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Anonymous Posted 9 years ago
Vocabulary

Far too early

"Dr Walter Willett, a food scientist at Harvard, thinks the Swedes have made their research public at far too early a stage."
(The Guardian.)

Is "far too early" an adverb and "at far too early a stage" a prepositional phrase? Does "far too early" modify noun "a stage" in the sentence above?
  

Top answer

"far too early" is adjectival; it modifies "stage" in the sense that the meaning is "a stage that is far too early". "at far too early a stage" is a prepositional phrase with adverbial function.

— GPY

  • "far too early" is adjectival; it modifies "stage" in the sense that the meaning is "a stage that is far too early".
  • "at far too early a stage" is a prepositional phrase with adverbial function.
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4 Answers
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"far too early" is adjectival; it modifies "stage" in the sense that the meaning is "a stage that is far too early".

"at far too early a stage" is a prepositional phrase with adverbial function.
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GPY"far too early" is adjectival
Isn't "far too early a stage" constructed in the way "quite a stage" is where adverb "quite" modifies the noun?
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I'm not sure about the comparison with "quite a ~". I thought it was adjectival on the basis that any adjective (in principle) can go in the pattern "too adj. a noun", whereas no adverb can.
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Thank you, GPY, for the replies.
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