The adjective position and formation

An adjective is a word that modifies a noun, pronoun or noun phrase.

Position:
Most adjectives, a big part of them, can occur both before and after a noun,
attributive, predicative: the blue sea, the sea is blue. But some change
their meaning as they change position: the responsible persontrustworthy, the person who is responsible- to blame.
Fantastic movie, fantastical movie.
Two positions:
a) Attribute position- the most characteristic one.
D A N- DET ADJ NOUN- noun phrase: e.g. The sole survivor
It is preferred in academic writing as in: basic causes, appropriate
conditions.
The attributive adjectives tend to be intensifiers or restrictive: sheer
nonsense, pure ignorance. These adjectives are attributive only, cannot
work in predicative position.
b) Predicate position- independent pronoun
S L V A- subject, linking verb, adjective. Linking verb- be copula and other
copular verbs as: appear, seem, look, feel. Or with causative verbs as:
make, turn, get, keep.
The book seems idle to him.
He made our lives impossible. Causative verbs- you can introduce the verb
cause in the sentence.
Notice that they not usually occur immediately after the noun, they follow a
verb. Sometimes, they are placed immediately after a noun, especially in
certain institutionalised expression: president elect, court martial; or
idiomatic ones or when the copular verb has been deleted: Jim considers
him odd.
Adjective order:
OPIN
ION
pour
ugly

OPINI
ON
hideou

SI
Z
E
lit
tl
e

A
G
E

SH
AP
E

ol
d

CONDITI
ON
worn

COL
OUR

ORI
GIN

pink
bro
wn

SIZE
large

MATE
RIAL

PUR
POSE

plasti
c
wood
en
AGE

COLOU
R
black

NO
UN
dol
l
sta
tue

MATERI
AL
wool

NOUN
trouse

out

rs

Characteristic, temperature, form, and shape, age, colour, origin,

attributive noun, noun
Formation:
Conversion, functional shift: a flea-bitten dog (noun + past participle),
also compounding here.
Compounding: last-minute ticket, over-sensitive woman.
Derivation: By adding: prefixes- apolitical man, suffixes-silken dress.
Other suffixes too.
Questions:
1. Can the adjective provided be used in attributive position?
2. Choose the correct option:
a) Attributive: The affected passengers are less likely to complain about
the companys services.
b) Predicate: The passengers affected are less likely to complain about
the companys services.
3.
Choose the correct option: The enormous growth in
passenger numbers in recent years is the underlying problem/the
problem which is underlying.
4. Which is the correct order?
a) an old wooden square table
b) an old square wooden table
c) a square wooden old table
d) a wooden old square table
5. Put the adjectives in the right order: green-eyed, gorgeous,
red-haired, little, girl.

Sources:
Grammar in Gobbets (Campos, Lilo y Pina)
Morfosintaxis para hispano parlantes (Alcaraz y Moody)
The Grammar Book An ESLEFL Teachers Course (Celce Murcia y
Larsen Freeman)

Answers:
1. Can the adjective provided be used in attributive position?
Answer: yes. In both positions.
2. Is the adjective affected working as attributive, predicative or
as both?
a) Attributive: The affected passengers are less likely to
complain about the companys services.
b) Predicative: The passengers affected are less likely to
complain about the companys services.
Answer: both.
3. Choose the correct option: The enormous growth in passenger
numbers in recent years is the underlying problem/the problem
that is underlying.
Answer: underlying problem.
4. Which is the correct order?
a) an old wooden square table
b) an old square wooden table
c) a square wooden old table
d) a wooden old square table
5. Put the adjectives in the right order: green-eyed, gorgeous, redhaired, little, girl.
A gorgeous-little-green-eyed-red haired girl