ADJECTIVE PHRASE

An adjective phrase or adjectival phrase is a phrase the head word of which is an adjective, e.g. fond of steak, very happy, quite upset about it, The adjective in an adjective phrase can initiate the phrase (e.g. fond of steak), conclude the phrase (e.g. very happy), or appear in a medial position (e.g. quite upset about it). The dependents of the head adjective - i.e. the other words and phrases inside the adjective phrase - are typically adverbs or prepositional phrases, but they can also be clauses (e.g. louder than you do). Adjectives and adjective phrases function in two basic ways in clauses, either attributively or predicatively. When they are attributive, they appear inside a noun phrase and modify that noun phrase, and when they are predicative, they appear outside of the noun phrase that they modify and typically follow a linking verb (=copula).


Adjective Phrases

An adjectivephraseusually starts with apreposition(e.g., of, in, on) or aparticiple(e.g., taken, leaving) and follows thenounit ismodifying.

Example:

This is the endof a very long road.
                           
                             adjective phrase
Example:

Did you see the manleaving the shop?
                                  
                                   adjective phrase

The adjective phrases are underlined in the following example sentences, the head adjective in each of these phrases is in bold, and how the adjective phrase is functioning - attributively or predicatively - is stated to the right of each example:

a. Sentences can contain tremendously long phrases. - Attributive adjective phrase

b. This sentence is not tremendously long. - Predicative adjective phrase

a. A player faster than you was on their team. - Attributive adjective phrase

b. He is faster than you. - Predicative adjective phrase

a. Sam ordered a very spicy but quite small pizza. - Attributive adjective phrases

b. The pizza is very spicy but quite small. - Predicative adjective phrases

a. People angry with the high prices were protesting. - Attributive adjective phrase

b. The people are angry with the high prices. - Predicative adjective phrase