Chapter 1Heads and Modifiers

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1.2 Heads, modifiers and meaning

grit (mill-dust, salt grit)grittinggritter (winter service/snow removal vehicle)

(5) a. This gritter spread less salt than that one. b. *This gritter spread fewer salt than that one.

(6) a. *The White Rabbit vanished his watch / The White Rabbit vanished. b. Dogs chase cats/*Dogs chase. c. Flora cooks / Flora cooks gourmet meals.

Chapter 1Heads and Modifiers

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1.3 Complements and adjuncts

obligatory modifiers: complements

optional modifiers: adjuncts

- My mother bought a present for Jeanie in Jenners last Tuesday

complement (‘to fill’) vs. adjunct (‘to join’ or ‘to add’)

1.4 Clauses

phrases vs. clauses

Chapter 1Heads and Modifiers

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1.5 Dictionary entries and collocations lexicon, subcategorizational rules, selectional restrictions

1.6 Verbs, complements and the order of phrases

The relationships between heads and modifiers are called dependencies or dependency relations.

Heads control modifiers; modifiers depend on their heads.

(9) a. Maisie drove her car from Morningside to Leith on Wednesday. b. On Wednesday Maisie drove her car from Morningside to Leith. c. Maisie drove her car on Wednesay from Morningside to Leith.

Chapter 1 Heads and Modifiers

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Exercise 1Consider the modifiers of the verbs in the following sentence.Which of the modifiers are obligatory and which are optional?Which of the modifiers are complements and which are adjuncts?

1.Mr. Bennet thrust the letter into Elizabeth’s hands.2.They organized a picnic at Box Hill in the summer.3.Mr. Elton delivered a charade to Emma for a friend. 4.Mr. Darcy met the Gardiners at Pemberley one afternoon.5.Emma dismayed Mr. Knightely with her plans for Harriet.6.Frank sent a piano to Jane Fairfax.7.The porter placed the letter on the secretary’s desk.8.Harrier imagined that Mr. Elton would propose to her. 9.We were expecting the worst that day in 1968.10.The report details the proposals for reconstruction.