Modifiers for the students of HSC

What is a Modifier?

In short, a modifier is a describer. A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that describes another word, phrase, or clause.

Example of Grammatical Modifier:

• He is a cute baby.

In this sentence, “cute” is an adjective modifying the noun, “baby.” The adjective “cute” is a modifier. “Cute” modifies the type of baby.
Generally, modifiers are of two types according to their position to the words they modify:

1) Pre-modifiers
2) Post-modifiers

Pre-modifiers:

Pre-modifiers are the modifiers which modify the words that follow them in the sentence. Conventionally the adjectives are usually placed before the nouns. So, most of the adjectives are pre-modifiers. Adverbs are often placed before the words they modify.

Articles, determiners, demonstratives, proper adjectives, descriptive adjectives, compound adjectives, participles, etc. are the adjectives which come before the nouns and modify them.Conjunctive adverbs, sentence adverbs, and some other adverbs can work being placed before the verbs/adjectives/other adverbs.

Post-modifiers:

Post-modifiers are the modifiers which come after the words they modify. Customarily, the adverbs come after the verbs and modify them. However, some adjectives also come after the nouns and modify them.

Most of the adverbs of time, adverbs of manner, adverbs of place/direction usually come after the verbs they modify.

Appositives, prepositional phrases (adjectives/adverbs), infinitives (adverbs/adjectives), dependent clause, etc. usually come after the nouns they modify.

Use adjective to pre-modify the noun:

1. A wise man cannot commit such a great blunder.
2. Our country needs many honest workers.
3. The most young beautiful lady drew the attention of the audience.
4. He is a good boy.
5. Kazi Nazrul Islam is a great poet.
6. Arsenic is a poisonous substance.
7. Newspaper plays a very important role.
8. Only bookish knowledge is not enough in this competitive world.
9. One should choose the right/good newspaper because many newspapers present news partially.
10. Air and water are the most important/significant elements of the environment.
11. Farmers use chemical fertilizers and insecticides and pollute water.
12. Rash/Poor driving is another problem.
13. Language is an integral part of our life.
14. Bangladesh is a small country.
15. It has a large/huge population.
16. As an independent nation, we also have a language.
17. Many valiant/brave sons sacrificed their lives for the language.
18. Bangladesh is rich in natural resources.
19. We have already earned a good reputation.
20. Television has become the most common and easy source of entertainment in the present/modern world.
21. Deforestation causes environmental/natural imbalance.
22. There are some dishonest people who cut trees at random.
23. A balanced diet is a good mixture of nutritious foods.
24. We should not eat the same food for the whole week.
25. A village doctor is a very familiar person in the rural areas of Bangladesh.

Use present participle to pre-modify the noun:

1. A drowning man catches at a straw.
2. All the hopes of the promising boy nipped in the bud.
3. Don’t get down from a running train.
4. Casablanca stood on the burning deck.
5. It was an amusing ride.
6. Interesting people know how to make something attractive to the audience.
7. Boring speakers put their attendees to sleep.
8. Amusing short films are shown at the animated film festival.
9. Overwhelming amounts of work are given to high school students.
10. The flying clouds looked amazing on a surface of shining blue.
11. Once there lived a cunning fox in a jungle.
12. A barking dog seldom bites.
13. Following her advices, I also want to be an ideal person.
14. We are going to the swimming pool.
15. She got a dancing/singing doll for her birthday.
16. My soundly sleeping grandfather will soon get up for his dinner.
17. She was confused by the confusing instruction.
18. You should have used a modifying adverb in this blank.
19. This growing habit is responsible for his behavior.
20. There were some flashing lights.
21. It is a growing problem now a days.
22. This exhausting task should be cancelled.
23. I love to see flying birds in the sky.
24. This is a roasting chicken.
25. You must give up an annoying habit.
26. Growing children need a lot of food.
27. Breaking dishes startled the diners.
28. Falling trees are a danger to hikers.
29. Frying potatoes smell delicious.
30. He is a loving husband.
31. Melting ice looks nice.
32. Don’t awaken the sleeping dogs.
33. We have a talking parrot.
34. Look! It’s a shooting star.
35. As it’s a slow-moving train, it will take a lot of time to reach Dhaka.
36. A hiking party was seen to the north of the volcano.
37. The waiting parents were very worried.
38. The goods are in their shopping bag.
39. We have a talking machine.
40. He practices his rifle skills at the shooting range.
41. The crying person was the victim of the incident.
42. It’s a moving van.
43. Mr. Abul was wearing his hiking shoes.
44. The doctor’s waiting room was brightly decorated.
45. We saw exploding fireworks in the sky.
46. The frying potatoes were on the stove.
47. The freezing weather conditions are forcing people to stay inside.
48. We called a plumber to repair the dripping faucet.
49. The melting icebergs are floating into shipping lanes.
50. We heard the sound of breaking eggs in the kitchen.

Use past participle to pre-modify the noun:

1. He bought a rotten fish.
2. Everybody respects a learned man.
3. They live in an abandoned house.
4. We should not drink polluted/contaminated water.
5. He showed me the written order of the principle.
6. This is a roasted/fried chicken.
7. Grown children often move out of the house.
8. Broken dishes were all over the floor.
9. Fallen trees littered the forest floor.
10. Fried potatoes would taste good right now.
11. He was a well-loved child.
12. An educated man is honored by all.
13. Broken heart makes a boring life.
14. I saw some aged man with white hair.
15. He had a broken arm.
16. Be careful. Because, there’s broken glass on the floor.
17. He attacked the man with a broken bottle.
18. A boiled egg is an egg cooked in boiling water.
19. Brewed coffee is made by pouring hot water onto ground coffee beans, then allowing to brew.
20. The recently spotted owl was making a nest.
21.  Contaminated/Polluted water is life killing.
22. A village doctor is not a registered/qualified doctor.
23. An educated woman can be an asset to herself and to the country.
24. Books give us solace to our disturbed mind.
25. If anybody fails to find out the required/desired book, the librarian helps him.
26. Would you like some frozen yogurt?
27. He pushed the closed door.
28. There was no future for a divided country.
29. He likes his cleaned car.
30. The president was an unmoved man though thousands of protesters marched on the street.
31. The next day, we saw exploded fireworks on the ground.
32. The fried sweet potatoes were on a plate.
33. A popsicle is made of frozen juice.
34. Wound string is easy to use.
35. Unfortunately, the fallen tree was on our neighbor’s car.
36. His art looks like dripped paint.
37. The melted ice makes delicious drinking water.
38. A broken egg was on the kitchen counter.
39. These are modified nouns.
40. This is a trained dog.

Use Noun/Noun adjective to pre-modify the noun: 

1. We enjoyed a football match yesterday.
2. Let us go out by the sea beach.
3. A train journey is pleasant.
4. She wanted to buy an air ticket.
5. No passenger flight was departing on that day.
6. Water is a liquid substance.
7. Della presented Jim a nice fob chain.
8. We took rest under a shadowy banyan tree.
9. David Copperfield is my favorite English novel.
10. Gabtali is a busy bus station.
11. It was a hot summer day.
12. We are responsible for water/sound/odor/air/noise/environment pollution.
13. Public awareness must be raised to stop water pollution.
14. It is an office chair.
15. May I have a soup spoon?
16. Ring the door bell.
17. It is a picnic table.
18. He rides a mountain bike.
19. He applied for a director position.
20. He's a boy scout.
21. It seems like a dog bone.
22. They will construct a brick house.
23. We are on a rope bridge.
24. It’s a cricket/baseball bat.
25. He bought a nice table cloth.
26. That’s my car key.
27. We need a mouse trap for mice.
28. They are my house slippers.
30. She went to market to buy another hair clip.
31. It is surely an important element of your language skill.
32. Poor knowledge of English will hamper your career development.
33. A village doctor is a great friend to the village/rural people.
34. It is family bond that pull them to share joy with near ones.
35. An angry man is more of a beast than a human being.
36. Railway engines and power houses create smoke.
37. The then Police Chief of Austria called a meeting to arrest all criminals.
38. There are six seasons in Bangladesh.
39. Most of our village people drink tube well water.
40. Food adulteration is increasing alarmingly.
41. A library is a store house of knowledge.
42. Some drivers are indifferent to human life.
43. We earn paper currencies by exporting some of these crops.
44. Television programs are very entertaining.
45. His literary works have enriched Bangla literature.
46. There was a demand for apology from Bangladesh government.
47. It was a government policy of racial segregation.
48. The island has become a popular tourist spot.
49. I like chicken soup very much.
50. This is a leather purse.

Use determiners to pre-modify the noun:

1. Articles: a, an, the
2. Demonstrative: this, that, these, those
3. Distributive: all, both, half, either, neither, each, every etc.
4. Possessive: my, his, her, our, their, its, your, noun’s
5. Quantifiers: a little, a few, much, many, a lot of, some, most, no, any, enough, several, numbers etc.
6. Numbers: one, two, ten, twelve, thirty, hundred etc.
7. Difference words: other, another.
8. Pre-determiners: such, what, rather, quite etc. + a/an + Adjective + Noun.
9. Ordinals: first, second, 1st 2nd, 3rd, last, next, etc

Exercises:

1. A wise man like him cannot commit such (use pre-determiner) a great blunder.
2. He bought a (use article) pen.
3. The boy took an (use article) egg.
4. The (use article) Padma is a big river.
5. I bought this (use demonstrative) book yesterday.
6. Those (use demonstrative) boys are playing in the field.
7. The man has much (use quantifier) money.
8. Give me a little (use quantifier) sugar.
9. He bought five (use quantifier) books from the book fair.
10. His (use possessive) brother has gone to Japan.
11. Our (use possessive) country is very fertile.
12. Mr Rahim’s (use possessive) shirt is new.
13. This (use demonstrative) substance is found in the water of the tube well.
14. There are many (use quantifier) villages in our (use possessive) country.
15. People should be refrained from drinking water of these (use demonstrative) tube wells.
16. There are many (pre-modify the noun) kinds of newspaper.
17. In fact, many (use quantifier) living beings need to take food.
18. Some (use quantifier) dishonest businessman use harmful chemicals in foods.
19. They do not think about people’s (use possessive) health.
20. Water is polluted by all (use quantifier) kinds of waste and filth.

Use of compound/ compound-adjective as pre-modifier:

1. A hard-working student can shine in life.
2. He bought a brand-new car.
3. We got into a first-class compartment.
4. The man came here wearing an old-fashioned shirt.
5. It is a back-dated idea.
6. He sold his out-of-order machine.
7. The office has a group of hard-working executives.
8. The owner of the firm has some pretty old fashioned attitudes.
9. He still uses an out-of-date computer program.
10. We need some first-class accounting softwares.
11. This age-old struggle for control had led to untold bloody wars.
12. She has two school-going children.
13. This estimate was made on the basis of out-dated figures.
14. A so-called celebrity is looking for you.
15. A far-sighted man could have foreseen the possibility some considerable time ago.
16. Long-sighted children are often reluctant to do much reading and writing.
17. Breast-feeding is extremely beneficial to the health of new-born babies.
18. Are you ready to make a long-term commitment?
19. His short-term memory was damaged in the accident.
20. The cab was decorated with multi-coloured lights.
21. Our school is a multi-storied building.
22.  He had to delay for a slowly-passing train.
23. Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a newly-emerged disease.
24. We look forward to your comments on the above-mentioned proposal.
25. It's a well-constructed crime story which was told with speed and punch.
26 We built a well-constructed house.
27. You landed on your feet getting such a well-paid job with so little experience.
28. A well-designed sports shoe should absorb the impact on the 28 bones in each foot.
29. Office staffs need well-designed desks and chairs.
30. Well-designed clothes cost a lot of money.
31. It's a well-known fact that smoking can cause lung cancer.
32. Caitlin was born with a life-threatening heart abnormality.
33. I used to pick up her dry cleaning solvent detergent.
34. His father possesses a back-dated idea.
35. The govt. has given long-term loan to the poor.

Use adverb to pre-modify the noun/ adjective/ verb:

1. The then Headmaster was a learned man.
2. The down train will leave now.
3. The above passage is difficult.
4. The then Principal signed this letter.
5. The down train will go there.
6. This is the very man you like to meet.
7. The last man has already left the place.
8. That question was very important.
9. The lady walks extremely slowly.
10. It is a quickly increasing market.
11. Instantly he left the place.
12. There she was waiting for him eagerly.
13. Lost time is never found again.
14. The boast of arrogance soon turns to shame.
15. Sometimes the best gain is to lose.

Use intensifier to pre-modify the adjective/ adverb:

Intensifiers: highly/ very/ quite/ extremely/ absolutely/ so

1. It is very dangerous for human health.
2. Food adulteration is increasing so alarmingly that we cannot stop it.
3. Polluted water is very harmful for health.
4. Language plays a very important role in our life.
5. His songs are very melodious.
6. In our country, the number of qualified doctors is very few.
7. Raja is very gentle.
8. The then Pakistan was absolutely barbarous.
9. He was a very sagacious person.
10. A village doctor is a very familiar person in the rural areas of Bangladesh.

Post-modify the noun with an Appositive:

1. My friend Shammi, a famous singer/ a popular actress/ a good human being/ a famous athlete, was driving.
2. Babor, emperor of Delhi, was a pious man.
3. Mr. Robin, the General Manager, is attending the party today.
4. Everybody knows Kazi Nazrul Islam, a great poet, in Bengali literature.
5. Mr. Ahmed, Principal of our college, is a good administrator.
6. We invited Mr.Islam, a great physician of Bangladesh.
7. Humayun Ahmed, a famous novelist, has consented to attend our function.
8. I have read Nazrul, the poet’s work.
9. The famous novel, David copperfield is a classic.
10. Bangladesh, a populous country, faces many natural calamities every year.
11. Arabia, the cradle of Islam, is a vast Peninsula in the South East of Asia.
12. We called on Mr. Rahim, general manager of Sonali Bank.
13. I have read David Copperfield, a great classical novel, written by Dickens, a famous novelist.
14. We are taught English by Mrs. Jesmin, a news caster of BTV.
15. A famous poet, Al Mahmud, presided over the function.
16. I have read Milton’s, the poet’s work.
17. Kazi Nazrul Islam, a rebel poet, is favorite to his readers.
18. Kazi Faqueer Ahmed, a renowned Imam, died a premature death.
19. S.M Zakir Hussain, author of many renowned books, is a philosopher.
20. Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, is a big city.
21. Luca Pacioli, inventor of double entry system, was a mathematician.
22. Yesterday I met your uncle, the doctor.
23. My son, the policeman, will be visiting us next week.
24. The captain ordered the ship’s carpenters to assemble the Express Boat, a large rowboat.
25. Sakada, a famous writer, is very attached to his mother.
26. Queen Victoria, one of England’s greatest monarchs, ruled for sixty-three years.
27. Razity, the lecturer at Norton University, is giving me writing lessons.
28. Pailin Rose, a well-known novel, has been filmed twice.
29. Chemistry, Sambo’s favorite subject, is easy for him.
30. Clark is visiting in Takeo, his old home town.
31. My best friend, Sammy, lives in Cleveland.
32. My childhood home, a yellow and blue house, is just down the road.
33. Alexander, king of Macedonia, invaded India.
34. Dr. Shahidullah, a man of letters, was a professor of Dhaka University.
35. Ibrahim Khan, a renowned principal, was a man of parts.
36. Motor vehicles also pollute the air, most essential thing for us.
37. Nazrul, the national poet of Bangladesh, won the attention of everyone in his early childhood.
38. Nelson Mandela, the greatest leader of South Africa, is one of the greatest leaders of the world.
39. Hercules, the son of Jupiter and Alcmena, was noted for superhuman energy.
40. Othello, a brave soldier, had risen to become a general.
41. Pakistan, ruled long by military, cannot come out of its military influence.
42. Zahid, one of my closest friends, was our guide.

Post-modify the Noun/Verb with Adverb/ Adverbial/ Adverb phrase:

1. I experienced a very interesting incident last week/ last night/ last month/ yesterday/ a few days ago on my way to Tangail.
2. The questions below are to be answered.
3. The man behind is his brother.
4. The beggar there is waiting for alms.
5. Besides academic books, one should read newspaper regularly.
6. One should select the newspaper carefully/ judiciously.
7. We are polluting air and water unwisely/ heavily.
8. The burning of this fuel creates smoke all the time.
9. There are about five thousand books in our library which are arranged systematically.
10. The reading room is always crowded heavily in the afternoon.
11. They drive recklessly.
12. They drive with great speed and try to overtake others.
13. We use language from the time we wake up in the morning till we go to bed at night.
14. We had to struggle hard to establish the right of our language.
15. They grow different kinds of crops in their field/ all the year round.
16. Kazi Nazrul Islam wrote profusely/ copiously in every branch of Bengali Literature.
17. He sang the songs of equality all through his literary period.
18. Deforestation means cutting down of trees indiscriminately/ unnecessarily.
19. If we destroy trees in this manner, one day the country will turn into a great desert.
20. A balanced helps us not to get sick often.
21. At first they used to send money to their parents occasionally, but after getting married they could not do so.
22. A village doctor usually sits in a small dispensary from morning to night.
23. Raja gets up early so that he can get enough time to study.
24. He goes to school regularly/ in time.
25. The people of Bangladesh have expressed their shock immediately/ strongly at the reaction of Pakistan Parliament.
26. Pakistan is going down quickly for its military influence.
27. Rupa does well in every examination as he does not waste time.
28. Rabindranath Tagore went to school early.
29. His family thought that they might lose their son forever.
30. I had a peculiar experience a few days ago.

Post-modify the Noun/ Verb/Adjective with an infinitive/ infinitive phrase:

1. Mita became extremely happy to see me/ to meet him/ to come here after a long time.
2. He made an attempt to escape punishment.
3. His plan to start the business ended in smoke.
4. His scheme to found a hospital did not come true.
5. Her decision to study medicine was appreciated.
6. I took a determination to pass the examination.
7. We should take proper measures to get rid of this problem.
8. Newspaper helps a man to improve his general knowledge.
9. We take food to get energy.
10. Mills and factories use fuel to make their products.
11. We use language to express what we feel and to say what we like or dislike.
12. We had to struggle hard to establish the right of our language.
13. Now, we are able to collect natural gas from underground.
14. Our industries are also rising fast/ rapidly.
15. He composed his songs to amuse us / to inspire us.
16. Necessary steps should be taken to stop deforestation.
17. A balanced diet is essential for us to lead a healthy life.
18. But it is not easy to prepare a balanced diet.
19. A poor farmer used to work on other people’s land.
20. By the time they were seventeen, they left for towns to earn money.
21. Rabindranath Tagore went to London to study in a school there.
22. He was lucky to find an English family of Mr. Scott.
23. He also visited the House of Parliament to listen to Gladstone and John Bright’s debates on Irish rule.
22. We should not eat to satisfy our hunger.
23. We decided to stay in the island for a couple of days.
24. I want to eat pizza for dinner.
25. He sat down to take the exam.

Post-modify the Verb with Prepositional Phrase/ Use prepositional phrase:

1. Without having good command over English, you will suffer in the long run of your life.
2. The road to Khulna is spacious.
3. The boy in torn cloth is very poor.
4. The fish on the pan is very fresh.
5. The man on board the ship was clever.
6. The books cater to needs and interests of the students and teachers.
7. One section contains books of various interests.
8. The beautiful birds were flying along with the ship.
9. A deep ditch was dug near the boundary of the factory.
10. The three contestants listened carefully to each question.
11. After school, the children played baseball at the park.
12. Come into the store with me.
13. I gave the children pizza instead of pancakes for breakfast today.
14. The family survived despite the accident.
15. The book on the bathroom floor is swollen from shower stream.
16. She talked about the story.
17. John is interested in painting portraits.
18. John had dinner with them.
19. She stared at the man and his wife.
20. Frank searched for his car keys.
21. The book on the table is mine.
22. I put the book down with force.
23. John learned Japanese by practicing with native speakers.
24. I put the book on the table.
25. Jane seemed fascinated by Garrett's story.
26. Robin was angry about the comment.
27. After work, I always go to the gym.
28. There's a snake under the tree.
29. I was exhausted from skiing all day.
30. Tina wanted to know about where I grew up.
31. The photo of them was pretty good.
32. John laughed at Rob and me.
33. The woman next to him on the plane had a huge bag on her lap.
34. The house on the hill was built by a man from Kentucky.
35. I looked under the bed, in the closet, and behind the couch, but I couldn't find the cat.

Post-modify the Noun with Adjective Clause:

Structure: Noun + Relative Pronoun (that, what, where, which, who, how, why, whom, etc) + ext.

1. There is hardly any educational institution where the local children can get admitted to continue their education.
2. The boy who lost his pen is poor.
3. I bought a pen which was black.
4. She took a cabin that was small.
5. The lady who ate my items was greedy.

Present participle/ Present participle phrase as post modifier:

1. The boy standing at the door is known to me.
2. I saw the porter lying on the floor.
3. He found the girl reading a book.
4. They watched the train leaving the station.
5. Government is trying to mark the tubewells having arsenic using red color.
6. The old sailor saw the water-snakes swimming round the ship.
7. I saw a girl carrying water.
8. We also contaminate water throwing industrial waste into it.
9. We must stop cutting down trees unnecessarily.
10. The sons also started working with their father in the field.
11. Out of desperation, Aysha Begum started begging in the village.
12. A village doctor treats his patients using his little knowledge.
13. Rabindranath Wrote letters to Kolkata describing/ appreciating/ praising English Society.

Past participle phrase as post modifier:

1. The machines made in a local factory are working well.
2. The book published in 1993 has been revised.
3. The building constructed fifty years ago collapsed last week.
4. The letter signed by the Principal was posted.
5. Courses conducted / offered by the Open University are shown on BTV.

Adjective / Adjective Phrase as post-modifier:

1. All the members present in the meeting were against the proposal.
2. I don’t find anything wrong in the papers.
3. There is something abnormal in his behavior.
4. Is there anyone interested in art?
5. The roads used in Bangladesh are beset with problems.

Post-modify the Adjective with a noun/ Use a Noun/ Use Nouns:

1. It is high time we left the place.
2. The beautiful birds were flying along with the ship.
3. One section contains reference books like dictionaries, biographies, encyclopedias, atlas etc.
4. Every student has a library card.
5. He has given a constructive idea on this matter.
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