Attributivum

Attributivum is a linguistic term used mainly in German grammar to describe an attributive modifier that directly precedes a noun and modifies its meaning. In this position, the word that serves as the attribute—commonly an adjective, but potentially other modifiers—belongs to the noun phrase and generally agrees with the noun in gender, number, and case. The attributive use contrasts with predicative use, where an adjective follows a linking verb (such as sein) and does not directly modify a noun.

In German, attributive adjectives inflect according to the determiner or article that accompanies the noun, following strong, weak, or mixed declension patterns. For example, nach bestimmten Artikeln wird aus “groß” oft “großer” (der große Mann), während bei keinem Artikel die Form stärker variiert (große Häuser). The endings reflect the grammatical role of the noun and the presence or absence of a determiner.

Beyond German, the general idea of attributive modification exists in many languages. In English, attributive adjectives typically appear before the noun without extensive inflection (a big dog). In other languages, adjectives may agree more extensively with nouns, or the word order can differ, but the basic notion of an attributive modifier preceding the noun remains common.

Originating from Latin usage, the term Attributivum in modern grammatical analysis denotes this attributive function within noun phrases. See also attributive position, predicative adjective, and adjective declension.