Page:A handbook of the Cornish language; Chiefly in its latest stages with some account of its history and literature.djvu/110



ADJECTIVES are primitive or derived. Primitive adjectives have no specially characteristic terminations. Derived adjectives are mostly formed by adding ek to a noun or verb, which may be said to answer to ous, ful, etc., in English. Thus:-
 * gallos, power; gallosek, powerful.
 * own, fear; ownek, fearful.
 * lowena, joy; lowenek, joyful.
 * marthes, wonder; marthesek, marvellous.
 * moreth, grief; morethek, mournful.
 * ponfos, trouble; ponlosek, troubled.
 * anfes, misfortune; anfesek, unfortunate.
 * whans, desire; wkansek, desirous.
 * colon, heart; colonnek, hearty.

The feminine of an adjective is formed in two ways.

1. By changing the initial to the second state, if it is mutable. This only happens when the adjective follows a feminine singular noun. When the adjective precedes the noun, singular or plural, and when it follows a masculine singular noun or a plural of either gender, the initial of the adjective remains in its first state, unless by reason of other circumstances than agreement, e.g. preceding prepositions, pronouns, etc., or when the article an precedes an adjective qualifying a noun of feminine singular. Unlike Breton, but like Welsh, an adjective qualifying and following a masculine plural does not change.