ADJ&ADV PHRASE

English Grammar

Group members:1. Le Thi Hoai Thanh2. Nguyen Hanh Le3. Tran Thi Ut Tram4. Hoang Thi Thu Huong5. Le Thi Thu Phuong6. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang 

ADJECTIVE PHRASE

Adjective phrase

1.Definition An adjective phrase is a phrase with an

adjective ( or adjectivalized participle) as the head. An adjective phrase consists of an adjective which may be preceded and/or followed by other words.

Ex1 : 1.It is a nice cat2. I was very excited3. They have been very curious about this

(strange )guy

Adjective phraseII.Structure:Full Structure: Pre-modification + head +

postmodification 1.Pre-modification:

modifying,describing,or qualifying constituents which precede the head.

Pre-modifier types Adverb phraseex: Yesterday was a very unusually hot day

Use very,quite,partly,perfectly.ect…Ex: This exercise is relatively hard

Adjective can be premodified by either+ Grading:

( slightly,somewhat,very,overly…)Ex: A slightly bent wire,an extremely

overweight dog+ comparison : (more,less,least,most)Ex: The more he eat,the fatter he is.

Not all adjectives can be graded or compared:

Comparable: more beautiful, the most red

Noncomparable (ungradable): NATIONALITIES: French, Spanish

MISC.: dead, alive, broken, etc Comparison can also be done

morphologically:the bigger/biggest

A few intensifier may pre-modify noun phrase: quite, rather and the pre-determiners such and exclamatory what, the noun phrase is normally indefinite and the intensifiers precede and determines

Ex:- I was rather a mess

- He was quite some player

- I have never heard such wickedness

Noun phrase: We can put a phrase of measurement before some adjs

Ex : The man is about forty years old

I am 1,67 metres tall

2.The HeadIs an adjective or participle serving as the

focus of the phrase Ex: She is a nice cat adj

I was very excited. past participleThey have been very curious about this (strange) guy adj

3.Post-modification:

Modifying constituent which follows the head; and complementation,(the major subcategoryof postmodification here) is the constituent which follows any postmodification and completes the specification of a meaning implied by the head

Adverbs as postmodifiers ( enough/indeed)

Ex: This fruit is not ripe enough to eat

He doesn’t do it badly.He is sucessfull indeed

+ complements of adj

That-clause:Ex: We were confident that he was still alive

To-infinite clause:Ex: Bob was slow to catch the ball

This meal is too expansive to enjoy

Ing-clauseEx: I’m busy getting the house redecorated

We’re fortunate having Aunt Agatha as a baby-sistter

Prepositional phrase:Ex: Bobby is fond of maths

Comparative clauseEx: It was easier than they said

Diagram summary

Adj.p

Pre-modification

Head

Post-modification

Adverb phrase

Noun phrase

Adjective

Participle

Ed-participle

Ing-participle

Adverb

complementation

Prepositional phrae

Infinitive clauseIng-clauseThat-clause

Comparative clause

Syntactic functions

ADJECTIVE PHRASE

1. NOUN PRE – MODIFIER ( attributive adjs)

Adjs are attributive when they premodify nouns, appear between the determiner and the head of the NP.

Ex:

  

1. she had a big hat. Det adj.p H of HP

NP

2. Only rich people can afford that flat. Det Adj.P H of NP

NP

2. COMPLEMENTS (predicative adjs)

- Subject complement: with corpus verbs: look, seem, sound ,hear, get, become. . . Ex: 1. He looks handsome. S C

2. She feels unhappy.

S C

+ Subject complement (subject is a finite clause) Ex: What the said is right.

Finite C + Subject complement (subject is non-finite clause) Ex: Learning English is very difficult. Non-finite C

2. COMPLEMENTS (predicative adjs)

- Object complement: Ex: The gifts make children happy.

O C + Object complement (object is a clause) Ex: I consider what he did foolish.

O C + Object complement expresses the result of process denoted by the verb Ex He pulled his belt tight. (as the result, his belt was then tight)

 3.POST-POSITIVE

A post-positive adjective is an adjective that appears after noun that it modifies. A postposed adj can usually be regarded as a relative clause. There are some following cases: + Indefinite pronoun ending in-body, -thing,-one. . . Ex: I’d like to have something useful. (I’d like to have something which is useful) +the adjs having different senses for each position with some adjs EX: The president-elect is an intelligent man. (Soon to take office) The elect man is Mr. Smith.(the best man)

3.POST-POSITIVE

+ In several compounds: Ex: Courts martial, heir apparent, body politic + Some adjs not occurring attributively in the relevant meaning like ablaze, afloat, afraid, alike, alive, absent . . . Ex: The house ablaze is next door to mine. The people involved were not found.

4.THE HEAD OF NOUN PHRASE Adjective can often function as heads of NPs as the following cases: + adjs having personal reference: Ex: The poor get poorer, the rich get richer. H H   These seats are for the disabled. H + Adjective denoting nationalities   Ex: The French like eating well.   The Dutch are the tallest in the world.   + Adjective having abstract reference   Ex: The newest is that he is going to China.   He ventured into the unknown.

6.EXCLAMATORY ADJ SENTENCE

An adj as head of an adj. P or as its sole realization can be an exclamatory.

 Ex. 

How beautiful!  Great!

What a nice day!

5.VERBLESS ADJ CLAUSE Verbless clauses are clauses in which the verb and

sometimes other elements have been deleted. +An adj can function as a verbless clauses. The

clause may be mobile in sentence. Ex: (By then) nervous, the man opened the gift. The man, (by then) nervous, opened the gift. The man opened the gift, (by then) nervous. Contingent adjective clause   An adj Contingent clause expresses the circumstance or

condition under which what is said in the superordinate clause applies.

  Ex: Enthusiastic, they make good students.(when

enthusiastic) (When) ripe, these apples are sweet.

THE HEAD

Syntactic classification of adjs

Adjectives

Central

Attributive only

Predicative only

attributive only Adjectives which are restricted to

attributive position do not characterize the referent of the noun directly

eg. A small businessman → a businessman whose business

is small → not a businessman is small My old friend → One who has been a friend for

a long time → not a friend is old

Note: words with strongly emotive value: poor man, my dear lady, wretched lady…

Inherent adjs Non-inherent adjsCharacterize the referent of the noun directlyEg: Distant hills a complete chapter a heavy bag a social survey an old man

Do not characterize the referent of the noun directly Distant relatives a complete idiot a heavy smoker A social animal an old friend

Attributive only

Intensifying adjs

Limiter adjs

Related to adverbials

Denominal adjs

INTENSIFYING ADJECTIVES

Emphasizers: have a general heightening effect on the noun

and convey speaker’s attitude toward the referent eg. Utter despair, pure bliss, a real hero, a

certain winner…Amplifiers: denote the upper extreme of the scale are central(inherent) eg. A complete victory →the victory was

complete are attributive only(non-inherent) eg. A complete idiot (not the idiot is complete) Notes: mere, sheer, utter (always attributive only)

LIMITER ADJECTIVES

Particularize the reference of the noun eg. the main topic, the only person,

etc…. Note: some of adjectives have homonyms Ex: a certain person a limiter → a particular person a certain winner an intensifier→ a sure winner( one

who is certain that he will win )

RELATED TO ADVERBIALS

adjs that are attributive only can be related to adverbials.

eg. my former friend ~ formerly my friend adjs premodify agentive nouns >have a

relationship to the verb base eg. a hard worker ~ a worker who works

hard. the implied process can be associated with an

inanimate object eg. a fast car ~ a car that one can drive fast

DENOMINAL ADJECTIVES

are derived from nouns and attributive only Ex: a criminal law (a law concerning

crime) Note: a criminal law ~ a law seems

criminal → a central adjective a medical school ( a school for

students of medicine)

II.PREDICATIVE ONLY

Eg. she is alive ( not alive girl ) S V CsAdjectives which are restricted to predicative

position refer to condition rather than to characterize

  Some group of adjs must take

complementation: afraid(that, of, about); fond(of); conscious(that, of) etc…

Ex: i am intersted in listening to music S V adj C 

Some of the common predicative only and attributive ony adjectives in English are: A t t r i b u t i v e a d j e c t i v e s : P r e d i c a t i v e a d j e c t i v e s

east/west/south/northeastern/wetern/southern/…indoor/outdoormaximumnationwideoccasionalsupplementarywoolenetc.   

alive aloneapartawaregladilllikelyreadysafesorrysureunable

III.CENTRAL

central = both attributive and predicative

eg: a (1)lazy student→ the student is (2)lazy

attributive predicative

the (1)blue sea → the sea is

(2)blue attributive

predicative note: (1) attributive position (2) predicative position

Semantic classification of adjectives

Semantic classification

Stative adjectives

Dynamic adjectives

Stative adjectives

Stative adjectives

Stative adjectives

Stative adjectives

Semantic classification

Stative adjectives

Dynamic adjectives

Stative adjectives

Stative adjectives

Stative adjectives

Stative adjectives

Stative and Dynamic Adjectives

Stative adjectives are the adjectives that denote a state or condition, which may generally be considered permanent, such as big, red, and small.

Stative adjectives can not normally be used in imperative constructions, so we cannot say: be red/big/small.

In contrast, dynamic adjectives denote attributes which are, to some extent at least, under the control of the one who possesses them. All dynamic adjectives can be used in imperatives.

We can sayPerson may

CalmCarefulCruelDisruptiveFoolishFriendlyGoodimpatient

MannerlyPatientRudeShySuspiciousTidyvacuousVain

“Be careful!” to someone, and

then this control himself to

become morecareful

Stative and Dynamic Adjectives

Semantic classification

Stative adjectives

Dynamic adjectives

Stative adjectives

Stative adjectives

Stative adjectives

Stative adjectives

gradable and non-gradable adjectives

Gradable- Most everyday adjectives are gradable- They denote qualities, properties, states,

conditions or relations…. Which vary in their degree or extent?

- Gradable adjectives can be pre-modified by degree expression.

gradable and non-gradable adjectives

He isVeryQuite

Degree adv

Selfish

Gradable adj

-Gradability includes comparison.Ex My sister is taller than I

Gradable

gradable and non-gradable adjectives

non-gradable

•… Can not be pre-modified by degree adverbs or used in comparative sentence such as automatic, dead\ alive; \male; Irish\English; married\ unmarried\single.Ex She is single

Non- gradable

Semantic classification

Stative adjectives

Dynamic adjectives

Stative adjectives

Stative adjectives

Stative adjectives

Stative adjectives

Inherent and non-inherentExAn old man = a man who is old. A small businessman ≠ a businessman who is small. “small” is non-inherent•inherent adjs: are the adjs which directly denote attribute and quality of the noun they modify.•Non-inherent adjs: are the adjs which don’t denote attribute and quality of the noun they modify.

Adverb PhraseDefinition: An adverb phrase is a word group with an adverb as its head.This adverb may be accompanied by modifiers or qualifiers.

What is an AdvP?Ex: He studies English very well.

AdvP

Characteristics of the Adverb

Morphological

Functional

Ex: badly=bad+ly happily= happy+ly quickly=quick+ly

e

Adv

Adj -ly

Characteristics of the Adverb Morphological

Ex: northward=north+ward clockwise=clock+ wise sideways=side + ways

Adv

N -ward/wise/ways

Characteristics of the Adverb Morphological

Ex: hard, late, high, deep, etc.

Note: In this case, if adding suffix–ly, the meaning of these adverbs will change:Ex: hardly: almost not lately: recently highly= deeply: very, very much

Adv Adj

Characteristics of the Adverb Morphological

Characteristics of the Adverb

Morphological

Functional

1. Adverbial2. Modifier of adj & adv

Structure of Adverb phrase

Adverb Phrase

Pre-modifiers Adv(head) Post-

modifiers

Structure of Adverb phrase

Adverb Phrase

Pre-modifiers Adv(head) Post-

modifiersAdv of degree: too, very, quite, etc.Ex: He runs very fast. Comparison: moreEx: He runs more slowly than me.

Structure of Adverb phrase

Adverb Phrase

Pre-modifiers Adv(head) Post-

modifiers

1. Adverb: enough, indeedEx: He works hard enough to pass the exam. 2. To infinitive clause:Ex: He talks too quickly to follow.

3.Comparative clause: Ex: He works as hard as we do.

Syntactic functions of adverb phrase

AdvP as adverbial

AdvP as modifier

AdvP as complement of preposition

Syntactic functions of adverb phrase

AdvP as adverbial

Adverb as modifier

Adverbs as complement of preposition

Ex: John always comes late. NP AdvP VP AdvP S A V A

Classes of adverbial

Adjuncts: are integrated within the structure of the clause to at least some extent.Ex: They are waiting outside.

Disjuncts: are not integrated within the clause. They express an evaluation of what is being said.Ex: Frankly, he is not a nice guy.

Conjuncts: have a connective function. They indicate the connection between what is being said and what was said before.Ex: If they open all the windows, then I’m leaving.

Syntactic functions of adverb phrase

AdvP as modifier

Modifier of adjective

Modifier as Adverb

Modifier of prepositional phrase

Modifier of Noun phrase

Modifier of determiner, pre-determiner, post-determiner

Syntactic functions of adverb phrase

AdvP as modifier Modifier of adjective

- Adverbs and adverb phrases can perform is the adjective phrase modifier. Adjective phrase modifiers are defined as words and phrases that describe an adjective or adjective phrase.

Ex: I’m not quite sure of When to set off. AdvP adj

advP

Syntactic functions of adverb phrase

Modifier of Adverb AdvP as modifier

-An adverb may pre-modify adverb, and function as intensifier :

ex:. He smokes very heavily adv adv

advP

Syntactic functions of adverb phrase

AdvP as modifier Modifier of prepositional phrase

-The few adverbs that pre-modify particles in phrasal verbs also pre-modify prepositions or (perhaps rather) prepositional phrase.

Ex: His score was right above the average. advP preP NP

PP

Syntactic functions of adverb phrase

AdvP as modifier Modifier of determiner, pre-determiner, post-determiner

-Intensifying adverbs can premodify indefinite pronouns, predeterminers, and cardinal numerals :

Ex: Almost the students voted for him advP det NP

NP Almost all the students voted for him. advP pre-modifier det NP NP

Syntactic functions of adverb phrase

AdvP as modifier Modifier of Noun phrase -A few intensifiers may pre-modify noun phrase: quite, rather, and the pre-determiners such and exclamatory what. Ex Such a nice day. advP NP

Some adverbs signifying place or time can be used as a Pre-modifier or Post-modifier:

The students abroad The upstairs neigbour NP advP advP NP

Syntactic functions of adverb phrase

AdvP as complement of preposition

-Some place and time adverbs function as complement of a preposition.

Ex: It is over there PP AdvP

Thank you for listening!