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There isn't a general consensus among dictionaries whether "around" is an adverb or an adjective when it's used for showing a measurement of something in circumference.

So I'm interested to hear your opinion on it.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

around — (adverb) in a circle or in circumference:
a tree five feet around

Am I right that if we consider "around" an adverb, then according to the book "The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language", parsing the phrase would be the following?:
The noun phrase "five feet" modifies the adverb "around".
The adverbial phrase "five feet around" modifies the noun "tree" (or maybe modifies the noun phrase "a tree" as an external modifier?).

American Heritage Dictionary:

around — (adjective) having a given circumference or perimeter:
a pond two miles around

Am I right that if we consider "around" an adjective, then according to the book "The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language", parsing the phrase would be the following?:
The noun phrase "two miles" modifies the adjective "around".
The adjectival phrase "two miles around" modifies the noun "pond".

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  • The noun phrase "five feet" modifies the adverb "around". An adverb modifies something but a noun phrase cannot modify an adverb. Commented Nov 15 at 20:18
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    @Lambie '[C]an one modify nouns with adverbs? The answer to this question was previously thought to be "no". However, in the past decade or so research by John Payne, on occasion in collaboration with Huddleston and Pullum, has shown that adverbs can, in fact modify nouns. However, they can only post-modify them (they must appear after the noun they are modifying). There are other types of restriction too.'[Araucaria] Commented Nov 15 at 21:13
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    @BillJ Could you please draw a tree diagram to the phrase "a tree five feet around"? Commented Nov 17 at 0:45
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    @SuhailNazirKhan The anchor is the ellipted Subject of the non-finite clause, itself the Displaced Subject of the larger matrix clause. However, the issue of so-called dangling modifiers is not as simple as it seems in any case - there are degrees involved. Here's a paper with some discussion of the issues involved James Donaldson 2021: Control in Free Adjuncts: The "Dangling Modifier" in English. Enjoy! Commented Nov 21 at 12:58
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    @SuhailNazirKhan Hmm. It's working here. No, I'm not James Donaldson! Try the second publication in this list on Geoffrey K. Pullum's Home page at the university of Edinburgh. Commented Nov 21 at 13:28

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Here "around" is a synonym for "in circumference," which is a prepositional phrase, which IMHO is very close to an adverbial phrase — it describes a manner. Whatever part of speech it is, it's the same part as "tall" (as in "six feet tall") or "deep" or "in length."

The adjectival phrase "two miles around" modifies the noun "pond".

Yes, certainly.

The noun phrase "two miles" modifies the adjective "around".

I'm not sure a noun phrase can "modify" anything; and separately, I think a modifier would have to be severable. If "two miles" modified "around," then surely one would expect to be able to say *That pond is around. (*How much around is it? Two miles around.) But one can't. Likewise, one can't say *That pond is in circumference.

Now, one can say That pond is miles around / That pond is miles in circumference (How many miles around is it? Two miles around.); but I don't think I'd want to claim that "miles around" forms a meaningful unit here. And "two" per se has a whole Wikipedia page about what exactly it might be, grammatically.

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    You're saying "around" in "five feet around" is the same part of speech as "tall" in "six feet tall". We can make up the complex adjective "six-foot-tall". Can we do so with "around"? I mean: does "a five-foot-around tree" sound natural? Thanks. Commented Nov 15 at 21:02
  • 'He is two metres tall' is usually analysed as having a premodified predicate adjective, 'tall', as in 'He is tall'. But 'The tree is around' isn't available in the required sense ('The Christmas tree is around somewhere' is quite different). Commented Nov 15 at 21:02
  • A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language corroborates this answer on several points; brilliant deductions! Commented Nov 16 at 0:15
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    @Loviii, "five-foot-around" is very unusual, but it doesn't strike me as unnatural. Commented Nov 16 at 14:20
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    @AshtralDrift We'd be happy with 'the man was extremely / very ...' tall / overweight /' and similar. Classically labelled adverbs, the 'modifiers of adjectives' are usually pure intensifiers or downtoners ('the man was slightly overweight' etc). Often -ly forms like archetypal adverbs. Analysis becomes really interesting with examples like blind drunk and crystal clear. I'm not saying that 'crystal clear', 'brand new',' bone dry' etc clear the way for <<[measure phrase, hyponym of NP] + high/tall/long/wide/broad/deep/old>> to be patternable, but it partially de-iffifies the usage. Commented Nov 17 at 16:55
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"Around", as described in the OALD is only an adverb or a preposition, never an adjective.

around ​adverb (especially North American English) (British English usually round)
measured in a circle

  • an old tree that was at least ten feet around

As reckoned with in A Comprehensive grammar of the English language (Quirk et al. 1985), "around" is said to be an adverb when found in the context explained in the Original Post; the principle relating the terms is that of premodification of adverbs by noun phrases. Their description of the construction, as they treat adjectives and adverbs together, is found along a similar description for adjectives, and I included that latter because I thought a consideration of the two together might be instructive; this reveals that in fact, noun phrases can modify adjectives; therefore, the beginning of the explanation is not quite on topic, but the premodification it refers to, is also the same principle in the second part, where adverbs are treated.

§ 7.66 The gradable measure adjectives deep, high, long, old, tall, thick, and wide […] can take premodification by a noun phrase:

  • Susan is ten years < old >. ['of age']
  • Peter is five feet < tall >. ['in height']
  • They stayed up all night < long >.

In support of this analysis , ie, that it is the noun phrase and not the adjective that is the modifier, we note that the question form with how evokes the non phrase as the response:

A: How old is Susan? B: ten years
A: How tall is Peter? B: Five feet

Adverbs such as the following are also modified by noun phrases:

  • The lake is two miles < across >. ['wide']
  • They live five miles < apart >.
  • We dug ten feet < down >.
  • The tree is six feet < around >. < esp AmE >
  • I met her a week < before > / < earlier >.

[…]

In the following examples, the question is of the form 'How + adverb + verb + noun':

How wide is the lake? [NOT How across…?]
How far apart do they live? [NOT How apart…?]
How deep did they dig? [NOT *How down…?]
[…]

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    It's unfortunate that Quirk doesn't further specify that these NPs can only be of the special "measure phrase" type. Commented Nov 16 at 13:48
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    ... And that the authors don't mention that, though 'The panel is ten pounds in weight' is available, 'The panel is ten pounds heavy' isn't. Unusually among the weight [at root, mass], length and time fundamental quantity system. Commented Nov 16 at 15:32
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    ...Although the availability of different words changes, and at different rates. Not quite on-topic: I recently learned that the word lengthy (for "long") was once considered an Americanism (as perhaps weighty, girthy, massy; yet to be born are heighty, widthy, depthy, breadthy, sizy, agey). Closer-to-topic, "I'm forty years young" is jocularly available. Commented Nov 16 at 20:32

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