The English Noun Phrase .doc

8/14/2019 The English Noun Phrase .doc

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Georgeta Beatrice Ilies Introducing the English Noun Phrase Lecture 2

Post-determiners

1. Post determiners

Post determiners are pre-modifiers that occur after determiners. In discussing post-

determiners, we refer to:

ordinals,

cardinals,

uantifiers !whether closed s"stem or open class# as well as

pre-modification $" means of open class items !ad%ecti&es, participles, the 's

geniti&es, nouns, ad&er$ial phrases and sentences#.

1.1. The ordinals

(rdinals include ordinal num$ers !first, second, 9th

# as well as other, another, next, last.)he" fall into two su$groups, in that some of them !first, next, last, other, another# accept

co-occurance with cardinal numerals andfew$efore plural count nouns, while others!2nd, 3rd,and the li*e# modif" singular count nouns onl" and conseuentl" cannot $e

followed $" uantifiers.

+ompare The next two weeks, my last two examsthose other, few books

another two sandwiches (two sandwiches more)

this second exam

that fourth pedestrian

my third year of study1.2. Cardinals+ardinal num$ers include one!with sing. counts onl"# and two, three, fourwhich are

alwa"s associated with plural counts.

There is but one solution to this problem - do harakiri!ll the "#9 $%&s consider themsel'es trustworthy representati'es of the people.

+ardinals alwa"s follow determiners $ut precede ad%ecti&es. e ha&e ne&ertheless to

$ear in mind that the determiners can sometimes $e omitted.e danced with the three pretty mith&s *irls at the party, which outra*ed his

wife

1.3. Quantifiers

uantifiers, li*e cardinals, also follow determiners, $ut precede ad%ecti&es:e danced with se'eral pretty *irls at the party !closed class item#

e danced with a lot of pretty *irls at the party!open class item#

+ardinals and uantifiers are mutuall" eclusi&e.+e danced with three a lot of pretty *irls

1.3.1. Classification of quantifiers

/. +L(0E1 00)E3 4/N)I5IE60man" !more, most#

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few !fewer, fewest#

little !less, least#

se&erale There aren&t too many boys in this class

tried to read the book se'eral times, but in 'ain

.ew thin*s are known about /haucere earns too little for such a hu*e family.

Notes:

7. se&eral, man", few, a few alwa"s modif" plural count nouns, while little

and a little modif" mass nouns.

2. a few !as in 0a few books and a little !a little music# are not to $e

considered to $e made up of the indefinite article a 8 few and little respecti&el",as the indefinite article cannot occur with plural count nouns, nor with mass nouns

+a books1 +a music

9. there is semantic difference $etween few and little on the one hand, which

are alwa"s negati&e in meaning, and a few and a little on the other hand, whichare either colourless epressions or with positi&e orientation.

+ompare he has few books not many books

he has a few books some (neutral)he spent little time at the hairdresser&s

he spent a little time at the hairdresser&s. the uantifier little must $e properl" distinguished form the homon"mousad%ecti&e; as the latter, meaning small, has no co-occurrence restrictions with

numerals or count nouns !three little *irls#. man" and few can $e used not onl" attri$uti&el", $ut also predicati&el".

+ompare Their many friends!attri$uti&e use#

Their friends, who are many!predicati&e#?. much ne&er occurs with articles, conseuentl" it is not a uantifier $ut a

determiner itself.

B. (PEN - +L/00 4/N)I5IE60

)he" are uantifiers consisting of heads li*e lot, deal, numberand an of-phraseas a

post-modifier.+lose s"stem uantifiers and open-class uantifiers and, alongside of them, the

determiners, in one word all uantitati&e epressions are alwa"s mutuall" eclusi&e.

E ha'e many friends

+ ha'e many a lot of friends4e had much spare time

4e had a little spare time

4e had a *reat deal of spare time

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(pen class uantifiers fall into three groups. )hus, some of them !plent of, a lot of, lots

of!can occur with either plural count nouns or with mass nouns.

+ompare plenty of friendsplenty of money

Both epressions are uite informal.

(thers !a "reat deal of, a "ood deal of, a lar"e quantit of, a small quantit of, alar"e#small amount of$# can onl" occur with mass nouns.

E 5ou need a lar*e amount of money to start a business

e spent a *reat deal of time in the library)he third group can $e used with plural count nouns onl" !a great no of, a large@good

num$er of, a great man"#

1.%. Pre-modification

'PremodificationA is a term used in some models of grammatical description to refer to

all the items which occur $efore the head of a phrase &$!.'eterminers and ad(ecti)es

are the main classes occurring in premodif"ing position in English, $ut there are se&eral

other categories in&ol&ed in the full description of this comple area, e.g. uantifiers,intensifiersA !+r"stal, 7CC2:2?#

1.%.1. *pen class pre-modification

Leical and grammatical items of a wide range and indefinite compleit" and

interrelationship can precede a noun head. /s we ha&e alread" seen, the noun head can $e

preceded $" an ad(ecti)e,a participle, an s "eniti)e, another noun,an ad)erbial or

another clause.

1.%.1.1. Pre-modification b ad(ecti)es

/d%ecti&es premodif"ing a noun head are uite freuentl" premodified themsel&es,especiall" when the" come right after the determiner.

+ompare is awful beha'iour

is incredibly awful beha'iouris alto*ether incredibly awful beha'iour

Not all intensifies are ne&ertheless to $e used with pre-modif"ing ad%ecti&es. )hus the

predicati&e phrase in 6is beha'iour that was so awful7,tends to $ecome 6his awfulbeha'iour7rather than 6his so awful beha'iour7. )he latter sounds at least affected, if

not e&en aw*ward.

ith indefinite determiners, 'sowill normall" $e replaced $" 'such+6! beha'iour which was so awful7will normall" $ecame 6such an awful beha'iourD

ote:

'socan $e preser&ed, $ut if this $e the case, there will occur changes in word order,in that the ad%ecti&e will $e placed in front of the determiner. )he construction is

too perfect in English not to sound rather $oo*ish:

o awful a beha'iouro pretty a *irl

)ransferring clause negation to a structure of post modification is possi$le as well, $ut

onl" under certain circumstances !$" which we normall" mean N() 8 intensifier or

negati&e affi#. )hus, e&en if the constructions:

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6er face is not too kind7or

6er face isnot 'ery kind7or

6er face is not unkind7do allow of formations li*e 6er not too kind face7, 6er not'ery kind face7 or6er not unkind face7respecti&el", there seems to eist uite a lot of

impro&isation in such constructions, and this will ma*e most nati&e spea*ers feel li*e

rephrasing and sa"ing 6er rather unkind face7, 6er alto*ether unkind face7 or6erkind face7 respecti'ely

%!

3ost pre-modif"ing ad%ecti&es can $e used predicati&el" as well.

+ompare his new car the etremel" interesting article

his car is new the article is etremel" interesting)here are howe&er ad% that do not accept predicati&e use. e can spea* of the onl"

sur&i&orD $ut we canAt sa" the sur&i&or is onl"D

a mere child - a child is mere

sheer coincidence - the coincidence was sheer out utter disappointment - our disappointment is uttered

pure 3athematics - 3athematics is pure

Note: )hese ad%ecti&es do not accept intensification $" means of &er" and the

li*e. e spea* of a mere childD $ut we canAt spea* of an altogether mere childD.

(ur utter disappointment - our etremel" disappointmentD

It is onl" due to homon"m" that sheer and pure accept of intensification $" &er"

Note:the ad%ecti&es ha&e different meaning in:

/ &er" sheer mountain slope F a$rupt/n etremel" sheer mountain slope F a$rupt

or/ &er" pure mountain air

/n altogether pure mountain air

)here eist other ad%ecti&es !and here we include ad% li*e nasal, oral, mathematical or

poetic F consisting of poetr"# which cannot $e used predicati&el" and do not accept of

intensification or gradation either. hen we sa" eatsA poetic outputD F eatsAs outputof poetr"D, and not eatsAs a$solutel" poetic outputD

her nasal ca&it" F the ca&it" of her nose

her nasal pronunciation F through the nose her a$solutel" nasal pronunciation

Note:some of these ad% can $e used predicati&el" in technical discourse.

)here eist another group of ad% which sometimes accept predicati&e use and at othertime the" donAt. /ll depends upon the uses. Normall" the" inhi$it predic when the"


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modif" a deleted noun head. )hus: topless in / topless $athing suit can $e used

predicati&el". )he $athing suit she is wearing is topless.D )he same ad%ecti&e will not

accept of pred use in phrases such as Da topless girlD, a topless $eachD, a topless $arD.In such instances the ad% in uestion modifies the deleted noun $athing suit and not the

present nouns girls, $each, or $ar. )he meanings are: a girl which is wearing a topless

$athing suitD; a $each where girls wear topless $athing suitsD; a $ar where waitresseswear topples $athing suitsD

Predicati&el" use of the ad% is also $loc*ed when the noun head is agential and the

ad%ecti&e refers to the acti&it". +ompare the &alue of good in:a good teacher F the teacher is good

a good runner - does not impl" that the runner is good, onl" that

he runs

well(r the &alues of the ad% hard in: a hard nut F the nut is hard

a hard wor*er F he wor*s hard

)here is, of course, no restriction in so far as predication is concerned, where the noun

can onl" refer to acti&it". LetAs ta*e the &alue of good in: a good writing - the writing isgood.

Non predica$ilit" with ad%ecti&es is also meet with in formulaic epressions , such as: m"graceful than*s, m" hum$le apologies, new in&ention, a nice girl ! not that m" than*s

are graceful or m" apologies are hum$le or the girl is nice#, poor fellow, intrepid

eplorer !not that the fellow is poor or the eplorer is intrepid#

P/*'00CT0* 4 PT0C0P56

in" participle

Pre-modif"ing -ing participle fall into 2 groups, the di&ision $eing highl" dependent on

the potentialit" of the participle to indicate a permanent or characteristic feature. )husthere eist -ing participle that not onl" accept of $eing used as pre-modifiers $ut ha&e

e&en $ecome grada$le.

/ charming girl - a &er" charming girlan interesting no&el - an etremel" interesting no&el

shoc*ing news - !a# most shoc*ing news

)he participles can $e used as pre-modifiers and "et will disallow of gradation:

changing weather - &er" changing weathercharging ca&alr" - etremel" charging ca&alr"

the roaring lion - the most roaring lion

It is worth $earing in mind that the part denotes a permanent feature. )here eistparticiples, whether -ing or -er, that can pre-modif" certain nouns and "et seem aw*ward

when pre-modif"ing others.

+ompare a &er" reassuring smilea &er" reassuring man - odd sounding

e can spea* of an etremel" shoc*ed epression $ut not ofD an etremel" shoc*ed

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)his reluctance deri&es from the fact that a man canAt ha&e reassurance or shoc*ed

attri$uted permanentl" to him, whereas a smile or epression can. Li*ewise we will spea*

of a smiling faceD rather than a smiling manD, e&en though the last is $" no meansimpossi$le.

a wondering manD on the other hand, $uilt on the pattern of the perfectl" accepta$le a

wondering minstrelD is unaccepta$leIf there is some am$iguit" in the phrase giggling girlsD, in that it can mean either

girls who giggle a lotD or girls that are gigglingD on the one hand, there is a$solutel" no

am$iguit" in an entertaining personD, on the other hand, $ecause the latter will denote aperson who is good at entertaining others, and ne&er a person who is now telling %o*es.

)he article appearing in front of the participle is &er" important in that the

indefinite article normall" refers to something ha$itual or permanent, while the definite

article denotes something specific or temporar". )hus, while the sentence the $ar*ingdog is 3r. Blac*D, seems somewhat strange, the sentence I was frightened $" a $ar*ing

dogD sounds li*e perfectl" good English. e should not impl" ne&ertheless that a pre-

modif"ing -ing participle cannot and will not ta*e the definite article, especiall" in

instances where the pre-modified noun has alread" $een mentioned in the contet.I saw 2 dogs in the "ard. (ne $ar*ed fiercel" and the other one *ept silent. I was

told lateron that the $ar*ing dog was 3r. Blac*As and that he had ne&er $itten an"one, so

that I

shouldnAt ha&e feared him.!is perfectl" good English#)he indefinite article can sometimes $e used genericall", e&o*ing the same generalit" and

permanence as the definite article. +onsider the sentences:

/ competing athlete needs his supportersA encouragement

)he competing athlete needs his supportersA encouragement-ing participle are &er" freuentl" used as pre-modif"ing elements in technical English as

well as in what we call %ournalese

de&eloping countriesemerging countries

&oting countries

a partiall" hearing child

-en participle

3ost of the things that ha&e $een pointed to in so far as -ing participle premodifications

is concerned also appl" to premodif" with -en participles. In addition to what we saida$o&e, ne&ertheless, there rise other issues. )hus acti&e -en participle are rarel" used as

premodifiers. Eamples such as a retired officerD, a fallen angelD or the &anished

treasureD are clearl" eceptional when compared with an arisen pro$lemD, or thearri&ed guestsD.

If the acti&e participle is modified $" means of an ad&er$ial, ne&ertheless, it will $e far

more freuentl" met with in premodification. +ompareour gone friends a read person

our far-gone friends a widel"-read person

an arisen pro$lem the arri&ed guests

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a recentl"-arisen pro$lem the alread"-arri&ed guests

+ompare also the phrases:

H the married couple H the settled colonists the %ust-married couple the newl"-settled colonists

/s a matter of fact this rule applies to some passi&e -en part as well. +ompare

H a told %o*e H a descri$ed house an artfull"-told %o*e a minutel" descri$ed house

told tales Hdone eercises twice-told tales well done eercises

In so far as passi&e part are concerned, one most discriminate $etween predicati&e

passi&es and agential@true passi&es !F a passi&e where eisted an agent who did the

action#)hus we spea* of predicati&e or non-agential passi&es in :

complicated machiner" F intricate, not it was complicated $" someone

a $orn mathematician F natural mathematician

a written eam F not an eam written $" someonetrou$led water the murdered man

/gential participles will admit of pre-modif"ing use onl" if the" are assigned permanentreference

+ompare a lost purse !still lost, permanent state# a damaged ship

a found purse a $eaten trac* a done thing a stolen car

a *idnapped child !which was not found# the defeated arm"

In all these instances the -en part refers to a feature, which is permanent or c&asi-

permanent. (n the other hand, when no permanent feature can $e assigned, no -en pre-modification can $e found.

a $ought car; a fed child; a dusted &ase; a led arm"

hen the pre-modif"ing part is in its turn pre-modified there are no restrictions as to thegrammatical accepta$ilit" of such phrases;

a $ought car a led arm"

a recentl"-$ought car a s*illfull"-led arm"

a fed child her esta$lished reputation

an ill-fed child her well -esta$lished reputation

a dusted &ase H the mentioned article

a properl"-dusted &ase the a$o&e mentioned article

Note- a h"phen is used $etween the ad& and the participle

P-/*'00CT0* 4 70T086

+an $e of 2 t"pes: with head and without head

Pre-modification b 7eniti)es 9ith headfreuentl" leads to am$iguities. / noun

phrase li*e ohnAs paintingD ma" ha&e se&eral interpretations. )hus the G ma" $e

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considered to $e possessi&e t"pe !Fthe paintings owned $" ohn# or of the o$%ecti&e t"pe

!F the paintings representing ohn# or of the origin t"pe !F the paintings made $" ohn#.

Li*ewise, the phrase a fisherman cottageD ma" denote a cottage $elonging to afishermanD or a cottage that used to $elong to a fishermanD or a cottage resem$ling

that of a fishermanD.

If we thin* of the phrase an old lad"As hatD it can $ear se&eral meanings - a hat$elonging to an old lad" - an old hat meant to $e worn $" a lad" - a hat meant to $e worn

$" elderl" lad"

)he am$iguit" eiting a$out the phrase gi&en a$o&e is partiall" lifted when the phrase ishear rather than seen, in that stress will $e of much assistance in oneAs attempt to

decode the message. )hus the stress pattern 'an old lad"As hatA denotes either a hat

$elonging to an old lad" or a hat meant to $e worn $" an elderl" lad", while 'an old

lad"As hatA can onl" denote an old hat meant to $e worn $" ladies. In longer contets,e&en the am$iguit" of the former stress pattern can $e $rought down.

)he am$iguit" which eists around the eamples gi&en a$o&e is $rought a$out $" the

different of deciding whether the determiner refers to the head;

a JfishermanAsK cottage F a cottage li*e a fishermanAsor to the geniti&e proper

a JfishermanKAs cottage F a cottage $elonging to a fishermanIf the determiner refers to the G, which is the more usual interpretation, then the

intermediate modifiers placed $etween the determiner and the G will necessaril" modif"

the G onl". )hus the phrase those filth" menAs %o*esD is not am$iguous, in that thead%ecti&e filth" can onl" modif" the G manAs and the reading will $e the %o*es of those

filth" menD. If one means to suggest that it is not the men $ut rather the %o*es that are

filth", one will sa" either those menA filth" %o*esD or those filth", menAs %o*esD ma*ing

sure that the pause $etween the ad% filth" and the gen menAs is long enough to ma*e an"misinterpretation impossi$le.

Li*ewise , the phrase these nast" womenAs clothingD can onl" mean the clothing

of these nast" women. If we mean to suggest that it is the clothing that is nast", and it$elongs to these women, will use different word order, namel" these womenAs nast"

clothingD. 0ometimes there is incompati$ilit" $etween the determiner and the G. If so an"

intermediate modifier will $e interpreted as referring to the head. )hus the phrase thisnast" womenAs clothingD can $e assigned onl" one possi$le meaning this nast" clothing

designed@$elonging to womenD

Pre-modification b 7eniti)es 9ithout head1eletion of the head, especiall" when itdenotes premises or esta$lishment is uite freuent and it will lead to no

misunderstandings or misinterpretations in that a phrase li*e 0ee "ou at 3ar"As normall"

means 0ee "ou where 3ar" li&es, at her place, residence. )he phrase at 3ar"AsD willne&er e&er denote a hotel room where 3ar" can $e sta"ing for a couple of da"s, $ut

which cannot $e ta*en for her formal residence. If we mean the hotel room weAll sa" 0ee

"ou in 3ar"As roomD.B" contrast, the phrase 0ee "ou at the oculistAsD will mean the place where the

oculist conducts his $usiness, and not the place where he li&es.

)he same can $e true for 0ee "ou at +oraAsD where at +oraAs denotes a shop.


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Note:)he phrase at +oraAs is what we normall" call a two-wa" am$igous

one, in that the head shop will not normall" $e omitted unless the spea*er

*nows for sure that the listener will decode the message with no difficult".

0ometimes the apostrophe is dropped and the head is deleted as well

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P-/*'00CT0* 4 *:6

3ost noun pre-modifiers correspond to prepositional phrase post modifiers. 0ometimesthe" come to $e so closel" associated with the head that can $e regarded as part of a

compound noun.

E a Geometr" test F a test in Geometr"a detecti&e stor" F a stor" a$out a detecti&e@detecti&es

an armchair F a chair with arms

the *itchen ta$le F the ta$le in the *itchenthe corner shop F the shop at the corner

the garden fence F the fence of the garden

the $athroom door F the door of the $athroom

a hair ri$$on F a ri$$on for the haira piano and orchestra concerto F a concert forM

owe&er, not all nominal pre-modifications can $e accounted for $" means of

prepositional phrase post modification. )here are instances where the nominal pre-

modification stands for a coordination, an opposition, sometimes e&en for a post-modif"ing su$ clause:

/ fighter-$om$er is a plane which is $oth a fighter and a $om$er/ dancer choreographer is a dancer who is $oth a dancer and a choreographer

/ writer-producer is a person who is a writer and a producer.

+olonel Ghadaffi means Ghadaffi was a colonel.Oice president Gore F Gore is &ice-president of the 40/

/ pedigree-dog F a dog holding a good pedigree

/ $ric* cottage F a cottage made of $ric*

)he appointments and promotions committee F the committee responsi$le forma*ing appointments.

otes

7. when used as premodifiers plural nouns normall" $ecome singular

a chair with arms F an armchair

a shelf for $oo*s F $oo*shelfa role of pa"ments F a pa"ment role

a collector stamp F a stamp collector

0ingulari=ation of the premodif"ing noun is common e&en with nouns that otherwise

ha&e nosingular

a scissors sharpener F a sharpener for scissors

the trouser $ag F the leg of the trousersa spectacle case F a case for spectacles

owe&er common, this tendenc" is ne&ertheless not uni&ersal, since there are

instances, someof them uite hand", where the plural are *ept:

the promotions committee

the arms race

a sa&ings $an*

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a mum$s epidemic F an epidem" of mum$s

a good train F a train meant for transportation of goods

a custom officer@official2. In some instances we find oursel&es in dou$t as to the stress pattern to $e used. In

other words we are not eactl" sure whether we should stress the head or the

premodifier. e cannot find eplanations to account for the fact that the head isstressed in an iron rodD $ut the premodif"ing noun carries stress in a lighthouse or

air-hostess. /lso it is practicall" impossi$le to eplain the difference $etween pot

luc*D &ersus pot flowerD. )here are situations e&en when $oth stress patterns arepossi$le. 0ometimes with different connotations, $ut in most su$stances with the

same meaning.

BE /E

wee* end 'wee*-endapple-'sauce 'apple-sauce

lawn 'tennis 'lawn tennis

field 'marshal 'field marshal

In some instances there is different $etween the two: the iron 'gates - the 'IronGates

a flower 'pot - a 'flower pot9. 0uch nominal pre-modifier is characteri=ed $" relati&e permanence. If a phrase li*e

the corner treeD is totall" accepta$le, $ut one li*e Dthe corner girlD is not, this will

$e accounted for $" the fact that the tree is alwa"s to $e seen at the corner, which isnot the case in so far as the girl is concern. Notice the uestiona$le character of the

corner $eggarD - accepta$le if he is alwa"s to $e found at the corner.

/:5T0P5 P-/*'00CT0*

)here eist 9 t"pes of multiple pre-modification

multiple pre-mod with single head

pre-mod with multiple head

pre-mod with modified modifier

/. 3ultiple premod with single head

(ne and the same head can ha&e 2 !or e&en more# pre-modifiers

his pla"

his last pla"his successful pla"

his etremel" successful pla"his last etremel" successful pla"his last etremel" successful historical pla"

notes

7. E&en if there is no grammatical meaning as to the No of pre-modifiers, longseuences are uncommon and will sound aw*ward. +ompare

his last etremel" successful and &i&idl" portra"ing a $"-gone epoch historical

pla"-dou$t

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his last historical pla", etremel" successful and &i&idl" portra"ing a $"-gone

epoch.2. 3ultiple premod follows a recursi&e process. It follows therefore that word order is

etremel" important. +ompare

his last etremel" successful pla"

his etremel" successful last pla" the former mean that of the se&eral etremel" successful pla"s written $" the

gu" in uestion we are spea*ing a$out the last one

the latter, on the other hand does sa" that his last pla" was etremel"

successful, $ut will $" no means ma*e it clear whether the other pla"s weresuccessful or not.

)here eist instances where changes in word order do not $ring a$out changes in

meaninghis forceful lucid eplanation

his forceful and lucid eplanation

his lucid forceful eplanation

a &er" much-epected, much wor*ed-for &ictor"

a &er" much epected and much wor*ed-for &ictor"

a much wor*ed-for, &er" much epected &ictor"

hen the pre-modifiers are felt to $e mutuall" eclusi&e, coordination $" and will

normall" $e replaced $" coordination $" $ut. +omparea new and ugl" $louse H

a new $ut ugl" $louse

B. Pre-modification with multiple head

/ pre-modif element can refer either to one head onl" or to more than onered roses and tulips !Fthe roses and tulips are red#

$eautiful red roses and tulips

1espite the am$iguit" of $eautiful red roses and tulipsD !we cannot tell for sure whetherthe pre-modifiers# appl" to $oth roses and tulips or onl" to the former, we will normall"

assume that the" appl" for $oth. If, on the other hand, we wish to suggest that $eautiful

and red refer onl" to roses we will normall" ma*e use of re-ordering and we will sa"

tulips and $eautiful red roses or we will introduce some elements meant to disam$iguatethe phrase: $eautiful red roses and a few tulipsD or $eautiful red roses and a $ranch of

tulipsD. )he opposition of a few , a $ranch ma*es it clear to us that the tulips are neitherred nor $eautiful.If, on the other hand , we wish to suggest that $eautiful applies to $oth roses and tulips,

whereas red applies to roses onl", we will sa" $eautiful tulips, red roses. hen we wish

to sa" that red onl" modifies roses and $eautiful applies to tulips onl" we will re-order thephrase once again, and we will do it in such a wa" as to disallow an" am$iguit": $eautiful

tulips and red roses

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+. Pre-modification with 3odified 3odifier

/s we ha&e alread" noticed, instances where a pre-modif"ing element is in its turnmodified are far from $eing scarce. +onsider the following chain

$eautiful roses

incredi$l" $eautiful rosesaltogether incredi$l" $eautiful roses

)he pre-modif"ing ad% $eautiful is itself pre-modif $" the ad& incredi$l" which in its turn

can $e su$%ect to pre-modification $" means of the ad&er$ altogether.ith Geniti&es used as pre-modifiers, e&en though there is no theoretical limit as to the

no of pre-modif"ing Geniti&es to $e need, there eist a practical limit of 2 such pre-

modifiers, an"thing more $eing felt as aw*ward, difficult to comprehend and st"listicall"

o$%ectiona$le.ohnAs car

ohnAs $rotherAs car

HohnAs wifeAs $rotherAs car

HohnAs wifeAs godfatherAs $rotherAs carohnAs wifeAs godfatherAs neigh$orAs $rotherAs car

ohnAs wifeAs godfatherAs neigh$orAs $rotherAs elder sonAs carIn such instances the $est solution is to ma*e com$inations $etween 's G and

prepositional phrase.

In so far as noun pre-modifiers are concerned, there eist no such limitation. / noun pre-mod can itself $e pre-modified $" either an ad% or a noun and the ad% or noun used as pre-

modifiers can similarl" $e pre-modified in its turn

the phone num$er there is no am$iguit" a$out

an"the office phone num$er of them

the ta office phone num$er

the propert" ta office phone num$erthe house propert" ta office phone num$er

notes

7. If an ad%ecti&e or a participle were to appear in this last phrase it would ha&e to $eplaced right after the determiner. Placing of the ad%ecti&e or participle right after the

determiner will not normall" lead to am$iguit", $ecause such an ad%ecti&e or

participle will normall" $e interpreted as relating directl" to the head, rather than to

the first noun according after it. -that unforgetta$le house propert" ta office phonenum$er.

2. we should not infer howe&er that o$scurit" cannot eist or that noun premodifiers can

modif" onl" the net following noun. Let ta*e us the phrase 5rench onion soup. )hephrase denotes, for all those familiar with cuisine an onion soup made a la 5rancaise.

/n"one who is not familiar with cuisine will run the ris* of interpreting it as soup

made from 5rench onions or e&en 5rench soup made of onion6omanian plum$ $rand"

F 6omanian $rand" made from plum$s

FH Brand" made from 6omanian plum$s

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5T08 6Q:C * P-/*'006

)he disposition of premodif"ing items is etremel" important.

+ompare 0ill" imm"As %o*es - imm"As sill" %o*es

)here is a clear difference $etween the two, in that the 7 means the %o*es told $" sill"imm", while the 2 means sill" %o*es told $" imm".

+ompare dirt" British $oo*s - British dirt" $oo*s

7F British $oo*s which are dirt" 2F o$scene $oo*s)o a&oid am$iguit" there are se&eral rules which are to $e *ept in mind:

7. the item most closel" related to the head is to $e placed closest to it

a plastic $ag Qa shopping $ag Q a plastic shopping $ag

m" own *e" Q

m" door *e" Q m" own door *e"2. de-nominal ad%ecti&es whose meaning uite often is relating to, consisting of,

in&o*ing and to $e placed right $efore the head.

3onotonous life Q

social life Q monotonous social life

the onl" part" Q

the political part" Q the onl" political part"

a one-part" s"stem Q

a political s"stem Q a one-part" political s"stem9. noun pre-modifiers come right $efore the de-nominal ad%ecti&es

monotonous social life FR a monotonous &illage social life. when there are 2 nominal pre-modifiers the one corresponding to the head as o$%ect to

&er$ will $e placed closer to the head than to the one relating to material or agenc"a detergent container Q

a card$oard container Q a card$oard detergent container

ohnAs cigarette lighter QohnAs gas lighter Q ohnAs gas cigarette lighter


15/16

a Gothic doorwa" Q

a car&ed doorwa" Q a car&ed Gothic doorwa" the ad% of colour is placed $efore the participle

a car&ed tom$stone Q

a white tom$stone Q a white car&ed tom$stone

pin* paper Q

wrapping paper Q pin* wrapping paper the ad% of colour is in turn preceded $" the ad% of age

a $lac* read"-made dress Q

an old read"-made dress Q an old $lac* read"-made dress

the ad% of age will $e preceded $" the large class of ad%ecti&es that can $e designated asgeneral

a $eautiful !little# old $lac* read"-made dress

>. there are uite a num$er of situations of pre-modifier order that cannot $e accountedfor grammaticall" wh" do we prefer $eautiful long hairD to long $eautiful hairDH.

h" is a long straight trainD more commonl" met with than straight long hairHD.h" is a small round ta$leD preferred to a round small ta$leHD. h" does a fi&e

shagging dogD seem $etter than a shagg" fierce dogDH. h" is an angr" tall manD

not as good as a tall angr" manDH / $rief hostile glanceD and not a hostile $riefglanceD. )"pical large countr" housesD not large t"pical countr" housesD. )he onl"

answer we can pro&ide to answer the list of uestions a$o&e lies in the fact that our

preference for one of the word orders seems to mirror etra linguistic realit". e sa"

$eautiful long hairD rather than long $eautiful hairD in order to point to the fact thatin our opinion length of hair can $e said to represent a pre-reuisite of its $eing

considered $eautiful. (n the other hand we will prefer long straight hairD instead off

straight long hairD to show that straightness of hair seems to $ring a$out appearanceof length. )he phrase t"pical large count" housesD seems more correct than large

t"picalD $ecause in order to $e t"pical, countr" houses ha&e to $e large, whereas in

order to $e large the" do not ha&e to $e t"pical.

P-/*'00CT0* 4 '8056

/d&er$s and ad&er$ial phrases can also pre-modif" nouns; ecept for a few

institutionali=ed instances !an awa" matchD, home computersD, the off switchD, an in

fileD, a far-awa" countr"D, the then presidentD, his now secretar"D# this t"pe of pre-modification alwa"s carries a fla&our of originalit". It is this &er" fla&our that accounts

for the wide eploitation of pre-modif $" ad&er$ials in the language of ad&ertising and

%ournalese.)he in colour of the "ear Jfashiona$le colourK

a with-it dress Jrochie cu &ino-ncoaK

an off-the-tie part" Jinformal part"K

an out-in-the-window cottage Jo casuta departe in padureK

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an on-and-on )O serial

an off-the-$eaten-trac* narrati&e

a pro-march Ja march organi=ed in fa&our of somethingK

P-/*'00CT0* 4 6TC6

It is at least as collouial as pre-modifier $" ad&er$s and at least as widel" used

nowada"s in order to stuna $an-all-nuclear-$ans march

a do-it-"ourself %o$

a pop-down-for-the-wee*-end cottage

an I-donAt-*now-what-to-call-it &ehiclean Iran-go-home demonstration !anti 6ussian#

a could-"ou-do-it-an"-$etter attitude

a "ou-*now-what-I-mean loo* in some$od"As e"es

a donAt-"ou-e&er-tr"-to-do-it-again epression on some$od"As facea ma*e-lo&e-not-war "outh mo&ement

an I-donAt-gi&e-a-damn-a$out-it smilea follow-me-lads gait

7>

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The English Noun Phrase .doc