Apa itu Sentence Modifier?

Pernahkah anda mendengar tentang Modifier? Apakah modifier itu?

Dalam bahasa Inggris, modifier (penjelas) adalah kata, frasa, atau klausa yang berfungsi sebagai adjective (kata sifat) atau adverb (kata keterangan) yang menjelaskan tentang kata atau kelompok kata lain; sedangkan kata atau kelompok kata yang dijelaskan oleh modifier disebut dengan Head.

Modifier, atau yang bisa juga disebut sebagai classifier, berfungsi untuk menerangkan head yang berupa subjek, predikat, atau objek dalam sebuah kalimat. Fungsi modifier sebagai adjective digunakan untuk menerangkan noun atau pronoun, sedangkan fungsi modifier sebagai adverb berfungsi untuk menerangkan verb, adjective, atau adverb lain.

***Modifier* sebagai *Adjective***

Sebagai adjective, modifier dapat berupa simple adjective, adjective phrase, clause, participle, atau infinitive.

1. Adjective modifying noun

It was a dark and storm night.

(“dark” dan “strom” merupakan adjective yang menjelaskan noun “night”)

There was a blue kite in the cloudy

(“blue” sebagai adjective yang menjelaskan noun “kite’, dan “cloudy” menjelaskan noun “sky”)

2. Adjective modifying pronoun

She was happy with the decision.

(“happy” sebagai adjective yang menjelaskan pronoun “he”)

They were tired after a hard day at work.

(“tired” sebagai adjective yang menjelaskan pronoun “they”)

***Modifier* sebagai *Adverb***

Sebagai adverb, modifier dapat berupa simple adverb, adverb phrase, clause, prepositional phrase atau infinitive.

1. Adverb modifying verb

She breathes heavily.

(“heavily” sebagai adverb yang menjelaskan verb “breathes”)

He often sees his father in his dreams.

(“often” sebagai adverb yang menjelaskan verb “sees”)

Verb

Adverb modifying verb

He works on his own.

(Dia bekerja sendiri)

He works efficiently on his own.

(Dia bekerja sendiri dengan efisien)

They run to the hut

(Mereka berlari ke pondok)

They run fast to the hut

(Mereka berlari ke pondok dengan cepat)

2. Adverb modifying adjective

He is really handsome.

(“really” sebagai adverb yang menerangkan adjective “handsome”)

The water is warm enough to bathe in.

(“enough” sebagai adverb yang menerangkan adjective “warm”)

Adjective

Adverb modifying adjective

I have been patient with him.

(Aku sudah bersabar padanya)

I have been quite patient with him.

(Aku sudah sangat bersabar padanya)

It was dark inside the room.

(Di dalam kamar itu gelap)

It was completely dark inside the room.

(Di kamar itu sangat gelap)

3. Adverb modifying adverb

He whispers very softly in my ear.

(“very” sebagai adverb yang menerangkan adverb “softly”

After her illness, she gets tired exceptionally easily.

(“exceptionally” sebagai adverb yang menerangkan adverb “easily”)

Adverb

Adverb modifying adverb

He finished his homework quickly.

(Dia menyelesaikan PR nya dengan cepat)

He finished his homework very quickly.

(Dia menyelesaikan PR nya denagn sangat cepat)

4. Adverb modifying whole sentence

Hopefully, they will come back in time.

(“hopefully” sebagai adverb yang menerangkan kalimat setelahnya (sebagai bentuk pengharapan))

Perhatikan pula contoh berikut

KONSTRUKSI	CONTOH KALIMAT MODIFIER	KETERANGAN
PARTICIPIAL PHRASE	She found a letter put inside her bag	Participial phrase (put inside her bag) berfungsi sebagai adjective yang menerangkan “letter” (noun). “a letter put on my bag” secara utuh adalah sebuah noun phrase.
ADVERB PHRASE	She sings so beautifully.	Adverb phrase (so beautifully) menerangkan “sings” (verb). Adapun adverb phrase dapat berupa adverb+qualifier, prepositional phrase, atau infinitive phrase.
ADJECTIVE CLAUSE	The book that he has read* is very interesting.*	Adjective clause (that he has read) menerangkan “the book” (noun)
ADVERB CLAUSE	When you were sleeping, Amanda left the house.	Adverb clause (when you were sleeping) menjawab pertanyaan: “When did Amanda left the house?”

Latihan Soal

Adverbs as modifiers

Pick out the modifier and show which word it modifies.

1. She always interrupts when other people are speaking.
2. He suddenly left the group chat.
3. I write a letter to my grandmother
4. At their age, they are still collecting Barbies.
5. Perhaps, you’d like to join us for dinner?
6. He came rushing upstairs after his sister.
7. My brother only sees his high school mate occasionally.

Adjectives as modifiers

Pick out the modifier and show which word it modifies.

8. He tied blue and white ribbons round the birthday
9. For years, we drank white tea that had no caffeine.
10. If we are quick, there will be tickets available.
11. The video was short but inspiring.
12. This is the best dinner I have had.
13. The memory is hard to forget.
14. Pesticides are harmful to the environment.

Answers

1. She always interrupts when other people are speaking.

(“always” modifies the verb “interrupt” which tells how frequently She interrupts others.)

2. He suddenly left the group chat.

(“suddenly” modifies the verb “left”, telling us in what manner the guy left the group chat)

3. Ian writes a letter to my grandmother monthly.

(“monthly” modifies “write”. It tells us how often Ian writes a letter to her grandmother.)

4. At their age, they are still collecting Barbies.

(Using “still”, an adverb, to show they are still collecting Barbies when they are no longer young.)

5. Perhaps, you’d like to join us for dinner?

(“perhaps” expresses uncertainty or possibility, and it modifies the whole sentence.)

6. He came rushing upstairs after his sister.