Structures of Modification

It is composed by Head and Modifier. This structure may enlarge, choose, change, or
even describe the Head.
Both the Head and Modifier are not always single words. They may be structures with
more or less complexities.
Noun as Head
Noun very frequently can be found as Head of structure of modification. There
are four parts of speech, including noun it self, that can modify the noun.
Adjective as Noun Modifier
Adjective precedes the noun (Head) constantly except if the adjective is not a single
word but structure.
Examples:
Barbed wire
M
H
The glommy room
A
M
H
Intense concentration
M
H
In very rare case, there are adjectives which may come after the noun. This happen
under two kinds of circumstances.
In certain fixed phrases often from technical vocabularies or familiar quotations:
court-martial, grace abounding, darkness visible, fee simple.
When the adjective is not a solidarity modifier of noun, but part of a larger structure
that as a whole acts a noun-modifier:
A figure vague and shadowy
A wish intense beyonds belief
A man taller than I thought
Here, the adjective vague, shadowy, intense, taller are parts of structure which act as
unit modifiers of the heads figure, wish, and man.
Noun as Noun Modifier
This modifier also precedes the Head (noun) constanly. It can be a possessive
form or basic form (Noun Adjunct)
Examples:
Possessive
Kids play
A weeks day
The womans friend
Noun adjunct is noun that has a function like an adjective (to modifiy noun).
Examples:
Noun adjunct
Bus station
That woman doctor
It is always in a singular form, not plural form.
Example:
Book shops (not Books shop)
Noun as Noun Modifier can be from appositive words. The position still keeps
preceding the Head. Appositive form never follows the Head.

Examples:
My uncle George
N
Appositive
The disease influenza
N
A
The River Gangga
N
A
Verb as Noun Modifier
It can be from Present Participle (V-Ing), Past Participle (V-ed), or to-infinitive.
These verb positions may precede or follow the Head if they are parts of larger structures,
though there are many exception to both these generalizations but to-infinitives always follow
the noun-Head.
Examples:
Running water
Barked potatoes
Water running in the street
Potatoes baked slowly
Money to buy
The man to see
Since Verbs in (-ing), Noun in (-ing), and Adjective in (-ing) can all modify nouns
and all appear in the position between noun determiners and noun, ambiguity is a strong
possibility to such cases.
Examples:
A pleasing table
Adjective
The phrase means
a table that is pleasing
A rotting table
Verb
While it also does not have meaning a table for rotting
A dining table
Noun
The phrase has a meaning a table for dining
This identification is corroborated by the fact that we can not place pleasing after
table. Secondly, we can move rotting , but not pleasing or dining.to the position after table :
a table rotting. Thirdly, since we can neither place very before dining nor move dining to
after the table without changing the meaning, dining can be neither adjective nor verb and
must, therefore be a noun.
Actually, a phrase like a dining table is structurally ambiguous in the written form.
Only avoidance of lexical inconggruity guides us to the meaning a table for dining and
away from the meaning a table that is in process of dining.
Adverbs are relatively rare as a noun modifiers, seldom constituting more than two
per cent of the single-word modifiers of noun in ordinary prose. Adverb always come
immediately after the noun which is the head. The adverbs that function as noun-modifiers
are mostly those of the then- and there-classes. Adverbs of thus/soclass, particularly those

with derivational suffix (ly), modify only one kind of nouns, those formed from verbs by the
derivational suffix (ing).
EXAMPLES OF STRUCTURE OF MODIFICATION WITH NOUN AS HEAD AND
ADVERB AS MODIFIER.
Example :
The people here
The temperature outside
The rather delicate problem in grammatical analysis is possed by a series of expresions.
a) Driving slow
b) Driving slowly
c) My driving slow
annoyed him
d) My driving slowly
e) My slow driving
f) Driving a car slow
-

Driving in (c), (d), (e) is a noun, since it is marked by noun determiner my.
Slow in (c) is an adverb where it is follows the noun.
Slow in (e) is an adjective where it preceded
Slowly in (b) and (d) is marked as an adverb, not only by the position but also by the
derivational suffix (ly) .
Driving in (f) is clearly a verb, marked by its complement a car.
Driving in (a) and (b) can be either a noun or a verb, however, since the structural
meaning is virtually the same in either case, no ambiguity results.
(b) and (d) ambiguous in the written language, but not in speech, where a single bar
juncture before slowly makes it a modifier of annoyed, while one after slowly makes it
a modifier of driving.

Prepotional phrases.
In addition a single-word modifiers of noun, various other structure can function as
noun-modifiers. We must consideration of most of this until we have examined the other
kinds of syntatic structure in their simple form. One that we may treat here is the prepotional
phrase. In its simple form, this consist of a function word of the class called prepotition and a
lexical word , usually but not always a noun customarily (though not too satisfactorily)
called its object. Together these two form a unit which may function in various ways one of
which is as modifier of a noun.
Prepotition make up relatively large class of function words, some of very frequent
occurence, other quite rare. On the basis of their morphemic structure thay may be divided
into three groups, they are:
a) Simple
b) Compound
c) Phrasal prepotitions
a. Simple Propotitions
These have only one base. There are between fifty and sixty of them in present day
English. About thrity consist of single morpheme, about twenty more have two more
morphemes, and handful have three.
The most familiar single-morpheme prepotitions are :
After
From
On
Through
As
In
Out
Till

At
Like
Over
To
But
Near
Per
Under
By
Of
Round
Up
Dwon
Off
Since
With
For
Prepotitions with two morphemes, one or both of which are bound :
About
Around
Between
Toward
Above
Before
Beyond
Underneath
Across
Behind
Despite
Unlike
Along
Below
During
Until
Amid
Beneath
Except
Unto
Among
Beside
Prepotition of three morphemes, all or all but one bound :
Againt
Concerning
Considering
Opposite
Regarding
Almost all the simple prepotitions may also appear as full parts of speech, usually
adverbs. Some may be homonyms of several lexical words : round can be noun, verb,
adjective, adverb, or prepotition, and like can be noun, verb, adjective, prepotition, or
function word of the type we shall later define as includer. But whenever these words forms
with an object a closely integrated structure that functions as a single unit, they are
Prepotitions.
b. Compound Prepotitions
These are prepotitions that consist of two or more free basis, with or without affixes.
They belong to the class of compound words. Commonly the first element is an adverb
(USUALLY BUT NOT ALWAYS ONE OF THOSE THAT MAY ALSO BE A SIMPLE
PREPOTITION) and the second a simple prepotition.
Some of the most common compound prepotitions :
Across from
Down from
Off of
Together with
Along with
Due to
Onto
Upon
Alongside of
Except for
Out of
Up to
Apart from
Inside of
Outside of
Up with
Away from
Instead of
Over to
Within
Back of
Into
Throughout Without
c. Phrasal Prepotitions
These consist of three words: a simple prepotition, a noun, and another simple
prepotition, usually to or of . All of these may be analyzed syntactically into a prepotional
phrase followed by a simple prepotition. Such, indeed is their morphemic construction and
their historical origin. For this reason, grammarians have not yet provided a clear-cut
means of setting limits to this class. we have classed instead of a compound prepotition
because instead (etimologically a prepotional phrase) is an adverb. Virtually synonymous
with it are in place of and in lieu of which can certainly be classed as phrasal
prepotitions. Formally, the combinations as in exchange for, in consideration of,

undercircumtances of are identical in place of, and thus should be entitled to be classed
as as phrasal prepotition also.
It is only when the noun which is the central element of these expression has a
determiner or a modifier that a new formal element enters in. We can cetainly exclude
from the class of phrasal prepotition on strictly formal grounds such combination as for
the shake of, in a position of, at the back of, under the administration of, in great danger
from, and so on.
Then clear example of phrasal prepotitions are :
In regard to
by means of
on top of
On account of
in addition to
in
Behalf of
In spite of
in front of
on
The object of the prepotition the lexical word which completes the structure is
usually a noun. It may be an ordinary noun, with or without determiner.as in :
Above suspicion
Under water
After dinner
Or may be a pronoun or function noun, as in :
For us
Because of that
It may be also
It may also be a structure of modifier without noun as head, as in :
In actual practice
Note that it is not jus the noun practice are the object of prepotitio here, but the
complete structures of modification of which these nouns are the heads.

actual

actual

practice

We devide it into two immediate constituent, the prepotition in the structure of

modification with noun head actual practice.
Prepotition phrases that modify noun may have other parts of speech beside nouns as
object. For instance, the object may be a verb or a verb headed structure of modification, as
in:
A day for peacefully resting
Resting is marked as a verb by the preceding adverb,Peacefully. In for peacefully
resting, resting is a noun. In for resting, resting may be either noun or verb.
The object may also an adverb, as in :
A mile from here
Finally, the object of a prepotition phrase may itself be a prepotitional phrase, as in :
A book from under the table
A tale for after dinner
A trip to beyond
Note : the combination from under, for after, and to beyond are not the same as
compound prepotition like out of and up to. This is indicated by the stress-patten , and may
be illustrated by an analysis of two expression :
a) Water is the object of out of
A fish

water

Out of

b) Water is the object of under

A fish

from

under

water

Pattern of Noun Modifier.

When a structure of modification with a noun as a head includes several modifier of
different sorts, the result quite a complex affair. But it is organized along quite strict and
precise lines.
This may be best illustrated by building up such a structure , layer by layer.
First comes the noun which is the head :
Rate

Next comes a noun adjunct, if one is present :

Birth

Rate

Then, if there are no more noun adjuncts, come adjectives :

High

Birth

Rate

When there are no further adjectives or other modifiers that precede the noun, the next
layer may be a prepotitional phrase following, it :

Then an adverb, following the phrase:

High

Birth

Rate

In

America

Then, and adverb following phrase:

High

Birth

Rate
In

America

Today

Finally, the noun determiner introduces the whole business:

The

High

Birth

Rate

Rate

America

Today