10_Adjective
.docx10. The adjective, degrees of comparison.
The adjective expresses the categorial meaning of property of a substance, e.g.: hard work. Normally, the adjective stands in preposition, occasionally – in postposition. Semantically, adjectives are divided into relative and qualitative.
English scholars (Zandvoort, Close, Leech) don’t discriminate relative and qualitative adjectives, they classify adjectives on the basis of function: when combined with nouns, adjectives perform the function of an attribute, e.g.: a suspicious man; when combined with link verbs they perform the function of a predicative (part of a compound nominal predicate), e.g.: The man was very suspicious of his wife.
Henry Sweet recognises two kinds of adjectives:
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adjectives proper: relative and qualitative (traditional approach)
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free adjectives (traditionally – partially substantivised)
Otto Jespersen’s classification:
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qualitative adjectives - qualifiers (express quality)
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quantitative adjectives – quantifiers (express quantity)
The category of degrees of comparison
Traditionally the category of degrees of comparison of adjectives presents a gradual opposition
(Positive – comparative - superlative).
Means:
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Syntactical (-er, -est)
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Analytical (auxiliaries more/less, the most/the least)
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Suppletive (from different roots)
Problems:
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Ilyish, Smirnitsky: the positive degree of comparison, whether it’s a degree of comparison or just a form.
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Otto Jespersen recognises two forms of comparison: positive and relative degrees.
comparative superlative
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O. Jespersen: the linguistic status of analytical forms of degrees of comparison (more, most = auxiliary) OR they are free word combinations, because they have their own lexical meaning.
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Vorontsova, Blokh (non-traditionally) speak on two sets of degrees of comparison:
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an ascending row (-er, -est)
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a descending row (less, least)
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The ‘elative-most’ construction, whether it’s a superlative degree or it’s an adverb having its own meaning.
Substantivisation of adjectives
Partially substantivised adjectives are not recognised by Smirnitsky: it’s either a free word combination or an adjective used without a noun. (the poor, the blond, opera house, silver watch)
The ‘Stone Wall’ problem (noun + noun, e.g. tennis shoes, the car door, orange juice):
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The linguistic status of the whole unit is a problem. Smirnitsky says they are phrases, compound nouns, though highly unstable.
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The linguistic status of the 1st component. H Sweet – a noun, an adjective. Shubin – a separate part of speech.