DESCRIBING AND CLASSIFYING THE REFERENT
The pre-modifier SUMMARY
1 The pre-modifier function is realized typically by adjectives and nouns.
2 Adjectives are used to describe or classify the head noun. Nouns classify the noun or cohere with it to form noun compounds.
3 The descriptor function is realized by adjectives and participles whose reference may be:
descriptive: a popular disco, a sunny day, a galloping horse, an abandoned car
evaluative: a princely meal, a horrendous crime
either of the above: absolute zero, absolute rubbish (= nonsense)
4 The classifier function limits the entity to a sub-class in relation to:
affiliations: Indian art, French window, a Buddhist monk
quality: a poisonous snake, a non-alcoholic drink
norms: average age, standard size, top ten
process: rising prices , a growing population
society and institutions: metropolitan police, a football club; social status
technology: a nuclear power-station, electric light, solar energy
5 Some words can function as either descriptors or classifiers:
civil: a civil manner (descriptor); civil rights (classifier)
6 The elements of a NG are organized in a relationship of successive dependency and selection, from the head leftwards to the classifier, the descriptor and the determiner, and rightwards to the post-modifier, as indicated by the arrows in the following example:
d← des.d clas. ←h→ fin. Cl.
That short summer course we went on
7 The order of epithets is semantic and partly conventional, rather than grammatical.
