Typological Classes of Adjectives

Lesson 4. Typology of Adjective

Contents

1. Typological Classes of Adjectives. 1

2. Structural Classification of Adjectives. 2

3. Grading of Adjectives in English and Ukrainian. 3

Typological Classes of Adjectives

The adjective as a part of speech is characterised in English and Ukrainian by its common lexico-grammatical nature and common functions in the sentence. It expresses the quality of things or substances (a nice flower, urgent measures) and can serve as a predicative complement after the copula-verb (the child was small, she grew nervous; дитя було маленьке, вона стала нервовою), etc.

Typological Classes of English vs. Ukrainian Adjectives

Qualitative adjectives in both contrasted languages undergo grading, whereas relative adjectives express qualities characterising objects and phenomena through their relation to other objects and phenomena (Cf. economic progress, private property, urban population; економічний розвиток, приватна власність, міське населення).

Relative adjectives in the contrasted languages fall into two subgroups: a) possessive and relative (присвійно-відносні), which are formed in English from nouns denoting family names or names of countries by adding the suffixes -ic, -ian (Aesopian, Shakespearian, Shevchenkinian, Tolstovian, Lermontovian); b) genuinely relative adjectives which have some inherent possessive meaning (Cuban, Brazilian, Portuguese, western, eastern) or: Kyiv parks, London docks, Taras Shevchenko Prize winners etc.

Pertaining only to Ukrainian (and to some other Slavonic languages), however, are possessive adjectives, which are formed from common and proper nouns denoting living beings by adding to their roots/stems the suffixes -ів/-їв, -ин/-їн, -ов-а, -ов-е, -ев-а, -ач/-яч: батьків, Сергіїв, Миколин, сестрин, Маріїн, лікарів, водіїв, ко-мандирів, лисячий, комарів, цвіркунів, жабин, равликів/равликова. Their corresponding forms in English are genitive case forms of nouns: father's, Nick's, lion's (hunger), her brother-in-laws (book), frog's (leg), (my) sister's dress, fox's tail, etc.