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Structures of Modification

This document discusses English syntax and the relationship between heads and modifiers in different syntactic structures. It covers: 1. The general role of a modifier is to broaden, qualify, select, change, describe or effect the meaning of the head. 2. The most common modifiers of nouns are adjectives, nouns and prepositional phrases. Verbs can also modify nouns. 3. Verbs can be modified by adverbs, nouns, adjectives and prepositional phrases. Adjectives as heads can be modified by qualifiers, adverbs, nouns, verbs and prepositional phrases. Adverbs as heads are typically modified by qualifiers, adverbs, nouns

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Nadia R
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416 views

Structures of Modification

This document discusses English syntax and the relationship between heads and modifiers in different syntactic structures. It covers: 1. The general role of a modifier is to broaden, qualify, select, change, describe or effect the meaning of the head. 2. The most common modifiers of nouns are adjectives, nouns and prepositional phrases. Verbs can also modify nouns. 3. Verbs can be modified by adverbs, nouns, adjectives and prepositional phrases. Adjectives as heads can be modified by qualifiers, adverbs, nouns, verbs and prepositional phrases. Adverbs as heads are typically modified by qualifiers, adverbs, nouns

Uploaded by

Nadia R
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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English Syntax

Head & Modifier


 A modifier’s meaning serves to broaden,
qualify, select, change, describe, or
effect the meaning of the head.

2
Noun as Head & Adjective as
Modifier
Adjective (the most common noun modifier)
 Before Noun (almost always) or between the
noun-determiner and noun: intense
concentration & his cheerful smile
 After Noun (very rarely)
- In certain fixed phrases: grace abounding &
darkness visible
- Adjective is part of a larger structure that as
a whole acts as a noun-determiner: a wish
intense beyond belief & a man taller than I
thought

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Noun as Head & Noun as
Modifier
 Before Noun
- Possessive construction: my father’s
house & that woman’s doctor
- Noun-adjunct construction: that father
image & that woman doctor

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Noun as Head & Noun as
Modifier cont’
 Appositive (after noun)
- May have a noun-determiner: his
brother, a doctor, was there too
- Close appositive (two nouns together):
the disease poliomyelitis (appositive)
the disease germ (noun-adjunct)
the product cellophane (appositive)
the product control (noun-adjunct)

6
Noun as Head & Verb as
Modifier
Verbs are nearly always marked in one of
three ways
1. By present-participle inflection {-ing}
2. By past participle inflection {-ed}, or
3. By the infinitive-marker to

 Before Noun: running water, baked


potatoes
 After Noun: water running in the street,
potatoes baked slowly, money to burn

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Noun as Head & Verb as
Modifier Cont’
 A pleasing table (-ing adj)
We can put ‘very’ before pleasing and
we cannot place pleasing after table.
 A rotting table (-ing verb)
we can move rotting after table.
 A dining table (-ing noun)
we can neither put ‘very’ before dining
nor move it after table.

8
Noun as Head & Adverb as
Modifier
 Always after Noun
The people here
Heavens above
Europe now
His speaking rapidly

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Prepositions
 Simple P: only one base with a single
morpheme (after/in/up), two morphemes
(before/until/toward), three morphemes
(against/considering/regarding)
 Compound P: two or more free bases
(along with/out of/without)
 Phrasal P: three = simple p + a noun +
another simple p (in regard to/in front of/
on behalf of)

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Pattern of Noun-Modifiers
1. Noun (head): rate
2. noun-adjunct: birth rate
3. Adjective: high birth rate
4. PP: high birth rate in America
5. Adverb: high birth rate in America today
6. Noun determiner: the high birth rate in
America today

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Verb as Head
 Adverb after verb:
he works successfully
he step inside
 Adverb before verb:
he successfully tried
 Adverb between auxiliary and verb or
between two auxiliaries:
he has sometimes seen
he has seldom been heard
it may even rain
13
Verb as Head
 Nouns as modifiers of verbs, follow the
verb and may have noun-determiners:
he walks this way
he saw a mile

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Verb as Head
 Adjectives as modifiers of intransitive
verbs: the children ran wild
the dog went crazy

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Verb as Head
 Verbs as modifiers of verbs
- Present participle:
the children came running
- The infinitive (to – base form):
they live to eat

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Verb as Head
 Prepositional phrases as modifiers:
he spoke about his work

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Adjective as Head
 Qualifiers (very, rather, etc) as modifiers:
very good
 Adverbs as modifiers:
the widely famous singer
 Nouns as modifiers: stone cold coffee
 Verbs as modifiers: boiling hot, tight shut
 Prepositional p as modifiers:
green as grass, stronger than ever

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Adverbs as Head
Adverbs modifiers are:
 Qualifiers: very easily
 Adverbs: far away
 Nouns: that easily
 Prepositional P: away for a week

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Function words as Head
 Qualifiers: rather too strong

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