Chapter V The Adjective
Adjectives are primitive or derived. Primitive adjectives have no specially characteristic terminations. Derived adjectives are mostly formed by adding ek to a noun or verb, which may be said to answer to ous, ful, etc., in English. Thus:—
gallos, power; gallosek, powerful.
own, fear; ownek, fearful.
lowena, joy; lowenek, joyful.
marthes, wonder; marthesek, marvellous.
moreth, grief; morethek, mournful.
ponfos, trouble; ponfŏsek, troubled.
anfês, misfortune; anfêsek, unfortunate.
whans, desire; whansek, desirous.
colon, heart; colonnek, hearty.
The feminine of an adjective is formed in two ways.
1. By changing the initial to the second state, if it is mutable. This only happens when the adjective follows a feminine singular noun. When the adjective precedes the noun, singular or plural, and when it follows a masculine singular noun or a plural of either gender, the initial of the adjective remains in its first state, unless by reason of other circumstances than agreement, e.g. preceding prepositions, pronouns, etc., or when the article an precedes an adjective qualifying a noun of feminine singular. Unlike Breton, but like Welsh, an adjective qualifying and following a masculine plural does not change.
2. Rarely and irregularly, by the alteration of the root vowel as well as by the change of initial. This, however, though mentioned by Lhuyd and occasionally found in MSS., was practically obsolete long before his time.
The plural of adjectives is formed by the addition of yon or on. Rarely, chiefly in poetry, this plural is found in agreement with a plural noun, but usually qualifying adjectives are treated as indeclinable, but for the initial mutation, and the plural form is only used, as a general thing, when an adjective is used as a noun.
The normal position of the adjective is after the noun. Sometimes it precedes it, and in that case it changes the initial of the noun to the second state, unless the adjective is in the comparative or superlative degree, when the initial is unchanged. The adjectives that most commonly precede the noun are drôg, evil; hen, old; lên, full; hager, ugly; fals, false; cam, crooked. Mer, great, may come before or after.
The comparative degree is formed by adding ah and the superlative by adding a to the positive, but as in English they can also be formed by the use of moy, more, and moyha, most. There are, of course, the usual irregular comparisons. The comparative or superlative adjective usually precedes the noun which it qualifies, though for the sake of verse or on account of emphasis it may follow it, sometimes with the definite article intervening. Than after a comparative is es (older ys or ages) or vel.
Examples of the use of adjectives:—
Dên gallosek, a powerful man.
Benen deg, a fair woman.
Mergh dewon, or mergh dew, black horses.
Benenes teg, fair women.
An hen dhên, the old man. (The more usual expression is an den coth).
An hen venen, the old woman. (More usually an venen goth).
An lowenegyon, the joyful ones.
Brassah gallos, greater power.
gwîn a’n gwella / an gwella gwîn / gwîn gwella } the best wine.
whekkah es mel, sweeter than honey.
Bron Ewhella, the highest hill (now Brown Willy).
The irregular comparisons are:—
Da (or Mas), good; gwel, better; gwella, best.
Drôg, bad; gwêth, worse; gwêtha, worst; but generally lakkah, comparative of lak (loose, remiss, lax), is used to signify worse.
Mêr, great; moy, greater or more; moyha, greatest or most; but also bras, comp. brassah, super. brassa.
Bîan, little; leh, less; lŷha, least; but there is also a comp. behadnah, and super, behadna, from an earlier form, behan.
Ogas, near; nes, nearer; nessa, nearest.