Georgeta Beatrice Ilies

Introducing the English Noun Phrase Post-determiners

Lecture 2

1. Post determiners
Post determiners are pre-modifiers that occur after determiners. In discussing postdeterminers, we refer to: ordinals, cardinals, uantifiers !whether closed s"stem or open class# as well as pre-modification $" means of open class items !ad%ecti&es, participles, the 's geniti&es, nouns, ad&er$ial phrases and sentences#.

1.1. The ordinals (rdinals include ordinal num$ers !first, second, 9th# as well as other, another, next, last. )he" fall into two su$groups, in that some of them !first, next, last, other, another# accept co-occurance with cardinal numerals and few $efore plural count nouns, while others !2nd, 3rd, and the li*e# modif" singular count nouns onl" and conse uentl" cannot $e followed $" uantifiers. +ompare The next two weeks, my last two exams those other, few books another two sandwiches (two sandwiches more) this second exam that fourth pedestrian my third year of study 1.2. Cardinals +ardinal num$ers include one !with sing. counts onl"# and two, three, four which are alwa"s associated with plural counts. There is but one solution to this problem - do harakiri !ll the "#9 $%&s consider themsel'es trustworthy representati'es of the people. +ardinals alwa"s follow determiners $ut precede ad%ecti&es. ,e ha&e ne&ertheless to $ear in mind that the determiners can sometimes $e omitted. (e danced with the three pretty )mith&s *irls at the party, which outra*ed his wife 1.3. Quantifiers -uantifiers, li*e cardinals, also follow determiners, $ut precede ad%ecti&es: (e danced with se'eral pretty *irls at the party !closed class item# (e danced with a lot of pretty *irls at the party !open class item# +ardinals and uantifiers are mutuall" e.clusi&e. +(e danced with three a lot of pretty *irls, 1.3.1. Classification of quantifiers /. +L(0E1 020)E3 -4/N)I5IE60 man" !more, most#

few !fewer, fewest# little !less, least# se&eral e. There aren&t too many boys in this class - tried to read the book se'eral times, but in 'ain, .ew thin*s are known about /haucer (e earns too little for such a hu*e family. Notes: 7. se&eral, man", few, a few alwa"s modif" plural count nouns, while little and a little modif" mass nouns. 2. a few !as in 0a few books&# and a little !a little music# are not to $e considered to $e made up of the indefinite article a 8 few and little respecti&el", as the indefinite article cannot occur with plural count nouns, nor with mass nouns +a books1 +a music 9. there is semantic difference $etween few and little on the one hand, which are alwa"s negati&e in meaning, and a few and a little on the other hand, which are either colourless e.pressions or with positi&e orientation. +ompare )he has few books 2 not many books )he has a few books 2 some (neutral) )he spent little time at the hairdresser&s )he spent a little time at the hairdresser&s :. the uantifier little must $e properl" distinguished form the homon"mous ad%ecti&e; as the latter, meaning small, has no co-occurrence restrictions with numerals or count nouns !three little *irls# <. the uantifier se&eral, which normall" occurs with =ero article, should not $e mi.ed up with its homon"mous noun ad%ecti&e, which means se&eral, distinct +ompare: There are se'eral board members here (3uantifier) The se'eral board members in the room decided to demand that the chairman resi*n !ad%.# >. man" and few can $e used not onl" attri$uti&el", $ut also predicati&el". +ompare Their many friends !attri$uti&e use# Their friends, who are many !predicati&e# ?. much ne&er occurs with articles, conse uentl" it is not a uantifier $ut a determiner itself. B. (PEN - +L/00 -4/N)I5IE60 )he" are uantifiers consisting of heads li*e lot, deal, number and an of-phrase as a post-modifier. +lose s"stem uantifiers and open-class uantifiers and, alongside of them, the determiners, in one word all uantitati&e e.pressions are alwa"s mutuall" e.clusi&e. E. - ha'e many friends +- ha'e many a lot of friends, 4e had much spare time 4e had a little spare time 4e had a *reat deal of spare time,

(pen class uantifiers fall into three groups. )hus, some of them !plent of, a lot of, lots of! can occur with either plural count nouns or with mass nouns. +ompare plenty of friends plenty of money Both e.pressions are uite informal. (thers !a "reat deal of, a "ood deal of, a lar"e quantit of, a small quantit of, a lar"e#small amount of$# can onl" occur with mass nouns. E. 5ou need a lar*e amount of money to start a business, (e spent a *reat deal of time in the library, )he third group can $e used with plural count nouns onl" !a great no of, a large@good num$er of, a great man"# 1.%. Pre-modification 'PremodificationA is Ba term used in some models of grammatical description to refer to all the items which occur $efore the head of a phrase &$!.'eterminers and ad(ecti)es are the main classes occurring in premodif"ing position in English, $ut there are se&eral other categories in&ol&ed in the full description of this comple. area, e.g. uantifiers, intensifiersA !+r"stal, 7CC2:2?:# 1.%.1. *pen class pre-modification Le.ical and grammatical items of a wide range and indefinite comple.it" and interrelationship can precede a noun head. /s we ha&e alread" seen, the noun head can $e preceded $" an ad(ecti)e, a participle, an s "eniti)e, another noun, an ad)erbial or another clause. 1.%.1.1. Pre-modification b ad(ecti)es /d%ecti&es premodif"ing a noun head are uite fre uentl" premodified themsel&es, especiall" when the" come right after the determiner. +ompare (is awful beha'iour (is incredibly awful beha'iour (is alto*ether incredibly awful beha'iour Not all intensifies are ne&ertheless to $e used with pre-modif"ing ad%ecti&es. )hus the predicati&e phrase in 6(is beha'iour that was so awful7, tends to $ecome 6his awful beha'iour7 rather than 6his so awful beha'iour7. )he latter sounds at least affected, if not e&en aw*ward. ,ith indefinite determiners, 'so will normall" $e replaced $" 'such+ 6! beha'iour which was so awful7 will normall" $ecame 6such an awful beha'iourD ,ote: 'so can $e preser&ed, $ut if this $e the case, there will occur changes in word order, in that the ad%ecti&e will $e placed in front of the determiner. )he construction is too perfect in English not to sound rather $oo*ish: )o awful a beha'iour )o pretty a *irl )ransferring clause negation to a structure of post modification is possi$le as well, $ut onl" under certain circumstances !$" which we normall" mean N() 8 intensifier or negati&e affi.#. )hus, e&en if the constructions:

6(er face is not too kind7 or 6(er face is not 'ery kind7 or 6(er face is not unkind7 do allow of formations li*e 6(er not too kind face7, 6(er not 'ery kind face7 or 6(er not unkind face7 respecti&el", there seems to e.ist uite a lot of impro&isation in such constructions, and this will ma*e most nati&e spea*ers feel li*e rephrasing and sa"ing 6(er rather unkind face7, 6(er alto*ether unkind face7 or 6(er kind face7 respecti'ely, %! 3ost pre-modif"ing ad%ecti&es can $e used predicati&el" as well. +ompare his new car the e.tremel" interesting article his car is new the article is e.tremel" interesting )here are howe&er ad% that do not accept predicati&e use. ,e can spea* of Bthe onl" sur&i&orD $ut we canAt sa" BEthe sur&i&or is onl"D a mere child Ea child is mere sheer coincidence Ethe coincidence was sheer out utter disappointment Eour disappointment is uttered pure 3athematics E3athematics is pure Note: )hese ad%ecti&es do not accept intensification $" means of &er" and the li*e. ,e spea* of Ba mere childD $ut we canAt spea* of Ban altogether mere childD. (ur utter disappointment - Eour e.tremel" disappointmentD It is onl" due to homon"m" that sheer and pure accept of intensification $" &er" Note: the ad%ecti&es ha&e different meaning in: / &er" sheer mountain slope F a$rupt /n e.tremel" sheer mountain slope F a$rupt or / &er" pure mountain air /n altogether pure mountain air )here e.ist other ad%ecti&es !and here we include ad% li*e nasal, oral, mathematical or poetic F consisting of poetr"# which cannot $e used predicati&el" and do not accept of intensification or gradation either. ,hen we sa" B2eatsA poetic outputD F B2eatsAs output of poetr"D, and not BE2eatsAs a$solutel" poetic outputD her nasal ca&it" F the ca&it" of her nose her nasal pronunciation F through the nose her a$solutel" nasal pronunciation Note: some of these ad% can $e used predicati&el" in technical discourse. )here e.ist another group of ad% which sometimes accept predicati&e use and at other time the" donAt. /ll depends upon the uses. Normall" the" inhi$it predic when the"

modif" a deleted noun head. )hus: topless in B/ topless $athing suit B can $e used predicati&el". B)he $athing suit she is wearing is topless.D )he same ad%ecti&e will not accept of pred use in phrases such as Da topless girlD, Ba topless $eachD, Ba topless $arD. In such instances the ad% in uestion modifies the deleted noun $athing suit and not the present nouns girls, $each, or $ar. )he meanings are: Ba girl which is wearing a topless $athing suitD; Ba $each where girls wear topless $athing suitsD; Ba $ar where waitresses wear topples $athing suitsD Predicati&el" use of the ad% is also $loc*ed when the noun head is agential and the ad%ecti&e refers to the acti&it". +ompare the &alue of good in: a good teacher F the teacher is good a good runner - does not impl" that the runner is good, onl" that he runs well (r the &alues of the ad% hard in: a hard nut F the nut is hard a hard wor*er F he wor*s hard )here is, of course, no restriction in so far as predication is concerned, where the noun can onl" refer to acti&it". LetAs ta*e the &alue of good in: a good writing - the writing is good. Non predica$ilit" with ad%ecti&es is also meet with in formulaic e.pressions , such as: m" graceful than*s, m" hum$le apologies, new in&ention, a nice girl ! not that Em" than*s are graceful or Em" apologies are hum$le or the girl is nice#, poor fellow, intrepid e.plorer !not that the fellow is poor or the e.plorer is intrepid# P-./*'010C2T0*, 34 P2-T0C0P5.6 in" participle Pre-modif"ing -ing participle fall into 2 groups, the di&ision $eing highl" dependent on the potentialit" of the participle to indicate a permanent or characteristic feature. )hus there e.ist -ing participle that not onl" accept of $eing used as pre-modifiers $ut ha&e e&en $ecome grada$le. / charming girl - a &er" charming girl an interesting no&el - an e.tremel" interesting no&el shoc*ing news - !a# most shoc*ing news )he participles can $e used as pre-modifiers and "et will disallow of gradation: changing weather - E&er" changing weather charging ca&alr" - Ee.tremel" charging ca&alr" the roaring lion - Ethe most roaring lion It is worth $earing in mind that the part denotes a permanent feature. )here e.ist participles, whether -ing or -er, that can pre-modif" certain nouns and "et seem aw*ward when pre-modif"ing others. +ompare a &er" reassuring smile a &er" reassuring man - odd sounding ,e can spea* of Ban e.tremel" shoc*ed e.pression B$ut not ofD an e.tremel" shoc*ed manD

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)his reluctance deri&es from the fact that a man canAt ha&e reassurance or shoc*ed attri$uted permanentl" to him, whereas a smile or e.pression can. Li*ewise we will spea* of Ba smiling faceD rather than Ba smiling manD, e&en though the last is $" no means impossi$le. Ba wondering manD on the other hand, $uilt on the pattern of the perfectl" accepta$le Ba wondering minstrelD is unaccepta$leG If there is some am$iguit" in the phrase Bgiggling girlsD, in that it can mean either Bgirls who giggle a lotD or Bgirls that are gigglingD on the one hand, there is a$solutel" no am$iguit" in Ban entertaining personD, on the other hand, $ecause the latter will denote a person who is good at entertaining others, and ne&er a person who is now telling %o*es. )he article appearing in front of the participle is &er" important in that the indefinite article normall" refers to something ha$itual or permanent, while the definite article denotes something specific or temporar". )hus, while the sentence Bthe $ar*ing dog is 3r. Blac*D, seems somewhat strange, the sentence BI was frightened $" a $ar*ing dogD sounds li*e perfectl" good English. ,e should not impl" ne&ertheless that a premodif"ing -ing participle cannot and will not ta*e the definite article, especiall" in instances where the pre-modified noun has alread" $een mentioned in the conte.t. I saw 2 dogs in the "ard. (ne $ar*ed fiercel" and the other one *ept silent. I was told later on that the $ar*ing dog was 3r. Blac*As and that he had ne&er $itten an"one, so that I shouldnAt ha&e feared him.!is perfectl" good English# )he indefinite article can sometimes $e used genericall", e&o*ing the same generalit" and permanence as the definite article. +onsider the sentences: / competing athlete needs his supportersA encouragement )he competing athlete needs his supportersA encouragement -ing participle are &er" fre uentl" used as pre-modif"ing elements in technical English as well as in what we call %ournalese de&eloping countries emerging countries &oting countries a partiall" hearing child -en participle 3ost of the things that ha&e $een pointed to in so far as -ing participle premodifications is concerned also appl" to premodif" with -en participles. In addition to what we said a$o&e, ne&ertheless, there rise other issues. )hus acti&e -en participle are rarel" used as premodifiers. E.amples such as Ba retired officerD, Ba fallen angelD or Bthe &anished treasureD are clearl" e.ceptional when compared with BEan arisen pro$lemD, or BEthe arri&ed guestsD. If the acti&e participle is modified $" means of an ad&er$ial, ne&ertheless, it will $e far more fre uentl" met with in premodification. +ompare Eour gone friends Ea read person our far-gone friends a widel"-read person Ean arisen pro$lem Ethe arri&ed guests

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a recentl"-arisen pro$lem the alread"-arri&ed guests +ompare also the phrases: H the married couple H the settled colonists the %ust-married couple the newl"-settled colonists /s a matter of fact this rule applies to some passi&e -en part as well. +ompare H a told %o*e H a descri$ed house an artfull"-told %o*e a minutel" descri$ed house E told tales Hdone e.ercises twice-told tales well done e.ercises In so far as passi&e part are concerned, one most discriminate $etween predicati&e passi&es and agential@true passi&es !F a passi&e where e.isted an agent who did the action# )hus we spea* of predicati&e or non-agential passi&es in : complicated machiner" F intricate, not it was complicated $" someone a $orn mathematician F natural mathematician a written e.am F not an e.am written $" someone trou$led water the murdered man /gential participles will admit of pre-modif"ing use onl" if the" are assigned permanent reference +ompare a lost purse !still lost, permanent state# a damaged ship Ea found purse a $eaten trac* a done thing a stolen car a *idnapped child !which was not found# the defeated arm" In all these instances the -en part refers to a feature, which is permanent or c&asipermanent. (n the other hand, when no permanent feature can $e assigned, no -en premodification can $e found. Ea $ought car; Ea fed child; Ea dusted &ase; Ea led arm" ,hen the pre-modif"ing part is in its turn pre-modified there are no restrictions as to the grammatical accepta$ilit" of such phrases; Ea $ought car Ea led arm" a recentl"-$ought car a s*illfull"-led arm" Ea fed child an ill-fed child Ea dusted &ase a properl"-dusted &ase Eher esta$lished reputation her well -esta$lished reputation H the mentioned article the a$o&e mentioned article

Note - a h"phen is used $etween the ad& and the participle P-.-/*'010C2T0*, 34 7.,0T08.6 +an $e of 2 t"pes: with head and without head Pre-modification b 7eniti)es 9ith head fre uentl" leads to am$iguities. / noun phrase li*e IohnAs paintingD ma" ha&e se&eral interpretations. )hus the G ma" $e

considered to $e possessi&e t"pe !Fthe paintings owned $" Iohn# or of the o$%ecti&e t"pe !F the paintings representing Iohn# or of the origin t"pe !F the paintings made $" Iohn#. Li*ewise, the phrase Ba fisherman cottageD ma" denote Ba cottage $elonging to a fishermanD or B a cottage that used to $elong to a fishermanD or Ba cottage resem$ling that of a fishermanD. If we thin* of the phrase Ban old lad"As hatD it can $ear se&eral meanings - a hat $elonging to an old lad" - an old hat meant to $e worn $" a lad" - a hat meant to $e worn $" elderl" lad" )he am$iguit" e.iting a$out the phrase gi&en a$o&e is partiall" lifted when the phrase is hear rather than seen, in that stress will $e of much assistance in oneAs attempt to decode the message. )hus the stress pattern 'an Bold lad"As hatA denotes either a hat $elonging to an old lad" or a hat meant to $e worn $" an elderl" lad", while 'an old Blad"As hatA can onl" denote an old hat meant to $e worn $" ladies. In longer conte.ts, e&en the am$iguit" of the former stress pattern can $e $rought down. )he am$iguit" which e.ists around the e.amples gi&en a$o&e is $rought a$out $" the different of deciding whether the determiner refers to the head; a JfishermanAsK cottage F a cottage li*e a fishermanAs or to the geniti&e proper a JfishermanKAs cottage F a cottage $elonging to a fisherman If the determiner refers to the G, which is the more usual interpretation, then the intermediate modifiers placed $etween the determiner and the G will necessaril" modif" the G onl". )hus the phrase Bthose filth" menAs %o*esD is not am$iguous, in that the ad%ecti&e filth" can onl" modif" the G manAs and the reading will $e Bthe %o*es of those filth" menD. If one means to suggest that it is not the men $ut rather the %o*es that are filth", one will sa" either Bthose menA filth" %o*esD or Bthose filth", menAs %o*esD ma*ing sure that the pause $etween the ad% filth" and the gen menAs is long enough to ma*e an" misinterpretation impossi$le. Li*ewise , the phrase Bthese nast" womenAs clothingD can onl" mean the clothing of these nast" women. If we mean to suggest that it is the clothing that is nast", and it $elongs to these women, will use different word order, namel" Bthese womenAs nast" clothingD. 0ometimes there is incompati$ilit" $etween the determiner and the G. If so an" intermediate modifier will $e interpreted as referring to the head. )hus the phrase Bthis nast" womenAs clothingD can $e assigned onl" one possi$le meaning Bthis nast" clothing designed@$elonging to womenD Pre-modification b 7eniti)es 9ithout head 1eletion of the head, especiall" when it denotes premises or esta$lishment is uite fre uent and it will lead to no misunderstandings or misinterpretations in that a phrase li*e 0ee "ou at 3ar"As normall" means 0ee "ou where 3ar" li&es, at her place, residence. )he phrase Bat 3ar"AsD will ne&er e&er denote a hotel room where 3ar" can $e sta"ing for a couple of da"s, $ut which cannot $e ta*en for her formal residence. If we mean the hotel room weAll sa" B0ee "ou in 3ar"As roomD. B" contrast, the phrase B0ee "ou at the oculistAsD will mean the place where the oculist conducts his $usiness, and not the place where he li&es. )he same can $e true for B0ee "ou at +oraAsD where at +oraAs denotes a shop.

Note: )he phrase Bat +oraAs B is what we normall" call a two-wa" am$igous one, in that the head shop will not normall" $e omitted unless the spea*er *nows for sure that the listener will decode the message with no difficult". 0ometimes the apostrophe is dropped and the head is deleted as well

P-.-/*'010C2T0*, 34 ,*:,6 3ost noun pre-modifiers correspond to prepositional phrase post modifiers. 0ometimes the" come to $e so closel" associated with the head that can $e regarded as part of a compound noun. E. a Geometr" test F a test in Geometr" a detecti&e stor" F a stor" a$out a detecti&e@detecti&es an armchair F a chair with arms the *itchen ta$le F the ta$le in the *itchen the corner shop F the shop at the corner the garden fence F the fence of the garden the $athroom door F the door of the $athroom a hair ri$$on F a ri$$on for the hair a piano and orchestra concerto F a concert forM Nowe&er, not all nominal pre-modifications can $e accounted for $" means of prepositional phrase post modification. )here are instances where the nominal premodification stands for a coordination, an opposition, sometimes e&en for a postmodif"ing su$ clause: / fighter-$om$er is a plane which is $oth a fighter and a $om$er / dancer choreographer is a dancer who is $oth a dancer and a choreographer / writer-producer is a person who is a writer and a producer. +olonel Ghadaffi means Ghadaffi was a colonel. Oice president Gore F Gore is &ice-president of the 40/ / pedigree-dog F a dog holding a good pedigree / $ric* cottage F a cottage made of $ric* )he appointments and promotions committee F the committee responsi$le for ma*ing appointments. ,otes 7. when used as premodifiers plural nouns normall" $ecome singular a chair with arms F an armchair a shelf for $oo*s F $oo*shelf a role of pa"ments F a pa"ment role a collector stamp F a stamp collector 0ingulari=ation of the premodif"ing noun is common e&en with nouns that otherwise ha&e no singular a scissors sharpener F a sharpener for scissors the trouser $ag F the leg of the trousers a spectacle case F a case for spectacles Nowe&er common, this tendenc" is ne&ertheless not uni&ersal, since there are instances, some of them uite hand", where the plural are *ept: the promotions committee the arms race a sa&ings $an*

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a mum$s epidemic F an epidem" of mum$s a good train F a train meant for transportation of goods a custom officer@official 2. In some instances we find oursel&es in dou$t as to the stress pattern to $e used. In other words we are not e.actl" sure whether we should stress the head or the premodifier. ,e cannot find e.planations to account for the fact that the head is stressed in Ban iron rodD $ut the premodif"ing noun carries stress in a lighthouse or air-hostess. /lso it is practicall" impossi$le to e.plain the difference $etween Bpot luc*D &ersus Bpot flowerD. )here are situations e&en when $oth stress patterns are possi$le. 0ometimes with different connotations, $ut in most su$stances with the same meaning. BE /E wee* end 'wee*-end apple-'sauce 'apple-sauce lawn 'tennis 'lawn tennis field 'marshal 'field marshal In some instances there is different $etween the two: the iron 'gates - the 'Iron Gates a flower 'pot - a 'flower pot 9. 0uch nominal pre-modifier is characteri=ed $" relati&e permanence. If a phrase li*e Bthe corner treeD is totall" accepta$le, $ut one li*e EDthe corner girlD is not, this will $e accounted for $" the fact that the tree is alwa"s to $e seen at the corner, which is not the case in so far as the girl is concern. Notice the uestiona$le character of Bthe corner $eggarD - accepta$le if he is alwa"s to $e found at the corner. /:5T0P5. P-.-/*'010C2T0*, )here e.ist 9 t"pes of multiple pre-modification multiple pre-mod with single head pre-mod with multiple head pre-mod with modified modifier
/. 3ultiple premod with single head

(ne and the same head can ha&e 2 !or e&en more# pre-modifiers his pla" his last pla" his successful pla" his e.tremel" successful pla" his last e.tremel" successful pla" his last e.tremel" successful historical pla" notes 7. E&en if there is no grammatical meaning as to the No of pre-modifiers, long se uences are uncommon and will sound aw*ward. +ompare his last e.tremel" successful and &i&idl" portra"ing a $"-gone epoch historical pla"-dou$t

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his last historical pla", e.tremel" successful and &i&idl" portra"ing a $"-gone epoch. 2. 3ultiple premod follows a recursi&e process. It follows therefore that word order is e.tremel" important. +ompare his last e.tremel" successful pla" his e.tremel" successful last pla" the former mean that of the se&eral e.tremel" successful pla"s written $" the gu" in uestion we are spea*ing a$out the last one the latter, on the other hand does sa" that his last pla" was e.tremel" successful, $ut will $" no means ma*e it clear whether the other pla"s were successful or not. )here e.ist instances where changes in word order do not $ring a$out changes in meaning his forceful lucid e.planation his forceful and lucid e.planation his lucid forceful e.planation a &er" much-e.pected, much wor*ed-for &ictor" a &er" much e.pected and much wor*ed-for &ictor" a much wor*ed-for, &er" much e.pected &ictor" ,hen the pre-modifiers are felt to $e mutuall" e.clusi&e, coordination $" and will normall" $e replaced $" coordination $" $ut. +ompare a new and ugl" $louse H a new $ut ugl" $louse
B. Pre-modification with multiple head

/ pre-modif element can refer either to one head onl" or to more than one red roses and tulips !Fthe roses and tulips are red# $eautiful red roses and tulips 1espite the am$iguit" of B$eautiful red roses and tulipsD !we cannot tell for sure whether the pre-modifiers# appl" to $oth roses and tulips or onl" to the former, we will normall" assume that the" appl" for $oth. If, on the other hand, we wish to suggest that $eautiful and red refer onl" to roses we will normall" ma*e use of re-ordering and we will sa" tulips and $eautiful red roses or we will introduce some elements meant to disam$iguate the phrase: $eautiful red roses and a few tulipsD or B $eautiful red roses and a $ranch of tulipsD. )he opposition of a few , a $ranch ma*es it clear to us that the tulips are neither red nor $eautiful. If, on the other hand , we wish to suggest that $eautiful applies to $oth roses and tulips, whereas red applies to roses onl", we will sa" $eautiful tulips, red roses. ,hen we wish to sa" that red onl" modifies roses and $eautiful applies to tulips onl" we will re-order the phrase once again, and we will do it in such a wa" as to disallow an" am$iguit": $eautiful tulips and red roses

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+. Pre-modification with 3odified 3odifier

/s we ha&e alread" noticed, instances where a pre-modif"ing element is in its turn modified are far from $eing scarce. +onsider the following chain $eautiful roses incredi$l" $eautiful roses altogether incredi$l" $eautiful roses )he pre-modif"ing ad% $eautiful is itself pre-modif $" the ad& incredi$l" which in its turn can $e su$%ect to pre-modification $" means of the ad&er$ altogether. ,ith Geniti&es used as pre-modifiers, e&en though there is no theoretical limit as to the no of pre-modif"ing Geniti&es to $e need, there e.ist a practical limit of 2 such premodifiers, an"thing more $eing felt as aw*ward, difficult to comprehend and st"listicall" o$%ectiona$le. IohnAs car IohnAs $rotherAs car HIohnAs wifeAs $rotherAs car HEIohnAs wifeAs godfatherAs $rotherAs car EIohnAs wifeAs godfatherAs neigh$orAs $rotherAs car EIohnAs wifeAs godfatherAs neigh$orAs $rotherAs elder sonAs car In such instances the $est solution is to ma*e com$inations $etween 's G and prepositional phrase. In so far as noun pre-modifiers are concerned, there e.ist no such limitation. / noun premod can itself $e pre-modified $" either an ad% or a noun and the ad% or noun used as premodifiers can similarl" $e pre-modified in its turn the phone num$er there is no am$iguit" a$out an" the office phone num$er of them the ta. office phone num$er the propert" ta. office phone num$er the house propert" ta. office phone num$er notes 7. If an ad%ecti&e or a participle were to appear in this last phrase it would ha&e to $e placed right after the determiner. Placing of the ad%ecti&e or participle right after the determiner will not normall" lead to am$iguit", $ecause such an ad%ecti&e or participle will normall" $e interpreted as relating directl" to the head, rather than to the first noun according after it. -that unforgetta$le house propert" ta. office phone num$er. 2. we should not infer howe&er that o$scurit" cannot e.ist or that noun premodifiers can modif" onl" the ne.t following noun. Let ta*e us the phrase 5rench onion soup. )he phrase denotes, for all those familiar with cuisine an onion soup made a la 5rancaise. /n"one who is not familiar with cuisine will run the ris* of interpreting it as soup made from 5rench onions or e&en 5rench soup made of onion 6omanian plum$ $rand" F 6omanian $rand" made from plum$s FH Brand" made from 6omanian plum$s

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-.52T08. 6.Q:.,C. *1 P-.-/*'010.-6 )he disposition of premodif"ing items is e.tremel" important. +ompare 0ill" Iimm"As %o*es - Iimm"As sill" %o*es )here is a clear difference $etween the two, in that the 7 means the %o*es told $" sill" Iimm", while the 2 means sill" %o*es told $" Iimm". +ompare dirt" British $oo*s - British dirt" $oo*s 7F British $oo*s which are dirt" 2F o$scene $oo*s )o a&oid am$iguit" there are se&eral rules which are to $e *ept in mind: 7. the item most closel" related to the head is to $e placed closest to it a plastic $ag Q a shopping $ag Q a plastic shopping $ag m" own *e" Q m" door *e" Q m" own door *e" 2. de-nominal ad%ecti&es whose meaning uite often is relating to, consisting of, in&o*ing and to $e placed right $efore the head. 3onotonous life Q social life Q monotonous social life the onl" part" the political part" Q Q the onl" political part"

a one-part" s"stem Q a political s"stem Q a one-part" political s"stem 9. noun pre-modifiers come right $efore the de-nominal ad%ecti&es monotonous social life FR a monotonous &illage social life :. when there are 2 nominal pre-modifiers the one corresponding to the head as o$%ect to &er$ will $e placed closer to the head than to the one relating to material or agenc" a detergent container Q a card$oard container Q a card$oard detergent container IohnAs cigarette lighter Q IohnAs gas lighter Q IohnAs gas cigarette lighter <. the ad% of pro&enance or st"le comes right $efore the noun modifier the foot$all team Q the 6omanian team Q the 6omanian foot$all team church architecture Q Gothic architecture Q Gothic church architecture the participle will precede the ad% of pro&enance or st"le this 6omanian foot$all team Q this ama=ing foot$all team Q this ama=ing 6omanian foot$all team

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a Gothic doorwa" Q a car&ed doorwa" Q a car&ed Gothic doorwa" the ad% of colour is placed $efore the participle a car&ed tom$stone Q a white tom$stone Q a white car&ed tom$stone pin* paper Q wrapping paper Q pin* wrapping paper the ad% of colour is in turn preceded $" the ad% of age a $lac* read"-made dress Q an old read"-made dress Q an old $lac* read"-made dress the ad% of age will $e preceded $" the large class of ad%ecti&es that can $e designated as general a $eautiful !little# old $lac* read"-made dress
>. there are uite a num$er of situations of pre-modifier order that cannot $e accounted

for grammaticall" wh" do we prefer B$eautiful long hairD to Blong $eautiful hairDH. ,h" is a Blong straight trainD more commonl" met with than Bstraight long hairHD. ,h" is a Bsmall round ta$leD preferred to Ba round small ta$leHD. ,h" does a Bfi&e shagging dogD seem $etter than Ba shagg" fierce dogDH. ,h" is Ban angr" tall manD not as good as B a tall angr" manDH B/ $rief hostile glanceD and not Ba hostile $rief glanceD. B)"pical large countr" housesD not Blarge t"pical countr" housesD. )he onl" answer we can pro&ide to answer the list of uestions a$o&e lies in the fact that our preference for one of the word orders seems to mirror e.tra linguistic realit". ,e sa" B$eautiful long hairD rather than Blong $eautiful hairD in order to point to the fact that in our opinion length of hair can $e said to represent a pre-re uisite of its $eing considered $eautiful. (n the other hand we will prefer Blong straight hairD instead off Bstraight long hairD to show that straightness of hair seems to $ring a$out appearance of length. )he phrase Bt"pical large count" housesD seems more correct than Blarge t"picalD $ecause in order to $e t"pical, countr" houses ha&e to $e large, whereas in order to $e large the" do not ha&e to $e t"pical. P-.-/*'010C2T0*, 34 2'8.-30256 /d&er$s and ad&er$ial phrases can also pre-modif" nouns; e.cept for a few institutionali=ed instances !Ban awa" matchD, Bhome computersD, Bthe off switchD, Ban in fileD, Ba far-awa" countr"D, Bthe then presidentD, Bhis now secretar"D# this t"pe of premodification alwa"s carries a fla&our of originalit". It is this &er" fla&our that accounts for the wide e.ploitation of pre-modif $" ad&er$ials in the language of ad&ertising and %ournalese. )he in colour of the "ear Jfashiona$le colourK a with-it dress Jrochie cu &ino-ncoaK an off-the-tie part" Jinformal part"K an out-in-the-window cottage Jo casuta departe in padureK

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an on-and-on )O serial an off-the-$eaten-trac* narrati&e a pro-march Ja march organi=ed in fa&our of somethingK P-.-/*'010C2T0*, 34 6.,T.,C.6 It is at least as collo uial as pre-modifier $" ad&er$s and at least as widel" used nowada"s in order to stun a $an-all-nuclear-$ans march a do-it-"ourself %o$ a pop-down-for-the-wee*-end cottage an I-donAt-*now-what-to-call-it &ehicle an Iran-go-home demonstration !anti 6ussian# a could-"ou-do-it-an"-$etter attitude a "ou-*now-what-I-mean loo* in some$od"As e"es a donAt-"ou-e&er-tr"-to-do-it-again e.pression on some$od"As face a ma*e-lo&e-not-war "outh mo&ement an I-donAt-gi&e-a-damn-a$out-it smile a follow-me-lads gait

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