grammar - Does "away" serve as an adverb or an adjective in the following sentence?



The shop is five minutes away.



According to the dictionary, away is an adverb. An adverb modifies a verb. In the above example, what word does away modify? Why is away not an adjective?



The shop is five meters tall.



tall is an adjective in the second example. It modifies five meters (does it?). So why is away an adverb?



Answer



Sometimes away can be an adjective.


The OED has an adjectival sense for away in its sense 11a:



11 a. Of the position attained by removal in place: In another place; at a distance; at (a stated) distance, off. spec. In reference to games or matches played away from the home ground. Hence as adj.; also as quasi-sb., a win away from home.



On of whose provided citations is quite similar to your own example:




  • 1881 Blackmore Christowell xxxix, — His home was some miles away.



Then again, you can find people these days who will try to convince you that something like ago is not an adverb but a postposition. If you’re on their side, then I see no difference between “five minutes ago” and “five minutes away”. I’m pretty sure that whatever they are, ago and away are doing the same job in those two phrases.


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