4.5.1. Prenominal vs. postnominal adjectives
Attributive adjectives have the function of modifying a noun [LEXICON 3.4.1]. They can denote quality (e.g. interesting), size (e.g. big), color (e.g. red), provenance (e.g. japanese), value (e.g. expensive), among others. These adjectives can only appear after the noun they modify, as shown in the examples below.
a) jordi book interesting buy.
‘Jordi bought an interesting book.’
b) yesterday bag small sell.
‘Yesterday I sold a small bag.’
c) maria chair red buy.
‘Maria bought a red chair.’
d) maria tea japanese like.
‘Maria likes Japanese tea.’
e) maria vase expensive buy.
‘Maria bought an expensive vase.’
If the information related to the denotation provided by the adjective is already known in the discourse, though, the adjective can also precede the noun it modifies, as in the example below. The typical non-manual markers used to indicate a previously introduced referent [PRAGMATICS 1] such as squinted eyes are present.
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yesterday small bag sell.
‘Yesterday I sold a small bag.’