OXFORD LEARNER''''S GRAMMAR 7 pptx

185 Th e order of adjectives speaker's opinion, c ome fir s !. Words expressing purpo se or type, such as el ec tromc, come later. B We sometimes use two noun s togethe r. the town wall lhe Finance Minister winter evenings Here we usc the nouns town and finance lik e adjectives, to modify wall and minister. When we use both adjective and noun modifiers, then the adjectives come fir s !. the old lawn wall the former Finance Minister dark winter evenings C The different kinds of modifi er usua ll y go in the following order. An adjective in Group I come s first, and a word from Group 1 J goes closest to the noun . 1 Opinion: beautiful, ni c e, wonderful, excellent, awful, etc 2 Size: lon g, large, small, short, tall. etc 3 Most other Qualiti es: clear, busy, famous, friendly. soft. qUiet, etc 4 Age: new, old 5 Shape: round, s quar e, fal, chin, wide, narrow, etc 6 Colour: bJue, re d, while, black. etc 7 Participle form s: running. m iss ing, covered, broken, etc 8 Origin: Brit is h, lealian, American, C hin ese, etc 9 Material: sandy. wooden, brick. paper. p las ti c, etc 10 Type: el ec tronic, human , chemicaJ, domestic, urban, money (problem s), etc II Purpos e: alarm (cl oc k), tennis (c ou.rl) , walking (boot s), etc Here are s ome examples. an old cardboard box (age + material) a German industrial company (origin + type) a large black pocket handkerchi ef (s ize + colour + typ e) plastic packaging mmerials (material + purpo se ) a small square room (s ize + s hap e) a new improv ed formula (age + parriciplc form ) a nice, friendly person ( opinion + quality) two excellent public tennis co urts (opini on + ty pe + purpose) In general, the modifier closest lO the n oun has the clos est association with the noun . For exampl e, in the phra se cwo exce ll ent public tennis courts, th e wor d te nni s is clo se ly associated w ith cou rt s, wher eas excellent do es not h ave sllch a clear c onn ection wi th court s. The rules are not absolute, and the order can somet ime s be different. For exampl e, we so metim es prefer to put a short adjective before a long one . a big horrible building NOTE Otd am i YOll ng referring lO people o ft en co me next to the noun. a dignified old lady a pale young mall Here old and young arc not st ro n gly stresse d. 253 Adjectives o A mod ifi er can l:onsist of a rw o ~wo rd compo und . a powerful high ~s peed el ec tric drill an IB ~c arat gold chain an old pal e blue football shirt E Somet im es we u se two adjectives of sim il ar m ean ing, for example two from Group 3 in C. When thiS happen s, th e shorter one o rt en co mes first. a bright, cheerful sm il e a soft, comfortable chair So metimes (\"0 different orders are both possi hl e. a pea ce ful , happy place I a happy, peaceful place V' le often put a co mma (o r a s hort pau se in spe ec h) betw ee n two adjectives o( sim il ar m ean ing. F We sometimes put and be tween two attributive adjec ti ves. a s oft, co mfortable chair I a s oft and comfortable chair We can do this when the adjectives have a similar meaning. But we do not normally use and be(\veen adjectives with diff ere nt kin ds of meanings . a beautiful sandy beach ( opinion + mate rial) We use and when the adjectives refer to different parts of some thing . a black and .white sweater (panly black and pa rtly while) We use but when me ad j ec tives ref er to t wo qua lities in contrast. a cheap but effecrive solution G The order of pre di ca ti ve adjec ti ves is less fi xed than the order before a noun . We norma ll y use mId before the last adjective. The chair was soft and co mfortable. We were a/l cold, wet, and hungry. An adjec ti ve expressing an opinion often comes last The city is old alld bea utiful . We can use bllt when the two quaJiries are in co ntr ast. The so /ulion is cheap bllt effective I cheap and effective. Nom In informal English we can u se n ice andllovely and before an adjective expressing a desirable qualilY· The room UHIS nice and warm . (= nice ly warm) 186 Gradable and ungradable adjectives 254 Most adjectives are gradable - they express qualities which can exist in different grades or degrees. For exa mpl e, we can ta lk about different degrees 187 Amusing and amused. interesting and Interested of warmth, difficulty, or tiredness. /t's very/extremely warm today. I thought the test questions were fa irly difficul l. f feel a bit tired now. Some adjectives are ungradabl e. Many of them express qualities such as magnificence or perfection, which cannot exist in different degrees. We do not norma ll y usc words like /Jery , extr eme ly,fairly, or a bit with an ungradable adjec ti ve, but we can use absolutely. It 's absol ute ly boiling toda y. I feel abso l ute ly exhaust ed now . With some ungradable adjectives we can also u se completely or totally. You're asking so mething that's comple tely impossible, I'm afraid. It's a totally incredible sw ry. Here arc some examples of ungradable adjectives. absurd delicious exhausting ideal stunning amazed delighted extraordinary impos sible terrible amazing determined false incomprehensible terrific appalled devastated fascinated incredible terrified appalling devastating fascinating ludicrous terrifying aWful dreadful ghastly magnificent thrilled brilliant enormous gorgeous marvellous thrilling certain essential horrible pe rfect useless complete exhausted huge ridiculous vast We can li se really and so with both gradable and ungradable adjectives. The food was r ea ll y good/so good. The food was really delicious /s o delicious. TIP Don't use very with an ungradable adjective like fr eezing or ex cellent. Say It 's freezing or ]t 's very cold but NOT ~e" freezing. Say I t's excellent or /t"s very good but NOT It's l;Ie" exeelielH. NOTE a So metimes in informal speech, rather, fairly, or pretty is used with an ungradabJe adjective. The task ts fairly ir1l1mssible . I feel pretty ex haus ted flOW . h For the meanmg of quite \vith a gr<ldab lelungradablc adjectiv e, > 1 97 . ~7 Amusing and amused, interesti ng and interested Co mpar e the adjectives ending in ·ing and -ed. 255 Adjectives The film made us laugh a lot. Il was very amusing. I talked to an int eresting man. I find these statistics confusing. This weat.her is depressing, isn't it? Adjectives e nding in -ing express the idea that so mething affects us. A film is amusing becau se it makes us laugh. It ca n al so he interesting, The audience laughed a lot. They were very amused. I was interested in what he was telling : me. I'm. confused by these statistics. Don't you [eel depressed when it rains so much? Adjectives end ing in -ed express the feelings we have about something. We are amused whe n we se e somet hing funny . We can also be imerested, exc iled , or bored. exciting, or boring . . ~ - Some pairs of adjectives like this are: alarming, amazing, amusing, annoying, boring, confusing, depressing, disappointing, exciting, exhausring, fascinating, frightening, interesting, pleasing, puzzling, relaxing, shocking, surprising, thrilling, tiring, worrying alarm ed, amazed, amused, annoyed, bored, confused, depressed, disappointed, excited, exhausted, fascinated, frightened, interested, pleased, puzzled, relaxed, shocked, surprised, thrilled, tired, worried 188 The + adjective A The poor, the disabled, etc Z56 We can use the + adjective to refer to some groups of people in SOCie ty. In those days the poor had a miserable time . (= poor people in general) There are more churchgoers among the old than among the young. (= old/y oung peopl e in general) We can al so say poor people, old people, etc with the same general meaning. In those days poor people had a miserable time. \.vhen we want to talk about a spec ific person or group of p eop le, we use a young man, the old people, etc. A young man ha s been arrested. (NOT A-yottng-has ) The old people have gone on a coach trip. (NOT -Fhe-oId-httfte-gOtte ) The + adjective take s a plura l verb. The old are more frequently ill than lhe rest of the population. But we do not add an ·s to the adjective. (N OT t-Ite-t!ld3) So me adjeclives and participle forms llsed in this way are: hlin.d, dead, deaf, disabled, disadvQlllaged, elderly, handicapped, homeless, hungry, tilling, middle-aged, old , poor, privileged, rich, sick, Sighted, strong, underprivileged, unempLoyed, weak, young. 188 The + adjective The adjective can have an adverb in front of it. the very rich lhe severely disabled lhe partially sighted Some adjectives normally have an adverb. the more/less fortunale the mentally ill NOTE a In a few wntCX IS, the + participle can mean a specific group of people rather than people in gencwl. The injured were ltlkctl to JlOspiUlf . It can also mean one specific p erSf)ll . The accused was found not gw/cy b There are a few words Ihal can come after alan referring to a specific person. Now a superstar, size was all unknown only cwo years ago. c There are a few adjec ti ves that we ca ll use as nouns, such as colour words. T he}' can furlll a plural with -5. a black (= a black person) the Greens (= supporters of the green movemcnl) d Some adJecllves of nationality can be llsed with the 10 mean a whole people, e.g the French, the Swiss B The supernatural, the absurd, etc There are some adjectives and participle forms that we can use after the tD refer to things in general which have a particular quality. Lots of people believe in the supernatural. It was a journey into the unknown. The supernatural means 'supernatural happening s in general'. Here the + adjectivel participle takes a singular verb. Th e new takes ouer from the old. Some words used in this way are absurd, mysterious, new, old, ordinary, supernal.ural, unexplained, unknown. C The unexpected, the good thing, etc There are a few words that we can use after the with a more speci fic meaning. Arid lhell, suddenly, the unexpected happened. (= something that was unexpected) Have you heard the latest? (= the lat es t news) We fear the worst, but we must hope for the best. At this lime of year / leave home in the dark. I'm sorry, but you're asking the impossible. We use the + adjective/participle + thing to talk about a particular aspect of a situation. This pattern is rather informal. The good thing about friends is that you can choose them , finlike relatives. The annoying thing (aboUl it) was that there were empty seats in tile s tadium , but they still wouldn't lel us in. We cannot leave out thing here. In Ihis pattern with thing we can use many difFerent words. So me of these are: amazing, annoying, awful, best, funny, good, greal, interesting, nice, odd, remarkable, sad, strange, worst. 257 Adverbials 189 Introduction A Each of these sentences contains onc or mor c adver bials. Slowly we were moving forwards. The queue stretched around the block. We have now been wai lin g forty minutes . Ellentuaily we reach ed lhe entrance. Very ofwn an adverbial is an extra clement w hich co uld be left o ut . F or example, we could say We reached the entran.ce witho ut an adverbial. Putting in an adverbial adds something to the meaning . It tells us how , when, or where so mething happ ene d. B An adverbial can be a si ngle word or a phras e. A co mmon kind of adverbial is a pr epositional phra s e. Th e queue stretched arollnd the block. I wish I'd stayed at home. An adverbial can also be a simp le adverb. e.g. fon l.l ards. patiently. Ther e can be an adverb of degree (e. g. ve1Y) in front of the adverb. The queue was moving forwards. Everyone waited very patiently . An adverbial can also be a noun phr ase, although this is less frequent. We hav e been wailing forty minutes. f heard th e news last week. TIP Try not to confuse the words adverb and adverbia l. An adverb is a word class, like a noun or adjective. An adverb is a w ord like softly, carefully, now, today, there, ce rtainly. An adverbiaJ is a se ntence elem ent, like a s ubject or object. It can be a Single-word adverb, or it can be a phrase. Examples are badly, maybe, in a strange way, at the moment, outside the college, this morning. C Sometimes an adverbial is necessary to co mplete a sentence. > 4 The queue stretched around the block. The first performallce is tomorrow . J put the tickets in my wallet. Here the se nten ce would not m ake sense w ithout the adverbial. D S ome adverbials can also be u se d to modi fy other part s of the se ntenc e. For 258 ex ample, an adverbial can come after a noull. :> 14 3 The performan ce yesterday was brilliant. The car in front . of us was going very slowly. The annoufl ce melll last week ca me as a shock to all of us. 190 The position of adverblal s An adverb of de gr ee can mOdi fy an adjective or an adverb. > 196 The performance was quite good. Everyone wailed very patie ntl y. , 190 The position of adverbials A Introduction The position of adverbials is a comp li cated area of grammar. There is usually morc than one possible pl ace in a Se ntence where an adverbial can go. Ba sica lly , it can go at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a se nten ce. Front position: Naturally , we were hoping for good new s. Mid position: We were naturally hoping for good new s. End position: We were hoping for good news, naturally . For more details about each of these positions, > 8- F. Where we put an adverbial depe nd s on a number of factors, such as what type of adverbial it is - manne r, or time, or frequency, and so on. For details about the position of the different types of adverbial, > 19 3-2 02 . The best position m ay also depend on how long the adverbial is - whether it is a single word or a longer phrase. The choice is often a matter of sty le: for example, a long phrase goes better at the beginning or end of a sentence rather than in the middle. I can't answer that qu es tion in a satisfactory way. (No'r f-crm 'f in a smis.facttwy-way-tt~l - h{t {-t ftte$fffJn .) Another factor is the information structure of the se nt ence. We sometimes choose to put an adverbial in front position ro link with th e pr ev ious sen/cnce or to giv e great er emphasis to the adverbial. > 34A The man was taken to a police station. There he was searched and found to be carrying a quantity of heroin. I had a long wail. In the end 1 gOl to see a do clO r. Sometimes (he choice of position can affect th e meaning of a se nt en ce. Clearly, he didn 't explain things. (; It is clear that he didn't explain things.) He did,,', explain thin gs clearly. (:: He didn't explain things in a clear way.) NOTE We somclimes use commas wilh adverhials. Co mmas are more lik ely with longer phrases and wilh certain Iypes or adve rbi a l, such as a Inuh adverbial. B Front position Front position is at the beginning of a clause. Sure enough, there was an enormou s qu eu e. Just wait a moment, could you? After a while I got used £0 the noi se of the traffi c. Most types of adverbial ca ll go here. 259 Adverbials If there is a con jun ct ion (e.g. but, because), it .comes before the adverbial in front po si tion. The noise of the traffic was terribl e. BUl aftrr a whil e J got used to il . We invest in shares because in the long ru~ their value will increase. We often put an adverbial In front position when it relates to what has gone before. We sLOppe d 10 get so me petr ol. And then the car wouldn't star t. l'l l€ go t a bus)1 week. On Tuesday J have to go to London. Fo r morc examples, :> 34A. C Mid pos i tio n 260 Mid position is close to the verb. If th ere is an aux.i li ary ver b, the a dv erbial usua ll y comes immediate ly a ft er it. Those kids are always hanging around the str eets. The adverbial also comes immediately after the ordinary verb be. This came ra is defillitely faulty. If there is a si mp l c·rc nse verb, the adverbial comes before it. We usually deal with the mail first. Here are s ome more exa mple s of adverbials in mid po si tion. (A uxiliary) (O tdin ary S ubj ec t verb be) Adverbial (Verb) It doe sn't often rain in the Sahara. I 've j ust had a chat with Jill. Things will very soon start to improlle. The story is probab ly ,untrue. So m eone probably made 'the stOlY up. You always look smart. If there are two auxiliaries, then mid posi ti o njs usually after the first one . I've just been chatling to Jill. Things will s oon be looking up. But adverbs of m an n er and s ome ad verbs of degree go after the second auxiliary in mid position. We've been patient ly queuing for tickets. You could have completely spoiled everythin g. NOTe In a quest ion Ihere is Inversion of subject and aux.iliary before an adverbial in mid pos it ion. fiaue you just had a chat with Jill? How doe~ Mat/hew always look so sma rt ? Here the adverbial rollows the subjecL l , 190 The pos it ion of adverbials D Phrases in mid position Most types of adverbial can go in mid position. Advcrbials in mid position arc usua ll y single-wo rd adverbs, but a short phra se with an adverb of degree such as very, quite, or hardly is also possible. I would very much like to visit your CDum - ry. We hardly eller go out in lhe evenings. Must other kinds of phrase cannot go in mid position. Compare these sente nce s. You always look smart. (adverb in mid position) You look sma rt all the lime. (phrase in end po si tion) (NOT ¥(tu-all-the-time laak Sf1l8:1 t.) But phrHses which are trulh adverbials, comment adverbials, or linking adverbials can so metimes go in mid position. The experiment has on the whole proved unsuccessful. This pattern is rather formal. E Mid position before an auxiliary When there is an auxiliary ve rb, a mid-position adverb usually comes after the auxiliary. > C ['ve always liked the Bealle s. You Ire obviously dying to make a sl an But we sometimes put an adverb after the subject and before an auxiliary or before the ordinary verb be. 1 always did lik e the Beatles. You obviously ARB in. a bit of trouhle. This happens with emphatic do, or when the verb is stressed (o bviously ARE)_ Some adverbs such as truth adverbs usually come before a negative auxiliary. You obviously haven'l been lislening to me. It probably doesn't maller very much. Some adverbs can co me before or after the negative auxiliary. l.ook at these examples with really and deliberately. I really don't know the (.mswe r. (I don 't know at aiL) I don't really know (h e answer. (I am unsure.) [ deliberately didn 't leave (he compuler on. (T left it off on purpos e.) I didn 't deliberately leave the comp uter on. (I left it on by mistake .) Luuk aL Lhe se examples where words arc le ft out after the auxilia ry (wdl, do). Will you be going w the party? , Yes, [ probably will. My husband u sually gets up early, but [ never do. Here the adverb comes after (he subject and before the auxiliary. An adverb also goes before hUlIe lO, used to, and oughe to. I never have to wail long for a bus. There definitely used to be a jo(){pmh through the woods. NOTE With used to we can put the Hdverb afwr used, bill this is rather formal. There used definilely w he (1 jvolpfIlll through tile woods. 261 Adverbials F E nd p os iti on Sometimes an adverbia l comes at the end of a clause . II doesn't often min in the Sahara. Everyone waired very patie ntl y. I wish I'd stayed at home . Almost all types of adverbial can go in end position. For details abo ut more than one adverbia l in end position, > 191. If th ere is an object, then the adverbial usually goes after it. 1 wrapped the parcel ca refully. (NOT / wrapped ctlrejitHy-ffte-p<treel. l We 'll finish lhe joh next week. (NOT Wt-H-{tttisft ne:xt -week-fflt!jttb.) But a short adverbial can go before a l ong object. I wrapped carefully all lhe glasses and ornaments. Here the adverb of manner can also go in mid position. J car ef ull y wrapped all the glasses and ornaments. When th ere are two clauses, the position of the adverbial can affect the meaning . They agreed immediately that the goods would be replaced. (an immediate agreement) They agreed that the goods would be replaced im med iately. ( an immediate repl acement) TIP Don't put an adverb in front of a short object. Say We finished the job quickly, NOT Wt-jinishet1-qttie1<ly-the-job . 191 Order of adverbials in end position A Sometimes there is more (han one adverbial in e nd po sition. U sua ll y a shorter adverbial goes before a longer onc. Sam waited impatiently outside the posr office. We sat indoors most of the afternoon. A policeman in spected the car thorough ly in a very officious man n er. B When there is a close link in meaning between a verb ana an adverbial. the n the adverbial goes directly after the verb. For examp le, we usually put un adverbial of place next to go, come, ClC. f don't want to go to school today. Why did you come home lale? C Phrases of lime and place can go in ei ther order. 262 There was an accident last night Oil the by-pass. There was an accidem on the by-pass last night. [...]... ending in -Iy After a consonant, final y changes to i e.g easy -+ easily > 280A With a consonant + Ie, Ie changes to -Iy, e.g probable -+ probably > 278 D The ending -ic changes to ically, e.g magic -+ magically > 278 D After II we add -y, e.g full-+ fully > 279 B Note B There arc so me adjectives which end in -Iy, e.g friendly We ca nnot add another - 1)1 (0 such a n adjective Instead we can u se a phrase... these adverbs with gradabJe and ungradable adjectives, > 166 271 Adverbials We can also use an adverb of degree before another adverb YOll co uld improlJe your performance quite easily f'I/ have to decide fairly soon I Iwrdly elJer see Kale nowadays Here are some adverbs of degree absolutely, completely, entirely quite (= completely> 1 97) , totally awfully (informal), extremely, real (informal), really,... fiat's in a bit of a mess We sometimes use quite in this pattern 10 express a pos itive feeling about something impressive That was quite a party The meaning is similar to 'that was some party > 172 F Note b 1 97 More details about quite and rather A In British English quite has two meanings Medium degree: 'fairly' I'ull degree: 'completely' The lask is quite difficult The film was quite good 1 feel quite... (focu s on (he warmth) We were home quite LATE (focus on the lat '7ness) Sometimes we can stress quite before a gradable adjective We do This to limit the force of [he adjective or adverb It's QUTTE warm, bUl not as warm as it was (focus on the medium degree) We were hom e QUITIi lale but nOl very late (focll s on the medium degree) 276 198 Only and even C Qllite and rmher have a similar mea ning, but... (We have added the teacher 1 0 the invltallon lis!.) B When we focus on the subject, we PUI only o r even before it Only you would do a silly riling like thaI Even the experts don 't know the answer 277 Adverbials C There Circ a number of oth er uses of only For example we can lise it when we talk about so mething happeni ng a surprisingly short time ago I tidied th is room up only yesterday, and now... adject ives end in -er and -est Long adjectives have more and most For more details, > C-E There are some spelling rules ·for -erl-est There is no doubling of e: fine finer> 278 A There is doubling of some consonants: hot -+ hottest> 279 y changes 10 i: heavy heavier> 280, Adjectives ending in -ng are pronounced with Igl before -erl-est, e ,g, younger I'jA Dga /, longest 1'loDglsl1 282 203 The comparison... liost quite a bit of money almost/nearly + all/every Almost all the chairs were occupied There seems to be a plane crash nearly every week hardly any There's hardly any difference between the two designs 274 196 Adverbs of degre e a loti muchl a bill a littLel anyl no + more/ less You'd gel u lot less money without a qualification There's sun, sand and sea and much more besides I'd like a bit more time... an adjective or adverb Are you old enough to drive a car? I didn '{ react quickly enough Compare too and enough The water is too cold The water isn't warm enough Nom For enol/gil as a quantifier, "> 173 A There isn 't enough time H Adverbs of degree and a/an We can use most adverbs of degree between a/an and an adjective a very warm welcome afairly important m eeting a rather nice restaurant But not... gel as nice a view on lhis side (NOT COl (1.1 ntee-uiew) We can also use so and an adjective before a /an , although the pattern with such is more usual You don 't get so nice a view/such a nice view 2 75 Adverbials We can use such quite, and rather + alan + noun without an adjective Why are you making such a fuss? We had to wait quite a while It 's rather a pity we can't go out We can also use a bit... have J felt betler E Never is a nega tive word meaning 'not ever' 1 wOljld never do a Ihing like that (= I wouldn't ever do it.) We never ask for your password (::: We don't ever ask for your password.) 270 196 Adverbs of degree We use ever mainly in questions Have you ever done any ballroom dancing?-No, never But we can also use ever with negative words such as not or hardly I wouldn't ever do a thing . probable -+ probably. > 278 D The e nding -ic c han ges to ically, e.g. magic -+ magically. > 278 D After II we add -y, e.g. full-+ fully. > 279 B Note B There arc so me. flOW . h For the meanmg of quite vith a gr<ldab lelungradablc adjectiv e, > 1 97 . ~7 Amusing and amused, interesti ng and interested Co mpar e the adjectives ending in ·ing. completely> 1 97) , totally awfully (informal), extremely, real (informal), really, terribly (informal)' too, very fairly, pretty (informal), quite (= fairly> 1 97) , rather, somewhat