Catholic University of Mozambique

Distance Education Institute

Nouns vs Adjectives

Ana Vilanculo, Code: 708231717

Bachelor's Degree in Biology Teaching

Chair: English

Frequency Year: 1 nd

Turma: C

Maputo, August 2023

Catholic University of Mozambique

Distance Education Institute

Nouns vs Adjectives

Assignment of Evaluative Character of the

English Course will be delivered to the Institute
of Distance Education-Maputo

Tutor: Sabino Manuel

Ana Vilanculo, Code: 708231717

Maputo, August 2023

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ii
Índice
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................1

1.1. Objectives of Work...................................................................................................2

1.1.1. General Objective.................................................................................................2

1.1.2. Specific Objectives...............................................................................................2

1.2. Methodologies..........................................................................................................2

2. Literature Review.........................................................................................................3

2.1. Concepts of Nouns and Their Classifications...........................................................3

2.1.1. Noun - The Improper Derivation...............................................................................5

2.1.2. The Semantic Classification of Nouns......................................................................5

2.1.3. Definitions of Adjectives...........................................................................................7

2.2. Relationships of Adjectives to Other Categories Grammar.....................................8

2.2.1. Adjective/Noun Relations.....................................................................................9

2.2.2. Adjective/Verb Relations......................................................................................9

2.2.3. Adjective/Adverb Relations................................................................................10

3. Traditional Classification of Adjectives.....................................................................10

3.1. Types of Adjectives................................................................................................11

3.1.1. Types of Adjectives: The Description of Cunha and Cintra (2003)...................11

3.1.2. Grammatical Description of the Adjective and the Nomenclatures Used..........12

3.1.3. Noun and Adjective............................................................................................12

4. Final Considerations...................................................................................................14

5. Cited References........................................................................................................15

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1. Introduction

To know a language is to be able to satisfactorily understand what we hear,

read and speak. This understanding will be acquired throughout our life, through our
mental and social development, we need to know the things that surround us: people,
places, etc. Thus, language, according to Basilio (2013, p.7) “is at the same time a
classification system and a communication system”.

For language to have an organization, a fundamental element is the lexicon.

According to the author, “the lexicon is traditionally defined as the set of words of a
language, it is an important component for the linguistic organization from the
semantic and grammatical point of view, and also textual and stylistic”, that is, “a kind
of database of previously classified data, a deposit of designation elements, which
provides basic units for the construction of statements” (Basilio, 2013, p.7).

It is important to point out that the lexicon is made up of forms and meanings
and, in this sense, the morphological structures have a fundamental role for the
expansion of the lexicon, and also for understanding the criteria of word classes.

Therefore, a subject that has been much explored in studies on nouns and
adjectives is the theoretical inconsistency of the conceptualization of word classes.
This subject appears in the works of our greatest scholars, such as Bechara (2001,
p.20) and Perini (1985, p.4) and has been multiplied in academic articles.

iv
1.1. Objectives of Work

The success of any research work depends in part on the clarity in defining the
objectives to be achieved. For the present work, the following objectives are defined:

1.1.1. General Objective

 The general objective of this research work is to know nouns and adjectives.
1.1.2. Specific Objectives

As specific objectives, it is worth highlighting three main ones to be addressed

in this research work:

 Characterize nouns, including concepts and their classification;

 Say about adjectives, taking into account their types according to grammarians;
 Distinguish between nouns and adjectives.
1.2. Methodologies

The methodology applied to this research was bibliographic with a systematic

review approach given the certain criteria that compose it. Thus, systematic research,
“as the name suggests, such reviews are systematic in approach and use explicit and
rigorous methods to identify texts, critically assess and synthesize relevant studies”
(Lopes & Fracolli 2008, p.2).

All research needs adequate procedures for a planned investigation, developed

in accordance with technical standards, regarding the purposes, means and type of
research. In this sense, the method used was bibliographical research, as it is relevant
to this study:

As bibliographical research has been a widely used procedure in works of an

exploratory and descriptive nature, we reaffirm the importance of defining and clearly
exposing the method and methodological procedures (type of research, delimited
universe, data collection instrument) that they will involve its execution, detailing the
sources, in order to present the lenses that guided the entire process of investigation
and analysis of the proposal (Lima & Mioto, 2007, p.3).

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2. Literature Review
2.1. Concepts of Nouns and Their Classifications

According to the Aurélio dictionary, noun is the “word with which a being or
an object, or an action, an event, quality or state is named”. In the Houaiss dictionary,
we also find the following meaning: “adj. that evidences the substance, the essence”.
In fact, the term substantive comes from the Latin substantivus, “substantial”, that is,
the bearer of the substance (from the Latin substantia, formed from sub, “under,
underneath”, and stare, “to be, to stay”), of that which is beneath, which underlies.

That said, it is possible to understand why most grammars define the noun
based on an eminently semantic criterion, considering only its property of naming
beings in general. Let's see the definition below:

There are words that always designate thing, being, and substance. Every word that
contains this idea is called a noun. A noun is therefore, as the name itself indicates,
any word that specifies a substance, that is, a thing that has existence, either animated
(man, dog, orange tree) or inanimate (house, pencil, stone), whether real (sun,
automobile), or imaginary (Jupiter, mermaid), or concrete (house), or abstract (purity)
(Almeida, 1999, p. 80).

The definition of noun presented by Napoleão Mendes de Almeida, in his

Gramática Methodology of the Portuguese Language, is a clear example of
conceptualization based exclusively on semantic criteria. Very similar definitions,
based on semantic criteria, can be found in the Normative Grammar of the Portuguese
Language, by Rocha Lima, in Moderna Gramática Portuguesa, by Evanildo Bechara
and in the Novíssima Gramática da Língua Portuguesa, by Domingos Paschoal
Cegalla.

Let's observe:

Substantive is the word with which we name beings in general, and the qualities,
actions, or states, considered in themselves, independently of the beings with which
they relate (Rocha Lima, 2008, p. 66).

vi
 Substantive is the class of lexeme that is characterized by meaning what we
conventionally call substantive objects, that is, first and second, any other objects
mentally apprehended as substances, whether qualities (goodness, whiteness), states
(health, illness), processes (arrival, delivery, acceptance) (Bechara, 2009, p. 112).

Nouns are words that designate beings (Cegalla, 2000, p. 128).

Incidentally, as suggested by Castilho and Elias (2012) it would be very

interesting, from a didactic point of view, to study nouns based on their “meaning
production” characteristics, since one of the basic properties of nouns is to refer to ,
designate some referent: something or person. In fact, as the authors express, “in our
grammatical and linguistic tradition, the term reference became specialized to indicate
'designation, denomination' of beings and things” (p. 222).

For Macambira (1999) for example, the fact that the noun is the only class of
words that accepts the suffixes inho (a) or zinho (a), in the sense of “small” and-ão or
–zão, in the sense of The sense of “great” is a formal feature that cannot be ignored.
Such a definition can be found in Gramática, by Faraco and Moura:

According to the linguist José Rebouças Macambira, any variable word that admits the
suffixes -inho or -zinho, -ão or -zão, corresponding to small and large, respectively,
belongs to the class of nouns (Faraco and Moura, 1999, p. 208).

Let us now look at the following example:

Peace invaded my heart It suddenly filled me with peace As if the wind of a typhoon
Take my feet off the ground Where I no longer bury myself” (excerpt from A paz,
composition by Gilberto Gil and João Donato).

With this, recognizing the morphological properties at the time of definition

and presentation of the noun can be potentially effective for the student's
understanding. After all, it is with the formal aspect that, first, the reader is faced. It
should be noted here that, as Castilho (2010) explains, “size is not degree”. Degree is
the intensification or attenuation of predicative characteristics; therefore, the gradation
is characteristic of adjectives². Nouns, on the other hand, are referring expressions, not
gradable, and have derivational suffixes that indicate size (p. 512).

vii
 Finally, we present the definition given by Cunha (1975, p. 187) as well as the
examples presented by the author, regarding the noun:

1. Noun is the word with which we designate or name beings in general. They are
therefore nouns: The. The names of people, animals, plants, places and things:
Carlos, cat, palm tree, America, pencil B. The names of actions, states and
qualities, taken as beings: Devotion, civility, youth, joy, height 2. From a
functional point of view, the noun is the word that serves, privately, core subject,
direct object, indirect object and the passive agent. Any word of another class that
performs one of these functions will necessarily be equivalent to a noun (noun
pronoun, numeral or other noun word).
2.1.1. Noun - The Improper Derivation

On improper derivation involving nouns, in Cunha (1975, p. 120) one can read
“words can change of grammatical class without undergoing change in form. Enough,
for example, put the article before any word in the language to let it become a noun”.

Macambira (1978, p. 34) considers, under the syntactic aspect, nouns “any
word that can be preceded by an article or pronoun adjective, especially possessive,
demonstrative or indefinite”.

Based on the criterion presented by Macambira, we cannot only identify the

words that commonly belong to the class of nouns, as well as predicting those that
have passed, by derivation improper, to nouns.

Still, according to Cunha (1975, p. 121) the improper derivation it is not a

morphological process, but a semantic one. According to Macambira (1978, p. 34-35),
noun is, under the semantic aspect, “the word which serves to designate beings”; how
any word can work as a noun, “therefore to be regarded as a being”.

Regarding the class pass grammatical involving noun, here are some types
presented by Cunha (1975, p. 120):

The from proper to common nouns: apricot, narcissus, Quixote. From common nouns
to proper nouns: Castle, Figueira, and Pinto. From adjectives to nouns: circular, blind,
shutter. From verbs to nouns: to do, dinner, and pleasure. It is from (past) participles
to nouns: content.

viii
2.1.2. The Semantic Classification of Nouns

In this topic, we will try to summarize the ideas of some grammarians

regarding the semantic classification of nouns, especially with regard to concrete and
abstract attribution.

When comparing the concepts found in many of the authors of Portuguese

grammars in Portugal and textbooks, we are faced with some fundamental details for
their understanding. José De Nicola and Ulisses Infante make the distinction of
concrete/abstract based on the existence or not of being:

a) Concrete - Designates the beings themselves (people, objects, places), regardless of

their real existence. Therefore, examples of concrete nouns are: fairy, saci, table,
chair, pen, etc.
b) Abstract - Designates actions, qualities or states, taken as beings. Indicates things that
do not exist by themselves, which are the result of an abstraction. It is the case of
happiness, poverty, honor, charity, etc. (José De Nicola and Ulisses Infante, 1993, p.
158).

Roberto Melo Mesquita, in his manual aimed at courses on teaching

Portuguese, Grammar of the Portuguese Language, explains about abstract nouns in
relation to their dependence:

They name states, sensations, qualities and even the action existing in beings, and are
never considered independently of them are those that designate not exactly beings,
but sensations, states, actions or qualities of beings (Roberto Melo Mesquita , 1996, p.
161).

Professor Luft (citing Régis Jolivet: Vocabulaire de la Philosophie, 1946),

expanding the explanation of dependence, makes the distinction based on the essence
of beings:

Abstract nouns are those that designate abstracted qualities or actions of the beings
who possess or perform them; are those that designate an essence or quality separated
from its subject: joy, goodness, whiteness, truth, sadness. Action abstractions:
admiration, consolation, rush, judgment (Luft, op. cit. Régis Jolivet, p.45, 1996).

ix
 The authors use different notions to explain the class of nouns, according to
their line of study. We could cite here many other authors who like those already
mentioned, sometimes give a semantic approach, sometimes morphosyntactic,
sometimes morphosemantic. Depending on the aspect of the analyzed nouns, they use
semantic criteria (own, common, concrete, abstract and collective) or morphological
(simple X compound, primitive X derivative), leaving the syntactic aspect in the
background.

2.1.3. Definitions of Adjectives

For centuries, adjectives did not constitute an autonomous class. For Greek
philosophers, they were linked to verbs, being later associated with nouns. Jerónimo
Soares Barboza, in Grammatical Philosophical (1822) dedicates a lot of attention to
them and, although he considers them “adjective names”, that is, as having “a
nominative part”, he defends that they are distinct from nouns, since the latter propose
the main ideas and adjectives, accessory ideas, are “objects of our discourses to be
combined and compared” (p. 74).

Whenever referring to adjectives, it is a semantic characterization that

proposes: “Every noun that is added to a noun in order to modify it, or determine it, or
explain it, or restrict it, is for me an adjective, whether whether declinable or
indeclinable. This is the idea that carries with it every adjective name, that is, that of
an accessory idea that modifies another.” (p. 76).

The modifier character of the adjective is also taken into account, much later,
in another grammar of Portuguese, that of Cunha & Cintra (1984): “The adjective is
essentially a modifier of the noun”. (p. 247). To this definition, the authors add
functions of adjectives that are markedly semantic: to characterize beings and establish
relationships with the noun. It should be noted that Cunha & Cintra (1984) still use the
designations “substantive name” and “adjective name” to distinguish noun from
adjective in situations such as the following:

(1) An old black woman was selling oranges. (2) An old black woman was selling
oranges Cunha & Cintra (1984, p. 248).

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 In (1), “black” is the core word, so it is a substantive name; in (2), the core
word is “old”, therefore “black” is an adjective noun. We consider, contrary to the
authors that, in this last sense, the interpretation of “black” may be ambiguous.

Currently, the definition that remains is that of name modifier, although

sometimes the notion of modifier is not well explained, as it is sometimes used as a
syntactic or adjunct modifier, sometimes as a semantic modifier. Bosque (2010) for
example, refers to the modifier character of the adjective in the sense that it brings
new information to the noun phrase. But he also mentions that the modifier is not
required by the noun phrase, and can be omitted without this phrase losing its
grammaticality; therefore, it is a syntactic characterization of the modification.

According to McNally (2012, p. 1):

“The term modifier (and modification, the function a modifier carries out) is difficult
to define in intuitive terms. A first informal approximation might be, for example, to
say that a modifier adds additional, non-essential descriptive content to that
contributed by the expression that it combines with; in this respect, a modifier would
contrast with an argument, which would provide descriptive content that is somehow
required by the expression it combines with”.

In the definition of an adjective, Demonte (1999) seeks to conciliate syntax and

semantics. He states that, syntactically, it is a category that, applied to a noun, agrees
with it in gender and number and that can, in a predicative position, exercise the
function of predicative of the subject or of predicative of the direct object and that,
semantically, the adjective does not have the capacity, by itself, to function as a
referential expression, being, therefore, unable to exercise the syntactic functions of
subject and direct object. Although not having this referential potential, the adjective
has a relevant semantic characteristic: it attributes to the nouns that it modifies a
property or a set of properties, depending on the subclass to which it belongs.

Finally, according to Macambira (1978, p. 36-37) considering the criterion

morphologically, the adjective can be conceptualized in three ways:

“Belongs to the class of adjective every word that produces formal oppositions,
corresponding to the positive degree and the superlative degree, suffixed by issimo
errimo, -lime: in other words, every word that admits the aforementioned terms”. “A
xi
 word that admits the adverbial suffix belongs to the adjective classmate, who results in
formal oppositions between adjectives and adverbs”. “This method can be extended to
much other opposition, for example, adjectives ending in -ent and -vel, corresponding
to words ending in a single vowel and ability, respectively”.

2.2. Relationships of Adjectives to Other Categories Grammar

If, for so long, adjectives were not a grammatical category independent of the
others, several reasons contributed to this. In fact, morphological, phonological,
syntactic and semantic affinities that they have in common with other classes of words
contributed to their being integrated into them. Below, some of these affinities and
also some characteristics that distinguish them will be presented.

2.2.1. Adjective/Noun Relations

As nouns and adjectives have some morphological similarities, namely the

gender and number contrast and derivation affixes, it sometimes appears that, with
regard to the adjective/noun distinction, these two grammatical classes are confused,
as we could already see in examples (1) and (2) by Cunha & Cintra (1984) presented
above. Demonte (1999) exposes two peculiarities of adjectives that differentiate them
from nouns, which are evident in the following examples from Portuguese:

(2) Your coat is the same color/wool as mine. (4) * Your coat is just as beautiful as
mine. (5) João has a very nice girlfriend. (6) * João has a great girlfriend.

These examples show that Demonte's proposal (1999) aims to explain that
nouns have a set of conditions that enable them to identify an individual or a class of
individuals, conditions that adjectives do not have access to.

2.2.2. Adjective/Verb Relations

We mentioned earlier that from the perspective of traditional Greek

philosophy, the verb was linked to the noun. Aristotle conceived the logical-semantic
structure of propositions in terms of ten categories and, according to his point of view,
the category “substance” was primordial, the others being considered accessory. Thus,
in a proposition, the subject was always a noun and the remaining elements of the
predication, which constituted the rhēma, were the verb, the adjective or another noun.
In this rhematic function, no distinction was made between verbs and adjectives.
xii
 Today, adjectives and verbs are considered to belong to different grammatical
categories; however, doubts sometimes arise as to their distinction due to affinities of
a morphological nature between participles and adjectives, such as the form itself,
gender and number contrasts, and variation in degree.

From a semantic point of view, adjective and participle provide different

aspectual information. In Bosque (1999) it is read that “adjectives denote individual
properties (such as high) or episodic (such as dry) of the object while the participle
denotes the stage of the object that manifests the result of a certain action that has been
exercised on it or of some process that has been experienced” (p. 277).

2.2.3. Adjective/Adverb Relations

As we will see later, Demonte (1999) introduces a new class of adjectives

called adverbial adjectives and the justification advanced by the author for choosing
this designation is related to the possibility of certain adjectives that, not attributing
properties to nouns, have an adverbial interpretation and therefore, if, after
transforming the phrase in which they occur in a sentence, they can be replaced by
adverbs.

3. Traditional Classification of Adjectives

Traditionally, adjectives are divided into two large classes: qualifiers, which
denote qualities or properties, and relational ones, which, due to the fact that they are
denominal, do not denote qualities or properties, but rather express relations8: “of
time, of space, of matter, purpose, property, origin, etc.” (Cunha & Cintra, 1984, p.
247). In an Observation, these authors clarify that “relation adjectives, derived from
nouns, are of a classificatory nature, that is, they specify the concept expressed by the
noun, thus restricting the extension of its meaning.

They do not admit degrees of intensity and are usually postponed to the noun.
Its preposition, in this case, provokes a very sensitive valuation of meaning.” (pp. 247-
248). As can be seen, in this note, the authors use semantic criteria to show the
differences between qualifiers and relational. The two characteristics cited by Cunha
& Cintra (1984) that distinguish relational from qualifiers are evident in the sentences
below:

xiii
 (13) a. Maria wore a wonderful dress to the party. B. Maria wore a wonderful dress at
the party. (14) Maria is a very elegant woman. (15) a. The children's party took place
in the municipal park. B. *The children's party was held at the municipal park. (16) a.
João is against nuclear energy. B. * João is against very nuclear energy.

The examples show that, in Portuguese, qualifying adjectives can precede or

postpone the noun they modify and that they can be modified by an adverb of
intensity, while relational adjectives do not allow such occurrences. Also from a
strictly semantic point of view, it can be noted that qualifiers attribute only one
property to the name to which they are applied and relational ones attribute more than
one property, insofar as one must take into account not only the name itself. Adjective,
but still the name from which it comes (Demonte, 1999).

3.1. Types of Adjectives

According to André (1997) characterizes the adjective in these terms:

“Adjective is a word that expresses quality, property or state of being” (p. 134). The
difference between explanatory and restrictive adjectives, discussed by this author,
appears as a rescue of the distinction made by medieval grammarians. The adjective,
in the medieval description (Borba, 1991; Bechara, 2001), was subdivided into:
qualifiers (restrictive and explanatory) and determinatives.

When the quality expressed by the adjective was accidental, the adjective was
said to be a restrictive qualifier; when the quality was inherent in the noun, the
adjective was said to be explanatory.

3.1.1. Types of Adjectives: The Description of Cunha and Cintra (2003)

The description by Cunha and Cintra (2003) innovates by deepening and better
explaining notions that are treated very superficially by André (1997). For the authors,
the adjective is an essential modifier of the noun, serving to:

To characterize the beings, objects, or notions named by the noun, indicating: a) a

quality (or defect): lucid intelligence wicked man b) the way of being: simple person
delicate boy c) the appearance or appearance: blue sky frosted glass of State: ruined
orange blossom house 2) establish with the noun a relationship of time, space, matter,
purpose, property, origin, etc. (Relation Adjective): monthly note (= month note)

xiv
 student movement (= movement made by students) paternal house (= house where the
parents live) Portuguese wine (= wine from Portugal) (Cunha and Cintra, 2003, p.
245).

Through such examples, they point out two functions to be exercised by

adjectives in relation to the noun, namely: 1st) to characterize; 2nd) relate. For the first
function, do not use any nomenclature; for the second, they call Relation Adjectives.

The most incredible thing about all this is realizing that, implicitly, Cunha and
Cintra function of characterizing can also encompass the notions, brought by André
(1997) of essential and accidental traits of beings. What we want to say is that the
classes of adjectives (explanatory and restrictive) are contained in the idea of
characterizing by Cunha and Cintra, that is, it is possible to move from two classes
(Explanatory and Restrictive) to a single notion, namely: characteristic and,
consequently, to a single class of adjectives.

3.1.2. Grammatical Description of the Adjective and the Nomenclatures Used

It is very curious to note how the notions, to characterize the subclasses of

adjectives, are very similar among the authors. Even more curious is to see how they
appropriated a different nomenclature to deal with the same properties, the same type
of adjective.

We have seen that André (1997) transits the borders of the notions of inherent
and accidental quality; Cunha and Cintra (2003) Azeredo (2008) and Bechara (2009),
in addition to transiting through the same notions treated by André, surround the
notions of extensionality and intensionality.

It is possible to reach the conclusion that there are three types of properties that
adjectives can present, according to the studied authors, they are: inherent quality,
accidental quality, and extension/intension. Cunha and Cintra (2003) and Azeredo
(2008) however, do not separate inherent and accidental characteristics, rather,
however, they conceive them contained in the functions of “characterizing” and
“qualifying”. André (1997) and Bechara (2009), on the other hand, separate inherent
and accidental characteristics into two subclasses. In view of this, one can note the
varied nomenclature that emerges from these discussions.

xv
 To name the adjective that has the property of attributing an inherent or
accidental characteristic (or quality) of beings, for example, there are several
competing nomenclatures: explanatory and restrictive (André, 1997); characterize
(Cunha and Cintra, 2003); qualifying (Azeredo, 2008); explainers and specifiers
(Bechara, 2009).

3.1.3. Noun and Adjective

At first, Latin grammarians did not even differentiate between adjectives and
nouns. In Latin Grammar, both were considered “names” (Castilho, 2010, p. 511).
From the 18th century onwards, the two categories began to be treated separately due
to morphological and syntactic issues.

Syntactically, adjectives are “the expressions that occur in the attributive

function, as constituents of a noun phrase” or “in the predicative function, as
constituents of a verbal phrase” (Quirk et.al., apud Castilho, 2010, p. 512). They are,
therefore, the grammatical class responsible for assigning characteristics, delimiting
and determining nouns.

Morphologically, nouns and adjectives have the same characteristics regarding

gender and number inflections. In addition, the adjective is also liable to receive
characteristics of degree, either through intensifiers, such as 'very', 'less', 'more', or
through the addition of the superlative suffix -íssimo.

In our corpus, some examples were found that were difficult to classify. This is
the case of words classified as nouns in Mettmann's glossary (1972) but which play
the role of adjectives in a given song (such as 'santo' in the section “O sant' abade”,
from song 16); and words considered participle In our corpus, some examples were
found that were difficult to classify. This is the case of words classified as nouns in
Mettmann's glossary (1972) but which play the role of adjectives in a given song (such
as 'santo' in the section “O sant' abade”, from song 16); and words considered past
participle of verbs (from now on PP), but which also fulfill the function of adjectives,
predicating or being directly linked to the core of the noun phrase. Let's see an
example below (Mettmann, 1959):

xvi
 (3) “Omility with poverty wants the Virgin crowned, more d'orgullo with weakness
she is very lazy” (Mettmann, 1959, pg. 218 – CSM 75) (4) “And, to God, it is not
to be silent How was crowned, When your Fillo takes you I wanted, since it was
passed” (Mettmann, 1959, page 6 – CSM 1).

Therefore, deciphering the example above, it states that the word 'corõada' is,
in principle, the past participle of the verb 'corõar' (in archaic Portuguese), which
would make it a verbal form, therefore not part of the selected corpus.

It has, therefore, syntactic and morphological characteristics typical of the

category of adjectives, located in the continuum between verbs and adjectives. In (2),
it is a little more difficult to characterize the word as an adjective, because, even
though it is part of a predicate before a linking verb (foy) and is subject to inflection,
we have a case of passive voice and a typical construction of use of the past participle:
“Como foy corõada” (auxiliary verb + PP). With this the distinction between the noun
and the adjective is in the functional relation, that is, “studious” characterizes the noun
“girl”, so it exercises adjective function. For another side, “girl” is characterized by
“scholarly”, that is why she exercises the noun function.

4. Final Considerations

At the end of this scientific work, I propose to write some considerations that
are important for a better definition of the terms and topics covered during this English
itinerary.

Therefore, from the analyzes carried out in various literatures that address the
subject related to noun and adjective, it is concluded that for the student to reach a
minimum understanding of the linguistic phenomenon that explains what a noun, an
adjective and an abstract noun are and their properties, he will have to go a long way,
doing various mental exercises. As the name implies, abstracts are the result of
abstractions belonging to human intelligence.

The words of Mattoso Câmara Jr. (cited by Luft, 1996, p.46) are very accurate
when he tells us that “the distinction between concrete and abstract is more
philosophical than linguistic and within philosophy it is very elusive”. Grammar
comes to lay the foundations for this study, so that the student, from his own
reflections, comes to make his own connections.
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 With regard to adjectives, at first, syntactic-semantic conceptions of adjectives
from antiquity to the present day and their progressive autonomy in relation to the
class of verbs and nouns achieved over time were presented. From these links to verbs
and nouns, there are still some similarities, which were exposed, and some
particularities that distinguish them were also presented. As this work addresses
adverbial adjectives, we show the contexts in which adverbs approach and also move
away from adjectives.

From what I could find out, I concluded that there is a great divergence
between the various classifications of adjectives, as these are based on different levels
of analysis: either syntactic or semantic or lexical-syntactic. For this reason, we have
presented several classifications, taking into account these levels, giving priority,
however, given the nature of this work, to semantic approaches, which focus primarily
on the phenomenon of intersectivity.

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