¡Descarga Gramática Inglesa I y más Apuntes en PDF de Idioma Inglés solo en Docsity!
GRAMÁTICA INGLESA I
Unit 1. The Noun Phrase
1.1. Nouns and NPs. Definition.
Properties of Nouns. NPs: constituent parts. One constituent NP: noun headed constructions. Levels of constituent structure.
- Her house is near that place NP that functions as subject. Two immediate constituents: the head is house and her is a determinative (form) that functions as determiner (function).
- She bought a house NP that functions as DO. Two immediate constituents: the head is house , and a is a determinative that functions as determiner.
- That is my house NP that functions as SPC : subjective because it predicates something about the subject; complement because it is an obligatory element.
- He was seen by his daughter PPh with two immediate constituents: a preposition and a NP that functions as prepositional complement ; obligatory element, because it is required by the preposition.
- Her daughter ’s house Possessive phrase that functions as a central determiner , because it occupies the slot of her (applying pronominalization ); Her daughter’s is in paradigmatic relation with a possessive. We can say ‘her house’. The Pos.P has two immediate constituents: Her daughter , a NP functioning as complement , and the head, the clitic ‘s.
Her daughter ’s house vs. The house of her
daughter
The apostrophe plus –s is semantically similar to the preposition ‘of’, so the clitic is not a suffix, if not a word, because it enters into construction with a phrase, not a stem.
A possessive phrase may function as a DETERMINER when both the genitive and the of-phrase are possible. But in the case of A men’s
- Modifier of a prepositional phrase : ‘He lives three houses along our street’ B. Inflection: In ancient languages like Latin, the function of a word was indicated by means of inflections ; in OE we also find inflections in nouns carrying that information. However, in nowadays English the grammatical form of a noun doesn’t help us to identify the function that the noun has in the clause, prepositions are used instead. But we can identify a word as a noun taking into account inflections. An inflection is a suffix that is added to a word, and that suffix carries grammatical information: girl- s (inflectional ending). Nouns enter into inflectional contrasts of number. PDE has singular vs. plural forms, i.e. book vs. books , girl vs. girls ; number contrast is just a characteristic of nouns in English. However, some nouns don’t have inflectional contrasts of number: news, goods , they don’t have number contrasts, are always singular and always ends in –s.
C. Dependants: As heads of noun phrases, nouns take a different range of dependents from the other parts of speech. Most distinctively, they take determiners like ‘ the, which, a, every, my, three ’, and adjectives as pre-head modifiers. The examples 1-4 above are all NP, because the head is a noun ( girl, lack, and fence ); the other elements in the phrase are dependents :
- The nice girls The head of the NP is girls , and the other two elements are dependants: the is a determinative that functions as determiner , and nice is an adjective that functions as modifier of the noun girl. The dependants are usually optional elements, but in example 1 the is an obligatory element, although determinatives are not obligatory elements within the NP structure; it is an obligatory element in this example but not in others: ‘ Girls are very intelligent ’.
- Her friend is a tall girl → *Friend is a tall girl Compare these two examples: Mary is a one constituent NP, whose head is a kind of noun, a proper noun; it excludes the definite article. However, friend is a different type of noun, is a common noun, and it requires a determinative. So, the heads Mary and friend control other words, that is, the dependants.
If we consider that language conveys information, we can say that the head of the noun phrase conveys central piece information; the dependents add extra information, and in some cases that information is not required.
Differences between heads and dependents
There are three main differences between heads and dependents :
- The head is an obligatory element, except in cases of ellipsis; however, dependents are optional elements. e.g. The tall girl = it is a NP in which the head is girl , so it is the obligatory element; the and tall are both dependants that functions as determiner and pre-modifier respectively. The determinative the is required by the head, so it may be an obligatory element. However, it is a dependent because determinants may not be obligatory in other contexts, in other NPs, i.e. ‘ Girls are very intelligent’.
- The head imposes restrictions on the forms that can be dependents , the choice of one form or another. e.g. The suggestion that we should put you down was not a good one It is a NP in which the head is suggestion , and the other elements are dependents: the is a determinative that functions as determiner, and the that-clause is a post-modifier (also known as ‘content clause). * Only a few nouns in English can take that-clauses as dependents (nouns like fact, idea, belief, knowledge ), whereas the majority of nouns cannot.
- The head is always realized by members of the same class, and so the head of a NP is always a noun. However, a dependent function can be realized by members of different classes.
e.g. The girl I saw yesterday… The girl with a long hair... Both examples are NPs in which the head is a noun girl , and in both cases the dependents function as post-modifiers; however, in the first one the dependent is a relative clause , and in the second one the dependent is a PPh.
One constituent NP: noun headed constructions
a) I gave them to my friend. b) I gave the books to my friend. A NP may be a group of words or just one word; it may be formed by one or more than one element. In the first example, the slot filled by the pronoun them may be filled by the books ; so this slot is possible for one word or for a group of words to occur. Pronouns are a kind of nouns, a subgroup of nouns. Pronominalization is a process to establish constituents, because pronouns replaced NPs. But in those examples, pronouns are just examples of one constituent NP. Instead of the books we can say them.
a) Girls are very intelligent b) The girls I met are very intelligent In the first example, the head of the NP is the noun girls , it is an example of one constituent NP. But that slot may be also filled by The girls I met , is that, a group of words, several constituents, but it is analysed as one constituent NP.
Levels of constituent structure (Nominal Phrase)
A good teacher of Maths
- PRONOMINALIZATION OR SUBSTITUTION: pro-forms substitute for constituents. Pronouns substitute NP, not Nouns. e.g. My friend went there → He went there
- ONE-SUBSTITUTION: kind of substitution which affects constituents internal to NPs. In order to establish NOM as constituents we can apply the one-substitution test. d) He is a good teacher of Maths but you are not a good one → one replaces teacher of Maths , so teacher of Maths is a NOM. e) * The teacher of Maths met the one of Literature → one replaces teacher , but it cannot be used here, it is ungrammatical; teacher is not a nom, it is a NOUN. Single words cannot be replaced
f) The present king of England is more popular than the last one → one stands for king of England , which establishes that king of England is a NOM. g) * The king of England defeated the one of Spain → one substitute king , but it cannot be used here, it is ungrammatical; king is not a nom, it is jus a NOUN. Single words cannot be replaced
Subclasses of Nouns: classification (Handout 2)
R. Quirk, taking into account grammatical and semantic features, classifies nouns into proper and common nouns. At the same time he sub-classifies common nouns into count and non-count. Lastly, he divided count and non- count nouns into two groups, taking into account their meanings: concrete and abstract nouns.
Huddleston includes in this classification the pronouns : they are heads of NPs which have the same function as nouns. Pronouns are then analysed as a subclass of nouns.
Nouns Proper Nouns Common Nouns Count Nouns Non-Count Nouns
Concrete Abstract
PROPER NOUNS
Linguistics used this term for nouns. Traditionally, a proper noun was defined as a word or words that refer to a specific person, place or thing. However, it is possible to refer to something very specific without using a proper noun.
e.g. The man with long hair who is there
This sentence is quite specific (the two post-modifiers help us to specify the person we are talking about. However it is not described as a proper noun. We must then consider we need something more in order to define a proper noun.
Other grammarians define proper nouns in terms of capitalization. Proper nouns are spelled in capital letters. However, that is not enough, because capitalization rules changed from generation to generation. Capitalization is an editorial convention, and editorial conventions change very quickly. We need something more, a more precise definition. Nowadays, there are two ways of defining:
- SEMANTICALLY : proper nouns have unique reference (for the interlocutor), only in those cases in which both speaker and hearer are familiar with the referent, only in a particular setting. e.g. Ronald Regan : there are a lot, but in the context of Modern American History this proper noun refers to a single individual, it has a unique reference. Proper nouns have unique reference only in a particular setting.
- GRAMMATICALLY : defined in terms of their grammatical properties. Proper nouns lack number contrast, and they are not used with the definite article, because it is used to indicate that both the speaker and the hearer are familiar with the referent of the noun being used. So proper nouns are definite.
But there are some EXCEPTIONS: *The Alp s : Both the definite article and –s are used. However, grammatically speaking, this structure is just considered a single unit; it functions as a single unit. Although we can analyse its structure, and say there
e.g. a paper > paper : this word has two different meanings, it can be count or un-count. When it means the material is un-count , but when it means newspaper is count. e.g. tea : ‘ a cup of tea ’ is count, but when we talk about the liquor is uncount, ‘ I like tea ’. e.g. brick : it has two different meanings. ‘ The house is made of brick ’ is uncount, we are talking just about the material, a kind of baked clay used for building; ‘ He used yellow bricks for the walls ’ has number contrast, it is plural because it is just a piece of this material, so it is count. Tea, paper, brick, cake could belong to one or another class of words depending of the context. In these cases, the grammarians consider that when a noun has shifted from one class to another there is a conversion → a derivational process where an item is adapted or converted to a new word class without the addition of a suffix. Tea, paper, brick, cake are just examples of conversion.
1.2. Different elements that can be found in a noun phrase
1.2.1. Determiners (Close class word)
Determiners have a determining function. They are sometimes described as modifiers implying that they modify a noun. However, what they do is just to inform us about the kind of reference that a NP may have, is that, a definite or an indefinite reference depending if the definite or the indefinite article is used.
In the first three examples determiners specify the referent, they inform us about the kind of reference that they have. But in the fourth example, the determiners doesn’t express the reference, it expresses quantity. Some linguistics refers to them as quantifiers. So we can say that the definite article doesn’t by itself identify the referent, but if indicates that the referent can be identified.
- The boy went there It is a NP, and it has a definite reference, because the definite article the is used. We always know what boy is involved, the boy who are talking about. The referent of boy must be already introduced in the context before; otherwise we cannot use the definite article. So, the referent is known by the interlocutors.
- A boy went there It is an indefinite NP, because the indefinite article a is used. The referent of boy is introduced for the first time; it hasn’t been mentioned before, so we don’t know who or what boy is involved.
- That boy went there The determinative that helps us to identify the referent by indicating that it is not near the speaker. That indicate the boy is not near; this would indicate the boy is near.
- Many boys went there Many is just another determinative, but it is different from the other ones. It is a quantifier ; it expresses quantity, not reference. Those that express quantity are also classified or analysed as determinative. Traditionally, determinatives were classified as adjectives , but nowadays they are considered a distinct primary class of words ; we can not classify them as adjectives because they have different morphological characteristics. The main difference between adjectives and determinatives are:
- Regarding inflectional morphology , they do not have comparative and superlative forms; they can not be determined, suffixes are used to form adjectives. E.g. * thater
- Syntactically speaking, they usually precede adjectives, e.g. the tall girl
- We can use a lot of adjectives before a head in a NP, but only a few determinatives can be used in the same way: the pretty, thin, blue-eyed, nice,
- Twice the size Determiners can be realised by one word or more than one word: those books vs. those other two books. Moreover, if we consider the position of the determiner in a phrase, we can say that determiners can be in preposition , postposition or central position : articles, demonstratives and possessives are central determiners. If it is placed after the central determiner, it is a postdeterminer ( other, two ), and if it is placed before it is a predeterminer ( double, twice ).
- [ A little ] poetry: poetry is a non-count noun, so the indefinite article ‘ a ’ cannot determine ‘ poetry’. Therefore ‘ a little ’ is analysed just as a DETERMINER formed by 2 words. Grammatically and semantically speaking it is one determiner.
- I have [ a little ] coffee left = I have some coffee (positive) I have [ little ] coffee left = I hardly have coffee (negative) Positive-negative contrast according to whether the indefinite article is used or not.
- [ A] [little ] boy: in this case ‘ a ’ and ‘ little ’ are analysed as two independent words. ‘ A ’ is a determinative that functions as determiner, and ‘ little ’ is and adjective that modifies boy ; it is a quantifier. Determiner + Modifier + Head.
- [ A ] [ little ] cake: it can be analysed in both ways; it could be ambiguous because cake could be count or uncount.
- [ A few ] books: it is considered a single determiner , a quantifier. There are some determiners which are quite similar to adjectives, those which express QUANTITY: many, much, little, few ... Some grammarians analysed them as adjectives because they are gradable, they have comparative and superlative forms: many-more-most; much-more-most; little- less-least; few-fewer-fewest. Moreover, they can be modified by intensifying adverbs, they can be intensified by adverbs of degree (other characteristic of adjectives):
e.g. too much coffee very few mistakes Besides, adjectives also may follow determiners and they may occur in VP functioning as predicative complements: e.g. Her mistakes were few: it functions as a SPC That is why some grammarians analyse those determiners as adjectives, as QUANTIFIERS. However, we just analyse them as determiners that express quantity, as opposite to others determiners. e.g. The main road: the word main is usually analysed as an adjective. However, if we consider the properties of adjectives in English, it has no superlative or comparative forms: *The too main road / *The road is main. Main cannot be modified or intensifier by and adverb of degree. It is not gradable and cannot functions as predicative complement in a VP. Main has nearly a determinative function; it functions rather as a determiner:
e.g. That much coffee That seems a demonstrative, but it is an adverb which functions as modifier of much. That much is analysed as a single determiner. e.g. You shouldn’t have driven that fast A word can belong to different class of words: that is not a demonstrative in neither of the examples above. If we apply substitution that is equivalent to so , and adverb of degree; thus that modifies the noun fast.
HANDOUT 5 (Determiners)
- What money they made went entirely to local charities It is a NP, a determinative NP : the head is money , and what is a determinative that functions as a determiner that expresses quantity: quantifier
A possessive phrase may function as a DETERMINER when both the genitive and the of-phrase are possible. But in the case of A men’s college , the of-phrase is not possible because it is not ‘a college of men’ but ‘a college for men’.
1.2.2. Pre-head modifiers: -ing forms / -ed forms (HANDOUT
- Did you buy that big, old, blue, suitcase? It is a NP which has two immediate constituents: that , a demonstrative which functions as the central determiner, and which determines the head big, old, blue, suitcase = each of those adjectives is just and AdjPh, whose head is an adjective; they are examples of one constituent AdjPh functioning as premodifiers. Those kinds of adjectives are usually called EPITHETS : they denote a property of the head and they have a predicative-like function, you can say ‘ the suitcase is big ’ / ‘ a big suitcase ’ / ‘ that suitcase is blue ’.
The normal order of epithets / adjectives in English is as follows: size, shape, age, colour, nationality, substance and denominal. However, the order may change.
- The Commander was pacing the quarter-deck with the navigating officer It is a NP which has three immediate constituents: the , definite article which functions as determiner; navigating , - ing form ; and officer , the head of the NP. These – ing forms are quite commonly used as premodifiers (pre-head modifiers) in the NP. Some of them can just be modified by and adverb of degree (one characteristic of adjectives is that they can be gradable and modified by and adverb of degree, and they have comparative and superlative forms): e.g. That’s a very amusing history: the one constituent adjective phrase very modifies amusing , which is also a one constituent adjective phrase functioning as premodifier of the head of the NP, history.
–ing forms may also be CLASSIFIERS , that is, adjectives that indicate a class (to mark a particular subclass). If we compare the two sleepings in the following sentences, we could say that both are –ing forms, but the first one is just a premodifier of the head, and the second one is also a classifier:
e.g. A sleeping child Sleeping is an –ing forms functioning as premodifier of the head child. But a ‘sleeping child’ is not ‘a class of child’, if not ‘ a child who is sleeping ’ = EPITHET A sleeping compartment Sleeping is a CLASSIFIER; it is a ‘ compartment to sleep ’, a class of compartment. It is not ‘a compartment which is sleeping’. -ing forms may functions as premodifiers within the NP, but –ed forms may also function as pre-head modifiers:
- The paid servants had their specified position in the household Paid and specified are both –ed forms that functions as pre-head modifiers of the NP. Those forms are equivalent to relative clauses: ‘ the servants who were paid... ’
Classifiers vs. Epithets: CLASSIFIERS may belong to different kind of classes. They can be realized by nouns , adjectives or –ing forms.
- They visited his country cottage: Nouns may function as pre-modifiers of another noun. In this case, country is a noun phrase which modifies another noun phrase, cottage , which is the head. Moreover, country is a CLASSIFIER because it describes ‘a class of cottage’.
e.g. a shoe shop
e.g. a steam engine
e.g. a dish cloth
