Questions tagged [modifiers]
Questions about modifiers.
299
questions
0
votes
0
answers
39
views
How to detach a noun modifier so it clearly stays a modifier?
A noun modifier is a noun as an attribute of an other noun, like the “edge” in “edge case”. If the modifier is an adjective, it may be detached from a main noun. If the modifier is a noun, I think ...
- 29
0
votes
1
answer
46
views
Hyphen as compound modifier for mph
I searched but couldn't find the rule. Is a hyphen required for a compound modifier used with mph? I understand it is used for something like "a 6-percent increase."
Example:
(1) A 20-mph ...
- 309
0
votes
1
answer
45
views
Can I place a modifier after a colon?
Can I place a modifier after a colon?
For example:
She opened the door, planning to go outside.
vs
She opened the door: planning to go outside.
- 111
0
votes
1
answer
56
views
What is a name for a modifier that changes the meaning of a word, rather than refining it? [duplicate]
My question, right up front, is: what is the term for a modifier that behaves this way? But "this way" takes some explanation, and that is the rest of the question.
I am a mathematician, ...
- 399
1
vote
1
answer
33
views
What does this participial phrase modify? "Unknown to them"
I came across sentences:
For instance, a user has surfed across an innocent-looking site, holding information on an upcoming industry event. Unknown to them, however, a malvertisement campaign is ...
- 137
1
vote
1
answer
36
views
Is this sentence correct? "Adele says new album will explain her divorce to her young son." [closed]
So there's this debate ongoing on one post that this phrase is incorrect. People are getting confused and wondering how can Adele take a divorce from her own son. The sentence is:
Adele says new ...
0
votes
0
answers
27
views
Can mostly be used to modify a noun [duplicate]
Mostly bikers come to this bar.
In this sentence, I’m trying to say that most of the people that come to this bar are bikers. Can you use mostly to modify bikers in this instance?
- 1
2
votes
0
answers
93
views
What do the adverbs modify?
They crashed the ship three years later.
They crashed the ship three years ago.
In these sentences, do “later” and “ago” modify “crashed”? Also does “three years” modify “ago” and “later” since it ...
- 21
0
votes
1
answer
62
views
Favorite new restaurant vs new favorite restaurant [closed]
This is my favorite new restaurant.
This is my new favorite restaurant.
Why is the meaning of these two different when you swap the adjectives?
Is it because favorite and new modify restaurant in the ...
- 11
2
votes
0
answers
40
views
Do the adverb and adjective together modify the noun? [closed]
The really good golfer is playing well.
I know really modifies good and good modifies golfer, but does the full phrase really good modify golfer?
The really big house is for sale.
Does the phrase ...
- 21
-1
votes
1
answer
45
views
What does "regularly" refer to in this?
Can anyone help me find out what "regularly" modifies in the following excerpt? (My emphasis)
If we heard that an alien species had a word that could be meaningfully used to describe things ...
0
votes
2
answers
48
views
What role does "eager to be true partners in a struggle for social justice" play in the sentence?
Excerpt from
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander:
African Americans throughout the South responded with great hope and enthusiasm, eager to be true partners in a struggle for social justice.
What ...
1
vote
0
answers
30
views
Is adjective ellipsis possible when coordinating between uncountable nouns and countable nouns preceded by articles?
A sentence like "The man has white hair and beard" is totally acceptable in languages without countable/uncountable nouns or articles, and languages where modifiers follow the head noun (...
- 11
0
votes
0
answers
7
views
Modifiers and Qualifiers Preceding a Comma Separated List [duplicate]
If the sentence reads
I will bring vegan meatballs, soups, and sandwiches.
Does vegan modify the entire list? I would think so, otherwise I would have to write
I will bring vegan meatballs, vegan ...
4
votes
3
answers
440
views
What part of speech is ‘just’ in the sentence “It’s just me”? [closed]
I looked up just in some dictionaries, and they all say it’s an adverb (or at least, that it can be an adverb; apparently it can also be an adjective, a noun, a verb, or even an interjection):
...
- 151
2
votes
1
answer
82
views
Modifiers denoting colour, provenance, and composition in a fused-head noun phrases
In section 9.3 Fusion of internal modifier and head, The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (Page 417) says:
(d) Modifiers denoting colour, provenance, and composition
[25] i Henrietta likes ...
- 6,371
4
votes
1
answer
188
views
Are these uses of infinitive phrases syntactic modifiers or syntactic complements, and of what?
I have two questions about the grammatical roles of the infinitive phrases in these two sentences:
He is the person to contact if you will need any advice.
There is a person to connect A PC to B PC.
...
- 41
1
vote
1
answer
96
views
Why do we take things personally with an adverb but take them easy with an adjective? How can this be justified? [closed]
Why do we write take it personally or take it seriously with adverbs but we also write take it easy with an adjective, not take it easily with an adverb? How is this switching off between adjectives ...
- 19
0
votes
3
answers
57
views
potentially manifesting in discriminatory outcomes
Just got caught out by a sentence excerpted from an opinion on the latest artificial intelligence developments:
Others are weirded out by foundation models because any flaws or
biases in these models ...
- 21
6
votes
2
answers
172
views
Why is “learning hard” wrong yet “studying hard” is right?
Why does saying learning hard sound so terribly wrong and unnatural, given that working hard, exercising hard,
listening hard, thinking hard, and even it rains hard sound perfectly natural and get ...
- 75
0
votes
2
answers
47
views
Is "including in the Neckar" acting as a modifier in the given sentence? If so, what is it modifying?
He hoped to compete in some challenging open-water events later in the summer, including in the Neckar.
Is "including in the Neckar" acting as a modifier in the sentence above? If so, what ...
2
votes
0
answers
48
views
Is the highlighted part a noun phrase acting as an appositive or an absolute phrase, modifying the previous clause?
His chest and arms were thick and roped with muscle, testament to the athlete he’d once been.
In the sentence above, is "testament to ..." modifying the previous clause "his chest ..&...
1
vote
0
answers
22
views
Present participle modifier modifying another present participle modifier
A desecrated B, provoking riots.
In the aforementioned sentence, " provoking riots" modifies the previous clause.
A desecrated B, provoking riots, forcing the riot police to intervene
Here, ...
4
votes
0
answers
150
views
How can I distinguish between supplements and modifiers as proposed in The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (CGEL)?
In CGEL, the authors use the term 'adjunct' as an umbrella term to cover an element that is either modifier or supplement. On page 1350, the authors explain the properties of supplements to ...
- 41
0
votes
1
answer
55
views
In the pattern "I am also <adjective>," does "also" modify the verb "am" or the adjective?
My family and I saw the following phrase:
The also relevant part is . . .
We all agreed that it was kind of an awkward sounding construction. But we disagreed on whether it was grammatically correct....
- 131
0
votes
0
answers
44
views
Is this prepositional phrase a supplement or modifier? [duplicate]
In the morning, he drove to work.
Now he knew what to do.
Having read about supplements and modifiers (two types of adjunct), I have started to become confused. Supplements are considered to be non-...
- 303
0
votes
1
answer
39
views
Subject-modifier-verb agreement [duplicate]
In the following sentence, is the verb 'have' appropriate? Is it not supposed to be 'has' ?
The British council, in partnership with Microsoft philanthropies, have designed a course for young ...
0
votes
2
answers
85
views
Adverbs of manner modifying adjectives
I’m confused on adverbs of manner because it seems like some can modify adjectives while other cannot. Why is this?
The book was beautifully profound.
The book was quickly profound.
The first ...
- 9
0
votes
2
answers
59
views
Correct way to convey "reducing" a trade-off
I am writing a scientific paper. In my field, there is typically a trade-off between the robustness and speed of an algorithm. I have developed an algorithm where the trade-off isn't as bad as in ...
1
vote
3
answers
78
views
What does the adverb as modify in this sentence?
“The man is as tired as a sloth.”
In this sentence, I know the first “as” modifies tired, but what does the second one modify?
- 11
0
votes
3
answers
126
views
Adverb in a prepositional phrase and what it modifies
I am with arguably the best basketball player in the nation.
Would this sentence above be correct, and if so, what does “arguably” modify?
- 11
0
votes
4
answers
130
views
What is being modified in a phrase like rock hard or water resistant?
“The water-resistant shoes are great for rainy days.”
“The table is rock hard.”
In these sentences, I know “water resistant” modifies shoes and rock hard modifies table. Does “hard” modify “rock” and ...
- 1
2
votes
2
answers
110
views
Can appositives rename a verb?
While researching, I discovered the existence of 'summative' and 'resumptive' modifiers, which are both types of appositive.
For context, here is an example of a summative modifier:
He saw the ...
- 303
2
votes
0
answers
47
views
Does the dangling modifier thing apply?
I have a persistent question concerning grammar that I would really like your help on. It has been nagging me for a long time.
So, as we all know, if you start a sentence with -ing, the first word of ...
- 21
0
votes
1
answer
72
views
Are adjectives and adverbs just collapsed version of adjuncts?
Modifiers for verbs/ nouns can come in 3 main types: adjectives, adverbs & adjuncts.
These all provide specific details about corresponding noun/ verbs e.g:
Manner, means (instrumental) - with, ...
- 49
0
votes
0
answers
72
views
Word for collective followers of Sisyphus
I am looking for a single word to describe the group of followers of Sisyphus (or generally any Greek name ending in '-phus'). I am unsure of how to modify the word to achieve this.
Possible guesses: ...
- 141
0
votes
0
answers
49
views
Noun adjuncts or complements? [duplicate]
I asked a question regarding PP complements the other day and I believe I now have a better handle on that. But I am still scratching my head over this paragraph from CGEL:
Within the category of ...
- 1,154
1
vote
0
answers
71
views
How can I tell if a prepositional phrase is a complement to a noun or a modifier? And how are these two different?
In the NP "mines in wartime", "in wartime" modifies the head "mines".
that nice tall man from Canada whom you met
"from Canada" modifies "man".
But ...
- 1,154
0
votes
0
answers
51
views
Struggling to look at grammatical modifiers
I have a passion for English, and I am trying to improve my fluency day by day. Today, I am quite confused when my teacher, a non-native speaker of English, tells me that a sentence in my essay is ...
- 1
0
votes
2
answers
139
views
"To comprehend x, it is necessary to understand y." Is this a dangling modifier?
Because I often think of sentences in the "we must"-form, as in:
"To comprehend x, we must first understand y."
when I write things that demand I do not write "we," I ...
- 9
0
votes
0
answers
44
views
Can abbreviations be used as stand-alone adjectives when the abbreviated term couldn't?
I see by your name that you are probably ESL...
ESL stands for "English as a second language". In the above sentence, it is being used as a stand-alone adjective, but I'm not sure if that ...
- 2,117
0
votes
0
answers
46
views
Multiple non-restrictive modifiers in one sentence
Consider the following sentence:
"I have not sent any further communication, since the email, to your office, so far."
Would both the phrases "since the email" and "to your ...
0
votes
0
answers
29
views
Schoolchildren population or schoolchild population?
Although we are taught to use singular adjectives to modify nouns, "schoolchildren" population seems to be a more commonly heard and searched (Google) option than the true singular "...
0
votes
1
answer
150
views
"I am happy because I am rich." Exactly which part does the subordinate clause modify?
"I am happy because I am rich."
Is it the adjective "happy" or the verb "am" or the entire predicate "am happy" that the subordinate clause "because I am ...
- 115
1
vote
1
answer
81
views
Could someone deconstruct this sentence and explain where it is right or wrong grammatically?
The sentence is:
I'm of the fuck covid opinion.
A friend of mine stated it and I would like to know if someone could explain why it should or should not be written differently.
user412429
0
votes
2
answers
310
views
declining reputation, worsening reputation
I am trying to write a two-word phrase. The second word is "reputation." The first word is a modifier; it will signal that a reputation is getting worse. "Worsening reputation" ...
- 109
0
votes
3
answers
106
views
Word for "many" for mass nouns
I'm looking for a strong size modifier like "numerous", "countless", or "copious" that I can use to modify a mass noun. I know of plenty of options that involve several ...
1
vote
0
answers
100
views
Compound modifier with adverb [duplicate]
In the phrase "highly trained support specialist" should a hyphen be used?
0
votes
1
answer
79
views
Can't see a sentence correction
To work as a loan officer, an education in financial planning is required.
I don't see a grammar mistake in the above sentence, if there is any?
0
votes
2
answers
58
views
placement of "only"
Example: I will buy fish only if I shop at the pier
Does the placement of the "only" make the sentence ambiguous so that multiple readings of this sentence is possible?
Which word is "...
- 49