Attributive and predicative adjectives. Attributive nouns in English. Singular or plural
Let's look at the place of the adjective in a sentence, that is, its functions. Words that are called adjectives are always associated with nouns, since the main purpose of adjectives is to indicate the characteristics of nouns, to give them characteristics. In a sentence, an adjective performs several functions, let's look at just two: the function of definition and the nominal part of a compound nominal predicate.
1. If an adjective (or several adjectives) costs BEFORE noun to describe it in more detail, then it performs the function of DEFINITION = ATTRIBUTE, in other words, it is used A TRIBUTIVE. Then all kinds of noun determiners - articles, possessive pronouns, indefinite pronouns, etc. are placed before adjectives. There can be more than one adjective before a noun, but several. If there are several adjectives, then they also follow an order that depends on the meaning of the adjective. Nouns, together with definitions expressed by adjectives, can take the place of the subject, be part of the predicate, complements and adverbials.
This old man came to my place yesterday. = This one old Human(the old man) came to see me yesterday. (Subject)
The young doctor was very pleased to get the position of assistant. = Young doctor I was very glad to get the position of assistant. (Subject)
Old castles are often surrounded by high walls. = Old fortresses are often surrounded by high walls. (Subject)
That was an insoluble problem.= It was an insoluble problem. (Nominal part of the predicate)
It's a true story. = This is a true story. (Nominal part of the predicate)
My father is a strong man. = My father is a strong man. (Nominal part of the predicate)
He likes black coffee= He likes black coffee. (Addition)
My mother bought new shoes= My mother bought new shoes. (Addition)
I don't like loud music.= I don't like loud music. (Addition)
I made a fair decision= I made a fair decision. (Addition)
We had to discuss some important questions.= We had to discuss several important issues. (Addition)
In my childhood I used to dream of traveling to distant countries. = As a child, I often dreamed of traveling to distant lands. (Circumstance)
The sun is shining in the blue sky.= The sun is shining in the blue sky. (Circumstance)
The village is located in a very beautiful place.= The village is located in a very beautiful place. (Circumstance)
2. If the adjective is worth AFTER noun (words that replace the noun: pronouns or substitute words), then it is part of the PREDICATE = PREDICATE, as its NOMINAL part, that is, it is used PREDICATIVE.
A predicate consisting of a linking verb and an adjective is called COMPOUND NOMINAL PREDICATE = NOMINAL PREDICATE. Despite such a long, complicated name, everything is very simple. It’s called the predicate composite because it consists of two parts. First part is a linking verb in personal form. The most recognizable and common linking verb is the verb “to be”. Second part– this is actually an adjective. It is called the nominal part of a compound predicate, since it characterizes the subject and describes it.
As an example, I will write a few sentences.
Both the girls were rosy-cheeked and plump like their mother. = Both girls were rosy-cheeked and plump, like their mother.
Sit down in this arm-chair. It is very comfortable. = Sit in this chair. It's very convenient.
His arrival on that day was quite unexpected.= His arrival that day was completely unexpected.
She wasn't quite fair to him. = She wasn't entirely fair to him.
The suit–case was so heavy that I couldn't lift it. = The suitcase was so heavy that I couldn’t lift it.
ATTENTION!
The same adjective can be used attributively and predicatively.
There is a round table in the kitchen. = There is a round table in the room.
These tables are round.= These tables are round.
I saw a beautiful garden. = I saw a beautiful garden.
Her garden is very beautiful.= Her garden is very beautiful.
I like sunny weather. = I love sunny weather.
The weather was sunny yesterday. = Yesterday the weather was sunny.
But there are adjectives that can be used PREDICATIVE ONLY. Next to such an adjective in the dictionary there will definitely be a note: “only predic is used.”
For example:
afraid = scared; used only predicatively ( predic).
asleep = sleeping; used only predicatively ( predic).
ill = ill; used only predicatively ( predic).
aware = aware, aware, aware; used only predicatively ( predic).
glad = joyful; used only predicatively ( predic).
Adjectives with the prefix “a-”, such as: alive, awake, aware, asleep, afraid, are usually used only predicatively. Their synonyms are the following adjectives, which are used attributively.
For example:
live or living for alive
I have no living relatives. = I have no living relatives.
He is alive! = He is alive!
waking up or waking up for awake
She spends all her waking hours working. = She spends all her time working. Literally: waking hours.
He is awake now. = He's not sleeping now.
stray for astray
I saw a stray kitten. = I saw a lost kitten.
We went astray. = We have lost our way. We are lost.
I'll write a few sentences as an example.
The child was afraid. = The boy was scared.
The children were asleep. = The children are sleeping.
My mother was glad to see you. = My mother was glad to see you.
This woman is ill. = This woman is sick.
The student was aware of that. = The student was aware of this.
IT IS FORBIDDEN use these adjectives attributively, that is, put them before the noun.
an afraid child; =
scared boy;
an asleep children;
= sleeping children; a glad mother;
= happy mother;
an ill woman; =
For example:
sick woman;
an aware student.= knowledgeable student.
There are adjectives that are used
ATTRIBUTIVE ONLY.
IT IS FORBIDDEN chief = main, guiding, main, most important;
main = main, main;
principal = main, main, leading; Our chief/main/pricipal task is to master English. = Our main task is to master the English language. use these adjectives predicatively, that is, place them after the noun.
This task is chief. = This task is the main one.
There are adjectives that have
For example:
TWO meanings
depending on the function they perform in the sentence.
certain = 1. certain, certain, some; (used attributively)
certain = 2. confident, reliable, faithful, undoubted; (used predicatively)
For example:
A certain man came here yesterday. = A certain person came yesterday.
John was certain he was right. = John was sure he was right.
particular = 1. specific, special, particular; (used attributively) particular = 2. picky, picky; (used predicatively) We had a particular reason for coming here. = We had a special reason to come here. He is very particular about his clothes. = He chooses his clothes very carefully. Adjectives are common/descriptive and proper. Multi-root adjectives are compounds. Adjectives clarify the description.
Mexicanfood
far awayland
Take a larger slice of the luscious cake - Takebigpiecethisfragrantpirogue
Qualityadjectives
In terms of meaning, adjectives can be qualitative or relative. Qualitative adjectives describe directly - by designating shape, size, color and other general characteristics.
pretty, low, complete, round, good
Some quality adjectives are intensifiers. They emotionally enhance the meaning of objects and are defined only by adverbs absolutely/really:
certain, sure, pure, sheer, real, undoubted, complete, extreme, great, perfect, mere, close, utter, entire, wonderful, terrible, astonished, delicious, amazing, hilarious
Relativeadjectives
Relative adjectives describe objects indirectly - through relationships.
woolen, wooden, silver
They are not ranked, namely, they are not defined by adverbs very, too, enough. Amplifiers are also not ranked.
weekly, unconscious, dead, legal, medical, empty, full
Attributiveadjectives
Syntactically, adjectives are divided into attributive and predicative. The first as definitions stand before nouns.
intelligent young woman
Some adjectives are historically attributive:
chief, main, only, particular, principal, sole
Predicativeadjectives
Predicative adjectives as part of the predicate are separated from nouns and come after verbs, especially connectives ( be, get, seem, appear, keep, look, feel, make, smell, sound, taste, become, grow, remain, stay, turn).
Chicken made this way tastes more delicious - CookedSochickentastier
Some adjectives are historically predicative:
ill, bad, fine, asleep, awake, afraid, alive, alone, content, glad, pleased, sorry, upset, near, far (away)
Adjectives old, heavy, late can have different meanings depending on the syntactic function.
Kelly's quite old now - Kellyalreadygot old
She’s a really old friend - Shelong-standinggirlfriend
V e d e n i e 3
Chapter I. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THIS STUDY. II
I. general characteristics and functional properties
adjectives II
2. About some semantic relations in attributive and
predicative complexes 27
3. Analysis of phrases with adjectives 32
Conclusions to Chapter I 41
Chapter P. RELATIONSHIP OF COMPONENTS IN ATTRIBUTIVE COMPLEX
KSAH ^
I. General characteristics of attributive complexes 43
2. Semantic classification of adjectives in atri
butative function 47
Conclusions to Chapter 86
Chapter III. ADJECTIVES IN PRACTIVE FUNCTION 89
I. General characteristics of adjectives in predicatives
function 89
2. Semantic classification of adjectives in pre
dicative function 102
Conclusions to Chapter III 125
Chapter IU. FEATURES OF APPLICATION OF ADJECTIVES IN SCIENTIFIC
PROSE 128
1.0 some features of scientific prose 128
2. Adjectives used in the attributive function
tions in scientific prose 140
3. Description of adjectives in the predicative function in
field of scientific prose 149
Conclusions to Chapter 152
3 CONCLUSION 154
Literature 157
List of lexicographic sources 177
Used literature and accepted abbreviations. 177
Introduction to the work
This dissertation is a study in the field of semantics of syntax, which examines the question of the behavior of adjectives in two different functions - attribution and predication.
At the same time, significant advances have been made in linguistics over the past last years associated with expanding the range of interests of linguists and addressing the most complex issues in the field of syntax and semantics of the adjective, make it possible to describe this category of words from new positions and pose, based on the latest data, a number of questions and problems that have not yet been the subject of special analysis, but necessarily arise when an attempt to describe the syntactic and semantic aspects of the behavior of adjectives. I would like to emphasize the value and importance of the information available in the linguistic literature about the semantic, syntactic, word-formation and other properties of the adjective / A.M. Smirnitsky, N.D. Arutyunova, E.S. Kubryakova, E.M. Wolf, Z.A. Kharitonchik, D.BGlinger, H.Brekle and others / *" information that forms the foundation of modern theoretical knowledge about this class of words.
On the other hand, it has been noted more than once that the creation of a theory of syntactic and semantic research is hampered by the lack of descriptive work and examination of the entire array of available data. Therefore, the processing of actual data on the intended program seems to be an important stage of analysis in this work, and no less attention is paid to it than to the development of the theoretical research program itself.
Relevance This study is determined primarily by addressing the important problem for modern linguistics of the syn-tactical-semantic aspect of the adjective, a multifaceted approach to determining the semantic structure of the adjective in the attributive and predicative complexes when used in statements of different types.
We would like to note that the multidimensionality of adjectives, the uniqueness of their semantic, functional and other properties determine the possibility of using various criteria, including content, syntactic, word-formation, etc., when classifying them and determining the nature of the corresponding classes. It is known that adjectives can differ in their functional properties , i.e. Among them, adjectives are identified that are limited in their use by one attributive or predicative position (in this case we are talking about the restrictiveness of the adjective), or, on the contrary, adjectives that are limited in their use at the semantic level are nevertheless possible as in both as an attribute and as part of a predicate, they fully allow transformation at the syntactic level. The classes of adjectives identified by these functional differences differ in semantic and structural terms.
Since, in semantic terms, adjectives serve primarily to designate properties, features, qualities and other attributes of objects, in this work we use the term “attributive complex”, and the term “predicative complex” when adjectives appear as part of a predicate. We are interested in the question of how correlative is the use of the same adjective in two different functions, as part of the attributive
or a predicative complex. Most adjectives can occupy both predicative and attributive positions (following R. Quirk et al., 1974, we call them central). Only certain groups characterized by the use of one - attributive or predicative - function (in the work they are called peripheral, restrictive adjectives).
Analysis of the semantic properties of adjectives allows us to reveal the reasons that determine their different syntactic behavior. In our study, we choose the semantic path of analyzing adjectives and draw on data from functional studies. Syntactical-semantic analysis in this work is aimed primarily at identifying typical semantic structures of the words under study, characterizing the main semantic features of adjectives in the English language.
The relevance of the topic is also determined by the fact that despite the relatively a large number of works that consider the adjective from different angles, in the vast majority of them the issue is resolved only in one lexical, structural, semantic, etc. planes /A.S.irolov, 1973; V.N. Kolobaev, I983; Schliibsbye, K. 1967; Lakoff J., 1970 and others/. We were not able to find a single study (on the material of the English language) that would examine the reasons for the semantic change of the same adjectives in attributive and predicative use.
Goal of the work; The formulation of the problem and the selected analysis angles determined the main objectives of the study:
I) study the semantic features of adjectives using the transformation method, i.e.: a) analyzing the possibilities
the ability to move the studied adjective from the attributive complex to the predicative one (such as: a red car ***-*.a car is red but a structural linguist if it is impossible *a linguist is structural) and b) establishing shifts in the semantics of the adjective, which in this case can take place, cf. different types of relationships in the examples: a sorry end * pitiful
I feel sorry for you"» unhappy, grieved; - An old friend of mine = friendship is oY,_>. and friend of mine is old.
study the nature of the relationship between the semantics of adjectives and the nouns they define at the syntactic and semantic levels;
determine the possible reasons for the restrictive use of some adjectives and the free variation of others when creating a general semantic classification of adjectives;
identify groups of adjectives used both in the function of a predicate and in the function of an attribute. Identify groups of adjectives used only in predicative or only attributive positions; determine the transformational capabilities of specific adjectives (i.e., moving adjectives from the attributive complex to the predicative one) and on this basis create proposed classifications of attributive and predicative adjectives;
The following materials were used as research material: texts from
works of modern English-American prose, dictionaries of contemporary
Here and in the following presentation, this sign * indicates the impossibility of use.
vernacular English, as well as geophysical and structural mechanics texts. The reliability of the transformation of examples was tested on six informants aged from 26 to 40 years. The total volume of analyzed texts amounted to over 26 thousand pages.
The undertaken study of adjectives was carried out partially using methods of transformation analysis. It cannot be emphasized enough, however, that the problems we raised differed from those posed in transformational grammar. Thus, we did not raise the question of the primacy of the participation of an adjective in one or another function or the question of what sanction an adjective can appear in the so-called deep structure of a sentence. During the work, the component method and techniques of contextological analysis were also used.
Novelty of the work is that for the first time in English studies, using artistic and scientific material, the participation of adjectives in attributive and predicative complexes is examined in detail and the mantic-eintactic characteristics associated with this participation are studied. Such an approach also makes it possible to clarify the existing classifications of adjectives and confirm the correctness of the previously put forward semantic categories of adjectives with new data on the differences in their functioning, primarily depending on the construction of which complexes - attributive or predicative, or both at the same time - can participate in this class of adjectives.
One of the most important tasks of the language system is to characterize the objective world through a network of observable relationships. Adjectives, in our opinion, carry out not only direct
designation of signs and properties, they have some attributes of the objective world through the characteristics of those relationships into which the objects themselves enter. On this basis, the semantic classification of adjectives is built on a more logical basis.
Based on a generalization of the analysis of specific examples in fiction and scientific prose, the concept of the admissibility of free or limited use of the same polysemantic adjective is constructed and the conditions under which it either partially retains or changes its semantics when moving from one position to another are clarified.
The novelty of the work also lies in finding the reasons and conditions for the different behavior of adjectives in the indicated complexes (A + I and N + to Ъе+А) and in emphasizing the fact that even if it is possible to use the same adjective as part of both the attributive and predicative complex, the semantics of the adjective in fact often undergoes predictable changes and shifts in its meanings.
Theoretical value dissertation work is to establish rules for the correlative use of adjectives in the two indicated functions and to find out what changes semantics undergoes when the attributive position of an adjective changes to a predicative one (and vice versa) and how possible such a change in position is for adjectives of different classes from semantic and syntactic points of view.
The position is argued that classification adjectives must have not only structural or semantic justifications, it must also take into account the specified functional characteristics, which allow us to talk about the possibility of
pologization of the behavior of adjectives in attributive and predicative functions in fiction and scientific prose.
Practical significance work is determined by the fact that the research results and factual material can be included in teaching aids in the English language; they can be used when teaching courses in lexicology and communicative grammar, in the development of special courses on the problems of semantics of the adjective.
Scope and structure of the study. The dissertation work is presented on 179 pages of typescript (the main text of the work is 156 pages). The research topic, its goals and objectives determined the structure of the dissertation, consisting of an introduction, four chapters and a conclusion. At the end of the work there is a bibliography and a list of references from which examples were selected for analysis.
The introduction substantiates the relevance and novelty of the research, defines the goals and objectives, characterizes the methods of studying the material, and determines the theoretical and practical significance of the work.
The first chapter discusses general issues of the theory of adjectives, highlights various scientific approaches In addition to their analysis, the basis for the classification of adjectives related to their use in attributive and predicative functions is given.
The second chapter examines adjectives in fiction that appear in attributive complexes. General and differential features of different classes of adjectives are established.
The third chapter examines adjectives in the predicative function and proposes their classification, which characterizes
is characterized by a smaller variety of groups compared to the one that was created for adjectives in the attributive function.
The fourth chapter provides a descriptive analysis of attributively and predicatively used adjectives in scientific prose. The features of a scientific text are described and certain features of the use of adjectives in this area are taken into account.
The conclusion summarizes the main results of the study.
When analyzing the function of an adjective in this work, the syntactic criterion is especially taken into account. Often, first of all, in languages of the analytical type (to which English also belongs), only the exclusively syntactic function of a linguistic unit helps to position it in a certain context as an adjective (English good in for one's good "for someone else's benefit" and a good mother "good mother"), therefore, even if there are no morphological indicators in a particular language (good - adj. and a good - noun have the same sound and letter composition), adjectives, despite this, would still be considered in as such due to the possession of a clearly expressed grammatical meaning of “quality, attribute, property” and the fulfillment of either an attributive (She is a good mother) or a predicative (She is good) function in a sentence. In this case, the concept of “functions of an adjective” will be considered by us as. in broad (from the point of view of the discursive features of adjectival words) and narrow (from the position of fulfilling a certain role in phrases and sentences) contexts.
In numerous works devoted to the study of the adjective name and carried out in the spirit of a generative program, many syntactic properties of this class of words were highlighted. In relation to the conditions of the English language, the basic rule for constructing a sentence is described as the following rule: S = NP + VP, which indicates the need for presence in the structure English sentences nominal and predicative groups. The functional consolidation of adjectives is connected, according to the provisions of generativists, with the possibility of them performing certain roles as part of the above-mentioned nominal and predicate phrases (the correlation of structures like: the apple is green - a green apple). However, there is no strictly fixed correspondence along the line: parts of speech - members of a sentence (so, as a definition in modern English language Along with an adjective, for example, a noun in the possessive case can appear). It is much more important, according to a number of leading linguists, to take into account the criterion of so-called “compatibility”, taking into account which they say that in examples like: a wide river / The river was wide the adjective wide fulfills various functions in the first case, acting as a defining member of a noun (attributive function), in the second - with the verb to be (predicative function).
In general, I would like to note that, according to most linguists, it is the attributive function that is fundamental for such a part of speech as an adjective.
Within the framework of attributive syntagmas, the adjective acts as a defining member or attribute, naming any attribute of the word being defined without taking into account the categories of mood and tense (a black table, a nice party, etc.). Thus, acting as an attribute, the adjective as a dependent, non-independent part of speech is part of a larger linguistic unit - an attributive phrase. In this case, the categorical-semantic essence of the adjective is leveled, since the thematic emphasis changes - the categorical-semantic attribute of the noun becomes the nodal point in linguistic consciousness, cf. a golden rope = a rope, made of gold. An adjective in an attributive combination performs a predicating or identifying communicative function similar to the defined noun. At the same time, performing an attributive function, adjectives are more inclined to describe the inherent, permanent properties of objects, thereby approaching substantive names and intersecting with them 40 (cf.: young men / the young; English people / the English).
Of particular interest to modern linguists is the performance of the attributive function in relation to relative units. In this regard, combinations like: an English book; a young girl is usually considered as explicit along the lines of the name of a thing - its attribute, and combinations like: the civil law; a chain smoker - as elision along the line of relationship.
Linguists also pay great attention to the analysis of complex attributive chains (noun phrases with several adjectives). Within the framework of complex attributive constructions of the English language, adjectives often define the corresponding object, ultimately creating its multi-featured, mosaic characteristics. Thus, it is argued that usually adjectives in the comparative and superlative degrees are placed before other adjectives: the best Russian actors; the lower yearly figures. Moreover, the closer the attribute value is to the value of the nuclear component itself, the closer the connections between them are considered - a bad young man, large blue eyes, five wise men.
As the next pattern, we consider the aspect associated with the polarization of qualitative and relative adjectives, based on the principle of giving priority to a feature of a subjective nature, in comparison with a feature of an objective nature. Thus, it is noted that adjectives of an evaluative type are positioned before adjectives of a descriptive nature, at the same time, descriptive adjectives whose semantics are more generalized (bad, nice, good, lovely) are positioned before units whose meaning seems more specific (clean, dirty, comfortable). It should also be noted that, despite the possibility of changing the order of adjectives, a kind of fixity in relation to descriptive units is still present. First of all, the following order is typical: Size - shape - age - color - nationality - material.
Within the framework of the classical approach, predicative syntagms express the direct dependence of certain two members of a sentence with the obligatory presence of a connection of time, as well as mood. The standard, familiar structure of the subject-predicate type with the presence of the connective “is” is the implementation of the following formula “Something (or someone) is something (or someone).” Verbs, as well as adjectives, are best suited to perform this predicative function. Let’s compare the meanings of the adjective young in the sentences “A young master entered the hall..” and “The master was young, of 23...” (H. Johnson. “Nice party”). In the first version, “the adjective, denoting the quality of youth, characterizes the actual denotation of the name,” while in the second, “the adjective’s connection is revealed with the significative of the word, and not with its denotation.”
In predicative use, as an analysis of linguistic literature shows, the adjective tends to perform only a predicative function (cf.: The master was young). Moreover, if in the case of attributive use the denotative component of the meaning of one or another adjective comes to the fore (emphasis on conveying the attribute of the corresponding object), then with predicative use the emphasis is on the significative component (consideration of the object within the framework of the class characterized by this attribute). In this regard, even if any particular adjective occupies alternately the position of an attribute (This is a green apple) and the position of a predicate (This apple is green), it demonstrates completely different entities in semantic terms.
As part of the predicative function, the adjective often touches on the characteristics of temporary, unstable states that change over time (gay, angry, cold, etc.). At the same time, adjectives (participles) in this function often characterize both the result of an action: “The house has been broken...” (H. Occast “Accident”), and the process or ability to undergo any process (“The whole thing is easy edible …”(H. Occast “Accident”)).
At the same time, however, in English the adjective in the predicative function, although it describes less stable characteristics compared to units in the attributive function, nevertheless also expresses a feature conceivable in the subject or object, thus complete identification with the meaning of verbs there is no structure going on here.
Thus, summing up all of the above, I would like to note that when qualifying an adjective as a part of speech, special attention should be paid to its syntactic properties. The functional consolidation of adjectives, according to the provisions of generativists, is associated with the possibility of them performing certain roles as part of nominal and predicate phrases. In relation to the English language, we can talk about the possibility of using adjectives in two main syntactic functions - attributive (denote certain unchanging properties, similar to substantive names) and predicative (denote unstable, time-varying states). Attributive English adjectives, as a rule, are characterized by preposition and designation of the qualities and properties of an object as some given thing, known to the speaker and the listener. Predicative adjectives are characterized by postposition; they are aimed at turning the characteristics of the word being defined into the subject of the message. In addition, adjectives of attributive and predicative types also differ in that the former tend to denote unchanging properties, approaching substantive names, and the latter - unstable, time-varying states, approaching verbal units. /avg. George is a foolish boy - George was rather foolish in his childhood.”/.
The subject of the analysis of this work will be the order of adjectives in English phrases and sentences, with an emphasis on the structural and semantic aspects of the analysis of predicative type units.
The fact is that for many adjectives here, along with the attributive one, as shown this analysis, the predicate function is very characteristic (the attribution of some currently relevant attribute to an object nominated for the role of subject):
“The party offers to be nice” is a predicative function.
“I suppose he thought me being so extremely very silly. "(I guess he thought I was terribly stupid) - predicative function.
See also about adjectives:
At the same time, for speakers of the predicative function of adjectives in English, in terms of their position in relation to the nuclear element, postpositional use is decisive (identified in 85-90% of cases):
“To me it was all... romantic.” (It was all romantic to me)
“What!” I was started at this,... me than I saw it was rather absurd.” (I was amazed.....but then I realized that it was absurd).
The cases of prepositional use noted by linguists are usually explained by the purposes of stylistic inversion use. Thus, as an analysis of works of English fiction has shown, the following order of adjectives in English is typical for the compositional parts of many works related to the transmission of direct speech of characters: a predicate expressed by an adjective will precede both the subject and the copular verb:
“There wasn’t any need to...,” I said. “After all, so rather intriguing it was.”(….In the end it was so intriguing).
As becomes obvious from these examples, when used in the predicative function, the adjective in English acts as a defining word for the verb.
Conducted lexicographic analysis based on The Oxford Engl. Dicti. 12 volums showed that in English there is a group of adjectives starting with the morpheme a-, which are used only predicatively (approximately 40% of adjectives from total number units used only predicatively). In this case, the attributive function may (but not necessarily) use an adjective corresponding in meaning, as illustrated by the following examples:
Predicative use
That child is afraid. (the child is afraid)
These two men are alik e. (the two men look alike)
These problems are alike. (These problems are the same)
Thanks goodness! He's alive.
(He's alive)
This tree is alive. (this tree is viable)
I am ashamed. (I'm ashamed)
The old lady lives alone. (The old woman lives alone)
The dog is asleep. (The dog is sleeping)
Now it's awake. (Now she's on alert)
Attributive usage
It's a frightened child. (frightened child)
They're similar problems. (same problems)
It's a living tree. (this is a viable tree)
She's a lonely old lady. (She's a lonely old woman)
Let sleeping dogs lie. (Don't wake up a sleeping dog)
Adjectives of this type should also include the following: ablaze, adrift, afire, afloat, aghast, alight, etc. Adjectives starting with a- also include the adjective aware; the peculiarity of its use is the need to combine it with an addition:
“What are you talking about? Are you aware of the danger?” (What are you talking about? Are you aware of the danger?)
Are you aware of the danger?; = that we are in a serious danger?
At the same time, however, it should be mentioned that a number of adjectives from the above group of predominantly predicative use tend to be used simultaneously in the attributive function. We are talking about combinations with adjectives ending in a-, used only after the modifier, such as a man asleep, persons alike, etc.:
“The child afraid was taken to his aunt’s.” (The frightened child was taken to his aunt)
At the same time, for adjectives in the predicative function in English, adjectival complementation (adjective (or participle) + object) is very typical (and sometimes necessary). Thus, many adjectives used predicatively require the use of a (obligatory or possible) object after themselves. At the end of this article I provide a list of the most commonly used adjectives that need complementation after themselves.
Here I would like to note that we have observed cases of the use of adjectival complementation of three types:
A. Prepositional phrase: rep + NP, or prep + -ing:
“Most cats are really fond of fish.Won’t you deny it!?” (Most cats really love fish. You won't deny it, will you?)
b. Infinitive: be + adjective + infinitive
“He is anxious to meet the girl.Noone can stop him.” – (He is preoccupied with meeting a girl. No one can stop him)
Likewise:
A. He is likely to meet the girl (He wants to meet the girl)
b. Not is happy to meet the girl (He is happy to meet the girl)
c. He is quick to understand (He fast understands)
d.He is easy to teach (He easily studies)
(examples taken from: Hornby A.S. et. al.Oxford Advanced.... P. 234-240)
With . that-clause. There are three various types that-clause used after adjectives
“I am sorry that you should feel offended, but it won’t change anything.”
Likewise:
I am glad (that) you came. (Glad you came)
I am determined that there should be no delay, (I am sure that nothing can be postponed)
(examples taken from: Hornby A.S. et. al. Oxford Advanced.... P. 312-323)
The following usage is also often interpreted as a case of adjectival complementation:
It is important, clear, strange, etc. (to...; that...
Thus, adjectival complementation is observed in the following phrase:
“It is important to remember this. Please don’t forget…” (It’s important to remember this. Please don’t forget…)
At the same time, the paraphrase of this sentence also allows for the following use: To remember this is important.
The reverse transformation can be done with the phrase:
“It is clear that he lost his head (= It is clear him to loose his head). “It’s clear that he lost his head.”
Likewise:
strange: it... that. . . (should) (=lt is strange that they (should) feel so angry) - It’s strange that they are so angry
essential: it... that. .. should (= It is essential that he should apologise). “He should definitely apologize.” etc. (examples taken from: The Oxford English Dictionary. 12 volumes/…. P. 123-125)
Thus, the analysis showed that many adjectives in the English language, along with the attributive one, are capable of performing a predicative function. Adjectives used as an element of a compound predicate nominal type, as a rule, denote the temporary state of an object, and not its permanent characteristic, and they are mainly characterized by a postpositional order of use.
Sources on the topic of order of adjectives in English:
I. Fiction
Collection // English novels, plays and short stories of the 19-20th century. M., 1998. – 480.
II. Lexicographical sources
Whitford G., Dixon R. English-Russian lexical and phraseological dictionary. – M. 1994
Hornby A.S. et. al.OxfordAdvanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English. -London:OxfordUniv.Press, 2000
Longman dictionary of contemporary English. –LondonPress, 1975
TheOxfordEnglish Dictionary. 12 volumes/Ed. by James A.N. Murray, Henry Bradley, W.A. Cragic, S. T. Onions. -Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997