The Expression of Quality.

1. Introduction

The expression of quality is the manifestation of the characteristic(s) of

someone or something. Quality can be expressed by an array of adjective phrases and

relative clauses. This unit shows the expression of quality starting by adjective phrases and

relative clauses, that is, with quality adjectives as heads of phrases:

He was [happy]

He was [so very happy]

He was [happier than anybody else]

Adjectives will be carefully studied providing information about the different types that

the term “ADJECTIVE” comprehends. We will also see how the expression of quality can

be rendered by some other words in addition to adjectives. Besides, we will see how

words can be gradable or not, depending of the characteristic that they are enhancing. As

stated above, let´s start with adjectives.

2. Quality Expressed by Adjectives

A quality adjective cannot be identified as such just by looking at it in isolation, since the

form does not necessarily indicate its syntactic meaning. We find adjectives with some

identifying suffixes (-ous) but some other ones do not have any distinctive feature

(good, hot, little, fat). We can identify a word as an adjective merely by considering

what inflections of affixes it will allow. Also, most quality adjectives can be premodified

by degree adverbs or intensifiers, such as very, quite, rather etc. and can take

comparative and superlative forms.

Quality adjectives are invariable in English. The same form indicates masculine,

feminine, singular and plural. Many of them can be followed by a prepositional phrase,

or even govern one introduced by a certain preposition:

I am ready (to do it)

Peter is very good at playing tennis

Quality adjectives can also be classified according to:

1) Their POSITION: attributive, predicative or postpositive APP

 2) Their FUNCTION: limiter or inherent/non-inherent LIM-INHNONINH

3) Their MORPHOLOGY: participles, nouns as premodifiers, compound premodifiers

and premodification sequences. PAR-NaP-COMPRE-PREMODSEQ

2.1. ATTRIBUTIVE adjectives (ATTRIBUTIVE / PREDICATIVE / POSTPOSITIVE)

Attributive adjectives premodify the noun by appearing between the determiner and

the noun or just in front of the noun in the absence of a determiner:

The first apartment is for sale

Hardworking people is what we need

2.2. LIMITER adjectives (FUNCTION: LIMITER VS INHERENT/NON-INHERENT)

Limiter adjectives particularize the reference of the noun:

The main result

The only occasion

2.3. Inherent and Non-Inherent Adjectives

(FUNCTION: LIMITER VS INHERENT/NON-INHERENT)

Adjectives that characterize the referent of the noun directly―usually in

predicative position―are termed “inherent”, for example, the sky is blue. Adjectives in

attributive position are termed “non-inherent”. They do not characterize the referent of

the noun directly, for example, the American lady was a millionaire. Some non-inherent

adjectives, however, occur also predicatively. For example, both A new student and A new

friend are non-inherent. The former context, however, can be adapted to be used predicatively:

that student is new versus the latter, which cannot my friend is new.

An old friend (“one who has been a friend for a long period of time”) does not necessarily

imply that the person is old, so that we cannot relate my old friend to my friend is old. Here old

does not characterize the person. In that use old is attributive only. On the other hand, in that

old man, old is a central adjective (the opposite of young) and we can relate that old

man to that man is old. A central adjective is one which can be used both attributively

and predicatively.

2.4. INTENSIFYING adjectives: EMPHASISERS and AMPLIFIERS

Some adjectives have a heightening or lowering effect on the noun that they

modify. Two semantic subclasses can be distinguished: “emphasizers” and “amplifiers”.

 Emphasizers have a general heightening effect, and are attributive only:

a certain winner a real hero

a pure liar pure wool

Amplifiers denote the upper extreme of the scale or a high point on the scale.

Amplifiers are central adjectives―they can be used both attributively and

predicatively―when they are INHERENT:

a complete victory= the victory was complete

their extreme condemnation=the condemnation was extreme

But when they are NON-INHERENT, they are attributive only

a complete fool we cannot say the fool was complete

2.5. PREDICATIVE Adjectives

(POSITION: ATTRIBUTIVE/PREDICATIVE/POSTPOSITIVE)

Predicative adjectives appear after the verb. Verbs used in this way are called “link

verbs” or “copulas” which are establishing a direct relationship between the subject and a

quality of it.

He is ugly I felt cold

Tom became rich Alice seems happy

PREDICATIVE adjectives can function as:

1) Subject complement.

2) Object Complement.

The adjective functioning as OBJECT complement often expresses the result of the

process denoted by the verb:

He fasten his belt tight

He left the tyre’s screws loose

2.6. POSTPOSITIVE or Postmodifying Adjectives (POSITION: APP)

Adjectives are called “postpositive” (Quirk and Greenbaum) or “postmodifying”

(Leech & Svartvik) when they follow the item that they modify. It can be regarded as a

reduced relative clause:

The people involved were reported to the police = The people who were involved
 Indefinite pronouns ending in –body, -one, -thing, -where, can be modified only

postpositively:

Nothing important was saved

There was nowhere nice to go

Some postposed adjectives, especially those ending in –able / -ible retain the basic

meaning that they have in attributive position, but they convey the implication that what they

are denoting has only a temporary application. Thus, the stars visible refers to stars that are

visible at a time specified or implied, whereas the visible stars refers to a category of stars that

can, at approximate times, always be seen.

If an adjective is alone or premodified by an intensifier, postposition is normally not

allowed:

The rather timid soldiers approached the officer this one would be correct whereas The

soldiers rather timid… would not be allowed.

If the adjective is modified by enough / too / so, the modified adjective cannot normally

be separated from its complementation, unless it is positioned before the indefinite article of the

noun phrase (which is more natural to be used in informal speech):

A brave enough student to attempt the course deserve to pass

A too / so easy boy to teach was in my class

He is brave enough a student to attempt the course

It is not acceptable to prepose the whole of an adjective phrase in which there is

complementation of the adjective:

The easiest to teach boys were in your class

Postposition is normally possible in these cases:

The boys easiest to teach were in my class

However, it is more usual to prepose the adjective and its premodifiers, if any, and

postpose the complementation:

The easiest boys to teach were in my class

2.7. Participles as Adjectives

 Both present and past participles can be used as quality adjectives, the former being

active and indicating “having the effect of” and the latter being passive and meaning “affected

in the way of…”. These adjectives can be both attributive and predicative:

The play was so boring that everybody got bored

The workers soon got tired at the tiring work

2.8. Adjectives as Heads of Noun Phrases

Adjectives can function as heads of noun phrases. As such, they normally take a definite

determiner, usually the definite article, and have no plural or genitive case inflection. There are

two kinds of such adjectives, both with generic reference, those denoting a class of people, and

those denoting an abstract quality. For example:

1) Class of people (plural): the rich = “those who are rich”

There is a often lack of communication between the young and the old

2) Abstract quality (singular): the absurd=”that which is absurd”

Some people enjoy the mystical and supernatural in literature

2.9. Nouns as Premodifiers

Nouns can function similarly as quality adjectives by being positioned in front of the head

of a noun phrase. Thus,

The Grand Prix season = the season of the Grand Prix

2.10. Compound Premodifiers

Compound premodifiers, which are quite common, are combinations of words functioning

as a single adjective or noun:

Icy-cold water

Good-looking person

A brand new car

They take the form of prepositional phrases, adjective phrases, noun phrases, participial

constructions, etc.

An out-of-the-way cottage = A cottage which is out of the way

A ready-to-swear suit = A suit which is ready to wear

 Sequences of three, four, or even five nouns occur quite commonly in a noun phrase.

These are formed either through noun premodification or through noun compounds, or through

a combination of both:

The football club in the city of Lancaster > Lancaster City football club

2.11. Premodification Sequences

When a noun phrase includes a sequence or premodifications, the sequence is the

following: Next before a head noun, a denominal adjective appears; preceding a denominal

adjective comes a noun modifier, preceding which is the most important class of items, which

is the adjective of provenance or style; preceding this type is the participle; preceding the

participle we have adjectives of colour; preceding these adjectives of age, together with the

premodifiers and postmodifiers that these and other gradable adjectives.

Some intricate old yellow interlocking Chinese clothes risqué designs

3. Quality Expressed by Relative Clauses

There are three kinds of relative clauses: defining, non-defining and connective. In this unit

only the first two will be described, since connective relative clauses do not describe or qualify

objects and nouns. Connective relative just continue the story: I told Peter, who said (=and he

said) it wasn´t his business.

3.1. Defining Relative Clauses

These clauses describe the preceding noun in such a way as to distinguish it from other

nouns of the same class.

The man who told me this refused to give me his name

“Who told me this” is the relative clause. If we omit this, it is not clear what man we are

talking about.

3.2. Relative Pronouns Used with Defining Relative Clauses

The Choice of the relative pronoun in a defining relative clause is related two a twofold

consideration. First, to their function as subject or object in the clause. Second, to the reference

that they make, personal or non personal. The following chart shows all the possibilities.

SUBJECT OBJECT POSSESSIVE

PERSONAL who, that who, whom, that, i whose
REFERENCE
 NON-PERSONAL which, that which, that, i whose
REFERENCE

Examples:

1) Subject/personal reference: The lady who/that arrived late is Mrs. Johnson.

2) Subject/non personal reference: The dog which/that is barking is called Oz.

3) Object/personal reference: The lady Whom/that/i I saw speaks German.

4) Object/non personal reference: This is the car which/that/i I want to buy.

5) Possessive/personal reference: That is the doctor whose office is always full.

6) Possessive/non personal reference: This is the book whose title is awkward.

Who is preferred to that when the relative is a personal subject.

Whom is considered too formal for personal objects; who or that are used, instead, that

being more usual, together with the omission.

Whom is, however, obligatory to use when it is preceded by a preposition.

When whose makes no personal reference, with + a phrase is preferred:

a house whose walls were made of glass=a house with glass walls

Where can replace in / at which in place contexts:

The hotel where/at which they were staying

Why can replace for which:

The reason why/for which he is leaving…

3.3. Non-Defining Relative Clauses

Non-defining relative clauses are placed after nouns which are definite already. They do

not therefore define the noun, but merely add something to it by giving some more information

about it. They are not essential in the sentence and can be omitted without causing confusion.

3.4. Relative Pronouns Used with Non-Defining Relative Clauses

The choice of the relative pronoun in a non-defining clause is also related to a twofold

consideration. First, to their function as subject or object in the clause. Second, to the reference

that they make, personal or non personal. The following chart shows all the possibilities:

SUBJECT OBJECT POSSESSIVE

 PERSONAL who whom whose
REFERENCE
NON-PERSONAL which which whose
REFERENCE

Examples:

1) Subject/personal reference: Mr Johnson, who arrived late yesterday, is here.

2) Subject/non personal reference: Oz,which is a huge dog, howls all the time.

3) Object/personal reference: The German lady, whom we met in born, has resigned.

4) Object/non personal reference: Peter´s car, which is conversible, is for sale.

5) Possessive/personal reference: Dr. Burns, whose office is always full, is my friend.

6) Possessive/non personal reference: That´s the new book, whose title is awkward.

4. Gradable Words and Degree

Degree can be applied to “gradable” words, that is, words whose meaning can

be thought in terms of a “scale”. Most pairs of words of opposite meaning are gradable, like

old / young, by means of “degree adverbials”.

How old is that dog? It´s very / quite / rather / fairly / pretty / too / absolutely old

Degree adverbs and degree phrases can sometimes act either as premodifiers (with

adjective words) or as adverbials (with verbs)

The performance of Hamlet was absolutely magnificent (premodifier)

I agree with you absolutely (adverbial)

There are two main kind of gradable words: “scale” words indicate a relative position on

a scale (large, small) and “limit” words indicate the end-point of a scale (black, white).

4.1. Degree with Scale Words

Degree can serve the following functions:

1) To indicate extreme position:

1.a) with adjective words: He´s very friendly (premodifier)

1.b) with verbs: I like him a lot (adverbial)

2) To intensify the meaning slightly:

2.a) with adjectives: He´s quite / rather / fairly young (premodifier)

2.b) with verbs: Prices have increased considerably (adverbial)

3) To tone down or decrease the effect of a scale word

 3.a) with adjectives: It´s slightly / a bit uncomfortable

3.b) with verbs: Prices have fallen slightly / a little

4.2. Degree with Limit Words

With limit words the same adverbs can function as modifiers and as adverbials. The two

main classes of such adverbials are:

1) Those indicating that the limit word’s meaning is used to its fullest extent:

absolutely, altogether, completely,entirely.

The story is totally false

I completely disagree with you

2) Those indicating a position near the limit of the scale: almost, nearly, practically.

The bottle is almost empty. I´ve nearly finished it.

4.3. Very and Much

Very acts as a premodifier, whereas much acts as an adverbial. Much is limited to mid

position in the clause. In end position, it has to be preceded by very:

The party was very enjoyable (premodifier)

I (very) much enjoyed the party (Mid-position adverbial)

I enjoyed the party very much (End-position adverbial)

The repetition of very serves as intensifier: It was very,very expensive. Intensification

can also be realized by adding…indeed:

It was very expensive indeed

4.4. Positive and Negative Attitude

Although some degree adverbs have the same meaning with respect to “scale” and

“limit”, they tend to be distinguished in terms of positive and negative “attitude”.

Quite, fairly (=considerably) and entirely sometimes suggest a positive or “good”

meaning, whereas rather, completely, and utterly sometimes suggest a negative or “bad”

meaning.

4.5. Negative Degree Adverbs

Some degree adverbs only have negative interpretation. They are barely, hardly,

scarcely, at all.
 I scarcely noticed him

4.6. Other Degree Adverbs

Apart from the degree adverbs listed so far, there are degree adverbs which are more

restricted in their use, and tend to go with a particular set of gradable words. These adverbs

usually intensify the meaning of the gradable word:

-Badly goes with the verbs need, want = He badly needs a haircut

-Thoroughly goes with the verbs enjoy, disapprove, dislike, etc = I thoroughly enjoyed the film

-Hard goes with the verbs work, try, study, etc = If you want to pass the exam you have to

study hard

5. Comparison

If two things are to be compared with respect to their position on a scale of

degree or amount, the comparative words taller, happier, etc. or the comparative phrases more

careful, less careful, etc. are to be used. The following sentences have all the same meaning,

but are listed in order of their commonness.

Jack is taller than Jill

Jill is shorter than Jack

Jill is less tall than Jack

Jack is less short than Jill A sentence like this is very unusual, and would only be said if

both Jack and Jill are short.

5.1. Equal Comparisons

For equal comparisons as…as is used in affirmative sentences and not/ so/as…as is used

in negative sentences:

Jack is as tall as Jill

Jack is not so/as tall as Jill

5.2. Comparative and Superlative

Comparative and superlative morphemes depend on the number of syllables of the

degree adjective being compared:

COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

One/Two syllable adjectives adj +-er(…) the adj + est

ending in –y / -ow / -er / -le / than (…) in
-ure
Other two-syllables and longer more + adj (...) the most + adj
ones than (...) in

Examples:

tall, taller(...) than, the tallest (...) in

funny, funnier (...), the funniest (...) in
hollow,hollower (...) than, the hollowest (...) in
feeble, feebler (...) than, the feeblest (...) in
clever, cleverer (...) than, The cleverest (...) in
mature, maturer (...) than, the maturest (...) in
important, more important (...) than, the most important (...) in

Some common two-syllable adjectives can have either type of comparison:

common, commoner (...) than, the commonest (...) in

common, more common (...) than, the most common (...) in

A small group of adjectives have irregular comparison:

good better best

bad worse worst
far farther/further farthest/furthest

Old is generally inflected older, oldest but in a specialised used, restricted to family

relations, the irregular forms elder,eldest are normally substituted in attributed position, unless

used as the head of a noun phrase, or a –than construction is used, in which case older is

always used.

My elder brother is an artist

John is the elder of the two brothers

My brother is older than I am

Comparison can be:

-explicit: My house is bigger than yours

-semi explicit: My house is bigger

-emplicit: My house is big (=bigger than the average)

5.3. Comparison with Nouns

Gradable nouns can be applied the following comparative phrases: more of a, as much of

a, enough of a, too much of a, etc.

He´s more of a sportsman than his brother

It was as much of a success as I expected

You´re less of a fool than I thought

He´s enough of a man to face that problem

He´s too much of a coward to tell the truth

5.3. Proportion

To compare circumstances in terms of equivalent tendencies, a “clause of proportion”

can be introduced by as:

As time went on, things got worse and worse

There is a more formal construction in which so is added to the main clause:

As you go farther north, so the winters become longer and more severe

Another construction expressing proportion consists of two clauses beginning with the +

a comparative word:

The farther north you go, the more severe the winters are

6. Conclusion

As we have seen during the theme the expression of quality is a very varied one, that is,

we find different resources to show the degree of quality that we want to show through our

statements. The role of the English teacher is that of the one whose knowledge about the

subject comprehends all these points that we have seen. Teaching students how to refer to the

quality, valuable characteristics of someone or something, is not to start with adjectives and to

end up teaching them comparisons through proportion. Explanations will be graded according to

the necessities of students, and all the ways of enhancing characteristics will be taught following

the learning pace of students. Something which is important is that student has to be

familiarised with the fact that expressing the quality is not just a concern of having a plenty

range of adjectives in his or her vocabulary. It is more than that, in addition to grasp the

vocabulary they need to know how to use it, the position which is expected of each word

according to the case that they are using. They cannot use the pattern of expression of quality

that they have in Spanish and make a literal translation into English, and our duty as English

teachers is to make students to be familiarised with the different situation where quality is

suitable to be expressed and the different ways for doing it, that have been established in the

development of the theme.