Cambridge Grammar of English Hardback with cd-rom a comprehensive Guide

Implicit superlatives (filthy, starving)

238f

Often, to express an extreme or maximum degree of a property (e.g. dirty), an

implicit superlative adjective (e.g. filthy) is used instead of a more neutral

adjective. Such adjectives are often used for special effect or exaggeration, or in

intensified responses, and are often premodified by absolutely.

Examples of implicit superlatives

more neutral adjective

implicit superlative

I’m 

very hungry.

I’m 

starving/ravenous.

I’m

very cold.

I’m 

(absolutely) frozen.

His room 

is very small.

His room is 

tiny/minute.

Their house 

is very big.

Their house is 

(absolutely) enormous/huge/vast.

We got 

very wet.

We got 

soaked/drenched.

It was 

very hot in Nevada.

It was 

(absolutely) boiling/scorching in Nevada.

The kitchen was 

very dirty.

The kitchen was 

(absolutely) filthy.

Û

539 Glossary for any unfamiliar terms

Adjectives and adjective phrases | 443

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The use of such implicit superlatives in responses is an important way of showing

agreement in conversations:

A: Oh it’s fantastic.

B: It sounds absolutely amazing.

[tasting food]

A: Is it all right?

B: Lovely.

C: Yes, it’s absolutely delicious.

Fixed modifiers (bone dry, as dry as a bone)

238g

Modifier + adjective collocations (bone dry)

There are a large number of idiomatic expressions for indicating maximum degree

which consist of fixed modifier + adjective collocations. These are very common

in informal spoken language. They include:

Her throat was 

bone dry.

Very soon he was 

fast asleep.

The flat was 

pitch dark, with all the blinds shut, blocking out the street-lights

and the moon.

Comparative expressions (as dry as a bone)

Similarly, there are a number of idiomatic comparative expressions, which

include:

You desperately fight to stay on your feet, but you feel weak and dizzy from

your ordeal, and your legs are 

as heavy as lead.

They were clutching each other in shock, and the woman particularly was

as

white as a sheet. 

In informal spoken language, the first as is often omitted in these constructions:

She went 

white as a sheet when they told her.

as blind as a bat

as deaf as a post

as dry as a bone

as heavy as lead

as white as snow/as

white as a sheet

bone dry

brand new

fast asleep/sound

asleep

pitch black/pitch dark

pure white

rock hard

soaking wet/sopping

wet

stark naked

stone deaf

wide awake

444 | Adjectives and adjective phrases

Cambridge Grammar of English

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THE FUNCTIONS OF ADJECTIVE PHRASES

239

General

239a

Noun modifiers and copular complement

Adjective phrases have two main functions within larger structures: they modify

nouns (attributive function) and they complement copular verbs (predicative

function).

Adjective phrases in the attributive function (bold) modify nouns (in green),

normally as premodifiers:

Only 

rich

people

can afford a flat in 

central

London

.

Enjoy the 

smooth, silky

taste

of 

Creamery

butter

.

An adjective phrase has a predicative function when it occurs in a clause as the

complement (bold) of a copular verb (in green) such as appear, be, become, feel,

get

, look, remain, seem, smell, sound, taste:

They 

were

always 

popular with the rest of the team.

The daily rates for the hotel 

seem

a bit high, don’t they?

That chicken 

tastes

very odd. 

Object complements

Adjective phrases (bold) may also occur as object (in green) complements:

I made 

him

nervous before the interview. I suppose he wanted the job too

much. 

We’ve made 

the room

tidy so they can move in when they like.

Adjectives modifying nouns (attributive function)

239b

An adjective phrase (bold) has an attributive function when it occurs as a modifier

in a noun phrase (in green):

She had 

a 

huge suitcase

.

It really is 

an 

incredibly beautiful place

.

Students 

keen to get the best degree

will pay to go to more expensive colleges.

Position of adjective

Most typically, an attributive adjective phrase occurs as a premodifier in the noun

phrase, coming between any determiners and the head noun:

determiner

adjective phrase

head

And so you’re not sure what |  the | 

really important | things are.

Elsie’s got 

her 

best hat

on.