Morphological composition of the adjective
Adjectives are divided into simple, derivative and compound.
1. Simple adjectives are adjectives which have neither prefixes nor suffixes. They are indecomposable: good, bad, sad, big.
2. Derivative adjectives are adjectives which have derivative elements, suffixes or prefixes or both: beautiful, foolish, childlike, dangerous, prewar, incorrect.
3. Compound adjectives are adjectives built from two or more stems. The main types of compound adjectives are as follows: noun-stem + adjective-stem = snow-white; noun-stem + participle-stem = life-giving; adjective-stem + adjective-stem = deaf-mute; adjective-stem + noun-stem +suffix –ed = cold-hearted; noun-stem + noun-stem + suffix –ed = lynx-eyed; numeral-stem + noun-stem + suffix –ed = four-wheeled; adverb-stem + noun-stem + suffix –ed = over-peopled.
Classification of adjectives
According to their meaning and grammatical characteristics adjectives fall under two classes: qualitative adjectives and relative adjectives.
1. Qualitative adjectives denote qualities of a substance directly, not through its relation to another substance, as size, shape, colour, physical and mental qualities, qualities of general estimation: large, high, soft, pink, important. These adjectives may vary in degree, so qualitative adjectives have degrees of comparison. Qualitative adjectives have corresponding adverbs derived by means of the suffix –ly (quick – quickly).
2. Relative adjectives denote qualities of a substance through their relation to materials (silken, woolen, wooden), to place (Italian, French), to time (weekly, monthly), to some action (preparatory).Relative adjectives have no degrees of comparison, they do not form adverbs with the suffix -ly and their number is limited in English.
The Category of Degrees of Comparison
The comparative and superlative degrees are formed in two ways:
| Ways of forming | Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
| By the suffixes –er, -est One syllable and two syllable ending in –y, -er, -ow, -le and with the stress on the last syllable (synthetical way) | Big | bigger | (the) biggest |
| By adding more / the most before the adjectives of two, three or more syllables (analytical way) | famous | more famous | (the) most famous |
Notes:
1. The superlative form is usually preceded by the definite article (the) and often followed by the prepositions in or of: London is one of the most beautiful cities in England.
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2. The superlative form can be used without a noun following it: This house is the most attractive in our street.
3. The indefinite article (A) + the superlative degree of an adjective means “extremely”: This is a most boring novel. = This is an extremely boring novel.
4. Sometimes we use most + adjective to mean “very”: The book you lent me was most interesting. (= very interesting).
5. You can use –er or more with some two-syllable adjectives, especially: quiet, clever, narrow, shallow, simple, common, stupid.
6. We use the Present Perfect after the superlative degree: This is the most reliable car we have ever had.
7. Gradual increase or decrease is expressed by two comparatives joined by and: The weather is getting colder and colder.
8. Less and least are opposites of more and most. We use less and least with both long and short words: A bus is less expensive than a taxi. (= A bus is cheaper than a taxi).
9. When than is followed by he/she/it + verb, we normally keep the verb, but when the second clause consists of than + I/we/you + verb, it is usually possible to omit the verb: You are stronger than he is.
10. Many and few /a few are used before countable nouns: many/few/a few mistakes. Quite + a few – increases the number considerably: I have quite a few books on art. Much/little/a little are used with uncountable nouns: much/little/a little information. Many in affirmative sentences has a restrict use. Many is possible when preceded by a good/a great: I’ve made a good many friends here. When not modified, many, as object or part of the object, is usually replaced by a lot of/lots of (+noun) or by a lot or lots (pronouns): They spent a lot/lots of/a great deal of money on their house. Both much and many are possible when modified by so/as/too, and we use them freely in negative sentences: He gets a lot of letters but I don’t get so many.
11. Comparisons with like and alike: I’m very like my mother. We are very alike. Like + noun: He worked like a slave. (=very hard). As + noun: He worked as a teacher. (= He was a teacher).
12. The + adjective with the plural meaning are used to represent a group of people and nationalities: the old, the sick, the homeless, the rich, the English, the Dutch.
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13. Adjective + one/ones. Most adjectives can be used with the pronouns one/ones, when they represent a previously mentioned noun: I lost my old glasses. These are new ones.
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