Adjective Phrase
An adjective phrase is a group of words that functions as an adjective in a sentence. It consists of an adjective and any modifiers or complements that accompany it. Adjective phrases provide additional information about a noun or pronoun in a sentence, and they can be used to add detail and description to the subject.
7 Key excerpts on "Adjective Phrase"
eBook - ePubNavigating English Grammar
A Guide to Analyzing Real Language
- Anne Lobeck, Kristin Denham(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Wiley-Blackwell(Publisher)
...7 Adjectives Introduction Adjective Semantics Adjective Morphology Derivational affixation and other ways we form adjectives Participial adjectives Inflectional affixation: comparative and superlative adjectives Adjective Syntax Modifiers of adjectives Prenominal and postnominal Adjective Phrases Adjective Phrase subjective complements Summary Exercises Introduction So far, we have discussed the categories NP and VP in some detail, paying particular attention to the English verb system, and the basic structure of the clause (CL). In the next three chapters we explore the remaining lexical categories in English, Adjective and Adverb. We will also discuss the category Preposition, whose identity as a lexical category is a bit fuzzy; prepositions actually share certain features with functional categories. We introduced adjectives in Chapter 3 in our discussion of nouns; you may recall that adjectives head Adjective Phrases, or AP, and can be modified by degree words, such as very. Adjective Phrases also occur in NPs like the following, occurring before the noun they modify, in what we call prenominal position: a slimy slug As we’ll see in this chapter, adjectives (or more accurately, Adjective Phrases), can occur in other positions as well. They can occur after nouns in the noun phrase, in postnominal position: something slimy And Adjective Phrases can also be complements of verbs, as below: The slug seems slimy. We discuss the syntax of adjectives in some detail, examining the different positions in which we find Adjective Phrases, and how they function in those positions (as modifiers and as complements). We begin, however, with the semantics and morphology of adjectives. Adjective Semantics The semantics of adjectives is (as you might expect) quite complex. In general, adjectives (and more specifically, Adjective Phrases) are modifiers, or phrases that describe nouns, as we mentioned above...
eBook - ePubStructure and Meaning in English
A Guide for Teachers
- Graeme Kennedy(Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Chapter 6 Modification of noun phrases, verb phrases and sentences This chapter is designed to show how adjectives, adverbials and prepositions are used, and the difficulties that learners of English are faced with in using them. Objectives By the end of this chapter you should be able to: Identify adjectives. Explain the functions of adjectives. Identify the various forms of adjectives. Describe the positions adjectives are found in. Explain the functions of comparative and superlative adjective and adverb forms. Distinguish adjectives from participles. Identify adverbs and adverbials. Distinguish adjectives from adverbs. Describe the main structures that can be used as adverbials. Explain the main semantic functions of adverbials. Distinguish. between adjuncts, subjuncts, disjuncts and conjuncts. Identify prepositions. Explain the main functions of prepositions and prepositional phrases. Know which prepositions are most frequently used. Distinguish between prepositional verbs and phrasal verbs. 6.1 Adjectives We have already seen in Chapter 4 that determiners can modify nouns. Nouns can also be modified in other ways as part of noun phrases, e.g. 1 a successful athlete 2 an outstanding athlete 3 an athlete from Spain 4 an athlete who was successful in the Olympics 5 an athlete known all over the world These five examples show that nouns can be modified by single words, phrases, or whole clauses. Some modifiers occur before the nouns they modify; others occur after. One of the classes of noun modifiers consists of single words called adjectives which associate certain characteristics such as colour, size or shape to nouns, e.g. a red car. This section describes the use of adjectives...
eBook - ePubAmerican English Grammar
An Introduction
- Seth R. Katz(Author)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...As we shall see below, while traditional grammar categorizes determiners (The first sixteen) together with adjectives (large furry), there are distinct grammatical differences between these two categories of words. In particular, determiners are almost never gradable. 4.1.1 Adjective Phrases: Forms and Functions An adjective functions as the head of an Adjective Phrase (A DJ P). Whether it appears by itself, or, as is sometimes the case, accompanied by adverbial modifiers, an adjective is always the head of an A DJ P. An A DJ P may consist of an adjective alone, or it may include an adverb phrase preceding the A DJ, an adverbial PP following the A DJ, or both: A DJ : They ran a close race. It’s cold. A DV P + A DJ : Most polls show a very close race. 25 It’s too cold. Obviously, it would be highly desirable to avoid such a scenario. 26 A DJ + PP:A DVERBIAL : They were green with envy. She’s high on life. I’m anxious about the exam. A DV P + A DJ + PP:A DVERBIAL : We’re seriously green with envy over this floral number. 27 She’s just high on life. I’m so anxious about the exam. A DJ Ps only have two functions: modifier of a noun, as in This is a very close race, 28 and complement of a verb, as in The race is very close 29 (A DJ P:S UBJECT C OMPLEMENT [SC]) and He considers the risks minimal 30 (A DJ P:O BJECT C OM PLEMENT [OC]; see 7.1.3.2). There is a small limit on which forms of A DJ P can perform which functions. While any kind of A DJ P can be a verb complement, typically only the simplest A DJ P—an adjective preceded by an adverb or a brief adverb phrase—can modify a noun. The A DJ P very highly placed in the NP a very highly placed source is about as complex a phrase as we will normally find in the adjective slot between the determiner and the noun. Generally, we want to put any lengthy adjectival material in the post-modifier slot after the noun...
eBook - ePubIntroducing English Syntax
A Basic Guide for Students of English
- Peter Fenn, Götz Schwab(Authors)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...p.64 4 Phrases and their structure (I) 4.0 Phrases As we saw in the last chapter, the phrase is the most basic unit in sentence analysis. It is a structural unit based on word-class, and is the smallest unit that can fill a sentence function. In this chapter we take a close look at what phrases consist of, i.e. what we will call here in a general sense their composition. Like sentences, phrases can be analysed internally in terms of both structures and functions. In other words, the composition of a phrase consists of phrase functions and the structures that fill them. That is, like sentences, phrases can be analysed on the one hand structurally, and on the other hand functionally: What this means concretely we will see in the following. In this first chapter on the phrase, we will be looking at noun phrases, prepositional phrases, Adjective Phrases, and adverb phrases. 4.1 The noun phrase Let us look first of all at some typical structural patterns in the noun phrase: p.65 The minimum that we need in order to form a noun phrase is a single noun, as in (2)a. The rest is just a selection, of course. The prepositional phrase could follow the noun on its own (trees in our garden), for example, or the adjective could be used without the article (big trees). We´re simply looking here at the main possibilities for combining structural elements within a noun phrase. As can be seen in (2)c. and (2)d., other types of phrase unit can also be included, here an Adjective Phrase and a prepositional phrase. One phrase inside another one is a general phenomenon in syntax. The prepositional phrase itself here (in our garden), for instance, also contains a further noun phrase (our garden). In fact, as we will see a little later, this is the case with all prepositional phrases. Unlike a noun, a preposition cannot form its own phrase alone. Now let us consider the phrase functions...
eBook - ePub- Gerald Nelson(Author)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...They can perform a wide range of functions in sentence structure as well as in phrase structure. In sentence structure, noun phrases have the following functions: 1 Subject (1.4): A large tile fell from the roof. Four people entered the room. The man who lives beside us is unwell. 2 Subject Complement (1.6.2): Paul is my nephew. She is a teacher of English. That is the wrong way to wire a plug. 3 Direct Object (1.6.3): The plane left the runway. I bought a jar of coffee. Our teacher writes detective stories. 4 Indirect Object (1.6.4): She told the chairman the bad news. I offered the girl beside me a drink. It gives people with disabilities more independence. 5 Object Complement (1.6.5): She called him a loser. They appointed him President of the Board of Trade. The trade unions made Britain the country it is. today. 6 Adjunct (1.8): Last week, our freezer broke down. She’s going to Harvard next year. One day you’ll regret quitting college. In phrase structure, noun phrases have the following major functions: 7 Prepositional Complement (3.5): over the moon behind our house at the cinema 8 Premodifier in another noun phrase (3.6.3) a school uniform the computer screen a traffic accident 9 In quantifying or measuring expressions, noun phrases function as Premodifiers in an adverb phrase (3.3), Adjective Phrase (3.4), or prepositional phrase (3.5): two minutes earlier (adverb phrase) six years old (Adjective Phrase) ten metres below the surface (prepositional phrase) 3.6.6 Apposition Apposition is a relationship between two noun phrases which have identical reference: the US President, Donald Trump The two noun phrases, the US President and Donald Trump, refer to the same person and. are said to be in apposition to each other...
eBook - ePub- Tom Lundskaer-Nielsen, Philip Holmes(Authors)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Linguistic terms This list comprises terms that may not be familiar to a student of language or that are not already explained in the text. Users should also consult the Index for references in the text. ABSTRACT NOUNS refer to unobservable notions, e.g. musik, påstand, vanskelighed (music, assertion, difficulty). ABSTRACT sense is found when the literal sense has been extended so far that it is no longer transparent, e.g. the locative prepositions i and på in i særdeleshed, in particular; på må og få, at random. More obviously, abstract sense is associated with ABSTRACT NOUNS. Adjective PhraseS consist of an adjective or a participle with optional words which modify its meaning, e.g. Hun er (utrolig) energisk, She is (incredibly) energetic. ADVERB PHRASES consist of an adverb with optional words which modify its meaning, e.g. Han kørte (temmelig) hurtigt, He drove (quite) fast. ADVERBIALS (see CLAUSAL ADVERBS) are words, phrases or clauses that function as adverbs. Adverbs, noun phrases, prepositional phrases and subordinate clauses can all be adverbials of different kinds (manner, place, time, condition, etc.), e.g. Hun sang smukt (adverb, manner), She sang beautifully; Hun sang hele aftenen (noun phrase, time), She sang the whole evening; Hun sang i Det Kongelige Teater (prep. phrase, place), She sang in the Royal Theatre; Hun sang kun, hvis hun havde lyst (sub...
eBook - ePub- Tom Lundskaer-Nielsen, Philip Holmes(Authors)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Linguistic terms This list comprises terms that may not be familiar to a student of language, as well as those that are not already explained in the text. Users should also consult the index for references in the text. ABSTRACT NOUNS refer to unobservable notions, e.g. musik, påstand, vanskelighed (music, assertion, difficulty). ABSTRACT SENSE is when the literal sense is no longer transparent. Compare the meaning of the verb in: Hun satte kartoflerne over, She put the potatoes on (literal sense) with: Hun oversatte bogen, She translated the book (abstract sense) (cf. FIGURATIVE SENSE). Adjective PhraseS consist of an adjective or a participle with one or more modifiers, e.g. Han er utrolig energisk, He is incredibly energetic. ADVERB PHRASES consist of an adverb with one or more modifiers, e.g. Han kørte temmelig hurtigt, He drove quite fast. ADVERBIALS (see CLAUSAL ADVERBS) are words, phrases or clauses that function as adverbs. Adverbs, noun phrases, prepositional phrases and subordinate clauses can all be adverbials of different kinds (manner, place, time, condition, etc.), e.g. Hun sang smuk t (adverb, manner), She sang beautifully; Hun sang hele aftenen (noun phrase, time), She sang the whole evening; Hun sang i Det Kongelige Teater (prep. phrase, place), She sang in the Royal Theatre; Hun sang kun, hvis hun havde lyst (sub...
