On pre-nominal classifying adjectives in Polish 223
tic and pragmatic interpretation of classifying adjectives which occur in the pre-head
position in a noun phrase. Conclusions are stated in Section 7.
- Classifying vs. qualifying adjectives (Rutkowski & Progovac 2005
and Rutkowski 2007, 2009 , 2012 )
Descriptive as well as prescriptive grammars of Polish (among others, Nagórko 1997
and Jadacka 2005) emphasize the distinction between qualifying and classifying
attributive adjectives.^2 This dichotomy is regarded as crucial for the interpretation and
placement of adjectival modifiers in a noun phrase in Polish. Classifying adjectives
(CAs) are expected to occur in the post-nominal position and they express essen-
tial (inherent) features of entities denoted by head nouns. Qualifying adjectives (QAs)
describe incidental properties of such entities and they typically precede their heads.
(1) a. fizyk jądrowy
physicist nuclear
‘a nuclear physicist (i.e. a specialist in nuclear physics)’
b. młody fizyk
young physicist
‘a physicist who is young’
c. młody fizyk jądrowy
young physicist nuclear
‘a nuclear physicist who is young’
Moreover, classifying and qualifying adjectives in Polish differ in their morphological
and syntactic behaviour. Classifying adjectives are usually infelicitous in the predica-
tive usage. They are not gradable and do not form abstract nouns. Qualifying adjec-
tives are usually gradable, can give rise to abstract nouns terminating in the suffix -ość
and can occur in the predicative position.
(2) a. ?Ten fizyk jest jądrowy
this physicist is nuclear
‘This physicist is a nuclear physicist.’
b. bardzo jądrowy fizyk
very nuclear physicist
‘?a very nuclear physicist’
c. *jądrowość
nuclear+ness
‘the quality of being nuclear’
- Modifiers of the former type are referred to, in Polish, as przydawki charakteryzujące
‘characterizing/describing attributes’, whereas those of the latter type as przydawki gatunkujące
‘classifying attributes’.