Collins Cobuild English Grammar (32 page)

half

many

quarter

twice

~

quite

rather

such

what

The first group are used to talk about amounts or quantities.
All
can also be used to refer to every part of something. When used with this meaning it is used with an uncountable noun.

All
the boys started to giggle.
He will give you
all
the information.
All
these people knew each other.
I shall miss
all
my friends.
I invited
both
the boys.
Both
these parties shared one basic belief.
She paid
double
the sum they asked for.
I’m getting
twice
the pay I used to get.

In the second group,
quite
and
rather
can be used either to emphasize or to reduce the effect of what is being said. In speech, the meaning is made clear by your tone of voice. In writing, it is sometimes difficult to know which meaning is intended without reading more of the text.

It takes
quite
a long time to get a divorce.
It was
quite
a shock.
Seaford is
rather
a pleasant town.
It was
rather
a disaster.

Such
and
what
are used for emphasis.

He has
such
a beautiful voice.
What
a mess!

2        Giving information about people
and things: adjectives, numbers,
and other modifiers

Introduction

2.1
      In the previous chapter the use of nouns, pronouns, and determiners to name and identify people and things was explained. This chapter explains ways of giving more information about the people and things that have already been named or identified.

One way of giving more information within a noun phrase about people or things is by the use of an
adjective
, such as
small
,
political
, or
blue
. Adjectives can be used as modifiers of a noun or after linking verbs. They are explained in paragraphs
2.2
to
2.168
.

Sometimes,
nouns
, rather than adjectives, are used to modify the noun. This is explained in paragraphs
2.169
to
2.174
.

There are other groups of words that are used before a noun phrase to give more information about people and things. They are linked to the noun phrase by
of
. These include certain
indefinite determiners
such as
many of
and
some of
(explained in paragraphs
2.176
to
2.193
), and other expressions that are used for describing a part or amount of something, such as
a piece of
and
a bottle of
(explained in paragraphs
2.194
to
2.207
).

Numbers
and
fractions
are also used to indicate the amount of people or things you are talking about. Numbers are explained in paragraphs
2.208
to
2.239
and fractions are explained in paragraphs
2.240
to
2.249
.

The other way of giving more information within a noun phrase about people or things is by using a
qualifier
, that is, giving extra information in the form of a phrase or a clause after the noun to expand its meaning. This is explained in paragraphs
2.272
to
2.302
.

Describing people and things: adjectives

2.2
      When you want to give more information about something than you can give by using a noun alone, you can use an
adjective
to identify it or describe it in more detail.

…a
new
idea.
…
new
ideas.
…
new creative
ideas.
Ideas are
important
.
…to suggest that
new
ideas are
useful
.

main points about adjectives

2.3
      The most important things to notice about an adjective in English are

what structure it is in (e.g. before a noun or after a linking verb)

what type of adjective it is (e.g. describing a quality or placing the noun in a particular class).

BE CAREFUL

2.4
      The form of an adjective does not change: you use the same form for singular and plural and for subject and object.

We were looking for a
good
place to camp.
The next
good
place was forty-five miles further on.
Good
places to fish were hard to find.
We found hardly any
good
places.

structure

2.5
      Adjectives are nearly always used in connection with a noun or pronoun to give information about the person, thing, or group that is being referred to. When this information is not the main purpose of a statement, adjectives are placed in front of a noun, as in
hot coffee
.

The use of adjectives in a noun phrase is explained in paragraph
2.19
.

2.6
      Sometimes, however, the main purpose of a statement is to give the information expressed by an adjective. When this happens, adjectives are placed after a
linking verb
such as
be
or
become
, as in
I am cold
and
He became ill
. The use of adjectives after a linking verb is explained in paragraphs
3.122
to
3.137
.

types of adjective

2.7
      There is a large group of adjectives that identify qualities that someone or something has. This group includes words such as
happy
and
intelligent
. These are called
qualitative adjectives
.

Qualitative adjectives are explained in paragraphs
2.22
to
2.25
.

2.8
      There is another large group of adjectives that identify someone or something as a member of a class. This group includes words such as
financial
and
intellectual
. These are called
classifying adjectives
.

Classifying adjectives are explained in paragraphs
2.26
to
2.28
.

Some adjectives are both qualitative and classifying. These are explained in paragraph
2.29
.

2.9
      There is a small group of adjectives that identify the colour of something. This group includes words like
blue
and
green
. They are called
colour adjectives
.

Colour adjectives are explained in paragraphs
2.30
to
2.35
.

2.10
    Another small group of adjectives are used to emphasize your feelings about the person or thing you are talking about. These adjectives are called
emphasizing adjectives
, and they include adjectives such as
complete
,
absolute
, and
utter
.

Emphasizing adjectives are explained in paragraphs
2.36
to
2.39
.

2.11
    There is a small group of adjectives that are used in a very similar way to
determiners
(see paragraphs
1.162
to
1.251
) to make the reference more precise.

These are called
postdeterminers
because their place in a noun phrase is immediately after the determiner, if there is one, and before any other adjectives.

Postdeterminers are explained in paragraph
2.40
.

structural restrictions

2.12
    Most adjectives can be used either before the noun or after a linking verb. However, there are some that can be used only in one position or the other. This is explained in paragraphs
2.41
to
2.53
.

2.13
    There are a few adjectives that can be used immediately after the noun. They are explained in paragraphs
2.58
to
2.62
.

order of adjectives

2.14
    When two or more adjectives are used in a structure, they usually occur in a particular order. This is explained in paragraphs
2.54
to
2.57
.

-ing
and
-ed
adjectives

2.15
    There are a large number of English adjectives ending in
-ing
, many of which are related to the
-ing
participle
of a verb. In this grammar they are called
-ing
adjectives
.