Adjective Phrases
The adjective phrases are sets of words used to describe or qualify something. The core of this set of words is always a qualifying adjective, which offers characteristics or qualities of the noun. In this post we will describe the adjective phrase with examples.
The adjective phrases are a set of words that have the function to qualify either a noun or a person pronouns (I, you, he, we, you, they); that is, they give us information on the qualities or characteristics of said subject or noun. The core of these phrases is always a qualifying adjective.
For example:
My teacher, tired of explaining, put on a movie.
Formation of adjective phrases
Adjective phrases can be formed in two ways:
1-Adverb + adjective.
For example: very small, horribly tragic, tremendously unexpected.
2-Adjective + complement .
For example: full of people, tired of explaining, excited about the result.
Adjective phrases formed by an adverb and an adjective
In this type of adjective phrase, an adverb and a qualifying adjective are joined, as in the following example: “The child is less scared since he sleeps with the light on.” The adjective phrase less scared is formed by the adverb of less quantity and the qualifying adjective scared. The core of these sentences is the adjective since it is the word that helps us to give information about the noun or subject that is being qualified. To better understand these phrases it is important to remember what adverbs and adjectives are and what they are for. Adjective Phrase with types in English
The adverbs are words whose function is to modify the verb or adjective, as in the following sentence: “The man sat under the tree.” The word below modifies the verb since it indicates the place where the action is carried out. Answer the question “where did you sit?”
The adjectives, on the other hand, are the words whose grammatical function is to determine or qualify a noun; that is, they give us specific information, be it about people, animals, things, or ideas. As in the case of the sentence: “I bought a green bicycle .” The word green qualifies the noun bicycle.
These adjective phrases that are composed of a qualifying adjective and an adverb, in addition to their most important function of qualifying a noun or subject, may also contain other functions related to the presence of the adverb. This is explained in two ways:
- The adverb within the adjective phrase will always modify the accompanying qualifying adjective. For example, in the adjective phrase ” Very fun ” the adverb muy is modifying the adjective fun: it complements its meaning.
- This type of adjective phrase can sometimes accompany a verb and also have the function of modifying it, as adverbs do. For example, in the sentence “John is almost sure of his answer.” The adjective phrase almost certainly, in addition to qualifying Juan, also modifies the verb is: it indicates the way in which the action is carried out. Answer the question “how are you?”
Examples of adjective phrases formed by an adverb and an adjective
- This is the freshest fish I have ever eaten in my life.
- I think the theory you mention is unreliable.
- Since we met she has been kind enough.
- The least dedicated student in the course was the only one who failed.
- It is difficult to keep such an enigmatic secret.
- The tree, just planted a few days ago, dried up from the winter.
- The taste of these oranges is very sweet.
- The morning journalist is very informed of the social facts.
- The highest mountain in the world is Everest.
- I pinned my hopes on a really nil possibility.
- Extremely toxic waste must be handled with care.
- The firefighter, not at all scared, entered the flames that came out of the building.
- The tide was very high and we couldn’t go swimming.
- My mother, always attentive, discovered what my brother was up to.
- After a fight, the fighter comes out beaten up.
2-Adjective phrases formed by an adjective and a complement
In this type of adjective phrase, a qualifying adjective and a complement are joined. It is called a complement to a syntactic segment that completes the meaning of another segment of the sentence. In this case, the complement is going to add meaning to the adjective that it accompanies. For example, in the sentence: “The building, painted in different colors, was remodeled”, the adjective phrase painted in different colors qualifies the noun building and is made up of the qualifying adjective painted and the complement of different colors.
Complements are generally made up of a preposition (a, before, under, from, until, towards, by, for, etc.) that serves as a link between the qualifying adjective and the extra information that we want to add to the adjective. We can explain this in the following way:
Adjective phrase | ||
| Adjective | Complement | |
| Preposition | ||
| Tired | of | so much laugh |
Examples of adjective phrases formed by an adjective and a complement
Below are the adjective phrase with examples
- The houses, painted gray, are cheaper.
- She, tired of life, decided to take a long vacation.
- Stunned by the noise, the man fled the rock concert.
- I liked the vase full of roses and violets.
- The books, lined with plastic, are theirs.
- The woman, happy beyond belief, looked at the others.
- The branches, moved by the wind, captivated me.
- The students, confused by the exam, failed at the end of the semester.
- The table, covered in dust, was the only one that was unoccupied.
- Upon arriving at the mansion, surrounded by trees, we were all fascinated.
- My sister is blonde from birth. ´
- Frightened by so much noise, the girl hid in the room.
- My uncle found a sleeping puppy among the dry leaves.
- The landscape seemed framed by vegetation.
- The hall was adorned with various flowers, all carefully arranged.
We hope you understood the adjective phrase with examples.
