Adjectival phrase
Encyclopedia
The term adjectival phrase, adjective phrase, or sometimes phrasal adjective may refer to any one of three types of grammatical phrase
.
In syntax
, the term adjectival phrase or adjective phrase refers to a phrase built upon an adjective
, which functions as the head
of that phrase. For example, the phrase much quicker than I is based on the adjective 'quick', and the phrase fond of animals is based on the adjective 'fond'. Such phrases may be used predicatively
, as in They are much quicker than I (≈ they are quick) or they are fond of animals (≈ they are fond). When used attributive
ly within a noun phrase, complex adjectival phrases tend to occur after the noun
: I found a typist much quicker than I (compare I found a quick typist, where a simple adjective occurs before the noun). The words modifying the head adjective may be adverbs (much quicker, very pretty), prepositional phrases (fond of animals, happy about the news), or subordinate clauses (happy that you came).
A different use of the term is for a phrase that modifies a noun as an adjective would, even if it does not contain or is not based on an adjective. These may be more precisely distinguished as phrasal noun modifier
s. For example, in Mr Clinton is a man of wealth, the prepositional phrase of wealth modifies a man the way an adjective would, and it could be reworded with an adjective as Mr Clinton is a wealthy man. Similarly, that boy is friendless (an adjective friendless modifies the noun boy) and that boy is without a friend (a prepositional phrase without a friend modifies boy).
they modify. These may be more precisely distinguished as phrasal attributives or attributive phrases. This definition is commonly used in English style guides for writing, because attributive phrases are typically hyphenated, whereas predicative phrases generally are not, despite both modifying a noun. Compare a light-blue purse and a purse which is light blue; without the hyphen, a light blue purse would be read as a light purse which is blue – that is, without 'light blue' being understood as a unit. Only a light-blue purse would be considered to contain an adjectival phrase under this definition, although under the syntactic definition a purse which is light blue contains an adjectival phrase as well.
Although the purse example is based on an actual adjective, this is not generally the case: an on-again-off-again relationship contains no adjectives, for example, and so is not an adjectival phrase under the syntactic definition.
Hyphenation of adjectival phrases is complex and discussed extensively in a variety of style guide
s.
Phrase
In everyday speech, a phrase may refer to any group of words. In linguistics, a phrase is a group of words which form a constituent and so function as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence. A phrase is lower on the grammatical hierarchy than a clause....
.
In syntax
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
, the term adjectival phrase or adjective phrase refers to a phrase built upon an adjective
Adjective
In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
, which functions as the head
Head (linguistics)
In linguistics, the head is the word that determines the syntactic type of the phrase of which it is a member, or analogously the stem that determines the semantic category of a compound of which it is a component. The other elements modify the head....
of that phrase. For example, the phrase much quicker than I is based on the adjective 'quick', and the phrase fond of animals is based on the adjective 'fond'. Such phrases may be used predicatively
Predicate (grammar)
There are two competing notions of the predicate in theories of grammar. Traditional grammar tends to view a predicate as one of two main parts of a sentence, the other being the subject, which the predicate modifies. The other understanding of predicates is inspired from work in predicate calculus...
, as in They are much quicker than I (≈ they are quick) or they are fond of animals (≈ they are fond). When used attributive
Attributive
In grammar, an attributive is a word or phrase within a noun phrase that modifies the head noun. It may be an:* attributive adjective* attributive noun* attributive verbor other part of speech....
ly within a noun phrase, complex adjectival phrases tend to occur after the noun
Post-positive adjective
A postpositive adjective is an adjective that appears after the noun that it modifies. In some languages this is the normal syntax, but in English it is rare, largely confined to archaic or institutional expressions. Aplenty, galore, and the informal extraordinaire are examples of adjectives that...
: I found a typist much quicker than I (compare I found a quick typist, where a simple adjective occurs before the noun). The words modifying the head adjective may be adverbs (much quicker, very pretty), prepositional phrases (fond of animals, happy about the news), or subordinate clauses (happy that you came).
A different use of the term is for a phrase that modifies a noun as an adjective would, even if it does not contain or is not based on an adjective. These may be more precisely distinguished as phrasal noun modifier
Grammatical modifier
In grammar, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure; the removal of the modifier typically doesn't affect the grammaticality of the sentence....
s. For example, in Mr Clinton is a man of wealth, the prepositional phrase of wealth modifies a man the way an adjective would, and it could be reworded with an adjective as Mr Clinton is a wealthy man. Similarly, that boy is friendless (an adjective friendless modifies the noun boy) and that boy is without a friend (a prepositional phrase without a friend modifies boy).
Attributive phrases and hyphenation
Under some definitions the term adjectival phrase is only used for phrases in attributive position, within the noun phraseNoun phrase
In grammar, a noun phrase, nominal phrase, or nominal group is a phrase based on a noun, pronoun, or other noun-like word optionally accompanied by modifiers such as adjectives....
they modify. These may be more precisely distinguished as phrasal attributives or attributive phrases. This definition is commonly used in English style guides for writing, because attributive phrases are typically hyphenated, whereas predicative phrases generally are not, despite both modifying a noun. Compare a light-blue purse and a purse which is light blue; without the hyphen, a light blue purse would be read as a light purse which is blue – that is, without 'light blue' being understood as a unit. Only a light-blue purse would be considered to contain an adjectival phrase under this definition, although under the syntactic definition a purse which is light blue contains an adjectival phrase as well.
Although the purse example is based on an actual adjective, this is not generally the case: an on-again-off-again relationship contains no adjectives, for example, and so is not an adjectival phrase under the syntactic definition.
Hyphenation of adjectival phrases is complex and discussed extensively in a variety of style guide
Style guide
A style guide or style manual is a set of standards for the writing and design of documents, either for general use or for a specific publication, organization or field...
s.