CHAPTER 7 Adjectives and Adverbs

1. CHAPTER 7AdjectivesandAdverbs LongmanStudent Grammar ofSpokenandWrittenEnglish Biber; Conrad; Leech (2009, p.187-225)

2. Adjectives and adverbs are lexical word classes which are very common in all registers, but less common than noun and verbs. Adjectives and adverbs differ in their frequencies across registers. Like nouns, adjectives are more common in news and academic prose than conversation. But the distribution of adverbs is like that of verbs: most common in conversation and fiction. • These facts reflect the typical uses of adjectives and adverbs. Adjectives commonly modify nouns, so they add to the informational density of registers like academic prose. In contrast, adverbs often occur as clause elements (adverbials); they occur together with lexical verbs adding information to the short clauses of conversation and fiction.

3. Adjectiveshavecertaintypicalcharacteristics in theirform, meaningand use. • Central adjectivesshareallofthesecharacteristics. • Peripheraladjectivesvary in theextent to whichtheysharethecharacteristics. • Adjectiveshavetwo major functions: attributiveandpredicative. • Newadjectivescanbeformed in threeways: the use ofparticipialforms (e.g. amazing, advanced), the use ofderivationalsuffixes (e.g. cordless, continous), andcompounding (e.g. full-time). • Adverbshavetwo major functions: modifier(integratedintoanelementoftheclause)and adverbial (elementoftheclause). • Adverbshave four major forms: simple(e.g. already) , compound(e.g. anyway) , formswithsuffixes(e.g. fatherly; afterward)andfixedphrases(e.g. atlast). • Some adverbshavethesameform as adjectivesor, informally, adjectiveforms are used as adverbs(e.g. good, real) GRAMMAR BITE A

4. Variability in thedefiningcharacteristicsofadjectives

5. Adjectivescanhavetwodifferentkindsofmeaning: theycanbedescriptors(e.g. red) orclassifiers(e.g.Chinese). • Adjectives are sometimescombined in interestingways: repetitionof a comparativeadjective shows increasingintensity(e.g. smallerandsmaller), combinationwithgoodandorniceandintensifiesthemeaning(e.g. goodandready) • Attributiveadjectivesoccurmainlybeforecommonnouns, buttheycanalsooccurbeforepropernouns(as in little Laura Davis) andpersonalpronouns(as in Sillyoldhim). • Thefrequencyand use ofattributiveadjectives varies greatlybetweenconversationandacademic prose. • Predicativeadjectivescanfunction as subjectpredicatives(That’sright)orobjectpredicatives(You’vegotyourprioritieswrong). • Conversationandacademic prose tend to use differentkindsofpredicativeadjectives. • Only a fewadjectives are common in bothpredicativeandattributivepositions. • Adjectiveshavefivesyntactic roles in addition to theirattributiveandpredicative roles: postposedmodifier, nounphrasehead, linkingexpression, exclamation, andfreemodifier. GRAMMAR BITE B

6. Descriptorsare adjectivesthatdescribecolor, sizeandweight, chronologyand age, emotion, andothercharacteristics. They are typicallygradable. • Classifierslimitorrestrict a noun’sreferent, ratherthandescribingcharacteristics in thewaythatdescriptors do. Mostclassifiers are non-gradable. • A postposedadjective is partof a nounphrasebut it followstheheadword. Postposedadjectives are mostcommonwithindefinitepronouns as heads, such as no one. Similarly, when a modifyingadjectivephrase is verylong, theadjectivephrasewilloftenfollowtheheadnoun. • Adjectivescanalsofunction as theheadof a nounphrase(therich); theysometimes serve to link clausesorsentences to oneanother(Worsehehad...); theycanbesyntaticallyfreemodifiersof a nounphrase, having a peripheral role in theclause(Victor chucked, highlyamused); andtheyoften serve as exclamations, especially in conversationandfictionaldialog(Great!). Adjectives: roles andmeanings:some importantdefinitions

7. Adverbshavemanysyntactic roles: modifierofadjective, modifierofotheradverb, modifierofotherelementsuch as pronouns(Almostnobody, it seemed, couldeatthat.) andprepositionalphrases(-wellintotheirseventies), complementofpreposition(...recognizedsincethen), adverbials (elementof a clause), andstand-aloneadverb(Really!; Exactly!). • Adverbials: circumstance (theseaddinformationabouttheactionorstatethat is described in theclause); stance (assessmentoftheproposition in theclause); linking (connectstretchesoftext) • Adverbsbelong to seven major meaningcategories: place(there), time (now), manner(well), degree(almost), additive/restrictive(also/only), stance(actually),linking(however; thus). • Themeaningofanadverboften varies with its contextof use, andsometimesmeanings are blendedtogether. • Thefrequencyand use ofcommonadverbsdiffersgreatlybetweenconversationandacademic prose. GRAMMAR BITE C

8. Degreeadverbs • Amplifiers/intensifiers: degreeadverbsthatincreaseintensity.Some ofthesemodifygradableadjectivesandindicatedegreeson a scale(so). Othersindicateanendpointon a scale(totally). How is alsoused as anintensifier in exclamatorysentences. • Diminishers/Downtoners: degreeadverbswhichdecreasetheeffectofthemodified item (slightly). They are related to hedges (conveyingimprecision, likekindof) • Choicesamongdegreeadverbs as modifiers: academic prose uses more formal amplifiers. • StanceAdverbs • Epistemicstanceadverbs: varietyofmeanings (probably, typically) • Attitudestanceadverbs: emotionalattitudetoward a proposition. • Style stanceadverbs: mannerofspeaking. • Semanticdomainsofadverbs in conversationandacademic prose • Four commonadverbs in conversationrefer to time andplace: here, there, now, andthen. Theseadverbs are deictics – i.e. theymakereference to the time andplaceofspeaking. Semanticcategoriesofadverbs

9. For gradableadjectives, comparativeandsuperlativeformscanbeexpressedwithinflections (-er, -est) or as a phrase (with more andmost). • Length, spelling, emphasis, andotherfactorscontribute to thechoicebetweeninflectionandphrase. • Comparativeforms are more commonthansuperlative. • The use ofbothcomparativesandsuperlatives is more common in academic prose thanconversation. • Inflectionalcomparison is more commonthanphrasal. • Adjectiveswhich are notstrictlygradable (e.g. unique) are neverthelessmarked for comparativeorsuperlativedegree. • Adverbscanalsohaveeitherinflectionalcomparison (-er, -est) orphrasalcomparison (more, most). • Adjectivesandadverbscantakesixdifferentcomplementstructuresthat show comparison. • 1) poorer (than), 2) as deep (as), 3) socalmly (that), 4) sofar as (to), 5) toonumerous (to), 6) strongenough (to) GRAMMAR BITE D

10. General trends for theformationofcomparativeandsuperlativeadjectives