Somewhere around four score and maybe seven years ago, our fathers supposedly brought forth, on this or some other continent, a mostly new nation, probably conceived in Liberty, and sort of dedicated to the proposition that basically all men are created equal or something.
If Abraham Lincoln had delivered it this way in 1863, the Gettysburg Address1 wouldn't be remembered as such a powerful historic speech. The added words and phrases make the opening sentence seem unconfident and unimpressive. These words are called qualifiers, which are used to provide additional information, often about the degree or extent of the word they are modifying. They can be used with both nouns and verbs and often function as adjectives or adverbs within a sentence.
Learning to recognize modifiers that qualify will make your writing stronger—almost as strong as Abraham Lincoln's.
Fig. 1. Abraham Lincoln knew to avoid qualifiers in his strong and profound speech.
Modifiers that Qualify: Modifiers Definition
Modifiers are words or phrases that provide additional information about another word or phrase, adding detail or clarification. Qualifiers are a specific type of modifier that limit or enhance other words, often specifying degree or manner. They can give details about quantity, quality, size, condition, or manner of an action or thing.
One sentence summary: A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that provides extra information about a particular word.
A modifier can be just about any part of speech: a determiner, an adjective, an adverb, a noun, a participle, a prepositional phrase, etc.
The word being modified is called the head or head word.
walk slowly
In this verb phrase, the adverb slowly is a modifier to the head verb walk.
The relationships between modifiers and head words communicate the meaning of phrases, clauses, and sentences. Without these relationships, a sentence would just be a pile of words with no distinct meaning.
Meaning of Modifiers that Qualify
Modifiers that qualify are a special subcategory of modifiers. They change the intensity of the head word's meaning.
Modifiers that qualify, also called qualifiers, are modifiers that decrease the intensity of the words they modify.
Qualifiers weaken the meaning of the head word and the sentence. This isn't always a bad thing; sometimes it's best to avoid seeming overconfident about something uncertain. But in persuasive writing, it's best to avoid anything that could weaken your argument.
What is the Opposite of Modifiers that Qualify?
If you want to understand modifiers that qualify, it helps to understand their opposite. These words are called intensifiers.
Intensifiers are modifiers that increase the intensity of the words they modify.
While qualifiers bring the intensity and confidence down, intensifiers bring them up.
| Examples of Opposites to Qualifiers |
|---|
| Qualifier | Intensifier |
| slightly | extremely |
| unlikely | definite |
| might | will |
Qualifiers express a lack of confidence and intensifiers express an abundance of confidence. Modifiers that express a neutral level of confidence (or have nothing to do with confidence) are absolutes.
Rules of Modifiers that Qualify
You know the meaning of qualifiers; now for the grammar. Qualifiers can take the form of helping verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. They can also take the form of some phrases and clauses; you'll see examples of those later.
Helping Verbs
Even though they're small, helping verbs can have a large effect on their head verbs.
Helping verbs, also called auxiliary verbs, are verbs that modify main verbs. They "help" the main verb by adding extra information.
A helping verb is considered a qualifier when it decreases or weakens the main verb. Here are some examples of helping verbs that count as qualifiers.
may
might
would/wouldn't
could/couldn't
should/shouldn't
doesn't have to
Adjectives
A qualifier can act as an adjective modifier when it provides additional information about a noun or pronoun. For instance, in the sentence "There are several books on the table," the word "several" is a qualifier modifying the noun "books."
Here's a reminder of the definition of adjectives.
An adjective is a word that adds information to a noun or noun phrase. An adjective is a modifier to a noun or pronoun.
Here are some examples of adjectives that serve as qualifiers.
improbable
unlikely
a few
infrequent
scarce
doubtful
alleged
apparent
uncertain
not many
slight
Adverbs
A qualifier can serve as an adverb modifier when it's used to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. For instance, in the sentence "She finished the race remarkably quickly," the word "remarkably" is a qualifier modifying the adverb "quickly."
Here's a reminder of the definition of adverbs.
An adverb is a word that adds information to a verb, adjective, or another adverb. An adverb is a modifier to these parts of speech.
Here are some examples of adverbs that serve as qualifiers.
supposedly
apparently
a little
slightly
maybe
sort of
kind of
somewhat
basically
rarely
barely
fairly
probably
Both modifiers and qualifiers play crucial roles in making sentences more descriptive and precise.
| Examples of Modifiers and Qualifiers |
|---|
| Adjective as Modifier | Explanation | Qualifiers as Adjective Modifiers | Explanation |
| "The red ball bounced off the wall." | Here, "red" is a modifier describing the noun "ball." | "I have enough books for the semester." | Here, "enough" is a qualifier modifying the noun "books." |
| Adverb as Modifier | Explanation | Qualifiers as Adverb Modifiers | Explanation |
| "He quickly ran to the store." | In this sentence, "quickly" is a modifier describing the verb "ran." | "She sings extremely well." | In this sentence, "extremely" is a qualifier modifying the adverb "well." |
Examples of Modifiers that Qualify
Qualifiers project doubt or lack of confidence. This is also known as hedging.
Fig. 2 - Hedging in language refers to the use of words or phrases that make a statement less forceful or assertive.
Hedging refers to expressing information in a noncommittal and unconfident way.
Hedging can have a negative effect on persuasive writing. Take this example:
A recent study might indicate a potential link between a new medication and skin cancer in rodents. The medication was allegedly given to the rodents over a period of around 3 months, after which the rodents were supposedly about 60% more likely to develop skin cancers. The possible link indicates that this medication could potentially be dangerous to some humans as well.
The writer's goal was to warn against the use of this medication. The qualifiers weaken the argument and keep the writer from reaching this goal. The warning would be more effective without the qualifiers.
A recent study indicates a link between a new medication and skin cancer in rodents. The medication was given to the rodents over a period of 3 months, after which the rodents were 60% more likely to develop skin cancers. The link indicates that this medication can be dangerous to humans as well.
Removing the qualifiers from this paragraph makes the writer's message clearer: the writer believes that this medication is dangerous and should be avoided.
Qualifiers weaken the words they modify, but they don't always weaken your writing. One particular writing style that benefits from the use of qualifiers is secondhand reporting.
Imagine that your job is to report on a court proceeding. You need to present both sides of the argument, and you want to avoid seeming partial to one side. This is where qualifiers come in handy.
The defendant purportedly drove to the gas station at 11:00 p.m., just before the time of the alleged break-in. The prosecution claims that the defendant's alibi is false because the gas station in question, according to them, closed at 10:00 p.m. that night. A neighbor, claiming to have seen the crime take place, may have information that could shed light on the situation.
In this example, the whole phrase according to them is a qualifier. It is an adverbial prepositional phrase that modifies the verb closed.
The writer uses qualifiers to describe both sides of the case. This helps the writer seem impartial and unbiased. If the qualifiers were removed or only added to one side of the case, the writer would seem to believe one side over the other.
The defendant drove to the gas station at 11:00 p.m., just before the time of the break-in. The prosecution claims that the defendant's alibi is false because the gas station closed at 10:00 p.m. that night. A neighbor, having seen the crime take place, has information that will shed light on the situation.
Without the qualifiers, the report implies that:
The defendant really drove to the gas station.
The break-in really happened.
The gas station really closed at 10:00 p.m.
The neighbor really did see the crime take place.
The neighbor really has valuable information to share.
The decision to use qualifiers boils down to this: avoid qualifiers when supporting an argument. Use qualifiers when challenging an argument or reporting events impartially.
Identification of Modifiers that Qualify
If a sentence comes across as doubtful or unconfident, it probably contains qualifiers. As you've already seen, these can include any modifiers (including phrases or clauses) that weaken the meaning of the words they modify. To identify the qualifiers in a sentence, try removing different modifiers from the sentence. If the sentence seems stronger and more confident, the modifier is a qualifier.
Identify the qualifiers in this sentence.
Although you feel better for the most part, you are not necessarily fully recovered.
Which words or phrases might weaken the intensity of the sentence?
The prepositional phrase for the most part weakens the meaning of feel better. It says that the subject feels better, but not completely better.
The adverb necessarily weakens the meaning of not fully recovered. It says that the subject could be fully recovered, but might not be.
If you try removing these modifiers, you'll find that the sentence is stronger and more confident.
Although you feel better, you are not fully recovered.
Try this on your own writing! The next time you write an essay, read through it and look for words that weaken your argument. You'll find that your argument is more convincing without them!
Modifiers that Qualify - Key Takeaways
- Modifiers that qualify, also called qualifiers, are modifiers that provide additional information, often about the degree or extent of the word they are modifying.
- Qualifiers weaken the meaning of the head word and the sentence. In persuasive writing, it's best to avoid anything that could weaken your argument.
- Qualifiers can take the form of helping verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. They can also take the form of some phrases.
- Avoid qualifiers when supporting an argument. Use qualifiers when challenging an argument or reporting events impartially.
- To identify the qualifiers in a sentence, try removing different modifiers from the sentence. If the sentence seems stronger and more confident, the modifier is a qualifier.
1 Abraham Lincoln. "The Gettysburg Address" 1863.
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