0. Introduction to the course: objectives and organization

Studying phrasal syntax, which is the objective of this course, means that we shall be concerned with the internal structure of various types of phrases as the smallest syn-tactic units. The course falls into four main parts.

The first part introduces basic concepts and terms used in syntactic analyses. The second part is concerned with the structure of the verb phrase, i.e. with its main elements and their combinations. Part three concentrates in detail on the structure of the noun phrase, including the adjective phrase as one of noun phrase modifiers as well as determinatives. Finally, a brief discussion of the semantics and grammar of the adverb phrase as adverbial concludes the course. Some areas (and particularly the last part) will involve a great deal of self-study.

The assessment will be based on a written examination paper (60') and an interview (20'-30'). The written part of the exam will include a task dealing with the tense-aspect-mood system of the English verb (including modality).

The reading list includes the following chapters and/or sections from:

Quirk, Randolph, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, Jan Svartvik (1985). A Com-prehensive Grammar of the English Language. London and New York: Longman.

2 A survey of English grammar2.25-33 Phrases2.34-45 Word classes

3 Verbs and auxiliaries3.52-57 The structure of verb phrases

17 The noun phrase

5 Nouns and determiners5.10-25 Determinatives

8 The semantics and grammar of adverbials8.1-23 Outline of semantic roles8.24 Grammatical functions8.25-26 Adjuncts8.39-41 Adjuncts of space8.51-54 Adjuncts of time8.78 Process adjuncts8.88 Subjuncts8.121-122 Disjuncts8.134 Conjuncts

or equivalent chapters from:

Quirk, Randolph, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, Jan Svartvik (1972). A Gram-mar of Contemporary English. London and New York: Longman.

Shorter (in some cases radically abridged) overviews of these topics are available in:

Quirk, R., S. Greenbaum (1973). A University Grammar of English. London: Long-man.

Greenbaum, S., R. Quirk (1990). A Student's Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman.

1. On syntax

Grammar is a term very rich in meanings. On one interpretation, grammar includes two areas: syntax and morphology.

Syntax is a traditional term used to refer to the study of the rules determining the way in which words may be combined to ultimately form sentences in a language. It is concerned with the structure of sequences of words, units larger than words. The term comes from Greek and literally means 'putting together'. Informally, syntax is about the togetherness of words (and morphemes). Syntax is usually opposed to mor-phology, which deals with the structure of words, i.e. with inflection and derivation of words. These units may be phrases or clauses and sentences. Consequently, syntax may be viewed as having two branches: phrasal syntax and clausal syntax.

1.1. Phrasal syntax

1.1.1. Phrase as a descriptive device: Words vs phrases vs clauses

What evidence is there that phrase as a concept is really necessary for the adequate de-scription of syntactic phenomena, i.e. that clauses and sentences are indeed made up of phrases and not simply of words?

How many sentences can be made out of the following set of words?

(1) cat, funny, a, collect, purple, book, the, disturbed

Why are sentences in (2) well-formed but those in (3) are not?

(2) a. A purple book disturbed the funny cat. b. The funny book disturbed the cat. c. A funny book disturbed the purple cat. d. The funny cat collected the purple book. e. A purple cat collected a funny book. f. The purple book collected a funny cat.

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g. The funny cat disturbed a purple book.

(3) a. *Cat funny a collect purple. b. *Book purple the disturb funny. c. *Cat purple the collect funny.

Is a syntactic rule that appears to adequately describe (2) and rule out (3) and has the following format:

(4) A well-formed English sentence/clause may have the form:

Art - Adj - N - V - Art - Adj - N

in fact sufficient? In other words, could it be hypothesized that categorial information associated with words may suffice? On this approach clauses/sentences have no internal structure apart from being left-to-right ordered strings of otherwise atomic elements, i.e. lexical items.

This type of analysis can easily be proved to be severely inadequate. First, the number of rules such rules specifying all the permitted linerar strings would be extremely large. Secondly, there is morphological and semantic evidence that phrase is a neces-sary concept.

Is it possible to account for the grammar of the genitive clitic 's unless we postulate phrases? Cf.:

(5) a. This crown is the king's. b. This crown is the king of England's. c. *This crown is the king's of England.

d. *This crown is very handsome's.

Semantic evidence for the postulation of phrases comes from the fact that we would not be able to account for the ambiguity of sentences like:

(6) He hit the man with a stick.

unless we allow for some internal structural level between the word level and the clause/sentence level. Explain the ambiguity.

Further syntactic evidence may also be adduced concerning the distribution of various sequences of words. For example, a phenomenon called preposing would be a real mystery unless we have the concept of phrase. Under appropriate stylistic conditions certain parts of the sentence may be preposed for emphasis. Now, how many and which words can be preposed? Why are resulting constructions in (8) grammatical and those in (9) ungramamtical?

(7) a. I can't stand [your elder sister]. b. I simply will not tolerate [that kind of behaviour].

(8) a. [Your elder sister], I can't stand. b. [That kind of behaviour], I simply will not tolerate.

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(9) a. *Your elder, I can't stand sister. b. *Elder sister, I can't stand your. c. *Sister, I can't stand your elder.

(10) a. *Behaviour, I will simply not tolerate that kind of. b. *That kind of, I will simply not tolerate behaviour.

(11) a. John rang up his mother. b.*Up his mother John rang.

Pronominalisation is another of the whole series of syntactic pieces of evidence in support of phrasal structures. Thus pro-forms such as it function as pro-NP con-stituents and replace the whole NP but not individual nouns.

Now that we have seen that phrases are indeed necessary in syntactic analysis, we might as well try to define the notion. What we have discovered by now is that words are inadequate as units of syntactic analysis and that phrases are typically com-binations of at least two words (although in some models they may be simple and consist of a single word). On the other hand they are by definition smaller than clauses. We may thus assume that they are the smallest syntacic units. This means that phrase may be negatively defined as a grammatical unit occupying an intermediate position between the level of word and the level of clause. But still we have not in this way determined its actual size, or its defining features.

Phrases are sometimes characterized as elements of syntactic structure, i.e. as groups of words, that lack the subject-predicate structure typical of clauses. Why is this not enough?

(12) My first book on synchronic linguistics

Phrases are by definition internally structured units. Within the structure of phrases we may distinguish between the central element or the head element on the one hand and dependent elements on the other. Modifiers, complements, determinatives, etc. are particular types of dependents.

Determination is the term for the function of words (or sometimes phrases) which in general, determine the kind of reference of a noun phrase: definite, indefinite, partitive or universal. Semantically, all NPs are determined in some way or other: they are either definite or indefinite in meaning. However, some heads, notably proper nouns, are by their very nature inherently definite and need no overt determiner/deter-minative.

Modification is a largely optional function. Premodifiers precede the head, postmodi-fiers follow it. In NPs, premodifiers follow determinatives. In semantic terms, modi-fiers add specific information to the head, often restricting the reference of the head. Thus an NP with a head modified has a more specific meaning than an NP with an un-modified head.

Complementation is the label employed to refer to a part of a phrase or clause which follows a word, and completes the specification of a meaning relationship which that word implies. Complementation may be obligatory or optional:

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(13) a. He deceived his father. b. *He deceived

(14) a. He allowed me a respite. b. *He allowed (me).

(15) a. All sales are subject to tax. b. *All sales are subject.

The distinction between heads and dependents is motivated by the following facts:

First, heads are normally obligatory, except in the special case of ellipsis, while de-pendents are often (and prototypically) omissible.

(16) a. Several new cracks had appeared in the wall. b. Cracks had appeared in the wall.

Note that some dependents may not be omitted:

(17) a. Tom used the wrong method. b. ?Tom used the method.

However, omissibility is not a necessary condition for the dependent status, it is a suf-ficient one. Since dependents are not obligatory, we admit the posssiblity of a phrase being realised by a single word, i.e. of it being a simple phrase that can potentially be expanded.

Secondly, the head often imposes restrictions on what kinds of forms can occur as de-pendent:

(18) very eager for success

Here the head eager determines/requires that its complement be introduced by the pre-position, specifically by for, and not, say, by in or at. Similarly, heads like fact, idea, belief, knowledge can take that clauses, so called appositive modifiers or content clauses as dependent, whereas the great majority of nouns cannot:

(19) a. He was obsessed with the idea that he was going to die. b. *He was obsessed with the book that he was going to die.

Thirdly, when two or three phrases are combined in a larger unit, any restrictions con-cerning their mutual compatibility or incompatibility affects only the heads of phrases, it has nothing to do with any of their dependents:

(20) a. He had recently gone quite mad. b. He had recently become quite happy.

c. *He had recently gone quite happy.

Fourthly, only dependents can be realized by members of different word classes. On the other hand, there is a systematic correlation between the type of phrase and its head in that the head of an NP is always a noun or a pronoun.

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1.1.2. Types of phrases

Since phrases are often functionally equivalent to a single word, their head, they are thus classsified according to the part of speech of the kind of word to which is equivalent. We thus have noun phrases, which are functionally equivalent to a noun, verb phrases, which are functionally equivalent to verbs, etc.

Another possible classification of phrases is in terms of optional and obligatory ele-ments, i.e. with reference to their head. One type of phrase contains only one obligatory element which may be accompanied (followed or preceded) by other optional elements. Such phrases contain their head that is indeed functionally equivalent to the whole phrase. Such headed phrases are called endocentric phrase. Adjective phrases and adverb phrases are examples of this type. Prepositional phrases, on the other hand, contain two obligatory elements:

(21) a. I went to London. b. *I went to. c. *I went London.

Although the preposition determines the primary meaning of the phrase and is more head-like, this type of phrase is considered nonheaded or exocentric.

The remaining two major types of phrases, noun phrases and verb phrases, do not fit entirely into the either category. Verb phrases are headed in the sense that every full-blown VP exhibits a lexical or main verb, but not necessarily an auxiliary. The lexical verb appears to be more central in terms of meaning, but it cannot always stand alone if non-finite. For noun phrases, a determinative element appears to be obligatory. NPs can be headed by pronouns, if they happen to be personal pronouns they cannot be followed by optional elements.

All this means that phrases cannot be described by a single structural formula, and that various specific subclassifications accounting for deviations must be allowed.

An interesting observation is that whenever a phrase in-volves a functional word as an obligatory element there are complications and uncertainties concerning the headed-ness of the phrase. By functional words we mean all those words belonging to closed classes. The distinction between open and closed classes concerns the division of parts of speech into two main groups. Closed classes are prepositions, pronouns, deter-miners, conjunctions, modal verbs and primary auxiliary verbs. Open classes are nouns, adjectives, full or lexical verbs, and adverbs. There are of course numerals and interjections but these have a marginal role from a grammatical point of view.

Closed classes are sets of items closed in the sense that they are only exceptionally ex-tended by the adoption or creation of additional members. These items tend to be mutually exclusive and their meaning is closely related to the larger construction in which they appear. This is reflected in the traditional labels such as function words, grammatical words, structure words.

Items belonging to open classes share some grammatical and structural properties with other members, but the classes are open in the sense that they are indefinitely ex-

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tendable: new items are constantly being added to the stock, either through creation or adoption from other linguistics systems.

1.2. Summary of phrase structures

Verb phrases consist of a main verb which either stands alone as the entire VP, or is preceded by up to four verbs in an auxiliary function:

auxiliary/auxiliaries main verb

sankwas sinking

The ship has been sunkmust have been sinking

may have been being sunk

All NPs have head-words as their central elements. The head-word, a noun or a pro-noun, is a word which determines the number agreement with the verb if the NP appears in the subject position. The head-word is also the word to which other ele-ments of the NP, i.e. modifiers, refer, or on which they depend. NPs are endocentric phrases in that they invariably exhibit one head-word optionally accompanied by modifiers on both sides of it.

determinative premodification head postmodification comple- mentation

himPeter

Alice's weddingthat girl with the

I remember red hairall those fine warm days in the

countrylast year

a better story than thatthe best trip that I

ever hada good trip that I

once had

There are several tests that can be invoked to check whether a given string is an NP or not. Cleft-sentence test consists roughly in the placement of what at the front of a sen-tence and an appropriate form of be at the end of it:

(19) a. The wind blew off the roof. b. What the wind blew off was the roof. c. What blew off the roof was the wind. d. *What the wind blew was off the roof.

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Unfortunately, this test works with non-human nouns only:

(20) a. *What killed the fly was Jack.

Another test for NP-hood is the passivisation test.

Adjective phrase consist of an adjective as head, optionally preceded and followed by modifying elements. Sometimes an obligatory or optional complement is present:

premodification head postmodification complementation

pleasantThe too hot to be enjoyableweather was incredibly cold

pleasant enough

Adverb phrases are similar to adjective phrases with respect to their structural make-up except that they are headed by an adverb:

premodification head postmodification complementation

yesterday quite often I spoke to him very severely indeed as clearly as I could

Prepositional phrases consist of a preposition obligatorily followed by a complement, which is normally a noun phrase:

preposition prepositional complement

for lunch at the corner of the street

I met her on Saturday morning by a strange coincidence

Read the passage and then choose the odd form out in each set listed below.

I sat down on a stone. I was exhausted. My ankle was aching and leg muscles that I never knew existed were beginning to complain. The sun was casting long shadows and the silence worried me. There was no sign of the path, and no other trail looked at all convincing. I could not see a single house, there was no familiar landmarks, and the Indus was only a glinting trickle far below. I felt tired, miserable and slightly

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frightened. I sat for ten minutes without moving, unsure of what to do. All options seemed equally unappealing. Then, immediately above me, I heard gunshots. On other occasions the noise might have been sinister. Now they seemed welcoming, almost homely. I clambered upwards, and soon found a track. Following it around a bluff of rock I saw the source of the shots: a village of half-timbered huts clinging to the sheer hillside.

1 verb phrases was exhausted was aching were beginning to complain

could not see might have been

2 noun phrases leg muscles that I never knew existed me casting long shadows no sign of the path the source of the shots

3 adjective tired, miserable and slightly frightened almost homely phrases unsure of what to do equally unappealing following it

4 adverb phrases never far below immediately above now upwards for ten minutes

5 prepositional on a stone for ten minutes without moving phrases on other occasions almost homely

Identify all the phrases in the following text.

In a rare act of civic piety, Los Angeles flew its flags at half-mast this week in honour of Dorothy "Buffy" Chandler, who died on July 6th. The city's mayor, Richard Riordan, interrupted his holiday to say that "her imprint will be part of Los Angeles for many centuries to come."

Identify the heads of the following phrases.

two other obstacles the richwould keep did not needthe city's growing ethnic diversity the latest pollsa new and even cleverer director home to rare faunamany who applauded as he sang by her superiors

How much do you know about word classes (parts of speech)? Choose the best options.

1 We divide words into (A) two (B) three (C) four broad categories, depending on whether these classes are relatively fixed or constantly changing.2 Closed word classes (A) have important grammatical functions (B) often get new words added (C) consist largely of 'lexical' words.3 The closed classes include (A) full verbs and modal verbs (B) primary and full verbs

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(C) primary and modal verbs.4 The open classes (A) are constantly gaining new words (B) include mainly 'gram- matical' words (C) include all verbs.5 The terms 'generic' and 'specific' are applied to the meaning of (A) adverbial phrases (B) noun phrases (C) prepositional phrases.6 The terms 'marked' and 'unmarked' relate to (A) inflection only (B) meaning only (C) both inflection and meaning.7 Operator means (A) a finite verb phrase (B) the auxiliaries in a verb phrase (C) the first or only auxiliary.

Word classes. Complete the sentences with these words:

adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, determiners, nouns, prepositions, pronouns, verbs

1 Dynamic, finite, full, transitive all describe __________.2 Collective, count, genitive, proper are used in describing _______________.3 Attributive, predicative, comparative, superlative relate to _______________.4 Demonstrative, interrogative, personal, relative describe different kinds of ____________.5 ________________ often tell us how, when, where or why something happened.6 Many ___________ have meanings connected with place or time. They connect two units of a sentence together and show a relationship.7 The articles a/an and the are special kinds of __________.8 ______________ join words, phrases and clauses together. Some are coordinating and some are subordinating.

Choose the odd word out in each set - the word that does not belong to that particular word class.

could may should will want

are can did has was

me every ours someone they

after at during into upwards

and because or too when

college class grammar learn teacher

angry hungry lonely obviously silly

cause insist must persuade suggest

an how my no whose

afterwards badly friendly now soon

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Classify the highlighted words as parts of speech.

1 Is it right to say that the right wrongs no man?2 One cannot right all the wrongs in the world.3 Cure that cold with a drink of hot lemon before you go to bed.4 Drink this quick! Don't let it get cold.5 Before the Fire, there had been a plague, the like of which had not been known be- fore and has not been seen since.

Deduce as much as possible about the words and structure of the following non-sense:

Degressably, the slem that Quisian had arvingly craduced thrammed a ranglin through both makles of wismy cluff so hort that umbody flapsed. Thereupon, the dramp nording the wendorous plorin stambored its tilfored cormel aside hypaxically till al the bohams could prentiously desorm.

2. The structure of the verb phrase

2.1. Simple vs complex VP

The structure of the verb phrase may be represented in a number of ways. So far, it has been chiefly characterized in terms of auxiliary and lexical or main verbs. A verb phrase may be simple or complex:

(1) a. He works hard. b. Work harder! c. It is important that he work harder.

(2) a. John has worked hard. b. John should have worked harder.

The complex VP may be described in terms of the following four basic construction types:

(3) A (Modal)B (Perfective)C (Progressive)D (Passive)

Type A (Modal) consists of a modal auxiliary and the base form of the main verb:

(4) a. must examine b. will come

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Type B (Perfective) consists of the primary auxilary have and the -ed participle of the main verb:

(5) a. has examined b. has taken

Type C (Progressive) consists of the primary auxiliary be + the -ing participle of the main verb:

(6) a. is examining b. is taking

Type D (Passive) consists of the primary auxiliary be + the -ed participle of the main verb:

(7) a. is examined b. is taken

These four basic constructions enter into combinatins with each other, but the order in which they can combine is indicated by the alphabetical symbols, A, B, C and D, which label them. Not all the constructions need be present so that there may be gaps (AC, AD, ACD, BD). Each construction can be used only once:

(8) AB: may have examined AC: may be examining AD: may be examined BC: has been examining BD: has been examined CD: is being examined ABC: may have been examining ABD: may have been examined ACD: may be being examined BCD: has been being examined ABCD: may have been being examined

Notice that in these combinations constructions are telescoped or fused into each other:

(9) A: auxiliary infinitive may + have =

B: auxiliary + -ed partic. have been

= + -ed D: auxiliary part.

been examined

2.2. Finite vs nonfinite VP

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Another way in which the structure of the verb phrase may be described is in terms of finite and nonfinite verbs. A finite verb phrase is a phrase in which the first or the only word is a finite verb, the rest of the verb phrase (if any) consisting of nonfinite verbs. A nonfinite verb phrase contains nonfinite verb forms only.

(9) a. to be swimming b. having jumped c. to have jumped d. having been dismissed

Both a finite verb phrase and a nonfinite verb phrase may be either simple or complex:

(10) a. swims b. to swim c. swimming

(11) a. is swimming b. has been swimming c. will be swimming d. to be swimming e. to have been swimming

Finite VPs can be distinguished from nonfinite VPs as follows:

a. Finite VPs can occur as the VP of independent clauses.

b. Finite VPs are tensed, i.e. they have tense contrast between present and past:

(12) a. He is a journalist b. He worked as a travel agent last summer.

(13) a. doing b. having done

c. There is person concord and number concord between the subject of a clause and the finite verb phrase. Concord is most conspicuous with the present tense of be:

(14) a. I am here. b. You are here. c. He/she/it is here. d. We/They are here.

(15) a. He/She/Jim reads. b. I/We/You/They read.

d. Finite VPs contain, as their first or only word, a finite verb form which may be either an operator or a simple present or past form. Do-support is used in forming negative, interrogative and emphatic constructions with simple VPs. The infinitive, the -ing participle, and the -ed participle are the nonfinite forms of the verb. Hence

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any phrase in which one of the listed forms is the first or the only word (discounting of course the infinitive particle to) will be called a nonfinite VP.

e. Finite VPs have mood indicating the factual, non-factual or counterfactual status of the predication. In contrast to the indicative, there are imperative and subjunctive.

There is, in fact, a scale of finiteness ranging from the most finite VP, which is the in-dicative mood, to the infinitive, the least finite VP:

(16) a b c d e ______________________________________

indicative + + + + + subjunctive + ? -- ? + imperative + -- -- ? +

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - infinitive -- -- -- -- --

_______________________________________

2.3. Complex finite verb phrase

The order in which the constructions can be combined has been illustrated in (8) a-bove. The first step is to select the present or the past of the finite verb, then comes the selection of the rest. On the whole, the more complex the VP pattern is, the less frequent it is in actual usage:

(17) a. has been being examined b. will have been being examined

2.3. Complex nonfinite VPs

Since English central modal auxiliaries are by definition finite and lack any nonfinite counterparts, A cannot occur in nonfinite VPs. This limits the number of available possible constructions:

(18) B: to have examined having examined

C: to be examining [being] examining

D: to be examined [being] examined

BC: to have been examining having been examining

BD: to have been examined

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having been examined

CD: to be being examined [being] being examined

BCD: to have been being examined having been being examined

Wherever a nonfinite participle VP should theoretically begin with the auxiliary be-ing, this participle being is omitted.

2.4. Gradience between one and two VPs

If a a nonfinite VP follows a finite one, as in certain types of verb complementation, it is possible for the same construction to be repeated in each phrase:

(19) a. We had hoped | to have finished by then. B + B b. I am hoping | to be seeing her tomorrow. C + C

There is nothing against two constructions occurring outside their normal ordering, provided they belong to two different VPs:

(20) a. I was hoping | to have finished by then. C + B b. Jack was believed | to have been killed. D + BD

Very complex possibilities, such as ABC + BCD, are extremely rare:

(21) ?They must have been expecting | to have been being paid well. With semi-auxiliaries it is possible to use the same construction twice:

(22) a. Sarah and I are going to be leaving tonight. b. The walls were supposed to be repaired.

Describe the structure of the verb phrases in the following sentences.

1 Even if the EU had a common defence policy, most Europeans, apart from Britain and France, would be aghast at the idea of applying it outside of Europe.

2 There is no reason, however, why NATO's European members should not help America out more in the world's tight spots.

3 And yet this is also precisely the reason why Ms Mowlam should have trodden more warily, and expended less of her political capital on this single dispute.

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4 For nearly 70 years, the PRI has held on to power by hook or by crook.

5 NASA used this to convince Congress not to axe the ISS, on the ground that, among other things, the joint project would be cheaper for America.

6 The state pension and health systems have recently been rejigged but not been given the real shake-up they badly need.

7 Moderate nationalists, their trust in Labour shattered, are losing faith that multi- party talks will ever produce a settlement they can accept.

Form a complex verb phrase using sting as the main verb and may as the auxili-ary verb:

1 present, passive, modal __________________2 progressive, passive __________________3 participle, passsive __________________4 infinitive, modal, passive __________________5 infinitive, perfective, passive __________________6 progressive, passive, perfective __________________7 modal, progressive __________________8 modal, perfective, progressive __________________9 participle, progressive, passive __________________10 perfective, passive __________________

Use the most appropriate form of the verbs in brackets.

Tom: (Putting down knife and fork after finishing all that was on his plate) Ah, that (be) _____________ good! I (not have) ______________ such a decent meal since I (dine) ______________ with the Polytopian ambassador ten years ago. Both the food and the wine (be) ______________ excellent.Jack: I (am) ______________ glad you (enjoy) ______________ your meal. I often (come) ______________ to this restaurant and I always (find) ____________ the food very good. I (tell) ______________ about the place a long time ago by my friend Harry Simpson. I (know) _____________ him since I (be) ______________ a boy. He always (interest) ___________ in good food. He (found) ______________ the Gourmet's Club in 1960, I (think) ______________.

Anybody who ever (think) ___________ about his language will have realized that it (develop) __________ over a very long time. We cannot say that a language suddenly (begin) _______ on some particular day in the past. People all at once (not start, speak) ______________ a given language one fine morning! The speech of primitive men probably (begin) __________ with uncouth grunts and groans, but we cannot be certain of this, for we (not inherit) _____________ records of primitive speech, which (come) _____________ into being long before men (learn) ___________ how to write. When we (study) ____________ our own language a little, we see that at various times in the past it (take) ______________ words and grammar from other languages.

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3. Noun Phrase

3.1. Introduction

3.1.1. The complexity of the noun phrase

Rules or operations are said to be recursive if they may be repeatedly applied. How can this recursiveness be invoked to account for the indefinite complexity of noun phrases? Study the following data:

(1) a. The tall girl is Mary Smith. b. The girl was standing in the corner. c. You waved to the girl when you entered. d. The girl became angry because you knocked over her glass. e. The tall girl standing in the corner who became angry because you

knocked over her glasses after you waved to her when you entered is Mary Smith.

f. The very tall girl standing in the far corner who became extremely angry because you knocked over her expensive glasses after you wave to her when you entered is Mary Smith.

3.1.2. The structure of the noun phrase

The structure of a complex noun phrase, and in fact of any noun phrase, may be de-scribed in terms of the following four constituent parts:

(2) Determiner(s) - Premodification - Head - Postmodification

How can the head of the noun phrase be defined? What is the syntactic relation that the head contracts with elements outside the phrase that are illustrated below?

(3) a. [The tall girl standing in the corner] is my sister. b. [The tall girls standing in the corner] are my sisters.

(4) a. [The tall girl in the corner who/*which has a blue sweater] is my sister. b. I saw the tall girl in [the corner which/*who was full of people].

Do all noun phrases have heads?

Determiners may be overt or zero. What are the subtypes of determiners that may be defined in syntactic terms, i.e. in terms of their relative order? Study the following data:

(6) a. all the furniture b. both those musicians

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(7) a. some new office furniture b. all those fine musicians

(8) a. the many new offices b. the few survivors

How can modifiers be defined with respect to their relative position? What kind of items may function as a premodifier and what kind of items as a postmodifer? Con-sider the following cases:

(9) a. some expensive furniture b. some very expensive furniture c. some very expensive office furniture

(10) a. the car outside the station b. the car standing outside the station c. the car that stood outside the station d. a bigger car than that

Noun phrases: identifying the head. Identify the head nouns in the noun phrases picked out in the following passage.

BBC weatherman Michael Fish's failure to give a warning of the great storm of October 1987 (1)was a spectacular example of how modern meteorology fails (2) says the Consumer's Association (3)in a report (4)today.

It claims that the Met Office's near monopoly on meteorology (5)casts a cloud (6)over consumer interests, (7)and argues for an Office of Fair Trading investigation into the weather forecasting industry. (8)

The association's Which? magazine report (9)stresses that forecasting (10)is clearly improving overall, but it takes the Met Office (11)to task (12) for failing to explain the weather (13)in a user-friendly way. (14)

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It says the language of isobars and anticyclones (15)is less important than 'whether Suffolk should put out its washing' and calls for better translation of what forecasts actually mean. (16)Which? (17) favours a new style of forecasting based on probability. (18)Closer to the science of placing a bet on a horse (19)than a traditional forecast, (20) this would include phrases such as 'there is a 70 per cent chance of rain in the South' (21) rather than the more usual 'there may be scattered showers'.

Identify all the noun phrases in the following passage, as illustrated with the first three NPs in the first sentence. Comment briefly on your procedure. Note that a noun phrase may be quite complex, e.g. because another noun phrase may be embedded it (recursiveness).

When [Chester] was [a thriving port], Liverpool was [a small fishing village], but from the early 18th century, when the silting up of the Dee cut off Chester's trading lifeline, Liverpool began to grow into one of the biggest and most prosperous ports in the world. By 1880 lines of docks stretched for 7 miles along the banks of the Mersey, and 40 per cent of the world's trade was carried in Liverpool ships. Today much of this vast industrial system has fallen into disuse, with the shift to bulk-carriers and containerisation, and for the first time it is possible to take a closer look at this part of Britain's maritime history.

Identify all the noun phrases in the following passages and describe their structure, by specifying their heads, determiners, pre- and postmodifiers.

Brash and cheerful, Blackpool stretches in a long, multi-coloured ribbon by the sea, punctuated by three piers and dominated by the steel finger of the Tower. Yet like many other British holiday resorts, Blackpool began as a small and undistinguished fishing village. In 1840 the seafront consisted of a single row of houses; but with the coming of the railway in 1846, the opening of Central Station and the North Pier in 1863 and the Winter Gardens in 1876, the town's future was established. The number of visitors increased from 3 million at the beginning of the present century to more than 8 million during the 1960s. Today it is estimated that around 6 million different people visit Blackpool each year; but because many people return time and again, the total is about 16 million a year.

Present-day Blackpool is probably best known for its Tower, a landmark which can be seen from Cumbria in the north to the hills of North Wales to the southwest. Built in 1894, it was for many years the highest building in Britain, the 518 ft ascent gives a breathtaking view of Blackpool and the surrounding coast, and the Tower also houses a circus, a ballroom, an aquarium and an Educational Heritage Exhibition, as well as bars and restaurants.

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3.1.3. Restrictive and nonrestrictive modification

Why are the modifiers in the following examples said to be restrictive?

(11) a. the tall girl standing in the corner b. the car outside the station c. Come and meet my younger daughter.

What makes the highlighted modifiers below non-restrictive?

(12) a. Mary Smith, who is in the corner, wants to meet you. b. Come and see my beautiful wife.

Can heads be simultaneously modified restrictively and non-restrictively? Cf. the fol-lowing:

(13) The tall girl, who is a dentist, is Mary Smith.

When is it possible for proper nouns to have restrictive modification? Study the fol-lowing examples:

(14) a. the Springfield that is in Illionis b. the Johnson who wrote the dictionary

Which heads cannot be modified restrictively? Check the following set of data:

(15) a. He likes dogs, which surprises me. b. I won't see any person/anyone who has not made an appointment. c. Someone, who sounded like your mother, called to say she wanted to

see you.

Comment on the type of modification found with heads with nonspecific determiners like any, all and every:

(16) a. *Every book, which is written to deceive the reader, should be banned. b. *All the students, who failed the test, wanted to try again. c. All the students, who had returned from their vacation, wanted to take

the exam.

(17) a. The students, who had all (of them) returned from their vacation, failed the test.

b. *The students who had all (of them) returned from their vacation failed the test.

What is the most typical position for the most restrictive types of modification?

(18) Any person who wishes to see me must make an appointment.

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Which of the two types of modification tends to be given more prosodic emphasis than the head?

(19) a. Susan is my ELDER daughter. b. John is my LAZY son. c. my beautiful WIFE

Noun modifiers. Say which of the highlighted noun modifiers are (a) restrictive, (b) non-restrictive:

1 My poor old mother suffers from arthritis. 2 Her devoted elder daughter takes care of her. 3 Where did you get that beautiful carpet in the hall? 4 George was wearing a sports shirt, light cotton slacks and open-toed sandals. 5 I often see men who went to school with me. 6 The great fire of 1666 started in the house of a baker. 7 Oh, you sensible man. Good old Henry. 8 An old proverb says: Ill news travel apace. 9 Cuzco is still a thriving city, its Inca buildings merged into the buildings of the Spaniard.10 A queue of long-haired, strangely dressed youths formed up outside our stately theatre.11 The man who called here last night must have been Jeremy Taylor.12 Jeremy Taylor, who called here last night, left this message for you.13 The theatre to which we were taken was the oldest one in Paris.14 The theatre, to which we were taken every week, was a great delight to us.15 All these articles, which have been given to us by well-wishers, are to be sold to raise money for the club.16 All the articles you see here have been sold.17 The students whose names are below the line on this list must sit the examination again.18 The demonstrators, whose names had already been taken by the police, refused to move.19 Roses do very well in my garden, which is a perfect paradise in June.20 Many things grow in my garden which I never planted in it.

3.1.4. Temporary and permanent modification

The modification in noun phrases may be seen as permanent or temporary. What is generally the tendency for premodification in this respect?

(20) a. a corteous man b. a timid man c. *a ready man

3.1.5. The explicitness of postmodification

In general, premodification is to be interpreted (an most frequently, can only be inter-preted) in terms of postmodification. How can the following premodified phrase be

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paraphrased by means of postmodification making the relations between the head and the modifier explicit and non-ambiguous?

(21) an oil man

Explicitness in postmodification varies considerably. Order the following NPs in terms of the degree of explicitness of postmodifiers.

(22) a. the taxi outside b. the taxi which is waiting outside c. the taxi waiting outside

Explicitness in modifiers. Make the postmodifier in each of these sentences more explicit by replacing it (a) by two different participle clauses, then (b) by two dif-ferent relative clauses:

1 Do you know the man with the overcoat?2 I don't recognize the man in the garden.3 The President will only shake hands with the people in the front row.4 Children at school will have first priority.5 This book by Hertford will give you all the facts.6 The new house was built with money from wealthy land-owners.

Unambiguous use of modifiers. Explain the absurdity of the sentences below in terms of noun phrase modifiers and adverbial adjuncts. Then rephrase each sen-tence.

1 I have discussed the question of stocking the new pig farm with my staff.2 Look at that silver cup which my daughter won for dancing on the mantelpiece.3 I have to give a lecture on the disposal of industrial waste to students of engineering.4 Last week an eighteenth century chair was bought by a dealer with beautifully carved legs for only forty pounds.5 You can buy a copy of this book on breast-feeding at your local bookstore.6 There are so many different washing machines on the market that you would be well advised to consult an expert on the make.7 A radish has been grown by one of our members the size of a turnip.8 There is more to Ambridge than the mask of the bizarre behind which our old-world village tries to hide.

3.2. Postmodification by finite clauses

3.2.1. Types of postmodifying finite clauses

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Two major types of postmodifying clauses can be distinguished, relative clauses and appositive clauses:

(1) The news that appeared in the papers this morning was well received.(2) The news that the team had won calls for a celebration.

How can the the two types be distinguished?

(3) a. The news which appeared in the papers this morning was well received.

b. *The news which the team had won calls for a celebration.

Relative clauses can be adnominal (1), or sentential (4):

(4) They are fond of snakes and lizards, which surprises me.

Nominal clauses contain their antecedent. They function as clausal subjects or objects.

What are the differences between the first and the second type? Use the following ex-amples:

(5) a. They are fond of snakes and lizards, and that surprises me. b. *The news was well received, and it appeared in the papers this

morning.

In these quotations from The Last of the Wine by Mary Renault, underline the relative pronouns and their antecedents, and state the type of each relative clause.

1 The country people, whose farms were being burned, poured into the city.2 When I was born he was still alive, which is no reason for foolish youths to ask whether I remember him.3 My father decided to name after him the child that was being born.4 At the back were the stables, where my father kept his two horses.5 Any progress I made was a signal for her anger.6 My grandfather, in whose image I see the god Poseidon, was growing infirm.7 As for me, I was one of those who grow late.8 I used to hear things said by the slaves, who had their own reasons to hate her.9 But those are nearly the worst days that I remember.10 You will refrain from hubris, which the gods hate.

Match the first clause with the sentential nonrestrictive relative clauses.

1 I had to travel first class,... a... which meant we had to cancel the match next day.2 It snowed heavily last night,... b ... which meant we had to eat out in the

evenings.3 The car uses very little petrol,.... c. ... which really annoyed everyone.4 He didn't get up until after 8 d. ... which certainly pleased her mother.

o'clock,...

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5 The food in the hotel was not e. .... which means it is quite cheap to run.very good

6 He kept complaining about f. which meant he was almost late for workeverything,...

7 Both the girls were late,... g. ... which meant we had to leave without them.8 Michelle always did very well

at school,... h. ... which was very expensive

3.2.2. Characteristics of relative clauses

Part of the explicitness of relative clauses lies in the specifying power of the relative pronoun. It may be capable of:

a. showing concord with its antecedent,b. indicating its syntactic function by means of case.

3.2.2.1. Gender concord

Which relative pronouns are capable of showing gender concord? What is the basic contrast that may be expressed?

(6) a. Joan, who... b. London, which.. c. the boy/people who... d. the fox/animal which e. the human being who... f. the human body which... g. the fairy who... h. the unicorn which...

Why do we occasionally find deviations from the above general rules?

(7) a. Rover, who was barking, frightened the children. b. This is the baby which needs inoculation. c. The committee who were/which was responsible for this decision...

Which principle is at work with coordinated antecedents of mixed gender?

(8) a. The people and things which amuse her most... b. The things and people who amuse her most...

3.2.2.2. Case in the relative pronoun

What is the relation that relative pronouns can indicate with personal antecedents by means of different case forms?

(9) a. The woman whose daughter you met is Mrs Brown. b. The girl to whom he spoke is Julia.

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c. The girl who spoke is Julia.

3.2.23. Relative pronoun as adverbial

The relative pronoun can be replaced by special adjunct forms for place, time and cause:

(10) a. That is the place where he was born.b. That is the period when he lived here.c. That is the reason why he spoke.

Which nouns are possible as antecedents of such relatives?

Such relative clauses introduced by these adjunct forms are also called adverbial rel-atives.

Complete these sentences by adding when, where, whose, or why.

1 This is definitely the place _________ I left it.2 Do you remember the time _________ we got lost?3 There must be a good reason __________ he's late.4 They are building a hospital in the street _________ we live.5 Peter? Is he the one _______ car you borrowed?6 Can you give me any reason ________ I should help you?7 Carl is the one _______ desk is next to mine.

3.2.3. Restrictive relative clauses

3.2.3.1. Choice of relative pronoun

The choice of relative pronoun is jointly determined by the following three factors:

a. the relation of the relative clause to its antecedent: restrictive or nonrestrictive:

(11) a. The woman who is approaching us seems to be somebody I know. b. The Bible, which has been retranslated, remains a bestseller.

Which relative pronouns occur in nonrestrictive relative clauses, and which ones in restrictive clauses?

b. the gender type of the antecedent: personal or non-personal:

(12) a. the person who I was visiting b. the book which I was reading

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c. the function of the relative pronoun as subject, object, complement, or adverbial (including its role as prepositional complement), or as a part of a clause element (i.e. as a determiner/possessive).

That differs from wh-series in that:

a. it has no gender marking and thus is independent of the personal or non-personal character of the antecedent;

b. it has no objective form;c. it has no genitive.

The choices with respect to the syntactic functions and gender type of antecedent are summarized as follows:

(13) a. SUBJECT

who person that has been appointed.

*0 They are delighted with the

which book that has just appeared. *0

b. OBJECT

who(m) person that he has appointed.

0 They are delighted with the

which book that she has just written. 0

c. COMPLEMENT

She is the which perfect *who her predecessor was not. accountant *that

This is not which the type of *that my own is. modern house *0

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d. ADVERBIAL at whom the burglar fired the gun.

He is the who(m) policeman that the burglar fired the gun at. 0

on which I was ill. She arrived that the day 0 I was ill (on).

I make cakes in which the way that my mother made them. 0

3.2.3.2. Relative pronoun as subject and object

Which relative pronouns are possible as: a. subjects, b. objects of transitive verbs? What preferences may be observed?

(14) a. People who live in new houses... b. People that live in new houses...

(15) a. *The table 0 stands in the corner has a broken leg. b. *The man 0 stands over there I know.

(16) ?Anybody 0 does that ought to be locked up.

(17) a. There's a table 0 stands in the corner. b. It's Simon 0 did it.

(18) All Anything that strikes you as odd... Everything (that) you find odd...

(19) Much that has been said tonight will soon be forgotten.(20) There was little that interested him at the motor show.

(21) She must be one of the most remarkable women that ever lived.

that is available.(22) They eat the finest food that/0 money can buy.

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3.2.3.3. Relative pronoun as object and prepositional complement

What tendencies can be observed with personal antecedents of pronouns functioning as objects and prepositional complements?

(23) a. People that/0 I visit/speak to... b. People who(m) I visit/speak to...

What may influence the choice of a pronoun that is object or prepositional comple-ment, particularly if the antecedent is nonpersonal? Study the following examples:

(24) I have [[interests outside my immediate work and its problems] which I find interesting.]

(25) I'll take you to [the building [that all elderly university teachers prefer]].

(26) Who's drunk [the milk [0 I bought]]?

3.2.3.4. Relative pronoun as adverbial

When the relative pronoun is the complement of a preposition (the whole functioning as an adverbial), some choice exists in placing the wh-pronouns. The preposition may be PIED PIPED together with the relative pronoun or STRANDED, i.e. left with the verb. What about that or zero?

(27) towards whom the dog ranwho(m)

The lady that the dog ran towards0

(28) under which the boy crawledwhich

the table that the boy crawled under0

What happens with prepositions as particles of prepositional verbs? What about pre-positions dealing with temporal and abstract relations?

(29) That's the book 0 he's been looking for.

(30) ?That was the meeting (that) I kept falling asleep during.

Relative clauses. Replace the relative pronoun that by who, whom, which or zero:

1 This is the house that Jack built.2 He looks like a dog that has lost its tail.3 Danny, our dog that followed us all the way from Scotland, has just died.

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4 Don't believe everything that you read in the newspapers.5 Babies that were born prematurely had little chance of survival.6 Children that disobey their parents should be punished.7 Murray was the sole survivor from a famous ship that sank on her first voyage.8 Murray was the only person that survived the disaster.9 The party that was responsible for this extraordinary piece of legislation is now out of office.10 The party that were responsible are now trying to repair the damage.

The sentence There is the officer to whom I spoke can have four variations, viz:

a. There is the officer whom I spoke to.b. There is the officer who I spoke to.c. There is the officer that I spoke to.d. There is the officer I spoke to.

Give as many variations of that kind as possible for the following:

1 Here is the article about which I was speaking.2 Here is a book which will tell you all about it.3 Is this the book from which that quotation was taken?4 Is Thompson the man to whom you were referring?5 He is a man for whom I have the greatest respect.6 Is this really the house in which Shakespeare was born?7 That was the very day on which I first saw Mary.8 I shall always remember the way in which you received us that evening.9 It was a century during which the country suffered continually from wars.10 This is a matter concerning which you would be well advised to consult a lawyer.

Join up the information given, so that in each case you have one sentence containing relative clauses.

Example: Some people undertake long journeys. They will remember these journeys all their lives.

Some people undertake long journeys 0/that/which they will remember all their lives.

1 Travellers on the Trans-Siberian railway take 8 days 4 hours 25 minutes on the journey. The Trans-Siberian railway stretches from Moscow to the Pacific Ocean. During this journey there are 97 stops.2 The 'Indian-Pacific' railway crosses Australia from Perth on the Indian Ocean to Sydney on the Pacific. Its reputation is perhaps less fearsome than the Trans- Siberian.3 It covers a distance of 2,270 miles (4,352 km). Of these, 297 miles (478 km) across the Nullarbor Plain are dead straight. This is the longest straight stretch of railway in the world.4 The journeys appeal to a certain type of traveller. A certain type of traveller is not in a hurry. To this type of traveller the journey, not the arrival, matters.

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5 Gary Sowerby (Canada) and Tim Cahill (USA) drove a four-wheel drive pick-up truck from Ushuaia (Argentina) to Prudhoe Bay (Alaska, USA) in 1987 in just under 24 days. Tim Cahill was Gary Sowerby's co-driver and navigator. From Ushuaia to Prudhoe Bay is a distance of 14,739 miles (23,720 km). Just under 24 days is a record time for the journey.6 They were however surface freighted over the Darien Gap. Darien Gap is between Colombia and Panama. Here the Trans-American highway does not exist.

3.2.4. Nonrestrictive relative clauses

Which relative pronouns are used in nonrestrictive clauses? Consider the following:

(31) a. SUBJECT

whoI spoke to Dr Spolsky, *that was unwilling to give further details.

*0

which

This excellent book, ?*that has only just been reviewed, was published a year ago.*0

b. OBJECT

whom?who

I spoke to Dr Spolsky, *that I met after the inquest.*0

whichThis excellent book, ?*that Freda has only just received for review,

*0 was published a year ago.

c. COMPLEMENT

whichAnn is a vegetarian, *who no one else is in our family.

*that*0

whichShe wants low-calorie food, *that this vegetable curry certainly is.

*0

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d. ADVERBIAL

This is a new type of word processor,about which there has been so much publicity.which*that there has been so much publicity

about. *0

Nonsubject who is considered far worse than in restrictive clauses.

How can we distinguish nonrestrictive relative clauses from restrictive clauses?

(32) a. Then he met Mary, who invited him to a party. b. That's the girl (that) he met at the party.

who invited him to a party.(33) Then he met Mary, and she invited him to a party.

she invited him to a party.

which was snow-bound.(34) He got lost on Snowdon, it was snow-bound.

when it was snow-bound.

Non-restrictive and sentential relative clauses. Identify the antecedent of the following relative clauses:

1 We were taken every week to the theatre, at which new plays were constantly being produced.2 We were taken every week to the theatre, which was a great delight to us.3 We went to the theatre every week, which was our one relaxation.4 The singer gave five encores, for which he received enthusiastic applause.5 He gave five encores, all of which were quite new to the audience.6 He gave five encores, which was a very generous acknowledgement of the welcome he had received.7 They spent two nights on the mountainside, which was swept by biting winds.8 They spent two nights on the mountainside, which was an ordeal for the hardiest of them.9 We test every bottle of Buzz in our laboratories, which is why it is so reliable.10 We apply a laboratory test to every bottle of Buzz, which is then hygienically corked.

Join the sentences below using who, whose, or which. Make sure that the relative clause goes next to the word it gives extra information about.

1 I met Jane's father. He works at the university.2 Peter is studying French and German. He has never been abroad.3 You've all met Michael Wood. He is visiting us for a couple of days.4 Michael Wood is one of my oldest friends. He has just gone to live in Canada.

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5 We are moving to Manchester. Manchester is in the north-east.6 Manchester is in the north-east. It is one of England's fastest growing towns.7 I'll be staying with Adrian. His brother is one of my closest friends.8 This is Adrian. We stayed in Adrian's house for our holidays.

3.2.5. Appositive clauses

The appositive clause differs from the relative clause in that:

a. the particle that is not an element in the clause structure, but a conjunction;b. the nonrestrictive appositive clause has the same introductory item as the restrictive, ie: that, it cannot be zero and it cannot be replaced by which;

(35) She rejected their excuses, even this last one, that investigations had taken

several weeks.

c. the head of the noun phrase must be a general abstract noun such as fact, ¸idea,proposition, reply, remark, answer, etc.

(35) b. The fact that he wrote a letter to her suggests that he knew her. c. The belief that no one is infallible is well-founded. d. I agree with the old saying that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

The head and the appositive clause may be linked with the copula be:

(36) a. The fact is that he wrote a letter to her. b. The belief is that no one is infallible.

Heads are often nominalizations. Determiners are often definite articles, heads them-selves are normally in the singular.

The nominalization (determiner + head) may be separated from the appositive clause:

(37) a. The suggestion that the new rule (should) be adopted came from the chairman.

b. The suggestion came from the chairman that the new rule (should) be adopted.

Nonrestrictive appositive clause differ markedly from relatives in that they are intro-duced by that, in spite of their nonrestrictiveness:

(38) This last fact, (namely) that that is obligatory, should be easy to remember.

Expressions such as namely (viz) or that is to say can be optionally introduced as indicators of nonrestrictiveness.

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Rewrite the information so that in each case you have a single sentence con-taining a noun + an appositive clause.

1 People sometimes suggest that we are not equal. This makes some people very angry. Any...2 Some people explain that accidents are often nobody's fault. But many people do not accept this. Many people...3 I was told that there are more scientists alive today than have ever lived before. Is that a fact? Is it a...4 Scientists say that there are a lot of black holes in the universe. I don't understand this theory. I don't understand the...5 The universe started with a big bang. There is also that idea. There is also the..6 Of course we hope to rid the world of poverty. But can we? Is there any...7 Neil Armstrong remarked when he stepped on the moon, 'That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.' Everyone remembers this. Everyone remembers Neil Armstrong's...8 Shakespeare observed that 'all the word's a stage'. I'm not sure whether I agree. I'm not sure whether I agree with...

Rephrase each of the sentences below, using a factive abstract noun + appositive clause. Say whether the clause so formed is (a) restrictive or (b) non-restrictive:

1 It is still believed in some countries that the earth is flat.2 It is true that the earth is round, and that has been evident to every astronaut.3 Columbus assumed that the land he had discovered was the eastern extremity of Asia, but this was soon proved wrong. 4 Columbus reported that there was a king in the south who owned great quantities of gold, and this lured many explorers to the search of El Dorado.5 People suspect that smoking has something to do with cancer: this rests on several kinds of evidence.6 When scientists argued that cigarette smoking may increase one's chances of de- veloping cancer of the lung, this was not well received.7 You may have gone to sleep during my lecture but that does not exempt you from writing this essay.8 You went to sleep during the lecture, and this fact suggests that you should go to bed earlier.9 You excuse yourself by saying people keep asking you out, but I cannot accept that.10 I know that I can always call upon you for support, and that is a great comfort to me.

3.3. Postmodification by nonfinite clauses

3.3.1. Postmodification by -ing participial clauses

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What is the syntactic function of the relative pronoun in relative clauses cor-responding to postmodifying -ing clauses?

(1) will writewill be writingwrites

The person who is writing reports is my colleague.wrotewas writing

(2) The person writing reports is my colleague.

(3) a. The dog barking next door sounded like a terrier. b. A tile falling from a roof shattered into fragements at his feet.

Are there any restrictions on the type of verbs that can occur in this type of modi-fication?

(4) This is a liquid with a taste resembling that of soapy water.

In all instances, the antecedent head corresponds to the implicit subject of the non-finite clause.

Can aspect be overtly expressed with this type of postmodification?

(5) a. the man who works/who is working behind the desk. b. the man working/*being working behind the desk(6) a. The man who has won the race is my brother. b. ?*The man having won the race is my brother.(7) ?Any person having witnessed the attack is under suspicion.

How can the tense be recovered?

(8) a. Do you know the man talking to my sister? 'who is talking...' b. Did you know the man talking to my sister? 'who was talking...'

(9) the man sitting next to her/next to her on that occasion

3.3.2. Postmodification by -ed participial clauses

Again, the correspondence between -ed clauses and relative clauses is limited to those relative clauses in which the relative pronoun functions as subject:

(10) The car (being) repaired by that mechanic...

(11)will be repaired

The car that is (being) repaired by that mechanic.was (being) repaired

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Postmodifying -ing and -ed clauses are usually restrictive. What differences may be observed between the two concerning the voice?

(12) a. The train which has arrived at platform 1 is from York.b. ?*The train arrived at platform 1 is from York.

What makes postmodifers in (13-14) more acceptable?

(13) The train recently arrived at platform 1 is from York.

(14) A man just gone to India/just come from the meeting told me about it.

Which aspectual oppositions can be expressed in -ed clauses?

(15) a. The food which was/has been eaten was meant for tomorrow. b. The food which is being eaten was meant for tomorrow.

c. The food eaten/being eaten was meant for tomorrow.(16) a. The food which has been eaten was meant for tomorrow.

b. ?*The food having been eaten was meant for tomorrow.

3.3.3. Postmodification by infinitive clauses

This type of postmodifying clauses also allow correspondence with relative clause. What syntactic functions of relative are found in corresponding relative clauses?

(17) a. The man to help you is Mr Johnson. S ('who could help you') b. The man (for you) to see is Mr Johnson. O ('who(m) you should see') c. The thing (for you) to be these days is a system analyst. C ('the thing that people will try to be these days is a system analyst')

d. The time (for you) to go is July.A ('at which you should go')

If the relative pronoun in a correspondent finite clause functions as adjunct, i.e. com-plement of a preposition, a more formal possibility is to introduce the relative pronoun and than have the infinitive clause. The preposition cannot be stranded if the clause is finite:

(17) e. in which to do it*which to do it in

the way to do it*to do it in

How is the subject of infinitive postmodification recovered?

Infinitive postmodifiers differ from other clausal postmodifers in allowing the ellipsis of an entire adjunct phrase:

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(18) a.*staying. at which to stay.

the place you should stay.(for you) to stay (at).

b.*relying. on whom to rely.

She is not a person one can rely on.(for one) to rely on.

Why is the following sentence ambiguous?

(19) He is the best man to choose.

What possibilities are found concerning the variety of moods and aspects?

(20) a. the man to see...b. the man you should/must/ought see...

(21) a. to meetThe man to be meeting is Wilson.

to have met

b. He is the best man to choose/to be chosen.

3.3.4. Nonrestrictive postmodification by nonfinite clauses

Postmodification by means of nonfinite clauses may also be nonrestrictive:

(22) a. The apple tree, swaying gently in the breeze, was a reminder of old times. ('which was swaying...')

b. The substance, discovered almost by accident, has revolutionized medicine ('which was discovered...')

c. This scholar, to be seen daily in the British Museum, has devoted his life to the history of science.('who can be seen...')

Do initially placed nonrestrictive nonfinite postmodifiers differ in their implicit se-mantic range from those that follow the head?

(22) e. Discovered almost by accident, the substance has revolutionized medicine.

(23) a. The woman wearing such dark glasses, obviously could not see clearly.b. The woman, who was wearing...c. The man, because he was wearing...

3.3.5. Appositive modification by infinitive and -ing clauses

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Appositive postmodification is not found with -ed clauses. It is quite common with in-finitive clauses:

(24) The appeal to give blood received strong support.

This type of postmodification may also be nonrestrictive:

(25) This last appeal, to come and visit him, was never delivered.

A common feature of infinitive appositive clauses is that they have implicit subjects to be inferred from the context, unless they are introduced prepositionally:

(24) b. The appeal to us/for us to give blood...

What is the typical function of appositive -ing clauses?

(26) a. I'm looking for a job driving cars.b. We can offer you a career counselling delinquents.

Do appositive postmodifications by means of an infinitive clause always have cor-responding finite clause as apposition?

(27) to use his hands.He lost the ability of using his hands.

*that he could use his hands.

Are there any observable tendencies in the choice between to-infinitive clause and preposition (usually of) + -ing clause?

(28) Ann has the will to win/*of winning.

(29) agreement decision determinationdisinclination inclination invitationproposal readiness refusalresolution (un)willingness will

(30) Their chance to go/of going abroad was lost.

(31) chance freedom needobligation opportunity planpower

(32) aim impossibility intentionnecessity possibility responsibility

(33) She found the risk *to lose/of losing money too great.

(34) hope, probability, prospect, risk

Convert the participle clause into a relative clause in each of these sentences.

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1 At the station, we were met by a man carrying a copy of The Times.2 He was accompanied by a porter weighing at least 150 kilos.3 A car, coming unexpectedly out of a side street, crashed into us.4 We collided with a car driven by a young man without a licence.5 Any driver not having a licence ought to be sent to jail right away.6 The train standing at platform six is for Brussels and Ostend.7 Any article left in this bus was taken at once to the Lost Property Office.8 Any dutiable articles not declared to the Customs will be liable to confiscation.9 Presents costing less than ten pounds in all may be imported duty free.10 Anyone not hearing that noise must have been stone deaf.11 Everybody, hearing the noise, jumped up in alarm.12 The castle, burnt down in the sixteenth century, was never rebuilt.

Convert the infinitive clause in each example into a relative clause.

1 The next train to arrive is from Edinburgh.2 The first man to fly non-stop across the Atlantic was John Alcock.3 Was Cortes the first European ever to see the Pacific Ocean?4 The best man to see for your eye trouble is the Professor of Ophtamology.5 The man for John to speak to first is the Director of the Museum.6 The cheapest place to eat at is the cafeteria.7 You'll find the best time to get there is just after twelve.8 The way to get to the head of the queue is to slip in through the kitchen.9 Will you buy me a magazine to read on the journey?10 Here is something for you to do while you're waiting?11 The only thing left to consider now is how to get away without being seen.12 The last problem, to be considered at our next meeting, is how to invest the money.

Rewrite these sentences, using a noun phrase with infinitive clause as postmodi-fier.

1 We planned to cross the river at night but failed.2 Our appeal for volunteers for another attempt was greeted with enthusiasm.3 We thought the idea that we should create a diversion upstream was a good one.4 We did not wish to waste lives in another frontal attack.5 Our allies promised to send reinforcements but did not do so.6 We felt they were cowardly to hesitate to come to our aid.7 It was disgraceful that they should refuse to fulfil their promise.8 This only made us more determined to succeed on our own.9 Meanwhile, we were not disturbed when the enemy threatened to attack us.10 Nor were we deceived when they proposed that we should call a truce.

Rewrite the sentences by changing the finite relative clauses into nonfinite forms. Use -ing forms, -ed forms, or to-infinitives as suitable.

1 The man who wrote the obituaries is my friend.2 Any coins that are found on this site must be handed to the police.

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3 The next train that arrived was from York.4 Millions of insomniacs could benefit from a new technique which may cure sleep- lessness, which is based on 'thought-jamming'.5 The idea is that a simple word like the, which is repeated under the breath three or four times a second, can block stimulating thoughts and induce sleep.6 This anti-insomnia technique which is being tested by researchers from Cambridge offers pill-free hope for millions who suffer from sleeplessness. 7 It is based on a theory that the brain has a kind of 'memory traffic control', which has been called 'the central executive', and that this controls information that enters the brain.8 The Cambridge team believes that with insomniacs 'the central executive' insists on finding tasks when nothing that is particularly interesting is happening.9 The team decided to look for ways in which they could provide a steady flow of in- formation into the brain, which would prevent it from looking for other tasks that it

could do.10 The age old technique of counting sheep as a method that may induce sleep re- quires concentration and stimulates thoughts about the imaginary sheep.11 Repeating a boring little word like the is so dull that the only thing that most people can do is to go to sleep.12 Tests that have been specially designed to try out the theory were carried out under controlled conditions. 13 A third of those who were tested had quick success. But other people stayed awake. They were able to mouth simple words while still thinking other thoughts. 14 There is still work that needs to be done.

3.4. Postmodification by prepositional phrases

3.4.1. Relation to more explicit modifiers

Prepositional phrases as postmodifiers may be considered a further degree of reduction of finite relative clauses:

(1) a. The car was standing outside the station. b. the car which was standing outside the station

c. the car standing outside the stationd. the car outside the station

What is the structure of prepositional phrases?

(2) a. PP

P NP

outside the stationacross the street

(3) the face of the man in the car outside the station

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Are there any restrictions concerning the range of prepositions introducing postmodifying phrases? Check the following:

(4) a. the road to Lincolnb. this book on grammarc. the information about the easy payment pland. a labyrinth of roadse. action in case of firef. a delay pending further inquiry

Does a general paraphrase by means of be-predication like the ones in (1) e. and (4) b,' exhaust the range of possible meaning relations between the head and the postmodifier?

(1) d. the car outside the statione. The car is outside the station.

(4) b.' The book is on grammar.

(5) a. the university as a political forumb. The present for John costs a great deal.c. The man for the job is John.d. The woman with the child is Joan.e. The woman with child is Joan.f. the man with a red beardg. the girl with a funny hat

(6) a.The university is acting/regarded as a political forumb. The present is for John.c. The man is right/best for the job/*The man is for the job.d. The woman accompanied by a child.e. The woman is with child, i.e. pregnant.f. the man who has a read beardg. the girl who has a funny hat

Postmodification by prepositional phrases. Replace each prepositional phrase by a relative clause that will make the meaning of the postmodification more explicit:

1 A house by the church 11 A man of my acquaintance2 A picture by a famous artist 12 The flint wall of our cellar3 The plane for Moscow 13 A man of strong will4 Warm clothes for Moscow 14 The man without a hat5 A land for all seasons 15 A student from Portugal6 The man for the job 16 A quotation from Shakespeare7 The man with your wife 17 Instructions in case of fire8 The man with a gun 18 The pleasure of your company9 A man of property 19 The rule of majority10 The people of Asia 20 A Jack of all trades

Postmodification by prepositional phrases. Fill in the gaps with suitable prepositions, and underline the noun phrase that the prepositional phrases are part of.

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If you have a row __________ your family today, you could end up with a cold by the end _________ the week. Research ________ psychologists suggests that joyless days full of irritation __________ a social kind can lead to a weakening _________ the disease-fighting immune system, and that four days ___________ a row your system can become too weak to stop cold viruses from attacking.

The theory is the latest study ________ the effects ______ mental well-being _______ physical well-being. Such effects has already been found for a number ________ serious diseases. Typically those who have problems expressing emotions _______ anger or who have suffered traumatic experiences after the death ________ a spouse appear to be most at risk.

Now a similar effect has been found ______ the common cold. A hundred clerical staff ________ a tax office _________ the north ________ England were asked to keep a diary __________ their health, their moods and what sort ___________ day they had.

After ten weeks, seventeen volunteers had colds. It then emerged that four days _______ contracting the cold, there had been a marked drop ________ diary entries recording friendly relations ________ their spouses, and an increase ________ the number _______ social annoyances.

The researchers believe that all this shows a definite link _________ mood and in-fection. So - if you don't want a cold, don't get annoyed!

Complete the sentences below with one of the following nouns plus a preposition:

basis cruelty geniusobjection campaign excusegrudge opposite choicefall knowledge straincontrol freedom newstrouble

1 If you had a ___________________ marrying for love or marrying for money, which would you do?2 What is the ________________ 'timid'? Is it 'bold' or 'brave'?3 The African elephant will be extinct within twenty years if an international _______ the ivory trade is not started immediately.4 Do you have any ______________________ my parking my car in front of your house?5 The _____________ chewing gum is that it loses its flavour too quickly.6 I know you have a cold, but that's no ______________ not doing your homework.7 If you have to deal with overseas clients, a _____________ foreign of languages is very useful.8 Perhaps the three most important human rights are ________ hunger, fear and persecution.9 In our class, we can do as we like: our teacher has no _____________________ us at all.10 The RSPCA is concerned with prevention of ___________________________

animals.11 Overweight people should not jog, because it puts a great _______________ their

hearts.12 Since the salmonella scare there has been a considerable ______ consumption of

eggs.

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Choose an appropriate noun and add a suitable preposition to fill in the gaps in the following sentences.

1 His car was involved in a terrible _______________ ______ another vehicle.2 She made a generous ______________ ________ the collection.3 The child has a great ______________ ________ mathematics.4 He expressed absolute _____________ _____ the inadequate teaching he had received.5 The government placed an immediate ________ _______ all imports from that country.6 The man had made adequate ______________ _________ his family in his will.7 He bears a terrible _____________ ________ the people who attacked him.8 On that point I'm in ______________ _________ Mr McCabe.9 This requires a _____________ ________ public spending.10 Will the U.N. _____________ ________ whaling accomplish anything?

Fill in the missing prepositions.

1 Critics ____ Australia and New Zealand panned the first performances ____ his tour, and while his Rachmaninoff CD is more listenable than his live recitals, it's still muddy, noisy, raggedly - and boring.

2 Although a period ____ sustained low prices may test farmers' (and politicians') enthusiasm ____ freedom to farm, in the long run the change ____ policy should make America's productive farmers even more so.

3 The big news ____ the hearing's first day was that John Huang, a central figure ____ the Democrat's foreign money machine, may choose to testify before Mr Thompson's committee in exchange ____ limited immunity ____ prosecution.

4 And yet he suffers a curious sort ____ neglect - a literary giant relegated to the nursery, often in bowdlerized translations that bear but sad resemblance his masterful originals.

5 I point out to them that Denmark considered making an official protest ____ the American movie, claiming that it veered sharply from the facts ____ Andersen's life.

6 In addition the ships carried more than 1,200 passengers and crew, all hopeful of safe passage _____ hostile seas, comforted by an arsenal ____ 144 cannons aboard.

Rewrite the following finite postmodifying clauses as (a) non-finite clauses and/or (b) prepositional phrases.

1 People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.2 In some countries, thieves who are caught in the act lose their hands.3 She made clothes which were designed to make you feel good.4 The man who stands on the street corner usually knows where places are, but he never goes.5 We prefer vegetables that have been organically grown.6 His hope, that he would be rescued, began to fade.

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7 He foolishly carried a gun which he could scare people with.8 We had reached the point from which there was no turning back.9 A cruel letter followed which he intended to break my heart.10 The few hours which remained at our disposal were precious.

3.4.2. The choice between the of-construction and the genitive construction

Very frequently, there is a regular correspondence between an of-phrase and the inflected genitive:

(7) a. The ship has a funnel. It is red.b. The ship has a red funnel.c. The ship's funnel is red.d. The funnel of the ship is red.

What is the difference between the two in structural and functional terms?

(8) the our populationthe city's

The choice between the genitive construction and the of-con-struction is determined by a series of factors including:

(9) a. lexical factorsb. relational factorsc. objective vs subjective relationd. syntactic factorse. communicative factors

a. Lexical factors

Which gender classes favour the inflected genitive?

(10) a. Ann's car*the car of Ann

b. the lady's car ?*the car of the lady

c. the dog's collar?the collar of the dog

d. the family's car the car of the family

e. The roof of this house*this house's roof

Which non-personal nouns allow both constructions?

(11) a. China's populationthe population of China

b. the world's economythe economy of the world

What motivates the following acceptability distribution?

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(12) a. *China's map the map of Chinab. ?China's climate the climate of Chinac. (?)China's roads the roads of Chinad. China's economy the economy of China

Specific lexical noun heads, like edge, length, end, surface, etc. also influence the choice between the constructions:

(13) She stood at the water's edge/the edge of the water.

b. Relational factors

Which meaning relations between two nouns that can never be expressed by means of genitive construction?

(14) a glass of water *a water's glass(15) this kind of research *this research's kind

c. Objective vs subjective relation

If the element to the right of the verb is involved in the paraphrase, i.e. its object, as in (16-17), we speak of objective relation. If the predication involves an element to the left of the verb, i.e. its subject, as in (18-19) we speak of subjective relation.

(16) a. the imprisonment of the murdererb. (Someone) imprisoned the murderer.

(17) a. a woman of courage b. The woman has courage.

(18) a. the arrival of the train/the train's arrival b. The train arrived

(19) a. the funnel of the ship b. The ship has a funnel

Generally, with the objective relation, the of-construction is preferred if the verb-predicate relation is not overt:

(17) c. *the courage's woman

(20) a. the love of power b. Someone loves power.

b. *the power's love

(21) a. men of scienceb. Men study science.c. *science's men

What makes the inflected genitive possible in the example below?

(16) c. the murderer's imprisonment

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Does the factor of overt vs covert subject-predicate relation influence the choice of con-structions with subjective relation?

(22) a. the activity of studentsb. the students' activityc. The students are active.

(23) a. the War Requiem of/by Brittenb. Britten's War Requiemc. Britten composed the War Requiem.

How can the following data be accounted for?

(24) a. the joy of his returnb. *his return's joyc. His return give joy.

(25) a. an angel of a girlb. *the/a girl's angelc. The girl is an angel.

Why is the following of-phrase ambiguous?

(26) The reminiscences of the Prime Minister were very amusing.

The ambiguity is usually resolved in the context, but in general it seems that where an of-phrase can be interpreted objectively, it will be so interpreted unless there is a counter-indication:

(27) a. the examination of the firemen(28) a. the scrutiny of the tenants

What enforces a subjective interpretation below?

(28) b. the examination of the experts

The genitive construction that can be interpreted subjectively, will be so interpreted unless there is a counterindication:

(29) a. the fireman's examinationb. the tenants' scrutiny

Why is the objective interpretation preferred below?

(30) the student's examination

What makes the following examples unequivocal?

(31) a. the man's examination of the studentb. the man's examination by the studentc. the man's examination by the doctor

d. Syntactic factors

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Other modifiers in the noun phrase may influence the choice between the genitive and the of-construction:

Restrictively postmodified noun must occupy the second position, and this influences the choice of the appropriate construction.

What rules out the of-construction in the following example?

(32) a friend's arrival which had been expected for several weeks

What is the natural interpretation of the following?

(33) the arrival of a friend, which had been expected for several weeks

Why is the of-construction the natural choice below?

(34) the arrival of a friend who had been studying at a German university

In some cases, group genitive is possible, where the geni-tive marker is affixed to the last item of the postmodification. What makes group genitive's less acceptable?

(35) a. the King of Spain's armadab. the man in the corner's hatc. *?the lady I met in the shop's hat

e. Communicative factors

The choice between the two constructions my be influenced by the linear organization of the utterance in discourse. For example, the decision to give some elements more prominence of focus, may result in using one or the other construction:

(36) a. The speaker said that, among the global problems that face us now, the chief

one is the world's economy. [economy in focus]

b. He went on to say, however, that in order to succeed we must first tackle the

economy of the industrialized nations, which is the basis for the sound economy of the world. [world in focus]

3.4.3. The 'post-genitive'

State the conditions on this double genitive construction:

(37) an opera of Verdi's(38) an opera of my friend's

(37) b. *an opera of a composer's(39) *a funnel of the ship's

(40) a. A friend of the doctor's has arrived.b. A daughter of Mrs Brown's has arrived.c. Any daughter of Mrs Brown's is welcome.

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d. *The daughter of Mrs Brown's has arrived.

(41) a. Mrs Brown's Maryb. *Mary of Mrs Brownc. *Mary of Mrs Brown's

Specify the circumstances under which one of these conditions may get relaxed:

(42) a. this hand of mineb. that dog of Peter's

Note the different meanings:

(43) a. a painting of my sister'sb. a painting of my sister

(44) a. a student of Jespersenb. a student of Jespersen's

Complete the sentences using the words in brackets with the possessive marker or with the of-phrase.

1 We had to leave the cinema early so we didn't see ____________________. (the end/the film)

2 Have you seen ________________? (the new film/Steven Spielberg)3 We met Sue and Frank at _______________. (the party/Sarah)4 Have you repaired ________________? (the wheel/the bicycle)5 My flat is on ________________. (the top floor/ the house)6 The bus crashed into ________________. (the back/my car)7 We heard the news from ________________. (a friend/the woman who works in

the post office)8 There's a hospital at ______________. (the end/this road)9 The police want to interview ___________. (the manager/the Black Cat Club)

The following titles all use the of-construction. Which could be acceptably re-phrased using the genitive?

1 The Day of the Jackal2 The Call of the Wild3 Death of a Salesman4 The Song of Solomon5 The Mayor of Casterbridge6 The Prisoner of Zenda7 The Adventures of Philip8 The Diary of a Nobody9 A Tale of Two Cities10 A Sleep of Prisoners

London landmarks. Use the underlined words to write sen-tences about where to find some famous London landmarks. Use a genitive structure or the of-construction, as appropriate:

1 a corner reserved for the tombs and monuments of poets (in Westminster Abbey)2 a cathedral dedicated to St Paul (in the City)3 the 'Houses' where Parliament conducts its business (at Westminster)

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4 the famous club for travellers (in Pall Mall)5 a park in honour of postmen (near the General Post Office)6 an obelisk (called a needle) - not in fact connected with Cleopatra (on the Em-

bankment, near Charing Cross)7 the Royal Academy, a society devoted to fine arts (in Piccadilly)8 the waxworks museum founded by Madame Tussaud (near Baker Street)9 the museum about childhood (in Bethnal Green)10 The most famous tower in London, begun in the eleventh century (at Tower Hill)11 A column commemorating Admiral Nelson (in Trafalgar Square)12 A gate through which traitors used to be taken to prison (and often execution) (at

Tower Hill)

3.4.4. Apposition with of-phrase

Some of-phrases are not ordinary postmodifiers:

(45) the Republic of Croatia(46) The news of the team's victory(45) b. Croatia is a republic.

c. This republic (that I mean) is Croatia(46) b. The team's victory is a news.

c. The news is the team's victory.

Such of-phrases are considered prepositional appositions.

Note that there is often an obvious parallel with clausal appositive postmodifiers:

(46) d. the news that the team had wone. the news of the team's having won

There is a special type of prepositional appositives:

(47) a. the fool of a policemanb. an angel of a girlc. this jewel of an island

(48) Det + NSg + of + indefinite article + N

(48) a. a/that/this/that/his fool of a policemanb. *?those fools of policemenc. the fool of a/*the policeman

Which of the two nouns functions as the notional head?

(49) a. The policeman is a fool.b. The girl is an angel.c. This island is a jewel.

(50) Her brute of a brother'Her brother is a brute'

The sequence HEAD + of + a corresponds to an adjective:

(51) a. the foolish policemanb. the angelic girlc. This jewel-like island

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3.4.5. Restrictive and nonrestrictive prepositional postmodification

Prepositional phrases may be restrictive or nonrestrictive in both appositional and nonap-positional functions:

(52) a. The course on English grammar starts tomorrow.[nonappositional, restrictive]

b. The course, on English grammar, starts tomorrow.[nonappositional, nonrestrictive]

c. The question of student grants was discussed yesterday.[appositional, restrictive]

d. The question, of student grants, was discussed yesterday.[appositional, nonrestrictive]

There are certain limitations: nonrestrictive PPs are rare and rather awkward.

3.5. Minor types of postmodification

3.5.1. Postmodification by an adverb phrase

Adverb phrases as postmodifiers of nouns refer to time or place:

(1) a. The road back is dense with traffic.b. The way out was hard to find.c. The people behind were talking all the time.

(2) a. The road which leads back to London was dense...b. The way which leads out of the auditorium...

Some such adverb phrases may be used either as pre- or as postmodifiers:

(3) a. his homeward journeyb. his journey homeward

3.5.2. Postposed adjectives

Postposed adjectives come in three main types, depending on what requires the post-position:

a. the head of the NP

(4) I want to try something different.

b. the postmodification or complementation of the adjective:

(5) a play popular in the 1890s

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c. the particular noun-adjective combination:

(6) a. the heir apparentb. a knight errant

a. Postposed adjectives modifying indefinite heads

Which indefinite items can be postmodified in this way?

(7) a. Anybody younger would have done better.b. anything sweetc. something niced. nobody elsee. somewhere elsef. anywhere exciting

b. The postmodification or complementation of the adjective as the cause of post modification

In what respect are the following adjective phrases heavy?

(8) a. a mistake typical of beginnersb. the student born in Londonc. a person busy cutting trees

Postposition is here obligatory (except with hyphenated compounds):

(9) a. *a typical of beginners mistake (10) a. a typical-of-beginners mistake

With coordinated adjectives, either pre- or postposition is allowed:

(11) a. a both typical and common mistakeb. a mistake both typical and common

When a head is non-restrictively modified by a coordinate string of adjectives, it is common to have them postponed:

(12) A man, timid and hesitant, approached the official.

Even a single restrictively modifying adjective may be postponed if it is itself modified by an adjunct (but not by the intensifier very):

(13) a. A man always timid is unfit for this task. b. *A man very timid is unfit for this task.

c. Particular noun-adjective combinations requiring postposition

This type consists of a number of fixed phrases based on French or Latin models. They may also be considered compound nouns.

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(14) a. president electb. battle royalc. lion rampantd. postmaster generale. attorney general

What makes them syntactically different from other adjectives in postposition?

(15) a. *the president newly electb. the president newly electedc. the newly elected presidentd. *the heir still apparente. *the battle very royal

Rewrite the following, using the adjectives from the list to replace the words in italics. Make any other changes necessary. You will need some of the words more than once.

absent certain concerned conscious electinvolved late present proper

1 Our newly elected chairman takes over immediately2 because our former chairman resigned suddenly last September for health reasons.3 Most of the people who were there at the meeting are delighted,4 but some people (that I'm not going to name),5 people who were not at the meeting, have telephoned to say that they should have had postal votes.6 They say the only correct thing to do now is hold another election, which is ridiculous.7 One of our difficulties is we do not always have the up-to-date addresses of all our members.8 The secretary is aware of the problem.9 We once wrote to a member saying that his subscription was overdue10 and we had a letter from a very distressed lady saying her husband, who had died recently, had always paid on time.

In the following quotations, identify the positions of the adjective and comment on them.

1 Human beings are the only animals of which I am thoroughly and cravenly afraid. (G.B. Shaw)2 The first rule in buying Christmas presents is to select something shiny... the wariest person will often mistake shininess for expensiveness. (P.G. Wodehouse)3 The Jabberwock, with eyes ablaze, came... (Lewis Carroll)4 Resignation, open eyed, conscious, and informed by love, is the only one of our feelings for which it is impossible to become a sham. (Joseph Conrad)5 The towers of high-rise council flats, superficially similar, stacked like a social worker's handbook, with separated wives, unmarried mothers, latch-key children. (Malcolm Bradbury)

3.5.3. Nouns as postposed 'mode' qualifiers

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Nouns may function in another model of postposition in Eng-lish, so-called mode quali-fier, confined to cuisine:

(16) a. Lobster Newburgb. veal paprika

3.6. Multiple postmodification

Multiple postmodification arises through:

a. more than one modification applicable to a single head;b. a modification applicable to more than one head;c. by simultaneous application of more than one modification to more than one head.

a. More than one modification applicable to a single head

(17) a. the man in the cornerb. the man talking to Johnc. the man in the corner talking to Johnd. the man in the corner (?) and talking to John

(18) c. a hierarchical relation

[[[the man] [in the corner]] talking to John]

the man in the corner talking to John

(19) c. coordinated structure

[[the man] [[in the corner] (and) [talking to John]]]

the man in the corner (and) talking to John

b. Modification applicable to more than one head

A modification may apply to more than head. Coordinated complex NPs sharing the same postmodifier string as in (20) a. may be brought together by multiple-head rules permitting the determiner to apply to both heads:

(20) a. the man in the corner and the woman in the cornerb. [the [man and woman] [in the corner]]

c. Simultaneous application of more than one modification to more than one head

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This type of construction is a combination of multiple post-modification in a. and b.:

(21) a. the man and woman in the corner talking to John

The NPs in the postmodifer may themselves be modified, which results in quite complex NPs:

(22) a. the man in the cornerb. the corner nearest the doorc. the man in the corner nearest the door

(21) b. the man and woman in the corner nearest the door talking to John

Postmodifiers. True or false?

1 Postmodifiers are single words, phrases and clauses standing after the head of a noun phrase.2 The commonest postmodifier is the relative clause.3 We use non-finite clauses, adverbials and adjectives as postmodifiers.4 Some- and any-compounds, like something, often take a postmodifier.5 Many a-series adjectives stand after their nouns.6 Many adjectives ending in -able/-ible can only stand after their nouns.7 The phrases the appointed time and the time appointed mean the same.8 The phrases the written message and the message written mean the same.9 Adjectives followed by a complement can follow nouns.10 Adjectival postmodifiers resemble reduced relative clauses.

In the following quotations from The Country Girl by Edna O'Brien, identify the forms of postmodification.

1 There were wheel ruts on either side of it from carts that went up and down each day.2 Fields of corn at the side of the house and bamboo trees thick and luxuriant along the water's edge.3 The passed the hotel with window frames rotting and doors scratched from the claws of young and nervous dogs.4 'There's trouble brewing,' said Jack. He spoke as if it were the end of the world.5 We passed the Greyhound Hotel, where Mrs O'Shea was polishing the knocker.6 It was Baba, looking glorious on her new puce bicycle.7 Their house was like a doll's house, with two bow windows downstairs and circular glower-beds in the front.8 The shouting, high and fierce, came up through the ceiling.9 He went inside to drink elegant glasses of sherry.10 Oh, there is someone to look after you - Mrs Burke from the cottages.

3.7. Apposition

3.7.1. The nature of apposition

Linguistic units are considered to be appositive, i.e. to be in apposition, if they have identical reference:

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(1) Anna, my best friend, was here last night.(2) Paul Jones, the distinguished art critic, died in his sleep last night.

Another possibility is for the reference of one NP to be included in the reference of the other:

(3) A neighbour, Fred Brick, is on the telephone.

Apposition is thus analogous to a copular relationship:

(2) b. Paul Jones was the distinguished art critic.(3) b. Fred Brick is a neighbour.

Apposition is similar to nonrestrictive postmodification, particularly to nonrestrictive rel-ative clauses:

(1) b. Anna, who is my best friend, was here last night.

Why cannot apposition always be considered a reduced version of nonrestrictive modi-fication by relative clauses?

(4) a. Here is a letter from John, who wants a job in London.b. *Here is a letter from John, a job in London.

3.7.2. Full and partial apposition

In its narrowest sense the term apposition is applied to structures if the following three conditions are met:

(5) i. Each of the appositives can be separately omitted without affecting the acceptability of the sentence;

ii. Each item fulfils the same syntactic function in the resultant sentences;

iii. It can be assumed that there is no difference between the original sentence and either of the resultant sentences in extralinguistic reference.

(3) c. A neighbour is on the telephone.d. Fred Brick is on the telephone.

Structures that fail to satisfy any of the above conditions are termed partial apposition. Cf.:

(6) a. An unusual present was given to him for his birthday, a book on ethics.b. An unusual present was given to him for his birthday.c. *Was given to him for his birthday, a book on ethics.d. A book on ethics was given to him for his birthday.

Which conditions are not met in the following examples?

(7) a. Norman Jones, at one time a law student, wrote several best-sellers.b. Norman Jones wrote several best-sellers.c. At one time a law student wrote several best-sellers.

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(8) a. The reason he gave, that he didn't notice the car till too late, is unsatisfactory.b. The reason he gave is unsatisfactory.c. That he didn't notice the car till too late is unsatisfactory.

(8) d. (The fact) that he didn't notice the car till too late is unsatisfactory.

3.7.3. Strict and weak apposition

The appositives may belong to the same general syntactic class, e.g. NP + NP:

(9) Football, his only interest in life, has brought him many friends.

Such apposition is called strict apposition.

If appositives belong to different syntactic classes, e.g. NP + -ing clause, they are said to be in weak apposition:

(10) His only interest in life, playing football, has brought him many friends.

3.7.4. Nonrestrictive and restrictive apposition

Apposition may be restrictive or nonrestrictive. The appositives in nonrestrictive ap-position are in separate information units. How is this fact indicated in speech and in writing?

(11) a. Mr Campbell, a lawyer, was here last night.b. Mr Campbell the lawyer was here last night.

In nonrestrictive apposition, the two items contribute relatively independent pieces of in-formation, with the first appositive usually acting as the defined expression, the second ap-positive having the defining role, but these may on occasion be difficult to distinguish. The defining item is marked as parenthetic by punctuation or intonation.

(12) a. The President of the company, Mrs Louise Parsons, gave a press conference after the board meeting.

b. Mrs Louise Parsons, the President of the company, gave a press conference after the board meeting.

3.7.5. Combinations of apposition types

The three types of distinction discussed above apply in combination:

(13) full apposition [either omissible]partial apposition [only one omissible]strict apposition [same syntactic class]weak apposition [different syntactic function]nonrestrictive apposition [different information unit]restrictive apposition [same information unit]

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(14) i. full, strict, nonrestrictive

Paul Jones, the distinguished art critic, died in his sleep last night.

ii. full, weak, nonrestrictive

Playing football, his only interest in life, has brought him many friends.

iii. full, strict, restrictive

My friend Anna was here last night.

iv. full, weak, restrictive

The question whether to confess or not troubled the girl.

v. partial, strict, nonrestrictive

An unusual present was given to him for his birthday, a book on ethics.

vi. partial, weak, nonrestrictive

His explanation, that he couldn't see the car, is unsatisfactory.

vii. partial, strict, restrictive

Next Saturday, financial expert Tom Timber will begin writing a weekly column on the national economy.

viii. partial, weak, restrictiveHis claim that he couldn't see the car was unsatisfactory.

3.7.6. Explicit indicators of apposition

A number of expressions can be inserted between appositives to indicate explicitly non-restrictive apposition:

(15) How can a solution be found to the current disease of contemporary society, namely the international economic crisis?

Some common indicators are:

(16) that is to say, that is, i.e. namely, viz

to witin other words

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or, or rather, or betterandas followsfor example, for instance, say, including, included, such asespecially, particularly, in particular, notably, chiefly, mainly, mostly of

Complete these authentic quotations by adding the following appositive phrases in the right places.

a. a fast-rising blot on the Euston roadb. the latest word in anti-fraud know-howc. the police device for immobilizing illegally parked carsd. the willingness of academics to pay tribute to the leaders of bloodthirsty regimese. those richer than himselff. them or usg. Millie

1 Three diplomatic cars were among the first 46 victims of the wheel clamp when it came into operation in London in 1983.2 Murauchi has a low opinion of the scramble by the new rich for European art.3 The Bushes' spaniel is the latest in a long line of White House pets.4 It was gang warfare. We had to kill them or they would have killed us.5 He greatly dislikes the British Library building.6 Australia's new plastic banknote still cannot cope with earlier forms of technology. People leaving the $ 10 note in trouser pockets have found that it shrinks when ironed.7 The feting of the dictator's wife by the polytechnic is a classic example of a peculiar phenomena.

3.8. Premodification

3.8.1. Types of premodifying item

Lexical items of a wide range and indefinite complexity and interrelationship may precede a noun head to form a noun phrase whose modification is generally less explicit than that of postmodification. Premodification can be restrictive and nonrestrictive.

The major types of premodifying items:

(1) a. adjective

We also met her delightful family.

b. participle

They never found the missing report.Have you reported the stolen car?

c. noun

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I hate city traffic.

In addition there are some minor, less frequent, types of premodification by:

d. genitive

I visited his fisherman's cottage.

e. adverb and other phrases

We have round-the-clock service.

d. sentence

She has asked I don't know how many people to the party.

3.8.2. Restrictive and nonrestrictive premodification

Although there are few formal indicators as to whether a premodification is restrictive or nonrestrictive, a number of generalization may be made.

Adverb and prepositional phrases and sentences as premodifiers tend to be restrictive and to be given more prosodic prominence than the head of the NP.

When there is no postmodification, the head, as a rule, is given the prosodic prominence:

2) a. my ugly NOSE

If prominence is given to a premodifier, the item in question must be restrictive:

(3) I want the BLUE bag.

Why is a phrase like (2) b. normally nonsensical, and what kind of context is needed for it to make sense?

(2) b. my UGly nose

Do proper names normally need restrictive premodification? Is the premodification below restrictive or nonrestrictive? Comment.

(4) Do you mean the KenTUCKy Richmond or the VirGINia Richmond/one?

Typically, nouns and adjectives are stative, and verbs dynamic. When used as modifiers, most adjectives and nouns describe permanent characteristics while most participles de-scribe temporary characteristics. What can be predicted in light of the fact that the prehead modifying position is strongly associated with relatively permanent characteristics?

3.8.3. Premodification by adjectives

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A premodifying adjective (or rather adjective phrase) can itself be premodified, partic-ularly if it is the first item after the determiner:

(5) His really quite unbelievably delightful cottage

Some intensifiers tend to be avoided with premodifying adjectives. What is the stylistic value of so in premodification corresponding to (6) a.?

(6) a. His cottage which is so beautifulb. His so beautiful cottage

With indefinite determiners, including zero, so is replaced by such, or else so + adjective would be placed before the determiner:

(6) c. such a beautiful cottage d. so beautiful a cottage

How is clause negation transferred to premodifying structure? Witness the following:

(7) a. His behaviour was not very courteous/not unpleasant.b. his not very courteous behaviourc. his not unpleasant behaviour

Nonpredicative adjectives

There are several classes of peripheral (non-central) adjectives that cannot be used in pre-modification, and, conversely, some that cannot be used predicatively (i.e. some restricted to attributive or premodifier position only).

The first group comprises so called INTENSIFYING adjectives or INTENSIFIERS. They have a heightening effect on the noun they modify, or conversely, a lowering effect. At least two semantic subclasses may be distinguished that are subject to constraints on predicative use:

A. Emphasizers have a general heightening effect:

(8) a. a true scholarb. *The scholar is true.

(9) a. a pure fabricationb. *Fabrication is pure.

Some further examples are:

(10) a. plain nonsenseb. a clear failurec. a real herod. a certain winnere. a definite lossf. the simple truthg. an outright lieh. sheer arrogance

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B. Amplifiers scale upwards from an assumed norm, and are central adjectives if they are inherent and denote a high or extreme degree:

(11) a. a complete victoryb. The victory was complete.

(12) a. a great destructionb. The destruction was great.

If they are noninherent, amplifiers are attributive only:

(13) a. a complete foolb. *The fool is complete.

(14) a. a firm friendb. /*The friend is firm.

Complete here refers to the completeness of the folly, and firm to the firmness of the friendship.

Amplifiers are attributive only also when they are used as emphasizers:

(15) a. total nonsenseb. *The nonsense was total.

(16) a. total destructionb. The destruction was total.

Further examples of amplifier adjectives used attributively only:

(17) a. utter follyb. the absolute limitc. an extreme enemyd. a complete strangere. a close friendf. his entire salaryg. a great supporterh. a perfect strangeri. a strong opponentj. total irresponsibility

Many of these intensifying adjectives can be related to intensifying adverbs:

(18) a. He is a true a scholar.b. He is truly a scholar.

(19) a. It was a clear failure.b. It was clearly a failure.

(20) a. It is utter folly to do so.b. It is utterly foolish to do so.

Some intensifying adjectives have homonyms that are central adjectives, occurring in both positions:

(21) a. I drank some pure water. (central adjective)b. The water is pure.

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(22) a. That is pure fabrication. (intensifier)b. *The fabrication is pure.

Secondly, there are RESTRICTIVE or LIMITER adjectives. They restrict the reference of the noun exclusively, particularly, or chiefly:

(23) a. a certain personb. his chief reasonc. the principal objectiond. the exact answere. the same studentf. the sole argumentg. the only occasionh. the specific point

The third group of adjectives used attributively only comprises ADJECTIVES RELATED TO ADVERBS:

(24) a. my former friendb. formerly my friend

(25) a. an old friendb. a friend of old

(26) a. past studentsb. students in the past

(27) a. a possible friendb. possibly a friend

(28) a. occasional showersb. showers occasionally

(29) a. a big eaterb. someone who eats a lot

(30) a. a hard workerb. someone who works hard

Finally, there are DENOMINAL ADJECTIVES, i.e. some adjectives used attributively only that are derived from nouns by means of the following suffixes:

(31) -ar, -an, -en, -al, -ic, -ly

(32) a. polar bearb. urban populationc. earthen potteryd. tidal wavee. atomic scientistf. yearly income

Many such adjectives are nongradable.

Some further examples:

(33) a. criminal lawyer b. his poetic input

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c. the criminal court d. the nasal cavity

Again there may be homonyms:

(34) a. this poetic imageb. This image is very poetic.

(35) a. her nasal pronunciationb. Her pronunciation is nasal.

Rewrite the following sentences using a cognate adverb for each of the highlighted adjectives.

1 Peter and I have a close working relationship.2 The heaviest rains fall in November and February.3 The security system requires weekly checks.4 Tracy was a clever liar.5 She is a smart dresser.

3.8.4. Premodification by participles

Premodification by -ing participles

The possibility of premodification by an -ing participle depends chiefly on the potentiality of the participle to denote a permanent or characteristic feature:

(1) a. She has a very interesting mind.b. Her mind interests me very much.

Although there are some -ing premodifiers that do not allow intensifiers such as very, cf. (2), intensification is generally possible, as in (1), or even obligatory, as in (3):

(2) a. a roaring bullb. *a very roaring bull

(3) a. He was a very reassuring person.b. ?He was a reassuring person.

Head nouns may also play an important role in acceptability of certain -ing premodifiers:

(3) c. He greeted me with a very reassuring expression/smile/look.

(4) a. a smiling personb. a smiling face

Why is only postmodification allowed below?

(5) a. *Who is the wandering man?b. Who is the man wandering down the street?

What explains the following acceptability judgements, particularly in BrE:

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(6) ?The approaching train is from Liverpool.(7) He was frightened by an approaching train.

(8) ?The barking dog is my neighbour's.(9) I was awakened by a barking dog.

What makes (10) b. and (11) a. and b. acceptable with the definite article?

(10) a. a proposal offending many membersb. the offending proposal

(11) a. The beginning student should be given every encouragment. ('beginners in general')b. the developing countries

Premodification by -ed participles

The same requirement concerning the potentiality of the participle to denote a permanent or characteristic feature can be observed with -ed participial modifiers.

This type of premodification may be interpreted actively or passively but, as with post-modification, the former is rare:

(1) a. the immigrant who has arrivedb. *the arrived immigrant

There are some exceptions:

(2) a. a retired teacher/managerb. the vanished treasurec. reduced/fallen/increased pricesd. risen costs

When is actively interpreted -ed premodification more acceptable? Check the following data.

(3) a. the newly-arrived immigrantb. our recently-departed friendc. a well-read woman ['a woman who has read a lot']d. a soft-spoken person ['a person who speaks softly']

When the interpretation is passive, it is important to distinguish between the passive re-ferring to a process from the so-called statal passive (or pseudo-passive). What differences are illustrated in the following examples?

(4) a. some complicated machineryb. The machinery is complicated.c. / The machinery was complicated by someone.d. / Someone complicated the machinery.

Most -ed participles have passive meaning, and only a few will readily admit the perma-nent reference prerequisite for premodifying use:

(5) a. The wanted man was last seen in Cambridge. ['he man goes on being wanted by the police']

b. *The found purse was returned to its owner. [the purse was found at a particular moment']

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Why is premodification by lost possible in (5) c.?

(5) c. a lost purse ['a purse that has been lost']

Similarly:

(6) a. the defeated armyb. a damaged carc. a broken vase

Some exceptions:

(7) a. *a sold carb. *a built housec. *a mentioned articled. *a described man

When are there exceptions acceptable in premodification?

(8) a. a recently-sold carb. a well-built housec. the above-mentioned articled. a carefully described man

Modifiers in -ed may be directly denominal, i.e. adjectives derived from nouns and not participles with verbal force, in which case they do not require any adverbial modification:

(9) a. a bearded manb. the vaulted roofc. a wooded hillside

There are constraints on the productivity of such premodifiers. How can the following data be explained?

(10) a. *a powered engineb. a powerful enginec. a diesel-powered engine

(11) a. *a legged spiderb. a leggy spiderc. a long-legged spider

If the -ed participle has a by-agent phrase or other prepositional construction, postmodi-fication is the only possibility:

(12) a. the defeated armyb. the army defeated by the enemyc. *the defeated by the enemy armyd. *the by the enemy defeated armye. the army defeated for the lack of ammunitionf. *the defeated for the lack of ammunition armyg. *the for the lack of ammunition defeated army

Some unmodified -ed participles in fixed expressions are found in postposition:

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(13) a. the amount demanded/askedb. the earliest inventions knownc. the services rendered

Some participles have different meanings in different positions. Explain the differences in the following:

(14) a. the people concernedb. a concerned expression

(15) a. the students involved b. the involved question

(16) a. jobs wantedb. wanted persons

Participles of prepositional verbs usually follow the head:

(17) a. the sum agreed uponb. the pages referred toc. an event unheard of

Paraphrase the items highlighted in the sentences below:

1 The Commander was pacing the quarter-deck with the navigating officer.2 I read Edgar Allan Poe's tales with a sort of shackled fascination.3 I learned to climb the tree with a kind of absent-minded dexterity.4 The paid servants had their specified position in the household.5 The roses grew in great perfumed masses all over the garden.6 I took a couple of furnished rooms in Vincent Square.7 The French tutor was a charming young lady.8 The outstanding discovery of sunspot activity was made by a German chemist.9 He concluded that sunspots vary in a fairly well-defined cycle of about eleven years.10 Hong Kong is a mainly Cantonese-speaking city.11 This writer makes his point with terrifying emphasis.12 Sheila is the adopted daughter of a well-known banker.13 You have a standing invitation to come with us at any time.14 The Chief felt thoroughly lost in the crowded streets of London.15 A surprising factor has been the political energy of the Swiss.

Complete the following, using premodifying participles + nouns - but only where possible:

1 Some plays today disgust me.There are ...

2 The play was very entertaining.It was ...

3 Edward Fox's performance amazed us.He gave ...

4 I admire him for the way he timed his acting beautifully.I admire Edward Fox's ...

5 I don't like people who arrive late. I ...6 The language of some plays rather surprises me.

Some plays contain ...7 One man was really shocked and left.

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One ...8 The children behind us were talking, which was a nuisance.

The ...9 The scene that opened the play was brilliant.

The ...10 We got ice-creams in the interval and ate them. The ...11 I don't usually buy a programme because I won't pay the prices they demand. The ... are too high.12 We always reserve our seats. We always have ...13 The plot was rather complicated.

The play had ...14 The play ended with 'twist' that was not unrelated.

There was ...15 We certainly were not expecting that ending.

That was certainly ...

The sentence This book interests people very much can be rephrased as This is a very interesting book. Indicate by Yes whether each of the sentences below can be re-phrased with the participle as premodifier, and add V if the participle can be modi-fied by very:

1 This news has alarmed me very much.2 George is a man who amuses me.3 These people are very amused.4 That story is most astonishing.5 Those children behave themselves.6 Those children behave themselves well.7 Those students seem very bored.8 There are many faces in the room that look bored.9 That candle is burning.10 That man is always drinking.11 This report encourages us.12 This is an agreement that will last.13 We have a supply of fuel but it is limited.14 Those seats are reserved.15 Those clients were very satisfied.16 That man seems surprised.17 This result is totally unexpected.18 These circumstances worry me.

Explain the difference in function between the two words highlighted in each of the following pairs of sentences:

1 a. Mary and John were married quietly last year.b. They were married when I first met them.

2 a. Mary is charming.b. The snake-charmer is charming a cobra.

3 a. That story is interesting. b. The speaker is certainly interesting his audience.4 a. The man painting that picture is a real artist.

b. He is painting it extremely well.5 a. You are embarrassing the ladies. b. Your stories are embarrassing.6 a. John is promising you too much.

b. Nevertheless, he is a promising young man.

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Change the form of the phrase below so that the postmodifiers become premodifiers:

1 a house that has been built well2 the article which has been mentioned above3 an improvement that is needed badly4 a secret that has been kept closely5 wealth that has never been told6 cruelty such as we have never heard of before7 central heating fired by oil8 girls with blue eyes9 a man with red nose10 a censor with a heavy hand11 a tiger with teeth like sabres12 a boat with a flat bottom

3.8.5. Premodification by nouns

Nouns found in the premodifying slot are often so closely associated with the head that the whole is often considered as a compound. What tests may be invoked to distinguish them?

(1) a. his 'life storyb. a 'dish clothc. a 'Sussex man

(2) a. an ,iron 'rodb. ,life im'prisonmentc. a ,Sussex 'village

(3) a. She wants an oak table but I'd prefer a teak one.b. *That's not an oak tree but an elm one.

In most cases, there is a correspondence between pre-head nouns and postmodification by prepositional phrases, regardless of whether these are premodifying nouns or compound constituents:

(4) a. his life storyb. the story of his life

(5) a. a dish clothb. a cloth for dishes

(6) a. an iron rodb. a rod of iron

(7) a. a Sussex villageb. a village in Sussex

Why are some premodifying structures corresponding to post-modification by PPs are of doubtful acceptability or even unacceptable?

(8) a. the road to Lincolnb. the Lincoln road

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(9) a. this book on grammarb. this grammar book

(10) a. a man from the electricity companyb. ?an electricity company man

(11) a. passengers on board the shipb. ?ship passengers

(12) a. action in case of fireb. ?fire action

(13) a. the house beyond the churchb. / the church house

(14) a. two years before the warb. / two war years

(15) a. a tree by the streamb. *a stream tree

Phrases like (10-12) b. are slightly more likely to be used anaphorically, i.e. after the ex-plicit relationship has been fully clarified:

(16) A: Today a man from the electricity company called.B: Oh, so what did the electricity company man say?

Which important factor for the availability of premodification is illustrated below?

(17) a. The table in the corner was laid for the dinner. b. The corner table was laid for the dinner.

(18) a. The man in the corner spoke to me.b. *The corner man spoke to me.

Not all noun premodifiers have prepositional phrases as analogues:

(19) a. consumer goodsb. / goods for/of the consumer

In some cases both constructions are acceptable but have different meanings. Explain!

(20) a. a glass of wineb. a wine glass

(21) a. a box of matchesb. a matchbox

What are the main types of prepositional paraphrase of noun + noun combinations, applicable to both syntactic phrases and compounds?

SOURCE - RESULT(22) a. a metal sheet

b. a sheet of metal

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PART - WHOLE(23) a. a clay soil

b. soil with clay

PLACE(24) a. a top drawer

b. a drawer at the top

(25) a. a garden fenceb. a fence round the garden

TIME(26) a. a morning train

b. a train in the morning

PURPOSE(27) a. a dish cloth

b. a cloth for dishes

WHOLE - PART(28) a. a board member

b. a member of the board

Apart from the change in the degree of the explicitness, the constructions with pre-modifying nouns may differ from postmodifiers formally. What differences can you detect in the material below?

(29) a. officials in the Pentagonb. Pentagon officials

(30) a. life in a villageb. village life

(31) a. a chair with armsb. an armchair

(32) a. decay of teethb. tooth decay

(33) a. a girl (who is) ten years oldb. a ten-years-old girl

(34) a. inflation amounting to two digitsb. two-digit inflation

(35) a. a bill worth ten dollarsb. a ten-dollar bill

(36) a. a ten day absenceb. a ten-day absencec. a ten days absenced. a ten day's absence

The use of singular is found even with some pluralia tantum nouns:

(37) a. a sharpener for scissors

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b. a scissor sharpener(38) a. a press for trousers

b. a trouser press

However, the use of the plural attributive construction is on the increase, particularly in BrE:

(39) a. careers guidanceb. a grants committeec. a new systems analystd. an appointments officer

The motivation for keeping the plural may be to preserve semantic differences, i.e. to ex-clude the number ambiguity. These are so-called 'exclusive plurals':

(40) a. a career girl b. a careers girl

(40) a. a branch supervisorb. a branches supervisor

highly institutionalized plurals are retained:

(41) a. parks departmentb. the heavy chemicals industryc. Scotland Yard's Obscene Publications Squadd. the British Museum Prints and Drawings Gallery

Why some pluralia tantum keep their plural markers in pre-modification?

(42) a. a goods trainb. / a good train

Secondly, there are premodifying plurals denoting variety. There is a tendency for more generic terms to be plural and more specific terms to be singular:

(43) a. soft drinks manufacturer ['soft drinks as a kind of drinks']b. car manufacturer

(44) a. entertainments guide ['kinds of entertainment']b. theatre guide

There are cases of 'temporary institutionalizations', when things are mentioned for the second time:

(45) a. The idea of levels has been a major issue for a long time.b. the levels idea

A special instance of temporary institutionalization is the use of plurals in headlines to re-fer to topical issues:

(46) a. The Watergate tapes affairb. The White House tapes mystery

Convert each of the phrases below by using the pattern head + postmodifying phrase:

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1 water supply 11 graphite blocks2 a motor-bus service 12 ground-water possibilities3 a repair personnel 13 surface hydrology4 the life sciences 14 storage capacity5 fish protein production 15 the dam foundation6 a space probe 16 a diversion canal7 a radio signal 17 landing-gear components8 a power station 18 the impact strength9 peak power 19 the volume change10 price rise rate 20 accident preventing legislation

3.8.6. Premodification by genitive

Why are noun phrases like (1) are ambiguous? Explain.

(1) a. a fisherman's cottageb. an old man's bicycle

Comment on the difference in structure when further premodification is added:

(2) a. these nasty women's clothingb. this nasty women's clothing

Explain the grammaticality of multiple modification below:

(3) his old friend's delightful but crumbling cottage

(4) a. these nasty women's excentric clothingb. *this nasty women's excentric clothingc. this nasty excentric women's clothing

3.8.7. Premodification by adverb and other phrases

Heads of noun phrases may be premodified by adverb phrases and other types of phrases:

(1) She travelled to many far-away places.(2) a. round-the-clock service

b. an up-to-date timetable

Apart from a few institutionalized examples such premodifiers tend to be restricted to col-loquial language:

(3) an away match

3.8.8. Premodification by sentences

Cases of premodification by sentences are often quite colloquial:

(1) I visited his what-you-call-it cottage.

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Only a handful of such premodifiers have become institutionalized:

(2) a do-it-yourself job

3.8.9. Relative sequences of modifiers

When there are several premodifiers with a single head, there arises the question of their relative ordering:

(1) a. a thin dark faceb. a dark thin face

(2) a. my gas cigarette lighterb. *my cigarette gas lighter

(3) a beautiful little old blue ornament

Zones between the determiner and the head:

(4) a. I PRECENTRALII CENTRALIII POSTCENTRALIV PREHEAD

b. DET I II III IV HEAD

this first important long French novel

Prehead modifiers include the least adjectival and most nominal premodifiers:

(5) a. adjectives with a proper noun basis denoting nationality, provenance, and style:

American, Gothic

b. other denominal adjectives with a relation to nouns, often with the meaning 'consisting of', 'involving', or 'relating to':

annual, economic, medical, social, political

c. nouns:tourist (attraction), Yorkshire (women), college (student)

Adjectives in the prehead zone are generally non-central:

(6) a. all those medical studentsb. *all those very medical studentsc. *The examinations are more medical than...

What happens if items from the same group co-occur?

(7) a. local economic interestsb. the annual linguistic meeting

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Premodifiers in the prehead zone normally cannot be coordinated:

(8) a. the local waterboard authoritiesb. *the local and waterboard authorities

Which of the items in (5) comes closest to the head?

(9) a. tourist attractionsb. London tourist attractionsc. African tourist attractions

Postcentral zone (III) accomodates participles and colour and age adjectives:

(10) a. a carved Gothic doorwayb. some interlocking Chinese designsc. a black dividing lined. a green carved idole. an old blue dressf. a really very young physics student

Zone II includes all the central, gradable adjectives. Within the class of central adjectives, simple adjectives normally precede those derived from verbs, which in turn precede those derived from nouns:

(11) a. a tall attractive womanb. a long sleepy look

Within the class of simple, nonderived central adjectives, the order is largely arbitrary but adjectives denoting size, length, and height normally precede other items:

(12) a. a small round tableb. long straight hair

Emotive, evaluative or subjective adjectives in this central zone precede other central ad-jectives:

(13) a. beautiful warm weatherb. beautiful long hair

(14)

Det general age colour participle provenance noun denominal head

the small green carved jade idol

a grey crumbling Gothic church tower

In the precentral zone, we find:

(15) a. emphasizers: certain, definite, plainb. amplifiers: absolute, entire, extreme, perfectc. downtoners: feeble, slight

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The general pragmatic principle responsible for the order of premodifiers seems to be the subjective/objective polarity.

Different hypotactic relations of premodifiers may upset the normal order based on morphology and semantics:

(16) a. dirty British booksb. British dirty books

When two nouns premodify, one which corresponds to the head as object to verb will fol-low one relating to an adverbial relation:

(17) a. my gas cigarette lighterb. *my cigarette gas lighter

(18) a. a city bread deliveryb. *a bread city delivery

Where an adverbial + verb sequence has prior institutionalized status, this unit may be pre-modified by an object:

(19) a. a pressure cookerb. a vegetable pressure cooker

Join the following sentences, making a single noun phrase as subject, object or complement of the first verb.

1 You are an old man. You are very silly.2 Poisoning is a painful way to die. It is a slow way.3 It was a large cat. It was a Persian; it was blue; it was long-haired.4 Perhaps I'm a very vain woman. Perhaps I'm old. Perhaps I'm very arrogant.5 A handkerchief lay on the ground. It had spots on it, which were red and white. It was a man's. It was dirty.6 It was a thought-provoking play. It was quite entertaining.7 The herd consisted of Frisian cattle. They were black and white. Also Jersey cattle. They were light brown.8 The communities met (the Flemish-speaking community, also the French-speaking community).9 No one wants a 1960s computer. It is slow and clumsy. It is capricious. It is completely out-dated.10 He adopted an attitude. It was reckless. It was hysterical. The recklessness was unnatural.

From each of the following sets of data, form one phrase composed entirely of (determiners +) premodifiers + head word:

1 two chairs; made of oak; beautifully-carved2 your blue, old scarf; the silk one that you bought in Japan3 this pot - round, small, made of iron, used for cooking4 the murder that took place in the villa by the side of the river5 their masks to keep out the smog; neat, white6 stamps for insurance, several thousand, unused, stolen recently7 all these shells, walnut shells, shrivelled, broken8 a famous school, teaching medicine, in Scotland9 the cultivator that sells best in the country10 a cottage in the country, very picturesque though crumbling slightly; roof of thatch

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3.8.10. Multiple premodification

The three types of multiple modification observed with postmodifiers also apply to pre-modifiers.

(1) a. his brilliant bookb. his last bookc. his last brilliant bookd. his brilliant last book

(2) a. the new tableb. the new chairsc. the new table and chairs

(3) a. He writes long papers.b. He writes books.c. He writes long papers and books.d. He writes books and long papers.e. He writes excellent books and long papers.f. [excellent books] and [long papers]g. [excellent [books and long papers]]h. some excellent books and some long papersi. excellent books, and long papers

Expand the following phrase so as to make it clear what words are being modified by what:

1 a short, red-haired man2 a short-haired fox terrier3 a small, sparsely-furnished office4 a totally committed, self-effacing man5 pretty good entertainment expenses6 two attractive flat-roofed villas7 attractive two-bedroomed apartments8 elegant period town houses9 school careers adviser10 new, reasonably-priced leather jackets

Premodifiers. True or false?

1 Premodifiers are words that stand before the head in a noun phrase.2 Adjectives, participles, nouns and compounds are used as premodifiers.3 We do not use adverbs as premodifiers.4 With two or more premodifying adjectives we normally place and before the last.5 This does not apply if the adjectives describe different kinds of qualities.6 Premodifying adjectives themselves cannot be premodified.7 We often use nouns, including the genitive, to premodify a head noun.8 Genitives are premodifiers only when they have specific meaning.9 Intensifiers like rather can be premodifiers.10 Premodifying adjectives cannot stand in random order.

Identify the premodifiers in the noun phrases of these quotations.

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1 An Englishman's way of speaking absolutely classifies him. Alan J. Lerner, My Fair Lady2 The trouble with senior management I notice as an outsider, is that there are too many one-ulcer men holding down two-ulcer men's jobs. HRH Duke of Edinburgh3 All dress is fancy dress, is it not, except our natural skins. G.B. Shaw, Saint Joan4 Death is the only pure, beautiful conclusion of a great passion. D.H. Lawrence, Fantasia of the Unconscious5 Elgar's A Flat symphony is the musical equivalent of St Pancras Station. Sir Thomas Beecham

4. Determiners

4.1. Determinatives and determiners

NPs used in discourse have reference to the linguistic or situational context. This reference that a praticular NP has is indicated by its determinative element. This determinative function is typically realized by a set of closed-class items, or determiners, but it may also be realized by a phrase (e.g. 's genitive as complex determinative). These determinatives occur before the head, i.e. before its premodifiers, if there are any.

Three classes of determiners could be distinguished:

(1). a. Predeterminers (e.g. half, all, double)b. central determiners (e.g. articles)c. postdeterminers (e.g. cardinal and ordinal numerals, many, few, etc.)

These three classes have been established on the basis of their mutual combinalbility: only the order(s) a + b + c, a + b, b + c, and a + c, but not *c + b + a, or *a + c + b, etc.

4.2. Central determiners

What factors determine the use of articles with common nouns?

What is the phonetic realization of the definite and indefinite article?Articles are not the only possibility for determining nouns: there are items like some, any, this, that, etc.

Are central determiners mutually exclusive with each other? Consider the following data:

(2) a. *a the boyb. *a some boy

Thus, central determiners are in a choice relation (paradig-matic) and not in a chain rel-ation (syntagmatic one).

While articles have no other function independent of the noun they precede, most other de-terminers have the additional function of pronouns:

determiner function pronoun function

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(3) a. I want some ice. b. Here's some for you.(4) b. What's that thing? b. That's our computer.

There are certain cooccurrence restrictions between articles and common nouns:

(5) a. the penb. the pensc. the music

(6) a. a penb. *a pensc. *a music

(7) a. *0 penb. 0 pensc. 0 music

The central determiners can be divided into 5 types with respect to their cooccurrence with the noun classes a. singular count, b. plural count, and c. noncount nouns:

type sg count pl count noncount

(8) A + ++

B - ++

C + -+

D - +-

E + --

Type A: Determiners of singular count, plural count and noncount nouns

i. the definite article the:

(9) Where do you wnat me to put the chair/the chairs/the furniture?

ii. the possessive pronouns as determiners: my, your, our, her, its, their:

(10) Have you seen my suitcase/my suitcases/my luggage?

iii. the relative determiners whose and which:

(11) a. The lady whose car you hit was furious.b. Call again at 11, by which time the meeting should be over.

iv. the wh-determiners in -ever:

(12) a. Vote for whichever proposal you think most favourable.b. For whatever reason, don't be late again.c. Whosever idea this may be, I don't like it.

v. the interrogative determiners what, which, whose:

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(13) a. What colour?b. Which information?c. Whose ideas are these?

vi. the negative determiner no:

(14) a. We have no problem/problems with violence here.b. The sign said 'No parking'.

Type B: Determiners of plural count nouns and noncount nouns

i. zero article:

(15) a. There were people everywhere.b. Do you want to play chess?

ii. the assertive determiner some and the nonassertive determiner any:

(16) a. I want some rolls/bread, please.b. Have we got any rolls/bread for breakfast tomorrow?

Some is here unstressed. Strongly stressed some can occur also with certain singular count nouns, especially temporal nouns:

(17) "Some 'day he will get his scholarship.

When stressed some has the meaning 'a certain', it can also cooccur with other singular count nouns:

(18) 'Some odd person asked for you on the phone.

iii. the quantitative determiner enough:

(19) I haven't got enough equipment/tools to do the job.

Type C: Determiners of singular count nouns and singular noncount nouns.

The demonstrative determiners this and that:

(20) Have you read this/that book?

Type D: Determiners of plural count nouns.

The demonstrative determiners these and those:

(21) Have you seen these/those plays?

Type E: Determiners of singular count nouns:

i. the indefinite article a/an:

(22) Have you got a pen?

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ii. the universal determiner every and each:

(23) I want to interview every/each student individually.

Every is exceptional among central determiners in that it occasionally allows a genitive or possessive determiner to precede it:

(24) His every action shows that he is a very determined young man.(25) *a/the every action

iii. the nonassertive determiner either:

(26) You can park on either side.

iv. the negative determiner neither:

(27) Neither party accepted the arbitration proposal.

4.3. Predeterminers

Predeterminers, which can occur before certain central determiners, include:

i. all, both, and half

These predeterminers can occur before the articles, de-monstrative determiners and possessive determiners:

(28) a. all (the) girlsb. half an hourc. both those carsd. all my time

Since they are themselves quantifiers, they cannot cooccur with other 'quantitative' de-terminers like every, (n)either, each, some, etc.

In addition to functioning as predeterminers, all, both and half also function as pronouns, and may take partitive of-phrases.

All and both (but not half) can occur after the head, either immediately or in medial adverb position (i.e. be floated):

(29) a. All students were accepted.b. All the students were accepted.c. All of the students were accepted.d. The students were all accepted.e. ?They all were accepted.

ii. the multipliers like double, once, twice, three times, etc.:

(29) a. double the sumb. twice my salary

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Once, twice, and three, four, etc. times can cooccur with the determiners every, each, and less commonly per, to form distributive expressions of frequency with a temporal noun as a head:

(30) once a daytwice

every weekthreeeach monthfour times

yearfive decade

iii. the fractions (one-third, one-fifth):

(31) one-third (of) the time

The indefinite article can replace the one:

(32) a third of the time

iv. such, what:

(33) a. Such a surprise!b. What a fine day!

Predeterminers are mutually exclusive (except in the combination all such):

(34) a. all girlsb. both girlsc. *all both girls

(35) Although every attempt is made to find suitable foster-homes for the children, it cannot be assumed that all such placements will be successful.

4.4. Postdeterminers

Postdeterminers follow predeterminers or central determiners (if such determiners are present), but they precede any adjectives and other premodifying items. Postdeterminers include:

A. cardinal numeralsB. ordinal numerals and 'general ordinals' (like last, etc.)C. closed-class quantifiersD. open-class quantifiers

A. Cardinal numerals

One cooccurs with singular count nouns, and the other cardinal numerals cooccur with plural count nouns. In many contexts, one may be regarded as a stressed counterpart of the indefinite article:

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(36) I would like a/one photocopy of this article.

The indefinite article cannot cooccur with one, but the definite article can:

(37) a. *a one bookb. the one bookc. the two books

B. Ordinal numerals and 'general ordinals' (like last, etc.)

There is a one-for-one relation between ordinals and cardinals:

(38) a. one - firstb. two - secondc. three - third

The general ordinals include next, last, past, (an)other, additional and further.

Ordinals cooccur with count nouns and usually precede any cardinal numbers in the NP:

(39) a. the first two daysb. another three weeks

C. Closed-class quantifiers

Two groups of closed-class quantifiers can be distinguished:

i. many, (a) few, and several cooccur only with plural count nouns:

too many(40) There were only a few mistakes in your essay.

very fewseveral

ii. much and (a) little cooccur only with noncount nouns:

(41) a. She hasn't got much money.b. She has only got (a) little money.

In the case of (a) few and (a) little, there is positive/negative contrast according to whether the indefinite article is used or not:

(42) a. He wrote a few books. ['some, several']b. He wrote few books. ['not many']

D. Open-class quantifiers

This is a large class of phrasal quantifiers which function semantically like the closed-class quantifiers, but most of which consist of a noun of quantity (lot, amount, etc.) fol-lowed by of and often preceded by the indefinite article.

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Although the quantity nouns look like the head of a noun phrase, there are grounds for treating the whole expression as a complex determiner. Consider the fact that te verb regularly has number concord with the second noun, rather than the first in examples like:

(43) a. Lots of food was on the table.b. There was lots of food on the table.

Some of these expressions (e.g. plenty of) can cooccur with both noncount and plural count nouns:

plenty of(44) The room contained a lot of students/furniture.

lots of

Others are restricted to quantifying only noncount nouns, or plural count nouns:

great(45) The chest contained a good deal of money

(large) quantity(small) amount

(great)(46) The hall contained a (large) number of students.

(good)

It is usual for them to be modified by a quantifying adjective (obligatorily with deal).

In the following quotations, underline the noun phrases, identifying the class of the head (count, singular, non-count, etc.) and identifying the group of any determiners (article, demonstrative numeral, possessive, quantifier, wh-word, etc.).

1 There is only one religion though there are a hundred versions of it. (G.B.S. Plays Pleasant, Preface)2 Almost all our misfortunes in life come from the wrong notions we have... (Stendahl, Journal)3 The cruellest lies are often told in silence. (R.L. Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque)4 What an artist dies in me. (Emperor Nero, dying words)5 It is a terrible thing for a man to find out that all his life he has been speaking nothing but the truth. (Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest)

Join the sentences into one which includes a noun phrase containing all the stated or implied determiners.

1 You have three sisters. I like them all.2 You made a first offer. The final amount was double.3 You sold me some wine. Have you got any more?4 We won't do it today. We'll do it some day.5 Take the tablets each day. Take them three times.6 I have alot of firends. Only a few of them are Welsh.7 My next salary is due. Half of it is committed already.8 Two letters were illegible. They were the last.9 Now he has this latest problem. We've heard too much of it.

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10 There are two. Which one do you want?

Rewrite the following using few, a few, little or a little in place of the highlighted words, making any other changes necessary.

1 Hardly any women nowadays want to spend hours cooking, and even fewer want to spend all day in the kitchen.2 Some people say they're not interested in food, and a small number actually mean it.3 Crazy starvation diets offer hardly any prospect of success.4 It is all right to have some butter, but try to cut down the amount.5 Some people do overeat, but not as many as you might think.6 A small amount of salt is all right, isn't it?7 There's not much chance of keeping slim, unless you stick to a diet.8 Many people enjoy foreign restaurants, but not many people know anything about Tibetan food.

Insert appropriate articles.

Mr Burton was ___ first French teacher I had, and he was also ___ most extraordinary person in ___ school. He always wore ___ dirty sports jacket with ___ very large handker-chief in ___ top pocket. He was always ___ last to arrive in ___ room, usually about ten minutes after ___ rest of ___ school had begun ___ lessons. He was ____ fat, slow person with ___ very loud voice, who seemed to spend most of ___ lesson talking to himself, ___ best part of ___ lesson was when he fell asleep, which usually happened aboutonce ___ week. Once we managed to go out of ___ room quietly, and left him asleep at ___ desk auntil ___ next class arrived.

True or false?

1 Determiners form part of the premodification system in the noun phrase.2 Determiners usually follow adjectives.3 Some determiners are never used with others.4 Determiners can stand in random order.5 The count/noncount distinction affects our choice of determiners.6 There are three main groups of determiners.7 Post-determiners stand after their nouns.8 Articles and demonstratives are two sub-classes of determiners.9 Possessive pronouns are another sub-class.10 wh-determiners are part of the central group.

5. Adverb phrase

5.1. Grammatical functions of adverb phrases as adverbials

In terms of their grammatical function, adverb phrases can function as modifiers or as ad-verbials. As adverbials they, and other items functioning as adverbials, fall into 4 main categories:

a. Adjunctb. Subjunct

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c. Disjunctd. Conjunct

5.2. Adjuncts

More than other adverbials, adjuncts have grammatical properties resembling the sentence elements subject, complement, and object. Like them, adjuncts can be the focus of a cleft sentences:

(1) [Hilda]S helped [Tony]O [because of his injury]A.

(2) a. It was Hilda that helped Tony because of his injury.b. It was Tony that Hilda helped because of his injury.c. It was because of his injury that Hilda helped Tony.

The parallel extends to the potentiality for being the focus of subjuncts:

(3) a. Only Hilda helped Tony...b. Hilda helped only Tony...c. Hilda helped Tony only because of his injury.

The same applies to elicitation by question forms:

(4) a. Who helped Tony?b. Who(m) did Hilda help?c. Why did Hilda help Tony?

Irrespective of their position in a clause, adjuncts come within the scope of predication ellipsis or pro-forms, exactly like other post-operator elements. Therefore the following pairs are virtually synonymous:

(5) a. In 1981, Grace became a teacher and so did Hamish.b. Grace became a teacer in 1981 and Hamish became a teacher in 1981.

(6) a. Fred carefully cleaned his teeth but Jonathan didn't.b. Fred carefully cleaned his teeth but Jonathan didn't carefully clean his teeth.

Clearly, adjuncts are integrated into the clause structure.

Adjuncts come in a large number os subtypes: manner adj-uncts, process adjuncts, place adjuncts, instrument adjunct, time adjuncts, adjuncts of space, etc.

5.3. Subjuncts

The label subjunct is applied to adverbials which have, to a greater or lesser degree, a sub-ordinate role in comparison with other clause elements:

(7) This play presents visually a sharp challenge to a discerning audience.(8) He fairly SPRANG at her with his question.

Visually here refers to respect, i.e. it should be paraphrased by 'as a visual experience'. Fairly means in (8) 'it is no exaggeration to say'. Note that both items may also function as adjuncts in different sentences (He was treated fairly).

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Subjuncts are parenthetical elements, i.e. they ae not as firmly integrated into the clause structure. They are often, separated from the rest of the clause:

(9) From a personal point of view, he is likely to do well in this post.

Subjuncts do not respond to any of the above four tests for adjunct status. Sentences either move away from the original subjunct meaning or they are unacceptable:

(10) a. It is visually that this play achieves a sharp challenge... [a shift to adjunct reading, i.e. a different meaning obtains]

b. *It was fairly that he sprang at her...

Semantically, they come as viewpoint subjuncts, courtsey subjuncts, item subjuncts, emphasizer subjuncts, intensifiers and focusing subjuncts.

5.4. Disjuncts

Like subjuncts, disjuncts are grammatically distinct from adjuncts in terms of the four tests above:

(11) Sadly, the storm destroyed the entire tobacco crop.(12) Your son is not, in all frankness, succeeding in his present job.

We again note that formally one and the same item may be either disjunct or adjunct:

(13) Dr Fox sat sadly in her room.

Disjuncts are syntactically more detached and in some respects 'superordinate', i.e. they seem to have a scope that extends over the sentence as a whole. They seem to express comments on the sentence that hosts them, and come in two types: style disjuncts and content disjuncts. The former convey the speaker's comment on the style and form of what is being said and defining in some way the conditions under which 'authority' is being as-sumed for the statement:

(14) a. Personally, I don't approve of her.b. Strictly speaking, nobody is allowed in here.c. Very frankly, I am tired.

The latter type of disjuncts, content disjuncts, make an observation on the actual content of an utterance and on its truth conditions:

(15) a. To the disgust of his neighbours, Mr Forster neglects his children.b. Wisely, Mrs Jensen consulted her lawyer.c. To my regret, she did not seek nomination.

5.5. Conjuncts

Like subjuncts and disjuncts, the adverbials called conjuncts are gramamtically distinct from clause element-like adjuncts in not responding to the four tests above.

Conjuncts are more like disjuncts in having a relatively detached and 'superordinate' status when compared with other clause elements. Conjuncts have the function of conjoining or linking independent units rather than one of contributing another facet of information to a single integrated unit.

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(16) She may be unable to attend the meeting. You should nonetheless send her the agenda.

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