The phrase u00bbNinety-storyu00ab is a noun phrase. I’m a measure phrase. What is the appropriate answer for me? Can you use measured phrases to modify adjectives? The measure phrase always comes before the adjective. The other adjectives come last during comparing of sentences. Measuring Usually, the measure phrase is made from a number and a unit of measurement (a noun). The unit of measurement often measures time or space, but it could be anything:

• ten-mile -long

• five-year old

• three-metre -wide

• ninety-storey -tall

These big phrases are adjective phrases. When they come before a noun, the unit of measurement is singular and we use hyphens to join up the words. If they don’t have a following adjective, for example if they appear after the verb BE, then the unit of measurement can be plural and we don’t need hyphens.