 Chapter 4 Noun Phrases Transformational Grammar Engl 424 Hayfa Alhomaid

Small Nominal Phrases  There are two levels of categories in natural languages: Word-level categories: N, V, A, P, ADV, M, D… etc. Phrase level categories: NP, VP, AP, PP, ADVP... etc. However, The Theory of Categories should be extended to include a third type of category intermediate between word-level and phrase-level categories. I.e. There are nominal constituents larger than the Noun but smaller than a full Noun phrase. E.g. The king of England

Small Nominal Phrases “The ICs [ = immediate constituents] of the king of England opened Parliament are the king of England and opened Parliament, that those of the former are the and king of England and those of the latter are opened and Parliament, and that king of England is divided into king and of England” (Wells, R. (1947). Immediate Constituents Article. P. 188) From this we can reach the analysis as follows: NP ? NPP D of England KingThe

Small Nominal Phrases Harris (1951) suggests a system of raised numbers called a numerical superscript system. Where N 0 corresponds to the simple category N. N 2 corresponds to NP. So ? should be N 1. Chomsky (1970) introduced what he calls the bar notation, and known as The X-bar Theory. Jackendoff (1977)introduced an identical system named the prime notation. All the three systems are variants of each other (i.e. different ways of saying the same thing). NP ? N PP D of England King The

Small Nominal Phrases Nˈˈ Nˈ N PP D of England KingThe King  N King of England  N-bar The king of England  N-double-bar (NP) [N 2 the [N 1 [N 0 king] of England]] [N the [N [N king] of England]] [N ˈˈ the [N ˈ [N king] of England]]

Evidence for N-bar  There are two evidence that prove the Theory of X-bar 1- Coordination: It can undergo ordinary coordination with another similar sequence. E.g. Who would have dared defy the [king of England] and [ruler of the empire]? It can also function as the ‘shared constituent’ in cases of Shared Constituent Coordination. E.g. He was the last (and some people say the best) [king of England].

Evidence for N-bar  There are two evidence that prove the Theory of X-bar 2- Pronominalization It can be replaced by a proform. E.g. The present [king of England] is more popular than the last one. So we can say now that there are three types of nominal constituents in English, namely N, Nˈ (N-bar), and Nˈˈ (N-double-bar = NP)

Nominal Postmodifiers  There are two types of postnominal phrase: 1- Complements E.g. a student of Physics It can be paraphrased by a clausal construction in which Physics functions as the complement of the verb study  He is studying Physics. 2- Adjunct E.g. a student with long hair. It cannot be paraphrased by a clausal construction because [with long hair] doesn’t function as the complement of the verb study  ≠ He is studying long hair.

Nominal Postmodifiers  What is the structural correlate of the Complement-Adjunct distinction, and how do Complements and Adjuncts differ from the other class of nominal modifiers which we are already familiar with – namely Determiners? Determiner expand N-bar into N-doubled-bar Adjunct expand N-bar into N-bar Complements expand N into N-bar Nˈˈ Nˈ Determiner Adjunct N Complement Nˈˈ  D Nˈ [Determiner Rule] Nˈ  Nˈ PP [Adjunct Rule] Nˈ  N PP [Complement Rule] So, complements will always be ‘closer’ to their head Noun than adjuncts. In other words, if we modify a noun by an adjunct PP and a complement PP, then the complement phrase must precede the adjunct phrase E.g. The students of Physics with long hair *The students with long hair of Physics

Nominal Postmodifiers If we apply the Determiner Rule [Nˈˈ  D Nˈ] If we then apply the Adjunct Rule [Nˈ  Nˈ PP] If we subsequently apply the Complement Rule [Nˈ  N PP] Nˈˈ Nˈ D Nˈˈ Nˈ D PP Nˈˈ Nˈ D PP N a student of Physics with long hair

Nominal Postmodifiers Determiners, Adjuncts, and Complements are all optional constituents of Noun Phrase. Nˈˈ  (D) Nˈ [Determiner Rule]. E.g. The student OR students Nˈ  Nˈ PP [Adjunct Rule: optional]. E.g. Students OR students with long hair Nˈ  N (PP) [Complement Rule]. E.g. Students OR students of Physics Nˈˈ Nˈ D PP N a student of Physics with long hair

Nominal Premodifiers  There are three structurally distinct classes of nominal premodifier: 1. Determiners: expand N-bar into N-doubled-bar. 2. Attributes: expand N-bar into N-bar. 3. Complements: expand N into N-bar. Since both adjuncts and attributes expand N-bar into N-bar, it seems clearly that both have the same function, so that attributes are simply prenominal adjuncts.

Nominal Premodifiers E.g. a Cambridge Physics student It has the same meaning as [a student of Physics at Cambridge] And since attributes are simply prenominal adjuncts then, a Cambridge Physics student Complement Adjunct Attribute Complement Nˈˈ Nˈ NP D Nˈ N a student Physics Cambridge NP

Nominal Premodifiers Physics would be a Complement because it is the sister of the N student, whereas Cambridge would be an Attribute because it is a sister and a daughter of an N-bar Nˈˈ  (D) Nˈ [Determiner Rule]. Nˈ  NP Nˈ [Attribute Rule: optional]. Nˈ  (NP) N [Complement Rule]. So, prenominal NPs are the natural counterpart of postnominal PPs. The two are not completely equivalent. There are obvious syntactic differences between the two: premodifiers have the status of NP and precede the N-bar they modify, whereas postmodifiers have the status of PP and follow the N-bar they modify. Nˈˈ Nˈ NP D Nˈ N a student Physics Cambridge NP

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