Adjective Phrase

Adjective Phrase

2a. Introduction to Adjective and Adjective Phrase

*  What is an Adjective?

            ==> An Adjective is a word used to modify or describe a noun or a pronoun.

            Examples:

Opinion	An opinion adjective explains what you think about something (other people may not agree with you). Examples: silly, beautiful, horrible, difficult, etc.
Size	A size adjective, of course, tells you how big or small something is.  Examples: large, tiny, enormous, little, big, small, etc.
Age	An age adjective tells you how young or old something or someone is. Examples: ancient, new, young, old , etc.
Shape	A shape adjective describes the shape of something. Examples: square, round, flat, rectangular, etc.
Colour	A colour adjective, of course, describes the colour of something. Examples: blue, pink, reddish, grey, black, white, etc.
Origin	An origin adjective describes where something comes from. Examples: French, lunar, American, eastern, Greek, etc.
Material	A material adjective describes what something is made from. Examples: wooden, metal, cotton, paper, etc.
Purpose	A purpose adjective describes what something is used for. These adjectives often end with "-ing". Examples: sleeping (as in "sleeping bag"), roasting (as in "roasting tin")

==> Some examples of adjective order

Number/Article	Opinion	Size	Age	Shape	Colour	Origin	Material	Purpose	Noun
a	silly		young			English			man
a		Huge		round			metal		bowl
a		Small			red			sleeping	bag

*  What is an Adjective Phrase?

==> An Adjective Phrase is a phrase that can occupy the same position as a single adjective in a noun phrase or fill the same slot as a single adjective in a sentence.

Examples:

·   The cake tastes sickeningly sweet.

·   My cat is black and brown.

·   Your perfume smells especially musky but very nice.

·   I am fond of English grammar.

2b. The structure of Adjective Phrases

+ In the table below will show you the structure and some examples of Adjective phrase.

+ An adjective Phrase has an adjective as its main word.

Adjective Phrase
Function			Modifier(s)		Head- word	Modifier(s)
	(a)				happy
E	(b)				excited	indeed
X	(c)			Partly	cloudy
A	(d)				young	in spirit
M	(e)			Very	energetic	for his age
P	(f)			so extremely	sweet
L	(g)			Too	good	to be true
E	(h)				hot	enough for me
S	(i)			Quite	worried	about the results of the test
	(j)			Unusually	sunny	for this time of year
FORM						Adverb
			Adverb		Adjective	Prepositional Phrase
			Adverb Phrase			Infinitive Clause

*  In the diagram below will show you the structure of Adjective phrase

*  Personification, those modifying, describing, or qualifying constituents which precede the head-word.

*  The head- word, which is an adjective or participle serving as the focus of the phrase.

*  Postmodification, that modifying constituent which follows the head; and

*Complementation, (the major subcategory of postmodification here) that constituent which follows any postmodification and completes the specification of a meaning implied by the head.

*  In the diagram below will show you more about the structure of Adjective phrase

2c. Function of Adjective Phrase

            Like Adjective, Adjective Phrase has three main functions:

1. Modifier noun or Noun phrase modifier

Examples:

-          The very tiny puppy barked at the cat.

-          The restaurant served plain, tasteless soup.

-          My mother planted many purple flowers in her garden.

-          It’s a very exciting proposal.

2. Subject compliment or Predicate adjective

Examples:

-          That was awfully silly, wasn’t it?

-          The cake tastes sickeningly sweet.

-          The results were good enough.

-          Her Proposal was very exciting.

3.   Object complement

Examples:

-          You’ve made us very proud.

-          Let’s consider the subject pretty well closed.

-          She makes me very happy.

-          The Police arrested a man of criminal nature.