Adjective Phrase

Adjective phrase is generally formed of an adjective and its modifiers. 

These are extremely expensive ornaments.

Whales are wonderfully social. 

Compare the following sentences carefully and read the explanation below.

I have a wooden boat. 

I have a boat made of wood.

In the first sentence, one word adjective (wooden) modifies the noun boat. In the second sentence, a phrase (made of wood) also modifies the same noun boat. So, made of wood is an adjective phrase. 

Let's see another example:

Rosamond liked the purple jar. 

Rosamond liked the jar of purple colour. 

In the first sentence, one word adjective (purple) modifies the noun jar. In the second sentence, a phrase (of purple colour) also modifies the same noun jar. So, of purple colour is an adjective phrase. 

Form of Adjective Phrases

1. Adjective Phrase = Adverb + Adjective

Most adjective phrases are formed of one adjective and one or more adverbs modifying the adjective. Look at the following examples. 

The bird is very little.

She looks extremely lovely.

2. Adjective Phrase = Adjective + and/ but/ or + Adjective

Two or more adjectives joined with and, but, and or can form an adjective phrase.

We bought a large and beautiful house.

There is no hard and fast rule in film making.

The rule is now null and void. 

The tortoise is slow but sure. 

The tortoise is slow and steady. 

She is more or less hungry. 

It is hard to tell who is good or bad in the Balkans.

It is hard to tell who is cruel or kind in the Balkans.

3. Participle Phrases Working as Adjective Phrases 

A participle phrase working as an adjective phrase is most often used just after the noun it describes. If the participle phrase has a prepositional phrase as its complement, the prepositional phrase also becomes a part of the adjective phrase. 

The book bought from College Street is lost.   

Police found a sick old man crying piteously for help.

The man lying on the bed is sick. 

I saw a cow eating grass. 

The man walking along the road is my teacher. 

Things done by halves are never done. 

The bridge destroyed by the flood has been repaired. 

The passenger injured in the accident has died. 

4. Prepositional Phrases Working as Adjective Phrases (Noun + Prepositional Phrase)

Prepositional phrases can act like adjective phrases. When a prepositional phrase works as an adjective phrase, it generally appears just after the noun it modifies. 

The girl in green is my cousin. 

The cat on the mat is fat.

A woman with a veil over her body approached the doctor. 

The book on the table is mine. 

He was a young man of noble birth. 

He loves the girl with blue eyes. 

The tree at my window is a friend of me. 

5. Prepositional Phrases Working as Adjective Phrases (Adjective + Prepositional Phrase)

Adjectives and prepositional phrases can form adjective phrases. 

He was second to none. 

The tablet is out of date. 

The man is blind of an eye. 

She is blind to her son's fault. 

The forest is full of danger. 

I am hard of hearing. 

The girl is proficient in English. 

The book is out of print now. 

Things which are out of sight are out of mind.