Hello, I'm an expert in linguistics with a focus on English grammar and usage. When it comes to the placement of verbs and adjectives in a sentence, it's important to understand the structure and function of each part of speech.
In English, the general rule is that verbs come before adjectives when they are used to describe the action or state of a subject. Verbs are action words that express what the subject is doing or what is happening to the subject. Adjectives, on the other hand, are descriptive words that modify or describe nouns or pronouns.

However, the placement of adjectives can vary depending on their function in a sentence. Adjectives are typically placed before the nouns they modify, forming what is known as an attributive position. For example, in the sentence "The red car is fast," "red" is an adjective that describes the noun "car."

But when adjectives are used with linking verbs, particularly forms of "to be" or sensory verbs, they follow the verb in a position known as a predicative position. Linking verbs connect the subject of a sentence to additional information about that subject. In this case, the adjective is not describing the noun directly but is part of a subject-complement structure that describes a state or condition of the subject.

Here's an example to illustrate this: "She is beautiful." In this sentence, "beautiful" is a predicative adjective that comes after the linking verb "is" to describe the state of the subject "she."

It's also worth noting that some adjectives can function as both attributive and predicative. For instance, "happy" can be used before a noun as in "a happy child" or after a linking verb as in "The child is happy."

In summary, while verbs generally precede adjectives in a sentence, the specific placement of adjectives depends on whether they are attributive (modifying a noun directly) or predicative (part of a subject-complement structure following a linking verb). Understanding these distinctions is crucial for constructing grammatically correct and stylistically varied sentences in English.

read more >>

Adjective and Verb Placement: Grammar Rules. Grammarly. Adjectives are usually placed before the nouns they modify, but when used with linking verbs, such as forms of to be or --sense-- verbs, they are placed after the verb. The latter type of adjective is called a predicative adjective.read more >>