Learn English – What part of speech is “asleep” in “sound asleep”

parts-of-speech

My husband was sound asleep.

According to Merriam Webster, the word "sound" in "sound asleep" is an adverb. What part of speech, then, is "asleep"? ("Asleep" can only be an adjective or adverb, and not a verb?)

Best Answer

An adjective modifies (describes) a noun.

  • The door is painted.
  • The car is locked.
  • The baby is asleep.

An adverb can modify an adjective to provide more detail:

  • The door is badly painted.
  • The car is locked solid. [This is conceivably a debatable example.]
  • The baby is sound asleep.

Some adjectives can only be used predicatively (following a copula as in these examples). Asleep is one of those; afraid is another. [Source: UCL]

  • *An asleep baby
  • *An afraid child

Some adjectives can only be used attributively (before the noun). Main is one such.

  • This is the main reason.
  • *This reason is main.

A comment has mentioned that afraid and asleep are preposition+noun phrases which were eventually reinterpreted. This may well be the case, and probably explains why they are only available predicatively. It doesn't necessarily assert that they are now adverbs rather than adjectives.

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