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I have a sentence.
I looked up the word "available" . It is ADJ. So this sentence below have structure :
be + adj + N + adj (isn't sufficient detail available)

"There isn't sufficient detail available for all sectors to make a fair comparison"

I'm so confused about the word "available" position. What the role of this word.

John Lawler
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BinhPHT
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2 Answers2

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'Available' is part of an adjectival clause 'that is available for all sectors'. The 'that is' is unnecessary and is omitted.

'Available' could be put in a different position e.g. 'There isn't sufficient available data, for all sectors, .....'. But it is quite normal for such a clause to be placed after the noun which it qualifies.

Please note a couple of errors in the sentence. It should start with a capital letter and the apostrophe in 'isn't' goes between the n and the t, indicating a missing letter.

WS2
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In this type of sentence, where you have one adjective in front of the noun and another after the noun, the latter is used predicatively, which means it is connected both to the subject (like an adjective) and to the verb (like an adverb). It is similar to sentences with subject complements, such as enough details were available. The word available is also a predicative adjective in that sentence. Note that there is only inserted if the subject comes after the (finite) verb. Of course you could analyse it differently, as with all terms and constructions...

Cerberus - Reinstate Monica
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  • This explanation would be correct if the sentence were "there isn't enough detail available for me to make a fair comparison." But it's not the sectors that are making the comparison. – Peter Shor Nov 30 '13 at 15:00
  • @PeterShor: Umm how does that change the syntax with respect to available? I don't see any difference if you cut off everything after available. – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica Nov 30 '13 at 15:04
  • I was parsing "detail available for all sectors" as a noun phrase. So the sentence reduces to "there isn't sufficient detail to make a fair comparison". And I thought that with your parsing, if would have to be the sectors that made the comparison. But upon reconsideration, I think I'm incorrect. – Peter Shor Nov 30 '13 at 15:10