Adjectives used only in the attributive position
Most adjectives in English may be placed either immediately before the noun they qualify - this is known as the attributive position - or after the verbs 'to be', 'to seem', 'to look', 'to appear', 'to become', etc., and without an immediately following noun - this is known as the predicative position. Thus we may say 'I bought a blue shirt yesterday' and 'The shirt I bought yesterday is blue'; 'I have been reading a very interesting book' and 'The book you have been reading seems very interesting'; 'She had prepared a delicious meal for her guests' and 'That tastes delicious'; 'His account contained a number of false statements' and 'Everything he said has been shown to be false'.
However, a small number of adjectives (or adjectives used in certain of their senses) can only occupy the attributive position. For example, the adjectives 'pure' and 'sheer', when used to mean 'nothing but', must be used attributively: we can say 'What he said was pure nonsense' or 'Her playing was a sheer delight', but not 'The nonsense he spoke was pure' or 'The delight her playing gave was sheer'.
Here, in alphabetical order, are some more examples:
- 'mere', meaning 'nothing more than or nothing but': we can say 'You can't blame him: he was a mere child at the time' or 'What they said was mere speculation', but not '
The child [or the speculation] was mere'.
- 'prime', used with the meaning 'first in quality, first rate; fundamental, original; first in importance or authority': we can say 'This is prime New Zealand lamb' or 'Tacitus is our prime authority for this period of Roman history', but not '
The quality of this New Zealand lamb is prime' or 'As an authority for this period of Roman history Tacitus is prime'.
- 'rude', used with the meaning 'robust or sturdy' (as in 'He was in rude health' or 'They were in rude high spirits') or with the meaning 'approximate or imprecise' (as in 'The surveyor cast his eye over the house and quickly made a rude estimate of its value'). We cannot say '
His health (or the surveyor's estimate) was rude'. (For a note on the meanings of 'rude' and its homophones, see Rude - rood - rued.)
- 'simple', used with the meaning 'without additions or modifications': we can say 'All that is needed to deal with the situation is simple common sense', but not '
The common sense needed to deal with the situation is simple'.
- 'sole', meaning 'only, the only one': we can say 'The sole survivor of the accident was rushed to hospital', but not '
The survivor of the accident was sole'. For more about 'sole' see Sole - soul.
- 'utter', used as an intensifier: we can say 'It was utter bliss' or 'He was an utter fool', but not '
My bliss [or that fool] was utter'.
Adjectives whose use is restricted to the attributive position are said to be prenominal adjectives or to be used prenominally.
For other adjectives which are restricted in the way they can be used see Adjectives not used in the attributive position and Adjectives placed after the nouns they qualify.
