Gradability and grade

4 important questions on Gradability and grade

What are gradable adjectives and how can they be modified?

Gradable adjectives express properties in varying degrees and can be modified by:
  1. Adverbs of degree (e.g., very good, quite hot)
  2. Inflection for grade (e.g., comparative and superlative forms)
Example: taller, tallest.

How do gradable adjectives inflect for comparative and superlative degree?

They inflect by:
  1. Adding -er for comparative (e.g., hotter, younger)
  2. Adding -est for superlative (e.g., hottest, youngest)
  3. Some use more and most (e.g., more intelligent).

What are non-gradable adjectives and how do they differ from gradable?

Non-gradable adjectives denote properties that cannot be expressed in degrees, such as:
  1. Alphabetical order
  2. The chief difficulty
  3. Third place.
They don't allow degree modification.
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Can some adjectives be both gradable and non-gradable? Give an example.

Yes, certain adjectives can be used in both ways:
  1. Open is non-gradable in "The door is open."
  2. Open is gradable in "You should be more open with us."

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