grammar - Adjectives that do not have predicative position


I've read somewhere that some adjectives cannot be used in the predicative position; for example "this is a major problem" is acceptable, but "the problem is major" is not acceptable.


I'm wondering what other adjectives cannot be used in predicative position other than major. Is it the only one we have in English?



Answer



There are many kinds of non-predicative adjectives. A few examples:



  • former president

  • electrical engineer

  • alleged criminal

  • main reason


http://eecoppock.info/CoppockSemFest09.pdf shows you many kinds of examples. It is a good reference even if you choose to not read the technical bits.


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