What do relative adjectives mean? Relative adjectives: how to define, examples

Adjectives by meaning and grammatical features are divided into three groups: 1) qualitative, 2) relative and 3) possessive.

Qualitative adjectives denote a feature that may be characteristic of an object to a greater or lesser extent (color, size, temperature, taste, sound, strength, internal qualities of a person and living beings in general, etc.); therefore they usually have degrees of comparison, for example: 1) Walls white, and the ceilings are still whiter. 2) The fox is cunning, but the hunter is more cunning. 3) Volga – longest from the rivers of Europe.

Many qualitative adjectives have a short form, for example: snow white, beast cunning road length, as well as special suffixes, for example, introducing a diminutive meaning or expressing a weaker or stronger degree of quality: -enk; -ovat-, -ushch- (-yushch-) - a white handkerchief, a whitish fog, a long rope.

Relative adjectives indicate signs through their relationship to the subject; most often they indicate material, place, time, etc., for example: leather gloves(leather mittens), Siberian wheat(wheat from Siberia), spring flowers(flowers that come in spring). Relative adjectives do not have degrees of comparison and short form. They have special suffixes, for example: -n-, -an-, -sk-, -ov- (forest, leather, urban, pine).

Qualitative and relative adjectives have the same endings and the same declension system, for example: Beautiful wooden house, beautiful wooden hut, beautiful wooden huts; a new wooden house, a new wooden hut.

Having the same basic forms with qualitative adjectives, relative adjectives are often used with a qualitative meaning. In combination gold cigarette case adjective gold relative: it refers to material, derived from a noun gold. In combination golden ripe orange adjective gold used in a qualitative sense: it does not indicate the material from which the object is made, but the color of the orange: yellow and shiny. Having received a qualitative meaning, some adjectives acquire the ability to be used (in poetic and colloquial speech) in a short form and in the form of a comparative degree, for example: I) As in autumn, the fruit is ripe gold. (V.B.) 2) Everything stony the steps are getting steeper and steeper. (V.B.)

Note. There is no sharp boundary between qualitative and relative adjectives; very often an adjective includes both relative and qualitative meanings; one of them stands out in a certain context, for example: 1) The mother entered majestically, lilac dress, in lace, with a long string of pearls around the neck. (M. G.) (lilac dress, i.e. a lilac-colored dress is a qualitative adjective); 2) The terraces have grown all around lilac bushes(i.e. lilac bushes is a relative adjective).

This is why qualitative and relative adjectives are sometimes combined into one group of qualitative-relative adjectives.

Possessive adjectives denote a characteristic that indicates that an object belongs to an individual (less often, an animal); they are formed from a noun using suffixes -in (-yn),-s(-s), For example: sister's book, sister's album, father's hat, uncle's house; they have a special declension that combines the endings of nouns and adjectives, for example: sisters A book, I see my sisters at book(noun endings); no sisters Ouch books, talking about sisters Ouch book(adjective endings).

Special group according to their meaning and endings they make up adjectives in -th(fox) - ya(fox) - ye(fox) - yi(foxes), which are formed from nouns denoting people or animals (fisherman - fisherman, fox - fox). They have mixed endings: both short and full, for example: fox ya fur coat(short ending) fox ye th fur coats(full ending) fox ye flair(short ending) lis his flair(full ending).

These adjectives combine different meanings. They are used in a possessive meaning, for example: human voices, a fishing boat, fox tricks; Moreover, they do not indicate belonging to an individual person or animal, but denote a characteristic characteristic of either a certain group of people or an entire species of animal, for example: bearish den; To whom, if not me, everything fox know the tricks. (Kr.) This meaning distinguishes them from possessive adjectives with suffixes -in, -ov, denoting ownership of a single person (grandfather's sheepskin coat - This is a sheepskin coat that belonged to someone’s grandfather, and not at all the sheepskin coat typical of all old people).

Adjectives are used in -y, -ya, -ye and in a relative sense, for example: fox collar, bearskin coat, hare hat, sheepskin coat.(Adjectives indicate the material from which things are made.) These same adjectives can also acquire a qualitative meaning, for example: disservice(stupid service that causes damage, trouble instead of providing help), hare soul(cowardly, timid).

Exercise 189. Read and indicate in what combinations relative adjectives are used in a qualitative sense.

Iron chain - iron discipline, steel scissors - steel muscles, wooden face - wooden house, cherry tree - cherry dress, tin soldiers - tin eyes, golden character - golden bracelet, stone heart - stone building.

190. Read and indicate which adjectives are qualitative and which are relative; then indicate the gender, number and case of each adjective. Indicate adjective epithets.

At a provincial stop, endless, hot as desire,

Lunch silence. Straight country road space.

Buntings sing lifelessly, Lilac forest in the background,

In the bushes near the canvas. Gray cloud's tuft,

(B. Pasternak.)

191. Insert the missing epithets: then compare them with those given in M. Gorky’s story “Old Woman Izergil”.

The air was saturated... with the smell of the sea and... with the vapors of the earth, which had been heavily moistened by rain shortly before evening. Even now, fragments of clouds were wandering across the sky, lush, like clouds of smoke, gray and ash-blue, there - sharp, like fragments of rocks, matte black or brown. Between them sparkled tenderly... patches of sky, decorated with specks of stars.

192. Orally make up a phrase with each synonym; indicate the difference in the use of synonyms, then select antonyms for them (where possible).

1) Strong, durable, solid, strong, powerful, irresistible. 2) Fast, nimble, quick, nimble, playful, lively. 3) Fearful, timid, cowardly, indecisive, humble. 4) Thin, skinny, lean, lean, dry, lean. 5) Wonderful, wondrous, wonderful, charming, magnificent, excellent. 6) Red, scarlet, purple, crimson, crimson, crimson.

Famous linguist Yu.S. Stepanov believed that the difference quality And relative meanings of adjectives is one of the most difficult. This division is carried out not even in all languages. There are already students in Russian high school learn to distinguish between these categories of adjectives.

As you probably remember, adjectives answer questions Which? which? which? which?

Which? –small yard, school teacher, bear claw.

Which? –wonderful weather, wooden bench, fox face.

Which? –excellent mood, pearl necklace, horse hoof.

Which? – polite students, regional competitions, bunny ears.

Each row contains examples qualitative, relative and possessive adjectives. How to distinguish them? As has already become clear, simply asking a question about an adjective will not give a result; the category cannot be determined in this way.

Grammar and semantics(meaning of the word). Let's consider each category of adjectives by meaning .

Qualitative adjectives

It’s already clear from the name what these adjectives mean. quality of the item. What kind of quality could this be? Color(lilac, burgundy, bay, black), form(rectangular, square), physical characteristics of living things (fat, healthy, active), temporal and spatial features (slow, deep), general qualities, inherent in an animate object ( angry, funny, happy) and etc.

Also, most (but not all!) qualitative adjectives have a whole range of grammatical features, by which they are quite easy to distinguish from other adjectives. These features may not necessarily be a whole set for each quality adjective, but if you find that at least some attribute is suitable for this adjective - you have a quality adjective. So:

1) Qualitative adjectives denote a feature that can appear to a greater or lesser extent. Hence the ability to form degrees of comparison.

Thin - thinner - thinnest. Interesting – less interesting – the most interesting.

2) Form short forms. Long is long, short is small.

3) Combine with adverbs of measure and degree. Very beautiful, extremely entertaining, completely incomprehensible.

4) From qualitative adjectives you can form adverbs on -o(s) And nouns with abstract suffixes -ost (-is), -izn-, -ev-, -in-, -from- :magnificent - magnificent, clear - clarity, blue - blue, blue - blue, thick - thickness, beautiful - beauty.

5) You can also form words with diminutive or augmentative suffixes: angry - angry, dirty - dirty, green - green, healthy - hefty.

6) Can have antonyms: big - small, white - black, sharp - dull, stale - fresh.

As you can see, there are many signs, but it is absolutely not necessary to use all of them. Remember that some quality adjectives have no degrees of comparison, some abstract nouns do not form, some cannot be combined with adverbs of measure and degree, but they fit according to other criteria.

For example, adjective bay. This adjective does not fit any grammatical criteria, but it means color = quality of item, - that means it quality.

Or adjective beautiful. You can't tell very lovely, but you can form an adverb Wonderful. Conclusion: adjective quality.

Relative adjectives

Designate a sign through an attitude towards an object. What kind of relationship could this be - signs? Material, from which the item is made ( iron nail - iron nail, stone basement - stone basement, velvet dress– velvet dress); place, time, space (today's scandal is a scandal that happened today; intercity bus – a bus between cities; Moscow region – Moscow region); appointment(parent meeting - meeting for parents, children's store - store for children) and etc.

Signs of this and not temporary, but permanent, That's why Relative adjectives do not have all the features inherent in qualitative adjectives. This means that they do not form degrees of comparison(not to say that this house is wooden, and that one is more wooden), cannot be combined with adverbs of measure and degree(can't say very gold bracelet) etc.

But phrases with relative adjectives can be transform, replacing the adjective. For example, villager - village resident, milk porridge - porridge with milk, plastic cube - plastic cube.

We hope that it has become clearer to you how to distinguish between qualitative and relative adjectives. We’ll talk about possessive adjectives and some pitfalls in the next article.

Good luck in learning Russian!

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Characterized by lexical-semantic, syntactic and stylistic features, the ability to move from one category to category.

Lexico-semantic features of relative adjectives

OP denote the relationship of an object to another object, to a number, action or circumstance: tin, triple, sharpening, today.

Examples of relative adjectives:

• The Moscow reading room has been replenished with new editions of books.

The adjectives “Moscow” and “reading room” are relative. The adjective “Moscow” indicates the attribute of an object by location, and “reading” by the purpose of the object. In a sentence, these adjectives serve as definitions: they answer “which one?”

OP can be attributed to the main and constantly expanding group due to the continuous updating of vocabulary and the emergence of new words and neologisms: cosmic dust, modeling agency, computer room.

The sign of a relative adjective is expressed through a relation:

• to the subject: notebook, door, window, tea;
• In time: winter, night, second, semi-annual;
• in place: rural, home, sea, earth;
• to face: women's, medical, civil, miner's;
• to the material: bronze, marble, concrete, lead;
• to quantity: double, seven-year-old, thirty-kilogram;
• to the concept of abstraction: mathematical, social;
• by property: night haze, spring rains;
• to action: vaccination, dancing, running.

OP is called an absolute attribute that does not form degrees of comparison depending on the measure of manifestation. For example, you cannot say “a very wooden door” or “this staircase is more marble than that one.”

Also, relative categories are not capable of forming a short form: it is impossible to say “the bridge is iron.”

Structural and word-formation features of relative adjectives

Structural and word-formation features of relative adjectives are characterized by special suffixes: -an- (-yan-), -ansk- (-ensk-), -ovsk-, -esk-, -insk- . For example: sandy, linen, bast, hooligan, Moscow, maternal.

1. Relative adjectives with suffixes -an- (-yang-) get the following values:
   made of any material: clay, leather, glass;intended for storing something: wardrobe, wood-burning;industry-related: peat, oil.
2. Relative adjective suffixes -ast- (-at-) form meanings external signs person or animal: bespectacled, horned.
3. Suffixes -ev- (-ov-) form the meaning of belonging: garden, pear.
4. Suffixes -enn- (-onn-) indicate the value of the property: morning, traditional.
5. Suffixes -ensk- (-insk-) indicate geographical affiliation: Penza, Cuban.
6. Suffix -n- (-shn-) reproduces the meaning of place, number, time, action or phenomenon: home, yesterday, thousandth, read, distant.
7. Suffix -teln- indicates the meaning of the action being performed: observant, tactile, selective.
8. Suffixes -yach- (-uch-), (-yuch-) give the value of the propensity to take some action: smelly, hanging.

Stylistic features of relative adjectives

Stylistically relative adjectives are used in the communicative and informational function: construction contract, cityscape. This function is primarily characteristic of official business, scientific and journalistic style, where most of the adjectives are used in their literal meaning. According to linguists, in scientific style their use is more than 13%, and in official business - less than 10%.

Thus, the use of OP in a scientific style is due to the need to name the relationships between objects and persons, the formation of compound terms and scientific clichés of a phraseological nature. For example, they can be found in textbooks of botany and zoology a large number of: fruit bushes, heat-loving plants, synthesizing substances, carbon dioxide, ungulates, predatory animals. Such adjectives are always used in their literal meaning and do not have expressive connotations, synonyms or antonyms. Also, these linguistic fusions cannot be broken: for example, in zoology there is no concept of “ wild animals", only "predatory" can be used.

In an official business style, for example, when drawing up legislative documents, the use of relative adjectives is associated with the need to describe the relationship between citizens and the state, objects and persons. Adjectives used here are: public, legal, financial, private, state. These adjectives do not have an aesthetic focus; their purpose is communicative and informational.

The ability to move into the category of quality

When using adjectives, the meanings change. A relative adjective can become qualitative if its direct meaning has changed and the adjective has acquired a figurative meaning due to subject similarity.

So, for example, the phrase "raspberry jam". Adjective "crimson" relative: it cannot form degrees of comparison (very raspberry, more raspberry) and can be converted into a subordinating phrase (raspberry jam).

In the phrase "raspberry beret" the same adjective already acquires a different, figurative meaning due to similarity. This refers to the shade of raspberry, a rich pink color. Although it is impossible to form a degree of comparison from the name of a color derived from a noun, it is also impossible to form the subordinating phrase “takes from raspberries”, that is, the adjective has lost its original, direct meaning. Consequently, the relative sign is lost, it has become qualitative.

What are relative adjectives? Relative adjectives are aimed at designating a characteristic that is not compared with anything. They lack short form, the ability to create abstract nouns and adverbs with suffixes o, e. Relative adjectives are used in all five styles of speech in the Russian language.

During the lesson, sixth graders will become familiar with characteristic features relative adjectives, their difference from qualitative ones, will consider cases of transition of relative adjectives into the category of qualitative ones and the reasons for such a transition.

In this lesson we will talk about adjectives, which, unlike qualitative ones, do not like to show off. They are simply not capable of this, since they cannot be combined with the adverb VERY and do not have degrees of comparison.

As you already know, adjectives denote various characteristics of objects. For example, there are adjectives that mean material, from which the item is made: plastic- made of plastic. Other adjectives name the attribute of an object by place: Chinese- brought from China, made in China. And there are adjectives that indicate the attribute of an object by time: yesterday's- happened yesterday. Adjectives plastic, Chinese, yesterday characterize a characteristic through its relationship to the material, place and time and are called relative.

1. Remember the definition

Relative adjectives denote a characteristic of an object that cannot be manifested to a greater or lesser extent. For example, a plastic ruler cannot be more or less plastic.

Relative adjectives can denote not only the material, time and place of action, but also, for example, name the attribute of an object:

by mode of action (tear-off calendar),

in relation to the face (children's playground, student card),

in count(five-year-old daughter, two-story house),

by nationality(Russian writer, Ukrainian poet).

2. Distinctive features of relative adjectives

Relative adjectives do not have short forms, degrees of comparison, do not combine with the adverb VERY, do not have antonyms, and in this way they differ from qualitative ones.

- Wood is a relative adjective because it denotes the material from which the object is made. It does not have a short form (we do not say: the table (what?) is wooden). From the word wood it is impossible to form degrees of comparison: there is no table more wooden than a chair. Adjective wood does not combine with the adverb VERY and does not have an antonym. All this proves that wood- relative adjective.

Relative adjectives can be recognized by special suffixes.

This suffixes -AN-, -YAN-, which indicate the material from which the item is made: leather, rye, clay, linen.

Suffix -SK-:Moscow, Chinese, April.

Suffix -OV-: aspen, orange, porcelain.

Relative adjectives have another feature. They can be replaced by combining a preposition with a noun from which the adjective is derived.

Podmoskovny = near Moscow

Childish = for children

Clay = made of clay

Accordingly, phrases constructed according to the model RELATIVE ADJECTIVE + NOUN, can be replaced with a synonymous construction: NOUN + NOUN WITH PREPOSITION.

For example: stone fence - stone fence, meat broth - meat broth, seaside town - city near the sea, January frost - frost in January, playground - playground for children.

3. Transition of relative adjectives into qualitative ones

Sometimes relative adjectives get tired of being relative, and then they become qualitative, being used in a figurative meaning and acquiring the meaning of a feature, which can be to a greater or lesser extent.

In the phrase raspberry jam a relative adjective is used to indicate what the jam is made of. And in the phrase raspberry beret adjective crimson has become a quality color, as it denotes a dark red color, the saturation of which can be different.

Bibliography

1. Russian language. 6th grade / Baranov M.T. and others - M.: Education, 2008.
2. Babaytseva V.V., Chesnokova L.D. Russian language. Theory. 5-9 grades - M.: Bustard, 2008.
3. Russian language. 6th grade / Ed. MM. Razumovskaya, P.A. Lekanta. - M.: Bustard, 2010.

1. Classes of adjectives ().
2. About relative adjectives ().

Homework

Task No. 1

Write down phrases that contain relative adjectives.

Tin soldier, tin eyes, cold day, long train, brave act, a kind person, stupid question, heart muscles, heartfelt greetings, stone house, stone face, short dress, fat boy, blue scarf, Moscow metro, children's literature, double chin, wool suit, lead bullet, lead clouds, city park, heavy briefcase, heavy industry, deaf old man, deaf consonant, grandfather's office, machine work, tit's nest, crow's foot, dog's kennel, cleft mouth, wolf's fur coat, wolf's appetite, deer horns, marine corps, dog cold, Katyusha's bicycle, grinding machine, snake venom, snake smile, vegetable oil, lean face, mouse tail, neighbor's garden, grandiose plans, observant person, tragic fate, wooden voice, chicken paw, chicken soup, squirrel collar, iron will, grandfather's words, bird hubbub, hare hat, December frosts, school uniform, Seryozhin's portfolio, Barents Sea, Bering Strait.

Task No. 2

Write down 5-6 sentences, including adjectives that have moved from relative to qualitative.

By lexical meaning Based on grammatical characteristics, adjectives are divided into three categories: possessive, relative and qualitative.

Possessive adjectives

Possessive adjectives- these are words indicating that an object belongs to a person or animal (whose it is, to whom it belongs). Possessive adjectives answer the questions: whose? whose? whose? whose?:

Possessive adjectives are formed only from animate nouns using suffixes -IY, -OV(-EV), -IN(-YN), -OVSK(-EVSK), -INSK(-YNSK):

fox - fox,

chicken - chicken,

father - fathers, paternal,

mother - mother's, mother - maternal.

Collocation noun + possessive adjective can be replaced with a phrase noun + noun, For example:

daddy's brother - daddy's brother,

wolf howl- howl of a wolf.

Relative adjectives

Relative adjectives- these are words denoting the characteristics of objects in their relation to other objects or persons. These signs indicate:

• What material is the item made from:

  gold ring - gold ring.

• Who is the item intended for:

  kindergarten - kindergarten for children.

• The relationship of an object to a specific time:

  winter eclipse - eclipse in winter.

• Relation of object to place:

  mountain peak - mountain top.

• Relation of the subject to the field of activity:

  sports magazine - magazine about sports.

As can be seen from the examples, relative adjectives can be replaced with nouns without losing the meaning of the phrase.

Relative adjectives do not have degrees of comparison, short forms, synonyms or antonyms.

Relative adjectives are formed from nouns using various suffixes:

evening - evening,

tea - tea,

rock - rocky.

If the stem of nouns ends in consonants G, K, X, T, C- then alternation of consonant letters can occur:

friend - friendly, But magic iya - magical;

tobacco - tobacco, But park - park ovaya;

shepherd - shepherd, But spirit - ram spirit;

student - student, But parquet - parquet;

sun - sunny, But lead - lead.

Qualitative adjectives

Qualitative adjectives- these are words denoting characteristics of objects that may appear to a greater or lesser extent. Qualitative adjectives have the following characteristics:

1. Combines with adverbs very, extremely, too:

   very sweet, too big.

2. They have a full and short form:

   fast - fast, beautiful - beautiful.

3. Have antonyms:

   fast - slow, beautiful - scary

   Most antonyms can be formed using the prefix Not-:

   small - rather big(big), bright - dim(dim).

4. Form complex adjectives by repetition:

   sweet-sweet, quick-quick.

5. They have degrees of comparison:

   bright - brighter, brighter, brightest, brightest.

Note: not every quality adjective has all of the listed characteristics at once. An adjective is considered qualitative if it has at least several of them.

Please note that qualitative adjectives, unlike possessive and relative adjectives, denote a characteristic of the object itself outside of its relation to other objects. This may be a characteristic of an item by color ( yellow, white), weight ( light, unliftable), size ( small, huge) etc.

Transition of adjectives from one category to another

Possessive, relative and qualitative adjectives can be used in a figurative meaning, while possessive adjectives can go into the category of relative and qualitative, relative - into the category of qualitative, qualitative - into the category of relative.

Adjective	Rank
	possessive	relative	qualitative
wolfish	wolf howl	wolf(from wolf fur) fur coat	wolfish(wicked) sight
steel	-	steel(of steel) mug	steel(strong) muscles
peaceful	-	peaceful(during peace) time	peaceful(calm) character
hare	hare's foot	hare(from hare fur) a cap	hare(cowardly) character
alive	-	living flower	hedge

Possessive adjectives can move into the category of relative and qualitative if they acquire the characteristics of these categories. From the examples presented in the table it is clear that wolfish And hare, when used as material for an object, become relative adjectives. When used figuratively, they become of high quality.

Qualitative adjectives can become relative if they begin to denote a permanent property of an object:

sour berry - sour reaction,

crooked hut - crooked line.

How to determine the rank of an adjective

Each category of adjectives has a series characteristic features, which other categories do not have:

Quality	Relative	Possessives
Degrees of comparison Short form Combination with adverbs: very, unusually, extremely, not enough, too. Forming compound adjectives using repetition: kind-kind, strong-strong. Formation of adjectives with a prefix NOT-: unkind, not easy. Can have antonyms: strong - weak. May have synonyms: inexpensive - cheap, cloudy - vague. They can form adjectives with diminutive suffixes: weak - weak - weak. Can form adverbs -Oh, -E: strong - strongly.	Indicate the relationship of one object to another You can choose a synonymous phrase: gold ring - gold ring.	Indicates affiliation Answer the questions: whose? whose? whose? whose?

To determine the category of an adjective, you need to look at what characteristics this adjective corresponds to. Consider a few examples:

Example 1.

eagle vision.

vision which? eagle.

which?, therefore, it cannot be possessive. Now let's try to find a synonym:

eagle means good, excellent.

If you can find a synonym for an adjective, it means it is of high quality.

Example 2. Determine the category of the adjective:

Foxy burrow.

First, let's ask a question from noun to adjective:

Nora whose? fox.

The adjective answers the question whose?, therefore it is possessive.

Example 3. Determine the category of the adjective:

observant person.

First, let's ask a question from noun to adjective:

Human Which? observant.

The adjective answers the question Which?, therefore, it cannot be possessive. You can try to find a synonym or see if this symptom can manifest itself to a greater or lesser extent:

observant means attentive,

observant - more observant, most observant.

The adjective has a synonym and degrees of comparison - a qualitative adjective.

Example 4. Determine the category of the adjective:

Strawberry ice cream.

First, let's ask a question from noun to adjective:

ice cream which? strawberry.

The adjective answers the question which?, therefore, it cannot be possessive. Relatively ice cream at the sign strawberry there cannot be synonyms and degrees of comparison, since ice cream can't be more or less strawberry. So you can try to find a synonymous phrase:

strawberry ice cream - strawberry ice cream.

This phrase indicates the relationship of one object to another, which means the adjective is relative.

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