如何使用形容词

形容词是为名词代词提供质量或数量信息的词。形容词包括很多种,都是用来描述某物的。冠词也属于形容词,因为它们修饰名词。

Example
He has a cute puppy.
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This movie is my favorite.

形容词的种类

形容词类别 形容词功能 例句
描述性形容词

描述一个名词或代词

We saw a beautiful sunset.

数量形容词

提供名词或代词的数量信息

She brought three bags of chips.

专有形容词

以专有名词的形容词形式出现

Japanese animations are very popular.

指示形容词

直接指某事或某人

This book is well-written.

所有格形容词

表示所有者的事物

Did you see my pen?

疑问形容词

表示某个问题

Which song is your favorite?

非确定形容词

提供相关名词的非确定性信息

He found a few crystals in the cave.

复合形容词

将至少两个词组合成一个用来修饰名词的词汇单元

The composite is composed of fine-milled filaments.

描述性形容词

描述性形容词用于描述名词或代词。它们提供关于某物的修饰性信息。

Example
The girl has a doll.
The girl has a pretty doll.

在上例中,“pretty”是一个描述性形容词。它描述了女孩的洋娃娃。

Example
We used a system to detect the response.
We used an adaptive system to detect the transient response.

描述性形容词通常表达重要信息。“A system to detect the response”是语义模糊的,不够确切。“An adaptive system to detect the transient response”就具体得多,因此表达的信息更为丰富。

数量形容词

数量形容词描述一个名词的数量。这个数量可以是一个精确的数字。

Example
Bacteria samples were cultivated for the experiment.
Three bacteria samples were cultivated for the experiment.

需要注意的是,数量形容词也包括“whole”或“complete”等词。

Example
A voltage drop can cause the instrument to malfunction.
A complete voltage drop can cause the instrument to malfunction.

专有形容词

专有形容词就是专有名词的形容词形式。专有名词是特定名称,通常以大写字母开头。民族、语言、机构和学校都属于专有名词。

Example
Korean fried chicken is the tastiest.
Example
The admissions officer told me that Harvard classes are rigorous.
Example
Did you pick up the French textbook?

Korean, HarvardFrench都是专有名词。然而,在上述语境中,它们被当作形容词使用。

指示形容词

指示形容词直接指示名词。

Example
This paper proposes a new algorithm that can detect seismic signals.
Example
Please be careful; those books are very old.

指示形容词必须位于它所描述的名词的前面。

Incorrect
Star that is the brightest in the sky.
Correct
That star is the brightest in the sky.

常用的指示形容词包括: that, this, those, these

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所有格形容词

所有格形容词指示的是拥有或占有某个给定名词的人。

Example
Our results revealed that a sudden drop in voltage can lead to enhanced performance.
Example
He was reading when his brother called him.

像指示形容词一样,所有格形容词也必须总是位于它所描述的名词的前面

Incorrect
The results of study their were found to be inaccurate.
Correct
The results of their study were found to be inaccurate.

常用的所有格形容词包括: my, your, his, her, our, their, its

疑问形容词

疑问形容词表示疑问句。

Example
Whose textbook is that?
Example
What is the motivation behind this study?
Example
Which sample is the most viable?

疑问形容词只有以下三个: what, which, whose

非确定形容词

非确定形容词描述的是关于名词的不确定信息。

Example
While it is possible to argue for some association between the subgroups, no concrete evidence was found.

在上例中,作者没有给出关于子群体之间关联的具体数字或数据。

Example
Every sample was tested for contamination reduction.
Example
It was found that most of the subjects were not up to date on their vaccines.

常用的非确定形容词包括: some, every, each, most, several, many

复合形容词

复合形容词通常是描述名词的复合词。组成复合形容词的单词之间使用连字符连接。

Example
We have developed a long-term solution to transient electromagnetic interference.
Example
The bitter old man was once a naïve, bright-eyed boy.

然而,复合形容词也可以是单词的简单组合,通常用引号括起来。这在学术写作中不常见,但在口语中很常见。

Example
She had her hair pulled back into her “I could not be bothered to care” bun.

形容词的程度表示形式

在表示比较的意思时,形容词的形式会发生变化。比较包括三种程度:原级,比较级,最高级。以形容词“bright”为例,

原级
He picked up the bright lamp.
比较级
He picked up the brighter lamp.
最高级
He picked up the brightest lamp.

并不是所有形容词的比较级和最高级都是与原级拼写形式不同的词。许多形容词的比较级和最高级都是通过简单添加“more”或“most”来构造的。一个典型的例子是“brilliant”这个形容词。

原级
He is a brilliant student.
比较级
He is a more brilliant student.
最高级
He is the most brilliant student.

在学术写作中使用形容词

一般来讲,学术写作应当尽量简明扼要。这意味着只能在提供必要信息时才能使用形容词。使用太多的形容词会使句子变得冗长难懂。

Example
We developed a three-dimensional model of the protein gloverin.

在上例中,“three-dimensional”是一个复合形容词,它表达了相关模型的重要信息。省略这个形容词会造成重要信息的丢失。

Example
We developed a highly informative three-dimensional computer model of the antibacterial insect protein gloverin.

这个例子是在上个例子的基础上增加了形容词。“Highly informative”和“computer”并没有提供关于模型的更多信息,它们只是把句子变得冗长。而“antibacterial”和“insect”这两个词则是让句子冗长得别扭。实际上,这两个形容词所提供的信息最好是另起一个从句来表达,如下例。

Example
We developed a three-dimensional model of gloverin, an antibacterial insect protein that is isolated from silk moth pupae.