Type
1) Adjectives / past participles modifying nouns
X Rel. BE adj.
/ pp - adj. / pp X
woman who / that is
Italian - Italian woman
car which / that was old - old car
disc which / that is compact - compact disc
city which / that is crowded - crowded city
flowers which / that are beautiful - beautiful flowers
Type
2) Nouns modifying other nouns:
a) General (“Noun string”)
X prep. art. Y
- Y X
officer
of the police - police officer
player of / for Ø CDs - CD player
licence for Ø driving - driving licence
(BrE)
eater of Ø mice - mouse / mice eater
distillation of Ø whisky - whisky distillation
handle of the
door - door handle
cream for Ø faces - face cream
b) Genitive
i) belonging / ownership
X belonging to Y Y’s / Ys’ X
bar belonging to Sam -
Sam’s bar
brother
belonging to James -
James’s / James' brother
house belonging to the Smiths - the Smiths’ house
helicopter belonging to the President - the
President’s helicopter
head belonging to the patient - the
patient ‘s head
finest belonging to New York - New
York’s finest
ii) intended for a specific group of
people
X for Y Y’s / Ys’ X
jacket for a woman / women - a woman’s jacket
license for a driver / drivers - a driver’s license (USE)
helmet for a pilot / pilots - pilot's helmet
discount for a student / students
- a
student’s discount
chair for a dentist / dentists - a dentist’s chair
iii) time
expressions in general
X of Y Y’s / Ys’ X
paper of yesterday -
yesterday’s paper
time
of five minutes - five
minutes’ time
model of last year - last year’s model
lecture of Tuesday - Tuesday’s
lecture
train of tomorrow night - tomorrow
night’s train
What
would one call:
1)
a guard of a
prison which is security which is high?
a high security prison guard
2) the
production of hydrogen which is liquid?
liquid hydrogen production
3) a grant for students who
are from overseas?
an overseas student’s grant
4) the garage of (belonging
to) the man who lives opposite?
the man who lives opposite’s garage
5) a pump of fluid which is
thermovector?
a thermovector fluid pump
6) the book by an actress
who is famous?
a famous actress’s book
7) a painter of landscapes
who is from Holland?
a Dutch landscape painter
8) a device for the saving
of energy?
an energy saving device
9) a parcel made of paper
which is brown?
a brown paper parcel
Further
points for consideration:
(NB: *"the handle's door" =
the form is impossible; ?"the door's handle" = the form is not
acceptable to all speakers or can only be used in very specific contexts)
1) What is the difference
between “the English team” and “the England team”?
“The English team” = e.g. Manchester United, Aston
Villa etc:
“The England Team” = the team of England, i.e. the
national side.
2) Why
does one normally say “the Queen of England” and not *“the England queen”,
“England’s queen” or “the English queen”?
Formal titles are not normally
abbreviated , like proper names in formal contexts (cf. Elizabeth / Liz)
2)
Although structures like "X of Y"
can normally be shortened to "YX" (see Type 2, a), expressions like
"a lot of problems" or "a litre of wine" do not have the
equivalents *"a problem lot" or *"a wine litre". Why do you
think this is so?
“A lot of” and “a litre of” etc. function as quantifiers (like “many” /
“much”). As such, they constitute single indivisible expressions and, indeed,
typically the verb agrees with the postmodifying noun (that which is
quantified) not the grammatical head, the quantifier (e.g. “lot”; “litre”): “A
lot of people drink” and not *“A lot of people drinks” (cf: in Italian: “La
maggiore parte della gente beve”).
4) In the examples below,
say why the particular noun phrase structure has been used
i)
They have put
the new Adele album on the shelves next to the cash register.
Adele is not the owner of the album (i.e. the piece of plastic for
sale). ‘Adele’ designates the kind of album.
ii)
I borrowed Adele’s
album but I’ve lost it and will have to buy her a new one.
Adele is the owner of the album.
iii)
Adele’s new
album marks her return after a long absence.
Adele is the owner of the album, not as an artefact (i.e. a piece of
plastic), but as a work of art.
5) Regarding
genitives used for something intended for a specific group of people (see Type
2, b, ii), occasionally one finds structures like those given in the examples
below, which would seem to adhere to the structure of Type 2, a. Why do you
think such structures are used in the specific contexts in question?
i)
Centrum Trains Block Train Driver Pay
Rise. "We Will Take Action" Unions Warn.
In the telegraphic styles of newspaper headlines, shorter forms are
preferred wherever possible. A noun string (Type 2 a) is shorter than a
genitive (Type 2b), even if there is a slight change in meaning.
ii)
Starting university this autumn? Apply for
one of our student loans. Just call in to your local branch and ask for
a leaflet.
Type ii genitives are being replaced by noun strings (2a) in more impersonal,
neutral discourse.
iii)
The passenger compartment has been
redesigned to comply with new regulations on aircraft safety.
Type ii genitives are being replaced by noun strings (2a) in the more impersonal,
neutral discourse of technology
6) While,
in conversation, it is possible to say something like “the man who lives
opposite’s garage”, such structures are less acceptable in written discourse.
Why do you think this is so? Which of the below do you think would be
acceptable in either spoken (s) or written (w) discourse, or both?
s w
√ √ i) Einstein’s theory
√ √ ii) This particular physicist’s theory.
√ √ iii) This particular original-thinking
physicist’s theory.
√ X iv) This particular original-thinking and
widely respected physicist’s theory.
? X v) This particular physicist, who, in the
past, has admitted he has been wrong’s theory.
Basically,
the longer (and more complex) the noun phrase to which the genitive 's' is
attached, the less acceptable it is in written discourse, and to a lesser
degree in spoken discourse. This because, if the head (‘theory’ in the cases
above) is postponed for too long the phrase is successively more difficult for
the addressee to process and there is a risk of incoherence. Also the stylistic
rule of end-weighting applies (longer more complex elements – in this case the
modification ̶
are best placed at the end of the clause: “The theory of this particular
physicist, who, in the past, has admitted he has been wrong.” )
7) Explain the ambiguity of expressions like
“English teacher”, “government inspector”, “Police Complaints Authority” or
“dentist’s chair”.
“Teacher who is English” vs. “teacher of English” (the
subject); “Inspector of governments” (someone who inspects governments) vs.
“Inspector from the government” (a government official); who sits in the chair?
Is it for the dentist, or the patient (i.e. respectively, is it for his use (as
in 2b ii) or does it belong to him or her (as in 2b i) ?)
8) Sometimes, the same noun phrase can be said
to derive from different underlying structures. For example, New York City
could be said to come either from "City of New York" or "City
which is New York", the latter structure being equative (i.e. "X =
Y") rather than attributive (i.e. "X has the quality of being
Y"). Indeed, between Type 1 and Type 2,a there would seem to be some
overlap given that phrases like "blue eyes" can be expressed as
"eyes which are blue" or "eyes of blue". How would you
explain this fact, given that it is not possible to say *"eyes of
tired" or *"eyes of Irish"?
“Blue” can be
both a noun and an adjective; “tired” and “Irish” can only be adjectives (and
can thus not be the object of a preposition)
9) An animal that eats mice can
be either a “mouse eater” or a “mice eater” (see Type 2,a), but
an animal that eats rats can only be called a “rat eater” not a *“rats
eater”. Similarly a book for children is generally known as a “Children’s book”
or a “Child’s book” (see Type 2, b, ii), although the former term is more
usual. What is different about the words ‘mouse’ and ‘child’?
Irregular
plurals like ‘mice’ and ‘children’ can be used to modify nouns. It would seem
that there is a rule that removes the plural ‘s’ from regular plurals like
‘rats’ when it is used as a premodifier. Such a rule has no effect on irregular
plurals.
10) Regarding
the general point of plural modifiers, although *“rats eater” is impossible,
one still finds noun phrases like “sports centre”, “Arts
Council”, “Police Complaints Authority” (see Type 2, a), or “visitors’
waiting area” (see Type 2, b, ii). What factors may make the plural admissible
in these cases?
A plural noun can be used as premodifier in noun string (2a) when there
is a contrast two senses of a word, one countable, the other uncountable (e.g.
‘sport’ meaning physical activity for leisure and “a sport” such as football).
In such a case the plural form is used to show that the countable sense is
meant (e.g. a centre for specific sports such as tennis, football etc. and not
a centre for physical activity for leisure in general), In other cases (e.g.
complaints and visitors’), the plural is used to emphasise the plurality, and
variety of the modifier (i.e. an authority for all kinds of compliant against
the police; a waiting area for all visitors)
11) Examine any potential
differences in meaning between the four structures below:
i)
The greenhouse is at the bottom of the
garden.
Compound noun meaning “serra” in Italian, in this extreme case, a meaning
not directly deducible from the separate component words ‘green’ and ‘house’
(cf. ‘blackboard’, ‘weekend’, ‘doorbell’)
ii)
The green house is at the bottom of the
road.
An abbreviated noun phrase of type 1 = “the house which is green”.
iii)
The house which is green is at the bottom of
the road.
A
full, extended, noun phrase of type 1, in effect a defining (or restrictive)
relative clause.
iv)
The house, which is green, is number 43.
In this case, there is a non-defining (non-restrictive) relative clause
which cannot be abbreviated as with type 1 noun phrases. The information
contained therein, namely that the house is green is presented as additional or
parenthetical (cf. “the house (which is green) is number 43”) and not necessary
for designation of the referent.
12) Despite
the rules outlined in the table above, occasionally there are noun phrases such
as “court-martial” (plural, both “courts-martial” and ?“court-martials”),
“Theatre Royal”, “Mission Impossible”, "Police Scotland" and
"County Durham". Analyse the probable structures of such noun phrases
and say why you think they might be used.
“Court martial”, and possibly “Theatre Royal” and “County Durham” derive
form French and retain the original syntax even if the spelling has been
anglicised to a degree. Phrases like “Mission Impossible” or "Police
Scotland" (or “Love Supreme”, “Team GB”, “Post Australia”), which are
becoming more common, would seem to be used because the marked word order adds
emphasis and gives the expression a more grandiose, important, sound.
NEWS IN BRIEF:
Another (1)
crisis for the EU
(2) Ministers of agriculture from Europe
have finished their (3) emergency’s meeting in Brussels. No agreement
was reached on the (4) carrot’s crisis. (5) The minister from Finland
has threatened to boycott future talks if something is not done to reduce (6) the
importation of carrots from (7) countries which are non-EU.
(8) Fire in factory. Police seek youths
(9) Last night’s
fire which destroyed (10) a warehouse of a factory is believed to
have been started deliberately. (11) A spokesperson for the police said
that there were reports of (12) a youths group who were seen in (13) the
area of the factory at about the time that the fire started. Police are
appealing for witnesses.
Aston United sign new player.
Gerry Nugumi, (14) the
striker from Nigeria who is 21 years old, has agreed to leave his present
club, Dynamo Innsbruck, who play in (15) the Austria’s League, for a
(16) fee for transfer of £8 million. This is the highest sum that Aston
United have ever paid for a player but (17) manager of the team, Bobby Corner,
said: “Gerry’s a (18) player who is a star and he is worth every
penny.(19) The United future depends on attracting (20) players of a
standard which is international like Gerry to Aston.”
Say whether the
noun phrases which are underlined are correct. If they are, put a tick (P) in the box. In
either case, reformulate the noun phrases, if possible.
1) √ EU crisis 11) √ A police spokesperson
2) √ European Ministers of Agriculture 12) X A group of youths
European Agriculture Ministers (informal)
3) X Emergency meeting 13) √ Factory area
4) X carrot crisis 14) √ the 21-year old Nigerian striker
5) √ The Finnish minister 15) X the Austrian league
6) √ carrot importation 16) √ an £8-million transfer fee
7) √ non-EU countries 17) √ team manager
8) √ Factory Fire 18) √ star player
9) √ the fire of last night 19) X
United’s future
(no change necessary)
10) √ factory warehouse 20) √ international standard players
