Postposed Adjectives

Adjectives Postposed

A postposed adjective is one which is part of a noun phrase but which follows the noun rather than preceding it. In effect, they are postmodifiers of the noun. Postposed adjectives are mainly found with indefinite pronouns as the head of the noun phrase (someone, anyone, etc.) or with particular adjectives (e.g. available, concerned).

Postposed Adjectives with Indefinite Pronouns

• Everything material has mass, and therefore everything causes gravity. (Webb 2021)
  
  The indefinite pronoun "everything" is the subject in the first part of this sentence, and it is modified by the postposed adjective "material" (which is a classifier).
• If this person leaves the organisation, someone similar needs to be found. (Charles and Keast 2016)
  
  The indefinite pronoun "someone" is the subject in the second part of this sentence, and it is modified by the postposed adjective "similar" (which is a classifier).
• Most of them wake up not knowing they did anything unusual until someone tells them. (Agostini 2019)
  
  The indefinite pronoun "anything" is modified by the postposed adjective "unusual" (which is a descriptor).

Adjectives frequently occurring as postposed after a noun.

The adjectives available, concerned, involved, possible are often found in the postposed position.

• Fortunately, there’s almost always some light available . (Fairchild 2019)
  
  The noun "light" is modified by the postposed adjective "available" (which is a classifier).
• The processes involved play a pivotal role in Earth’s climate and habitability. (Dutkiewicz et al. 2022)
  
  The noun "processes" is modified by the postposed adjective "involved".
• Life emerged by coming out of the pub, with the minimum complexity possible . (Guijarro-Clarke and Paps 2020)
  
  The noun "complexity" is premodified by the adjective "minimum" and postmodified by the postposed adjective "possible".

You can see more examples of postposed adjectives in the glossary.