英語表語形容詞和定語形容詞的用法說明

大家知道，形容詞既可作定語又可作表語，但是，有些形容詞只用于名詞前作定語，它們被稱為定語形容詞；而另有一些形容詞則只用作表語，它們被稱為表語形容詞。

1. 常見的定語形容詞有elder(年歲較大的), eldest(最年長的), indoor(室內的), outdoor(室外的), daily(每天的), everyday(每天的), weekly(每周的), monthly(每月的), yearly(每后的), last(最后的), wooden(木制的), woolen(毛紡的)等。如：

The elder sister takes care of the young children. 姐姐照顧弟妹。

Her elder daughter, in whom she placed the greatest trust, failed to match her expectations. 她的長女，她對之無比信任，卻辜負了她的期望。

His eldest boy’s at school; the other is still at home. 他的大兒子在上學，另一個還呆在家里。

Some rich people have indoor swimming pools. 有些富人家有室內游泳池。

Football and cricket are outdoor games. 足球和板球都是室外運動。

That singer gives outdoor concerts in the summer. 那位歌手在夏天舉辦露天音樂會。

The paper published a daily column of English. 這家報紙每天出一個英語專欄。

Morning exercise is his everyday routine. 他每天早晨都要鍛煉。

My weekly allowance is $50. 我每周的零花錢是50美元。

We send them monthly reports in order that they may have full information about the progress. 我們把每月的報告送給他們，這樣他們就可以對進度完全了解。

The mean yearly rainfall is 20 inches. 年平均降雨量為20英寸。

An old wooden box did duty for a table. 一個舊木箱當作桌子用。

There is not much of a market for woolen clothes in a tropical country. 在熱帶國家，毛料衣服沒有多大銷路。

2. 常見的表語形容詞有afraid(害怕的), alike(相同的), alive(活著的), alone(單獨的), ashamed(羞愧的), asleep(睡著的), awake(醒著的), aware(意識到的), ill(有病的), well(身體健康的), glad(高興的), pleased(高興的), sorry(難過的), content(滿意的), fond(喜歡的)等。如：

I was afraid the dog might bite me. 我怕那狗會咬我。

The twins are so much alike that I never know which is which. 這對雙胞胎長得很相像，我從來都分不清哪個是哪個。

She still clings to the belief that her son is alive. 她仍然堅信她的兒子還活著。

Although the old man is not alone, he feels lonely. 雖然那位老人不是獨自一個人，但他卻感到孤寂。

She was ashamed of her children’s (bad) behavior. 她因為她的孩子不規矩而感到羞愧。

It was considerate of you not to play the piano while I was asleep. 在我睡覺時你不彈鋼琴，你真是體貼人。

In bed he lay wide awake. 他睡意全無地躺在床上。

Everybody is aware of its importance. 每個人都意識到了它的重要性。

He was so ill that he brought up everything. 他病得很重，什么都吐了出來。

We are glad to have the opportunity to visit[of visiting, for visiting] this beautiful city. 我們很高興有這個機會參觀這座美麗的城市。

I’m pleased because the price of butter has gone down. 我很高興黃油降價了。

He was content just to sit in front of the television all day. 他只要整天坐在電視機前就心滿意足了。

He is a good man excepting that he is too fond of drinking. 他是個好人，可就是太愛喝酒。

注意：關于表語形容詞和定語形容詞的用法并不是絕對的，當它們表示的意思發生變化，其用法也可能隨之變化，如 ill 表示“生病的”通常只用表語，但表示“壞的”時，卻通常只用作定語。