The meaning of an adjective in Russian. Full and short forms of adjectives

Words denoting signs of an object and answering the questions "what?" and "whose?" in Russian are called adjectives. The name speaks for itself - this is what attached to something, namely to another word - to a noun. Without it, an explicit or implicit noun, there can be no adjective at all. Otherwise, it loses the meaning of its presence in the sentence and may even turn into a noun itself (cf. blind(which?) old man- adj. and sat (who?) blind- noun).

Accordingly, with a change in the defined word, the dependent will adapt to it, assimilating its morphemic features. This is expressed by endings. Adjectives always have the same gender, number and case as the noun with which they are related in meaning.

Therefore, in order not to be mistaken in the spelling of the ending of an adjective, you should:

1. find the noun to which it refers (attached);
   
2. to pose a question from the defined noun to the adjective. The end of the question will prompt the desired ending of the adjective; for the most part they are consonant: weather(which?) warm; morning(which?) sunny; songs(what kind?) quiet; growth(what?) high; branches(what?) thin);
   
3. it should be remembered that the question "what?" you cannot check the endings of adjectives of the initial form (adjectives in m.
   In these cases:
   • the ending is under stress -Oh (pencil(m.r.un. h.i. p.) (what?) color);
     
   • without stress - th / th (pencil(which?) sharp, blue).
     
   In addition to the named adjectives, there are also other mutable signs:
   • the degree of comparison;
     
   • full or short form.
     

Both are only relevant for quality adjectives!

What are quality adjectives?
According to their meaning, all adjectives are divided into three categories.

1. High quality. They answer the question "which one?" and denote the quality of items: color ( yellow Red), the size ( big, small), weight ( heavy, small), traits ( funny, sullen), age ( young, old), taste qualities (bitter, sour). Most of them can be easily matched with antonyms ( big - small, sharp - dull) or synonyms ( big - large, huge, huge);
   
2. Relative. They also answer the question "what?", But define an object in relation to another object: its location ( street lamp, school yard), material ( paper serpent, silk tape), destination ( ski costume, shoe brush), relation to time ( evening cool, early dinner);
   
3. Possessive. The only ones answer the question "whose?", Since characterize an object by its belonging to any living being (mother's apron, fox tail, Sashin cry).
   

Qualitative adjectives differ significantly from the rest. They alone can:

• form a short form, answering the question "what?", ( high - tall, bitter - bitter);
  
• show signs of objects to a greater or lesser extent ( high - higher - even higher - highest - highest).
  

Strengthening of the attribute, as can be seen from the example, is increasing: from the initial, positive, it takes the forms of comparative and superlative degrees; which can be expressed in different ways:

• simple forms using suffixes: higher, highest;
  
• compound forms using additional words: more (less, most, very, most ...) high.
  

All adjectives are declined by case, number and gender (singular). And only quality ones have exceptions.

1. Short adjectives are not inflected! That is, they do not change by case, but change only by number and by gender (in singular): hungry, hungry, hungry.
   
2. In general, qualitative adjectives in a comparatively simple form ( higher, lower, narrower, wider, faster ...) and in the composite superlative degree constructed on its basis ( above - above all).
   

The rest of the qualitative adjectives are inclined in the same way as the relative ones. Depending on the last consonant, their endings can be based on hard and soft versions ( -a-i, -o-e, -y-y, -y-and).

Also, adjectives agree with the noun in animation, if the noun is in the form of V. p. Pl. h, and for male- and in units. h (cf .: I see beautiful(what?) shoes and I see handsome(what?) girls).

Possessive adjectives are declined differently. Their declination type is called mixed. The set of endings is special there. They will not necessarily be in tune. Moreover, in the declension of adjectives with the suffix -th- and adjectives with suffixes -yn - / - in- or -ow - / - ev- there are some differences.

Possessive adjectives with the suffix -th- be sure to write in the middle of the word soft sign (dog, sable, marten, fox ...); in all forms except the initial one (m.u. h. I./V. p.), in it the endings will be zero ( hare_, fox_, feline_, sable_).

The categories of adjectives have no clear boundaries, which allows them to move from one to another. Such changes are context sensitive, typically when used in portable values. So possessive adjective fox(whose?) Nora becomes relative in case fox(what? what is it made of?) fur coat, and the relative adjective iron(what? what is it made of?) tap turns into quality - iron(what? that is, strong) patience.

Finally, there are some special adjectives for colors ( beige, khaki, indigo, etc.), nationalities ( Khanty, Mansi, Urdu ...) and clothing styles ( corrugation, flare, mini ...), as well as words (weight) Gross Net, (hour) peak, which have their own characteristics: they are always unchangeable and always placed after the noun ( beige blazers, flared skirt).

Some quality adjectives in modern language there are only short forms, for example: glad, must, much, which are also unchangeable.

When choosing one of the two named forms in the function of the predicate, the differences between them should be taken into account.

1. The semantic difference is expressed in the fact that some short forms of adjectives differ sharply in their meaning from the corresponding full ones. Wed: deaf from birth - deaf to requests; the child is very alive - the old man is still alive; the method is very good - the guy is handsome... Wed also the disuse in a short form of individual adjectives expressing a constant property of objects or serving as a terminological designation of signs: Opposite wall deaf; flowers in a vase alive etc.

   Some short forms are used in a limited way. So, usually they are not used when indicating the weather, for example: the days were warm, the wind will be cold, the weather is beautiful.

   The names of some colors or are not used at all in a short form ( blue, brown, pink, purple and others), or are used with certain restrictions. So, there are almost no masculine forms. boer, blue, black(with the use of feminine, neuter and plural forms).

   In phraseological units, in some cases, only full forms were fixed, in others - only short ones. Wed:

   a) hopeless position, hot time, light hand and etc.;

   b) everyone is alive and well, bribes are smooth, business is bad, sweet to heart, hands are short, conscience is unclean and etc.

2. The full forms usually denote a permanent trait, timeless quality, while the short ones denote
   temporary sign, short-lived state; Wed: mother is sick - mother is sick; his movements are calm - his face is calm etc.

   This provision is not categorical. Wed:

   1) At that moment he was very worried, his face was red(the full form, although a temporary sign is indicated, the limited use of the short form of the adjective denoting color affects, see above);
   

   2) Our land is rich, but there is no order in it(short form, although a constant feature is indicated; such constructions are used in scientific statements, definitions, in descriptions, for example: space is infinite; our young people are very talented, the girl is young and beautiful; these requirements are unacceptable etc.).

   The third option is the full form in the instrumental case, indicating, like a short form, a temporary sign, but shades of semantic difference are revealed between the last two forms in the context. Wed:

   He was old(constant sign).

   He was old when I met him(sign in relation to this moment).

   He was old when I knew him(a feature limited to a certain period).

3. In other cases, the full form denotes an absolute sign that is not associated with a specific situation, and the short form denotes a relative sign in relation to a specific situation. Typically, this difference appears in adjectives denoting size, weight, etc., with the short form indicating inadequacy or excess. Wed: room is low(a sign in general) - the room is low(for tall furniture); heavy note(regardless of who will carry it) - the note is heavy(for a weak person, for a child). Wed also: boots are small, gloves are large, the corridor is narrow, the coat is short etc.
4. The grammatical (syntactic) difference between both forms is that the short form has the ability to syntactically control, and the full, used in the nominative case, does not have this ability, for example: he is capable of music, we are ready to leave, the child is prone to colds, she was sick with the flu(the use of the full form is not possible in these examples). Found in fiction constructions with the presence of controlled words in their full form are associated with a stylistic task (introduction of colloquial coloring into the utterance), for example: I am no longer capable of such a burden; Old man ... on the tongue is light and amusing.
5. The stylistic difference between both forms is expressed in the fact that the short form is characterized by a shade of categoricality, for the full one - a shade of softened expression. Wed: he is cunning - he is cunning, she is brave - she is brave etc. The short form is often inherent in the book language, the full one - in the spoken language. Wed: The conclusions and conclusions of the author of the study are clear and accurate. – Student answers are clear and accurate... Wed the use of a short form in book-writing: Every field of activity is infinitely diverse ...(Belinsky); True wisdom is laconic(L. Tolstoy); Our speech is predominantly aphoristic ...(Bitter).

   You can choose between the short form and the full form in the instrumental case, for example: became rich - became rich, became famous - became famous.

   Wed with some linking verbs:

   I would like to be of service to you. – I cannot be of use to your son.

   His babbling became illegible. – He got drunk quickly, became chatty.

   Grandfather became noticeably greedy. – The silence was getting onerous.

   The corporal turned out to be extremely naive in his admiration for the captain's activities. – The stock of raw materials in the laboratory turned out to be quite significant.

   In modern language, the second option prevails. But with a linking verb be the design with a short form is more common. Wed: he was young - he was young, she was beautiful - she was beautiful.

6. As a rule, homogeneous predicates are either only full or only short forms of adjectives, for example:

   a) October was unusually cold, rainy(Paustovsky); I was young, hot, sincere, intelligent ...(Chekhov);

   b) The open neck is thin and tender(A. N. Tolstoy); The strength of the sailors is unstoppable, persistent, purposeful(L. Sobolev).

   The following constructions are a violation of the norm: “He is kind, but weak-willed”; "The views are original, albeit primitive in their essence" (in both cases, the forms of adjectives should be unified).

   Only in special conditions of context or with a stylistic task is it possible to combine both forms as syntactically homogeneous, for example: How sweet she is, how smart she is(Turgenev) - in the presence of words how and So only the short form is used, if there are words which and such- full form only.
   

7. With a polite reference to "you", either a short form is possible (you are kind, you are persistent), or complete, consistent in gender with the real sex of the person to whom speech is directed (you are kind, you are so persistent).

§ 160. Variant forms of short adjectives

1. From doublet forms of short adjectives (on -en and on -enen ) formed from full forms with an unaccented -enny , in neutral styles of speech, the form on -en ... These are, for example:
   
2. Distinguish between short adjectives in -enen and short participles on -en ... Wed:

   case is quite certain(clear) - departure date has already been determined(installed, scheduled);

   the old man is very respectable(worthy of respect) - the hero of the day is honored with our attention(he was honored with attention).
   

3. In some adjectives, a short vowel appears between the final consonant of the root and the suffix, while in others a fluent vowel is absent in these cases. Wed:

   a) sour - jelly, light - light, warm - warm;

   b) round - round, wet - wet, dark - dark, rotten - rotten.

   Doublet forms are possible: sharp - sharp and sharp(colloquial); full - full and full(book, obsolete).

§ 161. Forms of degrees of comparison of adjectives

1. The simpler form of the comparative degree is used in all speech styles, in particular in colloquial speech, and I am mainly characteristic of book (scientific and business) speech. Wed household: brother is taller than sister, this house is taller than next; and books: growth rates foreign trade higher this year than last... Wed also: Olya was more serious than Nina. – Further experiments were more complex than the previous ones..
   

   Possible book and spoken versions of the simple form of the comparative degree, for example: quicker - quicker, louder - louder, more agile - more agile, sweeter - sweeter, whip - trenchant... From the word young a form is formed younger (younger means “lower in position, in rank, in rank”). The form is clearly colloquial prettier.

   Conversational nature is inherent in expressions lives better than before(meaning "better than before"), tired more than yesterday("More than yesterday"), etc.

   Comparative form on -her (hurry up, bolder etc.) is used in colloquial language and in poetic speech.

   The combination in one construction of a simple and complex form of a comparative degree of the type “more interesting” does not correspond to the norms of the literary language; Wed quite common expressions better position, worse habits etc. The combination older.

   Forms with prefix on- , introducing an additional value of a small degree of increase or decrease in quality, are characteristic of colloquial speech, for example: do better, get taller, wake up early etc. (cf. in business speech: a little better, a little higher, a little earlier). Unjustified combinations of the type: tell a little more(in the form "in more detail" there is already the meaning "a little, a little"). The same colloquial connotation has forms of a comparative degree with the prefix on- and in other meanings: 1) in the meaning "to a greater extent than usual", for example: My business, if you figure it out, is more important than this piano(Paustovsky); 2) in the meaning "as much as possible", for example: Having chosen a more spacious porch, we settled down on it(Soloukhin).
   

   In adverbial pairs more - more, less - less, further - further, earlier - earlier the first options (on -her ) are typical for book speech, the latter (on -she ) are used in neutral styles. Wed: the more this needs to be emphasized, to speak more than seriously - to wait more than two hours... The same distinction is made in pairs later - later.
   

2. The simple form of the superlative degree (as opposed to the same form of the comparative degree) has a bookish character, and the compound is used in all styles of speech; Wed: highest peaks knowledge is the most high buildings in the town; the strictest penalties - the strictest caregivers in the boarding school.

   An obsolete shade is inherent in constructions formed by the combination of the word most with a superlative adjective (in the form on the most – -dearest the expression of the limiting attribute has already been concluded); such constructions were found in writers XIX century, for example: at the best price(Gogol); one of the most honest people (Aksakov); most convincing evidence(Belinsky); most honorable guest(Dostoevsky). Less commonly, they were used in the later era: most valuable energy(Bitter); in the most insolent way(Novikov-Priboy); citizens of the most remote places(Mayakovsky); the oldest of our circle(Surkov). Single expressions of this type are preserved these days: the closest way, the shortest way, the closest way and few others.

   Should differentiate complex shape superlative, including the pronoun most(in cases where a high degree of quality is expressed outside of comparison, the so-called absolute superlative degree), and the form with adverbs most, least(relative superlative degree; the latter form is characteristic mainly of scientific and journalistic speech), for example: the most suitable conditions - the most suitable conditions... Therefore, the option in the sentence was chosen unsuccessfully: “All this requires the participants of the meeting to take the most serious approach to the matter” (instead of: ... the most serious approach to business, since a high degree is expressed without comparing the carriers of the characteristic).

§ 162. Use of possessive adjectives

To express possessiveness (meaning of belonging), there are several forms that differ in semantic and stylistic shades.


1. -ov (-ev), -in (-yn) are not used in scientific and journalistic language and are found only in colloquial speech and in fiction, for example: Morgunok himself, like everyone else, at first did not believe in grandfather's words(Tvardovsky); About twenty minutes later, these neighbors were summoned to the old woman's hut.(Kazakevich).

   Wed colloquial expressions with a double expression of belonging: a genitive noun and a possessive adjective ( to Uncle Petya's house, in Aunt Machine's sweater) or two possessive adjectives ( aunty lizin husband).

   Possible endings in the genitive and dative cases of masculine and neuter adjectives in -in ; Wed: near grandfather's house - near grandfather's house; to a neighbor's son - to a neighbor's son... Short forms (with endings -a, -y ) are outdated and have long been supplanted in the literary language by forms with a full ending ( th, th ).

   Deprecated forms on -ov (-ev) formed from surnames: instead of Marxov "Capital", Hegeleva "Logic", Dalev "Dictionary" combinations with the genitive case of the noun are used - "Capital" by Marx, "Logic" by Hegel, "Dictionary" by Dahl... The specified forms are saved, as well as the forms on -in in formations from personal names ( Ivan's childhood, Verina's dolls) and in stable phraseological combinations fixed in the language ( Adam's apple, antonov fire, pansies, Ariadne's thread, Achilles' heel, Judas kiss, Promethean fire, Sisyphean labor, Solomon's decision and etc.).
   

2. When choosing options in synonymous constructs fathers house - fathers house it should be borne in mind that adjectives in -skiy (-ovskiy, -inskiy) more often express qualitative value; Wed: paternal care, maternal love.
3. Possessive adjectives on -new, -new denote not an individual, but a group belonging - belonging to a whole class or breed of animals, for example: whalebone, Ivory, snake venom, bee sting... Such forms easily lose the meaning of possessiveness and acquire a qualitative or relative meaning (expression of property, similarity, attitude towards someone, etc.), for example: beaver collar, mink coat, snake cunning, eagle vigilance... Wed phraseological units: night blindness, swan song and etc.
4. Adjectives in -th, -th, -th also express group affiliation or property, attitude, etc., for example: Cossack village, fishing village, camel wool, swan's down, bear lard... These forms often acquire qualitative and relative significance, for example: wolfish appetite, rabbit cowardice, fox cunning, hunting dog, shepherd's horn.

§ 163. Synonymous use of adjectives and indirect cases of nouns

In the same function of definition, adjectives and nouns with the same root can appear in indirect cases without prepositions or with prepositions, for example: the house of the fathers is the house of the father, Mountain peak- peak, bookcase- bookcase, spelling exercises - spelling exercises... When choosing one of the two parallel structures, one should take into account the shades of meaning inherent in them in the context of the context and stylistic features(book or colloquial version, shade of obsolescence, expressive coloring).

1. In pairs factory workers - factory workers, apprentice work - apprentice work, garden trellis - garden trellis the first combinations have a more specific meaning (meaning the workers of the plant in question, the work of a particular student, the lattice of a particular garden), and the second more general; in the first version, two objects are named, in the second - an object and its sign. Wed in the context:

   Factory workers finished their shift. – Factory workers make up a high percentage of manual workers;

   The student's work was rated as good. – The novel under review is far from a mature work, it is still a student's work;

   The grate of the garden is painted in green color . – Garden trellis encloses and protects green spaces.

   The brother's help was very timely.. – They gave me true brotherly help.

2. Adjectives-definitions have the meaning of a qualitative characteristic, indicate distinctive feature subject, characteristic and stable, and nouns in indirect cases highlight any specific meaning (belonging, origin, purpose, etc.). Wed:

   father's house - father's house(affiliation);

   company commander - company commander(relationship between objects);

   water pipe - water pipe(the ratio of the part to the whole);

   emerald color - emerald color(attributive relations);

   morning exercises - morning exercises(circumstantial relationship);

   Moroccan oranges - oranges from Morocco(origin);

   laboratory equipment - laboratory equipment(appointment);

   bronze chandelier - bronze chandelier(material);

   raspberry jam - raspberry jam(substance);

   watch chain - watch chain(separate relations: one object is called apart from the other).

   One of the above options is chosen depending on the context. In a generalized form, it can be indicated that combinations of an adjective with a noun are more often used than combinations of two nouns.

   So, the usual constructions woolen muffler(and not a "comforter made of wool"), leather gloves (and not "leather gloves") to indicate characteristic feature subject, not just material.

   Combinations are also common Georgian wines(not "wine from Georgia"), pacific herring(and not “herring with The Pacific»), Orenburg shawl(and not a "scarf from Orenburg"), since it is more important to give a qualitative description of the object than to indicate its origin. Wed breaking this last connection in such combinations as Riga bread, Poltava sausage, safety pin etc.

   More useful than a combination Kids toys(not "toys for children"), writing paper(not "writing paper"), Desktop(and not a "table for work"), since they show not only the purpose, but also the distinguishing feature of the subject.

   It should be pointed out, however, that in some cases, each of the two options has its own advantages. So, paired climb with monkey agility - climb with monkey agility the first construction is supported by its wider applicability (the concept of "monkey dexterity" is broader than the concept of "monkey dexterity", since both man and animal can display this dexterity); its imagery speaks in favor of the second construction: we not only define the word dexterity, but also evoke the idea of ​​the bearer of the trait - the monkey. In addition, the second construction has richer expressive possibilities, since it allows you to more fully and more accurately characterize the dependent noun using the adjective defining it; Wed: howl of wolves - howl of hungry wolves(which cannot be done when combining wolf howl).

   Wed also the justification of each option in a pair: After knocking, I took up doorknob . – There was a doorknob on the table.

3. Parallel revolutions can diverge in their meanings, express different meanings. Wed:

   The enlarged village has real city streets(and not "city streets"). - Before the advent of electricity in Moscow, city streets were lit with gas burners.(and not "city streets");

   A new city center has been created in the region. – After reconstruction, we have created new center cities.

4. Combinations with an adjective-definition can have a figurative meaning (cf. body covered goose bumps, his crane gait is ridiculous, move at a snail's pace), metaphorical use ( a man on thin, birdlike legs).

§one. general characteristics adjective

An adjective is an independent significant part of speech.

1. Grammatical meaning - "object attribute".
Adjectives include words that answer the questions: what ?, whose?

2. Morphological signs:

• constants - rank by value, for qualitative: full / short form and degree of comparison,
• variable - case, number, in the singular - gender.

3. Syntactic role in a sentence: in full forms of qualitative adjectives, as well as in relative and possessive adjectives- definition, for short forms of qualitative adjectives - part of a compound nominal predicate.

§2. Morphological signs of adjectives

The adjective, like other parts of speech, has a set morphological features... Some of them are permanent (or unchangeable). Others, on the other hand, are fickle (or changeable). So, for example, the adjective sweet is a qualitative adjective, full form, a positive degree of comparison. In a sentence, this word can be in different cases and numbers, and in the singular - in different genders. In the illustration, dotted lines lead to variable features. The ability to be in full or short form, in a positive - comparative - superlative degree, linguists attribute to permanent features. Different persistent signs are expressed in different ways. For instance:

sweeter - comparative adjective sweet expressed by the suffix -she- and the absence of an ending,
less sweet - the comparative degree of the adjective sweet is expressed by the combination less + sweet,
sweet is a short singular form of an adjective. m.r. has a null ending, while the full form is sweet has the ending -th.

Variable signs: case, number, gender (in the singular) are expressed by the endings: sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet, etc.

§3. Categories of adjectives by meaning

Depending on the nature of the meaning, adjectives are divided into:

• high-quality: big, small, good, bad, funny, sad,
• relative: golden, tomorrow, forest, spring,
• possessive: fox, wolf, father's, mother's, fathers.

Qualitative adjectives

Qualitative adjectives designate features that can be expressed to a greater or lesser degree. Answer the question: Which?
They have:

• full and short forms: good - good, funny - cheerful
• degree of comparison: small - less - smallest and smallest.

Most quality adjectives are non-derivative words. The foundations of quality adjectives are the derivative stems from which adverbs are easily formed: bad ← bad, sad ← sad.
The meanings of qualitative adjectives are such that most of them enter into relationships

• synonyms: big, large, huge, huge
• antonyms: big - small.

Relative adjectives

Relative adjectives are related in meaning to the words from which they are derived, which is why they are so named. Relative adjectives are always derived words: golden ← gold, tomorrow ← tomorrow, forest ← forest, spring ← spring... Relative adjectives do not have varying degrees of intensity. These adjectives do not have degrees of comparison, as well as full and short forms. Answer the question: Which?

Possessive adjectives

These adjectives express the idea of ​​belonging. They, unlike qualitative and relative adjectives, answer the question: Whose? Possessive adjectives do not have degrees of comparison, as well as full and short forms.
Suffixes of possessive adjectives: fox - -ii- [s''], mother's - -in-, sinitsin - [yn], fathers - -ov-, Sergeev -ev-.
Possessive adjectives have a special set of endings. Even from the examples given, it can be seen that in the initial form (im.p., singular, m.r.) they have a zero ending, while other adjectives have endings - th, th, th.

Forms named after p. and vp possessive adjectives. and plural, as in nouns, and the rest - as in adjectives:

Singular

Im.p. r. - a: mother's, fox, m.r.-:, mother's, fox middle r. - oh, e: mother's, fox.

Rod.p. r. - oh, her: mother's, fox, m.r. and Wed. - wow, him: mom's, fox.

Dat.p. r. - oh, her: mother's, fox, m.r. and Wed. - oh, him: mom's, fox.

Vin.p. r. - y, y: mother's, fox, m.r. and cf. R. - like them. or r.p.

TV p. r. - oh, her: mother's, fox, m.r. and Wed. - oh, them: mom's, fox.

P. p. r. - oh, her: mother's, fox, m.r. and Wed. - oh, eat: mother's, fox.

Plural

Im.p. - s, and: mothers, foxes.

Rod.p. - oh, them: mother's, foxes.

Dat.p. - oh, them: mom's, fox.

Vin.p. - like them. or vp

TV p. - th, them: mom's, foxes.

P. p. - oh, them: mother's, foxes.

Adjectives can move from one category to another. Such transitions are due to the peculiarities of the context and are associated, as a rule, with the use of adjectives in figurative meanings. Examples:

• fox nora is a possessive adjective, and fox cunning - relative (does not belong to a fox, but like a fox)
• bitter medicine is a good adjective, and bitter truth - relative (correlates with bitterness)
• easy bag is a good adjective, and easy life is relative (correlates with ease)

§4. Full and short forms of quality adjectives

Qualitative adjectives have both full and short forms.
In their full form, they bow down, i.e. vary by number, by gender (singular) and by case. Full adjectives in a sentence can be a definition or part of a compound nominal predicate.

They left the house late at night.

Late is a good adjective, put. degree, complete, singular, f.r., tv.p.

In the short form, adjectives are not declined. They do not change by case. Short adjectives change in numbers and gender (singular). Short forms of adjectives in a sentence are usually part of a compound nominal predicate.

The girl is sick.

Sick is a good adjective, put it down. degree, short form, singular, f. In modern language, in the role of definitions, short adjectives are in stable lexical combinations, for example: a red girl, in broad daylight.

Do not be surprised:

Some high-quality adjectives in modern language have only short forms, for example: glad, should, much.

Relative and possessive adjectives only have their full form. Please note: for possessive adjectives with the suffix -in- in im. the form of VP that coincides with it. ending - as in short forms.

§5. Degrees of comparison

Qualitative adjectives have degrees of comparison. This is how it is expressed in language that signs can have a greater or lesser degree. Tea can be sweet to a greater or lesser degree, right? And the language conveys this content.
The degrees of comparison thus convey the idea of ​​comparison. They do it in a systematic way. There are three degrees: positive, comparative, excellent.

• Positive - this means that the sign is expressed without assessing the degree: high, cheerful, warm.
• Comparative determines a greater or lesser degree: higher, more cheerful, warmer, taller, more cheerful, warmer, less tall, less cheerful, less warm.
• Excellent expresses the greatest or least degree: the highest, the funniest, the warmest, the highest, the funniest, the warmest.

The examples show that the degrees of comparison are expressed in different ways. In the comparative and superlative degrees, the meaning is conveyed either with the help of suffixes: higher, more fun, the highest, the most fun, or with the help of words: more, less, the most. Therefore, comparative and superlative degrees of comparison can be expressed:

• simple forms: higher, highest,
• compound forms: higher, less tall, highest.

Among simple forms in Russian, as in other languages, for example, in English, there are forms formed from another stem.

• good, bad - positive
• better, worse - comparative
• best, worst - superlative

Words in simple and complex comparative and superlative degrees change in different ways:

• Comparative degree (simple): higher, lower - does not change.
• Comparative degree (complex): lower, lower, lower - the adjective itself changes, the change is possible in cases, numbers, and in the singular - in gender.
• Superlative degree (simple): the highest, the highest, the highest - varies by case, number, and in the singular - by gender, i.e. as in a positive degree.
• Superlative degree (difficult): the highest, the highest, the highest - both words change according to cases, numbers, and in the singular - according to gender, i.e. as in a positive degree.

Adjectives in simple comparative form in a sentence are part of the predicate:

Anna and Ivan are brother and sister. Anna is older than Ivan. Previously, it was higher, and now Ivan is higher.

Other forms of comparison are both in the role of definition and in the role of predicate:

I approached the older guys.
The guys were older than I thought.
I turned to the oldest guys.
These guys are the most adult of those who study in the circle.

Test of strength

Check your understanding of the content of this chapter.

Final test

1. Is the adjective an independent part of speech?

2. What adjectives can express signs expressed to a greater or lesser extent?

   • Qualitative
   • Relative
   • Possessive

3. What adjectives are characterized by the lexical relations of synonymy and antonymy?

   • For quality
   • For relative
   • For possessive

4. Are Relative Adjectives Derived?

5. Which complete adjectives have a special set of endings?

   • Quality
   • Relative
   • Possessive

6. Do full adjectives change by case?

7. What forms of adjectives are characterized by the syntactic role of the definition?

   • For full
   • For short

8. Do all adjectives change in case?

   • Not all

9. Do all adjectives change in gender?

   • Not all

10. Do adjectives change in superlatives for cases?

11. Can comparative or superlative degrees be expressed in one word?

12. Can adjectives go from one category of meaning to another?

Right answers:

1. Qualitative
2. For quality
3. Possessive
4. For full
5. Not all
6. Not all

In contact with

The adjective is one of the main adjectives used by its speakers all the time. It has a number of indicators, therefore, before answering the question of how the name of the adjective changes, it is necessary to clarify what exactly should be understood by this part of speech.

The term "adjective" appeared in Russian a long time ago, and it was formed from the Latin word adjectivum, which means "addition" in translation. That is why the lexical meaning of the word "adjective" should be considered "a name that is attached to a noun."

In general, an adjective designates a lexico-grammatical class of word forms denoting a non-procedural feature of an object. Lexical meaning v in this case expressed using inflectional categories. Adjectives in a sentence have their own syntactic function - definition, in particular difficult cases they are a compound nominal predicate.

Adjective: three in one

There are three understandings to be noted about the adjective of this term... According to the first, adjectives proper, adjective pronouns, participles and ordinal numbers should be attributed to this part of speech. The lexical meaning of these words (a feature of an object) is supplemented with new shades. This point of view is called the broad understanding of the adjective.

There is a formal position of the moderate type, in which only adjectives and ordinal numbers are included under adjectives. This point of view was popular in the 60s and 70s of the XX century, until it gave way to a broad understanding actively lobbied by "Russian Grammar-80".

With a narrow understanding of the name of an adjective, only adjectives proper are included in it. Many linguists prefer to adhere to this particular approach, since only it takes into account all the features with which the selection of a particular part of speech is carried out. It is on the basis of this point of view that the analysis of the adjective is carried out today.

How does an adjective change?

The adjective has a number of morphological categories, with the help of which it can be changed if necessary. All these categories are dependent on other parts of speech, the ending of the adjective is a universal morpheme that can indicate inflectional categories.

Adjectives change in gender, number and case, while when the word goes into the plural, the gender disappears as unnecessary. Most often, the inflectional categories of an adjective can be clarified by using its ending in combination with the ending of a noun. Sometimes it happens that the adjective is used with and at the end get full information about the word is not possible. In this case, the meaning of the gender, number and case of the noun will depend on the ending of the adjective. The number of an adjective here plays an important role, since it affects all indicators at once.

Short and full forms of adjectives

Most adjectives are short and full. During the existence of the Old Slavonic (Old Russian) language, short forms were preferred, now the situation has changed exactly the opposite.

Adjectives in their full form are most often placed before a noun, in which case they play the role of a definition in a sentence. If the full adjective is behind the noun, it is most often the nominal part of the compound nominal predicate. If there is no verb in the sentence, the adjective takes on the role of the predicate.

Most often they are located behind the noun, in this case they play the role of the nominal part of the compound nominal predicate. If there is a verb predicate in a sentence, a short adjective can function as a separate agreed definition.

Short forms of adjectives (qualitative)

Some qualitative adjectives have retained a short form; these are remnants of the active use of this phenomenon in Old Russian language... These forms usually denote temporal features that may be applicable to a particular situation, in addition, they can convey a softened categorical assessment of a particular feature.

The short form is formed using stems of full adjectives, to which generic endings should be added. When forming short masculine adjectives, alternation of the letters "o" and "e" with a zero sound may appear, this phenomenon is a consequence of the fall of the reduced ones.

It is important to be able to distinguish short forms from truncated adjectives that are actively used in folklore and fiction. Short adjectives can only be qualitative and change only in gender and number, they are most often used in postposition in relation to the noun.

Classes of adjectives

To understand how the name of an adjective changes, it is necessary to touch on its lexical and grammatical categories. Qualitative adjectives can denote the qualities of people, objects and animals, color signs, and also give a general assessment of any phenomenon referred to in the sentence.

Relative adjectives differ in that they express the attribute of an object indirectly, through their relationship to an object or any action. With the help of them, the attitude towards persons, animals, objects, actions, concepts, places, times and numbers is indicated. Lexical meaning is conveyed using special suffixes.

Possessive adjectives are the most difficult category. V broad sense words to it include adjectives with possessive suffixes, in the narrow sense - a part of speech must simultaneously have two signs - a suffix and individual belonging to a person or object.

How to parse an adjective?

Morphological analysis of the adjective - enough simple procedure that can be completed in a few minutes. The parsing scheme works the same for both the school level and the university level, so it will not cause any difficulties and additional troubles. If necessary, you can consult with linguistic reference books.

In the analysis, it is necessary to indicate: the word form, the belonging of the word form to the part of speech, categorical meaning, the initial form + the question to it and the semantic question. Next, you must indicate all lexical and grammatical indicators and the type of declension (with indicators). For high-quality adjectives, you will need to indicate comparatives and short forms (with evidence in the form of indicators). Further, it is necessary to note on what nominal indicators the adjective is consistent with the number, case), and indicate its syntactic function in the sentence.

Unstressed endings of adjectives

Quite often, a situation arises when it is very difficult to check, since it is unstressed. In this case, you will need to use a number of questions (which? Which? Which? Which? Which?). It should be remembered about the exceptions - adjectives ending in "-th", "-ye", "-ya", "-y", they have a soft sign in front of the end in most forms: rabbit, rabbit, rabbit.

An exception is the masculine nominative and accusative singular forms. If the adjective was formed from the name of a month, the soft sign will remain: July - July.

How is an adjective learned?

Earlier, the period when the adjectives began to be studied (grade 3) did not suit everyone, which is why children today learn about parts of speech much earlier than previous generations. The adjective is much easier to learn, since it is closely related to another part of speech - the noun, and even has similar grammatical indicators.

To find out how the adjective changes, you need to make every effort in the classroom and listen carefully to your teacher. However, if a child accidentally missed a lesson and it is now very difficult for him to catch up, he can open any reference book from a large number scientific literature and find the answer to his question. The answer in this case may not always be correct, and this must be taken into account when searching.

In a university format, the adjective is studied much deeper, but a small number of hours are provided for mastering it, which will help the student to repeat only a basic understanding of this part of speech. However, university students have access to libraries and can easily as soon as possible find the information they need.

The category of completeness / brevity is realized only in the category of qualitative adjectives and is formed by opposing two forms - full and short - of the same adjective: white - white; old - old.

The short form is formed by attaching a positive degree of endings to the stem: Ø for masculine gender, - and I for women, - o / -e for average, - s / s for plural ( deep-Ø , deep-a, deep-oh, deep-and).

If at the end of the stem there is a combination of consonants with<н>or<к>, then with the formation of the form m.r. a "fluent" vowel appears ( thin - thin, full - full). For adjectives with stems in –enn (such as painful, artificial, frivolous, numerous) in the form of m. truncation occurs - n (painful (compare painful), artificial).

A short form is not formed from quality adjectives that

1) have suffixes characteristic of relative adjectives - sk-, -ov - / - ev-, -n-: brown, coffee, fraternal;

2) indicate the colors of animals: brown, black;

3) have suffixes of subjective assessment: tall, blue.

From adjective little the short form is formed with the truncation of the basic suffix – enk - (small - small, small, small), and from the adjective big- Supplementary (large - great, great, great, great).

Short form only have adjectives much, should, glad, needed, too big, too small etc.

The short and full forms of the adjective differ in morphological, syntactic and semantic features. The short form does not change in cases, in the sentence it acts mainly as the nominal part of the predicate (cases like red girl, white combustible stone are phraseological archaic); the short form acts as a definition only in a separate syntactic position ( Angry to the whole world, he almost stopped leaving the house).

In the position of the predicate, the meaning of the full and short forms usually coincides, but for some adjectives the following semantic differences are possible between them:

1) the short form denotes an excessive manifestation of a trait with a negative assessment, compare: short skirt - short skirt;

2) the short form denotes a temporary sign, the full one is permanent, cf.: the child is sick - the child is sick.

The short form always names the main feature of the subject. Full form can mean both an additional sign of an object (the cheerful girl was beautiful), and the main sign of the same object (the cheerful girl was beautiful).

Comparison of adjectives

Qualitative adjectives are characterized by the inflectional category of degrees of comparison, formed by the forms positive, comparative and excellent degrees(the comparative degree is called comparative, and excellent - superlative).

A positive degree comparison is the original form of the adjective, when compared with which the grammatical meaning of the comparative and superlative degrees is realized.

comparative adjective indicates that the characteristic expressed by the adjective is characteristic of this subject more than for another ( Peterabove Vasya; This riverdeeper than the other) or the same object in other circumstances ( Petya is higher than he was last year; In this place, the river is deeper than that).

Superlative degree shows that the sign expressed by the adjective is characteristic of a given subject to the highest degree in comparison with all comparable objects ( beautiful from gifts, most high house in the city).

Forms of comparative and superlative degrees of comparison can be synthetic and analytical.

1. Synthetic(simple) form of a comparative degree denotes a greater degree of manifestation of a trait and formed as follows: stem positive degree + formative suffixes -e (s), -e, -she / -zhe (fast-her, higher, earlier, deep).

If at the end of the stem of a positive degree there is an element To / OK, this segment is often truncated: deep - deep.

Some adjectives have adjectives, that is, formed from a different stem, forms: bad is worse, good is better.

When forming a simple comparative degree, the prefix can be attached on- (newer). Simple comparative degree with prefix on- is used if the adjective takes the position of an inconsistent definition ( Give me a newer newspaper) and does not require the introduction into the sentence of what the given feature is compared with. If a sentence contains both what is being compared and what is being compared with, the prefix on- introduces a colloquial tone ( These boots are newer than those).

Morphological signs of a simple comparative degree are uncharacteristic for an adjective. This

1) immutability,

2) the ability to control a noun,

3) use mainly in the function of the predicate ( He's taller than his father). The position of the definition of a simple comparative degree can take only in a separate position ( Much taller than other students, he seemed almost an adult) or in a non-isolated position with a prefix on- in the position after the noun ( Buy me fresher newspapers).

Analytical(compound) form of the comparative degree is formed with the help of auxiliary words more / less + positive degree ( more / less high).

The difference between a composite comparative degree and a simple one is as follows:

1) the composite comparative degree is broader in meaning, since it denotes not only a greater, but also a lesser degree of manifestation of a sign;

2) the composite comparative degree changes in the same way as the positive degree of comparison (original form), that is, by gender, number and case, and can also stand in short form ( more beautiful);

3) a composite comparative degree can be both a predicate and a non-isolated and separate definition ( A less interesting article was presented in this magazine. This article is less interesting than the previous one..)

2. An excellent degree of comparison, like a comparative one, is simple and compound.

Synthetic The (simple) form of the superlative comparison of the adjective is formed as follows: stem of the positive + formative suffixes -eish– / -eish-(after k, r, x, causing alternation): good-eish, Supreme

When forming a simple superlative degree of comparison, the prefix nai-: kindest.

Morphological signs of a simple superlative degree of comparison of adjectives: variability by gender, number, case, the use of definition and predicate in the syntactic function. The simple superlative comparison of the adjective does not have a short form.

Analytical The (compound) form of the superlative degree of comparison of adjectives is formed in three ways:

1) element most + positive degree ( the cleverest);

2) element most / least+ positive degree ( most / least intelligent);

3) simple comparative degree + element total / all (He was smarter than everyone).

Forms of a compound superlative degree, formed by the first and second methods, have morphological features characteristic of a positive degree, that is, they change in genders, numbers and cases, can have a short form ( most convenient), act both as a definition and as the nominal part of the predicate. The forms of the compound superlative degree, formed in the third way, are unchangeable and act mainly as the nominal part of the predicate.

Not all qualitative adjectives have forms of degrees of comparison, and the absence of simple forms of degrees of comparison is observed more often than the absence of compound forms.

3. Word-formation "degrees of quality" denote not the actual intensity of the feature, but its subjective assessment by the speaker: Forest greenish ... Formed:

1) the addition of the prefixes arch-, ultra-, super-, times-, pre-, all- (ultramodern, ultra-right, super-powerful, etc.);

2) by adding suffixes -owat - / - evat-, -onk - / - enk-, -honk - / - yoshenk-, -usch - / - yusch-, -enn- (plump, bluish, long, hefty, etc.) etc.);

3) repetition of the basics, often with a prefix in the second part (cute-cute, funny-cheerful).

Question 13. Adverb. Adverb categories by value. Words of the category of state, their meaning, morphological features and syntactic function. Differentiation of homonymous forms of adjectives, adverbs and words of the category of state.

Adverb - it independent part speech, denoting a sign of action, another sign, state, rarely - an object. Adverbs are immutable (with the exception of quality adverbs in - O / -e) and syntactically adjoin verbs, adjectives, adverbs, as well as special words that call the states of living beings and the environment ( run fast, very fast, very fast).

In rare cases, an adverb can adjoin a noun: running race(the noun has the meaning of action) soft-boiled egg, Warsaw coffee. In these cases, the adverb acts as an inconsistent definition.

The main morphological property of adverbs is their immutability - this is their constant morphological feature. However, quality adverbs in - O / -e formed from quality adjectives have degrees of comparison.

By virtue of its immutability, an adverb is associated with other words in a sentence by adjoining. In a sentence, it is usually a circumstance.

Some adverbs can act as the nominal part of the predicates. Most often these are predicates of impersonal sentences ( The sea is quiet), however, some adverbs can also serve as predicates of two-part sentences ( The conversation will be frank. She is married).