Questions tagged [adjectives]
An adjective is a word that describes a noun. In English the adjective usually (but not always) precedes the noun it describes.
1,844
questions
-2
votes
1
answer
69
views
Meaning of "aphasiac piano"
(From The Wrecker by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne, Chapter XXI, published 1892)
Passage 326
I stepped toward the window. It was the old familiar room, with the tables set like a Greek P, ...
- 573
-1
votes
0
answers
47
views
Is the phrase "Those are all cars make Chevrolet." in the English language?
How about these?
Those are all make Chevrolet cars.
and
Those are all Chevrolet make cars.
Are any of these syntactically correct English phrases?
0
votes
2
answers
50
views
Can we say "I got starving"?
I know we can say "I got hungry/tired/scared/etc." meaning "I became hungry/tired/scared".
I was wondering if the following sentence sounds as natural:
"I got starving while I ...
2
votes
1
answer
27
views
Kind or kindly ways?
When I raised my first questions about the differing uses of culture I
was given the impression, in kindly and not so kind ways, that these
arose mainly from the fact of an incomplete education.
This ...
- 586
2
votes
3
answers
109
views
"The layer of haze starts out tenuous": why not "tenuously"?
I watched a YouTube video about physics, and the host said the following.
Similar to the Earth's atmosphere, the layer of haze starts out very tenuous.
If I needed to say something like this, I ...
- 1,091
0
votes
2
answers
112
views
Meaning of "elaborate"
(From The Wrecker by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne, Chapter XIX, published 1892)
Passage 289
The same night I had Nares to dinner. His sunburnt face, his queer and personal strain of talk,...
- 573
-2
votes
0
answers
34
views
Ungradable adjectives [duplicate]
Can we make comparative and superlative forms with ungradable adjectives for example exhausted? Can we say "more exhausted" and "the most exhausted" even though that word is ...
1
vote
1
answer
52
views
Using 'powerful' as a noun - "Britain's powerful"
The bane of Britain’s great and powerful is a couple of inches long, has warty skin and a bright orange underbelly—and the power to disrupt some of their most heartfelt ambitions.
'Britain's great ...
- 829
2
votes
1
answer
61
views
For to tell the truth is not in itself diplomatic, and to have no care for the result a thing involuntary
(From The Wrecker by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne, Chapter XVI, published 1892)
Passage 257
Indeed, I believe that was my only reason for entering upon a transaction which was now ...
- 573
5
votes
5
answers
1k
views
The word that describes the feeling when you're disgusted by a certain taste
Imagine that you're having a really sweet and high-fat piece of cake. At first, you can have it just fine, but after a while you get sick of its overwhelming taste. How do I describe that I am now ...
- 167
0
votes
1
answer
64
views
what type of adjective is "what"?
Consider the sentence, What folly!"
identify the adjective in the above sentence
What type of adjective is this?
According to me, what is the adjective. It looks like an interrogative adjective ...
- 197
1
vote
2
answers
41
views
Is heavy an adjective of quality or an adjective of quantity
The bus sustained heavy damage in the accident
In the above sentence, is heavy an adjective of quality or an adjective of quantity?
Adjectives of quantity refer to how many or how much of something ...
- 197
1
vote
1
answer
35
views
"Best"—adverb or adjective (in the sentence)
The medicine is best taken after meals.
I think it's an adverb modifying verb, but it can be an adjective after the copula.
- 1,758
3
votes
1
answer
101
views
Does use of superlative adjective affect the order of adjectives?
According to an article about adjective order by Cambridge Dictionary, the following adjective order is correct:
a small young man
But is the order the same when you make one of the adjectives ...
- 1,028
6
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Meaning of "That was a home word of Pinkerton's"
(From The Wrecker by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne, Chapter XV, published 1892)
Passage 232
THE CARGO OF THE “FLYING SCUD.”
In my early days I was a man, the most wedded to his idols of ...
- 573
0
votes
0
answers
40
views
There vs It: 1) <There is> <It is> likely to be heavy snowfall; 2) <There are> <It is> bound to be changes when the new system is introduced
oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com:
(1a) There is likely to be heavy snowfall.
my variant:
(1b) It is likely to be heavy snowfall.
What is the difference between (1a) and (1b)?
oxfordlearnersdictionaries....
- 2,758
1
vote
2
answers
86
views
I am a Chinese? [duplicate]
The most rampant and fossilized mistake I've heard from Chinese EFL speakers/learners is "a Chinese" where 'Chinese' was used as a singular noun, for instance, "I am a Chinese".
I ...
- 3,173
3
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Why do we say 'aim high' instead of 'aim highly'?
I know we don't say 'aim highly', but I don't know how to exaplain in grammatical terms. Is 'aim high' an idiom? Is 'high' an adverb? If it is, then why can't we say 'aim highly'?
- 227
1
vote
1
answer
34
views
Meaning of . . . "not one that has any mortal thing to do with Trent"
(From The Wrecker by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne, Chapter XIV, published 1892)
Passage 224
“Captain,” I said at last, “there is something deuced underhand about this brig. You tell me ...
- 573
-1
votes
2
answers
73
views
The most people/most people
These are correct:
Most people agree on this.
Most of the people agree on this.
This is said to be wrong:
The most people agree on this.
But I come across "the most people" which are ...
- 4,124
0
votes
1
answer
38
views
the more / the less of the two of you
It's OK to say.
Who is the taller of the two of you?
But how should this issue be treated?
Which one of the two of you has the less/the more money?
According to the rule, it's correct. But it ...
- 4,124
0
votes
3
answers
40
views
Is there any difference between "A + ADJECTIVE + NUMBER + NOUN" and "NUMBER + ADJECTIVE + NOUN"? (e.g. "a full ten bottles" VS "ten full bottles")
Are "A + ADJECTIVE + NUMBER + NOUN" and "NUMBER + ADJECTIVE + NOUN" interchangeable?
If not, then what is the difference between them?
For example (a-variants are from ...
- 2,758
1
vote
2
answers
85
views
Red as noun or adjective
In 'The team whose favorite color is red won the match' is 'RED' used as a noun or an adjective?
- 11
0
votes
0
answers
41
views
definite article 'the' before a comparative degree of adjective
This was the more remarkable because I was found unable to answer a single question in the Latin paper.
Reference: FIRST YEAR AT HARROW by Winston S. Churchill
In this sentence, the definite article '...
- 309
1
vote
3
answers
138
views
Can a linking verb be followed by an adverb?
I read a line in a grammar book "at least the play reads well" in this sentence, the verb "reads" is a linking verb, so shouldn't the right word to use be "good" instead ...
- 51
0
votes
0
answers
67
views
Meaning of "...he answered like a little man"
From The Wrecker by R. L. Stevenson and L. Osbourne, chapter X, published 1892:
At this I had another intuition. A negative of a street scene, taken unconsciously when I was absorbed in other thought,...
- 573
-1
votes
1
answer
93
views
What does *monte* mean in the term *three-card-monte* game?
What does monte mean in the term three-card-monte game? I have looked up the dictionaries but couldn't find any applicable answer, I'm afraid.
- 573
0
votes
2
answers
37
views
Incline[d] bench?
While reading about weight lifting, it's common to bump into mentions of incline benches. There's the "incline bench press" exercise, for example, which is a bench press variation used on an ...
- 111
0
votes
0
answers
25
views
3 free months or 3 months free
Recently my dad and I got into a debate over a Spotify advert which said "Get 3 free months of Spotify Premium". My father said that it was incorrect and should be "3 months on Spotify ...
CyberRohan1836
4
votes
8
answers
4k
views
Does "I saw a blue car and bus" mean "blue bus" or any coloured bus?
What is the outcome of any and every sentence in the following sentence format when the rules of English grammar is applied upon them.
sentence format <Noun Verb Determiner Adjective Noun ...
- 57
1
vote
2
answers
92
views
Worth as a predicate adjective?
I saw the first time 'worth' acting as a predicate adjective here:
I do it because it makes me happy. And I now know that I deserve happiness. I deserve love, rest and time for myself. Because I am ...
- 3,173
1
vote
1
answer
32
views
Why "this" in this case?
Ivan: Could you give me that book on the table over there?
Sergio: Do you mean this book here?
Ivan: Yes, that book.
Sergio: Here you are. Oh, could you give me that magazine too on the table over ...
- 7,243
0
votes
1
answer
38
views
'destroyed' or 'to be destroyed' [duplicate]
Is there any difference between these two sentences?
I want the balls destroyed.
I want the balls to be destroyed.
If not which one is preferred?
- 461
1
vote
1
answer
47
views
Why do we need adjectives with the suffix "-most" and what is there in common between them?
Almost all adjectives below are from wordtoolbox.com.
the adjectives I could pair with each other:
easternmost (*eastmost) – northernmost (*northmost) – southernmost (*southmost) – westernmost (*...
- 2,758
2
votes
2
answers
908
views
Can plural adjectives use as a noun? ("Beautifuls are coming")
Can I use some adjectives in plural form as a noun? Example story:
Two boys are talking about beautiful girls in school. And those girls are going to come and ask some questions.
In this story, the ...
2
votes
2
answers
66
views
What is the difference between "abstract" science and "pure" science?
I have come across this sentence in a mechanics book:
mechanics is not an abstract or even a pure science; it is an applied science
I did not know that there is a difference between abstract science ...
- 169
0
votes
1
answer
36
views
Why does the writer use "that songs" instead of "those songs"?
Such a crime
... Well, let's face it: in many ways it is . That songs of the quality of "Sparrows" or "Lucky Smile" should be obliged to wait 30 years for a release.
Extract from ...
- 7,243
1
vote
2
answers
160
views
Why it should be 'estimated', instead of 'is estimated'?
The hurricane caused damage ......... at $300 million.
What I have chosen: is estimated
The answer should have been: estimated
Is estimated adjective, what type of adjective, or what parts of speech ...
- 159
3
votes
1
answer
62
views
Difference between Perfect and Present relative time reference with the past participle form
1.They filmed the thief. (past tense--finite)
2.They saw the thief filmed in the act. (past participle--non finite)
Does "filmed" in the second sentence have a past or a present meaning ...
- 157
1
vote
2
answers
60
views
High-functioning workplace?
Employers may hire empathetic or compassionate employees to create a positive, high-functioning workplace.
How can a workplace be high-functioning?
Is high-functioning idiomatic?
The adjective is ...
- 1,758
0
votes
1
answer
46
views
the word that i used to refer myself is it the correct word or not?
I was writing in my diary about how my day went and how I am as a person when it comes to do something and how i procrastinate.
I used the following words :
"I am very lazy and detrimental to ...
- 377
1
vote
2
answers
98
views
adjunct or complement
My question is whether these sentences are each grammatical or not:
a) As a common language, English is good to communicate with you.
b) As a common language, English is good to communicate with you ...
- 21
0
votes
0
answers
47
views
What is the meaning of "social" in this context?
In the context of the following sentence:
He's not feeling very social this evening.
I have considered the following explanations for social based on dictionary definitions:
He wants to remain ...
- 1,758
5
votes
7
answers
3k
views
Does a "dark" sport make sense?
In Japan, table tennis is considered as a dark sport, which will be played by gloomy people like otaku.
In Japan, table tennis has a dark image such that gloomy people like otaku will play it.
Could ...
- 2,472
1
vote
2
answers
33
views
Aspects of **have** in "You have me all confused!"
I am a speaker of American English, mid-Atlantic dialect. I was thinking of scenarios like the following:
Yesterday, you said to do it this way, and this morning you said to do it that way, and now ...
- 303
2
votes
2
answers
401
views
adjective (happy) or adverb (happily)
My parents are very ....... married.
happy
happily
I've seen "happily" is used in sentences like this.
but I want to know that is it correct if we use "happy" instead of "...
0
votes
1
answer
41
views
lesser mortal beings [duplicate]
a. He was talking about demons and lesser mortal beings.
b. He was talking about demons and lesser, mortal beings.
Can we tell if the writer of these sentences considers 'demons' mortal beings or not?
...
- 2,689
1
vote
1
answer
82
views
Most people I know VERSUS Most of the people I know
I can't fathom the difference.
Most people who I know don't know English.
Most of the people who I know don't know English.
Technically, the first means people in general.
In the second sentence, ...
- 4,124
2
votes
2
answers
74
views
most of the time VERSUS for the most time
While living in the States I lived in different places, most of the
time I lived in LA, but for the most time I lived in NY.
I can't put my finger on the difference between "most of the time&...
- 4,124
-1
votes
1
answer
51
views
"I make plans clear" vs "I make clear plans" [closed]
These sentences are structured differently and I suspect they have different meanings, don't they?
- 415