Adjective

The adjective (from Lat. adiectīvus 'that is added') is a part of speech or class of words that complements a noun to rate it; expresses characteristics or properties attributed to a noun, whether concrete (perceptible by the senses, as in el libro grande or the big book) or abstract (knowable by the mind, as in the difficult book). These adjectives accompany the noun (libro, book) and fulfill the function of specifying or highlighting some of its characteristics.

In traditional grammar, a distinction used to be made between qualifying adjectives and determinative adjectives; however, currently for the latter the word determinant is usually used while the word adjective is reserved for qualifying adjectives.

Two functions of an adjective are distinguished with respect to a noun: some are said to determine it, because, by adding an adjective for example, we no longer speak of any > book, but precisely from a green book; these are the specific or restrictive adjectives. On the other hand, the adjective can be used to describe the noun but without distinguishing it from others, for example la verde hierba (if it is not contrasted with herbs of other colors); In this case, we speak of an explanatory or non-restrictive adjective; this type is more common in literature and poetry.

In fusion languages, it is common for the adjective to have the same inflections as the noun, such as gender, number, or case; but this is not always the case, for example in English the noun has a number (singular or plural) but the adjective does not.

The adjective in the Spanish language

Morphology

The adjective is, in Spanish, a class of word that ordinarily functions as adjacent to the noun noun, that is, as an adjunct nominal complement that is placed before or after the noun to which it refers, with which it agrees in gender and number.

Regarding its morphology, the adjective has a gender and number accident to agree with the noun to which it is adjacent. There are adjectives with one ending (strong, fallacious, skillful, weak...) that do not experience variation of gender, although number, and two endings (good/good, bad/bad, etc.).

Within the adjectives with an ending, the most common case is that of adjectives ending in E, such as big, strong, sad, sleepless, happy, unchangeable, etc. There are also adjectives that end in L (weak, easy, subtle, futile, personal, fragile); in R (worst, better, ulterior, particular, singular ); in Z (sagacious, quick, atrocious); few in N (common, ruin). Finally, there are also adjectives ending in I (Sephardic).

Adjectives in Spanish are always tonic words. They belong to an open class, since a new adjective can appear at any time, so there are recently introduced adjectives in Spanish, and others that have become obsolete. They borrow the gender and number of nouns, with which they agree.

Adjectives do not appear accompanied by determinatives and if they appear with them it is because they are substantive; adjectives that, due to their meaning, admit quantification are combined with the shortened adverbial forms so, cuan, cuán and muy, and when they appear with the full forms tanto, cuanto, cuánto and mucho, it is because they are substantive.

Adjectives that end in -s and are not acute keep the same form for the singular as for the plural.

Apocope

The apocope consists of the elimination of a vowel or a syllable at the end of a word. In the position placed before a noun some adjectives are shortened, for example:

a good man → a good man

a large territory → a big territory.

Traditional grammar classified possessives and other classes of determiners as shortened adjectives:

• (a) in male and female, plural and singular:
  • (1) possessive adjectives:
    • Mine. → My,
    • Yours → You,
    • Yours → his;
  • (2) indefinite adjective Anyone:
    • any → any man/woman,
    • Any → any men/women;
• b) in masculine and singular only:
  • (1) determining adjectives:
    • some → some man,
    • none → no man,
    • first → first man,
    • third → third man.

However, many of these elements are incompatible with the determiner in modern Spanish, although they were compatible with it in medieval Spanish:

My muger (in My Cid)

♪ my wife / My wife (modernspanish)

This suggests that modern Spanish generative grammar treats them as determiners, since the head of the determiner phrase can only have one head, it follows that when these elements appear the definite article cannot appear.

The numeral one hundred/one hundred is also shortened. Some adjectives such as tercero, grande or ciento are also used without their shortened form before a noun, although generally the shortened form is the most common use..

Syntax

In terms of its syntax, the adjective usually performs six different functions:

1. Adjacent of a noun: when the adjective performs the function of adjacent to the name, the adjectives can be specific, those that besides providing a quality, restrict the semantic extension of the explanatory noun and adjectives, which do not limit the extension of the noun but attribute an intrinsic quality of the name. ("A" Good. book Big".)
2. Attribute of a noun when it complements the name through a copulative verb ("Pedro is, is or seems healthy.".)
3. Preaching supplement: there is greater predisposition to function as a preacher in adjectives that can intervene as an attribute in a copulative prayer with being ("The woman came" tired.".)
4. Nucleus of an adjective syntagma: the adjective that functions as the core of the structure is the only element that is obligatory in an adjective syntagma. In case you are accompanied by other words that modify it, these may be: Quantifiers or Intensifiers ("Very Next to the neighborhood.")
5. Nucleus of a prepositional sintagma. this syntagma performs the function of complementing the core of the nominal syntagma, the adjective syntagma and the prepositional syntagma.(" foolish fool".)
6. Adjective in position or incidental function: "Sad for the bad omens, the two boys followed their way."

Types

Adjectives according to their syntactic function

You can distinguish between the following syntactic functions:

• adjectives attachmentswhich are joined to the noun, both before and after. as in Dark Night / Dark Night; Rich Food / Rich Food; Example Next / Next Example; Dark Night / Dark Night; etc.
• adjectives attribution, linked to the name by a copulative verb (to be, Being or It seems), for example: the night was dark; Paul was diplomatic when he gave his speech; the environment will be familiar if only we are; etc.
• adjectives depending on preaching complementWhen between the adjective and the noun there is a non-copulative verb (here it enters It seemsbecause it is not a pure copulative verb), as in The house looks green; the child came happy; Laura came home tired.
• adjectives depending on apositionwhen they are coordinated to the noun without being united, as in the house, big and pretty, was empty.

Explanatory and specifying adjectives

When accompanying a noun, an adjective can have two different values:

• Explanatory adjective: Expresses an abstract or concrete quality of which the noun already reports, underlining that quality. In other words, it expresses a quality of a being without the claim to distinguish it from others. For example: Sweet sugar, Handsome lamb, fiery lion, blue sky. This adjective, which is called an epithet, is more common in literary or poetic language.

• Specific adjective (o) restrictive): Adjectives with specific value express a necessary quality of a name that serves to differentiate it between others, among a group to which it belongs; for example High house, Green book. He's the most common guy in the spoken language.

In Spanish, most often the explanatory adjective goes before the noun and the specific one behind, but this is not always the case. For example, in "Contempla la mar inmensa", the adjective immensa is added to the noun and has an explanatory value, since it does not differentiate between seas of others. In contrast, in "Today you have an excellent mood", the adjective excellent is placed before the noun and yet has a specific value.

Relational adjectives

Qualifying adjectives can be divided into two types: relational adjectives (such as school, national, historical) and qualifying adjectives proper (such as blue, big, fat). The latter admit different degrees. The main ones are the comparative degree (“this paper is whiter than this one”), and the superlative.

Relational adjectives are those that, despite limiting the extension of the noun they accompany like qualifiers, lack degree and inform to which field a noun belongs. By which he refers to what context they relate to. Some examples are: student, academic, surgical, artistic, religious, professional, musical, Mexican, political, historical, etc. They cannot appear in a comparative or superlative degree: we can say that a car is "police car", but not that it is *very police car or *very police car. Therefore, they ascribe the noun within a class but do not qualify it to a certain degree. They are always placed after the noun they modify, for example, "The narrative contest is for university students".

Determinative adjectives

Traditional grammar considers determiners, which in Spanish almost always precede the noun they determine, as determinative adjectives.

Currently, some authors consider that in a phrase in which there is a name determined by a determiner, the latter is the nucleus of a hypothetical determiner phrase. According to this approach, the determiners actualize, present, quantify (measure) or ask for the head noun of the noun phrase, generally, although not always, placing itself before it.

There are three classes of determiners: actualizers, quantifiers, and interrogatives (including indefinite, numeral, demonstrative, and possessive adjectives). However, the substitution properties of the phrase for a pronoun depend more on the type of determiner than on the name. That is why it is considered that the nucleus is the determinant since it is the one who sets the features in relation to the government or regime. So that adjectives do not go with determiners, unless they are substantive. If an adjective appears accompanied by a determinative, especially the article, it is certainly substantive. Examples: I like red and not blue; the good will have their reward. On the other hand, it must be taken into account that the determinatives can precede an adjective, but without syntactically affecting it and they can do so on the noun with which the adjective agrees. Examples: my precious daughter, the great authors. Furthermore, all adjectives can be substantive with the neuter article lo, except those that mean qualities only applicable to people. Examples: the good, the smart, the small, the convenient, etc. Finally, there are other times in which the form lo in the construction lo i> followed by an adjective and the relative that does not function as a noun, but as an intensifier of the adjective. In these cases, the article forms with the relative that, a unit equivalent to the exclamative what. Examples: how strong they are ~ how strong they are.

Adjective updater

The actualizers present the noun core of the noun phrase, that is, they transform it from unknown to known, they locate it in space and time. Quantifying determiners, on the other hand, measure the noun head of the noun phrase. Interrogative determiners or interrogators ask about the noun core of the noun phrase.

There are four updaters: the predeterminant todo/a(s), which can precede the other determiners and delimits the integrity of the noun core of the noun phrase; the article, which presents the noun in a specific space and time (el, la, lo, los, las); the possessive, which indicates the belonging of the noun to an element of the situation or context (mi, tu, su, nuestro, vuestro, su and its feminine and plural forms); and the demonstrative, which places the noun in a more or less close or distant place (this, that, that and its feminine and plural forms).

Quantifying adjective

Quantifiers are grouped into two large classes, numerals, which precisely measure the noun core of the noun phrase, and extensive or indefinite ones, which measure or evaluate it imprecisely.

Numerals can be cardinal, corresponding to the series of real numbers and specifying the number of units: one, two, three, four...); ordinals (which indicate precedence or following in a list and indicate the order of appearance according to the gender and number of the noun: first, second, third i>, fourth...); multiplicatives: double, triple, quadruple, quintuple/quintuple, sixfold, sevenfold, eightfold, nonnuple, tenfold, undecuple...; divisors or partitives: middle; and distributive, which distribute the nucleus of the noun phrase: both, each one.

Interrogative adjective

They are used in interrogative or exclamatory sentences, they are always placed before the noun and are accentuated. The interrogative adjectives are: Which(s), how much(s), how much(s), what, who(s).

Other types

• Substantive adjective: it is the one that performs in the phrase the function of noun through adjective metabasis.
• Absolute adjective: is the one that can indicate a characteristic quality, which the noun possesses at the highest degree, but that does not admit comparisons. Therefore, it would be a superlative adjective, which would be relative if the comparison was admitted, and by not admitting it is called absolute. The absolute adjective describes a quality that has no graduation, therefore, is not measurable, does not admit comparison and can only be modified or nuanced by adverbs of the type of “almost”. For example the word "square": an object may be square or not, but it cannot be Very square.. However, when we try to draw one by hand and without the help of any rule, we can say that we have managed to draw something that is Almost square. Another example would be the word "dead.": a person or thing may be either alive or dead, but it cannot be more dead than another, and a tree cannot be Very dead.. However, we could say, for example, that a plant that we haven't ruled long ago seems to be Almost dead..
• Verbal adjective: it is the adjective function, when it has not yet lost its verbal nature. The participle, as a verbal adjective, usually acts as a modifier or complement to the preaching or attribute-type noun. One example is the phrase: I thought your father was kind of spoiled.in which the passive participle of the verb spoil acts as an attribute modifier of the father noun, or what is the same, has become an oral adjective.

Gradation of the adjective

The qualities expressed by the adjectives are adjustable, they can be presented following an intensity. Gradation refers to the possibility of expressing degrees in quality. The degrees of the adjective are the following:

• Positive: The adjective without modification, for example nice boy, Juan is good, the table is face.
• Comparative: The adjective expresses the intensity by a comparison of quality with that of another term. One element is called the first term of comparison, and the other second term of comparison. There are three kinds of comparative adjective: comparative superiority, comparative inferiority and comparative equality. The comparative superiority is the one that is quantified with the adverb more, and the conjunction that introduces the second term of comparison is that. Example: Juan is smarter than Luis. The inferiority comparison appears quantified with the adverb less, and the conjunction that introduces the second term is also that. Example: Juan is less kind than Luis. Finally, the comparison of equality is quantified with the adverb So..., or with the locution equal. In the first case, the element that introduces the second term of the comparison is Like. However, if the equation is used, the conjunction appears again that. Examples: Juan is as smart as Luis / Juan is as smart as Luis. There are some adjectives that are called synthetic comparatives, because they come directly from the Latin comparative: better, lower, worse, lower, higher, higher.
• Superlative. There are two types: absolute superlative and relative superlative. The absolute superlative indicates the highest degree of a scale. Examples: Alberto is a very clever boy, Laura is very inteligent, my aunt is an older lady, that house is paupérrima, etc. The relative superlative compares the quality of someone or something with that of a set, and can be expressed in two ways: through a special construction, in which it is formed by the article followed by an adverb of quantity plus an adjective. Examples: the highest occasion, the least appropriate, the least daring, the most friendly, etc. The other way is composed of an article and a synthetic comparative. Examples: the best of all, the worst of my friends. Finally, in addition to having synthetic comparatives, Spanish also has synthetic superlatives that derive directly from Latin. The following are: good - tertiary better - terrific; bad - terrific - hyposimo; small - secondary - minimum; large - higher education - maximumetc.

Position

In Spanish, an adjective can go both before and after the nucleus to which it refers. There are four criteria for this position: logical criteria, psychological criteria, rhythmic criteria, and a distributional criteria.

Logical criteria

• If the adjective is specific is placed after the core. When the adjective is postponed to the noun it usually delimits the significant extension of this. Example: I want a blue tie (not red or white). However, there are also adjectives that come to the noun and have specific value. Examples: white chalk, green table, you can also say white chalk, green table. There are also adjectives always postponed to the noun. These are the adjectives of relationship and those of origin or Gentiles. Examples:
  • relationship: social housing (no) *social housing).
  • Gentle: Spanish painter (no) *Spanish painter).
  • there are adjectives that always precede the noun: a mere procedure (no) ♪ a mere procedure)
• If the adjective is explanatory is normally placed before the core. Among the explanatory adjectives we must designate a quality that is inherent to the noun: white snow, green grass. In other cases, without being inherent, it is over-understood: the dusty oaks, its slender figure. An adjective postponed to the noun and that goes between pauses (between commas in writing) is also explanatory. And, on the other hand, an adjective may be postponed to the noun and not necessarily be specific, as it may appear to provide a descriptive note: The blue sky wrapped us in a diaphanous atmosphere.

Psychological criteria

• If the adjective is subjective, that is, the adjective is the opinion of the transmitter, is placed before the core. Example: Good move.

Rhythmic criteria

• If the adjective has one upper length to the core, it is written after this. Example: Scary boy or also the uninhabited house.

Distributional criteria

• If the adjective has limited information content is written before the core. Example: Good blow.
• If the adjective has higher level of information He postpones. Example: Solar heat and no Solar heat.
• His name is epithet the adjective that has mere aesthetic character, since it does not adjective any quality of the noun to which it accompanies (usually preceded), since such quality is implied in it. Example: red blood.