The nominal group. nominal group structure 1. Nomina l group. Recognising nouns. this week, we will be focusing on. Nouns can be described by:

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1 units of lexicogrammar c l a u s e group group group word word word word word word word His wife was working inside the house c l a u s e ng vg pp word word word word word word word His wife was working inside the house this week, we will be focusing on The nominal group A nominal group (ng) usually functions to express a participant in a clause, e.g. Nomina l group Paul James White rewrote the record books ng ng Actor Goal Recognising nouns Nouns can be described by: The main word in the nominal group is the noun. As the main word, the noun is called the head word or simply the, e.g. pointing to them counting them Those pens. Twelve pens. evaluating them old pens. ng the record books classifying them fountain pens. 1

2 Some nominal groups are simple and contain only the (noun). the (noun) may be a word complex, e.g. word complexes tend to occur mainly with proper names e.g. Paul-James White began studies e.g. Paul-James White began studies Most nominal groups contain some words before the (noun), e.g. words that come before the (noun) have various functions; they may 1. specify it; 2. count it; 3. describe it 4. classify it the record books words before the (noun) function to specify it in some way, e.g. words before the (noun) function to specify it in some way, e.g. points to the as being a specific points to the as being nonspecific the that her books book book some a books book 2

3 The word that specifies (or fails to specify) the is called So the structure of this nominal group is represented as: Deictic some books some the your that a etc books Deictic Items functioning as Deictic demonstratives specific the, this, that, these those whichever, whatever my, your, our, his, her, its, their John s, my father s etc possessives Deictic the this those whatever my their John s books Items functioning as Deictic Deictic non-specific no books a a(n), each, every either, neither one, both, all, some, any, no, every neither both some no Additionally, words before the may express how many s Numerative twenty many etc the two books Words before the may express Numerative how many s two books ten, six a couple of.. few, several many, much next, last, preceding, subsequent etc etc 3

4 Furthermore, words before the may describe the. This describing word is called So, words before the may specify, count and/or describe the. Epithet the two outstanding books Deictic Numerative Epithet the two outstanding books serious torn overdue etc Epithets indicate some quality of the things and are usually expressed by the word class adjective Words before the may also classify the. The classifying word is called Words before the may specify, count, describe and/or classify the. Classifier the two outstanding text books Deictic Numerative Epithet Classifier the two outstanding text library foreign etc books Classifiers are usually expressed by the word classes: adjective or noun Verb as Classifier warning a galloping horse a horse that is galloping a travelling salesman a salesman that travels Both Epithets and Classifiers can be expressed by words belonging to the word class verb a bleeding nose a nose that is bleeding a spoken language a language that is spoken 4

5 FAQ How do we distinguish between an Epithet and a Classifier? FAQ Epithets can be. Intensified intensifier very, really etc his very outstanding scholastic achievements really his outstanding very scholastic achievements FAQ Epithets can also be. comparative compared Epithet or Classifier? the same word can sometimes be used as either an Epithet or as a Classifier his more outstanding scholastic achievements most D E Cl his outstanding more scholastic achievements most As rules of thumb: 1. if the word can accept degrees of comparison or intensity then it is probably an Epithet. 2. If the word means of the kind that, then it is probably a Classifier Epithet or Classifier? government legislation Classifier 1. a kind of legislation, e.g. contrasting with Council? 2. able to be intensified, e.g. very government? The nominal group functions: Deictic Numerative, Epithet, Classifier, always occur in that order the two text outstanding books D N C E Th ferocious Epithet dog 1) a kind of dog, e.g. contrasting with corgi, alsatian etc? the text outstanding two books D C E N Th 2) able to be intensified, e.g. very ferocious? the two outstanding text books D N E C Th 5

6 More than one of these functions may be present, e.g. 2 Classifiers More than one of these functions may be present, e.g. 2 Epithets the two outstanding English text books D N E C1 C2 Th the two outstanding old English text books D N E1 E2 C1 C2 Th When two Epithets occur, how do we order them? e.g. Epithets expressing attitude come first a lovely big guard dog D E1 E2 Cl Th Task: Identify the nominal groups in these clauses 1. THE moon will fall into Earth's deep shadow on Tuesday, taking on a lustrous red or orange hue during the second total eclipse of Star gazers will be able to watch 3. as our planet's natural satellite is consumed by celestial dragons, 4. as the Chinese once thought. A former Year 9 Kiama High School student was accepted into UoW because his scholastic achievements are outstanding and his HSC trial examination results are remarkable What else can we put in front of the? We can put something before the Deictic which indicates an aspect of the, e.g. Orientation the back of the two outstanding old English text books D N E1 E2 Cl1 Cl2 Th 6

7 Orientation The Orientation element may indicate a measure of the, e.g. the back of the two outstanding old English text books Orientation D N E1 E2 Cl1 Cl2 Th the last of the two outstanding old English text books Orientation D N E1 E2 C1 C2 Th Notice that the Orientation itself forms a nominal group Everything that occurs before the (the head noun) modifies it in some way. So we can call all these pre- elements. Pre-modifier the last of the two outstanding old English text books Orientation D N E1 E2 C1 C2 Th Pre-modifier Locate the then label the rest of the nominal group elements The former Year 9 Kiama High School student was accepted into early entry into UoW A former Year 9 Kiama High School student D C1 C2 C3 C4 Pre-modifier Identify the Locate the then label the rest of the nominal group elements.based in the trial HSC examinations and his outstanding scholastic achievements. the trial HSC examinations D C1 C2 Pre-modifier Locate the nominal groups.based in the trial HSC examinations and his outstanding scholastic achievements. his outstanding scholastic achievements D E C Pre-modifier Identify the Identify the 7

8 Identify the elements of the nominal group The last of the ten hard-working students Orientation Deictic Num. Epithet Pre-modifier nominal group structure 2 nominal groups may contain information both before and after the (noun), e.g. The last of the many hard-working female students Orientation Deictic Num Epithet Classifier description description P r e m o d i f i e r The hard-working students at Sydney university nominal group structure 2 information occurring after the is called the nominal group structure 2 information occurring after the is called the The hard-working students at Sydney university Deictic Epithet the joint degree of mathematics and computing engineering D Cl Q u a l i f i e r nominal group structure 2 Because the occurs AFTER the it is also called the post-modifier nominal group structure 2 The function of the is to further define the. the joint degree of mathematics and computing engineering the joint degree of mathematics and computing engineering D Cl Q u a l i f i e r D Cl Q u a l i f i e r Pre-mod P o s t - m o d i f i e r Deictic specifies (or not) classifies which? 8

9 Identify the elements of the nominal group Identify the elements of the nominal group The students at Sydney university Deictic The hard-working students at Sydney university pre-modifier post-modifier Deictic Epithet pre-modifier post-modifier noun group structure nominal group structure The function of the is to further define the noun s can be: a phrase The hard-working students at Sydney university Deictic Epithet The hard-working students at Sydney university Deictic Epithet Q: Which (hardworking) students? A: The students at Sydney university nominal group structure 2 s can be: a clause nominal group structure 2 Identify the elements of the nominal group Embedded clause The hard-working students that I teach Deictic Epithet How do I know this is a clause? Because it contains a verb The hard-working students [[that I teach]] Deictic Epithet pre-modifier post-modifier * [[ ]] indicates that a clause is embedded 9

10 Locate the nominal groups in the following text extract: Hint: locate the first and then see if it is described by any pre-modifiers and/or post-modifiers Travelogue (continued) Identify the nominal groups After leaving Monkey Mia we headed south to Kalbarri. The entrance to this town is lined with wild flowers, banksia, wattles etc. It s an avenue of magnificent bouquets and as you look down the long stretch of road you see the most aqua blue water everywhere. We did a lot of whale- watching on our first day there and saw lots of whales heading south. A whale had calved that morning and all the others came by to say hi! Travelogue (continued) Identify the nominal groups After leaving Monkey Mia we headed south to Kalbarri. The entrance to this town is lined with wild flowers, banksia, wattles etc. It s an avenue of magnificent bouquets and as you look down the long stretch of road you see the most aqua blue water everywhere. We did a lot of whale- watching on Identify the structure of the nominal groups functioning as participants in clauses our first day there and saw lots of whales [[heading south]]. A whale had calved that morning and all the others came by to say hi! Participant NG NG part of PP phrase After leaving Monkey Mia we headed south to Kalbarri The entrance to this town is lined with wild flowers,... D Q It s an avenue of magnificent bouquets D Q and as you look down the long stretch of road you see the most aqua blue water everywhere D E1 E2 We did a lot of whale-watching on our first day there N and (we) saw lots of whales [[heading south.]] N Q A whale had calved that morning D and all the others came by D 1 D 2 D 3 10

11 comparative the most aqua blue water D E1 E2 a lot of whale-watching Num All the others All the other whales = D1 D2 D3 D1 D2 D3 Embedded clauses as Embedded clauses functioning as are called defining relative clauses; These defining relative clauses begin with a relative pronoun: who, which, that; Therefore the most useful rule for determining whether a clause is embedded as a in a nominal group is to see whether it begins with who, which or that, or whether one of these relative pronouns can be inserted. Embedded clauses as Lots of whales [[heading south]] D Lots of whales [[that were heading south]] D Defining relative clause beware There are such things as non-defining relative clauses which take the same form as defining relative clauses, i.e. they may begin with who, which or that Defining and non-defining relative clauses (we) saw lots of whales [[heading south.]] equivalent to (we) saw lots of whales [[that were heading south.]] They cancelled the concert, which upset everybody Non-defining relative clauses These are easy to distinguish in written language because punctuation ( a comma) separates them from the main clause, e.g. They cancelled the concert, which upset everybody They cancelled the concert, // which upset everybody 2 separate clauses non-defining relative clause 11

12 Travelogue (cont) Locate the nominal groups functioning as a Participant in the following text extract: 1 One thing we weren t disappointed with was the stairway to the Moon. 2 This phenomenon is seen each full moon at low tide 3 when the moon casts a beautiful light over the mud flats 4 and gives the illusion of steps leading up to the full moon. 5 It was a spectacular sight, 6 and was witnessed by about 4,000 people who were there at the same time. 7 There were more oooos and aaahhhs than at the fireworks over Sydney Harbour! Travelogue (cont) One thing we weren t disappointed with was the stairway to the Moon. This phenomenon is seen during each full moon at low tide when the moon casts a beautiful light over the mud flats and (this phenomenon) gives the illusion of steps leading up to the full moon. It was a spectacular sight, and (it) was witnessed by about 4,000 people who were there at the same time. There were more oooos and aaahhhs than at the fireworks over Sydney Harbour! One thing we weren t disappointed with the stairway to the Moon. This phenomenon the moon a beautiful light the illusion of steps leading up to the full moon. It a spectacular sight, by about 4,000 people who were there at the same time. Identify the structure of these nominal groups One thing [[ we weren t disappointed with ]] N Th the stairway [ to the Moon. ] D Th This phenomenon D Th the moon D Th 12

13 a beautiful light D E Th the illusion of steps [[leading up to the full moon.]] D Th It Th a spectacular sight, D E Th about 4,000 people who were there at the same time. N Th More embedded clauses 18 "Why did you sting me?" 19 the scorpion replied: 20 "It s my nature..." "It (= to sting) s my nature..." [[ to sting]] s my nature..." They're privatising things [[we own together]]. things [[we own together]]. Th [[sharing things]] is now unsound. They can't remove the simple common pleasure [[Of loathing public bastards such as these.]] the simple common pleasure Of [[ loathing public bastards such as these. ]] D E E Th practice Identify verbal groups and insert clause boundaries A total eclipse can occur only at full moon, and only if the moon passes through the zone, called the umbra, in which the Earth // // blocks all of the sun's rays. The colour cast by refracted light depends on the amount of volcanic gas and dust in the atmosphere blocking the sun's light. // // // 13

14 Highlight the nominal groups functioning as participants in the clauses 1. A total eclipse can occur only at full moon, 2. and only if the moon passes through the zone, 3. called the umbra, 4. in which the Earth blocks all of the sun's rays. 5. The colour [[cast by refracted light]] depends on the amount of volcanic gas and dust in the atmosphere [[blocking the sun's light]]. Identify the structure of the nominal groups functioning as participants in the clauses A total eclipse the moon the umbra the Earth D Cl all of the sun's rays. Th The colour [[cast by refracted light]] the amount of volcanic gas and dust in the atmosphere [[blocking the sun's light]]. O D 1 D 2 Th D Th Q O Cl Th Q 1) Total lunar eclipses normally occur roughly every couple of years,// 2) but this year there will have been two (total lunar eclipses), // 3) the other (total lunar eclipse) having taken place on March 3. // 4) The next chance [[to see //the moon slip entirely into terrestrial shadows]] will be on February 21, 2008, // 5) but after that the wait is longer: December // Never travel with a friend [[who deserts you at the hour of danger.]] Never travel With a friend [[who deserts you at the hour of danger]] Pro: Mat Circ: accompaniment 3 types of clauses: declarative, interrogative and imperative Marked imperative: you go away Unmarked: go away 14