verb phrase copula attribute complement adjectival phrase partitive phrase adverbial adjunct verb particle argument adverbial clause complement adverbial phrase extent phrase adverb argument prepositional phrase adjectival phrase extent phrase adjective complement adjective clause complement preposition argument object case determiner phrase prepositive quantifier determiner postpositive limiter post-positive limiter negative particle approximative phrase adverb of extent specifier emphatic particle adjective clause adjectival phrase

Section 8-6 ADJECTIVE PHRASE

Phrase structure rule [P4] includes the adjective phrase in one place as a part of the realization of the verb phrase, where the adjective phrase is associated with some form of the copula. This is the normal way to express a state of affairs [–Event].
[P6] The Verb Phrase
The adjective in (1) describes a temporary state (accidental attribute), whereas, the one in (2) refers to a more permanent state (inherent attribute) in the subject being described.
(1)The coach was ill.[accidental]
(2)The players were tall.[inherent]

Adjective phrase as a verb complement.  
Sometimes it appears that an adjective resides in the verb phrase as a complement to certain verbs. Such a verb, as in (2) and (4), may also require one or two arguments (an object) as a verb complement. A verb with this kind of complement is called transitive (with one) or ditransitive (with two). It is also possible that the verb complemented with an adjective phrase be intransitive, as in (1) and (3). Notice that the transitive verb in (2) has three complements. However, the complements following the object are normally interpreted as object complements. We will find later that it is entirely possible to consider those in (2) and (4) as actually better seen as being the remains of a degenerate clause of result. Some analysts categorize the verbs in (1) and (3) as copulas or “linking verbs.” We consider these sentences as also containing a degenerate clause of result, the subjects being the same as that of the main clause.
(1)This soup tastes quite bitter.
(2)My husband has worried himself sick over it.
(3)He is now getting better.
(4)He painted the garage red.
With transitive verbs the adjective complement describes the object. With intransitive verbs it describes the subject. All adjectives are descriptive or qualifying in a general sense rather than identifying or classifying.

The functions of an adjective phrase.  
As a part of the verb phrase an adjective phrase is predicative. In the first case such an adjective usually functions to attribute a particular quality to the subject. When there is an object present the adjective phrase attributes the quality to the object as illustrated in (4) of the previous paragraph.
(1) My cat is very curious.[COP + AJP]
It is also possible for the adjective to be a part of the argument in the predicate. This position is not described in [P3]. An adjective which stands before the noun that it modifies is attributive.
(2) My cat is a very curious cat.[COP + [DTP + NOM + MDF]ARG]
An adjective within an argument usually (but not always) has a paraphrase that contains an adjective clause instead (3).
(3)My cat is one which is very curious.
i.A cat may be very curious.
m.My cat is of this kind.
The clause in (3) makes the adjective classifying. This is the function of the prepositional phrase in the matrix (3m) and is commonly the function of a predicate noun (4).
(4) My cat is a mouser.[COP + ARG]
(5) My cat is of a certain kind. [COP + PAP]
As an attribute the adjective phrase may assign the reference of the noun it modifies to a particular class. An attributive adjective may also be definitional. It is normal to interpret an adjective that is definitional in the attribute position (6) as classificatory, but non-definitional when it appears in predicate position (7).
(6) My cat is a Siamese cat. (of a certain kind)[+Classificatory,+Definitional]
(7) My cat is Siamese. (from Siam)[+Classificatory,–Definitional]
But if the interpreter considers the noun in a particular context to be fully defined and classified, the use of an adjective may be identifying. Classifying and identifying adjectives are restrictive. This means that their function is to restrict the possible interpretations of the noun phrase of which they are a part. But when the interpretation of the noun phrase is already restricted, the adjective’s function is non-restrictive.

The three uses of an attributive adjective.  
The attributive adjective is the post-positive limiter or modifier in [P20].
[P20] The Determiner Phrase
This element is further developed in [P28]. Besides being an adverb of extent (possibly gradable), it may also be a clause (AdjC).
[P28] The Post-positive Limiter
Compare these three uses of the attributive adjective. The adjective in (1) is restrictive (and also classifying).
(1)Fido is a very curious cat.
i.A cat may be very curious.
m.Fido is a cat of this kind.
The adjective in (2) is restrictive (and also identifying), provided I have other not so curious cats. The “C” is the paraphrase with the adjective phrase reformulated as a clause.
(2)Fido is my very curious cat.
C.Fido is the cat of mine which is very curious.
i.One of my cats is very curious.
m.Fido is that cat of mine.
If I have but one cat, the interpretation is that its being curious is non-restrictive and hence only qualifying or descriptive.
(3)Fido is my very curious cat.
C.Fido is my cat, which cat is very curious.
i.Fido is very curious.
m.Fido is my cat.

The qualifying adjective.  
Sometimes it will be convenient to be able to speak of the functional distribution of an adjective at a single level. Any non-restrictive adjective clause is called “qualifying” as opposed to either classifying or identifying.
Three Syntactic Functions of an Adjective

The semantics of adjectives.  
The meaning of adjectives is varied and plays a role in the ordering of adjectives when compounded. The accumulation of adjectives is a subject of chapter 10 and will be treated in more detail there. Figure 13 lays out some of the semantic roles of the descriptive adjective. Notice that some of the meanings are scalar and modifiers are needed for their metrification.
Semantic Types of Adjectivals

Comparing the structure of the adverb and adjective phrases.  
It is instructive to compare the adverb phrase to the adjective phrase. I give the structures generated by [P10] for the adverb phrase in the left half and those from [P12] for the adjective phrase in the right half.
Adverb Phrase    :    Adjective Phrase
(1)cleararoundthe parkalmostsorry(about)that you came
EXTAVBARGEXTADJ(PREP)ARG
veryhappy(about)to see the game
EXTADJ(PREP)ARG
(2)quitefarfrom the wallrealworriedaboutthe outcome
EXTAVBPPEXTADJPREPARG
(3)almostoutof the standssofondofhis bat
EXTAVBPPEXTADJPREPARG
These examples illustrate the principal difference between the adverb phrase and the adjective phrase: the form of the complement it allows. The adjective takes an argument in only two of its possible forms: as a noun clause complement or as an infinitive (a specific reduced form of a noun clause). With other forms of nominals the adjective requires a complementizer in the form of a preposition:
(4)I am very sorry that you missed him.
(5)I am very sorry about your misfortune.
By having the nominalization transformation absorb the complementizer the analyst may have both structures derive from a prepositional phrase. It is of some interest that the prepositional infinitive as in the second example of an adjective phrase in (1) has the structure of a prepositional phrase: here the preposition to assumes the complementizer function in being followed by a nominal form of the verb as argument.
[P10] The Adverb Phrase
[P12] The Adjectival Phrase
[P14] The Complement

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