Collins Cobuild English Grammar (35 page)

Note that these words cannot be used with the colours
black
or
white
, because you cannot have different shades of black and white.

approximate colours

2.32
    If you want to talk about a colour that does not have a definite name you can:

use a colour adjective with
-ish
added to the end

…
greenish
glass.
…
yellowish
hair.

combine two colour adjectives, often with
-ish
or
-y
on the end of the first one

…
greenish-white
flowers.
…a
greeny blue
line.
…the
blue-green
waves.

BE CREATIVE

2.33
    You can mix colours in these ways to produce whatever new colour you are trying to describe.

comparison of colour adjectives

2.34
    Colour adjectives such as
blue
and
green
occasionally have comparatives and superlatives ending in
-er
and
-est
.

His face was
redder
than usual.
…the
bluest
sky I have ever seen.

Comparatives
and
superlatives
are explained in paragraphs
2.103
to
2.122
.

colour nouns

2.35
    Colours can also be nouns, and the main colours can also be plural nouns.

The snow shadows had turned to a deep
blue
.
They blended in so well with the khaki and
reds
of the landscape.
…brilliantly coloured in
reds
,
yellows
,
blacks
, and
purples
.

Showing strong feelings:
complete
,
absolute
, etc.

2.36
    You can emphasize your feelings about something that you mention by putting an adjective such as
complete
,
absolute
, or
utter
in front of a noun.

He made me feel like a
complete
idiot.
Some of it was
absolute
rubbish.
…
utter
despair.
…
pure
bliss.

You generally use an adjective of this kind only when the noun shows your opinion about something.

Because they are used to show strong feelings, these adjectives are called
emphasizing adjectives
.

Here is a list of emphasizing adjectives:

absolute

complete

entire

outright

perfect

positive

pure

real

total

true

utter

adjectives for showing disapproval

2.37
   A small group of adjectives ending in
-ing
are used in very informal spoken English for emphasis, usually to show disapproval or contempt.

Everybody in the whole
stinking
town was loaded with money.
Shut that
blinking
door!

Here is a list of adjectives used informally for emphasis:

blinking

blithering

blooming

blundering

crashing

flaming

freezing

piddling

raving

scalding

stinking

thumping

thundering

whopping

BE CAREFUL

2.38
    Many of these adjectives are usually used with one particular noun or adjective after them:
blithering idiot
,
blundering idiot
,
crashing bore
,
raving lunatic
,
thundering nuisance
,
freezing cold
,
scalding hot
,
piddling little
…,
thumping great
…,
whopping great
….

He’s driving that car like a
raving
lunatic!
I’ve got a
stinking
cold.
…a
piddling little
car.

very
as an emphasizing adjective

2.39
    The word
very
is sometimes used to emphasize a noun, in expressions like
the very top
and
the very end
.

…at the
very
end of the shop.
…the
very
bottom of the hill.
These molecules were formed at the
very
beginning of history.

Making the reference more precise: postdeterminers

2.40
    There is a small group of adjectives that are used in a very similar way to
determiners
(see paragraphs
1.162
to
1.251
) to make the reference more precise. These are called
postdeterminers
, because their place in a noun phrase is immediately after the determiner, if there is one, and before any other adjectives.

…the
following
brief description.
…
certain
basic human qualities.
…improvements in the
last
few years.
…
further
technological advance. He wore his
usual
old white coat….
…the
only
sensible thing to do.

You often need to make it clear precisely what you are referring to. For example, if you say
Turn left at the tall building
someone might ask which tall building you mean. If you say
Turn left at the next tall building
, there can be no doubt which one you mean. The postdeterminer
next
picks it out precisely.

Here is a list of adjectives that are postdeterminers:

additional

certain

chief

entire

existing

first

following

further