noun phrase is the direct object of the verb "found"

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NOUN AS ADJECTIVE

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NOUN AS ADJECTIVE
We need to distinguish attribute adjective clearly from nouns

which occur in the same position, and fulfill the same function. Consider the following:
rally car saloon car family car Here, the first word modifies the second, that is, it tells us

something further about the car, but they are not adjectives.

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NOUN AS ADJECTIVE
We can show this by applying our criteria for the adjective class.
Firstly, they do not take very:
*a very rally car *a very saloon car *a very family car

Secondly, they do not have comparative or superlative forms:


*rallier *ralliest / *more rally / *most rally *salooner *saloonest / *more saloon / *most saloon *familier *familiest / *more family / *most family

And finally, they cannot occur in predicative position:


*the car is rally *the car is saloon *the car is family

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http://www.pronouncepro.com/index.php?option=com_content&vi

ew=article&id=115&Itemid=93
http://www.speech-therapy-information-and-

resources.com/adjectives.html
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/adjectiv/adjectiv.htm http://www.writingcentre.uottawa.ca/hypergrammar/adjectve.html http://www.english-for-students.com/Interrogative-Adjective.html http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/adjectives-non-gradable.htm

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