Categories of pre-modifiers
- General adjectives
The happy, white, fluffy bunny. - Quantifying adjectives
A few people, the many problems. - Participle-based adjectives
The sleeping baby, a discarded theory, your faded jeans.
Participle-based adjectives as pre-modifiers
- The sleeping baby (progressive)
- A discarded theory (passive)
- The faded jeans (perfect)
Quantifying adjectives rules
They display the distribution of adjectives; much, many, few, little.
- Can occur with determiners: a few men, those many books.
- Can be subject complements: his mistakes were many.
- Are gradable: fewer/more men.
Rules of quantificational determiners
They display the distribution of determiners; every, some, any, no.
- Can’t occur with other determiners: the every man, that each man.
- Can’t be subject complements: his mistakes were every.
- Are not gradable: everier man.
Adjectives compared to Q-determiners and Q-adjectives
- Can occur with determiners: the happy man, those shiny pans.
- Can be subject complements: his mistakes were regrettable.
- Are gradable (generally): a happier man.
Categories of post-modifiers
- PPs
The cat [with two kittens].
Your bike [in the shed]. - Adjective phrases (APs)
A rocket [fast enough to fly].
The tree [taller than a skyscraper]. - Relative clause (restrictive or non-restrictive)
A rocket that was sent to the moon.
Jim, who I know from my childhood.
When are adjectives phrases pre-modifiers and post-modifiers (AP placement rule)?
APs without anything following the adjective are pre.
• A [rather stupidly funny] dog.
APs with something following the adjective are post.
• A politician [available for comment].
Exceptions to the AP placement rule
- Some adjectives describing the situation
• The person responsible. - Idiomatic phrases (borrowings) with most-modifier APs
• Code red, femme fatale, Paradise Lost, attorney general. - Modifiers of indefinite pronouns (nobody; someone; nothing) follow the pronoun
• I saw something scary. I saw some scary thing.
Structure of phrases
- Every phrase has a head
- Complements (a must in VPs, PPs): complements are dependent on the head and the head is dependent on the complement too
.3. Modifier (optional): modifiers are dependent on a head, but heads are not dependent on modifiers.
Are complements independent?
No, complements are dependent on the head and the head is dependent on the complement too.
Are modifiers independent?
Modifiers are dependent on a head, but heads are not dependent on modifiers.
Can a phrase have multiple modifiers (recursion)?
Yes
Which test is evidence for N’?
One replacement test
One replacement
One necessarily replaces the noun and its complement, but may also replace any number of modifiers.
One must replace student of History —> I like [that student of History] and you like [this one].
Empty determiner
(DET: Ø) England’s (N) king (N)
NP structure
- AP is always sister to N’.
- Complement is the sister of the head N.
How to distinguish between PP post-modifiers and PP complements?
Test: only PPs with the same function can be sensibly coordinated.
- A student of high moral principles and of low hygiene standards (2 post-modifiers).
- A student of Physics and of Chemistry (2 complements).
