We all know what a adjective is—it is “a word that describes a noun or a pronoun.” Most of us can feel comfortable modifying our adjectives. If we want to attribute a quality to a thing or a person, we approach our trusted adjectives and choose one; if we want to describe the person or thing that is yes than that quality, or most of of it, we don’t need to do anything but solve a –Hey or one –estimate with adjectives, and Bob is your uncle.
If the adjective has only one syllable, you usually just add ‘-er’ or ‘-est’ after it, as in “One of these dogs is bigger than the other.”
That’s easy enough, isn’t it? No, certainly not.
The rules that govern the modification of adjectives appear to have been created by a cruel and ironic god. After spending even a moment deciphering them, the only thing that you can be certain of is that Bob is definitely not your uncle (rather, Bob is your ex-husband’s second cousin, got rid of twice).
An adjective that stands alone, without modification, is often called simple or positive (“that dog is fat”). If we want to show that the thing in question has more quality, we use a compare form of the adjective (“that dog is fatter than that dog”). And if we want to say that the thing in question has the greatest possible degree of adjective, we use superlative form of the adjective (“that’s the fattest dog I’ve ever seen”).
If your adjective has one syllable (fat), then you can usually just add a –Hey or one –estimate with it. Unless!
1. It is an exception, such as words sick, Good, wrong, Good, distant, and a handful of others. Some of these words are still distorted (farthest / furthest), while others are modified with the words than or most of (as in the case with sick).
2. It is a participle (“an English verb form that functions as an adjective, and at the same time exhibits word characteristics such as tense and voice and the ability to take an object”); these adjectives, whether one syllable or more, are not modified with –Hey or –estimate. So you would say that toast is more burning than I want it to be, than use incineratorand that is lose the most I used to, “instead of using lost.
3. It is not a classable adjective. A classifiable adjective is one that allows for a change of degree (a certain dog can fatter than other dogs). The question of exactly what makes an adjective unclassifiable is a confusing one, as many people have different opinions on the matter. Some people think that some adjectives are what we call absolute (such as unique And perfect). And there are other unclassifiable adjectives, such as electronic or atomdoes not readily acknowledge the extent of change, simply because it would be awkward to do so (maybe a radio station could more electronic than the other, but it sounds weird). Not many single-syllable adjectives fall into this unclassifiable category, although at a certain time there were such words, such as plane And THAT’S RIGHT, is considered absolute. In addition, there are some unclassifiable monosyllabic adjectives (such as .) out of date), which is not fun to have –Hey or –estimate add to them.
If your adjective has two syllables then you will sometimes modify it with –Hey or –estimate, and sometimes you won’t. This is where things get a bit confusing.
1. Two-syllable adjectives ending in a vowel (such as ) tender) or a vowel (such as soft) will generally take –Hey or –estimate.
2. Two-syllable adjectives ending in r or one t will usually allow modification with –Hey or –estimate (tender / tender, quieter / quietest), although certain words, such as mellow, eagerAnd presentablewill sound special if you do this.
3. Two-syllable words ending in –D is a bit of a crapshoot; some find that the most solid/solid person sound good, while others tend to use firmer. Many people find that stupid addicted on their ears, though if we accept soldiers There’s really no reason to avoid it stupid. Similar, deeper commonly used, while fertilizer may offend the ear.
4. Most other two-syllable words end in a consonant without –Hey or –estimate (more heartless preferably callous person). But again, there are no absolute rules in this area; it’s good to say that one thing is civilian more than anything else, but it sounds rather out of place to say that someone is homeless than others.
If your adjectives have three or more syllables (and this is when things get a little less confusing), you will almost always avoid using –Hey And –estimate. Unless!
1. If your adjective has three syllables, but starts with the prefix cancel-, it may (or may not) take a –Hey or –estimate at the end (as in more annoying, most unfriendlyAnd more unhappy).
2. You are writing in an English style that existed several hundred years ago. In the 16th and 17th centuries, it was not uncommon to find words as long as honor, splendorAnd beautiful written in comparative and superlative forms.
In case you’re still not confused enough by all this, we haven’t even covered the issue of whether one should use superlative adjectives when referring to just two things. Some manuals suggest that you should use the comparative should unless you are referring to at least three things. For example, these guidelines frown upon saying someone is “the youngest in a family” if there are only two children. Other user guides, including our own, find this distinction unnecessary: for example, if this rule is strictly followed, we will be forced to say “put better step forward.”
If you’re starting to wish now that you’ve never heard of superlative and superlative adjectives, you don’t need to worry too much; there are simpler ways for you to choose than memorizing the above text. A simple way is to look up the adjective in a dictionary, which will usually specify whether –Hey//estimate or more/most called for. An even simpler alternative is to follow the advice of sage William Henry Maxwell, the 19th century author of the book Introductory lesson on English grammar: “However, there are no general rules for comparing such adjectives. The ears are the best guide.”
Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn
