barAdjektive

barAdjektive is a term used in linguistic typology to describe a subclass of adjectives that can appear in bare form—without a determiner or with minimal inflection—in certain syntactic contexts. The label highlights the idea of “bare” usage, and the concept is most commonly encountered in discussions in German-language linguistics and in cross-linguistic typology.

The distribution and interpretation of barAdjektive vary by language. They are often discussed in relation to attributive versus predicative positions and may occur after numerals or demonstratives, or in predicative clauses after a copular verb in languages that allow determinerless predicates. In languages with explicit determiner systems, bare adjectives are typically restricted to specific semantic classes, such as colors, sizes, or inherent properties, and may show reduced or absent agreement with the noun.

Morphologically, barAdjektive tend to be uninflected or to show limited inflection, and they may lack gender, number, or case marking that would be present in fully inflected attributive adjectives in other languages. This can reflect a broader tendency toward determinerless noun phrases in certain syntactic environments or a reduced adjective paradigm in particular languages.

Examples are primarily hypothetical or drawn from typological surveys, illustrating contexts in which adjectives can occur without a determiner or with minimal marking. The term barAdjektive is not universally standardized; some scholars prefer to describe the phenomenon as bare adjective usage or unmarked attributive adjectives depending on their analytic emphasis.

See also: bare noun, bare noun phrases, attributive adjective, predicative adjective, determinerless construction.