Grammar: Adjective Elements 1

in-nuce.com kinds of adjectives

Kinds of Adjectives

From A New English Grammar for Schools, by Thomas Harvey:

1. Assumed or affirmed

An adjective is a word or a group of words used to describe or define a noun:

wise men, that book, three steamships, the fourth stanza
Its relation to the noun may be assumed or affirmed:
Assumed wise men
Affirmed — The men are wise.

2. Adjectives of quality


Ripe, sweet, mellow apples
All the italicized words denote some quality of the apple, and we may call them words showing quality or adjectives of quality.

3. Adjectives of number  

Now let us count the apples:
one apple, two apples, three apples, four apples
Let us also number them: 
the first apples, the second apple, the third apple, the fourth apple
Write these numbers: one, two, three, four; first, second, third, fourth.We may call these words number words or adjectives of number.

4.  Demonstrative (pointing-out) adjectives

When I speak of the apple nearest me, I say, this apple,” to demonstrate that it is close to me. When I speak of one farther from me, I say, that apple,” to demonstrate that it is farther away. 
The words this and that do not denote the quality of the apples, but instead point the apples out to demonstrate their position. We may call these pointing-out words or demonstrative adjectives.
All the words we have used are adjectives, because they describe in some manner the noun “apples.” Some of the adjectives denote quality, some denote number, and some merely point the noun out to demonstrate something about its position. Still, all such words are called adjectives.

5. Adjective nouns

Sometimes a noun defines another noun: 
Assumed John’s hat 
AffirmedJohn the mason
Such words are nouns with an adjective use.


AffirmedApples are ripe.
In this sentence the adjective “ripe
is part of the predicate.

Why? Because the predicate of a sentence affirms its subject.
Assumed Ripe apples

All words that modify the meaning of nouns in the manner above are called adjective elements.

Why? Because the adjective “ripe” here is used to modify the meaning of “apples,” as an attribute, not as a predicate affirmation; that is, it is assumed, or taken for granted, that ripe  belongs to “apples.” Adjective elements are never found in the predicate.

Exercise:

  Ripe apples are cheap.

Name each words function in the sentence above. Is the element “ripe” assumed or affirmed? The word “cheap? Explain.

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[Key: noun     copula (being/linking verb)     verb     object     adjective

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