Adjectives, Adverbs, and Root Words

Adjectives: Core Concepts and Positions

  • Definition and Function: Adjectives provide information about a noun or pronoun by modifying or describing it.
  • Syntactic Positions:
    • Attributive Position: Positioned directly before the noun (e.g., a difficult assignment, an interesting book).
    • Predicative Position: Positioned after a linking verb (e.g., The assignment is difficult, The student became confident).
  • Linking Verbs: Common linking verbs that take predicative adjectives include be, seem, become, look, feel, sound, smell, and taste.
  • Adjective Suffixes: Useful suffixes that form adjectives include -ful, -less, -ous, -able/-ible, -ive, -al/-ic, -y, -ent/-ant, and -ed/-ing.

Adjective Ordering: The NOSAShCOMP Framework

  • NOSAShCOMP Order: When using multiple adjectives before a head noun, follow this preferred order:
    • N (Number / Determiner): e.g., three, a, the, this, some.
    • O (Opinion): e.g., beautiful, expensive, lovely.
    • S (Size): e.g., small, large.
    • A (Age): e.g., old, new.
    • Sh (Shape): e.g., round.
    • C (Color): e.g., black, brown, blue.
    • O (Origin): e.g., Italian, Javanese, Japanese.
    • M (Material): e.g., wooden, ceramic, plastic, leather.
    • P (Purpose): e.g., coffee, storage.
    • Head Noun: The main noun being modified (e.g., tables, cars, cups, boxes).
  • Example Sequence: three beautiful small old round brown Italian wooden coffee tables.

Adverbs: Functions, Types, and Positions

  • Definition and Function: Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or entire clauses.
  • Five Major Types:
    • Manner (How?): e.g., carefully, clearly, well.
    • Place (Where?): e.g., here, outside, nearby.
    • Time (When?): e.g., yesterday, now, soon.
    • Frequency (How often?): e.g., always, usually, rarely.
    • Degree (To what extent?): e.g., very, quite, extremely.
  • Adverb Suffixes: Common endings include -ly, -ally, -ward(s), and -wise.

Distinguishing Adjectives and Adverbs

  • Function Over Form: A word's class depends on its grammatical function in context rather than its suffix alone.
  • Suffix Caveats:
    • Words ending in -ly can be adjectives (e.g., friendly, lovely).
    • Not all adverbs end in -ly (e.g., fast, hard, well).
  • Identical Word Forms: Terms like hard, fast, and late serve as adjectives when modifying nouns and as adverbs when modifying verbs.
  • Meaning Shifts:
    • hard (with effort) vs. hardly (almost not).
    • late (after expected time) vs. lately (recently).

Root Words, Origins, and Word Families

  • Root Definition: A root (or morpheme) is the basic word element from which other words grow through adding prefixes and suffixes.
  • Standalone Roots: Roots capable of functioning as independent English words include Act, Arbor, Crypt, Ego, Form, Legal, Norm, and Phobia.
  • Bound Stems (Greek & Latin): Roots that cannot stand alone in English and require attached morphemes:
    • Latin Roots: Entered English predominantly via Old French following the 1066 Norman Conquest and through legal, religious, or scholarly texts (e.g., Acri, Aud, Bene, Carn, Corp, Cred, Dict, Lum, Multi, Port, Sect, Sen, Sent, Vor).
    • Greek Roots: Foundation of scientific, medical, and academic vocabulary (e.g., Astro, Auto, Deca, Gen, Meter, Micro, Tele).
  • Word Families:   Word Family Table
    • Inspect: Inspector (Person noun), Inspecting (Adjective), Inspection (Abstract noun).
    • Advertise: Advertiser (Person noun), Advertising (Adjective), Advertisement (Abstract noun).
    • Deport: deportee (Person noun), deported (Adjective), Deportation (Abstract noun).
    • Beautify: Beautician (Person noun), Beautiful (Adjective), Beauty (Abstract noun).
    • Introduce: introducer/introductor (Person noun), Introductory (Adjective), Introduction (Abstract noun).
    • Oppress: Oppressor (Person noun), Oppressive (Adjective), Oppression (Abstract noun).
    • Compose: Composer (Person noun), Composed (Adjective), Composition (Abstract noun).
    • Arrange: Arranger (Person noun), Arranged (Adjective), Arrangement (Abstract noun).
    • Read: Reader (Person noun), Reading (Adjective), Readability (Abstract noun).
    • resist: Resistor (Person noun), Resistant (Adjective), Resistance (Abstract noun).