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219. Sometimes our sentences consist of only the two or three words that we have called the base:
but generally we find it necessary to modify some part of the base in order to express our meaning more exactly. Thus, instead of “Sheep furnish wool,” or “They came,” we might wish to say, “My son’s sheep, a foreign breed, furnish wool of fine quality,” or “They unexpectedly came from town | yesterday | to welcome us.” |
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220. Any word or group of words that qualifies another word, or explains its application, is called a Modifier. By adding modifiers to the base, we build up fuller sentences, and it is about the construction or building up of sentences that we are to study now. |
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221. We know that the subject, the object, and sometimes the subjective complement, is a noun or a pronoun, and that adjectives may modify nouns wherever they occur;
hence we conclude that — Adjectives may be added to either the subject or the complement as modifiers. Thus: —
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222. Besides a noun or a pronoun, the base of a sentence always, as we know, contains a verb,
and it sometimes contains an adjective as the complement of the verb.
We know, too, that if a verb or an adjective needs a modifier to finish the meaning, an Adverb may be used.
E. g.: —
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223. We have built up a sentence by modifying the base with adjectives and adverbs.
The next step will be to give to these added words modifiers of their own. Thus, instead of high, always, and many, in —
How is “winds” modified? “Trees”? Does very many take the place of an adjective or an adverb? What may adverbs modify? ( a ) These little phrases (“unusually high,” etc.) are used as modifiers very much like single words; and when a noun or a verb has several modifiers, some of them may be words and some phrases. Thus: —
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224. 1. An adjective with all that modifies it is called an Adjective phrase. 2. An adverb with all that modifies it is called an Adverb phrase. ( a ) When an adjective or an adverb takes a modifier of any sort, we have a phrase; as, beautiful in color, suitable for working, where an adjective is modified by a prepositional phrase (§ 225); also a little cautiously, ten feet further, where an adverb is modified by a noun phrase (§ 308). |
| 225. There are several other kinds of modifying expressions which have the meaning and use of adjectives and adverbs. | ||||||||||||||
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226. A Prepositional Phrase may always be used like an adjective or adverb.
Thus: — As part of the base, like a predicate adjective:
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| 227. Modified Prepositional Phrases. The base of the phrase, that is, the preposition with its object alone, does not always make a complete modifier, any more than does a adjective or an adverb alone. Thus: — “Wise men” means the same as “men of wisdom,” but “very wise men” would mean “men of great wisdom, a modifier being added to the object. So too in “The state is rich in forests of pine.” the object in the phrase “in forests” is modified by another phrase “of pine.” |
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228. These examples show how the object of a preposition may be modified; and we must remember that a noun may always have modifiers, no matter how or where it is used. ( a ) A modifier of any part of the base may be called a primary modifier; a modifier of what is already a modifier may be called a secondary modifier. |
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229. We see from the preceding exercise that a noun may be modified not only by adding a word, but also by changing its form according as it applies to one or to more than one. One form is called the Singular, because it applies to a single one only. The other is called the Plural, because it applies to more than one. Thus: —
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| 230. The Plural is generally made by adding -s or -es to the singular. |
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231. Sometimes a word is adjective by nature, like those we have been studying;
but a word that seems to be something else may be also adjective by use. In these sentences —
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232. Such words as Edward’s, car’s, your are called Possessives because, if the statements just made are true, we can say, —
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| 234. A Possessive is a special form of a noun or a pronoun used like an adjective to show whose property is meant. [§ 295.] |
235. Another sort of modifier appears in this example:
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236. A noun is often added to another noun to describe or explain its meaning, when one name is not enough. The noun thus added is called an appositive, and is just as much a modifier as an adjective is, though, unlike an adjective, it almost always follows the word it modifies. The word appositive means “put by the side of.” |
| 237. An Appositive is a second name added to a noun or a pronoun to explain or describe what is meant. |
| 238. Possessive and appositive phrases will be easy for us to understand because, like adjective and adverb phrases, they are only possessives and appositives, with their modifiers. | ||
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239. We must remember that possessives and appositives are only used like adjectives; they are not what we call adjectives, but are really nouns or pronouns.
Hence they have the same modifiers that other nouns and pronouns have. Thus, instead of girl’s hair, we might wish to speak of
So with appositives: —
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240. Punctuation. RULE. — Appositive words and phrases must generally be set off from the rest of the sentence by commas.
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241. We now understand how it is that a simple sentence may be very long; for we must often modify a word again and again before we can express exactly what we mean. The simplest modifiers for each part of speech are given below. [See §§ 620, 621.] Nouns and Pronouns may have for modifiers, —
Verbs, Adjectives, and Adverbs may have for modifiers, —
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