LoginAttributive and Predicative Adjectives
Discover the rules for attributive adjectives ("a tall man") and predicative adjectives ("the man is tall"). Detailed explanations and a quiz to test your knowledge.
Based on where an adjective appears in a sentence, we can have two main types of adjectives:
Attributive Adjective
Predicative Adjectives
A linking verb does not come between an attributive adjective and the noun it modifies.
The old man was smoking a pipe.
You are my favorite person in the whole world.
Attributive Adjectives: Types
Based on whether they appear before or after the noun they are modifying, attributive adjectives can have two types:
Pre-positive Adjectives
Post-positive Adjectives
We need a powerful person. (pre-positive adjective)
We need someone powerful. (post-positive adjective)
What Are Predicative Adjectives?
A predicative adjective (also called predicate adjective) follows a linking verb. They can take an adjective complement after them or appear alone. For example:
That baby is cute.
I tried not to be afraid of the dark.
Predicative Adjectives: Functions
Predicative adjectives can be subject complement.
Difference & Similarity
Most adjectives can be either type: we can say a 'cute baby' and 'the baby was cute.' But some can only be one or the other.
Adjectives That Can Only Be Predicative
Some adjectives, such as 'afraid, asleep, glad, and alive,' are always predicative.
Many people are afraid of the dark. (Not 'afraid people')
Here is a list of predicative-only adjectives:
afire
afloat
afraid
alert
alive
alone
ashamed
aware
asleep
awake
Adjectives That Can Only Be Attributive
Some adjectives can only occur in the attributive position.
I have a little doll. (Not 'My doll is little.')
This is the main road. (Not 'This road is main.')
Here is a list of attributive-only adjectives:
elder/eldest
same/exact
live
main/prime/principal/chief
mere/sheer/utter
future/former
little
urban/southern/rural
Predicate Adjectives vs. Predicate Nominatives
After a linking verb, we can have a noun or a noun phrase or an adjective or an adjective phrase.
Sam is beautiful.
Sam is a teacher.
Warning
Do not use an adverb after a linking verb. A linking verb is completed only by a predicative adjective or a predicative nominative, never an adverb.
Your house looks nicely!
Your house looks nice!
This cake tastes badly.
This cake tastes bad.
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