| | Such words are usually present participles or words descended from them. Sometime present participles do become true adjectives. For example, consider "a '''reddening''' sky". "Reddening" is modifying a noun in attributive position (test 4), so one might think it an adjective. "Reddening" appears 159 times in [[COCA]], a 400 million word corpus of US English usage. In none of those uses does it appear after "too" or "very" (test 1), "more" or "most" (test 2), or forms of "become" (test 3). Not looking much like an adjective. | | Such words are usually present participles or words descended from them. Sometime present participles do become true adjectives. For example, consider "a '''reddening''' sky". "Reddening" is modifying a noun in attributive position (test 4), so one might think it an adjective. "Reddening" appears 159 times in [[COCA]], a 400 million word corpus of US English usage. In none of those uses does it appear after "too" or "very" (test 1), "more" or "most" (test 2), or forms of "become" (test 3). Not looking much like an adjective. |
| - | To confirm this one could try the same tests at Google Books, Google News, Google Scholar, and Usenet. These searches take more time to do properly but can find older and more unusual uses not found in other corpora. For example, a search for "too-reddening" at Google Books provides [http://books.google.com/books?lr=lang_en&as_brr=0&q=too-reddening&btnG=Search+Books eight apparent uses]. Of these, one is not accessible and seven have "too" separate from "reddening" by a comma. A search for "very-reddening" finds [http://books.google.com/books?lr=lang_en&as_brr=0&q=very-reddening&btnG=Search+Books three uses]. A search for use after forms of become finds [http://books.google.com/books?lr=lang_en&as_brr=0&q=become-reddening+|+becomes-reddening+|+became-reddening&btnG=Search+Books two possible uses]. But one is inaccessible and the other seems to involve the use of reddening not as an adjective, but as an adverb modifying "dependent". The search for comparative forms following "more" and "most" generates [http://books.google.com/books?lr=lang_en&as_brr=0&q=more-reddening+|+most-reddening+&btnG=Search+Books 316 uses]. The first page shows at least one probable qualifying use and 9 uses of "reddening" as a noun. The other 316 are left as an exercise for the reader. Also the possibilities of usage at News, Scholar, or Usenet. | + | To confirm this one could try the same tests at Google Books, Google News, Google Scholar, and Usenet. These searches take more time to do properly but can find older and more unusual uses not found in other corpora. For example, a search for "too-reddening" at Google Books provides [http://books.google.com/books?lr=lang_en&as_brr=0&q=too-reddening&btnG=Search+Books eight apparent uses]. Of these, one is not accessible and seven have "too" separate from "reddening" by a comma. A search for "very-reddening" finds [http://books.google.com/books?lr=lang_en&as_brr=0&q=very-reddening&btnG=Search+Books three uses]. A search for use after forms of become finds [http://books.google.com/books?lr=lang_en&as_brr=0&q=become-reddening+|+becomes-reddening+|+became-reddening&btnG=Search+Books two possible uses]. But one is inaccessible and the other seems to involve the use of reddening not as an adjective, but as a gerund (nominal) complement of "dependent" ("reddening dependent" = "dependent upon reddening"). The search for comparative forms following "more" and "most" generates [http://books.google.com/books?lr=lang_en&as_brr=0&q=more-reddening+|+most-reddening+&btnG=Search+Books 316 uses]. The first page shows at least one probable qualifying use and 9 uses of "reddening" as a noun. The other 316 are left as an exercise for the reader. Also the possibilities of usage at News, Scholar, or Usenet. |
| | None of the references works at OneLook.com show it being defined as an adjective, including Wiktionary. What about the OED? | | None of the references works at OneLook.com show it being defined as an adjective, including Wiktionary. What about the OED? |
