Attributive adjectives go before the nouns they qualify.
§ She is a beautiful (adjective)
girl (noun).
§ They have a big (adjective)
house (noun) in the city.
§ This is a vexed (adjective)
problem (noun).
§ She married a rich (adjective)
man (noun).
Attributive adjectives after nouns
1. Attributive adjectives can be put after nouns. This
happens in certain fixed phrases.
Examples are: Attorney General, court martial, poet laureate, timeimmemorial, heir apparent etc.
2. Certain adjectives ending in -ible and -able are
also put after the nouns they qualify.
§ We tried all means
(noun) possible (adjective). (= We tried all means that were
possible)
§ Book all the
tickets available. (=Book all the tickets that are available)
3. Adjectives are always placed after words like something,
everything, anything, nothing, somebody, everybody, somewhere etc.
§ Let us go
somewhere quiet.
§ I heard
something interesting today.
§ Nothing logical ever
happens there.
Adjectives used only in attributive
position
Some adjectives are
used only in attributive position.
Common examples are: elder, eldest, live, little, mere, sheer etc.
§ My elder sister
is a doctor.
§ Can you eat a live fish?
§ They have a
nice little house in the city.
§ It was sheer madness.
§ She is a mere child.
After a verb, other
words must be used.
§ She is older
than me. (NOT ---elder than me.)
§ The fish is
still alive. (NOT -- is still live.)
§ Their house
is small. (NOT -- is little)
§ The baby fell asleep.
(NOT -- fell sleeping.)
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