Adjectives: position (1)

Many adjectives can be put either before the noun they describe, or following linking verbs such
as appear, be, become, feel, get, and seem (see Unit 26):
• The hot sun beat down on us all day. or • The sun was hot.
• The high price surprised him. or • The price seemed high.

Some adjectives are seldom or never used before the noun they describe. These include:

Some 'a-' adjectives: afraid, alight, alike, alive, • The horse was alone in the field.
alone, ashamed, asleep, awake, aware (but not The alone horse...)
Some adjectives when they describe health and • My son felt unwell, {but not My
feelings: content, fine, glad, ill (notice that 'sick' unwell son...)
can be used before a noun), poorly, sorry, (un)sure,
upset, (un)well. (However, these words can
sometimes be used between an adverb and a
noun e.g. 'a terminally ill patient'.)

Some of these 'a-' adjectives have related adjectives that can be used either before a noun or after
a linking verb. Compare:
• The animal was alive. and • A living animal, (or The animal was living.)
Other pairs like this include: afraid - frightened, alike - similar, asleep - sleeping.
Notice that (un)happy can be used in both positions:
• He's an unhappy man. and • The man felt unhappy.
Some classifying and emphasising adjectives are seldom or never used after a linking verb. For
example, we can talk about 'a nuclear explosion', but we can't say 'The explosion was nuclear.'
Other adjectives like this include:

Classifying adjectives: atomic, cubic, digital,
medical, phonetic; chief, entire, initial, main,
only, whole; eventual, occasional,
northern (etc.), maximum, minimum, underlying
Emphasising adjectives: absolute, complete,
mere, utter
• The main problem has now been
solved.
• I spent my entire savings on the
project.
• I felt an absolute idiot when I found
that I hadn't got any money.

Some adjectives can be used immediately after a noun. These include:

• some -ible and -able adjectives such as available, imaginable, possible, suitable. However, we
use these adjectives immediately after a noun only when the noun follows words such as first,
last, next, only and superlative adjectives, or when a prepositional phrase follows the adjective:
• It's the only treatment suitable, (or ...the only suitable treatment.)
• It is an offer available to club members only.
• concerned, involved, opposite, present, responsible. These words have different meanings
when they are used before a noun and immediately after it. Compare:
( • I was asked for my present address. (= my address now) and
* • All the people present (= who were there) approved of the decision.
• The party was excellent, and I'd like to thank all the people concerned (= involved), and
• Cars drive too fast past the school and concerned (= worried) teachers have complained to
the police.
Adjectives: position (2) => IfflffiEl
 UNIT
EXERCISES
8 2
82.1 Suggest corrections to these sentences, or put a S if they are already correct. (B)
1 Backley has a back injury and Peters faces an alike problem.
2 Everyone I know is afraid of Harry's dogs.
3 The ill man was put in a ward full of critically injured children.
4 No two people are alike.
5 No-one really believes there are alive creatures on Mars.
6 I think Paul's fairly happy at work, and seems a content man.
7 When he was alive he was poor and unknown.
8 Within a few minutes she was asleep.
9 The police forced their way through the afraid crowd.
10 The asleep children lay peacefully in their beds.

82.2 In one of the sentences, you can put either adjective in the pair, in which case write them both;
in the other you can put only one of them. (C)
entire - long utter - understandable mere - insignificant initial immediate
nuclear - terrible
1 a I've just written down my ..^^f^^^M^.. reactions.
b When they realised what was happening their reactions were
2 a We didn't stop to rest once during the trip home.
b The trip was but enjoyable.
3 a The small changes in temperature are
b The difference between them was a(n) 2 millimetres.
4 a The war was but thankfully short.
b The whole world fears a war.
5 a The performance was an failure.
b The failure was given the lack of resources.

82.3 Write the word given in brackets in one of the spaces in each sentence, either before or after the
noun, as appropriate. (D)
1 Kevin always seemed such a boy (responsible)
2 Most of the people in the battle are now dead. (involved)
3 New regulations have come into force on the storage of dangerous chemicals.
All the companies have been notified of these. (concerned)
4 There were over three hundred people at the meeting. (present)
5 This process takes three days. It's very complex. (involved)
6 The situation cannot be allowed to continue. (present)
7 Clara and Adam were the children for the damage (responsible)

82.4 Rewrite these sentences as in 1. End the sentence with an adjective ending in -ible or -able from
those in D opposite and use a different adjective in each. (D)
1 This solution was the best. It was the best solution possible.
2 This response was the only one. It was the...
3 This decision was the hardest. It was the...
4 This method was the most economical. It was the...

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 Gradable and ungradable adjectives; position(2)

Gradable and ungradable adjectives

Gradable adjectives can be used with adverbs such as very or extremely to say that a thing or
person has more or less of a particular quality. Ungradable adjectives themselves imply 'to a
large degree' and are seldom used with these adverbs. Instead, we can use adverbs such as
absolutely or totally.

extremely, deeply, fairly, angry, big, busy, comfortable,

hugely, immensely, pretty
adverbs
(informal), rather, really,
reasonably, slightly, very
absolutely, completely,
adverbs entirely, pretty, really,
simply, totally, utterly
gradable
common, happy, important, quiet,
adjectives
rich, strong, young
amazed, awful, dreadful, furious,
ungradable
huge, impossible, invaluable,
adjectives
terrible, wonderful, useless

a • Our teacher gave us a completely impossible problem to solve.

• • She was extremely rich.
Notice that not all the adverbs given can go with all the adjectives given. For example, we
« wouldn't usually say 'completely essential' (see also Unit 92). Really and pretty can be used with
• both gradable and ungradable adjectives.

More on the position of adjectives

When we use more than one adjective before a noun, there is often a preferred order for these
B
adjectives. However, this order is not fixed: opinion + size/physical quality/shape/age + colour +
participle adjectives (see Unit 85) + origin + material + type + purpose + noun.
an old plastic container (= age + material + noun)
a hard red ball (= quality + colour + noun)
a frightening Korean mask (= opinion + origin + noun)
a round biscuit tin (= shape + purpose (for holding biscuits) + noun)
a small broken plate (= size + participle adjective + noun)
a useful digital alarm clock (= opinion + type + purpose + noun)
To help you to learn this order, it can be useful to remember that gradable adjectives
Q (describing opinion, size, quality, shape, and age) usually precede ungradable adjectives
• (participle adjective and adjectives describing origin, material, type and purpose).

When two gradable adjectives come before the noun, we can put either a comma or and between
them. Compare:
• an attractive, big garden and • an attractive and big garden
Two colour adjectives have and between them:
• Sweden's yellow and blue flag {not ...yellow, blue flag)
Two ungradable adjectives have and between them if they are from the same class, but and is
not used if they are from different classes. Compare:
• financial and political conditions and • improving financial conditions

Study the word order when a to-infinitive or prepositional phrase follows an adjective:
• It's a difficult word to say. / • It's an identical car to mine. </
• It's a word (that is) difficult to say. / • It's a car (that is) identical to mine. /
• It's a difficult to say word. X • It's an identical to mine car. X
Adjectives: position (1) => Ifflffig
 UNIT
EXERCISES
8 3
83.1 Are the underlined adjectives gradable or ungradable? Suggest an appropriate adverb to complete
each sentence. Try to use a different adverb each time. (A)
1 The play was marvellous. 7 The answer was absurd.
2 The answer is simple. 8 The questions were hard.
3 His new flat is enormous. 9 Her books are popular.
4 He was devastated by the news. 10 I was terrified by the film.
5 The instructions were complicated. 11 He's a(n) successful artist.
6 I was disappointed. 12 He's a(n) essential member of the team.

83.2 Use an adverb + adjective in your response, as in 1. (A) How would you feel if:
1 a friend said s/he had just won a million pounds? I'd be. absolutely delighted.
2 your best friend told you s/he was emigrating to Australia?
3 someone broke a window in your house or flat?
4 a complete stranger told you that you were very beautiful/handsome?
5 you lost some airline tickets you had just bought?

83.3 Put the adjectives in brackets in these sentences in the most appropriate order. (B & C)
1 Mine's the car. (blue, Japanese, small)
2 I rent a(n) house, (furnished, large, old)
3 I've just bought a table, (beautiful, coffee, wooden)
4 Their forces soon overcame the invasion, (combined, military, powerful)
5 Have you seen this invention? (fantastic, German, new)
6 There was a rug on the floor, (soft, wonderful, woollen)
7 She gave me a box. (jewellery, metal, small, square)
Do the same for these. Write and between the adjectives if possible.
8 Cycling is a(n) activity, (outdoor, popular)
9 They live in houses, (mud, straw)
10 He was a doctor, (famous, medical)
11 There was an meeting, (important, urgent)
12 I've just finished a novel, (boring, depressing)

83.4 Make corrections where necessary. (A-D)

Dear Alan, ,
I'm writing this Letter -from my new beautiful flat in Stratford. Although Its
modern, It's ix\ an entirely old budding which was totally renovated Last year,
and the wooden original beams have been kept in the sitting rootin. It's quite
small, and Is a best -for one person -flat, but It's completely comfortable -for
me. The sitting room leads on to a slmiUr to yours garden which Is full of
wonderful yellow reA flowers at the moment. Stratford is a smaa nice town
and is very quiet in the winter. At the moment, though, in the middle of the
tourist season, the traffic is extremely terrible. But despite this I think I'm
going to be absolutely happy here, <ml I hope you'll get over to see me soon.

All the best,

Mark
167
 Adjectives and adverbs

We use an adverb, not an adjective

• to say how something happened or was done:
• I've always greatly enjoyed his novels, (not ...great enjoyed...)
• The people who work in that shop always talk politely to customers, (not ...polite...)
• to modify adjectives, including participle adjectives (see Unit 85):
• It was strangely quiet in the room. • They had a beautifully furnished house.

Some adverbs are formed from an adjective + -ly: happy —* happily, etc. When an adjective
already ends in -ly (e.g. cowardly, friendly, kindly, lively, lonely) we don't add -ly to it to make
an adverb. Instead we can use a prepositional phrase with fashion, manner, or way:
• He smiled at me in a friendly way. • She waved her hands around in a lively fashion.
Most participle adjectives ending in -ed (see Unit 85) don't have an adverb form and we can use
a similar prepositional phrase:
• They rose to greet me in a subdued manner.
• She walked around the room in an agitated way. (or ...in agitation.)
However, some do have an adverb form with -ly, including the following common ones:
allegedly, belatedly, contentedly, dejectedly, deservedly, excitedly, hurriedly, markedly, pointedly,
repeatedly, reportedly, reputedly, supposedly, unexpectedly, wholeheartedly, wickedly:
• The weather had turned unexpectedly stormy.

Some adverbs have two forms, one ending -ly and the other not. We can sometimes use either of
the two forms of the adverb without changing the meaning, although the form ending in -ly is
more usual in a formal style:
• I'll be there as quick(ly) as I can. • Try to sing loud(ly) in the last verse.
Other words like this include cheap(ly), clean(ly), clear(ly), fine(ly), slow(ly), thin(ly).

In other cases there is a difference in the meaning of the adverb with and without -ly:
• She gave her time free. (= for no money) and She gave her time freely. (= willingly)
• I arrived late for the concert. and I haven't seen John lately. (= recently)
Here are some other pairs of adverbs that can have different meanings. Compare:

• Do I have to change trains in Leeds?' 'No,
you can go direct (= without stopping).'
• She worked really hard and passed her
exams.
• He kicked the ball high over the goal.
• They cut short their holiday when John
became ill. (= went home early)
• The door was wide (= completely) open
so I just went straight in.
• I'll be with you directly (= very soon).
• He saw Susan directly (= straight) ahead.
• The telephone line was so bad, I could
hardly (= only just) hear what he was saying.
• Everyone thinks highly of her teaching.
(= they praise her for it)
• The speaker will be arriving shortly
(= soon). Please take your seats.
• It won't be difficult to get the book. It's
widely available. (= in many places)

Remember that good is an adjective and well is an adverb:

I • I asked Francis to clean the car, and he did a good job. / ...and he did the job well.
However, well is also an adjective meaning 'healthy':
• You're not looking too well. Are you okay?
 UNIT
EXERCISES
8 4
84.1 Peter Thomas was recently sentenced to imprisonment for a bank robbery. Here are extracts
from newspaper reports during and after the trial. Rewrite them using one of these adverbs to
replace the underlined parts. Make any other necessary changes. (B)
allegedly belatedly deservedly repeatedly reputedly undoubtedly
unexpectedly wholeheartedly

Thomas was said to have committed the At first, Thomas s wife gave
robbery on the afternoon of the 21st June. complete support to his
claim that he was innocent.

A police spokesman said, 'We are

sure that Peter Thomas knows 4 It is generally believed that
omething about this robbery.' Thomas hid the money
somewhere close to his home

° ' He denied being involved

in the robbery over and

It came as a:
Thomas confessed to the
crime over a year later.

Example: 1 Thomas allegedly corotnttted the robbery on trie afternoon of the 21st June.
84.2 Rewrite the following sentences using one of the adverbs discussed in D.
1 I haven't cleaned the house recently. I Haven't cleaned, the house laieUj.
2 It wasn't easy to accept her decision.
3 They won, but the result wasn't at all surprising.
4 The leaflet is available at no charge from the town hall.
5 He walked into the office without knocking.
6 I am happy to admit that I was wrong.
7 I became a nurse soon after I left school.
8 Even though it was 2 am, I was completely awake.
9 Her name is known to many people.
10 The report strongly criticised the Minister's conduct.
84.3 Find the mistakes and correct them. If there are no mistakes, put a </. (A-E)
1 She speaks French fluent.
2 I think you behaved very cowardlily.
3 Everyone says that he's now enormous rich.
4 We'll never catch them up if you walk as slow as that.
5 She turned to him astonishedly. 'I don't believe you,' she said.
6 Wearing a white shirt and new suit, he thought he looked really well.
7 He plays the guitar remarkable good for his age.
8 Chop the herbs finely and sprinkle them on top of the pasta.
9 He stepped back and looked satisfiedly at the newly-painted door.
169