Adjectival classifications: the main approaches to the problem.

Nowadays there are two approaches towards classifying adjectives.

According to the first approach adjectival classifications may be based just on one criterion. That may be either semantical or morphological.

So, according to the semantical criterion there are three semantical classifications presented:

1) qualitative and relative adjectives; 2) descriptive and limitive adjectives; 3) attributive and qualifying (Suit)

CLASSIFICATION 1 (traditional)

RELATIVE adjectives express such properties of a substance as are determined by the direct relation of the substance to some other substance. In other words relative adjectives are to show the material or the general idea of the noun determined.

E.g.: wood — a wooden hut; mathematics — mathematical precision; history — a historical event; table — tabular presentation; colour — coloured postcards;

QUALITATIVE adjectives, as different from relative ones, denote various qualities of substances which admit of a quantitative estimation, i.e. of establishing their correlative quantitative measure. The measure of a quality can be estimated as high or low, adequate or inadequate, sufficient or insufficient, optimal or excessive. In other words qualitative adjectives are to show in which measure a certain property presented in the noun. In this connection, the ability of an adjective to form degrees of comparison is usually taken as a formal sign of its qualitative character.

Cf.: a pretty girl — a prettier girl; a quick look — a quicker look; a hearty welcome — the heartiest of welcomes; a bombastic speech — the most bombastic speech.

CLASSIFICATION2(supported by foreign scholars)

LIMITIVE adjectives express such properties of a substance as are determined by the complete visual presentation of. In other words limitive adjectives are to define the size or form of the object determined. All the rest adjectives will be seen as descriptive.

CLASSIFICATION 3 (specific)

ATTRIBUTIVE adjectives express such properties typical to the animate nouns All the rest adjectives will be seen as qualifying.

At the same time according to the morphological criterion (structure),the adjectives are divided into simple and expanded. The expanded type formed by some suffixes and prefixes which expand the stem of the adjective

Suffixes: - ful (hopeful), - less (flawless),- ish (bluish, - ous (famous), - ive (decorative), - ic (basic);

Prefixes:: un - (unprecedented), in - (inac­curate), pre - (premature).

From the point of their syntactical function the adjectives are divided into prepositioned (monthly, daily), postpositioned(bent n, worth) and predicative (glad, sorry, ill)

 

According to the second approach (L.J. Alexandrov, M.Y.Bloch) adjectivall classifications are to be based on both semantical and morphological criteria. So, additionally to the semantically determined: relative-qualitative they distinguish morphologically determined (from the point of their evaluative function) evaluative – specificative adjective. In its turn specificative (or non-comparable evaluative) adjectives are divided into three types:

 

a) adjectives that are themselves grading marks of evaluation (??? JJJ)

b) adjectives of indefinitely moderated quality, (whitish, tepid, half-ironical, semi-detached,

c) adjectives of extreme quali­ty", or simply "extremals"(extinct, immobile, deaf, final, fixed)

SOME POINTS TO CLARIFY:

6. Where lies the fallacy of the semantical classification 1?

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Where lies the fallacy of semantical classifications 2 and 3?

 

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Where lies the fallacy of structural classifications?

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What principals are the adjectival classifications based on?

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