Tell me the part of speech of these phrases

Question

Hi,Could any one give  me a clear definition about the part of speech in grammar with the following phrases.1. [a political]  [hot potato];2. [his] [motive]3. but some bushes broke [his] [fall]4. Nothing is impossible to [a willing] .Thanks very much.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

They all seem rather straightforward to me, bepleased.  Please tell us which parts of speech you think they are, and we will check your effort.

Bepleased · Answer

OK I try.

1. [a political] [hot potato];-----[a political] is attributive

2. [his] [motive]-----[his] is a pronoun of the possessive case

3. but some bushes broke [his] [fall]----[his] is ditto

4.Nothing is impossible to [a willing]

. -----[willing] is an adjective

I know I am very vague as to them.

Thanks very much.

Mister Micawber · Answer

1. [a political] [hot potato];--- --[a political] is attributive —OK

2. [his] [motive]- -[his] is a pronoun of the possessive case — More often called a possessive adjective, but OK.

3. but some bushes broke [his] [fall]- -[his] is ditto— Ditto.

4.Nothing is impossible to [a willing]

. --[willing] is an adjective— OK

Bepleased · Answer

Hi Mister Micawber,

To say [political] is attributive that is hard for me to understand.

[A political hot potato] means the polity has / experiences a hot potato.

To say [political] is attributive is to say polity is attributive towards (or to) a hot potato.

So it is not in accord with the definition of [attributive].

the following phrases is right to [attributive], belonging to attributive:

A. a major success -----It is major that is attributive to (= unto / towards) a success.
a school bus---- school is attributive to (= unto / towards) bus;

B. He attributes his success to hard work. ------To work hard is attributive to his success.

C. It is typical of her to be rude. ------She is attributive to being rude to be typical. = She is for / in favor of making a judgment about her action.

D. It is kind of him to help me. -----He is attributive to helping me to be kind. = He is for / in favor of making a judgment about his behavior.

E. Kindness is one of his qualities. -----One of his qualities is attributive to kindness.
= Kindness is one of his attributes. ----One of his attributes is attributive to kindness.

F. She shows qualities of leadership. = She shows qualities that are attributive to leadership.
G. A tendency not to show emotions is supposed to be part of the British national character. -----the British national character is attributive to a tendency not to show emotions;

They are the

Thank you for your assistance.

Mister Micawber · Answer

'Attributive' simply means that the adjective precedes its noun. It is a grammatical term for a premodifying adjective, that is all.

Postmodifying adjectives are called either postpositive adjectives (immediately after the noun) or predicative (in the predicate).

Tell me the part of speech of these phrases

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions