Língua Inglesa

Estrutura
Sintática I

Aula 3

Henrique Romaniello
Passos
Adjectives

2
• An adjective is a word that describes a
noun, giving extra information about it. For
example:

• a sweet taste • a red apple • a technical

problem • an Italian woman

• Most adjectives can be used in two

positions: attributive adjectives occur
before the noun they describe, while
predicative adjectives are used after
certain verbs like be, grow, look, seem:
• Attributive position: a black cat, a gloomy
outlook, a slow jorney, a large suitcase.

• Predicative position: The cat was black./

The future looks gloomy./ The journey
seemed slow./ They were growing tired.
• There are some adjectives that can only be
used in one position or the other. For
example, these two sentences are
grammatically correct: She was alone that
evening. (‘alone’ = predicative)/ It was a
mere scratch. (‘mere’ = attributive). These
sentences, on the other hand, are not
correct: I saw an alone woman (‘alone’
cannot be used in the attributive
position)./The scratch was mere (‘mere’
cannot be used in the predicative position).
• Substantive adjective is an adjective used
alone in the absence of the noun that it
modifies. For example, in the sentence “Out
with the old and poor, in with the young and
rich”, “old”, "rich", “young” and "poor" are
substantive adjectives. Here, they refer to
people rather than things. The reader
determines the correct nouns simply through
context clues and a general understanding
that people rather than objects are usually
considered rich or poor.
• Sometimes an adjective occurs immediately
after a noun, especially in certain
institutionalised expressions: the Governor
General, the Princess Royal, times past .We
refer to these as POSTPOSITIVE adjectives.
Postposition is obligatory when the adjective
modifies a pronoun: something useful,
everyone present, those responsible.
Postpositive adjectives are commonly found
together with superlative, attributive
adjectives: the shortest route possible, the
worst conditions imaginable, the best hotel
available.
• Aplenty and galore (in plentiful supply;
abundant and in great numbers; in
abundance, respectively) and the informal
extraordinaire are examples of adjectives
that are primarily used postpositively in
modern English. Name suffixes, such as
Junior and Senior, also function as
postpositive adjectives modifying proper
names.
• Nominal Adjectives

Certain adjectives are used to denote a class by

describing one of the attributes of the class as
in the old, the sick, the wealthy, the blind, the
innocent.
A major subclass of nominal adjectives refers to
nationalities: the French, the British, the
Japanese. However, not all nationalities have
corresponding nominal adjectives. Many of
them are denoted by plural, proper nouns: the
Germans, the Russians, the Americans, the
Poles.
• Some of them do not denote classes at all:
the opposite the contrary the good.
Comparative and superlative forms can also
be nominal adjectives: the best is yet to
come.
• Sometimes we use a noun to describe another
noun. In that case, the first noun "acts as" an
adjective: History teacher, ticket office, race
horse. The "noun as adjective" always comes first.
If you remember this, it will help you to understand
what is being talked about: a race horse is a horse
that runs in races, a horse race is a race for
horses, a boat race is a race for boats, a love
story is a story about love, a war story is a story
about war, a tennis ball is a ball for playing tennis,
tennis shoes are shoes for playing tennis, a
computer exhibition is an exhibition of computers,
a bicycle shop is a shop that sells bicycles.
• The participial adjectives are a major
subclass of adjectives. They can be
distinguished by their endings, either –er or
–ing. They are called participial adjectives
because they have the same endings as
verb participles.
• Let’s look at some examples of participial
adjectives in sentences. The tempting
cookie platter made my mouth salivate. The
fascinating book was a thrilling read. The
interesting story made a compelling point.
Sally was bored by the conversation. I am
tired today, and my work is really tiring. My
frustrating experience at the restaurant
made me angry. I have been agitated long
enough.
 Bibliography
• FERREIRA, Michely. Língua inglesa - Estrutura Sintática I (material
produzido para Estácio EAD)
• Disponível em <http://estaciodocente.webaula.com.br> Acesso em
29 de julho de 2015.
• FRAZEE, B. and Davis, J.N. Painless police report Writing, 2nd ed.
Pearson, 2004
• Site Grammar.com. Disponível em http://www.grammar.com Acesso
em 03 de julho de 2015.
• HEWINGS, Martin. Advanced grammar in use. 2 ed. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2005.
• MURPHY, Raymond. Grammar in use: intermediate. 3 ed.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
• PROVOST, Gary. 100 ways to improve your writing. Mentor, 1985
• Site disponível em <http://www.perfect-english-
grammar.com/reported-speech.html> Acesso em 27 de julho de
2015
Língua Inglesa
Estrutura
Sintática I

Atividade 3

Henrique Romaniello
Passos
• Read the following passage and find 4 adjectives. Then
decide whether they are attributive or predicative.

The young boy had never seen such a lovely house, with its
colourful quaint windows and picturesque setting, shaded by
ancient oaks and beeches. It was small and crooked, quite
different to the manor-house in the distance with its stately
towers and lofty battlements. To him, however, it looked
comfortable and homely. He stood and stared, silent and
respectful. Immersed in his own magical dream-world, he did
not notice the slight, lone figure appear in the dark porch. As
the old woman hobbled down the gloomy path, he was in a
magical place, lost in dreams of full tables and warm beds. It
was only the cold touch of an ancient hand that brought him
back. And he fled, fearful. Wakened from a happy world to
grim reality, he imagined the feeble owner of that cottage a
cruel witch, yearning for his fresh young bones.
The young boy had never seen such a lovely house, with
its colourful quaint windows and picturesque setting,
shaded by ancient oaks and beeches. It was small and
crooked, quite different to the manor-house in the distance
with its stately towers and lofty battlements. To him,
however, it looked comfortable and homely. He stood and
stared, silent and respectful. Immersed in his own magical
dream-world, he did not notice the slight, lone figure appear
in the dark porch. As the old woman hobbled down the
gloomy path, he was in a magical place, lost in dreams of full
tables and warm beds. It was only the cold touch of an
ancient hand that brought him back. And he fled, fearful.
Wakened from a happy world to grim reality, he imagined the
feeble owner of that cottage a cruel witch, yearning for his
fresh young bones.

All 4 adjectives are attributive.