LoginPostpositive Adjectives
Master the use of postpositive adjectives, which provide nuanced descriptions by appearing after nouns. Enhance your writing with comprehensive explanations and exercises.
What Are Postpositive Adjectives?
Attributive adjectives are generally placed before the noun they modify (in which case, they are called prepositive adjectives). However, in some special cases, they are placed immediately after the noun. In these cases, they are called postpositive adjectives or postnominal adjectives. Postpositive adjectives are distinguished from predicative adjectives which come after linking verbs.
Postpositive Adjectives: Types
There are different kinds of postpositive adjectives:
Postpositive Attributive Adjectives
Attributive adjectives can be both prepositive and postpositive. The following are contexts in which attributive adjectives are used postpositively:
With Indefinite Pronouns like someone, anybody, everything, nothing, as well as those
We need someone reliable.
Did you notice anything suspicious?
Those willing to risk bigger reap greater rewards.
We're going somewhere nice.
In archaic and poetic contexts
The shadows deep stretched across the valley.
The president elect will take office soon.
In phrases borrowed from Latin or Roman languages
mare clausum, mare liberum
Translation: sea closed, sea free
heir apparent
In certain fixed grammatical constructions such as:
(a) + noun + this/that/so + adjective
Who would wear a hat this big?
He gave me a gift so expensive that I can never make it up to him.
Some comparative forms
I need a box bigger than that.
You'll need a man stronger than a bull to lift this weight.
Adjectives that require an adjective complement (particularly an infinitive clause)
He called all the passengers ready to leave to board the ship.
I was greeted by friends happy to see me.
We said goodby to guests sad to leave.
He was talking of plans likely to fail.
Adjectives modified by 'enough'
Now add some carrots cooked enough to be mashed using a fork.
I need a car fast enough to win every race.
One of the criminals prosecuted was a serial killer.
The funds allocated were insufficient.
Adjectives used after superlative and ordinal structures
This is the cheapest option available.
He was the only witness present.
The last person remaining locked the door.
Warning
The meaning of some adjectives changes based on whether they are used postpositively or prepositively. Consider the following examples:
We need responsible people to bring justice.
We need to bring the people responsible to justice.
When used postpositively, 'responsible' has a negative connotation, it means 'at fault' or 'guilty'. But, in the first sentences, 'responsible' has a positive connotation. It means 'dedicated' or 'reliable'.
the devil incarnate, God Almighty
battle royal
attorney general, governor general, postmaster general, surgeon general
Alcoholics Anonymous
Code Red
In the titles of some books, movies, etc.
Django Unchained
Chicken Little
Hannibal Rising
The Matrix Reloaded
Relative Clauses
Beside attributive adjectives, other structures can describe nouns post-positively as well. For example, relative clauses come after the nouns they modify. Take a look at the examples:
This is my father who visited us last night.
The book that I was reading last night was amazing.
Participle Clauses
Participle clauses begin with a present participle, past participle, or perfect participle. When they act as adjectives in a sentence, they must appear after the noun they modify.
I saw a man carrying a suitcase.
present participle clause as an adjective
The books left on the table are free.
past participle clause as an adjective
The girl having cooked tonight's dinner is a chef in a famous restaurant.
perfect participle clause as an adjective
Postpositive Adjectives: Plural Form
When we want to pluralize postpositive adjectives or modifiers, we must add the suffix '-s' or '-es' after the noun, not after the entire phrase. Consider the examples:
surgeon general → surgeons general (Not 'surgeon generals')
battle royal → battles royal (Not 'battle royals')
mother-to-be → mothers-to-be (Not 'mother-to-bes')
Review
Post-positive adjectives are those that come after the noun they modify. These might be attributive adjectives, relative clauses, or participle clauses describing nouns.
They're going to try something new this week.
ana ttributive adjective
The girl who painted this portrait is my friend.
a relative clause
The man waving at us is my dad.
a participle clause
Quiz:
Which of the following sentences contains a postpositive adjective?
We met someone interesting at the conference.
She wore a bright red dress to the party.
The victorious army marched through the city.
An excited child couldn't sleep before the trip.
Sort the words to make a correct sentence.
Match each sentence with the type of construction that triggers post-positive use of adjective.
Fix the errors in the sentences using post-positive adjectives.
She found willing nobody to help. → She found
.
We need a more experienced than you candidate. → We need a
.
They identified reluctant to work overtime employees . → They identified
.
We met the general attorney at the event. → We met the
at the event.
Which sentence uses the correct plural form of a noun phrase with a post-positive adjective?
The notary publics signed the documents.
The notaries public signed the documents.
The notary's public signed the documents.
The notaries publics signed the documents.
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