For help in coding adjectives, click here. Non-participial, Descriptive Adjectives are organized as a single Superset with seven sets. Most of these sets contain subsets. As with most other parts of speech in SAL, adjectives are subclassified according to the syntactic relationships that they tend to have with other words. The sets within the Descriptive Adjective Superset are:
Caution: Many adjectives fit in more than one category (e.g., lucky fits in most of the above categories). In such cases, it is essential to choose the highest category according to the order of priority shown above. For help in coding
adjectives, click here. |
An adjective belongs in this set if it can be followed by a subordinate clause (E.g., It is mandatory that . . .; John was certain that... ). Some adjectives in this set may also be pre-verbal if they can be followed by a verbal complement. (E.g., It is mandatory to V; John is good at V'ing, etc. ). There are three subgroupings of pre-clausal adjectives, as follows: Pure
logical: (It is ADJ
that/to)
Mixed
logical: (It/NP is ADJ
that/to)
Non-logical: (NP is ADJ that/to)
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For help in coding preclausal adjectives click here |
pre-clausal: urgent type [mnemonic: PCurgent] [code: 13 86 432] Definition: Urgent-type adjectives, when used as predicate adjectives, have the following characteristics:
Examples: appropriate, absurd, better, best, bizarre, compulsory, convenient, crucial, essential, feasible, important, irrelevant, mandatory, natural, necessary, optional, possible, proper, ridiculous, typical, unfair, unusual, urgent Patterns:
Tips: For some adjectives in this subset, the test for that clause complementation may be extended to include wh- clauses. E.g., It is optional whether they do this or not. For help in coding preclausal adjectives, click here. Caution: When in the predicate adjective position, PCurgent adjectives cannot take a normal NP subject and have that clause complementation ( e.g. *He is essential that...). When in the predicate adjective position, PCurgent adjectives that do have a normal NP subject (e.g. Vitamins are important) cannot simultaneously take infinitive clause complementation. For example, in sentences (1) and (2) below, the infinitive clause is adverbial. (In both (1) and (2), the particle to has the sense of in order to.)
In (1), the assignment of PCurgent to the adjective important allows a deterministic parser to interpret that the team won as a subordinate clausal complement to the adjective, and not as a relative clause as in (2). This code also allows the parser to see the verb won as intransitive rather than transitive (as it is in (2)). Similarly, in (3), the PCurgent code assigned to important enables a deterministic parser to interpret the infinitive clause to win this series as complementary to the adjective and not as adverbial to the sentence as in (4). In (4), but not in (3), the particle to would be rendered in order to in the target language. |
pre-clausal: certain type [mnemonic: PCcertain] [code: 13 87 438] Definition: Certain-type adjectives, when used as predicate adjectives, have the following characteristics:
Examples: certain, curious, fortunate, likely, lucky, sure, unfortunate, unlikely Patterns:
Tips: For some adjectives in this subset, the test for that clause complementation may be extended to include wh- clauses. E.g., It is not certain when/whether they will come. For help in coding preclausal adjectives, click here. Caution: Note that some adjectives, like indisputable, undecided, uncertain, incurious, etc., which bear a partial resemblance to PCcertain type adjectives, nevertheless do not satisfy all the conditions of this subset and hence should not be so encoded. E.g. *John is undecided to vote in the election. Developers' Tips: The PCcertain code allows a deterministic parser to distinguish between that clauses which complement the adjective and relative clauses, and between infinitive clauses which complement the adjective and adverbial clauses. See Developers' Tips under PCurgent. |
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[mnemonic: PCgood] [code: 13 87 439] Definition: Good-type adjectives, when used as predicate adjectives, have the following characteristics:
Examples: excellent, good, great, horrible, mad, nice, odd, optimistic, prudent, selfish, sensible, silly, smart, vital Patterns:
Patterns specific to good-type sub-groups:
Tips: Note
that this type of adjective, when used attributively (e.g., nice gesture) may
still take its verbal complementation. For example: For help in coding preclausal adjectives, click here. Caution: Note that good-type adjectives do NOT take that clause complementation when used attributively. E.g., the that clause in It was a great game that we won is a relative clause, not an adjective complement. Developers' Tips: The PCgood code allows a deterministic parser to distinguish between that clauses which complement the adjective and relative clauses, and between infinitive clauses which complement the adjective and adverbial clauses. See Developers' Tips under PCurgent. |
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pre-clausal: happy type [mnemonic: PChappy] [code: 13 88 442] Definition: Happy-type adjectives, when used as predicate adjectives, have the following characteristics:
Examples: afraid, anxious, ashamed, careful, desperate, frantic, furious, glad, grateful, happy, overjoyed, proud, sad, sorry, unhappy Patterns:
Adjective-Specific Patterns:
Tips:
Note that this type of adjective, when used attributively (e.g., proud
father) may still take its usual verbal (but not clausal) complementation.
E.g.: For help in coding preclausal adjectives, click here. Caution: Developers' Tips: The PChappy code allows a deterministic parser to distinguish between that clauses which complement the adjective and relative clauses, and between infinitive clauses which complement the adjective and adverbial clauses. See Developers' Tips under PCurgent. |
pre-clausal: clear type [mnemonic: PCclear] [code: 13 86 433] Definition: Clear-type adjectives, when used as predicate adjectives, have the following characteristics:
Examples: apparent, arguable, clear, definite, evident, implicit, incongruous, inevitable, ironic, obvious, pertinent, probable, significant, true, worrisome Patterns:
Tips: For help in coding preclausal adjectives, click here. Caution: PCclear type adjectives do not take verb clause complementation. Also, PCclear adjectives do not take the subjunctive. Developers' Tips: The PCclear code allows a deterministic parser to distinguish between that clauses which complement the adjective and relative clauses. See Developers' Tips under PCurgent. |
pre-clausal: aware type [mnemonic: PCaware] [code: 13 88 443] Definition: Aware-type adjectives, when used as predicate adjectives, have the following characteristics:
Examples: adamant, apologetic, angry, aware, bitter, cognizant, confident, downcast, emphatic, exuberant, hopeful, indignant, insistent, joyful, mindful, unconvinced, unconcerned, unimpressed, unsure Pattern:
Possible Verbal Clause Complementation Patterns:
Complex Patterns:
Tips: For help in coding preclausal adjectives, click here. Caution: PCaware adjectives do not
take infinitive clause complements.
Developers' Tips: The PCaware code allows a deterministic parser to recognize the clause for fishing in shallow waters as complementing the adjective in (1). In (2) the clause is an adverbial clause.
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An adjective belongs to the pre-verbal set if, in the predicate adjective position, it can take verb clause complementation of one kind or another. Note that pre-verbal adjectives DO NOT govern that clauses. There are three subgroupings of pre-verbal adjectives: Pure
logical: (It is ADJ to VP)
Mixed
logical: (It/NP is ADJ to VP) (NP is akin to V'ing) Non-logical: (NP is ADJ to VP)
When pre-verbal adjectives occur in the predicate adjective position, certain transformations are possible, depending on the subset type. For example, in the valid subset, the adjective modifies the action rather than the agent, as in (1) below. This characteristic is also true of the easy and wise subsets.It is true in a more restricted sense in the case of the akin subset, as sentence (2), below, illustrates.
In all the remaining subsets, eager, first, and busy, the adjective modifies the agent rather than the activity, as illustrated in (3), below
Caution: A great many adjectives can take verbal complements when preceded by the intensifier too. (E.g., His hands were too cold to turn the knob.) Unless such adjectives also take verbal complementation without the adverb too, they do NOT qualify as pre-verbals.
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pre-verbal: valid type [mnemonic: PVvalid] [code: 13 83 418] Definition: Valid-type adjectives, when used as predicate adjectives, have the following characteristics:
Examples: arduous, awkward, bad, beneficial, common, counter-productive, fraudulent, healthy, impractical, meaningless, pointless, profitable, tedious, treacherous, useful, valid, wholesome, worthwhile Patterns:
Tips: For help in coding pre-verbal adjectives, click here. Caution: PVvalid adjectives cannot take that
clause complementation. Developers' Tips: In (1), below,
the PVvalid code assigned to useful
enables a deterministic parser to interpret the infinitive clause to build up one's
muscle tone as adverbial to the sentence. In (1), therefore, the particle to
would be rendered in order to in the target language. |
pre-verbal: easy type [mnemonic: PVeasy] [code: 13 84 420] Definition: Easy-type adjectives, when used as predicate adjectives, have the following characteristics:
Adjectives preceded by a noun which becomes the direct
object of the infinitive when the adjective is patterned as follows: Examples: calamitous, catastrophic, costly, dangerous, difficult, easy, hard, hazardous, pleasant, safe, safer, simple, tough, unpleasant, unsafe Patterns:
Tips: In the case of the normal NP subject, easy-type adjectives always require the main verb of the VP (in the above patterns) to be transitive. (See Developers' Tips, below). For help in coding pre-verbal adjectives, click here. Caution: Developers' Tips: In constructions like NP is ADJ to VP, if the ADJ is easy-type, the verb in VP must be resolved to the transitive, with the NP subject as its object. (E.g., John was easy to teach.) Compare the case with other PV wise-, eager-, next-, and busy- types. (E.g., John was eager to teach.) |
pre-verbal: wise type [mnemonic: PVwise] [code: 13 84 423] Definition: Wise-type adjectives, when used as predicate adjectives, have the following characteristics:
Examples: audacious, astute, bestial, bold, brilliant, careless, childish, discriminatory, early, far-sighted, heroic, humane, impudent, intelligent, late, negligent, noble, perceptive, polite, provocative, reckless, rude, shrewd, thoughtful, undiplomatic, unprincipled, wise Patterns:
Tips: The ADJ in NP is ADJ to V ( e.g., John was wise to leave) modifies the NP subject, unlike easy-type pre-verbal adjectives which modify the V complement. For help in coding pre-verbal adjectives, click here. Caution: Developers' Tips: In constructions like NP is ADJ to VP, if the ADJ is wise-type and the V in VP has no object, the V is intransitive. (E.g., John was polite to refuse.) |
pre-verbal: akin type [mnemonic: PVakin] [code: 13 84 419] Definition: Akin-type adjectives, in the predicate adjective position, have the following characteristics:
Examples: akin, analogous, conducive, tantamount Patterns:
Tips: This is a very restricted subset. Note that the construction NP is ADJ, without further complementation, is not normal with akin-type adjectives. For help in coding pre-verbal adjectives, click here. Caution: Akin-type adjectives can only be used with the logical it subject in constructions like those shown above. Otherwise an it subject with akin-type adjective represents a pronoun subject(with antecedent) (E.g., It was hardly conducive to building our confidence). Developers' Tips: |
pre-verbal: eager type [mnemonic: PVeager] [code: 13 85 428] Definition: Eager-type adjectives, when used as predicate adjectives, have the following characteristics:
Examples: able, apt, available, competent, eager, eligible, free, hesitant, liable, powerless, prone, quick, ready, reluctant, swift, unfit, untrained, unwilling, worthy Patterns:
Tips: The great majority of eager-type adjectives effect an intransitive bias to the V in the VP complementation in cases where the V has no object. (E.g., He was hesitant to argue.) The adjective unfit is an exception: (E.g., The food is unfit to eat). For help in coding pre-verbal adjectives, click here. Caution: Except for the adjectives liable and apt, an it subject with eager-type adjective always denotes a pronoun subject(with antecedent) (E.g., It was ready to begin). Developers' Tips: |
pre-verbal: first type [mnemonic: PVfirst] [code: 13 85 429] Definition: Valid-type adjectives, when used as predicate adjectives, have the following characteristics:
Examples: first, next, second, slow, eighteenth, fifth, seventh, thirtieth, etc. Patterns:
Tips: For help in coding pre-verbal adjectives, click here. Caution: The adjectives last and second normally should be coded as first-type adjectives, but because these words are so ambiguous with respect to their part of speech,, they are coded as noun/adjective homographs. (Click here for explanation) Adjectives late and early belong to the wise-type subset (they can take a logical it subject). Developers' Tips: It is the responsibility of the rulewriter to insure that the noun/adjective homographs last and second are correctly resolved to wise-type adjectives. |
pre-verbal: busy type [mnemonic: PVbusy] [code: 13 85 430] Definition: Valid-type adjectives, when used as predicate adjectives, have the following characteristics:
Examples: adept, aggressive, allergic, assiduous, averse, busy, candid, capable, conscientious, deft, diligent, effective, forceful, handy, inept, proficient, resolute, resourceful, selective, thorough, unused, versatile Patterns:
Tips: In some of the patterns above ), the number of applicable adjectives may be as few as one (e.g. ADJ at V'ing: adept at V'ing). For help in coding pre-verbal adjectives, click here. Caution: The adjective close normally should be coded as busy-type adjectives (closer and closest are so encoded), but because close is ambiguous with respect to its part-of-speech,, it is coded as a noun/adjective homograph. (Click here for explanation) Developers' Tips: It is the responsibility of the rulewriter to insure that the noun/adjective homograph close is correctly resolved to a busy-type adjective. |
adverbial adjectives [AV] Definition: Adverbial type adjectives are a broad adjectival class distinguished by the following characteristics:
Types: There are seven subsets under the adverbial adjective set.
Tips: adverbial adjectives provide the translation system with information pertaining to stylistic transformations that may be required by the target language. For example, if an adverbial adjective is followed by a Process Noun (e.g., swift movement), the NP can be transformed stylistically in the target language as move swiftly. Such transformations are made possible because the lexical entry for the adjective points to both a target adjectival transfer and a target adverbial transfer (called the alternate word class). (These transfers are entered during the TermBuilder session.) On the other hand, NP's like inner movement are NOT thus transformable and its adjective code would tell the system not to attempt such a transformation. For help in coding adverbial adjectives, click here. Caution: In coding adverbial adjectives, be sure to consider prepositional governance. If an adverbial adjective governs a preposition (as, e.g., adjacent to) this fact preempts any other consideration for this type of adjective. (For more on this, see Developers' Tips) Developers' Tips: Codes for preposition governance are often of critical importance to parsing decisions. For example, in (1), below, the adjective tall is a state/manner type adverbial adjective, which does not govern prepositions, whereas in (2), adjacent is a prep governance type adjective, coded as governing the preposition to.
In (1), the particle to has the value of in order to (and store is properly seen as a verb). In (2), the governance code assigned to adjacent allows the parser to see to as a preposition (and mine as a pronoun). If adjacent has not been properly coded for governance here, very likely to mine would have been seen as an adverbial infinitive clause. The only intelligence the parser has to work with in order to properly analyze (2) is the prep governance code assigned to the adjective adjacent. |
Preposition | Mnemonic | Numeric | Examples |
Locative prepositions (at, on, in, under, above, etc.) | AVloc | 13 68 180/417 | asleep (on), submersible (in) |
for | AVfor | 13 46 180/417 | ineligible, avid, famous, suitable (for) |
from | AVfrom | 13 26 180/417 | distinct, inseparable, remote (from) |
in (non-locative) = e.g., with respect to | AVin | 13 20 180/417 | active, deficient, fluent, foremost, methodical, prevalent, well-versed (in) |
of | AVof | 13 17 180/417 | apprehensive, devoid, envious, intolerant, suspicious (of) |
about/over/on (non-locative) | AVabout | 13 90 180/417 | jittery, joyous, jumpy, obdurate (about/over), reliant, conditional (on) |
to | AVto | 13 57 180/417 | adjacent, detrimental, extraneous (to) |
with | AVwith | 13 59 180/417 | consistent, familiar, incompatible (with) |
adverbial adjectives: state/manner [mnemonic: AVstate] [code: 13 80 180] Definition: state/manner type adjectives constitute the largest class of adjectives. They have the following characteristics:
Examples: charismatic, exhaustive, graphical, intrepid, inveterate, iridescent, irreverent, jovial, joyless, laconic, personable, sly Tips: See Tips for the adverbial adjective set. For help in coding adverbial adjectives, click here. Caution: All adjectives in this class MUST be convertible to adverbs. Developers' Tips: |
adverbial adjectives: time/order [mnemonic: AVtime] [code: 13 80 181] Definition: time/order type adjectives have the following characteristics:
Examples: bi-annual, cyclical, consecutive, daily, final, former, hourly, immediate, momentary, part-time, primary, random, recent, secondary, sequential, sporadic, temporary, weekly, yearly Tips: See Tips for the adverbial adjective set. For help in coding adverbial adjectives, click here. Caution: All adjectives in this class MUST be convertible to adverbs. Thus, the adjective untimely, for example, does not belong here (it should be placed in predicate subset of the non-adverbial adjective set). A very few time/order type adjectives may not function as predicate adjectives, e.g., former. Developers' Tips: |
adverbial adjectives: locative [mnemonic: AVloc] [code: 13 80 182] Definition: locative type adjectives have the following characteristics:
Examples: above, backward, forward, homeward, inward, nationwide, outbound, overseas, regional, skyward Tips: See Tips for the adverbial adjective set. For help in coding adverbial adjectives, click here. Caution: All adjectives in this class MUST be convertible to adverbs. Thus, the adjective interoffice, for example, does not belong here (it should be placed in non-predicate subset of the non-adverbial adjective set). Note, however, that some locative type adjectives lose their adjectival function and becomes adverbs when in the predicate adjective position, e.g., The answer is above. Their son is overseas. Also note that whereas above can function as an adjective (e.g. the above example) the morpheme below is never an adjective. Developers' Tips: |
adverbial adjectives: quantity/measure [mnemonic: AVquan] [code: 13 80 183] Definition: quantity/measure type adjectives have the following characteristics:
Examples: approximate, colossal, countless, endless, enormous, extensive, huge, immeasurable, immense, lengthy, massive, minimal, monumental, numberless, numerous, slight, voluminous Tips: See Tips for the adverbial adjective set. For help in coding adverbial adjectives, click here. Caution: All adjectives in this class MUST be convertible to adverbs. Thus, adjectives such as extra, gargantuan, king-size, large-scale, oversized do not belong here (they should be placed in the predicate subset of the non-adverbial adjective set). Developers' Tips: |
adverbial adjectives: degree [mnemonic: AVdegree] [code: 13 80 184] Definition: degree type adjectives have the following characteristics:
Examples: actual, acute, comprehensive, downright, entire, intense, interminable, mere, outstanding, profound, real, substantial, utter Tips: See Tips for the adverbial adjective set. For help in coding adverbial adjectives, click here. Caution: All adjectives in this class MUST be convertible to adverbs. Developers' Tips: |
non-adverbial adjectives [NAV] Definition: non-adverbial type adjectives have the following characteristics:
The non-adverbial adjective set has two subsets:
Caution: These adjectives DO NOT have adverbial counterparts. |
non-adverbial: predicate adjective [mnemonic: NAVpred] [code: 13 81 186] Definition: non-adverbial predicate type adjectives constitutes a broad class of adjective having the following characteristics:
Examples: above-mentioned, adversarial, all-purpose, auditory, bivalent, bombproof, cellular, cordless, deluxe, editable, exploratory, far-reaching, fungible, grainy, hard-core, hereditary, inferior, jobless, leaky, marbled, non-partisan, scholarly, slow-acting, undamaged, wooded, untimely Tips: See Tips for the adverbial adjective set. For help in coding non-adverbial adjectives, click here. Caution: All adjectives in this class MUST NOT be convertible to adverbs. Developers' Tips: |
non-adverbial: non-predicate adjective [mnemonic: NAVnpred] [code: 4 81 187] Definition: non-adverbial non-predicate type adjectives is a small adjective class with the following characteristics:
Examples: Atlantic, bridal, naval Tips: See Tips for the adverbial adjective set. For help in coding non-adverbial adjectives, click here. Caution: All adjectives in this class MUST NOT be convertible to adverbs. Developers' Tips: |
[mnemonic: POST] [code: 4 81 417] Definition: An adjective which can only occur in post nominal position; i.e., NP ADJ. (E.g., The lottery winner suddenly had money galore.) Examples: galore, ablaze, abloom, astir, fraught, replete, unacquainted, asleep, unafraid, alike, alone, unalike, unsuited, afire, aflame, aglow, awash, alive, indebted, resistant, aground, ajar, amiss, awake, awry, aground, Tips: Pure post nominals, like galore, are rare in English. More often, when these adjectives occur, they usually stand for collapsed relative clauses. For example, the phrase The house ablaze with light can be parsed as a short form of The house that is ablaze with light. . . .. Frequently, a pure post nominal may govern a particular preposition. E.g., awash with, unsuited for, fraught with, indebted to. In such cases, the adjective is coded to reflect the prepositional governance. Click here to view the Prepositional Governance Codes for Adjectives. Caution: An adjective should only be coded as a pure post-nominal if it can never be preposed, such as galore, ablaze or alike. Adjectives which may occasionally function as postposed, but which are normally preposed, should not be coded as post- nominal; e.g., green in the following example: She flashed eyes green with envy. The reason for this is made clear in the following examples:
In (1), if galore is correctly coded as pure post nominal, the parser would see it correctly as an adjective modifying shutters. However, in (2), if green were incorrectly coded as pure post nominal, the parser would be unable to see green as a predicate complement and would therefore parse it incorrectly. Developers' Tips: On the basis of the numeric codes, pure post nominal adjectives constitute a subset under the non-adverbial adjective set . For purposes of taxonomic clarity, however, it is being treated in the tutorial as a separate set. There are no hidden implications in this change. |
[mnemonic: PRE] [code: 13 82 100] Definition: Adjectives that appear exclusively in pre-nominal position. E.g., anti-, pro-, omni-, etc. Examples: aero-, anti-, bi-, non-, omni-, mid-, contra-, infra-, micro-, multi-, semi-, pseudo-, trans-, re-
Tips: Since these prefixes are used used with hyphenation, they need to be in the lexicon as distinct entities. Caution: Developers' Tips: |
Past
Participial Definition: An adjective belongs in this category if it is a participial form of a verb in current usage. Participles are of three kinds:
Participial adjectives derive their coding automatically from their respective verbs. Tips: Participial adjectives may also function as attributive descriptive adjectives, as in a telling glance, the known world, adjustable amount. However, it is the participial function that determines their classification (e.g., the reporter covering this meeting, or the reporter assigned to cover this meeting. Caution. A fair number of present participles are used only attributively and in effect lose their verbal coloration. Consider the following sentences:
In (1) the proper parse for is interesting, etc. is BE + PREDICATE ADJ. In (2) the parse for is growing would be V(PRES PROGRESSIVE TENSE). The verbal -ING form in (2) can always be modified by an adverb (...is growing slowly). This is never the case in (1), indicating that it is no longer verbal in function. (The adjectival -ING form of course can be modified by intensifier adverbs like very, exceedingly, etc.) Much the same can be said of certain -ABLE participles. For example:
In (1) the proper parse for is adorable is BE + PREDICATE ADJ. In (2) the parse would see obtainable as the main verb. All adjectival -ING and -ABLE forms are stored in the lexicon as participles. Parsing rules that draw upon the the Semantic Table are responsible for recognizing when an -ING form or -ABLE form is functioning purely attributively. In such cases, the Semantic Table will change the target language transfer supplied by the lexicon, where necessary. Developer's Tips: Note that the only numeric coding distinction between past participles and -ABLE participles is the form codes of 60 and 23, respectively. |
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