What are modifiers? Perhaps, I should have the question restructured and asked thus: What is a modifier?
Any grammatical item(s) that can be used BEFORE a noun or AFTER a noun in a phrase or a sentence is a MODIFIER. Another name for the modifier is qualifier. For example,
i. The actor
ii. Handsome actor
iii. Tall actor
iv. Several actors
In the examples above, the modifiers are highlighted in bold typeface. And if you notice carefully, you probably have noticed that the modifier in (i) above is a an article; in (ii) and (iii), is an adjective; and in (iv) is a determiner.
So, when we talk of a modifier or modifiers, we are talking of items such as articles, adjectives, and determiners that can be used BEFORE a noun in a phrase or a sentence.
Apparently there can be more than one modifier BEFORE a noun in a phrase or sentence. For example,
1 2 3
The handsome tall actor is Denzel Washington.
We can still decide to add a fourth modifier thus,
1 2 3 4
The handsome tall smiling actor is Denzel Washington.
By the way, it's important to stress that modifiers used BEFORE a noun are called pre-modifiers.
On the other hand, there are modifiers that are used AFTER a noun. They are referred to as post-modifiers. For example,
i. ... (the) man himself
ii. ... (One) man outside
iii. ... (the) actor in that movie
iv. ... (several) actors in Hollywood
v. ... Mandela himself
vi. ... South Africans/teachers themselves
vii. ... (the) man that we saw
From the examples above, notice the grammatical items functioning as post-modifiers. In (i, v, vi), the post-modifiers are (emphatic) pronouns; in (ii), the post-modifier is an adverb; in (iii & iv) the post-modifiers are phrases; and in (vii), the post-modifier is a clause (an adjectival clause). And may I quickly stress that post-modifiers are usually phrases or clauses.
You probably have noticed also that except in examples (v) and (vi) above, pre-modifiers are used before the noun. That takes us to the next point.
PRE-MODIFIERS AND POST-MODIFIERS IN A PHRASE OR A SENTENCE
Did you notice in the examples below that it was almost impossible for us to use post-modifiers in the phrases and sentence below without a pre-modifier — they are in brackets in the sentences below? The only exception is (v & vi).
i. ... (the) man himself
ii. ... (One) man outside
iii. ... (the) actor in that movie
iv. ... (several) actors in Hollywood
v. ... Mandela himself
vi. ... South Africans/teachers themselves
vii. ... (the) man that we saw
The only instance in which post-modifiers can be used with a noun without using pre-modifiers before that same noun is when the noun is a plural noun or a proper noun. See examples (v&vi). The same principle can be applied to example (iv). Hence, you cannot say,
man himself; you say, The man himself; and you can choose to say, Men themselves.
Thank you for reading.
The blogger, Ọlábánjì O. Odùrómbì, can be contacted via SMS/WhatsApp/Voice Call on 08037699294.
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