English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)
NAMING or DESCRIBING?
This person is ~rascal~ (nonstandard).
This person is a rascal (standard).
This person is a rascally young man (standard).
It should be noted that “rascal” is a noun and should always be preceded by a determiner such as “a” except when used in the plural form. Note that cowardly is mainly an adjective and should be sparingly used to modify a verb.
He is coward (nonstandard).
He is a coward (standard).
He is a weak cowardly man (standard).
GAB
