Different Types of Adjective Functions in English Grammar
undefined
Syntactic
Functions of
Adjectives
INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH PHRASES
(1) ATTRIBUTIVE (Pre-
modifying nouns)
0
The
beautiful
painting.
0
His
main
argument.
0
My
former
friend.
These are all examples of
noun phrases
that include an
adjective phrase
. In these cases, the adjective phrases
are only the adjectives themselves, for the words that
come in front of them are
not
adverbs.
(2) PREDICATIVE
They come after a linking verb “be”, “become”, etc, in the
predicative function: complement of the subject or of
the object.
E.g.:
0
[I] feel
awfu
l. (complement of the subject)
0
I consider [him]
foolish
. (complement of the object)
0
[That he needs it] is
obvious
. (complement of the
subject, in this case, a subject clause)
(3) POST-MODIFIER
E.g.:
0
The people (who were)
involved
were reported to the police.
(Post-modifier: Reduced wh- clause)
0
The men (who were)
present
were his supporters.
(Post-modifier: Reduced wh- clause)
0
Anyone
intelligent
can do it.
0
I want to try something
larger
.
(Adjectives after indefinite pronouns)
(4) HEAD OF A NOUN
PHRASE
Adjectives as nouns of a noun phrase have
personal
references
(Often adjectives denoting nationalities or with
abstract references).
0
The extremely
old
need a great deal of attention.
0
The
young
in spirit enjoy life.
0
He’s acceptable to both
old
and
young
.
0
You
British
and you
French
ought to be allies.
(5) VERBLESS ADJECTIVE
CLAUSE
It generally refers to the subject.
An adjective
(alone or
as head of an adjective phrase
) can function as
a
verbless clause.
E.g.:
0
Nervous
, the man opened the letter.
0
The man, (who was)
nervous
, opened the letter.
(6) EXCLAMATORY ADJECTIVE
SENTENCE
An adjective
as head of an adjective phrase or as its sole
realization can be exclamation.
E.g.:
0
How good of you!
0
How wonderful!
0
Excellent!
Learn about attributive adjectives that modify nouns, predicative adjectives used with linking verbs, post-modifiers like reduced clauses, adjectives acting as the head of a noun phrase, verbless adjective clauses, and exclamatory adjective sentences in English grammar.
Download Presentation
Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author. Download presentation by click this link. If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.
E N D
Presentation Transcript
(1) ATTRIBUTIVE (Pre- modifying nouns) 0 The beautiful painting. 0 His main argument. 0 My former friend. These are all examples of noun phrases that include an adjective phrase. In these cases, the adjective phrases are only the adjectives themselves, for the words that come in front of them are not adverbs.
(2) PREDICATIVE They come after a linking verb be , become , etc, in the predicative function: complement of the subject or of the object. E.g.: 0 [I] feel awful. (complement of the subject) I consider [him] foolish. (complement of the object) 0 [That he needs it] is obvious. (complement of the subject, in this case, a subject clause) 0
(3) POST-MODIFIER E.g.: 0 The people (who were) involved were reported to the police. (Post-modifier: Reduced wh- clause) The men (who were) present were his supporters. (Post-modifier: Reduced wh- clause) 0 Anyone intelligent can do it. I want to try something larger. (Adjectives after indefinite pronouns) 0 0
(4) HEAD OF A NOUN PHRASE Adjectives as nouns of a noun phrase have personal references (Often adjectives denoting nationalities or with abstract references). The extremely old need a great deal of attention. 0 The young in spirit enjoy life. 0 He s acceptable to both old and young. 0 You British and you French ought to be allies. 0
(5) VERBLESS ADJECTIVE CLAUSE It generally refers to the subject. An adjective (alone or as head of an adjective phrase) can function as a verbless clause. E.g.: Nervous, the man opened the letter. 0 The man, (who was) nervous, opened the letter. 0
(6) EXCLAMATORY ADJECTIVE SENTENCE An adjective as head of an adjective phrase or as its sole realization can be exclamation. E.g.: How good of you! 0 How wonderful! 0 Excellent! 0
