So a noun is an adjective?

Question

What's wrong with this description?"We can also use a noun (e.g. television) as an adjective. We can put it before a noun (e.g. programme)." [OPG, p.190]

MrPedantic · Accepted Answer

Which part do you think is wrong, Anon?

MrP

Cool Breeze · Answer

AnonymousWhat's wrong with this description?

"We can also use a noun (e.g. television) as an adjective. We can put it before a noun (e.g. programme)." [OPG, p.190]

A noun can't always be used adjectivally. For example man clothes is wrong.

Cheers
CB

CalifJim · Answer

The statement doesn't say that a noun can always be so used.

Do you take this as wrong

We can use compounds of chlorine to whiten clothes.

because common table salt is a chlorine compound, and it can't used to whiten clothes?

If there's something wrong with the statement about nouns, it must be something else.

CJ

Milky · Answer

Anonymous
What's wrong with this description?

"We can also use a noun (e.g. television) as an adjective. We can put it before a noun (e.g. programme)." [OPG, p.190]

A noun is never an adjective, but it we say that certain nouns can be used adjectivally (i.e. when adjectivally means "in an adjectival manner") to modify another noun. Confusion of terminology is the problem there.

Adverb

http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?o2=&o0=1&o7=&o5=&o1=1&o6=&o4=&o3=&s=adjectivally&i=0&h=0#c (adv) adjectivally (as an adjective; in an adjectival manner)
http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?o2=&o0=1&o7=&o5=&o1=1&o6=&o4=&o3=&s=adjectival&i=0&h=0#c (adj) adjectival, http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?o2=&o0=1&o7=&o5=&o1=1&o6=&o4=&o3=&s=adjective (of or relating to or functioning as an adjective) "adjectival syntax"; "an adjective clause"

CalifJim · Answer

Confusion of terminology is the problem there.

Yes. And the problem runs even deeper into the whole idea of word classes ("parts of speech"). In your example, the obvious question is "Does the noun (television) remain a noun when used as an adjective, or does it become an adjective, or does it become both a noun and an adjective at the same time?"

We often speak of words as having fixed membership in a word class (noun, adjective, verb, ...) when in fact maybe we should speak of them as taking these membership properties quite flexibly from their functional context.

At various times students are told that tomorrow is an adverb, an adjective, a noun.
In the sentence below, it's a noun used as an adjective in a phrase used as an adverb. Or is it something else?

I'll talk to you about it tomorrow morning.

More to the point, who really cares? I know that millions of people use the word tomorrow correctly in all contexts without ever knowing which part of speech it is! Or even what a "part of speech" is! And yet, in some class rooms, hours and hours of instructional time is wasted on the most minute parsing of such structures.

You're right. It's confusion.
CJ

MrPedantic · Answer

MilkyA noun is never an adjective, but it we say that certain nouns can be used adjectivally (i.e. when adjectivally means "in an adjectival manner") to modify another noun. Confusion of terminology is the problem there.
Adverb

http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?o2=&o0=1&o7=&o5=&o1=1&o6=&o4=&o3=&s=adjectivally&i=0&h=0#c (adv) adjectivally (as an adjective; in an adjectival manner)
http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?o2=&o0=1&o7=&o5=&o1=1&o6=&o4=&o3=&s=adjectival&i=0&h=0#c (adj) adjectival, http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?o2=&o0=1&o7=&o5=&o1=1&o6=&o4=&o3=&s=adjective (of or relating to or functioning as an adjective) "adjectival syntax"; "an adjective clause"

If your definition of "adjectivally" is "as an adjective", there seems no reason why "as an adjective" shouldn't stand in the original sentence.

MrP

Milky · Answer

CalifJim
Confusion of terminology is the problem there.
Yes. And the problem runs even deeper into the whole idea of word classes ("parts of speech"). In your example, the obvious question is "Does the noun (television) remain a noun when used as an adjective, or does it become an adjective, or does it become both a noun and an adjective at the same time?"

To me it remains a noun and is being used adjectively.

We often speak of words as having fixed membership in a word class (noun, adjective, verb, ...) when in fact maybe we should speak of them as taking these membership properties quite flexibly from their functional context.

Hence the word "adjectival".

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You're right. It's confusion.
CJ

And then there's:

"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy"

Adjective behaving nominally.

Milky · Answer

<If your definition of "adjectivally" is "as an adjective", there seems no reason why "as an adjective" shouldn't stand in the original sentence.>

Did you miss this bit?

<<but it we say that certain nouns can be used adjectivally (i.e. when adjectivally means "in an adjectival manner")>>

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Quick definitions (adjectival)

adjective: of or relating to or functioning as an adjective (Example: "Adjectival syntax")

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What's your interpretation of "functioning as" above?

MrPedantic · Answer

"We can also use a noun as an adjective" = "we can use a noun adjectivally".

But I would prefer to hear from the original poster. We may be entirely on the wrong track, as far as he's concerned.

MrP

CalifJim · Answer

Adjective behaving nominally.

In other words, an adjective behaving like a noun (usually behaves).
Along with Mr. P. I don't see the difference between "can be used as an adjective" and "can be used adjectivally".
I, too, think the original poster might have had something different in mind in thinking that something was wrong with the statement shown in the top post of this thread.

CJ

So a noun is an adjective?

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