Sáng kiến kinh nghiệm môn tiếng anh 2010

THE USES OF ADJECTIVES AND ADJECTIVE PHRASES IN ENGLISH
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PART I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background and the reason for the study :
When you read a composition or a story, you sometimes utter “How good is it!”.
Apart from the content, there are some other factors greatly contributing to the effectiveness
of writing.
Very often we do not realize the importance of the things we see everyday. The
Adjectives and Adjective phrases are one of such those things.
Have you ever seen a text without adjective phrases ? or Have you ever paid much
attention to the most common pre-modifying type of noun phrases?
Now, we have a look at the following story.
“ It’s illegal to drive under the age of seventeen in Britain, but a 17-year-old boy
managed to pass his driving on the day of his seventeenth birthday. Most people would
consider this impossible because you need a lot of lessons to pass the test. David Livesery
arranged to have an eight-hour lesson beginning at dawn on his birthday. At first he was
very careful and hesitant, but he had a wonderful teacher and his driving improved
amazingly during the day. By four in the afternoon,still feeling energetic, he was ready to
take his test and he drive home very slowly in the reddish light of the setting sun. David’s
driving attracted the attention of two policemen, but they broke into smiles and congratulated
him warmly when he showed them his certificate and told them his story.
With the appearance of the Adjectives and Adjective phrases , the above story either
makes you interested or makes an impression on you, doesn’t it ?
Obviously,to make good use of English as much as possible, people are required to
master all aspects of English, both a complicated system of structures and that of
vocabularies.
In English, Adjectives and Adjective phrases is a neither small nor simple category.
Due to its different functions by syntax and by semantic, the Adjective phrase is both of great
occurrence in all kinds of writing and plays an important role in making good essays,
especially descriptive compositions. Moreover, it is said that the Vietnamese language is

plentiful and various.Therefore, the Adjectives and Adjective phrases themselves make a
contribution to the variety and richness of the language.
On the whole, using adjective phrases are quite common and advantageous.
The most important reason why I vote for this study has derived from the mistakes
my students have made while they are speaking and writing .
Owing to the above reasons, I have made up my mind to choose “The uses of
Adjectives and Adjective phrases in English” as my topic of the study.
1.2 Aims of the study :
With the reasons above in my mind, the specific aims of the study accordingly are:
+ To present the uses of Adjectives and Adjective phrases and Vietnamese
equivalents.
+To point out some similarities and differences in the uses of Adjectives and
Adjective phrases.
+ To suggest some techniques in teaching Adjectives and Adjective phrases.
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
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THE USES OF ADJECTIVES AND ADJECTIVE PHRASES IN ENGLISH
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+ To give out some practical exercises for the further understanding of the English
Adjective phrases.
In the limitation of time, I intend to deal with something about the theory of the
Adjectives and Adjective phrases in English and point out some similarities and differrnces
in the uses of Adjectives and Adjective phrases to help English learners to make good use of
them.
I am not planning on studying a larger population, just the population at a high school .
1.3. Methods of the study :
* A study on theoretical background from Methodological books and materials.
* Survey questionnaire.
* Personal observations by attending classes.

1.4. Design and rationale of the study :
* This study consists of 3 parts and an appendix:
1. Part I is the introduction.
2. Part II is the theoretical background; the investigation and application .
3. Part III is the conclusion. The Reference and Appendix are the last parts of the study
* Data collections for analysis in this study come from students of Tuy Phuoc I High
school: 50 students from the eleventh form and 50 students from the twelveth form.
PART II
INVESTIGATION AND APPLICATION
I. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
2.1 Definition of Adjectives :
The book critic R. Z Sheppard once remarked that adjectives “are the potbelly of
poetry”. Many English language teachers would not take such a disparaging view.
Adjectives are often quite fun to teach and the rules surrounding them are, usually, quite
straightforward. This month’s article is the first of two in which we throw the spotlight on
adjectives. We start by looking at adjectives in relation to the wider phrasal structures they
occur in, examining issues of position, complementation, and ordering.
When we want to give more information than can be provided by using a noun alone,
we can add an adjective to identify a person or thing, or describe them in more detail, e.g.:
her new dress
a kind person
the phonetic alphabet
accuracy is important
Note that sometimes nouns can be placed before other nouns as a way of identifying a
particular type of person or thing, e.g.:
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
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THE USES OF ADJECTIVES AND ADJECTIVE PHRASES IN ENGLISH
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a chocolate cake
the football player
Nouns used in this way are usually referred to as noun modifiers. Though they are
functioning in a similar way to some adjectives, we classify them as nouns. Examples like
this are often referred to as compound nouns, with the first noun identifying a particular type
in relation to the group of people or things described by the second noun.In the following
article, we will focus on true adjectives, rather than noun modifiers.
2.1.1. Position of adjectives:
Most adjectives can appear before a noun as part of a noun phrase, placed after
determiners or numbers if there are any, and immediately before the noun, e.g.:
She had a beautiful smile
He bought two brown bread rolls.
Adjectives placed before a noun in this way are generally referred to as occurring in
the attributive position.
Most adjectives can also occur as complements of the verb be and other link verbs
such as become, feel or seem, e.g.:
Her smile is beautiful.
She didn’t seem happy.
Adjectives placed after the verb in this way are generally referred to as occurring in
the predicative position.
When the information contained in an adjective is not the main focus of a statement,
then the adjective is usually placed before the noun in the attributive position.
However, when the main focus of a statement is to give the information contained in
an adjective, the adjective is usually placed after the verb in the predicative position,
compare:
He handed me a bucket of hot water. (attributive position)
I put my hand in the bucket, the water was very hot. (predicative position,
emphasising hot.)
Though most adjectives can be used in both the attributive and predicative positions,
there are a number of adjectives that can occur in one particular position only, as described

below:
2.1.2. Position: attributive only
There are some adjectives which can only be used before a noun, in the attributive
position. For instance, “We talk about the main problem” but cannot say “The problem was
main”.
Adjectives which occur only in the attributive position are generally those which
identify something as being of a particular type. For instance, we can talk about a financial
decision where financial distinguishes this from other types of decision, e.g.: medical,
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
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THE USES OF ADJECTIVES AND ADJECTIVE PHRASES IN ENGLISH
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political. This group of adjectives are often referred to as classifying adjectives, and rarely
occur in the predicative position unless we specifically want to emphasise a contrast, e.g.:
a chemical reaction not, e.g.: a reaction which was/is chemical
the phonetic alphabet not, e.g.: the alphabet is phonetic
It was an indoor pool. not, e.g.: The pool was indoor
Other adjectives which generally appear in the attributive position are those which are
used for emphasis, e.g.:
The show was absolute/utter rubbish.
You made me look a complete fool.
The project was a total disaster.
2.1.3. Position: predicative only
There are some adjectives which only usually occur in the predicative position, as
complements of be or other link verbs. For instance, you can say He felt glad. but wouldn’t
normally talk about a glad person.
Adjectives which usually occur in the predicative position include those which
describe feelings, such as afraid, content, glad, ready, sure, sorry and upset, e.g.:
She felt afraid. but not, e.g.: an afraid girl

My daughter is upset. but not, e.g.: my upset daughter
They also include a group of adjectives with prefix a-, such as asleep, alive, alone,
ashamed, awake, aware, e.g.:
I like being alone. but not, e.g.: I like being an alone person.
The baby’s asleep. but not, e.g.: the asleep baby.
2.1.4. Position: immediately after nouns
Some adjectives that describe size or age can occur immediately after a noun that
indicates a unit of measurement, e.g.:
She was about five feet tall
Her baby is ten months old.
The walls were six inches thick.
There is a small group of adjectives, sometimes referred to as post nominal adjectives,
which can only occur immediately after a noun. Examples are:
the president elect
the devil incarnate
Many other adjectives can be used immediately after a noun when they form part of a
(reduced) relative clause, e.g.:
Let’s use the time available.
Is she someone capable of making difficult decisions?
I’d like to speak to all the people involved.
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
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THE USES OF ADJECTIVES AND ADJECTIVE PHRASES IN ENGLISH
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2.1.5. Position and meaning
There are some adjectives which can occur either before or after a noun, but the
position they occur in has an effect on their meaning, e.g.:
• the concerned parents (= ‘the parents who are worried’)
• the parents concerned (= ‘the parents who are involved/mentioned’)

• the present situation (= ‘the situation which exists now’)
• the people present (= ‘the people who are here/there’).
• a responsible person (= ‘a person who is sensible/reliable’)
• the person responsible (= ‘the person who is to blame or has
responsibility for something’)
2.1. 6. Adjective complementation
When adjectives occur in the predicative position, after be or other link verbs, they are
sometimes followed by a prepositional phrase or verbal complement. Some typical examples
are summarised in the table below:
Patterns Typical adjectives Examples
Adjective + of
aware, proud, capable
She was proud of her son.
Adjective + to
kind, sensitive, similar,
equal
Her house is similar to mine.
Adjective + with
angry, impatient,
honest
I felt angry with him.
Adjective + on
keen, gentle, dependent
He’s totally dependent on his
parents.
Adjective + in
interested,
disappointed
We’re not interested in selling
our house.

Adjective + about
pleased, glad, anxious
She was anxious about the
results.
Adjective + to-infinitive
difficult, easy, ready
The book was easy to read.
Adjective + that-clause
worried, confident, sure
I’m confident that she’ll succeed.
Adjective + wh-clause
unsure, uncertain
He was uncertain what to do
next.
Adjective + -ing
busy, silly, awkward
They’re busy painting the
kitchen.
2.1.7. Order of adjectives
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
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Adjectives describing the main characteristics of a person or thing are often grouped
together before the noun they describe, e.g.:
a beautiful young woman
a large round table
Two or three descriptive adjectives are often used together in this way, though note
that placing more than three adjectives before a noun would start to sound unnatural, e.g.:

a beautiful wooden table
sounds fine, but a structure like:
a beautiful large round carved wooden table
though grammatical, would not normally occur in everyday speech or writing.Descriptive
adjectives used in this way belong to seven main types. The table below summarises the
types and the usual order in which they appear if more than one adjective is placed before a
noun:
• 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th
• opinion size age shape colour origin material
• lovely big old triangular white Italian wooden
For example, if you wanted to use an adjective referring to size and an adjective
referring to shape, you would put the size adjective first, e.g.:
a large round table
Similarly, an age adjective would normally be placed before an origin adjective, e.g.:
a young Italian woman
An opinion adjective would occur before a shape or colour adjective, and a shape or
colour adjective would occur before a material adjective, e.g.:
a beautiful green silk dress
If two colour adjectives are used, then and is placed between them, e.g.:
She was wearing a long black and gold scarf.
If three colour adjectives occur, a comma is placed after the first and the last two are linked
with and, e.g.:
The table was covered by a large red, white and blue flag.
As a general rule, the adjective which is closest to the noun is the most closely linked
to the meaning of the noun, describing a feature which is the most permanent about it,
compared to adjectives which express a variable characteristic, such as an opinion. For
instance, if we consider:
an expensive/cheap/beautiful black leather bag
the ‘leather-ness’ of the bag is a more essential characteristic than ‘cost’ or ‘appearance’.
If more than one adjective occurs which expresses an opinion or describes a general

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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
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quality, then the adjective with a more general meaning, e.g.: nice, bad usually precedes the
one with a more specific meaning, e.g.: comfortable, clean, for example:
a lovely soft blanket
If two adjectives with similar meanings are used, the shorter one often comes first, e.g.:
a soft comfortable pillow
The conjunction but is sometimes placed between two adjectives which describe contrasting
qualities, e.g.:
a difficult but rewarding job
The order of adjectives in predicative position, i.e.: after the verb be or link verbs such
as seem or feel, is less fixed than the order before a noun. The conjunction and is generally
used to link adjectives in this position, occurring before the last adjective used, e.g.:
The room was small and dirty.
He felt cold, wet and hungry.
Adjectives expressing opinion are often placed last, e.g.:
Annabel was young, tall and beautiful.
If we want to imply a contrast between adjectives, the conjunction but is sometimes used,
e.g.:
The flat was small but comfortable.
2.2 Definition of Adjective phrases :
First of all, let’s have a look at the definition of phrases and adjectival phrases .
Phrases are considered as the second level of classification as they tend to be larger
than individual words, but are smaller than sentences. We refer to the central element in a
phrase as the head of the phrase. If the head is a noun then the phrase is called a noun phrase.
Adjectival phrases are composed of the adjectives that modify a noun and any adverbs
or other elements that modify those adjectives. Adjectival phrases always occur inside noun

phrases or as predicate adjectives.
Example: Dad bought [(a blue and green) sweater]
The adjective phrase is a phrase that functions as an adjective:
The brothers were always quarrelsome. [ 14;13]
Or the adjective phrase is a phrase in which the adjective is the head:
They were quite unware of any wrongdoing.
In order to make adjective phrases more simple and convenient to research, I’d like to
give out the definition of an adjective phrase as follows:
An adjective phrase is a word or a group of words functioning in a sentence like an
adjective. It contains an adjective as the head optionally accompanied by modifiers in the
form of single words, phrases or clauses.
2.3 The uses of Adjectives and Adjective phrases:
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
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THE USES OF ADJECTIVES AND ADJECTIVE PHRASES IN ENGLISH
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Adjectives and adjective phrases are of common occurrence. To make good use of
adjectives and adjective phrases, it is necessary to know well about the following:
2.3.1. The semantic roles of adjectives and adjective phrases :
It is said that the adjective is the “soul” of an adjective phrases. Therefore, in order to
research more convenient we consider that the semantic roles of adjective phrases are like
those of adjectives.
Semantically, R.Quirk and S.Greenbaun divided adjectives into subclasses: (1)stative
verus dynamic adjectives, (2) gradable verus non-gradable adjectives. (3) inherent verus non-
inherent adjectives.
(1) Stative verus dynamic adjectives:
A Stative adjective A Dynamic adjective
He’s being tall He’s being careful
Be tall Be careful

Adjectives that can be used dynamic include: awkard, brave,calm,careless,
cruel,extravagant, foolish,funny, good,impudent, irritable,jealous,naughty,noisy,and rude.
Stative adjectives include: kind,lazy,stupid,generous, obstinate, tactful,
interesting,busy.
(2) Gradable verus non-gradable adjectives:
Most adjectives are gradable, that is to say, can be modified by adverbs which convey
the degree of intensity of the adjective. Gradability includes comparison:
tall taller tallest
beautiful more beautiful most beautiful
And other forms of intensification:
very young so plain extremely useful
All dynamic adjectives are gradable. Most stative adjectives (tall,old) are gradable,
some are non-gradable, principally “technical adjectives” like atomic (scientist) and
hydrochloric (acid) and adjectives denoting provenance, e.g.: British.
(3) Inherent verus non-inherent adjectives.
Adjectives that characterize the referent of the noun directly are termed
INHERENT; those that do not are termed NON-INHERENT.
Most adjectives are inherent, and it is especially uncommon for dynamic adjectives
to be other than inherent, an exception is “wooden” in the actor is being wooden.,whicj
is dynamic and non-inherent.
Whether or not an adjective is inherent or non-inherent, it may involve relation to
an implicit or explicit standard. “ Big” is inherent in “ a big mouse”, the standard
being the relative size of mice, contrast “a little mouse”. “Big” is non-inherent in “a big
fool”, the standard being degree of foolishness, contrast “a big of a fool”. The
relative standard is to be distinguished from gradability as well as from the inherent/non-
inherent contrast. For example, “perfect” and “good” are non-inherent in “a perfect
mother” and “ a good mother”, the standard being motherhood, but only good is
gradable ( a very good mother, a very perfect mother). Similarly, though the inherent
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School

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“big” in “ a big elephant” is gradable (a very big elephant), the inherent adjective in
an enormous noun is not gradable ( a very enormous noun)
In another aspect, Randolph.Quirk distinguishes two broad semantic groups of
adjectives: descriptors and classifiers. Descriptors are prototypal adjectives denoting such
features as color, size, and weight, chronology and age, emotion and a wide range of other
characteristics. They are typically gradable. In contrast, the primary function of classifiers is
to delimit or restrict a noun’s referent, by placing it in a category in relation to other
referents. They are typically non-gradable. Classifiers can be grouped into subclasses,
including relational, afflictive and a miscellaneous topical class. Classifiers can be more or
less descriptive content while many topical classifiers (such as chemical, medical,political)
provide descriptive content while also limiting the reference of the head noun.
Selected examples of adjectives belonging to these semantic domains are:
(1) Descriptors:
Descriptors can be divided into subclasses, including:
+ COLOR- denoting color,brightness: black,white,dark,bright,blue,brown,green,grey,red.
Eg: The passenger turned quite green with sea-sick.
Life seemed grey and pointless after she’d gone.
+ SIZE/QUANTITY/EXTENT-denoting
size,weight,extent:big,deep,heavy,huge,long,large,little,short,small,thin,wide.
Eg: Lead is a heavy metal
You’ve cut my hair very short.
+ TIME- denoting chronology, age, frequency: annual,daily,early,late,new,old,recent,young.
Eg: There is an early train every Saturday.
Ours is a recent accquaintance.
+ EVALUATIVE/EMOTIVE- denoting judment, affect,emphasis:
bad,beautiful,best,fine,good,great,lovely,nice,poor.
Eg: The car has very good brakes.

+ MISCELLANEOUS DESCRIPTIVE- appropriate,
cold,complex,dead,empty,free,hard,hot,open,possitive,practical,pirate,serious,strange,strong
,sudden.
Eg: That’s a good film.
Especially if you can get the right price.
(2) Classifiers
Classifiers can be grouped into subclasses:
+ RELATIONAL/CLASSIFICATIONAL/RESTRICTIVE- delimiting the referent of a
noun, particularly in relation to other referents:
additional,overage,chief,complete,different,direct,entire,external,final,following,general,
initial,internal,left,main,maximum,necessary,original,particular,previous,primary,public,
similar,single,standard,top,various,same.
+ AFFILIATIVE- designing the national or religious group to which a referent belongs:
American,Chinese,Christian,English,French, German,Irish,united.
+ TOPICAL/OTHER (e.g. giving the subject area or showing a relationaship with a noun):
chemical,commercial,environmental,human,industrial,legal,medical,mental,official,oral,
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
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phonetics,political,sexual,social,ventral,visual.
In the following excerpt, descriptor adjectives are underlined with classifiers marked
by [ ]
It has never lost an artist from its record label, supposedly because it consists of many
small and friendly [individual] companies(…)
Fujisankei,itself privately owned and independent,seems the ideal partner.
But the question must remain as to whether a [Japanese] giant with five times the
turnover of the Virgin group will be content to stay a minority player in the long
term. (news)

Some adjectives can serve as either classifiers or descriptors. Below, the expressions
in the left-hand column contain a classifying or restricting adjective, while those in the right-
hand column a descriptor. It is noted that the desriptors are gradable and can be modified to
show degree or extent. E.g.:by very.
Classifier Descriptor
modern algebra some modern authorities
criminal law criminal activity
a secondary school a useful secondary function
Very common adjective typically designate a range of meanings. For example, in
some expressions old is descriptive, denoting age (an old radio,old newspapers). In others, it
denotes affect (poor old Rusty,good old genetics). Similarly “ poor” has two principal uses:
emotive (the poor devil, You poor bunny!) and descriptive (a poor country, in poor health).
Even the descriptive uses of poor carry: different denotations such as “ lacking adequate
financial resources” and “ not good”.
2.3.2. The syntactic roles of adjectives and adjective phrases :
Adjectives function syntactically only in adjective phrases, but since it is the
adjective that generally determines the funtion of adjective phrases, we have found it
convenient to use adjectives alone to illustrate the functions of adjective phrases and we have
often referred to adjectives as a shorter way of referring to adjective phrases.
The functions of adjectives and adjective phrases in phrases can be shown in the
following table:
(pre-modifier(s)) ADJECTIVES (post-modifier(s))
adverb (intensifier), e.g. very /
perfectly / extremely
good, nice, rich, happy,
wide, bright, uncertain,
possible, glad, busy, easier,
worse, better
prepositional phrase, e.g. at
maths, about this

adverb (viewpoint), e.g.
technically / theoretically
adverb, enough / indeed
noun, e.g. sixteen feet / two
kilometres

that-clause, e.g. that you’re
careful

to-infinitive clause, e.g. to hear
from you

-ing-clause, e.g. handing out
letters
comparative clause, e.g. than
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
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THE USES OF ADJECTIVES AND ADJECTIVE PHRASES IN ENGLISH
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they say
Examples of postadjectival modification:
• by a prepositional phrase: e.g. conscious of, fond of, happy about, good at, sorry for,
different from, due to, happy with, etc. (for lists of prepositions following adjectives,
see grammar books; dictionaries also give structural information on the use of
adjectives)
• by a finite that-clause:
We were confident that Karen was still alive. Many adjectives expressing certainty or
confidence, such as aware, certain, confident, sure can be used in this way.
I am anxious that he be/shoud be/?is permitted to resign. Many adjectives expressing

volition, like anxious, eager, willing are used with a subjunctive or putative should in the
that-clause.
• by a to-infinitive clause: Bob is slow to react. Bob is sorry to hear it. Bob is hard to
convince. Those darts are awkward for a beginner to use.
• by an ing-clause: I'm busy (with) getting the house redecorated. We're fortunate (in)
having Aunt Agatha as a baby-sitter .
• by a comparative clause: It was easier than they say.
On a sentence or clause level you can find adjective phrases in the following syntactic
functions:
• Subject complement: John was extremely rich indeed / most greatful for your help /
busy handing out letters / uncertain what to do / glad to hear from you / better than
they say.
• Object complement: He’s opening his mouth very wide.
You can also find adjectives and adjectives phrases within other phrases:
• Premodifier of a noun: Well, he’s [a perfectly nice lad].
• Postmodifier of a pronoun: Was there [anything nice]?
• Postmodifier of a noun: London is [a city bright with lights].
• Complement of a preposition: The insults continued [in private].

The following article explains three functions of adjectives and adjective phrases in the
English language that students must learn.
Adjectives and adjective phrases perform three main grammatical functions within
sentences in the English language. Both native speakers and ESL students must learn and
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
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understand the three functions to use adjectives and adjective phrases correctly in both
spoken and written English. The three functions of adjectives and adjective phrases are:

1. Noun phrase modifier
2. Predicate adjective
3. Object complement
Adjectives are traditionally defined as "words that describe nouns." Adjective phrases
are defined as phrases that consist of an adjective plus any modifiers or complements such as
adverbs and prepositional phrases. For example, the phrases blue, very sad, and afraid of the
dark are all adjective phrases.
Adjectives as Noun Phrase Modifiers
The first grammatical function that adjectives and adjective phrases can perform is the
noun phrase modifier. Noun phrase modifiers are defined as words and phrases that describe
a noun or noun phrase. For example, the following italicized adjectives and adjective
phrases function as noun phrase modifiers:
• My mother planted purple flowers in her garden.
• The very tiny puppy barked at the cat.
• The restaurant served plain, tasteless soup.
• George Washington appointed Edmund Randolph Attorney General.
• Barack Obama was the president elect.
Adjectives as Predicate Adjectives
The second grammatical function that adjectives and adjective phrases can perform is the
predicate adjective. Predicate adjectives are defined as adjectives and adjective phrases that
follow a copular or linking verb such as be and become and modifies or describes the
subject. For example, the following italicized adjectives and adjective phrases function as
predicate adjectives:
• Under the bed is filthy.
• The cake tastes sickeningly sweet.
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
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• My cat is black and brown.
• Your perfume smells especially musky but very nice.
• I am fond of English grammar.
Adjectives as Object Complements
The third grammatical function that adjectives and adjective phrases can perform is the
object complement. Object complements are defined as nouns, pronouns, noun phrases,
adjectives, and adjective phrases that directly follow and modify the direct object. For
example, the following italicized adjectives and adjective phrases function as object
complements:
• The farmer painted the barn red.
• The little girl wanted her room bright pink.
• Catholics consider saints holy.
• The jury judged the defendant guilty.
• My puppy makes me happy.
Although not accepted in standard English, adjectives and adjective phrases also function
as verb phrase modifiers and adverbials. For example, the adjective phrase too loud in the
sentence He plays his music too loud functions as an adverbial. However, standard
prescriptive grammar rules dictate that only the adverb phrase too loudly should function as
the adverbial in this instance. Another example is the adjective careful functioning as a verb
phrase modifier in the sentence Drive careful. Again, prescriptive rules state that the adverb
carefully should function as the verb phrase modifier. However, the use of adjectives and
adjective phrases as verb phrase modifiers and adverbials is accepted in many forms of
spoken English.
The three functions of adjectives and adjective phrases in the English language are
noun phrase modifier, predicate adjective, and object complement. Both native speakers and
ESL students must learn and understand the three functions to properly and fully use
adjectives and adjective phrases in both spoken and written English.
Hopper, Paul J. A Short Course in Grammar. W.W. Norton & Company: New York, 1999.
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School

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Huddleston, Rodney. Introduction to the Grammar of English. Cambridge University
Press: Cambridge, 1984.
2.4 Teaching Adjectives and Adjective phrases:
The following may be one of the most common ways of teaching Adjectives and
Adjective phrases.
On the same piece of paper, have students write words that describe them and their
personality. It helps if you require students to come up with a specific number of describing
words. For example, I require sophomores to use 30 words to describe themselves as this
requires the students to really involve some higher order thinking skills and be creative to
find words that they may not use every day.
Also, allow students to decorate their shape and allow them to make their project as
representative of their individuality as possible.
Once students have satisfied your requirements, you should explain to them that those
words that describe people, places, and things are called adjectives.
Generally, after completing this project, students understand the differences between
nouns and adjectives, which is the purpose of the teaching adjectives and nouns lesson plan.
But this project really lets students be creative, and in some cases, you will see that students
have the opportunity to increase their vocabulary and use adjectives that they normally do
not use.
Also, students will learn new adjectives from each other as you may not allow
students sitting at the same table to use a word more than once. Teachers have the flexibility
to place their own requirements and limitations on this project.
(Cited from British Council. Methodology )
2.5 Some basic principles in Teaching Adjectives and Adjective
phrases:
Preschoolers and Adjectives
Preschoolers use words to describe people, places, things, ideas, and activities every

day. Although explicit language and grammar instruction typically begins after preschool in
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
Adjective Phrase Noun Phrase
Modifier Grammar Tree
Adjective Phrase Object
Complement
Adjective Phrase
Complement

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elementary school, preschool aged students can begin to learn about the most basic parts of
speech, or grammatical forms, including nouns, adjectives, and verbs. This lesson plan
outlines activities to teach preschool children that adjectives are words that describe nouns.
Discussion and Prior Knowledge
The teacher can introduce the topic of adjectives to the preschool class by asking the
students the following questions:
1. Do you know what an adjective is?
2. Do you know what it means to describe something?
Most preschoolers will probably answer no to the first question but should be able to
answer the second question. For example, the students might say that describing something
means telling about it. The students must have prior knowledge about the concept of
description before continuing with the rest of the adjective lesson plan. If the students cannot
answer question two, then the teacher should review how to describe something.
Reading
After the discussion introducing preschoolers to adjectives, the teacher can read one or
two books about adjectives to the students. Two excellent titles, both by Brian P. Cleary, for
younger students are:

• Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What Is an Adjective?
• Quirky, Jerky, Extra Perky: More about Adjectives
Both books talk about adjectives as words that describe things, ideas, and living beings,
or, in other words, nouns. The preschoolers will love the fun rhymes that are chock-full of
silly adjectives such as "Adjectives are words like hairy, scary, cool, and ordinary." and
"They give us lots of great description, like tall, left-handed, young Egyptian." The
illustrations of silly cats with squeaky dogs and hot pink shades with help the preschool aged
children learn about adjectives by associating words with pictures.
Adjective Sorting Activity
The Adjective Sorting, or "What Kind of Adjective Is It," activity helps preschoolers
learn to categorize similar adjectives into categories. The students will learn to sort known
adjectives into three categories. The materials needed for this preschool activity are:
1. Adjective photo flashcards
2. Three baskets
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To play the Adjective Sorting game, the teacher should first place the three baskets on
a table at the front of the classroom and read the labels aloud to the students. The teacher will
then randomly choose cards from the deck of adjective flashcards and ask the students to
identify the type of adjective. For example, in the case of the sample cards, the teacher would
ask, "Is it a color, size, or feeling." If the teacher chose the happy card, then the question
would be, "Is happy a color, size, or feeling?" The preschoolers would then answer, "Happy
is a feeling." After the students correctly identify the type of adjective on the flashcard, the
teacher will place the card in the corresponding basket.
Silly Sentences Activity
Chalkboard or dry erase board
1. Chalk or dry erase markers

To play the Silly Sentences activity, the teacher should first write a sentence on the board
and include blanks in front of the nouns. Some sample sentences are:
• The _____ man ate the _____ apple in the _____ kitchen.
• A _____ car crashed into the _____ tree on a _____ morning.
• My _____ dog _____ stole a _____ toy from my _____ brother.
The teacher will then call on individual students to provide adjectives to fill in the blanks
to create silly sentences. Preschoolers will love making and hearing silly sentences like "The
purple man ate the yucky apple in the boring kitchen" and "My crazy dog stole a giant toy
from my bad brother." Optional: The teacher can write the silly sentences the class comes up
with on blank sheets of paper and have the preschool students draw pictures to illustrate the
silly sentences.
Assessment
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
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The adjective flashcards should have both pictures and written
words of preschool level vocabulary words. Some printable sample
flashcards that contain vocabulary words for colors, sizes, and feelings
are available for download at Preschool Adjective Flashcards: Colors,
Sizes, and Feelings. The teacher should also label each of the three
baskets. For example, in the case of the sample adjective flashcards,
label the baskets as color, size, and feeling.
The Silly Sentences activity is another fun adjective
activity that will help preschool aged students use adjectives to
describe people, places, things, and other nouns. The children
will learn to think up appropriate (or not so appropriate)
adjectives to insert into sentences. The materials needed fro this
preschool activity are:
THE USES OF ADJECTIVES AND ADJECTIVE PHRASES IN ENGLISH
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At the end of the adjective lesson, the teacher should review what the preschool students
learned by asking the following questions:
1. What is an adjective?
2. What does it mean to describe something?
3. Name some words that describe.
4. What types of words are big, purple, and scared?
The preschool aged children should be able to answer all four questions completely after
reading the adjective books Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What Is an Adjective? and Quirky,
Jerky, Extra Perky: More about Adjectives by Brian P. Cleary and after playing the Adjective
Sorting and Silly Sentences activities. By learning about adjectives as words that describe
nouns at an early age in preschool, children will be better prepared for later grammar and
language study in elementary school and beyond.
4. Suggested Exercises and Keys to the exercises in teaching
adjectives and adjective phrases:

EXERCISE 1 : Underline the adjectives and adjective phrases in the following sentences
and then choose the appropriate letter A-H for each question if the adjective phrases
have the function of:
A: Pre-modifier in noun phrases
B: Post-modifier in noun phrases
C: Post-modifier in prepositional phrases
D: The head of noun phrases
E: An exclamation
F: Subject complement
G: Object complement
H: Adjunct
Eg: Have you read anything interesting?
Answer: Have you read anything interesting ?  B
1. Strange, she was surprised.
2. I think they are doing evrything possible to protect the workers.

3. A hard worker may well have a soft heart.
4. The people present are waiting for the result of the present talks.
5. Wonderful!
6. I find it difficult to do this exercise.
7. He sat there as silent as if he were the dumb.
8. What I would like to do is to go somewhere really quiet.
9. It burnt the grass black.
10. The men were eager to begin the climb and they rose at first night.
Suggested answers:
1. Strange, she was
surprised
. F
2. I think they are doing everything
possible to protect the workers
.  B
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
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3. A hard worker may well have
a soft heart
.  A
4. The people
present
are waiting for the result of the
present
talks.A
5. Wonderful !  E
6. I find it

difficult to do this exercise
. G
7. He sat there as
silent
as if he were the dumb.H
8. What I would like to do is
to go somewhere really quiet
.F
9. It burnt the grass
black
.G
10. The men were
eager to begin the climb
and they rose at first night.F
EXERCISE 2 : Rewrite the following sentences, replacing the relative clauses in each
sentence by an adjective phrase , remembering that such a phrase can be realized by a
single word.
Eg: 1. With all students who are interested write their name on this list
Answer: With all students interested write their name on this list.
2. All the women who were present looked up in alarm.
3. We should call the doctor who is nearest.
4. We must find the doctor who is concerned.
5. What are the best seats that are available.
6. Can you recommend that is really interesting?
7. I have a problem that is much more complicated than that.
8. The road that is best to take is the A 40.
9. You couldn’t find anyone who is more difficult.
10. I don’t know the name of the people who were involved.
Suggested answers:
2. All the women present looked up in alarm.

3. We should call the doctor nearest.
4. We must find the doctor concerned.
5. What are the best seats available or available seats.
6. Can you recommend something really interesting?
7. I have a problem much more complicated than that.
8. The best road to take is the A 40.
9. You couldn’t find anyone more difficult.
10. I don’t know the name of the people involved.
EXERCISE 3 : Express the following noun phrases differently, using a compound adjective
as modifier of the head noun.
Eg: 1. A story is so scarifying that it raises the hair on your head.
Answer: The story is hair-scarifying .
2. Cakes that have been made at home.
3. a speed that takes your breath away.
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
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4. Troops that are borne (=transported) by air.
5. A plain that has been swept by the wind.
6. The performance that won an award.
7. A device that saves a great deal of labour.
8. An activity that consumes too much of your time.
Suggested answers:
2 home-made 5. wind-swept
3. breath-taking 6. award-winning
4. airborne 7. labour-saving
8. time-consuming
EXERCISE 4 : Express the following sentences differently using a participial adjective

formed from the noun phrases shown in italics:
Eg: His face was framed in a great beard.
Answer: He had a great beared face.
Or His face was bearded.
1. You have shown great enterprise in setting up this form.
2. The newspapers reported all the details of the case.
3. Conflicts often arise between countries that are neighbours.
4. We live in an ancient town with a great wall around it.
5. Dresses with designs of flowers on them are no longer in fashion.
Suggested answers:
1. You have been very enterprising in setting up this form.
2. The newspapers have published detailed reports of the case.
3. Conflicts often arise between neighbouring countries.
4. We live in an ancient walled town.
5. Flowered dresses are no longer in fashion.
EXERCISE 5: Express the sentences differently using a “ relational modifier +
adjective”unit, as in the following example.
Eg: From a human point of view I cannot accept that opinion.
Answer: That opinion is humanly unacceptable.
1. Drugs are necessary for medical purposes, but if abused they may be dangerous from a social
point of view.
2. The new oral examinations are very good in theory but have proved somewhat time-consuming to
administer.
3. Countries which are advanced in technological matters should help those in which science is
under-developed.

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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
Page 19
THE USES OF ADJECTIVES AND ADJECTIVE PHRASES IN ENGLISH

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Suggested answers:
1. Drugs are necessary for medical purposes, but if abused they may be socially dangerous .
2. The new oral examinations are theoretically good but have proved somewhat time-consuming to
administer.
3. Countries which are advanced in technological matters should help those scienctifically under-
developed.
EXERCISE 6: Put the words in the brackets into a right order.
NOT A DOG’S DINNER ! ! !
(shoes leatherItalian expensive handmade) (1)
Eg: (shoes leatherItalian expensive handmade)
Answer: (1) expensive handmade Italian leather shoes
These are my pride and joy. I own a (old beautiful pair) (2) or I did until yesterday. When I
discovered that one of the shoes was missing. I had left the shoes on my (doorstep back) (3) to do
some gardening. My neighbour has a (dog friendly large) (4) called Sam. When I saw that one of
my shoes had disappeared, I knew that Sam had taken it. I can’t say he behaved badly. He just
behaved like a dog. Leather look good and tastes good, too.I unwillingly gave Sam the (remaining
Italian shoes) (5) and then followed him. I not only found one ( Italian unchewed shoe) (6) but also
a pile of things Sam had been borrwing, including my wife’s (slippery fur lined red) (7), which
Sam had tried to have for dinner.

Suggested answers:
2. beautiful old pair
3. back doorstep
4. large friendly dog
5. remaining Italian shoe
6. inchewed Italian shoe
7. red fur-lined slippers
EXERCISE 7: Add modifiers to the one-word adjective phrases in these sentences to
form adjective phrases with quite heavy modification, choosing them from the following

list:
Eg: She found it difficult to say goodbye.
Answer: It was difficult for her to say goodbye.
1. You were very kind to come.
2. I think it important that you take some exercise everyday.
3. You were wrong to ride your bike across Mr Taylor’s garden.
4. I think you were greedy when you took the last cake.
5. I find it unacceptable that newspapers publish this kind of story.
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
Page 20
THE USES OF ADJECTIVES AND ADJECTIVE PHRASES IN ENGLISH
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6. you were being careless when you dropped all those plates.
7. You don’t need to have all these books at the start of your course.
Suggested answers:
1. It was very kind of you to come.
2. It’s important for you to take some exercise everyday.
3. It was wrong of you to ride your bike across Mr Taylor’s garden.
4. It was greedy of you to take the last cake.
5. It’s unacceptable for newspapers to publish this kind of story.
6. It was careless of to drop all those plates.
7. It isn’t necessary for you to have all these books at the start of your course.
EXERCISE 8: Rewrite these sentences using “It………… (adjective) for/of……………
Beautifully, essentially, ideally, imaginatively, pleasantly, ferociously, peacefully, cruelly
1. The new cultural centre is an …………………………… international project.
2. It will be a style…………………………… different from the usual urban architecture.
3. It will be …………………… placed outside the city, and ……………… surrounded by fields and trees.
4. Some traditionalists have been…………………………critical of the design.
5. The architect has said: “We have tried to combine the ………………… old with the …………………

new.”

Suggested answers:
This exercise invites free answers.
EXERCISE 9: Complete the following sentences by adding adjective phrases:
Eg: We were ……………………… last weekend.
Answer: We were delighted to see you last weekend.
1. It was …………………… , but I can’t remember anything after that until I was being helped out of
the car.
2. You are……………………. Around the farm at any time you want.
3. The agreement is …………………………………………. From my employer.
4. The increase in fighting is …………………………………….in the area.
5. I’ll be …………………………………… what he has to say.
6. I’m …………………………………………. at the moment.
7. The government seems certain to raise taxses soon, but they are not……………………………….
8. He’s in such good form that he’s ………………………………………………
Suggested answers:
1. aware of braking hard 5. interested to hear
2. welcome to walk around 6. busy preparing a lecture
3. conditional on obtaining permission 7. keen to admit it
4. certain to alarm Vietnamese troops 8. almost certain of winning tomorrow’s race
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
Page 21
THE USES OF ADJECTIVES AND ADJECTIVE PHRASES IN ENGLISH
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EXERCISE 10: Complete the following sentences with the expressions in the list and
with your own words which make adjective phrases:
ashamed to delighted to fortunate to
careful to determined to likely to

certain to eager to not prepared to
ready to reluctant to willing to
Eg: Mary always speeds on the expressway.She’s ……………………………………………….
Answer: She’s certain to get stooped by the police.
Or She’s likely to get a ticket.
1. There have been a lot of burglars in my neighbourhood recently, so I have started taking
precautions. Now Iam always very………………………………………………
2. I’ve worked hard all day long. Enough’s enough. I’m ………………………………………………
3. Next month I’m going to a family reunion – the first one in 25 years. I’m very much looking
forwar to it. I’m …………………………………………………….
4. Some children grow up in happy homes. My family, however, has always been supportive
and loving. I’m………………………………………………
5. Joe’s run out of money again., but he doesn’t want anyone to know his situation. He needs
money disparately but he’s………………………………………………………
6. Rosa wants to become an astronaut. That has been her dream since she was a liitle girl. She
has been working hard toward her goal and is……………………………………
7. Peter was offered an excellent jobin another state, but his wife and children don’t want to
move. He’s not sure what to do. Although he would like the job, he’s……………………………………………………….
8. At the street market, I battered with the seller over the price of the garment. H ewanted $20.
I offered $ 10. In the end he was………………………………………
9. Jason is going fishing today. He’s …………………………………………………
10. Our neighbours had extra tickets to the ballet, so they invited us to go with them. Since
both of us love the ballet, we were……………………………………………….
Suggested answers:
This exercise invites free answers.
III. INVESTIGATION:
3.1 The subject:
The subject for this study consists of 100 participants placed into one group: The
group is composed of 100 students at Tuy Phuoc I High school. All the students follow the
same course of English.

3.2 Data collection:
3.2.1 The questionnaires:
To obtain data for the research, one written questionnaires was administered to the
subject. In order that the respondents could be free to express their specific thoughts about
the items raised in the questionnaires.
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
Page 22
THE USES OF ADJECTIVES AND ADJECTIVE PHRASES IN ENGLISH
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Questionnaire consisting of 5 questions was delivered to 100 students of English. All
questions were written in simple English. These questionnaires are included in the appendix.
3.2.2. The class observation
Parallel with the survey questionnaire for students, the method of observation is also
applied in this study. The observation has been carried out in some classes I’m in charge with
different levels at Tuy Phuoc I High school as set out above. Among the classes I observed,
there was one class of eleventh year and one class of twelfth year.
3.3 Data Analysis
The remarks and perception made by the students in response to the questionnaires
were consolidated and categorized by the researcher. These results were subsequently
tabulated information gained through and converted to percentages for analysis.
Q.1 Have you ever felt embarrassed when using some Adjectives or Adjective
phrases?
Q.1 is raised to investigate whether the students are embarrassed when using some
adjectives or adjective phrases or not .The results display that just 15% of the students said
“rarely,” 50% of the students (most of whom are normal and weak at English) said “always”,
15% of the students said “sometimes” and 20% of the students said “ often”. It’s very easy
to understand because the students’ abilities are limited, especially on vocabulary. Some
students are so weak at grammar and vocabulary that they find it difficult to say or write any
sentences.They even don’t know very well about the uses of adjectives or adjective phrases .

Q.2 Do you find it confused when deciding the positions of words in an adjective
phrase ?
Rarely 15%
Sometimes 15%
Often 30%
Always 40%
The results show that 15% of the students said “rarely”; The same number of the
students said that they “sometimes”find it confused when deciding the positions of words
in an adjective phrase ; 30% of the students said that they “often” do it and 40% said they
“always” have difficulty deciding the positions of words in an adjective phrase.
Obviously, most of the students even don’t know any parts of speech, so they are
embarrased when writing adjective or noun phrases.
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
Page 23
THE USES OF ADJECTIVES AND ADJECTIVE PHRASES IN ENGLISH
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Q.3 Do the teachers explain the parts of speech words to you in class ?
Yes, very often 90%
Sometimes 5%
Rarely 3%
Never 2%
To investigate if the teacher explain the parts of speech to the students, Q.3 is asked.
The results show that a considerable number of students (90%) said that the teachers explain
the words to them very often. 5% say that sometimes their teachers do this. . (5%) said
“rarely”.Only 2% confirm they never get any explanation from the teachers when they ask
for help. Therefore, it’s not the teachers’fault for the students’ weakness. It’s because of the
students’ perceptivity.
Q.4 Do your teachers often ask you to do exercises or activities related to Adjective
or Adjective phrases?

In responding to Q.4, the students
clearly supply us with the information
about the exercises or activities that their
teachers often deal with when teaching
adjectives or adjective phrases . The
results show that : over one-third of the
students said “Yes” (30%) because lots of
teachers think that this will give their
students clear understanding in order that
they can use adjectives or adjective
phrases correctly in contexts and allow
the students to write and speak on their
own , which they find it very confidential.
The same number (30%) said
“sometimes”. Another 30% said their
teachers “rarely” ask them to do
exercises or activities on adjectives or
adjective phrases and explain them
clearly to them. Only 10% say “ never”.
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
Page 24
Yes, very
often
Sometim es
Rarely
Never
THE USES OF ADJECTIVES AND ADJECTIVE PHRASES IN ENGLISH
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Q.5 Do you find it important to master how to use adjectives or adjective phrases

correctly in speaking and writing?
Q.5 concentrates on the students’ thought about the importance of using adjectives or
adjective phrases in correct contexts. Some of them confirm that they find it important to
mater how to use adjectives or adjective phrases correctly. A considerable number of
students said that it is not imprtant. And the rest (30%) said that they had no idea about this.
The results found seem relevant to the number of students who said using adjectives or
adjective phrases in correct contexts is important (35%) and not important (40%).This is
because they are too weak to learn English and the need of accuracy is not what they are
trying to obtain. As can be heard from most of the teachers of English, students study English
at high school because they are forced to learn, not because they need to do it.
 Through survey questionnaires and class observation we recognize the important
role of teaching adjectives or adjective phrases . Most of teachers use the communicative
approach to explain. According to me, teachers should explain clearly to help students
understand what adjectives or adjective phrases are and how they are used correctly in
contexts. Teachers should give as many examples and activities as they can to make sure that
the students know how to use them. After they study the new items of language, teachers
give the students more chance to practice using them in order to help them to improve the
communicative competence by asking the students to do some homework Furthermore, In
all periods I visited, whenever the teachers use interesting activities to present the new
vocabulary, the atmosphere in class immediately becomes eager and enjoyable. However,
they don’t often do this and some others even consider it unimportant . They say that it takes
much time and the students must find out the usage by themselves. In practice, most of
students are not hard-working enough to do this. In short, teaching adjectives or adjective
phrases is one of the most important parts the teachers have to explain to the students. So it is
clear that Vocabulary,in general and teaching adjectives or adjective phrases in particular ,
plays an important role in students’ learning English and teacher’ teaching English.
III. Suggested some techniques or activities in teaching adjectives
and adjective phrases:
1. Adjective alphabet
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By Nguyen Thi Hong Minh – From Tuy Phuoc I High School
Page 25
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
important not important no idea
Important
not im portant
no idea