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In linguistics, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure[1] which modifies the meaning of another element in the structure. For instance, the adjective "red" acts as a modifier in the noun phrase "red ball", providing extra details about which particular ball is being referred to. Similarly, the adverb "quickly" acts as a modifier in the verb phrase "run quickly". Modification can be considered a high-level domain of the functions of language, on par with predication and reference.[2]
- ^ Huddleston, Rodney; Pullum, Geoffrey K. (2002). The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43146-8.
- ^ Rijkhoff, Jan (2014). "Modification as a propositional act in Functional Discourse Grammar". In de los Ángeles Gómez González, María; de Mendoza Ibáñez, Francisco José Ruiz; Gonzálvez-García, Francisco (eds.). Studies in Functional and Structural Linguistics. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp. 129–150. doi:10.1075/sfsl.68.06rij. ISSN 1385-7916.