MODIFIERS

Premodifiers (placed between the determiner and the head noun): adjectives, nouns, adverbs,
participles, gerunds or whole clauses
Postmodifiers (placed after the head noun): adjectives, adverbs, nouns or whole clauses

THE ADJECTIVE
I.

Characteristics of the adjective

there are some characteristic suffixes (reasonable, beautiful, rainy), but many adjectives have
no identifying form (bad, warm, tall)

a word is an adjective if it satisfies at least one of the following two criteria: it has an attributive
use (a happy man); it has a predicative use (the man is/looks happy)

other characteristic features of adjectives: their premodification with very (a very happy man)
and their comparison (a happier man)

Obs: Cases of overlapping between the adjective and other word classes:
1)

Both adjectives and adverbs: fast, late, close, high, light, direct, early, weekly

2)

Both adjectives and nouns: criminal, ancient, black, classic, intellectual, noble

3)

Both adjectives and participles: offended, lost, escaped, alarming, frightening, insulting

II.

Classification of adjectives

A.
1.

Semantic classification
qualitative adjectives ( indicate a quality): sad, small, happy, wise, pretty, etc.
Qualitative adjectives are gradable, i.e. they can be used in the comparative or the superlative
degree.

2.

classifying adjectives ( identify someone or something as a member of a class): financial,

medieval, sufficient, daily, mental, real, electric, British, Victorian, etc.
Classifying adjectives are not gradable.
NOTE: Some adjectives can be either qualitative or classifying, depending on the meaning that
we want to convey (e.g. an emotional person vs. the emotional needs of children)

3.

colour adjectives ( identify the colour of something): blue, green, red; they can be modified
by other adjectives, such as: light, pale, dark, deep, bright.
Obs: When a colour does not have a definite name

we can use a colour adjective with the suffix ish (e.g. yellowish hair)

we can combine two colour adjectives (e.g. blue-green waves; greenish-white flowers)

Colour adjectives occasionally have comparatives and superlatives (e.g. His face was redder
than usual. This is the greenest scenery in Australia.)
4.

emphasizing adjectives ( emphasize our feelings about the person/thing we are talking
about): pure, absolute, complete, very, perfect, utter, entire, true

B.

Syntactic classification

According to their syntactic function, adjectives may be:

1.

Both attributive and predicative: good, bad, cold, tall

e.g. This is a good book. The book is good.

2.

Attributive only: true, utter, close, extreme

e.g. He is an utter fool.

Adjectives that are used only attributively may be:

qualitative: adoring, flagrant, scant

classifying: atomic, digital, institutional, occasional

emphasizing: total, complete

denominal: economic, woollen, musical

3.

Predicative only: afraid, alone, alike, awake, well

e.g. The sisters are alike/well.

NOTE: Some of the adjectives which are usually or always used predicatively are followed by
prepositions:
-

to: accustomed, subject, averse

of: aware, capable, devoid

with: compatible, consonant

other prepositions: rooted in, lacking in, descended from, reliant on, inclined towards

Some adjectives used predicatively are followed by a to-infinitive (e.g. They were unable to
help me.)
Syntactically, these adjectives may be subject complements (e.g.) or object complements (e.g.)

III.
1.

Position of adjectives
Attributive adjectives generally precede the noun, i.e. they are premodifiers (e.g. a careful
driver).
Obs: In case of multiple premodification, the order is approximately the following:
Evaluative + Size + Shape + Age + Colour + Participle + Origin/Style + Material + Denominal
adjective/Gerund + Head Noun (e.g.)

2.

The adjectives are postmodifiers in the following situations:

when the adjective is modified by a phrase expressing measurement (e.g. a river two
hundred miles long, a man thirty years old)

when the adjective is followed by a prepositional phrase (e.g. a man greedy for money,
matters worthy of attention, a mistake typical of beginners)

when more adjectives than one are used emphatically (e.g. a writer both witty and wise, a
face thin and pale)

when adjectives ending in (a)ble are accompanied by a superlative or by all or only (e.g.
the fastest car imaginable, the only food tolerable, all events remarkable)

when adjectives are preceded by the definite article and modify a proper noun (e.g. Alfred
the Great)

when adjectives modify indefinite pronouns (e.g. nothing interesting, someone new)

when the adjective is followed by an infinitive (e.g. a man difficult to please, a boy eager
to answer)

in a number of compounds or phrases with adjectives of Romance origin (e.g. court

martial, attorney general, time immemorial, the president elect, heir apparent, the first
person singular)

IV.

Comparison of adjectives

Gradable adjectives have 3 degrees of comparison: positive, comparative (of superiority, inferiority
and equality) and superlative (absolute and relative).
The following types of comparison are possible:

1.

The synthetical comparison (-er for the comparative and est for the superlative) is used for:
a)

monosyllabic adjectives: sweet-sweeter-the sweetest (exceptions: real, tired)

b)

disyllabic adjectives ending in y, -ow, -er, -ure, syllabic [l] or with the stress on the
second syllable: pretty-prettier-the prettiest, narrow, clever, mature, simple, polite
(exceptions: eager, proper). We may include here other disyllabic adjectives such as:
common, quiet, pleasant, handsome.

Obs: Spelling and pronunciation problems

2.

The analytical comparison (with more and most placed in front of the adjective) is used for
plurisyllabic adjectives: interesting-more interesting-the most interesting.

3.

The irregular comparison is possible for some adjectives (e.g.).

Obs1: Compound adjectives are compared analytically when the components form a semantic unit
(e.g. far-fetched more far-fetched the most far-fetched) and synthetically (the first element)
when the components preserve their independent meaning (e.g. well-known better-known the
best known)
Obs2: There are a number of special constructions with the comparative and the superlative:
a)

an adjective in the superlative without the may express a quantity in a very high degree,
without implying comparison (e.g.)

b)

a comparative with the is generally used when only two things or persons are compared
(e.g.)

c)

two comparatives connected by and are used for emphasis or intensification (e.g.)

d)

two comparatives preceded by the, each at the beginning of a sentence, are used to express
proportional increase/decrease (e.g.)

V.

Modification of adjectives
1.
a)

Adjectives may be premodified by:

adverbs like very, too, quite, so, rather, highly, greatly, entirely, pretty, etc., when
the adjective is in the positive degree
e.g. That was quite a dull book. He was too shy.

b)

adverbs like (by) far, much, still, ever, even, somewhat, hardly, etc., when the
adjective is in the comparative degree
e.g. His contribution was far/still/even/by far more important. He was somewhat/hardly
taller than me.

c)

the adverbs very and by far, when the adjective is in the superlative degree
e.g. He is by far the cleverest student. This is the very best solution.

d)

nouns or noun phrases like a good/great deal, a lot, etc.

e.g. His paper is a lot/a great deal better than yours.

2.

Adjectives may be postmodified by:

a)

the adverb enough

e.g. It was a good enough answer. The answer was good enough.

b)

adjectives in able/-ible as modifiers of a superlative

e.g. These are the best instruments available/possible.

c)

prepositional phrases, after superlatives

e.g. She is the tallest of the three girls/in her class.

d)
-

noun phrases or clauses, after:

comparatives of equality (e.g. She is as pretty as her sister. He is as clever a person as
one would expect.)

comparatives of inferiority (e.g. His suit is less expensive than mine. He is not so
intelligent as you imagine.)

comparatives of superiority (e.g. This article is better than yours/ than the one you wrote
last week.)

OTHER MODIFIERS
I.
1.
-

Premodifiers
Nouns
Nouns functioning as premodifiers are often regarded as an element of a compound (e.g. his life
story, an iron rod)

They often correspond to postmodification with prepositional phrases (e.g. flower garden = a
garden for flowers; football game = a game of football); sometimes, they have correspondents
of different types (e.g. Sergeant Smith = Smith is a sergeant; a fighter-bomber = the plane is
both a fighter and a bomber)
Obs: a wine glass vs. a glass of wine

Nouns that denote materials are regularly used as modifiers (e.g. a wood floor, a gold watch,
lead pipes)
Obs1: The adjectives derived from such nouns may denote the material of which objects are
made (a wooden chair, a leaden coffin), but they often have other meanings, usually figurative
(the Golden Age, a golden opportunity, leaden clouds/sleep, a stony stare)
Obs2: Sometimes, it is important to distinguish between the use of a noun as a modifier and the
use of the corresponding adjective (a wooden box vs. a wood fire)

Nouns that have a plural form in postmodifying phrases usually become singular when used in
premodification (e.g.)

Nouns in the synthetical genitive are frequent premodifiers of other nouns; in such phrases, the
determiner usually refers to the genitive, but it may also refer to the head noun (This new
teachers task is hard.)
The ambiguity is sometimes solved by concord: this awful womens gossip vs. these awful
womens gossip

2.

Adverbs and other phrases

a)

Only few adverbs or adverbial phrases premodify nouns (e.g.)

b)

Several common or colloquial expressions can be premodifiers (e.g. round-the clock

service, an up-to-date timetable, a come-and-fight-me attitude)

3.

Non-Finite Forms of the Verb

a)

The present participle can be a premodifier when it indicates a permanent or characteristic

feature. Some participles are fully adjectival and have degrees of comparison (e.g.), others
can be used only with the intensifier very (e.g.), while others do not allow very (e.g.).
The past participle can be active or passive.

b)
-

The active past participle is rarely used in premodification: e.g. the vanished treasure, a
retired teacher, reduced/increased prices

Most past participles are passive, e.g. a married man, the defeated army, a broken vase, a
damaged car

Some can be used only with an adverb : e.g. a recently sold car, the above mentioned
article

Obs1: Noun + -ed denominal modifiers: e.g. a bearded man, a wooded hillside

Obs2: Old forms of the past participle: e.g. a drunken man, sunken eyes, a rotten apple, a
freshly shaven face, molten metal
Obs3: Different pronunciation: a learned man vs. he has learned; a cursed nuisance vs. he
was cursed; an aged man vs. he has aged
c)

The gerund as a premodifier has no comparative or superlative (e.g. running shoes, boiling
point). The combination of gerund and noun is often felt as a compound noun (e.g. diningroom, swimming-pool)

II. Postmodifiers
1.

Adverbs ( which indicate time and space)

e.g. the meal afterwards, the day before, the trip abroad, your friend here, the players offside
Obs: Some adverbs may be both pre- and post-modifiers (e.g.)

2.

Non-Finite Clauses

a) Clauses with a present participle correspond to relative clauses in which the relative pronoun is
subject and the verb may be present, past or future, progressive or non-progressive, according to
the context
e.g. The man working behind the desk is my cousin.
A tile falling from a roof damaged his car.
Obs: Even verbs which cannot have the progressive form in finite clauses can appear in
participial form (e.g. It was a mixture consisting of water, oil and vinegar.)
b) Clauses with a past participle also correspond to relative clauses that have the relative pronoun
as subject
e.g. The car repaired by the mechanic is very old.
Obs: Sometimes, a participial clause may be ambiguous (e.g. The girl, giving such intelligent
answers, was highly praised by her teachers.)
c) Clauses with a to-infinitive correspond to relative clauses where the relative pronoun can be
subject (e.g. The man to help you is Dan.), object (e.g. The man to see is Dan.) or adverbial
(e.g. The place to stay is the guest house.)
The infinitive may have its own subject introduced by the preposition for (e.g. Here is a book
for you to read.)

Obs: In some cases, the infinitive is active in form and passive in meaning (e.g. There are many
difficulties to overcome.). In other cases, either active or passive infinitives are possible (e.g.
Here is a list of people to invite/to be invited; There are many letters to write/to be written;
The man to consult/to be consulted is Jim.)

3.

Nouns

a) Prepositional phrases: the most frequent type of postmodification in English (e.g.)

b) Apposition: when there is identical reference (e.g. Jane, my best friend, was here yesterday.)
Obs1: Sometimes 3 or more units can be in apposition (e.g. They returned to their birthplace,
their place of residence, the country of which they were citizens.)
Obs2: There are cases when two or more phrases function as one appositive (e.g. They had a
splendid vacation: a trip to Paris and two weeks in Italy.)