We explain what adjective phrases are and their differences with subjective subordinate sentences. Also, its structure and examples.
What are adjective phrases?
Adjective phrases are the sets of words whose core of meaning is a qualifying adjective, since they serve to attribute characteristics to a noun that may or may not be present in the sentence. They should not be confused with subordinate clauses adjectives, generally introduced with the nexus "What", since a phrase is, traditionally, a prayer without verb.
In Spanish, adjective phrases can be formed according to two different structures:
- Adverb + Adjective (A + A). For example: "potentially harmful" or "sadly alone."
- Adjective + Complement (A + C). For example: “full of hubbub” or “tired of living”.
Examples of adjective phrases
Other examples of adjective phrases are the following:
- Very accurate (A + A), as in "That shot was not very accurate"
- More original (A + A), as in "We are looking for a more original work"
- Probably wrong (A + A), as in "A probably wrong argument"
- Something sad (A + A), as in "My aunt was a little sad in the morning"
- Tremendously boring (A + A), as in "Mirta's boyfriend is tremendously boring"
- Too small (A + A), as in "My shoe doesn't fit, it's too small"
- Deeply sorry (A + A), as in "Forgive me, I'm deeply sorry"
- Ready to go (A + C), as in "The boy, ready to go, was waiting for you"
- Short of air (A + C), as in "We reached the top, short of air, and we sat down"
- Big for you (A + C), as in "The dress arrived, big for you"
- Far from here (A + C), as in "Let's go away from here"
- Tired of waiting (A + C), as in "One day, tired of waiting, I decided to continue on my way"
- Happy with life (A + C), as in "And they kept dancing, happy with life, until dawn"
- Marked with a red mark (A + C), as in “Marked with a red mark, the houses awaited the demolition team”.