Attributiewe

Attributiewe refers to attributive adjectives, a category used in linguistics to describe adjectives that directly modify a noun as part of a noun phrase. In this position, the adjective supplies information about the noun and typically appears before the noun it modifies. Languages such as Dutch and Afrikaans routinely use attributive adjectives before the noun, as in phrases like de rode auto or die rooi motor; in English, attributive adjectives occur before the noun as in the red car.

The attributive position is contrasted with the predicative position, where the adjective appears after a linking verb and does not form part of the noun phrase. For example, in English one says the car is red, where red is predicative rather than attributive.

Morphology and agreement of attributive adjectives vary by language. In many languages, adjectives agree with the noun in aspects such as number, gender, or case, and may show definite or indefinite marking. In others, adjectives do not inflect for these categories or have limited agreement. This variation affects how attributive adjectives interface with determiners and the overall noun phrase structure.

In grammar descriptions, attributieve (attributive) adjectives are distinguished from predicatieve (predicative) adjectives to reflect their different syntactic roles and morphosyntactic behavior. Understanding attributieve usage helps explain how adjectives contribute meaning within noun phrases and how they interact with determiners, plurality, and definiteness across languages.