Adjective Phrase
The term “Adjective Phrase”
consists of two words. It is better to break it down to understand it well.
Phrase
It is a group of words with a
subject and a verb expressing a coherent idea. Phrases are used in sentences to
provide clarity in sentences.
- Made of gold
- With black glasses
Adjective
An adjective is a word that
provides more information about a noun or pronoun.
- Red
- Small
- Beautiful
Definition of Adjective Phrase
An adjective phrase is a phrase
that functions as an adjective by modifying a noun in a sentence.
- I think the man with black glasses was John’s father.
- She bought a necklace made of gold.
The head or principal word in an
adjective phrase must be an adjective. The headword can be placed at the
beginning, in the middle, or at the end of an adjective phrase.
- He was happy about his result.
- He was very happy about his result.
- He was busy and very happy.
Examples of Adjective Phrases
- She has beautiful blue eyes.
- She always buys very expensive shoes.
- John is a great person.
- Ali was extremely delighted when he received his graduate degree.
- We have sweet juicy peaches in our fridge.
- The animals in small cages double the beauty of the zoo.
- I do not like intense and time-consuming courses.
- Have you seen a person smarter than me?
- His life was full of happiness when he was a child.
- Today, the class is so silent and quiet.
More about Adjective Phrases
According to the placement of
adjectives, we have two types of adjectives. Attributive and predicative.
Attributive Adjectives
An adjective that is generally
placed before the noun it modifies.
Predicative Adjectives
An adjective that is generally
placed after the noun it modifies and linked by a linking verb.
Attributive Adjective Phrase
An adjective phrase that is
placed before the noun it modifies in general terms is called an attributive
adjective phrase.
Remember that it is not just the
rule. An attributive adjective phrase is placed inside the noun phrase of the
noun that is being modified.
- The beautifully designed frames are priceless.
- The frames beautifully designed are priceless.
Predicative Adjective Phrase
An adjective phrase that is
typically placed after the noun it modifies is called a predicative adjective
phrase. A predicative adjective phrase is placed outside the noun phrase of the
noun that is being modified. Predicative adjective phrases are linked to their
nouns with linking verbs.
- The frames are beautifully designed and priceless.
- The frames with brown color look the most beautiful.
Identification of an Adjective Phrase
To identify an adjective phrase
in a sentence, you need to look for a noun first. Then, point out an adjective
if any is there. The last point is to find out other related words because an
adjective phrase has at least an adjective and related words.
- I have never seen a dog covered in mud.
To identify an adjective phrase
in this example, we follow the above rules.
There are two nouns “dog and mud”. The word “covered” is an adjective. Its related words are “in and mud”. The noun “dog” is being modified. Consequently, “covered in mud” is an adjective phrase that modifies the noun “dog”.
Components of Adjective Phrases
An adjective phrase is a group of
words. It means that different words make up an adjective phrase which we call
the components of the adjective phrase.
Components:
Adjective
- The five Pakistani cricketers have retired.
- The blue-eyed Pakistani singers participated in the competition.
Preposition
- The girl with long hair always gets 1st position.
- The boy, on the bike, waved his hand as a clue of something.
Preposition Phrases
- The tall girl from our village belongs to a poor family.
- Show me a picture of your best friend, please.
Adverbs
- Ali gave us very helpful tips.
- I like his immediately quick responses.
Articles
- Diya, the girl with the red shirt, is my sister.
- He is a hardworking and respectable teacher.
Modifiers
- Show me the book in red color, please.
- I should have a dress in white for the function.
Determiners
- This beautiful and cute baby is my cousin’s son.
- My best American friend is Mr. John.
Noun
- The dog covered in mud is going to die.
- I like the necklace made of gold, but I am broken today.
Difference between an Adjective Phrase and an Adjective Clause
On the basis of some points, we differentiate between an adjective phrase and an adjective clause.- An adjective phrase consists of words (without a subject and a verb) having one adjective that modifies a noun or pronoun.
- An adjective clause consists of words having a relative pronoun or relative adverb, a subject, and a verb that modifies a noun or pronoun.
- An adjective phrase should have at least one adjective.
- An adjective clause may not require an adjective.
- An adjective phrase can be placed before as well as after a noun.
- An adjective clause is always placed right after the noun it modifies.
