Sarada Mauck

Part 1. Complex Noun Phrases

Noun phrases tend to go beyond the simplistic norm we typically think of. They

are typically thought of as a determiner and noun with the possibility of an adjective here

and there- but they have the ability to be so much more complex in their structure.

Complex noun phrases are noun phrases that are expanded with the use of modifiers.

There are several different kinds of modifiers that may go into a complex noun phrase in

a specific order. The first are premodifiers that occur before the noun and are identified as

adjectives, other noun phrases, or participles. The premodifier comes before the head

noun, which is then followed by a postmodifier. A postmodifier can be a prepositional

phrase, appositive noun phrase, finite relative clause, or a non-finite clause. Complex

noun phrases are not limited in having only premodifiers or postmodifiers, but they are

able to have both at the same time and multiple at that. It is important to look at complex

noun phrases in their functionality in different registers to be able to understand their

functionality.

For this particular analysis, a newspaper article will be the text analyzed. A table,

labeled Table 1, has been presented below in order to show an organized chart of the

various examples found within the text.

Modifier Type Examples

A. Adjective as a 1. A long history
premodifier 2. federal prosecutors
3. The guilty plea
B. Noun as a 1. A plea agreement
premodifier 2. For terrorist detainees
3. A covert agent
 C. Participle as a 1. Disclosing information
premodifier
D. Noun phrase with a 1. Trial on separate charges
prepositional phrase 2. His undercover work in capturing Al Qaeda leader Abu
as a postmodifier Zubaydah
3. An 11-page statement of facts
E. Appositive noun 1. John C. Kinakou, a CIA officer from 1990-2004
phrase as a post 2. James W. McJunkin, assistant director in charge of the
modifier FBIs Washington field office
F. Noun phrase with 1. A Washington journalist [who then shared that information]
finite relative clause
as a postmodifier
G. Noun phrase with a 1. facts [signed by Kiriakou]
nonfinite clause as a 2. FBI agents [trying to track down the leaks]
postmodifier
H. Noun phrase with 1. A single count ( A)
premodificaiton 2. A covert agent (A)
only 3. A criminal offence (B)
I. Noun phrase with 1. the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (D)
post modification 2. the identity of the CIA covert officer (D)
only 3. that information with defense lawyers (D)
J. Noun phrase with 1. CIA headquarters as well as in classified overseas
both premodifiers assignments (B and D)
and postmodifiers 2. contact information for a CIA analyst (A and D)
3. regular access to national defense information (A and D)
K. Noun phrase with 1. A 30-month federal prison sentence (A and B)
multiple 2. various classified overseas assignments (A)
premodifiers
L. Noun phrase with 1. A former U.S. intelligence officer with a long history at CIA
mutiple post headquarters (D)
modifiers 2. 250,000 fine under a plea agreement with federal prosecutors
(D)

Table 1 lists examples of the different types of noun modifiers in the left-hand column

(labeled A-L) and specific examples that can be found in the text are listed on the

right-hand column (labeled with numbers). It is important to note the common themes

that are found in news texts before going into an in depth analysis. In the news register,

the most abundant type of modifier is no modifier at all. This is followed by

premodifiers, postmodifiers, and then both pre- and postmodifiers. Within the category of

premodifiers, common adjectives are most frequent within texts followed by nouns,

ing-adjectives, and ed-adjectives. Within the category of postmodifiers, the most

abundant are prepositional phrases as postmodifiers and all other modifiers are less

frequent. When looking at the table and the specific text being analyzed, these trends can

be seen to hold true.

In the premodifier categories there are adjectives, nouns, and participles. In rows

A-C we can see examples of all of these in the text. Row A shows adjectives that can be

found within the text in its examples 1-3, such as example 1, a long history- these are

the most common type of premodifiers within the text. We can see this through rows H

and K as well. In row H, it can be seen that there are more adjectives modifying nouns in

the simplest way than there are nouns or participles modifying these nouns. In row K, we

see within the multiple premodifiers that adjectives are the most frequent. The reasoning

for the larger frequency of adjectives as premodifiers could be the register itself. Because

the audience and the author do not share time and space, it is the duty of the author to

paint a more vivid picture for the audience. Since the news is only being reported and not

seen by the audience, it is necessary for the author to give colorful detail so that the

audience has a clear understanding. Nouns and participles give a picture for the audience

in a way that does not necessarily paint a picture, but rather makes the information

more specific. This can be seen in row B example 2, the terrorist detainees where the

word terrorist makes the type of detainees a more specific group of people rather than a

more emotional modification such as in row A example 3 the guilty plea which gives
the audience a more emotional understanding of the situation to help them have a better

connection to news.

The postmodifier categories consist of prepositional phrases, appositive noun

phrases, finite relative clauses, and non-finite clauses. Of all of these, prepositional

phrases were far more frequent than the rest. Appositive noun phrases were only used

twice and in a way that gave more information about specific people that were mentioned

in the text. This can be seen in row E, example 1 with John C. Kinakou, a CIA officer

from 1990-2004. Relative finite clauses were rare due to the fact that they usually

contain a gap of some sort (for example, in row F example 1 there is a subject gap) and in

a news register it is probably better to have minimal gaps to keep the information

presented concise and definite. Nonfinite clauses, though infrequent, were still more

frequently found than finite. They are common in news writing with ed-clauses being the

most frequent, such as in row G example 1 with the phrase facts [signed by Kiriakou].

The nonfinite clauses are used frequently in news writing because they are efficient in

that they convey the same meaning in fewer words. Finally, prepositional phrases were

the most common within this text, with specific examples in row D example 1 with the

phrase trial on separate charges. This could be seen not only in looking for

prepositional phrases alone (row D), but also in only postmodifiers (row I example 3,

that information with defense lawyers), both pre- and postmodifiers (row J example 2,

contact information for a CIA analyst), and in multiple postmodifiers (row L, example

1 A former U.S. intelligence officer with a long history at CIA headquarters).

Prepositional phrases are the most common in news registers because they help to convey
details in information given to help the reader (who does not share time and space with

the author or the event) to have a clear and well-informed understanding of the text.

Premodifiers and postmodifiers are crucial in news writing. This is due to the fact

that in news writing the author has to address specific information to an audience that do

not share time and space with the author. This leads to a need for several complex noun

phrases with multiple premodifiers and postmodifiers in order to effectively give

information in a detailed manner that the audience is able to comprehend. Adjectives are

commonly used for their concise and descriptive aspects as premodifiers while

prepositional phrases are the most commonly used post modifiers to give more

information after the noun has been presented. It is important to note the different types

of premodifiers and postmodifiers within their respected register in order to understand

the syntactic and semantic roles that they play in the register they are in.

Part 2. Explaining Structures- Verb Operators and Question Formation

In the English language there are three different types of questions used: yes/no

questions, Wh-questions, and question tags. This analysis will be specifically looking at

the formation of the Wh-questions. These types of questions are formed by the movement

of constituents of gaps of missing words or phrases, subjects, and verb operators in order

to request information that may be missing. There are a number of steps in the process of

forming questions and a knowledge of how the constituents move from a declarative

statement into a question.

 Within question formation, it is important to know what a verb operator is. A verb

operator is a verb that is moved in order to form a question. There are three specific types

of verb operators: first auxiliary verbs, "Be as a main verb, and Do as an operator

(also known as a dummy auxiliary). Wh-questions begin with a Wh-word that fill a

gap in the sentence of the missing information (such as the subject, direct object,

adverbial, etc.). When forming a question, the Wh-word moves to the beginning of a

clause and the verb operator and subject are switched around in a process called

subject-operator inversion. A subject-operator inversion refers to what happens when we

make a question- the operator is placed in front of the subject. An example of this can be

seen in the question, What would you advise? If we were to make this question a

declarative statement, it would read, You would advise what. Because the what takes

the place of what would be the direct object in the declarative form, we can assume that it

takes the direct object gap. When turning the declarative statement into a question, the

constituents move in a subject-operator inversion. The word what moves to the front of

the clause, followed by the operator would moving in front of the subject you. While

this works in this example, there are times where questions are formed without a

subject-operator inversion.

When there is a subject gap within a clause, a subject-operator inversion is not

applicable in the process of forming a question. For instance, take the question, Who

hasnt dinged another car? If the sentence were to be in the declarative form, it would

read as, (someone) hasnt dinged another car. The word someone is put in

parenthesis because there is a subject gap within this sentence, meaning that the word or
phrase that is meant to be the subject is not specifically stated. The word who takes

place for the subject gap, but because this is true, there is no need for a subject-operator

inversion. This is because there is no subject already presented to have the operator move

in front of.

Auxiliary verbs are a common type of verb operator in forming sentences. In two

of the three examples given with auxiliary verb operators, they are used in questions with

adverbial gaps. In the question, When were they last seen?, the declarative form would

be They were last seen when. In the declarative form, we see that when is at the end

of the sentence filling the adverbial gap. The gap shows that the questions purpose is to

seek the last time they were seen due to the lack of information that the adverbial phrase

would provide. A subject-operator inversion is used in this sentence; the Wh-word

when moves to the beginning of the clause and is directly followed by the auxiliary

verb were. This is also used with the example with the Wh-word how. In the

question, How are you handling the situation? the declarative form becomes You are

handling the situation how.. The word how is at the end of the sentence and fills the

adverbial gap because the information regarding how the information is being handled is

not specified within the sentence. Once again, the subject-operator inversion is used as

how moves to the beginning of the clause and the auxiliary verb are moves in front

of the subject you.

The last two types of verb operators include Be as a main verb and Do as an

operator (or the dummy auxiliary). An example of a question formation with Be as

the main verb would be the question, When were they in Oklahoma?. The declarative
form of this question is, They were in Oklahoma when. Despite the copular verb in the

sentence, the when fills the adverbial gap which describes the time that was spent while

in Oklahoma. A subject-operator inversion is used with the Be verb, placing when at

the beginning of the clause and the auxiliary verb are directly following before the

subject is introduced. Finally, the Do as an operator or dummy operator is the last

type of verb operator used in question formation and also slightly different than the other

two types previously mentioned. The Do as an operator inserts the auxiliary do when

there are no be main verbs or auxiliaries that can be moved in the question. For

example, the question How do I jazz up a white shirt? is switched around and put in the

declarative form as I jazz up a white shirt how. This declarative does not contain do

but for the sake of constituent movement, it can be placed in the sentence and read I do

jazz up a white shirt how., but it makes the sentence cluttered and slightly confusing.

The how in this sentence fills the adverbial gap by being the unidentified information

regarding the means of jazzing up a white shirt. Therefore, because the how is the

Wh-word, it moves to the front of the clause and is then followed by the dummy auxiliary

do which is inserted before the subject you.

In Wh-question formation, the Wh-word is typically moved to the beginning of

the sentence so that the gap of missing information is the first thing addressed within the

question. This makes it so the receiver of the question can easily identify what

information needs to be provided to adequately answer the question. Moving the

Wh-word to the front and followed by the subject-operator inversion (in some but not all

cases) forms a question intended for gathering missing information. The knowledge of
how questions are formed is important in identifying missing information and how to

formulate questions from declarative statements.