Nouns-Structure of nominal groups / noun phrases
Nominal groups vary
§ in the types of ‘things’ they refer to
§ in the experimental information encoded in their elements
§ in the number of these elements
§ in the classes of formal items that realize them
§ in the vast range of lexical items that expound them
Pre-Head – Head – Post-Head
Pre-Head
o determiner
§ defining (articles)
§ genitive (possessive pronouns – my)
§ deictic (tell about the distance – this, that)
§ distributive (all, both)
§ quantifying (a kilo)
§ partitive (make a selection – three of the boys)
o modifier
§ epithetal (ugly, beautiful)
· subjective
· objective
§ classifying (puts words in classes – European art)
Head
§ nominal
§ pronominal
(the head is a pronoun – I read it yesterday)
Post-Head
§ qualifier
· (also modifies the noun; sometimes called post-modifier)
§ extensive attribute
· nominal (Marco Polo, the explorer)
· circumstantial (the way out)
· attributive (nothing important)
· situational (the book which you lent me)
