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Using Phrasal
Modifiers
In Grammar
Hint 171, we reviewed how nouns
can be
used to modify (describe, add
information about) other
nouns. Phrases
can be used in
the same way.
Look at these two
sentences:
Alice has a
son.
Alice's
son is seven years
old.
There are many ways to
combine these two sentences.
One way is
by using a phrasal modifier:
Alice has a seven-year-old
son.
Notice that . . .
| 1. |
|
. . .
the entire phrase (seven-year-old)
acts
as a single modifier.
(This is
shown by using
hyphens ( - ) to connect the parts
of the phrase. |
| |
|
|
| 2. |
|
. . . the noun ("year") following the
number
("seven") is
singular,
not plural. This happens
because the
phrase is used as an
adjective and
because
there are no plural adjectives in
English. |
Here are a few
more examples:
noun with
phrasal
modifier |
|
meaning |
| |
|
|
| a two-car garage |
|
a garage that is big
enough
for two cars |
| |
|
|
| a five-course meal |
|
a meal that has five
courses
(parts--each with
a
different kind of
food) |
| |
|
|
| a three-day weekend |
|
a weekend that has
three
days instead of
two
(Monday is a holiday) |
| |
|
|
| a two-bedroom apartment |
|
an apartment that
has
two
bedrooms |
|
|
|
| a four-time winner |
|
someone who has won
a
race, athletic event,
or
other competition
four
times |
| |
|
|
| a 12-string guitar |
|
a guitar that
has
12
strings |
| |
|
|
| a ten-speed bicycle |
|
a bicycle that
uses
gears
to go at ten
different speeds |
| |
|
|
| a
300-year-old antique |
|
an item that is 300
years
old |
___________________________________________
Special
Notes:
| 1. |
|
Remember that in phrasal
modifiers, the
items in the phrase are
joined with hyphens:
a 300-year-old antique
a 12-string guitar
a two-bedroom
antique |
| |
|
|
| 2. |
|
Remember that when a phrasal
modifier
has a number
and a noun,
the noun
after the number is singular, not
plural:
a two-car
garage
a two-bedroom
apartment
a three-day
weekend |
| |
|
|
| 3. |
|
If a phrasal modifier has a number
and
a noun, the noun after the number
is
singular even if the main noun is
plural:
two five-course
meals
several three-day
weekends
two six-year-old
children |
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