Most people know what an adjective is, but when it comes to describing an adjective phrase, they get confused. Some are mistaken and think that this type of phrase is a group of words that has an adjective in it. Although this may be true, this is not an effective phrase. This type of phrase is actually a group of words that serves to describe a noun in a sentence, thus functioning as an adjective. You do not have to be and English teacher or grammar buff to understand what an adjective phrase is or how it works: in fact, we use these phrases all of the time in writing and in spoken English without thinking about them. Read on to learn more about how these handy phrases operate grammatically within the English language.
Many people wonder how to pick out adjective phrases within sentences. The trick to identifying one in a sentence is to look at the first word of the group of words. If the first word is an adverb or preposition, there is a good chance that the phrase is an adjective phrase. Ask yourself, what is this phrase modifying? Is it describing the noun? If the group of words does in fact modify the noun or subject of the clause or sentence, then the phrase is in fact an adjective phrase.
An adjective phrase is formed out of either an intensifier and an adjective, or alternatively, more than one adjective in a row. In the first case, an example might be “very beautiful” in the sentence, “The very beautiful woman walked down the street.”
Many people are surprised to learn that adjective phrases do not just modify nouns: they can also modify pronouns! Look at the following two examples: “He is from Boston” and “Tom is from Boston” both have an adjective phrase, namely, “from Boston.”
It does not matter if the noun is a pronoun or not: the adjective phrase still functions in the same way. If you are looking for a more complex way to modify a noun than just using a simple adjective, try using this type of phrase! Use many adjectives in a row, use a phrase with a preposition, or a phrase starting with an adverb to modify the noun at hand.
Why use one adjective when you could be very descriptive and use several to describe an object? A string of adjectives can come together as an adjective phrase in order to describe a noun.
For example in the sentence, “Sally is a nice girl,” there is one adjective, namely, nice. However, in the sentence, “Sally is a nice, intelligent, beautiful, and kind girl,” an adjectival phrase is employed in order to come together and describe Sally.
The best way to understand this type of phrase and how it functions is to examine some examples of these phrases in action. Let’s take a look at an example with an adjective: “The beautiful house” and “The house that is beautiful” mean the same thing, but the former has an adjective, whereas the latter has an adjectival phrase.
Another set of examples is, “the angry dog” and “the dog that is acting very angry.” The latter phrase uses the phrase “that is acting very angry” to modify the subject, which is the noun “dog.” Thus, the latter example has an adjectival phrase.
The best way to learn about adjective phrases is to practice using them. If you are still having trouble understanding this very useful type of phrase, consult a grammar book with lots of examples and explanations related to adjective phrases and how they function.