Preliminary Recommendations

 

Degree

Attribute Value Gr. example Gr. tag

Degree basic psylos AjBa

comparative psyloteros AjCp

superlative psylotatos AjSu

Almost all adjectives have a form for the value basic. Some of them form the comparative and the superlative degree in one of the following ways:

1. Periphrastically, on the basis of the basic form and a word/phrase denoting comparison:

   Comparative: ``pio kalos'', ``lighotero kalos'', ``to idhio kalos''.
   Superlative: ``o pio kalos'', ``o lighotero kalos''.

   This type of formation can only be dealt with in corpora by multiword tagging, while no information on this is to be coded in the lexicon.

2. Certain adjectives can also form the comparative degree (denoting superiority) by the addition of `-ter-' between the stem and the ending, and the superlative by `-tat-':

   Basic: `puknos', `psylos'.
   Comparative: `puknoteros', `psyloteros'.
   Superlative: `puknotatos', `psylotatos'.

3. A few adjectives form the comparative and superlative degree monolectically, using a different stem or a different ending from the normal one:

   Basic: `kalos', `meghalos', `aplos'.
   Comparative: `kaluteros', `meghaluteros', `aplousteros'.
   Superlative: `kallistos', `meghistos', `aploustatos'.

4. A few adjectives are found only in the comparative and superlative degree; this is explained by the fact that they are derived from the basic form of an adverb:

   Basic: `anw', `katw' -- adverb.
   Comparative: `anwteros', `katwteros' -- adjective.
   Superlative: `anwtatos', `katwtatos' -- adjective.