0
Marcz908 Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

Question about proper adjectives

0My grammar book explains that "Proper adjectives are formed from proper nouns."02br
00I am confused by the example it gives:02br
00California vegetables (from the noun "California")02br
00It says that California is the proper noun, and I understand that. That would make "vegetables" the proper adjective. The problem I'm having is, isn't vegetables also a noun? It seems to me like "vegetables" would be the subject, it's the key point of focus. Wouldn't that make California the adjective because it's describing what kind of vegetables?02br
00Also, why isn't this a compound noun?0-
  

Top answer

02br 02br 01font 00It says that California is the proper noun, and I understand that. That would make "vegetables" the proper adjective. 00<<< No00, 'vegetables' is the noun that is being described.

— Clive

  • 02br 02br 01font 00It says that California is the proper noun, and I understand that.
  • That would make "vegetables" the proper adjective.
  • 00<<< No00, 'vegetables' is the noun that is being described.
  • 00The problem I'm having is, isn't vegetables also a noun?
  • 00 It seems to me like "vegetables" would be the subject, it's the key point of focus.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

4 Answers
0
0Hi,02br
02br
01font00My grammar book explains that "Proper adjectives are formed from proper nouns." 02font02br
02br
01font02font02br
02br
01font00I am confused by the example it gives:02font02br
02br
01font
0
0
1b00You've run into a common English grammar argument here. 02b02br
02br
01b00In the expression 01i00California vegetables02i00, the word 01i00California02i00 (though usually a noun) has effectively become an adjective modifying 01i00vegetables02i00. Your grammar book is confusing you
0
0
0 It is a very poor example of a proper adjective. The book should have used something like Mexican hat. When a proper noun is used as an adjective, it becomes a proper adjective. It is not a compound noun because it is not a specific, known item, like player piano. You won't find California vegetables in the dictionary. Hope that helps. 0-
0
0
Thanks for clarifying the issue for me. I have one remaining issue. It seems that only SOME nouns can become nominal adectives and some cannot. For example, California is used earlier as a nominal adjective. But if you tried to replace "California" with "America," you would need to use "American" instead. So is there a rule, or is it case by case tradition?
0

Related Questions