Meaning & use
attributive phrase
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
A group of words that describes a noun and comes before it, not after a linking verb.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'an attributive phrase' or 'attributive phrases'.
Patterns
- an attributive phrase + noun
- use an attributive phrase before a noun
In 'a very old wooden house', 'very old wooden' is an attributive phrase.
The teacher asked us to underline the attributive phrase in each sentence.
An attributive phrase usually comes directly before the noun it describes.
nouncountabletechnical
A phrase that functions like an adjective inside a larger noun phrase.
Grammar: Often used when contrasting with predicative phrases, which come after verbs like 'be'.
Patterns
- function as an attributive phrase
- contrast with a predicative phrase
The phrase 'full of energy' is predicative, but 'energy-filled' works as an attributive phrase.
Linguists distinguish attributive phrases from predicative ones by their position.
In 'the man in the blue hat', 'in the blue hat' is an attributive phrase.
Word forms
| plural | attributive phrases |
|---|
Common combinations
- attributive phrase + noun
- The attributive phrase 'bright red' modifies the noun 'car'.
- use an attributive phrase
- Writers often use an attributive phrase to add detail before the noun.
- identify an attributive phrase
- Can you identify the attributive phrase in this sentence?
- contrast with a predicative phrase
- The lesson contrasts an attributive phrase with a predicative one.
Synonyms and how they differ
- adjective phrase
- This is the more common general term; 'attributive phrase' specifically emphasizes position before the noun.
- modifier
- A modifier is any word or phrase that describes another; an attributive phrase is a specific type of modifier that comes before a noun.
Opposites
Word family
- attributive adjective
- Describing a word or phrase that comes before the noun it modifies.
- attributively adverb
- In a way that functions as an attributive modifier.
Commonly confused: attributive phrase or predicative phrase?
attributive phrase vs predicative phrase
A predicative phrase comes after a linking verb (e.g., 'The house is very old'), while an attributive phrase comes before the noun (e.g., 'a very old house').
Practice
Which sentence contains an attributive phrase?
Choose one answer.
In 'The tall, dark stranger', 'tall, dark' is an attributive phrase because it comes before the noun 'stranger'. The other options have predicative phrases after linking verbs like 'is', 'felt', and 'became'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “attributive phrase”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.