Noun Phrase Modification Notes

Noun Phrase Modification: Postmodification Notes

Outline of Noun Phrase Modification

  • Introduction to Noun Phrase (NP)
  • Postmodification Types:
  • Finite Clauses
  • Non-finite Clauses
  • Prepositional Phrases
  • Minor Types

Noun Phrase (NP) Overview

  • Example of NP: "The tall girl standing in the corner who became angry because you knocked over her glasses is Mary Smith."
  • Clauses Breakdown:
  1. The girl is Mary Smith.
  2. The girl is tall.
  3. The girl was standing in the corner.
  4. You waved to the girl when you entered.
  5. The girl became angry because you knocked over her glasses.

NP Constituents

  1. The Head:
  • Dictates concord with other parts of the sentence.
  1. The Determinative:
  • Predeterminers: Anything before the central determiner (e.g., "all the furniture").
  • Central Determiners: Articles that specify the noun (e.g., "some new office furniture").
  • Postdeterminers: Quantifiers following central determiners but before modifiers (e.g., "the many new offices").
  1. Premodification:
  • Items before the head other than determinators, often adjectives (e.g., "some expensive furniture").
  1. Postmodification:
  • Items that follow the head, including:
    • Prepositional Phrases (PP): e.g., "the car outside the station."
    • Non-finite Clauses: e.g., "the car standing outside the station."
    • Relative Clauses: e.g., "the car that stood outside the station."
    • Complementation: e.g., "a bigger car than that."

Types of NP Post-Modification

  1. Finite Clauses:
  • Relative Clauses: e.g., "The news that appeared in the papers this morning was well received."
  • Appositive Clauses: e.g., "The news that the team had won calls for a celebration."
  1. Non-Finite Clauses:
  • Present Participle: e.g., "The person writing the report is my colleague."
  • Past Participle: e.g., "The car repaired by that mechanic is mine."
  • Infinitive: e.g., "The man to help you is Mr. Smith."
  1. Prepositional Phrases:
  • Example: "The car was standing outside the station."
  1. Adverb Phrases:
  • e.g., "The road back is dense with traffic."

Postposed Adjectives

  1. Required Postposition by NP Head: e.g., "I want to try something different."
  2. Postposition from Adjective Postmodifiers: e.g., "A play popular in the 1980s."
  3. Noun-Adjective Combination Postpositions: e.g., "The heir apparent."

Multiple Post-Modification

  • Using more than one modification on a head:
  • e.g., "The man in the corner talking to John."
  • Multiple modifications for different heads:
  • e.g., "The man and woman in the corner."
  • Combining multiple modifications of a single head with multiple heads:
  • e.g., "The man and woman in the corner talking to John."

Post-Modification by Finite Clauses

  • Use of relative clauses to showcase concord with their antecedents, indicating function within the clause structure (S, O, A, C).
  • Gender Concord in Relative Pronouns:
  • Personal examples: "the boy/people who…"
  • Non-personal examples: "London, which…"

Functions of Relative Pronouns

  1. As Subject:
  • e.g., "They are delighted with the person who has been appointed."
  1. As Object:
  • e.g., "They are delighted with the book which she has written."
  1. Adverbial Usage:
  • e.g., "He is the policeman at whom the burglar fired the gun."
  1. As Complement:
  • e.g., "She is the perfect accountant which her predecessor was not."

Relative Pronoun Preferences

  • For personal antecedents: Prefer "who" as subject over "that".
  • For non-personal antecedents: Prefer "that" as subject and object.
  • Complex phrases favor "which".

Non-Restrictive vs. Restrictive Clauses

  • Non-restrictive Clauses: Provide additional information but are not essential.
  • Example comparison: "Then he met Mary, who invited him to a party." vs. "He met Mary and she invited him to a party."
  • Application of Appositive Clauses:
  • Distinct from relative clauses, serving as conjunctions, limited to abstract nouns.