Topic 14 – Expression of quality. Degree and comparison

I have based this essay on the following sources:

– Biber et all. Longman Grammar of spoken and written English. 1999

– Jackson, Howard. Grammar and Meaning.

– Pullum and Huddleston. The Cambridge Grammar of English Language. 2002.

– Quirk & Sidney. A University Grammar of English.

In this essay I will deal with the following issues:

Firstly, with the concept of situation and its main elements.

Secondly, how quality is expressed in English through different modifiers.

Thirdly, how grade is expressed in English and the general rules of comparison.

Fourthly, comparative and superlative grade with adverbs and nouns.

To end up with the comparative clauses.

0. INTRODUCTION: What’s in a situation?

The VERB may be regarded as determining what other elements may or must accompany it in the sentence. A verb is not only a representative of a situation type, but it creates a situation which contains people who do things, people or things that have something done to them, and so on.

For example, the action verb “send” creates a scene which includes:

· a sender,

· a thing or person sent,

· and a destination to which the thing is sent, as in Anne stopped sending me money or, She sent me to London.

The sender, the thing/person sent and the recipient are PARTICIPANTS in the situation. Participants are realised especially by members of the word-class of nouns.

In general, the participants are the essential elements of a situation. We could add to the sentences further elements which would represent non-essential information as the CIRCUMSTANCES of a situation.

1. EXPRESSING QUALITY: CLASSIFICATION, DESCRIPTION & MODIFIERS.

A QUALITY is a more-or-less permanent characteristic of someone or something (i.e. It was a quiet place).

In addition to identifying a participant in terms of its possession and quantity, we may also wish to distinguish a participant from other members of its class or to mention descriptive information about it.

Colour adjectives like (i.e. blue) and size adjectives (i.e. little); other means include shape (i.e. from a square tower), material (i.e. a green velvet dress), function (i.e. her riding skirt), appearance (i.e. an attractive girl), time/ age (i.e. early, late, young, old), place (i.e. local, foreign), temperature (cold, cool, warm), speed (i.e. slow, fast), and many other categories.

Description adds information, colour and substance about a participant. Categories of description include:

• Manner (careful, precise).
• Emotion (glad, cheerful).
• Evaluation (good, bad).

The class of items which realise meanings associated with the classification and description of participants is called MODIFIERS which include: those words, phrases, and / or clauses which qualify, limit and / or restrict the meaning of a word.

The word class of modifiers is a large one, it is a word that answer the question what kind?, how many?, or which one? A modifier may be a single word (i.e. a wealthy man), a phrase (i.e. a man of great wealth) or a clause (i.e. a man who possesses great wealth).

ADJECTIVES commonly occur as modifiers before nouns in English in the “attributive position” (i.e. He opened the red box), but they also occur after verbs in “predicative position” (i.e. The grass was very warm).

There are many times when we need to use more than one adjective to describe the same object in the same moment. The usual order is (Very Soon A Train Should COMe).

2. HOW GRADE IS EXPRESSED IN ENGLISH & THE GENERAL RULES OF COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES.

Another important characteristic of most adjectives is that they are GRADABLE

· A high degree → very good

· An excessive degree → too good

· A sufficient degree → good enough

· An insufficient degree → not good enough

Adjectives can be inflected for a comparative and a superlative degree (i.e. long, longer, longest, modern, more modern, most modern).

2.1 ADJECTIVES CONSISTING OF 1 SYLLABLE: take the inflection ‘-er’ and ‘-est’: (i.e. great → greater →greatest).

Sometimes there are some changes in spelling:

· Adjectives ending in a mute ‘-E’ or ‘-EE’ drop if before the inflectional suffix: (i.e. wide → wider, widest, free → freer, freest).

· Adjectives ending in consonant preceded by a stressed vowel double the final consonant. (i.e. big → bigger, biggest).

· Adjectives ending in ‘-R’ or ‘-RE’ such as clear /pure take the inflectional suffix ‘-er /est’, but there is a marked tendency to use ‘more’ instead.

· Some adjectives such as ‘RIGHT’, ‘REAL’, or ‘TIRED’ take ‘more / most’ to make the comparison form.

· Adjectives denoting nationality or language would rarely be compared, but it so, they would take ‘ more / most’.

2.2 ADJECTIVES CONSISTING OF 2 SYLLABLES add ‘-er / est’ or are pre-modified by more / most:

· Those adjectives ending in ‘-Y, -OW, -LE, -ER or –URE’ add er / est (i.e. funny, narrow, noble, clever).

· Those ending in ‘-FUL’ or ‘-RE’ usually take more / most. (i.e. careful, obscure).

· Some two syllable adjectives such as COMMON, POLITE, HANDSONE or QUITE can have either type of comparison.

· LITTLE is not usually compared and it is substituted by SMALL.

· With adjectives ending in sibilants, periphrasis is the rule, to avoid repetition of the ‘hiss’ consonant in the superlative. (i.e. curious).

· Adjectives ending in ‘-ED’ and ‘-ING’ are rarely inflected because they have the form of verbs.

2.3 ADJECTIVES CONSISTING OF 3 OR MORE SYLLABLE form their comparative and superlative by putting more / most before the adjective (i.e. Interesting → more/ most interesting).

2.4 IRREGULAR COMPARISON

There is a small group of frequent adjectives that form their comparative and superlative form in an irregular way.

2.5 SPECIAL CASES

Any adjective can optionally be compared with more / most when:

· Emphasis is on the idea expressed by the adjective itself.

(e.g. Little by little the farmer became more rich =he wasn’t rich before)

· When two adjectives are coordinated, the first being a long one:

(e.g. Trains have became more comfortable and more safe, but

Trains have become safer and more comfortable).

· Compound adjectives such as ‘kind-hearted’, ‘fine-looking’ may add the suffix to the first element: (e.g. A kinder-hearted person).

But in some combinations we use the pre-modifier more / most:

(e.g. The most old-fashioned clothes).

· Some adjectives are taken from Latin comparatives and superlatives: ‘anterior, inferior, major, minor’, and when they are used as comparatives they don’t take ‘THAN’ but ‘TO’ (e.g. Inferior to other brands).

A further way in which gradability of adjectives may be expressed is by means of MODIFYING ADVERBS such as:

• INTENSIFIERS. They are divided into two types:
  1. Amplifiers: imply that something is at a higher degree than the norm expressed by the adjectives (e.g. His future is extremely bright). ‘Very/extremely’.
  2. Downtoners: imply that something is at a lower degree than the norm (e.g. Her response was fairly accurate). Fairly/quite/rather/pretty/a bit/a little/slightly.
• EMPHASIZERS: like really, just, indeed.
• VIEWPOINT ADVERBS like artistically, theoretically, musically.

3. COMPARISON OF ADVERBS & WITH NOUNS

ADVERBS have the same general rules of comparison as adjectives:

· One-syllable adverbs such as ‘fast’, ‘hard’, ‘late’ add ‘-ER’ in the comparative and ‘-EST’ in the superlative (e.g. faster, fastest)

· Many adverbs are and adjective + LY such as ‘nicely’, ‘slowly’ and form the comparative and superlative with MORE / MOST. (e.g. more slowly, most slowly)although in formal English ‘slower’ is preferred to ‘more slowly’.

· There are also irregular adverbs:

WELL BETTER BEST

BADLY WORSE WORST

FAR FARTHER -FURTHER FARTHEST- FURTHEST

LITTLE LESS LEAST

MUCH MORE MOST

/ MANY

FEW FEWER / LESS FEWEST / LEAST

GRADABLE NOUNS such as ‘success’, ‘fool’, can be compared by the use of ‘MORE OF A’, ‘AS MUCH OF A’, ‘LESS OF A ‘ + than. (e.g. He is more of a sportsman than his brother / It was as much of a success as I expected).

4. COMPARATIVE CLAUSES

In comparative clauses, two propositions, one expressed by the main clause and one by the comparative clause, are compared with something they have in common by means of a comparative element. This comparative element specifies the standard of comparison (e.g. health) and identifies the comparison as equational or differentiating. The comparative element is linked with the subordinate clause by a correlative sequence.

· Equational: AS … AS

· Differentiating: LESS … THAN / MORE … THAN

Jane is as healthy as / less healthy than / her sister is

The comparative element can be any of the main elements of the clause structure, apart from the verb:

· SUBJECT COMP: More people use this brand than …

· SUBJECT COMP: I’m happier about it than my husband.

· DIRECT COMP: He knows more than most people

· INDIRECT COMP: That man has given more children happiness than anyone else.

· ADVERBIAL COMP: You’ve working much harder than I (have)

In terms of foreign language instructions, we should bear in mind that our students may have problems with the rules of comparison, especially with one-syllable adjectives and the irregular ones. Adjectives are the basis for descriptive texts, both oral and written, and students will need them to describe people, places, things, and feelings; and fully understand a text.