Chapter 24

233. 1. The word with which an Adjective agrees is called its Subject.

2. Attributive and Predicate Adjectives. An Attributive Adjective is one that limits its subject directly; as,--

vir sapiēns, _a wise man_.

A Predicate Adjective is one that limits its subject through the medium of a verb (usually esse); as,--

vir est sapiēns, _the man is wise_;

vir vidēbātur sapiēns, _the man seemed wise_;

vir jūdicātus est sapiēns, _the man was judged wise_;

hunc virum sapientem jūdicāvimus, _we adjudged this man wise_.

3. Participles and Adjective Pronouns have the construction of Adjectives.

AGREEMENT OF ADJECTIVES.

234. Agreement with One Noun. When an Adjective limits one noun it agrees with it in Gender, Number, and Case.

1. Two Adjectives in the Singular may limit a noun in the Plural, as; prīma et vīcēsima legiōnēs, _the first and twentieth legions_.

2. A Predicate Adjective may stand in the Neuter when its Subject is Masculine or Feminine and denotes a thing; as,--

omnium rērum mors est extrēmum, _death is the end of all things_.

235. Agreement with Two or More Nouns.

A. AGREEMENT AS TO NUMBER.

1. When the Adjective is Attributive, it regularly agrees in number with the nearest noun; as,--

pater tuus et māter, _your father and mother_;

eadem alacritās et studium, _the same eagerness and zeal_.

2. When the Adjective is Predicative, it is regularly Plural; as,--

pāx et concordia sunt pulchrae, _peace and concord are glorious_.

B. AGREEMENT AS TO GENDER.

1. When the Adjective is Attributive, it regularly agrees in gender with the nearest noun; as,--

rēs operae multae ac labōris, _a matter of much effort and labor_.

2. When the Adjective is Predicative--

a) If the nouns are of the same gender, the Adjective agrees with them in gender; as,--

pater et fīlius captī sunt, _father and son were captured_.

Yet with feminine abstract nouns, the Adjective is more frequently Neuter; as,--

stultitia et timiditās fugienda sunt, _folly and cowardice must be shunned_.

b) If the nouns are of different gender; then,--

α) In case they denote persons, the Adjective is Masculine; as,--

pater et māter mortuī sunt, _the father and mother have died_.

β) In case they denote things, the Adjective is Neuter; as,--

honōrēs et victōriae fortuīta sunt, _honors and victories are accidental._

γ) In case they include both persons and things, the Adjective is,--

αα) Sometimes Masculine; as,--

domus, uxor, līberī inventī sunt, _home, wife, and children are secured._

ββ) Sometimes Neuter; as,--

parentēs, līberōs, domōs vīlia habēre, _to hold parents, children, houses cheap._

γγ) Sometimes it agrees with the nearest noun; as,--

populī prōvinciaeque līberātae sunt, _nations and provinces were liberated._

c) Construction according to Sense. Sometimes an Adjective does not agree with a noun according to strict grammatical form, but according to sense; as,--

pars bēstiīs objectī sunt, _part (of the men) were thrown to beasts._

ADJECTIVES USED SUBSTANTIVELY.

236. 1. PLURAL ADJECTIVES USED SUBSTANTIVELY. Adjectives are quite freely used as Substantives in the Plural. The Masculine denotes persons; the Neuter denotes things; as,--

doctī, _scholars_; parva, _small things_; malī, _the wicked_; magna, _great things_; Graecī, _the Greeks_; ūtilia, _useful things_; nostrī, _our men_.

2. Neuter Plural Adjectives thus used are confined mainly to the Nominative and Accusative cases. Such forms as magnōrum, omnium; magnīs, omnibus, would ordinarily lead to ambiguity; yet where there is no ambiguity, they sometimes occur; as,--

parvīs compōnere magna, _to compare great things with small_

Otherwise the Latin says: magnārum rērum, magnīs rēbus, etc.

237. SINGULAR ADJECTIVES USED SUBSTANTIVELY. Adjectives are less freely used as Substantives in the Singular than in the Plural.

1. Masculine Adjectives occur only occasionally in this use; as,--

probus invidet nēminī, _the honest man envies nobody_.

a. Usually vir, homō, or some similar word is employed; as,--

homō doctus, _a scholar_;

vir Rōmānus, _a Roman_.

b. But when limited by a pronoun any adjective may be so used; as,--

hīc doctus, _this scholar_;

doctus quīdam, _a certain scholar_.

2. Neuters are likewise infrequent; as,--

vērum, _truth_;

jūstum, _justice_;

honestum, _virtue_.

a. This substantive use of Neuter Singulars is commonest in the construction of the Genitive of the Whole, and after Prepositions; as,--

aliquid vērī, _something true_;

nihil novī, _nothing new_;

in mediō, _in the midst_.

238. From Adjectives which, like the above, occasionally admit the substantive use, must be carefully distinguished certain others which have become nouns; as,--

adversārius, _opponent_; hīberna, _winter quarters_; aequālis, _contemporary_; propinquus, _relative_; amīcus, _friend_; socius, _partner_; cognātus, _kinsman_; sodālis, _comrade_; vīcīnus, _neighbor_; etc.

ADJECTIVES WITH THE FORCE OF ADVERBS.

239. The Latin often uses an Adjective where the English idiom employs an Adverb or an adverbial phrase; as,--

senātus frequēns convēnit, _the senate assembled in great numbers_;

fuit assiduus mēcum, _he was constantly with me_.

COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES.

240. 1. The Comparative often corresponds to the English Positive with '_rather_,' '_somewhat_,' '_too_'; as,--

senectūs est loquācior, _old age is rather talkative._

2. So the Superlative often corresponds to the Positive with '_very_'; as,--

vir fortissimus, _a very brave man._

3. Strengthening Words. Vel and quam are often used with the Superlative as strengthening particles, vel with the force of '_very_,' and quam with the force of '_as possible_'; as,--

vel maximus, _the very greatest_;

quam maximae cōpiae, _as great forces as possible_.

4. Phrases of the type '_more rich than brave_' regularly take the Comparative in both members; as,--

exercitus erat dītior quam fortior, _the army was more rich than brave._

OTHER PECULIARITIES.

241. 1. Certain Adjectives may be used to denote _a part of an object_, chiefly prīmus, extrēmus, summus, medius, īnfimus, īmus; as,--

summus mōns, _the top of the mountain_;

extrēmā hieme, _in the last part of the winter_.

2. Prior, prīmus, ultimus, and postrēmus are frequently equivalent to a relative clause; as,--

prīmus eam vīdī, _I was the first who saw her_;

ultimus dēcessit, _he was the last who withdrew_.

3. When multus and another adjective both limit the same noun et is generally used; as,--

multae et magnae cōgitātiōnēs, _many (and) great thoughts_.

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