The examples in Table 2 show that attributive adjectives occur in prenominal position, and can be inflected with the attributive ending -e (pronounced as schwa /ə/). The distribution of the inflection depends on the gender of the noun it modifies. If the noun is masculine or feminine, i.e. if it belongs to the de-group, the adjective is usually inflected; cf. Section A28.1 for exceptions. If the noun is neuter, i.e. belongs to the het-group, the -e ending appears only in definite and plural noun phrases: attributive modifiers of singular indefinite count nouns and indefinite non-count nouns are not inflected.

Attributive adjectives denote a property of the noun they modify. In most cases, they have a restrictive function: by attributing the property in question, they restrict the denotation of the head noun. Thus, in example (34a), the noun phrase as a whole refers to a subset of the set denoted by the noun.

Under certain circumstances, however, an attributive adjective can also be given a non-restrictive interpretation. This is clear from example (35a), which is acceptable even if there is only one crown prince in the active domain of discourse: this means that the function of the attributive adjectives is not to restrict the denotation of the head noun crown prince, but to provide more information about the referent of the noun phrase. Example (35b) is ambiguous between the two readings: the restrictive reading of the adjective dapperebrave, asserts that Caesar praises only a subset of Germans; the non-restrictive interpretation asserts that Caesar praises all Germans, who are all said to have the property of being brave. Note that this sentence is ambiguous only in writing: in speech, the ambiguity is resolved by the fact that the adjective is emphasized in the restrictive reading; cf. Sections 17.1.2, sub II, and A1.3.2.1, sub I for further discussion.

Prenominal modifiers can also take the form of a past or present participle phrase. The modified noun stands in a certain thematic relation to the prenominal participle. If the modifier is a past participle, the referent of the noun phrase is interpreted as the theme of the participle. Thus, the participle must be derived from a (di-)transitive or unaccusative verb, as in (36b-d); the use of a past participle derived from an intransitive verb, as in (36a), leads to unacceptability.

In the case of a present participle, the referent of the noun phrase is interpreted as the agent of the participle if the verb is intransitive or (di-)transitive, or as the theme if the verb is unaccusative. Examples can be found in (37).

The difference between (36d) and (37d) is aspectual in nature: the former expresses perfective aspect, the latter imperfective aspect. For a more detailed discussion of the attributive use of participles, see Section A32.2. For a discussion of postmodification by participle phrases, see Section 17.3.5, sub II.

A third type of attributive premodifier is the modal infinitive. These modifiers are always preceded by the infinitival marker te, and express some notion of ability or obligation. The modified noun corresponds to the theme argument of a (di-)transitive verb: intransitive and unaccusative verbs cannot normally occur as modal infinitives.

For a more detailed discussion of the modal infinitives, we refer the reader to Section A32.2. Finally, we would like to point out that the modal infinitives should not be confused with the postnominal infinitival modifiers discussed in Section 17.3.3, where the antecedent is interpreted as coreferential with some phonetically silent element within the infinitival clause: the direct object in (39a), and the nominal part of a PP-complement and PP-adjunct in (39b&c).