Substantivisation of adjectives

In many languages adjectives can become nouns (ученый, рабочий, мороженое). This means of word building is called conversion or zero-derivation. Substantivized adjectives acquire grammatical features of noun – the plural form and the genitive case (natives, sensitives, cutes, relative’s). They can also have articles.

On the other hand, among the substuntivized adjectives there is a set characterized by hybrid lexico-grammatical features: the poor, the rich, the killed, the wounded. The have an incomplete set of the part-of-speech characteristics of either nouns or adjectives. Like nouns, the words are used in the article form; like nouns, they express the category of number: they have two subgroups – pluralia tantum (the English, the rich), and singularia tantum (the invisible, the abstract), but their article and number forms are rigid, not subject to change. This group is open, as this means of word building is productive.

Adjectivisation of nouns

A noun may stand before another noun and modify it: speech sound, peace treaty, business contract. The observation that these nouns lose the ability of forming plural and have articles proves that they possess the features of adjectives. They also have the meaning of property, not a substance, and they function as attributes. This can also be illustrated by the difference between such combinations with proper nouns as “Moscow’s theatres”, “Repin’s pictures” and Moscow region, the Tretyakov Galery. The second type clearly lost their substantival features.

Glossary of Linguistic Terms

1. property – качество предмета

2. permanent/temporary – постоянный/временный

3. nominal – именной, предметный

4. derivation - словообразование

5. agreement – согласование (формы зависимого слова)

6. degrees of comparison – степени сравнения

7. positive/comparative/superlative degree – положительная/сравнительная/превосходная степень

8. elative – елятив, омонимичная с превосходной степенью форма, обозначающая высокую степень качества

9. gradual opposition – последовательная оппозиция

10. grapho-phonemic complex – комплекс звуков и букв, имеющий грамматическое значение

11. direct/reverse degrees of comparison (the inferiority degrees) – прямые/обратные степени сравнения (степени понижения качества)

12. substantivized – субстантивированный, получивший признаки существительного

13. conversion – конверсия, превращение одной части речи в другую, не сопровождающаяся изменением формы, а только изменением функции, значения и словоизменительной парадигмы

14. rigid form – неизменяемая форма

15. modify – служить определением, изменять смысл

16. relative - относительное

17. qualitative - качественное

18. moderated/extreme quality – умеренное/крайнее качество

Additional reading

1. стр. 58-65

2. стр. 34-38

3. –

4. стр. 220-237

5. стр. 217-220, 226-228, 230-238

XIII. Adverbs. Classification of adverbs.

The adverb is defined as a word expressing either property of an action, or property of another property, or circumstances in which an action occurs. Adverbs are characterized by combinability with verbs, adjectives and words of adverbial nature. The functions of adverbs in these combinations consist in expressing different adverbial modifiers. “The woman was crying hysterically.” – an adverbial modifier of manner. “He was nervously anxious’ – an adverbial modifier of property qualification.

From the point of view of the word-building structure adverbs can be simple (very, here, quite, when) and derived: suffix –ly (slowly, firstly), -ways (sideways, crossways), -wise (clockwise, counter-clockwise), -ward(s) (homewards, afterwards). The characteristic adverbial prefix is a- (away, ahead, apart, across).

Some adverbs are converted from other parts of speech: adjectives – fast, late, high, tight, many of them have another form, formed of adjective with the suffix –ly, but with a different meaning: to fall flat into the water – to refuse flatly, to fly high – to raise a highly theoretical question.

From adjectives with –ly adverbs are also converted – daily, weekly, lively, timely.

From prepositions and conjunctions – never before/ never before a meeting, somewhere round/round the corner, to hold within/within a week.

There is a group of preposition-adverb-like words, which form phrasal words – look up, through, after. They are intermediate between functional words and morphemes, particles of semi-morphemic nature.

The subgroups of adverbs – qualitative (-ly)- bitterly, plainly; quantitative (words of degree) and circumstantial (words of pronominal nature).

There are several types of quantitative adverbs, functional words, not possessing nominative value :

1. adverbs of high degree, intensifiers: very, quite, entirely, utterly, highly, greatly, perfectly, absolutely, strongly, considerably, pretty, much.

2. Adverbs of excessive degree (direct and reverse): too, awfully, tremendously, dreadfully, terrifically.

3. Adverbs of unexpected degree: surprisingly, unexpectedly, astonishingly, amazingly.

4. Adverbs of moderate degree: rather, fairly, comparatively, relatively, moderately.

5. Adverbs of low degree: slightly, a little, a bit.

6. Approximate degree: almost, nearly

7. Optimal degree: enough, sufficiently, adequately

8. Inadequate degree: insufficiently, intolerably, unbearably, ridiculously

9. Under-degree: hardly, scarcely.

10. Numerical-pronominal adverbs: twice, four times, twofold, manifold – they have full notional value

Circumstantial adverbs are also divided into notional and functional. The functional circumstantial adverbs are words of pronominal nature: time, place, manner, cause, consequence – now, here, when, where, so, thus, how, why. Others have nominative value: adverbs of time and place: today, tomorrow, already, ever, never, shortly, recently, seldom, early, late, homeward, eastward, near, far, outside, ashore.

Qualitative adverbs have the category of degrees of comparison: quickly-quicker-quickest-less quickly-least quickly. Adverbs converted from adjectives form degrees of comparison synthetically (fast-faster-fastest), so do “quickly” and “slowly”. Adverbs with the suffix –ly form degrees of comparison with more/most. Adverbs “well, far, much, little, badly” form suppletive degrees of comparison or based on the sound alternation.

Similar to adjectives, adverbs with “most” can be used as elative constructions: He described it most correctly. = very correctly.

Glossary of Linguistic Terms

1. property of the action – признак действия

2. property of another property – признак признака

3. words of adverbial nature – наречные слова, схожие по значению с наречиями предлоги

4. adverbial modifier of time/place/manner/property qualification – обстоятельство времени/места/образа действия/оценки качества

5. preposition/adverb-like words – слова похожие на предлоги и наречия

6. semi-morphemic – наполовину морфема, наполовину служебное слово

7. qualitative/quantitative/circumstantial – качественны/относительный/относящийся к ситуации

8. pronominal – местоименный