Postpositive Adjectives
Post-positive adjectives or postnominal adjectives are mainly placed immediately after the noun. In this lesson, we will learn all about them.
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. Therefore, we call them postpositive adjectives or postnominal adjective (post = after).
Postpositive adjectives contrast prepositive adjectives which come before the noun or pronoun and also contrast predicative adjectives which are subject complements.
Postpositive Adjectives: Types
We have different kinds of postpositive adjectives:
- Postpositive Attributive Adjectives
- Relative Clauses
- Expletive Clauses
- Participle Clauses
Postpositive Attributive Adjectives
Attributive adjectives can be both prepositive and postpositive. Here are the cases where attributive adjectives appear postpositively:
- After Indefinite Pronouns
Adjectives must appear postpositively in English when they describe indefinite pronouns and the pronoun 'those.'
We need someone
I saw something
Those
Going somewhere
- In archaic and poetic contexts
I watched the demons
She had eyes, such beautiful eyes,
- In phrases borrowed from Latin or Roman languages
mare
Translation: sea closed, sea free
heir
- In certain fixed grammatical constructions such as:
(a) + noun + this/that/so + adjective
- Comparative forms can be positioned after the noun
I need a box
- Compound Adjectives can appear postpositively
- opportunities
in hand - tasks
underway - a case
in point
- Adjectives that require an adjective complement (particularly an infinitive clause), come after the noun they modify.
- passengers
ready to leave - friends
happy to see me - guests
sad to leave - plans
likely to fail
- when we want to use 'enough' with adjectives, they appear postpositively
- Carrots
cooked enough - Cars
fast enough
- Some present and past participles adjectives can be used postpositively.
One of the criminals
The girl
- many adjectives with the suffix '-able' or '-ible' can be used postpositively
the best choice
the only option
the best way
the tobacco companies
Warning
Some adjectives whether used postpositively or prepositively may have different meanings. Consider the following examples:
We need
We need to bring the people
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.'
- some of the loan words or calques are commonly used postpositively
- the devil
incarnate , GodAlmighty - battle
royal - attorney
general , governorgeneral , postmastergeneral , surgeongeneral - Alcoholics
Anonymous - Code
Red
- In some of the titles of books, movies, etc. we can use postpositive adjectives
- Bad Moon
Rising - Chicken
Little - Hannibal
Rising - The Matrix
Reloaded
Relative Clauses
Nouns can take other modifiers besides attributive adjectives. For example, relative clauses come after the nouns they modify.
This is my father
The book,
Expletive Clauses
Expletive clauses are a type of noun clause that is placed into a sentence to fulfill the basic meaning of the sentence.
They can act as a noun or adjectives in a sentence. When they act as adjectives, they appear postpositively:
The fact
They need me to make a decision
Participle Clauses
Participle clauses begin with a present participle, past participle, and perfect participle. When they act as adjectives in a sentence, they must appear after the noun they modify.
Look at that three old men
present participle clause as an adjective
I was left with my heart
past participle clause as an adjective
The girl
perfect participle clause as an adjective
Postpositive Adjectives: Plural Form
When we want to plurize 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 → surgeon
s general (Not 'surgeon generals') - battle royal → battle
s royal (Not 'battle royals') - mother-to-be → mother
s -to-be (Not 'mother-to-bes')