Group items tagged adjective - LumpysCorner

shared by John Lemke on 17 Apr 14 - No Cached

The predicate nominative and predicate adjective complete the meaning of a state-of-being or linking verb. The most common linking verb is to be, with its forms am, is, are, was, were, being, been. Other verbs, like seem and appear, also function in this way.
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The predicate nominative (abbreviated PN) completes the verb and renames the subject of the verb. The predicate adjective (abbreviated PA) completes the verb and describes the subject.
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shared by John Lemke on 19 Jun 14 - No Cached

the present participle always ends in -ing.
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Used with helping verbs, the present participle forms the continuous tenses
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Used without a helping verb, the present participle functions as an adjective.
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shared by John Lemke on 11 Apr 14 - No Cached

The Chicago Manual of Style prescribes spelling out United States as a noun in running text and reserving US for the adjective form only. CMOS also prefers US without periods, to match the US postal codes like AR, MI, and WY.
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The AP Stylebook recognizes U. S. as a noun as well as an adjective. It calls for periods when the U.S. appears in a running text, but US without periods in a headline.
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When it comes to formal speaking and written text, however, reserve the abbreviation for adjectival use and write out United States as the noun.
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shared by John Lemke on 23 Feb 14 - No Cached

The earliest meaning of anecdote in English is “Secret, private, or hitherto unpublished narratives or details of history.” Later, the word came to have its present meaning: “The narrative of a detached incident, or of a single event, told as being in itself interesting or striking.”
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The adjective anecdotal dates from the 18th century. It can mean simply “pertaining to anecdotes,” but in modern usage it is often used in the sense of “unreliable.”
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shared by John Lemke on 29 Jun 14 - No Cached

cynic comes from a Greek word meaning “dog-like, currish, churlish.”
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The word cynosure comes from a Greek word meaning “dog’s tail.” This was the name given by the Greeks to the northern constellation Ursa Minor, the “Small Bear” in whose tail is the Pole-star, also known as the North Star. Because the North Star is bright and a means of finding the direction of north, the word cynosure acquired the figurative meaning of “something that is bright and serves as a guide.”
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In modern usage, a cynic is a person disposed to find fault with everything and to rant about it to everyone. A cynic trusts no one’s sincerity or good intentions. The adjective is cynical; the noun is cynicism.
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Unlike cynic, the word cynosure has positive connotations. A cynosure is someone or something that serves for guidance or direction, a “guiding star.
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