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

ADJECTIVES

160

Adjectives: forms

160a

Adjectives describe properties, qualities or states attributed to a noun or a

pronoun. 

Adjectives cannot necessarily be identified by their form. However, some

suffixes are associated with adjective formation, and many adjectives can be seen

to be derived from nouns and verbs:

suffix

adjectives related to nouns

suffix

adjectives related to nouns

-al

accidental, professional

-less

hopeless, harmless

-ful

beautiful, useful

-ly

brotherly, friendly

-ic

heroic, optimistic

-ous

virtuous, courteous

-ish

foolish, boyish

-y

sandy, watery

suffix

adjectives related to verbs

suffix

adjectives related to verbs

-able

drinkable, understandable

-ive

attractive, explosive

Adjectives may also be derived from other adjectives, through the use of suffixes

or, more commonly, prefixes:

green

ish

short

ish

impossible

308 | Introduction to word classes and phrase classes

Cambridge Grammar of English

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disrespectful

irresponsible

unfortunate

A group of adjectives with the prefix a- are derived from verbs:

afloat

asleep

awash

ablaze

awake

Adjectives: gradability

160b

Adjectives are either gradable or non-gradable. Gradable adjectives can be seen as

existing along a scale. For example, it is possible to say that something is a bit

dangerous or extremely dangerous. Dangerous is a gradable adjective. Most

adjectives are gradable. Gradable adjectives tend to have an antonym (opposite),

for example, hot–cold, high–low, strong–weak.

Non-gradable adjectives cannot be modified on a scale. A person is either

married

or not, female or not, dead or not, and one cannot be very married or

rather female

. Non-gradable adjectives classify and categorise things.

An inflectional property of gradable adjectives is that they can occur in a

comparative or superlative form. Some common everyday adjectives add -er or 

-est to form the comparative and superlative:

larger, largest

sillier, silliest 

fast, fastest

Other adjectives require more and most (or less and least) to convey the same

gradable contrasts:

the more difficult task, the least difficult task

the most interesting person

the more expensive of the two

A few gradable adjectives change form completely (e.g. good, better, best; 

bad

, worse, worst).