You are none the worse for the experience.
a)
if the worst comes to the worst – в худшем случае
e.g.
If the worst comes to the worst, I
can always go back home to my parents.
g) to go from bad to worse – становиться все хуже и хуже
e.g.
Thinks went from bad to worse in the
family.
h) as best
- в полную меру старания, как только
можно
e.g.
He made a living as best he could.
i) at (the) best - в лучшем случае
e.g.
She cannot get away from her home for long. At
(the) best she can stay with us for two days.
Substantivization of Adjectives.
Sometimes adjectives become substantivized. In this case they have the
functions of nouns in the sentence and are always preceded by the definite
article. Substantivized adjectives may have two meanings:
1)
They
may indicate a class of persons in a general sense (e.g. the poor = poor people, the dead = dead people, etc.) Such
adjectives are plural in meaning and take a plural verb.
e.g.
The old receive pensions.
The
young are always romantic, aren’t they?
The
blind are taught trades in special schools.
If we wish to denote a single person we must
add a noun.
e.g.
The old man receives a pension.
If we wish to refer to a particular group of
persons (not the whole class), it is aslo necessary to add a noun.
e.g.
The young are usually intolerant.
The
young men are fishing.
Some adjectives denoting nationalities (e.g.
English, French, Dutch) are used in
the same way.
e.g.
The English are great lovers of tea.
There were a few English people among the tourists.
2)
Substantivized
adjectives may also indicate an abstract notion. Then they are singular in
meaning and take a singular verb.
e.g.
The good in him overweighs the bad.
My mother never lost her taste for extravagant.
Syntactic Functions of Adjectives.
Adjectives may serve in the sentence as:
1)
an
attribute
e.g.
Do you see the small green boat,
which has such an odd shape?
The lights of the farm blazed out in the
windy darkness.
Adjectives used as attributes usually
immediately precede the noun. Normally there is no pause between the adjective
and the noun. Such attributes are called close attributes.
However, an adjective placed in pre-position
to the noun may be separated from it by a pause. Then it becomes a loose
attribute.
e.g.
Clever and tactful, George listened
to my story with deep concern.
Yet loose attributes are more often found in
post-position to the noun.
e.g.
My father, happy and tired, kissed me
good-night.
2)
a
predicative
e.g.
Her smile was almost professional.
He looked mature, sober and calm.
3)
part
of a compound verbal predicate
e.g.
He stood silent, with his back turned
to the window.
She lay motionless, as if she were asleep.
4)
an
objective predicative
e.g.
I thought him very intelligent.
She wore her hair short.
5)
a
subjective predicative
e.g.
The door was closed tight.
Her hair was dyed blonde.
It should be noted that most adjectives can
be used both attributively and predicatively, but some, among them those beginning
with a-, can be used only as
predicatives (e.g. afraid, asleep, along,
alive, awake, ashamed and also content,
sorry, well, ill, due, etc.)
A few adjectives can be used only as attributes (e.g. outer, major, minor, only, whole, former,
latter and some others)
Position of Adjectives.
1 Most adjectives can be used in a
noun group, after determiners and numbers if there are any, in front of the
noun.
e.g. He had a beautiful smile.
She
bought a loaf of white bread.
There
was no clear evidence.
2
Most adjectives can also be used after a link verb such as ‘be’,
‘become’, or ‘feel’.
e.g. I'm cold.
I felt
angry.
Nobody
seemed amused.
3.
Some adjectives are normally used only after a link verb.
afraid |
asleep |
due |
ready |
unable |
For example, we can say ‘She was glad’, but you do not
talk about ‘a glad woman’.
I wanted to be alone.
We were getting ready for bed.
I'm not quite sure.
He didn't know whether to feel glad or sorry.