The basic values of the degcmp grammateme are represented in Table 5.9, "Values of the degcmp grammateme".
Table 5.9. Values of the degcmp grammateme
pos |
positive |
comp |
comparative |
sup |
superlative |
acomp |
elative (absolute comparative) |
The degcmp grammateme is a tectogrammatical correlate of the (adjectival/adverbial) category of degree.
The grammateme is relevant for:
denominating semantic adjectives (sempos = adj.denot; see Section 6.2.1, "Denominating semantic adjectives"),
gradable denominating semantic adverbs that cannot be negated (sempos = adv.denot.grad.nneg; see Section 6.3.3, "Gradable denominating semantic adverbs that cannot be negated"),
gradable denominating semantic adverbs that can be negated (sempos = adv.denot.grad.neg; see Section 6.3.4, "Gradable denominating semantic adverbs that can be negated").
All non-comparative/non-superlative forms of semantic adjectives have the pos value in the grammateme. The values comp and sup usually correspond to morphological comparatives and superlatives.
As for the adverbs (the subgroups b and c), the grammateme value also usually corresponds to the value of the morphological category.
Examples:
příjemnější hudba[degcmp=comp] (=nicer music)
nejlépe strávený večer[degcmp=sup] (=an evening spent in the best way)
The acomp value. A special value of the degree grammateme, which does not have a correlate in the morphological degree, is the value acomp. It is assigned to nodes representing the so called absolute comparative (elative), i.e. a frozen comparative form not expressing comparison. The acomp value was assigned to nodes representing adjectives e.g. in the following cases:
muž tmavší pleti [degcmp=acomp] (=a man of darker skin)
starší žena [degcmp=acomp] (=an elder(ly) woman)
When it is not possible to decide whether the comparative is the absolute or the common one, both values are assigned.