In the phrase "a stiffening chill", is "stiffening" an adjective? The dictionary says that Stiffening is a present participle of the verb stiffen, or a noun.
Thanks.
4 Answers
Yes, it is. "Stiffening" is the present participle of the verb "to stiffen." The present participle of nearly all verbs can be used as adjectives.
answered Jan 5, 2016 at 8:04
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1Like walking stick, frying pan, or swimming shorts - though I've noticed a tendency to drop the ...ing so we now get fry pan, and swim shorts. How ridiculous!– WS2Jan 5, 2016 at 8:55
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You know, I've heard people say 'fry pan' and 'swim shorts', but until now, I never really registered it. Still, relating it to the question, a 'stiff wind' sounds like a strong or unyielding wind, while a 'stiffening wind' sounds like a bracing, cold wind. On that same note, maybe we'd do better to call a 'walking stick' a 'walk stick', for 'walking stick' has always conjured images in my mind of a stick getting up and walking about on its own, like Mickey Mouse's broom in Fantasia. (By the way, I would love to know how you manage to italicize words in comments as I haven't the option.) Jan 6, 2016 at 3:28
The word stiffening in this context is indeed an adjective derived from a verb.
My English-German dictionary tells me, it is an adjective. Source
stiffening {adj}
In German, we call something like this a pseudo-participle.
Clearly the use is adjectival, and the form is a verb in present participle form. I would cautiously argue this might be a gerundive, oft thought not to exist in English. I think the question is whether stiffening describes whether the chill itself is becoming stiff (in which case it's merely a participle), or whether it indicates something else is (e.g. the person the chill hits). I think the latter is the case. Therefore, at least according to this, it might be a gerundive.
On the other hand the existence of such a part of speech in English appears controversial: "There is no grammatical equivalent [to the Latin gerundive] in English, and the term is rarely used" (Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar, 2014).; in that case I would suppose it is an adjective derived from the verb taking the form of the present participle.
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I am not a language scholar, but I found this answer very informative. I'd say that the word in question is functioning as an adjective even if this rare part of speech is the more technical answer.– TecBratJan 5, 2016 at 17:08
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If you are sailing in a stiffening breeze, the wind is getting stronger, and it is time to think about reefing. However, stiffening ribs in a structure make the structure stronger. Jan 5, 2016 at 17:22
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@BrianDrummond that's partly my fault. The question isn't 'a stiffening breeze' (as I miscopied, and which means exactly what you say) but 'a stiffening chill' (now edited to fix it). Does a 'a stiffening chill' mean a chill that is intensifying? Or one that makes one stiff with cold? On reflection I think it's different from the chewing gum example ('gum which should be chewed') which is closer to a Latin gerundive.– ablighJan 5, 2016 at 17:25
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If you can talk about a "stiff chill" - I think you can, as with a breeze - then surely either is a valid interpretation, resolved by context - e.g. "nightfall brought on a stiffening chill", suggests increasing cold as time passes. Jan 5, 2016 at 17:34
It is an attributive verb and more specifically a deverbal adjective.
Attributive verb is a verb that expresses the attribute of a noun.
A deverbal adjective is the one which is similar in the form as participles but behaves grammatically as adjectives.
It was a very intimidating thought.
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