positive (adj.)

A term used in GRAMMATICAL description to refer to a type of SENTENCE or VERB which has no marker of negation, i.e. it is expressing an assertion. The positive or AFFIRMATIVE ‘pole’ of this contrast is opposed to NEGATIVE, and the grammatical system involved is often referred to under the heading of POLARITY.

The UNMARKED term in the three-way grammatical description of ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS into DEGREES, specifying the extent of their application. The positive or ‘absolute’ degree implies no comparative quality, and contrasts with such terms as COMPARATIVE and SUPERLATIVE. In English, the adjective with no formal MODIFICATION is used as the positive form, and this is generally the case in languages.