Most 'Y with X' forms have Y as a verb – riddled with holes, filled with joy – but there are some commonly used examples where Y is an adjective. Is that a generally accepted construction that may be extended, or are those exceptions – isolated affectations that have slipped into general usage?
Is it reasonable to say ‘intricate with X’ in the same sense one might say ‘thick with flies’ or ‘vast with greed’
adjectivesprepositions
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I fear your categorization is based on unsound foundations, but let's just look at along:
The signs were on buildings along Main Street.
Passive.
He traveled along roads that were long and painted purple.
Active.
Assuming that I correctly understand how you're categorizing prepositions, then it's a preposition that can be in either state.
This is a perfect example of a prescriptivist approach to grammar teaching as opposed to a descriptivist approach. As long as the rules put forth actually match how language is used and how it is actually perceived by educated speakers, such rules are fine, but in this case Farlex's rule neither matches common, accepted usage, nor is it accurate enough to serve as guidance on use in different registers or text genres. The rule they propose is imperfect, as your own analysis has shown.
The concept of gradable and ungradable (absolute) adjectives and adverbs is correct, but Farlex's definition is too inflexible. There are adjectives which conceptually do not have degrees or gradations and there are those that do, but there are many adjectives which can be understood either in absolute terms, or with some amount of gradation.
Examples: Dead. An organism is either alive or dead, there is no in between. However, it can be conceived of as being an ongoing process or state. A battery, for example, can be too low on power to run a device, but still have enough power to become "more dead". "That battery is nearly dead," vs. "That battery is completely dead."
Perfect. Either something is perfect or it is not. However, this too can be subject to a different conception. Achieving perfection can be seen as an ongoing process which can have degrees of completion. Something with no flaws or mistakes can gain greater detail. "That was a perfect answer" "Adding usage makes the answer even more perfect."
While certain conceptions of particular adjectives are more informal or artistic in nature, meaning it would be best to steer clear of them in formal texts or registers, others are more dependent on having a clear understanding of the concept involved. This added nuance does not lend itself to a simple list as the grammar book attempted.
So, you are right in your analysis--the book's grammar rule here is flawed.
Best Answer
It is idiomatic ; the following page provides numerous examples of that usage : intricate with.
I'd say that most examples are of recent origin but there are a few to be found already in the 19th century.
(ref. 1857) in so many involutions , in passages so intricate with quips and puns and worthless trivialities , so uninviting or so marred with their superficial meanings , that no one would think of looking in them for anything of any value.