 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
167
the escaped prisoner (the prisoner who has escaped)
the departed guests (the guests who have departed)
the faded curtains (the curtains which have faded)
the retired officer (the officer who has retired)
(See participles of intransitive verbs, § 143.)
Adjectives and adverbs
Some adjectives coincide in form with adverbs, for example, slow, long, fast, above, real, mighty, sure, the
last three being used as adverbs only in colloquial style.
Adjectives
Adverbs
The examples above (given above)
a fast walk
It is real.
He is sure of it.
We could see nothing above or below
to walk fast
He is real good.
It sure will help.
Patterns of combinability
§ 211. Adjectives are combined with several parts of speech.
1. They may combine with nouns, which they may premodify or postmodify: a black dress, a chivalrous
gentleman, the delegates present.
If there are several premodifying adjectives to one headword they have definite positional assignments.
Generally descriptive adjectives precede the limiting ones, as in a naughty little boy, a beautiful French girl,
but il there are several of each type, adjectives of different meanings stand in the following order:
Adjectives
Adjectives
Adjectives
Adjectives
Adjectives
Limiting
expressing
denoting
denoting
denoting
denoting
adjectives
judgement
size
colour
form
age
or general
Noun
characteri-
zation
pleasant
large
pale green
thick
old
French
horrid
small
bright red
round
young
left
nice
little
blue
square
For example: a large black and white hunting dog, a small pale green oval seed.
This order of words is of course not absolutely fixed, since many adjectives may be either descriptive or
limiting (see above), depending on the context. The adjectives are not separated by commas, unless they belong
to the same type: a nice little old man. However, if there is more than one adjective of the same type they are
separated by commas: nasty, irritable, selfish man (all three belong to the type of ‘judgement or general
characterization’).
Postmodification is usual for the adjectives elect, absent, present, concerned, involved, proper.
The president elect (that is: who has been elected and is soon to take office).
In several noun-phrases of French origin (mostly legal or quasilegal) the adjective is also postpositional.
attorney general
heir apparent
time immemorial
body politic
Queen Regnant
Lords Spiritual (Temporal)