5. Adjective categories

English and Russian adjectives: the main typological characteristics and the category of the degree of quality

4 classes of Rus adj:

1. expressing quality – qualitative (большой, тонкий)

2. expressing quality through its relation to other things and actions, denoting a property of an object through the relation to other object or predicate (e.g.Москва-московский, каменный-стена, весенний день – relative adj)

3. possessive adj - denoting smth belongs to smth (отцов пиджак)

4. evaluating adj (хороший)

3 groups of Eng adj:

1. qualitative (big house)

2. relative (chemical class)

3. evaluative (good student)

Eng relative adj - attributive word-combination N+N, where the 1^st N modifies, serves as an attr. to the second one ( a stone wall – каменная стена, gold watch, spring flower – unstable compounds)

possessive adj – no category in Eng. as the E. has possessive case of nouns

Rus adj agree with nouns which they modify

Eng - no agreement of this type (большой дом, большая семья – big house, big boy)

2 forms of Rus qualitative adj: the full and the short form (коварная женщина – женщина коварна)

Qualitative and evaluative adj have degree of comparison in both the languages: positive, comparative and superlative degrees.

Rus comparative degree is formed both synthetically and analytically (храбрый – храбрее – более храбрый, чем…)

Rus superlative degree is formed analytically (самый)

Eng - synthetical and analytical forms to render the degrees of comparison.

Synthetical forms are used with ½ syllable adj (big – bigger – the biggest).

Analytical forms are typical of multisyllable adj (difficult – more d – the most d)

Illative form superlative degree (элатив).

Eng analytical form vs Rus synthetical form

e.g. наимоднейший– a most fashionable dress. Eng. - formed by using indefinite article + the word most + adj.

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