Learn English – Is the phrase “the alive animal” grammatically correct

adjectivesgrammaticality

Is it wrong to use the phrase "The alive animal"?

Is it alright to say, "The animal was alive."?

Best Answer

The animal was alive is a correct sentence. The alive animal is a noun phrase and therefore not a sentence, since at the very least it is missing a verb.

Having said that, I interpret the question as asking whether it is possible to place the adjective alive in front of a noun. In other words, can alive be used attributively? Most adjectives can be used both attributively (before the noun) and predicatively (following a copula such as the verbs to be, to seem, to look). So happy can be used both attributively and predicatively:

  • The happy child [played in the sand].
  • The child looked happy.

But some adjectives can only be used predicatively; they cannot be used attributively. Alive is one such adjective, so the alive animal is ungrammatical. There are many other non-attributive adjectives beginning with the letter a. For example, it is ungrammatical to say:

  • *the afraid child ..
  • *the asleep child ..
  • *the alone child ..

Other adjectives can only be used attributively; they cannot be used predicatively. For example:

  • my maiden aunt (*my aunt is maiden)
  • my sole pleasure (*my pleasure is sole).
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