syntax - head and modifiers
TRANSCRIPT
In linguistics, the head of a phrase is the word thatdetermines the syntactic type of that phrase. Forexample:
The head of the noun phrase boiling hot water is the noun water.
Analogously, the head of a compound is the stemthat determines the semantic category of thatcompound. For example,
The head of the compound noun handbag is bag, since a handbag is a bag, not a hand.
In grammatical analysis, most phrases contain a key
word that identifies the type and linguistic features of
the phrase; this is known as the head-word or the head.
The syntactic category of the head is used to name the
category of the phrase, for example:
A phrase whose head is a noun is called a noun phrase.
A phrase whose head is a verb is called a verb phrase and so on
The remaining words in a phrase are called
the dependents of the head.
too slowly — Adverb phrase (AdvP); the
head is an adverb
very happy — Adjective phrase (AP); the
head is an adjective
the massive dinosaur — Noun phrase (NP);
the head is a noun
at lunch — Preposition phrase (PP); the
head is a preposition
watch TV — Verb phrase (VP); the head is a
verb
Most theories of syntax view most phrases as having a head,
but some non-headed phrases are acknowledged. A phrase
lacking a head is known as exocentric, and phrases with heads
are endocentric.
An endocentric construction consists of an
obligatory head and one or more dependents, For
example:
big house - Noun phrase (NP)
sing songs - Verb phrase (VP)
very long - Adjective phrase (AP)
The traditional binary division[5] of the sentence (S)
into a subject noun phrase (NP) and
a predicate verb phrase (VP) was exocentric, for
example:
Hannibal destroyed Rome. - Sentence (S)
In grammar, a modifier is an optional element in
phrase structure or clause structure.
A modifier is so called because it is said to
modify (change the meaning of) another element
in the structure, on which it is dependent, for
example:
This is a red ball
(The adjective red is a modifier, modifying the noun
ball).
Premodifiers and postmodifiers
Modifiers may come either before or after the modified
element (the head), depending on the type of modifier and the rules
of syntax for the language in question;For example, in land
mines, the word land is a premodifier of mines, whereas
in the phrase mines in wartime, the phrase in wartime isa postmodifier of mines.
A head may have a number of modifiers,
and these may include both premodifiersand postmodifiers. For example: that nice tall
man from Canada whom you met
The two principal types of modifiers are
1. adjectives (and adjectival phrases and adjectival clauses), which
modify nouns;
2. adverbs (and adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses), which
modify other parts of speech, particularly verbs, adjectives and
other adverbs, as well as whole phrases or clauses
It was [a nice house]. (adjective modifying a noun, in a noun phrase)
[Only the dog] was saved. (adverb modifying a noun phrase)
[Put it gently in the drawer]. (adverb in verb phrase)
He was [very gentle]. (adverb in adjective phrase)
She set it down [very gently]. (adverb in adverb phrase)
[Even more] people were there. (adverb modifying a determiner)
It ran [right up the tree]. (adverb modifying a prepositional phrase)
[Only the dog] was saved. (adverb modifying a noun phrase)
He painted her sitting on the step.( ambiguous)
Walking along the road, a vulture loomed
overhead.( dangling )
Barri, Nimrod. Note terminologique: endocentrique-exocentrique.
Linguistics 163, November 1975, pp. 5–18.
http://en.wikipedia.org
Matthews, P. 1981. Syntax. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
Press.
Chomsky, Noam 1957. Syntactic Structures. The Hague/Paris:
Mouton.