Modifier

Definition: Modify is to change or to alter something. A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that functions as
an adjective or adverb to give extra information about another words or word called the head.

Classification: It can be classified into 2 types.

Pre modifier: Placed before the head is called a pre modifier

Post modifier: Placed after the head is called a post modifier

List of Adverb: always, ever, never, twice, again, somewhere, here, there, everywhere, rather, once, daily,
sometimes, often, seldom, now, then, soon, tomorrow, yesterday, today, tonight, again, early, yesterday, just,
during, yet, thus, only, also, too, very, very much, adjective + ly etc

Modifier

=to change or to alter something

= word, phrase, or clause

= adjective or adverb

1. Rules of part of speech

(Article+adverb+adjective+noun)

a. Pre modify the noun=Adjective

b. Pre modify the Adjective= Adverb

c. Pre/post modify the verb=adverb

d. Noun- adjective (Noun+Noun)

Noun-adjectives: Sometimes we use a noun to describe another noun. The first word is usually a noun but here
functions as an adjective modifying the second word.

For example, government road accident research centre, city government, article writer, bicycle thief, Sunday
picnic, pumpkin pie, news reporter, table tennis. athletic trainer, race horse, boat race, love story, war
story, tennis ball, computer exhibition, bicycle shop, food adulteration, tea table, grammar book

2. Appositive

=noun or noun phrase

=It is placed after noun or noun phrase

= giving extra information about previous noun or noun phrase

= Appositive can be used as subject or object.

Tamim Islam=noun

Student=noun

A student=noun phrase

A meritorious student=noun phrase

A very meritorious student=noun phrase

Appositive as subject
Bonna, my sister, is 17 years old. My mom, a nurse, drives a red car. Kamal, a painter, painted this picture. Mr.
Hasan, the principal at my school, wears a tie every day. My best friend, Rana, is moving in with me. Her first
teacher, Minu, was a strict person. My friends, the noisiest gang, knocked at my door. Makamum, my eight month-
old daughter, is eating noodles. Jerry, your little cat, is not so little any more. My mom, a nurse at the hospital, has
to work late sometimes. My friend, Liza is an excellent dancer. The jeans, my favorite pant, need to be washed.

Appositive as object

I like Monika, the best actress in our school. I really like my grand father’s horse, Chester. The little boy stood up
to John, the biggest liar. The girl in the red dress is Sarah, our best actress. Have you read Brothers, a book by
Dean Hughes? I know Rana, the electrical contractor. The apartment had bugs, big brown cockroaches. I travelled
to Mexico City, the biggest city in the world.

3. Nonfinite verb: to+v1, v1+ing, v3

Infinitive=to+v1

Infinitive phrase= to+v1+ext….

Participle= v1+ing, v3

to go

to go to Satkhira

Present Participle= v1+ing

Past Participle= v3

People (Present Participle=drinking) dirty water suffer a lot.

People (Past Participle=addicted) to alchohol lose everything.

4. Determiner: Determiners are words which come at the beginning of the noun phrase. They tell us whether the
noun phrase is specific or general. Articles, demonstrative pronoun, possessive pronoun, quantifier, number,
ordinal are included in determiner.

a. Articles= a, an, the

b. Demonstratives=this, that, these, those, such

this, these=near in time and distance

that, those=far in time and distance

c. Possessives=my, your, our, their, his, hers, its, whose, Rana’s, friends’ etc.

d. Quantifiers= much, little, a bit, a great deal of, many, few, a number of, several, all, enough, more, most, less,
no, none, some, any, a lot of, lots of, plenty of

e. Numbers=one, two, three, twenty, forty, 1, 2, 3 first, second, third, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, single, double, triple

5. Intensifier

=adverb

= to give force or emphasis

= very, so, enough

I strongly disagree. It’s extremely hot in Africa. Do you really mean it? It’s fairly interesting. It’s quite calm here.
He’s pretty intelligent. These students are rather noisy. I so wanted to buy the dress. She writes poems too often.
It’s absolutely amazing. I am a little angry with her. You play card very well.

6. Relative clause/adjective clause

Relative pronoun (who, which, that, what, whom, whose) placed before an adjective clause connects a clause or
phrase to a noun or pronoun.

Relative clauses= Relative clauses start with the relative pronouns.

The cyclist who won the race trained hard. The pants that I bought yesterday are already stained. The four team
leaders, whomever the committee selects, will be at tomorrow’s meeting. Biriani, which we eat twice a week, is
one of my favorite meals. The book, when it was finally returned, was torn and stained. The store on the
corner, where we usually buy all of our art supplies, burned to the ground. The festival, which lasted all day, ended
with a banquet. I am looking for someone who can watch my dog while I go on vacation. The police needed
details that could help identify the robber. I’d like to take you to a café which serves excellent coffee. I saw the
shoes what you bought last week on sale for less this week. The winners, when known, will receive money and
other prizes. This is the place where we met. This is the book that everyone is talking about. She wrote to the
person whom she had met last month.

7. Prepositional Phrases: A prepositional phrase starts with a preposition and ends with
a noun, pronoun, gerund, or clause, the “object” of the preposition. It functions as an adjective or adverb.

Commonly used Prepositional Phrases: According to the weather forecast, Across many deserts, After many
tries, Amid the confusion, Around the world, Before we start the meeting, Between a rock and a hard place, By
the light of the moon, like a beautiful swan, Near the ocean, Of my boss, Off the top, Out the door, Through the
looking glass, Throughout the thick forest, To the amusement park

Prepositional Phrases that function as an Adjective: The book with the tattered cover has been read many
times. All the passengers aboard the runaway train were frightened. The present inside the big box is mine. Our
boss put out a memo regarding the new rule. The clues within the first few chapters will lead to the murderer. His
is only one voice among many, but it will be heard.

Prepositional Phrases that function as Adverbs: Racing toward the finish line, Sarah realized she just might
win. My shopping list needs to be put into my purse. Without a GPS, we will lose our way. Until today, I had never
heard that. The balloon drifted up the stairs. Put the fresh flowers upon a high shelf. Despite warnings, she tried
to ski down Devil’s Run. Against all odds, our team won the tournament. The tiger crept slowly over the grass. We
will order pizza during halftime.

8. Adverbial phrase: It is a group of words that functions as an adverb in a sentence. That is, it modifies a verb,
adjective, adverb, clause, or the sentence as a whole. Adverbial phrases often feature an adverb being modified
by other elements, but not always.

For examples: very quickly, in a while, just a bit, surprisingly well, at the fairground, slightly close, as soon as
possible

Here are some examples of adverb phrases being used in sentences:

She rode her bike very hastily. The farmers worked like a single unit. The surf at the beach was coming
in extremely quickly. After they woke up, they packed up their things and then went on a hike. He read the
restaurant’s menu rather slowly.

9. Adverbial Clause: It is a dependent clause that acts as an adverb in the sentence. Adverb clauses begin
with subordinating conjunctions. Unlike an adjective clause, in which the introductory word serves as the subject,
the subordinating conjunction does not serve as the subject. The subordinating conjunction is often an adverb
itself.

Example: Because he has a college degree, he got a great job. When the storm started, she was at the store.
Bob wore the coat that I gave him. Whether you like it or not, you have to go to bed now. She likes the red car more
than her husband does. If you pay your bills, you will have a good credit score. Unless you run fast, you will miss
the bus. So that she would have a tan for her vacation, she went to a tanning salon. Marty kept his schedule
open, in case of emergencies. Because he loved her, he didn’t believe she had an affair. Once they saw the car
coming, the birds flew away from the street. Although she has a business degree, she is working as a retail clerk.
You must keep practicing the etude until you get it right. In order to have six-pack abs, he works out at the gym. As
we bought the tickets, the overture was beginning.
10. Compounds: Compoundingis the process of combining two words to create a new word (commonly a noun,
verb, or adjective). Compounds are written sometimes as one word (sunglasses), sometimes as two
hyphenatedwords (life-threatening), and sometimes as two separate words (football stadium).

11. Compounding is the most common type of word-formation in English.

Compound elements= Examples

noun + noun = bedroom, water tank, motorcycle, printer cartridge

verb + noun = washing machine, driving licence, swimming pool

noun + verb = Rainfall, haircut, train-spotting

adverb + noun = Onlooker, bystander

noun + adverb = hanger-on, passer-by

adjective + verb = dry-cleaning, public speaking

verb + adverb = Lookout, take-off, drawback

adjective + noun = Greenhouse, software, redhead

adverb + verb = Output, overthrow, upturn