Daughter of Smoke and Bone Noun Modifiers in Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor Emily Ward WOU Academic Excellence Showcase May 30, 2013

Noun Modifiers Adding words, phrases, or clauses to a noun phrase in order to describe or specify the head noun Adds maturity to the writing Directs reader’s attention Creates a hierarchy of information

Registers From most frequent use of modifiers to least: Academic Writing Newspaper Fiction Conversation Biber, Conrad, and Leech. (2002). Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English.

Example from Fiction Portion of the text with noun modifiers removed: Two moons. Neither was full. One was a disc, the other a crescent.

Example from Fiction Original portion of the text: radiant halfhigh overheadpale just rising to clear a crust of mountain Two moons. Neither was full. One was a radiant half disc high overhead, the other a pale crescent just rising to clear a crust of mountain.

Premodifiers bareAdjective: her bare feet barredParticiple: a narrow, barred niche man’sNoun: the dead man’s chest

Postmodifying Clauses Karou couldn’t decipherRelative clause: a gesture Karou couldn’t decipher to haul them thereTo-infinitive clause: elephants to haul them there Ing-clause: just rising to clear a crust of mountain a pale crescent just rising to clear a crust of mountain Ed-clause: suspended from a hook above his head lantern suspended from a hook above his head

Postmodifying Phrases Prepositional phrase: of connoisseurs the smug smiles of connoisseurs Appositive noun phrase: a world with two moons an entire world, a world with two moons Adjective phrase: identical to her own a tattooed eye identical to her own

Text Chosen 2060 words Very descriptive scene Young Adult Fantasy Why did I choose this passage? Vivid writing Fiction writer myself

Analysis Color-coded modifiers Possessives? Determiners Second time for this presentation

Results 209 noun modifiers Most common: Premodifying adjectives (41.6%) Second most common: Postmodifying prepositional phrases (24%) For every 100 words, about 10 modifiers were used PremodifiersPostmodifiers

Premodifiers No. % of all modifiers (approx.) Adj/Adj. Phrase % Participle 178.1% Noun 146.7% Adjectives NounsParticiples

Postmodifiers No. % of all modifiers (approx) Prep. Phrase 5024% Adj/Adj. Phrase 209.5% Rel. Clause 83.8% Ing-clause 62.8% Ed-clause 42% App. Noun Phrase 21% To clause 10.5%

Discussion Two most common modifiers were not surprising High number of postmodifying adjectives and adjective phrases is rare apart, complete with its own mountains, continents, moonsa world apart, complete with its own mountains, continents, moons so huge it could only be called a dragonan iguana-thing so huge it could only be called a dragon

Discussion Vivid choice of words Place in fiction Common in description, not in dialogue

Conclusion As a reader Missed the richness of the writing the first time I read it As a writer Choosing each word carefully Evocative images

Works Cited Taylor, Laini. Chapter 17 “World Apart” Daughter of Smoke & Bone. New York: Little, Brown, Print. Biber, Douglas, Susan Conrad, and Geoffrey N. Leech. Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Harlow, Essex: Longman, Print.