Real Grammar - Susan Conrad, Douglas Biber 2009

Adjective Phrases
Unit 45 The approach used in nursing

What have you learned from your grammar textbook?

When an adjective clause has a subject relative pronoun, the clause can often be changed to an adjective phrase: (1) an -ing phrase, (2) an -ed phrase, or (3) an appositive noun phrase.

What does the corpus show?

A

Adjective phrases are as common as adjective clauses in academic writing. They are rare in conversation.

B

Adjective clauses almost never include a present progressive verb. Instead writers use an -ing adjective phrase.

C

Frequency information. Most of the verbs that are common in -ing adjective phrases rarely occur as main clause progressive verbs. These are non-action (stative) verbs.

Be careful! It is possible to use these same verbs in the simple present, in a full adjective clause. However, -ing adjective phrases are much more common for these verbs. When a full relative clause does occur, it is often a non-restrictive (non-essential) clause:

• The cost of installing open systems technology, which contains more options, is likely to be more than the cost of installing established proprietary solutions.

D

Frequency information. The verbs that are common in -ed adjective phrases are also common as main clause passives.

E

Appositive noun phrases are common in academic writing but rare in conversation. They often occur in parentheses.

Activities

1 Notice in context: Read the two paragraphs from different academic texts. First, underline each adjective phrase and draw an arrow to the noun it modifies. Be careful! Adverbs may occur between the adjective phrases and the nouns they modify. Second, circle the verbs in the adjective phrases that are related to passive voice verbs.

1. From an instructional manual about building materials.

Both the stands and supports of display boards commonly used for advertisements in the cities are mostly constructed of wood ... Wood, the most suitable and most popular material for furniture, is comparatively cheaper than metal.

2. From an article about methods of communication.

One problem arising from the use of electronic communication results from the fact that procedures previously settled with paper letters and telephone calls are now also carried out through new electronic methods. This implies that correspondence concerning the same task may be contained in three different types of media (telephone, paper, and electronic media) and may become disjointed.

2 Analyze discourse: Read these sentences from academic writing, underline each appositive noun phrase. Then label its function: Write T (explaining a technical term), A (introducing an abbreviation), I (providing information about a proper noun), or L (providing a list of items in a class) next to the phrase.

1. Linguist LA. Richards distinguishes four types of functions of language and four kinds of meaning (sense, feeling, tone, and intention).

2. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has evolved over the past decade as an important new technique, providing additional information to that obtained with standard medical investigations.

3. It is still an adventure to travel down the canyon of the Colorado River in a small boat, repeating the first trip made in 1869 by Major John W. Powell, a geologist who later helped found the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

4. The cotton crop is attacked by black-arm which is caused by a bacteria which also causes angular leaf spot, a disease that affects all above-ground parts of the plant.

3 Practice the structure: Complete each sentence with the correct form of one of the verbs from the box.

1. In a vocabulary game, the computer might produce a list of words ... one the child hasn’t learned, and the child must locate that word. All other words in the list should be familiar to the child.

2. During photosynthesis, water is oxidized by the removal of hydrogen, and oxygen is released (a process ... energy to break the chemical bonds between the hydrogen and oxygen).

3. One might say that the “candid camera” technique ... in some television programs, where people have tricks played on them for the benefit of the viewers, is a source of observation for social scientists.

4. Because of difficult technical terminology, all medical information ... to patients by doctors may not be fully understood and may require additional explanation.

5. Another drink from the coconut is the juice or wine ... by tapping the unopened flowers.

4 Practice writing: For each of the following topics, choose a subject that interests you and write a short informative paragraph about it on a separate piece of paper. Use each of these types of adjective phrases at least once: -ed, -ing and appositive noun phrases. Include at least two adjective phrases in each description. Underline the adjective phrases.

1. Music     3. Diet

2. Recreation    4. Literature (e.g., books, magazines, newspapers, etc.)

EXAMPLES

Music produced with fiddles and banjos is often called Bluegrass ...

Tetherball (a leather ball attached to a tall metal pole with a long cord) is a popular schoolyard game ...

Diets consisting of very few calories are rarely effective ...

Books written during a period of depression or frustration in an author’s life can be funny and uplifting.