The People Responsible: Adjectives After Nouns

← Grammar Hub
C1On my own or with a tutor

The People Responsible: Adjectives After Nouns

By the end: I can recognise adjective position that identifies people or changes the intended meaning.

Created by , British English teacher.

I’m studying:

Try the activities, then check your answers.

Choose a short recording.

Identify by a following description

An adjective can follow a noun, especially when it carries a complement or identifies a relevant group.

The people responsible for booking should check the list.

We contacted everyone interested in the course.

Keep the adjective with its complement

the people: the head nounresponsible: identifies their rolefor booking: completes that description
A fuller versionThe people who are responsible for booking should check the list.

The following description identifies the relevant people.

Responsible for booking forms one description after people. The sentence recommends that this particular group check the list; it does not assign booking responsibility to every person mentioned elsewhere.
These two adults represent concerned parents, discussing an ordinary school matter over a phone call. The woman holds the phone; both have restrained worried eyebrows. A plain school folder and pencil case support the context. No distressed child, threat or emergency.
The concerned parents called the school.Concerned before the noun means worried in this reading.

Check meaning changes

Some adjective-position contrasts accompany different senses. Concerned parents are worried; the parents concerned are the parents involved in the matter.

The concerned residents asked for news.

The residents concerned received a letter.

Recognise flexible cases

Available can appear before or after a noun in many contexts. A following complement can make post-noun placement especially natural.

We chose the best room available.

We chose an available room on the ground floor.

The same parents receive and read a plain envelope and letter relevant to them. Show attentive neutral involvement instead of insisting on worry. Only letter, envelope and closed school folder.
The parents concerned received a letter.Concerned after the noun identifies those involved.

Guided practice

Say or write your answer first. Compare form and meaning with the model.

1. Shorten: the people who are responsible for security.

Compare a model and explanation

the people responsible for security

Retain the complement for security.

2. Shorten: anyone who is interested in joining.

Compare a model and explanation

anyone interested in joining

The postpositive phrase identifies the person.

3. Explain concerned staff in a worry context.

Compare a model and explanation

Staff who are worried.

Use the contextually relevant sense.

4. Explain the staff concerned in an administrative notice.

Compare a model and explanation

The staff involved or affected.

Do not automatically attribute worry.

5. Is an available room necessarily wrong?

Compare a model and explanation

No.

Available can occur before a noun.

6. Is the room available necessarily wrong as a noun phrase in context?

Compare a model and explanation

No.

Post-noun available is possible, especially with an understood restriction.

7. Rewrite to avoid ambiguous concerned.

Compare a model and explanation

The residents affected by the change received a letter.

Make the intended involvement explicit.

8. Give a post-noun adjective with a complement.

Compare a model and explanation

The person responsible for the keys has left.

Other grammatical adjective-complement phrases work.

A short conversation

Listen first, then open the transcript when useful.

Open the conversation transcript

A: Who should receive the message?

B: The people responsible for the timetable.

A: Do you mean the worried staff?

B: No, the staff concerned with scheduling. I don’t know how they feel.

Listening checks

Listen to each extract or open its transcript. These three questions have a separate score.

1. What does concerned identify here?
Read the listening transcript

The residents concerned will receive a notice. The writer means the residents affected by the work.

2. Where does the experience description belong in this phrase?
Read the listening transcript

We need someone experienced in repairing these machines.

3. Are both positions of available used?
Read the listening transcript

We found an available room, though it wasn’t the best room available.

Mastery quiz

Choose the best answer for each situation. The score is out of eight.

1. Choose the complete identifying phrase.
2. In the stated worry context, concerned parents means what?
3. In an administrative notice, the applicants concerned most naturally means what?
4. Choose a natural postpositive phrase.
5. Which statement about available is accurate?
6. Which makes involvement explicit without attributing emotion?
7. Choose the phrase with a following complement.
8. What should guide interpretation of these contrasts?

Use it in your own words

Speaking 1

Identify two groups using post-noun adjectives with complements.

Reveal a possible response

The people responsible for bookings should stay. Anyone interested in the trip can join.

Success check: Retain each complement.

Speaking 2

Explain concerned before and after a noun in two explicitly different contexts.

Reveal a possible response

The concerned parents were worried. The parents concerned were those affected by the timetable change.

Success check: Do not infer emotions from involvement alone.

Put it all together

Rewrite a short ambiguous notice into a precise one.

Reveal a possible response

Original: The staff concerned should reply. Clearer: The staff responsible for arranging transport should reply by Friday.

Success check: Preserve the intended group without adding unsupported attitudes.

Take it with you

I can recognise adjective position that identifies people or changes the intended meaning.

Relative ClausesExplore the Grammar Hub