20 Noun Phrases precedes the noun, (2) which adjective has a comparative and superlative form, and (3) which adjective can be used as a predicate adjective. The noun modifi er that fulfi lls these three criteria is the true adjective. some/strong Comparative Superlative some: X somer X somest strong: stronger strongest Order of modifi ers: Some strong coffee keeps me awake at night. X Strong some coffee keeps me awake at night. Predicate adjective: X The coffee is some. The coffee is strong. True adjective: strong 1. true/two Comparative Superlative true: two: Order of modifi ers: stories are in the book. stories are in the book. Predicate adjective: The stories are . The stories are . True adjective: 2. his/sweet Comparative Superlative his: sweet: Order of modifi ers: cupcakes were the hit of the party. cupcakes were the hit of the party. Predicate adjective: The cupcakes were . The cupcakes were . True adjective: . (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 20 3/16/09 12:33:56 PM Adjectives 21 3. fast/all Comparative Superlative fast: all: Order of modifi ers: boats have two engines. boats have two engines. Predicate adjective: The boats were . The boats were . True adjective: . 4. these/hungry Comparative Superlative these: hungry: Order of modifi ers: cats need to be fed. cats need to be fed. Predicate adjective: The cats were . The cats were . True adjective: . 5. bright/a Comparative Superlative bright: a: Order of modifi ers: moon was rising in the eastern sky. moon was rising in the eastern sky. Predicate adjective: The moon was . The moon was . True adjective: . Comparative and superlative forms of adjectives English is unusual in that it has not one but two ways of forming the comparative and superla- tive forms of adjectives. One way, as we have seen, is by adding -er and -est onto the base form of the adjective. The other way does not change the form of the adjective itself (the base form), but (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 21 3/16/09 12:33:56 PM 22 Noun Phrases instead uses more ϩ adjective for the comparative form and most ϩ adjective for the superlative form. For example: Base Comparative Superlative reluctant more reluctant most reluctant foolish more foolish most foolish vicious more vicious most vicious The reason why English has two different sets of comparative and superlative forms is his- torical. Adjectives of native English origin usually form their comparative and superlative forms with -er and -est endings. Adjectives borrowed from French usually form their comparative and superlative forms with more and most. Adjectives of English origin tend to be one and two syl- lable words. Adjectives of French origin tend to be polysyllabic, that is two, three, and even four syllables. Over time, English speakers tended to forget about historical origin and instead associated the -er and -est endings with short adjectives and more and most with long adjectives. As a result, nearly all adjectives of one syllable use -er and -est and adjectives of three or more syllables use more and most. Two-syllable adjectives pose a problem because they can form their comparative and super- lative forms either way. A few adjectives can even use both ways. For example, the two-syllable polite can be used in either pattern: Susan is politer than Alice. Susan is the politest person in her class. Susan is more polite than Alice. Susan is the most polite person I know. Here are two generalizations that can help in deciding which type of comparative and super- lative to use: 1. Two-syllable adjectives that end in an unstressed vowel sound tend to use the -er/-est pat- tern. Two-syllable adjectives ending in -le or -y are especially common. For example: -LE Base Comparative Superlative able abler ablest feeble feebler feeblest gentle gentler gentlest noble nobler noblest simple simpler simplest (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 22 3/16/09 12:33:56 PM Adjectives 23 -Y Base Comparative Superlative tacky tackier tackiest early earlier earliest happy happier happiest noisy noisier noisiest pretty prettier prettiest Notice that when the base form ends in -y, the comparative and superlative forms change the -y to -i. This change is a general spelling rule that we also saw in forming the plural of nouns that end in -y—for example, lady-ladies, history-histories, story-stories. 2. Adjectives that are derived from verbs ending in -ing or -ed form their comparative and superlative with more and most. For example: -ING Base Comparative Superlative amusing more amusing most amusing charming more charming most charming discouraging more discouraging most discouraging tempting more tempting most tempting trusting more trusting most trusting -ED Base Comparative Superlative exploited more exploited most exploited recorded more recorded most recorded respected more respected most respected strained more strained most strained startled more startled most startled A few irregular comparatives and superlatives survive from older forms of English: Adjective Comparative Superlative bad worse worst good better best (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 23 3/16/09 12:33:56 PM 24 Noun Phrases The adjective far is peculiar in that it has two sets of comparative and superlative forms with slightly different meanings: Adjective Comparative Superlative far farther farthest far further furthest We use farther and farthest for distance in space. For example: Please take the farthest seat. We use further and furthest for all other kinds of sequences or progressions. For example: Are there any further questions? Exercise 2.2 Give the comparative and superlative forms of the following adjectives. Base Comparative Superlative worried more worried most worried 1. sad 2. costly 3. sound 4. valuable 5. likely 6. sunny 7. patient 8. improved 9. normal 10. blue 11. bad 12. tiring (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 24 3/16/09 12:33:56 PM Adjectives 25 13. physical 14. strange 15. probable 16. recent 17. available 18. developed 19. shady 20. fulfi lling Sequence of multiple true adjectives We often use two or three true adjectives to modify a single noun. For example, consider the fol- lowing phrase: huge old white house Here the adjectives huge, old, and white all modify the noun house. When multiple true adjectives modify the same noun, there is a fi xed left-to-right order to the adjectives based on their meaning. For example, we cannot change the order of the adjectives in the above example without being ungrammatical: X huge white old house X white huge old house X white old huge house X old huge white house X old white huge house Generalizing these examples to whole categories of adjectives, we can make the following rule about order of true adjectives based on meaning: Size Age Color Noun large old dingy apartment building small new paisley shirt tiny ancient grey car (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 25 3/16/09 12:33:56 PM 26 Noun Phrases Exercise 2.3 Rearrange the adjectives in the following phrases to put them into the correct sequence based on their meaning. shiny brand-new huge refrigerator huge brand-new shiny refrigerator 1. brown capacious worn overcoat 2. antique gold miniature locket 3. overripe yellow great pear 4. early sizeable black and white photographs 5. modern black long desk 6. large grey aged cat 7. young petite green peas 8. bulky pink old sweater 9. off-white new immense mansion 10. white up-to-date slim drapes (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 26 3/16/09 12:33:57 PM . hit of the party. cupcakes were the hit of the party. Predicate adjective: The cupcakes were . The cupcakes were . True adjective: . (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 20 3/16/09 12:33 :56 PM Adjectives. 4. valuable 5. likely 6. sunny 7. patient 8. improved 9. normal 10. blue 11. bad 12. tiring (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 24 3/16/09 12:33 :56 PM Adjectives 25 13. physical. meaning: Size Age Color Noun large old dingy apartment building small new paisley shirt tiny ancient grey car (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 25 3/16/09 12:33 :56 PM 26 Noun Phrases Exercise 2.3 Rearrange