308. Complexities of “Whole”

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“Whole” can be confusing because of its similarity to “all” and its variable noun/adjective status

TOPIC OVERVIEW

Whole is a familiar word with surprising complexities, some of which cause error among inexperienced users of English. As it is also common in professional writing, I wish here to examine it in detail. Key points include its pronunciation, grammatical class variation, meaning subtleties, usage after a(n) and the, usage before of, and its occurrence within fixed phrases. The post finishes with a practice exercise.

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PRONUNCIATION AND BASIC MEANING

I expect most readers will know that the “w” at the start of whole is not pronounced (see 155. Silent Consonants, #8). Perhaps less well known is the closeness of the pronunciation of whole to that of all. Apart from the /h/ at the start of whole, both have a similar-sounding vowel before a final /l/. In Southern British English, the vowel in whole is variably pronounced /ɒ/ or /əυ/, while that in all is /ɔ/ – a difference mainly of length.

This pronunciation similarity can be a particular problem for speakers of languages, such as French, that do not usually allow the /h/ sound at the start of words. In listening especially, the /h/ of whole is not likely to be very noticeable, leaving similarities of pronunciation that, combined with the meaning similarity, may easily cause whole and all to be confused. One common resultant error is a belief that *the all is possible (instead of all the), this having been the way the whole was interpreted in listening (see 144. Words that are Often Heard Wrongly).

Meaning-wise, whole carries, of course, the idea of completeness or totality. On top of that, and distinguishing it from all (see 169. “All”, “Each” and “Every”), it usually conveys one of three possible messages. One is a very strong indication that all rather than some of something is being talked about:

(a) The whole enterprise took three days.

This very clearly associates three days with all of the enterprise rather than any part of it. Quite often, there will be preceding information about some or all of the parts (for example, a description of the first day’s activity above), so that whole is making a contrast with it, and hence even more clearly indicating a change of focus.

Whole could be called “emphatic” in this use because the same meaning would actually be still understandable without it. However, in speech, whole would not normally be pronounced in an emphatic way.

The second main use of whole is to suggest in an emphatic way the idea of “more than expected”:

(b) The awful noise went on for a whole day.

This says that a day was a very long time to suffer from the awful noise. Normally in such sentences, the pronunciation of both whole and its partner noun (day above) would be emphatic (see 125. Stress and Emphasis).

Thirdly, whole can mean “over-arching” or “covering all other possibilities”. Used like this, it typically goes between the… and, most often, either idea (= proposal), plan, point, purpose or reason. There is often a suggestion that the addressee has failed to recognise the idea (etc.) as the key one (But that’s the whole idea!).

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GRAMMATICAL FEATURES

1. Word Class Variation

Whole is mostly used as a noun or adjective. It is a noun when not directly followed by a noun or noun phrase e.g.:

(c) A whole is often greater than its parts.

By far the most common noun use is before of, e.g. the whole of the world.

As an adjective, whole usually describes a directly-following noun or noun phrase (e.g. the whole world, a whole new science), or the pronoun one (a whole one), or a noun located before and separated by a link verb like BE (e.g. the fossil was whole).

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2. Combination with a Following Noun

Most noun types can follow the whole of:

*SINGULAR COUNTABLE WITH a(n): the whole of an afternoon
*SINGULAR COUNTABLE WITH the: the whole of the afternoon
*PLURAL COUNTABLE: the whole of afternoons
*PLURAL COUNTABLE WITH the: the whole of the afternoons
PROPER: the whole of France
*PROPER WITH the: the whole of the United States
UNCOUNTABLE TYPE A: the whole of childhood
UNCOUNTABLE TYPE B: all luggage
*UNCOUNTABLE WITH the: the whole of the childhood/luggage

For information about which proper nouns usually follow the, see 47. Article Errors with Proper Nouns.

Uncountable nouns that I call “type A” seem usually to represent something with a fairly clear boundary. Childhood, for example, is bounded by a quite definite number of years. “Type B” nouns lack this feature. This difference is important above only where uncountable nouns lack the (through having “generic” meaning), since it leads to type B nouns typically following all rather than the whole of.

Other examples of type A uncountable nouns – easily usable like childhood after the whole of – are humanity and business. Other examples of type B uncountable nouns are love and air. Practice in recognising the two types of uncountable noun, and hence where the whole of is possible, is offered in an exercise below.

The combinations marked * above can alternatively drop the whole of and place just whole directly before the final noun:

the whole of an afternoon → a whole afternoon
the whole of the afternoon → the whole afternoon
the whole of afternoons → whole afternoons
the whole of the afternoons → the whole afternoons
the whole of the United States → the whole United States
the whole of the luggage → the whole luggage

Note the absence from this list of proper nouns that normally lack the, such as France.  They must keep the whole of. Usage with just the whole (e.g. *the whole France) is a common error. One other noun with this requirement is humanity – *the whole humanity should be avoided.

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FIXED EXPRESSIONS AND DERIVATIVES

Two important preposition phrases are on the whole and as a whole. Each is unusual in not allowing a choice between adverbial and adjectival use (see 84. Seven Things to Know about Prepositions, #2). On the whole is always adverbial. It might be expected to mean “wholly” (see 85. Preposition Phrases and Corresponding Adverbs), but it in fact means “generally”. As a whole is purely adjectival, needing a noun just before it to link with:

(d) Fuel price changes affect economies as a whole.

Elsewhere, whole has special meanings associated with one or more particular expressions. In whole milk and wholemeal, it suggests that nothing has been removed from a commodity that very often does have something removed from it: fat in the former case, wheat germ in the latter. In the whole story, where the meaning of story is “explanation” rather than “narrative”, whole suggests inclusion of everything regardless of inconvenience, so that not the whole story implies omission of information, often in order to deceive.

A whole before various singular “collective” nouns (suggesting multiplicity), such as collection, crowd, group, myriad, range, variety and informal lot, makes the multiplicity sound greater. These nouns are often followed by of – e.g. a whole range of objections – while a whole lot is also possible before comparative adjectives or adverbs, e.g. a whole lot better, a whole lot more quickly (see 194 Adverbs that Say How Much, #4).

Another common combination is the whole (of the) time used to show that an extended event or situation is happening throughout the occurrence of another one (see 225. Simultaneous Occurrence, #3). It may or may not be combined with a following subject + verb linked by a visible or understood when:

(e) Solar panels produce electricity the whole time (when) the sun is shining.

Also notable is a whole new before a noun to emphasise that the noun idea is not just a replacement of an old one but also completely different from it. Common partner nouns include approach, ball game (= situation), meaning, method, set, understanding and way.

Finally, whole occurs within a small number of compound words like wholemeal above. Food described as wholesome is health-promoting. Whole-hearted describing a person or behaviour suggests total, unreserved belief or commitment. Wholesale is a noun, verb, adjective or adverb referring to goods sold in large quantities to other sellers, usually very cheaply.

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PRACTICE USING “the whole of”

Some of the uncountable nouns in the list below can follow the whole of and some cannot (usually needing all instead). Can you separate the two groups? Answers are given after.

destruction, freedom, health, history, humanity, information, justice, life, logic, love, manufacturing, nature, paper, politics, research, science, silence, society, storage, suffering, time, truth, vegetation, water, work, yesterday.

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Answers

Nouns allowing the whole of are underlined:

destruction, freedom, health, history, humanity, information, justice, life, logic, love, manufacturing, nature, paper, politics, research, science, silence, society, storage, suffering, time, truth, vegetation, water, work, yesterday.

Note that logic after the whole of refers to the subject known as logic, not logic itself; while nature means “the natural world”, not “type”.

305. Wording next to Superlatives

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There is a variety of typical wording that can accompany superlative adjectives and adverbs

THE COMPLEXITY OF SUPERLATIVES

The superlative form of adjectives and adverbs (with -est or most) is not difficult to recognise, form or understand, but the choice of wording next to it can be more of a problem because it is constrained by a surprising variety of grammatical rules. It is these rules that I wish to focus on here. I expect readers will know some of them already, but that few will know them all.

Before examining these rules, however, it may be helpful to summarise a few basics about superlatives. With superlative adjectives, the choice between -est and most is of course determined by syllable numbers, the former being preferred with single-syllable adjectives (e.g. clearest), the latter with most multi-syllable ones (e.g. most accurate).

For forming superlative adverbs, -est is again mainly possible with shorter forms. However, where these end with -ly, -est is often not simply added onto the end as with adjectives, but takes the place of -ly. For example, the -est form of clearly is clearest, not *clearliest. The -liest ending is only possible with -ly adverbs that could also be adjectives, such as early (for a list, see 120. Six Things to Know about Adverbs, #6). This rule means, of course, that superlative adjectives and adverbs with -est are spelled the same, leaving only adjectives and adverbs with most looking visibly different from each other.

Sometimes, though, short -ly adverbs like clearly are used with most instead of -est, probably because -est is considered rather informal. The only -est forms that do not allow this choice seem to be irregular ones like best, worst and furthest.

Superlative adjectives are usually located near a noun – before or after them – that they can be understood as “describing” (see 283. Lesser-Known Features of Adjectives). Superlative adverbs, on the other hand, add information about a verb, adjective, other adverb or entire sentence. When both have the same spelling, a sentence position where these two uses can be especially difficult to distinguish is directly after a verb. Adjectives there are probably describing the verb’s subject; adverbs the verb. Consider this:

(a) Air coolers are best in dry climates.

The superlative best is here an adjective describing air coolers. This is because the verb (are) is the kind that must be followed by a “complement” – a noun or adjective giving information about its subject (see 220. Features of Complements, #2). Since there is no other noun or adjective after are that could be understood as its complement, best must be that word, and it must be an adjective because complements are not usually adverbs.

Best becomes an adverb in (a), however, if are is replaced by the verb work. This is not a complement-taking verb, so no wording after it can describe its subject. With best now lacking a noun to describe, it ceases to be an adjective and becomes an adverb instead. Thus, when a superlative after a verb has identically-spelled adjective and adverb forms, it is the grammatical properties of the verb that are the main clue to which of these forms is present.

Meaning-wise, superlatives, like comparatives, express what I have elsewhere called a “relative” difference – more or less of something rather than whether it is present or absent (see 216. Indicating Differences). Unlike with comparatives, though, the difference that they express relates to at least two other things, not just one (see 312. Grammar Command Test 3, #a).

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THE PARTNER WORDING OF SUPERLATIVES

1. An Implicit Following Noun

Superlative adjectives differ from base-form ones in being usable without a nearby mention of the noun they are describing:

(c) When there are numerous tasks to undertake, start with the easiest.

Here, easiest has no noun in close proximity that it could be linked with in the normal manner of adjectives. It is linked to the implicit idea of “task” by the wider context. By contrast, if the base form easy was used instead, it would need to be followed by one(s), a pronoun referring back to tasks: ending with just *the easy would be grammatically incorrect. This pronoun-dropping property of superlatives is also possessed by comparative forms (see 102. Adjectives with no Noun 2).

A further use of superlative adjectives with an implicit following noun, this time shared by base-form nouns, is when the noun refers to the general idea of “people”. Just as the rich can mean “rich people” and the young can mean “young people” (see 6. Adjectives with No Noun 1), so the richest and the youngest can mean “people (in general) who are the richest/ youngest”.

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2. A Preceding “the”

Superlative adjectives and adverbs mostly require the before them, but sometimes they can or must drop it. One place where the is sometimes dropped is before adjectives in the complement position:

(d) The police are (the) busiest in the summer.

Including the before the superlative complement busiest here is likely to make a comparison between the subject of the sentence (the police) and an implied similar group (e.g. other workers). Less probably, the comparison will be between the subject and itself in different situations. Dropping the, by contrast, only makes this latter kind of comparison. Replacing the with at their can do the same (see 311. Exotic Grammar Structures 9, #3).

One other place where the is sometimes dropped is before a superlative adverb saying something about a verb (i.e. not describing an adjective or other adverb, as in the most clearly visible). Dropping the makes no meaning difference:

(e) Motor accidents occur (the) most often at night.

For further details about the before superlatives, see 82. Common Errors in Making Comparisons, #9.

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3. A Preceding “a(n)”

Sometimes, the before a superlative adjective needs to be replaced by a(n). A common marketing term, for example, is a best buy (= “merchandise providing best value for money”).

Using a shows that other “best buys” exist. The superlative form is possible because each “best buy” is in a different category from the others, and is being elevated only above the other members of its category, rather than all other “best buys”. For example, calling a TV a best buy would say it was the best TV to buy, without saying how it compared with other products.

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4. A following “of”

Sometimes, a noun after a superlative adjective is separated from it by of meaning “among”:

(f) The most interesting of the anecdotes was (or were) provided by children.

A noun directly after a superlative adjective can be singular or plural in the normal way. With of, however, this noun is always plural, regardless of whether a singular or a plural idea is being expressed. This is because the superlative is not actually describing the plural noun after of, but is rather describing an earlier singular or plural version of it that has been left unmentioned to avoid repetition. In sentence (f), for example, the underlined part means “the most interesting anecdote (or anecdotes) of the anecdotes” (see 160. Uses of “of”, #5).

Of the is added after a superlative to show a very strong expectation that the subsequent noun represents an already-familiar idea. Of alone, by contrast, indicates a weak expectation, while a normal superlative, with nothing added, indicates a medium-level expectation (see 247. Exotic Grammar Structures 6, #3).

If a preposition after a superlative does not mean “among”, it cannot usually be of. Consider this:

(g) The Vatican is the smallest state … Europe.

Of is not possible in the space here because the idea of “among” clearly does not fit. The correct choice before a location name like Europe is in. Yet the idea of “among” is still implicit in the sentence: it could be made explicit by changing state into of the states.

A common task in English language tests is to paraphrase a sentence containing a superlative + of with one containing the corresponding comparative. Consider, for example, the following:

(h) Mercury is the nearest of the planets to the sun.

How might this be paraphrased by starting Mercury is nearer to the sun…? The key is to include the word other after than: …than any/all of the other planets.

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5. A Preceding “one of the”

As indicated above, superlative adjectives can describe plural nouns as well as singular ones. For example, the most interesting chapters of a book would refer to two or more chapters out of a larger total in the book. The chapters may or may not all be equally interesting.

One of the before a superlative adjective indicates both that the adjective is describing multiple noun ideas and that accompanying information is about just one of them. If the noun is mentioned after the superlative adjective, it must be plural. In the book example, one of the most interesting (chapters) would associate accompanying information with one of the chapters covered by the superlative (see 263. Uses of “One” and “Ones”, #4).

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6. A Preceding or Following Strength Expression

Strength expressions indicate how strongly or weakly an adjective or adverb meaning applies. For example, very, as in very fast, indicates high strength of base-form meanings. English has numerous strength words and phrases (mostly adverbial), but very few that are equally usable with base, comparative and superlative forms. Very links only with base forms (see 194. Adverbs that Say How Much).

Superlative adjectives and adverbs can be accompanied by a surprising variety of strength expressions, but their relative positions are not always the same: some strength expressions precede the superlative, some go after, and some allow a choice. Common possibilities are:

USUALLY BEFORE SUPERLATIVES

just about, fractionally, marginally, much, very much, easily, far and away, quite, the very

USUALLY AFTER SUPERLATIVES

available, conceivable, ever, of all, imaginable, possible, so far, yet

BEFORE OR AFTER

up to a point, by far

Note the difference between the positions of by far and far and away (see 292. Synonym Pairs with Contrasting Grammar 2, #6), plus the inclusion of strength-showing adjectives alongside adverbs in the after-superlative list (see 269. Exotic Grammar Structures 7, #3).

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7. A Following Infinitive

Most superlative adjectives can make an adjective phrase by combining with a to (infinitive) verb:

(i) The cold virus is the likeliest to be contracted.

Often, the superlative’s base form is equally able to link with an infinitive (see 83. Adjectives before a “to” Verb). In (h), for example, likely would be equally grammatical before the indicated infinitive. With some superlatives, though, such replacement is not grammatically possible. This would be the case in (h), for example, if likeliest was replaced by most frequent.

It often seems to be the case that non-replaceable superlatives like the most frequent allow a following infinitive to be paraphrased with a relative clause (with who, which, that etc.) whereas replaceable ones do not (see 269. Exotic Grammar Structures 7, #4).

304. Adjectives Made from a Verb

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Some English adjectives are made by changing a verb spelling

WORDS MADE FROM OTHER WORDS

A word can be said to be “made from” another word if it is clearly linked in meaning and most of its letters are the same but added to at the start or end. For example, the adjective microscopic could be described as made from the noun microscope, and the noun brilliance could be viewed as made from the adjective brilliant (see 255. Nouns Made from Adjectives).

English has numerous words made from other words. Already in this blog, there have been the above-mentioned post about adjectives, a similar one about nouns made from verbs (249. Action Noun Endings), and one about the variety of word endings in general (172. Multi-Use Suffixes). I believe this kind of study to be valuable in language learning for vocabulary development. English language coursebooks tend to approach it under the heading of “word families”.

Like the two noun types in previous Guinlist posts, adjectives made from verbs are numerous and characterised by a variety of endings. Presenting these endings along with a sizeable sample of their associated adjectives seems to be a worthwhile means of both helping new words to be learned and dealing with unfamiliar words during reading and writing (see 177. How to Guess Meanings in a Text).

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RECOGNISING ADJECTIVES MADE FROM VERBS

Before the main discussion, it is useful to consider some problems that arise in the identification of adjectives made from verbs. One matter that is easily resolved is which of the various possible spellings of a verb – for example with or without -s – should be considered. The normal practice, also followed here, is to ignore special verb endings and just concentrate on the “base” form.

One recognition problem is adjectives spelt exactly the same as the base form of their related verb, such as clean, open and welcome (see 283. Lesser-Known Features of Adjectives, #3). I suspect that some of these started out as verbs and started later to be used as adjectives as well, but others developed in reverse. With there seeming to be no clear indication of which usage is more “basic”, I include adjectives of this kind in the discussion below.

Another problem is adjectives that could as conceivably be made from a noun as from a verb. One type – illustrated by hopeful, panicky and photographic – is related to a noun and verb with identical spellings (hope, panic and photograph). I prefer to exclude such adjectives as derived from a verb because their endings are more typical of adjectives made from nouns (for numerous other -ful examples, see 106. Word-Like Suffixes).

A different adjective type is related to a noun and a verb that each has its own spelling, such as responsive (verb = RESPOND, noun = response). I do not exclude such adjectives, as there is no proof that they are related to the verb via the noun rather than directly.

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ENDINGS OF VERB-DERIVED ADJECTIVES

1. “Zero” Endings

Adjectives spelled exactly like a related verb are surprisingly numerous. Some are “homonyms”, with unchanged pronunciation; some are “homographs”, pronounced differently (see 11. Homonyms and Homographs).

Common examples are absent, average, clean, clear, complete, content, corrupt, direct, dirty, double, empty, equal, hurt, level, lower, manifest, narrow, near, open, perfect, slow, suspect, total and welcome. The adjective present (opposite of absent) is excluded here because it lacks a meaning link with the verb PRESENT. The verb ABSENT normally needs a -self word as object (see 268. Types of “-self” Object, #5).

In addition, there are some longer adjectives – mostly homographs – that are spelt with -ate, e.g. animate, articulate, consummate, degenerate, deliberate, duplicate, prostrate and subordinate (see 172. Multi-Use Suffixes, #4).

Adjectives spelled the same as a verb are usually very similar in meaning to the verb’s “past” participle (with -ed or irregular equivalent). Often, the difference is that the adjective implies nothing about when its meaning began to be true of its partner noun, whereas a participle implies that this happened recently. For multiple examples, see 66. Types of Passive Verb Meaning.

Adjectives and verbs with the same spelling are easy to confuse grammatically. Care is especially needed in combinations with BE (see 140. Words with Unexpected Grammar 2, #f, and 231. Confusions of Similar Structures 3, #4).

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2. “-ive”

This common ending very often combines with verbs ending in either -d(e), t(e) or -ss (exceptions in the list below are underlined). The -d(e) verb ending tends to become -s- (e.g. conclude-conclusive):

acquisitive, active, affirmative, assertive, attractive, attentive, collective, comparative, competitive, comprehensive, compulsive, conclusive, connective, corrosive, creative, cumulative, deceptive, decisive, deductive, demonstrative, descriptive, destructive, dismissive, distinctive, divisive, effective, erosive, exclusive, excessive, expansive, expensive, expressive, extensive, imaginative, impressive, impulsive, inclusive, indicative, instructive, manipulative, negative, operative, permissive, persuasive, possessive, predictive, prescriptive, productive, progressive, reactive, receptive, reflective, relative, repetitive, responsive, restrictive, retentive, speculative, subversive, successive, suggestive, supportive.

Note how cumulative drops the initial ac- of its related verb ACCUMULATE, while affirmative, imaginative, competitive and repetitive add an extra syllable. For more about vowel changes (destroy-destructive, impel- impulsive, receive-receptive), see 41. Unexpected Vowels in Derived Words.

Despite the size of the above list, it should not be thought that all –ive adjectives are made from a verb. Examples that are not are defective, festive, massive and qualitative.

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3. “-ing” and “-ed”

Most people would probably associate these endings more with verbs than adjectives. However, many words made by combining a verb with -ing or -ed (or an “irregular” equivalent of -ed, as in begun, made and risen) can actually be an adjective rather than a verb. On verbs, these endings make participles, which are adjective-like and hence difficult to distinguish from adjectives. Nevertheless, adjectives made with -ing or -ed are not the same as participles (see 245. Adjectives with a Participle Ending).

Familiar -ing/-ed adjectives include caring, interesting, moving (= emotion-stirring), terrifying, advanced, determined, lost and surprised. For more examples, see the above post, plus 98. “Very”, “Much” and “Very Much”.

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4. “-ible” and “-able”

Adding one of these endings to a verb usually creates an adjective that means “able to be -ed” (see 270. Paraphrasing Adjectives with Words of Other Kinds, #4). The equivalence to the passive meaning of the verb makes such adjectives a useful means of avoiding undesirable passive verb uses (see 27. How to Avoid Passive Verbs). Equivalence to the negative form of the verb is usually shown with a starting in- or –un-.

It is actually -able that is the more usual addition to a verb. Common adjectives with it include (un)acceptable, adaptable, (in)advisable, (dis)agreeable, appreciable, (un)approachable, (un)available, (un)believable, classifiable, (in)comparable, (in)conceivable, debatable, (un)deniable, dependable, (un)desirable, (in)dispensable, (un)endurable, (in)excusable, (un)imaginable, (un)knowable, laughable, likeable, (un)mentionable, (im)movable, notable, (un)observable, (im)passable, (un)profitable, (un)questionable, readable, (un)recognizable, (un)reliable, (ir)replaceable, (un)suitable, (un)thinkable, understandable, (un)usable and (in)valuable.

The relatively few -ible adjectives made from an English verb include (in)accessible, (in)digestible, (in)discernible, (in)divisible, (in)exhaustible, negligible, (in)omissible, (ir)responsible and suggestible. There are various other -ible words that are not made from an English verb, such as (in)credible, (in)edible, (in)eligible, (in)fallible, feasible, horrible, (un)intelligible, (il)legible, plausible, sensible and (in)visible.

Even a few -able words have no related verb, for example inevitable, knowledgeable, probable, viable and vulnerable.

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5. “-ant” and “-ent”

Common verb-derived adjectives under these headings are:

-ant: abundant, defiant, dependant, dominant, expectant, hesitant, observant, reliant, resistant, resultant, significant, stagnant, tolerant, vibrant

-ent: competent, convergent, dependent, deterrent, different, divergent, emergent, existent, indulgent, insistent, recurrent, reminiscent, resident

Some of these are an active equivalent of a passive -able/-ible adjective (cp. observant/ observable, reliant/ reliable and tolerant/ tolerable). The pronunciation of -ant and -ent is the same (with /ə/), so that the wrong spelling is quite easy to choose (see 188. Causes of Common Spelling  Mistakes, #3). Note, however, the spelling choice with dependant/ dependent.

In addition, there are numerous adjectives, especially with -ent, that have no related verb. Brilliant and recent are examples; for more, see 172. Multi-Use Suffixes, #5 and #6.

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6. “-tory”

This ending is found fairly equally on nouns and adjectives (see 172. Multi-Use Suffixes, #9). Common adjectives include:

anticipatory, articulatory, combinatory, confirmatory, discriminatory, explanatory, exploratory, expository, inflammatory, introductory, mandatory, migratory, participatory, preparatory, regulatory, respiratory, satisfactory, transitory

Also worth noting are sensory, (-ory instead of -tory) and auditory (with no related verb).

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6. “-ic”

Fewer verb-derived adjectives seem to have this ending. The following equivalences are notable:

ANALYSE: analytic
APOLOGISE: apologetic
DIAGNOSE: diagnostic
EMPHASISE: emphatic
PHOTOGRAPH: photographic
PROPHESY: prophetic(al)
SYNTHESISE: synthetic
HORRIFY: horrific (or horrifying)
SPECIFY: specific

All of these adjectives except the last two are of Greek origin (see 90. The Greek Impact on English Vocabulary, #2). Also notable is the non-Greek terrific. It is one of two adjectives related to TERRIFY, the other being terrifying (see #3 above). It can be considered the more weakly-related because its meaning (“wonderful”) is more distant from that the verb (see 284. Words with a Surprising Meaning, #4).

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7. Other

The verbs INFECT, PRESUME, REBEL and SUSPECT have related adjectives with -ous (infectious, presumptuous, rebellious, suspicious) – an ending more typical of adjectives without a corresponding verb (such as superfluous), and of noun-derived adjectives, such as dangerous (see the end of 255. Nouns Made from Adjectives). SUSPECT has two derived adjectives, the other being suspect (see #1 above).

CONCEIVE, DEFINE (= clearly fix) and MULTIPLY have the adjectives conceptual, definite and multiple.

Of the numerous verbs that have no corresponding adjective, some compensate by having a preposition phrase instead. For example, DENY corresponds to in denial, while ENDANGER has in danger for short-term danger (endangered being more long-term). Other correspondences include:

BEGIN: at the beginning (= alternative to the participle beginning)
BE EXAMINED: under examination
CONCERN (= worry): of concern (= active alternative to passive concerned)
DISPUTE: in dispute (= active alternative to passive disputed)
PROGRESS: in progress (progressive = modernising)
REACH: within reach (= alternative to reachable)
SET OUT: at the outset
TRANSIT: in transit (transitory = temporary)

Care is needed with preposition phrases not to confuse their adjective use (after the noun they are describing) with adverbial ones (see 84. Seven Things to Know about Prepositions, #2).

300. Adjective Indicators of Indirect Speech

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Indirect speech can often be indicated with an adjective instead of a verb or noun

THE VARIABILITY OF INDIRECT SPEECH

Indirect speech rarely occupies a sentence by itself. Usually, its status as indirect speech will be indicated by an accompanying word expressing some kind of speaking or thinking (see 127. When to Use Indirect Speech).

The commonest type of such word is a verb (e.g. Experts agree …; We believe…), but there are other possibilities too. Nouns are common, reflecting the frequent ability of verbs in general to be paraphrased with a noun (see 287. Speech and Thought Nouns). Less common, but still worth knowing about, are adjectives. Here I wish to show how adjectives can indicate indirect speech and which ones are available.

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A SPECIAL FORM OF INDIRECT SPEECH

First, however, I wish to highlight a kind of indirect speech that is rarely mentioned in standard descriptions. Consider this example of the commonly-mentioned kind:

(a) Galileo believed (that) the earth circled the sun.

Here, an indirect statement (underlined) is linked by that to a thought verb believed. Even if that was not visible in the sentence, its presence would still be understood. It is necessary because the indirect statement also contains a verb (moved), the rule being that two verbs cannot exist in the same sentence unless accompanied by a “joining” device (see 30. When to Write a Full Stop). That here is a joining device of the conjunction kind (see 153. Conjunction Uses of “that”, #1).

Other joining devices are found with other kinds of indirect speech. Common ones are question words (whether, why, who etc.) in indirect questions, and special verb forms within the indirect speech that remove the need for any separate joining word, such as -ing after MENTION + noun (…mentions water dripping…) and to infinitives after command verbs like TELL + noun (…told everyone to…). Like that, these are all commonly-described features of indirect speech (see 279. Grammatical Differences between Citation Verbs).

Yet not all indirect speech contains a verb. Indirect statements after some speech verbs – CRITICISE, DEFINE, DISMISS and DESCRIBE, for example – have as instead of BE:

(b) Jones dismisses the project as unnecessary.

A few verbs, such as CALL, even disallow as (…calls the project unnecessary above: see 92. Verbs with an Object + “as”).

In some other cases, verb-less indirect speech follows a preposition. For example, …believed that the earth moved… in sentence (a) above could be paraphrased as …believed in the movement of the earth…. Changing that to in becomes necessary when a verb like moved is replaced by its equivalent noun movement. The preposition has to be in because that is the “typical” one after BELIEVE (see 111. Words with a Typical Preposition).

Replacing an indirect-speech verb with a noun like this, however, is probably not the primary use of prepositions before indirect speech. Instead, what they seem particularly suited to is enabling abbreviation of indirect speech down to just one of its nouns. Consider this indirect question:

(c) Many asked when the project would begin.

A possible abbreviation here would be just the noun the project. To link this with asked, the preposition about would be needed (…asked about the project). Other verbs like ASK (about) include ARGUE (about/ for/ against), ASSURE SOMEONE (of), KNOW (about), PRAY (for), SPEAK (about) (equating to SAY THAT) and WARN (about).

However, the majority of verbs before a lone indirect speech noun do not need a facilitating preposition – it is mainly speech / thought nouns and adjectives that do. Most verbs simply have the noun as their object. For example, an abbreviation of sentence (b) above would be …dismisses the project. Other verbs like DISMISS include CLARIFY, CONSIDER, CRITICISE, EXPLAIN and ILLUSTRATE.

A few verbs allow no abbreviation at all of indirect speech. Common ones are CLAIM (= assert), SAY and THINK (= believe).

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IDENTIFYING SPEECH AND THOUGHT ADJECTIVES

Some adjectives are more easily classified than others as introducers of indirect speech. The most obvious ones imply communication in their meaning. For example, agreed (derived from the speech verb AGREE), divided and unanimous imply multiple people talking to each other about the associated idea, while insistent (derived from INSIST), unequivocal (= explicit or unambiguous) and non-committal (= avoiding definiteness) all indicate a manner of communication.

It may seem surprising that agreed and divided are included in the adjective examples above given that they are often considered to be the verb forms known as participles. However, it is quite common for many English participle forms to be used slightly differently as adjectives. For advice on recognising their adjective usage, see 245. Adjectives with a Participle Ending.

Thought adjectives are harder to recognise as introducing indirect speech because, of course, they can describe unspoken thoughts as well as spoken ones. It can help to recognise sub-categories. The most likely kind to introduce indirect speech is perhaps what I call “fact-related”: adjectives like aware, certain, convinced, dismissive and doubtful. Slightly less likely, perhaps, are ”will” adjectives, such as adamant, interested, keen and willing. Least likely are probably “emotion” adjectives, such as frustrated, happy, satisfied, surprised and upset (see 203. Expanding an Adjective with Words after it, #2).

With all thought adjectives, the absence of a speech clue within their meaning is often compensated for by an external one, such as a source reference:

(d) Chung (2021, p. 54) is certain/frustrated that handwriting will become a lost art.

The academic reference after Chung here makes it clear that a feeling was expressed in a statement of which the end of the sentence must be an indirect form.

Other examples of indirect speech introduced by an adjective are:

(e) Einstein was unsure (about) why weight changes in elevators.

(f) I am aware that change is necessary.

The indirect speech in (e) here is a reported question, while that in (f) is a non-reported statement.

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USING SPEECH & THOUGHT ADJECTIVES

Like all adjectives, speech / thought ones usually describe a noun – typically one naming the source of the indirect speech being expressed. They cannot go directly before this noun; most follow it with a link verb like BE in between, as in sentence (d), but a few occupy an alternative adjective position (see 283. Lesser-Known Features of Adjectives, #2).

Like verbs and nouns of speech and thought, adjectives do not all link in the same way with indirect speech. The main possibilities and common adjectives associated with each are as follows.

1. With that or a Preposition

This is a property of certain (= convinced) in (d) above. To be classified as usable with that, an adjective must allow it more widely than just in sentences starting it is… (see 203. Expanding an Adjective with Words after it, “Expansion with that”).

Possible prepositions after certain are about and of (see 226. Words with Complicated Grammar 2, #2). Each may introduce either a complete indirect statement (containing an -ing verb) or an abbreviated one comprising just a noun, e.g. …about handwriting in (d).

About is the main or only possible preposition with many but not all adjectives that also allow that…. The possibilities are:

ABOUT
adamant, clear (= not confused), correct, definite, doubtful (= doubting), explicit (= plain), optimistic, perplexed, persuasive, positive (= convinced), puzzled, sceptical, sympathetic, unambiguous, unanimous, unequivocal, vociferous

ABOUT OR ANOTHER PREPOSITION
agreed (on), certain (of), confident (of), convinced (of), hopeful (of), sure (of), suspicious (of), uncompromising (on)

ANOTHER PREPOSITION
afraid (of), (un)aware (of), agreeable (to), desirous (of), insistent (on), proud (of), thankful (for)

After certain and hopeful, of and about usually express slightly different meanings. Certain of X indicates certainty that X exists, while certain about X may indicate certainty relating to some aspect of X, taking X’s existence for granted. This is the same contrast that of / about expresses after nouns like knowledge and news (see 134. Words with a Variable Preposition, #2).

After adamant and insistent (plus desperate, determined, eager, keen and willing), a future-referring that statement may contain a verb in the “subjunctive” form (see 269. Exotic Grammar Structures 7, #7).

Most of the above adjectives can precede indirect questions as well as statements, but still usually need their preposition, e.g. certain about why… (see 219. Wording next to Indirect Questions, #3). After doubtful and sceptical, the difference between that… and about whether… is unusually small (see 217. Tricky Grammar Contrasts 1, #7).

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2. Only with a Preposition

Adjectives that link in this way can again introduce indirect questions as well as statements. They rarely allow a choice of prepositions. Common ones are:

ABOUT
ambiguous, curious, eloquent (also on), helpful (also on), ignorant (also of), inquisitive, non-committal (also on), relaxed, vague

OF
accepting, appreciative, critical, demanding dismissive, indicative, questioning, suggestive, (un)supportive

TO
attracted, opposed, resigned, sympathetic

OTHER
baffled by, bewildered by, divided over, eloquent on (also about), familiar with, intent on, interested in, interesting on

Note that curious sometimes replaces about with to discover, to know, to see or similar.

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3. With that or a to Verb

An adjective of this kind is keen:

(f) Gomez (2019, p. 5) is keen that nothing changes.

Keen can be followed by that here because the subject of the later verb changes (= nothing) is different from the subject of is (= Gomez). The infinitive form to change would also be possible in this situation, provided that is replaced by for (…keen for nothing to change).

By contrast, if the two verb subjects are the same, keen normally needs a directly-following infinitive:

(g) Gomez (2019, p. 5) is keen to keep things unchanged.

A further particular property of keen is ability to replace both that and to with the preposition on: keen on nothing changing in (f) and keen on keeping… in (g).

Other adjectives like keen (possible prepositions shown in brackets) include desperate (for), determined, eager (for), happy (with, about), impatient (for), reluctant (about) and (un)willing (see 83. Adjectives before a “to” Verb, #2).

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4. With Just a Question Word

The normal requirement for a preposition between an adjective and an indirect question (see #1 above) disappears when the adjective follows it is:

(h) It is interesting where insects go in winter.

In sentences like this, the adjective describes the indirect speech rather than the speaker, and the question is not a reported one. For further details, see 88. Exotic Grammar Structures 1, #8.

Where a question is reported as someone else’s, a few negative adjectives allow but do not compel the preposition to be dropped before it:

(d) Einstein was unsure (about / as to) why weight changes in elevators.

Similar adjectives include mystified, pessimistic, uncertain and unclear (= uncertain), plus their positive equivalents after not. The optional preposition is always about or as to, and always becomes compulsory if the question is abbreviated or its question word is paraphrased with a noun (e.g. unsure about the reason why… above).

291. Subtleties of “-ed”

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The “-ed” ending is more complicated than most English coursebooks indicate

COMPLEXITY OF ENGLISH GRAMMATICAL ENDINGS

English grammatical endings are not as easy to master as they seem. Most have usage rules that are more complicated and more extensive than coursebooks typically suggest. Complications of the -s and -ing endings are considered elsewhere in this blog in 12. Singular and Plural Verb Choices and 71. Gerund and Participle Uses of “-ing”.

The -ed ending seems to be especially affected by complexity and variety. Part of the reason, of course, is that, like -s and -ing, it is actually two different regular endings: of the past simple verb tense and of the “past” participle verb form – two verb uses that, in many irregular verbs, are not both spelt the same.

Much of what I have to say here can also be found in other Guinlist posts, though often in more or less detail. As with these other mentions, the focus is not so much on the past simple tense use as on the participle and a few other surprising uses. Limited consideration of the past simple tense is available in 76. Tenses of Citation Verbs,  171. Aspects of the Past Perfect tense and 282. Features of History Writing.

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“-ED” SUBTLETIES

1. Pronunciation

In all of its uses, -ed varies in its pronunciation according to which sound is directly before it. Like the -s ending, it may be pronounced in one of three different ways: /d/, /t/ or /ɪd/. Many coursebooks mention these, but do not always go into detail about the rules for choosing between them, as these are fairly complicated. For a full description in these pages, see 243. Pronunciation Secrets, #1.

Even less often mentioned is the fact that -ed very occasionally changes its pronunciation in the same word depending on how that word is being used (see #6 below).

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2. Active / Passive Alternation

This feature of -ed participles is observable at elementary levels. The meaning is active directly after HAVE (in the “present perfect” and “past perfect” tenses, and in participles and gerunds made with having), but passive directly after BE.

Yet this difference is rarely given the explicit mention that it deserves. Worse, the very name that -ed participles are most commonly given – “past participles” – is misleading because it applies exclusively to the active voice uses, without recognising that passive participles often refer to the present or future rather than the past (see 52. Participles Placed Just after their Noun).

In fact, passive -ed participles are probably more widespread than past ones. This is because -ed is very often used without any preceding “auxiliary” verb at all, and in that situation is nearly always passive:

(a) An “-ed” participle used by itself has passive meaning.

In usage like this, the only way in which -ed participles can be thought of as “past” is in the sense that their action happens before that of the main verb in their sentence (has above).

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3. Exceptional Active Meanings

In a very few instances, an -ed participle by itself or after BE has active rather than passive meaning. This happens with certain verbs of the kind that grammarians call “intransitive”. With most verbs of this kind, neither the form of the passive (-ed alone or after BE) nor its meaning is possible (see 113. Verbs that cannot be Passive). With the verbs in question, however, the form but not the meaning of the passive, is possible. Consider the following example from 207. Exotic Grammar Structures 4, #1:

(b) When the police arrived, the money was gone.

This pseudo-passive form of GO is very close in meaning to the active had gone. The difference between them is perhaps that was focuses attention more on the final state, had more on the action causing it. Other intransitive verbs that allow a similar usage include COME, ARRIVE, DEPART, DISAPPEAR, FALL and RISE. Their use often has a poetic feel (…were fallen in battle; …are departed from this life).

The passive-like participle of GO normally has to follow BE, as does that of COME. The others, however, are found by themselves in a few fairly fixed phrases like our departed friends, the train arrived at platform 2 and the disappeared.

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4. Use after “Having Been”

The typical passive meaning of lone -ed participles, combined with their reference to an earlier time than that of the main verb, invites the question of how they differ from -ed participles after having been. A definite difference is that only lone -ed participles are able (sometimes) to go before their partner noun, as in a suggested alternative (see “Uses of Having Participles” in 267. Participles and Gerunds with “Having”).

However, placement after their noun in a longer “participle clause” is possible with both participle types, albeit with different meanings. In sentence (a), for example, used is replaceable by having been used. The difference is that lone -ed participles after a noun are like relative clauses (sentence constituents beginning with who, which, that etc.), while having been -ed participles are more like when… clauses. Reflecting this difference, clauses with a lone -ed participle may or may not be surrounded by commas, while those with having been -ed usually need them.

Another situation where both participle types are possible but slightly different is in sentence-starting clauses:

(c) Motivated by price cuts, consumers will purchase more.

(d) With the average speed identified, an arrival time can be calculated.

Motivated and identified here express states without indicating when they began. With is necessary in (d) because the subject of the participle (speed) is different from the subject of the main verb can be calculated.

By contrast, having been added before these participles would more definitely mark the state as a recently-initiated one. In sentences like (d), its use would usually be without a starting with (see 75. How to Avoid “Dangling” Participles, #4).

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5. Inability to Act like Nouns

An occasional error with -ed participles is using them where a noun should be:

(e) *Confined to home affected people’s mental health.

The main verb here is affected, and confined to home is being used as its multi-word subject. The problem is that such subjects usually need a single noun or equivalent within them that determines whether the verb is singular or plural, and this is absent here.

Confined cannot be this word because it is a verb (although participles with -ing can be noun-like – see 70. Gerunds – -ed ones cannot). The other main word, home, is a noun, but it cannot be the key noun because it directly follows a preposition (to) – a situation that hardly ever qualifies a noun to be the central part of a verb’s subject (see 84. Seven Things to Know about Prepositions, #5).

One way to correct (e) is to convert CONFINE into a gerund. This cannot be done simply by changing -ed into -ing because lone -ing verbs always have active meaning rather than the typical passive meaning of lone -ed participles. To overcome this, you have to add -ing to the verb BE inserted before the -ed participle – being confined above.

An alternative correction is to change confined into a true noun, i.e. (the) confinement (see 131. Uses of “Action” Nouns, #5). It would not be usable after a because it is uncountable.

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6. Formation of Verb-Derived Adjectives

English has numerous adjectives that end with -ed, common examples being advanced, concerned, interested, married, pointed, related, relieved and satisfied. Since most words of this kind could also be participles, a key question is how their adjective use can be recognised.

There are actually a variety of recognition criteria (see 245. Adjectives with a Participle Ending). Three are particularly worth a mention here. Firstly, dictionaries show -ed adjectives by listing them separately from their related verbs. Secondly, the meaning of -ed adjectives often differs more greatly from that of their related verb than participle meanings do. For example, the participle advanced is close to the verb ADVANCE in meaning “moved forward” or “proposed”, whereas the adjective means “sophisticated”. Thirdly, -ed in a few adjectives is pronounced differently from its participle equivalent: with /ɪd/ regardless of the sound before. This is the case, for example, with learned (participle ending = /d/), dogged (participle ending = /d/) and blessed (participle ending = /t/).

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7. Formation of Noun-Derived Adjectives

Although words with -ed tend to be verb-derived, some like bearded, bejewelled, bespectacled, cloistered, disadvantaged, hooded, horned, skilled and timbered are made from a noun. They are typically adjectives in which -ed means “having”. Bearded, for example, means “having a beard”.

Many adjectives of this kind are made with a noun that is linked by a hyphen to an adjective before it, as in green-coloured (see 278. Colours, #1 and 223. Uses of Hyphens, #4A). Such combinations are very often property-describing, e.g. double-edged, rough-textured, open-ended and smooth-surfaced (see “Property-Naming with BE” in 163. Ways of Naming Properties). Others name a more everyday characteristic, e.g. short-sighted, long-haired, red-faced, high-walled and soft-cushioned.

Note that number-noun combinations, such as a six-page essay or a two-hour meeting, tend not to have -ed. This may be because they are actually nouns rather than adjectives (see 136. Types of Description by Nouns, #4). There are exceptions, however, such as combinations with -sided (a one-sided argument, a three-sided figure etc.) or with the name of a body part (-footed, -eyed, -legged, -handed etc.).

Note also that adjective-noun combinations with -ed should be distinguished from noun-verb ones like hand-operated, rear-mounted, star-shaped and emotion-packed (see the end of 106. Word-like Suffixes).

285. Complexities of Question Words

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Grammatical aspects of English question words are surprisingly numerous

THE CHALLENGE OF QUESTION WORDS

Examining question words opens a window on a surprisingly wide variety of English grammar and vocabulary. Some of this will be familiar to experienced students of English. Most will know, for example, the difference between who and whom, and between what and which. Other aspects of question words, however, may not be so familiar – some, indeed, may even qualify as “exotic”. It is, of course, these wider aspects of question words that are the focus here.

Questions themselves can also be linked with a wide variety of grammar and vocabulary. Readers wishing to read about these in this blog are referred to the posts 57. Indirect Questions in Formal Writing,  105. Questions with a “to” Verb,  219. Wording next to Indirect Questions and 274. Questions with a Hidden Meaning.

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COMPLEXITIES

1. Word Class Variation

Despite the obvious similarities between question words, they actually do not all belong to the same word class (“part of speech”). Compare the use of how much in the following indirect questions:

(a) … how much gold costs today.

(b) … how much money gold is worth today.

(c) … how much gold varies in price.

In (a), how much is a pronoun. It represents not the noun gold after it but the unwritten noun money. It is the object of the verb costs, gold being the subject. In (b), how much is an adjective, giving information about the directly-following noun idea money. In (c), how much is an adverb giving information about the verb varies. It is not its object because VARY with this meaning allows no object.

The other question words can be placed into grammatical classes in a similar way. The main ones have the following possibilities:

Word Classes of the Main Question Words

Other combinations with how are usually adverbs if their second word is one (e.g. how quickly, how often) and adjectives otherwise (e.g. how quick, how old) .

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2. Equivalence to Nouns

The question word in indirect questions (not direct ones) can very often be paraphrased with a noun, for example reason for why, way for how and time for when. The main question word with no noun equivalent is whether (see 185. Noun Synonyms of Question Words):

(d) A major issue was the number of (= how many) attempts to allow.

In formal writing, there are some places where a noun is common. One is headings separating subdivisions of extended writing. For example, instead of How Languages are Learned a heading might say Language Learning Processes (see “Grammatical Form” in 178. How to Write a Heading).

Essay questions often replace a question word with a noun too. Unlike headings, though, essay questions of this kind usually need an extra verb in front in order to make their sentence grammatical. Thus, a question beginning Why…? might become Outline the reasons…, and one beginning How useful…? might become Discuss the usefulness… (see 94. Essay Instruction Words). The extra verbs, it will be seen, are typically in the base “imperative” form (see 128. Imperative Verbs in Formal Writing, #1).

Some essay questions have just an imperative verb and no noun equivalent of the question word. For example, What X…? might become Identify the X that… and How similar are…? might become Compare and Contrast… .

One other place where a noun is preferable to a question word is at the start of a sentence, where the indirect question is usually the subject of a verb (see 219. Wording next to Indirect Questions, #1). In the following example, what alternative form might be given to the question How much training is required?

(e) …is a source of dispute.

A possible beginning here is the amount/ quantity of training (that is) required.

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3. Non-Question Usage

Words that can act as a question word do not always do so. Most obviously, when and where can alternatively be conjunctions (see 64. Double Conjunctions). In addition, most question words can make relative clauses. Consider this indirect question:

(f) Historians wondered where alphabetic writing first emerged.

The underlined words here are recognisable as an indirect question because they begin with a word that can be a question word (where), they closely follow a word or phrase indicating a type of asking (wondered), and they have a noun role in the sentence (object of wondered) (see 57. Indirect Questions in Formal Writing).

Now consider (f) with wondered replaced by know the place. The word before where (place) would not then suggest asking (nor explaining nor knowing, the other possible question indicators), and the where… part would have an adjective-like role rather than a noun-like one, describing place. These are characteristics of the familiar type of relative clauses beginning with who, which or that, and they indeed indicate that the where clause above is similarly relative. Further confirmation is provided by the fact that where after location is replaceable by at which.

It is not just where that can be “relative” rather than question-asking (“interrogative”). All of the question words in the above table except how, how much and whether are the same (see 200. Special Uses of Relative Clauses). How usually becomes in which (e.g. the way in which, instead of *the way how). Whether does have a non-question use, but as a conjunction combining with or rather than as relative adverb (see 99. Meanings of “Whether…or…”).

Bear in mind, though, that a noun instead of a verb before a possible question word does not always produce a relative clause: an indirect question will remain if the noun is one of asking, like question, or explaining, like clarification, or knowing, like uncertainty (see 287. Speech and Thought Nouns). The indirect question will also keep its noun-like status: instead of being an adjective phrase describing the noun before it, it will be making a two-noun “apposition” structure with it (see 253. Descriptive Wording after Nouns 2, #3).

One other non-question use of indirect question forms is after the prepositions according to and depending on (see sentence [l] in 162. Writing about Classifications).

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4. Usage with “-ever”

Who, what, which, how much, how, when and where can combine with the suffix -ever or, more emphatically, -soever (how much becoming how[so]ever much). Whom and whose can only combine with -soever. Why links with the separate word ever.

An -ever word is always possible in questions, and often possible in other kinds of sentence too. In questions, it usually suggests its user cannot think of any possible answer (see 272. Uses of “Ever”, #2).

Why ever can only make questions (direct or indirect). However and however much can make questions or adverb-like additions to a longer sentence:

(g) However they tried, they could not succeed.

However here is an adverb meaning either “all” (saying all ways of trying failed), or “unidentified” (saying an unidentified way of trying failed).

Whenever and wherever can similarly make both questions and adverb statements, but in the latter they are conjunctions rather than adverbs.

Whatever, whoever, whomsoever, whosesoever and whichever can make questions, adverb statements or relative clauses:

(h) Whatever happens next?

(i) Whatever happens next, nothing will stop the process.

(j) Whatever happens next will be recorded.

The use of whatever in (i) is very like that of however in (g): its statement is adverb-like because it is not the subject, object or complement of the main verb (will stop), and the meanings of either “all” or “unidentified” are understandable. In addition, though, the -ever part of (i) carries the idea of unimportance, indicating that no next event will have any impact. This idea seems very common in all adverbial -ever statements (see 199. Importance and Unimportance, #8).

In (j), by contrast, the whatever part is the subject of the main verb will be recorded. The meaning of whatever is “anything which” (see 200. Special Uses of Relative Clauses, #4). Once again, there is a further meaning of either “all” or “unidentified”.

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5. Usage with Infinitives

All of the question words can ask a question with just an infinitive verb after them:

(k) The website explains what to do.

After why, however, an infinitive cannot have to (see 148. Infinitive verbs without “to”, #5).

Both direct and indirect infinitive questions are possible after every question word except whether, a maker of only indirect questions. For a detailed explanation of when to compose and use infinitive questions, see 105. Questions with a “to” Verb.

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6. Usage with Prepositions

Combinations like the following are probably common in most languages:

(k) By when should the parcel arrive?

By when here means not “at what time?” (the meaning of when alone) but “up to what time?”. All of the basic English question words can accompany a preposition in this way except how, whether, who and why. The equivalent of who after prepositions is whom.

An alternative, less formal preposition location in English is at the end (When…by?), e.g.:

(l) Who does this belong to?

(m) What did they do that with?

(n) Where do you come from?

(o) Which shelf is it next to?

In this use, whom is very often replaced by who (Who…to?). Although why cannot be used as shown, one of its meanings – seeking a purpose rather than a cause – is often expressed with What…for? (even though *For what…? cannot replace a starting Why…?).

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7. “Who’s?” versus “Whose?”

Both of these expressions can be either relative or interrogative. For the relative use, see 293. Tricky Grammar Contrasts 4, #5. In the interrogative use, who’s is an abbreviation of who is – its apostrophe is not a possessive one. Its inclusion of the verb is means it can make a question without a neighbouring verb, combining just with a noun, adjective or adverb, e.g. Who’s next? (= “Which person is next?”).

Whose, by contrast, means “Which person’s?”. It must accompany or imply a separate verb. It can be an adjective describing a noun, e.g. Whose question is next? (= “which person’s question is next?”), or stand alone as a pronoun, e.g. Whose is next?.

The confusability of these two expressions mirrors that of it’s versus its (see 138. Test your Command of Grammar 1, #5).

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8. “How” + Adjective / Adverb

How is usable both with and without a following adjective or adverb. With one (e.g. How rich…? How easily…?), it means “how much” (see 194. Adverbs that Say How Much), though the word much cannot be added in between (*How much rich…?). By itself, how enquires about the “manner”, “means” or “instrument” of a verb’s action (see 73. Prepositions for Saying How).

Appreciating this distinction is important for understanding essay questions. Consider this:

(p) How were Napoleon’s reforms effective?

Because no adjective or adverb follows how, it means “in what way?” The effectiveness of Napoleon’s reforms is accepted and just needs to be explained. However, if the question begins How effective…, how means “how much?”, indicating uncertain effectiveness that must be debated (see 94. Essay Instruction Words).

283. Lesser-Known Features of Adjectives

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Adjectives are much more than just words for describing a noun

THE POTENTIAL OF ADJECTIVES

The concept of an adjective is, like that of most fundamental grammatical features, familiar to language students from an early stage, but full of hidden aspects that reveal themselves only gradually as studies progress. Information about many of these aspects can be accessed within this blog by clicking on ADJECTIVES in the Categories menu to the right of this page.

Now, however, there are so many posts on adjectives that scrolling through them all to find new insights can take a long time. Hence, I feel there may be some value in a post like this that picks out some of the more esoteric adjective aspects that have been covered to date, and adds something more. In other words, I wish to offer the same kind of survey that I have elsewhere made of prepositions, adverbs and conjunctions.

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BASIC ADJECTIVE FEATURES

To facilitate the main discussion, it is useful to briefly mention the basic features of adjectives. Most people would say that adjectives “describe” a noun. Perhaps more accurately, they “describe” what the noun stands for. There is a problem here, however, of vagueness (see #4 below). Grammarians prefer to say that adjectives “modify nouns”, which means they adjust or clarify the meaning of the noun they are with.

The other basic aspect of adjectives is their “formal” properties – how they fit into sentences. Here is how I approach this in my book Grammar Practice for Professional Writing (Chapter 1):

(An adjective) may go directly between the and the noun it describes (the happy child), or follow the verb is (is happy). You can confirm that a word in these positions is an adjective (and not a noun – cp. the house market and is advice) by checking that it cannot usually stand alone after the (compare the house with *the happy).

Implicit in such descriptions, and often stated explicitly alongside them, is the fact that English adjectives do not directly follow the noun they describe (without a separating verb) as they do in many other languages (*the child happy). It tends to be only later that mention is made of exceptions to this rule. However, even then the full range of possibilities is rarely covered, the focus often being on particular adjectives that must go directly after rather than before their noun, such as below (e.g. the diagram below). For an attempt in this blog to cover all the possibilities, see 109. Placing an Adjective after its Noun.

Another well-known feature of adjectives is their typical endings – -al, -ive, -ful, -y etc. (see 255. Nouns Made from Adjectives and 304. Adjectives Made from a Verb). The problem here, of course, is that plenty of adjectives lack one of these (e.g. quick, silent, slow), and many of the endings are also found on other types of word (see 172. Multi-Use Suffixes).

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BEYOND THE BASICS

1. Positioning with Respect to “the”

The statement above that adjectives added to the + noun must go in between seeks to distinguish them from prepositions, which can accompany the same combination but must precede the. Thus, an adjective is indicated in phrases like the Blue Nile, a preposition in ones like across the Nile (see 84. Seven Things to Know about Prepositions, #1). It is not just the that this rule applies to: most words that can replace the, such as a(n), this and their, act similarly.

A problem with thinking of adjectives in this way is that nouns too can have a “describing” role after the. The above-suggested means of distinguishing them from adjectives – checking usability alone after the – may give some help, but takes no account of the fact that sometimes the does actually precede a lone adjective (see 6. Adjectives with no Noun 1).

An alternative way of recognising adjectives before a noun is by seeing what wording is necessary if a described noun is mentioned first. An adjective after it generally needs which (e.g. the price which is high for the high price), while a noun needs a preposition (e.g. the price of fuel for the fuel price: see 38. Nouns Used like Adjectives).

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2. Sentence Positions

The earlier-quoted rule suggests the two main adjective positions – before a noun or after it with a verb like BE in between – are possible with all adjectives. In reality, plenty of adjectives can occupy only one of these positions. For example, future can only precede its noun (a future priority) and asleep can only follow it (…was asleep). For more, see 184. Adjectives with Limited Mobility.

There are also various other possible adjective positions. Usage without a partner noun and usage immediately after one have already been mentioned. Another post-noun possibility without a link verb in between follows a comma:

(a) The virus spreads easily, deadly to all who contract it.

For details of this usage, see 159. Exotic Grammar Structures 2, #3.

Separated adjectives can also start a sentence:

(b) Common in speech, INTERJECTIONS are rare in writing.

(c) High on the agenda was employee SAFETY.

Both these adjectives relate to the subject of the main verb (capitalised). Common in (b) is part of a description separated from its following noun by a comma (see 307. Word Order Variations, #6) – a usage also possible with descriptive nouns (see 228. Exotic Grammar Structures 5, #3). High in (c) is a complement that has exchanged places with the subject of was, safety – a reversal usually necessitated by the subject being long and / or the main information in the sentence (see 220. Features of Complements, #6).

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3. Resemblance to Verbs

Adjectives have verb characteristics that can cause confusion. One is their very noun-describing nature, also a characteristic of verbs in the participle form. Some adjectives actually have a participle spelling, familiar examples being interesting and advanced. Their adjective features probably evolved from their participle ones. For differences between the two, see 245. Adjectives with a Participle Ending.

Secondly, adjectives can combine with BE to act like a verb in a sentence. For example, is different and is full correspond to the verbs differs and is filled. For numerous other examples, see 270. Paraphrasing Adjectives with Words of Other Kinds.

Things are especially confusing with adjectives spelt exactly the same as the base form of a verb, such as clean, clear, equal, free, level, open and slow (see 140. Words with Unexpected Grammar 2, #f). The main clue to the adjective use of any of these is absence of an ending after BE, since verbs after BE always need -ed (or irregular equivalent) or -ing.

However, not every verb-like adjective follows BE. Consider this:

(d) Two spoonfuls made the quantities equal.

The only clue that equal here is an adjective is the fact that it has no directly-following noun. The verb EQUAL usually needs one because it is “transitive”, i.e. a verb that always needs a noun as its “object” (see 231. Confusions of Similar Structures 3, #4).

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4. Variable Descriptive Role

The kind of information that an adjective gives about its noun is not always the same. Quite often, an adjective and following noun together represent a subdivision of what the noun would represent by itself – in other words adjectives often have a classifying effect. For example, difficult problems are a smaller group than problems, clean water is a smaller amount than water, and the known universe allows for the universe being greater. Adjectives are not the only means of indicating a subdivision, but they are a common one.

An important distinction regarding subdivisions is between those that themselves have subdivisions, such as birds, a subdivision of vertebrates, and those that are an individual, such as Indonesia, a subdivision of countries (see 162. Writing about Classifications). Sometimes, an adjective-containing subdivision name is unclear about which of these possibilities is meant. For example, a yellow taxi could mean either “a taxi that is yellow”, without implying other yellow taxis, or “a taxi belonging to the yellow group”, implying that yellow taxis were a definite subgroup.

One situation where such uncertainty is removed is when a noun has two adjectives. In writing, a large, yellow taxi (comma between the adjectives) does not give any special group meaning to yellow, whereas a large yellow taxi does. In speech, the use with a comma needs a pause after each adjective, but the use without allows one only after the first (see 243. Pronunciation Secrets, #2).

Adjectives have one other use too: highlighting a key feature of a group rather than a subdivision. For example, life-giving water does not refer to something less than water: it just indicates the relevance to a particular situation of something always present in water. Other examples are the over-arching sky and Almighty God.

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5. Expandability

Like other word classes, adjectives can be made into into a longer equivalent through words placed before or after them. Preceding words tend to be adverbs, often of “degree” (e.g. very, too, more, rather, quite) but sometimes not (e.g. prematurely, obviously), while following words are typically preposition phrases (as in happy with everything), to verbs (happy to wait), or that clauses (happy that…).

Some expansion possibilities result from either the type of meaning carried by the adjective or the adjective’s form. One relevant meaning type is “gradability” – ability to indicate different amounts. It exists, for example, in the meanings of easy and interesting, but not those of absent, alive and essential. Only gradable adjectives can accompany a degree adverb. 

Another relevant meaning type is likelihood of describing humans. Pleased and willing very typically describe humans, while pleasing and useful do not. After the first kind, infinitive verbs tend to have active meaning (e.g. pleased to help), after the second, passive meaning (e.g. pleasing to observe: see 83. Adjectives before a “to” Verb).

Among adjective forms, comparatives and superlatives do not allow exactly the same degree adverbs that base forms do. For example, comparatives replace very with far or much, and superlatives have either much (e.g. much the quickest), or (before or after them) by far. Superlatives actually allow a choice of following adverb-like expressions (see 269. Exotic Grammar Structures 7, #3). They can also follow quite, but give it a different meaning from that before base forms.

For more detailed information about adjective expansion, see 194. Adverbs that Say How Much and 203. Expanding an Adjective with Words after it.

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6. Use with “Compared to”

Adjectives show comparison in not just the familiar comparative form + than (e.g. larger than…), but also the base form + compared to (large compared to…). However, there is a difference: the latter implies the adjective is not a typical description of the noun (see 231. Confusions of Similar Structures 2, #5).

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7. Lone Comparative after “the”

Besides making familiar combinations like the higher the X, the longer the Y (see 192. When BE can be Omitted), the with a lone comparative adjective sometimes follows BE, e.g.  was the higher (see 309. Tricky Grammar Contrasts 5, #3).

278. Colours

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English has a wide variety of words and grammar for describing colours

THE CENTRALITY OF COLOUR LANGUAGE

Areas of English that involve or are associated with colours do not at first sight appear to be very extensive or demanding. However, a few moments’ thought soon shows this idea to be an illusion. In fact, colours are so immediate and so varied in both everyday and professional contexts that English, like most other languages, has evolved a surprisingly wide and flexible variety of words and grammar patterns to describe them.

As with other common types of meaning, some of these language items – simple colour names like red, green and yellow, for example – are very basic and associated in most people’s minds with elementary language courses; but others are more specialised or even esoteric, and unlikely to be mastered by new English users for some years. It is language of this latter kind, of course, that I wish to focus on here.

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GRAMMATICAL POSSIBILITIES

Colour words are usually adjectives, but most can also be nouns, and a few can be verbs.

1. Adjective Usage

Colour adjectives are usable in the same way as most other adjectives: either just before the noun they describe, forming a “noun phrase” with it (e.g. a pink colour, a grey sky), or after it as a “complement” linked to a suitable complement-needing verb. This verb may separate the colour adjective from its noun (e.g. the sky was/looked grey) or come before both (e.g. made the sky grey). In the first case, the colour adjective is a “subject” complement; in the second an “object” one (see 109. Placing an Adjective after its Noun).

Colour adjectives in either complement position are not always used by themselves: sometimes they make an adjective phrase with …in colour or …-coloured (e.g. …was red in colour), sometimes they belong to the noun phrase a…colour (e.g. …went a red colour). These additions usually emphasize that a colour is being named.

After some verbs, a colour complement names an existing colour of something, while after others it names a new one. Subject-complement verbs followed by an existing colour include APPEAR, BE, LOOK, REMAIN, SEEM and STAY; those followed by a new one include BECOME, GO and TURN. Most object-complement verbs name a new colour, common ones being COLOUR, MAKE, PAINT and TURN:

(a) Sunshine colours water blue.

An alternative verb to a subject-complement one for associating a colour with a noun is HAVE (see 116. Rarer Uses of HAVE, #9). It needs the object a…colour (or a synonym like a…hue or a…tint), around the colour adjective:

(b) Mahogany has a red-brown colour.

This pattern is typical for describing a property of something (see 163. Ways of Naming Properties), though colours are only sometimes properties.

An alternative verb to an object-complement one is GIVE meaning “cause to display” (see 244. Special Uses of GIVE, #4). Sentence (a), for example, could be rephrased with it like this:

(c) Sunshine gives (water) a blue colour.

Once again, a…colour must be included. The recipient of the colour (water) can be indicated before or after these words in the form of an “indirect” object (see 126. Verbs with an Indirect Object).

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2. Noun Usage

When a colour word is used as a noun, it typically represents the general idea of the colour:

(d) Red has a long wavelength.

To refer to an instance of a colour, adjectives seem the norm, as in sentences (b) and (c). An apparent exception is in + colour noun after the verb PAINT meaning “depict”:

(e) The house was painted in yellow.

This means that a painting was made of the house using the colour yellow. It does not mean that a real-world house became yellow through painting (= was painted yellow). One could also write in a yellow colour in (e), but in yellow alone is possible, arguably because yellow represents the colour in general.

One other notable noun usage is the colour of before a noun naming not a colour but a familiar possessor of it:

(f) Their hair had (or was) the colour of straw.

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3. Verb Usage

Verbs related to colour adjectives include BLACKEN, BLUE, BROWN, GREY, REDDEN, WHITEN and YELLOW. They express emergence or expansion of their colour.

In the active form, all of the verbs except GREY can have either the colour possessor as their subject and no following object (The sky blackened), or the colour possessor as their object after a subject naming the cause of the colour change (Clouds blackened the sky). For more on verbs like this, see 4. Verbs that Don’t Have to be Passive. GREY, by contrast, is generally usable only in the first way, and hence is rarely passive (see 113. Verbs that cannot be Passive).

BROWN, GREY and YELLOW each refer to very specific colour changes. “Browning” is typically associated with cooking food, “greying” with ageing people’s hair, and “yellowing” with ageing white objects like paper.

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EXOTIC AND IDIOMATIC USAGE

4. Individual Colour Words

Many colour words have a metaphorical meaning alongside their basic one. Common ones are:

black = dark-skinned or depressed
black and blue = covered with bruises (see 209. Fixed Phrases with “and”)
black and white = clearly differentiated
blue = sad (similar to the idea in music called the blues)
green = inexperienced or ecologically friendly or envious
grey = dull
red = dangerous or socialist or angry/anger
yellow = cowardly
white = pure

Red meaning “angry” occurs in the phrase a red mist (= brief uncontrolled anger), while the “anger” meaning is in see red (= “become very angry”).

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5. Colour Adjectives with Frequent Noun Partners

Most colour adjectives are found with some nouns much more than others. In other words, they often belong to adjective-noun partnerships or “collocations” (see 16. Ways of Distinguishing Similar Words, #5). Common examples are:

BLUE
blue blood (= aristocratic ancestry), blue gum, blue moon

BLACK
black bear, black belt, black box, black eye, black hole, black market, black mood, black spot (= place or sign of disaster)

GREEN
green belt (see 137. Words that Reflect English Culture, #1), green credentials, green light (= permission to proceed), green salad, green tea, green vegetables

RED
red card, red carpet (= respect-showing welcoming aid), red cell, red light, red line (= ideal that forbids compromise), red giant (see 243. Pronunciation Secrets, #2), red tape (= bureaucratic procedures), red wine

WHITE
white dwarf, white elephant (= useless expensive project), white flag (= surrender), white knight (= rescuing individual), white lie (= false statement with honourable intentions), white wine

YELLOW
yellow card, yellow fever, yellow jersey, yellow taxi

OTHER
brown sugar, grey area (= ill-defined matter), purple patch (= period of outstanding achievement).

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6. Paired Colour Words

Two colour adjectives can be paired together in two different ways: with and (e.g. green and yellow) or with a hyphen (e.g. yellow-green). There is, however, an important difference. With and, the two colours are indicated to be separately visible, but with a hyphen there is a single colour that is midway between them, or a mixture of them. Thus, Manchester United football players wear red and black, whereas mahogany in sentence (b) is red-brown.

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7. Strength Adjectives with Colour Words

Strength adjectives indicate how light or dark a particular colour is. For example, light green is much lighter than dark green. Logically, these adjectives should only describe colour nouns, but usage with colour adjectives is common too. Most strength adjectives are usable with most colour words, but not all. The main ones (with their unlikely colour partners) are:

bright (except black and grey)
dark (except black and white)
deep (except white)
delicate (except black, grey, red, white and yellow)
faint (except black and white)
intense (except grey and white)
light (except black and white)
pale (except black and white)

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8. Shade Nouns before Colour Words

Subdivisions of a particular colour (shades) are often expressed by placing a colour word after a noun naming something of that shade, e.g. olive-green.

With a hyphen, this combination is an adjective preceding its noun (e.g. an olive-green uniform: see 223. Uses of Hyphens, #4H); without one, it is either an adjective in the complement position (…was olive green) or a noun usable anywhere, sometimes with a(n) (an olive green). The noun use is of the kind this blog considers extensively in 136. Types of Description by Nouns (#15). In other words, reversing the two nouns is likely to create a like phrase (a green like that of olives).

Common combinations with a shade noun include:

BLUE
sky blue, navy blue

GREEN
lime green, olive green, pea green, sea green

RED
blood red, cherry red

GREY
iron grey, silver grey

OTHER
pitch black, rose pink, snow white

Similar to these is royal blue, a shade adjective + colour word.

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9. Exotic Colour Names

In addition to the standard colour words illustrated above, English has a few words that indicate both a colour and its shade without the need for a shade adjective. They include:

BLUE
azure, cyan, indigo, sapphire, turquoise

GREEN
emerald, jade

ORANGE
peach

PINK
coral, rosy

PURPLE
lavender, lilac, magenta, mauve, violet

RED
crimson, maroon, ruby, scarlet, vermilion,

YELLOW
beige, gold, khaki, lemon, magnolia, ochre

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10. Parts of Longer Words

Colour words occur within various longer words, including:

NOUNS
blackbird, blackboard, blackcurrant, blackout, blueberry, bluebird, bluegrass, blueprint, greyhound, redwood, whitebait, whiteboard, whitewash, yellowfin

ADJECTIVES
redbrick, blue-collar, white-collar

VERBS
whitewash

The adjectives normally precede their noun (see 184. Adjectives with Limited Mobility).

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11. Other Forms

Some colour adjectives combine with a noun + -ed to form new adjectives describing the appearance of living things, especially people. Common examples are blue-eyed (also brown-, green-, grey- etc.), black-haired (brown-, grey-, blond- etc.) and red-blooded (see 291. Subtleties of “-ed”, #7).

Red-hot means either “very hot” or “performing very well”. White-hot signifies even greater heat / performance.

In the red / black means “showing a financial deficit / surplus”. Out of the blue means “unexpectedly”.

The suffix -ish makes the meaning of most colour adjectives more approximate.

270. Paraphrasing Adjectives with Words of Other Kinds

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Adjectives can be paraphrased in a wide variety of ways

REASONS FOR PARAPHRASING ADJECTIVES

The skill of paraphrase – being able to say the same thing in different ways – is not often given the recognition it deserves. It is valuable not just for reporting other writers’ ideas (see 76. Tenses of Citation Verbs), but also for facilitating aspects of one’s own writing, such as conciseness (see 265. Grammar Tools for Better Writing), repetition (see 286. Repeating in Different Words), and avoidance of unknown and undesirable wording (see 202. Some Strategies for Learning English, Practice Strategy #2). In fact, for many people the very act of writing probably involves constant paraphrase.

The main Guinlist post on paraphrase (80. How to Paraphrase) emphasises that it should not be thought of as simple word substitution. The recommended way of avoiding that is by writing without looking at the source text, so as to focus better on the message instead of the words.

However, this approach can still give problems with very short texts, since information there is much harder to remember without incidentally remembering its wording. It is perhaps with texts of this kind that the temptation to directly replace some of the words with a synonym from a thesaurus or dictionary will be greatest. What the above-mentioned post recommends to avoid this is to change the grammar of the source rather than just its words, a goal that might be achieved more easily by starting the paraphrase with a word that does not start the source.

It is true that this grammar-focussed approach still involves some replacement of words by their synonyms. However, the synonyms will often be words of a different kind (i.e. other “parts of speech”). This seems more acceptable because the focus when using them will be much more on grammatical restructuring than on simple like-for-like word replacement, and the use itself will probably need a better understanding of the source text.

Paraphrasing grammatical structures obviously requires a good command of grammar. It is this aspect that the present post seeks to assist. The focus is on adjectives because study restricted to a single type of source grammar may be more memorable than a more wide-ranging kind, while adjectives can still be linked to a broad variety of alternative structures. Elsewhere in this blog, there is a similar study of prepositions (see 205. Paraphrasing Prepositions with Words of Other Kinds).

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NOUN-FORM PARAPHRASES

Most adjectives have a corresponding noun. Usually, it is derived from them, or they are derived from it (see 255. Nouns Made from Adjectives). There are at least three situations where an adjective might be replaceable by its corresponding noun.

1. After BE and some Other Complement-Taking Verbs

In the following example, the adjective disastrous is a “complement” because it follows the noun it describes (harvests) with a link verb (are) in between:

(a) After extreme weather, harvests are often disastrous.

It is very possible here to replace disastrous with the noun a disaster without changing the meaning.

Unfortunately, only a few complement adjectives can be replaced in this way. One requirement is for the link verb to be of the right kind: able to precede either an adjective or a noun. Other verbs of this kind besides BE include SEEM and REMAIN. A link verb that can only precede nouns is COMPRISE, one only usable before adjectives is TURN (= become) (see 220. Features of Complements, #2).

Yet even with the right verb, adjective complements often cannot become nouns. This seems true, for example, of property-naming adjectives: acidic, red, nutricious, abundant etc. (see 163. Ways of Naming Properties).

Other paraphrasable adjectives include the probability ones likely (a likelihood), possible (a possibility), probable (a probability) and certain (a certainty), plus dangerous (a danger), exceptional (an exception), mysterious (a mystery), problematic (a problem) and shocking (a shock). For more, see 318. “It is” + Noun & Another Verb.

A potential problem to be aware of when choosing a noun use is creation of a double meaning (see 257. Structures with a Double Meaning 4, #3).

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2. Between “it is” and a Verb Statement

In this kind of sentence, an adjective after it is says something about a following statement containing a verb with to, -ing or that (see 103. Representing a Later Statement with “it”):

(b) It is beneficial to eat plenty of fresh vegetables.

The paraphrase possible here is There is benefit in eating…. Using the noun (benefit) requires there instead of it, and a preposition (here in) with the -ing form of the subsequent verb. Again, not every adjective in this situation can be similarly changed, but many can. For details, see 161. Special Uses of “there” Sentences, #6.

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3. After a Dimension Size

Some dimensions are identified by an adjective placed after their numerically represented size:

(c) The gap was 2m wide.

(d) Construction required a pit 5m deep.

In sentences like (c), noun replacement is possible with HAVE…OF instead of BE: …had a width/depth of… (see 163. Ways of Naming Properties). In sentences like (d), where the dimension size directly follows a noun, the alternative uses with (…with a depth/width of 5m).

In addition to the above three situations, adjectives placed just before their noun are worth mentioning. Although they are not normally replaceable by a related noun, there are a few exceptions, e.g. autumnal / autumn colours and grammatical / grammar rules (see 38. Nouns Used Like Adjectives, #4).

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VERB-FORM PARAPHRASE

4. After BE

An adjective after BE (or similar) is often replaceable by a single verb representing both, just as is often possible with BE + preposition. For example, is abundant can become abounds and is similar to… corresponds to resembles. Such correspondences perhaps reflect the particular similarity of adjectives to verbs (see 283. Lesser-Known Features of Adjectives, #3).

In the first of the above examples, abounds corresponds to just the adjective and BE, while in the second resembles also incorporates a preposition (to) that is often needed after similar (see 82. Common Errors in Making Comparisons, #6). As a result, the new verb in the first case is “intransitive” (without a following object noun) while in the second is “transitive” (requiring such a noun, and using the one left by the replaced preposition).

Other verbs in the first category include:

become visible = APPEAR
be relevant = APPLY (see 261. Words with Complicated Grammar 3, #1)
be simultaneous = COINCIDE
become worse = DETERIORATE
be different = DIFFER/VARY (see 216. Indicating Differences)
be longlasting = ENDURE
be outstanding = EXCEL
become fewer = FALL
be painful = HURT
be insistent = INSIST (see 300. Adjective Indicators of Indirect Speech)
be imminent = LOOM
be important = MATTER (see 198. Indicating Importance, #3)
be the most common = PREVAIL
become more numerous = RISE
be asleep = SLEEP
be successful = SUCCEED
be enough = SUFFICE/WILL DO (see 189. Expressing Sufficiency)
be victorious = TRIUMPH/WIN
become invisible = VANISH/DISAPPEAR
be/become tearful = WEEP

Other verbs in the second category include:

be true of; be relevant to… = APPLY TO…
be more successful than… = BETTER…
be characteristic of… = CHARACTERISE…
be different from… = CONTRAST WITH…
be worthy of… = DESERVE/MERIT…
be equal/equivalent to… = EQUAL… (see 231. Confusions of Similar Structures 3, #4)
be sensitive to… = FEEL…
be devoid of… = LACK… (see 42. Unnecessary Prepositions)
be fond of… = LIKE…
be reliant on… = NEED…

In addition, adjectives with certain suffixes often allow special paraphrases. Those with -able or -ible can, along with a preceding is/are, become a passive verb with can be (see 27. How to Avoid Passive Verbs). For example, is acceptable = can be accepted, is divisible = can be divided, and is inevitable = cannot be avoided (for numerous further examples, see 304. Adjectives Made from a Verb, #4). There are, however, some exceptions (see 284. Words with a Surprising Meaning, #1, #2 and #11).

Adjectives with -less can often, when used after BE, become LACK + an object noun representing the rest of the adjective: is tactless = lacks tact, and is clueless = lacks understanding. For a list of -less adjectives, see 106. Word-Like Suffixes.

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OTHER PARAPHRASE FORMS

5. Adverbs

Many adjectives have a corresponding adverb. Such adverbs are mostly spelled either the same as their corresponding adjective (e.g. early, outside: see 120. Six Things to Know about Adverbs, #6), or with an added ending (easy – easily, north – northward), and can in consequence be considered derived from it.

To paraphrase an adjective with an adverb, it is necessary also to paraphrase the noun that adjectives typically accompany with a word that adverbs typically accompany – usually a verb. Consider this use of the adjective noticeable:

(e) After 6 weeks, a noticeable improvement was evident.

To use the adverb noticeably, the noun improvement must become the verb improved. Noticeably can go either before or after it. The verb needs to be given a subject, enabling (e) to end …improved noticeably.

Other examples of adjective-adverb conversion are as follows. The underlining shows adverbs whose position can vary:

ready acceptance – accept readily
strong emphasis – strongly emphasise
normal departure – normally depart
upward movement – move up
frequent stops – stop frequently
hard work – work hard
early start – start early

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6. Connectors

Connectors are adverb-like expressions that show how the meaning of their sentence is related to that of one placed usually before (see 18. Relations between Sentences). Common examples are however, therefore and in other words. Certain adjectives are also able to indicate this kind of meaning link between sentences. Consider the following:

(f) Birds are shaped according to their flight needs. Aircraft design has a similar basis.

Similar here shows that its sentence and the one before are together expressing a similarity. The corresponding connector is similarly (see 149. Saying How Things are Similar). One way of using it to paraphrase the second sentence above would be:

(g) Birds … . Similarly, aircraft are designed with flying in mind.

Other adjectives that can indicate a sentence link (with their corresponding connector shown in brackets) include consequent (therefore / consequently) alternative (alternatively) and different (by contrast). For a detailed survey, see 112. Synonyms of Connectors.

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7. Preposition Phrases

Preposition phrases very typically act like adjectives (see 85. Seven Things to Know about Prepositions, #2). However, inter-changeability with an adjective is not so common (see 164. Fixed Preposition Phrases). Moreover, the greater wordiness of preposition phrases may make them less desirable than adjectives. The following are illustrative equivalences:

endangered – in danger
endless – without end
equal (to) – on a par (with)
fashionable – in fashion
leading – at the front
pressurized – under pressure
too far/high – out of reach

Adjectives in the “complement” position (describing an earlier noun with BE or similar in between, e.g. problems were endless) can be replaced directly by a preposition phrase. However, adjectives positioned just before their noun (endless problems), can only become a preposition phrase placed after it (problems without end).

263. Uses of “One” and “Ones”

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“One” has three basic meanings and is usable like a noun or adjective in various formal writing roles

FUNDAMENTAL FEATURES

Although description of one and ones is common in elementary grammar books, plenty of aspects are usually left to be covered at a more advanced level. However, I feel that even there some advanced aspects tend not to be included. This post looks in detail at one and ones, adding my own insights to the widely-recognised ones and paying, as ever, particular attention to formal writing. Some of the points also arise elsewhere in this blog, but for the sake of completeness are included here in a briefer form.

Grammatically, one may be a “determiner” (similar to, but not the same as, an adjective: see 110. Nouns without “the” or “a”), or a pronoun. As a determiner, it always has a directly-following singular countable noun (e.g. one reason), so cannot be plural.

The pronoun one sometimes means “people in general”, but mostly takes its meaning from a plural noun mentioned in the surrounding words or understandable from the place of utterance. It may be alone (one is…) or have descriptive wording before and/or after (a red one, one on top).

When the pronoun use of one directly precedes its plural noun, of the (or similar: of various, of these, of those, of their etc.) is needed in between, e.g. one of the reasons. Sometimes this noun is replaced by a pronoun, and then of alone is needed (one of them). Sometimes replacement is with a superlative adjective, e.g. one of the best (see 305. Wording next to Superlatives, #5).

One before of + plural / superlative actually represents a singular form, e.g. one (reason) of the reasons (see 165. Confusions of Similar Structures 2, #6).

Ones, by contrast, is only a pronoun. Its plural noun cannot follow it, and descriptive wording is compulsory (red ones; the ones on top). Without such wording, one is replaced by some.

In all cases, one(s) fundamentally implies membership of a larger group, though this idea can be cancelled with special wording, e.g. There is (only) one Taj Mahal. An additional suggestion, also able to be cancelled, is “randomly selected from the group” (see 266. Indicating Alternatives, #5).

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USES

1. Referring to People in General

This familiar pronoun use of one is unusual in lacking a corresponding noun in the surrounding words or environment (see 211. General Words for People). Problems that it can cause for learners of English include distinguishing it from the similar uses of you, they and someone, and choosing the right pronoun when its meaning needs to be repeated (usually one, oneself or one’s: see 204. Grammatical Agreement, #2b).

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2. As a Number

Very little needs saying here about this elementary-level use. A determiner or pronoun, it adds the idea of “single” to the above-mentioned two basic meanings, so that the pronoun cannot be plural (except when referring to symbols, e.g. The number has two ones). In speech, it is often differentiated from other uses of one by being pronounced with more emphasis. In writing, an accompanying word like only or single can do this.

The pronoun occasionally has descriptive wording after it (e.g. one from all the possibilities), but rarely before. The determiner resembles the “indefinite” article a(n). The difference is typically one of emphasis or formality. For example, one instead of a in gave…reason highlights the “single” idea, and in a laboratory report one would be more formal than a before a measurement noun, e.g. one gram was added (see 67. Numbers in Spoken English, #3).

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3. Introducing a Class Member

In this use, one helps to name a member of a just-mentioned class. It usually occupies a new sentence. If other members are also being mentioned, one always introduces the first:

(a) Portuguese is spoken in some African countries. One (country) is Mozambique.

As this shows, one can be either a determiner (with some or all of the class name repeated after it) or pronoun. The latter, being less repetitious, is probably more common.

One used like this has different possible purposes, depending on what follows. If nothing or only a little more is said about the named class member, and no or just a few other class members are subsequently named, one is probably introducing an example. There is no surprise that one can assist exemplification, given that its “others exist” and “random selection” implications are also fundamental to examples (see 1. Simple Example-Giving).

On the other hand, if subsequent sentences just say more about the named class member (Mozambique above), then the randomness of this class member is cancelled so that it is no longer just an example. Some grammarians instead call it “particularization”. In speech, one might be said with emphasis. In writing, its meaning could be made more explicit by adding something like an important… or the main… before one.

Alternatively, if wording like (a) is followed almost immediately by sentences naming all the other members of the mentioned class (Angola, Cape Verde etc.), then one would have a specifying purpose, as defined within these pages in 117. Restating Generalizations More Specifically. The subsequent sentences would be as described in 122. Signpost Words in Multi-Sentence Lists. There is a subtype of this use in which one combines with a later the other to name a difference within a previously-identified pair:

(b) There were two balls. One was red, the other blue.

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4. Introducing Other Kinds of Information

In this use, it is not one that indicates the purpose of its sentence, but a noun after it:

(c) Railways are a more desirable transport means than motor vehicles. One reason is…

Once again, one may or may not be indicating the start of a list. The determiner use shown above also, perhaps, implies that the writer does not know the entire list. To suggest such knowledge, one of the reasons seems preferable. Using a instead of one is also possible, suggesting the writer is unsure whether other possibilities exist.

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5. Replacing an Ordinary Noun

The pronoun one can represent other nouns besides class names:

(d) The box contained balls. Participants chose one.

Here, the noun represented by one (balls) is mentioned before it. Later mention is also possible, e.g. Participants chose one of several balls.

The noun-replacement use of one resembles the number use in that it adds the idea of “single” to the basic suggestions of “not all” and “random”. The difference is that it is less emphatic about this idea, its plural being ones or some rather than another number. However, this distinction is not always clear, and sometimes the number meaning has to be indicated more clearly by adding only.

Used alone, as in (d), one cannot follow a(n) or the (or similar). However, with descriptive wording in front, one of these is compulsory, with or without descriptive wording after, e.g. a/the red one (below). By contrast, if there is only descriptive wording after one, the choice before it must be between the (e.g. the one below) and nothing at all (one below). The one in this situation sometimes needs replacement by that (e.g. that below: see 63. Constraints on Using “the one/s”).

The plural of one in (d) is some. As mentioned earlier, ones is only possible when descriptive wording is also present. Regardless of whether this wording is before or after, sometimes the ones must be used, sometimes just ones – the plural meaning rules out a(n). Replacement of the ones is again sometimes necessary – by those instead of that – when the descriptive wording comes after.

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6. Facilitating Adjective Use

There are two notable situations where an adjective requires a/the…one or (the)…ones. The first is when the adjective needs to be in a “complement” position (with the noun it describes placed earlier and separated by BE or other link verb), but is the kind of adjective that can only describe a noun after it. Consider the following standard adjective complement:

(e) Among causes of death, heart disease is well-known.

Here, the adjective well-known is describing heart disease before it. Very many adjectives can be used in a similar way (see 220. Features of Complements, #2). However, there are exceptions. For example, leading, though suitable in terms of its meaning as a direct alternative to well-known, would not fit in grammatically.

There is no logical reason why leading should not be usable by itself after BE: it just belongs to a smallish group of English adjectives that have this restriction. Most grammar books list the main ones, and it is helpful that particular types of meaning tend to be involved. For a survey in this blog, see 184. Adjectives with Limited Mobility.

The problem with leading, however, can be overcome by combining it with a…one, producing …is a leading one. Even regular adjectives like famous could combine with one in this way. Note, though, that not every limited-mobility adjective can combine with one(s). The above-mentioned post gives some indication of which can. Other common ones include alternative, former, future, main, only, previous and upper.

The second notable situation requiring one(s) after an adjective is where the sentence position occupied by the adjective needs a noun as well, but mentioning the noun associated with the adjective would sound repetitious:

(f) Of the available options, a suitable one was hard to find.

Here, the adjective suitable needs a following noun because it occupies the noun position of subject (of was), yet adding the noun it describes (option) would repeat a recent mention. One solves the problem because it is able as a pronoun to occupy noun positions.

In not allowing lone adjectives in noun positions, English differs from some other languages. However, English does allow some exceptions to this rule, especially adjectives in the comparative or superlative form: the most suitable above could keep or drop one (see 102. Adjectives with no Noun 2, #1).

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7. Other Uses

One time implies selection from multiple occurrences – unlike once, which leaves the existence of other occurrences unclear (see 227. Time Adverbs, #1, II).

After BE, one can be an adjective meaning “united” (People were one in opposing…), but cannot be a number (see 184. Adjectives with Limited Mobility, #1).

The one can mean “the only one” before a noun (the one problem is…) and “the special one” by itself (He is the one).

Using one before someone’s name (e.g. one Emily Martin) suggests, like a(n) and a certain, that the addressee is unfamiliar with the person in question (for a discussion of certain, see 226. Words with Complicated Grammar 2, #2). In addition, however, one suggests that the person is rather strange or unusual.

The + adjective + ones (e.g. the young ones) with all-referring general meaning is more positive-sounding than just the + adjective (as discussed in 6. Adjectives with no Noun 1). It perhaps implies that its user belongs to the mentioned group.