The Adjective

Denman & Stilinovic 2009

An adjective (bijvoegelijk naamwoord)describes a person, thing, place, etc.)

In other words: An adjective modifies a noun.

Most adjectives can be used with or without a following noun:

My teacher has a tame crocodile at home.That crocodile seems tame.

Some adjectives can only be used without a following noun:Well (as in healthy), unwell, ill, contentThe a+ words: afraid, alive, alone, asleep, awake, aware

Degrees of comparison:Comparative (vergrotende trap)Superlative (overtreffende trap)

2. more and mostused with many two-syllable adjectives

more nervous – most nervous more grotesque – most grotesque

used with all adjectives of three syllables or moremore elegant – most elegant more irritating – most irritating

1. –er and –estused with one-syllable adjectives

hot – hotter – hottest cheap – cheaper –cheapestused with many two-syllable adjectivesfunny – funnier – funniest healthy – healthier - healthiest

OK, it’s clear for 1 and 3-syllable words.But what about 2 syllables?How do I know whether to use –er/-estor more/most?

This is difficult, but there are a few rules: adjectives ending in y prefer –er/est

happier, happiest easier, easiest

certain adjectives (especially those ending in an unstressed vowel, / l /, or /e(r)/) prefer –er/est

narrower, narrowestsimple, simplestclever, cleverest

Watch out! Some books state that you can always use more/most if you are not sure, but this is INCORRECT. Some adjectives take –er/-est. Learn the “more common” examples!

Comparative/superlative:-er/est or more/most

adjectives ending in a consonant + le, -er, -ow, -y, -some often prefer –er/est, but can take both –er/-est and more/mostLE-ER-OW-Y-SOME nobler, noblest more noble, most noble

handsome, handsomest more handsome, most handsome

adjectives with the stress on the second syllable can take either politer, politest more polite, most polite

the adjectives civil, common, cruel, pleasant, quiet, stupid can take either

stupider, stupidest more stupid, most stupid

Comparative/superlative:Adjectives of 3 or more syllablesalways take more / most!BUT if the adjective is formed from a two-syllable adjective by

adding a prefix (such as in- im- anti- un-), the adjective follows the same rule as for two-syllable adjective!

easy: two-syllable adjective ending in Yuneasy: three-syllable adjective formed with a prefix can take both more/most AND er/est more uneasy / most uneasy uneasier / uneasiest

Spelling changes before –es/est

y becomes i : greedy – greedier - greediest

Think of other examples! final consonant doubled when preceeded by one stressed vowel letter: wet – wetter – wettest

Other examples:

adjectives ending in e: only add r and st: strange – stranger – strangest

Other examples:

Irregular degrees of comparison:What’s the grammatical error here?

Irregular comparative/superlative formsWhich do you know already?

adjective comparative superlative

good

well

bad

ill

little

few

much

many

far

old

late (time)

adjective comparative superlative

good better best

well (also well-known)

better best (= not ill)

bad worse worst

ill worse worst

little (weinig) less the least

few (weinig) fewer the fewest

much more most

many more most

far farther (distance)

further (distance / additional)

farthest (distance)

furthest (distance

old older

elder (before family relations)

oldest

eldest (before family relations)

late (time) later latest (= most recent)

The latter – the formerWhen we talk about the first of two things or people already mentioned, we use the former To refer to the second of two things or people already mentioned, use the latter

Obama and Hillary Clinton would have made anexcellent team: the former has charisma and the latterhas experience.

TASK 1: Comparative adjectivesFirst look at the cartoon and spot the errors!Then make comparative sentences using the words in the cartoon. My hair is ____ than it used to be!

Account for your choices: -er or more? Why?

Adjectives used as nouns: people

denoting a whole class of people: the adjective can stand alone (preceeded by the definite article)

the unemployed the rich the blind

denoting individuals: the adjective must be followed by a noun such as woman, man, people, person

an unemployed persona deaf womana blind man

Do you have to use the noun in these cases in Dutch?

Adjectives used as nouns: things When the adjective is used on its own and refers to a thing, it must be followed by a noun (often the noun thing)

Het beste is om meteen te vluchten.

Het ergste was dat wij geen geld hadden.

Het belangrijkste is zelfvertrouwen.

The best thing is to flee.

The worst thing was that we had no money.

The most important thing is self-confidence.

EXCEPTION: WORST

I think the worst is over.

The worst of it is that shewasn’t even supposed tohave been on that train.

Adjectives denoting nationalities

to denote the whole nation or its representatives as a group:

the British - the French - the Dutch - the Flemish - the Irish

to denote individuals: add ‘man/woman’ or ‘men/women’

The Dutchwomen are the tallest in the world.Most Irishmen we met preferred Gaelic football to rugby.Many Frenchmen did not vote in the last election.Some Britons were injured in the crash.Few Irishwomen supported the abortion clinic.

Swiss and nationality adjectives ending in –ese can be used to denote either the whole nation OR individuals: He married a Swiss. The Swiss are known for their cuckoo clocks. The Chinese often study English in Australia. Two Chinese asked me to take their picture in the Keukenhof.

Adjectives denoting other nationalities

With other nationalities, the plural of the noun denoting the inhabitant is used to denote the whole nation:

country adjective inhabitant the whole nation

Europe European a European the EuropeansMorocco Moroccan a Moroccan the MoroccansSweden Swedish a Swede the Swedes

Scotland Scottish / a Scot the ScotsScots a Scotsman the Scottish

n.b. Scotch is used mainly in Scotch whiskey and Scotch terrier!Place names can be used as adjectives:• a Parisian department store• the Amsterdam canals• the Liverpool sound

one / ones after adjectives In Dutch an adjective can be used without a following noun; in this case English uses one / ones:

Wil je de dure jas kopen of de goedkope?

Ik wil de brave leerlingen belonen en de stoute straffen.

Do you want to buy the expensive jacket or the cheap one?

I want to reward the well-behaved pupils and punish the naughty ones.

one(s) is not used after own (possession)

Je mag mijn nieuwe fiets niet lenen. You may not use my newGebruik toch je eigen! bike. Use your own!

one(s) can be left out after a comparative or superlative:“Which sofa shall we buy? The trendiest or the most comfortable?” “The most comfortable, of course!”

Task 2: Error analysisFind the mistakes and give the rules:

1. Van Kooten en De Bie zijn twee beroemde Nederlandse komieken. De eerste is de lange en de laatste is de korte.Van Kooten and De Bie are two famous Netherlands comedians. The first is the tall and the last is the short.

2. De Ieren die gearresteerd zijn hebben Zwitserse passporten.The Irish who were arrested have Switzerland passports.

3. Zij heeft veel tropische vissen, waaronder een paar zeldzame. She has many tropical fish, including a few rare.

4. Die Parijse meisjes gaan altijd gekleed volgens de laatste Japanse mode.Those Paris girls are always dressed in the last Japans fashion.

Nouns used as adjectives Materials: silk, nylon, gold, silver, copper, cotton, leather exceptions: wooden, woollen, earthen

n.b. some of these can use the –en ending in a figurative sense gold = literally made of gold golden = figurative sense (a golden wedding/opportunity)

Her sari was made of silk. She only trusts her silken hair to Pantene.

The lead pipes were replaced by plastic ones. The sky was leaden; the thunderstorm was approaching.

Dutch hoe...hoe: two comparatives in English hoe langer hoe...

hoe...hoe

des te...

English: two comparative forms linked by ‘and’

English: two comparatives preceded by ‘the’

English: “so much the + comparative”“all the + comparative”

Translate:

Ik zoek een nieuw vriendje...en hoe rijker, hoe beter! I’m looking for a new boyfriend...and the richer, the better!Hoe groter de auto, hoe slechter voor het mileu. The bigger the car, the worse (it is) for the environment.Zijn verkeersovertreding is des te ernstiger omdat het de vierde is. Her traffic violation is (all) the more serious because it’s the fourth one.

The (bitter) End

Denman & Stilinovic 2009