Lecture 8 Adjectives and Adverbs

1. Lecture 8 Adjectives and Adverbs 1.Classification of adjectives 2.Adjectives and participles 3. Premodifying and postmodifying adjectives 4. Predicative adjectives 5.Classification of adverbs 6. Uses of adverbs 7. Adverbs with or without -ly 8. Comparison and Comparative Constructions

2. Adjectives: giving more information about the nouns. • Four features: • Attributive function • Predicative function • Premodification by the intensifier very • Comparative or superlative forms

3. 1.Classification of adjectives • In terms of word-formation: one-word adjectives and compound adjectives • In terms of lexical meaning: dynamic or stative adjectives • In terms of lexical meaning: gradable and non-gradable adjectives

4. Compound adjectives: • Sea-sick, ice-cold, duty-free, world-wide, dust-proof • Iron-willed, honey-mouthed, chicken-hearted • Law-abiding, peace-loving, man-eating • Weather-beaten, heart-felt, poverty-stricken • Long-distance high-speed second-hand • Good-natured, cool-headed, loose-tongued • Easy-going, young-looking, sweet-smiling • New-built, ready-made, foreign-born • Well-known, over-fed, ill-printed • Red-hot, bitter-sweet, deaf-mute

5. dynamic or stative adjectives • Stative adjectives describe the static characteristics of animate or inanimate objects. Dynamic adjectives describe the dynamic properties of people or things. • Be gentle! Be careful! • ?Be beautiful! Be short! • ?The house is being big. • He is being foolish.

6. The girl is being sweet. • The road is being wide. • It is cruel of you to do that. • It is easy of us to finish the work. • He is being hard on me. • Don’t be so hard on me.

7. Gradable and non-gradable adjectives • Most adjectives are gradable adjectives, whose gradability is manifested through the forms of comparison. Big, bigger, biggest • The few non-gradable ones include some denominative adjectives that denote classification or provenance, and adjectives which is extreme or absolute. • woolen coat scientific facts • Chinese carpet English teacher • ?More excellent ?most extreme

8. That new jacket looks absolutely expensive. • I couldn’t swim in the sea; the water was absolutely freezing. • I was bitterly disappointed at my exam results. • I’m afraid your answer is completely wrong. • Since the accident Henry has been totally deaf in one ear.

9. 2.Adjectives and participles • Participles can sometimes be used as modifiers in the noun phrase. Some participles have all the features characteristic of the adjective. • adjectives derived from-ing participles:boring, convincing, disappointing, encouraging, fascinating • Adjectives derived from –ed participles: bored conceited, distinguished, educated, fascinated , hurried, interested, limited

10. -ing participle VS. –ed participle • -ing participial adjectives usually have active meanings. • –ed forms have passive meanings. • boiling water boiled watera charming girl a charmed girla pleasing voice a pleased look • I always seem to play for the losing team. • She found the lost ring under the sofa. • I felt frightened when I watched that frightening film.

11. Premodifying and postmodifying adjectives Ordering of Premodifying adjectives 1. Two or more adjectives on the same level • It was a rainy, windy, freezing day. (in the normal order of shorter members preceding the longer) 2. On different levels an interesting little red French oil painting ((determiner) -the speaker's evaluation-size, shape, age- colour- nationality, origin, material-use or purpose ( classifier)-noun head )

12. Exercise: • 一张珍贵的古老的法国写字桌。 • 所有十个年轻力壮的中国男学生。 • 头三幢漂亮的大的旧的英国的红石头房子。

13. a valuable old French writing desk All the ten strong young Chinese boy students The first three fine big old red English stone houses

14. It is a charming small nineteenth-century French brass carriage clock. • It’s a charming small French carriage clock, made of brass and dating from the nineteenth-century.

15. Postmodifying adjectives This normally occurs when the headword is a some-/any-no-compound, eg: • I'd like something cheaper. Compare: The man responsible the best textbook known The responsible man the best known textbook The members present all people concerned The present members a concerned look The meeting was full of the concerned residents. The students concerned were a small minority.

16. 4. Predicative adjectives • 1.adjectives denoting health conditions, such as well, ill • 2.adjectives with a- as prefix. • The animals are alive. • They are living animals. • 3. adjectives with postmodifiers • The ship is bound for China. • ?the bound ship for China

17. Attention: • 1. imaginative imaginary imaginable • 2. respectable respectful respective • 3. worth worthy worthwhile

18. 5.Classification of adverbs • In terms of word formation: simple adverbs and derivative adverbs. • Semantically: adverbs of manner adverbs of degree, adverbs of time, adverbs of frequency, adverbs of place relative adverbs conjunctive adverbs

19. 6. Uses of adverbs • Adverb phrases as adverbial in clauses or sentences • adverb phrases are chiefly used as adjuncts, disjuncts, and conjuncts. When used as an adjunct, the ad-verb phrase describes the time, place or manner .Generally speaking, time adjuncts may occur at all the three positions. • Recently they had an accident. • They recently had an accident.They had an accident recently. • By contrast, manner adjuncts appear more often at the end position: • They live frugally. He always drives carefully.. • Place adjuncts normally appear at the end of the sentence, The porter will take your luggage upstairs. I couldn't find it though 1 had looked everywhere.

20. The functions of adverb phrases as disjunct and conjunct in some examples: • Frankly, I can do nothing about it.Briefly, she didn't want to speak to him.Do it now. Otherwise, it will be too late.Tom hasn't arrived yet. He may, however, come later.

21. 7. Adverbs with or without -ly • Some adverbs have two forms: identical with a corresponding adjective; with -ly. • 1. clean and cleanly • I clean forgot about it. • This knife cuts cleanly. • 2. clear and clearly • The prisoner got clear away. • Can you see clearly from here? • 3. dead and deadly • He was dead tired.He looks deadly pale.

22. 4. firm and firmly • Fix the post firmly in the ground.Always hold firm to your beliefs. • 5. loud and loudly • Don't talk so loud /loudly.Speak louder, I can't hear you. • 6. sharp and sharply • We arrived at one o’clock sharp. • At the crossroads we turned sharp to the left. • 7. hard and hardly • He works hard. • He hardly does anything these days.

23. Exercises: • I ___ recommend it. • He can jump really ___. (high) • I haven’t been to the theater much ___. (late) • I can’t read this. It’s ___ dull. (dead) • I ___ believe it. (firm) • My friends are ___ teachers. • Which part o the concert did you like ___ ?(most)

24. Comparison and Comparative Constructions • most adjectives and adverbs are gradable and can be used in comparative clauses. • forms of comparison: • three degrees : positive / absolute degree(base form), comparative degree and superlative degree. • Regular comparison: comparative degree –er superlative -est Or by their equivalents with more or most Irregular: p.66

25. Compare: • Elder or older • She is my ___ sister. • She is ___ than her husband. • Farther or further • I’m tired. I can’t walk any ___. • If there are no ___ questions, I declare the meeting closed. • Less or fewer • They buy __ beer and ___ cigarettes now,

26. Comparative constructions • three types of comparative construction： • 1. "as＋adjective／adverb＋as" construction • John is as bright as Bob. • John is not as/so bright as Bob. (negative) • She is as witty as she is pretty. • The swimming pool isn't as wide as that one is long. • You can take as much butter as you need. • Compare:George is as efficient a worker as Jack. George is a worker as efficient as Jack.

27. 2.more ... than construction : comparative degree + than-clause • This parcel is heavier than that one. • Negative form: less … than • John is a more efficient worker than Jack. = • John is a worker more efficient than Jack. • the + comparative + of-phrase • John is the brighter of the two boys.

28. 3.The + superlative adjective /adverb + of • The Sahara is the largest desert in the world.This is the most interesting book I late ever read. • George did more work than anyone else.＝George did the most work．Nothing in my life shook me so deep as my first visit to China．=My first visit to China moved me the deepest．

29. Other uses of comparison construction • 1. More…than • The present crisis is much more a political than an economic crisis. • He is not more a writer than a painter. • He is more shy than unsocial. • She is more English than the English. • Her eyes are more green than grey. • 2. the more, the more and more and more • The car was running faster and faster. • The older I am, the happier I am. • The older he is, the wiser he becomes.

30. 3. Not more／-er…than vs no more／－er…than • John is not better than Tom. • John is no better than Tom. (= as bad as) • Mr. Zhang is no wiser than Mr. Li. • The fishburger is no more expensive than the hamburger. • The hot dog isn’t any cheaper than the cheeseburger.

31. Exercises: 1.Grammar is as important as it is difficult for the students. 2.This room is no darker than that one. 3. I regard him less as my teacher than as my friend. 4. He is less a fool than I thought he was.

32. Error correction • He is as a good worker as John. • Mary is nicer of the two. • The room is larger than that one three times. • A whale is not any more a fish than a horse is. • Paper tiger is not half fierce as it is painted.