ADJECTIVE PATTERNS Adjectives are words which give extra information about nouns. They do not change their form to show number or gender: The hero was played by a young boy. Several young girls took the secondary rotes Many adjectives are formed from other words; notice the spelling changes: + ic history -► historic + ous danger -> dangerous + 0)al politics ~» political + less hope-* hopeless + able fashion -» fashionable + ful beauty -* beautiful + ent depend dependent effect -+ effective participles 21.2A) interesting interested compounds (*► 21.2QJ home-made red-hot Adjectives can sometimes act as nouns when they describe a particular group or characteristic (&► 28.1 B). We usually use the definite article and a plurai verb: Old people are becoming more numerous. = The old are becoming more numerous O We cannot use the possessive's with adjectives used as nouns or make them pluj X The-g&vernment is looking at the disablod'sproblems. ✓ The government is looking at the problems of the disabled. X The Japanescs enjoy a high-standard of living. ✓ The Japanese {or Japanese people) enjoy a high standard of living. 0 When we make a brief comment in conversation we often use what + adjective +. noun or how + adjective: What an amazing story\ X What-amazing! ✓ How amazing! Most adjectives can be used in front of a noun (attributive position), or after a linki verb, e.g. be (predicative position): * Attributive: We've just seen an exciting film. ' Predicative: That film was exciting. © But there are some adjectives which we usually only use in one position. Some § classifying adjectives (which describe what type of thing something is) and emphasl adjectives are mainly used before a noun (see the table below): X The plant-they are building outside the town is chemical ? ✓ They're building a chemical plant outside the town. :■% Adjectives usually used in attributive position: classifying chemical, chief, criminalelder, entire, eventual, former, industrial, loc adjectives emphasising adjectives lone, main, maximum, medical, national, nuclear, only, outdoorlmdoot^ principal, social, sole, underlying, whole mere, sheer, utter 1 Use the word in the box to form an adjective that fits in the numbered space in the sentence. The exercise begins with an example (0). 0 I have absolutely no interest in .....jMUfcic<............debates. 0 politics '\ 1 Entry to the single currency zone is..........on meeting several financial criteria. 1 depend | 2 Most public car parks now have special parking bays for the........... 2 able % 3 John F Kennedy enjoyed a..........rise to fame in the 1960s. 3 meteor 4 4 Our lives are ruled by..........bureaucrats who seem to be answerable to no one. 4 face i 5 It was more than funny, it was absolutely..........! 5 hysteria 6 People claim the rise of popular culture has had a..........effect on national 6 destroy " identity. 7 There are few things more..........than people who shout at waiters. 8 They say the..........love their pets more than their children. 9 I've made my mind up and any attempt to change it is........... 10 The soil in this valley is particularly........... 11 As a teenager I went through a very..........phase. 12 Unfortunately, a sense of mora! duty seems to be becoming increasingly.......... these days. 13 Orange and lemon trees are..........in this part of Spain. 14 Two weeks in the Bahamas for less than a hundred dollars? That's..........! 15 There's no point carrying on, the situation is........... 16 The compass will only work when laid on a..........surface. 17 That documentary on drug smuggling was a fine example of..........journalism. 18 Dry cleaning is often the only..........way to deal with stubborn stains. 19 Some of his pathetic excuses were downright........... 20 According to recent statistics the..........have Europe's highest per capita income 7 disagreed 8 Britain 9 point 10 fertility 11 argue 12 fashion 13 pfenty 14 believe 15 hope 16 horizon 17 investig; 18 effect 19 laugh 20 Holland 1 A Cost is the chief factor. □ B 2 A This is the principal argument. □ B 3 A He had an ashamed feeling. □ B 4 A That's a ridiculous idea. □ B 5 A The village has a local post office. □ B 6 A It was sheer madness. □ B 7 A You have a ready dinner. □ B 8 A He had an alone sensation. □ B 9 A We're building an indoor pool. □ B 10 A You have very alike children. □ B 11 A That was a silly comment. □ B 12 A She's a mere beginner. □ B 13 A They are afraid people. □ B 14 A We have maximum security here. □ B 15 A He's my ill brother. □ B I Look at these pairs of sentences. Tick (✓) those which are grammatically correct and cross (X) those which are incorrect. In some cases both sentences are correct. The cost factor is chief. □ This argument is principal. □ He felt ashamed. That idea is ridiculous. □ The village post office is local. □ The madness was sheer. d Your dinner is ready. □ He sensed he was alone. The pool we are building is indoor.. □ Your children are very alike. That comment was silly. d That beginner is mere. □ Those people are afraid. d Here the security is maximum. My brother is ill. □ Rewrite the jumbled phrases to make sentences with the correct word order. 1 named/Samantha/their first daughter/the couple 2 to stand/when he arrives/visitors/expects/His Excellency 3 to stay/a legal assistant/I wouldn't like/for long 4 brought/to the team/Amanda/all her expertise 5 brought/the team/Amanda/all her expertise 6 has become/a very inexperienced salesman/the Sales Manager 7 into the box/sparkling, diamond encrusted/he placed/ 18-carat gold ring/carefully wrapped/the 8 provided/all rubbish/please/in the bins/put 9 let/to/your parents/all-night parties/do/go/you/? 10 the grenade/removed/the paratrooper/the pin/from/carefully k"| Match the clauses in A and B to make sentences, using a linking word from the box to join them. \ Decide if each sentence contains co-ordinated clauses or a subordinate clause, and write C or S. A B 0 Did the doctor say exactly —^ a the pilot diverted the plane to the 1 It was the finest portrait >v nearest airport. ...................... 2 Some of the passengers were \ b stay in a cheap hotel. ...................... causing trouble \ c we only bought it two months ago....................... 3 The holiday will be \ d he smashed the World and Olympic automatically cancelled i Records. ...................... 4 The policeman was rushed to hospital / e he had been stabbed in the park. ...................... 5 We can either go camping / f the artist had ever painted. ...................... 6 Maurice Greene won the gold v g see a play at the theatre. ...................... medal ^ h you'll be able to go back to work? ..*.wkm,(S.).. 7 Our car broke down last week i we don't receive the balance on the 8 The whole class would rather go due date. ...................... to the cinema Njj»»of these sentences contain mistakes. Tick (✓} the correct sentences and correct the mistakes. 1 The wind knocked the vase off the table and it broke thousands of pieces. □ 2 The attitude of some shopkeepers today makes me absolutely furious! q 3 The children seemed content to remain to be tenants in their parents' house. □ 4 I can't understand what's happened. There appears some mistake. q 5 The whole teaching staff found the new head teacher very inefficient and positively offensive. q 6 No wonder you can't get a table for tonight - we recommended book the restaurant at □ least a week in advance. 7 The winning team proudly showed to their gathered fans their trophy. □ 8 The voice over the loudspeaker explained us the problem. q 9 I don't know the way to the library. Can you tell me to go? □ 10 The young boy looked around and gingerly placed back in its correct position the gold □ watch. He wouldn't steal it after all. 21.1C Predicative position 21.ID Adjectives after nouns, pronouns, etc. Adjectives in predicative position are usually the complement of a linking verb (e.g. be, become, feel, seem jb> 30.2B): When she heard the noise Mary became very uneasy. However, after certain verbs of thinking and feeling (i.e. consider, find, think) we can omit the linking verb: / consider/find him (to be) very reliable. Many adjectives beginning with the letter a and adjectives describing health and feelings are not usually used before nouns; we use them in predicative position: X Try-not to disturb the asleep children. ✓ Try not to disturb the children; they are asleep. Adjectives usually used in predicative position: beginning with a ablaze, afloat, afraid, alight, alike, alive, alone, aloof, ashamed, askew, asleep, awake, aware health and feelings content, fine, glad, ill, pleased, poorly, ready, sorry, sure, upset, (un)well Q There are some fixed phrases/idioms in which we use normally predicative adjectives before a noun with a special meaning, e.g. glad tidings, an ill wind, a ready wit, a sorry state, an upset stomach. Some predicative adjectives have equivalent words which can be used before a noun: They are doing experiments on live animals/animals which are alive. predicative attributive alive live/living afraid frightened alike similar asleep sleeping ill sick We use adjectives after indefinite words like something, anyone, no one, nothing, somewhere, etc.: X I'm looking for cheap something. ✓ I'm looking for something cheap. Some adjectives, including some ending in -able and -ibie, can follow a noun if the noun follows a superlative adjective or the firstllastlnextlonly. They say she's the oldest woman alive. I'm afraid that's the last ticket available. Adjectives that are followed by a prepositional phrase, e.g. interested in something, suitable for somebody 15.5D), go after, not before, a noun: X The project will appeal to interested in-eeology students. ✓ The project will appeal to students interested in ecology. This is similar to a reduced relative clause {p>- 31.1G). We can also use a full relative clause with the adjective in predicative position [»- 21.1 C): The project will appeal to students who are interested in ecology. O Some adjectives have a different meaning when used before or after a noun: The meeting was full of concerned residents. {= worried) The students concerned were a small minority. (= who took part/were involved) I'm afraid we have opposite points of view. (= contrasting) We used to live in the house opposite. [= physically facing/across from us) The present chairman is getting on a bit (= current/existing now) We took a vote of all members present. (= physically there) Responsible parents have been outraged by this show. (= caring/conscientious) The person responsible will be caught and punished. [= who did the action) He gave us a ridiculously involved excuse. {= complicated) The president gave medals to all those involved. (= who took part) 1 1 ■: dependent 2 disabled 3 meteoric 4 faceless 5 hysterical 6 destructive 7 disagreeable 8 British 9 pointless 10 fertile 11 argumentative 12 unfashionable 13 plentiful 14 unbelievable 15 hopeless 16 horizontal 17 investigative 18 effective 19: laughable 20 Dutch 2 1 A ✓ 8 X 2 A ✓ B X ~"3AX 8«/ 4A«/ 5A*/BX 6A/ BX 7 A X B ✓ SAX B✓ 9A / BX 10AX B«/ 11 A ✓ B ✓ 12 A*/ B X 13AX Bi/ 14A^ BX 15AX B^ A_ 1 The couple named their first daughter Samantha. 2 His " - Excellency expects visitors to stand when he arrives. 3 1 wouldn't like to stay a legal assistant for long. 4 Amanda brought a II her expertise to the team. 5 Amanda brought j the team all her expertise. 5 1 - that - f (S) 2 - so - a (S) ~ 3 - if - i {S) 4 - after - e (S) 5-or-b{C) 6-and-d{Q 7 - even though - c (S) 8 - than - g (S) 3 1 broke thousands -» broke "* into thousands 2 ✓ 3 remain-to-be- tenants -* remain tenants 4 appears some-mistake -> appears to be some mistake 5 ✓ 6 recommended book -» recommended booking/ recommended that you book 7 showed to their gathered their trophy to their gathered fans 8 explained ua tho problem -» explained the problem to us 9 teli me to ge3"-^ tell ,me where to go? -- 10 pjacocj^pjckin its corract watch -.pteeejlthe gold watch back "in.... * - 6 A very inexperienced ^salesman has become the 'Sales Manager. 7 He placed into the box the carefully wrapped, sparkling, diamond encrusted 18-ca rat gold ring. 8 Please put all rubbish in the bins provided. 9 Do your : parents let you go to alt-night parties? 10 The paratrooper carefully removed the pin from the grenade./removed the pin from the grenade carefully.