6 Adjectives - Predicative-only

Adjectives are determiners that can be placed in two different positions within a sentence to modify or describe a person or a thing.

Some adjectives are only used in predicative position.

Predicative-only Adjectives can only be placed after verbs. Their position in the sentence is as follows:
Subject + verb + predicative adjective.

Predicative Adjectives:

1. Afraid;
2. Asleep;
3. Alike;
4. Alone;
5. Ashamed;
6. Awake;
7. Aware.

Most Predicative Adjectives begin with the letter “a“.

1. Afraid
   • She is afraid of her boss.
2. Asleep
   • He’s been asleep for 10 hours.
3. Alike
   • John and Tim look alike.
4. Alone
   • She enjoys being alone.
5. Ashamed
   • They were ashamed after everyone learned their secret.
6. Awake
   • Is the baby awake?
7. Aware
   • I am aware of the result.

We use Adjectives to modify or describe a person or a thing. Some of these Adjectives are:

1. Afraid: Feeling fear;
2. Asleep: Sleeping;
3. Alike: Similar to each other;
4. Alone: Without other people;
5. Ashamed: Embarrassed or guilty because of one’s actions, characteristics etc.;
6. Awake: Not sleeping;
7. Aware: Having knowledge or perception of a situation or fact.

Adjectives placed after a noun are called Predicative Adjectives. There are adjectives which can only be placed after nouns and these are called Predicative-only Adjectives. Some of these Adjectives are afraid, asleep, alike, alone, ashamed, awake, aware.

You can see the position of these Adjectives following this structure:
Subject + verb + predicative adjective (e.g. He wasn’t aware of his surroundings.).

For example:
— “He wasn’t aware of his surroundings.” = Aware of is only used after a verb.

Let’s revise this content within the [Form] section. Take a look at the [Example] section that shows its use within a context.