heads-and-modifiers in Syntax Els 105...

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1. HEADS AND
MODIFIERS

2. Heads & Modifiers
- In linguistics, the head of a phrase is the word that determines the syntactic type of
that phrase, for EXAMPLE:
- the head of the noun phrase boiling hot water is the noun water.
-Analogously, the head of a compound is the stem that determines the semantic
category of that compound, For EXAMPLE:
The head of the compound noun handbag is bag, since a handbag is a bag and
not a hand.

3. - In grammatical analysis, most phrases contain a key word that identifies the type
and linguistics 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 called a noun phrase.
A phrase whose head is verb is called a verb phrase and so on.
The remaining wordds is a phrase are called the dependents of the head.

4. IN THE FOLLOWING PHRASES THE
HEAD-WORD OR HEAD IS BOLDED:
•The massive dinosaur- Noun
phrase(NP); the head is a noun
•At lunch- Preposition phrase(PP);
the head is a preposition
•Too slowly- Adverb phrase(AdvP);
the head is an adverb
•Very happy- Adjective phrase
(AP); the head is an adjective
•Watch TV- Verb phrase(VP); the
head is a verb

5. - Most theories of syntax view most phrases as having a head but soem non-headed
phrases are acknowleged. 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
dependets, for EXAMPLE:
Big house- Noun phrase(NP)
Sing songs-Verb phrase(VP)
Very long- Adjective phrase(AP)
-The traditional binary division of the sentence (s) into a subject noun phrase (NP)
and a predicate (VP) was exocentric, for EXAMPLE

6. Hannibal destroyed Rome. Sentence (s)
MODIFIER
•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 red ball
(The adjective red is a modifier, modifying the noun ball).

7. KIND OF MODIFIERS
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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 is a
postmodifier of mines.

A head may have a number of modifiers, and these may include both
premodifiers and postmodifiers. for example:That nice tall man from Canada
whom you met.
•PREMODIFIERS AND POST MODIFIERS

8. TYPES OF
MODIFIER

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The two priincipal types of modifiers are
(and adjectival phrase and
adjectival clauses).which
modify nouns;
ADVERBS
(and adverbial phrase and adverbial
clause). which other parts of
speech,particularly verbs adjectives
and other adverbs, as well as whole
phrase or clauses
ADJECTIVES

9. •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 phrase)
•He was [very gentle].(adverb in adjective phrase)
EXAMPLES OF THE ABOVE TYPES OF
MODIFIERS, IN ENGLISH

10. AMBIGUOS AND DANGLING MODIFIERS

•He painted her sitting on the step.(abigous)
•Walking along the road, a vulture loomed overhead.(dangling)

11. THANKS
https://prezi.com/ohxm7vypa6sf/head-and-modifiers/

https://fhinov.home.blog/head-and-modifiers/#:~:text=Our%20discussion%20of%20synta
x%20begins,and%20may%20have%20no%20modi%EF%AC%81er.
REFERENCES