Compound Modifier

This article includes the topics such as compound modifier, compound adjective and phrasal adjective.

Compound modifier

compound modifier is a collection of two or more attributive words that collectively alter a noun. Compound modifiers are grammatically equal to single-word modifiers and can be used in conjunction with others. Compound modifiers can include nouns, determiners, and other parts of speech as well as adjectives. Man-eating (shark) and one-way traffic are two examples (street). In English, the punctuation of compound modifiers is determined by their grammatical function. Attributive compounds—modifiers within the noun phrase—are normally hyphenated, but predicates are not (unless they are permanent compounds attested as dictionary headwords).

Compound adjective

Compound adjectives can change the meaning of a noun or a noun phrase. Consider the terms heavy metal detector and heavy-metal detector in English. The first uses simply the bare word heavy to describe a gadget that is properly expressed as a metal detector; the second uses the phrase heavy-metal, which is a compound noun that is normally represented as heavy metal without an accompanying adjective. Heavy-metal, on the other hand, is a compound adjective that modifies the noun detector in the second case.

The punctuation determines whether a word sequence like “heavy + metal + detector” imply a compound adjective + noun or a bare adjective + compound noun. For example, heavy-metal detector and heavy metal detector are two different things: heavy-metal detector refers to a device that detects heavy metals, while heavy metal detector refers to a device that detects heavy metals (wherein heavy-metal functions as a compound adjective that modifies the noun detector). Heavy metal detector, on the other hand, does not include the hyphen and refers to a large metal detector. Heavy is a simple modifier for the compound noun metal detector. As a result, heavy metal detector is a composite noun + adjective sequence.

To avoid confusion between compound adjective + noun and bare adjective + compound noun sequences, make a clear distinction between the use of an attributive adjective and the use of a noun adjunct. As a result, the phrase heavy metallic detector uses an unambiguous compound adjective to describe a heavy metal detector.

Hyphenation of elements in English

Subject to specific limitations, compound modifiers that appear before a noun phrase should include a hyphen between each word, according to convention and modern writing guides. Hyphens are used in this way to avoid confusion; if the words were not hyphenated, a reader might interpret them as separate words rather than as a phrase. Hyphens combine the words that make up a compound adjective into a single notion.

The term “open compound” refers to a compound modifier that is not hyphenated.

When a numeral and a noun are used in a compound modifier that comes before a noun, both the numeral and the noun are singular.

Exceptions

When determining whether a compound adjective should be hyphenated, major style guides recommend consulting a dictionary; compounds recorded as dictionary headwords are permanent compounds, and the dictionary’s hyphenation should be followed even when the compound adjective follows a noun. Some guides advise against using hyphens in known compounds used as adjectives “where no ambiguity could result,” while others recommend using hyphens “usually” in such compounds before nouns.

It may be useful to distinguish between compound modifiers with the suffix -ly in the adverb, such as swiftly and badly, and those with the suffix -ly in the adverb, such as well. The -ly suffix on an adverb allows readers to comprehend its lexical category (if not technically, then in the sense of the intended meaning), indicating that it is intended to modify the adjective it precedes and therefore not requiring hyphenation. Adverbs such as quickly and terribly are unmistakably adverbs.

Other adverbs (such as well) are frequently employed as adjectives; adverbs lacking the -ly suffix are frequently hyphenated. A well-known actress, for example, could be compared to a lesser-known actress. When a compound modifier that would otherwise be hyphenated is replaced with a post-modifier (one that comes after the modified noun phrase), the hyphen is no longer required: the actress is well-known.

Finally, in a compound modifier, the word very is usually not followed by a hyphen. When all (or all) of the components in a compound modifier are nouns, hyphenation is not required because misunderstanding is improbable.

Phrasal adjective

A phrasal adjective is a group of two or more words that modifies a noun as a whole. Phrasal adjectives are frequently hyphenated to indicate the combination of two words to describe the noun that follows, but a phrase may be known enough to avoid the hyphen, or it may be treated as a closed compound.

Conclusion

We studied about numerous types of phrases that create structures in this article. When we learn phrases in a foreign language rather than single words, we are more likely to retain and store what we have learned so that we may use it when we need it. This can help you build confidence and fluency in your new language faster, while also reducing the number of mistakes you make. A phrase is a group of words that sticks together to express a single message but are devoid of a subject, predicate, or both. The meaning of each phrase spoken, written and listened has a basic element that can be modified by the phrase’s elements.

Compound Modifier