You adjectives have the function ofqualifyyou nounsthat accompany the sentence. That is why, vary in gender and number according to the terms that qualify. Adjectives can also vary in degree to convey the idea of greater or lesser intensity of a given quality.
Some linguistic phenomena related to adjectives are quite common in the language, such as the adjective phrase, the noun of adjectives, the adverbialized adjectives and the pronouns adjectives.
Read more: Nominal agreement - process in which nominal classes have the same number and gender
What is an adjective?
adjective is the part of speech whose function is classify and qualify the noun(s) that accompany it(s) in the sentence. Adjectives vary in gender and number according to the noun(s) they qualify, in addition, may vary in degree.
Types of Adjectives
- Simple adjectives: have only one radical.
Examples: green, fat, rich, real.
- Compound adjectives: have more than one radical.
Examples: water green, socioeconomic, South American, ultraviolet.
- Primitive adjectives: they are not derived from any other word.
Examples: blue, good, beautiful, vile.
- Derived adjectives: they originated from other words.
Examples: bluish, clumsy, big-tongued, grandiose.
- homeland adjectives: they indicate the origin of a being or thing, which may be the continent, country, region, state, city.
Examples: american, american, sudestino, potiguar, paulistano.
Adjectives genre
Adjectives can vary in gender, usually taking a form in the female or male according to the gender of the noun(s) they classify.
- THE chess playercunning won the game.
- O chess playercunning won the game.
It is also very common to find uniform adjectives in relation to gender:
- THE playerstrong won the game.
- O playerstrong won the game.
number of adjectives
In addition to varying in gender, adjectives can vary in number, meaning they can take a form in the singular or plural according to the noun(s).
- O chess playercunning won the game.
- You chess playerscunning won the game.
- THE chess player cunning won the game.
- At chess playerscunning won the game.
See too: Adjective: qualify or give quality?
degree of adjectives
Another feature of adjectives is their degree bending, which can be comparative or superlative. Degree bending indicates the intensity of the characteristic represented by the adjective.
The degree comparative confronts qualities between two or more beings, which may be of equality, in superiority it's from inferiority:
- Equality: Peter was so fasthow much Barbarian.
- Superiority: Peter was mostfastthan Barbarian.
- Inferiority: Peter was any lessfastthan Barbarian.
The degree superlative Can it be relative or absolute.
The degree relative superlative highlights the quality of a being in relation to the others in a group, and may be of superiority or inferiority as well as in the comparative degree:
- Superiority: Peter was the mostfastFrom students.
- Inferiority: Peter was the leastfastFrom students.
The degree absolute superlative indicates a quality so superior or inferior, that it exceeds the expected average, which may be analytical or synthetic.
O synthetic absolute superlative it occurs when a suffix is added to the adjective to intensify it (-issimo, -érrimo, among others, according to the rule that applies to the word).
O analytic absolute superlative it occurs when you add a word to the adjective to intensify it (much, too much, immensely, intensely, etc.).
- Synthetic absolute superlative: Peter was very fast.
- Analytical absolute superlative: Peter was veryfast.
adjective phrase
we call adjective phrase O set of two or more words that together assume the function of an adjective in the sentence, qualifying another term. The adjective phrase is commonly formed by preposition and noun, which come together in the context to qualify another term, assuming the function of an adjective and forming the adjective phrase. Watch:
He thinks he's too grown up and says he doesn't like books of child.
The noun “books” is specified by the term “child's”, which takes on the function of an adjective in the utterance, being an adjectival phrase.
Often, the phrase adjective it can even be replaced by a single word with an adjective function. In this case, it would be possible to substitute “child's” for “childish”. This, being just a word, would have the value of an adjective — books children.
adjective nouns
In certain contexts, adjectives can be noun, that is, they can appear as independent terms in the utterance, representing the omitted noun they would qualify. These are cases in which the noun does not appear in the utterance, and the adjective that qualifies it assumes this role. See the example:
- O men high his name is Jorge.
- O high his name is Jorge.
In the first utterance, "tall" is an adjective for the noun "man". In the second, however, “high” takes on the function of a noun, being a noun adjective.
Adjectives adverbialized
Similarly, the adverbialized adjectives they are those that would commonly be adjectives, but start to assume the function of an adverb in the utterance. Watch:
- children speak of a wayfunny.
- The children speakInside Out.
- children speak funny.
The word "fun" tends to assume the function of adjective, as in “fun way” in the first utterance.
In the second statement, the adverb so “amusingly” characterizes the verb “to speak”, as in “they speak amusingly”.
In the third statement, when the adjective "fun" is used, we have a adjective adverbialized, that is, an adjective with an adverb function.
Read too:Syntactic functions that the adjective can occupy
solved exercises
Question 1 – (Ibad)
In the expression “good old and wise ones”, the words “good” and “old” are classified as adjectives, and as a noun, the word “wise”. Of the options below, the one in which the word "wise" was used as an adjective, and not as a noun, is:
A) There was only one sage in the old people's class.
B) Only a very intelligent sage would solve the problem.
C) he was a very wise old man.
D) The true sage knows that he knows nothing.
E) Being an old man, being a sage, is a blessing.
Resolution
Alternative C. The adjective “wise” qualifies the noun “old”, while in the other alternatives “wise” takes on the function of a noun.
Question 2 – (FGV)
Duties of the bailiff: “Fulfill court orders; prepare rooms with books and materials necessary for the functioning of the judgment sessions; seek, in the Secretariat and in the Offices, the processes of each Rapporteur, separating and ordering them, collecting signatures, when applicable; answer and give information to lawyers, parties and interns present at the session, noting the requests preferably by the order of arrival of the interested parties; assist in maintaining order and making arrests, when determined; assist the Chamber Secretary, when requested the aid; fulfill the others assignments provided for by law or regulation”.
In each option below, a noun from the text above was highlighted; the option where the adjective referring to the highlighted noun is INCORRECT is:
A) books and materials / needed.
B) lawyers, parties and interns / present.
C) requests / interested parties.
D) assistance / requested.
E) assignments / planned.
Resolution
Alternative C. The adjective “stakeholders” does not qualify “requests” but rather “arrival” in “arrival of interested parties”.
By Guilherme Viana
grammar teacher