Editing English grammar (section)

====Phrases<span class="anchor" id="Adjective phrases"></span>====
An [[adjective phrase]] is a group of words that plays the role of an adjective in a sentence. It usually has a single adjective as its [[head (linguistics)|head]], to which [[modifier (linguistics)|modifier]]s and [[complement (linguistics)|complement]]s may be added.<ref name=carter-mccarthy-p310>{{Harvnb|Carter|McCarthy|2006|p=310}}</ref>

Adjectives can be modified by a preceding adverb or adverb phrase, as in ''very warm'', ''truly imposing'', ''more than a little excited''. Some can also be preceded by a noun or quantitative phrase, as in ''fat-free'', ''two-meter-long''.

Complements following the adjective may include:
* [[prepositional phrase]]s: ''proud of him'', ''angry at the screen'', ''keen on breeding toads'';
* [[infinitive]] phrases: ''anxious to solve the problem'', ''easy to pick up'';
* [[content clause]]s, i.e. ''that'' clauses and certain others: ''certain that he was right'', ''unsure where they are'';
* after comparatives, phrases or clauses with ''than'': ''better than you'', ''smaller than I had imagined''.

An adjective phrase may include both modifiers before the adjective and a complement after it, as in ''very difficult to put away''.

Adjective phrases containing complements after the adjective cannot normally be used as attributive adjectives ''before'' a noun. Sometimes they are used [[postpositive adjective|attributively after the noun]], as in ''a woman proud of being a midwife'' (where they may be converted into relative clauses: ''a woman who is proud of being a midwife''), but it is wrong to say *''a proud of being a midwife woman''. Exceptions include very brief and often established phrases such as ''easy-to-use''. (Certain complements can be moved to after the noun, leaving the adjective before the noun, as in ''a better man than you'', ''a hard nut to crack''.)

Certain attributive adjective phrases are formed from other parts of speech, without any adjective as their head, as in ''a two-bedroom house'', ''a no-jeans policy''.