Meaning & use
modified words
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Meanings
nounpluraltechnical
Words that have another word or phrase added to them to change or limit their meaning.
Grammar: Used as a plural noun. The singular 'modified word' is rare but possible when referring to one specific word.
Patterns
- modified words in a sentence
- list of modified words
- identify modified words
In the phrase 'very happy,' 'happy' is a modified word because 'very' changes its intensity.
The exercise asks students to underline all modified words in the paragraph.
Adjectives and adverbs often appear as modifiers, creating modified words like 'extremely tired' or 'quickly ran.'
nounpluraltechnical
In grammar teaching, words that have been changed in form, for example by adding a prefix or suffix.
Grammar: This sense is less common and usually refers to morphological modification, such as adding '-ly' to an adjective.
Patterns
- modified words with prefixes
- modified words with suffixes
When you add '-ness' to 'happy,' you get 'happiness,' a modified word.
The lesson covers modified words formed by adding prefixes like 'un-' or 're-'.
Students practiced creating modified words by adding suffixes to base forms.
Word forms
| singular | modified word |
|---|
Common combinations
- modified word order
- In English, modified word order can change the emphasis of a sentence.
- heavily modified words
- Poetry often uses heavily modified words to create vivid images.
- identify modified words
- The teacher asked us to identify modified words in the sentence.
Synonyms and how they differ
- qualified words
- This is a less common term that also means words with added limits, but it is mostly used in logic and philosophy, not everyday grammar.
Opposites
Word family
- modify verb
- To change or limit the meaning of a word or phrase.
- modifier noun
- A word or phrase that modifies another word.
- modification noun
- The act or result of changing something.
Commonly confused: modified words or modifier?
modified words vs modifier
A 'modifier' is the word that does the modifying (e.g., 'very'), while a 'modified word' is the word that receives the modification (e.g., 'happy').
Practice
In the phrase 'a very tall building,' which is the modified word?
Choose one answer.
'Tall' is the modified word because 'very' modifies it by increasing its degree. 'Very' is the modifier, not the modified word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “modified words”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.