adjectivepresent

Adjectivepresent is a hypothetical grammatical category applied to adjectives to indicate present-state semantics. It marks that the property denoted by the adjective holds at the reference time. The term is used mainly in linguistic typology and conlang literature, and it is not widely attested as a standard feature of established natural languages.

Realization and syntax: Adjectivepresent can be realized in several ways, including as a suffix attached to the adjective root, as a separate clitic, or as an independent word preceding the adjective. It commonly occurs in predicative constructions with or without a copula and may require some agreement with the noun in number or gender in certain systems. It is distinct from tense or aspect marking on verbs and from mood marking on adjectives in languages that do not separately mark present state.

Semantics and typology: The category encodes immediacy or current existence of a property, functioning similarly to stative predicates but formally marked on the adjective itself. Cross-linguistic parallels include present-tense or experiential readings of predicates; however, present-state marking on adjectives is rare in natural languages, and discussions of adjectivepresent are mostly theoretical or found in conlang and typology literature.

Examples (fictional): In language L, adjectives bear a present marker -pa. The noun phrase “the tall-present boy” can be glossed as “the boy who is tall right now.” In predicative position, “The tree tallpa” translates as “The tree is tall at the present moment.”

See also: tense, aspect, mood, copula, stative verb, grammatical category, constructed language.