An adjective phrase has an adjective as its nucleus.
Phrase is a term that comes from the Latin word phrasis , which in turn is derived from the Greek phrásis . The concept has several uses: it can refer to the group of words that form a statement; to the grammatical structure also known as a sentence; or to the expression composed of several words whose overall meaning does not arise from its constituent elements.
An adjective , meanwhile, is a word that has the function of determining or qualifying a noun. It can be said that adjectives modify these nouns, denoting different relationships and properties.
With this in mind, we can move on to the definition of an adjective phrase . The term is used to refer to expressions whose core is an adjective, attributing traits to a noun that may or may not appear explicitly in the sentence.
Characteristics of an adjective phrase
It is important to mention that, for linguistics , a phrase is a structure that is located in an intermediate position between the lexical unit (the word) and a clause. Beyond the common characteristics, phrases can present different functional structures.
In the case of adjective phrases, their purpose is to attribute a property or quality to the noun . While the adjective is its core, it can include modifiers such as prepositional phrases and adverbs of different kinds.
In this way, the adjective phrase can be composed with an adverb + an adjective or with an adjective + a complement, to indicate two possibilities .
It is also important to mention that the position of the adjective and the noun in the sentence may vary. This variation may be associated with the period and the style , among other factors.
Adjective phrases can have different structures.
Some examples
Let's take the phrase “potentially lethal” as an example. Formed with an adverb and an adjective, it can refer to something that could be fatal.
“This drug is potentially lethal in children and the elderly”, “Although it is a potentially lethal weapon, its use is endorsed by the government” y “Such an impact is potentially lethal” muestran el use de esta frase adjetiva.
Another example of an adjective phrase is “too big” . This expression refers to the excessive size of an item, especially when compared to something else or to what is expected: “I'm going to have to change my pants, these are too big” , “I wouldn't like to live in a house that's too big because I'd have to spend a lot of time cleaning it” , “Could you serve me another piece of meat, please? But don't make it too big” .
As you can see, adjective phrases are combined with many other elements within the framework of a sentence or a broader expression. Even two or more adjective phrases may appear in the same fragment of text .
“An accident of this nature is potentially fatal because the height is too great” is a sentence that reflects how two or more adjective phrases can appear in a certain textual content. In any case, it cannot be overemphasized that the exaggerated accumulation of adjective phrases can make it difficult to understand the message or make reading tedious.