Nouns tell us who and what things are and verbs tell us what things are doing. But there are so many other questions we may have about a thing. What is it made of? How big is it? What color is it? How many of it are there? Where is it? How did it get there? These are all answered by qualities of things and action, which modify them from general ideas to specific items and actions. There are many types of modifiers, but 90% of all modifiers are either adjective or adverbs.
ADJECTIVES: modify nouns or pronouns
Adjectives and adverbs are modifiers, meaning that they describe or alter other parts of speech by answering questions about those words. Adjectives modify nouns and answer how much/many, which one, what kind, and whose?, and include some types of nouns and pronouns that act as modifiers:
Adjectives in English always precede the noun and are put in the following order: article/number opinion size age shape color origin material purpose. The only time commas come between adjectives is when the same quality is used twice. So a lovely little ancient round scarlet Russian wooden nesting doll needs no commas, yet two thick, solid posts needs a comma, as solid and thick are both size adjectives. This order is strangely intuitive to native speakers, as red large apples or copper old buttons sound bizarre to a native speaker, yet is a bizarre quirk of English difficult for nonnative speakers to grasp.
- How much/many?: five, several, few, less, ninety-two, most, only...
- Which one? (determiners): articles (a, an, the) and demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those)
- What kind?: big, shiny, hirsute, purple, maniacal, greater, American...
- Whose?: answered using clauses or possessive nouns and pronouns (Bill's, her...)
Adjectives in English always precede the noun and are put in the following order: article/number opinion size age shape color origin material purpose. The only time commas come between adjectives is when the same quality is used twice. So a lovely little ancient round scarlet Russian wooden nesting doll needs no commas, yet two thick, solid posts needs a comma, as solid and thick are both size adjectives. This order is strangely intuitive to native speakers, as red large apples or copper old buttons sound bizarre to a native speaker, yet is a bizarre quirk of English difficult for nonnative speakers to grasp.
ARTICLES: three tiny adjectives--a, an, the
Aside from proper adjectives, adjectives have another subgroup: articles. Articles (also known as determiners) are words that determine which item is being spoken about as well as its gender or plurality. In most languages, determiners are a separate part of speech with their own grammar rules. In Spanish, for example, determiners are gendered (el/los vs. la/las) and numbered (el/la vs los/las) and come before the noun, while adjectives come after (la mariposa verde). English, however, dropped all gendered determiners centuries ago. We only have three articles left that, like other adjective, precede the noun. Our articles determine if an item is general or specific: a and an (a bomb) are general, while the is specific (the bomb). A is used when the word immediately following starts with a consonant sound (bat, dog, friend), while an is used when the word immediately following starts with a vowel sound (egg, island, hour).
ADVERBS: modify action verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs, and answer where, when, why, how, and to what extent or degree? While adverbs commonly end in -ly, the four most commonly used adverbs do not: NOT, NEVER, JUST, and VERY.
- Where?: here, there, under the table
- When?: yesterday, now, then, in a couple days
- Why?: only answered using phrases and clauses (because he likes her, since it's due tomorrow)
- How?: suddenly, quickly, slowly, definitely, completely
- To what extent/degree?: very, too, almost, also, only, enough, so, quite
MODIFIER ROLES
Comparative and superlative modifiers
Adjectives and adverbs can be modified to show how intense the word they modify is compared to something else in the sentence. One way to increase intensity is by using an emphases adverb like very or just. Another common way to create intensity is to make an adjective comparative or superlative. Comparative adjectives and adverbs compare two things, while superlative adjectives and adverbs compare three or more things. Comparative adjectives and adverbs are made by adding the suffix -er or preceding the word with “more” or “less.” depending on the syllables in the word. Superlative adjectives and adverbs are made by adding the suffix -est or preceding the word with “most” or “least."
But how do you know when to add the suffix and when to add the preceding words? Count the number of syllables in the word. For adjectives that are one or two syllables (luck, pretty, strange), add the suffix -er or -est (luckier, prettiest, strangest); if it is three or more syllables (beautiful, conflicted), add the appropriate preceding word (more beautiful, least conflicted). For adverbs that are one syllables (high, late), add the suffix -er or -est (higher, latest); if it is two or more syllables (slowly, seriously), add the preceding word (more slowly, least seriously). Here's a chart:
But how do you know when to add the suffix and when to add the preceding words? Count the number of syllables in the word. For adjectives that are one or two syllables (luck, pretty, strange), add the suffix -er or -est (luckier, prettiest, strangest); if it is three or more syllables (beautiful, conflicted), add the appropriate preceding word (more beautiful, least conflicted). For adverbs that are one syllables (high, late), add the suffix -er or -est (higher, latest); if it is two or more syllables (slowly, seriously), add the preceding word (more slowly, least seriously). Here's a chart:
Like all things English, there are rule breakers that have irregular superlative and comparative forms. A common example is good: its comparative form is better and superlative form is best. Same goes for bad-worse-worst and far-further-furthest.
Absolute modifiers
Also note that not all modifiers allow intensity. Absolute adjectives and adverbs like pregnant and virginal do not vary in intensity, as they exist in pure states: no one can be "mostly virginal" or "sort of pregnant." For a more detailed example, unique means “one-of-a-kind;” it is NOT a synonym for rare. If something is unique, that means it is the only one; therefore, unique is an absolute modifier and cannot take any other modifiers.
WRONG: Casablanca features very unique casting, as most of the cast was not originally from America.
RIGHT: With cast members from thirty-seven different countries, the ensemble of Casablanca give the film a unique sound through their interacting dialects.
The second sentence demonstrates why Casablanca is like no other movie ever. Other absolute terms can include:
absolute eternal finite infinite overwhelmed
dead fatal identical mortal perfect
entirely final immortal opposite straight
WRONG: Casablanca features very unique casting, as most of the cast was not originally from America.
RIGHT: With cast members from thirty-seven different countries, the ensemble of Casablanca give the film a unique sound through their interacting dialects.
The second sentence demonstrates why Casablanca is like no other movie ever. Other absolute terms can include:
absolute eternal finite infinite overwhelmed
dead fatal identical mortal perfect
entirely final immortal opposite straight
Limiting modifiers
A limiting modifier introduces a limitation or direction to a noun or verb. These include possessive pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, and the adjectives and adverbs almost, even, hardly, just, merely, nearly, never, not, only, and simply. Limiting modifiers always go before what they modify. If there are multiple modifiers, the limiting modifier goes first (unless there is an article).
WRONG: Mr. Dawkins only refutes one religion successfully with his arguments: Catholicism, his childhood faith.
RIGHT: Mr. Dawkins refutes only one religion successfully with his arguments: Catholicism, his childhood faith.
WRONG: Mr. Dawkins only refutes one religion successfully with his arguments: Catholicism, his childhood faith.
RIGHT: Mr. Dawkins refutes only one religion successfully with his arguments: Catholicism, his childhood faith.
Negative Modifiers
Some modifiers are also negative in nature, like not or never. Yet adding these modifiers to a negative noun, like those with prefixes like un-, il-, and ir- creates a double negative, where two negative nouns, adjectives, or adverbs contradict each other and a create positive meaning. For example, I'm not unintelligent means the speaker is intelligent. While these can be used for stylistic effect, double negatives are usually errors and should be avoided.
MODIFIERS THAT AREN'T ADJECTIVES OR ADVERBS
Other parts of speech can also act like modifiers. Possessive nouns and pronouns, for example, act like adjectives. Indirect objects modify the valency of verbs, making them ditransitive. Nouns of direct address, interjections, and conjunctive adverbs act as modifiers for an entire sentence. Participles are verbs that act like adjectives (I took a sleeping pill) while infinitives can act as adjectives or adverbs (John returned home to change clothes). Prepositional and verbal phrases also act as either an adjective or adverb based on what questions they answer and which word they modify. Here are links to the associated articles for each of these modifiers.
Practical Question: What's a dangling modifier? |