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1.3.4.Evaluative adjectives

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Evaluative adjectives attribute some value to the modified noun. This is not done, however, by virtue of their own descriptive content (that is, we are not dealing with an “N is A" relation), but in a more indirect way. Neither do the evaluative adjectives establish a kind-of relation with some other entity, at least not synchronically speaking; although drommels in (151a) is derived from the obsolete noun drommel'devil', most present-day speakers will not be aware of this fact. The examples in (151) further show that evaluative adjectives can only be used attributively, and that modification by an intensifier is impossible.

151

a.	die	(*erg)	drommelse	jongen
	that	very	damned/devilish	boy
	'that damned boy'

Die jongen is drommels.

Evaluative adjectives normally express some negative value: drommels/duivels'devilish', bliksems (lit: lightning-ly), deksels'confounded', jammerlijk'deplorable', verrekt/verdomd'damned', vermaledijd'cursed'. Evaluative adjectives that express a positive value seem rare, if they exist at all; some potential positive examples are hemels'celestial', and idyllisch'idyllic', but since these examples can readily be used in predicative position, we may actually be dealing with set-denoting adjectives.

152

a.		een	hemelse	maaltijd
		a	celestial	dish

a'.		Deze maaltijd	is hemels.
		this dish	is celestial

b.		een	idyllische	plek
		an	idyllic	spot

b'.		Deze plek	is idyllisch.
		this spot	is idyllic

Occasionally, set-denoting adjectives may shift their meaning in the direction of evaluative adjectives. Some typical examples of this extended use are given in (153), in which the adjectives certainly do not denote an attribute of the head noun. Neither do they imply a kind-of relation. The primed examples show that due to the fact that these set-denoting adjectives do not denote a property of the modified noun, they cannot be used predicatively either.

153

a.		een	luie	stoel
		a	lazy	chair

a'.	*	Deze stoel	is/lijkt	lui.
		this chair	is/seems	lazy

b.		een	stoere	trui
		a	tough	sweater

b'.	*?	Deze trui	is/lijkt	stoer.
		this sweater	is/seems	tough

c.		een	verliefde	uitdrukking
		an	in.love	expression

c'.	*	De uitdrukking was/bleek	verliefd.
		the expression was/appeared	in.love

d.		een	kwade	dronk
		a	mean	drink

d'.	*	Deze dronk is/bleek	kwaad.
		this drink is/appeared	mean

The evaluation of the head noun expressed by the adjectives in (153) is established rather indirectly; (153a) expresses that we are dealing with a chair in which one can be lazy, (153b) expresses that we are dealing with a sweater that makes one feel/look tough, and (153c) refers to the expression one has when one is in love. The noun phrase een kwade dronk in (153d) is used in the fixed expression een kwade dronk hebben'to be quarrelsome in oneʼs cup'.
Observe that the attributively used adjectives in the primeless examples of (154) seem to be related to the adjunct middle construction in the doubly-primed examples; cf., e.g., Hoekstra & Roberts (1993) and Ackema & Schoorlemmer (2006). This construction is discussed in Section V3.2.2.3.

154

a.		een lekkere stoel
		a nice chair

a'.	*	Deze stoel is/lijkt lekker.
		this chair is/seems nice

a''.		Deze stoel zit lekker.
		This chair sits nicely

b.		een lekker mes
		a nice knife

b'.	*	Dit mes is lekker.
		this knife is nice

b''.		Dit mes snijdt	lekker.
		this knife cuts	nicely

When we are dealing with nouns such as opmerking'remark' or brief'letter', the evaluative adjective often refers to the supposed disposition of the source of the referent of the nominal phrase. The examples in (155) show that such phrases often function as the subject of the verb klinken'to sound'. In examples such as (156), the adjective may refer to the (resulting) mood of the perceiver.

155

a.		een	droevige	opmerking
		a	sad	remark

a'.		De opmerking	klinkt	droevig.
		the remark	sounds	sad

b.		de	emotionele	brief
		the	emotional	letter

b'.		De brief	klinkt	emotioneel.
		the letter	sounds	emotional

156

a.	een	vrolijk	concert
	a	merry	concert
	'a concert that makes one merry'

b.	een	opbeurende	boodschap
	an	up.cheering	message
	'a message that cheers one up'

Sometimes it is difficult to decide whether we are dealing with a set-denoting adjective in its regular or in its extended, evaluative use. Example (157a), for instance, certainly does not express the fact that it is the food that is in an unhealthy state. Still, the adjective ongezond can be used as a predicate of the noun phrase dit voedsel in (157b). Therefore, this adjective should probably not be considered an evaluative adjective, but an elliptic form of the complex AP voor mensen ongezond'unhealthy for people', which can likewise be used both as an attributive and as a predicative phrase.

157

a.		ongezond voedsel
		unhealthy food

a'.		voor mensen	ongezond	voedsel
		for people	unhealthy	food

b.		Dit voedsel	is ongezond.
		this food	is unhealthy

b'.		Dit voedsel	is voor mensen	ongezond.
		this food	is for people	unhealthy

References:

Ackema, Peter & Schoorlemmer, Maaike2006MiddlesEveraert, Martin & Riemsdijk, Henk van (eds.)The Blackwell companion to syntax3Malden, MA/OxfordBlackwell Publishing131-203
Hoekstra, Teun & Roberts, Ian1993Middle constructions in Dutch and EnglishReuland, Eric & Abraham, Werner (eds.)Knowledge of language2: lexical and conceptual structureDordrechtKluwer Academic Publishers183-220

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About this article

Author(s): Hans Broekhuis

Category: Dutch Syntax

Keywords: AdjectiveEvaluative AdjectiveAdjunct Middle

Version: 1.0, December 2015

Version history:

version	editor(s)	date	remarks
1.0	Hans Broekhuis	December 2015

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