1.English adjectives and adverbs.

A general description

1.1 English adjectives-a lexical and morphological class

Adjectives are one of the major parts of speech in English, sincethey represent a vital
aspect of both thewritten and thespoken form of English. It is, therefore, necessary to learn and
use themcorrectly.
The adjective can be defined as a word that modifies, or qualifies, a noun or pronoun, in
one of three forms of comparison degrees: positive (strong, beautiful), comparative (stronger,
more beautiful), or superlative (strongest, most beautiful). It is also described as a word whose
main syntactic role is to modify a noun or pronoun, giving more information about the noun or
pronoun's reference. Collectively, adjectives form one of the traditional English eight parts of
speech, though linguists today distinguish modifying adjectives from words such as determiners
that also used to be considered adjectives, and still are making up the subclass of determinative
adjectives. Consequently, the main role of the adjective is to add some quality to a noun or
pronoun to distinguish it from others.
‘Adjective is a major word class, containing words that describe properties or qualities’
(Dixon 2006: 1). Dixon defines adjectives as” (1) a word class distinct from nouns and verbs
which a. includes some or all of the words denoting Property Concepts (henceforth PCWs) of a
language; and b. can function as either i. an intransitive predicate or complement of a copula,
and/or ii. the modifier of the head of an NP” (Adjective Classes 2006).
The status of the lexical category of the adjective has been very much debated. In
languages like English, their identity is clear enough: adjectives are considered to be a separate
lexical category, just as much as nouns and verbs.
1.1.1. Classification of adjectives in point of their lexical features
The adjective expresses the categorical semantics of theproperty of a substance. It means
that each adjective used in a text presupposes the relation to some noun the property of whose
referent it denotes, such as its material, colour, dimensions, position, state, and other
characteristics both permanent and temporary. As Pisoschi (2012) underlines, ’four criteria can
be taken into account when classifying adjectives: form, meaning, function and position’.
(Pisoschi 2012:94)
 In point of form, two aspects are to be taken into consideration: the structure of the adjective
in the positive degree and its inflection.
According to form, adjectives can be classified in:
 simple adjectives are adjectives, which have neither prefixes nor suffixes. They are
indecomposable: good, simple, nice, modern;
 derivative adjectives are adjectives which have derivative elements, suffixes or prefixes
or both: beautiful, foolish, hopeless, dangerous, unkind, unimportant, immature;
 compound adjectives are adjectives build from two or more stems: dark-green, clear-cut;
 A para-synthetic word, formed both by derivation and compounding: fresh-oiled, good-
looking, high-flying, etc.
Nedelcu (2004:66) points out that compound adjectives can be formed in the following
ways:
1. from adjective + noun. e.g. a cheap-rate phone-call
2. with numbers (plural -s in never used!) denoting:
 -age: a three-year-old building, a four-year-old child
 -volume: a two-litre car
 -length: a twelve-inch ruler
 -price: a fifty-dollar dress, a fifty-euro ticket
 -weight: a five-kilo bag
 -area: a twenty-acre farm
 -duration: a four-hour meeting, a three-hour journey
 -depth: a six-foot hole
 -time/distance: a ten-minute walk, a two-hour meeting
3. with a noun + adjective. e.g. colour-blind, waterproof
4. with a noun / adverb / adjective + participle.
e.g. money-making enterprise; well-behaved children; the newly-built ship. a worried-looking
lawyer; an evil-smelling pond; a slow-moving lorry; a fast-flowing river; a freshly-made
footprint; a life-saving operation; a tree-lined street; a French-speaking area; a self-employed
plumber; a tight-fitting dress; a mass-produced product.
5. with an adjective/adverb + a noun + the suffix –ed.
e.g. blue-eyed, short-lived, long-legged, fair-haired, down-hearted.
Some participle adjectives can be used only in this pattern. For example, we can't say '...a
making enterprise', '...behaved children', or '...a built ship' as the sense is incomplete without the
adverb or noun.
In all the cases theparts of a compound adjective are connected by a hyphen.
In point of inflection, only some determinative adjectives change their form in point of
number: this dog- these dogs; his feelings- their feelings. The category of case is implicitly
marked in the case of possessive adjectives as they are in the Genitive.

1.1.2. Classification of adjectives in point of their morpho-syntactic

features

1.1.2.1. Morphological features

a) Comparison degrees
Pisoschi (2012:106) points out that ”The grammatical categories specific to adjectives in
Romance languages are number, gender and case (borrowed in general from the noun they
determine)”, but the most specific and relevant grammatical category for adjectives and adverbs,
as well, is the comparison degrees.
“Degree is a property of gradable adjectives and adverbs and indicates the amount. It has
three values: -positive –indicates a basic quality;
-comparative –indicates a greater quality;

-superlative –indicates the maximum quality.” (www.englishclub.com)

In English language there are three degrees of comparison:
a) the positive degree which is the basic form of the adjective:
e.g. That book is interesting.
Your sister is beautiful.
She has a nice dress.
The weather is dry.
b) the comparative degree which expresses a comparison between two or more objects; when
we compare things we may find that the quality exists in equal amount in two objects, and
this is the comparative of equality; the form is as + an adjective in the positive degree + as
 e.g. This book is as interesting as the one you bought yesterday.
Her dress is as nice as mine.
The inequality of the quality expressed can be compared from either side: from the lower
end or from the upper end; in the former situation, when the user views the comparison from the
lower end a comparative of inferiority is implied and it can be done in various ways:
- by negating the comparative of equality: not as/so + an adjective in the positive degree +as;
e.g. My book is not as/so interesting as yours.
Your sister is not as/so beautiful as Mary.
This ring is not as big as that one.
-by using less+an adjective in the positive degree+ than;
e.g. My book is less interesting than I thought.
Your sister is less beautiful than Mary.
If the comparison is viewed from the upper end the form is called comparative of
superiority, and this can be done with a suffix or with an adverb+ than:
e.g. Her dress is nicer than Mary’s.
That book is more interesting than I thought.
c) The superlative shows that the quality of an object is in its highest degree. It can be seen as:
-relative- when the object is chosen from a limited number of elements or a restricted area; it is
constructed either with a suffix(an adjective in the positive degree+ -est) or with the adverb
most+ an adjective in the positive degree; in both cases the construction is preceded by definite
article the:
e.g. She is the nicest person in my class.
Mary is the most beautiful girl in our town.
This is the most interesting book on grammar of all the books you lent me.
The only prepositions that can be used with the superlative relative are in (to select from a
limited areaa) and of (to select from a group or a certain number of things);
-absolute- when the quality exists in an object in the highest degree possible; the absolute
superlative is made up of the adverb very+ an adjective in the positive degree:
e.g. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.
This is the most expensive dress you could have bought.
You have a very interesting profession.
 In English, the comparative can be formed either synthetically (prouder) or analytically
(more proud). Quirk et al. (1985) identify ’word length as the major factor in the distribution,
suggesting that the synthetic comparative is formed by monosyllabic adjectives, while trisyllabic
or longer adjectives form the analytic comparative. Disyllabic adjectives are said to exhibit
variation.’(Quirk et al. 1985: 461)
The analytic way is to use more and most (for example difficult - more difficult - most
difficult). The synthetic, or inflectional, way is to add the endings –er and –est (for instance fast -
faster - fastest). During the last twelve centuries the way of forming comparisons in English has
evolved from predominately synthetic to the point where both inflections and analytic forms are
used. Today many adjectives are almost always compared either synthetically or analytically
(e.g. fast and difficult respectively), but sometimes we have two alternatives; for example, we
can choose between more polite and politer.If the two ways are combined (more cheaper), it is
called double comparison and this is considered as nonstandard; so are hybrid forms such as
bestest. A few adjectives have a different stem in the positive (e.g. good, bad) and in the
comparative and the superlative (better, best and worse, worst). Not all adjectives can be
compared; in other words, not all are gradable. A word is either disyllabic or not, so we cannot
say the more disyllabic word or the most disyllabic word.
The structure of the analytical degrees of comparison is meaningfully overt; these forms
are devoid of the feature of "semantic idiomatism" characteristic of some other categorial
analytical forms, such as, for instance, the forms of the verbal perfect. For this reason the
analytical degrees of comparison invite some linguists to call in question their claim to a
categorial status in English grammar. In particular, scholars point out the following two factors
in support of the view that the combinations of more/most with the basic form of the adjective
are not the analytical expressions of the morphological category of comparison, but free syntactic
constructions: first, the more/most-combinations are semantically analogous to combinations of
less/least with the adjective which, in the general opinion, are syntactic combinations of notional
words; second, the most-combination, unlike the synthetic superlative, can take the indefinite
article, expressing not the superlative, but the elative meaning (i.e. a high, not the highest degree
of the respective quality).
The synthetical superlative degree, as it is known, can be used in the relative function as
well, the distinguishing feature of the latter being its exclusion from a comparison.
 Nedelcu (2004) points out that ’the absolute superlative is constructed with the adverb
very+ an adjective in the positive degree, but there is a strong tendency to avoid it and use
instead other forms and devices’ (Nedelcu 2004:79) because the speaker has a large variety of
options to choose from, each form being useful in one context or other:
a) there are a lot of adverbs that are used instead of the adverb verybecause the speaker feels
that the standard form is not strong enough for what he means: extremely, awfully,
surprisingly, terribly, tremendously, mighty:
e.g. My father was extremely tired when he came home.
It is terribly cold in here.
b) rathercan be used instead of very
e.g. She is rather clever.
Her sister is a rather beautiful woman and an excellent actress.
c) quiteis another adverb used instead of very: with a word or phrase which expresses the ides
of completeness and cannot be associated with very- all right, certain, determined, empty,
finished, full, ready or with very strong adjectives/adverbs which cannot be associated with
very- amazing(ly), extraordinary/ extraordinarily, horrible/horribly.
e.g. It was quite extraordinary to hear it from him.
Don’t be impatient, I’m quite ready yet.
d) the genitive of gradation is the synonym for absolute superlative: the book of books, the
beauty of all beauties, the king of kings.
e) the repetition of the same adjectives suggests that the quality exists in the highest degree
being used in poetry as a poetic device: ‘My love’s like a red, red rose.’(Robert Burns).
f) the synonymic substitution can be used for an absolute superlative- the two terms of the
construction are synonyms and their association is meant to enhance the idea that the quality
exists in the highest degree: hard and fast(very rigid), each and every, far and away, lord
and master.
g) hyperbole which is an exaggerated statement made for effect and not intended to be taken
literally: scared to death; waves as high as Everest; full to the brim.
h) the simile is another class of synonyms and a comparison of equality comparing elements
belonging to different spheres of notions and is meant to emphasize a certain characteristic of
 one of the elements: as agile as a monkey; as drunk as a lord; as fat as a pig; as gentle as a
lamb; as slow as a snail; as bitter as gall; as cold as ice; as cool as cucumber.
i) the metaphor, also called as implicit comparison is defined as a series of words meant to
indicate something different from the literal meaning:
e.g. He has the heart of a stone. (= he is not easily moved)
My brother is an oyster (=He is a person who does not talk)
According to Pisoschi (2012:107) there are a number of adjective classes that have no
comparison degrees. The first category of adjectives is represented by the relative ones:
e.g. It’s a brick wall *the brickest wall I’ve ever seen.
Your house is *more wooden than mine.
These sentences could be rephrased:
It’s a wall made of the best brick.
Your house is made of a better wood than mine.
The second category of adjectives which are not compatible with comparison degrees is
that of determinative adjectives:
e.g. * more what book; *the most three cars; *more every student
The category of qualifying adjectives is compatible with degrees of comparison by
definition. There are a series of adjectives which are borrowed from Latin or Greek and are
already comparatives and superlatives in the source language and this is why they cannot be
marked for comparison in the target language even if the speaker is not aware of their meaning:
inferior, superior, senior, junior, major, minor, interior, exterior, anterior, posterior.
e.g.inferior *more inferior
supreme *the most supreme
minor *less minor
As Pisoschi (2012:108) points out, ‘many ungrammatical forms in point of comparison
degrees became accepted for stylistic reasons even if they sound pleonastic’:
e.g. You couldn’t be more right.
It is the most remarkable painting.
She is the most gorgeous/ wonderful woman.
Have you ever seen a more sublime landscape or experience a more sublime
feeling? (Pisoschi 2012:108)
b) Pronominal adjectives
Some pronominal adjectives exhibit the grammatical categories of person, gender,
number and case.
This/these, that/those used as adjectives agree in number with the nouns/noun equivalents they
determine, and are the only adjectives to do so.
e.g. This novel was written two years ago.
Those rubbers are not mine.
As an adjective the same can be used with all kinds of nouns (countable or uncountable,
singular or plural).
e.g.He has remained the same respectful person.
I could admire the same old pictures on the same old walls.
As for possessive adjectives, Nedelcu (2004:101) agrees that “they do not agree in
number, gender or case with the object possessed”.
e.g. This is our life and that is yours.
With possessive adjectives the category of case is implicitly marked, as they are in the genitive.
e.g. my computer (calculatorulmeu)
his bedroom (dormitorullui)
The indefinite adjectival pronouns do not agree in number, gender or case with the
noun/noun equivalent they determine, so they do not change their form.
e.g. Several children showed me the way.
There was little milk left in the fridge.
Both windows were open.
The relative-interrogative adjectives can have the grammatical category of case: Nominative case
and Genitive case.
e.g. I know what present to buy (Nominative)
What present shall I buy? (Nominative)
I know whose present is that. (Genitive)
Whose present is that? (Genitive)
The reciprocal adjectival pronouns can also be used in the genitive case.

e.g. “The boys whispered in each other’s ears” (Nedelcu 2004:112)

 1.1.2.2. Syntactic features

1.1.2.2.1. Syntactic functions

According to Dixon (2006) adjectives ’can function as intransitive predicate; these are called
'verb-like' and as copula complement; these are called 'non-verblike'. (Dixon 2006:33)

In point of function, most adjectives can function both as an attribute or a predicative.

They can have only one or the other of the two syntactic functions. Taking this into
consideration, adjectives can be classified into two categories:
 adjectives which can have both functions - attributive and predicative-are called central
adjectives;
 adjectives which can be either attributive, or predicative are called peripheral adjectives.
(Pisoschi 2012:99apudQuirk)
Nedelcu (2004) points out that ’adjectives fall, mainly, into four different classes; the
delimitation of the four classes is not perfect’:
 adjectives can function as both attributes and predicatives and the meaning remains the
same;
e.g. Tom is a good student/ The teacher is good.
 Adjectives that can function as both attributes and predicatives but whose meaning changes
depending on the position;
e.g. He is a little farmer - *The farmer is little.
 Adjectives that can function as attributes and very rarely as predicatives;
e.g. medical/ instrumental/historical
 Adjectives that can function only as predicatives – all the adverbial adjectives, beginning in
a-: afloat/ adeck / ajar/ alone (Nedelcu 2004:74)
Adjectives are attributive when they premodify the head of a noun phrase.
e.g. The angry man has broken the door.
Rude people always find themselves in trouble.
John likes to listen to sad songs when he is alone.
The beautiful city of Helsinki attracts thousands of visitors every month.
You have a big house.
Rich people can easily afford to buy it.
 We are looking for dedicated workers to fill these vacant positions.
Adjectives are predicative when they function as subject complement or object
complement. Predicative adjectives do not occur immediately after the noun. Instead, they follow
a verb. There is a copular relation between the subject and subject complement.
e.g. The children are happy.
He seems careless.
The boys are happy because John visited them.
I am excited because I am going on holiday tomorrow!
The workers are very loyal.
He has been sad since he broke up with his girlfriend.
John was happy yesterday when his father bought him a new bicycle.
According to Quirk et al (1985) ’attributive adjectives can have a heightening effect on
the noun they modify or a lowering effect’. (Quirk et al 1985:429) There are several subclasses
that can be distinguished:
a) emphasizers which have a general heightening effect, they stress the meaning of the noun
they proceed:
e.g. a true scholar
aclear failure
purefabrication
areal hero
acertain winner
adefinite loss
plain nonsense
thesimple truth
anoutright lie
sheer arrogance
asure sign
b) amplifiersare central adjectives if they are inherent and also denote a high or extreme degree.
e.g. a complete victory ~ The victory was complete.
great destruction ~ The destruction was great.
As Quirk et al (1985) underlines, ‘amplifiers can be only attributive adjectives in the case they
are used as emphasizers and they convey emphasis rather than degree.’ (Quirk et al 1985:429)
We can take, for example, total which in total nonsense can be considered emphasizer, whereas
in total destruction can be considered amplifier and it has a literal application- ‘the destruction of
everything’.
Other examples of amplifiers:
e.g.utter folly
aclose friend
anextreme enemy
agreat supporter
astrong opponent
the absolute limit
acomplete stranger
hisentire salary
aperfect stranger
total irresponsibility
c) restrictive adjectives which can restrict the reference of the noun.
e.g. a certain person
theprincipal objection
thesame student
theonly occasion
aparticular child
hischief excuse
theexact answer
thesole argument
thespecific point
thevery man
d) adverb related adjectives
There are some non-inherent adjectives that are attributive and can be related to
adverbs:
e.g. my former friend [‘formerly my friend’]
 an old friend [‘a friend of old’]
past students [‘students in the past’]
a possible friend [‘possibly a friend’]
the present king [‘the king at present’]
an occasional visitor [‘occasionally a visitor’]
Most predicative adjectives contain the prefix a-that is usually attached to nouns, adjectives
or verbs: aback, abeam, ablaze, aboard, aglow, aloft, aloof, aloud, akin, alike, alive, asleep.
They are neither pure adjectives nor pure adverbs since they partly show the state of an object
and partly its characteristic at a given moment; they are classed as adjectives, however, because
of the following reasons:
 the general meaning of these words falls under the heading of qualitative adjectives;
 they are morphologically non-flexional;
 syntactically they combine with other parts of speech, like any other qualitative adjectives:
- with adverbs- he was painfully alive to the great universal things(Jack London);
- with prepositional combinations- He walked away under a sky of clear steel-blue alive with
star;
- they are usually predicative - They are asleep.

e) adjectives related to nouns

They are also called denominal adjectives. They are derived from nouns with the use of
suffixes. These adjectives are also non-gradable.
e.g. an anatomic scientist [‘a scientist specializing in the theory of atoms’]
acriminal court [‘a court dealing with crime’]
acriminal lawyer [‘a lawyer specializing in cases of crime’]
apolar bear [‘a bear living near the pole’]
amedical school [‘a school for students of medicine’]
musical comedy [‘comedy accompanied by music’]
atidal wave [‘a wave produced by the tide’]
The predicative adjectives tend to refer to a condition rather than to characterize and
perhaps the most common are those referring to the health (or lack of health) of an animate
being.
e.g. He felt ill/well/faint/unwell.
1.1.2.2.2. Complementation
There is a large group of adjectives which can take complementation: able (to+ infinitive/
afraid (that, of, about), answerable (to)/ averse (to, from), conscious (that, of), fond (of), happy
(that, to, with, about), loath (to), subject (to), tantamount (to)etc.
e.g. I’m aware of that.
She was glad that everything was all right.
He is afraid to do it. [‘He fears to do it.’]
They are fond of her. [‘They like her.’]
That is tantamount to an ultimatum. [‘That amounts to an ultimatum.’]
Unlike most adjectives in English, predicative adjectives can only appear in the predicate
of sentences:
e.g. My boss is abreast of the problem. (correct)
I am keeping my boss abreast of the problem. (correct)
*My abreast of the problem boss found a solution. (incorrect)
*My boss abreast of the problem found a solution. (incorrect)
In the first sentence, the adjective abreast (and subsequently the adjective phrase abreast
of the problem) functions as a subject complement, which is a word or phrase that follows a
copular verb and describes the subject, in this case my boss. In the second sentence, the same
adjective functions as an object complement, which is a word or phrase that follows and
describes the direct object, also my boss. In both examples, the adjective appears in the predicate
and therefore functions predicatively.
In the third and fourth sentences, however, the adjective abreast incorrectly appears
attributively and postposed. Unlike prototypical adjectives, predicative-only adjectives like
abreast and the others listed above cannot appear attributively (before a noun) or postpositively
(after a noun). Therefore, the adjective abreast can only describe the noun phrase my boss as a
subject complement or an object complement, never as a noun phrase modifier.
Although predicative adjectives can typically function only as subject complements and
object complements, such adjectives can function as noun phrase modifiers when the adjective is
modified by an adverb or another adjective. For example:
e.g. The half-asleep child started crying.
The wide-awake baby is watching the mobile.
The very ashamed student admitted cheating on the test.
In the first two sentences, the adjectives half and wide modify the adjectives asleep and
awake allowing both predicative adjectives to be used attributively. In the third sentence, the
adverb very modifies the adjective ashamed, also allowing for the attribute use of this predicative
adjective.
1.1.3.Classification of adjectives in point of their semantic features

According to their meaning adjectives can be classified in modifying and determinative.

Modifying adjectives refer to the role of modifier held by adjectives; they can be sub
classified into qualifying/qualitative adjectives and relative adjectives.
Qualitative adjectives
According to Pisoschi (2012) qualitative adjectives can be subdivided ’according to three
criteria:
a) context-dependent features- adjectives can be either static or dynamic;
b) gradability- adjectives can be gradable and non-gradable;
c) inherence- adjectives can be inherent or non-inherent.’ (Pisoschi, 2012: 97)
 ’Adjectives are characteristically stative.’ (Quirk et al 1985:434) However, many
adjectives can be considered dynamic. Stative adjectives denote a state or condition,
which may generally be considered permanent, such as big, red, small. Stative and
dynamic adjectives differ syntactically in a number of ways. Stative adjectives
cannot normally be used in imperative constructions:  
*Be big/red/small  
They cannot normally be used in progressive constructions: 
*He is being big/red/small 
In contrast, dynamic adjectives denote attributes which are, to some extent at least, under
the control of the one who possesses them. For instance, brave denotes an attribute which may
not always be in evidence (unlike red, for example), but which may be called upon as it is
required. For this reason, it is appropriate to use it in an imperative:   
Be brave! 
Dynamic adjectives include:  
 calm   mannerly  
careful   patient  
cruel   rude  
disruptive   shy  
foolish   suspicious  
friendly   tidy  
good   vacuous  
impatient vain 

All dynamic adjectives can be used in imperatives (Be careful! orDon't be cruel!), and
they can also be used predicatively in progressive constructions:   
e.g. Your son is being disruptive in class.  
My parents are being foolish again.   
We're being very patient with you.
b)   Adjectives are ‘describing words’. Most of them have a meaning which can be made
stronger or weaker; they are called gradable adjectives. For example, people can be more or less
interesting or old; jobs can be more or less difficult. Other adjectives have a meaning which is
extreme or absolute and cannot be made stronger or weaker; they are called non-gradable
adjectives– we do not say that things are more or less perfect, impossible or dead.
Here we have some pairs of gradable and non-gradable adjectives:
angry / furious big / enormous
important / essential hot / boiling
cold / freezing tasty / delicious
tired / exhausted happy / delighted
Comparative and superlative forms can be made from all gradable adjectives:
e.g.‘This safari is a lot less expensive than the others.’ says Ryan.
‘Yes. It’s much cheaper. Let’s bay some tickets’, says his wife.
Gradable adjectives can be made stronger with very, but not with the adverb absolutely:
e.g. X That new jacket looks absolutely expensive.
 That new jacket looks very expensive.
 Many other modifiers can be used to strengthen the meaning of gradable adjectives: so,
really, extremely, terribly, most (formal), pretty(informal).
e.g.Last night’s match was terribly exciting.
I felt pretty upset after the accident. (formal)
The chapter on the early sonnets was most instructive. (informal)
Less common adverbs are often used to modify certain gradable adjectives. Although
very is commonly used to strengthen any adjective, the language will sound more fluent and
natural when using combinations of adverbs and adjectives.
e.g.I was bitterly disappointed at my exam results.
My brother is painfully shy.
The students in this school are highly intelligent.
Gradable adjectives can be made weaker by the words fairly, slightly, a (little) bit
(informal), somewhat (formal).
e.g. I’ve been feeling slightly dizzy all morning.
My friend was a bit drunk. (informal)
The police reported that the man was somewhat inebriated. (formal)
Non-gradable adjectives (enormous, vast, priceless, free) have a meaning which
represents the limit of a scale. They are not usually used in comparatives and superlatives. A
common way to intensify the meaning of non-gradable adjectives is with the adverb absolutely.
It is used to add emphasis in spoken and informal English; it is not common in writing.
e.g. I couldn’t swim in the sea: the water was absolutely freezing.
The show was absolutely fabulous.
c) Most qualitative adjectives denote some attribute of the noun which they modify. For
instance, the phrase a red car may be said to denote a car which is red. In fact most adjective-
noun sequences such as this can be loosely reformulated in a similar way:  

an old man ~a man who is old

difficult questions ~questions which are difficult

round glasses ~glasses which are round

  This applies equally to postposed adjectives: 

 e.g. something understood   ~something which is understood   
the people responsible   ~the people who are responsible    
In each case the adjective denotes an attribute or quality of the noun, as the
reformulations show. Adjectives of this type are known as inherent adjectives. The attribute they
denote is, as it were, inherent in the noun which they modify.  
However, not all adjectives are related to the noun in the same way. For example, the
adjective small in a small businessman does not describe an attribute of the businessman. It
cannot be reformulated as a businessman who is small. Instead, it refers to a businessman whose
business is small. We refer to adjectives of this type as non-inherent adjectives. They refer less
directly to an attribute of the noun than inherent adjectives do. Here are some more examples,
showing the contrast between inherent and non-inherent:  

Inherent Non-inherent

distant hills distant relatives

a complete chapter a complete idiot

a heavy burden a heavy smoker

a social survey a social animal

an old man an old friend

  
   Modification of a noun by means of a non-inherent adjective can be seen as an extension
of the basic sense of the noun. Thus a firm friend is ‘a friend whose friendship is firm’ and a
perfect stranger is ‘a stranger who is perfectly strange’. In case the adjective is inherent, a noun
is possible to derive from it:
e.g.her soft touch – the softness of her touch
With a non-inherent adjective no derivation is possible:
e.g.a firm handshake - the firmness of the handshake 
* a firm friend - *the firmness of the friend
a true report – the truth of the report
* a true scholar - *the truth of the scholar
 Gradable adjectivesare either inherent, as in a black coat, or non-inherent, as in a new
friend. Dynamic adjectives are generally inherent; though there are exceptions- wooden in The
actor is being wooden is both dynamic and inherent. In the following table we can find examples
of adjectives that illustrate the various possibilities with respect to the three semantic distinctions
of adjectives. Quirk et al (1985:436) illustrates the three semantic criteria of differentiating
adjectives:
Gradable Inherent Stative Example

+ + + That’s a big coat; She is a brave woman.

(central adjectives)
+ + _ She is being very brave.
(dynamic use of central adjectives)
+ _ + He is a firm friend; He is a wooden actor
(non-inherent adjective)
+ _ _ This actor is being wooden tonight
(dynamic use of stative adjective)
_ _ + She is a medical student
(non-gradable and non-inherent)

Relative adjectivesdenote qualities of a substance through their relation to materials

(silken, woolen, wooden), to place (Italian, Asia), to time (monthly, weekly), to some action
(preparatory, rotatory).
Grammatical characteristics of relative adjectives are:
 they have no degrees of comparison;
 they do not form adverbs with the suffix –ly;
 they have certain typical suffixes such as -en, -an, -ist, -ic, -ical: wooden, Italian, socialist,
synthetic, analytical.
 relative adjectives are chiefly used as attributes: She was a fair example of the Middle
American class.
Many of the relative adjectives end in the suffix –en: a woolen sweater, a brick wall, a
stone castle, a wooden house. L. Budai (1997) mentions the difference between the adjective
obtained by conversion which is inherent and more linked to a noun and the corresponding
adjective formed by derivation with the suffix –en which is usually used figuratively: a gold
watch (made of gold)≠golden hair (shining).(Budai, 1997: 334)
Determinative adjectives
A determinative adjective was formed from a pronoun or a numeral. Nedelcu (2004)
underlines that ’the main difference between an adjective and a pronoun of the same kind lies in
the fact that the adjective goes with the noun/noun equivalent, while the corresponding pronoun
expresses the same thing and also replaces the noun/noun equivalent.’ Nedelcu (2004:89) For
example, a demonstrative adjective is a word that determines a noun/noun equivalent while a
demonstrative pronoun expresses the same meaning as the demonstrative adjective, but unlike
the latter it also replaces the noun/noun equivalent:
e.g.This house is mine. (adjective)
This is mine. (pronoun)
According to the type of the pronoun or numeral they are formed from, the determinative
adjective can be classified in:
 demonstrative adjectives;
 indefinite and negative adjectives
 possessive adjectives;
 interrogative adjectives;
 adverbial adjectives;
 relative adjectives;
a) Demonstrative adjectivesare used to indicate specific items in relation to
ourselves. Here are some examples of demonstrative adjectives: this/these, that/those,
the same, another, the other, other, such.This/these, that/those, used as adjectives,
agree in number with the nouns/noun equivalents they determine and are the only
adjectives to do so.
e.g. This house was empty two days ago.
This novel was written two centuries ago.
These children came yesterday.
That exhibition closed a week ago.
Those pens are yours.
The same can be used with all kinds of nouns, countable or mass, singular or plural.
 e.g. The same person I saw yesterday told me to buy that book.
Nothing has changed, the same old books on the same old shelves.
Another is singular in meaning and takes a singular noun.
e.g. Give me another book, I don’t like this one.
I saw a man shooting, then another and another.
Other can take plural countable nouns.
e.g. She does not know what to say, other things are more important now.
Don’t show yourself, other people may come soon.
The other can take singular or plural countable nouns.
e.g. One man came yesterday, while the other person has just arrived;… because other
women never came.
Such can be a determiner referring back to something that has already mentioned; it can take
a plural noun.
e.g. Such good students are rarely met.
b) Indefinite and negative adjective can be numerical: several, many/more/most/(a)
few, each, every/all, both, either, neither; numerical and quantitative: some, any, no,
lots of, enough; quantitative: (a) little, much/more/most.
e.g.Several persons told me the same thing;
They didn’t buy many books.
They make more mistakes than admitted.
I sawa lot/lots of seabirds.
We don’t have much coffee.
There was little time for consultation.
Few towns have such splendid trees.
He’s living at some place in Africa.
c) Possessive adjectives refer to the possessor and not to the thing possessed,
and they do not agree in number, gender or case with the object possessed.
Possessive adjectives are the words used to express a close relationship with someone or
something. Moreover, just like the article ‘the’ a possessive adjective also implies definiteness.
Some of the most basic possessive adjectives that are commonly used in the English language
are: my, your, our, its, her, his, their, and whose (interrogative).
e.g. Whose bag is this?
In this interrogative sentence, the italicized word ‘whose’ is used to express ownership for the
noun ‘bag.’
e.g. That is his baseball cap.
In the sentence above, the possessive adjective ‘his’ shows who owns the noun ‘baseball cap’ .
e.g. I think Lea will miss her.
Although the possessive adjective ‘her’ is used in the sample sentence above, it does not
necessarily mean that Lea owns the ‘flight’. The phrase ‘her flight’ just refers to the flight that
Lea will take and travel on.
e.g. My mother is here.
Obviously, one cannot own a specific person. So in this example, the possessive adjective ‘my’
indicates a close personal relationship with the noun ‘mother’.
e.g. I really like your jacket.
In the sentence above, the possessive adjective ‘your’ shows who owns the noun ‘jacket’.
e.g. This is our room and that is yours.
This is their car; that is their too.
I’ve got your pen.
d) Interrogative adjectives: what, which, whose.Interrogative adjectives are words
similar to interrogative pronouns, but they can’t stand on their own.  In other words, they
serve to modify another term, specifically a noun.  The words ‘which’, ‘what’ and
‘whose’ are the interrogative adjectives and are used in interrogative sentences to modify
nouns found in the question.
e.g.Which coat is Paul’s? (‘which’ is an interrogative adjective that modifies coat)
What CD is Sarah listening to? (‘what’ is an interrogative adjective that modifies CD)
Interrogative adjectives also modify noun phrases.  For example:
e.g. Which vitamins should be taken every day?
What program are you watching?
In the first example ‘which vitamins’ is the subject of the verb phrase ‘should be taken’.
In the second example ‘what program’ is the direct object of the verb phrase ‘are
watching’.
e.g. Whose book is this?
 What kind of tree is this?
Which hand do you use?
e) Relative adjectives
The relative adjectives are: what, whatever, which, whichever and whose:
e.g. I explained to him what exercise to do.
She didn’t know which book to choose.
The girl whose blouse is white is my sister.