Língua Inglesa Estrutura Sintática I

1. Língua Inglesa Estrutura Sintática I Henrique Romaniello Passos Aula 3

2. Adjectives

3. An adjective is a word that describes a noun, giving extra information about it. For example: • a sweet taste • a red apple • a technical problem • an Italian woman • Most adjectives can be used in two positions: attributive adjectives occur before the noun they describe, while predicative adjectives are used after certain verbs like be, grow, look, seem:

4. Attributive position: a black cat, a gloomy outlook, a slow jorney, a large suitcase. • Predicative position: The cat was black./ The future looks gloomy./ The journey seemed slow./ They were growing tired.

5. There are some adjectives that can only be used in one position or the other. For example, these two sentences are grammatically correct: She was alone that evening. (‘alone’ = predicative)/ It was a mere scratch. (‘mere’ = attributive). These sentences, on the other hand, are not correct: I saw an alone woman (‘alone’ cannot be used in the attributive position)./The scratch was mere (‘mere’ cannot be used in the predicative position).

6. Substantive adjective is an adjective used alone in the absence of the noun that it modifies. For example, in the sentence “Out with the old and poor, in with the young and rich”, “old”, "rich", “young” and "poor" are substantive adjectives. Here, they refer to people rather than things. The reader determines the correct nouns simply through context clues and a general understanding that people rather than objects are usually considered rich or poor.

7. Sometimes an adjective occurs immediately after a noun, especially in certain institutionalised expressions: the Governor General, the Princess Royal, times past .We refer to these as POSTPOSITIVE adjectives. Postposition is obligatory when the adjective modifies a pronoun: something useful, everyone present, those responsible. Postpositive adjectives are commonly found together with superlative, attributive adjectives: the shortest route possible, the worst conditions imaginable, the best hotel available.

8. Aplenty and galore (in plentiful supply; abundant and in great numbers; in abundance, respectively) and the informal extraordinaire are examples of adjectives that are primarily used postpositively in modern English. Name suffixes, such as Junior and Senior, also function as postpositive adjectives modifying proper names.

9. Nominal Adjectives Certain adjectives are used to denote a class by describing one of the attributes of the class as in the old, the sick, the wealthy, the blind, the innocent. A major subclass of nominal adjectives refers to nationalities: the French, the British, the Japanese. However, not all nationalities have corresponding nominal adjectives. Many of them are denoted by plural, proper nouns: the Germans, the Russians, the Americans, the Poles.

10. Some of them do not denote classes at all: the opposite the contrary the good. Comparative and superlative forms can also be nominal adjectives: the best is yet to come.

11. Sometimes we use a noun to describe another noun. In that case, the first noun "acts as" an adjective: History teacher, ticket office, race horse. The "noun as adjective" always comes first. If you remember this, it will help you to understand what is being talked about: a race horse is a horse that runs in races, a horse race is a race for horses, a boat race is a race for boats, a love story is a story about love, a war story is a story about war, a tennis ball is a ball for playing tennis, tennis shoes are shoes for playing tennis, a computer exhibition is an exhibition of computers, a bicycle shop is a shop that sells bicycles.

12. The participial adjectives are a major subclass of adjectives. They can be distinguished by their endings, either –er or –ing. They are called participial adjectives because they have the same endings as verb participles.

13. Let’s look at some examples of participial adjectives in sentences. The tempting cookie platter made my mouth salivate. The fascinating book was a thrilling read. The interesting story made a compelling point. Sally was bored by the conversation. I am tired today, and my work is really tiring. My frustrating experience at the restaurant made me angry. I have been agitated long enough.

14. Bibliography • FERREIRA, Michely. Língua inglesa - Estrutura Sintática I (material produzido para Estácio EAD) • Disponível em <http://estaciodocente.webaula.com.br> Acesso em 29 de julho de 2015. • FRAZEE, B. and Davis, J.N. Painless police report Writing, 2nd ed. Pearson, 2004 • Site Grammar.com. Disponível em http://www.grammar.com Acesso em 03 de julho de 2015. • HEWINGS, Martin. Advanced grammar in use. 2 ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. • MURPHY, Raymond. Grammar in use: intermediate. 3 ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. • PROVOST, Gary. 100 ways to improve your writing. Mentor, 1985 • Site disponível em <http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/reported-speech.html> Acesso em 27 de julho de 2015

15. Língua Inglesa Estrutura Sintática I Henrique Romaniello Passos Atividade 3

16. Read the following  passage and find 4 adjectives. Then decide whether they are attributive or predicative. The young boy had never seen such a lovely house, with its colourful quaint windows and picturesque setting, shaded by ancient oaks and beeches. It was small and crooked, quite different to the manor-house in the distance with its stately towers and lofty battlements. To him, however, it looked comfortable and homely. He stood and stared, silent and respectful. Immersed in his own magical dream-world, he did not notice the slight, lone figure appear in the dark porch. As the old woman hobbled down the gloomy path, he was in a magical place, lost in dreams of full tables and warm beds. It was only the cold touch of an ancient hand that brought him back. And he fled, fearful. Wakened from a happy world to grim reality, he imagined the feeble owner of that cottage a cruel witch, yearning for his fresh young bones.

17. The young boy had never seen such a lovely house, with its colourful quaint windows and picturesque setting, shaded by ancient oaks and beeches. It was small and crooked, quite different to the manor-house in the distance with its stately towers and lofty battlements. To him, however, it looked comfortable and homely. He stood and stared, silent and respectful. Immersed in his own magical dream-world, he did not notice the slight, lone figure appear in the dark porch. As the old woman hobbled down the gloomy path, he was in a magical place, lost in dreams of full tables and warm beds. It was only the cold touch of an ancient hand that brought him back. And he fled, fearful. Wakened from a happy world to grim reality, he imagined the feeble owner of that cottage a cruel witch, yearning for his fresh young bones. All 4 adjectives are attributive.