All adjectives are characterized by a set of lexical and grammatical features. On this basis, they can be divided into two large categories. These are qualitative and relative adjectives. They can be distinguished by several parameters: in form and meaning, in morphemic composition, if possible, form new words, and in what syntactic relations they enter with other members of a sentence or phrase.
Qualitative adjectives directly call those properties and qualities of an object that are perceived by all senses, and those that give objects an assessment, qualify them. They also describe the physical condition of animals and people.
Quality adjectives are non-derivative and derivative. In the first case, the trait is already expressed by the semantics of the root itself (evil, deaf, white, stupid, blue). Qualitative names of adjective derivatives formed in a suffix way express the properties of an object precisely with the help of this morpheme: tempting, talkative, hairy. Moreover, the semantics of the suffix always has an individual character, its relation to the generating basis is differentiated. High-quality adjectives can also be created by the addition method. Then they include a motivating basis: long-armed, light blue.
There is also the opposite process, when other parts of speech are formed from qualitative adjectives, for example, qualitative adverbs and nouns related to the abstract category with the value of evaluating something: beauty, blue, tenderness; good, humane, stupid.
This type of adjective can be used both in full and in short form; it has several degrees of comparison.
High-quality adjectives are able to make up such phrases that express the intensity of some attribute: very quiet, frighteningly dark, extremely kind.
And the last: these adjectives have the opposite meaning, that is, antonyms. For example, clean - dirty, good - evil, quiet - loud.
All the signs listed above should not be considered absolute, since you can not attribute them in a complex to each individual adjective from the category of qualitative ones. But they can be taken as a basis to determine the lexical-grammatical type of this part of speech. After all, these signs are constantly found in high-quality adjectives, only in different volumes. Even if you take into account one of the properties indicated above, it will still help determine the rank of the adjective. For example, the adjective βmarriedβ cannot be ranked as relative in only one way - the presence of a short form.
To distinguish this category of adjectives from qualitative allows a number of signs. So, relative adjectives are not able to form new words related to other parts of speech. This is possible only if they transfer to the category of quality: surface study - study superficially.
In addition to form, they are not formed from relative adjectives and degrees of comparison.
Also, they do not build syntactic relations expressing the intensity of some attribute.
The meaning of high-quality adjectives is quite stable. Only in terms of terms do they acquire partial relativity. For example, light industry, ferrous metallurgy, voiced consonant.
And relative adjectives, on the contrary, easily lose their relativity and acquire shades of qualitative significance. For example, copper wire and copper color, gold earrings and a gold character.
And in general, a relative adjective is used instead of a qualitative adjective so often that this property can be considered its potential.