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1.3.2.2.Semantic classification

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Many semantic subclassifications have been proposed for the set-denoting adjectives, but most of them seem to have a rather arbitrary flavor. Nevertheless, some of these distinctions have been claimed to be syntactically relevant (especially in the realm of modification, which is extensively discussed in Chapter 3), which is why we will briefly discuss these distinctions in the following subsections. It should be kept in mind, however, that in principle many other distinctions can be made, for other purposes, and that the classes discussed below exhibit a considerable overlap; see Subsection III for discussion.

I. Scales and scalar adjectives
II. Absolute (non-scalar) adjectives
III. The distinction between gradable and scalar adjectives
IV. Stage/individual-level adjectives

[+] I. Scales and scalar adjectives

Many set-denoting adjectives are scalar. The primeless examples in (58) express that both Jan and Marie are part of the set denoted by the adjective ziek'ill', which will be clear from the fact that they imply the primed examples. The function of the intensifiers vrij'rather' and zeer'very' is to indicate that Jan and Marie do not exhibit the property of being ill to the same degree. This means that the possibility of adding an intensifier indicates that some scale is implied; the function of intensifiers vrij and zeer is to situate the illness of Jan and the illness of Marie at different places on this scale. This can be schematized as in (58c).

a.		Jan is vrij ziek.	⇒
		Jan is rather ill

a'.		Jan is ziek.
		Jan is ill

b.		Marie is zeer ziek.	⇒
		Marie is very ill

b'.		Marie is ziek.
		Marie is ill

c.		Scale of illness:

The schema in (58c) indicates that Jan is less ill than Marie. Further, it indicates that there is some point to the left of Jan where we start to talk about illness; the scale is bounded at its left side. However, as long as the person involved stays alive, there is no obvious point on the right side of the scale where we stop talking about illness; the scale is unbounded at the right side. This subsection will discuss several types of scalar adjectives on the basis of the properties of the scales that they imply.

[+] A. Antonymous adjectives

Many set-denoting adjectives come in antonym pairs, which can be situated on a single scale. Some examples are given in (59). The following subsections will show, however, that the scales implied by these antonym pairs may differ in various respects.

slecht

'evil/bad'

a'.

goed

'good'

klein

'small'

b'.

groot

'big'

vroeg

'early'

c'.

laat

'late'

gezond

'healthy'

d'.

ziek

'ill'

leeg

'empty'

e'.

vol

'full'

[+] 1. Scales that are unbounded on both sides

First consider the scale implied by the pair goed'good' and slecht'evil/bad', given in (60). The two adjectives each indicate a range on the scale, that is, they are both scalar. Further, the implied scale is unbounded on both sides. However, between the two ranges denoted by goed and slecht, there is a zone where neither of the two adjectives is applicable, and which we will call the neutral zone.

That there is a neutral zone is clear from the fact that slecht'evil/bad' and niet goed'not good' are not fully equivalent. The difference can be made clear by looking at the logical implications in (61a&b). The fact that slecht implies niet goed, but that niet goed does not imply slecht can be accounted for by making use of the scale of “goodness" in (60). As can be seen in (61c), niet goed covers a larger part of the scale than slecht: it includes the neutral zone.

a.		Jan is slecht.	⇒
		Jan is evil

a'.		Jan is niet goed.
		Jan is not good

b.		Jan is niet goed.	⇏
		Jan is not good

b'.		Jan is slecht.
		Jan is evil

That we need to postulate a neutral zone is also clear from the fact that examples such as (62a) are not contradictory, but simply indicates that Janʼs goodness should be situated somewhere in the neutral zone. This is shown in (62b).

a.	Jan is niet goed,	maar	ook	niet	slecht.
	Jan is not good	but	also	not	bad
	'Jan isnʼt good, but he isnʼt bad either.'

[+] 2. Scales that are bounded on one side

The scale of size in (63) implied by the measure adjectives klein'small' and groot'big' in (59b) is similar to the scale of “goodness" in most respects, but differs from it in that it is bounded on one side; the size of some entity cannot be smaller than zero. Observe that this implies that, unlike the scale of “goodness", the scale of size has a natural anchoring point. In this sense, adjectives like goed and slecht are more subjective than measure adjectives like klein and groot; see Subsection C below for more discussion.

[+] 3. Scales that are bounded on both sides

The implied scale can also be bounded on both sides. This is the case with the temporal scale implied by the adjectives vroeg'early' and laat'late' in (59c). When we assert that Jan is getting up early, that may be consistent with Jan getting up at 6:00 or 5:00 a.m., but presumably not with him getting up at 1:00 a.m. or at 11:00 p.m. Similarly, by asserting that Jan is getting up late, we may be saying that he is getting up at 11:00 a.m. or at 1:00 p.m., but presumably not that he is getting up at 11:00 p.m. or at 1:00 a.m. Beyond a certain point (which may be vaguely defined, and can perhaps be changed when the context provides information that favors that) the adjectives are simply no longer applicable (this is indicated by ### in (64)).

[+] 4. Scales with one absolute and one gradable adjective

In the examples in the previous subsections, the two antonyms are both gradable. This need not be the case, however. The adjective gezond'healthy' in (59d), for instance, does not seem to be scalar itself; rather, it is absolute (see the discussion of (68)), and indicates one end of the scale. In other words, we may represent the scale of illness as in (65).

Many gradable adjectives that imply a scale that is bounded on one side are deverbal or pseudo-participles; cf. the primeless examples in (66) and (67). Their antonyms, which are situated at the boundary of the scale, are often morphologically derived by means of on- prefixation. In the case of the pseudo-participles occasionally no antonym exists, so that we can only express the negative counterpart by means of the negative adverb niet.

brandbaar

'combustible'

a'.

onbrandbaar

'incombustible'

bereikbaar

'attainable'

b'.

onbereikbaar

'unattainable'

begroeid

'overgrown'

c'.

onbegroeid

'without plants'

toegankelijk

'accessible'

d'.

ontoegankelijk

'inaccessible'

bekend met

'familiar with'

a'.

onbekend met

'unfamiliar with'

bestand tegen

'resistant to'

b'.

niet bestand tegen

'not resistant to'

gewond

'wounded'

c'.

ongewond

'not wounded'

opgewassen tegen

'up to'

d'.

niet opgewassen tegen

'not up to'

verwant aan

'related to'

e'.

niet verwant aan

'not related to'

That gezond and the adjectives in the primed examples in (66) and (67) are not scalar but absolute is clear from the fact that they can be modified by adverbial phrases like absoluut'absolutely', helemaal'completely' and vrijwel'almost', as in (68). We show these examples with topicalization of the AP in order to block the reading in which absoluut/vrijwel is interpreted as a sentence adverb. The examples are perhaps stylistically marked but at least the cases with absoluut become fully acceptable if we add the negative adverb niet'not' at the end of the clause.

a.		Absoluut/vrijwel	gezond	is Jan.
		absolutely/almost	healthy	is Jan

b.		Absoluut/vrijwel	onbrandbaar	is deze stof .
		absolutely/almost	incombustible	is this material

c.		Helemaal/vrijwel	onbekend	met onze gewoontes	is Jan.
		completely/almost	not.familiar	with our habits	is Jan

The examples in (69) show that these adverbial phrases cannot be combined with scalar adjectives; cf. Section 1.3.2.2, sub II.

a.	*	Absoluut/vrijwel	goed/klein/ziek	is Jan.
		absolutely/almost	good/small/ill	is Jan

b.	*	Absoluut/vrijwel	brandbaar	is deze stof.
		absolutely/almost	combustible	is this material

c.	*	Helemaal/vrijwel	bekend met onze gewoontes	is Jan.
		completely/almost	familiar with our habits	is Jan

For completeness’ sake note that the adjective gezond'healthy' can also be used as a scalar adjective, provided that it is the antonym of ongezond'unhealthy'. In this use, gezond cannot be modified by the adverbial phrases absoluut and vrijwel. This is shown in (70).

	*	Absoluut/vrijwel	gezond/ongezond	is spinazie.
		absolutely/almost	healthy/unhealthy	is spinach

[+] 5. Scales with two absolute adjectives

The fact that gezond (i.e., the antonym of ziek'ill') is not scalar shows that the placement of an antonym pair of adjectives on a scale is not sufficient to conclude that the adjectives are both scalar. In fact, they can both be absolute. This is the case with the adjectives leeg/vol'empty/full' in (59e); they both typically denote the boundaries of the implied scale. That leeg and vol are not scalar but absolute is clear from the fact that they can be modified by adverbial phrases like helemaal'totally', vrijwel'almost', etc.

a.		Scale of “fullness"

b.		Het glas	is helemaal/vrijwel	leeg/vol.
		the glass	is totally/almost	empty/full

[+] B. Context dependent adjectives—the neutral zone

In the scales in (60), (63) and (64), we have indicated a neutral zone to which neither of the two adjectives is applicable. This zone is often more or less fixed for the speaker in question. With some adjectives, however, the neutral zone is more flexible and may be determined by the entity the adjectives are predicated of, or the context in which the adjectives are used. This holds in particular for the measure adjectives, of which some examples are given in (72).

dik

'thick'

a'.

dun

'thin'

oud

'old'

b'.

jong

'young'

groot

'big'

c'.

klein

'small'

lang

'tall/long'

d'.

kort

'short/brief'

hoog

'high'

e'.

laag

'low'

zwaar

'heavy'

f'.

licht

'light'

breed

'wide'

g'.

smal

'narrow'

That the placement of the neutral zone, that is, that the interpretation of the measure adjectives depends on the argument the adjective is predicated of can be demonstrated by means of the examples in (73a) and (73b). Below, we will discuss the examples with the adjective groot, but the discussion is also applicable to klein.

a.		Deze muis	is klein/groot.
		this mouse	is small/big

b.		Deze olifant	is klein/groot.
		the elephant	is small/big

Although groot can be predicated of both the noun phrase deze muis'this mouse' and the noun phrase deze olifant'this elephant', it is clear that the two entities these noun phrases refer to cannot be assumed to be of a similar size: the mouse is considerably smaller than the elephant. This is due to the fact that the placement of the neutral zone on the implied scales of size differs. In the case of mice the scale will be expressed in term of centimeters, as in (74a), while in the case of elephants the scale will instead be expressed in meters, as in (74b).

a.		Scale of size for mice in centimeters:

b.		Scale of size for elephants in meters:

This shows that the placement of the neutral zone is at least partly determined by the argument the adjective is predicated of; it indicates the “normal" or “average" size of mice/elephants. In other words, examples such as (73) implicitly introduce a comparison class, namely the class of mice/elephants, which determines the precise position of the neutral zone on the implied scale. Often, a voor-PP can be used to make the comparison class explicit, and clarify the intended neutral zone, as in (75).

		Jan is groot	voor een jongen	van zijn leeftijd.
		Jan is big	for a boy	of his age

The comparison class and, hence, the neutral zone are not fully determined by the argument the adjective is predicated of; the context may also play a role. If we are discussing mammals in general, the statement in (76a) is true while the statement in (76b) is false: the comparison class is constituted by mammals, and therefore the neutral zone is determined by the average size of mammals, and Indian Elephants are certainly bigger than that. However, if we discuss the different subspecies of elephants, the statement in (76a) is false while the statement in (76b) is true: the comparison class is constituted by elephants, and the Indian Elephant is small compared to the African Elephant.

a.		De Indische Olifant	is groot.
		the Indian Elephant	is big

b.		De Indische Olifant	is klein.
		the Indian Elephant	is small

[+] C. Subjective/objective adjectives

Although the placement of the neutral zone on the scale implied by the measure adjective depends on extra-linguistic information, the scale itself can be considered objective in the sense that once speakers have established the neutral zone, they can objectively establish whether a certain statement is true or false. The fact that the scale implied by the measure adjectives is objective is also supported by the fact that (in some cases) the precise position on the scale can be indicated by means of nominal measure phrases like twee dagen and twintig meter in (77).

a.		Dit poesje	is twee dagen	oud.
		this kitten	is two days	old

b.		De weg	is twintig meter	lang.
		the road	is twenty meters	long

In the case of adjectives like lelijk/mooi'ugly/beautiful' and saai/boeiend'boring/exciting', on the other hand, establishing the precise position of the relevant entities on the implied scale is a more subjective matter; in fact, it can depend entirely on the language user, which can be emphasized by embedding the adjective under the verb vinden'consider', as in the (a)-examples in (78). Occasionally, the entity whose evaluation is assumed can be syntactically expressed by means of a voor-PP; some examples are given in the (b)-examples.

a.		Ik	vind	De Nachtwacht	lelijk/mooi.
		I	consider	The Night Watch	ugly/beautiful

a'.		Ik	vind	Shakespeares dramaʼs	saai/boeiend.
		I	consider	Shakespeareʼs tragedies	boring/exciting

b.	Dit gereedschap	is handig	voor een timmerman.
	this tool	is handy	for a carpenter
	'These tools are handy for a carpenter.'

b'.		Dit boek	is interessant	voor elke taalkundige.
		this book	is of.interest	to every linguist

The pairs of measure adjectives in (72) can be considered true antonyms. This is clear from the fact that the two (a)-examples in (79) are fully equivalent. However, this equivalence does not seem to hold for the subjective adjectives in the (b)-examples, which suggests that the comparative forms mooier and lelijker are not true but quasi-antonyms.

a.		Jan is groter dan Marie.	⇔
		Jan is bigger than Marie

a'.		Marie is kleiner dan Jan.
		Marie is smaller than Jan

b.		De Nachtwacht	is mooier dan	De anatomieles. ⇎
		The Night Watch	is more beautiful than	The Anatomy Lesson

b'.		De anatomieles	is lelijker dan	De Nachtwacht.
		The Anatomy Lesson	is uglier than	The Night Watch

This difference may be related to the following observation. The use of the comparative form of objective adjectives like klein'small' and groot'big' in the (a)-examples of (79) does not necessarily imply that the argument the adjective is predicated of is actually small or big. The use of the comparative form of the subjective adjectives mooi'beautiful' and lelijk'ugly', on the other hand, at least strongly suggest that the argument the adjective is predicated of is indeed beautiful or ugly. This difference between objective and subjective adjectives may be lexically encoded; reasons for assuming this will be given in Subsection F below.
For completeness' sake, it can be observed that the true antonym of mooier is the comparative form minder mooi'less beautiful', as is clear from the fact that the equivalency does hold between (80a) and (80b). The true antonymy relation of course also holds for groter'bigger' and minder groot'less big'.

a.		De Nachtwacht	is mooier dan	De anatomieles. ⇔
		The Night Watch	is more beautiful than	The Anatomy Lesson

b.		De anatomieles	is minder mooi	dan	De Nachtwacht.
		The Anatomy Lesson	is less beautiful	than	The Night Watch

[+] D. Measure adjectives—the (non)neutral form of antonymous adjectives

The examples in (77) have already shown that the measure adjectives can be modified by means of a nominal measure phrase. However, for each antonym pair in (72), only the adjective in the primeless example can be used. Some examples are given in (81). Observe that the acceptable example in (81a) does not express the fact that the kitten is old; on the contrary, it is quite young, which can be emphasized by using the evaluative particle pas'only'. Therefore, it is clear that the adjective oud has lost the antonymous part of its meaning. The same thing holds for the adjective lang in (81b). Since these adjectives have lost this part of their meaning, oud and lang can be considered as neutral forms of the relevant pairs; the adjectives jong and kort cannot be used in this neutral way.

a.		Het poesje	is (pas)	twee dagen	oud/%jong.
		the kitten	is only	two days	old/young

b.		De weg	is (maar)	twintig meter	lang/%kort.
		the road	is only	twenty meters	long/short

Similar conclusions can be drawn from the interrogative sentences in (82): the neutral form oud/lang gives rise to a perfectly natural question and does not presuppose that the subject of the clause should be characterized as being old/long, whereas the non-neutral form jong/kort gives rise to a marked result and seems to express the presupposition that the kitten is young/the road is short.

a.		Hoe oud/%jong	is het poesje?
		how old/young	is the kitten

b.		Hoe lang/%kort	is deze weg?
		how long/short	is this road

In this context it is also relevant to observe that only the neutral forms of the measure adjectives can be the input of the morphological rule that derives nouns from adjectives by suffixation with -te. The formation *oudte in (83c) is probably blocked by the existing noun leeftijd'age'. See Section 3.1.2, sub II, for more discussion of measure adjectives.

breedte

'width'

a'.

*smalte

dikte

'thickness'

b'.

*dunte

*oudte

'age'

c'.

*jongte

lengte

'length'

d'.

*kortte