Adjectives Adverbs Prepositions Huddleston 8 10 Makk Zsfi

Adjectives, Adverbs, Prepositions Huddleston 8 -10 Makk Zsófi 1

Adjectives Two major functions of adjectives: Attributive: Predicative: a HOT day It’s HOT. some NEW DVDs These look NEW. this EXCELLENT play I found it EXCELLENT. LONELY people They seem LONELY. 2

Restricted to some functions: Attributive-only: the MAIN speaker a MERE child the ONLY problem my OWN car Never-attributive: I’m AFRAID. She’s ASLEEP. He looks CONTENT. It’s LIABLE to flood. 3

Gradability and grade The most central adjectives are gradable: - Modification by adverbs of degree: Inflection for comparative and superlative grade: V…RY good …U…TE hot …AT…ER young T…O old I…CR…DI…LY bad ? ? ? Degree modification Inflection for grade ? ? ? 4

Non-gradable adjectives Non-gradable: In two different senses: ALPHABETICAL order the CHIEF difficulty the FEDERAL government her RIGHT eye THIRD place Gradable: You should be more OPEN with us. Non-gradable: The door is OPEN. 5

The Adjective Phrase (structure) Adjective Phrase Head (adjective) + Dependents Complements: good AT CHESS grateful FOR YOUR HELP eager TO HELP Modifiers VERY bad cautious TO EXCESS A BIT old ? MUCH better glad THAT YOU LIKED IT TWO DAYS long unsure WHAT HAD HAPPENED 6

Adjectives and word order Certain adjectives mean completely different things with two different word orders: PROPER 1. Suitable for the purpose or situation ONLY BEFORE NOUN: You have to have the PROPER tools for the job. That’s not the PROPER way to do it! The problem was they didn’t have a PROPER place to rehearse. 2. Understood in its most exact meaning NEVER BEFORE NOUN: Does he live in Swansea PROPER or in the suburbs? 7

Adverbs in relation to adjectives The majority of adverbs are derived from adjectives By adding the suffix – ly: common - ? rare - ? Being replaceble by ones with the –ly suffix: It’s VERY good. It’s E…TRE…ELY good. She …LW…YS wins. She FREQUENTLY wins. It’ll be over S. . . ON. It’ll be over SHORTLY: 8

Major difference between adverbs and adjectives FUNCTION! ( Remember: adjectives can function attributively or predicatively) Adverbs function as Modifier. Verb: She SPOKE clearly. Adjective: It’s a remarkably GOOD play. Adverb: He spoke virtually INAUDIBLY. Determinative: Nearly ALL copies were sold. Prep phrase: She is completely IN CONTROL. Rest of clause: Surprisingly EVERYONE AGREED. 9

The adverb phrase (structure) - Complements: Luckily for me, it rained. We handled it similarly to the others. - Modifiers: She sang very well. It won’t end that soon. We left a bit late. ? ? ? 10

Prepositions Meanings concerned with relations in TIME and SPACE AFTER lunch AT school BEFORE the end IN the garden ON the desk OFF the bridge 11

Function of prepositions Prepositions function as HEAD in preposition phrases. Preposition phrases function as DEPENDENT (Complement or Modifier) to any of the four major parts of speech: Preposition phrase dependent on: Verb: She WENT to London. – They ARE in the garden. ? Noun: He’s a MAN of principle. – It’s on the WAY to Paris. Adjective: She’s INTERESTED in politics. – I’m RESPONSIBLE for them. Adverb: LUCKILY for me, no-one knew. – I saw her LATER in the day. 12

Complements of prepositions Preposition phrase: He emerged [from under the bed]. I’ll stay [until after lunch]. Adjective phrase: That strikes me [as unfair]. I took him [for dead]. Adverb phrase: I didn’t know [until recently]. I can’t stay [for long]. Clause: It depends [on what she says]. I told her [before she left]. 13

Preposition stranding - Characteristic of relatively INFORMAL style - Grammatically CORRECT What are you looking at? It’s something [which I can do without]. This is the book [I was referring to]. He went to the same school as [I went to]. 14

„Pied Piping” • Named after the Pied Piper of Hamelin -More formal register -Most visible in cases of WH-fronting of information questions and relative clauses -A given focused expression takes an entire phrase with it when it’s „moved” She bought the red house. Which house did she buy? She is ten years old. How old is she? John left the scene very slowly. ? Fred spoke with Susan. ? 15

Thank you for your kind attention! Have a nice rest of the Friday evening! (: 16