Cambridge Grammar of English Hardback with cd-rom a comprehensive Guide

example

structure

She has a 

lovely

apartment.

head only

It’s a

rather 

unfortunate

name, isn’t it?

premodifier + head

Shall we see if that’s 

big enough

?

head + postmodifier

She’s 

advanced for her age

.

head + postmodifier

Are you 

willing to volunteer

?

head + complement

He was 

very 

keen on sport and nature

.

premodifier + head + complement

I’m not

really 

sure that I can advise you

.

premodifier + head + complement

Some adjective phrases have more complex structures than those in the table. 

In particular, there are phrases which are split into two parts (discontinuous

adjective phrases). These are dealt with in 240d below.

Premodification and postmodification of adjectives

238b

The most typical premodifiers of adjectives (in green) are adverb phrases

expressing degree (bold):

I was 

pretty

upset

at the time.

That’s an 

extremely

good

camera.

I think my jeans are 

a bit

damp

.

440 | Adjectives and adjective phrases

Cambridge Grammar of English

---

The major exception is the degree adverb enough, which is a postmodifier:

It’s not 

long

enough.

(It’s not enough long.)

Adverbs other than adverbs of degree may also premodify adjectives:

The house was 

unusually

silent

that day.

It was 

wonderfully

peaceful

at Gelli.

I don’t know how 

seriously

ill

they are.

Premodification and gradability

238c

Most everyday adjectives are gradable, i.e. they denote qualities, properties, states,

conditions, relations, etc. which vary in their degree or extent. 

Gradable adjectives can be premodified by degree expressions (usually adverb

phrases) which specify different degrees of the feature in question.

Premodification of gradable adjectives

example

comments

He’s 

very

tall

. 

He’s 

fairly

tall

.

He’s 

this

tall

.

This tall 

would be typically spoken with a 

gesture indicating a specific height. 

I didn’t realise he was 

that

tall

.

That tall 

might refer to a statement made by 

someone about someone’s height or to the 

moment of seeing someone very tall.

He is over 

two metres

tall

. 

Over two metres 

is a noun phrase. Certain 

adjectives expressing numerically measurable 

properties may be modified by such noun 

phrases: She is ten years old; The wood is two 

centimetres thick; You’re ten minutes late.

A–Z

80 Worth, worthwhile

He is 

so

tall

that he can touch the ceiling. 

Some degree adverbs (so, too, as) need a 

complement (underlined) to complete their 

He is 

too

tall

to drive.

meaning. The complement may be a clause or a 

phrase; it occurs after the head adjective. The 

structure is discontinuous (split into two parts, 

one part pre-head, the other post-head).

He is 

as

tall

as his father.

The comparative with as … as and the suffix -er 

have the same function of specifying degree as 

He is 

tall

er than his sister.

the various premodifiers. The structure with as

is discontinuous.

How

tall

is he?

Interrogative how is used to ask questions or to 

utter exclamations about degree, but with an 

How

tall

he is!

important difference in word order.

Û

539 Glossary for any unfamiliar terms

Adjectives and adjective phrases | 441

---

Non-gradable adjectives cannot normally be premodified in these ways. 

Non-gradable adjectives include: automatic; dead/alive; female/male;

Irish/Brazilian/Thai/

etc.; married/unmarried/single:

This cat is male.

(This cat is more male than that one.)

This plant is dead.

(This plant is rather dead.)