English Syntax

Chapter 1

Heads and Modifiers

Presented by:

Dwi Purwanto
Mustarini Bella Vitiara
Puspita

1.1. Heads and Modifiers

WORDS

Heads

Modifiers

The controller

Being controlled
PHRASES
(a group of interrelated
words)

1.1. Heads and Modifiers

One modifier

May have
Heads

More than one

modifier

The controller

No modifier

(the use of the asterisk * is to mark unacceptable examples)

1. a. Ethel was sitting at her desk.
b. *The Ethel was sitting at her desk.
Example (1a) is a grammatical sentence of English, but (1b) is not
grammatical (at least as an example of standard English). Ethel is a
type of noun that typically excludes words such as the and a.
2. a. *Accountant was sitting at her desk.
b. The accountant was sitting at her desk.
c. Accountants audit our finances every year.
Accountant is a different type of noun; if it is singular, as in (2a), it requires a
word such as the or a. In (2c), accountants consists of accountant plus
the plural suffix -s and denotes more than one accountant. It does not
require the. Plural nouns, of course, exclude a or an but allow words
such as some or more, as shown in (3).
3. a. *I would like an accountants to sort out my tax return.
b. Some accountants were quietly counting in the back office.
c. Would more accountants make any difference to my tax bill?

phrases with nouns as the controlling word

Look at these examples!

(the use of the asterisk * is to mark unacceptable examples)

1. Sad
a. Very sad
b. More sadder (fine)
c. More sad (the very least unusual)

2. Big very big

3. Wooden
a. Excludes very and more in literal meaning
b. Very is allowed to use in metaphorical
meaning
e.g. The policeman had a very wooden
expression.

phrases with adjectives as the controlling word

Look at these examples!

(the use of the asterisk * is to mark unacceptable examples)

Prepositions

Nounsnouns

Adjectives
-nouns

Verbsnouns

e.g. books about

antiques

e.g. rich in
minerals

e.g. aimed at the

target

phrases with prepositions as the controlling word

Look at these examples!

1.2. Heads, Modifiers and Meaning

as conveying a central
piece of information

Head

as conveying extra
information

Modifiers

Different verbs have different powers of control!

(the use of the asterisk * is to mark unacceptable examples)

1. Verbs that exclude a direct object

e.g. *The White Rabbit vanished his watch /
The White Rabbit vanished.

2. Verbs that require a direct object

e.g. Dogs chase cats / *Dogs chase.

3. Verbs that allow a direct object but

does not require one
e.g. Flora cooks / Flora cooks gourmet
meals.

Heads may have several modifiers.

Example:
Phrase bought a present for Jeanie in Jenners last
Tuesday contains four modifiers of bought.
bought

a present

for Jeanie

in Jenners

HEADS
MODIFIERS

last Tuesday

1.3. Complements and Adjuncts

Obligatory
Modifiers

aka

COMPLEMENTS

Optional
Modifiers

aka

ADJUNCTS

Modifiers

 Example for compliment:

My mother bought a present for Jeanie in Jenners last Tuesday.

compliment

 Example for adjunct:

My mother bought a present for Jeanie in Jenners last Tuesday

Adjunct
in Jenners

Last tuesday

Place Adjunct

Time Adjunct

1.4. Clauses
Is a unit which as a minimum consists of a verb
and its complements but which may consist of a
verb, its complements and its adjuncts.
Enables us to talk coherently about the
relationship between verbs and different types of
phrase.
An ideal one consists of:
a phrase referring to an action or state.
a phrase or phrases referring to the people and
things involved in the action or state.
and possibly phrases referring to place and time.

 Example 1 :
My mother bought a present for Jeanie in Jenners last Tuesday

Clause

 Look at this example!

buyer

My mother
bought

action

A present

What was bought

Additional

For Jeanie

The person benefiting from the action

In Fenners

Place phrase

Last tuesday

Time phrase

Example 2:

The cat shot into the kitchen on Sunday morning

carrying a dead mouse
optional

1.5. Dictionaries Entries and Collocations

Collocations : regular fixed combinations
of verbs and nouns (involving heads and
compliments)
Dictionaries entries:
Blame someone for something and blame
something on someone are set
expressions in which only the prepositions
for or on can occur; this is information that
must be stated in the dictionary entry for
blame.

Combination of
verbs and objects

English and
most languages

Actual lexical items

that can occurs are
severely limited
E.g.
The word Toast and Grill

Toast bread

Toast fish

Grilled fish

Grilled
bread

Collocations

Collocation is a group of two or more words

that like to hang out together.
(taken from: sl.about.com/od/intermediate-collocations/f/What-IsCollocation.htm)

Heads

Collocations

Modifiers

Blame someone
for something

Blame something
on someone

for and on must be stated in

dictionary entry for blame

Collocations

Criterion for
recognizing
complements

A guide to determine whether a

particular phrase is obligatory
with a particular verb

Collocations

A guide to determine whether a

particular type of phrase has to be
mentioned in the dictionary
entry for a particular verb

A guide to determine
whether a particular phrase
is obligatory with a
particular verb

Collocational facts constitute interesting extra

information but, and this is the difficulty, are not
confined to verb and their complement noun; they
apply to adjectives and nouns, and to combination
adjective and another words.

Adjective and
noun:
Heavy smoker,
heavy drinker
etc.

Adjective and another

words:
Brand new, wide
awake, rock solid,
frozen bard

In Conclusion

Collocations are not a test for

complement status but merely an
additional set of interesting facts

1.6. Verbs, complements and other of phrases

Head

Modifier

Dependencies or dependency
relations.

1.6. Verbs, complements and other of phrases

Head

Controlling modifier

1.6. Verbs, complements and other of phrases

Controlling modifier

Modifier

Phrase

1.6. Verbs, complements and other of phrases

Verb

Head of
clauses

1.6. Verbs, complements and other of phrases

Verb
Adjunct

Adjunct

Complement

Clause

1.6. Verbs, complements and other of phrases

a. Maisie drove her car from Morningside to Leith on
Wednesday.
b. On Wednesday Maisie drove her car from Morningside
to Leith.
c. Maisie drove her car on Wednesday from Morningside
to Leith.

Remember!
The subject noun is regarded as a
complement, since it is obligatory.

1.6. Verbs, complements and other of phrases

a. Maisie drove her car from Morningside to Leith on
Wednesday
Objects and directional phrases are
compliments.

1.6. Verbs, complements and other of phrases

b. On Wednesday Maisie drove her car from Morningside
to Leith.

Not Important

Adjunct does not come between the

head and any of the complements

1.6. Verbs, complements and other of phrases

c. Maisie drove her car on Wednesday from Morningside

to Leith.

Awkward