One of the most frequent errors in writing is the omission or misuse of hyphens when two or more words are used to modify a following noun. The sentences below have such mistakes? and we offer a correct revision:
Одной из частых ошибок при письме является неправильная постановка или пропуск дефиса (чёрточки), когда перед существительным стоит несколько определительных слов (как бы «фразовое, многословное определение»). Ниже приведены предложения именно с такими ошибками в чёрточках, а также их исправление:
1. “He’s one of the world’s best known zoologists.” «Он один из самых известных в мире зоологов»
As is, the sentence implies that among known zoologists, he’s one of the best. But what it means is that among the world’s zoologists, he one of the best known, so that two-word phrase is a phrasal adjective and should be hyphenated before the noun zoologists: “He’s one of the world’s best-known zoologists.”
В таком виде предложение подразумевает, что среди известных зоологов он один из лучших в мире. Но ведь хотели сказать, что среди зоологов мира он один из самых известных. Поэтому выражение из двух слов best known — это «фразовое (многословное) определение» существительного zoologists и должно писаться с чёрточкой best-known: “He’s one of the world’s best-known zoologists.” = Он один из самых известных в мире зоологов
2. “The increasingly high on its own supply movie studio has once more delved into its library.”
«Киностудия, которая всё реже берёт сценарии со стороны (полагается на свои «запасы»), вновь обратилась к собственной библиотеке»
This sentence suffers from the same error as the previous one, multiplied several times. The words in the phrase “high on its own supply” must be linked like railroad cars for the statement to make sense: “The increasingly high-on-its-own-supply movie studio has once more delved into its library.” (Increasingly, because it is an adverb, not an adjective, doesn’t have a ticket for this train.)
В этом предложении та же ошибка, что и в предыдущем, но ещё и повторённая несколько раз. Слова в выражении “high on its own supply” должны быть соединены чёрточками (как вагоны в поезде), чтобы в предложении не расплывался смысл : “The increasingly high-on-its-own-supply movie studio has once more delved into its library.” (Increasingly — это уже отдельное обстоятельство, а не определение, и стоит отдельно)
3. “A lot can happen during a three or four day holiday weekend.” «За три четыре дня празднично-выходных дня многое может случиться»
Again, a lack of connective tissue is the fault here. The object refers to a holiday weekend that might last three days or four days, but it’s not necessary to repeat day. It is, however, imperative to hyphenate such a construction as follows: “A lot can happen during a three- or four-day holiday weekend.”
Здесь опять не хватает связок-чёрточек. Речь идёт о долгом праздничном уикенде в три-четыре дня, но повторять слово day не обязательно. Однако необходимо поставить дефисы : “A lot can happen during a three- or four-day holiday weekend.”
4. “Behind-the-scenes, he repeatedly employed procedural technicalities to undermine proposals.”
» Закулисно он не раз использовал технические тонкости процедуры (принятия решений), чтобы не допустить принятия предложений»
Freestanding common phrases that are also often employed as phrasal adjectives and thus frequently seen with hyphens are often mistakenly hyphenated; the first three words in this sentence, however, require hyphens only if they collectively modify a noun (“behind-the-scenes plotting”): “Behind the scenes, he repeatedly employed procedural technicalities to undermine proposals.”
«Behind the scenes» = за кулисами тайком — это распространённое выражение, но здесь оно стоит «в отрыве», в самом начале предложения. Писавшему показалось, что оно выступает роли многословного определения. На самом деле это обстоятельство : в предложении нет существительного, к которому относилось бы такое многословное определение, а чёрточки ставятся только в многословных определениях существительного (например : “behind-the-scenes plotting” = закулисные заговоры, интриги). Так что в нашем предложении чёрточки не нужны : “Behind the scenes, he repeatedly employed procedural technicalities to undermine proposals.”
The two-word stage is the third major period in the language acquisition of children, following the one-word stage.
Two-Word Stage Age
The two-word stage typically occurs at the age of 18 to 24 months and consists of toddlers using two-word phrases in their speech.
At this stage, toddlers continue to develop their vocabulary and the range of sounds that they can produce. They are able to use two-word phrases that are dense in content words (words that hold and convey meaning); however, function words (words that hold sentences together) are beyond the ability of toddlers at this age so are rarely used.
The sentences produced at this stage consist primarily of nouns and verbs and, despite the lack of function words, toddlers tend to use the correct grammatical sequence in their sentences. Toddlers will enter this period with around 50 words in their vocabulary, but by 24 months they may know over 600 words! ¹
By 24 months a child may know over 600 words! — Pixabay
The Two-Word Stage in Child Language Acquisition
It is undeniable that toddlers at the two-word stage can produce meaningful utterances that make sense grammatically, however, their speech is still clearly unlike adult speakers. They still have a limited vocabulary as they haven’t developed the ability to use function words such as articles, auxiliary verbs and subject pronouns.
A toddler’s development of syntax can be observed at this stage from the increasingly complex words that they put together to communicate with adults. They begin to learn how to express semantic relations with actions, objects, entities, and locations, and also start forming commands and questions.
Two-word stage examples
| Word type | Two-word phrase | Possible meaning | Semantic relation expressed |
| Verb + noun | «Read book.» | Can you read the book? | Action + Object |
| Pronoun + verb | «He run.» | He is running. | Agent + Action |
| Pronoun + noun | «My cookie.» | That’s my cookie. | Possessor + Object |
| Noun + adjective | «Mummy busy.» | Mummy is busy. | Agent + Action |
| Noun + verb | «Daddy sleep.» | Daddy is sleeping. | Agent + Action |
| Noun + Noun | «Toy floor.» | The toy is on the floor. | Entity + Location |
| Noun + adjective | «Car shiny.» | The car is shiny. | Entity + attributes |
A major component of language development comes from toddlers repeating words or phrases that they hear adults use. In this process, they will negate the function words that adults use and only use the keywords.
Adult: «Look, the dog just jumped!»
Toddler: «Dog jump!»
Children learn increasingly complex words at the two-word stage — Pixabay
Example of Pivot Words in the Two-Word Stage
Children follow simple rules to generate their two-word utterances. They tend to build phrases around a single stable word rather than choosing two terms of the same status.
Their phrases are built around ‘pivot’ words and open words. Pivot words are high-frequency words that are typically determiners or prepositions and are always in a fixed position (either the first or second word). They can be used in conjunction with a wide variety of words, making them a useful part of a child’s vocabulary. ²
Open words make up the content of the two-word phrase and are often a noun or a verb. These words can be interchanged as the first or second word of a phrase and may also be used in isolation.
First-word pivot — All gone.
The example word ‘all gone’ represents a pivot that’s used as a first word. A toddler may use the word in a variety of situations: ‘all gone sweets’, ‘all gone bread’ or ‘all gone toy’. It is unlikely for the toddler to use the pivot word as the second word of a phrase, which is composed of an open word.
Second-word pivot — Off.
Second-word pivots are used less frequently than first-word pivots. The word ‘off’ can be used in a variety of ways: ‘TV off’, ‘light off’ or ‘shoe off ‘. Similarly to first-word pivots, a child is unlikely to use a second-word pivot as the first word in a phrase.
Interpreting the Meaning of Two-Word Phrases
A toddler at this stage will find it difficult to express their thoughts clearly to adults since their vocabulary limits them. Toddlers can assign meaning to words in several ways, which is difficult to interpret with confidence because of the lack of syntactic markings in the language. ³
A word referring to a whole object.
A word that a child uses will refer to the entire object, not to any of the constituent parts.
A child may learn the word ‘flower’, and then use it to name any plant that it sees.
It could be that the toddler isn’t able to perceive the difference between the plants and flowers, or the toddler may settle for using the word flower because there aren’t any alternatives in their vocabulary.
A child may refer to any plant they see as a flower — Pexels
Considering the context
It can be difficult to figure out what a toddler is trying to say without considering the broader context. Adults must pay close attention to the child’s body language when they are trying to speak as they may provide clues by looking or pointing to a relevant object.
The context is equally important for the toddler that is trying to understand what the adult is saying.
Common Mistakes in the Two-Word Stage
Toddlers haven’t yet achieved full command over the pronunciation of words and they will display common errors in their speech.
Assimilation
The pronunciation of a word is affected by a particular sound in the word. A toddler will replace a difficult sound with a sound that is more familiar with.
Toddlers often struggle with bilabials, which are consonant sounds made by pressing the lips together, such as p, b, and m sounds. They find it much easier to produce the same sounds in a word so they tend to assimilate when they come across difficult words to pronounce. If there’s a bilabial sound in a word, a toddler may use the same bilabial in another part of the word since it’s easier to pronounce.
The word ‘rubber’ may be articulated as ‘bubber’.
Gliding
Gliding is when liquid sounds (l and r) are replaced with glide sounds (w and y). It’s a normal part of a child’s language development process and usually disappears at 5 years old.
The word ‘red’ may be articulated as ‘wed ‘.
Cluster reduction
A child may have difficulty pronouncing a cluster of consonants in a word and reduce it by one or more consonants.
The word ‘spoon‘ may be articulated as ‘poon‘.
Weak syllable deletion
This is when an unstressed syllable in a word is not articulated.
The word ‘banana‘ may be articulated as ‘nana’.
Stops
Consonant sounds that have a long airflow are replaced by sounds that have a stopped airflow.
The word ‘sun’ may be articulated as ‘tun’.
Two-Word Stage — Key Takeaways
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The two-word stage is the third stage of language development.
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Toddlers develop the ability to form two-word phrases.
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The two-word stage usually takes place from 18 to 24 months of age.
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Toddlers start to develop grammar and syntax.
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Pivot and open words are used to form phrases to communicate ideas.
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Toddlers still produce pronunciation errors in their speech.
- Oller. D., et al., Infant babbling and speech, Journal of Child Language. 1976
- JG de Villiers, PA de Villiers, Language Acquisition, Vol. 16. 1980.
- Lightfoot et al., The Development of Children. 2008.
What is the rule when it comes to using either the present or past participle in two word adjectives?
adjectiveadverb + past participle:
well-built
hard-boiled
badly-desinged
adjectiveadverb + present participle:
good-looking
foul-smelling
easy-going
When do we use which?
AnonymousWhat is the rule when it comes to using either the present or past participle in two word adjectives?
There is no rule. Those are fixed forms. If you pick them apart by reversing the word order, they may make more sense to you.
well-built — it is built well
hard-boiled — it is boiled (until it is) hard [This one may be used metaphorically of people.]
badly-designed — it is designed badly
good-looking — it looks good
foul-smelling — it smells foul
easy-going — he/she «goes easy» [This one is inherently metaphoric.]
The words ‘present’ and ‘past’ as applied to participles have often been spoken of as misnomers, by the way, and justly so. They are actually active and passive participles. Note that the first three of your examples are related to passive constructions and the last three are related to active constructions.
CJ
CalifJimThe words ‘present’ and ‘past’ as applied to participles have often been spoken of as misnomers, by the way, and justly so. They are actually active and passive participles. Note that the first three of your examples are related to passive constructions and the last three are related to active constructions.
Excellent point!
If you know what an adjective is in English, it shouldn’t be difficult to master adjective phrases. Reason? You are using them all the time. All the time.
What is an adjective? How is it any different from adjective phrases in English? An adjective is just a word that modifies a noun or a pronoun. An adjective phrase, on the other hand, is a group of words that does the same thing: describes/modifies a noun or a pronoun.
What is an adjective phrase in English?
An adjective phrase is a group of words that modifies a noun or pronoun in a sentence. It can be placed before or after the word (noun or pronoun) it modifies or describes.
Check the definition of an adjective phrase by Wikipedia.
Examples of adjective phrases:
- My dog Jimmy is very cute.
(The adjective phrase very cute describes the noun dog. It’s giving more information about it. It has a head adjective cute and its modifier very. Together, they’re modifying the noun dog.)
- You look unbelievably strong.
(The adjective phrase unbelievably strong is describing the subject you, giving us more information about it. Strong is the head adjective, and unbelievably is an adverb that’s modifying the adjective.)
- Your father is not nice to me.
(The adjective phrase nice to me describes the subject your father. It’s telling us how your father is. In the adjective phrase, nice is the head adjective, and to me is a modifying phrase (prepositional phrase) that’s modifying the adjective.)
- He’s dating a very smart girl.
(Here, the adjective phrase is coming just before the word it modifies: girl. Like any adjective, an adjective phrase can also come before and after the noun or the pronoun it modifies.)
- Any person smarter than you can do it.
(Here, the adjective phrase smarter than you is coming just after the noun it’s modifying: person. Smarter is the head adjective, and than me is a modifying phrase that’s modifying the adjective.)
How to form an adjective phrase?
There are two ways to form a regular adjective phrase:
- Adverb (intensifier/mitigator) + adjective
- Adjective + adjective complement
Adverb + adjective
This is the most common form of an adjective phrase. Here, we use an adverb (intensifier or mitigator) and a regular adjective to form an adjective phrase.
Examples:
- Your sister is very smart.
(Here, very smart is the adjective phrase. Very is the intensifier and smart is the adjective.)
- That was an extremely good move.
Extremely good is the adjective phrase that’s modifying the noun move. It is formed out the adverb extremely and the adjective good.
- The act was somewhat funny.
Somewhat funny is the adjective phrase that’s modifying the noun act. In the first two examples, the adjective phrase has an intensifier (very and extremely), but in the adjective phrase, we have a mitigator in the adjective phrase. An intensifier intensifies (strengthens) the meaning of an adjective, and a mitigator limits (weakens) the meaning of an adjective.
Adjective + adjective complement
This is another way to form an adjective phrase. Here, the adjective phrase is formed using an adjective and a word or words that modify the adjective: adjective complement.
Let’s study some examples to understand and get familiar with this structure.
- We are happy with your performance.
(Happy with your performance is the adjective phrase in the sentence. Happy is the adjective (head word), and with your performance is the prepositional phrase that’s modifying the adjective happy and working as the adjective complement (adverb)).
- Jenny was angry at me.
(Here, the adjective phrase comprises of the adjective angry and its complement at me (prepositional phrase)).
My parents are excited to meet you.
(In this example, the adjective comprises of a past participe working as an adjective (excited) and its complement to meet you (infinitive phrase)).
Note: the head word of the adjective phrases are underlined in the above examples.
Regular adjective phrases are formed using a regular adjective. But there are adjective phrases in English that are formed from words that originally are not adjectives but function as adjectives. We call them non-finite verbs. When we form adjective phrases using participles (present and past), we have different elements in the adjective phrase. Let’s look at the different types of adjective phrases we have.
Types of adjective phrases in English
- Participle phrases
- Prepositional phrases
- Infinitive phrases
Participle phrases as adjectives
A participle phrase is a group of words that consists of a present participle, an ‘ing‘ form of a verb, or a past participle, the third form of a verb (V3). It is an adjective phrase headed by a participle. Don’t let the participle trick you; a participle looks like a verb but functions as an adjective.
We have two types of participle phrases:
1. Present participle phrase
2. Past participle phrase
Adjective phrase examples using present participles
- The guy hiding behind the door is from a different class.
(Hiding behind the door is the adjective phrase, starting with the present participle hiding and modifying the noun guy, telling us which guy the speaker is referring to. The entire phrase is working as an adjective.)
- The girl dancing in the rain is the one I have a crush on.
(Dancing in the rain is the adjective phrase, modifying the noun girl and telling us which girl the speaker is referring to.)
- People living in Delhi are always complaining about the work the government does
.
(Living in Delhi is the adjective phrase that’s identifying the noun people. Not all the people in the world are always complaining; people living in Delhi are. The adjective phrase helps us know who these people are.)
- Watching from the balcony, Jyoti enjoyed the game.
(The present participle phrase is coming at the beginning of the sentence, describing the subject Jyoti. When a participle phrase comes at the beginning of a sentence, it is separated from the rest of the sentence using a comma after them.)
- Motivating the class and giving them clarity about life, Ashish broke down.
(The adjective phrase is describing the subject Ashish with two events. Using a participle phrase allows you to describe a noun with more details and a clear description.)
- Joe Rogan, living the life of a martial artist, is the owner of JRE, the most popular podcast on the internet.
(The adjective phrase is offset using two commas in this example as it gives nonessential information about the noun it describes: Joe Rogan.)
How to identify a present participle adjective phrase?
An adjective phrase that is formed using a present participle can be formed in the following ways:
- Present participle + object of the participle
- Present participle + object of the participle + modifiers
- Present participle + modifiers
The guy motivating the class is my school friend.
Adjective phrase: motivating the class
Adjective (Present participle): motivating
The object of the participle: the class
The man talking to the murderer without any fear is my school friend.
Adjective phrase: talking to the murderer
Adjective (Present participle): talking
The object of the preposition: the murderer
Modifier: without any fear
The guy dancing on the stage is my school friend.
Adjective phrase: dancing on the stage
Adjective (Present participle): dancing
Modifier: on the stage
Adjective phrase examples using past participles
Past participle phrases are adjective phrases that start with a past participle (V3) and modify a noun or a pronoun. They can come at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a sentence.
- Played more than a million times on Youtube, my latest song is doing amazing.
(Played more than a million times on Youtube is the adjective phrase, starting with the past participle played and describing the noun my latest song.)
- Your friend died in a car accident came in my dream yesterday.
(The adjective phrase is describing the subject your friend and identifying it for us. Not any friend of yours came in my dream, the one who died in a car accident. Since the adjective phrase is essential to identify the pronoun, it is not offset using commas.)
- Considered the best application for learning English, my English learning application just crossed 1 billion downloads.
(The adjective phrase is modifying the noun phrase my English learning application. When a participle phrase comes at the beginning of a sentence, we must use a comma after it.)
- The little girl diagnosed with cancer has written a book about her life.
(The adjective phrase is modifying the noun girl, telling us which girl the speaker is talking about.)
- The insurance company will not pay for everything destroyed by the fire.
(The adjective phrase is modifying the pronoun everything, telling us what it includes. Since it is essential to identify the pronoun, it is not offset using a comma.)
- I am planning to buy iPhone 11, rated 4.9 by the experts.
(The adjective phrase is modifying the noun iPhone 11, but it is giving nonessential information about it, and that’s why it is separated with the rest of the sentence using a comma.)
Important points
1. When an adjective phrase, formed using a participle, comes at the beginning of a sentence, we must use a comma after it even if it is essential to the meaning of the noun or the pronoun it modifies.
- Motivating the class and giving them clarity about life, Ashish broke down.
- Played more than a million times on Youtube, my latest song is doing amazing.
2. Generally, a participle phrase gives essential information and is not offset using commas when it comes after the noun or the pronoun it modifies. But when it gives nonessential information, use one or two commas depending upon its place in the sentence. Preparing you for every scenario! 😉
- Joe Rogan, living the life of a martial artist, is the owner of JRE, the most popular podcast on the internet.
- I am planning to buy iPhone 11, rated 4.9 by the experts.
Propositional phrases as adjectives
When prepositional phrases function as an adjective, modifying a noun or a pronoun, they are called adjectival phrases as they function adjectivally. Let’s take some examples of prepositional phrases in English.
Examples:
• They are writing a movie about his life.
(The prepositional phrase about his life modifies the noun movie and helps us to understand which movie he is talking about writing. It is starting with the preposition about and is followed by the object of the preposition his life. It is a prepositional phrase but working as an adjective.)
• I’m marrying the girl of my dreams.
(Which girl am I marrying? The girl of my dreams. The prepositional phrase of my dreams is helping us to identify the girl the speaker is talking about. It’s working as an adjective.)
• The ending of the movie wasn’t good.
(The ending of what was not good? The prepositional phrase of the movie modifies the noun ending and identifies it for us.)
• The guy in the red shirt is my neighbor.
(Which guy is my neighbor? The prepositional phrase in the red shirt identifies the noun guy. Not any guy present there is my neighbor, the guy in the red shirt is my neighbor.)
• The house across the street is believed to be haunted.
(Here, the prepositional phrase across the street modifies the noun house.)
• Don’t open the letter inside the box; it’s personal.
(Which letter is personal? The letter inside the box.)
• Students from different countries are studying in this college.
(From different countries is the prepositional phrase that’s modifying the noun students. Without it, the sentence gives a different meaning.)
• I am from India.
(From India is the prepositional phrase that’s giving information about the pronoun I.)
More examples of adjective phrases
- Most people are unhappy with their life.
- Her extremely beautiful eyes are the reason I am with her.
- People abusing others for no reason are losers.
- Look at that girl doing stunts on the rope.
- Jon is extremely dangerous to fight against.
- They are from China.
- Someone at the stand is crying.
- Something under the fridge is moving.
- The guy giving the presentation is my friend.
- He was surprisingly good.
- The bike completely burnt by the fire has been taken by the insurance company.
- An overly confident man thinking he is unbeatable faces reality very soon.
- People covered in mud are my friends.
- Believed to keep a doctor away, apples are my favorite.
Infinitive phrases as adjectives
Infinitive phrases can also function as adjectives. When they do, they come after the noun or pronoun they give information about.
An infinitive phrase starts with an infinitive and is followed by its object or modifier or both.
Examples:
- Can I have a book to read on the train?
(Here, ‘to read on the train’ is an infinitive phrase that’s modifying the noun ‘book’, working as an adjective.)
- We need some people to work on our social media platforms.
(‘To work on our social media platforms‘ is the infinitive phrase that’s giving information about the noun ‘people’, working as an adjective.)
- I wish I had someone to stand by me.
(Here, ‘to stand by me’ is the infinitive phrase that’s describing the pronoun ‘someone’ and helping us understand who it’s referring to.)
Also, check out bare infinitives and forms of infinitives in English.
Adjectival phrase vs Adjective phrase
Adjectival phrases are adjective phrases that don’t have a regular adjective in them. These are participle phrases, prepositional phrases, and infinitive phrases that function as an adjective in a sentence.
On the other hand, adjective phrases are headed by an adjective. The difference between an adjective phrase and an adjectival phrase is that the former is headed by a regular adjective, and the latter is headed by a non-finite verb or a preposition.
- That was extremely tasty cheese.
The adjective phrase is headed by a regular adjective tasty.
- The man talking to your mother is a dentist.
Here, talking to your mother is an adjectival phrase. We are calling it an adjectival phrase as it is not headed by a regular adjective; it is headed by a present participle. It is a present participle phrase that’s working as an adjective.
Adjective phrases
- The exam was very difficult.
- They were pretty happy with our performance.
Adverbial phrases
- Do you know a place to hide tonight? (modifying the noun ‘place’)
- Don’t look at the man in the blue pants. (modifying the noun ‘man’)
- The man murdered here last night was a cop. (modifying the noun ‘man’)
How to identify an adjective phrase?
A regular adjective phrase is formed using an adjective and an adverb (intensifier/mitigator): adverb + adjective:
- very hard
- quite simple
- somewhat scary
Examples:
- My life is very hard.
- This game is quite simple.
- The house was somewhat scary.
When prepositional phrases, infinitive phrases, or participle phrases work as an adjective, they are a part of a noun phrase and come right after the noun they modify.
- of this country
- to help you with this project
- attacked at the cafe
- looking at us
Examples:
- I love the people of my country.
- We know a man to help you with this project.
- The boy attacked at the cafe was 8 years old.
- The old lady looking at us seems to be in some problem.
Is an adjective phrase always headed by an adjective?
Adjective phrases are not always headed by a regular adjective. They can be headed by a non-finite verb or even a preposition. A participle phrase (headed by a participle), an infinitive phrase (headed by an infinitive ‘to + V1’), and a prepositional phrase (headed by a preposition) can function like an adjective, but they can fuction as an adverb too.
If these phrases function as an adjective, they sit next to the noun they modify.
Examples:
- The car parked in front of your house is mine. (past participle phrase modifying the noun car)
- The boys sitting in the room number 4 are my students. (present participle phrase modifying the noun boys)
- I don’t know a person to talk to. (infinitive phrase modifying the noun boys)
- The problem with you is that you don’t listen to anyone. (prepositional phrase modifying the noun problem)
Notice that these adjectival phrases sit the next to the noun they are modifying.
Predicative and attributive adjective phrase
An adjective phrase, like an adjective, can be used attributively and predicatively. An attributive adjective comes right before the noun/pronoun it modfies, and a predicative adjective comes right after a linking verb or the noun it modifies.
Attributive adjective phrases
- The extremely dark sheet was mine.
- You are a quite smart person.
- Yesteday, I saw an unbelievably huge man.
The nouns these adjective phrases are modifying are coming before them.
Predicative adjective phrases
- Your friends are really smart.
- This college looks extremely big.
- The girl waving at us is my friend Anna.
Why should we learn adjective phrases?
Sometimes, a word isn’t sufficient to describe a noun or a pronoun. We need a couple of words to express our message. That’s what adjective phrases help us do: make sentences with a lot of description to strengthen the meaning of a sentence, to make it more colorful and clearer.
Now, we know everything about an adjective phrase and its types. Feel free to share your question, doubt, or feedback in the comment section, and also, share the post with the people that need it.
For one-on-one classes, contact me at [email protected]
FAQs
What is an adjective phrase?
An adjective phrase is a group of words that modifies a noun or pronoun in a sentence. It can be placed before or after the word (noun or pronoun) it modifies or describes.
How do you identify adjective phrases?
You can identify an adjective phrase in two different ways:
1. It comes after a linking verb and modifies the subject of the sentence. (Jon is very smart.)
2. It can come just before the noun it modifies. (You are extremely talented people.)
3. It can just after the noun it modifies. (Anyone smarter than you can do it.)
What is an adjective phrase example?
Here are some examples of adjective phrases:
1. You look unbelievably strong.
2. Your father is not nice to me.
3. The girl dancing in the rain is the one I have a crush on.
How do you make an adjective phrase in a sentence?
An adjective phrase can be formed in the following ways:
1. adverb (Intensifier/mitigator) + adjective
2. Infinitive phrase
3. Prepositional phrase
4. Present participle phrase
5. Past participle phrase
Examples:
1. You are very sweet.
2. I have a thought to write on this book.
3. People in my circle are very supportive.
4. Look at the girl dancing in the blue dress.
5. A man motivated enough can do this job.
What is the structure of an adjective phrase?
The structure of a regular adjective phrase is this: adverb (intensifier/mitigator) + adjective.
Regular adjective phrases
Very good
extremely smart
quite long
somewhat bad
It can be a prepositional phrase, infinitive phrase, and a participle phrase that works as an adjective.
What are the types of adjective phrases?
There are 4 types of adjective phrases in English:
1. Regular adjective phrase
2. Infinitive phrase
3. Prepositional phrase
4. Participle phrase
Examples:
The match was extremely good. (regular adjective phrase)
He is the man to learn English from. (infinitive phrase)
He is a man with a vision. (prepositional phrase)
The people dancing on the stage are my friends. (present participle phrase)
The chair kept in the storeroom is very old. (past participle phrase)
What is the difference between adjective phrase and adjectival phrase?
The difference between an adjective phrase and an adverbial phrase is that an adjective phrase (regular) is formed out of a regular adjective and an adverb, and an adjectival phrase is a prepositional phrase, infinitive phrase, and participle phrase.
Adjective phrase
1. Your friend is very aggressive.
2. I found the movie extremely boring.
Adjectival phrase
1. Do you know the person to contact there?
2. The story of my life is crazy.
3. The girl looking at you is the topper of the class.
4. I haven’t looked at the box sent to me last week.
How do you distinguish between an adjective phrase and a noun phrase?
An adjective phrase works as an adjective and modifies a noun/pronoun, and a noun phrase, on the other hand, works like a noun. It has a head noun and one or more odifiers that modify the noun. And an adjective phrase is headed by an adjective; the head adjective in the adjetive phrase can be a regular adjective or a participle.
Adjective phrases
1. This man is very competitive. (modifying the noun ‘man’)
2. A person with the right attutude can do this easily. (modifying the noun ‘person’)
Noun phrases
1. He is a very competitive man. (subject complement)
2. A person with the right attutude can get this done. (subject)
A noun phrase can have an adjective phrase in it, but an adjective phrase can’t have a noun phrase in it.
What are the types of adjectival phrase?
There are 4 types of adjectival phrases in English:
1. Infinitive phrase
2. Prepositional phrase
3. Participle phrase
4. Regular adjective phrase
Examples:
1. The man to contact for this work is Jacob.
2. Can you pass me the book on the table?
3. The man wearing the black coat is a professional magician.
4. She is very smart.
How do you identify an adjective phrase in a sentence?
An adjective phrase (regular) starts with an adverb and followed by an adjective. The adverb can come after the adjective too. This phrase (adjective) either comes right before the noun it modifies, or after it, or after a linking verb.
Examples:
1. You are a very smart man.
2. Any person bigger than you can do this.
3. Jon is very talented.
Can an adjective phrase be in subject of a sentence?
An adjective phrase can be a part of the subject, but it can’t be the subject. Ex – A (very smart) man said something to me that changed my life. Here, ‘a very smart man’ is the subject and ‘very smart’ is an adjective phrase.
How do you change adjectives with adjective phrases?
We change an adjective to an adjective phrase by adding an adverb to it: before or after it. The adverb modifies the adjective and generally either intensifies its meaning or limits it.
Adjective = bad, Adjective phrase = very bad
Adjective = smart, Adjective phrase = extremely smart
Adjective = hot, Adjective phrase = somewhat hot
What is an adjective phrase simple definition?
Here is a simple definition of an adjective phrase: it is a group of words (phrase) that works as an adjective. This phrase can be headed by a regular adjective or an adjective may not be present in the phrase; regardless, the phrase works as an adjective.
Other phrases:
- Noun phrases
- Verb phrases
- Adverb phrases
- Prepositional phrases
- Gerund phrases
- Infinitive phrases
- Present participle phrases
- Past participle phrases
- Perfect participle phrases
- Participle phrases
Check out Yourdictionary and Grammarmonster for more examples (though unnecessary).
Watch my Youtube lesson on Adjective phrases:
So, I am sure now you know what adjective phrases are and how we use them. That’s all about today’s class, smart brains. I’ll see you in the next class.
For one-on-one classes, contact me at [email protected]
You must have seen sentences like these.
Plenty of unfinished work awaits me. [Adjective]
Plenty of difficult work awaits me. [Adjective]
Note: In all the examples, adjectival phrase has been underlined. Also, noun (or noun phrase) being described by the adjectival phrase has been shown in magenta font. Last, all comments that go with examples are enclosed in square brackets.
Both unfinished and difficult are adjectives, describing (or modifying) the noun work. Let’s consider another set of examples, where different types of phrases describe a noun.
The tiger’s attempt was too feeble. [Adjective phrase]
The tiger’s attempt at dethroning his rival off his territory was met with stiff resistance. [Prepositional phrase]
Surprised by his rival’s strength, the tiger retreated. [Participial phrase]
The tiger’s attempt to grab his rival’s territory was met with stiff resistance. [Infinitive phrase]
In the above sentences, the underlined parts are phrases because they’ve more than one word without having both subject and verb. Second, these phrases describe the noun (or noun phrase) in magenta font. Since describing nouns is a function of adjectives, these phrases are functioning as an adjective. Combining the two (phrase and adjective), a phrase that functions as an adjective is called an adjectival phrase.
Before we jump into details of adjectival phrase, here is a quick context. Adjectival phrase is one of the three pillars of adjectival family, the other two being adjectival words and adjectival clauses. In this post, we’re covering adjectival phrase, the middle pillar in the image below:
To use the above image, cite the link in the button (click to copy):
https://lemongrad.com/adjectival/
An adjectival phrase is a phrase that functions as an adjective in a sentence. (In other words, it’s an umbrella term for all phrases functioning as an adjective.) Since only adjective phrase, prepositional phrase, participial phrase, and infinitive phrase can function as an adjective, they constitute adjectival phrase when functioning as an adjective.
Note: To use the above image, cite the link (url) of this post.
If you notice, this image is nothing but the middle pillar of the earlier image of adjectival family.
Note: There is similar umbrella term for phrases functioning as adverb. It’s called adverbial phrase.
Adjectival phrases – just like adjectives – come next to the noun they describe.
Some think that an adjectival phrase should contain an adjective, but that’s true of only one adjectival phrase, adjective phrase (adjective shown in bold in the first example). Look at the other three adjectival phrases in the examples above; you may or may not find adjectives in them.
Types of adjectival phrase [4 types]
Let’s take the four adjectival phrases briefly, each of whose example was covered in the last set of examples.
1. Adjective phrase
An adjective phrase is a phrase that has an adjective as its head word (or the most important word), and it functions as an adjective in a sentence. In the sentence below, for example, the phrase has an adjective feeble as its head word, and hence too feeble is an adjective phrase.
The tiger’s attempt was too feeble. [Head word in bold]
Note that an adjective phrase is the only adjectival phrase that must have an adjective in it. Other three may or may not have.
Learn more about adjective phrase:
- What is an adjective phrase and how it’s written?
Write Sentences Like in Newspapers and Books
Step-by-step process. Little grammar. Real-world examples.
2. Prepositional phrase
A prepositional phrase is a phrase with ‘preposition + noun’ combination. Unlike an adjective phrase though, which always functions adjectivally, it can function adverbially as well as adjectivally. Here we’re concerned only with its adjectival role.
The tiger’s attempt at dethroning his rival off his territory was met with stiff resistance.
3. Participial phrase
A participial phrase is a phrase that starts with the present participle or past participle form of verb. Like a prepositional phrase, it too can function adjectivally as well as adverbially, with the former being more common function. Here we’re concerned only with its adjectival role.
Surprised by his rival’s strength, the tiger retreated. [Participial phrase starting with past participle form surprised.]
A participial phrase functioning adjectivally can usually come before as well as after the noun. So, this too is fine.
The tiger, surprised by his rival’s strength, retreated.
4. Infinitive phrase
An infinitive phrase is a phrase that starts with ‘to + verb’. It can function as a noun, an adjectival, or an adverbial. Here we’re concerned only with its adjectival role.
The tiger’s attempt to grab his rival’s territory was met with stiff resistance.
This infinitive phrase though is not an adjectival phrase as it is not modifying a noun.
It is advisable to travel light. [Infinitive phrase as complement to adjective advisable]
Adjective phrase is not the same as adjectival phrase
If you noticed, adjective phrase is one of the four phrases we covered. When functioning as an adjective, the four phrases are collectively called adjectival phrases. And the phrase with its head word (or the most important word) as adjective is called adjective phrase.
Adjective phrase, clearly, is one of the adjectival phrases. In other words, adjectival phrase is an umbrella term for all phrases functioning as an adjective, and one of its constituents is adjective phrase.
Adjectival phrases can be restrictive or non-restrictive
Restrictive and non-restrictive terms are usually associated with relative clauses, but they apply to all adjectivals, including adjectival phrases. Most adjectival phrases you’ll come across though will be restrictive.
To remind you the basic difference between restrictive and non-restrictive, a restrictive phrase or clause is an essential part of the sentence as it makes the noun specific, and it comes without commas. If you drop it, the sentence would lose some of its meaning. A non-restrictive phrase or clause, in contrast, is not an essential part of the sentence as it merely adds extra information, and it comes with a pair of commas. If you drop it, the sentence wouldn’t lose any of its meaning.
Ferran Torres, running with the ball, recently signed a hefty contract with FC Barcelona. [Non-restrictive participial phrase. We can drop the phrase, but the meaning won’t change. It’s just extra information.]
The player running with the ball recently signed a hefty contract with FC Barcelona. [Restrictive participial phrase. If you drop the phrase, we wouldn’t know which player we’re talking about. Hence, it’s essential information.]
My dog, in blue collar, can drop a meal to play fetch. [Non-restrictive prepositional phrase]
The dog in blue collar is mine. [Restrictive prepositional phrase]
Learn more about restrictive vs. non-restrictive:
- What’s the difference between restrictive and non-restrictive and how to decide which one to use in a sentence? All this through several examples.
Examples of adjectival phrase
Here are examples of adjectival phrase categorized under the four types of phrases. There is an additional category in the end, comprising of mix of the four phrases. All adjectival phrases have been underlined, nouns and noun phrases being modified have been highlighted in magenta font, and head words in case of adjective phrases, the first category, have been highlighted in bold.
1. Adjective phrase
Sports and other extracurricular activities are essential for our growth and wellbeing.
The saucepan is too hot to touch.
The weather is so harsh and unforgiving. [Two adjectives, harsh and unforgiving, separated by a coordinating conjunction also form an adjective phrase. In such cases, there is no head adjective.]
The match was so long that the two players struggled to stand at the award ceremony.
I was happy to have just passed the exam.
If dangled from the top floor, the rope is long enough to reach the ground floor.
2. Prepositional phrase
Despite effort, my craving for on-demand entertainment hasn’t gone down.
Michelle, with several carry bags in her hand, walked in discomfort. [Non-restrictive]
Can you show me the book on the top left corner of upper shelf?
Few are interested in movies from 90s because of lack of modern-day cinematography.
Actors from film families have higher odds of success in the film industry.
People with both doses of vaccines have much less chance of getting hospitalized because of Covid infection.
Path to greatness is filled with obstacles.
The saucepan just off the flame is too hot to touch. [The second is an adjective phrase]
The politician’s swipe at his rival backfired as he got his facts wrong.
3. Participial phrase
Fuming at another missed milestone, the manager asked for accountability.
Dragging the kill into the river, the crocodiles left the lion hungry.
My dog, wearing a blue collar, can drop a meal to play fetch.
Some 65 million years ago, the devastation caused by a 10km-wide asteroid wiped out more than half of all species.
The road leading to the national park was covered in snow. [The prepositional phrase in snow is not modifying a noun.]
Can you show me the book lying on the top left corner of upper shelf?
The tsunami, triggered by an earthquake, hit the Japanese coastline few hours later.
Spooked by the sound of door opening, the pigeons flew off.
The man found to be Omicron positive has had no travel history.
My Chevrolet, battered by overuse, was in urgent need of servicing.
4. Infinitive phrase
The lion’s desire to have a free meal was foiled by the crocodiles, who dragged the carcass into the river.
Our plans to vacation were put paid by yet another wave of pandemic. [Vacation can be used as a verb.]
All efforts to placate the sulking politician failed.
Only few showed up in the meeting to take stock of security preparations.
Let’s not waste time. I’ve plenty of chores to finish.
It’s your turn to speak.
Despite the judge’s instruction to maintain decorum, some kept murmuring at the back.
After having made so many sacrifices to summit the peak, we can’t turn back now.
Mix of adjectival phrases
Reeling under the Arctic blast, the town is unbearably cold these days. [Both participial phrase and adjective phrase describe the noun phrase the town.]
The conman was exceptional at fooling people requiring bail. [The adjective phrase exceptional at fooling people requiring bail describes the noun phrase The conman. The adjective phrase itself contains a participial phrase requiring bail which describes the noun people.]
Instructions to the rank and file of police force to stay neutral are sometimes not adhered to. [The prepositional phrase to the rank and file of police force describes the noun Instructions. The infinitive phrase to stay neutral describes the noun phrase Instructions to the rank and file of police force.]
The propensity of the virus to replicate is unprecedented. [The prepositional phrase of the virus describes the noun phrase The propensity. The infinitive phrase to replicate describes the noun phrase The propensity of the virus.]