Quirk

A
COMPREHENSIVE
GRAMMAR
OF THE
ENGLISH
LANGUAGE
Randolph Quirk
Sidney Greenbaum
Geoffrey Leech
Jan Svartvik
LONGMAN
A
COMPREHENSIVE
GRAMMAR
OF THE
ENGLISH
LANGUAGE
Randolph Quirk
Sidney Greenbaum
Geoffrey Leech
Jan Svartvik
Index by David Crystal

L o n g m an G ro u p Lim ited,
• L o n g m a n H ouse, B u rn t M ill, H arlow ,
E sse x C M 2 0 2JE , E ngland
a n d A sso c ia te d Com panies throughout th e world.
P u b lis h e d in th e U n ite d S tates o f A m erica

by L o n g m a n In c ., N e w Y o rk
© L o n g m a n G r o u p L im ite d 1985
A l l rig h ts reserved; no p a r t o f this publication
m a y be reproduced, sto red in a retrieval system ,
or tr a n s m itte d in an y fo r m or by an y m eans, electronic,
m echanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
w ithout th e p rio r written perm ission o f the Publishers.
F ir s t p u b lis h e d 1985
S ta n d a r d e d i tio n IS B N 0 582 51734 6
D e lu xe e d i tio n IS B N 0 582 96502 0
B ritish L ib r a ry C ataloguing in Publication D ata

A co m p re h e n s iv e g r a m m a r o f th e E n g lish la nguage.
1. E n g lis h la n g u ag e— G r a m m a r — 1950-
I . Q u ir k , R a n d o lp h I I . C ry stal, D a v id
428.2 PE1112
IS B N 0 - 5 8 2 -5 1 7 3 4 -6
L ibrary o f C ongress Cataloguing in Publication D ata

A c o m p re h e n s iv e g ra m m a r o f th e E n g lish language.
B ib lio g ra p h y : p.
In c lu d e s in d e x .
1. E n g lis h la n g u a g e — G r a m m a r — 19 5 - . I. Q u irk ,
R a n d o lp h .
P E 1 1 0 6 .C 6 5 19 8 5 4 28.2 84-27848
IS B N 0 - 5 8 2 -5 1 7 3 4 -6
S et in A P S 4 T im e s a n d U n iv ers.
T y p e se t, p r in t e d a n d b o u n d in G r e a t B rita in
by W illia m C lo w e s L im ite d , B eccles a n d L ondon.
D esigned b y A r th u r L o ck w o o d
Preface
F ro m the tim e w h en w e s ta rte d co llab o ratin g as a team in th e 1960s, w e

en v isag ed n o t a g ra m m a r b u t a series o f gram m ars. In 1972, th e re a p p e a re d
th e first v olum e in th is series, A G ram m ar o f Contemporary E nglish (G C E ).
T h is w as follow ed soon a fte rw a rd s by tw o sh o rter w orks, A C om m unicative
G ram m ar o f E nglish (C G E ) a n d A University Gram mar o f E nglish ( U G E ,
p u b lish ed in th e U n ite d S tates w ith th e title A Concise G ram m ar o f
C ontem porary E nglish ). T h e s e tw o w ere in p a rt a n a b rid g m en t o f G C E , b u t
w h a t is m o re sig n ifican t is t h a t th e y w ere deliberately d ifferen t b o th fro m th e
p a r e n t b o o k an d fro m e ac h o th e r. T h is is p articu larly obvious in th e c a s e o f
C G E , w h ich looks a t th e w h o le g ra m m a r o f the language fro m a se m a n tic
a n d c o m m u n ica tiv e v iew p o in t. I t is less obviously tru e o f UGE, w h ic h follow s
th e c h a p te r d iv isio n s a n d in m o st cases th e c h ap ter titles o f G C E , th o u g h in
fa c t th e a b rid g m e n t w as a c c o m p a n ie d by a good d eal o f fresh th in k in g a n d
ra d ic a l revision.
W ith A Comprehensive G ram m ar o f the English Language, w e a tte m p t
so m e th in g m u ch m o re a m b itio u s : a cu lm in atio n o f o u r jo in t w o rk , w h ich
re su lts in a g ra m m a r th a t is co n sid era b ly larger a n d rich e r th a n G C E a n d
h e n c e su p e ro rd in ate to it. Y e t, a s w ith o u r o th er volum es since G C E , it is also
a g ra m m a r th a t in co rp o ra te s o u r ow n fu rth er research o n g ra m m a tic a l
s tru c tu re as w ell as th e resea rc h o f scholars w orld-w ide w ho h a v e c o n trib u te d
to th e d e sc rip tio n o f E n g lish a n d to d ev elo p m en ts in linguistic theory.
I t scarcely n e ed s to b e s a id th a t w e ta k e full collective re sp o n sib ility fo r
th e c o n te n ts o f th is b o o k . B u t w h a t does in d eed n eed to be said is t h a t it h a s
b e e n im m easu rab ly im p ro v e d as a resu lt o f th e generous a ssista n ce th a t w e
h a v e receiv ed , n o t lea st fro m o u r o w n students. W e h av e b en efited to o from
th e p e rc e p tiv e a tte n tio n t h a t G C E , UGE, an d C G E h av e receiv ed fro m
re v ie w e rs th ro u g h o u t th e w o rld . B u t in a d d itio n to th ese scholars a n d w riters,
in a d d itio n also to th e n u m ero u s sch o lars th a t we ack n o w led g ed in e arlie r
p re fa c es, a fu rth e r w illing b a n d o f linguists p u t them selves gen ero u sly a t o u r
d isp o sa l in g iv in g d etailed a tte n tio n to earlier d rafts o f w h a t h a s b eco m e A
Comprehensive G ram m ar o f the E nglish Language.
S o m e few h ave ev en u n d e rta k e n th e h eav y task o f giving a d e ta ile d c ritiq u e
o f th e e n tire b o o k in such a n e a rlie r d ra ft. F o r th e ir search in g w o rk to th is
d eg ree, w e a re e sp ecially in d e b te d to J o h n A lgeo, R A Close, a n d R o b e rt d e
B e au g ra n d e, w h o b etw een th e m p ro d u c ed h u n d red s o f p ages o f in v alu a b le
c o m m e n ts. B u t w e a re g ra te fu l also to W N F ran cis a n d B en g t Jaco b sso n ,
w h o g a v e c o m p a rab ly g en ero u s a n d skilled a tte n tio n to large p a rts o f th e
book.
M a n y o th e r sch o lars have h e lp e d us w ith o n e o r m o re in d iv id u a l c h a p te rs
o r w ith specific p ro b lem s in th e d e s c rip tio n o f g ram m ar. W e list th e ir n a m e s,
b u t th is c a n in n o w ay co n v ey o u r degree o f g ratitu d e o r in d ic a te th e
in te lle ctu a l effo rt fro m w h ich w e h a v e b e n efite d : V A d am s, B A lten b e rg , E
A n d e rsso n , W -D B ald, D L B o lin g er, J C oates, R C u reto n , L H a e g e m a n , R
Ilso n , S Jo h a n sso n , H K a k e h i (a n d h is K o b e students), H K in o sh ita , T
L av elle, B L o tt, C F M eyer, T N e v ala in e n , W J P epicello, G S tein , J
T ag lich t, J T h o m p so n , G T o ttie, T W aid a, K W ales. T h e fact th a t so m e o f
th ese frien d s are am o n g th e m ost e m in e n t ex p erts in th e w orld o n A m e ric an ,
B ritish , an d o th e r v a rieties o f E n g lish h a s co n trib u ted beyond m easu re to th e
co n fid en ce w ith w h ich w e assign such d escrip tiv e labels as ‘A m E ’ a n d ‘B rE ’.
F in a lly , w e ta k e g reat p leasu re in m ak in g clear th a t D a v id C ry stal’s role
h a s ex ten d ed fa r b eyond w h at is in d ic a te d o n the title page. H e h a s n o t
m erely p ro v id ed th e d etailed in d ex w h ic h w ill m ak e ‘in fo rm atio n re trie v a l’
p o ssib le ; in ad d itio n , in th e course o f th is onerous an d highly sp ecialized
ta s k , h e h as c o n trib u te d p erv asiv ely to th e co rrectio n o f e rro r, th e
s ta n d a rd iz a tio n o f term inology, a n d th e im p ro v em en t o f p resen tatio n .
B u t th is P reface w ould be sadly in co m p lete if w e d id n o t also re co rd o u r
g ra titu d e to th e g ra n t-g iv in g b o d ies w hose fin an cial h elp (over a n d a b o v e th e
su p p o rt w e h av e receiv ed from U n iv e rsity C ollege L ondon, L u n d U n iv e rsity ,
th e U n iv e rsity o f L an c aste r, a n d th e U n iv e rsity o f W isconsin) h a s m a d e o u r
re sea rc h a n d w ritin g possible: th e L ev erh u lm e T ru st, th e G u lb e n k ia n
F o u n d a tio n , th e Social S cience R e se arc h C ouncil, th e B ritish A cad em y , th e
K n u t a n d A lice W allen b erg F o u n d a tio n , th e B an k o f Sw eden T e rc e n te n a ry
F o u n d a tio n , a n d o u r p ublishers, th e L o n g m a n G ro u p .
RQ SG G L JS
F e b ru a ry 1985
Contents
Preface v
Pronunciation table viii
Abbreviations and sym bols ix
1 The English language 1
2 A s u r v e y o f E n g lis h g r a m m a r 35
3 Verbs and auxiliaries 93

4 Th e sem antics o f the verb phrase 173
5 Nouns and determ iners 241
6 Pronouns and numerals 333

7 A djectives and adverbs 399
8 Th e sem antics and gram m ar of adverbials 475
9 Prepositions and prepositional phrases 655
10 T h e simple sentence 717
11 Sentence types and discourse functions 8 01
12 P ro-form s a n d ellipsis 855
13 Coordination 915
1 4 The com plex sentence 985
15 Syntactic and sem antic functions of subordinate

c la u s e s 1045
16 Com plem entation of verbs and adjectives 1147
1 7 Th e n o u n phrase 1235
1 8 Them e, focus, and inform ation processing 1353
1 9 From sentence to text 1421
A ppendix I W o rd -fo rm a tio n 1515
Appendix II Stress, rhythm , and intonation 1587
Appendix III Punctuation 1609
Bibliography 1641
Index 1665
Pronunciation table
CONSONANTS VOWELS
VOICELESS VOICED
M P‘g M big M sheep

N te n /d / den N ship
N cot Isl got M bed
If/. fa t M vat M bad
/e / th in /« / th en /a :/ calm
N Soon /z / zero /ol pot
HI fish Izl pleasu re M cau g h t
Ml ch eap /d 3/ jee p M put
N hot /m / sum M boot
/n / sun N cut
M sung /3l7 bird
/!/ led N ab o v e
/r/ red M day
HI yet Is u l coal
M wet /a il lie
/a u / now
/oi/ boy
/» 7 here
/eo7 th e re
W poor
/erar/ p lay er
la u a '/ lower
la ia 'I tire
/ao 3 r/ tow er
/orar/ em p lo y er
Syllabic c o n so n a n ts a re in d ic a te d th u s : n , 1
/ r/ d e n o te s th e p o ssib ility (eg in A m E ) o f ‘po stv o calic r \
F o r in d ic a tio n s o f stress, in to n a tio n , a n d o th e r p rosodic fe a tu re s see A p p II.
Abbreviations and symbols
A a d v erb ial
A„ o b ject-related a d v erb ial
As su b je ct-related a d v erb ial
AmE A m e ric a n E n g lish
aux au x iliary
B rE B ritish E n g lish
C co m p lem en t
c„ o b jec t c o m p lem en t
Cs su b ject c o m p lem en t
com p c o m p a rativ e
E e n d p o sitio n o f ad v erb ial
-ed -e d p a rtic ip le fo rm
eM en d -m e d ia l p o sitio n o f ad v erb ial
I in itia l p o sitio n o f ad v erb ial
iE in itial-en d p o sitio n o f a d v erb ial
iM in itial-m ed ial p o sitio n o f a d v erb ial
IjM in itia l o r m ed ia l p o sitio n o f ad v erb ial
-m g -ing p a rtic ip le fo rm
LO B L an caster-O slo /B erg en co rp u s
M m ed ia l p o sitio n o f a d v erb ial
mM m ed ia l-m ed ia l p o sitio n o f a d v erb ial
NP n o u n p h ra se
0 o b ject
od d ire c t o b ject
0, in d ire c t o b ject
oblig o b lig a to ry
op o p e ra to r
opt o p tio n a l
pass p a ssiv e
ph p h ra s a l v e rb
p h -p r p h ra sa l-p re p o sitio n a l verb
Pr p re p o sitio n a l v erb
R r e g u la r v a ria n t (in C h . 3)
-s 3 rd p e rso n sin g u lar p re sen t ten se fo rm
S su b ject
SEU S u rv ey o f E n g lish U sage
S tE S ta n d a rd E n g lish
SV su b je ct + v erb
SV A s u b je c t+ v e r b + a d v erb ial
SVC s u b je c t+ v e r b + c o m p le m e n t
SVO su b je ct + v e rb + o b ject basic structures
SVO O su b je ct + v e rb + 2 o bjects
SVO C s u b je c t+ v e rb + o b je c t+ c o m p lem en t
SVO A su b je ct + v e rb + o b je c t+ a d verbial
T! p rim ary tim e-o rien tatio n (in C h . 4)
T2 secondary tim e-o rien tatio n (in C h . 4)
T3 tertiary tim e -o rie n ta tio n (in C h . 4)
V verb
V -ed { p ast ten se form o f th e v erb (in C h . 3)
V -e d 2 -ed p a rticip le form o f th e v erb (in C h . 3)
* u n accep tab le
?* ten d in g to u n accep tab ility , b u t n o t fully u n accep tab le
? native sp e a k ers u n su re a b o u t acc ep ta b ility
(*), (? ) native sp e a k ers differ in th e ir re ac tio n s
() o p tio n al c o n stitu en t
[] co m m en t (w ith e x am p les); c o n stitu e n t b o u n d a rie s; p h o n etic
tra n s c rip tio n
<) style lab el (a fte r ex am p les); m odified c o n stitu e n t (7.50); focused
u n it (8.116)
{} free alte rn a tiv e s, as in :
.. f to 1 f L ondon
6 c am e | fro m j | N ew Y o rk
[] co n tin g e n t alte rn a tiv e s, as i n :
/ a lte rn a tiv e s (in exam ples)

/ / pho n o lo g ical tran scrip tio n
~ sy stem atic co rresp o n d en ce b etw een stru ctu res
•+- n o system atic co rresp o n d en ce b etw een stru ctu res
F ellipsis m a rk e r, in d ic a tin g g ra m m a tic a l o m issio n
A in d icates p o ssib le sem an tic im p lic a tio n (in C h . 19)
= sem an tically e q u iv alen t
t4 sem an tically n o n eq u iv alen t
a 'b e t t e r GRAMmarl
C a p ita ls in e x am p les in d ic a te nuclear syllables, accen ts in d ic a te
intonation, ra ised v erticals stress, a n d long v erticals tone unit
boundaries ; for all c o n v en tio n s re la tin g to prosody, see A p p II.
1 T h e English language
1.1-11 Th e English language today 3

.1 -2 T h e im p o rta n c e o f E n g lish 3
.3 - 5 T h e u se o f E n g lish 3
.4 N a tiv e a n d second language 4
.5 F o re ig n lan g u ag e 5
.6 - 7 T h e d e m a n d fo r E n g lish ; 6
.6 T h e tea ch in g o f E n g lish 6
.7 S chool m o d els o f E n g lish 7
.8 T h e in te rn a tio n a l c h a ra c te r o f E n g lish 7
.9 -1 1 T h e fu tu re o f E n g lish 8
.11 S ta n d a rd s o f E n g lish 10
1.12-18 Gram m ar and the study of language 11

.12-13 T y p es o f lin g u istic o rg a n iz atio n 11
.12 S o u n d s a n d spellings 11
.13 L exicology, g ra m m ar, sem an tics, p ra g m a tic s 11
.14-18 T h e m ea n in g s o f ‘g ra m m a r’ 12
.14 S y n ta x a n d inflections 12
.15 R u les a n d th e n a tiv e sp e a k er 13
.16 T h e co d ificatio n o f rules 13
.17 P re sc rip tiv e g ra m m a r 14
.18 G r a m m a r a n d o th e r types o f o rg a n iz atio n 14
1 .1 9 -4 1 Varieties o f English 15
.19 T y p es o f v a ria tio n 15
.2 0 -2 1 R e g io n a l v a ria tio n 16
.22 S o cial v a ria tio n 17
.23 S ta n d a rd E n g lish 18
.2 4 -2 6 N a tio n a l sta n d a rd s o f E n g lish 19
.24 B ritish a n d A m e ric a n E n g lish 19
.25 S c o tlan d , Irela n d , C a n a d a 20
.26 S o u th A frica , A u stra lia , N e w Z ea la n d 21
.27 P ro n u n c ia tio n a n d sta n d a rd E n g lish 22
.28 V a rie tie s a cc o rd in g to field o f disco u rse 23
.2 9 -3 0 V a rie tie s acc o rd in g to m ed iu m 24
.3 1 -3 3 V a rie tie s acc o rd in g to a ttitu d e 25
.3 4 -3 5 V a rie tie s acc o rd in g to in terferen ce 27
.35 C re o le a n d p id g in 28
.3 6 -3 8 R e la tio n s h ip s a m o n g v a rie ty ty p es 30
.3 9 - 4 0 V a ria tio n w ith in a v ariety 31
.41 A ttitu d e s to v a ria tio n 32
1.42 Acceptability and frequency 33
Bibliographical note 34
Th e English language to d a y 3
The English language today
T h e im portance of English
1.1 E n g lish is generally ack n o w led g ed to be th e w orld’s m o st im p o rta n t lan g u a g e.
I t is p e rh ap s w o rth g lan cin g briefly a t th e basis fo r th a t e v alu atio n . T h e re
are, a fte r all, th o u sa n d s o f d ifferen t languages in th e w o rld , a n d each w ill
seem uniquely im p o rta n t to th o se w h o sp eak it as th e ir n a tiv e lan g u ag e, th e
lan g u ag e th ey acq u ired a t th e ir m o th e r’s knee. B ut th ere a re m o re o b jec tiv e
sta n d a rd s o f re la tiv e im p o rta n ce .
O n e c riterio n is th e n u m b e r o f sp eak ers o f the language. A seco n d is th e
e x te n t to w h ich a lan g u ag e is geographically d isp ersed : in ho w m a n y
c o n tin e n ts a n d co u n tries is it used o r is a know ledge o f it n ece ssa ry ? A th ir d
is its fu n ctio n al lo a d : h ow ex ten siv e is th e range o f p u rp o ses fo r w h ich it is
u se d ? In p a rticu la r, to w h a t e x te n t is it th e m ed iu m fo r hig h ly v alu e d c u ltu ra l
m an ifestatio n s such as a scien ce o r a lite ratu re? A fo u rth is th e eco n o m ic a n d
p o litical influence o f th e n a tiv e sp eak ers o f th e language.
1 .1 I f w e re stric t th e first c riterio n to n a tiv e sp eak ers o f th e lan g u ag e, th e n u m b e r

o f sp eak ers o f E n g lish is m o re th a n 300 m illion, an d E n g lish ra n k s w ell b elo w
C h in ese (w h ich h as o v er th re e tim es th a t n u m b er o f sp eak ers). T h e seco n d
criterio n , th e g eo g rap h ical d isp e rsa l o f th e language, invites c o m p a ris o n w ith
(fo r exam ple) H eb rew , L a tin , an d A ra b ic as languages used in m a jo r w o rld
relig io n s, th o u g h o n ly A ra b ic h as a su b sta n tia l n u m b er o f sp e a k e rs. B ut th e
sp re a d o f E n g lish o v e r m o st o f th e w orld as a n in te rn a tio n a l lan g u ag e is a
u n iq u e p h e n o m en o n in th e w o rld ’s h isto ry : ab o u t 1500 m illio n p eo p le - o v e r
a th ird o f th e w o rld ’s p o p u latio n - live in co u n tries w here E n g lish h as so m e
official sta tu s o r is o n e o f th e n a tiv e languages, if n o t th e d o m in a n t n a tiv e
lan g u ag e. By th e th ird c riterio n , th e g re at literatu res o f th e O rie n t sp rin g to
m in d , n o t to m en tio n th e lan g u ag es o f Tolstoy, G o eth e, C e rv a n te s , a n d
R a cin e. B u t in a d d itio n to b e in g th e language o f th e still m o re d istin g u ish e d
S h ak esp eare, E n g lish lead s as th e p rim a ry m ed iu m for tw e n tie th -c e n tu ry
scien ce a n d technology. T h e fo u rth criterio n invokes J a p a n e se , R u ssia n , a n d
G e rm a n , fo r ex am p le, as lan g u ag es o f pow erful, p ro d u ctiv e, a n d in flu e n tia l
n a tio n s. B u t E n g lish is th e lan g u ag e o f th e U n ited ' S tates, w hose g ro ss
d o m estic p ro d u c t in 1980 w as m o re th a n do u b le th a t o f its n e a re s t c o m p e tito r,
Japan.
N o claim has h ere been m a d e fo r th e im p o rtan ce o f E n g lish o n th e g ro u n d s
o f its q u ality as a lan g u ag e (th e size o f its vocabulary, its re la tiv e la c k o f
inflections, th e alleged flexibility o f its syntax). T h e choice o f a n in te rn a tio n a l
lan g u ag e, o r lin g u a fran c a , is n e v er b ased o n linguistic o r a e s th e tic c rite ria
b u t alw ays o n p o litical, eco n o m ic, a n d d em o g rap h ic ones.
T h e use o f English
1.3 E n g lish is th e w o rld ’s m ost w id ely used language. A d istin c tio n is o ften m a d e
th a t d e p en d s o n h ow th e lan g u a g e is le a rn e d : as a native lan g u a g e (or m other
tongue), acq u ired w h en th e s p e a k e r is a young child (generally in th e h o m e),
o r as a nonnative lan g u ag e, a c q u ire d a t som e subseq u en t p e rio d . O v e rla p p in g
w ith th is d istin c tio n is th a t b etw een its use as a fir s t lan g u ag e, th e p rim a ry
lan g u a g e o f th e sp e a k er, a n d as a n additional language. In som e co u n tries

(p a rtic u la rly o f course w h ere it is th e d o m in a n t n a tiv e language), E n g lish is
used p rin c ip a lly fo r in te rn al p u rp o ses as a n intranational language, fo r
sp e a k ers to c o m m u n ic a te w ith o th e r sp e a k ers o f the sam e c o u n try ; in o th e rs
it serv es chiefly as a n international lan g u ag e, th e m ed iu m o f c o m m u n icatio n
w ith s p e a k e rs fro m o th e r countries.
O n e w ell-estab lish ed categ o rizatio n m ak e s a th ree-w ay d istin c tio n b etw een
a native lan g u a g e, a second language, a n d a foreign lan g u ag e. A s a fo reig n
lan g u a g e E n g lish is used fo r in te rn a tio n a l co m m u n ica tio n , b u t as a seco n d
lan g u a g e it is u sed chiefly fo r in tra n a tio n a l p u rp o ses. W e c a n d istin g u ish five
ty p es o f fu n c tio n fo r w h ic h E n g lish c h ara cte ristica lly serves as a m ed iu m
w h en it is a sec o n d lan g u ag e: (1) instrum ental, for fo rm al e d u c a tio n ; (2)
regulative, fo r g o v e rn m e n t a d m in istra tio n a n d th e law co u rts; (3) com m uni
cative, for in te rp e rs o n a l co m m u n ica tio n b etw een in d iv id u als sp e a k in g
d iffere n t n a tiv e lan g u ag es; (4) occupational, b o th in tra n atio n ally a n d
in te rn a tio n a lly fo r c o m m erce an d fo r scien ce a n d tech n o lo g y ; (5) creative, fo r
n o n te c h n ic a l w ritin g s, su ch as fiction a n d p o litica l w orks.
N o te [al A b ilin g u al c h ild m a y h a v e m o re th a n o n e n a tiv e la n g u ag e, a n d a b ilingual ad u lt m a y be

eq u ally p ro fic ien t in m o re th a n on e first language. I n so m e co u n tries, E n g lish is o n e o f tw o o r
m o re lan g u ag es, a n d as a foreign language to o it m a y b e o n e o f several th a t a re k now n.
[b] A lth o u g h o n e ’s n a tiv e la n g u ag e is usually also o n e ’s first language, it n eed n o t be. P eo p le
m ay m ig ra te to a c o u n try w h ere a la nguage d iffe re n t fro m th e ir n a tiv e tongue is spoken. I f th e y
b ec o m e p ro fic ien t in th e new lang u ag e a n d use it extensively, th a t n o n n ativ e lang u ag e m ay
b ec o m e th e ir first la n g u ag e, d isp lacin g th e n a tiv e to n g u e . S uch d isp la cem en t h as o ccu rred , fo r
e x a m p le, am ong P a k is ta n is in th e U n ite d K in g d o m a n d am o n g V ietn am ese in th e U n ite d
S tates.
[cl S econd-language w rite rs in S o u th east A sia a n d in E a s t an d W e st A frica a re m a k in g
im p o rta n t c o n trib u tio n s to E nglish literatu re. T h e ir w ritin g s m a y in c o rp o rate fe atu res
c h a ra c te ristic o f th e ir second-language variety , in c lu d in g rh eto rical a n d stylistic featu res, b u t
th e y a re g en erally a d d re sse d to, a n d read by, a n in te rn a tio n a l E n g lish read ersh ip .
N a t iv e a n d s e c o n d la n g u a g e
1 .4 E n g lish is sp o k e n a s a native language by m o re th a n 300 m illion p eople, m o st
o f th em living in N o r th A m erica, th e B ritish Isles, A u stralia, N ew Z e a la n d ,
th e C a rib b e a n , a n d S o u th A frica. In sev eral o f th ese co u n tries, E n g lish is n o t
th e sole la n g u a g e : th e Q ueb ec p ro v in ce o f C a n a d a is F ren c h -sp ea k in g , m o st
S o u th A frican s s p e a k A frik aa n s o r B a n tu lan g u ag es, a n d m an y Iris h a n d
W elsh peo p le s p e a k C eltic languages. B u t th o se w hose n a tiv e lan g u ag e is n o t
E n g lish will h a v e E n g lish a s th e ir second lan g u a g e for c e rta in g o v ern m en tal,
co m m ercial, so cial, o r ed u catio n al a ctiv ities w ith in th e ir o w n country.
E n g lish is also a seco n d language in m a n y c o u n tries w h ere only a sm all
p ro p o rtio n o f th e p e o p le h a v e E n g lish a s th e ir n a tiv e lan g u ag e. I n a b o u t
tw enty-five c o u n trie s E n g lish has been legally d esig n ated as a n official
la n g u a g e : in a b o u t te n (su ch as N ig e ria ) it is th e sole official language, a n d in
so m e fifteen o th e rs (su ch as In d ia) it sh a res t h a t sta tu s w ith o n e o r m o re o th e r
languages. M o st o f th e s e c o u n tries a re fo rm e r B ritish te rrito rie s. D e sp ite th e
asso ciatio n o f th e E n g lish language w ith th e fo rm er co lo n ial rulers, it h a s
b e en retain ed fo r p ra g m a tic reaso n s: w h e re n o o n e n a tiv e lan g u ag e is
g enerally a cc e p ta b le , E n g lish is a n e u tra l lan g u ag e th a t is p o litically
a ccep tab le, a t lea st a t th e n atio n al level, fo r a d m in istra tiv e a n d legal
Th e English language to d a y 9
d isin te g ra tio n o f E n g lish . T h e d iv ersity in E n g lish is g reatest in c o u n trie s

w h ere E n g lish is a seco n d lan g u ag e a n d th erefo re h a s to be tau g h t. S in ce in
th o se c o u n tries s tu d e n ts are usually tau g h t by tea ch e rs w ho are th em selv es
n o t n a tiv e sp e a k ers o f E n g lish a n d w h o have in ev itab ly a cq u ired th e lan g u a g e
to v ary in g d eg rees o f a d eq u acy , it is h o t su rp risin g th a t th e sta n d a rd s o f
ach iev e m en t a re v a ria b le an d su b ject to change. Som e ex p ress co n cern a b o u t
th e excessive in te rn a l v a ria b ility a n d th e ill-acquired co n tro l o f the lan g u a g e
in su ch situ atio n s. S om e fe ar th e d iv isiv e effect o f th e em erg in g in s titu tio n
alized v arieties, w h ic h no lo n g er look to n ativ e v a rieties fo r s ta n d a rd s o f
accep tab ility .
1.10 W h ile fears fo r th e d isin te g ra tio n o f E n g lish can n o t b e d ism issed su m m arily ,
pow erful fo rces a re o p e ra tin g to p reserv e th e u n ity o f th e language. D e sp ite
co n sid erab le d ia le c ta l differen ces w ith in each n a tio n a l v ariety , the e d u c a tio n
system s h a v e p re se rv e d th e e ssen tial sim ilarity o f th e n a tio n a l sta n d ard s. T h e
tra d itio n a l sp ellin g system g en erally ignores b o th th e c h an g es in p ro n u n c ia
tio n o v e r tim e a n d th e v a ria tio n s in p ro n u n c ia tio n th ro u g h sp a c e; d e sp ite its
n o to rio u s v a g aries, it is a u n ify in g fo rce in w orld E n g lish . M an y facto rs a re
co n d u civ e to m a k in g d ifferen ces in n a tio n a l v arieties fa m ilia r a n d c o m p re
h e n sib le : th e re is th e in flu en ce o f n ew sp ap ers, m ag azin es, a n d b o o k s o n th e
w ritte n m e d iu m a n d o f ra d io , telev isio n , a n d film o n th e sp o k en m ed iu m .
T ea ch e rs a n d s tu d e n ts c a n b e m ad e sen sitiv e to, a n d to le ran t of, lan g u a g e
v a ria tio n , a n d n a tio n a l e x am in atio n system s c a n be m a d e flexible e n o u g h to
ta k e acc o u n t o f v a ria tio n . D e sp ite a g ro w in g to leran ce o f n o n s ta n d a rd
v a ria tio n in sp e e ch , s ta n d a rd fo rm s re m a in th e n o rm fo r w ritte n E nglish.
T h e fu tu re o f E n g lish as a n in te rn a tio n a l lan g u ag e h as also b een sa id to
rest o n th e p ra c tic a b ility o f tea ch in g th e language, especially o n a m ass scale,
to th e level re q u ire d fo r in te rn a tio n a l usefulness, g iv en th e e n o rm o u s
ex p en d itu re s re q u ire d fo r th e p u rp o se. I t is po ssib le th a t as d e v elo p in g
c o u n tries b eco m e ric h e r th ey w ill b e ab le to in crease th e ir e x p en d itu re o n th e
tea ch in g o f E n g lish a n d raise th e levels o f tea ch e r a n d stu d e n t proficiency.
A t all ev en ts, p ro g ra m m e s h av e b e en devised to re stric t th e goals o f lan g u ag e
lea rn in g , th e re b y allow ing a m o re realistic d ep lo y m en t o f e d u ca tio n a l
resources, as in th e T e a c h in g o f E n g lish fo r Specific P u rp o ses, for ex am p le
fo r b u sin ess o r sc ien tific co m m u n icatio n . F ollow ing e a rlie r atte m p ts (su ch a s
‘B asic E n g lish ’) th a t w ere largely lexical, a p ro p o sal h a s also recen tly b e e n
m ad e fo r c o n stru c tin g a sim plified fo rm o f E n g lish (term ed ‘N u c lea r E n g lish ’)
th a t w ould c o n ta in a su b set o f th e featu res o f n a tu ra l E n g lish ; for ex am p le,
m o d al a u x iliaries su ch a s can a n d m a y w ould b e re p laced by su ch p a ra p h ra se s
a s be able to a n d be allow ed to. T h e sim plified form w o u ld b e in tellig ib le to
sp e a k ers o f a n y m a jo r n a tio n a l v a rie ty a n d co u ld b e e x p a n d e d for specific
p u rp o ses, fo r e x am p le fo r in te rn a tio n a l m aritim e c o m m u n icatio n .
T h e lo n g -ran g e c o n tin u a n c e o f E n g lish as a seco n d language is also
q u e stio n ab le in so m e co u n tries. T h e eagerness fo r ra p id tech n o lo g ical
a d v a n c e m e n t c o n flicts w ith t h e d e m a n d s for th e e stab lish m en t o f a u th e n tic
lin k s w ith p a s t n a tiv e tra d itio n s : o b jectio n s to a n official sta tu s fo r E n g lish
a n d calls fo r its re p la c e m e n t b y n a tiv e lan g u ag es are ex p ressio n s o f n a tio n a l
p rid e a n d in d e p e n d e n c e . S ince a good co m m an d o f E n g lish is u su ally
re stric te d to a n elite, w e m ay e x p ect p o litical re se n tm e n t a g ain st a m in o rity
s e c o n d lan g u ag e th a t b rin g s benefits to th o se p ro ficien t in it. E n g lish is likely

to b e re ta in e d a s a n official language as long as n o specific n ativ e lan g u ag e is
p o litic a lly a ccep tab le to all, b u t w e c an e x p ect th a t in a t least som e c o u n tries
in d ig e n o u s lan g u ag es will becom e sufficiently d o m in a n t to a cq u ire sole
o fficial sta tu s a n d ev en tu ally to d isp lace E n g lish . In su ch cases E n g lish will
g ra d u a lly b eco m e reco g n ized as a fo reig n lan g u ag e. H ow ever, irresp ec tiv e o f
th e d e g re e o f w orld influ en ce exercised by th e E nglish -sp eak in g c o u n tries
th em se lv es, E n g lish is likely to be re ta in e d generally as th e m e d iu m for
h ig h e r e d u c a tio n a s long a s th e m ajo r E n g lish -sp eak in g co u n tries re ta in th e ir
e c o n o m ic an d p o litical statu s.
S ta n d a r d s o f E n g lis h
1.11 C o m p la in ts by n a tiv e sp eak ers th a t E n g lish is d e te rio ra tin g or. b ein g
c o rru p te d reflect in th e m ain a c o n serv ativ e resistan ce to ch an g e. S om e
la n g u a g e c h an g es resu lt in th e loss o f d istin ctio n s, b u t if a d is tin c tio n is
n e e d e d th e loss will be c o m p en sated for. F o r exam ple, in som e re g io n a l
v a rie tie s th e d is tin c tio n b etw een th e sin g u lar a n d p lural m ean in g s o f y o u h as
b e e n re ta in e d b y th e use o f su ch ex p ressio n s as you-all o r y o u g u y s fo r th e
p lu ra l m ea n in g s (c f 6.12 N o te s [a, b]). T h e in tro d u ctio n o f specific n e w w o rd s
o r ex p ressio n s (su ch as prioritize o r interface) som etim es p ro v o k es v io le n t
in d ig n a tio n , o fte n conveyed in eth ical term s. U sually th e o b jectio n s to th e
in n o v a tio n s (or su p p o sed in n o v atio n s) reflect objections to th e ir ty p ical users.
S om e o f th e c o m p la in ts re la te to v a ria n ts th a t a re in d iv id ed u sage am o n g
s p e a k e rs o f th e s ta n d a rd v a rie ty ; fo r ex am p le, graduated fro m a n d w as
g ra d u a te d fro m in A m e ric an E n g lish , o r different fr o m an d different to in
B ritis h E n g lish . I n y et o th e r in stan ces th e fo rm s a re clearly re co g n ized as
u n a c c e p ta b le in th e sta n d a rd v ariety (su ch a s th e m ultiple n eg ativ e in 1 d o n ’t
w ant no m oney fr o m no one; c/1 0 .6 3 N o te), th o u g h they m ay be a cc ep ta b le in
so m e n o n s ta n d a rd v arieties. R elativ ely few p o in ts a re a t issue. T h ey d o n o t
ju stify g e n era liz atio n s a b o u t th e sta te o f th e language as a whole.
S o m e n a tiv e sp e a k e rs claim th a t th e use o f th e language is d e te rio ra tin g .
O n e c h a rg e is e th ic a l: p eo p le are sa id to b e a b u sin g th e lan g u ag e, m o re so
th a n in th e p a st, w ith in te n t to conceal, m isle a d , o r deceive, generally th ro u g h
e u p h e m ism o r o b scu re language. U su ally , th e accu satio n is d ire c te d
p rin c ip a lly a g ain st p o liticia n s, b u re au c rats, a n d ad v ertisers, b u t th e a b u se is
felt to h a v e a n âdverse effect o n th e lan g u ag e as such. C e rta in ly , th e
c o n te m p o ra ry m a s s m ed ia facilitate th e ra p id a n d w id esp read d isse m in a tio n
o f su ch lan g u ag e ab u ses. T h e o th er c h arg e is a esth e tic o r fu n c tio n al: p e o p le
a re s a id to be u sin g th e lan g u ag e less eleg an tly o r less efficiently t h a n in th e
re c e n t p a s t, a c h a rg e th a t is co m m only d ire c te d ag ain st young p eo p le. T h e
c h arg e m a y o r m ay n o t h a v e som e ju stific atio n , b u t in a n y case is im p o ssib le
to s u b s ta n tia te . M a n y v a ria b le s in h ib it th e feasib ility o f m ak in g v a lid a n d
reliab le c o m p a ris o n s w ith e arlie r p e rio d s : fo r exam ple, th e p h e n o m e n a l
g ro w th o f th e lite ra te p o p u latio n a n d o f th e u se o f th e w ritten lan g u ag e.
N o te O n s ta n d a r d a n d n o n s ta n d a rd E nglish, c/1 .2 2 . O n v arie tie s o f stan d a rd E n g lish , c fl.2 3 J f.

Gram m ar and the stud y of language 11
Grammar and the study of language
Type s of linguistic organization
Sounds and spellings

1.12 W e claim th a t o n th e o n e h a n d th ere is a single E n g lish lan g u ag e (th e
g ra m m a r o f w h ic h is th e c o n cern o f th is book), a n d th a t o n th e o th er h a n d
th e re a re reco g n izab le v arieties. Since th ese v arieties c a n h a v e reflexes in
an y o f th e ty p es o f o rg a n iz a tio n th a t th e lin g u ist d istin g u ish es, th is is th e
p o in t a t w h ich w e sh o u ld o u tlin e th e types, o n e o f w h ic h is g ra m m a r. W h e n
p eo p le sp eak , th ey e m it a stre am o f sounds. W e h e a r th e so u n d s n o t as
in definitely v a ria b le in a co u stic q u a lity (how ever m u ch th ey m a y be so in
a ctu al p h y sical fact). R a th e r, w e h e a r th em as e ac h c o rre sp o n d in g to o n e o f
th e very sm all set o f so u n d u n its (in E n g lish , /p /, /l/, /n /, /i/, /&/, / s / . . . ) w h ic h
c a n co m b in e in c e rta in w ay s a n d n o t in oth ers. F o r ex am p le, in E n g lish w e
h a v e spin b u t n o t *psin. (O n th e u se o f th e a sterisk a n d sim ila r sy m b o ls, see
1.42.) W e sim ilarly o b se rv e p a tte rn s o f stress a n d p itc h . T h e ru les fo r th e
o rg a n iz atio n o f so u n d u n its (o r p h o n em es) a re stu d ied in th e b ra n c h o f
lin g u istics k n o w n as p h o n o l o g y , w hile th e physical p ro p e rtie s o f so u n d s a n d
th e ir m a n n e r o f a rtic u la tio n a re stu d ied in p h o n e t i c s .
T h e o th e r m a jo r m e th o d o f lin g u istic c o m m u n icatio n is by w ritin g ; a n d
fo r E n g lish as fo r m an y o th e r lan g u ag es a n a lp h a b e tic w ritin g sy stem h as
b een developed, th e sym bols re la te d in th e m ain to th e in d iv id u a l so u n d s
used in th e lan g u ag e. H e re a g ain th ere is a closely stru c tu re d o rg a n iz a tio n
w h ich reg ard s c e rta in differen ces in sh a p e as irre le v a n t a n d o th ers (fo r
e x am p le c a p ita ls v ersu s lo w er case, ascen d ers to th e left o r rig h t o f a circle,
e g : b v ersu s d) as sig n ifican t. T h e stu d y o f o r t h o g r F p h y (o r m o re inclusively,
GRAPHOLOGY o r g r F p h e m i c s ) th u s p arallels th e stu d y o f p h o n o lo g y in sev eral
w ays. D e sp ite th e n o to rio u s o d d itie s o f E n g lish sp ellin g , th e re a re g e n era l
p rin cip les: eg c o m b in a tio n s o f letters th a t E n g lish p e rm its itch, qu, ss, oo)
a n d o th ers th a t a re d isallo w ed ( * p fx , *qo) o r h av e o nly re stric te d d istrib u tio n
(final v o r j o ccu rs o n ly e x cep tio n ally as in Raj, spiv).
Lexicology, g ram m ar, sem antics, prag m atics

1.13 J u s t as th e sm all se t o f a ra b ic n u m era ls c a n b e co m b in e d to e x p ress in w ritin g
an y n a tu ra l n u m b e rs w e lik e, h o w ev er v ast, so th e sm all s e t o f sounds a n d
letters can be c o m b in e d to ex p ress in speech an d w ritin g resp ectiv ely a n
in definitely larg e n u m b e r o f w o r d s . These linguistic u n its e n a b le p eo p le to
re fe r to every o b ject, a ctio n , a n d q u a lity th a t m em b ers o f a society w ish to
d istin g u ish : in E n g lish , door, soap, indignation,find, stupefy, good, uncontrol
lable, a n d so o n to a to ta l e x ceed in g th e h a lf m illion w o rd s liste d in u n a b rid g e d
d ictio n aries. T h ese u n its h a v e a m ea n in g a n d a stru c tu re (so m etim es a n
o b v io u sly co m p o site stru c tu re as in cases lik e uncontrollable) w h ic h re la te
th em n o t o nly to th e w orld o u tsid e language b u t to o th e r w o rd s w ith in th e
lan g u ag e (happy to happiness, unhappy, e tc ; good to bad, k in d , e tc ; door to
room , k ey, etc). T h e stu d y o f w o rd s is th e b u siness o f l e x i c o l o g y , b u t th e
re g u larities in th e ir fo rm atio n a re sim ilar in k in d to th e re g u larities o f
g ra m m a r a n d a re closely c o n n ec te d to th e m ( c / A p p 1 .1 # ). I t is g r F m m F r
t h a t is o u r p rim a ry co n ce rn in th is book. W o rd s m u st b e c o m b in e d in to larg er

u n its , a n d g ra m m a r en co m p asses th e com plex set o f ru les specifying su ch
c o m b in a tio n . M e a n in g re la tio n s in th e lan g u ag e system a re th e business o f
s e m a n t i c s , th e stu d y o f m ea n in g , an d se m an tics th e re fo re h as relevance
eq u ally w ith in lexicology a n d w ith in g ra m m ar. F in ally , th e m ean in g o f
lin g u istic ex p ressio n s w h e n u tte re d w ith in p a rtic u la r ty p es o f situ atio n is
d e a lt w ith in p r a g m a t i c s , w h ich is co n cern ed w ith th e c o m m u n ica tiv e force
o f lin g u is tic u tte ra n c e s. T w o term s are em p lo y ed fo r th e in te rco n n e c tio n o f
g r a m m a r a n d th e uses o f g ra m m a r: t e x t l i n g u i s t i c s a n d d i s c o u r s e
a n a l y s i s . A ll ty p es o f o rg a n iz a tio n (b u t n o tab ly lexicology a n d g ra m m ar)
e n te r i n to th e s tru c tu re o f t e x t s , w hich c o n stitu te sp o k e n a n d w ritte n
d isc o u rse (c f C h a p te r 19).
T h e m ea nings o f 'gram m a r'
S y n ta x a n d in fle c tio n s
1.14 T h e w o rd ‘g r a m m a r ’ h a s v ario u s m ean in g s, a n d sin ce g ra m m a r is th e su b ject
m a tte r o f th is b o o k w e sh o u ld explore th e m o st c o m m o n m e a n in g s o f th e
w ord. W e s h a ll b e u sin g ‘g ra m m a r’ to in clu d e b o th s y n t a x a n d th a t a sp ect
o f m o r p h o l o g y (th e in te rn a l stru c tu re o f w ords) th a t d eals w ith i n f l e c t i o n s
(o r a c c i d e n c e ) . T h e fa c t th a t th e p a st ten se o f b u y is bought [inflection] a n d
th e fa c t t h a t th e in te rro g a tiv e fo rm o f H e bought it is D id he buy it ? [syntax]
a re th e re fo re b o th eq u ally th e p ro v in ce o f g ra m m a r. T h e re is n o th in g
tec h n ica l a b o u t o u r u sag e in th is re s p e c t: i t co rresp o n d s to o n e o f th e co m m o n
lay uses o f th e w o rd in th e E n g lish -sp eak in g w orld. A te a c h e r m ay c o m m e n t:
Jo h n u se s g o o d g ra m m a r b u t h is spelling is aw ful.
T h e c o m m e n t sh o w s th a t sp ellin g is excluded fro m g ra m m a r; a n d if Jo h n

w ro te interloper w h e re th e co n te x t d em a n d ed interpreter, th e te a c h e r w ould
say th a t h e h a d u se d th e w ro n g w o rd , n o t th a t h e h a d m a d e a m ista k e in
g ram m ar. B u t in th e e d u c a tio n system s o f th e E n g lish -sp ea k in g co u n tries, it
is p o ssib le a ls o to u se th e te rm ‘g ra m m a r’ loosely so a s to in c lu d e b o th spelling
a n d lexicology.
T h ere is a f u r th e r u se o f ‘g ra m m a r’ th a t d eriv es fro m a p e rio d in w h ich th e
teach in g o f L a tin a n d G re e k w as w idespread. S ince th e a sp e c t o f L a tin
g ra m m a r o n w h ic h te a c h in g h as trad itio n a lly c o n c e n tra te d is th e p a rad ig m s
(or m o d el se ts) o f in flectio n s, it m ad e sense fo r th e le a rn e r to s a y :
L a tin h a s a g o o d d e al o f g ra m m a r, b u t E n g lish h a s h a rd ly any.
T h is m e a n in g o f ‘g ra m m a r’ h a s co n tin u ed to b e used by lay n a tiv e sp eak ers.

In effect, g r a m m a r is id en tified w ith inflections, so th a t n o n sp e c ia lists m ay
still sp eak o f ‘g r a m m a r a n d s y n ta x ’, tacitly ex clu d in g th e la tte r fro m th e
form er.
N o te T h e te rm g r a m m a r school (used in sev eral E ng lish -sp eak in g c o u n tries, th o u g h n o t alw ays w ith
reference to t h e s a m e ty p e o f school) reflects th e historical fact th a t c e rta in schools co n c e n tra te d
a t on e tim e o n th e te a c h in g o f L a tin a n d G re e k . O ne so m etim es co m es u p o n th e la y su p p o sitio n
th a t su ch sch o o ls d o o r s h o u ld m a k e a sp ecial effort to te ach E nglish g ra m m a r.
G ram m ar and the study of language 13
R u le s a n d th e n a tiv e s p e a k e r
1.15 N o r h a v e w e c o m p le te d th e in v en to ry o f m ean in g s. T h e sam e n ativ e s p e a k e r,
tu rn in g h is a tte n tio n fro m L atin , m a y c o m m e n t:
F re n c h h a s a w ell-defined g ra m m ar, b u t in E n g lish w e’re free to s p e a k
as w e lik e.
T o b eg in w ith , it is c le a r th a t the sp e a k er c a n n o t n o w be in ten d in g to re s tric t

‘g ra m m a r’ to in fle ctio n s: ra th e r th e co n v erse ; it w ould seem to b e used a s a
v irtu al sy n o n y m o f ‘s y n ta x ’.
Secondly, th e n a tiv e s p e a k e r’s c o m m e n t p ro b a b ly ow es a good d e a l to t h e
fa ct th a t h e d o es n o t feel th e rules o f his o w n language - rules th a t h e h a s
acq u ired u n c o n scio u sly - to b e a t all c o n stra in in g ; a n d if e v er h e h a p p e n s to
be called o n to e x p la in o n e su ch rule to a fo reig n er h e has very g re at difficulty.
By c o n tra st, th e g ra m m a tic a l rules h e le a rn s fo r a foreign lan g u ag e se e m
m u ch m o re rig id a n d th e y also seem c le are r b ecau se th ey h a v e b een a ctu ally
spelled o u t to h im in th e lea rn in g process.
B u t a n o th e r im p o r ta n t p o in t is re v ealed in 1th is sentence. T h e d is tin c tio n
refers to ‘g r a m m a r ’ n o t as th e o b serv ed p a tte rn s in th e use o f F re n c h b u t a s a
co d ificatio n o f ru les co m p iled by th e F re n c h (especially b y th e A c a d e m ie
F ram jaise) to sh o w th e F re n c h th em selv es h ow th e ir language sh o u ld b e
used. T h is is n o t g ra m m a r ‘im m a n e n t’ in a lan g u ag e (as o u r p rev io u s u se s
w ere, h o w e v er m u c h th ey differed in th e ty p es o f p a tte rn th ey refe rre d to ),
b u t g ra m m a r a s c o d ified b y g ra m m a ria n s : th e A cad em y G ra m m a r. T h e re is
n o su ch A c a d e m y fo r th e E n g lish lan g u ag e a n d so (our n aiv e n a tiv e sp e a k e r
im ag in es) th e E n g lis h s p e a k e r h as m o re ‘free d o m ’ in his usage.
T h e c o d i f i c a ti o n o f r u le s
1.16 T h e ‘c o d ifica tio n ’ sen se o f g ra m m a r is re ad ily identified w ith th e specific
c o d ificatio n b y a sp ecific g ra m m a ria n :
Je sp e rse n w ro te a good g ra m m ar, an d so d id K ru isin g a.
A n d th is sen se n a tu ra lly lead s to th e c o n crete use a s i n :
D id you b rin g y o u r g ra m m ars?
N a tu rally , to o , th e co d ifica tio n m ay refer to g ra m m a r in a n y o f th e sen ses

a lread y m e n tio n e d . T h e co d ificatio n will also vary, how ever, acco rd in g to
th e lin g u istic th e o ry e m b ra c e d by th e a u th o rs, th e ir idea o f th e n a tu re o f
g ra m m a r r a th e r th a n th e ir sta te m e n t o f th e g ra m m a r o f a p a rticu la r la n g u a g e :
C h o m sk y d e v elo p ed a tra n s fo rm a tio n a l g ra m m a r th a t differed co n sid

e rab ly fro m e a rlie r g ra m m ars.
In th e u sag e o f m a n y lea d in g linguists, th is la s t sense o f g ra m m ar h as re tu rn e d

to th e c ath o lic ity t h a t it h a d in th e G re e k tra d itio n m o re th a n 2000 y ears a g o ,
co v erin g th e w h o le field o f lan g u ag e stru c tu re . T h u s, in th e fram ew o rk o f
fo rm al lin g u istics, so m e g ra m m a ria n s sp e a k o f 'th e g ra m m ar’ as e m b ra cin g
rules n o t o n ly fo r sy n tax b u t fo r p h o n o lo g ical, lexical, an d se m a n tic
sp ecificatio n a s w ell.
N o te A ccid en ts o f in te lle c tu a l h isto ry in th e n in e te e n th ce n tu ry resu lt in th e fact th a t a n o ld -fash io n ed

O ld H ig h G e rm a n g ra m m a r (or a n O ld E nglish g ram m ar) m ay well c o n ta in only in flections

to g e th e r w ith a d e ta ile d e x p lan atio n o f how th e phonological system em erged.
P rescrip tiv e g ra m m ar
.17 F in a lly w e c o m e to th e use o f ‘g ra m m a r’ in sta te m en ts su ch a s :
I t ’s b a d g ra m m a r to e n d a sen ten ce w ith a p rep o sitio n .
H e re th e te rm re fe rs to a w ay o f sp e ak in g o r w ritin g th a t is to b e e ith er
p re fe rre d o r a v o id e d . S u ch sta te m en ts p e rta in to p r e s c r i p t i v e g r a m m a r , a
s e t o f re g u la tio n s th a t a re b ased on w h a t is e v alu ate d a s c o rre c t o r in co rrect
in th e sta n d a rd v a rieties. Since we d o n o t h a v e a n A cad em y o f th e E n g lish
L a n g u a g e , th e re is n o o n e se t o f re g u latio n s th a t could b e co n sid ered
‘a u th o rita tiv e ’. In ste a d , ev alu atio n s a re m ad e b y self-ap p o in ted a u th o ritie s
w h o , reflectin g v a ry in g ju d g m e n ts o f acc ep ta b ility a n d ap p ro p ria te n e ss,
o fte n d isagree.
A u th o ritie s o n u s a g e , in th is re stric te d sense, p rim a rily d e al w ith d i s p u t e d
u sag e, a re la tiv e ly sm all n u m b e r o f sy n tactic an d lex ical item s th a t are
c o n tro v e rsial w ith in th e s ta n d a rd v arieties. T h e ir o b jectio n s m ay p e rsu ad e
so m e to a v o id c e rta in usages, a t least in th e ir fo rm al w ritin g . O v e r th e la s t
tw o c en tu rie s p re sc rip tiv e rules h av e a cc u m u la te d in to a g en eral p re scrip tiv e
tra d itio n fo r fo rm a l w ritin g th a t is e m b o d ied (w ith som e v a ria tio n ) in school
te x tb o o k s a n d s tu d e n t re fe re n ce h a n d b o o k s, a n d in u sage g u id es fo r th e
g e n era l p u b lic.
A s a n o c ca sio n al co n seq u en ce o f p re scrip tiv e p ressu res, so m e sp e ak ers
h a v e m is ta k e n ly e x te n d e d p a rtic u la r p re scrip tiv e rules in a n a tte m p t to av o id
m ista k e s. A c la ssic in stan c e o f su ch h y p e r c o r r e c t i o n is th e use o f whom a s
su b je ct i c f 6.35 N o te [a]). O th e rs a re th e p seu d o -su b ju n ctiv e were as in /
wonder i f he were here a n d th e use o f th e su b jectiv e p ro n o u n I in th e p h rase
betw een y o u a n d I.
O u r p rim a ry c o n c e rn in th is b o o k is to d escrib e th e g ra m m a r o f E nglish.
B u t w e o c ca sio n ally re fe r to th e p re scrip tiv e tra d itio n n o t o n ly becau se it
m a y lea d to h y p e rc o rre c tio n b u t also b ecau se i t m ay affect a ttitu d e s to w ard s
p a rtic u la r uses t h a t m ay in tu rn influence th e p referen ces o f som e n a tiv e
sp e ak ers, a t le a st in fo rm al o r m o re co n sid ered styles. I t m ay lea d som e, fo r
ex am p le, to re p la c e th e ir usual was b y su b ju n ctiv e were in I f I was strong
enough, I w ould help you, o r to re p la ce who by whom in the teacher who I m ost
adm ired. :
G ra m m a r and o th e r types o f org an izatio n

18 P ro g ress to w a rd s a m o re ex p licit ty p e o f g ra m m atica l d e sc rip tio n is in ev itab ly
slow a n d th e w h o le field o f g ra m m a r is likely to re m a in a n a re a o f in terestin g
c o n tro v ersy . W h ile th e o re tic a l p ro b lem s a re n o t th e co n ce rn o f th is b o o k , o u r
tre a tm e n t c a n n o t b e n e u tra l o n th e issues th a t en liv en c u rre n t d iscussion. F o r
ex am p le, w e w o u ld n o t w ish to a sse rt th e to ta l in d ep e n d en c e o f g ra m m a r
fro m p h o nology o n t h e o n e h a n d a n d lexicology o r se m an tics o n th e o th e r as
w a s im p lied in th e d e lib e ra te o v ersim p lificatio n o f 1 .1 2 / P h o n o lo g y is seen
to h a v e a b earin g o n g ra m m a r ev en in sm all p o in ts su ch as th e a sso c iatio n o f
in itia l /8 / w ith d e m o n s tra tiv e n e s s a n d c o n ju n c tio n s (this, then, though, etc, c f
2.37). M ore im p o r ta n t a re th e p h o n o lo g ical co n d itio n s fo r th e -s a n d -ed
Varieties o f English 15
inflections in verbs a n d n o u n s (c /3 .5 /, 5.80). I t is seen to b e a r o n lexicology,

fo r ex am p le, in th e fa c t t h a t so m e n ouns a n d v erb s differ only in th e p o s itio n
o f th e stress (c /A p p 1.56):
T h a t is a n 'insult.
T h ey m ay in'sult m e.
B u t m o st obviously th e in te rd ep e n d e n ce o f phonology a n d g ra m m a r is s h o w n
in focus processes (c f th e co n n ectio n b etw een in to n a tio n a n d lin e a r
p re se n ta tio n : 18.2#", 1 9 .2 5 /), a n d in th e fa ct th a t b y m erely a lte rin g th e
p h o n o lo g y o n e can d istin g u ish sets o f sen ten ces lik e th o se q u o te d 1in A p p
11.21.
T h e in te rrela tio n s o f g ra m m a r, lexicology, an d se m an tics a re m a n ife s te d
in th e se m an tic re stric tio n s (c /1 0 .5 1 ) th a t p e rm it [1] a n d [2], b u t n o t [la ] a n d
[2a]:
F e a r rep laced in d ecisio n . [1]

* Jo h n rep laced in d ecisio n . [ la ]
J o h n h a te d in d ecisio n . [ 2]
T e a r h a te d indecision. [2a]
T h e b o rd e rlin e b etw een g ra m m a r a n d sem an tics is u n c le ar, an d lin g u ists w ill

d ra w th e lin e variously. W e shall n o t give g u id an ce o n su c h c o n stra in ts in
th is book.
S im ilarly, th e b o rd e rlin e b etw een g ra m m a r a n d p ra g m a tic s (a n d e v e n
m o re so b etw een se m a n tic s a n d p ra g m atics) is un clear. A lth o u g h we sh all
h a v e occasion to re fe r to th e k in d s o f in te n d e d sp e e ch b e h a v io u r (su ch as
re q u e st a n d in v ita tio n ) t h a t m a y b e conveyed th ro u g h c e rta in sen ten ce ty p es
( c f p a rtic u la rly C h a p te r 11), w e shall n o t a tte m p t a c o m p re h en siv e a cco u n t.
B u t w e shall a tte m p t to g iv e every in d ic a tio n o f th e m ea n in g o f th e
co n stru ctio n s w e discuss.
O u r g en era l p rin cip le w ill b e to re g ard g ra m m a r a s acc o u n tin g for
c o n stru ctio n s w here g re a te s t g e n eralizatio n is possible, a ssig n in g to lexicology
(a n d h en ce b eyond th e sco p e o f th is b ook) co n stru ctio n s o n w h ic h le a st
g e n era liz atio n c a n b e fo rm u la ted . In ap p ly in g th is p rin cip le we w ill
n ecessarily m ak e a rb itra ry d e cisio n s along th e g ra d ie n t fro m g re a te s t to le a s t
g e n era liz atio n .
Varieties of English
T y p e s of variation
1.19 H a v in g in d ic a te d h o w w e m ay sp eak o f d ifferen t ty p es o f lin g u istic
o rg a n iz a tio n su ch as p h o n o lo g y , lexicology, a n d g ra m m a r, w e m ay n o w
re tu rn to th e p o in t w e h a d re ac h ed a t th e b eg in n in g o f 1.12. W h a t a re th e
v a rie tie s o f E n g lish w hose d ifferin g p ro p e rties are re aliz e d th ro u g h th e
se v e ra l ty p es o f lin g u istic o rg a n iz atio n ?
F o rm u la tin g a th e o re tic a l b asis o n w h ich th e v a rieties o f an y lan g u ag e c a n
be d e sc rib e d , in te rrela te d , a n d stu d ied is o n e o f th e p rim e co n cern s o f th e
b r a n c h o f lan g u a g e stu d y called s o c i o l i n g u i s t i c s . T h is d isc ip lin e is fa r from

h a v in g a c h ie v e d co m p lete answ ers, a n d all a tte m p ts are in so m e degree
o v e rsim p lific atio n s.
W e sh a ll first c o n sid e r five m ajo r ty p es o f v a riatio n . A n y use o f lan g u ag e
n e c e ssa rily in v o lv es v a ria tio n w ith in all five types, alth o u g h fo r p u rp o se s o f
a n a ly sis w e m ay a b s tr a c t in d iv id u al v a rie tie s (a related-set o f v a ria tio n w ith in
o n e ty p e).
(a) re g io n (1 .2 0 /)
(b) so cial g ro u p (1 -2 2 # )
(c) field o f d isc o u rse (1.28)
(d) m e d iu m ( 1 .2 9 /)
(e) a ttitu d e ( 1 .3 1 # )
T h e first tw o ty p e s o f v a ria tio n relate p rim a rily to th e lan g u ag e u ser. P eo p le

u se a re g io n a l v a rie ty b ecau se th ey liv e in a re g io n o r h a v e o n c e liv e d in th a t
re g io n . S im ila rly , p e o p le use a social v a rie ty b ecau se o f th e ir a ffiliatio n w ith
a so c ial g ro u p . T h e s e v a rie tie s a re relativ ely p e rm a n e n t fo r th e la n g u a g e user.
A t th e s a m e tim e , w e sh o u ld b e a w are th a t m a n y peo p le can c o m m u n ic a te in
m o re t h a n o n e re g io n a l o r social v a rie ty a n d c a n th ere fo re (co n scio u sly o r
u n co n scio u sly ) sw itc h v a rieties acc o rd in g to th e situ atio n . A n d o f co u rse
p eo p le m o v e to o th e r regions o r ch an g e th e ir so cial affiliations, a n d m a y th e n
a d o p t a n e w re g io n a l o r social v ariety.
T h e la s t th re e ty p e s o f v a ria tio n re la te to lan g u ag e use. P e o p le select th e
v a rie tie s a c c o rd in g to th e situ atio n a n d th e p u rp o se o f th e c o m m u n ica tio n .
T h e field o f d isc o u rse re la te s to th e a ctiv ity in w h ic h th ey a re e n g a g e d ; th e
m e d iu m m a y b e s p o k e n o r w ritte n , gen erally d ep en d in g o n th e p ro x im ity o f
th e p a r tic ip a n ts in th e co m m u n ica tio n ; a n d th e a ttitu d e e x p ressed th ro u g h
lan g u a g e is c o n d itio n e d by th e re la tio n sh ip o f th e p a rtic ip a n ts in th e
p a rtic u la r s itu a tio n . A CO MM ON CO RE o r n u cleu s is p re sen t in a ll th e v a rie tie s
so th a t, h o w e v er e so teric a v ariety m ay b e , it h as ru n n in g th ro u g h it a s e t o f
g ra m m a tic a l a n d o th e r c h ara cte ristics th a t are p re sen t in all th e o th ers. I t is
th is fa c t t h a t ju stifie s th e a p p lic atio n o f th e n a m e ‘E n g lish ’ to all th e v a rieties.
N o te W e h av e co n sp icu o u sly o m itte d v ariatio n in tim e, sin ce th is b o o k is solely c o n c e rn e d w ith th e

g ra m m a r o f p re s e n t-d a y E n g lish . V ariatio n in th e c o n te m p o ra ry language, h o w ev er, reflects in
p a r t h isto ric a l ch a n g e in progress. A t a n y o n e p erio d , o ld e r v arian ts m ay co e x ist w ith n ew er
v arian ts, a n d som e o f ) h e n ew er v a ria n ts m ay ev e n tu ally b ec o m e th e sole form s.
Regional va riation
1.20 V a rietie s a c c o rd in g to reg io n h a v e a w ell-estab lish ed lab e l b o th in p o p u la r
a n d tec h n ica l u se : d i a l e c t s . G e o g rap h ic al d isp e rsio n is in f a c t th e classic
b asis fo r lin g u istic v a ria tio n , a n d in th e co u rse o f tim e , w ith p o o r
c o m m u n ica tio n s a n d relativ e rem o ten ess, such d isp e rsio n re su lts in d iale cts
b eco m in g so d is tin c t th a t we re g ard th e m as d ifferen t lan g u ag es. T h is la tte r
stag e w as lo n g a g o re a c h e d w ith th e G e rm a n ic d ialects th a t a re n o w D u tc h ,
E n g lish , G e rm a n , S w ed ish , etc, b u t it h a s n o t b een re ac h ed (a n d m a y n o t
n ecessarily ev er b e re a c h e d , g iv en th e m o d e m ease a n d ra n g e o f c o m m u n i
c atio n ) w ith th e d ia le c ts o f E n g lish th a t h a v e resu lted fro m th e reg io n al
se p a ra tio n o f c o m m u n itie s w ith in th e B ritish Isles a n d (sin ce th e v o y ag es o f
ex p lo ra tio n an d s e ttle m e n t in S h a k e sp e are ’s tim e ) elsew here in t h e w o rld .
V a rie ties o f E n g lish 17
R e g io n a l v a r i a t i o n s e e m s t o b e re a liz e d p r e d o m in a n t ly in p h o n o lo g y . T h a t
is, w e g e n e ra lly re c o g n i z e a d if f e r e n t d ia le c t fr o m a s p e a k e r ’s p r o n u n c i a t i o n
o r a c c e n t b e f o r e w e n o t i c e t h a t t h e v o c a b u la ry (o r l e x i c o n ) is a ls o d is ti n c ti v e .
G r a m m a ti c a l v a r i a t i o n t e n d s t o b e le s s e x te n s iv e a n d c e rt a in ly le s s o b tr u s iv e .
B u t a ll ty p e s o f li n g u is ti c o r g a n iz a ti o n c a n re a d i ly e n o u g h b e in v o lv e d . A
L a n c a s h ir e m a n m a y b e re c o g n iz e d b y a Y o r k s h i r e m a n b e c a u s e h e
p r o n o u n c e s a n / r / a f t e r v o w e ls a s i n stir o r hurt. A middy is a n A u s t r a l i a n
m e a s u re f o r b e e r - b u t i t r e f e r s t o a c o n s id e ra b ly b ig g e r m e a s u re i n S y d n e y
t h a n it d o e s i n P e r t h . I n s t e a d o f I saw it, a N e w E n g la n d e r m ig h t s a y I see it,
a P e n n s y l v a n ia n I seen it, a n d a V ir g i n ia n e i t h e r I seen it o r I seed it, i f t h e y
w e re s p e a k i n g t h e r u r a l n o n s t a n d a r d d ia l e c t o f t h e i r lo c a lity , a n d th e s a m e
fo r m s c h a r a c t e r i z e c e r t a i n d ia l e c ts w ith i n B r i t a i n to o .
N o te [a] T h e a t t i t u d e o f n a t i v e s p e a k e r s o f o n e d ia le c t to w a rd s t h e d ia le c ts o f o th e r n a t i v e s p e a k e r s
v a ri e s g re a tly , b u t, in g e n e r a l , d ia le c ts o f ru r a l a n d a g r ic u lt u r a l c o m m u n it ie s a r e re g a rd e d a s
m o re p le a s a n t t h a n d ia le c ts o f la rg e u r b a n c o m m u n iti e s s u c h a s N e w Y o rk o r B irm in g h a m . T h i s
is c o n n e c te d , o f c o u rs e , w i t h s o c ia l a t t i t u d e s a n d t h e a s s o c ia t io n o f c ity d ia le c ts w i t h v a r i a t i o n
a c c o rd i n g to e d u c a t i o n a n d s o c ia l s t a n d i n g ( c /1 .2 2 ) r a t h e r t h a n a c c o rd in g t o re g io n .
[b] D ia le c to lo g is ts a n d s o c io l in g u i s ts o ft e n u s e th e te r m ‘d ia le c t’ f o r s o cia l v a rie tie s .
1 .21 I t is p o in tle s s t o a s k h o w m a n y d ia le c ts o f E n g li s h t h e r e a r e : th e r e a r e
in d e f in ite ly m a n y , d e p e n d i n g o n h o w d e ta i le d w e w is h t o b e in o u r
o b s e r v a tio n s . B u t t h e y a r e o f c o u rs e m o re o b v io u s ly n u m e r o u s in lo n g - s e tt le d
B r it a in t h a n i n a r e a s m o r e r e c e n tly s e ttle d b y E u r o p e a n s , s u c h a s N o r t h
A m e ri c a o r , s t il l m o r e r e c e n tly , A u s tr a lia a n d N e w Z e a la n d . T h e d e g re e o f
g e n e r a l it y i n o u r o b s e r v a t i o n d e p e n d s c ru c i a lly u p o n o u r s t a n d p o i n t a s w e ll
a s u p o n o u r e x p e r i e n c e . A n E n g li s h m a n w ill h e a r a n A m e ri c a n S o u th e r n e r
p r im a r ily a s a n A m e r i c a n , a n d o n ly a s a S o u th e r n e r in a d d it io n i f f u r t h e r
s u b c la s s if ic a tio n is c a ll e d f o r a n d i f h is e x p e r ie n c e o f A m e r i c a n E n g li s h
d ia le c ts e n a b le s h i m to m a k e it. T o a n A m e r i c a n t h e s a m e s p e a k e r w ill b e
h e a r d firs t a s a S o u th e r n e r a n d th e n ( s u b je c t to s i m i la r c o n d itio n s ) a s , s a y , a
V ir g in ia n , a n d t h e n p e r h a p s a s a P ie d m o n t V ir g in ia n . O n e m i g h t s u g g e s t
s o m e b r o a d d ia l e c t a l d iv i s io n s w h ic h a re r a t h e r g e n e r a l ly r e c o g n iz e d . W i t h i n
N o r t h A m e r i c a , m o s t p e o p le w o u ld b e a b le t o d is ti n g u is h C a n a d i a n ,
N o r th e r n , M i d l a n d , a n d S o u th e r n v a r ie ti e s o f E n g lis h . W it h in t h e B ri t is h
Is le s , Ir is h , S c o ts , N o r t h e r n , M i d la n d , W e ls h , S o u th w e s te rn , a n d L o n d o n
v a r ie t ie s w o u ld b e r e c o g n iz e d w ith s im ila r g e n e ra lit y . S o m e o f th e s e - th e
E n g li s h o f I r e l a n d a n d S c o tl a n d f o r e x a m p le - w o u ld b e re c o g n iz e d a s s u c h
b y m a n y A m e r i c a n s a n d A u s tr a lia n s to o , w h ile i n B r i t a i n m a n y p e o p le c o u ld
m a k e s u b d i v is i o n s : U l s t e r a n d S o u th e r n m i g h t b e d is ti n g u is h e d w i t h i n I r i s h
E n g lis h , f o r e x a m p l e , a n d Y o r k s h i r e p ic k e d o u t a s a n im p o r t a n t s u b d iv is io n
o f N o r t h e r n s p e e c h . B r it is h p e o p le c a n a ls o , o f c o u rs e , d is ti n g u is h N o r t h
A m e ri c a n s f r o m a ll o th e r s (t h o u g h n o t u s u a lly C a n a d i a n s fr o m A m e r i c a n s ) ,
S o u th A f r i c a n s f r o m A u s t r a l i a n s a n d N e w Z e a l a n d e r s (th o u g h m is ta k e s a r e
fr e q u e n t), b u t n o t u s u a lly A u s t r a l i a n s fr o m N e w Z e a la n d e r s .
Social variation
1 .2 2 W it h in e a c h o f th e d ia l e c ts t h e r e is c o n s id e ra b le v a r i a t i o n in s p e e c h a c c o r d i n g
to e d u c a t io n , s o c io e c o n o m ic g ro u p , a n d e th n i c g r o u p . S o m e d if fe re n c e s
c o rr e la te w i t h a g e a n d s e x . M u c h ( i f n o t m o s t) o f th e v a r i a ti o n d o e s n o t
18 T h e E n g lish la n g u a g e
i n v o l v e c a te g o r ic a l d i s t i n c t i o n s ; r a t h e r i t is a m a t t e r o f th e fr e q u e n c y w ith
w h i c h c e r t a i n li n g u is ti c fe a t u r e s a re fo u n d in th e g ro u p s .
T h e r e is a n i m p o r t a n t p o la r it y b e tw e e n u n e d u c a te d a n d e d u c a te d s p e e c h
i n w h i c h th e f o r m e r c a n b e id e n t if ie d w ith th e n o n s t a n d a r d re g i o n a l d ia le c t
m o s t c o m p le te ly a n d t h e la t t e r m o v e s a w a y fr o m re g io n a l u s a g e to a fo r m o f
E n g l i s h t h a t c u ts a c r o s s re g io n a l b o u n d a r ie s . T o r e v e r t to a n e x a m p le g iv e n
i n a p r e v i o u s s e c tio n , a n o u ts id e r (w h o w a s n o t a s k ill e d d ia le c to lo g is t) m ig h t
n o t r e a d i l y fin d a N e w E n g l a n d e r w h o s a i d see f o r s a w , a P e n n s y l v a n ia n w h o
s a i d seen, a n d a V i r g i n i a n w h o s a id seed. T h e s e a r e f o r m s t h a t te n d t o b e
r e p l a c e d b y saw w i t h s c h o o l in g , a n d in s p e a k in g t o a s t r a n g e r a d ia le c t
s p e a k e r w o u ld t e n d t o u s e ‘s c h o o l’ fo r m s . O n th e o t h e r h a n d , th e r e is n o
s i m p l e e q u a ti o n o f r e g i o n a l a n d u n e d u c a te d E n g lis h . J u s t a s e d u c a te d
E n g l i s h , I saw, c u t s a c ro s s re g io n a l b o u n d a r ie s , s o d o m a n y f e a tu re s o f
u n e d u c a t e d u s e : a p r o m i n e n t e x a m p le is th e d o u b le n e g a ti v e a s i n I don’t
want no cake, w h ic h h a s b e e n o u tla w e d fr o m a ll e d u c a t e d E n g li s h b y t h e
p r e s c r i p t i v e g r a m m a r t r a d i t i o n fo r o v e r tw o h u n d r e d y e a r s b u t w h ic h
c o n t i n u e s t o th r iv e a s a n e m p h a t ic fo r m i n u n e d u c a t e d s p e e c h w h e re v e r
E n g l i s h is s p o k e n .
E d u c a t e d E n g li s h n a t u r a l l y te n d s to b e g iv e n th e a d d it i o n a l p r e s tig e o f
g o v e r n m e n t a g e n c i e s , t h e p ro f e s s i o n s , th e p o li ti c a l p a r t i e s , th e p re s s , t h e la w
c o u r t , a n d th e p u l p i t - a n y in s ti tu t io n w h ic h m u s t a t t e m p t t o a d d r e s s it s e l f to
a p u b l i c b e y o n d t h e s m a ll e s t d ia l e c ta l c o m m u n ity . I t is c o d if ie d i n d ic tio n a r ie s ,
g r a m m a r s , a n d g u id e s t o u s a g e , a n d i t is t a u g h t i n t h e s c h o o l s y s te m a t a ll
le v e ls . I t is a lm o s t e x c lu s iv e l y th e la n g u a g e o f p r i n t e d m a t t e r . B e c a u s e
e d u c a t e d E n g lis h is th u s a c c o r d e d im p li c it s o c ia l a n d p o li ti c a l s a n c tio n , it
c o m e s t o b e re f e r r e d t o a s s t a n d a r d En g l i s h , a n d p r o v i d e d w e r e m e m b e r
t h a t t h i s d o e s n o t m e a n a n E n g li s h th a t h a s b e e n f o r m a ll y s t a n d a r d iz e d b y
o ff ic ia l a c ti o n , a s w e ig h ts a n d m e a s u re s a r e s ta n d a r d iz e d , th e te r m is u se fu l
a n d a p p r o p r i a t e . I n c o n t r a s t w i t h s t a n d a r d E n g li s h , f o r m s t h a t a r e e s p e c ia lly
a s s o c i a t e d w i t h u n e d u c a t e d ( r a t h e r th a n d i a le c ta l) u s e a r e g e n e ra lly c a lle d
NON STA ND AR D.
N o te ‘S u b s t a n d a r d ’ is s o m e tim e s u s e d in p la c e o f ‘n o n s ta n d a r d ’, b u t le ss c o m m o n l y n o w t h a n i n t h e
p a s t.
Standard English
1 .2 3 T h e d e g r e e o f a c c e p t a n c e o f a s in g le s t a n d a r d o f E n g li s h th r o u g h o u t th e
w o r l d , a c r o s s a m u l ti p li c it y o f p o li ti c a l a n d s o c i a l s y s te m s , is a tr u ly
r e m a r k a b l e p h e n o m e n o n : t h e m o r e so s in c e t h e e x t e n t o f t h e u n if o r m ity
in v o l v e d h a s , i f a n y th i n g , in c r e a s e d in th e p r e s e n t c e n tu r y . U n if o r m it y is
g r e a t e s t i n o rt h o g r a p h y , w h ic h is fr o m m o s t v ie w p o in ts t h e le a s t i m p o r t a n t
t y p e o f lin g u is ti c o r g a n i z a ti o n . A lth o u g h p r i n ti n g h o u s e s i n a ll E n g lis h -
s p e a k i n g c o u n tr ie s r e t a i n a t i n y e le m e n t o f in d i v id u a l d e c is io n (eg: realize/
realise, judgment/judgement), th e r e is b a s i c a lly a s i n g le s p e lli n g and
p u n c t u a t i o n s y s te m t h r o u g h o u t : w i t h tw o m i n o r s u b s y s t e m s . T h e o n e is th e
s u b s y s te m w i t h B ri tis h o r i e n t a t i o n (u s e d in m o s t E n g li s h - s p e a k i n g c o u n tr ie s
o t h e r t h a n th e U n i t e d S ta te s ) , w i t h d is ti n c ti v e f o r m s i n o n ly a s m a ll c l a s s o f
w o r d s , colour, centre, levelled, e tc . T h e o t h e r is t h e A m e r i c a n s u b s y s te m ,
color, center, leveled, e t c . C a n a d i a n s p e llin g d ra w s o n b o t h s y s te m s a n d is
V a rie tie s o f E n g lish 19
o p e n t o c o n s i d e r a b l e v a r i a ti o n . L e a r n e d o r f o r m a l p u b li c a ti o n s , s u c h a s
a c a d e m ic jo u r n a l s a n d s c h o o l te x tb o o k s , p r e f e r B ri tis h s p e l lin g s , w h i l e
p o p u la r p u b li c a ti o n s , s u c h a s n e w s p a p e rs , p r e f e r A m e r i c a n s p e lli n g .
I n d i v id u a l s m a y u s e b o th v a r i a n t s a c c o r d in g to s i tu a t io n , b u t s o m e t i m e s
ra n d o m ly . O n e d if fe re n c e b e tw e e n th e A m e r i c a n a n d B ri tis h s u b s y s te m s o f
p u n c t u a t i o n is t h a t t h e g e n e ra l A m e r i c a n p r a c t ic e is t o p u t a p e r i o d o r c o m m a
in s id e c lo s in g q u o ta t io n m a r k s , w h ic h a r e u s u a lly d o u b le in A m e r i c a n u s a g e
f o r t h e p r i m a r y s e t : The sign said “No smoking." A f u r t h e r o r t h o g r a p h i c p o i n t
m a y c a u s e A n g lo -A m e r ic a n m i s u n d e r s ta n d i n g : t h e n u m e r ic a l f o r m o f d a t e s .
I n B r it is h ( a n d E u r o p e a n ) p r a c t i c e 2 /1 0 /8 5 m e a n s ‘2 O c to b e r 1 9 8 5 ’, b u t i n
A m e r i c a n p r a c t ic e i t m e a n s ‘F e b r u a r y 10; 1 9 8 5 ’ (c f 6 .6 6 ).
I n g r a m m a r a n d v o c a b u la ry , s t a n d a r d E n g li s h p r e s e n ts s o m e w h a t le s s o f
a m o n o l it h ic c h a r a c t e r , b u t e v e n s o t h e w o r ld -w id e a g r e e m e n t is e x t r a o r d i n a r y
a n d - a s h a s b e e n s u g g e s te d e a r l i e r - s e e m s a c tu a lly t o b e in c r e a s i n g u n d e r
t h e im p a c t o f c lo s e r w o rld c o m m u n ic a t io n a n d th e s p r e a d o f id e n t i c a l
m a t e r i a l a n d n o n m a t e r i a l c u lt u r e . T h e u n if o r m i ty is e s p e c i a l ly c lo s e i n
n e u t r a l o r f o r m a l s ty le s o f w r it te n E n g li s h o n s u b je c t m a t t e r n o t o f o b v io u s ly
lo c a liz e d i n t e r e s t : i n s u c h c ir c u m s ta n c e s o n e c a n f r e q u e n tl y g o o n f o r p a g e
a f t e r p a g e w ith o u t e n c o u n te r in g a f e a t u r e w h ic h w o u ld id e n t if y t h e E n g l i s h
a s b e l o n g in g to o n e o f th e n a ti o n a l s t a n d a r d s (cf 1.28ff).
National standards of English
B ritis h a n d A m e ric a n E n g lis h

1 .2 4 W h a t w e a r e c a ll in g n a ti o n a l s t a n d a r d s s h o u ld b e s e e n a s d i s t i n c t f r o m t h e
s t a n d a r d E n g li s h w h ic h w e h a v e b e e n d is c u s s i n g a n d w h ic h w e s h o u ld t h i n k
o f a s b e in g s u p r a n a tio n a l, e m b r a c in g w h a t is c o m m o n to a ll. A g a in , a s w i t h
o r t h o g r a p h y , t h e r e a r e tw o n a t i o n a l s t a n d a r d s t h a t a r e o v e r w h e lm in g l y
p r e d o m i n a n t b o t h i n t h e n u m b e r o f d is ti n c ti v e u s a g e s a n d i n th e d e g r e e t o
w h ic h th e s e d is ti n c ti o n s a r e in s ti tu t io n a li z e d : A m e r i c a n E n g li s h < A m E >
a n d B r it is h E n g li s h < B rE > . G r a m m a t i c a l d if fe re n c e s a r e fe w a n d th e m o s t
c o n s p ic u o u s a r e k n o w n t o m a n y u s e r s o f b o th n a t i o n a l s t a n d a r d s : th e f a c t
t h a t A m E h a s tw o p a s t p a r t ic i p le s fo r get a n d B r E o n ly o n e ( c / 3 .1 8 ) , f o r
e x a m p le , a n d t h a t in B r E e i t h e r a s i n g u la r o r a p lu r a l v e r b m a y b e u s e d w i t h
a s in g u la r c o ll e c ti v e n o u n :
T h e g o v e rn m e n t | ^ e in f a v o u r o f e c o n o m ic s a n c t io n s .
w h e re a s i n A m E a s i n g u la r v e rb is r e q u i r e d h e r e . S o m e a r e le s s f a m il ia r , b u t
a r e u n li k e ly t o h a m p e r c o m m u n ic a tio n . F o r e x a m p le , A m E m a y u se t h e
s i m p l e p a s t i n i n f o r m a l s ty le in c o n te x t s w h e r e B rE n o rm a ll y r e q u i r e s t h e
p r e s e n t p e r f e c ti v e {cf 4 .2 0 N o te ) , a s i n :
S ue ju s t | jje r h o m e w o rk .
S ue s ju s t J
A n d B r E te n d s t o u s e t h e c o n s t r u c ti o n w ith should w h e re A m E g e n e r a lly u s e s

t h e p r e s e n t s u b j u n c ti v e (cf 1 4 .2 4 ):
I in s is te d t h a t h e ^ ta k e j ^ d o c u m e n ts w i t h h im .
20 T h e E n g lish la n g u a g e
L e x ic a l e x a m p l e s a r e f a r m o r e n u m e r o u s , b u t m a n y o f th e s e a r e f a m i l i a r t o
u s e r s o f b o t h s t a n d a r d s : f o r e x a m p le , railway < B rE > , railroad < A m E > ; tin
( B r E ) , can ( A m E ) ; petrol ( B r E ) , gas(oline) ( A m E ) . S o m e it e m s m a y
c o n f u s e m o s t s p e a k e r s o f th e o t h e r s t a n d a r d b e c a u s e th e y a r e u n f a m il ia r , a t
le a s t i n t h e r e l e v a n t m e a n i n g : boot < B rE > , trunk ( A m E ) ; rubber ( B r E ) ,
eraser ( A m E ); drawing pin ( B r E ) , thumbtack ( A m E ) . Public school i n AmE
is a s c h o o l m a i n t a i n e d b y p u b li c fu n d s , b u t in B r E i t a p p li e s to c e r t a i n fe e -
p a y i n g s c h o o ls . Cider (u n le s s f u r t h e r s p e c i fie d , a s i n hard cider) is u s u a l ly
sweet cider) i t is
n o n a lc o h o l ic in . A m E , b u t (u n le s s f u r t h e r s p e c i fie d a s
a lc o h o l ic i n B rE . School in Pm going to school in c lu d e s c o lle g e s a n d u n iv e r s it ie s
in A m E , b u t e x c lu d e s t h e m i n B rE . F lo o r s a r e n u m b e r e d fr o m g r o u n d le v e l
in A m E , s o t h a t first floor is g e n e r a l ly le v e l w i t h th e g r o u n d , b u t i n B r E i t is
a b o v e t h e ground floor. I n s o m e in s ta n c e s a n it e m t h a t is n o r m a l i n o n e
s t a n d a r d is u s e d i n th e o t h e r in r e s tr i c te d c o n te x t s : B r E shop ( A m E store) is
u s e d i n A m E f o r a s m a ll a n d s p e c ia li z e d s to r e , eg: barber shop, shoe-repair
shop, a n d s o m e ti m e s f o r a h ig h - c la s s e s t a b l i s h m e n t o r o n e t h a t h a s p r e t e n s i o n s
to b e s o c o n s i d e r e d , eg: clothing shop!store, jewelry shop/store; B r E chips (e s p
A m E french fries) n o w o c c u r s in A m E , a s a r e c e n t b o r r o w in g f r o m B r E , i n
th e c o m b i n a t i o n fish and chips.
M o r e r e c e n t i n n o v a t i o n s in e i t h e r a r e a t e n d t o s p r e a d ra p i d ly t o t h e o th e r .
T h u s w h i l e r a d i o s e t s h a v e h a d valves i n B r E b u t tubes i n A m E , te l e v is io n
s e ts h a v e tubes i n b o t h , a n d transistors a n d c o m p u t e r software a r e lik e w is e
u s e d i n b o t h s t a n d a r d s . M a s s c o m m u n ic a t io n n e u tr a li z e s d if f e r e n c e s ; t h e
p o p m u s i c c u lt u r e , i n p a r t ic u l a r , u s e s a ‘m i d - A tl a n ti c ’ d ia l e c t t h a t le v e ls
d if f e r e n c e s e v e n i n p ro n u n c i a ti o n .
T h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d B r i t a i n h a v e b e e n s e p a r a t e p o li ti c a l e n t i t i e s f o r tw o
c e n t u r i e s ; f o r g e n e r a t io n s , th o u s a n d s o f b o o k s h a v e b e e n a p p e a r i n g a n n u a l l y ;
th e r e i s a lo n g t r a d i t i o n o f p u b li s h i n g d e s c r ip ti o n s o f b o th A m E a n d B rE .
T h e s e a r e i m p o r t a n t f a c t o r s i n e s t a b li s h in g a n d in s ti tu t io n a li z in g t h e tw o
n a ti o n a l s t a n d a r d s , a n d i n t h e r e l a ti v e a b s e n c e o f s u c h c o n d it io n s o t h e r
n a ti o n a l s t a n d a r d s a r e b o t h le s s d is ti n c t ( b e i n g m o r e o p e n t o th e in f lu e n c e o f
e it h e r A m E o r B r E ) a n d le s s in s ti tu tio n a li z e d .
O n e a t t i t u d i n a l p h e n o m e n o n i n t h e U n i t e d S ta t e s is o f s o c io li n g u is tic
in te re s t. I n a f f ir m in g th e s t u d e n ts ’ r i g h t t o t h e i r o w n v a r i e ti e s o f la n g u a g e ,
m a n y A m e r i c a n e d u c a t io n a li s t s h a v e d e c la r e d t h a t S t a n d a r d A m e r i c a n
E n g li s h i s a m y t h , s o m e a s s e r ti n g th e i n d e p e n d e n t s t a tu s ( f o r e x a m p l e ) o f
B la c k E n g li s h . A it t h e s a m e ti m e th e y h a v e a c k n o w le d g e d t h e e x is te n c e o f a
w ri tte n s t a n d a r d d ia l e c t , s o m e tim e s t e r m e d ‘E d it e d A m e r i c a n E n g li s h ’.
S c o tla n d , I r e la n d , C a n a d a
1 .2 5 S co ts, w i t h a n c i e n t n a t i o n a l a n d e d u c a t io n a l i n s ti tu t io n s , is p e r h a p s n e a r e s t
to t h e s e l f - c o n f id e n t in d e p e n d e n c e o f B r E a n d A m E , th o u g h t h e d if fe re n c e s
in g r a m m a r a n d v o c a b u la r y a r e r a t h e r fe w . T h e r e is th e p r e p o s iti o n outwith
[‘e x c e p t’] a n d s o m e o t h e r g r a m m a t ic a l fe a t u r e s , a n d s u c h le x ic a l i t e m s a s
advocate i n t h e s e n s e ‘p r a c t is i n g la w y e r’ o r bailie [‘m u n i c ip a l m a g i s t r a t e ’] a n d
s e v e r a l o t h e r s w h i c h , li k e t h i s la s t, r e f e r t o S c o tt is h a ff a ir s . O r t h o g r a p h y is
id e n t ic a l w i t h B r E , t h o u g h burgh c o r r e s p o n d s c lo s e ly t o ‘b o r o u g h ’ in m e a n i n g
a n d m i g h t a lm o s t b e r e g a r d e d a s a s p e l lin g v a r i a n t . O n th e o t h e r h a n d , th e
Varieties of English 21
‘L allan s’ Scots, w h ic h h a s som e cu rren cy for literary p u rp o ses, h a s a h ig h ly

in d ep e n d en t set o f lex ical, g ra m m atica l, phonological, a n d o rth o g ra p h ic a l
conv en tio n s, all o f w h ic h m a k e it seem m ore like a s e p a ra te language t h a n a
reg io n al dialect.
H ib ern o -E n g lish , o r Iris h E n g lish , m ay also be co n sid ered as a n a tio n a l
sta n d ard , for th o u g h w e la c k d escrip tio n s o f th is lo n g stan d in g v a rie ty o f
E n g lish it is consciously a n d ex p licitly reg ard ed as in d e p e n d e n t o f B rE b y
e d u catio n al a n d b ro a d c a stin g services. T h e p ro x im ity o f G r e a t B rita in , th e
easy m o v em en t o f p o p u latio n , th e perv asiv e influence o f A m E , an d lik e
facto rs m ean h o w e v er th a t th e re is little room fo r th e assertio n a n d
d ev elo p m en t o f a s e p a ra te g ra m m a r a n d vocabulary.
C a n a d ia n E n g lish is in a sim ila r p o sitio n in re la tio n to A m E . C lo se
econom ic, social, a n d in te lle ctu a l lin k s along a 4000-m ile fro n tie r h a v e
n a tu rally cau sed th e la rg e r c o m m u n ity to h av e a n en o rm o u s influence o n th e
sm aller, n o t least in lan g u a g e. T h o u g h in m an y resp ects (ze d in stea d o f ze e ,
fo r exam ple, as th e n a m e o f th e le tte r ‘z ’), C a n a d ia n E n g lish follow s B ritish
ra th e r th a n U n ite d S ta te s p ra c tic e , a n d h as a m o d est a r e a o f in d e p e n d e n t
lexical use, eg: p o g e y [‘w elfare p a y m e n t’], riding [‘p a rlia m e n ta ry c o n sti
tu en c y ’], m uskeg [‘k in d o f b o g ’]; in m an y o th er resp ects it h a s a p p ro x im a te d
to A m E , a n d in th e a b se n ce o f stro n g in stitu tio n a liz in g forces it w o u ld
co n tin u e in th is d ire c tio n . H o w ev e r, c o u n teractin g th is ten d en cy in lan g u ag e
as in o th e r m a tte rs is th e ten d e n c y fo r C a n ad ian s to re sist th e influence o f
th e ir pow erful n e ig h b o u r in th e ir assertio n o f an in d e p e n d e n t n a tio n a l
id en tity .
S o u th A frica, A u stra lia , N ew Z ealan d

1.26 S o u th A frica, A u stra lia , a n d N e w Z ea la n d are in a very d ifferen t p o sitio n ,
rem o te fro m th e d ire c t d a y -to -d ay im p a c t o f e ith e r B rE o r A m E . W hile in
o rth o g rap h y an d g ra m m a r th e S o u th A frican E n g lish in e d u cated use is
v irtu ally id en tical w ith B rE , ra th e r co n sid erab le d ifferences in v o c ab u lary
h a v e developed, larg ely u n d e r th e in flu en ce o f th e o th er official language o f
th e country, A frik a a n s ; fo r ex am p le, veld [‘o pen c o u n try ’], kopje o r koppie
[‘h illo ck ’], dorp [‘v illag e’]. B ecau se o f th e rem oteness from B rita in o r A m erica,
few o f th ese w o rd s h a v e s p r e a d : a n ex cep tio n is tre k [‘jo u rn e y ’].
N ew Z ealan d E n g lish is m o re like B rE th a n an y o th e r n o n -E u ro p ea n
v ariety , th o u g h it h a s a d o p te d q u ite a n u m b er o f w o rd s fro m th e in d ig en o u s
M ao ris (for e x am p le whare [‘h u t’] a n d o f course kiw i a n d o th e r n am es fo r
fa u n a a n d flora) a n d o v e r th e p a s t h a lf cen tu ry h a s co m e u n d e r th e p o w erfu l
influence o f A u stra lia a n d to a c o n sid erab le e x ten t o f th e U n ite d S tates.
A u stra lia n E n g lish is u n d o u b te d ly th e d o m in a n t fo rm o f E n g lish in th e
A n tip o d es a n d by re aso n o f A u s tra lia ’s in creased w ealth , p o p u latio n , a n d
influence in w orld affairs, th is n a tio n a l stan d ard .(though still by n o m ea n s
fully in stitu tio n alized ) is e x ertin g a n influence in th e n o rth e rn h e m isp h ere,
p articu la rly in B rita in . M u c h o f w h a t is d istin ctiv e in A u s tra lia n E nglish is
confined to fa m ilia r use. T h is is esp ecially so o f g ra m m a tic a l fe atu res lik e
a d v erb ial hut o r th e u se o f th e fe m in in e p ro n o u n b o th an ap h o rica lly for a n
in a n im a te noun (job . . . her) a n d also im personally an d n o n referen tially fo r
‘th in g s in general’;
T h e j o b ’s still n o t d o n e ; I ’ll finish h e r th is arv o , but. [‘. . . it th is

a fte rn o o n , h o w ev er.’]
A : A re y o u feeling b e tte r?
B : T o o rig h t, m a te ; sh e ’ll be jak e . [‘A b s o lu te ly . . . ; ev ery th in g w ill be
fin e.’]
B u t th e r e a re m an y lexical item s th a t are to b e reg ard ed as fully s ta n d a rd :

n o t m e re ly th e sp ecial fa u n a a n d flora (such a s kangaroo, gum tree, w attle), b u t
s p e c ia l A u s tra lia n uses o f fa m ilia r w ords (fo r ex am p le p a d d o c k as a general
w o rd fo r ‘field ’, crook [‘ill’], station [‘sheep fa rm ’], banker [‘riv e r full to its
b a n k s ’], w asher [‘face c lo th ’]) an d special A u stra lia n w o rd s (for ex am p le
bo w y a n g [‘a tro u se r s tr a p ’], w addy [‘a b lud g eo n ’]).
Pron u n cia tio n and standard English

1.27 T h e lis t in 1 .2 5 / does n o t ex h au st th e reg io n al o r n a tio n a l v a ria n ts th a t
a p p r o x im a te to th e sta tu s o f a sta n d ard . Beside th e w id esp read C reole in th e
C a r ib b e a n , fo r ex am p le, th ere is th e in creasin g reco g n itio n th a t th e lan g u ag e
o f g o v e rn m e n t a n d o th e r a g encies observes a n in d ig en o u s sta n d a rd th a t c an
be re fe rre d to a s C a rib b e a n E nglish. N o r h a v e we d iscu ssed th e em erg in g
s ta n d a r d s in c o u n trie s w h ere E n g lish is sp o k en as a second lan g u ag e (c f 1.34).
H o w e v e r, all th e v a ria n ts a re rem a rk ab le p rim a rily in th e tin y e x te n t to
w h ic h e v e n th e m o st firm ly estab lish ed , B rE a n d A m E , differ fro m each
o th e r in v o c ab u lary , g ra m m ar, a n d o rth o g rap h y . W e h a v e b een carefu l,
h o w e v er, n o t to m e n tio n p ro n u n c ia tio n in th is c o n n ectio n . P ro n u n c ia tio n is
a s p e c ia l case fo r sev eral reaso n s. I n th e first place, it is th e ty p e o f lin g u istic
o rg a n iz a tio n w h ic h d istin g u ish es o n e n a tio n a l s ta n d a rd fro m a n o th e r m o st
im m e d ia te ly a n d co m p letely a n d w h ich lin k s in a m o st o b v io u s w ay th e
n a tio n a l s ta n d a rd s to th e reg io n al v arieties. Secondly (w ith a n im p o rta n t
e x c e p tio n to be n o ted ), it is th e least in stitu tio n alized a sp e c t o f s ta n d a rd
E n g lish , in th e sen se th a t, p ro v id ed o u r g ra m m a r a n d lex ical item s c o n fo rm
to th e a p p ro p ria te n a tio n a l sta n d a rd , it m atters less th a t o u r p ro n u n c ia tio n
follow s closely o u r in d iv id u a l reg io n al p a tte rn . T h is is d o u b tless b ecau se
p ro n u n c ia tio n is essen tially g ra d ie n t, a m a tte r o f ‘m o re o r less’ ra th e r th a n
th e d is c re te ‘th is o r t h a t’ fe atu res o f g ra m m a r a n d lexicon. T h ird ly , n o rm s o f
p ro n u n c ia tio n a re su b ject less to ed u catio n al a n d n a tio n a l c o n stra in ts th a n
to s o c ia l o n e s: th is m ea n s, in effect, th a t som e reg io n al a ccen ts a re less
a c c e p ta b le th a n o th e rs ( c f 1.20 N o te [a]).
B u t th e re is a n ex ce p tio n , n o ted ab o v e, to th e g e n era liz atio n t h a t reg io n al
p ro n u n c ia tio n c a n be used w ith o u t stig m a. In B rE , o n e ty p e o f p ro n u n c ia tio n
co m es close to enjoying th e sta tu s o f ‘s ta n d a rd ’ : it is th e a c c e n t asso ciated
w ith th e o ld er schools a n d u n iv ersities o f E n g lan d , ‘R ece iv e d P ro n u n c ia tio n ’
o r ‘R P ’. B ecause th is h as trad itio n a lly been tra n s m itte d th ro u g h a p riv a te
e d u c a tio n system b ased u p o n b o a rd in g schools in su lated fro m th e locality in
w h ich th e y h a p p e n to be situ ate d , it is n o n reg io n al, a n d th is - to g eth e r w ith
th e o b v io u s p re stig e th a t th e social im p o rta n ce o f its sp e a k ers h a s co n ferred
o n it - h a s b e en o n e o f its stre n g th s as a w idely-favoured sp o k e n fo rm o f th e
lan g u a g e. B ut R P n o lo n g er h as th e u n iq u e au th o rity it h a d in th e first h a lf o f
th e tw e n tie th cen tu ry . I t is n o w only o n e am o n g several a c c e n ts com m only
used o n th e B B C a n d ta k e s its p lace along w ith o th ers w h ic h c a rry th e
u n m is ta k a b le m a rk o f reg io n al o rig in - n o t least, a n A u s tra lia n o r N o r th
Varieties o f En g lish 23
A m e ric an o r C a rib b e a n origin. T h u s th e rule th a t a sp ecific ty p e o f

p ro n u n c ia tio n is relativ ely u n im p o rta n t seem s to be in th e p ro cess o f lo sin g
th e n o ta b le e x ce p tio n th a t R P h a s co n stitu ted . N ev erth eless, R P re m a in s th e
s ta n d a rd for tea ch in g th e B ritish v ariety o f E n g lish as a fo reig n la n g u a g e , as
can; be easily se e n fro m d ictio n aries a n d tex tb o o k s in te n d e d fo r c o u n trie s
th a t te a c h B ritish E n g lish .
R P also sh a res a d istin c tio n w ith a v ariety o f M id la n d A m e r ic a n
p ro n u n c ia tio n k n o w n as ‘n etw o rk E n g lish ’. B B C n ew sread ers a re v irtu a lly
all R P sp e ak ers, ju s t a s new sread ers o n th e n a tio n a l ra d io a n d te le v is io n
n e tw o rk s in th e U n ite d : S tates all sp e a k w ith th e ‘n e tw o rk E n g lis h ’
p ro n u n c ia tio n .
In th is b o o k w e d o n o t a tte m p t to re p re se n t th e ran g e o f v a ria tio n in
p ro n u n c ia tio n asso c iated w ith different n a tio n a l sta n d ard s. W e d o , h o w e v e r,
reco rd th e m a jo r d ifferences (using th e system o f sym bols listed o n p a g e v iii)
b etw een R P a n d n e tw o rk E nglish.
N o te T h e ex trem e v a ria tio n th a t is to lerated in th e p ro n u n c ia tio n o f E nglish in vario u s co u n trie s p u ts

a g reat re sp o n sib ility u p o n th e largely u n ifo rm o rth o g ra p h y (c/1 .2 3 ) in p re se rv in g th e m u t u a l
c o m p reh en sib ility o f E n g lish thro u g h o u t th e w orld. A ‘p h o n etic’ spelling w ould p ro b a b ly allo w
ex istin g d ifferen ces to b ec o m e g re a te r w h ereas - th ro u g h ’spelling p ro n u n ciatio n ’ w ith in c re a s e d
literacy - o u r co n v e n tio n a l o rth o g ra p h y n o t m erely ch eck s th e divisiveness o f p ro n u n c ia tio n
ch a n g e b u t ac tu ally red u ce s it.
Varieties according to field of discourse

1.28 T h e field o f d isc o u rse is th e type o f activ ity engaged in th ro u g h lan g u a g e. A
s p e a k e r o f E n g lish h a s a rep erto ire o f v a rieties acco rd in g to field a n d s w itc h e s
to th e a p p ro p ria te o n e as occasion re q u ires. T h e n u m b er o f v a rie tie s t h a t
sp e ak ers c o m m a n d d e p en d s u p o n th e ir p ro fessio n , train in g , a n d in te rests.
T y p ically th e sw itc h involves n o th in g m o re th a n tu rn in g to th e p a r tic u la r
set o f lex ical ite m s h a b itu a lly used fo r h a n d lin g th e field in q u estio n . T h u s ,
in c o n n ec tio n w ith re p airin g a m a c h in e ; nut, bolt, wrench, thread, lever, fin g e r-
tight, balance, a d ju st, bearing, axle, pinion, split-pin, a n d th e like. B u t th e re a re
g ra m m a tic a l co rre late s to field v ariety as w ell. T o tak e a sim p le e x am p le, th e
im p e rativ es in c o o k in g recip es: P our the liquid into a bowl, n o t You sh o u ld o r
You m ight care to, still less The cook should . . . O r th e o m issio n o f d ir e c t
o b jects th a t is c o m m o n in in stru ctio n al lan g u ag e in g e n eral: B a k e a t 450°;
Open (th e b o x a t) this end; Keep (th is bottle) aw ay fro m children. M o re
com plex g ra m m a tic a l co rrelates are to b e fo u n d in the lan g u ag e o f te c h n ic a l
an d scientific d e s c rip tio n : th e passive is co m m o n a n d clau ses a re o f te n
‘n o m in a liz ed ’ ( c f \ 1 .5 \ j f ) ; th u s n o t usually:
Y ou c a n re ctify th is fa u lt if you in se rt a w e d g e . . .
b u t ra th e r:
R e ctific atio n o f th is fau lt is ach iev ed by in sertio n o f a w e d g e . . .
M o re ra d ic a l g ra m m a tic a l differences a re fo u n d in th e lan g u ag e o f leg a l

d o c u m e n ts :
P ro v id e d th a t su ch p a y m e n t a s afo re sa id shall be a c o n d itio n p re c e d e n t

to th e e x ercise o f th e o p tio n h e rein s p e c ifie d . . .
a n d in n ew sp a p er h ead lin es:
D e v elo p m en t P la n for H a rlem F o u g h t
T h e ty p e o f lan g u ag e re q u ired by choice o f field is b ro ad ly in d ep e n d en t from

th e v a ria b le s (d ialect, n a tio n a l sta n d ard ) a lread y discussed. Som e obvious
c o n tin g e n t c o n s tra in ts a re h o w ev er em e rg in g : th e u se o f a specific v ariety o f
o n e c la ss freq u e n tly p resu p p o ses th e use o f a specific v a rie ty o f an o th er. T h e
u se o f a w ell-form ed leg al sen ten ce, for ex am p le, p re su p p o ses a n ed u cated
v a rie ty o f E n g lish .
W e shall h a v e o ccasio n in th is book to refer to v a ria tio n s in g ra m m ar
a c c o rd in g to th e field o f disco u rse w ith self-ex p lan ato ry labels. L ite ratu re is
o f co u rse a lo n g -estab lish ed field, b u t l i t e r a r y E n g lish e x te n d s to o th e r
fields, for ex am p le n o n te c h n ic a l essays o n h u m a n istic to p ic s a n d b io g rap h ies.
S o m e fields h a v e c e rta in ch ara cte ristics in c o m m o n ; fo r ex am p le, l e g a l a n d
r e l i g i o u s E n g lish h a v e n u m ero u s form s p e cu liar to th e ir resp ectiv e fields,
b u t b o th m ay in clu d e usages th a t are o th erw ise a r c h a i c , th o u g h th ere is a
tre n d aw ay fro m su c h a rch a ism in th ese fields. P o e try to o h a s trad itio n a lly
used a rch a ic fe atu res. In d e ed , p o e try m ay d e v ia te fro m th e n o rm s o f th e
lan g u ag e in o th e r resp ects, p a rticu larly in w o rd o rd e r. L ite rary E n g lish is
so m etim es d e sc rib e d a s p o etic i f it d isp lay s fe atu res t h a t a re ra re in prose.
A s w ith d iale cts ( c f 1.21), th ere are in definitely m a n y fields d e p en d in g o n
ho w d e ta ile d w e w ish o u r discussion to be. l e a r n e d (o r scholarly) language
co v ers a w ide r a n g e o f su b ject m a tte r (psychology, lite ra ry criticism , history,
phy sics, m ed ic in e ), e a c h o f w h ich could be re g ard e d as a se p a ra te field,
th o u g h w e sh all n e ed to d istin g u ish o nly th e field o f s c i e n t i f i c discourse.
A p p lica tio n s o f tech n o lo g y are reflected in i n s t r u c t i o n a l w ritin g , itself
in clu d ed w ith in t e c h n i c a l lan g u ag e. B u t in s tru c tio n a l lan g u ag e m ay ran g e
fro m co o k in g re cip es to in stru ctio n s fo r p lay in g g am es. W h en learn ed o r
tech n ical lan g u ag e is u sed to o ob tru siv ely o r (to all a p p e a ra n c e s ) u n n ecessar
ily, it is o ften p e jo ra tiv e ly refe rre d to as j a r g o n .
Ja rg o n m ay in clu d e o b tru siv e language fro m o th e r d isco u rse fields, for
ex am p le j o u r n a l i s t i c a n d (in p a rticu la r) b u r e a u c r a t i c w ritin g . Jo u rn alism
in its w id est sen se in clu d es re p o rtin g on ra d io a n d telev isio n , e ac h o f w h ich
m ay b e d istin g u ish e d fro m n e w sp a p er rep o rtin g . S om e fe atu res o f n ew sp ap ers
call fo r sp ecial co n sid era tio n , in p a rtic u la r h ead lin ese, th e language o f
n e w sp ap er h e ad lin es.
W e have b y n o m e a n s ex h au sted th e fields th a t h a v e d ev elo p ed th e ir o w n
linguistic e x p ressio n . A m o n g o th ers we re fe r to , w e m a y m en tio n a d v ertisin g
a n d business.
N o te V arieties a c co rd in g to field o f disco u rse a re so m etim es ca lled r e g i s t e r s , th o u g h th is te rm is

ap p lied in d iffe re n t w ays.
Varieties a cco rding to medium

1.29 T h e only v a rie tie s a cc o rd in g to m ed iu m th a t w e n e ed to co n sid er are th o se
c o n d itio n ed b y s p e a k in g a n d w ritin g respectively. S in ce sp e e ch is th e p rim a ry
o r n atu ral m e d iu m fo r lin g u istic c o m m u n ica tio n , it is re aso n a b le to focus o n
th e differences im p o sed o n lan g u ag e w hen it h as to b e ex p ressed in a g ra p h ic
Varieties of English 25
(a n d n o rm ally visual) m e d iu m in stead . M o st o f th ese differences arise fro m

tw o sources. O ne is s itu a tio n a l: th e use o f a w ritte n m ed iu m n o rm ally
p resu m es th e a b sen ce o f th e person(s) to w hom th e piece o f lan g u a g e is
ad d ressed . T h is im p o ses th e n ecessity o f a fa r g re ater e x p lic itn ess: th e c are fu l
a n d p recise c o m p letio n o f a sen ten ce, ra th e r th a n th e casu al ex p ressio n
su p p o rte d by g esture a n d te rm in a tin g w h en sp e ak ers a re a ssu red by w o rd o r
lo o k th a t th e ir h e are rs h a v e un d ersto o d . A s a corollary, sin ce th e w ritte n
se n ten ce c a n b e re a d a n d re re a d , slowly a n d critically (w hereas th e sp o k e n
se n ten ce is ev an escen t), w rite rs te n d to a n tic ip a te c riticism b y w ritin g m o re
concisely as well as m o re carefu lly an d eleg an tly th a n they m ay ch o o se to
sp eak .
T h e second source o f d ifferen ce is th a t m an y o f th e d ev ices w e u se to
tra n s m it lan g u ag e b y s p e e c h (stress, rh y th m , in to n a tio n , tem p o , fo r e x am p le)
a re im p o ssib le to r e p re s e n t w ith th e relativ ely lim ited re p e rto ire o f
co n v en tio n al o rth o g rap h y . T h ey are difficult en o u g h to re p re se n t ev en w ith
a sp ecial p ro so d ic n o ta tio n (c f A p p II). A s a c o n seq u en ce w riters o ften h a v e
to re fo rm u late th e ir se n ten c es to convey fully a n d successfully w h a t th e y
w a n t to exp ress w ith in th e o rth o g ra p h ic system . T h u s in stead o f th e sp o k e n
sen ten ce w ith a p a rtic u la r in to n a tio n nucleus o n John (c f A p p one
m ig h t h a v e to re p h ra se th e se n ten c e in w ritin g to convey th e in te n d e d fo cu s:
j 5 h n d id n ’t do it.
I t w as n o t in fa c t J o h n t h a t d id it.
T h e ad v an tag e s a re n o t all o n o n e side, h o w ev er; th e w ritte n m ed iu m h a s th e

v alu ab le d istin ctio n s o f p a ra g ra p h s , italics, q u o tatio n m ark s, etc, w h ich h a v e
n o c le ar analogue in sp eech .
1.30 A s w ith v arieties a c c o rd in g to field, we are here d ealin g w ith tw o v a rie tie s
th a t a re in p rin cip le a t th e d isp o sal o f an y u sers o f E n g lish as o ccasio n m a y
d e m a n d , irresp ectiv e o f th e v a rie ty o f E n g lish th ey u se as a re su lt o f re g io n
a n d ed u catio n . B ut a g a in th e re are co n tin g e n t c o n s tra in ts : w e d o n o t e x p ec t
sp e a k ers w ith little fo rm a l e d u c a tio n to com pose in w ritte n E n g lish w ith th e
fa cility th a t e d u ca te d s p e a k e rs a cq u ire. T h is in d eed is w h a t a g re a t d e a l o f
e d u ca tio n is a b o u t.
T h ere a re c o n tin g e n t c o n s tra in ts o f a n o th e r k in d . S om e field v a rie tie s o f
E n g lish (legal sta tu te s esp ecially ) are difficult to co m p o se ex ce p t in w ritin g
a n d difficult to u n d e rsta n d e x c e p t b y read in g . O th e r v a rieties a re c o m p a ra b ly
re stric te d to s p e e c h : a ra d io c o m m e n ta ry o n a football m a tc h w ill b e p h ra se d
very d ifferently fro m a n e w sp a p e r re p o rt o f th e sam e g am e.
Varieties according to attitude

1.31 V arietie s acco rd in g to a ttitu d e co n stitu te, lik e field a n d m ed iu m v a rie tie s, a
ra n g e o f E n g lish a n y se c tio n o f w h ich is in p rin cip le a v ailab le a t will to an y
in d iv id u a l sp e a k er o f E n g lish , irresp ectiv e o f th e reg io n al v a ria n t o r n a tio n a l
s ta n d a rd he m ay h a b itu a lly use. T h is p resen t class o f v a rie tie s is o ften c alled
‘sty listic ’, b u t ‘style’ lik e ‘re g is te r’ is a term w h ich is used w ith se v e ra l
d iffere n t m ean in g s. W e a re h e re co n cern ed w ith th e ch o ice o f lin g u istic fo rm
th a t p ro ceed s fro m o u r a ttitu d e to th e h e are r (or read er), to th e to p ic, a n d to
th e p u rp o s e o f o u r co m m u n icatio n . W e recognize a g ra d ie n t in a ttitu d e

b e tw e e n f o r m a l (relatively stiff, co ld , p o lite, im p erso n al) o n th e o n e h an d
a n d i n f o r m a l (relativ ely relaxed, w arm , ru d e, friendly) o n th e o th e r. T he
c o rre sp o n d in g lin g u istic co n trasts involve b o th g ra m m ar a n d vo cab u lary .
F o r e x a m p le :
O v e rtim e em o lu m en ts are n o t av ailab le for em ployees w h o a re n o n

re s id e n t . . .
S ta ff m e m b e rs w h o d o n ’t live in c a n ’t g e t p a id overtim e . . .
W h ile m a n y se n ten c es lik e th e fo reg o in g can b e rated ‘m o re fo rm a l’ o r

‘m o re in fo rm a l’ in relatio n to each o th er, it is useful to p u rsu e th e n o tio n o f
th e c o m m o n c o re (c/1 .1 9 ) here, so th a t w e c a n acknow ledge a m e d ia n o r
u n m a rk e d v a r ie ty o f E n g lish , b earin g n o obv io u s colouring th a t h a s been
in d u c e d by a ttitu d e . F o r e x a m p le :
T h is s tu d e n t’s w o rk is now m u ch b e tte r an d seem s lik ely to go on

im p ro v in g .
O n e a c h sid e o f th is n e u t r a l (a n d n o rm al) E nglish, w e m a y usefully

d is tin g u ish s e n te n c e s c o n ta in in g fe atu res th a t a re m ark e d ly fo rm a l o r
in fo rm a l. I n th e p re s e n t w ork, we sh all fo r th e m o st p a rt confine o u rselv es to
th is th re e -te rm d is tin c tio n , leav in g th e m id d le o n e u n lab elled a n d sp ecify in g
o nly u sag es t h a t a re relativ ely fo rm al o r in fo rm al. I t should b e re a liz e d th a t
th e n e u tra l te r m o fte n covers item s in o n e o r th e o th e r e x trem e a s w ell. F o r
ex am p le, c o n tra c tio n s such as didn’t a re a p p ro p ria te in b o th in fo rm a l an d
n e u tra l E n g lish ; th e y are excluded fro m fo rm al E nglish.
1.32 M a ste ry o f s u c h a ra n g e o f a ttitu d in a l v a rie tie s seem s a n o rm al a ch ie v e m e n t

fo r e d u ca te d a d u lts , b u t it is a n a cq u isitio n t h a t is n o t in ev itab le o r e v e n easy
fo r e ith e r th e n a tiv e o r th e foreign le a rn e r o f a language. I t a p p e a rs to re q u ire
m a tu rity , ta c t, sen sitiv ity , a n d a d a p ta b ility - p erso n ality fe a tu re s w h ich
en ab le th e in d iv id u a l to o b serv e a n d im ita te w h a t o th ers do, a n d to search
th e lan g u a g e ’s reso u rces to find a n e x p ressio n to su it his a ttitu d e . Y o u n g
n a tiv e sp e a k ers a t th e ag e o f five o r six h a v e, b ro ad ly sp eak in g , o n e fo rm o f
E n g lish th a t is m a d e to serve all p u rp o ses, w h e th er th ey are ta lk in g to th e ir
m o th e r, th e ir p e ts , th e ir friends, o r a n ag ed neig h b o u r. A n d a lth o u g h th is
in v a r ia n t la n g u a g e c a n cause p a re n ts tw in g es o f e m b a rra s sm e n t, it is
g en erally reco g n ize d th a t it is a lim ita tio n t h a t th e c h ild will g ro w o u t of.
F o re ig n le a rn e rs a re in a so m ew h at sim ila r p o sitio n . U n til th e ir sk ill in th e
lan g u ag e is re ally v ery ad v an c ed , it is a ttitu d in a lly in v a ria n t, th o u g h th e
p a rtic u la r v a rie ty is m u ch less p re d ic ta b le th a n th a t o f th e n a tiv e c h ild . I f
m u ch o f th e ir p ra c tic e in E n g lish h a s b e en o b tain e d th ro u g h tex tb o o k s
specializin g in c o m m e rc ial tra in in g , th e ir h a b itu a l v a rie ty w ill b e very
d ifferen t from t h a t o f th e lea rn er w ho h a s d one v a catio n w o rk h e lp in g o n a
farm . M o re u su ally , e ith e r a n in v a ria n t lite rary (som etim es e v en a n a rc h a ic )
flavour o r an in v a r ia n t excessively in fo rm a l flavour occurs in th e s p e e c h o f
fo reig n stu d en ts. B u t, in a n y case, ju s t as th e n a tiv e c h ild ’s y o u th in h ib its
criticism , so th e fo reig n s tu d e n t’s a c c e n t in fo rm s listen ers t h a t th e r e a re
resp ec tab le re a so n s fo r o ccasio n al in a p p ro p ria te n e s s in th e lan g u a g e v ariety .
1.33 T h e th ree-w ay c o n tra st o f fo rm a l-n e u tra l-in fo rm a l is n o t o f co u rse a d e q u a te

to d escrib e th e full ran g e o f lin g u istic v arieties th a t a re ev o k ed b y d ifferen ces
o f attitu d e . W e sh o u ld ad d a t least o n e category a t e ach e n d o f th e scale. O n
th e o n e h a n d , w e n e ed to acc o u n t fo r th e extrem ely d istan t, rigid (o r ‘fro z e n ’)
v ariety o f E n g lish so m etim es fo u n d in w ritte n in stru ctio n s. F o r e x a m p le :
D istin g u ish ed p a tro n s a re req u ested to ascen d to th e second floor.
B u t w e m u st a c c o u n t also for th e in tim ate , c asu al, o r h e arty - o fte n slangy -

language used b etw een very close frien d s (especially o f a sim ila r age) o r
m em b ers o f a fam ily , o r u sed w h en speakers feel fo r an y o th e r re aso n t h a t
th ey d o n o t n e ed to b o th er a b o u t w h a t the liste n e r (or read er) th in k s o f th e ir
choice o f lan g u g e. W e m ig h t th u s m a tc h th e fo reg o in g ex am p le w ith :
(G et) u p sta irs, you lot!
W e now h a v e a p o te n tia l five-term d istin c tio n :
very fo rm al - FO RM A L - n e u tra l - i n f o r m a l - very inform al
A s w e said a b o v e (1.31), w e chiefly em ploy th e lab els ‘fo rm al’ a n d ‘in fo rm a l’,
leaving u n m a rk e d th e ‘n e u tra l’ n o rm al style; b u t w e so m etim es d e sig n ate
language as ‘v ery fo rm al’ o r ‘very in fo rm al’, occasio n ally re p la cin g ‘v ery
in fo rm al’ b y ‘c asu al’ o r ‘fa m ilia r’ as a p p ro p ria te . T h e te rm c o l l o q u i a l is
also used fo r th e v ery in fo rm al range, b u t p articu la rly fo r th e sp o k e n
language. A fu rth e r term , s l a n g , is n eed ed to d e n o te th e freq u e n tly v iv id o r
p layful lex ical u sa g e ty p ic a l o f casu al discourse, u sually in d ic a tin g m e m b e r
sh ip in a p a rtic u la r social gro u p .
O n e final p o in t o n a ttitu d e v arieties. A s w ith th e E n g lish d ic ta te d by field
a n d m ed iu m , th e re a re co n tin g en cy c o n strain ts in th e n o rm al selectio n o f
a ttitu d in a l v a rie ty . J u s t as sta tu te d ra ftin g (field) n o rm ally p re su p p o ses
w ritin g (m ed iu m ), so also it p resu p p o ses a p a rtic u la r a ttitu d e v a rie ty : in th is
case ‘very fo rm a l’. S im ilarly it w ould be h a rd to im ag in e a n a p p ro p ria te
football c o m m e n ta ry o n th e ra d io being o th e r th a n inform al, o r a ra d io
c o m m en tary o n th e fu n e ra l o f a h e a d o f state b ein g o th e r th a n fo rm al, th o u g h
b o th a re in th e sa m e m ed iu m (speech).
Varieties according to interference

1.34 A very d iffere n t ty p e o f v a ria tio n ap p lies to sp e ak ers o f E n g lish a s a seco n d
language o r fo reig n lan g u ag e. T h e v a ria tio n is cau sed by in te rfere n c e fro m
an o th e r lan g u ag e. T h e F re n c h m a n w ho says I a m here since T hursday is
im p o sin g a F re n c h g ra m m a tic a l u sage on E n g lish ; th e R u ssia n w h o says
There are fo u r assistants in our chair o f m athem atics is im p o sin g a R u ssian
lex ico -sem an tic u sag e o n th e E n g lish w ord ‘c h a ir’. M o st obviously, w e alw ays
ten d to im p o se o u r n a tiv e pho n o lo g ical p a tte rn o n an y foreign lan g u ag e w e
learn . T h e p ra c tis e d lin g u ist is a b le to d e tect th e lan g u ag e b a ck g ro u n d o f
stu d en ts, a n d th is h a s o b v io u s im p licatio n s fo r lan g u ag e te a c h in g in th a t
stu d en ts c a n b e h e lp e d w ith th e pro b lem s th a t give th em th e g re atest
difficulty.
A t th e o p p o site e x tre m e a re in terferen ce v a rieties th a t a re so w id e sp rea d
in a c o m m u n ity a n d o f su ch long sta n d in g th a t th ey m ay be th o u g h t stab le
a n d a d e q u a te en o u g h to b e in stitu tio n alized a n d h e n ce to be re g ard e d a s
v a rie tie s o f E n g lish in th e ir o w n right ra th e r th a n stag es o n th e w ay to a m o re

n a tiv e -lik e E nglish. T h ere is active d e b ate o n th ese issues in In d ia , P a k istan ,
a n d sev eral A frica n co u n tries, w here efficient a n d fairly stab le v arieties o f
E n g lis h a re p ro m in e n t in ed u cated use a t th e h ig h est p o litical a n d professional
le v e l a n d a re b e g in n in g to a cq u ire th e statu s o f n a tio n a l sta n d ard s. T h e new
c u ltu ra l settin g s fo r th e use o f E nglish have p ro d u c ed co n sid erab le ch an g es:
d iffe re n t n o tio n s o f a p p ro p ria te style an d rh e to ric , an d a n influx o f loan
w o rd s , ch an g es o f m ea n in g s, a n d new expressions.
W e c a n also re co g n ize reg io n al su p ra n atio n al v a rie tie s su ch as S outh A sian
E n g lis h (th e E n g lish o f th e In d ian su b co n tin en t), E a s t A fric a n E n g lish , an d
W e s t A frica n E n g lish , a n d these in tu rn m ay s h a re c h aracteristics. F o r
e x a m p le , in A frica n E n g lish , an d to som e e x te n t in S o u th A sia n E nglish, y e s
is c o m m o n ly used in a n eg ativ e reply th a t confirm s th e s p e a k e r’s assu m p tio n
in a n e g ativ e q u e s tio n :
A : I s n ’t she in b e d ?
B : Y es (, sh e is n ’t).
A f r ic a n a n d S o u th A s ia n E n g lish very freq u en tly u se isn't it? a s a u n iv ersal

tag , T h e y ’re late, isn't it?, a n d o ften o m it a rticle s re q u ire d in th e m ajo r
s ta n d a r d v a rieties, T h e y gave us hard time.
C r e o l e a n d p id g i n
1.35 A t a n e x trem e o f a d iffere n t k in d , th ere are th e in te rfe re n c e v a rieties k n o w n
as c reo le a n d p id g in . I t is a m a tte r o f d e b ate, a n d to som e e x te n t politics,
w h e th e r th ese .should b e re g ard ed as fallin g w ith in th e o r b it o f th e E n g lish
lan g u a g e. Since, h o w ev er, th e expressions ‘c reo le E n g lish ’ a n d ‘p id g in
E n g lis h ’ a re in c o m m o n o ccu rren ce, w e should say so m e th in g a b o u t th em ,
a lth o u g h th ey w ill n o t b e describ ed in th is book. T h e y h a v e trad itio n a lly
b e e n u sed chiefly b y th e less pro sp ero u s a n d p riv ile g ed sectio n s o f a
c o m m u n ity b u t h a v e also b e en stable o v er sev eral g en era tio n s.
P id g in is tech n ically d istin g u ish ed fro m creo le by b e in g essentially a
se c o n d language u se d to rep lace a n a tiv e lan g u a g e fo r re stric te d p u b lic
(e sp ec ially co m m ercial) p u rp o ses ra th e r th a n to c o n d u c t fam ily affairs a n d
ta lk t o o n e ’s ch ild ren . O n th e o th er h a n d , a creole is a n a tiv e language. I t is
u su a lly m o re varied th a n a p id g in , b u t it te n d s to be restric te d to local,
p ra c tic a l, a n d fa m ily m atters. P olitical, e d u ca tio n a l, a n d sociolinguistic
th o u g h t v acillates as to w h e th e r such creo lized fo rm s o f E n g lish (as in S ierra
L eo n e o r th e C a rib b e a n ) sh o u ld be g iv en official s ta tu s o r n o t. W ould creole
s p e a k e rs b en efit fro m th e self-assurance th is m ig h t g iv e, o r (since th e elite in
th e ir so c iety w ould still le a rn a m o re in te rn a tio n a l E n g lish in a d d itio n ) w ould
th e d a n g e r b e th at th is w o u ld ten d to p e rp e tu a te th e ir u n d e rp riv ileg e d sta tu s?
H e re is a sam p le o f J a m a ic a n C reole in a n o rth o g ra p h y th a t a lre ad y suggests
p a r tia l in stitu tio n a liz a tio n :
H in sed d e n , ‘M a, a w e in lib ? ’ H ie sie, ‘M i n o n u o , m i p ik in i, b o t d u o n luk

fi h in n iem h a h d , o h r e n i w ie in a d i w ohld a n y u k a l d i n iem , h in hie
u n u .’ H in sed, ‘W ei M a , m i w ant im h ie m i a n u o m i.’ ‘L a h d nuo, m asa!
D u o n o k al d i n iem , h in w i k om kil y u .’ H in sie, ‘W ei M a, h in wi h a f fi
k il m i.’ (see N o te [a])
C reole is n o rm ally th e p rin c ip a l o r sole language o f its sp eak ers, b e in g

tra n s m itte d fro m p a re n t to c h ild like an y o th e r n a tiv e language. M o re o v er,
fo r all its ev id en ce o f in te rfere n c e fro m o th e r languages, a creolized fo rm o f
E n g lish is usually m o re like o rd in a ry E nglish th a n a p id g in E n g lish is, a n d it
gives less im p ressio n o f b ein g m erely a d ra stic red u ctio n o f o rd in a ry E n g lish .
H e re a re sam p les o f H a w a iia n P id g in th a t a re ty p ical o f th ree e th n ic
g ro u p s : K o re a n (a), F jlip in o (b), a n d Ja p a n ese (c ):
(a) A e n a tu m a c h a ch u ren , sam aw l ch u ren . H a u s m an i p ei. M ai c h u re n

go sak u l, teik i h a u s m a n i p ei, aesw ai k o ria k im n e im w a n m o a ta im
m i m eri. (see N o te [b])
(b) A i go tel, ‘A e, m i n o m o h a p a i klos o n i d isk a in klos, d a is p ita l-k a in
klos. O n i h ia y u k a e n h a n a p a , w a h tn i-k a in .’ ‘O ra it, p a u h a n a tim e , p o
k lak , sik s k la k h i k a m , h i g o h a p ai yu k lo s.’ (see N o te [c])
(c) S a m ta im g u d ro d get, sa m ta im , olsem b e n g et, en g u ru get, n o ? O lse m
h y u m en life, a w l, e n ik a in , staw m u get, n a is dei get. O lsem , e n ib a d i,
m i olsem , sm aw l-taim . (see N o te [d])
T h e d efin itio n s w e h a v e g iv en m ay suggest a n unjustified d ich o to m y

b etw een creoles a n d p id g in s, a n d m ay also suggest th a t th ey a re s ta b le
a u to n o m o u s lan g u ag e system s. W e should ra th e r c o n sid er creoles an d p id g in s
a s n o t d isc rete stag es in a c h a n g in g process. O n th e o n e h a n d , th ro u g h
re p id g in iza tio n a creo le co m es to b e used as a seco n d lan g u ag e by
n eig h b o u rin g p eo p les w h o h a v e little c o n ta ct w ith th e E u ro p ea n lan g u a g e o n
w h ic h th e creole is b ased . O n th e o th e r h a n d , th ro u g h d ecreo lizatio n a creo le
te n d s to m erg e w ith th e E u ro p ea n language w h en th e creole sp e ak ers a n d th e
E u ro p e a n lan g u ag e sp e a k ers a r e in freq u e n t co n ta ct. M o reo v er, b o th creo les
a n d p id g in s m ay a d m it a very larg e a m o u n t o f v a ria tio n . A p id g in in its e a rly
stag es o f d e v elo p m en t, su c h as th e E n g lish -b ased H a w a iia n P id g in , is h ig h ly .,
u n sta b le ; w e sim ilarly find c o n sid erab le in stab ility in a rep id g in ized creo le,
a s in th e seco n d lan g u a g e u se o f th e E ng lish -b ased K rio . W h en a c reo le is
u n d erg o in g d e creo lizatio n , as w ith th e E n g lish -b ased G u y an ese C reo le, it
c a n b e st b e an aly sed as a c o n tin u u m o f v arieties o n a scale o f lea st to m o s t
d iffere n t fro m th e E u ro p e a n lan g u ag e. By c o n tra st, T o k P isin , w h ic h b e g a n
a s p id g in E n g lish in P a p u a N e w G u in e a, h as becom e highly in stitu tio n a liz e d
th ro u g h use in e d u c a tio n , g o v e rn m e n t, an d th e m ed ia, a n d m ay alread y h a v e
som e c u rren cy as a n a tiv e lan g u ag e.
N o te [a] H e sa id th e n , ‘M a, a n d w h ere do es h e liv e ? ’ She says, ’I d o n ’t kn o w , m y ch ild , b u t d o n 't lo o k

h a rd fo r h is n a m e, o r an y w h e re in all th e w orld th a t you call th e nam e, h e w ill h ea r y o u .’ H e
said , ‘W ell, M a, I w a n t h im to h e a r m e a n d k n o w m e .’ ‘L o rd , no, m a ster! D o n o t call th e n a m e ,
he w ill com e an d kill y o u .’ H e says, ‘W ell m a , h e will h ave to kill m e .’
[ b ] A n d I h a d to o m a n y c h ild re n , sm all ch ild ren . I had to p ay fo r th e house. M y c h ild ren w e re
g o in g to school, I h ad to ta k e re n t m o n ey to p a y for th e m , th a t’s w hy I m a rrie d a second tim e a
K o re a n n am ed K im .
[c] I said , ‘H ey, I ’ve n o clo th es to w ear b u t th o se clothes, h o sp ita l clothes. Y ou c a n only fa s te n
th e m h ere, th e y ’re lik e w o m en 's clo th e s.’ ‘A ll right, a fte r w ork, a t four, six o ’clock h e ’ll c o m e,
h e ’ll b rin g y o u r clo th es.’
[ d ] S o m etim es th e re ’s a good ro a d , so m etim e s, th e re ’s th in g s lik e b en d s, angles, rig h t? H u m a n
life is ju s t th e sam e , th e re ’s all so rts o f th in g s, storm s, nice days. I t’s like th a t fo r ev ery o n e, for
m e too, w hen I w as young.
Relationships am ong variety types

1.36 V a rie tie s w ith in e ac h ty p e o f v a ria tio n m ay b e v iew ed in p rin c ip le as
in d e p e n d e n t fro m e ac h o th er. U sers o f E n g lish m ay re ta in reco g n izab le
fe a tu re s o f a n y reg io n al v ariety in th e ir use o f a n atio n al s ta n d a rd ; w ith in
th a t s ta n d a rd , th ey c a n discourse in E n g lish th a t is a p p ro p ria te to th e ir
p a r tic u la r o c cu p a tio n o r h o b b ies; th ey c a n han d le these to p ics in E n g lish
a p p r o p ria te to e ith e r sp eech o r w ritin g ; in e ith e r m ed iu m , th ey c a n a d ju st
th e ir d isco u rse o n an y o f th e to p ics acc o rd in g to th e respect, frien d lin ess, o r
in tim a c y th ey feel fo r th e ir h earers o r read ers. A n d all o f th is w o u ld a p p ly
e q u a lly if th ey a re p ro ficien t in E n g lish as a foreign o r second lan g u ag e a n d
th e ir u se o f E n g lish is affected by in te rfere n c e from th e ir n a tiv e to n g u e.
A t th e sa m e tim e, th e v a ria tio n is to a larg e e x ten t in te rd e p e n d e n t. W e
h a v e d ra w n a tte n tio n to sev eral c o n tin g e n t c o n strain ts (for ex am p le, in 1.28),
a n d w e n ow c o n sid er th e ty p es o f in te rd ep e n d e n ce as th ey affect th e v a rie tie s
sy s te m as a w hole.
R e g io n a l v a ria tio n h a s b een ex p licitly co n n ected w ith th e e d u c a tio n a l
v a r ie tie s : a p e rso n e d u ca te d in O h io will a d o p t sta n d ard A m E , n o t B rE .
S im ila rly , fo r sp e a k ers o f a n in te rfere n c e v a rie ty : som eone le a rn in g E n g lish
in E u ro p e o r In d ia is likely to a p p ro a c h a sta n d a rd w ith B rE o rie n ta tio n ; in
M e x ico o r th e P h ilip p in e s, w ith a n A m E o rien tatio n .
1.37 N e x t a re v a rie tie s re la tin g to fields o f discourse. C e rta in fields o f a c tiv ity
(fa rm in g a n d sh ip b u ild in g , fo r ex am p le) a re asso ciated w ith specific re g io n s;
cle arly , it is in th e d iale ct o f th ese reg io n s th a t th e language o f d aily d isco u rse
o n s u c h a c tiv itie s is fully develo p ed . In o th e r fields (m ed icin e, n u c le a r
p h y sic s, p h ilo so p h y ) w e e x p ec t to find little use o f n o n sta n d a rd E n g lish o r o f
re g io n a lly d is tin c tiv e E n g lish . O n th e o th e r h an d , w e ex p ec t A m E to
p re d o m in a te in d iscu ssio n s o f b ase b all a n d B rE in discussions o f c ric k et.
S in c e w ritin g is a n e d u c a te d a rt, w e n o rm ally ex p ect th e e d u c a te d E n g lish
o f o n e o r o th e r n a tio n a l s ta n d a rd in th is m edium . In d e ed , w h e n w e
o ccasio n ally try to re p re se n t u n e d u ca te d E n g lish in w ritin g , w e realize
a cu tely how n a rro w ly g eare d to s ta n d a rd E n g lish are o u r g ra p h ic co n v en tio n s.
F o r th e sam e re aso n th e re are su b jects (fo r exam ple, co ac h in g a fo o tb all
te a m ) th a t c a n scarcely b e h a n d le d in w ritin g a n d o th ers (for e x am p le, legal
sta tu te s) th a t c a n scarcely b e h a n d le d in speech.
A ttitu d in a l v a rie tie s h av e a g re at d e al o f in d ep en d en ce in re la tio n to o th e r
v a r ie tie s : it is p o ssib le to b e fo rm al o r in fo rm a l on b io ch em istry o r p o litics in
A m E o r B rE , fo r ex am p le. B u t in fo rm a l o r casual lan g u ag e acro ss a n
‘a u th o rity g a p ’ o r ‘se n io rity g a p ’ (a s tu d e n t talk in g to an a rch b ish o p ) p re se n ts
difficulties, a n d o n c e rta in to p ics (fu n erals) it w ould be co n sid ered d istaste fu l.
A n d v e ry fo rm al lan g u ag e w h en th e su b ject is co u rtsh ip o r fo o tb all w o u ld
seem com ic.
1.38 F in a lly , th e in te rfere n c e v arieties. A t th e ex trem es o f creole a n d p id g in th e re

is e sp e cial in te rd e p e n d e n c e b e tw ee n th e fo rm o f th e lan g u ag e a n d its
fu n ctio n s. In d e ed , p id g in s te n d to b e re stric te d to a few p ra c tic a l m a tte rs ,
th o u g h w e h a v e n o te d th e e x p an sio n o f fu n ctio n s in T o k P isin (c/1 .3 5 ).
A s t o E n g lish ta u g h t a t a n a d v a n c e d level as a second o r fo reig n lan g u ag e,
it is to be h o p ed th a t en o u g h pro ficien cy is a ch iev ed to allow th e u se rs th e
flexibility th ey n e ed in h a n d lin g (let us say) p u b lic a d m in istra tio n , a lea rn ed

p ro fessio n su ch as m ed ic in e w ith its su p p o rtin g m ed ic al jo u rn als, a n d
in fo rm al co n v ersatio n . S tu d e n ts are likely to b e h a n d ic a p p e d if th ey a r e
ta u g h t E n g lish a t th e fo rm al o r in fo rm al levels only, o r th e sp o k e n o r w ritte n
lan g u ag e only, o r a re re stric te d to th e E n g lish n ecessary fo r a p a rtic u la r
o c cu p atio n (‘E n g lish fo r en g in e ers’, for exam ple).
Variation w ith in a variety

1.39 W e n eed to m ak e tw o final p o in ts a b o u t v a ria tio n in th e u se o f E n g lish . F irs t,
th e v ario u s c o n d itio n in g fa cto rs (region, m edium , a ttitu d e , fo r ex am p le) e a c h
c o n stitu te a c o n tin u u m ra th e r th a n a d iscrete category.
Secondly, w e m a y n o t b e a b le to acco u n t alw ays fo r th e ch o ic e o f o n e
r a th e r th a n a n o th e r lin g u istic fo rm ; w e som etim es fin d d i v i d e d u s a g e , a
ch o ice b etw een v a ria n ts , th e co n d itio n s fo r w h ich c a n n o t b e a ttrib u te d to th e ;
v a rie ty d istin c tio n s d iscu ssed in th is ch ap ter.
F o r exam ple, w e c a n say (o r w rite) o n e o r th e o th e r o f e a c h o f th e s e p a ir s :
H e stay ed a w eek. ~ H e stay ed for a w eek.

I c o n sid er h e r m y frien d . ~ I c o n sid er h er as m y frien d .
I d o n ’t k n o w w h e th e r I c a n b e th ere. ~ I d o n ’t k n o w i f I c a n b e th ere.
N e ith e r m em b e r o f su ch p a irs is necessarily lin k e d to a n y o f th e v a rie tie s

th a t w e h av e specified. A tte m p ts h av e been m ad e to find a b a sis fo r a t le a s t
som e o f th is seem ingly ra n d o m v a ria tio n (o ften called ‘free v a ria tio n ’). F o r
ex am p le, it h a s b e en c la im e d th a t c ertain lan g u ag e v a rie tie s (term ed
‘ran d o m ly d istrib u te d d ia le c ts’) define groups o f sp e a k ers w h o are n o t
a sso ciated reg io n ally o r sociologically, th e g ro u p s b ein g c h a ra c te riz e d by
lin g u istic fe atu res th a t a re re la te d system atically.
1.40 I t m ay help to see v a ria tio n in term s o f th e relatio n sh ip s d e p ic ted in F ig 1.40,

w h ere b o th th e v e rtica ls re p re se n t a ‘m o re-or-less’ o p p o sitio n . T h e
u p p e r pole o f th e first v e rtica l co rresp o n d s to th e featu res o f g re a te s t
un ifo rm ity , su c h as th e in v a ria b le p a s t ten se o f bring in th e e d u ca te d v a rie ty
o f E n g lish , o r th e m a n y featu res ch ara cte riz in g th e m a in stab le co m m o n co re
rela tiv e ly
u n ifo rm
A n y g iv e n v a rie ty o f E n g lis h - v a ria tio n m

in d iv id u a l’s
u sag e
re la tiv e ly -
d iv e rse
v a ria tio n in
c o m m u n ity ’s
u sag e
F ig 1.40 V a ria tio n w ith in a v a rie ty

32 T h e E n g lish language
o f th e la n g u a g e , su c h as the p o sitio n o f th e article in a n o u n p h ra se. T h e

lo w e r p o le o f th e firs t vertical co rresp o n d s to th e a re a o f flu ctu atio n illu stra te d
in 1.39. T h e s e c o n d vertical re p re se n ts th e situ atio n in w h ich , o n th e o n e
h a n d , a n in d iv id u a l m ay indulge in such a flu ctu atio n ( / wonder whether o n e
m o m e n t a n d I w onder i f a little late r), a n d o n th e o th e r h a n d , th e re m ay .b e
. flu c tu a tio n w ith in th e co m m u n ity as a w h o le (one m em b e r a p p e a rin g to h a v e
a p re fe re n c e fo r H e didn't dare a s k a n d a n o th e r a p referen ce fo r H e d id n 't
da re to a s k ). T h is a p p ears to b e a n a tu ra l sta te o f affairs in lan g u ag e.
L a n g u a g e c h a n g e is co n stan tly o ccu rrin g in all lan g u ag es a n d in all v a rie tie s
o f la n g u a g e w ith t h e resu lt th a t o ld er a n d n ew er v a ria n ts alw ays c o e x ist; a n d
so m e m e m b e rs o f a society will b e tem p e ra m en ta lly d isp o sed to u se th e n ew
(p e rh a p s b y th e ir yo u th ) w hile o th e rs a re c o m p arab ly in clin ed to th e o ld
(p e rh a p s b y th e ir ag e). B u t m an y w ill n o t b e c o n sisten t e ith e r in th e ir c h o ice
o r in th e ir te m p e ra m e n ta l d isp o sitio n . P e rh a p s E n g lish m ay g iv e rise to su c h
flu c tu a tio n m o re th a n som e o th e r lan g u ag es becau se o f its p a te n tly m ix e d
n a tu r e : a b a s ic G e rm an ic w o rd sto ck , stress p a tte rn , w o rd -fo rm atio n ,
in fle ctio n , a n d s y n ta x overlaid w ith a classical a n d R o m an c e w o rd sto ck ,
stress p a tte r n ( c f A p p II.4), w o rd -fo rm atio n ( c f A p p 1 .2 8 /) - a n d ev en
in fle ctio n a n d sy n ta x .
A ttitu d e s to variation
1.41 A t v a rio u s p la c e s in th is c h ap ter w e h a v e h a d o ccasio n to re fe r to lan g u ag e
a ttitu d e s ; f o r e x am p le, th e official a c c ep ta n ce o f E n g lish a s a n e u tra l seco n d
lan g u a g e (1 .4 ) a n d th e view s o n th e p re se n t sta te o f th e lan g u ag e ex p ressed
b y n a tiv e sp e a k e rs (1.11). A s w e h a v e in d ic a te d in 1.1, th e c u rre n t
p re e m in e n c e o f E n g lish as a n in te rn a tio n a l lan g u ag e reflects its p ra c tic a l
v alu es, n o t so m e a ssu m ed a esth etic o r lin g u istic q u alities. T h e g ro w in g local
a c c e p ta n c e o f seco n d -lan g u ag e e d u ca te d v a rie tie s as s ta n d a rd s d e riv e s fro m
d e m a n d s f o r n a tio n a l autonom y, a n au to n o m y th a t w as a ch iev e d lo n g ag o by
tr a n s p la n te d v a rie tie s in n ativ e E n g lish -sp eak in g co u n tries, n o ta b ly th e
U n ite d S ta te s o f A m e ric a. In c re a sin g to leran ce (by n o m ea n s u n iv ersal) for
se c o n d -la n g u ag e v a rie tie s a n d fo r local n o n sta n d a rd v a rie tie s reflects view s
th a t e a c h s p e e c h c o m m u n ity h as a rig h t to its o w n lan g u ag e a n d th a t n o
v a rie ty is in trin s ic a lly superior.
S ta n d a r d v a rie tie s co n tin u e to enjoy g en eral p restig e. T h e y a re m o re
d iffe re n tia te d , esp ecially lexically, e n te rin g in to a w id er ran g e o f fu n c tio n s
a n d s itu a tio n a l d o m ain s. T h e p re stig e o f th ese v a rie tie s a n d th e ir official
m a in te n a n c e e n su re, a t least for th e w ritte n m ed iu m , a n e u tra l c o m p re h e n
sible la n g u a g e w ith in p a rticu la r E n g lish -sp eak in g c o u n tries a n d (to a m ajo r
e x te n t) in te rn a tio n a lly .
C e rta in re g io n a l o r social v a rieties a re g en erally h eld in h ig h er e stee m th a n
o th ers b e c a u se th ey a re associated w ith m o re p restig io u s g ro u p s. Ju s tific a tio n
fo r th e h ig h e r e ste e m is som etim es so u g h t in claim s th a t th ey are m o re lo g ical
o r c lo ser to so m e p ris tin e sta te o f th e lan g u ag e. F o r sim ila r reaso n s, so m e
lan g u ag e fe a tu re s a re m o re h ig h ly re g ard e d th a n th e ir v a ria n ts . L an g u ag e
a ttitu d e s a n d lan g u ag e b eh av io u r d o n o t necessarily co in cid e. D e sp ite th e ir
a c c e p ta n c e o f com m o n ly -h eld e v alu atio n s, m an y c o n tin u e u sin g stig m a tiz e d
v a rie tie s o r v a r ia n ts b ecause th ey feel m o re c o m fo rtab le w ith w h a t th e y are
u sed to , o r b e ca u se th ey w a n t to re ta in th e ir m em b e rs h ip o f a p a rtic u la r
A cceptability and frequency 33
sp eech co m m u n ity . T h o se w h o are c o m p eten t to d o so m ay ad ju st th e ir

v ariety to suit th e ir a u d ie n c e , p articu larly in th e sp o k en m ed iu m , a n d a re
likely to m o n ito r th e ir lan g u a g e in th e d irectio n o f s ta n d a rd v a rieties in th e
w ritte n m ed iu m , esp ecially in form al style. O n th e o th e r h a n d , som e m ay
re ta in stig m atized v a rie tie s o r v a ria n ts because th ey re je ct th e e v alu atio n s o f
o thers.
Acceptability and frequency

1.42 T h e m eta p h o r o f th e c o m m o n core p o in ts to a d istin c tio n th a t ap p lies to tw o
o th er asp ects o f o u r d e s c rip tio n o f E n g lish g ra m m ar. W e d istin g u ish b etw een
th e c en tral a n d th e m a rg in a l a lso fo r a ccep tab ility a n d frequency.
A c cep tab ility is a c o n c e p t th a t does n o t a p p ly exclusively to g ram m ar.
N a tiv e sp eak ers m ay fin d a p a rtic u la r sentence u n a cc ep ta b le b ecause (fo r
ex am p le) th ey c o n sid e r it logically ab su rd o r b ecau se th ey c a n n o t find a
p lau sib le co n tex t fo r its u se o r b ecau se it sounds clum sy o r im p o lite. H o w ev er,
w e a re co n cern ed o n ly w ith th e accep tab ility o f form s o r c o n stru ctio n s o n th e
g ro u n d s o f th e ir m o rp h o lo g y o r syntax.
In gen eral, o u r e x am p les a r e fully a ccep tab le if th ey are le ft u n m ark e d .
B u t w e so m etim es c o n tra s t a cc ep ta b le a n d u n a cc ep ta b le e xam ples, m ark in g
th e la tte r by p lac in g a n a sterisk **’ before th em . I f th ey a re ten d in g to
u n a cc ep ta b ility b u t a re n o t fu lly u n accep tab le, w e p u t a q u ery “?’ befo re th e
asterisk . A q u ery a lo n e signifies th a t n a tiv e sp e ak ers a re u n su re a b o u t th e
p a rtic u la r lan g u ag e fe a tu re . I f n a tiv e sp eak ers differ in th e ir reactio n s, w e
p u t th e a sterisk o r q u e ry in p a ren th eses. O u r assessm en t o f n a tiv e sp e a k er
ev alu atio n s reflect in p a r t o u r o w n re search : elic itatio n ex p erim en ts w ith
in fo rm an ts in th e U n ite d S ta te s a n d B ritain.
A ssessm ents by n a tiv e sp e a k ers o f relativ e acc ep ta b ility largely co rrelate
w ith th e ir assessm en ts o f re la tiv e frequency; w e h a v e co n d u cted ex p erim en ts
to elicit freq u en cy ju d g m e n ts too. B u t we h a v e also d ra w n o n o u r re search
a n d th a t o f o th e rs in to th e freq u en cies o f lan g u ag e p h e n o m e n a in several
im p o rta n t co rp o ra , p re e m in e n tly :
(a) th e co rp u s o f th e S u rv ey o f E n g lish U sag e (S E U ), co v erin g sp o k en as

well as w ritte n te x ts o f B ritish E nglish
(b) th e B row n U n iv e rs ity co rp u s, co m p risin g sam p les o f A m e ric an p rin te d
E nglish
(c) th e p aralle l L an caster-O slo /B erg en co rp u s (LO B), c o m p risin g sam ples
o f B ritish p r in te d E n g lish
W e leav e u n m a rk e d th o s e featu res o f the lan g u ag e th a t o c cu r freq u en tly ,

d ra w in g a tte n tio n ju s t to th o se th a t o ccu r ex trem ely freq u en tly o r only rarely.
O u r a p p ro ac h in th is b o o k is to focus o n th e co m m o n core th a t is sh ared
by sta n d ard B ritish E n g lish a n d s ta n d a rd A m e ric a n E n g lish . W e leave
u n m ark e d an y fe a tu re s th a t th e tw o sta n d ard v a rieties h a v e in com m on,
m a rk in g as < B rE ) o r < A m E > o n ly th e p o in ts a t w hich th ey differ. B u t usually
w e find it necessary to say < esp(ecially) B rE ) o r < esp(ecially) A m E ) , for it is
r a r e fo r a featu re to be fo u n d exclusively in o n e v ariety . S im ilarly w e d o n o t

m a r k featu res t h a t a re n e u tra l w ith resp ect to m ed iu m a n d a ttitu d e . W e
d istin g u is h w h e re n ecessary sp o k en an d w ritte n lan g u ag e, gen erally using
‘s p e a k e r’ a n d ‘h e a re r’ as u n m ark e d form s for th e p a rtic ip a n ts in a n a c t o f
c o m m u n ica tio n , b u t d ra w in g on th e co m b in atio n s ‘sp e a k e r/w rite r’ a n d
‘h e a re r/re a d e r’ w h e n w e w ish to em p h asize th a t w h at is said ap p lies across
th e m ed ia . W e a ls o freq u e n tly n eed to lab el featu res acc o rd in g to v a ria tio n
in a ttitu d e , d ra w in g a tte n tio n to those th a t are form al o r in fo rm al.
I n th is bo o k w e o ffer a d escrip tiv e p re sen ta tio n o f E n g lish m orphology
a n d sy n ta x w ith a m in im u m o f form alism . W e m ak e a d ire c t c o n n ectio n
b e tw e e n m o rp h o lo g ical a n d sy n tactic fo rm s a n d th e ir m ea n in g , co n d u ctin g
e x cu rsio n s in to lexicology, sem antics, a n d p rag m atics w h ere th ese im p in g e
c lo sely o n o u r g ra m m a tic a l d escrip tio n .
N o te T h e te rm s ‘g ra m m a tic a l’ a n d ‘u n g ram m atical’ a re com m only used by n o n sp ecialists as synonym s

o f ‘a c c e p ta b le ’ a n d ‘u n a c c e p ta b le ’. W e h av e avoided using th e fo rm e r te rm s in th is book because
o f th e v ario u s m e a n in g s w h ich th e y hav e even am o n g linguists.
B ib lio g r a p h ic a l n o t e
O n in te rn a tio n a l v a rie tie s o f E n g lish see Bailey an d G o rlach (1982); K a c h ru (1982); Q u irk
(1972), C h a p te rs 1 -7 . M ajo r w o rk s o n regional varieties (inclu d in g g en eral biblio g rap h ies,
d ic tio n a rie s, a n d so m e ac co u n ts o f social variatio n ) are listed a t th e e n d o f B ailey a n d G o rlach
(1982). T w o series o f b o o k s a re in p ro g re ss: Varieties o f English A round th e W orld , p u b lish ed by
J o h n B en jam in s (A m s te rd a m a n d P h ilad elp h ia), a n d English in th e International C ontext,
p u b lish e d b y P e rg a m o n (O xford). T h e jo u rn a l English W orld- W ide is d ev o ted to scholarly articles
o n E n g lish v arieties w o rld-w ide.
O n th e in te rn a tio n a l use o f E n g lish , see F ish m an e t al (1977) a n d th e d a ta in th e S tatistical
Y earb o o k s pu b lish e d b y U N E S C O an d th e U n ite d N atio n s.
O n ‘N u cle ar E n g lish ’, see Q u irk (1982), 37-53.
O n v a ria tio n in B ritish a n d A m e ric a n E nglish see B eaugrande (1983); C ry stal a n d D av y
(1969); F erguson a n d H e a th (1981), P a rts I an d I V ; H ughes a n d T ru d g ill (1979); Joos (1962);
L a b o v (1972); M c D a v id (1963). O n ran d o m v ariatio n , see C a rd e n (1973).
O n creoles a n d p id g in s see V ald m an (1977). T h e sam ples o f H a w a iia n P id g in cam e from
B ic k erto n a n d O d o (1976).
O n a c c ep ta b ility in g en e ra l, see G re en b au m (1977b). O n th e relatio n sh ip b etw een sy n tac tic
freq u en cy a n d a c c e p ta b ility , see G re e n b a u m (1976c). E v alu atio n s o f la n g u ag e attitu d e s an d use
a p p e a r in B olinger (1 9 8 0 a); D a n ie ls (1983); G re en b au m (1985); M ich aels a n d R icks (1980);
Q u irk (1982), esp C h a p te r s 1 ,2 a n d 4.
F o r a survey o f a ttitu d e s to specific usage problem s in B ritish E n g lish , see M ittin s e t al (1970).
T h e tre a tm e n t o f u sag e p ro b le m s by A m erican d ic tio n a ries a n d g u id es to usage is ev a lu ate d in
C ressw ell (1975). O p in io n s ex p ressed in th e lead in g A m erican guides to usages a re su m m arized
in C o p p eru d (1980). P o p u la r g u id es to usage include F o w ler (1965) a n d P artrid g e (1973) for
B ritish usag e, a n d B e rn ste in (1965) an d F o llett (1966) for A m erican usage.
2 A survey of English grammar
2.1-2 This chapter and its relation to later chapters 37

.1 T h e p lan o f th is g ra m m a r 37
.2 T h e p u rp o se o f th is c h a p te r 38
2 .3 - 1 0 Parts of the sentence 38

.3 G ra m m a tic a l u n its 38
.4 C o n stitu e n ts 39
.5 -6 C h a in a n d choice re la tio n sh ip s 41
.7 T h e g ram m atical h ie ra rc h y 42
.8 E m b e d d in g 43
.9 S u b o rd in a tio n 44
.10 C o o rd in atio n 46
2.11 Sentences 47
2.12 Form and function 48
2.13-24 Clause structure 49

.13 C e n tra l a n d p e rip h e ral elem en ts o f th e clause 49
.14 A ‘fixed w o rd -o rd er lan g u ag e’ 50
.1 5 A d v erb ials 51
.16 C lau se ty p es 53
.17 O b jects a n d co m p lem en ts 54
.1 8 O b lig ato ry ad v erb ials 55
.19 C lau se elem ents subclassified 56
.2 0 - 2 3 Sy stem atic co rresp o n d en ces 57
.21 A ctiv e a n d p assiv e stru c tu re s 57
.2 2 C o p u lar a n d co m p lex tra n s itiv e stru ctu res 58
.23 In d ire c t o bjects a n d p re p o sitio n a l p h rases 59
.24 T h e c h ara cte riz atio n o f clau se elem en ts 59
2.25-33 Phrases 60
.25 P h ra se s a s clause e lem en ts 60
.26 G e n era l stru c tu ra l c h ara cte ristics o f p h rases 60
.27 V erb p h rases a n d n o u n p h ra ses 61
.28 S u m m ary o f p h ra se stru c tu re s 62
.2 9 - 3 3 F o rm a n d fu n ctio n in p h ra se stru c tu re 64
.30 D e term in a tio n 64
.31 M o d ificatio n 65
.3 2 C o m p lem en tatio n 65
.33 M o d ificatio n a n d c o m p le m e n ta tio n 66
2 .3 4 - 4 5 W o rd c la s s e s 67
.3 5 - 3 6 L ex ical item s a n d g ram m atical w ords 68
.3 7 M o rp h o lo g ical, phonological, a n d o rth o g rap h ic, fo rm 69
.3 8 H o m o n y m s a n d h o m o m o rp h s 70
.39 C lo sed -class item s 71
.40 O p e n -cla ss item s 72
.41 T h e tax o n o m y o f w ord classes 73
.42 A d d itio n a l classes 73
.43 W o rd c lasses in relatio n to m ea n in g 74
.4 4 - 4 5 P ro -fo rm s 75
.45 ItTi-w ords 77
2 .4 6 - 5 9 V a r ia tio n s o n th e basic s e n te n c e p a tte rn s 78

.46 S e n te n c e processes 78
.47 S u b ject a n d p re d ic a te 78
.4 8 - 4 9 O p e r a to r an d p re d ic atio n 79
.49 DO, BE, a n d h F v e as o p e rato rs 80
.50 Q u e stio n s a n d n eg atio n 81
.51 P re d ic a tio n s a n d pro-form s 81
.52 E llip sis 82
.53 N o n a ss e rtiv e fo rm s 83
.54 N e g a tiv e form s 84
.55 Scope 85
.56 F o cu s 86
.5 7 - 5 9 O th e r s tru c tu ra l v ariatio n s 87
.57 D ire c tiv e s a n d e x clam atio n s 87
.58 P ra g m a tic co n sid eratio n s 88
.59 G ra m m a tic a l hig h lig h tin g 88
2 .6 0 -6 2 Gradience and multiple analysis 90

.60 G ra d ie iic e 90
.61 M u ltip le an aly sis 90
.62 C o n c lu sio n 91
T h is chapter and its relation to later chapters 37
This chapter and its relation to later chapters

Th e plan of this gram m ar
G ra m m a r is a co m p lex sy stem , th e p a rts o f w h ich c a n n o t be p ro p e rly
ex p lain ed in a b stra c tio n fro m th e w hole. In th is sense, all p a rts o f a g ra m m a r
are m utually d efining, a n d th e re is n o sim ple lin ear p a th we c a n tak e in
e x p lain in g one p a r t in te rm s o f a n o th e r. T h e m eth o d o f p re se n ta tio n a d o p te d
in th is bo o k will b e to o r d e r th e d escrip tio n o f E n g lish g ra m m a r so t h a t
features w h ich a re sim p le r (in th e sense th a t th eir e x p la n atio n p resu p p o ses
less) com e before th o se w h ic h a re m ore com plex (in th e sense th a t th e ir
e x p lan atio n p resu p p o ses m o re).
O u r m o d e o f p ro g ressio n c a n b e b e st described as cyclic, r a th e r th a n lin ear.
In th is w ay, a to p ic d e a lt w ith e a rlie r in a cursory w ay c a n b e ta k e n up la te r
for m o re ex te n d ed tre a tm e n t. T h e re a re th ree cycles: (a) C h a p te r 2 ; (b)
C h a p te rs 3 to 11; (c) C h a p te rs 12 to 19.
T h e p re sen t c h a p te r, w h ic h co n stitu tes the first cycle, p resen ts a g en era l
o u tlin e o f E n g lish g ra m m a r a n d o f its m ajo r co n cep ts a n d categ o ries, w ith
p a rtic u la r referen ce to th e s im p le sen ten ce. ,
T h e second cycle, C h a p te rs 3 to 11, is concerned w ith th e b asic c o n stitu e n ts
w h ich m ak e up th e sim p le se n ten c e. T h u s C h a p te rs 3 a n d 4 p re sen t th e
g ra m m ar a n d sem an tics o f th e v e rb p h rase, an d C h a p te rs 5 a n d 6 th e b a sic
c o n stitu en ts o f th e n o u n p h ra se , in p a rticu la r d ete rm in e rs, n o u n s, a n d
pronouns. C h a p te r 7 d eals w ith adjectives an d a d v erb s, C h a p te r 8 w ith
ad v erb ials, an d C h a p te r 9 w ith p rep o sitio n s an d p re p o sitio n al p h rases. I n
th e lig h t o f these d e ta ile d stu d ies, C h a p te rs 10 a n d 11 th e n re-ex am in e th e
sim ple sen ten ce in all its s tru c tu ra l variety.
T h e th ird cycle tre a ts m a tte r s w h ich involve m o re co m p lex sen ten ce
structure. C h a p te rs 12 a n d 13 m o v e beyond th e sim ple sen ten ce, d ealin g w ith
su b stitu tio n , ellipsis, a n d c o o rd in a tio n : th ree o p e ratio n s w h ich m ay b e
carried o u t on sim ple se n ten c es in o rd e r to produce stru c tu re s o f g re a te r o r
less com plexity. C h a p te rs 14 a n d 15 in tro d u ce a fu rth er fa c to r o f co m p lex ity -
the su b o rd in a tio n o f o n e clau se to a n o th e r - th ereb y lead in g to a m o re g en eral
study o f th e co m plex se n ten c e. C h a p te r 16 follow s up C h a p te rs 3 a n d
4 in giving fu rth er a tte n tio n to th e v erb p h rase, w ith sp ecial re fe re n ce to v e rb
classification, to g eth e r w ith issu es relatin g to p h ra sal a n d p re p o sitio n a l v erb s,
an d to v e rb an d ad je ctiv e co m p le m e n ta tio n . S im ilarly, C h a p te r 17 resum es
th e to p ic o f C h a p te rs 5 a n d 6, exp lo rin g the full co m p lex ity o f th e n o u n
p h ra se in term s o f s tru c tu re s se p a ra te ly ex am ined in e arlie r ch ap ters. C h a p te r
18 also involves a k n o w led g e o f th e w hole g ra m m ar as d esc rib e d in p re ce d in g
ch ap ters, b u t th is tim e w ith a v iew to p resen tin g th e v ario u s w ays in w h ich
in d iv id u al p arts o f a sen ten c e c a n be arran g ed fo r focus, em p h asis, a n d
th em a tic p re sen ta tio n . F i n a ll y C h a p te r 19 co n sid ers th e w ays in w h ich
sen ten ce g ra m m ar re la te s to th erfo rm atio n o f texts, in clu d in g th o se co m p risin g
extended discourse in s p e e ch o r w ritin g .
T h e th ree A p p en d ices su m m ariz e aspects o f E n g lish w h ich , th o u g h strictly
p erip h eral to g ra m m a r, n ev erth ele ss im pinge o n it a t m an y po in ts,
n ecessitatin g freq u e n t re fe re n ce in the body o f th e b o o k to th e to p ics
concern ed . T h ey a re w o rd -fo rm atio n (A p p en d ix I); stress, rh y th m , a n d
in to n a tio n (A p p en d ix II); a n d p u n c tu a tio n (A p p en d ix III).
38 A survey of English gram m ar
E a c h o f th e c h a p te rs a n d a p p en d ices en d s w ith a b ib lio g rap h ical note

g iv in g g u id an ce on fu rth e r re ad in g re le v an t to th e m ate ria l ju s t p resen ted .
W e c o n c e n tra te in th ese n o tes on referen ces to re cen t a n d g erm in al
c o n tr ib u tio n s , p a rticu la rly in lea rn ed m o n o g rap h s an d articles. W e assum e,
n o r m a lly w ith o u t fu rth e r reco m m e n d a tio n , th a t th e re ad e r w ill co n su lt the
m a jo r g ra m m aria n s o f th e p a st, w hose w o rk s are o f course cited in th e
g e n e r a l B ib lio g rap h y a t th e e n d o f th is b o o k : fo r exam ple, th e co m p en d io u s
s tu d ie s b y C u rm e, Je sp e rse n , K ru isin g a , P o u tsm a, Sw eet, V isser, a n d o th ers,
to w h ic h (as well as to th e b ib lio g rap h y by S cheurw eghs a n d V o rlat) all
su c c e e d in g g ra m m aria n s a re h eav ily in d eb ted .
N o te W o rd -fo rm a tio n is so m etim e s co n sid e red a p a r t o f g ram m ar. See \ . \ 4 f f fo r a d iscussion o f

v a r io u s u ses o f th e te rm ‘g ra m m a r1, a n d th e m e an in g o f ‘g ra m m a r1assum ed in th is book. .
T h e purpose of this chapter

2.2 T h is c h a p te r outlines th e stru c tu re o f th e E n g lish sen ten ce in su ch a w ay as
to p ro v id e , as it w ere, a sm all-scale m a p o f th e territo ry to b e ex p lo red in
so m e d e ta il in th e m a in b o d y o f th e b ook. A s w ith all sm all-scale m ap s, m o st
o f th e d e ta ils h av e to b e ig n o red , a n d co m p licated c o n to u rs h a v e to be
sm o o th e d o u t a n d sim plified. B u t in co m p en satio n , it is in te n d e d th a t the
d e ta ils in clu d ed in th e c h a p te r a re m o re im p o rta n t for E n g lish g ra m m a r th a n
th o s e w h ic h are o m itted . I n p a rtic u la r, th e c h ap ter aim s (a) to p ro v id e a
g e n e r a l in tro d u c tio n to E n g lish g ra m m a r; a n d (b) to in tro d u c e im p o rta n t
c o n c e p ts a n d categ o ries to w h ic h it w ill b e necessary to m a k e freq u en t
re fe re n c e in th e larg er-scale ex p o sitio n s o f C h a p te rs 3 to 19.
Parts of the sentence
G ra m m atica l units
2.3 I n o r d e r to state g en eral ru les a b o u t th e co n stru ctio n o f sen ten ces, it is
c o n s ta n tly n ecessary to re fe r to u n its sm aller th a n th e sen ten ce its e lf : units
su c h a s th o se w h ich a re co m m o n ly re fe rre d to by the term s c l a u s e , p h r a s e ,
W O R D , a n d M ORPH EM E (c /2 .7 ). T h e re la tio n b etw een o n e u n it a n d a n o th e r
u n it o f w h ich it is a p a r t is c o n s t i t u e n c y . W e m ay th u s say th a t in [1], the
evenings, have turned, very cold, a n d ju s t recently are c o n s t i t u e n t s o f the
w h o le se n ten c e;
[T h e evenings] [h av e tu rn ed ] [very cold] [just recently]. [ 1]

O n e w a y o f in d icatin g co n stitu e n cy is b y b rack etin g , as in [1]; a n o th e r is by
a tre e d ia g ra m :
Fig 2.3a
Parts o f the sentence 39
C learly th e c o n stitu e n ts o f F ig 2.3a th em selv es co n ta in u n its, n a m e ly th e

in d iv id u a l w o rd s o f w hich th ey are c o m p o sed ; th erefo re, a fuller tree d ia g r a m
w ould b e :
T h e e v e n in g s h a v e tu rn e d v ery co ld ju s t recen tly
th e e v e n in g s h a v e tu rn e d very co ld ju st re c en tly
th e e v e n in g s have tu m e a v ery co ld ju s t re c en tly
F ig 2 .3 b
T h is a g a in m ay b e p resen ted m ore econom ically, if less clearly, in te rm s o f

b ra c k e tin g :
[{The] [evenings]] [[have] [turned]] [[very] [cold]] [[just] [recently]]. [ la ]
F u rth e rm o re , th e w ords th em selves in som e cases co n sist o f tw o o r m o r e

u n its o f sm a lle r s iz e : evening + s, turn + ed, recent + l y :
e v e n in g s . tu rn e d recen tly
e v e n in g s tu r n ed re c e n t ly
F ig 2.3c
A tree d ia g ra m is m o re in fo rm ativ e if it labels th e co n stitu e n ts as in sta n c e s

o f p a rtic u la r u n its o r classes o f u n its ; F ig 2 .3b, fo r exam ple, m a y b e
re c o n stitu te d a s fo llo w s:
C la u se
N o u n P h rase V erb P h ra s e A d je ctiv e P h r a s e A d v e rb P h rase
The evenings have tu rn ed very cold ju s t rec e n tly
F ig 2 .3 d
T h ree ‘sizes’ o f u n it h av e here been d istin g u ish e d : clause, p h rase, a n d w o rd .

A fu rth e r lev el w o u ld d istin g u ish m o rp h em es (evening , -s, recent, -ly ) as
c o n stitu e n ts o f w o rd s (c/2 .7 ). T h e term s fo r d ifferen t p h rases (n o u n p h ra s e ,
a d jectiv e p h ra se , etc) obviously reflect th e c h a ra c te r o f th e w o rd s w h ich a re
th e m a in c o n stitu e n ts o f th ese units.
Constituents
Figure 2.3d sh o w s co n stitu e n ts sim ply as th e sm aller p a rts in to w h ich a u n it
c a n b e d iv id e d . W e m ay ex ten d th is p a rt-w h o le relatio n to include u n its
w h ich a re o n ly in d ire ctly p a rt o f a larg er u n it: th u s in F ig 2.3d n o t only [the
40 A s u rv e y of English gram m ar
evenings], b u t in d ire ctly also [(Ac] a n d [evenings], evening a n d -s are co n stitu e n ts

o f th e w h o le clause. B u t it is useful to reserve th e te rm i m m e d i a t e c o n s t i t u e n t
for th o s e u n its w h ic h a re th e p a rts in to w h ich a n o th e r u n it is im m ed iately
d iv is ib le : th u s th e v e rb p h ra se [have turned] is a n im m e d ia te c o n stitu e n t o f
th e w h o le clause, a n d th e au x iliary [have] an d th e m a in v e rb [turned] are
im m e d ia te c o n stitu e n ts o f th e verb p h rase [have turned].
M o re im p o rta n t, in o n e re sp ec t con stitu en cy do es n o t co rre sp o n d to o u r
o rd in a ry u n d e rsta n d in g o f th e p a rt-w h o le re la tio n sh ip . O n e u n it m ay be a
u n i t a r y c o n s t i t u e n t o f a n o th e r u n it; ie, it m ay b e th e o nly ‘p a r t’ in to w h ich
a n o th e r u n it c a n be analysed, ( u n i t a r y c o n s t i t u e n c y m ay th u s be
d istin g u ish e d fro m m u l t i p l e c o n s t i t u e n c y , w h ere a u n it is d iv id e d in to tw o
o r m o re im m e d ia te co n stitu e n ts.) T rad itio n a l g ra m m a r h as ack n o w led g ed
th is c o n c e p t o f u n ita ry co n stitu e n cy in c ertain resp ects. F o r ex am p le, it h as
b een n o rm a l to say th a t a s e n t e n c e m ay co n sist o f a single c lau se, as in F ig
2.3d. S u c h se n ten c es a re called s i m p l e s e n t e n c e s , a n d a re d istin g u ish e d fro m
c o m p l e x o r c o m p o u n d s e n t e n c e s , w h ich in clu d e tw o o r m o re clauses. (F o r
fu rth e r d isc u ssio n o f th e s e d istin ctio n s, c /1 0 .1 , 1 4 .2 /) T h u s w hile ex am p le
[1] is a sim p le se n ten c e, ex h au stiv ely analysed in to a single clau se, [lb ] is a
c o m p o u n d se n ten c e:
T h e ev en in g s h a v e tu rn e d very cold ju s t recen tly , b u t th e

a fte rn o o n s h a v e b e e n q u ite w arm . [lb ]
I t h a s also b e e n n o rm a l to say th a t a w o rd m ay co n sist o f ju s t o n e

m o rp h em e, o r o f m o re th a n o n e : night, for ex am p le, c o n sists o f a s t e m alone,
w hile n ig h ts co n sists o f th e sam e stem follow ed b y th e in flectio n al s u f f i x - s .
O n t h e o th e r h a n d , th e te rm p h r a s e h as tra d itio n a lly b e en a p p lie d to a
u n it c o n sistin g o f m o re th a n o n e w ord, a n d th is h a s m e a n t som e in co n sisten cy
in th e in te rp re ta tio n o f g ra m m a tic a l co n stitu en cy . A v o id in g th is in co n sis
tency, m a n y m o d e m g ra m m a ria n s h av e used th e te rm ‘p h ra se ’ to re fe r to a
c o n stitu e n t c o n sistin g e ith e r o f one w ord o r o f m ore than one w o rd , a n d th is
usage w ill be follow ed in th is book. In th e follow ing sen ten ce, th ere fo re, all
the b ra c k e te d se g m en ts a re p h r a s e s :
[T h e e venings] [h av e tu rn ed ] [cold] [recently]. [lc]
N o te [a] A n an a lo g y w ith c h e m is try is su g g ested : a p h rase, lik e o th e r g ra m m a tic a l u n its, is ra th e r like

a m olecule, w h ich m ay c o n sist o f a single ato m , o r o f a co m b in a tio n o f ato m s b o u n d to g e th er
w ithin a la r g e r stru ctu re.
[b] Id eally , it w ould be c o n v e n ie n t to m a k e a term inological d istin c tio n b etw een ‘sim p le’ units
w hich h a v e o n e c o n s titu e n t an d ‘co m p lex ’ units o r ‘c o m p o u n d ’ u n its w h ich hav e m o re th a n one.
U n fo rtu n ately , ho w ev er, th is te rm in o lo g ical conven tio n m ig h t cau se co nfusion, sin ce g ra m m a t
ical tr a d itio n h as p re e m p te d th e te rm s ‘com plex’ a n d ‘c o m p o u n d ’ for p u rp o ses n o t en tirely
co n sisten t w ith it. F o r ex a m p le , th e d istin ctio n betw een sim p le a n d co m p o u n d sen ten ces is
different fro m th e d is tin c tio n b etw e en sim ple an d co m p o u n d n o u n s. O u r use o f th e term s
‘com plex’ a n d ‘co m p o u n d ’ w ill b e m a d e clear in la ter c h a p te rs ; c f 1 0 .1 ,1 4 .2 / a n d A p p 1.57.
[c] L in g u ists differ o n w h a t a re th e im m ed iate co n stitu en ts o f a clause. T h e ab o v e d e scrip tio n
rep resen ts th e basis o f o u r sy stem o f clause analysis, to b e fu rth e r d ev elo p ed in 2 .1 3 #
[d ] Som e lin g u ists use th e te rm ‘se n te n ce’ for a clause w h ich is p a r t o f a sentence.
Parts o f the sentence 41
Chain and choice relationships

2.5 T h e p rin cip le w h ich allow s b o th u n ita ry a n d m u ltip le co n stitu e n ts o f a
g ra m m atica l u n it goes a g a in st th e com m onsense u n d e rstan d in g o f ‘p a r ts ’
a n d ‘w holes’, a n d th ere fo re n e ed s som e ju stificatio n . T h e ju stific atio n lie s in
a d istin c tio n b etw een c h a i n ( ie sy n tag m atic) a n d c h o i c e (ie p a ra d ig m a tic )
rela tio n sh ip s am o n g lin g u istic co n stitu en ts. T h e c h ain re la tio n sh ip is a n
‘a n d ’ relatio n sh ip , w h e rea s th e ch o ice relatio n sh ip is a n ‘o r ’ re la tio n s h ip .
T h u s if tw o u n its X a n d Y o c cu r o n e a fte r th e o th e r in a larg e r u n it, th e y a re
in a c h ain re la tio n sh ip , X + T. B u t if X an d Y c an b e su b stitu te d for; o n e
a n o th e r in a larg er u n it, th ey a re in a choice relatio n sh ip , X j Y . (S u b s titu tio n
h e re m ean s ‘c o m m u ta b ility ’, ie a ccep tab le rep lacem en t in term s o f th e
stru c tu re o f th e se n ten ce, n o t n ecessarily in term s o f m ean in g .) I n e x a m in in g
a single sen ten ce, w e c a n o b se rv e o n ly th e c h a in relatio n sh ip s, a n d in d e e d , if
w e w ere in te rested o nly in c h a in relatio n sh ip s, w e m ig h t b e satisfied sim p ly
to re p re se n t a se n ten ce a s a se q u en ce o f m o rp h em es as fo llo w s:
T h e + e v en in g + s + h a v e + tu rn + ed + very + cold + ju st
+ re c e n t + ly.
N o te I t is ‘w o rth ob serv in g , in p assin g , th a t ch o ic e relatio n sh ip s are m ade ex p licit in c e rta in ty p e s o f

ap p o sitio n al self-correcting c o n s tru c tio n s ; eg: T hey were constantly q u a rre llin g -w e ll, arguing,
a n y way ( c f 17.80).
2.6 W h en , how ever, we c o n sid er w h a t a re th e po ssib ilities o f E n g lish g ra m m a r

(fo r exam ple, w h a t d o es a n d w h a t does n o t m ak e a g ra m m a tic a l se n ten c e in
E nglish), w e h a v e to in v e s tig a te choice relatio n sh ip s. D e sc rib in g E n g lish
g ra m m a r involves s ta tin g w h a t ch o ices exist in th e c o n stru ctio n o f E n g lish
sen ten ces, a n d w h a t th e re la tio n s a re b etw een th ese choices. I t is o n th is b a s is
th a t it is n ecessary to d is tin g u ish u n its o f d ifferen t ‘sizes’, a n d to reco g n ize
th e choices w h ich e x ist a t d ifferen t levels o f co n stitu en cy . F ro m h e re ,
c o n sid era tio n o f ex am p les lik e [1] a n d [2] lead s to th e reco g n itio n o f u n ita ry
c o n stitu en ts:
(a) (b ) (c) (d)
fT h e w e a th e r] f h a s b e e n ! f very cold! / ju s t recen tly ] [1]

| It j | w as | [ cold 1 1 recently | [2]
(B races {}, a s w ell as th e o b liq u e stro k e (or slash) /, are used in th is g ra m m a r

to in d ic a te ch o ice re la tio n s.)
In e ac h o f th e s tru c tu ra l p o sitio n s (a -d ) eith e r a single w ord o r a
c o m b in a tio n o f w o rd s m ay b e u sed . In th is sense w e m ay say th a t the weather!
it, very cold/cold, e tc in [1] a n d [2] a re c o m m u t a b l e . W e m ay also say t h a t by
v irtu e o f th is c o m m u tab ility , very a n d ju s t in [1] are o p t i o n a l c o n stitu e n ts o f
th e p h rases in w h ich th ey o ccu r, a n d such o p tio n a lity is in d ic a te d , in th is
g ra m m ar, by th e use o f p a re n th e s e s ():
T h e w e ath e r h a s b e en (very) cold (just) recently. [3]
A ty p ical E n g lish se n ten c e w ill in fa ct co n ta in a m ix tu re o f sim p le a n d

co m p lex u n its:
42 A s u rv e y o f English gram m ar
Sentence
C la u se
N oun P h rase V erb P h r a s e A d v e rb P h r a s e P re p o s itio n a l P h r a s e
N o u n P h rase
D e te r- N oun A u x ilia ry A u x ilia ry M a in A d v e rb P r e p o s itio n D e te r- N oun

m in e r b V e rb I
l l' A I
7 \ l /
l l \ /, \ I
S o m e s tu d e n t s will be w o rk mg la te their
Fig 2.6
T h e o c c u rre n c e o f u n ita ry c o n stitu e n ts m ea n s th a t th e re is n o th in g

c o n tra d ic to ry in d escrib in g th e sam e lin g u istic item o n o n e o ccasio n as a u n it
o f o n e k in d , a n d o n a n o th e r o ccasio n a s a u n it o f a d ifferen t k in d . F o r
ex am p le, la te in F ig 2.6 m ay b e eq u ally correctly d escrib ed a s a n a d v erb
p h ra se, a s a n a d v e rb , o r as a stem m o rp h em e. W h en w e say ‘late is a n X ’,
w here X is th e n a m e fo r som e g ra m m a tic a l u n it o r categ o ry , th is id en tific atio n
m ean s, m o r e p recisely , th a t la te is a r e F l i z F t i o n (or ‘sp e c im en ’) o f X , a n d
th is d o e s n o t ru le o u t th e p o ssib ility o f its b ein g a t th e sam e tim e a re aliz a tio n
o f som e o th e r u n it o r category Y. F o r th is reaso n , an y g ra m m a tic a l s ta te m e n t
o f th e f o r m ‘i is a n X ’ (w here i is a n ite m , say a w o rd o r a seq u en ce o f w ords)
is likely to b e in co m p lete; b u t th is fo rm o f w o rd s is so c o n v en ien t th a t in
sp ite o f its in co m p leten ess, w e sh all use it in th is g ra m m a r w h en n o co n fu sio n
c a n arise.
T he m o s t e x tre m e case o f such m u ltip le re aliz a tio n is th a t o f a one-
m o rp h e m e se n ten c e such as th e im p e ra tiv e H u rry ! H e re we m ay d e sc rib e th e
sam e ite m a s a se n ten ce, a clause, a p h ra se , a w ord, o r a m o rp h em e.
T h e gram m a tica l hierarchy

T h e e x is te n c e o f u n ita ry co n stitu e n ts also lead s to a su p erficial difficulty in
talk in g o f u n its o f d ifferen t ‘size’ o r ‘le n g th ’. A s a p a rtic u la r u n it m ay c o n sist
o f one, o r m o re th a n one, u n it o f a d iffere n t k in d , it follow s th a t w e c a n n o t
say, in a lite r a l c o m m o n sen se w ay, th a t ‘a p h ra se is lo n g er th a n a w o rd ’, o r ‘a
clause is la rg e r th a n a p h ra se ’. B u t a t th e sam e tim e, th ere is a h ie ra rc h ic a l
ra n k in g o f u n its in term s o f th e ir p o t e n t i F l size. T h u s, a lth o u g h a g iv en
p h rase (sa y la te in F ig 2.6) m ay b e n o la rg e r th a n a w ord, the c h o ic e categ o ry
to w h ich i t b elo n g s, th a t o f a d v erb p h ra se s , m ay h av e o th e r re aliz a tio n s m u ch
longer t h a n a single w ord, in clu d in g su c h p h ra ses as quite late, quite late
enough, v ery.m u c h later than I expected. I n th is sense, u n its o f g ra m m a r m ay
b e p laced in a h ie ra rc h y o f p o t e n t i F l s i z e o r e x t e n s i | i l i t y as fo llo w s:
h ig h e s t u n it I s e n t e n c e s , w h ic h c o n s is t o f o n e o r m o re
c l F u s e s , w h ic h c o n s is t o f o n e o r m o re
Parts of the sentence 43
p h ra se s, w h ich consist o f o n e o r m ore

w o rd s, w h ich c onsist o f o n e o r m o re
LO W EST u n i t : m o rp h e m es
By m o r p h e m e w e u n d e rs ta n d a m in im u m u n it o f fo rm a n d m ea n in g w h ic h
m ay be a w hole w o rd (forget), a n inflection such a s -s (forget + s) o r a w o rd -
fo rm atio n affix su c h as un-, -fu l (un + forget + fu l) . O n th e sen ten ce as th e
h ig h est g ra m m a tic a l u n it, c / 2 . 11.
I n th is h ie ra rc h y , th e w o r d is a u n it o f p a rtic u la r im p o rtan ce because it is
th e u n it w h ic h p rim a rily relates th e g ra m m ar o f a lan g u ag e to its lexicon ( c f
2.34). C o n se q u e n tly th e relatio n b etw een w o rd s an d th e ir c o m p o n e n t
m o rp h em es is s o m e w h a t d ifferen t from th a t w h ich o b tain s b etw een o th e r
u n its a n d th e ir im m e d ia te co n stitu en ts. T h e co m b in a tio n o f m o rp h em es in
w o rd s is c o n s tra in e d n o t only by g ram m atical b u t by lex ical c o n sid era tio n s
( c f A p p 1.1 /0 , a n d th e d isc rete seg m en tatio n o f w o rd s in to sequences o f
m o rp h em es is n o t alw ay s possible - consider, fo r ex am p le, th e re la tio n
b etw een crisis a n d crises, b etw een sane a n d sanity, o r b etw een sing an d sung.
I t is b ecau se o f th e s e a n d o th e r differences th a t g ra m m a r is g en erally d iv id e d
(c /1 .1 4 ) in to m o rp h o lo g y (d ealin g w ith th e in te rn al fo rm o f w o rd s in so f a r
as th is is a g ra m m a tic a l m a tte r; c/2 .3 5 ) a n d sy n tax (d ealin g w ith th e w ay in
w h ic h w o rd s a re c o m b in e d to fo rm sentences).
Em bedding
T h e a b o v e h ie ra rc h y still re p re se n ts an oversim plified v iew o f th e re la tio n
b etw een u n its. I n F ig 2.6 it c a n be o bserved th a t o n e k in d o f p h ra se, th e
p re p o sitio n a l p h ra s e in their rooms, co n tain s as a c o n stitu e n t a n o th e r p h ra se,
th e n o u n p h ra se th eir rooms. T h is is an ex am p le o f th e p h en o m en o n o f
e m b e d d i n g w h ic h a c c o u n ts fo r th e indefinite e x ten sib ility o f c e rta in u n its o f
g ra m m ar. B o th th e n o u n p h ra se an d th e p re p o sitio n al p h ra se m ay b e
im m e d ia te c o n s titu e n ts o f a clause, as are som e students a n d in their rooms in
th e se n ten ce o f F ig 2.6:
S om e stu d e n ts w ill b e w o rk in g late in their rooms.
B o th u n its lik ew ise c a n co n sist o f m o re th a n o n e w o rd (p rep o sitio n al phrases,

in d eed , m u st n o rm ally co n sist o f a t least tw o w ords). T h e re is th erefo re n o
reaso n to d e sc rib e o n e u n it a s m o re extensible th a n th e o th e r; th ey a re b o th ,
a s p h ra ses, p lac ed a t th e sam e p o sitio n in th e h ierarch y . B u t e ac h u n it can b e
a c o n stitu e n t o f th e o t h e r :
N o u n P h rase P r e p o s itio n a l P h ra s e
students at this college for all our students

F ig 2 .i
T h is m ea n s th a t, b y re p e a te d em b ed d in g , b o th a n o u n p h ra se an d a
p re p o sitio n a l p h ra s e c a n b e indefinitely e x te n d e d :
44 A survey o f English gram m ar
n o u n p h ra se : som e stu d e n ts [at [the college [on [the o th e r side [of [the p a rk
[a t [the n o rth e n d [ o f . ..]]]]]]]]]
p r e p o s i t i o n a l p h r a s e : o n [the to p floor [of [a house [in [th e c o rn er [o f [the
o ld sq u are [b eh in d [th e c h u r c h ...]]]]]]]]]
In p ra ctic e , o f course, p h ra ses o f th is d eg ree o f co m p lex ity rarely o c cu r; b u t

it is im p o rta n t to reco g n ize th a t h o w ever long such a p h ra se m ay be, th e re is
alw ay s th e p o ssib ility o f m ak in g it lo n g er by fu rth er em b ed d in g . M o reo v er,
th e in d efin ite len g th o f n o u n p h rases an d p rep o sitio n al p h ra ses does n o t
a ffect th eir p o sitio n in th e g ram m atical h ierarch y , sin ce h o w ev er lo n g a
p h ra s e m ay be, th e clau se w hich c o n tain s it will alw ays b e (p o ten tially )
lo n g er:
I have b e e n ta lk in g to som e students a t the college on the other side o f the

p a rk a t the north en d o f . . .
T h ey liv e on the top flo o r o f a house in the com er o f the o ld square behind
the c h u rc h . . .
E m b e d d in g , a s w e h a v e illu strated it so fa r, c a n be defin ed as th e o ccu rren ce

o f o n e u n it as a c o n stitu e n t o f an o th e r u n it a t th e sam e ra n k in th e
g ra m m atica l h ie ra rc h y . (A s we shall see in 2.9, th e em b e d d ed u n it n eed n o t
be a n im m ediate c o n stitu e n t o f th e e q u iv alen t u n it in w h ich it is e m b ed d ed .)
Subordination
A n o th e r k in d o f e m b e d d in g o ccurs w h en one clau se is m ad e a c o n stitu e n t o f
a n o th e r cla u se : th e case n o rm ally d escrib ed as s u b o r d i n a t i o n . T h e tw o
clauses in [1] a n d [2] c o n stitu te sim ple sentences, b u t it is also po ssib le to
co m b in e th e m in to a single (com plex) sen ten ce, by su b o rd in a tin g o n e to th e
o th er, as in [3]:
T h e w e ath e r h a s b e en rem a rk ab ly w arm . [1]

W e r e tu rn e d fro m Italy la s t w eek. [2]
T h e w e a th e r h as b e en re m ark ab ly w arm since
w e re tu rn e d fro m Italy last w eek. [3]
C lauses w h ic h a re e m b e d d ed in o th er clauses (eg : since we returnedfrom Ita ly

last w eek in [3]) a re s u b o r d i n a t e clauses, an d th ey a re o ften in tro d u c ed b y a
su b o rd in a tin g c o n j u n c t i o n (since in [3]). T h e su b o rd in a te clause in [3] is
p arallel in its fu n c tio n to th e ad v erb p h rase ju s t recently in F ig 2.3d, a n d is
in d eed term ed an ‘a d v erb ial c lau se’ (c /1 5 .1 7 # ). O n th e o th e r h a n d , it is itself
d iv isib le in to p h ra se s in a w ay w hich m ak e s it p a ralle l to th e w hole clau se in
Fig 2.3d. T h e re la tio n b etw een th e tw o clauses o f [3] is o n e o f ‘p a r t to w h o le’,
as is illu strated by th e a b b re v ia te d tree d iag ram , F ig 2.9a, o pposite.
S u b o rd in a tio n o f c lau ses is n o t confined to clauses w h ich are im m e d ia te
co n stitu en ts o f o th e r clauses. T h ere a re also clauses (especially those term ed
relative c lau ses; c f 17.9 # ) w h ic h a re c o n stitu en ts o f p h rases, a n d w h ic h
th erefo re a re only in d ire ctly em b e d d ed w ith in a larg e r clause, c f F ig 2.9b
opposite.
O n ce a g ain , e m b e d d in g gives rise to th e th eo re tic al p o ssib ility o f
g ram m atical u n its h a v in g in d efin ite length. T h e fa m ilia r n u rsery c h a n t The
Parts of the sentence 45
I
la s t w eek
F ig 2 .9 a
N o te M o rp h em e s a n d u n ita ry co n stitu en ts {eg th e N o u n co n stitu e n t above Italy) h av e n o t b ee n

in c lu d ed in th is diag ram .
S e n te n c e
D e te r m in e r N oun M a in V e rb D e te r m in e r A d je c tiv e N oun
The has large
P ronoun M a in V e rb A d v e rb
i I i
1 I i
F ig 2 .9 b 1 . 1 1 ,
w h ic h fa c e s s o u th
46 A s u rv e y o f E ng lish gram m ar
H ouse T h a t J a c k B u ilt show s how re p ea te d su b o rd in a tio n o f o n e relativ e

c lau se t o a n o th e r lea d s to th e co n stru ctio n o f sen ten ces o f ev er-in creasin g
l e n g th :
T h is is th e h o u se [th a t J a c k built].
T h is is th e m a lt [th a t lay in the house [th a t J a c k built]].
T h is is th e r a t [ th a t a te th e m alt [ th a t lay in th e house [th a t J a c k built]]].
T h is is th e c a t [ th a t k illed th e ra t [th a t a te th e m alt [th a t lay in th e house
[ th a t J a c k built]]]],
e tc
Coo rdin a tion

2.10 T h e p r in c ip le o f in d efin ite ex ten sib ility is also p re se n t in g ra m m a r in a n o th e r
re sp e c t: tw o o r m o re u n its o f th e sam e s ta tu s o n th e g ra m m a tic a l h iera rch y
m a y c o n stitu te a sin g le u n it o f th e sam e k in d . T h is ty p e o f c o n stru ctio n is
te rm e d c o o r d i n a t i o n , an d , lik e su b o rd in a tio n , is ty p ically sig n alled b y a
lin k -w o rd te rm e d a c o n ju n c tio n : in th is case a c o o r d i n a t i n g co n ju n ctio n .
T h e m o s t c o m m o n c o o rd in a tin g co n ju n ctio n s a re and, or, a n d b u t :
C O O R D IN A T IO N O F C L A U SE S :
[[It w a s C h ris tm a s D ay ,] a n d [th e sn o w lay th ic k o n th e ground]]. [ 1]
. C O O R D IN A T IO N O F P R E P O S IT IO N A L P H R A SES:
Y o u c a n go [[by a ir] o r [by rail]]. [2]
C O O R D IN A T IO N O F N O U N S :
H is [[son] a n d [daughter]] live in B uenos A ires. [3]
I n th ese ex am p les, th e co o rd in a te d u n its are resp ectiv ely clauses, p h ra ses,

a n d w o rd s. C o o rd in a tio n h a s m an y v a ria tio n s a n d co m p lica tio n s w h ic h
c a n n o t b e illu stra te d h e re ( c f C h a p te r 13), b u t its essen tial p rin cip le is th a t
u n its a n d s tru c tu re s m a y b e d u p licated w ith o u t affecting th e ir p o sitio n in th e
g ra m m a tic a l h ie ra rc h y . T h u s a p p ro p ria te tre e d iag ra m s fo r [2] a n d [3] show
th e b ifu rc a tio n o f o n e u n it in to tw o lin k ed u n its o f e q u al s ta tu s :
P re p o s itio n a l N oun
P h r a s e C o n jo in t P h rase
/ N oun
/ C o n jo in t
P r e p o s itio n a l C o n ju n c tio n P re p o s itio n a l D e te r m in e r

P h ra s e 1 P h rase
h is N oun C o n ju n c tio n N oun

b y air b y rail l l I
I l l
l l l
fig 2.10 son a" d daughter
T h e c o n stitu e n t w h ic h c o n ta in s th e c o o rd in a te d u n its as its im m e d ia te

c o n stitu e n ts is h e re lab elled a ‘c o n jo in t’ ite m , to m a rk its in te rn a l co m p o sitio n ,
b u t it is o th erw ise e q u iv a le n t in its sta tu s to e ac h o f its c o o rd in a te d
c o n stitu en ts, o r c o n j o i n s (son, daughter, etc).
Sentences 47
T h ese e x am p les sh o w th e m o st com m on case, w h ere th e c o n jo in t c o n ta in s

o nly tw o c o o rd in a te d u n its ; b u t th e n u m b er o f c o o rd in a te d co n stitu e n ts is
o p en -en d ed . W e m a y c o m p a re th e p h rase his son a n d daughter in [3] w ith th e
treb le c o o rd in a tio n o f his w ife, son, a n d daughter (n o tin g th a t th e c o o rd in a tin g
co n ju n ctio n n o rm ally o c c u rs b e fo re only the last conjoin), o r w ith th e m o re
e x ten d ed c o o rd in a tio n o f;
T h e colours o f th e ra in b o w a re blue, green, yellow , orange, red, indigo,

a n d violet.
o r w ith th e th eo re tic al e x tre m ity o f a n infinitely long c o o rd in a tio n ;
T h e p o sitiv e in te g e rs a r e one, two, three, fo u r, fiv e , six, seven , . . .
N o te C o njoins a re called ‘c o n ju n c ts’ b y so m e g ram m aria n s, b u t in th is g ra m m a r w e use th e la tte r te rm

for lin k in g ad v e rb ials ( c / 8 . 134f f ) .
Sentences
2.11 I t is usually assu m e d t h a t th e s e n t e n c e is th e h ig h est-ra n k in g u n it o f
g ra m m ar, a n d h e n c e th a t th e p u rp o se o f a g ram m atical d escrip tio n o f E n g lish
is to define, by m e a n s o f w h a te v e r descrip tiv e a p p a ra tu s m ay b e n ecessary
(rules, c ateg o ries, e tc ), w h a t c o u n ts as a g ram m atical sen ten ce in E n g lish . I n
th is w ay, th e te rm s ‘g r a m m a r ’ a n d ‘sentence’ a re m u tu ally defining. In th e
p a st, g ra m m a ria n s h a v e a im e d to define ‘se n ten ce’ a s a p re req u isite to
defining ‘g ra m m a r’, o r to d e fin e ‘g ra m m a r’ as a m ea n s o f defining ‘se n ten c e ’.
B u t b o th a p p ro a c h e s w ill b e a v o id e d h e re : indeed, n e ith e r o f th ese term s c a n
be g iv en a clear-cu t d e fin itio n . T h e sentence is a n in d ete rm in ate u n it in th e
sense th a t it is o fte n d ifficu lt to decide, p articu la rly in sp o k en lan g u ag e,
w h ere o n e se n ten ce e n d s a n d a n o th e r begins (c /1 9 .2 9 # ). T h e term ‘g ra m m a r’
is in d e te rm in a te in th e se n se t h a t ‘W h a t co u n ts as a g ra m m atica l E n g lish
se n ten c e? ’ is n o t alw ay s a q u e stio n w h ich p erm its a d ecisiv e an sw er; a n d th is
is n o t o nly b ecau se o f th e difficulty o f segm enting a d isco u rse in to sen ten ces
b u t b ecau se q u e stio n s o f g ra m m atica l a cc ep ta b ility in ev itab ly beco m e
involved w ith q u e stio n s o f m ea n in g , w ith q u estio n s o f good o r b a d style, w ith
q u estio n s o f lexical a c c e p ta b ility , w ith q uestions o f a ccep tab ility in c o n tex t,
etc. T o give a re alistic p re s e n ta tio n o f E nglish g ra m m a r, we th erefo re h a v e
to a b a n d o n n e a t b o u n d a rie s, a n d to a ccep t th a t g ra m m a r is a lin g u istic ‘c o re ’
ro u n d w h ich o th e r a sp e c ts o f lin g u istic o rg an izatio n a n d u sage are in te g rate d .
O u r in te n tio n , th e re fo re , is to ta k e a b ro ad in te rp re ta tio n o f g ra m m ar, w h ic h
w ill en ab le us to g iv e a n a c c o u n t o f o th er factors, especially m ean in g , w h ich
im p in g e o n th e d isc u ssio n o f g ra m m atica l rules a n d categories.
T h e CLA U SE, p a rtic u la rly th e in d ep e n d en t clau se (c/1 4 .2 ), is in m an y w ays
a m o re clearly-defined u n it th a n th e sentence. I t is fo r th is reaso n th a t w e
shall co n ce n tra te, in th is a n d th e follow ing n in e c h ap ters, o n th e s i m p l e
s e n t e n c e ( ie th e se n ten c e co n sistin g o f a single in d e p e n d e n t c lause) as th e
m o st c en tral p a r t o f g ra m m a r. W e shall use th e te rm m u l t i p l e s e n t e n c e
(subsum ing co m p lex a n d c o m p o u n d sentences) ( c f 1 4 .1 # ) for all sen ten ces
w h ich co n sist o f m o re th a n o n e clause, e ith e r th ro u g h su b o rd in atio n o r
48 A s urve y of English gram m ar
th r o u g h c o o rd in a tio n . T h u s th e lim its o f th e E n g lish sen ten ce a re defined, in

p ra c tic e , w h e rev e r g ra m m a tic a l relatio n s (su ch as th o se o f s u b o rd in a tio n an d
c o o rd in a tio n ) c a n n o t be e stab lish ed b etw een clauses. Such re latio n s, a n d
th e ir lim its , are e x p lo red in la te r ch ap ters, p a rticu larly C h a p te rs 13, 14, an d
19.
Form and function
W e h a v e in d ic a te d h ow g ra m m atica l categ o ries m ay be id en tifie d th ro u g h

re la tio n s h ip s o f ch o ic e (or su b stitu tio n ) b etw een c o n stitu en ts. I n th e sim ple
c ases o f ex am p les 2.6 [1] a n d [2], re p ea te d h e re as [1] a n d [2], w e reco g n ized
fo u r p o sitio n s in th e clau se w h ere d ifferen t k in d s o f p h ra se c a n o c cu r:
f T h e w e a th e r! f h a s b e e n l f very c o l d l f j u s t re cen tly l [1]

[ It J | was. J | cold J | recently J [2]
B u t to d escrib e m o re fully h ow clauses a re com posed o f p h ra se s , it is

n e c e ssa ry to take a c c o u n t o f o th e r facto rs, eg w h e th er a c o n stitu e n t m ay vary
its p o s itio n ( m o b i l i t y ) , a n d w h e th er a c o n stitu e n t c a n be o m itte d ( o p t i o n -
a l i t y ) . I n b o th th ese resp ects, th e a d v erb p h rases o f [1] a n d [2] a re d ifferen t
fro m th e o th e r p h r a s e s :
T h e w eath er h a s b e en v ery cold ju s t recently. [ 1]

J u s t recently, th e w e a th e r h as b een very cold. [la ]
T h e w eath er h a s b een v ery cold. [ 1b]
A n o th e r o b serv atio n a b o u t th e ad v erb p h ra se is th a t it m ay b e re p la ce d by a

d iffe re n t k in d o f c o n stitu e n t, w h ich is sim ilarly o p tio n a l a n d m o b ile. F o r
e x am p le, a no u n p h ra se su ch as this m onth o r a p rep o sitio n al p h ra se su ch as
during the p a st w eek m ay be a su b stitu te for ju s t recently in [1] a n d [ la ]:
[1]
[lc]
[Id]
O n th e o th e r hand, we ob v io u sly c an n o t alw ays rep lace a n o u n p h ra se by a n

a d v e rb p h ra se on b y a p re p o sitio n a l p h r a s e :
This m onth h a s b e en very cold. [3]

* J u st recently h a s b e en v ery cold. [4]
*D uring the p a st w eek h a s b een very cold. [5]
T h a t is, n o u n p h rases are in a ‘ch o ic e ’ re la tio n to o th e r k in d s o f p h ra se o n
so m e occasions, b u t n o t o n o th ers.
In o rd e r to state m o re c o m p lica te d facts o f co n stitu en cy su ch a s th ese, it is
im p o rta n t to d istin g u ish tw o w ays o f classifying c o n stitu en ts. W e m ay
classify a u n it e ith e r o n th e b asis o f its f o r m (eg its in te rn al stru c tu re , as a
n o u n p h ra s e , or as a v erb p h rase), o r o n th e basis o f its f u n c t i o n (eg as a
su b je ct o r a n object o f a clause). By fu n c tio n is m e a n t a u n it’s ‘p riv ileg e o f
o c c u rre n c e ’, in term s o f its p o sitio n , m o b ility , o p tio n ality , e tc, in th e u n it o f
Clause structure 49
w h ich it is a c o n stitu en t. T w o u n its w h ich h av e th e sam e privilege o f

o c cu rren ce m ay b e said to be f u n c t i o n F l l y e q u i v F l e n t . T h u s th e fin al
p h rases o f [1], [lc], an d [Id], a lth o u g h th ey b elong to d ifferen t fo rm a l
categ o ries (a d v e rb p h rase, no u n p h ra se , p re p o sitio n a l p h rase), m ay be s a id
to b elong to th e sam e fu n ctio n al categ o ry o f F d v e r | i F l . Such c ateg o rie s
define e l e m e n t s o f s t r u c t u r e in th e h ig h er u n it, w h ich in th is case is a
clause. A n ad v erb ial, generally sp e ak in g , is d istin g u ish ed fro m o th e r ele m en ts
by its v a ria b le p o sitio n (fo r ex am p le, in itial, m ed ia l, o r final in th e clau se),
by its o p tio n a lity , a n d by th e fa c t th a t th e n u m b e r o f ad v erb ials w h ich c a n
o ccu r in a clau se is n o t fixed.
T h e a d v a n ta g e o f d istin g u ish in g fu n ctio n al from fo rm al c ateg o ries is t h a t
g e n eralizatio n s o f tw o k in d s c a n b e m a d e : th o se a b o u t a u n it’s statu s a s a
c o n stitu e n t o f a h ig h er u n it, an d th o se a b o u t its in te rn a l stru c tu re in term s o f
sm aller o r lo w er u n its. I n som e cases (eg p re p o sitio n s; c f 2.29) th e d is tin c tio n
is u n im p o rta n t, b u t in o th e r cases it is im p o rta n t a n d in d eed necessary. F o r
ex am p le, it is im p o rta n t to d istin g u ish th o se p re p o sitio n a l p h rases w h ic h a c t
as a d v erb ials fro m th o se w h ich a c t as p a rts o f n o u n p h rases. I t is also
im p o rta n t to d istin g u ish adverbials (a fu n c tio n al category) from adverb
phrases (a fo rm al categ o ry , w hose m em b e rs freq u en tly fu n ctio n as ad v erb ials).
H ere, as elsew h ere, w e tru st th a t th e a d v an tag e o f using trad itio n a l a n d
w id ely -u n d ersto o d term s o utw eighs an y d a n g er o f confusion.
N o te A f o r m l classificatio n ta k e s ac co u n t o f how a u n it is com posed o f sm aller u n its o r c o m p o n en ts,

F
in clu d in g , in th e ca se o f w ords, stem s an d affixes. S ince E n g lish o fte n la ck s fo rm al in d ic a to rs o f

w ord class, w e o fte n id e n tify w ords by th e ir fu n ctio n ra th e r th a n th e ir form .
Clause structure
Central and peripheral elements of the clause

2.13 T h e fo rm -fu n c tio n d istin c tio n is p articu la rly im p o rta n t in th e case o f c lau se
stru c tu re , w h ic h w e shall n ow discuss in som e d e ta il as th e m o st fa m ilia r a n d
im p o rta n t illu stra tio n o f fu n c tio n al classification. T o d escrib e th e c o n s ti
tu en cy o f clauses, w e n e ed to d istin g u ish th e follow ing elem en ts o f clau se
stru c tu re :
SUBJECT (S), VERB (V), OBJECT (O ), COMPLEMENT (C ), a n d ADVERBIAL (A ).
T h ese a re exem plified in th e follow ing sim ple d e clara tiv e sen ten ces:
Som eo n e [S] w as lau g h in g [V] loudly [A] in th e n e x t room [A]. [ 1]

M y m o th e r [S] usually [A] enjoys [V] p a rtie s [O] very m u ch [A]. [2]
In 1945 [A] th e c o u n try [S] b e ca m e [V] to tally in d e p e n d e n t [C]. [3]
I [S] h a v e b e en [V] in th e g a rd en [A] all th e tim e [A] since lu n ch [A], [4]
M a ry [S] g av e [V] th e v isito r [O] a glass o f m ilk [O], [5]
M o st p eo p le [S] c o n sid er [V] th ese b ooks [O] ra th e r ex p en siv e [C],
a ctu ally [A]. [6]
Y o u [S] m u st p u t [V] all th e toys [O] u p sta irs [A] im m ed iately [A], [7]
A t th e sim p le st level, w e m ay m a k e th e follow ing g en eralizatio n s a b o u t

50 A surve y of English gram m ar
c la u se stru ctu res from th ese exam ples. T h e v erb elem en t (V) is th e m ost
‘c e n tr a l’ elem ent, a n d in all th e e x am p les a b o v e it is p reced ed b y th e su b ject
(S). F o llo w in g th e v erb th e re m ay be o n e o r tw o o b jects (O), o r a co m p lem en t
(C ), w h ic h follow s th e o b ject if o n e is p re sen t. T h e m o st p e rip h e ra l elem en t
is th e a d v erb ial, w h ic h can o c cu r e ith e r in itially (in fro n t o f th e subject, as in
[3]), o r finally (a fte r th e v erb , a n d a fte r th e ob ject o r co m p lem en t if o n e is
p r e s e n t, a s in [1], [4], a n d [6]). M a n y ad v erb ials, how ev er, m ay also o ccu r
m e d ia lly , as in [2], A clause m ay co n ta in a v a rie d n u m b er o f final a d v e rb ia ls ;
e g -n o n e [5], one [2], tw o [7], th re e ,[4], T h ese o b serv atio n s a re su m m arized in
th e sim p lified fo rm u la:
(A ) S (A ) V (O ) (O ) (C ) ( A . .)
(A s e lsew h ere , p a ren th eses sig n al elem en ts w h ic h m a y o r m a y n o t b e p re sen t

in a n y g iv en clause.) A s a first a p p ro x im a tio n , th is in d ic a te s so m e th in g o f
th e v a ria b ility o f clau se stru c tu re s in d e c la ra tiv e clauses, a lth o u g h it will
n e e d l a te r m o d ificatio n (c /N o te s [a] a n d [b]).
T h e d istin c tio n b etw een ‘c en tre ’ a n d ‘p e rip h e ry ’ is re la tiv e ra th e r th a n
a b so lu te . T h e verb e le m en t is th e m o st ‘c e n tra l’ e le m en t in th a t (i) its p o sitio n
is n o rm a lly m ed ial ra th e r th a n in itial o r fin al; (ii) it is n o rm ally o b lig a to ry ;
(iii) it c a n n o t n o rm ally be m o v ed to a d ifferen t p o sitio n in th e cla u se ; a n d
(iv ) it h e lp s to d eterm in e w h a t o th e r elem en ts m u st o ccu r ( c f2 A 6 ff) . F o r th e
o p p o s ite reasons, a d v erb ials a re th e m o st p e rip h e ra l e le m e n ts: (i) th e ir
p o s itio n is m o st freq u e n tly fin al; (ii) th ey a re u sually o p tio n a l; (iii) th ey a re
m o s tly m o b ile ; a n d (iv) th ey d o n o t d e te rm in e w h a t o th e r e le m e n ts occur.
T h e y m a y b e reg ard ed , fro m a stru c tu ra l p o in t o f view , largely a s ‘o p tio n a l
e x tr a s ’, w h ic h m ay b e a d d ed a t w ill, so th a t it is n o t p o ssib le to g iv e a n exact
lim it t o th e n u m b er o f ad v erb ials a clause m a y co n ta in . T h e o th e r elem en ts,
su b je c t, o b ject, an d co m p le m e n t, a re in v ario u s d eg rees m o re p e rip h e ra l th a n
th e v e r b , a n d less p e rip h e ra l th a n th e a d v erb ial.
N o te [a] A lth o u g h in [1-71 th e su b jec t is ap p a re n tly ju s t a s in d isp e n sa b le to clause s tru c tu re as th e

v e rb , it w ill b e noted th a t in im p e ra tiv e a n d n o n fin ite clauses th e su b jec t is usually o p tio n a l ( c f
2.57, 1 1 .2 4 /, T h e re is also a categ o ry o f clauses in w h ich th e verb is o m itte d (verbless
c la u se s; c f 14.9), b u t th is is a less sig n ifican t categ o ry th a n th o se o f im p e ra tiv e a n d nonfin ite
clau ses. ;
[b] T h e a b o v e g en eralizatio n s w ill, o f course, b e su b ject to m od ificatio n w h en w e c o n sid e r a
w id e r r a n g e o f clauses, p artic u la rly s u b o rd in ate a n d n o n d e c la ra tiv e clauses. F o r ex am p le,
e le m e n ts o th e r th a n a d v e rb ia ls h av e a lim ited m o b ility ; o n m o v e m en t o f su b jec ts, c f 2 .4 8 ; o f
v e rb s, 1 8 .8 /; o f objects a n d co m p lem en ts, 18.20, 18.37, 18.38.
[c] I t is u n f o r tu n a te th a t tra d itio n a lly th e w ord verb does serv ice b o th for a clau se elem en t, a n d
f o r th e c la s s o f w ord w h ich occurs a s a co n s titu e n t o f th a t elem en t. F o r ex a m p le, in th e form er
sen se m u s t p u t in [7] is a v e rb , a n d in th e la tte r sen se, m u st a n d p u t a re v erb s in d iv id u ally ( c f
2.2 7). T h e te rm ‘p re d ic a to r’ h a s b een so m etim es used to rep lace ‘v e rb ’ in th e sense o f ‘verb
e le m e n t’, b u t fo r lack o f a fam iliar a lte rn a tiv e , w e shall c o n tin u e to use verb in b o th senses,
d is tin g u is h in g betw een v e rb s a s elem en ts a n d v erb s a s w o rd s w h e re th e re is som e risk o f
c o n fu s io n . In y e t an o th er sense ( c f 2.35) verb d e sig n a tes a b asic v e rb form , o r l e x i c l i t e m ,
F
w h ic h is m a n ife s te d in d iffe re n t m o rp h e m es o r m o rp h e m e c o m b in a tio n s ; eg : have, having, an d

h a d a re a ll form s o f the lex ical item h v e . (A s im ila r p olysem y a p p lie s to o th e r w o rd classes,
F
p a r tic u la r ly nouns).
A 'fix e d w o rd -o rd e r language'
2.14 T o illu s tra te th e m o b ility o f a d v e rb ia ls in c o n tra st w ith o th e r e le m en ts, we
Clause structure 51
m ay o b serv e t h a t in ex am p le [2] usually c a n b e m o v ed to initial o r fin al

p o s itio n :
M y m o th e r u sually enjoys p a rties very m u ch . [S A V O A] [2]

Usually m y m o th e r enjoys p a rties very m u ch . [A S V O A ] [2a]
M y m o th e r en jo y s p a rties v ery m u ch , usually. [S V O A A] [2b]
H ow ever, th e o th e r elem en ts can n o t be sim ilarly m o v ed fro m th eir S V O

sequence:
* U sually en jo y s p a rtie s m y m o th e r very m u ch . [ A V O S A]
*E njoys u su ally m y m o th e r p a rties very m u ch . [V A S O A]
*M y m o th e r p a r tie s usually enjoys very m u ch . [S O A V A]
T h e fa ct th a t th e s e o rd e rs, a n d m an y o th ers o f th e sam e elem ents, do n p t

readily o ccu r, h e lp s to ex p la in w hy E n g lish is co m m o n ly d escrib ed as a ‘fix ed
w o rd -o rd er la n g u a g e ’. I n p ra ctic e , d iscu ssio n o f w o rd o rd e r in languages
ten d s to rev o lv e a ro u n d th e o rd erin g o f p h ra se s w h ic h are clause elem en ts,
an d it is n o tab le , fo r in stan c e, th a t in E n g lish th e p o sitio n s o f subject, v e rb ,
a n d o b ject are re la tiv e ly fixed. I n d eclarativ e clau ses, th ey o ccur regularly in
th e o rd e r S V O , un less th ere a re p a rtic u la r c o n d itio n s (for exam ple, th e
in itial p lac in g o f th e o b ject p ro n o u n in re la tiv e clauses) w h ich lead to a
d istu rb an ce o f th is o rd e r. F u rth e r c o n d itio n s allow v ariatio n s o f th is
d e clarativ e o rd e r (fo r ex am p le, Parties m y m other usually enjoys very m uch is
a possible, th o u g h less usual, v a ria n t o f [2]); th ese w ill b e discussed in 2.59
a n d 18.20.
I t is en o u g h to s ta te h e re th a t E n g lish does in d ee d h a v e strict lim ita tio n s
o n th e o rd e rin g o f cla u se elem en ts, b u t th a t th e m o re p e rip h e ral a n e lem en t
is, th e m o re fre e d o m o f p o sitio n it has. A fte r V , S is th e least m obile elem en t,
follow ed b y O a n d C . L a te r w e shall give a tte n tio n to the various facto rs
w h ich lead to th e d isp la c e m e n t o f a n elem en t fro m its reg u lar p o sitio n ( c f esp
2 .5 9 ,1 1 .5 ,1 1 .1 4 , a n d 18.19#).
. N o te [a] In [2], th e r e s tric tio n o n m o v e m en t ev en ex ten d s to th e a d v e rb ia l very much, w hich in

com parison w ith o th e r m e m b e rs o f th e ad v erb ial category is relativ ely im m o b ile:
*V ery m u c h m y m o th e r usually enjoys parties. [A S A V O ] [2c]
[b] I n term s o f th e p r e s e n t g ra m m a tic a l h ie rarch y ( c f 2,7) th e te rm word order oug h t to a p p ly
strictly to th e o rd e rin g o f w o rd s w ith in p h rases, ra th e r th a n o f p h ra se s w ith in clauses. T his is n o t
th e norm al in te r p r e ta tio n o f th e ex p ressio n , b u t it m ay be in c id en tally n o ted th a t in th is m o re
restricted sense, E n g lish h a s a n even g re a te r fixity o f w ord o rd er. N o te , fo r ex am ple, beside [2 a -
2c], th e still g re a te r d is lo c a tio n in :
* M other m y usually enjoys p a rtie s m uch very.
Adverbials
2.15 I t is w o rth p o in tin g o u t th a t d ifferen t degrees o f c e n tra lity can be o b serv ed
n o t only in d iffe re n t e lem en ts o f clause stru ctu re, b u t also in different su b -
categories o f th e sa m e elem en t. T h u s th e a d v e rb ia l categ o ry has b e en
d escrib ed a s th e m o s t p e rip h e ra l, b u t it is in fa c t a h eterogeneous category,
w ith in w h ic h th e re a re re la tiv e ly cen tral a n d relativ ely p e rip h e ral types o f
ad v erb ial. I n e x a m p le s 2.13 [1 -7 ], m ost o f th e a d v e rb ia ls are b o th m o b ile
a n d o p tio n a l: it is p o ssib le , for exam ple, to o m it th e a d v erb ial usually in [2]
(M y m other enjoys p a rtie s very m uch ) as well as to ch an g e its po sitio n (as in
e x a m p le s 2.14 [2a] a n d [2b]). B ut th ere are, as w e have ju s t seen in [2c], som e

a d v e rb ia ls w h ich c a n n o t readily be m oved fro m th e ir p o sitio n in a given
c la u se , a n d th ere a re e v en ad v erb ials w hich a re o b ligatory, su ch a s the place
a d v e rb ia ls in the garden in ex am p le 2.13 [4] a n d upstairs in 2.13 [7]:
I h a v e been in the garden all th e tim e sin ce lunch. [4]

Y o u m u st p u t all th e toys upstairs im m ed iately . [7]
C o n tr a s t:
♦I h a v e been a ll th e tim e since lunch. [4a]

♦Y o u m u st p u t all th e toys im m ediately. [7a]
B e ca u se th ey a re esse n tia l to th e ‘co m p letio n ’ o f th e m ean in g o f th e verb ,

su c h e le m e n ts are classified b y som e g ra m m aria n s as co m p lem en ts ( c /2 .1 7 /
10.11). O u r p o sitio n , h o w ev er, is th a t a d v erb ials re p re se n t a sp ectru m o f
ty p es, th e m o st c e n tra l o f w h ich , because o f th e ir ob lig ato rin ess a n d relativ e
im m o b ility , re sem b le co m p lem en ts. In p ro v isio n al su p p o rt o f th is analysis,
n o te t h a t in the g arden a n d upstairs are eq u iv a len t to ad v erb ials in m ean in g ,
eg in an sw e rin g th e q u e stio n Where?, ev en th o u g h th ey a re sim ilar to
c o m p le m e n ts in a c tin g a s a n o bligatory elem en t follow ing th e v e rb b e .
A t th e o th e r e n d o f th e sp ectru m , th ere a re elem en ts w h ich a re freq u en tly
called s e n t e n c e a d v e r b i a l s , because they te n d to q u alify , by th e ir m ean in g ,
a w h o le se n ten ce o r c lau se, ra th e r th a n ju s t p a r t o f a clause (su ch a s a verb ,
o r a v e rb a n d o b je c t):
T o m y regret, h e refu sed the offer o f help. [8]

H e w as, however, v e ry in te rested in m y o th e r p ro p o sals. [9]
I n C h a p te r 8, th ese a d v erb ials a re su b d iv id ed in to d i s j u n c t s (th o se w h ich ,

lik e to m y regret in [8], c o m m e n t o n the fo rm o r c o n te n t o f th e clause) an d
c o n j u n c t s (those w h ic h , lik e however in [9], h a v e a c o n n ectiv e function).
S u c h se n ten c e a d v e rb ia ls a re d istin g u ish ed from a d j u n c t s a n d s u b j u n c t s ,
a d v e rb ia ls w h ich a re m o re closely in teg rated w ith th e re st o f th e clause, an d
w h ic h in clu d e such fa m ilia r categories as ad v erb ials o f m a n n e r, p lace, tim e,
a n d d eg ree (c /8 .3 9 , 8.51, 8.79, 8.104).
C h a ra c te ris tic o f d isju n c ts an d conjuncts a re such m ark e rs o f p e rip h e rality
as s e p a ra tio n fro m th e re s t o f th e clause b y in to n a tio n b o u n d a rie s in speech
( c f A p p II. 1 1 /0 o r b y c o m m a s in w ritin g ( c f A p p I I I . 17/). T h e d istin ctio n s
b e tw ee n th ese fo u r m a jo r ty p es o f a d v erb ial are sig n ifican t en o u g h to deserve
c a re fu l an aly sis in a la te r c h a p te r (8.2 4 /0 , a n d yet it m u st be c o n clu d ed th a t
th e re is n o clear d iv isio n b etw een th e m o re c en tral a n d m o re p e rip h e ral
a d v e rb ia ls. H e re w e a n tic ip a te a p ro b lem w h ich w ill b e c o n fro n te d a t th e
e n d o f th is c h a p te r (2 .6 0 ): th a t o f th e p a rtial i n d e t e r m i n a c y o f g ra m m atica l
categ o ries.
S e n te n c e [4aJ is g ra m m a tic a l i f been is in terp rete d as a n au x ilia ry verb follow ed by ellipsis o f th e

m a in v e rb , as in (c /1 2 .6 2 ):
A : Y ou should h a v e b ee n w aitin g h ere w hen th e tax i arriv ed .
B : I h a v e been (w aitin g ) all th e tim e since lunch.
Clause structure 53
Clause types
2.16 B y e lim in a tin g optional a d v e rb ia ls fro m th e clause stru c tu re s illu stra te d in
2.13, we a rriv e a t a classificatio n o f th e essential core o f e a c h c la u se s tru c tu re .
O f th e o b lig ato ry elem en ts, th e m a in v erb is the one th a t w h o lly o r larg e ly
d e te rm in e s w h a t fo rm th e re s t o f th e stru ctu re will take, F r o m e x a m p le s
[ 1 - 7 ] th e follow ing seven c l a u s e t y p e s em e rg e :
Table 2 .1 6 C la u s e ty p e s
S (u b jec t) V (e rb ) 0 (b je c t(s )) C (o m p Ie m e n t) A (d v e rb ia l)
Type S V Som eone w a s la u g h in g [la ]
T ype SVO M y m o th e r enjo y s p a rtie s [2 a]
Type SVC The becam e to tally

c o u n try in d e p e n d e n t [3 a]
Type SVA I have been in th e

g a rd e n [4 a]
Typ eS V O O M a ry gave th e v isito r
a glass
o f m ilk [5 a]
Typ eS V O C M o st c o n s id e r th e se r a th e r
p e o p le books ex p en siv e [6 a]
Typ eS V O A Y ou m ust p u t a ll th e u p s ta irs

to y s [7 a]
T h is s e t o f p a tte rn s is th e m o s t g e n e ra l classification th a t c a n b e usefully

a p p lie d to th e w h o le ra n g e o f E n g lish clauses w h eth er m ain o r s u b o rd in a te .
E a c h clause ty p e is a sso ciated w ith a set o f verbs, as w ill be s h o w n in d e ta il
in 1 6 .1 8 -6 6 .
T h e seven fall n a tu ra lly in to th re e m a in types. T h ere a r e :
a tw o -elem en t p a tte rn : SV
th re e th ree-elem en t p a tte rn s sv +
th re e fo u r-elem en t p a tte rn s : SVO +
C u ttin g acro ss th is th reefo ld c lassificatio n a re th ree m ain v erb classes:
i n t r a n s i t i v e VERBS {eg : laugh in [la ]), a re follow ed by n o o b lig a to ry e le m e n t,

a n d o ccu r in ty p e S K
t r a n s i t i v e v e r b s (eg: enjoy in [2a], give in [5a], consider in [6a], p u t in [7a])
a re follow ed b y a n O BJECT ( c /2 . 1 7), a n d o ccu r in types S VO, S V O O , S V O C,
a n d S V O A respectively.
54 A surve y o f English gram m ar
c o p u l F r v e r | s (eg: become in [3a], be in [4a]) a re follow ed by a s u | j e c t

c o m p l e m e n t ( c f 2.17) o r an F d v e r | i F l , a n d o ccu r in types S V C a n d S V A .
I n a g e n e ra l sense, th e term t r F n s i t i v e is o fte n ap p lie d to all v e rb s w h ich

re q u ir e a n o b ject, inclu d in g th o se o f clau se ty p es S V O O , S V O C , a n d S V O A .
I t is, h o w ev er, co n v en ien t to m ak e a fu rth e r classification o f th e v erb s in
th e s e p a tte rn s :
p m o n o t r F n s it iv e v e r | s o c c u r in ty p e S V O
t r F n s it iv e v e r | s -* - d it r F n s it iv e v e r | s o c c u r in ty p e S V O O
- c o m pl e x t r F n s it iv e v e r | s o c c u r i n ty p e s S V O C
an d S V O A .
T h e te r m ‘v e rb ’ p rim a rily refers n o t to th e w hole V e lem en t, b u t to th e m ain

v e r b ( c f 2.29) o f th e v e rb p h ra s e : in [7a], fo r e x am p le, it is the m a in v e rb p u t
( o r m o r e strictly , the lexical ite m p u t ; c f 2 .3 5 -3 6 ) w h ich d e te rm in e s th a t a n
o b je c t a n d a n a d v e rb ia l m u st follow th e v e rb e lem en t.
N o te T h e te r m c o p u l a refers to th e v erb b e , a n d c o p u l a r v e rb s a re th o se verbs (in c lu d in g b e an d

becom e) w h ic h a re fu n ctio n ally eq u iv alen t to th e co p u la ( c f 1 6 .2 1 # ') . T hey a re v ariously called
‘c o p u la tiv e ’, ‘e q u a tiv e ’, ‘in te n siv e ’, o r ‘lin k in g ’ verb s.
O b je c ts and com plem ents

2.17 B e fo re c o n sid erin g th e verb fu rth er, h o w ev er, it is im p o rta n t to n o tice
d iffe re n c e s b etw een th e various elem en ts w h ic h h a v e b e en lab elled ‘o b je c t’
a n d ‘c o m p le m e n t’. T h e follow ing d istin c tio n s w ill b e m a d e :
r d ir e c t o | je c t (O d)
o | j e c t -
-in d ir e c t o | je c t (O j)
s u | je c t c o m pl e m e n t (C s)
c o m p l e m e n t -
o | je c t c o m pl e m e n t (C„)
A n o b je c t su ch a s p arties in [2a] (M y m other enjoys parties) c le arly h a s a

d iffe re n t s e m a n tic role in th e clause fro m a n o b jec t su ch as the visitor in [5a]
(M a r y g a v e the visitor a glass o f m ilk), a n d th is h a s been tra d itio n a lly
re c o g n iz e d by ap p ly in g th e te rm d i r e c t o | j e c t to th e fo rm er, a n d i n d i r e c t
o | je c t to th e la tte r. L eav in g th e se m an tic d is tin c tio n u n til 10.7, 1 0 .1 8 /r, we
g iv e p r io r ity h e re to th e d istrib u tio n al fa c t th a t w h en ev er th e re a re tw o
o b je c ts (in ty p e S V O O ), th e fo rm er is n o rm ally th e in d ire c t o b ject, a n d th e
la tte r th e d ire c t o b ject. B u t alth o u g h it is m o re c e n tra l w ith re g ard to p o sitio n
( c /2 .1 3 ) , in o th e r resp ects the in d ire ct o b ject is m o re p e rip h e ra l th a n th e
d ir e c t o b je c t: it is m o re likely to b e o p tio n a l, a n d m ay g en erally be
p a r a p h r a s e d by a p rep o sitio n al p h ra se fu n c tio n in g as a d v erb ial (c/2 .2 3 ).
S im ila rly , we m u st d istin g u ish b etw een th e ty p e o f co m p le m e n t fo u n d in
th e S V C p a tte rn ; ie: totally independent in :
T h e c o u n try b ecam e to tally in d e p e n d e n t. [3a]
a n d th e ty p e o f co m p le m e n t fo u n d in th e S V O C p a tte rn ; ie: rather expensive

in :
Clause structure 55
M ost p eo p le c o n s id e r these books ra th e r expensive. [6a]
T h e d istin c tio n is effectively m ad e by n o tin g th a t in [3a] th e c o u n try is

understo o d to h a v e b e co m e a totally independent country, w h ile in [6a] th e
b ooks are u n d e rsto o d to b e co n sid ered rather expensive books. In o th e r w o rd s,
in S V C c lau ses th e c o m p le m e n t applies som e a ttrib u te o r d efin itio n to th e
subject, w h ereas in S V O C clauses it applies a n a ttrib u te o r d efin itio n to th e
object. T h is d is tin c tio n is usually d en o ted by th e term s s u b j e c t c o m p l e m e n t
an d o b j e c t c o m p l e m e n t respectively. In th ese cases, th e co m p lem en t is a n
adjective p h ra se, b u t elsew h ere, w here the co m p le m e n t is a n o u n p h rase, th e
sam e k in d o f d is tin c tio n h o ld s:
T y p e S ’F C : T h e c o u n try b ecam e a separate nation.

T y p e S V O C : M o s t p eo p le considered P icasso a genius.
In th e S V C se n ten c e, a separate nation is u n d ersto o d to be a d efin itio n o f th e

subject, the country, w h ile in th e S V O C sentence, a genius is u n d ersto o d to be
a d efin itio n o f th e o b ject, Picasso.
N o te [a] I n place o f ‘s u b je c t c o m p le m e n t’, th e te rm ‘p red icativ e n o u n ’ o r ‘pred ic a tiv e ad je c tiv e ’ is

som etim es used. O th e r a lte rn a tiv e s a re ‘pred icativ e n o m in a l’ a n d ‘p red icativ e ad jectiv al’, th e
choice betw een ‘n o m in a l’ a n d ‘a d je c tiv a l’ b ein g d eterm in ed b y w h e th e r th is elem en t is a n o u n
ph rase o r an a d jectiv e p h ra s e .
fb] A lso, som e w rite rs m a k e use o f a very b ro ad sense o f ‘c o m p le m e n t’, su b su m in g co m p lem en ts,
objects, a n d o b lig ato ry a d v e rb ia ls in th e p resen t gram m ar.
O bligatory adverbials
2.18 T h ere is a p a ra lle l b e tw e e n co m p lem en ts a n d o b lig ato ry a d v erb ials ( c /2 .15).
O bligatory a d v e rb ia ls a re largely restricted to w h a t in a b ro a d sense w e m ay
term s p a c e a d j u n c t s (c/ 8 . 3 , 8 . 39/ 0 . Ju s t as co m p le m e n ts c a n b e d iv id e d in to
subject co m p le m e n ts a n d o b ject co m p lem en ts, so c a n o b lig ato ry sp ace
ad ju n cts be d iv id e d in to th o se occu rrin g in th e S V A p a tte rn , in w h ic h a
lo catio n is a ttrib u te d to th e referen t o f the subject, a n d th o se o ccu rrin g in th e
S V O A p a tte rn , in w h ic h a lo catio n is a ttrib u te d to th e re fe re n t o f th e object.
T h e parallel m a y b e b ro u g h t o u t as follow s:
[ 1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
T h e sym bols A s a n d A 0 h e re in d icate a subject-related a d ju n c t a n d a n object-
related a d ju n c t re sp ec tiv e ly . T h e parallel b etw een th e tw o sets o f clause ty p es
is also ev id e n t in th e v e rb classes, a n d we ack n o w led g e th is b y callin g th e
verb in b o th [1] a n d [2] C O PU L A R (since it is e q u iv a le n t in fu n c tio n to th e
copula b e ) a n d c allin g th e v e rb in b o th [3] a n d [4] c o m p l e x t r a n s i t i v e ( c f
2.16).
Space ad ju n c ts o c c u rrin g in th e S V A an d S V O A p a tte rn s in clu d e n o t only
th o se in d ic a tin g p o sitio n , su c h as in bed o r a t the office, b u t also th o se
in d ic a tin g d ire c tio n , s u c h a s down in S h e p u t the glass dow n (c /1 0 .1 0 , 16.24).
By ex ten sio n , th e y m a y also in clu d e a d v erb ials w h ic h specify ‘tem p o ral
lo catio n ’, as in :
56 A surve y o f English gram m ar
T h e n e x t m ee tin g w ill b e on the 5th February.
a n d b y a m o re a b stra c t a n d m etap h o rical in te rp reta tio n o f ‘sp a c e ’ ( c f 9.32):
T h e road [S] is [V] under construction [A J.

W e [S] k e p t [V] h im [O] o f f cigarettes [A0],
B u t t h e r e a re still som e o b lig a to ry a dverbials to w h ich a lo catio n al m eta p h o r

c a n n o t b e ap p lied . E x am p les are the m an n e r ad ju n c t k in d ly in [5], an d the
p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se w ithout a jo b in [6]:
T h e y [S] tre a te d [V] h e r [O] k in d ly [A]. [5]

H e [S] is [V] w ithout a jo b [A], [6]
A t th e sa m e tim e, th e close re latio n sh ip o f the p re p o sitio n al p h ra se in [6] to a

su b je ct c o m p lem en t is e v id e n t in its sem an tic e q u iv alen ce to th e ad jectiv e
unem ployed.
N ote As th e above exam ples suggest, th e distinction between com plem ent and adverbial is by no
means clear-cut, and there are strong argum ents for classifying prepositional phrases such as
without a job in [6] as complem ents. F or further discussion, c f 10.11. A nother difficulty, in
determ ining the function in a clause o f some prepositional phrases, is th a t w hich arises over the
status o f prepositional verbs such as consist o f( c f 16.5/?).
Clause elements subclassified
2.19 Table 2.19 Verb classes in relation to clause types
T ypeSF S V ( in tra n s itiv e )

P ric e s ro se [ 1]
Type S V O S V (m o n o tra n sitrv e) od

E liz a b e th en jo y s c la ssic al m u sic [2]
Type S V C S V (c o p u la r) c,
Y o u r face see m s f a m ilia r [3]
Type S V A S V (c o p u la r) As
My. s is te r liv e s next door [4]
Type SV O O S V (d itra n sitiv e ) Oj od

W e all w ish you a happy
b irth d a y [5]
Type S V O C s : V (co m p le x tra n s itiv e ) od C0

T h e p re s id e n t d e c la re d th e m e e tin g open [6]
Type SV O A S V (co m p le x tra n s itiv e ) od A0

T h e d o o rm a n sh o w e d th e g u e sts in to th e
d ra w in g
ro o m [7]
A„ object-related adverbial C0 object complement Od direct object

As subject-related adverbial Cs subject complement 0 , indirect object
W e have n o w fo u n d it n e ce ssa ry n o t o nly to d istin g u ish fu n c tio n a l categories

such as subject, v erb , a n d o b jec t in th e stru ctu re o f th e clau se, b u t also to
Clause structure 57
sub classify th ese in to m o re specific categories, su ch as tran sitiv e v erb , d ir e c t

o b ject, a n d su b ject co m p lem en t. S u ch subclassification is ty p ical o f b o th
fo rm al a n d fu n ctio n al d istin c tio n s in g ra m m ar. O nly th ro u g h th ese fin e r
d istin c tio n s can a n a d e q u a te acc o u n t b e g iv en o f w h at c o m b in a tio n s o f
c o n stitu e n ts e n te r in to th e stru c tu re o f th e E n g lish clause. T o clarify th e
term in o lo g y an d its u se, let us re tu rn to th e seven clause types in Table 2 .1 6 ,
a n d sp ecify th e stru c tu re s m o re precisely (a g ain o m ittin g o p tio n al a d v e rb ia ls)
b y m ea n s o f su b categ o ries o f V , O , C , a n d A , in Table 2.19 o p p o site. T h e
a b b re v ia tio n s used a re th o se w h ich will be c u rre n t th ro u g h o u t th is b o o k (n e w
ex am p les a re a d d e d fo r fu rth e r illu stratio n ). F u rth e r v a ria tio n s o n th e s e
clau se ty p es, in clu d in g som e ex cep tio n al p a tte rn s , are discussed in 16.1 i f f .
Syste m a tic correspondences

2.20 T h e stu d y o f g ra m m atica l stru c tu re is a id e d by ob serv in g s y s te m a tic
c o r r e s p o n d e n c e s betw een o n e stru ctu re a n d an o th er. Such co rre sp o n d e n c es
a re so m etim es d e sc rib e d in term s o f tran sfo rm a tio n a l rules, b u t w e sh all n o t
m a k e use o f su ch th eo re tic al fo rm u latio n s in th is book. In ste ad , w e sh all u se
d e m o n s tra b le co rresp o n d en ces as a n in fo rm al w ay o f show ing s im ila ritie s
a n d c o n tra sts b etw een stru ctu res. T h ey a re im p o rta n t in ex p la in in g th e
re la tio n b etw een g ra m m a tic a l ch o ice a n d m ean in g , an d also in p ro v id in g
c rite ria fo r classification.
A sy ste m atic c o rre sp o n d en ce m ay b e b ro ad ly defined as a re la tio n o r
m a p p in g b etw een tw o stru ctu res X an d Y , such th a t if th e sam e lex ic al
c o n te n t o ccu rs in X a n d in Y , th ere is a c o n sta n t m ean in g re la tio n b e tw e e n
th e tw o stru ctu res. (In u sin g th e te rm ‘lex ical c o n te n t’, we allow fo r th e
p o ssib ility th a t X a n d Y m ay co n ta in differen t, th o u g h related , lexical ite m s,
su c h as wise a n d wisely.) T h is re la tio n is o fte n one o f sem an tic e q u iv a le n c e ,
o r p a ra p h ra s e . In 2 .2 1 -2 4 , w e give th ree im p o rta n t exam ples o f sy ste m atic
co rre sp o n d e n c e, a n d show how th e y help in th e id en tificatio n o f c lau se
elem en ts. F u rth e r ty p es o f co rresp o n d en ce w ill b e ex am in ed in 2 . 4 5 /
T h e sym bol ~ is used in th is b o o k to re p re se n t such co rresp o n d en ces.
L a c k o f sy stem atic c o rresp o n d en ce is sym bolized by .
W e ta k e th e seven b asic clause ty p es o f [1 - 7 ] a s th e p o in t o f d e p a rtu re fo r
o u r d e sc rip tio n , b u t d o n o t reg ard c o rresp o n d en ces as u n id irectio n al.
Active an d passive stru ctu res

2.21 C lau ses c o n ta in in g a n o u n p h rase as o b ject a re d istin g u ish ed by th e fa c t t h a t
th e y a re u su ally m a tc h e d b y p assive clauses, in w h ich th e o b ject n o u n p h ra se
n o w a p p e a rs as su b je ct (V pass = p assiv e v e rb p h rase), c f Table 2.21 o n th e
n e x t p ag e. A s ty p e S V O O clauses h a v e tw o o b jects, they c an o ften h a v e tw o
p a ssiv e fo rm s - o n e in w h ich th e in d ire ct o b ject becom es th e su b ject, a n d
a n o th e r in w h ic h th e d ire c t o b ject b ecom es subject. F u rth e r d iscu ssio n o f th e
a c tiv e -p a s s iv e re la tio n s h ip is fo u n d in 3 . 6 3 /
A s th e fo rm u lae show , th is c o rresp o n d en ce p e rm its us to co n v ert clau ses
o f ty p es w ith a n o b jec t in to e q u iv a len t types w ith o u t o bjects (or, in th e c a s e
o f S V O O , w ith only o n e object). T h u s th e p assiv e o f They considered him a
genius [SV O C ] is closely p arallel in m ea n in g to th e S V C p a tte rn , e x cep t fo r
th e p assiv e v e rb p h ra se :
H e w as c o n sid e re d a genius. [S V pass C J

c f H e se e m e d a genius. [S V C sj
In a ll p assiv e c lau se types, th e a g en t iy -p h ra s e ( c f 3.65#, 9.50), w h ich

in c o rp o ra te s a n o u n p h ra se eq u iv alen t to th e su b ject o f th e c o rresp o n d in g
a c tiv e clause, h a s th e stru ctu ral status o f a n o p tio n a l a d v erb ial (it is m ark e d
(A ) in Table 2 .2 1 ). E v en w hen th e ag en t 6 y -p h rase is ab se n t, how ever, th ere
is a n im p lic a tio n o f its presence a t th e level o f m ean in g . I n th is sense, th e
a g e n t b y -p h rase a c ts as co m p lem en tatio n (c /2 .3 2 ) o f th e p assiv e verb. T h u s
H e w as considered a genius carries th e im p lica tio n ‘. . . by som eone o r o th e r’.
T a b le 2.21 R e la tio n s b e tw e e n a ctiv e a n d p a ss iv e c la u se ty p es
T ype SVO
s v o d~ A n u m b e r o f p e o p le saw t h e a c c id e n t
SVpass(A) ~ T h e a cc id e n t w a s s ee n (b y a n u m b e r o f p eo p le )
T y p e SVO O
SVOiO d ~ M y f a th e r g a v e m e t h is w a tc h
( SVpassOd(A) / (1) ~ I w as g iv en th is w a tc h (b y m y f a th e r)
f S VpassOi(A) \ (2) ~ T h is w a tc h w as g iv e n (to ) m e (b y m y fa th e r)
Type SVO C
SV O dCc ~ . Q u e e n V ic to ria c o n sid e re d h im a g e n iu s

S VpassCs(A), ~ H e w as c o n sid e re d a g e n iu s (b y Q u e e n V ic to ria )
T ype SVO A
SV O dA „~ A n in tr u d e r m u s t h a v e p la c e d t h e la d d e r th e re
SVpassAs(A) ~ T h e la d d e r m u s t h a v e b e e n p la c e d th e r e (b y a n in tru d e r)
N o te [a] T h e re a re so m e e x c e p tio n s (eg-the v erbs have, cost, resemble', c f 10.14, 16.27) to th e p assiv e
e q u iv alen c e w ith ty p e S V O ; eg:
J o h n h a d th e b o o k ~ * T h e book w as had by J o h n .
[b] T h e second p a ssiv e co rresp o n d in g to ty pe S V O O in Table 2.21 ab o v e is u n id io m a tic in A m E .
M ore a c c e p ta b le , in b o th A m E a n d B rE , is th e related S VO A ~ S V A passiv e w ith a p rep o sitio n al
p h ra se ( c f 2 .23); eg ;
S o m e R ow ers h a d b een b ro u g h t him .
is less n a tu ra l th a n :
S om e flow ers h a d b een b ro u g h t fo r him.
W ith so m e v erb s th e fo rm e r ty p e seem s q u ite u n ac ce p ta b le (c/’16.5 5//):
*Som e fish h a d b e e n ca u g h t/b o u g h t/co o k ed us.
C o p u lar and co m p lex transitive stru ctu res

2.22 A n o th e r c o rre sp o n d e n c e o ften o b tain s b etw een a n S V O C clause a n d a clause
w ith a n in fin itiv e o r th a t- clause ( c f 16.50/):
T ., , , , .,, f I co n sid ered her to b e beautiful.

I c o n sid ere d her beautiful. ~ ( . .. .
[ I co n sid ered th a t she w as beautiful.
Clause structure 59
T h is co rresp o n d en ce in d ic a te s th a t th e O a n d C o f an S V O C clau se a re in th e
sam e re la tio n to o n e a n o th e r a s th e S a n d C o f an S V C clau se: Sh e w as
beautiful ( c / 16.43#). T h is re la tio n is expressed, w h erev er it is m a d e e x p lic it
a t all, b y a co p u la r v e rb , a n d w e m ay th erefo re call it, for fu rth er re fe re n ce , a
c o p u l a r re la tio n sh ip . C o p u la r relatio n sh ip s a re im p o rta n t in o th e r asp e cts
o f g ra m m a r a p a r t fro m cla u se stru ctu re. T h ey co rresp o n d , for e x am p le, to
re latio n s o f a p p o sitio n ( c f 1 7 .6 5 # ) an d m an y relatio n s o f m o d ificatio n ( c f
2 .3 1 -3 3 ).
F u rth e r, w e m ay e x te n d th e c o n ce p t o f ‘co p u lar re la tio n sh ip ’ to th e re la tio n
b etw een su b ject a n d a d v e rb ia l in S V A clauses a n d th e re la tio n b e tw ee n
o b ject a n d ad v erb ial in S V O A clau ses ( c /1 0 .1 0 ,16.24,16.48).
In d irect objects and p rep o sitio n al phrases

2.23 T h e re is a fu rth e r c o rre sp o n d e n c e by w hich S V O O clauses c an b e c o n v e rte d
in to S V O A clauses b y th e s u b s titu tio n o f a p rep o sitio n al p h ra se follow ing th e
d ire c t o b ject fo r th e in d ire c t o b je c t p reced in g i t :
She se n t Jim a c a rd ~ S h e se n t a c ard to Jim .

S h e left J im a c a rd ~ S h e le ft a c ard f o r Jim .
To a n d fo r, in d ic a tin g a re c ip ie n t (c/9 .4 6 ), a re th e p re p o sitio n s chiefly used,

b u t o th ers, such as with a n d o f, a re o ccasionally found (</16.57).
N o te [a] T h e re a re how ever, so m e r e c ip ie n t to - and_/br-phrases w hich c a n n o t b e m a d e in to in d ire c t

o b je c ts : H e suggested the idea to B ill ; S h e described her hom e to u s ; etc. A b o rd erlin e ca se is I H e
explained m e his p lan, w h ic h is ac c e p ta b le to som e speakers, b u t n o t to others.
[b] W e la te r (16.56#) co n sid e r a n a lte rn a tiv e analysis in w h ich th e to-phrases an d th e /b r-p h ra s e s
illu strated ab o v e a re d e scrib ed a s prepositional objects, a n d a re reg ard e d a s g ram m atically
e q u iv a le n t to in d irect objects.
Th e characterization o f clause elements

2.24 F o r a fuller a p p re c ia tio n o f th e clau se p a tte rn s o u tlin ed in 2.16, w e n e ed to
know , o f course, o n w h a t g ro u n d s the elem ents su b ject, v e rb , o b ject,
co m p lem en t, a n d a d v e rb ia l a re identified. T h e id en tificatio n o f th e v e rb
elem en t in g en eral p re se n ts n o p ro b lem , as th is elem en t c a n b e realized o n ly
by a v erb p h ra se ( c f 2.27). F o r th e o th er elem ents, it is n ecessary to u se a
variety o f c riteria . A lth o u g h c lau se elem ents a re fu n ctio n al categ o ries ( c f
2.12), th e ir d efin itio n s a re b a se d o n fo rm al as well as o n fu n c tio n al c riteria .
T h u s it is a n im p o rta n t p a r t o f th e d efin itio n o f b o th su b jects a n d o b jects th a t
th ey n o rm ally co n sist o f n o u n p h r a s e s ; it is a n im p o rta n t p a r t o f th e d efin itio n
o f c o m p lem en ts th a t th ey a r e n o rm ally n o u n p h rases o r a d jectiv e p h ra se s ;
a n d it is an im p o rta n t p a r t o f th e d efin itio n o f a d v erb ials th a t th ey m a y b e
a d v e rb p h rases, p re p o sitio n a l p h ra ses, o r n o u n ph rases. I t is u n n e cessary to
go in to th ese d efin itio n s a n y fu rth e r in th is c h ap ter, as th ey a re e la b o ra te d
sy stem atically in 10.5#.
60 A s u rv e y o f English gram m ar
Phrases
Phrases as clause elements

2.25 T h e c o n stitu e n ts w h ich fu n c tio n as elem en ts o f clause stru c tu re are e ith e r
p h r a s e s o r su b o rd in a te clauses (c /2 .9 ), an d o u r n e x t stage is to o u tlin e briefly
h o w th e p h rases, in th e ir tu rn , a re c o n stitu ted . T h e five fo rm al categ o ries o f
p h r a s e w e have m en tio n ed in 2.24 a re v erb p h rases, noun p h ra ses, ad jectiv e
p h ra s e s , a d v erb p h ra ses, an d p re p o sitio n al p h rases. In the follow ing d iag ram ,
th e u p w a rd -p o in tin g arro w s show how th ese p h ra se ty p es (w h en n o t
. e m b e d d e d in o th e r stru ctu res) c a n fu n ctio n a s clause e lem en ts:
Fig 2.25 Phrases as clause elements
T h e b ro k e n arro w s o n th e rig h t in d ic a te t h a t ad v erb p h rases a n d p re p o sitio n a l

p h ra s e s c a n exceptionally fu n c tio n as su b jects (c/9 .1 N o te [a] a n d 10.15), a n d
th a t p re p o sitio n a l p h ra ses can ex cep tio n ally fu n ctio n as co m p le m e n ts (c f
10 . 11) .
N o te [a] F igure 2.25 n atu rally o m its referen ce to em b ed d ed p h rases (c/2 .8 ), eg to p rep o sitio n a l p h rases
f u n c tio n in g a s co n stitu en ts o f n o u n phrases.
Ibl P h r a s e s su ch as th e poor a n d th e yo u n g a re o nly a p p a re n t ex ceptions to F ig 2 .25: w e shall
a rg u e ( c / 7 .2 3 / ) , th a t a lth o u g h th e y hav e an ad jectiv e a s th e ir m a in w ord (o r hea d ), such p h rases
a re n o u n phrases.
[c] O n ly a lim ited ran g e o f ad v e rb ials ca n be realized as n o u n ph rases (c / 8 .3 9 ,8.52).
\
General structural characteristics of phrases

2.26 E a c h p h ra se is n a m e d a fte r a class o f w o rd w h ich h as a p rim a ry , a n d in d eed
o b lig a to ry fu n ctio n w ith in it. T h is fu n ctio n , how ever, v a ries in d ifferen t
ty p es o f phrases,! a n d w e m ay usefully in v estig ate it in term s o f th e d istin c tio n
b e tw e e n o p tio n al a n d o b lig ato ry elem en ts. O n e k in d o f c o n stru c tio n is
illu stra te d by p re p o sitio n a l p h ra ses, w h ic h c o n ta in tw o n o rm ally o b lig ato ry
e le m e n ts : th e p re p o sitio n a n d th e p re p o sitio n a l co m p lem en t (c/9 .1 ). A n o th e r
k in d o f c o n stru ctio n is illu stra te d by ad jectiv e p h rases, w h ic h h a v e o n e
o b lig a to ry elem ent (an a d jectiv e), o p tio n ally p reced ed o r follow ed by o th e r
e lem en ts. These tw o c o n stru ctio n s w ill b e called n o n h e a d e d a n d h e a d e d
resp ec tiv e ly :
n o n h e F d e d : Prepositional Phrase h e F d e d : Adjective Phrase
toA London •
(very) " important
■ ■ I " " (indeed)
'.
Fig 2.26
Phrases 61
T h u s in th e se n ten c e I went to London, n eith er to n o r London could be o m itte d :

*1 went to, *1 w ent London. B ut in the sen ten ce T his is very important indeed,
the m odifiers very a n d indeed can be o m itted : T his is im portant; w h ile
im portant is o b lig a to ry : *This is very indeed. T h e o b lig ato ry elem en t o f a
h ead ed c o n stru c tio n is called its h e a d ; it m ay fu n c tio n in a m a n n e r e q u iv a len t
to th e w hole c o n stru c tio n o f w h ich it is a p a rt. A d v e rb p h rases resem b le
adjective p h ra ses in th a t they have a head (an a d v e rb ) to w h ich o p tio n a l
elem en ts m ay b e a d d e d ; eg: ( rather ) slowly. B u t th e tw o m ost im p o rta n t
categories o f p h ra s e , v erb p h rases an d no u n p h ra ses, d o n o t en tirely fit in to
eith e r c a te g o ry : fo r th em , th e h e ad ed /n o n h ead ed d istin c tio n is in ad eq u ate.
N o te ■ T e ch n ica l te rm s fo r h e a d e d a n d n o n h ea d ed are 'e n d o c e n tric ' a n d ‘e x o c e n tric t
Verb phrases and noun phrases

2.27 T h e v erb p h ra se a n d th e n o u n p h ra se c an be c o n sid ere d the m o st im p o rta n t
p h ra sal c ateg o rie s fo r fu n ctio n al reasons. W e n o te fro m F ig 2.25 th a t th e
verb p h rase o p e ra te s a s th e V e lem en t in a clause, ie a s th e m o st ‘c en tral’ a n d
in d isp en sab le p a r t o f th e clause ( c f 2.13). T h e n o u n p h ra s e is im p o rta n t m o re
because o f its m u ltip lic ity o f fu n c tio n : Fig 2.25 sh o w s t h a t a n o u n p h rase c a n
fu n ctio n as an y o f th e clau se co n stitu en ts ex cep t V. A d e clara tiv e sen ten ce,
in d eed , n o rm ally c o n ta in s a v erb p h rase a n d a t le a st o n e n o u n phrase.
V erb p h ra se s a re h e ad e d to th e ex ten t th a t th ey a re co m p o sed o f tw o k in d s
o f elem en t, a u x ilia rie s an d m a in verbs, su ch th a t ev ery u n red u ced v e rb
p h rase ( c f 2.51) c o n ta in s a m a in verb, b u t n o t n ecessarily a n au x iliary .
H ow ever, a n o n fin ite (3 .5 3 ff) m a in verb c an n o t n o rm ally sta n d o n its o w n in
in d ep e n d en t cla u se s; th e au x iliaries can, have, a n d been m ay n o t, th erefo re,
be o m itted i n :
Ja c k can p la y th e tro m b o n e. O u r te a m has been beaten.
T h e relatio n s b e tw e e n au x iliaries an d m ain v erb s a re m o re com plex th a n c a n

be e x p lain ed by th e sim p le h e ad ed /n o n h ead ed d is tin c tio n ; fu rth e r co n sid er
a tio n o f th is q u e stio n will be g iv en in 3.55.
S im ilar re m a rk s a p p ly to n o u n phrases. A n o u n p h ra se is h ead ed to th e
e x ten t t h a t it h a s a c e n tra l c o n stitu e n t o r h ead , to w h ic h o th e r elem ents c a n
b e o p tio n ally a d d ed . B u t if w e ch an g e the p lu ral n o u n p h ra se in [1] in to a
sin g u lar o n e in [2], th e h e ad c a n no longer sta n d a lo n e :
(som e) (beautiful) (F le m ish ) vases, [1]

T h e ro o m c o n ta in s
{:a (beautiful) (F lem ish) vase. [2]
F o r a large class o f n o u n p h rases, in fact, a d e t e r m i n a t i v e elem en t such as a
in [2] is o b lig ato ry . I n a n o th e r respect, too, n o u n p h ra s e s do n o t b eh av e lik e
h ead ed c o n stru c tio n s: m em b e rs o f one class o f w o rd s, th a t o f p e rso n al
pro n o u n s (I, him , her, etc), alth o u g h they a ct as h e a d s o f n o u n p h rases (in th e
sense th a t / c a n f u n c tio n alo n e as subject, him as o b jec t, etc), c a n n o t n orm ally
h av e o p tio n a l e le m en ts, such as articles an d a d je ctiv es, a d d ed to them . T h u s
in som e n o u n p h ra se s th e h e ad m u st be a c c o m p a n ie d , a n d in o th er n o u n
p h rases it c a n n o t (n o rm ally ) be acco m p an ied , b y a n o th e r elem ent. S u ch
o b serv atio n s m a k e it c le ar th a t ph rases, like clauses, c a n n o t be d escrib ed b y
a single s tru c tu ra l fo rm u la, a n d th a t various su b classificatio n s have to b e
m ad e o f p h ra se s a n d o f th e e lem en ts they co n tain .
S u m m a ry o f phrase structures
2.28 I n s p ite o f th e in e v ita b le o v ersim p lificatio n , w e give now a b rie f tab u la r
s u m m a ry o f th e m a in e lem en ts o f each p h ra se class. R a th e r th a n label all
e le m e n ts w ith fu n c tio n a l labels (as we d id w ith S, V, O , C , a n d A ), w e shall
m e re ly illu stra te c e rta in g e n era l types o f sy n tactic fu n ctio n w ith in phrases.
T h e s e ty p es w ill re ce iv e fu rth e r c o m m en t in 2 .2 9 -3 3 .
v e r | p h r F s e s ( c / 3 .5 2 # ) co n sist o f a m ain v e rb w h ich e ith e r s ta n d s alone as
th e e n tir e v e rb p h ra se , o r is p reced ed by u p to fo u r v erb s in a n auxiliary

f u n c tio n :
T a b le 2 .2 8 a V e r b p h r a s e
a u x ilia ry /a u x ilia rie s m a in v e rb
sank
w as sin k in g
T h e s h ip ■ has b een su n k
m ust have b e en sin k in g
m ay h ave been b e in g sunk < r a r e ; c /N o te >
n o u n p h r a s e s , ( c / S.\ff, \ 1 . \ f f ) c o n s i s t o f a h e a d , w h i c h is t y p i c a l l y a n o u n ,
a n d o f e le m e n ts w h ic h ( e ith e r o b lig a to rily o r o p tio n a lly ) d e te r m in e th e h e a d
a n d ( o p t i o n a l l y ) m o d i f y t h e h e a d , o r c o m p l e m e n t a n o t h e r e l e m e n t i n th e
p h ra se:
Ta b le 2 .2 8 b N o u n p h r a s e
\
p o s tm o d ific a tio n
p re m o d i
head
a tiv e fic a tio n c o m p le
m e n ta tio n
i h im
1 P e te r
A lic e ’s w e d d in g
th a t g irl w ith th e
r e d h a ir
I rem em b er - a ll th o se fin e w a rm days in th e
c o u n try
la s t y e a r
a b e tte r sto ry th a n t h a t
th e b e st trip th a t I
ev er had
a good trip th a t I
once had
Phrases 63
F d j e c t iv e ph r F s e s (c f 7 .2 0 # ) c o n s i s t o f a n a d je c tiv e a s h e a d , o p t i o n a l l y
p r e c e d e d a n d f o ll o w e d b y m o d i f y i n g e l e m e n t s :
Table 2.28c Adjective phrase
postmodification
premodification head
complementation
pleasant
The too hot to be enjoyable
w eather. ■
was incredibly cold
pleasant enough
S o m etim es a n o b lig ato ry o r o p tio n a l co m p lem en tatio n ( c f 2.32, 16.69) is

ad d ed .
F d v e r | p h r F s e s ( c f l A S f f ) a re sim ila r to adjective p h rases in th e ir stru c tu re ,
e x cep t th a t th ey h a v e a n a d v e rb , in ste a d o f a n adjective, as th e ir h e a d :

Table 2.28d Adverb phrase
postmodification
premodification head
complementation
yesterday
I spoke quite often

to him very severely indeed
as clearly as I could
p r e p o s it io n
F l ph r F s e s (c f 9. I ff) co n sist o f a p rep o sitio n follow ed by a
p re p o sitio n a l c o m p lem en t, w h ic h is n o rm ally a n o u n p h r a s e :
Table 2.28e Prepositional phrase
preposition prepositional complement
for lunch
at the corner of the street
I m et her
on Saturday morning
by a strange coincidence
I t is tru e o f ad jectiv e a n d a d v e rb p h rases, as o f n o u n p h rases, th a t o n e-w o rd

elem en ts te n d to p reced e th e h e a d , w hereas m ulti-w ord e lem en ts ten d to
follow it. B u t th e re are e x c e p tio n s: eg th e a d v erb s indeed a n d enough
p o stm o d ify th e ir h ead .
N o te T h e v e r b p h rase c o n stru c tio n o f m ay have been being su n k is so rare th a t an ex ten d ed ex a m p le is

c a lle d fo r. T h e follow ing dialogue could well o cc u r d u rin g a n interview for a n a p p o in tm e n t:
A : H a s a c a n d id a te nam ed P etersen b een in terv ie w ed yet?
B : H e w a s n ’t in th e w aitin g room tw o m in u tes ago. H e m ay hav e been bein g in terv ie w ed
th en.
F o rm and fu n ctio n in phrase structure

2.29 W e sh a ll find it n ecessary to o b serv e th e d istin c tio n b etw een fo rm an d
f u n c tio n w ith in p h rases, as w ith in clauses. I t is tru e th a t th ere is a stro n g
a s s o c ia tio n b etw een c e rta in w ord classes a n d c e rta in elem ents w ith in th e
p h r a s e . F o r e x am p le, in noun p h rases th e h ead is typically a n o u n , a n d th e
d e te rm in a tiv e fu n c tio n is typically p e rfo rm e d by m em b ers o f a relativ ely
sm a ll class o f w o rd s called, ap p ro p ria te ly en o u g h , d e t e r m i n e r s {the, a, no,
every, etc). O n th e o th e r h an d , th ere is rarely a one-to-one m a tc h b etw een
f o rm a l a n d fu n c tio n a l classifications. T h e h e a d o f a no u n p h ra se m ay b e a
p r o n o u n (as w e h av e seen), o r a n ad je ctiv e: the poor, the unem ployed, etc.
S im ila rly , th e d e te rm in a tiv e fu n ctio n can b e p erfo rm ed n o t o n ly by a
d e te r m in e r , b u t b y a g en itiv e c o n stru ctio n : Jo h n ’s new bicycle, e tc {c f 5.121).
I n s u c h cases, w e n eed to m ak e term in o lo g ical d istin c tio n s b etw een fo rm a n d
f u n c tio n , so th a t w e can say, fo r exam ple, t h a t a n adjective (form al term ) can
fu n c tio n e ith e r a s m odifier o r a s h e ad (fu n ctio n al term s) in a n o u n p h ra se . I t
w ill b e n o ted t h a t a n o u n c an b e a p rem o d ifier a s well a s a h e a d : c o n tra st the
poor c ity w ith the city poor.
I n o th e r cases, how ever, th ere is a one-to -o n e m atc h , an d it w o u ld b e
su p e rflu o u s to in tro d u c e tw o term s fo r w h a t is effectively the sam e categ o ry .
A p rep o sitio n - n e arly alw ays fu n ctio n s as th e ‘p re p o sed ’ e lem en t o f a
p re p o s itio n a l p h ra se , a n d no o th er w o rd class sh ares th is fu n ctio n . I t m ig h t
be e q u a lly c la im e d th a t th ere is no need to d istin g u ish form from f u n c tio n in
th e v e r b p h ra s e : th a t auxiliary v erb a n d m a in v erb will satisfy b o th
re q u ire m e n ts. B u t even here, we shall find good g ro u n d s for d istin g u ish in g
‘a u x ilia ry ’ a n d ‘m a in ’, as fu n ctio n al term s, fro m th e term s w h ic h define
classes o f v erb w o rd . O f th ese, th e re a re th re e : m o d a l v erb s (m ay, will, could,
etc) a lw ay s fu n c tio n as au x iliaries; f u l l v erb s {give, work, try, etc) alw ays
fu n c tio n as m a in v e rb s; a n d p r i m a r y v erb s (th e th ree m o st im p o rta n t v erb s
in th e l a n g u a g e : be, have, a n d do) c an fu n c tio n e ith e r as au x iliaries o r a s m a in
v erb s. ,
T h e r e are th re e o th er term s d e sig n atin g b ro a d fu n ctio n s w h ich m a y be
p e rfo rm e d by v ario u s ty p es o f co n stitu en ts, a n d w e shall now e x p la in th e ir
m e a n in g . T h ey a re d e t e r m i n a t i o n , m o d i f i c a t i o n , an d c o m p l e m e n t a t i o n .
D e te r m in a tio n
2.30 T h is te r m m ay b e used fo r th e fu n ctio n o f w o rd s an d (som etim es) p h ra se s
w h ic h , in g e n era l, d e te rm in e w h a t k in d o f reference a n o u n p h ra se h a s : for
e x am p le, w h e th e r it is definite (like the) o r in d efin ite (like a/an), p a rtitiv e
(like so m e) o r u n iv ersal (like all). S em an tically , all noun p h ra se s a re
d e te rm in e d in so m e w ay o r o th e r; eg all n o u n p h ra ses a re e ith e r d efin ite or
in d efin ite in m ean in g . B u t som e h e ad s a re by th eir very n a tu re self
d e te rm in in g ; p ro p e r n o u n s an d p e rso n al p ro n o u n s, for e x am p le, a re
in h e re n tly d efin ite, an d in th is sense in co rp o ra te th eir o w n d e te rm in e r. In
Phrases 65
such cases, th en , a n o u n p h rase will n ot g en erally co n ta in a se p a ra te w ord

w ith a d e te rm in a tiv e fu n ctio n . W h en th e h e ad is a c o m m o n n o u n , on th e
o th er h an d , d e te rm in a tio n as a sy n tactic fu n ctio n is n o rm al, i f n o t o b lig a to ry :
we can n o t, for in stan c e, o m it the d eterm in ers the an d a in The driver was a
man.
N o te I t will be clear fro m th e a b o v e th a t we tre at th e definite an d indefinite articles as m em b ers o f th e

la rger class o f d e te rm in e rs. T h e re ap p e ars to be an ex cep tio n to th e g en e ra liz atio n th a t co m m o n
nouns are d eterm in ed in th e c a se o f plural an d no ncount n o u n s like wom en a n d water respectively;
but w e shall p refer to say ( c f 5.2) th a t th e a p p a re n t ab sen ce o f a n article signals th e p resence o f
th e ZERO article.
M odification
2.31 M odification, in c o n tra st, is a largely o p tio n al fu n ctio n p erfo rm ed , f o r
in stan ce, by a d je c tiv e s in th e no u n p h rase, a n d b y in ten sify in g ad v erb s in th e
ad v erb p h rase. P re m o d ifie rs preced e the h ead , a n d p o stm o d ifiers follow it;
in n o u n p h rases, p re m o d ifiers follow d e te rm in ativ es. S em an tically , m odifiers
ad d ‘d e sc rip tiv e ’ in fo rm a tio n to th e h ead , o fte n re stric tin g th e referen ce o f
the h ead . T h u s a green table has a m o re specific m ea n in g th a n a table , a n d
very ta ll has a m o re specific m ean in g th a n ta ll ( c f h o w ev er, \ l . i f f fo r th e
d istin ctio n b e tw ee n restric tiv e a n d n o n re stric tiv e m od ificatio n ). In th is
respect, m odifiers in p h ra ses parallel a d v erb ials in th e clause - a sim ilarity
b ro u g h t o u t b y :
H e a rriv ed (u n ex p ected ly ) (in W arsaw ) y esterd ay . [1]

~ his (u n e x p ec te d ) a rriv a l (in W arsaw ) y esterd ay . [2]
In th e clause [1] th e p a ren th esiz e d elem ents a re ad v erb ials, w h ereas in th e

noun p h rase [2] th e p a re n th e s iz e d elem ents a re m o d ifers.
N o te [a] T h e p a rtic u la r co rre sp o n d e n c e betw een [1] a n d [2], w h ereb y a clau se-related m ean in g takes
o n th e g ram m atical fo rm o f a n o u n p hrase, is discussed u n d e r th e h e a d in g o f n o m i n l i z t i o n
F F
( c /n .5 lff) .
|b )T h e parallel b e tw e e n [1] a n d [2] also helps to ex plain a tra d itio n a l c h a ra c te riz a tio n o f ad v erb s
as m odifiers o f v erbs (a tra d itio n ensh rin ed in th e term adverb itself). B u t a s we shall see in
C h a p te r 8, ad v e rb s c a n n o t be reg ard ed in this light.
Com plem entation

2.32 W e reserve th e te rm c o m p l e m e n t a t i o n (as d istin c t from com plement) fo r th e
fu n ctio n o f a p a r t o f a p h ra se o r clause w h ich follow s a w ord, a n d com pletes
the sp ecification o f a m ea n in g relatio n sh ip w h ich th a t w o rd im plies. A s such,
co m p lem en tatio n m ay b e e ith e r o bligatory o r o p tio n a l o n th e sy n tactic level.
C o m p le m en tatio n also o v e rla p s w ith o th er fu n c tio n s, su c h a s a d v erb ials an d
m odifiers.
W e h av e a lre a d y e n c o u n tere d co m p le m e n ta tio n in clau se stru c tu re : th e
clause types listed in Table 2.16 (S V O , S V A , S V O A , e tc ) w ere c h ara cte riz ed
by differences in th e co m p le m e n ta tio n (in term s o f O , C , o r A ) req u ired to
com plete th e m e a n in g o f th e verb. T h u s th e te rm s ‘m o n o tra n sitiv e ’ (as
ap p lied to th e v e rb deceive) o r ‘d itra n sitiv e ’ (as ap p lie d to th e verb allow)
id en tify th e ir c o m p le m e n ta tio n s as O a n d O O resp ectiv ely . In a sim ila r w ay,
certain a d jectiv es re q u ire c o m p lem en tatio n b y a p o stm o d ifie r:
VERB COMPLEMENTATION
H e d e ceiv ed his fa th e r. | u t *H e deceived.
H e allo w ed m e a respite. | u t *H e allow ed m e.
F d j e c t iv e c o m pl e m e n t F t io n
A ll sales a re su b je ct to ta x. | u t *A11 sales a re subject.

M r G o u ld is likely to resign, | u t * M r G o u ld is likely.
T h e v e r b deceive a n d th e ad je ctiv e subject are sim ilar to th e e x te n t th a t th e ir

m e a n in g re q u ire s n o t o n ly a su b je ct (.'X') b u t som e o th e r e le m en t (‘ F ’) : ‘X
d e ce iv e s Y ', ‘X is su b ject to Y \ T h e m ean in g o f a clau se w ill b e in co m p lete
u n less th e ‘ Y ’ is sp ecified . I n o th e r cases, th e c o m p le m e n ta tio n is o p tio n a l:
v e r | c o m pl e m e n t F t io n '. J o a n w as e atin g (her lunch). [1]

F d j e c t iv e c o m pl e m e n t F t i o n : T h e b o a t w as read y (fo r departure). [2]
T h e fu n c tio n o f th e o p tio n a l elem en ts here is still o n e o f co m p le m e n ta tio n

b e ca u se ev en w h e n th e y a re o m itted , it is still im p lied th a t J o a n w as eating
som ething, a n d th a t th e b o a t w as ready fo r something. I n th is co n n ec tio n , we
m ay n o tic e a c o n tra s t e v en b etw een such sem an tically sim ila r ad jectiv es as
glad a n d cheerful, in t h a t th e first im plies th a t th e e m o tio n h a s a specific
source, w h ereas th e seco n d d o es n o t. T h u s g la d will b e ty p ically follow ed by
a c o m p le m e n tin g p h ra se o r clau se (eg: g lad about y o u r p rize, g la d th a t yo u
came), a n d w ill o c cu r w ith o u t su ch c o m p le m e n ta tio n o nly if th e co n te x t
su p p lies th e in fo rm a tio n w h ic h th e clau se fails to specify. O n th e o th e r h a n d ,
cheerful m ay freely o c cu r a s b o th m odifier a n d h ead in a w ay w h ich is n o t
p o ssib le w ith g la d :
W e alw ays fo u n d h im cheerful. BUT ?W e alw ays fo u n d h im glad.

H e w as a cheerful p e rso n . BUT *H e w as a g la d p erso n .
N o te A lth o u g h w e d escrib e th e c o m p le m e n ta tio n in [I] as ‘o p tio n al’, th e re is reaso n to claim th a t her

lunch in J o a n was eating her lunch is n o t o p tio n a l in a strictly sy n tac tic sense o f th e w ord. If, as w e
argue in 10.4, v erb s lik e e a t a re d u ally classified a s b oth tra n sitiv e a n d in tra n sitiv e , th e n th e
o m issio n o f th e o b je c t in v o lv es a c h a n g e in th e classification o f th e v e rb elem en t ( c f A p p 1.54).
M odification an d com plem entation

2.33 A lth o u g h c o m p le m e n tin g ele m en ts m ay b e o p tio n a l, su c h elem en ts differ
sem an tically fro m o th e r o p tio n a l elem en ts (eg m o st m odifiers) in th a t th e
o m issio n o f c o m p le m e n ta tio n , as in The boat was ready (2.32 [2]), im p lies th a t
some e le m e n t o f m e a n in g in a p re ce d in g w ord is ‘u n satisfied ’, a n d th erefo re
has to b e p ro v id ed th ro u g h co n te x t. I t m u st be a d m itte d , h o w ev er, th a t th is
c riterio n is n o t alw ays c le ar-c u t, sin ce th e need fo r sem an tic ‘sa tisfac tio n ’ is
a m a tte r o f degree.
A n o th e r d ifferen ce b e tw ee n c o m p lem en tatio n a n d m o d ificatio n is a
sy n tactic one. W h e re a s th e m o d ify in g fu n ctio n alw ays re la te s to th e h e a d o f
a p h ra se, th e c o m p le m e n tin g fu n c tio n m ay relate to a p re m o d ifier w h ich is
se p a ra te d fro m its c o m p le m e n ta tio n by th e h ead :
G re e k is a m ore difficult language than French. [ 1]

S h e w as too ill to travel. [2]
In [1], th e p h ra se than F rench co m p lem en ts th e c o m p a ra tiv e a d v erb more

W ord classes 67
ra th e r th a n th e h e ad n o u n language; a n d in [2], to travel co m p lem en ts th e

a d v e rb too, ra th e r th a n th e h ead ad jectiv e ill. T o see th is, w e n o te th a t th e
o m issio n o f th e re le v an t m odifier results in a n u n accep tab le se n te n c e :
* G re ek is a difficult language than French.
*She w as ill to travel.
(B ut c f \S h e is (rather) young to drive a car; 16.76.)
I t is clear, th en , th a t th ere is n o t a stra ig h t choice betw een o p tio n a l a n d

o b lig a to ry elem en ts o f p h rases. D e term in a tio n , m odification, an d co m p le
m e n ta tio n all d e p en d o n th e p resen ce o f som e o th e r elem en t (usually th e
h ead ) in th e p h ra se. H ead s a re o b lig ato ry an d m odifiers are g e n erally
o p tio n a l, b u t d e te rm in a tio n a n d co m p le m e n ta tio n are fu n ctio n s w h o se
co n d itio n s o f o c cu rren ce c a n n o t be defined so sim ply ( c /5 .10#", I6 .l8 ff).
N o te F o r co m p leten ess, it sh o u ld be m en tio n ed th a t m odifiers m ay th em selves co n ta in m odifiers ( c f

17.11827). F o r ex a m p le, in fa r m ore difficult, f a r m odifies m ore , a n d f a r more m odifies difficult.
H en ce th e u n ac c e p ta b ility o f 'f a r difficult.
W ord classes
2.34 I n d e alin g w ith p h rases, we h av e alread y h a d o ccasio n to refer to m an y o f

th e g e n era l w o r d c l F s s e s trad itio n a lly called ‘p a rts o f sp eech ’. M e m b ers o f
th e In d o -E u ro p e a n g ro u p o f lan g u ag es h a v e b een analysed in term s o f su c h
c ateg o rie s sin ce classical a n tiq u ity . I t m ay be helpful now to lis t a n d
e x em p lify th e w o rd classes th a t h av e b een in tro d u c e d :
(a ) c l o s e d c l F s s e s (c/2 .3 9 )
p r e p o s i t i o n - of, a t, in, without, in spite o f
p r o n o u n - he, they, anybody, one, which
d e t e r m i n e r - the, a, that, every, som e
c o n j u n c t i o n - and, that, when, although
m o d a l v e r b - can, m ust, will, could
p r i m a r y v e r b - be, have, do
(b ) o p e n c l F s s e s (c/2 .4 0 )
n o u n - John, room , answ er, play
a d j e c t i v e - happy, stea d y, new, large, round
f u ll v e r b - search, grow, p la y
a d v e r b - steadily, com pletely, really
T o th ese m ay b e a d d ed tw o lesser categ o ries (c/2 .4 2 ):
(c) n u m e ra ls - one, two, three', fir st, second, third
a n d th e m a rg in a l a n d an o m alo u s class o f
(d) in te rjec tio n s - oh, ah, ugh, phew
an d , finally, a sm all n u m b e r o f w o rd s o f u n iq u e fu n ctio n (eg the n eg ativ e

68 A s u rve y o f English grammar
p a r tic le n o t a n d th e infinitive m ark e r to) w h ich do n o t easily fit in to an y o f

th e s e classes.
E v e n so sh o rt a list o f exam ples raises several im p o rta n t q u estio n s, to
w h ic h w e n o w tu rn .
Lexical item s and grammatical w o rd s

2.35 F ir s t, w e sh o u ld no tice th a t th e ex am p les are listed as words in th e ir
‘d ic tio n a r y fo rm ’, a n d n o t as they o ften a p p e a r in sentences w h en th ey
fu n c tio n a s c o n stitu e n ts o f p h rases (b u t e /N o te [a] o n in v ariab le w o rd s ): th u s
th e s in g u la r n o u n room is listed a n d n o t th e p lural no u n room s ; th e sim p le
a d je c tiv e happy a n d n o t th e co m p arativ e ad jectiv e happier: th e in fin itiv e (or
u n in fle c te d ) v e rb hope an d n o t the p a st fo rm hoped: th e subjective p ro n o u n
fo rm he a n d n o t th e objective form him . W e c ite th ese w ords in w h at m ay be
c alled th e ir | F s e form (c f A p p l .l f f ) , ie th e fo rm to w h ich , in reg u lar cases,
in fle c tio n a l suffixes a re ad d ed to m a k e inflected form s (rooms, happier, etc).
B u t s u c h a m a n n e r o f sp eak in g reveals th a t w e are using th e term ‘w o rd ’ in
tw o d iffe re n t senses. T h e a m b ig u ity is m o re fully ev id e n t i n :
‘T h e w o rd w orks occurs in the sen ten ce H e w orks a t hom e.' [1]
‘T h e w o rd w o r k occurs in th e sen ten ce H e w orks a t hom e.' [2]
B o th se n te n c e s a re a ccep tab le in n o rm al usage, b u t th e a m b ig u ity th ey show

c a n b e a v o id e d i f w e a d o p t th e te rm l e x i c a l i t e m (c f A p p 1.1) to re p la ce
‘w o rd ’ in [2], T h a t is, a lexical item is a w o rd as it occurs in a d ictio n ary ,
w h ere w ork, ;w orks, working, w orked will all be co u n ted as d ifferen t
g ra m m a tic a l fo rm s, o r varian ts, o f th e w o rd W O R K . W e shall use a g ra p h ic
c o n v e n tio n ( s m a l l c a p i t a l s ) , w here n ecessary (an d p a rticu larly in C h a p te r
3), to d istin g u ish lexical item s from g ra m m a tic a l w o rd -fo rm s (ie w o rd s as
u n its w h ic h a re co n stitu e n ts o f phrases). W e shall n o t, how ever, in g en eral
d istin g u ish lex ical item s by a se p a ra te term in o lo g y : follow ing n o rm al
p ra ctic e , class labels such a s verb, noun, a n d adjective will b e used to re fe r to
w o rd s in b o th senses.
L ik e th e d is tin c tio n b etw een form s a n d fu n ctio n s, th a t b etw een w o rd s as
fo rm s a n d w o rd s as lexical item s does n o t h a v e to be m ad e in all cases. O nly
c e rta in p a r ts o f sp e e ch have inflections (ie en d in g s o r m od ificatio n s w h ich
ch an g e o n e w o rd -fo rm into a n o th e r): n o tab ly nou n s (answer, answers), v erb s
(give, gives, gave, giving, given), p ro n o u n s (they, them , their, theirs), a n d
a d je ctiv es (large, larger, largest). M o reo v er, n o t all w o rd s in th ese categ o ries
h av e m o re t h a n o n e form . O th e r w ord classes, w ith a few ex cep tio n s ( c /N o te
[a]), a re in v a ria b le . I n citin g in v ariab le w ords, we shall alw ays use italics
ra th e r th a n sm all cap itals.
N o te [a] A p a r t fro m n o u n s, v erb s, p ro nouns, a n d ad jectiv es, a few ad v e rb s (soon, sooner, soonest, etc)
an d d e te rm in e rs (few , fe w er, fe w est, etc) h a v e inflected form s. O th e r p a rts o f sp eech a re
in v a riab le.
[b] O n ‘ste m ’, a s d is tin c t fro m ‘base’, c f A p p 1.2.
[c] W h e n a g ra m m a tic a l o r sem an tic d istin ctio n is realized m orphologically by a c o n tra st
betw een th e p re se n c e a n d th e ab sen ce o f a n inflection, th e w ord-form w ith th e inflection is
term ed m r k e d , ar.d th e fo rm w ith o u t it u n m r k e d . T h u s th e p lu ra l form s o f reg u lar n ouns, in
F F
c o n tra s t to th e ir s in g u la r form s, a re m ark ed by th e -s en d in g . T h e u n m a rk ed form is also

freq u en tly th e te rm w h ich is m ore n eu tral o r g en eral in use o r m e an in g : th e p resen t tense, as
W o rd classes 69
opposed to th e p ast, is th u s n o t only u n m a rk ed in h av in g (except in th e th ird p erso n sin g u lar) n o

inflection, b u t also in b e in g ab le to refer to tim e in a g eneral sense, in c lu d in g p a s t, p re s e n t,'a n d
fu tu re tim e { c f 4.3). F ro m th is co n cep t, it is com m on to exten d th e use o f ‘m a rk e d ' a n d
‘u n m a rk ed ’ (as we do in th is bo o k ) m o re generally to g ram m atical co n tra sts w h ich a re fo rm ally
o r sem antically un eq u al in th is w ay. It c a n be said, fo r ex am ple, th a t th e pro g ressiv e asp ect ( e g :
is living) is m ark ed in relatio n to th e nonprogressive (eg: lives) b o th b ecau se it is realized by th e
a d d itio n a l sy n tactic M ARKIN G o f th e e + Wing co n stru ctio n { c f 3.54) a n d also b ecause it is
|
sem antically m ore re stric te d th a n th e n onprogressive. F u rth e r ex a m p les o f a m a rk e d /u n m a rk e d

d istin ctio n a re m en tio n ed in 3 .5 8 ,5 .1 1 2 ,6 .1 0 , and 7.88.
2.36 F ro m ev en th e few e x am p les g iven in 2.34, it c an b e seen th a t a lexical ite m

m ay consist o f a seq u en ce o f m o re th a n one o rth o g rap h ic w ord (c/2 .3 7 ). T h is
is especially co m m o n in th e case o f com plex p rep o sitio n s (c /9 , 1 0 / ) such as
in spite of, because of, a w a y fr o m , a n d m ulti-w ord v erbs ( c / 1 6 .2 /0 su c h as lo o k
at, se t up, an d sta n d o ut (c o m p a re th e related a d jectiv e outstanding, a g ain o n e
lexical item , b u t th is tim e o n e w ord also). E qually, h o w ev er, we c a n
som etim es look u p o n a lex ical item a s being d o w n g rad ed to b eco m e less th a n
a w o rd : fo r ex am p le, th e a d v erb s out and up in outstanding a n d upset o r (fro m
th is view p o in t) th e n o u n spite a n d th e p rep o sitio n s in a n d c / i n in spite of.
T h e tre a tm e n t o f th e su b jectiv e form (I, he, she, etc) o f p e rso n al p ro n o u n s
as th e base o r ‘d ic tio n a ry ’ fo rm is co n v en tio n al, b u t is n o t so clearly m o tiv a te d
as in th e case o f o th e r w o rd classes. W e m ay n o te ev en h ere, how ev er, a
ten d en cy to select th e su b jectiv e form in d e riv a tio n a l co m p o u n d s: fo r
exam ple, sh e-w o lf a n d he-m an ra th e r th an *her-w olf an d *him-man.
M orphological, phonological, and orthographic form

2.37 Secondly, som e o f th e ex am p les in 2.34 a p p e a r as m o re th a n o n e w o rd class
(play as a n o u n a n d v e rb , th a t a s a d e m o n stra tiv e a n d co n ju n c tio n ) a n d m o re
o f th em could h av e b e en g iv en a d d itio n al e n tries in th is w ay (round can b e a
n o u n , verb, ad jectiv e, a d v e rb , a n d prep o sitio n ). In such cases w e c a n say th a t
th e sam e m o r p h o l o g i c a l f o r m is a realizatio n o f m o re th a n o n e lexical item .
T h is is a highly im p o rta n t fe atu re o f E nglish, an d fu rth e r a tte n tio n will b e
d ra w n to it in A p p I.43ff. A m o rp h o lo g ical form m ay b e sim p le (co n sistin g
o f a stem only, as in th e case o f play) o r com plex (co n sistin g o f m o re th a n o n e
m o rp h em e, like p la yfu l). T h e m orphological form o f a w o rd m ay th erefo re
b e defined as its c o m p o sitio n in term s o f m o rp h em es (c /2 .7 ), ie stem s a n d
affixes.
W hile su ch m o rp h o lo g ical co rresp o n d en ces acro ss p a rts o f sp e e ch sh o u ld
be n oted, w e should also g ive atte n tio n to m o rp h o lo g ical c h a ra c te ris tic s
w hich d istin g u ish o n e p a r t o f sp eech from an o th e r, n o tab ly th e o ccu rre n ce
o f p a rtic u la r d e riv a tio n a l affixes ( c f A p p 1 .2 0 /) w h ich m a rk a w ord as a
m em b er o f a p a rtic u la r c lass. T h e suffix -ness, for ex am p le, m a rk s a n item as
a no u n (kindness, happiness, etc), w hile th e suffix -less m a rk s a n ite m as a n
adjective (helpless, careless, etc). Such in d icato rs en ab le a sp e a k e r o f E n g lish
to recognize im p licitly th e w o rd class o f an item , ev en if he h a s n o t m et th a t
item before, purely o n th e b a sis o f its form.
W h en th e need a rises, th ere fo re, we shall be ab le to d istin g u ish a lexical
item n o t o nly from th e g ra m m a tic a l form s w h ich it tak e s in v a rio u s sy n ta ctic
settings, b u t from th e m o rp h o lo g ical form s w h ich it m ay sh a re e n tirely o r in
p a r t w ith o th e r lexical ite m s o f th e sam e w ord class o r o f o th e r w o rd classes.
T h u s th e ad jectiv e l o n g h a s precisely th e sam e m o rp h o lo g ical fo rm s as th e

a d v e r b LO N G (long ~ longer ~ longest): w h ereas the a d jectiv e g o o d sh ares
th e fo rm s o f th e a d v e rb w e l l only in p a r t: ie the co m p a rativ e (better ) an d
s u p e rla tiv e (best) form s.
T h is m o rp h o lo g ical co n v erg en ce m ay also o ccu r a t th e level o f g ram m atical
fo rm s , e ith e r b e tw ee n fo rm s o f d iffere n t lexical item s (eg : meeting as a
s in g u la r n o u n a n d m eeting a s a v erb p a rtic ip le ) o r b etw een fo rm s o f th e sam e
lex ic al item (w orked as a re aliz a tio n o f b o th th e p a st ten se a n d th e -ed
p a rtic ip le form s o f w o r k ) . T h e la tte r is a n exam ple o f th e n e u t r a l i z a t i o n
o f in flectio n al fo rm s w h ic h a re d is tin c t fo r o th e r verbs ( c f J .l f f , 3.1 Iff) such
as g i v e (gave, given).
F o r th e sa k e o f co m p leten ess, it sh o u ld be a d d ed th a t a w o rd also h as a
p h o n o l o g i c a l a n d a n o r t h o g r a p h i c fo rm , an d th a t sim ila rities an d
C o n trasts in p ro n u n c ia tio n a n d sp ellin g a re n o t necessarily to b e asso ciated
w ith th o se o n th e levels o f lexicology a n d g ra m m ar. T h ere is, fo r ex am p le, a n
im p o r ta n t sim ila rity b e tw ee n all w o rd s b eg in n in g /S / (the, that, then, for
e x am p le), a n d lik ew ise b e tw ee n m a n y o f th o se b eg in n in g wh- (w hich, when,
fo r e x a m p le ): b asically , th e fo rm er a re re la te r o r in d ic a to r w o rd s, a n d th e
la tte r in te rro g ativ e o r re la tiv e w o rd s ( c f 2 .4 4 /). B ut we sh o u ld h e sita te to
a tte m p t a m o rp h o lo g ical a c c o u n t o f th ese sim ilarities; ra th e r, th ey are
co rre sp o n d e n c es o f p ro n u n c ia tio n a n d sp ellin g w hich reflect g ra m m atica l
co rre sp o n d e n c es in th e h isto ry o f th e lan g u ag e. Sim ilarly, th e v a r ia n t spelling
a n d p ro n u n c ia tio n o f th e in d efin ite a rticle ajan is n o t a case o f in flectio n al
v a ria tio n , b u t o f v a ria tio n d e te rm in e d by phonology (viz b y w h e th e r th e
fo llo w in g w ord b e g in s w ith a c o n so n a n t o r not).
H o m o nym s and hom om orphs

2 .3 8 W o rd s w h ich sh a re th e sam e p h o n o lo g ical o r o rth o g rap h ic ‘sh a p e ’, b u t a re
m o rp h o lo g ically u n re la te d , a re te rm e d h o m o n y m s : for ex am p le, rose [noun]
is a h o m o n y m o f rose [p ast te n s e verb]. T h e re is n o sta n d ard te rm fo r w ords
w h ic h also sh are th e sam e m o rp h o lo g ic al fo rm (eg: red as a n o u n a n d red as
a n ad jectiv e, m eeting as a n o u n a n d m eeting as a v erb ), b u t it seem s
a p p ro p ria te to a d o p t th e te rm h o m o m o r p h fo r th is p u rp o se. T h ese an d
re la te d d istin ctio n s su ch as ‘h o m o p h o n e ’ a n d ‘h o m o g rap h ’ ( c f N o te ) are
ex p la in e d in F ig 2.38 o p p o site.
T o th e set o f e q u iv alen ce re la tio n s b etw een w ords, th is d ia g ra m ad d s, fo r
com p leten ess, th e re la tio n o f syno n y m y , o r sam eness o f m ean in g . Strictly,
sy nonym y (an d its o p p o site, a n to n y m y ) h o ld s b etw een w o rd senses, ra th e r
th a n b etw een w ords. F o r ex am p le, h a rd is a synonym o f difficult o nly in one
sen se; in an o th e r sense (th a t in w h ich it co n tra sts w ith soft) it is n o t. O f the
th re e m ajo r k in d s o f eq u iv a len c e in F ig 2.38, h o m onym y is p h o n o lo g ical a n d /
o r g ra p h ic , a n d sy n o n y m y is se m an tic. O n ly h o m o m o rp h y is o f p rim a ry
c o n c e rn to g ram m ar.
N o te T h e re h a s been c o n sid e rab le d isag re em en t a n d c o n fu sio n o v e r th e use o f th e te rm ’ho m o n y m ',

w h ich h a s often b ee n ex ten d ed to ap p ly to cases w e h av e referred to as h o m o m o rp h s. Sim ilarly,
‘ho m o n y m ’ has o fte n b ee n used am b ig u o u sly , ac c o rd in g to w h eth er it d e n o te s id e n tity o f
p ro n u n ciatio n , o f sp ellin g , o r o f b o th . T h e se d istin c tio n s c a n be m ade, w h ere re q u ire d , b y th e
use o f t h e term s h o m o p h o n e a n d h o m o g r p h . In p ractice , th e d istin ctio n b etw e en hom onym y
F
a n d hom o m o rp h y is n o t alw ays ea sy to d raw . W e ju d g e red [noun] a n d re d [adjective] to be

W ord classes 71
-H O M O P H O N E
same pronunciation
i— H O M O N Y M - eg: saw -sa w .
same pronunciation/spelling [noun] [past tense verb]
(morphologically unrelated) no - kn o w
e g .s a ic '- s a w .
[noun] [past tense verb] — HOM O G RA PH
no - know same spelling
r o w f n o f - roiv/rao/ e g : sa w -sa w
[noun] [past tense verb]
rm v /ra o /- row /rao/
— HOM O M O RPH
same morphological form

(different syntactic function)
eg: fa s t - fa s t
[adjective] [adverb]
dow n - dow n
[adverb] [preposition]
— SYNONYM
same sense (different morphological form)

eg: h ard - d if fic u l t
so m e o n e - so m eb o d y
F ig 2.38 Types o f equivalence between words
h o m o m o rp h s o n ly o n th e g ro u n d s th a t they sh are th e sam e stem m orphem e, a n d this in tu r n

rests o n th e ju d g m e n t th a t th e tw o w ords a re related th ro u g h processes o f w ord-form ation, in a
sem a n tic ally sy ste m a tic w ay { c f esp c o n v e r s i o n , A p p lA S ff) . T h u s to call-tw o w ords s u c h as
hard [ad jectiv e] a n d ha rd (adverb] ‘hom o m o rp h s’ is to ack n o w led g e th e ir affinity in m e a n in g .
W ith o th e r w o rd s {eg: leave [noun] a n d leave [verb]) th is co n n e ctio n is less clear. O ur u se o f
‘h o m o m o rp h ’ is a lso am b ig u o u s (b u t harm lessly so) a c co rd in g to w hether th is re la tio n o f
m o rp h o lo g ical id e n tity exists b etw een w ords qua g ram m a tic a l form s {eg betw een hidden a s a n
a d jectiv e a n d h idden as a v erb p articip le) or betw een w o rd s qua lexical item s {eg betw een w o r k
as a n o u n , c o m p ris in g th e w ord form s work a n d w orks, a n d w o r k a s a v erb, co m p risin g th e
form s w ork, w orks, w orking, a n d w orked). A n d if w e ap p ly th e term ‘h om om orphs’ to W O R K
[noun] an d w o r k [verb], w e m u st also ap p ly it, w here th e o ccasio n arises, to different se co n d ary
w ord classes (<^*2.41): eg W O RK a s an in tran sitiv e verb (as in This watch doesn't work) an d W O R K
as a m o n o tra n s itiv e v e rb (as in S h e worked wonders). B y ack n o w led g in g in these ways th e v a rio u s
senses in w h ic h w o rd s m ay be linguistically ‘th e sa m e ’ o r ‘d iffe re n t’, we do n o t im ply a n y
s u b o rd in a tio n o f s e m a n tic to fo rm al criteria , b u t m erely recognize th a t g ram m atical a n d
sem a n tic c r ite r ia m a y b e in d e p e n d e n t o f on e an o th er. T h e co n v e n tio n al p ractices o fle x ico g rap h y ,
w h ereb y d iffe re n t g ra m m a tic a l hom o m o rp h s a re gro u p ed u n d e r th e sam e ‘h ead w o rd ’, s h o u ld
n o t n ecessarily b e re g a rd e d , fo r g ram m atical purposes, as definitive.
Closed-class item s
2.39 T h ird ly , th e p a r ts o f sp eech in 2.34 w ere listed in tw o m ain groups, (a) a n d
(b), a n d th is in tro d u c es a d istin c tio n o f g re a t significance. Set (a) c o m p rises
w h a t a re c alled c l o s e d - c l a s s item s. T h a t is, th e sets o f item s are ‘closed’ in
th e sen se th a t th e y a re o nly exceptionally ex te n d ed by the crea tio n o f
a d d itio n a l m e m b e rs : a m o m e n t’s reflection is en o u g h for us to realize h o w
rarely in a lan g u a g e w e in v e n t o r a d o p t a n e w o r ad d itio n al p ro n o u n . I t
re q u ire s n o g re a t effort to list all o r m o st o f th e m em b ers o f a closed c la ss
(e v e n th o u g h o n e m a y n o t b e sure th a t one h a s m ad e a n e x h au stiv e inv en to ry

o f its m o re p e rip h e ra l m em bers).
A sem an tic co ro llary o f th is is th a t closed-class m em b e rs a re m utually
ex clu siv e a n d m u tu a lly defining in m ean in g : it is less easy to state the
m e a n in g o f an in d iv id u a l ite m th a n to define it in relatio n to th e rest o f the
c lass. T h e m e a n in g o f closed-class item s also ten d s to be closely b o u n d up
w ith th a t o f th e c o n stru c tio n o f w hich th ey a re a p a rt, as is reflected in
a lte rn a tiv e n a m e s so m etim es g iven to th em - ‘fu n ctio n w o rd s’, ‘g ram m atical
w o rd s ’, a n d ‘s tru c tu re w o rd s’. T hese term s also stress th e ir fu n c tio n in th e
g ra m m a tic a l sen se, as stru ctu ral m a rk e rs : th u s a d e te rm in e r ty p ically signals
th e b e g in n in g o f a n o u n p h ra se, a p rep o sitio n th e b eg in n in g o f a p rep o sitio n al
p h ra se , a c o n ju n c tio n th e b eg in n in g o f a clause.
O p e n -class item s
2 .40 By c o n tra s t, set (b ) in 2.34 com prises o p e n c l F s s e s . Item s b elo n g in g to such
a c la ss h a v e b ro a d ly th e sam e g ram m atical p ro p e rties a n d stru ctu ral
p o ssib ilities as its o th e r m em b ers, b ut th e class is ‘o p e n ’ in th a t it is
in d efin itely e x te n d ab le . N e w item s are co n stan tly b ein g c re a te d , a n d no o n e
c o u ld m a k e an in v e n to ry o f all th e nouns (for exam p le) in E n g lish , an d be
c o n fid e n t th a t it w a s co m p lete. T h is in ev itab ly affects th e w ay in w h ich w e
a tte m p t to define a n y ite m in a n o pen c la s s : w hile it w ould be v alu ab le to
r e la te th e m e a n in g o f room to o th e r n o u n s w ith w h ich it h a s a sem an tic
affinity (cham ber, hall, house, etc) o n e could n o t define it as ‘n o t house, n o t
b ox, n o t p late, n o t in d ig e s tio n ,. . . ’ as one m ig h t define a closed-class item
lik e this a s ‘n o t t h a t ’.
O f co u rse, in a n y o n e p h ra se o r sentence th e d ecisio n to select a p a rticu la r
w o rd a t o n e p lace in th e stru c tu re im poses g re a t c o n stra in ts o n w h a t c an be
selected a t a n o th e r. B u t in a n a rra n g e m e n t like th e follow ing th e re is in
p rin c ip le a sh a rp d iffere n ce b etw een th e n u m b e r o f po ssib ilities in colum ns
(i), (iii), a n d (iv) (‘clo sed ’) a n d th e n u m b er in (ii), (v), a n d (vi) (‘o p e n ’):
(>) (ii) (iii) ( iv ) (v) (Vi)
m ay s it by th e fo u n ta in s a d ly
w ill s ta re at th is tr e e h a p p i ly
m ust re a d fr o m th a t book f r e q u e n t ly
h u rry a lo n g w in d o w
on p a th
T h e d istin c tio n b e tw ee n ‘o p e n ’ a n d ‘closed’ w ord classes m u st be treated

w ith c a u tio n , h o w ev er. O n th e one h an d , w e m u st n o t ex ag g e rate th e ease
w ith w h ic h we c re a te new w ords (c f A p p 1.13/), a n d on th e o th e r w e m u st
n o t ex ag g e rate th e e x te n t to w h ich w ord classes in set (a) a re ‘clo sed ’: new
p re p o sitio n s (usually o f th e com plex type ‘p re p o sitio n + n o u n + p re p o sitio n ’
lik e b y w ay o f) c o n tin u e to a rise ( c /9 .1 0 /).
W o rd classes 73
Th e taxonom y of w o rd classes
2.41 T h ere is a y et m ore im p o rta n t cav eat. A lth o u g h th ey h a v e d e cep tiv ely
specific labels, th e w o rd c lasses ten d in fact to be r a th e r h etero g en eo u s, i f n o t
pro b lem atic categories. T h e re is n o th in g sacro san ct a b o u t th e tra d itio n a l
parts-of-speech classificatio n , a n d w e h ave in d eed d e v iated fro m tra d itio n to
som e ex ten t in o u r list in 2.34. T h u s th e trad itio n a l c ateg o ry o f article (the
a n d a/an) h as been su b su m e d u n d e r th e larg er h e ad in g o f d e te rm in e rs
(including, for in stan ce, th e d em o n strativ es this a n d that); th e tra d itio n a l
category o f verb , o n th e o th e r h a n d , has been d iv id ed in to th re e c ateg o ries,
tw o closed (p rim ary a n d m o d al verb s) an d one o p en (full verbs). B o th th e s e
ad ju stm en ts a re w ell-m o tiv ated for m od ern E nglish. T h ey d o, how ev er, ra is e
q u estio n s a b o u t the ju stific a tio n fo r th is o r th a t classification.
T h e term ‘w o rd classes’ (o r m o re p articu larly th e tra d itio n a l term ‘p a r ts o f
sp eech ’) has b een n o rm ally u n d e rsto o d to refer to th e m o st general categ o ries
to w h ich lexical item s c a n b e a p p ro p riately assigned. T h e re a re , h o w ev er,
w ell-established su b classificatio n s w ith in these categ o ries: n o u n s are s u b
classified in to s e c o n d a r y w o r d c l a s s e s as co m m o n n o u n s, p ro p e r n o u n s,
e tc, an d verbs as tra n s itiv e v e rb s, in tran sitiv e v erb s etc. B u t th e re is sco p e
for co n sid erab le d isa g re e m e n t o n th e p o in t a t w h ich w e sto p g ro u p in g
su b categ o ries in to larg er categ o ries. T h e class o f a d v erb s is n o to rio u sly
heterogeneous, a n d m ay be se p a ra te d into an o p en class c o n sistin g o f a d v erb s
w ith a n ad jectiv al b ase (esp ecially those, like com pletely , w h ic h h a v e a n -ly
suffix), a n d a closed c lass in clu d in g ad v erb s such as here, there, now, etc. T h is
closed class, how ever, w ill still b e heterogeneous. A n e v en b e tte r case c a n be
m ad e for sp littin g th e c o n ju n c tio n class into su b o rd in a to rs ( c f 14.1 Iff) , w h ich
lin k a su b o rd in ate clau se to a su p ero rd in ate clause, an d c o o rd in a to rs ( c f
1 3 .5 /0 , w h ich lin k c o o rd in a te c onstructions. In th e o p p o site d irec tio n , th e re
a re a rg u m en ts, d esp ite th e c le a r c riteria w hich se p a ra te m o d al, p rim a ry , an d
full v erb s in m o d ern E n g lish , fo r b rin g in g th ese to g eth er, in th e tra d itio n a l
w ay, w ith in a global c lass o f v erb s. Indeed, th e use o f th e te rm ‘v e rb ’ its e lf in
referen ce to th ese th re e categ o ries reflects th e ir o v e rla p in te rm s o f
m orphology, fu n ctio n , a n d m ea n in g (c /3 . Iff).
Such arg u m en ts, h o w ev er, h a v e m o re to do w ith th e lab ellin g o f categ o ries
th a n w ith th e q u estio n o f h ow w e c a n best ex p lain th e g ra m m a tic a l b e h av io u r
o f item s on th e b asis o f th e ir v ario u s degrees o f sim ilarity a n d c o n tra st. I t is
to th is m ore su b sta n tia l q u e stio n th a t we shall a d d ress o u rselv es in th e
follow ing ch ap ters.
Additional classes
2.42 Som e m en tio n m u st b e finally m ad e o f tw o categ o ries, n u m era ls an d
in terjectio n s, w hich a re y o k ed to g eth e r here only by v irtu e o f th e d ifficulty o f
classifying th em as e ith e r clo sed o r op en classes.
(a ) n u m e r F l s
N u m erals, w h e th er th e c a rd in a l nu m erals, one, two, three , . . . o r th e o rd in al

n u m era ls first, second, third, . . . , m ust be placed so m ew h ere b etw een o p en -
class a n d closed-class ite m s: th ey resem ble the fo rm er in th a t th ey m ak e up a
very larg e class - in d eed , a c la ss o f infinite m em b e rsh ip ; b u t th ey resem ble
th e la tte r in th a t th e se m a n tic relatio n s am ong th em a re m u tu ally exclusive
74 A s u rve y of English gram m ar
a n d m u tu a lly defining. W e do n o t c rea te n ew n u m erals in the sen se in w h ich

w e c r e a te n ew n o u n s: in a w ay, n u m era ls co n stitu te a m in ia tu re sy n tax o f
t h e i r o w n , w ith in th e larg er sy n ta x o f th e E n g lish language ( c f 6 .6 3 /) ,
c o m b in in g a sm all n u m b er o f m o rp h em es acco rd in g to reg u lar rules.
(b ) INTERJECTIONS
In te r je c tio n s m ig h t b e co n sid ered a closed class o n th e gro u n d s th a t th o se
t h a t a re fully in stitu tio n alized a re few in n u m b er. B ut u n lik e th e closed
c la s s e s lis te d in 2.3 4 (a), th ey a re g ra m m atica lly p erip h eral, in th e sense th a t
th e y d o n o t e n te r in to c o n stru ctio n s w ith o th e r w ord classes, a n d a re only
lo o se ly c o n n e c te d to sen ten ces w ith w h ic h th ey m ay be o rth o g rap h ica lly o r
p h o n o lo g ic a lly asso ciated . T h ey a re also p e rip h e ra l to th e lan g u ag e system
its e lf, in t h a t th ey freq u en tly in v o lv e th e use o f sounds w hich d o n o t o th erw ise
o c c u r in E n g lish w ords. T h u s ugh is th e sp ellin g o f a n e x clam atio n o ften
p r o n o u n c e d so m eth in g like [ a x ] o r [ o x ] e v en th o u g h th e ‘a ch lau t’ /x / is n o t a
p h o n e m e in s ta n d a rd A m E o r B rE ( c f 11.55).
N o te I t c a n b e arg u e d th a t in terje ctio n s fo rm a relativ ely o p e n class b ecause th ey c a n be ra th e r freely

c r e a te d b y o n o m a to p o eia. F o r ex am p le, c o m ic-strip ca rto o n s o fte n c o n ta in su ch n o n ce
in te r je c tio n s a s yucck, gr-r-r-r, a n d blaat. T h e se reflect a sim ilar unstru ctu red freed o m to m a k e
u se o f ex p re ssiv e vocalizing in o rd in a ry co n v e rsatio n .
W o r d classes in relation to m eaning

2.43 I t h a s a lre a d y been im p lied th a t o u r c h a ra c te riz a tio n o f p a rts o f sp e e ch will
d e p e n d o n th e ir g ram m atical fo rm a n d fu n ctio n , ra th e r th a n o n th e ir
s e m a n tic p ro p e rties. T h e ‘n o tio n a l’ a p p ro a c h to w ord classes, m a n ife s te d in
its m o s t n a iv e fo rm in schoolbook d e fin itio n s such as ‘a verb is a d o in g w o rd ’,
m a y b e a u sefu l p ed ag o g ical a id , b u t c a n n o t in an y w ay rep lace th e d efin itio n
o f g ra m m a tic a l co n cep ts in g ra m m a tic a l term s. A t th e sam e tim e , th e re are
im p o r ta n t g e n eralizatio n s to b e m a d e a b o u t th e relatio n b etw een w o rd classes
a n d th e ir m ean in g , a n d th e fa ct th a t th e s e g en eralizatio n s d o n o t h av e
c o m p le te reliab ility should n o t d e te r us .from tak in g n o te o f th em . B roadly
s p e a k in g , n o u n s c a n b e c h ara cte riz ed n a tu ra lly as ‘sta tiv e ’ ( c f 4.4) in th a t
th e y ty p ic a lly re fe r to e n titie s th a t a re re g ard e d as stab le, w h e th er th ese are
c o n c re te (p h y sical) lik e house, table, paper, o r a b stra c t (o f th e m in d ) lik e hope,
b o ta n y, length. A t th e o p p o site pole, v erb s c a n b e m o re n atu rally c h a ra c te riz e d
a s ‘d y n a m ic ’: th ey a re fitted (by th e ir c a p a c ity to show ten se a n d a sp e ct, fo r
e x a m p le ) to in d ic a te actio n , activ ity , a n d te m p o ra ry o r ch an g in g co n d itio n s.
A d je c tiv e s, in so fa r as th ey a ttrib u te s ta b le p ro p erties to th e re fe re n ts o f
n o u n s , a re to be asso ciated w ith th e m in ex p ressin g stativ e m ean in g . T h u s
m a n y a d je ctiv es c o n tra st w ith v e rb s in th e ir in ab ility to b e re n d ere d
‘te m p o r a r y ’ by th e p rogressive a sp e c t ( c f 4 .2 8 /) . C o n trast:
J o h n w o rk s h a rd . Jo h n is w o rk in g h ard .
J o h n is t a ll. | u t * Jo h n is b e in g ta ll.
A g a in , a d v e rb s (or m o re specifically, ad ju n c ts), in so fa r as th e y a d d a

p a r tic u la r c o n d itio n o f tim e, p lace, m a n n e r, e tc to th e d y n am ic im p lica tio n
o f th e v e rb , a re also to be p laced in th e ‘d y n a m ic ’ categ o ry :
M a rio n is beautiful. M a rio n d a n c e s beautifully.

W o rd classes 75
T h e c o n tra st b e tw e e n th ese tw o sentences (w here th e ad jectiv e in d ic a te s a

stab le c h a ra c te ris tic o f a p erso n a n d the a d v erb a n ev an e sc en t c h a ra c te ris tic
o f th a t p e rso n ’s b e h av io u r) is one w h ich has co u n tless p arallels in th e
language. O n th is b asis, th e relations b etw een o p en classes c a n be c ru d e ly
su m m ariz ed t h u s :
s t F t iv e noun- •a d je c tiv e
d y n F m ic v e rb ■adverb
B u t ev en th e e x am p les we have given show th e w eaknesses o f th is

fo rm u la tio n ; J ohn is a hard worker an d M arion is a sk ilfu l dancer show th e
ad jectiv e ta k in g o n som e o f th e ‘d y n am ic’ im p licatio n s o f th e a d v e rb .
F u rth e r, so m e v e rb s c a n n o t n o rm ally be used w ith th e pro g ressiv e a sp e ct ( e g :
*H e is know ing E nglish) an d th erefo re belong to th e sta tiv e ra th e r th a n th e
d y n am ic c ateg o ry ( c f 4.29). T h ere are also ex cep tio n s in th e o th e r d ire c tio n
am o n g n o u n s a n d ad jectiv es. F o r in stan ce, a c h ild m ay be w ell-behaved o n e
m in u te a n d a n u isa n c e o r n au g h ty th e next. A lth o u g h ad jectiv es a re p rim a rily
sta tiv e in m e a n in g (tall, red, old), som e, such as n aughty o r insolent, c a n
resem ble v e rb s in re fe rrin g to tran sito ry c o n d itio n s o f b e h av io u r o r a ctiv ity .
T h is is reflected in th e p o ssibility o f th eir c o o ccu rren ce w ith th e p ro g ressiv e
a sp e ct o f th e v e rb b e :
In d e ed , in s p ite o f th e ir asso ciativ e co n n ectio n w ith w ord classes, th e s e

se m an tic d is tin c tio n s are n o t to be tre a te d as c rite ria d iag n o stic o f
m e m b e rsh ip o f th o se classes. T h u s we can ta k e a n o rm ally d y n a m ic ite m (say
th e verb in H e w rote the book) an d ‘n o m in alize’ it (the writing o f the b ook)
p re te n d in g - a s it w ere - to see th e actio n as a sta tic ‘th in g ’. So also th e v e rb
ta x b eside th e n o u n s t a x a n d taxation. A g ain , th e n a m e participle reflects th e
fa c t th a t su c h a fo rm ‘p a rtic ip a te s’ in th e fe atu res b o th o f th e verb (T he car
was approaching us) a n d o f th e ad jectiv e (the approaching car). In late r c h a p te rs
( c f esp 4 .2 7 # , 7 .4 0 # 1 7 .51#) th ese fo rm -m e an in g re latio n s will be ex p lo red
fu rth er, b u t e m p h a sis w ill be u n d e rstan d ab ly p lac ed o n significant c o n tra sts
o f m ea n in g w ith in w o rd classes, ra th e r th a n b etw een th em .
P ro -form s
2.44 T h e n a m e s o f th e p a rts o f speech a re trad itio n a l, a n d n e ith e r in th em selv es
n o r in re la tio n to e a c h o th e r d o these n a m e s give a safe guide to th e ir
m ean in g , w h ic h in ste a d is b e st u n d ersto o d in term s o f th e ir g ra m m atica l
p ro p e rties. ‘A d v e rb ’ is a classic in stan ce ( c /7 .4 6 # ) . W e h av e seen som e
ju stific atio n in th e p re v io u s section for th e te rm participle, an d a n o th e r
ex ce p tio n is th e te rm pronoun ( c f 6 .1 # ) w h ich is a t lea st p artially a p p ro p ria te
in suggesting t h a t a p ro n o u n c an serve as a su b s titu te fo r a n o u n :
room.
J o h n s e a rc h e d th e big room a n d th en th e sm all [1]
one.
M o re g enerally, h o w ev er, pronoun is a m isn o m er o n tw o counts. F irst, a

p ro n o u n te n d s to b e a su rro g ate for a w hole noun p h ra se ra th e r th a n a n o u n :
T h e m an in v ite d the little Sw edish girl because he lik ed her. [2]
S econdly, th e re la tio n sh ip w h ich o ften o b tain s b e tw ee n a p ro n o u n a n d its

(an e le m en t to w h ich it in som e sense ‘cross-refers’) is n o t one
a n te c e d e n t
w h ic h can b e e x p la in ed b y th e sim ple a ct o f re p lacem en t. N o tice , for
e x am p le, th a t th e follow ing a lte rn ativ es are by n o m ea n s eq u iv a len t in
m e a n in g :
M a n y stu d en ts d id b e tte r th a n m any students ex p ected . [3]

M a n y stu d en ts d id b e tte r th a n they expected. [3a]
In [3a], m a n y students a n d they a re norm ally tak e n to re fe r to th e sam e g roup

o f p e o p le . Iii [3], m a n y stu d e n ts an d m any students a re n o rm ally ta k e n to refer
to d iffe re n t g ro u p s. H e n ce it w ould be m isleading to say th a t they ‘rep laces’
m any stu d e n ts in [3a]. I t is n o n e th e less useful to a p p ly a g en eral term p r o
f o r m to w o rd s a n d w o rd -seq u en ces w hich are essen tially d ev ices for
re c a p itu la tin g o r a n tic ip a tin g th e co n te n t o f a n e ig h b o u rin g ex p ressio n , o ften
w ith th e effect o f re d u cin g g ra m m atica l com plexity.
S u c h d ev ices are n o t lim ite d to p ro n o u n s: th e w o rd such w h ic h b eg in s th is
very p a r a g r a p h m ay be d e sc rib e d as a pro-m odifier, a n d u n d e r a p p ro p ria te
circ u m stan c es th e re a re also p ro -fo rm s for place, tim e, a n d o th e r a d v e rb ia ls :
M a ry is in London a n d J o h n is there too.

M a ry a rriv e d on T uesday a n d Jo h n a rriv ed then too.
T h e police se a rc h e d th e b ig room carefully, b u t th e sm all ro o m less so.
In o ld e r E n g lish a n d still so m etim es in very form al E n g lish , w e find thus o r

so u se d m o re g en erally th a n in o rd in ary m o d em E n g lish as p ro -fo rm s fo r
a d v e rb ia ls : i
\ f?/i s
H e o fte n b e h av e d p ru d en tly, b u t he d id n o t alw ays b e h av e j ' [4]
But so h a s a m o re im p o rta n t fu n c tio n in m o d em usage, n a m e ly to su b stitu te -

along w ith th e ‘p ro -v e rb ’ d o - fo r a m ain verb a n d w h a te v e r follow s it in the
clause (c /2 .5 1 ): j
S h e h o p e d th a t th ey w o u ld clean the house carefully before her

arrival, b u t u n fo rtu n a te ly they d id n ’t do so. [5]
d o can also a c t as a p ro -fo rm o n its ow n, as is show n i n :
A : I warned her about it.

B : Y es, I d id , to o . [6]
I t will b e o b se rv ed th a t th e use o f pro-form s g reatly fa c ilita te s sen ten ce

c o n n ectio n , as in [6], a n d th e c o m b in in g o f sentences to fo rm m o re com plex
sentences, w h e th er by c o o rd in a tio n , as in [4] an d [5], o r b y su b o rd in a tio n , as
in [2]. W e sh all ex am in e th e v a rio u s pro-form s a n d th e ir uses in 12.8\ff.
N o te The item s d o a n d thing, alth o u g h th e y belong to th e classes o f v e rb a n d n o u n respectively, h ave

W o rd classes 77
sem a n tic functions sim ilar to pro-form s, in conveying a b ro ad a n d un d ifferen tiated m e a n in g :

H ow d o you d o yo u r la u n d ry ?
T h e re ’s an im p o rta n t thing I ’d lik e to discuss w ith you.
JkA -w ords
2.45 In p ro -fo rm s, w e h a v e id en tified a se t o f item s w h ich cu ts across th e s ta n d a r d
classification o f w o rd s in to ‘p a rts o f sp eech ’. T h is is tru e also fo r a n o th e r se t
o f item s, th e wh- w o rd s, in clu d in g what, which, who, an d when ( ( / N o t e ) .
In d e ed , wA-words m ay be reg ard ed a s a special set o f pro-form s. T o h ig h lig h t
b o th th e sim ilarity a n d th e c o n tra st b etw een o th e r pro-form s arid wh- w o rd s,
w e m ay suggest th a t w h ereas o th e r p ro -fo rm s h av e a general m ea n in g ro u g h ly
s ta ta b le a s ‘W e k n o w w h a t th is item m ean s/refers to, so I n eed n o t sta te i t in
full’, th e wA-words h a v e a m ean in g so m eth in g like ‘I t has n o t b een k n o w n
b efo re w h a t th is ite m refers to , a n d so it n eed s to b e stated in full’. T h is
in fo rm a l s ta te m e n t w ill acc o u n t fo r th e use o f in terro g ativ e wA-words in
q u e s tio n s :
W 7/-W 0R D (FULL FORM) OTHER PRO-FORM

W here is M a ry ? M ary is in London. Jo h n is there too.
B u t th e p a ra p h ra se fo r wA-words is b ro ad en o u g h to help ex p lain also th e ir

u se in su b o rd in a te clauses su ch a s :
T h e p lace where M a ry lives is L o n d o n .

I w o n d er where M a ry lives.
W here M a ry lives, th e traffic is very noisy.
In itia l p o sitio n in th e clau se is a g en eral c h ara cte ristic o f ivA-words w h e th e r

th e ir ro le is in te rro g ativ e ( c f 6 .3 6 # ), relativ e ( c f 6 .3 2 # 1 7 .1 3 # ), o r
su b o rd in a tin g (c /1 4 .1 2 # ). T h ro u g h th e use o f wA-words w e c a n a sk fo r th e
id en tificatio n o f th e subject, o b ject, co m p lem en t, o r a n a d v e rb ia l o f a
sen ten ce. T h u s in re la tio n to a sen ten ce co n sistin g o f S V O C A , lik e [1], w e
h a v e:
T h ey [S] m ak e [V] h im [O] th e c h a irm a n [C] every y ear [A]. [ 1]

W h o m ak e s h im th e c h a irm a n every y ear? [vvA-word a s S] [2]
W ho(m ) d o they m ak e th e c h a irm a n every y ear? [wA-word as O] [3]
W h a t do th ey m a k e h im ev ery y ear? [tvA-word as C] [4]
W h en d o th ey m a k e h im th e c h a irm a n ? [vvA-word as A] [5]
I t w ill b e n o tic e d fro m th ese ex am p les th a t th e tvA-word assum es first p o s itio n

in th e clause w h a tev e r th e n o rm al p o sitio n o f th e co rresp o n d in g e le m e n t in
d e c la ra tiv e clauses su ch as [1], an d th a t th is sh ift o f o rd e r is a c c o m p a n ie d by
o th e r ch an g es o f stru c tu re in th e last th ree exam ples, involving th e p la c e m e n t
o f do in fro n t o f th e su b ject - a to p ic to w h ich w e shall shortly re tu rn (2 .4 9 /).
O u r p re se n t p o in t, how ev er, is th a t w h a t th e wA-words have in c o m m o n is
in d e p e n d e n t o f th e ir w ord-class classification. W h ereas who, whom , a n d w hat
ab o v e a re p ro n o u n s in th e ir sy n ta ctic fu n ctio n , when in [5] is a tim e a d v e rb ,
a n d fu rth e r ex em p lificatio n sh o w s wA-words fu n ctio n in g a s d e te rm in e rs
(W hich cup is yours?), as ad jectiv es (H ow do you feel?), an d as m o d ify in g
a d v erb s (H ow o ld are yo u ?).
78 A s u rve y o f English gram m ar
N o te T h e wh -w o rd s in c lu d e not only which, when, why, where , etc b u t also , less o b v iously, a few it e m s .
p r o n o u n c e d w ith in itia l /h /, som e h aving th e wh- in spelling (w ho, whose , whom), a n d on e n o t
(how). W e a re th e re fo re usin g th e te rm 'ic/i-w ord' as a co n v e n ie n t m n e m o n ic title fo r a g ro u p o f
w o rd s, m o st o f w h ic h b eg in w ith th e letters wh-, a n d w h ich sh are ce rta in g ram m atical p ro p erties.
Variations on the basic sentence patterns
S e nte nce processes

2.46 H a v in g o u tlin e d th e co n stitu en cy o f E n g lish sim p le sen ten ces b y w o rk in g
d o w n th e g ra m m a tic a l h ierarch y fro m c lau ses th ro u g h p h rases to w ords, w e
m a y n o w re su m e c o n sid eratio n o f sy stem atic co rresp o n d en ces, som e o f
w h ic h w e re illu stra te d in 2 . 2 0 / L et u s re tu rn to th e sim p le d e clarativ e
s e n te n c e se e n as a w hole, a n d c o n sid er w h a t m o d ificatio n s o f its b asic
c o n stitu e n c y m u s t be allow ed for if we a re to a c c o u n t fo r q u estio n s, n eg ativ e
se n te n c e s , a n d o th e r ty p es o f sim ple se n ten c e w h ic h go b ey o n d th e stru ctu res
w e h a v e o u tlin e d . I t is a w idely accep ted p rin cip le, w h ich w e ack n o w led g e
th ro u g h th is fo rm o f p resen tatio n , th a t th e sim p le d e c la ra tiv e sen ten ce is in
a sen se th e c a n o n ic a l fo rm o f sen ten ce, in term s o f w h ich o th e r types o f
se n ten c e, in c lu d in g b o th th o se w hich a re m o re co m plex (‘co m p lex ’ a n d
‘c o m p o u n d ’ sen ten c es) a n d those w hich a re m o re sim p le (‘red u ce d ’ sentences),
m ay b e e x p la in e d by referen ce to such o p e ra tio n s as co n ju n ctio n , in sertio n ,
in v ersio n , su b s titu tio n , a n d tran sp o sitio n . S u ch o p e ra tio n s c a n be called
‘s e n te n c e p ro c e ss e s’, a n d to th e ex ten t th a t th e re la tio n b etw een o n e stru ctu re
a n d a n o th e r c a n b e m o re n atu rally e lu c id ated b y su c h m ea n s, w e shall feel
free to u se th e c o n ce p t o f process, as w ell as th e co n ce p ts o f p a tte rn a n d
stru c tu re , in d e s c rib in g system atic c o rresp o n d en ces.
F ir s t, a te rm in o lo g ic a l p o in t. T erm s su ch as d e c l a r a t i v e , i n t e r r o g a t i v e ,
i m p e r a t i v e , a n d e x c l a m a t i v e can be used (e ith e r a s ad jectiv es o r nouns) in
re fe rrin g to g ra m m a tic a l categories, a n d w ill be a p p lie d , a t th is stage, to
ty p es o f c la u se o r ty p es o f sim ple sentence. T h e term s s t a t e m e n t , q u e s t i o n ,
d i r e c t i v e , a n d e x c l a m a t i o n on th e o th e r h a n d , w ill be ap p lie d to th e logical
o r se m a n tic sta tu s o f a n u tte ran c e - w h a t it m ea n s, a n d w h a t it is used fo r -
a n d fo r o u r p u rp p se s will be regarded as d efin in g categ o ries o f sen ten ce (cf,
h o w ev er, th e d isb u ssio n o f in d ire ct sp eech in 14 .3 0 # ). S in ce w e confine o u r
a tte n tio n h e re to sim p le sentences, th e d istin c tio n s b etw een th ese tw o sets o f
term s w ill n o t b eco m e im p o rta n t u ntil la te r c h a p te rs (esp C h a p te r 10).
N o te M ore ca re fu l c o n sid e ra tio n o f th e relatio n b etw een g ra m m a r, sem a n tic s, a n d p rag m atics will
req u ire fu rth e r d is tin c tio n s o f term inology. T h u s w e m ay d is tin g u ish s e n t e n c e (a gram m atically
au to n o m o u s u n it) fro m u t t e r n c e (a u n it w hich is a u to n o m o u s in te rm s o f its p rag m atic o r
F
co m m u n ic a tiv e fu n c tio n ). F u rth e r, th e re is com m o n ly a n ee d to se p a ra te w h a t a locution is, in

term s o f its lo g ical s ta tu s (eg ‘s ta te m e n t’) from w h a t it d oes in te rm s o f its force as a sp eech a c t
(eg s s e r t i o n ; c f U .3 ). S im ilarly, a directive (view ed a s a g en e ra l sem a n tic ty p e) m ay h av e
F
v ario u s c o m m u n ic a tiv e fu n c tio n s; n o t only giv in g o rd ers (C om e here), b u t m a k in g offers (H ave

som e chocolate), e tc ( c / 1 1.29).
Subject and predicate

2.47 S im p le se n te n c e s a re trad itio n a lly d iv id e d in to tw o m a jo r p a rts , a s u b j e c t
a n d a p r e d i c a t e . T h is m ean s th a t in term s o f clau se ele m en ts ( c f 2.13), th e
Variations on the basic sentence patterns 79
su b ject (S) is d istin g u ish e d fro m th e o th er elem ents (V a n d c o m b in a tio n s o f

O , C , a n d A ) w h ich follow i t :
SUBJECT PR E D IC A T E
Ju lie bu y s h e r v eg etab les in the m arket.
T h e tr a in a rriv e d la te to d ay .
T ig ers a re c a rn iv o ro u s.
T h is d iv isio n , h o w ev er, h a s m o re to d o w ith th e s ta te m e n t a s a lo g ical

categ o ry th a n w ith th e stru c tu ra l facts o f g ram m ar. T h u s th e su b je ct is o fte n
describ ed as th e c o n s titu e n t d efin in g the to p ic o f th e se n ten ce - th a t w h ic h
th e se n ten ce is ‘a b o u t’ a n d w h ich it presupposes as its p o in t o f d e p a r tu r e ;
w h ereas th e p re d ic a te is th a t w h ic h is a sserted ab o u t th e subject. I n g e n era l,
w e shall find little n e e d to re fe r to th e p re d icate as a se p a ra te stru c tu ra l u n it
in th e d e sc rip tio n o f E n g lish g ram m ar.
N o te O n e sig n ifican t p ro p e rty o f th e p re d ic a te , how ever, is th a t it is th e p a r t o f th e clau se w h ic h is

typically affected by c lau se n e g a tio n (c f 10.64/). F u rth er, a p red icate m a y be o m itte d th ro u g h
ellipsis (c/1 2 .6 1 ), o r m a y b e re p la c e d by a pro-form (c /2 .4 4 ,2.51,12.21/7).
Operator and predication

2.48 A m o re im p o rta n t d iv is io n , in acco u n tin g fo r th e relatio n b e tw ee n d ifferen t
sen ten ce types, is t h a t b e tw ee n o p e r a t o r a n d p r e d i c a t i o n a s tw o
su b d iv isio n s o f th e p re d ic a te . N o t all sim ple sta te m en ts h av e a n o p e rato r,
b u t w h en it occurs, it is n o rm ally th e w ord w h ich d irectly follow s th e subject.
P ro v isio n ally d efin ed a s th e f ir s t or only auxiliary (b u t c /2 .4 9 ), it h a s a c ru cial
role in th e fo rm atio n o f q u e stio n s:
Sentence
Independent Clause
Fig 2.48a
By rev ersin g th e o rd e r o f s u b je c t a n d o p erato r, w e c a n c h a n g e th e sta te m e n t

[1] in to th e y es-n o q u e s tio n [2], T h e o p e rato r h a s a sim ila r role in th e
fo rm atio n o f m o s t w A -questions. C o m p are, fo r ex am p le;
■
inviting somebody to dinner,
“oI
[3]
c
>
/
<
W ho(m ) is^ ''John inviting to dinner? [4]
been hidden somewhere, [5]
W here been hidden? [6]
Fig 2.48b
N e g a tio n , also, m ak es cru cial use o f th e o p e rato r: to m a k e a p o sitiv e

s ta te m e n t n eg ativ e, w e in se rt not a fte r th e o p erato r, o r else a d d to th e
o p e r a to r th e in fo rm al e n clitic -n’t (c /3 .2 2 /):
I shall not be working this afternoon. [7]
We had not given the girl an apple. [8]
F ig 2.48c
I n a ll these a n d o th e r w ays, th e n , th e o p e rato r, o r first au x iliary , p e rfo rm s a n

‘o p e ra tio n a l’ fu n c tio n in re la tin g a p o sitiv e d eclarativ e stru c tu re to a n o th e r
m a jo r stru ctu re in th e lan g u ag e. T h a t it is the first auxiliary, ra th e r th a n a
su b seq u e n t au x iliary , th a t tak e s o n th is role is clear fro m sen ten ces like [6]
a n d [7], w here th e seco n d au x iliary (been a n d be respectively) is unaffected ,
b e in g p a rt o f th e p red icatio n s
N o te In tw o w ays, th e role o f th e o p e ra to r req u ires a reassessm en t o f th e ac co u n t o f clause stru ctu re

g iv e n in 2 .1 3 -2 4 . F ir s t, th e o p e ra to r is a single word w h ich h as a d ire c t fu n ctio n in a clause;
seco n d , th e division1o f a clause in to subject, o p e ra to r, an d p red icatio n cu ts across its d iv isio n
in to S , V , 0 , C , a n d A , so th a t w e e n te rta in tw o altern ativ e c o n stitu en t analyses o f th e sam e
stru c tu re . O n th ese p o in ts, c /2 .5 5 a n d 2.61.
D O, B E , a n d h F v e a s o p e ra to rs
2 .4 9 T h e d efin itio n p f o p e ra to r as first au x iliary raises th e q u e stio n o f w h a t
h a p p e n s if th e j co rre sp o n d in g p o sitiv e d e clarativ e h as n o au x iliary , a n d
th e re fo re n o o p e ra to r ( c f 2.27). In su ch cases, in th e c o rresp o n d in g
in te rro g ativ e a n d n eg ativ e stru c tu re s, th e v erb d o is in tro d u ced as a ‘d u m m y ’
a u x ilia ry to p e rfo rm th e fu n c tio n o f o p e ra to r (c/3 .3 7 ). T h is c o n stru ctio n o f
D O - s u p p o r t , w h ic h we h a v e a lread y seen in th e w fi-questions in 2.45 [3 -5 ], is
f u rth e r exem plified i n :
DECLARATIVE INTERROGATIVE Or NEGATIVE

T h ey o ften g o a b ro a d . ~ D o th ey o ften go a b ro ad ? [ 1]
H e r fa th er w orks in a factory. ~ W h ere does h e r fa th e r w o r k t [2]
W e received y o u r letter. ~ W e d id n o t receive y o u r letter. [3]
N o tic e th a t DO as o p e ra to r o ccu rs in th e v a ria n t form s o f do, does, a n d did:

as a fin ite verb ( c f 3.2, 3.52), it realizes d istin c tio n s o f n u m b er, p erso n , a n d
tense. E lsew here h o w ev er, d o m ay also, lik e BE an d h F v e , fu n c tio n as a m ain
v e r b : c o m p a re th e p o sitiv e sen ten ce H e d id it w ith th e n eg ativ e H e d id n o t d o

it, w here th e tw o fu n c tio n s cooccur.
U n lik e d o , b e fu n ctio n s as an o p e rato r e v en w h en it co n stitu tes th e w h o le
v erb p h ra se, a n d is th u s a m a in v e r b :
Is e v ery th in g re ad y ? ( ~ E v ery th in g is ready) [4]

W as T itia n a p a in te r? ( ~ T itia n was a p a in te r) [5]
Are th e s e b o o k s fo r sale? ( ~ T h ese b o o k s are fo r sale) [6]
T h u s in th e q u e stio n s [ 4 -6 ], is, was, an d are, w h ic h a re here m a in v erb s, a re

p laced in fro n t o f th e subject. T h e m ain v e rb h a v e , o n th e o th er h a n d , te n d s
to resem b le th e m a in verb d o in n o t fu n ctio n in g as o p e rato r (Do yo u Have a
bo x o f m atches 7), a lth o u g h th ere is also a tra d itio n a l u sage (chiefly B rE ) in
w h ich it d o es s o : H a v e yo u a b o x o f m atches? (c /3 .3 4 /, 3.48). T h ese usages a r e
ex cep tio n s to o u r e a rlie r d efin itio n o f the o p e ra to r as ‘first a u x iliary ’.
Q uestions and negation

2.50 W e c a n n o w v e n tu re pro cess rules for fo rm in g qu estio n s a n d n e g a tiv e
sen ten ces in E n g lish , g iv en t h a t we k now h ow to fo rm sim ple sta te m e n ts :
(a) y e s - n o q u e s t i o n s : P lace th e o p e rato r b e fo re th e subject.

(b) ^ - q u e s t i o n s : F irst, id en tify the wA-element, w hich is a p h ra s e
c o n ta in in g o r c o n sistin g o f th e wfi-word. T h e n :
(i) I f th e wA-elem ent is th e subject, m a k e n o ch an g e in the s ta te m e n t
o rd er.
(ii) I f th e w h-elem ent is som e o th er ele m en t (eg O , C , A), p lace it b e fo re
th e su b je ct, a n d p lace th e o p e rato r b etw een th e w/i-elem ent a n d th e
subject.
(c) n e g F t i o n : P la ce not o r -n't afte r th e o p e ra to r (c /3 .2 2 /).
(d) In (a), (b), a n d (c), if th ere is no o p e rato r in th e c o rresp o n d in g sta te m e n t,
in tro d u c e th e o p e ra to r d o .
T h e fo llo w in g ex am p les m ay be co m p a red w ith th e sta te m en t Som eone

( has) borrowed m y p e n c il:
(a') H a v e you b o rro w ed m y p en cil? [yes-no question]

(i) W h o h a s bo rro w ed m y p en cil? 1. , ,
(b')
(ii) W h y h a v e you b o rro w ed m y p e n c il? ] c*ueS Ion
(c') I h a v e n ’t b o rro w ed y o u r pencil, [n eg atio n ]
D id y o u b o rro w m y p encil ? "|
(d ') W h y d id y o u b o rro w m y p en cil? > [w ith d o as o p erato r]
I d id n ’t b o rro w y our p encil. J
Predications and pro -form s

2.51 T h e p re d ic a tio n , lik e th e o p e rato r, is a c o n stitu e n t o f som e im p o rtan ce in th e
E n g lish clau se. O n e in d ic a tio n o f th is is th e read in ess w ith w h ich tw o
p re d ic a tio n s c a n b e jo in e d by c o o rd in a tio n (c /1 3 .5 3 ):
Y o u sh o u ld e a t regularly a n d ta ke m ore exercise.

S o m eo n e h a s broken into the house a n d stolen the money.
82 A surve y of English gram m ar
E n g lis h also h a s a co m p o site p ro-form do so w h ic h su b s titu te s fo r a p re d ic ate

o r a p re d ic a tio n ( c fl2 .2 3 ff) :
S h e h o p e d th a t h e w ould search the room carefully,

I s p n r r liP fJ tht> r n n m r n r p f n ] h >
[i]
[2]
A g a in , fo r se n ten c es su ch as [1] an d [2] th ere is th e fu rth e r a lte rn a tiv e o f

o m ittin g th e p re d ic a tio n a lto g e th e r; th e o p e rato r, left ‘s tra n d e d ’ by th is
o m issio n , th u s sh o w s its c ap a b ility o f sta n d in g as a n in d e p e n d e n t u n it:
a n d h e did.
S h e h o p e d th a t h e w ould se a rc h th e ro o m carefully,
b u t h e d id n ’t.
T h e co m p o site p ro -fo rm do so should b e d istin g u ish e d fro m th e em p ty

a u x ilia ry d o u sed in D o-support. L ik e o th e r a u x iliaries, d o m a y c o n stitu te a
re sid u a l o p e ra to r in c ases w h ere th e co n te n ts o f th e p re d ic a tio n a re im p lied
a n d d o n o t n eed to b e expressed. W e see a p arallel, in th is co n n ectio n ,
b e tw e e n [3] a n d [ 4 - 6 ] :
A : D o th ey p a y y o u fo r th e w o rk ?
[ Yes, th e y do.
• [N o , th e y don't. LJJ
A : W ill th ey p a y you fo r th e w ork?

[ Y e s , th e y will.
[ N o , th e y won't. LJ
A : A re th ey p a y in g you fo r th e w o rk ?
[ Y e s , th e y are. X
[ N o , th e y aren't.
A : H a m th e y b e e n p a y in g you fo r th e w o rk ?
_ [Y e s , th e y have. . .
[N cj, th e y haven't.
Ellipsis
2.52 T h e a b o v e re sp o n se fo rm s [3 -6 ] illu strate a n o th e r g ra m m a tic a l p ro cess, th a t
o f e l l i p s i s ( c f 12.3 Iff), w h ereb y elem ents o f a se n ten ce w h ic h a re p re d ic ta b le
fro m c o n te x t can b e o m itte d . E llipsis o bviously resem b les th e su b s titu tio n o f
p ro -fo rm s in its a b b re v ia to ry fu n ctio n , a n d b o th pro cesses w ill b e co n sid ered
in th is g ra m m a r u n d e r th e com m on h e ad in g o f r e d u c t i o n ( c f \ 2 . \ f f ) as
m e a n s o f a v o id in g re d u n d a n c y o f expression. T h e re is th u s a c h o ice b etw een
u n re d u ce d form s, p ro -fo rm s, a n d ellipsis, a s can be seen in th e follow ing
e q u iv a le n t a n sw e rs to [5]:
p a y in g m e for th e w ork, [u n re d u c e d ]
d o in g so. [p ro -fo rm ]
[e l l i p s i s ]
(O n th e p o sitio n a n d fu n c tio n o f th e in to n a tio n nucleus o n a re, c /1 8 .1 5 /, 2 .5 6

N o te .) R e d u ctio n is a p a rtic u la rly c lear illu stratio n o f th e a d v a n ta g e o f
ex p la in in g g ra m m atica l p h e n o m e n a in term s o f p ro c ess: w ith o u t p o s tu la tin g
o r ‘re co n stru c tin g ’ a n u n re d u c e d fo rm , w e should find it difficult to e x p la in
th e m ean in g a n d g ra m m a tic a l sta tu s o f reduced form s.
N o te A m o re careful analysis w ill la te r re q u ire th e recognition th a t on e p red icatio n m a y be em b e d d e d

in a n o th e r (c /3 .2 1 ). T h is is a lre a d y su g g ested by th e optio n al p resen ce o f been in a re d u c e d
a n sw e r to [6]:
Y es, th ey h av e (b een (p ay in g m e fo r th e work)).
H e re b o th th e in n e r b ra c k e ts a n d th e o u te r b ra c k e ts delim it a n o m issible p re d ic a tio n . T h u s th e r e
c a n b e m o re th a n on e p re d ic a tio n in a c lau se, eith e r by em bedding, as i n :
Y ou m u st [have [b een [w o rk in g to o hard]]],
o r b y co o rd in atio n , as i n :
Y ou m u st [[eat regularly] an d [g e t m o re exercise)].
O n e o f th e co n seq u en ces o f th is u se o f th e te rm ‘p red icatio n ’ is th a t a p re d ic a tio n m ay, u n lik e
th o se p red icatio n s exem plified in 2.48, b e p reced ed by m ore th a n on e a u x ilia ry , o f w h ich o n ly
th e first is to be co n sid ered a n o p e ra to r. T h e refo re in th e follow ing ex a m p le, th e c o o rd in a te d
elem en ts a re p re d ic a tio n s :
S om eone m u st h a v e [[broken in to th e house] a n d [stolen th e money]].
Nonassertive form s
2.53 I t is alread y c lear th a t th e re is a close co n n ectio n b etw een q u estio n s a n d
n e g atio n : b o th co n stru ctio n s in v o lv e a n o p erato r, an d th e q u e stio n -a n d -
an sw e r sequences in 2.51 [ 3 - 6 ] sh o w how a yes-n o q u estio n e lic its fro m its
a d d ressee a ch o ice b etw een a p o sitiv e an d neg ativ e sta te m en t. T h e term y e s -
n o q u e s t i o n itself rein fo rces th is p o in t.
Yes-no q u estio n s a re a lso re la te d to n eg atio n th ro u g h th e ir a sso c iatio n
w ith a set o f w o rd s w h ich w e m a y call n o n a s s e r t i v e f o r m s (c f 6.59/7): any;
anybody, anyw here, y e t, e tc . T h e s e in tu rn co n tra st w ith c o rre sp o n d in g
a s s e r t i v e f o r m s (some, som ebody, somewhere, already, e tc ) w h ich a re
asso ciated w ith p o sitiv e s ta te m e n ts :
H a v e you found any m i s t a k e s ^ ? [1]

Y es, I h av e fo u n d som e already. [2]
N o , I h a v en ’t fo u n d a n y y e t. [3]
T h e c o n tra st b etw een asse rtiv e n ess a n d nonassertiv en ess is b asically a logical
o n e : w h ereas a sen ten ce lik e [2] asserts th e tru th o f som e p ro p o sitio n , th e
q u e stio n [1] an d th e n e g a tiv e sta te m e n t [3] do n o t claim th e tru th o f th e
c o rresp o n d in g p o sitiv e s ta te m e n t. W e m ay th u s re p re se n t th e re la tio n s
b etw een [1 -3 ] by th e fo llo w in g d ia g ra m :
p o s iti v e
F ig 2 .5 3 N o n a s s e r t i v e t e r r i t o r y
84 A surve y of English grammar
T h e a rro w s re p re se n t relatio n s b etw een q u estio n an d (unreduced) an sw er,

a n d th e a r e a enclosed by th e b ro k e n l i n e --------------- m ay b e term ed
‘n o n a s s e rtiv e territo ry ’. H ow ever, th e p a ra d ig m o f [1 -3 ] is n o t co m p lete, in
a g ra m m a tic a l sense, u n til w e ad d a fo u rth category, th a t o f th e n eg ativ e
q u e s tio n :
H a v e n ’t you found any m istak es y et'! [4]
T h is c a n n o t be easily fitted in to F ig 2.53, for th ere is a fu n d a m e n ta l

a s y m m e try b etw een th e relatio n o f p o sitiv e to n eg ativ e statem en ts, a n d t h a t
o f p o s itiv e to n eg ativ e yes-n o qu estio n s. L ogically, n egative y e s-n o q u e stio n s
a r e e q u iv a le n t to po sitiv e ones, in th a t th ey elicit eq u iv alen t y e s a n d no
a n s w e r s : th e y differ fro m th e la tte r o n ly in in d ic a tin g th a t th e co rre sp o n d in g
n e g a tiv e sta te m e n t h as been im p lied ( t/T 1.7).
N o te W h e re a s it is freq u en tly im possible fo r a positiv e s ta te m e n t to co n tain no n assertiv e fo rm s ( * /

h ave a n y ideas), it is b y no m e an s unusual fo r a ssertiv e fo rm s to occu r in questions a n d n e g a tiv e
c l a u s e s : D o{n't)you have som e ideas? O u t use o f th e te rm ‘no n assertiv e territo ry ’ d o es n o t exclude,
a n d in d e e d a n tic ip a te s, a m o re d elicate stag e o f an aly sis { c f 10.61/) a t w hich w e ack n o w led g e
t h a t a ss e rtiv e form s c a n give an assertiv e ‘b ia s ’ to co n stru ctio n s w hich a re p red o m in a n tly
n o n a s s e rtiv e .
N e g a tive form s
2.54 T h e a d d itio n o f n eg ativ e qu estio n s th ere fo re in v ites a reanalysis o f F ig 2.53
as fo llo w s :
[j = ‘n e g a tiv e t e r r i t o r y ’
F i g 2 .5 4 N o n a s s e r t i v e a n d n e g a tiv e t e r r i t o r y
T h e ju stific atio n for in clu d in g a ‘n eg ativ e te rrito ry ’ w ith in th e larg er

‘n o n a s s e rtiv e te rrito ry ’ lies in th e ex isten ce o f a n o th e r set o f w o rd s, th e
n e g a t i v e f o r m s , w h ich m ark a clause as n eg ativ e ev en if th e w o rd n ot (-n't)
d o e s n o t o c c u r in it( c /6 .6 2 , 10.58/):
I saw nobody. [1]

[ = I d id n 't see anybody.]
H a v e you never b e en to L o n d o n ? [2]
[ = H a v e n ’/ you ever b een to L o n d o n ?]
W e th e re fo re h a v e th ree parallel sets o f w o rd s, as in th e follow ing:

a s s e rtiv e fo rm s : som e somebody som ething som etim es

n o n a s s e rtiv e fo rm s : a n y anybody anything ever
n e g a tiv e fo rm s : no nobody nothing never
In [1] an d [2] th e n e g a tiv e form s a re seen as e q u iv a len t in m ea n in g to not,

follow ed, n o t n e cessarily im m ed iately , by a n o n assertiv e fo rm (e g : never = n ot
. . . ever) ; b u t sin ce a n eg ativ e clause norm ally c o n ta in s o nly o n e m ark o f its
n eg ativ e sta tu s (c/1 0 .6 3 ), it is q u ite n a tu ra l for a n e g ativ e fo rm to be follow ed
by o n e o r m o re n o n a sse rtiv e form s in th e sam e clau se o r s e n te n c e :
Jo h n never in v ite s an y stu d en ts to his parties.

N o o n e ever g iv es h e r a n y encouragem ent.
I t is th is w h ich ju stifie s g ram m atically the tre a tm e n t o f n e g atio n as c arry in g

the im p licatio n o f n o n assertio n .
N o te L ike u’/j-w ords (c /2 .4 5 ), b o th n o n assertiv e a n d negative form s te n d to show a fam ily likeness in
th e ir m orphological fo rm . B u t ju s t as adi-words do n o t alw ays b eg in w ith th e spelling whr, so
n o n assertiv e fo rm s d o n o t alw ays begin w ith any-, n o r n e g a tiv e fo rm s w ith no-. A m o n g
ex ceptions are th e n e g a tiv e w o rd s fe w a n d rarely (c/10.59), a n d th e n o n asse rtiv e w o rd s ever a n d
y e t ( c f 10.60).
Scope
2.55 I n a cc o u n tin g fo r se n ten c e processes, we h ave fo u n d it n ecessary to refer to a
n u m b e r o f sp ecial classes o f w ord - p ro-form s (in clu d in g wh-w ords), a ssertiv e
form s, n o n a sse rtiv e fo rm s, n eg ativ e form s, o p e rato rs - w h ic h in te rse ct w ith
th e p rim a ry w o rd -class categories. T hese classes m ay b e d e sc rib e d a s h a v in g
a logical fu n c tio n r a th e r th a n a structural fu n ctio n in th e sen se o f 2.12. In
fact, all o f th e m e x ce p t o p e rato rs a re d istrib u te d acro ss a ra n g e o f w ord
classes, a n d c a n h a v e a n u m b e r o f different fu n ctio n s in clau se stru c tu re ; eg
as S, O , C , A . M o re o v er, th e ir c o n trib u tio n to th e m ea n in g o f th e sen ten ce
c an stre tc h w ell b ey o n d th e p a rticu la r p h rase in w h ich th ey occur. T h e ir
p o sitio n , too, m ay b rin g p a rtic u la r significance: fo r e x am p le, a vvft-word o r
a n o p e rato r a t th e b eg in n in g o f a sen ten ce will m a r k th e w hole o f w h a t
follow s it as a q u e stio n .
s c o pe is th e g e n era l te rm th a t w e shall use to d e sc rib e th e se m an tic
‘influence’ w h ic h su ch w o rd s have o n n eig h b o u rin g p a rts o f a sen ten ce. I t
deserves a tte n tio n b ecau se o f its close c o n n ectio n w ith th e o rd erin g o f
elem ents. T h e p o sitio n o f a n eg ativ e form , for in stan ce, is g en erally significant
in d efining w h a te v e r follow s it as n o n a sse rtiv e :
Som e p eo p le never sen d any C h ristm a s cards.
In such a se n ten c e, w e m ay say th a t any, b ecause it follow s never, is w ith in

th e scope o f n e g a tio n ( c f 10.64) w hile some is not. I t w ould th e re fo re n o t be
possible to rev erse th e p o sitio n s o f th e assertive an d n o n a sse rtiv e w ords:
*A ny p eo p le never sen d some C h ristm a s cards.
T h is sen ten ce m ay , how ever, be co n tra sted w ith a n allo w ab le se n ten ce in

w hich any people follow s a n e g a tiv e :
I d o n ’t k n o w a n y peo p le w ho never send C h ristm a s card s.

In a sim ila r w ay, th e o p e ra to r o r iWi-element w h ic h n o rm ally b eg in s a

q u e s tio n in d ic a te s t h a t w h a t follow s is w ith in th e sco p e o f in terro g atio n . I t is
th is w h ic h acco u n ts in p a r t fo r th e difference o f m ea n in g b e tw e e n :
D o e s he seriously b eliev e th a t? [1]

Seriously, does h e b eliev e th a t? [2]
o r b e tw e e n :
W h y d o esn ’t h e also ta k e th e c h ild ren a b ro ad ? [3]

A lso , w hy d o e sn ’t h e ta k e th e c h ild ren a b ro ad ? [4]
In [2] a n d [4] th e a d v e rb m u s t be in te rp rete d a s a sen ten c e a d v e rb ia l (c/2 .1 5 )

w h ic h , b ecau se o f its in itia l p o sitio n , is n o t p a r t o f th e m a tte r b ein g
q u e stio n e d .
Focus
2.56 T h e p o sitio n o f also in [3] a b o v e brin g s to n o tice a n o th e r p h en o m e n o n o f
‘se m a n tic in flu en ce’. W e sh a ll call c ertain a d v erb s, su ch as also, only, an d
even, f o c u s i n g s u | j u n c t s ( c f 8.116(f), becau se th ey h a v e th e p e cu liarity o f
e x te n d in g th e a p p lic a tio n o f th e ir m ea n in g to u n its o f v a ry in g size a n d
p o sitio n . T h u s [3] in d iffere n t co n tex ts could m ea n :
‘W h y d o esn ’t he (in a d d itio n to h is w ife) ta k e th e c h ild re n a b ro a d ? ’ [5]

‘W h y d o esn ’t h e ta k e the children (in a d d itio n to h is w ife)
a b ro a d ? ’ [6]
‘W h y d o esn ’t h e ta k e th e c h ild ren abroad (in a d d itio n to ta k in g
th e m to p lac es in th is c o u n try ) ?’ [7]
‘W h y d o esn ’t h e ta k e the children abroad (in a d d itio n to , say,
g iv in g th em p re se n ts )? ’ [8]
T h e ita lic ize d p a r ts o f th e s e p a ra p h ra se s id en tify th e d iffere n t focused

elem en ts w h ic h g iv e rise to th e a m biguities.
T h e a m b ig u itie s, h o w ev er, a re m o re a p p a re n t o n p a p e r th a n in speech.
T h is is o n e a sp e ct o f g ra m m a r fo r w h ich in to n a tio n p lay s a c ritica l role, since
the v a rio u s m ea n in g s o f [3] c a n b e largely d istin g u ish e d by d iffere n t p o sitio n s
of th e n u cleu s ( c f A p p I I. 11). F o r e x a m p le :
W h y d o e s n ’t h e F l s o t a k e t h e c h i l d r e n a b r o a d ? [5a]
W h y d o e s 'n ’t h e a l s o t a k e t h e C fflL D ren a b r o a d ? [6 a ]
W h y d o e s n ’t h e a ls o t a k e t h e c h i l d r e n aBROAD? [7a], [8 a ]
T he te rm f o c u s , in fa ct, w ill be m o re generally ap p lie d to th e v ary in g

p lac em e n t o f th e n u c le u s so a s to m a rk w h ich p a rts o f a n u tte ra n c e are m e a n t
to re p re se n t n ew o r c o n tra stiv e in fo rm a tio n ( c f 1 8 .8 /). T h e in te ra c tio n
b etw een in fo rm a tio n focus in th is sense, a n d scope in th e sense o f 2.55 is a
so m ew h at difficult a re a o f g ra m m a r ( c f esp 10.65) w h ich n ev erth eless h as
som e o b v io u s c o m m u n ic a tiv e effects. T h e nucleus c a n , fo r e x am p le, n a rro w
dow n th e n eg ativ e o r in te rro g a tiv e force o f a sen ten ce b y g iv in g c o n tra stiv e
p ro m in en ce to a p a rtic u la r i te m :
I d o n ’t d r i n k i N s t a n t c o f f e e .
c a r r ie s t h e i m p l i c a t i o n ‘I d r i n k s o m e c o f f e e , b u t n o t . . . ’, a n d s i m i l a r l y :
H a v e you read a l l h e r novels?
c arries th e im p lica tio n ‘I k now y o u ’ve read som e o f her novels, b u t w h a t I

w a n t to k n o w i s . . .*.
E n o u g h h a s b een said to suggest th a t a full u n d erstan d in g o f in te rro g a tio n ,
n e g atio n , a n d o th e r processes c a n n o t b e re ac h ed w ith o u t a study o f th e
p h e n o m e n a o f scope a n d focus. T h ese illu strate p articu larly clearly th e n e e d
fo r g ra m m a r to ta k e a cc o u n t o f o th e r asp ects o f language, especially th e
se m a n tic c o n tra sts w h ic h are realized th ro u g h g ra m m ar, an d th e p h o n o lo g ical
c o n tra sts th ro u g h w h ic h g ra m m a r itself is realized.
N o te I t is n o t su rp risin g th a t th e special g ram m atical fu n ctio n s o f o p erato rs, wh- w ords, a n d n e g a tiv e
. w o rd s a re asso cia ted w ith sp ecial m e an in g s w h e n th e focus is p laced o n th e se item s:
. W e h a v e b e e n w o r k i n g h a r d , ( c / f o c u s o n t h e o p e r a t o r ; 18.15/).
w h e n a r e y o u l e a v i n g ? ( c / e c h o q u e s t i o n s ; 11 . 33 # ) .
I w as n o t tellin g lies, ( c f de n ia l n eg a tio n ; 10.65 N o te [a]).
T h e s e a r e a l l , i n a w a y , s e c o n d - i n s t a n c e s e n t e n c e s , ie s e n t e n c e s a b o u t o t h e r s e n t e n c e s r a t h e r
t h a n s e n te n c e s a b o u t t h e w o r ld o u ts id e la n g u a g e . F o c u s o n th e o p e r a to r c a n in v o lv e t h e
i n t r o d u c t i o n o f D O - s u p p o rt, s h o w in g t h a t d o a s o p e r a t o r c a n b e f o u n d e v e n i n u n r e d u c e d
d e c la ra tiv e s e n te n c e s :
I d o b e lie v e y o u .
O th e r structural variations
D irectives an d exclam ations

2.57 W e finally ta k e b r ie f n o tic e o f g ra m m atica l processes o th er th a n th o se
c o n n ec te d w ith q u e stio n s a n d n eg atio n .
A p a r t fro m sta te m e n ts a n d q u estio n s, a classification o f sentences in te rm s
o f c o m m u n ica tiv e fu n c tio n (c/2 .4 6 ) m u st in clu d e d i r e c t i v e s ( c f 1 1 .2 4 /) a n d
EX CLA M ATIONS ( c f 11.31/). T h e fo rm er, in th e ir ty p ical form , co n ta in n o
su b je ct o r o p e ra to r: th ey co n sist sim ply o f a p re d ic atio n w ith a n im p e ra tiv e
v e rb , ie a v e rb in its base fo rm :
Be q u iet!
S earch th e ro o m c a re fu lly !
M a k e y o u rself a c u p o f tea.
T h is is. u n d e rsta n d a b le ; sin ce a n im p e rativ e n o rm ally refers to som e fu tu re

a ctio n w h ich th e h e a re r is urged to p erfo rm , its subject is sem an tically
p re d ic ta b le, a n d th ere fo re disp en sab le, w hile th e v erb p h ra se is req u ired to
m a k e n o d istin c tio n s o f tense, n u m b er, a n d person. Im p erativ es c a n ,
how ev er, b e n e g ativ e, a n d for th is do is in tro d u c ed as an im p erativ e m a rk e r
(c /1 1 .2 8 ):
D o n ’t h u rry !
D o n ’t b e frig h te n e d !
D o n ’t w a it for m e.
E x clam ativ es, a s a fo rm al c ategory, resem b le w /i-questions in b eg in n in g w ith

a wfi-word (w hat o r how), b u t differ from th e m in generally re ta in in g th e
reg u lar d e clara tiv e o rd e r o f su b ject a n d v e r b :
W h a t b e au tifu l c lo th e s she w e a r s !
H ow w ell P h ilip p lay s th e p ia n o !
88 A s u rve y of English grammar
(C o m p a r e th e vWi-questions W hat clothes does she wear? a n d H ow well does

P hilip p la y the piano?) T h e ex clam atory fo rce o f what an d how resides in th e ir
fu n c tio n a s a n in ten sify in g d e te rm in e r a n d ad v erb resp ectiv ely : the e lem en t
in w h ic h th e y o c cu r m ust be o vertly o r im p licitly subject to m od ificatio n s o f
d e g re e ( c f 7.42, 7 .8 7 /) . L ike d irectiv es, th ere fo re, they a re g ram m atically
r e s tr ic te d ; b u t th e ir restrictio n s a re o f a d ifferen t kind.
F o r e x a m p le th ey resem ble w /i-questions ra th e r th a n d irectiv es in th e ir
g e n e ra l u n su sce p tib ility to n e g a tio n :
?H o w w ell P h ilip d o esn ’t play th e p ia n o ! [ 1]

? W h a t b e au tifu l clothes she d o esn ’t w ear! [2]
T o e x p la in th is ten d en cy we m ay a g ain a p p e a l to th e n o tio n o f scope - th e

r e s t o f th e se n ten c e b ein g included in th e scope o f th e in itial in ten sify in g
p h ra s e . S in c e n eg ativ e states o f affairs c a n n o t be trea te d as m a tte rs o f d egree,
n e g a tiv e e x clam a tio n s a re unusual.
N o te T h u s [1] c a n b e g iv e n o nly a n irregular o r h u m o ro u s in terp re ta tio n such a s ‘I find P h ilip ’s

b e h a v io u r p e rfe c tly d elig h tfu l in th a t he, u nlike so m a n y o th e r people I know , d o es no t play th e
p ia n o ’.
P r a g m a t i c c o n s id e r a tio n s
2 .58 T h e p e c u lia ritie s o f d irectiv es an d e x clam atio n s h av e m u ch to do w ith th e ir
p r a g m a tic roles a s u tteran ces w hich re la te specifically to th e h e a re r’s a n d th e
s p e a k e r’s p a rtic ip a tio n in th e a c t o f c o m m u n ica tio n : a d irec tiv e is ‘h e are r-
o r ie n te d ’, w h e re a s a n e xclam ation is ‘sp e a k er-o rien ted ’.
I f we defip e p r a g m a t i c s as a stu d y o f language in re la tio n to th e
c o m m u n ic a tiv e fu n c tio n s it m ay be used to p erfo rm , th en th e re is a c ertain
d iv isio n o f la b o u r b etw een g ra m m ar a n d p ra g m a tic s w h ereb y th e m o re th e
c o n te x t c o n trib u te s to th e c o m m u n icativ e fo rce o f a n u tte ra n c e , th e less n eed
th e re is fo r th e u tte ra n c e to be g ram m atically explicit. In th is sense, d irectiv es
a n d e x c la m a tio n s are to w ard s the p ra g m a tic e n d o f th e scale. T h ey c an ta k e
m a n y fo rm s o th e r th a n th e stru ctu res ab o v e, an d are o ften red u cib le to
fo rm u la ic u tte ra n c e s w h ich m ak e very lim ite d use o f g ra m m atica l s tru c tu re :
O u t with i t! W h a t a d a y ! P erfect! e tc ( c f 1 1 .3 8 /). T o th e e x te n t th a t th e
situ a tio n lim its th e need for full a rticu la tio n o f m ean in g , se n ten ce g ra m m a r
b eco m es o tio se. H e re again, a tte n tio n m u st be g iv en to th e in te rac tio n
b etw een g r a m m a r a n d o th er facto rs in th e to ta lity o f lin g u istic c o m m u n ica
tio n . j
N o te T h e c o n trib u tio n o f g ra m m a r to th e co m m u n icativ e pro cess reac h es its m in im u m in u tteran ce s

w h ich a re m e re ly in terje ctio n s: O uch! H u sh ! ([fa]) etc. I t is w o rth n o tin g th a t these q u asi-
lin g u istic n o ises very freq u en tly have eith e r a n ex clam ato ry o r a n im p erativ e force (c/T 1.55). O n
th e o th e r h a n d , we m u st acknow ledge th a t sta te m e n ts a n d qu estio n s, too, c a n o ccu r as
in terje ctio n s o r in m a rk ed ly reduced form s: U h-huh, Yes, N o, E h?, R ight?, R eady?, etc.
G r a m m a ti c a l h ig h lig h t in g
2 .59 Still th in k in g o f g ra m m a r in a c o m m u n icativ e co n tex t, we n o tice th a t m an y
v a ria tio n s o f g ra m m a tic a l stru ctu re re late to th e sp e a k e r’s o r w riter’s need to
p re se n t th e m essag e in a form readily a d a p te d to th e a d d ressee ’s re q u ire m e n ts
as in te rp re te r. R e d u ctio n ( c f 2.52) a n d in fo rm a tio n focus ( c f 2.56), in
p a rticu la r, en ab le users o f lan g u ag e to suppress those ele m en ts o f m e a n in g

w h ich are in fo rm atio n ally p re d ic ta b le, a n d to h ig h lig h t th o se w h ic h a r e
in fo rm atio n ally im p o rta n t. In C h a p te r 18 we shall ex p lo re how s u c h
co n sid eratio n s in te ra c t w ith processes w hich involve v ary in g th e p o sitio n o f
elem en ts in th e sentence.
T h e so-called c l e f t s e n t e n c e ( c f 1 8 .2 5 /), for exam ple, is a g ra m m a tic a l
d ev ice sim ilar to, a n d asso c iated w ith , in fo rm atio n fo c u s: it e n a b le s the u se r
to select (w ith in lim its) w h ic h elem en t o f th e sen ten ce w ill b e h ig h lig h ted .
T h e cleft sen ten ce is d iv id e d in to tw o m ain p a rts : a n in itial fo cal ele m en t,
follow ed by a ‘b a c k g ro u n d ’ stru c tu re w hich resem bles a re la tiv e clause. F o r
th e sim ple sen ten ce [1] th e a lte rn a tiv e cleft sentences [ 2 -4 ] a re a v ailab le:
Ju lie bu y s h e r v eg etab le s in th e m ark et. [1]

I t ’s Julie th a t/w h o b u y s h e r vegetables in th e m ark e t. [2]
I t ’s her vegetables th a t Ju lie buys in the m ark et. [3]
I t ’s in the m a rket t h a t J ulie buys h er vegetables. [4]
A less com plex dev ice w ith a sim ila r function is f r o n t i n g : th e in itia l p lac in g
o f a n e lem en t su ch as a n o b jec t o r a n a d v erb ial (c/1 8 .2 0 ):
H e r vegetables Ju lie b u y s in th e m ark et.

In the m arket Ju lie b u y s h e r vegetables.
T h e o p p o site dev ice o f p o stp o n in g a norm ally nonfinal e le m e n t to final

p o sitio n is sh o w n by th e e x t r a p o s i t i o n o f a subject clau se ( c f 18.33), as in
[6 ]:
W hat yo u say d o e sn ’t m a tte r. [5]

~ I t d o esn ’t m a tte r w hat y o u say. [6]
T h e final p o sitio n gives th e e lem en t in q u estio n a d iffe re n t k in d o f

p ro m in en ce, w h ich w e sh all discuss u n d er th e h ead in g s o f en d -fo cu s a n d
en d -w eig h t ( c / 1 8 . 3 / 18.9).
T h e role o f the a n tic ip a to ry p ro n o u n it in [6] is essentially a s tru c tu ra l o n e
in th e sense th a t it c arries v irtu ally no in fo rm atio n in itself, b u t m erely
su p p lies th e stru ctu ral re q u ire m e n t for a n in itial subject. (Its sem an tic
fu n ctio n , in so far as it h a s o n e, is m erely to signal th a t th e c o n te n t o f th e
su b ject is expressed in a la te r p o sitio n in th e sam e sen ten ce.) A so m e w h a t
p aralle l role is p e rfo rm e d by th e in tro d u cto ry w o rd there in e x i s t e n t i a l
sen ten ces ( c f 1 8 .4 4 /), as in [8]:
Som eone ivas k n o c k in g a t th e d o o r. [7]

~ There was som eone k n o c k in g a t the door. [8]
T h e effect o f th e p relu d e there was in [8] is to p ostpone to a m o re ‘fo cu sed ’

p o sitio n th e in d efin ite p ro n o u n someone, w hich, becau se it u sh e rs in n ew
in fo rm a tio n , c an only u n easily fill th e unfocused po sitio n o f su b je ct (c /2 .5 5 ,
2.56).
W e h av e m erely h in te d a t th e co m m u n icativ e value o f th ese a p p a re n tly
u n n eed ed c o n stru ctio n s, a n d a t th e stylistic co n sid eratio n s w h ic h m ay lead
users o f E n g lish to select th em . B ut they en ab le us to stress o n ce a g a in th a t
th e stu d y o f g ra m m a tic a l p ro cess, in all its v ariety a n d a p p a re n t a rb itra rin e s s ,
co m p els us to p lace g ra m m a r in its b ro ad er co n tex t o f uses a n d users o f
lan g u ag e.
Gradience and multiple analysis

G radience
2 .6 0 G r a m m a r is to som e e x te n t a n in d e te rm in a te system . C a teg o ries an d
stru c tu re s , for ex am p le, o ften d o n o t h a v e n e a t b o u n d aries. G ra m m a ria n s
a r e te m p te d to o v erlo o k such u n c ertain tie s, o r to p re te n d th a t th ey d o n o t
e x is t. O u r g u id in g p rin cip le in th is g ra m m ar, how ever, will b e to ack now ledge
th e m , a n d w h ere a p p ro p ria te to ex p lo re th e m th ro u g h th e stu d y o f g r F d i e n c e .
A g r a d ie n t is a scale w h ich relates tw o c ateg o ries o f d e sc rip tio n (fo r exam ple
tw o w o rd classes) in term s o f d eg rees o f sim ila rity an d c o n tra st. A t th e ends
o f th e scale a re item s w h ic h b elo n g clearly to o n e categ o ry o r to a n o th e r;
in te rm e d ia te p o sitio n s o n th e scale a re ta k e n by ‘in -b etw een ’ cases - item s
w h ic h fail, in d iffere n t d egrees, to satisfy th e c riteria fo r o n e o r th e o th er
c a te g o ry . A t v a rio u s p o in ts in th e p re ce d in g survey w e h a v e h in te d a t
g ra d ie n c e ; in th e co n tra st b etw een c e n tra l a n d p e rip h e ra l e lem en ts o f th e
c la u se (2.13), b etw een a d ju n cts, su b ju n cts, disju n cts, a n d co n ju n cts (2.15),
b e tw e e n co m p lem en ts a n d a d v e rb ia ls (2 .1 7 /), b etw een m o d ificatio n an d
c o m p le m e n ta tio n (2.33).
T h e sim p lest cases o f g ra d ie n ce to id en tify a re those re la tin g to w ord
classes. W e shall see, fo r ex am p le, in 1 3 .1 8 /th a t th ere is a scale relatin g
c o o rd in a tin g a n d su b o rd in a tin g co n ju n ctio n s, su ch th a t a n d a n d i f re p re se n t
c le a r c ases o f e a c h category, w h ereas fo r is in a n in te rm ed iate p o sitio n :
C O O R D IN A T IN G SU B O R D IN A TIN G
a ndi -------------- f o r ----------------- *•;/
N e v erth e le ss, fo r is clo ser to i f in its sy n ta ctic b e h av io u r th a n to a n d ( c f

1 3.18/), a n d c an reaso n a b ly be classed as a p e rip h e ral su b o rd in a to r.
M u ltip le analysis
2.61 A n o th e r k in d o f in d ete rm in ac y is re v ea le d th ro u g h w h a t m a y be called
m u l t i p l e a n a l y s i s . I t is o n e th in g to an aly se a sen ten ce in to a m u ltip lic ity o f
sm a lle r u n its th ro u g h p ro g ressiv e su b d iv isio n , as show n in th e tre e d iag ra m s
o f 2 .3 -9 ; it is q u ite a n o th e r th in g to p ro p o se th a t tw o o r m o re d ifferen t
an aly ses, each re su ltin g in a d ifferen t c o n stitu e n t stru ctu re, c a n b e a p p lie d to
th e sa m e sen ten ce. T h ere a re o ccasio n s, h o w ev er, w hen su ch a lte rn a tiv e
an aly se s seem to b e n eed ed , o n th e g ro u n d s th a t som e o f th e g e n eralizatio n s
th a t h a v e to be m a d e re q u ire o n e a n aly sis, a n d som e req u ire a n o th e r. I t is for
th is re aso n th a t w e have p re sen te d , in th is c h a p te r, tw o w ays o f an aly sin g a
c la u s e : o n e an aly sis in term s o f th e e lem en ts S, V, O , C, a n d A , a n d th e o th er
in te rm s o f su b je ct a n d p re d ic ate , th e p re d ic a te b e in g su b d iv id e d in to
o p e ra to r a n d p re d ic atio n (c /2 .4 8 N o te). In o th e r cases, th ere a p p e a rs to b e a
g ra d ie n t b etw een tw o analyses, su ch th a t sen ten ces m ay v ary in th e deg ree
to w h ic h o n e an aly sis is m o re a p p ro p ria te th a n a n o th er.
A n im p o rta n t e x am p le o f m u ltip le a n aly sis is th a t re q u ired fo r p re p o sitio n a l
v erb s su ch as look a t a n d approve o f ( c f 16 .1 3 /0 . In th e term s o f th e p re sen t
c h a p te r, w e reg ard th e p re p o sitio n as in tro d u c in g a p re p o sitio n a l p h rase
w h ich fu n ctio n s as a n a d v e rb ia l:
Gradience and m ultiple analysis 91
[They] [d o n ’t approve] [o f noisy parties].
B u t th ere a re a lso g o o d reaso n s, such as th e p o ssib ility o f th e (rath e r aw k w ard )

passive N o isy p a rties are not approved o f for a n a lte rn a tiv e analysis in w h ich
noisy parties is tr e a te d a s a n o b ject o f th e m u lti-w o rd v e rb approve o f :
[They] [d o n ’t approve of] [noisy parties].
Such a lte rn a tiv e an aly ses a re fu rth e r discussed in 16.5.
Conclusion
2.62 B o th th e co m p le x ities a n d in d eterm in acies o f g ra m m a r p lace th e p ro sp ect o f
w ritin g a co m p le te a n d d efin itiv e g ram m atical d e sc rip tio n o f E nglish beyond
reaso n ab le e x p e c ta tio n . G iv e n in ev itab le lim ita tio n s, w h a t w e aim to ach iev e
here is a d e sc rip tio n w h ic h co m b in es b re ad th o f co v erag e a n d d e p th o f d etail,
a n d in w h ic h o b s e rv a tio n o f p a rticu la rities goes h a n d in h a n d w ith th e search
for g en eral a n d sy ste m atic e x p lan atio n s.
F o r th e g en e ra l a p p lic a tio n o f vario u s m odels o r theories to E n g lish g ram m ar, see A k m ajian a n d
H en y (1975); B loom field (1933); B row n an d M iller (1982); D ik (1978); F illm ore (1977b);
H udd lesto n (1976b, 1984); H u d so n (1976a); N ew m eyer (1980); P ik e a n d P ik e (1977); R ad fo rd
(1982); S tockw ell e t a l (1973).
D escrip tiv e a n d re fe re n c e g ra m m a rs o f E nglish include C u rm e (1931); Jespersen (1909-1949,
1933); K ru isin g a (1 9 3 1 -3 2 ); P o u tsm a (1 926-29); Q u irk et a l (1972); S v a rtv ik an d S ag er (1980);
S w eet (1 891-98); V isse r (1 9 6 3 -7 3 ); Z a n d v o o rt (1975).
O n asp ects o f E n g lish s en te n ce stru ctu re, see C ry stal (1980); F irb a s (1974); G reen b au m
(1980); H allid ay (1963); H u d d lesto n (196 5 ,1 9 7 1 ); H u dson (1971); Y o u n g (1980).
O n elem en ts o f s tru c tu re a n d th e ir sy n tac tic an d sem a n tic re la tio n s (b o th in E nglish an d in
o th e r languages), see A b ra h a m (1978); A llerton (1980); J a c o b so n (1964); Li (1975, 1976);
M ath esiu s (1975); M a tth e w s (1980).
S tudies rele v a n t to th e b o u n d a rie s o f g ram m ar include th e fo llo w in g : (a) relatin g to sem antics
a n d p ra g m a tic s: A u stin (1962); B olinger (1977a); G iv o n (1979); S earle (1969,1979); (b) relatin g
to lexical s tru c tu re s: H a llid a y (1966); S ch o p f (1969), esp C h 3.
O n topics re la te d to g ra d ie n c e a n d m u ltip le analysis, see B olinger (1961a, 1961b); G iv o n
(1984); L a k o ff(1 9 8 2 ); M o h a n (1977); Q u irk (1965); R oss (1973).
A m o n g o th e r w o rk s re le v a n t to th e g en eral analysis o f g ra m m a tic a l co n cep ts an d categories
a re A llerton (1979); E llegfird (1978); G leaso n (1965), esp P t 2 ; G re e n b a u m (1973a, 1977a);
H o ck ett(1 9 6 8 ); L e h m a n n (1978); L yons (1966,1977 esp V o l2 ); M a tth e w s (1974,1981); R o b in s
(1980, esp C h s 5 a n d 6 ); S o ren sen (1958).
F o r fu rth e r b ib lio g ra p h ic a l in fo rm atio n , consult S cheurw eghs (1963-68), V o rlat (1979), a n d
Y a s u i( 1 9 7 9 ,1983).
3 Verbs and auxiliaries
3.1 M a jo r v e rb c la s s e s 96
3 .2 -2 0 F u ll v e r b s 96
.2 -6 T h e m orphology o f re g u la r verbs 96
.2 V erb form s a n d th e v e rb p h rase 96
.3 -4 T h e m orp h o lo g y o f re g u la r full verbs 98
.5 T h e -m g p a rticip le a n d th e -s form 98
.6 T h e p a st fo rm a n d th e -e d particip le 100
.7 -1 0 T h e spelling o f re g u la r v e rb inflections 100
.8 D o u b lin g o f c o n so n a n t befo re -ing a n d -ed 100
.9 D e letio n o f a n d a d d itio n o f -e 102
.10 T re a tm e n t o f -y 102
.1 1 -2 0 T h e m orphology o f irre g u la r full verbs 103
.12 Irreg u la r v erb classes 104
.1 3 -1 9 Irreg u la r v erb s liste d in class o rd er 105
.13 C lass 1 105
.14 C lass 2 10 6
.15 C lass 3 10 7
.16 C lass 4 108
.17 C lass 5 111
.18 C lass 6 11 2
.19 C lass 7 114
.20 Irreg u la r v erb s (in clu d in g derivatives) in a lp h a b e tic a l
o rd er 114
3 .2 1 -3 0 V e r b s in a u x i l i a r y f u n c t i o n 120
.2 2 -3 0 C rite ria for a u x iliary v e rb s 121
.22 (a) O p e rato r in n e g a tio n w ith not 121
.23 (b) N e g ativ e a n d v e rb co n tractio n s 122
.24 (c) In v ersio n o f su b je ct a n d o p erato r 124
.25 (d) E m p h a tic p o sitiv e 124
.26 (e) O p e rato r in re d u c e d clauses 125
.27 (f) P re-ad v erb p o s itio n 126
.28 (g) Q u an tifier p o sitio n 126
.29 (h) In d e p en d e n ce o f su b ject 126
.30 A d d itio n al fe a tu re s o f m o d al auxiliary verbs 127
3 .3 1 -3 8 T h e p rim a r y v e r b s | e , h F v e , and d o 129

.32 BE 129
.3 3 -3 5 HAVE 130
.3 4 -3 5 h F e as m ain v e rb 131
.3 6 -3 8 DO 132
.37 D O -su p p o rt 133
.38 d o as m a in v e rb 134
3.39 Modal auxiliaries 135
3.40-51 Verbs of intermediate function 136

.41-44 M a rg in al m o d a ls : d a r e , n e e d , o u g h t to , a n d u s e d to 138
.42 dare a n d need 138
.43 o u g h t to 139
.44 u s e d to 140
.45-46 M o d al id io m s : h a d b e tte r , e tc 141
.46 T h e m ean in g s o f th e m o d al id io m s 142
.47-48 S e m i-au x iliaries: b e g o in g to , e tc 143
.48 have to 145
.49 C a te n a tiv e v erb c o n stru ctio n s 146
.50-51 S om e fu rth er asp ects o f th e g ra d ie n c e b etw een m o d als a n d
m ain v erb s 147
3.52-57 The structure of verb phrases 149

.52 F in ite verb p h rases 149
.53 N o n fin ite v erb p h rases 150
.54-56 S im p le a n d c om plex v e rb p h ra se s 151
.55 S im ple a n d co m plex fin ite v e rb p h ra ses 152
.56 S im ple a n d co m plex n o n fin ite v e rb p h ra se s 153
.57 G ra d ien c e b etw een o n e a n d tw o v e rb p h ra ses 154
3.58-62 The subjunctive mood 155

.59-62 U ses o f th e su b ju n ctiv e 156
.59 T h e m an d a tiv e su b ju n c tiv e 156
.60 T h e fo rm u laic su b ju n ctiv e 157
.61 O th e r uses o f th e p re se n t su b ju n c tiv e 158
.62 T h e w ere-subjunctive 158
3.63-78 A ctive and passive voice 159

.64-65 V oice defined 159
.65 T h e activ e-p a ssiv e c o rre sp o n d e n c e 159
.6 6 T h e p assiv e a u x iliaries: fie a n d g et 160
.67-73 V oice c o n strain ts 162
.68-69 V e rb c o n strain ts 162
.69 P re p o sitio n a l v erb s 163
.70 O b je ct c o n strain ts 163
.71 A g e n t c o n strain ts 164
.72 M e a n in g c o n strain ts 165
.73 F re q u e n cy c o n strain ts 166
.74-78 T h e p assiv e g ra d ie n t 167
.75 C e n tra l p assiv es 167
.76 S em i-p assiv es 168
.77 P seu d o -p a ssiv e s 169
.78 S u m m ary 171

96 V erbs and auxiliaries
M ajor verb classes
3.1 T h e fu n ctio n o f th e V e le m en t in E nglish clause stru c tu re , as o u tlin ed in

2 .1 3 -2 4 , is realized by th e v e r b p h r a s e , w hich co n sists o f o n e o r m ore verb
c o n stitu e n ts , eg:
S h e l e f t y esterd ay . She w o n ’t le a v e tom orrow .

H a s she n o t l e f t y e t? She w ill le a v e to m o rro w .
D i d she le a v e y e sterd a y ? She m ig h t b e l e a v in g n ex t w eek.
V e rb s , as a class o f w o rd s, c a n b e d ivided in to th re e m ajo r categories,

a c c o rd in g to th e ir fu n c tio n w ith in th e verb p h ra se; w e d istin g u ish th e o p en
c la ss o f f u l l v e r b s (o r lex ic al v erb s) such as l e a v e ( c / 3 . 2 / " ) fro m th e closed
c la sses o f p r i m a r y v e r b s ( b e , h a v e , an d d o ; c f 3 .3 1 # ) an d o f m o d a l
a u x i l i a r y v e r b s (w ill, m ig h t, e tc ; c /3 .3 9 ). O f th ese th ree classes, th e full
v e rb s c a n a c t o nly a s m a in v erb s ( c / 2 . 2 8 ) , the m o d al a u x iliaries c a n a c t only
a s a u x iliary verbs, a n d th e p rim a ry verbs can a c t e ith e r a s m a in v erb s o r as
a u x ilia ry verbs.
N o te [a] S o m e v erb s (variously te rm e d m a rg in a l m odals, sem i-auxiliaries, c a te n a tiv e v erbs, etc) hav e
a s ta tu s in te rm e d ia te b etw een th a t o f m a in verbs an d th a t o f au x iliary v erbs. (T hese a re discussed
in 3 .4 0 - 3 .5 1 .)
[b ] s m
F l l c
F p it
F l s are g en e ra lly u sed in th is ch a p te r in c itin g a v erb as a lexical item (c/2 .3 5 )
in ste a d o f as a g ra m m a tic a l fo rm . W e w ill c ite th e m odal auxiliaries, how ever, in italics , sin ce it
is o fte n m o re a p p ro p ria te to reg a rd can a n d could (for exam ple) a s in v a riab le w ords, th a n as
fo rm s o f th e sam e le xical ite m { c f 4.4 9 ./, w here special uses o f th e p a s t m o d al form s could, m ig ht,
would, a n d should a re discussed).
Full verbs
The m orphology o f regular verbs
V erb fo rm s and the verb p h rase

3.2 R e g u la r full verbs, e g c a l l , h av e fo u r m orphological fo rm s. Irreg u la r full
v erb s v a ry in th is re sp e c t; a v e rb lik e s p e a k h as five, w h e rea s c u t h as only
th ree fo rm s (n o te, h o w ev er, th a t th e p rim ary verb b e ( c / 3 . 3 2 ) h a s as m an y as
eig h t form s).
REGULAR VERBS IRREGULAR VERBS
(1) BASE FORM call want speak cut win

(2) -S FORM calls wants speaks cuts wins
(3) -ING PARTICIPLE calling wanting speaking cutting winning
(4) PAST FORM called wanted spoke cut won
(5) -ED PARTICIPLE called wanted spoken cut won
T hese v e rb fo rm s h a v e d iffe re n t fu n ctio n s in finite a n d n o n fin ite v erb p h rases

( c f 3.52\ff) . O n th is b asis, th e - s form a n d th e p a s t fo rm a re called f i n i t e ,
w h ereas th e -in g p a rtic ip le a n d th e - e d p a rticip le a re called n o n f i n i t e . T h e
Full verbs 97
base fo rm (the fo rm w h ich h as n o inflection) is so m etim es fin ite, a n d

so m etim es n onfinite (see below ). In a finite v erb p h ra se (th e k in d o f v e r b
p h ra se w h ich n o rm ally o ccu rs in sim p le sen ten ces), only th e first v e rb w o rd
(in b old face below ) is fin ite :
S h e c a lls h im every day.

She i s c a llin g h im now .
S h e has c a lle d tw ice today.
a n d th e su b seq u en t verbs, if any, a re non fin ite. I n a n onfinite v erb p h ra se , o n

th e o th e r h a n d , all v e rb s are n o n fin ite ; e g :
C a llin g early, sh e fo u n d h im a t hom e.

C a lle d early, h e a te a q u ick b re ak fa st.
H a v in g b e e n c a ll e d early, h e fe lt sleepy all day.
T h e difference b etw een finite an d n o n fin ite p h rases is d iscussed in g r e a te r

d e ta il in 3 .5 2 # H e re w e confine o u r a tte n tio n to th e sy n tactic d e p lo y m e n t o f
th e v e rb form s o f w h ich v erb p h ra se s are c o m p o s e d :
(1) T h e b a s e f o r m (c a ll, s p e a k , c u t, etc) o ccu rs a s (a) a f i n i t e fo rm i n :

(i) th e p re sen t ten se in all p erso n s a n d n u m b ers ex cep t 3 rd p e rso n
sin g u lar (w h ich h a s th e -s fo rm ): I j y o u j w e l t h e y c a ll r e g u la r ly , (c /3 .5 4 ,
4 .3 # )
(ii) th e im p e ra tiv e : C a ll a t o n c e ! ( c f 3 .5 4 ,1 1 .2 4 # )
(iii) th e p re sen t su b ju n ctiv e: T h e y d e m a n d e d t h a t s h e c a ll a n d s e e th e m ,
( c f 3.59-61)
I t also o ccu rs a s (b) a n o n f i n i t e fo rm i n :
(i) th e b a re in fin itiv e : H e m a y c a ll to n ig h t.
(ii) th e M -in fin itiv e: W e w a n t h e r t o c a ll, ( c f 3 .5 3 ,1 4 .6 # )
(2) T h e -s f o r m ( c a lls , s p e a k s , c u ts , etc) o ccu rs as a f i n i t e fo rm i n : 3 rd p e rs o n

sin g u lar p re sen t te n s e : H e / S h e c a lls e v e r y d a y .
(3) T h e - i n g p a r t i c i p l e (calling, speaking, cutting, etc) occurs a s a n o n f i n i t e

fo rm in :
(i) th e pro g ressiv e a sp ect follow ing b e : H e ’s c a llin g h e r n o w . ( c f 4.2 5 # )
(ii) - in g p a rticip le clau ses: C a llin g e a r ly , I f o u n d h e r a t h o m e , ( c f 3.53,
1 4 .6 # )
(4) T h e p a s t FORM ( c a lle d , s p o k e , c u t , etc) o ccurs as a f i n i t e fo rm in th e p a s t

te n s e : S o m e o n e c a lle d y e s te r d a y , ( c f A. 1 1 # )
(5) T h e -E D p a r t i c i p l e (c a lle d , s p o k e n , c u t, etc) occurs as a NONFINITE fo rm

in :
(i) th e p erfectiv e a sp e ct follow ing h a v e : H e h a s c a lle d tw ic e to d a y , ( c f
4 .1 8 # )
(ii) th e p assiv e voice follow ing b e : H e r b r o th e r is c a lle d J o h n , ( c /3 .6 3 # )
(iii) - e d p a rticip le c la u se s: C a lle d e a r ly , h e a t e a q u ic k b r e a k fa s t, ( c f 3.53,
1 4 .6 # )
A s w ill becom e c le are r w h en we discuss th e stru ctu re o f th e v e rb p h ra se

(3 .5 2 # ), th e n o n fin ite fo rm s o f th e v e rb occur n o t only in n o n fin ite v e rb
p h ra ses, b u t also in n o n in itia l p o sitio n s in finite verb phrases.
98 V e rb s and auxiliaries
N o te T h e -in g p a rtic ip le is som etim es called the ‘p resen t p a rtic ip le ’, an d th e -e d p articip le is som etim es
c a lle d t h e ‘ p a s t p a rtic ip le ’ o r, w ith tra n sitiv e v erb s, th e 'p assiv e p a rtic ip le ’. S ince th ese term s
a r e p o te n tia lly m islead in g , we p refer to use term s w h ich a re d e sc rip tiv e o nly o f m orp h o lo g ical
fo rm . N o te , h o w ev er, th a t th e -e d particip le ow es its n a m e to th e form , th is p articip le ta k e s in
r e g u la r v e rb s ; so m e irre g u lar verbs (eg: taken) h av e a m o re d istin c tiv e en d in g in -en, a n d som e
g r a m m a r ia n s fo r th is reaso n have preferred th e te rm '-en p a rtic ip le ’.
T h e m o rp h o lo g y o f reg u lar full verbs

3.3 M o rp h o lo g ica lly , full v erb s a re c o n sid ered u n d e r tw o h e a d s : r e g u l a r v erb s
(su ch a s c a l l ) a n d i r r e g u l a r verbs (su ch as d r i n k ) . I n b o th types, th e -s
fo rm a n d th e -ing p a rticip le form are a lm o st in v ariab ly p re d ic ta b le fro m th e
b a se . I r re g u la r v e rb s differ fro m th e re g u la r v erbs, h o w ev er, in th a t th e p a st
fo rm a n d th e -e d p a rticip le o f irreg u lar v e rb s can n o t be p re d ic te d by g en eral
ru le f ro m th e base.
3.4 R e g u la r full v e rb s h a v e only fo u r d ifferen t f o r m s :

BASE call lik e try
-ing PARTICIPLE calling likin g trying
- S FORM calls likes tries
PAST FORM o r -e d PARTICIPLE called lik e d tried
T h ese v e rb s a r e called reg u lar becau se i f w e k n o w th e b a se fo rm (ie th e

d ic tio n a ry eritry fo rm ; c f 2.35) o f su ch a v e rb , we c a n p re d ic t all its o th e r
fo rm s b y rule; T h is is a very pow erful g e n era liz atio n , sin ce th e v a st m ajo rity
o f E n g lish v e rb s b elo n g to th e reg u lar class. F u rth e rm o re , n e w v erb s t h a t a re
co in e d o r b o rro w e d fro m o th e r lan g u ag es a d o p t th is p a tte rn ; eg: x e ro x ~
x e ro xin g ~ x ero x e s ~ xeroxed. A s th e p a s t fo rm a n d th e -ed p a rticip le fo rm
a re id e n tic a l fo r all reg u lar verbs, it w ill b e c o n v e n ie n t to re fe r to th e m b o th
as th e -e d fo rm , d istin g u ish in g w here n ecessary b etw een th e \ - e d l (p a st
ten se) a n d \ - e d 2 (-e d p articip le) form s.
N o te [a] T h e p ro c e ss o f assim ila tin g foreign w ords to th e reg u lar p a tte rn is m o re m a rk e d in v erbs
th a n in n o u n s , w h e re foreign plurals are o fte n k e p t in E n g lish , so m etim e s w ith a n a lte rn a tiv e
n a tiv e e n d in g antenna ~ antennae/antennas.
[b] S o m e a rc h a ic 2 n d p erso n an d 3rd person sin g u la r p resen t-ten se v erb fo rm s su rv iv e in very
re stric te d u s e : ch iefly in tra d itio n a l litu rg ical lan g u ag e. T h e 2 n d p erso n fo rm s w ith thou as
su b jec t ( c /6 .1 2 N p te [c]) e n d in -est /ist/, /est/, w h ereas th e even ra r e r 3rd p erso n form s e n d in
-eth /iQ IJ e Q /:
(th o u ) callest givest hearest
(h e/sh e ) calleth giveth heareth
C o n tra c te d n o n sy lla b ic en d in g s -st a n d -th o cc u r w ith th e p rim a ry v erb s h a v e a n d d o : hast,
h a th ; d ost /d A st/, d o th /dA0 / . (S im ilar form s saist, saith /seO/ o ccu r w ith th e v e rb s a y , w h ich also,
how ever, h a s th e re g u la r fo rm s sayest a n d sayeth.) T h e p rim a ry v erb BE, h ere as elsew h ere, is
highly irre g u la r: it h a s n o -st o r -th form s, b u t it h as th e a rc h a ic 2 n d p erso n fo rm a rt a n d a n
an alo g o u s p a s t te n se fo rm w ert : thou, art/w ert. O th e r v erb s h av e - ( e ) s t ’thou- fo rm s’ in th e p a s t
te n se : hadst, d id s t , gavest, earnest, etc. T h e spelling o f th e -est form s o f see a n d lie is irre g u lar:
seest /s iw s t/; liest /lai-ist/.
A ll th e m o d a l a u x ilia rie s except th o se en d in g in -t h a v e sp ecial ’thou- fo rm s’ : w i l l ^ wilt,
shall — shall, can ~ canst, m a y ~ m ayst, would wouldst, should ~ shouldst, could couldst.
The -in g p a rticip le and the -s form

3.5 T h e -ing fo rm o f b o th reg u lar a n d irre g u la r v e rb s is fo rm ed by a d d in g -ing
/iq / to th e b a s e :
Full verbs 99
w a lk ~ w a lk in g a g r e e ~ a g r e e in g p u s h ~ p u s h in g
s in g ~ s in g in g p a s s ~ p a s s in g w e e p ~ w e e p in g
(O n th e spelling o f th e - in g p a rticip le, c f i . l f f . ) T h e -s form o f b o th re g u la r

a n d irreg u lar v erb s (so m e tim es spelled -e s ; c /3 .9 ) is also p re d ic ta b le fro m th e
base. It h a s th ree p ro n u n c ia tio n s /iz/, /z/, an d /s/, w hich o c c u r u n d e r th e
follow ing p h onological c o n d itio n s:
(a) /iz/ a fte r b ases e n d in g in v o iced o r voiceless sib ila n ts; e g :
T a b le 3 .5 a
B A SE - S FO RM BASE - S FORM
/- pass
s/ ~ passes l-stzl /-d ll budge ~ budges /-d 3 iz /
/- buzz
z/ ~ buzzes /-z iz / H I push ~ pushes /-f iz /
/-t]/ catch ~ catches /-tjiz / /-$/ camouflage ~ camouflages /-3 i z /
F o r th ese cases, th e -s fo rm alw ay s ends in -es.
(b) /z / a fte r b ases e n d in g in vo iced sounds o th er th a n sib ila n ts, in clu d in g

vow els; eg:
T a b le 3 .5 b
/- l/ c a ll ~ c a lls /-lz / /-b / ro b ~ ro b s /- b z /

j-ii/ fle e — flie s j-iiz j / - a i/ tr y ~ tr ie s l- t tiz j
(c) /s/ a fte r b ases e n d in g in voiceless sounds o th er th a n sib ilan ts, e g :
T a b le 3 .5 c
/-1/ cut ~ c u ts j-ts l /-k / lo c k ~ lo c k s /- k s /

/- p / hop ~ hops j-p sj /-f/ co u g h - coughs /- f s /
T h e rules o n th e sp ellin g - e s (g o /g o e s ), the ch an g in g o f - y to -i- ( tr y /tr ie s ) , e tc

a re th e sam e as fo r th e re g u la r p lu ral o f nouns (c/5.81).
N o te [a ] A p a rt fro m th e th re e p rim a ry v erb s BE, h a v e , an d d o (c /3 .3 1 g ), th e only v erb s w hich h a v e

a n irre g u lar -s fo rm a re sa y /set/ — s a y s /sez/, an d d eriv ativ es o f d o , eg: outdo /-d u :/ — outdoes
/ - d A z / ; overdo /-du*./ overdoes /-d a z /. I n th e -s form , SAY is irre g u lar in p ro n u n c ia tio n , b u t n o t in
spellin g, g a i n s a y , h isto rically a d e riv a tiv e o f s a y , m ay h av e a reg u lar o r a n irre g u lar
p ro n u n ciatio n in th e -s f o r m : g a in sa ys /-seiz/ o r /-sez/.
[h] I n som e v arieties o f E n g lish (eg S o u th A frican E nglish a n d m a n y v arieties o f A m E ) th e
p ro n u n ciatio n o f th e sy llab ic e n d in g o f th e -s form is /oz/ ra th e r th a n /iz/. S im ilarly , th e syllabic
-ed fo rm (c/3 .6 ) is p ro n o u n ced in su c h v arieties as /a d / ra th e r th a n /id /.
[c] A co m m o n (especially n o n s ta n d a rd ) p ro n u n ciatio n o f th e -ing inflection is /in /, c o n v e n tio n ally
sp elt -in’; eg: g e n in ' /'g etin /.
[ d ] T h e v erb lightning — lightnings ~ lightning ~ lightninged is a sole e x c ep tio n to th e rule fo r
fo rm in g th e -ing p artic ip le . S in ce th e base form o f th e verb alread y en d s in a n -ing suflix, n o
fu rth e r -ing is a d d e d : f t is tightning/*lightninging. T h e -ing p artic ip le o f th is v e rb is a v o id ed
p ro b ab ly because o f th e a w k w a rd n e ss o f th is irregularity.
T h e p a s t fo rm an d th e - e d participle
3.6 L ik e th e - s fo rm , th e p a st a n d the - e d p a rticip le fo rm s (b o th term ed the -e d
fo rm ) o f re g u la r v erb s have th ree p ro n u n c ia tio n s:
(a) /id / a f te r b ases e n d in g in /d / a n d /t/, eg:
pad ~ padded /-d id / p a t ~ p a tte d /-tid /
(b ) /d / a f te r b a se s en d in g in voiced sounds o th e r th a n /d /, inclu d in g vowels,

eg:
b u zz ~ b u zzed j- zd / budge ~ budged /-d 3 d /

c a ll ~ c a lle d /-Id / to w ~ to w e d /- s o d /
(c) / t/ a f te r b a se s en d in g in voiceless sounds o th e r.th a n /t/, eg:
p a ss ~ p a ssed /-st/ pack ~ packed /-k t/
N o te S o m e ex c e p tio n s to th e second rule abo v e a re verbs lik e dw ell ~ dw eliedldw elt, w hich (esp in
B rE ) m a y e n d in jx) r a th e r th a n /d /. T h e devoicing m ay also be reflected in a n irreg u lar sp ellin g :
dw elt. T h e se v e rb s a r e classed as irre g u lar verbs (c/3.13).
T h e sp elling o f regular verb inflections

3.7 T h e ru les in 3.5 - 6 a p p ly to p ro n u n ciatio n , b u t c e rta in ad d itio n al rules have
to b e s ta te d to a c c o u n t fo r th e spellings o f v erb s w ith reg u lar v erb inflections.
F ir s t, h o w e v e r, w e n o te th e g en eral spelling rules:
T h e - i fo rm is w ritte n -s: lo o k ~ lo o k s
T h e - i n g fo rm is w ritte n - in g : lo o k ~ lo o k in g
T h e - e d fo rm is w ritte n - e d : lo o k ~ lo o k e d
T h e s e ru les a p p ly ex ce p t w here o n e o f th e follow ing a d d itio n al changes

a p p lie s : d o u b lin g o f th e final co n so n an t o f th e base ( c /3 .8 ) ; deletio n o r
a d d itio n o f a fin al - e (c /3 .9 ); su b stitu tio n o f-;- fo r a final - y o r vice versa ( c f
3.10).
T h e s e a d d itio n a l ru les a re n ecessary in .o rd e r to a c c o u n t for such a p p are n t
a n o m a lie s as a re illu stra te d in th e follow ing d istin c tio n s :
A s w e see a b o v e, final - e c an be p reserv ed to av o id co n fu sio n in p airs like

a n d d y e i n g (c /3 .9 ).
d y in g
D oubling o f co n so n an t before - i n g and - e d

3 .8 A single c o n s o n a n t le tte r a t th e en d o f th e base is d o u b led b efo re - i n g a n d -ed
w h en th e p re c e d in g vow el is stressed a n d sp e lt w ith a single letter:
b a r ~ 'b a r r i n g ~ b a r r e d
b e g ~ 'b e g g i n g ~ b e g g e d
Full verbs 101
o c 'c u r ~ o c 'c u r rin g ~ o c 'c u r r e d

p e r m it ~ p e r m ittin g — p e r m itte d
p a 'tr o l ~ p a 'tr o llin g ~ p a 'tr o lle d
T h e re is n o rm ally n o d o u b lin g w h en th e p reced in g vow el is u n stre sse d

( 'e n te r ~ 'e n te r in g ~ 'e n te r e d , 'v isit ~ 'v isitin g ~ 'v is ite d ) o r is w ritte n w ith tw o
letters (d r e a d ~ d r e a d in g ~ d r e a d e d ).
W ith som e final c o n so n an ts, how ever, d o ubling occurs ev en w h en th e
p re ce d in g vow el is u n stressed . I n th e follow ing cases (a - c), d o u b lin g is
n o rm al in B rE , w h ereas it is a n a ltern ativ e an d less fav o u red p ra c tic e in
AmE:
(a) V erbs e n d in g in a n u n stressed vowel follow ed by -I:
'tr a v e lle d (B rE a n d A m E )
'tr a v e l
'tr a v e le d <A m E o n ly )
S im ila rly : 'c a n c e l, 'c o u n se l, 'd ia l, 'm o d e l, 'sig n a l, etc.
(b) V erb s e n d in g in a n u n stressed vowel follow ed by - m ( m e ) :
'p r o g r a m ( m e ) 'p r o g r a m m in g 'p r o g r a m m e d ( B rE a n d A m E )

'p ro g r a m 'p r o g r a m in g 'p r o g r a m e d ( A m E o n ly )
(c) S om e v erb s e n d in g in a n u n stressed vowel follow ed by - p :
'w o rs h ip p e d (B rE a n d A m E )
'w o rsh ip
'w o rs h ip e d ( A m E o n ly )
T h e verbs h a n d ic a p an d k i d n a p also follow th e p a tte rn o f w o rs h ip . B u t m o st

v erb s en d in g in -p a fte r a n u n stressed vowel have n o d o ubling e ith e r in B rE
o r in A m E : d e 'v e lo p ^ d e 'v e lo p in g ~ d e 'v e lo p e d , 'g a llo p ~ 'g a llo p in g ~ 'g a l
lo p e d , 'g o ssip ~ 'g o ss ip in g ~ 'g o s s ip e d , etc.
(d) V erbs e n d in g in a n u n stressed vowel follow ed by -g:
'h u m b u g 'h u m b u g g in g 'h u m b u g g e d
B u t n o te <A m E> 'c a ta lo g ~ 'c a ta lo g in g ~ 'c a ta lo g e d .
(e) I n v erb s e n d in g w ith vow el + - c , the d o ubling o f th e final c o n so n a n t is

spelt - c k - \
'p a n ic 'p a n ic k in g 'p a n ic k e d

'tr a ffic 'tr a ffic k in g 'tr a ffic k e d
S im ilarly 'fr o lic , 'b iv o u a c , etc.
( 0 I n c ertain v erb s w hose b ase en d s in a vowel follow ed by - s , th ere is

v a ria tio n b etw een -s - a n d -s s- w h e n th e v erb suffix is a d d e d :
'b ia s 'b ia s in g /'b ia s s in g 'b ia s e d j'b ia s se d

bus 'b u s in g l'b u s s in g b u s e d /b u s s e d
fo c u s fo c u s in g /fo c u s s in g fo c u se d /fo c u s se d
N o te [a ] W ith verbs like p l y ( — playing — played) an d r o w ( ~ rowing — rowed) th e re is no d o u b lin g ,

F
because th e -y an d -tv d o n o t c o u n t a s co n so n a n ts in th ese w ords, b u t as p a rt o f th e sp ellin g o f th e

d ip h th o n g (-ay, -utv). (O n L A Y , p y , c /3 . 10.)
F
[b ] T h e re is, o n th e o th e r h an d , do u b lin g in w o rd s such as e 'q u i p ( ~ Equipping ~ Equipped) an d

F c u i t ( — ad quitting ~ a d quitted), b ecau se th e u here counts as p a rt o f th e co n so n a n ta l spelling
'q
-q u -, ra th e r th a n a s a vow el.
[c] T h e le tter - x is n ev er doubled, sin ce it rep resen ts th e tw o co n so n an t so u n d s / k s / : f i x ~
f i x i n g —fix e d , etc.
[d] F in a l silent c o n so n an ts a re n o t d o u b le d : crochet /-ei/ — crocheting ~ crocheted ; hurrah /-a:/
~ hurrahing ~ hurrahed.
[e] T h e rules g iv e n h ere fo r dou b lin g are in g en e ra l followed also in th e a d d itio n o f d eriv atio n al
suffixes (A pp 1 .3 2 # ) begin n in g w ith a vow el.
[f] T h e spellings *catalogged ~ d a ta lo g g in g d o n o t o cc u r (see (d) above), sin ce th e B rE spellings
fo r A m E c t l o g are catalogue — cataloguing ~ catalogued.
F F
[g] A rare e x c e p tio n to (e) above is arc — a r c (k )in g ~ a rc (k )e d , fo r w h ich th e sp ellin g w ith o u t k
is also possible,
[h ] T h e verb e n e f i t som etim es (esp in A m E ) h a s form s w ith irreg u lar c o n s o n a n t dou b lin g
|
('benefitting ~ 'b en e fitted ) alongside th e reg u la r benefiting ~ benefited.
-e
D e l e t i o n o f a n d a d d itio n o f
3.9 I f th e base e n d s in a m u te (u n p ro n o u n ced ) -e, th is -e is re g u la rly d ro p p e d
b e fo re the -ing a n d -ed in fle ctio n s:
create ~ creating ~ created shave ~ shaving ~ shaved

bake ~ b a kin g ~ b a ked type ~ typing ~ typed
V e rb s w ith m o n o sy llab ic b ases in -ye, -oe, a n d -nge, p ro n o u n c ed /n d ^ j, are

ex cep tio n s to th is ru le: th ey do n o t lose th e -e before -ing, b u t th e y d o lose it
b e fo re -ed:
dye ~ d yein g ~ d y ed singe ~ singeing ~ singed

hoe ~ hoeing ~ hoed tinge ~ tingeing ~ tinged
Im pinging a n d infringing, o n th e o th e r h a n d , are regular. T h e final -e is also

lo st b efo re -e d by v erb s en d in g in -ie o r -ee: tie ~ tied, die ~ died, agree ~
agreed.
B efo re th e - F ending, o n th e o th e r h a n d , an -e is a d d ed in th e follow ing
cases:
(a) A fte r th e follow ing letters, re p re se n tin g sib ilan t co n so n a n ts:
-s p a ss ~ passes -ch watch ~ watches

-z b u zz ~ b uzzes -sh wash ~ washes
- x coax', ~ coaxes
i
(b) a fte r -o in g o ( ~ goes), d o ( ~ does /dAz/), ec h o echoes), v et o
( ~ vetoes).
C o m p are th e sp ellin g o f reg u lar -s p lu rals (c/5,81).
N o te [a] T h e loss o f -e in age — ag{e)ing is o p tio n al.

[b] W h ere -ch rep re se n ts a c o n so n an t o th e r th a n th e sib ila n t o r affricate /t j/, th e -e is o m i tte d :
stom achs.
T rea tm e n t o f -y
3.10 In b ases e n d in g in a c o n so n a n t follow ed by -y, th e follow ing c h an g e s ta k e
p lace:
Full verbs 103
(a) - y ch an g es to -ie - b efo re -s : c a r r y ~ c a rr ie s, tr y ~ tr ie s

(b) - y ch an g es to -i b e fo re - e d : c a r r y ~ c a rr ie d , tr y ~ tr ie d
S im ilarly d r y , d e n y , f a n c y , etc.
T h e -y - re m a in s, how ever, w h ere it follow s a vow el letter: s t a y ~ s t a y e d ,
a llo y ~ a llo y s , e tc ; o r w h ere it precedes -in g : c a r r y ~ c a r r y in g , s t a y ~ s ta y i n g ,
etc. T w o ex cep tio n s to th ese ru les a re: p a y ~ p a i d , a n d l a y ~ la id , in w h ic h
th e y c h an g es to i a fte r -a -. (O n a th ird e x cep tio n , s a y ~ s a id , c /3 .1 5 .)
A d ifferen t sp ellin g ch an g e o ccu rs in v erb s w hose b ases end in - i e : d i e , l i e ,
t i e , v i e . In th ese cases, th e -ie c h an g es to -y - b efo re - in g is a d d e d : d i e ~ d y i n g ,
lie ~ ly in g , tie ~ ty in g , v ie ~ v y in g .
N o te [a] In v erbs w h o se bases e n d in a vow el o th e r th a n -y o r m u te -e, th e ad d itio n o f inflectio n s

in volves n o fu rth e r ch a n g e o f sp e llin g : boo ~ boos — booing — booed, s k i — skis — skiing — sk ie d ,
etc,
[b] l i e is a reg u la r v e rb in th e sense ‘tell u n tru th s'; o n th e irre g u lar v e rb lie - lay ~ lain, c f 3.16.
[c] L ik e p y a n d l y a re th e ir d e riv a tiv e s r e p y ( ~ repaid), m i s l y ( — m islaid), w y l y
F F F F F F
( ~ waylaid), a n d r e ’l y ( ~ re'laid). T h e re is an o th er v e rb ' r e l y , how ever, w h ich is d e riv e d

F F
fro m th e no u n 'relay an d w h ich h as th e regularly spelt -ed fo rm rela y ed : thus T hefloor was relaid,
b u t The new s was r e la y e d fa r a n d wide.
T h e m orphology of irregular full verbs

3.11 Irreg u la r full v erb s a re lik e re g u la r verbs in th a t th e ir - s form s a n d th e ir - in g
form s a re p re d ic ta b le fro m th e b ase ( c f 3.2f ) . B u t th ey differ fro m re g u la r
v erb s in th a t e ith e r th e p a st inflection, o r th e - e d p a rticip le inflection, o r b o th
o f th ese, a re irreg u lar. M o re precisely th e m a jo r d ifferences a r e :
(a) Irre g u la r v erb s e ith e r d o n o t have th e re g u la r - e d inflection, o r else h av e

a v a ria n t o f th a t in flectio n in w hich th e /d / is d ev o iced to / t / (e g : b u r n ~
b u r n t, w h ic h o ccu rs a lo n g sid e th e reg u lar b u r n e d ) .
(b) Irreg u la r v erb s typically, b u t n o t in v ariab ly , h a v e v a ria tio n in th e ir b ase
vow el. T h e e x p la n a tio n o f th is p h e n o m e n o n , called g r a d a t i o n o r
a b l a u t , is h isto ric a l, a n d it is ch ara cte ristic o f In d o -E u ro p e a n lan g u ag es
in g e n era l: c h o o s e ~ c h o s e ~ c h o se n , w r ite ~ w r o te ~ w ritte n .
(c) Irreg u la r v erb s h a v e a v ary in g n u m b er o f d istin c t form s. Since th e -s
fo rm a n d th e -in g fo rm a re p red ictab le fo r re g u la r a n d irreg u lar v erb s
alik e, th e o nly fo rm s th a t need be listed fo r irreg u lar v erb s a re th e base
fo rm (V ), th e p a s t ( W - e d t ), an d th e - e d p a rtic ip le ('V -e d 2). T h ese are
trad itio n a lly k n o w n as th e p r i n c i p a l p a r t s o f th e verb. M o st irreg u lar
v erb s h av e, lik e re g u la r v erb s, only o n e c o m m o n form for th e p a s t an d
th e - e d p a rtic ip le ; b u t th e re is co n sid erab le v a ria tio n in th is resp ect, as
th e ta b le show s:
V W-ed, V -ed 2
all th re e fo rm s a lik e : cut cut cut
V-erf, = V -e d 2 : meet m et m et
V = V -e d t: beat beat beaten
V = \- e d 2: come cam e come
all th ree form s d iffe re n t: speak spoke spoken
N o te W h e re irre g u lar v erb s h a v e reg u lar inflections (as is n o rm a l in th e -s a n d -ing form s), th e y follow
th e spelling rules fo r reg u lar v erb s ( c f 3 .7 -1 0 ).
104 V e rb s and auxi Maries
I r r e g u l a r verb c l a s s e s
3.12 T h e 2 5 0 o r so irre g u la r E n g lish verbs c an be classified on th e b asis o f c riteria
d e r iv e d from th e a b o v e sim ila rities an d differences. Since it is im p ractical to
a c c o u n t for b o th p ro n u n c ia tio n an d spelling to g eth er, only p ro n u n ciatio n
will b e c o n sid ere d in s e ttin g u p classes o f irreg u lar verbs, a n d fo r th a t m a tte r
in d e c id in g w h e th e r a v e rb is irreg u lar o r not. T h e c rite ria o f classification to
be u se d a re th e fo llo w in g :
(a) S u ffix atio n in V -ed, a n d /o r \ - e d 2, inclu d in g n o t o nly th e alv eo lar suffixes

- e d j - t as in d r e a m e d ! d r e a m t , but also, fo r V - e d 2, nasal suffixes as in s h a k e n ,
to r n .
(b) W - e d id e n tity : ie V-erf, = V - e d 2, as in m e t ~ m e t.
(c) V o w el id e n tity , ie th e v a rio u s p rin cip al p a rts show n o d ifferen ce o f base
vow el.
T a b l e 3 .12 show s h o w th ese th ree c riteria d iv id e irreg u lar full v erb s in to

se v e n classes:
T a b le 3 .1 2 I r r e g u la r v e rb c la sses
E x a m p le
USE OF V -ed VOWEL
CLASS
SUFFIX IDENTITY IDENTITY
V V -ed x V -ed 2
1 + + + burn b u rned/burnt b u rn ed I burnt

2 + + + saw sa w ed saw edjsaw n
3 + + - bring brought brought
4 + — - break bro ke b roken
5 _ : + + cut cut cut
6 - + - s trik e s tru c k stru c k
7 — “ sw im sw a m sw u m
C lass 1 h a s th r e e p lu ses, w h ich in d icate th a t a v e rb like b u m is very close

to a re g u la r verb. T h e o nly irreg u larity is th a t each v e rb h as, o r a t least allow s
as a v a ria n t, a V - e d fo rm w ith an irreg u lar final c o n so n a n t o r co n so n a n t
c lu s te r; e g : b u r n e d h a s a n irreg u lar v a ria n t b u r n t /-n t/ w ith a voiceless suffix
a fte r a v o iced so u n d ( c f 3.6).
C lass 2 h as a p a s t suffix in - e d an d tw o a lte rn a tiv e - e d p a rtic ip le suffixes,

o n e a lv e o lar ( s a w e d ) a n d th e o th e r n asal (s a w n ). All v erb s h a v e vow el id en tity ,
a lth o u g h som e v e rb s also h a v e a lte rn a tiv e form s w ith vow el g ra d atio n .
C lass 3 h as n o v o w el id e n tity ; e g : b r in g ~ b r o u g h t. M an y o f th e v erb s in

C lasses 1 an d 3 m a n ife s t so m e differences b etw een B rE a n d A m E . F o r
in stan c e, in a su b c lass o f C lass 1 w hich will be d istin g u ish e d as C lass 1A,
A m E sh o w s a stro n g e r p re fe re n ce th a n B rE for th e reg u lar /d / v a ria n ts o f
b u r n e d /b u r n t, etc. B u t th e freq u en cy o f e ac h form v aries fro m v erb to verb ,
an d th e re is n o o n e -to -o n e c o rresp o n d en ce b etw een a sp ellin g in - t a n d a
p ro n u n c ia tio n in /t/. C lass 3 show s a sim ila r p a tte rn o f p re fe re n ce f o r v a ria n t
- e d fo rm s su ch a s d r e a m e d ! d r e a m t /d ri:m d /, /d rem t/.
C lass 4 h a s th re e d iffere n t p rin cip al p a rts, usually w ith a n a sa l V - e d 2 suffix

(b rea k ~ b ro ke ~ b ro ke n ).
Full verbs 105
C lass 5 h a s th e sam e form fo r all p rin cip al p a rts ( c u t ~ c u t ~ c u t).
C lass 6 h as id en tity b etw een V -ed, an d V - e d 2, has no suffix, b u t does h a v e

a ch an g e o f th e b ase vow el ( s tr ik e ~ s t r u c k ~ s tr u c k ).
C lass 7 is th e m o st irreg u lar m ajo r class o f full v erb s: V-ed, a n d V -ed2 a r e

d iffere n t; th ere is n o suffix, b u t th ere is ch an g e o f th e base vow el ( s w im ~
s w a m ~ s w u m ) . P artic u larly irreg u lar is th e ex ceptional verb g o ~ w e n t ~
g o n e , w h ic h h a s a n e n tirely u n co n n ec te d V -ed, form , w e n t. T h e su b s titu tio n
o f a d iffere n t fo rm in th is w ay is term ed s u p p l e t i o n (c f: w a s) w e re as th e p a s t
form s o f e , 3.32).
|
A lth o u g h w e w ill n o t fu rth e r define th e difference am o n g th e v erb s o f e a c h

class, fo r m n em o n ic reaso n s th e v erb s in th e lists below w ill be g ro u p ed in to
subclasses as (A ), (B), (C ), etc. P a re n th e se s, for exam ple '( d w e lle d ) ' a re u se d
fo r less c o m m o n fo rm s, an d d ecid ed ly unco m m o n verbs o r v e rb form s a r e
m ark e d ‘< ra re > \ ‘(R )’ d en o tes th e ex isten ce o f a reg u lar v arian t.
N o te T h e follow ing list c o n ta in s m o st o f th e irre g u lar v erbs in present-day English, in c lu d in g th o s e

w hich a re relativ ely rare, b u t is n o t m e a n t to b e exhaustive, p articu larly w ith reg ard to d e riv a tiv e
verhs. F o r ex a m p le, it does n o t include very u n u su al o r arch a ic form s such as girt (a ra re p a s t
form o f gird): n o r d o es it include less co m m o n d eriv ativ es such as relend. Som e irre g u lar -ed
p artic ip le fo rm s su rv iv e o nly in sp ecial co n tex ts, especially in ad jectival use (for ex a m p le su n k e n
in a sunken road ; o r shaven in a recently shaven chin). W e d o n o t n o te such form s w h ere th ey a re
n o t used as v erbs a n d w h ere th e v erb fro m w h ich they a re deriv ed is otherw ise regular. W h e re
th e v erb occu rs in th e list o f irreg u lar v e rb s fo r an o th e r reason, ex ceptional non v erb al fo rm s a re
n o ted fo r co m p ariso n .
Irre g u la r verbs listed in class o rd er
C lass 1
3.13 C h a ra c te ristic s:
T h e suffix is used b u t v o icing is v a ria b le (co n trast s p e n t w ith m a d e ) . V - e d ,
a n d V - e d 2 a re id en tica l (b u r n e d /b u r n t ~ b u r n e d /b u r n t) an d th e re is vow el
id e n tity in all p a rts ( b u il d ~ b u i l t ~ b u ilt) .
V V -ed COMMENTS
b u rn t
1A b u rn
b u rn e d (R )
d w e lt
dw ell
(d w elled ) (R )
earn earn ed (R ) ( c / N o t e [b])
le a rn t
le a rn
le a rn e d (R ) A d j: le a rn e d /-id / [‘sch o larly ']
sm elt
sm ell
sm elled (R )
V V -e d COMMENTS
s p ilt
s p ill ^
s p ill e d (R)
s p o ilt
s p o il
. s p o ile d (R)
IB bend bent A ls o UNBEND. A d j : ‘o n b e n d e d k n e e ’

b u ild b u ilt A ls o REBUILD
le n d le n t
ren d ren t < R a r e ; in r e s t r i c t e d u s e )
send sent
spend sp ent A ls o MISSPEND
1C have had P r i m a r y v e r b : < / 3 .3 3 ; -s f o r m : h a s /h a ez/

/ h rev /
m ake m ade A ls o REMAKE, UNMAKE
N o te (a] F o r C la ss 1A v erb s, th e irre g u lar -t spelling is generally rare in A m E . In B rE , th e - / spelling

is o f v a r y in g freq u en cy , b u t th e / t / pro n u n ciatio n is w idely cu rren t.
[b ] e
F r n b elongs m arg in ally to C lass 1A , sin ce a p ro n u n c ia tio n in /t/ has som e B rE cu rren cy .
[c] T h e r e is a te n d e n c y to asso ciate -t form s in C lass 1A m o re w ith V -e d 2 th a n w ith \ - e d x, a n d
w ith \ - e d x w h en th e r e is le ast im p lic atio n o f d u r a tio n :
H e s p e ltfh a s spelt it like th is o n only on e occasion.
C o n t r a s t : I t sm elled delicious.
[d] T h e v a ria tio n b etw een /d / a n d /t / in C lasses 1 a n d 3 ap p lies to v erb al uses b u t n o t to
a d je c tiv a l uses, fo r w h ich ji j is favoured. B oth B rE an d A m E h av e , fo r ex am p le, burnt toast,
b urnt um ber. E v e n so, /d / m ay o ccu r attrib u tiv ely w h ere th e m e an in g em p h asizes th e process
r a t h e r th a n th e re su lt o f th e p ro cess: burnt wood, m e a n s ‘w ood w h ich lo oks b u rn t’, b u t burned
w ood m ig h t m e a n a q u a n tity o f w ood w hich has b een b u rn ed as fuel.
C la s s 2
3.14 C h a ra c te ris tic s :
V - e d 2 h a s tw o :suffixes, o n e alv eo lar w h ich is R a n d id en tical w ith V - e d ,
( m o w e d ) , th e o th e r n a sa l ( m o w n ) . T h ere is n o ch an g e o f th e b ase vow el for
V - e d , (s a w ~ sa w e d ).
V V -e d , V -e d , c o m m e n t s
hew hew ed { ( R)
. , . f m ow n A d j u s e : ‘a n e w -m o w n la w n 1
m ow /a u / m ow ed ( m ow ed (R )
. / saw n < esp B rE )

saw ed ( saw ed (R )
i i a f sew n
sew /s o / sew ed ( ^ (R )
Full verbs 107
V V -e d x V -e d 2 c o m m e n t s
/ sh o rn
shear sh ea re d
\ s h e a re d (R)
/ sh o w n
sh o w s h o w ed j- S o m etim es sp elled s h e w , s h e w e d , s h e w n
\ (s h o w ed ) (R ) .
/ so w n
so w / s o / sow ed
\ so w ed (R)
/ s tre w n
stre w /u :/ s tre w ed
\ stre w e d (R)
f sw o llen A dj u se: ‘a s w o lle n a n k le /h e a d ’
sw ell sw elled
\ sw elled (R) A d j u se: ‘a s w e lle d h e a d ’ [m e ta p h o ric a l
su g g estio n o f c o n ce it]
N o te [a] A s an adjective, swollen is g en erally ac cep te d in b o th literal a n d m e ta p h o ric a l uses. S w elled

h ea d is m etap h o rical <esp A m E ) .
[b] T o th e C lass 2 list m a y b e a d d e d prove —proved ~ provedfproven a n d shave ~ shaved —
shaved/shaven. A lth o u g h th e se v erb s a r e usually regular, th e -ed p a rtic ip le en d in g in -en is q u ite
co m m o n fo r prove an d n o t u n u su a l fo r shave. T h ese -en form s a re m o re c u rre n t in A m E th a n in
B rE . Proven also o ccu rs in th e S co ttish legal p h rase not proven.
C lass 3
3.15 C h a rac te ristic s:
T h e suffix is used b u t v o icin g is v a riab le (c o n trast m eant, told). V-ed, a n d
V -ed2 a re id en tica l {left ~ left), a n d th ere is ch an g e o f b a se vowel (th in k
~ thought).
V V -e d COMMENTS
3 A /i:/~ N
/ b e re ft < R a re ; re s tric te d u s e ) A d j : ‘b e r e ft o f h o p s ’; V - e d 2
b e re a v e
\ b e re a v e d (R) b e r e a v e d usually = ‘d e p riv e d o f a c lo se re la tiv e by
d e a th ’
f c left A d j: c l e ft p a la te ', also V - e d , = c lo v e , V - e d , = c lo v e n .
cle av e
\ cle av e d (R) A d j : c lo ven h o o f
c re e p c re p t
d e al d e a lt /e / A lso MISDEAL
/ d r e a m t/e / <esp B r E )
d re a m
1 d re a m e d (R) <esp A m E )
feel felt
flee fled
k e ep kept
/ k n e lt
k n eel
\ k n eeled (R) < esp A m E )
f le a n t /e / (e sp B rE )
lean
\ le a n ed (R) < esp A m E )
f le a p t /e /
leap
\ lea p ed (R) < esp A m E )
leav e left
V V -e d COM M ENTS
m ean m e a n t /e /
sleep slep t A ls o OVERSLEEP
sw e e p sw ep t
w e ep w ep t
3B: /o:/
f b e so u g h t . V( R a r e ; in re s tric te d u s e )
b e se e c h
I b eseech ed (R ; J
b rin g b ro u g h t
b u y /a i / bought
c a tc h caught
seek so u g h t
te a c h ta u g h t
th in k . th o u g h t A ls o R E T H IN K
3C : / u : / ~ M
lose lost
3 D :/e / ~ /s o /
sell sold
tell to ld A ls o FO R ET E L L , RETELL
3 E : / i a r/ ~ / a : '/ ,
h ear h e a rd A ls o M IS H E A R
3 F :/e i/ ~ M
say said B ut -s f o r m : sa y s /e /. O n G A IN S A Y , c / 3 . 5 N o te [a].
C lass 4
3.16 C h a rac te ristic s:
V -ed2 a n d V -ed 2 differ a n d , in p ra ctic a lly all cases, th e la tte r h as a n a sa l suffix
(break ~ broke ~ broken). T h e re is n o b ase vow el id en tity . T h e re is a ran g e
o f b a se vow el c h an g es a n d th e v erb s h a v e been o rd ered a cc o rd in g to vow el
p a tte rn in g .
V V -ed t V -ed 2 COMMENTS
4 A : V -ed ] a n d V - e d 2 h a v e th e s a m e v ow el.
4A a: V - e d = /a u /
b reak /e i/ b ro k e b ro k e n A d j : ‘I ’m broke' [‘w ith o u t m o n e y ’]

( in f o r m a l)
choose / u :/ ch o se c h o se n
freeze / i : / froze fro z e n A lso UNFREEZE, DEEPFREEZE (a lso R )
speak sp o k e spoken
steal stole s to le n
Full verbs 109
V V -e d , V -ed-, COMMENTS
(a )w a k e (n ) (a )w o k e (a)w o k en c f R (F ) w F k e n . B ut th e re is som e
te n d e n c y to p ro d u c e b le n d s o f th e
r e g u la r a n d irreg u lar v e rb s, as in
‘Y o u w a k e d m e to o e a r ly .’
w ove / w oven
w e av e ^
. w e a v e d (R ) I w eav ed (R )
4 A b : / e s rl ~ M
b ear b o re b o rn e ‘S h e h a s b o rn e six c h ild re n ’ (b u t: ‘S h e

w a s b o r n in 1955’) ; a lso f o r | e F r ,
OVERBEAR
sw ear s w o re sw o rn A ls o FORSWEAR
te a r to re to rn
w e ar w o re w o rn
4 A c :/a i/ ~ m
b ite b it b itte n V - e d 2 so m etim es = b it

/ c h id d e n \
c h id e < rare> c h id A lso R c h id e d
\ c h id i
/ h id d e n
h id e h id
I (h id )
4 A d : /e / ~ h i
fo rg et fo rg o t fo rg o tte n S o m e tim e s <esp A m E ) V - e d ,

= f o r g o t ; also | e g e t , v t i l h b e g a t a s
a n ( a r c h a ic a n d s c r ip tu ra l)
a lte rn a tiv e to b e g o t ( V - e d ,) . See a lso
g e t , C la ss 6 F , 3.18.
f tro d d e n
tre a d tro d
I (tro d )
4 A e : /a i/ ~ /e i/
lie lay lain [‘be h o r iz o n ta l’]. C o n tra s t l i e = ‘te ll a

lie ’ (R ). S o m etim es co n fu sed w ith
l F y ‘p u t’ ( ~ la id ~ la id )
4 B : V a n d V - e d 2, b u t n o t V - e d , , h a v e th e s a m e vow el
4 B a V / V - e d , i = /a u /
blo w blew b low n

g row g rew g ro w n A lso OUTGROW
know knew know n
th ro w th re w th ro w n A lso OVERTHROW
4 B b : V /V - e d ,t = h i 1
fo rsa k e fo rso o k fo rsa k e n R e s tr ic te d u s e )

shake shook shaken
ta k e to o k ta k e n A lso | e t F k e R e s tric te d u s e ) , m is t F k e ,
OVERTAKE, PARTAKE, UNDERTAKE
V V -ed , V -e d 2 COMMENTS
4 B c : V / V - e d 2 = jij
<• 1. •j / fo r b a d e lei o r ael fo rb id d e n \

c f b id , C la ss 5
I f o r b a d /as/ (fo rb id ) /
g iv e gave g iv e n A lso FORGIVE, MISGIVE
4 B d : V / V - e d 2 = jo i/
d ra w d re w d ra w n A lso WITHDRAW
4 B e : V j V - e d 2 = /o :/
fall fell fallen A lso | e f F l l R e s tr ic te d u s e )
4 B f: V / V - e d 2 = fill \
eat a t e ( B r E / e / '[■e a te n A lso OVEREAT

eat lA m E /e i/J
4 B g : V /V -e rfj = /is/
see s aw seen A lso FORESEE, OVERSEE
4 B h : V /V -erf2 = /e i/
slay slew slain (r e s tr ic te d u se, e sp in B r E )
4 C : a ll th r e e p a r ts h a v e d iffe re n t vow els
4 C a : /a t/ ~ / a u / ~ / i /
d riv e d ro v e d riv e n
r id e ro d e rid d e n A lso OVERRIDE
rise ro s e risen A lso a r i s e , w h ic h is ( r a r e ) ex ce p t
w h e n m e ta p h o r ic a l: ‘T h e q u estio n
arose . .
sm ite s m o te sm itte n ( A r c h a ic ) e x c e p t w h e n m e ta p h o ric a l
in V - e d 2, e g: ‘sm itte n w ith h e r
ch arm s’
1 I\ s trid "I
B o th s tr id a n d s trid d e n a re ( r a r e ) ; also
s trid e s tr o d e i s trid d e n >
BESTRIDE
I stro d e J
x . f s tro v e f striv e n
s tn v e | s tr iv e d (R ) ‘(.striv e d (R )
w rite w ro te w ritten A lso REW RITE, UNDERWRITE
4 C b : /a t/ ~ /u :/ ~ / a u /
fly flew flow n c f: fle e ~ f l e d ~ f l e d (C la ss 3 A )
4C c : / u : / ~ / i/ ~ / F /
do d id done T h e -s fo rm d o e s h a s th e irreg u lar

p ro n u n c ia tio n / d a z / . A lso o u t d o ,
O V E R D O , R E D O , U N D O , e tc (c /3 .3 6 )
Full verbs 111
V V -cd, V -ed 2 COMMENTS
4 D : all th re e p a rts h a v e th e s a m e vo w el
4 D :/i:/
beat b eat b e a te n b e a t is s o m etim es u sed a s V -e d 2, e s p in

AmE
4 E : V -ed, a n d V -ed 2 h a v e d iff e r e n t v o w els in s p ec ia l a lte rn a tiv e fo rm s
4 E : /a i / ■
/ d iv e d (R ) V -ed , d o v e is A m E o n ly ; t h e v e rb is R
d iv e d iv e d (R )
\(d o v e ) in s ta n d a rd B rE a n d o fte n in A m E
/ sh riv e d (R ) / s h riv e d (R )
s h riv e
\s h ro v e \ s h riv e n < R are>
/ th riv e d (R ) / th r iv e d ( R ) \
th r iv e N o rm a lly R ; th r iv e n is ( a r c h a i c )
1 (th ro v e) \ (th r iv e n ) /
N o te G lide is a reg u lar v erb in p resen t-d a y E n g lish , but th e re a re occasio n al o cc u rre n ces o f th e a rc h a ic
irre g u lar p ast fo rm glode.
C lass 5
3.17 C h a ra c te ris tic s :
A ll th ree p a rts V, V -erf,, a n d V -e d 2 are id en tical. N o suffix o r c h an g e o f th e
b a se vow el (bet ~ bet ~ bet).
V /V - e d COMMENTS
bet B r E a ls o R : b e t t e d
b id ‘m a k e a n o f f e r ( t o b u y ) ’ e t c . ( B u t i n t h e s e n s e o f ‘s a y a g r e e t i n g ’ o r ‘g iv e
a n o r d e r ’, t h e f o r m s b id ~ b a d ( e ) ~ b id d e n m a y a l s o b e u s e d in r a t h e r
a r c h a i c s t y l e : ‘D o a s y o u a r e b i d ( d e n ) . ') A ls o o u t b i d , u n d e r b i d .
b u rst A ls o n o n s t a n d a r d BUST, w i t h a l t e r n a t i v e R V - e d f o r m b u s te d
ca st A ls o BROADCAST, FORECAST, MISCAST, OVERCAST, RECAST,
t e l e c a s t ( s o m e t im e s a l s o R )
co st COST = ‘e s t i m a t e t h e c o s t o f ’ is R
cut
fit R < in B r E )
h it
h u rt
k n it U s u a lly R : k n i t t e d
le t
p u t/u / B u t p u t ( t ) /p A t/ i n g o l f i s R ; p u tt e d
q u it A ls o R : q u it te d
rid A ls o R : r id d e d
set A ls o BESET, RESET, UPSET, OFFSET, INSET
shed A ls o R ( r a r e ) = ‘p u t i n a s h e d ’
s h it ( N o t i n p o l i t e u s e ) ; V - e d , s o m e t im e s s h a t
sh u t
s lit
s p lit
s p r e a d /e /
V /V -e d COMMENTS
s w e a t /e / A ls o R : sw eated
th r u s t
w ed A lso R : w edded
w et A lso R : w etted
N o te T h e re g u la r verb s h r e d so m etim es occurs w ith th e C la ss 5 form s shred ~ shred ~ shred.
C lass 6
3.18 C h a r a c te r is tic s :
N o su ffix ; V -ed t a n d V -e d 2 a re id e n tic a l; c h a n g e o f base vow el (win ~ won ~
won).
V V -e d COMMENTS
6 A : M a in ly /i:/ ~ /e /
b le e d b le d
b re e d b red
fe e d fed A ls o OVERFEED, e t c
h o ld h e ld A ls o | e h o l d < in r e s t r i c t e d u s e ) , u p h o l d , w it h h o l d ,
e tc
le a d /i :/ led A ls o MISLEAD
m eet m et ,
r e a d / i :/ read /e / A ls o REREAD, e t c
speed sped: A ls o R : sp ee d e d , e s p o f m e c h a n is m s , a n d a l w a y s R in
t h e p h r a s a l v e r b s p e e d up
6 B : M a in ly /i/ ~ / F /
c l in g c lu n g
d ig dug
flin g flu n g \
hang hung A ls o o v e r h F n g . B u t HANG is a ls o R in t h e s e n s e ‘p u t to
d e a th b y h a n g in g ’
s lin g slu n g
s lin k slu n k
s p in spun V-edy = span is < a r c h a i c >
s tic k s tu c k i
s tin g s tu n g I
s trik e s tr u c k L i te r a l u s e ; i n m e t a p h o r i c a l , a d j e c ti v a l u s e V - e d 2 a ls o
stricken', ‘s tric k e n (stru ck ) b y t e r r o r ’
s trin g s tr u n g A ls o RESTRING, HAMSTRING
s w in g sw u n g
w in w on
w r in g w ru n g
6 C :/a i/~ - M
b in d bound A ls o REBIND, u n b i n d ; A d j : ‘o n e ’s bounden d u t y ’

fin d fo u n d
g rin d g ro u n d
w in d w ound = ‘t u r n r o u n d ’ ; a l s o r e w i n d , u n w i n d ; w iN D /w in d /
= ‘s m e ll t h e p r e s e n c e o f ’ e t c is a l w a y s R
Full verbs 113
V V -ed COMMENTS
6 D : / a i / - Ill
li g h t lit A ls o R : lighted-, a l i g h t a n d h i g h l i g h t a r e o n ly R.
A d j : ‘a lighted c a n d l e ’
s lid e s lid
6 E :/i/~ M
s it sat
s p it spat V - e d a l s o = spit < e sp A m E ) ;
SPIT = ‘fix w ith a s p i t ’ is R
6F: ~ l° l
get got A m E a ls o h a s g otten f o r V - e d 2 i n c e r t a i n s e n s e s o f t h e

w o r d , e g ‘a c q u ir e ’, ‘c a u s e ’, ‘c o m e ’ ; th u s A m E m a k e s
a d is t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n W e've g o tte n tickets =
‘a c q u i r e d ’ a n d W e've g o t tic k ets = ‘w e p o s s e s s ’. O n
t h e r e l a te d v e r b s f o r g e t a n d b e g e t , c / C l a s s 4 A d
(3 .1 6 ).
'/ J o n / -I
< B rE > 1
s h in e shone| A ls o R w h e n = ‘p o l i s h ’ < e s p A m E ) ; a ls o o u t s h i n e
l/ja u n / (
[_ < A m E )J
s h o e /u : / shod A ls o R: shoed
shoot shot A ls o o v e r s h o o t
6 G :/a i/
f ig h t fo u g h t A ls o OUTFIGHT
6 H : /ae/ ■
'- / « /
s ta n d s to o d A ls o ( m is )u n d e r s t F n d , w it h s t F n d , e tc
6 I :/a i/~ -/a u /
a b id e abode r e s t r i c t e d u s e w h e n = ‘s t a y ’ ; R w h e n a b i d e
b y = ‘o b e y ’, e g : ‘H e a b id e d b y o u r d e c is io n ’.
6 J : /i:/ ~ /a u /
heave hove U s u a lly R ; heaved
N o te In A m E , th e n o rm a lly reg u lar v e rb p l e F d h a s an altern ativ e C la ss 6A p a s t form pled.

C la s s 7
3.19 C h a r a c te r is tic s :
N o suffix; V -ed, a n d V -ed 2 a re d ifferen t; ch an g e o f b ase vow el (began ~
begun).
V V -ed, V -e d . COMMENTS
7 A : / i / ~ / * / ~ / A/
b e g in b e g an begun
d r in k d ra n k d ru n k c f A d j u s e s : ‘H e w a s d ru n k ’ b u t ‘d ru n k e n d r iv in g ’
/ra n g \
rin g ru n g A lso R : ringed in t h e sen se ‘p u t a rin g a ro u n d ’
((ru n g )/
s h r in k
/ sh ra n k \ s h ru n k A d j : shrunken
V (sh ru n k )/
/ sa n g \
sin g sung
l(s u n g )/
/ sank \
s in k sunk A d j : sunken
\ (su n k ) J
s p rin g s p ra n g s p ru n g V -ed , also sprung in A m E
/ s ta n k \
s tin k s tu n k H a s im p o lite c o n n o ta tio n s
\ ( s tu n k ) /
/ sw am
sw im sw u m
I (s w u m ) /
7B
com e ca m e com e A lso BECOME, OVERCOME

ru n ra n ru n A lso OUTRUN, OVERRUN, RERUN
7C
go w ent gone A lso u n d e r g o , f o r (e ) g o ( c /N o te [b ])
N o te [a] I n C la ss 7A , alth o u g h th e g ra d a tio n series /i/ — /ae/ ~ / F / is th e on e g en erally a c cep te d as

s ta n d a r d , V -ed, fo rm s in / F / a re com m only used (esp in A m E ) an d ac cep te d . V -ed2 fo rm s in / a /
also h a v e som e cu rren cy .
[b] O n been in p la ce o f gone, c f 4.22 N o te [b].
Irre g u la r verbs (including derivatives) in alphabetical o rd er

3.20 S in ce irreg u lar y e rb s, i f o n e includes prefixed an d c o m p o u n d d e riv ativ es,
m a k e u p to som e e x te n t a n o p e n an d p ro d u ctiv e class, th is list m ak e s no
cla im to co m p leten ess. A s b efo re, ra re r form s are enclosed in p a ren th eses.
V e rb s in sq u a re b ra c k e ts a re th o se w h ich a re generally re g u la r, b u t w h ich
h a v e irre g u la r sp ellin g o r irreg u lar form s o f lim ited currency.
I n th e rig h t-h a n d c o lu m n , referen ce is g iven to th e ty p o lo g ical classification
a b o v e, w h ich also in clu d es re lev an t d etails o f usage (A m E , B rE , arch a ic ,
p ro n u n c ia tio n , etc).
Full verbs 115
B ase(V ) P ast tense i y - e d x) ~ed participle {V -ed 2) R eference
a b id e a b o d e , a b id e d , a b o d e , a b id e d 61
a ris e a ro s e a ris e n 4Ca
aw ake aw oke, aw aked a w o k e n , a w ak e d 4A a
be w a s, w ere b een ( c /3 .3 2 )
bear b o re b o rn e 4A b
beat beat b e a te n (b e a t) 4D
b e co m e becam e b eco m e 7B
b e fa ll befell b e fallen 4B e
beget begot b e g o tte n 6F
b e g in began b eg u n 7A
b e h o ld b e h e ld b e h eld 6A
bend bent b e n t. IB
b e re a v e b e re ft, b e re av e d b e re ft, b e re av e d 3A
b e se e ch b e so u g h t, b e se e ch e d b e so u g h t, b ese e ch e d 3B
b e se t b e se t b e se t 5
b e strid e b e stro d e b e strid d e n , b e strid , 4Ca
b e stro d e
bet b e t, b e tte d b e t, b ette d 5
b e ta k e b e to o k b e ta k e n 4B b
b id b a d (e ), b id b a d e , b id , b id d e n 5
b in d bound bound 6C
b ite b it b itte n , (b it) 4A c
b le e d b le d b le d 6A
b lo w b le w b lo w n 4Ba
b re a k b ro k e b ro k e n 4Aa
b re e d b re d b re d 6A
b rin g b ro u g h t b ro u g h t 3B
b ro a d c a s t b ro a d c a s t b ro a d c a s t 5
b u ild b u ilt b u ilt IB
b u rn b u r n t, b u rn e d b u rn t, b u rn e d 1A
b u rs t b u rs t b u rs t 5
bust {non b u s t, b u s te d b u s t, b u sted 5
s ta n d a r d )
buy bought bought 3B
cast cast cast 5

c a tc h caught caught 3B
c h id e c h id , c h id e d c h id d e n , c h id , c h id e d 4Ac
c h o o se ch o se c h o se n 4A a
c le av e c le ft, c lo v e, cle av e d c le ft, c lo v en , c le av e d 3A
c lin g c lu n g clu n g 6B
com e cam e co m e 7B
c o st c o st c o st 5
c re e p c re p t cre p t 3A
cut cut cut 5
deal d e a lt d e a lt 3A
d e e p fre e z e d e e p fro z e , -freezed d e e p fro z e n , -freezed 4A a
d ig dug dug 6B
d iv e d iv e d , < A m E > d o v e d iv e d 4E
do d id done 4C c; (c f
3.36)
d ra w d rew d ra w n 4B d
d re a m d re a m t, d re a m e d d re a m t, d re a m e d 3A
d r in k d ra n k d ru n k 7A
d riv e d ro v e d riv e n 4C a
B a se (V ) Past tense (V -ed,) -e d p articip le (V -ed2) Reference
d w e ll d w elt, d w elled d w e lt, d w e lle d 1A
[e a rn ] [earn ed ] [earn e d ] 1A
eat ate e a te n 4B f
fa ll fell fallen 4Be

fe e d fed fed 6A
fe e l felt' felt 3A
f ig h t fo u g h t fo u g h t 6G
fin d fo u n d fo u n d 6C
[fit] [fit] [fit] 5
fle e ; fled fled 3A
flin g flung: flung 6B
fly flew flow n 4C b
fo rb e a r fo rb o re fo re b o rn e 4A b
f o r b id fo rb a d e , f o r b a d fo r b id d e n , (fo rb id ) 4B c
fo recast fo re c a st fo re c a st 5
fo resee fo resaw fo rese en 4B g •
f o r e te ll fo reto ld fo reto ld 3D
fo rg et fo rg o t fo rg o tte n , (fo rg o t) 4A d
fo r g iv e fo rg av e fo rg iv en 4B c
fo rg o fo rw e n t fo rg o n e 7C
fo rsak e fo rso o k fo rsa k e n 4B b
fo rsw e ar fo rsw o re fo rsw o rn 4A b
free z e froze fro ze n 4A a
[ g a in s a y ] [g ain said ] [g a in said ] 3F

rg o t \ 6F
get go t
(g o tte n <A m E >/
g iv e gav e g iv en 4B c
go w en t go n e 7C
g r in d g ro u n d g ro u n d 6C
g ro w g rew g ro w n 4B a
h a m s tr in g h a m stru n g h a m s tru n g 6B
hang h u n g , (h a n g e d ) h u n g ,( h a n g e d ) 6B
have h ad xhad 1C ; (c /3 .3 3 )
hear h e ard h e a rd 3E
heave heaved, hove h eav ed , hove 6J
hew hew ed h e w n , h e w ed 2
h id e h id h id d e n , (h id ) 4A c
h it h it h it 5
h o ld i h eld h eld 6A
h u rt ! h u rt h u rt 5
in s e t in set in s e t 5
keep kept kept 3A

k neel k n e lt, k n eeled k n e lt, k n e eled 3A
k n it k n itte d , k n it k n itte d , k n it 5
know k n ew know n 4B a
[lay] [laid] [laid] (c /3 .1 0 )

lead led led 6A
le a n le a n t, le a n ed le a n t, lea n ed 3A
le a p le a p t, le a p ed le a p t, le a p ed 3A
le a rn le a rn t, le a rn e d le a rn t, le a rn e d 1A
le a v e left le ft 3A
Full verbs 117
B ase (V ) P a s t te n s e (V -e d ,) -ed p a rtic ip le (V -e d 2) R e fe re n c e
len d le n t len t IB
let let let 5
lie lay lain 4A e
lig h t lit, lig h te d lit, lig h ted 6D
lose lost lost 3C
m ake m ade m ad e 1C
m ean m eant m eant 3A
m eet m et m et 6A
m isc ast m is c a s t m iscast 5
m isd e al m is d e a lt m isd ealt 3A
m isg iv e m is g a v e m isgiven 4B c
m is h e a r m is h e a r d m ish eard 3E
[m islay] [m islaid ] [m islaid] ( c /3 .1 0
N o te [c])
m isle ad m isle d m isled 6A
m issp ell m is sp e lt, m issp e lle d m issp elt, m issp elled 1A
m is sp e n d m is s p e n t m issp e n t IB
m is ta k e m is to o k m is ta k en 4Bb
m is u n d e rs ta n d m is u n d e rs to o d m isu n d e rsto o d 6H
m ow m o w ed m o w n , m ow ed 2
offset offset offset 5

o u tb id o u tb id o u tb id , (o u tb id d en ) 5
o u td o o u td id o u td o n e 4Cc
o u tfig h t o u tfo u g h t o u tfo u g h t 6G
o u tg ro w o u tg re w o u tg ro w n 4Ba
o u tru n o u tr a n o u tru n 7B
o u ts h in e o u ts h o n e o u tsh o n e 6F
o v e rb e a r o v e rb o re o v e rb o rn e 4A b
o v e rc a s t o v e rc a s t o v e rc ast 5
o v e rc o m e o v e rc a m e o v erco m e 7B
o v e rd o o v e rd id o v e rd o n e 4Cc
o v e re a t o v e ra te o v e re aten 4Bf
o v e rfe e d o v e rfe d o v erfed 6A
o v e rh a n g o v e rh u n g o v e rh u n g 6B
o v e rrid e o v e rro d e o v e rrid d e n 4C A
o v e rru n o v e rra n o v e rru n 7B
o v e rsee o v e rs a w o v erseen 4B g
o v e rs h o o t o v e rs h o t o v ersh o t 6F
o v ersleep o v e rs le p t o v erslep t 3A
o v e rta k e o v e rto o k o v e rta k e n 4Bb
o v e rth ro w o v e rth re w o v e rth ro w n 4Ba
p a rta k e p a rto o k p a rta k e n 4Bb

[pay] [p aid ] [paid] (c /3 .1 0 )
[p lead ] [p le a d e d , (p led )] [p lead ed , (pled)] (c /3 .1 8
N o te)
[p ro v e] [p ro v ed ] [p ro v e d ,p ro v e n ] (c /3 .1 4
N o te [b])
put put put 5
q u it q u it, q u itte d q u it, q u itte d 5
re a d re a d read 6A
re b in d reb o u n d re b o u n d 6C
re b u ild re b u ilt re b u ilt IB
re c a s t re c a s t recast 5
B a se(V ) P ast tense (V-e*/,) -e d participle ( V W 2) R eference
re d o re d id re d o n e 4C c
[relay ] [relaid] [relaid ] (c /3 .1 0
N o te |
re m a k e re m a d e re m a d e IC
re n d re n t re n t IB
[re p a y ] [rep aid ] [rep aid ] (c /3 .1 0
N o te |
re re a d re re a d re re a d 6A
re ru n reran : re ru n 7B
re s e t re set re set 5
re s trin g re s tru n g re s tru n g 6B
re te ll re to ld reto ld 3D
r e th in k re th o u g h t re th o u g h t 3B
re w in d re w o u n d re w o u n d 6C
re w rite re w ro te re w ritte n 4C a
rid rid , rid d e d rid , rid d e d 5
rid e ro d e rid d e n 4C a
rin g . ra n g , (ru n g ) ru n g 7A
rise ro se rise n 4C a
ru n ra n ; ru n 7B
saw saw ed saw n , saw ed 2

say said s aid 3F
see saw seen 4B g
seek so u g h t so u g h t 3B
sell sold sold 3D
sen d sen t s en t IB
set set set 5
sew sew ed sew n , sew ed 2
sh a k e shook shaken 4Bb
[sh av e] [sh av ed ] [sh av ed , sh av en ] (c /3 .1 4
N o te [
sh e a r sh ea re d s h o rn ,s h e a r e d 2
sh ed s h ed s h ed 5
[shew ] [shew ed] [shew n] 2
sh in e s h o n e, s h in e d s h o n e, sh in ed 6F
shit ! s h it, s h a t s h it 5
shoe j s h o d ,s h o e d s h o d ,s h o e d 6F
sh o o t sh o t sh o t 6F
show show ed sh o w n , (show ed) 2
[shred] [s h re d d e d , sh re d ] [sh red d ed , sh red ] (c /3 .1 7
N o te )
s h rin k s h ra n k , (s h ru n k ) s h ru n k 7A
sh riv e s h riv e d , sh ro v e sh riv e d , s h riv e n 4E
sh u t shut shut 5
sing san g , (su n g ) su n g 7A
sink s a n k , (su n k ) su n k 7A
sit sat sat 6E
slay slew slain 4B h
sleep slep t slep t 3A
slide slid slid 6D
sling slu n g slu n g 6B
slink s lu n k slu n k 6B
slit slit slit 5
smell sm elt, s m elled sm elt, sm elled 1A
sm ite sm o te s m itte n 4C a
Full verbs 119
B ase (V) P a s t te n se (V -e d t) -e d p a rtic ip le (V-e</2) R eferen c e
sow so w ed so w n , so w ed 2
speak sp o k e spoken 4A a
sp ee d s p e d ,s p e e d e d s p e d ,s p e e d e d 6A
spell sp e lt, sp elled sp e lt, sp elled 1A
spend spent sp en t IB
sp ill s p ilt, sp illed s p ilt, sp ille d 1A
s p in sp u n , s p a n sp u n 6B
s p it s p a t, s p it s p a t, s p it 6E
s p lit s p lit sp lit 5
sp o il s p o ilt, sp o ile d sp o ilt, sp o iled 1A
sp re ad s p re a d sp re a d 5
sp rin g s p r a n g , (sp ru n g ) sp ru n g 7A
s ta n d s to o d sto o d 6H
stea l sto le sto len 4A a
stic k s tu c k s tu c k 6B
stin g stu n g s tu n g 6B
s tin k s ta n k , (stu n k ) s tu n k 7A
stre w s tre w e d s tre w n , stre w e d 2
s trid e s tro d e s trid d e n , s trid , stro d e 4Ca
s trik e s tru c k s tru c k 6B
s trin g s tru n g stru n g 6B
s triv e s tro v e , s triv e d s triv e n , s triv e d 4Ca
sw ear sw o re sw o rn 4A b
sw e a t s w e a t, sw e a te d sw e a t, sw e a te d 5
sw eep sw ept sw e p t 3A
sw ell sw elled sw o llen , sw elled 2
sw im s w a m , (sw u m ) sw u m 7A
sw in g sw u n g sw u n g 6B
ta k e to o k ta k e n 4B b
te a c h ta u g h t ta u g h t 3B
te a r to re to rn 4A b
tele ca st te le c a s t te le c a s t 5
tell to ld to ld 3D
th in k th o u g h t th o u g h t 3B
th riv e th r iv e d , (th ro v e) th riv e d , (th riv e n ) 4E
th ro w th re w th ro w n 4B a
th ru s t th r u s t th r u s t 5
tre a d tro d tro d d e n , (tro d ) 4A d
unbend unbent unbent IB

u n b in d unbound unbound 6C
u n d e rb id u n d e rb id u n d e rb id , (u n d e rb id d e n ) 5 ■
u n d e rg o u n d e rw e n t u n d e rg o n e 7C
u n d e rs ta n d u n d e rs to o d u n d e rs to o d 6H
u n d e rta k e u n d e rto o k u n d e rta k e n 4B b
u n d e rw rite u n d e rw ro te u n d e rw ritte n 4C a
undo u n d id undone 4Cc
u n freeze u n fr o z e u n fro ze n 4A a
unm ake unm ade unm ade 1C
u n w in d unw ound unw ound 6C
u p h o ld u p h e ld u p h e ld 6A
upset upset upset 5
w ake w o k e , w a k ed w oken, w aked 4A a

[w aylay] [w ay laid ] [w ay laid ] (c /3 .1 0
N o te [cj)
B ase (V ) P a s t te n se (V -ed ,) -ed p a rtic ip le (V -ed 2) R eferen c e
w ear w o re w orn 4A b
w eave w ove w oven 4A a
w ed w e d d e d , w ed w ed d ed , w ed 5
w eep w ept w ep t 3A
w et w e tte d , w et w etted , w et 5
w in w on w on 6B
w in d w ound w ound 6C
w ith d r a w w ith d re w w ith d ra w n 4B d
w ith h o ld w ith h e ld : w ith h e ld 6A
w ith s ta n d w ith s to o d w ith sto o d 6H
w rin g w ru n g w ru n g 6B
w rite w ro te w ritten 4C a
Verbs in auxiliary function

3.21 I n c o n tr a s t to fu ll v erb s, th e v erb s we will co n sid er in th e n e x t sectio n s are
c a p a b le o f fu n c tio n in g as F u x i l i F r y o r ‘h elp in g ’ v erb s ( c /2 .2 7 /). T h ese are
th e p r i m F r y v e r | s | e , h F v e , a n d d o , a n d th e m o d F l v e r | s can, m ay, will,
shall, could, m ig h t, would, should, a n d m ust. S ince th e y c a n fu n c tio n only as
a u x iliaries, th e m o d a l v e rb s will generally be referred to as m o d F l F u x i l i F r i e s .
T h e a u x ilia rie s m a k e d ifferen t c o n trib u tio n s to th e v e rb p h ra se ( c f 3.55/ ) .
O f th e th re e jprim ary v erb s, DO is only a sem an tically e m p ty syntactic
c o m p o n e n t in s e n te n c e processes such as n eg atio n a n d in te rro g a tio n ( c f d o -
su p p o rt; 3.37), w h e re a s BE c o n trib u tes to a sp e ct a n d voice, a n d h F v e
c o n trib u te s to a sp e c t. T h e m o d al auxiliaries a re so called b ecau se o f th eir
c o n trib u tio n o f m e a n in g s in th e a rea know n as m o d F l i t y (in clu d in g such
c o n c e p ts as v o litio n , p ro b a b ility , a n d o b lig atio n ); b u t su ch v e rb s have a
b ro a d e r s e m a n tic role th a n th is label suggests ( c f 4.49/7).
A lth o u g h a u x ilia rie s h a v e d ifferen t fun ctio n s in th e v e rb p h ra se , th ey have
one im p o r ta n t sy n ta c tic fu n ctio n in com m on, viz th e ir ab ility to a c t as
o p e r F t o r w h e n th e y o c c u r a s th e first v erb o f a fin ite v e rb p h ra se ( c f 2.48);
as su c h th ey are| u sed , fo r exam ple, in th e fo rm atio n o f y e s -n o q u e stio n s:
Is h e askin g a n y q u e stio n s?
H a s h e been a sk in g a n y q u estio n s?
W as h e a s k e d an y q u estio n s?
W ill h e be a sk e d a n y q u estio n s?
H a s h e a sk e d an y q u e stio n s?
D oes he a sk a n y q u e stio n s?
H ere th e o p e ra to r, o r first au x iliary o f th e verb p h ra se, is iso lated fro m the

rest o f th e p re d ic a te n o m a tte r how com plex th e v e rb p h ra se is. Since BE an d
(so m etim es, e sp in B rE ) h F v e also have th is fu n ctio n a s m a in v erb s, th e term
o p e ra to r w ill a lso b e u sed fo r th em in sentences lik e :
I s sh e a tall g irl? H as he an y m oney? <BrE>

Verbs in auxiliary fun ction 121
(T h e v a ria n t c o n stru ctio n s w ith h a v e a re discussed in 3 .3 3 -3 5 .) T h e c o m p lex

v e rb p h ra se o f H e m ight have been being questioned by the police is th u s
an aly sed , w ith in th is se n ten ce, as sh o w n in F ig 3.21:
s e n te n c e
- 4 8 .)
M an y o f th e c rite ria for th e sy n ta ctic fu n ctio n o f auxiliaries h a v e to d o
w ith th e ir statu s as o p e rato rs, a n d th erefo re ap p ly also to b e a n d h a v e as
m a in v erb s. T h ese a re listed in (a), (c), (d), (e) below . O f th e re m a in in g
c rite ria , (b) is m o rp h o lo g ical, ( 0 a n d (g) are sy n tactic a n d h av e to d o w ith th e
o rd e rin g o f elem en ts in th e v e rb p h ra se , an d (h) is sem antic.
Criteria fo r auxiliary verbs
(a ) O p e r a t o r in n e g a t i o n w i t h not
3.22 In fo rm in g n eg ativ e finite clau ses, th e first au x iliary is p laced b e fo re th e
n eg ativ e w ord not. C o n tra s t:
S h e can d o it. She can n o t d o it.

She saw th e play. *She saw n o t th e play.
A s th e ex am p le show s, full v e rb s lik e s e e are d istin g u ish ed fro m au x iliary

v erb s by th e ir in ab ility to fo rm n e g a tio n in th is way.
N o te [a] W h e re a s cu rre n t E n g lish h as n o n e g a tiv e sen ten ce su ch a s *She saw not the p la y (b u t c f
N o te [b]) w e do have an ac c e p ta b le n e g a tiv e sen te n ce o f th e fo r m :
H e decided n o t to see th e play.

I lik e not w o rk in g o n F ridays.
I n th e se cases, h o w ev er, n eg atio n is asso ciated w ith th e second, nonfinite v erb p h ra se s, to see
a n d w orking , ra th e r th a n w ith th e in itial finite v e rb ph rases, decided a n d like (c /1 4 .7 ). T h is is
o b v io u s from th e follow ing p a rap h ra se s:
H e decided t h a t he w ould n o t see th e play.
I lik e it not w o rk in g o n F ridays,
w h ic h are not sy n onym ous w ith :
H e d id n o t d e c id e th a t he w ould see th e play.
I d o n ’t like it w o rk in g o n F ridays.
I n th e s e exam ples, th e d istin ctio n betw een n e g a tio n in th e su p ero rd in ate clause a n d n eg a tio n in
th e n o n fin ite c la u se is clear; b u t in o th e r cases, th e sem antic difference m a y be sm all o r
n o n e x iste n t ( c f c a te n a tiv e v erbs 3.49; tra n sfe rre d n eg a tio n 14.36):
S h e seem ed n o t to m ind. = She d id n ’t seem to m in d .
E v e n h ere, h o w ev er, th e sy n tac tic difference b etw e en th e tw o con stru ctio n s is in d ic a te d by th e
in a b ility o f th e first n e g a tiv e to b e c o n tra c te d : *S h e seem n't to m ind (c/3.23).
[b] W h e re a s *S h e saw not the p la y w as rejecte d a b o v e , Sh e saw not the p la y but th e opera is
a c c e p ta b le . T h e re a so n fo r th is is th a t th e n e g a tiv e w o rd n ot goes w ith th e n o u n p h ra s e th e p la y
r a t h e r th a n w ith th e verb ( c f 13.42); ie th e s en te n ce ca n b e p a ra p h ra se d :
I t w as not th e p la y b u t th e o p era th a t she saw .
A r e la te d ex am p le o f th e use o f not a fte r a full v e rb is th e follow ing q u o ta tio n fro m P re sid e n t
J o h n F . K en n ed y ’s In a u g u ra l A d d re ss:
A s k not w h a t y o u r co u n try c a n d o fo r y o u ; ask w h a t you c a n d o for your country.
T h is c a se is p arallel to th e p reced in g on e, in th a t th e re is a co n trastiv e parallelism b etw e en th e
tw o o b je cts of th e v e rb a sk , th e first o f w h ich is rejected by n o t : . . . not what your country can do
f o r y o u . . . (but) w h a t y o u can do fo r your country. T h e sco p e o f not h ere th e refo re in clu d es th e
in terro g a tiv e clau se, b u t excludes, th e m a in v erb . T h is exam ple also h as a n a ir o f stu d ie d
a rc h a is m (c /N o te [c]).
[c] I n arch a ic o r face tio u sly a rc h a ic usage w e c a n still m e et n egative co n stru c tio n s in w h ich n ot
follow s a full vei;b a n d n o t a n o p era to r:
W h e th e r th e y succeeded I know not. [‘I d o n o t k n o w ’]
I care not w h o k n o w s it. [‘I d o n o t c a r e . . . ’]
I f I m istake not, you w ere a t Y a le ? [ ‘I f I a m n o t in e r r o r . . . ’]
[d] N o t also follow s a full v erb w hen it ac ts a s a p ro -fo rm fo r a clause ( c f 12.28):
J e a n m ay be la te , b u t I ho p e not. [‘. . . h o p e th a t she w o n ’t be la te’]
[e] N eg atio n in su b ju n ctiv e an d n o n fin ite v e rb p h ra se s does n o t in volve th e o c c u rre n ce o f an
o p e ra to r ( c /3 .5 8 ,14.6).
(b) N egative an d verb contractions

3.2 3 T h e n eg ativ e w o rd not follow ing a n o p e ra to r c a n in m ost cases b e c o n tra c te d
a n d a tta ch e d , a s a n en clitic p article, to th e auxiliary. T h e resu ltin g n eg ativ e
a u x ilia ry is sp elled w ith a final -n't: isn’t, hadn’t , didn’t , won’t, couldn’t , etc.
T h e p ro n u n c ia tio n o f th e c o n tra c te d a u x iliary a n d its c o n d itio n s o f use are
g iv en below in late r sections ( 3 .3 2 # 3.39). E v ery auxiliary e x ce p t th e am
fo rm o f b e h a s a co n tra cte d n eg ativ e fo rm (b u t c f 3.32 N o te [c]), b u t tw o o f
th ese, m a yn ’t a n d shan’t , are now v irtu a lly n o n ex isten t in A m E , w h ile in B rE
sh a n ’t is beco m in g ra re a n d m a yn ’t e v e n m o re so.
I n ad d itio n , m a n y o p e rato rs h a v e c o n tra c te d n o n n eg ativ e fo rm s :
be: am ’m ; is ~ ’s; are ~ ’re;

have : have ~ ’ve; has ~ ’s; h a d ~ ’d ;
m o d als: will ~ ’11; w ould ~ ’d.
N o tic e th a t th e c o n tr a c tio n s ’s a n d ’d a re am b ig u o u s, th e fo rm er re p re se n tin g

is o r h a s (or, occasionally, d o e s ; c f 3.36 N o te), an d th e la tte r ha d o r would.
F u r th e r in fo rm atio n o n in d iv id u al c o n tra c tio n s is given in 3.33, 3.36, 3.39.
V erbs in auxiliary function 123
T h e a b o v e v e rb c o n tra c tio n s w ere called n o n n eg ativ e becau se th ey c a n n o t

c o m b in e w ith n e g ativ e c o n tra ctio n s to form d o u b ly -co n tracted form s:
(i) S h e is n ot stu d y in g , (ii) She isn't studying.

(iii) S h e's not stu d y in g , (iv) *She’sn’t studying.
T h ere are, h o w ev er, tw o co n stru ctio n s (ii) a n d (iii) c o rresp o n d in g to th e

u n c o n tra c te d n e g a tiv e co n stru ctio n in (i). In th e first c o n tra c te d c o n stru c tio n
(ii), th e c o n tra c te d n eg ativ e is a tta ch e d to th e u n c o n tra c te d o p e ra to r; in th e
second c o n tra c te d fo rm , th e co n tra cte d o p e rato r is a tta c h e d to th e su b ject,
th e not b ein g u n c o n tra c te d . G en erally sp eak in g , th e v a ria n t (ii) w ith
c o n tra c te d n e g atio n is m o re co m m o n th a n th e v a ria n t (iii) w ith c o n tra c te d
v e rb a n d full n e g atio n . T h e re a re, how ever, e x cep tio n s to th is g e n era liz atio n
in S co tlan d a n d in N o rth e rn E n g lan d , w here form s su ch as ’11 not seem to be
p re fe rre d to fo rm s su c h as won’t.
C o n trac tio n s a re p h o n o lo g ically reduced o r sim plified form s w h ich a r e
in stitu tio n a liz e d in b o th sp eech an d w riting. A s su ch , th ey are to be
d istin g u ish e d fro m cases o f p h o n o l o g i c F l r e d u c t i o n only (eg th e re d u c tio n
o f /a :r/ to / s ’I in th e p ro n u n c ia tio n o f are). A c o n tra c te d fo rm c a n u n d e rg o
a d d itio n a l p h o n o lo g ical re d u ctio n , a n d th is is very co m m o n ly th e case w ith
th e n eg ativ e c o n tra c tio n s, w h ere th e final /n t/ is red u ced to /n /; eg: haven't
/haevn/, isn’t /iz n /.
C o n tra c te d fo rm s, b e in g en clitic to a p reced in g w o rd , n a tu rally do n o t
o c cu r in itially , eg w h e re th e o p e rato r com es a t th e b e g in n in g o f th e clau se,
w ith in v ersio n (c /3 .2 4 ). F u rth e r, b eing u n stressed , th ey d o n o t o ccu r w h e re
th e o p e ra to r is th e o n ly v e rb in th e verb p h rase, a n d p reced es a n ellipsis ( c f
3.26). T h ese tw o c irc u m stan c es a re illu strated i n :
f W ill you b e in to n ig h t?
\ * ’l l you b e in to n ig h t?
f N o , b u t I w ill to m o rro w night.
(* N o , b u t I ’ll to m o rro w night.
I n o th e r p o sitio n s, th e c o n tra ctio n is favoured in in fo rm a l style. T h e c h o ice
b etw een u n c o n tra c te d is /iz / a n d c o n tr a c te d 's /z / in sp o k e n E n g lish h as b e e n
fo u n d to be c o n d itio n e d b y th e follow ing v a ria b le s, listed in o rd e r o f
im p o rta n c e :
F irst, th ere is sig n ific a n t co rrelatio n o f /z / w ith a p re ce d in g p ro n o u n , o r

w ith th e p re ce d in g w o rd s there a n d here, eg:
I t ’s rain in g . T h e re ’s a c a r in the g arage. H e re ’s m y bus.
w h ereas th e u n c o n tra c te d fo rm is associated w ith a p re ce d in g n o u n , eg :
T h e c a r is in th e g arage.
Second, b u t less im p o rta n t, /z / is typical o f in fo rm a l a n d /iz/ o f fo rm al

contexts.
T h ird , th ere is so m e ten d e n cy fo r th e c o n tra cte d fo rm to b e m ore co m m o n
w h en fu n c tio n in g a s a n a u x iliary th a n as a m ain verb .
W h en th ese th re e facto rs o f p referen ce are c o m b in e d th e ch o ice o f fo rm is

m o re p re d ic ta b le, ie /iz/ is m o st likely w hen it is a m ain v e rb a n d follow s a
n o u n in a fo rm al co n te x t (e g : R adiation is dangerous), w h e rea s /z / is m o st

lik e ly w h e n it is an a u x iliary an d follows a p ro n o u n in a n in fo rm a l co n te x t
( e g : I t ’s g ettin g dark). A sim ila r p a tte rn o f ch o ice is to b e e x p ected w ith o th e r
v e rb c o n tra c tio n s.
N o te [a] A lth o u g h phon o lo g ical red u c tio n m ay result in p ro n u n ciatio n s sim ilar to th o se o f o rth o d o x
c o n tra c tio n s, su ch red u ctio n s a r e n o t represented in w ritin g if th ey o cc u r o u tsid e th e n o rm a l
c o n d itio n s for c o n tra c tio n . F o r ex a m p le, although th e auxiliary a t th e b e g in n in g o f H ave you
e a te n ? m a y be re d u ce d , in sp eech , to /v / (as in /vju: 'ittn /), th is w ill n o t b e w ritte n in s ta n d a rd
o r th o g ra p h y *’F e y o u eaten?
(b) O n th e alte rn a tiv e co n stru c tio n s usedn't to an d did n't use(d) to, c/3 .4 4 .
(c) Inversion o f subject an d o p erato r

3.24 A u x ilia rie s , a s o p e rato rs, a d m it in v ersio n ; ie th e su b ject n o u n p h ra se a n d th e
a u x ilia ry (th e first au x iliary if th e re are tw o o r m ore) ch an g e p laces, especially
in in te rro g a tiv e clauses. C o m p a re :
S h e w ill com e. ~ W ill sh e com e?

S h e p lan s to com e, -v * P lan s she to com e?
A s w ith n o t-n eg atio n (c /3 .2 2 ) m a in verbs here req u ire th e u se o f d o (c /3 .3 7 ) :

D o es she p lan to come ?
I n v e rs io n o f su b je ct a n d o p e ra to r occurs n o t only in in te rro g a ti ves b u t also
in se n ten c es w ith in tro d u c to ry neg ativ es o r sem i-n eg ativ es (c /1 8 .2 4 ):
A t n o tim e was th e e n tra n c e left ungu ard ed .
N ote [a] I n a d d itio n to su b je c t-o p e ra to r inversion, th ere is also inversion o f su b je c t a n d m a in v erb,

a s in D ow n cam e th e rain ( c f 18.23).
[b] S u b je c t-o p e ra to r in v e rsio n is u su al n o t only w ith y e s-n o q u estio n s, b u t w ith wA-questions.
T h e re a re , h ow ever, on e o r tw o fo rm u laic w h-questions in w h ich th e su b jec t a n d m a in v erb are
in v e r te d :
H o w goes it ? [a g re e tin g : ‘H ow a r e you do in g ?’]
H o w cam e you to m iss th e tr a in ? [‘H ow d id you com e t o . . . ? ’]
W h a t say you, P e te r? [‘W h a t is yo u r o p in io n ?’]
W h e re stan d s th e A d m in istra tio n ?
T h e re te n d s to b e a to n e o f a rc h a is m o r m ock-archaism in such qu estio n s.
[cl O n U sed she to com e? a n d D id she u s e (d j to com e? c/3 .4 4 .
(d) E m p h atic positive

3.25 A u x ilia ries a s o p e ra to rs c a n c arry n u clear stress to m a rk a fin ite clau se as
p o sitiv e ra th e r th a n n e g a tiv e :
W o n ’t you try a g a in ? Y es, I w i l l try again. [1]
Y o u m u st sp eak to th e teach er. I h a v e sp o k en to h er. [ 2]

T h e fu n c tio n o f th is e m p h a t i c p o s i t i v e use o f th e o p e ra to r is to d en y a
n e g ativ e w h ich h a s b e e n s ta te d o r im plied. O n th e use o f d o h e re in assertiv e
c o n te x ts, c / 3 . 3 7 , 18.16:
Y o u d i d sp eak to h e r? [‘I th o u g h t you d id n ’t ’]

Y o u should liste n to y o u r m o th er. B ut I DO listen to h er.
S o m etim es th e e m p h a tic o p e ra to r h as n o c o n tra stiv e m ea n in g , b u t is used

p u rely fo r em o tiv e fo rce (c /1 8 .5 6 ):
Verbs in auxiliary function 125
I AM g la d ! I DO w i s h you w ould L is te n . Y ou h F v e do n e well.
(e) O p e ra to r in reduced clauses

3.26 T h e reply to a q u e stio n su ch a s :
W o n ’t you try a g a in ? C a n you d riv e a c ar?
m a y b e a s i n d i c a t e d i n [1 ] a b o v e :
Y es, I w il l try a g a in . N o. I c F n t d riv e a c ar.
O n th e o th e r h a n d , a m o re likely re p ly w ould b e the e lliptical c o n s tru c tio n :
Y es, I w il l . N o , I CAN'T.
A u x iliaries c a n fu n c tio n as o p e rato rs in a ra n g e o f su ch red u ced co n stru ctio n s

( t/1 2 .2 1 /, 12.60), w h ere th e m ain v e rb is o m itted e ith e r by ellipsis o r by p r o
form su b s titu tio n , a n d th e clause is u n d e rsto o d to re p ea t th e co n te n t o f a n
e arlie r clause. T h e n a tu re o f th is ty p e o f o p e ra to r fu n ctio n h a s been c a p tu re d
by v ario u s lab els su c h as ‘c o d e ’ o r ‘stra n d in g ’.
H e re w e m e n tio n fo u r ty p es o f red u ce d clause co n ta in in g a n o p e r a to r
w ith o u t a m a in v e rb , o f w h ich th e first tw o are th e m o st im p o rta n t. DO is
used a s a n ‘e m p ty ’ o p e ra to r w h ere th e clau se h a s n o o th er auxiliary.
(i) s o /n e i t h e r /n o r + o p e r a t o r ( c f 1 2 .2 9 )
P o sitiv e:
A n n w ill s t a y a n d s o w ill B A R b a ra .
Bill s t a y e d a n d s o d id H E N ry.
N e g a tiv e :
A n n w o n ’t s t a y a n d neither w ill B A R b a ra .
Bill d id n ’t s t a y , nor d id H E N ry.
(ii) OPERATOR + T O O / E lT H E R (c f 12.59)

P o s itiv e :
A n n w ill sta y late a n d B a rb a ra w ill t o o .
Bill b ro k e h is p ro m ise, a n d H e n ry d id t o o .
N e g a tiv e :
A n n w o n ’t e a t m u ch a n d B a rb a ra won’t E iTH er.
Bill d id n ’t b re a k his p ro m ise, a n d H en ry didn 't E iTH er.
(iii) PREDICATION FRONTING (c /1 8 .2 0 )

A n n s a i d sh e w ould b e la te , a n d la te sh e w a s .
Bill s a i d h e w ould w in th e m a tc h , a n d w in th e m a tc h he d id .
( iv ) RELATIVIZED p r e d i c a t i o n ( c f 6 .3 4 N o te [b ])
A n n sa id sh e w ould b e late , w h ich sh e was.
Bill sa id h e w ould w in th e m a tc h , w h ic h he did.
In th ese ex am p les, th e second au x iliary (unless it is d o ) is th e sam e a s th e

first; b u t th e re a re also red u ced c o n stru c tio n s in w h ich th e tw o a u x iliaries
m ay differ (c /1 2 .5 9 , 19.45 N o te):
A n n h o p e d th a t w e would stay , b u t u n fo rtu n ately w e couldn't.

Y ou should t a k e a b r e a k w h e n e v e r you can.
(f) P re -a d v e rb position
3.27 F r e q u e n c y su b ju n c ts, lik e alw ays o r never, a n d d isju n cts, like certainly o r
p ro b a b ly , ty p ically , b u t n o t necessarily, follow au x iliaries as o p erato rs,
w h e r e a s th e y p re ce d e m a in verbs. C o m p a re :
She believed his story.
i([probably
" eT ,, N
I f th e r e is m o re th a n o n e auxiliary* th e a d v erb w ill still generally o ccur afte r
th e firs t, ie a fte r th e o p e ra to r:
S h e w o u ld probably never have, b elieved h is story.
T h e p o s itio n o f a n a d v erb , how ever, is o ften v a ria b le W ithin th e v erb p h rase

( c / 8 . 14/7). C o m p a re :
f w o u ld probably never have"!

S h e < probably never w ould h av e >b eliev ed th a t story.
[w o u ld probably h av e neverJ
T h e m o s t im p o rta n t p o in t is th a t such ad v erb s could n o t o ccu r im m ed iately

a f te r th e m a in v e rb ex ce p t w h ere th e m a in v e rb is b e (a n d th erefo re a n
o p e r a to r ) :
* S h e b e lie y ed never/probably his story.
{C f: S h e w a s never/probably a tax p ay er.)
(g) Q u a n tifie r position

3.28 Q u a n tifie rs lik e all, both, an d each w h ich m o d ify th e su b ject o f th e clause
m a y o c c u r a fte r th e o p e ra to r a s a n a lte rn a tiv e , in m an y in stan ces, to th e
p r e d e te r m in e r p o sitio n (c /5 .1 5 /):
A l l th e boys w ill b e th ere. ~ T h e boys w ill a ll b e th ere.

B o th m y p a re n ts a re w orking. ~ M y p a re n ts are both w orking.
T h e s e q u a n tifie rs do n o t, how ever, o ccur a fte r a m a in v e rb in th e sam e type

o f c o n s tru c tio n :
A l l o u r te a m played well. ~ *O ur te a m p lay ed all well.

E a c h o f us o w n s a bicycle. ~ *W e ow n each a bicycle.
B u t i f th e q u a n tifie r is p laced b efo re th e m a in v e rb , th ese sen ten ces becom e

a c c e p ta b le :
O u r te a m a ll played well. W e each o w n a bicycle.
N o te AU, b o th , a n d each so m etim e s occu r b etw een su b ject a n d o p e ra to r, b u t th is is ex cep tio n al, an d
less a c c e p ta b le th a n th e po st-o p erato r po sitio n :
? W e b o th w ere w o rk in g late. ~ W e w ere b o th w o rk in g late.
(h) In d ep en d en ce o f subject
3.29 C o m p a r e d w ith m o st m ain verbs, au x iliaries are sem an tically in d ep e n d en t
o f th e s u b je c t. T h is is reflected in a t least th ree w ays.
Verbs in auxiliary function 127
F irst, th ere is a lack o f se m an tic restrictions (c/10.51) b e tw ee n th e su b je ct

a n d th e a u x iliary v erb . C o n tra s t:
S eco n d , th ere is th e p o ssib ility o f co n stru ctio n w ith ex iste n tia l th e re :
T h ere used
to b e a sch o o l o n th e island.
T h e r e hoped
T h ird , if o th e r c o n d itio n s a re m e t fo r th e activ e-p assiv e co rre sp o n d e n c e (eg

if th e v erb is tra n s itiv e , c / 3 . 67/7), auxiliaries usually a d m it th e c h an g e fro m
o n e v oice to th e o th e r w ith o u t ch an g e o f m e a n in g :
T h o u sa n d s o f p eo p le w ill m ee t th e president.
= T h e p re sid e n t w ill b e m et b y th o u san d s o f people.
C o m p are th e situ atio n in w h ic h a full verb occurs as first (finite) v e r b :
T h o u sa n d s o f p eo p le h o p e to m ee t th e president.
# T h e p re sid e n t h o p e s to b e m e t by th o u san d s o f p eo p le.
T h e s e c riteria fo r in d e p e n d e n c e a re, how ever, n o t infallible. F o r e x am p le, in

so m e co n tex ts som e a u x ilia rie s fail th e activ e-p assiv e test ( c f 3.72), a n d th e re
a re also som e v erb s w h ic h b y o th e r c riteria are n o t a u x iliaries, b u t w h ic h
p a ss th is test.-T hese v e rb s w ill b e consid ered later ( 3 .4 7 // u n d e r th e h e ad in g s
o f sem i-au x iliary a n d c a te n a tiv e verbs.
A d d it i o n a l f e a t u r e s o f m o d a l a u x il ia r y v e r b s
T h e c riteria ( a - h ) d iscu ssed so fa r h elp to define au x iliaries as a fu n c tio n al
class, b u t it m u st b e re m e m b e re d th a t all o f th em ex cep t (h) a p p ly to o p e rato rs
in g en eral, a n d th e re fo re a p p ly also to b e an d (som etim es) h a v e as m a in
v erb s. N o w w e a d d th e follow ing m orphological a n d sy n ta ctic c rite ria w h ic h
a p p ly specifically to m o d al a u x iliary verbs, as distin ct fro m th e p rim a ry v erb s
b e , h a v e , and d o .
( j ) C o n s t r u c t i o n w i t h t h e b a r e in f in i t iv e
M o d a l au x iliaries a re n o rm ally follow ed by the infinitive, w h ic h is b a re (ie
th e b ase form o f th e v e rb alo n e) ex ce p t w ith used (c/3 .4 4 ) a n d (usually) ought
( c f 3.43), v erb s w h ich fo r th is reaso n , as well as for o th ers, a re so m ew h at
m a rg in a l to th e class o f m o d als. C o m p are:
Y ou will b e a sk ed q u e stio n s, b u t : Y ou ought to c o m b y o u r h a ir.

T h ey m ight h a v e sto len it. b u t : H e used to read for h o u rs.
(O n th e m arg in al m o d al a u x iliaries dare an d need, c f 3.42.)
( k ) F in i te f u n c tio n s o n ly
M o d a l au x iliaries c an o nly o c cu r as the first (o p erato r) e le m e n t o f th e v erb
p h ra se. T h ey c a n n o t o c cu r in n o nfinite functions, ie a s in fin itiv es o r
p a rtic ip le s , a n d a s a co n seq u en ce o f th is c a n occur only as first v e rb in th e

v e rb p h ra s e :
M O D A L V ER B PR IM A R Y VERB F U L L VERB
*to m a y to have to eat
*(is) m a yin g (is) being (is) eating
* (h as) m a y e d ( h a s ) been (has) eaten
T h e p rim a ry v e rb s h a v e th e full ran g e o f n onfinite form s, b u t n o t all o f th ese

fo rm s c a n be u se d in a u x iliary fu n ctio n . F o r b e , all th ree n o n fin ite fo rm s c a n
b e a u x ilia rie s : be, being, been ; h a v e has n o -e d p a rticip le in a u x iliary fu n c tio n ,
b u t o n ly have a n d having. ‘D u m m y ’ a u x iliary d o , lik e th e m o d al a u x iliaries,
c a n o n ly o c cu r a s a n o p e rato r, a n d th e n o n fin ite form s o f d o , (to ) do, doing,
a n d done, are c o n stru c te d only a s m ain verbs.
(1) N o 3 rd person inflection

M o d a l a u x ilia rie s a re n o t inflected in th e 3 rd p erso n sin g u lar o f th e p re s e n t
te n s e ; ie, th ey h a v e n o -s f o r m :
In c o n tra st, th e p rim a ry v erb s d o h a v e a n -s form , b u t it is irre g u la r ( c f

3 .3 1 # ).
(m ) A bnorm al tim e reference

N o t o n ly th e p re s e n t form s, b u t th e p a s t form s o f th e m o d al a u x iliaries c a n
b e u sed to re fe r to p re sen t a n d fu tu re tim e (often w ith h y p o th e tic a l o r
te n ta tiv e m e a n in g ):
I th in k h e m a y/m igh t re tire n e x t M ay.

W ill/w o u ld y o u p h o n e h im to m o rro w ?
C o n tra s t: , x
*1 th in k h e retired n e x t M ay.
* D id you phone h im to m o rro w ?
Also m o d al au x iliaries w h ich d o n o t h a v e a d istin c t p a st form (e g : m ust, need,

ought) c a n be u se d to re fe r to th e p a s t in in d ire ct s p e e c h :
I
I to ld h im h e must b e h o m e early. [‘. . . h a d to b e . . . ’]
N o te [a] T he use o f p a s t fo rm s to re fe r to p re se n t a n d fu tu re tim e is also possible w ith full v e rb s, b u t

only in so m e sp ecial co n stru c tio n s: eg in h y p o th e tic a l //-clauses ( c /1 4 .2 3 ,15.35/):
I f you p honed [‘w ere to p h o n e ’] m e to m o rro w , I could help you straig h t aw ay.
[b] In d ia le c ta l u se (eg Scots E n g lish , T y n e sid e E n g lish , a n d S outhern A m E ), th e re a re v arieties
o f p o p u la r speech in w h ich o n e m o d al a u x ilia ry c a n follow an o th e r: H e m ight could com e [‘H e
m ight b e a b le to c o m e ’] etc.
Th e prim a ry verbs be, h a v e , and do 129
The primary verbs b e, h a v e , and d o
3.31 H av in g discu ssed au x iliary v erb criteria, w e c a n no w co n sid er th e sp ecial

m o rp h o lo g ical a n d sy n ta ctic c h ara cteristics o f v erb s w hich c a n fu n ctio n as
au x iliaries: first th e p rim a ry , a n d second th e m o d al verbs.
S em an tically , th e p rim a ry v erb s as au x iliaries sh a re an asso ciatio n w ith
the b asic g ra m m a tic a l v erb categ o ries o f ten se, a sp e ct, an d voice ( c f 3.63,
4 .2 ,4 .1 7 ). I n th is th ey a re b ro ad ly d istin g u ish ed fro m th e m o d al v erb s, w h ic h
a re a sso ciated m ain ly w ith th e expression o f m o d al m ean in g s such as
possibility, o b lig a tio n , an d vo litio n ( c f 4 .4 2 //). B u t first, w e ex am in e th e s e
p rim a ry v e rb s fro m a fo rm al p o in t o f view.
BE
3.32 T h e v erb | e is a m a i n v e rb (w ith a c o p u la r fu n c tio n ; c/2 .1 6 ) in :
A n n is a h a p p y g irl. Is th a t building a h o tel?
B ut | e also h a s tw o au x iliary fu n c tio n s : as a n a sp e c t auxiliary (T ype C , 3.55):
A n n is le a rn in g S p an ish .
T h e w e a th e r h a s been im proving.
an d a s a p a ssiv e a u x iliary (T ype D , 3.55):
A n n was a w a rd e d a p rize.
O u r te a m h a s n e v e r been beaten .
| e is u n iq u e in h a v in g a full set o f b o th finite a n d n o n fin ite form s in a u x iliary

fu n c tio n ; it is also u n iq u e am o n g E n g lish v e rb s in h a v in g as m an y as e ig h t
d ifferent fo rm s, c f T able 3.32 o n th e n ex t p ag e. In th e n o n n eg ativ e c o lu m n o f
Table 3.32 th e u n stre sse d p ro n u n ciatio n s (w ith vow el red u ctio n ) are g iv en
a fte r th e stressed p ro n u n c ia tio n , w h ere they differ.
N o te [a] e is th e o n ly verb in E n g lish to h ave a special form fo r th e 1st perso n sin g u lar o f th e p resen t
|
( am ) a n d tw o d is tin c t fo rm s o f th e p a st te nse (was, were). In th e su b junctive, how ever (c f3 .5 8 ff),

th e fo rm was d o es n o t occur.
[b] A in ’t is a n o n s ta n d a rd c o n tra c tio n com m only used (esp in A m E ) in place o f am not, is not, are
not, has not, a n d have not.
[c] T h e re is no co m p letely n a tu ra l inform al co n tractio n o f a m I not (parallel to isn't she for is she
not) in n eg a tiv e sen te n ces. (O n th e position o f not in n e g a tiv e q uestions, c f 11.7.) A ren't I is
w idely used, esp ecially in B rE , w hereas ain't I, usually c o n sid e red n o n stan d a rd , is so m ew h at
m o re cu rre n t in A m E th a n in B rE . A m n 't I is m ainly S co ttish a n d Irish.
[d] T h e follow ing B rE ex a m p le (o f m arg in al a c cep ta b ility ) show s th a t it is possible fo r aren’t to
a c t as a c o n tra c te d fo rm o f a m not even in d ec larativ e c o n te x ts :
H E W A sn ’t a n d i p r o b a b l y aren’t N O R m a lly .
H ere th e su b stitu tio n o f a ren ’t seem s to h av e resulted fro m a d esire for p arallelism w ith th e
p reced in g o c c u rre n ce o f w asn’t.
[e] P h onologically, th e c o n t r a c t e d ’s ending /s / o r /z / c a n n o t o c c u r a fter a sib ilan t c o n so n an t.
H en ce Your place is over there c a n n o t becom e in w ritin g * Your place's over there. C o m p a re th e
con d itio n s for th e p ro n u n c ia tio n o f th e -s form o f re g u la r v erb s ( c f 3.5), a n d c o n tra s t th e
co n tractio n follow ing a n o n s ib ila n t:
Y our |P * a c e is /P)®,SIZ/ | o v er there.

[ s e a t s /s i:ts / J
O th e r c o n d itio n s o n th e u se o f th e c o n tr a c tio n 's in p la ce o f is a re discussed in 3.23.
T a b le 3 .3 2 F o r m s o f B E
UNCONTRACTED CONTRACTED
NONNEGATIVE
NEGATIVE NEGATIVE ( c / N o t e )
base b e / b i : / , /b i /
p re se n t
1 st p erso n a m /a e m /, / a m / a m n o t, ( a r e n ’t)
s in g u la r p r e s e n t ’m / m / 'm n o t
3 rd p erso n is / i z / is n o t, is n ’t /'iz iit /

s in g u la r p r e s e n t 's / z / ,/ s / 's n o t
2 n d p erso n
p r e s e n t , 1st a r e / a i rl a re n o t a r e n ’t / a : rn t /
a n d 3 rd p erso n ’r e / s ’l ’re n o t
p lu ra l p re se n t
past
1 s t a n d 3 rd w a s / w d z /, /w (9 )z / w as not w a s n ’t / 'w o z n t/
p e rso n
s in g u la r p a s t
2 n d p erso n p a s t
1 st a n d 3 rd
w e r e /w 3 :r/ , /W 9r/ w ere n o t w e r e n ’t /w 3 irn t /
p e r s o n p lu r a l
p ast
-in g f o r m b e in g /'b iiir)/ n o t b e in g
-e d p a rtic ip le b een /b i:n /, /b in / n o t been
n o t e T h e final / t / o f th e n e g a tiv e co n tractio n is com m only n o t sounded.
HAVE | x
3.33 HAVE f u n c tio n s b o th as a n au x iliary a n d as a m a in v erb . A s a n au x iliary for
p e rfe c tiv e a s p e c t { c f 4 .1 8 # ), h a v e co m b in es w ith a n -e d p a rticip le to form
c o m p lex v e rb p h ra s e s :
I have fin ish ed .

W h a t has sh e b o u g h t?
T h e y m a y have b e en eaten.
A s a m a in v e rb , it n o rm ally tak es a d irec t ob ject, a n d h a s v a rio u s m ean in g s

su ch a s p o ssessio n : I have no m o n ey ; They had tw o children ; e tc (c/3 .3 4 ). T h e
d iffere n t fo rm s o f h a v e a re sh o w n in Table 3.33 o p p o site.
I n n e g a tiv e c o n stru c tio n s w e h a v e th e follow ing th re e v a ria n ts :
I have n ot se e n h er. (ty p ical o f w ritten d isco u rse)

I haven’t se e n h e r .l . , „ , ,. ,
x, , > (typical o f spoken d isco u rse)
I ce not s e e n her. J
O f th e c o n tr a c te d fo rm s, th e haven’t ty p e is g en erally m o re co m m o n th a n th e
’ve n ot type. A s a n -ed p a rtic ip le , had is re stric te d to u se a s a m a in v erb , as in
Th e primary verbs b e, h a v e , and do 131
H a ve y o u h a d luttch?, o r to u s e in t h e h a v e to c o n s tru c tio n , a s in T h e y h a v e

h a d to sell their car.
N o te P h onologically, th e W co n tra c tio n c a n n o t o cc u r after /t / o r / d / : if w e en c o u n ter th e w ritte n f o r m

V/ in su ch co n tex ts (eg: I t'd been d am aged), th is m ust be understood to re p resen t th e sy lla b ic
red u ce d fo rm /a d /. C o m p a re a s im ila r restric tio n in 3.32 N o te [e].
T a b le 3 .3 3 F o r m s o f HAVE
NONNEGATIVE
NEGATIVE NEGATIVE ( c f N o t e )
base h a v e /h a e v /, /( h ) a v / have not

'v e / v / 'v e n o t h a v e n ’t /'h a e v n t/
-sfo rm h a s /h aez/ , /( h ) a z / has not

’s / z / , / s / ‘s n o t h a s n ’t / ‘h a e z n t/
past h a d /h s e d /, / ( h ) s d / h a d not
w /d / ’d n o t h a d n ’t / ‘h s e d n t/
- in g f o r m h a v in g /'h aev rrj/ n o t ha v in g
-e d p a rtic ip le h a d /h a e d /, /( h ) a d /
NOTE T h e final /t/ o f th e n e g a tiv e c o n tra c tio n is com m only n o t sounded.
h F v e a s m a in v erb
3.34 W h e n used as a m a in v erb w ith s ta tiv e m ean in g ( c f 4.4), h a v e show s s y n ta c tic
v a ria tio n in th a t it n o t o n ly co m b in es w ith D O -supp o rt in fo rm in g
co n stru ctio n s w ith a n o p e ra to r (c/3 .3 7 ):
W e don't have a n y m oney. D o you have a lighter?
b u t also a cts as a n o p e ra to r its e lf in co n stru ctio n s such a s :
W e haven't an y m oney. H ave you a lighter?
T h is la tte r c o n stru ctio n , a lth o u g h it is th e tra d itio n a l c o n stru ctio n in B rE , is

n ow so m ew h at u n co m m o n , p a rtic u la rly in th e p a st te n s e : IH a d s h e a n y new s?
T h e re is also th e in fo rm a l h a v e g o t co n stru ctio n (c/3 .4 5 ), w h ic h a lth o u g h
p e rfe c tiv e in form is n o n p e rfe c tiv e in m eaning, a n d is freq u en tly p re fe rre d
(esp in B rE ) as a n a lte rn a tiv e to sta tiv e h a v e :
Jo h n has co u rag e. = J o h n has got courage.
I t is p a rticu la rly c o m m o n in n e g ativ e an d in terro g ativ e clauses. T o e x p ress

som e sta tiv e senses w e c a n th u s h a v e th ree a lte rn a tiv e s:
f ( a ) W t haven't "|
P o ssessio n : < (b) "We haven’t g ot > any b u tter.
(.(c) "We d o n 't have J
f (a) H a ve you ) f (a) N o , I haven’t. ~j

R e la tio n s h ip : (b) H a ve you g ot >a n y b ro th ers? < (b) N o , I haven’t. I
[(c) Do y o u have J [(c) N o , I don't. J
(a ) I haven't )
{ (b ) I haven't g ot >a h e ad a ch e a n y longer.
(c) 1 don’t have J
O f th e s e a lte rn a tiv e s, (a) is esp B rE (m o re f o r m a l) ; (b) is esp B rE ( i n f o r m a l) ;

(c) is A m E (an d also c o m m o n in B rE n o w ad ay s).
N o te [a] A f u r th e r a lte rn a tiv e fo r ex pressing n eg atio n is o f c o u rse a n egative d e te rm in e r o r p r o n o u n :

W e h a v e no butter ( c / 5 . 13,6.62).
[ b ] O n h v e to co m p a re d w ith h v e got to, c/3 .4 8 .
F F
[c] I n in fo rm a l E n g lish has got, have got, a n d h a d g o t m a y b e red u ced to 'sg o t, 'v e g o t, an d 'd g o t.
I n v e ry in fo rm al E n g l is h ,’ve got m ay be fu rth e r red u ce d to g o t:
W h a t you got th e r e ? I g o t som ething nice fo r you.
I n its w ritte n form , th is om ission o f th e au xiliary is n o n sta n d a rd .
3.35 I n d y n a m ic sen ses ( c f 4.4) such as ‘receiv e’, ‘ta k e ’, ‘ex p erien ce’, a n d in id io m s
w ith a n ev en tiv e o b jec t (eg: have breakfast = ‘e a t b re ak fa st’), h a v e (in b o th
A m E a n d B rE ) n o rm ally h as DO-support, a n d h a v e g ot is n o t p o ssib le :
A : D oes sh e have coffee w ith h e r b re a k fa s t?

B : Yes, sh e does.
A : D id you have an y difficulty g e ttin g h e re ?
B : N o, I didn't.
A : D id you have a good tim e in J a p a n ?
B : Yes, w e c ertain ly did.
O th e r d y n am ic uses in clu d e h a v e in a c a u s a tiv e sense follow ed by a n -ed

p a rtic ip le , o r in a sim ila r sense follow ed b y a b a re infinitive:
A : D id th ey have th e house p a in te d ?
B : N o, th e y didn’t.
A : D id they have you p a in t th e h o u se?
B : Yes, th e y did.
N o te [a] N o te th e follow ing co n tra s t b etw een stativ e a n d d y n a m ic m e an in g :

H a d sh e g ot her b a b y a t th e clin ic? [‘W as h e r b a b y a t th e clin ic w ith he r? ’]
D id sh e have her b a b y a t th e clin ic ? [‘D id sh e g iv e b ir th to h e r b ab y a t th e clin ic ?’]
E sp ec ially in A m E , th e second sentence could h a v e b o th o f th e se m eanings.
[b ] S in ce h v e w ith th e d o co n stru ctio n is ty p ically d y n am ic, in th e p resen t te n se it te n d s to
F
sin g le o u t a h ab itu al in te rp re ta tio n ( c f 4.6). C o m p a r e :

D o you have bad h e a d a c h e s ? [norm ally h a b itu a l: ‘as a ru le’]
H ave y o u got a b ad h e a d a c h e ? [n o n h a b itu a l: ‘n o w , a t th is m o m en t’]
H ave you g ot bad h ea d a c h e s? [T his could o nly b e a d d ressed to m ore th a n o n e p erso n in a
n o n h a b itu a l sense.]
DO
3.36 d o , l ik e b e a n d h a v e , c a n b e b o th a n a u x ilia r y a n d a m a in v e r b . A s a n
a u x ilia r y , d o h a s n o n o n f in ite fo rm s , b u t o n ly p r e s e n t a n d p a s t fo rm s , c f
Table 3.36 o p p o site .
N o te O ccasio n ally does is c o n tra c te d in in form al style t o 's /s/ ; eg: W hat's it m atter? A m o re d ra s tic
k in d o f phonological red u ctio n is in d icated by th e follow ing (n o n stan d a rd ) o rth o g ra p h ic
re n d erin g o f in form al s p e e c h :
W hyncha do it y o u rself? [‘W h y d o n ’t y o u . . . ? ’]
Th e prim ary verbs be . h a v e , and d o 133
Table 3.36 F o r m s o f DO
NONNEGATIVE
NEGATIVE NEGATIVE ( c f N o t e )
base d o /d u :/, / d o / , /d a / d o not d o n ’t / d a u n t /
-sfo rm d o e s /d x z /, /d a z / does not d o e s n 't / 'd a z n t /
past rf/rf / d i d / d id not d id n 't /' d i d n t /
-in g f o r m d o in g / 'd u n g /
( m a in v e r b o n ly )
-e d p a rtic ip le d o n e /d a n /
( m a i n v e r b o n ly )
n o t e T h e final / 1/ o f th e n eg a tiv e co n tra c tio n is com m only n o t sounded.
D o -su p p o rt
3.37 T h e term d o - s u p p o r t (o r ‘D O -periphrasis’) ap p lies to th e u se o f d o as a n
‘e m p ty ’ o r ‘d u m m y ’ o p e ra to r ( c f 2.49) in co n d itio n s w h ere th e co n stru ctio n
req u ires a n o p e ra to r, b u t w h e re th ere is n o sem an tic reaso n for an y o th e r
o p e ra to r to b e p re sen t. A ll u ses o f d o a s an auxiliary co m e u n d e r th is h e ad in g .
T h e m a in o n es a r e :
(a) In in d ic a tiv e clau ses (c /3 .5 2 ) n eg ated by not, w h ere th e v erb is sim p le

p re sen t o r sim p le p a s t :
She doesn't w a n t to stay.

I didn’t lik e m a th e m a tic s a t school.
N e g ativ e im p e ra tiv e clau ses in tro d u c ed by Do not o r D on’t m ay , w ith som e

reserv atio n ( c /1 1.30, N o te [a]), be p laced in th e sam e categ o ry .
(b) In q u e stio n s a n d o th e r co n stru ctio n s involving su b je c t-o p e ra to r in v e r

sion, w here th e v e rb is in th e sim p le p resen t o r p a st te n s e :
D id he sta y la te ? W h a t do th ey say? Does it m a tte r ?
T h is categ o ry in clu d es tag q u e stio n s ( c f 1 1 .8 /0 a n d o th e r re d u ce d q u estio n s

w here th e d u m m y o p e ra to r is n o t acco m p an ied by a m a in v e r b :
H e k n o w s h ow to d riv e a c a r, doesn’t he?

T h ey d id n ’t m a k e a n y m ista k e s, d id they?
I d o n ’t lik e h im , do yo u ?
I t also in clu d es in v e rs io n a fte r a n in itial n eg ativ e e lem en t:
N e v er d id he t h in k th e b o o k w ould be finished so soon.
(c) In e m p h a tic c o n stru c tio n s w h ere the v erb is sim p le p re s e n t o r sim p le

p a st ( c f e m p h a tic p o sitiv e c o n stru ctio n s, 3.25):
T h ey “do w a n t you to co m e.
M ich ael “d id say h e w ould b e h e re a t n in e, d id n ’t he?
H ere w e m ay also in clu d e th e ‘p ersu asiv e im p e rativ e ’ in tro d u c ed by d o :

" D o sit d o w n ! " D o be q u iet.

A : M ay I sit here ? B : Y es, by all m ean s d o .
(S ee, how ev er, 11.30 N o te [a] o n the dub io u s status o f d o as o p e ra to r in this

c o n stru c tio n .)
(d ) In red u ced clauses, w h ere d o acts as a dum m y o p e ra to r p re ce d in g ellipsis

o f a p re d ic a tio n (12.60):
M ary re a d s books fa ste r th a n I d o . [do = ‘read b o o k s’]

D id you w a tch th e g a m e o n television? N o , b u t m y b ro th e r d id .
[ \ . . w a tc h th e g a m e o n television’]
N o te [a] T h e r e is no DO-support fo r n eg a tio n in nonfinite clauses, w here not p rece d es a full v erb as
m a in v e r b :
N o t liking m a th e m a tic s, h e gav e it up.
N o t to go to th e ex h ib itio n w ould b e a pity.
T h e r e is also n o rm a lly n o D O -support fo r su bjunctive verbs (c /3 .5 8 ):
I t is im p o rta n t th a t th is m issio n not fa il.
[b] N e g a tiv e w o rd s o th e r th a n not d o n o t require DO -support:
N o one liked h im .
T h e y neverf seldom go out.
[c] N o r is there a n y DO-support in q u estio n s w ith o u t in version, ie q u estio n s w ith th e n o rm a l S V
O /C /A o rd e r ( c / 1 1 .1 2 ,1 1 .1 5 ): H e sa id tha t? Who cam e fir s t?
[d] A u x iliarie s h a v e no D O -support, sin ce th ey them selves perform th e fu n ctio n o f o p erato rs ( c f
3 .21). T h u s d o d o e s n o t p re c e d e o th e r au x iliaries: *She does m ust come. T h e re is a rare ex ception,
h o w ev er, w here D o or D on’t p rece d es au xiliary be in im p erativ es ( c f 11.30 N o te [a]): D on't be
d rin k in g wine when he calls ; D o n ’t be frig h ten ed by th at noise.
[e] I n som e legal d o cu m en ts in a rc h a ic style, th e auxiliary DO c o n stru c tio n is used m erely as an
a lte rn a tiv e to th e sim p le p re s e n t o r p a s t tense:
I, th e u n d ersig n ed , b ein g o f so u n d m in d , do th is day hereby b e q u e a th . . .
d o a s m a in v e rb
3.38 W h e n used as a m ain v e rb , d o h as th e full ran g e o f fo rm s, in clu d in g th e - in g
p a rtic ip le d o i n g a n d th e -e d p a rticip le d o n e :
W h a t h a v e you b e e n d o in g to d ay ? I h a v en ’t done m u ch , I ’m afraid .
A s a m ain v e rb , DO c a n c o m b in e w ith a p ro n o u n o b ject to a c t as a p ro

p re d ic a tio n re fe rrin g to so m e unspecified actio n o r actio n s. T h e p ro n o u n
o b je c t m ay b e p e rso n al ( i t ) , d e m o n stra tiv e ( t h i s / t h a t ) , in te rro g ativ e ( w h a t ) , o r
in d efin ite ( n o t h i n g / a n y t h i n g , etc ):
I h av e b e e n m ea n in g to m en d th a t rad io , b u t I h a v e n ’t d o n e i t yet.
(c/1 2 .2 5 )
A : I ’m th ro w in g th e s e b o o k s aw ay. B : W hy are you d o i n g t h a t ?
A : W h a t h a v e th e y b e en d o i n g to th e ro a d ? B: W id en in g it.
A : W h a t h a v e you d o n e w ith m y p en ? B : I ’ve p u t it in th e desk.
A : W h a t d id you d o o n h o lid ay ? B : W e d id n ’t d o a n y t h i n g .
I d id n ’t k n o w w h a t to d o , so I d i d n o t h i n g .
See a lso the u se o f D O in p seu d o -cleft sentences (18.29). d o is also used

in tra n sitiv e ly a s a p ro -p re d ic a tio n ( c f 12.22);
S h e d id n ’t e arn so m u c h a s sh e m ig h t h av e (d o n e). <esp B rE )

M odal auxiliaries 135
A p a rt fro m th ese uses as a pro-form , the m ain v erb d o h a s a w ide r a n g e o f

uses as a g e n era l-p u rp o se ag en tiv e tran sitiv e verb , especially in in fo rm a l
speech :
L et’s do th e d ish es - you w ash an d I ’ll d ry . .[ 1]

W h o does y o u r c a r? F re d A rc h e r - a n d h e does m y n eig h b o u r’s
too. [2]
She’s done som e really good essays - a n d she alw ays h a n d s th em
in o n tim e. [3]
d o in su ch se n ten c es is o ften rep laceab le by a verb o f m o re ex act m e a n in g ;

eg in [2] s e r v i c e o r m a i n t a i n , a n d in [3] w r i t e . T h e m ea n in g is n a rro w e d
d o w n by th e n a tu re o f th e o b ject: eg in W ill you do the potatoes?, d o c o u ld
m e a n ‘p e el’ o r ‘c o o k ’, b u t scarcely ‘p o lish ’, a m ean in g it m ig h t h av e in H a v e
yo u done the silver ?
N o te T h e re is also a resu lta tiv e use o f done m ean in g ‘cooked’ : Is the m eat done ?
Modal auxiliaries
3.39 T h e c riteria fo r id en tify in g m o d al au x iliaries have been discu ssed in i .2 2 ff,

a n d especially 3.30. N o t all v erb s resp o n d to all criteria, h o w ev er, a n d it is
useful to m a k e a d is tin c tio n b etw een c en tral a n d m arg in al m odals. W e w ill
discuss th e m a rg in a l m o d als a n d o th e r v erb s o f in te rm ed iate statu s in 3 .4 0 ff,
a n d we w ill d iscu ss th e m ean in g s o f th e m o d al au x iliaries la te r (4.49/7).
A ll th a t n e ed s to b e said a b o u t th e form o f the cen tral m o d als is s ta te d in
Table 3.39 a n d th e a cco m p an y in g N o tes. T h e T ab le gives the c o n tra c te d
T a b le 3 .3 9 F o r m s o f t h e m o d a l a u x i lia r y v e r b s
NONNEGATIVE
NEGATIVE NEGATIVE
fc a n / k s n , k a n / c a n n o t, c a n ’t / k a : n t / < B r E ) ,
(c a n n o t: c f N o t e [b]) /k a e n t/ < A m E >
{ c o u ld / k u d , k o d / c o u ld n o t c o u ld n ’t / 'k u d n t /
( m a y /m e t / m ay not ( m a y n ’t / m e i n t / c / 3 .2 3 )
\m ig h t /m a tt/ m ig h t n o t m ig h tn ’t / 'm a i t i j t /
( s h a ll H s \ , l ( s ) \ l s h a ll n o t (s h a n 't /J a r n t / < B rE > c / 3 .2 3 )

\s h o u ld /J u d , J(o )d / s h o u ld n o t s h o u ld n ’t / 'J u d n t / , /'J a d n t/
f (w ill/m l/ w ill n o t w o n ’t / w a u n t /
1\ n m i '11 n o t ( c / N o t e [c])
(w o u ld /w u d / w o u ld n o t w o u ld n 't / 'w u d n t /
l l 'r f / ( 3 ) d / ’d n o t ( c / N o t e [c])
m u s t /m u s t , m a s t / m u st not m u s tn 't /'m A S iit/
(U n stressed p ro n u n c ia tio n s w ith vow el reduction a re placed a fte r the stressed p ro n u n c ia tio n s.
R are form s are p la ced in p aren th eses.)
n e g a tiv e fo rm , a n d also th e p ro n u n c ia tio n o f b o th stressed an d unstressed

fo rm s.
S e m a n tic a sp e cts o f th e n eg atio n o f m o d al a u x iliaries are ex am in ed in
1 0 .6 7 /
N o te [a] T h e w o rd s b race d to g e th er ca n for som e p urposes be reg ard e d as p resen t a n d p a st form s o f

th e s a m e v e rb . B u t fo r o th e r purposes, th ey behave as in d e p e n d e n t v e rb s ( c f 4.59).
[b] T h e s p e llin g .o f ca n not as tw o w ords is unu su al: it o cc u rs w h ere m a in v erb n eg atio n ( c f
1 0 .6 7 /) is in te n d e d , o r w h ere sp ecial em phasis o n o r s e p a ra tio n o f th e neg a tiv e w ord is re q u ire d ;
eg:
C a n yo u not in te rru p t, please.
C an I n o t h el p y o u ?
H e sa y s w e can m a n a g e w hen w e can certain ly not.
[c] T h e r e a r e o b v io u sly no co n tracte d form s o f '11 a n d ‘d sin ce th ey a re th em selves co n tractio n s.
T h e s e fo rm s are b ra c e d w ith will a n d would because ’// a n d 'd c a n alw ays be ex p a n d ed to will an d
w ould (e x c e p t, o f c o u rse, w h e n 'd = had, c f 3:33).
[d] R e g a r d in g th e freq u en c y o f th e m odal auxiliaries, th e follow ing findings, based on studies o f
th e S E U , B ro w n an d L O B co rp o ra, are o f significant in te r e s t:
(a) T h e fre q u e n c y o f in d iv id u al m odals varies g reatly fro m will (fo u r tim es p e r thou san d in
s p o k e n B rE ) to sh a ll (th ree tim es p er ten th o u san d w o rd s in w ritte n E nglish). T h e m arg in al
m o d a ls ought fo, needy a n d dare a re in th e ir tu rn strik in g ly less fre q u e n t th a n shall.
(b) T h e m o d a ls as a w h o le are m u c h qio re freq u en t in sp o k e n th a n in w ritten English.
(c) W ill, ca n , an d th e ir p a st fo rm s would a n d could a re n o ta b ly m o re freq u e n t th a n o th e r m odals.
(d) A m o n g less fre q u e n t m odals, should, shall, an d ought to a re ev en less freq u en t in A m E th a n
in B rE .
Verbs of intermediate function
3.40 I n th e fo llo w in g sectio n s w e ex am in e v erb s w h o se sta tu s is in som e degree

in te rm e d ia te b e tw ee n au x iliaries an d m a in v erb s. T h ese fo rm a set o f
c a te g o rie s w h ic h m ay b e roughly p laced o n a g ra d ie n t b etw een m o d al
a u x ilia rie s a t o n e en d , a n d full verbs, such as hope, w h ich ta k e a n onfinite
clau se a s o b ject, a t th e o th er. T h e extrem es o f th e scale m ay th erefo re be
r e p re s e n te d by I can go a n d I hope to go, c f F ig 3 .40a o p p o site.
T h e s tru c tu ra l im p lica tio n o f th is scale is t h a t th e co n stru ctio n (a) I can go
c o n ta in s o n e vejrb p h rase, w h ereas th e c o n stru ctio n (f) I hope to go c o n tain s a
finite v e r b p h ra se follow ed by a nonfinite one. T h is d istin c tio n w ill be fu rth er
d isc u sse d in 3.57. S em an tic asp ects o f th e scale m ay also b e n o ted ( c f 4.66);
m an y o f th e in te rm e d ia te verbs, p articu larly th o se a t th e h ig h er en d o f th e
scale, h a v e m e a n in g s asso ciated w ith a sp ect, ten se, a n d m o d ality : m ean in g s
w h ich a r e p rim a rily expressed th ro u g h au x iliary v e rb co n stru ctio n s. O ur
p rin c ip a l ta s k , h o w ev er, is to d istin g u ish th ese classes by fo rm al criteria,
w hile m a k in g a n y se m an tic o b serv atio n s th a t m a y b e useful.
T h e c r ite r ia w h ich will p ro v id e the fram e w o rk fo r th is an aly sis a re those
w hich w e re used in id en tify in g th e class o f a u x iliaries in 3 .2 2 /“. T h ere are
eight c r ite r ia fo r au x iliaries, an d four c riteria w h ic h m o re n arro w ly a p p ly to
the c e n tr a l m o d al auxiliaries. T h ey are su m m ariz ed in Table 3.40b o pposite,
to g eth e r w ith illu strativ ely co n tra stin g ex am p les.
Verbs of intermediate fun ction 137
(o n e ( a ) CENTRAL MODALS c a n , c o u ld , m a y , m ig h t, s h a ll,

v erb s h o u ld , w ill/’ll, w o u ld ! 'd ,m u s t ( c / 3 .3 9 )
p h rase)
( b ) MARGINAL MODALS d a r e , n e e d , o u g h t to , u s e d to (c /3 .4 1 /)
(c ) MODAL IDIOMS h a d b e tte r , w o u ld r a th e r /s o o n e r ,

b e to , h a v e g o t to , e t c ( c /3 .4 5 /)
( d ) SEMI-AUXILIARIES HAVE to , BE a b o u t to , BE a b le to ,
BE b o u n d to , BE g o in g to , BE
o b lig e d to , BE s u p p o se d to , BE
w illin g to , e t c ( c /3 ,4 7 /)
(e) CATENATIVES APPEAR to , HAPPEN to , SEEM to ,

g e t + - e d p a r t ic i p le , k e e p + -in g
p a rtic ip le , e tc ( c f 3 .4 9 )
( tw o (f) MAIN VERB + h o pe + f o - in fin itiv e ,

v erb n o n fin ite c la u s e | e g in + -in g p a r t ic i p le , e tc ( c /1 6 .3 8 /)
p h rases)
F ig . 3 .4 0 a T h e a u x i l i a r y v e r b - m a i n v e r b s c a le
T a b le 3 .4 0 b C r i t e r i a f o r a u x i l i a r y v e r b s
AUXILIARY CRITERIA
AUXILIARY MAIN VERB
(O p = o p e ra to r)
(a ) O p in n e g a t i o n H e c a n n o t go . * H e ho p es n o t to go.
( c f N o te )
(b ) N e g a tiv e c o n tr a c tio n c a n ’t * h o p e n ’t
(c) O p in i n v e r s i o n C an w e go? *H ope w e to g o ?
(d ) E m p h a tic p o s itiv e * Y e s , I DO c a n c o m e . Y e s, I d o h o p e t o c o m e .
(e ) O p in r e d u c e d c l a u s e I c a n c o m e i f y o u can. *1 h o p e t o c o m e i f y o u
ho p e.
(0 P o s i tio n o f a d v e r b W e c a n a lw a y s g o e a rly . W e a lw a y s h o p e t o g o
e a rly .
(g) P o s tp o s itio n o f / T h e y c a n a ll c o m e . f ? T h e y h o p e a l l to c o m e .
q u a n t if ie r \? T h e y a ll can co m e. \ T h e y a ll h o p e t o c o m e .
(h ) In d e p e n d e n c e o f / A n n c a n d o it. ~ f H e h o p e s t o d o it.
s u b je c t (. I t c a n b e d o n e b y A n n . \ * I t h o p e s to b e d o n e b y
h im .
MODAL AUXILIARY CRITERIA MODAL AUXILIARY MAIN VERB
(j) B a r e in f i n iti v e I can go. *1 h o p e g o .

(k ) N o n o n f in i te f o r m s * to c a n t* c a n n in g !* c a n n e d to h o p e /h o p in g /h o p e d
(1) N o -s f o r m ‘ S h e cans com e. S h e ho p es to c o m e .
(m ) A b n o rm a l tim e Y o u c o u l d le a v e t h i s Y o u h o p e d t o le a v e t h i s
refere n c e e v e n in g , [ n o t p a s t e v e n in g , [ p a s t tim e ]
tim e ]
NOTE H e hopes not to go is a c c e p ta b le in th e sense 'H e hopes th a t he will n o t g o '; b u t th is is th e n

a ca se o f th e neg a tio n o f to go, n o t o f hopes (c/3 .2 2 N o te [a]).
M arg inal m odals: dare, need, o u g h t to, and used to

3.41 G iv e n th a t in th e ab o v e tab le m o d al au x iliaries are positive fo r all c rite ria ,
w h e re m a in v e rb s lik e hope a re n e g ativ e, th e m arg in al m odals a re v e rb s
w h ic h closely resem b le the c en tral m o d al auxiliaries. I t c a n b e arg u ed ,
in d ee d , for dare an d need th a t th ese a re p ro p e r m odals, b u t th a t for e a c h
th e r e is also a h o m o m o rp h ic v erb ( d a r e , n e e d ) co n stru cted as a m a in v e rb
(cf, how ev er, 3.42 N o te [b]). O ught, too, m ay be trea te d as a c en tral m o d al if
s p e a k e rs c o n stru ct it w ith th e b a re in fin itiv e (c/3 .4 3 N o te [a]).
da re an d need
3 .42 D a re a n d need c a n b e c o n stru cted e ith e r as m ain verbs (w ith to-infinitive a n d
w ith inflected -s, -ing an d p a st form s), or, u n d e r restricted co n d itio n s, as
m o d a l a u x iliaries (w ith th e b a re in fin itiv e a n d w ith o u t th e inflected form s).
T a b le 3 .4 2
MODAL AUXILIARY MAIN VERB

CONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION
P o s i tiv e — H e n e e d e d /d a r e d to e s c a p e .
N e g a tiv e H e n e e d n 't/d a r e n ’t e s c a p e . H e d o e s n ’t n e e d /d a r e t o e s c a p e .
In te rro g a tiv e N e e d /D a r e w e e s c a p e ? D o w e n e e d /d a r e t o e s c a p e ?
f N e e d n ’t h e e s c a p e f D o e s n ’t h e n e e d to e s c a p e
N e g a tiv e -
< a f t e r a ll? < a f t e r a ll?
in t e r r o g a t i v e
LD a r e h e n o t e s c a p e ? [ D o e s n 't h e d a r e to e s c a p e ?
T h e m o d al c o n stru c tio n is restric te d to n o n assertiv e co n tex ts ( c f 2.53), ie

m ain ly n e g ativ e a n d in te rro g ativ e sen ten ces, w hereas th e m a in v e rb
c o n stm c tio n c a n alm o st alw ays b e used, a n d is in fa ct m ore co m m o n . T h e
au x iliary c o n stru c tio n w ith dare a n d need is ra re r in A m E th an in B rE , w h ere
it is also q u ite ra re .
A s a m o d al, dare e x h ib its a b n o rm a l tim e referen ce ( c f 3.30) in th a t it c a n
be used, w ith o u t inflection, for p a st a s w ell a s p resen t tim e:
T h e k in g w as so h o t-te m p ere d th a t n o one dare tell h im th e b a d new s.
T h e m ain v ertj fo rm dared (to) m ig h t also o ccu r here.
N o te [a] ‘N o n asse rtiv e c o n tex ts’ a re n o t con fin ed to n e g a tiv e a n d interro g ativ e clau ses: th e y also
include clauses c o n ta in in g sem i-n eg ativ e w o rd s su ch a s hardly an d only. T he follow ing ex a m p les
illustrate sen te n ces w ith n eg a tiv e im p o rt, b u t la c k in g no r-negation:
N o one d a re p re d ic t th e results. S ta n d a rd s are lower than th ey need be.
F o r fu rth e r illu stra tio n s a n d discussion o f th is to p ic, c/1 0 .6 1 .
[b] B lends b etw e en th e au x iliary co n stru c tio n a n d th e m a in verb constru ctio n o cc u r a n d seem to
be w idely a c c e p ta b le (m ore so in th e ca se o f dare th a n in th a t o f n e e d ):
T h ey do n o t d a re ask fo r m ore. D o th ey d are ask for m ore ?
T hese tw o e x a m p le s c o m b in e th e DO-support o f th e m a in v erb c o n stru c tio n w ith th e b are
infinitive o f th e a u x ilia ry co n stru c tio n . O n th e hyp o th esis th a t th e re a re tw o diffe re n t v erb s (th e
m ain verb d a r e a n d th e au x ilia ry v erb dare), o n e w ould expect th ese to be u n g ra m m a tic a l; b u t
they are no t. T h e p a s t ten se fo rm dared w ith o u t DO-support m ay be regarded as a n o th e r ex a m p le
o f a blend, sin ce th e -e d p a s t inflection is n o t ch a ra c te ristic o f m odal verbs:
T hey d a red not c a rry o u t th e ir th re a t.
V erbs of interm ediate function 139
B lends w ith n eed are usually o f th e type w ith -s inflection a n d b a re in fin itiv e: lO n e needs o n ly
reflect fo r a s e c o n d . . .
[c] D are occurs (w ith n u c le a r stress) in th e following id io m atic co n stru c tio n s ex p ressin g a
th re a te n in g re b u k e :
H ow d r e you do su ch a th in g ?
F D o n ’t you d r e sp e a k to m e like th at.
F
T h e la tte r ex am p le, w ith D O -support a n d a b a re infinitive speak, is a n o th e r ex a m p le o f a b len d .

[d] In a n o th e r fo rm u laic co n stru c tio n , I dare say follow ed by a /fc?/-clause, th e tw o v erb s a re
o fte n w ritten a s a single w o rd da resa y :
I daresay she is rig h t. [‘I w o u ld n ’t be surprised i f . .
T h e n o rm a l sense o f dare is lo st here.
[e] A s m a in v erb s, d r e a n d n e e d ca n en ter in to a n u m b e r o f differen t co n stru c tio n s (c /1 6 .2 6 ,
F
16.39,16.50). T h u s, n e e d c a n ta k e a dire ct o b ject:

Y o u need a h aircu t.
A s is to be ex p ected , n e e d a n d d r e as m a in verbs h av e to be rep laced by d o in red u ce d clau se
F
co n stru c tio n s:
She needs to p ra c tise a n d so do I. T h e y didn't dare to a tta c k us, d id th e y ?
[f] A s a m odal au x iliary , n ee d h as n o te nse co n trast. T o express p a st tim e, how ever, w e can p la ce
need before th e p erfe c tiv e a sp e c t ( c f 4.1 %ff): You need not have done it. T h is is th e n a p p ro x im ately
e q u iv alen t to th e p a s t te n se o f n e e d as a m a in v e rb : You d id not need to do it. B u t th e n e e d to
co n stru ctio n do es n o t h a v e th e co u n terfactu al im p licatio n o f th e need h a v e . . . co n stru ctio n . F o r
in sta n ce, in th e follow ing th e co u n terfactu al m ean in g is in a p p ro p ria te , a n d w e could n o t
th e refo re rep lace d id not n ee d to sa y by need not have s a id :
A n n e w as to o n erv o u s to reply, b u t fo rtunately she d id not need to sa y anyth in g .
[g] A s a n au x iliary , dare usually fails th e in d ep en d en ce o f subject crite rio n (h) in 3.29. T h e re is
n o sem a n tic eq u iv alen c e b etw e en th e ac tiv e The boy daren’t contact her a n d th e p assive S h e
daren't be contacted by the boy. O n e m eets, how ever, ex c ep tio n s su ch a s T his is a problem which
dare not be overlooked.
[h] F u rth e r to N o te (b] a b o v e , resu lts o f elicitatio n e x p e rim en ts in d icate a h ig h e r a c cep ta n ce
rate fo r blends w ith A m E th a n w ith B rE speakers. T h is c a n be in te rp re te d in tw o o p p o site w a y s :
w e c a n arg u e e ith e r th a t b le n d s a re m ore com m on in A m E , o r th a t dare a n d need a re su ch
un u su al v erbs in A m E in th e se co n stru ctio n s, th a t sp eak ers d o n o t re a c t critically to blends, b u t
ra th e r display p assiv e a c c e p ta n c e o f them . T h e la tte r in te rp re ta tio n (w h ich h as also b ee n
a d v a n c e d for b len d s w ith a n o th e r m a rg in al auxiliary, ought to, c /3 .4 3 ) is su p p o rted by freq u en tly
in tro d u ced le xical ch a n g es su ch a s th e fo llo w in g :
S u b m itted se n te n c e : N eedn't he go ?
( D oesn't he have to go?
P roposed le x ical ch a n g e s x D oes he have to go?
[ Shouldn't he go? etc
ought to
3.43 O ught to /o:t tu :/, /art (t)a/, h a s th e u n c o n tra cte d n eg ativ e ought not to an d th e
c o n tra cte d n e g ativ e oughtn't to. I t n o rm ally h as th e ro-infinitive (alth o u g h
occasionally in fa m ilia r style th e bare in fin itiv e o ccu rs in n o n assertiv e
co n tex ts):
Y ou ought to sto p sm oking.
Y ou oughtn’t to sm o k e so m uch.
O ught you to sm o k e so m u ch ?
T h e to is also o p tio n a l follow ing ought in e llip sis: Yes, I think I ought ( to ). O n
th e m ea n in g o f ought to, c f 4.56.
N o te [a] E lic ita tio n te sts on y o u n g peo p le h av e show n th a t, fo r b o th A m E a n d B rE , in n o n assertiv e

co n tex ts th e to-less ought c o n stru c tio n is w idely a c cep ta b le, a n d for som e sp eak ers ev en
p refera b le to th e c o n stru c tio n w ith to in nonassertive co n te x ts ; eg:
T h e y ought n ot (to) d o th a t so rt o f thing. O ught w e (to) have done it?
O ughtn't we (to) sen d fo r th e police?
In a s s e r tiv e c o n tex ts, h o w ev er, th e to-iess form is u n ac cep ta b le:
" ,e {*oug/» <0} s * ve **'m a n o tl'e r chance,

[b] T r e a tin g ought a s a m a in v erb w ith D o-support, w hich is usually d e scrib ed as a d ialectal
u sa g e , p ro v e d to b e th e least p o p u la r altern ativ e in a test w ith B rE te en a g e in fo rm a n ts :
T h e y did n 't o ught to do th a t so rt o f th ing.
D id w e ought to h a v e d o n e it?
H o w e v e r, th e e x iste n c e o f th is co n stru ctio n , even if it is n o t p a rt o f sta n d a rd E nglish, is an
in d ic a to r o f th e m a rg in a l s ta tu s o f ought to w h ich , lik e th e o th e r m a rg in a l m o d als, show s som e
te n d e n c y to p a tte rn a s a m a in v erb . M ore generally, such results reflect ch a n g e a n d u n certain ty
in th e u se o f c e rta in m o d a ls w h ich , from a histo rical v iew point, are in declin e.
u se d to
3.44 U sed to d e n o te s a h a b it o r a sta te th a t existed in th e p a s t (c f 4.15), a n d is
th e r e f o r e se m an tica lly n o t so m u ch a m o d al a uxiliary a s a n a u x iliary o f tense
a n d a sp e c t. In fo rm a l term s, how ever, it fits th e m arg in al m o d a l category.
I t a lw ay s ta k e s th e fo-infiniti ve a n d o nly occurs in th e p a s t te n s e :
S h e used to a tte n d regularly, [‘w as in th e h a b it o f a tte n d in g . . . ’]
I u se d to b e in te re s te d in b ird -w atch in g . [‘I w as f o r m e r ly . . . ’]
I t is ty p ically p ro n o u n c e d /'ju:stu:/ o r /'ju rstu / b efo re v o w els o r befo re a n

ellip sis, a n d /'ju ista / b e fo re consonants.
U sed to o ccu rs b o th as a n o p e rato r a n d w ith D o-support. I n th e la tte r case
th e sp ellin g s use to a n d u se d to b o th occur, reflecting sp e a k e rs ’ u n c e rta in ty o f
th e s ta tu s o f th is v e r b : a n u n c ertain ty , th a t is, as to w h e th e r it is to b e trea te d
a s a n in v a ria b le fo rm , lik e a m o d al auxiliary, o r as a fo rm w ith a n infinitive,
lik e a fu ll verb. T h e p ro n u n c ia tio n o f th e v erb does n o t allow d isc rim in atio n
b e tw e e n th ese p o ssib ilities. In th e n eg ativ e, th e o p e ra to r c o n stru ctio n , w h ich
av o id s th is d ile m m a , is p re fe rre d by m an y in B rE :
H e usen ’t to sm o k e. 1
{ H e used n o t to sm o k e. J
f H e d id n ’t u se to sm o k e. ] x
[ H e d id n ’t u sed to s m o k e .) <B rE a n d A m E >
T h e c o n s tru c tio n d id . . . use to is p re fe rre d to o th e r c o n stru c tio n s in b o th

A m E a n d B rE . T h e sp ellin g d id . . . used to, how ev er, is o fte n re g ard ed as
n o n sta n d a rd . T h e in te rro g a tiv e o p e rato r co n stru ctio n u se d (h e ) to is rare
ev en in B rE . T a g q u e stio n s also n o rm ally h av e D O -support; c o m p a re :
D id he u se t o sm o k e ? H e used to sm oke, d id n ’t h e ?
N o te [a] U se d to + in fin itiv e sh o u ld b e distin g u ish ed fro m used to + n o u n p h ra s e o r -ing p articip le

c la u s e :
», , [ life in th e co u n try .
S h e is used t o < \
[hvrng in th e co u n try .
In th is la tte r co n stru c tio n , a lth o u g h it h as th e sam e p ro n u n ciatio n a s th e m a rg in a l m odal, used
to is in f a c t a p a rtic ip ia l a d je c tiv e follow ed by th e p rep o sitio n to [‘ac c u sto m e d to . . . ’] { c f 16.69
N o te [a]).
[b] A p erfe c tiv e fo rm o f u sed to , h a d used to, is occasionally atteste d .
[c] T h e r e is a te n d e n c y fo r sp e a k e rs to av o id th e p ro b lem o f n eg a tin g u sed to by em ploying th e
n eg a tiv e ad v e rb n e v e r : I never u sed to watch television.
Verbs 6f intermediate fun ction 141
M odal id io m s: h a d b etter, etc

3.45 T h is c ateg o ry c o n ta in s th e follow ing four m ulti-w ord verbs, as w ell as so m e
less c o m m o n v e rb al c o n s tru c tio n s :
h a d better w ould rather have got to b e to
T h ey all b eg in w ith a n au x iliary v erb , a n d a re follow ed by a n in fin itiv e

(so m etim es p re ce d ed by to ) :
We f “ | better lea ve soon. Y es, we ^ f elter J [1]
I ’d rather n o t say a n y th in g . [2]

T h e y ’re g o t to leav e im m ed iately , [3]
T h e co n fere n ce is to ta k e p lace in A th en s. [4]
N o n e o f th ese id io m a tic v erb s h a s n o n fin ite fo rm s; they can n o t th e re fo re

follow o th e r v erb s in th e v e rb p h r a s e :
*1 will have g o t to leav e soon. .

* T h e c o n feren ce has been to ta k e p lace in A thens.
I n th is re sp ec t th ey a re n o t lik e m a in verbs. T h ey a re not, how ever, e n tire ly

like a u x iliaries, sin ce th ey d o n o t b eh av e as o p erato rs. I t is n o rm ally th e first
w o rd a lo n e w h ic h acts a s o p e ra to r in (for exam p le) n eg ativ e a n d in te rro g a tiv e
sen ten ces:
H a d n ’t w e better lo ck th e d o o r?
W ould you rather e a t in a h o tel?
W e haven’t g o t to p a y alread y , h av e w e ?
I w asn’t to k n o w t h a t you w ere w aitin g .
H o w ev er, h a d better a n d w ould rather h av e tw o k in d s o f n egation. F irs t, th e r e

is a n e g a tio n in w h ic h not follow s th e w hole e x p ressio n :
I ’d rather not sta y h e re alone.

Y ou V better not lo ck th e door.
A seco n d ty p e o f n e g atio n , in w h ic h not follow s th e first w ord, is ty p ically

used in ‘seco n d in sta n c e ’ c o n tex ts (especially in n eg ativ e questions) w h e re a n
e arlie r sta te m e n t o r a ssu m p tio n is b ein g c h allen g e d :
A : W ouldn't you rather liv e in th e c o u n try ?

B : N o , I w ould not. I ’d ra th e r live here.
T h e tw o k in d s o f n e g atio n a re so m etim es associated w ith d ifferent m ea n in g s,

th e fo rm er b ein g a n in sta n c e o f p re d ic a tio n n eg atio n (c/1 0 .6 9 ):
H a d w e better not g o ? [‘W o u ld it be ad v isab le if we d id n ’t g o ? ’]

H a d n ’t w e better g o ? [‘I th in k w e h ad b e tte r g o ; d o n ’t you a g re e ? ’]
T h e c o n tra c te d v e rb fo rm follow ed by not is u n accep tab le w ith th ese tw o

id io m s:
T d n o t ra th e r leave. * Y o u ’d n o t b e tte r resign.
W ould rather differs fro m c e n tra l m odals a n d m arg in al m odals in th a t it is

in c a p a b le o f sh o w in g a ctiv e-p a ssiv e sy n o n y m y :
I ’d rather rent the cottage. *T he c o tta g e w ould rather be rented by

m e.
O n th e o th e r h a n d , h v e got to an d e to a re m o re lik e m ain verbs in th a t
F |
th e y h a v e a n -s fo rm a n d n o rm al p re se n t/p a s t ten se c o n tra s t:
T h e p a s t ten se co n stru ctio n h a d got to , h o w ev er, does n o t o ccu r in A m E , an d

is r a r e in B rE , especially in questions.
N o te [ a ] I n a d d itio n to th e fo u r m odal idiom s illustrated ab o v e , th e follow ing sentences illu strate less
c o m m o n id io m s w h ich m ig h t be placed in th e sam e ca teg o ry :
I w oul d sooner leave th e d ecision to you.
I w oul d (j u st ) as soon e a t a t hom e.
W e m ay / m i ght (j u st ) as w el l pay a t once, (c f 4.53 N o te [e])
Y o u h ad best fo rg et th is incident.
[b] S o m e tim e s (p articu la rly in A m E ) th e u n co n tracte d fo rm o f 'd rath er is realized as h ad rath er
in s te a d o f w oul d rath er . V ery occasionally th e u n c o n tra c te d fo rm shoul d rath er is also en c o u n tered .
T h e s e v a ria tio n s, a n d sim ilar v ariatio n s w ith w oul d sooner , etc h av e p resum ably arise n b ecau se
o f th e am b ig u ity o f th e c o n tr a c tio n 'd.
[c] W oul d rath er an d w oul d sooner express p re fe re n c e [ \ . . w ould p refer to . . . ’] an d m ay
th e re fo re b e followed b y a co m p a ra tiv e co n stru ctio n b e g in n in g w ith th an :
I ' d ratherj sodner liv e in th e co u n try than in th e city,
fd] I t is a sig n o f th e ‘in-betw een* statu s o f m odal i d i o m s th a t e ith e r th e w hole id io m o r ju s t th e
first w o rd o f th e idiom m ay be ‘stra n d e d ’ before ellip sis o f th e p red icatio n , as in [1] ab o v e, w h ere
t h e re p ly Y es, w e’d b etter is a n altern ativ e to Y es, w e h ad . (A th ird altern ativ e is Y es, w e better
h ad .) W i th w oul d rath er, h ow ever, th e w oul d alone is usually stranded
A : W oul d you rath er b u y th is one?
B : Y es, I ‘ ,,
rath er.
[e ] I n in fo rm a l speech, th e first w ord o f h a v e g o t to a n d h ad b etter is o ften com pletely elid ed , so
t h a t th e p ro n u n c ia tio n o f th e w hole id iom is red u ce d to /'g o to /, /'beto7» th u s m a k in g it resem b le
a sin g le m o d a l auxiliary. T h is red u ctio n is rep re se n te d in v ery inform al w ritte n style (eg in
fic tio n a l d ialogue) by th e om ission o f 've, 'd, etc, a n d so m etim es by th e n o n sta n d a rd spelling
g o tta:
T h e y b etter go hom e.
[f] h a v e g o t to is nbt to be co n fu sed w ith th e p erfec tiv e o f th e ca te n a tiv e verb g e t to. T h e la tte r
h as, in A m E , th e d istin ctiv e form h a v e gotten to ( c / 3 . 1 8 ) :
W e' v e go tten to w a tc h m o re T V th is year th a n la st. <A m E>
T h e m eanings of th e m odal idioms

3.46 A ll fo u r o f the m o d al id io m s d iscussed a b o v e h a v e m ean in g s classifiable as
‘m o d a l’.
(a) H a d better h a s a m ea n in g o f ‘a d v is a b ility ’, sim ila r to th e o b lig atio n al

m e a n in g o f o ught to a n d should (c f 4.56).
(b) W ould rather h as th e volitional m ea n in g ‘w ould p re fe r to ’.
(c) h v e g o t to h a s m ea n in g s o f ‘o b lig a tio n ’ a n d ‘logical necessity’ (cf: m ust

F
4.54). From th e sem an tic p o in t o f v iew , it is b est c o n sid ered a v a ria n t o f

Verbs of interm ediate function 143
th e sem i-au x iliary h F v e to. T h e respects in w h ich its m ea n in g d iffers

from th a t o f h F v e to a re c o n sid ered in 3.48 a n d 4 .5 4 /
(d) | e to is a n id io m ex p ressin g fu tu rity , w ith v a rie d co n n o ta tio n s o f

‘co m p u lsio n ’, ‘p la n ’, ‘d e stin y ’, etc, acco rd in g to c o n te x t. In th e p ast, w a s
to a n d were to ex p ress fu tu rity fro m th e s ta n d p o in t o f p a st tim e
o rie n ta tio n ; in c o n d itio n al clauses, th e su b ju n ctiv e were to ex p resses
h y p o th etical fu tu re m ea n in g ( c / 15.36). T h e m ea n in g o f | e to is f u rth e r
discussed in 4 .4 7 /
N o te [ a ] e to m u st n o t b e co n fu sed w ith a n ap p a re n tly id en tical co n stru c tio n in w h ich th e c o p u la e

| |
is follow ed by a n o m in a l o r a d v e rb ia l infin itiv e clause (c /1 5.10/, 15.48);

T h e c o m m itte e is to find a so lution. [I]
T h e p ro b le m is to fin d a so lu tio n . [2]
W h ereas [ 1] illu strates th e m o d a l id io m e to, in [2], to fin d a solution is a n o m in a l in finitive c la u se
|
ac tin g as co m p lem en t o f is ( c f : The problem is how to fin d a solution).

[b ] T h e fu tu re m e a n in g o f e to is p articu larly em p h asized w hen it is a c co m p an ied by s till o r
|
y e t:
T h e m o st severe w e a th e r is y e t!still to com e.
T h e im p lic atio n h ere is n e g a tiv e : ‘h as n o ty e t com e’. C o m p a re a s im ila r use o f h v e to, 3.48.
F
S e m i-auxiliaries: be g o in g to. etc

3.47 T h e sem i-au x iliaries c o n sist o f a set o f v erb idiom s w h ic h e x p ress m o d a l o r
asp ectu al m e a n in g a n d w h ich a re in tro d u ced by o n e o f th e p rim a ry v e rb s
h F v e an d | e ; eg;
be able to be bound to be likely to be supposed to

be about to be due to be m eant to be willing to
be apt to be going to be obliged to have to
T h e b o u n d aries o f th is c ateg o ry a re n ot c le ar; th ey m ig h t b e e x te n d ed , fo r

exam ple, to in clu d e th e n e g ativ e be unable to, be unwilling to, etc { c f N o te [a]).
W e w ill first o f all d e a l w ith th e sem i-auxiliaries in tro d u c e d b y | e .
A ll th ese co n stru ctio n s satisfy th e first seven c rite ria fo r a u x ilia ry v erb s { c f
3 .2 2 /0 , in th e sen se th a t, fo r exam ple, be going to h a s be a s a n o p e ra to r in
n e g atio n a n d in v ersio n , ra th e r th a n h av in g D O -support:
f A d a isn’t g o in g to w in.
1 * A d a doesn't be g o in g to w in.
f I s A d a going to w in ?
[/D o e s A d a be g o in g to w in ?
H o w ev er, th is follow s fro m th e fa c t th a t th e first w o rd o f th e se m i-a u x iliary

c o n stru ctio n is th e p rim a ry v e rb be. T o b e strictly c o m p a ra b le to a n a u x iliary
in its en tirety , be going to w o u ld h av e to form its n e g a tio n by ad d in g n o t to
th e second o r th ird w o rd : *isgoingn't to o r *isgoing ton’t. I t is th ere fo re o n ly
by sp ecial in te rp re ta tio n o f th e o p e rato r c rite ria ( a - e ) th a t th ese s e m i
au x iliaries c a n b e d e sc rib e d as auxiliary-like. T h ey d o , h o w ev er, re sem b le
au x iliaries in p e rm ittin g synonym ous passives a n d r/iere-co n stru ctio n s in
a cco rd an ce w ith th e c rite rio n o f su b ject-in d ep en d en ce (c /3 .2 9 ):
B razil is going to w in th e W o rld C up.

~ T h e W o rld C u p is going to be w on by B razil.

S ev eral h o m e team s a re going to be b eaten to m o rro w .
~ T h e re a re going to b e several hom e team s b e a te n to m o rro w .
M o re o v e r, su ch co n stru ctio n s as be going to a n d be bound to belie th e ir

a p p e a r a n c e in n o t allo w in g co n tra sts o f a sp ect a n d voice. T h e re is, for
e x a m p le , n o n o n p ro g ressiv e c o n stru ctio n c o rresp o n d in g l o be going t o :
♦S ev eral h o m e tea m s go to be b eaten tom orrow .
A n d th e re is n o a c tiv e e q u iv a le n t o f th e superficially p assiv e be bound to :
H e was bou n d to b e a failu re. ~ *Som eone bound h im to b e a failure.
T h is is fu rth e r e v id e n ce o f a resem b lan ce to a u x iliaries ra th e r th a n to m a in

v e rb c o n stru ctio n s.
T h e s e co n stru ctio n s are, h o w ev er, in o n e re sp ec t m u c h c lo ser to m ain
v e rb s th a n a re th e m o d al idiom s. T h ey h av e n o n fin ite form s su c h as been
go in g to a n d to be bound to, a n d c an th erefo re o c cu r in c o m b in a tio n w ith
p re c e d in g a u x iliaries:
J a m e s will b e obliged to resign.

W e have alw ay s been willing to help.
T w o o r m o re sem i-a u x iliarie s m ay in d eed o ccu r in se q u e n c e :
S o m eo n e is going to have to com plain.

N o o n e is lik e ly to be able to recognize her.
A lth o u g h th ere a re re stric tio n s o n th is k in d o f c o m b in a tio n ( c f 3.57), th e

o c cu rre n ce o f n o n fin ite se m i-au x iliaries m ean s t h a t th ese id io m s c a n fill slots
in a m o d a l v e rb p a ra d ig m w h ere m o d al au x iliaries o f e q u iv a le n t m ea n in g
c a n n o t o c cu r:
W e h a v e n ’t j a b le toj solve th e p ro b lem , [can = ‘a b ility ’]
{
♦c a n 1
be allo w ed to I sP e a *c ^ree^y ‘s a h u m a n rig h t, [can = ‘p e rm iss io n ’]
)
O th e r eq u iv a len c es o f th is k in d a re b etw een m ust a n d have to (c /3 .4 8 ), an d
b e tw e e n will a n d be willing to.
N o te [a] T h e r e is a g rad ie n c e b etw e en a sem i-auxiliary such as be bound to a n d a n o c c u rre n ce o f th e

co p u la b e follow ed b y a n a d je c tiv a l o r p artic ip ia l c o n stru c tio n su ch as happy to o r com pel l ed to.
O n e c rite rio n o f im p o rta n c e h ere is th e a b ility o f w h at follow s b e to sta n d a t th e b e g in n in g o f a
su p p lem en tiv e clau se (c f 1 5 .6 0 /7 :
C om pel l ed to ta k e ste m m e a su re s, th e ad m in istra tio n lo st po p u la rity . [I]
W o u n d to ta k e ste rn m e asu res, th e ad m in istra tio n lo st p o p u la rity . [2]
By th is c rite rio n , t h e c o m b in a tio n s abl e to an d w i lling to a re less clearly in d e p e n d e n t th a n th e ir
n eg a tiv es unabl e to a n d unw i l l i ng t o :
U nabl ej U nw i l l i ng to resist, M a tild a ag reed to b etray h e r co u n try . [3]
l A b l ef i W i l l i n g t o resist, M a tild a d e c lin ed to b etray h er co u n try . [4]
O f th e se p arallel se n te n ces, [1] a n d 13] a re clearly accep ta b le, w h ereas [2] a n d [4] a re m o re
m a rg in al. B ut ac cep ta b ility ju d g m e n ts te n d to vary in th is area.
[b] A s sem i-au x iliarie s, be m ean t to an d be supposed to h av e m e an in g s sim ila r to th o se o f ought to
(c f 4.5 6 , 4.66) a n d a re n o t to be co n fu sed w ith hom o m o rp h ic p assive co n stru c tio n s. I n th e case
Verbs of intermediate function 145
o f be supposed to, th e sem i-au x iliary is m a rk ed by a sp ecial p ro n u n ciatio n / . . . s(a )'p a u sto / o r
/ . . . s(a)‘p 3 u sta/ (c f th e sp ecial p ro n u n ciatio n o f used t o ; 3.44).
have to
3.48 H ave to is th e o n ly sem i-au x iliary b eg in n in g w ith h a v e ra th e r th a n b e , b u t its
inclusion in th is c ateg o ry is p a rtly ju stified b y its o ccurrence in th e full r a n g e
o f n o n fin ite fo rm s, a re sp ec t in w h ich it differs from th e sem an tically p a ra lle l
have g ot to ( c f 4 .5 5 ):
I m a y have to leav e early. (*1 m a y have g ot to leave early.)

P eo p le are having to b o il th e ir d rin k in g w a te r d u rin g th is em ergency.
T h e a d m in is tra tio n has h a d to m ak e u n p o p u la r decisions.
A s th ese e x am p les show , have to c a n o c cu r in m odal, p erfectiv e, a n d

progressive co n stru ctio n s. I t w ould b e im p o ssib le to su b stitu te have g ot to fo r
have to in th e s e cases.
In m ean in g , have to is sim ila r to m ust ( c f 4.54), an d c an sta n d in for m u s t in
p a s t co n stru ctio n s w h e re m u st c a n n o t o ccu r:
T h ese d a y s you m u st w o rk h a rd if you w a n t to succeed. 1 [have to =

I n th o se d ay s you h a d to w o rk h a rd if you w a n ted [ ‘o b lig a tio n ’ ]
to succeed.
T h ere m u st b e so m e so lu tio n to th e p ro b lem . 'I [have to =
T h ere h a d to b e so m e so lu tio n to th e p ro b lem . / ‘logical necessity’]
H a ve to p a tte rn s e ith e r as a m a in v erb o r a s a n auxiliary w ith re sp ec t to

o p e rato r c o n s tru c tio n s :
D o w e have to g e t u p early to m o rro w ? < A m E a n d B rE )

H ave w e to g e t u p e arly to m o rro w ? < B rE - som ew hat o ld -fash io n e d )
I n th is, it resem b les o th e r u ses o f h F e as a m a in verb (c/3 .3 4 ). DO -support,

how ever, is th e o nly c o n stru c tio n in A m E a n d th e d o m in a n t o n e in B rE ( c f
N o te [c]).
A lth o u g h have g o t to h a s th e sam e m ea n in g s o f ‘o b lig a tio n ’ an d ‘lo g ical
n ecessity ’ as a re e x p ressed b y have to, have g o t to ten d s n o t to h av e h a b itu a l
m ean in g , a n d w h e n c o m b in e d w ith a v e rb o f d y n am ic m ean in g , te n d s to
re fe r to th e fu tu re. T h e re is th u s a p o te n tia l difference b e tw e e n :
Jim ’s g ot to check th e te m p e ra tu re e v ery 12 hours. [1]

J im has to check th e te m p e ra tu re every 12 hours. [2]
W h ereas [1] is likely to h a v e th e force o f a d irectiv e, stip u la tin g w h at J i m ’s

d u ties w ill b e in th e fu tu re , [2] is m o re lik ely to in d icate a h a b itu a l a c tio n
[‘T h is is w h a t J im ’s p re s e n t d u ties co n sist o f ’].
N o te [a] B o th hav e to a n d hav e g o t to o c c u r w ith ep istem ic m ean in g like th a t o f m ust (c f 4.54) in

sentences su ch a s:
Som eone t0 1 be telling lies. Y ou {?*a v e t0 j b e joking.

[h asg o t t o j 6 \'v eg o tto \ * 6
T h is h as u n til rece n tly b een reg a rd e d as an A m E usage, b u t is now also cu rre n t in BrE.
{b] In o th e r c o n tex ts hav e to a n d hav e go t to ex p ress a stro n g er m ean in g o f ‘logical n ec e ssity ’
w h ich c a n n o t be m a tc h e d by th e use o f m u st :
T h e r e h as (g o t) t o be a first tim e for everything.

[c] S tu d ie s in B rE u sag e show th a t o ver 85 p e r c e n t o f in sta n ces o f hav e to in neg ativ e a n d
in te r r o g a tiv e clau ses a re co n stru cted w ith d o . E licitatio n te sts h av e fu rth e r in d icated th a t
n e g a tiv e c o n s tru c tio n s w ith o u t D o (o f th e k ind I h ad n ’t to w al k m ore than a m i l e) are less
a c c e p ta b le th a n in te rro g a tiv e co n stru ctio n s w ith o u t DO (such a s H as he to answ er the l et ter thi s
w eek ?).
C a te n a tive ve rb constructions
3.49 T h e t e r m c t e n t i v e will in p ractice b e used to d en o te v erb s in such
F F
c o n s tru c tio n s a s appear to, come to, f a il to, g e t to, happen to, manage to, seem
to, te n d to, a n d turn o ut to follow ed by th e in fin itiv e :
' a p p ea red "

c am e
Sam fa ile d • to realize th e im p o rta n ce o f th e problem . [ 1]
?got
„ se e m e d
S u c h c o n s tru c tio n s h a v e m ean in g s related to a sp e ct o r m o d ality , b u t a re

n e a re r to m a in v e rb co n stru ctio n s th a n a re sem i-au x iliaries, p a tte rn in g
e n tire ly lik e m a in v erb s in tak in g DO -support:
S a m d id n 't to realize th e im p o rta n ce o f th e p ro b lem . [2]
M o st o f th e m d o , how ever, resem ble au x iliary co n stru ctio n s in satisfying th e

‘in d e p e n d e n c e o f su b ject’ c riterio n (c/3 .2 9 ). T h u s [1] has th e c o rresp o n d in g
p a ssiv e [3]:
' a p p e a re d "
cam e
T h e im p o rta n c e o f th e p ro b lem ?failed ■to be realized by Sam . [3]
*got
seem ed
T h is c rite rio n , h o w ev er, ap p lies so m ew h at m arg in ally to ag en tiv e v erb s like

f a il a n d manage^, a n d does n o t a p p ly a t all to get.
U n lik e m a in v e rb co n stru ctio n s such as exp ect (to), want (to), an d attem pt
(to), c a te n a tiv e c o n stru ctio n s a re in no w ay sy n tactically re la te d to tran sitiv e
verb c o n s tru c tio n s in w h ich th e verb is follow ed by a d ire c t o b ject o r
p re p o sitio n a l o b je c t (c f\6 .2 6 J f, 16.38). C o m p are :
[4]
J o h n { a tte m p te d j t0 a tta c k th e b u rg lar’ [5]
B ut:
[ 6]
John j a tte m p te d J a n a tta c ^ on t ^le b u rg lar.
[7]
W e m a y also in clu d e am o n g caten a tiv e v erb s c e rta in v erb s w h ich resem ble
the a u x ilia ry e in co m b in in g e ith e r w ith th e -ing p a rticip le in progressive
|
co n stru ctio n s, o r w ith th e -ed p a rticip le in p assiv e c o n stru ctio n s:

Verbs of intermediate fu n c tio n 147
f sta rted out

T h e girl < k e p t (on) w orking.
[w e n t on
O u r tea m g ot b e aten by th e visitors.
(In B rE , carried on c a n b e u sed as e q u iv alen t to went on.) T h ese, a g ain , s h o u ld

b e d istin g u ish ed fro m sim ila r looking c o n stru ctio n s in w h ic h a m a in v e r b is
follow ed by a n o m in a l - ing p a rticip le clause (eg: The g irl lik e d w orking; c f
16.39) o r b y a p a rtic ip ia l ad jectiv e, as in th e pseudo-passive ( c /3 .7 7 ) : O ur
team looked beaten.
N o te [a] T h e te rm ‘c a te n a tiv e ’ allu d es to th e ab ility o f th ese v erbs to be c o n c a te n a te d in se q u e n c e s o f

n o n fin ite co n stru c tio n s, as in O u r team seem s to manage to keep on getting beaten. T h is p r o p e n s ity
fo r fo rm in g ch a in -lik e stru ctu res is n o t, how ever, confined to ca te n a tiv e v e rb s, b u t is also
c h a ra c te ris tic o f sem i-au x iliaries an d m a in verbs'follow ed by nonfinite clauses a s o b je c ts : H e n c e
su ch im p ro b ab le , b u t stru ctu rally po ssib le sequences a s :
W e are going to h a v e to enjoy seem in g to like listening to his m usic.
[b] S om e c a te n a tiv e v erbs, lik e som e sem i-auxiliaries, are closely related to c o n s tru c tio n s w ith
a n tic ip a to ry it ( c / 1 6 .3 4 ,16.72):
H e seem s to b e rich. ~ I t seem s th a t he is rich.
S h e tu rn e d o u t to lo ve horses. ~ I t tu rn e d o u t th a t she loved horses.
J o a n is likely to resign. ~ I t is likely th a t Jo an w ill resign.
Som e further aspects of the gradience between m odals

and m ain verbs
3.50 A lth o u g h th ey d o n o t e n te r in to th e list o f m odal auxiliary c rite ria s ta te d in
3.30ff, th e follow ing m ay b e m en tio n ed as a d d itio n al c h a ra c te ris tic s o f m o d a l
a u x iliaries:
(a) T h ey a re e ith e r in v a ria b le , lik e m ust, o r close to in v a ria b le , lik e w ould,

w h ich , a lth o u g h h isto rically it is th e p a st tense form o f will, is fro m th e
s ta n d p o in t o f p re sen t-d a y E n g lish in m an y respects a n in d e p e n d e n t
form . T h u s m o d als m ig h t w ith o u t too m u ch sim p lificatio n b e re g a rd e d
as ‘m o d al p a rticle s’ w h ic h h av e lost th e ir historical c o n n e c tio n w ith th e
in flectio n al p a ra d ig m o f verbs.
(b) F ro m th e se m an tic p o in t o f view , m o d al auxiliaries a re o fte n sp e cialized

to w a rd s th e e x p ressio n o f c e rta in speech acts; eg g iv in g a d v ic e (o u g h t to,
should), m a k in g p ro m ises o r th rea ts (will), giving o rd e rs (m ust, can), etc
( c f 4 .4 9 J0 . I n th is resp ec t, th ey give an u tteran ce a fo rce so m e w h a t
sim ila r to th a t o f a p e rfo rm a tiv e ( c f 4.7) such as I beg y o u . . . , I prom ise
y o u . . ., etc.
T h ese c h a ra c te ris tic s o f m o d als a re also sh ared in v arious d eg rees by m o d al

id io m s, sem i-au x iliaries, etc. F o r exam ple, had better a n d have g ot to a re m o re
closely a sso ciated w ith sp e e ch acts such as giving ad v ice a n d o rd e rs th a n is
th e sem i-au x iliary have to, w h ic h is c ap a b le o f u n dergoing v a ria tio n o f ten se
a n d asp ect.
3.51 A d d in g p o in ts (a) a n d (b) to g eth e r, we m ay go so far as to see in m o d als a

ten d e n c y to d ev elo p in to ‘p ra g m a tic p a rticle s’. T h is ten d e n cy is seen in its
p u re st form in a c o n stru c tio n su ch as M a y yo u be happy! ( c f 3.60), w h e re the
m o d a l m ay is p lac ed a t th e b eg in n in g o f th e sen ten ce, a n d m a rk s it as a n

e x p re ss io n o f w ish . O n a sim ilar fo oting, let ( c f 11.26) in sen ten ces su ch as
L e t th em come here o r L e t the world ta k e notice m ay b e reg ard ed as a p ra g m a tic
p a rtic le o f im p e ra tiv e o r o p tativ e m ood. I n o th e r respects, h o w ev er, let is
to ta lly u n lik e a u x iliary verbs. In b ein g follow ed b y a p ro n o u n in th e o b jectiv e
c a s e (L e t them . . ., L e t us . . . , etc) it assim ilates to th e p a tte rn o f co m p lex
tra n s itiv e v erb s. C learly , in term s o f its sy n tactic affinities, it is a m a in v e rb
r a th e r th a n a n au x iliary .
A n o th e r e x am p le o f a v erb w h ich is sy n tactically a m a in verb , a lth o u g h it
b e h a v e s ra th e r lik e a p ra g m a tic p article , is th e v e rb w ant w h en follow ed by
to + in fin itiv e in u tte ra n c e s such a s :
Y o u want to b e carefu l w ith th a t saw . [1]

I want to te ll you h o w m u ch w e enjo y ed last n ig h t. [2]
I n [1], You w ant to expresses a w a rn in g o r a p iece o f a d v ic e; in [2] I w ant to

in tro d u c e s a n e x p ressio n o f w ish, w h ich , in effect, to n es d o w n a p e rfo rm a tiv e
v e rb . T h is p ra g m a tic dev ice is p a rtic u la rly co n v en tio n alized in in fo rm a l
usag e, w h ere it is p ro n o u n ced /'w ona/. (E sp ecially in A m E , a n o n s ta n d a rd
sp ellin g wanna is also cu rre n t.) W h a t m ak e s want to in [1] p a rticu la rly sim ila r
to a p ra g m a tic p a rticle is th e im p o ssib ility o f o b tain in g a n e q u iv a le n t
m e a n in g w h en th e sen ten ce is c h an g e d in to th e p a st ten se o r in to th e
p ro g ressiv e a sp e c t:
?You are w anting to b e carefu l w ith th a t saw . [3]

Y ou w anted to b e carefu l w ith th a t saw . [4]
S en ten ces [3] a n d [4] n o longer h a v e a p a rtic u la r advice-giving fu n c tio n , a n d

h a v e to b e in te rp re te d sim ply as s ta te m e n ts a b o u t th e w ishes o f th e h e are r.
N o te [a] O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e n e g a tiv e o f w ant to c a n (in in fo rm al use) h av e a sp ecialized ad v ice-

g iv in g fu n ctio n ev en w h en co m b in ed w ith th e pro g ressiv e o f th e follow ing v e r b :
C o m e o n : you don 't w ant to k eep th e m all w aiting.
Y o u don't w ant to be sittin g aro u n d do in g no th in g .
[b] A b e tte r c a n d id a te th a n l et for q u asi-m o d al sta tu s, in inform al E nglish, is th e 1st p erso n
im p e ra tiv e m a rk e r l et' s reg ard e d sim ply as a n u n an a ly sed p article p ro n o u n ced /le ts / (c f 11.26).
H e re th e relatio n to a tra n sitiv e c o n stru c tio n is n o lo n g e r ev ident, a n d th e re is a n in te re stin g
resem b lan ce to m a rg in a l m o d a ls in th e ab ility o f l et’s to fo rm a n eg atio n e ith e r by th e p o stp o sitio n
o f not, o r by DO-suf>port:
L et ’s not be la te fo r th e gam e.
D on ’t l et’s be la te fo r th e g am e. <esp B r E )
O n l et ’s don't < A m E > , c/1 1 .2 8 (iv).
T h e p article-lik e s ta tu s o f l et's is also su p p o rte d by th e existence, in fa m ilia r A m E , o f th e
pleonastic v a ria n t l et' s u s . . . , a n d o f th e c o n stru c tio n l et’s y o u . . . , in w h ich th e a d d itio n o f th e
2nd person p ro n o u n in d icates t h a t 's is n o lo n g e r asso cia ted w ith us.
T h e structure of verb phrases 149
The structure of verb phrases
Finite verb phrases

3.52 W e h av e seen th a t in o n e re sp ec t th e stru ctu re o f th e v erb p h ra se m ay be
d escrib ed in te rm s o f a u x iliaries a n d m ain v erb s, th e m ain v erb n o rm ally
being th e sole v e rb in c ases w h ere th e verb p h ra se co n sists o f o n e v erb on ly .
I n a n o th e r w ay, th e stru c tu re m ay be rep re se n ted in term s o f finite a n d
n o n fin ite v erb w o rd s. O n th is b asis, a finite v erb p h ra se is a v erb p h ra se in
w hich th e first o r o n ly w o rd is a finite verb , th e re st o f th e verb p h ra se (if an y )
co n sistin g o f n o n fin ite v e rb s; o n th e o th er h a n d , a n o n fin ite verb p h ra se
co n tain s n o n fin ite v e rb fo rm s only.
U sin g th e d e sc rip tio n o f finite a n d n onfinite v e rb fo rm s in 3.2, w e c a n n o w
d istin g u ish fin ite fro m n o n fin ite v erb p h rases a s follow s :
(a) F in ite v erb p h ra s e s c a n o ccu r a s th e verb p h ra se o f in d ep e n d en t clauses

(c /1 4 .6 # ).
(b) F in ite v e rb p h ra s e s h av e ten se c o n trast, ie th e d istin c tio n b etw een

p re sen t a n d p a s t ten ses ( c f 4.3#, 4.1 If f) ■
H e is a jo u rn a lis t now .
H e w orked a s a trav e l ag en t last sum m er.
(c) T h ere is p e rso n co n co rd a n d n u m b er c o n co rd ( c f 10.34#) b etw een th e

su b ject o f a clau se a n d th e finite verb p h ra se. C o n co rd is p articu la rly
clear w ith th e p re s e n t ten se o f e : |
B ut w ith m o st full v e rb s o v e rt concord is r e stric te d to a co n tra st b e tw ee n

th e 3rd p e rso n s in g u la r a n d o th er p ersons o r p lu ral n u m b e r :
W ith m o d al a u x iliaries th ere is n o ov ert co n co rd a t all (c /3 .3 0 ):
I/Y o u /S h e /W e /T h e y can play the cello.
(d) F in ite v erb p h ra se s c o n ta in , as th e ir first o r o nly w o rd , a finite v erb fo rm

(as d esc rib e d in 3.2) w h ic h m ay b e e ith er a n o p e ra to r (c/3.21) o r a sim p le
p re sen t o r p a s t fo rm . D O -support (c/3.37) is used in fo rm in g (for ex am p le)
n eg ativ e a n d in te rro g a tiv e constructions.
(e) F in ite v erb p h ra se s h a v e m ood, w h ich in d ic a te s th e factual, n o n fa ctu al,

o r c o u n te rfa c tu a l s ta tu s o f th e p re d icatio n . I n c o n tra s t to th e ‘u n m a rk e d ’
in d ic F t i v e m o o d , w e d istin g u ish th e ‘m a rk e d ’ m o o d s i m p e r F t i v e (used
to exp ress c o m m a n d s a n d o th er d irectiv e sp eech a c ts; c f 11.24#), a n d

s u j u n c t iv e
| (u sed to exp ress a w ish, re co m m e n d a tio n , e tc ; c /3 .5 8 # ) .
B o th th e im p e ra tiv e a n d th e p re sen t su b ju n c tiv e c o n sist o f th e b ase fo rm
o f th e v e r b :
P lease com e h e re a n d a tte n d to m e.

T h e C o u n c il re q u ire s th a t every m em b e r atten d a t le a st o n e m eeting

p e r y ear.
T h e fiv e c rite ria listed a b o v e lead to inconsistency, in th a t su b ju n ctiv e an d

im p e ra tiv e v e rb p h ra se s a re acco rd in g to c riteria (a) a n d (e) fin ite, w hereas
a c c o rd in g to c rite rio n (c) th ey a re nonfinite. T h is in co n siste n c y is not,
h o w e v e r, d istu rb in g , b u t reflects th e fa ct th a t th e fin ite /n o n fin ite d istin ctio n
m ay b e b e tte r re p re se n te d as a scale o f ‘ f i n i t e n e s s ’ ra n g in g from the
in d ic a tiv e (o r ‘m o s t fin ite ’) m ood, o n th e o n e h an d , to th e in fin itiv e (or ‘least
f in ite ’) v e rb p h ra s e , o n th e o th er. T h e im p e rativ e a n d su b ju n c tiv e have in
so m e re sp e c ts m o re in c o m m o n w ith th e in fin itiv e (a n o n fin ite fo rm w hich
lik e th e m c o n sists o f th e base form , a n d typically e x p resses n o n factu al
m e a n in g ). T h e r e is, in d e e d , a tra d itio n o f reg ard in g th e in fin itiv e as a m ood
o f th e v e rb . O n th is b asis, th e g rad ien ce o f ‘fin iten ess’ m a y b e rep re se n ted as
follow s (th e sy m b o ls ‘ + ’, ‘ e tc referrin g to th e satisfac tio n or
n o n s a tis fa c tio n o f e a c h o f th e c rite ria listed ab o v e):
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
INDICATIVE + + + + l
SUBJUNCTIVE + 7 _ - + f (Finite)
IMPERATIVE + — _ 7 + J
INFINITIVE - - - - - (Nonfinite)
Fig. 3.52 A scale o f finiteness
O n th e q u ery in c o lu m n (b), see th e discussion o f th e w ere-subjunctive in

3.62. T h e q u e ry in c o lu m n (d) reflects u n c ertain ty as to w h e th e r DO-support
o ccu rs in im p e ra tiv e co n stru ctio n s (c f 3.58 o n th e p o s itio n o f not in th e
su b ju n c tiv e c o n s tru c tio n , a n d 11.30 N o te [a] o n do w ith th e im p erativ e).
F o r th e sa k e o f c la rity , w e w ill c o n tin u e to m ak e a c le ar-c u t d istin ctio n
b e tw e e n fin ite v e rb s (in clu d in g th o se in th e in d ic a tiv e, im p e rativ e, an d
su b ju n c tiv e m o o d s) a n d n o n fin ite v erb s (including th e in fin itiv e).
A clause w ith a fin ite v e rb p h ra se as its V elem en t is c alled a ‘finite verb
c la u se ’ o r, m o re tersely , a ‘fin ite clau se’. Sim ilarly, a cla u se w ith a nonfinite
v e rb a s its V ellem ent is called a ‘n o n fin ite (verb) clau se’ ( c f \A .5 ff).
N o te V erb p h rases in tro d u c e d b y m o d a l au x iliaries a re norm ally classified as in d ic a tiv e , b u t it is

w o rth p o in tin g o u t t h a t n o t on ly sem an tically , b u t sy ntactically, th e y resem b le im p erativ es an d
su b ju n ctiv es. T h e y la c k p erso n a n d n u m b e r co n tra st an d also (to som e e x te n t) te n se co n trast. It
follow s fro m th e la c k o f p erso n a n d n u m b e r co n tra s t th a t th ey h a v e n o o v e rt co n co rd w ith the
subject.
N onfinite v e rb phrases
3.53 T h e in fin itiv e ((to) call), th e -ing p a rticip le (calling), a n d th e -e d p articip le
(called) are th e n o n fin ite fo rm s o f th e verb . H e n ce an y p h ra s e in w h ich one
o f th e s e v e rb fo rm s is th e first o r only w ord (d isre g ard in g th e infinitive
m a rk e r to) is a n o n fin ite v e rb p h rase. Such p h rases d o n o t n o rm ally o ccu r as
th e v e rb p h ra se o f a n in d e p e n d e n t clause. C o m p are:
Th e structure of verb phrases 151
FINITE VERB PHRASES NONFINITE VERB PHRASES
H e sm okes. To sm oke like th a t m u st be dang ero u s.

M a ry is having a sm oke. I reg ret h av in g sta rte d to sm oke.
H e m u st sm o ke 40 a day. T h e cigars sm oked here ten d to be
Y o u have been sm oking all d ay . expensive.
T h a t w as th e last cig arette to have
been sm oked by m e.
Sim ple and com plex verb phrases

3.54 T h e fin ite v e rb p h ra se is s i m p l e w h e n it consists o f only one w o rd , w h ic h
m ay b e p re sen t, p a s t (c /3 .2 ), im p e ra tiv e ( c f 11.24), o r su b ju n ctiv e (c /3 .5 8 ):
H e works h a rd . H e w orked h a rd . W ork h a r d e r !

I t is im p o rta n t th a t h e w ork h ard .
E x ce p t in th e 3rd p e rso n sin g u lar, th e p resen t tense o f all verbs a p a r t fro m

|e is re aliz e d b y th e base fo rm o f th e v e rb : I/yo u jth ey w ork hard.
T h e v e rb p h ra se is c o m p l e x w h e n it consists o f tw o o r m ore w ords, as i n :
J o h n has w orked h a rd . Jo h n should be working h ard .

D on't let's upset her. T h ey m a y have been sold.
T h e re a re fo u r b asic ty p es o f c o n stru c tio n in a com plex v erb p h ra s e :
Type A ( m o d F l ) co n sists o f a m o d al au x iliary + th e base o f a v e rb : eg: m u st

exam ine.
T y p e B ( p e r f e c t i v e ) co n sists o f th e au x iliary h F v e + th e -ed p a rticip le o f a

v e r b : e g : has exam ined. (T rad itio n a lly th e term p e r f e c t h as been freq u e n tly
u sed in ste a d o f p e r f e c t i v e . )
T y p e C ( p r o g r e s s i v e ) co n sists o f th e au x iliary | e + th e -ing p a rticip le o f a

v e r b : e g : is examining.
T y p e D ( p s s i v e ) co n sists o f th e au x iliary
F | e + th e -ed p articip le o f a v e rb :
eg: is exam ined.
T h ese fo u r b asic c o n stru ctio n s also e n te r into co m b in atio n w ith e ac h o t h e r :
AB: m a y have exa m in ed

AC: m a y be exam ining
AD: m a y be exam ined
BC: h as been exam ining
BD: h as been exa m in ed
CD: is being exa m in ed
A B C : m a y have been exam ining
A B D : m a y have been exam ined
A C D : m a y be being exa m in ed
B C D : has been being exa m in ed
A B C D : m a y have been being exam ined
In th ese strin g s th e d ifferen t co n stru ctio n s are ‘telesco p ed ’ into o n e a n o th e r.

T h is m e a n s th a t c o m b in a tio n s o f th e b asic types A , B, etc form stru c tu re s in
w h ic h th e n o n fin ite v erb o f th e first c o n stru ctio n also fu n ctio n s as th e
a u x ilia ry o f th e second, a n d so fo rth . F o r exam ple, A B D (m a y have been

e x a m in e d ) h as th e follow ing stru ctu re, w h ere have is sh a red by A a n d B, an d
been is sh a red b y B an d D :
A : i a u x ilia ry m a y I + I in fin itiv e have \

L. J-
l a u x ilia ry h ave 1 + I -e d p a rtic ip le been \
B:
l___
D: 1 a u x ilia ry been I + i -e d p a rtic ip le i
1
L----
1 I e x a m in e d I
F ig. 3 .5 4
N o te B ew are is used o n ly in th e im p e ra tiv e a n d in com plex verb ph rases w ith m o d al au x ilia ries w hich
h a v e a q u a s i-im p e ra tiv e fo rce:
B ew are (of) t h e dog.
Y o u m u st beware (of) w h a t you say to her.
S im ple and c om plex finite verb phrases

3 .55 T h e o r d e r in w h ic h th e fo u r c o n stru ctio n s c a n fo rm co m b in a tio n s is in d icated
by th e a lp h a b e tic a l sym bols A , B, C, D , w hich label th em . A c a n n o t follow
B, B c a n n o t fo llo w C o r D , etc, b u t g ap s are allow ed: A C , A D , A C D , B D ,
etc. F igure 3.55 gives a g ra p h ic re p re se n tatio n o f how th e fin ite in d icativ e
v e rb p h ra se (sim p le o r com plex) is b u ilt u p in a left-to-right p ro g ressio n . '-W
T y p e A : m o d a l a u x + in fin itiv e
4- T y p e B : p e rfe c tiv e a u x ( h F v e )
+ -ed p a rtic ip le
T y p e C : p ro g re s siv e a u x ( | e )
+ -in g p a rtic ip le
T y p e D : p a ss iv e a u x ( | e )
I -e d p a r tic ip le
Fig. 3 .5 5 T h e s tr u c tu r e o f th e fin ite v e rb p h ra s e
F irs t co m es th e selectio n o f th e p re sen t o r p a st tense o f th e fin ite verb , th en

th e selectio n o f n o n e, o n e, tw o, th ree, o r four o f th e co m p lex p h ra se
c o n stru c tio n s a s in d ic a te d by the d irec tio n o f th e arrow s. O n th e w hole, the
m o re co m p lex th e v erb p h ra se p a tte rn is, th e less com m only it occurs. T hose
co m p lex p h ra s e s c o n ta in in g th e co m b in atio n C D (progressive + passiv e) are
p a rtic u la rly u n c o m m o n (c/3 .7 3 ), b u t a re undo u b ted ly a cc ep ta b le as co m p ared
w ith se q u e n ce s such a s B C C ( *have been being exam ining) o r C B D (*is having
been e x a m in e d ) w h ich a re n o t g ra m m atica l a t all.
N o te T h e ra r e A B C D p a tte r n is illu strated in 2.28 N ote.

T h e structure of verb phrases 153
Sim ple and com plex nonfinite verb phrases

3.56 U n lik e fin ite v e rb p h ra ses, n o n fin ite verb p h ra se s h av e n o tense o r m o o d
d istin ctio n s (su b ject to th e re m a rk s on the g ra d ie n c e o f finiteness in 3.52),
an d .can n o t o c cu r in c o n stru ctio n w ith a subject o f a m ain clause. C o n tr a s t:
f in it e : H e was doing it easily.

n o n f in it e : * H e doing it easily.
Since m o d al a u x iliaries h a v e n o n onfinite form s (c /3 .3 0 ), th ey c an n o t o c c u r

in n o nfinite v e rb p h ra ses, a n d th erefo re th e m o d al co n stru ctio n T ype A is
n ot a v ailab le w ith in su c h p h rases. B ut th e a sp e ct a n d voice auxiliaries h v e F
(Type B) a n d e (T y p es C a n d D ) suffer from n o su c h restrictio n . I f we re la te

|
the stru ctu re o f th e n o n fin ite v erb p h rase to th a t o f th e finite verb p h rase, w e
can tab u la te th e e ig h t p o ssib le c o m b in atio n s as in Table 3.56a:
Table 3 .5 6 a N o n fin ite v e rb p h ra s e s
INFINITIVES PARTICIPLES
s im p le to e xa m in e exa m in in g
f BC to h ave exa m in e d
to be exa m in in g
having e xa m in ed
[being] exam ining
D to b e e x a m in e d [being] exa m in e d
c o m p le x • BC to h a v e been exam ining h aving been exam ining
BD to h ave been exa m in e d h aving been e xa m in ed
CD to be being exa m in e d [being] being e xa m in ed
BCD to h ave been being e xa m in ed h aving been being exa m in e d
< rare> < ra re >
L ooking a t th e rig h t-h a n d sid e o f th e Table, w e m ay in te rp ret th e s q u a re

b ra ck ets as follow s. W h en e v er a p h ra se should th eo retically begin w ith th e
auxiliary being, th is p a rtic ip le is o m itted . I n th is w ay, th e -ed p a rtic ip le
p h rase e xa m in ed is re g ard e d a s a special v a ria n t o f th e -ing p a rticip le p h ra se ,
viz th e re p re se n ta tiv e o f th e p assiv e co n stru ctio n D . T h ere does indeed o c cu r
a fu rth er c o n stru c tio n being exam ined, b u t th is is th e one w hich co m b in e s
p rogressive w ith p a ssiv e m ea n in g (C D ), as in th e c o n tra st b etw een:
th e su sp ects exa m in ed by th e police [not progressive]

th e su sp ects being e xa m in ed by the po lice [progressive]
(On pro g ressiv e m ea n in g in n o n fin ite p h rases, c f 4.67.) A n o th er result o f th e

rule w h ich o m its th e in itia l au x iliary being is t h a t th ere are tw o ty p es o f
nonfinite -ing p a rtic ip le p h ra se c o n tain in g a m a in v e rb only (exam ining ): o n e
o f th ese is p ro g ressiv e, a n d expresses th e m e a n in g c h ara cte ristic o f th e
progressive ( c f 4.25), w h ereas the o th e r is n o t. C o n tra s t:
S m o kin g cig a rettes is d an g ero u s, [not progressive]

T h ey c a u g h t h im sm oking cigarettes, [p ro g ressiv e: ‘w hile he w as
sm o k in g ’]
A s w ith fin ite v e rb p h ra ses, th e c o m b in a tio n C D is rare, a n d B C D is o f

m a r g in a l a ccep tab ility .
N o te [a] T h e c o m b in a tio n being exam ining, fo r p h rase type C , is n o t q u ite im possible, as occasional
e x a m p le s su c h as th e follow ing hav e b een atteste d in sp o n tan e o u s co n v e rsatio n :
Y o u c a n p ro b ab ly g e t a n ex ten sio n on th e g rounds o f being teaching.
B e in g te aching h ere m a n ag es to d ra w p a rtic u la r atte n tio n to th e progressive m e an in g ‘o n th e
g r o u n d s o f b ein g in th e co u rse o f te a c h in g ’, w h ich th e asp ectu ally am b ig u o u s on the grounds o f
te a c h in g w ould fail to do.
(b] I t m a y b e help fu l to illu stra te vario u s k in d s o f com plex n o n fin ite v erb p h rase by m eans o f
th e fo llo w in g s e n te n c e s:
T a b le 3 .5 6 b
INFINITIVES PARTICIPLES
W e ’re g la d to have in vited y ou. H avin g invited y o u , I e x p ec te d y o u to com e.
I ’d lik e to b e w orking. B eing w orking ( c /N o te [a])
I ’d h a te to be q u estio n ed a b o u t it. W h e n q uestioned , h e d e n ie d e v ery th in g .
I ’m g la d to have been w orking. H avin g been w o rkin g all d ay , I ’m v ery tired .
H e ’s s a id to have been invited. H a v in g been invited , h e sh o u ld h a v e com e.
I e x p e c te d to be b eing interview ed th e n . I saw h e r being interview ed.
G ra die nce betw een one and t w o verb phrases

3.57 I n a sin g le com plex fin ite v erb p h ra se, as a lread y discussed, th e o rd e r o f
c o n stru c tio n s is lim ite d to A B C D , an d a sim ila r re stric tio n o f n o n fin ite verb
p h ra s e s to th e o rd e r B C D h a s also b een n o ted . If, how ev er, a n o n fin ite verb
p h r a s e follow s a fin ite o n e , as in c ertain ty p es o f v erb co m p le m e n ta tio n (c f
16 . 3 6 ff), it is po ssib le fo r th e sam e c o n stru ctio n to b e re p ea te d in e ac h p h ra s e :
W e had h oped\to have fin ish e d by th en , [p erfectiv e + perfective]
I a m hoping | to be seeing her to m o rro w , [progressive + progressive]
M o re o v e r, it is p o ssib le fo r tw o c o n stru ctio n s to o c cu r o u tsid e th e ir n o rm al

‘a lp h a b e tic a l’ o rd e r so long as o n e co n stru ctio n o ccu rs in a d ifferen t verb
p h ra s e fro m th e o th e r:
I was hoping\to have fin ish e d by th en . (C + B)
J a c k so n was believed\to have been killed. (D + B D )
I n p ra c tic e , how ever, m o st o f th e m o re co m p lex po ssib ilities, su ch as A B C +

B C D , ra rely if e v e r o c cu r:
?T h ey m ust have been expecting\to have been being p a id well.
T h e q u e stio n a rises as to w h a t stru c tu re s a re po ssib le w h en a sem i-auxiliary

o r a c ate n a tiv e v erb o ccu rs in th e strin g o f verbs. F o r in stan ce, should will
have to help in The children will have to help us b e an aly sed as o n e v erb p h rase,
o r a s tw o ? T h ere is n o c le ar an sw e r to th is q u e stio n , sin ce th e g ra d ie n t
re la tin g auxiliary to m a in v erb fu n c tio n s im p lies a c o m p a rab le g ra d ie n t
b e tw e e n a single v e rb p h ra se an aly sis a n d a m u ltip le v erb p h ra se analysis.
Th e subjunctive m ood 155
W ith se m i-au x iliaries it is possible to re p ea t th e sam e co n stru ctio n in su c h

e x am p les a s:
S a ra h a n d I are going to be leaving to night. [1]

T h e w alls were supposed to be repainted. [ 2]
B u t (as n o ted in 3.47) are going to in [1] is n o t truly prog ressiv e, an d w ere
supposed to in [2] is n o t tru ly p assiv e, because th ese co n stru ctio n s do n o t
c o n tra s t (in th e re le v an t sense) w ith a nonprogressive a n d a n a c tiv e
c o n stru c tio n resp ectiv ely . In o th e r cases w here th e sam e co n stru ctio n is
re p e a te d , th e m e a n in g o f th e c o n stru ctio n does n o t req u ire th is r e p e titio n :
I f y o u ’d d o n e th a t, w e would have h a d to have arrested you. [3]
S u ch v e rb seq u en ces as would have had to have arrested, w ith its v a cu o u s

re p e titio n o f th e p a s t tim e m ea n in g o f th e p erfectiv e c o n stru ctio n , are n o t
u n c o m m o n , b u t are felt to be ‘illo g ical’ o r pleonastic, becau se th e ir m ea n in g
is n o d iffere n t fro m t h a t o f th e sam e sequ en ce w ith o u t th e r e p e titio n : . . . we
w ould have h a d to arrest you. T h e o c cu rren ce o f such co n stru ctio n s, h o w ev er,
m a y b e a m a r k o f th e in te rm e d ia te statu s o f sem i-auxiliaries, w h ic h allo w
som e s y n ta c tic d u p lic a tio n o f co n stru ctio n s, b u t do n o t a p p e a r to allow fo r
se m a n tic d u p lic a tio n s. I t is re aso n a b le to suggest th a t in [3] w ould have h a d to
have arrested c o n sists sy n tactically o f tw o v erb p h rases w ould have h a d a n d to
have arrested, b u t sem an tically o f o nly one.
The subjunctive mood
T h e su b ju n c tiv e in m o d ern E n g lish is generally an o p tio n al a n d sty listically

so m e w h a t m a rk e d v a ria n t o f o th e r co n stru ctio n s, b u t it is n o t so u n im p o rta n t
as is so m etim es suggested. T h e re are tw o form s o f th e su b ju n ctiv e,
tra d itio n a lly called th e p re sen t a n d p a st subjunctive, a lth o u g h th e use o f
th ese fo rm s re la te s m o re to m ood th a n to tense.
T e rm s fo r th e tw o m ajo r c ateg o ries o f th e p resen t su b ju n ctiv e a re th e
m a n d a tiv e a n d th e f o r m u l a i c su b ju n ctiv e (c f 3.59/). T h ese a re realized ,
lik e th e im p e ra tiv e , by th e b ase fo rm o f th e verb. C o n seq u en tly , w h ere th e
clau se h a s a p lu ra l subject, th e re is n o rm ally no difference b etw een th e
in d ic a tiv e a n d su b ju n ctiv e fo rm s. E x ce p t w ith be, w here th e su b ju n c tiv e
fo rm be is d is tin c t fro m th e in d ic a tiv e form s am , is, a n d are, th e su b ju n ctiv e
is d is tin c tiv e o n ly in th e th ird p e rso n sin g u lar:
I in sist th a t w e reconsider th e C o u n c il’s decisions, [in d icativ e o r

su b ju n ctiv e] [1]
I in sist t h a t th e C o u n cil reconsider its decisions, [subjunctive] [2]
I in sist th a t th e C o u n c il’s d ecision(s) be reconsidered.
[su b ju n ctiv e] [3]
T h e p a s t su b ju n c tiv e is c o n v en ien tly called th e w' e r e - s u Bj u n c t i v e , sin c e it

su rv iv es a s a d istin g u ish a b le fo rm only in th e p a st ten se o f th e v erb | e .
W h e re a s th e in d ic a tiv e fo rm show s a c o n tra st b etw een was (1st a n d 3rd

p e rso n sin g u lar) a n d were (p lu ral a n d 2nd p erso n singular), th e su b ju n ctiv e is
in v a ria b ly were, a n d h en ce is a form d istin c t fro m th e in d icativ e only in th e
1st a n d 3rd p erso n s sin g u lar:
I f I/h e /sh e was leav in g , you w ould h av e h e ard ab o u t it. [indicative]

I f I/h e /sh e were leav in g , you w ould h a v e h e a rd a b o u t it. [subjunctive]
L ik e th e im p e ra tiv e v erb p h ra se ( c f 11.24$'), th e su b ju n ctiv e v erb p h ra se

allow s few m o rp h o lo g ical o r sy n tactic v ariatio n s. A s [3] above sh o w s, a
p a ssiv e su b ju n c tiv e is a p o ssibility fo r th e m a n d a tiv e subjunctive, as w ell as
for th e fo rm u la ic a n d w ere-subjunctive:
G o d be praised\ (re s tric te d u s e )

It w ould b e o d d if sh e were aw arded th e first p rize.
W ith all v e rb s ex ce p t be, th e v e rb p h ra se is m ad e n eg ativ e by p lac in g not

b e fo re th e su b ju n c tiv e fo rm . I n th e case o f be, not m ay b e p laced e ith e r b e fo re
or a f te r th e v erb , w h ereas w ith were it follow s it:
I t is e sse n tia l th a t th is m issio n not fa il. [4]

[C o n tra s t th e in d ic a tiv e v a ria n t ‘. . . does not f a i l . . . ’; c/1 6 .7 2 .]
T h e S en a te h as d ecreed th a t su ch stu d e n ts j ^ ex em p ted fro m college
dues.
If I J r y ° u r b e st frien d , you w ould reg ret th a t rem ark .
Uses of the subjunctive

\ v
T he m andative subjunctive
3.59 T h is, th e m o st c o m m o n u se o f th e su b ju n ctiv e, occurs in su b o rd in a te that-
clauses, a n d c o n sists o f th e b ase fo rm o f th e v erb only. T h u s th ere is a la c k o f
the re g u la r co n co rd o f th e in d icativ e m o o d b etw een subject a n d fin ite v e rb ,
a n d th e re is n o b a ck sh iftin g o f ten se ( c f 14.33f ) ; ie th e p re se n t a n d p a s t
v a ria n ts a re form ally in d istin g u ish a b le :
T h e c o m m ittee | P ro P ose®j (th at) M r D a y be elected.

[p ro p o se d
I d e m a n d (ed ) t h a t th e c o m m ittee reconsider its decision.
H is sole r e q u ire m e n t is/w as th a t th e system work.
T h e m a n d a tiv e su b ju n c tiv e is p ro d u c tiv e in th a t it can b e used w ith an y v e rb

in a r/iaf-clause w h en th e su p e ro rd in ate clause satisfies th e re q u isite se m a n tic
c o n d itio n , viz th a t th e r/w t-clause be in tro d u ced by a n expression o f d e m a n d ,
re co m m e n d a tio n , p ro p o sal, resolution, in te n tio n , etc. T h is ex p ressio n ta k e s
th e f o rm o f a v e rb , a n ad jectiv e, o r a n o u n :
T h e y recom mend
I t is appropriate th a t th is ta x be abolished.
W e w ere fa ce d w ith th e dem and
T h e subjunctive m ood 157
T h e follow ing are a m o n g th o se expressions w h ich com m only in tro d u c e a

that- clause c o n ta in in g th e m a n d a tiv e su b ju n c tiv e :
V E R B S: decide, insist, move, order, prefer, request

a d je c tiv e s : advisable, desirable, fittin g , imperative
nouns : decision, decree, order, requirement, resolution
F u ller lists o f ex am p les a re g iv en in 16.32,16.72.

T h e m a n d a tiv e su b ju n c tiv e is m o re c h ara cte ristic o f A m E th a n o f B rE ,
w here it is fo rm al a n d ra th e r legalistic in style. T h e re a re in d ic a tio n s,
how ev er, th a t it is re esta b lish in g itself in B rE , p ro b a b ly as a resu lt o f A m E
influence. In 16.32 .w e p re se n t th e p a tte rn s o f p re fe re n ce in B rE a n d in A m E
re g ard in g th e ch o ice b e tw ee n th e m an d a tiv e su b ju n ctiv e, p u ta tiv e should,
a n d th e in d icativ e, in se n ten c es such a s :
T h e em ployees h a v e d e m a n d e d th a t th e m an a g er
f resign. <esp A m E )
should resign.}
k resigns . J
N o te [a] A s ex am p le [2] suggests, th e ab sen ce o f DO-support, as well as th e ab sen ce o f a n -s in flectio n ,

is a criterio n d istin g u ish in g th e p re se n t su bjunctive fro m th e p re s e n t in d ic a tiv e :
f O u r d ecision is th a t th e school rem ain closed, [subjunctive] [ 1]
[O u r d ecisio n is th a t th e school rem ains closed, [in d icativ e] [ la ]
T h ey in sisted th a t w e not e a t m eat, [subjunctive] [2]
{ T h ey in sisted th a t w e d o not ea t m e at, [indicative] [2a]
T h u s th e subju n ctiv e c a n b e m a rk e d as d istin c t from th e in d ic a tiv e w ith eith e r a sin g u lar su b jec t,
a s in [1], o r a plural su b ject, a s in [2J. T h is m akes it reaso n ab le to say th a t w h ere th e b ase fo rm
c a n be analysed e ith e r a s a n in d ic a tiv e o r as a su b junctive, th e re is a n eu tra liz a tio n o f th e tw o
m oods:
O ur d ecision is th a t th e schools rem ain closed. [ 1b]
S uch a view ca n n o t b e en te rta in e d , how ever, w ith th e w cre-subjunctive (c/3 .6 2 ).
[b] T h e use o f th e su b ju n ctiv e a fte r insist d ep en d s o n m ean in g . W h e n th is v e rb in tro d u ces a n
in d irect statem e n t, th e in d ic a tiv e is used, but w hen it in tro d u ces a n in d ire c t d ire ctiv e, th e
subju n ctiv e is m ore lik e ly :
S he insists th a t h e is g u ilty o f frau d . [3]
W e insist th a t he be a d m itte d to h o sp ita l im m ediately. [4]
[c] In ad d itio n to should a n d th e in d icativ e, th e re are o th e r alte rn a tiv e s to th e m a n d a tiv e
sub ju n ctiv e, n o tab ly (w ith so m e verbs) th e o bject w ith in finitive co n stru c tio n (c/1 6 .6 3 ):
W e a s k th at th e Governm ent be circumspect. [5]
{ W e ask th e G o v e rn m e n t to be circumspect. [6]
[d] T h e re is a tend en cy in B rE to ch oose th e su bjunctive m o re especially w hen th e finite v e r b is
be (eg in th e passive voice), a s in [4] a n d [5] above.
T he form ulaic subjunctive

3 .6 0 L ik e th e m a n d a tiv e su b ju n ctiv e, th e f o r m u l i c s u j u n c t i v e co n sists o f th e
F |
base fo rm o f th e v e rb . I t is used in c ertain set ex p ressio n s chiefly in

in d e p e n d e n t c la u se s:
Com e w h at m ay , w e will g o a h ead w ith o u r p lan .

G o d save th e Q u e e n ! [‘M ay G o d save th e Q u e en ’]
Suffice it to say th a t w e w on. [‘L et it suffice . . . ’]
H e av e n fo rb id th a t I should let m y o w n p a ren ts suffer.
B e it n o te d th a t th is offer w as m ad e in good faith , (f o r m a l, ra th e r

a r c h a ic )
B e th a t a s it m ay , w e h a v e n o th in g to lose.
T h e fo rc e w h ic h th e su b ju n ctiv e conveys here, th a t o f a n e x p ressio n o f will,

m ay a ls o b e c o n v ey e d by let o r m a y ( c f 3.51). T h e fo rm u laic s u b ju n c tiv e ten d s
to b e fo rm a l a n d ra th e r o ld -fash io n ed in style.
O t h e r u s e s o f t h e p r e s e n t s u b ju n c tiv e
3.61 O th e r c o n te x ts in w hich th e p re s e n t su b ju n ctiv e can be u sed in su b o rd in a te
cla u se s a re n o te d in re le v an t sectio n s o f C h a p te rs 14 a n d 15. T h e y in c lu d e :
(a) C la u s e s o f c o n d itio n a n d con cessio n ( c f 14.24):
(E ven) i f th a t be th e official view , it c an n o t be acc ep te d , ( f o r m a l)
(b) C la u s e s o f c o n d itio n o r n eg ativ e p u rp o se in tro d u ced b y lest o r fo r fe a r

th a t ( c /1 5 .4 8 ):
T h e P re s id e n t m u st re ject th is p roposal, lest it cause strife an d

v io len ce, ( f o r m a l)
T h is lest c o n stru c tio n is re stric te d to very form al usage in B rE , b u t is m ore

c u r re n t in A m E .
T h e w e r e -s u b ju n c t iv e
3.62 T h e w ere-su b ju n ctiv e (or p a s t su b ju n ctiv e) is h y p o th etica l o r u n re al in
m e a n in g , b e in g u sed in a d v erb ial clauses in tro d u ced by su ch c o n ju n c tio n s as
i f a s i f as though, though, a n d in n o m in al clauses a fte r v e rb s lik e wish an d
suppose ( c /1 4 .2 4 ,16.33). T h is su b ju n ctiv e is lim ited to th e o n e fo rm were, a n d
th u s b re a k s th e c o n co rd rule o f th e in d icativ e v erb e in th e 1st a n d 3rd
|
p e rso n sin g u lar o f th e p a s t tense. T h e in d icativ e form w as is su b stitu te d in

less fo rm a l s ty le :
I f \ w ere/w as rich , I w o u ld buy you a n y th in g you w an ted .
T im a lw ay s sp e a k s q u ietly o n th e pho n e, as though h e were I w as tellin g a
secret.
I wish th e jo u rn e y were/ was over.
J u s t suppose e v ery o n e were/was to g ive up sm o k in g a n d d rin k in g .
T h e w ere-subju jictiv e m ay b e re g ard e d as a fossilized in fle c tio n : it is n o w ad ay s

a less u su al a lte rn a tiv e to th e h y p o th etical p a st in d icativ e ( c f 4.16). E x am p les
o f h y p o th e tic a l were w ith a 2 n d p e rso n o r p lu ral su b ject (eg: y o u were . . . ,
they w ere . . .) a re th ere fo re to b e v iew ed as in d ic a tiv e, r a th e r th a n as a
n e u tra liz a tio n o f in d ic a tiv e a n d subjunctive.
N o te [a] I n th e fixed p h r a s e as it were [‘so to sp e a k ’], how ever, were c a n n o t b e re p la c e d by was", it is

also n o rm a l in s ta n d a r d E n g lish to use were in th e fixed p h rase I f I were you.
[b] A s i t is c o m m o n ly supposed th a t th e w ere-subju nctiv e alw ays refers to c irc u m sta n c e s co n trary
to fa c t, i t is w o rth n o tin g th e occ asio n al o ccu rren ce o f a hy p erco rre ct ‘p seu d o -su b ju n ctiv e’ were
in co n te x ts w h ere th e p a st tim e m e a n in g o f was seem s to give th e req u ired in te r p r e ta tio n :
T h e pilo t a p p e a re d to d e v ia te fro m his flight p a th to m in im ize th e d a n g e r to peo p le living
in th e to w n ; b u t if th is were h is in ten tio n , h e failed to co m m u n ic ate it to th e co n tro l tow er.
A s im ila r an o m a lo u s use o f were o ccasionally occurs in in d irect q u e stio n s:
I t w as difficult to tell w h e th e r th e la n g u ag e were S em itic o r In d o -E u ro p ea n .
A ctive and passive voice 159
Active and passive voice
3.63 T h e term v o i c e is used to d e sc rib e the last m ajo r verb category to b e

co n sid ered in th is c h a p te r : th a t w h ich d istin g u ish es an active v erb p h ra se
(eg: ate) fro m a p a ssiv e o n e (eg: was eaten). W e h av e left th is to p ic to the e n d
o f th e c h a p te r fo r tw o r e a s o n s : first, th e passive c o n stru ctio n , w h en it occurs,
a p p ea rs in final p o s itio n in th e v erb ph rase ( c f T y p e D , 3.55), an d second,
voice is a c ateg o ry w h ich , as w e saw in 2.21, co n cern s n o t only v erb p h rases,
b u t o th e r c o n stitu e n ts in th e clau se, an d th ere fo re p o in ts to co n n ectio n s
b etw een th is c h a p te r a n d sectio n s in later c h a p te rs (esp 16.26#", 18.32) w h ere
th e c o n tra st b e tw e e n a c tiv e a n d passive m u st b e reconsidered in a larg e r
context.
V oice defined
3.64 V oice is a g ra m m a tic a l c ateg o ry w h ich m ak es it possible to view th e a ctio n
o f a se n ten ce in e ith e r o f tw o w ays, w ithout c h an g e in th e facts re p o rte d :
T h e b u tle r m urdered th e d etectiv e, [F c t i v e ] [ 1]

~ T h e d e te ctiv e was m urdered by th e b u tler, [ F i v e ] [2]
A s w e see fro m [1] a n d [2], th e a ctiv e-p a ssiv e relatio n involves tw o

g ram m atical lev els: th e v e rb p h ra se, a n d th e clause. In th e fo rm er, a p assiv e
verb p h ra se (ie o n e c o n ta in in g a c o n stru ctio n o f T y p e D ) co n trasts w ith a n
activ e v erb p h ra se , w h ic h is sim p ly defined as o n e w h ich does n o t co n ta in
th a t co n stru ctio n . F o r e x a m p le :
Table 3.64
ACTIVE PASSIVE
present: kisses ~ is kissed

past: kissed ~ was kissed
modal: may kiss ~ may be kissed
perfective: has kissed ~ has been kissed
progressive: is kissing ~ is being kissed
modal + perfective: may have kissed ~ may have been kissed
modal -f- progressive: may be kissing may be being kissed
perfective + progressive: has been kissing ~ has been being kissed
modal -f perfective +
progressive: may have been kissing ~ may have been being kissed
I n th e v erb p h ra se, th e d ifferen ce b etw een th e tw o voice categ o ries is th a t

th e p assiv e a d d s a fo rm o f th e a u x iliary | follow ed by th e p a st p a rtic ip le
(-ed p a rticip le) o f th e m a in verb .
T he active-passive correspondence
3.65 I n ad d itio n , a t th e clau se level, ch an g in g from th e a ctiv e to th e p assiv e
involves re a rra n g e m e n t o f tw o clau se elem en ts, a n d o n e ad d itio n (c /2 .2 1 ),
(a) T h e a ctiv e su b je ct b e co m es th e p assiv e F g e n t ; (b) th e a ctiv e o b ject
b ecom es th e p assiv e s u b je c t; a n d (c) th e p re p o sitio n by is in tro d u ced b efo re
th e a g en t. T h e p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se ( F g e n t | t - p h r F s e ) o f p assiv e sen ten ces
is g e n era lly an o p tio n a l elem en t (but c/3 .7 1 ). T h e a ctiv e-p a ssiv e co rresp o n d
e n c e fo r a m o n o tra n sitiv e v erb (c /2 .1 6 ) w ith a n o bject {typically a noun
p h r a s e ) c an be seen d iag ram m atically as in Fig. 3.65:
S V O
s v pass A
Fig 3.65 The active-passive correspondence
A lte rn a tiv e ly , th e a c tiv e -p a ssiv e c o rresp o n d en ce c an be expressed by th is

f o rm u la :
n o u n p h rase! + a c tiv e v erb p h rase + n o u n p h ra se 2

~ noun p h ra s e 2 + passive v erb p h ra se + (by n o u n p h ra se ,)
T h e te rm s ‘su b ject’ a n d ‘o b ject’ in F ig 3.65 a re u sed h ere, as in 2.13 a n d 10.7,

to r e fe r to elem ents w ith a p a rticu la r stru ctu ral fu n ctio n in th e c lau se: eg th e
su b je c t h as co n co rd w ith th e verb p h ra se, a n d c o n tain s a su b jectiv e ra th e r
th a n o b jectiv e case p ro n o u n . T h u s c e rta in ch an g es a p a rt from those
re p re s e n te d in [1] a n d [2] m ay have to tak e p lace in ch an g in g a sen ten ce from
a c tiv e to passive ( c /3 .7 0 ) :
T h e m en respect her. [3]

~ S h e is-re sp e c te d by th e m en. [4]
i
B u t a lth o u g h the co rre sp o n d in g a ctiv e a n d p assiv e sen ten ces a p p e a r to be

r a d ic a lly different, th e re la tio n s o f m ean in g b etw een th e ir elem en ts rem ain
th e s a m e : for ex am p le, [1] h as th e sam e tru th value as [2], a n d [3] h as the
sa m e tr u th value as [4], In John helped M a ry a n d M a ry was helped by John,
John is in b oth c ases th e ‘p e rfo rm e r o f th e a c tio n ’, ev en th o u g h structurally,
John h a s a very Idifferent p o sitio n a n d fu n c tio n in each .
N o te [a] C o rresp o n d in g ac tiv e a n d p assiv e sentences do n o t, h ow ever, alw ays h av e th e sam e tru th
v alu e (c /3 .7 2 ).
[b] W e d istin g u ish term in o lo g ically th e agent, as defined a b o v e (an d in g ram m atical trad itio n ),
fro m th e ag entive, w h ich is a sem a n tic role ( c / 10.19) o fte n assum ed by th e su b ject o f a n activ e
se n te n c e o r by th e ag e n t o f a p assiv e sentence (c/9.50).
T h e passive auxiliaries: be and g e t

3.66 T h e p a ssiv e auxiliary is n o rm ally be. Its only serious c o n te n d er is get, w h ich
h o w e v er is not, b y m o st sy n tactic c riteria , a n au x iliary a t all ( c f 3 . 2 2 / /
M o reo v er, g e t te n d s to be lim ite d to co n stru ctio n s w ith o u t a n ex p ressed

a n im a te a g en t:
T h e c a t g ot run over (by a bus). Ja m es got beaten last n ig h t.
G et w ith a n a n im a te ag en t is n o t, how ever, u n k n o w n :
J a m e s g ot caught (by th e police).
T h e g et-p assiv e is av o id ed in fo rm al style, an d ev en in in fo rm al E n g lish i t is

fa r less fre q u e n t th a n th e Ae-passi ve. F u rth e r exam ples a r e :
T h e h ouse is g ettin g rebuilt. [ 1]

S u ch c riticism s w ill g et trea ted w ith th e co n te m p t th ey deserv e. [2]
T h is sto ry e v en tu ally g ot translated in to E nglish. [3]
G et is m u ch m o re co m m o n as a ‘resu ltin g co p u la’ ( c f 1 6 .2 1 /0 in se n ten c es

lik e M y m other is g ettin g old, a n d it m ay b e b est analysed as su ch in se n ten c es
w h ic h look superficially like p assiv es, b u t w h ich could n o t b e e x p a n d e d b y
a n a g e n t (c /3 .7 7 ):
W e a re g ettin g bogged dow n in all sorts o f problem s. ( in f o r m a l) [4]
I h av e to g e t dressed b efo re e ig h t o ’clock. [ = ‘d ress’] [5]
I d o n ’t w a n t to g e t m ix ed up w ith th e police ag ain , ( in f o r m a l) [6]
Y o u r a rg u m e n t g e ts a b it confused here. [7]
S im ilarly g e t bored, g e t tired, g e t (very) excited, get lost, etc. G et is a d y n a m ic

co n clu siv e v e rb ( c f 4 .3 3 /0 . a n d th e p articip les in these sen ten ces a re s ta tiv e
(eg: dressed’ m ea n s ‘in a s ta te o f w earin g clothes’, as in Jane is already
dressed). H e n ce th e m ea n in g o f su ch sentences is p re d ic ta b le if th ey a r e
re g ard e d as S V C sen ten ces w ith g e t as m ain verb a n d th e p a rtic ip le (w ith its
m o d ifiers if an y ) as c o m p lem en t, as suggested by th is e x c h a n g e :
A : I [S] ’m [V] co m p letely co n fu sed [C],

B : Y es, I [S] ’m g e ttin g [V] co n fu sed [C], as w ell [A],
I t is im p o rta n t, th ere fo re, to d ra w a d istin c tio n b etw een th e p assiv e se n ten c es

[ 1 - 3 ] a n d th e c o p u la r sen ten ces [ 4 -7 ], w h ich w e m ay call p s e u d o - p s s i v e ( c f
F
3.77). A t th e sam e tim e , th ere is a n affinity b etw een these sen ten ce types, a n d
th is is e v id e n t w h en w e c o n sid er th e m ean in g o f th e get-passive, w h ich , lik e
th e co p u la r g et, p u ts th e e m p h asis o n th e su b ject ra th e r th a n th e a g en t, a n d
o n w h a t h a p p e n s to th e su b ject as a resu lt o f th e event. C o m p a re H e g o t
taught a lesson [‘it serv ed h im rig h t’] w ith :
He | -J taught a lesson o n th e su b ju n ctiv e (by o u r new teach er).
I t is p re su m ab ly becau se o f th e em p h a sis w h ich g e t p laces o n th e su b je ct

re fe re n t’s c o n d itio n (usually a n u n fa v o u ra b le c o n d itio n ) th a t th e a g e n t is less
u su al w ith a g et-p assiv e. T h is sam e e m p h a sis m ay acco u n t in p a r t fo r th e fa c t
th a t th e g et-p assiv e o ften reflects a n u n fav o u rab le a ttitu d e to w a rd s th e
a ctio n :
H o w d id th a t w indow g et o p e n ed l
ty p ically im p lies ‘I t should h a v e b e e n left s h u t!’

N o te [a] T h e g e/-p assiv e p ro v id e s a c o n v e n ien t w ay o f av o id in g th e p assiv e w ith be in c a ses w h ere

th e r e is a p o te n tia l c o n fu sio n b etw e en th e n o rm a l p assiv e in te rp re ta tio n a n d th a t o f th e ‘s ta ta l
p a s s iv e ’ 0 /3 .7 7 ) . T h u s th e am b ig u ity b etw e en stativ e a n d d y n am ic m e an in g in The chair was
b ro k e n is elim in a te d in T he chair g o t broken .
[b] T h e id io m atic e x p ressio n g e t started is ano m alo u s, in th a t sta rt c a n n o t be tre a te d a s a
tr a n s i tiv e v erb in th is c o n te x t:
H o w soon c a n w e g e t s ta r te d o n th e sw im m ing pool ?
T h is id io m a p p e a rs to b e closely related to th e ca u sativ e use o f g e t , eg i n :
H o w soon c a n w e g e t s ta rte d o n th e po o l? ( c f 16.54)
C o m p a r e a sim ilar p seu d o -p assiv e co n stru c tio n w ith be (c/3 .7 7 N o te [a]).

[c] A p a r t from g e t, v erb s in pseu d o -p assiv e sen ten ces in clu d e become, grow, a n d seem ( c f 16.21,
16.23).
V o ic e constraints
3.67 A lth o u g h it is a g en eral ru le th a t tra n s itiv e v e rb sen ten ces c a n be e ith e r
a c tiv e o r p assiv e , th e re are a n u m b er o f ex cep tio n s w h ere th e a ctiv e
(tra n s itiv e ) a n d p a ssiv e sen ten ces a re n o t in sy stem atic c o rresp o n d en ce. W e
w ill d is tin g u ish five k in d s o f 'v o ice c o n s tra in t’ asso ciated resp ectiv ely w ith
th e v e rb (3.68 f ) , th e o b jec t (3.70), th e a g e n t (3.71), m ea n in g (3.72), a n d
fre q u e n c y o f u se (3.73).
V e r b c o n s t r a in ts
3.68 ( a ) ACTIVE ONLY
T h e r e a re g re a te r re stric tio n s o n v erb s o ccu rrin g in th e p assiv e th a n o n v erb s
o c c u rrin g in th e activ e. In a d d itio n to c o p u la r an d in tra n sitiv e v erb s, w h ic h
h a v in g n o o b je c t c a n n o t tak e th e p assiv e, som e tra n s itiv e v erb s, called
‘m id d le ’ v erb s, d o n o t o c c u r a t least in som e senses in th e p assiv e (c/T 0 .1 4 );
fo r e x am p le:
T h e y have a n ice house. T h e d ress becomes her.

H e lacks confidence. Jo h n resembles his fa th er.
T h e a u d ito riu m holds 5000 p e o p le .\ W ill th is suit you ?
A ll th e s e b elo n g to th e sta tiv e class o f v erb s o f ‘b e in g ’ a n d ‘h a v in g ’ ( c / 4.31).

B u t o th e r s ta tiv e verbs, su ch as th o se o f v o litio n o r a ttitu d e , can e asily o ccu r
in th e p assiv e. C o n tra s t:
T h e c o at d o es n o t fit you. ~ *Y ou are n o t fitted by th e coat.

T h e policfe w a n t h im . ~ H e is w a n ted b y th e police.
(b) PASSIVE ONLY

C o n v ersely , w ith som e v erb s a n d v erb c o n stru ctio n s o nly th e p a ssiv e is
p o ssib le (c /1 6 .5 0 ):
O th e r ex am p les are be born (w ith a n irreg u lar p a s t p a rticip le), a n d be drow ned
(in c ases w h ere n o a g en t is im p lied ):
H e w as b o r n in T u b in g e n . ~ ?H is m o th e r b o re h im in T u b in g e n .
T h e w an ted m a n fell in to th e w a ter an d w as d row ned. ~ . and

som eone d ro w n e d him .
P r e p o s itio n a l v e r b s
3 .69 In E nglish, p re p o sitio n a l v erb s ( e /1 6 .5 # ) can o ften o c cu r in th e passiv e, b u t
n o t so freely as in th e a ctiv e. T h ese p rep o sitio n al v erb s a re v erb al id io m s
co n sistin g o f a lex ical v e rb follow ed by a p rep o sitio n , such as look at.
C o m p are th e follow ing se n ten c es, in w hich [ 1a] an d [2a] co n ta in p re p o sitio n al
verbs, w hereas [lb ] a n d [2b] c o n ta in th e sam e w ords in n o n id io m a tic u s e :
T h e en g in eers went v e ry carefully into jjjj® tu n n d ” 1 [lb ]
~ { ?*T he tu n n e | m | was v er^ care ^ y S one 'nt0 ^ engineers.
. . . . . . . f th e expected result. [2a]

T h ey ev en tu ally arrived a t | thg spjgn d jd sta d iu m . [2b]
f T h e e x p e c te d resu lt 1 . ,, . . .
~ i 0 *1 . 1, i j . j - j- ] w as eventually arrived at.
[ ?*T he s p le n d id sta d iu m J
In th ese sen ten ces it is c le a r th a t th e difference in a ccep tab ility c a n be s ta te d

in term s o f c o n c re te /a b s tra c t p assiv e subjects. I t is o nly in th e a b strac t,
figurative use th a t go into, arrive at, look into, a n d m an y o th e r expressions
acc ep t th e passive.
W ith som e in g en u ity , h o w ev er, one m ay c o n stru ct co n tex ts w here su ch
v erb al expressions w ill o c c u r in th e passive ev en w h ere they a re n ot used
ab stractly an d id io m a tic ally , especially in a c o o rd in ate c o n stru c tio n :
T h is p riv ate d ra w e r o f m in e h as been gone into a n d ru m m ag ed so m an y

tim es th a t it is to ta lly d isarran g ed .
T h u s th e d istin c tio n b e tw e e n p rep o sitio n al verbs a n d n o n id io m atic c o m b i
n a tio n s o f verb a n d p re p o sitio n does n o t en tirely d e te rm in e th e p o ssib ility o f
a passive. R a th e r, th e re is a scale o f ‘cohesion’ b etw een v erb a n d p rep o sitio n ,
w h ich will b e a n aly sed la te r, in 1 6 .1 2 # w h en w e com e to e x am in e
p rep o sitio n al v erb s in m o re d etail.
O b j e c t c o n s tr a in ts
3.70 T ran sitiv e v erb s c a n b e follow ed eith e r by p h ra sal o r b y clau sal o b jects ( c f
15.3#, 16.30#). W ith cla u se s as objects, how ever, th e p assiv e tran sfo rm a tio n
is to a g reater o r lesser d e g re e re stric te d in u s e :
(A ) N o u n p h ra se a s o b je c t:
Jo h n lo v ed M a ry . ~ M a ry w as loved (by Jo h n ).
(B) C lause as o b jec t:
(i) F in ite c lau se:
Jo h n th o u g h t (th a t) she was attractive.
~ l* T h a t she w as attractive w as th o u g h t (by Jo h n ).
(ii) N o n fin ite c lau se:
(a) infinitive:
Jo h n h o p ed to m e et her. ~ * T o m eet her w as h o p ed (by John).
(b ) p a r tic ip le :
J o h n enjo y ed seeing her.
~ * I Seeing her w as enjoyed (by John).
T h e p a s s iv e o fte n b ecom es a ccep tab le, h ow ever, p a rticu la rly w h en th e o bject

is a fin ite c lau se, if th e clau sal o b ject is ex trap o sed a n d rep laced b y the
a n tic ip a to r y p ro n o u n it ( c /1 6 .3 4 ,16.72f 16.83,18.33):
I t w a s th o u g h t th a t she was attractive,

l i t w a s h o p e d to m eet her.
o r i f t h e su b je ct o f th e o b ject clause is m ad e th e su b je ct o f a passive

su p e ro rd in a te clau se (c/1 6 .5 0 /, 18.36), as in :
S h e w a s th o u g h t to be attractive.
T h e c o n s tru c tio n w ith a n tic ip a to r)' it n e v er occurs w ith p a rtic ip le clauses as

su b je ct, a n d is o n ly so m etim es a ccep tab le w ith infinitive c lau ses (c/1 6 .3 8 ):
I t w a s d e sire d to have the report delivered here.
(E v e n th e n , th e a cc ep ta b ility o f th is co n stru ctio n m ay be c riticize d on

g ro u n d s o f style.)
C o re fe re n c e b e tw ee n a su b ject a n d a n o u n p h rase o b ject b lo ck s th e passive
c o rre sp o n d e n c e . T h is c o n stra in t occurs w ith (a) reflexive p ro n o u n s, (b)
re c ip ro c a l p ro n o u n s, a n d (c) possessive p ro n o u n s w h en co refe ren tial to th e
s u b je c t:
(b) W e c o u ld h a rd ly see each other in th e fog.

~ *Each other could h a rd ly be seen in th e fog.
M y h an d
w as s h a k e n by th e w om an.
I* H e r head
N o te [a] T h e pa ssiv e o f th e sen ten ce w ith a recip ro cal pro n o u n ca n be m a d e ac c e p ta b le if th e pronoun

is s p lit in to tw o p a r ts as fo llo w s:
E a c h co u ld h ard ly be seen b y th e o th e r, ( c f 6.31)
[b] S in c e reflexive a n d recip ro cal p ro n o u n s are o b jective case rep lacem en ts, w e w ould in an y
case n o t e x p e c t th e m to ta k e su b ject p osition in a p assive sentence, o r fo r th a t m a tte r in any
o th e r s e n te n c e (c/3 .6 5 ).
fcj T h e p a ssiv e is n o t possible fo r m a n y idiom s in w h ich th e v erb a n d th e o b je ct form a close
u n it:
T h e sh ip set sail. ~ *S ail w as set.
W e c h a n g e d buses. ~ ‘ B uses w ere changed.
A g e n t c o n s t r a in t s
3.71 U n lik e th e a c tiv e subject, th e a g en t 6y-phrase is gen erally o p tio n a l. In fact
a p p ro x im a te ly fo u r o u t o f five E n g lish p assiv e sentences h a v e n o expressed
ag en t. T h is o m issio n o ccu rs especially w hen th e ag en t is irre le v a n t o r

u n k n o w n , as in :
T h e P rim e M in iste r h as o ften been criticized recently.
o r w h ere th e a g e n t is left o u t as re d u n d a n t:
Ja c k fo u g h t M ich ael la s t n ig h t, a n d J a c k was beaten.
A n a g en t p h ra se b y M ichael would clearly n o t be necessary o r ev en fu lly

a cc ep ta b le in th is co n tex t.
S ince th e a g e n t p h ra se is usually left unex p ressed , the id en tity o f th e a g e n t
m ay b e irrec o v era b le, a n d it m ay be im p o ssib le to p ostulate a u n iq u e a c tiv e
clau se c o rre sp o n d in g to th e passive o n e :
O rd e r ha d been restored w ith o u t bloodshed.

f C o lo n el L av a l (?) "|
~ < T h e a d m in istra tio n (?) > had restored o rd e r w ith o u t b lo o d sh ed .
( T h e a rm y (?) J
N o te In so m e sen te n ces, th e ag e n t is n o t o p tio n al; eg:
T h e m u sic was fo llo w e d by a sh o rt in terv al. [1]
(*T h e m u sic w as follow ed. [2]
{TThhee rebels were actuated by b o th religious a n d political m otiv es.

rebels were actuated.
[3]
[4]
H o w ev er, th e n o n o cc u rre n ce o f th e agentless sen ten ces [2] a n d [4) m ay be du e n o t so m u c h to
g ra m m a tic a l o r lexical restrictio n , as to th e fact th a t w ith o u t th e agent, th e s en te n ce b ec o m es
in fo rm atio n ally v acuous. (In th is connection, [2] m ay be co n trasted w ith We're being
fo llow ed.)
M e a n in g c o n s t r a in ts
3.72 W e c a n n o t assu m e th a t m atc h in g activ e a n d p assiv e sentences alw ays h a v e
th e sam e p ro p o sitio n a l m ean in g . T h e d ifferen ce o f o rd er b ro u g h t a b o u t by
c h an g in g a n a ctiv e se n ten ce in to th e p assiv e o r vice versa m ay w ell m a k e a
d ifferen ce n o t o nly in em p h a sis ( c f 18.3jf, 18.1 I ff) , b u t also to th e sco p e o f
neg ativ es a n d q u a n tifiers ( c /2 .5 4 /) :
E v ery schoolboy know s one jo k e a t least. [1]

~ O n e jo k e a t least is known by ev ery schoolboy. [2]
T h e m o st lik ely in te rp re ta tio n o f [1] is q u ite different fro m th e m o st lik ely

in te rp re ta tio n o f [2]: w h ereas [1] fav o u rs th e read in g ‘E ach schoolboy k n o w s
a t least som e jo k e o r o th e r’, [2] favours th e read in g ‘T h ere is o n e p a rtic u la r
jo k e w h ic h is k n o w n to every schoolboy’.
M o reo v er, a s h ift o f m o d al m ean in g m ay accom pany a sh ift o f v o ice in
verb p h ra se s c o n ta in in g m o d al au x iliaries ( c f 4.52):
J o h n c a n n o t d o it.
~ I t c a n n o t b e d o n e (by John).
In th e a ctiv e, can here will norm ally b e in te rp rete d as ex p ressin g ab ility ,

w h ereas in th e p assiv e it is in terp reted as expressing possibility. E v en w h en
it m ig h t b e arg u ed th a t can re ta in s th e sa m e m ean in g o f ab ility in b o th a c tiv e
a n d p assiv e, a s h ift o f m ea n in g is d e te c ta b le :
J o h n c a n ’t b e tau g h t. [‘I t ’s im possible to tea ch h im ’ O R ‘H e is u n ab le to

le a rn ’]
~ She c a n ’t te a c h Jo h n . [‘She is u n a b le to te a c h J o h n ’]
E x a m p le s w ith o th e r m o d al a u x iliaries a r e :
E v ery o n e o f th em m u st b e re p rim an d e d .
{ [‘E v ery o n e o f th em is to b lam e ’]
~ Y ou m u s t re p rim a n d every one o f th em .

[‘I t ’s y o u r d u ty to d o so’]
f W h y w o u ld n ’t M ira n d a rid e th e grey m are?

[‘W h y d id M ira n d a refu se?’]
- W hy w o u ld n ’t th e grey m are be r id d e n by M ira n d a ?
[‘W h y d id th e m a re refu se?’]
N o te [a] T h e sh ift from a c tiv e to p assiv e m ay ch an g e th e m e an in g n o t o nly o f a m odal co n stru ctio n ,

b u t a lso o f th e p e rfe c tiv e asp ect:
W in sto n C h u rc h ill h a s tw ice visited H arv ard . [3]
H a r v a r d h a s tw ic e b een v isited by W inston C h u rch ill. [4]
I t h a s b e e n claim ed th a t th e ac tiv e sentence [3] c a n only b e ap p ro p riately used in th e lifetim e o f
C h u rc h ill, since th e su b je c t o f th e sentence d eterm in es th e in te rp re ta b ility o f th e perfectiv e in
te rm s o f a perio d o f tim e le ad in g u p to th e p resen t ( c f 4.20). T h e p assiv e sen ten ce [4], acco rd in g
to th is claim , could a p p ro p ria te ly be said now , a fte r C h u rc h ill’s d e a th , sin ce H a rv a rd U niv ersity
is still in existence. H o w e v e r, sp eak ers hav e differing in tu itio n s on th is m a tte r.
[b] S o m e difference b e tw e e n th e m ean in g o f a n ac tiv e sen ten ce an d its p assiv e co u n te rp a rt h as
also b e e n n o ted in ex a m p le s such as [5] a n d [6], w h ere b o th su b ject a n d ob ject o f th e ac tiv e
se n te n c e are gen eric ( c f 5 .52ff):
B eav ers build d a m s. ^ ?D am s are bu ilt by beavers. [5]
E xcessive d r in k in g causes h ig h blood pressure. * ?H ig h blood pressu re is caused by
excessive d rin k in g . [6]
T h is differen ce, w h ic h is a difference o f preferred in te rp re ta tio n o nly, arise s fro m th e fact th a t
in su b je c t po sition, a g e n e ric p h ra se ten d s to be in te rp re te d u niversally, w hile in ob ject o r ag e n t
p o sitio n , this u n iv e rsa l m e an in g d isap p e ars. T hus th e su b ject beavers in [5] is likely to m ean
a p p ro x im ately ‘all b e a v e rs ’, w h ile dam s is likely to h a v e a sim ilarly g en eric m e an in g in th e
p assiv e co u n terp art.! \
Frequency co n strain ts
3 .7 3 T o th e stru c tu ra l a n d se m an tic re strictio n s m e n tio n e d in th e p reced in g
sectio n s, we m ay a d d ‘freq u en cy c o n stra in ts’. T h e re is a n o tab le difference in
th e freq u en cy w jth w h ich th e a ctiv e an d p a ssiv e voices a re used. T h e activ e
is gen erally by f a r th e m o re com m on, b u t th e re is c o n sid erab le v a riatio n
a m o n g in d iv id u a l te x t types. T h e passive h a s b een fo u n d to b e as m u ch as
te n tim es as fre q u e n t in o n e tex t as in a n o th e r. T h e m ajo r stylistic fa cto r
d e te rm in in g freq u e n c y seem s to be re la te d to th e d istin c tio n betw een
in fo rm ativ e a n d im a g in ativ e prose, ra th e r th a n to a difference b etw een
sp o k e n an d w r itte n E n g lish . T h e passive is gen erally m o re com m only used
in in fo rm ativ e t h a n in im ag in ativ e w riting, a n d is n o tab ly m o re freq u en t in
th e objective, im p e rso n a l style o f scientific a rticle s a n d new s rep o rtin g .
A s m ig h t be e x p ec te d , th e passive becom es very m u ch ra re r in c o m b in atio n s
w ith o th er co m p le x v erb c o n stru ctio n s (eg T y p es A D , B D , C D , A C D in
3.54). T h is r a rity is e x trem e in th e c o m b in a tio n s B C D o r A B C D (‘p erfectiv e
progressive p a ssiv e ’ a n d ‘m o d al p erfectiv e p ro g ressiv e p a ssiv e ’), p e rh ap s in
p a rt because o f a n a v o id a n ce o f th e a w k w ard n ess o f th e be being se q u e n ce :
T h e C o n serv ativ es won th e election. {1]

~ T h e e lectio n w as won by th e C onservatives. [2]
B u t:
T h e C o n serv ativ es have not been winning seats lately. [3]

~ (?)S eats have n ot been being won by th e C o n serv ativ es lately.
<rare> [4]
A s th e p assiv e p a ra p h ra s e o f [3], [4] offers n o p a rtic u la r difficulties o f
in te rp re ta tio n . B u t it is lik ely to be replaced in a ctu al use by th e sim p le r
co n stru ctio n S ea ts have n ot been won by the Conservatives lately, fro m w h ic h it
differs little in m ea n in g ( c f 4 .3 8 ,4 .4 0 N o te [a]).
T h e passive gradient
3.74 T h e p u rely fo rm al d e fin itio n o f th e passive, viz th a t th e clause co n ta in s th e
co n stru ctio n be (or get) + -e d p a rtic ip le , is very b ro ad , a n d w ould inclu d e, fo r
ex am p le, all th e follow ing se n ten c es:
T h is v iolin was m ade b y m y fa th e r. [ 1]

T h is con clu sio n is h a rd ly ju stifie d by th e results. [2]
C o al has been replaced b y o il. [3]
T h is difficulty can be avo id ed in several w ays. [4]
W e are encouraged to g o o n w ith the project. [5]

L eo n ard was interested in linguistics. [6]
T h e b u ild in g is a lre ad y dem olished. [7]
T h e m o d em w orld is g ettin g [‘beco m in g ’] m ore highly
industrialized a n d m echanized. [8]
B u t ta k in g acc o u n t o f th e v e rb ’s fu n ctio n a n d m ean in g , w e p re fe r to c o n sid er

only th o se ab o v e th e b ro k e n lin e as passive. T hose below th e line, [5 -8 ], d o
n o t h a v e a c lear c o rre sp o n d e n c e w ith a n activ e v erb p h ra se o r a ctiv e c lau se,
a n d a re in creasin g ly re m o te fro m th e ‘id eal’ p assiv e o f [1], w h ich can b e
p lac ed in d irec t c o rre sp o n d e n c e w ith a u n iq u e a ctiv e c o u n te rp art. T h e
v a rie ty o f relatio n sh ip s d isp la y e d by [1 -8 ] m ay w ell be re g ard e d a s p o in ts o n
a g ra d ie n t o r scale ru n n in g fro m [1] to a sentence such as [9], w h ic h is c learly
to b e analysed a s h a v in g a n a d je c tiv a l co m p lem en t follow ing a co p u la r v e r b :
w as
{ got
seem ed
(v ery ) tire d . [9]
T h e p o ssib ility o f in sertin g very confirm s th e a d jectiv al sta tu s o f tired.
C e n tra l passives
3.7S E x am p les [ 1 -4 ] c a n be c alled ‘c e n tra l’ o r ‘tru e ’ passives. S en ten ces [ 1] an d [2]
h a v e a d ire c t a c tiv e -p a ssiv e re la tio n . T he difference b e tw ee n th e tw o is t h a t
th e fo rm er h as a p erso n al, a n d th e la tte r a n o n p erso n al a g e n t ( c /9 .5 0 ) :
~ M y fa th e r m ade th is v io lin . [ la ]
~ T h e results h a rd ly ju s tify th is conclusion. [2a]
S e n te n c e [3] b rin g s som e u n clarity a b o u t th e n a tu re o f the a ctiv e c o u n te rp a rt.

T h e r e a re tw o p o ssib le activ e co u n te rp arts, d ep en d in g on th e in te rp re ta tio n
o f th e b y -p h ra s e :
~ O il has replaced coal. [3a']

~ (P eo p le in m an y countries) have replaced coal by oil. [3a"]
(T h e su p p lied a c tiv e subject, here a n d below , is given in p a ren th eses.)

I n th e fo rm er case, the by-phrase h a s b een in terp reted as a n a g e n t p h ra se
c o rre sp o n d in g to th e activ e subject, b u t in th e la tte r case, th e b y -p h rase has
b e e n g iv en an in stru m e n ta l in te rp re ta tio n (by = with). Sim ilarly am b ig u o u s
e x p re ss io n s a re b e confronted by I with a n d be impressed bylwith.
S e n te n c e [4] exem plifies th e m ost c o m m o n type o f passive, th a t w h ic h has
n o e x p ressed a g e n t (‘agentless p a ssiv e ’), an d so leaves th e su b je ct o f th e
a c tiv e c o u n te rp a rt u n d eterm in ed .
S e m i-p a ss iv e s
3.76 S e n te n c e s [5] a n d [6] re p re se n t a ‘m ix e d ’ o r sem i-passive class w hose m em b e rs
h a v e b o th v e rb al a n d ad jectiv al p ro p e rtie s (c f1 A 5 ff) . T hey a re v e rb -lik e in
h a v in g a ctiv e a n a lo g u e s:
W e are e n co u rag ed to go on w ith th e project. [5]
{ ~ (T he resu lts) en co u rag e us to go o n w ith th e project.

f L eo n a rd w as in terested in linguistics.
| ~ L in g u istics in terested L eo n ard .
[5a]
[6]
[6a]
O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e ir ad jectiv al p ro p e rties include th e p o ssib ility o f :
(a) c o o rd in a tin g th e p a rticip le w ith a n a d jectiv e;

(b) m o d ify in g t h e p a rticip le w ith quite, rather, more, etc;
(c) re p la cin g be by a lexical co p u la r v e rb such as fe e l o r se e m :
W e fe e l rather en co u rag ed a n d c o n te n t. . .
L e o n a rd seem ed very in te rested in an d keen on linguistics.
T o th e s e w e m ay ad d th e fa ct th a t [5] a n d [6] a re stativ e ra th e r th a n d y n am ic.

T h is in itself d o es n o t exclude a passive analysis, for th ere are s ta tiv e p assiv es
as w ell a s d y n a m ic passives, as is alread y illu strated by [2]: T his conclusion is
hardly ju stified b y the results. I t does, h o w ev er, tilt th e scales in fa v o u r o f an
a d je c tiv a l analysis, since all p a rtic ip ia l adjectives have a s ta tiv e m ean in g ,
w h e rea s c o rre sp o n d in g v erb s usually d o n ot.
In s u c h ad jectiv al uses o f th e p a st p a rtic ip le , it is rare to h a v e a by-phrase
ex p ressin g the a g en t, b u t b len d s su ch a s th e follow ing do o ccu r:
I feel ra th e r let d ow n by his indifference.

S h e seem s e x trem ely e lated by her success.
E v en -e d ad jectiv es w h ich h a v e no co rresp o n d in g active in fin itiv e o r finite

v e rb fo rm s m ay o ccasio n ally h a v e a g en t by-phrases:
W e w ere unim pressed by his a tte m p ts,

f *H is a tte m p ts unim pressed us.
~ [ H is a tte m p ts d id n o t im p ress us.
E v id en tly th e a b ility to ta k e an a g en t iy -p h ra s e c a n n o t be reg ard ed as

d iag n o stic o f th e p a ssiv e co n stru ctio n . (If fu rth er c o n firm atio n is n eed ed , it
will be fo u n d in n o u n p h ra ses w here th e a g en t 6y-phrase occurs as
p o stm o d ifier: po em s b y W ordsworth.)
T h ere are, in fa c t, several p rep o sitio n s w h ich c a n in tro d u ce ag en t-lik e
p h ra ses; n o tab ly about, at, over, to, a n d with {c f 9.49f f , 16.69):
W e w ere all w o rried about the complication. [10]

~ T h e co m p lica tio n w o rried us all. [10a]
I w as a b it su rp rise d a t her behaviour. [11]
~ H e r b e h a v io u r su rp rised m e a b it. [11a]
Y ou w o n ’t b e b o th ere d with m e an y m ore. [12]
~ I w o n ’t b o th e r you an y m ore. [12a]
T h is e d itio n w as n o t k n o w n to earlier scholars. [13]
~ E a rlie r sc h o lars d id n o t k n o w (of) th is ed itio n . [13a]
B ut ju st as a fey-phrase (as n o ted in 3.75) m ay cooccur, in an in stru m e n tal

fu n ctio n , w ith a n a ctiv e subject, so th ese ag en t-lik e p h ra ses m ay so m etim es
cooccur w ith a n a c tiv e su b ject, a n d so be in te rp rete d am biguously w h en in
th e p assiv e:
L eo n ard w as in te re s te d in linguistics.
~ (S om eone) in te rested L eo n ard in linguistics.
T h ere is th u s n o stro n g reaso n to tre a t such p re p o sitio n al p h rases, w h e th er

in tro d u ced by by o r som e o th e r p rep o sitio n , as d iag n o stic o f th e p assiv e
voice.
N o te [a] Sem i-passive co n stru c tio n s su ch a s those o f [1 0 -1 3 ] ca n h av e a clause as co m p lem en tatio n

(c/16.71):
I w as su rp rised th a t th e fo o d was so good. [14]
In such cases, th e clau sal co m p lem en tatio n ca n also be seen as analogous to an a g e n t; cf:
~ That the fo o d was so good su rp rised m e. [ 14a]
[b] B e know n (to) differs fro m o th e r ex am p les o f th e sem i-passive in la ck in g th e c a u sativ e featu re
o f be worried (about), be surprised (at), etc, an d in not ta k in g m odifiers like quite an d rather :
I w as ra th e r su rp rise d a t h e r m ethods.
but:
* H er m e th o d s a re ra th e r kn o w n to me.
(O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e be know n (to) co n stru ctio n can be intensified by w ell ; b u t th e sequence
well known ca n b e h y p h e n a te d , a n d is p e rh a p s a com pound here.)
P s e u d o -p a s s iv e s
3.77 Finally, [7] a n d [8] h a v e n e ith e r an a ctiv e tran sfo rm n o r a p ossibility o f ag en t
a d d itio n :
T h e b u ild in g is a lre ad y dem olished. [7]

T h e m o d e rn w orld is g ettin g m o re highly in d u stria liz ed an d
m ec h an iz ed . [8]
Such ex am p les m ay b e called ‘p seudo-passives’, sin ce it is chiefly only th e ir

superficial fo rm o f v erb + -ed p a rticip le th a t reco m m en d s th em for
co n sid eratio n as p assiv es. In term s o f m ean in g , th e activ e sen ten ce
co rresp o n d in g to [7] is n o t [7a'], b u t [7a"]:
?* (S o m eo n e) a lre ad y d em olishes th e building. [7a']

(S o m eo n e) h a s a lre ad y dem olished th e b uilding. [7a"]
T h a t is, is dem olished d e n o te s a re su ltan t s ta te : it refers, like th e perfective,

to a s ta te resulting fro m th e dem olition, ra th e r th a n to th e a c t o f d em o litio n
its e lf. S u ch a c o n stru c tio n h as been term ed a ‘s ta ta l p assiv e’. In th is
c o n n e c tio n , w e n o te th a t an am b ig u ity is e v id e n t p a rticu larly in th e p a st
te n s e :
I n 1972, th e D e m o c ra ts w ere defeated.
O n th e d y n a m ic (cen tral passive) read in g , th is m e a n s ‘Som eone d e feated the

D e m o c r a ts ’; o n th e s ta ta l (copular) read in g , it m ea n s ‘T h e D e m o crats w ere
in a s ta te o f h a v in g b e en d e fea te d ’. The: first re ad in g c a n b e singled o u t by
a d d in g th e a g e n t p h r a s e :
I n 1972, th e D e m o c ra ts w ere d efeated by th e R ep u b lican s.
T h e first (passive) r e a d in g c a n also b e p ick e d o u t if w e ch an g e th e v erb to the

p ro g re s siv e a sp e ct:
I n 1972, th e D e m o c ra ts w ere b eing d efeated .
N e ith e r o f th ese tests a p p ly to th e sta ta l p assiv e c o n stru ctio n b ecause it is

e sse n tia lly c o p u lar, th e v e rb be in th is case b ein g th e co p u la ra th e r th a n th e
p a s s iv e au x iliary .
S im ila rly , th e p a rtic ip le s in [8] h ave a d je ctiv al v alu es: c o m p are industrial
iz e d w ith industrial a n d m echanized w ith m echanical, a n d n o te th a t th ese -ed
w o rd s c a n b e used ad jectiv ally in p h ra ses lik e the industrialized world.
M o re o v e r, n o ‘p e rfo rm e r’ c a n be co n ceiv ed o f: a n industrialized world is
sim p ly a w orld th a t h a s re ac h ed a state o f in d u stria liz atio n . O n ce w e com e to
e x a m p le s like th is, w e a re firm ly in th e territo ry o f be as a co p u la rep laceab le
b y o th e r co p u la r v e rb s su ch as become, fe e l, seem , remain, e tc : She became
enraged, I f e lt cheated, etc. H ere th e -ed w o rd is a co m p le m e n t, a n d th erefo re
a d je c tiv a l.
N o te [a] T h e r e is a p seu d o -p assiv e c o n stru c tio n w ith in tra n sitiv e v e rb s o f m o tio n o r com p letio n in
w h ic h th e p artic ip le is a c tiv e ra th e r th a n passive in m e a n in g :
W h y are all th o se c a rs stopped a t th e co rn er?
By th e tim e sh e got th e re , h e r friend was gone.
1 7 /so o n be fin ish e d w ith th is jo b .
W i th m o st in tra n sitiv e v erb s, th is construction h as b een su p ersed ed by th e perfectiv e
c o n s tru c tio n , whi<?h is alm o st synonym ous. C o m p a re M a ry has com e w ith th e a rch a ic M a r y is
com e. T h e so m ew h at m e lo d ra m a tic im p erativ e B e gone m ay b e w ritte n as a single w ord Begone ,
a n d is so m etim es, lik e B ew are (c /3 .5 4 N o te), tre a te d as a n in fin itiv e: I told them to begone fr o m
m y sight.
[b] A sim ila r pseu d o -p assiv e is used w ith verbs o f p o s tu re :
G r a n d f a th e r vvcri1s a t in th e ro ck in g chair.
Y v e been stood h ere fo r a b o u t te n m inutes.
I n th is case, th e co n stru c tio n is largely synonym ous w ith , th o u g h less com m on th a n , th e
p ro g re ssiv e c o n s tru c tio n : was sitting , 've been standing , etc.
[c] T h e ‘n o tio n al p a ssiv e ’ w ith a n in tran sitiv e ac tiv e v erb , as in The clock winds up a t the back
[‘c a n b e w ound u p ’] is discu ssed u n d e r w o rd-form ation (A p p 1.54).
S um m ary
3.78 S u m m arizin g th e p a ssiv e g ra d ie n t as exem plified in 3.74, we m ay set u p th e
follow ing c la ss e s:
I C e n tra l p a ssiv es
(a) W ith e x p ressed ag en ts: [1], [2], [3]
(b) W ith o u t e x p ressed ag en ts: [4]
II S em i-p assiv es: [5], [6]
I I I P seu d o -p assiv es
(a) W ith ‘c u rre n t’ c o p u la r v e rb s be, fe e l, look , e tc : [7]
(b) W ith ‘re su ltin g ’ co p u lar v erb s g e t , become , grow , e tc : [8]
( c f 1 6 .21-23 fo r th e term s ‘c u rre n t’ a n d ‘resu ltin g ’.)
F o r g en e ra l tre a tm e n ts o f th e E n g lish v e rb , see P a lm e r (1974); A llen (1966); Joos (1 9 6 4 );

H u d d lesto n (1976a).
O n v erb in flectio n s, see H id alg o (1967); Q u irk (1970a).
O n re d u ce d a n d c o n tra c te d form s, see B lack (1977); B row n a n d M illar (1980); C h e s h ire
(1981); J o rg en sen (1979); Z w ick y (1970).
O n te n se a n d a sp e c t, see C o m rie (1976); D u sk o v a (1974); N eh ls (197 5 ,1 9 8 0 ); T e d e sc h i a n d
Z a e n e n (1981); also f u r th e r referen ces in th e B ib lio g rap h ical N o te to C h. 4.
O n th e p ro g ressiv e a s p e c t in p articu lar, see A dam czew sk i (1978); D uskova (1971b); H a llid a y
(1980); L ju n g (1980).
O n au x ilia ries in re la tio n to m a in verb s, see H u d d lesto n (1 974,1980); L a n g ack er (1978); N e y
(1981); P u llu m a n d W ilso n (1977); R eich (1968); R oss (1969); T w addell (1965).
O n specific verb s a n d sp ecial cases o f a u x ilia ry o r m a in verb classification, see C h a p in (19 7 3 );
C ollins (1978); C ro w ell (1959); H aeg em an (1980); Jaco b sso n (1974,1980); Q u irk a n d D u c k w o rth
(1961); S e p p an e n (1977); S v a rtv ik an d W rig h t (1977); T o ttie (1971, 1978).
O n m o d a l au x ilia ry v e rb s, see G re e n b a u m (1974); K alo g jera (1967); Lee (1978); M elc h ers
(1980); R ay n a u d (1977); also fu rth e r referen ces in th e B ibliographical N o te to C h. 4 . T h e
freq u en cy d a t a in 3.3 9 is d e riv e d from C o a te s (1983) a n d H ofland a n d Jo h an sso n (1982).
O n th e su b ju n ctiv e, see H aeg em an (fo rth co m in g b ); Jaco b sso n (1975); T u rn e r (1980).
O n th e im p e ra tiv e , see L e v in (1979); S tein (1976); also fu rth e r references in th e B ib lio g rap h ical
N o te to C h . 8.
O n th e p assiv e v o ic e, see B en n ett (1980); B olinger (1975b, 1978c); B uyssens (1979); C o u p e r-
K u h le n (1979); D a v id so n (1980); D u sk o v a (1971a, 1972); G ra n g e r (1981); M ih ailo v ic (1 9 6 7 );
P o ld a u f (1969); S te in (1979); S v artv ik (1966). F o r freq u en c y d a ta , see S v artv ik (1966) a n d
G ra n g e r (1981).
O th e r re le v a n t stu d ie s in c lu d e G re e n b a u m (1977a); Jaco b sso n (1965); W o n d e r(l9 7 0 ).
F o r stu d ie s re la tin g m o re p articu larly to m e an in g in th e v erb p h rase, consult th e B ib lio g rap h ical
N o te to C h . 4.
4 The sem antics of the verb phrase
4.1 In tro d u c tio n 175
4.2-16 T im e , te n s e , a n d th e v e rb 175
.3 T h e p r e s e n t t e n s e a s ‘n o n p a s t ’ 176
.4 S i t u a t i o n t y p e s : s t a t i v e a n d d y n a m ic v e r b s e n s e s 177
.5 -7 M e a n i n g s o f t h e s i m p l e p r e s e n t te n s e w i t h r e f e r e n c e to
p re s e n t tim e 179
.5 (a ) S t a t e p r e s e n t 179
.6 (b ) H a b itu a l p r e s e n t 179
.7 (c ) I n s t a n t a n e o u s p r e s e n t 180
.8-10 S p e c ia l n o n p r e s e n t u s e s o f t h e p r e s e n t t e n s e 181
.8 ( a ) S im p le p r e s e n t r e f e r r i n g t o t h e p a s t 181
.9 (b ) S im p le p r e s e n t re fe rr in g to t h e f u tu r e 182
.10 (c ) S im p le p r e s e n t i n f ic tio n a l n a r r a t i v e 183
.11-15 M e a n in g s o f th e p a s t te n s e w ith re fe re n c e to p a s t tim e 183
.12 S itu a tio n a l u s e o f th e p a s t te n se 184
.13 A n a p h o ric a n d c a ta p h o r ic u se o f th e p a s t te n s e 184
.14-15 E v e n t, s ta te , a n d h a b i t in th e p a s t 186
.16 M e a n i n g s o f t h e p a s t te n s e w i t h r e f e r e n c e t o p r e s e n t a n d
- fu tu re tim e 187
4.17 - Perfective and progressive aspects 188
4.18-24 Perfective aspect 189

.20-23 T h e p r e s e n t p e r f e c t i v e 192
.21-22 V a r ia n ts o f th e in d e fin ite p a s t m e a n in g 193
.23 T h e u s e o f a d v e r b i a l s w i t h t h e s im p le p a s t a n d th e p re s e n t
p e rfe c tiv e 194
.24 T h e p a s t p e rfe c tiv e 195
4.25-37 P ro g re s s ive a s p e c t 197

.26 S ta te , e v e n t , a n d h a b i t w i t h t h e p r o g r e s s i v e 198
.27-35 S i t u a t i o n t y p e s 200
.28-31 S t a t i v e t y p e s A a n d B : q u a l i t i e s a n d s t a t e s 200
.29 ‘P r i v a t e ’ s t a t e s 202
.30 V e rb s o f p e rc e p tio n 203
.31 O t h e r s t a t e s o f ‘b e i n g ’ a n d ‘h a v i n g ’ 205
.32 T y p e C : s ta n c e 205
.33-35 D y n a m i c t y p e s D - K 206
.34 D u r a t i v e s i t u a t i o n ty p e s 207
.35 P u n c t u a l s i t u a t i o n ty p e s 208
.3 6 P ro g ressiv e a sp ect in re la tio n to ten se 209
.3 7 O th e r u ses o f th e p rogressive a sp ect 210
4.38-40 Perfective progressive 210
4.41-48 Som e means of expressing future time 213

.4 2 W i l l j s h a l l + in fin itiv e 21 3
.4 3 B e g o in g to + in fin itiv e 214
.4 4 P r e s e n t p rogressive 215
.4 5 S im p le p re sen t 215
.4 6 W illjs h a U + pro g ressiv e in fin itiv e 216
.4 7 C o n c lu d in g co m m e n ts o n co n stru ctio n s expressing fu tu re
tim e 217
.4 8 F u tu re tim e in th e p a st 218
4.49-65 M eanings of the modal verbs 219

.5 2 C a n /c o u ld 221
.5 3 M a y /m ig h t 223
.5 4 M ust 224
.5 5 N e e d , h a v e ( g o t) to 226
.56 O u g h t t o an d s h o u ld 227
.57 W i l l / w o u l d ( ’l l / ’d ) 228
.58 S h a ll 229
.5 9 -6 4 T h e p a s t ten se fo rm s o f th e m o d a ls : c o u ld , m ig h t, w o u ld , a n d
sh o u ld 231
.6 0 ‘P a s t tim e ’ in in d ire c t sp eech 231
.61 ‘P a s t tim e ’ in o th e r c o n stru ctio n s 2 31
.62 H y p o th e tic a l m ea n in g 232
.63 T e n ta tiv e n e ss o r p o liten ess \ c o u ld , m ig h t, a n d w o u ld 233
.6 4 ‘M o o d m a rk e rs’: w o u ld a n d s h o u ld 234
.65 T h e m o d als w ith th e p e rfe c tiv e ,a n d p rogressive a sp e cts 235
4 .66 T h e meanings of marginal auxiliaries 236
4.67-68 M eaning in the nonfinite verb phrase 237

Tim e , tense, and the verb 175
I n t r o d u c tio n
In th is c h a p te r w e e x am in e th e sem an tics o f th e v e rb p h rase, an d in p a rtic u la r
o f th e fin ite v e rb p h ra se . W e tu rn o u r a tte n tio n to th e m ean in g s a sso c iated
w ith ten se, a sp e c t, a n d th e m o d al au x iliaries, h a v in g already d e alt w ith th e
m o rp h o lo g y a n d sy n tax o f th ese categories in 3 .5 2 -7 . T h e c h a p te r w ill
conclude w ith so m e o b se rv atio n s on th e m ea n in g s o f verbs o n th e g ra d ie n t
betw een a u x ilia rie s a n d m a in verbs, an d o f n o n fin ite verb phrases.
I t is u n fo rtu n a te th a t th e term inology used in discussing th e verb p h ra s e
o ften te m p ts u s to co n fu se d istin ctio n s o f g ra m m a tic a l form w ith d istin c tio n s
o f m ean in g . T h is a p p lie s to term s such as ‘a sp e c t’, ‘p erfectiv e’, ‘p ro g ressiv e ’,
a n d ‘m o d a lity ’, w h ic h , a s n a m e s for g ra m m atica l categories, also reflect th e ir
ty p ical m ea n in g s. B u t p re em in e n tly it ap p lies to th e term s ‘p re se n t’ an d ‘p a s t ’
used in re fe rrin g to ten ses o f th e v erb . T h e E n g lish p re sen t tense, fo r in stan c e,
usually, b u t b y n o m e a n s alw ays, signifies p re se n t tim e ( c /4 .5 -1 0 ). T h e
asso ciatio n b e tw e e n p re se n t ten se a n d p re sen t tim e is strong en o u g h to m a k e
th e te rm ‘p re s e n t te n s e ’ p lau sib ly a p p ro p ria te , a n d a t th e sam e tim e ,
p o ten tially m isle a d in g .
Tim e, tense, and the verb
I t is th ere fo re w ise to b eg in b y d istin g u ish in g th re e d ifferent levels o n w h ic h

th e term s ‘p re s e n t’ a n d ‘p a s t’ can be in te rp rete d . F irst, in a b stra c tio n fro m
an y g iv en lan g u a g e, tim e c a n b e th o u g h t o f a s a lin e (theoretically, o f in fin ite
length) o n w h ic h is lo cated , as a con tin u o u sly m o v in g p o in t, th e p re s e n t
m o m en t. A n y th in g a h e a d o f th e p re sen t m o m e n t is in th e fu tu re, a n d
an y th in g b e h in d it is in th e p a s t:
T H E PR E SE N T M OM ENT
I
P A ST ______________________V _________________ F U T U R E
I
I
[n o w ]
F i g 4 .2 a
T h is is a n in te rp re ta tio n o f p a st, p resen t, a n d fu tu re o n a r e f e r e n t i l level.

F
B ut in re la tin g th is v iew o f tim e to lan g u ag e an d , m o re precisely, to th e

m ean in g o f v e rb s, it is usefu l to re fo rm u late th e th reefo ld d istin c tio n s u c h
th a t ‘p re s e n t’ is d efin ed in a n inclusive ra th e r th a n in an exclusive w a y :
so m eth in g is d efin ed as ‘p re s e n t’ if it h as ex isten ce a t th e p re se n t m o m e n t,
allow ing fo r th e p o ssib ility th a t its existen ce m ay also stre tc h in to th e p a s t
an d in to th e fu tu re. H e n c e Paris stands on the R iver Seine m ay b e co rrectly
said to d e scrib e a ‘p re s e n t’ s ta te o f affairs, ev en th o u g h th is s ta te o f affairs
has also o b ta in e d fo r n u m ero u s cen tu ries in th e p a st, a n d m ay w ell e xist fo r
a n in d efin ite p e rio d in th e f u tu r e :
176 T h e sem antics o f the verb phrase
[n o w ]
__________v_________ „
PAST TIME __ | j ^ FUTURE TIME
[p re c e d in g n o w ] j [ fo llo w in g n o w ]
I
I
I
PRESENT TIME
[ i n c lu d in g n o w ]
F ig 4 .2 b
O n th is second, o r s e m n t i c level o f in te rp re ta tio n , th en , ‘p re se n t’ is th e m ost

F
g e n e ra l a n d u n m a rk e d category. I n c o n tra st to [1], w h ic h is a generic

s ta te m e n t ap p lic ab le to p re sen t, p ast, a n d fu tu re, [2] is a m o re lim ited
s ta te m e n t, suggesting th a t th e alb atro ss, lik e th e d qdo, is e x tin c t:
A lb atro sses a r e larg e b ird s. [1]

A lb atro sses were larg e b ird s. [2]
T h e a u th o r o f [2] does n o t c o m m it h im self to th e c o n tin u a tio n o f th e p a st

s ta te o f affairs it d e sc rib e s in to th e p resen t. T h e sam e a p p lie s to sen ten ces o f
m o re lim ite d tim e s p a n :
J o h n spends a lo t o f m oney, [true fo r p a st, p resen t, a n d future]

J o h n spent a lo t o f m o n ey , [true fo r p a s t only]
N o te N e v e rth e le s s , a se n te n ce lik e [2] d o es n o t exclude th e po ssib ility o f su ch a c o n tin u atio n . It is

p o ssib le to assert, w ith o u t in c o n sisten cy : Albatrosses were, are, a n d alw ays will be large birds.
T h e present tense as 'nonpast'

4 .3 I n 4 .2 w e d istin g u ish ed p a st, p re sen t a n d fu tu re o n a refe re n tia l level, an d
also o n a sem an tic level. I t re m a in s only to m en tio n th e fa m ilia r fa ct th a t
‘p re s e n t’ an d ‘p a s t’ are also in te rp re te d o n a g ra m m atica l level, in reference
to ten se. H ere, ihow ever, th e th reefo ld o p p o sitio n is red u ced to tw o, since
m o rp h o lo g ically E n g lish h as n o fu tu re fo rm o f th e v erb in a d d itio n to p resen t
a n d p a s t form s. S o m e g ra m m a ria n s h a v e arg u ed for a th ird , ‘fu tu re ten se’,
m a in ta in in g th a t E n g lish realizes th is ten se by th e use o f a n au x iliary verb
c o n stru c tio n (su ch as w ill + in fin itiv e): b u t w e p re fe r to follow those
g ra m m a ria n s Who h a v e tre a te d ten se strictly as a categ o ry realized by verb
in flectio n . In th is g ra m m a r, th en , w e d o n o t ta lk a b o u t th e f u t u r e as a
fo rm al c ateg o ry : w h a t w e d o say is th a t c ertain g ra m m a tic a l co n stru ctio n s
a re c a p a b le o f e x p ressin g th e se m an tic c ateg o ry o f f u t u r e t i m e ( c f 4 .4 lff).
S om e g ra m m aria n s h a v e go n e fu rth er, a v o id in g th e te rm ‘p re sen t’ in
re fe re n ce to ten se, a n d p re fe rrin g ‘n o n p a st’. T h e term s p r e s e n t t e n s e an d
p s t
F t e n s e have th is ju s tific a tio n : th a t th e ten ses th ey n a m e typically have
re fe re n ce to p re se n t a n d p a s t tim e re sp ec tiv e ly :
S h e is quite w ell to d ay . Y e ste rd a y sh e was sick.
B ut th e re is also so m e m o rp h o lo g ical ju stificatio n fo r tre a tin g th e p re sen t as

th e u n m ark e d ten se, sin ce it is o ften realized by th e base o r u n in flected form
o f th e v erb (c o m p are th e p re s e n t tense I n e e d a r e s t w ith th e p a st te n s e I

n e e d e d a r e s t). T h e re is also a sem an tic ju stificatio n , to th e e x te n t th a t th e
p re se n t ten se m ay be used to express n ot only p resen t b u t fu tu re tim e .
C o n tra s t:
Y e s te r d a y ! ' S } S un d ay . T oday is M onday.

I w as I T om orrow is T uesday.
N o tic e w e c a n use th e p re se n t ten se in q u estio n in g som eone a b o u t a fu tu re

a c tiv ity a s w ell as a b o u t a p re se n t o n e :
, , . . , „ fW h a t a re you doing to d ay ?
* W h a t a re you d o in g y e sterd a y ? < ° „
J I W h at are you doing to m o rro w ?
A n d w e can use th e p re sen t fo rm o f th e m o d al w ith fu tu re m ean in g , b u t n o t

w ith p a st m e a n in g :
*T l i . , f I can h elp you today.

*1 c a n h elp you y esterd ay . {.
J 1 . I I can help you tom orrow .
W e h a v e good reaso n for a rg u in g , th erefo re, th a t th e se m an tic tria d o f p a s t,

p re sen t, a n d fu tu re is u n eq u ally se p a ra ted in to p a st an d n o n p a st c ateg o rie s
fo r th e p u rp o ses o f tense. T ra d itio n an d fa m iliarity fav o u r th e re te n tio n o f
th e lab el ‘p re se n t’ in p lace o f ‘n o n p a st’. B ut th is co ncession p laces u p o n us
th e resp o n sib ility o f co n tin u ally m ain tain in g a c lear d istin c tio n b e tw e e n
p re s e n t a n d p a st t e n s e , o n th e o n e h a n d , a n d p re sen t a n d p a s t t i m e o n th e
o th er.
S ituation typ es: stative and dynam ic verb senses

T h e sem an tic categ o ries o f p a st, p resen t, a n d fu tu re apply, in fact, n o t so
m u c h to tim e, as to h a p p en in g s w h ich tak e p lace in tim e, a n d w h ic h a re
d e n o te d by verbs. T h e p o in t m ay be m ad e in th e follow ing w ay:
M a ry h o p e d fo r su c cess. r e f e r s t o a p a s t h o p e o f M ary.
P e te r k n o w s a g re a t d eal. r e f e r s t o P e te r’s p r e s e n t k n o w l e d g e .
T h e h o m e tea m w ill b e d e fe a te d , r e f e r s TO a f u t u r e d e f e a t o f th e h o m e
team .
N o te th a t th e sam e co n cep t c a n b e expressed b o th by a v e rb an d b y an

a b s tra c t n o u n . S u ch w ords d e n o te p h en o m en a ex istin g in tim e, v a rio u sly
c alled ‘s ta te s’, ‘e v en ts’, ‘a c tio n s’, ‘processes’, ‘a c tiv itie s’, etc. R e g re tta b ly
th e re is n o single g en eric te rm for su ch ‘v erb -d en o ted p h e n o m e n a ’, b u t we
sh all d istin g u ish d ifferen t c ateg o ries u n d e r th e title o f s i t u F t i o n t y p e s
(ic f fu rth e r 4 .2 7 # ).
P u rsu in g th e analo g y b etw een n o u n s a n d v erb s fu rth er, w e observ e th a t
ju s t a s a n a b stra c t n o u n refe rrin g to a n e v en t can b e sin g u lar o r p lu ral, so th e
co rre sp o n d in g v e rb can b e ‘p lu ralized ’ th ro u g h th e use o f freq u en cy
a d v e rb ia ls:
A S IN G L E E V EN T F P L U R A L IT Y O F EVENTS
V esu v iu s e r u p te d in 77 A D . T h e co u n try w a s in v a d e d m an y
= I n 77 A D th ere w as a n tim es. = T h ere w ere m a n y
e r u p tio n o f V esuvius. in v a sio n s o f th e country.
178 T h e sem antics of the verb phrase
S u ch v e rb s a s erupt a n d invade are th erefo re c o m p arab le to co u n t n o u n s. O n e

sign o f th is is th a t w h e n su ch v erb s are u sed w ith th e p re sen t p e rfe c tiv e , th ey
c a n n o t in d ic a te a single u n b ro k e n sta te u p to th e p resen t:
I have driven sp o rts c a rs for years. [ 1]
T h is d o e s n o t re fe r to a n u n in te rru p ted s ta te o f car-d riv in g , b u t r a th e r to a

se q u e n ce o f se p a ra te car-d riv in g events. O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e re a re v erb s
lik e (u su ally ) be, have, a n d know w h ich re fe r to states, an d w h ich in d ic a te a n
u n b ro k e n s ta te in se n ten c es oth erw ise sim ila r to [ 1]:
I h ave know n th e P e n fo ld s all m y life. [2]
S u ch v e rb s also o c cu r less read ily w ith freq u en cy a d v e rb ia ls:
? T h e c h a ir h as b e au tifu l carv ed legs quite frequently. [3]
O n th is b asis, w e d ra w a b ro ad d istin c tio n b etw een d y n m i c (co u n t) F
m e a n in g s a n d s t t i v e (n o n co u n t) m ea n in g s o f verbs. I t should b e n o ted ,

F
th o u g h , th a t w e ta lk o f d y n am ic a n d s ta tiv e meanings, ra th e r th a n d y n a m ic
a n d s ta tiv e verbs. T h is is becau se o n e v e rb m ay sh ift, in m ean in g , fro m o n e
c a te g o ry to a n o th e r. C o n trast, fo r ex am p le, th e stativ e m ea n in g o f have
[ = ‘p o ssess’] in [3] w ith a d y n a m ic m ea n in g o f have [‘e a t’] in [4]:
W e have d in n e r a t M a x im ’s quite freq u en tly. [4]
H a v in g c arv e d legs is a sta te , w hile h av in g d in n e r is a n e v en t ( c /3 .3 4 /) .

O n e o f th e c h a ra c te ris tic s o f d y n am ic.v erb senses is th a t th ey o fte n (b u t by
n o m e a n s alw ays) im p ly ag en tiv ity (c /1 0 .1 9 ); ie th ey im ply a n a c tiv e d o e r
(in itia to r, p e rfo rm e r) o f th e actio n co n cern ed . H e n ce d y n am ic v e rb m ea n in g s
c a n re g u la rly o c c u r w ith th e im p erativ e, b u t s ta tiv e verb m ea n in g s c a n n o t:
L e a r n h ow to sw im . * K now how to sw im .
V erb s w ith d y n a m ic m ea n in g s m o reo v er c a n generally o ccu r fo llo w in g do in

a p se u d o -cleft sen ten c e ( c /1 8 .2 9 /):
i
W h a t she d id w as (to) learn S panish.

* W h a t sh e d id w as (to) know S p an ish .
T h e d y n a m ic /s ta tiv e d istin c tio n is n o t clear-cu t, how ever. W h en w e c o m e to

stu d y a sp e c t (see esp 4.25/T) w e shall need to look critically a t th is d istin c tio n ,
a n d to suggest v a rio u s su b d iv isio n s o f e a c h category. B u t a c o arse b in a ry
c o n tra s t is all th a t is re q u ire d for th e stu d y o f tense.
T h e d istin c tio n b e tw e e n sta tiv e a n d d y n a m ic v e rb m ean in g s is th e re fo re a
ro u g h -an d -re a d y o n e w h ich will b e refined la te r { c f A . l l f f ). T h ere a re so m e
v erb s {e g : stand, lie ; c f 4.32) w hose m ea n in g s c a n n o t be ad eq u a te ly d e sc rib e d
in te rm s o f th is d ich o to m y .
N o te [a] In so m e cases, th e sam e v e rb can be eith e r d y n a m ic (referring to a n e v e n t) o r sta tiv e

(re ferrin g to th e state resu ltin g fro m th a t event). H en ce th e v irtu al equivalence, in so m e c o n tex ts,
o f I've g o t th e idea an d I g et the id e a ; also o f I've fo rg o tten a n d Ifo rg et.
[b] K now c a n be used ab n o rm a lly in th e sense o f ‘m a k e su re th a t you kn o w ’ in im p e ra tiv e s su ch
as:
K now th is poem b y h e a rt by n ex t w eek.
T h e re is also an ex c ep tio n a l dy n am ic use o f know in th e arc h a ic im p erativ e Know th y s e lf!
Tim e, tense, and the verb 179
M eanings of the sim ple present tense w ith reference

to present tim e
(a) S ta te present
4 .5 W ith sta tiv e v e rb sen ses, th e p re s e n t is used w ith o u t referen ce to specific
tim e : ie , th ere is n o in h e re n t lim ita tio n o n th e e x ten sio n o f th e sta te in to th e
p a st a n d fu tu re (unless su ch a lim ita tio n is in d icated by a d v erb ials o r o th e r
elem en ts o f th e clause). T h e s t t e p r e s e n t , as we m ay call th is categ o ry ,
F
includes g en eral tim eless s ta te m e n ts, o r so-called ‘e te rn al tru th s ’ :
H o n esty is th e b e st policy.
W a te r c o n s is ts o f h y d ro g en a n d oxygen.
T w o a n d th re e m a k e five.
T h e e a rth m o v e s ro u n d th e sun.
W h ereas p ro v erb ial, scien tific, o r m ath e m a tic al sta te m e n ts like th ese
re p resen t th e e x tre m e o f tem p o ral u n iv ersality , g eo g rap h ical sta te m en ts a r e
equally likely to b e e x am p les o f t h e ‘tim eless p re sen t’:
T h e N ile is th e lo n g est riv e r in A frica.

Peru s h a r e s a b o rd e r w ith C hile.
W e c a n also in clu d e w ith th e s ta te p re sen t exam ples su ch as th e follow ing,

w here o u r know led g e o f th e w orld tells us th a t th e tim e s p a n o f th e state is to
a g reater o r lesser d e g ree r e s tr ic te d :
M a rg aret is tall. E veryone lik e s M au rice.

H e d o e s n o t b e lie v e in h a rd w o rk . T h is soup ta s te s delicious.
She k n o w s sev eral lan g u ag es. W e liv e n e a r T o ro n to .
N o te [a] A u th o rs often use a k in d o f ‘tim eless p re s e n t’ in ad dressing th e ir read e rs a b o u t th e c o n te n ts

o f th e ir b ook. In th e p re se n t b o o k , fo r e x a m p le, we use such expressions a s :
T h e la st ex am p le shows t h a t . . .
[b] S entences such a s * W e live m a r Toronto since 1949, in w h ich th e sim p le p resen t is c o m b in ed
w ith an ad v erb ial o f d u ra tio n , d o n o t n o rm ally occur. T his is because th e a d v e rb ia l is in te rp re te d
as defining a period o f ‘liv in g ’ le ad in g u p to th e p resen t m o m en t, a n d h en ce as referrin g to tim e
before th e presen t ( c f 4.20/7). T h e re fo re , ev en th o u g h th e state referred to m ay w ell co n tin u e in
th e future, th e p resen t p erfec tiv e ra th e r th a n th e presen t is used. P articu la rly in A m E , h ow ever,
th is req u irem en t is so m etim e s re lax ed , a n d sen te n ces lik e Since when d o yo u read newspapers?
a re q u ite often h ea rd ( c /f u r th e r 14.26).
(b) H a b itu al present

4.6 W h en th ey are used w ith th e sim p le p resen t, d y n am ic verb m ean in g s, lik e
sta tiv e verb m ean in g s, u sually im ply a n in h eren tly u n re stric te d tim e sp a n .
B u t in th is case th e v e rb re fe rs to a w hole sequence o f ev en ts, re p ea te d o v e r
th e perio d in q u e s tio n :
W e go to B russels e v ery y e ar. Bill d r in k s heavily.

She m a k e s h e r o w n dresses. W ater b o ils a t 100°C.
A s the last ex am p le show s, th e h i t u l p r e s e n t also resem b les the sta te

F | F
p resen t in b ein g used fo r ‘tim eless’ statem en ts. I t is a sign o f th e h a b itu a l

p resen t th a t o n e can easily ad d a freq u en cy a d v erb ial to specify th e freq u en cy
o f th e r e p e titio n : B i l l d r i n k s h e a v i ly e v e r y n ig h t, etc. Som e h a b itu a l sta te m en ts,
s u c h a s W e go to B russels, a re contextually in co m p lete unless such an

a d v e r b ia l is ad d ed . W h ere as th e state p resen t alw ays refers to som ething
w h ic h o b ta in s a t th e tim e o f sp eak in g , th js is n o t n ecessarily , o r ev en usually,
tr u e o f th e h a b itu a l p resen t.
N o te [a] V e r b s o f sta tiv e m e an in g m a y so m etim es be used in a h ab itu a l sense w h en ac co m p an ied by

a f r e q u e n c y a d v e rb ia l: Sh e is seldom alone.
[b] A h a b itu a l use o f th e p re se n t ten se occurs in a ‘tim eless’ sense in au th o ria l ad d ress to th e
r e a d e r o n a b o o k ’s c o n te n t ( c f 4.5 N o te [a]): W e turn now to the question o f . . . T h is m a y be
a lte r n a tiv e ly view ed a s a special case o f th e in stan tan eo u s p resen t ( c / th e use o f th e p resen t in
d e m o n s tr a tio n s in 4.7 below).
(c ) I n s ta n ta n e o u s p resen t
4.7 W h ile th e h a b itu a l p re se n t is th e m o st co m m o n m ea n in g o f th e sim ple
p r e s e n t w ith a d y n am ic v e rb sense, a second po ssib ility , th e i n s t n t n e o u s F F
p r e s e n t , occu rs w h ere th e v erb refers to a single a ctio n b eg u n a n d com pleted
a p p ro x im a te ly a t th e m o m e n t o f speech. W e m ay th u s a d d to th e sta te p resen t

a n d h a b itu a l p re sen t, w h ic h resp ectiv ely co rresp o n d to n o n c o u n t a n d p lu ral
c o u n t n o u n s, a th ird m ea n in g c o rresp o n d in g to th a t o f sin g u lar c o u n t nouns.
F ig u re 4 .7 illu stra te s the th re e c en tral uses o f th e sim p le p re se n t w ith referen ce
to p r e s e n t t im e :
__________________ V_________________ „
[n o w ]
I
STATE PRESENT
I
I
• • • • • • • HABITUAL PRESENT
I
I
^ INSTANTANEOUS PRESENT
F ig 4 .7
T h e in s ta n ta n e o u s p re sen t, how ever, becau se it im plies th a t th e e v en t has

little o r n o d u ra tio n , does n o t o ccu r o u tsid e som e ra th e r re stric te d situations.
S u ch situ a tio n s in clu d e th e follow ing:
c o m m e n t F r ie s :
B lack p asses th e b all to F e r n a n d e z . . . F e rn a n d e z sh o o ts !
D E M O N ST R A T IO N S A N D O T H E R SELF-C O M M EN TA RIES:
I p ic k up th e fru it w ith a skew er, dip it in to th e b a tte r, an d lower it
in to th e h o t fat.
I enclose (h e re w ith ) a fo rm o f ap p licatio n .
s p e c i l
F e x c l Fm t o r y
F s e n t e n c e s (w ith in itial a d v e rb ia ls ):
H e re com es th e w in n e r! U p you go. ( c f 18.23)

P E R FO R M A T IV E S'.
I advise you to w ith d raw . I apologize. W e th a n k you fo r yo u r recen t
in q u iry .
T h e v e rb in p e rfo rm a tiv e s (c /1 1 .3 ) is o ften a v erb o f sp e a k in g (such as

request, advise, predict) d e sc rib in g th e sp eech a c t o f w h ich it is a p art. O th e r
p erfo rm a tiv e s su ch a s I r e s ig n d escribe ritu a l acts an d are accep ted as th e

o u tw a rd sign th a t su c h acts are tak in g place. In th ese cases, th en , th e re is
b o u n d to be sim u lta n e ity b etw een th e ev en t d escrib ed an d th e sp eech e v e n t
itself. In o th e r cases, a lth o u g h such sim u ltan eity does n o t o b ta in in an y e x a c t
sense, th ere is a n im p lic a tio n o f sim ultaneity w hich gives th e u tte ran c e w ith
th e in s ta n ta n e o u s p re s e n t a so m ew h at th ea tric al q uality. A g ain st th e r o u tin e
o rd in arin ess o f th e p re s e n t progressive in C a r lo s is w in n in g , w e m ay p lace t h e
d ra m a tic a ir o f C a r lo s w in s ! w hich p in p o in ts th e final a n d clim actic m o m e n t
o f victory.
N o te [a] In o ld e r E n g lish , th e sim p le p resen t w as used m ore w idely w ith refere n ce to a p resen t e v e n t
w h ich w ould now be d e sc rib e d by use o f th e p resen t pro g ressiv e: S h ak esp eare’s / go, I go m a y
be c o n tra ste d w ith th e p resen t-d a y I'm going. Som e relics o f th is a rch a ic usage are found in o n e
o r tw o fixed ex p ressio n s su ch as H ow do yo u d o ? an d H ow goes it?
[b] O n th e closely related d ra m a tic use o f th e presen t, c f 4.8, 4.10.
Special nonpresent uses of the present tense
(a ) S im p le p r e s e n t r e fe r r in g t o th e p a s t
4.8 In th e n e x t th re e se ctio n s w e b rin g to g eth er th ree ad d itio n al uses o f th e
sim p le p re se n t; th ese a re b e st seen as tran sferre d o r ex ten d ed in te rp re ta tio n s
o f th e b asic m e a n in g s o f 4 .5 -7 .
T h e so-called h isto ric p re sen t is ch ara cte ristic o f p o p u lar n a rra tiv e style
( c f also th e fictio n al p re sen t, 4.10):
I co u ld n ’t b eliev e i t ! Ju s t as we a rriv ed , u p c o m e s B en a n d s la p s m e o n
th e b a c k as if w e’re life-long friends. ‘C o m e on , old p a l,’ he s a y s , ‘L e t
m e buy you a d r in k ! ’ I ’m telling you, I n early fa in ted o n th e spot.
T h e h isto ric p re s e n t d e sc rib e s th e p a st as if it is h ap p en in g n o w : it co n v ey s

so m eth in g o f th e d ra m a tic im m ed iacy o f an eye-w itness a ccount.
A very d iffere n t u se o f th e p resen t ten se in reference to th e p a st is th a t
fo u n d w ith v erb s o f c o m m u n ic a tio n :
T h e ten o ’clock n ew s says th a t th e re ’s g oing to be a b ad storm .

M a rtin te lls m e th e S m ith s are m oving fro m N o. 20.
Such v erb s in clu d e also v erb s like u n d e r s ta n d , h e a r , an d le a r n , w hich re fe r to

th e re cep tiv e e n d o f th e c o m m u n icatio n p ro cess:
I h e a r th a t p o o r M r S im pson h as gone in to hospital.
T h ese se n ten c es w ould also be accep tab le w ith th e sim ple p a st o r p re s e n t

p e rfe c tiv e ; b u t th e im p lic a tio n o f th e p resen t ten se seem s to be th a t a lth o u g h
th e co m m u n ica tio n e v e n t to o k place in the p ast, its resu lt - th e in fo rm a tio n
c o m m u n ica te d - is still o p erativ e. T h u s:
T h e B ook o f G e n esis s p e a k s o f th e terrib le fate o f S odom and

G o m o rra h .
suggests th a t a lth o u g h th e B ook o f G en esis w as w ritten th o u san d s o f y ears

ago, it still ‘s p e a k s’ to us a t th e p resen t tim e.
T h e n o tio n th a t th e p a st can rem ain alive in th e p re sen t also ex p lain s th e
o p tio n a l u se o f th e p re sen t tense in sen ten ces referrin g to w riters, com posers,
a rtis ts , e tc a n d th e ir e x ta n t w o rk s:
I n T h e B r o th e r s K a r a m a z o v , D ostoevsky d r a w s ! d r e w h is c h a ra c te rs fro m
sou rces d e e p in th e R u ssian soil.
L ik e R u b e n s, W attea u is /w a s able to c onvey a n im p ressio n o f w arm ,
liv in g flesh by th e m erest w h iff o f colour.
A g a in , it is so m e th in g m o re th a n a figure o f sp eech to suggest th a t th e a u th o r

is still a b le to s p e a k to us th ro u g h his w orks. T h e p re sen t c an ev en be used,
w ith o u t re sp ec t to an y p a rtic u la r w ork, fo r g en eral a rtistic c h ara cte riz atio n s
o f th e a u th o r:
B ra h m s is / w a s th e last g re at re p re se n tativ e o f G e rm a n classicism .
B u t b io g ra p h ic a l d e ta ils o f the a r tis t’s life m u st n o rm ally b e re p o rte d th ro u g h

th e p a s t te n s e ( c f h o w ev er N o te [b]). H e n ce th ere is a n in te restin g c o n tra st
b e tw e e n :
M u ra sa k i w r ite s /w r o te o f life in 11th c en tu ry J a p a n .
M u ra sa k i w r o te in 11 th cen tu ry Ja p a n .
N o te [a] T h e s im p le p re s e n t is usually used in n ew sp ap er h ea d lin es to re p o rt rece n t ev e n ts: Trade

unions back m erger ; ‘N o sell-out' says P .M . ; Econom ic th ink-tank seeks assurances. (O n h ea d lin es,
c /f u r th e r 11.46).
[b] T w o f u rth e r m in o r uses o f th e h istoric p resen t a re (i) in p h o to g ra p h ic ca p tio n s, for w h ich ,
how ever, th e -ing p a rtic ip le is a n alte rn a tiv e form :
T h e Q u een arrives/arriving for th e S ta te O p en in g o f P arliam e n t,
a n d (ii) in h isto rical su m m a rie s o r tab les o f d a te s :
1876 - B rah m s com pletes his first sym phony.
[c] T h e re is v a ria tio n betw een p a s t an d p resen t ten ses in cross-references from on e p a r t o f a
b o o k to th e o th e r : This problem is/w as discussed in Chapter 1. T h e choice d ep e n d s o n w h e th e r th e
b o o k is c o n c eiv ed o f a s existing a t on e tim e, like a static o b je c t; o r w h e th e r it is im ag in ed to
progress in tim e , as it d o es fo r th e read er w ho begins a t C h a p te r 1 a n d m oves fro m ‘e a rlie r’ to
‘la te r’ p a rts o f th e b o o k . O th e r v erb co n stru ctio n s (eg th e p erfec tiv e c o n stru c tio n o r th e m o d al
c o n stru c tio n w ith will) m ay also be used to im ply pro g ressio n in ti m e : This m a tte r has been
touched on in Chapter 2, but we will return to it in Chapter 5.
(b ) S im p le p r e s e n t r e fe r r in g t o th e fu tu r e
4 .9 In m ain clauses, th is typically o ccu rs w ith tim e-p o sitio n a d v erb ials to suggest
( c f 4.45) th a t th e e v e n t is u n a lte ra b ly fixed in ad v an ce, a n d is as c e rta in as it
would be, w ere it ta k in g p lace in th e p re sen t:
T h e p la n e le a v e s for A n k a ra a t eig h t o ’clock to n ig h t.
I n d e p e n d e n t clau ses, th e fu tu re use o f th e sim ple p re sen t is m u ch m o re

com m on, p a rtic u la rly in c o n d itio n al a n d tem p o ral clauses ( c f 14.22):
H e’ll d o it if you p a y him .
I’ll le t you k n o w as soon as I h e a r fro m her.
N o te [a] T he use o f th e sim p le p re se n t in d ire ctio n s w ith a 2nd perso n su b ject m ig h t be co n sid e red a
case o f th e p re s e n t te n se referrin g to th e f u tu r e :
You test a n a ir le a k by d isco n n e ctin g th e deliv ery p ip e a t th e c a rb u re tto r a n d p u m p in g th e
fuel in to a co n tain er.
You ta k e th e first tu rn in g on th e left p a st the police statio n , th en you cross a bridge, a n d
bear rig h t un til you see th e P u b lic L ibrary.
H o w ev er, th ese m a y m ore ju stly be ta k e n as exam ples o f th e h ab itu al p resen t ( c f 4.6), th e y o u

bein g in te rp re te d im p erso n ally , as e q u iv a le n t to generic one ( c f 6.21).
[b] T h e sim p le presen t m ay be used in refere n ce to la ter p a rts o f a book ( c f 4.5 N o te [a], 4.8 N o te
[c]) in ex am p les su ch as th e fo llo w in g :
In th e n ex t c h a p te r w e exam ine in th e lig h t o f this th eo ry recent econom ic d ev e lo p m en ts in
th e T h ird W orld.
(c ) S i m p l e p r e s e n t in f i c t i o n a l n a r r a t i v e
4.10 T h e re is a close c o n n ectio n b e tw e e n th e h istoric p re sen t o f (a) ab o v e, an d th e
sim p le p re sen t as used in fictio n al n a rra tiv e s. T h e o nly d ifferen ce is th a t
w h ereas th e e v en ts n a rra te d b y m ea n s o f the historic p re sen t a re real, th o se
n a rra te d by th e fictional ‘h isto ric p re sen t’ are im a g in a ry :
T h e crow d s w a r m s a ro u n d th e gatew ay, a n d s e e th e s w ith d elig h ted

a n tic ip a tio n ; e x citem en t g r o w s , as suddenly th e ir hero m a k e s his
e n tr a n c e . . .
T h is is stylistically m ark e d in c o n tra st to the n o rm al c o n v en tio n o f th e p a st

ten se fo r story-telling. A sp ecial ex cep tio n is th e use o f th e p re se n t in stag e
d irec tio n s:
M allin so n e n te r s . T h e g irls im m ed iately p r e te n d to b e w o rk in g h a rd .

W illiam a s s u m e s a b u sin esslik e air, p i c k s up tw o folders a t ran d o m ,
a n d m a k e s for th e door.
H e re th e p re sen t is used by c o n v en tio n , as if to re p re se n t th e id e a th a t th e

e v en ts o f th e p lay a re b e in g p e rfo rm e d before o u r eyes as w e r e a d th e scrip t.
A sim ila r co n v en tio n is used in su m m aries o f n arrativ es.
M eanings of the past tense w ith ref erence to past tim e

4.11 A s m o st com m only used, th e p a s t ten se co m b in es tw o featu res o f m ea n in g :
(a) T h e e v en t/state m u st h a v e ta k e n place in the p a st, w ith a g a p b etw een

its co m p letio n a n d th e p re se n t m om ent.
(b) T h e sp e a k er o r w rite r m u st h av e in m in d a definite tim e a t w h ich th e
e v e n t/sta te to o k place.
T h e first o f th ese co n d itio n s is m o st clearly exem plified by a se n ten c e like I

s t a y e d in A f r ic a f o r s e v e r a l m o n th s , w here th e usual im p licatio n is th a t I am
n o lo n g er in A frica. T h e seco n d co n d itio n is m ost ex p licitly sh o w n in
co o ccu rren ce relatio n s b e tw ee n th e p a st tense an d p a s t tim e -p o sitio n
a d v erb ials su ch as la s t w e e k , in 1 9 3 2 , s e v e r a l w e e k s a g o , y e s t e r d a y , e tc :
la s t year. [ 1]
F re d a sta rte d school
in 1950. [ 2]
[3]
[4]
W ith such ad v erb ials, th e sim p le p re sen t o r p resen t p e rfe c tiv e w ould be
v irtu ally u n g ram m atical (c f, h o w ev er, 4.8 N o te [b] an d 4.23 N o te [a]):
[ la ]
[2a]
I t is n o t n e ce ssa ry , how ever, for th e p a st ten se to be a cco m p an ied by a n o v ert

in d ic a to r o f tim e . A ll th a t is re q u ired is th a t th e sp e a k er should be ab le to
c o u n t o n th e h e a r e r ’s assu m p tio n th a t h e h as a specific tim e in m in d . In th is
re s p e c t, th e p a s t te n s e m ean in g o f d e f i n i t e p s t tim e is a n e q u iv a len t, in the
F
v e rb p h ra se , o f th e definite article in th e n o u n p h rase. J u s t as w ith th e definite

a rtic le ( c f 5 .2 7 -3 2 ), so w ith the v erb p h rase, an elem en t o f d efin ite m ean in g
m a y b e re c o v e ra b le from know ledge o f (a) th e im m ed iate o r lo cal situ atio n ;
(b) th e la rg e r situ a tio n o f ‘g en eral k n o w led g e’; '(c) w h at h a s been sa id e arlie r
in t h e sa m e s e n te n c e o r te x t; o r (d) w h a t com es late r on in th e sa m e sen ten ce
o r te x t.
N o te A p a ra lle l m a y also b e d raw n, in term s o f defin ite m ean in g , b etw een th e p re se n t a n d p a s t tense,
a n d th e ‘n e a r ’ a n d ‘f a r ’ reference o f th e d e m o n strativ es this a n d that (c f 6 A 0 /f) . T h u s th e presen t
a n d p a s t te n se s ca n b e ad d e d to o th e r p a irs o f d e i c t i c item s (c f 6.43), such as this j that, now! then,
a n d here/there.
S itu a tio n a l use o f th e p a st tense

4.1 2 T h e u se o f th e p a s t ten se in re la tio n to a n im m ed iate situ atio n is illu strated
b y th e s e n te n c e :
D i d you l o c k th e fro n t d o o r? [5]
in a d o m estic s itu a tio n w h ere it is k n o w n th a t th e fro n t d o o r is lo ck ed a t

b e d tim e e v ery n ig h t. In th a t case, [5] is m o re o r less e q u iv a len t to D i d y o u
l o c k th e f r o n t d o o r a t b e d ti m e ? (In cid en tally , in [5], th e in th e f r o n t d o o r is
a n o th e r case o f s itu a tio n a l d efin iten ess; c f 5 .2 S ff.)
D e fin iten e ss b y v irtu e o f th e larg er situ atio n (or g en eral k n o w led g e; c f 5.29)
m ay b e in v o k ed to ex p lain th e use o f th e sim ple p a s t in h isto ric a l o r
b io g ra p h ic a l s ta te m e n ts w h ich h a v e specific people, p laces, o r o b jects as
th e ir to p ic s:
B y ro n d i e d in G reece. [6]
I h a v e a frie n d w ho w a s a t school w ith K issinger. [7]
T h is p ic tu re w a s p a in t e d by th e o w n e r’s g ra n d fa th er. [8]
R o m e w a s n o t b u ilt in a day. [a p ro v erb ] [9]
I t is a m a tte r o f g e n era l know led g e t h a t B yron is a h isto rical p e rso n ag e (an d

th e re fo re t h a t (ie m u st h av e d ied a t som e tim e o r an o th er). T h e p a s t ten se in
[6] p re su p p o se s su ch com m on g ro u n d b etw een sp eak er a n d h e a re r: it is as if
th e s p e a k e r h a d sa id : ‘W e all k n o w th a t Byron d ied a t som e tim e o r o th e r;
w ell, w h e n he d ied , h e d ied in G re e c e ’. Sim ilarly, [7] p resu p p o ses th a t m o st
peo p le sp e n d a p a rtic u la r p erio d a t school, [8] p resu p p o ses t h a t a p ictu re one
sees o n th e w all m u st h av e b een p a in te d a t som e tim e o r a n o th e r; a n d [9]
p re su p p o ses t h a t all c ities (in clu d in g R o m e, th e ‘E te rn al C ity ’) h a v e to be
b u ilt a t so m e tim e o r o th er.
A naphoric and c atap h o ric use o f the p a st tense

4.13 In lin e w ith th e use o f th e term a n a p h o r ic w ith referen ce to th e d efin ite a rticle
( c /5 .3 0 /) , we m a y call th e use o f th e p a st tense ‘a n a p h o ric ’ w h ere th e tim e in
th e p a st to w h ic h th e re fe re n ce is m ad e is alread y in d ic a te d by a p rev io u s u se
o f th e p a st ten se. I n th is sense, was is an ap h o ric in [10]:
T h e n w e entered th e c i t y . . . th e square was d eserted . . . [10]
In o th er cases, a p re c e d in g use o f th e p resen t p e rfectiv e in th e in d efin ite p a s t

sense ( c /4 .2 0 /) p ro v id e s a peg, so to speak, o n w h ich to h an g a su b seq u e n t
occu rren ce o f th e p a s t t e n s e :
T h ey have d ecid ed to close d ow n th e factory. I t took us com pletely
by su rp rise. [11]
T h ere have been tim e s w h en I wished m y self safely hom e in bed. [12]
(In th e la tte r se n te n c e , th e p re sen t p erfectiv e have wished w ould also b e

possible.) A g a in , th is is sim ila r to th e case w h ere th e.in d efin ite a rticle ( c f 5.30)
p re p are s th e w a y fo r a follow ing co referen tial d efin ite article. In o th e r cases,
a n ap h o ric re fe re n ce is to a n ad v erb ial o f tim e in th e sam e clause:
L a s t S a tu rd a y, w e went to th e theatre.
W h en th e a d v e rb ia l follow s th e p a st tense, th is m ay b e called th e cataphoric

use o f th e d e fin ite p a s t (c /5 .3 2 ):
W e went to th e th e a tre la st Saturday.
E x am p les lik e [ 5 - 1 2 ] a b o v e show th a t for a v e rb p h ra se to b e ‘d efin ite’, th e

relev an t tim e n e e d n o t b e specified: it m atters only th a t th e tim e should in
p rin cip le be sp ecifiab le. T h is m ean s th a t ev en very unspecific tim e a d v e rb s
such a S once a n d when suffice to m ak e the p a st ten se a p p ro p ria te :
W hen d id sh e a rriv e ? I w as once a h eav y sm oker.
F inally, th e u se o f a te m p o ra l co njunction su ch as while o r as soon as w ith

p a st referen ce is a sufficient co n d itio n for th e use o f th e p a st ten se in b o th
m a in a n d su b o rd in a te c la u se s: They left as soon a s we arrived.
N o te [a] T h e re a re a few id io m a tic co n stru ctio n s in w hich th e e lem en t o f definiteness seem s to b e

a b se n t from th e m e a n in g o f th e p a s t ten se: eg in co m p arativ e clauses co n tain in g th e m a in v e rb
was/were:
S h e’s n o t so a c tiv e a s she was.
B ut here th e p a s t te n se re ta in s its o th e r sem an tic featu re: th a t th e state no lo nger o b ta in s ; ie:
was is eq u iv alen t to used to be ( c f 4.15).
[b] In th e follow ing id io m a tic ex am p les, th e p a st tense la ck s bo th its im p licatio n o f ‘d efin ite n ess’
a n d its im p lic atio n o f ‘n o lo n g e r o b ta in in g ':
I alw ays kne w you w ere m y frie n d . 113]
D id you ev e r hear su ch no n sen se ? 114]
T h e p a s t is h ere a co llo q u ia l alte rn a tiv e to th e present p erfec tiv e referring to a s ta te o r h a b it
lead in g u p to th e p re s e n t; eg [13] could be rep h rased : I've alw ays know n yo u to be m y frie nd. (In
th e ritu al e x c lam a tio n o f a sto n ish m e n t W ell f never d id !, how ever, th e p erfective could n o t be
su b stitu ted .) T h is usage is re stric te d to th e occurrence o f th e p a s t tense w ith alw ays , never , o r
ever. S en ten ces su ch as [13] a n d [14] a re to be distin g u ish ed fro m sim ilar sentences c o n ta in in g a
p a st tim e a d v e rb ia l, su ch a s : In the past, I alw ays thought y o u were m y friend. H ere th e reg u lar
in terp re ta tio n o f th e p a s t te n se ob ta in s, a n d so the im p lic atio n is likely to b e : . b u t now I n o
longer th in k so ’.
[c] O n differences b etw e en A m E a n d B rE in th e use o f th e sim p le p ast, c f 4.20 N o te, 4.22 N o te
[a].
E v e n t , s t a t e , a n d h a b i t - in t h e p a s t
4.1 4 H a v in g m en tio n ed th e p ra g m a tic co n d itio n s for d efin iten ess w h ich are
c o m m o n to m ost e x am p les o f th e p a st ten se, we n ow h av e to d istin g u ish th ree
m e a n in g s o f the p a s t ten se w h ich m atch th e th ree m e a n in g s o f th e p re sen t
w ith re feren ce to p re se n t tim e (4 .5 -7 ). F o r th e p a st ten se, how ever, it is
b e tte r to p lace th e th re e m ea n in g s in a d ifferen t o rd er. F ir s t w e illu strate, as
th e m o s t co m m o n sense, th e e v e n t p s t , w h ich refers to a single definite
F
e v e n t in th e p ast:
T h e e ru p tio n o f V esu v iu s d e s tr o y e d P o m p eii. [1]
In [1], th e d y n am ic v e rb sense o f d e s tr o y e d identifies a sin g le ev en t. B ut in

[2], th e v e rb w a s re fers to a sta te , an d is th erefo re a n ex am p le o f th e s t t e F
p F s t :
A rc h e ry w a s a p o p u la r sp o rt for th e V icto rian s. [2]
I n [3], w e have a n ex am p le o f th e h i t u F | F l p F s t , sin ce th e v e rb w e re h e ld

re fe rs to a sequ en ce o f four-yearly ev en ts:
I n a n cien t tim e s, th e O ly m p ic G am es w e re h e ld a t O ly m p ia in
S o u th ern G re ec e . [3]
W e m a y p resen t th e s e th re e m ean in g s, th erefo re, in a d ia g ra m co rresp o n d in g

to t h a t u se d for th e sim p le p re se n t (F ig 4.7):
V _________________V___________________ ■
i i
r, Ti
r I
( th e n ) [n o w )
I
I I
EVENT PAST
I
STATE PAST
HABITUAL PAST
T = t i m e o f o r ie n ta t io n
F ig 4 .1 4 !
I
In F i g 4 .14, the th re e m ea n in g s are lo cated by referen ce to a d efin ite tim e in
th e p a s t (a s e c o n d r y t i m e - o r i e n t t i o n o r 7 \), an d o nly in d irectly by
F F
re fe re n c e to the p re se n t m o m e n t (the p r i m r y t i m e - o r i e n t t i o n o r T ,). T h e

F F
d ia g ra m shows T 2, lik e T , , as a p o in t o f tim e h a v in g n o d u ra tio n ; b u t it

sh o u ld b e noted th a t T 2 c a n so m etim es refer to a n e x te n d ed tim e period.
C o m p a re T h e a g r e e m e n t w a s s ig n e d a t 7 p . m . (w here T 2 is a m o m e n tary p o in t
o f tim e ) w ith T h e a g r e e m e n t w a s s ig n e d in 1 9 7 2 (w here T 2 is a w h o le y ear an d
th e a c tu a l signing is u n d e rsto o d to ta k e place a t so m e u n specified p o in t
w ith in th a t period).
4 .15 I t is e a s y to see w h y th e e v e n t p a st is m o re co m m o n th a n th e c o rresp o n d in g

m e a n in g o f the p re se n t ten se, v iz the in stan ta n eo u s p resen t. F ro m a v an tag e
p o in t in th e p re sen t, w e n a tu rally see a h ap p en in g in th e p a st as a c o m p le te

u n it, w ith a b e g in n in g an d a n e n d ; b u t it is m o re difficult to see a p re s e n t
e v e n t ‘in clo se-u p ’ in such a h o listic way. W ith th e p a st ten se, th ere is a
ten d e n cy to tr e a t as holistic e v en ts ev en states o f affairs p ersistin g th ro u g h
a n e x te n d ed p e rio d , e g :
H e l i v e d a n d d i e d in his n a tiv e c ity o f Pad u a.
It c a n th u s b e ra th e r difficult, in p ra ctic e , to d istin g u ish th e d ifferen t m e a n in g s

o f th e p a s t tense. B u t one useful d istin g u ish in g m a rk is th e fact th a t th e
h a b itu a l a n d sta te m ean in g s c a n b e p a ra p h ra se d by m ea n s o f u s e d to ( c /3 .4 4 ) ;
I n th o se d ay s w e | i n th e country. [4]
We t0 ^ j u p a t 5 a .m . ev ery m o rn in g all th ro u g h th e sum m er. [5]
A s it sta n d s, th e h a b itu a l p a st in [3] ab o v e in 4.14 is n o t form ally d istin g u ish e d

fro m th e e v e n t p a s t : o nly g e n era l k now ledge tells us th a t th e O ly m p ic G a m e s
w ere h eld m o re th a n once. I f w e w ish to m ak e sure th a t a sen ten ce lik e [3] is
g iv en a h a b itu a l in te rp re ta tio n , w e h a v e to su b stitu te th e u s e d t o c o n stru c tio n
o r else a d d a n a d v e rb ia l o f freq u e n c y o r d u ratio n , su ch as e v e r y m o r n in g a n d
a l l th r o u g h t h e s u m m e r in [5],
A n o th e r d istin g u ish in g fe a tu re is th e ten d en cy fo r d y n am ic verbs to h a v e
a se q u e n tial in te rp re ta tio n w h e n th ey o ccu r in tex tu al seq u en ce (especially in
co o rd in a tio n );
S h e a d d r e s s e d a n d p o s t e d th e letter. [6] '

[ yi She p o s t e d a n d a d d r e s s e d th e letter]
S h e d i s l i k e d a n d d i s t r u s t e d h e r advisers. [7]
[ = She d i s t r u s t e d an d d i s l i k e d h er advisers]
In [6], th e actio n s o f a d d ressin g a n d p osting are u n d ersto o d to ta k e p lace in

succession, w hile in [7] th e em o tio n s o f dislike a n d d istru st a re u n d ersto o d to
h a v e e x isted sid e b y sid e (c f l 3 . 2 2 f f ).
N o te S o m etim es, h o w ev er, tw o d y n am ic v erb s in sequence a re given a sim u ltan eo u s in te rp re ta tio n ,

as in :
T h e explosion w recked a ca r a n d d a m a g e d several shops.
A n o th e r relev an t facto r is th a t c e rta in con ju n ctio n s, su ch as before a n d a fter , ca n overrule th e
n o rm a l o rd e r o f te m p o ral p re c e d e n c e :
(
was 1
had been] n o t^ n g ^ u t a sleepy c a ttle to w n .
(O n th e alte rn a tiv e use o f h a d been h e re , c f 4.24.)
M eanings o f the past tense w ith reference to present

and future tim e
4.16 Ju s t as th e sim p le p re se n t d o es n o t alw ays refer to p re s e n t tim e, so th e p a s t
ten se is n o t alw ays confined to p a s t tim e reference. T h ere a re a g ain th re e
sp e c ia l m ea n in g s to m e n tio n :
(a) I n INDIRECT SPEECH (or INDIRECT t h o u g h t ; c f 1 4 .3 0 # ), th e p a st ten se in

th e re p o rtin g v erb ten d s to m a k e th e v erb o f th e su b o rd in a te clau se p a s t
ten se as w ell. T h is p h en o m en o n , k n o w n as b ack sh ift, is n o rm ally o p tio n a l

(c /1 4 .3 1 ), b u t c a n resu lt in a n a p p a re n tly an ach ro n istic use o f th e p a st
ten se for p re s e n t tim e :
A : D i d you s a y you h a v e / h a d n o m o n ey ?
B : Y es, I ’m co m pletely broke.
A : H o w d i d you k n o w th a t I a m /w a s M ax W ilson?
B : W ell, I rem em b ered th a t you are/w ere tall, an d w e ar /w o r e
glasses.
A d ifferen t k in d o f b a ck sh ift is o b serv ed w hen a sen ten ce d e sc rib in g

sp e e ch o r th o u g h t in th e fu tu re c o n ta in s a rep o rted speech clau se re fe rrin g
retro sp ec tiv e ly to th e p re s e n t:
M y w ife will b e sorry th a t sh e m is s e d seeing you th is ev en in g .
(b ) T h e t t i t u d i n l p s t , used w ith v erb s expressing vo litio n o r m e n ta l

F F F
sta te , reflects th e te n ta tiv e a ttitu d e o f th e sp eak er, ra th e r th a n p a s t tim e.

I n th e follow ing p a irs, b o th th e p re s e n t a n d p a st tenses re fe r to a p re s e n t
s ta te o f m in d , b u t th e la tte r is so m ew h at m o re p o lite :
D o I D i d you w a n t to see m e n o w ?
I w o n d e r/ w o n d e r e d if y o u co u ld h elp us.
(c) T h e h y p o t h e t i c l p s t is used in c e rta in su b o rd in ate clauses, esp ecially

F F
//■clauses, a n d expresses w h a t is c o n tra ry to th e b elief o r e x p e c ta tio n o f

th e sp e a k e r ( c f 14.23):
I f you really w o r k e d h a rd , you w ould soon g et p ro m o ted . [ 1]

I t ’s tim e we all to o k a rest. [2]
I w ish I h a d a m em o ry lik e yours. [3]
T h e h y p o th etica l p a st, as in [1 -3 ], im plies th e n o n o ccu rren ce o f som e

s ta te o r e v e n t in th e p re sen t o r fu tu re. T h e im p licatio n o f [1 ], fo r e x am p le,
is t h a t th e h e a re r do es n o t w o rk h ard .
N ote [a] T h e p a s t su b ju n ctiv e sin g u la r form were ( c f 3.62) is o fte n considered p re fe ra b le to th e p a s t

in d ic a tiv e form was in sen te n ces such a s:
H e ta lk s as if h e werefwas th e m ost pow erful p o litic ian in th e country.
F u r th e r d etails aije g iv e n in 14.24.
(b] T h e p a s t tende form s o f m o d al au x iliaries (could, would, etc) frequently o cc u r w ith special
h y p o th e tic a l force, a n d are so m ew h at restricted in th e ir ap p licatio n to p a st tim e. T h e se w ill be
co n sid e re d in som e d etail in 4 .5 9 -6 4 .
Perfective and progressive aspects
4.17 T h e te rm s p e c t refers to a g ra m m a tic a l categ o ry w h ich reflects th e w ay in

F
w h ic h th e v erb a ctio n is r e g a r d e d o r e x p e r ie n c e d w ith resp ect to tim e . 'U n lik e

ten se, a sp e c t is n o t d e ic tic (c f 6.43), in th e sense th a t it is n o t re la tiv e to th e
tim e o f u tte ran c e . F o r so m e p u rp o ses, th e tw o a sp ect c o n stru ctio n s o f E n g lish ,
Perfective aspect 189
th e p e r fe c tiv e a n d th e p r o g r e s s iv e ( c /3 .5 4 ), c a n b e s e e n a s r e a liz in g a b a s ic
c o n t r a s t o f a s p e c t b e t w e e n t h e a c t i o n v ie w e d a s c o m p l e t e ( p e r f e c t i v e ) , a n d
t h e a c t i o n v ie w e d a s in c o m p l e t e , ie i n p r o g r e s s ( i m p e r f e c t i v e o r p r o g r e s s i v e ) .
B u t t h i s is a n o v e r s i m p l i f i e d v ie w , a s is c l e a r a s s o o n a s w e o b s e r v e t h a t t h e s e
t w o a s p e c t s m a y c o m b i n e w i t h i n a s in g le v e r b p h r a s e ( e g : I h a v e b e e n r e a d in g
is b o t h p e r f e c t i v e a n d p r o g r e s s i v e ) . I n f a c t, a s p e c t is s o c lo s e ly c o n n e c t e d in
m e a n i n g w i t h t e n s e , t h a t t h e d i s t i n c t i o n i n E n g l is h g r a m m a r b e t w e e n t e n s e
a n d a s p e c t is l i t t l e m o r e t h a n a t e r m i n o l o g i c a l c o n v e n i e n c e w h i c h h e l p s u s to
s e p a r a t e in o u r m i n d s t w o d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f r e a l i z a t i o n : t h e m o r p h o l o g i c a l
r e a l i z a t i o n o f t e n s e a n d t h e s y n t a c t i c r e a l i z a t i o n o f a s p e c t.
W e h a v e s e e n ( c f i . 5 4 f f ) t h a t t e n s e a n d a s p e c t c o m b i n e f r e e ly in t h e
c o m p le x v e rb p h ra se, an d so th e fo llo w in g s y s te m o f c o n tra s ts , w ith
c o r r e s p o n d i n g t e r m i n o l o g i c a l d i s t i n c t i o n s , w ill f o r m a u s e f u l s t a r t i n g p o i n t :
T able 4 .17
SYMBOL NAME , ! EXAMPLE
T ypeB p re s e n t p e rfe c tiv e (sim p le) he h a s e x a m in e d

p a s t p e rfe c tiv e (sim p le) he h a d e xa m in e d
T ypeC p re s e n t p ro g re s siv e (sim p le) he is exa m in in g

p a s t p ro g re s siv e (sim p le) he w as exam ining
Type BC p r e s e n t p e rfe c tiv e p ro g ressiv e he h a s been e xa m in in g

p a s t p e rfe c tiv e p ro g ressiv e he h a d been e xa m in in g
W e h a v e a l r e a d y u s e d t h e w o r d ‘s i m p l e ’ t o d e s c r i b e a v e r b p h r a s e t o t a l l y
u n m a r k e d f o r a s p e c t ( s i m p l e p r e s e n t , s im p le p a s t) . B y e x t e n s i o n , w e m a y
a ls o , t o a v o i d a m b i g u i t y , u s e t h e t e r m ‘s i m p l e ’ f o r v e r b p h r a s e s w h i c h a r e
u n m a r k e d f o r o n e o f t h e t w o a s p e c t s , a s i n d i c a t e d i n T a b le 4 .1 7 .
N o te [a] I t h as b een tra d itio n a l fo r g ra m m a rs to refer to th e above set o f op p o sitio n s o f te n se an d

a sp ect as ‘co m p o u n d te n se s’, in w h ich th e y w ould include su ch categories as th e ‘p a s t p e rfe c t’
(or ‘p lu p e rfect’) tense. T h is te rm inology, m odelled on th a t used fo r in flectional lang u ag es su ch
as L a tin , c a n be m islead in g w h en ap p lie d to E nglish, a n d for th is reason w e p refer to lim it, as
m en tio n ed b efore, th e te rm ‘te n se ’ to th e m orphological o p p o sitio n b etw een p re se n t a n d p a st
fo rm s o f th e finite v erb.
[b] B ecause o f th e close c o n n e ctio n betw een th e perfectiv e co n stru ctio n an d tim e, th e p erfe c tiv e
is com m only te rm ed th e ‘p erfe c tiv e te n se’ (o r ‘perfec t ten se’).
Perfective aspect
4.18 T h e o v e r l a p o f m e a n i n g b e t w e e n te n s e a n d a s p e c t is m o s t p r o b l e m a t i c in
E n g l i s h i n t h e c h o i c e t h a t h a s t o b e m a d e b e t w e e n s im p le p a s t a n d p r e s e n t
p e rfe c tiv e :
s im p le p a s t : J o h n liv e d i n P a r i s f o r t e n y e a r s ,
p re s e n t p e rfe c tiv e : J o h n h a s liv e d in P a r i s f o r t e n y e a r s .
H e r e b o th sen ten ces in d ic a te a sta te o f affairs before th e p re sen t m o m en t,

b u t t h e sim p le p a st in d ic a te s t h a t the period o f resid en ce h as c o m e to a close,
w h e r e a s th e p re se n t p e rfe c tiv e in d icates th a t th e resid en ce h as c o n tin u ed up
to t h e p re s e n t tim e (a n d m ay ev en co n tin u e in to th e fu tu re). T h is k in d o f
d iffe re n c e , a lth o u g h b y n o m ea n s in v ariab le, is o ften su m m arized in the
s ta te m e n t th a t th e p re se n t p erfectiv e signifies p a s t tim e ‘w ith c u rre n t
re le v a n c e ’.
I n o r d e r to a p p re c ia te w hy ‘c u rre n t relev an ce’ is a c o m m o n im p licatio n o f
th e p r e s e n t p e rfe c tiv e , it is as well to begin w ith th e m o st g en eral definition
o f t h e p e rfe c tiv e asp ect. I n its b ro a d est possible in te rp re ta tio n , th e p erfectiv e
in d ic a te s n t e r i o r t i m e ; ie tim e p reced in g w h a tev e r tim e o rie n ta tio n is
F
s ig n a lle d by ten se o r b y o th e r elem ents o f th e sen ten ce o r its co n tex t. T o

illu s tr a te th is d efin itio n , w e ta k e a p relim in ary look n o t only a t th e p resen t
p e rfe c tiv e , b u t a t cases w h ere th e p erfective does n o t c o o ccu r w ith th e p resen t
te n s e :
I have a lre ad y m e t y o u r sister. [1]

T h e flight w as can celled a fte r w e had p a id fo r th e tic k e ts. [2]
I f y o u h a d listened to m e, you w ould have av o id ed m istak es. [3]
B y n e x t w eek , th ey w ill have com pleted th e ir c o n tra ct. [4]
I m a y have left th e k ey a t th e office (last n ig h t). [5]
I a m /w a s so rry to have m issed th e co n cert. [6]
S h e re g re ts/reg re tte d having abandoned th e p lan . [7]
T h e c o m m o n fa c to r o f m ea n in g w hich th e p e rfe c tiv e b rin g s to all these

e x a m p le s is sk e tch ed in F ig 4.18:
T - time of
orientation
Fig 4.18 A nterior time zone

i
N o te P e r f e c tiv e c o n stru c tio n s a re in fre q u e n t com pared w ith n o n p erfec tiv e co n stru c tio n s. A corpus
stu d y o f v e rb p h ra se s h as in d ic a te d th a t approxim ately ten p er c e n t o f fin ite v erb p h rases are
p e rfe c tiv e .
4.19 A s t h e a b o v e figure sh o w s, th e p erfectiv e m erely defines a n a n te rio r tim e

z o n e (sy m b o lized by th e a rro w -s ) w ith in w h ich th e a c tio n o f th e verb
ta k e s p lac e. T h e tim e o f o rie n ta tio n (T ?) is n o t fix ed : w ith th e p re sen t
p e rfe c tiv e [1], T1 is e q u a te d w ith T lt w hile w ith th e p a s t p e rfe c tiv e , T1 is
e q u a te d w ith T 2 (a sp ecifiab le secondary tim e o f o rie n ta tio n in th e past).
T h is is illu stra te d in [2] in 4.18 above, w here T l ( = T 2) re fers to th e tim e o f
c a n c e llin g th e flight. I n [3], how ever, th e p a st p erfectiv e relates th e e v en t n ot
to T 2, b u t to 7 ) , sin ce th e p a s t ten se in d icates in th is case n o t a p a s t ev en t,
b u t a h y p o th etica l e v e n t ( c f th e h y p o th etical p ast, 4.16). T h e c o n d itio n al
c la u se c o u ld be e x p a n d e d :
I f you h ad listen ed to m e before n o w . . .

In [4] a n d [5], th e in fin itiv e p erfectiv e o ccurs a fte r a m odal au x iliary , a n d t h e

tim e o rie n ta tio n d e riv e s n o t from th e in fin itiv e itself (w hich is tenseless), b u t
from th e m o d al. W ill in [4] sets u p a n a n cillary tim e o rien tatio n T 2 in t h e
fu tu re, so th a t th e m ea n in g o f th e w hole co n stru ctio n will have com pleted is
‘p a st in fu tu re ’:
[n o w ]
T, 7%
V V
F ig 4 .1 9 P a s t in f u t u r e
. In [5], o n th e o th e r h a n d , th e m o d al m ay h a s a p re sen t o rien tatio n , a n d T ? is

once a g ain r , . In th e last tw o exam ples o f 4.18, th e p erfectiv e o ccu rs in a
n o n fin ite v e rb p h ra se , w h ich , becau se it h a s n o in h ere n t tim e o rie n ta tio n ,
tak es its o rie n ta tio n fro m th e m ain verb. H e n ce th e p a ra p h ra se s below , in
w hich th e n o n fin ite clau ses o f [6] a n d [7] a re rep laced by finite su b o rd in a te
clauses, re q u ire v a ria tio n in th e v e rb co n stru ctio n o f th e su b o rd in a te c la u se
in c o rre sp o n d e n c e w ith a sim ila r v a ria tio n in th e m a in c la u s e :
m missed
I so rry th a t I th e co n cert. [6a]
w as (h a d ) m issed
reg rets abandoned

She th a t she th e plan. [7a]
re g re tte d (h a d ) abandoned
T h e p a st p e rfe c tiv e is o p tio n a l in th e seco n d v a ria n t o f [6a] an d [7a], fo r

reaso n s e x p la in ed in F ig 4.24b. T h ese d istin c tio n s are n e u tralized w h e n a
n o n fin ite clau se is used.
T h e o v erlap in th e tim e -in d icatin g fu n ctio n s o f th e p a s t ten se an d th e
p re sen t p e rfe c tiv e is clearly seen in th e ch o ice o f p a rap h ra sin g [5] a b o v e
e ith e r by th e p a s t ten se [5a] o r by th e p re sen t p erfectiv e [5 b ]:
I t is po ssib le t h a t I left th e keys a t th e office (last night). [5a]

It is po ssib le t h a t I have left th e keys a t th e office. [5b]
O n th e o th e r h a n d , th is ex am p le also show s th a t th e p re sen t p erfectiv e is to

som e e x te n t lim ite d by th e fa ct th a t it sh a res th e sam e p a st tim e ‘territo ry ’ as
th e sim ple p a st. I f a tim e-p o sitio n a d v e rb ia l lik e last night is a d d ed to [5],
th e n th e finite v e rb p a ra p h ra s e h a s to be th e p a s t ten se [5a] ra th e r th a n th e
p erfectiv e [5b], I n o th e r w o rd s, [5c] is u n a c c e p ta b le :
* It is p o ssib le t h a t I have left th e keys a t th e office last n ig h t. [5c]
H o w ev er, th e ru le o f ad v erb ial in co m p a tib ility w hich fo rb id s [5c] is

occasio n ally ig n o re d ; c f 4.23 N o te [a] below .
N o te T h e sem a n tic o v erlap b etw e en th e sim ple p a s t an d th e p resen t perfectiv e gives rise to a f u rth e r
ty p e o f ‘d o u b le m a rk in g ’ ( c / 3 .5 7 ,4.24) w h ere th e p erfe c tiv e red u n d an tly rep ea ts th e in d ic a tio n
o f a n terio rity p re se n t in th e p a st te n s e : W e were g la d to have seen you can b e used in a w ay w h ic h
m a k es its m e an in g in d istin g u ish ab le from th a t o f W e were g la d to see you.
T h e present perfective
4 .2 0 T h e e x am p les in 4.18 h av e g iv en e v id en ce th a t ‘p a st w ith c u rre n t relev an ce’
is n o t a n a d e q u a te d e scrip tio n o f th e m ean in g o f th e p erfectiv e aspect. Y e t
w h e n w e c o n c e n tra te o n th e p re sen t p erfectiv e, th ere is in d eed reaso n for
su c h a d e s c rip tio n : th e p re sen t p erfectiv e differs fro m th e sim ple p a st in
re la tin g a p a s t e v e n t/s ta te to a p re sen t tim e o rien tatio n . T h u s in situ atio n s
(w h ic h a r e n o t u n u su al) w h ere e ith e r th e p re sen t p erfectiv e o r th e sim ple p a st
c a n be a p p ro p ria te ly used, it is generally felt th a t they a re n o t in terch an g eab le,
b u t th a t th e p re s e n t p e rfe c tiv e relates th e a ctio n m o re directly to th e p re sen t
tim e . C o m p a re :
W h e re d id y o u p u t my. p u rse ? [ 1]
W h e re h a v e you p u t m y p u rse ? [2]
T h e p u rp o se o f b o th o f th ese q u estio n s m ay be to find th e p u rse ; b u t in [1]

th e sp e a k e r se e m s to a sk th e ad d ressee to re m e m b e r a p a st a ctio n ; w hile in
[2] th e sp e a k e r a p p a re n tly co n ce n tra tes o n th e p u rse ’s p re sen t w h ereab o u ts.
T h e re a re m an y su c h cases.
L ea v in g a sid e such v irtu a l eq u iv alen ces, we m ay now focus o n the
d ifferen ce b e tw e e n th e tw o c o n stru ctio n s, c o n tra stin g th e m ean in g s o f th e
sim p le p a s t g iv e n in 4.14 w ith th e follow ing m ean in g s o f th e sim p le p re sen t
p e rfe c tiv e :
( a ) STA TE L E A D IN G U P TO T H E PR ESEN T
T h a t h o u se has been e m p ty for ages.

H a ve you know n m y siste r fo r long?
( b ) IN D E F IN IT E E V E N T (S ) IN A P E R IO D LE A D IN G U P TO TH E PR ESEN T
H a v e you (ever) been to F lo ren ce?

A ll o u r c h ild re n have h a d m easles.
(c) h F | it ( ie re c u rre n t ev en t) in F p e r io d l e F d in g u p t o t h e p r e s e n t
M r Terry, h a s sung in th is c h o ir e v er sin ce he w as a boy.

T h e p ro v in ce has suffered fro m d isastro u s floods th ro u g h o u t its history.
O f th ese m ea n in g s, (a) co rre sp o n d s to th e ‘sta te p a s t’ use o f th e sim p le p a st,

b u t differs fro m it in specifying th a t th e sta te co n tin u es a t lea st up to th e
p resen t m o m e n t (cf: T hat house was em pty fo r ages - but now it's been so ld ) ;
(b) co rre sp o n d s to th e ‘e v en t p a s t’, b u t differs from it in th a t th e p a st tim e in
q u estio n is in d efin ite ra th e r th a n definite (cf: D id y o u go to Florence (last
sum m er) ?); (c) co rre sp o n d s to th e ‘h a b itu a l p a s t’, b u t, as w ith (a), th e p erio d
identified m u st c o n tin u e u p to th e p resen t. C o m p a re :
T h e jo u rn a l has been published every m o n th since 1850. [3]

T h e jo u rn a l was published ev ery m o n th from 1850 to 1888. [4]
These th re e m ea n in g s m ay be re p resen ted in a d iag ra m , F ig 4.20, w h ich

parallels th a t o f F igs 4.7 an d 4.14. I t is n o rm al for m ean in g s (a) a n d (c) to be
in d icated by a d v erb ials. A d u ra tio n a d v erb ial is v irtu ally o b lig ato ry fo r b o th
(a) an d (c), a n d a freq u en cy a d v erb ial m ay also o ccur w ith (c), a s in [3] above.
A d v erb ials o c cu rrin g w ith th e in d efin ite p a st m ean in g will be m en tio n ed in
4.22 below .
T,
V.
( a ) STATE MEANING
I
• | ( b ) EVENT MEANING
I
• • • • • | (c) HABITUAL MEANING
F ig 4 .2 0 M e a n in g s o f th e p re s e n t p e rfe c tiv e
N o te I n A m E th e re is a te n d en cy to use th e p a s t tense in p referen ce to th e p re se n t p e rfec tiv e ,

esp ecially fo r th e in definite p a s t; e g : D id y o u ever go to Florence ? ( c /4 .13 N o te lb ], 4.22 N o te [a]).
V a r ia n t s o f t h e in d e f in i te p a s t m e a n in g
4.21 I n referen ce to a single e v e n t in th e p a st (m ean in g (b) above), th e p re s e n t
p e rfe c tiv e , p a rticu larly in B rE , is associated w ith th ree im p lica tio n s o r
c o n n o ta tio n s, each o f w h ich m ay o r m ay n o t be ap p licab le in a
in stan c e. T h ese im p licatio n s a re (i) th a t th e relev an t tim e zo n e lead s u p t
th e p re se n t; (ii) th a t th e e v e n t is re ce n t; a n d (iii) th a t th e resu lt o f th e a c tio n
still o b ta in s a t th e p re sen t tim e. T h e first o f th ese im p licatio n s is sim p ly a
re sta te m e n t o f w h a t w as sa id a b o u t th e a n te rio r tim e zone o f th e p e rfe c tiv e
in 4.18. T h e p o in t to b e m a d e here is th a t th e choice b etw een th e p re s e n t
p e rfe c tiv e a n d th e sim p le p a s t is o ften d eterm in ed by w h e th er th e s p e a k e r
h a s in m in d an implicit tim e zone w h ich h as n o t yet fin ish ed :
H a v e you seen th e Ja v a n e se A rt E x h ib itio n ? [yet]

D id you see th e Ja v a n e se A rt E x h ib itio n ? [w hen it w as here)
T h e first o f th ese im plies t h a t th e E x h ib itio n is still o p e n ; th e seco n d t h a t th e

E x h ib itio n h as finished. F ro m th is c o n cern w ith a perio d still e x istin g a t th e
p re s e n t tim e, it is only a sh o rt ste p to th e second im p licatio n o fte n a sso c iated
w ith th e p re sen t p erfectiv e, viz th a t th e e v en t is recent. T h e sim p le p re s e n t
p e rfe c tiv e is o ften used to re p o rt a p iece o f n e w s :
£ ^ y o u h e a r ^ j t *16 n e w s^ P resid en t has resigned.
B ecau se o f th is c o n n o ta tio n o f recency, B ’s reply in th e follow ing e x ch an g e

m u s t b e consid ered a b su rd ly i n a p p ro p ria te :
A : H a s th e p o stm an left a n y letters? B : Yes, he d id six m o n th s ago.
S in ce p o stm en in g en eral d e liv e r letters daily, th e im p licit tim e zone in th is

c ase w ould be n o lo n g er th a n a day.
4.22 T h e th ird c o n n o tatio n , th a t th e resu lt o f th e actio n still o b tain s, ap p lie s to

d y n a m ic conclusive v erb s (c f 4 .3 3 -5 ), ie v erb s w hose m ea n in g im p lies th e
a cc o m p lish m en t o f a ch an g e o f s ta te :
T h e a p p les h av e all b e en e aten . [ 1]

M y m o th e r h as reco v ered fro m h e r illness. [2j
H a v e a n y o f th e v isito rs a rriv e d ? [3]
T,
V.
( a ) STATE MEANING
I
• | ( b ) EVENT MEANING
I
• • • • • | (c) HABITUAL MEANING
F ig 4 .2 0 M e a n in g s o f th e p re s e n t p e rfe c tiv e
N o te I n A m E th e re is a te n d en cy to use th e p a s t tense in p referen ce to th e p re se n t p e rfec tiv e ,

esp ecially fo r th e in definite p a s t; e g : D id y o u ever go to Florence ? ( c /4 .13 N o te lb ], 4.22 N o te [a]).
V a r ia n t s o f t h e in d e f in i te p a s t m e a n in g
4.21 I n referen ce to a single e v e n t in th e p a st (m ean in g (b) above), th e p re s e n t
p e rfe c tiv e , p a rticu larly in B rE , is associated w ith th ree im p lica tio n s o r
c o n n o ta tio n s, each o f w h ich m ay o r m ay n o t be ap p licab le in a g iv en
in stan c e. T h ese im p licatio n s a re (i) th a t th e relev an t tim e zo n e lead s u p t
th e p re se n t; (ii) th a t th e e v e n t is re ce n t; a n d (iii) th a t th e resu lt o f th e a c tio n
still o b ta in s a t th e p re sen t tim e. T h e first o f th ese im p licatio n s is sim p ly a
re sta te m e n t o f w h a t w as sa id a b o u t th e a n te rio r tim e zone o f th e p e rfe c tiv e
in 4.18. T h e p o in t to b e m a d e here is th a t th e choice b etw een th e p re s e n t
p e rfe c tiv e a n d th e sim p le p a s t is o ften d eterm in ed by w h e th er th e s p e a k e r
h a s in m in d an implicit tim e zone w h ich h as n o t yet fin ish ed :
H a v e you seen th e Ja v a n e se A rt E x h ib itio n ? [yet]

D id you see th e Ja v a n e se A rt E x h ib itio n ? [w hen it w as here]
T h e first o f th ese im plies t h a t th e E x h ib itio n is still o p e n ; th e seco n d t h a t th e

E x h ib itio n h as finished. F ro m th is c o n cern w ith a perio d still e x istin g a t th e
p re s e n t tim e, it is only a sh o rt ste p to th e second im p licatio n o fte n a sso c iated
w ith th e p re sen t p erfectiv e, viz th a t th e e v en t is recent. T h e sim p le p re s e n t
p e rfe c tiv e is o ften used to re p o rt a p iece o f n e w s :
£ ^ y o u h e a r ^ j t *16 n e w s^ P resid en t has resigned.
B ecau se o f th is c o n n o ta tio n o f recency, B ’s reply in th e follow ing e x ch an g e

m u s t b e consid ered a b su rd ly i n a p p ro p ria te :
A : H a s th e p o stm an left a n y letters? B : Yes, he d id six m o n th s ago.
S in ce p o stm en in g en eral d e liv e r letters daily, th e im p licit tim e zone in th is

c ase w ould be n o lo n g er th a n a day.
4.22 T h e th ird c o n n o tatio n , th a t th e resu lt o f th e actio n still o b tain s, ap p lie s to

d y n a m ic conclusive v erb s ( c / 4 .3 3 -5 ), ie v erb s w hose m ea n in g im p lies th e
a cc o m p lish m en t o f a ch an g e o f s ta te :
T h e a p p les h av e all b e en e aten . [ 1]

M y m o th e r h as reco v ered fro m h e r illness. [ 2]
H a v e a n y o f th e v isito rs a rriv e d ? [3]
T h e re su lta tiv e c o n n o ta tio n m eans, for exam ple, th a t [1] im p lies ‘T h ere are
n o a p p le s le ft’; th a t [2] im plies ‘M y m o th e r is now b e tte r’; a n d th a t [3] by
im p lic a tio n a s k s th e q u estio n ‘A re an y o f th e v isitors h e re? ’. T h is c o n n o ta tio n
is o b v io u sly clo sely c o n n ected w ith th a t o f recency. B oth th e re su lta tiv e a n d
re c e n c y c o n n o ta tio n s can easily o ccu r w ith o u t adv erb ials. T h ey d o , how ever,
u n d e rlie th e te n d e n c y o f th e p re sen t p erfectiv e to co o ccu r w ith tim e
a d v e rb ia ls s u c h as recently an d ju s t (em p h asizin g recency), a n d w ith tim e
re la tio n s h ip a d v e rb ia ls such as already a n d y e t (c/8 .7 2 ):
T h e p la n e h a s ju s t lan d ed . [4]
I ’v e a lrea d y to ld G illian a b o u t th e p arty . [5]
H a v e th e c h ild re n com e h o m e y e t i [6]
S ig n ifican tly , tim e relatio n sh ip ad v erb s su ch as already a n d y e t c a n o ccu r

either w ith r e s u lta tiv e v erb s a n d th e p e rfe c tiv e asp ect, as in [5] o r [6], or w ith
sta tiv e v erb s re fe rrin g to th e results o f su ch a ctio n s: eg [5] c o u ld b e p laced
a lo n g sid e G illian already know s about the p a rty, a n d [6] alo n g sid e A re the
children hom e y e t ?
N o te [a] I n A m E , th e sim p le p a s t is o ften p referre d to th e p re se n t perfectiv e for th e v a ria n ts o f th e

in d e fin ite p a s t d isc u sse d in th is section. C o m p a re [6], fo r exam ple, w ith D id th e children com e
hom e y e t? <esp A m E ) . O th e r A m E ex am p les a re : I ju s t cam e b a c k ; You told m e a lrea d y ; an d
w ith o u t a n a d v e r b : I'm tired - 1 h a d a long day.
[b] T h e tw o p e rfe c tiv e co n stru c tio n s for th e v e rb go , n am ely have gone a n d have been , differ in
th a t th e fo rm e r is re su lta tiv e :
M y siste r h a s g o n e to R om e. [She is th e re now ]
M y siste r h a s b e e n to R om e, [at least once]
T h u s have gone c a n n o t norm ally be used in a h a b itu a l se n s e :
?M y siste r h a s g o n e to R o m e frequently.
T h e u s e o f a d v e r b i a l s w it h t h e s i m p l e p a s t a n d t h e p r e s e n t p e r f e c t i v e
4 .23 T h e c h o ic e b e tw e e n th e sim ple p a st a n d th e p re sen t p erfectiv e is asso ciated
w ith tim e o rie n ta tio n , a n d th erefo re w ith th e choice an d in te rp re ta tio n o f
tim e a d v e rb ia ls . (F o r th e classification o f th e relev an t types o f a d v erb ials, c f
8 .4 ,8 . 5 b / 8 . 9 7 / ) E x am p les a re:
(a) A D V E R B IA L ^ ASSOCIATED W IT H TH E PAST TENSE:

( c ) ADV ERBIA LS ASSOCIATED W IT H BO TH :
today. before,
th is m o n th , th is Ju n e ,
11\ h a v e seen
: her -
th is y ear,
11|h a v e £
; her
once.
recently. . already.
G ro u p (a) c o n ta in s tim e p o sitio n ad v erb ials w h ich in d icate a specific p o in t

o r perio d in th e p a st, a n d th ere fo re req u ire th e p a st tense. In G ro u p (b) a r e
ad v erb ials w h ic h d e sig n ate a p e rio d leading u p to th e p resen t m o m en t, a n d
are th erefo re a p p ro p ria te to th e p resen t p erfectiv e. G ro u p (c) is a m ix e d
g ro u p o f a d v e rb ia ls, so m e o f w h ich , like this m onth , d esig n ate a p erio d w h ic h
includes th e p re s e n t m o m e n t, w h ile o th ers h a v e m ean in g s w h ich v a ry
acco rd in g to w h e th e r a p re se n t o r p a st tim e o rie n ta tio n is in ten d ed . F o r
exam ple, I have seen him once c o n ta in s once in a freq u en cy sense (‘ho w o fte n ’),
w hile I saw him once c o n ta in s once in a tim e p o sitio n sense (‘w h e n ’).
[a] O n e q u ite o fte n m e ets (especially in B rE ) sentences in w h ich th e p resen t perfec tiv e co o ccu rs
w ith tim e ad v e rb ia ls o f G ro u p (a ); eg:
A : H av e you ev e r seen M acbeth o n th e stage?
B : Y es, I ’v e seen it ages ago, w h en I w as a child.
E xam ples su ch as th is m a y be ex p lain ed as perfo rm an ce erro rs, induced by B ’s copying th e fo rm
o f A ’s questio n . S u ch ex p la n a tio n s m ay no t, how ever, be so read ily availab le in o th e r cases, su c h
as They a sk e d m e about som ething I've said years ago.
[b] W ith p h rases lik e this w eek a n d this m onth referring to a p resen t period o f tim e , th e ch o ice
b etw een th e tw o v e rb co n stru c tio n s reflects merely a difference o f focus o r o r ie n ta tio n :
D id you re a d Punch th is w eek ? H av e you read Punch th is w eek?
B ut expressions su ch as this M arch a n d this morning m ay refer to a p a st period o f tim e (‘th e
M arch o f th is y e a r’, ‘th e m o rn in g o f to d a y ’) ra th e r th a n to a period co n ta in in g th e p re se n t
m om ent. S om e s p e a k e rs feel th a t th e p re se n t p erfective w ith su ch expressions im plies th a t th e
period referred to is n o t in th e p a s t; eg th a t / have seen her this M arch can be sp o k en ap p ro p ria te ly
only in M arch , a n d th a t I have seen her this morning c a n be sp o k en ap p ro p riately o nly in th e
m orning. O th e r sp eak ers, h o w ev er, d o n o t acknow ledge th is restrictio n .
Th e past perfective
T h e p a st p e rfe c tiv e u sually h a s th e m ean in g o f ‘p a st-in -th e-p ast’, an d can b e
reg ard ed as a n a n te rio r v ersio n e ith e r o f th e p re sen t p erfectiv e o r o f th e
sim ple p ast. C o n sid e r th e follow ing e x am p les:
N o w o n d e r M iss M a tth e w s’ F re n c h w as e xcellent - she h a d lived

in P a ris sin ce c h ild h o o d . [ 1]
W h en w e b o u g h t it, th e h o u se h a d been e m p ty for several years. [2]
These c an be d ia g ra m m e d as in F ig 4.24a, w h ic h is a special case o f th e

general p e rfectiv e d ia g ra m F ig 4.18:
[th e n ] [now ]
7\ r,
? 2 >
I
I
Fig 4.24a M eaning o f th e past perfective

M o re tec h n ically , th e p a s t p erfectiv e m ay be said to d e n o te an y e v en t o r state

a n te r io r to a tim e o f o rie n ta tio n in th e past. T h e th ree m ean in g s o f ‘sta te ’,
‘e v e n t’ o r ‘h a b it’ (as d esc rib e d in 4.14) c a n all occur. W h ereas [ 1] an d [2] have
illu s tra te d the ‘s ta te ’ m ea n in g , [3] a n d [4] illu strate ‘e v e n t’ an d ‘h a b it’
resp ec tiv e ly :
T h e g o alk eep er h a d injured his leg, an d c o u ld n ’t play. [3]

I t w a s fo o lish to fire M c C a b e : in tw o seasons, he h a d scored m ore
g oals th a n an y o th e r player. [4]
W h e n tra n s p o se d in to th e ‘p a st in th e p a s t’ by m ea n s o f th e p a st perfective,
th e c o n tr a s t b e tw ee n th e sim p le p a st a n d th e p re sen t p e rfe c tiv e is n e u tra liz e d :
M y a u n t h a d lived in Italy fo r four years. [5]

H e h a d died in 1920, b efo re his son w as b o rn . [6]
In [5], th e fou r-y ear p e rio d could e ith e r be a p e rio d lea d in g u p to T 2, o r a

p e rio d w h ich h a d c ea se d b efo re T 2, as w ould b e c le ar i n :
I n h e r you th , m y a u n t h a d lived in Italy for fo u r years. T h a t’s w hy she

spoke I ta lia n so well.
T h u s [5] could b e a p ro jec tio n fu rth e r in to the p a s t o f e ith e r [7] o r [8]:
M y a u n t liv e d in Italy for fo u r years. [7]

M y au n t h as lived in Ita ly fo r four years. [8]
B u t o f course, th e p a s t p e rfectiv e does n o t h a v e to re fe r to a m ore rem ote

tim e t h a n th at re fe rre d to by th e sim p le past. In som e cases, p a rticu larly in a
c la u se in tro d u c ed by after, th e tw o c o n stru ctio n s c a n b e m ore o r less
in te rc h a n g e a b le :
I a t e m y l u n c h a f t e r S a n d r a c a m e b a c k fr o m h e r s h o p p i n g . [ 10]
F ig 4 .2 4 b
A fte r p laces thej e a tin g ( T 2) a fte r S a n d ra ’s re tu rn (w h ich we m ay call T 2), so

th e p a s t p erfectiv e, w h ic h p laces T 3 befo re T 2, is re d u n d a n t. W h a t difference
it d o es m ak e is a m a tte r o f th e ‘sta n d p o in t’ o f th e sp eak er. In [9] the ‘p a st in
p a s t’ tim e T3 is id en tifie d as b ein g e arlie r th a n T 2 by th e p a st p e rfe c tiv e ; b ut
in [10] it is left to th e c o n ju n c tio n after to signal th is tem p o ral relatio n .
T3 T, T,
V. V. V.
[ b e f o r e th e n ] [ th e n ] [n o w ]
F ig 4.24c
Progressive aspect 197
A d v e rb ials o f tim e p o sitio n , w h en used w ith th e p a st p erfectiv e, c a n

id en tify e ith e r T 2 o r T 3. P laced initially, th ey o ften id en tify T 2:
W hen the police arrived , th e th iev es h ad ru n aw ay. [11]
B ut in final p o sitio n , th e in te rp re ta tio n w hereby th e a d v erb ial refers to T 3 is

m o re lik ely :
T h e th iev es h a d ru n a w ay when the police arrived. [12]
H e n ce in [11], when is likely to be e q u iv alen t to B y the tim e t h a t . . . , b u t in

{12] th e when clause is likely to b e a n answ er to the q u e stio n : ‘W h en h a d th e
th ie v e s ru n a w ay ? ’
N o te [a] W hen in th e sense o f ‘im m ed iately a fte r’ b ehaves lik e a fter in sentences [9] a n d [10]. T h e
follow ing a re th e refo re v irtu ally sy n o n y m o u s:
I a te m y lu n c h w h en S an d ra h a d com e b ac k from h e r shopping.
I a te m y lu n ch w hen S a n d ra cam e b ac k fro m h er shopping.
[b] T h e re is o n e co n stru c tio n in w h ich th e p a s t perfective clearly could n o t be rep laced , a s a
m e an s o f referrin g to p a s t tim e, by th e sim p le past. T h is is a n in d irect sp eech co n stru c tio n , in
w h ich th e p a s t p e rfec tiv e in d icates b a c k sh ift { c f 14.31) into th e m o re rem ote p a s t: / told her th e
parcel h a d not arrived.
[c] T h e p a st p erfec tiv e c a n also be a back sh ifted e q u iv alen t o f th e p resen t p erfe c tiv e in
ex p ressio n s lik e I hadn't noticed ; I ’m leaving - had you heard? In these cases, a p a s t tim e o f
o rie n ta tio n T 2 is im p lie d b y context.
[dl A s w ell a s past-in -p ast, th e p a st p e rfec tiv e c a n be used to in d icate h y p o th etical p ast (c f 4 .1 9 ,
14.23,15.35).
Progressive aspect
4.25 A s its n a m e suggests, th e p r o g r e s s i v e F s p e c t (also so m etim es called th e

d u r F t iv e o r CONTINUOUS a sp e ct) in d icates a h ap p en in g i n p r o g r e s s a t a
g iv en tim e. C o m p a r e :
s im p l e p r e s e n t : Jo a n sings well. [1]

p r e s e n t p r o g r e s s iv e : J o a n is singing well. [2]
T h ese tw o sen ten ces have th e sam e tense, b u t different aspects. N o tice th e
d ifferen ce th is m ak e s to th e m ean in g : Joan sings well refers to J o a n ’s
c o m p e ten c e as a sin g e r (th a t sh e h a s a good voice - a relativ ely p e rm a n e n t
a ttrib u te ); Joan is singing w ell refers to h er p erfo rm an ce o n a p a rtic u la r
o c casio n o r d u rin g a p a rtic u la r season. T h e sam e fo rm al c o n tra st could be
m a d e fo r th e p a s t te n s e :
s im p l e p F s t : Jo a n sang well. [3]

p F s t p r o g r e s s iv e : Jo a n was singing well. [4]
B u t in th is case, th e sem an tic c o n tra st (assum ing a ‘p a st e v e n t’ in te rp re ta tio n

o f [3]) is d ifferen t: th e sim p le p a s t m ak es us see th e ev en t as a w hole, w h ile
th e p a s t p ro g ressiv e m ak es u s see it a s an activ ity in progress. T h e d ifferen t
effect o f th e p ro g ressiv e in [1 - 2 ] a n d in [3 -4 ] c an be e x p lain ed as follow s.
T h e m e a n in g o f th e progressive can b e se p a ra ted in to th ree co m p o n e n ts,

n o t a ll o f w h ic h n eed b e p resen t in a g iv en in s ta n c e :
(a ) th e h a p p e n in g h a s d u r F t io n
( b ) th e h a p p e n i n g h a s l im it e d d u ra tio n
(c ) th e h a p p e n i n g is n o t n e c e s s F r il y c o m pl e t e
T h e first tw o c o m p o n e n ts ad d u p to th e c o n ce p t o f t e m p o r F r i n e s s . T h u s in
[2], th e p ro g ressiv e signals th a t J o a n ’s sin g in g is a tem p o rary ra th e r th a n a
p e r m a n e n t p h e n o m e n o n ; in [4], o n th e o th e r h a n d , th e p ro g ressiv e m a k e s us
see th e e v en t a s e n d u rin g o v er a p erio d , ra th e r th a n as h a p p e n in g all a t o n ce.
I n [2], th e p ro g ressiv e ‘s h rin k s’ th e tim e s p a n o f sings ; in [4] it ‘s tre tc h e s o u t’
th e tim e s p a n o f sang. T h is difference a rises becau se c o m p o n e n t (a) is
d is tin c tiv e fo r single e v en ts; w h ereas c o m p o n e n t (b) is d istin c tiv e fo r sta te s
a n d h a b its. T h e c o m p o n e n t o f in co m p letio n (c) is d istin ctiv e chiefly in th e
c a s e o f c e rta in ty p es o f d y n am ic verb m e a n in g called c o n c l u s i v e ( c f 4 .3 3 -
35):
I rea d a n o v e l y esterd ay evening, [ie th e w hole novel]
I was reading a n o v el yesterd ay e v en in g , [ie th ere is n o im p lic a tio n th a t
I fin ish ed th e n o v el in th e course o f th e evening]
N ote [a] T h e p ro g ressiv e a s p e c t is in fre q u en t c o m p ared w ith th e nonprogressive. A c o u n t o f a large

n u m b e r o f v erb co n stru c tio n s has in d icated th a t less th a n 5 p er c e n t o f v e rb p h ra se s are
p ro g ressiv e, w h e re a s m o re th a n 95 p e r c e n t a re n o n progressive. T h e sam e c o u n t sh o w s th a t
p ro g ressiv e form s a re m ore freq u e n t in co n v e rsatio n th a n in scientific disco u rse; also th a t th ey
a re m a rg in a lly m p re fre q u e n t in co n v ersatio n al A m E th a n in co n v ersatio n al B rE .
[b] I t m a y be arg u e d th a t th e re is yet a fo u rth c o m p o n e n t in th e m ean in g o f th e p ro g re s s iv e : viz
th a t th e ev e n t d e s c rib e d h as a n in terrela tio n sh ip o r id e n tity w ith an o th er sim u ltan eo u s e v e n t (c f
4.36 o n ‘te m p o ral fra m e s’):
D o you th in k h e w as telling th e tru th ?
In th is c a se, th e re is n o suggestion o f in c o m p le tio n , b u t th e re does a p p e a r to be a n u n sp o k en
im p lic a tio n * . . . w h e n he sa id th a t’. T h is use o f th e pro g ressiv e applies esp ecially to v erb s o f
s p e a k in g : ’
A : W h a t d id sh e m e an by th a t?
B : I th in k sh e was advising you n o t to in terfere.
State, event, and habit w ith the progressive

4.26 T h e th re e v e rb senses o f state, e v en t, a n d h a b it are differently in te rp re te d
w ith th e p ro g re s siv e :
(a ) STA TE PR O G R ESSIV E
In m a n y cases ( c f 4 .2 8 -3 1 ) the pro g ressiv e is u n accep tab le w ith sta tiv e v erb s:
W e own a house in th e country.

*W e are ow ning a h ouse in th e co u n try .
* S am ’s w ife was being w ell-dressed.
T h is c a n be e x p la in ed , in p a rt, by th e o b se rv a tio n th a t stativ e v e rb m e a n in g s

are in im ical to th e id ea th a t som e p h e n o m e n o n is ‘in p ro g ress’. S ta te s are
‘lik e -p a rte d ’ in th a t every seg m en t o f a s ta te h a s th e sam e c h a ra c te r as any
o th e r s e g m e n t: n o p ro g ress is m ade. (C o n tra s t W e are building a house in the
country.) W h ere th e progressive do es o ccu r, it is felt to im ply te m p o ra rin e ss
ra th e r th a n p e rm a n e n c e :
W e are living in th e co u n try , [tem p o rary residence]

W e live in th e c o u n try . [p e rm a n en t residence]
(O n th e sta tu s o f v e rb s such as live , c f 4.32).
(b ) EVENT PROGRESSIVE
W ith e v en t m e a n in g s ( c f 4 .3 3 -5 ), th e progressive conveys th e id ea t h a t a n
e v en t h as d u ra tio n , a n d h as n o t yet co m e to an end. C o n trast th e in sta n ta n e o u s
p re sen t ( c f 4.7) m ea n in g o f [1 ] w ith th e d u ratio n im p lied by [2] o r [3]:
T h e referee blows his w histle. [1]

T h e referee is blowing his w histle. [2]
T h e tra in was approaching. [3]
B o th [1] a n d [2] co u ld b e p a r t o f a ra d io co m m en tary o n a fo o tb all m a tc h ; b u t

[1] w ould suggest a b rie f b last o n th e w histle, w hile [2] w ould te n d to su g g est
a c o n tin u o u s o r re p ea te d blow ing o f th e w histle. T h e p re sen t p ro g ressiv e is a
m ore co m m o n w ay o f re ferrin g to a p re sen t e v en t th a n th e sim p le p re sen t,
because o f th e im p lic a tio n o f d u ra tio n th a t ten d s to a cc o m p an y su ch e v e n ts ;
(c) HABITUAL PROGRESSIVE

C o m b in ed w ith h a b itu a l m ean in g , th e progressive im p lies th a t th e re p e titio n
tak es place o v e r a lim ite d p e r io d :
T h e p ro fesso r types h is o w n letters. [T he h a b it is p e rm a n en t.)

T h e p ro fesso r is typing his o w n letters w hile his secretary is ill. [The
h a b it is tem p o rary .]
A t th a t tim e sh e was having reg u lar singing lessons.
Less freq u en tly , th e p ro g ressiv e co m b in es w ith h a b itu a l m e a n in g to suggest

th a t every e v e n t in a se q u en ce o f ev en ts h a s d u ra tio n /in c o m p le tio n :
W h en ev er I see h er, sh e ’s working in th e g arden.

T h e C h ie f S ecretary rises a t 6.15 every m o rn in g . By 7 o ’clo ck he h as
tak e n a lig h t b re ak fa st, an d is alread y reading th e m o rn in g
n ew sp ap ers.
R e m e m b er th a t w h en y o u 're taking a rest, som eone else is alw ays working.
T o h av e th is in te rp re ta tio n , th e clause m u st co n ta in a n a d v e rb ia l o f tim e

po sitio n o r o f freq u en cy .
N o te [al In co m b in atio n w ith alw ays , continually , o r forever, th e p ro g ressiv e loses its sem a n tic
co m p o n en t o f 'te m p o r a r in e s s ':
[4]
T h e progressive in su ch ca ses o fte n im p a rts a subjective feeling o f d isa p p ro v a l to th e ac tio n

described. T h u s in [4], th e sp e a k e r seem s to suggest th a t w o rking late a t th e office is a n irrita tin g
o r deplo rab le h a b it. T h is suggestion is stro n g er w hen th e ad v e rb forever is used. I n o th e r cases
th e re m ay be no su ch d ero g ato ry im p lic a tio n : A child is alw ays learning.
[b] W i th re fe re n c e to th e e v e n t p ro g ressiv e (b), a d ifferent k in d o f c o n tra s t w ith th e in stan tan eo u s

p r e s e n t is illu stra te d by c e rta in v erb s (eg: write , enclose , send, hasten ) used w ith a 1st person
su b je c t in le tte r w ritin g :
I i w ri!e. _ 1 to in fo rm you th a t ___
. I a m w riting)
T h e s im p le p re s e n t in such cases h as a force sim ilar to th a t o f a p erfo rm a tiv e (c /4 .7 ) such as I
(h e r e b y ) p r o m is e . . . , a n d th is an alo g y is ind eed co nfirm ed by th e o cc u rre n ce o f herewith (an
a d v e r b s im ila r to th e hereby w h ich c a n acco m p an y p erfo rm a tiv e s) in , eg: I enclose h erew ith . . .
T h e s im p le p re s e n t in this c o n te x t is fo rm al o r official in to ne, w h ereas th e p rogressive is m ore
in f o r m a l, a n d m o re a p p ro p ria te to a p riv a te letter.
S itu a tio n ty p e s
4.27 T o e x p la in th e c o n stra in ts o n th e use o f th e prog ressiv e, as well as fo r o th er
p u rp o s e s , it is usefu l to re co n sid e r th e sta tiv e /d y n a m ic d istin c tio n o f 4.4, an d
to s u b d iv id e v e rb m ea n in g s in to a larg er n u m b e r o f categ o ries. O n e such
s u b d iv is io n is g iv en in F ig 4.27, w h ere 11 categ o ries a re recognized, an d
la b e lle d A - K . I t is im p o rta n t to n o te, also, th a t v e rb m ean in g s can be
s e p a ra te d o n ly artificially , in th is respect, fro m th e ir c o m p lem en tatio n s. F o r
e x a m p le , th e v e rb write o c cu rrin g in vacuo c a n n o t be classified; for w e m ay
o b s e rv e a n im p o rta n t d ifferen ce b etw een J ill is writing, w h ich d esig n ates an
o n g o in g a ctiv ity , a n d J ill is writing a novel, w h ich d e sig n ates a n activ ity for
w h ic h a g o al o r o b jectiv e is im p lied (an d fo r w h ich the n a m e ‘a cc o m p lish m en t’
w ill b e u sed ). M o re d e ta ile d e x p la n atio n m u st now b e g iv en o f th e categories
in F ig 4 .2 7 o p p o site, a n d th e ir relev an ce to th e p rogressive.
S ta tiv e ty p es A an d B: q u alities an d states

4.28 A m o n g sta tiv e situ a tio n ty p es, a rough d istin c tio n m ay be d ra w n b etw een
q u a l i t i e s (T y p e A in F ig 4.27) a n d s t a t e s (T ype B in F ig 4.27). Q u alities are
r e la tiv e ly p e rm a n e n t a n d in alien a b le p ro p e rties o f th e su b ject referen t. T h e
p r im a r y v e rb s be a n d have a re p reem in en tly q u a lity -in tro d u cin g v erb s; b ut
th ey c a n also in tro d u c e th e less p e rm a n e n t situ atio n ty p es called states.
C o n tra s t: i
Q U A L IT IE S STATES
M a r y is C a n a d ia n . [1] M ary is tire d . [3]
M a r y h a s b lu e eyes. [2] M ary h as a b a d cold. [4]
N o rm a lly su c h [stative situ a tio n types d o n o t o ccu r w ith th e p ro g ressiv e (this

is e sp e cially triie o f q u a litie s ):
* M a ry is b e in g a C a n a d ia n , [la ] ?*M ary is b e in g tire d . [3a]

* M a ry is h a v in g blue eyes. [2a] ?M ary is h a v in g a b a d cold. [4a]
I f s e n te n c e s su c h as [ l a - 4 a ] d o occur w ith th e p ro g ressiv e, it is a sign th a t

th ey h a v e b e en in so m e sen se re in te rp re te d as c o n ta in in g a d y n am ic
p r e d ic a tio n . F o r e x am p le, P eter is being aw kw a rd signifies th a t ‘aw k w a rd n ess’
is a fo rm o f b e h av io u r o r a c tiv ity , n o t a p e rm a n e n t tra it. I f se n ten c e [3a] w ere
to o c c u r, it w o u ld signify th a t M a ry w as pretending to be tire d {ie in d u lg in g in
a d e c e p tiv e a ctiv ity ), ra th e r th a n in a sta te o f real lassitude.
A lth o u g h v e rb s w ith s ta tiv e m ean in g h a v e so m etim es been called
‘n o n p ro g re s siv e ’, we sh o u ld o b serv e th a t th e d efin itio n o f sta tiv e verbs is n ot
Progressive aspe ct 201
A.____
| q u F l it y ]
(t) s ig n ifie s
“ e g : b e ta ll, h a r e tw o legs, T ra n s itiv e '
b e a m a m m a l (4 .2 8 )
(th a t) s ig n ifie s
— S t a t i v e — -►
a fo llo w in g
B. r& tff-c lu u se
" e g : b e a n g r y , b e ill, lo v e (t), re s e m b le (t),

th i n k ( th a t) , omvi (t) ( 4 . 2 8 - 3 1)
C.
e g : live, s ta n d , lie, s it (4 ,3 2 )
N o n a g e n t i v e D.
| g o in g s -o n ]
" e g : ra in , sn o w , b oil,
s h in e , g lo w
_ N o n c o n c iu siv e _
a n d d u ra tiv e
A g e n ti v e E .
IF c t iv it ie s ]
" e g : d r in k , sew , w r ite , h u n t ,

p la y (t), ta lk
_ D u ra tiv e _
(4 .3 3 - 4 )
N o n a g e n tiv e F .
Ip r o c e s s e s ]
e g : ripen, g r o w up , im p r o v e ,
s e p a r a te , tu r n r e d
_ C o n c lu siv e _
a n d d u ra tiv e
A g e n ti v e G . _______
|F c c o m p l is h m e n t s |
“ e g : w rite ( t) , e a t (t), d r in k ( t) ,
fi l l u p ( t) , d is c o v e r (t)
— D y n a m ic -
N o n a g e n t iv e H .
I M OM ENTARY EVENTS I
e g : s n e e z e , e x p lo d e ,
b lin k , fl a s h , b o u n c e
_ N o n c o n c iu siv e _
a n d p u n c tu a l
A g e n ti v e /._______
[M O M E N T A R Y A C TS I
‘ e g : ta p (t), n o d ( t ) ,f i r e (a g u n ) ,
k i c k ( t)
P u n c tu a l_
'( 4 .3 5 )
N o n a g e n t iv e J . _______
| T R A N S IT IO N A L E V E N T ? !
" e g : d ro p , receive ( t) , c a tc h (t),
ta k e o ff, arrive, d ie
_ C o n c lu siv e
a n d p u n c tu a l
A g e n ti v e K.
T R A N S IT IO N A L A CTS
e g : s it d ow n, c a tc h (a b a ll),
s h o o t (t), b eg in ( t) , s t o p i t)
F ig 4.27 S itu atio n types
so m u c h th a t th e y are in co m p atib le w ith th e progressive, as th a t w h e n th ey

a re c o m b in e d w ith th e progressive, som e ch an g e o f in te rp re ta tio n o th e r th a n
th e a d d itio n o f th e ‘tem p o rary ’ m ean in g o f th e progressive a sp e ct is req u ired .
T h is c h a n g e o f in te rp re ta tio n can usually b e ex p lain ed as a tra n s fe r, o r
re c la s sific a tio n o f the v e rb as d y n am ic, eg as h av in g a m ean in g o f p ro cess o r
a g e n tiv ity . T h e re p re se n tativ e sta tiv e v erb s be, hope, an d resemble, are
illu s tr a te d in Table 4.28:
Table 4 . 2 8
NORM AL NONNORM AL S P E C IA L E F F E C T O F
N O N P R O G R E S S IV E P R O G R E S S IV E P R O G R E S S IV E
T h e neighbours are The neighbours are being Suggests that ‘friendliness’

friendly. friendly. is a form o f behaviour
(perhaps insincere).
I hope you will come. I am hoping you will Makes the speaker’s
come. attitude more tentative
and perhaps more polite
( 4 .3 7 ) .
T in a resembles her sister. Tina is resembling her With the comparative

sister more and more. construction, the
progressive turns the
stative m eaning into a
process m eaning ( 4 . 3 4 ) .
A n o th e r c h a ra c te ris tic o f su ch v erbs, w h en th ey are e xpressing sta te s, is th a t

th e y c a n b e u sed in a ‘te m p o ra ry ’ sense in th e sim ple p re sen t ten se:
T h e m a n a g e r is aw ay th is a fte rn o o n . [5]
T h e m a n a g e r works th is a fte rn o o n . [6]
F o r e x a m p le , [5] is n o n p ro g ressiv e, a n d yet clearly refers to a lim ite d p e r io d ;

in c o n tr a s t, [6] c a n n o t refer to a tem p o rary sta te o f affairs; in stea d , it h a s to
be in te r p r e te d in a h ab itu al sense [‘T h e m an a g er w orks th is a fte rn o o n (b ein g
T u e s d a y ) e v ery w eek ’]. E q u ally , in [7]:
T h e m u sic th ey are playing sounds lik e M ah ler. [7]
th e c h o ic e o f th e p rogressive w ith th e d y n am ic v erb play in d ic a te s th e sam e

lim ite d tim e p e rio d as th e use o f th e n o n p ro g ressiv e w ith th e s ta tiv e verb
sound.
N o te T h e c o n s tr a in ts o f th e progressive c a n n o t, it seem s, be exp lain ed en tirely in te rm s o f m e an in g .

Since th e u se o f th e progressive asp ect h a s been un dergoing g ram m atical ex ten sio n o v e r th e p a st
few h u n d r e d years, it is likely th a t its use is still ch an g in g a t th e p resen t d a y , a n d th a t its
d e s c rip tio n a t an y o n e tim e c a n n o t be to tally system atic. T h is w ould ex p lain th e difficulties faced
by th o se a tte m p tin g to account in ev ery respect for th e co n d itio n s for th e use o f th e p rogressive
in te rm s o f se m a n tic g eneralizations.
‘P riv a te ’ s ta te s
4.29 M an y s ta tiv e v erb s d en o te ‘p riv a te ’ states w h ich can only b e subjectively
v e rifie d : ie s ta te s o f m in d , v o litio n , a ttitu d e , etc. W e m ay d istin g u ish :
(a) i n t e l l e c t u a l s t a t e s (eg: know , believe, think, wonder, suppose, im agine,

realize, u nderstand), especially w hen follow ed by a n o m in a l clause a s
o b je c t:
I \ un^ erstan<^ 1 th a t th e offer h as b e en accep ted .

\* a m understanding J
(b) s t a t e s o f e m o t i o n o r a t t i t u d e (eg: intend, wish, want, like, dislike,

disagree, p ity ), esp ecially w h en followed by c lau sal c o m p le m e n ta tio n :
f lik es
j to e n te rta in the stu d en ts.
| * i s lik in g
Such v e rb s do , h o w ev er, o ccu r w ith th e p ro g ressiv e w h en tem p o rarin e ss
o r te n ta tiv e n e ss is b ein g em p h asized (c/4 .3 7 ), especially w h en th e p r o
g ressive is c o m b in e d w ith the a ttitu d in a l p a st ( c f 4.16):
W h a t were y o u wanting ?
I was hoping you w ould give m e som e advice.
T h e sam e a p p lie s to som e v erb s o f T ype (a) a b o v e (eg think).
(c) s t a t e s O F p e r c e p t i o n (e g : see, hear, fe e l, sm ell, taste), w ith w h ich we m a y

also p lace a p p e a ra n c e a s expressed by seem a n d appear. P e rc ep tio n v e rb s
a re m o re fully d iscu ssed in 4.30 below.
(d) s t a t e s o f b o d i l y s e n s a t i o n (eg: hurt, ache, tickle, itch, fe e l cold). F o r

p re d ic atio n s b elo n g in g to th is sm all b u t in te restin g category, th e
p ro g ressiv e a n d th e n o nprogressive a re m o re o r less in te rc h a n g e a b le
w h en re fe rrin g to a tem p o rary state:
^ ^ { ^ s hurling. M y b & ck{ f a c h in g .
N o te T h e verb fe e l is v ersa tile in th a t it c a n o ccu r in all four ca teg o rie s ab o v e :

(a) 1fe e l th a t th e p la y will be a success. (c) T h e gro u n d fe e ls soft.
(b) W e f e l t v ery an g ry . (d) S h e fe e ls sick.
F eel can also o c c u r as a d y n am ic perce p tio n v erb { c f 4.30).
V erbs o f perception
4.30 I n th e sp h e re o f p e rc e p tio n , stativ e m ean in g can b e expressed in tw o w a y s :
w e c an e ith e r p lac e th e p e rceiv er in subject p o sitio n , as in [ l a —5a] below , o r
w e can p lace th e p e rc e p t (or ‘th in g p erceiv ed ’) in su b ject p o sitio n , as in [ l b -
5 b ]:
(i) P E R C E IV E R A T S
I can see th e house. [ la ]
W e could hear singing. [2a]
I could f e e l v ib ratio n s. [3a]
Can you sm ell th e soap ? [4a]
I could taste th e g arlic in th e soup. [5a]
(ii) PERCEPT a t S
T h e h o u se looks em pty. [lb ]
T h e sin g in g sounded far away. [2b]
T h e v ib ra tio n s f e l t as if they could have b een caused

by a n e a rth q u a k e . [3b]
I t sm ells o f lav en d er. [4b]
T h e so u p ta sted stro n g ly o f g arlic. [5b]
T o e x p re ss th e s ta te o f p e rc e p tio n w ith T y p e (i), w e use th e m o d al can/could

fo llo w ed b y th e v e rb o f p e rce p tio n . T h e sim ple p re sen t o r p a st w ould express
d y n a m ic m e a n in g , so th a t th e a c t o f p ercep tio n w ould be seen as an e v en t
w ith a d e fin e d b e g in n in g a n d e n d p o in t. C o m p are:
I h e a rd th e b ell rin g , [ev en t seen as a whole] [6]
I c o u ld hear th e bells rin g in g , [p ercep tio n c o n tin u in g o v e r a period] [7]
(A ‘m ix e d -a s p e c t’ s e n te n c e I heard the bells ringing is also a p ossibility.) T h e

p re s e n t te n s e v e rsio n o f se n ten c es like [6] is u n u su a l:
I hear th e b ell r in g ! A h a , I see y o u !
S u ch se n te n c e s so u n d h istrio n ic o r playful because hear a n d see in th is co n tex t

e x em p lify th e in s ta n ta n e o u s p re sen t ( c f 4.7). M o re a cc ep ta b le ex am p les w ith
th e sim p le p re s e n t a re se n ten c es like I sm ell som ething burning a n d Do yo u see
anything m oving outside?, w h ere em p h a sis is g iv en to th e suddenness o f a
p e rc e p tio n .
S en ten c es su ch a s [ l a - 5 a ] a n d [ l b —5b] can n o t n o rm ally o c cu r w ith th e
p ro g ressiv e a sp e ct, ev en th o u g h th ey a re likely to re fe r to tem p o rary ra th e r
th a n p e r m a n e n t sta te s. T h is m ay be co n tra sted , h o w ev er, w ith sentences
c o n ta in in g th e p e rc e p tio n v erb s look (at) an d listen (to), w h ich , b ein g ag en tiv e
a n d d y n a m ic , d e sc rib e a n in te n tio n a l activ ity , an d o c cu r q u ite com m only
wi th th e p ro g re js i v e :
I m seeing j p h o to g rap h s.
V m looking a t) 6
A : W h a t a re you d o in g ? B:
?*I’m hearing ) ,
. > a n ew record.
I m listening to I
T h e E n g lish lan g u a g e lac k s sp ecial ag en tiv e p e rce p tio n v erb s fo r th e o th e r

th ree se n se s o f to u ch , sm ell, a n d taste, so th a t th e s ta tiv e v erb s fe e l, sm ell,
a n d taste m u st d o d u ty h e re, as well as fo r th e tw o sta tiv e m ea n in g s:
f I ’m feelin g fo r th e lig h t sw itch.

W h a t a re you d o in g ? < I ’m sm elling th e roses.
f I ’m tasting th e w ine, to see ho w sw eet it is.
I n su m m ary , th e n , w e m ay d isp lay the fo u r d istin c t uses o f p e rce p tio n verbs

as in Table 4.30.
O th er v erb s o f sim ila r b e h a v io u r to see, hear, e tc a re perceive a n d detect.
N o te [a] Look in sense ‘p e rc e p t a t S’ is ex c ep tio n a l in occ u rrin g com m o n ly w ith th e pro g ressiv e:
You I | tire d th is evening.

[ a r e lo oking J
T h e re is little d isc e rn ib le differen ce b etw een th e progressive an d non p ro g ressiv e v arian ts here.
[b] O f co u rse, th e re a re n o n p e rc e p tu a l uses o f th e v erbs in T able 4.30. T h e se include th e use o f
see in the sen se o f ‘m e e t’ : I'm seeing th e m anager tomorrow.
Ta b le 4.30 P erception verbs
STATIVE DYNAMIC
PERCEPT AT S PERCEIVER AT S NONAGENTIVE AGENTIVE

lo o k c a n /c o u ld see see lo o k ( a t )
sound c a n /c o u ld hear hear listen ( to )
. fe e l c a n /c o u ld fe e l fe e l fe e l
s m e ll c a n /c o u ld s m e ll s m e ll s m e ll
ta s te c a n /c o u ld ta s te ta s te ta s te
[c] N o te th e e x c ep tio n a l u se o f see a n d hear w ith th e progressive (focusing o n th e process o f

p e rc e p tio n ) i n :
I n e e d so m e sp ectacles. I ’m n o t seeing th in g s so well th e se days.
A : D id you h e a r a bell rin g ju s t th e n ?
B : N o . I c a n ’t h e a r a thing.
. . . f I am hearing it now.
A : T h e re it goes a g a in ! , .
(1 can hear it now .
In th e fo llow ing, too, th e ex c ep tio n a l o cc u rre n ce o f th e progressive seem s to arise from p e rc e p tio n
b ein g tre a te d a s a n o n g o in g process: Your soup's tasting better every d a y ; M y s c a r f is no longer
sm elling o f lavender. S uch ex a m p les a re very unusual, how ever.
O th e r s ta te s o f ‘being’ and ‘having’

4.31 T h e m a in v erb s be a n d have, alth o u g h th ey can b o th be used in d y n a m ic
senses, a re th e m o st c en tral a n d c h ara cte ristic o f stativ e verbs, a n d c a n
freq u e n tly b e used in th e p a ra p h ra sin g o f o th e r stativ e verbs:
W e agree w ith you. - W e are in agreement with you.

T h e w a te r la sted b itter. - T h e w ater h a d a b itte r taste.
A p a r t fro m th e ‘p riv a te ’ v erb s discussed in 4 .2 9 -3 0 , th ere are o th e r v erb s

w h ic h a re p a ra p h ra s a b le in th is w ay, a n d c a n be fittingly called ‘verb s o f
b e in g a n d h a v in g ’ :
T h e box contains a necklace. = ‘A n eck lace is in th e box’]

T h e c a n holds tw o gallons. = ‘. . . has a capacity o f . . .’]
Y o u r a g e d o e sn ’t m atter. = ‘. . . is n o t im p o rta n t’]
I t depends on th e w eath er. = ‘. . . is d ep en d e n t o n . . . ’]
J im resem bles h is sister. = ‘. . . is like . . . ’]
S h e belongs to th e ten n is club. = ‘. . . i s a m e m b e r o f . . . ’]
T h ese v e rb s also rev eal th e ir stativ e c h a ra c te r in th e above senses by th e ir

u n a c c e p ta b ility w ith th e p ro g ressiv e : *The b o x is containing a necklace, etc.
N o te A g ain , e x c ep tio n a l uses o f th ese a s ‘p ro cess’ v erbs m a y be fo u n d ; eg: H ow m uch was the ta n k
containing when y o u last inspected it ?
Type C : stan ce
4.32 In a d d itio n to th e s ta tiv e v erb s n o ted ab o v e, th ere is a sm all b u t im p o r ta n t
class o f v e rb s w h ich e x p ress th e situ atio n ty p e w e will call s t F n c e , a n d w h ic h
are in te rm e d ia te b etw een th e sta tiv e an d d y n am ic categories. T h e m a in
sta n ce v erb s are live, stand, sit an d lie, a n d th ey are ch aracterized by th e ir
a b ility to be u se d b o th (a) w ith th e no n p ro g ressiv e to exp ress a p e rm a n e n t

s ta te , a n d (b) w ith th e progressive to ex p ress a tem p o rary s ta te :
J a m e s lives in C o p en h ag en , [p e rm a n e n t residence]
{ J a m e s is living in C op en h ag en , [tem p o rary residence]
f T h e city lie s o n th e coast, [p e rm a n en t position]

[P e o p le w ere lying o n th e b each , [tem p o rary posture]
f H is s ta tu e sta n d s in th e city sq u are, [p e rm a n en t position]

[ H e is sta n d in g o v e r there, [tem p o rary posture]
S im ila r p o ssib ilities exist w ith th e p erfectiv e a sp e ct: th e p erfectiv e

p ro g ressiv e, a s w ell as th e sim ple p erfectiv e, c a n b e used to refer to a sta te
le a d in g u p to th e p r e s e n t:
I h a v e sa t h e re for o v e r tw o h ours. [ 1]
I h a v e been sittin g h e re for o v er tw o h ours. [2]
S p e a k e rs differ, h o w ev er, in ju d g in g h ow to choose b etw een th e c o n stru ctio n s

o f [1] a n d [2], S o m e sp eak ers feel th a t [2] suggests a m o re te m p o ra ry state,
w h e re a s o th ers feel th ere is little to ch o o se b etw een th e tw o v a ria n ts. T h e re
is also so m e tim es a feeling th a t [1] is d ifferen t fro m [2] in im plying th a t th e
‘s ittin g ’ is c o n clu d ed a t th e p resen t m o m e n t, w hile [2] im plies th a t th e p o stu re
m ay w ell c o n tin u e in to th e future.
B e cau se o f its in te rm ed iate statu s, th e stan ce actio n type illu strates a n
e le m e n t o f g ra d ie n c e (c /2 .6 0 ) in th e sta tiv e /d y n a m ic c o n tra st. A t o n e e n d o f
th e s ta tiv e /d y n a m ic scale, as F ig 4.27 show s, th ere a re acts w h ich lack
a p p re c ia b le d u ra tio n , su ch as nod a n d arrive ; a t th e o th e r en d , th e re a re
p e rm a n e n t q u a litie s su ch as be tall. T o som e ex ten t, th e sta tiv e /d y n a m ic
d ic h o to m y is a n artificial division o f th is co n tin u u m . W e m ove n ow to th e
b o tto m p a r t o f F ig 4.27, in o rd er to co n sid er th e different v a rieties o f d y n am ic
m ean in g .
D ynam ic ty p es fi-JC
4.3 3 A m o n g d y n a m ic situ atio n types in F ig 4.27, w e have to d istin g u ish eig h t
ty p es a c c o rd in g t o th ree b in ary o p p o sitio n s:
Table 4.33 D ynam ic situation types
‘ Durative Punctual
Non- D iE H 1/
conclusive GOINGS-ON j ACTIVITIES MOMENTARY ] MOMENTARY
EVENTS , ACTS
t
1
F 1G J 1K
Conclusive PROCESSES 1 ACCOMPLISHMENTS TRANSITIONAL | TRANSITIONAL
1 EVENTS | ACTS
1
1 1
Nonagentive I Agentive Nonagentive 1Agentive
i
T h e d u r t i v e / p u n c t u l d istin c tio n se p a ra tes h a p p en in g s w h ich are c ap a b le

F F
o f h a v in g d u r a tio n from th o se w h ich a re n o t. S in ce d u ra tiv e situ atio n ty p es

ta k e p lace o v er a (n o rm ally lim ited ) period o f tim e, th ey c h ara cte ristica lly
c o m b in e w ith th e p ro g ressiv e. P u n ctu al situ atio n ty p es, o n the o th e r h a n d ,
a re th eo retically in c o m p a tib le w ith th e progressive a sp e c t: they c a n o c cu r
w ith th e progressive, b u t o n ly th ro u g h a special in te rp re ta tio n (c f 4.35).
T h e c o n c l u s i v e / n o n c o n c l u s i v e c o n trast d raw s a lin e b etw een th o se
situ atio n types w h ich re su lt in a c h an g e o f state a n d th o se w h ich d o n ot. F o r
ex am p le, it is e ssen tial to th e m ea n in g o f opened in S h e opened the door th a t
th e d o o r ends u p in a s ta te o f b e in g open, w hich is d iffere n t fro m th e sta te in
w h ich it sta rte d . T h e n o tio n s o f co m p letio n an d in co m p letio n a p p ly to th e
conclusive situ atio n ty p es, b u t n o t to the nonco n clu siv e ones. C o n clu siv e
s itu a tio n types a re th o se w h ic h allow a resu ltativ e in te rp re ta tio n o f th e
p e rfe c tiv e .a sp e ct { c f 4.22), eg: The weather has im proved im p lies th a t ‘th e
w e ath e r is now better’.
T h e a g e n t i v e / n o n a g e n t i v e c o n tra st is illu strated by John w a s thinking
a n d The sun was shining. T h e first is agentive, in c o n tra s t to th e second,
becau se it im plies th a t th e su b je ct refers to an ag en t o r ‘d o e r’ o f th e actio n .
T h e ‘d o e r’ is typically h u m a n , a n d is th e d elib erate o r se lf-ac tiv a tin g in itia to r
o f th e actio n . T o so m e e x te n t, th e ag en tiv e/n o n ag en tiv e b o u n d ary is u n c le ar;
b u t a g en tiv e s itu a tio n ty p es a re b y definition d y n a m ic ra th e r th a n stativ e.
T h e su b stitu te v e rb do (c /1 2 .2 6 ) c a n su b stitu te for a n a g en tiv e situ atio n ty p e.
A ll d y n am ic situ a tio n ty p es c a n c o m b in e w ith th e p ro g ressiv e a sp e ct, b u t
th ey h a v e v arious im p lic a tio n s fo r th e in te rp reta tio n o f th e p ro g ressiv e, a n d
it is to th ese th a t w e n o w tu rn .
D u rativ e situation types

4.34 Type D : g o i n g s - o n
T h ese a re ‘a c tiv itie s’ c a rrie d o u t b y in an im ate fo rces; eg:
I t is raining. T h e w ind is blowing h ard .

Is yo u r w a tch w o rk in g l T h e engine was running sm oothly.
T h e difference b e tw ee n th is ty p e a n d T ype E is th a t T y p e E is agentive.
Type E : a c t i v i t i e s
T h ese (in c o n tra st w ith T y p e G) a re typically e xpressed by in tra n s itiv e v erb s
w ith a n im a te su b jects:
Jill w as w ritin g /w o rk in g /sin g in g /d a n cin g /ea tin g /se w in g /sw im m in g /

etc.
B ut th ey also o ccu r w ith so m e (norm ally n o ncount) d ire c t o b je c ts :
T h e c h ild ren a re p lay in g chess. N o rm a n is read in g poetry.
an d occasionally w ith th e p a ssiv e : The approaches to the c ity were being

watched.
Type F: p r o c e s s e s
T h ese d en o te a c h an g e o f s ta te ta k in g place over a p e rio d :
T h e w eath er is g ettin g w arm er.

O u r econom ic p ro sp e cts are n ow improving.
T h e sun is ripening o u r to m a to e s nicely.
A s w ith T y p e G, th e p ro g ressiv e w ith th is ty p e in d ic a te s th e incompleteness

o f th e c h a n g e .
T ype G : a c c o m p lis h m e n ts
T h e s e d e n o te a n a ctio n o r a ctiv ity w h ich ta k e s p lace o v er a p e rio d a n d h as a
g o a l o r e n d p o in t. In tra n s itiv e v erb s p lac ed u n d e r T y p e E ‘A ctiv itie s’
g e n e ra lly b eco m e acc o m p lish m en ts w h en a d ire c t o bject o r a n a d v e rb ia l o f
d e s tin a tio n is a d d e d :
J ill is kn ittin g h e rself a sw eater.
T h e bo y s were sw im m ing acro ss th e e stuary.
B y th e s e a d d itio n s, a n a c tiv ity becom es a ta s k w ith a defined conclusion.

B u t th e p ro g ressiv e in d ic a te s, w ith b o th p rocesses an d a cco m p lish m en ts,
t h a t th e t a s k w as n o t n ecessarily c o m p le te d :
T h e b o y s were sw im m ing acro ss th e e stu ary , b u t a g ian t w av e m ad e
th e m tu rn b ack .
O n e o f th e boys was drowning, b u t I d iv ed in a n d saved h im .
{C f: *O ne o f the boys drowned, but I dived in a n d saved him.)

W ith a cc o m p lish m en ts, th e re is a sig n ifican t c o n tra st b e tw ee n th e
c o n s tru c tio n s finish V-ing a n d stop V-ing:
T h e y h a v e fin ish ed w id e n in g th e ro ad . [T he ta s k is com plete.]
T h e y h a v e stopped w id e n in g th e ro ad . [T he ta s k is n o t n ecessarily
c o m p le te , b u t th e a c tiv ity h a s ceased.]
P u n c tu a l situ atio n types

4.35 T y p e s H a n d I: m o m e n t a r y e v e n t s a n d a c t s
T h e o n ly d ifferen ce b etw een th ese tw o types is th a t H is n o n a g en tiv e:
T h e to p s o f the tree s were waving in th e w in d , a n d the b ra n c h e s were
sh a k in g an d k n o ckin g a g a in st th e sid e o f th e house. D o w n stairs, a
d o o r w as banging.
i
I n th is d e sc rip tio n , th e v e rb s k n o ck a n d bang c a n be said to d e scrib e

m o m e n ta ry ev en ts {ie e v en ts effectively w ith o u t d u ra tio n ) a n d w h e n th ey are
u se d w ith th e progressive, w e c a n n o t m ak e sense o f th em ex cep t by su p p o sin g
t h a t so m e re p etitio n o f th e e v e n t to o k p lace. T h e sam e is tru e w ith m o m e n ta ry
a c ts, e x p re ss e d by v erb s su ch a s nod (w h en tran sitiv e), fire , a n d ju m p :
J o h n was nodding his h ead .
S o m eo n e wasfirin g a t us.
K ir o v ’s h orse is ju m p in g well.
F o r e x a m p le , Someone was tapping on the window w ould b e in a p p ro p ria te if

th e re w a s o n ly one tap . I n th is resp ect, m o m e n tary e v en t v e rb s m ay be
lik e n e d to c o u n t nou n s such a s germ , pea, oat, hair, lentil, w h ich re fe r to sm all
o b jec ts, a n d fo r w hich th e sin g u lar c o u n t use {a germ , a hair, etc) is ex ce p tio n a l
in c o m p a ris o n w ith th e p lu ra l o r n o n c o u n t use. (O n the an alo g y b etw een
n o u n a n d v e rb categories, c f 4.4.)
T y p es J a n d K : t r a n s i t i o n a l e v e n t s a n d a c t s
T h e s e d iffer fro m T y p es F a n d G in th a t th ey h a v e little o r no d u ra tio n , an d
fro m T y p es H a n d I in th a t th ey involve a co n se q u en t change o f state.

T ra n s itio n a l e v e n ts a re n o n a g en tiv e:
T h e tra in is arriving a t p latfo rm 4.

T h e q u e en w as dying.
T ran sitio n al a c ts a r e a g en tiv e:
I ’m stopping th e c a r a t th is garage.
I t looks a s i f J u a r e z is scoring an o th e r goal.
A g ain , sin ce th e m e a n in g o f th e p re d ic atio n effectively excludes d u ratio n ,

th e p ro g ressiv e re q u ire s a special in te rp reta tio n . In th is case, th e in te rp re ta
tio n is likely to b e a n tic ip a to ry ; ie th a t th e p ro g ressiv e refers to a perio d
l e a d i n g U P t o th e c h a n g e o f sta te : eg: The Boeing 747 is taking o ff refers to
th e a cc ele ratin g o f th e p la n e p re p ara to ry to th e a ctu al take-off.
N o te I n o th e r co n tex ts, fo r e x a m p le w h en th e v erb has a plu ral su b jec t o r o b ject, a rep etitiv e ra th e r
th a n an tic ip a to ry in te r p r e ta tio n o f such verb m ean in g s is p o ssib le :
A t th e a irp o rt, se v e ra l fre ig h t airc ra ft were tak ing o f f noisily.
Progressive aspect in relation to tense

4.36 T h e p ro g ressiv e g e n e ra lly h as th e effect o f su rro u n d in g a p a rticu la r e v en t or
p o in t o f tim e w ith a ‘te m p o ra l fram e ’, w h ich c a n b e d ia g ra m m e d :
T h a t is, w ith in th e flow o f tim e, th ere is som e p o in t o f o rien tatio n from w h ich
th e te m p o ra ry e v e n t o r s ta te d escrib ed b y th e v e rb c a n b e seen to stretch in to
th e fu tu re a n d in to th e p a st. W ith th e p re se n t progressive, th e tim e o f
o rie n ta tio n is n o rm a lly ‘n o w ’, a lth o u g h it c a n also b e a re cu rre n t tim e o r a n
im ag in ary tim e , in a c c o rd an c e w ith th e in te rp re ta tio n o f th e h a b itu a l
p ro g ressiv e o r th e h isto ric o r fictional p r e s e n t:
W h en th e e ig h t o ’c lo ck n ew s com es on, I ’m alre ad y travelling to w ork.

T h e g u n fire is grow ing lo u d er a h ead o f us, as su d d en ly a fearful hu sh
d e sc en d s u p o n o u r com pany.
W ith th e p a s t ten se, a g a in th e ‘tem p o ral fra m e ’ is o ften im p lied , th is tim e by

referen ce to a p a s t tim e o f o rie n ta tio n T 2 ( c /4 .11 - 1 2 ) :
A m o m e n t la te r, w e were hurrying fo r sh e lte r b e n e a th the trees.
W h ereas th e re la tio n s h ip b etw een tw o sim p le p a s t form s is norm ally o n e o f

th e re la tio n s h ip b etw een a p a s t pro g ressiv e a n d sim ple p a st
tim e -s e q u e n c e ,
form is o n e o f t i m e - i n c l u s i o n :
W h en w e arrived, J a n m ade som e fresh coffee.

W h en w e arrived, J a n was m aking som e fresh coffee.
(C f 14.27 N o te [a] fo r e x ce p tio n s.) T h e first ex am p le tells us th a t the coffee-

m ak in g follow ed th e a rriv a l; th e second, th a t th e a rriv a l took place d u rin g
th e co ffee-m ak in g . T h e ‘tem p o ral fram e ’, h o w ev er, is n o t a n ecessary
c o n d itio n o f th e p a s t p ro g re s siv e :
W e were w atching th e m a tc h all aftern o o n .

S in c e th e a d v erb ial all afternoon here refers to a lo n g ish p erio d , th e re is no

im p lic a tio n th a t th e m a tc h form s a ‘tem p o ral fra m e ’ aro u n d th e a ftern o o n .
N o te T h e id e a o f a ‘te m p o ral fra m e ’ is related to th a t o f ’in terrela tio n sh ip o r id e n tity ’ discussed in

4.25 N o te [ b ] ; c f: I fh e sa id that, he was lying.
O th e r uses of the progressive aspect

4 .3 7 In a d d itio n to its m a jo r fu n c tio n o f in d icatin g tem p o rarin e ss, th e p ro g ressiv e
also h a s t h e follow ing sp ecial u s e s :
(a) I t m a y be u se d to re fe r to th e future o r to th e fu tu re in th e p a s t ( c f 4.44,

4 .4 8 ):
A r e you going to th e m eetin g (tom orrow )?

T h e y were getting m arried th e follow ing sp rin g .
O n th e future se m i-au x iliary c o n stru ctio n be going to + in fin itiv e, c /4 .4 3 .
(b) I t m a y be u se d w ith th e a ttitu d in a l p a st ten se o r th e p re sen t tense, to

re fe r te n ta tiv e ly to a p re s e n t w ish o r a ttitu d e :
I ’m hoping to b o rro w som e m oney.

I was wondering if you could help m e.
C o n tr a s t th e s e se n ten c es w ith th e less te n ta tiv e , a n d p o ten tially less

p o lite , use o f th e sim p le p re sen t:
I hope to b o rro w so m e m oney.

I wonder i f you c a n h elp m e.
P a rtic u la rly w h e n c o m b in e d w ith the a ttitu d in a l p a s t ten se ( c f 4.16), su ch

fo rm s en ab le u s to a v o id th e im politeness w h ic h m ig h t well resu lt fro m
ex p ressin g o n e ’s a ttitu d e to o directly, eg in m ak in g a request.
(c) I t m a y be u se d esp ecially follow ing th e au x iliary will (or shall) w ith th e
sp e c ia l im p lic a tio n th a t th e actio n will ta k e p lace ‘as a m a tte r o f co u rse’
in th e fu tu re!(c/’4 .4 6 ):
i
17/ be seeing you n e x t w eek.
N o te T h e ‘m a tte r-o f-c o u rse’ im p lic a tio n o f will (or shall) w ith th e pro g ressiv e is also found w ith oth e r
m odal au x ilia rie s ( c f 4 .6 5 N o te [a]), a n d possibly also w ith th e p a s t pro g ressiv e in co n v e rsatio n al
c o n tex ts le g : I was ta lk in g to A nn, a n d she was telling m e th at the jo b is still vacant. I n co n tra st to
th e s im p le p a s t ta lk e d a n d told, th e progressive here suggests a casual c h a t ra th e r th a n a
p u rp o sefu l discussion.
Perfective progressive
4.38 W h en th e p e rfe c tiv e a n d pro g ressiv e aspects a re c o m b in e d in th e sam e verb

p h ra se (eg: has been working), th e features o f m ea n in g a sso ciated w ith each
o f th e m a re also c o m b in e d . N ev erth eless, th e p e rfe c tiv e p ro g ressiv e h as a
Perfective progressive 211
se m a n tic ran g e th a t is n o t en tirely p red ictab le from th e m e a n in g s o f its

co m p o n en ts.
O f th e th ree fe atu res a sso c iated w ith th e m ain m ean in g o f th e p ro g ressiv e
( c f 4.25), D U R A T IO N , LIM ITA TIO N O F D U R A T IO N , a n d POSSIBLE IN C O M PLET EN ESS,
th e first tw o give th e p e rfe c tiv e p ro g ressiv e a sense o f ‘te m p o ra rin e ss’, se e n
in th e s e e x a m p le s:
I've been writing a letter to m y n ep h ew .

H o w have you been g ettin g o n ?
I t ’s been snowing ag ain .
T h e s e sen ten ces c o n ta in d u ra tiv e v erb s w hich typically go w ith th e

pro g ressiv e a sp e ct, an d th e m e a n in g o f th e co n stru ctio n is ro u g h ly th a t o f
t e m p o r a r y s i t u a t i o n l e a d i n g u p t o t h e p r e s e n t , co m p a rab le to th e sta te -
u p -to -th e -p resen t use o f th e sim p le p erfectiv e ( c f 4.18#"). W ith v erb s such a s
live, stand, lie, etc, how ever, th e lim ita tio n o f d u ra tio n is w e ak , a n d is n o t fe lt
a t a ll by som e s p e a k e rs :
W e 'v e lived in E u ro p e all o u r lives. [1]

W e 'v e been living in E u ro p e all o u r lives. [2]
B ecau se o f th e len g th y tim e scale [2] is less likely th a n [1], b u t n ev erth eless
[2] is by n o m ea n s u n a cc ep ta b le .
T h e elem en t o f ‘lim ited d u ra tio n ’ m ak es it difficult to use th e p e rfe c tiv e
p ro g ressiv e w ith p u n c tu a l v e r b s :
H e has been starting h is c ar. [3]

?* H e has been starting h is b o o k . [4]
O f th ese, [3] m ak e s sense, a lth o u g h it reflects on th e reliab ility o f th e c ar. O n

th e o th e r h an d , [4] is n o n sen sical becau se it assigns d u ra tio n to so m e th in g
w h ic h can n o t h a v e d u ra tio n : th e o n ly w ay to m ak e sense o f i t is to co n stru e
it a s a n iro n ical re m a rk ‘H e h a s b e en try in g /in ten d in g to s ta r t h is b o o k ’, in
a c c o rd an c e w ith th e a n tic ip a to ry ( c f 4.35) o r fu tu re ( c f 4.37) in te rp re ta tio n o f
th e progressive.
4.39 T h e fe atu re o f possible in co m p leten ess becom es e v id en t w h e n th e p e rfe c tiv e

p ro g ressiv e is co m b in ed w ith acc o m p lish m en t an d process p re d ic a tio n s:
T h e sim p le p erfectiv e h ere h a s a resu ltativ e m e a n in g : ‘T h e w in d o w s are n o w

c le a n ’. B u t th e p erfectiv e p ro g ressiv e can be used even i f th e jo b is n o t
fin ish ed :
A : H av e you c lean ed th e w indow s?

B : N o, I h a v e n ’t fin ish ed th em yet.
A : H av e you been c le an in g th e w indow s?

B : Y es, b u t I h a v e n ’t fin ish ed th em yet.
* I’ve w ritte n a novel, b u t I h a v e n ’t finished it.

I ’ve b een w ritin g a n o v el, b u t I h a v en ’t finished it.
212 T h e s em antics of the verb phrase
B e c a u se o f its re su lta tiv e m eaning, th e sim p le p erfectiv e can n o t b e u sed w ith

a c c o m p lis h m e n t v e rb s w h en th e clau se c o n ta in s a n a d v erb ial o f d u r a tio n :
T h e y ’ve been repairing th e ro ad f o r m onths.

♦T h e y ’ue repaired th e ro ad fo r months.
A n e x c e p tio n to th is , how ever, o ccu rs w h e re th e d u ra tio n a d v erb ial ap p lie s

to t h e re s u lta n t s ta te itself o r w here th e clau se is n eg ativ e (c f& .S lff):
T h e y ’ue gone to S p ain fo r two weeks.

T h e y haven ’t repaired th e ro ad fo r years.
I f a c o n c lu siv e v e rb is n o t acc o m p a n ied b y a n ad v erb ial o f d u ra tio n , th e

im p lic a tio n is o fte n th a t th e effects o f th e h a p p e n in g a re still v isib le :
Y o u ’v e b e e n fig h tin g ag ain . [T c a n tell th a t fro m y our b lack eye’]

I t ’s b e e n sn o w in g . [‘Look, th e g ro u n d is w h ite ’]
H a v e you b e e n cry in g ? [‘Y o u r eyes a re re d ’]
I n s u c h c a ses, th e activ ity in d ic a te d by th e v erb is assu m ed to h a v e recen tly

c e a se d . W h e n a cc o m p a n ied by a n a d v e rb ia l o f d u ratio n , h o w ev er, th e
m e a n in g o f th e v e rb is assum ed to b e still o p e ra tiv e u p to th e p re sen t, a n d
p o ssib ly t o p e rs is t in th e f u tu re :
H e ’s been losing m oney for y ears (a n d w ill p ro b ab ly c o n tin u e to d o so).
W e m a y s u m m a riz e th e m ain use o f th e p e rfe c tiv e p rogressive a s fo llo w s:
T h e h a p p e n in g (a) h as (lim ited) d u ra tio n

(b) co n tin u es u p to th e p re s e n t o r recen t p a st
(c) need n o t be c o m p lete
(d) m ay h av e effects w h ic h are still a p p are n t.
4.40 A s a n a d d itio n a l possibility, th e p re sen t p e rfe c tiv e pro g ressiv e m a y b e used

in th e ite r a tiv e sen se o f t e m p o r a r y h a b i t u p t o T h e p r e s e n t , c o m p a ra b le to
th e h a b itu a l u se o f th e p re sen t p e rfe c tiv e ( c f 4 .20):
M a r tin has been scoring p len ty o f goals (th is season).

I ’v e been working o n th e n ig h t sh ift fo r sev eral w eeks.
I
A g a in , it is im p lied th a t th e re p e titio n o f th e a ctiv ity d escrib ed m ay c o n tin u e
in to t h e fu tu re.
T h e m e a n in g o f th e p erfectiv e p ro g ressiv e m ay co m b in e w ith th o se o f th e
p a st te n s e a n d o f th e m o d al v e rb s :
T h e fire h a d been raging fo r o v er a w eek. [ 1]

Y o u should have been looking a fte r th e b ab y . [2]
B y F rid a y , w e will have been living here fo r ten years. [3]
[1] a n d [3] re q u ire an a p p ro p ria te sh ift o f th e tim e o f o rien tatio n fro m ‘n o w ’

(7 j) to a p o in t ( T 2) in th e p a s t o r th e fu tu re. A s h a s alread y b e en ex p la in ed
w ith r e fe re n c e to th e sim ple p e rfe c tiv e ( c f 4.19), th e p erfectiv e p ro g ressiv e
w h en c o m b in e d w ith th e p a s t ten se o r a m o d al v erb loses its re stric tio n to a
p e rio d o f tim e lea d in g up to th e p o in t o f o rie n ta tio n . I t m ay th u s, u n lik e th e
Som e means of expressing future tim e 213
sim p le p re se n t p e rfe c tiv e , be follow ed by a n a d v erb ial o f tim e p o sitio n .

C o n tra s t:
*1 have been ta lkin g to h im a t th e tim e o f th e m u rd er.

I h a d been ta lk in g to h im a t th e tim e o f th e m u rd er.
I m ust have been ta lk in g to h im a t th e tim e o f th e m urder.
N o te [a] T h e p e rfec tiv e p ro g re ssiv e d o es n o t, how ever, co m b in e freely w ith th e p assiv e voice. T h e
follow ing sen te n ce is fe lt to b e a w k w a r d :
T h e ro ad has been being repaired fo r m onths.
T h e aw k w ard n ess o f th e p e rfe c tiv e progressive p assive is pro b ab ly du e in p a rt to th e ju x ta p o sitio n
o f tw o form s o f th e v e rb be (c /3 .5 6 ). (T h e road has been getting repaired f o r m onths , fo r ex am p le,
is m o re accep ta b le.)
[b] T h e p e rfec tiv e p ro g re ssiv e c a n b e am b ig u o u s betw een h a b itu a l a n d n o n h a b itu a l read in g s.
Such am b ig u ities, h o w e v e r, a r e u n lik ely to cause genuine m isu n d e rstan d in g :
I have been cycling to w o rk fo r th e la st th re e weeks.
T h e n o n h a b itu a l re a d in g , im p ly in g th a t th e sp ea k e r h as been cycling co ntinuously fo r th re e
w eeks, in th is case is fa c tu a lly a b su rd , b u t m ig h t provoke th e co m ic resp o n se: So w hy don't y o u
g et a jo b nearer hom e?
Some means of expressing future time
4.41 A lth o u g h a c c o rd in g to th e a n aly sis we have a d o p te d ( c f 4.3) th e re is n o fu tu re

ten se in E n g lish , it is u sefu l a t th is p o in t to c o n sid er th e m o st im p o rta n t
co n stru ctio n s f o r e x p re ss in g fu tu re tim e, p a rticu la rly in in d ep e n d en t clauses
(concerning d e p e n d e n t clau ses, c f 14.22). F u tu rity , m o d ality , a n d a sp ect a re
closely in te rre la te d , a n d th is is reflected in th e fa ct th a t fu tu re tim e is
re n d ered by m e a n s o f m o d a l au x iliaries, by sem i-auxiliaries, o r b y th e sim p le
p re sen t o r p re s e n t p ro g ressiv e form s.
W ill/shall + infinitive
4.42 T h e m o st c o m m o n w a y o f expressing fu tu rity is th e m o d al au x iliary
c o n stru ctio n w ith will, shall, o r 7/:
H e will be h e re in h a lf a n h our. [ 1]
W ill you n e ed a n y h e lp ? [2]
N o d o u b t 17/ see y o u n e x t w eek. [3]
I f th e c ro p fa ils th e r e will be a fam in e. [4]
T h e m o d al v e rb w ill (o r th e c o n tracted form 7/; c /3 .3 9 - 4 0 ) is used w ith

future m ea n in g w ith su b je cts o f all th ree persons. T h e in fre q u e n t m o d al shall
is used (esp ecially in S o u th e rn S ta n d ard B rE ) to in d ic a te fu tu rity , b u t only
w ith a first p e rso n s u b je c t:
N o d o u b t I sh a ll see you n e x t w eek. [3a]
A lth o u g h shall a n d , p a rticu la rly , will are th e closest ap p ro x im atio n s to a

colourless, n e u tra l fu tu re, th ey do cover a ran g e o f m ean in g s w ith m o d al
colouring, fro m p re d ic tio n to v o litio n (c f 4 .5 7 /). A stro n g tea ch in g trad itio n ,
214 Th e sem antics o f the verb phrase
e sp e cially in B rE , h as u p h e ld th e use o f shall as the c o rre c t fo rm , in p referen ce

to will, w ith a first p e rso n subject in form al style.
P re d ic tiv e w ill is p a rticu la rly co m m o n in the clau se su p e ro rd in ate to
c o n d itio n a l o r te m p o ra l c la u se s:
Y o u 'IIfeel b e tte r if/w h en you ta k e th is m edicine. [5]
E v e n w here n o c o n d itio n a l clause is p resen t, there is n e v erth ele ss frequently

a n im p lica tio n th a t th e fu tu re e v en t o r state o f affairs w ill resu lt from , o r
d e p e n d o n , th e fu lfilm en t o f c e rta in fu tu re co n d itio n s w h ich m ay n o t be
sp e c ifie d :
T ak e th is m ed icin e. Y o u ’ll fe e l b e tte r in a n h o u r o r so.

H o w can you b e su re th a t th e re will be a ch ange o f g o v e rn m e n t a t th e
n e x t electio n ?
T u rn in g to th e v o litio n al ex am p les, will a n d shall especially w ith th e 1st an d

2 n d perso n s o fte n e x p ress in te n tio n , eg in m ak in g a g reem en ts, prom ises,
th re a ts , e tc :
H o w soon will you announce y o u r decision?

W e shall ensure th a t th e re p airs a re carried o u t a cc o rd in g to your
w ishes.
O th e r v o litio n al a n d o b lig a tio n a l uses a re discussed in 4.57 f
N o te W ith a 2nd o r 3rd p erso n su b jec t, will c a n also express an a b ru p t a n d q u asi-m ilitary co m m a n d :
Y ou will do as I say.
Officers w ill report fo r d u ty a t 0600 hours.
B e g o in g to + infinitive
4.43 A n o th e r c o n stru c tio n freq u e n tly used to express fu tu rity , especially in
in fo rm a l sp eech , is be going to follow ed by th e infinitive. Its g en eral m ean in g
is 'fu tu re fu lfilm en t o f th e p re se n t’. L ooked a t m ore carefully, th e co n stru ctio n
h a s tw o m o re ,specific m ean in g s, o f w h ich one, f u t u r e f u l f i l m e n t o f
p r e s e n t i n t e n t i o n , is chiefly a sso ciated w ith p ersonal su b jects a n d a g en tiv e
v e rb s:
W h en are you going to g e t m arried ?

L eila is going to lend u s h er cam era.
I ’m going to complain i f th in g s d o n ’t im prove.
T h e o th e r m ea n in g , f u t u r e r e s u l t o f p r e s e n t c a u s e , is found w ith b o th
p erso n al a n d n o n p e rso n al su b jects:
I t ’s going to rain. She’s going to have a b ab y .

T h ere ’s going to be trouble. Y o u ’re going to get soaked.
A s th ese e x am p les suggest, th e asso ciatio n o f be going to w ith th e p re sen t

o fte n leads to th e a ssu m p tio n th a t it in d icates th e p ro x im ity o f th e fu tu re
e v en t. U n lik e will a n d ’II, be going to is n o t generally used in th e clause
su p e ro rd in ate to a c o n d itio n a l c lau se:
I f you leav e now , y o u ’// n e v er regret it.

? If you lea v e now , you are n e v e r going to regret it.
N o te H o w ev er, be going to do es o c c u r w ith co n d itio n a l sentences lik e th e follo w in g :

I f y o u ’re e x p e ctin g a first-class hotel, you’re going to fie d isap p o in ted . [l]
S ince th e tim e o f o rie n ta tio n fo r be going to is th e presen t, it is used in co n d itio n a l sen ten ces o n ly
w h en th e ca u sal o r co n tin g e n t lin k betw een th e m eanings o f th e tw o clauses exists a t th e p r e s e n t
tim e . I n th e m o re u sual case, th is link is p laced in th e fu tu re, a n d so will is used in ste ad . T h e
sp ecial im p o rt o f be going to in [1] can be em p h asized by ad d in g befo re th e subject o f th e m a in
c la u s e : ‘I c a n alread y tell you th a t
Present progressive
4.44 T h e p re s e n t p ro g ressiv e c a n re fe r to a fu tu re h a p p e n in g a n tic ip a te d in th e
p re sen t. Its b a sic m ea n in g i s : f u t u r e a r i s i n g f r o m p r e s e n t a r r a n g e m e n t ,
PLA N , O R PROG RA M M E:
T h e o rc h e stra is playing a M o z a rt sy m phony a fte r this.

T h e m a tc h is starting a t 2.30 (tom orrow ).
I ’m ta kin g th e c h ild re n to th e zoo (on S aturday).
W e h a v e seen th a t th e progressive can n o t n o rm ally b e used w ith c e rta in

s ta tiv e v e rb ty p es (eg w ith th e v erb be) an d th is re stric tio n also ap p lies to t h e
use o f th e p ro g ressiv e fo r fu tu re tim e :
"■Strawberries a re b e in g m o re ex pensive n e x t w eek.
(cf: S traw b erries w ill b e m o re ex pensive n e x t w eek.)
L ik e be going to, th e p re se n t p rogressive suggests th a t th e fu tu re h a p p e n in g

is im m in en t, u n less th is is c o n tra d ic ted by a m o re d ista n t tim e m en tio n ed in
th e co n te x t. C o n tra s t:
T h a t do es it! I ’m leav in g . [‘S o o n ’ is u n d ersto o d ]
I ’m lea v in g th e u n iv ersity in two y ea rs’ tim e, [w hen I ’ve finished m y
studies]
N o te [a] I t is ea sy to confuse th is fu tu re use o f th e presen t pro g ressiv e w ith th e a n ticip ato ry use o f th e
p re s e n t pro g ressiv e w ith tra n sitio n a l ev e n ts o r a c t s ( c /4 .35). In prin cip le, how ever, th e d is tin c tio n
is c le a r b etw e en a fu tu re ev e n t w h ich is plan n ed a n d im m in e n t, an d a future ev e n t fo r w h ic h
p r e p a ra tio n s are alread y ta k in g place. I ’m leaving, for ex a m p le, co uld b e u n derstood in e ith e r o f
th e se w ays, b u t The o ld m an was dying ca n only be un d ersto o d in th e an ticip ato ry sense.
[b] T h e fu tu re use o f th e p re se n t p rogressive is lim ited to actio n s b ro u g h t a b o u t by h u m a n
en d e av o u r. H en ce a sen ten ce such as *The trees are losing their leaves soon is in a p p ro p ria te ,
im ply in g th a t a tre e h a s co n tro l o v e r its future. Sim ilarly, H e's dying n e x t w eek co uld only re fe r
to a p la n n e d d e a th , eg a n execution.
Sim ple present

4.45 T h e sim p le p re sen t is, a fte r th e willlshall c o n stru ctio n , th e n e x t m o st c o m m o n
m ea n s o f re fe rrin g to fu tu re a ctio n s in E n g lish ( c f 4.9). T h is fu tu re use o f th e
sim p le p re sen t is freq u en t, how ever, only in d e p en d e n t clauses, w h ere it is
reg u larly used a fte r c o n d itio n al an d tem p o ral co n ju n ctio n s su ch as i f a n d
when, as w ell a s in som e f te - c la u s e s (see f u rth e r 14.22):
W h a t w ill you say i f I m arry the boss?
A t th is ra te , th e guests w ill b e d ru n k b efo re they leave.
I n m a in clauses, th e fu tu re use o f th e sim p le p re se n t m ay be said to re p re se n t

a m a rk e d fu tu re o f u n u su al definiteness, a ttrib u tin g to th e fu tu re th e d e g ree
o f c e rta in ty o n e n o rm ally asso ciates w ith th e p re sen t a n d th e p a st. I t is u se d ,
fo r ex am p le, fo r s ta te m e n ts a b o u t th e c a le n d a r :
T o m o rro w is T h u rsd a y . School fin ish es o n 21st M arch .
A ls o to d e sc rib e im m u tab le events o r ‘fix tu res’, w h e th er o r n o t th ese are

d e te r m in e d by h u m a n p lan n in g :
W h e n is h ig h tid e ? W h at tim e does th e m a tc h begin ?
T h e sim p le p re se n t, lik e th e progressive (c /4 .4 4 ), is used w ith d y n am ic

tr a n s itio n a l v e rb s arrive, com e, leave, etc, b o th c o n stru ctio n s h a v in g the
m e a n in g o f ‘p la n ’ o r ‘p ro g ram m e ’:
[la]
[lb ]
T h e sim p le p re se n t, how ever, stresses th e p re d eterm in ed n a tu re o f th e
h a p p e n in g : w h ile [lb ] could well refer to a resch ed u led tak e-o ff tim e (as a
re su lt, say , o f a d elay ), th is in te rp re ta tio n o f [ 1a] w ould b e unlikely.
N o te [ a ] A lth o u g h th e sim p le p re se n t is th e n orm al ty p e o f fu tu re co n stru ctio n to u se in co n d itio n a l

c la u se s, th e fu tu re use o f w ill a n d he going to in su ch clau ses is by n o m e an s im p o ssib le :
I f th e cro p s ruined by n ex t m o n th ’s d ro u g h t, w e’ll hav e to buy in ex tra food.
I f you’re ( going to be) p lay in g te n n is ag ain st Je n n y , y o u ’d b e tte r borrow m y racq u et.

O n th e differences o f m e a n in g here, c f 14.22.
[b] C o rre sp o n d in g to th e fu tu re use o f th e sim p le p re s e n t in ad v e rb ial clauses is th e follow ing
use o f th e p re se n t p e rfe c tiv e referrin g to th e p a st in th e f u tu r e :
T h e w i n n e r w i llb e d e c lared w hen every co m p e tito r h a sfin ish e d th e course.
W ill Ishall + progressive infinitive

4.46 T h e m o d al v erb c o n stru ctio n discussed in 4.42 c a n be used w ith th e p ro
g ressiv e in fin itiv e in a w ay w h ich sim ply co m b in e s referen ce to a fu tu re tim e
w ith th e ‘te m p o ra l fra m e ’ ( c f 4.36) asso ciated w ith th e p ro g ressiv e:
W h e n you r e a c h th e e n d o f the b rid g e, I ’ll be waiting th ere to show

y o u th e w ay.
T h is calls fo r no sp ecial co m m en t. T h ere is, how ever, a se p a ra te use o f th e

will/shall + p ro g ressiv e c o n stru ctio n to d e n o te ‘f u t u r e a s a m a t t e r o f
c o u r s e ’. T h e use o f th is c o m b in atio n av o id s th e in te rp re ta tio n (to w h ich will,
shall, a n d be going to a re liab le) o f volition, in te n tio n , p ro m ise, e t c :
W e ’// be fly in g a t 30 000 feet.
T h is, sp o k e n b)< t h e p ilo t o f a n a irc raft to h is passen g ers, m ea n s ‘30 000 feet
is th e n o rm al a n d e x p ected altitu d e for th e flig h t’. If, on th e o th e r h a n d , th e
p ilo t s a id :
W e ’// f l y a t 30 000 feet.
th e im p re ssio n m ig h t be q u ite differen t: it co u ld w ell be th a t th e p ilo t h ad

ju st d e cid ed to fly a t th e specified h eig h t. B ecau se o f such d ifferen ces, it is
o ften a n a d v a n ta g e to use th is com plex c o n stru c tio n in situ atio n s w h ere th e
n o n p ro g ressiv e w ith will)shall m ig h t be lac k in g in ta c t o r c o n s id e ra tio n :
[ 1]
[ 2]
W h ereas [1] m ay se e m lik e a ra th e r a b ru p t dem an d for rep ay m en t, [2] seem s

m o re tac tfu l, since it im p lies th a t th e repaym ent is so m eth in g w h ich w ill
h a p p e n ‘as a m a tte r o f c o u rse ’. I n d escribing future h ap p en in g s in w h ic h
th ere is n o d ire c t h u m a n in v o lv em en t, how ever, th e choice b etw een th e
pro g ressiv e a n d n o n p ro g ressiv e a lte rn a tiv e s is less im p o rta n t:
T h e n e x t tra in to L o n d o n will \ a *rwe L a t p latfo rm four.

[ o e arriving j
T h e o nly d ifferen ce th a t n e ed b e m en tio n ed here is th a t th e p ro g ressiv e

co n stru ctio n ten d s to b e m o re in fo rm al th a n the o rd in ary n o n p ro g ressiv e
co n stru ctio n .
N o te V erbs th a t d o n o t n o rm ally ta k e th e p ro g ressiv e can d o so after fu tu re w ill/shall in th is ’m a tte r-

of-course’ s e n s e : H e ’ll be ow ning his own house next.
C o n cluding co m m ents on constructions expressing future tim e

4.47 T h e foregoing five c o n stru c tio n s a re th e m o st im p o rta n t m eth o d s o f refe rrin g
to fu tu re tim e. I t h a s b e en fo u n d th a t in B rE th e sim ple will/shall c o n stru ctio n
is m u ch th e m o st u su al, fo llo w ed by th e sim ple p re sen t c o n stru ctio n . (B ut by
fa r th e m ajo rity o f sim p le p re s e n t exam ples w ith fu tu re re fe re n ce o ccu r in
d e p e n d e n t clauses, a n d a re sy n ta ctically co n d itio n ed .) O f th e re m a in in g th re e
co n stru ctio n s, be going to is th e m o st com m on, follow ed by th e p re se n t
prog ressiv e, a n d finally b y th e w ill j shall + progressive c o n stru ctio n . A lth o u g h
th is last c o n stru ctio n is le a st fre q u e n t, it is q u ite co m m o n in co n v ersa tio n a l
c o n tex ts, a n d a p p e a rs to b e b e co m in g m ore com m on.
A m o n g o th e r c o n stru c tio n s re fe rrin g to th e future, referen ce m u st be m ad e
to th e tw o q u a si-au x iliary co n stru ctio n s be to + in fin itiv e ( c /3 .4 5 /) a n d be
about to + in fin itiv e (< /3 .4 7 ). B e to is q u ite o ften used to re fe r to a fu tu re
a rra n g e m e n t o r p l a n :
T h e ir d a u g h te r is to be m a rrie d soon.
T h e re 's to be a n official in q u iry .
In th is use, be to + in fin itiv e resem b les th e future use o f th e sim p le p re sen t

{ c f 4.45), ex ce p t th a t th e sim p le p re sen t can n o t n o rm ally refer to th e fu tu re
unless a cc o m p a n ied by a tim e a d v erb ial o r som e o th e r fu tu re-re ferrin g
expression.
B e about to, o n th e o th e r h a n d , expresses n e ar fu tu re :
T h e tra in is about to leave.

I'm about to re ad y o u r essay.
T h e m ea n in g o f be a bout to c o u ld b e a ltern ativ ely expressed by be on the point

o f + V-ing, o r by be going to to g e th e r w ith the ad v erb ju s t (m ean in g ‘very
so o n ’) : I ’m ju s t going to re a d y o u r essay.
T h is by no m ea n s e x h a u s ts th e v ariety o f verb c o n stru ctio n s re fe rrin g to
future tim e. F u tu rity is o fte n a seco n d ary co n n o tatio n o f o th e r m o d als th a n
will/shall: eg w ith a d y n a m ic v e rb , m a y o r m ust usually lo cates th e e v e n t in
th e f u tu re : The weather m a y im prove ( tomorrow ); You m u st have dinner with us
{sometime soon). T h e sa m e se c o n d ary co n n o tatio n o f fu tu rity is fo u n d w ith
se m i-a u x ilia rie s such as be sure to, be bound to (c /3 .4 7 ), n o t to m en tio n lexical

v e r b s su c h as hope a n d intend.
W h ile it is v alu ab le to n o te d ifferences o f m ean in g b etw een d ifferen t fu tu re
c o n s tr u c tio n s , these d ifferences should n o t be exaggerated. T h e re a re
o c c a s io n s w h ere th e ch o ice o f o n e c o n stru ctio n (say will + in fin itiv e) ra th e r
t h a n a n o th e r (say be going to + infinitive) h a s a scarcely p ercep tib le effect o n
m e a n in g . A t th e sam e tim e, th ere a re differences o f a ccep tab ility a n d usage
w h ic h sh o u ld n o t b e ig n o red . P a rticu larly , re g ard in g th e choice b etw een will
a n d b e going t o :
(a ) W ill is usually p re ferred to be going to in fo rm al style.

(b ) B e going to ten d s n o t to b e re p ea te d in a tex t referrin g p erv asiv ely to th e
fu tu re . T h u s a w e ath e r fo recast m ay ru n a s follow s:
T o m o rro w is going to be a n o th e r cold day. T h ere will b e sn o w o n

h ig h g ro u n d , a n d m an y m o u n ta in ro ad s will be im p a ssab le.........
N o te B e to + in fin itiv e in referrin g to th e fu tu re also conveys th e co n n o tatio n s o f ‘re q u ire m e n t’ a n d '

‘d e s ti n y ’ in ex am p les su ch a s :
Y o u a re to be bac k by 10 o ’clo ck . [ \ . . req u ired to b e . . . ’]
I f h e 's to succeed in h is new pro fessio n , h e m u st try hard er.
T h e p ris o n e r is to be h an d e d o v e r to th e civil au th o rities for trial.
F u tu re tim e in the past

4.48 M o s t o f th e fu tu re c o n stru ctio n s ju s t discu ssed c a n b e used in th e p a s t ten se
to d e s c rib e so m eth in g w h ic h is in th e fu tu re w h en seen from a v iew p o in t in
th e p a s t.
(a) m o d a l v e r b c o n s t r u c t i o n w ith w ould < ra re ; literary n a rra tiv e sty le)

T h e tim e w as n o t fa r o ff w h en h e w ould reg ret th is decision.
(b) b e g o i n g to , + i n f i n i t i v e (o ften w ith th e sense o f ‘unfulfilled in te n tio n ’)

Y o u were going to g iv e m e y o u r ad d ress. [‘. . . b u t you d id n ’t . . . ’]
T h e police were going to ch arg e h er, b u t a t last sh e p ersu ad e d
th em sh e w as in n o cen t.
(c) p a s t p r o g r e s s i v e (a rra n g e m e n t p re d eterm in ed in the p ast)
I was m eeting h im in B o rd eau x th e n e x t day.
(d) be to + i n f i n i t i v e ( f o r m a l) ; (i) = ‘w as d e stin ed to ’; (ii) = ‘a rra n g e

m e n t’
(i) H e was e v en tu ally to e n d u p in th e b an k ru p tc y court.
(ii) T h e m eetin g was to be h eld th e follow ing w eek.
(e) b e a b o u t to + i n f i n i t i v e (‘o n th e p o in t o f ’; o ften w ith th e sense o f

‘u n fu lfilled in te n tio n ’)
H e was about to h it m e.
O f a ll th e s e co n stru ctio n s, only (a) a n d (di) can be c o n sid ered gen u in e

e x p re ss io n s o f fu tu re-in -th e-p ast m ean in g , in th a t th ey alo n e c a n be
u n d e rsto o d to g u aran tee th e fulfilm ent o f th e h ap p en in g in q u e stio n . F o r
in s ta n c e :
M eanings of the modal verbs 219
F ew could h a v e im ag in ed a t th a t tim e th a t th is b rav e young
officer -j WaS f j I th e first P re sid en t o f th e U n ite d S tates o f A m e ric a.

[w o u ld be J
T h is sen ten ce im p lies th a t th e young officer (G eo rg e W ash in g to n ) d id

ev en tu ally b e co m e p re sid e n t o f th e U n ite d S tates. T h e o th e r c o n stru ctio n s,
h o w ev er (esp ecially (b) a n d (e)), fav o u r a n in te rp re ta tio n o f nonfulfilm ent.
N o te T h e se fu tu re -in -th e -p a st in terp re ta tio n s, w h eth er o r n o t th e y im p ly fulfilm ent, should b e

distin g u ish ed fro m th o s e o f th e sam e con stru ctio n s used in in d ire c t speech o r free in d irect s p e e c h
(c f eg:
I w as co n v in c e d th a t n o o n e would in terfere.
S urely n o o n e w ould o b je c t, sh e th ought.
H e told us h e w as going to resign.
I n th ese cases, w ould a n d was going to rep o rt w h at w as sa id o r th o u g h t to be th e case, a c co rd in g
to som e ex p licit o r im p lic it ‘s p e a k e r’ o r ‘th in k e r’.
Meanings of the modal verbs
4 .4 9 L ik e o th er te rm s u se d in an aly sin g m ean in g in th e co m plex verb p h rase, s u c h

as m ood a n d aspect, m o d a l i t y h a s been used in v ario u s senses. A t its m o s t
gen eral, m o d a lity m a y b e defined as th e m a n n e r in w h ich th e m ean in g o f a
clause is q u a lified so as to reflect th e sp e a k er’s ju d g m e n t o f th e lik elih o o d o f
th e p ro p o sitio n it ex p resses b eing true. A s w ith term s lik e present an d p a st,
th is se m an tic d e fin itio n m ak e s only an im p e rfec t m a tc h w ith th e c o rre sp o n d
in gly-nam ed fo rm a l categ o ry , th a t o f m o d al a u x iliary verbs. N o n e th e less, it
will serve to in d ic a te in g en eral term s th e fu n c tio n w h ich th ese v erb s p e rfo rm
in th e lan g u ag e.
In th e m o d al v e rb s, th e c o n strain in g facto rs o f m ea n in g m en tio n ed a b o v e
m ay be d iv id e d in to tw o types:
(a) T h o se su c h a s ‘p e rm issio n ’, ‘o b lig atio n ’, a n d ‘v o litio n ’ w h ich in v o lv e

som e k in d o f in trin sic h u m an control o v e r ev en ts, an d
(b) T h o se su c h a s ‘p o ssib ility ’, ‘necessity’, a n d ‘p re d ic tio n ’, w h ic h do n o t
p rim a rily in v o lv e h u m a n control o f ev en ts, b u t d o typically in v o lv e
h u m an ju d g m e n t o f w h a t is o r is n o t likely to h a p p en .
T h ese tw o k in d s, b e tw ee n w h ich th ere is a g ra d ie n t, m ay b e term ed i n t r i n s i c

a n d e x t r i n s i c m o d a lity respectively. O n e im p o rta n t o b se rv atio n a b o u t th e
m odals is th a t e a c h o n e o f th em h as b o th in trin sic a n d e x trin sic uses: fo r
exam ple, m a y h a s th e m ea n in g o f p erm issio n (in trin sic) a n d th e m ean in g o f
p o ssibility (e x trin sic ); will h as th e m ean in g o f v o litio n (in trin sic) an d th e
m ean in g o f p re d ic tio n (extrinsic). H ow ever, th e re a re a rea s o f overlap a n d
n eu trality b e tw e e n th e in trin sic an d ex trin sic sen ses o f a m o d a l: th e will in a
sen ten ce su c h a s I'll see yo u tomorrow then c a n b e sa id to co m b in e th e
m ean in g s o f v o litio n a n d p red ictio n . A n o th e r p o in t o f significance is th a t th e
m odals th em se lv es te n d to h av e o v erlap p in g m ean in g s, such th a t in so m e
c irc u m s ta n c e s (b u t n o t in o th ers), they can b e m o re o r less in terch an g eab le.

S h o u ld a n d ought to, fo r ex am p le, are m ore o r less in te rch a n g e ab le w ith the
m e a n in g s o f ‘o b lig a tio n ’ a n d ‘ten ta tiv e in feren ce’. C an a n d m a y o v e rla p to a
sm a ll e x te n t in th e a rea s o f p erm issio n an d p o ssibility, b u t th is o v e rla p is
a lm o st en tirely c o n fin ed to w ritte n o r form al E n g lish , a n d th ese m o d als are
v ery f a r fro m b e in g g en erally in free v ariatio n .
N o te In p la c e o f intrinsic a n d extrinsic m o d a lity , o th e r term inologies, su ch a s m odulation a n d m odality ,

or root a n d epistem ic m o d a lity , a re w id esp read . A n a ltern ativ e p ra c tic e , w h ich w e follow ( c f 4.51,
4.53), is to re g a rd th e ro o t/e p iste m ic d istin ctio n as a su b categ o riza tio n o f ex trin sic m odality.
A n o th e r te r m w idely used for th e m o d ality o f o bligation an d perm issio n is deontic.
4.5 0 T h e a b o v e p o in ts h e lp to sh o w w hy th e use o f th e m o d al v erb s is o n e o f the

m o re p ro b le m a tic a re a s o f E n g lish g ram m ar, a n d o n e o f th e a re a s w here
m a n y stu d ies h a v e b e en m ad e . O th e r facto rs w h ich im p e d e easy g en eraliza
tio n a r e th e folio w in g :
(a) C e r ta in m o d als su ch as can a n d will a re ex trem ely co m m o n , w h ereas

o th e rs , such a s shall, ought to, a n d need (qua au x iliary ) a re relativ ely rare
( c f 3.39 N o te).
(b) A lth o u g h h isto rically , m o st o f th e m odals c a n b e p a ire d in to p a s t an d
n o n p a s t fo rm s (can/could, m ay/m ight, will/would, shall j should), th e ‘p a st
te n s e ’ fo rm s a re o n ly in so m e resp ects usefully classified a s su ch fro m th e
p o in t o f view o f m ea n in g .
(c) T h e u se o f th e m o d als v aries significantly fro m o n e p a r t o f th e E nglish-
s p e a k in g w o rld to a n o th e r. T h ere are c o n sid erab le differen ces in th is
re sp e c t b e tw ee n A m E a n d B r E : fo r exam ple, th e th re e v erb s d escrib ed
a s ‘r a r e ’ a b o v e a re in fa c t su b stan tially ra re r in A m E th a n in B rE ;
m o reo v e r, Scots, Irish , a n d N o rth e rn E n g lish v a rie tie s re sem b le A m E in
so m e resp ec ts m o re th a n th ey resem ble th e ‘s ta n d a r d ’ so u th e rn usage
w h ic h ten d s to b e tre a te d as re p re se n tativ e o f B rE . In c re a sin g ly e v en in
S o u th e rn S ta n d a rd B rE th e form s form erly asso c iated w ith A m E are
b e co m in g th e n o rm .
In v iew o f such v a ria tio n s a n d co m p licatio n s, w e c a n g ive o nly a n o u tlin e o f

th e s e m a n tic s o f th e m o d als h ere. F o r th e p u rp o ses o f th is o u tlin e, we
c o n sid er th e jm odal au x iliaries in groups w ith sim ila r o r o v e rlap p in g
m ea n in g s. W e'also re la te th e m ea n in g s o f th e c en tral m o d als (c /3 .3 9 ), w here
usefu l, to th e m ea n in g s o f m a rg in a l auxiliaries su ch as ought to, have (g o t) to,
an d need. W e sh all giv e, w h ere im p o rta n t, som e id ea o f th e freq u e n c y o r
sty listic ra n g e o f a m o d al. W e b eg in by trea tin g th e p re s e n t an d p a s t form s
(eg: can a n d could) to g e th e r, an d la te r (in 4 .5 9 -6 4 ) tu r n o u r a tte n tio n to
sp e c ia l a sp e cts o f th e u se o f th e p a s t form s could, m ight, should, a n d would.
T h e m o d als a re o fte n a sso ciated w ith p a rtic u la r p ra g m a tic uses, eg in
req u ests, offers, etc, w h e re th e p a st form s te n d to h a v e im p lica tio n s o f
te n ta tiv e n e s s o r p o lite n ess. W e d eal w ith th ese asp ects o f m o d al u sag e m ain ly
in th e N o te s, b u t c f also 4.63.
I n th e follow ing se ctio n s (4.51 - 6 5 ) we c o n ce n tra te p rim a rily o n th e m o d als
in d e c la ra tiv e clau ses. T h e n eg ativ e a n d in te rro g ativ e uses o f th e m o d als are
d e a lt w ith in 1 0 .6 7 /a n d 11.13 respectively.
4.51 ------------------------------------ --------------------------------

MEANINGS OF THE MODALS
' p e r m is s i o n
c a n /c o u ld (4 .5 2 ) m a y /m ig h t (4 .5 3 )
p o s s i b ili ty , .
„ a b i l i t y 11 EXTRINSIC
o b lig a tio n INTRINSIC

m u s t ( 4 .5 4 ) j
s h o u ld
h a v e {g o t) to I
o u g h t to
n e e d ( n o n a s s e r ti v e ) b [
( 4 .5 6 )
(4 .5 5 ) I
n e c e s s i ty EXTRINSIC
COMMITTED0 NONCOMMITTED
v o li tio n INTRINSIC
s h a ll < r a r e a n d
wiUj w o u ld ( 4 .5 7 )
r e s t r i c t e d ) (4 .5 8 )
p r e d ic tio n ,
( f u tu r e ) EXTRINSIC
F i g 4 .5 1
N o te s to .Fi£ 4.51:
[a] T h e ‘ab ility ’ m e an in g o f can is co n sid e re d ex trin sic, ev en tho u g h ab ility typically in v o lv es
h u m a n co n tro l over an a c tio n .4A b ility ’ is be st co n sid ered a special case o f p o ssib ility ( c f 4.5 2).
[b] O n n o n assertiv e restrictio n s in th e use o f n eed as a n au xiliary, c/3 .4 2 .
[c] T h e m e an in g o f th e labels ‘c o m m itte d ’ a n d ‘n o n co m m itted ’ w ith referen ce to m ust, sho u ld ,
etc is clarified in 4 .5 4 /rbeIow , esp 4.5 6 ; c f also F ig 4.66.
F ig 4.51 gives a su m m ary o f th e m a in m o d al m eanings. T h e a rro w s s e p a ra te

in trin sic fro m co rresp o n d in g e x trin sic m ean in g s, an d are a re m in d e r th a t th e
d istin c tio n s b etw een th ese tw o a re g ra d u al ra th e r th a n absolute. T h e F igure
d o e s n o t, how ever, d istin g u ish th e e p i s t e m i c uses o f m a y , m ust a n d have (g o t)
to ( c /4 .5 3 - 5 ) ; th ese fo rm a cle ar-c u t su b categ o ry o f th e ‘p o ssib ility ’ a n d
‘n e cessity ’ m eanings.
C a n jco u ld
4.52 T h re e m ajo r m ean in g s o f th ese m o d als m ay b e d istin g u ish e d :
(a) p o s s i| il it y (especially in q u e stio n s a n d n eg ativ es; c f 10.67/, 11.13)

E v en e x p ert d riv ers can m a k e m istak es. [ 1]
H e r p erfo rm an ce w as th e b e st th a t could b e h oped for. [2]
I f it’s ra in in g to m o rro w , th e sp o rts can ta k e place in d o o rs. [3]
I n th is se n se , can is generally p a ra p h ra sa b le by it is possible follow ed by an

in fin itiv e c la u se ; for exam ple, [1] m ay be p a ra p h ra se d :
It is possible fo r ev en ex p ert d riv e rs to m ak e m istak es. [la ]
S o m e tim e s , can in d icates a fu tu re p o ssib ility ; th u s, for [3] an a p p ro p ria te

p a r a p h r a s e w o u ld b e : It will be p o ssib le . . .
( b ) ABILITY
C a n you rem em b er w h ere th ey liv e? [4]
M a g d a could sp eak th re e lan g u ag es by th e age o f six. [5]
T h e y say Bill can cook b e tie r th a n his w ife. [6]
F o r th e ‘a b ility ’ sense, canjcould m ay b e p a ra p h ra se d by use o f th e be able to

c o n s tru c tio n , o r in som e cases by be capable o f o r know how to. H o w ev er, th e
s a m e m e a n in g can also be a p p ro x im ate ly cap tu red by th e be possible
c o n s tr u c tio n ; eg:
I c o u ld sw im all th e w ay acro ss th e lake.
im p lie s :
It possible for m e to sw im all th e w ay across th e lake.
F o r th is re a so n , th e ‘ab ility ’ m ea n in g o f can! could c a n be co n sid ered a sp ecial

c a s e o f th e ‘p o ssib ility ’ m ean in g , viz o n e in w h ich th e p o ssib ility o f a n a c tio n
is d u e to so m e sk ill o r c ap a b ility o n th e p a r t o f th e subject referen t.
(c ) PERMISSION
Cart w e b o rro w these b ooks fro m th e lib ra ry ? [7]
I n th o se day s only m en could v o te in elections. [8]
I n th is sen se, pan/could is less fo rm al th a n m ay, w h ich has b e en fa v o u red by

p re s c rip tiv e tra d itio n (c/4 .5 3 ). (H o w ev er, m ight in th e sen se o f p a s t
p e rm is s io n is so ra re - c f 4.61 N o te [a] - t h a t n o t ev en tra d itio n a lis ts w o u ld
fa v o u r its u se in [8].) I t is possible to p a ra p h ra s e can in th e sense o f p e rm issio n
b y be allow ed t o :
A r e w e allow ed to b orrow th ese b o o k s from th e lib rary ? [7a]

1
N o te [a] C a n jc o u ld [ — possib ility ] is o fte n u sed in a q u asi-im p erativ e m a n n er, to suggest a co u rse o f
a c tio n to th e add ressee. T h e in stru c tio n c a n be m a d e m o re polite by u sing could ( c f 4 .6 2 /), o r by
ad d in g a c o n d itio n a l clause such as i f y o u like:
Y o u ca n sit h e re u n til I g et b ac k ( if you like).
Y o u c h ild re n could help m e m o v e th e se ch airs.
B y tu r n in g th e sta te m e n t in to a qu estio n , th e sp e a k e r ch an g es th e suggestion in to a ra th e r polite
req u est:
C an jc o u ld you (please) ch eck th e se figures?
[b] Can [ = ab ility ] occurs in c e rtain in fo rm al n eg a tiv e v erb p hrases, su ch a s cannotjcan't help,
ca nnotjcan't stand , an d cannotjcan't bear. T h e n e g a tiv e o rie n tatio n o f th ese p h rases m e a n s th a t
th e ir p o s itiv e c o u n te rp a rts c a n n o t be used, e x c e p t in sem an tically n eg a tiv e c o n tex ts; eg in
q u estio n s w ith a n e g a tiv e bias, or in ‘seco n d in s ta n c e ’ co ntexts w h ere a c o n tra s t w ith th e
n e g a tiv e is im p lie d :
H o w can you b e a r th a t no ise? [im p lies: ‘It is u n b e a ra b le ’]
A : I c a n ’t help singing o u t o f tu ne.
B : W ell, yo u c 6 u l d help i t : you co u ld sim p ly be q u i e t .
M eanings of the m odal verbs 223
[c] Can [ = p erm issio n ] is c o m b in ab le w ith a future tim e ad v e rb ial (eg: You can barrow m y
typew riter tom orrow): b u t can [ = ability] norm ally is not:
?Y ou can p ass y o u r d riv in g te st n ex t tim e you ta k e it.
F o r fu tu re ab ility , th e co n stru c tio n to use is will be able to :
Y ou will be able to p ass y o u r d riv in g te st next tim e you ta k e it.
e x c ep t th a t can m ay be used in clauses, su ch as //-clauses, in w h ich th e presen t te n se is n o rm a lly
u sed fo r fu tu re refere n ce ( c f 14.22):
I f you can p ass y o u r d riv in g te st ne x t m o n th , you wiii b e ab le to visit us m o re o fte n d u rin g
th e sum m er.
Id] O n th e special s ta tiv e use o f canjcould [ -- ability] w ith p erce p tio n verbs (e g : can see), c f 4.30.
T h e re is a sim ilar te n d e n c y to use th is au xiliary w ith m en tal-state v erbs such a s rem em ber a n d
understand, as in [4] ab o v e, w h ere Can yo u rem em ber . . . ? is scarcely d istin g u ish ab le in m e a n in g
fro m D o y o u rem e m b e r . . . ?
M a y I m ig h t
4.53 ( a ) POSSIBILITY
W e m a y n e v e r succeed. [It is possible th a t w e’ll n ev er succeed] [1]
Y ou m a y b e rig h t. [It is possible th a t you a re rig h t] [2]
T h ere m ight b e som e c o m p lain ts. [3]
A s th ese ex am p les su g g est, th e m o st com m on m ea n in g o f m a y [ = possibility]

is d ifferen t fro m th e p o ssib ility sense o f can. T o p a ra p h ra se m a y, w e u se it is
possible follow ed b y a /-clause, ra th e r th an a n in fin itiv e clause. M a y in th is
sense m ay also b e p a ra p h ra s e d by I t m ay be t h a t. . . , o r by th e a d v erb perhaps
o r possibly. T h u s [2] is e q u iv a le n t to :
I t m ay b e t h a t you a re rig h t. [2a]

P e rh a p s/p o ssib ly y o u a re rig h t. [2b]
T h is m ea n in g o f m a y is term ed e p i s t e m i c p o s s i b i l i t y ; ie it d en o tes th e
p o ssib ility o f a g iv en p ro p o sitio n ’s being o r b eco m in g tru e. M a y in th e sense
o f ep iste m ic p o ssib ility is n o rm ally stressed, a n d is o ften asso ciated w ith fall-
rise n u c le ar to n e.
M ig h t[ = p o ssib ility ] c a n b e used as a (so m ew h at m o re te n ta tiv e ) a lte rn a tiv e
to m a y [ = possibility], a s in [3] (c/4 .6 3 ), an d in d eed is o ften p re fe rre d to m a y
a s a m o d al o f e p iste m ic p o ssibility.
L ess com m only, in fo rm al E n g lish , m ay I m ight is used in th e sam e p ossibility
sense as canjcould, a sen se w h ic h m ay be d istin g u ish ed by th e label r o o t
p o s s ib ility :
D u rin g th e a u tu m n , m an y ra re birds m a y be o b serv ed o n th e

rocky n o rth e rn c o asts o f th e island. [4]
M a y in [4] is a m o re fo rm al su b stitu te fo r can, a n d th e w hole sen ten ce could

b e p a ra p h ra se d I t is possible to observe . . .
(b ) p e r m is s io n
Y ou m a y b o rro w m y bicycle if you w ish. [5]

V isito rs m a y re claim n ecessary trav el ex p en ses up to
a lim it o f £50. [6]
M ig h t I a sk w h e th e r you are using th e ty p ew riter? [7]
A s a p e rm issio n au x iliary , m a y is m ore fo rm al a n d less c o m m o n th a n can,

w hich (ex cep t in fixed p h ra se s such as i f I m a y ) can be su b stitu te d fo r it.
224 T h e sem antics of the ve rb phrase
H o w ev e r, m a y is p a rticu la rly asso ciated w ith p erm issio n g iv en by th e

s p e a k e r. T h a t is, a d ifferen ce is so m etim es felt betw een Y ou m a y leave when
y o u lik e [ = ‘I p e rm it you . . . ’] a n d You can leave when y o u like [ = ‘Y o u are
p e r m i t te d . . . ’], w h ic h c a n m ea n p erm issio n in a m ore g e n era l a n d im p erso n al
s e n se . N o t all E n g lish sp e a k ers acknow ledge th is d istin c tio n , h o w e v er; an d
th e p rescrip tiv e b ias in fa v o u r o f m a y leads to its use in official d o cu m en ts
a n d notices, e tc, as in [6] ab o v e, ev en w here th ere is n o re stric tio n to
‘s p e a k e r ’s p e rm issio n ’.
A g a in , m ight is used as a so m ew h at m o re ten ta tiv e, a n d th ere fo re polite,
v a r ia n t o f m a y [ = p erm issio n ], as in [7] (c/4 .6 1 ). I t is ra re a n d ap p are n tly
o b so le sc en t in th is usage.
N o te [a] I n in terro g ativ es a n d in a u x ilia ry n eg a tio n , m a y in th e sense o f ep istem ic p ossibility is

n o rm a lly replaced b y can ( c / 1 0 .6 7 / 11.13). N o te th e difference b etw e en :
S h e m ay not be serious. [ I t is possible t h a t . . . n o t . . . ]
S h e can’t be serious. [It is n o t possible t h a t . . . ]
[b] T h e r e is a ra re u se o f m a y w ith s u b je c t-o p e ra to r inversion (c/1 8 .2 4 ) in v o litio n al sentences
w h ic h parallel th e fu n ctio n o f th e form u laic su b ju n ctiv e (c/3 .6 0 ):
M a y th e best m a n w in ! [ = L e t th e b e st m a n w in !)
M a y he n ev e r s e t fo o t in th is house a g a in !
M a y G o d bless y o u ! [ = G o d bless y o u !]
[c] A n o th e r ‘q u a si-su b ju n c tiv e’ u se o f m ay j m ight is observ ed in s u b o rd in ate clauses o f concession
o r p u rp o se :
S tran g e a s/th o u g h it m a y s e e m . . . (c/1 5 .3 9 )
C h ris t d ied , th a t w e m ight live, ( c / 15.48 N o te [b])
P a rtic u la rly in p u rp o se clauses, th is co n stru c tio n is form al an d so m ew h at a rc h a ic .
[d] R elate d to th e a b o v e use o f m a y in concessive ad v e rb ial clauses, th e re is a te n d en cy fo r m ain
clau ses co n tain in g m a y to h a v e a concessive force p reced in g b u t:
W e m ay h av e o u r d ifferen ces fro m tim e to tim e, b u t basically w e tru st o n e a n o th e r’s
ju d g m en t. [8]
T h e m o d al loses so m eth in g o f its ‘po ssib ility ’ sense here, as is show n by th e p a r a p h r a s e :
I ad m it th a t w e h av e o u r d iffe re n c e s . . . b u t . . .
ie th e p ro position ex p ressed b y th e first clause o f [8] is presum ed to b e tru e b u t (p erh ap s o u t o f
p o liten e ss) th e m o d a l c o n stru c tio n is p referre d to ,th e altern ativ e c o n stru c tio n w ith th e sim ple
p resen t.
[e] T h e id io m atic ex p ressio n m a y/m ig h t (Just ) as well is ty pically u sed to m a k e a som ew hat
re lu c ta n t o r sa rd o n ic re c o m m e n d a tio n :
W e m ay as w ell sta y h ere th e n ig h t (as look fo r a b ette r place elsew here). [9]
Y ou m ight as well tell th e tr u th (as co n tin u e to tell lies), [10]
T h e n eg a tiv e a sp e c t o f th e se re co m m en d a tio n s is highlighted by th e o p tio n a l co m p arativ e
clause, w h ich is u sually o m itte d . T h e ir force co uld be expressed as fo llo w s:
‘T h e re ’s no p o in t in lo o k in g e lse w h e re . . . ’
‘T h e re ’s no p o in t in yo u r co n tin u in g to tell li e s . . . ’
C f: m ayjm ight/canjcould well, 8.103.
M ust
4 .5 4 ( a ) ( l o g i c a l ) N ECESSITY
T h ere m u st b e so m e m istak e. [ 1]
Y ou m u st b e feelin g tired . [2]
T h e S m ith s m u st h a v e a lo t o f m oney. [3]
T h e ‘logical n e ce ssity ’ m e a n in g o f m u st is parallel to th e use o f m a y in th e

sense o f ep istem ic p o ssib ility ; it m ay , in d eed , be called ‘e p is te m ic necessity ’,
since it im p lies th a t th e sp e a k er ju d g es th e p ro p o sitio n expressed by t h e

clause to b e n ecessarily tru e, o r a t least to h a v e a h ig h likelihood o f b e in g
true. M u st in th is sense m ea n s th a t th e sp e a k er h a s d ra w n a conclusion fro m
th in g s a lre ad y k n o w n o r ob serv ed . F o r e x am p le, th e sp eak er o f [3] h a s
o b serv ed th e S m ith s liv in g in a larg e house, trav e llin g in a n ex p en siv e c a r ,
etc, a n d th e re fo re d ra w s th e conclusion t h a t th ey ‘m u st’ be rich. M u s t
[ = logical necessity] c a n n o t n o rm ally be u sed in in terro g ativ e o r n e g a tiv e
clauses. T h e n e g ativ e o f can [ = possibility] fills th e g a p , so th a t You m u st be
jo kin g [‘I t is n ecessarily th e case th a t you a re jo k in g ’] is synonym ous w ith Y o u
can’t be serious [‘I t is im p o ssib le th a t you are s e rio u s’]. Sim ilarly :
S he m u st b e asleep = S h e can’t b e aw ake.
In a d d itio n to ep iste m ic necessity, th ere is a r o o t n e c e s s i t y m ean in g o f m u s t

in e x am p les lik e ;
T o b e h e alth y , a p la n t m u st receive a go o d su p p ly o f b o th
su n sh in e a n d m o istu re. [4]
M u st h e re c a n b e glossed ‘I t is essen tial fo r . . . ’ o r ‘I t is n ecessary fo r . . . ’.

T h ere is, h o w ev er, n o im p lica tio n in [4] o f h u m a n control, a n d th is
d istin g u ish e s th e ro o t necessity use o f m u st fro m its o th e r ro o t sen se o f
o b lig a tio n , to w h ic h w e n o w turn.
(b) O B L IG A T IO N or C O M PU LSIO N
Y o u m u st b e b a c k by ten o ’clock. [‘Y o u a re o b lig ed to be
b a c k . . . ’; ‘I re q u ire you to be b a c k . . . ’] [5]
W e m u st all sh are o u r skills a n d kn o w led g e. ... [6]
P ro d u c tiv ity m u st be im p ro v ed , i f th e n a tio n is to b e pro sp ero u s. [7]
In th e s e e x am p les, th e re is th e im p licatio n , to a g re ater o r lesser e x ten t, t h a t
th e s p e a k e r is a d v o ca tin g a c ertain fo rm o f b eh av io u r. T h u s m ust, u n lik e
have (g o t) to, ty p ically suggests th a t th e sp e a k e r is exercising his a u th o rity .
A n a p p a re n t ex ce p tio n to th is o ccu rs w h ere th e su b ject is in th e first p e r s o n :
I m u st re m e m b e r to w rite to A u n t A n n a . [8]
I ’m a fra id I m u st go n o w ; I p ro m ised to b e h o m e a t ten . [9]
B u t th is , w e c a n say, is p erfectly co n sisten t w ith m u st [ = obligation], b eca u se

th e m ea n in g is o n e o f self-ad m o n ish m en t, ie th e s p e a k e r in th is case ex ercises
a u th o rity o v e r him self, ap p ea lin g to his o w n sen se o f d u ty , expediency, e tc.
N o te [a] O n th e use o f o b lig atin g m i«( in neg a tiv e an d in te rro g a tiv e clauses, c /1 0 .6 7 /; 11.13.
[b] O ccasio n ally , m u st [ = logical necessity] does occu r w ith n e g a tio n s :
H is ab sen ce m u st not hav e b ee n noticed.
T h is h as th e sam e m e an in g a s H is absence can't have been noticed. Such sentences h av e b een
reg ard e d b y m a n y co m m e n ta to rs a s im possible, b u t a re in creasin g ly accepted an d u sed ,
especially in A m E .
[c] T h e re is a sim ilarly rare o cc u rre n ce o f m ust [ = lo gical necessity] in q u estio n s:
M u s t th e re b e so m e good reaso n for th e delay?
T h is assu m es a p o sitiv e an sw er, an d m ig h t be glo ssed : ‘D o es th e re have to b e som e good
re a s o n . . . ? ’
[d] M u s t [ = ro o t necessity] h as a sarcastic use in som e u tte ra n c e s w ith a 2n d person s u b je c t:
I f y o u m u st sm o k e, a t least you could use an ash tra y .
W h y m ust you alw ays b e finding fau lt w ith th a t g irl?
226 Th e sem antics o f the verb phrase
N e e d , have (g o t ) to
4.55 T h e close re la tio n s h ip b etw een m ust a n d th e q u asi-in o d als need, have g ot to,
a n d have to (c /3 .4 2 , 3.45, 3.48) d eserv es c o m m en t a t th is p o in t. N eed
( c o n s tru c te d a s a n au x iliary ) is used (esp in B rE ) as th e n eg ativ e a n d q u estio n
f o r m o f m u s t in r o o t se n s e s :
N e e d th e y m a k e all t h a t noise? [ = 'D o th ey need/have to m a k e all th a t

n o is e ? ’] < esp B r E )
Y ou needn’t w o rry a b o u t th e test. [ = ‘Y ou don’t need/have to w orry
a b o u t t h a t te s t’.] <esp B rE )
A s th e a b o v e glosses sh o w , how ever, it is p o ssib le, a n d in d eed , m o re co m m o n

e v e n in B rE , to re p la c e a u x iliary need by need to o r have to a cc o m p a n ied by
d o -su p p o rt (c /3 .3 7 ).
H a v e (g o t) to c a n also be su b stitu ted fo r m u st w ith little o r n o difference o f
m e a n in g . C o m p a re th e follow ing w ith th e p arallel sen ten ces in 4.54:
(a) (L O G IC A L ) NEC ESSITY

T h e re h a s (g o t) to be som e m ista k e . <esp A m E ) [1]
T o b e h e a lth y , a p la n t has to re ce iv e a good su p p ly o f b o th
su n s h in e a n d m o istu re. [4]
(b ) O B L IG A T IO N O R CO M PU LSIO N
Y o u have (g o t) to b e b a c k by te n o ’clock. [5]
W e h ave all g o t to sh are o u r skills a n d know ledge. [6]
P ro d u c tiv ity w ill have to be im p ro v e d , if th e n a tio n is to be
p ro sp ero u s. [7]
I n th e lo g ical n e ce ssity sense o f [1], have (g o t) to is ra th e r m o re e m p h a tic th a n

m u st, a n d is fo u n d c hiefly in A m E . In th e o b lig a tio n sense o f [5 -7 ], have (g o t)
to is o ften felt, to b e m o re im p erso n al th a n m ust, in th a t it ten d s to lac k th e
im p lic a tio n th a t th e s p e a k e r is in au th o rity . T h is is p a rticu la rly n o ticeab le
w ith a 1st p e rso n su b je ct:
I ’m a fra id I have (g o t) to go now . [8]
W h e re m u st im p lies ‘self-o b lig atio n ’, have (g o t) to im p lies ‘o b lig a tio n by

e x te rn a l fo rces’. T h u s [8] m ig h t be u sed w h ere, for e x am p le, a n o th e r
a p p o in tm e n t co m p e ls th e sp e a k er to leav e a t a p a rtic u la r tim e.
Since m u st h a s n o p a s t ten se fo rm a n d n o n o n fin ite fo rm s, have to is used
in m an y c o n te x ts w h e re m u st is im p o ssib le (c /3 .3 0 , 3.48), eg follow ing a
m o d al v e r b : W e ’ll have to be patient.
N o te [aj H a ve to a n d h ave g o t to a re u sed in sarcastic u tte ra n c e s lik e th o se illu strated fo r m ust in 4.54
N o te [d ]:
D o you have to m a k e th a t n o ise w hen you e a t?
T h e re is a n e q u iv a le n t p a s t te n se use o f h a d to :
T h e r a in w as b a d e n o u g h - b u t th e n it had to s n o w !
T h e a u th o r o f th is se n te n c e jo k in g ly blam es th e w e a th e r’s perv erse beh av io u r.
[b] S om e n a tiv e sp e a k e rs d o n o t recognize th e d is tin c tio n betw een ‘self-o b lig atio n ’ (//w e m u st)
a n d ‘o b lig a tio n by ex te rn a l fo rces’ {Ijw e have to).
Meanings of the m odal verbs 227
O u g h t to and sh ou ld
4.56 H e re w e tu rn to a n o th e r m a rg in a l au x iliary , ought to, an d a syno n y m o u s u se
o f should. A lth o u g h d iffering fro m m u st an d have (got) to, th ese v erb s e x p ress
th e sam e b a sic m o d alities o f ‘n e ce ssity ’ a n d ‘o b lig atio n ’. W h ere th e y c o n tra s t
w ith m ust a n d have (g o t) to is in n o t expressing th e sp eak er’s con fid en ce in
th e o c cu rren ce o f th e e v en t o r s ta te d escribed. H ence [1] is n o n sen sical, b u t
[2] is n o t:
* S a ra h j be h o m e b y now , b u t she isn’t. [ 1]
S a ra h b e h o m e b y n o w , b u t she isn’t. [2]
( a ) TE N TA TIV E IN FE R E N C E
T h e m o u n ta in s j b e v isible from here. [3]
T h ese p lan ts j re a c h m atu rity after five years. [4]
T h e te rm w h ich b est seem s to c h aracterize th e ‘n o n c o m m itte d n e ce ssity ’

m ea n in g o f should a n d ought to is ‘te n ta tiv e inferen ce’. T h a t is, th e s p e a k e r
do es n o t k n o w if his s ta te m e n t is tru e, b u t ten tativ ely co n clu d es th a t it is
tru e , o n th e b asis o f w h a tev e r h e know s. A p a rt from th is ten ta tiv e n e ss , should
a n d ought to d iffer fro m m u st in t h a t th ey frequently re fe r to th e fu tu re ; eg-.
T h e jo b should/ought to b e fin ish ed by next M onday.
(b) O B LIG A TIO N
Y°u{ : X } doashesays- [si

T h e floor I SÛnf f . [ b e w ash ed a t least once a w eek. [6]
L ik e m ust [ = o b lig atio n ], should a n d ought to generally im ply th e s p e a k e r’s

a u th o rity ; b u t u n lik e m ust, th ey d o n o t im ply th a t the sp e a k er h a s co n fid en ce
t h a t th e re co m m e n d a tio n w ill be c arried out. In fact, w ith th e p e rfe c tiv e
a sp e ct, should a n d ought to ty p ically have th e stro n g er im p lica tio n th a t th e
re co m m e n d a tio n h as n o t b een c a rrie d o u t :
T h ey J b a v e m e t h e r a t th e statio n . [7]
T h e likely im p licatio n o f [7] is ‘. . . b u t th ey d id n ’t ’. In b o th sen ses (a) a n d (b)

should is m o re freq u e n t th a n ought to.
N o te A n o th e r difference betw een should a n d ought to (in th e sense o f te n ta tiv e in fe ren ce) a n d m u s t is
th a t th e fo rm e r m o d a ls te n d to c a rry o v e r fro m th e ir obligational sense th e su g g estio n th a t the
p ro p o sitio n w ith in th e ir sco p e is d esira b le. C o n tr a s t:
T h e re should be an o th e r u p tu rn in sales shortly.
TThere should b e an o th e r d is a s te r shortly.
T h e second s en te n ce is decid ed ly o d d , suggesting th a t th e sp eak er ta k e s a fav o u rab le v ie w o f
d isasters.
W i l l i w o u ld ('/// 'd )
4 .5 7 F r o m th e s e m a n tic p o in t o f view , as well as fro m th e h isto rical p o in t o f view ,
'11 a n d 'd a re to b e re g ard ed as co n tra ctio n s o f will an d would resp ectiv ely ,
r a t h e r th a n o f shall an d should. T o see th is, w e n o te th a t w here shall a n d
s h o u ld a re n o t in te rch an g eab le w ith will a n d would, th e c o n tra ctio n d o es n o t
s u b s titu te fo r shall/should, th o u g h it c a n for will/would. F o r in stan ce, in [7] o f
4 .5 6 a b o v e , th e c o n tra c tio n T h ey’d have m et her a t the station is n o t po ssib le
in t h e sen se o f ‘o u g h t to ’. C onversely, i n :
Y o u will feel b e tte r a fte r th is m ed icin e. [1]
w h e r e will in th e p re d ic tiv e sense could n o t b e replaced b y shall, th e

c o n tr a c tio n to 7/ is p o ssib le :
Y o u 'll feel b e tte r a fte r th is m ed icin e. [la ]
(a) PREDICTION
U n d e r th e h e ad in g o f p r e d ic t io n , th re e re la te d uses o f will I w ould a re to be
d is tin g u is h e d .
( a l ) T h e c o m m o n f u t u r e p re d ic tiv e sense o f will illu strated in [1] ab o v e h as

a lre a d y b e e n discussed in 4.42 a n d 4.46. T h e c o rresp o n d in g ‘p re d ic tio n
in t h e p a s t’ sense o f w ould ( c f 4.48) is illu strated b y :
I w as to ld I w ould feel b e tte r a fte r th is m ed icin e. [2]
(a 2 ) T h e p r e s e n t p re d ic tiv e sense o f will, w h ic h is c o m p arativ ely ra re , is

sim ila r in m ea n in g to m ust in th e ‘logical n ecessity ’ se n se :
She will h av e h a d h e r d in n e r by now . . [3]

T h a t '11 be th e p o stm an , [on h e arin g th e doorbell ring] [4]
T h is m ea n in g c a n b e roughly p a r a p h r a s e d : ‘I t is (very) likely t h a t . . . ’
(a3 ) T h e h F | it u F l p red ictiv e m ean in g o ften o ccu rs in co n d itio n al s e n te n c e s :
I f litm u s p a p e r is d ip p e d in a cid , it will tu rn red.
o r in tim eless sta te m en ts o f ‘p re d ic ta b ility ’:

i s ~
O il will float o n w ater.
I n a d d itio n , it o ccurs in d e sc rip tio n s o f p e rso n al h a b its o r c h a ra c te ris tic

b e h a v io u r:
H e VI ta lk for h ours, i f you let h im . [said o f a ch atterb o x ]

S h e'll s it o n th e floor q u ietly all day. S h e ’ll ju s t play w ith h e r toys,
a n d you won’t h e a r a m u rm u r fro m h er. [of a good b aby]
E v ery m o rn in g h e w ould go fo r a long w alk, [ie ‘it w as h is custom
to go . . . ’]
I n p a s t ten se n a rra tiv e s, would in th is sense is a p o p u lar m ea n s o f

d e s c rib in g h a b itu a l b e h av io u r:
In the s p rin g th e b ird s would re tu rn to th e ir old h au n ts, a n d th e

w ood would b e filled w ith th e ir m u s ic . . .
T h is use o f would is r a th e r m o re fo rm al th a n th e eq u iv a len t use o f used

to, an d u n lik e use d to, n eeds to be a sso ciated w ith a tim e in d icato r, s u c h
as In the spring in th e a bove exam ple.
(b ) VOLITION
A g ain , th ree d iffe re n t subsenses m ay be d istin g u ish e d . T h e vo litio n al ra n g e
o f will ex ten d s fro m th e ‘w eak v o litio n ’ o f w i l l i n g n e s s to th e ‘stro n g v o litio n ’
o f i n s i s t e n c e . B e tw ee n th ese tw o, th ere is th e m o re u su al v o litio n al sense o f
i n t e n t i o n , w h ic h o fte n c o m b in es w ith a sense o f p re d ic tio n ( c f 4 .4 2 ,4 .4 6 ):
( b l) INTENTION
I'll w rite a s soon a s I can.
W e w on’t sta y lo n g er th a n tw o hours.
T h e m a n a g e r said he would p hone m e a fte r lunch.
(b2) WILLINGNESS
W illi W o u ld you h elp m e to add ress th ese letters?
I ’ll d o it, i f you like.
T h is m e a n in g is c o m m o n in requests a n d offers. O n th e g re a te r p o liten ess

of would, c f 4.63.
(b3) INSISTENCE
I f y o u ’w ill go o u t w ith o u t y our o v e rco at, w h a t c a n you exp ect?
S h e 'w ould k e e p in te rru p tin g me.
T h is s o m e w h a t ra re use im plies w ilfulness o n th e p a rt o f th e su b ject
referen t. T h e au x iliary is alw ays stressed, a n d c a n n o t be co n tra cte d to
'11 o r 'd. I n th is case, th e p a st form w ould ex p resses p a s t tim e, ra th e r
th a n te n ta tiv e n e s s o r politeness.
[a] T h e p red ictiv e m e a n in g o f will is som etim es w eak en ed , so th a t it resem bles th e a b ility
m ean in g o f con:
T h a t’s a fine c a r. H o w fa s t will it go?
T he new g ra n d s ta n d will h old ten th o u san d sp ectators.
T h e n egative o f th is ‘p o te n tia lity ’ sense o f w ill seem s to h a v e so m eth in g o f th e perso n ificato ry
force o f ‘refusal’ (ie th e n e g a tio n o f w illingness):
I t’s a good p ia n o , b u t it ju s t won’t stay in tune.
I tried to o p e n th e d o o r, b u t th e key wouldn’t turn.
I t is alm ost as i f th e p ia n o o r th e key had a w ill o f its ow n.
[b] In requests, th e sense o f w illingness (b2) is often ex p ressed m o re te n tativ ely a n d politely by
th e use o f th e p a s t te n se fo rm w ould:
Would you p le ase b e q u ie t?
C f th e co m p arab le use o f could, 4.52 N o te [a],
[c] T h ere is a n id io m a tic u se o f would w ith nu clear stress conveying a c e rta in feeling o f
exasp eratio n a t th e b e h a v io u r o f a n o th er:
A : O f course, I a n sp o ile d th e w hole show w ith his feeble jo k es.
B : O h, h e w o u l d ( s p o i l th e w hole show).
T h e force is th a t I a n ’s fo o lish b eh a v io u r w as u tterly ty p ical a n d p red ictab le. T h e re is n o
equivalent use o f will.
Shall
Shall is in p re se n t-d a y E n g lish (especially in A m E ) a ra th e r ra re au x iliary
an d only tw o uses, b o th w ith a 1st person subject, a re g en erally c u rre n t:
(a) p r e d ic t io n ( w ith 1st p e r s o n su b je c ts)

S h a ll is a s u b s titu te fo r th e f u tu r e u se o f will in f o rm a l s ty le :
i easily.
E sp e cially in B rE , p re sc rip tiv e tra d itio n fo rb id s will as a fu tu re au x iliary w ith

7 o r we, b u t th is p re sc rip tio n is o ld -fash io n ed a n d is n o w ad ay s w idely ignored.
(b) v o l i t i o n (w ith 1st p e rso n subjects)

In t h e in te n tio n a l sense, sh a ll is a g ain a form al (a n d tra d itio n a lly p rescrib ed )
a lte rn a tiv e to will a fte r I or we:
In q u e stio n s c o n ta in in g shall Ijw e, shall consults th e w ish es o f th e addressee,

a n d th u s m oves fro m a v o litio n al to w ard s a n o b lig a tio n a l m ean in g . I t is
su itab le fo r m a k in g o ffe rs:
S h a ll I/w e d e liv e r th e goo d s to yo u r hom e a d d ress? [ = D o you

w a n t m e/u s t o . . .? ] [ 1]
and fo r m a k in g su g g estio n s a b o u t sh ared a ctiv ities:
W h a t shall w e d o th is e v en in g ? S h a ll we go to th e th e a tre ? [ 2]
It is o n ly in su ch q u e stio n s th a t shall can n o t regularly b e rep laced by will.

N o te t h a t [1] illu stra te s th e exclusive use o f we ( c f 6.7), w hile [2] illu strates
the in clu siv e use, ie th e use o f we w h ich includes referen ce to th e addressee(s).
N o te [a] T h e in c lu siv e we follow ing shall is also found in ta g q u estio n s follow ing a 1st person
im p erativ e ( c / 1 1 .1 6 ,11.26 N o te ja ]):
L e t’s h a v e d in n e r o u t to n ig h t, shall w e?
[b] S h a ll is in very re stric te d u se w ith 2nd a n d 3rd person subjects as a w ay o f expressing the
speaker's v o litio n , e ith e r in g ra n tin g a fav o u r:
Y o u sh a ll d o ju s t as you w ish.
S h e s h a ll g et h e r m oney as soon a s she has earn e d it.
or in g iv in g orders,:
Y o u sh a ll d o ejxactly as I say.
H e s h a ll be p u n ish ed i f h e disobeys.
In th e se ca ses shall is arc h a ic an d ‘a u th o rita ria n ’ in tone.
[c] A f u r th e r restricted use o f sh a ll w ith a 3rd person su b ject o cc u rs in legal o r quasi-legal
d iscourse, in stip u latin g reg u latio n s o r legal req u irem en ts. H ere shall is close in m e an in g to m u s t:
T h e v e n d o r sh a ll m a in ta in th e eq u ip m e n t in good rep air.
N ote in th is co n n e ctio n th e a rc h a ic u se o f shalt in th e B iblical T e n C o m m a n d m e n ts; eg: Thou
shah n o t k ill. (O n th e arc h a ic 2 n d p erso n fo rm shah, c /3 .4 N o te [b].)
[d] A lth o u g h should c a n n o t n o rm a lly be regarded as a p a st te n se form o f shall, th e re are occasions
w hen it is ap p ro p ria te ly in te rp re te d as such. I n [3] below , should is a p a s t te n se e q u iv alen t o f
shall in in d ire c t speech, a n d in [4], it a p p e a rs to be a te n tativ e p a st te n se e q u iv a le n t o f shall in
offers:
I felt s u re th a t w e should m e e t ag a in . [3]
S h o u ld I type th e se le tte rs fo r you ? [4]
The use o f should illu strated in [3 J c a n h av e a fla vour o f preciosity.
[e] E v e n in 1st perso n q u estio n s, w h ere shall has generally b een reco g n ized a s n o rm al, it is
M eanings of the m odal verbs 231
n o w ad ay s freq u en tly rep laced by m o re co m m o n verbal constructions. E g : in 11] sh a ll I co u ld b e

rep la c e d b y w ould y o u lik e us to a n d in [2] shall could be replaced by should. B oth th e se su b stitu te s
a re ty p ically A m E .
T h e past tense form s of the m o d a ls: could, m ight, w o u ld , and

s h o u ld
4.59 T h e u ses o f th e p a st ten se m o d als could, m ight, would, an d should h a v e a lre a d y
b e e n illu stra te d in 4 .5 2 -8 , b u t th e re is a n eed to exam ine th e w ays in w h ic h
th e ir u ses differ fro m th e co rre sp o n d in g n o n p a st m odals can, m ay, will, a n d
shall. F iv e p a rtic u la r uses o f th e p a s t ten se m odals are n oted i n 4 .6 0 -4 .
‘P a s t t i m e ’ in i n d i r e c t s p e e c h
4.60 T h e p a s t ten se m o d als could, m ight, would, a n d should a re used q u ite re g u la rly
a s p a s t ten se e q u iv alen ts o f can, m a y , will, an d shall in in d ire c t s p e e c h
co n stru ctio n s ( c /1 4 .34):
Y ou c an/m ay d o as you w ish. [ = perm ission]

~ She sa id w e could/m ight d o a s w e w ished.
T h e k in g can d o n o w rong. [ = ability]
~ I t w as seriously arg u ed t h a t th e k in g could do no w rong.
I t m a y ra in later. [ = possibility]
~ W e w ere a fra id th a t it m ight ra in later.
W h a t can b e d o n e ? [ = possibility]
~ N o b o d y k n ew w h a t could b e done.
T h e p lan will succeed. [ = p red ictio n ]
~ I felt sure t h a t the"plan w ould succeed.
W ill you h elp m e? [ = volition]
~ I w o n d e red if he w ould h e lp m e.
Sh a ll I o p e n th e w in d o w ? [in offers]
~ She a sk ed m e if sh e should o p e n a w indow .
M u st, to g eth e r w ith need (as au x iliary ), ought to, an d h a d better, h a s n o

p re s e n t/p a s t d istin c tio n . T h ese v e rb s a re th erefo re u n ch an g ed in in d ire c t
sp e e ch c o n stru ctio n s (c/1 4 .3 4 ), ev en w h ere they refer to p a st tim e.
N o te I n free in d ire c t sp eech (c/1 4 .3 5 ) th e rep o rtin g clause is ab sen t, so th a t th e m o d al v e rb m ay o cc u r

b a c k sh ifte d to th e pa st te n se ev e n in m a in cla u se s:
C ould he be im ag in in g th in g s? (said A h m e d to him self.)
9
‘P a s t t i m e in o t h e r c o n s t r u c t i o n s
4.61 O u tsid e in d ire c t sp e e ch co n tex ts, th e b e h av io u r o f th e p ast ten se m o d al fo rm s
is less p re d ictab le. C ould a n d would a c t as th e ‘p a st tim e’ e q u iv a len ts o f can
a n d will; b u t o n th e w hole, m ig h t a n d should do n o t act as th e ‘p a s t tim e ’
e q u iv a len ts o f m a y a n d shall ( c f h o w ev er N o te [a]).
(a) c a n ~ C O U LD
T h ere w ere no r u le s : w e could d o ju s t w h at we w anted.

[ = perm ission]
I n th o se d ay s, a tra n s a tla n tic voyage could be dang ero u s.
[ = possibility]
F ew o f th e to u rists could s p e a k E nglish. [ = ability]
(b) W IL L ~ W O ULD
L a te r, h e w ould learn his erro r. [ = p re d ic tio n ; c f 4.48,4.57]

T h e o ld lad y would sit in fro n t o f th e television continuously.
[ = h a b itu a l p re d ic tio n ; c f 4.57 (a3)]
W e tr ie d to b orrow a b o at, b u t n o o n e w ould lend us one.
[ = w illingness]
H e 'w o u ld leave th e house in a m u d d le. [ = insistence]
O u tsid e in d ir e c t sp eech , how ever, w ould is n o t used in th e sense o f in te n tio n ;

h e n c e a se n te n c e su ch as H e would m eet m e the n e x t d a y is alm o st in ev itab ly
in te rp re te d a s free in d ire c t speech.
N o te [a] T h e r e is a r a r e a n d a rc h a ic use o f m ight o u tsid e in d ire c t speech in th e sense ‘w as/w ere

p e rm itte d to ’ :
W e m ight le a v e th e school only a t w eekends.
[b] C o rre s p o n d in g to m ust, w h ich can n o t norm ally be used in reference to p ast tim e o u tsid e
in d ire c t sp e e c h o r in d ire c t th o u g h t contexts, th e p a s t te n se fo rm h a d to c a n be used in m a in
clau ses. C o m p a r e :
I m u st c o n fess h e r latest novels bore m e. ~ I h a d to confess h e r latest novels b ored me.
[c] I n c o n tra s t to th e p a s t m odals c o u ld [— ability] an d w o u ld \— w illingness), th e co n stru c tio n s
w asfw ere able to a n d w as I were perm itted to { c f 4.66) em p h asize n o t ju s t th e po ten tiality , b u t th e
fu lfilm en t o f a n a c tio n . F o r in sta n ce, W e were able/perm itted to leave the camp early typically
con v ey s th e a d d itio n a l m essage: * ... an d , m o reo v er, w e d id leave th e ca m p early*. H en ce was
able to , b u t n o t could , is ac cep ta b le in contexts im ply in g fu lfilm e n t:
I r a n a f t e r th e b u s, a n d was able to c a tch it. [1]
*1 r a n a f t e r th e b u s, a n d could c a tch it. [2]
In th e n e g a tiv e , h o w ev er, th is c o n trast betw een p o te n tia l a n d fulfilled actio n is n eu tralized .
H en c e th e fo llo w in g a re b oth accep tab le, an d m e an th e sam e :
I ra n a f t e r th e b u s, b u t wasn't able to c a tch it.
I r a n a f te r th e b u s, b u t couldn't catch it.
[d] O n th e o th e r h a n d , could a n d would m ay refer to h ab itu a l fu lfilm en t:
I could ru n a f te r a bus an d c a tch it tw enty y ea rs ago, b u t I c a n ’t do th a t now .
t
H y p o th e tic al m eaning
4.62 T h e p a s t te n s e m o d als c a n be used in th e h y p o th etical (o r u n real) sense o f th e
p a s t te n s e ( c f 4 .1 6 ) in b o th m ain a n d su b o rd in a te clauses. C o m p are:
I f U n ite d can w in th is gam e, they m a y b eco m e league c h am p io n s. [1 ]

I f U n ite d could w in th is gam e, th ey m ight beco m e league
c h a m p io n s. [2]
S e n ten ce [2], u n lik e [1], expresses a n u n re al co n d itio n ; ie it conveys th e

s p e a k e r’s e x p e c ta tio n th a t U n ited will not w in th e g am e, a n d th erefo re will
not b e co m e leag u e ch am p io n s. F o r p a s t h y p o th etical m ean in g (w h ic h
n o rm ally h a s a c o n tra ry -to -fa ct in te rp reta tio n ), w e h av e to ad d th e p e rfectiv e
a sp e ct:
I f U n ite d could have won th a t gam e, th ey m ight have become league

c h a m p io n s. [3]
T h e u su a l im p lic a tio n o f th is is th a t U n ite d d id not w in th e gam e.

A ll p a s t ten se m o d als can be used in th is w ay, to exp ress th e h y p o th etical
v ersio n o f m e a n in g s su ch as ability, po ssib ility , p erm issio n , p red ictio n , a n d
v o litio n . W ith th e ep istem ic p ossibility o f m ight, how ever, it is th e m ea n in g
Meanings of the m odal verbs 233
o f th e follow ing p re d ic a tio n , ra th e r th a n o f th e m o d al itself, th a t is in te rp re te d

hy p othetically. T h is w ill b e e v id e n t from th e follow ing p a r a p h r a s e s :
T h ey m ight h a v e b eco m e cham pions.

[ = I t is p o ssib le th a t th ey w ould h av e beco m e ch am p io n s.]
W e could h av e b o rro w e d th e m oney.
[ = I t w o u ld h a v e b e en possible for us to b o rro w th e m oney, (usually
w ith th e im p lic a tio n ‘. . . b u t we d id n ’t ’)]
O n th e h y p o th etica l u se o f would here, c f 4.64 below . I n so m e c o n tex ts,

especially w h e n re fe rrin g to th e future, th e ‘u n re al’ m ea n in g o f p a s t m o d als
becom es w eak en ed to so m e th in g like im p ro b ab ility :
N o t ev en a p ro fessio n al could do b etter th a n th at.
F ro m such in stan c es, it is easy to u n d erstan d how th e h y p o th etica l u se o f

p a st m o d als h a s b e co m e a d a p te d to express ten ta tiv en e ss (c f 4.63).
N o te C ould/m ight ( + p e rfec tiv e ) a re used in com p lain ts o r re b u k e s:

Y ou couldlm ight tr y to b e m o re c iv ilized !
Y ou couldlm ight h a v e w a rn e d m e she w as com ing.
T h e m e an in g h ere is ciose to th e sam e construction w ith should [ = ‘o u g h t to ’]: eg: You sho u ld
have warned u s . . . C ould a n d m ight a re interch an g eab le in th is ty p e o f u tteran ce .
T entativeness o r politeness: could, m ight, and would

4.63 C losely related to th e h y p o th etica l use above a re sp e cialized uses o f could,
m ight, a n d w ould in w h ic h th e p a st ten se form sim p ly a d d s a n o te o f
ten tativ en ess o r p o lite n e s s :
(a) t e n t F t iv e p e r m is s io n ( in p o lite re q u e sts ):

C ould I se e y o u r d r iv in g lic e n c e ?
I w o n d er i f I m ight b orrow som e coffee?
(b ) t e n t F t iv e v o l it io n ( in p o lite re q u e sts ):
W ould you le n d m e a d o llar? [m ore p o lite th a n will, c f 4.57 (b2)]
I ’d be g ra te fu l i f som eone would hold th e d o o r open.
(c) TENTATIVE POSSIBILITY

(I) in e x p ressin g a te n ta tiv e o p in io n :
T h e re c ould b e som ething w ro n g w ith th e lig h t sw itch.
O f c o u r s e , I m ight b e w ro n g .
(II) in p o lite d ire c tiv e s an d requests ( c f 4.52, N o te [a ]):
C ould y o u (please) o p en th e d oor?
Y ou could an sw e r these letters for m e.
In th ese c o n stru ctio n s, a p a r t from th e last-m en tio n ed case o f req u ests, could
a n d m ight h a v e th e sa m e m ean in g . In (cl), th ey b o th ex p ress th e ep iste m ic
p ossibility asso c iated w ith m ay. T h is is a n e x cep tio n al case, in w h ic h could is
th e p a st ten se e q u iv a le n t o f m a y in stead o f can.
N o te T h e re is a te n d en cy fo r th e d ifferen ce betw een m ay a n d m ig h t (in a sen se o f te n ta tiv e o r

h y p o th etical possib ility ) to becom e n eutralized. T h u s som e s p eak ers perce iv e little o r no
d iffe re n c e o f m ean in g betw een You m a y be wrong a n d You m ight be wrong. T h is n eu tralizatio n
o c c a sio n a lly extends, an alogically, to co n tex ts in w h ich only m ight w ould norm ally be considered
a p p ro p ria te :
? A n ea rlie r la u n ch o f th e life b o a t m a y [ — m ight] have averted the trag ed y . [I ]
T h e f a c t th a t sentences such a s [1] occasionally o cc u r is a sym ptom o f a c o n tin u in g tendency to
e ro d e th e distin ctio n s b etw een real an d u n real senses o f th e modals.
‘M o o d m ark ers’: w ould an d should

4.64 U n d e r th is last h e ad in g o f ‘m o o d m a rk e rs’ w e c o n sid er sp ecial uses o f would
a n d sh o u ld in w h ich th ese m o d als h av e n o th in g to do w ith th e co g n ate m odals
w ill a n d shall, b u t a re in ste a d used to m a rk th e m o o d o f th e clause.
(a) w o u l d / s h o u l d a s a m a r k e r o f h y p o t h e t i c a l m e a n i n g
W o u ld (a n d som etim es, w ith a 1st p e rso n subject, sho u ld ) m a y express
h y p o th e tic a l m ean in g in m a in c lau ses:
I f you p ressed th a t b u tto n , th e en g in e w ould stop. [1]

I f th e re w ere an a c c id e n t, w e w ould/should h av e to re p o rt it. [2]
W o u ld/should + in fin itiv e c o n tra sts in sy n tactic d istrib u tio n , b u t n o t in

m e a n in g , w ith th e p a st ten se a n d th e ivere-subjunctive, b o th o f w h ich express
h y p o th e tic a l m ea n in g in m an y su b o rd in a te clauses. H e n ce th e follow ing
c a n n o t b e in te rp rete d as u n re a l co n d itio n s (alth o u g h th ey m ig h t, w ith som e
d ifficu lty , be in te rp re te d in so m e o th e r w a y ; c/1 5 .3 5 on o p e n a n d h y p o th etical
c o n d itio n s):
? I f you pressed th a t b u tto n , th e en g in e stopped. [3]

? I f you would press t h a t b u tto n , th e en g in e would stop. [4]
I n [3], th e h y p o th etical p a s t ten se is w rongly used in th e m a in clau se, w hereas

in [4], th e would c o n stru c tio n is w rongly used in th e su b o rd in a te clause.
A lth o u g h th e .c o n d itio n a l sen ten ce, as in [1] an d [2], is th e m o st typical
c o n te x t in whicjh h y p o th etica l would/should occurs, th e re a re m an y o th er
c o n te x ts in w h ich h y p o th etica l w ould/should is a p p ro p ria te ly u s e d :
I 'd h a te to lose th is p en . [5]

I t would be im p o ssib le to e stim a te how m an y crim es w e n t
u n d e te cte d last y ear. [6]
D o n ’t b o th er to re a d all th ese p ap ers. I t w ould tak e too long. [7]
I n su c h sen ten ces, th ere is o ften a n im p licit i f . . . ; for e x am p le, [7] could be
e x p a n d e d : I t w ould ta k e too long i f yo u d id (try to read them all).
( b ) SH O U L D AS A M A R K E R O F ‘PU T A T IV E ’ M EA N IN G
I n th is use (c/1 4 .2 5 ), should + in fin itiv e is o ften e q u iv a len t to th e m an d a tiv e
su b ju n ctiv e (c/3 .5 9 ). In u sin g should, th e sp e a k er e n te rta in s, as it w ere, som e
‘p u ta tiv e ’ w orld, reco g n izin g t h a t it m ay well exist o r co m e in to e x is te n c e :
S h e insisted th a t w e sh o u ld stay.
I t ’s u n fair t h a t so m an y p eo p le should lose th e ir jobs.
L e t m e k n o w if you should h e a r som e m o re new s.
W h y should an y o n e o b jec t to h e r enjoying herself?
I c a n ’t th in k w hy h e should h a v e b een so angry.
P u ta tiv e sh o u ld is m o re co m m o n in B rE th a n in A m E ( c f fu rth er 16.30 f f ,

16.59, 16.70).
N o te [a] H y p o th e tic a l w ould a s a ‘m o o d m a rk e r’ occurs in som e ty p es o f su b o rd in ate clau se; e g in

n o m in al clau ses (e x c e p t som e clauses w hich o ccu r w ith th e h y p o th e tic al p a st ten se in s te a d o f
would, eg clau ses in tro d u c e d by im p erativ e suppo.se o r by wish; c f 16.33) an d in relative clau ses;
I ’m afra id th e jo u rn e y would b e to o expensive.
T h e jo u rn e y w as a d is a p p o in tm e n t to th o se w ho would h av e p referre d to travel by ro ad .
[bj A n iro n ic o r q u asi-su b ju n c tiv e use o f should is c u rre n t in c e rta in Y iddishism s, esp ecially in
AmE;
I sh o u ld ta lk . [‘I s h o u ld n T t a lk l’J
I sh o u ld w o rry . [‘W h y sho u ld I w orry?’!
I sho u ld b e so lu cky. [ T m unlucky. ’]
[cl H y p o th e tic a l w ould w h e n follow ed by a v erb su ch as like, love, o r prefer is used to in d ic a te a
te n ta tiv e d e sire in p o lite req u ests, offers, o r in v ita tio n s:
A : W ould y o u m in d ta k in g part'.’ B : N o, I ’d love to.
A : W ould you lik e so m e te a ? B : T h a n k s ; b u t I ’d prefer coffee, if th e re is any.
C f th e use o f w ould f o r te n ta tiv e volition, 4.63 (b).
Th e m odals w it h the perfective and progressive aspects

4.65 T h e p e rfe c tiv e a n d pro g ressiv e aspects a re n o rm ally excluded w h en th e
m o d als e x p ress ‘a b ility ’ o r ‘p erm issio n ’, a n d also w h e n shall o r will ex p resses
‘v o litio n ’. T h e s e asp ects a re freely used, h o w ev er, w ith extrinsic m o d a l
m ea n in g s o th e r th a n a b ility ; eg:
‘p o ssib ility ’ H e m a y jm ig h t have m iss e d th e train .
S he can't/couldn't be sw im m ing all day.
‘n e cessity ’ ... H e m u st have left his u m b rella o n th e bus.
Y ou m ust be dream ing.
‘p re d ic tio n ’ e tc T h e guests will/would have a rriv e d b y th a t tim e.
H u sse in will/would still be reading his paper.
(O n th e m e a n in g o f th e p e rfe c tiv e asp ect a fte r a m o d al, a n d in p a rtic u la r th e

p o ssib ility o f p a ra p h ra s in g it by m ean s o f th e sim p le p a st tense, c f 4.18f )
‘O b lig a tio n ’ c a n only b e expressed w ith th e p e rfe c tiv e o r progressive w h e n
c o m b in e d w ith should o r ought to :
‘o b lig a tio n ’ I ought to be w orking now . [ * ... b u t I ’m n o t’]

Y o u should have fin ish ed it. [‘. . . b u t you h a v en ’t ’]
She shouldn’t have left h im . [‘. . . b u t sh e d id ’]
A s th e glosses in d ic a te , th ese m odals, in c o n tra st to m ust, o ften im p ly

n o n fu lfilm en t o f th e o b lig atio n . T h ere are also ex am p les w h ich d o n o t h a v e
th is c o u n te rfa c tu a l im p lic a tio n ; eg:
H a v e you h e a rd fro m M a ria? S he should have s ta rte d h e r jo b o n M o n d a y .
T h e c o m b in a tio n o f b o th p erfectiv e an d p ro g ressiv e constructions w ith th e

m o d als is also p o ssib le, su b je ct to th e c o n d itio n s alread y m e n tio n e d :
Y o u m u st have been dream ing.

S he c o u ld n 't have been sw im m ing all day.
T h e gu ests w ould have been arriv in g by now .
(O n th e m e a n in g o f th e p erfectiv e an d p ro g ressiv e in th is c o m b in a tio n , c f

4 .3 8 /)
N o te [a] T h e use o f will + p ro g ressiv e in th e sense o f ‘fu tu re as a m a tte r o f co u rse’ (c f 4.46) is paralleled
b y o t h e r m o d a ls in th e sam e c o n s tru c tio n :
J ill says sh e m ight be caWing th is a f te r n o o n .. [I]
m e a n s ap p ro x im a te ly ’It is ju s t possible th a t Jill w ill be c a llin g .. In co n trast to [1], J ill sa ys she
m ig h t ca ll this afternoon im p lies th a t th e visit will d ep e n d o n J ill’s decision.
(b] N o te th e u se o f m ight/could + perfectiv e in ce rta in colloquial speech a c ts :
T h e y could/m ight h a v e told m e! [a com plaint]
Y o u could/m ight h a v e b een m o re careful, [a rebuke]
I m ight h a v e k n o w n som eone w ould u pset her. [an ex p ressio n o f irritatio n ]
T h e meanings of marginal auxiliaries
4.66 W e m a y u se th e ex p ressio n ‘m arg in al a u x iliaries’ to a p p ly to all four

c a te g o rie s (m arg in al m odals, m o d al idiom s, sem i-auxiliaries, a n d c aten a tiv e
v e rb s ) discu ssed in 3 .4 0 -5 1 . Som e o f th ese h a v e also claim ed o u r a tte n tio n
in th is c h a p te r; eg: used to (4.15), be going to (4.43), ought to (4.56). B u t it is
w o r th n o tin g h o w closely th ese verbs te n d to follow th e p a tte rn o f th e
a u x ilia ry v erb s in th e k in d s o f m ean in g th ey convey. O n th e o n e h a n d , we
h a v e a sp ectu al o r tim e -in d ica tin g verbs su ch as used to, be going to, a n d be
a b o u t to (4.47). O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e larg e st g ro u p o f m arg in al au x iliaries
a re m o d al in th e ir sem an tic function, eg: h a d better (3.45) a n d be able to.
T h e se m an tic g ro u p s d isp lay ed in the rig h t-h a n d p a rt o f Table 4.66 show a
re m a rk a b le sim ila rity to th o se o f the m o d al au x iliaries, as in d ic a te d in F ig
4 .51. W e use th e sam e term inology h ere, to m ak e th e co m p a riso n m o re
e v id e n t:
Table 4.66 Meanings o f marginal auxiliaries
Tem poral ) \ Modal

and
aspectual Necessity Obligation Possibility,
Permission
Ability
Past (Committed) (Committed)
used to need ( to) need (to) be able to be allowed to

have to have to be permitted to
have got to have got to
be bound to be bound to
be certain to be certain to
be sure to be sure to
(Non (Non
Future Volition Other
committed) committed)
be going to ought to ought to be willing to dare (to)

be to be likely to had better would rather tend to
be about to be supposed to be supposed to would sooner be liable to
be due to be going to happen to
be destined to
M eaning in the nonfinite verb phrase 237
In Table 4.66, several v erb al c o n stru ctio n s o ccur m o re th a n o n ce, since, lik e
th e m o d al verbs, th e ir sem an tic ran g es ten d to stre tc h acro ss m o re th a n o n e
category. T h is is p a rticu la rly tru e o f th e e x trin sic/in trin sic c o n tra s t w h ic h
n o t only ap p lies to all m o d als (c f 4.49), b u t also to m an y o f th e m arg in al a n d
c ate n a tiv e co n stru ctio n s. J u s t as m u st a n d should, for e x am p le, h av e b o th
‘n ecessity ’ a n d ‘o b lig a tio n ’ m ea n in g s, so do the sem i-au x iliaries be bound to
a n d be supposed to:
T h e p lan is bound to fail. [ = ‘m u st in ev itab ly fa il’; necessity]

Y ou are bound to p a y y o u r d eb ts. [ = ‘are com pelled to . . .’; o b lig atio n ]
T h e ir te a m is supposed to b e th e best. [ = ‘should b e ’; th is is th e

recognized view ]
Y ou were supposed to b e h e re a t n in e. [ = ‘o u g h t to h av e b e e n ’;
oblig atio n ]
T h e fa ct t h a t sem i-au x iliaries a n d caten a tiv e s h av e n o n fin ite v e rb fo rm s ( c f
3 .4 7 -9 ) m ean s th a t tw o o r e v en m o re m o d al c o n cep ts c a n b e co m b in ed in a
seq u en ce o f v e rb p h r a s e s :
W e m a y have to p lay it a g ain , [possibility + obligation]

Y ou should be able to fin d en o u g h food, [ten tativ e in feren ce + ab ility ]
S he m u st have been willing to h elp , [necessity + volition]
T h e stu d e n ts are going to have to be able to play th ree d ifferen t
in stru m en ts, [p red ic tio n + necessity + ability]
I t is n o rm al, in such co m b in a tio n s, for a n ex trin sic m o d ality to p re ce d e a n

in trin sic one, as th e e x am p les show .
N o te T h e q u asi-a d v erb ial statu s o f m a n y sem i-auxiliary o r ca te n a tiv e v erb s c a n b e sh o w n by

p a ra p h ra se s su ch a s th e fo llo w in g :
She appears to like th e show . = S he apparently likes th e show .
S he is certain to enjoy th e m eal. = She w ill certainly enjoy th e m eal.
Meaning in the nonfinite verb phrase
4 .6 7 O u r discussion o f m ea n in g in th is c h ap ter h a s c o n c e n tra te d o n finite v e rb

p h rases, a n d in co n clu sio n w e m u st give som e a tte n tio n to n o n fin ite v e rb
ph rases. T h e sam e s e m a n tic d istin c tio n s apply to b o th fin ite a n d n o n fin ite
v e rb p h rases, in so fa r as th e stru c tu ra l p ossibilities o f th e n o n fin ite v e rb
p h ra se p erm it. W e h a v e seen , how ever, in 3.56 th a t th e m o d al c o n stru c tio n
a n d th e d istin c tio n b etw een p re s e n t a n d p a s t ten se d o n o t a p p ly to th e
n o n fin ite v erb p h ra s e ; a n d in 4 . 1 8 / th a t th e n o nfinite p e rfe c tiv e c o n stru c tio n
h a s th e g en eral m ea n in g o f a n te rio rity . D istin ctio n s o f a sp e c t a re th e only
o n es w h ich a re ex p ressed w ith in th e co n stru ctio n al p o ssib ilities o f a sin g le
n o n f in ite v e rb p h ra se. E v en th en , th e full ran g e is o nly possible w ith in an

in f in itiv e p h r a s e :
to be w in n in g his race, [sim ple progressive]

to h av e w on his race, [sim ple perfective]
S ir T o p a z a p p e a rs
to h av e been w in n in g his race, [perfective
progressive]
I n a n -ing p a rtic ip le p h ra se in a d v erb ial clauses, th e p erfe c tiv e /n o n p e rfec tiv e
c o n tr a s t is so m etim es a v ailab le:
E a tin g a h e arty b re ak fa st, 1 , . , [1]

H a v in g e a te n a h e arty b r e a k f a s t,) w c p re p a re d fo r o u r lo n 8 Jo u rn ey ' [2]
F r o m [1], w e u n d e rsta n d th a t th e e atin g a n d th e p re p a ra tio n to o k place

to g e th e r, w h ile fro m [2], w e u n d e rsta n d th a t th e b re ak fa st p re ce d ed th e
p r e p a r a tio n .
B u t th e p ro g ressiv e/n o n p ro g ressiv e c o n tra st is n o t n o rm ally ap p lic ab le
h e re , s in c e -ing p a rtic ip le p h ra se s are in c a p a b le o f expressing th is d istin c tio n
fo rm a lly (c f 3.56). M o reo v er, th e -ing p a rticip le itself is not, in sp ite o f its
a p p e a r a n c e , n ecessarily asso ciated w ith th e p ro g ressiv e:
B e in g a n en em y o f th e D u k e ’s,']
R e a lizin g he w as in d an g er, !• h e left th e co u rt im m ediately. [3]
H a v in g n o new s o f his w ife, J
( F o r f u r th e r d iscu ssio n o f th e sem an tics o f su ch -ing p a rticip le co n stru ctio n s,

see 16.40.)
T o p ro v e th is p o in t, th e -ing p a rtic ip le s in [3] are all sta tiv e an d
in c o m p a tib le w ith th e p ro g ressiv e:
* H e w a s b ein g a n en em y o f th e D u k e ’s.
? * H e w a s realizin g h e w as in d an g er.
* H e w a s h a v jn g no new s o f h is wife.
I
N e v e rth e le ss , th e re a re c o n stru ctio n s in w h ich th e -ing p a rticip le co n stru ctio n
h a s a s p e c t c o n tra st w ith th e in fin itiv e, a n d is p rogressive in m ea n in g ( c f
1 6 .5 2 /):
T f sa w 1 , f shoot a t him .
[ h e a r d J , em | shooting a t h im .
W h e re a s th e in fin itiv e shoot suggests a single sh o t, th e -ing p a rticip le suggests

a r e p e titiv e a ctio n lastin g o v e r a p e rio d o f tim e , in acco rd an ce w ith th e
in te r p r e ta tio n o f th e p ro g ressiv e a sp e ct in fin ite v e rb p h rases re fe rrin g to
m o m e n ta ry e v en ts (c/4 .3 5 ). I n :
t . • ,,« f climb th e tow er. [4]

I w a tc h e d th em ■{ .... . ..
\clim bing th e tow er. [5]
th e in fin itiv e clim b suggests th a t th ey re ac h ed th e to p o f th e to w er, w h ereas

th e p a rtic ip le climbing c o n n o tes th e p o ten tial in co m p leten ess o f the
p ro g ressiv e.
T h e -e d p a rtic ip le p h ra se h a s n o fo rm al c o n tra sts o f asp ect, a n d is th erefo re
Meaning In the nonfinite verb phrase 239
th e m o st re stric te d ty p e o f ph rase in term s o f se m an tic co n trasts. H e re a g a in ,

how ever, th e re is a p o te n tia l c o n trast w ith th e p assiv e -in g p a rticip le p h r a s e :
t iL . (clim bed by a stu d en t. [61

I saw th e to w e r < , , . L,
[being clim bed by a stu d en t. [7]
T h e p a rtic ip le clim b ed in [6] is th e passive c o u n te rp a rt o f th e in fin itiv e c lim b

in [4]; it d e sc rib e s th e c lim b as a com pleted e v en t, w h ereas [7] describ es i t a s
in p rogress, a n d a s p o ssib ly incom plete.
N o te [a] T h e s tru c tu ra l c o n tr a s t b etw een in finitive a n d -ing p artic ip le co m p lem en tatio n occurs w ith
categories o f v e rb o th e r th a n th e p ercep tu al verbs see, hear, etc illustrated above. In these o t h e r
cases, h o w ev er, th e r e is a lm o st no sem an tic co n trast o f a s p e c t:
She sta rte d ] [8]
S h e li k e s { l a l k i n g ] 191
E aling in [8] a n d ta lk in g in [9] a re thus not to be classified as progressive ( c / 16.40).
[b] W ith c e rta in m a in v e rb s w h ich im ply an te rio r tim e in th e ir co m p lem en tatio n (c/16.39), s u c h
a s adm it, rem em ber, regret, th e re is no c o n tra st o f m e a n in g betw een co m p lem en tatio n b y a
perfec tiv e a n d b y a n o n p e rfe c tiv e -m g p articip le p h rase:
W e / r e m e m b e r e d ! le a v i n g ezr\y. [10]
\ re g re tte d J ! * « » « « » e a r l y .. [11]
In sp ite o f th e d iffe re n ce o f co n stru c tio n , [10] a n d [11] a re v irtu ally synonym ous w ith each o th e r .
4.68 A lth o u g h n o n fin ite v e rb p h rases h av e n o m o d al verbs, th e m ean in g s o f th e

m o d als c a n b e a d d e d to th em th ro u g h the use o f sem i-auxiliaries su ch as have
to, be ( un)able to, be allow ed to, be about to, e tc :
I a m so rry to have to re p ea t th is w arning.

Being unable to free h im self, h e lay b e n e a th th e d eb ris u n til rescued.
T h e su sp ec ts a d m itte d being about to c o m m it a crim e.
M an y in m a te s h a te n o t being allowed to leav e th e prem ises.
G en eral tr e a tm e n ts o f th e m e an in g a n d use o f verb co n stru c tio n s: C o ates a n d L eech (1980);
E d m ondson e t a l (19 7 7 ); L e e c h (1971); P alm e r (1974).
O n tense a n d a s p e c t in g en e ra l, see C ry stal (1966); G . L a k o ff (1970b); L yons (1977), V o l 2 ;
S ch o p f (1984); Z a n d v o o r t (1962).
O n th e p e rfe c tiv e a s p e c t, see M cC o ard (1978); S orensen (1964).
O n stativ e, a g e n tiv e , a n d o th e r classes o f verb m e an in g , see B ache (1982); C ru se (1973);
Ik eg am i (1973); J a c o b s o n (1980a); M an czac (1979); M o u rela to s (1978); Q u irk (1970b); S ag
(1973); V en d le r (1957).
O n ex p ressio n o f f u tu re tim e , see A arts (1969); C lose (1977, 1980); H aeg em an (fo rth co m in g
a ) ; H aeg em an a n d W e k k e r (1984); T o ttie (1974); W e k k e r (1976).
O n m odal m e a n in g s in g en eral, see C oates (1982); H allid ay (1969); H erm eren (1978);
H o fm an n (1979); Jo h a n n e s s o n (1976); R. L ak o ff (1972); L eech an d C o ates (1980); L yons (1977),
V ol. 2; M a tth ew s-B resk y (1975); P alm er (1977, 1979); S tan d w ell (1979); V on W rig h t (1951);
W ells (1979).
Studies o f p a r tic u la r m o d a l auxiliaries include: C o a te s (1980); H aeg em an (1981a, 1981b,
1983); Jaco b sso n (1962, 1977b); P alm er (1980); Q u irk (1981); S tubelius (1962); Z a n d v o o rt
(1963).
5 Nouns and determiners
5.1 Types of noun phrase 245
5.2-9 Noun classes: count, noncount, and proper nouns 245

.3 C o n crete a n d a b s tra c t n o u n s 247
.4 N o u n s w ith d u al class m em b e rsh ip 247
.5 R eclassification 248
.6-8 P a rtitiv e c o n stru ctio n s 249
•6 P a rtitio n in re sp ec t o f q u a lity 249
.7 P a rtitio n in re sp ec t o f quantity. 249
.8 M easu re p a rtitiv e n o u n s 251
.9 N o n c o u n t n o u n s a n d th e ir c o u n t eq u iv alen ts 25 1
5.10-25 Determinatives 253

.11-14 C e n tra l d e te rm in e rs 253
.11 T h e a rticles 253
.12 O th e r c en tral d e te rm in e rs 254
.13-14 C e n tra l d e te rm in e rs a n d n o u n classes 255
.15-19 P re d eterm in ers 257
.16 A ll, both, h a lf 258
.17 A ll a n d whole 259
.18 T h e m u ltip liers double, twice, etc 260
.19 T h e fractio n s one-third, tw o-fifths, etc 26 1
.20-25 P o std eterm in ers 261
.21 (a) C a rd in a l n u m era ls 261
.22 (b) O rd in a l n u m era ls a n d ‘g en eral o rd in als’ 262
.23-24 (c) C losed-class q u an tifiers 262
.25 (d) O pen-class q u an tifiers 264
5.26-51 The use of articles w ith common nouns 265

.26 Specific a n d g en eric re fe re n ce 265
.27-51 Specific re fe re n c e : d efin ite a n d indefinite 265
.27-35 U ses o f th e d efin ite a rticle 265
.28 (a) Im m e d iate s itu a tio n 266
.29 (b) L arg e r s itu a tio n (g en eral know ledge) 266
.30 (c) A n a p h o ric re fe re n c e : d irec t 267
.31 (d) A n a p h o ric re fe re n c e : in d ire ct 267
.32 (e) C a ta p h o ric re fe re n ce 268
.33 (f) S p o rad ic re feren ce 269
.34 (g) T h e ‘logical’ u se o f the 270
.35 (h) T h e use o f the w ith re fe re n ce to body p arts 270
.36-38 U ses o f th e in d efin ite a rticle 272
.37 N o n r e f e r r i n g u s e s o f t h e in d e f i n i t e a r t i c l e 273
.38 T h e in d e fin ite a rtic le a n d th e n u m e ra l o n e 273
.39-51 U s e s o f th e z e ro a rtic le 274
.39-40 T h e z e r o a r t i c l e c o m p a r e d w i t h u n s t r e s s e d .som e 274
.41 T h e z e r o a r t i c l e w i t h d e f in ite m e a n i n g 276
.42 N o u n p h ra s e s in a c o p u la r r e la tio n 276
.43-49 N o u n p h ra s e s w ith s p o ra d ic re fe re n c e 277
.44 ( a ) S o m e ‘i n s t i t u t i o n s ’ o f h u m a n lif e a n d s o c ie ty 277
.45 (b ) M e a n s o f tr a n s p o r t a n d c o m m u n ic a tio n 278
.46 (c ) T im e s o f d a y a n d n ig h t 278
.47 (d ) S easo n s 278
.48 ( e ) M e a ls 279
.49 (f) I ll n e s s e s 27 9
.50 P a r a lle l s tru c tu re s 28 0
.51 F ix e d p h ra s e s in v o lv in g p re p o s itio n s 28 0
5.52-59 T h e articles in generic reference 281

.53 T h e g e n e r i c u s e o f t h e i n d e f in ite a r t i c l e 281
.54 T h e g e n e r i c u s e o f t h e z e r o a r tic le 28 2
.55-57 T h e g e n e r i c u s e o f t h e d e f in ite a r t i c l e 28 2
.55 W ith s in g u la r n o u n p h ra s e s 28 2
.56 W ith p lu ra l n o u n p h ra se s 283
.57 S o m e n a tio n a lity w o rd s 284
.58-59 T h e a rtic le s w ith a b s tr a c t n o n c o u n t n o u n s 28 6
5.60-72 Proper nouns 28 8

.61-64 P r o p e r n o u n s b e h a v in g as c o m m o n n o u n s 288
.62 (a ) N u m b e r 28 8
.63 (b )l D e te r m in a tio n x 289
.64 ( c ) ; M o d ific a tio n 28 9
.65-69 N a m e s w ith n o a rtic le 290
.66 P e rso n a l n am es 291
.67 T em p o ral nam es 292
.68 G e o g ra p h ic a l n a m e s 293
.69 O tik e r l o c a t i v e n a m e s c o n s i s t i n g o f p r o p e r n o u n
4- c o m m o n n o u n d e s c r i p t o r 294
.70-72 N a m e s w ith th e d e fin ite a rtic le 294
.71 S t r u c t u r e o f n a m e s w i t h th e 295
.72 C l a s s e s o f n a m e s t y p i c a l l y p r e c e d e d b y th e 296
5.73-103 Num ber 297

.73-74 N u m b e r c la s s e s 297
.75 (A ) S in g u la r in v a ria b le n o u n s 298
.76-78 (B ) P lu r a l in v a r ia b le n o u n s 300
.76 ( B a ) S u m m a t i o n p lu r a ls 300
.77 (B b ) P l u r a l i a t a n t u m e n d in g in -s 301
.7 8 (B e ) U n m a r k e d p l u r a l n o u n s ■
. p e o p le , p o lic e , e t c 303
.7 9 -8 1 (C ) R e g u la r p lu ra ls 304
.8 0 T h e p r o n u n c i a t i o n o f t h e r e g u la r p l u r a l 304
.81 T h e s p e l l i n g o f t h e r e g u la r p lu r a l 304
.8 2 -9 1 (D ) Ir re g u la r p lu ra ls 305
.8 3 ( D a ) V o i c i n g a n d -s p lu r a l 305
.8 4 (D b ) M u ta tio n 306
.8 5 (D c ) T h e -e n p lu r a l 307
.8 6 -9 1 (D d ) Z e ro p lu ra l 307
.87 (I) A n im a l n a m e s 307
.8 8 (II) N a tio n a lity n o u n s 308
.8 9 -9 0 (III) Q u a n tita tiv e n o u n s 308
.91 ( I V ) N o u n s w i t h e q u iv o c a l n u m b e r 309
.9 2 -1 0 1 F o re ig n p lu ra ls 311
.9 3 (D e ) N o u n s f r o m L a t i n e n d i n g i n -u s / a s / 311
.94 (D f) N o u n s f r o m L a t i n e n d in g i n -a / a / 311
.95 (D g ) N o u n s f r o m L a tin e n d in g in -u m /a m / 311
.96 (D h ) N o u n s f r o m L a t i n e n d in g i n - e x , - i x 312
.97 (D i) N o u n s f r o m G r e e k e n d in g i n -is / i s / 312
.98 (D j) N o u n s f r o m G r e e k e n d in g i n - o n 312
.99 (D k ) N o u n s f r o m F r e n c h : b u r e a u , c o rp s, e tc 312
.100 ( D l) N o u n s f r o m I t a l i a n e n d in g i n - o / s u / 312
.101 ( D m ) N o u n s f r o m H e b r e w : k ib b u tz ~ k ib b u tz im 313
.102 Com pounds 313
.103 F o rm s o f a d d re ss 313
5.1 0 4 -1 1 1 Gender 314

.105 (a /b ) P e rso n a l m ale /fe m a le nouns 315
.106 (c ) P e rso n a l d u a l g e n d er 315
.107 (d) C om m on gender 316
.108 (e) C o llectiv e n o u n s 316
.109 (f/g) H ig h e r a n im a ls 317
.110 (h /i) L o w er a n im a ls a n d in an im ate n ouns 317
.111 N a m es o f c o u n trie s 317
5 .1 1 2 -1 2 6 Case 318
.112 C o m m o n c a s e a n d g e n itiv e c a s e 318
.113 T h e f o r m s o f t h e g e n i t i v e in f le c tio n 319
.114 T h e ‘z e r o g e n i t i v e ’ 320
.115 T h e g e n i t i v e a n d t h e o / - c o n s tr u c tio n 321
.116 G e n itiv e m e a n in g s 321
.117 G e n d e r o f th e g e n itiv e n o u n 322
.1 1 8 T h e g e n i t i v e i n r e l a t i o n t o n o u n c la s s e s 324
.119 T h e g e n itiv e w ith s u p e rla tiv e s a n d o rd in a ls 325
.1 2 0 N o u n h e a d s w ith th e g e n itiv e 325
.121-126 T h e g ra m m a tic a l s ta tu s o f th e g e n itiv e 326
.121 G e n itiv e a s d e te rm in a tiv e 326
.1 2 2 G e n itiv e a s m o d ifie r 327
.123 T h e g ro u p g e n itiv e 328
.124 T h e in d e p e n d e n t g e n itiv e 329
.125 T h e ‘lo c a l g e n i t i v e ’ 329
.126 T h e ‘p o s t - g e n i t i v e ’ 330
Bibljographical note 331

N o un classes: count, noncount, and proper nouns 245
Types of noun phrase
T h e n o u n p h ra se ty p ically fu n ctio n s as subject, o b ject, a n d co m p lem en t o f

clauses a n d a s c o m p le m e n t o f p rep o sitio n al p h rases. C o n sid er th e d iffere n t
subjects in th e fo llo w in g se n te n c e s:
The girl [ 1]
The blonde g irl [2]
The blonde g irl in blue jea n s [3]
is m y sister.
The blonde g irl wearing blue jea n s [4]
The blonde g irl who is wearing blue jeans [5]
She [ 6]
S en ten ces [1 - 5 ] a re a lik e in h a v in g the sam e n o u n (girl) as n o u n -p h rase h e a d
(c /2 .2 8 , 17.2). T h e n o u n p h ra se in [1] has th e sim p lest stru ctu re, co n sistin g
o f only th e d e fin ite a rticle a n d th e h e ad ; in [2 ] it also h as a p rem o d ify in g
ad jectiv e (blonde ) ; in [3 - 5 ] th e n o u n p h rase has, in a d d itio n , p o stm o d ific atio n :
in [3] a p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se (in blue jeans)', in [4] a n o n fin ite clause (wearing
blue jeans)', a n d in [5] a relativ e clause (who is wearing blue jeans). In [6 ] th e
n o u n p h ra se co n sists o f only o n e w o rd (she), w h ic h is o n e o f a closed class o f
g ra m m atica l w o rd s called p erso n al pronouns. S u ch p ro n o u n s c an ‘d e p u tiz e ’
fo r n o u n p h ra se s a n d h en ce c a n n o t norm ally o c cu r w ith d ete rm in e rs su ch as
th e d efin ite a rticle , p rem o d ificatio n , o r (norm ally) p o stm o d ificatio n :
*the blonde sh e Ishe in blue jeans
Since n o u n p h ra s e s o f th e ty p es illu strated in [2 -5 ] include w ords a n d

stru ctu res th a t w iil b e d e alt w ith in late r c h a p te rs (adjectives, p re p o sitio n a l
ph rases, clauses), it w ill b e c o n v en ien t to reserv e th e tre a tm e n t o f ‘co m p le x ’
n o u n p h ra ses in c o rp o ra tin g such item s u n til C h a p te r 17, w h ich deals w ith
th e n o u n p h ra se a s a w hole. T h e p resen t c h a p te r will b e restricted to th e
co n stitu e n cy o f th e ‘ba sic ’ no u n p h rase, ie th e classes o f n o u n s to g eth er w ith
a rticles o r o th e r closed-class d e te rm in a tiv e e lem en ts th a t can o ccu r b efo re
th e no u n h e a d , in clu d in g p re d eterm in ers like all, c en tral d e term in ers lik e
these, a n d p o std e te rm in e rs lik e last a n d fe w :
all these last f e w days
T h e closed class o f p ro n o u n s as in [6 ] is d e alt w ith in C h a p te r 6 .
Noun classes: count, noncount, and proper nouns

It is n ecessary, b o th fo r g ra m m atica l an d se m an tic reasons, to see n o u n s as
falling in to d iffere n t subclasses. T h a t th is is so c a n b e d e m o n stra ted by ta k in g
th e four n o u n s S id , book, fu rn itu re, an d brick a n d co n sid erin g th e e x te n t to
w hich it is p o ssib le for each to a p p e a r as h e ad o f th e n o u n p h ra se fu n c tio n in g
as o b ject in th e se n ten c e I saw . . . : w ith o u t an y d e te rm in e r (a ); w ith th e
lightly stressed d e te rm in e rs the /d o / (b), a / s / (c), som e /s s m / (d); a n d in th e
p lural (e). T h e re su lt o f th is test c a n be seen in Table 5.2:
246 N ouns and determ iners
T a b le 5.2 T e s t ta b le fo r n o u n classes
(1) (2) (3) (2 + 3)
(a ) S id *book fu rn itu re brick

(b ) * th e S id th e b o o k the fu rn itu re th e brick
(c) *a S id a book *a fu rn itu re a brick
(d ) * so m e S id * so m e b ook som e fu rn itu re so m e brick
(e) * S id s books *furnitures b ricks
T h e d iffere n ce b e tw e e n colu m n 1 (w ith only o n e p o ssib ility ) an d colum n

2 + 3 (w ith all p o ssib ilities) in d icates th e degree o f v a ria tio n b etw een the
n o u n classes. N o u n s th a t b eh av e like S id in colum n 1 ( Confucius, Paris, Sierra
Leone, e tc ) a re p r o p e r n o u n s , w hich will be fu rth e r discu ssed in 5.60ff.
T h e n o u n s in th e o th e r colum ns are CO MM ON N O U N S, b u t th ere are
im p o r ta n t d ifferen ces b e tw ee n th em . T hose w h ich , like book in colu m n 2
(bottle, chair, fo re st, idea, etc), m ust be seen as d e n o tin g in d iv id u a l countable
e n titie s a n d n o t as a n u n d iffere n tia te d m ass, are called c o u n t nouns. N o u n s
w h ic h , lik e fu rn itu re, c o n fo rm to th e p a tte rn o f co lu m n 3 (as d o bread, grass,
w arm th, m usic, e tc ), m u s t b y co n tra st be seen as d e n o tin g a n u n d ifferen tiated
m a s s o r c o n tin u u m . T h e s e are called n o n c o u n t nouns.
F in a lly w e h a v e n o u n s in colum n 2 + 3 w h ich can b e e ith e r co u n t o r
n o n c o u n t n o u n s (e g : brick, cake, paper, stone), in t h a t we c a n view a n o u n like
b ric k e ith e r as th e n o n c o u n t m aterial [ 1 ], o r as c o n stitu tin g th e cou n tab le
o b je c t [2 ]:
T h e house is b u ilt o f brick. [1]

H e u sed bricks to b u ild th e house. [2]
T h e ty p e h e a d e d 2 + 3 m a y be classified g ra m m atica lly in tw o w ays: (a)

e ith e r a s a lexical c lass o f n o u n w hich co m b in es th e c h ara cte ristics o f co u n t
n o u n s a n d n o n c o u n t n o u n s, o r (b) as tw o se p a ra te item s, o n e co u n t an d the
o th e r no n co u rit. T h e fo rm e r m ode o f analysis is c o n v e n ie n t fo r nou n s like
b rick a n d cake iw ith little d ifference in m ean in g b etw een c o u n t a n d n o n co u n t
uses. T h ere fo re s u c h n o u n s will be said to have ‘d u al class m em b e rsh ip ’ ( c f
5.4).
A lth o u g h in s e n te n c e s su ch as I like music, I like Sid, th e tw o n ouns look
su p erficially a lik e in te rm s o f article usage, we w ill say th a t m usic h as z e r o
a r t i c l e b u t th a t S id h a s N O a r t i c l e . T h e lab el ‘z ero ’ is a p p ro p ria te in the
case o f c o m m o n n o u n s w h ic h have article co n tra st, eg: m usic as op p o sed to
the m usic ( c f 5 .5 2 ff) in :
I lik e music a n d d a n cin g .

I t h in k the m u sic is to o loud in here.
If, h o w e v er, w e d isre g a rd special g ra m m atica l e n v iro n m e n ts lik e the S id I

m ean is ta ll (c/5 .6 4 ), p ro p e r n o u n s h av e no article c o n tra st (S id /* th e S id ), an d
will th e re fo re be s a id to h a v e ‘no a rticle’.
N o te c o u n t n o u n s, as th e y a re te rm e d in th is b ook, a re by som e g ra m m a ria n s called ‘co u n tab le’

n o u n s ; sim ilarly , o u r te rm n o n c o u n t nouns co rresp o n d s to ‘m a ss’ n o u n s o r ‘u n co u n tab le’ nouns
in o th e r gram m ars.
Noun classes: count, noncount, and proper nouns 247
C o n crete and abstract nouns

C u ttin g acro ss th e g ra m m atica l a n d sem antic co u n t/n o n co u n t d is tin c tio n ,
th ere is a sem an tic d iv isio n in to n ouns like pig w hich are c o n c r e t e (ie
accessib le to th e senses, o b serv ab le, m easurable, etc) an d n ouns Wine, d ifficu lty
w h ich a re F | s t r F c t (typically n o n o b serv ab le an d nonm easurable). B ut w h ile
a b s tra c t n o u n s m ay be co u n t (like rem ark/rem arks) o r n o n co u n t (like w a rm th /
*w arm ths), th ere is a c o n sid erab le degree o f overlap betw een a b s tra c t a n d
n o n c o u n t ( c f 5.58). Figure 5.3 sh o w s th e no u n classes in tro d u ced so far.
_ ^ -c o n c re te : b u n , p ig , to y , . . .
c o u n t< ^
/ — a b s tra c t: d iffic u lty , r e m a r k , . . .
com m onC
\ ..c o n c r e t e : b u tte r , g o l d , . . .
noncount
^ a b s tra c t: m u sic , h o m e w o r k ,. . .
p ro p er: J o h n , P a r is ,. . .
F ig 5 .3 T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t n o u n c l a s s e s
N ouns w ith dual class mem bership

T h e d iv isio n o f n o u n s acc o rd in g to co u n tab ility in to co u n t n o u n s a n d
n o n c o u n t n o u n s is b asic in E n g lish . Y et th e language m ak es it p o ssib le to
look u p o n som e o b jects from th e p o in t o f view o f b o th co u n t a n d n o n c o u n t,
as in th e case o f c a k e :
A : W o u ld you like a c a k e l B : N o , I d o n ’t like cake.
S u ch n o u n s m ay b e said to h a v e d u a l class m em b ersh ip . In o th e r cases, eg:

paper, th e re is n o read ily p e rce p tib le parallelism b u t a n o tab le d iffere n ce in
m ea n in g b etw een th e tw o n o u n s:
I w a n t a n e v en in g paper, [‘n e w sp a p e r’] [ 1]

W ra p th e p a rcel u p in b ro w n paper, [‘w rap p in g p a p e r’] [ 1 a]
N o te also th e v a ria tio n o f q u an tifiers (eg: m uch/m any) in so m e o f th e

follow ing ex am p les o f co u n t a n d n o n co u n t n o u n s :
She w as a beauty in h e r y o u th . [c o u n t ] [2 ]
She h a d g re a t beauty in h e r you th . [n o n c o u n t ] [ 2 a]
S h e ’s h a d m an y difficulties. [c o u n t ] [3]
S h e ’s n o t h a d m u ch difficulty. [n o n c o u n t ] [3a]
H e ’s h a d sev eral o d d experiences. [c o u n t ] [4]
H e h a s n ’t h a d m u ch experience. [n o n c o u n t ] [4a]
T h e re w ere b rig h t lights a n d h a rsh sounds. [c o u n t ] [5]
L ig h t trav e ls fa ster th a n sound. [n o n c o u n t ] [5a]
She will g ive a ta lk o n C h in ese art. [c o u n t ] [6 ]
T h a t’s foolish talk. [n o n c o u n t ] [ 6 a]
T h e lam bs w ere e a tin g q uietly. [c o u n t ] [7]
T h e re is lam b on th e m en u today. [n o n c o u n t ] [7a]
I n m an y o th e r cases, th e ty p e o f d istin c tio n to be seen in the c o u n t n o u n lam b

248 N o u n s and determiners
(th e a n im a l, as in [7]) a n d the n o n co u n t n o u n lam b (the m ea t fro m th e a n im a l,

as in [7a]) is achieved by sep arate lexical item s, as i n :
T h e y raise a g re at m an y calves, pigs, a n d sheep. [8 ]
W e e a t a g re at d eal o f veal, po rk, a n d m utton. [8 a]
O th e r c o u n t/n o n c o u n t p a irs realized by d ifferen t lexical item s are th e

f o llo w in g :
a g a rm en t ~ clothing a job, a ta sk ~ work ( c f 5.9)

a laugh ~ laughter a suitcase ~ luggage
a 'p e rm it ~ perm ission a poem ~ poetry
a weapon ~ arm s ( c f 5.77) a m achine ~ m achinery
N o t e also th e co n tra st b etw een th e n o n c o u n t n o u n m oney a n d th e c o u n t

n o u n s n a m in g d ifferen t u n its o f m o n e y :
W e h a v e n ’t m u ch m oney left. W e ’v e o n ly g o t a few coins/ tw o d o llar

bills/ som e p o u n d notes.
N o te T h e d is tin c tio n betw een c o u n t n ouns a n d n o n co u n t n o u n s is n o t fully ex p lain ab le a s necessarily

in h e r e n t in ‘real w orld’ d en o ta ta . T his is c le a r w hen w e co m p are th e w ords o fla n g u a g e s closely
r e la te d to E n g lish (c f 5.9). R a th e r, th e ju stifica tio n fo r th e co u n t/n o n co u n t d is tin c tio n is based
o n th e g ra m m a tic a l ch a ra cte ristic s o f th e E n g lish n o u n .
Reclassification
5.5 N o u n s m a y also b e sh ifted from o n e class to a n o th e r by m ean s o f c o n v ersio n
( c f A p p 1.53). T h u s a n o n co u n t n o u n lik e cheese can be ‘reclassified ’ as a
c o u n t n o u n involving a sem an tic s h ift so a s to d e n o te q u a lity p a rtitio n ‘k in d /
ty p e /fo rm o f ’, eg:
A : W h a t cheeses h a v e you g o t to d ay ?
B : W ell, w e h av e C h e d d ar, G o rg o n zo la, a n d D a n ish Blue.
S im ila rly , a no u n like coffee, w h ich is n o rm ally n o n co u n t, as in [1], c a n be

reclassifie d as a c o u n t n o u n to m ea n a n ‘a p p ro p ria te u n it o f ’ as in [ la ] a n d
[ lb ] , o r a ‘k in d /s o rt/b ra n d o f ’ as in [lc] a n d [ I d ] :
D o you w an t tea o r coffee ? [ 1]

C a n I h av e a coffee, please, [‘a cu p o f coffee’] [ 1a]
Tw o coffee i, p lease, [‘tw o cu p s o f co ffee’] [lb ]
T h is is a nice coffee. [lc]
I lik e Brazilian coffees best. [Id ]
N o te T h e r e is a sp ecial case o f reclassification in cases lik e th e follow ing:

A re you cosm eti cs4?
H e r e th e re is n o coreference relatio n b etw een su b jec t a n d co m p lem en t as in A re y o u a teac h er?
T h e co m p le m e n t rep resen ts in ste ad a co m p ressed fo rm o f th e p re d ic a tio n ; eg: A re y ou (sel l i ng )
c osm eti c s? In th is use o f th e n o u n th e re is a n im p lied c o n tra s t: ‘cosm etics as o p p o sed to toys,
je w e llery , e tc in a d e p a rtm e n t sto re ’. S im ilarly :
A re you 1031 [‘th e o c c u p an t o f room n u m b e r 103, as o pposed to 104, etc’]
T h e c o n tra s t m ay also be m o re explicit, as i n :
A re you church or ch ap el ! [‘a m e m b er o f th e C h u rc h o f E n gland o r a n o n c o n fo rm ist’]
I n th e se la st cases we m ay arg u e th a t th e no u n has b ee n reclassified as an ad jectiv e (c f Ap p 1.51),
a s in T hey 're v ery O x bri dge.
Noun classes: count, noncount, and proper nouns 249
Partitive constructions
P a rtitio n in resp ect o f quality

5.6 B o th co u n t a n d n o n c o u n t n o u n s can en ter p a rtitiv e co n stru ctio n s, ie
co n stru ctio n s d e n o tin g a p a rt o f a w hole. Such c o n stru ctio n s express b o th
q u a lity p a rtitio n (eg: a k in d o f paper) an d q u a n tity p a rtitio n (eg: a piece o f
paper). Q u ality p a r titio n is ex p ressed by a p a rtitiv e c o u n t n o u n lik e kind, sort,
o r type follow ed b y a n o /-p h rase, eg:
SINGULAR PARTITIVES PLURAL PARTITIVES

a new k in d o f c o m p u te r new kinds o f co m p u ters
a d elicious so rt o f bread delicious sorts o f bread
a n o th e r typ e o f re se a rc h o th er types o f re search
Q u ality p a rtitio n o f n o n c o u n t n o u n s m ay th u s be ex p ressed e ith e r by a

p a rtitiv e c o n stru c tio n o r by reclassification ( c f 5.5):
a nice k in d o f coffee ~ a nice coffee

English typ es o f cheese ~ E nglish cheeses
N o te W h e th e r w e are d e a lin g w ith c o u n t o r n o n co u n t nouns, w e can e x p ress th e q u ality p a rtitio n in

th e fo rm a + a d jectiv e + n o u n , such th a t a sentence like th e follow ing is superficially a m b ig u o u s :
W e a re im p o rtin g a n e w Italian shirt.
I t m ay m e an e ith e r ‘a n ew ty p e o f ’ o r ‘a new item ’ (the form er in te rp re ta tio n natu rally b ein g
m o re likely in th is case).
P a rtitio n in resp ect o f q u an tity

5.7 (a) N o n c o u n t n o u n s
N o n c o u n t n o u n s a re seen , as w e h av e said, as d e n o tin g a n u n d iffere n tia te d
m ass. H o w ev er, th e e x p ressio n o f q u a n tity an d th u s co u n ta b ility m ay be
ach iev ed by m e a n s o f c e rta in g e n e r F l p F r t i t i v e n o u n s , in p a rtic u la r piece,
bit, item , follow ed b y a n o /-p h rase:
SINGULAR PARTITIVES PLURAL PARTITIVES

a piece o f c a k e tw o pieces o f c a ke
a bit o f c h a lk som e bits o f ch alk
a n item o f n ew s sev eral items o f new s
Q u a n tity o f n o n c o u n t n o u n s m ay th u s often b e ex p ressed e ith e r by p a rtitiv e

nouns o r by re classificatio n ( c /5 .5 ) : two lumps o f sugar = two sugars.
T h e m o st w id ely u se d p a rtitiv e expression is a piece of, w h ic h can be
co m b in ed w ith b o th c o n cre te a n d a b strac t no u n s, eg :
C o n c re te : a piece o f bacon/chalk/coal/land/paper
A b s tra c t: a piece o f advice/information/news/research/w ork
B it gen erally im p lies a sm all q u a n tity : a bit o f rice/news/funjresearch. W ith

a b stra c t n o u n s, item is used (b e sid e s piece):
an item o f business/inform ation/new s [‘a new s ite m ’]
Item is n o t g e n e r a lly u s e d w ith c o n c r e te n o u n s : *an item o f oil/cake ( | u t an

item o f clothing).
In a d d itio n to th ese g en era l p a rtitiv e s th ere are so m e m o re restricted a n d
250 N o uns and determiners
d e s c r i p t i v e t y p i c F l p F r t i t i v e s w h ic h fo rm e x p r e s s io n s w ith sp e cific c o n c r e te
n o n c o u n t n o u n s, s u c h a s th e fo llo w in g :
a n atom /grain o f tru th
a bar o f c h o co late/so ap /g o ld /iro n
a blade o f grass
a block o f ice/flats < B rE )/se ats [in a th ea tre ]/sh a res [in a business]
a c u t o f la m b /m e a t; a jo in t o f m eat <BrE>
a drop o f w ater/o il/w h isk y
a grain o f c o rn /rice /sa n d /salt
a l o a f o f b read
a lu m p o f c o al/lead /su g ar
a sh eet o f p a p er/m e tal/ic e
a slice o f b a co n /b rea d /ca k e/m ea t
a sp eck o f d u st/d irt
a stic k o f ch alk /d y n am ite /c e le ry /ro c k [a sw eet] < B rE > /candy <A m E>
a strip o f c lo th /la n d /p a p e r
a su it o f c lo th in g /clo th es/arm o u r
(b ) P lu ra l co u n t n o u n s
W h e r e a s th e g en eral p a rtitiv e a piece o f c a n b e used w ith m an y o f th e
n o n c o u n t nouns ( a piece o f paper/bacon/new s, etc), it can n o t b e used w ith
p lu r a l c o u n t nou n s (in clu d in g in v ariab ly p lu ral n o u n s like cattle', c f 5.76iff).
O th e r p a rtitiv e s a re u sed w ith them , eg'.
a (larg e) crowd o f people
a (h u g e) flo c k o f b ird s/sh e ep
a (sm all) herd o f c attle
a p a c k e t <B rE j/p a c k <esp A m E ) o f c ig a rettes
a series o f in cid en ts/co n certs/lectu res
a bunch o f flow ers/keys [In in fo rm al style, bunch is also used a b o u t
p eo p le, lik e ‘g ro u p ’: a bunch o f teenagers.]
(c) S in g u la r c o u n t nou n s
P a r titio n can also be ex p ressed in referen ce to sin g u lar co u n t nou n s, eg :
a piece o f a lo a f
a branch o f a tree
a p a g e o f a book
a section o f a n ew sp a p er
a verse o f a p o em
F r a c tio n a l p a rtitio n c a n also be expressed by su ch g en eral q u a n titativ e item s
a s half, a ll, whole + o f + n o u n ( c /5 . 1 6 f ) :
h a lf o f
a quarter o f
all o f
I ’d lik e t h a t p ie c e ( o f m e a t).
the whole o f
the rest o f
the rem ainder o f
N o te [a] W h e n w e m odify a p a rtitiv e noun sequence, th e m o d ificatio n ap p lies to th e gro u p as a w h o le :

a n e x p e n siv e cup o f coffee The cup o f coffee co st a lot.']
N oun classes: count, noncount, and proper nouns 251
B ut, o f course, sin ce in m a n y cases th e ad jective m odifying the w hole gro u p co uld equally a p p ly
to th e second n o u n , w e h a v e som e in stan ces like th e following w here th e m eanings o f th e tw o
p h rases differ little, if a t a l l :
a h o t [cup o f tea] = a cu p o f hot tea
a good [st rok e o f l u ck ) = a stro k e o f good luck
a beau tifu l [p ai r o f l eg s] - a p a ir o f beautiful legs
T h e p rem o d ifiers { hot, e tc ) in such cases often apply m ore ap p ro p riately to th e second n o u n th a n
to th e first; i e it is not th e c u p b u t th e te a th a t is hot in a hot cup o f tea. In a ni ce gl ass o f w hi sk y ,
ni ce is roughly e q u iv a le n t to ‘w elcom e’ a n d offers o nly im plicit c o m m en t o n th e quality o f th e
liquor.
[b] T y p ical p a rtitiv e s so m etim e s h a v e a n egative in tensifying force (cf f t. I l l ) :
A D i d you sleep w ell?
B : N o , I d id n ’t g e t a w i nk (o f sleep).
[c] W hen th e tw o p a r titiv e c o n stru c tio n s com bine, th e qu an tity p a rtitiv e is included in th e sc o p e
o f th e q u ality p a rtitiv e :
[tw o k i nds o f [l oav es o f bread ]]
b u t n o t : *tw o l oav es o f k i nds o f bread
M e a s u r e p a r titiv e n o u n s
5 .8 T h e m easu re p a rtitiv e s relate to precise q u a n titie s d e n o tin g len g th , a r e a ,
v olum e, a n d w eig h t, fo r ex am p le (note th e com pulsory o f):
L e n g th ; a f o o t o f c o p p er w ire
a m etre < B rE )/a m eter < A m E )/a y a rd o f clo th
a m ile o f cab le
A re a : a n acre/ a hectare o f land
V o lu m e: a litre < B rE )/a liter <AmE> o f w ine
a pint/a. quart o f m ilk
W eig h t: a n ounce o f to b acco a pound o f b u tte r
a kilo o f ap p le s a ton o f coal
M easu re p a rtitiv e s c a n b e e ith e r singular o r p lu ral:
alone gallon } o { w a te l
two/several gallons J
I f c o u n t, th e seco n d n o u n m u st be p lu ral:
one kilo o f 1 j apples

two kilos o f) 1 * apple
IMoncount nouns and their count equivalents

5.9 I t m ay be n o ted th a t, a p a r t fro m a tendency for co n crete n o u n s to be c o u n t
a n d for a b stra c t n o u n s to b e no n co u n t, th ere is n o n ecessary c o n n ec tio n
b etw een th e classes o f n o u n s a n d th e en tities to w h ic h th ey refer. I n so m e
re la te d languages, th e n o u n s corresp o n d in g to inform ation, m oney, news, a n d
work, fo r ex am p le, a re c o u n t no u n s, b ut in E n g lish th ey are n o n c o u n t:
H e d id n ’t give us m uch information.

D o you n eed a ll this m o n e y l
The new s is r a th e r b a d today.
She d o e sn ’t lik e ha rd work.
Som e n o n c o u n t n o u n s w ith c o u n t eq u iv alen ts are g iv en b e lo w :

NONCOUNT NOUN COUNT EQUIVALENT

T h is is im p o rta n t inform ation. a piece/bit/w ord o f in fo rm a tio n
H a v e you a n y news'! a piece/a bit/an item o f go o d n ew s
a lo t o f abuse a term / word o f ab u se
so m e good advice a piece / word o f go o d a d v ic e
w a rm applause a round o f ap p lau se
H o w ’s business'! a piece/bit o f business
T h e r e is evidence t h a t . . . a piece o f evidence
e x p en siv e fu rn itu re a piece Ian. article/a suite o f fu rn itu re
T h e interest is only 5 p e r cen t. a (low) rate o f in te rest
W h a t (b a d /g o o d ) lu ck! a piece o f (bad /g o o d ) lu ck
S in c e s u c h d ifferen ces b e tw e e n lan g u ag es c an be a d eq u ately tre a te d o n ly in

c o n tra s tiv e g ra m m a rs , w e w ill re stric t th e list below to a sa m p le o f som e
n o u n s (in a d d itio n to th o se m en tio n ed earlier) w h ich are n o n c o u n t in E n g lish
b u t c o rre sp o n d t o co u n t n o u n s in som e o th er lan g u a g es:
anger behaviour cash

chaos chess 'conduct
courage dancing education
equipm ent fu n harm
hom ew ork hospitality leisure
m oonlight m usic parking
photography publicity 'refuse
research resistance safety
scenery shopping sm oking
sunshine , traffic violence
N o te [a] S o m e o f th e n o n c o u n t n o u n s c a n b e c o u n t n ouns w ith special m ean in g s, eg: m oney s ‘a m o u n ts

o f m o n e y ’, a s c a n b e seen in a d ic tio n a ry .
[b] I t c a n b e arg u ed th a t som e n o u n s, lik e w eather, are n e ith e r co u n t (*« w eather ) n o r n o n co u n t
(f a to t o f w eather), b u t these n o u n s s h a re featu res b elonging to b o th classes. N o n c o u n t n o u n
fe a tu re s in c lu d e th e p rem o d ified s tru c tu re s a l ot o f good w eather, som e b ad w eather, w hat l ov el y
w eather. O n th e o th e r h an d , c o u n t n o u n featu res include th e plural go out i n al l w eathers, i n the
w orst o f w eathers, i '
[c] O n th e u se o f f u n a s ad jectiv e, c / 7 . 14 N o te [c].
[d] S o m e n o n c o u n t n o u n s a c c e p t th e in d e fin ite article w hen th ey are m od ified (c /5 .5 9 ), e g :
T h e y a re d o i n g a bri sk busi ness, ( n o t * a busi ness)
I n so m e c a ses n o m o d ifica tio n seem s to be req u ired . In th e follow ing ex a m p le , how ever,
m o d ific a tio n is in fa c t im p lie d :
S h e h a s h ad an educati on, [‘a good e d u c a tio n ’]
[e] N a m e s o f la n g u ag es are a ll n o n c o u n t, eg:
• S h e sp e a k s g o o d E ngl i sh. [ ~ ‘a g o o d E n g lish ’]
O ccasio n a lly , ho w ev er, th ey a re co u n t, as in th e p artitiv e sense described in 5.6:
S h e sp e a k s a d i al ect al F ren ch , [‘a d ia le c ta l form o f F re n c h ’)
Determinatives 253
Determinatives
5.10 W h en used in d isco u rse, n o u n p h ra ses re fe r to the linguistic or s itu a tio n a l
co n tex t. T h e k in d o f referen ce a p a rtic u la r n o u n p h rase h as d ep en d s o n its
d e t e r m i n F t i v e e lem en t, ie th e item w h ich ‘d e te rm in e s’ it. T h is fu n c tio n is
typically re aliz e d b y a set o f closed-class item s, o r d e t e r m i n e r s , w h ich o c cu r

before th e n o u n a c tin g as h e ad o f th e n o u n p h ra se (or before its prem o d ifiers)
( c f l . l i f f ) . T h u s w e say th a t th e n o u n p h ra se in [1] h as indefinite re fe re n ce ,
w h ereas th e n o u n p h ra se in [2 ] has definite referen ce:
[ 1]
[2]
In d efin ite re fe re n ce is typically in d ic a te d by th e in d efin ite article a/an , a n d
definite re feren ce is ty p ically in d icated by th e definite article the, b u t, as w e
shall see, th e re a re a lso o th e r d e te rm in e rs w ith a sim ilar function.
W e d istin g u ish th re e classes o f d e te rm in e rs :
(I) p r e d e t e r m in e r s , eg: half, all, double;

(II) CENTRAL d e t e r m i n e r s , e g : th e a r tic le s the, a /a n ;
(III) p o s t d e t e r m in e r s , eg: card in al a n d o rd in al nu m erals, m any, fe w .
T h e th re e classes o f d ete rm in e rs h a v e b een set up o n th e basis o f th e ir

p o sitio n in th e n o u n p h ra se in relatio n to e a c h o th er. T h u s we d o n o t fin d
c en tral d e te rm in e r + p re d eterm in er ( f their all trouble), o r p o std e te rm in e r +
c en tral d e te rm in e r + p re d e te rm in e r (*five the a ll boys), b u t only the o rd er I +
II + I I I g iv en a b o v e : a ll their trouble, all the fiv e boys.
W e b egin by d iscu ssin g th e articles a n d o th e r c en tral d eterm in ers (5 .1 1 -
14), a n d th e n go o n to p re d eterm in ers (5 .1 5 -1 9 ), a n d p o std eterm in ers (5 .2 0 -
25).
Central determ iners
The articles
5.11 T h e m o st c o m m o n a n d ty p ic a l c en tral d e te rm in e rs a re th e definite a n d
in d efin ite article s, the a n d a/an, resp ectiv ely . W e have seen in 5.2 t h a t
d ifferen t n o u n classes re q u ire d ifferen t articles. F o r th e tw o classes o f
co m m o n n o u n s, th e c o u n t a n d n o n co u n t n o u n s, th e d istrib u tio n into n u m b e r
(sin g u lar/p lu ral) a n d d efin iten ess (d efin ite/in d efin ite) can be stated as fo llo w s:
Table 5.11 U s e o f th e a rtic le s w ith c o u n t a n d n o n c o u n t n o u n s
COUNT NONCOUNT
d e fin ite the bo o k th e fu rn itu re

SINGULAR
in d e fin ite a book fu rn itu re
d e fin ite th e books

PLURAL
in d e fin ite books
T h e form s o f th e article s d e p en d on th e in itial sound o f the follow ing w o rd .

I n its u n stre sse d (an d n o rm al) use, th e definite article is alw ays w ritte n the
b u t p ro n o u n c e d / 6 a/ before co n so n an ts a n d / 8 i/ b efo re vowels. T h e unstressed
in d e fin ite a rtic le is a /s / befo re c o n so n an ts an d an /a n / befo re vowels. N o te
t h a t it is th e p ro n u n c ia tio n , n o t th e spelling, o f th e follow ing w ord th a t
d e te rm in e s th e ir f o r m :
th e / 6 o /l
aM J b o y , usage, hole f n / a n / J un^ erstan^ 'nS> h°ur
T h e u se o f th e a rticle s is discussed in 5.26ff.
N o te [a] T h e in d e fin ite a rtic le a /a n ca n be reg ard ed a s a n unstressed n u m e ral, eq u iv a le n t to stressed

one. C o m p a r e :
a p o u n d or tw o one or two pounds
A /a n c a n n o t co o c c u r w ith one (except, in lim ited cases, w hen one is th e head o f a n o u n p h r a s e :
You a r e a o n e ! , c f 6.55 N o te [b ]), a n d m ay so m etim es rep lace one (c/5.38).
[b] T h e r e is flu c tu atio n in th e form o f th e indefinite article b efo re som e w ords th a t are w ritten
w ith in itia l h, d e p e n d in g o n w h e th e r th e It is pro n o u n ced o r n o t:
hotel, herb
historical n o v el | u t : a history
habitual d r u n k a rd B U T : a habit
[c] T h e in itia l h is n o t p ro n o u n ced in hour (hourly), honest, honour (honourable), heir (heiress ,
heirloom ). T h u s : a n hour ago, an honours degree.
[d] N o te w o rd s w h ic h a re spelled w ith a n in itia l vow el b u t p ro n o u n ced w ith a co n so n a n t: a
E uropean car, a U N E S C O official; a n d , conversely, w ords w h ich a re spelled w ith an in itial
c o n s o n a n t b u t p ro n o u n c e d w ith a v o w el: an M P , an R P accent.
[e] T h e a rtic le s a re stressed o nly fo r v ery special em p h asis. H ere th e d istin ctio n betw een th e
p re -v o w e l an d p re -c o n so n a n t fo rm is n eu tralized for th e defin ite a rtic le :
'th e /S i:/ boy, usage, understanding, hour
‘a /e i/ boy, usage
'an /sen / understanding, hour
In w r itin g , e m p h a sis is o fte n in d icated by italics o r u n d e rlin in g : "the m a n ’.
T h e stre sse d d efin ite article is o fte n used to in d ic a te ex cellence o r superiority in som e respect
[1 ,2 ], o r th e id e n tity o f som eb o d y w ell-know n [3] (c/5 .6 3 ):
H e w o u ld b e 'the /5 i:/ m a n for th e jo b . [ I]
T h e d e m o n stra tio n w ill b e 'the /S i:/ ev e n t th is w eek. [2]
Y o u d o n ’t m e a n 'the /S ir/ P ro fesso r H a rt? ■, [3)
T h e re is so m e c ritic is m o f th e overuse o f stressed articles for ex pected unstressed articles,
e sp e c ia lly o n ra d io a n d T V ( ( /o v e ru s e o f stressed p rep o sitio n s, 9.9 N o te, 18.14 N o te [b]).
[f] T h e in d e fin ite artic le m e a n s ‘a c e rta in ’, ‘a perso n giv in g h is n a m e a s’ ( c f : one 5.63 N o te (b)),
in su c h c a se s a s:
A M r Johnson c a m e to see you la st nig ht.
[g] O n a /a n in d is trib u tiv e expressions o f frequency like tw ice a d a y, c / 5 . 18.
O th e r c e n tra l determ iners

5.12 T h e u se o f th e articles is n o t th e only p o ssib ility fo r ‘d e te rm in in g ’ nouns.
I n s te a d o f a o r the w ith book w e m ay h a v e eg: this/that/every!each/no book.
L ik e th e a rticle s, th ese w ords, a n d som e o th ers, are called cen tral d eterm in ers.
T h ey fo rm a set o f closed-class item s th a t a re m u tu ally exclusive w ith each
o th e r, ie th e re c a n n o t be m o re th a n o n e o c cu rrin g b efo re th e no u n h e a d : *a
the b o y a n d *a som e boy. T h u s, th e c e n tra l d e te rm in e rs are in a ‘choice
r e la tio n ’, ie th ey o c cu r o n e in stea d o f a n o th e r. In th is resp ect th ey are un lik e
eg: a ll , m a n y , a n d white, w h ich are in a ‘c h a in re la tio n ’ (c /2 .5 ), ie th ey o ccu r
o n e a f te r a n o th e r in th e n o u n p h ra se: a ll the m a n y white houses.
T h e a rtic le s h a v e n o fu n ctio n in d ep e n d en t o f th e n o u n th ey p recede. M ost
Determ inatives 255
o th e r d e te rm in e rs h av e th e ad d itio n al function o f pronouns, eg: som e, th a t,

a n d either:
DETERMINER FUNCTION PRONOUN FUNCTION
A : I w a n t som e ice. B : H ere’s some for you.
A : W h a t’s th a t thing o v e r th ere ? B : That's ou r com puter.
E ither book w ill do. Y ou can have either (o f th e b ooks).
O n p ro n o u n s lik e either w ith o r w ith o u t the altern ativ e o /-co n stru ctio n , c f
6.48.
N o a n d every a re ex ce p tio n a l: like the articles, they c a n n o t fu n c tio n
in d ep e n d en tly a s p ro n o u n s. T h ey can , how ever, form p a rt o f c o m p o u n d
p ro n o u n s w h en follow ed by {-)one, -body, o r -thing (c f6 .4 5 ff):
no one nobody nothing

everyone everybody everything
U n lik e o th e r c e n tra l d e te rm in e rs, th e articles have no lexical m ea n in g b u t

solely c o n trib u te d efin ite o r in d efin ite statu s to th e nouns th ey d e te rm in e . Y e t
th e d e p en d e n ce is n o t u n ila tera l. F o r exam ple, a count n o u n lik e boy is, o n
its ow n, o nly a lexical item . T o assum e g ram m atical statu s, it re q u ire s a n
‘o v e rt’ d e te rm in e r o f som e k in d . T h e use o f th e articles will b e d iscu ssed in
5.26ff, a n d th e use o f o th e r c e n tra l d eterm in ers in C h a p te r 6 .
N o te [a] T h e re a re tw o ex c ep tio n s to th e rule th a t co u n t nouns can n o t o ccu r w ith o u t a d e te rm in e r.

O n e occurs in p arallel stru ctu res (c /5 .5 0 ) :
M an o r boy , I d o n ’t like h im .
T h e o th e r ex c ep tio n a l case is t h a t o f vo cativ es (c f 10.52/):
L o o k here, m an!
M an is also used generically w ith o u t th e article (c f 5.54 N ote).
[b] C o o rd in a ted n o u n -p h ra se h ea d s c a n sh are a d eterm in er placed befo re th e first h ead (c f
13.67):
the boy s an d (t h e) gi rl s
the radi os, (t h e) tape recorders, a n d (t h e) tel evi si on sets in this store
a k ni f e, (a ) f o r k , a n d (a ) spoon
C e n t r a l d e te r m in e r s a n d n o u n c la s s e s
5.13 W e h av e n o ted in 5.2 th a t th e re a re c ertain cooccurrence re stric tio n s b etw een
a rticle s a n d c o m m o n n o u n s. T h e definite article can occur w ith all th ree n o u n
classes (sin g u lar c o u n t, p lu ral co u n t, an d singular n o n co u n t), b u t th e zero
a n d in d efin ite articles c a n n o t do so. W h en we co n sid er d e te rm in e rs a s a
w h o le, w e will find th a t th e re a re m an y m ore restrictions. F o r no, fo r ex am p le,
w e h a v e all th re e p o s s ib ilitie s :
no p en no pens no music
B u t th ere are in co m p lete p a ra d ig m s for this, either, and e nough:
this pen *this pens this music
either pen *either pen s *either music
*enough pen enough pen s enough music
5.14 T h e c en tral d e te rm in e rs c a n be d iv id ed into five types w ith re sp ec t to th e ir

co o ccu rren ce w ith th e n o u n classes sin g u lar co u n t {chair, problem , etc), p lu ral
c o u n t {chairs, problem s, etc), a n d n o n co u n t nouns {furniture, information, etc).
Type SINGULAR PLURAL NONCOUNT

COUNT COUNT
(a) + + +
(b ) — + +
(c) + — +
(d) — + —
(e) + - ~
F ig 5 M C o o c c u rre n c e o f c e n tra l d e te rm in e rs a n d i
T y p e ( a ) : D e te rm in e rs o f sin g u lar c o u n t, p lu ral count, an d n o n c o u n t no u n s.
(i) T h e d e fin ite a rticle the ( c /5 .2 7 / 0 :
W h ere d o you w a n t m e to p u t the chair/the chairs/the fu rn itu re ?
(ii) T h e possessive p ro n o u n s a s d e te rm in e rs : m y, our , your, his, her, its, their

(c /6 .2 9 ):
H a v e y o u seen m y suitcasejm y suitcases/m y luggagel
(iii) T h e re la tiv e d e term in ers whose ( c f 6.34) a n d which ( c f 6.35 N o te [c]):
T h e lad y whose car you h it w as furious.

C a ll a g a in a t 11, b y which tim e th e m eetin g should be over.
(iv) T h e M’fi-d eterm in ers in -ever (c/1 4 .2 0 ):
V o te fo r whichever proposal you th in k m o st favourable.

F o r w hatever reason, d o n ’t b e late again.
W hosever idea th is m ay be, I d o n ’t lik e it.
(v) T h e in te rro g a tiv e d e te rm in e rs what, which, whose ( c f 6.36 / ) :
W h a t colour?
W hich inform ation ?
W hose ideas are th ese ?
(vi) T h e n e g ativ e d e te rm in e r no ( c f 6.62):
W e h a v e no problem /problem s w ith violence here.

T h e sign s a id ‘N o p a rk in g '.
T y p e ( b ) : D e te rm in e rs o f p lu ral c o u n t n o u n s a n d n o n co u n t nouns.
(i) Z ero a rtic le ( c f 5. 3 9 / ) :
T h e re w ere people everyw here.

D o you w a n t to p lay chess ?
(ii) T h e a sse rtiv e d e te rm in e r som e (u n stre sse d : /som /) an d th e n o n a sse rtiv e

d e te rm in e r any ( c f 6 .5 9 /) :
I w a n t som e rolls/bread, please.

H a v e we g o t any rollsjbread for b re a k fa st tom o rro w ?
(iii) T h e q u a n tita tiv e d e te rm in e r enough (c /6 .5 7 ):
I h a v e n ’t g o t enough equipm ent j tools to d o th e jo b .

Determinatives 257
T y p e (c): D e te rm in e rs o f sin g u lar c o u n t nou n s a n d sin g u lar n o n co u n t nou n s.

T h e d e m o n stra tiv e d e te rm in e rs this an d that ( c f 6 .4 0 //):
H av e you re ad th islth a t bo o k ?
T y p e (d ): D e te rm in e rs o f p lu ral co u n t nouns. T h e d e m o n stra tiv e d ete rm in e rs
these an d those ( c f 6.40# ) :
H av e you seen th ese/th o se p la y sl
T y p e (e): D e te rm in e rs o f sin g u lar co u n t nouns.
(i) T h e in d efin ite a rtic le ajart ( c /5 . ’O ff) :
H av e you g o t a p en ?
(ii) T h e u n iv ersal d e te rm in e rs every an d each ( c f 6.51):
I w a n t to in te rv ie w every/each student in d iv id u ally .
(iii) T h e n o n a sse rtiv e d e te rm in e r either (c f 6 .5 9 # ):
Y ou c a n p a rk o n either side.
(iv) T h e n e g ativ e d e te rm in e r neither (c f 6.62):
N either p a rty a cc ep te d th e a rb itra tio n p ro p o sal.
N o te [a] Strongly stressed som e c a n o cc u r also w ith certain sin g u la r c o u n t no uns, especially te m p o ral
n ouns (c/6 .5 2 ):
"Some 'day h e will g et h is scholarship.
W ith th e m e an in g ‘a c e rta in ', etc, stressed some c a n also c o o c cu r w ith o th e r sin g u lar c o u n t
nou n s:
'Som e o d d person ask e d fo r you on th e phone.
[b] S tressed an y c a n o c c u r also w ith singular count n o u n s u n d e r c e rta in co n d itio n s (c/6 .6 1 ):
I w ill c o n s id e r "an y offer/offers, f i t d o esn ’t m a tte r w h ic h ’]
[c] E very is e x c ep tio n a l am o n g c e n tral d eterm in ers in o ccasio n ally allow ing a genitive o r a
possessive d e te rm in e r to p re c e d e i t :
H is every action show s th a t he is a very determ in ed y o u n g m a n . B U T n o t : * theIan every action
Predeterminers
5.15 P re d e te rm in e rs, w h ic h c a n o ccu r before c e rta in c e n tra l d eterm in ers, in c lu d e :
(i) all, both, a n d h a l f ( c /5 . 1 6 f ) :
all (the) girls, both those cars, h a lf an h o u r
(ii) th e m u ltip lie rs double, twice, three tim es, e tc (c /5 .1 8 ):
double the sum , tw ice m y salary
(iii) th e frac tio n s one-third, one-fifth, etc (c /5 .1 9 ):
one-third the tim e
(iv) such, what ( c f 7.63, 17.96):
Such a su rp rise!
W hat a fine d a y !
P re d e te rm in e rs a re m u tu a lly exclusive:
258 N o u n s and determ iners
a ll g irls, both g irls | u t n o t : *all both girls

h a l f the s u m , double the su m | u t n o t : * h a lf double the su m
N o te T h e c o m b in a tio n a ll su c h , as in [I], is a n excep tio n to th e rule, ju s t n o ted , th a t p red eterm in ers

a r e m u tu a lly e x c lu siv e :
A lth o u g h every a t te m p t is m a d e to find su ita b le foster-hom es fo r th e ch ild re n , it
c a n n o t be a ss u m e d th a t a ll such placem en ts w ill be successful. [1]
T h e p r e d e te r m in e r s u c h , used in th is w ay as a p ro -fo rm (c/2 .4 4 , 6.44 N o te [b]), c a n also follow
q u a n tifie rs su ch as a n y , no, a n d m a n y, as well as ca rd in a l num erals:
O u tb r e a k s o f s m a ll-a rm s fire alo n g th e fro n tier b ecam e m ore freq u e n t in M ay,
4
fb u t [ia rtl ly a n y }
( several
1a n d < m a n y
\
>
J such in c id en ts w ere officially investig ated . [2]
I [fo r ty -o n e J
A ll, b oth, h a lf
5.16 T h e p r e d e te r m in e r s all, both, an d h a lf h a v e restrictio n s o n c o o ccu rren ce w ith
d e te rm in e rs a n d n o u n h e ad s. T h ey c a n o ccu r before th e a rticle s ( all the time),
p o ssessiv e d e te rm in e rs (a ll m y tim e, etc), d e m o n stra tiv e d e te rm in e rs (all this
tim e). H o w ev e r, sin c e th ey a re th em selv es q u an tifiers, all, both, a n d h a lf do
n o t o c c u r w ith th e ‘q u a n tita tiv e ’ d e term in ers every, (n)either, each, some, any,
no, enough (b u t c f 5.17 N o te [a]). B oth can o ccur only w ith p lu ral n o u n s a n d
h a s d u a l n u m b e r (see b e lo w ):
a ll {the) d a y a ll {the) day s all {the) fu rn itu re

h a l f a d ay h a l f m y days h a lf the fu rn itu re
both {the/m y) eyes
I n a d d itio n to th is p re d e te rm in e r fu n ctio n , all, both, an d h a lf as p ro n o u n s can

ta k e p a r titiv e o /-p h ra s e s, w h ic h a re o p tio n al w ith n o u n s a n d o b lig ato ry w ith
p ro n o u n s { c f ‘^ /-p ro n o u n s ’, 6.48):
a ll { o f) the s tu d e n ts all o f thern/whom

both {o f) his ey es both o f them/which
h a l f { o f) the tim e /c o s t h a lf o f itj this
W ith a q u a n tifie r fo llo w in g , th e o /-p h rase is p referred (esp in A m E ) :
a ll o f the m a n y boys
A ll th re e c an b e u se d a s in d e p e n d e n t p ro n o u n s:
A lllb o th jh a lf p a sse d th e ir exam s.
A ll a n d b oth (b u t n o t h a lf) c a n o c cu r a fte r th e h ead , e ith e r im m e d ia tely o r in

th e M a d v e rb p o s itio n (a fte r th e o p e rato r, c/8 .1 6 ). F o r a ll a n d both w e have,
th en , th e fo llo w in g p o ss ib ilitie s:
A ll stu d e n ts w e re a cc ep te d . [ 1]
A ll th e stu d e n ts w ere accep ted . [2 ]
A ll o f the s tu d e n ts w e re accepted. [3]
T h e stu d e n ts w ere all accep ted . [4]
A ll w ere a c c e p te d . [5]
A ll o f them w e re a cc ep ted . [6 ]
Determinatives 259
T h ey w ere all accepted. [7]

IT h e y a ll w ere accep ted . [8]
A ll is c o n sid e re d a p ro n o u n in all th ese co n stru ctio n s ex cep t [1] an d [2], w h ere

it is a p re d e te rm in e r.
T h e p re d e te rm in e r both an d th e c e n tra l d eterm in ers either a n d neither a re
n o t p lu ra l p ro p e r b u t ‘d u a l’, ie th ey c a n refer to only tw o entities. C o m p a re d
w ith th e n u m era l two, both is e m p h a tic :
F o r th e use o f th ese item s a s p ro n o u n s, # 6 .5 0 (all, both), 6.57 (half).
A ll an d whole
5.17 T h e fo rm a ll + n o u n w ith no a rticle usually has generic referen ce ( c f 5.26):
A ll m e n a re c rea te d e qual, [g en eric reference]
C o n tr a s t: A ll the m en in th e m in e w o re helm ets, [specific reference]
B u t a ll + n o u n is n o t n ecessarily g en eric, eg :
I w ill see a ll (the) students a t 11 a.m .

A ll (the) m en m u st leave th e ir c o ats here, b u t (the) w om en m ay ta k e
th e irs w ith th em .
T h e p re d e te rm in e r all a n d th e q u a n tity p a rtitiv e whole ( c f 5.7) a p p e a r in

p a ralle l ex p ressio n s. In the whole of, th e definite a rticle is obligatory. T h e u se
o f all ( o f) (the) a n d the whole (o f) is fa r from straig h tfo rw ard .
(i) A ll, a ll the, o r the whole is used w ith tem p o ral nouns, eg:
A ll o f the + u n it o f tim e is r a th e r u n c o m m o n :
7 a ll o f the d ay /h o u r/w e ek
I n th e n e g ated ex p ressio n I haven't seen him all day, only th e zero fo rm is

used. W ith in d efin ite referen ce, o nly whole can be u se d :
| stu d y in g th e script, [‘full, e n tire ’]
(ii) A ll the o r the whole is u sed w ith o th er c o u n t n ouns th a t a re u n d e rsto o d

to b e d iv isib le :
A ll + n o u n o ccu rs occasio n ally w ith co n crete sin g u lar co u n t n ouns [1 ,2 ], a n d

it is less ra re w ith c o n tra stiv e stress [ la , 2 a], w here book an d banana a re
tre a te d a s a d iv isib le m ass:
? I h a v e n ’t r e a d a l l th e b o o k . [1]
T h e m o n k ey a te a l l th e b a N A n a . [2]
I h a v e n ’t re a d a l l th e b o o k . [la ]
T h e m o n k ey a te a l l th e b a n a n a . [2 a]
T h e n o rm a l c o n stru ctio n s w ould be:
A lso w ith a b s tra c t no u n s, the whole is o fte n p re fe ra b le to all th e ; eg:
th e whole tru th /d ista n c e /e n v iro n m e n t
(iii) W ith p ro p e r n o u n s an d o th er n o u n s w ith o u t th e definite a rticle, all

( o f ) o r the whole o f is u sed :
a ll (o f)
F in lan d /L o n d o n /n e x t m o n th
th e whole o f
T h e u se o f all + a g eo g rap h ical n am e to d e n o te th e p o p u latio n is ra th e r

f o r m a l:
A l l Paris w elco m ed th e G eneral.
I n le s s fo rm al c o n tex ts, The whole o f P aris . . . w ould b e n o rm al in d e n o tin g

th e p o p u la tio n , o r (m o re likely) referrin g to th e c ity area.
(iv ) W ith n o n c o u n t n ouns all (o f) the is u s e d :
H a v e you u se d u p all (o f) the coffee1.

A ll (o f) the m usic o n th e p ro g ram m e w as m o d ern .
T h e w hole o f is less p re fe rre d a n d the whole is u n a cc ep ta b le here.
N o te [a] T h e r e is also a n ad v e rb h a lf w hich ca n cooccur w ith n o u n heads, as i n :

I t is h a l f wine, h a l f water.
In th e co llo q u ia l n eg a tio n n 't h a lf <esp B rE ), h a l f c a n p re c e d e enough ( c / 8 .107 N o te [b ]):
H e h a s n ’t h a lf enough m oney.
[b] B o th a n d h a lf w ith th e o/-co n stru ctio n are so m etim e s (especially dialectally) preced ed by th e
d e fin ite artic le : |
Y o u d o n ’t kncjw th e h a lf o f it.
I ’v e h ad enough o f th e both o f you.
[c] T h e p o stp o sed : p ro n o u n a ll in They were a ll hungry m u st not be confused w ith a ll a s a n
in fo rm a l intensifying ad v e rb in H e is a ll upset (c/7 .5 7 ).
[d] F o r th e following uses o f quite, rather, such, a n d w hat, c f 7.56 N o te [b], 7 .6 3 :
I t w a s quite a p a rty. I t’s rather an odd story.
S u c h a fin e p re se n t! W hat a stupid id ea!
[e] ‘R e s tric tiv e s ’ like ju s t, only, especially, etc also o c c u r b efo re d e te rm in e rs:
O n ly th e best cars are exp o rted .
H o w e v e r, th ey have n o sp ecial relatio n to n o u n p h ra se stru ctu re, since th ey ca n also m odify
v e rb s, a d v e rb s, a n d ad jectiv es (c/fo cu sin g su b ju n cts, 8 .1 1 6 /):
a boy.
{ feeling sick,
a little sick,
sleepy.
T h e m ultipliers double, twice, etc

5.18 T h e sec o n d type o f p re d e te rm in e r in clu d es th e m u ltip liers w h ich o ccu r w ith
n o u n s d en o tin g q u a n tity :
Determinatives 261
his stre n g th the a m o u n t

twice double
h e r age th eir salaries
th is a m o u n t
{ th e usual cost
th e sum
Once, twice, an d three, fo u r, e tc tim es cart cooccur w ith th e d e te rm in e rs a ,

every, each, a n d (less co m m only) per to form ‘d istrib u tiv e ’ ex p ressio n s o f
frequency w ith a tem p o ral n o u n as head ( c f 8.64):
v day
week
Such expressions c a n also o c cu r w ith every + sp a tia l n o u n s :
W e sto p p ed once every mile.
B o th w ith te m p o ra l a n d s p a tia l no u n s, every can be follow ed by a n u m era l in

such expressions a s th e a b o v e :
once every three m onths

twice every hundred m iles
The fractions one-third, tw o-fifths, etc

5.19 T h e fractio n s can also be follow ed by d eterm in ers. U n lik e th e m u ltip liers,
th e fractio n s h av e th e a lte rn a tiv e o/-construction. T h e in d efin ite article c a n
rep lace one ( c f 5.38):
Postdeterminers
5.20 P o std e term in ers follow p red eterm in ers o r c en tral d e te rm in e rs (if su c h
d ete rm in e rs are p resen t). B ut th ey preced e an y ad jectiv es an d o th e r
p rem o d ify in g item s (c/’t 7.2). P o std eterm in ers in clu d e:
(a) C a rd in a l n u m era ls ( c f 5 . 21): m y three children

(b) O rd in a l n u m era ls a n d ‘g en eral o rd in als’ ( c f 5.22): the fir s t d ay, the last
m onth
(c) C losed-class q u a n tifie rs ( c /5 .2 3 /) : fe w people
(d) O pen-class q u a n tifie rs ( c f 5.25): a large number o f people
(a) C ardinal num erals

5.21 One cooccurs w ith sin g u lar c o u n t nouns (one sister), a n d th e o th e r c a rd in a l
n u m erals ( c f 6.63) co o ccu r w ith p lu ral co u n t nouns (tw o, three, e tc brothers).
In m an y co n tex ts, one m ay b e reg ard ed as a stressed form o f th e in d efin ite
article a n d m ay so m etim es rep lace it ( c f 5.19, 5.38):
262 N o u n s a n d determ iners
T h u s , th e in d efin ite a rticle n o rm ally can n o t cooccur w ith one, b u t th e definite

a rtic le c a n :
*a one book
th e one [‘o n ly ’] book > I lik e b est
th e tw o b o o k s
(b) O rd in a l num erals an d ‘general ordinals’

5.22 T h e o rd in a l n u m era ls h a v e a o ne-for-one relatio n w ith th e c a rd in a ls: f ir s t j
one, second/tw o, th ird jth ree,fo u rth lfo u r, tw entieth/tw enty, etc (c /6 .6 3 /).
T h e ‘g en eral o rd in a ls’ in clu d e item s like next, last, pa st, (an)other,
a d d itional, an d fu rth e r [‘a d d itio n a l’], w h ich resem ble th e o rd in a l n u m erals
g ra m m a tic a lly a n d sem an tically .
O rd in a ls c o o ccu r w ith c o u n t n o u n s an d usually p reced e a n y c ard in al
n u m b e r s in th e n o u n p h r a s e :
th e fir s t two d ay s another three w eeks
N o te [a] T h e g e n e ra l o rd in a ls last, p a st, an d n e x t m ay precede o r follow ca rd in als w ith a difference o f

m e a n in g . F o r e x a m p le : the la st tw o pages w ould m e an ‘th e la st a n d p e n u ltim ate p ag e o f a b o o k ’,
w h e re a s th e two la st p a g es could m e a n ‘th e la st page in each o f tw o bo o k s'. O n d iv id e d concord
usag e, eg: T he last tw o m onths is /a r e . . . , c /1 0 .3 5 N o te[b ].
[b] A n o th e r h as tw o fu n ctio n s. It c a n be th e unstressed form o f ‘one other" in c o n tra s t w ith the
other (d e fin ite ; c /6 .5 8 ), as in [1]; o r it ca n h a v e th e m eaning o f ‘further*, ‘a d d itio n a l’, ‘seco n d ’, in
w h ich c a se th e re is n o d efinite fo rm , a s in [2]:
I d o n ’t lik e th is ro o m . I’d p re fe r | 0flc- 111
W e n ee d another tw o rooms fo r th e m eeting.

[‘tw o m ore ro o m s ’; cf: the other tw o rooms ‘the tw o d ifferent room s’] [2]
N o te th a t w h en it is follow ed by a p lu ra l c a rd in a l nu m b er, another ta k es a plu ral n o u n as h ead.
(c) C losed-class q u an tifiers

5.23 T h e re a re tw o sm all g ro u p s o f closed-class quantifiers w h ich fu n c tio n as
p o std e te rm in e rs (c f 6 .5 3 /) .
(i) M a n y , (a) fe w , a n d several c o o ccu r o nly w ith p lural c o u n t n o u n s :
f
too m a n y )
only a fe w I m ;s ta |?es jn y0ur essay
very fe w
several J
(ii) M u c h a n d (a) little co o cc u r o n ly w ith n o n co u n t n o u n s:
S h e h a sn ’t g o t much m oney.
S h e has o nly g o t (a) little m oney.
T h ere a re re stric tio n s o n th e u se o f m uch w ith singular a n d m a n y w ith p lu ral
no u n s, a n d th e c o rre sp o n d in g o p en -class p o std eterm in ers a re w idely used
in stea d { c f 6.53). T h u s m uch is ty p ically used in a n o n assertiv e sen ten ce like
[ 1 ]; b u t in an asse rtiv e sen ten c e lik e [2 ], usually a lot o /(c h ie fly in in fo rm al
style), o r a sim ila r c o llo q u ial p o std e te rm in e r, is u sed:
W e d o n ’t h a v e much tim e. [ 1]
Determinatives 263
[ 2]
In th e case o f (a) fe w [‘a sm all n u m b er’] an d (a) tittle [‘a sm all q u a n tity ’], th e re
is p o sitiv e /n eg a tiv e c o n tra st acco rd in g to w h e th er th e indefinite article is
used o r not. W h e n a /a n does n o t p recede, f e w an d little are stre sse d :
a fe w 'books, [‘som e, sev eral’]

fe w 'books, [‘n o t m an y ’]
H e w ro te •
a little 'poetry, [‘som e’]
'little 'poetry, [‘n o t m u ch ’]
T h e p o std e te rm in e rs (a) fe w a n d (a) little ( c f 6 .5 3 ,6 .6 2 ), the d e term in ers a n y ,

no, a n d som e ( c f 5.39/, 6.52), an d th e p red eterm in ers all a n d both are all
q u an tifiers a lth o u g h th ey belong to different sy n tactic classes.
N o te [a] F ew a n d little m a y b e p rece d ed .b y ce n tral d eterm in ers o th e r th a n a, eg: these fe w days, th a t

little m oney , b u t w e shall refer only to a fe w versus fe w , a little versus little w h ere th e d istin c tio n
is clearest.
[b] Several can b e p rec e d e d by a possessive d eterm in er in th e sense o f ‘s e p a ra te ’, ‘resp ectiv e’ :
their several opinions.
[c] M a n y a n d f e w c a n also be used p red icativ ely in form al style ( c f 6.53 N o te [b], 6.62):
H is faults w ere m anyjfew .
M a n y c a n also fu n c tio n as a p red eterm in er w ith sin g u lar co u n t nouns preceded by th e indefinite
article:
m any a good stu d e n t < rath e r fo rm a l) [''many good stu d e n ts’]
[d] T h e q u an tifie r enough is used w ith b o th c o u n t an d n o n co u n t n o u n s:
T h e re a re (n o t) enough students.
T h e re is (n o t) enough m oney.
O ccasionally it follow s th e n o u n (especially no n co u n t: m oney enough), but th is use strikes m a n y
peo p le a s a rc h a ic o r d ia lectal.
5.24 Since a fe w d e te rm in e s p lu ral c o u n t n ouns (a fe w books), an d a little d e te rm in e s

n o n c o u n t n o u n s (a little poetry), n e ith e r o f w h ich n o u n classes cooccurs w ith
th e in d efin ite a rticle, it will b e clear th a t in th ese in stan ces a belongs to th e
q u a n tifier alone.
F ew , little, m uch, a n d m any a re g rad ab le, a n d also have c o m p arativ e a n d
su p e rlativ e fo rm s ( c /7 .7 4 /) :
few !few er!few est d o llars m any/m ore/m ost dollars
little/less/least m o n ey m uch/m ore/m ost m oney
T h ere is a te n d e n c y to use less (in stead o f few er) a n d least (in stead o f few e st)
also w ith c o u n t n o u n s :
Y o u ’ve m a d e less m ista k e s th a n last tim e.
T h is u sage is h o w ev er o ften co n d em n ed . N o less than is m o re generally

a c c e p te d :
N o less than fifty p eo p le w ere killed in th e a ccid en t.

B eing g ra d ab le, m a n y, much, fe w , an d little c a n be m odified by in ten sify in g
ad v erb s ( c f l X l f f ) : too m uch , very fe w , etc.
N o te T h e q u an tifie r tittle [‘n o t m u c h ’] sho u ld be distin g u ish ed from th e hom onym ous adjective little
[‘s m a ll’], w h ich co o c c u rs w ith singular o r plural count n o u n s: a little girl, fiv e little girls. T h u s a
little c a k e is am b ig u o u s acco rd in g to w h eth er it m eans 'a sm all c a k e ' [little = adjective] o r 'a
sm a ll a m o u n t o f c a k e ’ [little = postdeterm iner].
(d ) O p e n - c la s s q u a n tifie rs
5.25 T h e r e is also a large op en class o f p h ra sal q u an tifiers w h ich fu n ctio n
se m a n tic a lly lik e th e closed-class quantifiers, b u t m o st o f w h ich co n sist o f a
n o u n o f q u a n tity (lot, deal, amount, etc) follow ed by o f a n d o ften p reced ed by
th e in d e fin ite a rtic le . Som e o f these, inclu d in g p len ty of, can cooccur equally
w ith n o n c o u n t a n d p lu ral co u n t n o u n s :
T h e ro o m c o n ta in e d \ a lot o f 1 { ®tucê n ts -
{ lo ts o f J l^ m tu re .
T h e s e q u a n tifie rs (especially lots) are chiefly used inform ally.

O th e rs are re stric te d to q u an tify in g only n o n c o u n t n o u n s [1], o r p lural
c o u n t n o u n s [ 2 ]:
grea‘ \ deal 1
T h e c h est c o n ta in e d a f(large)) f t f ° f m oney. [ 1]
/ 50
[f quantity
(sm all)) (a m o u n t J
f (great)"!
T h e h all c o n ta in e d a •< (large) > number o f stu d en ts. [2]
((g o o d ))
A s th e e x a m p le s suggest, it is usual for th ese o p en -class q u an tifiers to be

m o d ifie d by a q u a n tify in g adjective, th e la tte r b ein g o b lig ato ry in S ta n d ard
E n g lish w ith d ea l. (O n c o n co rd w ith open-class q u an tifiers, c /1 0 .4 3 .)
A lth o u g h th e q u a n tity n ouns lot, deal, etc look lik e th e h e ad o f a noun
p h ra se , th e re a r e g ro u n d s for arg u in g th a t th e w hole ex p ressio n (a lot of, a
good d e a l of, e tc ) fu n c tio n s as a d eterm in er. N o tab ly , th e v erb regularly has
n u m b e r c o n c o rd w ith th e second n o u n , r a th e r th a n th e first, as i n :
f L o ts o f fo o d was o n th e table.
= T h e re w as lots o f food o n th e table.
N o te [a] A s w ith less a n ^ le ast, th e re is a tend en cy (esp in A m E ) to use am ount for th e m ore generally
a c c e p ta b le num ber a ls o w ith co u n t n o uns, desp ite objections to th is u s a g e :
T h e r e w ere large am ounts o f tourists on th e ferry.
T h is h a ll ca n s e a t a large am ount o f people.
[b] In f a m ilia r sp o k e n E n g lish w e find a w ide range o f q u an tifie rs roughly synonym ous w ith lots
o f eg\
W e ’ve g o t bags o f tim e.
f sta c k s o f )
S h e ’s g o t < heaps o f > m oney.
{floods o f J
T h e y h a v e um pteen ja z z records.
T h e use of articles w ith com m on nouns 265
The use of articles w ith common nouns

Specific and generic reference
5.26 In d iscu ssin g th e use o f th e articles, w e m ust d istin g u ish b etw een specific a n d
g en eric reference. C o m p are sen ten ces [1] a n d [2]:
A lion a n d two tigers a re sleeping in th e cage. [ 1]

Tigers a re d a n g ero u s a n im als. [2]
In [1] th e referen ce is s p e c i f i c , since we have in m in d p a rtic u la r sp e c im en s
o f th e class ‘tig e r’. B u t if w e say [2], the referen ce is g e n e r i c , sin ce we a r e
th in k in g o f th e class ‘tig e r’ w ith o u t specific referen ce to p a rtic u la r tigers.
T h e d istin ctio n s b e tw ee n d efin ite an d indefinite, a n d b etw een sin g u lar a n d
p lu ral, a re im p o rta n t fo r specific reference. T h ey ten d to b e less cru cial fo r
g en eric referen ce, b ecau se g en eric referen ce is used to d e n o te th e class o r
species generally. C o n seq u en tly , th e d istin ctio n s o f n u m b er w h ic h a p p ly to
th is o r th a t m em b e r, o r g ro u p o f m em b ers, o f th e class are n e u tra liz e d , b e in g
largely irrelev a n t to th e g en eric concept. S in g u lar o r p lu ral, d efin ite o r
in d efin ite, c a n o ften b e u sed w ith o u t ap p reciab le difference o f m e a n in g in
g en eric co n tex ts:
A Germ an is a go o d m u sician . A tiger j

Germ ans 1 , Tigers > can b e d an g ero u s.
_ } a re good m usicians,
The Germ ans J The tiger J
A fo u rth p o ssib ility m ig h t e v en be included
The Germ an is a good m u sician .
B u t th e slig h t d ifferen ces b etw een th ese various form s, a n d th e reaso n s fo r

p re fe rrin g o n e to a n o th e r, w ill b e consid ered in 5.52,ff.
: T h e use o f articles w ith specific referen ce is sum m arized in Table 5.26:
Table 5.26 Use of the articles with specific reference
DEFINITE INDEFINITE
COUNT NONCOUNT COUNT NONCOUNT
SINGULAR the tiger th e fu rn itu re a tiger ( s o m e ) furniture
PLURAL t h e ti g e r s (so m e ) tigers
O n ly th o se choices italicized in th is tab le a re used for g en eric referen ce. A t

p re se n t we will c o n c e n tra te o n th e specific use o f th e articles, w h ic h is m u ch
m o re freq u e n t th a n th e generic.
Specific reference: definite and indefinite
Uses of the definite article

5.27 T h e d efin ite article the is u sed to m a rk th e ph rase it in tro d u ces as d e fin ite, ie
a s ‘re ferrin g to so m eth in g w h ich c a n be identified uniquely in th e c o n te x tu al
o r g en era l know led g e sh a red by sp e a k er an d h e are r’. T h e ‘s o m e th in g ’ re fe rre d
to m a y b e any k in d o f no u n p h ra se re fe re n t: a person (the girl), a g roup o f

p e o p le ( the firem en), a n o b ject ( the lam p), a g roup o f o bjects (the roses), a n
a b s tr a c tio n (the plan), a g ro u p o f a b stra c tio n s (the fears), etc. M oreover, th e
n o u n d e te rm in e d by the m ay h av e p re - o r postm odification, by w h ich th e
‘s o m e th in g ’ id en tified by the m ay b e m o re p recisely specified, eg:
th e tall la m p th e lam p on the table
G iv e n th a t th e use o f the relies o n sh a re d know ledge, th ere a re several

w a y s in w h ich th e id en tity o f th e re fe re n t m ay be d e term in ed o r ‘re co v e red ’
b y th e h e are r, a s w e shall see in 5.28ff.
N o te A s else w h ere , w hen n o d istin ctio n is n ecessary in th is discussion o f articles, ‘s p e a k e r’ subsum es

‘w r ite r ’, a n d ‘h e a re r’ su b su m es ‘re ad e r’.
( a ) Im m e d ia te s itu a tio n
5 .2 8 T h e te rm s i t u F t i o n F l r e f e r e n c e m ay b e used to d escrib e cases w here th e
re fe re n c e o f the is d eriv ed fro m th e ex tralin g u istic situ atio n . W e first
d is tin g u ish the u se d w ith referen ce to th e i m m e d i F t e s itu a tio n :
The roses a re very beau tifu l, [said in a g ard en ]

H a v e you v isite d the ca stle l [said in a g iv en town]
I m issed b o th the lectures th is m o rn in g , [said by one stu d en t to
an o th er]
H a v e you fe d the c a ll [said in a d o m estic context]
T h ese a re the pistons, [ex p lain in g th e en g in e o f a car]
I t is, o f course, p o ssib le fo r th e sp e a k e r to m isjudge th e know ledge o f th e

h e a re r, in w h ic h case th e h e are r m a y n e ed to seek clarificatio n th ro u g h a
which- o r w /iar-question (w ith th e n u cleu s o n th e wh-ite m ):
H a v e y o u fe d the c a t ? w h Ic h c a t?
A re n ’t the r e d roses lovely? w h F t red roses?
N o te I n p ra c tic e , since a s p e a k e r c a n n o t alw ays be su re o f th e h e a re r's state o f know ledge, use o f the
involves a ce rta in a m o u n t o f guessw ork. In fact, in som e cases th e assu m p tio n o f sh ared
kn o w led g e is a p a lp a b le fiction. N o tices su ch as M in d the step an d Beware o f the dog, for ex a m p le,
g en erally d o not a s su m e th a t th e read er w as prev io u sly aw are o f the h az ard s in question.
(b ) L a r g e r s itu a tio n (g e n e ra l kn o w led g e)

5.2 9 T h e id en tity o f th e re fe re n t m ay b e e v id e n t fro m know ledge o f th e ‘la rg e r’
s itu a tio n w h ic h s p e a k e r a n d h e a re r sh a re, eg:
the Prime M in iste r the airlines the la st war
T h e larg er s itu a tio n m ay in fa ct b e w o rld w id e {the Pope), o r be sh a red by all

in h a b ita n ts o f a c o u n try ; eg in th e U n ite d S tates, a t a g iv en tim e, v irtu ally
every o n e will k n o w w h ich p re sid en t is b e in g referred to by th e p h ra se the
President. W h en it is as w ide as th is, th e ‘larger situ atio n ’ is scarcely
d istin g u ish ab le fro m g en eral k n o w led g e a n d m ay extend, in e x trem e cases,
to th e w hole p la n e t o r to th e w hole o f h u m a n history. In th e use o f p h ra ses
like the sun th e re is the p re su p p o sitio n th a t, in o u r ex p erien ce o r fields o f
in terest, th ere is o n ly one su ch o b ject. S im ila r exam ples a r e :
Th e use of articles w ith com m on nouns 267
the N orth Pole the E quator the earth

the moon the sea the sk y
the stars the universe the cosmos
the zenith the nadir the R enaissance
the G reek gods the Republic the Church
T h ere is a ten d e n cy fo r som e n o m in al expressions follow ing the to be w ritte n

w ith in itial cap itals. T h is is becau se such expressions in effect h av e u n i q u e
d e n o t a t i o n , a n d in th is re sp ec t resem ble p ro p e r n o u n s ( c f 5.60(f).
T h e re is n o c le a r d iv id in g lin e betw een ‘im m e d ia te ’ a n d ‘larg er’ situ a tio n s ;
in stea d , th ere is a scale o f g en erality run n in g fro m th e m o st restricted to th e
lea st re stric te d sp h e re th a t c a n be en v isag ed : th a t o f th e w hole u n iv erse o f
h u m a n k now ledge.
N o te [a] S in g u la r noun p h ra se s h a v in g u n iq u e d en o tatio n in clude p h rases referrin g to classes, g ro u p s,

etc o f h u m a n bein g s su ch as th e follow ing ((/co llectiv e nouns, 5.108):
th e working class the proletariat
■th e bourgeoisie th e aristocracy
S im ilar plu ral p h rases in c lu d e th o se referring to clans, trib es, races, e t c :
th e Rom ans th e Gordon H ighlanders
th e m asses the Italians
T h e use o f the in resp ect o f th e ‘la rg e r situ a tio n ' overlaps w ith th e g en eric use ( c /5 .5 2 /) .
[b] C o n tra ry to no rm a l p ra c tic e , th e re is no article before earth in th e follow ing ex p ressio n s ( c f
5.4 m -
co m e b a c k /d o w n to earth
H e ’s very d o w n to e a rth . [‘d ire c t’]
W h a t o n earth a re you d o in g ?
(c) A naphoric reference: d irect

5.30 T h e te rm a n a p h o r i c r e f e r e n c e is used w here th e u n iq u en ess o f referen ce
o f so m e p h ra se the X is su p p lied by in fo rm atio n g iven e arlie r in th e discourse
(c /1 2 .6 ). W e m ay d is tin g u ish tw o k in d s o f a n a p h o ra : d ire c t an d in d irect. A
d efin ite n o u n p h ra se receiv es d i r e c t a n ap h o ric in te rp re ta tio n w h ere th e
sam e n o u n h e ad h a s a lre ad y o ccu rred in the text, a n d it is c lear th a t a re la tio n
o f co referen ce ex ists b e tw ee n th e tw o noun p h rases. (By c o r e f e r e n c e w e
u n d e rsta n d a re la tio n b e tw ee n th e tw o noun p h ra ses su ch th a t th ey have th e
sam e re feren ce.) F o r e x a m p le :
J o h n b o u g h t a T V a n d a video recorder, b u t he re tu rn e d the video

recorder.
H ere, as in o th e r s im ila r cases, th ere is a c o m p lem en tary role for th e d efinite

a rticle a n d th e in d efin ite a r tic le : th e first referen ce to a n o b ject will o rd in arily
b e in d efin ite ; b u t o n ce th e o b ject h as been in tro d u c ed in to th e discourse in
th is w ay , it c a n b e tre a te d as ‘contextually k n o w n ’, a n d can th en cefo rw ard
b e re fe rre d to b y m ea n s o f th e definite article.
(d) A naphoric reference: indirect

5.31 i n d i r e c t a n a p h o r a a rises w h en a reference b eco m es p a rt o f th e h e a re r’s
know led g e in d ire ctly , n o t b y d irect m ention, as in th e ex am p le in 5.30, b u t
by in feren ce fro m w h a t h a s a lread y been m en tio n ed :
J o h n b o u g h t a bicycle, b u t w h en he rode it o n e o f the wheels

cam e off. [1]
T h e w heels o f th e bicycle c a n be tak e n for g ran ted in th is se n ten c e because

(a ) a b icycle h a s a lread y b een m en tio n ed ( a n a p h o r a ) , an d (b) w e k now th a t
b icy c les h av e w h eels ( g e n e r a l k n o w l e d g e ) . In th is w ay, w e c a n see th a t
in d ir e c t a n a p h o ra co m b in e s tw o k in d s o f ‘reco v erab ility ’; A n o th e r w ay to
lo o k a t it is to s a y th a t in d ire c t a n ap h o ra Combines a n a p h o ric re fe re n ce w ith
c a ta p h o r ic re fe re n ce ( c /5 .32); eg we u n d e rstan d the wheels in [ 1 ] ab o v e to be
a n e llip tic al v a r ia n t o f the wheels o f the bicycle. T h is la tte r e x p la n a tio n does
n o t, as w e shall see, a p p ly to all such cases.
S o m e fu rth e r ex am p les o f in d irect a n ap h o ra are th e follow ing. O n ce we
h a v e in tro d u c e d th e to p ic o f a fa rm , w e can go on to talk a b o u t the fa rm e r, the
fa rm h o u se , the pigs, the barn, e tc; once we have in tro d u ced th e to p ic o f an
orchestral concert, w e c a n go o n to ta lk a b o u t the program m e, the audience, the
conductor, the second oboe, etc.
C o n sid e r finally th ese e x a m p le s:
I le n t Bill a valuable book, b u t w h en he retu rn ed it, the cover w as

filthy, a n d the pages w ere to rn . [2 ]
T h e y got m arried in g ra n d style. The bride w ore a long b ro c ad e
dress, a n d the bridesm aids w ore p in k taffeta. The organist
play ed su p e rb m u sic, a n d the choir sang m agnificently. [3]
I n [3] th e to p ic o f ‘a w e d d in g ’ is in tro d u ced by m ean s o f th e v e rb p h ra se got

m a rried (h en ce the bride, the bridesmaids)', th ere is also th e p re su m p tio n o f a
c h u rc h , a n d h e n c e the organist, the choir. T h ere is th u s n o easy w ay to ex p lain
th e su b seq u e n t o c cu rre n ce s o f the by m ea n s o f ellipsis; to d o so, it w ould be
n e c e ssa ry to p o stu la te su c h lo ng-w inded p h rases as [3 a]:
th e b rid esm a id s w h o a cco m p an ied th e b rid e w h en sh e g o t

m arried [3a]
(e) C atap h o ric referen ce

5.32 By th e c a t a p h o r i c use o f the m ay be understo o d th e use o f th e d efin ite article
in a c o n te x t w h e re w h a t follow s th e h e ad n o u n , ra th e r th a n w h a t p reced es it,
e n a b le s us to p in p o in t th e referen ce uniquely. ‘C a ta p h o ric ’ is th erefo re the
o p p o site o f ‘a n a p h o ric ’ referen ce. In p ractice, how ever, th e c a ta p h o ric use o f
th e d efin ite a rtic le is lim ite d to cases w here th e m o d ificatio n o f th e no u n
p h ra s e restric ts th e re fe re n ce o f th e n o u n , so th a t its re fe re n t is, for th e
p u rp o se o f th e d isco u rse, u n iq u ely defined. T hus, th e ita licized p ostm odifiers
o f th e follow ing n o u n s ju s tify th e use o f the:
T h e P re sid e n t o f M e xico is to v isit C h in a. [1]

T h e girls sittin g over there are m y cousins. [2]
T h e w ines p ro(j uces J are am o n g th e b e st in th e w orld. [3]
In p rin cip le, h o w ev er, th e re is no difference betw een p o stm o d ificatio n an d

p re m o d ifica tio n as a m ea n s o f specifying reference. C o m p a re :
th e P re sid e n t o f M e x ic o [ 1a]
th e M exica n P re sid e n t [lb ]
S o m etim es th e d efin ite n o u n p h ra se can b e co n tra sted w ith a n e q u iv alen t

in d efin ite p h ra se. In su c h in stan ces, th e definite article is n o t in fa ct genuinely
Th e use o f articles w ith com m on nouns 269
c a ta p h o ric b u t e n ta ils som e degree o f an ap h o ric reference. C o m p are [4] a n d

[4a]:
The bicycle John bought h as b een stolen, [assum es un iq u e

re fe re n ce ; cf: John’s bicycle] [4]
A bicycle John bought h as been stolen, { c f: a bicycle o f John's, c f
17.46] [4a]
A t o th e r tim es, th e re is n o such in d efin ite a lte rn a tiv e , because th e w h o le

p h rase h a s u n iq u e d e n o ta tio n , lik e the E quator ( c f 5.29):
f th e h e ig h t o f M o n t Blanc J th e p a re n ts o f E lvis Presley

[* a h e ig h t o f M o n t Blanc |* (s o m e ) p a re n ts o f Elvis Presley
N o te It is n o t necessary to p o stu la te th a t th e expression [5] p resu p p o ses som e u n spoken p ream b le su c h

as [5a] b u t, r a th e r, su ch as [5 b]:
the m u d o n y o u r c o a t [5]
T h e re ’s som e m u d o n yo u r co a t. [5a]
You know there's m u d o n yo u r co at. [5b]
C o n tra st [6] w ith [6 a]:
H ow d id you g et the m u d o n your c o a t? [6]
D id you kn o w you h a v e I [ o n y ° u r c o a t? [6a]
(f) S p o rad ic reference

5.33 The is so m etim es used in referen ce to a n in stitu tio n o f h u m an society. F o r
ex am p le, in [ 1 ] th e re a te tw o p o ssib le in te rp re ta tio n s o f the theatre:
M y siste r goes to the theatre ev ery m o n th . [1]
By situ a tio n a l referen ce, it m ay m ea n a p a rtic u la r th ea tre , say th e C rite rio n

T h e a tre , w h ic h m y sister a tte n d s regularly. B u t a m o re likely m ea n in g is th a t
m y siste r does n o t n ecessarily confine h er th eatre-g o in g to one b u ild in g : the
theatre refers, ra th e r, to th e th e a tre as a n in stitu tio n , so th a t it w o u ld b e
in a p p ro p ria te to ask , in resp o n se to [1]: W hich theatre? W e c all th is th e
s p o r a d i c use o f the, becau se referen ce is m ad e to a n in stitu tio n w h ic h m a y
be o b serv ed re cu rren tly a t v ario u s p laces a n d tim es.
T h e re is a sim ila r use o f the news, the radio, the television, the p aper(s), the
press, etc, refe rrin g to a sp ects o f m ass c o m m u n ic a tio n :
D id you h e ar the ten o'clock new s ?

( in the paper(s) 1
W h a t’s •! on the radio > th is evening?
[o n (the) T V J
B u t w ith television o r T V , th ere is also th e p o ssib ility th a t the a rticle w ill b e
o m itte d (c/5 .4 5 ).
T h e co n ce p t o f sp o ra d ic referen ce also e x ten d s to expressions re fe rrin g to
m o d ern tra n s p o rt a n d c o m m u n icatio n , su ch as the bus, the train, the p o st <esp
B r E ) , the m ail <esp A m E ) , the telephone :
M ary to o k the bus/the train to L ondon, o r : a bus/a train

H e p ro m ised th a t th e letters w ould be in the po st/th e m ail th is
evening.
I n a tem p o ral ra th e r th a n sp atial sense, s p o ra d ic referen ce m ay even be tak e n

to a p p ly to the o p tio n a l use o f the before w o rd s re ferrin g to seasons (eg: the
w inter, c/5 .4 7 ), an d to festivals, etc (the N e w Year, c/5.67).
N o te [a] T h e sp o rad ic use o f the is in c e rtain in stan ces close to th e g eneric use o f the (c f 5.55JJ').
C o m p a r e th e use o f the theatre in [11 abo v e w ith th e ge n e ric sense o f the theatre [‘d ram a as a n a rt
f o r m ’] in [2]:
S h e ’s an ex p e rt on (the) ( Elizabethan) theatre . [2]
S im ila r ly : the novel, the ballad, (the) dram a.
[b] T h e c o n trast b etw een situ a tio n a l an d sp o rad ic use is m a n ife s t in th is p a ir o f exam ples:
-p. rn f th e television (set).
T h e r e s a vase o f flow ers on j „ , . .
[ television.
T h e r e 's a n in te re stin g play on (the) television.
[c] O n th e sp o rad ic use o f the in cases like theharber's, c / 5 . 125.
(g ) T h e ‘logical’ use o f the

5.3 4 W e m a y reserv e th e te rm l o g i c a l for c ases w h e re th e u n iq u en ess o f th e
r e f e r e n t is to b e ex p la in ed n o t so m u ch b y k n o w led g e o f th e w orld, as by
a p p e a l to th e logical in te rp reta tio n o f c e rta in w ords. T hese w ords are
p o s td e te rm in e rs a n d ad jectiv es whose m ea n in g is in alien ab ly asso ciated w ith
u n iq u e n e s s ; o rd in als su ch as fir s t ; ‘g eneral o rd in a ls’ su ch a s n e x t a n d last ( c f
5 .2 2 ); a lso sam e, only, sole; a n d su p erlativ e a d je ctiv es like best a n d largest:
W h e n is the fir s t flig h t to C h icag o to m o rro w ? [1]

T h is is the only rem aining copy. [2]
O f th e th re e n e w sp ap ers w e h ave in th is city , th is is the best. [3]
I n th e s e cases th e in d efin ite article o r th e z ero a rticle w ould generally be

a b su rd :
A d a a n d I h a v e iJ „ ttie\>sam e hobby
t- r
W e m u st c a tc h •{ [n ext bus.
N ote [a] T h e ‘lo g ical’ usb o f the is closely related to ca ta p h o ric referen ce. C o m p a re [1] w ith [la ]:
"W hen is th e flig h t that leaves fir s t fo r C hicago to m o rro w ? [la ]
[b] T h e o cc u rre n ce o f fixed p h rases such as a best fr ie n d is possible in special co n tex ts: eg if a
ch ild is alw ays c h a n g in g h is o r h e r best friend, on e m a y re fe r to th e c u rren t fav o u rite as a new
best fr ie n d . M o re freely, zero a rtic le m ay be used in fro n t o f fixed p h rases such as:
H e w as best m an [‘g ro o m sm a n ’] a t th e w edding, (cf: H e w as j ^ h e s ^m a n ’^ '2 1^0r J°^)

H e w o n fir s t prize.
i
(h) T h e use o f the with reference to body p a rts
5.35 W ith re fe re n ce to p a rts o f the body a n d fo llo w in g a p re p o sitio n , the is o ften
u sed in ste a d o f possessive p ro n o u n s m y, your, her, their ( c f also th e in d efin ite
a rtic le , 5.36 N o te ) ,e tc :
M a ry b an g ed h e rself o n the forehead.

T h e y p u lled h e r by the hair.
E v e ry o n e g av e us a p a t on the back.
D o n ’t k e e p d ig g in g m e in the ribs.
In th ese e x am p les, th e p e rso n al pro n o u n o r noun referrin g to th e ‘p o ssesso r’

o f th e body p a r t is th e o b ject, a n d th e body p a rt is a p re p o sitio n a l co m p le m e n t.
T h ere are v irtu a lly syno n y m o u s clauses in w hich th e body p a rt is p re ce d ed
by a possessive p ro n o u n , a n d fu n ctio n s as object:
u h ^ t[his
him by,hehand-
hand. [ la ]
I t is o ften p o ssib le, th o u g h som etim es u n id io m atic, to use a possessive

p ro n o u n in p lac e o f th e :
I sh o o k him b y his hand. [ lb ]

H e k issed her on her cheek.
She p a tte d him on his shoulder.
In o th e r c ases th e ‘p o ssesso r’ p h ra se is su b ject o f th e c la u s e :
M y m o th e r c o m p la in s o f a p a in in the/her hip.
T h e w a n te d m a n h a s a sc a r o n the I his left cheek.
A ltern ativ ely , th e ‘p o ssesso r’ m ay b e im p lied ra th e r th a n s ta te d :
T h e d o c to r d iag n o sed a frac tu re o f the collarbone.

M an y p a tie n ts in th e h o sp ital suffered from a d isease o f the liver.
B u t su ch co n stru ctio n s a re n o t exceptions to th e g en eral ru le th a t the re fers to

w h a t is u n iq u ely id en tifie d by sh a red know ledge. T h e re is n o u n c larity in a n y
o f th ese cases a s to th e id e n tity o f th e body in question.
T h e re stric tio n o f th is use o f the to p rep o sitio n al co m p lem en ts m ea n s t h a t
th e possessive p ro n o u n , ra th e r th a n the, h a s to be used in su ch ex am p les a s :
H av e you b ro k e n y o u r a rm ? N O T : *H av e you b ro k e n the a rm ?
A fu rth e r re stric tio n is th a t th e possessive p ro n o u n m u st be used if th e b o d y

p a r t does n o t re fe r to w h a t is d e n o te d by th e d irect o b je c t:
O n e fa cto r w h ic h co u ld m a k e [2a] accep tab le, a n d in d ee d n o rm al, is th e

in te rp re ta tio n ‘sh e is le ft-h a n d e d ’. Sim ilarly:
She k ick s th e b a ll w ith the left fo o t (because she is left-footed).
W ith such a n in te rp re ta tio n , the is n orm al, b u t the rule is n o t absolute.
N o te la] T h e re ca n b e a slig h t d iffe re n ce o f m e an in g betw een th e c o n stru c tio n illu strated by [1] a n d
by I la ]. T h e follow ing a p p e a r to b e synonym ous:
, {him b y (he arm . [3]
T h e y g r a b b e d |W ja rm [3a)
B u t o n e can im ag in e a grisly c o n te x t in w h ich [3a] refers to an a rm sev ered from th e body; th is

c o n te x t could n o t ap p ly to [3].
[b] I t is difficult to g en e ra liz e a b o u t cases o f th e abo v e con stru ctio n s. Som e are pu rely id io m a tic :
S h e looked m e in th e ey e a n d to ld m e th e w hole story, [b u t n o t h e re : lo oked in m y e y e ,
alth o u g h th is is w h a t a d o c to r w ill d o a t a n e x a m in atio n o f th e eye]
F u rth e r sem a n tic fac to rs a r e th e follow ing:
(i) T h e use o f th e is p re fe rre d w h en th e reference is to u n p le asan t c o n d itio n s o f th e body {eg
ach es, p ain s, w o u n d s):
have a cold in the head have spies on the brain

be red in the fa c e be arm ed to the teeth
(ii) T h is use a p p lie s only to p a rts o f th e body, and can n o t usually be ex ten d ed to th in g s w hich
a re w o rn :
T h e y seized h im by the throat/the beard! the collar/ It he ja cket.
M o re o v e r, only th o se verbs w h ich c a n ta k e th e personal d ire ct object w ith o u t th e p rep o sitio n al
p h r a s e c a n o cc u r in this c o n s tru c tio n :
H e k ic k e d /h it/ta p p e d m e o n the sh in . (‘H e kicked etc m y sh in .’ B ut n o t: *H e step p e d m e on
th e to e s; * H e step p ed m y to es.]
[c] O u ts id e th e a b o v e co n d itio n s, the is so m etim es used instead o f possessives in a m asculine
sty le o f sp eech :
H o w ’s the back ? [referring to a n injury]
L e t’s have a lo o k a t the arm . [T h is is also w h at a do cto r, o f eith e r sex, m ig h t say to a p atien t.]
R e la te d to this u sag e is th e h a b it o f som e m en o f referring to th e ir w ives, o r c h ild re n , by the
< in fo rm a l> :
H o w ’s the wife ? [n o rm ally : y o u r wife]
W a it till I tell th e wife a b o u t i t ! [n o rm a lly : m y wife]
H o w are the ch ildren/k ids1.
N o te also ( f a m i l i a r ) ;
H o w ’s the o ld m a n 1, [‘y o u r h u s b a n d /fa th e r’]
[d] O n o th e r uses o f th e (e g : the m ore th e merrier; 40 m iles to the gallon), c f 11.43.
Uses of the indefinite article

5.36 T h e in d efin ite a rticle is n o tio n a lly th e ‘u n m ark ed ’ article in th e sen se th a t it
is u se d (for sin g u lar c o u n t n o u n s) w h ere th e co n d itio n s fo r th e use o f the do
n o t o b ta in . T h a t is, a/an X w ill b e used w here th e referen ce o f X is n o t
u n iq u e ly id en tifiab le in th e sh a red know ledge o f sp eak er a n d h e are r. H en ce
a/art is ty p ically used w h e n th e re fe re n t has n o t been m en tio n ed b efo re, an d
is a ssu m e d to b e u n fa m ilia r to th e sp e a k er o r h earer:
A n intruder h as stolen a vase. The intruder stole the vase fro m a lo cked
case. The case w as sm a sh e d o p en .
A s w e see fro m th is (u n u su ally ex p licit) exam ple, th e in d efin ite a rticle , in

c o n tra s t to th e definite a rticle , m ak e s n o assu m p tio n s a b o u t a n e arlie r
m e n tio n . B u t in a ctu al u sag e th e d istin c tio n m ay b e less o v ert. F o r e x am p le,
a c o n v e rsa tio n m a y b egin as [ 1 ] o r as [la ]:
A house on the corner is fo r sale. [1]

T h e house\on the corner is fo r sale. [la ]
T h e o n ly d ifferen ce in m e a n in g is th a t, in [la], th e sp eak er p re su p p o se s th a t

the h e a re r w ill k n o w w h ic h h o u se is m e a n t (p erh ap s b ecau se th e re is only
one s u c h house), w hereas, in [ 1 ], n o such assu m p tio n is im plied.
U n lik e th e d efin ite a rticle, th e in d efin ite article does n o t sig n al c o referen ce
w ith a p re c e d in g in d efin ite n o u n p h ra se. In sentence [2], th e sp e a k e r d o es n o t
claim th a t th e tw o w atch es a re th e sam e (although he .m ay b e o b liq u ely
su g g estin g th a t su c h is th e c a s e ) :
B o b lost a g o ld watch y esterd ay , a n d Bill w as w earin g a g old

watch th is m o rn in g . [2 ]
But i f th e seco n d a g old watch is c h an g e d to the gold watch, th e c la im is m ad e

th a t th e tw o w a tch e s a re in d e e d id en tical, an d th a t (p ro b ab ly ) B ill is a th ie f.
T h e use o f articles w ith com m on nouns 273
N o te T h e indefinite article, lik e th e d efinite article (c/5.35), is so m etim es used w ith body p a r ts :
Sally h as sp ra in e d an ankle. [ 3]
H e ’s b ro k en a leg. 141
b u t n o t : * R o g e r h a s h u r t a r.usr. [51
A ja n c a n n o t be used unless th e body has m ore th a n o n e o f th e body p a rts m e n tio n e d ; h e n c e [5]
is ab su rd in im ply in g t h a t R o g er h a s m ore th a n on e nose. E v e n w h en th e body p a rt is not u n iq u e ,
th e possessive p ro n o u n is th e usual choice (c/5 .3 5 ):
Sally h a s s p ra in e d her ankle. [3a]
H e’s b ro k en his leg. [4a]
I ’ve c u t m y finger.
N o n r e f e r r i n g u s e s o f t h e in d e f in i t e a r t i c l e
5.37 T h e;in d efin ite a rticle is strongly associated w ith th e c o m p lem en t fu n c tio n in
a clause, o r m o re g en erally w ith no u n p h ra ses in a c o p u la r re la tio n sh ip ( c f
2.22, 10.8). H e re it h a s a d escrip tiv e role (sim ila r to th a t o f p re d ic a tiv e
adjectives), ra th e r th a n a referrin g role:
P a g a n in i w as a g re a t violinist.
M y d a u g h te r is tra in in g a s a radiologist.
W e fo u n d L isb o n (to be) a delightful city.
W h a t a m isera b le d ay (it is)! (c /1 1 .3 l)
W h ereas th e in d efin ite a rticle is req u ired in th e p rev io u s e x am p les, th e re is

v acillatio n in th e follow ing cases ( c / ‘un iq u e ro le ’, 5.42):
h e r d u tie s as (a) hostess

m y a p p o in tm e n t a s (a ) lecturer
J u n g as (a) thinker
S o m etim es a /an is n o n re fe rrin g in a stro n g er sen se; it m ay n o t refer to

a n y th in g in re ality a t a ll;
L eo n ard w a n ts to m arry a p rin cess w ho sp e a k s five languages.
F ro m th is sen ten ce, w e c a n n o t tell w h eth er L eo n a rd know s a c e rta in p rin cess

a n d w an ts to m a rry h e r, o r w h eth er he h as sim p ly laid d o w n ex cep tio n ally
strin g en t q u alificatio n s fo r h is fu tu re wife. F o r all w e k now , th ere m ay b e n o
p rin cess w h o sp e a k s five languages in existence.
N o te A lth o u g h alan is used fo r d escrip tiv e exclam ations such a s W hat a fo o t (he is)!, th e re is also a n
ex c lam a to ry use o f the in T he fo o l!, The silty boy!, etc. S uch expressions o fte n a c co m p an y a
d ec larativ e clause, a n d a re a d d e d as a p aren th esis (in to n atio n rem ain in g a t a low pitch ):
J o h n is g ettin g in to d e b t , the id io t !
M y DAUGHtet) the little n a k l i n g l h a s b r o k e n t h e T v |< ir o n ic >
T h e re is a related ty p e o f d escrip tiv e exclam ation in w h ich a n o u n p h rase w ith th e o r zero a rtic le
is follow ed b y th a t a n d a su b jec t a n d v erb (norm ally be):
(T he) fool th a t he is!
O n th e ex clam ato ry use o f p ro n o u n s (Silly m e I, You fo o l!, etc), c/6 .2 0 .
T h e in d e fin ite a r t i c le a n d th e n u m e r a l one

5.38 T h e in d efin ite a rtic le d eriv es historically fro m th e u n stressed fo rm o f one,
a n d in p resen t-d a y E n g lish th ere are still m an y c o n tex ts in w h ich th is
n u m erical fu n c tio n is u p p erm o st. T h u s one c ould b e su b stitu te d as a slightly
e m p h a tic e q u iv a le n t o f a in th e follow ing c o o rd in a te c o n stru ctio n s ( c /5 .2 1 ) :
a m ile or tw o cf: one or two miles (10.41 N o te [b])

T h e W rig h ts h a v e two daughters a n d a son.
a f o o t a n d a h a l f o f w ater c f : one a n d a h a lffe e t (5.73 N o te [b])
T h e fo llo w in g a r e o th e r ex am p les in w h ich one could rep lace a /an , an d w here

th e a d je c tiv e single c a n ad d a n intensifying force to th e in d efin ite article (or
one):
M u n g o c a n w alk forty m iles in a (single) day.

T h e y d id n ’t sto p ta lk in g /o r a (single) mom ent.
T h e r e ’s n ot a (single) p ickled onion in th e house.
A /a n o f te n o c c u rs in th is quasi-n u m erical sense follow ing a n eg ativ e ( c f

10.62).
N o te [a ] T h e u se o f th e in d e fin ite article in a n um erical o r q u a n tify in g fu n ctio n is p erh ap s m ost

o b v io u s in its o c c u rre n c e in su ch expressions as ( c f 6.6 5 ) :
a hundred, a do zen , a score, a thousand, a million, a million a n d a h a lf[' 1, 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 ’], a quarterja
tw e lfth o f + n o u n
O th e r u ses a re seen in q u an tifie rs { c f 5.23ff, 6 .5 3 ) such as a fe w , a little, a great m any, a large
num ber o f, e tc ; also in m e asu re p h rases ( c / 5 . 1 8 ) such as:
h a l f a n hour, ten dollars a d a y, s ix ty m iles an hour, three tim es a m in ute, etc
[b] I n a d d itio n to b e in g a n u m e ral, one also has su b stitu te a n d g e n e ric functions. But in th e use
o f th e in d e fin ite a rtic le in a generic, sense {A tiger can be dangerous), a /an c a n n o t be replaced by
one { c f 6.56).
Uses o f the zero article
T h e z e ro a rticle co m p ared with unstressed som e

5.39 W ith p lu r a l c o u n t n o u n s a n d w ith n o n co u n t no u n s, th e in d efin ite a rticle does
n o t o c c u r ( c /5 .1 3 /) . T h e zero a rticle is used in stea d :
H a v e you e v e r e a te n roasted chestnuts1

M i lk is g o o d fo r you.
D o y o u lik e f o l k m u sic l
B u t th e p lu ra l o r n o n c o u n t e q u iv alen t o f a/an is so m etim es th e unstressed

d e te r m in e r som e /sam /. C o n trast:
1
a melon. 1
som e melons. I ...
> r [1]
som e melon.
?melons. J
T h e y h a v e b e co m e I * S. h e h,a s b e co m e a vegetarian.
1 *som e vegetarians.)
vegetarians. \ f [2 ]
I n th e n e g a tiv e , u n stressed any is th e eq u iv a len t o f som e (b u t c f 10.59 N o te
[b]), so t h a t a c o n tra s t m ay be o bserved b etw een [3] a n d [4]:
I h a v e n t bought [3]
T h ey h a v e n ’t b eco m e j ve£elar'ans- j [4 ]
[ any vegetarians, j
T h e d ifferen ce b e tw ee n th e uses o f zero an d o f some m ay be s u m m a riz e d

a s follow s. U n stre ssed some, a lth o u g h it is som etim es consid ered a p lu ra l
a rticle , actu ally k eep s its q u a n tify in g function, an d indicates re fe re n ce t o a
specifiab le (th o u g h in d efin ite) q u a n tity o r am o u n t. (T hus in [1], th e sp e a k e r
d o es n o t tell u s th e n u m b e r o f m elons, b u t in p rin cip le the n u m b e r could b e
fo u n d o u t.) T h e zero a rticle , in co n tra st, in d icates sim ply th e c ateg o ry o f th e
o b jects, e tc re fe rre d to. S o vegetarians in [4] nam es a category o f p erso n s, a n d
th e se n ten ce sim p ly in d ic a te s th a t th e people referred to by th ey b elo n g to
th a t category.
N o te T h e zero article m ay be used in ste ad o f som e, particu larly if a co n trast is im plied p r o s o d ic a lly :
I’ve ju s t b o u g h t M&Lons (b u t n o t g rap es). (1 a]
I h a v e n ’t b o u g h t b O o k s ( b u t I’ve b o u g h t m agazines). (3aJ
5.40 S o m etim es som e a n d zero a re b o th a c c e p ta b le ; in o th er cases o n e o f th e m is

less acc ep ta b le , o r e v en q u ite u n accep tab le. I n th e follow ing tw o e x am p les,
som e w ould b e u n a c c e p ta b le :
T h ese sh o es a re m a d e o f leather. [ 1]
I ’ve a lw ays p re fe rre d coffee to tea. [2]
In [1], th e sp e a k er is m erely in te rested in th e type o f m aterial o f w h ic h th e

shoes a re m a d e : th e q u a n tity is irrelev an t. In [2], th e in terest focuses o n th e
tw o ty p es o f d rin k , a n d it is irre le v a n t to c o n sid er p a rticu la r q u a n titie s.
In o th e r cases, th e in tro d u c tio n o f som e w ould n ecessitate a sh a rp d iffere n ce
in m ean in g , eg:
J o e ’s b een c h asin g women ev er since he w as young. [3]
In [3], som e women w o u ld p ro d u ce th e incongruous im pression th a t Jo e h a s

b e en ste ad fa stly c h asin g th e sam e g ro u p o f w om en, rath er th a n t h a t he is a n
in co rrig ib le D o n Ju a n .
T h e d istin c tio n w e h a v e to d raw , th en , is b etw een th e c a t e g o r i a l m e a n in g
o f zero, a n d th e q u a n t i t a t i v e m ea n in g o f some. It c an now b e seen th a t th e
g en eric m ea n in g o f th e zero a rticle, as in Tigers are fierce anim als ( c f 5.26), is
n o m o re th a n a sp ecial v a ria n t o f th is c ateg o rial m eaning. B ut it is still w o rth
s e p a ra tin g g en eric referen ce, w h ere we could su b stitu te all tigers w ith little
c h an g e o f effect, fro m th e specific categ o rial reference o f se n ten c es lik e [3],
w h ere clearly th e re is n o c laim th a t all w om en have been ch ased by Jo e ( c f
5.56).
A s h as alre ad y b e en h in te d , th e ch o ice b etw een zero an d som e is so m e tim es
m o re a m a tte r o f focus th a n o f c le ar c o n tra st o f m eaning. T h e re a re m a n y
situ a tio n s in w h ic h e ith e r ch o ice could be m ad e, w ith only a m in o r a lte ra tio n
o f th e force. C o m p a re :
W ould you lik e (som e) coffee o r (some) te a l [4]

I ’ve b een w ritin g (some) letters th is m o rn in g . [5]
W e h a v e ju s t receiv ed (som e) news from M oscow . [6 ]
T h e v a ria n t w ith o u t som e will focus on th e category as a w h o le; eg [4] is

a s k in g a b o u t tw o k in d s o f d rin k , a n d [5] is concerned w ith a k in d o f activ ity ,

viz th e activ ity o f w ritin g letters. B u t w h en som e is a d d ed , the focus c h an g es
to w h a te v e r q u a n titie s o f tea a n d coffee, o r o f letters, th a t th e s p e a k e r h as in
m in d .
T h e z e r o a r t i c le w ith d e fi n ite m e a n in g
5.41 A p a r t from p ro p e r no u n s, nouns ta k e th e zero article w ith definite m ean in g
o n ly in ra th e r sp ecial c ircu m stan ces, as d escrib ed in 5.42#.
N o u n p h r a s e s in a c o p u la r r e la tio n
5 .4 2 U n lik e m an y o th e r languages, E n g lish n o rm ally req u ires a n a rticle w ith a
s in g u la r c o u n t n o u n a s c o m p lem en t (c f 5.37):
B m s i an en g in eer- M ary is
\* engineer. J \ j secretary.
T h e r e is, h o w ev er, o n e c irc u m stan c e in w h ich th e zero a rticle o ccu rs in su ch

c o n stru c tio n s: th is is w h ere th e co m p le m e n t (or an eq u iv a len t a p p o sitiv e
n o u n p h rase) n a m e s a u n i q u e r o l e o r task . A s th e follow ing ex am p les show ,
in s u c h cases t h e zero a rticle a lte rn a te s w ith the:
M au reen is (the) captain o f the team . [ 1]

J o h n F . K e n n e d y w a s (the) P resident o f the United S ta tes in 1961. [2]
A s (the) chairm an o f the com m ittee , I d eclare th is m eetin g closed. [3]
T h ey ’ve a p p o in te d F re d (the) treasurer , an d no d o u b t h e will soon
becom e (the) secretary. [4]
A n n e M a rtin , (the) sta r o f the T V series a n d (the) author o f a m i l -
known b o o k on international cuisine , h a s resigned fro m h e r p o st
o n the C o n su m e r C ouncil. [5]
T h e co p u lar re la tio n signalled by as ( c f 9.48) is illu strated in [3], a n d th e

c o p u la r relatio n o f ap p o sitio n ( c /1 7 .6 5 /0 is illu strated in [5]. In e ac h o f th ese
ex am p les, it is im p lied th a t only o n e p erso n holds the p a rtic u la r p o sitio n
m en tio n ed .
N o te [a] H e re we m ay a lso place ex am p les w here th e ap p o sitio n al noun p h ra se in d icatin g a u n iq u e

role o r ta sk is p laced f ir s t:
F B I C h ie fi. E d g a r H o o v er [6]
Chelsea centre-forw ard M ilto n S m ith [7]
W ith restrictiv e a p p o s itio n [6, 7], th e a rtic le is g enerally o m itte d , w h ereas in n o n re stric tiv e
ap p o s itio n [7a] { c f 17.68), it is n o t :
th e Chelsea centre-forw ard , M ilto n S m ith [7a]
T h e re is a grad ien t lin k in g th e fo rm er c o n stru c tio n to th e in stitu tio n al u se o f title s, a s in King
George, Chairman M a o , D octor Sm ith. B u t th e use o f m o re elab o rate p h rases o f th is k in d
p re c e d in g a nam e is c h a ra c te ristic o f th e jo u rn a listic style som etim es k n o w n a s ‘T im esty le’,
b ec au se o f its a sso cia tio n w ith Tim e m agazine.
[bj T h e co m p lem en t o f turn { c f 16.22) is ex c ep tio n a l in hav in g zero article even w h ere th e re is
n o im p licatio n o f u n iq u e n e ss:
Je n n y started o u t as a m usic stu d en t befo re sh e turned linguist, | u t : . . . before sh e becam e a
linguist.
[c] B ecause a u n iq u e role is im plied, th e d efinite a rtic le is generally o m itte d follow ing expressions
su ch a s th e post o f th e position of, a n d the role o f :
A fte r declining th e p ost o f Secretary o f S ta te , he n evertheless found h im self ta k in g o n th e
role of unofficial adviser to th e President.
[d] D ete rm in ers {the, your, etc) a re frequently o m itted in official fo rm s, eg:
P lease send th e stip u late d item s, v i z :
(i) birth certificate
(ii) passport
(iii) correct fe e
C o m p a re th e om issio n o f articles in head lin es (11.45/).
N o u n p h r a s e s w it h s p o r a d i c r e f e r e n c e
5.43 W e h av e already m e n tio n e d (c f 5.33) th e use o f the in n o u n p h ra ses w ith
‘sp o ra d ic ’ definite re fe re n ce , a s in the radio, the theatre. In o th e r cases,
how ever, th e sp o ra d ic u se h as becom e so in stitu tio n alized th a t th e a rticle is
n o t used. W e d istin g u ish , u n d e r th is head in g , a n u m b e r o f d ifferen t categ o ries
o f zero a rticle usage w h ich a re ‘fro ze n ’ as p a rt o f id io m a tic usage.
( a ) S o m e ‘i n s t i t u t i o n s ’ o f h u m a n l i f e a n d s o c i e t y
5.44 C e rta in n o u n s h av e th e zero article, especially as c o m p le m e n t o f at, in, a n d
on in q u asi-lo cativ e p h ra se s : th u s som eone m ay b e in church, b u t n o t *in
library. W e call th e m ‘q u a si-lo cativ e’ because, a lth o u g h th ey a p p e a r to h a v e
lo cativ e m ean in g , th e ir fu n c tio n is ra th e r m ore a b s tra c t (cf: the theatre, 5.33).
In such contexts, n o u n s su c h as college, church, etc d o n o t re fe r to a ctu al
b u ild in g s o r p laces, b u t to th e in stitu tio n s asso ciated w ith th e m : to be in
prison, fo r exam ple, is to b e a p riso n er, not a casu al v is ito r; to go to sea is to
follow th e o c cu p a tio n o f a sa ilo r; see the left-h an d c o lu m n below . In th e
rig h t-h a n d colum n w e illu stra te th e sam e nouns as used w ith the in situ atio n al
or c atap h o ric r e fe re n c e :
C o m p are :
town The to w n / the c ity is very old.
bed lie dow n o n the bed
be in')
■hospital ( B r E ) redecorate the h o sp ital
g o to j
prison, ja il w alk aro u n d the p riso n /th e ja il
class <esp A m E ) The class w o rk s h ard ,
be a t \ ( school ( c /9 . 17) visit the school
g o to / look o ut to w a rd s the sea
b e in /b e a t church adm ire the c h u rc h
go to college the gates o f the college
N o te [a] O th e r related p h rases a re th e follow ing, som e o f w hich show v a ria tio n in th e use o f a r tic le :
g et o u t o f bed
d u rin g (the) break/recess
be in /re tu rn to cam p
live o n /o ff (th e) cam pus
be o n /o ff (the) stage
a t (th e ) court [royal p alace]; in (th t ) court [law court]; T he case w as settled o u t o f court; ta k e
som eone to court
com e/go/leave hom e; be (at) hom e; feel a t home (c/5.51)
W ith university, th e article is o p tio n a l in B rE in th e expressions be atjgo to {the) university,
w h ereas A m E req u ires th e d efin ite artic le (as also w ith hospital in A m E : ‘H e ’s in th e h o sp ita l.’).
[b] T h e article is som etim es left o u t also w hen th e reference is to th e b u ild in g , not th e in s titu tio n :
I w alked stra ig h t b a c k into/to school.
S h e’s a t church, arra n g in g flow ers.
In A m E , a n d increasingly in B rE , th e article is often om itted in ex p ressio n s like:
in th e ce n te r o f town, th e b usiness p a r t o f town
278 N ouns and determ iners
(b ) M e a n s o f tr a n s p o r t a n d c o m m u n ic a tio n
5.45 T h is ty p e is co n fin ed to z ero article follow ing by; b u t th e sam e n o u n s c an be
u s e d elsew here w ith ‘sp o ra d ic ’ the ( c f 5 3 3 ):
C o m p are :
bicycle tak e the bicycle
tra v e l 1 bus be on the bus
lea v e 1 car p refer the c ar
by -
com e | boat choose the b o at
go J train tak e a /th e tra in
^plane be o n the p lan e
’ radio
telephone, telex
c o m m u n ic a te /c o m m u n ic a tio n by p o st <esp B rE )
m a il <esp A m E )
satellite
C o m p a re :
a ta lk on the rad io
J ill is on the tele p h o n e.
p u t a letter in the p o st
se n d it th ro u g h the m ail
T he satellite is re p la cin g c ab le TV .
A lso : by hand (c /5 .5 1 , 9.49 N o te [a]).
(c) T im e s o f d a y a n d n ig h t
5.46 T h e s e ta k e a zero a rticle p a rticu la rly a fte r at, by, after, a n d before'.
C o m p are:
a t daw n/d a yb rea k w atch the d a w n
w h e n day b reaks d u rin g the d ay
a t sunrise [A m E a ls o : a t sunup] The su n rise w a s sp len d id .
a t sunset [A m E a ls o : a t sundown ] W e a d m ired the sunset,
at/around noon/m idnight in the afte rn o o n
a t d u sk/tw ilig h t see n o th in g in the d u sk
a tlb y night w ak e up in the n ig h t
(by) d a y a n d night in the d ay tim e
before m orning cam e in /d u rin g the m o rn in g
E vening approached, in the even in g
a fte r n ig h tfa ll I da rk all th ro u g h the n ig h t
D a y /N ig h t ca m e ; d a y by d a y (c /5 .5 0 );
a ll d a y {night/w eek/year (long) ( c f
8.63 N o te [b])
(d ) S ea so n s
5.47 T h e a rtic le is u sually, b u t n o t alw ays, o m itte d w hen re fe rrin g to seasons
g en erally , as d is tin c t fro m refe rrin g to a p a rtic u la r p a r t o f a p a rtic u la r y ear
( c /te m p o ra l n a m e s, 5.67):
(T h e) winter is com ing.

Th e use of articles w ith com m on nouns 279
in (th e) spring/sum m er
in (th e) a u tu m n <esp B rE ) [F a ll in A m E h as the article: in thefal!\
B ut w ith re fe re n c e to a p a rtic u la r season, th e article is in clu d ed :
77ie spring o f la st yea r w as cold.

The f a l l < A m E > 1, . , ...
/ r. t before la st w as unusually busy.
The autu m n <esp B r E ) J 3
N o te th e d ifferen ce b etw een [1] d e n o tin g calen d a r tim e a n d [2] d e n o tin g

seasonal c lim a te :
The w inter o f 1963 w as a n ex citin g tim e. [1]

W inter in 1963 w as n o t like th is la s t w in ter. [2]
(e) M eals
5.48 T h e zero a rtic le is in g en eral use for m eals a s a n in stitu tio n [1], b u t the c a n b e
used fo r m ea ls t h a t n e ed to b e singled o u t [2 ]:
W h ere a re w e h a v in g dinner to n ig h t? [1]

The dinner a fte r h is re tirem e n t p a rty w as q u ite lavish. [2]
E x am p les o f th e zero a rticle for th e m eal as a n in stitu tio n w h ich recu rs d a y

by d ay :
stay f o r' breakfast

have brunch, cocktails < both esp in U S )
befo re tea <esp in U K )
afte r lunch, dinner
a t/fo r supper
O ften, h o w ev er, the a n d th e zero a rticle are virtually in te rch a n g e ab le :
T h a t d ay , {the) lunch w as served o n th e terrace.
T h e in d efin ite a rtic le is used fo r a p a rtic u la r m eal:
W e h a d a nice dinner, ju s t th e tw o o f us.
(I) Illnesses
5.49 T h e zero a rtic le is n o rm ally used fo r illnesses, eg: anaemia , appendicitis,
diabetes, influenza, pneum onia. B ut the is o ften used, in a m ore tra d itio n a l
style o f sp e e ch , for som e w ell-know n in fectio u s diseases: {the) flu , {the)
measles, {the) m um ps, (the) chicken p o x ', also (the) hiccups. O n th e p lu ral fo rm
o f m um ps, etc, c f 5.15.
N o te [a] T h e article c a n n o t n o rm a lly be o m itte d w ith thelaplague, no r w ith som e p opular, n o n te c h n ic a l

expressions su ch as th e bends, th e jitte rs, thela bellyache <fam iliar> . E xcept in th e fixed ex p re ssio n
catch cold, th e in d e fin ite a rtic le is req u ired w ith cold, fe v e r, an d temperature:
O u r d a u g h te r h a d a terrible cold la st week.
I have | a f €ver’ I s0 i ’m stay in g in bed today.

( a tem perature, J
[bj Ileiulnche is alw a y s a c o u n t n o u n :
I h av e a splitting headache th is m o rn in g .
O th e r n o u n s fo rm e d fro m ache a re tre a te d a s no n co u n t w hen they den o te a c o n d itio n :
N u ts g iv e m e toothache.
W h e n th e y d en o te a single a tta c k o r p ain , they are usually c o u n t in A m E and n o n co u n t in B r E :

„ ...... rr r I (i stomachache. (c s p A m E )
O n a n d o f f sh e suffers fro m I . , , ' ' „ . ..
[(/he) stomachache. <esp B rE )
P a r a lle l s tr u c tu r e s
5.50 T h e r e is a ten d e n c y to o m it the article, ev en w ith sin g u lar count no u n s, w h ere
tw o n o u n s a re p lac ed to g eth er in a parallel s tru c tu re :
a rm in arm fa c e to fa c e day by d a y
h a n d in h a n d eye to eye teaspoonful b y teaspoonful
m ile upon m ile back to back side by side
S o m e tim e s th e sam e n o u n is rep eated a fte r a p re p o sitio n , as in the ab o v e

e x a m p le s ; a t o th e r tim es, one no u n is b a la n ce d ag ain st a n o th e r no u n o f
c o n tr a s tin g m e a n in g :
fr o m fa th e r to son
h u sb a n d a n d wife
fr o m right to left o r :fro m the right to the left
fr o m west to east O R : fro m the west to the east
fr o m beginning to en d o r : fro m the beginning to the end
P h r a s e s w ith th e n o u n re p ea te d typically h a v e a n a d v erb ial fu n ctio n :
T h e y ta lk e d i ^ ace t(^ f ace- T hey sto o d \ t o e !ê ' ...

[m an to man. [eyeball to eyeball.
I t c a n b e a rg u ed th a t th e nouns have no a rticle b ecau se th ey have largely lost

t h e ir in d e p e n d e n t n o m in a l status. W e n o te, in su p p o rt o f this, th a t v a riatio n
in th e n u m b e r, d e te rm in a tio n , o r m o d ificatio n o f th ese nouns is n orm ally
im p o s sib le :
* T h e y ta lk e d o ld m an to young man.
T h e y sto o d toes to toes.
S u c h p a ra lle l stru c tu re s a re, therefore, v irtu ally id io m s e xem plifying ‘fro ze n ’

a rtic le use.
T h e r e is o n e co n stru ctio n , how ever, in w h ic h th e parallel stru ctu re w ith
zero a rtic le is p ro d u c tiv e o f new instances. T h is is w h ere th e tw o nou n s are
c o o rd in a te d , a n d p a rticu la rly w here the c o o rd in a tio n is em p h asized by a
c o rre la tiv e su ch a s both . . . and o r ne ith e r. . . nor ( c fl3 .3 5 ff):
T h e b irth to o k p lace th is m orning, a n d b o th [the) m other an d (the)

child a re d o in g well.
T h e y p itc h e d c am p b etw een a sm all w in d in g riv er a n d a ridge
c o v ered w ith b ru sh w o o d ; b u t n e ith e r (the) river n o r (the) brushwood
affo rd ed th e p ro tec tio n they n eeded in th e e v en t o f attack .
F i x e d p h r a s e s in v o l v i n g p r e p o s i t i o n s
5.51 I n a d d itio n to a d v e rb ia l p h rase idiom s su ch as hand in hand, fa c e to fa c e ,
th e re a re o th e r id io m s in w hich n ouns w ith a zero a rticle o ccu r before o r a fte r
a p re p o sitio n . S om e o f th e prep o sitio n al p h ra se s co n sid ered in S ^ / f f s u c h as
a t hom e, by h a n d ) fall in to th is category, a n d to th em w e m ay a d d fu rth e r
e x a m p le s su ch as on fo o t, in turn, out o f step.
Th e articles in generic reference 281
M an y co m plex p re p o sitio n s (c f 9 .11) also co n tain n o u n s w ith o u t a n a r ti c l e :

on top of, by w ay of, e tc ; a n d th ere a re also idiom s in w h ich a v e rb is follow ed
by a n o u n w ith zero a rticle a n d (often) by a p rep o sitio n : ta k e advantage of,
se t fir e to, get word of, etc ( c f 16.58). Such uses o f n ouns are fixed p h ra se s , as
c a n b e seen in th e ir lac k o f article a n d n u m b er c o n trast:
f advantage )
H e took < *an advantage > o f th e situation.
\ * advantages J
The articles in generic reference

5.52 E a rlie r ( c f 5.26) it w a s n o ted th a t all th ree m ajo r form s o f a rtic le (the, a /a n ,
a n d zero) m ay be u sed g en erically to refer to th e m em b ers o f a class in to to :
The bull terrier m ak e s a n excellent w atchdog. [la ]

A bull terrier m ak e s a n ex cellen t w atchdog. [lb ]
B u ll terriers m ak e e x cellen t w atchdogs. [lc ]
O f th e possible c o m b in a tio n s o f th e a rticles w ith sin g u lar a n d p lu ral, th e o n e

w h ich does n o t o ccu r w ith c o u n t n ouns - th a t o f th e zero a rtic le w ith th e
sin g u lar fo rm - is th e o nly p o ssib ility w hich occurs w ith n o n c o u n t n o u n s :
Velvet m ak e s a n e x cellen t c u rta in m aterial. [2]

I t should n o t, h o w ev er, be assu m ed th a t th e th ree o p tio n s [la ], [lb ], a n d [lc ]
are in free v a ria tio n . O n e difference betw een th em is th a t, w h e rea s the [la ]
k eep s its g e n eric fu n c tio n in n o n su b ject positions in th e se n ten c e, a/an [ lb ],
a n d to a lesser e x te n t zero [lc], ten d to lose th eir g en eric fu n c tio n in th e s e
p o sitio n s:
[3a]
[3b]
[3c]
O f th ese, o nly [3a] re fers to m y stery plays as a g en re; [3b] re fers to only o n e
p lay ; an d [3c] is m o st likely to refer only to a su b set o f th em . W e c o n sid er
o th e r differen ces below .
N o te O ne c a n n o t r e p l a c e s in th e g en e ric sense, as in [lb ] (c/5 .3 8 N ote[b]).
T h e generic use o f the indefinite article

5 .53 T h e g eneric u se o f a /an p ick s o u t a n y r e p r e s e n t a t i v e m e m b e r o f t h e c l a s s .
T h u s any c an b e s u b s titu te d fo r a/an in exam ples lik e :
T h e b est w ay to lea rn a language is to live am ong its sp eak ers.
G e n eric a/an is th ere fo re re stric te d in th a t it can n o t be used in a ttrib u tin g

p ro p e rties w h ich b elo n g to th e class o r species as a w hole. T h u s :
T h e tiger is j j)eco m jn g a lm o st extinct.

Tigers a re
ftU T n o t : *A tiger is b eco m in g a lm o st extinct.
T h e generic use of the zero article

5.54 T h e g e n e ric u se o f zero a rticle w ith b o th p lu ral nou n s a n d n o n c o u n t nou n s
id en tifie s th e class c o n sid ered a s a n u n d i f f e r e n t i a t e d w h o l e ( c / 5 . 3 9 / ) :
C igarettes a re b ad for y our h ealth .
H yd ro g en is lig h ter th a n o x yg e n .
N ece ssity is the m o th e r o f invention.
R esearch sh o w s th a t it is th e e lderly w ho a re th e p rim e v ictim s o f
inflation.
H u n g er a n d violence w ill co n tin u e to m ark th e fu tu re o f m ankind /
hum anity.
W e c o n sid e r th e use o f th e z ero a rticle w ith n o n co u n t a b stra c t n o u n s in 5 .5 8 /
N o te W h e n it h a s th e m e a n in g o f ‘th e h u m a n ra c e ’ ra th e r th a n ‘a m a le h u m a n b e in g ', m an a n d its

synonym m a n k in d a re used genericaliy w ith o u t th e a rtic le :
T h is b o o k is a n a tte m p t to tra c e th e h isto ry o f j m an’

m ankind.
M an m e a n in g ‘h u m a n bein g ’ (an to n y m : beast) a n d its plural m en m ay also be used in th e sam e
w ay. T h u s :
is a so cia l an im al.
M e n h a v e beCn o n th is p la n e t fo r o v e r a m illion years.

M a n a n d wom an m e a n in g 'th e m a le/fem ale p a r t o f th e h um an race ' a re now less o fte n used in a
g eneric s e n s e :
W om an is th e glo ry o f all crea ted ex isten ce. (S. R ich ard so n )
Because o f o b je ctio n s to th e g eneric use o f m an, o th e r expressions a re o fte n p re fe rre d : hu m ankind ,
the hum an race, etc.
P arallel stru ctu res m a k e a sp ecial c a se (c f 5.50); n o te th a t m an a n d wom an, m an a n d wife d o
n o t refer to th e h u m a n ra c e :
M a n a n d rabbit d isp la y rem ark ab ly sim ila r featu res in m a tin g behaviour.
B u t th e follo w in g is u n ac ce p ta b le e x c e p t in te c h n ic a l, scientific u s e :
*R abbit disp lay s sim ila r featu res to man.
The generic use o f the definite article
W ith sin g u lar noun phrases

5.55 The is r a th e r lim ite d in its g en eric fu n c tio n . W ith sin g u lar h ead s, it is o ften
form al o r lite rary in to n e, in d ic a tin g t h e c l a s s a s r e p r e s e n t e d b y i t s
TY PIC A L S P E C IM E N :
A g r e a t d eal o f illness o rig in a te s in the mind.

N o o n e k n o w s p recisely w h e n the w heel w as in v en ted .
M y co lleag u e h a s w ritte n a b o o k on the definite article in Spanish.
M a ria n n e p lay s the harp very well.
A s the la s t ex am p le show s, n a m e s o f m u sical in stru m e n ts a n d also d a n ce s

usually ta k e th e d efin ite a r tic le :
play the violin [b u t: pla y baseball ], dancing the samba
W h en th e n o u n re fe rs to a class o f h u m an beings, th e ty pifying c o n n o ta tio n

o f g en eric the c a n s o u n d in a p p ro p ria te :
IT h e W elshm an is a good sin g er, [cf: W elshm en a re good singers.]
IT h e doctor is w ell p a id , [cf: Doctors a re w ell paid.]
?A s the child g ro w s, it d ev elo p s a w id er ra n g e o f vocabulary.
I t is m o re a p p ro p ria te w h e n used to id en tify th e ty p ical c h ara cteristics o f a
class in term s o f p e rso n a lity , a p p ea ran c e, e tc :
H e spoke w ith th e co n su m m a te assu ran ce a n d c h arm o f the successful
H arley S tre e t surgeon.
N o te [a] A n o th e r d e te rm in a tiv e w o rd so m etim es used w ith a ty pifying g eneric force is y our (c f 5.63
N o te [c ]):
Your av e ra g e fo o tb a ll s u p p o rte r is n o t in terested in com fort.
I n c o n tra s t to the, th is u se o f y o u r is asso ciated w ith fa m ilia r sp e e c h ; but it resem bles the in its
focus o n th e ‘ty p ical sp e c im e n ’ o f th e class.
[bl A m b ig u ity m a y o cc u r o v e r th e generic/specific in te r p r e ta tio n :
A : The president is to o p o w erful,
i i : W h ic h p re s id e n t?
A : N o , I m e a n p re s id e n ts in general.
W ith p lural noun p h rases

5.56 G e n eric the o ccu rs w ith p lu ra l n o u n p h rases in tw o sp ecial c a s e s :
(a) N atio n a lity n o u n s, ie n o u n p h rases re fe rrin g to th e people o f a n a tio n a lity ,
a n e th n ic g ro u p , e tc, eg: the Chinese, the English ( c f 7.25)
(b) P h ra se s w ith a n a d je ctiv e h ead referrin g to a g ro u p o f p eo p le, eg: the
unem ployed [‘p e o p le w h o are u n em ployed’], the blind, the rich, e tc ( c f 7,24)
In o th e r cases, the + p lu ra l n o u n can n o t b e used fo r g eneric referen ce.

T h u s th e follow ing se n te n c e s a re n o t a ccep tab le in a generic s e n s e :
*The wolves a re c a rn iv o ro u s. ■*> Wolves a r e . . .
*The hydrogen is lig h te r th a n the oxygen. +- H ydrogen i s . . .
I n scientific d e sc rip tio n s, h o w ev er, w e m ay fin d expressions lik e the rodents

(referrin g to th e w hole o rd e r R o d en tia).
I t is arg u ab le, in fa c t, th a t in stan ces o f (a) a n d (b) are n o t tru ly gen eric,
e ith er. R a th e r, th ey a re p lu ra l p h rases w ith u n iq u e d e n o ta tio n because (lik e
the masses, the fa irie s, the clergy, the Saints, e tc ) th ey d esig n ate a u n iquely
id en tifiab le g ro u p o f p e o p le . H e n ce th e re is a m a rk e d c o n tra st b etw een the
(g en eric p lu ral) in [ 1 ] a n d the (generic singular) in [ l a ] :
The R om ans d e fe a te d the Carthaginians in 202 B C . [1]

IT h e R om an d e fe a te d the Carthaginian in 202 B C . [la ]
[1] is a cc ep ta b le in c o m p a ris o n w ith [la], b ecau se the R om ans a n d the
Carthaginians re fe r c o llectiv ely to a g roup o f p eople, ra th e r th a n to a ty p ical
sp ecim en . T h e R o m a n s is th u s a g e n era liz atio n (lik e the mathem aticians, the
teenagers, the birds, e tc in sim ila r use), w h ereas the R om an im p lies a generic
sta te m en t. N e v erth e le ss, it w ill b e c o n v en ien t to a p p ly th e term ‘generic’ to
b o th th e sin g u lar a n d p lu ra l uses.
W ith n a tio n a lity n o u n s, th e re is a d istin c tio n to b e d ra w n in m an y cases
b etw een th e g e n eric n o u n s (w ith in v ariab le p lu ral) e n d in g in -ish, -sh, o r -ch,
a n d th e n o n g e n eric n o u n s en d in g in -man in the sin g u lar an d -men in the

p lu ra l (b o th fo rm s p ro n o u n ced /m an/). C o m p are:
T h e W elsh a re fond o f singing. [generic] [2a]

W elshm en a re fo n d o f singing. [generic] [2b]
T h e W elshm en a re fond o f singing, [specific] [2c]
T h e fo rm s e n d in g in -m en are su b ject to th e g en eral ten d e n cy to disfav o u r

w o rd s o f m ascu lin e b ias (cf5 .1 0 5 ), an d if a sexually n e u tra l expression is
so u g h t, W elshm en in [2b], for exam ple, m ay b e rep laced by W elsh people.
T h e re is also th e fe m in in e term Welshwomen, etc b ut th is ty p e o f w ord is ra re
o r n o n e x is te n t in som e cases, eg: *firewoman, *freshwoman.
W ith o th e r n a tio n a litie s, th e d istin ctio n b etw een g en eric a n d specific
n a tio n a lity n o u n s does n o t a r is e :
T h e F inns a r e fond o f sport. [generic]

F in n s a re fo n d o f sp o rt. [generic]
T h e F inns I k n o w a re fo n d o f sport, [specific]
In t h e fo llo w in g se c tio n , w e give specim ens o f th e v ario u s k in d s o f w ords for

p e o p le a n d n a tio n a lity .
5.57 S o m e n a tio n a lity w ords
GENERIC
SPECIFIC REFERENCE
NAME OF REFERENCE
ADJECTIVE
COUNTRY, ETC
SINGULAR PLURAL PLURAL
(i)
C hina Chinese a Chinese [a] Chinese the Chinese
Japan Japanese a Japanese Japanese the Japanese
Portugal Portuguese a Portuguese Portuguese the Portuguese
Switzerland . Swiss a Swiss Swiss the Swiss
Vietnam Vietnamese a Vietnamese Vietnamese the Vietnamese
i
(ii)
Iraq 'Iraqi an Iraqi Iraqis the Iraqis
Israel Israeli an Israeli Israelis the Israelis
Pakistan Pakistani a Pakistani Pakistanis the Pakistanis
(iii)
Africa A frican an African Africans the Africans
America American an American Americans the Americans
Asia Asian an Asian Asians the Asians
Australia Australian an Australian Australians the Australians
Belgium Belgian a Belgian Belgians the Belgians
Brazil Brazilian a Brazilian Brazilians the Brazilians
Europe European a European Europeans the Europeans
Germ any G erm an a German [b] Germans [b] the Germans
Greece G reek [c] a Greek Greeks the Greeks
Hungary Hungarian a Hungarian Hungarians the Hungarians
India Indian an Indian Indians the Indians
Italy Italian an Italian Italians the Italians
Norway Norwegian a Norwegian Norwegians the Norwegians
Russia Russian a Russian Russians the Russians
Th e articles in generic reference 285.
GENERIC
NAME OF SPECIFIC REFERENCE
REFERENCE
ADJECTIVE
COUNTRY, ETC
SINGULAR PLURAL PLURAL
(iv )
/ A rg e n tin a A rg e n tin ia n a n A rg e n tin ia n A rg e n tin ia n s th e A rg e n tin ia n s
\ ( t h e ) A rg e n tin e A rg e n tin e a n A rg e n tin e A rg e n tin e s th e A rg e n tin e s
(v)
D e n m ark D a n is h a D ane D anes th e D a n e s /D a n is h
F in la n d F in n is h a F in n F in n s th e F in n s /F i n n is h
P o la n d P o lish a P o le P o les th e P o le s /P o lis h
S a u d i A ra b ia Saudi a Saudi S a u d is / th e S a u d is /
(A ra b ia n ) (A ra b ia n ) Sau d i S a u d i A r a b ia n s
A ra b ia n s
A r a b [d] a n A ra b A ra b s th e A ra b s
S p a in S p a n is h a S p a n ia rd S p a n ia rd s th e S p a n ia r d s /
S p a n is h
S w ed en S w e d ish a S w ed e Sw edes th e S w e d e s/
S w e d ish
(vi) e / N o t e [e]
E n g la n d E n g lish a n E n g lish m a n E n g lish m e n th e E n g lis h
F ran ce F ren ch a F ren c h m a n F re n c h m e n th e F r e n c h
H o lla n d , th e D u tc h a D u tc h m a n D u tc h m e n th e D u tc h
N e th e r la n d s
Ir e la n d Irish a n Ir is h m a n Irish m e n th e I r is h
W ales W elsh a W e lsh m a n W elsh m e n th e W e lsh
(v ii) .
B rita in B ritis h a B rito n [f] B rito n s th e B ritis h
(v iii)
S c o tla n d S co ts[g ] a S c o tsm a n [e] S co tsm en th e S co ts
S c o ttis h aScot S cots
(S co tch ) (a S c o tc h m a n ) (S co tch m en ) (th e S c o tc h )
N o te |a ] Chinam an is ra re in ed u c ated use.

[b] T h e seg m en t -m an in G erman is n o t a g e n d e r suffix (as in Englishm an ) ; co n seq u en tly th e re a r e
no *G erm en o r *Gerwomen.
[c] G recian is chiefly used o f A n cie n t G reece , a n d te nds to re fe r to objects o r a b stra c tio n s, r a th e r
th a n to p e o p le : a Grecian urn.
Id] A rab is th e ra c ia l a n d political te rm ( th e A rab nations, etc). Arabic is used o f la n g u ag e a n d
lite ra tu re , as w ell as in A rabic num erals (as o p p o sed to R o m a n num erals). Arabia(n) is asso c ia te d
w ith th e g e o g rap h ical a re a o f th e A ra b ia n pen in su la (cf: S a u d i Arabia).
[e] T e rm s su ch a s E nglishm an!Englishm en a re in cluded h e re because o f th e ir ab ility to b e u se d
g en erically fo r th e in h a b ita n ts o f th e co u n try (b u t c /5 .5 6 ) ; th e re a re c o rresp o n d in g fe m in in e
te rm s Englishw om an, etc, b u t th ese are rarely used.
[f] B ritisher an d B rit a re collo q u ial v a ria n ts o f Briton. T h e use o f Briton is m o re restricted th a n
E nglishm an, S co t , a n d W elshm an w ith specific reference. B ecause o f th e h o m o p h o n y o f B riton
a n d Britain , a sp o k en sen te n ce b eg in n in g eg: "An old B r ito n . . . ’ is likely to be m isu n d e rsto o d .
[g] T h e in h a b ita n ts o f S co tlan d them selves p re fe r Scots a n d Scottish to Scotch, w h ic h h o w ev er
is co m m o n ly used in su ch p h ra s e s as Scotch terrier, Scotch w hisky, Scotch eggs, Scotch pancakes.
I n c o n tra st, S cottish d en o tes n a tio n a lity a n d geog rap h ical area , ra th e r th a n ty p e : th e Sco ttish
universities, th e S cottish H ighlands, a Scottish!Scots accent.
[h] I n c a se s w here th e re is a lang u ag e w ith a n a m e related to a n atio n ality w ord, th e ad jectiv e

fo rm is u sed for th e la n g u ag e (c /5 .5 8 N o te):
S h e speaks C hinese , Norwegian , Polish, Irish , etc.
T h e articles w it h abstract noncount nouns

5 .5 8 A b s tr a c t nouns te n d to be co u n t o r n o n c o u n t acco rd in g to w h e th er they refer
to u n ita r y p h e n o m e n a (su ch as events) o n th e o n e h a n d , o r to states, q u alities,
a c tiv itie s , etc o n th e o th er. T h e follow ing illu strate ty p ical co u n t a b stra c t
nou n s:
m eeting ~ m eetings
arrival ~ arrivals
discovery ~ discoveries
T h e follow ing a r e ty p ical n o n co u n t a b s tra c t n o u n s ( c f also th e list in 5.9):
em ploym ent, happiness, honesty, literature, sleep
B u t th e sam e a b s tr a c t n o u n s can o ften sw itch b etw een c o u n t a n d n o n c o u n t

use ( c f d u al class m e m b e rsh ip , 5.4):
, , f m uch kindness.
S h e show ed m e ,. ,
[m any kindnesses.
Society m u st be c h an g ed by l revoûtio^ -
[a revolution.
In E n g lish , n o n c o u n t a b stra c t n ouns usually h a v e n o a rticle w h en used

gen erically :
M y fav o u rite subject is history!F rench!m athem atics)m usic. . .

H appiness is o fte n th e p ro d u c t o f honesty a n d h a rd work.
T heory m u st g o h a n d in h an d w ith practice.
N o rm a lly th e z ero a rticle also o ccu rs w h e n th e n o n c o u n t a b stra c t n o u n is

p rem o d ified :
S h e ’s stu d y in g European history. [ 1]
B u t w h e n the sa m e n o u n is p ostm odified, especially by a n o /-p h rase, th e

d e fin ite article n o rm ally p reced es it:
She-SS, ^ „ 4 * ' 2 ^ / ^ M
W e th u s find ty p ic a l c o n tra sts o f th e follow ing k i n d :
hum an e v o lu tio n ~ the ev o lu tio n o f m an

m edieval a r t ~ the a rt o f the M id d le A ges
O riental p h ilo so p h y ~ the p h ilo so p h y o f the Orient
18th century m o rality ~ the m o rality o f the 18th century
It ap p ea rs th a t th e c a ta p h o ric the is a d d e d in ex am p les lik e [lb ] b ecau se

th e effect o f th e o /-p h rase is to single o u t a p a rtic u la r su b class o f th e
p h e n o m e n o n d e n o te d by th e n o u n , a n d th ere b y to ch an g e a g en eric m ea n in g
in to a specific o r p a r titiv e one. In th is c o n n ectio n , w e notice a slig h t difference
b etw een [ 1 ] a n d [ l b ] : w h e re a s [lb ] im plies th a t she is stu d y in g th e h isto ry o f

E u ro p e as a w hole, [ 1] allo w s th e in te rp reta tio n th a t sh e is studying only so m e
a sp ects o f E u ro p ea n h isto ry o r a p a rticu la r college course.
T h e ty p e o f c o n tra st illu stra te d ab o v e by [ 1] an d [ 1b] c a n also be n o ted w ith
co n crete n o n co u n t n o u n s, a n d w ith p lural n o u n s :
. .. . f 18th century fu rn itu re. [2 ]

m useum sPeciallzes “ \ the fu rn itu re o / the 18th century. [2 a]
. . . . , f South Am erican b u tterflies. [3]

A lice ts en g ag ed m re se a rc h on ^ [3a]
B ut in th ese cases it is to a g re a te r o r lesser degree a cc e p ta b le to o m it th e :
T h e m useum sp ecializes in furniture o f the 18th century. [2b]

?A lice is en g ag ed in re se a rc h o n butterflies o f South A m erica. [3b]
N o te T h e re a re expressions in w h ich th e defin ite article is optio n al w ith th e n am e o f a language (c f

5.57 N o te [h]), as in :
a w ord borrow ed fro m {the) Frenchj(the) Italian
ex am p les fro m (the) Sa n skritj(th e) Hebrew
T h e follow ing ex pression is now a rc h a ic ex c ep t in , fo r ex am ple, Irish E n g lis h :
H e h as the French. [4]
T h e m e a n in g o f [4] is ‘H e k n o w s F r e n c h ’, to be con trasted w ith th e reg u la r cu rricu lar sense o f
[53:
H e h as French and English. [5]
5.59 T h e p a rtitiv e effect o f th e d efin ite article in the history o f Europe (ex am p le
5.58 [lb ]) finds a p a ralle l in th e use o f the indefinite a rticle in such ex am p les
a s th e s e :
M av is h a d a good education. [ 1]
M y so n suffers fro m a strange dislike o f m athem atics. < ironic> [2]
She p lay ed th e o b o e w ith (a) remarkable sensitivity. [3]
T h e in d efin ite a rticle is u se d exceptionally here w ith n o u n s w hich a re

n o rm ally n o n co u n t. T h e c o n d itio n s u n d er w h ich a/an o ccu rs in such cases
are u n clear, b u t a p p e a r to in clu d e th e follow ing:
(i) th e n o u n refers to a q u a lity o r o th er a b strac tio n w h ich is attrib u te d to a

p e rso n ;
(ii) th e n o u n is p rem o d ified a n d /o r p o stm odified; a n d , generally sp eak in g ,
th e g re a te r th e a m o u n t o f m odification, th e g re a te r th e accep tab ility o f
a/an .
In c o n firm atio n o f (ii), n o tic e th a t a would have to be o m itte d from [3] if th e

a d jectiv e w ere o m itte d :
She p lay ed th e o b o e w ith { a sens‘t‘v‘ty-

r J [ sensitivity. [3b]
H o w ev er, a w ould b eco m e m o re accep tab le th a n zero if th e n o u n w ere

m o d ified :
S h e p lay ed th e o b o e w ith f (a)A r m i n g sensitivity

[ a sensitivity th a t delig h ted the critics.
288 N o u n s a n d determiners
Proper nouns
5.60 P r o p e r n o u n s a r e b asically n am es o f specific people (Shakespeare), places
(M ilw a u k ee ), m o n th s (Septem ber), days (Thursday), festiv als (Christmas),
m a g a z in e s (V ogue), a n d so forth! A s w e saw in 5.2, p ro p e r n o u n s d o n ot
g e n e ra lly sh a re th e fo rm al ch ara cte ristics o f com m on no u n s. In p a rticu la r,
th e y la c k a rticle s, o r ra th e r a rticle co n tra st:
P a ris ~ *the Paris ~ *a Paris The H ague H ague ~ * a H ague
W ith in a g iv en u n iv erse o f discourse, p ro p e r nouns g en erally h a v e un iq u e

d e n o ta tio n , a n d a re u su ally w ritte n w ith in itial cap ital letters (th o u g h n o t all
n o u n s so w ritte n are p ro p e r nouns). P ro p e r nouns o fte n c o m b in e w ith
d e s c rip tiv e w o rd s w h ic h w e w ill call d e s c r i p t o r s , an d w h ich also b eg in w ith
a c a p ita l letter, to m ak e co m p o site n am es like Senator M orse, D allas R oad.
W e m a y th ere fo re d ra w a d istin c tio n b etw een a p r o p e r n o u n , w h ich is a
sin g le w o rd , a n d a n a m e , w h ich m ay o r m ay n o t co n sist o f m o re th a n one
w o rd . A n a m e n o rm ally fu n c tio n s as a single u n it w ith re sp ec t to g ram m ar.
T h is m e a n s th a t, ev en if a co m p o site n a m e h as an in te rn al s tru c tu re th a t is
g ra m m a tic a lly an aly sa b le (eg as K ing's College is an aly sa b le as g en itiv e
n o u n + h e a d n o u n ), th a t stru c tu re can n o t norm ally be v a rie d b y th e in sertio n
o f w o rd s , by c h an g e o f in flectio n , etc. F o r exam ple, The H ague h a s a b u ilt-in
d e fin ite a rticle, b u t The do es n o t a c t as a v ariab le d e term in er, n o r is it cap ab le
o f b e in g follow ed by a d je c tiv e s : *The beautiful Hague. E q u ally u n a cc ep ta b le
is * K in g ’s fa m o u s College.
N ote [a] L ik e o th e r g ra m m a tic a l categ o rie s, th e class o f p ro p er nouns h as u n c le a r b o u n d aries. F o r

e x a m p le , a n u m b e r o f co m m o n n o u n s w ith u nique den o tatio n are close to p ro p e r no u n s, a n d are
so m e tim e s spelled w ith a c a p ita l le tte r (c/5.29), eg:
F a te , Fortune, H eaven, H ell, N ature, Paradise, Earth
C o m p a r e also, in th e ir g en e ric sense, M a n a n d W om an ( c f 5.54 N o te). O n a n o th e r level, we
m ig h t w o n d e r w h e th e r K ing's in K ing's College is to b e classed as a g en itiv e c o m m o n n o u n w hich
is p a r t o f a co m p o site n am e. X
[b] I n T h e H ague Convention, th e article m ay be called ‘conflated’, since th e d efin ite article also
o c c u rs w ith p rem o d ify in g n am es w ith o u t b u ilt-in article: The Paris Peace T a lks. A s for loss of
a rtic le in n am es, as in m y native H ague, c f S . l l (e).
P ro p e r nouns behaving as com m on nouns

5.61 H a v in g u n iq u e d e n o ta tio n , p ro p e r n o u n s m ay also b e e x p ec te d to lack
n u m b e r c o n tra st, d e te rm in a tio n , an d m odification. In g e n era l th e y do, b u t
th e re a r e also c irc u m stan c es in w hich th ey ta k e on th e c h a ra c te ris tic s o f
c o m m o n nouns.
(a ) N u m b er
5.62 P r o p e r n o u n s n o rm ally lac k n u m b e r co n trast. M ost p ro p e r n o u n s a re sin g u lar,
a n d d o n o t h av e a p lu ral (Indonesia ~ Hndonesias), or else th ey h a v e a p lu ral
b u t n o sin g u lar ( the W est Indies ~ *a W est Indy). T h ere are, h o w ev er, special
c irc u m s ta n c e s in w h ich p ro p e r nou n s are reclassified as c o m m o n n o u n s, so
th a t th e y n o lo n g er h a v e u n iq u e d e n o ta tio n ( c f A p p 1.53):
Sh akespeares [‘a u th o rs lik e S h a k e sp e are ’]

S m ith s [‘p eo p le w hose n a m e is S m ith ’]
Proper nouns 289
Londons [‘c ities called o r resem b lin g L o n d o n ’]
W h en a s u rn a m e is m ad e p lu ral a n d p re ced ed by th e definite article, it ta k e s

o n th e m e a n in g ‘th e fam ily called X ’ :
the W ilsons, the Joneses /-iz /, the P rideaux /-z/
T h e rules fo r m a k in g p ro p e r n o u n s p lu ral a re th e sam e a s for co m m o n n o u n s

( c f 5 J 9 f f : b u t n o te th e rules fo r ex cep tio n al spellings in 5.81 III).
(b) D eterm in atio n

5.63 Som e ty p es o f p ro p e r nou n s a re cu sto m arily p reced ed by th e definite a rtic le
(eg: the A n d es, c f 5.72), b u t th e y lack a rticle co n tra st, since th e a rticle c a n n o t
n o rm ally b e v a rie d (*an A nde, *som e A ndes). I f reclassified as co m m o n n o u n s,
how ever, p ro p e r n o u n s c an h av e th e ir m ea n in g v a rie d by articles an d o th e r
d e te rm in e rs:
a S hakespeare [‘a n a u th o r lik e S h a k e sp e are ’]

his new S hakespeare [‘h is copy o f th e w o rk s o f S h ak esp eare’]
O th e r e x am p les a r e :
I used to k n o w a M a ry R oberts, to o . [‘a p e rso n called M ary R o b e rts’]

She is the second M rs W hite - th e first o n e died.
L u X u n h a s b e en k n o w n a s 'th e C hinese Gorki?.
T h e d efin ite a rtic le w ith n u c le ar stress p lac ed before a n am e h a s th e s p e c ia l

m ea n in g o f ‘th e w ell-know n p e rso n /p la ce n a m e d X ’ ( c /5 .11 N o te [e]):
A : I u sed to k n o w Jo h n L en n o n q u ite well.

B : S u rely you c a n ’t m e a n t h e / 8 i:/ John LENnon ?
By c o n tra st, t h e in d efin ite a rticle p lac ed b efo re a p erso n al n a m e c a n h av e th e

m ean in g ‘a c e rta in p e rso n called X b u t o th erw ise u n k n o w n ’:
A M r s R obertson w as try in g to c o n ta c t y o u th is m orning.
N o te [a] T h e re is a d is p a ra g in g use o f thatlthose in ex p ressio n s lik e that M a ry, those Joneses:

T h a t M r P H id ip s h a s b ee n o n th e ph o n e ag a in . Is n ’t he a A '6/sance!
B u t stressed th a t is n o t d isp ara g in g i n :
O h , you m e a n t h a t M r Phillips, [‘th a t p a rtic u la r p erso n ’)
This h a s no su ch o v erto n es i n :
W h o ’s this M r s RdBertson th a t p h o n e d ?
[bl T h e fa c t th a t th e p ro n o u n one c a n su b stitu te for a n a m e is stro n g ev idence o f its c o n v e rsio n
to th e statu s o f a co m m o n n o u n in ex a m p les lik e th is ( c f 6.55):
J-A Jo h n L ennon, b u t n o t th e f a m o u s one.
n ew [ d v c ( p e r s o n called ) J o h n L e n n o n .
N o te th e n u c le a r stress o n , a n d th e p ro n u n c ia tio n of, th e in definite article /ei/.
[c] Possessives a n d g en itiv e s c a n b e u sed to d e n o te close fam ily relatio n sh ip s ( c f 5.55 N o te [ a ] ) :
Is y o u r Je n n ifer still a t s c h 6 o l ? [‘y o u r d a u g h te r J e n n ife r’)
D id you k n o w th a t y o u r M rs n 7/ / r / ; [ ‘th e o n e you k n o w ’] has b ee n arreste d fo rsH b P liftin g ?
J o h n an d M a ry are v ery anxious a b o u t their T om . [in th e ir son]
G ra n n y is d e lig h te d w ith Peter's Jane, [eg P e te r’s g irlfriend]
(c) M odification
5.64 W h en th ey h a v e th e n o rm al u n iq u e d e n o ta tio n , p ro p e r n ouns c a n o nly b e
m o d ifie d by n o n re stric tiv e m odifiers, su ch as a n o n re stric tiv e relativ e clause

( c f l l . 2 2 f f ) o r n o n re stric tiv e a p p o sitio n ( c f 11.6 8 ):
D r B ro w n , who lives n e x t door, com es fro m A u stralia.

T h e s e u s , a G reek hero, killed the M in o tau r.
N o n r e s tr ic tiv e p rem o d ifiers are lim ited to ad je ctiv es w ith em o tiv e colouring,
su c h a s :
o ld M rs F le tc h e r dear little E ric p oor C h a rle s
b e a u tifu l S p a in historic Y ork sunny Ju ly
I n a m o r e fo rm al a n d ra th e r stereotyped style, th e a d jectiv e is p lac ed b etw een

the a n d a p e rso n al n a m e :
th e b ea u tifu l P rin cess D ia n a [‘P rincess D ia n a , w h o is b eau tifu l’]

th e inim itable H e n ry H ig g in s [‘H en ry H ig g in s, w h o is in im ita b le ’]
P r o p e r n o u n s sh o w th a t th ey can tem p o rarily ta k e o n featu res o f c om m on

n o u n s ( c f 5.63), a n d a c c e p t restrictiv e m o d ificatio n o f v ario u s k in d s:
T h e D r B row n I kn o w com es from A u stralia.

T h e flow er a rra n g e m e n t w as done by a M iss P hillips in P a rk R oad.
D o y o u m e a n the M em phis which used to be the capital o f E gypt, o r the
M em p h is in Tennessee ?
I sp o k e to th e younger M r H am ilton, n o t M r H am ilton the manager.
I n s u c h cases, a d e te rm in e r (especially the) is u su al. B ut in a d d itio n ,

c a ta p h o r ic the w ith re stric tiv e m o dification c a n h a v e th e effect o f sp littin g
u p th e u n iq u e re fe re n t o f th e p ro p e r noun in to d iffere n t p a rts o r asp ects. W e
m a y th e re fo re c lassify th is as a p a r t i t i v e m e a n in g :
U N IQ U E M E A N IN G PA R T IT IV E M EA NIN G
d u rin g E a ste r d u rin g the Easter, o f th a t yea r

in E n g la n d in the E ngland o f Q ueen E lizabeth
in D en m a rk in the D enm ark o f today
C hicago the Chicago I like [‘th e a sp e c t o f C h ica g o ’]
S h a kesp ea re the young Shakespeare [‘S h a k e sp e are w h en he w as
; you n g ’]
B ra d fo rd | the B radford she grew up in
N o te [a] C o m p a r e th e ‘p a r titiv e ’ use o f th e g en itiv e in Jam es Jo y ce's D ublin [‘th e D u b lin w h ich Jam e s
Jo y ce k n e w ’], etc.
[b] I n th e nam es o f m o n a rch s, etc, a n ad jectival cognom en is p la ced a fte r th e p ro p e r noun, an d
is p r e fa c e d by the , eg: Charles the Great , Ivan the Terrible . T h is ty p e o f a p p e llatio n is sim ilar to
a n a p p o s itio n a l ty p e o f nam e, in w h ich th e by-nam e is n o m in a l: W illiam the Conqueror. B ut in
th e se la tte r cases, th e artic le is so m etim es o m itte d : R ichard (the) Lio nheart, R ichard Crookback.
[c] O n n o n re stric tiv e p re m o d ifica tio n as in an em barrassed B en M iles, etc , c/1 7 .3 N o te.
Nam es w ith no article

5.65 W e n o w tu rn to re g u la r ex am p les o f nam es w ith o u t a n article. T h e follow ing
list su m m ariz es th e m a in classes o f n am e th a t ta k e n o a rticle , in acco rd an ce
w ith th e m ain ru le ( c f 5.60):
Proper nouns 291
pe r s o n F l (w ith o r w ith o u t title s ; c f 5.66)

nam es
TEM PO RAL NAM ES ( c /5 .6 7 ) :
(i) F estiv als, relig io u s p erio d s, etc
(ii) M o n th s, a n d d ay s o f th e w eek
G EO G R A PH IC A L NAM ES (c /5 .6 8 ):
(i) C o n tin e n ts
(ii) C o u n tries, c o u n tie s, states, etc
(iii) C ities, to w n s, etc
(iv) L ak es
(v) M o u n ta in s
o t h e r l o c a t i v e n a m e s c o n sistin g o f p ro p e r no u n + co m m o n n o u n
d e sc rip to r (c /5 .6 9 )
P erso n al nam es
5.66 W h e th e r o r n o t th e y a re a cc o m p a n ied by titles, p erso n al n a m e s n o rm ally
h a v e n o a rticle ( c f a p p o sitio n 17.88). T h e n am e itself m ay c o n sist o f :
g iv en (first, o r C h ris tia n ) n am e a lo n e : M argaret, Ja ck, e tc

th e su rn am e (fam ily n a m e , o r last n am e) a lo n e : Sm ith, W ilson, etc
g iven n am e(s) a n d su rn a m e to g eth e r: M argaret Jane S m ith ,
Ja ck Wilson
In ad d itio n , o n e o r m o re g iv en n a m e s (in A m erican u sage regularly th e

m id d le one) m ay b e re d u ce d to in itials:
M . J. S m ith ; J . W ilson; Charles R . M aguire
N a m es su ch a s th ese m ay b e p re faced by th e n o rm al title o f M r fo r a m a n ,

o r M rs, M iss, M s fo r a w o m a n , o r a courtesy title in d ic a tin g th e p e rso n ’s
statu s. A m o n g th e titles a s c rib in g statu s are those in d ic a tin g royalty (eg;
Queen), ra n k o f n o b ility (eg: L o rd ), p olitical, clerical, o r ju d ic ia l office (eg:
President), m ilita ry ra n k (eg: M ajor), o r acad em ic o r p ro fessio n al statu s (eg:
Doctor). Som e e x a m p le s :
M r and M rs J o h n s o n G eneral M a cA rth u r

M s W aterh o u se Professor Sm ith
D r B row n C ardinal Spellm an
Private W a lk e r Inspector H arris
Captain O ’C o n n o r Chancellor B ran d t
L o rd N elso n Governor R ockefeller
L a d y C h u rc h ill Judge Fox
F u ller d etails o f a p p o sitio n a l titles a re g iven in 17.91. O n th e use o f titles a n d

n a m e s as v o cativ es w ith o u t th e article, c f 10.53.
N o te [a] M s , usually p ro n o u n ced /m iz /, is now w idely used as a fem ale title w h ich av o id s m ak in g th e
d istin c tio n b etw een m a rrie d a n d u n m a rrie d (M r s an d M iss). O n th e plural o f te rm s o f ad d ress,
c/5 .1 0 3 .
fb] T h e title S ir is used fo r a k n ig h t o r a b aro n et. It is exceptional in th a t it m u st be ac co m p an ied
by th e g iv en n a m e o f th e ho ld er, b u t n eed n o t be accom panied by th e su rn am e . T h u s S ir B a sil
Spence ca n be a b b re v ia te d as S ir B asil, b u t n o t a s *Sir Spence. W ith o th e r titles, it is usually th e
giv en n a m e th a t is o m itte d in a n ab b re v ia te d v e rsio n : M s (Julia) Waterhouse.
[cl In n a m in g m o n a rc h s a n d p o p es w h o hav e sh a re d th e sam e given n a m e w ith o th e rs (e g : K ing
292 N ouns and determiners
J a m e s I , Q ueen Elizabeth I I), we n o rm ally w rite th e ap p en d ed n um eral as a c a rd in a l ro m an

n u m b e r. B u t in sp eech , th is n u m e ral is ren d ere d as an ord in al (c f 6.63): / ‘th e first', I I ‘th e
s e c o n d ’, V I I ‘th e s ev en th ’, etc.
(d] T h e use o f th e article in th e fotlow ing is ex c e p tio n a l:
(i) im p e ria l title s: the Em peror N apoleon ; (the) Em peror H aile Selassie; (the) C zar A le x a n d e r ;
(the) A rchduk e Ferdinand [b u t: K aiser W ilhelm II]
(ii) th e L o rd [‘G o d ’]
(iii) (th e ) R e v John Sm ith [alw ays th e Reverend John Sm ith in th e spoken form )
(iv) title s o f p eerag e, w hen follow ed by a n ^ /-p h rase: the D uke o f Wellington, th e Countess o f
D e rb y , etc
[e] I n fa m ilia r style, k in sh ip te rm s w ith uniqtfe reference b ehave like p ro p er no u n s in h av in g no
d e te rm in e r, a n d o fte n in b eg in n in g w ith a c a p ita l letter:
W h e re ’s m o th er ? [also: M u m m y , M u m ( B r E f a m ilia r ) ; M om m y, M om ( A m E fa m ilia r)]
Y o u ’ll see U ncle on S aturday.
F a th e r is h ere, [also : D addy, D ad, Pop (f a m ilia r ) ]
C o n tr a s t: M y jT h e fa th e r w as th e tallest o f th e fam ily.
T h e fo llo w in g ex p ressio n s are very in fo rm al, a n d used especially in a fam ily e n v iro n m e n t by o r
to y o u n g c h ild r e n : (m y) D addy, (your ) M o m , etc.
T em p o ral nam es
5.67 T h ese h a v e n o a rticle w h en th ey a re used to refer to th e p erio d a s a re cu rre n t
ite m i n th e c a le n d a r ( c f sp o ra d ic referen ce, 5.43; seasons, 5.47):
(i) N a m e s o f festivals, religious p erio d s, e tc :
C hristm as (D a y ) Independence D ay E aster (Sunday )

P assover Good F rid a y N ew Year
N e w Year’s D a y N e w Year’s E ve R am adan
(ii) N a m e s o f m o n th s, an d d ay s o f th e w eek:
January, F ebruary , . . . M o n d a y , Tuesday , . . .
H o w ev er, th ese w ords b e h av e m o re lik e com m on n ouns w h en th ey re fe r to

in d iv id u a l p erio d s, o r w h en th ey re fe r collectively to m ore th a n o n e occasion.
A long w ith n e x t a n d last + a n o u n , th ey have zero article w h e n th ey are
co n n ec te d w ith a p o in t o f tim e im p licit in the linguistic o r s itu a tio n a l co n te x t
(on p re p o sitio n a l usage, c f9 A 0 ) . C o n tra s t:
D ays o f th e w eek also o ccu r w ith th e in d efin ite article, w ith o u t re fe re n ce to a

p a rtic u la r S u n d ay :
H e left on a Sunday.
D ays o f th e w e ek h a v e a p lu ral, b u t m o n th s o f th e y e ar n orm ally d o n o t :
I h a te M ondays. ?I h a te Januaries.
N o te In ra th e r p o p u la r B rE usage (felt by so m e to be n o n stan d a rd ), th e days o f th e w eek h a v e th e

definite a rtic le in c a ses like th e follow ing:
Proper nouns 293
A n d on the T hursday she got w orse. So, on the F riday w e called th e do cto r, [‘th e T h u rs d a y , ■
etc o f th e w eek co n c e rn e d ’]
G eographical nam es
5.68 T h e follow ing c ateg o rie s o f n am es norm ally h av e no article, ev en w ith a
p rem o d ify in g a d je c tiv e :
(i). N am es o f c o n tin e n ts :
(N orth) A m erica (medieval) Europe (equatorial) A frica

(Central) A u stra lia (E ast) A sia Antarctica
N o te th a t A ntarctica refers to th e co n tin e n t, w hile the Antarctic refers m o re
g en erally to th e p o la r reg io n (c f: the Arctic).
(ii) N a m es o f c o u n tries, counties, states, e t c :
(Elizabethan) E n g la n d (W est) Scotland (industrial) Staffordshire

(m odem ) B ra zil (French) Canada (northern) A rkansas
N o te th e e x ce p tio n a l use o f the fo r c ertain co u n tries a n d regions, eg: (the)

Argentine (b u t A rgentina, w ith o u t th e article, is m o re co m m o n ; c/5 .5 7 ). O th e r
ex am p les:
the C rim ea the Punjab the R u h r

the Sa a r the Sahara (the) Sinai
(the) Sudan (the) Ukraine (the) Yemen
The is so m etim es u sed w ith F re n c h nam es, eg: the Auvergne; it is also u sed
w ith p lu ral n a m e s su c h a s the Everglades ( c f 5.72), an d for n am es en d in g w ith
a co m p ass p o in t:
the N ea rf M id d le !F a r E ast, the (Deep) South, the M idw est
(iii) N a m es o f c ities, to w n s, e tc :
(downtown) B oston (central) Brussels

(ancient) R o m e (suburban) N ew York
N o te th e ex ce p tio n a l a rticle in The H ague; also th e use o f th e a rticle in

c e rta in d istric ts o f larg e cities: the B ronx, the C ity, the W est!E ast E n d ( o f
London).
(iv) N a m es o f lak e s ( c f 17.89):
(L a ke) Ladoga L a k e M ichigan Loch N ess

Silver L a k e L a k e Nicaragua Ullswater
N o te ex cep tio n s su c h as the Great S a lt Lake.
(v) N a m es o f m o u n ta in s (c/1 7 .8 9 ):
M o u n t E verest M o n t B lanc B en N evis

(M ount) Snow don Vesuvius Aconcagua
N o te A s th e ex am p les a b o v e show , in th e n am es o f lakes a n d m o u n tain s, th e d escrip to r usually

p reced es ra th e r th a n follow s th e p ro p e r n o u n : L a ke M ichigan , n o t * M ichigan L a k e . T h e re are,
how ever, som e ca ses in w h ich th e d escrip to r follow s: P ikes P e a k , Bassenthwaite Lake.
O t h e r l o c a t i v e nam es c o n s i s t i n g o f p r o p e r n o u n + c o m m o n n o u n d e s c r i p t o r
5.69 T h e s tru c tu re ‘p ro p e r no u n + com m on noun d e sc rip to r (or by-nam e)’ is
ty p ic a l o f th e n a m e s o f n a tu ra l features (such as forests, w oods, an d hills) an d
m a n -m a d e fe atu res (su ch as roads, streets, squares, b u ild in g s, a irp o rts, p ark s,
a n d g a rd e n s). T h e a rticle is norm ally o m itte d :
E p p in g F o rest P ark Lane P addington Station

C lapham Com m on M adison Avenue K ennedy Airport
H a m p ste a d H eath Tim es Square M agdalen College
K e w G ardens Portland Place C anterbury Cathedral
H y d e P a rk Scotland Yard W indsor Castle
B redon H ill Westm inster Bridge B uckingham Palace
P iccadilly Circus H am pton Court Fountains A bbey
T h e re a r e , h o w e v er, m a n y exceptions. F o r exam ple, in L o n d o n , the A lbert

H a ll a n d the M ansion H ouse are buildings, a n d the M a ll a n d the Strand are
stre ets. M o re g e n e ra l ex cep tio n s are th e nam es o f th ea tre s, m useum s, etc ( c f
5.72).
N o te [a] N a m e s o f B ritish u n iv e rsitie s w h ere on e elem ent is a place-n am e c a n usually h a v e tw o fo rm s :

the U ni v ersi ty o f L ondo n (w hich is th e official n am e) an d L ondon U ni v ersi ty . In n am es o f A m erican
u n iv e rsitie s, th e re is a fairly regular c o n trast betw een th e tw o ty p es, a s in the U ni v ersi ty o f
C al i f orni a a n d C al i f o rn i a S t at e U ni v ersi ty. U niv ersities nam ed a fte r a p erso n h av e only th e la tte r
fo rm : Y al e U ni v ersi ty , B row n U ni v ersi ty , etc.
[b] T he c a n e x c e p tio n a lly o cc u r w ith R oad in th e nam es o f som e u rb a n th o ro u g h fa re s:
(t h e) E d g w are R o ad , (t h e) O l d K ent R oad [but only: O x f ord Str eet, F i f th A v enue]
L arg e m o d e rn in te rc ity h ighw ays also te nd to have th e article:
th e San D i ego F r eew ay , th e M er ri t Park w ay , the Pennsy l v ani a T urnpi k e, th e M l ( M otorw ay )
Nam es w it h th e definite article

5.70 T h e re is a g r a d ie n t b etw een nam es like S ir W alter S c o tt a n d n o u n p h rases
w h ic h a re te rm e d d e f i n i t e d e s c r i p t i o n s , such as the author o f Waverley.
B o th n a m e s an d , d e fin ite d escrip tio n s h av e (situ atio n ally ) u n iq u e d e n o ta tio n ;
b u t o n e o f th e m is g ra m m atica lly ‘fro zen ’.w h ile th e o th e r is fo rm ed acco rd in g
to th e n o rm a l p ro d u c tiv e rules for co n stru ctin g d efin ite n o u n phrases. T h e
m o st o b v io u s in d ic a to r o f a n am e is its spelling w ith in itia l c ap itals; w hile
th e m o s t o b v io u s in d ic a to r o f a definite d e scrip tio n is its in itia l definite
a rticle. E x p re s sio n s w h ic h co m b in e b o th th ese featu res, su ch as the E iffel
Tower, a re n e ith e r co m p letely n am e-like n o r com pletely d escrip tio n -lik e, b u t
so m ew h ere b e tw e e n th e tw o. W e m ay th erefo re illu stra te th e g ra d ie n t
b e tw ee n d e s c rip tio n s a n d n a m e s roughly as follow s:
(ii) (iii) (iv)

th e O x fo rd R o a d O x fo r d R o a d O x fo rd
F ig 5 .70 T h e g r a d ie n t b e tw e e n d e sc rip tio n s a n d n a m e s
(i) is a d e fin ite d e sc rip tio n (‘th e road to O x fo rd ’); in (ii) th a t d e scrip tio n is
c o n v en tio n aliz e d to th e e x te n t th a t R oad is cap italiz e d , so th a t th e w hole
m ak e s a c o m p o s ite n a m e ; in (iii) the loss o f th e a rtic le h a s tak e n th is
c o n v e n tio n a liz a tio n fu rth er. T h e purest ex am p le o f a n a m e is p e rh ap s (iv),
Proper nouns 295
th e sim p le p ro p e r n o u n O xford. A lth o u g h n a tiv e E nglish sp e ak ers m ay b e

ab le to a nalyse th is in to tw o elem en ts (‘ford for o x e n ’), such a n an aly sis p la y s
n o p a r t in th e ir u n d e rsta n d in g o f O xford a s th e n am e o f a u n iv ersity city.
T h is ‘scale o f in stitu tio n a liz a tio n ’ ex p lain s w hy th ere are m an y e x c e p tio n s
to th e ab o v e c ateg o ries o f n am es w h ich lac k a n article, an d w h y th e re is
so m etim es v acillatio n b etw een th e use a n d o m ission o f th e definite a rticle . I t
m ig h t b e b e tte r, in fa ct, to reg ard n am es w ith o u t articles as e x cep tio n s to th e
m o re g en eral ru le th a t definite n o u n p h rases a re intro d u ced by th e a rticle the.
B ut a n ev en b e tte r w ay o f looking a t th is p ro b lem is sim ply to a ck n o w le d g e
th a t w h a t acco u n ts fo r a p p a re n t ex cep tio n s is the absence o f a c le ar-c u t
b o u n d a ry b e tw ee n n a m e s an d d efin ite descrip tio n s. C onsider th e fo llo w in g
th ree cases:
f York University.
I n 1 9 6 5 -1 9 6 8 sh e a tte n d ed -j (the) H a tfie ld Polytechnic.
( the Paris Conservatoire.
T h e reaso n fo r u sin g th e article in th e one c ase, an d o m ittin g it o p tio n a lly o r

o b lig ato rily in th e o th e r tw o, seem s to be largely a m atter o f how fa r th e n a m e
is a n in stitu tio n a liz e d n am e am o n g E n g lish -sp eak in g (and in th is c a s e
p a rticu larly B ritish ) p eople.
In th e follow ing sectio n s w e d eal w ith th e in-betw een a re a o f n a m e s
preced ed by th e d efin ite article. T h ey m ig h t, indeed, be called ‘d e sc rip tiv e
n a m e s’, sin ce n o t o nly d o they ta k e th e a rticle, b u t they can be an aly sed , in
term s o f n o u n -p h rase stru ctu re, in to head a n d m odifiers.
S t r u c t u r e o f n a m e s w ith the
5.71 (i) W ith o u t m o d ificatio n :
the Krem lin the Koran T h e G u a rd ia n

the Pentagon the Bible T h e T im es
the K nesset the Parthenon the D ail
(ii) W ith p re m o d ifica tio n :
the S u e z C anal the W a sh in g to n P o st

the N a tio n a l G allery the Am erican C ivil War
the Socialist Bookshop the Ohio S ta te University Press
The F o rd F oundation the British B roadcasting Corporation
the E nglish C hannel (the B B C )
(iii) W ith p o stm o d ificatio n :
the H ouse o f C om m ons the In stitu te o f Psychiatry

the D istrict o f C olum bia the B a y o f Fundy
the Cambridgeshire College o f A rts a n d Technology
V irtually all n a m e s w ith p o stm o d ificatio n lik e those above a re p o stm o d ifie d
by a n o /-p h rase, a n d h a v e a n o b lig ato ry the.
(iv) W ith ellipsis o f e le m e n ts :

T h e o rig in a l stru c tu re o f a n am e is so m etim es u n clear w hen o n e e le m en t h a s
b e e n d ro p p e d a n d th e elliptic form h a s b eco m e in stitu tio n alized as th e full

nam e:
th e Tate (G allery ) the M e rm a id ( Theatre )
th e A tlantic (Ocean) the (R iver) Tham es
the M editerranean (Sea) the M a jestic (H otel)
N o te W h e n th e article is w ritte n w ith a sm all t, it is n o t p a r t o f th e nam e itself. H en ce an y m odifier

d e s c r ib in g the re fe re n t follow s, ra th e r th a n p rece d es, th e a rtic le : the breathtaking H im alayas, the
low er M ississippi. I n The H ague, how ever, The is p a r t o f th e nam e (c/5 .7 2 e).
C la s s e s o f n a m e s ty p ic a lly p r e c e d e d b y the
5.7 2 (a) P lu ra l n a m e s (in general), eg: the N etherlands, the M idlands, the Great
L a k e s, p a rtic u la rly inclu d in g th e follow ing tw o categories.
(i) G ro u p s o f is la n d s : the H ebrides, the Shetlands, the Canaries (or the
C anary Islands), the B aham as
(ii) R anges o f m o u n ta in s o r h ills : the H im alayas, the A lps, the A ndes, the
R ockies (o r the R o ck y M ountains), the Pyrenees, the Pennines. A lso
n o n p lu ral n a m e s o f ran g es: the Caucasus, the Sierra N evada.
E x ce p tio n s: Kensington G ardens, B urnham Beeches
(b) O th e r g e o g rap h ica l n a m e s :

(i) R iv e rs : the A von, the D anube, the Euphrates, the Potom ac, the Rhine.
(The w o rd R iver can som etim es b e in se rte d a fte r the: the R iver Avon,
etc; b u t for som e rivers it co m es la s t: the P otom ac River, e tc ; c f
17.89).
(ii) Seas a n d o c e a n s : the Pacific (O cean), the A tlantic (Ocean), the B altic
(Sea), th e K attegat
(iii) C a n als: the Panam a Canal, the S u e z Canal, the E rie C anal
(iv ) O th er g e o g rap h ica l featu res o f c o a s tlin e : the G u lf o f M exico, the
Cape o f G ood Hope, the B a y o f B iscay, the S tra it o f M agellan, the
Sound o f B ute, (the) Bosphorus, the Isle o f M an, the Isle o f W ight
N o te th at w h e n th ere is p rem o d ificatio n ra th e r th an p o stm o d ificatio n in
categ o ry (iv), the usually d isa p p ea rs. T h u s:
the Isle o f W ight | u t : L o n g Isla n d

the B a y o f N aples | u t : H udson B a y
(c) P u b lic in stitu tio n s, facilities, e t c :

(i) H otels a n d re s ta u r a n ts : the G rand (H otel), the W a ld o rf Astoria
(ii) T h ea tre s, o p e ra houses, c in em as, a n d clubs: the Criterion (Theatre),
the G lobe (Theatre), the A thenaeum
(iii) M useum s, lib raries, ho sp itals, e tc : the British M useum , the B odleian
(Library), the M id d lesex H ospital
P ro b ab ly b e ca u se o f th e ir o rigin as p lace-n am es, D rury Lane a n d Covent
Garden are e x cep tio n s to th e rule th a t th e a tre s a n d o p e ra houses ta k e the,
as in the M etropolitan. W h en the n a m e o f a p u b lic in stitu tio n begins w ith
a genitive, the is n o t u te d : W hite’s, G aylord’s (Restaurant), Brown's (H otel),
G u y ’s (Hospital), S t John's (College).
Num ber 297
(d) S h ip s a n d p lan e s, p articu la rly w hen renow ned in h isto ry , eg: the Victory,
the Spirit o f S t Louis
(e) N e w sp ap e rs a n d p erio d ica ls: The Economist, The N e w York Tim es, T h e
Observer, The Providence Journal, The London R eview o f B ooks. The is
g en erally s p e lt w ith a c a p ita l letter in n am es o f new spapers.
Irre s p e c tiv e o f w h e th er o r n ot the a rticle is p a rt o f th e n am e itself, i t is
n o t u sed a fte r a n in d efin ite article o r o th er d e te rm in e r o r g e n itiv e :
H a v e you g ot a T im e s ? [not: *a The Times]

S h e’s a Tim es rep o rter.
H a v e you seen to d a y ’s N ew York Times'!
M alco lm len t m e h is Guardian.
M ag a zin es a n d p e rio d icals, on th e o th er h a n d , o ften have a zero a rtic le :

Tim e, Punch, E nglish L anguage Teaching Journal, N e w Scientist, Scientific
A m erican.
Number
N um ber classes
5.73 T h e E n g lish n u m b e r sy stem constitutes a tw o -term c o n tra st: s i n g u l F r ,
w h ich d e n o te s ‘o n e ’, a n d p l u r F l , w hich denotes ‘m o re th a n o n e ’. E ach n o u n
p h ra se is e ith e r sin g u lar o r plu ral, an d its n u m b er is d e te rm in e d in g en eral
by its h e ad , w h ic h is ty p ically a noun. In the follow ing sections we will
c o n c e n tra te o n n u m b e r as a p ro p erty o f nouns, a n d as a b asis for th e ir
classification.
N o te [a] In a d d itio n to sin g u la r an d p lu ra l nu m b er, we m ay d istin g u ish d u al n u m b e r in th e c a se o f

both, ei ther , a n d nei ther (c /5 .1 6 ), sin ce th ey can only be used w ith reference to tw o. B oth has
p lu ra l co n c o rd ( c /6 .5 0 ); ei th er an d nei ther have singular concord (c f 6.5 9 /').
[b] U n lik e som e la n g u ag es w h ere plu ral im plies ‘tw o o r m o re’, E n g lish m ak es th e division a fte r
‘m o re th a n o n e ’ :
one h al f d ay , one d ay B U T : one an d a h al f day s, tw o day s, one o r tw o day s
H ow ever, th e follow ing re m a in sin g u la r:
a p oun d an d a hal f , a d ay o r tw o (c f 5.38), m ore than one d ay
5.74 W e d istin g u ish th re e m a in n u m b er classes o f n o u n s :
(A ) s in g u l F r in v F r iF | l e n o u n s , including n o n c o u n t n ouns (eg: m usic,
g o ld ), m o st p ro p e r n o u n s (eg: Thomas, the Tham es). W e m ay also

co n sid er h e re a b s tr a c t adjective heads, eg: the m ystical (c/7.26).
(B) p l u r F l in v F r iF | l e n o u n s , ie nouns o ccu rrin g o nly in th e plural, eg:
people, scissors. W e m ay also consider here p e rso n al adjective h ead s,

eg: the rich ( c f l . H f ) .
(C /D ) v F r i F | l e n o u n s , ie n o u n s o c c u rrin g w ith e i t h e r s in g u la r o r p lu r a l
n u m b er:
T h e dog i s . . .
T h e dogs are . . .
298 N o uns and determ iners
W e d is tin g u ish tw o su b classes: (C ) r e g u l r , w ith p lu rals p re d ic ta b le

F
from th e sin g u lar (like dog), a n d (D ) i r r e g u l r , w h ere th e p lu ral is

F
n o t p re d ic ta b le (eg: fo o t ~ fe e t, child ~ children). In th is la tte r g roup

w e find a larg e n u m b e r o f n ouns w ith foreign p lu rals, eg: criterion ~
criteria, analysis ~ analyses.
F igure 5.74 p ro v id es a su m m ary o f th e classification w ith sectio n references

to th e s u b s e q u e n t d iscussion.
NOUN
SINGULAR PLURAL
CLASS
(A ) SINGULAR INVARIABLE
noncount nouns gold (A a) (5.75)
a b s tr a c t a d je ctiv e h eads the unreal (A b) (7.26)
p ro p e r n o u n s Henry (A c) (5 .6 0 # )
(B) PLURAL INVARIABLE

s u m m a tio n p lu rals scissors (Ba) (5.76)
p lu ra lia ta n tu m in -s thanks (B b) (5.77)
u n m a rk e d p lu ral n o u n s people (Be) (5.78)
p e rso n al a d je ctiv e h ead s the rich (B d) (7.23 if)
p ro p e r n o u n s the Alps (Be) (5.62)
(C ) NOUNS WITH
REGULAR PLURAL dog ~ dogs (C ) (5 .7 9 # )
(D ) NOUNS WITH
IRREGULAR PLURAL
vo icin g a n d -s p lu ral c a lf calves (D a) (5.83)
m u ta tio n p lu ral fo o t ~ fe e t (D b ) (5.84)
-en p lu ral child \ ~ children (D c) (5.85)
zero p lu ral sheep ~ sheep (D d ) (5 .8 6 # )
stimulus ~ stim uli (D e) (5.93)
larva ~ larvae (D f) (5.94)
stratum ~ strata (D g) (5.95)
; m atrix matrices (D h ) (5-96)
fo reig n p lu rals 1 thesis theses (D i) (5-97)
criterion ~ criteria (D j) (5.98)
bureau ~ bureaux (D k ) (5.99)
tempo ~ tempi (DI) (5.100)
, cherub ~ cherubim (D m ) (5.101)
Fig 5.74 N u m b e r classes
(A) S in g u lar in variable nouns

5.75 N o n c o u n t n o u n s are sin g u lar a n d in v ariab le, ie they h a v e n o p lu ral. Some
c o n crete n o n c o u n t n o u n s c a n b e reclassified as co u n t n o u n s w ith specific
m ean in g s, for e x am p le butters [‘kind(s) o f b u tte r’] an d a beer ['a glass o f b e e r’]
( c /5 .5).
N um ber 299
A b s tra c t n o n c o u n t nou n s n o rm ally have n o p lu ral: music, dirt, hom ew ork,

etc. B ut so m e can b e reclassified as co u n t n o u n s w here th ey refer to a n
in stan ce o f a g iv en a b stra c t p h en o m e n o n : injustices, regrets, kindnesses,
pleasures, etc. M an y a b stra c t n o u n s are equally a t hom e in th e c o u n t a n d
n o n co u n t c ateg o rie s (c/5 .4 ).
P ro p e r n o u n s a re typically sin g u lar a n d in v a ria b le : H enry, the Tham es, e tc
(c/5.62).
Som e n o n c o u n t no u n s, p a rticu la rly those d e n o tin g n a tu ra l p h e n o m e n a ,
m ay b e p lu ralize d , eg:
w alk in g th ro u g h th e woods I h av e serious doubts/grave fears.

raise so m eo n e’s hopes L e t’s p lay on th e sands.
Som e p lu rals ex p ress in ten sity , g re a t q u a n tity o r ex ten t, an d h av e a lite ra ry

flavour, fo r e x am p le:
th e snow s o f K ilim a n ja ro
th e sands o f th e d esert
sailin g o n th e g re at waters
N o te th e follow ing classes o f in v ariab le n o u n s en d in g in -s w h ich ta k e a

sin g u lar v e rb , ex ce p t w h ere o th erw ise m e n tio n e d :
(i) N ew s is a lw ays sin g u lar (c /5 .9 ):

H e re is th e news fro m th e B BC. W h a t’s th e news to d ay ?
(ii) N o u n s e n d in g in -ics d e n o tin g su b jects, sciences, etc a re u su a lly

in v ariab le a n d tre a te d as singular, e g :
M a th em a tics is th e science o f q u a n titie s.
O th e r su ch n o u n s in c lu d e :
acoustics economics linguistics
athletics ethics phonetics
classics gym nastics physics
Som e, h o w ev er, c a n be sin g u lar o r p lu ral, in p a rtic u la r w hen such w o rd s c a n

d e n o te b o th o n e ’s know led g e o f th e subject a n d th e p ractical a p p lic a tio n o f
re s u lts :
Politics is sa id to be th e a rt o f th e im possible, [the science o f
g o v e rn m e n t] [1]
H is politics a re r a th e r c o n serv ativ e, [p o litical view s] [ 1a]
In som e c ases, th e re a re form s w ith o u t -s for sp ecial uses:
S ta tistics is a b ra n ch o f m ath e m a tic s. [2]

T h ese statistics show th a t ex p o rts a re still low. [2a]
T h e re is a su rp risin g statistic in yo u r late st rep o rt. [2b]
A n e w ethic is n eed ed in th e w o rld to d ay . [3]
H a s th e n ew c o ach fo u n d a tactic th a t w o rk s ? [4]
(iii) N a m e s o f c e rta in d iseases e n d in g in -s are usually trea te d as s in g u la r

(b u t so m e sp e a k ers also a cc ep t p lu ral), eg: (Germ an ) measles, m um ps, rickets,
shingles:
300 N ouns and determiners
A : H a v e you ev er h a d m easles’!
B : Y es I h a d w h en I w as a child.
(iv ) T h e n a m e s o f som e gam es e n d in g in -s have sin g u lar co n co rd , eg:

billiards (b u t u su ally : a billiard table), checkers <A m E>, draughts <B rE>,
craps, d a rts ( b u t : a dartboard), dominoes, fiv e s, ninepins:
D a rts is b e co m in g very p o p u lar as a sp e c ta to r sport.
(B ) P lu r a l in v ariab le nouns
(B a) S u m m atio n plurals
5.76 S u m m a tio n p lu ra ls d en o te tools, in stru m en ts, an d a rticles o f d re ss co n sistin g
o f tw o e q u a l p a r ts w h ich a re jo in e d to g eth e r:
A : H o w m u c h a re those binoculars’! B : They are £60. :
T h e m o s t c o m m o n su m m atio n p lu rals a re th e fo llo w in g :
(i) T o o ls a n d in stru m e n ts:
bellows', glasses, spectacles, binoculars ; scales [‘a b a la n c e ’]; clippers,

fo rc ep s, pincers, scissors, shears, tongs, tweezers
(ii) A rticles o f d ress:
braces ( B r E ) , breeches, britches < A m E > , briefs, flannels, jea n s, knickers,
p a n ts, p a ja m a s ( A m E ) , p yja m a s ( B r E ) , shorts, slacks, suspenders, tights,
trousers, tru n k s
N u m b e r c o n tra st c a n be a ch iev ed by m ea n s o f a pair of. T h u s a p a ir o f trousers
re fers to o n e ite m , b u t two pairs o f trousers refers to tw o (c /5 .7 N o te [a ]):
T h a t ’s a nice p a ir o f slacks.
A s I ’m s h o rtsig h ted I alw ays c arry two pairs o f glasses.
P lu ra l p ro n o u n c o n co rd is u su al ev en w ith a sin g u lar d e te rm in e r + pair:
f this 1 . ,r , [are they"!

I lik e ■
: { * th e s e j p a ,r- H ow m uch{ is if!
A lth o u g h n o u n s th a t a re su m m atio n p lu rals req u ire p lu ral c o n co rd , they

d iffer fro m o rd in a ry p lu ral n o u n s in th a t th ey are n o t generally th o u g h t o f as
d e n o tin g p lu ral n u m b er. Y e t u sag e varies. F o r m any sp eak ers, it is a s follow s
(c /1 0 .4 3 N o te [c]):
B o th pairs o f scissors j
(?) B o th o f the scissors > n eed sh arp en in g .
(?) B o th scissors J
two pairs o f trousers.
(?) two trousers, ( in f o r m a l)
I w ant a pair o f trousers.
*one trouser.
. (?) a scissors, (in f o r m a l)
M a n y o f th e su m m atio n p lu rals can ta k e th e indefinite a rticle , especially
Num ber 301
w ith p re m o d ific a tio n : (a) new clippers, (a) garden shears, (an) old-fashioned
curling tongs. F o rm s a re co m m o n ly singular w hen used a ttrib u tiv ely : a
spectacle case, a suspender belt, a trouser leg, a pajam a/pyjam a top ( c / 17.108).
N o te Compasses c a n be u sed in th e sin g u la r (compass ) in th e sense ‘in stru m en t for d raw in g circles’ :
She drew h e r c irc le w ith a compass.
In th e sense o f a n in s tru m e n t o f n av ig atio n , it is a norm al co u n t n o u n :
A m a g n etic com pass is ] .
. > n ecessary fo r navigation.
M ag n etic com passes a r e J
(B b) P lu ra lia tan tu m ending in -s

5.77 Som e ‘p lu ralia ta n tu m ’ (ie n o u n s th a t, in a g iv en sense, o ccu r only in th e
p lu ral) e n d in -s, w h e rea s o th ers h av e no p lu ral m ark in g , eg: people ( c f 5.78).
T h ey h a v e p lu ra l c o n co rd , eg:
These d am ages have n o t y et b een p aid , have they I [damages

= ‘c o m p e n s a tio n in m o n ey im posed by law for cau sin g loss
o r in ju ry ’] [1]
I n m an y cases, p lu ra lia ta n tu m e n d in g in -s also h av e sin g u lar form s, w h ich

how ever c a n be d isso c iate d in m ean in g from th e p lu ral, eg:
That dam age was re p a ire d long ago. [damage = ‘loss, h a rm ’] [ la ]
O th e r ex am p les o f p lu ra lia ta n tu m :
accom m odations < A m E > : liv in g acco m m o d atio n s

am en d s: m a k e e v ery /all p o ssib le am en d s fo r so m eth in g
annals [‘a h isto ric a l re co rd o f e v en ts’] : in th e a n n als o f history
archives: T h e d o c u m e n ts should be k ep t in th e archives, ( u t : arch iv e |
ad m in istratio n )
arm s [‘w e a p o n s’] : a rm s a id ; arm s c o n tro l; th e a rm s r a c e ; tak e u p a rm s ; l s o : F
munitions
arrears: H e ’s in a rre a rs w ith h is p ay m en ts; th e a rre a rs o f w ork
ashes: b u rn to a sh e s; H e r a sh es w ere sc a ttere d ; th e ash(es) o f a b u rn e d le tte r
( u t : c ig a re tte a s h ; a sh tra y ; A sh W ednesday)
|
auspices [‘s u p p o rt’] : u n d e r th e auspices o f

banns [of m a rria g e ]: p u b lis h th e b an n s
bowels, entrails, intestines: th e m o v em en t o f th e bow els; an in fectio n o f th e
in testin es ( b u t sin g u lar c o u n t: th e large in testin e)
brains [‘th e in te lle c t’]: Y o u should use y our b rain s, ( u t sin g u lar c o u n t is
|
m ore c o m m o n g en erally , a n d p articu larly so w h en th e m ea n in g is

a n a to m ic a l: ‘T h e a v era g e h u m an b rain w eighs 14 o z.’)
clothes / k h u ( 6 ) z / : w a rm clo th es; a clothes b a sk e t ( u t : cloths /klD 0s/ as
|
p lural o f c lo th : a ta b le c loth)
clubs, diam onds, hearts, spades [playing card s]: th e ace o f clubs; th e ja c k o f
h e arts; u t : I ’v e o n ly o n e d iam o n d in m y h a n d , n o t e sin g u lar co n co rd i n :
|
S pades is th e su it. I t w as h e arts last gam e.

the C om m ons/Lords [th e H ouse o f C o m m o n s/L o rd s in th e U K ]: T h e
C o m m o n s a re d isc u ssin g th e new bill.
comm unications [‘m e a n s o f c o m m u n icatin g ’]: c o m m u n icatio n s g a p ; teleco m
m u n ic a tio n s n e tw o rk
co n g ra tu la tio n s : M a n y c o n g ratu latio n s on your b ir th d a y !

c o n te n ts: a ta b le o f c o n te n ts ( u t : the silver c o n te n t o f a co in ; th e style an d
|
c o n te n t o f a b ook)
credentials: e v a lu a te th e cred en tials o f students
c u sto m s: p ay cu sto m s d u ty ; go th ro u g h custom s a t th e a irp o rt; a custom s
o fficer
d r e g s : coffee d re g s /g ro u n d s ; th e dregs o f society
d u e s [‘fe e ’]: p a y o n e ’s d u es to a society; h arb o u r dues
earnings: H e r e arn in g s a re hig h er th is year, ( u t : e arn in g po w er); l s o :
| F
p ro ceed s, returns, riches

f u n d s [‘m o n ey ’]: fo r lac k o f fu n d s; be sh o rt o f fu n d s ( u t : a fund [‘a source o f
|
m o n e y ’])
g o o d s [‘p ro p e rty , m e rc h a n d ise ’]: leath er goods; a goods tra in <BrE>
( A m E = a freig h t tra in )
g ra ssro o ts [‘th e ra n k a n d file’]: grassroots o p in io n /re v o lt/su p p o rt ( u t : at
|
g r a s s ro o t level)
g u ts [‘bo w els’; l s o ‘co u rag e ’ ( fa m ilia r)]: H e ’s g o t th e g u ts to d o it. ( u t in
F |
p re m o d ific a tio n : a g u t re ac tio n ; n o n co u n t: c atg u t)

h e a d s [‘fro n t sid e o f a c o in ’] : H ead s o r tails?
h e a ve n s in th e e x p ressio n ‘G ood H e a v e n s!’ ( u t : g o to h eav en )
|
honours: a n h o n o u rs co u rse/d eg ree/list

h u m a n itie s [‘a r ts ’] : th e h u m an itie s/arts faculty
le tte r s [‘lite ra tu re ’] : a m a n o f letters
lo d g in g s: a lo d g in g s b u re au ( u t : a lodging h o u se ; a p o o r lo d g in g ); l s o : digs
| F
( B r E in f o r m a l): M a n y stu d en ts m ove in to digs in stead o f living on

c a m p u s , l s o : q u a rters: m arried q u arters ( u t : th e L a tin q u a rte r [‘d is tric t’])
F |
l o o k s : H e h as go o d looks, ( u t : give som ebody a h a rd look)

|
m a in s : tu rn th e w a te r o ff a t th e m a in s ; n o t e in som e p h ra ses th e -s is retain ed

in p re m o d ific a tio n : m ain s a d a p to r; m ain s w a ter supply
m a n n e rs [‘social b e h a v io u r’]: W here are your m a n n e rs? ; m an n e rs an d
c u sto m s ( u t : D o it in th is m an n e r/w ay ; I d o n ’t like his m a n n e r [‘p ersonal
|
w a y o f a ctin g ’]) \
m in u te s [‘a re co rd o f p ro c ee d in g s’] : th e m in u tes o f a m eetin g
o d d s : W h a t a re th e o d d s ?; be a t odds w ith ; o d d s a n d en d s
o u tsk irts: She liv es o n th e o u tsk irts o f the city.
p a in s [‘care, tro u b le ’]: ta k e g reat p ain s w ith so m e th in g ; be a t p ain s to do
so m e th in g ;
p a rticu la rs [‘d e ta ils ’] : T a k e d ow n th e p articu lars o f th is e vent.
p re m ise s [‘b u ild in g ’ ( i n official sty le)]: T h ere is a su sp ect on th e prem ises.
( b u t in logic: a first p rem ise)
reg a rd s [‘good w ish e s’]: A n n sends h e r regards, ( b u t : w in his reg ard
[‘re s p e c t’])
relations: an e x ercise in p u b lic relations
re m a in s [‘re m a in d e r’] : th e re m ain s o f th e c astle/th e m eal
savings [‘m o n ey sa v e d ’]: a savings b a n k ; a savings acc o u n t ( b u t : a sav in g o f
£5)
sp irits [‘m o o d ’] : to be in good sp irits ( u t : H e show ed a k in d ly sp irit.)
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sta irs [in sid e a b u ild in g ]: a flight o f sta irs ; d o w n sta irs ( u t : a sta irc ase; a
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sta irw a y )
N u m ber 303
steps [o u tsid e a b u ild in g ]: a flight o f ste p s; on th e c h u rch steps

surroundings [‘e n v iro n m e n t’]: T h ese su rro u n d in g s are n o t good fo r th e c h ild .
syste m s: a sy stem s a n aly st; co m p u te r system s a p p lic atio n s
thanks: M an y th a n k s f o r ; A ll m y th a n k s a re due to you.
troops [‘so ld iers’]: M an y troops w ere se n t overseas, ( u t : tro o p m o v e m e n t; a
|
tro o p c a rrie r; a tro o p o f scouts)

tropics: liv in g in th e tro p ics ( u t : th e T ro p ic o f C an cer)
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valuables: A re m y v aluables safe h ere?

wages [‘w eekly p a y ’]: W h at a re his w ag es? ( u t o ften also sin g u lar: a w ag e
|
e a rn e r; a m in im u m w age; a g o o d /p o o r/h ig h w age; a w age freeze)

w its: liv e by o n e ’s w its ( u t : She h a s a keen w it. H er sp eech h a d w it.)
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writings [‘lite ra ry p ro d u c tio n ’ <form al>]: H is w ritings a re n o t w id ely k n o w n .
(Be) U n m ark ed p lu ral nouns: people, police, etc

5.78 T h e follow ing n o u n s h av e no p lu ral m ark in g b u t are used as p lu rals (c f a lso
co llectiv e n o u n s lik e clergy, staff, e tc, 5.108):
(i) people:
H o w m a n y people are th ere in th e w orld today?
P eople fu n c tio n s as th e n o rm al p lu ral o f person:
T h e re w as o nly one person 1 . .,
, h n th e room .
T h e re w ere m any people J
Persons is o ften used in stea d o f people, especially in official sty le: ‘a
p e rso n o r p erso n s u n k n o w n ’. W h en people m ean s ‘n a tio n ’, it is a re g u la r
count noun:
T h e J a p a n e se a re an industrious people.
T h ey a re a great people.
th e E n g lish -sp eak in g peoples
I n th is sense, how ev er, th e sin g u lar fo rm people is n o rm ally c o n stru c te d
w ith p lu ral c o n c o rd :
T h e P o rtu g u ese people have c h o sen a new P resid en t.
(ii) F o lk is m o re restricted in use th a n people: country fo lk , fish e r f o lk , island

fo lk , f o l k art, f o l k music. F o lk s is used in casual style ( T h a t’s all, fo lk s ! )
a n d o ften w ith a possessive d e te rm in e r in th e sense o f ‘fa m ily ’ (m y
fo lk s).
(iii) police: ‘T h e po lice h av e cau g h t th e b u rg lar’.

T o d e n o te in d iv id u al police officers w e norm ally use a police officer, o r
a policem an/policewoman w ith th e plurals police officers, policem en,
policew om en :
W h y d o n ’t you ask a policem an ?
I n a co llectiv e sense ‘th e p olice fo rce’, only police c an b e u s e d :
H e w a n ts to jo in the police, [n o t , in th is sense, the policemen]

(iv) cattle'. ‘A ll h is cattle w ere g razin g in th e field.’

(v) p o u ltry [‘fa rm y a rd b ird s’] : ‘W h ere a re your p o u ltryT
B u t it is tre a te d as sin g u lar in th e sense o f ‘m e a t’: 'P oultry is h a rd e r to
c o m e by n o w a d a y s th a n b e e f.
(vi) livestock [‘a n im a ls k e p t o n a fa rm ’]: ‘O u r livestock are n o t as n u m ero u s
a s th ey u sed to b e .’
(vii) verm in: ‘T h e s e v e rm in cau se d ise ase.’
(C ) R e g u l a r p l u r a l s
5.79 V a ria b le n o u n s h a v e tw o fo rm s: sin g u lar an d p lu ral. T h e sin g u lar is th e
u n m a rk e d fo rm t h a t is listed in d ictio n aries. T h e v a st m ajo rity o f nou n s a re
v a ria b le in th is w ay a n d n o rm ally th e p lu ral is fully p red ictab le b o th in
p ro n u n c ia tio n a n d sp ellin g by th e sam e ru les a s fo r th e -s inflection o f v erb s
(c /3 .5 , 3.7), ie th e y fo rm th e reg u lar p lu ral. I f th e p lu ral c an n o t be p re d ic te d
from th e sin g u lar, it is a n irreg u lar plural.
T h e p r o n u n c i a t i o n o f t h e r e g u l a r p lu r a l
5.80 T h e re g u la r -s p lu ra l h as th re e d ifferen t p ro n u n c ia tio n s /iz/, /z /, /s/ d e p en d in g
o n th e fin al so u n d o f th e base.
(i) /iz / a fte r b ases e n d in g in sib ila n ts:
Is/ in horse ~ horses; box ~ boxes / t |/ in church ~ churches

/z / in size ~ sizes I f f in m irage ~ mirages
HI in rush ~ rushes / i f f in language ~ languages
(ii) / z / a fte r b a se s e n d in g in vow els a n d vo iced co n so n an ts o th e r th a n
sib ila n ts: d a y ~ days, bed ~ beds
(iii) /s / a fte r b a se s en d in g in voiceless co n so n a n ts o th e r th a n sib ila n ts:
b e t ~ bets, m onth ~ m onths
The s p e l l i n g o f t h e r e g u l a r p lu r a l
5.81 T h e p lu ra l suffix is w ritte n -s a fte r m o st n o u n s : h at ~ hats, inclu d in g n o u n s
en d in g in silen t -e ( college ~ colleges). T h e re a re h o w ev er several ex cep tio n s
to th is ru le:
(I) U n le ss th e n o u n is w ritte n w ith a silen t -e, th e p lu ral suffix is spelled

-es a fte r n o u n s e n d in g in sib ilan ts w h ic h a re spelled -s (gas ~ gases), -z
(b u zz ~ buzzes), -x (box ~ boxes), -ch (church ~ churches), -sh (bush ~
bushes).
(II) N o u n s e n d in g in -o h a v e p lu rals in -os o r -oes.

(i) -OS: W h en -o is p reced ed by a vow el (letter o r sound), th e sp ellin g
is -os : bam boos, embryos, folios, kangaroos, radios, studios, zoos.
W h e n -o is p re ced ed by a c o n so n a n t, th e spelling is also usually
-os: dynam os, pianos, quartos, solos. A b b re v iatio n s are in clu d ed
in th o se n o u n s w ith -os: kilos (= kilogram s), m em os ( = m em o
randa), photos ( = photographs); a n d e th n ic n o u n s: E skim os,
F ilipinos (b u t also zero, c/5 .8 8 ).
(ii) - o e s : T h e fo llo w in g are am o n g th o se n o u n s w hich have p lu rals
Num ber 305
only in -oes: dom ino (p lu ral: dominoes); also: echo, embargo, hero,
potato, tom ato, torpedo, veto.
(iii) -o s o r -o e s : I n som e cases th ere is v a ria tio n b etw een -os a n d -oes
plu rals, eg: archipelago (p lu ral: archipelagos o r archipelagoes );
also banjo, buffalo (c/5 .8 7 ), cargo, grotto, halo, innuendo, m anifesto,
m otto, m u la tto , tornado, volcano.
(III) N o u n s e n d in g in -y p re ce d ed by a c o n so n a n t ch an g e -y to -i an d a d d
-e s: sk y ~ skies; -y is k e p t a fte r a v o w e l: day ~ days, ex cep t for n o u n s
en d in g in -quy /k w i:/ (w here u is only a spelling vowel req u ired a f te r
q), w h ich h a v e th e p lu ral -quies (soliloquy ~ soliloquies). P ro p e r n o u n s
en d in g in -y h a v e p lu rals in -ys: the two G erm anys, the little M arys.
(IV ) T h e final c o n so n a n t is doubled in a few w ords, eg: f e z ~ fe z z e s ,

quiz ~ quizzes.
(V ) T h e a p o stro p h e + j is used in som e nou n s o f u n u su al fo rm , eg le tte r s :

d o t yo u r i's; n u m e ra ls : in the 1890’s (or, increasingly, 1890s);
a b b re v ia tio n s : three P h D ’s (or, increasingly, PhDs).
N o te In a b b rev iatio n s, re d u p lic a tio n a iso occurs as a pu rely w ritten co n v en tio n , eg: p — pp [th e
p lu ra l = ‘p ag e s’], I ~ I t [ = ‘lin es’], M S — M SS [ = ‘m an u sc rip ts’], ex — ex x [ — ‘ex a m p les’], c ~
cc [ == ‘co p ies’] , / ^ f f [ = ‘a n d follow ing pages’].
(D ) I r r e g u la r p lu r a ls
.5 .8 2 Irreg u la r p lu rals a re b y d e fin itio n u n p red ictab le. W h ere as th e p lu ral /iz/ in
horses, /z/ in dogs, a n d /s / in cats c an be p red icted from th e final so u n d in th e
sin g u lar o f th e n o u n s, th e re is n o in d icatio n in th e w ritte n o r sp o k en fo rm s
of, fo r exam ple, o x , sheep, a n d analysis to suggest th a t th e ir p lu rals a re oxen,
sheep, a n d analyses. T h e p a rtic u la r p lu rals o f these n o u n s h av e to be lea rn ed
as in d iv id u al lexical u n its.
In m an y c ases w h e re fo reig n w ords are involved, it is o f co u rse helpful to
k n o w a b o u t p lu ra liz a tio n in th e relev an t languages, p a rticu larly L atin a n d
G re ek . T h u s, o n th e p a tte rn o f analysis ~ analyses w e can c o n stru ct th e
follow ing p lu ra ls : a x is ~ a xes, basis ~ bases, crisis ~ crises, etc. B u t we c a n n o t
alw ays rely o n ety m o lo g ical c rite ria : u n lik e larva ~ larvae, for ex am p le,
p lu rals lik e areas a n d villas d o n o t conform to th e L a tin p a tte rn (c/5.94).
( D a ) V o i c i n g a n d -s p l u r a l
5.83 (i) Som e n o u n s w h ic h , in th e singular, en d in th e voiceless fricativ e /9 /
(spelled -th) form p lu ra ls w ith th e co rresp o n d in g voiced fricativ e /8 / follow ed
by I z/. T h e spelling o f th e p lu ral is regular (-th s):
-th /©/ ~ -ths /S z /, eg: p a th ~ paths
T h ere is co n sid era b le in d ete rm in ac y b etw een v o icing an d n o n v o icin g in

m an y n o u n s e n d in g in -th. W ith a co n so n a n t le tte r before th e -th, th e
p ro n u n c ia tio n o f th e p lu ra l is reg u lar /0 s /:
berth ~ berths, birth ~ births, length ~ lengths
W ith a vow el b efo re th e -th, th e p lu ral has, a g ain , o ften reg u lar p ro n u n c ia tio n
/0 s/, as w ith :
cloth, d e a th , fa ith , heath, m oth
In a few su ch c ases, how ever, th e re are b o th regular an d v o iced p lu rals, e g :
tru th s /tru :0 s / o r /tru :6 z /; sim ilarly : oaths, sh ea th s,yo u th s (/ju :0 s/ <esp

A m E » , wreaths
(ii) S o m e n o u n s w h ich , in th e sin g u lar, en d in th e vo iceless frica tiv e / f/

( sp e lle d - / o r -fe ) form p lu rals w ith th e corresp o n d in g vo iced frica tiv e /v /
fo llo w ed by /z /. T h e spelling o f th e p lural is -ves:
- f /F/ ~ - v e s /v z/, eg: c a lf ~ calves

- f e / i l — v e s / vz/, eg: knife ~ knives
V o ic ed p lu rals, spelled -ves an d p ro n o u n ced /vz/, o ccur w ith :
c a l f ~ calves life ~ lives sh e lf ~ shelves

e l f .~ elves lo a f ~ loaves th ie f ~ thieves
h a l f ~ ha lves s e lf ~ selves ( c f 6.23) wife ~ wives
k n ife ~ k n iv es s h e a f ~ sheaves w o lf ~ wolves
l e a f ~ leaves
B o th re g u la r a n d voiced p lu rals a re found w ith :
rfiv a r/(p lu ra l: dwarfs/dwarves), hoof, scarf, w harf
O th e r n o u n s e n d in g in -/(e) h av e reg u lar p lu ral -f(e)s /fs/, fo r e x a m p le : b e lie f

( p lu r a l: beliefs ), chief, cliff, proof, roof, safe.
(iii) O n e n o u n (house) e n d in g in th e voiceless fricativ e /s / in th e sin g u lar has

th e p lu ra l / z i z / : house ~ houses.
N o te [a] I n B rE bath h a s th e voiced p lu ra l /b a :3 z / o r /b a :0 s/ w hen it m e an s ‘sw im m in g p ools’, but

u su ally /b a :0 s / w h e n it m ean s ‘b a th tu b s ’.
[bl C l o v erl eaf o c c u rs w ith eith e r cl ov erl eaf s o r cl ov erl eav es in th e p lural. R eg u lar plu rals occu r in
n a m e s , eg th e T o r o n to icehockey te am M apl e L eaf s.
[c] T h e p a in tin g te r m sti l l l i f e h as a reg u lar p lu ra l: sti l l lif es.
(D b ) M u ta tio n
5.84 T h e p lu ra l is fo rm ed by m u t F t io n (a ch an g e o f vowel) in th e follow ing seven
n ouns:
m an /m aefi/ ~ men /m e n / woman /'w u m o n / ~ women / ’w im in /

fo o t }tsI ~ fe e t /i:/ tooth /u :/ ~ teeth /i:/
goose /u :/ ~ geese /i:/ louse / a o / ~ lice /a i/
m ouse I a v / ~ mice I ai/
N o te [a] C o m p o u n d s w ith unstressed -m an, as in Engl i shm an ~ Engl i shm en (c f A p p 1.64), h av e no

difference in p ro n u n ciatio n a t all betw een sin gular an d plural, since b oth a re p ronounced /m an/,
S im ila rly :f i r em an —f i rem en, po stm an — postm en , etc.
[b] G erm an a n d m ongoose a re n o t co m p o u n d s w ith m an an d goose, a n d th u s h a v e reg u lar plurals:
G erm ans, m ongooses. H ow ever, th e irre g u lar plu ral can be found also in n o u n s th a t are n o t ‘tru e ’
co m p o u n d s w ith -m an: eg: drago m an — drag om ans o r dragom en.
[c] R e g u la r p lu r a ls are n o rm a l in nam es, su ch as M other Gooses, an d m a y o cc u r w h e n oth erw ise
m u ta tio n a l n o u n s h a v e d eriv ed m ean in g s, eg: T hose l ouses!, Si l l y gooses! < fam ilia r u se ).
Num ber 307
(D c) T he -en p lu ral
5.85 T h e -en /a n / p lu ra l o ccu rs in th re e n o u n s :
brother ~ brethren (w ith m u tatio n as well as th e -en e n d in g ) is lim ited to

brother m e a n in g ‘fellow m em b er o f a religious society’; o th erw ise
reg u lar brothers
child ~ children (w ith vow el ch an g e /ai/ ~ III a n d -r ad d ed )
o x ~ oxen ( In A m E , th e p lu ral oxes is also so m etim es found.)
(D d) Z ero p lural
5.86 Som e n o u n s h a v e th e sam e sp o k en a n d w ritten fo rm in b o th sin g u lar a n d
plu ral. N o te th e d ifferen ce here betw een, o n th e o n e h a n d , in v ariab le n o u n s,
w h ich a re e ith e r sin g u lar [1] o r p lu ral [2], b u t n o t b o th ; an d , o n th e o th e r
h an d , zero p lu ral n o u n s, w h ich c a n be b o th sin g u lar a n d p lu ral [3, 3 a]:
This m usic is to o loud. [ 1]

A ll the cattle a re g razin g in th e field. [2]
This sheep looks sm all. [3]
All those sheep a re ours. [3a]
W e d istin g u ish th e follow ing types o f n o u n s w ith zero p lu ral; (I) a n im a l

n am es ( c f 5.87), (II) n a tio n a lity nou n s ( c f 5.88), (III) q u a n tita tiv e n ouns ( c f
5 .8 9 /), a n d (IV ) n o u n s w ith eq u iv o cal n u m b er (c/5 .9 1 ).
(I) A nim al nam es

5.87 A n im al n a m e s n o rm ally h av e th e regular p lu r a l:
cow ~ cows, eagle ~ eagles, m onkey ~ m onkeys, etc
H o w ev er, m an y a n im a l n a m e s h ave tw o p lu ra ls : -5 a n d zero p lu rals, e g : d u c k,

herring. Z ero te n d s to b e used p a rtly by people w ho are especially c o n cern ed
w ith th e a n im a ls, p artly w h en the an im als a re referred to in th e m ass as
gam e:
H a v e you e v er sh o t d u c k ?
W e c au g h t o nly a few fish .
T h e re g u la r p lu ral is used to d en o te different in d iv id u als, species, etc:
C a n you see th e d ucks o n th e p o n d ?

th e fishes o f th e M e d ite rra n e a n
In som e cases usage is v a ria b le , eg:
T h e deg ree o f v a ria b ility w ith an im al nam es is sh o w n by th e follow ing

ex am p les:
(i) R eg u lar p lu ral, eg:

bird, cow, eagle, hen, haw k, m onkey, rabbit
(ii) U su ally reg u lar p lu ral:
e lk , crab, d u c k (zero only w ith th e wild b ird)
(iii) B oth re g u la r a n d zero p lu rals:
antelope, reindeer, fis h , flounder, herring, shrim p, woodcock
308 N o unsan d determ iners
(iv ) U sually z e ro p lu r a l:
bison , grouse , quail, salmon , jwi/ie ( c / th e n o r m a lw o r d pig w h ich
alw ays h a s reg u lar plural)
(v ) A lw ays z e ro p lu ral:
sheep, d e er ,
N o te [a ] S u w used as a w o rd o f ab u se m ay also have a zero p lu r a l:

Y ou s w in e ! [a b o u t o n e o r m o re persons]
H e ca lle d them swine.
B u t it is occasionally u sed w ith a regular p lu ra l:
th e se swines w ith th e ir b ig cars
[b] S o m e an im al n a m e s, lik e d u c k a n d goose, refer to b o th gam e an d fo o d : shootjeat duck. B ut in
th e la tte r case, th e n o u n is no n co u n t. F o r o th e r a n im als th e re is a special w ord fo r th e flesh o f an
a n im a l co n sid ered a s fo o d , ie : shoot deer b u t eat venison ( c f 5.4 : pig!pork,, etc).
( I I ) N a tio n a lity n o u n s
5.88 N a tio n a lity n o u n s e n d in g in -ese also h a v e z ero p lu rals ( c f 5.57) :
o n e Chinese ~ five Chinese ; sim ilarly: Japanese , Lebanese , Portuguese,
Sinhalese, V ietnam ese, e tc ; also: one Sw iss ~ two Sw iss
C e r ta in n a tio n a lity a n d e th n ic n am es are so m etim es used w ith o u t -s :

Apache(s), B antu(s), Bedouin(s ), E skim o(s), N avaho(s)
S io u x h a s the sa m e w ritte n form for sin g u lar a n d p lu ral, b u t th e p ro n u n c ia tio n

/s u :/ in th e sin g u lar co rre sp o n d s to e ith e r /su :/ o r /su :z/ in th e plural.
( I I I ) Q u a n tita tiv e n o u n s
5.89 (i) T h e nouns d o ze n , hundred, thousand, a n d million h av e zero p lu rals w hen
th e y a re p rem o d ified by a n o th e r q u a n tita tiv e w o rd ( c f 6 . 6 5 ) :
th re e dozen g lasses tw o hundred p eo p le
m an y thousand tim e s several million in h a b ita n ts
M illion ca n tak e p lu ra l -s if n o no u n h ead follow s:

( a fe w hundred.
T h e y w ant < ten thousand.
i (se v e ra l million(s).
T h e p lu ra l form is n o rm ally used w ith all fo u r n o u n s w h en an o /-phrase

follow s, w ith o r w ith o u t a p reced in g in d efin ite q u a n tita tiv e w o rd :
(m any) dozens o f glasses
(m an y ) hundreds o f people
(several) thousands o f sp ectato rs
(a few) millions ( / in h a b ita n ts
B u t th e zero fo rm is c o m m o n e n o u g h :
a few million o f us, sev eral hundred! thousand o f th em
N o te su ch c o m b in a tio n s a s :
tens o f thousands o f peo p le
hundreds o f m illions o f sta rs
hundreds (a n d hundreds (and hundreds)) o f tim es
Num ber 309
(ii) F oot d e n o tin g len g th a n d p o und d e n o tin g w eight o ften h av e zero p lu ra l,

p a rtic u la rly w h e n a n u m era l fo llo w s:
fiv e fo o t two.
S h e’s only
five{fZ t}taU-
_fiv e fe e t, (u s u a lly )
(iii) A lso p o u n d d e n o tin g c u rre n c y m ay h av e zero o r reg u lar p lu ral w h e n a

n u m era l follow s:
T h is tic k e t c o sts only { pound(s) fifty .

1 [two pounds.
N o te T h e m o re g en e ra l u se o f sin g u lar for p lu ra l w ith m easure n o u n s is n o n stan d a rd b u t w id ely

c u rre n t:
It w eighs fiv e pound. H e’s n early six fo o t.
M ore w idely a c c e p ta b le i s :
Five pound o f p o ta to e s, please.
T h e sin g u la r is h o w e v e r s ta n d a rd in q u a n tita tiv e e x p re s s io n s o f th e follow ing ty p e ( c f 17.108): a
three-foot ruler.
5.90 O th e r q u a n tita tiv e n o u n s (som e o f th em ra th e r rare) w ith zero p lu rals in clu d e

th e follow ing w h e n used w ith d efin ite n u m b ers a n d m e a su re m e n ts:
brace [ = 2]: ‘five b ra ce o f p h e a s a n ts’

gross [ = 1 2 d o z e n ]: ‘te n gross o f n a ils’
hea d [ = 1]: ‘400 h ead o f c a ttle ’
horsepower, H P : ‘T h is e n g in e h as only fifty h o rsep o w er.’
hundredw eight [B ritish w eig h t = 112 p o u n d s]: ‘five h u n d re d w eig h t (o f
co al)’
( k ilo )h ertz: ‘T w o k ilo h ertz eq u als 2000 h e rtz .’
p /p i:/ [‘p e n n y ’ ( in fo rm a l B r E ) ] : ‘T h e p a p e r costs 25p /p i:/’ [‘25 p en ce'
( m o r e fo rm a l)]. P enny is com m only used in B rE a n d A m E w h e n
re fe rrin g to th e a ctu al co in s as d istin c t from the v alu e: ‘Save y o u r
p e n n ie s a n d w a tc h yo u r d o llars grow .’
q uid [‘p o u n d ’ ( B r E sla n g )]: ‘Y ou ow e m e fiv e quid.' [ = fiv e po u n d s;
w r itte n : £5]
score [ = 20]: ‘fo u r score a n d te n years ag o ’; b u t alw ays: ‘scores (a n d
scores) o f p e o p le ’
stone [B ritish w e ig h t = 14 p o u n d s]: ‘H e w eighs 18 sto n e(s).’
y en [Ja p a n e se c u rre n c y ]: ‘o n e yen, 200 y en ’
y o k e [ = 2]: ‘tw o yoke(s) o f o x en ’
(IV ) N o u n s w ith eq u iv o c a l n u m b e r
5.91 T h e follow ing n o u n s can be trea te d a s sin g u lar o r p lu r a l:
. , f T h is b a rra c k s is 1
b a r r a c k s :] —, , . [n ew .
(T h e s e b a rra c k s are J
A lso s-less f o r m ; ‘a b a rra c k sq u a re ’; ‘a n enorm ous b a rra c k o f a p la c e ’

[in fo rm al m e ta p h o ric a l use]
c raft in th e sen se o f ‘sh ip (s)’ w ith co m p o u n d s; ‘o n e/sev eral (a ir)c ra ft/
h o v e rc ra ft/sp a c e c ra ft’ ( b u t; ‘arts a n d c ra fts’)
, J T his is a busy c rossroads.

crossroa s • j r h e r e a re several crossroads here.
d a ta [‘in fo rm a tio n , especially in fo rm atio n o rg an ized fo r an aly sis’] (from

th e L a tin sin g u lar datum , p lu ral data) is usually c o n stru cted a s a p lu ral
[ 1]. B u t it is o ften c o n stru cted also as a singular, especially in scientific
c o n te x ts [la ] :
M a n y o f these d ata are inconclusive [i]
M u ch o f this d a ta is inconclusive. [ la ]
T h e re g u la r E n g lish p lu ral d atum s is used as a referen ce te rm in
su rv ey in g .
d ic e : ‘o n e /tw o d ice ’ (or p e rh ap s: ‘o n e o f th e d ice’ fo r th e sin g u lar). Die
in th e e x p ressio n ‘T h e die is c ast’ is no longer recognized a s b ein g th e
sin g u lar o f dice. D ie [‘en g rav ed sta m p for coining, e tc ’] h as th e reg u lar
p lu ral dies.
gallow s: ‘o n e /tw o gallow s’, ‘gallow s h u m o u r’
headquarters: ‘a larg e h e a d q u a rte rs’, ‘W h ere is/are th e h e a d q u a rte rs? ’
innings [as a c ric k et term ]: ‘a long in n in g s’, ‘tw o in n in g s’ [T he
c o rre sp o n d in g b aseb all te rm is reg u lar: ‘a n in n in g /tw o in n in g s’]
kennels (as well as b ein g p lu ral o f reg u lar kennel) [‘a co llection o f k en n els
w h ere d o g s a re k e p t’]: ‘a/so m e fam ous ken n els’
lin k s : ‘a fin e b ut difficult g o lf lin k s’, ‘W e h av e several lin k s h e re .’
m eans: ‘a m ea n s o f co m m u n ica tio n ’, ‘use every/all m ean s a v a ila b le ’, ‘a
m ea n s te s t’
[ T h is m ew s is ] „ , . ,,
m ew s < B rE > : ( ) very fashionable.
x [T h ese m ew s a r e j 1
oats: ‘Is /A re o ats gro w n h e re ? ’
offspring: { J ^ h e s e } 5'0111 offspring?
f T h is new series is 1, . .
series: . ] b eg in n in g n ex t m o n th .
[T h e s e n ew series a re ) °
[T h is species is 1 . ^
species: < l,, [n o w e x tin ct.
y [[These sp ecies a r e j
w orks [‘factory, p la n t’] w ith co m p o u n d s (steelw orks , w aterw orks):
a /tw o large w o rk s
A n en o rm o u s steelw o rk s w a s ] , ...
, r , [ b u ilt here m th e th irties.
A n u m b e r o f steelw o rk s w erej
B ut w orks [‘th e m o v in g p a rts o f a m ach in e'] is a p lu rale ta n tu m , a n d

work [‘jo b ’] is n o n c o u n t (c/5 .9 ).
N ote (a) M o st o f th e n ouns in th is g ro u p a re co u n t n o u n s a n d display a sem a n tic difference b etw een

s in g u la r an d plu ral (e g : one}tw o mew s). T h e ex c ep tio n s a re data an d oats.
[b] I n B rE th e sin g u la r fo rm o f collective n ouns m ay also h ave eith e r a sin g u la r o r a plu ral v erb
(c /5 .1 0 8 ):
{
has I * these 1
have 1 ôst a Sa *n> B ut n o t a plu ral d ete rm in e r: ^ >team
Num ber 311
F o re ig n p lu ra ls
5.92 F o re ig n p lu rals o fte n o c cu r along w ith reg u lar p lu rals. T h ey a re m o re
co m m o n in tec h n ica l usage, w h ereas the p lu ral is th e m o st n a tu ra l in
every d ay language. T h u s : fo rm u la s (general) ~ fo rm u la e (in m a th e m a tic s,
linguistics, etc), antennas (g en eral a n d in electronics) ~ antennae (in biology).
O u r aim here will be to survey system atically th e m a in types o f fo reig n
p lu rals th a t a re used in p resen t-d ay E nglish a n d to co n sid er th e e x te n t to
w h ich a p a rtic u la r p lu ra l form is obligatory o r o p tio n al. M o st (b u t by n o
m ea n s all) w o rd s h a v in g a fo reig n p lu ral o rig in ated in th e lan g u ag e m en tio n ed
in th e h eading.
( D e ) N o u n s fro m L a tin e n d in g in -us /a s /

5.93 T h e foreign p lu ral in m o st cases is -i /ai/, as in stim ulus ~ stim uli (also
/'stim jali:/). O th e r n o u n s w ith -i p lu ral only: alumnus, bacillus , locus. T h e
p lu ral o f corpus is corpora o r corpuses, a n d th e p lu ral o f genus /' d jiin a s / is genera
/^ e n a r a /.
N o u n s w ith o nly th e re g u la r p lu ral (-uses) in c lu d e :
apparatus , bonus, cam pus, caucus, census, chorus, circus, impetus,
minus, prospectus, sinus, status, virus
N o u n s w ith b o th p lu ra ls in c lu d e :
fo cu s ~ fo cu ses /'fau k a siz/, o r fo c i /'fau k ai, 'fau sai/
fu n g u s ~ fu n g u se s /'fA ggasiz/, o r fu n g i /'fArjdjai, 'faq g ai, 'fAgd.^:, 'fAggi:/
also: cactus, nucleus, radius, syllabus, terminus
(D f) N o u n s fro m L a tin e n d in g in -a / a /
5.94 T h e foreign p lu ral is -ae /i:/ as in alum na ~ alumnae. O th e r n o u n s w ith -ae
p lu ral only in c lu d e : alga, larva.
N o u n s w ith o nly re g u la r p lu rals (-as) in clu d e: area, arena, dilem m a,
diploma, dram a, era, etc.
N o u n s w ith b o th p lu rals in clu d e: antenna, fo rm u la , nebula, vertebra.
( D g ) N o u n s f ro m L a tin e n d in g in -a m /a m /
5.95 T h e foreign p lu ral is -a /a / (in carefu l p ro n u n ciatio n , a lte rn a tiv e ly /a :/), a s in
curriculum ~ curricula. O th e r n o u n s w ith the -a p lu ral o n ly in c lu d e : addendum ,
bacterium, corrigendum, desideratum , erratum, ovum.
N o u n s w ith o nly th e reg u lar plural include: album , chrysanthem um ,
museum , premium.
N o u n s w h ich a re u sually reg u lar: forum , stadium .
N o u n s w ith b o th p lu rals: aquarium, candelabrum, curriculum , m a xim um ,
m edium , m em orandum , m illennium , minimum, moratorium , podium , referendum ,
spectrum , stratum , sym posium , ultimatum.
N o te [a] M edia is o ften used in th e sense o f ‘new s m e d ia’ w ith reference to press, rad io , a n d television,
w hen it is som etim es tre a te d a s a sin g u la r w ith a regular plural m e d ia s :
The media is 1, . .
> w ro n g a b o u t this.
A it th e m edias are J
Both o f these uses ho w ev er a re w idely co n d em n ed , especially th e second.
[b] S tra ta is th e co m m o n p lu ra l o f stratum . W ith reference to society strata is also so m etim es
used as singular:
T h is is an im portant stra ta o f e d u c atio n in society.
B u t a g a in th is usage is w idely criticized .

[c] O n d a ta , c/5 .9 1 .
[ d ] B e s id e s sin g u la r candelabrum w ith th e plural candelabra, th e re is also singular candelabra
w ith t h e reg u la r p lu ra l candelabras.
[e] A g e n d a an d insignia (p lu rals o f L atin agendum a n d insignium) a re used in E nglish as singulars
w ith t h e reg u lar p lu ra ls agendas a n d insignias.
(D h ) N o u n s f ro m L a tin en d in g in -ex, -ix

5.96 T h e fo re ig n p lu ra l is -ices /isiiz/ as in index ~ indices. H o w ev er, index an d
a p p e n d ix h av e b o th re g u la r a n d foreign plurals. T h e re g u la r form indexes is
u s e d f o r re fe re n ce to p a rts o f a book o r o th er p u b lic a tio n ; th e p lu ral indices is
la rg e ly u sed fo r ‘in d ic a to rs’. A ppendix h as e ith e r p lu ral fo r referen ce to p a rts
o f a b o o k ; it is reg u lar for p a rts o f th e body. O th e r n o u n s th a t h av e b o th
re g u la r a n d fo reig n p lu rals a re: apex, vortex, m atrix. O nly foreign p lu ral:
c o d ex .
( D i) N o u n s f r o m G r e e k en d in g iii -is / i s /
5.97 T h e fo re ig n p lu ra l is -es /i:z /, as in sin g u lar basis /'b eisis/, p lu ral bases /'beisirz/.
O th e r n o u n s w h ic h ta k e th is p lu ral a re eg:
a nalysis, a x is, crisis, diagnosis, ellipsis, hypothesis, oasis, paralysis,

parenthesis, synopsis, synthesis, thesis
M e tro p o lis h a s th e re g u la r p lu r a l: metropolises.
N o te B a ses c a n b e e ith e r th e p lu ra l o f base, eg: naval bases (p ro n o u n ced / ‘betsiz/), o r th e plu ral o f basis,
eg: b a s e s o f an opinion (p ro n o u n ced /'beisitz/). Sim ilarly, axe s ca n be th e plu ral o f a x e o r axis, an d
ellipses t h e plu ral o f ellipse o r ellipsis.
(D j) N o u n s fro m G r e e k en d in g in -on
5.98 T h e fo reig n p lu ra l is -a, as in criterion ~ criteria, phenom enon ~ phenom ena,
b o th o f w h ic h reg u larly ta k e th e -a plural. N o u n s w ith o nly reg u lar p lu rals:
electron, neutron, p ro to n ; chiefly re g u la r: ganglion; b o th p lu ra ls : autom aton.
N o te In fo rm a lly , criteria a n d phenom ena are som etim es used as sin g u lars, a n d criterias as p lural. T h is
u sag e is h o w ev er w idely c o n d e m n ed , a n d th e objection to b o th th e se sin g u la r form s is stro n g er
th a n to s in g u la r d a ta (c/5 .9 1 ), m edia (c/5 .9 5 N o te [aj), an d strata ( c f 5.9 5 N o te [b]).
( D k ) N o u n s fro m F re n c h : bureau, corps, etc

5.99 A fe w n o u n s e n d in g in -eau a n d -eu, eg: bureau a n d adieu, m ay re ta in th e
F r e n c h - x as th e sp ellin g o f th e p lu ral (bureaux, adieux), b e sid e th e co m m o n er
-s (bu rea u s, adieus). I n E n g lish , th e p lu rals are h o w ev er alm o st alw ays
p ro n o u n c e d as reg u lar, ie /z/, irresp ectiv e o f spelling. S im ilarly : tableau,
p la te a u .
S o m e F re n c h n o u n s e n d in g in o r -x are p ro n o u n c ed w ith o u t th e final
s ib ila n t in th e sin g u lar, eg: (arm y) corps /ko:r/, a n d w ith a reg u lar /z / in the
p lu ra l, w ith n o sp ellin g c h an g e (corps /ko:rz /) : chamois (leather), chassis, (faux)
pas, p a to is, rendezvous.
(D I) N o u n s f ro m I ta lia n e n d in g in -o / a o /
5.100 T h e fo reig n p lu ral is -i /i/ as in tem po ~ tem pi; only re g u la r p lu ral: solo,
so p ra n o ; b o th re g u la r a n d irreg u lar p lu ra l: virtuoso, libretto, tempo.
Num ber 313
N o te C onfetti (fro m Ita lia n c onfelto, w h ich is n o t used in E nglish) an d o th e r Ita lia n p lu rals lik e
m acaroni, ravioli, spaghetti, etc are usually tre a te d as no n co u n t nouns, a n d ta k e a sin g u la r v e r b in
E nglish. G raffiti is usually tre a te d as a n in v a riab le p lu ra l, b u t on e also h ea rs th e sin g u lar g raffito.
(D m ) N o u n s fro m H e b re w : kibbutz ~ kibbutzim

5.101 T h e fo reig n p lu ra l is -im, as in k ibbutz ~ kibbutzim besid e th e re g u la r
kibbutzes. U su ally r e g u la r: cherub, seraph.
Com pounds
5.102 C o m p o u n d n o u n s, ie n o u n s w h ich co n sist o f m o re th a n o n e b ase ( c f A p p
1 .5 7 /) , fo rm th e p lu ral in d ifferen t w ays. I t is m ost com m on, p a rtic u la rly in
in fo rm a l usag e, to c o n sid e r th e co m p o u n d as a sim ple no u n a n d p lu ralize th e
last e le m en t (ev en w h e n it is n ot a n o u n , as in sit-ins).
(i) P lu ra l in th e la s t e lem en t (n o rm al):
a ssista n t d ire c to r ~ assista n t d irecto rs
b a b y s itte r ~ b a b y sitte rs
b re a k d o w n ~ b reak d o w n s
clo se-u p ~ close-ups
F l s o : g ro w n -u p , tak e-o v er, sit-in , tak e-o ff ( n o t e sp ellin g in : s ta n d
by ~ stan d -b y s)
g in -an d -to n ic ~ g in -an d -to n ics; s i m i l F r l y : forget-m e-not ~ fo rg et-
m e-n o ts, m o u th fu l ~ m o u th fu ls ( o r som etim es: m o u th sfu l); s i m i
l F r l y : b u c k etfu l, spoonful
(ii) P lu ra l in th e first e lem en t occurs especially w h en the co m p o u n d in clu d e s

a p o stm o d ifier o r final p a rtic le :
n o ta ry p u b lic ~ n o taries pu b lic
g ra n t-in -a id ~ g ran ts-in -aid
c o m m a n d e r-in -c h ie f ~ co m m an d ers-in -ch ief
m an -o f-w a r ~ m en-of-w ar
co at-o f-m ail ~ coats-of-m ail
p a sse r-b y ~ passers-by
T h e follow ing o c cu r w ith p lural e ith e r in th e first o r last e le m e n t:
a tto rn e y g e n era l ~ atto rn ey s g en eral ( F l s o : atto rn ey generals)
c o u rt m a rtia l ~ co u rts m artial ( F l s o : co u rt m artials)
m o th e r-in -la w ~ m oth ers-in -law ( F l s o : m other-in-law s ( in f o r m a l) )
(iii) A p p o s itio n a l c o m p o u n d s (a woman doctor [‘T h e d o c to r is a w o m a n ’))
w hose first e le m en t is, o r includes, m an o r woman p luralize b o th th e first
a n d th e la s t ele m en t:
g e n tle m a n fa rm e r ~ g en tlem en farm ers
m a n s e rv a n t ~ m en serv an ts (o ld -fa sh io n e d )
w o m an d o c to r ~ w o m e n d o cto rs
B u t th e p lu ral is in th e last e le m en t (ty p e i) w hen th e c o m p o u n d is n o t
a p p o s itio n a l: woman-hater(s) [‘x h ate(s) w o m en ’]. S im ilarly : m an-eater ~
m an-eaters.
F o rm s o f a d d re s s
5.103 T h e p lu ral o f M r S m ith , to d en o te tw o p e o p le w ith th a t n am e, is the tw o M r
Sm iths. M essrs /'m esa’z/ ( B r E ) is chiefly used in th e nam es o f firm s: M e ssrs
S m ith a n d B row n L td .
T h e p lu ra l o f M iss S m ith is the M iss Sm iths, e g : the two M iss Sm iths. The
M isse s S m ith is ra th e r fo rm al a n d old-fashioned.
T h e p lu ral o f M rs /'m isiz/ Sm ith is the two M rs Sm ith(s); an d , sim ilarly, M s
/m iz / S m ith ( c f 5.66 N o te [a]): the two M s Sm ith(s).
Gender
5 .1 0 4 B y g e n d e r is m e a n t a g ra m m atica l classification o f n o u n s, p ro n o u n s, o r
o th e r w o rd s in th e n o u n p h ra se, a cco rd in g to c e rta in m ean in g -related
d istin c tio n s , esp ecially a d istin c tio n related to th e sex o f th e referent.
I n E n g lish , u n lik e m an y o th e r related languages, n o u n s, d eterm in ers, an d
a d je ctiv es h a v e n o in flectio n ally -m ark ed g e n d er d istin ctio n s. Som e 3rd
p e rso n p ro n o u n s an d w /i-pronouns do, how ever, exp ress n a tu ra l g e n d er
d istin c tio n s :
it, which, e tc [n o n p e r s o n F l ] co n tra sts w ith th e fo llo w in g :

who, whom , e tc [p e r s o n F l ]
he, him self, e t c [m F s c u l in e , c h ie fly p e r s o n F l ]
she, herself, e tc [ f e m i n i n e , c h ie fly p e r s o n F l ]
G e n d e r in E n g lish n o u n s m ay b e d escrib ed as ‘n o tio n a l’ o r ‘c o v ert’ in c o n tra st

to th e ‘g ra m m a tic a l’ o r ‘o v e rt’ g en d er o f n o u n s in languages such a s F re n c h ,
G e rm a n , a n d R u ss ia n ; th a t is, n o u n s a re classified n o t inflectionally, b u t
sem an tically , a cc o rd in g to th e ir c o refe ren tial relatio n s w ith p erso n al,
reflexive, a n d w /i-pronouns. W e use th e term s m F l e a n d f e m F l e in referen ce
to th e ‘c o v e rt’ g e n d e r o f no u n s, as d istin c t fro m th e ‘o v e rt’ g e n d er o f pro n o u n s.
T h e p a tte rn s o f p ro n o u n co referen ce fo r sin g u lar n ouns give us a set o f
n in e g e n d er classes as illu strated in Fig 5.104:
PRONOUN
GENDER CLASS EXAMPLE COREFERENCE
(a) m ale broth er w h o -h e (5.105)

(b ) fem ale sister w h o -s h e (5.105)
(c) d u a l doctor w h o -h e (s he (5 .106)
p erso n al 'w h o -h e fs h e fit
(d ) c o m m o n ba b y * (5 .1 0 7 )
w h ic h -it
'w h ic h - it
(e) co llectiv e fa m ily < (5 .1 0 8 )
„ w h o -th e y
.- a n i m a t e (f) h ig h e r
' w hich—it
m ale > b u ll - (5 .1 0 9 )
.( w h o ) - h e
a n im a l J
(g) h ig h e r 3
non w hich—it
fem ale > cow (5 .1 0 9 )
p erso n al ( ( w h o )-sh e
a n im a l J
(h ) lo w er ■> w h ic h -it
a nt (5 .1 1 0 )
a n im a l/ ( he/she)
M n a n im a te - (i) in a n im a te box w h ic h -it (5 .1 1 0 )
F ig 5.104 G e n d e r classes
Gender 315
(a/b) Personal male/female nouns

5.105 P erso n a l m ale n o u n s h a v e p ro n o u n coreference w ith w ho-he a n d fe m a le
n o u n s w ith w ho-she. T h ese n o u n s a re o f tw o types. T y p e (i) is m o rp h o lo g ically
u n m a rk e d b e tw ee n m ale a n d fem ale, w hereas in T y p e (ii) th e tw o g e n d e r
fo rm s h a v e a d e riv a tio n a l relatio n sh ip . T h e d e riv atio n al suffixes are n o t
p ro d u c tiv e, how ever. W e c a n n o t, ex cep t jocularly, fo r exam ple, fo rm clerk ~
*clerkess o n th e host ~ hostess p a tte rn ( c f A p p 1.33).
(i) M orp h o lo g ically u n m a rk e d for gender, eg:
bachelor ~ spinster boy ~ girl brother ~ sister

fa th e r ~ m other king ~ queen m an ~ woman
Mr ~ M rs, M iss, M s m onk ~ nun nephew ~ niece
uncle ~ aunt
(ii) M orp h o lo g ically m a rk e d fo r gender, e g :
h o st ~ hostess w a ite r ~ w aitress

p rin ce ~ p rin cess hero ~ heroine
stew ard ~ stew ardess u sh er ~ ushereiie
god ~ goddess em p ero r ~ em press
I n th e follow ing tw o p a irs, it is th e m ale n o u n th a t is m a r k e d :
bridegroom ~ b rid e w idow er ~ w idow
Som e m ale/fem ale p a irs d e n o tin g k in sh ip h av e d u a l g e n d er term s, fo r

ex am p le parent fo r fa th e r ~ m other a n d sibling <esp te c h n ic a l) fo r brother ~
sister. Som e o p tio n a l fe m a le form s (poetess, authoress, etc) are n o lo n g er in
n o rm a l use, b ein g re p la ce d by th e d u al g ender form s (poet, author, etc).
In o rd e r to av o id sexual b ias in language, a tte m p ts h a v e b een m a d e (esp in
A m E ) to in tro d u ce sex -n eu tral form s, such as s/he for b o th she an d he,
wo/m an for woman a n d m an, flig h t attendant fo r airline hostess. T h e p ro sp e ct
o f w id e r a ccep tan ce o f s/h e a n d wo/man is reduced by th e fa ct t h a t th ese a re
w ritte n form s only. O th e r su ch exam ples a r e :
su p erv iso r fo r fo rem a n fisher fo r fish erm an

firefighter fo r firem an m ail c a rrie r f o r m ailm a n
c h air(p erso n ) fo r c h a irm a n u sh er fo r u sh e rette
sp o k esp erso n fo r sp o k esm an h o m em a k er fo r h o u sew ife
M e m b er o f C o n g ress fo r C ongressm an
(c ) Personal dual gender

5.106 T h is class o f no u n s, w h ic h h as w ho-he o r she p ro n o u n co referen ce, in clu d es,
for ex am p le, th e fo llo w in g :
a rtis t c ook do cto r en em y

foreig n er frien d guest in h a b ita n t
lib ra rian n o v elist p a re n t perso n
pro fesso r s e rv a n t singer speaker
stu d en t te a c h e r ty p ist w riter
I f it is felt d e sirab le to give in fo rm atio n o n th e sex o f th e p erso n , a g e n d er

m a rk e r m ay b e a d d ed , su ch a s m ale student/fem ale student. T h e d u a l c lass is
o n th e in cre ase, b u t th e ex p ectatio n th a t a given activ ity is larg ely m ale o r

fe m a le d ic ta te s th e freq u e n t use o f g e n d er m ark e rs: th u s a nurse, b u t a male
nurse; a n engineer, b u t a woman engineer. N o ratio n al rules c a n b e g iv en for
w h e th e r a n o u n should have dual g e n d er d istin ctio n o r n o t. I t seem s, for
e x a m p le , q u ite a rb itra ry th a t guest a n d servant should be d u a l in c o n tra st to
h o st ~ hostess a n d waiter ~ waitress.
(d ) C o m m o n gender
5.107 C o m m o n g e n d e r n o u n s are in te rm ed iate b etw een p erso n al a n d n o n p e rso n al.
T h e w id e se lec tio n o f p ro n o u n s ( who/w hich-he/she/it ) sh o u ld n o t be
u n d e rsto o d to m e a n t h a t all th ese a re po ssib le for all n o u n s in all co n tex ts. A
m o th e r is n o t lik ely to refer to h e r b a b y o r c h ild as it, b u t su ch n o n p e rso n al
re fe re n c e m ay w ell b e p re ferred by som ebody w ho is e m o tio n ally u n re la te d
to th e c h ild , o r w ishes to g en eralize acro ss sex d istin c tio n s in scientific
c o n te x ts :
A ch ild le a rn s to sp eak th e lan g u ag e o f its en v iro n m en t.
O th e r n o u n s t h a t b elong h ere (chiefly w h en th e a n im als a re tre a te d a s p e ts o r

o th e rw is e ‘p e rso n ifie d ’) include blackbird, cat, m onkey, rabbit.
(e ) C o lle ctive nouns

5.108 T h e s e d iffer fro m o th e r n o u n s in ta k in g as p ro n o u n c o referen ts e ith e r sin g u lar
it a n d re la tiv e which o r p lu ral they a n d relativ e who w ith o u t c h a n g e o f n u m b er
in th e n o u n ( th e arm y: it/w hich-they/w ho; c f p lural the arm ies: they-w hich).
C o n se q u e n tly , th e v e rb m ay b e in th e p lu ral a fte r a sin g u lar n o u n , th o u g h far
less c o m m o n ly in A m E th a n B rE (c/1 0 .3 6 ):
... f has m et a n d it has ,

T h e c o m m itte e j , , , , [reje cte d th e p ro p o sal.
[have m et a n d they have j
T h e d ifferen ce reflects a d ifference in p o in t o f v ie w : th e sin g u lar stresses th e

n o n p e rso n a l c o llectiv ity o f th e g ro u p , a n d th e p lu ral stresses th e p erso n al
in d iv id u a lity w ith in th e group. H e re a re'ex am p les o f co llectiv e n o u n s:
a rm y asso ciatio n au d ien ce
b o a rd cast clan
class club college
co m m issio n co m m u n ity co m p an y
c o rp o ra tio n council couple
crew crow d d e p a rtm e n t
en em y facu lty <A m E> fam ily
fe d e ra tio n firm flock
gang g e n era tio n g o v e rn m e n t
g ro u p herd in stitu te
ju r y m ajo rity m in o rity
o p p o sitio n p a rty p o p u latio n
s ta ff team u n iv ersity
(ii) T h e fo llo w in g usually o ccu r in th e sin g u lar only w ith th e d e fin ite a rticle :
th e a risto c rac y th e b o u rg eo isie th e c h u rch
th e clergy th e elite the g en try
Gender 317
th e in te llig e n tsia th e laity th e press

th e p u b lic th e ra n k and file th e youth (of today)
(iii) C o llectiv e p ro p e r n a m e s, eg:

th e C o m m o n s (U K ) P a rlia m e n t th e V atican
(th e) C o n g ress (U S ) th e U n ite d N atio n s th e U n ited S tates
N o te [a] Ju st as association , com pany, corporation, federation, fir m , team , etc a re in cluded am ong th e
collective no u n s, n a m e s o f co m m ercial firm s are treated in th e sam e w ay:
f has
I C 1 |A m >e<BrE>
| in c reased j j s a les abroad.
[b] Church a n d y o u th in (ii) also o cc u r o f co u rse as reg u lar c o u n t n o uns, th e la tte r d en o tin g i
young m ale:
: T h e p olice a re lo o k in g fo r five youths, [‘young m e n ’]
(f/g) Higher animals

5.109 M ale/fem ale g e n d e r d istin c tio n s in an im al n o u n s a re m ain tain ed by p e o p le
w ith a sp ecial c o n c e rn (fo r ex am p le w ith pets), eg: cock a n d rooster < A m E >
for th e m ale (w ith w h ich -it o r w ho-he co reference) a n d hen for th e fem ale
(w ith w hich-it o r w ho-she coreference). O th e r ex am p les:
b u ck ~ d o e bull ~ cow dog ~ b itc h g a n d er ~ goose

lion ~ lio n ess ra m ~ ew e stallion ~ m are tig er ~ tigress
N o te In g eneral, in n o n e x p e rt c o n tex ts th e re is n o need to m a k e a g en d e r distin ctio n , su ch as dog

bitch an d stallion ~ m are. W e c a n th e n use on e term to co v er b o th sexes, as in th e case o f d o g
an d lion, o r use a d iffe re n t te rm , e g : horse to cover both stallion an d mare.
(h/i) L o w e r anim als and inanimate nouns

5.110 B oth low er a n im a ls (eg : beetle, butterfly, snake, toad, tadpole) an d in a n im a te
n ou n s (eg: box, car, idea) h a v e which an d it as p ro n o u n s. H o w ev er, lo w er
an im als m ay also b e v iew ed as h ig h er an im als. T h u s w e m ay sp eak o f
‘goldfish w h o sw im a ro u n d ’, ‘bees w ho are busy’, etc.
Sex d ifferen ces c a n be in d ic a te d by a ran g e o f g en d er m ark e rs fo r a n y
a n im a te n o u n w h e re th ey a re felt to be relevant, e g : m ale ~ fem a le fro g . O th e r
ex a m p le s:
b u c k -ra b b it ~ d o e -ra b b it co ck -p h easan t ~ h en -p h easan t

dog-fox ~ b itch -fo x he-goat ~ she-goat
ro e-b u ck ~ roe-doe
W e m ak e n o claim fo r th e categ o ries ‘h ig h er/lo w er a n im a ls’ to p arallel th e

biological classificatio n . Som e a n im als re q u ire fin er g en d er d istin c tio n s in
th e language th a n o th ers. T h is c an be a ttrib u te d to a n u m b er o f factors. T h e
laym an n o rm ally h a s n o know led g e a b o u t th e sex o f a n im als like a n t, herring,
snake, spider; o r, e v en if he does, it m ay n o t be a fa ct th a t he w a n ts o r n eed s
to in d icate. H e a n d she a re o nly likely to be used for a n im als w ith w h ich m a n ,
‘th e sp e ak in g a n im a l’, h as th e closest co n n ectio n s (in p a rticu la r th e
d o m estic ated a n im als).
Names of countries
5.111 N a m es o f c o u n tries h av e d iffere n t g en d er d e p en d in g o n th e ir use.
(i) A s g eo g rap h ical u n its, they are trea te d a s class (i), ie in an im ate:
H e re is a m a p o f F ra n c e. I t ’s one o f th e larg est co u n tries o f E urope.
( ii) A s p o litical/eco n o m ic u n its, the n am es o f co u n tries are o ften fem in in e,

ie class (b) o r ( g ) :
F ra n c e h a s b e e n a b le to in crease her e x p o rts b y 10 p e r c e n t o v e r th e

last six m o n th s.
E n g lan d is p ro u d o f her poets.
(iii) I n sp o rts, th e te a m s rep resen tin g th eir c o u n tries c a n b e referred to by

th e n am e o f th e c o u n try used as a p e rso n al collective n o u n , ie class (e)
< esp B rE > :
F ra n c e | ^.as 1 im p ro v ed J „ . .. ic h a n c e s o f
[have <B rE> j \ /t e ir < e s p B r E ) J w in n in g th e c u p .
I n A m E th ere m ay b e n u m b e r v a riatio n in th e p ro n o u n (b u t n o t in th e verb,

w h ic h is singular) in th is con stru ctio n .
N o te I n a n i m a t e entities, su ch as sh ip s, tow ards w hich w e h av e a n in ten se a n d close personal

re la tio n sh ip , m ay be re fe rre d to by p ersonal pro nouns, eg:
T h a t ’s a lovely sh ip . W h a t is she/it called?
I n n o n s ta n d a rd an d A u stra lia n E nglish, there is ex ten sio n o f she references to include th o se o f
a n t ip a t h y a s well as affec tio n , eg :
S h e 's a n absolute b a s ta rd , th is truck.
Case
C o m m o n caê and genitive case .
5.112 W e sh a ll d istin g u ish b etw een tw o cases o f n o u n s: th e u n m ark e d c o m m o n
c Fs e (eg: boy in th e sin g u lar, boys in th e p lu ral) a n d th e m ark e d g e n i t i v e
c F s e (eg: boy’s in th e sin g u lar, boys’ in th e plural). C ase in p ro n o u n s will be
d isc u sse d in 6.2 # ; o n th e g en itiv e in relatio n to th e o /-co n stru ctio n , c/5 .1 1 5 .

D istin ctio n s, o f case m a rk th e stru ctu ral a n d se m an tic fu n ctio n o f n o u n
p h ra s e s w ith in sen ten ces. I t is arguable, as we shall see, th a t ev en the
c o m m o n /g en itiv e d is tin c tio n in p resen t-d ay E n g lish is n o t really a case
d is tin c tio n , a lth o u g h it is a relic o f a fo rm er case system co m p a rab le to th a t
o f L a tin o r o f m o d ern R u ssian ( c f 5.123). W e ad h ere to estab lish ed
term in o lo g y in th is re sp ec t, b u t since th e c o m m o n case is sim ply th e form
used w h en the g e n itiv e is n o t used, o u r a tte n tio n in th e follow ing sections
w ill b e d ev o ted to th e g en itiv e.
T h e ‘c en tral’, b u t fa r from the only use o f th e g en itiv e, is to express
p o ss e s sio n : to th is e x te n t th e term ‘possessive’ is fittingly a p p lie d to g enitive
p ro n o u n s like his. W e m ay c o m p a re :
The children’s toys a re new . [‘the toys b elo n g in g to th e ch ild ren ’]

Their toys a re new . [‘th e toys belonging to th e m ’]
Case 319
B u t it sh o u ld b e b o rn e in m in d th a t th e label ‘possessive’ does n o t a d e q u a te ly

ap p ly to all u ses ( c /5 .1 16).
T h e form s o f the genitive inflection

5.113 T h e g e n itiv e o f re g u la r nou n s is realized in speech only in th e sin g u lar, w h e re
it ta k e s o n e o f th e fo rm s /iz/, /z/, o r /s/, follow ing th e rules for th e -s in fle ctio n
o f n o u n s (c /5 .8 0 ) a n d verbs (c/3 .5 ). In w ritin g , th e inflection o f reg u lar n o u n s
is realized in th e sin g u lar by a p o stro p h e + s (boy’s), a n d in th e reg u lar p lu ra l
by th e a p o stro p h e follow ing th e p lu ral -s (boys’).
A s a resu lt, th e sp o k en form /sp a iz / m ay realize th ree fo rm s o f th e n o u n
sp y as fo llo w s:
T h e spies w ere a rrested . [plural, c om m on case]

T h e sp y ’s co m p a n io n w as a w om an , [singular, g en itiv e case]
T h e spies' c o m p an io n s w ere w om en, [plural, g en itiv e case]
S in ce th e g e n itiv e a d d s n o th in g to a reg u lar p lu ral no u n in sp eech , a n d

; n o th in g e x ce p t th e final ap o stro p h e in w riting, th is p lural g e n itiv e m ay be
called th e z e r o g e n i t i v e .
By c o n tra st, som e n o u n s w ith irreg u lar p lu ral like child p re serv e a n u m b e r
d is tin c tio n in d ep e n d en tly o f th e gen itiv e sin g u lar an d g e n itiv e p lu ra l
d is tin c tio n s :
child ~ child's, children ~ children’s
W ith su ch irreg u lar p lu rals, as F ig 5.113 show s, th e sam e g e n itiv e e n d in g

(s p e lle d ’s) occu rs w ith b o th sin g u lar an d p lu ral nouns.
REGULAR ■S PLURAL IRREGULAR PLURAL *
SPOKEN s in g u la r p lu r a l s in g u la r p lu r a l
com m on /b m / /t j a i l d / / 't j i l d r e n /
g e n itiv e /b D Iz / /tja ild z / / 't f i l d r e n z /
WRITTEN s in g u la r p lu r a l s in g u la r p lu ra l
com m on boy boys child children
g e n i tiv e b o y ’s b o y s’ child's c h ild ren ’s
F ig 5.113 T h e g e n itiv e in flec tio n w ith re g u la r a n d irre g u la r p lu rals
N o te [a] In a d d itio n to rep resen tin g differen t c a se form s o f th e noun spy, th e p ro n u n c ia tio n /s p a iz /
could o f course also be th e -s form o f th e v erb , as in [1], o r th e noun w ith th e co n tra c te d fo rm o f
is [2], o r has [3] ( c / 3 .3 2 /) :
H e spies o n b e h a lf o f a n ind u strial firm . [1]
T h e sp y ’s h ere. [2]
T h e sp y’s b een cycling along th e coast. [3]
{b] In p ostm odified n o u n p h rases, th e re is a differe nce betw een th e plural a n d th e g e n itiv e
en d in g s, becau se th e g en itiv e en d in g is ad d e d to th e end o f th e phrase, n o t to th e e n d o f th e h e a d
n o u n (< /'g ro u p g en itiv e s’, 5.123):
T h e p alace w as the K ing o f D enm ark’s.
T h e y p raise d the Kings o f D enm ark.
T h e 'z e r o g e n i t i v e '
5.114 I n a d d itio n to its n o rm al use w ith reg u lar p lu rals such as boys', th e ‘zero
g e n itiv e ’ is u sed to av o id re p etitiv e o r a w k w ard co m b in a tio n s o f so u n d s in
th e follow ing c ases (c fF ig 5.114):
g e n itiv e Is / i f e n d i n g cat s
w o r d is in a E u r o p e 's
ir r e g u la r v o ic e le s s s o u n d . g o c e r n m e n t’s
p lu r a l
/z / if e n d in g b o y ’s
n o t e n d in g c h ild r e n 's
in a in a
C h in a 's
s ib ila n t v o ic e d s o u n d
. tig e r ’s
► Cs)
if n ot n ie c e 's
e n d in g R o s s ’s
g e n itiv e
in / z / G e o rg e 's
■w ord is -
s in g u la r r /'z /-
D ic k e n s 's
J o n e s 's
B u r n s 's
- if e n d in g
in fle c te d en d in g
r in /z / D ic k e n s '
g e n itiv e in a
s ib ila n t Jon es'
B urns'
if a G r e e k n a m e ' S o c r a te s '
' o f m o re th a n X erxes'
o n e s y lla b le _ E u r ip id e s '
fo r goodness'
in fix e d sake
L e x p r e s s io n s f o r co n s c ie n c e '
sake
' b oys'
'- g e n i t i v e w o r d is r e g u l a r p l u r a l : a l w a y s z e ro c a ts '
D a vys'
F i g 5 .1 1 4 T h e f o r m s o f t h e in f le c te d g e n i tiv e
(i) w ith G re e k n a m e s o f m o re th a n o n e syllable w hich e n d in -s, a s in :
E uripides' /d i:z / plays, X erxe s’ a rm y , Socrates’ w ife
(ii) w ith m a n y o th e r n a m e s en d in g in /z / w h ere, in sp eech , zero is a v a ria n t

o f th e reg u lar /iz / g e n itiv e. T h ere is v acillatio n b o th in th e p ro n u n c ia tio n a n d
in th e spelling o f th ese n am es, b u t m o st com m only th e p ro n u n c ia tio n is /iz/,
a n d th e sp ellin g is a n ap o stro p h e only. (In th e follow ing ex am p les, th e
m in o rity form s a re g iv en in p aren th eses.)
W R IT T E N FORM S SPO K EN FORMS

B u rn s’ (B urns's ) p o em /'b 3 trn z iz (b3:rn z )/
D ickens’ ( D ickens's ) novels /'d ik in ziz ('dikinz)/
Jones' (J o n es’s) car / 'd j a o n z i z (fy p u n z )/
N a m e s en d in g in o th e r sib ila n ts th a n /z / h av e th e regular /iz/ g e n itiv e : R o ss’s

Case 321
/siz/ theories. H o w ev er, Jesus a n d M oses norm ally have th e zero fo rm o f t h e

sp o k en g en itiv e a n d a re w ritte n Jesus' an d M oses’ (as well as Jesus's a n d
M oses's ).
(iii) w ith fixed ex p ressio n s o f th e form f o r . . . sake, a s in f o r goodness’sa k e ,

fo r conscience' sake, w h ere th e n o u n ends in /s/ (c/5.120).
T h e genitive and the o f-constru ction

5.115 I n m an y in stan ces th e re is a sim ilarity o f function a n d m ean in g b etw een a
n o u n in th e g en itiv e case a n d th e sam e no u n as head o f a p re p o sitio n al p h ra se
w ith o f (som etim es called th e ‘c /g e n itiv e ’). T h e g en itiv e in flectio n o f [1],
w h ere ship’s p reced es a n d d e te rm in e s th e head n o u n nam e, co rre sp o n d s to
th e o f - c o n s t r u c t i o n o f th e p rep o sitio n al p h rase in [la ], w here o f the ship
postm odifies the h e a d nam e :
w . . (th e ship’s n a m e ? [1]

a 1S [th e n a m e o f the sh ip l [ la ]
In m an y cases, lik e [1] a n d [la ], th e tw o form s are e q u iv a len t in m ea n in g a n d

a re b o th perfectly a cc ep ta b le . I n o th er cases, e ith e r th e g e n itiv e o r th e of-
co n stru ctio n is th e o nly a p p ro p ria te c h o ic e :
John’s school | u t n o t : ?the school o f John

th e fro n t o f the house | u t n o t : *the house’s front
F o r fu rth er d iscu ssio n o f th e of- co n stru ctio n , an d its re la tio n to th e g en itiv e,

c f 5 . 1 1 6 an d , in p a rtic u la r, 17.38/', w here th e c /c o n s tr u c tio n is also
co m p ared w ith o th e r ty p es o f postm o d ificatio n . O u r p u rp o se in th is c h a p te r
is to ex am in e th e g e n itiv e as a co n stru ctio n in its o w n rig h t, an d to in d ic a te
th e sem an tic as w ell as th e sy n ta ctic restrictio n s on its use.
T h e use o f th e g e n itiv e is d e te rm in e d by a c o m b in a tio n o f stru ctu ral an d
sem an tic co n d itio n s. W e w ill look in tu rn at
(i) th e m ean in g s e x p ressed by th e relatio n b etw een th e g en itiv e n o u n

a n d its h e a d n o u n (c /5 .1 1 6 )
(ii) th e type o f n o u n ta k in g th e g en itiv e ( c f 5.117-119)
(iii) th e type o f n o u n a c tin g as head (c /5 .1 20)
G enitive m eanings
5.116 T h e m ean in g ex p ressed by th e gen itiv e can best be sh o w n by s e n te n tia l o r
p h ra sal an alogues su ch as w e p re se n t below . F o r co m p ariso n , a c o rresp o n d in g
use o f th e c /c o n s tr u c tio n is g iv en w h ere th is is accep tab le.
(a) p o s s e s s iv e g e n it iv e
m y wife's fa th e r M y w ife has a fath er.

M rs Johnson's p a ssp o rt M rs Jo h n so n h as a p assp o rt.
the earth's g ra v ity T h e e a rth has (a c ertain ) g ravity.
c f th e g rav ity o f the earth
(b) SUBJECTIVE G E N IT IV E
the boy’s a p p lic a tio n T h e boy applied f o r . . .
her parents' c o n se n t H e r p a ren ts consented.
c f th e d ecline o f trade T rad e declined.
(c) OBJECTIVE GENITIVE

the fa m ily 's su p p o rt ( . . . ) su p p o rts the fam ily.
the b o y ’s release ( . . . ) released th e boy.
c f a s ta te m e n t o f the fa c ts ( . . . ) stated the facts.
(d) GENITIVE OF ORIGIN

the g irl’s sto ry T h e girl told a story.
the g eneral’s letter T h e g eneral w rote a letter.
? F ra n c e ’s w in es F ra n c e produces w ines,
c f t h e w in e s o f France
(e ) DESCRIPTIVE GENITIVE (c/5.122)

a w om en’s co lle g e a college for w om en
a su m m er's d a y a su m m er day, a d ay in th e su m m er
a doctor's d e g r e e a d o cto ral degree, a d o c to ra te
c f t h e d e g r e e o f doctor
(f) GENITIVE OF MEASURE

ten d a y s’ a b s e n c e T h e ab sen ce lasted te n days.
c f a n a b s e n c e o f ten days
(g ) GENITIVE OF ATTRIBUTE
f T h e v ictim h ad courage.
th e victim ’s c o u ra g e
I T h e v ictim w as courageous.
th e p a rty 's p o lic y T h e p arty has a (c ertain ) policy.
c f t h e p o lic y o f the p a rty
(h ) PARTITIVE GENITIVE
th e b a b y ’s e y e s T h e b aby h as (blue) eyes.
th e e a rth ’s su r f a c e T h e e arth has a (rough) surface.
c f t h e s u r f a c e o f the earth
N o te [a] T h e r e is a te n d e n c y fo r g en itiv e s to be ta k e n as subjective, a n d for (/-c o n stru ctio n s to be

ta k e n a s o b je c tiv e .T h u s , w ith in a d e q u a te co n tex t, a p h rase like [1 j is likely to b e in terp rete d as
‘T h e fa m ily s u p p o r ts . . b u t [2] as \ . . ex a m in ed th e fire d e p a rtm e n t’ ( c / 17.4 I/O :
th e f a m il y ’s su p p o rt [ 1]
th e e x a m in a tio n o f th e fire departm ent [2]
[b] A m a r g in a l a d d itio n a l category, th e g en itiv e o f ap p o sitio n , m ay be m e n tio n e d : D ublin’s fa ir
city (c f : D ublin, a fa ir city). I n to d a y ’s usage, how ever, this is norm ally rep laced by an ap p o sitiv e
( /- c o n s tr u c tio n (c/1 7 .4 7 , 17.89): the c ity o f Dublin.
[c] O n th e u se o f th e g en itiv e to d en o te close fam ily relatio n sh ip s ( Peter's Jane), c f 5.63 N o te [cj.
G e n d e r o f the genitive noun

5.117 T h e s e m a n tic classificatio n in 5.116 is in p a r t a rb itrary . F o r exam ple, one
co u ld c la im th a t cow's m ilk is n o t a g en itiv e o f o rigin [‘m ilk fro m a cow ’] b u t
a d e s c rip tiv e g en itiv e [‘th e k in d o f m ilk o b tain e d fro m a co w ’], o r ev en a
su b je c tiv e g e n itiv e [‘T h e cow p ro v id ed th e m ilk ’]. F o r th is reaso n , m ean in g s
an d s e n te n tia l an alo g u es c a n give only inconclusive h elp in ch o o sin g b etw een
th e g e n itiv e a n d th e o /-co n stru ctio n .
T h e c h o ic e c a n be m o re securely related to th e g en d er class o f th e g en itiv e
n o u n . G e n e ra lly sp eak in g , th e g en itiv e is favoured for classes w h ich are
Case 323
h ig h est o n th e g e n d e r scale ( c f Fig 5.104), ie ‘perso n al’ nou n s (p a rtic u la rly

th o se re fe rrin g to h u m a n beings an d h ig h er an im als) an d collective n o u n s
w ith p e rso n al g e n d e r ch aracteristics. R e la tin g th is to 5.104, we m ay in f e r
th a t th e p o ssessiv e u se is especially asso ciated w ith th e genitive becau se w e
th in k o f ‘po ssessio n ’ chiefly in term s o f o u r o w n species. It is possible to s e e
th e p a rtitiv e g e n itiv e a t th e o pposite pole o n co m p arab le g ro u n d s: t h e
m arg in al a c c e p ta b ility o f 'ithe house’s ro o f m atc h es th e irrelevance o f p e rso n a l
g e n d er to a n o u n d e n o tin g som ething w h ich is m erely being m easu red o r
d issected.
F u rth e r fa cto rs in flu en cin g th e choice o f g en itiv e a re the p rin cip les o f e n d -
focus a n d e n d -w e ig h t ( c /1 7 .4 5 ,18.3/), w h ich en co u rag e th e p lacin g o f m o re
co m p lex a n d c o m m u n ica tiv e ly m ore im p o rta n t u n its tow ards th e en d o f t h e
n o u n p h ra se. A c co rd in g to th e p rinciple o f end-focus, th e gen itiv e ten d s to
give in fo rm a tio n fo cu s to th e head noun, w h ereas th e (/-co n stru c tio n te n d s
to give focus to th e p re p o sitio n a l co m p lem en t:
T h e e x p lo sio n d a m a g ed the ship’s funnel, (funnel in focus]

H a v in g lo o k ed a t all th e funnels, she c o n sid ered th a t th e m ost
h a n d so m e w a s the fu n n e l o f the Orion, [the Orion in focus]
T h is p rin c ip le is c o n g ru en t a g ain w ith the p referen ce for th e ( /c o n s tr u c tio n

w ith p a rtitiv e a n d a p p o sitiv e m eaning, w h ere th e genitive w ould resu lt in
u n d e sirab le o r a b s u rd final p ro m in e n c e :
*the problem ’s p a rt, *his resignation’s shock
T h e p re fe re n c e fo r p lac in g com plex co n stru ctio n s a fte r the head a cco u n ts f o r

th e o d d ity o f [1] (c /5 .1 2 3 ) in co m p ariso n w ith [la ]:
?She is a m an I m e t in the arm y's d au g h ter. [ 1]

She is th e d a u g h te r o f a m an I m et in the arm y. [ 1 a]
A n d conversely, it a cc o u n ts fo r the o d d ity o f th e ( /c o n s tr u c tio n w ith s im p le

fo rm , eg [2a], as c o m p a re d to [2], w h ich show s th e n orm al p referen ce fo r a
possessive p r o n o u n :
She is his d a u g h te r. [2]

?She is th e d a u g h te r o f him. [2a]
(O n th e ‘p o st-g e n itiv e ’ in a daughter o f his, c f 5.126.)
N o te [a] T h e relev an ce o f p e rso n al g en d e r is show n also in th e fact th a t indefinite p ro n o u n s w ith

p e rso n al referen ce { c f 6.9), su ch as someone a n d anybody, a d m it th e g e n itiv e inflection, w h ile
eq u iv a le n t p ro n o u n s w ith n o n p erso n al reference do n o t : someone's shadow, b u t n o t *som ething’s
shadow .
[b] S o m e idiom s, in sp ite o f end-focus, require a c o n stru c tio n in w hich th e perso n al p ro n o u n is
co m p lem en t in a p o stm o d ify in g o /-p h ra se :
It will be th e d e a th o fm e .
th e im p u d en ce o f him
t h e c h e e k o f h e r [‘h e r r u d e b e h a v i o u r '; | u t : ‘I k i s s e d h e r c h e e k . ']
I d o n ’t like th e ta ste/lo o k /feel, etc o f it.

F o r th e life o fm e , I c a n n o t rem em b er h er nam e, a n d yet my m em ory o f her is still vivid.
T h e la st ex a m p le also illu strates th e tendency (m e n tio n e d in 5.116 N o te [a]) to use s u c h a
c o n stru c tio n w h ere th e o f-p h rasc h as a n o b jective m e an in g (co m p are: m y m em ory o f h e r ‘I
rem em b er h e r’).
324 Nouns and determ iners
T h e genitive in relation to noun classes

5.118 T h e n o u n classes (a -c ) freq u en tly tak e th e g en itiv e (c /1 7 .3 8 /1"):
(a) p e r s o n F l N F m e s (c/5 .6 6 ):
Segovia's p u p il, George W ashington’s statu e
(b) PER SO N A L N O U N S ( c /5 .105):

the boy’s n e w bicycle, m y sister-in-law's pro b lem s
(c) F n im F l n o u n s , in p a rtic u la r th o se d e n o tin g ‘h ig h er a n im a ls’ (c/5 .1 0 9 ):

the horse’s ta il, the dog’s collar
(d) c o l l e c t iv eN O U N S . T h e g en itiv e is also used w ith collective n ouns ( c f
5.108) w h ich e m p h a siz e th e a s p e c to f ‘o rg an ized in d iv id u a ls’, in p a rticu la r

th o se d e n o tin g a u th o rita tiv e a n d o th e r o rg a n iz atio n al bodies, e g :
the governm ent’s econom ic p lan s the nation's resources
the com m ittee's d ecisio n the Com pany's d irecto rs
T h e g en itiv e is f u rth e r used w ith c ertain k in d s o f in an im ate n o u n s ( e - h ) :
(e ) G E O G R A P H IC A L NAM ES (c/5 .6 8 ), C g :
c o n tin e n ts : E urope’s fu tu re, A ustralasia’s n a tu ra l resources
co u n tries: C hina’s d ev elo p m en t, the U nited S ta te s' a ttitu d e
s ta te s : M a ry la n d 's D e m o cra tic S enator, R hode Isla n d ’s co lo n ial period
cities a n d to w n s: H ollyw ood’s studios, London's w a te r supply
u n iv ersities: H a rva rd ’s D e p a rtm e n t o f L in g u istics
(f) ‘ l o c t i v e n o u n s ’ d e n o tin g regions, in stitu tio n s, h eav en ly bodies, etc.

F
T h ey can b e v e ry sim ila r to g eo g rap h ical n am es, a n d a re o ften w ritten

w ith in itia l c a p ita l letter, eg:
the earth’s in te rio r the Church's m ission
the w orld’$ e co n o m y the hotel’s e n tra n ce
the nation's w aterw a y s a country’s p o p u latio n
the C lub's p ia n is t the city's a tm o sp h ere
the G allery’s ro tu n d a the school's history
(g ) t e m p o r F l n o u n s , eg:
the decade’s e v en ts this y ea r’s sales
a d a y’s w o rk today’s p a p e r
a m om ent’s th o u g h t the hockey season's first ev en t
(h) OTH ER N O U N S ‘O F SPE C IA L RELEVANCE TO H U M A N A C TIV ITY ’, e g :

the brain’s to ta l w e ig h t the g am e’s history
the m in d ’s d e v e lo p m e n t science's influence
the bo d y’s n e ed s love’s sp irit
m y life’s a im the p la y ’s philo so p h y
in fre e d o m ’s n a m e the book’s tru e im p o rta n ce
the treaty's ra tific a tio n the novel's stru ctu re
du ty ’s call a word’s fu n ctio n
the poll's resu lts television's future
Case 325
N o te (a ] It seem s th a t sem a n tic relatio n s o th e r th a n possession ( c / 5 . 117) p lace stro n g er restric tio n s
o n th e ‘personal* q u ality o f th e g e n itiv e n o u n th a n does possession itself. F o r ex a m p le:
T able 5.118 Possessive an d ob je ctiv e g en itiv e w ith personal an d no n p erso n al nouns
POSSESSIVE GEN IT IV E OBJECTIVE GENITIVE
PERSON AL the m an’s c o l l a r th e man's r e l e a s e f r o m p r i s o n

n o n p e r s o n F l the dog’s c o l l a r Ith e dog's r e l e a s e f r o m q u a r a n t i n e
In c o m b in a tio n w ith th e ob jectiv e g en itiv e , a n o npersonal noun results in a less a c cep ta b le n o u n

p h ra s e th a n d o es a perso n al noun.
[b ] W ith te m p o ral no u n s in th e p lu ra l, th e ap o stro p h e is som etim es o m itte d ( c / 1 7 . 1 0 8 ) :
several v a c a tio n
T h e genitive w ith superlatives and ordinals

5.119 T h e g e n itiv e is p articu la rly c o m m o n w ith lo cativ e n ouns o f C lass (f) a b o v e
w h e n it is follow ed by a su p e rlativ e adjective o r a ‘g en eral o rd in a l’ ( c f 5.22)
su ch as only, fir st, a n d last. T h e co rresp o n d in g p rep o sitio n al p h ra se in th e s e
c ases is in tro d u ced by in r a th e r th a n by o f :
the world’s b e st u n iv ersities ~ th e b est u n iv ersities in the w orld
this country's only u n iv ersity ~ th e only u n iv ersity in this country
A frica's first a rts festiv al ~ th e first arts festival in Africa
M o re generally, th e g e n itiv e co m b in es w ith sup erlativ es, o rd in als, a n d

‘g e n era l o rd in als’ to ex p ress a m ean in g w h ich is in d ep e n d en t o f all th e
m ea n in g s listed in 5.116 a b o v e, a n d w hich can b est be p a ra p h ra se d by a
re la tiv e c la u s e :
Paganini’s last p e rfo rm an ce

~ th e last p e rfo rm a n ce th a t P aganini gave
the C abinet’s g re atest m ista k e
~ th e g re atest m ista k e th a t the Cabinet m ade
N oun heads w ith the genitive

5.120 So fa r, g en itiv e c o n stru ctio n s h av e been identified by referen ce to c e rta in
classes o f th e g en itiv e n o u n (p erso n al, collective, tem p o ral, etc). T h ere a re ,
h o w ev er, som e c o n stru ctio n s w ith th e gen itiv e w h ich can b est b e d e sc rib e d
in te rm s o f specific lexical n o u n head s.
E x p ressio n s w ith edge, end, surface, fo r . . . sake p e rm it th e a lte rn a tiv e of-
c o n stru ctio n ( c /9 .12 N o te [c ]):
S im ilarly : a t the river’s edge, a t his jo u rn ey’s end, fo r a rt’s sake, the water's
surface, fo r heaven’s sake.
T h e follow ing ex p ressio n d o es n o t p e rm it the o /-co n stru c tio n :
. j , f their money's worth.

P e o p le d o n t g et ^ ^ ^
S im ila rly : a t o n e’s wits' end, a t a rm ’s length, within arm's reach.

N o te th e stress ty p ical o f co m p o u n d s (c/1 7 .1 0 4 ), w hich in d icates th a t the
fo llo w in g a re c o m p o u n d s : our 'm oney’s ,worth, a 'stone’s ,throw. C o m p a re the
re la tiv e ly free sy n ta ctic c o n stru ctio n s of, eg: within)beyondIout o f (her) reach.
T h e gra m m atica l status o f the genitive
G enitive a s determ inative

5.121 M o s t c o m m o n ly th e g en itiv e fu n ctio n s a s a d e te rm in a tiv e (c fS A O jf): it fills a
slo t in th e n o u n p h ra s e eq u iv a len t to a c e n tra l d e te rm in e r such as the [ 1]. T h is
is so w h e th e r th e g e n itiv e is a possessive p ro n o u n (such as her [la]), a single
n o u n (su c h as Jen n y 's [lb ]), o r a no u n a cco m p an ied by its o w n d e te rm in e rs
a n d /o r m o d ifiers (su ch a s m y daughter’s [lc]), as show n in Fig 5.121a:
DETERMINATIVE HEAD
th e (n e w ) desk [1]
her (n e w ) desk [la ]
J e n n y ’s (n e w ) desk [ lb ]
■ m y d a u g h te r 's (n e w ) desk [lc ]
F i g 5 .1 2 1 a T h e g e n i t i v e a s d e t e r m i n a t i v e
I t is o b v io u s t h a t in [lc], th e g e n itiv e no u n daughter's h as its ow n

d e te rm in a tiv e , viz th e possessive p ro n o u n m y, w hich does n o t a p p ly to d esk,
b u t to daughter. I n o th e r w ords, the g en itiv e in th is in stan ce is n o t a single
w o rd , b u t a n o u n p h ra se in its ow n rig h t. Such an analysis is ev en m ore
c o m p e llin g for p h ra s e s such as m any people's am bition; m any, re q u irin g p lu ral
co n co rd , m u st d e te rm in e th e p lural n o u n people, ra th e r th a n th e sin g u lar
n o u n am bition: ] '
M a n y p e o p le ’s ambition is to ow n a house.
W e th ere fo re see th e g en itiv e c o n stru ctio n as a noun p h ra se e m b e d d e d as

a d e fin ite d e te rm in a tiv e w ith in a n o th e r n o u n p h rase (c /2 .8 , 17.38 a n d F ig
5 .1 2 1 b ): '
SUPERORDINATE NOUN PHRASE
GENITIVE NOUN PHRASE
a h o r s e ’s h in d leg [21
s o m e p e o p le ’s o p in io n s [31
th e o ld e r b o y s ’ books [41
e v e r y te a c h e r ’s g u id e to c h ild p sy ch o lo g y [51
th e Ita l ia n g o v e r n m e n t's re c e n t d e c isio n [6]
F ig 5 .1 2 1 b T h e s t r u c t u r e o f t h e s u p e r o r d i n a t e n o u n p h r a s e w ith a
g e n itiv e n o u n p h r a s e a s d e te rm in a tiv e
Case 327
T h a t th e g e n itiv e can be ex p an d ed into a p h ra se in th is w ay is n o t

su rp risin g w h en w e recall its equivalence to a p rep o sitio n al p h ra se, in w h ic h
o f is follow ed by a n o u n p h ra se co m p le m e n t:
th e h in d leg o f [a horse] [2a]

th e o p in io n s o f [some people] [3a]
th e re c e n t d e cisio n o f [the Italian government] [6a]
O n e im p lica tio n o f th e d e te rm in a tiv e fu n ctio n o f th e g en itiv e is th a t th e

g en itiv e p h ra se is n o rm ally in in itial position in th e su p e ro rd in ate n o u n
p h ra se, so th a t an y w o rd s o ccu rrin g in fro n t o f th e g en itiv e n o u n in th e p h ra se
belong to th a t n o u n ra th e r th a n to th e no u n w hich is h ead o f th e su p e ro rd in a te
n o u n p h ra se, as in [2-6],
O n e ex ce p tio n to th is, how ev er, arises w h en th e g en itiv e c o n stru ctio n
follow s a p re d e te rm in e r su ch as all, both, o r h a lf ( c f 5.16): S ince th e g e n itiv e
fills a p o sitio n e q u iv a le n t to th a t o f a cen tral d e te rm in e r, th ese w o rd s
p reced in g th e g e n itiv e n o u n m ay apply eith e r to th a t n o u n o r to th e
su p e ro rd in ate h e a d n o u n . In [7], th e p re d eterm in er both ap p lies to parents,
b u t in [8] both c a n o n ly a p p ly to g irls':
b o th [th e g irl’s] p a re n ts [ = b o th p aren ts o f th e girl] [7]

[b o th th e g irls’] m o th e r [ = th e m o th er o f b o th th e girls] [8]
N o te T h e c o n stru c tio n w ith g en itiv e o r possessive pronoun w ith d e te rm in a tiv e function will h a v e
definite referen ce, eg:
(i) Susan's son (ii) her son
I f w e w an t th e in d e fin ite in te rp re ta tio n , we h av e to resort to th e (/-c o n stru c tio n (e/5 . H 5):
... f a son o f Susan

| a son o f Susan's (e/'th e ‘post-g en itiv e’, 5.126) a son o f ers
G e n i ti v e a s m o d ifie r
5.122 T h ere a re o cca sio n al ex am p les w here the g en itiv e acts as a m odifier ra th e r
th a n a s a d e te rm in a tiv e . T h ese a re o f the k ind listed as ‘d escrip tiv e g e n itiv e ’
in C lass (e) o f 5.116. T h ey h a v e a classifying role sim ilar to th a t o f n o u n
m odifiers a n d so m e a d jectiv e m odifiers (c f 17.110):
T h ere a re sev eral wom en’s universities in T okyo.

[‘sev eral u n iv ersities fo r w o m en ’]
H e w a n ts to b eco m e a ship’s doctor w hen he g row s up.
[‘a d o c to r w o rk in g o n a sh ip ’]
T h ere w ere te n \ f a rm er s I w ives a t the m eeting.

|fa rm ers J
N o tice, in c o n n e c tio n w ith th e last exam ple, th a t th e expression fa rm e r's

wives does n o t im p ly po ly g am y : if th is is a d escrip tiv e g en itiv e, it is sim p ly
th e p lu ral o f fa r m e r ’s wife. T h e ch an g e to th e p lu ral g en itiv e fa rm e rs’ wives
m ay, how ev er, b e p re ferred .
A n o th e r d istin g u ish in g m a rk o f th e d escrip tiv e g en itiv e is th e fact th a t
an y m odifiers a n d /o r d e te rm in e rs p receding it g en erally belong to th e h e a d
n o u n , ra th e r th a n to th e g en itiv e n o u n . T h e sp e a k er w h o refers to a quaint o ld
shepherd's cottage is p assin g a co m m en t on th e age an d q u a in tn e ss o f th e
c o tta g e , n o t o f th e sh e p h e rd . N evertheless, th ere a re cases w h ere th e

m o d ify in g g e n itiv e itself co n ta in s a m odifier:
H o w m u ch d o those [farm workers'] cottages cost?

I t w as m e a n t to b e a P h D thesis, b u t to m e it read lik e a [first-year
undergraduate’s] essay.
T h is c h in a used to b e reg ard ed as [poor man's] W orcester porcelain, [‘th e
s o rt o f p o rc elain w hich resem bled W o rcester, b u t w hich a p o o r m an
co u ld affo rd ’]
N o te [a] A s th e ex a m p les ab o v e suggest, th e descrip tiv e g en itiv e te n d s to h a v e a n id io m atic

c o n n e c tio n w ith th e h ead n o u n . T h e fullest stage o f lexical assim ilatio n to th e h ead is observed
in ex p re s s io n s w here th e g en itiv e an d th e head form a com p o u n d ( c f A p p l.51Jf), as in bull's-eye
a n d c a t's p a w (w here th e m e a n in g is m etap h o rical). B etw een th e se a n d m ore freely con stru cted
e x p re s s io n s su ch as w om en’s college should be p laced co m b in atio n s w h ere th e tw o w ords are
w r itt e n se p arately , b u t w h ere th e stress is placed in th e first (genitive) elem en t, a s in c o m p o u n d s:
'girl's .school 'bird's p e s t 'cow's p ritk 'calves',liver
T h u s bird's nest resem bles co m p o u n d s b o th in m ean in g a n d in stress p a tte rn (cf: fo x h o le , rabbit
w arren ). I n m a n y cases th e first n o u n en d s w ith an s, w h ich can be w ritten in th re e w a y s:
a g irl's school [g en itiv e singular]
a girls'sc hool [g en itiv e plural]
a girls school [com m on ca se plural]
T h e se c o n d v a ria n t is fav o u red in an all girls’ school [‘a school en tirely fo r girls’].
[b] M o d ify in g g en itiv es m ay occasionally co n tain th e ir ow n d e te rm in e rs :
m y th is ye a r's exam ination q u e stio n sl'm y ex am in atio n questio n s fo r th is y ea r’]
B y th is m e a n s, th e stran g e co o ccu rren ce o f tw o c e n tral d eterm in ers m y this m ay ta k e p lace, as in
th e a b o v e ex am ple.
T h e g r o u p g e n itiv e
5.123 T h e m o d ify in g g e n itiv e, how ever, is ra re in c o m p ariso n w ith th e g en itiv e in
d e te rm in a tiv e fu n c tio n ; a n d since we o bserved in 5.121 th a t th e gen itiv e
c o n s tru c tio n in th is la tte r fu n ctio n c an be a no u n p h ra se, n o t m erely a single
n o u n , it is n ecessary to rev ise th e id ea (w ith w hich w e in tro d u c ed th e g en itiv e
in 5.1 1 2 ) th a t the g e n itiv e is a n o u n inflection. T h e -s e n d in g is n o t a case
e n d in g in th e sense w h ic h ap p lies to languages su ch as L atin , R u ssian , an d
G e r m a n . I t c an b e m o re ap p ro p ria te ly d escrib ed a s a ‘p o stp o sed e n clitic ’: ;'e,
its fu n c tio n is p arallel to th a t o f a p rep o sitio n , ex cep t th a t it is p laced afte r
th e n o u n phrase. T h is v iew is in escap ab le if w e ta k e in to acc o u n t th e so-
c a lle d G R O U P g e n i t i v e (o r ‘e m b ed d ed g en itiv e’), in w h ic h th e g en itiv e en d in g
is affixed to a p o stm o d ifier:
the teacher o f m usic’s ro o m [‘th e room o f the teacher o f m usic’]
O b v io u sly th e ‘po ssesso r’ in th is exam ple is th e tea ch e r, n o t th e m u sic; b u t

th e ’s c a n n o t be a d d e d to th e head, as one w ould e x p ect i f ’s could only be a
n o u n inflection. In ste a d , it is regularly a d d ed to a p re p o sitio n al postm o d ifi
c a tio n w h ic h is p a rt o f a n a m e o r a co m p o u n d no u n p h r a s e :
[[the University o f Minnesota]'s] P resid en t

[[the M useum o f M odern A rt]’s] D irecto r
[[my son-in-law]’s] p ro sp e cts
S in c e th e g roup g e n itiv e fits m o st n atu rally in to p a tte rn s o f p o stm o d ificatio n

o f th e n o u n p h rase, we d e fe r fu rth er trea tm e n t o f it u n til 17.119.
Case 329
T he independent genitive
5.124 T h e h e ad o f th e su p e ro rd in ate n o u n p h ra se in a g enitive c o n stru ctio n m a y b e
o m itted if th e co n te x t m ak es its id en tity clear. T h e re su lt is th e so -called
IN D E P E N D E N T G E N IT IV E :
M y c a r is fa ste r th a n John’s. [ = Jo h n ’s car] [ 1]

H e r m em o ry is lik e an elephant's. [ = a n e le p h a n t’s m em ory] [2]
T h is y e a r’s m ix e d do u b les final w as m u ch b e tte r th a n la st year's.
[ = la s t y e a r’s m ix ed doubles final] [3]
I f you c a n ’t affo rd a sleeping b ag , w hy n o t b orrow somebody
e/se’s ? [ = so m eb o d y else’s sleeping bag] [4]
M a ry's w as th e p re ttie s t dress. [ = M ary ’s dress] [5]
D o n ’t to u c h th o se c ard s - th ey ’re m y partn er’s. [ = m y p a rtn e r’s
card s] [6]
A s th e ex am p les show , th is g en itiv e is freq u en tly a n ellip tical v a ria n t o f a

n o u n p h ra se in w h ic h th e gen itiv e h a s its u su al d ete rm in a tiv e function. B u t
n o te th a t a possessive p ro n o u n used in th is g en itiv e co n stru ctio n req u ires th e
in d e p e n d e n t fo rm ( c f 6.29):
H ers w as th e p re ttie s t dress. [5a]
Strictly, th e p ro n o u n illu strates quasi-ellipsis ra th e r th a n ellipsis (for th is

d is tin c tio n c f 12.40).
N o te W ith th e o /-c o n stru ctio n in c o m p arab le e n v iro n m en ts, a d em o n strativ e p ro n o u n th a t/th o se is

norm ally re q u ire d (c/1 2 .1 9 ):
T h e p o p u la tio n o f N ew Y o rk is g re a te r th a n j C hi cago’s 'm ^ °
T he ‘local genitive’
5.125 T h e g en itiv e is less clearly ellip ted in ex p ressio n s relatin g to p rem ises o r
estab lish m en ts (so m etim es called th e ‘ l o c l g e n i t i v e ’) :
F
W e’ll m e e t a t Bill's.
H e re a t B ill's n o rm ally m ean s ‘w h ere Bill liv es’, b u t th e h e are r m ig h t n o t

k n o w w h e th e r th e a p p ro p ria te h ead w ould be house, apartm ent, place, e tc . I t
is fo r th is re aso n th a t th e term ‘ellip sis’ is strictly n ot ap p licab le ( c f 12.32/f).
T h e referen ce o f a g en itiv e p ro p er n o u n could also be to a re sta u ra n t, a b a r ,
etc, as in [1]:
L et’s h a v e d in n e r a t T iffany’s. [ 1]
By c o n tra st, w h ere th e gen itiv e n o u n is a co m m o n noun, it w ould o nly re fe r

to th e d e n tis t’s p ro fessio n al e stab lish m en t [2], a n d the sam e a p p lies to p ro p e r
n o u n s re fe rrin g to co m m ercial firm s [3]:
I ’m g oing to the d en tist’s. [2]

W en d y h a s ju s t b e en sh o p p in g in H arrod’sjF o yle's)M a cy’s. [3]
T h is u sage is n o rm al also in re la tio n to ‘o n e -p erso n ’ businesses, as in [4]:
I buy m y m e a t a t (M r) Johnson’s. [4]

T h e ‘lo cal g e n itiv e ’ is used in th e follow ing th ree c a s e s :
(i) F o r n o rm al resid en ces:
S h e is stay in g at
(ii) F o r in stitu tio n s such as pu b lic build in g s (w here the g en itiv e is usually a
s a in t’s n a m e ):
S t P aul's (C a th e d ral), S t Jam es's (P alace), Queen's (College)
(iii) F o r p laces w h ere business is c o n d u cted :
the barber’s, the hairdresser’s, the butcher's, the grocer's, W. H . S m ith ’s,
the chem ist’s <B rE>, the druggist's < A m E ; usually the drugstore )
(O n th e ‘sp o ra d ic ’ use o f the h ere, c /5 .3 3 .) T h e 's is o ften d r o p p e d :
a t/to the chem ist <BrE>, the druggist <A m E>, the hairdresser, the
greengrocer
W ith larg e b u sin esses, th e ir co m p lex ity a n d in som e sense p lu rality cau ses
r e in te rp re ta tio n o f th e -s en d in g a s a p lu ral ra th e r th a n g en itiv e in flectio n
( B arclays, H arrods, Selfridges, W oolworths). T h e g en itiv e m ea n in g - if it
s u rv iv e s - is ex p ressed by m o v in g th e a p o s tro p h e : a t M a c ys’. T h is u n c ertain ty
o v e r th e statu s o f th e -s en d in g is m atc h ed by a v acillatio n in co n co rd ,
re fle ctin g th e co n flict b etw een p lu rality a n d th e id ea o f a business as a
co lle ctiv e u n ity :
H arrods isjare very good for clothes.
I n so m e cases, w h ere th e -s fo rm cooccurs w ith th e indefinite a rticle , a

g e n itiv e in te rp re ta tio n is u n a v o id a b le :
N o te In re la tio n to co m m ercial firm s, all th re e fo rm s ( H arrod’s , H arrods , Harrod) m ay be fo u n d an d

c o n s tru c te d as e ith e r sin g u la r o r p lu ra l (p lu ral is esp B rE , c f 10.36). T h u s th e follow ing v a ria n ts
are u se d in th e sam e d o cu m en t:
L iberty'sare'fthe w holesalers fo r this co u n try .
L ib e r ty ’s is p ro b ab ly b e st k n o w n for its b ea u tifu l p rin te d silk.
T h is silk, for w h ic h L ib erty are th e w holesalers in th is c o u n tr y ,. . .
I t c a n b e n o ted , h o w ev er, th a t th e H arrod’s fo rm is m o re likely th a n th e H arrods fo rm to be
follow ed by a sin g u la r verb. T h e H arrod fo rm , w h ich h a s becom e fashionable relatively recently
an d still strik e s m a n y p e o p le a s o d d o r p reten tio u s, ten d s to be used o nly for very la rg e
en te rp ris e s . W ith title s o f firm s in volving m u ltip le n am es, how ever, th e form s w ith o u t -s are
m o re c u r r e n t, especially in A m E , eg: Sears Roebuck.
T h e ‘p o s t - g e n i t i v e ’
5.126 A n o /-co n stru c tio n c a n b e co m b in e d w ith a g en itiv e to pro d u ce a c o n stru ctio n
k n o w n as the p o s t - g e n i t i v e (or ‘d o u b le g e n itiv e ’). In th is co n stru ctio n , th e
in d e p e n d e n t g e n itiv e acts a s p re p o sitio n al co m p lem en t follow ing o f :
so m e frien d s o f J im ’s [‘som e o f J im ’s frie n d s ’]

Case 331
th a t irrita tin g h a b it o f her fa th e r ’s

a n in v en tio n o f G utenberg’s
sev eral p u p ils o f his
B u t th e in d e p e n d e n t g e n itiv e is n o t in th is case elliptical. R a th e r, th e p o s t

g en itiv e co n tra sts in term s o f indefiniteness o r u n fam iliarity w ith th e n o rm a l
d e te rm in a tiv e g en itiv e. W h ere as [1] a n d [2] p resuppose definiteness, th e
p re su p p o sitio n in [ la ] a n d [2a] is o n e o f indefiniteness:
Jim 's frie n d [1] a frie n d o f Jim 's [ la ]

Joseph H a yd n 's pu p il [2] a pupil o f Joseph H a y d n ’s [2a]
L ik e th e g ro u p g e n itiv e, th e p o st-genitive belongs m o re closely to th e s u b je c t

m a tte r o f C h a p te r 17 th a n to th a t o f th is ch ap ter. W e acco rd in g ly p o stp o n e
f u rth e r discussion u n til 17.46.
O n n o u n classes, see A lgeo (1973); B olinger (1969); Q u irk (1978); S ep p an en (1974); Sloat (1969).
O n referen ce a n d d e te rm in e rs, se e V an d e r A u w e ra (1980); B eh re (1967); B olin g er (1 9 8 0 b );
B u rto n -R o b e rts (1976, 1977); C h risto p h e rse n (1939); H aw k in s (1978); H ew son (1972); K a lu z a
(1981); K ram sk y (1972); P e rlm u tte r (1970); Pow ell (1967); R o b b in s (1968); R y d en (1975); S lo at
(1969); H . S. S orensen (1959); K . S o ren sen (1981).
O n n u m b e r, see Ball (1927/28); H irtle (1982); Juul (1975); S ep p an en (fo rth co m in g a); S ussex
(1979).
O n g en d e r, see Jaco b sso n (1 968b); K an ek iy o (1965).
O n case, see A lte n b erg (1982); D a h l (1971); J a h r Sorheim (1980); S v arte n g ren (1949).
6 Pronouns and numerals
6 .1 - 6 2 P ro n o u n s 335
.1 In tro d u c tio n 335
.2 -5 C ase 336
.2. C a se form s 336
.3 T h e use o f case form s 336
.4 -5 S u b jectiv e a n d o b jectiv e cases 337
.6 -7 P e rso n 339
.8 - 1 0 G ender 341
.9 M ascu lin e a n d fem in in e g en d er 342
.10 Sexual b ia s in th e use o f p ro n o u n s 343
.1 1 -1 2 N um ber 343
.13 Sub classes o f p ro n o u n s 345
.14 C e n tra l p ro n o u n s 346
.1 5 - 2 2 P e rso n a l p ro n o u n s 347
.15 W ith specific referen ce 347
.16 ‘R e ferrin g it’ 347
.17 ‘P ro p it’ 348
.18 S p ecial u ses o f we 350
.19 A n a p h o ric a n d catap h o ric referen ce 351
.20 M o d ificatio n a n d d e te rm in a tio n o f p erso n al p ro n o u n s 352
.21 G e n e ric uses o f p erso n al p ro n o u n s 353
.22 P ro n o u n s w ith c o o rd in ated a n te ce d e n ts 354
.2 3 -2 8 R eflexive p ro n o u n s 355
.24 B asic use 356
.25 O b lig ato ry reflexive p ro n o u n as o b ject 357
.26 O b lig ato ry reflexive p ro n o u n a fte r a p rep o sitio n 359
.27 O p tio n al reflexive p ro n o u n 359
.28 E m p h a tic use 360
.2 9 -3 0 P ossessive p ro n o u n s 361
.29 D e te rm in a tiv e a n d in d ep e n d en t possessives 361
.30 Possessives a n d th e ‘e m p h a tic d e te rm in a tiv e ow n’ 362
.31 R e cip ro ca l p ro n o u n s 364
.3 2 -3 5 R e la tiv e p ro n o u n s 365
.33 R e stric tiv e a n d n o n restrictiv e 365
.34 B 7i-pronouns, that, an d zero 366
.35 W ho a n d whom 367
.3 6 - 3 9 In te rro g a tiv e p ro n o u n s 368
.37 In d efin ite a n d definite in te rro g ativ es 369
.38 W ho, whom, a n d whose 370
.39 W hat an d which 371
.4 0 - 4 4 D e m o n stra tiv e p ro n o u n s 372
.41 N u m b e r a n d g en d er 372
.42 M o d ifica tio n a n d d e te rm in a tio n 373
.4 3 S itu a tio n a l referen ce 374
.4 4 A n a p h o ric an d c ata p h o ric referen ce 375
.4 5 -4 8 In d e fin ite p ro n o u n s 376
.4 6 -4 7 C o m p o u n d p ro n o u n s 376
.4 8 0 /- p ro n o u n s 379
.4 9 - 5 1 U n iv e rsa l p ro n o u n s 380
.5 0 A ll a n d both 381
.51 E ach a n d every 382
.5 2 -5 8 A ssertiv e p ro n o u n s 383
.52 T h e som e series 383
.53 M u lta l a n d p a u cal q u an tifiers 384
.5 4 - 5 6 One 386
.54 (a) N u m e ric al one 386
.5 5 (b) S u b stitu te one 387
.56 (c) G e n eric one 387
.57 H a lf, several, enough 388
.58 O th er a n d another 388
.5 9 - 6 1 N o n a ss e rtiv e p ro n o u n s 389
.60 S o m e a n d a n y series 390
.61 A n y a n d either 391
.62 N e g a tiv e p ro n o u n s 392
6 .6 3 -6 9 N u m e ra ls 393
.6 3 - 6 4 C a rd in a l a n d o rd in a l n u m erals 393
.65 H un d red , thousand, million 395
.66 D a te s N 396
.67 F ra c tio n s 396
.68 M a th e m a tic a l sym bols 397
.69 C u rre n cy sta te m en ts 397

Pronouns 335
Pronouns
Introduction
P ro n o u n s sh a re sev eral c h ara cte ristics, m ost o f w hich a re a b se n t fro m n o u n s.
T h e ir n a m e im p lies th a t th ey ‘re p la ce ’ nouns, b u t we have alread y seen (2.44)
th a t th is is to a g reat e x te n t a m isnom er. It is best to see p ro n o u n s a s
c o m p risin g a v a ried class o f closed-class w ords w ith no m in al fu n ctio n . B y
‘n o m in a l’ here w e m ean ‘no u n -lik e ’ o r, m ore frequently, ‘like a n o u n p h r a s e ’.
S em an tically , a p ro n o u n m ay b e a ‘pro-form ’ in any o f th e th re e sen ses
illu stra te d in' th e follow ing e x a m p le :
M a rg o t longed fo r a bicycle, a n d a t last (C ) som ebody g av e (B) her

(A ) a brand new one.
(A ) I t m a y su b stitu te fo r som e w o rd or p h ra se (as one m ay su b stitu te fo r a

n o u n , a n d th erefo re b e a ‘p ro n o u n ’ in a q u ite literal sense).
(B) I t m ay sig n al, as p e rso n al p ro n o u n s like her do, th a t referen ce is b e in g
m a d e to so m eth in g w h ich is given o r k n o w n w ith in th e lin g u istic o r
situ a tio n a l c o n te x t (c /1 9 .3 3 /).
(C ) I t m a y s ta n d fo r a v e ry g e n era l concept, so th a t its referen ce in clu d e s
th e referen ce o f u n to ld m o re specific no u n p h rases: som ebody, fo r
ex am p le, in d ic a te s a b ro a d class o f peo p le including a girl, a m an, a
secretary, etc.
A ll th re e p ro n o u n s in ita lic s in th e exam ple have th is in co m m o n : th e ir

m e a n in g in itself is g e n era l a n d u n d e te rm in e d ; th e ir in te rp re ta tio n th e re fo re
d e p e n d s to an u n u su al e x te n t o n w h a t in fo rm atio n is supplied b y co n tex t.
S y n tactically , m o st p ro n o u n s fu n ctio n like no u n p h rases ra th e r th a n n o u n s
(c /5 .1 ). T h ey c o m b in e in o n ly a lim ited w ay w ith d eterm in ers a n d m odifiers.
W e c a n say, in d eed , t h a t m o st p ro n o u n s, b ein g intrinsically e ith e r d efin ite o r
in d efin ite , in co rp o ra te th e ir o w n d e te rm in e r ( c /5 .1 0 /) . C o n trast:
I n a d d itio n , som e p ro n o u n s h a v e m o rphological c h ara cteristics th a t n o u n s

do n o t have:
(a) c Fs e : T h ere is a c o n tra s t b etw een subjective an d o b jectiv e c ases: //m e ,
she/her, who j whom, e tc (c f6 .2 ff).

(b) p e r s o n : T h ere is a c o n tra s t b etw een 1st, 2nd, an d 3rd p e rs o n s : IIyou/she,
etc ( c f 6.6).
(c) g e n d e r : T h e re are o v e rt g ram m atical c o n trasts b etw een (i) p erso n al a n d
n o n p e rso n al g e n d er; a n d b etw een (ii) m asculine a n d fe m in in e g e n d e r:
he/she/it, e tc ( c / 6 . 8 / ) .
(d) n u m e r : T h e re a re m o rp h o lo g ically u n related n u m b er fo rm s, as in I!w e,
|
he/they, as o p p o sed to th e ty p ical regular fo rm atio n o f n o u n p lu rals: girl /

girls, e tc ( c / 6 .1 1 /) .
T h ese sp ecial d istin c tio n s asso ciated w ith p ro n o u n s are fo u n d m o st n o tab ly
in th e class o f p e r s o n l p r o n o u n s , w h ich m ay be reg ard ed , by re aso n o f
F
th e ir freq u en cy a n d th e ir g ra m m a tic a l ch aracteristics, as th e m o st im p o rta n t

336 P ron oun s and numerals
a n d c e n tr a l class o f pro n o u n s. A ccordingly, it is to p ersonal p ro n o u n s above

all t h a t w e tu r n in exem plifying th ese ch aracteristics. In th e follow ing
se c tio n s w e e x am in e th e categories o f case, person, gender, a n d n u m b e r in
m o re d e ta il, b e fo re p ro ceed in g to a c o n sid era tio n o f the v ario u s classes o f
p ro n o u n s.
Case
C a se fo r m s
N o u n s a n d m o st p ro n o u n s in E n g lish h a v e only tw o case fo rm s: c o m m o n
c ase ( children, som eone) an d g e n i t i v e c ase (children’s, som eone's). H o w ev er,
th e five p e rso n a l p ro n o u n s I, we, he, she, they a n d th e w/z-pronoun who h a v e a
f u rth e r d is tin c tio n b etw een s u j e c t i v e a n d o j e c t i v e cases.
| |
T a b le 6 .2 P e r s o n a l p r o n o u n s w i t h s u b je c tiv e , o b je c ti v e , a n d g e n i tiv e c a s e f o r m s
SUBJECTIVE I we he sh e th e y w ho
you it
OBJECTIVE me us h im her th e m w h o (m )
GENITIVE
d e te rm in a tiv e my our your her its th e ir
h is w hose
in d e p e n d e n t m in e o u rs yours h e rs th e ir s
A s T able 6.2 sh o w s, th e re are a d d itio n ally tw o gen itiv e form s, a d e te rm in a tiv e

a n d a n in d e p e n d e n t form ( c f 6.29), for five o f th e pronouns.
T h e re is a m e rg e r (syncretism ) o f case form s in th e follow ing p ro n o u n s:
th e d e te rm in a tiv e g en itiv e a n d o b jectiv e form s o f she are id e n tic a l, a n d th e
su b je ctiv e/o b je c tiv e d istin c tio n b etw een who an d whom is n o t alw ays
m a in ta in e d ( c f 6.35, 6.38). T h e p e rso n al p ro n o u n s yo u a n d it d o n o t h av e
d is tin c t su b je ctiv e an d o b jectiv e case fo rm s ( c f 6.14).
T h e g e n itiv e 'fo rm s o f th e p erso n al p ro n o u n s are, in a c c o rd an c e w ith
g ra m m a tic a l tra d itio n , called p o s s e s s i v e pronouns.
T h e u se o f c a se fo r m s
T h e u se o f th e possessive p ro n o u n form s corresp o n d s largely to th a t o f the
g en itiv e o f noun's ( c f 5 .1 12(f), ex cep t t h a t th e tw o d ifferent possessive form s,
w h ere th e y ex ist, fu n ctio n as d e te rm in a tiv e an d in d ep e n d en t g e n itiv es (c f
6.29). T h e la tte r a re, in effect, ‘tru e p ro n o u n s’.
T h e c h o ice b e tw e e n su b jectiv e a n d o b jectiv e cases is m ad e o n th e b asis o f
a p ro n o u n ’s fu n c tio n in th e clause. A s th e ir n am e im plies, su b jectiv e p erso n al
p ro n o u n s fu n c tio n as su b ject a n d so m etim es as subject c o m p le m e n t; o b jectiv e
p e rso n al p ro n o u n s fu n ctio n as o b ject, p rep o sitio n al c o m p le m e n t, a n d
so m e tim es as su b je ct co m p lem en t.
Table 6.3 o p p o site show s th a t b o th su b jectiv e an d o b jectiv e case fo rm s can
b e used a s su b ject co m p lem en t. A lth o u g h th e p re scrip tiv e g ra m m a r tra d itio n
stip u la te s th e su b jectiv e case form , th e o b jectiv e form is n o rm ally felt to be
th e n a tu ra l o n e, p a rticu la rly in in fo rm al style. W e shall no w e x am in e th is
o v e rla p p in g use o f case form s m o re carefully.
Pronouns 337
Table 6.3 C ase functions o f personal pronouns
FUNCTION SUBJECTIVE CASE OBJECTIVE CASE
s u b je c t H e w a s la te .
s u b je c t c o m p l e m e n t I t w a s h e . < fo rm a l> I t w a s h im . < in f o r m a l>
o b je c t I s a w h im .
p re p o s itio n a l c o m p le m e n t I g a v e i t to h im .
Subjective an d objective cases

6 .4 W e h ave n o tic e d in Table 6.3 a d iscrep an cy b etw een th e use o f case in fo rm al
a n d in fo rm al E n g lish . In th e m ain , form al E n g lish follow s th e n o rm a tiv e
g ram m atical tr a d itio n w h ich associates th e su b jectiv e p ro n o u n s w ith th e
n o m in ativ e case o f p ro n o u n s in inflectional lan g u ag es su ch a s L atin , a n d th e
objective case w ith th e o b liq u e cases (especially a cc u sa tiv e a n d d a tiv e cases)
in such lan g u ag es. H e n ce th e subjective fo rm a p p e a rs n o t only in su b je ct
position, b u t in th a t o f su b je ct co m plem ent, a n d also in c o n stru ctio n s w h ere
it c a n be p o stu la te d t h a t th e p re d ic ate has b een e llip ted , leav in g a ‘s tr a n d e d ’
subject. T h is la s t, h o w ev er, m ay have d ifferen t realizatio n s in th e sh o rt
re sp o n se :
[ 1]
[2]
B ut in resp o n se fo rm s a n d c o m p a rativ e co n stru ctio n s, th e su b jectiv e p ro n o u n

on its ow n, su ch as she in [2], som etim es gives a stilted im p ressio n , a n d i t is
p referab le to ad d th e o p e ra to r a fte r it: she is.
In c o n tra st to th e trad itio n a lly ‘co rrect’ use o f th e su b jectiv e fo rm It's I in
[1] a n d . . . than/as she in [2], in fo rm al usage fav o u rs th e o b jectiv e fo rm :
A : W h o ’s th e re ? B : M e. [ la ]
[2a]
W e m ay say th a t, in in fo rm a l E nglish, as a n d than c o u n t as p re p o sitio n s (a n d

are th erefo re follow ed by a n o b jectiv e pro n o u n as p re p o sitio n a l co m p le m e n t)
in stead o f c o u n tin g a s s u b o rd in a tin g co n ju n ctio n s ( c f 9.4, 14.12).
6.5 T h is p u rely stru c tu ra l e x p la n atio n , how ever, is n o t th e w hole story. T o

acco u n t fo r th e g e n era l p a tte rn o f p ro n o u n u sage in in fo rm al style, i t is
reaso n ab le to say th a t th e tra d itio n a l case d istin c tio n s d o n o t o p e rate h e re
an y m ore th a n th ey d o w ith th e g enitive (c/5 .1 1 I f f ) . In ste ad , th ere is a b ro a d
d iv isio n o f th e fin ite clau se in to ‘s u j e c t t e r r i t o r y ’ (the p re v erb a l su b ject
|
position) a n d ‘o j e c t t e r r i t o r y ' (w hich in clu d es all n o u n -p h rase p o sitio n s

|
a p a rt fro m th a t im m e d ia tely p reced in g th e verb). In in fo rm al E n g lish , th a t

338 P ro n o u n s and num erals
is, th e o b je c tiv e p ro n o u n is th e u n m ark ed case form , used in th e ab sen ce o f

p o s itiv e re a so n s fo r u sin g th e subjective form . It is th is w h ich acco u n ts for
th e u se o f m e , h im , th e m , e tc in subject c o m p lem en t fu n c tio n in co n v ersatio n al
c o n te x ts ( I t ’s o n ly m e , T h a t ’l l b e th e m , etc), an d for th e u se o f m e inform ally in
‘a b s o lu te ’ fu n c tio n s su c h as th o se o f [la ] ab o v e. P ressin g th e p o in t a little
f u r th e r , w e m ay say th a t th e sam e idea o f ‘o b ject te rrito ry ’ ex p lain s a n o ften
c o n d e m n e d ten d e n c y fo r sp e ak ers to use th e o b jectiv e case ev en in th e subject
f u n c tio n w h e re a p ro n o u n is c o o rd in ated , a n d th ere fo re is se p a ra te d to som e
e x te n t fro m th e follow ing v erb , e ith e r by p o sitio n o r b y failu re o f concord, as
in th e n o n s ta n d a r d :
H im a n d M a ry
a re g oing a b ro ad for a holiday. [3]
M a r y a n d h im
T h e n o n s ta n d a rd u sag e o f [3] m ay becom e ev en m o re ‘re p re h e n sib le ’, th o u g h

n o t th e less c o m m o n , if th e offending p ro n o u n also vio lates th e rule o f
p o lite n e s s w h ich s tip u la te s th a t 1st p erso n p ro n o u n s sh o u ld o c cu r a t th e en d
o f th e c o o rd in a te c o n stru c tio n :
M e a n d M a r y are g o in g a b ro ad for a holiday. [4]

T h e p re sc rip tiv e b ia s in fav o u r o f subjective fo rm s a p p e a rs to acco u n t for
th e ir h y p e rc o rre c t use in co o rd in a te no u n p h ra ses in ‘o b jec t te rrito ry ’: b e tw e e n
y o u a n d I , a s f o r J o h n a n d I , etc. A n o th er re aso n is th a t x a n d I is felt to b e a
p o lite se q u e n ce w h ic h c a n re m a in u n ch an g ed , p a rticu la rly in view o f th e
d is ta n c e b etw een th e p re p o sitio n an d I. C o m p are also:
L e t( ’s) y o u a n d / d o i t !
H e says h e saw J o h n a n d / last night.
T h e s e a re ex am p les o f a ty p e w h ich is n o t u n c o m m o n in in fo rm al
c o n v e rsa tio n .
I n c le ft sen ten ces th e re is o ften felt to b e u n c la rity a b o u t th e g ram m atical
fu n c tio n o f a p ro n o u n a c tin g as ‘focus’ (c /1 8 .2 5 ^ ) :
I t w as s h e w h o c am e. [5]
I t w as (th at) J o h n c riticized . [6]
I t w as h e r th a t c am e. <inform al> [7]

I t ’s n o t m e (vh o ’s p ro u d . <inform al> [8 ]
T h e fo cal p ro n o u n h as a Ja n u s-lik e statu s, b ein g a su b je ct c o m p lem en t w ith
re s p e c t to th e p re ce d in g v e rb b e , an d an e le m en t o f v a ria b le fu n ctio n w ith
re s p e c t to th e follow ing verb.
I n [5], w h ere s h e is a c o m p lem en t w ith re sp ec t to w a s a n d a su b ject w ith
re s p e c t to c a m e , th e re is n o conflict in fo rm al usage, sin ce th e subjective
p ro n o u n is fav o u red fo r b o th functions. B u t in [6] th ere is a conflict o f
fu n c tio n s, an d n e ith e r p ro n o u n form is felt to b e co m p letely satisfactory.
S in c e h e r is th e o b ject o f c r itic iz e , how ever, th e o b jectiv e form is superficially
m o re a ccep tab le, a n d is p re fe rre d in in fo rm al usage. In fa m ilia r usage, the
o b je c tiv e fo rm is o fte n used ev en w here th e p ro n o u n is a su b ject w ith respect
to th e follow ing v e r b :
Pronouns 339
I t w as th e m th a t d id it.
A fte r in d efin ite p ro n o u n s (n o b o d y , e v e r y o n e , a ll, etc) + b u t o r e x c e p t, u sa g e

is a g a in d iv id e d b etw een su b jectiv e a n d o b jectiv e c ase form s (d e p en d in g o n
w h e th e r b u t a n d e x c e p t a re co n sid ered co n ju n ctio n s o r p re p o sitio n s);
nobody I f b u t 1 f she
ev ery o n e J [e x c e p tJ ( h e r
T h e re seem s to b e a ten d e n cy (at least am o n g p rescrip tiv ists) to fa v o u r th e

su b jectiv e case a fte r b u t in su b ject te rrito ry [9], an d th e o b jectiv e case in
o b jec t te rrito ry [10]; in [11], / w ould be consid ered a h y p erco rrect fo rm ;
N o b o d y b u t s h e c a n solve o u r p ro b lem s. [9]

N o b o d y c a n solve o u r p ro b lem s b u t h e r. [10]
N o b o d y sa id a n y th in g b u t m e . [11]
T o a v o id th e issue, th e a lte rn a tiv e co n stru ctio n w ith m y s e l f c a n b e u se d

(c /6 .2 7 );
N o b o d y sa id a n y th in g b u t m y s e lf. [11a]
T h e o b jectiv e fo rm is th e generally a ccep ted form w hen th e p ro n o u n is in a n

o b ject r e la tio n to th e v e r b :
I w a n t n o b o d y b u t h im . [‘I w a n t h im a n d n o body else’] [12]
N o te [a] S ee 10.44 N o te [b] on th e q uestion o f co n co rd , as i n :

I t is / who a m to b lam e.
{It is m e who’s to b la m e. <inform al>
[b] T h e th e o ry o f ‘su b jec t te rrito ry ’ a n d ‘o b je ct te rrito ry ’ can also be exten d ed to d e a l w ith th e
p ec u liar d is trib u tio n o f who an d whom { c f 6.35, 17.13/).
[c] I n fa m ilia r sp e e c h , us m ay occu r in ste ad o f we (c /6 .1 8) in expressions lik e :
Us girts c a n alw a y s ta k e a jo ke.
Person
6 .6 P erso n al, po ssessiv e, a n d reflexive p ro n o u n s h av e (unlike nouns) d istin c tio n s
o f p erso n . T h e th re e p erso n s m ay be defined as fo llo w s:
1s t p e r s o n p r o n o u n s :
I , m e , m y , m in e , m y s e l f
w e , u s , o u r , o u r s , o u r s e lv e s
T h e referen ce o f th ese p ro n o u n s includes th e speak er(s)/w riter(s) o f th e
m essage.
2n d pe r s o n p r o n o u n s :
y o u , y o u r , y o u r s , y o u r s e lf, y o u r s e lv e s
T h e referen ce o f th ese p ro n o u n s includes th e addressee(s), b u t excludes th e
sp eak er(s)/w riter(s).
3r d p erso n p ro n o u n s:
h e , h im , h is , h i m s e l f
s h e , h e r, h e r s , h e r s e l f
it, its , i t s e l f
th e y , th e m , t h e ir , th e ir s, th e m s e lv e s
340 P ro n o u n s and numerals
T h e re fe re n c e o f th ese p ro n o u n s excludes b o th speak er(s)/w riter(s) an d

a d d re ss e e (s); ie 3 rd p erso n p ro n o u n s re fe r to ‘th ird p a rtie s ’ n o t d irectly
in v o lv e d in th e o rig in a tio n o r re ce p tio n o f th e u tte ran c e in w h ich th ey occur.
A ll n o u n p h ra se s (ex cep t those h a v in g 1st a n d 2nd p erso n p ro n o u n s as
h e a d s ) a re 3rd p e rso n fo r p u rp o ses o f co n co rd :
T h e m anjH e \ , . . . ,
T h e c arf i t ju s t a rriv ed .
T o c la rify th e im p licatio n s o f p erso n , w e use th e sym bols s, h, a n d o

(m n e m o n ic a id s : ‘s p e a k e r’, ‘h e are r’, ‘o th e r’) a s fo llo w s:
s : th e o rig in ato r(s) o f th e m essage, w h e th er sp eak er o r w riter, a n d

w h e th e r sin g u lar o r p lural
h : th e ad d ressee(s) o f th e m essage, w h e th er h e arer o r re ad e r, a n d
w h e th e r sin g u lar o r p lural
o : an y o th e r referen t(s) e xcluded fro m th e definitions o f s a n d h
T h e n th e m e a n in g s o f th e th ree p erso n s c a n b e su m m arized a s in F ig 6 .6 :
1st p e r s o n +5 ±h ±°
2nd p e rso n —s +h ±0
3 rd p e r s o n —s -A +0
F ig 6 .6 M e a n in g s o f 1st, 2 n d , a n d 3 rd p e rso n
T h e m e a n in g s o f th e sin g u lar p ro n o u n s are lim ited to th e boxes w ith th ic k

b o rd e rs , w h ile th e m ea n in g s o f th e p lu ral p ro n o u n s m ay in clu d e also th e
b o x es w ith th in b o rd ers. T h ese v ario u s p o ssib ilities are illu stra te d w ith
reflex iv e p ro n o u n s in Table 6.6:
Table 6 .6 1st, 2 n d , a n d 3 rd p e rs o n p ro n o u n s
s A 0 PERSON EXAMPLES WITH REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
+ — L 1st I g a v e m y s e lf u p .
< + 2nd Y o u sh o u ld b e a s h a m e d o f yo u rself, R ic h a r d !
hJ —
p fM a ry h a s h u rt herself.
o
z 3rd ^ J o h n h a s h u r t him self.
to +
" IT h e s p id e r h a s h u r t its e lf
+ _ _ 1st W e, th e u n d e rs ig n e d , p led g e ourselves t o . . .

+ + _ 1st W e c o m p le m e n te d ourselves to o so o n , J o h n ,
[‘in c lu siv e we']
_) 1st T h e c h ild re n a n d I can look a f te r ourselves.
-f- — +
[‘ex clu siv e we']
PM + + + 1st Y o u , A n n , a n d I a r e w o rk in g ourselves to d e a th .
+ - 2nd Y o u o u g h t to b e a s h a m e d o f yourselves, c h ild re n !
- + + 2n d Y ou a n d J o h n w ill h a v e to co o k fo r yourselves.
- - + 3rd T h e y h elp ed them selves to coffee a n d c a k e s.
Pronouns 341
6 .7 T h e term s i n c l u s i v e we a n d e x c l u s i v e we are som etim es u sed fo r 1st p e rso n

p lu ral pron o u n s w h ic h resp ectiv ely include and exclude re fe re n ce to th e
ad d ressee. W e should in a d d itio n d istin g u ish a special ty p e o f exclusive w e
called c o l l e c t i v e we w h ic h in d icates a plurality o f sp e a k ers/w riters, eg in
p e titio n s (W e, the undersigned , . . . ) o r in p rayers (W e thank Thee, O G od , . . . ) .
U n lik e som e lan g u ag es, how ever, E nglish does n o t m a k e a n y fo rm al
d istin c tio n b etw een ‘in clu siv e’ an d ‘exclusive’ reference. T h e o n ly c irc u m
sta n ce in w h ich in clu siv e we is g ram m atically d istin c t is in th e 1st p e rso n
im p e rativ e L e t’s . . . (e /3 .5 1 N o te [b], 11.26). T his c o n tra c tio n o f us t o ’s ( c f
A p p II.9) is only p o ssib le w h ere us h a s inclusive referen ce ( c f 6.18). T h ere is
a c o rresp o n d in g q u e stio n shall we . . . ? in w hich we also h a s in clu siv e
referen ce, an d w h ic h m ay b e a d d ed to th e im p erativ e as a ta g q u e s tio n :
L e t’s enjoy o u rselv es, sh all we?
Gender
6 .8 G e n d e r d istin c tio n s a re larg ely restricted to 3rd p erso n sin g u lar p ro n o u n s o f
th e categ o ries o f p e rso n al, possessive, a n d reflexive p ro n o u n s, as show n in
Table 6.8:
T a b le 6.8 G e n d e r d i s t i n c t i o n s in p r o n o u n s
m a s c u lin e he him his h im s e lf

PERSONAL GENDER
fe m in in e she her her hers h e r s e lf
NONPERSONAL GENDER it its its e lf
T h ese g en d er d istin c tio n s a re n eu tralized in the p lu ral: th ey, them , etc. N o

p ro n o u n s o th er th a n th o se in Table 6.8 m an ifest a m asc u lin e /fe m in in e
co n tra st, b u t th e p e rso n al/n o n p erso n al c o n trast is also fo u n d in re la tiv e
p ro n o u n s (who/whom c o n tra ste d w ith which) a n d in in d efin ite p ro n o u n s
(som ebody c o n tra sted w ith som ething, etc). T h e 1st a n d 2 n d p e rso n p ro n o u n s
a re in ev itab ly o f p e rso n al ra th e r th a n nonpersonal gender.
T h e choice b e tw ee n p e rso n al a n d n o n p erso n al g e n d e r is d e te rm in e d
p rim a rily by w h e th er th e re fe re n ce is to a ‘p erso n ’, ie to a b e in g fe lt to possess
ch ara cte ristics a sso ciated w ith a m em b er o f the h u m an race. So defin ed ,
‘p erso n s’ are n o t only h u m a n beings, b u t m ay also in clu d e su p e rn a tu ra l
b ein g s (th e D eity , gods, an g els, fairies, etc), an d h ig h er a n im a ls (c /5 .1 0 9 ).
E x cep tio n al uses su c h as it refe rrin g to b ab ies a n d she re fe rrin g to ships h a v e
a lread y been n o ted (c /5 .1 0 7 , 5.111 N ote). T h e o ccu rren ce o f he an d she in
cases o f o u trig h t p e rso n ificatio n is com m on in in fo rm al u s e : he m ay refer to
a c o m p u te r; she (or, fo r so m e w om en, he) to a car. In p o e try a n d fiction
(especially c h ild re n ’s fiction) th ere are virtually no lim its to th e k in d s o f
o b jec t w h ich can b e p erso n ified in th is way.
In the use o f 3 rd p e rso n sin g u lar pronouns, th e ab se n ce o f a p ro n o u n o f
p e rso n al g en d er w h ic h is n e u tra l b etw een he an d she influences th e b o u n d ary
b etw een he/she, o n th e o n e h a n d , an d it o n th e o th er. J u s t as a b a b y m ay be
d e sig n ated it, so a m em b e r o f a n o n h u m an species m ay b e d esig n ated he o r
she ( c f 5.1 0 9 /):
T h e ro b in b u ild s its n e st in a w ell-chosen p o sitio n . . . a n d , a fte r the

eg g s h a v e h a tc h ed , th e m o th e r b ird feeds h e r young th e re for several
w eek s.
A s t h is e x a m p le show s, th e p ro n o u n usage can v acillate w ith in a single

p a r a g r a p h o r e v en a single sentence.
M a sc u lin e an d fem inine gender

T h e c h o ic e b e tw ee n m ascu lin e an d fem in in e p ro n o u n s is p rim a rily b ased on
th e s e x o f th e p e rso n (or a n im a l) referred t o :
F r e d lo o k ed a t h i m s e l f in th e m irror.
F r e d a lo o k ed a t h e r s e l f in th e m irror.
D ifficu ltie s o f u sage arise, how ever, b ecause E n g lish h as n o sex -n eu tral 3rd
p e rs o n s in g u la r p ro n o u n . C o n seq u en tly , th e p lu ral p ro n o u n t h e y is o ften used
in fo rm a lly in d efian ce o f stric t n u m b e r concord, in co referen ce w ith th e
in d e fin ite p ro n o u n s e v e r y o n e , e v e r y b o d y ; s o m e o n e , s o m e b o d y ; a n y o n e , a n y b o d y ;
n o o n e , n o b o d y ( c f 10.50):
E v e r y o n e th in k s th e y h a v e a rig h t to be h ere. [1]

H a s a n y b o d y b ro u g h t th e ir ra ck e t? [2]
N o o n e sh o u ld p r id e th e m s e lv e s o n th is result. [3]
T h e p lu r a l is a c o n v e n ie n t m ean s o f av o id in g th e tra d itio n a l use o f h e as th e

u n m a rk e d fo rm w h en th e sex is n o t d e term in ed (c f: m a n , 5.54 N o te), as in
th e f o r m a l :
E v e r y o n e th in k s h e h as a rig h t to be here. <form al> [la ]
T h e u se o f th e p lu ral is also a m ean s o f av o id in g th e c u m b erso m e d ev ice o f

c o o rd in a tin g m ascu lin e a n d fem in in e:
H a s a n y b o d y b ro u g h t h is o r h e r ra ck e t? [2a]
A n d th e sa m e ch o ice m ay be m ad e in referrin g b a c k to a sin g u lar no u n

p h ra s e w ith a p e rso n al n o u n o f in d ete rm in ate g en d er as h e a d :
E v e r y s t u d e n t h as to m a k e up h is ow n m ind.
T h e a p p lic a n t is re q u ire d to sign h is n am e clearly o n p a g e four o f
th is form .
T h e d ile m m a o f c o n co rd also arises w ith co o rd in a te su b jects a n d w ith

su b jects o f c o m m o n g en d er, b u t here reso rt to th e e v asiv e ta c tic o f th e p lural
p ro n o u n , th o u g h c o m m o n in every d ay speech, is less a cc e p ta b le :
E ith e r h e d r h is w ife is g o in g to h av e to ch an g e th e ir a ttitu d e .

N o t e v e r y d r u g a d d ic t c a n solve th e ir p ro b lem so easily.
T h e y is p a rtic u la rly d ifficult to a v o id in c ases lik e [4], an d in ta g q u estio n s [5]

( c f 10.50 N o te [a]):
E v e r y b o d y cam e to th e p arty , b u t t h e y 'v e left now . [4]

S o m e o n e d ied h ere y esterd ay , d id n ’t th e y I [5]
Pronouns 343
Sexual bias in th e use o f pronouns

6.10 In re cen t d ecad es, th e use o f he, him, etc a s a n ‘u n m ark e d ’ p ro n o u n w h en t h e
sex o f th e re fe re n t is u n d eterm in ed h as been o pposed, p articu larly in th e
U n ited S tates, by th o se c am p aig n in g ag ain st sexual bias in language. S o m e
o f th e m eth o d s p ro p o se d for avoiding the u n m a rk e d m asculine a re illu stra te d
in th e fo llo w in g e x am p les a n d suggested revisions (quoted from th e T E S O L
Q uarterly Style S h eet, V ol 13):
(a) T h e s p e a k e r m u st co n stan tly m o n ito r his listen er to c h eck t h a t

a ssu m p tio n s he is m ak in g are sh ared assum ptions.
s u g g e s t e d r e v i s i o n (ch an g e to the an d re p h ra s e ):
T h e s p e a k e r m u st co n stan tly m o n ito r the listen er an d c h eck th a t th e

assu m p tio n s the speaker is m aking are shared.
(b) V ery o ften th e w rite r does n o t m o n ito r his arg u m en ts very well o r get h is
n a rra tiv e in th e rig h t o rder.
s u g g e s t e d r e v i s i o n (ch an g e to p lu ra l):
V ery o fte n w rite rs d o n o t m o n ito r their arg u m en ts very well o r g et th eir

n a rra tiv e s in th e rig h t order.
(c) T h e s tu d e n ts d o a lm o st all the in te rac tin g , th e teach er tak in g a b a c k se a t.
T h a t is to say, he is n o t u n d er th e p ressu re o f actin g as chairman or host.
s u g g e s t e d r e v i s i o n (ch an g e to s/he a n d re p h ra se ):
. . . T h a t is to say, s/h e is n o t u n d er th e p ressu re o f a ctin g as classro o m

d irecto r.
T h e last ex am p le illu stra te s the use o f an in v en te d sex-neutral p ro n o u n s/h e .

I t is u n c e rta in h o w fa r su ch ex p erim en tal form s as th is will com e in to g e n e ra l
use, especially w h e n s/h e is only a w ritten fo rm w ith no co rresp o n d in g s p o k e n
fo rm (u n lik e M s ; c f 5.66 N o te [a]); an d , still m o re seriously, th ere is n o
objectiv e o r p o ssessiv e form . G enerally, it is n o t c ertain how fa r th e a d v o ca cy
o f n o n se x ist lan g u a g e will succeed in d isco u rag in g such usages as th e
u n m ark e d m ascu lin e p ro n o u n . W h at is clear is th a t the fem in ist m o v em e n t
in lan g u ag e h a s m a d e m a n y language u sers a w are o f pro b lem s o f sexual b ia s
w hich w ere o v e rlo o k e d by e arlier g en eratio n s.
N um ber
6.11 A s a lread y in d ic a te d (6.1 a n d 6.6), th e p e rso n al, reflexive, an d possessive
pro n o u n s h a v e s in g u la r a n d p lural form s w h ich are m o rp h o lo g ically
u n related . I t is also w o rth n o tin g th a t the p lu rals o f th e 1st an d 2nd p e rs o n
have a m o re specific m ea n in g th an do th o se o f nouns. E x cep t w hen it re fe rs
to, for e x am p le, co llectiv e au th o rsh ip ( c f 6.18), we m ean s ‘I plus o n e o r m o re
o th er p e rso n s’; a n d , sim ilarly, you w ith p lu ral referen ce norm ally m ean s ‘y o u
(singular) a n d o n e o r m o re o th er p ersons, b u t n o t m e’. But c o n tra st o f n u m b e r
is n e u tra liz ed w ith y o u : in c u rre n t sta n d ard E n g lish , only th e reflexive fo rm s
y o u rse lf a n d yourselves p reserv e a d istin c tio n b etw een sin g u lar a n d p lu ral:
H a rry , b e h a v e y o u rse lf \
H a rry an d S u san , b e h a v e yourselvesl
(O n a rc h a ic a n d n o n s ta n d a rd form s o f th e 2nd person sin g u lar an d p lu ra l

p ro n o u n s, c /6 .1 2 N o te s [b] an d [c].)
R eflex iv e p ro n o u n s in g en eral show n u m b er c o n tra st in th e m an n e r o f

n o u n s. T h e suffix -s e lf in th e sin g u lar changes, by th e ad d itio n o f a sib ila n t
suffix, to -selves in th e p lu ral (c f such nou n s in - / as c a lf ~ calves , 5.83):
s in g u la r m y s e lf y o u r s e lf h im s e lfjh e r s e lj] i t s e l f
p lu ra l o u r s e lv e s y o u r s e lv e s th e m s e lv e s
Fig 6.11 Reflexive pronouns
T h e re is also th e ra re (royal) sin g u lar form o u rse lf ( c f 6.18 N o te [a]).

P ro n o u n s b elo n g in g to o th e r classes, su ch as in terro g ativ e, relative, a n d
in d efin ite p ro n o u n s, d o n o t in g eneral have n u m b er c o n trast. E x cep tio n s a re
th e d e m o n s tra tiv e s thisjthese an d that/those, a n d th e in d efin ite p ro n o u n one
w h e n used a s a su b stitu te . O th e r pro n o u n s, like th e co rresp o n d in g d ete rm in e rs
(c/5 .1 2 ), a re in v a ria b le fo r n u m b er. T h e p ro n o u n both, lik e th e p re d eterm in er
both, h as d u a l m ea n in g , b u t is p lu ral for p u rp o ses o f concord.
6.1 2 T h ere a re fo rm a l g ro u n d s for saying th a t, ju s t as th e trad itio n ally u n m ark e d

g e n d er c ateg o ry is m ascu lin e, so th e u n m ark e d n u m b er c ateg o ry is singular.
T h e c o m p o u n d in d efin ite p ro n o u n s someone, everybody, nothing, etc are
sin g u lar, a n d h a v e n o p lu ral co u n te rp arts (*someones, *everybodies, *nothings );
y et they th em se lv es c a n refer to m ore th a n one en tity , a n d be n o tio n ally
p lu ral:
A : D id you see anyone in th e library?
g . f Y es, sev eral people.

' [* N o , several people.
S im ilarly, th e su b s titu te p ro n o u n s any an d none a re notionally o ften

asso ciated w ith p lu ral n u m b e r; b u t, acco rd in g to p rescrip tiv e g ra m m atica l
trad itio n , th ey a re sin g u lar, a n d hence in form al E n g lish th ey a re g en erally
req u ired to a g ree w ith a sin g u lar verb ( c f 10.42).
T h e in te rro g a tiv e p ro n o u n s who an d w hat a re sim ilar to any an d none in
th a t they a re tre a te d as sin g u lar fo r su b je ct-v erb co n co rd , ev en though th ey
m ay im ply a p lu ral an sw e r:
A : W h o ’s co m in g to th e p a rty ? B : M o st o f o u r n eighbours.
A : W hat's o n th e m en u to d ay ? B : L o ts o f things.
N o te [a] In th e a b se n c e o f a sin g u la r/p lu ra l distin ctio n in th e 2nd person p ro n o u n , plural refere n ce is

som etim es in d ic a te d by lexical a d d itio n s, eg: yo u people, yo u boys, and ( e s p A m E ) yo u guys.
[b] T h e lo w -p restig e plu ral fo rm youse /ju:z/ is c u rre n t in N o rth e rn A m E a n d certain a re a s o f
B ritain su ch as L iv erp o o l a n d G lasgow . In S ou th ern A m E , by c o n tra st, th e sin g u la r/p lu ra l
d istin ctio n h a s b een re-form ed th ro u g h sufhxation o f th e o riginally p lural fo rm : You-atl iy 'a ti
/jo: 1/) is w idely used o n all social levels in S outhern A m E (alw ays w ith a plural m ean in g by th o se
to w hom th e fo rm is n ativ e, alth o u g h often m isunderstood as a sin g u lar by outlanders). T h e re is
also a collo q u ial g en itiv e y 'a il's /jodz/, as i n :
I really lik e y 'a ll's new c a r. [‘yo u r fam ily's new c a r ’]
[c] You in e a rlie r E n g lish w as a p lural pronoun o nly, a n d w as restricted to oblique cases.
A lthough y o u h as g a in ed un iv ersal currency as a 2nd person pronoun w hich is neutral in ca se
Pronouns 345
a n d n u m b e r, there is a n arch a ic system o f p ro nouns w here o th e r 2nd p erso n p ro n o u n s su rv iv e in

restricted situ atio n s, especially in religious language, as show n in Table 6.12:
T able 6.1 2 A rch aic system o f p ro n o u n s
SUBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE REFLEXIVE POSSESSIVE
SIN GU LA R
thou /d a u / thee /6 i:/ th y se lf th y thine
(r/j-form s)
PLURAL
y e l'f'I you/{ye) yourselves your yours
(y-form s)
W h ile w e presen t th is system o f religious usage, it should be poin ted o u t th a t th e re is a g re a t d e a l

o f v aria tio n in cu rre n t religious p ractice . T h ere is a tre n d to w ard s th e ad o p tio n o f p resen t-d a y
p ro n o u n form s { c f v erb form s, 3.4 N o te [b]). F o r ex am ple, th e tra d itio n a l use o f f/i-form s in
Q u a k e r usage seem s to be n o lo n g er c u rre n t. In som e dialects o f B rE , p articu larly in th e n o r th o f
E n g lan d , fo rm s deriv in g fro m th e e a rlie r sin g u lar thoufthee a re still c u rre n t also in n o n relig io u s
contexts.
Subclasses of pronouns
6.13 T h e class o f p ro n o u n s in clu d es a n u m b er o f hetero g en eo u s item s, m an y o f
w h ich , as we h a v e alread y seen , d o n o t sh are all o f th e ab o v e co n tra sts. F o r
ex am p le, som ebody (b e in g 3 rd person) h as no co rresp o n d in g 1st an d 2 n d
p e rso n d istin ctio n , n o su b jectiv e/o b jectiv e c o n trast, a n d n o m ascu lin e/
fe m in in e c o n trast. Y e t it is in clu d ed am ong o u r p ro n o u n s, as it in c o rp o ra te s
its o w n d e term in er, is a closed-class item , an d has th e k in d o f g e n eralized
m ea n in g we associate w ith p ro n o u n s. T h e p o in t we w a n t to m a k e here is t h a t
th e c h ara cte ristics w h ich single o u t the p ro n o u n class fro m th e n o u n class are
n o t sh a red by all its m em b e rs. Figure 6.13 show s th e d ifferen t su b classes o f
p ro n o u n s a n d gives referen ces to sections w here they a re d isc u sse d :
p e r s o n a l: Ijm e , w e /u s ,. . . 6.15-22
reflexiv e : m y s e lf , o u r s e lv e s ,. . . 6.23-28
p o s s e s s i v e : m y jm in e , o u r j o u r s , . . 6.29-30
■r e c i p r o c F l : e a c h o th e r , o n e a n o th e r 6.31
•r e l F t iv e : t h e w A -series, th a t 6.32-35
-in t e r r o g F t iv e : t h e tv /i-se rie s 6.36-39
■d e m o n s t r a t i v e : th is, th e s e , th a t, th o s e 6.40-44
a li a n d b o th 6.50
i- u n iv e r s a l-
each a n d every 6.51
p t h e s o m e s e r ie s 6.52
m u l ta l a n d p a u c a l 6.53
i- p o s itiv e - - a s s e rtiv e - on e 6.54-56
- h a lf, se v e r a l, e n o u g h 6.57
L INDEFINITE— - o th e r a n d a n o th e r 6.58
- n o n a s s e r t i v e : t h e a n y s e r ie s a n d e ith e r 6.59-61
■n e g a t i v e : t h e n o s e r ie s a n d n e ith e r 6.62
F ig 6 .1 3 P r o n o u n s u b c la s s e s
P erso n al, possessive, a n d reflexive p ro n o u n s m ay b e called th e c e n t r l F
, since th ey sh a re th o se features we have m en tio n ed as b e in g

p r o n o u n s
p a rtic u la rly c h a ra c te ris tic o f p ro n o u n s, viz c o n tra st o f p erso n , g en d er, an d

s u b je c tiv e /o b je c tiv e case. A lth o u g h th ese c en tral p ro n o u n s fulfil d ifferen t
s y n ta c tic fu n c tio n s, th ey h av e o b v io u s m o rphological resem b lan ces. T h is is
also th e reaso n w h y th e possessives m y, your, etc have b een g ro u p e d w ith
c e n tra l p ro n o u n s , a lth o u g h such possessives, b eing d e te rm in a tiv e in fu n ctio n ,
c a n n o t fu n c tio n a lo n e in stead o f n o u n s, b u t only to g eth er w ith n o u n s ( c f
6.29).
C e n tra l p rono uns

6.14 T h e c e n tr a l p ro n o u n s h av e in c o m m o n th e d istin ctio n s o f p erso n (1st, 2nd,
a n d 3 rd ), g e n d e r (m asculine, fem in in e, a n d n o n p erso n al), a n d n u m b er
(sin g u la r a n d p lu ra l) th a t h av e a lre ad y been discussed. In a d d itio n , m o st
p e rs o n a l p ro n o u n s h a v e d istin ctio n s o f case. T h e v arious fo rm s o f th e cen tral
p ro n o u n s a re d isp lay e d in Table 6.14:
T a b le 6 .1 4 P e r s o n a l, reflex iv e, a n d p o ssessiv e p ro n o u n s
PERSONA L PRO N O U N S P O SSE SSIV E P R O N O U N S
R E F L E X IV E
s u b jec tiv e o b je c tiv e d e te rm in in d e p e n
PRONOUNS
case case a tiv e dent
fu n c tio n fu n c tio n
1s t p e r s o n
s in g u la r / me m y s e lf my m in e
p lu r a l we us ourselves our o u rs
c / N o t e [a]
2 n d p e r s o n
c / N o t e [b]
s in g u la r you you y o u rs e lf your y o u rs
p lu ra l you you yourselves your y o u rs
3 rd p e r s o n
s in g u la r m a s c u lin e he him h im s e lf his his
s in g u la r fe m in in e she her h e rse lf her hers
s in g u la r n o n it it its e lf its
p e rs o n a l
p lu ra l they them them selves their theirs

c f N o te [c]
N o te [a] O n th e ‘e d ito ria l we' a n d o th e r sp ecial uses o f th e 1st person plural p ro n o u n , c /6 .1 8 .

[b] A p a r t from y o u , th e re are th e ra re a n d /o r restricted 2nd person p ro n o u n s thou, you-ali, etc { c f
6.12 N o te s [b] a n d [c]).
[c] T hem is so m etim e s replaced by ’e m / j m / in fa m ilia r use, as in Kick 'em o u t!
[d] Us is th e o nly p ro n o u n th a t has a co n tra c te d form f s ) in stan d a rd E nglish (c /'A p p 11.9): Let's
S»-
Pronouns 347
P ersonal p ro n o u n s
W ith specific reference

6.15 T h e p erso n al p ro n o u n s usually h av e definite m ean in g , a n d resem ble th e n o u n
p h rases in tro d u c e d by th e d efin ite article in th a t they m ay have situ atio n al,
an ap h o ric, o r c a ta p h o ric referen ce {c f 5.28/f).
T h e 1st p erso n a n d 2 n d p e rso n pro n o u n s, w h en th ey h a v e specific referen ce,
are used to re fe r to th o se d irectly involved in th e discourse s itu a tio n : viz th e
sp eak er(s)/w riter(s) an d th e addressee(s) {c f 6.6).
T h e 3rd p e rso n p ro n o u n s m ay also be used situ atio n ally , to refer to so m e
person(s) o r th in g (s) w hose id e n tity can be in ferred from the e x tralin g u istic
c o n te x t:
A re they a slee p ? [sp o k en to his w ife by a h u sb an d nod d in g his head
to w ard s t h e c h ild re n ’s bedroom ]
O h, how k in d o f y o u ! M ay I o p e n it now ? [said by som eone receiv in g a
p re sen t fro m a guest]
M uch m o re freq u e n tly , h o w ev er, th e id en tity o f th e referents o f 3rd p erso n

p ro n o u n s is su p p lied by th e lin g u istic context. A s w ith th e definite a rticle, w e
d istin g u ish b e tw ee n th e n p h o r i c an d the c t p h o r i c uses o f a 3rd p e rso n
F F F F
p ro n o u n , a cc o rd in g to w h e th er th e elem en t w ith w h ich it co refers (th e

Fn t e c e d e n t ) p re c e d e s o r follow s it ( c f 5.30/f). T h e m o re com m on type o f
tex tu al re feren ce is a n a p h o ric referen ce:

W e h a v e an excellent m useum here. W ould you lik e to v isit it?
[ = th e m u seu m ] [1]
M y brother is a fra id th a t he will fail the test. [2]
The y oung g irl sta re d a t D an a n d said n o th in g : she seem ed
o ffended b y his m a n n e r, as if he h ad h a d th e in te n tio n o f
h u rtin g her. [3]
D r Solw ay to o k the student's blood p ressure th a t day. H e also
e x am in ed his lungs a n d h eart. [4]
It will be n o tic e d th a t in [4] he a n d D r Solway a re co referen tial, a n d his a n d

the student's a re co refe ren tial. W e recover th e a p p ro p ria te a n te ce d e n t b y
m ean s o f th e c o n te n t o f th e sen ten ce. F o r exam ple, th e second sen ten ce o f [4]
c an be c h an g e d so a s to e n fo rce a d ifferen t in te rp re ta tio n o f the p ro n o u n s:
D r Solw ay to o k the student's blood pressure th a t day. H e h ad felt
sick d u rin g th e n ig h t a n d c am e for his h elp as soon as th e clinic
o p en ed . [4a]
N o w th e c o n te n t o f th e se n ten ce suggests th a t he refers to the student an d his

to D r Solw ay. I f th e use o f th e p ro n o u n is felt to b e am biguous o r confusing,
th e a n te ce d e n t c a n b e u sed ag ain , o r a lexical e q u iv a len t c an be f o u n d :
. . . The stu d e n t h a d felt sick d u rin g th e n ig h t, a n d cam e
fo r h elp as soon as th e clin ic o p en ed . [4b]
‘R eferring it’
6.16 T h e n e u te r o r n o n p e rso n a l p ro n o u n it ( ‘r e f e r r i n g it’) is used to refer n o t
o n ly to in a n im a te o b jects as in exam ple 6.15 [1] ab o v e, b u t also to n o n co u n t

su b s ta n c e s (such as som e soup in [1] below), to sin g u lar a b stra c tio n s (such as
the s a c k o f R om e in [2]), an d ev en to sin g u lar co llectio n s o f people, such as
P a rlia m en t in [3]:
S h e m ad e som e soup a n d gave it to th e c h ild ren . [ 1]
The sack o f R o m e sh o o k th e w hole o f th e W este rn W o r ld : in a
sense, it w a s th e e n d o f th e R o m an E m p ire. [2]
P arliam ent's a n sw e r to all a w k w ard p ro b lem s is to estab lish a
R o y al C o m m issio n w hose findings it c a n th e n ignore. [3]
I n f a c t, in the p e rso n al/n o n p erso n al o p p o sitio n , th e n o n p e rso n al g en d er is

‘u n m a r k e d ’, in th a t fo r an y a n te ce d e n t for w h ich he o r she is in a p p ro p riate ,
it w ill be used in stea d . H e n ce , it can c o refer to a w hole clau se o r sen ten ce, as
in [4] a n d [5]:
A : W h o sa id th a t I was c r a z y l
B : I said it. [‘th a t you w ere crazy ’] [4]
R o m e was sa c k e d b y the Visigoths in 410 A D . I t [‘th e sa c k o f
R o m e’] w a s th e e n d o f civ ilizatio n as th e W est h a d k n o w n it. [5]
M a n y students never improve. They get no advice and therefore keep
repeating th e sa m e m istakes. It's a terrib le sham e. [6]
A s is illu strated b y [6], it c a n ev en corefer to a seq u en ce o f sentences.

I t is th e only p e rso n al p ro n o u n w hich is alm o st alw ays unstressed . H e an d
she, fo r exam ple, c a n b e co n tra sted w ith one a n o th e r by n u c le ar s tre s s :
sh e e arn s m o re th a n h e does.
I t, o n th e other h a n d , c a n only very rarely receive stress, fo r ex am p le w h en it

is u se d a s a cita tio n f o r m :
Is th is w ord / r ? [looking a t a m an u scrip t]
O n e re aso n w hy it is rarely stressed is th a t w h en a stressed n o n p erso n al

p ro n o u n is n eed ed , it is su p p lan ted by this o r th a t ( c f 6.40/f, 12.10 jf) . T h u s
[5a] is id en tical to [5], ex ce p t th a t this, a stressed a n d slightly m o re e m p h a tic
p ro fo rm , rep laces it :
R o m e waq sa c k ed b y the Visigoths in 410 A D . 'This w as th e e n d o f

civ ilizatio n a s th e W est h a d k n o w n it. [5a]
N o te T h e r e a re several re stric te d usag es w ith nu clear stress on it. F o r e x a m p le :

I s th a t / r ? [‘Is th a t all yo u w an te d m e fo r?’]
A lso , w ith th e sense o f ‘sex a p p e a l’, ‘c h a rism a’, etc, it is stressed i n :
S h e ’s got i t :
I n c h ild r e n ’s gam es, stressed it is used to in d icate w h o ev er is n ex t to play , in expressions like th e
f o llo w in g :
Y o u ’r e i t . S h e ’s I t .
‘P r o p if
6.17 S in ce it is the m o st n e u tra l a n d sem an tically u n m ark e d o f th e p erso n al
p ro n o u n s, it is u sed as a n ‘e m p ty ’ o r ‘p ro p ’ su b ject, especially in expressions
d e n o tin g tim e, d ista n c e , o r a tm o sp h eric c o n d itio n s:
Pronouns 349
W h a t tim e is i t ? . I t ’s h a lf p a st five.
H ow fa r is it to Y o rk ? f t ’s a long w ay fro m here to C airo.
It's w arm today. I t ’s been fine w e ath e r recently.
I t ’s g e ttin g d a rk . W h a t d ay is it to d ay ?
T h is ‘ p r o p it’, if it h a s any m ea n in g a t all, refers q u ite generally to th e tim e

o r p lace o f th e e v e n t o r state in q u estio n ( c f 10.26).
E v en less m e a n in g c a n b e claim ed fo r th e it w h ich occurs as a n a n tic ip a to ry
su b ject in cleft sen ten ces ( c f 18.25>ff) o r in clauses w ith e x tra p o sitio n ( c f
1 8 .3 3 # ),a s i n [ I - 3 ] :
Is n ’t it a sh a m e th a t they lost the gam e'! [1]

I t m u st h a v e b e e n here that I fir s t m et her. [2]
I ta k e it th e n th a t you're resigning. [3]
B u t h ere, too, it c a n be m ain tain ed th a t th e p ro n o u n is n o t q u ite v o id o f

m ea n in g , sin ce it a rg u ab ly h a s c atap h o ric referen ce (forw ard c o refe ren c e) to
a clause (italicized in [1 -3 ]) in th e later p a r t o f th e sam e sen ten ce. O n e
ju stific atio n o f th is is th e feeling o f ellipsis in sen ten ces such a s [la ] a n d [2a],
w h ich are lik e [1] a n d [2] e x cep t th a t th e a n te ce d e n t o f it h a s to be su p p lie d
from th e lin g u istic c o n te x t:
A : T h ey lo st th e gam e.
B : Y es, so I h e a r. Isn't it a sham e? [la ]
A : W h ere d id you first m ee t h e r?
B : I t m u st have been here. [2a]
I n som e cases, it is necessary to ad d w ords w h ich do n o t precisely re p lic a te

th o se in th e tex t, eg:
T h e bell ran g , a n d I w en t to th e door. I t w as D r L ong. [4]
T o m a k e full sense o f sen ten ces lik e [4], we h a v e to supply, fo r e x a m p le :
It w as D r L ong (who ha d rung the bell).
N o te [a] P e rh a p s th e b e st case fo r a com pletely em p ty o r ‘n o n referrin g ’ it c a n be m a d e w ith id io m s in

w h ich it follow s a v e rb an d h as vague im p lic atio n s o f ‘life in gen eral’, e tc :
A t la st w e’ve m a d e it. [‘ach iev ed success’]
h a v e a h a rd tim e o f it [‘to find life difficult’]
m a k e a g o o f it [‘to m a k e a success o f so m eth in g ’]
stic k it o u t [‘to hold ou t, to p ersev ere’]
H o w ’s it g oing?
G o it alone.
Y o u ’re in fo r it. [‘Y o u ’re going to b e in tro u b le .’]
[b] I t c a n be u sed as a su b stitu te for a p re d ic a tio n , a n d especially for a c h a ra cte rizin g c o m p le m e n t
(c/1 0 .2 0 ):
S h e w as vwmawj a n d sh e l o o k e d it. [‘a ric h w o m a n ’, ‘ric h ’]
I f th e re could e v e r b e such a th in g as a m o d est R o m a n , A ugustus w as n o t / r .

[‘n o t a m o d e st R o m a n ’]
T h is la st ex a m p le is ex cep tio n al in th a t it is stressed ( c / 6 .16). O th e r uses o f it a s a su b stitu te fo rm
a re d iscu ssed in 1 2 .1 3 ,1 2 .2 4 /.
350 Pron oun s and numerals
S p e c ia l u ses o f we
6.18 T h e 1st p e rso n p lu ral p ro n o u n h a s a n u m b e r o f special uses:
(a ) O n e c o m m o n use is th e ‘i n c l u s i v e F u t h o r iF l we’ in serious w ritin g , as

in :
A s we saw in C h a p te r 3 , . . .
H e re we seek s to involve th e re a d e r in a jo in t en terp rise. B esides n o t

h a v in g th is ‘in tim a te ’ a p p e a l, y o u h e re w ould also be felt to b e too
in fo rm a l o r a u th o rita tiv e fo r d iscu rsiv e o r scholarly w ritin g . C o m p are
also [1] w ith th e m o re in fo rm al let’s in [2]:
[1]
[2]
(b ) T h e so-called ‘ e d i t o r i l we’ is still co m m o n en o u g h in fo rm al

F
(esp ecially scien tific) w ritin g by a sin g le in d iv id u al, a n d is p ro m p te d

b y a d e sire to a v o id 7, w h ic h m ay b e felt to be so m ew h at eg o tistical.
F o r in sta n c e , th e w rite r o f a sch o larly a rticle m ay p re fe r [3] to [4]:
[3]
[4]
(‘E d ito ria l’ here is n o t ap p lie d to th e fully justified use o f we w ith
re fe re n ce to th e co n sen su s o f a n e d ito rial b o ard o r o th e r collective
b o d y .) 1
(c) T h e ‘ r h e t o r i c F l w e’ is u sed in th e c o llectiv e sense o f ‘th e n a tio n ’, ‘th e

p a r ty ’, as i n :
I n th e 19th c en tu ry we n eg lected our p o o r as we a m assed w ealth .

T o d ay we a re m u ch m o re c o n ce rn ed w ith th e w elfare o f th e
p eo p le as a w hole.
T h is m a y b e v iew ed a s a sp e c ia l case o f th e g en eric use o f we ( c f 6.21).
(d) T h e re is also a use o f we in re fe re n ce to th e h e are r (= y o u ) w h ic h m ay

o c c u r fo r e x am p le w h en a d o c to r is ta lk in g to a p a tie n t:
H o w a re we feelin g to d ay ?
I n th e co n tex t, th is u se o f we m ay b e u n d ersto o d to be c o n d escen d in g ,

b u t it also h a s a n im p lica tio n o f s h a rin g th e p ro b lem w ith ‘y o u ’ in th e
situ a tio n a l c o n te x t o f a d o c to r/p a tie n t o r te a c h e r/stu d e n t re la tio n , fo r
ex am p le. A te a c h e r w ish in g to in stru c t w ith o u t o v ertly c laim in g
a u th o rity m ay use th e ‘in clu siv e’ 1st p e rso n p lu ral ( c f 6.7):
N o w th e n , le t’s h a v e a look a t t h a t p ro ject, shall we?
T h is c a n be a n ev asiv ely p o lite e q u iv a le n t o f :
N o w th e n , let m e h a v e a look a t t h a t p ro ject, will you?

Pronouns 351
(e) W e m ay o ccasio n ally be used also in reference to a 3rd p erso n ( = he,

she). F o r e x am p le o n e secretary m ight say to a n o th e r w ith referen ce to
th e ir boss:
W e’re in a b a d m ood today.
N o te [a] T h e virtually o b so lete.‘ro yal tre’ ( —7) is trad itio n ally used by a m o n a rch , as in th e follow ing
ex am p les, b o th fam ous d ic ta by Q u een V icto ria:
W e are not in terested in th e p ossibilities o f d efeat. W e are n o t am used.
[b] In n o n sta n d a rd use, p lu ra l u s is com m only used for th e singular m e, as in :
L end us a fiver.
[c] O n th e g en eric use o f we a n d o th e r perso n al pronouns, c / 6 .2 1.
A n a p h o r ic a n d c a t a p h o r i c r e fe r e n c e
6.19 E x am p les alre ad y g iv en in 6 .1 5 -1 6 have illustrated th e a n ap h o ric use o f
p e rso n al p ro n o u n s. C a ta p h o ric referen ce occurs less freq u en tly , an d u n d e r
lim ite d co n d itio n s. W h e re it does occur, an ap h o ric referen ce is also possible,
so th a t w e c an e q u a te tw o synonym ous sentences such as [1] an d [la ] in w h ich
th e p o sitio n s o f p ro n o u n a n d a n te c e d e n t are re v erse d :
(Before he jo in e d th e N av y , G erald m ade p eace w ith h is fam ily. [1]

\ = B efore G erald jo in e d th e N av y , he m ad e p eace w ith his fam ily, [ la ]
O n th e w hole, c a ta p h o ric referen ce such as th a t in [1] is associated w ith

fo rm al w ritte n E n g lish . A lso, it generally occurs only w h ere th e p ro n o u n is
a t a low er level o f s tru c tu re th a n its an te ce d e n t (w here ‘level’ is u n d ersto o d
by referen ce to levels o f b ra n c h in g o n a tree d iag ram , as in 2.7 f f ) . T hus, in
[2] an d [3] th e p ro n o u n is a c o n stitu e n t in a relative clause:
T h o se w h o m o st d eserv e it ra rely seem to suffer defeat. [2]

M elville w ell k n e w th a t to th e m en w ho sailed in her, a whaler w as
a n y th in g b u t a p leasu re b o at. [3]
A n d in [4], th e c a ta p h o ric p ro n o u n ap p ea rs as p a rt o f th e co m p lem en t o f a n

in itial p re p o sitio n a l p h r a s e :
O n his a rriv a l in th e c a p ita l, the Secretary o f S ta te d eclared

su p p o rt fo r th e g o v e rn m e n t. [4]
W h en th is c o n d itio n o f su b o rd in a tio n is n ot fulfilled, th ere is n o e q u iv a len t

o f th e k in d illu stra te d in [1] a n d [la ]:
f Jacqueline th in k s she u n d e rsta n d s m e. [5]

[ S h e th in k s Jacqueline u n d e rstan d s m e. [5a]
W hile she can easily c o refe r to Jacqueline in [5], such co referen ce is im p o ssib le
in [5a], so th a t h e re she a n d Jacqueline m ust be u n d ersto o d to refer to tw o
d ifferen t people.
T h e co n d itio n s u n d e r w h ich a p ro n o u n can have co referen ce to a n o th e r
co n stitu e n t can b e su m m ariz ed as follows. T h e c o n stitu e n t to w h ich
co referen ce is m a d e m u st h a v e preced en ce o v er th e p ro n o u n in o n e o f tw o
se n se s:
(i) I t m u st p re ce d e th e p ro n o u n , o r
(ii) it m u s t h a v e a h ig h er p o sitio n in th e c o n stitu e n t stru ctu re ( c f l . l ) o f th e

se n te n c e th a n th e p ronoun.
W ith c a ta p h o r ic p ro n o u n s, th e first c o n d itio n fails, an d so th e second

c o n d itio n m u st o b tain .
N o te [ a ] T h e a b o v e su m m a ry is n o t w ith o u t ex ceptions. In jo u rn a listic w ritin g , in p articu lar, th e re is
o c c a sio n a l use o f c a ta p h o ric pro n o u n s w hich ap p e a r in n o n in fe rio r p o sitio n s:

F a ilu r e o f his la test a tte m p t o n th e world reco rd h as caused heavy fin an cial loss to th e
b a c k e rs o f d ared e v il b alloonist F e lix Champ.
[b] P e rs o n a l p ro n o u n s c a n n o t m a k e catap h o ric referen ce to p a rt o r all o f a su b se q u en t sen ten ce,
e x c e p t f o r d e b a ta b le cases su ch a s :
I t sh o u ld n e v e r h a v e h a p p e n ed . S h e went out a n d le ft th e baby unattended.
H e r e , it a p p e a rs th a t it refers to th e w hole co n ten t o f th e succeeding sen ten ce. B u t p e rh a p s th is
is n o t tru e c a ta p h o ric referen ce, b u t a special rh eto rical device, found in p o p u la r n a rra tiv e ,
w h e re b y th e w rite r assum es th e re a d e r is already ‘in th e k n o w ’ a t th e b eg in n in g o f th e story.
M o d ificatio n and d eterm ination o f personal pronouns

6.20 A n o th e r use o f p ro n o u n s w h ich m ay be called c atap h o ric is illu strated in :
H e who h e sita te s is lost. [‘T h e p erso n w h o . . . ’; a p roverb]

S h e who m u s t b e obey ed . [‘T h e w o m an w h o . . . ’]
H e re h e a n d she are c ata p h o ric in th a t th e ir m ean in g is defined by th e

fo llo w in g p o stm o d ifier, w h ich is a restrictiv e re la tiv e clause ( c f 17.13). T h e ir
fu n c tio n is h e n ce p a ralle l to t h a t o f th e c a ta p h o ric definite a rticle ( c f 5.32).
H e o r sh e follow ed by a relativ e clause belo n g s to a lite rary a n d so m ew h at
a r c h a ic style. P re se n t-d ay E n g lish p refers th e use o f th e p lu ral d e m o n stra tiv e
in s u c h c o n tex ts ( c f 12.19). They can n o t b e u s e d :
Those I vvork h a rd d eserve som e rew ard .

* They J
T h e r e is n o sim ila r u se o f c atap h o ric it for n o n p erso n al referen ce; a n o m in a l

re la tiv e clau se (c /1 5 .8 /) is used in stead ;
W hat
. ( s ta n d s o v e r th ere is a church.
* I t thatJ
I n m o d ern E n g lish , re stric tiv e m o d ificatio n w ith p erso n al p ro n o u n s is

e x tre m e ly lim ited . T h ere are, how ever, a few ty p es o f n o n restrictiv e m odifiers
a n d d e te rm in e rs w h ic h c a n p reced e o r follow a p erso n al p ro n o u n . T h ese
m o stly a c c o m p a n y a 1st o r 2 n d p erso n p ro n o u n , a n d ten d to have a n e m o tiv e
o r r h e to ric a l fla v o u r:
(a ) A d jectiv es:
Silly m e !, Good o ld y o u !, Poor u s ! ( in f o r m a l)
(b ) A p p o sitio n :
we doctors, y o u people, us foreigners ( f a m ilia r )
(c) R elativ e c la u s e s :
we who h a v e p led g ed allegiance to th e f la g ,. . . ( f o r m a l)
you, to whom I o w e all m y h a p p in e s s ,. . . (fo r m a l)
Pronouns 353
(d ) A d v e rb s :
you there, we here

(e) P rep o sitio n al p h r a s e s :
we o f the m odern age
us over here < fam iliar>
you in the raincoat <im polite>
( f ) E m p h a tic reflexive p ro n o u n s ( c f 6.28):
you yourself, we ourselves, he h im self
Perso n al p ro n o u n s d o n o t o c cu r w ith d eterm in ers (*the she, *both they),

b u t th e u n iv ersal p ro n o u n s all, both, o r each m ay o ccu r a fte r th e p ro n o u n
h e ad (c/5 .1 6 , 6.50):
W e all h av e o u r loyalties.
They each to o k a can d le.
You both need help.
N o te [a] T h e he who . . . a n d she w ho . . . c o n stru c tio n s can in prin cip le be v aried b y th e su b stitu tio n
o f o th e r form s o f p erso n al a n d re la tiv e pro n o u n s. B ut such variatio n s s trik e th e m o d e rn re a d e r
a s d ecidedly u n id io m a tic :
?I d ed ic a te th is w o rk to hi m to w hom i t ow es i ts concepti on.
[b] Inform ally, he a n d she a re c o n v e rted to nouns w hen he = m al e a n d she = f em al e. T h is
ac co u n ts for th e co o ccu rren ce o f th e a rtic le w ith be an d she i n :
W h a t a d arlin g p u p p y 1Is it a he o r a she'!
G eneric uses o f personal pronouns

6.21 A p a rt fro m th e stylistically lim ite d co n stru ctio n he/she who . . . in 6.20, a
n u m b e r o f g en eric uses o f p e rso n al p ro n o u n s need to b e d iscu ssed a n d
illustrated.
F irst, 3rd p erso n p ro n o u n s can be used in a n ap h o ric a n d c a ta p h o ric
referen ce to g en eric n o u n p h ra ses, in th e n o rm al way. T h e fo llo w in g ex am p le
show s th e g en eric use o f he in co referen ce w ith a singular g e n eric n o u n p h ra se
(c /5 .5 4 N o te, 6 .9 /):
E v e r since he fo u n d a n e ed to co m m u n icate, m an h a s b een th e

‘sp eak in g a n im a l’.
It is th e p ro n o u n w h ich is used if w e w a n t to corefer to a sin g u lar g e n eric

n o u n p h rase w ith zero a rticle , w h ereas they is used if th e zero a rticle
acco m p an ies a p lu r a l:
A : D o you lik e caviar ? B : I ’ve n ev er tasted it.

M usic is m y fa v o u rite subject. Is it yours?
Truffles a re d elicious, b u t they're very expensive.
Seco n d , a p a r t fro m th e sp e c ia l generic p ro n o u n one (c /6 .5 6 ), p lu ra l

p ro n o u n s o f all p erso n s c a n fu n c tio n generically w ith re feren ce to ‘p eo p le in
g e n era l’:
Science tells us t h a t th e e a rth goes ro u n d th e sun. [1]

W c live in a n ag e o f im m en se changes. [ 2]
You can n e v er tell w h a t w ill h ap p en . [3]
T h e s e d ay s y o u have to be c arefu l w ith your m oney. [4]

T h e y say i t ’s g o in g to snow today. [5]
A lth o u g h used g enerically, th ese p e rso n al pro n o u n s we, you, a n d th ey re ta in
s o m e th in g o f th e specific m ea n in g associated w ith th e 1st, 2nd, a n d 3rd
p e rs o n s resp ectiv ely . T h ey a re th erefo re n o t w holly in terch an g eab le.
P o te n tia lly , we a n d us in [ l j a n d [2] h av e th e w id est m ean in g , becau se they
m ay in c lu d e re fe re n ce to sp e a k er, ad d ressee, a n d ‘th ird p a rtie s ’ ( c f 6.6). T h e
re fe re n c e o f ‘in clu siv e we’ can be progressively en larg ed (as alre ad y illu strated
b y t h e ‘rh e to ric a l we’ d iscussed in 6.18(c)) fro m th o se in v o lv ed in th e
im m e d ia te sp e e ch situ atio n to th e w hole h u m an race. In th is fully g e n eric
sense, a s e n te n c e w ith we as su b ject can be rep laced by a p assiv e se n ten ce
w ith u n sp e c ifie d aigent (c/3 .7 1 ):
W e n o w k n o w t h a t th e e a rth is rou n d .
= I t is n o w k n o w n th a t th e e a rth is round.
G e n e r ic yon, o n th e o th er h a n d , is typically a n in fo rm al e q u iv a len t o f one'.
^ c a n alw ay s tell w h a t sh e’s th in k in g .
B u t y o u a g a in r e ta in s so m eth in g o f its 2 n d p erso n m e a n in g : it can suggest

th a t th e s p e a k e r is a p p ea lin g to th e h e a re r’s experien ce o f life in g en eral, o r
else o f s o m e sp ecific situ atio n , as in :
T h is w in e m a k e s you feel drow sy, d o esn ’t it?
S o m e tim es, th e re fe re n ce is to th e s p e a k e r’s ra th e r th a n th e h e a re r’s life o r

e x p e r ie n c e s :
I t w a s n ’t a b a d life. You g o t up a t seven, h a d b re ak fa st, w en t

f o r a w a lk . . .
L ik e g e n e ric y ^ u , generic they is in fo rm al, an d re ta in s so m e th in g o f its

specific q u a lity as a p erso n al p ro n o u n . B ein g a 3rd p e rso n p ro n o u n , it
ex clu d es re fe re n c e to th e sp e a k er a n d th e addressee. C o n seq u en tly , it ten d s
to d e sig n a te , in a so m etim es d isp a rag in g w ay, th e m y sterio u s forces w h ich
a p p e a r to c o n tro l th e o rd in ary c itiz e n ’s lif e : ‘th e a u th o ritie s’, ‘th e m e d ia ’, ‘th e
g o v e rn m e n t’, e t c :
I see th e y ’re ra isin g th e b u s fares again. W h atev e r w ill they be d o in g

n e x t?
T h e y d o n ’t m a k e d ecen t fu rn itu re n ow adays.
( c f: You c a n ’t get d e cen t fu rn itu re now adays.)
N o te T h e o rd in a ry c itiz e n ’s aw aren e ss o f th is use o f they/them a s a d en ial o f p e rso n al resp o n sib ility

ca n be se e n in ex p ressio n s like:
T h e m e m b e rs to o k u p a them an d us a ttitu d e to th e U nion.
P ro n o u n s w ith co o rd in ated antecedents

6.22 W h en a p ro n o u n h a s as its a n te c e d e n t tw o o r m o re n o u n p h ra ses c o o rd in a te d
by and, th e p ro n o u n its e lf m u st be p lu ral, ev en if each o f th e n o u n p h ra se s is
s in g u la r:
Pronouns 355
John a n d M a ry stole a toy fro m m y son. Their m o th e r told them to re tu rn

it to him , b u t th e y said it w as theirs.
T h e c o n d itio n s o f co n co rd h e re, in fact, are th e sam e as those w h ich govern

su b je c t-v e rb c o n co rd ( c f 10.34/7).
I f the a n te c e d e n t p h ra se s governed by and co n ta in n o u n p h rases o r
p ro n o u n s o f d ifferen t p e rso n s, th e choice o f p ro n o u n is d e term in ed by th e
c rite ria d iscussed in 6 .6 / T h is m ean s th a t th ere is a n o rd e r o f p reced en ce
w h ereby th e 1st p e rso n o u tw eig h s the 2nd p erso n , w h ich in tu rn o utw eighs
th e 3rd p e rs o n :
PERSONS IN ANTECEDENT PERSON OF PRONOUN
1+2 1
1 + 3 ♦ 1
2 + 3 > 2
• 1 + 2 + 3 ► 1
Fig 6.22 Pronouns w ith coordinated antecedents
E x am p les:
W e have a lo t to ta lk a b o u t, y o u and I. [2 + 1 —►1]

Freda a n d I h a v e fin ish ed our w ork. C a n we s ta rt lu n ch
now ? [3 + 1 —»1]
You a n d John c a n sto p y o u r w o rk now , if you like. You
can b o th e a t y o u r lu n c h in th e kitchen. [2 + 3 -► 2]
T h e sam e o rd e r o f p re c e d e n c e ap p lies w here th re e o r m o re no u n p h rases are

co m b in ed in th e a n te c e d e n t:
I f you, M a ry, a n d / h a v e a lre ad y finished,

we c an h a v e lu n ch . [2 + 3 + 1 —►1]
You, M ary, a n d John w ill m ee t a t th e station.
You c a n th e n go to g e th e r to the p arty. [2 + 3 + 3 -<• 2]
N o te [a] A so m ew h at d iffe re n t s itu a tio n arise s w hen th e an teced e n t n o u n p h rases d o n o t include th e

perso n a p p e a rin g in th e p r o n o u n :
I f y o u a n d John h a v e a lre a d y fin ish ed , we can have lunch. [t]
M a ry and John w ill be a t th e sta tio n . You can th en go to g e th er to th e party. [2]
In sp ite o f ap p e a ra n c e s, th e italicize d p h ra se s a n d p ronouns in th ese ex am p les ca n b e u n d ersto o d
to be p artly co refe ren tial. B u t th is in te rp re ta tio n requires th e im p lic atio n o f a th ird om itted
c o n jo in ; eg: we in [1] is u n d e rsto o d to m e a n ‘you, John, a n d I ’.
[b] I n ad d itio n to a c o o rd in a te d a n te c e d e n t, th e 3rd person plural pro n o u n m ay also h ave
m u ltip le an teced e n ts, su ch as S h e a n d an Indian i n :
Sh e m a rried an Indian, a n d th e y w en t to live in D elhi.
Reflexive pronouns
6.23 R eflexive p ro n o u n s e n d w ith -s e lf (singular) an d -selves (plural). T h ese suffixes
are a d d ed to th e d e te rm in a tiv e possessive form s fo r th e 1st an d 2nd person
(a), a n d to th e o b jec tiv e fo rm fo r th e 3rd person (b) ( c f Table 6.14):
(a) m y se lf y o u rse lf ourselves yourselves

(b) h im se lf h e rse lf its e lf themselves
356 Pronouns and num erals
T h e r e is also a n in d efin ite g en eric reflexive pronoun o n e se lf { c f 6.56), a n d a

v e ry ra re ‘ro y al w e' sin g u lar reflexive p ro n o u n ourself { c f 6.18 N o te [a]).
A s th e n a m e im p lies, reflexive p ro n o u n s ‘reflect’ a n o th e r n o m in al e lem en t
o f t h e clau se o r se n ten c e, usually th e subject, w ith w h ich it is in a co referen tial
r e la tio n :
T a h le 6 .23 F u n c tio n s o f reflex iv e p ro n o u n s
ANTECEDENT REFLEXIVE PRONOUN EXAMPLE
s u b je c t d ir e c t o b je c t T h e y h e l p e d them selves. [1]

s u b je c t in d ir e c t o b je c t S h e a llo w e d h e rse lf a re s t. [2]
s u b je c t s u b je c t c o m p le m e n t H e is n o t h im s e lf to d a y . [3]
s u b je c t p r e p , c o m p le m e n t The c a fe p a y s f o r its e lf [4]
/ W e c o u l d n 't c o m e ourselves. [5]

s u b je c t ' a p p o s itio n a l p h ra s e
\ l F e ourselves c o u l d n ’t c o m e . [5a]
T h e reflexive p ro n o u n h as tw o d istin c t uses: basic an d em p h a tic . T h e basic

use is illu stra te d by [1-4] ab o v e: here, th e reflexive p ro n o u n fu n ctio n s as
o b je c t o r c o m p le m e n t a n d h a s th e su b ject o f its clause a s its a n teced en t. In
th e e m p h a tic u se, illu stra te d by [5] a n d [5a], the p ro n o u n is in a n a p p o sitio n al
re la tio n to its a n te c e d e n t.
N o te [a] A s subject c o m p le m e n t (b u t n o t norm ally as object) th e reflexive p ro n o u n receives nu clear

s tre ss:
H e is n o t him sELF. [‘H e do es n o t feel w ell.’]
T h e re is co n seq u en tly a n am b ig u ity only in w ritin g betw een th e ob ject a n d co m p lem en t
in te rp re ta tio n s w h e n a reflexive p ro n o u n com es after th e v e r b :
H e FELT h i m s e l f . [S V C ] H e f e l t h im sE L F . [S V C s]
[b] V ery occasionally a reflexive pro n o u n precedes th e subject w ith w h ich it has co referen ce (c f
fro n tin g , 18.20/ f ) ;
F o r yourselves y o u ha v e d o n e a g re a t deal, b u t fo r oth ers nothing.
I t w as u n d e rs to o d th a t g e ttin g herself m a rried to a n a risto crat w as H enrietta's first d u ty to
h er fam ily.
In e m p h a tic use (c/>6.28), fro n t p o sitio n o f m y sel/is-co m m o n :
M yself, I feel q u ite h a p p y a b o u t th e plan.
B asic use
6.24 T h e basic reflex iv e p ro n o u n tak e s th e fu n ctio n o f a n o u n p h ra se in th e
stru c tu re o f th e c lau se o r p h ra s e : it m ay be an object, a c o m p lem en t, o r a
p re p o sitio n a l c o m p le m e n t. Since it co refers to th e su b ject, how ever, th e
reflexive p ro n o u n c a n n o t its e lf be a subject. In this, it show s th a t it belongs
to ‘o b ject te rrito ry ’ (c /6 .5 ), a n d h as affinities w ith th e o b jectiv e p erso n al
p ro n o u n . B ut it c o n tra s ts w ith th e o b jectiv e p ro n o u n in m ea n in g in ex am p les
su ch as th is :
H e saw in th e m irro r. [1]
In [1], h im se lf is n ecessarily c o referen tial to the su b ject he, w hile him

necessarily re fers to som e o th e r p erso n . W e have to use th e reflexive ra th e r
th a n th e o rd in a ry o b jectiv e p ro n o u n . T h e reflexive p ro n o u n m u st agree w ith
th e subject in te r m s o f g en d er, n u m b er, a n d p e rso n :
Pronouns 357
She saw ' n l^ e m irro r.
F o r a n o b ject, co m p lem en t, o r p rep o sitio n al object w hich is c o re fe re n tia l

w ith th e su b ject, the reflexive p ro n o u n is obligatory.
T h e b a sic reflexive p ro n o u n alw ays corefers to th e subject o f its o w n c la u se ,
e v e n th o u g h th a t su b ject m ay be ‘u n d e rsto o d ’. F o r exam ple, th e im p lie d
su b je ct o f th e -ing p a rticip le clause in [2] is Vincent , a n d h im self is th e re fo re
th e a p p ro p ria te reflexive p ro n o u n :
F re e in g h im se lf w ith a sh a rp k n ife, Vincent lurched tow ards

th e d o o r. [2]
In [3], it is John w ho is u n d ersto o d to b e th e subject o f th e in fin itiv e c la u se ,

a n d th e a p p ro p ria te reflexive is th erefo re h im se lf even though th e s u b je c t o f
th e m a in clau se is she :
She a sk e d John to in v ite j [3]
Sim ilarly , as th e im p lied subject o f a n o rm al 2nd person im p e rativ e is y o u

( c f 11.25), it w ould be u n g ra m m atica l for su ch a n im p erativ e clause to c o n ta in
as its o b jec t an y o th er reflexive th a n a 2 n d p e rso n p ro n o u n :
f yourselves I
H e lp < *oUrselves\
(*them selves\
N o te [a] In a n o u n p h ra se w hich is a n o m in alizatio n o f a clause ( c f 17.51), the a n te c e d e n t o f th e

reflexive w ill be an em b ed d ed noun p h rase w hich fu n ctio n s as ‘subject’ o f the n o m in a liz a tio n :
P hilip’s bou n d less a d m iratio n o f him self) . „ ,
, . .r M s well know n.
Your co n fid en ce in y o u rse lf J
A s in th e se ex am p les, th e a n teced e n t is norm ally a su b jectiv e genitive (c /5 .1 16).
[b] W h e n a n o n fin ite clause o r a n o m in alizatio n h as an im plied h u m an subject o f th e m o s t
in d e fin ite k in d (‘som eone o r o th e r’), th e reflexive o n e se lf (or its in form al eq u iv a le n t y o u r s e lf)
m a y b e u sed :
V o tin g for ' s unethical.
P rid e in i onesef I w as considered a dead ly sin.

(.yourself)
[c] In in fo rm al A m E we can find uses o f a p erso n al in ste ad o f a reflexive p ro n o u n as in d ire c t
o b je c t w h ich is co referen tial w ith th e subject, eg:
H e g o t him [‘h im se lf’] a new car. W e’re going to elect us a new presid en t n e x t y ear.
O b lig ato ry reflexive pronoun a s object

6.25 W e m ay d istin g u ish th e follow ing types o f co n stru ctio n in w hich th e reflex iv e
p ro n o u n , w h e n c o referen tial w ith th e su b ject, is alw ays used in p re fe re n c e to
th e o b jec tiv e case p ro n o u n :
(a) W ith r e f l e x i v e v e r | s , ie v erb s w h ich alw ays req u ire a reflexive o b je c t,

su c h a s p rid e o n e se lf o n :
S h e alw ays | on h e r acad em ic background.

E x a m p le s o f o th e r reflexive verb s:
absent o n e se lf (from ) avail o n eself (o f)
dem ean o n e se lf <fo rm a l) ingratiate o n eself (with)
perjure o n e se lf
(b) W ith s e m i - r e f l e x i v e v e r s , ie v erb s w h ere th e reflexive p ro n o u n m ay be

|
o m itte d w ith little o r n o change o f m ean in g , such as behave (oneself),

sh a ve (o n eself):
Behave y o u rse lf) ,
B ehave j now-
, , . . _ Ji sn u v e m m s e u i .( .
shave ,
H e h a s to -j ^ f tw ice a day.
O th e r sem i-reflex iv e v erb s a r e :

ad ju st ( o n e se lf) to dress (oneself)
hide (oneself) identify (oneself) with
prepare (on e se lf ) fo r prove (o n eself) (to be)
wash (o n e self) worry (oneself)
(c) W ith n o n r e f l e x i v e v e r s , ie v erb s w h ich a re tra n s itiv e , b u t a re n o t

|
p a rtic u la rly a sso c iated w ith the reflexive p ro n o u n . C o m p are [1] a n d [la ] :
W illia m s p u b licly b lam ed him self lo t th e a ccid en t. [1]
N o b o d y b la m ed h im fo r the a ccid en t. [la ]
O th e r su ch n o n reflex iv e verbs a re, fo r ex am p le:
accuse, adm ire, amuse, dislike, fe e d , get, hurt, persuade
I t is w ith reflex iv e v erb s (type a) an d n onreflexive verbs (ty p e c) th a t th e

ch o ice b etw een reflexive a n d objective p ro n o u n , as in 6.24 [1] m ay be m ad e.
C o m p a re also d ress (sem i-reflexive verb) in [2] w ith g et up (nonreflexive v erb )
in [3] (h e rse lf = th e m o th e r, her = Ja n e):
i N
J a n e ’s m o th e r d resses b efo re 8 a.m . [2]
J a n e ’s m o th e r gets UP befo re 8 a.m . [3]
N ote [a] M a n y verb s c a n h a v e d iffe re n t constructions, e g ie n jo y :
(
m yself, [‘h ad a good tim e ’]
the p a rty , [‘to o k p leasu re in ’]
the guests, [‘lik ed ’] <esp A m E>
In A m E th is v erb is a ls o used in tran sitiv ely as a n im p e ra tiv e : E njoy!, e q u iv a le n t to *Bon a p p e tit’.
[b] F e el is sem i-reflexive in a com plex-transitive c o n stru c tio n [4], b u t n o nreflexive in co p u la r
use [5]:
.<1
S h e /* ? //c o ld . [5]
[c] In co m p le x -tra n sitiv e co m p lem en tatio n (c /1 6 .4 6 /r), th e coreferen tial item is th e noun p h rase
th a t is o b je c t o f th e fin ite verb clause a n d subject o f th e n o n fin ite v e rb clau se:
T h e h o sts really w a n t us to enjoy ourselves.
N o b o d y insisted o n your sacrificin g yourself.
Pronouns 359
O b lig a to ry reflex iv e p ro n o u n a f t e r a p rep o sitio n

6.26 T h e follow ing ty p es o f c o n stru c tio n require a reflexive p ro n o u n afte r th e
p rep o sitio n , if th e su b ject is th e in ten d ed a n teced en t:
(a) W ith p rep o sitio n al o b jects, ie p repositional c o m p lem en ts w h ich h a v e a

close co n n ectio n w ith th e p reced in g verb (< /16.5):
M ary stood looking a t h e rse lf in the m irror.
D o look a fter yourselves \
W e d id n o t k n o w w h a t to do with ourselves.
H e thinks to o m u ch o f himself.
T h ey ta ke too m u ch upon themselves.
(b) W ith p re p o sitio n al p h ra se s follow ing a noun w h ich refers to a w ork o f

art, a story, etc:
E v ery w riter’s first n o v el is basically a story about him self.
R e m b ra n d t p a in te d m a n y remarkable portraits o f him self.
D o you h a v e a recent photograph o f yourself!
O p tio n a l reflex iv e p ro n o u n
6.27 T h e basic reflexive p ro n o u n is som etim es o p tio n al, in th e sense th a t it m a y
accep tab ly be rep laced by th e m o re usual o rd in ary o b jectiv e p ro n o u n . T h e
self- form s a re ch o sen to su p p ly sp ecial e m p h a sis:
(a) I n som e spatial p re p o sitio n a l p h rases:

S h e’s b u ild in g a w all o f R u ssian | o o k s about h er(self).
H o ld in g h e r n ew yellow b a th ro b e around h e r(self) w ith b o th a rm s ,
sh e w alk ed u p to h im .
M aso n ste p p ed b a c k , gently closed th e d o o r behind him (self), a n d
w alked d o w n th e c o rrid o r.
T h ey left th e a p a rtm e n t, pulling the sp rin g lock sh u t behind
them (selves).
(b) In ‘sem i-em p h atic’ use. H e re th e reflexive p ro n o u n n o rm ally receiv es

n u clear stress. I t d o es n o t h av e the subject as its an te ce d e n t, b u t is
com m only used as a m o re e m p h a tic eq u iv alen t o f th e 1st a n d 2nd p e rso n
p erso n al p ro n o u n s. E sp ecially , how ever, w h en it rep laces I an d m e ,
m y s e lf is felt by m a n y to be a h y p eru rb an ism , a g en teel ev asio n o f th e
n o rm al p erso n al p ro n o u n . T h e reflexive p ro n o u n in th ese c o n tex ts c a n
be reaso n ab ly called ‘se m i-e m p h atic ’ because it c a n be re g ard ed as a n
a b b rev iate d v ersio n o f a seq u en ce o f th e p erso n al p ro n o u n follow ed by
the em p h a tic reflexive p ro n o u n ( you yourself, him him self, etc). T h u s
th ere are th ree p o ssib ilities in :
T h e la tte r re p etitio n o f th e p ro n o u n (y o u y o u rself) is av o id ed , how ever,

o u tsid e th e subject p o sitio n ( c f 6 .4 /) .
T h e co n stru ctio n s in w h ic h th e ‘sem i-em p h atic’ reflexive o ccu rs a re th e
follow ing:
(i) A f te r th e p rep o sitio n s lik e , than, (as . . .) as, but (for), except (fo r), an d as
f o r ( c f 9 .Iff)'.
F o r som eone like m e/m yself, th is is a big surprise.

E x c e p t f o r usj ourselves, th e w hole village w as asleep.
A c c o rd in g to th e m a n a g e r, n o o n e w o rk s as h a rd as him (self).
S a n d r a ’s sister is e v en ta lle r than her(self).
N o co m p o ser enjoyed a b e tte r fam ily back g ro u n d th a n M o zart. L ik e
h im (se lf ), b o th h is f a th e r a n d sister w ere rem ark ab le m u sician s.
G u e r r e r o ’s frien d s m a d e th e ir p eace w ith the gang. A s f o r h im (self),
th e re w as little h e c o u ld d o b u t a w a it th e in ev itab le b u llet in h is b ack .
(ii) W h e n a reflexive p ro n o u n (p articu larly a 1st p erso n p ro n o u n ) is

c o o r d in a te d w ith a n o th e r p h r a s e :
T h e y h a v e n e v er in v ite d M argaret a n d m e /m y se lf to d in n er.
T h is is a g reat trib u te to the Scout M ovem ent, and to y o u /y o u rse lf
a s its leader.
In t h is co n stru ctio n , th e reflexive p ro n o u n is n o t lim ited to ‘o b jec t te rrito ry ’

( c f 6 .5 ); it c a n replace a su b jectiv e p ro n o u n :
M y sister and I /m y s e lf w e n t sailin g yesterday.
N o te [a] U n lik e th e p rep o sitio n al p h rases o f (a) above, m a n y p repositional p h ra s e s ex p ressin g a

s p a ti a l (o r te m p o ral) relatio n sh ip req u ire th e o b je ctiv e p e rso n al p ro n o u n ra th e r th a n th e reflexive
p ro n o u n , in sp ite o f coreference w ith th e su b je c t:
H e lo o k ed about him. S he pushed th e c a rt in fr o n t o f her.
S h e lik ed h av in g her g ra n d c h ild re n around her. T hey ca rried som e food w ith them.
H a v e you an y m oney on y o u ? W e h ave th e w hole d a y before us.
S h e h a d h e r fiance beside her.
A p o s sib le e x p lan atio n o f th is (h isto rically older) use o f th e personal p ro n o u n in ste a d o f th e
c o m p o u n d fo rm in -s e lf is th a t th e p e rso n al p ro n o u n is n o t norm ally in se m a n tic c o n tra s t w ith
a n y o t h e r p ro n o u n , an d th e refo re n ee d s no e m p h a s is :
* H a v e you a n y ^ o n e y on m e t
T h e o b je c tiv e fo rm is norm ally un stressed , so th a t th e stress is throw n o n to th e p rep o sitio n . In
so m e c a se s th e pro n o u n m ay in fa c t b e om itte d alto g eth er:
P a t felt a sin k in g sen satio n inside (her).
T h e reflex iv e pro n o u n , on th e o th e r h a n d , will usually (except in th e case o f in h e re n tly reflexive
v e rb s lik e pride o n e s e lf c /6 .2 5 (a )) im ply a c o n tra s t b etw een coreference to th e su b ject an d
re fe re n c e to so m eth in g else.
[b] I n th e follow ing m e tap h o rical use o f th e p rep o sitio n , th e reflexive pro n o u n is req u ire d :
S h e w as beside w >*h ra f?e -
( c f : ‘S h e p laced th e attach e case beside her'.)
[c] F o r p honological reasons, seq u en ce s lik e her h e rse lf w ould be avoided by m a n y sp eak ers.
C o m p a r e restrictio n s o n v e rb seq u en ce s su ch as be being (3.73).
Id] I n so m e dialects o f E n g lish , especially Irish E n g lish , reflexive p ro n o u n s a re co m m o n in
e x p re s s io n s like:
I s h e r s e lf in ? [‘Is th e la dy o f th e house in ?’]
A lso in m o re general use w e find, eg:
I w e n t to see M ary an d Jo h n b u t th e re w as only h im se lf a t hom e.
S h e w as, he knew , a very good secretary a n d alw ays loyal to himself.
E m p h a tic use
6.28 R e fle x iv e pro n o u n s in e m p h a tic u se o c cu r in ap p o sitio n a n d h a v e heavy
Pronouns 361
(n u clear) stress. U n lik e basic reflexive p ro n o u n s, they m ay have p o sitio n a l

m o b ility :
f I m y s k L F w o u ld n ’t ta k e a n y NdTice.
< / w o u ld n ’t t a k e a n y NOTice myskLF.
X ^ M ysk L F , / w o u ld n ’t ta k e a n y NdT ice o f h e r.
H e re th e m e a n in g o f th e p ro n o u n is ‘sp eak in g p ersonally’. In o th e r c o n te x ts,

th e p ro n o u n h a s a m ean in g b e tte r c ap tu red b y th e p a ra p h ra se ‘X an d n o b o d y
else’:
D o you m e a n th a t you spoke to the Pope h im S E LFl
A : W h o to ld you t h a t Jill w as leav in g ? B : S h e herSELF told me.
S o m etim es th e re is a n explicit c o n tra st b etw een th e referen t an d som e o th e r

th in g o r p e rso n :
I ’d p re fe r y o u to d o the jo b yoursELF, r a th e r th a n to leave it to Tony.
O n th e p o sitio n in g o f th e em p h a tic reflexive p ro n o u n , c /1 8 .3 9 /.
N o te [a] E m p h a tic reflexives w ith c a tap h o ric reference a re generally literary in to n e :

H im s e lf a fe rv e n t believer, N ew m an w as nonetheless ab le to sym pathize w ith those w h o . . .
lb] E m p h a tic reflexives som etim es occur sentence-initially in ra th e r m an n ered o r literary u s e s :
M y s e lf i s th u s a n d so, a n d will co n tin u e th u s an d so. (Bellow)
O n e s e lf d id n o t d ie ; th a t, like the very qu id d ity o f o th e rn ess, w as for o th ers. (Burgess)
Possessive pronouns
D eterm inative and independent possessives

6.29 P ossessive p ro n o u n s co n sist trad itio n ally o f tw o se rie s: th e first, ‘w eak ’ s e t o f
p ossessive p ro n o u n s h a s a d ete rm in a tiv e fu n ctio n { c f 5 .1 2 /0 , w hile th e
second, ‘s tro n g ’ s e t h as an in d ep en d en t fu n ctio n as a n o u n p h ra se (c f 5.124):
d e t e r m in F t iv e : my our your his her its their

IN D E P E N D E N T : mine ours yours his hers (its) theirs
A s the g e n itiv e fo rm s o f p ersonal p ro n o u n s ( c f 6.2), th e possessive p ro n o u n s

b eh av e v e ry m u c h lik e the co rresp o n d in g g en itiv e n o u n co n stru ctio n s, a n d
th ey h a v e a lre a d y b e en illu strated in th a t co n n ec tio n ( c /5 .1 1 7 /) .
B u t w h e re a s th e g en itiv e n o u n does n o t ch an g e its fo rm in m ov in g fro m
d e te rm in a tiv e to in d ep e n d en t function, five o f th e possessive p ro n o u n s
ch an g e b y th e a d d itio n o f a c o n so n an t (e ith er /n / o r /z/) to th e d e te rm in a tiv e
fo rm :
m y /m a i/ -> m ine / m ain /
yo u r j'p t'l -* y o u rs /jo:rz/, our - » ours, her -* hers, their -* theirs
H is alre ad y e n d s in /z / a n d th erefo re does n o t ad d a fu rth er s ib ila n t; c o m p a re

[1] a n d [ la ] :
T h is is m y b ik e a n d th a t is H i s bike. [ 1]
T h is b ik e is m i n e a n d th a t is H i s . [ 1a]
Its is e x tre m e ly ra re in in d ep e n d en t fu n ctio n (b u t c /N o te [a]):
*T h e c o lla r is its.
362 P ron oun s and num erals
O ne r e a s o n fo r th is g a p is th a t the pronoun it is very rarely stressed (c/6 .1 6 ),

and t h is conflicts w ith th e phonological status o f th e in d e p e n d e n t possessive,
w h ich is alw ays stressed . A n o th e r a n d related reaso n seem s to be th a t th ere
is ra re ly sem an tic m o tiv a tio n for a n in d ep e n d en t n o n p erso n al possessive
p ro n o u n .
P a ra lle l to th e in d e p e n d e n t g enitive, th e in d e p e n d e n t possessive can o ccur
as a n y o f the follow ing n o m in al elem ents: subject, ob ject, co m p lem en t, o r
p re p o sitio n a l co m p le m e n t. B ut it is p articu larly co m m o n in co m p lem en t
fu n c tio n . C o m p a re :
D E T E R M IN A T IV E IN D E PE N D EN T
M a r y 's "] f M a r y ’s,
m y daughter’s > book T h e b o o k is< m y daughter's,
her J [hers.
The in d e p e n d e n t p o ssessiv e in o th e r functions g en erally h as a q u asi-ellip tical

role, re p la c in g a n o u n p h ra se w ith a d e te rm in a tiv e p o ssessiv e:
It also o ccu rs regularly as p rep o sitio n al co m p lem en t in th e ‘p o st-g en itiv e’

c o n stru ctio n d esc rib e d in 5.126:
I h a v e been ta lk in g to a frie n d o f yours, [‘o n e o f y o u r frie n d s’]

A : D o you k n o w W a g n e r’s o p eras?
B : N o , th e o n ly opera o f his I ’ve seen is ‘L o h e n g rin ’.
N o te [a) I n d e p e n d e n t its m a y occasionally be found in parallel co n stru c tio n s, such a s :

H is to ry has I r s lessons a n d fiction h as irs.
S h e k n e w th e ac cid e n t w as e ith e r h er h u sb an d ’s fau lt o r th e c a r ’s : it tu rn e d o u t to be
n o t H is b u t I t s .
[b] L ik e gen itiv e s a n d (/-c o n stru c tio n s (c /5 .1 15), co nstructions w ith possessive p ro n o u n s c a n be
am biguous, eg: m y in G ive m e b a c k m y photograph m ay have a t le ast th re e in te rp re ta tio n s:
I ow n -
{ I to o k ■
ta k en o f m e
[c) N o te th e follow ing e x p ressio n s w h e re th e ^ /-construction, ra th e r th a n th e possessive, is u s e d :
I d o n ’t tru st the tikes o f him .

T h is w ill be th e death o f m e.
Possessives and the ‘em p h atic determ inative own ’

6.30 T he p o ssessiv e c a n n o t b e acco m p a n ied by an y m odifiers o r d e term in ers,
except f o r the ‘e m p h a tic d e te rm in a tiv e ow n’. Ju s t as th e e m p h a tic reflexive
p ro n o u n ( c f 6.28) in ten sifies th e m ean in g o f a p e rso n al p ro n o u n , so own
intensifies th e m ea n in g o f a possessive pronoun. F o r ex am p le, m y own carries
th e fo rce o f ‘m in e a n d n o b o d y else’s’ i n :
T h is b o o k d o e sn ’t b elo n g to th e lib rary - it ’s m y ow n copy.

Pronouns 363
E lsew h ere own em p h asizes co referen ce b etw een the possessive a n d th e

su b je ct o f th e c la u s e :
Sam cooks his own dinner ev ery evening, [‘cooks d in n e r fo r h im s e lf’] [1]
B u t w h ereas th e reflexive p ro n o u n is o ften o b lig ato ry w here co referen ce w ith

th e su b ject is in ten d ed , th e a d d itio n o f own to th e possessive is o p tio n a l.
T h u s, in [la ], his co u ld co refer to S am , b u t it could also refer to so m eo n e q u ite
d iffere n t:
Sam cooks his dinner ev ery evening. [la ]
Sim ilarly, [2] is am b ig u o u s a cc o rd in g to w h e th er their corefers to the H ousing

A ssociations o r to people'.
The Housing A ssociations a re en co u rag in g people to buy

their houses. [2]
B u t only th e second in te rp re ta tio n , th e ‘reflexive’ one, is p o ssib le w ith :
T h e H o u sin g A sso ciatio n s a re en co u rag in g peo p le to buy

their own houses. [2a]
In its tu rn , own c an b e intensified by th e a d v erb very:
D o you like th is c ak e ? I t ’s m y very own recipe, [‘a recipe I m ad e

u p m y self’] [3]
T h e in d ep e n d en t g en itiv e c a n n o t co m b in e w ith ow n: *yours own, *mine ow n;

in stea d , own a d d ed to th e d e te rm in a tiv e possessive c a n serv e as a n
in d e p e n d e n t no u n p h r a s e :
T h e recipe is m y (very) own. [3a]

F lo y d som etim es p lay s o th e r m u sician s’ arran g em en ts, b u t his own a re
m u ch better.
In a sim ila r w ay, th e co m b in a tio n your own, her own, etc c a n follow o f in a
‘p o st-g e n itiv e ’:
I ’d love to h a v e a home o f m y (very) own. [‘a hom e w hich belongs to m e

a n d n o body else’]
W e ’re resig n in g fro m th e firm , a n d sta rtin g a business o f our (very) own.
N o te [a] O wn ca n also occur w ith a g en itiv e n o u n :

Y o u m u st try th ese co o k ies: it’s J ill’s ( very ) own recipe.
O w n c a n n o t cooccur, ho w ev er, w ith an in d efin ite d eterm in er. C o m p a re :
{
yo u r own ca r?
a ca r o f yo u r o w ill
*on ow n c a r?
[b] U n lik e m an y o th e r languages, E n g lish uses possessives to refer to p a rts o f th e body a n d
p e rso n al belongings, as w ell as in a n u m b e r o f related e x p ressio n s:
H e stood a t th e do o r w ith his h a t in his han d .
M ary ha s b ro k en her leg.
D o n ’t lose your balance.
T h e y hav e ch a n g ed th eir m in d s ag ain !
T h e defin ite article is, how ever, req u ired i n :
S h e to o k m e by the h a n d .
F o r a discu ssio n o f th is use o f the, c f 5 . 35.
R ecipro cal pronouns

6.31 T h e R E C IP R O C A L PRON O UN S each other a n d one another are related to th e
re flex iv e p ro n o u n s in th a t they can b e said to express a ‘tw o-w ay reflexive
re la tio n s h ip ’ ( c f 13.46, 13.60). Y et th ere are im p o rta n t differences b etw een
reflex iv e a n d re cip ro ca l pronouns. C o m p a re :
R E F L E X IV E P R O N O U N R EC IPR O C A L P R O N O U N
A d a m a n d E v e b lam ed themselves. A d a m a n d E v e b lam ed each other.
[‘A d a m b lam e d him self, [‘A d am b lam ed E ve,
a n d E v e b lam e d herself.’] an d Eve b lam ed A d a m .’]
O th e r e x a m p le s o f typical functions o f recip ro cal p ro n o u n s:
A ll th e c h ild re n tru s t one another.

T h e p a r ty lea d ers pro m ised to give each other th e ir su p p o rt.
M e g a n d B ill are very fond o f each other.
E ach o th er a n d one another are b o th w ritte n a s w o rd sequences, b u t it is b e tte r

to t r e a t th e m as co m p o u n d p ro n o u n s ra th e r th a n as co m b in a tio n s o f tw o
p ro n o u n s. A t th e sam e tim e, th ey c o rresp o n d to the c o rrelativ e use o f each
. . . o th er a n d one . . . another ( c f 6.58) in sen ten ces such a s :
T h e y each b lam e d the other.

T h e p a sse n g e rs d isem b ark ed one a fte r another.
T h e re c ip ro c a l p ro n o u n s have th e g en itiv e form s each other’s a n d one

another’s :
T h e s tu d e n ts can b o rro w (eae^ ot^ s \ books.

[one another s \
T h e r e is n o d ifferen ce in th e use o f th e tw o p ro n o u n s each other a n d one

another. A lth o u g h in p rescrip tiv e tra d itio n , each other is so m etim es p re fe rre d
for re fe re n ce to tw o an d one another to m o re th a n tw o, th is d istin c tio n seem s
to h a v e little fo u n d a tio n in usage. T h ere is, how ever, a stylistic difference
b e tw ee n th e tw o recip ro cals in th a t each other is m ore co m m o n in in fo rm al
style a n d one another in m o re fo rm al contexts.
U n lik e th e reflexive pronouns, th e recip ro cals can c o refe r only to p lu ral
n o u n p h ra s e s (o r n o u n p h rases th a t h a v e a p lu ral q u ality ), sin ce recip ro city
p re su p p o se s m o re th a n o n e p a rtic ip a n t:
Bill s h a v e d { * ^ ,mf ^ ,
[fe a c h other.
W ith v erb s lik e embrace, m eet, a n d kiss, w h ich a re recip ro cal an d

sy m m etrica l in c h a ra c te r ( c f 13.60), th e recip ro cal p ro n o u n is o p tio n a l:
J A n n a a n d B ob m e t each other in C airo .

\ = A n n a a n d B ob m et in C airo.
W ith v e rb s w h ic h are n o t n ecessarily sy m m etrical, th e re cip ro ca l p ro n o u n is

r e q u ire d in o r d e r to ex p ress recip ro city :
f A n n a a n d B ob w ro te letters to each other.

\ j i A n n a a n d Bob w rote letters.
Pronouns 365
Each other a n d one another resem ble reflexive p ro n o u n s in th a t th ey c a n n o t

be used n a tu rally in su b je ct p o sitio n . Instead o f [1], [la ] is p re fe rre d :
?T he tw in s w a n te d to k n o w w h a t each other w ere/w as doing. [ 1]

Each o f th e tw in s w a n te d to know w h at the other w as doing. [ la ]
T h ere a p p ea rs to b e n o su c h co n strain t on recip ro cals a s su b ject in n o n fin ite

verb clauses:
T h e tw in s w a n te d each other to be p resen t a t all tim es.
H ow ever, th e ru le w h ic h excludes occurrence in su b ject p o sitio n holds n o t

only for in d e p e n d e n t p ro n o m in a l use b u t also for g en itiv al recip ro cals in
su b ject n o u n p h ra se s . T h e recip ro cals m ust have co referen ce w ith a n te c e d e n t
p h rases w h ich h a v e so m e o th e r g enitive o r possessive m o dification. C o m p a r e :
*Each other's letters

IT h e letters to each other w ere delivered by a servant.
Their letters to each other
N o te [a] T h e plu ral g en itiv e fo rm s *each others' a n d *one (m others’ a re n o t used (alth o u g h th ese fo rm s
so m etim es o cc u r a s erro n e o u s sp ellin g s o f each other's a n d one another's ).
[b] T h e recip ro cal p ro n o u n s a re ra th e r infreq u en t item s. In th e m illion-w ord B row n c o rp u s o f
p rin te d A m E , fo r ex a m p le , th e r e a re only 114 instances o f each other a n d 45 in stan ces o f one
another.
Relative pronouns
6.32 R elativ e p ro n o u n s in tro d u c e re la tiv e clauses, e g :
T h e b o o k which you o rd e re d last m o n th h as a rriv ed . [ 1]
In [1], th e re la tiv e p ro n o u n which introduces th e relativ e clause which yo u

ordered last m onth. R e la tiv e p ro n o u n s differ from p erso n al p ro n o u n s in th a t
th e elem en t w h ic h c o n ta in s o r com prises th e relativ e p ro n o u n is alw ays
p laced a t th e b e g in n in g o f th e clause, w h eth er it is subject, c o m p lem en t,
ad v erb ial, p o stm o d ifier, p re p o sitio n al co m p lem en t, o r o b ject (as in [1]).
C o m p are th e p o sitio n o f it a s o b ject:
T h e b o o k h a s a rriv e d . Y o u ord ered it last m o n th . [ 1a]
R e lativ e p ro n o u n s resem b le personal p ro n o u n s in th a t th ey h a v e

coreference to a n a n te c e d e n t (c/6 .1 5 ). In [1], th e a n te ce d e n t o f which is book.
H ere, as in m o st re la tiv e clauses, th e a n teced en t is th e p reced in g p a rt o f th e
n o u n p h ra se in w h ic h th e re la tiv e clause fu n ctio n s as p o stm o d ifier:
[the b o o k [w h ic h you o rd e re d last m onth]]
U n lik e p erso n al p ro n o u n s, re la tiv e pronouns h av e th e d o u b le role o f re ferrin g

to th e a n te c e d e n t (w h ic h d e te rm in e s g ender selection, eg: who I which) a n d o f
fu n ctio n in g as all o f, o r p a r t of, an elem ent in th e relativ e clau se (w h ich
d e term in es th e c a s e fo rm fo r th o se item s th a t h av e c ase d istin c tio n , eg: who /
whom). F u rth e r d e ta ils o f re la tiv e clause fo rm atio n a re g iv en in 17. lOff.
R e s tr ic tiv e a n d n o n r e s t r ic tiv e
6.33 T h e sem an tic re la tio n b e tw e e n th e clause an d its a n te c e d e n t m ay be e ith e r
r e s tr ic tiv e o r n o n r e s tr ic tiv e , a n d th is is th e b a sis o f a n i m p o r ta n t d is tin c tio n

b e t w e e n r e s t r i c t i v e a n d n o n r e s t r i c t i v e r e la tiv e clau ses.
R e stric tiv e re la tiv e clauses are closely co n n ected to th e ir a n te ce d e n t o r
h e a d prosodically, a n d d en o te a lim itatio n o n the reference o f th e a n teced en t,
eg:
T h is is n o t so m eth in g that would disturb m e ANYway.
N o n re stric tiv e c lauses a re p a ren th etic co m m en ts w hich usually d escrib e, b u t

d o n o t fu rth er define, th e a n teced en t, eg:
T h ey o p e ra te d lik e p o lrrician sj who notoriously have no sense o f humour

at a l l \ .
T h e differences b etw een restrictiv e an d n o n restrictiv e relativ e clauses will

b e fu rth e r discu ssed in 17.13^- F ° r th e present, we only n eed to m en tio n th is
d iffere n ce in o rd e r to in d ic a te how it affects th e choice o f relativ e p ro n o u n ,
as a p p e a rs in Table 6.3 3 :
Table 6.33 Relative pronouns
RESTRICTIVE NONRESTRICTIVE
p e rso n al n o n p e rso n a l p erso n al n o n p e rso n a l
who which
SUBJECTIVE CASE who
th a t th a t
which
w hom which
OBJECTIVE CASE th a t th a t whom
z e ro z e ro
GENITIVE CASE whose
tTA-pronouns, th a t, a n d zero
6.3 4 R e la tiv e p ro n o u n s in clu d e tw o s e rie s: '
(a) w /i-p ro n o u n s: who, whom, whose, which

(b) that a n d zero
C o m p are :
Cwhich 3
I d like to see th e car< th a t >you b o u g h t last week.
U )J
(Z e ro is in d ic a te d by ‘( )’.) N e ith e r series h a s n u m b er o r p e rso n co n tra st.
H o w ev er, th e w/i-series has g en d er c o n tra st betw een p e rso n al who an d
n o n p erso n al which, a n d case c o n tra st b etw een subjective who, o b jectiv e
w hom , and g e n itiv e whose.
A s Table 6.33 show s, whose - u n lik e who an d whom - c a n h av e p e rso n al
re feren ce { c f 5.117), as in [1], an d also n o n p erso n al referen ce, as in [2],
a lth o u g h th ere is a c e rta in relu ctan ce to use whose fo r n o n p erso n al
a n te c e d e n ts :
Pronouns 367
The la d y whose d a u g h te r you m et is M rs B ro w n . [ 1]

The house whose ro o f w as d am ag ed h as now been rep aired . [2]
N e v erth e le ss relativ e clauses such as th a t o f [2] a re q u ite freq u en tly a tte s te d .

I f a s p e a k e r o r w riter w ishes to avoid th e use o f whose w ith n o n p e rs o n a l
re fe re n ce , th is c a n be d o n e, o ften w ith so m e a w k w ard n ess, by u sin g o f w hich
(c /1 7 .1 4 ):
The house { £ 2 ^ ^ } W3S d a m ag ed ' ’ ' [2a]
N o te [a] H-Viase c a n n o t alw ays be su b stitu ted for 0/ which o r o f whom. W hen th e o /p h r a s e fu n c tio n s as
a n a d v e rb ia l, th e re is n o parallel w ith th e g en itiv e [3], b u t o th e r con stru ctio n s a re a v a ila b le , e g
[3a]:.
• T h e p o em whose I am s p e a k in g . . . [3]
T h e p o em o f w h ic h /a m sp e a k in g . . . [3a]
[b] W hich c a n h av e a personal noun p h rase a s its a n te c e d e n t w hen th e head is a c o m p le m e n t
w ith th e role o f ch a ra c te riz a tio n (c/10.20 an d th e p arallel use o f it, 6.17 N o te[b ]):
T h e y accu sed h im o f bein g a tra ito r, he was.
In restric tiv e relativ e clauses, that is used in a sim ilar fu n ctio n >
r th a t}
S h e’s n o t th e b rillia n t d a n c e r < ( ) > she used to be.
0
[*H’/l J
C o m p a re th e ex clam ato ry co n stru ctio n w ith identificatory th a t:
F ool th a t I w a s ! [‘I w as such a fool’]
In n o n e o f th e se sentences could who be used.
[c] I f th e a n te c e d e n t co n tain s a m ixture o f personal a n d no n p erso n al elem ents, th a t can b e u sed
a s a p ro n o u n w h ich is ‘n eu tral’ w ith respect to who an d which:
T h e g en e ra ls co m p lain ed th a t the D efence D e p a rtm e n t had n o t sen t th e e x tra m e n a n d
e q u ip m e n t that they needed.
W ho and w hom
6.35 I n m a n y w ay s th e o p p o sitio n b etw een who an d whom does n o t p a ra lle l th e
su b je ctiv e/o b je c tiv e d istin c tio n in th e p e rso n al p ro n o u n s. W hom is larg e ly
r e stric te d to fo rm al style, an d can be a v o id ed alto g eth er in in fo rm al sty le,
th ro u g h th e use o f who, that, o r zero.
I t seem s o d d th a t th e p ro n o u n whom is d ecid ed ly ‘m a rk e d ’ in re la tio n to
who, w h ile elsew here, w ith Ijm e, she/her, etc, th e o b jectiv e fo rm is th e
‘u n m a rk e d ’ ch o ice ( c f 6.4). T h e b e st w ay o f acco u n tin g fo r th is seem s to b e to
re tu rn to th e co n ce p t o f ‘subject te rrito ry ’ ( c f 6.5), w h ich w as d e fin e d , fo r
c o llo q u ia l E n g lish , sim ply as th e p o sitio n p re ce d in g th e verb , ie th e c u sto m a ry
p o sitio n o f th e subject. In relative clauses, b ecau se o f th e fro n tin g o f th e wh-
e lem en t, th is is th e o nly p o sitio n o f th e relativ e p ro n o u n , w h e th e r it is
fu n c tio n in g as subject, o b ject, o r som e o th e r elem ent. H en ce, in in fo rm a l
E n g lish , th e re is a ten d en cy to a v o id whom alto g eth er, a n d to re p la ce it by
th e su b je ctiv e fo rm who. In fo rm al style, o n th e o th e r h a n d , th e te n d e n c y is
to u se w hom in acco rd an c e w ith th e tra d itio n a l p re scrip tiv e rule th a t w ho is
th e fo rm fo r su b je ct an d su b ject c o m p lem en t fu n ctio n s, a n d whom is th e fo rm
fo r o th e r fu n c tio n s. W h en th e relativ e p ro n o u n is ob ject, we m ee t a ll th e
follow ing p o ss ib ilitie s:
368 •P ron oun s and numerals
f
w hotn\
™hat f ^ ° U s^ o u ^ know .
( W) J
I f th e re la tiv e p ro n o u n is a p rep o sitio n al co m p lem en t, we m eet y et a fu rth er
p o ssib ility , th a t o f th e p re p o sitio n followed by whom:
’ to whom you spoke.

T h is is th e p e rso n who whom
that • you spoke to.
U )
H o w e v e r, th e fu rth e r th eo re tic al possibility does n o t o ccu r, n am ely who
fo llo w in g th e p re p o s itio n :
* T h is is th e person to who you spoke.
T h e re aso n is th a t th ere is a stylistic in co m p a tib ility b etw een the

p re p o s itio n + re la tiv e p ro n o u n c o n stru ctio n (to whom), w h ic h is ra th e r
fo rm a l, a n d th e u se o f who ra th e r th an whom a s p re p o sitio n a l co m p lem en t
(who . . . to), w h ic h is in fo rm al.
T h u s th e b e h a v io u r o f who an d whom, w h ich w ould o th erw ise a p p e a r
irre g u la r a n d p u zzlin g , can b e ex p lain ed in term s o f th e d iffere n t n o tio n s o f
case o p e ra tin g in fo rm al an d in inform al usage.
N ote [a] T h e h y p erco rre ct u se o f whom is com m on in ex am p les o f push d o w n relativ e clauses ( c f 17.63)
su ch a s th is :
* T h e A m b a ssa d o r, whom w e hope w ill arriv e a t 10 a . m . , . . .
H e re t h e relativ e p ro n o u n is th e su b ject o f will arrive b u t is felt to be in ob ject te rrito ry in relatio n
to we ho p e e m b ed d ed in th e relativ e clause (cf. W e hope th a t she will arrive a t 10 a.m .). O n the
o th e r h a n d , n o h y p erc o rre c tio n is invo lv ed in th e fo llo w in g :
T h e A m b a ssa d o r, whom w e ex p ect to arrive a t 10 a . m . , . . .
T h is is e v id e n t, a g a jn , i f w e co m p are th e relative clause w ith a co rresp o n d in g co n stru c tio n w ith
a p e rs o n a l p ro n o u n ( c / 6 .38 N o te [b ]):
W e ex p ect h e r fo a rriv e a t 10 a.m .
T h e follo w in g ex a m p le rep resen ts a case w here th e h y p erco rre ctio n h as b een in stitu tio n alized ,
a n d w h e re in f a c t th e re is n o a lte rn a tiv e relative p r o n o u n :
H e re is C a p ta in M o rse th a n whom th e re is no b ra v e r sold ier.
[b] T h e relativ e p ro n o u n s discussed ab o v e have b een th o se used in ad n o m in a l relativ e clauses
( c f \1 .9 ) . W e sho u ld briefly m e n tio n h ere also th e p ro n o u n s what , whatever, whichever , an d
w hoever, w h ich a re u sed to in tro d u c e n o m in al relativ e clauses ( c / 1 5 .8 / 17.12), eg'.
Y o u ca n d o w hatever y o u like, [‘th a t w hich you lik e ’]
[c] V ery occasio n ally n o n re stric tiv e relativ e clauses a re in tro d u ced b y th e re la tiv e d ete rm in e r
which, r a th e r th a n by a relativ e p ro n o u n (c /1 7 .2 4 ):
W e arriv e d a t no o n , by which tim e th e dem o n stratio n w as over.
A g a in , n o m in a l re la tiv e clauses p e rm it a different set o f d e te rm in e rs : which, whichever, whatever
( c / 1 5 .8 /) , eg:
Y o u sho u ld w ear whichever dress suits you best.
I n t e r r o g a t iv e p r o n o u n s
6.36 T h e s e a re fo rm ally id en tica l w ith th e w/i-series o f relativ e p ro n o u n s, b u t h av e
a d iffere n t fu n ctio n . T h e y co rresp o n d closely to in te rro g ativ e d e te rm in e rs ( c f
Pronouns 369
5.14), an d w e shall d iscu ss th e use o f b o th types o f in te rro g ativ e w o rd

to g eth er, ie th e follow ing ite m s :
PRONOUN FUNCTION: who whom whose what which

d e t e r m in F t iv e f u n c t io n : whose w hat which
Who, whom , an d whose a re su b jectiv e, objective, an d g e n itiv e case fo rm s

respectively, an d h av e p e rso n al gender. T h e o th er in te rro g ativ es are n o t
d istin c tiv e fo r case o r g en d er. N o te in p a rticu la r th a t, u n lik e re la tiv e which,
in te rro g ativ e which c a n b e u sed n o t only w ith n o n p e rso n al b u t also w ith
p erso n al referen ce:
r e l F t iv e : T h e a u th o r *s m y fav o u rite is . . .
in t e r r o g F t iv e :| j >s y o u r favourite au th o r?
I n m ean in g , how ever, in te rro g a tiv e who an d which differ, who b e in g in d efin ite
a n d which d efin ite, a s e x p la in e d in 6.37.
Indefinite and definite in te rro g ativ es

6.37 T h e re a re tw o groups o f in te rro g a tiv e s : those w ith in d e f in it e a n d th o se w ith
d e f i n i t e reference.
(a) In terro g a tiv e p ro n o u n s re fe rrin g to persons:

in d e f in it e : W ho is y o u r fa v o u rite co n d u cto r ?
d e f in it e : W hich is y o u r fav o u rite c o n d u cto r? (V o n K a ra ja n or
S to k o w sk y ?)
(b ) In terro g a tiv e p ro n o u n s n o t refe rrin g to p e rso n s:

in d e f in it e : W h a t’s th e n a m e o f th is tune ?
d e f in it e : W hich d o y ou p re fe r? (C lassical o r p o p u la r m u sic?)
(c) In terro g a tiv e d e te rm in e rs w ith p ersonal n o u n s:

in d e f in it e : W h a t c o n d u c to r d o you like best?
d e f in it e : W hich c o n d u c to r do you like b e st? (V on K a ra ja n or
S to k o w sk y ?)
(d) In terro g a tiv e d e te rm in e rs w ith nonp erso n al n o u n s :

in d e f in it e : W hat n e w s p a p e r do you read ?
d e f in it e : W hich n e w sp a p e r do you read ? (T h e Tim es o r The
G uardian ?)
In th ese p a irs, which im p lies t h a t th e choice is m ad e fro m a lim ite d n u m b e r

o f alte rn a tiv e s w h ich e x ist in th e c o n te x t o f discussion. T h e a lte rn a tiv e s m a y
b e m ad e ex p licit (as th e y a re b y th e w ords in p a re n th e s e s in th e a b o v e
exam p les), o r they m ay b e im p licit. T h u s a sp eak er w h o ask s th e q u e stio n [1]
assu m es th a t th ere is a d e fin ite se t o f d ictio n aries from w h ic h a choice c a n be
m ade:
Which is the b e st E n g lish d ic tio n a ry ? [ 1]
A p erso n loo k in g a t a n o ld p h o to g ra p h m ay say W hich is you?, ask in g fo r th e

id e n tific a tio n o f one m em b e r o f th e definite set o f persons in th e p ictu re.

S o m e tim e s th e relev an t d efin ite set is in d icated by a follow ing of- p h ra se, as
in [2]:
W h ich o f the three girls is th e o ld est? [2]
N o te [a] T h e d e fin ite m e a n in g o f which is reflected in th e fact th a t th e definite article could not be
o m itte d fro m [2] a b o v e :
* W h ic h o f three g ir ls . . .?
[b] I n t h i s a n d in th e follow ing sections, we illustrate th e interro g ativ e p ro n o u n s by th e ir use in
d ir e c t q u e s tio n s. H o w ev er, they ca n equally well o ccu r in su b o rd in ate tr/i-ih terro g ativ e clauses.
C o m p a r e [31 a n d [3 a ]:
W h a t was sh e wearing? I d o n ’t rem em b er. [3]
I d o n ’t re m e m b e r what she was wearing. [3a]
[c] T h e in d e fin ite in terro g ativ es w hat , who, an d whose ca n be postm odified by else (c /7 .6 9 ) :
W h a t else? W ho else?
[d] W e c a n sele ct who o r what ra th e r th a n which even in cases w here th e n u m b e r o f a ltern ativ es
is s tr ic tly lim ite d b y th e c o n tex t:
W h o ! W hich d o you lik e best - y o u r fa th e r o r yo u r m o th er?
W h a tlW h ic h w ill it be - tea o r coffee?
C o n v e rs e ly , which c a n be used w hen th e re is n o lim ited set o f altern ativ es from w h ich a ch oice is
m ade:
A f t e r a ll, which A m erican h a s n o t h e a rd o f som eone w ho, a few days a fte r h is o r h e r an n u a l
c h e c k -u p , suffered a h e a rt a tta c k ?
W h o , w h o m , an d whose
6.38 T h e in te rro g a tiv e d e term in ers w hat a n d which can be p erso n al o r n o n p e rs o n a l:
W h a t ) fca n d id a te will you vote for?

W h ic h J \p a r t y are you in fav o u r of?
B u t t h e in te rro g a tiv e p ro n o u n s who a n d whom a re p erso n al o n ly :
W h o to ld y o u w here I w as ? W ho(m) d o you ad m ire m o st?
I n o b je c tiv e u se, who is in fo rm al a n d whom is form al. T h e d is tin c tio n is

p a ra lle l to th at; b etw een who a n d whom as relativ e p ro n o u n s ( c f 6.35).
S im ila rly , in te rro g a tiv e whom fu n ctio n s lik e relativ e whom, e x c e p t th a t
in te rro g a tiv e w hom strik es m o st p eo p le as ev en m ore form al th a n re la tiv e
w hom .
A s a p re p o sitio n a l co m p lem en t, o nly whom can n o rm ally follow the
p r e p o s itio n , a s in [1], w h ereas b o th who a n d whom can tak e in itial p o sitio n ,
as in [ l a ] , lea v in g th e p re p o sitio n d eferred a t th e en d o f the clause (c /9 .6 ):
F o r whom is sh e w o rk in g ? ( | u t n o t : *For who is she w o rk in g ?) [1]

W h o (m ) is sh e w o r k in g /;r ? [la]
A s th e p o ssessiv e form o f who, whose c an o ccu r in e ith er a d e te rm in a tiv e

fu n c tio n , as in [2], o r a n in d ep e n d en t fu n ctio n , as in [2a] (c/5 .1 2 4 ):
W hose ja c k e t is th is? [2]

W hose is th is ja c k e t ? [2aj
B ut, u n lik e re la tiv e whose, in te rro g ativ e whose can n o t have n o n p erso n al
re fe re n c e . F o r ex am p le, we c a n say T h a t ship’s fu n n e l was dam aged, b u t we
c a n n o t a sk a q u e stio n w ith whose for w h ich That ship's w ould b e an
Pronouns 371
a p p ro p ria te a n sw e r (even though ships are typically referred to as sh e ;

c/5 .1 1 1 N o te ):
A : W hose fu n n e l w as d am ag ed ? B : *That ship's.
N o te [a] Who h a s b o th s in g u la r a n d plural reference, b u t w hen n eith er is ex p licit in th e lin g u istic

co n tex t, s in g u la r c o n c o rd is th e u n m a rk ed term . T h u s, even th ough several voices are h e a r d
o u tsid e, th e n a tu ra l q u estio n will be W ho’s there? ra th e r th a n ?* Who're there?
[b] W hen who o cc u rs in n o n in itia l position in clause stru ctu re ( c / 11.19), th e o b je ctiv e use o f w ho
is ac c e p ta b le c o llo q u ia lly even a fte r a p re p o sitio n :
H isto ry is w ritte n about w ho ? W h o sleeps with w ho ?
In c o n tra st to th e se , th e r e is a tendency to w ard s h y p erco rrectio n in th e rep lacem en t o f w ho b y
whom in n o n in itia l p o s itio n :
A : J a n e t w as a t th e p arty . B: (?)Jan et whom?
W h a t and which
6.39 W hat a n d which c a n also o ccur in p rep o sitio n al co m p lem en ts w ith th e
p re p o sitio n e ith e r in in itia l o r in final (d eferred ) p o sitio n ; b u t w ith a n in itia l
p re p o sitio n , th e c o n stru ctio n is form al a n d ra th e r rare:
W hat a re you talk in g about ? [ 1]

On w hat is h e lec tu rin g ? (fo rm a l) [la ]
W hich (g irl) a re you talk in g a b o u tl [2]
On which o f th e to p ics is h e lectu rin g ? <form al> [2a]
W h a t h a s a w id e ra n g e o f use, e ith e r as a d e te rm in e r o r as a p ro n o u n , a n d
e ith e r w ith p e rso n a l o r w ith n o npersonal r e fe re n c e :
A : W h a t’s y o u r ad d ress ? B : ( I t’s) 18 R eynolds Close.

. f W hat n a tio n a lity is sh e?] . ,
A : j W h a t is h e r n a tio n a lity ? ] B : (She s) F m m s h ’
A : W h a t d a te is it ? B : (It’s) th e 15 th o f M arch .
A : W h a t’s th e tim e ? B : ( It’s) five o’clock.
A : W h a t is h e d o in g ? B : (H e ’s) m en d in g th e ph o n e.
A : W h a t w as th e co n ce rt like? B : ( I t w as) excellent.
W h en it re fers to a p e rso n , how ever, what as a p ro n o u n is lim ited to q u estio n s

a b o u t p ro fessio n , ro le, statu s, etc. C o n trast:
A : W hat's h e r h u sb a n d ?
B : H e ’s a film d irecto r. [3]
A : W hich is h e r h u sb a n d ?
B : H e ’s th e m a n o n the rig h t sm oking a p ip e. [3a]
A : W ho is h e r h u sb a n d ?
B : H e ’s P a u l Jo n es, th e fam ous a rt c ritic. [3b]
In th is last fu n c tio n in [3], what elicits a n id en tificato ry no u n p h ra se a s

co m p le m e n t, a n d so it is the in terro g ativ e c o u n te rp a rt o f relativ e which
( c /6 .3 4 N o te [b]) a n d o f th e p ersonal p ro n o u n it (c /6 .1 7 N o te [b]) in
co rre sp o n d in g c o n te x ts.
N o te In te rro g a tiv e p ro n o u n s d o n o t ac c e p t m odification o r dete rm in a tio n , ex cep t for th e occ u rre n ce

o f in ten sify in g p o stm o d ifiers W h a te v e r . . . ? , Who on earth . . . ? ( c f \ 1.14 N o te[b ]).
D e m o n s t r a t iv e p ro n o u n s
6.40 T h e d e m o n s tra tiv e p ro n o u n s this, that, these, an d those ex actly m a tc h th e
fo rm o f th e fo u r d e m o n s tra tiv e d eterm in ers (c/5 .1 4 ). W ith th e d e m o n stra
tiv es, a s w ith th e in terro g ativ es, we shall find it c o n v e n ie n t to c o n sid er
to g e th e r th e uses o f th e d e te rm in e rs a n d o f th e pro n o u n s.
T h e d e m o n s tra tiv e s h a v e n u m b er co n trast in b o th d e te rm in e rs an d
p ro n o u n s. T h ey also h a v e a c o n tra st betw een ‘n e a r’ a n d ‘d is ta n t’ referen ce:
Table 6.40 Dem onstrative pronouns
SINGULAR PLURAL
‘NEAR’ REFERENCE th is ( s tu d e n t ) these ( s tu d e n ts )

‘DISTANT’ REFERENCE th a t ( s tu d e n t ) those ( s tu d e n ts )
L ik e th e d e fin ite a rticle a n d th e p ersonal p ro n o u n s, d e m o n strativ es h av e

d e fin ite m e a n in g , a n d th ere fo re th e ir reference d e p en d s o n th e co n te x t sh a red
by s p e a k e r/w rite r a n d h e are r/re ad e r. A lso, in th e sam e w ay, th e ir use m ay be
c o n sid ere d u n d e r th e h e ad in g s o f s i t u F t i o n F l referen ce (referen ce to the
e x tra lin g u istic situ atio n ), F n F p h o r i c reference (co referen ce to a n e arlie r p a rt
o f th e d isco u rse), a n d c F t F p h o r i c reference (co referen ce to a late r p a r t o f
the d isco u rse). A s b efo re, w e will call th e p a rt o f th e tex t to w h ic h coreference
is m a d e th e F n t e c e d e n t .
F irs t, h o w ev er, let us co n sid er th e purely g ra m m atica l asp ects o f th e
d e m o n stra tiv e s.
N u m b er and gender
6.41 T h e sin g u lar d e m o n stra tiv e s this an d that are used for b o th co u n t an d
n o n c o u n t m ea n in g :
T h is jroom 1 is to o cold.
I w ater J
T hat 1!°/,}
(bread)
is stale.
B oth th e sin g u lar a n d th e p lu ral pron o u n s can be used as p ro -fo rm s as

su b stitu te s for a ’n o u n p h ra se ( c f 12.19):
T h is c h a ir is m o re c o m fo rtab le th a n that. [ = that chair ] [1]

T h o se a p p le s a re sw eeter th a n these. [ = these apples] [2]
T he sa m e m ea n in g is con v ey ed by th e d e m o n strativ e follow ed by one(s)

(c /6 .5 5 ):
T h is c h a ir is m o re c o m fo rtab le th a n that one. [ 1a]

T h o se a p p le s a re sw eeter th a n these ones. [2a]
In a d d itio n , th e p ro n o u n s c a n refer to som e unspecified o b je c t(s ):
C o m e a n d h a v e a lo o k a t this, [‘th is th in g , th is su b sta n c e ’, etc]

H a v e you h e ard th is l [‘th is piece o f new s, th is jo k e ’, etc]
L ea v e th a t alo n e! [‘th a t th in g , th a t m ac h in e ’, etc]
C a n I b o rro w th ese ? [‘th ese b ooks, th ese screw d riv ers’, etc]
But esp ecially in th is use, th e p ro n o u n s a re n o n p erso n al. T h u s in stead o f [3],

Pronouns 373
w h ich w ould be a n in su lt (as if th e p erso n in d ic a te d is n ot h u m an ), w e w o u ld

h a v e to say [3a]:
?Is sh e going to m arry t h a t "! [3]

Is sh e going to m arry t h a t m a n ! [3a]
In s te a d o f [4] we w ould h av e to say [4 a ]:
*C om e an d m eet these o v e r here. [4]

C o m e a n d m eet these people o v e r here. [4a]
A n ex cep tio n to th is is th e in tro d u cto ry u se o f a d e m o n strativ e p ro n o u n a s

su b ject o f a clau se; in th is p o sitio n th e p ro n o u n c a n have b o th p e rso n al a n d
n o n p e rso n al referen ce:
This is M rs Jo n es, [in tro d u cin g a n acq u ain tan ce]

That's m y step m o th er, [p o in tin g to a p h o to g rap h ]
A re these th e stu d e n ts w ho h a v e reg istered ? [p ointing to a list o f n a m e s]
This is Sid. Is th a t G eoff? [on th e telephone]
N o te T h a t refers to degree o r m e asu re m e n t in c o n tex ts su ch as:

M y b ro th e r is six feet tall, b u t yours m u st be even ta lle r th a n that, [‘ta lle r th a n six feet*]
In sp ite o f ap p e a ra n c e s, th e refo re, su ch ex a m p les a re n o t exceptions to th e ru le th a t, a s a
p ro n o u n , that does n o t h a v e perso n al referen ce (ex cep t in subject positio n ; c f 12.19).
M odification and determ ination

6.42 T h e d e m o n stra tiv e p ro n o u n s are lim ited as to d ete rm in a tio n a n d m o d ific a
tio n . L ik e th e d e m o n stra tiv e d e te rm in e rs (c/5 .1 4 ), th ey c an be p re c e d e d b y
p re d eterm in ers, b u t th e o /c o n s tru c tio n is o ften p referred :
A ll (o f) this is m in e.
C o u ld you give m e h a lf (o f) th a t!
W o u ld you like both (o f) th ese!
A ll (o f) those a re sold.
T h ey a re so m etim es p o stm o d ified by p lace a d v erb ials: these over here, e tc .

T h ey c a n also be po stm o d ified by re stric tiv e relativ e clauses a n d o th e r
re stric tiv e m o d ifie rs:
Those who try hard d eserv e to succeed. [ 1]

f which')
we saw
T h ese w atch es are m o re e x p en siv e th a n r/io jej that j y 0rk ^
T h a t which) . ,.
W hat I up s me m ls rn an n er. [3]
O f th ese, those is p e rso n al [‘th e p e o p le ’] in [1], a n d n o n p erso n al in [2], lik e

th a t in [3]. In fact, th a t w h ich . . . is ra re a n d form al, a n d is generally re p la ce d
by what.
T h e re is n o p e rso n al sin g u lar *that who . . . , b u t o th er co n stru ctio n s a r e
used in stea d , eg: anyone who the person who . . . ; he who . . . a n d she w ho
. . . a re a rc h a ic ( c f 6.20).
N o te [a] O n th e use o f th a t a n d those as su b stitu te form s ( 'th e one, th e on es’), as in th e follow ing
e x a m p le , c f \ 2 . 19:
T h e so n g by S c h u b e rt is m ore tuneful th a n th at by B ritten .
[b] T h e d e te r m in e r those lo ses its deictic quality ( c f 6.43) in cases lik e [4] w here it is a n em p h atic
e q u iv a le n t o f c a ta p h o ric the ( c f 5.32):
T h o se m em ories which w e acq u ire in early ch ild h o o d rarely lose th e ir vividness. [4]
S itu a tio n a l reference

6.43 W h e n th e d e m o n s tra tiv e s refer to th e e x tralin g u istic situ atio n , th ey a re o ften
c o m p a re d w ith o th e r d e i c t i c o r ‘p o in tin g ’ item s, w hich also c o n tra st in term s
o f ‘n e a r ’ a n d ‘d is ta n t’ referen ce:
here ~ there, now ~ then, today ~ yesterday/tom orrow , etc
I n th e sim p le st cases, this an d that c o n tra st in term s o f th e n e arn ess o f th e

r e fe r e n t to th e sp e a k e r:
T h is is m y frie n d C h arlie B row n, [in tro d u cin g som eone]

T h a t is m y frie n d C h a rlie B row n, [p o in tin g o ut som eone in a crow d]
T h e m e a su re m e n t o f sp atial p ro x im ity is a m a tte r o f psychological ra th e r

th a n r e a l d ista n c e . I t c a n easily be e x te n d ed to th e m o re a b stra c t sp h e re o f
t im e :
th is m o rn in g [‘th e m o rn in g o f to d a y ’]
th a t m o rn in g [‘th e m o rn in g o f a d a y som e tim e a g o ’]
I t c a n b e e x te n d e d to a n even m o re a b stra c t a n d subjective level o f

in te r p r e ta tio n : 1
H a v e you se e n this report on sm o k in g ?

[‘th e o n e I h a v e recen tly been th in k in g a b o u t’] [1]
H a v e you se e n that report o n sm o k in g ?
[‘th e o n e I w as loo k in g a t som e tim e a g o ’] [2]
I n p ra c tic e , h o w e v er, [1] an d [2] could o c cu r in th e sam e situ atio n , th e only

d ifferen ce b e in g |h e sp e a k er’s subjective c o n c e p t o f ‘n e arn e ss’.
In re fe re n c e to tim e , this is typically a sso ciated w ith ‘w h a t is befo re u s’,
a n d th a t w ith ‘w h a t is b e h in d us’. H e n ce w ith referen ce to day s an d m o n th s,
this F rid a y o r th is Septem ber m ean s ‘th e F rid a y /S ep te m b e r to c o m e’ (c/9 .4 0 ).
A lso, a p erso n a b o u t to d em o n strate so m e skill, such as using a can o p en er,
could sa y [3], b u t a fte r th e d e m o n stra tio n is finished, [4] w ould be m o re
a p p ro p ria te :
T h is is h o w y o u do it. [3]
T h a t’s h o w y o u d o it. [4]
A n o th e r e x te n sio n o f th e n e a r/d is ta n t p o larity is for th a t to im ply d islik e

o r d is a p p r o v a l:
J a n e t is c o m in g . I h o p e she d o esn ’t b rin g that h u sb a n d o f hers.

S h e ’s a w fu l, th a t M abel.
N o te [a] In th is co n n e c tio n , n o tice a fam iliar use (co n sid ered n o n stan d a rd by som e sp eak ers) o f this/
these to in tro d u c e s o m e new th in g or. person in to a n a r r a tiv e :
Pronouns 375
T h e re w ere these th re e m e n . . .
T h e n I saw this $ir \ . . .
I w as w alk in g hom e w h en this m a n ca m e up to m e an d said . . .
U n ch arac teristically this in tro d u c e s new in fo rm atio n here, instead o f referrin g b ac k to sh ared
in fo rm atio n , as is usual. O n e sign is th e occurrence o f this as a focus o f a clause w ith ex isten tial
there { c f 1 8.44#) in a ty p ical b e g in n in g o f a jo k e , eg :
T h e re w as this m a n /p la c e . . .
[bj O n th e o th e r h a n d , th a tlth o se a r e used inform ally to ‘poin t b a c k ’ in a vague w ay to so m e
sh ared ex p e rien ce ;
1 used to en joy those e n o rm o u s h otel breakfasts.
It gives you th a t g re a t feeling o f clean a ir a n d open spaces, [‘th e feeling w e all k n o w a b o u t']
A n a p h o r ic a n d c a t a p h o r ic r e fe r e n c e
6.44 T h e a n a p h o ric a n d c a ta p h o ric uses o f the d em o n strativ es a re ex ten sio n s o f
th e ir situ atio n al use.
A N A P H O R IC :
I h e a r you d islik e d h is la te st novel. I read his first novel, a n d th a t w a s
b o rin g , too.
H e a sk e d for h is b ro w n ra in c o at, insisting th a t this w as his u su al c o a t
d u rin g th e w in te r m o n th s.
CA TA PH O RIC
H e to ld th e sto ry lik e th is : ‘O n ce upon a tim e . . . ’ [1 ]
T h e ‘n e a r’ d e m o n s tra tiv e s this/these can have b o th a n a p h o ric a n d

c ata p h o ric referen ce, w h ile th e ‘d is ta n t’ d em o n strativ es that/those c a n h av e
only a n a p h o ric referen ce. T h e follow ing is therefore decidedly o d d (b u t c f
N o te [a]):
?H e told th e sto ry lik e th a t: ‘O n ce upon a tim e . . . ’ [la ]
T h e a n te ce d e n t o f a d e m o n s tra tiv e m ay be eith er a n o u n p h ra se o r a larg er

segm ent o f d iscourse, viz a clau se, sen ten ce, o r sequence o f sen ten ces. W e
call th is larg e r seg m en t a ‘se n te n tia l a n te ce d e n t’:
T h ey w ill p ro b a b ly w in th e m atch . That will please m y m other.

M an y y ears ago th e ir w iv es q u arrelled over som e triv ia l m a tte r, long
fo rg o tten . B u t o n e w o rd led to a n o th er, and th e q u arrel d eveloped
in to a p e rm a n e n t ru p tu re b etw een th em . That’s w hy th e tw o m en
n e v er visit e a c h o th e r ’s houses.
This should in te re s t you, if you’re keen o n boxing. T h e w orld
h eav y w eig h t c h a m p io n sh ip is going to be h eld in C h icag o n e x t Ju n e,
so you should be a b le to w atch it th ere live.
A n a p h o ric a n d c a ta p h o ric re fe re n ce c an also be illu strated w ith d e m o n stra

tive d e te rm in e rs:
I longed to play th e p ia n o w h en I w as a c h ild ; b u t in those da ys m y

p a re n ts could n o t affo rd a n instru m en t.
These language options a re o p en to o u r s tu d e n ts: S p an ish , F re n c h , an d
G e rm an .
N o te [a] In very lim ited co n tex ts, eg in ex p ressio n s o f in dignation, th at c a n be u se d c a ta p h o ric a ily :
W h i t d o you th in k o f t h a t ! B ob sm ash es u p m y c a r, an d th e n e x p e cts m e to pay for th e

rep airs.
[b] S u c h a s a p ro -fo rm is sim ilar to th e dem o n strativ es. It can have a n a p h o ric referen ce b o th as
a p r o n o u n an d a s a p re d e te rm in e r:
N o on e in h is senses w ould d re a m o f ta k in g an innocent m aiden a u n t ( i f such exist) to
S en ec a’s M edea. It is d o u b tfu l, indeed, i f such plays should be perfo rm e d a t all o n the
m o d e m stag e. [ \ . . if innocent maiden aunts exist'J, [ \ . . if plays such a s Seneca’s
M e d e a . . . '. ) [I]
In [1], such occurs first a s a p ro n o u n an d second a s a p red eterm in er. In [2J, such h a s a w hole
s e n te n c e as its a n te c e d e n t, a n d could be replaced by this o r that w ith virtually n o ch an g e o f
m e a n in g :
I f officialdom m a k es m istak es, officialdom deserves to suffer. Such, a t least, w as M r
B oyd’s o p in io n . [21
T h e a n a p h o ric p ro n o u n such c a n also o ccu r a fte r indefinite d eterm in ers su ch a s all , Jew, an d
m a n y { c f 5.15 N o te ) in ra th e r ra re a n d restricted u s e :
f th e re w ill surely n o t be m any such.")
S o m e reactio n s to th e pro p o sal m ay be hostile, but< ?we can afford to ig n o re any such. > [3]
X fn o su c h h av e y et b een rep o rted . J
A s [3] show s, th e ac cep ta b ility o f th is co n stru ctio n varies according to th e d e te rm in e r w h ich
p re c e d e s such. F o r th e u n ac ce p ta b le *no such, p o stm odification o f none by such is a n ac cep ta b le
a lte rn a tiv e :
> (£ .}> y et b een reported.

. . b u t none such \ ,
Indefinite pronouns
6.45 T h e rem ain in g classes o f p ro n o u n s are term ed i n d e f i n i t e : th ey lack th e
e le m e n t o f d efin iten ess w h ich is fo u n d in th e personal, reflexive, possessive,
a n d d e m o n stra tiv e p ro n o u n s, an d to som e e x te n t also in th e w /i-pronouns.
A lth o u g h they are th em selv es indefinite, how ever, th ese p ro n o u n s can
so m e tim es c o m b in e w ith elem en ts o f definite m eaning, su c h as th e definite
a rtic le : the ones , the fe w , the other , etc. T h e indefinite p ro n o u n s are, in a
lo g ical sense, q u n t i t t i v e : th ey h av e univ ersal o r p a rtitiv e m ean in g , an d
F F
c o rre sp o n d closely to d e te rm in e rs o f th e sam e o r o f sim ilar fo rm (c/5 .1 4 ). See

T a b le 6.45 o pposite fo r a list o f th e m ain ones.
C om p ou n d pronouns
6.46 T h e indefinite p ro n o u n s d iv id e in to tw o m a in categories acc o rd in g to th eir
m o rp h o lo g y a n d th e ir sy n tactic b eh av io u r. T h e c o m p o u n d p r o n o u n s are
th o se w hich are co m p o sed o f tw o m o rp h em es, viz a d e te rm in e r m o rp h em e
every-, some-, any-, o r no-, a n d a n o m in al m o rp h em e -one, -body, o r -thing.
T h e rem ain in g in d efin ite p ro n o u n s belong to a category w h ic h w e shall call
o f - p r o n o u n s , b ecau se th ey c a n be follow ed by a p a rtitiv e o /-p h rase: m any
( o f), som e (of), etc.

T h e com pound p ro n o u n s in Table 6.46a o p p o site are d iv id e d in to four
cla sses (universal, a ssertiv e, n o n assertiv e, a n d negative) co rre sp o n d in g to
th e fo u r classes in Table 6.45.
T h e twelve co m p o u n d p ro n o u n s are perfectly regular in th e ir fo rm atio n ,
th e o nly anom alies b e in g th e spelling o f no one as tw o w ords, a n d the
p ro n u n c ia tio n o f nothing w ith th e vow el / / ra th e r th a n / a u / .
F
T h e pairs o f p ro n o u n s w ith p erso n al referen ce (eg: everybody, everyone)

are eq u iv alen t in fu n c tio n a n d m ean in g b u t th e p ro n o u n s in -one are regarded
Pronouns 377
Table 6.45 M ajor indefinite pronouns and determ iners
COUNT
NUMBER FUNCTION NONCOUNT
p e rso n a l n o n p erso n al
e v e ry o n e
e v e r y th in g
everyb o d y
p ro n o u n (it ( . . . ) ) a l l
UNIVERSAL
s in g u la r each
every
d e te rm in e r a lt
each
p ro n o u n ( th e y ( , . .) ) a ll! b o th
p lu ra l
d e te rm in e r a ll/b o th
so m e o n e
p ro n o u n s o m e th in g
s in g u la r so m eb o d y
ASSERTIVE
d e te rm in e r a (n ) som e
p ro n o u n and
p lu ra l som e
d e te rm in e r
anyone
p ro n o u n a n y th in g
anybody
s s e r t iv e
s in g u la r
e ith e r
d e te rm in e r any
any
F
n o n
p ro n o u n a n d
p lu r a l any
d e te rm in e r
n o on e
n o th in g
nobody
p ro n o u n
sin g u la r none none

w
>
p ro n o u n a n d
n e ith e r
o d e te rm in e r
w
p lu r a l p ro n o u n none
s in g u la r o r d e te rm in e r
p lu ra l
T a b le 6 .4 6 a C o m p o u n d p r o n o u n s
PERSONAL REFERENCE NONPERSONAL REFERENCE
UNIVERSAL everyb o d y e v e ry o n e e v e r y th in g
ASSERTIVE som ebody som eone s o m e th in g
NONASSERTIVE anybody anyone a n y th in g
NEGATIVE nobody n o on e n o th in g
378 P ro n o u n s and num erals
a s m o r e e le g a n t th a n th o se in -body. All th e c o m p o u n d p ro n o u n s a re singular,

a n d h a v e c o n co rd w ith a sin g u lar verb ev en th o u g h n o tio n ally they m ay
d e n o te m o re th a n o n e th in g o r p e rso n :
E very b o d y I Qver e jg h te e n now h as a vote.

E veryo n e J °
I trie d everything b u t nothing works.
Was me y° u?ve been to A m erica.
H as So t a n y th in g to say?
T h e r e w a s { n ° b ° d y \ a t ^ e office.
| no one J
O n th e use o f th e p lu ra l in co referen ce to c o m p o u n d p ro n o u n s (eg: Everybody

has th eir o f f days), c f 10.43.
N o te [a] T h e fre q u en c ies o f c o m p o u n d p ro n o u n s w ith any-, every-, a n d som e- th a t h ave, perso n al

re fe re n c e a re as fo llo w s in th e L O B a n d B row n co rp o ra o f p rin te d B rE an d A m E , resp ectiv ely :
T able 6 .4 6 b F re q u e n c ie s o f co m p o u n d p ronouns w ith any-, every-, a n d sonte-
B rE AmE
an yb o d y 32 42
anyone 141 140
everybody 33 72
everyone 106 94
som ebody 27 57
som eone in 94
T h e ta b le show s th a t, in b o th c o rp o ra , th e com p o u n d s in -one a re consistently m o re freq u en t

th a n th e c o rresp o n d in g co m p o u n d s in -body: b u t also th a t co m p o u n d s in -body a re m o re
fre q u e n t, a n d co m p o u n d s in -one a re less freq u en t, in A m E th a n in BrE.
[b] T h e c o m p o u n d p ro n o u n s a re p ro n o u n ced w ith in itia l stress, an d a re th e reb y m inim ally
d is tin c t in sp eech fro m c o m b in a tio n s o f a d eterm in er a n d a n in d e p en d en t w ord body, one, o r
thing. W e m u st b e c a re fu l, th e refo re, to distin g u ish p ro n o u n s fro m th e superficially sim ilar
seq u en ce s o f d e te rm in e r + h e a d : th e p r o n o u n 1no one fro m no 'one, as in no 'one answer [‘no single
a n s w e r’]; th e p ro n o u n 'everyone fro m every 'one, as in every 'one o f the stu d en ts ; a n d th e p ronoun
'everybody [‘an y p e rso n ’] fro m every 'body, a s in Every (hum an) body needs vitam ins.
6.47 T h e c o m p o u n d p ro n o u n s a re th e least p ro b lem atic o f th e in d efin ite p ro n o u n s,

sin ce th e y b eh av e in g e n era l like no u n p h ra ses o f very g en eral m e a n in g :
everybody, everyone [‘all p eo p le ’]

everything [‘all th in g s ’, ‘all m a tte r’]
T h e r e is n o p ro n o u n c o rresp o n d in g to th e u n iv ersal sin g u lar d e te rm in e r

every. In n o m in al fu n c tio n s, th e d e te rm in e r c o m b in e s w ith th e p ro n o u n one
(w ith th e stress p a tte rn every 'one o r 'every 'one):
Pronouns 379
E very 'one o f us w ill b e p re sen t.

W e p lay ed several m atc h es a g ain st the visitors, b u t u n fo rtu n ately lo st
every 'one.
T o e m p h asize th e all-inclusive m ean in g , single is in serted : ‘(W e lost) every

single one'.
U n lik e every 'one, w h ich h as b o th p ersonal an d n o n p erso n al referen ce, th e
c o m p o u n d p ro n o u n 'everyone (w ith stress on th e first syllable) c a n refer o n ly
to p erso n s:
T o th e co m p o u n d p ro n o u n s o f p ersonal g ender we c a n ad d th e sin g u lar

g e n itiv e e n d in g ’s:
T h is will p u t everyone’s m in d a t rest.

C ould you b o rro w an yb o d y ’s o v e rco a t?
T h e re ’s som ebody's glove o n th e floor.
I t w as absolutely nobody's fau lt.
A p o stm o d ifier else c a n b e a d d e d to the com pound p ro n o u n s. Its m ea n in g

is illu stra te d by th ese p a ra p h ra s e s ( c f 7.69):
everyone 'else [‘every o th e r p e rso n ’]

nobody 'else [‘n o o th e r p e rs o n ’]
anything ’else [‘an y o th e r th in g ’]
T h e g en itiv e en d in g is a d d e d to else, an d n o t to th e p ro n o u n its e lf ( c / ‘g ro u p

g e n itiv e ’, 5.123):
I m u st be d rin k in g som eone e lse’s coffee.

( n o t : *someone's else coffee)
H is h a ir is lo n g er th a n a nybody else’s.
(N O T : *anybody's else)
I n a d d itio n , th e co m p o u n d p ro n o u n c a n be postm odified freely by n o rm a l

re stric tiv e n o u n -p h rase p o stm o d ifiers ( c f\1 .9 ff) , such as p re p o sitio n a l
p h ra se s a n d relativ e clau ses:
som ebody I know so m eth in g fo r dinner

every o n e (that) yo u m eet a n y th in g m ade o f silver
T h e c o m p o u n d p ro n o u n s c a n n o t b e prem odified by ad jectiv es ("n ew nothing),

b u t in stea d , ad jectiv al m o d ific atio n is a dded after th e p ro n o u n ( c f 17.57):
som ebody very tall

n o th in g new
so m eth in g nice fo r dinner
an y o n e kinder and m ore considerate than Janice
O f -pronouns
6.48 T h e re m a in in g in d efin ite p ro n o u n s, here called o f - p r o n o u n s ( c f Table 6.48
o v e r p age) a re d istin g u ish e d by th e follow ing c h ara cteristics:
(a) T h e y c a n b e follow ed by a p a rtitiv e o/:p h r a s e :
S o m e o f us w ere tired an d hungry.

(b) T h e y c a n be used as su b stitu tes fo r n o u n p h rases o r o th e r n o m in a l
c o n s tr u c tio n s :
M a n y c h ild ren learn to read q u ite quickly, b u t som e [ = som e children]

n e ed sp ecial in stru ctio n .
O n th e c lassificatio n o f p ro n o u n s as su b stitu tes, c/12.10#:

(c) T h e y a re all (w ith th e ex cep tio n o f none) id en tical in fo rm to th e
c o rre s p o n d in g d e te rm in e r (c/5 .1 4 ).
Table 6.48 Indefinite pronouns which take the partitive o/construction .
COUNT NONCOUNT
s in g u la r p lu r a l s in g u la r
UNIVERSAL all (of) alt (of) ail (of)

(6.49-51) each (of) both (of)
ASSERTIVE
( i) som e some (of) some (of) some (of)
(6.52)
( ii ) m u l t a l many (of) much (of)

(6.53) more (of) more (of)
most (of) most (of)
( iii) p a u c a l a few (of) a little (of)

(6.53) fewer/less (of) less (of)
fewest/least (of) least (of)
( iv ) one one (of) (ones)

(6.54-56)
NONASSERTIVE ! any (of) an} (of) any (of)

(6.59-61) either (of)
NEGATIVE none(of) none (of) none (of)

(6.62) neither (of) few (of) little (of)
N o te A ll th e o /-p ro n o u n s c a n be in terp rete d as su b stitu te s; b u t in a d d itio n , som e o f th e m c a n b e used

w ith o u t th e o /c o n s tr u c tio n to refer to peo p le in g en eral. T h e follow ing fam o u s q u o ta tio n s fro m
e a rlie r E n g lish illu strate th is use, w h ich to d ay is so m ew h at litera ry an d a r c h a ic :
M a n y are called, b u t f e w are chosen. [5 / M atthew 's G ospel ]
S o m e a re b o rn g reat, some ach iev e g reatn ess, a n d som e h av e greatness th ru s t u p o n th em .
[S h ak esp eare , Tw elfth Night]
In e a c h c a se th e m ean in g c a n be elu cid ated by in se rtin g people: som e = ‘som e p eo p le’, etc.
U n ive rsa l pronouns

6.49 O u r p la n n ow is to look a t e ac h o f th e categ o ries o f co m p o u n d p ro n o u n s an d
o /-p ro n o u n s in tu rn , b eg in n in g w ith th e u n i v e r s l pro n o u n s. W ith e ac h
F
Pronouns 381
category, w e s h a ll d ra w a tte n tio n to p arallels b etw een p ro n o u n s a n d

determ in ers.
T h e relatio n o f u n iv ersal pron o u n s to th e ir d ete rm in e rs is show n in Table
6.49. T h e c o m p o u n d pro n o u n s everyone, everybody, a n d everything h a v e
already been d isc u sse d ( c f 6.46/).
Table 6 .49 U n iv e r s a l p ro n o u n s
COUNT NONCOUNT
p erso n al n o n p e rso n a l n o n p erso n al
everyone
everyth in g
everybody
p ro n o u n a ll
ail (? everything )
SINGULAR
each
d e te rm in e r
e Z h } boy i P en
a ll ( ( o f ) th e
p ro n o u n an d fu rn itu re )
PLURAL both } ^ th e b ° y s / p e n s )
d e te rm in e r
A l l a n d b o th
6.50 A ll is used w ith p lu ra l n o u n s for q u a n titie s o f m o re th a n tw o, an d both is u sed
w ith p lu ral n o u n s fo r q u a n titie s o f tw o only (d u al n u m b e r):
T h e clu b is o p e n to people o f both sexes a n d all nationalities.

B oth (o f) his p a ren ts d ied young.
A ll (o f) the children w ere w orking h ard .
W h en all a n d both a re follow ed by a d e te rm in e r such as the (b u t n o t by th e

zero a rtic le : *all o f boys), th ere is a choice b etw een th e in sertio n o f o f an d its
om ission:
B o tA fa/)} ^ ° yS w a n t t0 becom e fo o tb all players.
T echnically, all o r both is a p ro n o u n w hen follow ed by of, a n d a p re d e te rm in e r

w h en follow ed b y a n o th e r d e te rm in e r ( c /5 .1 5ff).
A ll, u n lik e both, c a n also be follow ed by a sin g u lar c o u n t n o u n , as in [1], or
by a n o n co u n t n o u n , as in [2]:
H is a c tio n w a s c o n d em n ed by all (o f) the civilized world. [1]

A ll (o f) that m o n ey you gave th em h as b e e n sp en t. [2]
Before a sin g u lar c o u n t n o u n , how ever, a ll is so m ew h at fo rm al, a n d is

freq u en tly re p la ce d by a co n stru ctio n w ith whole as a n ad jectiv e o r n o u n :
The whole ( o f the) civilized world d en o u n ced th e invasion.
Sim ilarly, both the boys c a n be replaced by the two boys o r both boys.
U nless follow ed b y th e o /-p h rase, all an d both follow a p erso n al p ro n o u n
ra th e r th a n p re ce d e i t :
382 Pronouns and num erals
A , , ° f u s\ lik e P e te r
W e a ll j llk e m e r ‘
. [both o f them ] , „
I ve m et < , , , > before,
[them both J
W h e n all, both, a n d each ( c /5 .1 6) a re postposed in th is w ay, an d apply to the

su b je ct, th ey a p p e a r in th e p o sitio n o f a m edial a d v erb (c/8 .1 6 ). A ccording
to th e ru les fo r a d v e rb p lac em e n t, th is m eans th a t th ey o ccu r im m ed iately
a fte r th e su b ject i f th e re is n o o p e ra to r [3], oth erw ise a fte r th e o p e rato r [4, 5]:
They won th e ir m atch es. [3]
T h e villages have been destroyed. [5]
A s [5] show s, th e p o stp o se d u n iv ersal pro n o u n m ay also o ccu r a fte r a

n o n p ro n o m in a l n o u n p h ra se as subject. In o th er p o sitio n s in th e sentence,
h o w ev er, th e p o stp o se d p ro n o u n o ccu rs im m ed iately a fte r its h ead , an d th e
head c a n o nly b e a p e rso n a l p r o n o u n :
T h e y told { “f
1 \ \ b o t h 1 to w ait.
* t h e m e n f l eachj
N o te [a] U se d alo n e, a ll c a n be e q u iv a le n t to everything :
*1
_ 1 . . I>'is n o tMlost.♦
E v erything j
I n th is sen se, all c a n b e p rece d ed b y a possessive p ro n o u n :
H e g a v e his all. [‘e v e ry th in g h e h a d ’]
[b] A l l c a n be p rem o d ified by d eg re e ad v e rb ials a n d by m odifiers o f n e g a tiv e im p lic a tio n : nearly
all, (not) quite all, not all, b y no m eans all, etc.
[c] B oth is in trin sica lly defin ite, a n d in th is differs from th e c a rd in a l n u m e ral two, even w hen it
is not follow ed by th e d efin ite a r t ic l e :
B o th 1 , . , B oth] . ,
?7V<? o f \ e^ 6S w ere ' IT w o | e^ eS Were
T he s ta te m e n ts c o n ta in in g tw o d o n o t m a k e sense w hen ap plied to an in d iv id u al p erso n , because
they im p ly th a t th e re a re m o re th a n tw o eyes in question. B ut d e te rm in e r + unstressed tw o +
noun c a n b e used i n :
H e r tw o eyes w e re lik e saucers.
C o m p a re a ls o :
th e jm yjth ese tw o boys I t w as ju s t th e two o f us.
Each and every

6.51 W o rd s lik e each, every, a n d th e co m p o u n d s w ith every- c a n be term ed
d i s t r i u t i v e , b e ca u se th ey p ic k o u t the m em b ers o f a set singly, ra th e r th a n
|
co n sid erin g th e m in th e m ass. T h ey are therefore sin g u lar in n u m b er. A p a rt

from th is d ifferen ce, each a n d every as d eterm in ers a re o ften e q u iv a len t to
all:
A ll good te a c h e rs stu d y their su b ject carefully. [1]

Pronouns 383
jEhc/f} ®00(^ te a c *le r stu^ ‘es his subject carefully. [la ]
(O n th e use o f his in [ la ], c f 6.9.)

A ll, each ; an d every one can also b e eq u iv a len t in a p ro n o m in al fu n c tio n ,
e x c e p t th a t each (u n lik e every one an d alt) can refer to ju st tw o p eo p le o r
th in g s :
Several c ars a rriv e d .
{
Each (one) o f them w as m u d -stain ed . [2]
Every one o f them w as m u d -stain ed . [2a]
A ll o f them w ere m u d -stain ed . [2b]
T h e re is also a n o ticeab le difference b etw een [3] an d [3a, 3b]:
A ll (o f) the girls 3 [3]

Each one o f the girls > received a m ag n ificen t prize. [3a]
E very one o f the g irls) [3b]
W h ile [3] m ig h t m ea n th a t th e girls sh a red a single prize, [3a] a n d [3b] b o th

m e a n th a t th ere w ere a s m an y p rizes as girls. N o te th a t each as a p ro n o u n [4]
is e q u iv a le n t to each as a d e te rm in e r follow ed by one [4a], an d to each a s a
d e te rm in e r follow ed by a n o u n [4 b ]:
Each o f the states 'I [4]

Each one o f the sta tes > h as its o w n flag. [4a]
Each state J [4b]
N o te [a] T h e d istrib u tiv e use o f each is fu rth e r d iscussed in reference to c o o rd in atio n in 13.61. O n
c o n c o rd w ith each, c /1 0 .3 7 N o te [b].
[b] A ll o f th e q u a n tita tiv e pro n o u n s hav e a d istrib u tiv e use ( c f 10.47), as in [5]; usually th e p lu ra l
h a s th e sam e m e an in g an d is preferre d to th e singular, as in [5 a]:
A ll th e ch ild ren h av e their own bicycle. [5]
A ll th e ch ild ren h av e their own bicycles, [‘on e bicycle fo r e a c h ’] [5a]
Assertive pronouns
T h e som e series
6.52 T h e te rm s s e r t i v e ap p lies to p ro n o u n s a n d d e term in ers w hich a re a sso c iated
F
w ith ‘a ssertiv e te rrito ry ’ ra th e r th a n ‘n o n assertiv e territo ry ’ (e /2 .5 3 //). T h e

c le a re st case o f th is d istin c tio n is to be fo u n d in th e co n trast b etw een so m e
a n d any, a n d b etw een th e ir c o rresp o n d in g co m p o u n d p ro n o u n s som ebody,
anybody, etc ( c f 6.46).
S o m e as a d e te rm in e r [1 ,2 ] a n d as a p ro n o u n [ 1a, 2a] occurs m o st ty p ically
w ith p lu ral an d n o n c o u n t n o u n s :
Som e rolls h av e been e aten . [ 1]

Som e bread h as b een e aten . [2]
Som e (o f th e rolls) h av e been e aten . [ 1a]
Som e (o f th e bread) has b een e aten . [2a]
In th ese ex am p les, som e as a p lu ral form c o n tra sts w ith one, w hich is sin g u lar
(c /6 .5 4 /):
One
o f th e rolls h as been e aten .
*Som e
B u t a s a d e te rm in e r, some also occu rs w ith singular c o u n t no u n s, especially
te m p o ra l n o u n s :
"Som e 'd a y , I ’ll tell you a g re at secret, [‘o n e d a y ’]
T h e y ’v e b e e n staying in the village fo r 'some “time.
W ith o th e r s in g u la r no u n s, some is less usual, an d h a s th e m ean in g ‘a c e rta in ’
o r ‘so m e . . . o r o th e r’:
D id y o u se e som e strange m an (or o th e r) looking o v er th e hedge ?
I h e a r t h a t som e rare animal (o r o th er) h a s escaped fro m th e zoo.
T h e a d d itio n o f or other u n d erlin es th e in d efin ite o r ‘u n k n o w n ’ q u ality o f th e

re fe re n t.
S o m e o /fo llo w e d by a singular c o u n t n o u n is used in a p a rtitiv e sense:
S o m e o f th e lo a f has been e aten , [‘p a r t o f th e lo a f’]
N o te [a] O n some a s a su b stitu te pronoun, c/1 2 .1 7 /.

[b] O r other c a n a lso be ad d e d to com pounds b eg in n in g w ith som e- :
I t ’s tim e y o u g o t somebody or other to h elp you.
[c] E sp e c ia lly in A m E , som e is strongly stressed w ith a singular co u n t n o u n in ex c lam a to ry
se n te n c e s su ch a s :
T h a t w as “s o m e 1m e a t ! [‘a very good m e al’] <very in fo rm a l)
[d] O n u n s tre s s e d som e in co m p ariso n w ith zero a rtic le , c/5 .3 9 /.
M u lta l an d p a u c a l quantifiers .
T h e m u ltal a n d p a u c a l group o f p ro n o u n s, w ith th e ir m atc h in g p o std e te rm i
n e rs (c /5 .2 3 ), a re an to n y m s w ith a sim ila r d istrib u tio n . M a n y [‘a larg e
n u m b e r ’] c o n tra s ts w ith a fe w [‘a sm all n u m b e r’], a n d m uch [‘a larg e a m o u n t’]
c o n tra s ts w ith a little [‘a sm all a m o u n t’]:
M u ch h a s,b e e n said a b o u t the c o st o f m edicine.
M u c h an d , to a lesser ex ten t, m any h a v e a cq u ired som e n o n assertiv e force

(c /1 0 .6 1 N o te [b]), w ith th e result th a t th ey a re rarely used , a t lea st in
in fo rm a l E n g lish , w ith o u t som e n eg ativ e o r in te rro g ativ e im p lica tio n .
S e n ten c es lik e [1] a re u n ch ara cte ristic o f m o d ern id io m a tic E n g lish , a n d
th e re is a p re fe re n c e for open-class q u an tifiers such as a great deal (o f), as in
[ la ] :
[ 1]
[la ]
S im ilarly , r a th e r th a n [2] w ith m any, in fo rm a l E n g lish show s a p re fe re n ce fo r
[2a] w ith p len ty o f a n d a lot o f ( c f 5.25):
Pronouns 385
f m any good ideas. [ 2]

She has < p lenty o f \ ... [2a]
lot o f I g 0 0dldeaS
A s p o std e te rm in e r a n d su b stitu te pronoun, m any can be p re ced ed b y the

definite article:
the m any dangers w e face
T h e q u an tifier is follow ed in th is c o n stru ctio n by a restrictiv e re la tiv e cla u se ;

th e q u an tifier itself, h o w ev er, h a s th e m ean in g o f a n o n re stric tiv e m odifier,
so th a t [3] can b e p a ra p h ra s e d as [3 a]:
I a m well a w are o f the m any dangers ( th a t) we fa ce . [3]

I am well a w are o f th e d a n g ers we face - an d th ere a re m an y
o f th em . [3a]
T h ese q u an tifiers a re g ra d ab le, a n d can be a cco m p an ied by d eg ree a d v erb s

such as very, too, so, as, enough. N o tice th a t quite p reced es th e in d efin ite
a rticle in quite a fe w [‘a co n sid era b le n u m b er’], b u t th a t very follow s it in a
very fe w :
A : H av e you seen (very) m a n y houses for sale?
f Y es, I ’ve seen quite a fe w .

B : <j ( u t N O T : *quite m any, *quite several)
|
( N o , I ’ve seen only a very few .
T h e re a re also c o m p a ra tiv e a n d su p erlativ e form s as sh o w n in Table 6.53. A s
Table 6.53 C o m p a ra tiv e a n d s u p e r la tiv e fo rm s o f m u lta l a n d p a u c a l q u a n tifie rs
MULTAL PAUCAL
coun t noncount count noncount
ABSOLUTE m any m uch a fe w a little
fe w e r
COMPARATIVE m ore less
(less)
fe w e s t
SUPERLATIVE m ost le a st
(least)
in th e case o f d e te rm in e r fu n c tio n (c/5 .2 4 ), th ere a re p re sc rip tiv e o b jectio n s

a g ain st th e use o f less a n d least w ith p lural nouns. Y et th ey are w idely used
in in fo rm al E nglish. H e n ce alo n g sid e few er changes a n d less noise, th e ta b le
allow s fo r the p o ssib ility o f less changes. E x am p les:
T h ere used to be m ore w o m en th a n m en in th e c o u n try ,
b u t now th e re a re I f f w er'
\Jess.
M o s t o f u s e n jo y r e a d i n g .
The is o p tio n a lly a d d e d to m ost in th e sense ‘th e g re atest n u m b er (o f)’

( c /7 .8 4 ) :
I n th is co n stitu en cy , th e L ab o u r P a rty o ften polls (the) m ost votes, a n d

th e T ory P a rty (the) few est/lea st. B u t th is tim e, th e T o rie s h a d more
success than usual.
N o te [a] W e k e e p a fe w a n d a little d is tin c t from fe w a n d little, w hich are d ea lt w ith in 6.62.

[b] M a n y , like fe w (c/6 .6 2 ), h a s a p red icativ e use [‘nu m ero u s’] in fo rm al a n d litera ry E nglish
(c /5 .2 3 N o te (c ]):
H is sin s w ere m a n y , an d h is frie n d s w ere fe w .
[c] T h e ab so lu te fo rm s m any/m uch a n d a fe w ja little c a n precede th e c o m p a ra tiv e form s m ore ,
fe w e r , a n d less in th e co m p a riso n o f d iffe re n t to ta ls o r am o u n ts:
\ many\ jZ e} (apples)\
W e h a v e had < a f m ^ ore ^ y > th is y ea r th a n la st year.
( m uch less {rain) J
O ne
(a) N u m erical one

6 .5 4 O ne i n its n u m erica l sen se fits in to th e lis t o f in d efin ite p ro n o u n s a t th is p o in t;
b u t i t is a v ersatile w o rd w ith a n u m b e r o f different fu n ctio n s, w h ich can
c o n v e n ie n tly b e c o n sid ere d to g eth er. T h re e ty p es o f p ro n o u n one c a n be
d istin g u ish e d m o rp h o lo g ic ally :
( a ) NUMERICAL ONE ( b ) SUBSTITUTE ONE (c ) GENERIC ONE
one one , ones one , o n e ’s, o n e se lf
Fig 6.54 Three types of the pronoun one
T h e cardinal^ n u m era l one is, n a tu rally en o u g h , sin g u lar a n d count. It is

in v a ria b le , b u t c a n o ccu r, lik e o th e r c ard in als, e ith er as a d e te rm in e r o r as
th e h e a d o f a n o u n p h r a s e :
D ETE R M IN A TIV E F U N C T IO N H E A D FU N C TIO N
{the) one j |j0y /p en one o f the boys/pens
One c a n be the stressed e q u iv a le n t o f th e in d efin ite a rticle (c /5 .3 8 ), a n d is

also th e sin g u lar e q u iv a le n t o f th e in d efin ite p ro n o u n som e in a c o n te x t like
th is :
I ’v e m ad e som e cak es. W o u ld you l Ik e j / ^ j (of th em )?
One a lso o ccurs in c o n tra st to the other o r another in c o rrelativ e c o n stru ctio n s.
O ne ( o r the o n e ). . .th e other is used w ith referen ce to tw o :
I saw tw o su sp icio u s-lo o k in g m en . {The) one w en t th is w ay,

the other th a t.
O n e o f his eyes is b e tte r th a n the other.
Pronouns 387
O n e . . . another o r o n e . . . the other is used w ith referen ce to m ore th a n t w o :
W e o v e rto o k one c a r a fte r j

[the other.
I ’ve b een busy w ith one th in g o r another.
T h e re is a n a d v erb ial use o f these co rrelativ es in th e co n stru ctio n one +

p re p o sitio n + another [1] or, m ore usually, p rep o sitio n + th e re cip ro ca l
p ro n o u n one a/iotAer [la ], o r one + p rep o sitio n + the other [\b \:
Thev talk
h ey ta lk ee dd l^ o n,(h
e with a n o t h e r - <literary>
Qng a /m h e r [ i[1]
a]
She s ta c k e d th e b ooks one on top o f the other. [ 1 b]
N o te O n th e use o f one m e a n in g ‘a c e rta in ’ before a nam e, eg : one Charlie Brow n, c f 5.63 N o te [b].
(b) S u b stitu te one

6.55 T h e su b s titu te p ro n o u n one h as th e p lural ones, a n d is used a s a su b stitu te f o r
a co u n t n o u n , o r fo r a n eq u iv a len t n o m in al e x p ressio n ( c f 12.15/):
A : I ’m lo o k in g fo r a bo o k o n g ram m ar.
B : Is th is the one you m ea n ? [‘th e b o o k o n g ra m m a r’]
A : Y es, I ’d lik e a d r in k , b u t ju st a sm a ll one. [‘a sm all d rin k ’]
B : I th o u g h t you p referred large ones, [‘larg e d rin k s ’]
S u b stitu te one c a n b e easily c o m b in ed w ith d e te rm in e rs a n d m odifiers:
those ones I lik e the old one in the k itc h e n
H o w ev er, it is o n ly e xceptionally th a t one im m ed iately follows the in d efin ite

a rtic le : a one. O ne a lo n e is used as a su b stitu te fo r a/an + n o u n :
I ’m h a v in g a drink. W ould you lik e one to o ? [‘a d rin k ’]
N o te [a] A one as a n u m e ral c a n o ccu r w hen one is used as a n o u n :

I c o u ld n ’t m a k e o u t w h eth e r th e n u m b e r w as a seven o r a one. [‘a n u m b e r o n e’]
[b] T h e in d e fin ite a rtic le w ith one is also h eard m ore w idely in casual speech, as in [1], in th e
sense o f ex c la m a to ry ‘a single o n e’; an d , as in [2], in coy n o n sta n d a rd usage in th e sense o f ‘a n
am u sin g p e rso n ’ :
I h ad lots o f p en c ils, a n d now I h av e n ’t got a one! [1]
Y ou a re a one! [2]
(c) G en eric one

6.56 G e n eric one o ccu rs chiefly in th e sin g u lar a n d w ith p erso n al gender. I t h a s
th e g e n itiv e o n e’s a n d th e reflexive o n eself ( c f 6.23). T h e m ean in g o f g e n eric
one is ‘pe o p le in g e n era l’, o ften w ith p a rtic u la r referen ce to th e sp eak er, e g:
I lik e to d re ss nicely. It gives one co nfidence. [ 1]
T h e u se o f g e n eric one is chiefly form al, an d is o fte n rep laced colloquially b y

yo u ( c f 6 .2 1 ):
O ne w o u ld I th in k they w ould ru n a la te r b u s th a n t h a t ! [2]

I n A m E , th e c o refe ren tial use o f one (or gen itiv e one’s o r reflexive oneself)
is c h a ra c te ris tic a lly fo rm al, he/his/him self b ein g p re ferred in reg u lar u sa g e :
.u r i u . (one’s in v estm en ts. <esp B rE )

O n e m u st b e carefu l ab o u t ( , . . , , . *
in v estm en ts. <esp A m E )
H o w e v e r, c o n ce rn o v e r sexual bias ( c f 6.10) h as cau sed A m E in effect to

m o v e to w a rd s a d o p tio n o f th e B rE p a tte rn . O n th e o th e r h a n d , in b o th A m E
a n d B rE th e use o f g en eric one h as n ever o ccu rred in n a tu ra l in fo rm a l use. In
c o n se q u e n c e , p eo p le w ho em b a rk on sequences in v o lv in g one m ix th e
p r o n o u n one w ith th o se m ore n a tu ra l to in fo rm al use. H e n ce d isco u rse in
b o th A m E a n d B rE m ay show v acillatio n , e g :
I t ’s difficult i f y o u r house gets burgled, w h en one is o u t late a t w ork.
N o te G e n e r ic one d o es n o t a c c e p t d ete rm in e rs o r m odifiers:

* T h e cautious one c a n ’t be to o carefu l, ca n the on e ?
H a lf, several, enough

6.57 A m isce lla n eo u s g ro u p o f p ro n o u n s m ay be illu stra te d a t th is p o in t. T h ey all
h a v e c o rre sp o n d in g d e te rm in e rs :
H a l f (o f) the class! children w ere girls.

I ’ve o nly re ad h a l f (of) the book.
W e h a d to w a it fo r h a lf an hour.
Several (o f m y frien d s) a tte n d ed the co n feren ce.
I h a v e several books o n folklore.
I ’v e h a d enough (o f y o u r tan tru m s/m isb eh av io u r).
T o m is enough o f a sportsm an to accep t d e fe a t gladly.
T h ere is enough (o f th e) water to last several w eeks.
S e vera l is alw ay s p lu ral, a n d in d icates a n u m b e r slightly g re ater th a n a fe w .

E nough c o n tra sts w ith too little an d toofew ( c f 15.73). A s d e te rm in e r, it usually
o c cu rs in fro n tjo f th e h e a d noun, b u t can also (rarely) follow it:
T h e re w as l enot^ ^ ^00^ j to last a w hole year.

[fo o d enough J
N ote H a lf, n o rm ally a p re d e te rm in e r, a s in h a lf a loaf, h a lf an hour (c f 5.16), also o ccu rs occasionally

a s a p o s td e te rm in c r: o h a lf loaf, a halfhour.
O th e r and another
6.58 O th e r as a p o std e te rm in e r follow s the o th er d e term in ers, in clu d in g q u an tifiers
a n d (so m etim es) n u m e ra ls ( c f 5 .2 0 /0 :
all the other w o m en th a t other co lo u r several other trees

h e r other s iste r m an y other id eas tw o other le tte rs
A s a p ro n o u n , it c a n follow th e sam e w ide ran g e o f d e te rm in e rs ; it also occurs

in a p lu ral fo rm o th ers:
Som e p eo p le c o m p la in e d , b u t others w ere m o re to leran t.

W h ere a re a ll the others'! [‘people, b ooks’, etc]
I have o n e sock, b u t I ’ve lost the other (one).
Pronouns 389
O thers is used in a n ab so lu te sense i n :
W e should be c o n sid era te to others, [‘o th e r people g en erally ’]
A nother, a lth o u g h sp elt as a single w ord, is to be consid ered a fu sio n o f th e

tw o w ords an a n d other, o r a lte rn a tiv e ly as a reduced version o f one other:
I ’ve sold m y bicycle a n d b o u g h t another (one).

I h av e a /o n e sister in N e w Y o rk , a n d another in C a n b erra .
A p a rt fro m its usual m ea n in g , another also h as an in crem en tal m ea n in g o f ‘a

fu rth e r’ o r ‘o n e m o re’:
M ay I borrow another p iece o f p a p e r? [‘a n a d d itio n al p iece o f p a p e r’]
I n th is sense, another c a n be follow ed by a n u m eral an d a p lu ral n o u n :
T h e fa rm a lre ad y h a s te n cow s, b u t th ey are buying another five (cow s),

[‘five m o re cow s’]
A lth o u g h c o m p arativ ely ra re w ith th e o /c o n s tru c tio n , other/others a n d

another m ay b e classed w ith th e of- pro n o u n s. E xam ples o f th e ir u se w ith th is
co n stru ctio n a re:
Som e m em b ers o f o u r e x p e d itio n w an ted to clim b to th e su m tn it, b u t

others o f us th o u g h t it to o dangerous.
I saw another o f th o se yellow butterflies yesterday.
T h e g en itiv e o f another a n d other is ra re w h en th e referen ce is g e n e ra l:
(*another's )
She h a s < another person’s > coat.
[ som ebody else’s J
W e a re n o t in te rested in ■! ‘)° t^ ers I problem s.

I o th er people sJ
B u t w ith n a rro w er referen ce:
f the other’s bag. [two people]

Each looked after ( , ,, . , , ^
I the others bags, [several people]
N o te O ther an d another ten d to o cc u r as th e second item in co rrelative co m b in a tio n s (c /6 .3 1 , 6.54),

eg:
som e p e o p le . . . others, the one . . . the other, each . . . other, o n e . . . other, another.
Nonassertive pronouns
6.59 In ad d itio n to th e c o m p o u n d p ro n o u n s anybody, anyone, a n d anything, th e re
a re tw o n o n assertiv e o /-p ro n o u n s any a n d either. W ith re fe re n ce to th e
d istin c tio n (m ad e in 2 .5 3 //) b etw een assertiv e and n o n a sse rtiv e fo rm s, we
c a n see t h a t th ere is a p aralle l b etw een assertive som e a n d n o n assertiv e any:
A ssertiv e:
P a m b o u g h t som e ap p les.
N o n assertiv e, in te rro g a tiv e , p o sitiv e:
D id P a m buy any a p p le s?
390 - Pron oun s and numerals
N o n a ss e rtiv e , in terro g ativ e, n eg ativ e:

D id n ’t P a m buy any a p p les?
N o n a ss e rtiv e , n eg ativ e:
P a m d id n ’t b u y any apples.
B e s id e s n o t , th e n eg ativ e form s w hose scope favours n o n assertiv e form s

in c lu d e fo r e x am p le th e follow ing ( c /1 0 .60/7):
(a) W o r d s n e g ativ e in fo rm : never, no, neither, nor

(b) W o rd s n e g ativ e in m e a n in g :
(i) th e a d v erb s a n d d e term in ers hardly, little, fe w , only, seldom , e tc
(ii) th e ‘im p lied n eg ativ es’ ju st, before', fa il, prevent', reluctant, hard,
difficult, e tc ; a n d co m p ariso n s w ith too
C o m p a r e th e follow ing a sse rtiv e/n o n assertiv e p a irs o f se n ten c es:
J e a n w ill alw ays m an ag e to d o som ething useful.
{ J e a n w ill never m an ag e to d o anything useful.
f T h e r e w as a good ch an ce som ebody w ould com e.

[ T h e r e w as little ch an ce anybody w ould com e.
J o h n w a s eager to read som e (o f th e) books.
J o h n w as t0 reac*any ^ * 500^ s-
S o m e an d a n y series
6.60 T h e m a in ‘su p erficial’ m ark e rs o f n o n a sse rtio n are negative, in te rro g ativ e,
a n d c o n d itio n a l clauses, b u t it is th e u n d erly in g o r basic m ea n in g o f the
w h o le s e n te n c e w h ich u ltim ately c o n d itio n s th e ch o ice o f th e som e o r th e any
s e ries (c /1 0 .6 1 ). F o r exam ple, in sen ten ce [1], th e basic m ean in g is n e g ativ e
a n d n o n a s s e rtiv e , as a p p ea rs in th e p a ra p h ra se [la ]:
F r e u d c o n trib u te d m o re th a n anyone to th e u n d erstan d in g

o f d re am s. [1]
N o b o d y c o n trib u te d as m u ch to th e u n d e rstan d in g o f d ream s
as F re u d . [la ]
C o n v e rse ly , som e is o ften used in n eg ativ e, in terro g ativ e, a n d c o n d itio n al

s e n te n c e s , w h en th e basic m ea n in g is assertiv e (‘po sitiv e o rie n ta tio n ’,
c /1 1 .6 ) :
D id telep h o n e last n ig h t?
T h e d iffe re n c e b etw een th ese last tw o c a n b e ex p lain ed in term s o f d ifferen t

p re s u p p o s itio n s : som ebody ra th e r suggests th a t th e sp eak er e x p ec te d a
te le p h o n e call, w h ereas anybody does not. I n m ak in g a n in v ita tio n o r an
offer, i t is fo r th e sam e reason p o lite to p resu p p o se a n accep tan ce:
W o u ld you lik e som e w ine?
T h e fo llo w in g sen ten ces illu strate fu rth er th e use o f the som e series in
su p erficially n o n a sse rtiv e co n tex ts:
Pronouns 391
I f som eone w ere to d ro p a m atch here, th e house w ould be o n fire in

tw o m in u te s.
B ut w h a t if som ebody decides to b reak th e rules?
W ill som ebody p lease op en th e door ?
W hy d o n ’t y o u a sk som e o th er q uestion ?
N o te T h e p rim ary differen ce b etw een som e a n d an y is th a t som e is specific, tho u g h unspecified, w h ile
a n y is nonspecific (c/T 0.60).
A n y and either
6.61 A n y is d istin g u ish e d from either in rep resen tin g a ch o ice b etw een th re e o r
m ore, w hile eith er lim its th e choice to tw o; th u s either, lik e both ( c f 6.50) a n d
neither ( c f 6.62), h as d u a l m eaning. T h is difference o b ta in s w h e th e r th e
d e te rm in e r o r th e p ro n o u n is u se d :
‘ I h a v en ’t w ritte n to °$ mJ reâlw es j a bout th e m arriag e.

[either o j m y parents)
„ f a n y p a rt o f the roof?
a n you see | ej^ er en(j 0f ^ tu n n el?
A n y is also used fo r p lu ral a n d n o n co u n t p h ra ses:
H av e you se e n a n y ( o f the) men w orking o n th is site?

D o n ’t spill a n y ( ( o f the) wine).
O n concord o f v e rb s a n d pron o u n s w ith any, c f 10.42.

A n y in its stre sse d form occurs in ‘assertive territo ry ’ w ith th e m e a n in g ‘it
d o esn ’t m a tte r w h ic h /w h o /w h a t’. T h is is u n co m m o n ex ce p t (a) w here th e
clause c o n ta in s a m o d al auxiliary (especially will, can, o r m ay), o r (b) w h e re
th e no u n p h ra se in tro d u c ed by any c o n tain s re stric tiv e p o stm o d ificatio n
(especially a r e la tiv e c lau se):
H e will e a t a n y k in d o f vegetables.
A n y dog m ig h t b ite a ch ild if teased.
A n y o ffer w ould be b e tte r th an this.
I advise you to a cc ep t any offer yo u receive.
T h e c o m p o u n d p ro n o u n s anybody, anyone, a n d anything are sim ilarly u s e d :
H e will e a t anything.
A nyone who tells lies is p unished.
A n d a p arallel u se o f either, w here the h e are r is offered a ch o ice b etw een tw o,

is exem plified in :
Y ou can a s k either o f us to help you.

E ither o f th e o th e r offers would be p referab le to this.
T h e follow ing se n ten c es illu strate yet a n o th e r superficially a ssertiv e use o f

any:
Please re tu rn a n y o v erd u e books to th e lib rary .

W e a re g ra te fu l fo r any aid th e public c a n give.
T h e m e a n in g o f an y is n o n a sse rtiv e here in th a t its fo rce is co n d itio n al:

‘o v e rd u e b o o k s, if th e re a re a n y ’; ‘aid , if any can be g iv e n ’.
N o te A n y a n d its co m p o u n d s ca n be in tensified by th e postm odifier a t a i l ’.

A n y o ffer a t all w ould be b e tte r th a n th is.
N egative pronouns
6.6 2 C o rre sp o n d in g to th e n e g ativ e d eterm in ers no a n d neither, th e n eg ativ e
p ro n o u n s a re th e o /p r o n o u n s none an d neither , a n d th e c o m p o u n d p ro n o u n s
nobody, no one, a n d nothing ( c f 6.46). In ad d itio n , fe w a n d little, a lth o u g h n o t
m o rp h o lo g ic ally n e g a tiv e ,. a re n eg ativ e in m ea n in g a n d in Syntactic
b e h a v io u r. E x a m p le s a re :
I h a v e re ce iv e d no u rg e n t m essage(s).
N o n e (o f th e stu d e n ts) | j j ^ e J failed.
f o f th e a c c u sa tio n s) . '
N e ith e r ( .. ) is true.
(a c c u s a tio n J
T h a t’s none o f y o u r b u sin e ss!
I sa id nothing a b o u t it.
^Noone\ ^ aS s e n t a n a P °i°S y so far.

N either d iffers fro m no a n d none as either differs fro m a n y : i t is re stric te d to a
set o f tw o p e o p le o r th in g s, w hile none ap p lies to th ree o r m o re en titie s, an d
no to a n y n u m b er.
F ew a n d little, as d istin c t fro m a fe w a n d a little (c /6 .5 3 ), a re n eg ativ e
q u an tifiers c o rre sp o n d in g to m a n y a n d m u c h :
T h e re w e r e fe w v isito rs a t th e ex h ib itio n , [‘n o t m a n y v isito rs’]

F ew o f th e a n im a ls will su rv iv e th e w inter, [‘n o t m a n y o f th e a n im a ls’]
T h ey h a v e m a n y su p p o rte rs, w hile w e h ave few .
T h e re w a s little e n th u s ia sm fo r th e project, [‘n o t m u c h e n th u s ia sm ’]
L ittle o f th e o rig in a l b u ild in g rem ain s today, [‘n o t m u c h ’]
T h e y h a v e p le n ty o f m o n ey , b u t we h av e co m p a rativ ely little.
F ew a n d little rriay be used a ttrib u tiv e ly follow ing the a n d also p re d ic a tiv e ly :
W h a t w e h a v e is b u t little. th e little m oney I h a v e left

H is fa u lts a re fe w . th e fe w friends h e h as
I n the a ttrib u tiv e c o n stru ctio n , fe w follow s a d e te rm in e r su c h as the, those,

a n d what. T h e p re d ic a tiv e c o n stru ctio n is r a th e r literary .
N o te [a] O n th e c h o ice o f s in g u la r an d p lu ra l co n c o rd w ith no, neither, none, etc, c f 10.42.

(b] T h e relatio n b e tw e e n th e n eg a tiv e a n d th e no n assertiv e form s, eg th e eq u iv alen c e o f I have
none an d I haven't a n y, is discussed in 10.58.
[c] T h e n eg a tiv e q u a n tifie rs fe w a n d little c a n be intensified by very, ex tre m e ly , e t c :
e x trem e ly f e w (v isito rs) very little (food)
N o, none, a n d th e c o m p o u n d n eg a tiv e p ro nouns, o n th e o th e r h a n d , c a n b e in ten sified b y th e
postm odifiei S a t a ll a n d what(so)ever { c f also 10.62): none a t all, nothing a t a ll, e t c :
A : D id sh e h a v e a n excuse for b ein g la te ? B : N one a t all/w hat(so)ever.
Num erals 393
Numerals
Cardinal and ordinal numerals
6.63 N u m e ra ls h av e b o th o p en -class an d closed-class ch ara cte ristics (c /2 .4 2 ).
T h e y c a n fu n ctio n e ith e r as d e te rm in a tiv e s o r as h ead s in th e n o u n p h ra se .
T h e n u m era l system o f c ard in als (one, two, etc) an d ord in als (first, second,
e tc ) w ill b e clear from T a b le 6.63 b e lo w :
0 n o u g h t, z ero
1 one 1st first
2 tw o 2 n d second
3 th ree 3 rd third
4 fo u r 4 th fo u rth
5 five 5 th fifth
6 six 6 th six th
7 seven 7 th sev e n th
8 eig h t 8 th e ig h th
9 nine 9 th n in th
10 ten 10th te n th
11 eleven 11 th ele v en th
12 tw elve 12th tw e lfth
13 th irtee n 13th th ir te e n th
14 fo u rtee n 14th fo u rtee n th
15 fifteen 15th fifteen th
16 six teen 16 th s ix te en th
17 s e v e n te e n 17th, sev e n te e n th
18 e ig h te en 18th e ig h te e n th
19 n in e te e n 19th n in e te e n th
20 tw enty 2 0 th tw e n tie th
21 tw en ty -o n e 21st tw en ty -first
22 tw e n ty -tw o 2 2 n d tw en ty -seco n d
23 tw e n ty -th ree 23rd tw e n ty -th ird
24 tw e n ty -fo u r 2 4 th tw e n ty -fo u rth
25 tw en ty -fiv e 2 5 th tw en ty -fifth
26 tw en ty -six 2 6 th tw en ty -six th
27 tw en ty -sev en 27 th tw e n ty -sev e n th
28 tw e n ty -e ig h t 2 8 th tw e n ty -e ig h th
29 tw e n ty -n in e 2 9 th tw e n ty -n in th
30 th irty 30 th th ir tie th
40 fo rty 4 0 th fo rtie th
50 fifty 5 0 th fiftieth
60 sixty 6 0 th s ix tie th
70 sev e n ty 70 th sev e n tie th
80 eig h ty 80 th e ig h tie th
90 n in e ty 9 0 th n in e tie th
100 a /o n e hundred 100th (o n e) h u n d re d th
101 a /o n e h u n d re d a n d o n e 101st (one) h u n d re d a n d first
102 a /o n e h u n d re d a n d tw o 102nd (o n e) h u n d re d a n d s e c o n d
1,000 a /o n e th o u san d 1,000th (o n e) th o u s a n d th
1,001 a /o n e th o u s a n d (a n d ) o n e 1,001st (o n e) th o u s a n d a n d first
2 ,000 tw o th o u s a n d 2 ,0 0 0 th tw o th o u s a n d th
10,000 te n th o u s a n d 10,000th te n th o u s a n d th
100,000 a /o n e h u n d re d th o u s a n d 1 0 0 ,000th (o n e) h u n d re d th o u s a n d th
1 ,0 00,000 a /o n e million 1,000,000th (o n e) m illio n th
394 P r o n o u n s a n d n u m erals
N o te [a] O n e thousand m illion (1,000,000,000) is called one billion in th e A m erican system o f

n u m e ra tio n . In th e U K , billion has trad itio n ally b een used fo r 1,000,000,000,000 (1012),
c o rre s p o n d in g to one trillion in th e U S. H ow ever, th e A m erican usage w here billion = 109 is now
o fte n u s e d also in th e U K by people who are ig n o ra n t o f th e double m ean in g o f th e w ord. It is
n o t u s e d by s c ie n tis ts , engineers, an d m a th e m a tic ia n s acco rd in g to th e B ritish S tan d a rd s
I n s titu tio n , w h ic h reco m m en d s th a t the use o f billion, to g e th er w ith th e equally am biguous
trillion ( 1 0 12 o r 1015) a n d quadrillion (1015 o r 1 0 'a), should be avoided.
[b] T h e c o n v e n tio n fo r sep aratin g th e thou san d s in w ritin g varies. I n finance it is still no rm al to
use a c o m m a in th e U K , eg: £50,000. H ow ever, sin ce th e co m m a is used to in d icate th e decim al
p o in t i n m o st n o n -E n g lish -sp e ak in g countries, th e co m m a is often av o id ed also in E nglish, as it
w ould c a u se c o n fu sio n . In science an d eng in eerin g a s p ace is used, eg: 50 000, a n d th e re are
signs t h a t th is p r a c tic e (w hich accords w ith th e reco m m en d a tio n o f th e In te rn a tio n a l
O rg a n iz a tio n fo r S ta n d a rd iz a tio n ) is b eginning to be. ac cep te d for m oney as well, eg: £ 3 982.
6 .6 4 T h e ty p o g ra p h ic a l d istin ctio n s in th e tab le d ra w a tte n tio n to th e fa c t th a t

c a r d in a l n u m e ra ls fo r 1 to 13, an d 2 0 ,3 0 ,5 0 ,1 0 0 ,1 0 0 0 , etc a re u n sy stem atic,
a n d h a v e to b e le a rn e d as in dividual item s. C a rd in a l n u m erals fro m 14 to 99
are larg e ly sy s te m a tic , since they are fo rm ed by ad d in g en d in g s to th e o th er
n u m b e rs . T h e re a r e tw o sets o f such d e riv a tiv e n u m erals: 14 to 19 are form ed
by th e e n d in g -teen ; 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 a re form ed by th e e n d in g -ty.
C o m p a re th e s e r ie s :
s ix ~ six'teen ~ 'sixty
se v e n ~ se v e n 'teen ~ 'seventy
N o te h o w e v e r t h e sp ellin g sh ift i n :
fo u r ~ f o u r te e n ~ 'forty
N o te a ls o th e p ro n u n c ia tio n a n d spelling c h an g es in:

fiv e /a i/ ~ f i f te e n jif ~ 'fifty /t/
O rd in a l n u m e ra ls fo r 1 to 3 are u n sy ste m atic: first, second, third. T h e rest

are fo rm e d by a d d in g -th to th e c ard in al n u m erals. (B ut n ote th e ch an g e in
fiv e ~ f i f t h ) C a r d in a l n u m erals ending in -y ch an g e to -ie befo re -th :
f o u r ~ fo u r th fo u rteen ~ fourteen//; fo rty ~ fortieth
fiv e ~ fifth fifteen ~ fifte e n th fifty ~ fiftie th
six ~ six th sixteen ~ sixteen th sixty ~ sixtieth
B o th c a rd in a l iand o rd in al nu m erals can fu n ctio n like p ro n o u n s [1-4] o r

like p o s td e te rm in e rs [5-6]:
F iv e is a n o d d n u m b er. [ 1]
T h e r e a re nine (o f them ). [2]
I w a s th e ten th o n th e list. [3]
S h e w as o n ly fiv e , [‘five y ears o ld’] [4]
T h e r e a re 5 7 p eo p le o n board . [5]
H e re fe rre d to th e F ifth A m en d m en t. [6]
O n th e a p p o s itiv e u se in number five, page nine, etc, c f 17.88 N o te.

T h e o rd in a ls in p ro n o m in a l use are usually p reced ed by th e d efinite article
[7], a n d th u s resem b le su p erlativ es w ith e llip ted h ead s [8]:
Num erals 395
T o d ay is the fo u rteen th (day) (o f July); [7]

T h is is the best (ru n n e r) o f th em all. [8]
N o te [a] U n lik e th e ch an g e o f -y to - i e t s) in nouns (c f 5.81) an d v erbs ( c / 3 .10), th e ch a n g e fro m

c a rd in als en d in g in -y to o rd in a ls en d in g in - i e (t h ), adds a syllable. C o m p a re:
sixty — th e si x ti es /'sik stiz / ~ th e si x ti eth /'sikstiaO/
[b] N u m erals in w ord-form b etw een 21 a n d 99 (except th e m ultiples o f te n ) a re h y p h e n a te d :
tw eni y -one, ei ghty -si x , e tc (on w ritte n fractio n s, c/6 .6 7 ). Sm all n u m e rals - variously ta k e n a s
u n d e r 20 o r u n d e r 100 - are usually spelled a s w ords in connected w ritin g . E v en la rg e n u m e ra ls
a re spelled o u t a t th e beg in n in g s o f sentences.
[cj T h e sign 0 is freq u en tly re a d as /n o :t/, especially in BrE, w here it is sp e lt nought. I n A m £ z er o
/'z ia rsu / is m o re com m only u sed . In b o th v arieties, zero is n orm al in scientific co n tex ts a n d a lso
for te m p e ra tu re :
I t ’s five degrees below zero.
O h /s o / is m o st freq u en t in re a d in g o u t large sequences such as te lep h o n e an d house n u m b e rs:
E xten sio n 5076 ‘five oh seven six’
(Jam e s B ond) 007 ‘doubl e oh sev e n ’
W h en on e is n o t ta lk in g a b o u t n u m b e r values b u t q u antities, th ere is a w id e ran g e o f ex p ressio n s,
eg:
Italy w on 4 - 0 . ‘fo u r ni l ', ‘fo u r (to) nothi ng' [football]
I t ’s G eo rg ia o v er A la b a m a , 7 - 0 . ‘seven zi p' [A m E sports reporting]
T h e score is 3 0 - 0 . ‘th irty l ov e' [rack e t sports]
A lso expressions w ith th e p ro n o u n s no a n d none are used ( c /6.62), eg :
W e h ad five le ctures la st w eek b u t none th is week.
T h e re w ill be tw o le ssons to m o rro w b u t no lesson o n Tuesday.
[d] N o te th e follow ing in fo rm al w ay s o f in d icatin g ap p ro x im ate n u m b e rs :
som e eighty people [som e u nstressed]
80 - o d d peo p le [ b u t n o t : *85-odd people]
80 people o r [‘about eighty’]
80 or so people
a good eig h ty people [‘a t le ast 80’]
A n ex am p le o f ap p ro x im a te ti m e :
I ’ll be th e re eightir/i. [‘a b o u t eig h t o ’clock’
H u n d red , thousand, m illio n

6.65 W ith hundred, thousand, a n d million, one has an unstressed v a ria n t a (c f 5 .38):
$100 is read a s ‘o n e (or a) h u n d re d dollars’
H ow ever, only one c a n b e used a fte r an o th e r n u m eral [1], a n d u sually in th e

low y ear d a te s [2]:
1100 is re ad a s | . ° n 6 | th o u sa n d | t ° n e| h u n d re d ’ [1]
169 B C is re ad as ‘o n e h u n d re d (and) sixty-nine B C ’ [2]
S ince one is a n u m era l, it c a n be preced ed by a d e te rm in e r:
th e/a /th a t 100 (‘o n e h u n d re d ’) m etre race
H undred, thousand, a n d million are used b o th as n u m erals, as in [3], a n d as

q u a n tity n o u n s w ith p lu ra l -s a n d follow ed by o /(c /5 .8 9 ), as in [4] a n d [5]:
T en million view ers saw th e title fight o n TV. [3]

M illions (o /'people) a re starving. [4]
H undreds o f thousands (o /p eo p le) a re hom eless. [5]
In te c h n ic a l co n tex ts, thousand is so m etim es a b b rev iated k a n d m illion m :
T h a t ’s a jo b w h ich pay s $25k.
$ 2 5 m "twenty-five m illio n d o llars’
D ates
6 .6 6 W e alw ay s read y e ar d a te s as h u n d re d s :
f "n in eteen eig h ty -fiv e’

in 1985 < ‘n in ete en h u n d re d an d eighty-fi v e’ <form al>
(. *‘o n e th o u san d n in e h u n d red an d e ig h ty -fiv e’
in th e 1600s ‘six teen h u n d re d s’
O th e r ex am p les:
in the 17th century ‘se v e n te en th c en tu ry ’

in the 1980s read (b u t ra rely w ritten ) a s: ‘n in ete en -e ig h ties’ (cf: in the
early eighties : a woman in her (early/m idjlate) thirties: a g irl in her
early/m id/late teens)
D a y a n d m o n th a re u sually in d ic a te d th u s :
7(th) February o r F ebruary 7(th) read as ‘th e sev en th o f F e b ru a ry ’,

‘F e b ru ary th e s e v e n th ’, also ‘F e b ru a ry sev en ’, o r ‘F e b ru a ry se v e n th ’
In d a te ab b rev iatio n s, n u m erals a re n orm ally se p a ra ted b y a n o b liq u e, o r

a p e r io d :
7 /2 /8 2 or 7.2.82
B o th could be u se d fo r *7(th) F e b ru a ry 1982’ <BrE> o r ‘Ju ly 2(nd), 1982’

<A m E>. i
N u m e ra ls in A b breviations fo r tim es o f d a y co n ta in a colon <esp A m E ) o r
a p e rio d < B rE > ,jasin :
6 : 3 0 o r 6.30 ‘six -th irty ’ o r ‘h a lf p a st six’
Fra ctio ns |
6.67 V u lg a r fractions' a re w ritte n a n d read th u s :
i ‘a/o n e h a lf ’ f ‘tw o -th ird s’

j ‘a /o n e th ir d ’ | ‘sev en -eig h th s’
i ‘a /o n e q u a rte r’ 3| ‘th ree a n d th ree -q u arte rs’
i ‘a /o n e fifth ’
H y p h e n s are o ften u sed, p a rticu la rly in p rem o d ificatio n :
a three-quarter m ile ; th ree)-) quarters o f a m ile [fourths is a less co m m o n

a ltern ativ e to quarters here]
Numerals 397
H y p h en s a re n o t used w ith th e indefinite a rticle : th u s one-third b ut a th ird .

N o te th e d iffere n t read form s for | an d $ in p re m o d ifica tio n :
a three-quarter m ajo rity a two-thirds m ajo rity
C o m p are :
a/one hundredth o f a second. [ = ffe]

H e w o n th e ra ce by
a/one two hundredth o f a second. [ = tfe]
H e g o t three hundredths o f the m oney. [ = j&j]
T h e p o in t a t w h ic h in teg ers cease a n d d ecim al frac tio n s b egin is in d ic a te d

by a p e rio d (so m etim es ra ised above the line in B rE ). In decim al fra c tio n s ,
th e w hole n u m e ra ls a re read o u t in the usual w ay (‘seventy-one’, etc), b u t th e
n u m era ls to th e rig h t o f th e decim al p o in t are re ad o u t as single d ig its (‘five
th ree ’, e tc ):
71.53 ‘sev en ty -o n e p o in t five th ree ’
0.426 j P ° 'n t f° u r tw o s’x ’
N o te South A fric a n E n g lish follow s th e p ractice in m ost C o n tin e n ta l E u ro p ean languages o f w ritin g
d ec im al fra c tio n s w ith a co m m a (a n d reading it as 'c o m m a ') in ste ad o f a p e rio d :
1,2% 'o n e c o m m a tw o p e r c e n t'
M athem atical sym bols

6.68 Sm all n u m e ra ls a re usually spelled o u t, as it is n o t usual to in tro d u c e
m a th e m a tic a l sy m b o ls in to o rd in ary w ritin g ; b u t su ch sym bols as th e
follow ing a re n o rm ally flan k ed only by n u m era ls, n o t w o rd s:
= ‘e q u als’ + ‘plus’
— ‘m in u s ’ x ‘tim es’ o r ‘m u ltip lie d b y ’
— ‘d iv id e d b y ’ V ‘th e (square) ro o t o f ’
T h u s:
(17 - s f e + ¥ ) — (4 x 3) = 15
w ould b e re a d as ‘se v e n te en m in u s th e sq u a re ro o t o f nin e, plus sixty-five

o v er five, m in u s fo u r tim es th ree, eq u als fifteen ’. (M ath em atical sy m b o ls
m ak e th e re la tio n s h ip s u n am biguous.)
O n c o n co rd in ex p ressio n s like ‘2 a n d 2 is/are 4 ’, c/" 10.37 N o te [e].
Cu rren cy statem ents

6.69 T h e d o llar sig n (5) a n d th e p o u n d sign (£) a re w ritte n before th e n u m eral b u t
said a fte r th e n u m e ra l:
$475 ‘fo u r h u n d re d (an d ) seventy-five d o lla rs’

£7.3 m ‘sev en p o in t th ree m illion p o u n d s’
T h e a b b re v ia tio n s p , fo r b o th sin g u lar penny a n d p lu ral pence ( c f 5.90), a n d <t,

for cent(s), a re w ritte n solid a fte r the n u m e ra l:
\
87p 'eig h ty -se v en p e n ce ’ (in fo rm a l:/p i:/>

75c 'sev en ty -fiv e c e n ts’
I n c u rre n c y sta te m e n ts, th e perio d is usually ign o red in read in g . T h e

c o m b in a tio n s o f £ a n d p a n d o f $ an d c are p ro n o u n ced as follow s (from m ost
to le a s t fo rm al):
( 'e ig h t p o u n d s tw enty-five p e n ce’
£ 8 .2 5 < ‘e ig h t p o u n d s tw enty-five’
L 'e ig h t tw en ty -fiv e’
C 'th re e d o llars (and) forty c en ts’

$ 3 .4 0 < ‘th re e d o llars fo rty ’
l/th r e e fo rty ’
B ib lio g r a p h ic a l n o te
G e n e r a l o n p ro n o u n s : B olin g er (1977b, 1979); D uskova (1965); J a c k e n d o ff (1968); Jaco b sso n

(1 9 7 0 ); L a n g a c k e r(1 9 6 9 ); L ees a n d K lim a (1963); S torm s (1964).
O n p erso n a l, p ossessive, a n d reflexive pronouns, see E rd m a n n (1978); H elk e (1979); Jaco b sso n
(1 9 6 8 a); S e p p an e n (1980); W ales (1980); W ood (1955/6); o n recip ro cal pro n o u n s, see K jelim er
(1 9 8 2 ); o n d e m o n stra tiv e p ro n o u n s, see R . L ak o ff (1974).
O n in d e fin ite p ro n o u n s, see B ald (forthcom ing); B olinger (1976); C lose (1976); C o n ra d (1979);
S a h lin (1979).
O n n u m e ra ls, see P e te rs (1980); S ep p an en (forthcom ing b).
\
7 Adjectives and adverbs
A D JE C T IV E S 402
7 .1 - 1 9 C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e a d je c t i v e 402
.2 F o u r c riteria fo r a d je ctiv es 402
.3 - 4 C e n tra l a n d p e rip h e ra l adjectives 403
.5 - 1 9 T h e adjective in re la tio n to o th er w ord classes 404
.6 - 1 1 A djectives a n d a d v e rb s 405
.6 -7 A d jectiv e a n d a d v e rb h o m om orphs 405
.8 A d v erb s w ith o u t -ly 406
.9 A d jectiv es a n d a d v e rb s in -ly 407
.1 0 -1 1 A djectives a n d a d v e rb s b eginning w ith a- 408
.1 2 -1 4 A djectives a n d n o u n s 410
.1 5 -1 9 A djectives a n d p a rtic ip le s 413
7 .2 0 -3 0 S y n ta c tic f u n c tio n s o f a d je c tiv e s 416

.20 A ttrib u tiv e a n d p re d ic a tiv e 416
.21 P o stpositive 418
.22 A djectives w ith c o m p le m e n ta tio n 420
.2 3 -2 6 A djectives as h e ad s o f n o u n p h rases 421
.24 T y p e (a ): the innocent 421
.25 T y p e (b ): the D utch 423
.26 T y p e (c): the m y stica l 424
.2 7 - 2 8 S u pplem entive a d je ctiv e clauses 424
.29 C o n tin g en t ad je ctiv e c lau ses 426
.30 E x clam ato ry a d je ctiv e clauses 428
7 .3 1 -3 9 S y n t a c t i c s u b c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f a d je c t i v e s 428
.3 2 -3 7 A ttrib u tiv e o n ly 428
.3 3 - 3 4 In ten sify in g a d je c tiv e s 429
.35 R estrictiv e a d je ctiv es 430
.36 O th e r ad jectiv es re la te d to a d v erb s 431
.37 A djectives re la te d to n o u n s 432
.3 8 - 3 9 P re d icativ e o nly 432
7 .4 0 - 4 4 S e m a n t i c s u b c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f a d je c t i v e s 434
.41 S ta tiv e /d y n a m ic 434
.42 G ra d a b le /n o n g ra d a b le 435
.43 In h e re n t/n o n in h e re n t 435
.44 P a tte r n s o f s e m a n tic s u b c la s sific a tio n 436
7.45 O rdering of adjectives in prem odification 437

ADVERBS 438
7.46-47 Characteristics of the adverb 438
7.48-49 Adverb as clause element 439

.49 A d j u n c t s , s u b ju n c t s , d i s j u n c t s , a n d c o n ju n c ts 440
7.50 Adverb as modifier 441
7.51-55 The adverb and other w ord classes 441

.52 C o n ju n ct ad v erb a n d c o n ju n ctio n 442
.5 3 A d ju n c t ad v erb a n d c o n ju n c tio n 442
.54 R e a c tio n signal a n d in itia to r 444
.55 A d ju n c t an d p rep o sitio n 444
7 .5 6 - 7 0 Syntactic functions of adverbs 445

.5 6 - 6 9 A d v e r b a s m o d ifie r 445
.5 6 -5 9 M o d ifie r o f a d je c tiv e 445
.6 0 M o d ifie r o f a d v e r b 448
.61 M o d ifie r o f p a rtic le , p re p o s itio n a l a d v e r b , a n d p r e p o s itio n 449
.6 2 M o d ifie r o f p ro n o u n , p r e d e te r m in e r , a n d n u m e ra l 449
.6 3 - 6 6 M o d ifie r o f n o u n p h r a s e 450
.6 7 P o s tm o d if y in g ad v erb s 453
.6 8 P r e m o d ify in g a d v e r b s 453
.6 9 E lse 454
.7 0 A d v e r b a s c o m p le m e n t o f p r e p o s itio n 454
7.71-73 Correspondence between adjective and adverb . 456

I
7 .7 4 - 8 6 Comparison of adjectives and adverbs 458
.7 5 - 8 2 C o m p a riso n o f ad jectiv es 458
.7 5 - 7 8 Irre g u la r form s o f c o m p ariso n 458
.7 6 C o m p ariso n o f old 459
.77 'C o m p ariso n o f good, well, a n d ill 459
.78 iC om parison o f little a n d sm a ll 460
.7 9 C h an g es in spelling 460
.80 C h an g es in p ro n u n c ia tio n 461
.8 1 - 8 2 C h o ice b etw een in flectio n al a n d p e rip h ra stic c o m p a riso n 461
.83 C o m p ariso n o f ad v erb s 463
.84 A rticle usage w ith co m p a rativ es a n d su p erlativ es 465
.8 5 O th e r ex p ressio n s o f c o m p a riso n 466
.8 6 B asis o f co m p ariso n 468
7 .8 7 - 9 0 Intensification 469
.87 R e stric tio n s on in ten sificatio n 469
.88 T h e u n m a rk e d term in ‘m easu re’ expressions 470
.89 P re m o d ific atio n o f co m p arativ es 472
.90 P re m o d ific atio n o f superlatives 474

402 A d je c tive s and adverbs
A D JE C T IV E S
Characteristics of the adjective

W e u su a lly c a n n o t tell w h eth er a w ord is a n ad jectiv e by looking a t it in
is o la tio n , b e ca u se th e fo rm o f a w ord does n o t necessarily in d ic a te its
s y n ta c tic fu n c tio n . Som e suffixes are in d eed fo u n d only, o r typically, w ith
a d je c tiv e s ( c f A p p 1 .3 8 /0 , eg:
-able: co m fo rtab le ■at: seasonal

-ful: playful -ic : scientific
-ish: greyish -le ss : useless
-ous: d an g ero u s ■y: d irty
H o w e v e r, m a n y c om m on ad jectives h av e n o id en tify in g form , eg: good, hot,

little , yo u n g , fa t.
N o r c a n w e id en tify a w ord as a n ad jectiv e m erely from its p o ten tialities
fo r in fle ctio n . I t is tru e th a t m any ad jectiv es inflect for th e c o m p a rativ e a n d
s u p e rla tiv e , eg:
g re a t ~ g reater ~ greatest
B u t m a n y d o n o t allow inflected form s (c/7 .8 1 ), eg:
disastrous •+- *disastrouser -v *disastrousest
M o re o v e r, a few a d v erb s c an be sim ilarly inflected (c/7 .8 3 ), eg:
(H e w o rk e d ) hard ~ harder ~ hardest
M a n y ad je ctiv es p ro v id e th e base fro m w h ich a d v erb s are d eriv ed by

m e a n s o f a n -ly suffix (c /7 .4 6 , A p p 1.41), eg:
ad je ctiv e grea t ~ ad v erb greatly
N e v e rth e le ss , so m e do n o t allow th is d e riv a tio n a l p ro c e ss; for ex am p le, th ere

is n o a d v e rb *oldly d eriv ed from th e ad jectiv e old. A n d th ere are a few
a d je c tiv e s th a t a re th em selv es d eriv ed fro m a n ad jectiv e b ase in th is w ay, eg:
k in d ly , a n item fu n c tio n in g also as a n ad v erb .
F o u r criteria fo r adjectives
F o u r fe a tu re s a re com m only con sid ered to b e ch ara cte ristic o f ad jectiv es (b u t
c f l A N o te ):
(a ) T h e y can freely o ccu r in F t t r i | u t i v e fu n ctio n (c/7 .2 0 ), ie th ey can

p re m o d ify a n o u n , a p p e a rin g b etw een th e d e te rm in e r (including zero a rticle)
a n d th e h e ad o f a noun p h ra se:
a n ugly p a in tin g , th e round table, d irty linen

Characteristics of the adjective 403
(b) T h ey c an freely o c cu r in p r e d i c F t i v e fu n ctio n ( c f 7.20), ie they c a n

fu n ctio n as su b ject c o m p le m e n t, as in [1], or as ob ject c o m p le m e n t, as in [2],
eg\
T h e p a in tin g is ugly. [1]

H e th o u g h t th e p a in tin g ugly. 2
[ ]
(c) T h ey can be p rem o d ified by th e intensifier very ( c f 7.56), e g :
T h e c h ild ren a re v e ry happy.
(d) T h ey can ta k e c o m p F r F t i v e an d s u p e r l F t i v e fo rm s ( c f 7.75). T h e

: co m p ariso n m ay be b y m ea n s o f inflections (-er an d -est), as in [3 -4 ], o r by
th e ad d itio n o f th e p rem o d ifiers more an d most (‘p e rip h ra stic c o m p a ris o n ’),
a s in [5-6]:
T h e ch ild ren a re happier now . [3]

T h ey are th e happiest peo p le I know . [4]
T hese stu d e n ts a re m ore intelligent. [5]
T h ey are th e m o st beautiful p ain tin g s I h ave ev er seen. [6]
Central and peripheral adjectives

H o w ev er, n o t all w o rd s th a t are trad itio n ally regarded as a d jectiv es possess
all o f th ese fo u r featu res. I t is, for exam ple, only in ex ce p tio n a l cases th a t
afraid can o c cu r a ttrib u tiv e ly (feature (a) above) a n d u tte r can o c cu r
p red icativ ely (featu re (b)):
?*afraid people P eo p le a re afraid,

utter nonsen se ~ ? * T h a t n onsense is utter.
N e ith e r p rem o d ificatio n by very (feature (c)), n o r co m p a riso n (featu re (d)),

a p p lies to, for e x am p le, infinite i n :
G o d ’s infinite m ercy ~ G o d ’s m ercy is infinite.

| u t : * G o d ’s m erc y is very infinite. *It’s m ore in fin ite t h a n . . .
W e analyse ad je ctiv es w ith resp ect to these four featu res. T o illu strate th e
types, we have selected e ig h t w ords, including am o n g th em in stan c es th a t
are on th e b o rd erlin e b e tw ee n th e adjective a n d ad v erb classes.
F o r testin g p re d ic a tiv e p o sitio n , we use the follow ing fram e w ith seem as
co p u lar v erb : '(T h e) n o u n seem ed ’. Since w ords can belong to m o re th a n
on e class, we p lace th e m in th e co n tex t o f a sen ten ce, so t h a t it should be
clear w hich use o f th e w o rd s is b eing tested (c f Table 7.3):
Jo h n is hungry. [1]
T h e u n iv erse is infinite. [2]
Susan is a n old frien d . [3]
T h e p riso n ers w ere afraid. [4]
B ob is a n utter fool. [5]
T h e p a tie n t w as asleep. [6]
T h e m eetin g is soon. [7]
A n n a is abroad. [8]
404 A d jectives and adverbs
T ab l e 7.3 C riteria for establishing adjective classes

(a) = attributive use
(b) = predicative use after the copula seem
(c) = p re m o d if ic a tio n by very
(d) = c o m p a ris o n
(a) (b) (c) (d)
[1] h u n g ry + + + +
[2] infinite + + _ -
[3] o ld + - +
[4] a fr a id 7 + + +
P E R IP H E R A L
[5] u tte r + - - -
[6] a sleep - + - -
[ 7 ] soon — — + +
[8] a b ro a d - -
7 .4 I f w e e x a m in e Table 7.3, w e see th a t [1] hungry alo n e satisfies all fo u r c rite ria ;
[2] infinite a cc ep ts (a) a n d (b ); [3] o ld a ccep ts (a), (c), (d ); [4] a fraid accep ts
(b), (c), (d ); [5] u tter satisfies only (a), a n d [6] asleep only (b ); [7] soon a ccep ts
(c) a n d ( d ) ; w hile [8], finally, satisfies n o n e o f th e four criteria.
C rite rio n (c), a c c ep ta n ce o f p rem o d ificatio n by very, a n d c rite rio n (d), th e
a b ility to ta k e c o m p a riso n , h a v e n o d iag n o stic value in d istin g u ish in g
a d jectiv es fro m a d v erb s. T h ese tw o fe atu res generally co in cid e fo r a p a rtic u la r
w ord, a n d are d e te rm in e d by a sem an tic feature, g rad ab ility , w h ich cuts
across w o rd classes (c/7 .4 2 ). T h u s, a s w e c an see in the tab le, th e a d v erb soon
is g ra d a b le , ju s t lik e th e c en tral ad jectiv e hungry. M any ad v erb s a re g ra d ab le,
ju st a s m a n y ad jectiv es a re g rad ab le. A n d th ese tw o w o rd classes use th e
sam e fe a tu re s to realize th e g ra d a b ility o f an item , in p a rtic u la r p re m o d ifica
tion b y very a n d c o m p a riso n ( c f l .l A j f ) . H en ce, these tw o fe a tu re s n e ith e r
d istin g u ish a d jectiv es fro m a d v erb s, n o r a re they found in all adjectives.
In t h i s b o o k t h e firs t s ix w o r d s in t h e - ta b le (hungry, infinite, old, afraid,
utter, asleep) a r e r e g a r d e d a s F d j e c t i v e s , w h e r e a s soon a n d abroad, a t th e
b o tto m o f t h e ta b le , a r e a s s ig n e d to th e F d v e r | class.
W e c o n sid e r th e a b ility o f fu n c tio n in g b o th a ttrib u tiv ely an d p re d ic ativ ely
to be a c e n tra l fe atu re o f ad jectiv es. W o rd s lik e hungry an d infinite, w h ich
satisfy b o th th ese c rite ria (a a n d b), a re th erefo re called c e n t r F l ad jectiv es.
W o rd s lik e old, afraid, utter, a n d asleep, w hich satisfy a t least o n e o f th ese
first tw o c rite ria (a or b), a re called p e r i p h e r F l adjectives.
N o te T he use o f th e crite ria fo r te stin g ad jectiv e statu s o f w ords like infinite is co m p lic ated by th e fact
th a t th e re is a p re scrip tiv e tra d itio n fo rb id d in g th e use o f very o r th e c o m p a ra tiv e w ith
in ten sify in g ad jectiv es like p e rfe c t , absolute, unique (c /7 .3 3 /), an d also w ith th e co rresp o n d in g
adverbs ( p e rfe c tly , absolutely , uniquely) ( c / 8 . 106).
The adjective in relation to other w o rd classes

7.5 We n o w co n sid er som e o th e r ex am p les o f o v erlap p in g b etw een th e a d jectiv e
class a n d o th e r w o rd classes. T h e o v erlap p in g m ay b e d u e to sy n tactic
featu res th a t are c h a ra c te ris tic o f o th e r classes b u t d isp lay ed by som e
ad jectiv es, o r to fe atu res c h ara cte ristic o f th e ad jectiv e class b u t disp lay ed b y
som e m e m b e rs o f o th e r classes. T h e th ree re le v an t w ord classes are a d v e rb s
(7 .6 -1 1 ), n o u n s (7 .1 2 -1 4 ), a n d p a rticip les (7 .1 5 -1 9 ).
A d je c tiv e s a n d a d v erb s
A d je c tiv e a n d a d v e r b h o m o m o r p h s
T h ere is a c e rta in o v e rla p b etw een th e ad jectiv e a n d ad v erb classes. C o m p a re
th e a d je ctiv e fu n c tio n o f p rem o d ificatio n in th e left-hand colum n a n d th e
a d v erb fu n c tio n o f a d v erb ial in th e rig h t-h a n d co lu m n :
a rapid c a r ~ d riv e (1]
a fa st c ar ~ d riv e j [2]
a slow c a r ~ d riv e [3]
E x am p le [1] re p re se n ts th e n o rm al case, w h ere th ere is reg u lar v a ria tio n

b etw een fo rm a n d fu n ctio n o f th e a d v erb a n d adjective, a n d w h ere th e
ad v erb is fo rm ed by th e d eriv atio n al suffix -ly (c /7 .4 6 , T ype (c)).
F ast in [2] h a s id en tica l fo rm in b o th ad jectiv e a n d ad v erb fu n ctio n s.
Sim ilarly, long a n d short, fo r exam ple, c a n b e used as b oth a d jectiv e a n d
a d v erb :
f a long tim e ? f h a d short hair.

D id you h a v e to w a it < long ? She < , , , . ( short.
[V o n g ly l j cu t h er h a ir
W h ere as th e re is n o a d v erb *longly, th e re is a n ad v erb shortly, b u t

d ifferen t m e a n in g ‘so o n ’, as in I'll be back shortly. A d je ctiv e/ad v e rb
h o m o m o rp h s a re ex cep tio n al, an d m an y su ch uses in ad v erb fu n ctio n o c c u r
chiefly in fixed e x p ressio n s (c/7 .8 ).
In 7.6 [3], b o th slow a n d slowly fu n ctio n as ad v erb . A djective form s lik e slow
differ fro m th e co rre sp o n d in g ad v erb form s in several ways. T h e ad je ctiv e
form , if a d m issib le a t all, is re stric te d to a p o sitio n after th e v erb o r ( if
presen t) th e o b ject:
He d ro v e th e c a r in to th e g arage.
H e d ro v e th e c a r j ' n to th e g arage.
In th o se cases w here th ere is v a ria tio n (eg: drive slow ~ slowly, buy cheap ~
cheaply ), th e a d jectiv e fo rm an d a c o rre sp o n d in g -ly ad v erb form c a n be u sed
in te rch a n g e ab ly , w ith little o r no se m an tic difference, ex cep t th a t so m e
people p re fe r th e a d v e rb form , p articu la rly in form al style.
I n s ta n d a rd u se, o n ly a lim ited n u m b er o f ad v erb s a re fo rm ally id en tical to

a d je c tiv e s . T h u s th e re a re no acceptable sen ten ces:
* H e c a m e b a c k sudden.
*She b u y s h e r clo th es careful.
B y c o n tra s t, in n o n sta n d a rd o r very fa m ilia r E n g lish , th e use o f th e

a d je c tiv e fo r th e a d v e rb form is w idespread, e g :
D o n ’t ta lk da ft.
She p a y s h e r re n t regular.
T h ey p la y e d real good.
H e s p o k e to J o h n sharp.
H o w ev e r, u n lik e th e ab so lu te form , th e c o m p a rativ e a n d su p erlativ e fo rm s

o f so m e a d je c tiv e s a re com m on also in sta n d ard E n g lish . C o m p are :
? S p eak clear. [1]

S p eak clearer, [‘m o re clearly’] [2]
T h is n e w sre a d e r sp eak s clearest o f all. [‘m o st clearly ’] [3]
W h e re a s clear in [1] is n o n sta n d ard for clearly, [2] a n d [3] are b o th accep tab le
s ta n d a r d E n g lish v a ria n ts o f more clearly a n d m ost clearly, respectively. O th e r
e x a m p le s:
I t’s easier s a id th a n done, [‘m ore easily’] [4]

A m i r a n (th e) slowest. [5]
T h e c a r w e n t slow er a n d slower. [6]
( T h e w a rn in g ‘D a n g e r, go slow’ is how ever fully acc ep ta b le also to sp eak ers

w h o reject ‘D r iv e th e c a r slow’.)
E x a m p le [6] w ith c o o rd in a tio n illustrates a fa cto r w h ic h h elp s to m ak e th e
a d je ctiv e fo rm p a rtic u la rly acceptable. W h ereas speak clear is n o n sta n d ard ,
sp ea k loud and, clear is fully accep tab le in sta n d a rd E n g lish . O th e r ex am p les
o f c o o rd in a tio n a re th e follow ing:
lose f a ir a n d square
be b ro u g h t u p short and sharp
be ta n g le d u p good and proper (n o n s ta n d a rd )
N o te [a] C f l . 20 fo r thej use o f ad jectiv es expressing th e result o f th e process d en o ted by th e v erb, e g :

T h a t p o w d e r w ash ed th e clothes white.
[b] C f l . 21 fo r th e use o f ad jectiv es as th e sole realizatio n o f a verbless clause, eg:
Nervous, th e m a n o p en e d th e letter.
Adverbs w ith o u t -ly

7.8 T h e re a r e so m e o th e r w ords w hich, lik e f a s t in 7.6, h av e th e sam e form
(w ith o u t th e -ly suffix) in adjective an d a d v erb fu n ctio n s, eg:
She a rriv e d in th e late afternoon, [adjective]

She a rriv e d late in th e afternoon, [adverb]
L a te also h a s a n -ly fo rm , lately, b u t w ith a d ifferen t m ean in g :
H a v e you seen h e r la tely ? [‘recen tly ’]

O th e r ex am p les a re th e follow ing (adjective uses are g iven first):
clean c lo th e s; play th e g a m e clean ; T h e k n ife cut cleanly.

a close f r ie n d ; stay close to g e th e r; H e w atch ed h er closely.
T h is ring m u st be dear [< esp B rE> ‘ex p en siv e’] ; I p a id dear(ly) fo r m y
m ista k e ; She loved h im dearly.
a deep b re a th ; live deep in th e w oods; b re ath e deep(ly)
a direct flig h t; W e flew direct(ly) to P aris; R eply to m e direct(ly) [‘d ire c t
to m e’]; I ’ll see you directly [‘im m ediately’] a fte r lunch,
a fin e view ; It w o rk s fin e ; T h e parsley w as c h o p p ed fine(ly).
a flat, c o u n try ; I ’m f la t b ro k e < inform al> ; H e ’sfla tly o p p o sed to it.
a high b u ild in g ; T h e p la n e flew high ab o v e; T h ey w ere p ra is e d highly,
light w e a p o n s; S h e tra v e ls lig h t ; T hey w ere lightly arm ed ,
a sharp tu rn ; She tu rn e d sharp(ly) left; She tu rn ed th e c a r sharply.
T h e sc a r w as a n in ch wide; T h e d oor w as wide o p e n ; H e seem s to be
widely k n o w n h ere.
Adjectives and adverbs in -ly

S om e w ords in -ly can f u n c tio n b o th as adjectives an d a d v e r b s :
ADJECTIVE A DV ERB
a n early tra in W e fin ish ed early today.
A likely sto ry ! H e ’ll v ery /m o st likely succeed. <esp B rE>
a m onthly v isit She v isited him m onthly.
W o rd s in -ly like m o n th ly, w h ic h denote tim e, can also fu n c tio n as tim e

a d v erb s: daily, fo rtn ig h tly <esp B rE >, hourly, nightly, quarterly, w eekly, a n d
yearly.
W h en we req u ire a d v e rb s c o rresp o n d in g to -ly a d jectiv es su ch as frie n d ly ,
grisly, kindly, kingly, lively, m a n ly, a n d masterly, w e n o rm ally use a n ad je ctiv e
co n stru ctio n , th u s a v o id in g th e d o u b le suffix -lily;
She received us in a frie n d ly way.

She gave us a frie n d ly w elcom e.
[ | u t n o t : *She receiv ed u s friendlily.]
V erbs w ith p e rce p t a s su b ject (smell, feel, look, sound) h a v e a n a d jectiv e

p h ra se as co m p lem en t ( c f 4 .2 9 /). B ut there is som e u n c e rta in ty in th e use o f
ad jectiv e an d related a d v e rb fo rm s:
T h ere are p re scrip tiv e o b jec tio n s to the ad v erb fo rm for th ese item s w ith
sm ell in th is use, an d to ba d ly w ith fe e l. W ith fe e l an d sm ell, th e a d v e rb fo rm
is used to express in te n sity o f feelings :
badly [1] '

H e felt < ^ eenly [2] _a t,o u t jt
strongly [3]
deeply [4]
It smells strongly o f g arlic.
408 A djectives and adverbs
N o te [a j N o te th e diffe re n ce in m e an in g betw een th e ad jectiv e an d adverb form in th e follow ing:
She feels l t o d t ° day [heallhI [la l

\b a d lh a d ly a b o u t it. ['g u ilty ', 'u n easy '] [ lb ]
T h e a d je c tiv e keen h a s th e d iffe re n t sense o f ‘en th u sia stic ’:
H e |j ^ g SJ keen ab o u t/o n it. [2a]
C o n tr a s t w ith th e in ten sify in g ad v e rb strongly in [3] th e physical sense o f strong in [3a]:
H e ( ^ Clt 1 strong. [3a]

[w a sj
[b ]T h e u se o f a d v e rb form s a fte r ta ste seem s m u c h less co m m o n an d w ould b e un accep tab le, to
m a n y sp e a k e rs :
T h e fo o d ta stes j ^
[»
f g oodjlw ell.
| m arvellous 11*marvellously.
[c] N o te th e d is tin c tio n in m e an in g betw een th e ad jectiv es good and well (c /7 .3 8 ) a f te r to o k :
S h e lo o k s good, [ap p ea ran ce]
S h e lo o k s well, [health]
A djectives and adverbs beginning with a-

7.10 C e r ta in w o rd s b eg in n in g w ith a- (like asleep in 7 .3 /) h a v e c o n stitu ted a
p ro b le m in classificatio n fo r g ra m m aria n s, som e assig n in g th e m to th e
a d je c tiv e class, a n d o th ers to th e a d v e rb class. T hese a -w o rd s fu n ctio n
p re d ic a tiv e ly , b u t only a few c an be freely used attrib u tiv ely .
O n ly a relativ ely sm all n u m b er o f ad v erb s can fu n ctio n p re d ic ativ ely ,
n a m e ly c e rta in p lac e a d v erb s, eg: aboard, upstairs (c/8.41) a n d tim e a d v erb s,
eg: now, tonight (c /8 .7 6 ). B ut ev en th ese ad v erb s are used p re d ic ativ ely only
a f te r be, w hile a d jectiv es c a n be used w ith o th er co p u lar v e rb s as well
( c /7 .3 /) . C o m p a re th e d ifferen t p a tte rn s w ith th e copular be a n d s e e m :
f was asleep/hungry/abroad/there.
T h e p atien t-1 f asleep/hungry, [adjectives]
[se e m e \ * abroadl*there. [adverbs]
A n o th e r d ifferen ce b etw een a-ad jectiv es a n d c-ad v erb s is t h a t a-ad jectiv es

re fe r to te m p o ra ry states a n d c a n n o t b e p a r t o f th e p red icatio n a fte r v erb s o f
m o tio n ; a -a d v e rb s, on th e o th er h a n d , d en o te d irectio n a fte r su c h verbs.
C o n tra s t:
J aboard/abroad/around/aw ay. [adverbs]

e w en y f aj-raf^j* aierfi* asieep j* aw aice_[adjectives]
T h e sen ten ces w ith a -ad jectiv es are acc ep ta b le only if th e ad je ctiv es can be
in te rp re te d n o t as p a rt o f th e p re d ic atio n b u t as su p p lem en tiv e ad jectiv e
clau ses ( c /7 .2 7 /) . F o r ex am p le, we m ig h t be ab le to in te rp re t H e went afraid
as ‘H e w as a fra id as he w e n t’.
E x am p les o f so m e o th e r a -a d je c tiv e s:
ablaze alike asham ed adrift aghast

alive afire ajar alone averse
afloat alert a lo o f aw ake aware
7.11 A -ad jectiv es v ary as to w h e th er they c a n be a ttrib u tiv e. M o st a-ad jectiv es

are o n ly m arg in ally a cc ep ta b le in a ttrib u tiv e function, un less th ey are
p re m o d ifie d :
?an a fra id lo o k ?an alive eye
A lo o f a n d alert, h o w ev er, a re fully a ccep tab le in a ttrib u tiv e fu n ctio n , eg:
a n a /o o /c h a r a c te r an alert m an n e r
M ost a -a d je c tiv e s c a n o ccu r attrib u tiv ely w hen th ey a re m o d ified :
a som ew hat a fra id soldier

th e f a s t asleep c h ild ren
a really alive/lively stu d en t
th e w ide aw a ke p a tie n t
Som e a -ad jec tiv e s h av e p arallel a-less form s o r synonym s in a ttrib u tiv e
fu n c tio n :
T h e ir a m b itio n s a re alike, [c f: T h ey h av e similar am bitions.]

T h e so ld ier w as alone, p atro llin g , [cf: a lone Isolitary soldier]
T h e a n im a ls a re alive . ; [cf: T h ey a re live/living anim als.]
T h e w o m a n is afraid, [c/: a frig h ten ed w om an]
T h e c h ild re n w ere asleep, [c f: th e sleeping children]
She w as n o t aw are o f th e consequences, [c f: a conscious/deliberate
actio n ]
Som e a -ad jec tiv e s freely ta k e p rem o d ificatio n by very an d co m p ariso n , eg :

afraid, alert, a like, aloof, asham ed, an d aw ake. O th e rs do so m arg in ally , eg:
asleep a n d aw ake. A live to in th e sense ‘a w are o f ’ c an be prem odified by very
an d c a n b e c o m p a re d . Som e o f th e a-ad jectiv es can also be p rem odified b y
very m uch (p a rtic u la rly afraid, alike, asham ed, aware), an d aware c a n b e
p rem o d ified by (very) well, too. T h ere is v acillatio n betw een so/too alike a n d
so m uch/too m uch alike. Since th e m odifiers m uch a n d well a re ch ara cte ristica lly
tak en by m a n y a d v e rb s (c /7 .1 6 N ote), th ese a-w ords show th em selves to be
p a rticu larly m a rg in a l to th e a d jectiv e class.
N o te [a] A d v erb s w h ich c a n n o t be used pred icativ ely w ith seem can occur a fte r seem to b e (a
co n stru ctio n w h ich is also av ailab le for a d jectiv es):
T,, . [ aboard , abroad , around, [adverbs]
T hey seem to be ^ ^ [adjec[ives]
[b] Like th e a d v e rb s in S h e was downstairs/outside, abroad c a n be a response to a q u e stio n

intro d u ced by th e in terro g a tiv e ad v e rb w here:
A : W h e r e i s h e ? B '.Abroad.
O ther a-a d v e rb s, eg: around an d aw ay, are less likely to be th e sole response to a w /ierc-question,
th ough th ey c a n su p p ly th e in fo rm atio n requested by where:
A : W h e re is h e ? B : H e is around / away.
[c] N otice th e c o n tra s t b etw een th e (7-adjective in They looked asleep an d th e n -ad v erb in T h e y
looked aw ay. W ith asleep , lo oked is a co p u lar verb, synonym ous w ith seem ed. W ith away, it is a n
in tran sitiv e v e rb , sim ila r in m ean in g an d use to glanced.
[d] A lik e re q u ire s referen ce to c o o rd in ated noun p h rases o r to a plural noun ph rase, a co n s tra in t
id entical w ith th a t fo r recip ro cal p ro n o u n s (c/6.31). C o m p a re:
Jo h n a n d M a ry l [alike.
T h e c h ild re n j [like each other.
[e] Alone c a n re fe r e ith e r to a p erm a n e n t c h a ra cte ristic ‘solitary by n atu re’, or to a te m p o ra ry
feature ‘w ith o u t co m p a n io n sh ip '. In th e form er sense, it is ac cep tab le, a t le ast to som e sp eak ers,
in co n stru ctio n s w ith seem an d ve ry:
(?) S he seem ed alone. (?) She is very alone.
|[ u t : ?*She seem ed very alone i n th e house th a t m o r n i n g . ]
A d je c tiv e s and nou n s

7.12 N o u n s a re co m m o n ly used attrib u tiv ely , a n d a re th u s superficially sim ilar to
p e r ip h e r a l ad je ctiv es in satisfying c riterio n (a) (7 .3 /), eg:
th e b u s s ta tio n , a business frien d , Iamb chops
H o w e v e r, n o u n s d o n o t satisfy a n y o f the o th e r c rite ria (b, c, d) for adjective

s ta tu s . C o m p a r e :
(a) th e large sta tio n th e bus sta tio n

(b ) T h e s ta tio n seem s large. ♦T he s ta tio n seem s bus.
(c) a very large s ta tio n ♦a v ery bus sta tio n
(d) a larger s ta tio n ♦a busser sta tio n
F u r th e r m o r e , n o u n s h a v e o th er features w h ic h d istin g u ish th em from

a d je c tiv e s . C o m p are , fo r e x am p le :
I sa w a bus. ♦I saw a large.

T h e bus is here, ♦T he large is here.
o n e bus /tw o buses 'one large/tw o larges
T h e re la tio n o f n o u n s to adjectives is fu rth e r discussed in 7.13/, an d

p re m o d ific a tio n b y n o u n s in 17.1 04ff.
7.13 S o m e ite m s can b e b o th adjectives an d no u n s. F o r ex am p le, criminal is a n

a d je c tiv e in th a t it c a n be used b o th a ttrib u tiv ely a n d p re d icativ ely :
a crim inal a tta c k

T h e a tta c k seem ed criminal to us.
B u t th e w o rd crim inal can also be a count n o u n , sin ce it c a n :
(i) ta k e d e te rm in e rs :
\
The crim inal p lead ed guilty.
H e is p ro b a b ly a criminal.
(ii) b e inflected fo r n u m b e r :
one crim inal ~ several criminals
1
(iii) b e indebted for th e gen itiv e case:

the criminal's sen ten ce, the criminals’ view s
(iv ) b e p rem o d ified by a n a djective :

a violent c rim in al
O f co u rse, th e a ttrib u tiv e use o f a n item su ch as crim inal is n o t a sufficient

c rite rio n fo r callin g it a n ad jectiv e. A s we h av e seen in 7.12, no u n s, as w ell as
a d je c tiv e s , can be used as prem odifiers o f no u n s. In [ 1], crim inal is u n d o u b ted ly
a n a d je ctiv e, since th e re is no article o r n u m b er c o n tra st [ la , lb ]:
[ 1]
[la ]
[lb ]
Sim ilarly , crim inal in a crim inal a tta ck is also a n ad jectiv e, sin ce th e p h ra se is
Characteristics o f the adjective 411
e q u iv a le n t to ‘a b ru ta l a tta c k ’ a n d n o t to, say, ‘a n a tta c k b y a c rim in a l’

(c /7 .1 4 ). M oreover, criminal is g ra d a b le in th a t p h rase:
a veryjrather c rim in al a tta c k
I t is also an a d jectiv e in crim inal law (‘law relatin g to c rim e ’; c f: civil law ,
com m ercial taw) a n d in b o th senses o f criminal lawyer (‘a law y er sp e c ia liz in g
in c rim in a l law ’ a n d ‘a law y er w h o is c rim in al’; </7.37).
W e w ill th ere fo re say th a t crim inal is a h o m o m o rp h (c /2 .3 8 ), ie b o th a n
a d je ctiv e a n d a n o u n , a n d th a t th e re la tio n sh ip b etw een th e a d je ctiv e crim inal
a n d th e n o u n crim inal is th a t o f co n v ersio n (c f A p p 1 .4 3 /jj. H e re are so m e
o th e r ex am p les o f c o n v ersio n s fro m a d jectiv e to n o u n :
ADJECTIV ES NOUNS
a n ancient cu sto m She is in v estig atin g th e ancients’ c o n ce p tio n o f
; th e universe.
a black s tu d e n t T h e re w as only o n e black in m y class,
a classic b o o k Y ou w o n ’t find m an y classics in o u r lib rary .
intellectual in te rests She co n sid ers h erself a n intellectual.
a noble fam ily T h e k in g g reeted his nobles.
a natural sk ie r H e ’s a natural fo r th e jo b .
a six-year-old boy O u r six-year-old is a t school.
N o te Ite m s lik e m edical, physical, a n d oral a r e also used w ith o u t a n o u n h e a d :

H a v e you h a d a m edicaljphysical y et?
W h e n is your F re n c h oral"!
T h e y differ, how ever, fro m th e p rev io u s g ro u p in th a t sp eak ers te n d to feel th a t a noun lik e
exam ination is im p lied , w h ich is n o t th e case w ith , say, an intellectual. O n th e o th e r h an d , oral
h a s a p lu ra l orals, w h ic h is a n in d ic a tio n o f full conversion. M edical an d p hysic al d o n o t h a v e
p lu ra ls (a t le ast n o t in g en e ra l use), a n d a re th e refo re in stan ces o f p a rtia l co n v ersio n .
7 .14 N o u n s fu n c tio n in g a ttrib u tiv e ly also possess o th er featu res w h ic h d istin g u ish
th e m fro m ad jectiv es ( c f 7.12). T h e basically n o m in a l c h a ra c te r o f a
p rem o d ify in g n o u n , su ch as garden in garden tools, is sh o w n by its
c o rresp o n d en ce to a p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se w ith th e n o u n as c o m p le m e n t: tools
fo r the garden. C o m p are a ls o :
th e 'city 'council ~ th e co u n cil fo r the city

a 'stone 'w all ~ a w all (m ad e) o f stone
'A ugust 'w eath er ~ w e ath e r (usual) in A ugust
Such a c o rresp o n d en ce is n o t a v ailab le fo r a ttrib u tiv e a d je c tiv e s:
a 'long 'p o em a 'thick 'w all

th e 'urban 'council 'hot 'w eath er
H o w ev er, w e c a n so m etim es u se a p o stm o d ify in g p re p o sitio n a l p h rase w ith

a re la te d n o u n as co m p le m e n t, eg:
a long p o e m ~ a p o e m o f considerable length
A s in d ic a te d , th e n o rm al (n o n co n trastiv e) stress for b o th g ro u p s is e v en

stress. T h e stressing o f n o u n + n o u n sequences a n d th e ir re la tio n to
co m p o u n d s a n d p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se s are discussed in 17.104jf.
L ik e a d je c tiv e s , n ouns can fu n ctio n as subject com plem ent a fte r c o p u la r

v e rb s, in p a rtic u la r a fte r be ( c f l . 17):
T h a t m a n is a fool.
T h e n o ise y o u h e ard w as thunder.
S h e b e c a m e a nurse.
S o m e n o u n s c a n also be used w ith in th e subject com plem ent a fte r seem ( e s p

B rE > . T h e s e a re in d eed very close to ad jectiv es:
H e seem s a fo o l. [ = fo o lish ]
Y o u r r e m a rk seem s (co m p lete) nonsense to m e. [ = nonsensical]
M y stay th e r e seem ed sheer bliss. [ = blissful]
H is frien d seem s very m u ch an Englishm an. [ = very English]
N o te h o w e v e r th e ch an g e o f p rem o d ifier in : very much an Englishm an ~ very

E nglish.
T h e clo sen ess is o f co u rse g re atest fo r n o n co u n t nou n s such a s nonsense
a n d bliss , sin ce, lik e a d jectiv es, th e y d o n o t ta k e n u m b er co n tra st. H o w ev e r,
th e y c a n a p p e a r w ith o u t a n o v e rt d e te rm in e r (unlike adjectives fu n c tio n in g
as h e a d s o f n o u n p h rases, c f l . l h f f ) :
S h e d o esn ’t lik e nonsense, [n o n c o u n t noun]

S h e a d m ire s the m ystical, [ad jectiv e as h e ad o f a n o u n p hrase]
S o m e n o u n fo rm s c an fu n c tio n b o th attrib u tiv ely a n d p re d ic ativ ely , in

w h ic h case w e c a n p e rh a p s re g a rd th e m as adjectives ( c f A p p 1.51). T h ey
d e n o te style o f m a te ria l fro m w h ic h th in g s are m ad e:
t h a t concrete floor ~ T h a t floor is concrete.

W orcester p o rc elain ~ T h is p o rc elain is Worcester.
th o se apple p ies ~ T h o se p ies a re apple, (in fo rm a l)
N o te [a] A ttr ib u tiv e n o iin s can be co o rd in a te d w ith n o n g rad ab le adjectives, eg: w ee kly a n d morning
new spapers, city arid suburban houses , b u t it seerris.that such conjoinings are n o rm a lly possib le
o n ly w h e n th e re is a n ellipted h ea d , b u t n o t o th e rw ise :
w e e k ly n e w sp ap ers a n d m o rn in g n ew sp ap ers
c ity houses an d su b u rb a n houses
*a c ity an d p le a s a n t house
W h e re b o th prem o d ifiers a re n ouns, ellipsis n eed n o t be involved, eg:
a g la ss a n d co n c re te house [‘a ho u se m a d e o f glass an d co n crete’]
a c h e e se an d cu c u m b e r san d w ic h [’a san d w ich co n tain in g cheese an d cu c u m b e r’]
T h e se b e c o m e am b ig u o u s in th e p lu ra l ( c f 13.68), eg:
c h e e se a n d cu c u m b e r san d w ich es ['e a c h o f th e san d w ich es co n tain s cheese a n d c u c u m b e r’
o r ‘ch eese san d w ich es a n d cu c u m b e r san d w ich es’]
[b] T h e n o u n s th a t c a n m o st easily a p p e a r a s co m p lem en t a fte r seem a re those th a t are g ra d a b le ,
th a t is to sa y th e n o u n s th a t c a n b e m odified by in ten sify in g adjectives ( c f l . l h f ) . H o w e v er, som e
s p e a k e rs , w hile a c cep tin g in th is fu n ctio n n o n c o u n t no u n s an d singular co u n t n o u n s, find p lu ra l
n o u n s d u b io u s:
? T h e y seem fo o ls. ?H is frie n d s seem very m u ch Englishmen.
M a te ria l n ouns, w h ich a re n o t g ra d a b le , a re also d u b io u s a fte r seem :
? T h a t floor seem s concrete. TThose p ies seem apple.
[c] F u n is p rim arily a reg u lar n o n c o u n t n o u n : a great deal o ff u n , great fu n , som e fu n . H o w ev er,
in in fo rm a l usage < esp A m E > ,/« n has.b een fully co n v e rted into an a d jectiv e:
T h e p a rty w as f u n ; a fu n person ; a very fu n party
[d] O n th e use o f n o u n s in cases lik e A r e y o u cosm etics?, c f 5.5 N ote.
Adjectives and particip les

7.15 T h e re a re m an y a d jectiv es th a t have th e sam e suffixes a s p a rticip les in -ing o r
-ed (in clu d in g th e v a ria n ts o f -ed). T hese will b e called p a r t i c i p i a l
a d je c tiv e s :
PR ED IC A T IV E USE A TTRIBU TIV E USE
H is view s w ere very surprising. ~ h is surprising view s

T h e m an seem ed very offended. ~ th e offended m an
T h ey include fo rm s in -erf th a t have n o co rresp o n d in g v e rb s :
T h e results w ere unexpected. ~ th e unexpected results

H e r ch ild ren m u st b e downhearted ~ h e r downhearted ch ild ren
All h is frie n d s a re talented. ~ h is talented frien d s
H is lung is diseased. ~ h is diseased lung
W h en th ere a re n o co rresp o n d in g v erb s ( *to unexpect, *to downheart, *to

talent, *to disease), th e fo rm s a re obviously n o t p a rticip les ( c /N o te below ).
W h e n th e re is a c o rresp o n d in g v erb , a ttrib u tiv ely used -e d fo rm s usually
h a v e a passive m ea n in g ( c f 17.29), e g :
lost p ro p e rty ~ p ro p e rty th a t has been lost
I n som e cases, h o w ev er, th e -ed p a rticip le is n o t in te rp rete d as passive. T h e

p a ssiv e in te rp re ta tio n is excluded if th e co rresp o n d in g v erb c a n b e u sed o nly
in tra n sitiv e ly :
th e escaped p riso n e r [‘th e p riso n er w ho h a s e scap ed ’]

th e d eparted g u ests [‘th e guests w ho h ave d e p a rte d ’]
B ut ev en in o th e r in stan ces, th e p a rticip le relates to th e in tra n sitiv e use o f

th e v e rb ; th u s th e p assiv e in te rp reta tio n is im p o ssib le i n :
a grown b o y [‘a b o y w ho h a s gro w n (up)’]
I t is unlikely in :
th e fa d e d c u rta in s [‘th e c u rta in s w hich h a v e fa d e d ’]

th e retired m a n a g e r [‘th e m an a g er w ho h as re tire d ’]
P re d ica tiv e use o ccu rs only w ith som e o f th ese p a rticip ial a d je c tiv e s:
T h e c u rta in s are fa d e d .
H e r fa th e r is n ow retired.
H e r son is grown, [d u b io u s in B rE , b ut full-grow n or grown-up is fully
accep tab le]
T h e guests a re departed.
T h e last ex am p le is a rc h a ic , un lik e th e accep tab le the departed guests ( c f the

reverse situ atio n w ith g o : The guests are gone, * the gone guests). B ut c o n tra st:
♦T he p riso n e r is escaped.
S o m etim es th e re is a co rresp o n d in g verb, b u t it h a s a d ifferen t m ean in g .

W e c a n th erefo re h a v e am b ig u o u s sentences w h ere th e am b ig u ity d e p en d s
o n w h e th er th e w ord is a p a rticip le o r a p a rtic ip ia l a d je c tiv e :
/ F d j e c t iv e : She is (very) calculating (but h e r h u sb a n d is frank).

\ p F r t ic ip l e : She is calculating (our salaries). [‘. . . so d o n ’t d istu rb h er
w h ile sh e is doing th e a rith m e tic .’]
J F d j e c t iv e : T h ey w ere (very) relieved (to fin d h e r a t hom e).
\ p F r t ic ip l e : T h ey w ere relieved (b y the n ex t g ro u p o f sentries).
N o tic e t h a t w e c a n re p la ce be by seem o nly w ith th e ad je ctiv es ( c f 7 i.ll on

p se u d o -p a s siv e s ):
S h e seem s v ery calcu latin g .

* S h e seem s c alcu la tin g o u r salaries.
N o te [a] U n e x p e c te d c o rresp o n d s to th e -ed p articip le o f expect plus th e n eg a tiv e p a r tic le : unexpected

~ not ex p ecte d . H o w e v er, su ch un - + v erb + -ed form s are n o t p artic ip le s, sin ce th ere is n o v erb
un- + v e r b , eg: *unexpect (u n lik e undress, etc). U n lik e expected, unexpected c a n be prem odified
b y very, so t h a t th e m o rp h o lo g ica l ch a n g e h as been acco m p an ied by a sem a n tic /sy n ta c tic ch an g e.
T h e s itu a tio n is less c le a r fo r th e m orphologically n egative form s unw ritten (eg: unwritten law)
a n d un b ro ken (eg: unbroken succession), w h ich resem ble th e positiv e fo rm s in n o t accep tin g very
( b u t c / 7 .1 6 N o te a n d A p p 1.21).
[ b ] N o u n s c a n also h a v e a d jectiv e d eriv ativ es in - e d ( c f A p p 1.38), eg: hard-hearted, talented,
fo u r-le g g e d , fla t-b o tto m e d , bearded.
7.16 O fte n th e d ifferen ce b etw een th e adjective an d th e p a rtic ip le is n o t c lear-cu t

( c f \ 1 . 9 i f f ) . T h e v e rb al force o f th e p a rticip le is ex p lic it for th e -m g fo rm
w h e n a d ire c t o b je c t is p re sen t. H ence, th e follow ing -ing fo rm s a re p a rticip les,
th a t c o n s titu te a v e rb p h ra se w ith the p receding au x iliary ( c f 3 .5 2 ff) :
H e r view s w ere alarm ing h e r audience.

Y o u a re frig h ten in g th e c hildren.
T h e y are insulting us.
S im ila rly , th e v e rb al fo rce is e x p licit for th e -ed fo rm w h e n a b y-agent p h ra se

w ith a p e rs o n a l a g e n t (cf7>A7>ff, 8 .8 0 /) is p resen t, in d ic a tin g th e c o rre sp o n d
en ce to th e a c tiv e fo rm o f th e sen ten ce:
T h e m a n w a s offended by th e policem an.

H e is appreciated by his students.
S h e w as m isunderstood b y h e r parents.
F o r b o t h p a rticip le fo rm s, prem o d ificatio n by th e in te n sifier very is an

e x p lic it in d ic a tio n th a t th e form s have a chieved a d jectiv e s ta tu s :
H e r v iew s w ere v ery alarming.

Y o u are v ery frightening.
T h e m a n w a s very offended.
W e m ig h t th ere fo re e x p ec t th a t th e presence o f very to g eth e r w ith a n e x p licit

in d ic a to r o f v e rb al fo rce w ould produce an u n a cc ep ta b le sen ten ce. T h is is
c e rta in ly so fo r th e -ing p a rticip le fo rm :
* H is view s w ere very alarm ing his audience.

H o w ev er, w ith th e -e d p a rticip le, th ere a p p e a rs to be d iv id e d u sag e,

w ith in cre asin g a cc e p ta n c e o f th e co o ccu rren ce o f very w ith a hy-agent p h ra s e
c o n ta in in g a p e rso n al a g en t:
?T h e m a n w as v ery offended by th e p o lic e m a n .
In th e ab se n ce o f a n y ex p lic it in d icato r, th e sta tu s o f th e p a rticip le fo rm is

in d e te rm in a te :
T h e m a n w as offended.
F o r th e -ed fo rm in th is ex am p le, th e p a rticip le in te rp reta tio n focuses o n th e

: process, w h ile th e a d jectiv e in te rp re ta tio n focuses o n th e state resu ltin g fro m
th e process. F o r th e -ing fo rm th e difference is p e rh ap s clearer. In th e se n te n c e
John is insulting, w ith n o o b ject p resen t, th e p articip le in te rp re ta tio n is
im p lau sib le b ecau se th e v erb is n o rm ally tran sitiv e. If, how ever, th e p a rtic ip le
in te rp re ta tio n is selected, th en th e sen ten ce expresses th a t Jo h n is in th e
pro cess o f g iv in g in su lts a n d we ex p ect a n object, w hile in th e a d je c tiv e
in te rp re ta tio n , th e se n ten ce p o in ts to a c h ara cte ristic o f J o h n (cf: John is
rude). A p a rticip le in te rp re ta tio n is sim ilarly unlikely fo r th e fo llo w in g
s e n te n c e s:
S h e is surprising. ~ ?Sh e surprises.

H e is interesting. ~ ?H e interests.
I t is exciting. ~ ?It excites.
I t is tem pting. ~ ?It tem pts.
N o te W h ereas g rad ab le ad jectiv es a n d ad v e rb s are inten sified by very , verbs are intensified by o th e r
in ten sify in g ad v e rb s su ch as m uch a n d w e il(c f8 .l0 4 fl"), w h ich th em selves are o fte n p rem o d ified
by very, e g : very m uch, very well. T h e a p p licab ility o f th is crite rio n dep en d s on w h e th e r th e w o rd s
are g rad ab le, sin ce (as w e h av e seen in 7 .3 /) not all adjectiv es are g rad ab le. H e n c e , if th e
co rresp o n d in g v erb allow s (say) very much w hile th e p artic ip le form disallow s very, w e h a v e a
good in d icatio n th a t th e fo rm in q uestion is a p artic ip le ra th e r th a n an a d je c tiv e :
S he loved h im very m uch.
~ H e w as very m uch loved (by her).
— H e w as loved very m uch (by her).
(?* )H e w as very loved.
G en erally , -ed p articip le fo rm s a c cep tin g very c a n r e ta in very w hen th ey cooccur w ith a b y -
p h rase c o n ta in in g a n o n p erso n al sem i-agent (c/3 .7 6 ):
I ’m very disturbed b y y o u r attitu d e.
W e w ere very pleased by his behaviour.
A lso, a s w e h a v e seen, p e rso n al ag e n ts so m e tim e s o cc u r in th is constru ctio n , as in :
?I w as very influenced by m y college professors.
7.17 T h e p a rticip le so m etim es reach es full ad je ctiv e statu s w hen it is c o m p o u n d e d

w ith a n o th e r e lem en t:
T h e eggs a re boiled h ard . ~ T h e eggs are (very) hard-boiled.

I t is breaking m y h e art. ~ I t is (v ery ) heart-breaking.
H e w as bitten (by a snake). [c f: H e w as frost-bitten.]
W h en a n a d jectiv e o r a d v erb is th e first ele m en t o f th e co m p o u n d , as in hard-

boiled, a n in ten sifier su ch as very c a n be in te rp rete d as related to th e first
elem en t ra th e r th a n to th e co m p o u n d as a w hole.
416 A d jectives a n d adverbs
N o te S o m e tim e s th e -ed p a rtic ip le c a n n o t be used in en v iro n m e n ts w here th e ad jectiv e co m p o u n d is

a d m itte d . F o r e x a m p le , th e v e rb speak d o es n o t allow a personal n o u n su ch as m an a s d ire c t
o b je c t, a n d hence w e c a n n o t h a v e in th e p a ssiv e :
♦T h a t m an is spoken.
B u t w e c a n hav e w ell-spoken in p lace o f spoken. C o m p a r e :
T h a t m an j P*1®8 a 6 ° ° ^ m a n n e r o f sp eak in g ’l
H e \ Presses well.
[ is well-dressed.
S im ila rly , th e v e rb behave d o es n o t ta k e a d ire c t.o b je c t (except th e reflexive), a n d th erefo re w e
c a n n o t h a v e a passi ve :
♦T h e boy w as behaved.
B u t w e c a n have a n a d jectiv e c o m p o u n d :
T h e boy w as well-behaved.
7 .1 8 N o t o n ly p a rtic ip ia l ad jectiv es allow ing th e in te n s ifie r very, b u t also sta tiv e

-ing a n d -ed p a rtic ip le s c a n b e a ttrib u tiv e (c /1 7 .9 8 ^ ) , as th e follow ing
ex a m p le s sh o w :
h e r crying c h ild re n a m arried couple

a winning te a m his published w o rk
boiling w a te r th e captured p riso n er
N o te T h a t th e sense is s ta tiv e can b e seen in th e m e an in g o f, fo r ex am ple, a winning te a m : ‘a te a m th a t

h as w o n (a lot o f m a tc h e s lately)*, ie ‘a stro n g team * ra th e r th a n ‘a te a m th a t is w inning*; a
m arried couple is ‘a co u p le w h o a re n o t single’.
7 .1 9 S o m e verbs h a v e d ifferen t p a rticip le fo rm s fo r verb al a n d ad jectiv al u se

( c fi.n ff) - -
Y o u h av e d ru n k too much. ~ drunk(en) d riv in g /d riv er
H a v e you sh a v e d ? ~ a clean-shaven young m an
T h e sh irt h a s shrunk. ~ a shrunken sh irt
N o te th e p ro n u n c ia tio n /id / o f th e e n d in g -ed in som e a d jectiv es, eg: beloved

/b i'U v id /. O th e r ex am p les:
crooked dogged ja g g ed learned

n a k ed ragged w icked wretched
T h e suffix o f a g e d is p ro n o u n ced as a s e p a ra te syllable /id / w h en the w o rd is

p re d ic ativ e o r is a ttrib u tiv e o f a p erso n al n o u n (T he m an is a g e d ; an aged m an
‘o ld ’), b u t n ot, fo r exam ple, in an aged wine o r a m an a g e d fifty .
Syntactic functions of adjectives
A t t r i b u t i v e a n d p r e d ic a t iv e
7.20 T h e a d jectiv e fu n c tio n s as th e h e ad o f a n ad jectiv e p h rase, w ith or w ith o u t
m o d ificatio n (c /2 .2 8 ). F o r th e sak e o f sim p licity , we re fe r to th e fu n ctio n s o f
th e ‘ad je ctiv e ’ w h e n , strictly sp eak in g , w e sh o u ld refer to th e fu n ctio n s o f th e
Syntactic functions of adjectives 417
‘ad jectiv e p h ra s e ’. F o r th e sa m e reaso n , we generally ex em p lify th e fu n c tio n s

o f th e a d jectiv e p h ra se w ith th e adjective alone.
A d jectiv es a re a ttrib u tiv e w h en th ey prem odify th e h e ad o f a n o u n p h ra se
(e /1 7 .9 6 ):
a sm all g ard en
popular b allads
A d jectiv es a re p re d ic ativ e w h e n th ey function as su b je ct c o m p lem en t o r

o b jec t co m p lem en t. T h e re is a co p u lar relatio n sh ip b etw een su b ject a n d
su b je ct co m p lem en t ( c f 10.8):
T h e ch ild ren a re happy.

H e seem s careless.
A d jectiv es a re su b ject co m p le m e n t n ot only to n o u n p h ra ses, b u t also to

c lau ses, w h ich m ay b e fin ite clauses [1, 2] o r nonfinite clauses [3 ,4 ]:
T h a t you need a c a r is obvious. 11]

W h e th e r h e w ill resig n is uncertain. [2]
T o d riv e a c a r is dangerous. [3]
P lay in g chess is enjoyable. [4]
T h e re is a co p u la r re la tio n sh ip betw een d irec t o b jec t a n d o b jec t

co m p le m e n t ( c f 10.8):
I find h im careless.
H e m ad e th e c h ild re n happy.
A d jectiv es c a n also be o b jec t co m p lem en t to clauses:
. ., fw h a th e d id 1 , ,
I c o n sid er { , . .} foolish.
I p laying so h a r d j
T h e ad jectiv e fu n ctio n in g a s o b ject com plem ent o ften expresses th e resu lt

o f th e process d en o ted by th e v e rb (c/16.21):
H e pulled his b e lt tight. [5]

H e p u sh ed th e w in d o w open. [6]
H e w rites his letters large. [7]
T h e resu lt c a n b e s ta te d fo r e a c h sentence by using th e v e rb b e :
H is b elt is tight. [5a]

T h e w in d o w is open. [6a]
H is letters are large. [7a]
N o te T h e verb s in [5-7] hav e a c a u sa tiv e m e an in g . F o r exam ple, [5] c a n b e p a r a p h r a s e d :

H e caused h is belt to be tig h t by pu llin g it.
S o m e v erbs used in this ty p e o f c o n stru c tio n prim arily express c a u s e :
S h e m a d e h im happy. {‘She cau sed him to be hap p y .1]
T h e new s tu rn e d his h a i r white. [‘T h e new s caused his h a ir to b e w h ite .1]
T h e analogy w ith ad v e rb s c a n be seen in th e resultative effect o f a n ad v e rb su ch as o ut. C o m p a re
[6] w ith [83:
H e p u sh ed th e w indow jgj
[‘H e caused th e w in d o w to be o p e n /o u t by pushing it.1]

P o s tp o s itiv e
7.21 A d je c tiv e s can so m e tim es be p o stp o sitiv e, ie th ey c a n im m ed iately follow th e
n o u n o r p ro n o u n th e y m odify. W e m ay th u s h av e th ree p o sitio n s o f a d je c tiv e s :
p r e d ic F t iv e : T h is in fo rm atio n is useful. [1]

F t t r i| u t iv e : useful in fo rm atio n [2]
p o s t p o s it iv e : so m eth in g useful [3]
A p o stp o sitiv e a d je ctiv e (to g eth er w ith an y c o m p lem en tatio n it m ay h a v e ;

c f l . 22) c a n usually be reg ard ed as a red u ced relativ e c la u se :
so m e th in g th a t is useful [3a]
C o m p o u n d in d efin ite p ro n o u n s a n d ad v erb s en d in g in -body, -one, -thing,

r w here ( c /6 .4 6 / 17.57) c a n be m odified only postpositively:
A n y o n e (w ho is) intelligent can do it.

I w a n t to try o n som ething (th a t is) larger.
W e ’re n o t g o in g anywhere very exciting.
O f c o u rse , ad je ctiv es th a t c a n o ccu r only attrib u tiv ely (c f l . 2 2 f f ) a re e x c lu d e d :
"■something (w h ic h is) m ain ’ som ebody (w ho is) mere
P o stp o sitio n is o b lig a to ry fo r proper m ea n in g ‘as strictly d e fin e d ’, eg:
th e C ity o f L o n d o n proper
I n se v e ra l in stitu tio n a liz e d expressions (m ostly in official d e sig n atio n s), th e

a d je c tiv e is p o stp o sitiv e ( c f 17.59), eg:
th e p re sid e n t elect v ice-chancellor designate

[‘soon to ta k e office’] p o stm aste r general
h e ir apparent co u rt m artial
a tto rn e y general n o tary public
fro m tim e im m em orial body politic
N o te a ls o :
t h e p e r s o n opposite [ b u t : th e opposite d ire c tio n ]

a ll o f us, m e included [b u t : including me]
M o n d a y to F rid a y inclusive <A m E also: M o n d ay through F rid a y ;
c /9 .3 7 > i
L o n g m a n G ro u p L im ite d /L td < U K > ; H a rco u rt B race J o v a n o v ic h ,
Incorporated/Inc <US>
A s ia M inor P o e t Laureate
d e v il incarnate all th in g s English
th e best c a r going B flat/sharp/m ajor/m inor
A d jectiv es e n d in g in -able a n d -ible c a n have p o stp o sitio n w h e n th e n o u n

is m o d ified by a n o th e r a d jectiv e in th e su p erlativ e degree ( c fl .l A J f ) , by only,
o r by th e g e n era l o rd in als last, next, etc (c/5 .2 2 ). W e th u s h a v e e ith e r
a ttrib u tiv e p o sitio n o r p o stp o sitio n in :
th e b e st possible use ~ th e b est use possible

th e g re atest im aginable insult ~ th e g reatest in su lt im aginable
Syntactic functions o f adjectives 419
th e b est available p erso n ~ th e b est p erso n available

th e only suitable a c to r ~ th e only a cto r suitable
T h e d e v erb a l suffix -ablej-ible co m b in es w ith tran sitiv e v erb s to p ro d u c e
grad ab le a d je c tiv e s : ‘o f th e k in d th a t c a n be V -ed’ ( c f A p p 1.40). S o m e
p o stpositive a d je ctiv es, especially th o se en d in g in -able or.-ible, re tain th e
basic m ea n in g th ey h av e in a ttrib u tiv e p o sitio n b u t convey th e im p lica tio n
th a t w h at th ey a re d e n o tin g h a s o nly a tem p o rary a p p licatio n . T h u s, the sta rs
visible refers to sta rs th a t are visible a t a tim e specified o r im plied, w hile th e
visible stars m o re a p tly refers to a category o f stars th a t c an (a t a p p ro p ria te
tim es) b e seen . W e h a v e a sim ila r d istin c tio n b etw een th e tem p o rary a n d t h e
p e rm a n en t in rivers navigable a n d navigable rivers.
A ppointed, desired, required; follow ing, pa st, preceding; a n d positive a lso
occur in e ith e r p o sitio n :
a t th e appointed tim e ~ a t the tim e appointed
in p a st y e ars ~ in y ears pa st
th e preceding y ears ~ th e y ears preceding
positive p r o o f ~ p ro o f positive
P o stp o sitio n is u su al w ith th e set p h ra se pure and simple, as in the a n sw erj

truth pure a n d simple.
P o stp o sitio n (in p re fe re n ce to a ttrib u tiv e p o sitio n ) is usual fo r a few a-
adjectives ( c /7 .1 0 /) a n d for th e four ad jectiv es absent, present, concerned,
involved w h e n th ey d e sig n ate ‘tem p o rary ’ as o p p o sed to ‘p e rm a n e n t’ a ttrib u te s
(c/1 7 .7 ):
T h e h o u se (w h ic h is) ablaze is n ex t d o o r to m ine.
T h e b o a ts (w h ic h w ere) afloat w ere n o t seen by th e b andits.
T h e m en (w h o w ere) present w ere h is su p p o rters.
T h e p eo p le (w h o w ere) involved w ere n o t found.
[cf: the involved people, w hich d e sig n ates a p e rm a n e n t a ttrib u te , b u t
c /N o te [bj]
P o stp o sitio n is used w ith net an d gross w h en th e p recise am o u n ts a re s t a te d :
H e w as p a id a fee o f £12 gross, o n w h ich he h a d to pay £4 tax , leav in g
th e su m o f £ 8 n e t. [ | u t : The gross sum w as £ 12. The net sum w as £8.]
C o m p are to ta l:
[sum to ta l) ...
T he! , [ w a s £12.
[ total su m j
N o te [a] T h e p o stp o sitiv e ad jectiv e, as in the president elect a n d vice-chancellor designate , reflects a
neoclassical style b ased o n L atin p articip les a n d m u c h in vogue in E lizab eth an tim es. C /'th e
n orm al attrib u tiv e p o sitio n o f E nglish p articip les; 17.98#':
th e elected p re sid e n t, th e acting professor
[b] A ttrib u tiv e present norm ally h as tem p o ral m e a n in g (eg: a t th e present tim e ) ; b u t it h a s th e
sam e sense a s p o stp o sitiv e present (ie th e an to n y m o f absent) in th e fixed expression present
company ex cluded (w h ere p erh ap s it has b een tra n sp o sed from its usual position b ecau se th e
p articip le has o cc u p ied th a t position) a n d in ex p ressio n s th a t seem to be based o n it, eg: excluding
present com pany (‘if w e exclude p resen t co m p an y ’).
In A m E , a ttrib u tiv e a n d postp o sitiv e involved an d concerned m ay h av e th e sam e sense i f th e
head o f th e n o u n p h ra se is party o r p artie s:
th e involved p a rly , th e concerned parties
420 A d je c tiv e s and adverbs
A dj'e ctives w it h com plem entation

7.22 A d je c tiv e s w ith c o m p le m e n ta tio n (c f 16.68/r) n o rm ally c a n n o t h av e a ttrib u
tiv e p o s itio n b u t re q u ire p o stp o sitio n . C o m p a re :
a suitable a c to r b u t.n o t : *a suitable fo r the p a rt a cto r
T h e c o m p le m e n ta tio n c a n be a p rep o sitio n al p h ra se o r a to-infinitive clause:
I k n o w a n a c to r suitable f o r the part. [ 1]

T h e y h av e a house larger than yours. [2]
T h e b oys easiest to teach w ere in m y class. [3]
S tu d e n ts brave enough to attem p t the course d eserv e to succeed. [4]
T h e p o s tp o sitiv e stru c tu re s can o f course b e re g ard ed as red u ced relative
c la u s e s :
I k n o w a n a c to r who is suitable fo r the part. [la ]
I f th e a d je ctiv e is a lo n e o r m erely prem odified by an intensifier, p o stp o sitio n

is n o t n o rm ally a llo w e d :
♦T h e y h av e a house (much) larger.

♦T h e so ld iers (rather) tim id a p p ro ach ed th e ir officer.
H o w e v e r, if th e n o u n p h ra se is generic an d in d efin ite, c o o rd in ated adjectives,

o r a d je c tiv e s w ith som e clau se elem en t ad d ed , c a n b e p ostposed, th o u g h such
c o n s tru c tio n s a re fo rm al a n d ra th e r in freq u e n t:
S o ld iers tim id or cow ardly d o n ’t fight well. [5]

S o ld iers norm ally tim id d o n ’t fight well. [6]
A m a n usually honest will som etim es c h eat. [7]
T h e m o re usual c o n stru ctio n s are p rem o d ificatio n o r a relativ e clause:
T im id or cowardly soldiers . . . [5a]

S o ld ie rs who are tim id or co w a rd ly . , . [5b]
S o ld iers who are norm ally tim id . . . ' [6a]
A m a n who is usually h o n e st. . . [7a]
L ik e re la tiv e clauses, p o stp o sed ad jectives m ay be restrictiv e o r non restric-

tiv e , eg:
S o ld ie rs norm ally tim id d o n ’t fight well.

[‘Soldiers w ho a re . . . ’] [generic an d in d efin ite n o u n head] [6]
T h e soldiers, norm ally tim id, fought b ravely.
[‘T h e soldiers, w ho w ere . . . ’] [specific a n d d efin ite n o u n head] [6b]
T h e ad je ctiv e o f a n ad jectiv e p h rase can o fte n be a ttrib u tiv e , leaving its

c o m p le m e n ta tio n in p o stp o sitio n . T hus, e q u iv a le n t to sen ten ces [2] an d [3]
a re th e so m ew h at m o re in fo rm al sentences [2a] a n d [3 a ]:
T h e y h av e a larger house than yours. [2a]

T h e easiest boys to teach w ere in m y class. [3a]
A n a d je c tiv e m odified by enough, too, o r so can b e se p a ra ted from its

c o m p le m e n ta tio n if th e m odified adjective is p laced before the in d efin ite (or
zero) a rtic le o f the n o u n p h ra se [8 ,9 ]:
S h e is brave enough a s tu d e n t to a ttem pt the course. [8]

I t w as too boring a bo o k to read. [9]
W ith enough, th e c o n stru ctio n is m o re com m on if th e ad jectiv e is p re m o d ified

by not, as in [8a]:
S h e is n ot brave enough a s tu d e n t to attem pt the course. [8a]
B u t w ith enough a n d too, th is co n stru ctio n seem s to be possible o nly if t h e

a d je ctiv e p h ra se is p a rt o f th e su b ject com plem ent o r o b ject c o m p le m e n t
(c o m p a re [8] an d [8b]):
* B rave enough a s tu d e n t to a ttem p t the course d eserves to succeed. [8b]
W ith j o , th e c o n stru ctio n is also possible if th e ad jectiv e p h ra se is p a rt o f th e

Subject o r o b ject [10]:
^ 'j v S s0 difficult) p iease muS( be h a rd to w o rk w ith . [ 10]

S o difficult a m a n j
E x cep tio n ally , c e rta in sh o rt p rep o sitio n al ph rases m ay also p rem o d ify a n
a d je ctiv e in a ttrib u tiv e p o s itio n :
a by no m eans irresp o n sib le a ctio n

~ a n a ctio n (w h ich is) by no m ean s irresponsible
C o m p o u n d m odifiers usually d e n o tin g m easu rem en ts m ay h a v e e ith e r

a ttrib u tiv e o r p o stp o sitiv e p o sitio n (n o te also the fo o t ~ fe e t sh ift):
a 5000-foot high m o u n ta in ~ a m o u n tain (w h ich is) 5000 fe et h igh
N o te W e fin d th e p o stp o sitio n o f ad jectiv es in po etry in cases w here attrib u tiv e p o sitio n is the n o rm
e lse w h ere in th e lan g u ag e, eg:
B en B attle w as a soldier b o ld . . . (T h o m as H ood)
A djective s as heads of noun phrases

7.23 A d jectiv es c a n fu n ctio n as h ead s o f noun phrases, w h ich (like all n o u n
p h ra ses) c a n be su b ject o f th e sen ten ce, com plem ent, object, a n d p re p o sitio n a l
co m p le m e n t. A d jectiv es as n o u n -p h rase heads, un lik e no u n s, d o n o t in flect
fo r n u m b e r o r for th e g e n itiv e case an d they usually re q u ire a d efin ite
d e te rm in e r ( c f 5.56, A p p 1.45).
A d je ctiv es a re typically used as h ead s o f noun p h rases to re fe r to c e rta in
fairly w ell-established classes o f persons, eg: the brave, the weak, the
m aladjusted, the elderly, the underprivileged.
T h e re a re th ree ty p es o f a d jectiv es functioning as n o u n -p h rase h e a d s :
(a) The innocent a re o ften deceived by the unscrupulous. (7.24)

(b) The industrious D utch a re a d m ired by th eir n eig h b o u rs. (7.25)
(c) S h e a d m ires the m ystical. (7.26)
T y p e (a ): th e in n ocen t
7.24 A d jectiv es w h ich can p rem o d ify p ersonal nouns (the young people) c a n b e
n o u n -p h rase h e ad s (the young) w ith plural and g en eric referen ce d e n o tin g
classes, c ateg o ries, o r types o f p eo p le. T h e adjective can itself be p rem o d ified
[ 3 - 5 ] o r p ostm odified [ 6 -7 ]:
T h e poor are c au sin g th e n a tio n ’s lead ers g reat concern. [1]

T h e r e is a lac k o f co m m u n icatio n b etw een the young an d the old. [2]
T h e extrem ely o ld need a g re at d eal o f a tte n tio n . [3]
T h e em otionally disturbed an d the physically and m entally
handicapped need the aid o f society. [4]
T h e very wise a v o id such tem p tatio n s. [5]
T h e y oung in spirit enjoy life. [6]
T h e o ld who resist change can ex p ect violence. [7]
N o tice t h a t th ese a d jectiv es a re restricted to generic reference an d ta k e p lu ral

c o n co rd . H en ce, the poor can n o t d en o te o n e person. (The poor person, m an,
woman, e tc c an h a v e e ith e r specific o r g en eric referen ce.) I t is o ften p o ssib le
to a d d a g en eral w o rd for h u m an b ein g s su ch as people an d re tain th e g e n eric
re fe re n ce , in w h ic h case th e definite d e te rm in e r is norm ally o m itte d (eg: o ld
people), b u t th e use o f th e adjective a s h e ad o f th e n o u n p h ra se (eg: the old) is
also c o m m o n . W e m u st d istin g u ish th e n o u n p h rases from cases o f te x tu a l
ellipsis ( c fU .'h 'iff) :
T h e young stu d e n ts found th e co u rse difficult, the older found it easy.
H ere, th e older is ellip tical for the older students.

T h e ad je ctiv e c a n itself be m odified, usually by restrictiv e m o d ificatio n , eg
[5]: the very wise. In flected co m p ariso n form s o f th e ad jectiv e are also p o ssib le
(the wiser). C o m p a ra tiv e inflection a n d a d v erb m o dification are in d ic a tio n s
o f th e ad je ctiv e sta tu s o f th ese n o u n -p h rase head s, w hile m o d ificatio n by
ad je ctiv es is m o re ty p ical o f no u n s, a n d m o d ificatio n by relativ e clau ses is
n o rm ally a n in d ic a tio n o f n o u n statu s. A v o id an ce o f m o d ificatio n by
a d jectiv es is p ro b a b ly related to th e fa c t th a t th is type o f ad jectiv e as n o u n -
ph rase h e a d te n d s to a cc ep t only restric tiv e m odification. P re m o d ify in g
a d jectiv es w ith th is n o u n -p h rase h ead a re n o rm ally in te rp rete d as n o n re stric -
tive. F o r e x am p le, the wretched poor w ould n o t n o rm ally be ta k e n as a
subclass o f p o o r p eo p le, w h ereas w ith its p rem o d ify in g ad v erb the w retchedly
poor w o u ld be so! tak en .
In the y o u n g of. London, th e p rep o sitio n al p h rase is po stm o d ify in g a g e n era l
noun t h a t h as b e en e llip te d :
[th o se w ho a re young] [in L ondon]
By c o n tra s t, in the young in spirit [6], it is c le ar th a t th e ad jectiv e its e lf is

p o stm o d ified by a p rep o sitio n al p h ra se, since th e general n o u n c a n n o t b e
p o stm o d ified by in sp irit: * the people in spirit who are young. W e th e n h a v e th e
s tru c tu re :
[th o se w ho a re [young [in spirit]]]
Sim ilarly, w e can a rg u e th a t th e re la tiv e clau se in [7]:
the o ld w ho resist ch an g e
is p o stm o d ify in g a n e llip ted general n o u n :
the people w h o resist ch an g e a n d who are old
Since p eo p le is n o t th e o n ly no u n we can supply (fo r exam ple we co u ld in se rt

persons in stea d ), su ch ellipsis m u st be w e ak ellipsis (c f 12.38).
T h e definite d e te rm in e r is n o rm ally th e generic definite a rticle the. N o te

ho w ev er th e use o f th e p ossessive d e te rm in e r i n :
W e will n u rse y o u r sick, c lo th e y o u r naked, an d feed yo u r hungry.

It is th e d u ty o f th e G o v e rn m en t to care for our poor, our unemployed.
O th e r types a re : we rich,, these dead. O n the o th er h a n d , th e follow ing

ex am p les w ith those are in stan ces o f p o stp o sitio n w h ich can be an aly sed as
red u ced relativ e clauses (c /7 .2 1 ):
th o se present ~ th o se who are present

th o se assem bled ~ th o se who are assem bled
Those d e a d is a m b ig u o u s b etw een ‘th o se d ead o n es’ (ad jectiv e a s h ead o f a

n o u n p h rase) a n d ‘th o se w h o a re d e a d ’.
A lth o u g h a d jectiv es fu n ctio n in g as n o u n -p h rase h ead s gen erally re q u ire a
definite d e te rm in e r, th ey c a n fu n ctio n as such w ith o u t a d e te rm in e r if th e y
a re conjoined ( c f 5.50):
* H e is a cc ep ta b le to old/young.
H e is acc ep ta b le to both (the) o ld and (the) young.
A lso in som e (/-c o n s tru c tio n s:
T h e n u m b er o f jo b less/u n em p lo y ed is rising.
N o te [a] A d jectiv es fu n ctio n in g as h ea d s o f noun p h rases should be distin g u ish ed fro m no u n s th a t a r e

co n v e rted from ad jectiv es (c/7 .1 3 ), eg: an editorial, tw o blacks. T h e re is a g re a t d ea l o f v ary in g
usage in th is area , eg:
th e w o rld ’s g reats th e p arty 's faithfu!(s)
th e undecided(s) th e retired(s)
(b] A d jectiv es w h ich d o n o t d e n o te fairly w ell-established classes a re less likely to be used as
h ea d s o f n o u n p h rases w ith g en eric reference, eg: the agitated, the bored, th e resentful, the sleepy,
the dirty. T h is is a n o rm , n o t a rule, a s can be seen in sentences lik e th e follow ing:
The alert w ill n o tice m y irony, the sleepy m ay not.
T ype (b): the D utch

7.25 Som e a d jectiv es d e n o tin g n a tio n a litie s ( c f 5 .56/) c a n be n o u n -p h rase h e a d s :
The industrious D utch a re a d m ired by th e ir n eighbours.

You French a n d we British o u g h t to be allies.
T h e ad jectiv es in q u e stio n are virtually restricted to w o rd s e n d in g in -(i)sh

a n d -ch:
British, Cornish, Danish, English, Irish, Spanish, Turkish, Welsh', D utch,

French
A s w ith type (a) in 7.24, th ese n o u n p h rases n orm ally h a v e g en eric

referen ce an d ta k e p lu ral co n co rd . U n lik e type (a), type (b ) c a n n o t be
m odified by a d v e rb s: th e very wise, b u t n o t Ith e very English, w ith g en eric
plu ral reference. H o w ev er, th ey can be m odified by ad jectiv es, w h ich a re
n o rm ally n o n re stric tiv e , ie:
the industrious D utch [‘th e D u tc h , w ho are in d u strio u s’]
P o stm o d ify in g p re p o sitio n a l p h ra ses an d relativ e clauses c an b e e ith e r

restrictiv e o r n o n re stric tiv e ( c f 1 7 .3 /) :
T h e Irish ( w ho live) in A m erica re ta in sen tim en tal lin k s w ith Ireland.

T h e D u tc h , f o r m any o f whom speaking English is second nature, have
p ro d u c e d m an y o f th e g re atest g ra m m aria n s o f th e E n g lish language.
N o te [a] E a sily c o n fu se d w ith a d jectiv es d en o tin g n atio n alities o f type (b), b u t d istin c t from th e m ,
a re e th n ic n a m e s (c /5 .8 8 ), eg: E skim o, Navaho, Bantu. T hese, how ever, show th e ir n om inal
c h a ra c te r b y th e p o ssib ility o f bein g m odified by d eterm in ers an d n u m e rals {two Eskim o, several
N avaho ) a n d , o p tio n a lly , ta k in g plural -s: two Eskimo(s).
[b] N a tio n a lity a d je c tiv e s a re so m etim es used n o t to refer to th e n atio n a s a w hole but to som e
p a r t o f it, f o r e x a m p le , te am s an d tro o p s rep resen tin g th e ir co u n try ( c /S . I l l ) :
T h e E nglish lo st a g a in st th e W elsh in th e final.
I n 1796 the French in v a d ed n o rth e rn Italy.
[c] Y ou B ritish a n d y o u fr e n c h c a n also be analysed as h av in g y o u as h ea d a n d th e nam es o f th e
n a tio n a litie s a s n o u n p h ra se s in restrictiv e ap p o sitio n (c/17.88).
[dj A s s ta te d a b o v e , a d jectiv es d en o tin g n atio n alities th a t can be n o u n -p h rase heads norm ally
h a v e g e n e ric re fe re n c e . T h e re a re , how ever, m an y exceptions, eg: two Boston Irish [‘Irish m e n /
Iris h w o m e n '] a n d th e o th e r English, as in
? N o w te ll m e a b o u t the other English a t th e villa, especially th e on e w h o h a s disap p eared .
T y p e (c ): th e m y stic a l
7.26 S om e a d je c tiv e s c a n fu n c tio n as n o u n -p h rase heads w ith a b s tra c t reference.
T h ey in clu d e , in p a rtic u la r, su p erlativ es, in w hich case w e c a n som etim es
in s e rt a g e n e ra l n o u n lik e thing in its a b strac t s e n se :
T h e la te st (th in g /n e w s) is th a t h e is going to ru n for re-election.
U n lik e ty p e s (a) a n d (b), ty p e (c) ad jectiv es fu n ctio n in g as n o u n -p h rase heads

ta k e s in g u la r c o n c o r d :
T h e y v e n tu re d in to the unknown, w h ich w a s . . .

T h e b est is y e t to com e.
T h ey c a n b e m o d ified by a d v e rb s :
T h e very b est (th in g ) is y et to com e.

H e w e n t frp m the extrem ely sublim e to the extrem ely ridiculous.
T y p e (c) is re stric te d chiefly to c e rta in fixed expressions. T h u s, fo r exam ple,

the supernatural,' the exotic, the unreal a re m o re likely to o ccu r th a n the lovely,
the fo re ig n , the exciting, w ith a b strac t, g en eric reference.
N o te T h e re a r e a n u m b e r o f set expressions in w hich a n adjective w ith a b s tra c t reference is

c o m p le m e n t o f a p re p o sitio n ( c f 9.1 N o te [c]), eg:
It's f o r th e good o f everyone. H e enjoyed it to the fu ll.
H e le ft f o r good. fr o m bad to worse
in publicjprivate! secret out o f the ordinary
in th e nude/in th e w ild in the extrem e
in sh o rt above (the) norm al
into th e open , .. . on the loose
on th e s ly in common
In m a n y o f th e se ex a m p les, th e w ord-class statu s o f th e w ord follow ing th e p rep o sitio n (or the) is
in d e te r m in a te b etw e en a d jectiv e an d noun.
S u p p le m e n tive adjective clauses

7.27 A d je c tiv e s c an fu n c tio n a s th e sole realizatio n o f a v erb less clau se ( c f 14.9) o r
as th e h e a d o f a n ad je ctiv e p h ra se realizin g th e c la u s e :
T h e m a n , quietly assertive, spoke to th e assem bled w orkers. [ 1]

U nhappy with the result, sh e retu rn ed to w ork. [2]
G la d to accept, th e boy n odded his agreem ent. [3]
A n xio u s f o r a q u ick decision, th e c h airm a n called for a vote. [4 1
L o n g a n d untidy, h is h a ir played in th e breeze. [5]
A s th e follow ing ex am p les d em o n strate, th e su p p lem en tiv e ad jectiv e c la u s e
( c / 1 5 .6 0 # ) is m o b ile, th o u g h (p artly to av o id am b ig u ity ) it usually p re c e d e s
o r (less usually) follow s th e subject o f the su p e ro rd in ate c la u se :
R a th e r nervous, th e m an o p en ed th e letter. [6 ]
T h e m a n , rather nervous, o p en ed the letter. [6a]
T h e m a n o p e n ed th e letter, rather nervous. [6b]
W h en it follow s th e su b ject, as. in [6a], it is in som e respects lik e a

n o n re stric tiv e re la tiv e clau se ( c /1 7 .2 2 # ):
T h e m a n , who w as nervous, o p en ed th e letter.
B ut th e ad je ctiv e c lau se suggests th a t the m a n ’s n ervousness is related to th e

c o n te n t o f th e se n ten ce, w h ereas the relativ e clause does n o t n ece ssa rily
co nvey th a t im p lica tio n . A n o th e r difference is th a t th e ad jectiv e cla u se is
related to th e p re d ic a tio n as well as to th e subject. F u rth erm o re, u n lik e th e
relativ e clau se, th e a d jectiv e clause is m o b ile an d (w ith th e e x c e p tio n
d iscu ssed below ) its im p lied subject is th e su b ject o f th e sentence. T h u s ,
w hile w e h a v e [7], w e d o n o t have as its e q u iv alen t [7a]:
T h e m a n re stra in e d th e w om an , who was aggressive. [7]

*T h e m a n re stra in e d th e w om an , aggressive. [7a]
H o w ev er, if th e su p p lem en tiv e adjective clause co n tain s a d d itio n al c la u se

c o n stitu e n ts, it c a n be re la te d to a no u n p h ra se o th er th a n the su b ject o f th e
s e n te n c e :
( quiet (now) in her daughter's lap.

She g lan ced w ith d isg u st a t th e cat, -j now quiet.
( * quiet.
C o m p are p a rtic ip le clauses, w here th e im p lied subject can also be o th e r t h a n

th e su b je ct o f th e sen ten c e ( c f 15.62):
. , . , 4 . [stretched out on the rug.

She g lan ced w ith d isg u st a t th e cat, ] . , . . ,
(m ew ing plaintively.
U n d e r c e rta in co n d itio n s, a n d w ith little ch an g e o f m eaning, a n a d je ctiv e

fu n c tio n in g as a su p p le m e n tiv e adjective clause m ay be rep laced by a n
ad v erb . T h u s, in stea d o f [6] w e m ig h t have
N ervously, th e m a n o p en ed th e letter. [6c]
L ike th e ad je ctiv e, a n a d v erb w ith th is fu n ctio n ( c f 8 .9 2 # ) refers to a n

a ttrib u te o r s ta te o f th e subject, though it n orm ally does so specifically in
relatio n to th e a ctio n th a t h e is p erfo rm in g . T h is is typically ex p ressed by
a d v erb s in m ed ia l p o sitio n (c /8 .1 6 ):
T h e m a n nervously o p en ed th e letter. [6d]

T h e a d jectiv e re fe rs to th e subject w ith o u t ex p licit referen ce to th e actio n ,

b u t u n le s s o th erw ise stated , th e c h a ra c te riz a tio n is only tem p o rary .
N o te [a] A n ad v e rb ca n (o bviously) n o t be su b stitu ted if th e re is no co rresp o n d in g a d v e rb .(c /7 .6 ), eg:

long in (5):
5,)“
*L o n g ly
U ntidily
h is h a i r played in th e breeze. [5a]
[b] N o r c a n rep la c e m e n t by an ad v e rb ta k e pla ce if th e co m p lem en tatio n o r m odification o f th e

■/ im
a d je c tiv e is disallow ed fo r th e ad v e rb , eg [la ] *quietly assertively , [3a] *gladly to accept , [4a]
*a n x io u sly fo r a q u ic k decision. I f unhappy w ith the result in [2] is re p laced by unhappily , th e likely
m e a n in g will be ‘I ’m so rry to say th a t . . . ’ (ra th e r th a n ‘She w as u n h a p p y ’), ie a d isju n c t
in te rp re ta tio n .
7.28 T h e im p lied s u b je c t o f a su p p lem en tiv e a d jectiv e clause c an b e th e w hole o f

th e su p e ro rd in a te clau se:
Strange, it w a s sh e w ho in itiate d d iv o rce proceed in g s. [1]

M o s t im portant, his r e p o rt offered p ro sp e cts o f a g re a t profit. [2]
M o re rem arkable still, h e is in ch arg e o f th e project. [3]
F o r ex am p le, [1] is sem an tically e q u iv a len t to [ la ]:
( T h e fa c t) th a t it w as she w ho in itia te d d iv o rce p roceedings

is strange. [ la ]
T h e s e su p p le m e n tiv e a d jectiv e clauses relate to th e su p e ro rd in ate clause lik e

c o m m e n t clauses in tro d u c ed by what ( c /1 5 .5 3 # ). F o r ex am p le, for [1] w e
h a v e [lb ]:
W h a t is (e,ven m o re) strange, it w as sh e w h o in itia te d div o rce

pro ceed in g s. [lb ]
T h e fe w a d jectiv es th a t c a n b e used fo r th is p u rp o se co nvey th e a ttitu d e th a t

w h a t is being s a id is in som e m easu re stra n g e, eg: curious, fu n n y , odd, strange,
surprising. A fe w o th ers seem possible if th ey a re prem o d ified by m ore o r
m ost, a s in [2], a n d [3]. T h is ty p e o f a d jectiv e clause m u st p reced e its
su p e ro rd in ate cjau se. \
N o te [a] A c o rresp o n d in g a d v e rb c a n be su b stitu ted fo r th e ad jectiv e w ith little o r n o difference in

m e a n in g , as w ith stra n g ely fo r strange in [1 ] { c f c o n te n t d isju n c ts in 8.1 21 f f ) :
Strangely , it w a s sh e w h o in itia ted d iv o rce pro ceed in g s. [lc ]
T h e ad jectiv e, u n lik e th e ad v e rb , allow s a that- o r how - clause to follow :
f th a t K tu rn e d o u t th a t w ay. [4]
trange | ^ ow s h e still likes him . [5]
, [ t h a t it tu rn e d o u t th a t w ay. [4a]
*S<r a n g ^ , | h o w s h e s t j l l l .k e s h im (5a,
T h is is because th e a d jectiv e is ellip tical for a n e x trap o sed c o n stru c tio n { c f 1 8.33#) [5b], o r
p e rh a p s a p seudo-cleft co n stru c tio n { c f 18.29) [5 c]:
I t is strange h o w s h e stil! lik es him . [5b]
W hat is strange is ho w sh e still likes h im . [5c]
[b] O bjections h a v e b e e n vo iced ag a in st b o th m ost im portant (as in [2] above) a n d m ost
im portantly. Som e u sa g e b o o k s reco m m en d th e o n e co n stru c tio n , som e th e other.
C o n tinge nt adjective clauses

7 .2 9 A sp ecial type o f su p p lem en tiv e ad jectiv e clau se is th e c o n tin g e n t a d jectiv e
clause, w hich ex p resses th e c irc u m stan ce o r c o n d itio n u n d e r w h ich w h a t is
S yntactic functions of adjectives 427
sa id in th e su p e ro rd in a te cla u se applies. T h e c o n tin g e n t clau se is e llip tic al

(c /1 2 .3 1 # ) w ith ellipsis o f a n a p p ro p ria te form o f be, a n d (som etim es) o f th e
s u b o rd in a to r:
W hether right or wrong, h e a lw ay s com es o tf w o rst in a n a rg u m en t

b ecau se o f his in ab ility to sp eak cogently. [ 1]
W hen f it , th e L a b ra d o r is a n excellent retriever. [2]
I f wet, th ese shoes sh o u ld n e v e r b e placed too close to th e h e at. [3]
A s w ith o th e r su p p le m e n tiv e a d jectiv e clauses ( # 7 .2 7 / ) , th e im p lied su b je ct

o f th e c o n tin g e n t a d jectiv e clau se is norm ally th e su b ject o f th e s u p e ro rd in a te
clau se, b u t th e clau se is n o t eq u iv a len t to a n o n re stric tiv e relativ e clau se.
U n lik e o th e r su p p le m e n tiv e a d jectiv e clauses, c o n tin g e n t ad jectiv e clau ses
o fte n h a v e a su b o rd in a to r p re sen t. I t is som etim es, o m itted , so th a t w e c a n
h a v e [la ] :
R ig h t or wrong, h e alw ay s com es off w o r s t. . . [ la ]
W h e n th e im p lied su b ject is th e subject o f th e su p e ro rd in ate clause, i t is

n o rm a l to p u t th e ad je ctiv e in itially , as in [1—3], b u t it is n o t u n c o m m o n to
p u t it finally in sp o k e n E n g lish . I f a su b o rd in ato r is p re sen t, th e re is n o
p ro b lem in p o sitio n in g th e clau se finally ev en in w ritte n E n g lis h :
T h ese shoes sh o u ld n e v e r b e p laced too close to th e h e a t i f wet. [3a]
T h e c o n tin g e n t clau se c a n also re fe r to th e o b ject o f th e su p e ro rd in a te

clau se, th o u g h o nly a few a d je ctiv es are a v ailab le for th is u se:
H e sells th e m new. - [4]

I c a n ’t d rin k it hot. [5]
Y o u m u st e a t it when fre sh . [6]
T h e a d jectiv e th e n u sually co m es finally a n d could b e re g ard e d a s a

co m p le m e n t in [4] a n d [5] (c/1 0 .1 6 ). A su b o rd in ato r is also o ften p re se n t, as
in [6]. A s w ith all c o m p le m e n ts, th e n o rm al p o sitio n o f th e a d jectiv e is final,
w h e th e r it is in a c o p u la r re la tio n to the o b ject o f a n a ctiv e clau se [7] o r to th e
su b je ct o f a p assiv e clau se [8]:
T o m ak e good to m a to c h u tn e y , you should p ick th e to m a to es green. [7]

T h e to m a to es sh o u ld b e p ic k e d green. [8]
*Green you sh o u ld p ic k th e tom ato es. [7a]
*Green th e to m ato es sh o u ld be p icked. [8a]
In in fo rm a l sp o k e n E n g lish , a n adjective clau se w h ich refers to th e o b je c t o f

th e su p e ro rd in a te clau se c a n o c cu r initially, th o u g h th e p o sitio n w o u ld be
av o id e d i f a m b ig u ity resu lted , as i n :
H o t, I c a n ’t d rin k coffee. [‘W h en I ’m h o t . . . ’ o r ‘I c a n ’t d rin k

coffee h o t.’] [5a]
T h e a d jectiv e clause c a n also re fe r to th e w hole o f th e su p e ro rd in a te clause

(w h ic h w o u ld b e realized in th e su b o rd in ate clause by th e p ro -fo rm it). In
su c h cases th e s u b o rd in a to r c a n n o t b e o m itte d :
# ( i t is) possible, th e p u p p y sh o u ld be fed fo u r tim es a day.

W hen (it is) necessary , he c an be tak e n to the d octor.

Y o u m ust c o m e as soon as (it is) possible .
N o te [a] C f I 4 .9 # for f u r th e r discussion o f adjectiv e clauses an d o th e r verbless clau ses, a s welt as o f

n o n fin ite clauses th a t req u ire sim ilar tre atm en t.
[b] C o rre sp o n d in g a d v e rb s c a n n o t replace ad jectives in co n tin g en t ad jectiv e clauses. [1] is
a m b ig u o u s b etw een th e m o re p ro b ab le in te rp reta tio n o f th e ad jective clause a s co n d itio n a l
(‘W h e th e r he is r ig h t o r w rong . . . ' ) an d th e o th e r possibility th a t it is a n o n c o n tin g en t
s u p p le m e n tiv e c lau se w ith th e su p ero rd in ate clause as its im plied subject (c /7 .2 8 ) (‘W h e th e r it
is rig h t o r w r o n g . . . ’). In th e la tte r in terp re ta tio n , ad v e rb s can replace th e ad jectiv es:
W hether rightly o r wrongly, he alw ays com es off w orst in a n a r g u m e n t. . . [lb ]
Excla m a to ry adjective clauses

7.30 A d je c tiv e s (esp ecially th o se th a t can be co m p lem en t w h en th e su b je ct is
e v e n tiv e , e g : T h a t's excellen t!) c a n be exclam atio n s, w ith o r w ith o u t a n in itial
ivA-element ( c / 1 1.14/, 1 2 .3 1 # ):
E x c e lle n t! (H ow ) w onderful! (H ow ) good o f y o u !
S u ch ad je ctiv e p h ra se s n eed n o t be d ep en d e n t o n any p re v io u s lin g u istic

c o n te x t, b u t m ay b e a c o m m en t o n som e o bject o r a ctiv ity in th e situ a tio n a l
c o n te x t.
Syntactic subclassification of adjectives

i
7.31 W e tu r n now to co n sid er th e c h aracteristics o f th e p e rip h e ral ad jectiv es,
th o se th a t are re stric te d to a ttrib u tiv e o r to p red icativ e use ( c /7 .3 /) . T h e
re stric tio n s are n o t alw ays absolute, an d som etim es vary w ith in d iv id u a l
sp e a k e rs.
i
A ttrib u tiv e o n ly \
7.32 I n g e n era l, ad je ctiv es th a t a re restricted to a ttrib u tiv e p o sitio n , o r t h a t o c cu r
p re d o m in a n tly in a ttrib u tiv e p o sitio n , do n o t ch aracterize th e re fe re n t o f th e
n o u n d irectly . F o r ex am p le, o ld can b e e ith e r a cen tral ad je ctiv e o r a n
a d je c tiv e re stric te d to a ttrib u tiv e position. In that old m an (th e o p p o site o f
th a t y o u n g mari),<old is a c en tral ad jectiv e, an d can thus also b e p re d ic a tiv e :
T hat m a n is old. O n th e o th e r h a n d , in th e usual sense o f an o ld fr ie n d o f m ine
[‘a frie n d o f o ld , a lo n g -stan d in g frien d ’], old is restricted to a ttrib u tiv e
p o s itio n a n d c a n n o t be related to M y frie n d is old. In th is case, o ld is th e
o p p o site o f new [‘recen tly a cq u ired ’]. T h e perso n referred to is n o t b ein g
id en tifie d as o ld : it is his frien d sh ip th a t is old. O utside such w ell-estab lish ed
p h ra se s as old frie n d , new frien d , th e c o n tra st old/new req u ires th e a d je ctiv e to
b e s tr e s s e d :
I ’ll ta k e m y 'old c a r to n ig h t.
S im ilarly , the a ttrib u tiv e ad jectiv e in the wrong candidate d o es n o t r e fe r to

th e w ro n g n ess o f th e p erso n b u t to th e m ista k e in id en tify in g th e p e rso n a s a
S yntactic subclassification of adjectives 429
can d id ate. A d jectiv es th a t ch aracterize th e re fe re n t o f th e noun directly {th a t

o ld m an , M y fr ie n d is old) are term ed IN H E R E N T , th o se th a t d o n o t {an o ld
frien d o f mine) a re term ed n o n i n h e r e n t ( c /7 .4 3 ,7.73).
N o te H ow ever, som e n o n in h e re n t ad jectives o cc u r also pred icativ ely . In part,, n o n in h e ren t ad je c tiv e s
a p p e a r to be ex clu d ed fro m p red icativ e position b ecause o f pressure from h om onym s t h a t
com m only o ccupy th a t po sitio n , as w ith old. B ut th e reasons for th e restrictio n a re n o t a lw a y s
clear. F o r e x a m p le, b o th a new student a n d a new fr ie n d a re n o n in h e re n t, yet o nly th e fo rm er c a n
be used p red icativ ely :
T h a t stu d e n t is new. *M y friend is new.
Som e o f th e fac to rs th a t a re involved in th e restrictio n w ill em erge in th e course o f a n
id entification o f th e ty p e s o f ad jectiv e th a t are restricted to attrib u tiv e position.
A few a d jectiv es w ith stro n g ly em otive value w hich will n o t be fu rth e r discussed a re re s tric te d
to attrib u tiv e p o sitio n , th o u g h th e scope o f th e adjectiv e clearly ex ten d s to th e perso n re ferre d to
by the n o u n , e g : y o u poor m a n t m y dear lady , th at wretched woman. T h e se all in volve n o n re stric tiv e
m odification (c fX l.'S ff).
Intensifying adjectives
7.33 Som e ad je ctiv es h a v e a h eig h ten in g effect o n th e n o u n they m odify, o r th e
reverse, a lo w erin g effect. A t least th ree se m an tic subclasses o f in te n sify in g
adjectives c a n b e d istin g u ish e d ( c / 8 .9 9 # ):
(a) em p h a size rs
(b) am p lifiers
(c) d o w n to n e rs
(a) e m p h a s i z e r s h a v e a general h e ig h ten in g effect a n d a re g e n erally

a ttrib u tiv e o n ly , eg:
a true sch o lar [1] plain nonsense [7]

a clear fa ilu re [2] th e sim ple tru th [8]
pure [‘s h e e r’] fa b ric atio n [3] a n outright lie [9]
a real [‘u n d o u b te d ’] hero [4] sheer arro g an ce [10]
a certain w in n e r [5] a sure sign [11]
a definite loss [6]
(b) a m p l i f i e r s scale u p w ard s from a n assu m ed n o rm , a n d are c e n tra l
ad jectives if th e y a re in h e re n t a n d d en o te a h ig h o r ex trem e d eg ree:
a com plete v icto ry ~ T h e victory w as complete,

great d e stru c tio n ~ T h e d estru ctio n w as great.
O n th e o th e r h a n d , w h en th ey are n o n in h ere n t, am plifiers a re a ttrib u tiv e

only:
a com plete fool T h e fool is complete.

a fir m frie n d T h e frien d is firm .
Complete re fe rs to th e com pleteness o f th e folly, a n d fir m to th e firm ness o f

th e frien d sh ip (in w h ich sense it is a sterisk ed here).
A m plifiers a re o nly a ttrib u tiv e also w h en th ey a re used as em p h a size rs,
conveying p rin c ip a lly em p h a sis ra th e r th a n d eg ree. F o r ex am p le, to ta l in
total nonsense is a n em p h a size r, w hile in total destruction it is a n am p lifier a n d
h a s a literal a p p lic a tio n (‘th e d estru ctio n o f e v ery th in g ’). H en ce th e c o n tr a s t:
to ta l n o n sen se ~ T h e nonsense w as total,

to ta l d e stru ctio n ~ T h e d estru ctio n w as total.
F u r t h e r ex am p les o f a d jectiv es a s am plifiers th a t a re a ttrib u tiv e only:
u tte r folly th e absolute lim it

a close frien d a complete stran g er
a n e xtre m e en em y his entire salary
a g re a t s u p p o rte r a perfect stran g er
a strong o p p o n e n t total irresp o n sib ility
(c ) d o w n t o n e r s h av e a low ering effect, usually scalin g d o w n w ard s from

a n a s s u m e d n o rm . T h ey a re relatively few (eg: slight in a slight effort, feeble
in a fe e b le jo k e ) a n d c a n b e ignored for o u r p re sen t p u rp o se, sin ce th ey are
g e n e ra lly c e n tra l a d jectiv es.
7.34 M a n y o f th e in te n sify in g ad jectives in 7.33 c a n be re la te d to intensifying

a d v e r b s ( c /8 .104):
H e is a true sch o lar. H e is truly a scholar.

I t w a s a clear failu re. It w as clearly a failure.
I t is u tter folly to d o th a t. ~ I t is utterly foolish to do th at.
N o tic e th a t se v e ra l in ten sify in g adjectives h a v e h o m o n y m s th a t can o ccur

b o th a ttrib u tiv e ly a n d p red icativ ely . C o m p a re :
I d r a n k so m e pure [‘c le a n ’] w ater, [cen tral a d jectiv e]

~ T h e \y ate r is pure.
T h a t is p u te [‘sh e e r’] fa b ricatio n , [em phasizer]
~ T h e fa b ric a tio n is pure.
T h o s e a re real flow ers, [central adjective]
~ T h o se flow ers a re real, n o t artificial.
H e ’s a real ['u n d o u b te d ’] hero, [em phasizer]
•w T h e h e ro is real.
E x a m p le s o f in te n sify in g ad jectiv es w hich can o c cu r p red icativ ely in c lu d e :
H is c o n d e m n a tio n w as extrem e. T h eir v icto ry is certain.

H is folly w hs great. T h e e a rth q u a k e w as strong.
N o te M an y ad je c tiv e s w h ich can b e u sed as intensiiiers a n d are restricted to attrib u tiv e p o sitio n have
sev ere re s tric tio n s o n th e no u n s th e y m odify, eg: a greatlbig baby [‘v ery b ab y ish ’], a big fo o l [‘very
fo o lish ’] ; a lso a great fr ie n d ra th e r th a n a big fr ie n d in th e sense o f ‘very frien d ly ’.
R e stric tiv e adjectives

7.35 R e s tric tiv e a d jectiv es re stric t th e referen ce o f th e no u n exclusively,
p a rtic u la rly , o r chiefly. E x am p les, w ith in n o u n p h ra ses, in c lu d e :
a certain p erso n his c h ie f excuse

th e principal o b jectio n th e exact an sw e r
th e sa m e stu d e n t th e sole a rg u m e n t
th e on ly occasion the specific p o in t
a p a rticu la r child th e very m an
Syntactic subclassification o f adjectives 431
A g a in , som e o f th ese h av e ho m o n y m s. F o r exam ple, certain in a certain person

is a restric tiv e (e q u iv alen t to ‘a p a rtic u la r p erso n ’), w hile in a certain winner
it is (as we saw in 7.33, ex am p le [5]) an intensifier (e q u iv alen t to 4a su re
w in n e r’).
Som e re stric tiv e a d jectiv es c a n be related to restrictiv e a d v erb s ( c /8 .1 18):
I t is th e m ain reaso n . ^ I t is m ainly th e reason.

T h a t w as th e precise reaso n . ~ T h a t w as precisely th e reason.
N o te [a] N o tic e th e u se o f very a s a restrictiv e a d jectiv e rath er th a n as an in ten sify in g a d v e rb ( c / 7 .8 9 ) :

Y o u are the very m an I w ant.
T h e sam e m e a n in g ca n b e conveyed by restrictiv e adverbs outsid e th e n o u n p h ra se (w h ereas
very o cc u rs w ith in th e n o u n p h rase):
Y o u are p reciselyjexactiyjjust the m an I w an t.
[b]' ‘U n iv e rsa l’ ad jectiv es lik e whole ( c f 5.17), entire, fu l l a re sim ilar to restrictiv e ad je c tiv e s:
T h e whole situ a tio n is ridiculous.
I ’m in entire/full ag re e m e n t w ith th e co m m ittee.
O th e r adjectives related to adverbs

7.36 S om e n o n in h e re n t a d jectiv es th a t a re attrib u tiv e only c a n b e related to
a d v e rb s b u t d o n o t alw ays fall w ith in the intensifying o r restric tiv e ty p es o f
ad jectiv es. T h ese n o n in h e re n t ad jectiv es ( c /7 .4 3 ,7.73) in c lu d e :
m y fo rm e r frien d [‘fo rm erly m y frien d ’]

a n o ld frien d [‘a frien d o f o ld’]
p a st stu d e n ts [‘stu d e n ts in th e p a st’]
a possible frien d [‘p o ssib ly a frien d ’]
th e present k in g [‘th e k in g a t p re sen t’]
a n occasional v isito r [‘o ccasionally a v isito r’]
T h e a d v erb ial n a tu re o f th ese a d jectiv es c an b e seen in th e ir co rre sp o n d e n c es

w ith a v erb o f g en eral m ea n in g a n d a n a d v erb , eg:
rapid c alcu latio n s ‘m ak e c alcu latio n s rapidly’

occasional show ers ‘sh o w ers o c cu r occasionally’
T h ese v erb s {m ake, perform , act, occur, happen, take place, etc) c a n be seen
as lexical re alizatio n s o f th e p re d ic atio n al force th a t is in h e re n t in th e n o u n s.
E v en a n o u n lik e fr ie n d in m y fo rm e r frie n d signifies a n a ctiv ity , as a p p e a rs in
th e c o rre sp o n d en ce o f ‘a c tin g a s a frien d ’. Som e a d jectiv es re q u ire
im p lica tio n s a d d itio n a l to th e a d v e rb ia l:
th e late p re sid e n t [‘th e p e rso n w h o w as form erly th e p re sid e n t (b u t is

no w d e a d )’]
B u t c o m p a re:
the late bus [‘th e bus t h a t leav es late (in th e e vening)’ w h ere la te is a
c en tral ad jective]
th e fo rm e r re aso n [‘th e re aso n stated form erly’]
M an y o f th ese ad jectiv es h a v e a tem p o ral m eaning. W e m ig h t in clu d e w ith

th e m acting [‘for th e tim e b e in g ’], as in the acting chairman.
I f th e a d je c tiv e s p rem odify a g en tiv e no u n s, th e la tte r also su g g est a

re la tio n s h ip to a n associated v erb (c /n o m in aliz a tio n , 17.51)D :
a b ig e a te r [‘som eone w ho eats a lo t’]

a clever lia r [‘som eone w ho lies cleverly’]
a h a rd w o rk e r [‘som eone w h o w o rk s h a rd ’]
a heavy sm o k e r [‘som eone w h o sm o k es h eavily’]
a sou n d sle ep e r [‘som eone w ho sleeps soundly’]
N o te N o t a ll in sta n c e s lik e a clever liar in volve a restrictio n to attrib u tiv e position. P o ssib le conflict
w ith h o m o n y m s seem s a co n trib u to ry facto r. T h u s a clever liar. is analogous to a c le v e r.w riter , a
clever s tu d e n t , o r a clever detective. In all four in stan ces, clever refers to th e ab ility o f th e p erso n
in r e s p e c t o f th e refere n ce o f th e noun - clev er a s a liar, clever as a w riter, etc. H o w e v er, th e se
in sta n c e s co uld b e u sed predicatively, a n d so c a n an to n y m s o f clever:
T h a t w rite r is cleverflaxy.
T h a t s tu d e n t is clever j weak.
T h a t d e te c tiv e 'is clever/inefficient.
N ev e rth e le ss, w e n o rm ally c a n n o t use th ese ad jectiv es predicatively in th e in te n d e d sense w h en
the n o u n is p e jo ra tiv e :
a c/et.:erli;irl -/ ‘T h a t lia r is clev er.‘j
a b a d lia r [ ^ ‘T h a t liar is b a d .’]
O n th e o th e r h a n d , o n e th ie f m ig h t well say o f a n o th e r T h a t th ie f is good , b u t in th a t c a se h e is
n o t u s in g th ie f p ejo rativ ely . C f: H e is good at stealing, but bad a t lying.
A djectives re la te d to nouns
7.37 S om e a d je ctiv es a re d eriv ed fro m n o u n s by m ea n s o f suffixes ( c f A p p 1 .3 8 /),
eg-
- a r : polar h o u r -a n : urban p o p u latio n
- e n : earthen p o tte ry -a l : tidal w ave
- ic : atom ic scien tist - ly : yearly incom e
M an y su c h d e n o m in a l ad jectiv es a re n o n g ra d ab le an d restricted to a ttrib u tiv e

p o s itio n :
\
a n atom ic scien tist [‘a scien tist sp ecializin g in the th eo ry o f a to m s ’]
a crim inal c o u rt [‘a co u rt d ealin g w ith c rim e ’]
a crim inal law yer [‘a law yer sp ecializin g in cases o f crim e ’]
a polar b e a r [‘a b e ar living n e a r th e p ole’]
a m edical school [‘a school fo r stu d e n ts o f m ed icin e’]
m usical co m ed y [‘com edy a cc o m p a n ied b y m usic’]
a tid a l w av e [‘a w ave p ro d u ced b y th e tid e ’]
T h e e x am p les co n ta in nou n s w ith a d en o m in a l adjective re fe rrin g to th e

a ctiv ity o f th e a g en t o r expressing a n a d v erb ial relation. In o th e r uses, th e
sam e ite m m a y also b e a c en tral ad jectiv e, for exam ple criminal in a crim inal
law yer [‘a law y er w ho is c rim in al’] ( c /7 . 13).
Predicative o nly
7.38 A d jectiv es th a t a re restricted , o r v irtu ally restricted , to p re d ic ativ e p o s itio n
( c /7 .3 /) a re m o st like v erb s a n d ad v erb s. T h ey ten d to refer to a (p o ssib ly
tem p o rary ) c o n d itio n ra th e r th a n to ch ara cte riz e. P erh ap s th e m o st c o m m o n
are th o s e re fe rrin g to th e h e alth (or la c k o f h e alth ) o f a n a n im a te b e in g :
H e felt ill/poorly < b o th esp B r F f I well/faint/unwell.

S yntactic subclassification o f adjectives 433
H o w ev er, m an y p e o p le use su ch adjectives as a ttrib u tiv e s too, fo r e x am p le:
A well p erso n n e ed see a d o c to r only for a p erio d ic ch eck u p .
N o te S ic k is th e ex cep tio n am o n g th e se ‘h e a lth ’ ad jectives in th a t its attrib u tiv e use is very c o m m o n :

th e sick w om an [‘T h e w o m an is sick .’]
B e sick is especially A m E co rresp o n d in g to b e ill in BrE. B e sick can also m e a n ‘v o m it’ in b o th
A m E an d B rE , esp ecially w ith a v erb in th e progressive o r an ad v e rb ial in te rp re ta b le a s a g o a l :
S he is being sick.
T h e dog w as sick o n th e new ca rp e t.
T h is use o f sick is e u p h e m istic, an d ill is occasionally used in th e sam e w ay. F o r co m p a ra tiv e
form s o f ill, c f l . l l .
7.39 A larg e g roup o f a d jectiv es th a t a re restricted to p re d ic ativ e p o sitio n

c o m p rises a d jectiv es w h ich c a n ta k e c o m p le m e n ta tio n :
I ’m aware o f that.
She w as g la d th a t everything was all right.
O th e r ad jectiv es w h ic h ta k e c o m p lem en tatio n in clu d e ( c f \ 6 .6 i f f) :
able (to + in fin itiv e) fo n d (o f)

afraid (that, o f, a b o u t ) happy (that, to, with, about)
answerable (to) loath (to)
averse (to, fr o m ) subject (to)
conscious (that, o f ) tantam ount (to)
S om e o f th ese ad je ctiv es m u st ta k e c o m p lem en tatio n (eg: subject to a n d

tantam ount to ), a n d m a n y n o rm ally do.
M an y o f th ese a d je ctiv es closely resem ble v e rb s se m a n tic a lly :
H e is afraid to d o it. [‘H e fe a rs to do it.’]

T h ey are f o n d o f h er. [‘T h ey like her. ’]
T h a t is tantam ount to a n u ltim atu m .
[‘T h a t am ounts to a n u ltim atu m .’]
Som e c o n stru ctio n s lik e be willing to an d be able to fu n ctio n lik e m o d als w h ere
th e m o d al a u x iliary p a ra d ig m is d efectiv e ( c /3 .39#'). C o m p a re :
She can d o it. ~ She is able to do it.

She could d o it. ~ She was able to d o it.
_____________ She has been able to d o it.
_____________ She m ight have been able to d o it.
Som e o f th ese a d je ctiv es th a t a re restricted to p re d ic ativ e p o sitio n h a v e

h om onym s th a t c a n o c cu r b o th p red icativ ely a n d attrib u tiv ely , e g :
th e conscious p a tie n t ~ T h e p a tie n t is conscious. [ = ‘aw a k e ’]

C /: H e is conscious o f his faults. [ = ‘a w a re ’]
W ith som e ad je ctiv es th a t ta k e co m p le m e n ta tio n th ere a p p e a rs to b e no

se m an tic d istin c tio n , a n d w e m u st say th a t th ey can freely o ccu r in b o th
positio n s, eg: eager, indignant, surprised.
N o te [a] M o st o f th e a d jectiv es b e g in n in g w ith a- are p red icativ e only (c /7 .1 0 /) . A s w e h a v e seen

above, several o f th e m c a n ta k e co m p lem en tatio n , eg: afraid, averse.
[bj I t is n o t usually p o ssib le fo r th e ad jectiv e to be com plem ent if th e su b je c t is in definite, an d

h e n c e th e o d d n e ss o f [ 1J (c /1 9,70/') co m p ared w ith [2]. A n ex c ep tio n o ccu rs.w ith th e g en eric use
o f th e in d e fin ite a rtic le ( c / 5 . 5 2 /), as in [3]:
* A str e e t is w id e. [1]
T h e street is w id e . [2]
A tiger is d a n g e ro u s. [3]
Sem antic subclassification of adjectives
7.40 S o m e o f th e se m a n tic d istin c tio n s th a t we are a b o u t to m a k e have already

b e e n m e n tio n e d b e ca u se th ey h av e syntactic correlates.
T h r e e s e m a n tic scales a re ap p licab le to a d jectiv es: s t a t i v e / d y n a m i c ,
g r a d a b l e / n o n g r a d a b l e , a n d i n h e r e n t / n o n i n h e r e n t . I t is im p o rta n t to
re aliz e th a t w e a re d ealin g w ith scales ra th e r th a n w ith a featu re th a t is
p re s e n t o r a b s e n t. T h a t is to say, n o t all th e realiz a tio n s o f a featu re are
a v a ila b le in e a c h case. F u rth e rm o re , th ere m ay be id io le ctal v a ria tio n s in the
re c o g n itio n o f a fe a tu re o r in th e accep tab ility o f its realiz a tio n s.
Sta tive /dyna m ic

7.41 A d je c tiv e s a r e ‘c h ara c te ris tic a lly stativ e. M an y ad jectiv es, how ev er, c a n be
seen a s d y n a m jc (c /2 .4 3 ). In p a rticu la r, m o st ad jectiv es th a t a re susceptible
to su b je ctiv e m e a su re m e n t (c /7 .7 4 ) a re c ap ab le o f b e in g d y n am ic. S tativ e
a n d d y n a m ic a d je c tiv e s differ sy n tactically in a n u m b e r o f w ays. F o r exam ple,
a s ta tiv e a d je c tiv e su ch as ta ll can n o t be used w ith th e p ro g ressiv e asp ect o r
w ith th e im p e ra tiv e :
* H e ’s b e in g tall. * Be tall.
O n th e o th e r h a n d , w e c a n use careful as a d y n am ic a d je c tiv e :
H e ’s b e in g careful. Be careful.
(F o r o th e r d ifferen ces, c /3 .6 6 .) A general sem an tic fe a tu re o f d y n am ic

a d je ctiv es s e e m ! to b e th a t th ey d en o te q u alities th a t a re th o u g h t to be subject
to c o n tro l b y th e p o ssesso r a n d hence c an be re stric te d tem p o rally .
A d je c tiv e s t h a t c a n b e used dyn am ically in clu d e:
a b u s iv e a d o rab le a m b itio u s
a w k w a rd b rav e calm
c a re fu l careless c h eerfu l
c le v e r co m p lacen t co n ce ite d
cru el d isag reeab le dull
e n th u s ia s tic ex tra v ag a n t fa ith fu l
fo o lish frien d ly fu n n y
g e n e ro u s gentle good
g re e d y h asty helpful
im p a tie n t im p u d e n t irrita b le
Sem antic subclassification of adjectives 435
irrita tin g jealo u s k in d

len ie n t loyal m ischievous
n a u g h ty n ice noisy
o b stin ate p a tie n t playful
reaso n ab le ru d e sensible
serious shy slow
spiteful stu b b o rn stupid
suspicious tac tfu l talk ativ e
th o u g h tfu l tid y tim id
tro u b leso m e u n fa ith fu l unscrupulous
un tid y v a in vicious
v u lg ar w icked w itty
Gradable/nongradable
7.42 M o st a d jectiv es a re g ra d a b le . G ra d a b ility is m an ifested th ro u g h c o m p a ris o n
( c /7 .7 4 # ) :
tall ~ taller ~ tallest

b e au tifu l ~ m ore b e au tifu l ~ m ost b eautiful
G ra d a b ility is also m a n ife s te d th ro u g h m o d ificatio n by intensifiers, ie a d v e rb s
w h ic h co nvey th e d e g ree o f in ten sity o f th e a d je c tiv e :
very tall so b e au tifu l extrem ely useful
G ra d a b ility ap p lie s to a d v erb s as w ell as ad jectiv es, a n d h en ce it is c o n sid e re d

below in re la tio n to b o th classes (c /7 .7 4 # ).
A ll d y n a m ic a n d m o st s ta tiv e ad jectiv es (eg: tall, old) a re g ra d a b le ; so m e
s ta tiv e ad jectiv es a re n o t, p rin cip ally d e n o m in a l adjectives lik e a to m ic
scientist a n d hydrochloric acid (c/7 .3 7 ), a n d ad jectiv es d en o tin g p ro v e n a n c e ,
eg'.B ritish ( c f 7.4 5 ; b u t c / t h e q u a litativ e u se o f n a tio n a lity ad jectiv es in 7.87).
Inherent/noninherent
7.43 T h e d is tin c tio n b e tw ee n in h e re n t an d n o n in h e re n t adjectives h a s b e e n
discu ssed in 7.32. M o st a d jectiv es are in h ere n t, th a t is to say, th ey c h a ra c te riz e
th e re fe re n t o f th e n o u n d irectly . F o r ex am p le, th e in h ere n t ad jectiv e in a
wooden cross a p p lie s to th e re fe re n t o f th e o b ject d irectly ; a w oo d en c ro ss is
also a w oo d en o b ject. O n th e o th e r h a n d , in a wooden actor the a d je ctiv e is
n o n in h e r e n t: a w o o d en a c to r is n o t (p resu m ab ly ) a w ooden m an . S om e o th e r
ex am p les:
IN H E R E N T N O N IN H E R E N T
a fir m h a n d s h a k e a fir m friend
a perfect alib i a p erfect stra n g er
a certain resu lt a certain w in n e r
a true re p o rt a true scholar
M o d ificatio n o f a n o u n b y m ea n s o f a n o n in h e re n t adjective c a n b e seen a s

a n ex te n sio n o f th e b asic sense o f th e n o u n . T h u s a fir m frie n d is ‘a frie n d
w h o se frien d sh ip is firm ’, a n d a p erfect stranger is ‘a stran g er w ho is p e rfectly
stra n g e ’.
I f th e ad jectiv e is in h eren t, it is o ften possible to d eriv e a no u n fro m it

( c /1 7 .5 1 # ) :
h e r soft to u c h ~ th e softness o f h e r to u ch
H o w ev e r, w ith a n o n in h ere n t adjective n o such d e riv a tio n is possible.

C o m p a re :
a.fir m h a n d s h a k e ~ the firm ness o f th e h an d sh ak e

a f ir m frien d * lh e fir m n e s s o l th e frien d
a true re p o rt ~ th e truth o f th e re p o rt
a true sc h o lar -*• * th e truth o f th e scholar
T h e re a re, h o w ev er, e x cep tio n s to th is g en eralizatio n , sin ce w e find in stan ces

lik e :
a wooden a c to r ~ th e woodenness o f th e a cto r
Patterns of sem antic subclassification

7 .4 4 G ra d a b le a d je ctiv es a re e ith e r in h eren t, as in a black coat, o r n o n in h ere n t, as
in a n ew friend. D y n a m ic adjectives a re g en erally in h eren t, th o u g h th ere are
e x ce p tio n s; fo r ex am p le, wooden in The actor is being wooden is b o th d y n am ic
an d n o n in h e re n t.
T able 7.44 g iv es exam ples o f a d jectiv es th a t illu strate th e v arious
p o ssib ilities w ith re sp ec t to th e th ree sem an tic d istin ctio n s th a t w e have b een
discussing.
Table 7.44 Sem antic subclassification of adjectives
q r F d F | l e IN H E R E N T S T A TIV E
+ + + That’s a big boat; She is a brave woman,

[central adjectives]
+ + - She is being very brave.
[dynamic use o f central adjective]
+ + He is a firm friend; He is a wooden actor,
r [peripheral adjectives: noninherent]
+ - - This actor is being wooden tonight,
[dynamic use o f stative adjective]
+ She is a medical student.
[peripheral adjective: nongradable and
noninherent]
N o te In a d u ll teacher, th e ad jectiv e dull is n o n in h e ren t, sin ce a dull te ach er is n o t necessarily a dull

p erso n . H ow ever, in th e follow ing sen ten ce dull is b ein g used dynam ically an d is now in h e re n t:
T h e teach er is b e in g dull.
In th is case th e p ro c e ss o f being dull is ascribed to th e te ach er, b u t th e sam e quality is ascrib ed
to th e referent o f th e su b jec t if we rep lace the teacher by a n o th e r desig n atio n fo r th e p e rs o n :
T h a t m a n 'I . . . ...
M rs J o n e s ) * b e '"S
O rdering o f adjectives in prem odification 437
Ordering of adjectives in premodification

7.45 W h e n th ere a re tw o o r m o re ad jectiv es cooccurring in a ttrib u tiv e p o sitio n ,
th e o rd e r o f th e adjectives is to a large extent d e term in ed by th e ir s e m a n tic
p ro p e rties. T h e p rin cip les for th e o rd er o f item s in p re m o d ifica tio n a re
d iscu ssed in 17.113^. H ere w e w ill only m en tio n th e m ajo r zones, o r p o sitio n a l
ran g es, o f ad jectiv es in p rem o d ify in g p o sitio n in relatio n to th e se m an tic a n d
sy n ta ctic subclassification p ro v id e d in th is c h ap ter.
In th e p rem o d ificatio n stru c tu re o f th e n o u n p h ra se, ad jectiv es a re p lac ed
b etw een th e d e te rm in a tiv e s (in clu d in g p red eterm in ers, c en tral d e te rm in e rs,
an d p o std eterm in ers) a n d th e h e ad o f the no u n p h ra se (c /5 . I # ) . W e
d istin g u ish fo u r z o n e s:
( I ) P R EC EN TR A L
H e re, a fte r th e d ete rm in a tiv e s, is w h ere p erip h eral, n o n g ra d ab le ad je ctiv es
a re p laced , in p a rticu la r th e in ten sify in g adjectives (em p h asizers, am p lifiers,
a n d d o w n to n e rs; c /7 .3 3 ), eg: certain, definite, sheer, complete, slight.
(II) C EN TR A L
T h is zo n e is th e p lace o f th e c en tral adjectives, ie th e ‘m o st a d je c tiv a l ite m s’,
w h ich satisfy all four c rite ria fo r adjective statu s ( c /7 .3 /) , eg: hungry, ugly,
fu n n y , stupid, silent, rich, em pty.
(III) POSTCENTRAL
T h is z one includes p articip les, eg: retired, sleeping, an d co lo u r a d jectiv es, eg:
red, pink.
(IV ) PR EH EA D
T h is zone in clu d es th e ‘least a d je ctiv al and th e m ost n o m in a l’ item s, such as
d e n o m in a l ad jectiv es (c /7 .3 7 ) d e n o tin g n atio n ality , e th n ic b a c k g ro u n d , eg:
Austrian, M idw estern, a n d d e n o m in a l adjectives w ith th e m e a n in g ‘co n sistin g
o f ’, ‘in v o lv in g ’, ‘relatin g to ’, eg: experim ental, statistical, political, statutory.
In th e p re h ea d zone we also find n ouns in attrib u tiv e p o sitio n ( c f fu rth e r
17.113#).
O n th e b asis o f th is classificatio n , w e can expect th e follow ing o rd e r:
I + 11 certain im portant people

I + III th e sam e restricted incom e
I + IV y o u r present annual tu rn o v er
II + III a fu n n y red h a t
11 + IV a n enorm ous tidal w ave
I + II + IV certain rich Am erican producers
ADVERBS
Characteristics of the adverb
7.46 T h e a d v e rb fu n c tio n s as th e head o f a n ad v erb p h rase, w ith o r w ith o u t

m o d ific a tio n (c /2 .3 1 ). F o r th e sake o f sim plicity, w e refer to th e fu n c tio n s o f
th e ‘a d v e rb ’ w h e n , strictly sp eak in g , w e should refer to th e fu n c tio n s o f th e
‘a d v e r b p h ra s e ’. F o r th e sam e reason, w e generally ex em p lify th e fu n ctio n s
o f t h e a d v e rb p h ra se w ith th e ad v erb alone.
B e ca u se o f its g re at h etero g en eity , th e a d v erb class is th e m o st neb u lo u s
a n d p u zzlin g o f th e tra d itio n a l w ord classes. In d eed , it is te m p tin g to say
sim p ly th a t th e a d v erb is a n item th a t does n o t fit th e d efin itio n s fo r o th e r
w o rd classes. A s a co n seq u en ce, som e g ra m m aria n s h av e re m o v e d c ertain
ty p e s o f item s fro m th e class en tirely , a n d estab lish ed se v e ra l a d d itio n a l
cla sses ra th e r th a n re ta in th ese as su b sets w ith in a single a d v e rb class.
M o rp h o lo g ica lly , we c a n d istin g u ish th ree types o f a d v erb , o f w h ic h tw o
a re clo sed classes (sim ple a n d co m p o u n d ), an d o n e is a n o p e n class
(d e riv a tio n a l):
(a ) s i m p l e a d v erb s, eg: ju s t, only, well. M an y sim ple a d v e rb s d en o te

p o sitio n a n d d irec tio n , eg: back, down, near, out, under ( c f fu rth e r
8 .3 9 # ).
(b ) c o m p o u n d ad v erb s, eg: som ehow, somewhere, therefore', a n d < th e very

fo rm a l) whereupon, hereby, herewith, whereto
(c) d e r i v a t i o n a l a d v erb s. T h e m ajo rity o f d eriv a tio n a l a d v e rb s h a v e th e

suffix -ly, b y m ea n s o f w h ich n ew a d v erb s are crea te d fro m ad jectiv es
(a n d p a rtic ip ia l a d je c tiv e s ):
o d d ~ oddly
interesting ~ interestingly
O th e r, less com m on, d e riv a tio n a l suffixes ( c f A p p 1.41) a re :
-wise: clockw ise -ways: sidew ays

-ward(s): n o rth w ard (s) -style: cow boy-style
-fa sh tp n : schoolboy-fashion
N o te [a] C o rre sp o n d in g to th e p re p o sitio n al p h rase towards the south (ea st/northfw est ) th e re a re th e
ad v e rb s south , southw ard , a n d southwards , etc. T h e s-less form southw ard , e tc is co m m o n ,
esp ecially in p rin te d A m E {cf: towards/tow ard , 9.17):
{
south < m ost c o m m o n )
southw ards
southw ard <esp p rin te d A m E )

C o m p a re o th e r ad v e rb ex p ressio n s:
( hontefup <m ost co m m o n )
W e w alk e d < hom ew ardsjupw ards
[hom ew ardjupw ard <esp p rin ted A m E )
[b] T h e c re a tio n o f ad v e rb s fro m ad jectives by ad d in g th e -ly suffix is closely related to th e
d y n am ic q u a lity in th e ad jectiv e { c f l . 41). T h u s w e hav e , for exam ple:
cheerful ~ cheerfully suspicious ~ suspiciously
je a lo u s ~ jealously reasonable — reasonably
A dverb as clause element 439
B ut we d o n o t fin d French -v *Frenchly, etc. It ap p e ars th ^ t -ly ad v e rb s are not form ed f r o m

typically stativ e a d jectiv e classes, such as ad jectives d en o tin g :
d im en sio n : big ~ * b ig l y ta li * ta lly
colour: red ~ * redly blonde - *blondely
age: o ld ~ * o ld ly young -*-*youngly
1A1 R ules for fo rm in g o p en -class -ly a d v erb s fro m a d je c tiv e s:
(a) A d jectiv es e n d in g in c o n so n an t + -le form ad v erb s by rep lacin g -le b y

-ly: sim p /e ~ sim ply. E x ce p tio n : whole ~ wholly.
(b) In ad je ctiv es e n d in g in c o n so n an t -t- y , y is usually replaced by i b e fo re

-ly : happy ~ happily. I n som e cases th ere ex ist a lte rn a tiv e spellings :
dry ~ d rily /d ry ly sly ~ slily/slyly
In o th e r cases, -y is k e p t in th e a d v e rb :
sp ry ~ sp ry ly w ry ~ wryly
N o te th e sp e llin g s: coy ~ coyly b u t gay ~ gaily; due ~ duly , true ~ truly.
(c) A d jectiv es e n d in g in b o th -ic an d -ical h a v e co rresp o n d in g ad v erb s in

-ically:
eco n o m ic 1 . „ trag ic ] . . „
. , > ~ econom ically . . , > ~ tragically
eco n o m tca/J tragica/J
E x c e p tio n : public ~ publicly
(d) -ed p a rtic ip le s fo rm ad v erb s in -edly w ith th e p ro n u n c ia tio n /id li/

(c /7 .1 9 ):
m a rk e d /m a :rk t/ ~ m ark ed ly /'m m 'k id h /

lea rn ed /'l3:rm d / ~ learn edly /'l3:rm dli/
assu red /3lJu o rd / ~ assuredly /o 'Ju an d li/
(e) A d jectiv es in -ary fo rm a d v erb s in -arily w ith s h ift o f stress, in A m E , to

th e a n te p e n u ltim a te syllable. T h is stress sh ift is now freq u en t also in-B rE-
( c /A p p II.5 N o te ) :
, f ~ .secon'd arily <esp A m E >

'se c o n d a ry < ,
1 [ ~ seco n d arily
, . f ~ .pri'm arily <esp A m E )
'p rim a ry I .
[ ~ p rim a rily
Adverb as clause element

7.48 T h ere a re tw o ty p es o f sy n ta ctic fu n ctio n s th a t c h ara cte riz e th e tra d itio n a l
a d v erb s, b u t a n a d v e rb n e ed h a v e only o n e o f th e s e :
(a) clau se ele m en t a d v e rb ia l:
H e quite forgot a b o u t it.

(b ) p re m o d ifier o f ad jectiv e a n d a d v e rb :
T h ey are quite / ^ a PPy-

J [h a p p ily m arried.
A n a d v e r b m ay fu n c tio n in th e clause itself as a d v erb ial, ie as a n elem en t

d is tin c t fro m subject, v erb , object, a n d c o m p lem en t. A s such it is usually an
o p tio n a l e lem en t a n d h en ce p e rip h e ral to th e stru c tu re o f th e clause ( c /2 .15):
P erh a p s m y su g g estio n will be accepted.

J o h n alw ays loses h is pencils.
T h e y m ay well co m p la in a b o u t his a p p earan ce.
H e h a s nevertheless refused to a cc ep t o u r excuse.
I s p o k e t o h e r outside.
T h e r e a re , o f co u rse, differences b etw een th e ad v erb ials in th e above

s e n te n c e s , m o st o b v io u sly th e differences in th e ir p o sitio n a n d in th eir
re la tio n s h ip to o th e r e lem en ts o f th e sentence ( c f C h a p te r 8).
N o te [a] C e r t a in ad v e rb s m a y fu n ctio n as subject (c/10.15 N o tes [a] a n d [b]), eg:

Tom orrow w ill b e fine. [T t w ill be fine to m orrow .’]
[b] T h e a d v e rb m ay itse lf b e m odified, in w h ich case th e ad v e rb p h rase as a w hole fu n ctio n s as
a d v e rb ia l o r prem o d ifier:
J o h n nearly alw ays lo ses h is pencils. so very helpful
T h e y m ay very well c o m p lain a b o u t his ap p e aran ce . f a r too o fte n
A d ju n c ts , subjuncts, disjuncts, and conjuncts

7.49 T h e fu n c tio n s o f th e a d v e rb as th e clause elem en t a d v erb ial are e x am in ed in
C h a p te r 8. F o r th e p re se n t, w e m erely o u tlin e th e fo u r g ra m m atica l fu n ctio n s
th a t a re d iscussed in th a t c h a p te r: ad ju n cts, su b ju n cts, d isju n cts, a n d
c o n ju n c ts.
F d j u n c t s an d s u | j u n c t s are relatively in te g rate d w ith in th e stru ctu re o f
th e c la u se ( c /8 .p 5 # 8 .8 8 # ). E x am p les o f a d ju n cts:
S lo w ly th ey w a lk ed b a c k hom e.
H e sp o k e to m e a b o u t it briefly.
E x a m p le s o f s u b ju n c ts:
W e h a v en jt y e t finished.
W o u ld yoil k in d ly w a it for m e.
B y c o n tra st, d isju n cts a n d co n ju n cts have a m o re p e rip h e ra l relatio n in th e

se n te n c e . Sem antically, d i s j u n c t s ( c f 8 .1 2 1 # ) ex p ress a n e v alu atio n o f w h a t
is b e in g said e ith e r w ith re sp ec t to th e form o f th e c o m m u n icatio n o r to its
m e a n in g . W e id en tify d isju n cts w ith th e sp e a k er’s a u th o rity for, o r c o m m en t
o n , th e a cc o m p an y in g clau se:
F ra n k ly , I ’m tired .
Fortunately, n o o n e c o m p lain ed .
T h e y a re probably a t hom e.
She wisely d id n ’t a tte m p t to apologize.
c o n j u n c t s ( c / 8 . 1 3 4 ^ ) e x p r e s s t h e s p e a k e r ’s a s s e s s m e n t o f t h e r e l a t i o n
b e t w e e n t w o l in g u is tic u n i t s , eg:
Th e adverb and other w o rd classes 441
She h as b o u g h t a big house, so she m u st have a lo t o f m oney.

W e h av e c o m p lain ed several tim es ab o u t th e noise, a n d y e t h e does
n o th in g a b o u t it.
All o u r frien d s a re going to P a ris th is sum m er. W e, however, a re g o in g
to L o n d o n .
I f th ey o p e n all th e w indow s, then I’m leaving.
I d id n ’t in v ite her. She w o u ld n ’t h av e com e, anyway.
Adverb as modifier
7.50 A n a d v erb m ay fu n c tio n as a m o d ifier o f a n adjective o r o f a n o th e r a d v e rb .

(In th e ex am p les, th e m o d ifier is in d icated by italics a n d th e m o d ified
c o n stitu e n t is in d ic a te d by angle b rack ets.) E x am p les o f ad v erb s a s m o d ifiers
o f a d jectiv es [ 1 ,2 ,6 ] an d a d v erb s [3-5]:
T h ey a re very <happy> . [1]

I t w as a rem arkably <good> show . , [2]
She d riv es too <fast>. * [3]
T h ey p lay so <very> well. [4]
H e gave a fa r <m ore e asily ) a ccep tab le e x p lan atio n . [5]
H e is <stupid> enough to d o it. [6]
I n th is fu n ctio n , th e ad v erb g en erally prem odifies, ex cep t th a t enough, a s in

[6], c a n o nly p o stm odify. T h e ite m b eing m odified m ay its e lf fu n c tio n a s a
m odifier. F o r ex am p le, th e a d jectiv e good prem odifies th e n o u n show in [2],
w h ile m ore easily m odifies acceptable in [5], an d th e a d v erb very p re m o d ifies
th e a d v e rb well in [4], In b o th [2] a n d [5], th e a d v erb is w ith in a n o u n p h ra se.
A d v e rb s fu n ctio n in g a s m odifiers o f adjectives a n d a d v erb s w ill b e f u rth e r
d iscu ssed in 7.56#. H o w ev er, n o t all ad v erb s th a t m odify a d je ctiv es also
m o d ify ad v erb s ( c f 7.60), a n d som e ad v erb s m ay m odify p h ra ses, viz n o u n
p h ra se s a n d p re p o sitio n a l p h rases. T h e m ost consp icu o u s ex am p le o f a n
a d v e rb th a t fu n ctio n s only as a m o d ifier o f adjectives a n d a d v erb s, a n d n o t
as a clau se e lem en t, is very. (F o r very as a n ad jectiv e, c f 7.35 N o te [a].)
The adverb and other w ord classes
7.51 W e n o w briefly c o n sid er som e e x am p les o f o v erlap b etw een th e a d v e rb c lass

a n d o th e r w ord classes. S im ilarities b etw een a d v erb s a n d a d jectiv es h a v e
b e en d iscu ssed e arlie r ( c /7 .6 # ). T h e o th er relev an t w o rd classes a re
co n ju n ctio n s, p rep o sitio n s, a n d in terjectio n s. W e also ta k e in to a c c o u n t
c e rta in w o rd s (o th er th a n c o n ju n ctio n s a n d som e c o n ju n ct a d v erb s) th a t m u st
be p o sitio n e d in itially , b u t th ese a re n o t trad itio n ally reco g n ized as se p a ra te
w ord classes.
C o n ju n c t adverb and conjunction

7.52 A f e w co n ju n ct ad v erb s, such as so a n d y e t, resem ble c o o rd in a to rs
( c o o rd in a tin g c o n ju n ctio n s) b o th in b e in g c o n n ectiv es a n d in h a v in g c e rta in
sy n ta c tic fe atu res ( c f 13.11). In p a rticu la r, th ese ad v erb s c a n n o t be tran sp o se d
w ith th e ir clau se in fro n t o f th e p re ce d in g clause. T h u s, th e o rd e r o f th e
fo llo w in g tw o clau ses (w ith th e c o n ju n ct a d v erb so in th e second clau se) is
fixed:
W e p a id h im a very large sum . S o h e k e p t q u iet a b o u t w h at h e saw . [1]
I f w e in v e rt th e o rd e r o f th e clauses, th e re la tio n sh ip b etw een th e tw o clau ses

is c h a n g e d , a n d so m u st n ow refer to som e p reced in g c la u se :
S o h e k e p t q u ie t a b o u t w h at he saw . W e p a id h im a very larg e su m . [2]
H o w ev e r, th e co n ju n c t ad v erb s differ fro m co o rd in a to rs in th a t th e y c a n be

p re c e d e d by a c o o r d in a to r :
W e p a id h im a very larg e sum , a n d so h e k e p t q u iet a b o u t w h a t

h e saw . [la ]
T h e re stric tio n o n th e o rd e r o f clauses also d istin g u ish es th e c o n ju n c t

a d v e rb s fro m su b o rd in a to rs, a n o th e r ty p e o f con n ectiv e. F o r e x am p le, a
clause in tro d u c e d by th e su b o rd in a to r because c an follow o r p re c e d e th e
m a trix clau se w ith o u t d istu rb in g th e re la tio n sh ip b etw een th e tw o clau ses ( c f
1 4 .4 # ):
f H e will h e lp u s because w e offered to p a y h im . [3]

\.B ecause w e o ffered to p a y him , h e will h elp us. [3a]
A d ju n c t adverb and conjunction

7.53 A few su b o rd in a to rs c a n be seen to be a fu sio n o f c o n ju n ctio n a n d p ro
ad ju n c t (c /1 5 .8 ), in p a rtic u la r when [tim e], where [place a t o r p lace to], how
[m an n er], w hy [Reason].
W here a n d when in tro d u ce a d v erb ial clauses (c/1 5 .3 1 ):
H e saw th e m -j . . I th ey w ere in R om e.
I a t the tim e(s) a t which j
1 11 go ^ place(s) to wWc/z} t*ie ^ g 0 '
W e ’U g° { l htheplace(s) a t w hich} th e f° ° d is g° ° d '
H e ’ll s ta y I W^ [ e , , . . . , 1 it is com fo rtab le.

[ a t the place(s) a t which J
Where a n d when, a n d to a lesser e x te n t w hy, a re also used as re la tiv e s

(c /1 7 .1 8 # ) :
th e p la c e j h e ' s stay in g [1]
th e tim e \ w^ en I she w as h e re [2]

l a / which]
Th e adverb and other w o rd classes 443
W here, when, w hy, a n d how are all used to in tro d u ce n o m in a l clauses

( c /1 5 .8 /) :
l kn0W { a t which p la ce } h e is s t a 7 in g- [ la ]
I w on d er ' ))■. she w as here. [2a]

at which t e I1 '
hich tim
I realize , , . , } h e d id it. [3]

\th e rea so n fo r w hich J
T h a t w as i ^ ? w , . . > th ey trea te d h er. [4]

. I m e w ay m which J
T h ese fo u r vr/i-words a re also used as in te rro g ativ e p ro-form s (c /1 1 .1 4 ):
A t hw h a tp la c e ) i s h e S U y'm s l [lb ]
1 w as sh e h e re? [2b]
A t what tim e J
, ) d id he d o it? [3a]
F o r what reason j
^ ° W, j d id th ey tre a t h e r? [4a]
In what w ay J
T h e fu n ctio n o f where, when, an d how as p ro -fo rm s fo r a d ju n cts is clearly

d e m o n stra ted in th e few c ases w here a v erb req u ires c o m p le m e n ta tio n b y an
o b lig ato ry p re d ic a tio n { c f 8.21 f f ) :
*She p u t it. [5]

* H e lived. [6]
T h e y tre a te d h er. [u n accep tab le in th e sense ‘b e h av ed to w ard s
h e r’] [7]
T h ese sen ten ces b eco m e acc ep ta b le if a n ad ju n c t o f th e a p p ro p ria te ty p e is

ad d ed :
S h e p u t it there. [5a]
H e lived then. [6a]
T h ey tre a te d h e r well. [7a]
B ut c o m p le m e n ta tio n c a n also be p ro v id ed by th e a p p ro p ria te su b o rd in a to rs,

ev id en ce th a t th ey a re fu n c tio n in g as p ro -ad ju n c ts:
H e found it where sh e p u t it. [5b]

I w o n d er when h e liv ed . [6b]
I saw how th e y tre a te d h er. [7b]
I n a sen ten ce su ch as [5c], o n e could argue th a t where is fu n ctio n in g as an

ad ju n c t in b o th clauses, w h ic h h a v e b e en m ad e to o v erlap by th e s u b o rd in a to r:
She p u t it where he c o u ld find it. [5c]

[ She p u t it there.
There h e c ould find it.
444 A d je c tiv e s artd adverbs
O n th e o th e r h a n d , it is equally possible to a rg u e th a t th e o b lig ato ry

c o m p le m e n ta tio n o f a p lace ad ju n c t is satisfied by th e w hole clause o f place
r a th e r t h a n by w h e r e . T h e sam e reasoning a p p lie s to th e o bligatory
c o m p le m e n ta tio n for tr e a t pro v id ed by clauses o f m a n n e r a n d co m p ariso n
(o f 1 5 .2 2 ):
■ * ... f a s h e d eserved.
S h e tre a te d h im 1 ,
\ a s th o u g h h e w e re a s tr a n g e r .
N o te M o st o f th e o th e r u'/j-w ords a re p ro -fo rm s for noun phrases a n d c a n clearly fu n ctio n as clause

e le m e n ts : w ho, whom, which (c /1 0 .6 N o te [e]).
R e a ctio n signal and initiator

7.54 A p a r t f r o m co n ju n c tio n s a n d som e co n ju n ct a d v erb s, c e rta in o th er item s
m u st b e p o s itio n e d in itially . T h ey are im p o rta n t b ecau se o f th e ir h ig h
fre q u e n c y in sp o k e n E n g lish . Som e are restricted to th e sp o k e n language.
T h e s e c a n b e a ssig n ed to tw o sm all classes ( c /1 1 .5 4 /):
( i) ‘r e a c t i o n s i g n a l s ’, e g : n o , y e s , y e a h , y e p , m , h m , m h m
(ii) ‘in itia to r s ’, e g : w e ll, o h , a h : o h w e ll, w e ll th e n , w h y <esp A m E >
H e re is a n e x am p le fro m a c o n v ersatio n (c f A p p I I fo r th e p ro so d ic n o ta tio n ):
\6 h \ j w e l l ] o f |c o u r s e h e ’ll b e w o r k in g w i t h o v e r s e a s jS T U d e n ts |. |w e ll f
K £5j jb u t f h e ’s w o R K i n g w i t h fD lB b le | |w e ll w o | h e ’s i n t h e d e p a r t m e n t
o f E n g l i s h L lT e ra tu re ]
A d ju n c t and preposition
7.55 T h e re a r e sev eral d ifferen t types o f c o m b in atio n s o f v e rb s plus p a rticles
( c f \ 6 .2 f f ) . I f th e v erb is in tra n sitiv e , we can reco g n ize th e p a rticle as a
p r e p o s itio n a l a d v e rb ( c /9 .6 5 /) fu n ctio n in g a s ad ju n ct, e g :
T h e m e n lo o k ed o n .
S h e is g ro w in g u p quickly.
T h e a irlin e r h a s ta k e n o ff.
T h e p ris o n e r b ro k e d o w n a fte r m an y hours o f in te rro g atio n .
I
W h e n a n o u n p h ra se follow s th e particle, it so m etim es a p p e a rs as if w e h a v e
a p r e p o s itio n a l p h ra se , w ith th e p article as p re p o sitio n :
H e to o k in th e dog. [ 1]
H o w e v e r, th e a d v e rb ia l n a tu re o f th e p article in such p h ra sa l verbs ( c f l 6 .3 f f )

is g e n e ra lly sh o w n by its m o b ility , its a b ility to follow th e n o u n p h ra se:
H e t o o k th e d o g in . [1 a]
S im ila rly :
f T h e y tu rn e d d o w n th e suggestion. [2]
[ T h e y tu rn e d th e su g g estio n d o w n . [2a]
f T h e y tu rn e d o n th e lig h t. [3]
[ T h e y tu rn e d th e lig h t o n . [3a]
Syntactic functions of adverbs 445
In c o n tra st, a p re p o sitio n m u st be directly follow ed by its co m p le m e n t:
f T h ey to o k to J o h n quickly. [4 ]
{
1 *T hey to o k J o h n to quickly. [4 a ]
T h e in stan c es w e h a v e m en tio n ed so fa r are n o t to b e co n fu sed w ith

ex am p les lik e [5] a n d [6 ]. C o m p are:
[5 ]
[5 a ]
[5 b ]
[6]
[6 a ]
[6b]
P ast in [5] a n d about in [6 ] are p rep o sitio n al ad v erb s, w h ich c a n b e re g a rd e d
a s p re p o sitio n s w ith som e g en eralized ellipsis o f th e n o u n p h ra se ( c /9 .6 5 /) .
Syntactic functions of adverbs
Adve rb as m odifier
M o d i f i e r o f a d je c t iv e
7.56 A n a d v erb m ay p rem o d ify a n adjective. M o st com m only, th e m o d ify in g
ad v erb is a scalin g dev ice called a n in ten sifier, w h ich cooccurs w ith a
g ra d ab le ad jectiv e. W e first d istin g u ish tw o sets o f in ten sifiers: a m p lifie rs
a n d d o w n to n ers (fo r fu rth e r discussion a n d subclassification, c / 8 . 1 0 4 ,/).
(a) F m p l if ie r s scale u p w ard s fro m a n assu m ed norm , eg ‘a very f u n n y

film ’, as c o m p a re d w ith ‘a fu n n y film ’. O th e r e x a m p le s:
absurdly fussy am azingly calm

aw fully sorry deeply co n cern ed
downright rid icu lo u s entirely free
e xtrem ely d an g ero u s highly in tellig en t
irretrievably lo st p erfectly reaso n ab le
sharply c ritica l strikingly h an d so m e
terribly nerv o u s too b rig h t
totally an o n y m o u s unbelievably sm a rt
(b) d o w n t o n e r s h a v e a generally low ering effect, usually sc a lin g d o w n
w ard s from a n a ssu m ed n o rm , eg ‘I t w as alm ost d a rk ’, as c o m p a re d w ith ‘It

w as d a r k ’. O th e r e x a m p le s:
a bit dull a little e x tra v ag a n t

alm ost im p o ssib le barely intelligible
fa ir ly sm all hardly n o ticeab le
nearly d a rk p re tty rare
quite n o rm al rather late
relatively sm all som ewhat un easy
A sim ila r set o f in te n s if ie s is used for b o th ad jectiv es a n d a d v erb s (c/7 .8 7 ).

F o r in te n s if ie s w h ich p rem o d ify c o m p a rativ es a n d su p erlativ es, c /7 ,8 9 /
N o te [a] Q u ite can h a v e tw o differen t m ean in g s ( c / 8 . 111 N o te [c]), as i n :

S h e 's qui te rig h t, [‘abso lu tely ’, ‘co m pletely’, i e a n am plifier]
T h a t ’s qui te g o o d , [‘fairly’, ‘ra th e r’, ie a d o w n to n e r; in A m E qui te here is also used in th e
sense o f ‘very ’,, i e as an am plifier]
[b] F ai r l y , pr ett y , a n d r ath er c a n all be used as in te n s if ie s o f ad jectiv es an d ad v e rb s, eg :
f ai r l y *) (f ai r l y 'I
{ p r ett y > ta ll.

r a t h er J
S he driv es <p rett y > fast.
\r ath er j
H o w e v er, th ese d o w n to n e rs h a v e d ifferent uses. F ai r l y is typically u sed to m odify a n ad jectiv e
o r a d v e rb w h ich d e n o te s a d esira b le quality . I f w e feel co m fo rtab le in a w arm room , w e can
in te n s ify the a d je c tiv e b y saying I t ' s f ai r l y w arm i n here [‘w arm enough'], w h ereas rath er w arm
im p lie s th a t th e ro o m is w arm er th a n w e desire (‘to o w a rm ’). W e w ould usually say f ai r l y cl ean
b u t r at h er di rty to d e n o te , respectively, a d esirab le a n d a n u n d esirab le quality.
P r et t y is th e m o st in fo rm al a n d stro n g est o f th e th ree. L ik e rath er, it c a n b e used w ith b o th
fav o u ra b le a n d u n fa v o u ra b le im p o rt: p rett y cl ean/ di rty . N o te th a t pr ett y , w h en used as a n
in te n s ifie s is n o rm a lly unstressed (or w eakly stressed) - u n lik e th e ad jectiv e p r et t y :
a ,p re tty 'd a rk d r £ s s [‘a ra th e r d a rk d ress’]
a 'p retty 'd a rk d r e s s [‘T h e dress w as p retty .’]
R at h er differs fro m p r ett y a n d f ai r l y in th a t it a lo n e c a n in te n s ify :
(i) a co m p a ra tiv e o r /oo-construction (c f th e im p lic atio n ‘to o w a rm ’ ab o v e ):
rath er' ) ( b e tte r
* f ai r l y N to o sm all
* p r e t t y ) (.too q u ic k ly
(ii) c e rta in n o u n p h ra s e s d en o tin g adjectiv al q u alities (c /7 .6 3 N o te [b ]):
ra th e r) ( a p ity 'j ( rather "j ( pitifu l
afool >
* f ai r l y > ^ b u t : \ f ai r l y >< foolish
* p rett y J (.acrowdJ { pr etty J (.crowded
(iii) c e rta in v erb s (c f 8 . 112):
I t r at h er/ * f ai r l y / * p rett y a n n o y s m e t h a t , . .
(iv) W ith o th e r n o u n s, rath er alone h as v aria b le p o sitio n in relatio n to th e indefinite a rtic le
(c /7 .6 3 N o te [b]):
f rath er j , f~ r at h er "j
a < pr etty > difficult ta sk < *pr ett y > a difficult ta sk
[Jai r l y J ! ( . *f ai rl y J
[c] In in fo rm al sp eech , k i nd o f a n d so r t o f a re used a s d o w n to n ers fo r ad jectiv es a n d ad v e rb s
(c/8 .1 1 1 ):
H e is so rt o f clever. She spoke k i nd o f proudly.
[d] T h e follow ing in te n s if ie s a re ty p ical o f in fo rm al sp eech <esp A m E ) :
r eal nice j aw f ul good
pl ai n silly | m i ghty helpful
M o st p eo p le p r e f e r real l y to real , an d aw f ul l y to aw f ul , p articu larly in fo rm al style ( c /7 .7 ) :
S h e’s real l y nice. T h a t w as aw f ul l y good.
E specially in in fo rm al A m E , sure is sim ilarly u s e d :
T h a t’s su re k in d o f you. [‘ce rtain ly ’]
Surel y , u nlike real l y , is how ever a d isju n c t (c/8 .1 2 7 ), in w h ich fu n ctio n su re is also used in
info rm al A m E . N o te also th e use o f sure in Irish E n g lis h :
Surel y , s h e ’s right, [p ersu asiv e: ‘you surely ag re e ’]
Sure, s h e ’s rig h t. [A m E = a g ree m en t: ‘o f c o u r s e ’]
Sure, sh e’s rig h t. [Irish E nglish = assev eratio n : ‘I assu re you’]
Sure a n d surel y (u n lik e real , real l y , an d trul y ) c a n n o t prem o d ify an o th e r p rem o d ifie r:
r rcn /(/y )'|
S h e’s a < tr ul y > <nice> girl.
(. * su r e(l y ) J
Sure ca n n o t o c c u r a fte r o th e r verbs th a n be:
S h e’s sure nice. <esp A m E > S he sure is nice. <esp A m E )

*She looks su re nice. S h e sure looks nice. <esp A m E )
B ut:
H e’ll sure fail. < inform al> H e sure can play football. < inform al>
[e] T w o in fo rm al in te n s ifie s, any a n d th at, are particularly associated w ith n o n assertiv e
co n tex ts:
Is th e te am any d ifferen t fro m la st y e a r? (‘really very m u ch differen t’]
I t’s n o t (all) th at u nusual fo r w o m en now ad ay s to jo in th e police force, is it? (‘so, very ’]
O u tsid e no n assertiv e co n tex ts, th is usag e o f t h at is dialectal o r n o n s ta n d a rd :
S h e's th at clev er! [‘very’] I w as that tired I co u ld n ’t w alk , [‘so ’]
[f] A s d o w n to n ers o f ad jectiv es in th e ab so lu te degree, a bi t an d a l i ttl e c a n only occur in
p red ic a tiv e p o sitio n an d w ith a d jectiv es w ith ‘unfavourable’ m ean in g a n d a n im p lic atio n o f
‘m o re th a n w a n te d ’:
T h e w eath er’s a bi t (too) ho t. * T h e w eath er’s a bi t lovely.
* a bi t h o t w eath er
[g] S o m e am plifiers a re restricted to a sm all set o f lexical item s, eg:
d ead tired [ u t n o t : * d ea d e x h a u sted ]
| f ast a s le e p .
d ead d ru n k [ u t n o t : * d ea d in to x ica ted ]
| w i de aw ak e
N o u n s m ay also function as su ch restricted am p lifiers:
stone cold rock h a rd • br an d new
[h] O n e difference betw een th e ’set o f do w nt on ersal m ost, nearl y , zrv \ pr ac ti c al l y (c f ap p ro x im ato rs,
8 .1 1 1 /0 is th a t only nearl y c a n be u sed a fte r wot, v ery ,pretty { cf 1.62):
( nearl y i ( n o t "I f nearl y "|
I t ’s < al m ost I d a rk . BUT; I t ’s < very > < *al m ost > d a rk .
[p r ac t i c al l y ) L p re tty J \ f p r ac t i c al l y )
7.57 A s in th e tr e a tm e n t o f a d je c tiv e s , i t m a y b e p o ssib le to d is tin g u is h a n o t h e r

c la s s o f a d je c tiv e m o d ifie r s c a lle d e m p h F s i z e r s , w h ic h a d d to th e fo rc e ( a s
d i s t i n c t f ro m th e d e g re e ) o f t h e a d je c tiv e :
S he h a s a really ( b e a u tif u l) face. T h e play is (v e ry g o o d ) indeed.

T h a t’s ju s t ( im p o s s ib le ). H e looked a ll (c o n fu s e d ).
U n lik e in te n sifie s , e m p h a siz e rs cooccur w ith n o n g ra d ab le ad jectiv es, b u t

th e effect is o ften sim ila r to t h a t o f in te n s if ie s :
Y o u a re certainly w elco m e. [‘Y ou are very/most w elco m e.’]
In d eed c a n h a v e e ith e r p re - o r p o stp o sitio n (c/8 .1 0 3 N o te [a]):
, f indeed (e x c e lle n t),

e p a y w as | ^ ex cejie n t^ indeed.
C o m p are :
Indeed, th e play w as excellent.
T h is ex am p le show s h o w th e fu n c tio n o f m an y e m p h asizers is sim ila r to th a t

o f d isju n cts ( c /8 .1 2 1 /) . S im ilarly fr a n k ly :
I ’m fr a n k ly su rp rised a t y o u r b ehaviour, [em phasizer]

F rankly, I ’m su rp rise d a t yo u r behaviour, [disjunct]
N o te T oo ca n be a synonym o f ex trem el y in in fo rm al sp eech :

I t ’s too <kind> o f you. T h a t’s too <true>.
I n in fo rm al style it is also co m m o n ly used (especially in A m E ) as a synonym o f v ery in n e g a tiv e
sen te n ces:
I ’m n o t too <sure> ab o u t th a t.
I ’m n o t too < keen> on his p aintings.
I d o n ’t feel too <good>. [‘very w ell’]
T h is u se o f too is g iv e n w ide ex ten sio n in A u stralian E nglish, w here too is c o m m o n in th e sense
‘a b s o lu te ly ’ in resp o n ses:
A : H e 's clever. . B : T oo right, h e is. [‘T h a t is absolutely tru e .’]
C o m p a r e in fo rm al A m E usage:
A : Y ou c a n ’t d o it. B : I can too. [‘I certain ly c a n .’}
7 .5 8 A d ju n c t a d v e rb s (c /7 .4 9 , 8 .2 5 /") are som etim es c o n v erted in to prem o d ifiers

o f a d je ctiv es. I n th is p o sitio n they te n d to re ta in th eir g e n era l m ea n in g o f
m a n n e r, m ea n s, etc, th o u g h they also acq u ire som e in ten sify in g effect:
a n easily < d eb atab le> p ro p o sitio n [‘a p ro p o sitio n th a t c a n be easily

d e b a te d ’]
a n openly ( h o s tile ) a tta c k
his quietly ( a s s e r tiv e ) m an n e r
a readily < available> p u b licatio n
O n th e o th e r h a n d , d isju n ct ad v erb s ( c /7 . 121/0 ten d to b eco m e in te n s ifie s ,

eg-
surprisingly <good> unnaturally (lo n g )
incredibly ( b e a u tif u l) unusually <easy>
T h u s surprisingly good in th e follow ing sentence can be p a ra p h ra s e d as ‘H e

m a d e a sp e e ch t h a t w as good to a su rp risin g e x te n t’:
H e m a d e a surprisingly <good> speech.
N o te W e n ee d to d istin g u ish th e a d v e rb as p rem o d ifier o f a n adjectiv e fro m th e a d ju n c t ad v e rb

c o n s tru c te d w ith a v e rb p artic ip le . F o r ex am p le, a surprisingly w orded l etter is ‘a le tte r th a t is
w o rd ed in a su rp ris in g m a n n e r’, sin ce w orded is a n -ed p articip le an d n o ta n ad jectiv e. A m b ig u ity
a rise s w h e n th e fo rm can be e ith e r a p articip le o r a n ad jective. T hus, a di v i nel y i nspi red w ork can
be e ith e r ‘a w ork th a t h as b ee n in sp ired in a d iv in e m a n n e r (or by G o d )’, in w h ic h ca se i nspi red
is v e rb a l a n d di v i nel y an a d ju n c t ad v e rb , o r ‘a w o rk th a t is in spired to a d iv in e ex te n t’, in w h ich
c a se i n sp i red is ad je c tiv a l a n d di v i nel y its intensifier. C f th e difference in a s p e c t a n d im plied
‘p e rm a n e n c e ’; 17.28.
7 .5 9 A p a r t fro m in ten sifiers, p rem o d ify in g a d v erb s m ay be ‘v ie w p o in t’ su b ju n cts

( c / 8 . 88 # ) , eg: I
politically ( e x p e d ie n t) [‘ex p ed ien t from a political p o in t o f v iew ’]
S im ila rly :
artistically (ju s tifia b le ) economically ( w e a k )

theoretically ( s o u n d ) technically ( p o s s ib le )
ethically ( w r o n g )
M o d if ie r o f a d v e r b
7.60 A n a d v e rb m ay p rem o d ify a n o th e r ad v erb . S im ilar sets o f in ten sifiers are
used fo r a d v e rb s an d a d jectiv es ( c /7 .5 6 # ) :
I e x p e c t th e m p re tty ( s o o n ) .
I h a v e se e n so ( v e r y ) m an y letters like th a t one.
S yn ta ctic functions o f adverbs 449
T h ey d id n ’t in ju re h im that (se v e re ly ), (in f o r m a l)

T h ey a re sm o k in g very (h e a v ily ).
H e sp o k e e xtrem ely (q u ic k ly ).
H e p lay ed surprisingly (w e ll).
A s w ith a d je ctiv es (c /7 .5 0 , 7.57), the only p ostm odifiers are enough a n d

indeed:
H e sp o k e (c le a r ly ) enough, [‘sufficiently clearly ’]
Indeed u sually goes w ith very:
S he sp o k e ( v e ry d e a r ly ) indeed.
?She sp o k e ( c le a r ly ) indeed.
A d v erb s m o d ify in g o th e r a d v erb s can only b e in te n s ifie s . T h u s, th o u g h w e

have th e m a n n e r m o d ificatio n by quietly in quietly assertive, w e c a n n o t h a v e
:it in:
* H e sp o k e quietly (a sse rtiv e ly ).
A n d , sim ilarly , th e m o d ificatio n by a v iew p o in t ad v erb ( c f 8.89) in theoretically

sound does n o t h a v e a co rresp o n d in g
* H e re aso n e d theoretically (so u n d ly ).
N o tice th a t th is is n o t m erely a stylistic o b jectio n to th e ju x ta p o sitio n o f tw o

w ords e n d in g in -ly, since th e follow ing sen ten ce, w here extrem ely is a n
in te n sifie s is a cc ep ta b le :
H e re aso n e d extrem ely (so u n d ly ).
M o d if ie r o f p a r t i c l e , p r e p o s itio n a l a d v e r b , a n d p r e p o s itio n
7.61 A few in te n sify in g a d v erb s, p articu larly right an d well, c a n p re m o d ify
p articles in p h ra s a l v erb s (c/1 6 .4 ), as well as p rep o sitio n s, o r (p e rh a p s ra th e r )
p re p o sitio n al p h ra se s (c /9 .6 4 ):
H e k n o c k ed th e m a n right ( o u t) .
T h ey left h e r w ell ( b e h in d ) .
T h e n a il w e n t right ( th r o u g h ) th e wall.
H e m a d e his a p p lic a tio n well ( w ith in ) th e tim e.
H e r p a re n ts a re dead ( a g a in s t) th e trip , (in fo rm a l)
M o d i f i e r o f p r o n o u n , p r e d e t e r m in e r , a n d n u m e r a l
7.62 In ten sify in g a d v e rb s (including d o w n to n ers) c an p re m o d ify :
(a) in d efin ite p ro n o u n s (6.45 f f ) :
N ea rly (e v e ry b o d y ) c am e to o u r p arty .
(b) p re d e te rm in e rs ( 5 .1 5 /) :
T h e y reco v ered roughly ( h a lf ) th e ir e q u ip m e n t.

H e receiv ed about ( d o u b le ) th e am o u n t h e expected.
V irtually ( a l l ) th e stu d en ts p a rtic ip a te d in th e discussion.
450 Adjectives and adverbs
(c) c a r d in a l n u m era ls (6.63):
T h e y will stay fu lly ( t e n ) weeks, [‘fo r te n full w eek s’]

O ver/under (tw o h u n d re d ) d eath s w ere re p o rted .
I p a id m orelless than ( t e n ) p ounds fo r it.
T h e y will m a k e a c h arg e o f up to ( a s m u ch as o n e m illio n ) yen.
A s m any a s ( f if ty ) can d id ate s h ad a p p lie d fo r th e post.
(d ) N o u n p h rases w ith th e indefinite a rticle c a n b e intensified w h en a(n) is

e q u iv a le n t to th e u n stressed card in al one (5.38): '
I d id n ’t h a v e m ore than ( a d o lla r) o n m e. [‘I h a d n o m o re t h a n . . . ’]

T h e y will sta y for about ( a w e ek ).
N earlyjalm ost ( a th o u san d d e m o n s tra to rs ) a tte n d e d th e m eeting.
M o re than, about, etc a re here n o t p re p o sitio n s b u t intensifiers as p a rt o f

th e n o u n p h ra se , as c a n be seen by th e o ccu rre n ce o f p rep o sitio n s before
s u c h item s:
T h e r e ’s a c o v e r ch arg e o f more than $3.
(e) W ith th e o rd in als a n d superlatives, a d e fin ite d e te rm in e r is o b lig ato ry

fo r p re m o d ific a tio n :
W e cou n ted approxim ately ( th e first) th o u sa n d votes.

S h e gave m e alm ost ( th e larg e st) p iec e o f cak e.
( f) M o d ificatio n c a n also a p p ly to larg er u n its, eg :
T h e a cc ele ratio n fell to less than ( te n m etres p e r se c o n d ).
N o te [a] W e m ig h t add h e re th e prem o d ificatio n o f the sam e by (v ery ) m uc h :

T h e y d id it in (v ery ) m uch < the sa m e ) w ay.
[b] S o m e o f th e item s t h a t a re in tensifying ad v e rb s c a n also fu n ctio n as p rep o sitio n s, eg: ov er ,
ab o u t (c/9.7).
[c] B o th th e d o w n to n ers al m o st a n d practi cal l y c an in te n sify all in d efin ite pro n o u n s, w hereas
near l y c a n intensify o n ly asse rtiv e pro nouns ( c / 8 .113 o n d o w n to n e rs w ith verbs). C o m p a re :
A l m ost 'I f n o b o d y cam e.

Pr ac ti c al l y > < a n y tim e w ill do.
* N ear l y J ( n o co m p e n sa tio n w as given.
M o d ifier o f noun p h rase

7.63 A few in ten sifiers m ay p rem o d ify no u n p h ra se s a n d p reced e th e d e te rm in e r
in d o in g so. T h e m o st co m m o n o f these am o n g a d v erb s are quite an d rather
<esp B rE > :
W e h a d quite < a p a r ty ) .
T h e y will be h e re fo r quite <som e tim e ) .
H e w a s quite <‘so m e p la y e r ) .
T h ey w ere quite <*some p lay e rs).

[Q u ite 1som e w ith c o u n t n o u n s is in fo rm al; n o te th e stress o n 'some.]
I t w as rather <a m e s s). <esp B rE )
T h o u g h n o t a d v erb s b u t p red eterm in ers (c/5 .1 5 ), such a n d what h a v e a

sim ila r fu n ctio n ( c f 17.96):
H e is such <a fo o l). They are such <foo!s).

W hat <a m e s s ) th ey m a d e ! W hat <babies> th ey a r e !
N o te [a] O th e r ad v e rb s m a y be in te rp re te d a s n o t specifically m odifying th e n o u n p h rase, sin ce th e y

a re m obile. C o m p a re th e follow ing tw o e x a m p le s:
H e w as \real l y ’som e P L A Y er| ( in f o r m a l) [1 ]
H e |real l y w as 'som e P L A Y erj [2]
T ra n sp o sitio n o f real l y in [1] to p re-v erb p osition in [ 2 ] does n o t seem to affect th e m e a n in g ,
p ro v id e d th a t th e a p p ro p ria te in to n a tio n p a tte rn is given. A sim ilar tra n sp o sitio n o f qui te is n o t
possible. ■
[bj F o r m a n y peo p le, p lu ra l n o u n p h ra s e s c a n n o t be prem odified by rath er:
H e is rath er a f o o l , [‘ra th e r foolish’; c/7 .5 6 N o te [b]]
?*T hey are rath er fools.
I f th e n o u n is n o n g rad ab le, rath er c a n n o t b e used unless a g rad ab le ad jectiv e is presen t, in w h ic h
case rath er is in ten sify in g th e ad jectiv e. P o sitio n s before th e ad jecti ve a n d before th e d e te rm in e r
a re b o th possible, w ith little o r n o se m a n tic diffe re n ce:
* It is ra th e r a ta b le , [n o t ac c e p ta b le unless in the sense ‘. . . a ta b le ra th e r t h a n . . . ’]
U is R a t t l e ] hi^ tM e -
[c] F o r th e relatio n sh ip b etw e en a d v e rb s like onl y a n d al so an d n o u n p h rases, c f fo cu sin g
subjuncts, 8 .116/f
7.64 W ith k in d o f a n d sort o f th e re are several possible c o n stru ctio n s in in fo rm a l

style:
(
a sort o f jo k e .
sort o f a jo k e. <inform al>
a sort. o rf a jo
• ki e , (m o re in
■ c
fo rm a l)
a jo k e , sort o f (m o st in fo rm a l)
O th e r © /-phrases p re ce d e th e d e te rm in e r, if p resen t:
I h a d a bit o f ( a s h o c k ).
T h ey a sk ed a heck o f ( a lo t) , (fa m ilia r)
T h ey g av e m e a hell o f (a. tim e ) , (fa m ilia r)
I n fa m ilia r style, th e wfc-words as interro g ativ es (c /1 1 .1 4 N o te [a]) c a n be

p ostm odified by c e rta in set p re p o sitio n a l ph rases, eg:
( w h o ) ~| (o n earth
( w h a t) > < (in) the heck (fa m ilia r )
(w h ere) J I/m ) the hell (fam iliar)
O m issio n o f th e p re p o sitio n in th e last tw o ex am p les is p re fe rre d by so m e
a n d o b lig ato ry for o th ers.
E ver c a n be a n in ten sifier. I t norm ally occurs as a se p a ra te w o rd a n d o n ly
w ith in te rro g ativ e vvA-words, fo r ex am p le:
( W h y ) ever sh o u ld sh e a p p ly for such a p o st?

7 .65 S o m e d isju n ct a d v erb s an d co n ju n ct a d v erb s occasionally a p p e a r w ith in the

n o u n p h ra se , n o t m o d ify in g th e n o u n p h ra se b ut related to a m odifying
a d je c tiv e p h r a s e :
A c u re h as n ow been fo u n d for th is fo rtu n a tely (v e ry r a r e ) disease.

[‘a d isease t h a t is fo rtu n ately very ra re ’]
H e w rote a n otherwise (e x trem ely g o o d ) p ap er, [‘a p a p e r th a t w as
o th erw ise e x trem ely go o d ’]
S im ila rly , su b ju n ct ad v erb s expressing v iew p o in t (c /8 .8 9 ) a p p e a r afte r the

n o u n p h ra se a n d relate to th e p rem o d ify in g a djective w ith in th e p h r a s e :
A ( g o o d ) p a p e r editorially c a n also be a ( g o o d ) p a p e r commercially.
T h e m o re usual fo rm for th e sentence i s :
A n editorially ( g o o d ) p a p e r can also be a commercially ( g o o d ) p ap er.
7.66 T h e g ra d a b le m ea su re ad jectiv es deep, high, long, old, tall, thick, an d wide

( c /7 .8 8 ) c a n tak e p re m o d ifica tio n by a n o u n p h ra s e :
S u s a n is ten y ea rs ( o l d ) . [‘o f age’]

P e te r is fiv e f e e t ( t a l l ) , [‘in h e ig h t’]
T h e y stayed u p a ll night (lo n g ).
I n s u p p o r t o f th is an aly sis, ie th a t it is th e no u n p h ra se a n d n o t th e ad jectiv e

t h a t is th e m odifier, w e n o te th a t th e q u estio n form w ith how evokes th e n o u n
p h ra s e a s th e re s p o n s e :
A : H o w old is S usan ? B : Ten (years).

A : H o w tall is P e te r? B : F ive fe e t.
A d v e rb s such a s th e follow ing a re also m odified by n o u n p h r a s e s :
T h e lak e is,two miles ( a c ro s s ), [‘w id e’]

T h e y live fiv e m iles ( a p a r t ) . \
W e d u g ten f e e t ( d o w n ) .
T h e tree is s i x fe e t ( a r o u n d ) , ( e s p A m E )
I m e t h er a w eek j ^ rfie r) I I'e a r*'e r ^ a w eek ’]

I ^ ^
C o m p are: I
I m e t h er the w eek before, [‘th e p rev io u s w eek ’]
I n th e follow ing ex am p les, th e q u e stio n is o f th e form ‘H o w + a d v erb +

v e rb + n o u n ’:
H o w wide is th e la k e ? [ n o t : *H ow a c r o s s . . . ?]
H o w f a r apart d o th e y liv e ? [ n o t : *H ow a p a r t . . . ?]
H o w deep d id th ey d ig ? [ n o t : *H ow d ow n . . . ?]
N o te [a] A l l the ye a r round a n d th e whole ye a r round are fixed expressions. W e c a n n o t, for ex am ple,
h a v e *all th e month round o r *the whole m onth round. But n o te : a ll (the) d a y (long), a ll the week
(long), th e whole night (through).
[b] O n £ 8 net/gross, the sum total, etc, c / 7 .21.
Syntactic functions o f adverbs 453
Postm odifying adverbs

7.67 P o stm o d ify in g tim e ad v erb s a p p e a r to b e lim ited to th o se d e n o tin g tim e
p o sitio n o r tim e d u ra tio n (c/8 .5 1 j/, 17.55):
t im e :
th e m ee tin g yesterday th e d ay before

th e m eal afterw ards th e ir stay overnight
p l F c e :
th e w ay ahead y our frien d here
th e d ire c tio n back th a t m a n there
. his tr ip abroad h is re tu rn home
th e se n ten ce below th e p layers offside
T h e re is n o p rem o d ificatio n possible w ith , for exam ple, hom e in :
h is re tu rn hom e ~ *his hom e re tu rn
In o th e r cases, b o th po sitio n s a re a v a ila b le :
th e dow nstairs hall th e h all downstairs

th e backstage noise th e noise backstage
h is hom e jo u rn ey h is jo u rn ey home
th e above q u o tatio n th e q u o tatio n above
th e upstairs n eig h b o u r th e n eig h b o u r upstairs
N ote M an y o f th e se p o stm odifying adverbs ca n be used pred icativ ely w ith be, eg:
T h e n o ise is backstage. T h e sentence is below.
T h e m e e tin g w as yesterday. T h e m eal w as afterwards.
Prem o d ify in g adverbs

7.68 O n ly a v ery few a d v erb s p rem o d ify n o u n s w ith in th e n o u n p h ra se. T h e re is,
fo r e x am p le, an inside jo b [‘a ro b b e ry d o n e by som eone co n n ec te d w ith th e
p lace w h ic h h as been ro b b e d ’], w h ic h is n o t th e sam e as a jo b inside. O th e r
ex am p les:
a n a w a y g am e in a fte r years
inside in fo rm a tio n th e then c h airm a n
a n outside d o o r a n outside line
T h e o cca sio n al use o f o th er ad v erb s as n o u n prem odifiers, eg: the now

question, is felt as very a d hoc, a lth o u g h specific expressions, su c h a s the now
generation, a p p e a r fro m tim e to tim e.
D e sp ite th e ir sim ilarity to p e rip h e ral ad jectives lik e utter ( c /7 .3 /) ,
p a ra p h ra s e s o f w ords like aw ay sh o w th e ir essential a d v erb f o rc e :
a n a w a y g am e ~ a gam e t h a t w e play away

th e then c h a irm a n ~ H e w as c h a irm a n a t the time.
T h e situ a tio n fo r th ese ad v erb s is sim ila r to th a t for p rem o d ify in g n o u n s, as

in garden tools, w h ere we an aly se garden as a noun, n o t as a n ad jectiv e, in
view o f its n o m in a l force, as sh o w n for ex am p le by its c o rresp o n d en ce to a
p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se w ith the n o u n a s c o m p lem en t ( c f 7.14, 17.104):
garden to o ls ~ to o ls fo r the garden

E lse
7.69 E lse c a n p o s tm o d ify :
(a) c o m p o u n d in d efin ite p ro n o u n s ( c /6 .4 6 /) a n d co m p o u n d a d v erb s ( c /7 .46)

i n -body, -one, -place, -thing, a n d -w here:
< Som ebody> else m u st h av e d o n e it. [‘som e o th e r p erso n ’]

< A n y b o d y ) else fo r ten n is?
((N o th in g ) else h ap p en ed .
Y o u m u st h av e left th e keys { < ^ e p l a c e > >c / ! r <esP A m E ) }

[‘elsew h ere’]
Y o u ’ll h a v e to b o rro w <som eone> else’s car. [on th e g en itiv e, c f 6.47]
(b) w A -pronouns an d >vA-adverbs in in te rro g ativ e clauses ( c / 1 1 .1 4 /’):
< W h o ) else w ould d o such a th in g ? [‘w h ich o th e r p e rso n ’]

<W ho> else d id you m eet?
< W hat> else c a n w e do?
(W h e r e > else h av e you looked?
( H o w ) else could it have h a p p e n e d ?
( W h e n ) else c a n w e m eet?
T h e g e n itiv e ’j is usually p laced a fte r else (c /th e g roup g en itiv e, 5.123):
„ Z 1!0 S } fa u lt could it be ?
".Whose else J
(c) sin g u la r all ( = everything), m uch, a great/good deal, a lot, little:
W e w ill ta k e th is ste p only if all else fails.

(little S
T h e re ’s < not much > else w e c a n do now .
1 I,n o t a great deal J
A d v e rb as com plem ent of preposition

7.70 A n u m b e r o f a d v erb s signifying place a n d tim e fu n ctio n a s c o m p lem en t o f a
p re p o sitio n . O f th e p lace a d v erb s, here a n d there ta k e the m o st p re p o sitio n s,
eg: I
C o m e over here \
D o you live near her e l
Y es, I live over there.
H o w d o we g e t out o f h e re l
O th e r p re p o sitio n s t h a t ta k e here a n d there a s co m p lem en ts a r e :
along around down fr o m in

on round through under up
H o m e (w h ic h m ay alte rn a tiv e ly be co n sid ere d a n o u n ; c /5 .5 1 ) c a n be th e

c o m p le m e n t o f a t, (aw ay) fr o m , close to, near, toward(s), eg:
I w a n t to sta y a t hom e tonight.

Syntactic functions o f adverbs 455
T h e o th er p lace a d v e rb s a re restricted to th e p rep o sitio n fro m , eg:
Y ou’ve g o t a le tte r fr o m abroad.
O th e r a d v erb s th a t fu n c tio n as c o m p lem en t o f fro m a r e :
behind abovelbelowlbeneathlunderneath
downstairs/upstairs indoors/outdoors
inside/outside within/without
T h e tim e ad v erb s th a t m o st com m only function as co m p lem en t o f a

p re p o sitio n are sh o w n in th e figure below.
PREPOSITIONS ADVERBS
Fig 7.70 Time adverbs that most commonly function as complements of prepositions
N o te [a] T h e p rep o sitio n o /a ls o occu rs in th e p h rase o f late [‘recently’].

[b] Forever is also w ritte n as tw o w o rd s: fo r ever. T h e expression forev er a n d ever is ty p ical o f
B iblical a n d litu rg ical sty le s o f E nglish. It is curious th a t an alo g o u s red u p licated p h ra se s are
virtually restricted to in fo rm al u s e :f o r m onths and m onths, fo r years a n d years.
Correspondence between adjective and adverb
7.71 W e h a v e e a rlie r o b serv ed (7.46) th a t open-class ad v erb s a re reg u larly , th o u g h

n o t in v a ria b ly ,, d e riv e d from ad jectiv es by suffixation. T h ere is a n o th e r sense
in w h ic h a d je c tiv e s an d a d v erb s are related , a p a rt from th is m o rp h o lo g ical
r e la tio n s h ip . A co rresp o n d en ce o ften exists b etw een c o n stru ctio n s c o n ta in in g
a d je c tiv e s a n d co n stru ctio n s c o n ta in in g th e co rresp o n d in g ad v erb s. T h e
sim p le st illu stra tio n is w ith ad v erb s eq u iv alen t to p re p o sitio n a l p h rases
c o n ta in in g a n o u n o r noun p h ra se th a t is a g en eric term an d th e co rre sp o n d in g
a d je c tiv e as p rem o d ifier:
H e lik e d M a ry considerably.
~ H e lik e d M ary to a considerable extent.
H e sp o k e to J o h n sharply.
~ H e sp o k e to Jo h n in a sharp manner.
H e w ro te freq u en tly.
~ H e w ro te on frequent occasions.
P o litic a lly , it is a b ad decision.
~ F ro m the political point o f view, it is a b ad decision.
7.72 W e h a v e also n o te d som e in stan ces w h ere e ith e r th e ad jectiv e o r th e a d v erb

fo rm s a p p e a r , w ith little o r n o sem an tic difference ( c f 7.6). B u t n o rm ally , th e
a d je c tiv e a n d its c o rresp o n d in g a d v erb a p p e a r in d ifferent e n v iro n m e n ts :
h is fr e q u e n t y is its
~ H is v isits are frequent.
~ H e v isits frequently.
h e r brilliant e x p la n a tio n o f th e process
~ H e r e x p la n atio n o f th e process w as brilliant.
~ S h e e x p la in ed the p ro cess brilliantly.
h e r incredible b eau ty
~ H e r bealuty is incredible.
~ S h e is incredibly beau tifu l.
A s th e e x a m p le s show , th e ad jectiv e in n o m in alizatio n s is e q u iv a le n t to th e

ad v erb in a c o rre sp o n d in g clause.
7.73 T h ere a r e m a n y o th e r cases o f n o m in a liz atio n w here a c o n stru ctio n w ith th e

ad v erb fo rm seem s basic to an u n d e rstan d in g o f th e co rre sp o n d in g
c o n stru c tio n w ith th e a djective fo rm ( c /1 7 .5 1 / ) :
(a) T h e a d je c tiv e - n o u n sequ en ce m ay im ply a pro cess o r a tim e

re la tio n s h ip , a co rresp o n d in g clause co n ta in in g a n a d v erb :
a h a rd w o rk e r ~ som ebody w ho w orks hard

a n eve n tu a l lo ser ~ som ebody w ho will eventually lose
a fr e q u e n t v isito r ~ som ebody w ho visits frequently
a h e a vy e a te r ~ som ebody w ho eats heavily
a lig h t sle e p e r ~ som ebody w ho sleeps light(ly)
W e sh o u ld in clu d e here cases w h ere th e ag en tial noun lack s a n ag en tial

suffix: a fo r m e r student, a clever liar. Sim ilarly, th ere a re in stan c es w h ere th e
Correspondence betw een adjective and adverb 457
n o u n n o r m a l l y l a c k s a c o r r e s p o n d i n g v e r b , b u t w h e r e t h e r e f e r e n c e is t o t h e
p r o c e s s p a r t o f t h e n o u n ’s m e a n i n g :
a p o o r s o l d i e r [‘o n e w h o a c t s p o o r ly i n h i s r o le a s a s o l d i e r ’]
a g o o d m o t h e r [‘o n e w h o c a r e s w e ll f o r h e r c h i l d r e n ’]
a fa ith fu l f r i e n d [‘a f r i e n d w h o a c t s i n a f a i t h f u l w a y ’]
M a n y o f t h e s e a d j e c t i v e s c a n o c c u r o n ly a t t r i b u t i v e ly i n t h i s u s e . T h e y b e l o n g
to th e n o n in h e r e n t c la s s o f a d je c tiv e s ( t/ 7 .4 3 ) . _____________ ________________
(b) A n alo g o u s co rresp o n d en ces do n o t h a v e th is restrictio n to a ttrib u tiv e

p o sitio n :
H e loved h e r deeply. She a n sw ered quickly.

~ his deep love fo r h er ~ h e r quick an sw er
~ H is love fo r h e r w as deep. ~ H e r an sw er w as quick.
H e w rites legibly. Surprisingly, he d ecid ed to leave.
~ his legible w ritin g ~ his surprising d ecisio n to leav e
~ H is w ritin g is legible. ~ H is d ecisio n to leav e was
surprising.
(c) T h e ad je ctiv e m ay re fe r to an im p lied pro cess asso ciated w ith a

co n crete o b ject:
a f a s t c a r [‘a c a r th a t can go fast']

a slow ro a d [‘a ro a d o n w h ich one can only d riv e slowly']
a neat ty p e w rite r [‘a ty p ew riter w hich ty p es neatly']
(d) M o st in te n sify in g ad jectiv es ( c /7 .3 3 /) can be seen as related to

a d v erb s:
total n o n sen se ~ I t is totally nonsense,

a clear fa ilu re ~ I t is clearly a failure,
a true sch o lar ~ H e is truly a scholar,
a real id io t ~ H e is really an idiot.
M an y o f th ese c a n o c cu r only attrib u tiv ely in th is use.
(e) M an y re stric tiv e ad jectiv es ( c f 7.35) c a n be seen as related to a d v e r b s :
th e m ain reaso n ~ T h e reason w as m ainly t h a t . . .

th e precise a rg u m e n t f ~ ™ e argUm ent ‘h a t . . .
T h e a rg u m en t w as precise.
[a] W e c a n p o in t to d ifferen ces in g ram m ar an d m e an in g in th e in te rp re ta tio n o f a beautiful

dancer :
a beautiful d an c er
~ a d a n c e r who is beautiful
~ a perso n who dances beautifully [‘w ho does a beau tifu l d a n c e ’ o r ‘b ea u tifu l d ances')
In th e second in te rp re ta tio n , th e ad jectiv e refers to th e pro cess p a rt o f an ag e n tial noun.
[b] N o te also th e re la tio n s betw een adjectiv es an d ad v e rb s in th e follow ing ex a m p le s :
a n apparent e n e m y ~ H e is apparently an enem y,
a possible m e etin g ~ T hey w ill possibly m eet,
a slight d isag re em en t ~ T h ey disagreed slightly.
th e current m a n a g e r — She is currently th e m anager.
Comparison of adjectives and adverbs
7.74 W ith g ra d a b le a d je ctiv es a n d ad v erb s th ree ty p es o f c o m p F r is o n are possible

(c /7 .4 2 ), ie c o m p a riso n in relatio n
(a ) to a h ig h er d e g ree
(b ) to th e sam e d e g ree
(c) to a low er d eg ree
T h e t h r e e ty p es o f c o m p a ris o n are expressed by th e follow ing m ean s;
(a) C o m p ariso n in r e la tio n to a h ig h er degree is ex p ressed by th e inflected

fo rm s in -er a n d -est o r th e ir p e rip h ra stic e q u iv alen ts w ith m ore an d most:
(
cleverer ] .
A n n a is j " " ) th a n Susan.
m ore? cclever]
s f cleverest
A n n a is th e ■! ) stu d e n t in the class.
[m o st clever j
(b) C o m p ariso n in re la tio n to th e sam e d eg ree is ex p ressed by as (or

so m e tim es s o ) . . .a s :
A n n a is as tall as Bill.
A n n a is n o t \ aS \ ta ll as Jo h n .
W
(c) C o m p ariso n in re la tio n to a low er degree is e xpressed by less an d le a st:
T h is p ro b lem is less difficult th a n th e p rev io u s one.

T h is is th e least difficult p ro b lem o f all.
F o r h ig h er d eg ree co m p ariso n s, E n g lish h as a th ree -te rm inflectional

c o n tra s t b etw een F | s o l u t e , c o m p F r F t i v e , a n d s u p e r l F t i v e form s for m an y
a d je c tiv e s a n d fo r a few ad v erb s, the ab so lu te b ein g realized by th e base form
o f th e item . T h is c a n b e seen in Table 7.74 w h ich also gives th e p arallel
p e rip h ra stic c o n stru c tio n s (c /c o m p a ra tiv e clauses, 1 5 .6 3 /'):
T a b le 7 .7 4 C o m p a r i s o n o f a d j e c t i v e s a n d a d v e r b s
ABSOLUTE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE
INFLECTION !
a d je c tiv e h ig h h ig h e r h ig h e s t
a d v e rb soon so o n e r soo n est
PERIPHRASIS
a d je c tiv e c o m p le x m o r e c o m p le x m o s t c o m p le x
a d v e rb c o m fo r ta b ly m o r e c o m fo r ta b ly m o s t c o m fo r ta b ly
Com parison of adjectives
I r r e g u la r fo r m s o f c o m p a r iso n
7.75 A sm all group o f h ig h ly fre q u e n t ad jectiv es h av e c o m p a rativ e a n d su p erlativ e
fo rm s w ith ste m s w h ic h a re d ifferen t fro m th e b a s e :
Com parison o f adjectives and adverbs 459
good ~ better ~ best

bad ~ worse ~ worst
f ( ~ fu rth e r ~ fu rth est
fa rth e r ~ fa rth est
T h e tw o sets farther/farthest a n d further/furthest, w h ich are b o th a d je c tiv e s

a n d a d v erb s, a re used in terch an g eab ly b y m an y sp eak ers to ex p ress b o th
p h y sical a n d a b stra c t relatio n s. In fact, how ever, th e use o f fa rth e r a n d
fa r th e s t is chiefly restricted to expressions o f p hysical d istan ce, an d , in all
senses, fu rth e r a n d fu rth e st a re th e usual form s fo u n d :
N o th in g could be fu rth e r fro m th e tru th .

M y h o u se is fu rth e st fro m th e statio n .
N o te T h e m o st co m m o n uses o f fu r th e r are n o t as co m p arativ e form o f f a r b u t in th e sense o f 'm o r e ',

‘a d d itio n a l’, ‘la te r’:
T h a t’s a fu r th e r reason for d ec id in g now . [ u t n o t : *a fa r reason]
|
A n y fu r th e r q u estio n s?
T h e school w ill be closed un til fu rth e r notice.
W e in ten d to stay for a fu rth e r tw o m onths.
C o m p ariso n o f old
7.76 O ld is reg u larly inflected as older ~ oldest. I n a ttrib u tiv e position, p a rtic u la rly
w h e n refe rrin g to th e o rd e r o f b irth o f m em b ers o f a fam ily, th e irre g u la r
fo rm s elder ~ eldest a re n o rm ally su b stitu ted (especially in B rE ):
M y elderjolder sister is a n a rtist.

H is eldest/oldest so n is still a t school.
H o w ev er, elder is n o t a tru e c o m p a rativ e in th a t it can n o t be follow ed b y

than:
N o te [a] T h e re is a sp ecial use o f elder in , fo r ex am ple, W illiam P itt the elder , the elder P itt . I n th e
ho n o rific ex p ressio n elder sta tesm an , elder h as n o co m p arativ e m ean in g , a n d th e re is n o
c o rresp o n d in g use o f o ld o r oldest.
[b] E ld er a n d eldest req u ire perso n al re fe re n c e :
T h is viola is th e olderl*elder.
C om parison o f g ood, well, and ill

7.77 W ell [‘in go o d h e a lth ’] a n d ill [‘in b a d h e alth ’ <esp B r E ) , c/7 .3 8 ] a re in flected
lik e g o o d a n d bad, resp ectiv ely , for th e co m p a rativ e: H e fe e ls better/w orse.
H e is better is am b ig u o u s b etw een (a) ‘H e is well a g ain ’ an d (b) ‘H e is less ill’.
I n th e first use (a), w e can h a v e intensifiers expressing absolute d e g re e :
H e is com pletely better.
I n th e seco n d use (b), we c an h av e expressions w ith a c o m p arativ e sen se:

T h e re is no su p e rlativ e best in the h ealth sen se: *H e is best. H e is worse

c o rre sp o n d s to th e second use (b), ie = ‘less w ell’. T h ere is no p o sitiv e
p e rip h ra s tic c o m p a ris o n corresp o n d in g to th e n eg ativ e co m p ariso n less w ell:
* H e is more w ell today. [ = ‘b e tte r’ in its second use]
H e is less w ell d e n o te s th a t his state o f h e alth is n o t as b a d as w ould be

su g g ested by worse.
C o m p o u n d s w ith good, well, an d ill + p a rticip le c an h av e e ith e r fo rm o f
c o m p a ris o n ( c f 7 .8 3 b ):
, . ,. f ~ better-looking ~ best-looking
goo oo ing | ____ more good-looking ~ m ost good-looking
C o m p a r is o n o f little a n d small
7.78 L ittle sh a res th e c o m p a ra tiv e form s w ith sm all, ie: sm aller a n d sm allest, as a n
a d je c tiv e m o d ify in g c o u n t n o u n s :
A n n a is o nly a child.
S h e is sm aller th a n Susan.
S h e is th e sm allest ch ild in h er playgroup.
L esser is used a ttrib u tiv e ly in th e sense o f ‘less im p o rta n t’:
to a lesser degreejextent
lesser m en th a n C h u rch ill
L e a st in th e sen se o f ‘slig h test’ is co m m o n w ith a b s tra c t n o u n s in

n o n a sse rtiv e c o n te x ts :
S h e d id it w ith o u t the least I sm allest hesitation.

I h a v e n ’t the,least idea.
\
L e a st c a n also be j h e h e ad o f a noun p h ra se ( c /7 .26):
T h a t is the least we can do.
N ote [a] L ittle r a n d tin ie st o c c u r o ccasionally, typically in fam iliar u s e :

S h e is m y littlest ch ild .
H a v e you re a d tlê C h ristm a s story called 'T h e L ittlest A ngel’?
T h e black d ress w as littler an d su b tler th a n volum es o f Vogue could im ply.
[b] L esse r also den o tes 'o f sm aller size’: the Lesser A ntilles [in co n trast to the G reater Antilles].
C h a n g e s in s p e l l i n g
7.79 W ith ad je ctiv es ta k in g th e reg u lar inflections, c ertain ch an g es in sp ellin g o r
p ro n u n c ia tio n m ay be in tro d u ced in th e b ase o f th e a d jectiv e w h e n th e
suffixes are ad d ed .
(a) A single c o n so n a n t a t th e end o f th e base is doubled b efo re -er a n d -est
w h en th e p re ce d in g vow el is stressed a n d spelled w ith a single le tte r ( c f th e
sp ellin g o f v e rb fo rm s, 3.8):
big ~ bigger ~ biggest

sa d ~ sadder ~ saddest
Comparison of adjectives and adverbs 461
B u t c o n trast:
neat ~ neater ~ neatest

thick ~ thicker ~ thickest
T h ere is a v a ria n t sp ellin g i n :
cruel / ~ crue^ er ~ cruellest

\ ~ crueler ~ cruelest <esp A m E>
(b) In bases e n d in g in a c o n so n a n t followed, by -y , y ch an g es to - i b e fo re

-e r an d -e s t :
angry ~ angrier ~ angriest

early ~ earlier ~ earliest
(c) I f th e base e n d s in a m u te (u npronounced) -e, th is e is d ro p p e d b e fo re

th e inflection:
pure ~ p u re r ~ purest
brave ~ braver ~ bravest
T h e sam e a p p lies i f th e b a se e n d s in -e e :
free ~ fre e r ~ freest /'frin st/
C h a n g e s in p r o n u n c i a t i o n
7.80 (a) A disyllabic b a se e n d in g in /l/ norm ally loses its seco n d syllable b efo re
th e inflection:
pimple /sim p )/ ~ /'sim ploV ~ /'sim plist/
humble /h A in b l/ ~ /'h A m b lo V ~ /'h A m b h s t/
(b) E v en for sp e a k ers th a t d o n o t give co n so n an tal v alu e to a final r in

spelling, th e /r / is p ro n o u n c ed b efo re th e inflection:
rare /res’/ ~ /'rears’/ ~ /'resrist/
(c) F in al ng /rj/ in th e a b so lu te fo rm s long, strong, a n d y o u n g is p ro n o u n c ed

/ijg / before th e in fle c tio n :
lo n g / lo t) / ~ /'lo q g o V ~ / 'l D r j g i s t /
C h o ic e b e tw e e n in f le c t i o n a l a n d p e r ip h r a s tic c o m p a r is o n
7.81 T h e choice b etw een in flectio n al an d p erip h ra stic c o m p a riso n is largely
d e term in ed by th e len g th o f th e adjective.
(a) M onosyllabic ad je ctiv es n o rm ally form th e ir c o m p a riso n by in fle c tio n :
low ~ low er ~ lowest
R ea l, right, w rong, a n d th e p re p o sitio n like (c /9 .4 ) ta k e o nly p e rip h ra stic

fo rm s:
She is h e r g ra n d m o th er.
H o w e v e r , m o st o th er m o n o sy llab ic ad jectiv es can tak e e ith e r in flectio n al or

p e r ip h r a s tic c om parison.
( b ) M a n y disyllabic a d jectiv es c an also ta k e inflections, th o u g h th ey have

th e a lte r n a tiv e o f th e p e rip h ra stic f o rm s :
IT .... I politer!m ore polite.

e re 1 ren a re | ^ |(?) politestj(the) most polite.
D is y lla b ic ad jectiv es th a t c a n m o st readily tak e inflected fo rm s are those

e n d in g in a n unstressed vow el, /l/.o r /ar/, eg:
-y : early, easy, fu n n y , h ap p y , noisy, w ealthy, p retty

-o w : m ellow , n a rro w , shallow
-le : able, feeble, g en tle, noble, sim p le
-er, -ure: clever, m atu re, obscu re
(c ) T ris y lla b ic o r lo n g er a d jectiv es can o nly tak e p e rip h ra stic fo rm s :
be a u tifu l
~ m ore beautiful [ | u t n o t : *beautifuller]
~ the most beautiful [ b u t h o t : *beautifullest]
A d je c tiv e s w ith th e n e g ativ e un-prefix, su c h as unhappy a n d untidy, are

e x c e p tio n s :
~ unhappier ~ unhappiest ~ untidier ~ untidiest
(d ) P a rtic ip le form s w h ic h a re used as ad jectiv es reg u larly ta k e only

p e r ip h r a s tic fo rm s:
interesting ~ more interesting ~ most interesting

w o und ed ~ more wounded ~ most wounded
w orn ~ m ore worn ~ most worn
N o te [a] W i th in th e first group o f (b), w e m ay distin g u ish b etw een adjectiv es en d in g in -ly a n d o th e r
a d je c tiv e s e n d in g o nly in -y. F o r -ly ad jectiv es (c/7 .9 ), co m p ariso n w ith p e rip h ra sis is com m on,
eg w ith fr ie n d ly , likely, lonely, a n d liv e ly :
.. , \ — livelier — liveliest
[ ~ m ore lively — m ost lively
H o w e v e r, am o n g o th e r ad jectiv es en d in g only in -y, inflectional co m p ariso n is fav o u red , eg:
easy — easier — easiest
[b] A m o n g ad jectiv es en d in g in -er, eager a n d proper c a n ta k e only p erip h ra stic co m p ariso n . In
a d d itio n , th e follow ing d isy llab ic ad jectiv es can o ccu r w ith inflectional fo rm s (as well as
p e r ip h r a s tic fo rm s, w hich seem to be g ain in g g ro u n d ): quiet, com m on, solid, cruel, w icked, polite,
p le a sa n t, handsom e.
7.82 M o s t a d je ctiv es th a t a re in flected for c o m p ariso n can also ta k e th e p e rip h ra stic

fo rm s w ith m ore an d m ost. W ith more, they seem to d o so m o re easily w hen
th e y a re p re d ic ativ e a n d a re follow ed by a than- clause:
J o h n is m ore m a d th a n B ob is.
I t w o u ld be difficult to find a m an more brave th a n h e is.
H e is m ore w ealthy th a n I th o u g h t.
Com parison of adjectives and adverbs 463
P e rip h ra s tic fo rm s a re, how ever, u n co m m o n w ith a n u m b er o f m o n o sy lla b ic

ad jectiv es (in clu d in g th o se listed in 7.75 as form ing th e ir c o m p a ris o n
irreg u larly ):
bad big black clean

fa ir [colour] fa r fa s t good
great hard high low
old quick sm all thick
thin tight wide y oung
N o te [ a ) T h e re seem to b e few er restrictions o n u sing th e p erip h ra stic form s w ith adjectiv es i n th e

c o m p a ra tiv e c o n stru c tio n form ed w ith th e correlativ e t h e . . . the (c/1 5 .5 1 ):
(m o re old] (m ore wise] , . ,
\ older I we are’ ] wiser r w e becom e. |[ u t n o t : *a m ore old man]
Good a n d bad, h o w ev er, req u ire n o n p erip h rastic fo rm s {better, worse ) ev en here.
[b] T h e suffix -m ost is u sed to express th e hig h est d eg ree in her innermost fe elings. A ls o :fo r e m o s t,
hindm ost, outerm ost, uppermost. T h ese w ords are so m etim es used also as ad v e rb s: T hey d id th e ir
utm ost.
[c] A study o f ad jec tiv e s a t th e Survey o f E nglish U sa g e gives th e follow ing sta tis tic s :
(i) T h e c o m p a ra tiv e is, o n average, m ore freq u e n t th a n th e superlative.
(ii) O nly 25 p e r c e n t o f th e co m p arativ es, as ag a in st 52 p e r cent o f th e su p erla tiv es, a re
ac co m p a n ie d b y a n ex p licit basis o f co m p ariso n (c/7 .8 6 ).
(iii) •er is m o re fre q u e n t th a n m ore, w hich is m ore freq u e n t th a n less', -est is m ore freq u e n t t h a n
m ost, w h ic h is fa r m o re freq u en t th a n least.
(iv) M an y o f th e occ u rre n ces o f -e r fe st adjectiv es re p resen t a sm all n u m b e r o f re la tiv e ly
fre q u e n t ad jectiv es. T h e follow ing d istrib u tio n is p ro b ab ly typical also fo r a la rg er c o r p u s
(‘ty p es’ = d iffe re n t lexical item s; ‘to k e n s’ = to ta l n u m b e r o f in stances):
Table 7.8 2 F req u e n c ie s o f co m p arativ e form s
-erj-est m ore/m ost less/least TOTAL
TYPES 56 246 42 344

TOKENS 553 ‘ 345 49 947
Com parison of adverbs

7.83 F o r a sm all n u m b e r o f ad v erb s, th e inflected form s used fo r c o m p a riso n a re
th e sam e as th o se fo r adjectives. A s w ith ad jectiv es, th ere is a sm all g ro u p
w ith c o m p a ra tiv e s a n d su p erlativ es fo rm ed fro m d ifferen t stem s. T h e
c o m p a ra tiv e a n d su p erlativ e inflections a re id en tical w ith th o se fo r th e
c o rre sp o n d in g ad je ctiv es good, bad, a n d f a r ( c f l .I S ) , an d th e q u a n tifie rs
m uch a n d little ( c f 5.23):
badly ~ worse ~ worst

well ~ better ~ best
little ~ less (lesser) ~ least
f ~ fu rth e r ~ fu rth est
fa r
\ ~ fa rth e r ~ fa rth est
m uch ~ m ore ~ most
(a) W orse as th e c o m p a rativ e o f badly is used in eg'.
H e b e h av e s e v en worse th a n his b ro th er.
W ith need a n d want, how ever, th e p e rip h ra stic form is req u ired in B r E :
I re ally n eed th a t jo b m ore badly th an you. [A m E a ls o : worse ]
H ere b a d ly is n o t a pro cess ad v erb , as also in d icated by p o s itio n :
I b a d ly n e e d t h a t jo b . * H e badly behaves;
In n o n s ta n d a r d use, o n e m ay find iller/badder ~ baddest. In very form al

E n g lish , ill is syn o n y m o u s w ith badly (c f: ill-behaved ):
H e b e h av e d ill to w ard s his parents.
(b) C o m p o u n d s o f well a n d ill + p articip le h av e b o th ty p es o f co m p ariso n

(c /7 .7 7 ):
better-behaved ~ best-behaved
w ell-behaved
m ore well-behaved ~ m ost well-behaved
T he fo rm s better- ~ best-behaved a re m o re fo rm al th a n m ore — m ost well-

behaved. C o m p a re best-know n w h ich is p referred to m ost well-known.
(c) L e sser is so m etim es used in co m p ariso n to a lo w er d eg ree: lesser-

know n, in th e sa m e w ay as less well-known. T h ere is also a low er degree
c o m p a ra tiv e less w ell [ = worse], as in
H e re a d s less w ell th a n sh e does.
Less w e ll h e re in d ic a te s th a t h is read in g is n o t as b a d as ivor.se d oes (c/7 .7 7 ).

T h ere is n o co rre sp o n d in g h ig h er d eg ree c o m p a ra tiv e * m ore well = better.
(d) O n th e fo rm s fa rth er/fu rth e r ~ fa rth est/fu rth est, c f l . 1 5 , 8.48.
(e) A d v e rb s th a t a re id en tica l in form w ith ad je ctiv es ( c f 7.9) tak e

in flectio n s: f a s t, hard, late, long, quick. T h ey follow th e sa m e sp ellin g an d
p h o n o lo g ical rules as fo r a d jectiv es, eg', early ~ earlier ~ earliest:
Y o u h a v e to w o rk harderjfaster/longer.
T h e -e r — e st in flectio n s c a n n o t be ad d ed to open-class ad v erb s en d in g in

-ly: \
~ most quickly
q u ickly
- f *quickliest
W h en earlier is syno n y m o u s w ith before (th a t) o r previously, a n d w h en later is

syno n y m o u s w ith a fte r (th a t), th ey a re n o t c o m p a rativ es o f th e ad v erb s early
an d la te ( c f 8.55 N o te [a]).
(f) Soon, w h ic h h a s n o co rre sp o n d in g ad jectiv e, is freq u e n tly used in th e

c o m p a ra tiv e (sooner). Som e find th e su p erlativ e (soonest) u n a cc ep ta b le , o r a t
least v e ry in fo rm al, b u t it seem s perfectly a cc ep ta b le as a p rem o d ifier o f
c ertain ad jectiv es, eg:
th e soonest p o ssib le d a te , th e soonest av ailab le tim e
I t is also u sed in th e p ro v e rb ‘L east said , soonest m e n d e d ’, a n d in telexes an d

te le g ra m s:
S en d p rices soonest, [‘a s so o n as p o ssib le’]

(g) S im ilarly, often h a s th e co m p arativ e form s oftener a n d o ften est,

a lth o u g h they are less c o m m o n ly used th an th e co m p arativ e m ore often a n d ,
in p a rticu la r, th e su p e rlativ e m o st often.
(h) Som etim es th e c o m p a ra tiv e -er form o f th e adjective c an fu n c tio n as

th e co m p a rativ e o f th e -ly a d v e r b :
T h a t’s easier said th a n d o n e . [ = ‘m ore easily’]

S p eak clearer ! [ = ‘m o re c learly ’]
T h e use o f the c o m p a ra tiv e is gen erally co n sid ered less o b jec tio n a b le t h a n
th e use o f th e ad jectiv e in ste a d o f th e ad v erb in th e absolute fo rm ( c /7 .7 ) :
?S p eak clear ! [ = S p e a k clearly 1]
(i) C o m p arativ e a d v erb s a r e involved in m o d al idiom s ( c /3 .4 5 /) :
I h a d j’d better go now .

Y ou h a d best fo rg et all a b o u t th e w hole th in g .
I w ould/'d sooner stay a t h o m e to night.
H e would/had/’d rather n o t c o m m it him self. [T here is o f co u rse no
ab so lu te fo rm o f rather in p resen t-d ay E nglish.]
A rtic le usage w ith com paratives and superlatives

7.84 In g en eral, th e c o m p a ra tiv e a n d th e su p erlativ e express co m p a riso n b e tw ee n
tw o sets. I n the follow ing e x am p les [1,2], th e c o m p arativ e is used to c o m p a re
J a n e w ith th e oth ers. T h e re is n o a rticle w ith a rA an-construction, as in [1]:
J a n e is cleverer th a n all th e o th e r girls in th e class. [1]
W ith th e su p erlativ e, J a n e is in clu d ed in th e g ro u p an d c o m p a re d w ith all

th e o th ers. T h e definite a rtic le is u sed w ith a n o /p h r a s e follow ing, as in [2]:
J a n e is the cleverest o f all th e stu d en ts in th e class. [2]
T h e su p erlativ e is o ften u se d fo r a co m p ariso n b etw een tw o p erso n s, item s,

e tc [3], th o u g h th is is av o id e d in carefu l usage w h ere th e c o m p a ra tiv e [3a] is
p r e fe r r e d :
H e is the youngest (o f th e tw o b ro th ers). [3]

H e is the younger (o f th e tw o b ro th ers). [3a]
I f th e su p erlativ e is u sed a ttrib u tiv e ly , th e definite article (or o th e r d e fin ite

d e te rm in e r) is req u ired , as in [4] a n d [5]:
A n n a is { 2w r )
(/youngest child.
child. j
J
[4]
{
the m ost efficient p u b lish er in th e office, j
our m ost efficient p u b lish er. > [5]
* m ost efficient p u b lish er. J

B ut i f th e a d je c tiv e is n o t a ttrib u tiv e , the is o p tio n al:
A n n a is (th e ) youngest ( o f all). [4a]

D e lla is (th e ) m ost efficient (o f all). [5a]
W ith o u t a d e fin ite d eterm in er, th e c o n stru ctio n w ith m ost is alw ays am b ig u o u s
b e tw ee n s u p e rla tiv e an d in ten sifier in te rp reta tio n w hen th e a d jectiv e is
e v a lu a tiv e :
D e lla is m o s t efficient, [‘th e m o st efficient o f all’ o r ‘extrem ely

e ffic ie n t’] [5b]
W ith th e in d e fin ite o r zero article, m ost is alw ays in te rp rete d as a n in te n sifie r:
S h e is a m o s t efficient p u b lish er. 1 r. t . ,, r<; ,

T h e y a r e m o s t efficient p u b lis h e rs .] re m e y j CJ
W h e n m o st fu n c tio n s as a n in ten sifier, th ere is o f course n o p arallel

c o n s tru c tio n w ith th e inflected f o r m :
t. i r i j I m osto s tkkind.
ir
Y o u a re v e ry h elpful a n d -j * y n^ est
m ost odd.
I find th is w h o le situ atio n p u zzlin g a n d \
T h e re is a te n d e n c y to use m ost w ith a p reced in g definite a rticle to ex p ress

in te n sific a tio n :
I s n ’t sh e the m o st beautiful woman ? [‘a n ex trem ely b eau tifu l w o m a n ’,

ie = a m o st beautiful woman]
T h e in fle c tio n a l su p e rlativ e is o ccasio n ally used in th e sam e w ay, eg:
L u cille w e a rs the oddest clothes, m y d ear.
O th e r expressions of comparison
7.85 I n a d d itio n to th e n o rm al ex p ressio n o f co m p ariso n m en tio n ed , th e re are
som e o th e r, re la te d expressions. Som e L a tin co m p arativ es, eg: senior a n d
m ajor, r e ta in th e ir co m p a rativ e force:
A is senior to B.
H o w ev e r, th e y p re n o t tru e c o m p a rativ es in E nglish, sin ce th ey c a n n o t b e

used in c o m p a ra tiv e co n stru ctio n s w ith than as ex p licit b asis o f c o m p a riso n
(c /7 .8 6 ):
A is | 1 than B.
1 * senior J
Such L a tin c o m p a ra tiv e s m ay be called i m p l i c i t . (A n o th er te rm th a t o ccu rs

is ‘a b so lu te ’.) Im p lic it co m p a rativ es in clu d e th e follow ing:
A is senior to B. [‘o f hig h er r a n k ’, ‘o ld er th a n ’; cf: a senior m inister',

senior citizen s ‘o ld p eo p le’, ‘old a g e p e n sio n ers’]
B is ju n io r to A . [‘o f low er ra n k ’, ‘y o u n g er th a n ’ ,c f: a ju n io r minister]
inferior m a n a g e m e n t [‘in a d e q u a te ’ r a th e r th a n ‘less good’; c f : X is
inferior to Y .]
superior q u a lity [a ‘go o d ’ ra th e r th an ‘b e tte r’ q u a lity ; cf: Y is superior to

X.]
a prior cla im o v e r X [‘prev io u s’, ‘m ore im p o rta n t’ ; c f : prior to ‘earlier
th a n ’]
th e m ajor p o litica l p a rties [‘larg er’ o r ‘ra th e r larg e’]
a minor p o in t [‘less im p o rta n t’ o r ‘quite u n im p o rta n t’]
anterior a n d posterior p o sitions [technical term s in b io lo g y : *near(er) th e
h e a d ’ a n d ‘n ear(e r) th e ta il’]
A m o re o r less ‘a b so lu te ’ co m p a rativ e m ay occasio n ally b e fo u n d also w ith

o th e r ad jectiv es, as i n :
a n older m a n [‘r a th e r o ld’], th e better h o tels , fin e r re stau ra n ts
R ep ea te d a n d c o o rd in a te d com p arativ es, as in th e follow ing e x am p les,

in d ic a te g ra d u al in c r e a s e :
She is g e ttin g b etter a n d better, [‘increasingly b e tte r’]

T h ey a re b e co m in g m ore a n d m ore difficult.
Too in th e sen se ‘m o re th a n en o u g h ’ m ig h t also b e m en tio n ed h e re :
I t ’s too long, [‘lo n g er th a n it should b e’]

H e sp e a k s too q uickly, [‘m o re quickly th a n h e should sp e a k ’]
Enough (p o stp o sitiv e) a n d sufficiently (a ttrib u tiv e) express sufficient d e g re e :
T h e m essage is J t‘a s c *e a r as *s necessary ’]

N o te [a] G ra d in g is a s e m a n tic p ro cess w h ich m ay be expressed n o t o nly by m eans o f c o m p ariso n o f
ad jectives a n d a d v e rb s, b u t also by m eans o f verbs th a t d en o te g rad in g . W e c a n d istin g u ish
th re e ty pes o f v erb co rre sp o n d in g to th e th re e types o f co m p ariso n ( c /7 .7 4 ):
(i) V erbs ex p ressin g co m p a riso n in relatio n to a h ig h e r d eg ree, eg:
D em a n d exceeds su p p ly , [‘is g re a te r th a n ’]
(ii) V erbs ex p ressin g co m p ariso n in relatio n to th e sam e d eg ree, eg:
T h e le n g th o f th is b o a t equals th e w id th o f th a t b o at. [‘T h is b o a t is as long a s th a t b o a t is
w id e.’]
(iii) V erbs e x p ressin g co m p ariso n in relatio n to a lo w er d eg ree, eg:
T h is ac tio n dim inishes th e p o ssibilities o f an early settlem en t o f th e d isp u te, [‘m a k es th e
possib ilities s m a lle r’]
O th e r such v erbs c o n ta in in g a co m p a ra tiv e elem ent in clu d e th e fo llo w in g :
increase, intensify, exaggerate, m axim ize, lengthen , enlarge, a m p lify, lessen, curtail, lower,
abridge, im pair, m inim ize, decline
[b] Afore an d m ost h a v e o th e r uses in w h ich th e y are n o t eq u iv a le n t to th e co m p ariso n in flectio n s
(</8.105). N o tic e th e p a ra p h ra se s in th e follow ing tw o uses o f more:
H e is m ore th an happy a b o u t it. [‘H e is hap p y a b o u t it to a deg ree th a t is n o t a d e q u ately
expressed by th e w ord happy.']
H e is m ore good than bad. [‘It is m o re ac cu ra te to say th a t h e is good th a n th a t he is b a d .’]
She is m ore ke en than wise. [‘S he is keen ra th e r th a n w ise.']
T h e inflected form c a n n o t be su b stitu ted in th is function ( c /1 5 .6 9 /):
* H e is better th a n b ad . ?*S he is keener th an wise.
But c o m p a re :
I t ’s worse th a n useless. H e is worse th a n bad.
[c] Upper a n d lower h a v e n o c o m p arativ e force in upper case [‘ca p ital le tte rs’] a n d the lower leg
[‘th e b o tto m p a r t o f th e le g ’]. T h e y are not co m p arativ es o f up a n d low , since we c a n n o t say *up
case, * the low leg, etc. A s im ila r p a ir is outer a n d inner, eg in an inner meaning.
Basis o f com parison

7.86 W e c a n m ake th e b asis o f co m p ariso n explicit. T h e m o st c o m m o n w ays o f
d o in g so include c o rre lativ e co n stru ctio n s in tro d u ced by than (c o rrelativ e to
-er, m o re, less) a n d b y a s (co rrelativ e to so, as; o n c o m p a rativ e clauses, c f
f u r th e r 1 5 .6 3 (0 :
[ 1]
m ore
J o h n b eh av es politely than Bob (does). [ la ]
less
T h e basis o f c o m p a ris o n to th e sam e degree is a s a n d , in n o n assertiv e

c o n te x ts , also so (b o th h a v in g th e co rrelativ e as):
J o h n is [2]
B ases o f c o m p ariso n to a h ig h er o r low er d eg ree m ay also b e ex p ressed in

o th e r w ays, as illu stra te d below in (a-e).
(a) A restrictiv e re la tiv e clause (full o r ellipted):
' (I’ve ever seen ) '

(we have)
J o h n is the [jest p la y e r ■ (they have) on the [3]
(there is) -.
(that plays) J
(b) A n o /-p h rase (n o t d e riv a b le fro m a relativ e c la u se ):
f J o h n is the m o re p o lite o f the (two) boys. [4]

\ O f the (two)\boys, J o h n b eh av es th e m o re politely, [4a]
f J o h n is the in o st p o lite o f the (three) boys. [5]
1 O f the (three) boys, J o h n b eh av es th e m o st politely. [5a]
T h e p re p o sitio n a l p h ra s e s c a n be e ith e r final, as in [4] a n d [5], o r in itial, as in

[4a] a n d [5a], F in a l p o s itio n is m o re freq u e n t, especially w h en th e c o n stru ctio n
c o n ta in s a n ad jectiv e. N o te th e o b lig ato ry presence o f the b e fo re more a n d
m ost ( c f 7.84).
(c) T h e noun (o r its re p la ce m en t one) w h ich th e a d jectiv e p rem o d ifies:
lone. I
[m ore co m m o n ly : J o h n is m ore stu p id th a n th e o th e r boy.]
Intensification 469
(d) A d e te rm in e r w ith definite reference. W ith c o m p arativ es, e ith e r th e

d efin ite a rticle o r d e m o n stra tiv e d e te rm in e r ( c f 5.14) is p o ssib le :
T hat I ta " e r 's J°hn-
U n lik e c o m p a rativ es, how ever, su p e rlativ es c a n n o t n o rm ally co o ccu r w ith

d e m o n s tra tiv e d e te rm in e rs :
The V
M y I y o u n g est d a u g h ter is a d en tist.
*That J
(e) A g e n itiv e c o n stru ctio n o r possessive d e te rm in e r:
N o te S om e b a sis o f co m p ariso n m ay b e im p lic it in th e use o f th e ab so lu te fo rm o f th e ad jectiv e, a n d

in su ch cases th e b asis o f co m p ariso n c a n also b e m a d e explicit (cf: fo r , 9.62):
H e is ta ll fo r a child (o f ) his age. [ie ‘ta lle r th a n n o rm a l’]
Intensification
Restrictions on intensification
7.87 T h e ty p es o f in ten sifiers m o d ify in g ad jectiv es a n d ad v erb s h a v e b e e n
m e n tio n e d e a rlie r ( c f 7 .5 6 ff). H e re w e a re c o n cern ed w ith restric tio n s o n
th e ir use an alo g o u s to those fo r co m p ariso n . I n g en eral, am plifiers a n d
c o m p a ra tiv e s a re allow ed by th e sam e ran g e o f ad jectiv es a n d a d v erb s, ie
th o se t h a t a re g ra d ab le. T h e ran g e fo r e m p h asizers a n d th o se d o w n to n ers n o t
e x p ressin g d eg ree (eg: virtually) is m u ch w id er, as w e c a n see from th e ir
c o o ccu rren ce w ith a n o n g rad ab le a d jectiv e such as nonChristian:
H e is > n o n C h ristia n .
T h e re a re also re stric tio n s o n th e use o f p a rtic u la r intensifiers, a n d th ese c a n

so m etim es b e s ta te d in sem an tic t e r m s :
A m p lifiers a n d c o m p arativ es are a v ailab le fo r a d jectiv es th a t re fe r to a

q u a lity t h a t is th o u g h t o f as h a v in g values o n a scale. T h u s, in John is English,
th e a d je c tiv e E nglish does n o t allow am plifiers o r c o m p arativ es if it re fers to

J o h n ’s n a tio n a lity , w h ic h is n o t a q u ality o f Jo h n ’s. H ow ever, if th e a d jectiv e
re fe rs q u a lita tiv e ly to th e w ay he b eh av es o r to his racial b a ck g ro u n d , th ey
a re a d m i t te d :
, . j very English.
° n 1S [m ore E nglish than th e E nglish.
S h e i s f 'f " " ^ , ) Irish.

[three quarters)
S im ila rly , original in th e sense o f ‘n o t co p ie d ’ can n o t n o rm ally b e in ten sified

o r c o m p a re d , as in the original manuscript, w h ere it does n o t refer to a q u a lity
arid th e re c a n b e only o n e o rig in al m an u scrip t. O n th e o th e r h a n d , if original
re fe rs to th e q u a lity o f th e w o rk , m ean in g ‘o f a new ty p e’, it m ay b e in ten sified
o r c o m p a r e d : a m ore original book. W e m a y co m p are th e tw o uses w ith th o se
o f th e c o rre sp o n d in g ad v e r b :
, . (originally, [‘in a n o rig in a l m an n e r’]

S h e a lw ay s w rites j . . .. e
[very originally.
; S h e c a m e fro m C lev elan d { l‘in th e first p h c e ’]

\* very originally.
I n th e last e x am p le, originally is a re sp ec t ad ju n c t (c/8 .8 5 ) a n d c a n n o t b e

in te n sified o r co m p a red .
N ote (a j T h e r e a re e x c ep tio n s to th e coo ccu rren ce o f a p a rtic u la r intensifier w ith a se m a n tic class o f
a d je c tiv e . F o r ex a m p le, th o u g h utterly ten d s to co o c cu r w ith ‘n eg a tiv e’ adjectiv es, utterly reliable
a n d u tte rly delightful a re co m m o n .
[b] W i th referen ce to th e use o f original, w e n o te th a t th e follow ing sen ten ce h a s tw o po ssib le
m e a n in g s :
T h is is the m ore original m a n u sc rip t.
It c a n m e a n eithej- ‘T h is m a n u sc rip t w as w ritten w ith m o re originality* o r ‘T h is m a n u sc rip t is
c lo se r to th e o rig in a l’. ^
T h e unmarked term in 'measure' expressions

7.88 W h e n w e w a n t to s ta te th e age o f a p erso n , we will n o rm ally use th e
e x p ressio n x y ea rs old, fo r e x a m p le :
M r J e s p e k e n is 75 y ears old.
W e w ill n o t say (ex cep t jo k in g ly , as a c o m p lim e n t):
* M r Je sp e rse n is 75 y ea rs young.
H o w ev e r, th e ch o ice o f a d jectiv e here h as n o th in g to do w ith th e n u m b e r o f

y e ars, a n d w e w ould u se th e sam e ex p ressio n fo r som ebody v ery young, eg:
H is g ra n d d a u g h te r is tw o years
S im ila rly :
T h e w a te r is tw o m etres | * ^ ^ j ow Su san is only five feet I

Intensification 471
‘M easu re’ ad jectiv es lik e old, deep, an d tall cover a scale o f m e a su re m e n t.

Such ad jectiv es h a v e tw o term s for the o pposite ran g es o f th e scale ( o ld /
young, deep/shallow, tall/short), b u t use th e u p p er ran g e as th e ‘u n m a rk e d ’
term in m easu re e x p ressio n s {old, deep, tall). T h e ‘m ea su re ’ a d jectiv es w h ic h
a re used in th is w ay, p reced ed by a no u n ph rase o f m easu re, in clu d e th e
follow ing set w ith th e m a rk e d term given in p aren th esis:
deep (shallow) high (low) long (short) old (young)

tall (short) th ic k (thin) wide (narrow)
T h is set o f ‘m ea su re ’ ad jectiv es is used in the sam e w ay in faw -q u estio n s

a n d , a g ain , th e use o f th e u n m ark e d term does n ot assu m e th a t o n ly th e u p p e r
ran g e is a p p lic ab le:
A : H ow o ld is y o u r d a u g h te r? [‘W h at is h er ag e?’]
B : She is ten y ea rs old. [‘H e r ag e is ten years. ’]
T h ere a re also ad jectiv es o u tsid e the set listed a b o v e w h ich are u sed in
/iow -questions, in th e sam e w ay a s th e ‘m easu re’ adjectives. T h u s, if we w a n t
to k n o w th e size o f so m eth in g , w e w ould norm ally use big o r large, ra th e r
th a n sm all o r little, e g :
H ow big is y our c o m p u te r?
Sim ilarly, w e use bright ra th e r th a n dim , strong ra th e r th a n w eak, heavy ra th e r

th a n light, e t c :
H ow strong is th e en g in e o f th is car?
H ow accurate is y o u r d ig ital w atch ?
H o w ev er, su ch ad je ctiv es a re used in th is w ay only in Aow-questions, n o t

w ith n o u n p h ra ses o f m e a s u r e :
A : H ow heavy is y o u r su itcase? B : *It is o nly 20 kilo s heavy.
Som e ad v erb s also u se a n u n m a rk e d term in Acw-questions. T h ey in clu d e

th e italicized w o rd s in th e follow ing exam ples:
A : H o w m uch does sh e lik e h im ? B : She lik es h im a lot.

A : H ow often d id th ey c o m p la in ? B : E very d a y a fte r school.
A : H o w quickly does h e do
his h o m ew o rk ? B : U sually in less th a n a n h o u r.
A : H o w f a r d id you d riv e to d ay ? B : O ver 200 m iles.
C o m p are th e follow ing ex p ressio n s o f d istan ce:
B :• I t ’s way\^ ^ vjjia ge [assertive]
I t ’s | n o ,f a r I to th e village, [nonassertive]
[nonassi
I not a long w ay I
C o m p a r e tim e expressions:
A : H o w long d id th e c o n cert last?
R . fO n ly 40 m in u tes. r .
' [ I t w as only 40 m in u te s < +
N o te [a] I f w e u se th e m a rk e d te rm , a s in H ow young is John ?, w e a te a sk in g a q u estio n th a t

p re s u p p o s e s th a t th e relev an t n o rm is to w ard s th e low er en d o f th e scale, ie th a t J o h n is young,
w h e re a s th e u n m a rk e d term in H ow o ld is John ? does not p resuppose th a t Jo h n is old. N otice
th a t n e i t h e r te rm is n eu tral in e x c la m a tio n s:
H o w yo u n g h e is! [‘H e is ex trem ely young!*]
H o w o ld h e is! [‘H e is ex trem ely o ld !’}
[b] W e u s e n e ith e r th e m ark ed n o r th e u n m a rk ed te rm o f a m easu re ad jectiv e i n :
* H e is fiv e pounds
T h e fo llo w in g co n stru c tio n s a re ho w ev er no rm al w ith th e u n m a rk ed te r m :

A : H o w h eavy is h e ?
ffiv e pounds too heavy.
B : H e is < too heavy by fiv e pounds.
[ fiv e pounds heavier th an Jo h n is.
B ut, in sp ecific c o n tex ts, e ith e r o f tw o p a irs o f ad jectives lik e heavyllight, longjshort c a n be
c o n s id e re d u n m a rk e d . T h e ch oice o f term is d eterm in ed by o u r p o in t o f o rie n ta tio n . W h en we
w a n t t o re la te £ ja v e lin throw to a specific pu rp o se (to w in , qu alify , etc), w e m ay sa y :
H i s la s t ja v e lin th ro w w as a f e w inches short.
S hort h e r e is n o t th e an to n y m o f long , a n d th e re is no im p licatio n th a t it w as a sh o rt throw .
C o m p a r e a n ex a m p le lik e th e fo llo w in g :
H o w high/low }s th e w ate r level n ow ?
H ere, t h e ite m sele c te d (p articu larly th e m a rk ed high) suggests th e e x p e ctatio n th a t th e level is
g e ttin g h ig h e r a n d lo w er, respectively.
[c] In t h e ca se o f ‘n o n litera P m easu re item s, f a r is also un m a rk ed , as in :
H o w f a r d o you ag ree w ith th e p ro p o sal?
[d] F u ll a n d e m p ty c a n be used eq u ally , alth o u g h H o w fu ll? is co m m o n er th a n H ow e m p ty ?:
h a lf fu ll , h a lf e m p ty , three-quarters fu ll , three-quarters em pty
P rem o difica tip n of com paratives \

7.89 A d je c tiv e s a n d ad v erb s in th e ab so lu te deg ree can b e p rem o d ified by
in te n sifie rs lik e very, quite , so, etc ( c f 1 .5 6 ff):
jo b was ■ v e r y ^ y ^
S h e w rites very | we^.]

[ e a s ily .
C o m p a ra tiv e s o f b o th a d jectiv es an d a d v erb s, w h e th er in flected o r

p e rip h ra s tic , can b e p rem odified by am plifiers, such as m uch o r very m u c h :
T h e jo b w as (very) much t*lan I th o u g h t.
S h e w rites (very) m uch •! ^ etter I th a n she used to.

[m ore easily \
N o te th e re stric tio n on p rem o d ificatio n o f ad jectiv es a n d a d v erb s in the

a b so lu te a n d c o m p a rativ e d e g re e s :
Intensification 473
She w orks
{
m uch)
T h a t’s | m uc^ l }jetter
better. She w orks harder.
*very J
O th e r in ten sifiers (a n d intensifying n o u n p h rases) th a t a re co m m o n w ith

co m p a rativ es in c lu d e th e follow ing:
som ew hat e asie r

rather b e tte r
a hell o f a lot
a heck o f a lo t > b e tte r <very fa m ilia r)
a dam n sig h t J
Som e in ten sifiers c a n b e re p eated for e m p h a sis:
very very g o o d [‘ex trem ely good’]

very v e r y . . . m u c h sooner
much m uch . . . m o re careful
f a r f a r . . . m o re carefully
s o s o . . . m u c h b e tte r [rep eated so in B rE only]
so very v e r y . . . m u c h b etter
G en erally , h o w ev er, th e re p etitio n is p erm issib le only if th e re p ea te d ite m s

com e first o r follow s o :
so very v e r y . . . m u c h b etter
*very m uch m u c h . . . b e tte r
R e p etitio n o f in te n sifiers is a type o f c o o rd in a tio n th a t is alw ays a sy n d e tic

( c f 13.102): *very a n d very good.
O nly m uch a n d f a r a re used as in ten sifiers o f p rem o d ify in g ad jectiv es.
C o m p are :
*great deal J
M uch c a n b e p re m o d ified by so, very, a n d that:

Pre m o difica tion of superlatives

7.90 T h e n o n p e rip h ra s tic su p erlativ e m ay be prem odified by th e in ten sifier v ery :
T h e y a rriv e d only a t the very last m o m en t.

S h e p ut o n her very best dress.
W h e n very prem odifies th e su p erlativ e, a d e te rm in e r is o b lig ato ry ( c /7 .8 4 ) :
f {the) youngest.
A n n a is <j the very youngest.
y * very youngest.
T h e p e rip h ra s tic su p e rlativ e is n o t p rem odified by the in te n sifier very {*the

very m o s t successful candidate) b u t by o th e r expressions, eg :
t h e m ost successful c a n d id a te o f all

t h e m ost re m a rk a b le electio n ever
f a r (and aw ay)
the best solution
b y fa r
N ote th e different positions o f intensifiers in :
th a t I ’ve seen
for a long tim e.
B ib lio g rap h ical n o te

O n a d je c tiv e s an d ad v e rb s, see A a rts a n d C a lb e rt (1979); B acklund (1981); B o lin g er (1967a);
D ix o n (1982a); Is itt (1983); Jaco b sso n (1961); K jellm e r(1 9 8 4 ); L jung(1970); M a rc h a n d (1966);
S e p p a n e n (1975); T ey ssie r (1968); V en d le r (1968); W a rre n (1978,198.2,1984). O n ad v e rb s, see
fu rth e r b ib lio g rap h ical n o te in C h a p te r 8.
O n c o m p ariso n a n d in ten sificatio n , see B olinger (1967b, 1972a); B resn an (1973); C am p b ell
a n d W a le s (1969); C o ates (1971); F ries (1977); G n u tz m a n n (1974); G n u tz m a n n e t al (1973);
Lees (1961); R u sieck i(1 9 8 5 ); W ood (1959).
8 The semantics and grammar
of adverbials
8.1 Introduction 478
8.2-10 Outline of semantic roles 479

.3 S p ace 479
.4 T im e 481
.5 P ro cess 482
.6 R e sp e ct 483
.7 C o n tin g en cy 484
.8 M o d a lity 485
.9-10 D eg ree 485
.11-12 M u ltip le o ccu rren ce 487
.13 R e a liz a tio n 489
.14-23 Position 490
.15 In itia l 491
.16-17 M e d ial 491
.18-20 ' V a ria n ts o f m ed ial 493
.21 T h e ‘sp lit in fin itiv e’ 496
.22 E n d p o sitio n 498
.23 P o sitio n al n o rm s 500
8.24 Grammatical functions 501
8.25-87 Adjuncts 504

.26 S u b categ o ries o f ad ju n c t 505
.27-33 O b lig ato ry p re d ic atio n a d ju n cts 505
.34 O p tio n al p re d ic atio n ad ju n cts 510
.35 P o sitio n o f p re d ic atio n a d ju n cts 510
.36 S en ten ce ad ju n cts 511
.37-38 S u b je c t-a n d o b ject-related 512
8.39-147 G R A M M A TIC A L REALIZATION

OF S E M A N T IC ROLES 514
8.39-50 Adjuncts of space 514

.40-41 R e a liz a tio n 515
.42 C o o c c u rr e n c e re s tric tio n s 517
.43 P o te n tia l a m b ig u ity 518
.44 P o s itio n a n d d ire c tio n a d ju n c ts i n t h e s a m e c la u s e 519
.45 H ie ra rc h ic a l re la tio n s h ip 519
.46 C o o r d in a tio n 520
.47 P o sitio n s o f sp ace ad ju n cts 521
.48 S y n ta ctic featu res o f space a d ju n cts 52 3
.49 P o s itio n a d ju n c ts in relatio n to subject a n d ob ject • 524
.50 D ire c tio n a d ju n c ts as c o m m an d s 52 5
8.51-77 Adjuncts of time 526

.52-54 R e a liz a tio n 526
.55-56 T im e - p o s itio n a d ju n c ts 529
.57 A d ju n c ts o f s p a n a n d d u ra tio n 533
.58-59 F o rw a rd sp an 533
.60-62 B ac k w a rd sp a n 536
.63 D u ra tio n 540
.64-70 T im e - fre q u e n c y a d ju n c ts 541.
.71 T im e - fre q u e n c y a d ju n c ts a n d q u a n tifie rs 549
.72 T im e - r e la tio n s h ip a d ju n c ts 550
.73 R e la tiv e p o s itio n s o f tim e a d ju n c ts 551
.74 C o o rd in a tio n 551
.75 T im e a d ju n c ts a n d tim e re fe re n c e 552
.76 T i m e a d j u n c t s a s s u b je c t- a n d o b j e c t - r e l a t e d 553
.77 S y n t a c t i c f e a t u r e s o f ti m e a d j u n c t s 555
8.78-84 P ro c e s s a d ju n c ts 556
.78 R e a liz a tio n 556
.79 M a n n e r a d ju n c ts 557
.80 M e a n s , in s tru m e n t, a n d a g e n t a d ju n c ts 559
.81 S e m a n tic b le n d s 560
.82 C o o c u r re n c e re s tric tio n s o n p ro c e ss a d ju n c ts 561

.83 S y n ta c tic fe a tu re s o f p ro c e ss a d ju n c ts 561
.84 P o s i t i o n s o f p r o c e s s a d ju n c ts . 562
.85 A d ju n c ts o f re s p e c t 563
.8 6 A d ju n c ts o f c o n tin g e n c y 564
.87 R e la tiv e p o s itio n s o f a d ju n c ts 565
8.88-120 Subjiincts 566

.89-91 W i d e o r i e n t a t i o n 568
.89 V ie w p o in t s u b ju n c ts 568
.90-91 C o u rte s y s u b ju n c ts 569
.92-120 N a r r o w o r i e n t a t i o n 572
.92-98 I te m s u b ju n c ts 572
.92-95 S u b je c t-o r ie n ta tio n 572
.96 V e r b - p h r a s e a n d p re d ic a tio n s u b ju n c ts 578
.97 T im e - r e la tio n s h ip s u b ju n c ts 579
.98 O th e r t im e s u b ju n c ts 581
.99-103 E m p h a s i z e r s 583
.101 C o o c c u rr e n c e re s tric tio n s o n e m p h a s iz e rs 585
.102-103 S y n t a c t i c f e a t u r e s o f e m p h a s iz e r s 586
.104-115 I n te n s if ie r s 589
.105-110 A m p lif ie r s 590
.106 M o d i f i c a t i o n a n d c o m p a r i s o n o f m a x im iz e r s 592
.107-108 C o o c c u r r e n c e r e s t r i c t i o n s o n a m p lif ie r s 593
.109 P o s itio n s o f a m p lifie rs 595
.110 S y n t a c t i c f e a t u r e s o f a m p lif ie r s 596
.111-114 D o w n to n e rs 597
.113 S y n t a c t i c f e a t u r e s o f d o w n to n e r s 601
.114 P o s itio n s o f d o w n to n e rs 601
.115 I n t e n s i f i e r i t e m s a s q u a n tif ie r s , f r e q u e n t a t i v e s ,
d u ra tiv e s 602
.116-120 F o c u s in g s u b ju n c ts 604
.117 P o s itio n a n d fo c u s 605

.118 P o s i t i o n s o f r e s t r i c t i v e s u b ju n c ts 607
.119 P o s i t i o n s o f a d d i t i v e s u b ju n c ts 609
.120 S y n t a c t i c f e a t u r e s o f f o c u s in g s u b ju n c t s 610
8.121-133 Disjuncts 612

.124-126 S ty le d is ju n c ts 615
.126 M e ta lin g u is tic c o m m e n t 618
.127-129 C o n te n t d is ju n c ts 620
.130-133 S y n t a c t i c f e a t u r e s o f d is ju n c ts 627
8.134-147 Conjuncts 631

.136-142 T h e s e m a n tic s o f c o n ju n c ts 634
.143 C o r r e s p o n d e n c e s t o o t h e r s tr u c tu r e s 640
.144 C o o c c u r r e n c e a n d p o s i t i o n o f c o n ju n c ts 642
.145 C o n ju n c ts a s c o r re la tiv e s 644
.146 C o n ju n c tio n s w ith c o n ju n c ts 645
.147 O t h e r s y n t a c t i c f e a t u r e s o f c o n ju n c ts 646
8.148-153 Adverbials in conspectus 647

.149 C o n s tra in ts o n c o o c c u rre n c e 648
.150-152 R e la tiv e p o s itio n s o f a d v e rb ia ls 649
.153 R e a l i z a t i o n a n d r o le 652

478 T h e sem antics and gram m ar of adverbials
In tro d u c tio n
8.1 T h e a d v e r b ia l e lem en t (A) differs co n sid erab ly from th e o th er e lem en ts o f
c la u se stru c tu re (S, V, O , C), as we have alre ad y seen in 2.15. D ifferen ces in
th e fo llo w in g re sp ec ts a re especially n o ta b le :
(i) ra n g e o f sem an tic roles;

(ii) p ro p e n sity for m ultiple o ccu rren ce in th e sam e c la u se ;
(iii) ra n g e o f realizatio n form s;
(iv ) ra n g e o f possible positions in th e c lau se;
(v ) d is tin c tiv e g ram m atical fu n ctio n s;
(v i) flex ib ility for use in in fo rm atio n p rocessing ( c f 1 8 .3 # ) a n d in
d is p la y in g tex tu al c onnections (c /1 9 .5 3 # ).
S in ce t o so m e e x te n t th ese variables a re in d e p e n d e n t o f each o th er, w e shall

o u tlin e e a c h o f (i) to (iv) separately. B u t since it is th e g ra m m atica l a sp e cts
th a t c o n c e rn us, w e shall reserve m ost o f th e d e scrip tio n an d d iscu ssio n o f
a d v e rb ia ls , in all th e ir respects, for tre a tm e n t u n d e r (v), 8 .2 4 # I n an y case,
a lth o u g h th e v a riab les a re in d eed to som e e x te n t in d ep en d en t, th ey a re also
to a la r g e e x te n t in te rd ep e n d e n t. It is becau se th e re are d ifferent g ra m m a tic a l
f u n c tio n s (v) as well as d ifferen t sem an tic roles (i) th a t we c a n h a v e m o re
t h a n o n e A -e lem en t in a clause (ii). I t is b ecau se th ere is a ran g e o f p o ssib le
p o s itio n s fo r th e A -elem ent (iv) th a t th is elem en t lends itself to in fo rm a tio n
p ro c e ss in g (vi). C e rta in realizatio n form s (iii) a re especially asso c iated w ith
c e r ta in g ra m m a tic a l fu n ctio n s (v) a n d w ith c e rta in p o sitions in th e clau se
(iv). W e shall freq u en tly be d raw in g a tte n tio n to in teractio n s lik e th ese. In
p a r tic u la r , it m u st be stressed th a t a g iv en se m an tic role (eg tim e) is n o t tied
to a sin g le g ra m m a tic a l fu n ctio n ; tim e, for exam ple, is ex p ressed by b o th
a d ju n c ts a n d subjuncts.
W e m a k e a sh a rp a n d p rin cip led d istin c tio n in th is bo o k acc o rd in g as an
a d v e rb p h ra s e , p rep o sitio n al p h rase, o r o th e r u n it fu n ctio n s o u tsid e a clau se
e le m e n t (ie is g ra m m atically separate fro m it) o r in sid e a clause e le m en t (ie is
g ra m m a tic a lly a p a rt o f it). T h u s th e u n its very beautifully , in the garage, a n d
really a r e a d v erb ials in [1], [2], a n d [3] resp ectiv ely , b u t are n o t a d v e rb ia ls in
[4], [5], a n d [6], w here th ey o p erate g ra m m atica lly as p a rt o f p h ra ses w h ich
a s a w h o le realize o th er elem ents, O in [4] a n d [5], C in [6]:
T h e g irl w as dressed very beautifully. [1]

I k e e p a sp a re bicycle in the garage. [2]
S h e really is a n in tellig en t child. [3]
I sa w a very beautifully dressed girl. [4]
I k e e p th e bicycle in the garage w ell oiled. [5]
S h e is a really in tellig en t child. [6]
(See f u r th e r 8.24.)
N o te O f th e cla u s e elem en ts S, V , O , C , A , th e A -elem en t is th e n ex t m ost freq u en t a f te r S a n d V. T h e

v a st m a jo rity o f clauses, d e p e n d en t o r in d e p en d en t, c o n ta in a t least on e a d v e rb ial, a n d in th e
Survey o f E n g lish U sage co rp u s th e re a re on av e ra g e 15 ad v e rb ials in every 100 ru n n in g w ords
o f m a te ria l, sp o k e n and w ritten alike.
Sem antic roles 479
Outline of semantic roles

8.2 W e shall d istin g u ish sev en m ain categories o f se m an tic role, in m o st cases
w ith fu rth er su b d iv isio n s as show n in the tab le below . W e b eg in w ith th e
category s p F c e , sin c e th e expression o f o th er c ateg o ries is o ften ach iev ed in
term s o f fig u rativ e e x te n sio n o f spatial relations.
SPACE position 'l ( w ith in terrelated su b d iv isio n s, goal [‘to ’]

direction j \ a n d source [‘fro m ’]
distance
TIME position \ f w ith in terrelated su b d iv isio n s fo rw a rd span
duration ) \ [ ‘u n til’] a n d backw ard span [‘sin ce’]
fre q u en cy
relationship
PROCESS m anner
m eans
instrum ent
agentive
RESPECT
c o n ti n g e n c y cause
reason
purpose
result
condition
concession
MODALITY em phasis
approxim ation
restriction
D EG R EE amplification
dim inution
m easure
D etailed d iscu ssio n o f th ese categories w ill b e reserv ed for th e sectio n s

d ealin g w ith th e ex p ressio n given th em by th e v ario u s classes o f ad v erb ials,
8.39#. B ut sin ce to som e con sid erab le e x ten t th e sam e se m an tic roles are
perform ed by q u ite d iffere n t gram m atical classes o f ad v erb ial, w e p ro v id e in
8 .3 -1 0 a p re lim in a ry discussion an d illu stratio n o f th e se m an tic c ateg o ries
listed above.
Space
8 .3 W e can read ily d istin g u ish five sem an tic re la tio n s ex p ressed by a d v e rb ia ls in
relatio n to p h y sic al s p F c e , inclu d in g th e o rd in ary senses o f ‘p lace’, a term w e
shall also use w h e n th is is co nvenient. F irst, th e re is p o s i t i o n , no rm ally
associated w ith v e rb s re ferrin g to stasis:
H e lay on his bed.
B ut they c a n o c cu r also w ith verbs referrin g to m o tio n :
T h e y a r e s t r o l l i n g in th e p a r k .
S eco n d ly , w e h a v e d i r e c t i o n , w h ich m ay refer to d irec tio n a l p a th w ith o u t

lo ca tio n a l sp ecificatio n , as i n :
T h e y d r o v e w e s tw a r d s .
O r it c a n re fe r to d ire c tio n a lo n g w ith a locational sp ecificatio n , as in :
S h e w alk ed dow n the hill.

T h e ir house faces tow ards the sea.
T h ird ly , in v o lv in g a p o sitio n al asp ect o f d irectio n , we c a n d istin g u ish

g o F l , a s in :
S h e w alk ed (d o w n th e hill) to the bus stop.
T h e in te rre la tio n s h ip o f th e th re e is show n by th e fa c t th a t, in p a rticu la r

co n te x ts a n d w ith p a rtic u la r v erb s, they can all be readily elicited by q u estio n s
w ith W here:
W here w as h e lying ? O n his bed. [position]

W h ere w as sh e w a lk in g ? In the p a rk. [position]
W here w as sh e w a lk in g ? D own the hill. [direction]
W h ere w as sh e w a lk in g ? To the bus stop, [goal]
But w ith th e la tte r tw o, th e re a re a ltern ativ e q u estio n form s th a t a re m ore

ro le-sp ecific:
W hich w ay w as sh e w a lk in g ? [direction]
W here w as sh e w a lk in g to ? [goal]
A q u e stio n w ith a m o re g e n era l verb as in ‘W h ere w as sh e g o in g ? ’ w ould be

e n tirely o p e n as to d ire c tio n o r goal use.
F o u rth ly , a g ain in v o lv in g d irec tio n an d position, w e h av e th e o b v erse o f
goal i n s o u r c e ; fo r e x a m p le :
S h e w alk ed (d o w n th e hill) fr o m the school.
Q u estio n s c o n ce rn in g so u rce w ould usually be ex p ressed th ro u g h a m ore

g en eral v e rb ofi m o tio n th a n walk, especially o n e th a t is o rien ted to th e
sp e a k er, a n d th e ‘so u rc e ’ p re p o sitio n (eg: fro m ) w ould h a v e to be e x p re ss e d :
W h ere w as sh e c o m in g /ro m ?
(O n t h e g ro u n d s fo r seein g d irec tio n , goal, an d source as in v o lv in g th e sam e

basic g ra m m a tic a l categ o ry , see 8.46).
F in a lly , th e re is s p a tia l m easu re, expressed as d i s t F n c e :
T h e y h a d trav e lle d a long way.

S h e h a d d riv en (fo r) f i f t y kilom etres.
H e h a d n ’t g o n e fa r .
Such a d v e rb ia ls a re e lic ited by H ow f a r . . . ?

O n e f u r th e r s e m a n tic fa c to r should be m en tio n ed . S en ten ces w h ich
superficially differ o n ly in so fa r as o n e h as a p o sitio n a d v erb ial a n d th e o th er
a d ire c tio n , goal, o r so u rce a d v e rb ia l are found o n clo ser in sp ectio n to involve
a c o n sid e ra b le d ifferen ce in th e m ean in g o f th e v erb c o n cern ed , trig g ered by
the d iffe re n t p re p o s itio n s :
Sem antic roles 481
H e is trav ellin g in Y o rk sh ire. [I]

H e is trav e llin g to L eeds (or fro m H alifax). [2]
S e n ten c e [1] seem s to give eq u al w eig h t to w h a t he is d oing (travelling) a n d

w h e re h e is d o in g it (in Y o rk sh ire), w h ereas sen ten ce [2] seem s to give w e ig h t
o n ly to th e d ire c tio n : ‘W h ere is he trav ellin g to /fro m ? ’ ‘W here is h e g o in g
(to )? ’ ‘W h ere is he co m in g fro m ? ’ T h is is confirm ed b o th by th e p lau sib ility
o f th e p a ra p h ra se s (go, come) a n d by th e absen ce o f a n accep tab le q u e s tio n :
* W h a t is he d o in g fro m H a lifax ? T rav ellin g ?

b e sid e :
W h a t is he d o in g in Y o rk sh ire ? T rav ellin g ?
T h is suggests th a t, in ad d itio n to th e se m an tic d istin ctio n s, th e p o sitio n

a d v e rb ia l is d ifferen t from th e o th ers g ram m atically as well (c/8 .4 4 # ).
N o te I n so m e v ery fo rm al a n d sty listically m a n n e re d usage, w e find th e otherw ise a rc h a ic wh- fo rm s

w hither (d ire ctio n a n d goal) an d whence (source).
T im e
8.4 T e m p o ra l relatio n s a re especially d e p en d e n t for th eir ex p ressio n u p o n
fig u rativ e ex ten sio n o f lo cativ e item s such as in a n d a t ( c f 9.34). A s w ith
sp a c e, sev eral subroles c an be d istin g u ish ed , som e o f th em closely a n alo g o u s
to th o se o f space.
F irs t, th ere is tim e seen as a fixed p o s i t i o n o n a tem p o ral scale: tim e as
sta sis - th e tim e when a n a ctio n to o k p lace o r th e tim e to w h ic h a s ta te
a p p lie s. F o r ex am p le:
S he d ro v e to C h icag o on Sunday. H e w as th ere last w eek.
T h e re la tio n is e licited by when an d is o ften referred to as ‘tim e when':
W hen d id sh e d riv e to C h icag o ? On Sunday.
S eco n d ly , d u r a t i o n . S ince tim e is conceived as b eing lin ear a n d u n id im e n

sio n a l, th e analo g y o f sp a tia l d irec tio n m ak es little im p a c t o n th e
c o n ce p tu a liz atio n o f tim e. B ut th e co n ce p t o f m easu re is a s im p o rta n t to th e
c o n sid e ra tio n o f tim e as it is to sp ace, an d tem p o ral m easu re is seen a s
d u ra tio n . L in k in g d u ra tio n to specific p o sitions o n the lin e a r tim e scale, w e
h a v e th e co n ce p t o f s p a n , itself su b d iv id ed to corresp o n d to th e o n ly
ru d im e n ta ry an alo g u e to sp a tia l d irec tio n th a t is co n cep tu alized w ith re sp e c t
to tim e , th e f o r w a r d s p a n [‘u n til, u p to a specified p o in t o f tim e ’: c f s p a tia l
‘g o a l’] a n d th e b a c k w a r d s p a n [‘since, from a specified p o in t o f tim e ’ : c f
sp a tia l ‘so u rce’].
f o r w a r d s p a n ex ten d s from th e p o in t o f tim e to w hich th e sp e a k er a n d
h e a re r a re o rien ted , fo rw ard to so m e p o in t w h ich is ‘fu tu re’ in re la tio n to th e
o rie n ta tio n p o in t. F o r ex am p le:
I sh all be stay in g h e re till n e x t w eek.

W ash in g to n delay ed his c o u n te r-attac k until the follow ing spring.
T h e co n v erse o f th is, b a c k w a r d s p a n , in d icates th e stretch o f tim e b a c k

fro m th e s p e a k e r-h e a re r o rie n ta tio n p o in t. F o r exam p le:
I ’v e b e e n sta y in g h ere since last week.

W a s h in g to n ’s a tta c k th a t sp rin g w as his first a ctio n since the previous
Septem ber.
T h e n th e r e a re m o re g eneral expressions o f d u ra tio n , w ith o u t n ecessary

re la tio n to a p a rtic u la r p o in t o f o rien tatio n . F o r e x a m p le :
I a m sta y in g (for) three weeks.
H e re t h e re fe re n c e o f th e ad v erb ial m ay ex te n d b o th in to th e past, an d in to

th e fu tu r e fr o m th e tim e p o in t o f u tte ran c e ; equally, it m ay re fe r to a th ree-
w eek p e r io d a t so m e unspecified tim e in th e fu tu re, ju s t as in th e follow ing
e x a m p le it c a n r e fe r to a n unspecified p e rio d in th e p a s t ;
I s ta y e d (for) three weeks.
T h e e lic ita tio n o f d u ra tio n as well as fo rw ard a n d b a ck w a rd sp a n is usually

a c h ie v e d by th e sam e q u estio n form , H o w long . . . ? B u t for fu tu re a n d p a st
e x te n t, a lte rn a tiv e fo rm s a re generally a v ailab le, such as Till when . . . ? a n d
Since w h e n . . . ? respectively.
T h ird ly , w e h a v e expressions o f f r e q u e n c y , elicited by H o w often . . . ?
A : H o w o ften d o you go to the th ea tre ?

B : W ell, I lik e to go frequently, b u t in fa c t I ’ve b e en only three tim es
th is y ear.
T h e tw o a d v e rb ia ls in th e a n sw er d raw a tte n tio n to th e fa ct th a t freq u en cy is

a c o m p le x n o tio n (as is ‘d irec tio n ’ in its in te ra c tio n w ith ‘g o al’), a n d we shall
ex p lo re it in m o re d e ta il in 8 .64#below .
F o u rth ly , th e re is th e expression o f r e l a t i o n s h i p b etw een o n e tim e an d
a n o th e r, a g a in a co m p lex n o tio n , a n d in th is case w ith n o role-specific
q u e stio n fo rm . F o r ex am p le:
I w a s a lre a d y w ritin g m y novel in 1980 a n d P m a fra id it is still in

p ro g ress. !
H e h a d v isite d h is m o th e r already w h en I saw h im y esterday.
P ro c e ss
H e re it is p o ssib le to d istin g u ish four su b classes: m a n n e r (casually, with
deference, carefully, slowly, like John, ju s t as John does, etc); m e a n s (by bus, in
m athem atics, through insight, etc); i n s t r u m e n t (w ith a fo r k , using a dictionary,
by m eans o f interrogation, e tc ); a g e n t i v e (by John, w ith p a ssiv e ; co rre sp o n d in g
to John as su b je ct, w ith active). Since th e last th ree subclasses seem to
o v e rla p , it is n ecessary to d em o n strate th e ir in d ep e n d en c e by a co o ccu rren ce
te s t ( c /8 .1 1 /) , a n d it m ay well be th a t th e d istin c tio n ten d s to b e m a d e in
actu al lan g u a g e use only w hen such c o o ccu rren ce o b tain s. C o n sid e r th e fo u r
a d v erb ials in e a c h o f th e follow ing sen ten ces:
T h e s tu d e n t w as politely [A j] assessed by the teacher [A 2],

im pressionistically [A3] by m eans o f an interview [A 4].
T h e p a tie n t w as carefully [A , ] tre a te d by the nurse [A 2] m edically [A 3]
with a w ell-tried drug [A4j.
S em antic roles 483
In e ac h sen ten ce, A , is m a n n e r, A 2 agent, A 3 m eans, a n d A 4 in stru m e n t. B u t

alth o u g h th e d istin c tio n m a y seem especially close o nly b etw een m ea n s a n d
in stru m e n t, it sh o u ld b e n o ted th a t m an n e r is. n o t n ecessarily alw ay s
d istin g u ish ed clearly from th em . In prin cip le, th e d istin c tio n is c le a r en o u g h :
m a n n e r is relatively su b je ctiv e a n d hence g rad ab le (c /7 .4 ): quite politely, very
carefully, m ea n s an d in stru m e n t are objective an d hence n o n g ra d a b le : *very
surgically. B u t co n sid er th e follow ing se n ten c e :
T h e te a c h e r assessed th e stu d e n t impressionistically.
H e re we m ay be u n su re w hether- the a d v erb ial m ea n s ‘in a q u ite
im p ressio n istic m a n n e r’, ‘su bjectively’, o r ‘by m ean s o f a n im p ressio n -
fo rm in g tec h n iq u e ’. A n d e v e n if th e m eans sense seem ed to b e en d o rsed b y
co o ccu rren ce w ith a n ‘in stru m e n t’ ad v erb ial, cooccurrence w ith a m a n n e r
a d v erb ial lik e casually w o u ld in te ra c t sem antically (c /8 .8 0 ) so as to m a k e
impressionistically eq u iv o cal b etw een m eans a n d m a n n e r :
H e casually [A t ] assessed th e stu d en t impressionistically [A 2] by
interviewing him [A 3].
A g ain , w e a re very d e p e n d e n t o n th e w ider co n tex t in in te rp re tin g a se n ten ce
su ch as:
She d id it legally.
T h e a d v erb ial here m ay b e m a n n e r (quite legally, not illegally ), m ea n s (by
invoking the law), in s tru m e n t (w ith legal arguments), o r - a s in 8.6 - re sp ec t (in
respect o f law). See fu rth e r 8.85.
R espect
T h is is a m u ch b ro a d e r a n d m o re a b strac t sem an tic categ o ry th a n tim e a n d
place. W e a re h e re c o n ce rn ed w ith the use o f a n a d v e rb ia l to id en tify a
relev an t p o in t o f re fe re n ce in resp ect o f w h ich th e clause c o n ce rn ed d e riv e s
its tru th value. F o r e x a m p le :
So f a r as travelling fa c ilities are concerned, we h av e o bviously m a d e a
p o p u lar d ecisio n ; b u t with respect to the date, m an y p eo p le are
expressing d issa tisfac tio n .
She h elp ed h im a little with his book.
She talked lea rn ed ly about Kant.
H e h as alw ays b e en frig h te n ed o f earwigs.
T h ey are a d v isin g m e legally, [w here th e ad v erb ial d o es n o t m ea n
‘law fully, n o t illegally’ (c /8 .5 ), but ‘o n p o in ts o f law , w ith re sp ec t to
law ’]
A s w e see fro m th is la s t ex am p le, th e respect role is o ften ex p ressed by m e a n s
o f a n a d v erb ial fo rm w h ic h could be used equally to e x p ress a d ifferen t
se m an tic relatio n . M o reo v er, th e respect role m ay in te ra c t w ith a n o th e r
clause elem en t su ch th a t it is expressed in th e verb. Such in te ra c tio n c a n be
seen especially p e rh a p s w ith ad v erb ials basically relatin g to p lace. F o r
exam ple, th e se n ten c e:
H e is w o rk in g in a (nearby) factory.
seem s co n cern ed w ith where he is w orking, an d th e a d v erb ial ex p resses th e
lo c a tiv e re la tio n ; th e re is a specific facto ry in m in d . But equ ally , w ith o u t the

o p tio n o f in clu d in g an in d ic a tio n (such as nearby) th a t a specific facto ry is in
m in d , th e a d v e rb ia l in th e follow ing could ra th e r serve to an sw e r th e q u estio n
‘W h a t is he d o in g ? ’ th an ‘W h ere is h e w o rk in g ? ’:
H e is w o rk in g in a fa cto ry.
I f th e a d v erb ial d o es in d eed a n sw e r W hat? ra th e r th an W here? it is b eing

p re d ic a te d o f a re sp ec t r e la tio n s h ip : ‘So far as his w ork is co n ce rn ed , it is in
a fa c to ry ’, ‘H e is a facto ry w o rk e r’!
T h e r e are a n alo g o u s in te ra c tio n s w ith tim e, process, result, a n d degree
a d v e rb ia ls as w ell as w ith th e q u asi-o b ject (especially co g n ate o b ject) th a t
o ccu rs w ith c e rta in verbs. C o m p a r e :
S h e died a p e ac efu l d e ath .

[She d ied pea cefu lly, A s fo r her death, it w as peaceful]
T h e y split t h e ir sides laughing.
H e ’s busy writing.
C ontingency
T h e c h ie f se m an tic relatio n s in th is im p o rta n t class o f a d v erb ials a r e :
(i) c a u s e She d ied o f cancer.

She h e lp e d th e stra n g er out o f a sense o f d u ty.
(ii) r e a s o n H e b o u g h t th e b o o k because o f his interest in m etaphysics.
(iii) p u r p o s e i H e b o u g h t th e b o o k so as to stu d y metaphysics.
(iv) R E S U L T H e read th e b o o k carefully, so he acquired som e knowledge
o f m etaphysics.
(v) c o n d i t i o n I f he reads the book carefully, he will a cq u ire som e
k now ledge o f m etap h y sics.
(vi) c o n c e s s i o n Though he d id n ’t read the book, he a c q u ire d som e
l k n o w led g e o f m etap h y sics.
i
In c o n tra s t to cause, w h ich is c o n cern ed w ith c au satio n a n d m o tiv a tio n seen
as e stab lish ed w ith som e o b jectiv ity , reaso n involves a relativ ely p erso n al
an d su b jectiv e assessm en t. A s well as b etw een th ese an d th e m ea n s ad v erb ials
o f 8.5 (th e a d v erb ial in ‘She g o t th e jo b through her experience' could be seen
as m e a n s or as cause), it will b e a p p a re n t th a t th ere are close ties b etw een
th ese six a d v erb ial types. W h e th e r w e p erceiv e a n ad v erb ial as reaso n o r
p u rp o se d e p en d s in larg e m easu re u p o n p o in t o f view. T h u s th e a d v erb ial i n :
H e b o u g h t th e bo o k (so as) to stu d y metaphysics.
can b e seen as In d ic a tin g h is p u rp o se in buying the book a n d equally his

re aso n for buying it. So too, resu lt is closely related to p u rp o se in frequently
(th o u g h not necessarily) in d ic a tin g th e fulfilm ent o f a p u rp o se ( c f 8.86).
C o n d itio n is lin k ed to resu lt in in d ic a tin g th e circu m stan ces in w h ich th e
resu lt would be ach iev ed . C o n cessio n , in tu rn , can be seen as a n ‘in v e rte d ’
co n d itio n - in d ic a tin g c irc u m stan c es in w h ich a result w ould en su e irresp ec
tiv e o f th e c o n te n t o f th e con cessiv e clause. B ut concession c a n also be seen
as a ‘b lo ck ed ’ o r in o p era tiv e c au se; c o m p a re :
Sem antic roles 485
B ecause o f his enthusiasm , lie won. [cause]

In spite o f his enthusiasm , he d id n ’t win. [concession]
Through his la c k o f enthusiasm , he d id n ’t w in. [cause]
D espite his la c k o f enthusiasm , he won. [concession]
N o te T h e re is a d e ta ile d c o n sid e ra tio n o f contingency relatio n sh ip s in cluding subcategories su ch a s

m o tiv atio n in 15.3 C #
M o d ality
8.8 T h e tru th v a lu e o r force o f a sentence such a s :
S h e h a s b e e n e n th u sia stic about her w ork.
c a n b e e n h a n c e d o r d im in is h e d b y a d v e r b ia ls . O n th e o n e h a n d , th e r e c a n b e
e m ph F s is o n t h e p o s itiv e o r n e g a tiv e p o le s o f t h e s ta te m e n t:
She h a s certainly b e en en th u siastic a b o u t h e r w ork.

She h a sn 't b e en e n th u sia stic at all a b o u t h e r w ork.
O n th e o t h e r h a n d , th e m id d le g ro u n d b e tw e e n th e s e p o le s c a n b e i n d i c a t e d :
by F p p r o x im F t io n , w h ic h m a y ta k e v a rio u s g u ise s:
She h a s probably b een e n th u siastic a b o u t h e r w ork.
She h a s not I rea^ y I b een en th u siastic a b o u t h er w ork.

[e x a ctly J
She h a s ha rd ly b een e n th u siastic a b o u t h e r w ork.
C f also ‘I ’v e alm ost finished p a in tin g the b a th ro o m .’
A p p ro x im a tio n c a n in clu d e co m m en t o n th e fo rm o f o r au th o rity fo r th e

sta te m e n t:
She h a s allegedly b een e n th u s ia s tic . . .

She h a s b e en , i f I m ay say so, e n th u s ia s tic . . .
S h e h a s b e e n , as she p u ts it, en th u siastic . . .
A th i r d a s p e c t o f m o d a lity is r e s t r ic t io n , e s p e c ia lly w ith a v iew to d ir e c t i n g

fo c u s u p o n a p a r t i c u l a r p a r t o f th e s ta te m e n t :
She h as b e en e n th u sia stic only ab o u t h er w o r k .

She F l o n e h a s b een e n th u s ia s tic . . .
T h e n e g ativ e p a rtic le not (n't) serves th e fu n c tio n o f den y in g tru th v alu e a n d

it m u st th e re fo re be view ed as being cen tral to th e sem an tic role, m o d ality .
B u t a lth o u g h n o t (n't) h a s been trad itio n ally re g ard ed a s a n ad v erb , it d o es
n o t realize a n a d v e rb ia l as defined in th is b o o k ; ra th e r, it is seen as a p a rtic le
fu n c tio n in g in c la u se n eg atio n ( c f 2.43, 10.54#).
D egree
8.9 T h o u g h o fte n sim ila r to m o d ality a d v erb ials in th e ir se m an tic effect, d e g ree
a d v e rb ia ls a re co n ce rn ed w ith the assessm en t o f g rad ab le c o n stitu e n ts in
re la tio n to a n im a g in a ry sc a le . O ne o f th e su b ro les is F m p l i f i c F t i o n , w h ic h
is co n ce rn ed w ith a ssertin g a generalized h ig h d eg ree; an d a n o th e r is its
o p p o site, d i m i n u t i o n . F o r exam p le:
I b a d ly w a n t a d rin k . v , ... ,
S h e is increasingly a d d in g to her w ork load. / P1 c lo n ]
H e d o esn ’t lik e p lay in g sq u ash (very) m uch, y [d im in u tjo n ]
S h e h elp ed h im a little w ith his book. J
T h ir d ly , th ere is th e e x p ressio n o f m e a s u r e , w ith o u t im p licatio n th a t the

d e g re e is n o tab ly h ig h o r low :
H e likes p lay in g sq u a sh more than his sister does.

S h e h ad w o rk e d sufficiently th a t day.
D e g re e is so m etim es b len d ed w ith tim e relatio n s (freq u en cy o r d u ra tio n ); eg

‘H e d o e s n ’t p lay s q u a sh (very) much'.
N o te A d v e rb ia l ex p ressio n s o f m o d a lity an d degree, as well a s th e in terrela tio n b etw een th e m , will be

e x a m in e d in d etail in th e tre a tm e n t o f subjuncts, 8.99/7
8.10 W e h a v e n o ted fro m tim e to tim e certain affinities b etw een th e sem an tic
c ateg o rie s. I t is d o u b tle ss becau se o f these affinities th a t th e sam e item s such
as p re p o sitio n s, a d v erb s, a n d co njunctions can b e used for d ifferen t sem an tic
re la tio n s. T h u s fo r c a n in d ic a te purpose (H e d id it fo r m oney), cau se (W h a t
d id y o u do it fo r? ), a n d re sp ec t (The doctor treated m e fo r pleurisy). L ik ew ise i f
c a n b e b o th c o n d itio n a l a n d concessive (Com e tomorrow i f possible; H e is lazy
i f intelligent), a n d still o fte n b len d s concessive w ith tem p o ral im p lic a tio n s:
S till, you sh o u ld h a v e visited them , [concession only]

T h e re is still w o rk to do. [‘a t the p resen t tim e ’]
T h e re is still w o rk to do. [‘d espite the am o u n t alread y d o n e ’]
In ‘H e plays s q u a sh a great deal’, degree an d freq u en cy a re b o th involved (c f

8 .9); a g a in , never is b o th tem p o ral (c/8.4) an d m o d al (c/8.8). T h e in te rrela tio n
o f th e s e m an tic c ateg o rie s a n d th e ease w ith w h ich w e see th e sam e a d v erb ial
e x p ressin g o n e o r a n o th e r (or m ore th a n one sim ultaneously) is n o t, o f course,
a w e ak n e ss b u t ra th e r o n e o f th e g reat sources o f th e a d v e rb ia l’s
c o m m u n ica tiv e stre n g th .
B u t a lth o u g h th e sa m e item can express d ifferen t m ean in g s, an d alth o u g h
th e d iffere n t m ea n in g s sh ad e one w ith an o th er, th ere are good g ro u n d s for
a sse rtin g th e v a lid ity o f th e sem an tic d istin ctio n s w e a re m ak in g . W e shall
look p re sen tly (8.11, c f also 8.149) a t th e arg u m en t b ased u p o n cooccu rren ce,
b u t w e m ay n o te h e re t h a t som e sem an tic relatio n s a re so d eep ly en tre n ch e d ,
so w ell in stitu tio n a liz e d , a n d so individually p e rcep tib le as to h a v e special
q u e stio n form s to elicit th em . T h u s th e ye s-n o q u estio n co rresp o n d s to th e
m o d ality f u n c tio n :
A : (A re you g o in g ?) B: Y es/N o /P ro b ab ly /N ev er!
So to o th e q u e stio n form s w ith when, (f or) how long, where, which way
(d irectio n ), how, in which way (process), why a re d irected to elic itin g responses
realizin g so m e o f th e p rin c ip a l sem an tic relatio n s th a t we h a v e d istin g u ish ed .
(B ut c /8 .7 9 /)
N o te [a] In p o in tin g o u t th e se m a n tic o v erlap w ith certain co n ju n ctio n s a n d p rep o sitio n s, we m ust
Sem antic roles 487
n o n eth eless n o te th a t p rep o sitio n al p h ra se s a n d (especially) finite clauses are co n sid e rab ly m o re
ex p licit a n d co n siste n t w ith respect to th e ir general sem antic functions th a n a re ad v e rb s, w h o se
fo rm (n otably -ly) conveys little a n d w hose sem a n tic role is typically p articu lar, b e in g d e te rm in e d
la rgely by th e lexical m ean in g o f th e in d iv id u a l item .
[b] A d v erb ial sem a n tic s c a n be seen n o t o nly in respect o f question form s b u t also w ith d e ic tic
p ro -fo rm s ( c /1 2 .1f t ) . O n th is basis, o n e m ig h t conclude th a t space, tim e, an d process are c e n tr a l,
in th a t sim plex pro-form s e x is t: there, th en, thus, a n d so (c f 2.43/ ) . T h e first tw o a r e fairly d is c re te
a n d p recise (c f also here a n d now). B ut th us a n d so are bro ad er a n d m ore vague, o v erlap p in g , a n d
su b jec t to style restrictio n s (co m m o n er ex p ressio n s a re like this, like that). F o r e x a m p le :
H e sp o k e in the big hall assu m in g th a t m o re people w ould h e a r him there.
H e sp o k e a t 9.00 p .m ., assu m in g th a t m o re people would be free then.
H e sp o k e in great detail assu m in g th a t, i f he explained m a tte rs thus, h is w o rd s w ould h a v e a
m o re la stin g effect.
D eic tic p ro -fo rm s for o th e r sem a n tic relatio n s are eith er m orphologically co m p lex w o rd s
( therefore , thereby) o r p rep o sitio n al o r n o u n p h rases ( that way , by such m eans, f o r this purpose,
etc). A ll th ese form s reflect th e fa c t th a t th e relationships concerned a re n o t a s u n eq u iv o cally
d iscre te sem an tically as th ose th a t h a v e b ee n expressed by a single m orphem e.
O n th e specific sem a n tic functions o f co n ju n cts, see 8.136/.
M u ltip le occurrence
8.11 D e sp ite th e co n sid erab le o v e rla p p in g o f th e sem an tic roles a n d th e affin ities
w e can see b etw een th em , th o se th a t we have d istin g u ish ed c a n b e g iv en
d isc rete g ra m m atica l exp ressio n . T h e basis o f establishing s e p a ra te c ateg o rie s
o f clau se e lem en t is th e ir p o te n tia lity for accep tab le co o ccu rren ce in th e sa m e
clause. In consequence, o u r n e ed to have tw o types o f O -elem en t is testified
by th e co o ccu rren ce o f d irec t a n d in d ire ct object in such a sen ten c e a s :
T h ey gave their leader [O J strong support [Od]. [ 1]
I n a d irectly co m p a rab le w ay, w e m u st recognize several ty p es o f A -e lem en t

a n d th ese d ifferen t types clearly c o rresp o n d in p a rt to th e v a rio u s se m an tic
roles th a t w e h av e been c o n sid erin g . F o r exam ple:
H e still [Aj] often [A 2] w o rk s on Sundays [A3]fo r hours on e n d [ A 4]. [2]
w h ere A , expresses tim e re la tio n sh ip , A 2 tim e frequency, A 3 tim e p o sitio n ,

a n d A 4 tim e d u ra tio n (c/8 .4 ).
T y p es o f A -elem en t a re m u c h m o re num erous th a n ty p es o f O a n d C , a n d
th ey a re m u ch less d e p en d e n t u p o n th e clause concerned c o n ta in in g ite m s o f
a specific class (such as d itra n s itiv e verbs). B ut in p rin cip le th e g ro u n d s o n
w h ich we e stab lish th e A ty p es th a t we shall tre a t as g ra m m atica lly d is tin c t
in 8 .2 4 # are precisely an alo g o u s to those o n w hich w e d istin g u ish Oj an d O d.
T h a t is, we n o te th e ir p ro p e n sity to cooccur in n o n c o o rd in a te a n d
n o n a p p o sitiv e stru ctu res w ith o u t tautology, co n trad ictio n , o r u n a c c e p ta b ility .
T h is p lain ly ap p lies to th e co o ccu rren ce o f the four A -elem en ts in e x am p le
[2] ab o v e, th o u g h all o f th em co n cern tim e. C o n sid er a fu rth e r e x am p le,
c o n ta in in g a d v erb ials w ith a g re a te r range o f sem an tic ro le s:
N e x t T u e sd a y l A , ] I shall probably [A 2] visit h e r m o th e r in London [A 3]

briefly [A 4] to see i f sh e’s fe e lin g better [A s], unless she telephones m e
before that [A 6],
T h a t th ese six ad v erb ials a re e a c h expressing a d ifferen t re la tio n is sh o w n

n o t m erely by th e ir a cc ep ta b le c o o ccu rren ce in th e ex am p le se n ten ce, b u t by
488 T h e sem antics and gram m ar o f adverbials
te s tin g th e u n a cc ep ta b ility o f tre a tin g an y p a ir as e ith e r c o o rd in a te o r

a p p o s itiv e :
*1 s h a ll v isit h e r m o th e r in London [A 3] a n d to see i f she’s fee lin g better
[A ,].
*1 s h a ll probably [A 2] ie briefly [A 4] v isit h e r m o th er.
W h ile it is o n su ch essentially gram m atical gro u n d s as co o ccu rren ce an d

p o s itio n in clau se stru ctu re th a t w e estab lish classes o f ad v erb ials, we shall
g iv e t h e c lasses so estab lish ed the labels p lau sib ly suggested by th e ir sem antic
roles.
8.12 A t th e sa m e tim e , it m u st be n o ted th a t th e affinities th a t we h av e discu ssed

( c /8 .1 0 ) b e tw ee n som e o f th e se m an tic roles freq u en tly allow a d v erb ials to
in te r a c t w ith e a c h o th e r a n d w ith th e o th e r clau se e lem en ts in a w ay a n d to a
d e g re e t h a t is fa irly ra re w ith the relativ ely d isc rete types o f O (O;, O d) a n d C
(C S, C 0). T h u s (c /8 .6 ):
M a r tin is w o rk in g in the garden.
T h is c o u ld b e in te rp re te d as in d icatin g th e p lace w h ere M a rtin is w o rk in g or
in d ic a tin g th e ty p e o f w o rk h e is d o in g (‘g a rd e n in g ’). L et us now a d d a fu rth e r
a d v e rb ia l:
M a r tin is w o rk in g in the garden [A ,] on his serm on [A 2],
M a r tin is w o rk in g in the garden [A ,] on his roses [A ,].
W e h a v e n ow m ad e c le ar th e first a n d seco n d in te rp reta tio n resp ectiv ely .
C o m p a r e also th e follow ing p a ir o f se n te n c e s:
H e s p o k e about Shakespeare.
H e s p o k e about Shakespeare [A ,] sneeringly [A ,].
N o te t h a t w h ile th e first m ig h t be p a ra p h ra se d as ‘T h e subject o f h is d isco u rse
w as S h a k e s p e a re ’, a p a ra p h ra se o f th e second w ould be m ore like ‘H e h a d a
c o n te m p tu o u s a ttitu d e to S h a k e sp e are ’. C o n sid e r now th e sen ten ce:
M r A h m e d proudly accep ted th e aw ard .
T h is m ig h t im p ly so m eth in g lik e ‘M r A h m e d w as p roud to receiv e th e
a w a r d ’, o r e q u ally th a t he gave th e a p p e a ra n c e o f p rid e in his m a n n e r as he
re ce iv e d it. O n tjie o th e r h an d , co m p a re:
P ro u d ly , M r A h m ed accep ted th e a w ard .
M r A h m e d a ccep ted th e aw ard proudly.
T h e v a r ia n t o rd e rs here will influence us in fav o u r o f the first a n d seco n d
in te r p r e ta tio n respectively.
F in a lly , as a n ex am p le o f in te rac tio n , c o n sid er the tw o se n te n c e s:
F r a n k seldom w orked.
F r a n k w orked in his bedroom.
E a c h is v ery d ifferen t from :
F r a n k seldom w orked in his bedroom.
In th is c o n n e c tio n , c f 2 .5 4 -5 o n focus an d scope.

Realization 489
Realization
8.13 T h e A -elem en t c a n b e realized by a g reat v ariety o f linguistic s tru c tu re s:
A d v e rb p h ra se (c /2 .2 8 ) w ith closed-class (c/2 .3 6 ) a d v erb as h e a d :

She te le p h o n ed (Just) then.
A d v erb p h ra se w ith o p en -class ad v erb (c/7 .4 7 ) as h e a d :
She te le p h o n ed (very) recently.
N o u n p h rase (c /1 7 . I f f ) :
S h e tele p h o n ed la st week.
P re p o sitio n al p h ra se (c /9 . I f f ) :
She tele p h o n ed in the evening.
V erbless clau se ( c f 14.10):
She tele p h o n ed though obviously ill.
N o n fin ite cla u se (c /1 4 .7 / ') :
She tele p h o n e d while waiting fo r the plane.
She tele p h o n e d hoping fo r a job.
She te le p h o n ed to a sk fo r an interview.
She tele p h o n ed angered a t the delay.
F in ite clau se ( c f 14.6):
She te le p h o n ed a fte r she had seen the announcement.
W e shall d ra w a tte n tio n fro m tim e to tim e to th e co n sid erab le degree o f

co rresp o n d en ce b e tw e e n th e form- o f realizatio n o n th e one h an d , an d
sem an tic, p o sitio n a l, a n d g ram m atical p ro p erties o n th e o th e r h an d . T h u s,
for exam ple, n o u n p h ra se s as A chiefly realize A tim e p o sitio n ( c f 8.4);
co n d itio n al a d v e rb ia ls a re chiefly realized by finite clau ses; a n A o ccu rrin g
betw een S a n d V is likely to be one realized by a n a d v erb phrase.
T h e d ifferen t ty p es o f a d v erb ial realization are tex tu ally d istrib u te d w ith
w idely d ifferen t freq u e n c ie s. In a fairly large sam p le o f th e S urvey o f E n g lish
U sage corpus, w h e re w e ex am in ed a p p ro x im ately e q u al q u a n titie s o f w ritte n
m aterial a n d im p ro m p tu sp o k en m aterial, th e d istrib u tio n w as found to b e
as presen ted in th e ta b le below . In th e to tal o f 75 000 w o rd s (40 000 w ords o f
tran scrib ed im p ro m p tu sp eech an d 35 000 w ords o f w ritte n E nglish), th ere
w ere nearly 11 000 a d v e rb ia ls (c /8 .2 3 ):
T o tal n u m b e r o f a d v erb ials 10981

R ealiza tio n t y p e s :
P re p o sitio n a l p h ra se s 4456
C losed-class ite m s 3915
O p en -class a d v e rb s a n d a d v erb p hrases 1063
F in ite c lau ses 977
N o n fin ite a n d v erb less clauses 346
N o u n p h ra s e s 224
T h e d istrib u tio n b etw een th e tw o broad categ o ries o f m aterial, im p ro m p tu

speech on th e o n e h a n d a n d w ritten E nglish o n th e o th er, w as as follows,
expressing th is d is trib u tio n as an averag e p er tex t o f th e S E U co rp u s, w h ere
a ‘tex t’ is a h o m o g en eo u s stre tc h o f m aterial, 5000 ru n n in g w ords in e x te n t:
Speech W riting
T o ta l n u m b e r o f ad v erb ials 712 753
R e a liz a tio n ty p e s :
P re p o sitio n a l p h rases 258 336
C lo sed -class item s 278 246
O p e n -cla ss ad v erb s a n d ad v erb phrases 76 66
F in ite c lau ses 70 60
N o n fin ite a n d v erb less clauses 12 33
N o u n p h ra se s 18 12
I t is w o rth d ra w in g a tte n tio n to som e salien t features in th ese fig u res:
(i) T h e re a re tw o fo rm s in w hich th e vast m ajo rity o f A -elem en ts are
e x p re s s e d : p re p o sitio n a l p h rases on the one h a n d , a n d th e (usually
sh o rt) closed-class item s such as well, still, o f course, o n th e o th e r h an d .
(ii) S p o k e n a n d w ritte n m ate ria ls do n o t greatly differ e ith e r in th e gross
o ccu rre n ce o f A -elem en ts o r in the d istrib u tio n o f re a liz a tio n types.
(iii) B u t w h ile sp e e ch h as a h ig h er p ro p o rtio n o f n o u n p h ra se s as A (1:1.5),
w ritte n m a te ria l h a s a h ig h er p ro p o rtio n o f p re p o sitio n a l p h rases
(1 :1 .3 ) a n d n o n fin ite/v erb less clauses (1:2.75). T h is last p o in t is
u n su rp risin g , g iv en th e fa ct th a t the num erically stro n g est su b ty p e is
th e -ing p a rtic ip le clau se, as in :
F inishing her w ork early, M a rg are t decided to go fo r a sw im .
(iv) L ess e x p ected p e rh a p s is th e h ig h er p ro p o rtio n o f finite clauses as A
in sp o k e n m a te ria l ( 1 :1.2). T h is runs c o u n ter to th e w id esp read b elief
t h a t th e freq u en cy o f ‘su b o rd in a te clauses’ (typically a d v e rb ia l clauses
w ith fin ite verb s) is a good in d icatio n o f relativ e ‘sy n ta ctic c o m p lex ity ’,
a n d t h a t im p ro m p tu sp eech is less com plex sy n tactically th a n w ritte n
E n g lish .
T h ere a re im p p rta n t differen ces b etw een speech a n d w ritin g th a t do n o t
em erge fro m th ese b ro a d sta tistics, an d we shall ex p lo re th ese a n d o th e r
d etails o f tex tu al d istrib u tio n a t a p p ro p ria te po in ts below .
Position
8.14 T h ere is a sh a rp d ifferen ce b etw een A an d o th er elem en ts in th e relativ e
freed o m w ith yvhich A can be p u t in different p o sitio n s in a sen ten ce. T h e
follow ing ex am p les illu stra te th is freedom , an d we a d d th e p o sitio n a l n o tatio n
w hich w ill be e x p lo red in 8 .1 5 # :
B y then th e bo o k m u st h a v e been placed on th e shelf. I
T h e bo o k by then m u st h a v e b een p laced on th e shelf. iM
T h e book m u st by then h a v e b een p laced on th e shelf. M
T h e bo o k m u st h a v e by then b een placed on th e shelf. mM
T h e bo o k m u st h a v e b e en by then placed on th e shelf. eM
T h e bo o k m u st h a v e b e en p laced by then on th e shelf. IE
T h e bo o k m u st h a v e b e en p laced on the shelf by then. E
Som e o f th ese p o sitio n s a re less likely th a n o th ers fo r th e A in th is sen ten ce,

but n o n e is u n accep tab le. O f course, the av ailab ility o f d ifferen t po sitio n s
does n o t im ply th a t th e ch o ice o f p o sitio n m akes n o difference to th e m ean in g
of th e sentence. T h e selectio n o f o n e position ra th e r th a n a n o th e r is influenced
Position 491
by sev eral factors, b u t c h ie f am o n g th em is th e in fo rm atio n stru c tu re o f th e

se n ten ce, a n d th e relatio n o f a d v erb ials to in fo rm a tio n stru ctu re will re q u ire
sp ecial a tte n tio n b o th in th is c h a p te r an d in C h a p te r 18. B ut n o t all A -
e le m en ts h a v e th e sam e ran g e o f possible positions. T h e type o f re a liz a tio n
(e /8 .1 3 ) h as a stro n g influence o n w h ere a n ad v erb ial is placed (in g e n e ra l,
sin g le-w o rd a d v erb p h ra ses are m o st m obile a n d finite clauses least), a n d o f
e v en g re a te r influence are th e sem an tic typology o u tlin ed in &.2ff a n d th e
g ra m m a tic a l typology o n w h ich w e shall c o n ce n tra te in th is c h a p te r (8.24/7).
In itial
8.15 in itia l p o sitio n (sym bol 7) is th a t p re ce d in g an y o th er clause e lem en t. I n
effect, th is generally m ea n s th e p o sitio n im m ed iately b efo re S, as in :
S u d d e n ly , th e d riv e r sta rte d th e e ngine.
B u t in d ire c t q u estio n s (c f l l A J f ), it is th e p o sitio n im m ed iately befo re th e

o p e ra to r o r w /i-elem ent:
Seriously , do you b elieve in ghosts?

A nyhow , sin ce w h en h as sh e b een ill?
O n th e o th e r h a n d , in su b o rd in a te o r c o o rd in a te d clauses, it is th e p o sitio n
follow ing th e c o n ju n c tio n :
(I h a d scarcely g ot in to the tax i) w h en suddenly th e d riv er s ta rte d th e

engine.
(A re you a fra id o f th e d a rk ,) a n d , to be blunt, d o you believe in g h o sts?
(I k now you a re very c h arita b le,) b u t, seriously, how can h e b e in n o c e n t?
I f a clau se h as tw o I a d v erb ials, it is o f in te rest to n o te th e o rd er, 7, a n d 72 ( c f

8 .1 5 0 /):
A n yh o w [ / t], by then [ f ] she w as very ill.
M o st ty p es o f a d v erb ial realizatio n c a n o ccu r a t I an d the sam e is b ro a d ly

tru e o f th e different sem an tic roles as well. A m o n g th e excep tio n s, d e g ree
ad v e rb ia ls a re u n lik ely a t 7. W ith resp ect to g ra m m atica l fu n ctio n s ( c f i . l d f f ) ,
I is a sso ciated w ith th o se ad v erb ials th a t can read ily co n stitu te th e g ro u n d ,
th e m e ( c f l i . i f f ) , o r ‘scen e-settin g ’ fo r w h a t follow s. It is th u s p a rtic u la rly
a p p ro p ria te fo r se n ten c e a d v erb ials ( c f 8.36), d isju n cts ( c f 8.121/7), a n d
c o n ju n c ts ( c f 8.134jf). S em antically, 7 h a s a stro n g a sso ciatio n w ith
ex p ressio n s o f tim e.
N o te [a] In th e S u rv ey o f E nglish U sag e sam p le ( c / 8 .13,8.23), th e re w as found to be a strik in g c o n tra s t

w ith in th e d o m in a n t realiza tio n ty pe, p re p o sitio n al p hrases. T w enty-six p er c e n t o f all /-p la c e d
p re p o sitio n a l ph rases w ere te m p o ral w h ere only fo u r p e r c e n t w ere spatial. By c o n tra st, o f all re
p la ced p re p o sitio n al ph rases fo u rteen p e r c e n t w ere te m p o ral, th irty -o n e per c e n t sp atial.
[b] O n a d v e rb ials in nonfin ite an d subjectless finite clauses, c f 8.20 N o te [b].
M ed ial
8.16 p o sitio n (sym bol Af) c a n b e p re lim in a rily d escrib ed as th a t b e tw ee n
m e d ia l
S and V :
T h e d riv er suddenly sta rte d th e engine. [ 1]

T h e s o p ra n o really delighted h er au d ien ce. [2]

T h e y seriously co n sid ered him for the po st. [3]
B u t w h e n th e V -e le m e n t is realized by a v e rb p h ra se involving an o p erato r,

w e see t h a t th is first a p p ro x im atio n to a d efin itio n o f M is in ad eq u ate. In the
fo llo w in g v a ria n ts o f [1], [2], an d [3], an y n a tiv e sp e a k er w ould feel th a t th e
a d v e rb ia ls a re s till in th e sam e p o sitio n :
T h e d riv e r h a s suddenly started th e en g in e. [la ]

T h e so p ra n o h a d really delighted h e r a u d ien ce. [2a]
T h e y are seriously co n sid erin g him for th e p ost. [3a]
In c o n se q u en c e, w e m u st refine the d efin itio n an d say th a t M is th e position

im m e d ia te ly a f te r th e subject and ( where there is one ) the operator. T h is
fo rm u la tio n w ill p ro v id e for in terro g ativ e se n ten c es:
D id th e d r iv e r suddenly sta rt th e e n g in e? [lb ]

H a d th e s o p r a n o really delighted h e r a u d ie n c e ? [2b]
W h y a re th e y seriously considering h im fo r th e p o st? [3b]
I t will a ls o p ro v id e fo r im p erativ e se n te n c e s:
D o n ’t su d d e n ly s ta rt th e engine!
: D o seriously c o n sid e r h im for th e post!
In view o f th e s e e x am p les, w e see th a t a n ‘in itia l’ a d v erb ial in an im p e rativ e

such a s :
N e ver 1 1 .,
_ , ,, j re m o v e th e cover.
C a refu lly J !
m u st p ro p e rly b e re g ard ed as ‘m ed ial’; c / ‘W e never rem ove th e c o v er’,

* 'N ever w e re m o v e th e co v er’. O ne fu rth e r c o m p licatio n c an b e seen in
c o m p a rin g th e fo llo w in g exam ples w ith [2], [2a] a n d [2 b ]:
T h e s o p ra n o .w a s really a t h er best to n ig h t.
T h e so p ra n o jh asn ’t really been a t h er b e st for w eeks.
W as th e s o p ra n o really a t her best to n ig h t?
H a s th e so p ra n o really been a t h er b e st recen tly ?
W e reco g n ize t h a t really seem s to be in th e ‘sa m e ’ p o sitio n in all cases. T h e

d e sc rip tio n o f M m u s t th erefo re be fu rth er clarified to acco m m o d ate th e fact
th a t, in th is g ra m m a r, w e tre a t be as a n o p e ra to r ev en w hen it is th e sole
re aliz a tio n o f V . S o also h F v e , in those d iale cts o f E n g lish th a t w ould n o t
in tro d u c e g o t in [5] a n d [7]; c /3 .3 4 / T h u s:
S h e h a s really a d ifferen t ap p ro ach to th e subject. [4]

S h e h as really (got) a d ifferent a p p ro ac h to th e subject. [5]
S h e h a s really h a d a different a p p ro ac h to th e subject. [6]
H a s sh e really (got) a d ifferent a p p ro a c h to th e su b ject? [7]
N o te T h e claim th a t th e p o sitio n is th e sam e (i) b etw een o p e ra to r a n d m a in v erb as in [8], a n d (ii)

betw een finite fo rm o f e a n d com p lem en t as in [9] is strik in g ly confirm ed b y th e fa c t th a t w hen
|
th e follow ing w as re a d alo u d , it w as perceived as [8] by so m e h ea re rs, an d as [9] by o th e r s :

• u r i j [d iscu ssed , [m a in verb) [8]
T h e ex p re ssio n on h e r ta ce w as seldom i .. , . , rn1
r [d isg u st, [com plem ent] [9J
Position 493
8.17 By reaso n o f its b eing b etw een tw o closely associated c o n stitu e n t e lem en ts, S
a n d V , o r b etw een tw o c o n stitu e n t p a rts o f th e ph rase realizin g V (o p e ra to r
a n d m a in verb), th e M p o sitio n ten d s to d eterm in e the type o f A re aliz a tio n .
O nly fo r a h eav ily sp ecial effect would a clause or lengthy p re p o sitio n a l
p h ra se be p laced a t M (a n d it w ould th en be clearly m ark e d o ff by co m m a s
in w ritin g , o r b y pro so d y in sp eech ):
Y o u h av e, though y o u m a y sa y it was accidental, ru in ed th is m a n ’s

ch an c es o f a h a p p y life.
S h e h ad n o t, despite y ea rs o f anxious endeavour, succeeded in liv in g
do w n th a t in itial m istak e.
In m o re g en eral use, th e a d v e rb ia ls a t M are for the m o st p a rt ra th e r sh o rt

a d v erb p h rases, esp ecially so lita ry a d v erb s - an d for th ese (as th e tab le s in
8.23 show ) M is a n u m erically d o m in a n t position. S em an tically , M is
especially asso ciated w ith m o d ality a n d degree, such th a t a d v erb ials te n d to
ta k e o n a tin g e o f th ese e v en w h en they p u rp o rt to be ex p ressin g o th e r
re latio n s (‘tim e ’, ‘sp ace’, ‘re sp e c t’, ‘m ea n s’, fo r instance). T h u s:
I h a v e a t all tim es in d ic a te d m y w illingness.

H e h a s nowhere s ta te d th is explicitly.
I h a v e n o t, by word or deed, b etray ed your trust.
G ra m m a tic ally , M is freely used for focusing a n d in ten sify in g su b ju n c ts ( c f

8.88\ff), a n d fairly freely for o p tio n a l p red icatio n ad ju n cts (c /8 .2 4 , 8.34), as
w ell as fo r so m e d isju n cts {eg: obviously ; c / 8 . 1 2 1 # ) a n d co n ju n c ts (eg: a lso ;
c / 8 . 1 3 4 # ).
V a rian ts o f m edial
8.18 C o n sid e r a g ain an e x am p le g iv en e a r lie r :
T h e d riv e r suddenly s ta rte d th e engine.
T h is se n ten ce co nceals th e fa ct th a t M p o sitio n is th e o n e im m ed iately a fte r

a n o p e ra to r { c f 8.16), ju s t as it obscures th e fa ct th a t th e re are th ree
ex cep tio n al v a ria n ts o f M , e a c h w ith its d o m ain o f c o n tra st w ith M a n d w ith
e ac h o th er. C o m p a re :
[ 1]
[2]
[ la ]
[2a]
[lb ]
[2b]
I n ru n n in g th ro u g h th is set, w e recognize w hen we co m e to [2b] th a t

com pletely w as a t M in [2], th o u g h th is n eu tralized a d istin c tio n t h a t em erg es
w ith [lb ]. By co n tra st, w e eq u ally recognize th a t [1] is am b ig u o u s a s b e tw ee n
M , d istin g u ish e d in [la ], a n d a p o sitio n in [lb ] th a t w e m ay re g ard a s a
fro n ted m ed ia l o r i n i t i a l m e d i a l position, sym bol iM . T h is m ay b e defin ed
as th e p o sitio n b etw een th e su b je ct a n d the o p erato r.
T h e re a re several p o ssib le p a ra p h ra se s o f [lb ], b u t o n e o f th e m m ig h t be
s ta te d t h u s : ‘I w ish to em p h asize th e fa c t th a t she h a d delig h ted h e r a u d ie n c e .’

A c o m p a ra b le p a ra p h ra se o f [ 1a] m ig h t b e : ‘I w ish to em p h asize th e d eg ree
o f d e lig h t she gave h er a u d ie n c e ’. T h ere is n o t in fact m u ch su b s ta n tia l
d iffe re n c e semantically b etw een th ese tw o, h o w ev er m uch d ifferen ce th ere
m a y b e gram m atically b etw een th e in ten sifier ( c f 8.104/7') in [la ], a n d th e
d is ju n c t ( c /8 .121/7) *n [lb ]. W h ere th e p re d ic atio n is negative, how ev er, th e
s e m a n tic d istin c tio n is c lear:
S h e h a d n ’t really d elig h ted h er au d ien ce. [M]

S h e really h a d n ’t d elig h ted h er au d ien ce. [i'M]
In c o n se q u en c e w e find th a t w hile m an y d isju n cts are freely p lac ed a t M (a n d

less co m m o n ly a t iM ) in p o sitiv e sen ten ces, they m u st be a t iM in n eg ativ e
o nes:
T hey c an probably fin d th e ir w ay here. [M]
(?)T hey probably can fin d th e ir w ay here. [iM ]
*T h ey c a n ’t probably fin d th e ir w ay h ere. [M]
{ . T h ey probably c a n ’t fin d th e ir w ay h ere. [iM]

m
[iM \
W e th u s see th a t i M can be used w h en it is necessary to exclude th e a d v e rb ia l

fro m th e scope o f n e g atio n (c/1 0 .6 4 ) a n d w h en th ere is p ro so d ic focus o n th e
fo llo w in g ite m :
I h a v e fra n k ly b e e n s e r io u s ly iN te r e s t e d .
I fr a n k ly h a v e n ’t b e e n s e r io u s ly iN te r e s te d .
I fr a n k ly h F v e b e e n s e r io u s ly i n t e r e s t e d .
O n e n o ta b le use o f iM occurs w h en th e focused v erb is | e ; for exam ple:

W ell, you never w e r e fond o f w o rk ! T h a t’s w here she usually is a t th is tim e o f day.
L e t u s n o w co n sid er th e follow ing ex am p le:
T h e y seriously co n sid ered h im fo r th e post. [ 1]
H e re w e u n d e rstan d th e m ea n in g to be ‘H is su itab ility for th e p o st w as g iv en

se rio u s c o n sid era tio n ’. I t is n ow c lear th a t such a n a d v erb ial (a p p a re n tly a t
M , b u t th ere is no o p e rato r) o ccu p ies a p o sitio n th a t n eu tralizes b o th o f w h a t
w e h a v e seen (c /8 .1 6 ) as th e valid c o n d itio n s o f M . T h u s it is n o t d istin c t
fro m M :
T h e y have seriously co n sid ered h im for th e post. [2]
N o r is it d istin ct from iM , w h ich w ould be disallow ed for seriously if th e

se n ten c e had the m ea n in g g iv en ab o v e:
T h e y seriously h av e co n sid ered h im fo r th e post. [3]
If, h o w ev er, we ex p an d th e v erb p h ra se to will have considered, w e find th a t

e x am p le [2] has also n e u tra liz ed a c o n tra st, since alth o u g h seriously seem s in
[2] to b e a t M , th e e x p an d e d fo rm o f [4] show s th a t the tru e M p o sitio n will
n o t y ield the in te rp re ta tio n w e h av e g iv en to [1]:
Position 495
T h ey w ill seriously h av e considered h im fo r th e po st. [4]
If, how ever, w e p lace th e ad v erb ial im m ed iately b efo re considered, we h a v e

th e req u ired m e a n in g :
T h ey will h a v e seriously considered h im for th e p o st. [5]
W e now see th a t w h a t is c o m m o n to th e se n ten c es [1], [2], an d [5] is th a t th e

a d v erb ial is im m e d ia tely before the m ain v e rb o f th e v erb p h rase in e a c h
case. T h is is th e e n d m e d i l p o sitio n (sym bol e M ). I t is associated w ith
F
degree a n d m a n n e r a d v erb ials (from a sem an tic v iew p o in t), w ith o p tio n a l
p re d ic atio n a d ju n c ts (fro m a g ram m atical v iew p o in t), an d w ith realiz a tio n s
by ad v erb p h ra se s o r p rep o sitio n al p h ra s e s :
T h e ro o m m u s t h av e been quite carefully se a rc h e d by th e police.

M y a n sw e r m ay h av e to som e extent d isp leased th em .
8.20 T h ere is y et a f u r th e r v a ria n t o f M . It is to b e fo u n d o nly rarely, an d this is in

p a rt becau se it d e p e n d s u p o n th e occu rren ce o f a v e rb p h ra se w ith th ree o r
m ore a u x iliaries ( c /3 . 2 \ f f ) :
T h ey m u st h a v e often been listening a t th e d o o r.

T h e c a r m ay h a v e som etim es been b ein g u sed w ith o u t perm ission.
T h e c a r m a y h a v e b een indeed being u sed w ith o u t perm ission.
A d v erb ials th a t o c cu r a t th e places o ccu p ied b y often, som etim es, an d indeed
in th ese ex am p les a re said to b e a t m e d i l m e d i l p o sitio n (sym bol m M ),
F F
an d we see th e v a lid ity o f m ak in g th is d is tin c tio n b y c o m p a rin g th e follow ing :
T h i s b rid g e m a y h av e badly been d esig n ed by B runei.
T h is b rid g e m ay h a v e b een d e sig n ed by B runei.
B ut ev en th e e m p h a siz e rs a n d in te n s ifie s th a t c a n , as w e see, a p p e a r a t m M

would m o re u su ally b e p laced elsew here, th e e m p h a siz e r actually a t M a n d
th e d o w n to n e r p a rtly a t eM :
T h is b rid g e m a y actually h av e been d e sig n ed by B runei.

T h is b rid g e m ay h a v e been partly d e sig n ed b y B runei.
It is u n u su al b u t n o t actually u n g ra m m atica l to h a v e a d v erb ials a t iM , M ,

m M , a n d e M in th e sam e clause, th o u g h th e re su lta n t sen ten ce w ould b e
reg ard ed as g rossly u n a cc ep ta b le from a sty listic p o in t o f view , as in:
T h e n ew law certainly m ay possibly h a v e indeed b e en badly fo rm u lated .

[ = ‘I t is c ertain ly tru e th a t w h at I say n o w is p o ssib le: th e new law
m ay in d e e d h a v e b een b adly fo rm u la ted ’]
N o te [a] Since, as w e h a v e seen, a sim ple v erb p h rase n eu tra liz e s th e d istin c tio n betw een M a n d iM ,
an d a v erb p h ra se c o n sistin g only o f a n o p erato r a n d th e m a in v erb n eu tralizes th e d istin c tio n
betw een M , m M , a n d e M , th e v arian ts o f M m ust be ig n o re d in d escrib in g th e position o f m o st
ad v erb ials, refere n ce usually bein g m a d e only to M .
[b] W ith n o n fin ite clau ses a n d finite clauses w here th e su b je c t o r th e subject an d an auxiliary a re
ab sen t, it is still o f c o u rse possible to d istinguish M p o sitio n a n d som etim es also v arian ts o f M .
F o r ex am p le:
B ein g often in P aris, I e n j o y . . . [M ]

H a v in g carefully stu d ie d th e p ro b le m , h e . . . [M l
T o h a v e bee n (so) thoroughly b e a te n by Jo h n w as . . . [eM \
I h a d m et h e r a n d m ay h a v e already been influenced by her. [niM ]
O n th e o th e r h a n d , iM c a n be in d istin g u ish ab le from / ; co n sid er:
I h a d m et h e r a n d already h ad com e to like her.
H e r e w e c a n n o t te ll w h e th e r a fu lle r version o f th e second conjoin w ould h av e h a d th e subject
b e fo re o r a fte r th e a d v e rb ia l:
. . . a n d I already h a d co m e to like her.
. . . a n d already I h a d co m e to lik e her.
In d e e d it is o fte n im p o ssib le to d istin g u ish M o r an y o f its v a ria n ts fro m 7; for e x a m p le :
I h a d b een in tro d u c e d to h e r a n d already in fluenced by her. [? /, ViM, I M , ?eM ]
A lre a d y in flu en ced by h e r, I h ad lo st m y fo rm er objectivity.
In s u c h cases, it is b e st to ac k n o w led g e th e neu tralizatio n o f p o sitional co n tra s t by reg ard in g th e
a d v e rb ia ls as a t 7/ M , ie in itia l or m e d ial position.
T h e ‘s p l i t i n f i n i t i v e ’
8.21 Q u ite stro n g sty listic o b jec tio n s are m ad e to ad v erb ials a t (e ) M w hen th is
p o s itio n involves th e ir b e in g p laced b etw een to a n d th e in fin itiv e (th e so-
c a lle d ‘sp lit in fin itiv e ’ c o n stru ctio n ), as i n :
S h e o u g h t to seriously c o n sid er h er position. [1]

F o r m e to sudd enly resig n m y jo b is u n th in k a b le. [2]
H e w a sn ’t a b le to even m o v e his fingers. [3]
I t s h o u ld be n o te d th a t i f th e v erb p h ra se is m ad e p e rfe c tiv e o r if a m o d al n o t

in v o lv in g to is used in th ese exam ples, th e ad v erb ial re m a in s im m ed iately
b e fo re th e m a in v e r b :
S h e o u g h t to h a v e seriously consid ered h e r p o sitio n . [la]
S h e sh o u ld seriously c o n sid er h e r position. [lb ]
F o r m e to h a v e suddenly resigned . . . [2a]
H e c o u ld n ’t even m o v e h is fingers. [3a]
S in ce th e p o sitio n o f th e ad v erb ials in [ l a - 3 a ] is p erfectly a cc ep ta b le an d

n a tu r a l, it is easy to see w h y th e closely p arallel [ 1 - 3 ] should seem equally
n a tu r a l - h o w e v er g u iltily - d esp ite g en eratio n s o f d isa p p ro v a l by teach ers
a n d stylists.
I n c o m p a rin g oug ht to in [1] a n d should in [lb ], w e m ig h t also n o te th a t
th e re a re sev eral au x iliary sequences p ro v id in g p h o n o lo g ical evidence,
m a tc h e d by e v id e n ce fro m in fo rm al spellings, th a t th e to h as a clo ser link
w ith th e p re ce d in g th a n w ith th e follow ing w ord ( c /3 .4 4 /) :
u se d to /]u :sta /
h a v e to /'haefta/
(h a v e) g o t to , g o tta /‘g n ta, -da, -ra/
(b e) g oing to , g o n n a /'g an a/
I n co n se q u en c e, it w o u ld sou n d into lerab ly aw k w a rd to in se rt a n a d v erb ial

b e fo re the to :
?* Y o u h a v e (got) re a lly to b e h e re early.
A g a in , w h ere th e re is ellipsis o f th e p red icatio n , b o th w ith su c h sequences

a n d m o re w id ely w ith v erb s tak in g fo-clause c o m p le m e n ta tio n (c f 16.38,
Position 497
16.41, 16.50#] 16.63), r e t e n t i o n o f to s h o w s th e l e f tw a r d b i n d i n g w h i c h

e n c o u r a g e s a s p l i t in f i n i t i v e e l s e w h e r e :
A : D id you ev er v isit h e r a fte r sh e h a d retired ?

g f I used to sometimes, b u t n o t recently.
[ I in te n d e d to often enough, b u t seldom m an ag ed to.
(C o m p a re : ?I used som etim es to, b u t . . .
?I in te n d e d often enough to, b u t . . . )
N o n e th eless, the w id esp read p re ju d ice ag ain st split infinitives m u st n o t b e

u n d e re stim a te d , especially w ith re sp ec t to form al w ritin g , a n d in d ee d th e re
is n o fe atu re o f usage o n w h ich c ritica l n a tiv e reactio n m o re freq u e n tly
focuses. In co n seq u en ce, it is by n o m ea n s unusual to d e tect aw k w a rd a n d
u n id io m a tic u sag e th a t clearly resu lts from conscious a v o id an ce:
T h e y are regularly to a tte n d all classes th a t have b een a rra n g e d for th e

p re sen t sem ester.
T ro o p s co n tin u e heavily to o u tn u m b e r th e n orm al residents
in th e a rea.
S h e w as fo rced apologetically to in terp o se a q uestion a t th is p o in t.
In th is last ex am p le, a v o id an ce h a s p ro d u ced am biguity, since o n e c a n n o t
tell w h e th e r it w as ‘sh e ’ w h o w as ap o lo g etic o r th o se w ho ‘fo rc e d ’ h e r.
C o n s id e r s im ila rly :
S h e h as trie d consciously to s to p w orry in g a b o u t h er career.
H e re w e c a n n o t d ecid e w h e th er it w as h er try in g th a t w as co n scio u s o r

w h e th e r she w ished th e sto p p in g to b e conscious. O n th e o th er h a n d , w ith a n
a lte rn a tiv e a v o id a n c e :
She h as trie d to stop consciously w o rry in g . . .
w e d o n o t k n o w w h eth er th e sen ten c e refers to ‘a conscious s to p ’ o r to ‘a

c o n scio u s w o rry ’. I f th e fo rm e r w ere in ten d ed , defiance o f th e p re ju d ic e
a g a in s t th e s p lit in fin itiv e w o u ld a t lea st m ak e the m ean in g c le a r :
S h e has trie d to consciously sto p w o rry in g . . .

C o m p a re also:
H is h a rd e st d ecisio n w as to not allow th e c h ild ren to go to su m m er
cam p.
I t w ill b e n o ted th a t if th e not h a d p re ced ed th e to in th e last ex am p le it w o u ld
h a v e b e en difficult, ev en in sp e e ch , to p re v en t m isin te rp retatio n a s ‘T o allow
th e c h ild re n to go to su m m er c a m p w as n o t h is h ard est d ecisio n .’
S p lit in fin itiv es a re c o m m o n est w ith su b ju n cts o f ‘n a rro w o r ie n ta tio n ’ (c f
8 .9 I f f ) a n d h en ce p e rh ap s esp ecially w here th e infinitive is a ‘g ra d a b le ’ v erb .
T h e su b ju n cts w ould n o t o f co u rse b e th o se th a t m ost usually a p p e a r a t i M o r
a t E (c/8 .2 4 ) su ch as too o r as well. Som e fu rth er exam ples w ill illu stra te th e s e
p o in ts :
Y o u r ta s k is to really u n d e rs ta n d yo u r stu d en ts’ p roblem s.
I d o t r y t o u n d ersT A N D - t o T R U ly u n d e r s t a n d .
W e ten d e d to rather s it b a c k a n d w a it fo r developm ents.
P e o p le w h o a re in g en u in e need o u g h t to h av e p rio rity ; b u t to so

o rg a n iz e th e service is a d m in istrativ ely difficult.
T o fu r th e r p ro lo n g discussion beyond th e p re sen t m eetin g w ould be
v e ry u n d e sirab le.
T o even re p rim a n d a m em b er o f staff, it is im p o rta n t to ensure th a t th e
a g ree d p ro c ed u re is strictly follow ed.
C o llo q u ia lly , th e sp lit infinitive is freq u en tly asso ciated w ith a follow ing
focus, a s in :
W ell, y o u o u g h t to a t least TRY.

A s so o n a s I g e t th e w ord, I ’m going to really H U R ry.
Su ch p r e p a r a tio n fo r focus m ay be ex p letiv e, as in :
I t o l d t h e m t o darned well t h i n k f o r them SELV ES.
C o m p a r e 8.100, A p p 1.16 N o te [d]. M ore g en erally th e focus is intensified by

s u p e rla tiv e s o r o th e r expressions o f real o r im p lied c o m p ariso n :
S h e w as th e first p erso n to ever live in t h a t house.

M y g ra n d s o n w as th e latest p erson to either discuss th is w ith m e o r ev en
a llu d e to it.
S h e w o u l d b e t h e l a s t p e r s o n t o even t h i n k o f p l a g i a r i z i n g .
N o o n e in v ite d m e to so much as h av e a glass o f w ater.
H e is n o w re lu c ta n t t o so much as s p e F k t o her.
N o te In a S u rv e y o f E n g lish U sage te x t o f circa 1980 in volving four ed u cated B ritish a d u lts (th re e
w o m en a n d o n e m a n ) in a professional psy ch iatric d iscussion lastin g th re e-q u arte rs o f a n h o u r,
th e re w e re n in e te e n ‘s p lit in finitives’:
. to act u al l y V . . 7x
. to n o t V . . . 3x
. to so r t o /V . . . 2x
. to si m pl y V . . . Ix
. to openl y V . . lx
. to sud den l y V . 1x
. to em oti onal l y y 1x
. to p er h ap s V . . . 1x
. to al w ay s V . . . 1x
.to a l l V . .. 1 x [ \ . . it’s goin g to al l ruin th in g s.’]
E n d p o sitio n
8.22 e n d p o s i t i o n (sy m b o l E) is th e position in th e clause follow ing all o b lig ato ry
e le m e n ts; it is also th e p o sitio n o f th e o b lig ato ry a d v erb ial w hen th is follow s

th e o th e r o b lig a to ry elem ents. F o r e x a m p le :
T h e lig h t w as fad in g rapidly. [after S V \

D r B lac k ett is in Tokyo. [A in S V A )
S h e w as d ig g in g a tre n c h in the garden. [after S V O ]
H e g iv es h is c a r a w ash every week. [after S V O O ]
T h e y b e ca m e teach ers in the end. [after S V C ]
H e p u t th e v ase in th e c ab in et without a word. [A in S V O A ]
It is b y n o m ea n s ra re to find m ore th a n o n e a d v e rb ia l in th is p o s itio n :

Position 499
She k e p t w ritin g letters feverishly [A ,] in her stu d y [A 2] a ll afternoon [A 3],
In such a case, all th re e o f th e a d v erb ials are said to be a t E , th o u g h o f co u rse

th e ir o rd e r relativ e to e a c h o th e r is o f co n sid erab le sig n ifican ce ( c /8 .l5 0 f ) .
T h e ten d en cy fo r su c h optional ad v erb ials to follow all obligatory e lem en ts
c an be readily ig n o red , how ev er, in c ertain circu m stan ces. P u ttin g a n
a d v erb ial a t a su b ty p e o f E is found co n v en ien t w h en en d -fo cu s (especially
associated w ith e n d -w e ig h t; c/1 8 .9 ) m ak es p referab le a n o b lig a to ry e le m en t
in clause-final p o sitio n d e sp ite th e presence o f a n a d v erb ial. T h is is called
i n i t i l e n d p o sitio n (sym bol iE ); for ex am ple:
F
She k e p t w ritin g in feverish rage long, violent letters o f co m p lain t.

[S + V + A + O]
T h is p o sitio n seem s le a st d istu rb in g o f n o rm al o rd e r w h en a n a d v e rb ia l

com es b etw een a d ire c t o b jec t an d o bligatory a d v erb ial, as in :
She p laced th e b o o k offhandedly o n th e table.
In som e c ases iE is e sse n tia l i f clarity is to be ach iev ed . C o n sid e r:
She h e rself in te rv iew e d with hurtful disdain th e s tu d e n t I h a d tu rn ed

dow n.
I f w e co m p are th is w ith a v ersio n p u ttin g th e sam e a d v e rb ia l a t E , w e shall

see th a t th ere is little c h a n c e th a t a re ad er would m a k e th e sam e in te rp re ta tio n :
She h erself in te rv ie w e d th e stu d en t I h ad tu rn e d d o w n with hurtful

disdain.
A s we m ig h t ex p ect fro m th ese exam ples, iE is especially n ecessary w h en th e

last obligatory e le m en t is a clause, since o th erw ise th e a d v erb ial w ould seem
to be an elem en t in th e su b o rd in a te clause. C o m p a re :
H e urged h e r d ism issal secretly. [I]
H ere it is c lear th a t it w as th e urging th a t w as d o n e secretly.
H e urged t h a t sh e b e d ism issed secretly. [2]
B ut here, re te n tio n o f E fo r th e a d v erb ial im plies th a t it is th e d ism issin g th a t

is to be do n e secretly. T o c o m b in e th e m ean in g o f [l] 'w ith th e co n stru ctio n
o f [2], we m u st m o v e th e a d v e rb ia l to iE or M :
H e urged secretly t h a t she be dism issed.

H e secretly u rg ed th a t she be dism issed.
C o m p are also:
H e said suddenly th a t he h a d earlier lost h is tem p er.

H e hoped fe rv e n tly to be ap p lau d ed .
in c o n trast to:
H e said th a t h e h a d e arlie r lost his tem p e r suddenly.

H e hoped to b e a p p la u d e d fervently.
It should be n o ted , o f co u rse, th a t in these ex am p les th e ch o ice is n o t m erely

b e tw ee n E a n d iE, b u t b e tw ee n e ith e r o f these an d M :
H e secretly u r g e d . . .
H e suddenly s a i d . . .
H e fe rv e n tly h o p ed . . .
B u t th e re is o n e im p o rta n t ty p e o f a d v erb ial w here th e M o p tio n is n o t

av ailab le. T h e a d v erb ials in p h ra s a l v erb s (c/1 6 .3 /, 16.16) m ay b e p laced a t
iE e x c e p t w h e n th e O d is a p r o n o u n :
S h e w a v ed aw ay th e o ffer o f help.
S h e w a v ed it aw ay.
*She w a v ed aw ay it.
M o st s e m a n tic roles c a n be ex p ressed a t E , th o u g h th is is rarely tru e o f

m o d a lity ; th e re is a p a rticu la rly stro n g association o f E w ith sp atial
e x p ressio n : c /8 .1 5 N o te [a]. G ra m m a tic ally , E is th e p o sitio n fo r o b lig ato ry
a d ju n c ts u n less th e re is a n o p tio n a l a d ju n ct, in w hich case it w ould usually be
th is th a t a p p e a re d a t E . A s fo r realizatio n , E is used for p re p o sitio n a l p h rases
a n d clau ses ra th e r th a n sh o rt a d v erb phrases.
N o te W ith p re p o sitio n a l v erb s, w here w e h a v e th e o p tio n ( c /1 6 .1 3 /) o f re g ard in g th e m a s tra n sitiv e

o r in tra n s itiv e (c f S.24), as i n :
H e + lo o k ed a t + th e p ic tu re. [S PO ]
H e + lo o k ed + a t th e pic tu re. [SV A ]
it is b e st fo r p re se n t p u rp o ses to a d o p t th e second o f these b u t to reg ard th e A -p h rase as
oblig ato ry . T h is Will ac co u n t for n a tiv e reac tio n to th e a p p a re n t ‘p re p o sin g ’ o f an ad v e rb ial a t
i £ , as w ell as a c c o u n tin g fo r th e ea se o f toleratin g ; d iscontinuity b etw e en th e v erb a n d its
asso ciated p rep o sitio n . H en ce:
H e p a id fo r th e b o o k i m m edi atel y . [£]
She lo o k ed a t th e p ic tu re i n astoni shm ent. [£]
H e p a id i m m edi atel y fo r th e book. [i E ]
She lo o k ed i n astoni shm ent a t th e p ic tu re. [/£]
C o n tra st w ith SV O in te rp re ta tio n th e im po ssib ility o f i E :
*She lo o k ed a t i n astoni shm ent th e p ic tu re.
P o sitio n al norm s
8.23 A lth o u g h se m an tic a n d g ra m m a tic a l roles have a c ru cial influence o n th e
p o sitio n o f A in a clause, th e o v erw h elm in g m ajority o f a d v e rb ia ls o ccu r a t
E. T h ere is h o w ev er c o n sid era b le v a ria tio n , an d th ere is a d ire c t co rrelatio n
in m o st cases b etw een th e se m an tic/g ram m atica l categ o ry o n th e o n e h a n d
an d th e re aliz a tio n fo rm o n th e o th er. I t is therefore o f in te re s t to study th e
d istrib u tio n o f som e m ajo r re a liz a tio n types in relatio n to th e ir p o sitio n . W e
p re sen t belo w a n an aly sis b ased o n th e Survey o f E n g lish U sag e co rp u s o f
w hich n u m e ric a l d a ta w ere g iv en in 8.13, b ut now w ith o u t th e ra th e r
h etero g en eo u s categ o ry o f n o n fin ite an d verbless clauses. I n Table 8.23, th e
rig h t-h a n d p a rt o f e ac h lin e show s th e percentage o f e a c h re aliz a tio n ty p e a t
each o f th e p o sitio n s d istin g u ish e d in 8 . 1 4 / /
As w ith th e g en eral d is trib u tio n o f realization types (c /8 .1 3 ), so w ith the
po sitio n s a d o p te d , th e re is little difference betw een th e n o rm s o f sp o k en a n d
w ritten E n g lish . T h e b ig g est d ifferen ce is w ith noun p h ra ses, a n d sin ce th is
is n u m erically th e sm allest o f th e types, this difference is o f little sta tistical
im p o rtan ce. W h a t is o f g re a te r m o m e n t is the difference b e tw ee n p rep o si
Gram m atical functions 501
tio n a l p h ra s e s a n d closed-class item s w h ich to g eth er co n stitu ted th re e -

q u a rte rs o f th e m an y th o u sa n d s o f a d v erb ials in th e S E U sam ple. T h e lo w er
p ro p o rtio n o f closed-class (an d open-class) a d v erb s a t E d oubtless reflects
th e ir re la tiv e lac k o f ‘w e ig h t’ (c/1 8 .9 ), w hile th e h ig h er p ro p o rtio n o f closed-
class ite m s a t I reflects th e ten d en cy to b egin sen ten ces w ith o n e o f a sm all
n u m b e r o f s h o rt co n ju n cts 0 / 8 .1 3 4 / ') su ch as then, now, yet, a n d ab o v e all
(in sp eech ) well. T h e tw enty-five p e r c e n t o f closed-class item s a t M c o n s titu te s
n o leSs th a n n in e p e r c e n t o f all ad v erb ials in th e sam ple an d th is d ra w s
a tte n tio n to th e n u m erical im p o rta n ce o f ‘n arro w o rie n ta tio n ’ su b ju n cts lik e
really I c f 8 .9 6 # ).
Table 8.23
W hole S E U sam ple 10635 / iM M m /e M iE E

P r e p p h ra s e s 4456 9.5 1 1.5 0 9 79
C lo se d -c la ss ite m s 3915 25 1 25 1 6 42
O p e n -c la s s a d v e r b s 1063 16 3 42 2 6 31
F in ite c la u se s 977 31 1 1 0 1 66
N o u n p h ra s e s 224 16 0 5 1 4 74
S p o k e n m a te ria l 5599
P r e p p h ra s e s 2063 6 0 1 0 8 85
O p e n -c la s s a d v e r b s 608 17.5 5 38 1.5 5 33
F in ite c la u se s 559 ..30 I 1 0 2 66
N o u n p h ra s e s 143 ' 10 0 7 1 2 80
W ritte n m a te ria l 5040

P r e p p h ra s e s 2351 12 1 2 0 10 75
O p e n -c la s s a d v e r b s 462 15 1.5 47 1.5 7 28
F in ite c la u se s 421 32 2 1 0 1 64
N o u n p h ra s e s 84 26 0 2 0 6 66
Grammatical functions
8,24 Since th e p u rp o se o f th is b o o k is to d escrib e p resen t-d ay E n g lish fro m th e

v iew p o in t o f g ra m m a r, it is o n th e g ra m m atica l fun ctio n s th a t w e sh a ll
c o n c e n tra te in o u r d iscu ssio n o f ad v erb ials. T h e re are four b ro ad c ateg o ries
o f g ra m m a tic a l fu n c tio n : F d j u n c t , s u | j u n c t , d i s j u n c t , an d c o n j u n c t . W e
shall d e al in tu r n w ith e ac h o f these a n d th e ir subcategories, as set o u t in F ig
8.24 below .
W h en a d v erb s, p re p o sitio n a l p h rases, an d o th e r stru ctu res a re fu n c tio n in g
as p a r t o f a n e le m en t in th e sen ten ce stru ctu re, they can n o t o f co u rse be
re g ard e d as ‘a d v e rb ia ls’ in term s o f th e sen ten ce in q u estio n ( c /8 .1 ):
H e r beautifully m a n ic u re d nails plu ck ed a t th e h a rp strings. [1]

T h e m a n in the corner seem s to be ill. [2]
S he an sw e red in a quietly assertiv e way. [3]
T h o u g h you m ay leave when read y , you are a sked n ot to d istu rb

o th e r c a n d id a te s. [4]
In [1], beautifully is fu n ctio n in g as p a rt o f the no u n p h rase realizin g th e

s u b je c t; c o n tra s t [ la ]:
S h e h a d m an ic u re d h er n ails beautifully. [ la ]
w h ere th e sam e ite m is fu n ctio n in g as A. In [2], in the corner is lik ew ise p a rt

o f th e n o u n p h ra s e th a t is su b ject in th e ex am p le; c o n tra st [2a]:
T h e m a n w as in the corner. [2a]
I n [3], q u ie tly is fu n ctio n in g w ith in a p rep o sitio n al p h rase w h ich as a w h o le

c o n stitu te s th e a d v e rb ia l o f th e s e n te n c e ; c o n tra st [3a]:
S h e asse rted h e r an sw er quietly. [3a]
I n [4], when read y fu n ctio n s a s a n ad v erb ial w ith in a finite clause w h ic h its e lf
c o n stitu te s th e a d v erb ial in th e se n ten ce a s a w h o le; co m p are [4 a ]:
Y o u m ay lea v e when ready i f you w ish. [4a]
H ere, th e sam e v erb less clause is fu n ctio n in g as one o f tw o a d v erb ials w ith in
a sen ten ce.
B ut a lth o u g h th e stru ctu res o p e ra tin g w ith in elem ents in [ 1 - 4 ] a re
fu n c tio n ally q u ite d istin c t from th e sam e item s fu n ctio n in g as A in [ l a - 4 a ] ,
th e d is tin c tio n is n o t alw ays so clear. O u t o f context, th ere m ay b e a m b ig u ity ,
as w ith in the next house i n :
I c o u ld h e a r the m an in the next house, [p art o f a n o u n phrase]

( p e rh a p s c o n tin u in g : ‘singing to his c hildren, as he o ften d o e s’)
I h e a rd th e m a n in the next /ioicsc.fpredication adju n ct, c f 8.27]
( 'In the next house I h e ard th e m a n ’, b u t ra th e r p e rh ap s c o n tin u in g :
‘b u t he ra n o u t a t th e b a ck a s I a p p ro a c h e d ’)
I h e a rd th e m a n in the next house, [sentence adju n ct, c/8 .3 6 ]
( ~ 'In the, next house, I h eard th e m a n ’, an d p e rh ap s c o n tin u in g : ‘b u t I
co u ld n o jo n g er h e ar h im w h en I left it an d w alked ro u n d o u tsid e ’)
In th ese e x am p les, in the next house m u st be u nderstood as o n e o r o th e r o f th e

th ree p o ssib ilities; th ere is n o g ra m m atica l o r sem antic b lu rrin g . W ith o th e r
ex am p les, th e re m ay b e m u ltip le analyses. O n e can ju stify tre a tin g :
H e a p p ro v e d o f th e idea.
as h av in g a p re d ic a tio n ad ju n c t o f the idea o r as co m p risin g a p re p o sitio n a l

verb approved o f w ith a no u n p h ra se as o bject the idea (c f \ 6 .\ 3 f f ). E q u ally ,
on e can ju stify tre a tin g alik e th e tw o s e n te n c e s:
H e c o u ld n ’t b rin g th e ch an g es into effect.

H e c o u ld n ’t b rin g th e c h an g es about.
w ith th e italicized p o rtio n s re g ard ed as obligatory p re d ic atio n al a d ju n cts.

F ro m o th e r p o in ts o f view , it is p re fe ra b le to regard bring about a s a p h ra sal
verb ( c f 1 6 .3 / 1 6 .1 3 /), since th is an aly sis cap tu res sy n tactic fe a tu re s th a t
would o th erw ise b e ignored.
Gram m atical functions 503
B ut th ere a re u ses o f ad v erb s an d ad v erb p h ra ses w h ere the statu s d e p en d s

on n e ith e r a m b ig u ity n o r m ultiple analysis. T h e a d v e rb today in th e follow ing
ex am p le seem s to b e p a r t o f the subject no u n p h r a s e :
T h e |p ace o f 'life toDAYj is |proving 'too f F s t |
Y et o n th e o n e h a n d th e re seem s to be little d ifferen ce beyond th e n u an ces o f

em p h asis in v e rsio n s o f th e sentence in w h ich today is certain ly fu n c tio n in g
as th e A -elem en t:
T o d F y th e p a ce o f 'life is 'proving 'too f F s t

T h e p a ce o f 'life is toDAY p roving 'to o f F s t
T h e p a ce o f 'life is 'p ro v in g 'to o f F s t toDAY
A n d on th e o th e r h a n d th e p o sitio n o f today in th e o rig in al version is n o t o n e

th a t excludes th e o ccu rre n ce o f A ; cf:
M r Jo n es toDAY m u st be h eartb ro k en . [A a t iM ]
C o n sid er also th e follow ing textual e x am p le :
A raw re c ru it to th e police service a t th e b eg in n in g o f th is c en tu ry w as

ex p ected to b e little m o re th a n physically fit a n d m indlessly o b ed ien t.
T h u s p u n c tu a ted , it a p p e a rs as th o u g h th e w hole sequence befo re was

expected is th e s u b je c t; b u t it is perfectly p o ssib le th a t a t the beginning o f this
century is an A a t iM . C o m p are :
A t the beginning o f this century, a raw re cru it to th e police service w as

ex p ected to b e . . .
■obligatory
p re d ic a tio n
- a d j u n c t------- o p tio n a l
sen te n c e
[- v ie w p o in t
i-w id e o rie n ta tio n
*- co u rte sy
- s u b j u n c t----- su b ject
p i t e m ---------- v e rb p h ra s e
- e m p h a s iz e r p re d ic a tio n
-n a r r o w o r ie n ta tio n -------
- in t e n s if ie r
- f o c u s in g
A d v e rb ia l —
j - m o d a lity a n d m a n n e r
-s ty le
t- re s p e c t
- d i s j u n c t -----
L c o n te n t
- lis tin g
-s u m m a tiv e
-a p p o s itiv e
- co n ju n ct resultive
-in f e r e n tia l
- c o n tr a s tiv e
- tr a n s itio n a l
F ig 8.24
504. T h e sem antics and gram m ar of adverbials
Adjuncts
8.25 A lth o u g h in s e n te n c e sc h e m a ta we d esig n ate as A re aliz a tio n s o f ad v erb ials

in all fo u r o f th e g ra m m a tic a l categories, it is only th e a d ju n cts th a t closely
re sem b le o th e r se n ten c e elem ents such as S, C , a n d O. L ik e th em , for
e x a m p le , a n d u n lik e th e o th e r ad v erb ials, a n ad ju n c t c a n b e th e focus o f a
cleft se n te n c e (c /1 8 .2 6 ):
H ild a h e lp e d T o n y because o f his injury.

I t w as H ild a t h a t h elp e d T ony because o f his in ju ry [S]
I t w as T o n y t h a t H ild a helped because o f his injury [O]
I t w as because o f his injury th a t H ild a h elp ed T ony. [A]
T h e p a ra lle ls e x te n d also to c o n trast in a lte rn a tiv e in te rro g atio n o r n e g a tio n :
D id H ild a h e lp T o n y o r d id B ill h elp him ?

H ild a d i d n ’t h e lp Tony b u t she helped W endy.
D id H ild a h e lp T o n y because o f his injury o r (did sh e h elp him )
to p lea se her mother"}
H ild a d id n ’t h e lp T o n y because o f his injury b u t (she h elp ed him )
to p lea se h er m other.
T h e s a m e a p p lie s to p o te n tia lity for b eing th e focus o f focusing subjuncts (c f

8 .116):
O n ly H ild a h e lp e d T o n y . . . [S]
H ild a o n ly h e lp e d Tony . ' . . [ = ‘H ild a help ed only T o n y . . . ’] [O]
H ild a o n ly h e lp e d T o n y because o f his injury.
[ = ‘H ild a h e lp e d T o n y only because o f his injury'] [A]
M o reo v er, irre s p e c tiv e o f th e ir p o sitio n in a clause, ad ju n c ts com e w ith in the

scope o f p re d ic a tio n ellip sis o r p ro-form s (c /1 2 .2 9 / 12.59/), e x actly like o th er
p o st-o p e ra to r e le m en ts. In consequence, the follow ing p a irs o f exam ples are
s y n o n y m o u s: ;
{
In 1981 [A],' G ra c e becam e a teacher [C] a n d so d id H am ish .
G ra c e b e ca m e a teacher [C] in 1981 [A] a n d H a m is h becam e a
teacher [C ] in 1981 [A].
F re d c a refu lly [A] cleaned his teeth [01 b u t Jo n a th a n ■

{ c*'cJn
i I not.
F re d ca refu lly [A] cleaned his teeth [O] b u t J o n a th a n d id n ’t
carefully [A] clean his teeth. [O]
( P e te r w ill p a y b ack the loan [O] when he g e ts p a id [A] a n d B ob m ay too.

< P e te r w ill p a y b a c k the loan [O] when he g e ts p a id [A] a n d B ob m ay p a y
[ back th e loan [O] when he gets p a id [A] too.
F in ally , like S, O , a n d C , ad ju n cts can be elicited by q u estio n form s.

C o m p a re :
W ho b e c a m e a te a c h e r? (Grace [S])
W hat d id G r a c e b e co m e? (A teacher [C])
W ho(m ) d id H ild a h e lp ? (Tony [O])
A d ju n c ts 505
W hy d id H ild a h elp T o n y ^(Because o f his injury [A])
C f also When, W here, H ow , an d p erip h ra stic q uestion form s H ow long, H o w

well, etc.
N o te S om e su b ju n cts ( c / 8 .8 9 ,8.105) c a n also be elicited by p erip h rastic question fo rm s; fo r ex a m p le ,

In w hat w ay (v iew p o in t), H ow m uch o r To what extent (am plifier). O n th e o th e r h a n d , s o m e
p ro cess ad v e rb ials th a t a re o th e rw ise a d ju n ct-lik e are resistan t to being focus in a cleft se n te n ce.
H ere a s elsew here in g ra m m a r, w e recognize th a t a n e a t division is rare an d g rad ien ce en d e m ic .
Subcategories o f adjunct
8.26 A lth o u g h th e c h a ra c te ris tic s o u tlin e d in 8.25 bro ad ly hold for all a d ju n c ts,
th e re a re th ree d istin c t ty p es ran g in g in ‘c en trality ’ (c f 2.13) fro m th e
o b lig a to ry p re d ic a tio n a d ju n c t (w h ich resem bles an o bject b o th in th e
n ecessity o f its p resen ce fo r v e rb co m p lem en tatio n ( c f I 6 .l j f) a n d in its
re la tiv e fixity o f p o sitio n ) to th e sen ten ce adju n ct, w hose p resen ce is n e v e r
g ra m m atica lly essen tial a n d w h ich can be m oved b etw een E a n d / p o sitio n s
w ith relativ ely little c o n se q u en ce for its stylistic o r sem an tic effect.
obligatory
-predication-
optional
-A D JU N C T
sentence _
Fig 8.26
O b lig a to ry predication adjuncts

8.27 I f w e co m p a re sen ten ces w ith love a n d live as V, we see th a t in e a c h case a
p o st-V e le m en t is re q u ire d fo r c o m p le m e n ta tio n :
* H e loved.
* H e lived.
B e s id e :
H e loved Joan. [Od]

H e liv ed in Chicago. [A oblig]
T h e close an d se q u e n tial re la tio n o f V O a n d V A in th ese se n ten c es is

d e m o n s tra te d by th e ir re q u irin g sim ilarly ex cep tio n al rh e to rica l c irc u m
sta n ce s fo r O a n d A fro n tin g :
Joan h e lo v e d a n d Joan h e a lw a y s h F d lo v ed .
Jn Chicago h e liv e d a n d in Chicago h e a lw a y s h F d liv ed .
(C /T 8 .2 0 .) B ut th e o b lig a to ry a d ju n c t differs from the object in m o re re ad ily

p e rm ittin g in te rru p tio n b etw een th e V an d itself:
?H e loved a t t h a t tim e Joan.

H e liv ed a t th a t tim e in Chicago.
B ut if th e A obiig is a p a rticle , in te rru p tio n is usually im possible:
*She w oke in b e d up. ( C f 8.33).

8 .2 8 In f a c t, th e n u m b e r o f verbs h av in g sufficient sem antic w eight in th em selv es

to re q u ir e no fu rth e r c o m p lem en tatio n is q u ite sm all. A t o n e e x tre m e , w e
h a v e th e class o f c o p u lar verbs ( c f 1 6 .2 1 # ) like b e an d turn w h ich , as th e ir
d e sig n a tio n in d icates, m ust lin k o n e e lem en t (the S) to a n o th e r (th e C o r
S h e w as a teacher. [C]
S h e w as in a hurry. [A]
T h e c hrysalis slowly tu rn ed green. [C]
T h e ch ry salis slowly tu rn ed into a butterfly. [A]
A t th e o th e r ex trem e, we have in tra n sitiv e v erb s like disappear o r apologize
w h ic h fairly freely o ccur w ith o u t c o m p le m e n ta tio n :
T h e ra b b it d isa p p eared .
J o h n apologized.
E v e n in th ese ex am p les, how ever, th e re w ould be con sid erab le d e p e n d e n c e

o n a c o n te x t w h ich in fact p ro v id ed th e u nex p ressed a d ju n c t:
T h e ra b b it suddenly d isap p eared .
T h e ra b b it d isa p p ea red behind a bush.
J o h n a pologized to his host.
J o h n a pologized f o r being late.
Still m o re so, b etw een th e ex trem es o f b e a n d apologize, ad ju n ct-less

in tra n s itiv e clauses are rare, a n d w e m u st n o te th a t the a d d itio n o f a n a d ju n c t
re d u ce s th e se m an tic w eig h t a n d ‘c o m m u n ica tiv e d y n am ism ’ (c f 18.3) o f th e
v e rb . C o m p are :
T h e Q ueen a rriv e d . [ie th e arriv al is all im p o rta n t]

T h e Q ueen a rriv e d in a blue gow n. [ie h er dress is m ore im p o rta n t
th a n th e arrival]
T h e Q ueen a rriv e d in a blue car.
T h is is p articu la rly n o ticeab le in th e case o f c ertain verbs o f b ro ad m ea n in g

in re sp e c t o f p o stu re o r m o tio n : sit, stand ,co m e, go (c f 16.24). T h ese c a n ta k e
a n o b lig a to ry ad ju n c t o f resp ect ( c /8 .6 ) in th e form o f a n -in g clau se, w ith
c o n se q u e n t w eak en in g o f th e p rim a ry m ea n in g o f the m ain verb ( c f 3.49):
H e stood waiting (patiently).

S h e sat reading (to the children).
T h e y w ent h u rryin g (breathlessly).
S h e cam e running (in great haste).
S u ch ex am p les a re , o f course, superficially am biguous. P rosodic a d ju s tm e n t

c a n g iv e fuller lexical m ean in g to th e fin ite verb , a t th e sam e tim e tra n s fe rrin g
th e -in g clauses fro m o b lig ato ry to o p tio n a l a d v erb ial s ta tu s :
H e s t o o d |w a i t i n g P A T ien tly |
She sat w ith h e r C H iL D renjR E A D ing to th em |
8 .2 9 T h e n o n fin ite clause as o b lig ato ry a d ju n c t in ex am p les like ‘H e sto o d w a itin g ’

m ay b e co m p ared w ith th e effect th a t p e rfectiv e o r progressive a sp e c t h as in
c o n fe rrin g a p lau sib le co m p leten ess o f p re d ic a tio n :
A djuncts 507
(?)H e stood.
H e stood w aitin g .
(?)She h itc h h ik ed .
She w as h itc h h ik in g .
(?)T hey w ent.
T h ey h av e g one.
In d eed , th e p ro g ressiv e seem s clearly able to c o m b in e th e expression o f a

verb al inflection a n d o f a n o bligatory a d ju n ct o f re sp ec t:
She w as h itc h h ik in g (to London).

She w as (en g ag ed in th e activ ity o f) h itch h ik in g .
C o m p are also:
She is teach in g .
T h is la s t m ay re fe r e ith e r to c u rre n t activity (‘S h e is tea ch in g in th e n e x t

room a t th is m o m e n t’) o r to m em b ersh ip o f a p ro fessio n (‘She is tea ch in g for
a liv in g ’, ‘She is in te a c h in g ’, ‘She is a teach er’), re m in d in g us th a t h isto rically
the asp ectu al v alu e seem s to h a v e been a d d ed to a n o rig in al ad v erb ial
fu n ctio n ( c f ‘H e ’s go n e a -h u n tin g \ a d ialectal o r a rc h a ic form , d e riv e d
h isto rically fro m a p re p o sitio n a l p h rase) w hich is still n o t en tirely su p ersed ed .
8.30 A sim ila r p h e n o m e n o n to th a t observed w ith ‘H e sto o d w a itin g ’ is th e

o b lig ato ry a d ju n c t w ith come a n d go in th e fo rm o f a n in fin itiv e c la u se :
S h e’ll co m e to see y o u (about it).

I w en t to visit m y mother.
A g ain th e lexical fo rce o f th e m ain verb is re d u ce d a n d th e ad ju n ct, w hile

h av in g th e fo rm c o m m o n in th e sem antic role o f p u rp o se , is p re d o m in an tly
c o n cern ed w ith th e re sp ec t role. T h is applies e v en m o re ob v io u sly to th e
o b lig ato ry a d ju n c t follow ing try.
H e m u st try to do better (n ext time).

. . . ‘so a s to d o b e tte r’, ‘in o rd er to d o b e tte r’]
T h ese a d ju n cts a re n o tew o rth y in th a t the se m an tic re la tio n is a ltern ativ ely
realized by c o o rd in a te d clauses, especially in ra th e r in fo rm a l u sage ( c /1 3 .9 8 /
o n p s e u d o -c o o rd in a tio n ):
S h e’ll co m e a n d see y o u (about it).
I w en t an d visited m y mother.
H e m u st try a n d do better (next time).
N o te [a] W h e n th e co o rd in a te d clause is finite, th e sense o f th e p re c e d in g v e rb is tilted to w ard s its full

le xical m e an in g . C o m p a re :
I ’ll go a n d visit m y mother.
I w en t an d v isited m y m o th er.
I w en t an d I v isited m y m o th er.
It is o nly in th e first o f th e se th a t th e co o rd in ated p a rt h as th e resem b lan ce to oblig ato ry ad ju n ct.
W ith try , n o finite v erb co o rd in a tio n is possible:
D id he try a n d s e e y o u t
* Y es, he tried a n d saw me.
[b] S in c e go , sit, tr y , etc w ith in fin itiv e clauses as o bligatory a d ju n c t seem to su b o rd in a te th e ir

le x ical m e a n in g to th e v erb in th e ad ju n ct, it is o f in terest to co m p are th e m w ith au x ilia ry verbs.
C /'th e tre a tm e n t o f be going to a s a sem i-auxiliary (3.47f ) .
8.31 C lo sely an alo g o u s to th e o bligatory ad ju n ct, a g ain freq u en tly w ith the
s e m a n tic role o f re sp ec t ( c f 8.6), are the stru ctu res in co m p le m e n ta tio n o f
a d je c tiv e s ( c f 16.68Iff). In som e instances, w ith o u t su ch co m p le m e n ta tio n ,
th e a d je c tiv e s c a n n o t c o n stitu te a p red ic atio n :
* S h e is f o n d . | e s id e She i s fond o f books.

♦T h is is ta n ta m o u n t. | e s id e T h is is ta n ta m o u n t to an insult.
? H e is likely. | e s id e H e is likely to succeed.
In o th e rs , th e ad je ctiv e h a s a different o r a t a n y ra te m u ch g re a te r sem an tic

w e ig h t w h en it is w ith o u t c o m p lem en tatio n , serving m o re o f a n au x iliary role
( c /8 .3 0 N o te [b]) w h e n c o m p le m e n ta tio n is p resent. C o m p are :
T h ey a re an x io u s. ~ T hey are anxious to see you.

( c f ‘T h ey w an t to see you. ’)
T h e y a re (very) a b le. ~ T h ey are ab le to f l y helicopters.
( c f ‘T h ey can fly h e lic o p te rs.’)
H e is c ap a b le . ~ H e is c ap ab le o f resigning over this.
( c /‘H e m ay well re sig n .’)
S h e is k een . ~ She is keen on fishing.
H e is good. ~ H e is good a t m athem atics.
N o te A s w ith th e v erb s w ith re d u ce d m e a n in g w hen acco m p an ied by o b lig ato ry a d ju n c ts { c f 8.28),

so m e o f th e ad jectiv es in in fo rm al usage ta k e co m p lem en tatio n in th e fo rm o f a co o rd in ate
s tr u c tu r e : 1
T h e room is good a n d warm.
H e ’s n ic e and'generous.
A s w ith th e v erb s, to o, th e a d je c tiv e req u irin g co m p lem en tatio n ca n ta k e on a s u b o rd in a te role,
a s th o u g h it w ere a m o d ificatio n o f w h a t follows ra th e r th a n being co m p lem en ted b y it. W e m ay
n o te t h a t th e follow ing p a irs a re closely sy n onym ous:
{TT hh ee coffee
coffee is nice a n d h o t.
is hiceiy h ot.
f H e got good and angry. <esp A m E )
( H e got eery angry.
( C f p se u d o -co o rd in a tio n , 1 3 .98/)
8.32 I n 8.27 o b lig ato ry a d ju n c ts w ere co m p ared w ith d ire c t o b jects, a n d in 8.28
w e c o n sid e re d in tra n s itiv e v erb s w hich a p p e a re d to h a v e a d ifferen t o r
so m e w h a t w eak en ed m e a n in g w h en they w ere co m p lem en ted b y a n ad ju n ct.
B o th th ese facto rs co m e to g e th e r in th e c o n sid eratio n o f p re p o sitio n a l v erb s
( c / 1 6 .5 /7 ,1 6 .1 3 /). C o m p a re :
H e w e n t o u tsid e a n d lo o k e d ; th e even in g sky w as b o th ra d ia n t a n d

p eacefu l. H e c a m e b a c k in thoughtfully.
H e re looked is fully in tra n s itiv e a n d could b e rep laced by gazed . O n th e o th er

h a n d ,i n :
H e lo o k ed at th e p ictu re.
w e seem to h a v e a s in te rd e p e n d e n t a trip a rtite sen ten ce a s w e d o i n :
H e liv e d in C h ic a g o .
A djuncts 509
A s w ith th e la tte r, we m ay regard th e prep o sitio n al p h rase at the picture a s a n

o b lig ato ry a d ju n c t; cf:
It w as a t the picture th a t he looked.
B ut e q u ally w e m ay reg ard look at a s a tran sitiv e v erb , w ith the picture a s O d ;
cf:
It w as th e p ic tu re th a t he looked at.
T h e p ic tu re w as looked a t in a d m ira tio n by h im an d several o th er
visito rs.
N o te O n th e d e s c rip tiv e reasons fo r having m u ltip le an aly ses fo r th e sam e linguistic p h e n o m e n o n , c f

. .
2 61
8.33 J u s t as p re p o sitio n a l verbs m ay be re g ard ed e ith er as tran sitiv e w ith

o b lig ato ry O d o r as in tra n sitiv e w ith o b lig ato ry adju n ct, so sequences lik e p u t
aw a y c a n b e re g ard e d as p o ten tially d isco n tin u o u s tran sitiv e (p h rasal) v e r b s :
She p u t th e m o n ey away.
She p u t a w a y th e m oney.
o r as sim p le tra n s itiv e v erb s re q u irin g b o th a n Od an d an o bligatory a d v e rb ia l

(am p lifier s u b ju n c t; c f 8.105). T h e fo rm er is co n v en ien t w h en we a r e
c o n sid erin g th e co o ccu rren ce o f closed-class p articles (such as a w a y) w ith
v e rb item s, as in 16.2ff. T h e la tte r is co n v en ien t w hen the v erb ite m is
ac c o m p a n ie d by a w id e ran g e o f p h ra se s d escrib ab le in term s su ite d to
a d v erb ial a b stra c tio n s, as in th is c h a p te r. T h u s we consider th e ita lic ize d
p o rtio n o f th e follow ing sen ten ces a s o b lig ato ry p re d ic atio n a d ju n c ts:
She p u t th e m o n ey into her purse. (c /* S h e p u t th e m oney.)

She p u t th e m o n ey (entirely ) out o f her m ind.
She p lac ed before me a curiously o rn a te vase.
So also, w h ile th e a d v erb p article in th e s e n te n c e :
H e stared m e out.
w ill be tre a te d a s p a rt o f a p h ra sal v erb , th e sen ten ce:
H e lo o k ed m e (straight ) in the eye.
is re g ard e d a s h a v in g a n o b lig ato ry ad ju n c t, su scep tib le o f m o d ificatio n , a s is

sh o w n by th e p a ren th esiz e d straight. T h e sam e verbs can occur, w ith a
c o n sid era b le d ifferen ce in m ean in g acc o rd in g as they req u ire o r d o n o t
re q u ire a n o b lig a to ry a d ju n ct:
M y f a th e r k e p t m e. [‘su p p o rte d m e financially’]

M y f a th e r k e p t m e in bed. [‘m ad e m e sta y ’]
T h ey h a v e a co ttag e. [‘o w n ’]
T h ey h a v e a c o ttag e fo r sale. [‘a re selling’]
( C /th e d iscu ssio n o f clause p a tte rn s, 10.1#.)

F in ally , ju s t as w e saw th a t co p u la r v erb s could have e ith er C s o r a n
o b lig ato ry A (8.28), so th ere are a few v erb s th a t can have eith e r C„ o r a n
o b lig ato ry A :
S h e m a d e h im happy. [C0]
S h e m a d e h im into a braver man. [A]
H e k e ep s h is c a r clean. [C„]
H e k e ep s h is c a r in the street. [A]
O p tio n a l predication adjuncts

8.34 A lth o u g h it is o ften c le ar w hen a n ad ju n ct is o b lig ato ry , th is is n o t alw ays so.
W e n o te d in 8.28 th a t th e m ere a d d itio n o f a n ad ju n c t a fte r a n in tra n sitiv e
v e r b re d u ce d th e v e rb ’s sem an tic w eight. N o n eth eless, it c an be seen th a t th e
r e la tio n b e tw ee n S a n d V i n :
T h e Q u e en a rriv e d . [1]
is n o t ra d ic ally altered w h en a n A is ad d ed as i n :
T h e Q u e en a rriv e d in a blue gown. [2]
T o t h e e x te n t th a t [ 1] c a n obviously o ccur w ith o u t th e ad ju n c t as in [2], o r an y

o th e r a d ju n c t, w hile a t th e sam e tim e th e re la tio n b etw een S an d V in [2] is
n o t a t v a ria n c e w ith th e relatio n b etw een th e sam e S an d V in [1], we c an say
t h a t th e a d ju n c t in [2] is o ptional. C o m p are also fu rth er in tra n sitiv e item s
w h e re th e o p tio n a l statu s o f A is in d icated by p a re n th e s e s :
T h e ra b b it v a n ish ed (behind a bush).

S h e d isa p p e a re d ( with the purse).
T h e in stru m e n t h as b een tested { ^ a

[( electronically ).
T h e y a re e m ig ratin g (to South America).
H e p ro te s te d ( vigorously).
T h e o p tio n a l sta tu s o f a d ju n cts in S V O clau ses can sim ilarly be tested by

o b s e rv in g th a t th e re latio n s (eg b etw een V a n d O ) re m a in c o n stan t irresp ectiv e
o f t h e p re sen c e o r ab sen ce o f th e a d ju n c t:
H e d e fen d e d his c lien t (with vigour)s

I fo u n d th e letter (in the kitchen).
J o h n fo rced o p e n th e d o o r (by m eans o f a lever).
T h e y se n t o ff th e p arcel (to Australia).
G r ip th e h a n d le (tightly).
S h e kissed, h e r m o th e r (on the cheek).
N o te V e rb s th a t c a n be b o th m o n o tran sitiv e (1 6 .2 5 /0 a n d co m p lex -tra n sitiv e (1 6 .4 3 /0 e n te r into

c o n s tru c tio n s o f superficial sim ilarity w hich are in fa c t v ery different. C o m p a re :
S h e fo u n d h im o n th e floor. [3]
[ = ‘H e w as on th e floor w hen she found h im .’]
[ # ‘S h e found th a t he w as o n th e floor.’]
S h e fo u n d him o f little help. [4]
[ ^ ‘H e w as o f little help w hen she found h im .’]
[ = ‘S h e found th a t he w as o f little h elp .’}
W ith S h e fo u n d him in a coma , th e stru ctu re m ig h t p arallel th a t in eith e r [3] o r [4].
P o sition of predication adjuncts

8.35 A ll p re d ic a tio n a d ju n cts, o bligatory an d o p tio n a l alike, a re n o rm ally p laced
A djuncts 511
a t E , as in m o st o f th e e x am p les p resen ted in 8 .2 5 -3 4 . T h ey m ay h o w ev er be

a d v an c ed to iE if a n O o r C is lengthy an d com plex o r re q u ire s p ro so d ic
focus. Such p o sitio n in g ch ara cte riz es w ritten ra th e r th a n sp o k e n usage, a n d
it reflects som e care in sen ten c e planning.
W ith a n o b lig ato ry a d ju n c t a t i E :
She keeps in the garden som e o f th e m ost lovable little r a b b its you e v er
saw.
T h ey w a n t to b rin g into fo rc e a n ew regulation a b o u t p asse n g ers in buses.
She m ad e into a braver m a n th e u n fo rtu n ate an d terrified v ic tim o f
terro rism .
W ith an o p tio n al a d ju n c t a t iE :
I found in the kitchen th e le tte r I th o u g h t I h ad b u rn t.

She kissed on the c heek h e r tearfu l an d trem b lin g m o th er.
W e saw in 8.27 a n ex am p le o f ex ceptional fro n tin g to I o f a n o b lig ato ry

ad ju n ct. -S u e h -fro n tin g w ould be equally ex cep tio n al w ith m o st o p tio n a l
p re d ic atio n a d ju n cts, a n d alth o u g h an acco m p an y in g su b je c t-o p e ra to r
in v ersio n is n ow larg ely co n fin ed to form al o r em o tiv e style, its co n tin u ed
existen ce d e m o n stra tes th e sev erity o f th e d islocation. C f :
B y no properly qualified technician h as th is in stru m e n t e v e r b een

a d eq u ately tested .
In no circumstances m u st th is d oor be left open.
W ith d is c o n tin u ity :
So vigorously d id he p ro te s t that the authorities reconsidered his case.
N o te N eg ativ e ad juncts such as i n no ci rcum stances m ig h t be said to be o b lig ato ry sin ce th e m ean in g
is different w hen they a re o m i tte d :
Y ou should in no ci rcum stances leave th e d o o r unlocked.
[ t 4 ‘You should leave th e do o r un lo ck ed .’]
C o n tra st:
Y ou should n o t, in any ci rcum stances, leave th e do o r unlocked.
H ere th e ad ju n ct c a n o f co u rse be o m itte d w ith o u t serious ch an g e o f m e an in g . S ignificantly in
th is connection, it is chiefly th e n eg a tiv e adjuncts th a t can be fronted. C o m p a r e :
I n no ci rcum stances sho u ld you leave th e door unlocked.
‘I B y sev eral qual i f i ed techni ci ans w as th e instru m en t tested.
( C /1 0 .6 5 ,18.24.)
Sentence adjuncts
8.36 T h e m o st obvious w ay in w h ich sentence ad ju n cts m a rk th em se lv es o ff from
p re d ic atio n a d ju n cts is by th e ir relative freedom to o ccu r a t / p o sitio n a s w ell
as E . In th is w ay th ey d e m o n stra te w h at we can in tu itiv e ly f e e l: th a t th ey
relate to th e sen ten ce as a w hole ra th e r th a n solely o r p re d o m in a n tly to th e V
a n d post-V elem en ts. T h u s on the cheek a n d on the p la tfo rm b o th possess th e
ad ju n c t c h ara cte ristics p re se n te d in 8.25:
She kissed h e r m o th e r on the cheek. [ 1]

She kissed h er m o th e r on the platform . [2]
B u t th e relativ e c e n tra lity ( c /2 . 13) o f the ad ju n ct in [ 1] a s c o m p a re d w ith th e
m o re p e rip h e ra l o rb it o f th a t in [2] is show n by th e a w k w ard n ess o f :

? 0 n the cheek, she kissed h e r m o th e r. [ 1a]
as c o m p a re d w ith :
O n the platform , she kissed h er m o th er. [2a]
I f w e c o m b in e fro n tin g as in [ la ] a n d [2a] w ith a tru th -fo cu sin g p a ra p h ra se ,

th e d iffere n ce is b ro u g h t o u t m o re sharp ly , though ev en [2b] is ra th e r
u n id io m a tic :
* O n th e cheek, I[th' eSfa5c t ts j1th a t sh e kissed h e r m other. [lb ]
O n the platform , j j th a t sh e kissed h er m other. [2b]
I f w e c o m b in e th e a d ju n cts o f [1] a n d [2] a t E , th e ad ju n c t in [1] w ould

n o rm ally p reced e th a t in [2]; in o th e r w ords, we expect th e se n ten c e ad ju n c t
on th e p la tfo rm to b e lo cated fu rth e r fro m th e c en tre o f th e c lau se (c /2 .1 3 )
th a n th e p re d ic a tio n a d ju n c t on the c h eek :
fS h e kissed h e r m o th e r on the cheek [A ,] on the platform [A 2].

[O n the platform , she kissed h e r m o th e r on the cheek.
[S h e kissed h e r m o th e r on the p latform [A 2]o n the cheek [A ,].
[O n the cheek, sh e k is s e d h e r m o th e r on the platform .
A f u r th e r in d ic a tio n o f th e relativ ely p erip h eral statu s o f th e sen ten ce

a d ju n c t is th a t it can be se p a ra te d fro m th e rest o f the clause by a co m m a
(an d an alo g o u sly o ccupy a s e p a ra te to n e u n it in speech). C o n tra s t th e fro n tin g
o f a p re d ic a tio n ad ju n c t (w h ich re q u ire s a co n tex t o f special m o tiv a tio n ; c f
18.21) w ith a q u ite n o rm ally /-p la c e d sen ten ce a d ju n ct:
In Chicago h e l i v e d (a n d in C h ica g o . . .)
In CM cago] h e s tu d ie d m etaP H Y sics|
*In Chicago j h e lived.
In Chicago , h e stu d ied m etap h y sics.
W e sh o u ld n o te also t h a t a n /-p la ce d sen ten ce a d ju n c t h as th e p o te n tia lity to

relate to th e whole sen ten ce, ev en w h ere the sentence co m p rise s tw o
c o o rd in a te clauses, w hile th e sam e A -placed ad ju n ct will n o rm ally be
in te rp re te d as p re d ic atio n al a n d h en ce re la te d only to th e clau se in w h ich it
is p laced . C o m p a r e :
H e trav elled a g re at d eal a n d e v en tu ally settled dow n in A ustralia.

In A ustralia, h e trav elled a g re a t d eal a n d eventually settled d ow n.
(C /1 8 .2 0 -2 5 ).
S u b je ct- and object-related

8.37 I f we c o m p a re th e id en tical a d ju n c ts in th e follow ing sentences, w e d e te c t a n
obvious d ifferen ce in th e ir r e la tio n s :
I fo u n d th e letter in the kitchen. [ 1]

1 ty p e d th e le tte r in the kitchen. [2]
Adjuncts 513
B o th [1] a n d [2] resp o n d to th e q uestion ‘W h ere d id you ju s t as b o th

c an be fram e d in a c le ft sen ten ce ‘It w as in the kitchen th a t I fo u n d /ty p ed th e
le tte r’. A g ain , b o th c a n be p a rap h rased in term s o f ‘I w as in the kitchen w h e n
I . . But w h e rea s [1] can be p a rap h rased as ‘T h e letter w as in the kitchen
w hen I fo u n d it,’ [2] c a n n o t be p arap h ra se d as ‘T h e letter w as in the kitchen
w h en I ty p ed it.’ T h is te s t helps us to see th a t in [2] in the kitchen is a se n ten ce
ad ju n ct, b u t it also h elp s us to see th a t ex am p le [1] is am biguous as to w h e th e r
th e a d ju n c t .is m o re o b ject-related (‘T h e le tte r w as in the k itc h e n ’) o r m o re
su b ject-related (‘I w as in th e k itc h e n ’). I f w e no w reo rd er these e x a m p le s:
In the kitchen, I fo u n d th e letter. [ 1a]

In the kitchen, I ty p ed th e letter. [2a]
w e seem to h a v e d o n e m o re th a n foreground th e ad ju n cts to m ak e th em th e

in fo rm a tio n a l p o in t o f d e p artu re for w h a t follow s ( c f 18.21). W e h av e in
a d d itio n sk ew ed th e relatio n s o f th e ad ju n c t in [la ] to m ak e th e h e a re r
p re d isp o sed to in te rp re t it as subject-related (‘I searched th e k itc h e n a n d
found th e le tte r th e re ’) w h ereas in [1] th e p re d isp o sitio n w as to in te rp ret it as
o b ject-related (‘I w e n t in to th e k itch en a n d th ere w as th e letter’).
A strictly a n alo g o u s sk ew in g b etw een a p resu m ed ob ject-related in te rp re
ta tio n a n d a p re su m ed subject-related o n e o ccu rs o n m oving th e ad ju n c ts
from E to I in 'su c h sen ten ces as th e fo llo w in g :
She saw m y b ro th e r in the garden.

[p ro b ab ly ~ ‘M y b ro th er w as in th e g a rd e n ’]
In the garden, sh e saw m y b rother.
[p ro b ab ly ~ ‘She w as in th e g a rd en ’]
I h e a rd a n o ise in the bathroom.
[p ro b ab ly ~ ‘T h e noise w as in th e b a th ro o m ’]
In the bathroom , I h eard a noise.
[p ro b ab ly ~ ‘I w as in th e b a th ro o m ’]
C o m p are su b je ct o rie n ta tio n o f space ad ju n c ts (8.49), o f tim e a d ju n cts (8.76),

o f p ro cess ad ju n c ts (8.78), an d th e su b ju n cts o f 8.92. C ases o f su b je ct-o b jec t
skew ing a re clearly an alo g o u s to com plex tra n s itiv ity ( c f 16.43#). C f also:
W e fo resaw a d isa ste r in June.

[p ro b ab ly ~ ‘W e foresaw th a t it w as in J u n e th a t th ere w ould b e a
d is a s te r’]
In June, w e fo resaw a disaster.
[p ro b ab ly ~ ‘I t w as in Ju n e th a t w e fo resaw th a t th ere w ould b e a
d is a s te r’]
8.38 W e h a v e n o te d t h a t se n ten ce ad ju n cts a re m o re p e rip h e ral to th e stru ctu re o f

th e se n ten c e in w h ic h th ey function th a n a re p re d ic atio n adjuncts. T h e
relativ ely p e rip h e ra l c h a ra c te r is show n p o sitio n ally in th e fa c t b o th th a t
sen ten ce a d ju n c ts w ill n o rm ally follow p re d ic a tio n ad ju n cts a t E an d th a t
th ey can m o re re ad ily be p laced a t /:
She h a d liv ed in poverty [A pred.ob|ig] /o r th irty years [A MnlencJ .

I h a d fo u n d th e le tte r in the kitchen [A pred op,] by searching carefully
[A s e n te n c e ] -
F or th irty y e a rs, sh e h ad lived in poverty.

B y searching carefully, I h ad found th e letter in the kitchen.
By c o n tr a s t, th e p re d ic a tio n ad ju n cts in these ex am p les could b e p laced a t I

o n ly w ith a s trik in g d isru p tio n o f n orm al ex pectations.
B u t a f u rth e r in d ic a tio n o f th e g reater m obility o f se n ten ce ad ju n cts is
th a t - in c o n tr a s t to p re d ic atio n adjuncts - they c a n u sually a p p e a r a t M
w ith o u t g iv in g a n y im p ressio n o f rad ical w o rd -o rd er d islo ca tio n :
S h e h a d f o r th irty y ea rs lived in poverty.

? * S h e h a d in p o verty lived fo r thirty years.
I h a d b y searching carefully found th e letter in the kitchen.
(? )I h a d - in th e kitchen - found th e letter by searching carefully.
W h e re s e n te n c e a d ju n c ts are m oved from E , how ever, th e ir ‘scen e-settin g ’

role fo r th e se n te n c e is o ften p o in ted by p u n c tu atio n a n d is in sp eech regularly
m a rk e d by te rm in a tin g th e a d ju n ct w ith a to n e-u n it b r e a k :
F o r th i r t y y e F r s | s h e h a d liv e d in p o v erty l
I h F d | b y s e a r c h in g CAREfully| f o u n d th e le tte r in t h e K iT chen|
G R A M M A T IC A L REALIZATION
OF S E M A N T IC ROLES
Ad j u nets of space
8 .3 9 W e sa w in 8 . 2 th a t five se m an tic subroles w ere to b e d istin g u ish e d w ith in th e

ca te g o ry o f sp a c e. W h ere a verb (eg: be, live, p u t ) ta k e s a n o bligatory
p re d ic a tio n a d ju n c t, th is is in alm ost all cases c o n ce rn ed w ith p o s i t i o n o r
d ir e c t io n :
T h ey a re on the Continent. H e k e p t it in the safe.

She liv es in a cottage. H e p u t it on(to) the table.
i
W h e n a sp a tia l p re d ic a tio n ad ju n ct is o p tio n al, o n th e o th e r h a n d , it is less
lik e ly to e x p ress p o sitio n th a n d i r e c t i o n (including g o F l a n d s o u r c e ) :
( towards the p a rk .
T h e c h ild re n w ere ru n n in g very fast < to the swings.
' [fro m the school.
The d is t
n c e re la tio n is given tw o k in d s o f e x p ressio n , s p e c i f i c an d
F
g e n e r FT h e fo rm e r is expressed solely by p re d ic a tio n ad ju n c ts, an d these

l .
h a v e only n o u n -p h ra s e re a liz a tio n :
T h ey ra n tw o m iles in ten m inutes.

W e c lim b ed a fu rth e r thousand fe e t before dusk.
G e n e ra l d ista n c e can also be realized by n o u n p h ra ses, in w h ich case th e

a d ju n c ts a re a g a in p re d ic a tio n a l:
W e h u rrie d a fe w m iles an d th en rested.

T h ey h ad trav e lle d a long way an d w ere e xhausted.
Adjuncts o f space 515
; B ut p rep o sitio n al p h ra ses c a n also be used, a n d in th is form th e a d ju n c ts c a n

b e p re d ic atio n al o r s e n te n tia l:
W e h u rried fo r a fe w m iles a n d th e n rested.

F or the n e x t two m iles, th e ro ad h a d a very po o r surface, m ak in g sp eed
im possible;
D ista n ce p h rases c an b e tre a te d a s sin g u lar d esp ite th e ir ‘in te rn a l’ p lu ra lity :

‘another/a fu rth e r tw o m iles’. B u t c f N o te.
P o sitio n an d source a d ju n c ts read ily assum e a se n ten tial role, esp ecially
w h en th ere is a d irec tio n o r g oal a d ju n c t in the sam e clau se :
P eo p le m ove to a n ew house q u ite frequently in Am erica.

(cf: In Am erica, peo p le m o v e to a n ew house q u ite freq u en tly .)
M ary w en t to B russels fr o m London.
( c f: From London, M a ry w e n t to Brussels.
?*To B russels, M a ry w e n t fr o m London.)
. T o a lim ite d ex ten t, p o sitio n a d ju n c ts can b e realized by n o u n p h r a s e s :
W hich side o f the street does she live? S he lives this side.
W hichever district you live, try to d o som e w alk in g every day.
*W e lived this street a t o n e tim e.
D ire c tio n ad ju n cts in v o lv in g a g en eral referen ce item (especially way) a re

o ften realized as n o u n p h ra ses in tro d u ced by which, this, that :
H e w en t that way.
C o m e this way p lease.
W hich direction d id sh e ru n ?
C f also (in fo rm a l, esp A m E > ‘M y h a ir w as blow ing every which w ay’ [ie ‘in
every d ire c tio n ’].
N o te N o u n p h rases expressing specific d ista n c e are often tre ated as Od ra th e r th a n A , th u s p e rm ittin g

p a s s iv iz a tio n (c flG A J f. \6 .2 1 ff):
T h e y ra n the distance in reco rd tim e. The distance w as run in reco rd tim e.
T h e re c a n be vacillatio n o v er c o n c o rd : ‘T h e rem ain in g te n m etres w as/w ere co m p leted in reco rd
tim e .’
R ealizatio n
8.40 A p a rt fro m th e use o f n o u n p h ra ses fo r som e p re d ic atio n a d ju n c ts o f d ista n c e
( c f 8.39), space a d ju n cts are m o st com m only in th e form o f p re p o sitio n a l
p h rases, th u s co nveying w ith a g iv en no u n p h ra se (the road, the house, the
r o o m ,. . . ) th e sp a tia l d isc rim in a tio n s set o u t in 9.16 jf( a t, in, o n , . ..) . W h e re
th e lexical form o f th e h e ad n o u n is u n im p o rta n t b ut w here th e lo ca tio n
n eed s to b e specified in d e ta il, a p ostm odified n o u n p h ra se c a n b e u se d , as
in :
I saw Jo a n a t th e j j ! at' which) ^ j a(fier wor/cs^
[p la c e j [w here J
B ut a h e ad n o u n th a t is o f little se m an tic w eig h t (as place ab o v e) w ould m o re

usually be o m itted a n d th e w hole ad ju n c t expressed w ith o n ly th e where-
clau se:
I saw J o a n where her fa th e r works.
C la u s a l realizatio n is especially c o n v e n ie n t w here the actu al lo catio n is

in d e fin ite :
T h ey m u st go we send them .
So to o w ith a b b re v ia te d clause fo rm s :
K e ep th e keys convenient.
P o s itio n in relatio n to an im ates (especially persons) m ay be expressed by

p re p o sitio n a l p h ra ses intro d u ced by W ith:
A : W h ere is M ild red ?

f She is (staying) with her brother.
B :< She is with the horse that was injured last week.
|_She is with the vet b u t i d o n ’t k n o w exactly w here.
S u c h an sw ers to where a re obviously re la tiv e to th e p o sitio n (k n o w n o r

u n k n o w n ) o f th e e n tity m e n tio n e d ; c o n tra st ‘She is a t her brother’s ' ( c f 5.1 24).
In c o n seq u en ce, tv/f/i-phrases e stab lish little m ore th an a c o n ju n ctio n w ith
th e p e rso n o r a n im a l n am e d an d th ey a re o fte n used as alm o st e q u iv a le n t to
c o n jo in s w ith a n d :
M ild red is w ith h e r b ro th er, d iscu ssin g th e h o rse’s injury.
M ild red : w ith h er b ro th er, is d iscu ssin g th e . . .
M ild red along w ith h er b ro th er is/are d iscussing t h e . . . [e/10.40]
M ild red a n d h e r b ro th er a re d iscu ssin g t h e . . .
8.41 B u t in a d d itio n to th e sp a tia l p ro-form s, here an d there (c /7 .6 7 ), th e re are

n u m e ro u s c o m m o n ad v erb s realizing sp a tia l relations. Som e o f th e follow ing
are a tro p h ie d p re p o sitio n a l p h rases (eg: overseas), som e can th em selv es be
u se d p rep o sitio n ally a s well as a d v erb ially (c/9 .5 ). M ost can be used fo r b o th
p o s itio n a n d d ire c tio n :
aboard, about, above, abroad, across, ahead, aloft, alongside, anywhere,

around, ashore, astern, away, back, behind, below, beneath, between, beyond,
d ow n, downhill, downstairs, downstream , downwind, east, eastward(s) an d
o th e r d irectio n s w ith th e suffix -w a rd <esp A m E ), -wards <esp B r E ) ,
elsewhere, everyw here,far, here, hereabouts, home, in, indoors, inland, inshore,
inside, locally, near, nearby, north, nowhere, off, offshore, on, opposite, out,
outdoors, outside, overboard, overhead, overland, overseas, somewhere, south,
there, thereabouts, through, throughout, under, underfoot, underground,
underneath, up, uphill, upstairs, upstream , west, within
S o m e item s denote d irec tio n b ut n o t p o s itio n :
a fte r, along, aside, before, by, dow nw ard(s), forw ard(s), inward(s), left,
outw ard(s), over, pa st, right, round, sidew ays, skyw ard(s), upward(s)
N o te [a] T h e co m p ass points used for b oth position a n d d ire c tio n ca n be co m p o u n d ed ; eg : northw est,
east-northeast.
A djuncts of space 517
lb ] T h e re a re som e n au tical te rm s used for b oth position an d d ire ctio n th a t a re norm ally p a r t o f
a te ch n ica l v o cab u lary , but a re found in literatu re dealing w ith th e s e a ; eg: a ft, larboard ( n o w
r a r e ) , port, starboard.
lc] F o r here, above, a n d below as signals in discourse reference, c f 19.4 6 /
[d] S everal o f th e closed-class ad v e rb s listed here can be regarded as ab b re v ia te d p rep o sitio n al
p hrases. C f* H e lo oked outside (the house)'.
C ooccurrence restrictio n s
8.42 D ire ctio n a d ju n cts o f b o th goal an d source can n o rm ally b e used only w ith
v erb s o f m o tio n o r w ith o th e r v erb s used dynam ically ( c f 4 .3 3 /f) th a t allo w a
d irec tio n a l m ea n in g :
I th in k you sh o u ld n ow tu rn left, [‘to th e left’]

H e ju m p e d over the fence.
H e k ick ed th e b a ll into the goal.
She w as w h isp e rin g softly into the microphone.
H e c am e fr o m A m erica last w eek.
■ It ju m p e d o ut o f the cage.
W ith very g en eral d irec tio n s, h ow ever, w e find co o ccu rren ce e v en w ith v e rb s
used stativ ely :
f f live |
T h ey -j .. . \ to the south o f us.
[a re liv in g J
M y house faces 1 ,, , .. ,
.. . „ . >toward(s) the park.
M y c a r is fa c in g j
T h is ro ad is to the north.
O u r course w as d u e south.
S om e d irec tio n a d ju n c ts c a n also be used w ith th e c o p u la r v erb | w hen th e y

h a v e a re su lta tiv e m ean in g , in d ic a tin g th e state o f h a v in g re ac h ed th e g o al
( c /9 .7 ,9.46):
T h ey a re p a st by now . [‘h av e gone p a st’]

T h e m en w ill be along soon, [‘will have a rriv e d ’]
W e w ill soon b e over the border, [‘h av e crossed o v er th e b o rd e r’]
I ’ve n ev er b e en to London, [‘n ev er visited L o n d o n ’]
O n th e o th e r h a n d , p o s itio n a n d d istan ce ad ju n cts can b e used w ith all v erb s,

in clu d in g th o se in sta tiv e use ( c f 4 .2 7 /f):
I h e a rd a b o u t it in London.
( I h a v e th e key here.
H e lives a long way fr o m here.

T h e g ro u n d seem s very soft locally.
T h e y ’re stay in g in a nearby hotel.
{ W as sh e sw im m ing near the boat ?
H e ’s trav ellin g fu rth e r this year.
P o sitio n a d ju n cts c a n also be used w ith th e co p u lar v erb | e :
, (inland.
It s m u ch w a rm er j ,
[w here we now live.
In d e e d , th ey freq u e n tly o c cu r as th e o bligatory elem en t w ith | e clauses,

th o u g h n o t w ith co p u la r v erb s o th e r th an BE:
T h e b irth d a y p a rty is in the n e xt room.

A ll o u r m e n a re abroad.
T h e m ee tin g will b e upstairs.
T h e house you w a n t is on the other side o f the street.
T h e y will becom e in Paris.
T h e p ro g ressiv e is o f co u rse e x c lu d e d :
* C h a rle s is b ein g in the n e x t room.
C o n t r a s t ( c /3 .7 6 ) :
C h a rle s is b ein g b o istero u s (in the next room).
S p a tia l a d ju n c ts c an e q u ally b e o bligatory ad ju n cts w ith v erb s o th e r th a n | e :
W e d o n ’t liv e here.
I ’ll g e t below.
Y o u should set t h a t d ish in the middle.
I ’ll p u t th e k ettle on the stove.
T h e y k eep th e ir c a r fu rth e r fro m the house now.
N o te [a] In fo rm a lly , seem an d appear p e rm it sp atial ad ju n cts as sole c o m p lem en tatio n , esp ecially th o se
re la tin g to d ista n c e o r w ith g e n e ra l ra th e r th a n specific refere n ce:
T h e y seem fu r th e r aw ay now .
T T he ch ild re n seem upstairs , to ju d g e from th e noise.
N o te t h a t ‘She seem s a t hom e' co u ld b e freely used but only in th e sense ‘a t e a se ’, w ith o u t sp atial
referen ce.
[b] F ig u r a tiv e use o f b asically s p a tia l item s is o f course com m on w ith tim e a d ju n c ts { c f 8.51#'
below ). O n th e n o n sp atial u se o f ad v e rb ial p articles, as in ‘T h e lig h t is on', ‘T h e c a r blew up',
‘D r in k up y o u r m ilk , d a rlin g ’, c f 16.2\ff.
P o t e n t i a l a m b ig u ity
8.43 G iv e n th a t th e sam e item s c a n be used in q u ite d ifferen t se m a n tic roles w ith
the s a m e verbs, it is easy fo r a m b ig u ity to arise. C f:
D id you d riv e th e c a r near the police station ?

T h e dog is1n o t allo w ed to ru n outside.
T h e b ab y w as c raw lin g upstairs.
E a c h o f th e italicized a d ju n c ts could be in ten d ed o r in te rp re te d a s e ith e r

d ire c tio n a l [‘to w ard s th e p o lice s ta tio n ’, etc] o r p o sitio n al [‘in th e v icin ity o f
th e p o lic e sta tio n ’, etc]. I n th e form er sense, th e a d ju n c t w o u ld be
p re d ic a tio n a l, in the la tte r se n ten tial an d hence su scep tib le (in d e c la ra tiv e
se n ten c es) o f b ein g p lac ed a t /, rem oving a m b ig u ity ; eg :
O utside, th e dog is n o t allow ed to run.
In s p e e c h , the se n ten tial (ie p o sitio n al) in te rp reta tio n could a lso b e conveyed
p ro so d ically , w ith o u t m o v in g th e ad ju n ct from E:
T h e d o g is n o t a llo w e d to r u n | outsiDEj
A s p re d ic atio n al ad ju n c t, how ever, the am b ig u ity can be rem oved o n ly by

re p h ra sin g ; eg (assu m in g th a t th is is a p p ro p ria te in th e co n tex t):
T h e dog is n o t allow ed to ru n o ut (into the garden).
P o sitio n a n d d ire c tio n a d ju n c ts in th e sa m e cla u se

8.44 P o sitio n a n d d ire c tio n (or goal) a d ju n cts c a n cooccur, w ith th e p o sitio n
ad ju n c t n o rm ally follow ing th e o th e r ad ju n c t in E , for th e reaso n s g iv e n in
8.39:
T h e c h ild ren a re ru n n in g around upstairs.

H e fell overboard near the shore.
W ith tw o p re p o sitio n a l phrases, th e re is o ften a superficial a m b ig u ity in th e

statu s o f th e seco n d p h ra se, w h ich m ig h t b e e ith e r an ad v erb ial o f th e c la u se
o r a p o stm o d ifier o f th e no u n h ead in th e first p h ra s e :
Som e o f th e c h ild re n a re w alk in g to the la ke in the park.

[‘T h ey a re w alk in g to th e lak e a n d a re w alk in g in th e p a r k ’ o r ‘T h e y
are w alk in g to th e lake w h ich is in th e p a rk ’]
M iddle-class p eo p le m ove to a new house in the suburbs every few y e ars.
[‘T h ey m o v e to a n ew house every few y e a rs ; they do th is in the
su b u rb s’ o r ‘T h ey m ove ev ery few y ears to a new su b u rb a n h ouse’]
T h e p o sitio n a d ju n c t c a n be p u t in / p o sitio n to a v o id giving it e n d -fo cu s ( c f

1 8 .3 /): 'In the p a rk , th e ch ild ren are feed in g th e d u ck s.’ W h ere th e fin al
p h rase is a p o sitio n al sen ten ce ad ju n c t, w e c a n av o id a m b ig u ity by p la c in g it
a t/:
In the p a rk som e o f th e c h ild ren a re w a lk in g to the lake.

In the suburbs, m id d le-class p eo p le m o v e to a new house every few y e ars.
D e p en d in g on th e stru ctu re o f th e sen ten ce, th e re a re o th er w ays o f a v o id in g

such a m b ig u itie s ; eg :
Som e o f th e c h ild ren a re in the p a rk a n d a re w alk in g to the lake.
H ie r a r c h ic a l re la tio n sh ip
8.45 I t o ften h a p p e n s th a t tw o sp a tia l a d ju n c ts e n te r in to a co n tex tu al re la tio n o f
h ierarch y . T h is c a n o ccu r w here b o th a d ju n c ts a re o f th e sam e sem an tic class
b u t o f d ifferen t g ra m m atica l fu n c tio n s (th e o n e b ein g a sen ten ce a d ju n c t, th e
o th er a p re d ic a tio n a d ju n ct). F o r ex am p le, w ith tw o p o sitio n a d ju n c ts :
M an y p eo p le e a t in restaurants in London.
T h e o rd e r here satisfies b o th th e g ra m m a tic a l re q u ire m e n t (th a t the s e n te n c e

ad ju n c t b e m o re p e rip h e ral th a n th e p re d ic atio n one) a n d the lo g ic a l
re q u ire m e n t (th a t th e sm aller lo catio n b e s ta te d before th e larg er in w h ic h it
is placed). B ut if th e sen ten ce ad ju n c t is e x p ressed w ith a n a d v erb in d ic a tin g
th a t it is relativ ely ‘g iv e n ’ ( c f 1 8 .8 # ), th e o rd e r m ay be re v e rse d :
Ju st a s o n g ra m m a tic a l g rounds, it c an only b e th e sen ten ce ad ju n c t t h a t c a n

520 T h e s e m a n tics and gram m ar of adverbials
a p p e a r a t I (‘In London, m an y people so also o n logical grounds, the

lo w er m e m b e r in th e h ierarch y c an n o t d o m in ate th e h ig h er:
* ln re sta u ra n ts, m an y people e at in London.
S o u rce a d ju n c ts c a n also cooccur w ith goal o r d irec tio n ad ju n cts in a

h ie r a r c h ic a l re la tio n s h ip :
W e c a m e to L ondon fro m Rome.

W e w e n t fr o m R o m e to London.
T h ese e x a m p le s illu stra te th e n o rm al o rd e r o f th e a d ju n cts, w h ich is o f course

d ire c tly re la te d to th e sem an tics o f the resp ectiv e verbs, come (w ith
o r ie n ta tio n to g o al) a n d go (w ith o rien tatio n to source, th e p o in t o f d ep artu re).
N o n e th e le s s , in e a c h c ase it is th e source ad ju n ct th a t a lo n e is se n ten tial an d
h e n ce s u s c e p tib le o f p o sitio n in g a t /:
U n le ss o v e rrid d e n by th e pressure o f o rien tatio n (as w ith come), th e tw o

a d ju n c ts w ill b e o rd e re d w ith respect to the seq u en ce o f e v en ts referred to
(th u s s o u rc e b e fo re goal), b u t if one is relativ ely ‘g iv en ’ (c /1 8 .8 ) a n d therefore
e x p re ss e d b y a closed-class ad v erb , th is will n o rm ally p re ce d e th e o th er
a d ju n c t. C o m p a re :
T h e y flew over (the city) towards the border.
T h e y flew west over the city.
C o o r d in a tio n i
8.46 T w o a d ju n c ts c a n be co o rd in ated if they are o f th e sam e g ram m atical
fu n c tio n a n d se m a n tic class; eg po sitio n a d ju n cts:
S o ld ie rs w ere o n g u ard inside an d outside.

W e c a n w a it fo r you here o r in the car.
E q u ally w ith d ire c tio n a d ju n c ts :
T h e y w e n t up the hill a n d towards the station.

T h e y r a n across the fie ld an d p a st the farm house.
B u t a p o s itio n a n d a d irec tio n o r goal ad ju n ct n o rm ally c a n n o t b e co o rd in ated .

H e n ce i n :
T h e b a b y w as c raw lin g upstairs an d into his parents' bedroom.
upstairs c a n be in te rp re te d only as a d irectio n ad ju n c t ( c f 8.43), since it is

c o o rd in a te d w ith a p rep o sitio n al p h ra se th a t c a n n o t h av e a p o sitio n al
fu n c tio n .
O n t h e o th e r h a n d , source a n d d irectio n ad ju n cts a d m it c o o rd in a tio n :
T h e y w ere h u rry in g /ro m the capital an d towards the border.
B ut d ire c tio n a l p a th an d specific goal can n o t n o rm ally b e co o rd in ated

w ith o u t a n a d d itio n a l a d v erb ial such a s on o r e ven tu a lly:
W e w alk ed up the hill an d so (on) to the station.

Adjuncts of space 521
C o n tra s t:
I d ro v e up Gower S treet a n d into the College.
P o sitio n s o f space adjuncts

8.47 Irresp ec tiv e o f g ra m m atica l fu n c tio n o r sem an tic role, sp ace a d ju n c ts fa v o u r
E:
I ’ll m ee t you downstairs.
{ W e’re e atin g in the kitchen.
Y ou’ll fin d th e su g ar where the coffee is.

source
W e m o v ed th e fu rn itu re out o f the room.
.
{
T hey trav elled slow ly fro m H ong Kong.
,. f I ’ll go downstairs.
irec ion j ^ e y sh o u ld n ’t be g oing south.
. f She h a d n ’t yet m o v ed to Liverpool.

8 | l ’ll go d o w n sta irs to the kitchen.
d istan c e
By d aw n , w e h a d com e a long way.
{
T ry to fly the whole distance.
P o sitio n a d ju n cts, p a rticu la rly p rep o sitio n al p hrases, o ften a p p e a r in I. T h e y

m ay b e p u t th ere to c reate a ‘scen e-settin g ’ (c/8 .1 5 ), or to a v o id en d -fo cu s (c f
18.11), o r to a v o id a m b ig u ity (c /8 .4 3 ), o r to avoid a clu sterin g o f a d ju n c ts a t
E , th o u g h it is o ften im p o ssib le to isolate an y one reason. Cf:
O n the tree th e re w ere som e v ery large oranges.

O utside c h ild ren w ere ju m p in g a n d skipping.
In the nursery th e c h ild ren w ere playing h ap p ily b u t noisily.
On the stage m en w ere fighting, and in the body o f the halt w o m e n w ere
scream ing.
T h e expressions H ere . . . e a n d There . . . e w ith a p e rso n al p ro n o u n as

| |
su b ject, a n d th e v e rb in th e sim p le p resen t o r (w ith there) p a st, a re c o m m o n ly

u sed to d raw a tte n tio n to th e p resen ce o f som ebody o r so m e th in g :
H ere it is, ju s t w here I left it.

There she is, by th e p h o n e box.
There they w ere, cold a n d m iserable.
S o u rce ad ju n cts c a n also b e in / p o sitio n a n d occasionally (th o u g h w ith m o re

im p ressio n o f d istu rb in g th e n o rm al sequence o f elem ents) in M :
F rom Liverpool, you c a n ’t o ften get in te rn atio n al flights.

Y ou could, fr o m M anchester, get a p lan e to A m sterd am .
S p e a k ers so m etim es p u t p o sitio n ad ju n cts in M an d m o re ra rely (an d o n ly

w ith sh o rt item s) in i M :
L ife is everywhere so fru stratin g .

W e a re here enjoying a d ifferen t k in d o f existence.
T h e p oor h a d n o t in this country been left destitute.
A s you pro ceed east alo n g th e side aisle, you there m ay n o tic e a very
curious statu e.
D ire c tio n a n d g o a l ad ju n cts c an n o t usually be in M :
T h e y a re ^he^kitchen^ m o v *n 8 som e new furniture.
B u t th e y can ta k e th e p o sitio n b etw een v erb a n d object (iE), especially if th e

o b je c t p h ra se is lo n g :
T h e y m o v ed into the kitchen every stick o f fu rn itu re they possessed.
O ccasio n ally , h o w ev er, som e d irec tio n a d ju n cts occupy /. A s p re d ic a tio n
a d ju n c ts, th ey h a v e a d ra m a tic im p a c t a n d a rh eto rical flavour in th a t
p o s itio n ; n o rm ally the v erb is in th e sim p le p re sen t o r sim ple p a s t:
D ow n th ey flew.
A w ay he goes.
O n th ey m arc h ed .
I f th e su b ject is n o t a p erso n al p ro n o u n b u t a n o u n (w ith th erefo re a g re a te r
in fo rm a tio n v a lu e ) o r indefinite p ro n o u n , su b je ct-v erb inv ersio n is n o rm al
w h e n a p re d ic a tio n ad ju n c t is in /(c /1 8 .2 3 ). T h is applies to in tra n sitiv e v e rb s
( *In th e doorway saw m e m y brother) w ith o u t au x iliaries (*Up the hill has been
clim bing m y brother). E x a m p le s:
D ow n flew th e jets.
A way goes m y c h an ce o f w in n in g !
A h , here co m es som ebody - a t last!
A long the ro a d rolled th e w agons.
O ver the bridge m arc h ed th e soldiers.
A h ea d sat a n old m an .
B elow is a re sta u ra n t.
In the doorw ay stood m y b rother.
O n the very top o f the hill lives a h e rm it.
O n th e p resen ce o f there (as in : ‘Below , there is a re sta u ra n t’), c/1 8 .5 0 .

H e r e . . . | e a n d T h e r e . . . | e w ith th e v erb in th e sim ple p re sen t (or - w ith
there - th e p a st) a r e co m m o n in s p e e c h : \
H ere are th e tools. ~ H ere th ey are.

There's yo u r b ro th er, o v er by th e b ar. ~ There he i s . . .
I tu rn ed th e c o rn e r a n d there w ere m y p a ren ts! ~ . . . there th ey w ere!
D ire c tio n a d ju n c ts a re p u t in I v irtu ally o nly in literary E n g lish a n d in

c h ild re n ’s lite ra tu re (stories, poem s, a n d n u rsery rhym es). A few e x cep tio n s
o c cu r in in fo rm al sp eech , m ain ly w ith go, com e an d (m ore restricted ly ) g e t ;
w h ere th e subject is you, such sen ten ces o ften h av e im p erativ e force:
Up (the hill)
Down (the stairs)
In (the bath)
O u t (o f the water) f come.
O f f (the table) y° U (go.
O ver (the fen c e)
On (the horse)
Under (the bridge)
Adjuncts o f space 523
On
Under > you go. There they w e j go. Here h e com es.
R oundJ )
N o te [a] P articles in p h ra sa l v erb s i c f 1 6 .3 # ) can n o t be in /:
*Down th e c a r bro k e . * Up cracked th e soldier.
[b] T h e re are som e id io m a tic expressions w ith here a n d th e re :
?j you a r e [
t r / i e r e j you te E ^= T h is is for y o u '
HERE w e r e [ = ‘W e ’ve arriv e d a t the ex pected goal’]
F
jT h e re you ARE [ = ’T h a t su p p o rts o r proves w h at I’ve sa id ’]

[c] F o r here a s tim e in d ic a to r, c/1 9 .3 6 . F o r th e use o f here in disco u rse reference, c/1 9 .4 7 .
S yntactic fe atu res o f sp ace adjuncts

8.48 A s p re d ic atio n a d ju n c ts, d irectio n an d goal a d v e rb ia ls a re norm ally th e focus
o f n e g atio n in a n e g ativ e sentence. T hey th ere fo re n o rm ally d o n o t p reced e
clause n e g atio n : \
A cross the p a r k he w alked, h a n d in h a n d w ith his e ld er d au g h ter.
b u t:
*Across the p a r k h e d id n ’t w alk . . .

* Towards the fo r t th e soldiers d id n o t m arch .
O n th e o th e r h a n d , a s se n ten ce adjuncts, th o se o f p o sitio n c an read ily p reced e

clausal n e g a tio n :
Indoors , w e could n o t h e ar ourselves sp eak .

Nearby, th e fa rm y a rd an im als h a d n ’t ev en b egun to stir.
M o st sp ace a d ju n c ts, in clu d in g p rep o sitio n al p h ra ses, a cc ep t in ten sificatio n

( c f l X l f f , 9.5); th is c a n involve co m b in in g m easu re in d ic a to rs w ith ad v erb ials
in o th er sem an tic roles:
T h ey d ro v e (due) east.
T h ey clim b ed (straight ) to the top.
H e w en t (right) into the house.
She w as s ittin g (right) a t the door.
H e tu rn ed (sharp) left.
H e w en t (a long w ay) up (the mountain).
T h ey a re sta y in g (fa r ) inland.
A ty p e o f clau se c o m p a riso n can be achieved by th e use o f . .th a n :

I farther J '
than I did.
M an y space ad ju n c ts a c c e p t q u estio n in g w ith H o w fa r:

w h ile here a n d there a c c e p t q u estio n in g w ith H ow near in s te a d :
H o w near j ^tere I a re th ey ?
[to us) J
T h e fo llo w in g a re a m o n g th e sp ace ad v erb s th a t do n o t allow p rem o d ificatio n

by f a r :
here, there ; th e c o m p o u n d s in -where: about, around,

betw een, hereabouts, locally, opposite, throughput
B u t c f th e c o m m o n ex p ressio n fe w and fa r between, m ea n in g ‘r a re ’: ‘T rain s

o n a S u n d a y a re few a n d fa r b e tw ee n .’
N ote T w o s p a c e a d ju n cts a r e in flected fo r c o m p ariso n , near (nearer, -esr) a n d f a r (fu rth e r, -est, fa rth e r,
-est), a n d c a n b e th e focus o f clau se co m p ariso n . T h ese ca n be prem odifled b y very an d b y o th e r
p re m o d ifie rs o f deg ree. (B ut V v e r y nearby .)
P o s itio n a d ju n c ts in r e la tio n to su b je c t a n d ob ject

8.49 P o s itio n a d ju n c ts n o rm ally in d ic a te th e place o f the re fe re n t o f th e subject
a n d ( if th e re is o n e) o f th e o b jec t; usually th e place is th e sa m e fo r b o th
r e f e r e n ts :
I m e t J o h n on a bus. [T h is im plies th a t Jo h n an d I w ere o n th e bus]
B u t so m e tim es th e p laces c a n b e different, as we saw in 8.3 7 ; in su ch cases,

th e a d ju n c t is p re d ic a tio n a l:
I sa w Jo h n on a bus. [T h is im plies th a t J o h n w as o n th e b u s b u t it does

n o t im ply e q u ally t h a t I w as o n th e bus]
W ith c e rta in v erb s, th e re fe re n ce o f a n ad ju n ct in E o r iE is alw ay s to the

p lace o f th e o b ject, a n d n o rm ally th a t will d iffer from th e p lac e o f th e subject
( c f 8.75 N o te [a] fo r a n an alo g o u s p o in t w ith tim e ad ju n cts). T h ese verbs
d e n o te ‘o w n in g ’ o r ‘p lac in g ’:
have
keep
put • m y c a r in a garage.
p a rk
shelter
W ith c e rta in v erb s, p o sitio n a d ju n cts are resu ltativ e a n d a re lik e object-
re la te d ad ju n c ts (resem b lin g in d ee d c o m p lex -tran sitiv e c o m p le m e n ta tio n ; c f
1 6 .4 3 # ):
I w a n t m y car [O] in the garage [A]. [ C f ‘M y c a r will be in the garage ’]

I e x p e c t a lea k [O] in th a t pipe [A], [C f' A leak m ay o c cu r in th a t pipe']
T h e v e rb s a re v erb s o f a rra n g in g , saying, expecting, o r w a n tin g , w h ere the

p re d ic a tio n h as fu tu re referen ce. N o t all such co n stru ctio n s allow an
e x p an sio n sim ply b y e , b u t th ey usually have a n analogue w ith a that- c la u se :
|
I e x p ec te d a riot [O] in the c ity [A], [‘th ere to be a rio t in the city']
T h ey a re th re a te n in g a riot [O] somewhere [A], [‘th a t th e re w ill b e a rio t
somewhere']
H e su ggested a picnic [0 ] on the island [A], [‘th a t a p icnic be a rra n g e d on

the island ’]
T h ey a re p lan n in g a m eeting [O] a t m y house [A], [‘th a t a m eetin g s h o u ld
be h eld a t m y house’]
In som e cases, a n o th e r v erb (such as have ) ra th e r th a n be m ay be im p lied (a s

in th e last ex am p le a b o v e : ‘p lan n in g to hold a m eetin g ’). C f :
T h ey offered a barbecue [O] nearby [A], [‘to have a b arb ecu e nearby']
I lik e m y dinner [O] in the kitchen [A], [‘to h av e m y d in n e r in the k itc h e n ’]
She enjoys tea [O] on the lawn [A], [‘h av in g t e a . . . ’]
T h e d o c to r a d v ised a fe w da ys [O] o f f work [A], [‘adv ised tak in g . . . ’]
I n all Such cases, th e p o sitio n a d ju n c t is restricted to E an d can so m e tim es b e

in te rp re te d as a n o u n -p h rase p o stm o d ifie r:
H e suggested a p icn ic on the island. ~ A picnic on the island w as

suggested.
T h e p o s itio n ad ju n c t m ay som etim es refer to th e o bject in a c o n tin g e n c y

re la tio n s h ip :
W e o u g h t to co n d em n such activities [O] here [A].

I o nly lik e barbecues [O] by the sea [A], [ / ‘By th e sea, I only like
b a rb e c u e s’; c /S . 117]
T h ese c a n be p a ra p h ra se d by clauses w ith i f o r w hen : such activities i f th e y

ta k e place he re ; barbecues when they are h eld outdoors. T hese ad ju n cts a re a ls o
re stric te d to E, an d a g ain th ey c a n be in te rp rete d as p a rt o f a n o u n p h ra s e
(‘S uch activities here o u g h t to be c o n d e m n e d ’).
I f an y su ch ad ju n c t is in te n d e d to be sen ten tial, it has to be in / fo r th e
d is tin c tio n to be clear:
A t m y house, th ey are p lan n in g a m eeting.

H ere w e o u g h t to c o n d em n such a ctiv ities.
D irectio n adjuncts a s com m ands

8.50 C e rta in d irec tio n a d ju n cts c an be used as bru sq u e o r very fa m ilia r d ire c tiv e s,
w ith a n im p lied v e rb o f m o tio n ( c f 11.42):
W aterloo, please, [for ‘D riv e m e to W aterloo, p lease’], O u t(sid e)l,

In (sid e )!, (Over) H e re !, (Over) There!, (Right) B ack !, Down /, O ff!, U p !,
U nder!, L e ft!, R ig h t!, A w a y with h im ! [‘T ak e him a w ay ’], U pstairs w ith
y o u ! [‘G o u p sta irs’], O u t with it / [ ‘T ell m e a b o u t it’], O ut o f the house!, To
bed!
N o te [a] S om e o th e r ad ju n cts can also be used as dire ctiv es, eg: Q uickly!, Slow ly!, C arefully!
[b] E x p ressio n s lik e Well, we'll to bed a n d I m u st aw ay are som etim es used in B rE w ith an im p lie d
v e rb o f m o tio n (‘I m u st go aw ay’); th ey h a v e a n a rch a ic o r d ialectical flavour. B ut th e follow ing
is w holly c u rre n t:
A fte r bein g tre a te d a t th e hosp ital for shock, M r T oyota w as allow ed home.
T h e a d v e rb ia l h ere is e q u iv alen t to to go h om e ; in th e activ e, th e v erb o f m o tio n w ould be
ex p licit:
T h e y allow ed M r T oyota 1
A djuncts of time
8.51 O b lig a to ry p re d ic a tio n ad ju n cts o f tim e o c cu r in | e clauses w here th e su b ject
re fe rs to a n e v e n t ( c /1 0 .1 0 ,10.25):
T h e w e d d in g w as on Thursday.
T h e c o n c e rt is fr o m seven til! nine.
G u id e d to u rs are twice a day.
J u s t a s live in th e sense ‘reside’ has an o b lig a to ry sp ace ad ju n ct, so in th e

se n se ‘b e a liv e ’ it h as a n obligatory tim e a d ju n c t:
C h a u c e r liv ed in the fourteenth century.
V e rb s s u c h as la st ta k e o bligatory tim e ad ju n c ts o f d u ra tio n :
T h e c o n c e rt lasts two hours.

M y m o th e r-in -la w is sta y in g /o r three w eeks.
T im e a d ju n c ts a re read ily p red icatio n al w h en a v e rb lacks o th er co m p lem en

ta tio n :
T h e g u ests a rriv e d in the early evening.

I w a ite d till 4.30.
S h e is c o m in g this afternoon.
B u t w h e n th e re is a lte rn a tiv e c o m p lem en tatio n , m o st types o f tim e a d ju n c t

ju s t a s re a d ily a ssu m e a sen ten tial fu n c tio n :
I w a ite d p a tie n tly en o u g h for an in te rv iew till 4.30.

T ill 4 .3 0 , 1 w a ite d p a tien tly enough fo r a n in terv iew .
S h e is c o m in g fo r a tu to rial this afternoon.
I n m a n y cases, m o v in g a sen ten tial ad ju n c t fro m E to I h as n o effect o n

in te r p r e tin g th e scope o f neg atio n :
S h e isn ’t co m in g fo r a tu to rial this afternoon. [ 1]

This afternoon, sh e isn ’t com ing for a tu to ria l. [ 1a]
W e d id n ’t sp eak to e ach o th er ^ M e day” [2]
D uring the entire afternoon, 1 ... . . . . ,

m , . > we d id n t sp e a k to e ac h o th er. [2a]
T h e whole day, J
R e aliza tio n
8.52 N o o th e r ty p e o f a d ju n c t h as such a w ide ra n g e o f g ram m atical re alizatio n s
a v a ila b le as h as th e ad ju n c t o f tim e. E sp ecially n o tab le is th e use o f n o u n
p h ra s e s a n d p re p o sitio n a l phrases. T h e n o u n p h ra se occurs fo r p o sitio n ,
d u r a tio n , a n d freq u en cy :
W e w ere in F ra n c e last year.

T h e y lived (for ) several years in Italy.
S h e w rites a n a rticle o r a review every m onth.
A d ju n c ts o f tim e 527
T h e co n d itio n s fo r n o u n -p h rase realizatio n , how ever, v a ry acc o rd in g to th e

sem an tic ty p e. So fa r as tim e position is co n cern ed , th e n o u n p h ra s e s
frequently h a v e d e te rm in e rs :
that afternoon,
the follow ing afternoon.
She m et h im
*the afternoon,
in the afternoon.
f last month.
p lay < a m onth ago.
I ?*a m onth I well remember.
W hat tim e d id h e g et th ere ?
It is to be n o ted th a t, a lth o u g h a p rep o sitio n can so m etim es b e in serted (‘A t

what tim e d id h e g et th e re ? ’), it o ften can n o t; th is is especially so before n e x t
o r last. C o m p are ;
on M onday.
M onday. ( A m E )
n e xt M onday.
W e h o p ed to see V ero n ica last M onday.
on the follow ing M onday.
*on next/*on last M onday.
„ on M onday n e xt I last.
A p in p o in te d tim e p o sitio n c a n n o t usually b e realized by a n o u n p h ra se ;
H e a rriv e d th is m o rn in g a t ten-fifteen.
B ut th e p re p o sitio n s a re so m etim es o m itted , especially in A m E o r in fo rm a lly ;
?H e a rriv e d ten-fifteen.
I t w ould seem th a t n o u n -p h rase realizatio n s typically im p ly a sp a n a n d

co rresp o n d to a d ju n c ts in tro d u c ed by on, in the course of, o r during. In d e e d it
is w ith d u ra tio n a d ju n c ts t h a t w e h av e g reatest freed o m to u se n o u n p h ra ses,
th o u g h fo r th e m o st p a r t they can be reg ard ed as a b b re v ia te d p re p o sitio n a l
p h rases an d c a n b e m a d e m o re explicit an d ra th e r m o re fo rm al by th e
in tro d u ctio n o f for'.
T h ey sta y ed (for) a while.

T h ey liv ed (for) several years in Italy.
W ith o r w ith o u t fo r , tim e u n its c a n be po stp o sed by round (w ith y ears) o r

through, especially w h e n th e referen ce is h a b itu a l;
the whole sum m er through,
the whole winter long,
T h e S tew arts n ow stay in Italy
the whole yea r round,
all the yea r round.
W ith o u t a n u m era l o r o th e r q u an tifier, th e f o r can o ften n o t b e o m itte d :
?*H e p u t u p the night a t a hotel.

B ut:
H e stay ed the night (at a hotel).
[‘H e p u t u p that night a t a h o tel’ h as a tim e p o sitio n ad ju n ct]
N o r c a n th e p rep o sitio n less a d ju n c t co m fo rtab ly o ccu r in /:
IS o m e tim e,
/ he w a ite d an x io u sly a t th e hospital.
F o r som e tim e,)
[ I n ‘ W hich afternoon d id he w a it p a tie n tly ? ’ th e ad ju n c t refers to tim e
p o sitio n ]
A s fre q u e n c y a d ju n cts, n o u n p h ra ses a re virtually lim ited to ''every/each +

N ’, w h e re N is a u n it o f tim e (hour, d a y , year, etc), o r ‘X + tim es' w h ere X is
a q u a n tifie r o r n u m eral (several, fo u r, e tc ) :
every day.
*in every day.
*on every day.
H e ta k e s risk s
(in) every period.
(in) every lecture.
(in) every gam e.
!
fo u r tim es.
*on fo u r tim es.
S h e v isited m e
1*four occasions,
on fo u r occasions.
N o te a lso th e use o f p lu rals w ith o u t d e te rm in e r:
f Saturdays. [ = ‘every S a tu rd ay ’]
S h e w e n t to th e th e a tre < I S a tu rd a y. <BrE> ) , „ , „
1 S a tu rd a y. <Am E>J ™ S a tu rd a y ]
T h e y w ork nights/days. [ = ‘th ey d o n ig h t w o rk /d ay w o rk ’]

T h e y w o rk ed days o n th e p ro d u c tio n before they w ere satisfied.
[ = ‘for several d a y s’]
8 .53 A s im p lie d in d iscussing th e lim ita tio n s o n n o u n -p h rase re aliz a tio n s, tim e
a d ju n c ts m u ch m o re usually ta k e th e fo rm o f p rep o sitio n al p h ra ses. T h e
p re p o sitio n s co n cern ed h av e th e valu es describ ed in 9.33IT, a n d th e s e a re
flexible a n d v ario u s en o u g h to ex p ress all th e sem an tic roles set o u t in 8.4.
f on M onday.
T im e p o s itio n : H e v isite d h e r < in the evening.
night.
F o rw a rd s p a n : She is sta y in g till Thursday.
B a ck w ard s p a n : T h e h o u se has b een em p ty since the war.
D u r a tio n : T h ey w o rk ed stead ily fo r two hours.
F re q u e n c y : T h e re a re no lectu res on Saturdays.
H e p ra c tis e s th e p ian o a t every opportunity.
R e la tio n s h ip : I h a d c o n fid en ce in h er up to that time.
A djuncts o f tim e 529
I t should be n o ted , how ever, th a t th is last sem an tic role is only in ad e q u ate ly
ex p ressed by p re p o sitio n a l p h rases (c/8 .7 2 below ).
Several o f th e p re p o sitio n s used in the a b o v e ex am p les can also fu n c tio n
as co n ju n ctio n s. W e th u s have a range o f finite an d n onfinite c lau se
re aliz a tio n s o f tim e a d ju n c ts ( c /1 4 .14):
She is stay in g till she fe e ls better.

T h e house h a s b een e m p ty since the war ended.
T h e w all h a s b e e n lik e th is since being dam a g ed by a bomb.
A b o v e all, th e re a re w/icn-clauses. T hese e x p ress tim e p osition, as in :
I b o u g h t th e c a r when I received m y fir s t salary.
b u t also o th e r re la tio n s, such as d u ra tio n :

She c a n w rite o n ly when the baby is asleep. [ = ‘w h ile .. .’]
In d efin ite freq u e n c y is com m only realized by clauses in troduced by

when(ever):
T h ey c o m e h e re when(ever) they fe e l like it.

D o y o u r b re a th in g exercises w henever) possible.
V ag u er e x p ressio n o f tim e relatio n is o ften ach iev ed by co n ju n ctio n less

n o n fin ite a n d v erb less c la u se s:
Travelling on the Continent, I get the im p ressio n o f a g re ater affluence
th ere , [freq u en cy , ‘w h en ev er’]
Travelling hom e last night, I suddenly h a d a b rig h t idea.
[p o sitio n , ‘w h e n ’; o r d u ra tio n , ‘w hile’]
I ev en tu ally h a d a c h an c e to read h er letter, quietly alone a t last.
[p o sitio n , ‘w h e n ’]
8.54 B u t th e sh o rte st a n d freq u en tly th e m ost c o n v en ien t realizatio n o f tim e

ad ju n c ts is th e a d v e rb . T h ere is a w ide ran g e o f th ese item s, form ally fallin g
in to tw o classes, closed-class a d v erb s an d o p en -class ad v erb s. Sem antically,
th e closed-class ite m s c a n be subdivided in to th re e sets. T h ere a re those lik e
then, before, since w h ich are essentially a n a p h o ric , referrin g to a tim e
co n tex tu ally ‘g iv en ’ (‘a t th a t tim e ’, ‘before t h a t tim e ’, ‘since th a t tim e ’). T h e n
th e re are th o se lik e now, today, tomorrow, y esterd a y th a t refer to very specific
p o in ts o f tim e . F in a lly th e re are those like o ften, always, seldom w hich a re
g en eral a n d co n v en ien tly vague in th eir reference.
B y c o n tra st, th e o p en -class ad v erb s a re lexically specific an d th erefo re
id io sy n cratic. T h ey a re fo r the m o st p a rt -ly fo rm atio n s o n adjective b ases
( subsequently, eventually, im m ediately, etc) o r - to express frequency - on
n o u n b ases ( hourly, m onthly, etc). C f A pp 1.41.
W e shall look a t so m e o f the co m m o n er a d v e rb s used as tim e a d ju n cts as
w e e x am in e th e e x p ressio n o f each m ajor se m an tic role in tu rn .
T im e-position ad ju n cts
8.55 Ju s t as p o sitio n in sp a c e m ay be as narrow ly lo cated as a p in p o in t o r as
bro ad ly as a c o n tin e n t, so p o sitio n in tim e m ay b e equally v ariab le, an d , in
th e case o f p re p o sitio n a l-p h ra se adjuncts, th e p re p o sitio n ’s qu asi-fig u rativ e
u se h e lp s to d istin g u ish th e narrow ness o r broadness o f th e tim e ‘lo ca tio n ’ ( c f

9 .3 4 # ):
S h e a rriv e d a t nine-fifteen. H e lived in the fo u rtee n th century.
In th e s e tw o e x am p les, o f course, the verbs also e n d o rse th e n arro w n ess an d

b ro a d n e ss resp ectiv ely . B ut a tim e p o sitio n ad ju n ct m ay b e b ro a d y et cooccur
w ith a v erb th a t ru les o u t a broad tim e s p a n :
H e w as b o rn in the fourteenth century.
S h e a rriv e d o n M onday.
T h e a d ju n c ts h e re re fe r to a sp an o f tim e w ith in w h ich , a t som e point o f tim e,

th e e v e n ts to o k p lace.
B u t w h e th e r n a rro w o r broad, po sitio n ad ju n cts ty p ically serve as a
re sp o n se to a p o te n tia l when question (an d they c an b e re fe rre d to as ‘tim e-
w hen' a d ju n c ts ):
Quite recently.
A : W h en d id sh e a rriv e ? B : <! nig^ t '

A t fiv e o clock.
W hile you were a t the library.
W hen in its v a rio u s uses (c /7 .5 3 ) is in effect p artly a p ro -fo rm fo r th e tim e

a d ju n c ts in th is class. F o r then as a p ro-form for th ese tim e ad ju n c ts, c f 19.55.
N o te th a t now c a n also b e used w ith reference to th e p a s t :
T h e y h a d b e e n c o u rtin g for tw o years a n d he now felt sh e k n ew his

w o rst fau lts.
T im e -p o sitio n a d ju n c ts can be div id ed in to tw o sets, largely d e te rm in e d by

tw o m o d es o f o r ie n ta tio n ( c f 4.1 S f f ) :
(a) th o se d e n o tin g a p o in t o r period o f tim e, especially ‘b e fo re ’;

(b) th o se w h ic h in a d d itio n im ply a tte n tio n to a n o th e r p e rio d o f tim e,
esp ecially ‘a f te r ’.
T h o u g h th e d is tin c tio n is o ften negligible,,it helps to e x p la in co o ccu rren ce as

in ‘S h e w e n t th e re again (a) afterwards (b)’.
C o m m o n a d v e rb s realizin g a djuncts in these tw o g ro u p s in clu d e:
G ro u p (a):
again [‘o n a s u b s e q u e n t o ccasio n ’], early [‘a t a n early tim e ’], late [‘a t a
la te tim e ’], now [‘a t th is tim e ’], som etime [‘a t a n u n sp ecified tim e ’],
now adays [‘a t th e p re sen t tim e ’], presently [‘at th e p re s e n t tim e ’ <esp
A m E > ], sim ultaneously [‘a t the sam e tim e’], im m ediately, instantly, then
[‘a t th a t tim e ’] ; today, tomorrow, tonight, yesterday.
F o r e x am p le:
T h ey liv e d in L o n d o n for the first few years o f th e ir m a rria g e a n d w ere

then v ery h a p p y .
C o m e a n d see us again.
I w as in N e w Y o rk last year an d am now living in B altim o re.
F r a n k im m ed ia tely h u rried aw ay to find a doctor.
N ow a d a ys, P a tric ia cycles to work.
Adjuncts of tim e 531
D o e s he w a n t us to be h ere early tonightl

T h e m eetin g sta rts tomorrow a t eight o'clock, after we've h a d dinner.
I w as a w ard e d m y B achelor o f A rts d eg ree in 1980.
I suggest th a t w e see h im tomorrow night o r a t th e very late st on S u n d a y .
I ’ll tell you all th e new s when I g e t back home.
N o te th a t th e when-clause i n :
T ell m e when you're ready.
m ay be a n oun-clause o b ject o r a tim e a d ju n ct, th e la tte r eq u iv a len t to :
T ell m e a s soon as you're ready.
By c o n tra st, th e vv/ien-clause i n :
T ell m e when y o u ’ll be ready.
c a n o nly b e o b ject [‘T ell m e the tim e a t which y o u ’ll be ready'].
G ro u p ( b ) :
afterw ards, before , earlier [‘b e fo re ’.], eventually [‘in th e e n d ’], fin a lly
[‘in th e e n d ’], fir s t [‘before all else’, ‘b efo re th a t’, ‘a t first’], fo rm e rly ,
initially [‘in th e b eg in n in g ’, ‘a t first’], last [‘a fte r all else’, ‘in th e e n d ’],
lately [‘a sh o rt tim e a g o ’], later [‘a fte rw a rd s’], m om entarily [‘in a m o m e n t’
<A m E>], n e x t [‘a fte r th a t’], once [‘a t som e tim e in th e p a s t’], originally
[‘in th e b e g in n in g ’, ‘a t first’], previously [‘b e fo re ’], presently [‘s o o n ’],
recently [‘a sh o rt tim e ag o ’], shortly [‘so o n ’], since [‘a fte r t h a t ’], soon,
subsequently, then [‘a fte r th a t’].
F o r e x am p le:
H e ’s g o in g to th e b a rb e r b u t w ill b e b a ck here later.
I w e n t in to m y room a n d soon afterw ards sta rte d to w ork.
I h a v e n ’t g ot an y tim e a t th e m o m e n t b u t I ’ll see you shortly.
She once ow ned a dog.
T a k e a h o t d rin k an d then go to bed.
Originally, th a t b u ild in g w as a school.
H e recently h ad a n accident.
A p re lim in a ry in v estig atio n seem ed to in d ic a te th a t he w as im p lic a te d
in th e frau d , b u t a fuller in v estig atio n h as since proved b ey o n d all
d o u b t th a t he w as innocent.
I left th e factory before the strike.
W ill you be th ere a fter lu n ch l
H e ow ed m e a lot o f m oney a n d w o u ld n ’t pay m e b ack u n til I g o t m y
law y er to w rite to him . H e h a s p a id m e b a ck in full since then.
T h e a p p o in tm e n t w as m ad e a m onth ago. 1 , ^ ^
I w rote to h im a b o u t it a (g o o d ) while back, j '
S h e left h im after he struck her.
T h e P rim e M in ister an n o u n ce d h er resig n atio n before the votes were
counted fu lly .
T h e re is a difference in th e use o f once acco rd in g as th e m ean in g is [ 1] ‘o n o n e

single o c ca sio n ’ o r [2] ‘a t a c e rta in b u t unspecified tim e in the p a s t’. T h u s :
I once b o u g h t a fu r h a t. (*I once b o u g h t th is fu r hat) [1]

I once visited th is city. [2]
I f th e referen ce is fu tu re, som etime is used in stea d o f once :
I ’ll b u y a fu r h a t som etim e. [la ]

I ’ll v isit this c ity (ag ain ) sometime. [2a]
T h e p re p o sitio n a l-p h ra se v a ria n t, a t som e tim e, is less vague an d suggests a

p a r tic u la r o ccasio n ; here som e 'time (tw o w ords) is a noun p h rase, in c o n tra st
to t h e a d v erb 'som etim e (*nf 'sometim e) w h ich is w ritten an d accen ted a s a
s in g le w ord.
M o s t tim e-p o sitio n a d ju n cts in G ro u p (a) n o rm ally o c cu r a t E , b u t (as
s e n te n c e ad ju n c ts) now adays an d presently com m only o ccu r a t / ; a n d
im m e d ia te ly is c o m m o n a t M . T hose in G ro u p (b) com m only o ccu r a t / o r M .
T h e i M p o sitio n is o p e n to m o st o f G ro u p (b) a n d to now, nowadays, a n d then
in G r o u p (a).
N o te [a] E a rlier (on) and la te r (on) a re synonym ous w ith before (that), beforehand, a n d a fter (that),
afte rw a rd s resp ectiv ely :
H e rem em b ered th e m a n y in sults th a t he h ad earlier ex p erienced.
H e h a n d e d in his resig n a tio n , an d later (on) reg retted his h asty action.
T h e y a r e n o t th e c o m p a ra tiv e s o f early an d late resp ectiv ely a n d w e c a n n o t su b stitu te (m ore)
e a rly a n d (m ore) late f o r th e m :
* H e rem em b ered th e m a n y in sults th a t he h a d (m ore) early experienced.
* H e h a n d e d in his resig n a tio n an d (more) late reg retted h is h asty action.
T h e tr u e co m p arativ es o f early an d late (but only w ith -er fo rm s) are exem plified i n :
r.
[b] P re se n tly is synonym ous w ith soon , in a short tim e w h ere th e re is a m odal au x iliary o r (fo r
so m e) w h e n th e verb is in th e p a s t:
, f w ill presently call o n h im . [ = ‘in a sh o rt tim e from now']
\p resen tly ca lled o n him . [ = ‘in a sh o rt tim e fro m th en']
S o m e fin d th e latter u se o f presently u n ac cep ta b le. O n th e o th e r h an d , w hen th e v erb is in th e
p re s e n t, it is synonym ous w ith a t present an d occurs esp ecially in A m E :
[c] A fte r , before, an d since a re prep o sitio n s ( c f 9.38) a n d co n ju n ctio n s (c /1 4 .1 2 ) as w ell as

a d v e rb s . W h e n used a s ad v e rb s, they could be reg ard e d a s prep o sitio n s in a b b re v ia te d
p r e p o s itio n a l p hrases, th o u g h after as a n a d v e rb is n o t as co m m o n as its synonym afterw ards,
w h ic h c a n n o t function a s a p r e p o s itio n :
A p relim in ary in v e stig atio n seem ed to in d i c a t e . . . , b u t a fuller in v estig atio n h as since (that
tim e ) proved . . .
H e h a s b een u n h ap p y for a long tim e, b u t I ’ve n e v e r seen him so u n h ap p y before (this tim e).
T h e m e etin g is a t six. I'm leav in g now , b u t I ’ll see you a fte r (the meeting)/afterwards.
[ d ] S o m e ad ju n cts seem to be a blend o f tim e p o sitio n w ith m a n n e r, reason, o r sp ace ( c f 8 .81):
H e to ld th e m secretly o f his in ten tio n to resign, [‘in a c o v e rt m a n n e r’, ‘w hen th ey w ere by

th e m selv e s’]
T h e y criticized h im publicly, [’in a public p la ce’, ‘w hen th e y w ere in p u b lic’]
(In ‘M a ry h id it secretly' th e ad v e rb m ay con n o te b o th ‘in a secret m a n n e r’ a n d ‘in a secret
p la c e ’).
T h e y visited him on their way to the country, ['where th ey w ere g oing’, 'when th e y were g o in g ’]
A s soon a s the light w ent off,
| he sounded th e a la rm . [‘B e c a u s e . . . he im m e d ia te ly . . . ’]
W hen the light didn 7 go o ff,
[e] F o r th e use o f m an y G ro u p (b) ad ju n cts fo r tim e re latio n sh ip , cf% .12\ on th e ir co rrelativ e
use a s co n ju n c ts, c f 8.145.
A djuncts of tim e 533
If] T im e po sitio n in th e fu tu re can be expressed as in [3] by p rep o sitio n al p h rases in tro d u ced b y
fo r , o r a s in [4] b y clauses o r p rep o sitio n al phrases in troduced by until o r till ( c f 8.58); fo r
e x a m p le: .
W e h av e inv ited h e r f o r 8 p.m . (31
S he w ill n o t leave , ■ } 14]
( till h er brother g els there, j
8.56 T im e-p o sitio n a d ju n c ts c an be in a h ierarch ical re la tio n s h ip :
T h ey w ere here late [A ,] last night [A2],

I ’ll see you a t nine [A ,] on M on d a y [A,].
I sp o k e to h e r earlier [A , ] today [A 2].
W e ’ll m eet tonight [A , ] a fte r the show [A ,].
T h e o rd e r o f th e a d ju n c ts a t E d ep en d s in p a rt o n in fo rm a tio n focus
( c f 18.9 i f ) , b u t th e ten d e n cy is for th e su p e ro rd in ate a d ju n c t (th e o n e
d e n o tin g th e m o re e x ten d ed p erio d ) to com e last. H o w ev er, as in th e la s t
ex am p le ab o v e, th e o rd e r m ay be reversed if th e o th e r ad ju n c t is longer,
n o n eth eless p re serv in g th e essen tial p a rtitiv e re la tio n b etw een th e tw o.
C o m p are also :
I w as in N ew Y o rk last y e a r !A , ] before the fir st snow f e l l [ A 2].

T h ey b ecam e d ru n k today [A ,] within a very short tim e [A 2],
So fa r, how ever, w e h a v e looked a t hierarch ically re la te d a d ju n c ts w h ich a r e

b o th p re d ic a tio n a d ju n cts. I f th e su p ero rd in ate item is a se n ten c e ad ju n ct, it
c an a p p e a r in I, a n d th e re la tio n is n o longer so e ssen tially partitive^ as c a n
b e seen fro m th e p a re n th e s iz e d ad d itio n s in th e follow ing;
L a s t night th ey w ere h ere late (again).

O n M onday I ’ll see you a t nine (as usual).
A d ju n c ts o f s p a n a n d d u r a tio n
8.57 In c o n tra st to th e a d ju n c ts w h ich relate to tim e c o n ceiv ed as a fixed p o in t o r
sta tic sp a n , th ere a re th ree ty p es o f ad ju n ct w hich re la te to tim e as a lin e a r
d im en sio n ( c f A .Iff, 4.23). T w o o f these have an o rie n ta tio n to th e sp e a k e r’s
‘n o w ’ (th a t is, th e tim e o f p rim a ry concern to the sp e a k e r/w rite r w ith in a
g iv en c o n tex t), th e o n e refe rrin g to a sp an in th e p a st, th e o th e r to o n e in th e
fu tu r e :
'N O W '
........ V ....
PA ST FUTURE
Fig 8.57
T h ird ly , th ere are th e a d ju n c ts o f m ore general tem p o ral m easu re, re q u irin g
n o o rie n ta tio n to a p a rtic u la r ‘n o w ’. In view o f the sim ila rity o f pu rp o se, it is
n ot su rp risin g th a t so m e o f th e sam e form s serve for all th re e ty p es o f ad ju n ct.
F orw ard sp an
8.58 T h e key item s in re alizin g a d ju n cts o f fo rw ard s p a n a re until an d till
in tro d u c in g e ith e r c lau ses o r p rep o sitio n al phrases. In th e S urvey o f E n g lish
f all (next) week.

I sh all be in C h icag o -I the whole month.
((p a rt o f ) n e xt year.
C o n s id e r, finally, th e follow ing d isp o sitio n s o f fo rw ard -sp an referen ce,

t a k in g th e ‘n o w ’ o f sp e a k er’s c o n cern as 6 o ’c lo c k :
I ’m not read y y e t \ th e w o rk will tak e m e ^ a^ ^ our'
I th in k I ’ll b e ready by 6.30.

I w o n ’t k eep you w aitin g beyond 6.30.
N o te [a] F o rw a rd -sp a n a d ju n cts ca n be ev o k e d by m eans o f questions w ith U ntil 'vhen . . . , Till when
. . . . , H o w lo n g . . . { fo r). P o stp o sitio n o f till is aw k w ard an d o f until alm ost u n a c c e p ta b le :
? W h e n a re you w o rk in g tilll ?* W hen are you w orking u n till
[b] N o u n p h rases ca n be am b ig u o u s b etw een tim e position an d forw ard s p a n :
H e ’ll be stay in g here n e x t m onth., [ e i t h e r ‘he will arriv e n ex t m onth a n d stay fo r an
u n specified tim e ’ o r ‘he w ill be stay in g here fo r th e w hole o f n ex t m o n th ’]
T h a t is , th e a d ju n c t co u ld be fo rw ard s p a n b u t w ould norm ally be in terp rete d a s tim e p o sition.
O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e p rep o sitio n al-p h ra se v a ria n t c a n refer only to fo rw ard s p a n :
H e 'll b e stay in g he re fo r the n e x t m onth.
B ut p h ra s e s w ith during a te am b ig u o u s w ith in th e forw ard sp an itself:
H e ’ll be staying h e re during the n e x t month.
T h e a d ju n c t h ere co u ld eith er m e an ‘fo r som e period falling w ithin the m o n th ’ o r ‘fo r th e w hole
o f th e m o n th ’.
[c] F o r fo rw a rd s p a n , th e re are n o n fin ite -ed clauses w ith until an d till, b u t n o t -ing clau ses:
I sh all sta y h ere u ntil ordered to m ove. ?I shall stay here until getting fu r th e r instructions.
C / a lso th e idiom s un til fu rth e r notice [ = ‘until you h ea r fu rth e r’], w here notice c a n n o t be replaced
by (fo r ex a m p le) inform ation ; a n d in fu tu r e [<BrE> ‘from now onw ards'], as o p p o sed to in the
fu tu r e w h ic h as well a s b ein g a v a ila b le fo r sp an [ = ‘in fu tu re’] is m ore usually used fo r tim e
p o sitio n [‘a t som e tim e in th e fu tu re ’].
B a c k w a rd sp a n
8.60 T h e k e y item in realizin g a d ju n c ts o f b ack w ard span is since in tro d u c in g
e ith e r a p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se o r a clause, o r used alone as a n a d v e rb ia l (by
ellip sis): j
S h e h as n o tllived in A m e ric a since her graduation fro m high school.

S h e h a s b een try in g to m a k e a living as a w riter since her fir s t novel was
published.
I sp e n t so m e tim e in th e N a tio n a l G allery last year b u t I h a v e n ’t b een
th e re since.
In th e S u rv ey o f E n g lish U sag e co rp u s, in stan ces as c o n ju n ctio n (excluding

c au sal use) an d as p re p o sitio n a re roughly equal in nu m b er, b u t a d v e rb ia l use
a c c o u n ts fo r only a b o u t 15 p e r c e n t o f occurrences.
B a c k w a rd s p a n is e licited by su ch q u estio n s as How long have y o u . . . , H ow
long is it since y o u . . . , W hen . . ., o r Since when . . . (not * W hen . . . sin c e : c f
8.59 N o te [a]). F o r ex am p le:
^ . J W hen d id you s ta rt g iv in g th e o rd ers?

’ [S in ce w hen h av e you b e e n giv in g th e orders?
B : Since I was m ade fo rem a n .

R eg u larly w ith p e rfe c tiv e asp ect in th e clause o f w h ich th e sw ce-elem en t is

A , th e sp a n in d ic a te d by th e ad ju n c t reach es u p to th e ‘n ow ’ o f p rim a ry
c o n cern to th e s p e a k e r (w h ich m ay o f course b e ‘th e n ’ i f it is a p a s t tim e t h a t
is o f p rim a ry c o n c e rn );
H e h a s w o rk e d in th e sam e office since ( he cam e here) in 1980.
‘1980’ 'N O W '

. _ y _ _____________ _ v _ _
‘w orked’
Fig 8.60a
W h en I c am e to k n o w h im in 1982, h e h a d w orked in th e sam e office

since 1980.
1980 'n o w ' = ‘THEN’ (1982) ‘actual NOW’

__2___ 2 __________ V
Fig 8.60b
T h e s p e a k e r c a n sh o w th a t he th in k s th e s p a n is long by using th e in te n sifier

ever', ‘w o rk e d th e re ever since 1980’, \ . . ever since h e c am e h e re ’.
B o th since- a n d /o r-a d ju n c ts specify a sp a n o f tim e, b u t since m ark s in
a d d itio n th e s ta rtin g p o in t. I f th e clause w ith a fo r- ad ju n c t h as its v erb in th e
p erfectiv e, th e s p a n e x ten d s to th e ‘n o w ’, a n d th e h e are r is able to co u n t b a c k
a n d c alcu late th e in itial p o in t in the sp a n :
H e h as w o rk ed in th e sam e office fo r two years.
B u t, u n lik e a d ju n c ts w ith since ( c f 8.61), ,/or-adjuncts do n o t re q u ire th e

p e rfe c tiv e in th e clau se in w h ich th ey fu n ctio n as A , a n d th e tim e sp a n m a y
th ere fo re b e ‘u n lo c a te d ’ in th e p a st, th e h e a re r k n o w in g only th a t th e sp a n
d oes n o t ex te n d to ‘n o w ’:
M ary w as w ritin g th a t p lay fo r three years.
\ ‘3 y e a r s ’ | ‘N o w ’
_ J _________________l V
■< w r i t i n g — *■<-----:--------
Fig 8.60c
S u c h b a c k w a rd -sp a n a d ju n cts c a n b e ex p ressed w ith o u t fo r if th ey a re p la c e d

n o t a t E b u t a t e M a n d if th e v erb h as p ro g ressiv e f o rm :
M ary w as three y ea rs w ritin g th a t play.
M ary h a s b e en three years w ritin g th a t play.
* H e h a s two y ea rs w o rk ed in th e sam e office.
N o te [a] N o u n p h rases o f th e fo rm this}these + last/past + N c a n express b ac k w ard s p a n :

A : H ow long h a v e you w orked h ere?
C T his p a st ye ar.
B : < O n ly this la st m onth.
{ T h is /T h e s e p a s t three years.
W i t h o u t p a s t o r la st s u c h q u a n t i f i e d n o u n p h r a s e s a r e s o m e w h a t a r c h a i c :
H e h a s w o r k e d o n t h e p l a y these two years.
[b] A n o u n p h ra se th a t w ould in d icate tim e position w ith p a st o r p erfec tiv e will ind icate
b a c k w a r d s p a n w ith th e p rogressive ( c /4 .2 5 fl ):
I v is ite d m y m o th e r this morning, [position]
I h a v e v isited m y m o th e r this morning, [position]
I h a v e b e e n v isitin g m y m o th e r this morning, [span]
8.61 T h e tim e s p a n in d ic a te d by during-, since- an d w M /e-adjuncts m ay corresp o n d

e ith e r to a c o n tin u o u s sta te o r activ ity , as i n :
H e h a s b e en sleep in g since two o’clock,
'2 . 0 ' ‘NOW’

_ 5 Z ________________2 ____________
‘sleeping’ >
Fig 8.61a
o r to a p e rio d w ith in w h ich one o r m ore discrete a ctio n s to o k place, as i n :
S h e h a s g o t m a rrie d since you saw her in June.
‘June ‘N O W ’
I
V— ^
i_ V '
‘m a r r i e d ’
Fig 8 .6 1 b
W ith in th e a d ju n c t to o it is possible to be sp ecify in g a c o n tin u o u s activ ity

th ro u g h th e tim e sp a n , as in :
S in ce they have lived in London, they have b een in creasin g ly

h a p p y . [ = ‘d u rin g th a t tim e ’] [ 1]
A lte rn a tiv e ly , w e m ay refer to a p erio d d a tin g fro m a d isc rete e v en t, as i n :
S in ce they w ent to live in London, they have b een in creasin g ly

h a p p y . [ = ‘from th a t p o in t in tim e ’] [2]
T h e re is th u s a c o n tra s t b etw een [ 1] a n d [3]:
Sin ce th ey lived in London, th ey have been in creasin g ly hap p y . [3]
T h is is b ecau se, w h ile th e sp an involved is th e sam e, [1] defines th e ir living

in L o n d o n as c o te rm in o u s w ith th a t sp an (ie as still b e in g tru e ‘n o w ’, w hich
is as f a r a s th e sp e a k e r c a n c o m m it him self), b u t [3] m ak e s n o c laim o n how
long th e y liv ed in L o n d o n beyond the e n ta ilm e n t th a t th ey no longer live
th ere ‘n o w ’:
‘started living in London’ ‘N O W
¥i ¥
[time span]
' ‘living in Londori’- •o
Fig 8.61c
O n th e o th er h a n d , if th e v e rb in th e since clause is n o t o n e o f c o n tin u o u s

a ctiv ity (like live), a n o n p e rfe c tiv e carries no such e n ta ilm en t as [3]. C o n sid e r
th e follow ing set:
I n [4] he m u st still b e in th e a rm y ‘n ow ’; in [6] he c a n n o t b e still in th e a rm y ;

in [5] h e m ay o r m ay n o t b e still in th e arm y.
N o te [a] A d ju n cts w ith since a re to b e view ed as prep o sitio n al p h rases w ith n o n fin ite -ing clau ses a s
co m p lem en t (c/8 .5 9 N o te [c], 14.20):
[4a]
[5a]
[6aj
I n [4a], an unusual fo rm , it w ould b e im p lied th a t he w as no lo n g er in th e a rm y : c o n tra s t [4]. In

[5a); it .would be im p lied th a t he w as still in th e arm y : co n trast [5]. In [6a], he m ig h t o r m ig h t n o t
b e still in th e a rm y : c o n tra st [6]. I t sho u ld be noted th a t (despite its form ) having been in [4a] is
n o t a n expression o f a sp e c t b u t o f te n se , -ing + -ed b ein g th e only m ean s o f ex p ressin g p a s t w ith
n o n fin ites { c f 4.5 5, 4.66). W e th e refo re ex p e ct th e since -clause in [4a] to m e a n ‘S ince he w as in
th e army*. W ith no n fin ite -e d clau ses, th e rare instances o f s/nce-adverbials w ould be ca u sal, n o t
te m p o r a l: ‘I will n o t, since so b itterly criticized , continue in office an y lo n g e r' ( c / 8 .124). N o te th a t
in ‘T h e m in ister, since returned , h a s refu sed to co m m en t’, since is a n ad v e rb used h ere as a tim e
a d ju n c t in th e n o n fin ite c la u se : ‘w h o h a s retu rn ed since', ie ‘subsequently’.
[b] A p p a re n t ex cep tio n s to th e req u ire m e n t o f a p erfective v erb occur w hen a p h ra se o r clau se
in tro d u ced by since c o rrelate s w ith a su p erla tiv e o r o rd in a l:
Y esterday w as th e h o ttest d a y sin ce I cam e to live here.
J o a n cam e to w o rk in h e r c a r la st w eek fo r (only) th e second tim e since O cto b er.
S uch s/n ce-constructions a re b est reg ard e d as p o stm odifications in n o u n -p h rase stru c tu re a n d
n o t a s adjuncts. M o re su b sta n tia l e x c e p tio n s occ ur in A m E , especially w here th e clau se in w h ich
th e sihce-adjunct o p erates refers to th e p re se n t; an d increasingly, these ex c ep tio n s ap p ly to B rE
a s w ell (c/14.26):
I t is ages sin ce sh e w as (last) h ere. [N B * . . . since sh e’s b een h ere’, ‘. . . *since sh e ’s b ee n la s t
h ere’]
I t is a long tim e sin ce I saw h im .
I ’m d oing well sin ce I b o u g h t th o se oil shares.

T h in g s arc m u c h w orse sin ce you left.
S ince I cam e to college, I realize ho w little I knew .
B u t in A m E we also h a v e :
S ince I last saw yo u, m y m o th e r died.
S ince w hen d id you o w n a w o rd p rocessor?
I was here since befo re 8 a.m .
[c] In d efin ite o r long b ac k w a rd s p a n c a n be expressed by fo r ages o r <esp A m E ) in ages'.
8 .6 2 O th e r a d v erb ials fo r in d icatin g b a ck w a rd s p a n include up to (d ate o r tim e),

till/u n til (d a te o r tim e), so fa r, subsequently, recently, lately, in all ( N ’s) life,
fr o m , c o rre la ti vely fro m ( tim e ) . . . to (tim e), before. F o r e x a m p le :
r i a - * f up to 1979.
I w o rk ed m A m erica y ti,Ilu ntil 1979 .
S h e h a s n o t finished h er novel so fa r .
W e m o v ed to C h icag o in 1980 a n d h av e lived th ere subsequently.
I have n o t b e en sleeping well
H e h a d n ’t se e n such a d isaster in a ll his life.

H e ta u g h t a t Y ale fro m 1975.
[co n trast ‘H e has ta u g h t . . . since . . . ’]
... {from June to Septem ber.

ey w ere o n v aca ion ]j-rgm j m e through'September. [<A m E> c/8 .5 9 ]
I have n e v e r w ritte n a p lay before.
A d v e rb s su ch as subsequently, recently, lately would o f course re fe r to tim e

p o s itio n if th e V -elem en t w ere n o t m a rk e d fo r p erfective a spect. T h e sam e is
tru e fo r before, th o u g h inform ally (a n d especially in A m E ) th is ite m c a n
e x p ress b a ck w a rd s p a n w ith th e sim p le p a st in non assertiv e c la u se s:
S h e n e v e r k isse d a m an before. D id you (ever) see h er before ?
In n o n a sse rti v e c lau ses also, we h av e {fo r) long expressing b a ck w a rd s p a n :
H o w long d id you w o rk th ere ? T h ey d id n ’t w ait (fo r) long.
C f a ls o fo rw ard s p a n :
f long.
T h ese sh o es p ro b a b ly w on’t last
D u ratio n 1
8 .63 J u s t a s several o f th e item s discussed in 8 .5 8 # can be used for b o th fo rw a rd
a n d b a c k w a rd s p a n , so several o f th e m can also be used to ex p ress m easu res
o f tim e th a t a re n o t specifically confined to fu tu re o r past. F o r e x a m p le :
S h e w rites fo r an hour every day.

I t takes m e only ten m inutes to c lean m y car.
T h ey s p e n d ag es ju s t sittin g in th e g ard en .
T o sh ik o w o rk s fa r into the night a t h e r thesis.
I have so m e tim e off during the week.
C e rta in ad v erb s a re used fo r g en eral m easu res o f tim e : fo r exam ple, alw ays,
briefly, indefinitely, m om entarily [‘for a m o m e n t’], perm anently, tem porarily.
W h en used w ith th e p re sen t p erfectiv e, th e o th erw ise tim e-p o sitio n a d v erb s
lately a n d recently a re used for d u r a tio n :
H is visits u sed to be ra re , b u t j â te ^ I h e h as been here q u ite a lot.

[recently]
T im e -d u ra tio n ad ju n c ts a re so m etim es elicited by q u estio n s w ith H o w

long . . . an d a re n o rm ally p laced a t E o r IE. Single-w ord a d v erb realiz a tio n s,

how ev er, w ould b e u n u su al a t E an d a re com m only a t M :
She is tem porarily w o rk in g in a different building.
N o te [a] W ith som e v erb s, noun p h rases as expressions o f tim e d u ra tio n c a n be tre a te d as d ire c t
ob jects { c f 8.39 N ote). F o r ex a m p le:
[b] I n expressions o f d u ra tio n , th e intensified prepositional sequences a ll through, a ll round ( b u t

n o t th e synonym ous right through , right round) c a n be d iscontinuous:
H e now sleeps a ll night through. [ = ‘right th rough th e n ig h t’]
S he w o rk s th e re a ll ye ar round. [ = ‘rig h t round the year’]
C f also a ll (da y etc) long ; in B rE , the m ay precede th e tim e n o u n : a ll the d a y long, a ll th e night
through, etc.
[c] U n in fle cted a n d u nm odified long is norm ally a n o nassertive fo rm a n d po sitio n ed a t E ; th is
a p p lie s also to very long. T h u s:
?T he m onsoon la sts long. [ c /T h e m onsoon lasts a long tim e]
T h e m onsoon d o e sn ’t la st long.
D o es th e m onsoon la st lo n g l
? T h e jo u rn e y to o k very long. [ c /T h e jo u rn ey took a very.long time]
W h e n inflected o r m odified o th e r th a n by very , th e item long c a n be e ith e r n o n assertiv e o r
a ssertiv e a n d is also p o sitio n ed a t E :
T h e jo u rn e y to o k long enough f o r everyone to g et to know each other.

U n in fle cted long c a n be a n assertiv e form w hen it cooccurs w ith th e perfec tiv e a n d is th e n
usually positio n ed a t M . T h e v erb s involved seem to be m ainly v erbs o f b elie f o r a ssu m p tio n ,
a ttitu d in a l verb s, an d som e verb s o f sp eak in g :
I h a v e long th o u g h t o f re tirin g a t th e age o f 55. H e h a s long a d m ire d m y style o f w ritin g .
T h e m e rits o f th e schem e w ill be long discussed.
L ong b eh av es like m uch an d fa r in m an y respects ( c / 8 .104-7).
T im e-frequency adjuncts
8 .64 F re q u e n c y c a n so m etim es be conceived in ab so lu te term s w ith o u t c o n cern
fo r th e p e rio d o f tim e o v e r w h ich the recurrence in q u e stio n to o k place. F o r
e x a m p le :
A : H ow m any tim es d id you ring th e bell? B : Twice.
M o re usually, h o w ev er, w e a re concerned w ith freq u en cy w ith re sp ec t to a

specified o r im p lied s p a n o f tim e. In o th er w ords, a freq u en cy th a t resp o n d s
to ‘H o w o fte n ? ’. T h u s:
A : H ow often d o you w a sh your car?

B : P retty rarely!Infrequently/ N o t very often.
M o n th ly j W e ek ly .
Once a week.
E very Sunday.
F rom tim e to tim e.
A s often as I can.
Whenever it g e ts very dirty.
O f course, ev en q u e stio n s o f th e form ‘H ow m an y tim e s? ’ w ould n o t usually

b e satisfacto rily an sw e red w ith a sim ple n u m erical value th a t to o k n o acc o u n t
542 Th e sem antics andgrammarof adverbials
o f ‘th e ra te o f o c c u rre n ce s p e r u n it o f tim e ’. T h a t is, a q u e stio n su ch a s :
H o w m a n y tim es h av e you had a d riv in g a ccid en t?
is lik ely to be a n sw e red w ith reference to a p e rio d :
„ . f o v e r th e p a s t d o z e n y ears.
F o u r tim es, ( . e. , , . .
I in th e co u rse o f tw enty years d riv in g ex p erien ce.
T h a t is, th e re sp o n d e n t w ould reasonably conclude th a t th e q u e stio n e r w as

less in te re s te d in th e a b so lu te total th a n in th a t total related to th e tim e sp an
w ith in w h ic h a c c id e n ts could have occurred. In d eed th e q u e stio n e r m ig h t
h a v e fram e d h is q u e stio n a s :
H ow often | ygy°â J ^ r ' v' n8 accid en ts?

A g a in , w e m ay be co n ce rn ed n ot w ith n u m erical in d ic a tio n s o f freq u en cy
b u t w ith m o re g e n era l o r im pressionistic frequency, as in [II] below . H ere,
th e ty p e o f re c u rre n c e in w hich we a re in terested d e p e n d s b o th o n th e
se m a n tic s o f th e v e rb a n d also on its a spect. C o m p a re :
She usually sm iles, [recu rren t a ctiv ity ; eg ‘W h en sh e sees m e . . . ’]

She is u sually sm ilin g , [continuous a ctiv ity ; eg ‘W h e n e v e r o n e sees
h e r . . . ’]
A p a r t fro m n o n n u m e ric a l expressions o f freq u en cy (su ch as whenever-

clau ses) a n d so m e p re p o sitio n a l p h rase p a tte rn s, tim e a d ju n c ts o f freq u en cy
a re m o stly re aliz e d by n o u n ph rases o r by ad v erb s. W e c a n lo o k in m o re
d e ta il a t re a liz a tio n s in co n sid erin g th e sem an tic su b classes o f freq u en cy
a d ju n c ts. T h e re a re tw o m ajo r su b classes:
(I) th o se n a m in g ex p licitiy the tim e s b y w hich th e freq u e n c y is

m ea su re d ; d e f i n i t e f r e q u e n c y ;
(II) th o s e n o t d o in g s o : i n d e f i n i t e f r e q u e n c y .
E a c h o f th ese ;subclasses c a n in tu rn be s u b d iv id e d :
i
( I ) D E F IN IT E f r e q u e n c y
(A ) PERIOD FREQUENCY
hourly, daily, nightly, w eekly, fortnightly <esp B rE > , m onthly, quarterly,
annually, yea rly , biannually [‘tw ice a y e ar’], biennially [‘ev ery tw o y e a rs ’], sem i
annually, tw ice a w eek/m onth, etc, (n) tim es a w eek/m onth, e tc, every (n)
w eek(s)/m onth(s), e tc, every other w eek/m onth, e tc [‘o n a lte rn a tiv e w eek s/
m o n th s , e tc ’]
F o r e x am p le:
C o m m itte e m ee tin g s ta k e place weekly. [ = once a w eek]
I shall b e in m y office every other day. [ = on a lte rn a te days]
E ach su m m er I s p e n d m y v acatio n in B erm uda.
T a k e th re e pills tw ice a d a y .
P h ra se s o f th e fo rm p e r n are occasionally used w ith re fe re n ce to p erio d ic
m o n ey p a y m e n ts:
I f so d e sired , re n t c a n be p aid per week in stead o f p er m onth.
Adjuncts o f tim e 543
(B) O CCASIO N F R EQ U E N C Y
once ['o n e tim e o n ly ’], tw ice ; thrice ( a r c h a ic ) ; otherw ise noun p h ra s e s o r
p re p o sitio n a l p h rases, e g : a tim e or two, three tim es, on fiv e occasions
F o r e x am p le:
V ero n ica h a s b een to S in g ap o re ( o n ly ) o n c e .
B ob p h o n e d twice today.
I v isit E n g la n d three tim es a year.
I p e rfo rm o p e ratio n s three days each week.
O n (th e) a v erag e, I see th em once every three weeks.
8.65 (II) IN D E F IN IT E F R EQ U E N C Y
(C) U SU A L O C C U R R E N C E
com m only, custom arily, generally, habitually, invariably, norm ally, ordinarily,
usually
H e generally leav es h o m e a t seven.
D o es J e n n y usually stay up so late ?
W e norm ally go to b ed before m id n ig h t.
A s a rule it’s very q u iet here d u rin g th e day.
For the m ost pa rt, we p lay ten n is o n S unday m orning.
(D ) c o n t i n u o u s / c o n t i n u l / u n i v e r s l f r e q u e n c y
F F
always, constantly, continually, continuously, incessantly, perm anently, p e rp e tu

ally
F o r e x am p le:
D oes sh e alw ays dress w ell?
H e is continually co m p lain in g a b o u t th e noise.
H e incessantly ask s fo r m o re m oney.
T h ey a re perpetually in d eb t.
(E ) H IG H F R E Q U E N C Y
freq u en tly, o fte n ; regularly, repeatedly
I h a v e often to ld th em to relax m ore.
T h ey regularly tak e th e ir dog for a w alk in th e evening.
H a v e you b een d ru n k m any tim es ?
H e leav es th e d o o r u n lo ck ed tim e after tim e.
T h ey ex p la in ed again a n d again th a t th ey co u ld n ’t h elp it, b u t sh e
d id n ’t b elieve them .
(F ) L O W F R E Q U E N C Y
infrequently, irregularly, (very) little, occasionally, periodically [‘fro m tim e to
tim e ’], rarely, seldom , never
F o r e x am p le:
W e a re occasionally in v ited to th e ir house fo r a party.
W e (very) seldom see o u r e ld e r so n th ese days.
I h a v e d riv e n a fe w times.
S h e v isits us once in a while.

Y o u should p h o n e th em now and again, [‘occasio n ally ’]
D o you visit y o u r p a ren ts fro m time to tim e l [‘o ccasionally’]
W e p lay card s j [‘o ccasionally’ (in fo rm a l)]
I h a v e been in his office on several occasions.
M o s t tim e frequency ad ju n cts are n o rm ally p o sitio n ed a t E. H ow ever,

th o s e re aliz e d by a d v erb s a n d referrin g to in d efin ite frequency (G ro u p s ( C -
F )) a r e n o rm ally p o sitio n ed a t M , w hile th o se realized by p rep o sitio n al
p h r a s e s a n d d e n o tin g usual o ccu rren ce (G ro u p (C )) a re n o rm ally p ositioned
at /:
M a ry h a s som etim es/often a cted in S h ak esp eare plays.
O n m o st days, I b eg in w o rk a t 8 a.m .
A d ju n c ts in som e g ro u p s (especially in (C ), (E), a n d (F)) c a n be inside o r

o u ts id e th e scope o f n eg atio n , an d th is co in cid es w ith th e ir p o ten tiality to
a p p e a r a t iM . C o m p are:
T h e stu d e n ts should l3e g iv en hom ew ork. [ 1]
T h e stu d en ts should be g iven h o m ew ork |™ ™ io r a //y .}
T h e stu d en ts | norm a^ y I should n o t b e g iv en hom ew ork. [la ]

[occasionally I
N orm ally;
th e stu d en ts should n o t b e g iv en hom ew ork. [2a]
Occasionally,
( C / 8 .6 7 / )
N o te T h e a d v e rb once, especially a t M , also functions a s a tim e p o sitio n ad ju n ct, ‘at o n e tim e, o n on e

o c c a sio n , a t som e tim e o r o th e r’ (b u t a t once m eans,‘im m ed iately ’). Inform ally th e co rresp o n d in g
n o u n p h ra s e is likew ise used fo r tim e position (‘H e c a m e to see m e on e tim e a n d co m p lain ed
a b o u t h is jo b ’), a s also w hen m odified by more:
* (one m ore tim e 1 ., ,
I f you say th a t \ >, I m leaving.
J [once m ore J
8.66 A d ju n c ts o f definite freq u en cy in G ro u p (A ) d en o te th e p e rio d o f tim e by

w h ic h th e frequency is m easu red an d are n o rm ally sen ten ce ad ju n cts. T hose
in (B ) e x p ress the m ea su re m e n t in n u m b er o f tim es (c/5 .1 8 ) a n d a re n o rm ally
p re d ic a tio n adjuncts. Item s from each g ro u p c a n c ooccur, n o rm ally w ith th e
ite m fro m (B) com ing first:
Y o u should ta k e th e m ed icin e twice (B) daily (A). [ = ‘tw ice a d a y ’]
T h o s e in (A ) can also coo ccu r w ith e ach o th e r in a h iera rch ic al re la tio n s h ip :
( hourly (A ) each d a y (A).

S h e felt his pu lse < each hour (A) daily (A ).
[d a ily (A ) every couple o f hours (A).
A d ju n cts of tim e 545
T h e o rd er o f th e a d ju n c ts in E d e p en d s in p a rt on in fo rm a tio n focus o r e n d -
w eig h t (c /1 8 .9 # ), b u t only th e o n e d en o tin g th e longer p e rio d c a n o ccu r in I
(c /8 .4 5 ,8 .5 6 ):
Each day hourly,

sh e felt his pulse
D aily each hour.
Hourly each day.

sh e felt h is pulse
E ach hour daily.
C o o ccu rren ce o f th e a d v erb form s, how ever, is odd for sty listic reaso n s e v en
i f th e o n e d e n o tin g th e lo n g er p erio d is in I:
?*She felt his pulse hourly daily.

1D aily she felt his pulse hourly.
T h o se in (B) can lik ew ise cooccur w ith each o th e r in a h ie ra rc h ic a l

re la tio n sh ip , w h ere th e su b o rd in a te a d ju n ct den o tes th e n u m b e r o f tim es fo r
e a c h o f th e tim es d e n o te d by th e su p ero rd in ate a d ju n c t, w h ic h assu m es
sen ten c e-a d ju n ct fu n ctio n . T h e v erb m u st be one refe rrin g to a m o m e n ta ry
e v e n t (c f 4 .3 3 ,4 .3 5 ), su c h as beat ‘to overcom e (som eone) in a c o n te st’.
I b e a t h im twice on two occasions. [‘I won tw o co n tests o n e a c h o f tw o

o ccasio n s’]
A s in th is ex am p le, th e s u p e ro rd in ate ad ju n ct ten d s to follow th e su b o rd in a te

ad ju n c t, b u t it c a n b e in / p o sitio n :
On two occasions I b e a t h im twice.

I Twice I b e a t h im on two occasions.
W h ile th e a d v erb a n d th e n o u n ph rases X tim es are a m b ig u o u s b etw een

su p e ro rd in ate a n d s u b o rd in a te fu n ctio n in such a h ierarch y , th e p re p o sitio n a l
p h ra se s on X occasions a re u nam biguously su p ero rd in ate. A d ju n c ts in (B) c a n
o fte n be th e resp o n se to th e q u estio n H ow m any lim es? T h e q u e stio n is u sed
to elicit th e ad ju n c t w h en only o n e item from (B) is in v o lv ed , b u t it c an also
e lic it th e su b o rd in a te o r su p e ro rd in ate ad ju n ct w hen tw o ite m s fro m (B) a re
in v o lv e d :
A : H o w m an y tim e s d id you b e a t h im ?
B : Twice.
A : H o w m an y tim e s d id you b e a t him o n th e tw o o ccasio n s?
B : Twice.
A : H o w m an y tim e s d id you b e a t h im tw ice?
f O n tw o occasions.
B:
\T w ice.
A d ju n cts o f d efin ite freq u en cy c a n also cooccur w ith ite m s fro m e a c h o f th e

su b classes o f a d ju n c ts o f in d efin ite frequency:
norm ally (C )
alw ays (D ) tak e th e m ed ic in e twice (B)
Y ou should
regularly (E ) daily (A).
(only) occasionally (F)
N o te In th e h ie ra rc h ic a l relatio n sh ip , rep etitio n o f th e sam e ad v e rb is avoided for stylistic reaso n s {c f

8.1 49):
?I b e a t h im a t chess twice twice. [ie th e re w ere tw o gam es o n each o f tw o occasions]
1 Tw ice I b e a t him at chess twice.
8.67 A d ju n c ts o f in d efin ite freq u en cy in G ro u p (C ) d en o te usual o c cu rre n ce . T h ey

d iffer fro m th o se o f (especially) G ro u p (D ) in th a t they c a n p re ce d e th e
c la u sa l n e g ativ e, in w h ich case th ey express th a t it is n o rm al fo r so m e th in g
not t o o c c u r:
G enerally ,'I
N o rm a lly , > he d o e sn ’t ta k e m ed icin e.
U sually, J
T h e y d iffer fro m th o se in (E ) a n d (F ) t h a t c a n p reced e n e g atio n in t h a t it is a

c o n tra d ic tio n to a sse rt b o th th a t it is usual fo r som ething to o c cu r a n d also
th a t i t is u su al fo r it n o t to o c c u r :
~*G enerally, generally, ~

h e do es (ta k e
*N o rm a lly, he d o e sn ’t ta k e m ed icin e, b u t normally,
m ed ic in e ).
_* U sually, usually,
O n th e o th e r h a n d , th o se in (E ) a n d (F ) th a t precede n eg atio n e x p ress a h ig h
or lo w freq u en cy . H ere, we e n co u n ter a p h en o m en o n th a t p a ralle ls m u lta l
an d p a u c a l item s in n o u n -p h rase q u a n tifiers: ‘M an y arro w s h a v e h it th e
ta rg e t b u t m an y h a v e n o t’ ( c f 6.53, 8.71). T h u s, it is n o t c o n tra d ic to ry to
a sse rt th a t it is fre q u e n t (or in freq u e n t) for so m eth in g to o c cu r a n d a t th e
sam e tim e t h a t it is freq u e n t (or in freq u en t) fo r it n o t to o c c u r:
O fte n 1 often he d o es (tak e

h e d o e sn ’t ta k e m ed icin e, b u t
Occasionally occasionally m ed ic in e ).
W e c a n see fro m th is ex am p le th a t often does n o t necessarily im p ly th e

m ajo rity o f tim es, a n d th e sam e is tru e for frequently. H o w ev er, th o se in (C ),
like g enerally, do im ply th e m ajo rity o f tim es. Item s in (C ) n o t e n ta ilin g
ex h au stiv en e ss j c a n o bviously (u n lik e ' invariably, habitually) a llo w for
ex ce p tio n s. W e c a n th ere fo re say, for e x a m p le :
G enerally,
he d o e sn ’t ta k e m ed icin e, b u t som etim es he does (tak e
N o rm a lly,
: m ed icin e).
U sually,
N o te [a] Invariably (com m only used in th e sense 'u su a lly ') an d habitually are th e o n ly o n es in G ro u p
(C) th a t d e n y th e po ssib ility o f e x c e p tio n s:
*Invariably, he do esn ’t ta k e m ed icin e, b u t som etim es he does (ta k e m edicine).
[b] G enerally speaking a n d (occasionally) norm ally speaking a re used as freq u e n c y d isju n c ts
co rresp o n d in g to th e ad ju n cts generally a n d norm ally respectively ( c / 8 .125 N o te [a]).
[c] T h e c o m m o n est freq u en c y a d v e rb ials a re in som e w ays m ore like tim e su b ju n c ts (c /8 .9 8 )
th a n a d ju n c ts :
S h e usually saw h e r p a tie n ts in th e m ornings.
* It w a s usually th a t she saw h er p a tie n ts in th e m ornings.
It w a s usually in the mornings th a t sh e saw h e r p atien ts.
C o m p a re :
S h e u sed to see h er p atie n ts in the mornings.
It w a s in the m ornings th a t she used to see h e r p atien ts.
8.68 F req u en cy a d ju n c ts lik e usually in (C ) as w ell as often an d freq u en tly in (E )

can be th e focus o f n e g a tio n :
( Usually 'I
H e d o esn ’t <! d r te n > sp eak from notes.
{^FREquently J
B ut for th o se in (C ), a p a rt fro m ‘ex h au stiv e’ item s lik e invariably, th ere is a s

a g en eral rule n o logical difference resulting fro m w h eth er th e ad ju n c t is
w ith in th e sco p e o f n e g atio n o r n o t ( c f I0 .6 4 ff). Som ebody a g reein g w ith a
p revious s p e a k e r c o u ld .rem o v e a frequency ad ju n c t o f (C ) from th e scope o f
n e g a tio n :
A : H e d o e sn ’t usually sp eak from notes.

B : T h a t’s tru e. H e usually DOEsn’t (sp e ak fro m notes).
T o ta k e th e p a ra p h ra s e s o f usually, th ere is n o logical difference b etw een th e

tw o sen ten ces:
It's usual fo r h im not to sp eak from notes.
It's not usual fo r h im to sp eak fro m notes.
O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e re is a logical difference b etw een p o sitio n in g often o r

frequently w ith in th e scope o f n eg atio n a n d p o sitio n in g th em o u tsid e it.
W h ere, as w e saw in 8.67, w e c an say: ..
O ften h e d o e sn ’t tak e m ed icin e, b u t often h e does.
we c an n o t say:
*H e d o esn ’t O F ten tak e m ed icin e, b u t often h e does (tak e m edicine).
T h is is because, w h e n often o r frequently co m e w ith in th e scope o f n e g atio n ,

we den y th e freq u en cy , an d w e obviously c a n n o t th e n a ssert it.
I f freq u en cy a d ju n c ts in (C ) cooccur w ith d u ra tio n ad ju n cts (c/8 .6 3 ), th e re
c a n be a d ifferen ce a cco rd in g to w h eth er o n e o f th e ad ju n cts is o r is n o t to b e
u n d ersto o d as w ith in th e scope o f n e g a tio n :
Osually h e d o e sn ’t sleep fo r tw o days a t a tim e.

[‘T h e u su al th in g is for h im to go w ith o u t sleep for tw o days a t a tim e ’
o r ‘It is n o t u su al for h im to go to sleep fo r tw o days a t a tim e ’]
H e d o esn ’t u su a lly sleep fo r tw o days a t a tim e.
[‘I t ’s ra re fo r h im to sleep for as long a s tw o d ay s a t a tim e ’ o r ‘F o r
tw o day s a t a tim e it is q u ite usual fo r h im to go w ith o u t sleep ’]
T h e sam e d is tin c tio n ap p lies fo r often a n d frequently.

M ost freq u en cy a d ju n cts c a n be th e focus o f a cleft sen ten ce, p a rticu la rly
if th ey a re m odified o r are in a neg ativ e o r in te rro g ativ e focal c la u s e :
(? )It’s very fre q u en tly th a t h e loses m oney.

I t ’s not often th a t I h av e a ch an c e to sp e a k to him .
Is it often th a t sh e d riv es alo n e?
F o r som e sp e ak ers, th e sam e is possible w h en th e diaf-clause is n eg ativ e :
I t ’s all too fre q u en tly th a t p eo p le d o n ’t o ffer to help.

Is it very often th a t she d o e sn ’t sp eak to h im ?
I t is n ’t v ery often th a t sh e d o esn ’t speak to him .

I t ’s n o t o fte n th a t h e d o e sn ’t help.
R a re ly a n d seld o m o f G ro u p (F ) can som etim es b e th e focus o f a cleft

se n te n c e , e v e n u n m o d ified , d en o tin g negative freq u en cy (‘n o t o ften ’):
f rarely 1 f th a t he loses any m oney.

[seld o m J [ th a t people d o n ’t offer to help.
8.69 In d e fin ite -fre q u e n c y ad ju n c ts can cooccur in a h ie ra rc h ic a l relatio n sh ip (c f

8 .4 5 ,8 .5 6 ,8 .6 6 ):
N o rm a lly (C ), co m m itte e m eetings are held infrequently (F).

U sually (C ), h e constantly (D ) com plains o f h e ad a ch e s w h en he is
a ssig n e d a resp o n sib le task.
T h e y seld o m (F ) p u t o n plays again and again (E).
I h a v e o fte n (E ) te le p h o n ed h im a fe w times (F ) o n th e sa m e day.
S o m e a d ju n c ts e v en in th e sam e group c an co o ccu r w h ere th e verb is

m o m e n ta ry ( c f 4.33, 4.35) a n d we are thus ab le to d istin g u ish betw een
‘r e p e a te d a c tio n ’ a n d ‘n u m b e r o f occasions’ (c/8 .6 4 ):
T h e y h a v e o ften (E ) p ressed his bell repeatedly (E ) w ith o u t g ettin g an

an sw e r.
C o n tra s t:
? T h e y h a v c p fte n (E ) b e a te n h im frequently (E).
N o n a ss e rtiv e ever [‘a t a n y tim e ’] is som etim es used to in te n sify th e n eg ativ e

fo rm s rarely, se ld o m in (F ), a n d it is especially com m on w ith th e co rresp o n d in g
su b ju n c ts ( c f 8 .9 8 ), th o u g h its use w ith never is co n sid ere d n o n sta n d a rd by
som e s p e a k e r s :
( ?)I seldom ever p la y sq u a sh now . N
(C o n tra s t th e fully a cc ep ta b le ‘seldom if e v er’, w h ich is n o t a n intensified

seldom b u t o ffers a h a lte rn a tiv e to it).
(?)I never ever g o th ere.
N o te C o m p a re th e fo llo w in g :
He co llects th e gro ceries on Tuesday.
W e co u ld m e a n e ith er t h a t h e co llects (o r never collects) th e m on T u e sd a y , or th a t w h enever he

co llects th e m it is a lw a y s (of n ev e r) o n Tuesday.
8.70 W h e re a s freq u e n c y ad ju n c ts in (C ), such as usually , c a n p re ce d e n e g atio n ( c f

8.67), th o se in (D ) n o rm ally c a n n o t:
?* H e i a^way s I d o e s n ’t p ay his d eb ts on tim e.

[constantly \ r J
* H e \ cont*nuatty 1 d id n ’t d rin k whisky.

\ incessantly \
In ste ad we use never, n o t . . . ever, o r n o t . . . a t a ll :
h is d e b ts on tim e.
H e didn't d rin k w h isk y a t all.
N o te , h o w ev er, in iro n ic 'seco n d in stan ce’ u s e :
A : Sorry; I h a v e n ’t e n o u g h m oney.
h a v e n ’t enough m oney.
A d ju n c ts in (E), su ch as fre q u en tly an d repeatedly, d en o te a h ig h fre q u e n c y

a n d th o se in (F), su ch as occasionally a n d never, denote a low o r z e ro
frequency.
W h en th e n eg ativ e fo rm s in (F), rarely a n d seldom , are in / p o sitio n , th e y
c au se s u b je c t-o p e ra to r in v ersio n (c f 18.24), such usage b eing lite rary o r
o ra to ric a l in to n e :
Seldom h a d I seen such confusion.
N o te [a] T h e follow ing item s in (E ) a n d (F ) d o n o t norm ally precede n eg atio n : (E ) regu l arl y (c f * H e
regu l arl y d o e sn 't ag ree’ b esid e th e m o re usual ‘H e regul arl y disagrees’) ; (F ) i nf requentl y ,
i rregul arl y , a n d o th e r n e g a tiv e form s, in c lu d in g sel dom an d rarel y .
[b] R egul arl y c a n den o te h ig h frequency as well as ‘a t regular intervals'.
Tim e-frequency adjuncts and quantifiers

8.71 I f th e su b ject is g en eric ( c f 5 .2 6 # ), m an y ad ju n cts o f indefinite freq u e n c y ,
p a rticu la rly w h en p o sitio n e d a t I o r M , are eq u iv alen t to q u a n tita tiv e
d e te rm in e rs ( c /5 .1 4 ,5 .1 6 ) o r p ro n o u n s ( c f 6 .4 5 # ) in th e noun p h ra se re a liz in g
th e subject. F o r ex am p le, in ;
S tu d en ts p lay sq u a sh often, ['o n m any occasio n s’]
often is in clu d ed in th e p re d ic atio n an d refers to th e frequency o f th e g a m e s

o f sq u ash . H o w ev er, th e effect o f e ith er o f the versions w ith se n te n c e
a d ju n c ts :
O ften stu d en ts
p lay sq u ash , [ 'it o ften h a p p en s t h a t . . . ’]
S tu d en ts often
is very sim ila r to :

M a n y stu d en ts p lay squash.
O th e r ex am p les w h ere th ere is o ften loose eq u iv alen ce:

G o o d novels are alw ays w o rth buying.
~ A ll good n ovels are w o rth buying.
P o licem en a re usually u n a rm e d in B ritain.
~ M o s t p o licem en a re u n a rm e d in B ritain.
U n iv e rsitie s often h av e lin g u istics d e p artm e n ts.
~ M a n y u n iv ersities h av e linguistics d ep artm en ts.
A dog is som etim es a d an g ero u s anim al.
~ Som e dogs a re d an g ero u s anim als.
S tu d e n ts occasionally fail th is course.

~ A fe w stu d e n ts fail th is course.
E n g lish m e n rarely talk to stran g ers in train s.
~ F e w E n g lish m e n talk to stra n g ers in trains.
O fficers \ a^m o s t^ ver\ ge t d ru n k w h ile o n duty.

[very seldom j
~ A lm o st no officers get d ru n k w h ile o n duty.
I f th e d irec t o b je c t is generic, the a d ju n c t m ay be roughly e q u iv a le n t to a

p re d e te rm in e r o r q u a n tifier in th e n o u n p h ra se realizing th is d ire c t o b je c t:
O u r u n iv ersity alw ays w elcom es w ell-m o tiv ated students.

~ O u r u n iv ersity w elcom es all w ell-m o tiv ated students.
T h e m ost h ig h ly train ed soldiers often g u a rd g o v ern m en t buildings.
~ T he m o st highly train ed soldiers g u a rd m any g o v ern m en t
buildings.
A good lis te n e r seldom m ak es enem ies.
~ A good lis te n e r m ak es/etv en em ies.
N o te A t le ast tw o o f th e a b o v e sentences hav e altern ativ e in te rp re ta tio n s to those given a b o v e :

P o licem en a re usually un arm ed in B ritain.
~ I t is u sual fo r po licem en to b e u n arm ed in B rita in , b u t they are som etim es arm ed .
E n g lish m en rarely ta lk to stran g ers in train s.
O n rare o cc asio n s E nglishm en ta lk to s tra n g e rs in trains.
T im e-relationship adjuncts
8.72 T im e a d ju n cts E xpressing a relatio n sh ip b e tw ee n tw o tim e p o sitio n s th a t a re
b o th b e in g c o n sid ered in a n u tteran ce a re realized by form s th a t serv e m o re
th a n o n e fu n ctio n . In consequence, m o st o f th em have alre ad y b een
co n sid ere d u n d e r o th e r headings. T h ere a re th re e c h ie f su b c lasse s:
G ro u p ( a ) :
M a n y o f th ese d en o te tem p o ral se q u en ce an d are also used fo r tim e

p o sitio n (c /8 .5 5 ):
afterw ards, before, eventually,finally,first, later, next, originally, previously,
subsequently, then
I
D id she fir s l see h im w hen he w as a c h ild ?
I ’v e been co n sid erin g w h a t to do sin ce he last discussed his p ro b lem s
w ith m e.
S h e broke h e r leg fo r the fir s t tim e w h ile sh e w as skiing in S w itzerlan d .
T h e s e te c h n iq u e s w ere originally used in th e Second W o rld W ar.
I t w asn ’t u n til th e e n d o f th e p arty th a t I w as fin a lly in tro d u ced to h er.
G ro u p (b):
M a n y o f th ese im ply som ething o f th e c oncessive relatio n (c /8 .7 ):
(even) by th a t tim e, (even) before th a t tim e, (even) up to that tim e
F o r ex am p le:
W e h a d n ’t e a t e n (e v e n ) b y th a t tim e .
Even now, we d o n ’t k n o w w h ere we are going to live.

I h av e so fa r b o u g h t tw o sh irts a n d a p a ir o f shoes.
T h ey h av e finished th e ir w o rk b y now.
G ro u p (c):
H e re th e ten d en cy is to co m p a re one tim e w ith a n o th e r:

again, once more, afresh
I feel b e tte r again.

M illicen t is re v isin g h e r bo o k once more.
T h e c a rp e t is still d irty so you’d b e tte r scrub it afresh.
N o te O n already, still , an d th e tim e relatio n sh ip s (n otably G ro u p s (b) a n d (c)) th a t are chiefly ex p ressed
by su b ju n cts, c/8 .9 7 .
R elative positions o f tim e adjuncts

8.73 In th e p reced in g sectio n s w e h av e specified, as th e o ccasio n arose, th e n o rm a l
p o sitio n s o f tim e ad ju n c ts in th e v ario u s subclasses. W e n o w tak e a su m m ary
glan ce a t th e relativ e p o sitio n s o f ad ju n cts from th e th re e m ajo r su b classes
th a t c a n co o ccu r a t E p o s itio n : tim e p o sitio n (c/8 .5 5 ), tim e d u ra tio n (c /8 .6 3 ),
a n d tim e freq u en cy (c/8 .6 4 ). T h ese ten d to o ccur in th e o rd e r:
tim e d u ra tio n [d] - tim e freq u en cy [f] - tim e p o sitio n [p]
T h e follow ing sen ten ces e x em p lify th e n orm al o rd e r (b u t c/8 .8 7 ):
I w as th ere fo r a short w hile [d] every d a y or so [f ] in January [p].

H e p lay ed for us very fre q u en tly [f ] last yea r [p].
I ’m p ay in g m y re n t m onthly [f] this year [p].
O u r electricity w as c u t o ff briefly [d] today [p].
W e’ll discuss th e m a tte r during lunch [d] tomorrow afternoon [p].
H e ’ll b e stay in g h ere f o r the sum m er [d] every y ea r [f ].
H e does exercises fo r several hours [d] every w eekend [f ].
C oordination
8.74 T im e a d ju n cts in th e sam e su b class c an be c o o rd in a te d :
TIM E POSIT IO N
to d ay a n d to m o rro w
now o r later
befo re o r a fte r
in 1990 an d (in) 1991
w h en we w ere th e re a n d a fterw ard s
eg I ’ll be w o rk in g today and tomorrow.
TIM E D UR A TIO N
p erm an en tly o r tem p o rarily
d u rin g the su m m er a n d (d u rin g the) w in ter
for th e w eek o r (fo r th e) m o n th
(for) th ree w eek s o r (for) longer
eg S h e ’ll be stay in g h e re fo r three weeks or longer.
534 Th e sem antics and gram m ar of adverbials
U s a g e co rp u s o f (largely) B ritish E nglish, u ntil o ccu rs tw ice a s o fte n a s till,

a n d is used a p p ro x im ate ly equally as co n ju n ctio n an d as p re p o sitio n , an d
eq u ally to o in sp o k e n a n d w ritte n m aterials. O n th e o th e r h a n d , till o ccurs
ch ie fly in s p o k e n texts, a n d is p red o m in an tly a p rep o sitio n . F o r e x am p le:
T h ey w ill liv e in C h ic a g o until W illiam finishes his thesis.

She will be w o rk in g till nine o'clock.
F o rw a rd -s p a n a d ju n c ts a re usually sen ten tial, th o u g h th ey c a n b e p red ica-

tio n a l esp ecially in a sso c iatio n w ith v erb s w hich m ak e th e ir use v irtu ally
o b lig a to ry :
r , . , f until the actors were exhausted.

T h e p e rfo rm a n ce lasted j ...
[until 2 a.m .
P h ra se s a n d clauses w ith until/till in te rac t w ith v erb se m an tics. A p o sitiv e

c la u se re q u ire s a v e rb o f d u ra tiv e (ie n o n m o m en tary ) m ea n in g a n d th e sp an
e x te n d s u p to th e referen ce o f the tim e a d ju n ct. T h u s:
H e w a ite d until I returned.
•N O W ’ 'R E T U R N ’
-¥ ¥ -
i--------- ‘w ait’ --------- 1
Fig 8.58a
W ith n eg ativ e clauses a n d a verb o f d u ra tiv e m ean in g , th e sp a n w ill also

e x te n d fro m th e s p e a k e r’s ‘n o w ’, th o u g h n o t o f course (b y re aso n o f the
n e g ativ e) u p to th e re fe re n ce o f the tim e a d ju n ct:
H e d id n ’t w a it until I returned.
‘N O W ’ 'R E T U R N '
v ______ 2 _
‘wait’— ;J
Fig 8.58b ■
O n th e o th e r h a n d , w ith n eg ativ e clauses an d a verb o f m o m e n ta ry m ea n in g

( c f 4 .3 3 ,4 .3 5 ) th e sp a n d e n o te d by th e tim e ad ju n c t m a rk s t h e e x te n t o f th e
n o n o c cu rre n ce o f th e m o m e n tary a c tio n :
H e d id n ’t a rriv e u n til I returned.
‘N O W ’ ‘R E T U R N ’
_2______________ 2_
* ‘nonarrival’--------
A
‘arrive’
Fig 8.58c
T h e se n ten c e can th u s b e referen tially e q u iv alen t to ‘H e d e la y ed h is a rriv a l

until m y r e tu rn ’, th o u g h th is o f course im plies a co n tin g en cy relatio n a n d is

thus n o t precisely a rh e to rica l eq u iv alen t. C f a ls o :
H e d id n o t a rriv e before I returned.

H e a rriv e d when I returned.
So also, ‘She slep t till nine' im plies ‘She stopped sleeping a t n in e ’, w h e re a s

‘She d id n ’t sleep til! nine' im plies ‘She sta rted sleeping a t n in e ’.
8.59 O th er m o d es o f realizin g fo rw ard sp a n involve th e use o f up to, over, f o r ,

before, by, b y the tim e (that). F o r e x a m p le :
W e’ll b e th ere up to m id d a y, th en w e’ll be o u t fo r lunch.

C a n you stay over the w eekends
C a n you stay fo r a m onth ?
I h av e to leav e before midday.
I h av e to leav e b y m idday.
t l „ l. [b y the tim e (that) the clock strikes twelve.
I shall b e away: < / , . . .
1 [b y that time.
T h e p h ra se in tim e c a n b e used b o th in the sense o f ‘by th e due tim e ’ a n d also

in the sense o f ‘ev en tu ally ’:
H e w a n ts to leav e a t m id d ay b u t h e d o esn ’t th in k I shall be ready in

tim e. [ = ‘b y .th a t tim e ’]
S h e’s p ro m ised to finish the p a in tin g in tim e b u t sh e c a n ’t say w hen.
[ = ‘in th e co u rse o f tim e ’]
(C o n trast on tim e, w h ic h refers to tim e p o sitio n , 'a t th e tim e req u ired ’)

P rep o sitio n al p h ra se s w ith to fu n ctio n lik e th o se w ith untill till p ro v id e d
they a re c o rre la te d w ith /ro m -p h rases (ex p ressed o r im p lie d : c f 9.37) m a r k in g
the b eg in n in g o f th e tim e s p a n :
She w ill be w o rk in g from M ay \ % f ^ Z t b e r .
N e ith e r p h ra se m ak e s clear w h eth er S e p tem b e r is w ith in o r beyond th e s p a n ,

b u t in A m E w e h a v e c o m p lete clarificatio n , as i n :
She w ill b e w o rk in g fro m M ay
[ie u n til th e e n d o f th e m o n th n am ed ]
w here B rE a ch iev e s su ch p recisio n only w ith m o re p e rip h ra stic e x p ressio n s

such as to the beginning of, to the end of. N o n c o rrela tiv e p h rases w ith through
o ccur in b o th A m E a n d B rE :
She w ill be w o rk in g through Septem ber, [ie ‘for th e w hole m o n th o f

S e p te m b e r’ o r ‘from n ow until th e e n d o f S e p tem b e r’]
N o u n -p h rase re aliz a tio n s o f fo rw ard -sp an a d ju n c ts involve qu an tifiers a s i n :
W ould y o u lik e to stay w ith us \ a ^ j W ^ a y s \

[a d a y or so?
TIME FREQUENCY
o n c e o r tw ice
o f te n an d regularly
e a c h d ay a n d (each ) n ig h t
e v e ry T u esd ay an d (every) T h u rsd ay
a few tim e s o r m an y (tim es)
e g Y ou sh o u ld tak e exercise often a n d regularly.
N o te N ow a n d then a n d now an d agai n are co m m o n co o rd in ated expressions used fo r tim e freq u en c y

(‘fro m tim e to tim e ’, ‘occasio n ally ’). Sim ilarly, agai n an d agai n an d ov er an d ov er a re used to
d e n o te fre q u e n t re p e titio n an d n o t ju s t on e o r tw o repetitions.
T im e a d ju n cts an d tim e reference

8.75 T im e a d ju n c ts p la y a p a rt in specifying th e tim e referen ce o f th e verb . T h u s,
it is th e ad ju n c ts th a t d e te rm in e th a t th e tim e reference i n :
H e is p lay in g now.
is p re s e n t, w h e rea s i n :
H e is p lay in g tomorrow.
it is fu tu re . B ecau se o f th e ir tem p o ral significance, som e tim e a d ju n c ts c a n n o t

c o o c c u r w ith p a rtic u la r form s o f th e v erb . T h u s, tomorrow do es n o t coo ccu r
w ith t h e sim p le p a s t:
* H e p lay ed tomorrow.
a n d y e ste rd a y d o e s n o t co o ccu r w ith th e m o d al auxiliaries (unless th ey refer

to p a s t tim e, in clu d in g th eir o ccu rren ce in a d e p en d e n t clau se w ith b a c k
s h ift; c /1 4 .3 1 ):
By c o n tra s t, c f : • \
W e c o u ld n ’t leav e tow n y esterday. [‘W e were n o t able . . . ’]

H e m ay h a v e played yesterday.
I to ld h im h e should play yesterday.
( C /4 .1 1 # )
N ote [a] A n a p p a re n t ex c ep tio n to th e n ee d fo r h arm o n y betw een tense a n d ad ju n c t is w ith v erb s o f

say in g , a rra n g in g , e x p e ctin g , o r w an tin g w here th e object is concerned w ith a fu tu re e v e n t (c f
8.49, 8.76). In su ch cases, th o u g h th e ex p ressed v erb is in th e past (i e th e p a s t fo r th e sp eak er),
th e re m a y be a tim e a d ju n c t w ith fu tu re reference (though this m ay alread y b e p a s t fo r th e
h ea re r), sin ce th e a d ju n c t’s referen ce is th e o b je c t:
H e called fo r a m e etin g nex t w eek . [‘H e called for a m eeting to be held n e x t w eek ', w here
n ex t w eek referre d to fu tu re a t th e tim e w hen ‘H e ca lled ’]
S h e w an te d th e book tom orrow . (‘She w an te d to have th e book tom o rro w ’]
T h e y p red icted a crisis nex t m onth. [‘T hey p red icted th a t there w ould be a crisis n e x t m o n th ’]
T h e re c a n also be a n ad ju n c t w ith p a st referen ce th a t relates to th e v erb in th e p a s t (c /8 .7 6 ):
A sf a r back as M ar c h , th ey p red icted a crisis i n a m onth's ti me, [i e ‘T h e ir p re d ic tio n o f a crisis
n ex t m o n th w as m a d e as far b ack as M a rc h ’ : but h ere th e sen ten ce is eq u iv o cal as to
w h eth e r th e crisis w as to com e a m o n th after th e prediction o r a m o n th a fte r th e s p e a k e r

o f th e sen ten ce tells us ab o u t it]
C f also ‘T h ey p red icted a crisis last m onth', w h ich couid m ean ‘T h e y p red icted a crisis in w h a t is
now ‘‘last m o n th ’’. ’
[bj W h ere a n a d ju n c t is fu n ctio n in g w ith in a d ep en d en t clause, it need n o t o f course have a n y
relatio n to th e te n se o f th e v erb in th e m a in clause, th ough w h ere th e d e p e n d en t clause is
nonfinite th e re m ay a p p e a r to be a tim e-referen ce c o n tra d ic tio n :
■ W e arra n g e d (y esterd ay ) to go tom orrow.
W ith fo rg et , w e can h a v e co m p lem en tatio n w ith -ing inform ally, pro v id ed (i) th e re is a tim e - -
p osition ad ju n c t referrin g to th e p ast, a n d (ii) th e action o f th e d e p e n d en t clause w as fulfilled:
I forgot m e etin g h e r in 1980. [ie ‘I m e t her, b u t the m e etin g subsequently escaped m y
m em ory’]
C o n tr a s t:
I forgot to m e et h e r in 1980. [ie ‘I d id n o t m eet h er because I forgot th a t I h ad arra n g e d
to d o so']
C o n d itio n (i) m ay be relax ed if th e nonfinite v erb phrase is perfectiv e. T h u s ‘I forgot having m e t
h e r ’ n eed have no p a s t-tim e ad ju n ct ( c f 16.381/).
Tim e adjuncts a s subject- and object-related

8.76 T im e a d ju n cts c a n co o ccu r w ith all verbs including | e :
M any o f th e m c a n also b e used as subject-related a d ju n cts w ith | e w h en th e

subject is a n e v en tiv e n o u n (c /1 0 .2 5 ):
TIM E POSITIO N
T he m ee tin g w ill be tomorrow, [ie ‘will tak e p la c e ’]
L u n ch will b e in ten m inutes.
I h ope coffee is soon.
TIM E D U R A T IO N
I’m a fra id th e noise will be fo r the whole sum mer, [‘it w ill last f o r . . . ’]
T he show is fr o m nine till twelve.
TIM E F R E Q U E N C Y
In terv iew s a re every hour.
G u id ed to u rs aro u n d th e m useum are twice a day.
T he n e x t a p p o in tm e n ts w ill be when the doctor returns fro m vacation.
T h e verb | e in su ch cases (ra th e r inform al) is o ften e q u iv a len t to ta ke p la ce ,

an d so:
T h e o p e ra w ill b e tonight.
is in te rp rete d as ‘T h e p erfo rm a n ce o f the o p e ra w ill ta k e p lace to n ig h t’.

T h e p ro g ressiv e is o f course excluded w hen tim e ad ju n cts a re used as
su b ject-related a d ju n c ts w ith b e ( c / 8 . 4 2 ) :
* Interview s a re b ein g every hour.
C o n trast:
Som e ad v erb ials o f tim e c a n n o t be subject-related a d ju n c ts; th is ap p lies, for

e x a m p le , to freq u en cy a d ju n c ts in (C), eg: as a rule, a n d in (D ), eg: alw ays ( c f

8 .6 4 /) .
W e sa w th a t w ith c e rta in verbs the referen ce o f th e sp a c e a d ju n c t m ay be
to t h e p la c e o f th e o b ject ra th e r th a n to th a t o f th e su b ject (c/8 .4 9 ). S im ilarly,
th e re fe re n c e o f th e tim e ad ju n c t m ay also be c o n cern ed w ith th e o b ject. W e
c a n s o m e tim e s ex p ress th e relatio n sh ip by a sen ten ce in w h ich th e o b ject o f
th e o r ig in a l sen ten c e is su b ject a n d th e tim e ad ju n c t is su b ject-related w ith
| e . T h e effect is th a t o f th e p red icatio n w ith c o m p lex -tran sitiv e v erb s ( c f
l 6 A 3 f f ) . T h ere a r e tw o ty p es o f such references to th e o b je c t:
, (i) W h e re th e v erb s d e n o te th e p lacing o r m o v em en t o f th e ob ject, an d a

c o o c c u r r in g sp a c e a d ju n c t in d icates th e re le v an t re su ltin g p lace, a tim e
a d ju n c t d e n o te s d u r a tio n ; fo r ex am p le :
T h e y th rew h im in p riso n fo r life. [‘H e will be in p riso n fo r life’]

H e ’s m o v in g th e fam ily in to a hotel temporarily. [‘T h e fam ily w ill b e in
a hotel te m p o ra rily ’]
W e ’re se n d in g h e r to L o n d o n fo r the summer. [‘S h e w ill b e in L o n d o n
fo r th e su m m er’]
T h e y left th e c a r in th e street fo r an hour. [‘T h e c a r w as in th e stre et for
a n h o u r’]
(ii) W h ere th e v erb s re fe r to saying, arran g in g , e x p ectin g , o r w a n tin g an d

th e o b je c t h as fu tu re referen ce, th e tim e ad ju n ct d en o tes tim e p o sitio n , tim e
d u r a tio n , o r tim e fre q u e n c y ; for e x am p le :
TIME POSITION
H e ex p ected th e g u ests n e x t week, [‘th a t th e guests w ould be here n ex t
w e ek ’]
T h e y a rra n g e d th e m eetin g f o r later today, [‘th a t th e m ee tin g w ould be
h eld la te r to d ay ’]
H e set th e a la rm f o r seven o ’clock, [‘so th a t th e a la rm w ould go o ff a t
seven o ’c lo c k ’] N
TIME DURATION
H e p re d ic ts a sta te o f ten sio n fo r a long tim e, [‘th a t th e re w ill be a sta te
o f te n s io n for a lo n g tim e ’]
T h e y o ffered us th e house f o r the summer, [‘(th e ir o ffer w as) th a t w e
could use th e h o u se for th e su m m er’, ‘th e offer o f th e house w as for
th e s u m m e r’]
TIME FREQUENCY
T h e y p ro m ised h e r a p a rty every Saturday night, [‘th a t she w ould h a v e a
p a rty e v ery S a tu rd ay n ig h t’]
I suggest a n in fo rm a l discussion occasionally, [‘th a t th ere should be a n
in fo rm a l d iscu ssio n occasionally’]
N o te W h e re th e tim e a d ju n c t c a n also refer to the actio n o f th e v erb , th e re m ay be am b ig u ity . F or

ex a m p le , th e s en te n ce:
T h e y pro m ise d h er a p a rty every Saturday night.
c a n a ls o m e an th a t th e p ro m ise w as m ade every S atu rd ay n ig h t. I f th e ad ju n ct is m oved fro m E
p o s itio n , in te rp re ta tio n o f it as such a sentence ad ju n ct w ould be th e n a tu ra l o n e :
E v e r y S a tu rd a y night th e y prom ised her a party.
S y n t a c t ic fe a t u r e s o f tim e a d ju n c ts
8.77 M o st tim e a d ju n c ts h a v e syntactic c h ara cte ristics th a t a re g en eral to a d ju n c ts.
H o w ev er, tim e-freq u en cy ad ju n cts in 8.65 (C ), eg: usually, as a rule, a llo w
o nly th e fo llo w in g : th ey c an be th e focus o f a q u estio n , th ey c an b e th e fo c u s
o f n e g atio n , a n d th ey c a n com e w ith in th e scope o f p re d ic atio n p ro -fo rm s o r
p re d ic atio n ellipsis.
M o st tim e a d v e rb s can n o t b e prem o d ified by very o r ta k e a n a lo g o u s
m o d ificatio n (su c h as s o . , . , h o w e v e r.. . , m o r e . . . than). T im e a d ju n c ts
allow ing su ch m o d ificatio n s are ;
TIME p o s i t i o n : early, late, recently

t i m e d u r a t i o n : long, briefly, recently
t i m e f r e q u e n c y : com m only (C ), constantly (D ), incessantly (D ), often,
fre q u e n tly (E ); several in G ro u p ( F ) : infrequently, irregularly, little,
occasionally, rarely, seldom
Som e a d v erb s th a t c a n n o t be p rem odified b y very c a n b e p re m o d ified b y

o th e r in te n sifie rs; fo r e x a m p le :
(very) m u c h
f later [‘a fte rw a rd s’]
so m ew h at
< before
■a((very) long) w hile
[êarlier [‘befo re’]
a lot < inform al>
O th e rs in th e sa m e se m an tic g ro u p d o n o t easily allow a t least so m e o f th e s e

in ten sifiers:
*(very) m u ch *(very) m u ch
?so m ew h at “ so m ew h at
previously subsequently
? a lo t ?*a lot
?a little ?*a little
j
(?)qui"te usua^ y [bu t felly a ccep tab le: very unusually]
B u t c /tim e su b ju n c ts, 8 .9 7 /
N o te [a] W ith resp ect to a b ility to be focused by a cleft sen ten ce, by onl y , o r by al so, som e g e n e ra )
s tatem e n ts c a n be m a d e fo r frequency ad ju n cts in 8.65 (D ), eg: constantl y , (E ), eg: of ten, a n d (F ),
eg: occasi onal l y . N o n e o f th e th re e groups allow focusing by al so, (D ) a n d (E ) c a n n o t be fo c u se d
by onl y , an d (D ) c a n n o t be focused b y a cleft sen ten ce. T h e re a re also in d iv id u a l d iffe re n ces
w ith in th e g ro u p s a n d a c c ep ta b ility in a cleft sen ten ce is often im p ro v ed i f th e ite m is m o d ified
o r th e focal clause is in terro g a tiv e o r n egative.
[b] A gai n, l ast , a n d i nstantl y c a n n o t be th e focus o f onl y o r o f a cleft sen ten ce, a n d e x c e p t ag ai n ,
n o n e o f th e m c a n b e th e focus o f al so.
[c] N atu rally , tim e a d ju n cts w ith p a st reference c a n n o t cooccur w ith im p erativ es. I t is less
obv io u s th a t tim e freq u en cy ad ju n cts in subclass (C ) (c/8 .6 5 ) do n o t id io m atically co o c c u r w ith
im p erativ es, esp ecially a t E \ th e y a re m o re ac cep ta b le a t /. F o r e x a m p le :
?Stay in th is ho te l usual l y , w hen y o u ’re in L o n d o n !
N orm al l y c u t th e grass ev ery w eek, please.
M oreover, alth o u g h im p erativ es co o ccu r w ith ad ju n cts m e an in g ‘now , im m e d ia te ly ', n e a r
p arap h ra se s im p ly in g a lo n g er ex ten t o f p resen t tim e seem o d d w ith im p e ra tiv e s, u n less th e se
a re n eg a tiv e:
now .
{ i m m edi atel y .
thi s m om ent.
?Buy new clothes a t the present ti m e,
[b u t fully a c c e p ta b le : ‘D o n ’t buy new clo th es at the present ti m e']

Process adjuncts
R e a liz a t io n
8.78 A ll fo u r se m a n tic types o f process ad ju n c t ( c f 8.5) c a n be realized by
p re p o sitio n a l p h r a s e s :
S he u tte re d th e w o rd s with cold deliberation, [m anner]

She sp o k e fr o m notes, [m eans]
T h e sp e e ch w a s m ad e a u d ib le with an am plifying system , [instrum ent]
I t w as h e ard b y millions, [agentive]
M a n n e r a n d m ea n s a d ju n cts can be realized by n o u n p h ra ses th o u g h th ese

a re u su ally e x p a n d a b le to c o n stitu te p rep o sitio n al p h rases, so as to m ak e it
n a tu ra l to re g ard t h e n o u n p h ra se a s h av in g a n o m itted p re p o s itio n :
T h ey w ere w a lk in g single file th ro u g h th e w ood, [‘in single file’]

I ’d lik e to sen d th is p arcel dir mail, ['by a ir m a il’]
M a n n e r a d ju n c ts especially, an d those o f m ea n s a n d in stru m e n t to som e

e x te n t, a re also realized by ad v erb p h ra s e s :
H e g lan c ed a t h e r (very) lovingly, [m anner]

Som e p a tie n ts a sk to b e trea te d homoeopathically. [m ean s, ‘by*
h o m o e o p a th ic m ed icin e’]
She w as e x am in in g a fossil microscopically, [in stru m en t, ‘w ith a
m ic ro sc o p e ’]
F in ally , m a n n e r a d ju n c ts c a n be expressed by clauses (c /1 5.1 I f f ) , th o u g h th e

fo rm s c o n cern ed 'strongly im ply co m p ariso n as d istin c t fro m a d ire c t referen ce
to m a n n e r o r m oiie o f a c tio n :
I try to co o k v eg etab le s as the Chinese do. [‘in th e C h in ese w ay ’]
A ll process a d ju n c ts a re n o rm ally p re d ic atio n al. W h en fro n ted , th e a d v erb ial

c o n cern ed ten d s to becom e a su b ject-o rien ted su b ju n ct ( c f 8.92), n o lo n g er
co rre sp o n d in g to a n in q u iry ‘H ow . . . ? ’, ‘In ,w h a t w a y . . . ? ’ C o m p are :
She rep lied to th e listen ers’ q u estio n s obligingly I courteously, [‘in a n

o b lig in g /co u rteo u s m a n n e r’]
Obligingly, I ^ re p ije(j to liste n e rs’ q uestions.

Courteously, j
[‘S h e w as o b lig in g /co u rteo u s en o u g h to r e p ly . . . ’ L ess claim is m ad e

th a t h er replies w ere o b lig in g o r courteous]
A d ju n cts o f m e a n s o r in stru m e n t, how ev er, can be se n ten ce ad ju n cts,
especially w h en t h e ir referen ce is specific ra th e r th a n g en eric a n d w h en th ere
is a d eq u ate a lte rn a tiv e co m p le m e n ta tio n in th e clause. C o m p are :
H e c h o p p ed th e p arsley with a knife, [p red ic atio n ad ju n ct]

W ith a kn ife lik e that, you c o u ld n ’t cu t th ro u g h th is salam i, [sentence
adjunct]
N o te [a] A lthough n o u n p h ra se s as process ad ju n cts ca n be reg ard ed a s ellip tical prep o sitio n al p h rases
(as w ith space ad ju n cts, ‘ju m p (over) a fe n c e '), th ey a re a p p re h e n d e d in p a r t as d ire c t objects by
Process adjuncts 557
v irtu e o f th e ir n o u n -p h rase form . H en ce, th ey m ay have a co rresp o n d in g p assiv e. C o m p a r e :

H e 's trav ellin g a different route to M inneapolis [*br a differen t ro u te’, w h ich is s p a tia l
(‘along . . . ’) as well a s process].
I t is a ro u te th a t h as n o t b een trav elled before by car.
H a s th is p articu lar ro u te b een tra v elled before?
[b] O n com m on pro-form s fo r p ro cess ad ju n cts {eg : {in) that n't/y, lik e that , thus, etc), c f 19.47.
T h e fo rm thus is largely fo rm al, an d a s well as being a process ad ju n c t p ro -fo rm it o p e ra te s a s a
co n ju n ct. In th e la tte r role it te n d s to be a t M an d th e reference is a n a p h o ric ; in th e fo rm e r it
te n d s to be a t E, especially i f th e refere n ce is c a ta p h o ric :
S h e thus addressed h e rse lf to th e ir problem s. [ = ‘A s you see from w h a t h as p re c e d e d ’ :
conjunct]
S h e addressed h erself to th e ir pro b le m s thus. [ = ‘in th e follow ing w ay’: process ad ju n ct]
(C /8 .1 4 4 ).
M a n n e r adjuncts
8.79 EXAMPLES O F TH E USE O F M A N N ER ADJUNCTS:
She spoke to h im coldly.

T h ey sp ray ed te a r g as indiscrim inately o n th e p ro testers.
T h ey w ere categorically to ld th a t no m o re oil w ould com e fro m th e
w reck.
M y little boy loves d re ssin g u p cowboy-style.
T h ey a re delu d ed i f th ey th in k otherwise.
H is influence sh o w ed its e lf more obviously in th e ch o ice o f th e fu rn itu re
a n d cu rtain s.
T h ey b e g an a rg u in g loudly.
H e failed to q u e stio n th e w itn ess thoroughly.
She re p aired th e house lik e an expert.
H e spoke in a way th a t rem inded m e o f his father.
T h ey p lay ed th e g a m e (in) a different way.
S h e d a n ce s (in) the sam e w ay as I do.
T h ey co o k ((in) the) F rench style.
H e alw ays w rites in a carefree manner.
Y ou should w rite as I tell y o u to.
N o u n p h rases w ith w ay, m anner, a n d style as head ten d to h a v e th e d efin ite

a rticle :
f the w ay Ilik e .
She cooks c h ic k en < ( i 'i
Ia I Wa^ ^
A n a d v erb m a n n e r a d ju n c t c a n usually be p a ra p h ra se d by in a . . . m anner o r
in a . . . way w ith its a d je ctiv e b ase in th e v a ca n t position. W h e re a n a d v erb
fo rm exists, it is u sually p re ferred over such a c o rre sp o n d in g co g n ate
p re p o sitio n al p h rase w ith m anner o r way. H e n c e :
H e alw ays w rites carelessly.
is m o re usual th a n :
H e alw ays w rites in a careless j manner'

\w ay.
B u t th e latter, p e rip h ra stic fo rm is p referred w here th e a d ju n c t req u ires

m o d ificatio n . Successive -ly a d v erb s are av o id ed , p a rtly for stylistic reaso n s
a n d p a r tly b e ca u se a sequence o f a d v erb s leads one to ex p ect th e first to be a

m o d ifie r o f th e seco n d (as in ‘H e ru n s in cred ib ly carelessly’). T h u s, fo r the
fo rm e r re a so n , w e w ould n o t s a y :
? H e a lw ay s w rites deliberately carelessly, [but ra th e r: ‘in a d elib e ra tely

care le ss w a y ’]
an d fo r th e la tte r reaso n , we would ten d to a v o id :
H e sp o k e stu p id ly frequently, [b u t ra th e r ‘H e frequently sp o k e stu p id ly ’;

if w e m e a n t ‘H e spoke with stupid frequency', th is w ould a g ain be
p re fe ra b le to th e succession o f adverbs]
O th e r e x am p les o f ad v erb s rep laced by a lte rn a tiv e form s o f c o g n ate a d ju n c t:
H e p ra y e d | p roj oun(i frm dignified fervour.
( C f 5.58).
In c a re fu l u sag e, clausal ad ju n cts w ith as a re sh arp ly d istin g u ish e d from
se m a n tic a lly e q u iv a le n t p h ra sal a d ju n cts w ith lik e :
P le a s e try to w rite ( ...

like me.
B u t in fo rm a lly (a n d especially in A m E ), like is o ften used as a c o n ju n c tio n

an d one h as:
P le a s e try to w rite like I do.
A d v e rb s a s m a n n e r ad ju n cts can som etim es serve a s th e resp o n se to a How-

q u e stio n :
A : H o w w as y o u r little boy dressed u p t h a t so am u sed th e p o lic e m a n ?

B : O h , cowboy-style.
B u t o th e r u n its a s m a n n e r a d ju n cts c an m p re easily serve as re sp o n se s:
A : H o w d o es sh e d an ce ? B : The sam e way as I do.

A : H o w sh o u ld I w rite to h im ? B '.A s a frie n d w ould write.
A : H o w d o th e y p re fe r to cook ? B : In the French style.
It sh o u ld be n o te d h o w ever th a t //o w -q u estio n s usually elicit m ea n s o r

in s tru m e n t a d ju n c ts ( c f 8.80):
A : H o w d id h e c lean his room ?
I t is b e ca u se how is o nly rarely ex p ected to elicit a m an n e r a d ju n c t th a t we

c a n h a v e a jo k e lik e th e follow ing w h ere th e reply ev ad es in su p p o sed
in n o c e n c e a difficult q u estio n :
T e a c h e r: N o w , H en ry , how does a q u a rtz w atch w ork?

H e n ry : O h , m arvellously!
N o te O n th e fo rm a tio n o f m a n n e r ad v erb s, c f A p p 1.41.

M e a n s , in s tr u m e n t, a n d a g e n t a d ju n c ts
8.80 EXAM PLES O F T H E U SE O F MEANS ADJUNCTS:
T h ese lin g u istic u n its w ere sep arated intonationally.
H e d ecid ed to tre a t th e p a tie n t surgically.
I go to school b y car.
(O n th e use o f th e zero a rticle in such exam ples a s th e last, c /5 .4 5 .)
H e g ain e d e n try in to th e b uilding by m eans o f a bribe to the guard.
You c a n b e st influence th em by your own exam ple.
Y o u c a n sto p th e m ac h in e by pressing this button.
W e a re trav e llin g to W ash in g to n (by) fir s t class.
Fly A ir In d ia jb y A ir India/w ith A ir India.
EXAMPLES O F T H E U SE O F IN STRU M EN T ADJUNCTS:

H e e x am in ed th e sp ecim en microscopically. [ = ‘w ith a m icro sco p e’]
Y ou c a n c u t th e b re ad with that knifel*by that knife.
H e w as k illed with a bullet.
EXAMPLES O F T H E U SE O F A GEN TIV E ADJUNCTS:

H e w as k illed b y a terrorist/*with a terrorist.
T h e ro y al w e d d in g w as seen b y millions o n television.
H e r sp e e ch co u ld n o t b e h e ard by those sitting a t the back.
O n th e d istin c tio n b etw een m ean s a n d in stru m e n t, c f 8.5.

M o st o f th e a d v e rb s th a t can realize m ea n s a n d in stru m e n t a d ju n cts c a n
also fu n ctio n a s m a n n e r ad ju n c ts; in co n seq u en ce, th ere is som e d a n g e r o f
m isu n d ersta n d in g , as w ith :
H e e x am in ed th e sp ecim en microscopically.
Since th e in stru m e n ta l m ean in g (‘w ith a m icro sco p e’) w ould en tail th e
m an n e r m e a n in g (‘in g re a t d e ta il’), an d sin ce th e latter m ig h t involve th e
form er, it is n o t easy to en su re th a t th e ad d ressee u n d e rstan d s th e p recisely
in ten d ed ad ju n c t. U n less it h as been previously e stab lish ed in th e c o n te x t, it
m ay be n ecessary to en su re clarity by ex p ressin g in stru m en tality b y a
p rep o sitio n al p h ra se , an d m a n n e r by im p le m e n tin g th e g rad ab ility w h ic h
m an n e r (b u t n o t in stru m e n t) p e rm its: . . q u ite m icro sco p ically ’.
T h e ex am p les o f in stru m e n t a n d ag en t ad ju n c ts illustrate th e p o in t o f
in tersectio n b e tw e e n th ese categories. W h en a cco m p an y in g th e p a ssiv e ,
in stru m e n t c a n o ften be expressed by with + N P o r by + N P (th e la tte r
reflecting a co rre sp o n d in g activ e, as in A bullet k illed him ) b u t th e a g e n tiv e
ad ju n ct c a n n o t b e ex p ressed by with + N P . See fu rth e r 3.65f.
M ean s a d ju n c ts a re generally elicited b y /low -questions, in stru m e n t b y how
o r w h a t. . . w ith :
M ean s:
A : H ow a re you flying to E u ro p e?
B : (B y ) B ritish A irw ays.
In stru m e n t:
H ow sh all we p ro p th e d o o r o p en ?
W hat sh all we p ro p th e d o o r o p en with?
A g e n t a d ju n c ts can be elicited by whofwhat + a ctiv e o r (less usually, except

iii a c o n te x t w here th e p assiv e h as already been used) by w ho(m )/w hat +
p a s s iv e + b y o r by w hom /w hat + p a ssiv e :
A : W h o killed h im ?
B : H e seem s to h a v e been killed by a terrorist.
. . . , , . , f w ho (w as she c h ea te d ) b y ?
A : Y o u say she w as c h e a te d : j , ' . , . /
[b y w hom (w as sh e c h e a te d )? <form al>
B : (B y) her own brother, ap p aren tly .
S e m a n tic b le n d s
8.81 S o m e a d ju n c ts express a b len d o f m an n e r w ith som e o th e r re la tio n :
(i) MANNER WITH RESULT, AND SOMETIMES INTENSIFICATION

S h e fixed it perfectly, [‘in su ch a w ay th a t it w as p e rfe c t’ - m a n n e r a n d
result]
H e g ro w s c h ry san th em u m s marvellously, [‘in su ch a w ay th a t th e results
: a re g o o d ’ - m a n n e r a n d result]
T h e so ld iers w o u n d ed h im badly, [tin su ch a w ay a n d to such a n e x ten t
t h a t it resulted in h is b ein g in a b a d c o n d itio n ’ - m a n n e r, intensifier,
a n d result]
(ii) MANNER WITH TIME DURATION

H e ’s w alk in g slow ly, [‘in a w ay th a t will pro lo n g th e tim e ’]
H e s to p p e d th e c a r suddenly. \ such a w ay t jja t ;t to o j. a very sh o rt

S h e g a v e m e a n a n sw e r rapidly. J
T h e y b ro k e th e n ew s to h im gradually, [‘in such a w ay th a t it w as
s p re a d over a p e rio d o f tim e ’]
S u ch ite m s a re likely to b e solely tim e ad ju n cts w h e n th ey a p p e a r in / o r M
p o s itio n s :
S u d d e n ly , he;sto p p ed th e c a r .)
S u d d e n ly I felt free a g ain . > [‘In a h in s t a n t ,. . . ’]
S u d d e n ly , it w as n ig h t. J
S h e rapidly gave m e a n answ er. [‘She s o o n . . . ’]
M y b ro th e r quickly c am e to despise h is school, [‘so o n ’]
W e gradually a p p re c ia te d his c o n trib u tio n to society. [‘W e g rad u ally
c a m e to a p p re c ia te ’]
N o u n p h ra s e s and p re p o sitio n a l p h rases th a t seem a t first sig h t to be
e q u iv a le n t to ad v erb s m ay b e less flexible th a n th e a d v e rb s in th is r e s p e c t:
A l l o f a sudden, I felt free ag ain , [‘it suddenly h a p p e n e d ’]
? H e sto p p e d th e c a r all o f a sudden, [queried in th e sense ‘in a w ay th a t
to o k a very sh o rt tim e ’]
I t is n o w going a t a f a s t rate, [‘very q u ick ly ’]
*A t a f a s t rate,!
. . . r m y b ro th e r cam e to despise his school.
V ery quickly, J
W e n o te th a t very q u ickly h e re m ean s ‘in a sh o rt sp a c e o f tim e ’, a m ean in g

th a t c a n n o t b e a ttrib u te d to ‘a t a fast ra te ’.
(iii) AGENT WITH RESPECT OR SPACE

T h e ir house w as destro y ed by/in an earthquake.
S h e c o u ld n ’t be h e ard by/in the back rows o f the auditorium.
T h e in -v arian t in e ac h case m ak es possible a lack o f d irec t a g e n c y : ‘in floods

co n se q u e n t u p o n th e e a rth q u a k e ’, ‘by a test m icro p h o n e in th e (em p ty ) b a c k
ro w s’ ( c f also 8.80).
N o te T h e re a r e som e a d v e rb ia ls w ith sem a n tic b le n d in g w here th e 'p ro cess’ a d m ix tu re is ra th e r v ag u e

b u t w h ere m a n n e r, m e an s, sp ace, an d resp ect seem to be in v o lv e d :
H e an n o u n c e d th e a g ree m en t publicly, [in p a r t = ‘by m ean s o f a public s ta te m e n t', in
p a r t = ‘o p en ly ’ m
, c f also secretly, privately, a n d 8.55 N o te[d ]]
T h e y ap p ro v ed th e c o n tra c t generally [or in general], b u t o bjected to a few clauses.
S h e d ire c te d th e w ork personally [or in person].
‘I t ’s e m p ty ,’ h e an n o u n c ed superfluously.
T h e se pro p o sals com e strangely fro m so m eo n e in his position.
H e bou g h t it cheaply.
I n th e la st ex a m p le, cheaply is regarded by som e as a h ypercorrection a n d is o fte n rep laced by
th e a d jectiv e fo rm cheap (c/7 .9 ).
C ooccurrence restrictio n s on process adjuncts

8.82 A d v e rb ials t h a t fu n c tio n only as pro cess ad ju n cts c a n n o t coo ccu r w ith v e rb s
in sta tiv e u se:
N o r c a n p ro cess a d ju n c ts be used as a d v erb ials w ith co p u lar v erb s:
O f co u rse, i f th e m ea n in g is ‘d e lib e ra te im ita tio n ’, th e v e rb ’s use is n o n sta tiv e ,

a n d w e th e n h a v e fully acc ep ta b le sen ten ces like ‘She looks a n g ry skilfu lly'.
T h e d ifferen t ty p es o f process ad ju n c t c a n cooccur w ith e ac h o th e r; fo r
e x a m p le :
H e fru g a lly trav e lle d economy (class), [m an n er + m eans]
H e trav e ls econom y (class) b y air b u t fir s t (class) by train, [m ean s +
in stru m en t]
She w as accidentally stru ck with a racket by her partner, [m an n e r +
in stru m e n t + agent]
S y n tactic fe atu res o f process adjuncts

8.83 P ro cess ad ju n c ts c a n be c o n tra sted w ith o n e a n o th e r in a lte rn a tiv e
in te rro g atio n a n d n e g atio n a n d c a n com e w ith in th e scope o f p re d ic a tio n
p ro -fo rm s o r p re d ic a tio n ellipsis. T h ey can b e th e focus o f also a n d o f only.
N o rm ally , w h e n m a n n e r ad ju n cts a re realized by a d v erb s, th ey c a n n o t b e th e
focus o f a c left se n ten ce (c /8 .2 5 ), b u t th eir acc ep ta b ility is in creased if th e y
a re m odified o r if th e focal clause is in te rro g ativ e o r n eg ativ e:
* It w as categorically th a t th ey w ere told th a t n o m o re oil w ould com e fro m

th e w reck .
? W a s it categorically th a t they w ere to ld th a t n o m ore oil w ould co m e

fro m th e w reck ?
? I t ’s in the F rench style th a t they cook.
I t is n ’t in the French sty le th a t they cook.
? ?It th a t th ey argued.
( ? )I t w as so very th a t they a rgued.
I t w as with the utm ost care/precision/caution th a t th e last g ird e r w as laid

in place.
O n th e o th e r h a n d , m ean s, in stru m en t, a n d a g en t a d ju n cts can re ad ily

b eco m e th e fo cu s o f a cleft sentence, ev en as realized by single a d v e rb s
(th o u g h less id io m atically in th ese c irc u m stan c es):
It w as with a bullet th a t h e w as killed.

It w a s by a terrorist th a t h e w as killed.
It w a s intonationally th a t these lin g u istic u n its w ere se p a ra ted .
It w as surgically th a t he trea te d th e p a tie n t.
A d v e rb s th a t a re m a n n e r ad ju n cts c an b e th e focus o f clause c o m p a riso n (as

in ‘S h e w rites m o re clearly th a n I do’) a n d c a n b e prem odified by however,
how, a n d so (as in ‘H o w cautiously he d riv es’). A d v erb s e xpressing m ea n s o r
in stru m e n t d o n o t allow th ese features, sin ce th ey can n o t o f co u rse be
m odified a t all, d e riv e d as they are fro m n o n g ra d ab le ad jectiv es ( c f A p p
1.41).
P o s itio n s o f p ro c e ss ad ju n c ts
8.84 Pro cess ad ju n c ts a re usually placed a t E , since th ey usually receive th e
in fo rm a tio n focus. In d eed , n o o th er p o sitio n is likely if th e pro cess a d ju n c t is
o b lig a to ry fo r th e v e r b :
f T h e y live fru g a lly.

{ T h e y fru g a lly live.
T h ey tre a te d his frien d badly.

T h e y ba d ly trea te d his friend.
Since th e p assiv e is o ften used w hen th e n e ed is felt to focus a tte n tio n o n th e

verb, p ro c ess a d ju n c ts a re com m only p laced in e M ra th e r th a n in E w h en th e
verb is in th e p a s s iv e :
D iscu ssio n s h a v e been tentatively beg u n (an d it is h oped th a t th ey will

b e fruitful).
T e a r g as w as indiscrim inately sp ray ed o n th e p ro testers.
C o n tra s t also:
f H e p u t th e p o in t well.
[ * H e well p u t th e p o in t, [but c f ’A s h e well k n o w s’]
f T h e p o in t w as p u t well.
j^The p o in t w as well p u t.
A djuncts of respect 563
H ow ever, e M is odd for m ea n s a n d in stru m e n t a d v erb ials e v en in th e p assiv e,

p resu m ab ly becau se th ey h a v e a h ig h er p rio rity for in fo rm a tio n focus th a n
does th e a cco m p an y in g v e r b :
?These lin g u istic u n its sh o u ld be intonationally se p a ra ted .

?T he sp ecim en w as microscopically ex am in ed , [‘w ith a m icro sco p e’]
T h e latter ex am p le w ould n o t o f course be q u eried if th e a d ju n c t w ere m a n n e r

[ = ‘m eticulously’].
O n process a d v erb ials a t I, c f 8.78.
A dju ncts o f respect

8.85 J u s t as w e saw th a t re sp ec t as a sem an tic category (c /8 .6 ) w a s p a rasitic o n
asso ciated categ o ries, so re sp ec t a d ju n cts show th e ir p a ra sitic c h a ra c te r in
b ein g realized form ally by ex p ressio n s whose p rim ary fu n c tio n is to realize
o th er classes o f ad ju n ct. T h e p o in t is illu strated by fo rm a lly in th e p re ce d in g
sen ten ce. C o m p are:
T h ey a re realized fo rm a lly, [resp ec t: ‘so fa r as form is c o n c e rn e d ’]

H e g reeted th e b ish o p fo rm a lly, [m an n e r: ‘in a w ay th a t re sp ec ted
pro p rieties o f fo rm ’]
N o t surprisingly in v iew o f th is, th ere is n o category-specific q u estio n fo rm

th a t elicits ad ju n cts o f resp ect. B esides n o n g rad ab le a d v erb s, v ario u s ty p es
o f p rep o sitio n al p h ra se a re used fo r resp ect adjuncts, som e o f th e m lexically
specific (for exam ple, with reference to N , in/with respect to N , on the m a tte r o f
N ), o th ers b ased u p o n s p a tia l p h rases, especially those re la tin g to ‘p o sitio n ’
a n d ‘source’ :
legally.
on legal issues,
S h e’s advising th e m ■ with respect to taw.
fr o m a legal standpoint.
. about m atters o f law.
A djectives tak e co m p le m e n ts o f resp ect w ith p h rases in tro d u c ed by su c h

c o m m o n a n d polysem ous p re p o sitio n s as of, at, on :
f fo n d /frig h ten e d . . . o f cats.

T h ey a re < g o o d/skilled . . . a t drawing.
[ k e e n /a d a m a n t. . . on m oral standards.
( C / 9 .5 7 ,16.68#).
A d ju n cts o f resp ect a re n o rm ally p red icatio n al (a n d h e n ce ten d to be
p laced a t E), b u t it sh o u ld b e n o ted th a t resp ect is o ften e x p ressed by m ea n s
o f su b ju n cts an d d isju n cts; c /8 .8 8 ,8.124.
N o te [a] Som e verbs m ay ta k e O d o r a n ad ju n c t o f respect w ith little difference in m e a n in g :
H av in g seen th is sam p le, you m ay j j ^ g g 0 f j rem ainder.
[‘assess o r form an o p in io n a b o u t’]

[b] R ath er form al titles o f essays a n d th e like m ay com prise p rep o sitio n al p h ra se s re la tin g to
respect:
564 T h e s em antics and gram m ar o f adverbials
O f d re a m s a n d th e ir significance. <archaic>
O n (th e q u e s tio n o f) D isarm a m en t.
I n P u rsu it o f H ap p in ess.
A d ju n c ts o f contingency
8 .86 O f th e c o n tin g e n c y relatio n sh ip s th a t are expressed by a d ju n c ts (as d istin c t
fro m d is ju n c ts : c /8 .1 3 2 ), reaso n a n d th e se m an tic co rre late p u rp o se are
o u ts ta n d in g . S ig n ifican tly , th e sam e q u estio n form s a re used to elicit e ith e r
o f th e s e a d ju n c t ty p es:
f W h y d id he do it? g f Because he was angry, [reason]

' | W h a t d id he d o it f o r i ' j To relieve his anger, [purpose]
I t is r a r e to fin d e ith e r reaso n o r purp o se a d ju n cts realized: by ad v erb s (b u t

see N o t e [a] below ). P re p o sitio n a l p h rases in tro d u ced b y because of, on
account o f, e tc a re co m m o n fo r cause a d ju n cts; fo r e x am p le:
S h e r e tu r n e d hom e e arly because o f his insistence.

T h e y w a n t a b e tte r jo b on account o f their high m ortgage paym ents.
H e d id it f o r his son.
T h e y ’v e b o th sto p p ed sm o k in g /o r fe a r o f heart disease.
S h e p e rfo rm e d a re cita l out o f charity.
T h e r e w e re sev eral d e a th s fro m malnutrition.
P re p o s itio n a l p h ra se s e x p ressin g p u rp o se ad ju n cts a re chiefly in tro d u c ed by

fo r , in d ic a tin g th e relatio n n o t only to reaso n b u t to goal {ie s p a c e ) :
H o w m a n y a cto rs will you need f o r this production ?

H e set a tr a p fo r the intruding fo x .
S h e ’s a p p ly in g fo r a better job.
T h e y a tta c k e d the police as a protest.
C lau ses a lso re a liz e th ese ty p es o f ad ju n ct. F o r cause, th e re a re fin ite clauses
in tro d u c e d b y because (c /1 5 .2 1 ) an d (especially inform ally) n o n fin ite clauses
in tro d u c e d b y w ith :
i
S h e re tu rn e d h o m e early because he insisted.
W ith him being so bad-tem pered, I w as re lu c ta n t to tell h im o f th e car
a cc id e n t.
T h e la tte r a re re sista n t to ad ju n c t c riteria , an d are m o re u su ally realized as

d isju n c ts; c / 8 . 182. F o r p u rp o se (c/1 5 .4 8 ), th e c o m m o n est ty p e o f clau se is
th e n o n fin ite (in fin itiv e) ty p e, as in :
T h e y n e e d a b ig g er a p a rtm e n t to accom m odate their elderly parents.

S h e h a s g o n e a lo n e to h e r room so as to stu d y fo r her exa m s.
In order to stop the m achine, press th e red b u tto n .
T h e p o lice sto p p e d th e traffic fo r m e to g e t across the street.
F in ite c lau ses a re m o re fo rm a l:
T h e c h a irm a n h u rried th e m eetin g in order that it m ight e n d before dark.

O n e m e m b e r h a d been suggesting an ad jo u rn m en t o f th e m ee tin g so
th a t m a tters need not be hastened.
Relative positions of adjuncts 565
B ut the fin ite p u rp o se clau se in tro d u ced by so a lo n e is ra th e r in fo rm al:
H e ’s g e ttin g a n ew c a r so he can impress his mother-in-law.
By co n tra st, th e clau se in tro d u ced by that alo n e is exceptionally fo rm a l:
H e d ied th a t others m ight live.
E qually fo rm al (as w ell a s ra th e r arch aic) is th e n eg ativ e p u rp o se clause w ith

lest:
T h e a n im a ls m u st be d estro y ed lest the disease (should) spread.
(C /3 .6 1 ). I n B rE , th e re is a n in fo rm al a lte rn a tiv e :
T h e a n im a ls m u st b e d estro y ed in case the disease spreads.
O n th e m o o d in fin ite p u rp o se clauses, e/1 5 .4 8 . O n e fu rth er c o n tin g en cy

relatio n is ex p ressed by th e ad ju n ct, an d th a t is concessio n w h en realized b y
p rep o sitio n al p h ra s e s in tro d u c ed by in spite o f a n d despite. F o r e x a m p le :
H e w on th e ra c e his injured leg.
E x cep t w h ere th e y a re o b lig ato ry (as in H e lived fo r his work), ad ju n cts o f

cause, p u rp o se, a n d co n cessio n ten d to be s e n te n tia l ra th e r th a n p re d ic atio n al.
M oreover, th o u g h m o re co m m only a t E , th is is largely a m a tte r o f w h ere
in fo rm atio n focus is required". T h ey c an e qually w ell b e placed a t / an d e v en
(th o u g h less usually) a t M :
On account o f their high m ortgage paym ents, th ey w a n t a b e tte r jo b .

O n e m e m b e r h a d , so that m atters need not be hastened, been suggesting
a n a d jo u rn m e n t o f th e m eeting.
N ote [a] In th e follow ing se n te n c e s th e ad v e rb s could be reg ard e d a s pu rp o se ad ju n cts:

T h ey w ere sym bolically b u ry in g a new car in p ro te st ag a in st pollution, [‘for sym bolic
p u rp o ses’]
T h e te a c h e r ad d re sse d th e stu d en ts by th e ir first n a m e s experim entally, [‘for e x p e rim en tal
p u rp o ses’]
[b] C lauses o f cau se o r reaso n in tro d u ced by since a n d a s a re d isju n c ts: c /8 .1 2 4 ,8.132.
Relative positions of adjuncts

8.87 In th e re le v an t se c tio n s, we h a v e given in d ic a tio n s o f th e n o rm s o f p o sitio n
in resp ect o f e a c h c lass o f ad ju n ct. W e tu rn n o w to co n sid er th e p o sitio n s o f
ad ju n c t classes in re sp e c t o f e ac h other. T w o g e n era l p rin cip les c a n be sta te d ,
ap p ly in g to re la tiv e o rd e r w h e th er w ith in a class o r b etw een classes:
(i) T h e re la tiv e o rd e r, especially o f sen ten ce a d ju n cts, can b e c h an g ed to

su it th e d e m a n d s o f in fo rm a tio n focus; c /1 8 .9 # .
(ii) S h o rte r a d ju n c ts ten d to precede lo n g er o n es, a n d in p ra ctic e th is o ften
m ean s th a t a d v e rb s p re ce d e n o u n p h rases, w h ich p reced e p re p o sitio n a l
p h rases, w h ich p re c e d e n o n fin ite clauses, w h ic h p reced e finite clauses.
Subject to th e s e g e n era l p rin cip les, w h ere a d ju n c ts clu ster in E p o sitio n ,

the n o rm al o rd e r i s :
resp ect - p ro c ess - sp ace - tim e - c o n tin g en cy

I t w o u ld be h ig h ly u nusual to find all su ch five a t E (or in d eed all such five in

th e s a m e clause), b u t fo r th e purposes o f ex em plification w e m ig h t offer th e
im p ro b a b le a n d sty listically objectional (< /8.20):
J o h n was w o rk in g on his hobby [respect] with the new shears [process] in

the rose garden [plac e]fo r the whole o f his d a y o ff [time] to complete (he
season’s pruning [contingency].
T h e s a m e p o in t could b e m ad e m ore accep tab ly (b u t a t g re a te r len g th ) by

fo rm in g a series o f sen ten ces, e ach w ith an y tw o o f th ese a d ju n cts.
A d ju n c ts th a t c a n o c cu r a t I are usually th o se th a t either h av e r e la tiv e ly .
little in fo rm a tio n v alu e in th e c o n tex t (eg in reflecting w h a t c a n be ta k e n for
g r a n te d ) or are re la tiv e ly inclusive o r ‘scen e-settin g ’ in th e ir se m an tic role (eg
a n a d ju n c t o f tim e ). T h u s :
T h a t whole m orning, h e devoted h im self to h is roses.
N o t o n ly is the a d ju n c t a t / o n e o f tim e, b u t th e a n ap h o ric that in d icates th a t

th e p e rio d c o n cern ed h as a lread y been m en tio n ed . I t is u n u su al to h av e m ore
th a n o n e ad ju n ct a t / e x cep t w here one is realized by a p ro -fo rm (especially
then), b u t they w o u ld te n d to be in th e reverse o rd e r to th a t o b serv ed a t E. In
p ra c tic e , this u sually m ea n s:
s p a c e - tim e or process - tim e
F o r ex am p le:
In A m erica [A ,], a fter the election [A 2], trad e b e g an to im p ro v e.

S lo w ly [A j ] during this per io d [ k f\ people w ere b eco m in g m o re prosperous.
Subjuncts I
i
8.88 W e a p p ly the te rm s u | j u n c t s to ad v erb ials w h ich h av e, to a g re a te r o r lesser

d eg ree , a su b o rd in a te role (see below ) in c o m p ariso n w ith o th e r clause
ele m en ts. T h is is m a d e m an ifest by th e fact th a t th ey c a n n o t usually be
tre a te d g ra m m atically in an y o f th e four w ays s ta te d in 8.25 as b eing
a p p lic a b le to a d ju n cts. L et us co n sid er th e m a tte r in re sp ec t o f tw o very
d iffere n t subjuncts, visually as in [1] an d fa irly as in [2]:
T h is play p re se n ts visually a sh arp c hallenge to a d iscern in g

aud ien ce. [1]
H e fa ir ly s p r F n g a t h e r w ith his questions. <esp BrE> [2]
N o tic e t h a t for th e su b ju n c t read in g we m ust u n d e rstan d visually as o p e ratin g

in th e sem an tic ro le o f resp ect (cf 8.6), ‘as a visual ex p erien c e ’. T h e sam e
a d v e rb in a d ifferent se n ten c e m ig h t be g ram m atically an ad ju n c t, o p e ratin g
in th e sem an tic role o f p ro cess (m eans, c /8 .5 ), ‘w ith h is eyes (alo n e)’:
H e studied th e p lay visually (but scarcely listen ed to a w ord). [3]

Subjuncts 567
L ik ew ise w e m u st u n d e rstan d th e su b ju n ct fa ir ly in [2] as h av in g th e se m a n tic

role o f m o d ality (c /8 .8 ), ‘it is no ex ag g eratio n to say ’, th o u g h th e sam e a d v e rb
c a n also b e g ra m m atically an ad ju n c t in th e sem an tic role o f process (m a n n e r,
c /8 .5 ), ‘in a ju s t a n d im p a rtia l w ay ’:
H e q u e stio n e d h e r (quite) fa irly . [4]
I f w e n ow a tte m p t th e processes o f 8.25 w ith [1] a n d [2], w e e ith e r m o v e a w a y

fro m th e su b ju n c t to th e ad ju n c t re ad in g o r p ro d u ce a n in co m p reh e n sib le
seq u en ce:
I t is visually th a t th is p lay ach iev es a sh a rp c h a lle n g e . . .

D o es th is p lay ach iev e a sh a rp c h a lle n g e . . . visually o r . . . ?
T h is p lay a ch iev es only visually a sh a rp challenge . . .
H o w d id th is p lay ach iev e a s h a rp c h a lle n g e . . . ?
[P e rh ap s, how ever, ‘F ro m w h a t p o in t o f v ie w . . . ?]
* It w as fa ir ly th a t h e sp ran g a t h e r . . .
* D id h e sp rin g a t h e r fa irly o r . . . ?
*H e only fa ir ly sp ra n g a t h e r . . .
*[liow d id h e sp rin g a t h e r . . . ?] *Fairly. »
T h e ‘su b o rd in a te ro le ’ to w h ich w e referred a t th e b eg in n in g o f th is s e c tio n

m ay a p p ly to th e w hole clause in w h ich th e su b ju n ct o p e rates: th is is w h a t
a p p e a rs as ‘w id e o rie n ta tio n ’ in F ig 8.88. A ltern ativ ely , th e su b ju n c t m ay b e
su b o rd in a te d to a n in d iv id u al clau se e lem en t (usually th e S) o r e v e n to a n
ite m fo rm in g p a r t o f a clause e le m en t (th e V ) : th is is w h a t a p p e a rs as ‘n a rro w
o r ie n ta tio n ’ in F ig 8.88, w h ere th e relatio n sh ip s o f th e su b ju n ct class a r e
sh o w n in som e d etail.
wide I— viewpoint
inn- '—courtesy
orientation
-subject -general
orientation- -volitional
-verb phrase
Subjunct- -lte m -
—predication- -tim e relationship
-tim e frequency etc
-emphasizers
-amplifiers-
narrow —intensifiers-
"orientation"
-approxim ators
—downtoners- -compromisers
-dim inishers
-m inim izers
-exclusives
restrictive -
■focusing 1 ' -particularizers
'—:additive
F ig 8.88
I t is d o u b tless easier to a p p re c ia te th e su b o rd in aten ess o f th e ro le in

re la tio n to th e su b ju n cts o f n a rro w o rien tatio n . Som e p a ra p h ra se s fo r th o se
o f w id e o rie n ta tio n (su ch as ‘from a visual p o in t o f view ’) seem ra th e r to raise

th e ite m s so as to be su p e ro rd in ate to th e o th e r sen ten ce e le m en ts; a n d th ey
c a n e v e n seem to h av e th e scope o f d isju n cts ( c f8 .\2 \J f) . I n fact, how ev er,
e v e n su b ju n c ts o f w id e o rien tatio n typically relate specifically to a n in d iv id u a l
e le m e n t o r e v en to a c o n stitu e n t o f an elem en t, an d a lte rn a tiv e p a ra p h ra se s
c a n d e m o n s tra te t h is :
Visually, a film sh o u ld p resen t ex p erien ce o f a k in d n o t assim ilab le by

th e e ars alone.
~ A film sh o u ld be a visual p re se n ta tio n o f e x p e rie n c e . . .
E conom ically, a n a tio n c a n be b a n k ru p t w hile still flourishing
intellectually.
~ A n econom ically b a n k ru p t n a tio n m ay still b e a n intellectually
flo u rish in g one.
W id e orientation
V ie w p o in t su b ju n c ts
8.89 V ie w p o in t su b ju n c ts c an b e roughly p a ra p h ra s e d by ‘if w e c o n sid er w h a t w e
a re s a y in g fro m a n [adjective] p o in t o f v iew ’ o r ‘if w e c o n sid er w h a t w e a re
s a y in g fro m th e p o in t o f view o f [noun p h ra se]’.
A d v e rb s re aliz in g v iew p o in t su b ju n cts are m o st com m only d e riv e d fro m
a d je c tiv e s by th e a d d itio n o f a n -ly suffix. E x am p les a r e :
A rchitecturally, it is a m ag n ificen t co n cep tio n .

M orally, politically, a n d economically, it is u rg e n t th a t th e g o v e rn m e n t
sh o u ld a c t m o re effectively o n a id to d ev elo p in g countries.
Geographically, ethnically, a n d linguistically, th ese islan d s are clo ser to
th e m a in la n d th a n to th eir n eig h b o u rin g islands.
T o ta p a p riv a te telep h o n e line is n o t technically a very difficult
o p e ratio n .
I t could h a v e b een a serious d e fea t, n o t o nly m ilitarily b u t
psychologically a n d politically.
V ie w p o in t su b ju n c ts c a n also be fo rm ed fro m n o u n s by th e a d d itio n o f th e

su ffix -wise (esp ecially in A m E ), th o u g h th ese a re c o n sid ered in fo rm a l:
Program -w ise, th e n ew th in g o n T V la s t n ig h t w as th e first p a r t o f a n ew

G a lsw o rth y d ra m a tiz atio n .
W eatherw ipe, we a re going to h av e a b a d tim e th is w inter.
A ll -ly a d v erb s re alizin g v iew p o in t su b ju n cts h a v e a c o rresp o n d in g p a rtic ip le

c la u se w ith speaking t h a t is also a v iew p o in t su b ju n ct, eg: visually ~ visually
speaking, a n d a co rre sp o n d in g p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se w ith th e fram e fr o m a
[a d jectiv e] poinr o f view t h a t also h a s th e sa m e fu n ctio n , eg: m orally ~ fr o m a
m o ra l p o in t o f view. O th e r ex am p les o f v iew p o in t su b ju n cts in c lu d e :
M a n y o f th ese p eo p le h av e suffered, economically speaking, b ecau se o f

th e ir p o litical affiliations.
H e h a s d o n e b e tte r fr o m a personal point o f view th a n a n y o th e r
ex ecu tiv e in th e firm .
T h ey b e h av e with respect to their m orals as th ey alw ays h a v e d o n e.
S ubjuncts 569
A s fa r as m athem atics is concerned, he w as a com p lete failure.

L o o k e d a t politically, it w as n o t a n easy problem .
I f we consider the fin a n cia l position, the country is g oing to h av e a b ad
year.
V iew p o in t su b ju n cts, w h a tev e r th e ir structure, te n d to b e p u t in / p o sitio n .

A s d istin c t from w h e n th e y a re used as process ad ju n cts, a d v erb s fu n c tio n in g
as v iew p o in t su b ju n cts a re n o n g rad ab le. H en ce th ey d o n o t a cc ep t clau se
co m p ariso n o r th e m o d ificatio n possible fo r m any ad ju n c ts (c /8 .8 8 ):
* Very economically (speaking), th ese p eople have suffered a g re a t deal.
N o te [a] T h e co rresp o n d in g clau se w ith speaking resem bles on e o f th e co rresp o n d en c es fo r sp eech -

related d isjuncts (r/8 .1 2 4 ). H o w e v er, th e o th e r correspondences fo r su ch disju n cts d o n o t
c o n stitu te co rresp o n d en c es fo r v ie w p o in t subjuncts. F o r ex am ple, to speak m orally (ie 'n o t
im m orally:) d o es n o t co rre sp o n d to th e view p o in t subjuncts m orally a n d m orally speaking (ie
‘fro m th e sta n d p o in t o f m o ra ls’).
[b ] M o st view p o in t su b ju n cts i n -wise a re w ritten w ith o u t h y p h en s as single w ords, unless th e y
a re in ‘n o n ce’ usage; c f A p p 1.41.
C o u rte s y su b ju n c ts
8.9 0 C o u rtesy su b ju n cts a re chiefly realized by a sm all g ro u p o f a d v erb s used in
r a th e r form ulaic ex p ressio n s o f politeness an d p ro p riety . T h e m o st c o m m o n
are exem plified b elo w :
H e k in d ly o ffered m e a ride.
W e cordially in v ite you to o u r party.
She a n n o u n ce d th a t sh e w ill graciously consent to o u r request.
T ak e a se a t please.
W ill you k in d ly a d d re ss a few w ords to th e n ew stu d e n ts? [ie ‘be k in d
enough t o . . . ’]
(O n th e c o m p a rab ly fo rm u laic use o f adjectives, c f 17.97.) T h is is clearly

d istin c t from th e n o rm a l a d ju n c t o f m an n er, as i n :
She spoke k in d ly to th e n ew students.

H e offered m e a rid e kin d ly. [‘H e offered m e a rid e a n d h e d id so k in d ly ’]
N eedless to say, h o w ev er, it w ould be expected th a t if th e su b ject w as k in d

in u n d e rta k in g a n a c tio n h e w ould p erfo rm th e a c tio n in a k in d m a n n e r as
well. G re a te r d is tin c tio n in role c an be seen w ith su ch co u rtesy su b ju n cts in
req u ests w ith q u e stio n fo rm :
W ill you k in d ly ta k e y o u r seats?
H e re th e m ea n in g c a n o n ly b e ‘W ill you be so k in d (ie ag reeab le) as to ta k e

y o u r se a ts ? ’ (since o n e could h a rd ly sit in a k in d m an n e r). So too in a s k in g :
W ill she graciously c o n se n t to his request?
o n e is ask in g if sh e w ill b e g racious an d n o t if sh e w ill d o so m eth in g in a

g racious fash io n .
T h e co m m o n est c o u rte sy su b ju n ct, please, is irreg u lar in fo rm a n d irreg u lar
also in n o t h a v in g a c o rre sp o n d in g ad ju n ct fu n c tio n : n o fu n ctio n , th a t is,
o th e r th a n th is p re s e n t fo rm u laic one (c f 8.91).
C o u r te s y su b ju n cts differ fro m ad ju n cts h av in g th e sam e fo rm in t h a t they

a re r e s tr ic te d to (e )M p o sitio n ex cep t in im p erativ e clauses, w h ere th e tw o
t h a t a r e c o m m o n e st in su ch u tteran ces differ fro m e ach o th er. W ith k in d ly , I
is t h e n o b lig a to ry (b u t c /8 .2 0 N o te [b]):
K in d ly leav e th e room . K indly d o n ’t m ak e a noise.

" L e a v e th e room , kindly. "D o n ’t k indly m a k e a noise.
W ith p lea se, I is usual b u t e M is possible for som e sp e a k ers; iE is b y n o m ea n s

u n u s u a l, a n d E is q u ite c o m m o n :
P le a se leav e th e room .
L e a v e th e room , please.
P le a se d o n ’t m ak e a noise.
( ? ) D o n ’t please m ak e a noise.
W r ite o n th is form , please, y our full address.
D o n ’t m a k e a noise, please.
C o u rte s y su b ju n c ts re q u ire th e a ctiv e su b ject o r th e p a ssiv e a g e n t (w h eth er

p r e s e n t o r im p lied ) to b e o f p erso n al reference. W h en co u rtesy su b ju n cts
a p p e a r in q u estio n s, th e q u estio n s co n stitu te a request. T h ere a re th erefo re
re s tric tio n s o n th e p erso n o f th e subject in q u estio n s; it is n o rm ally first for
cordially, h u m b ly ; an d seco n d o r th ird for kindly a n d graciously. C o n sid e r th e
fo llo w in g r a th e r cerem o n io u s ex am p les:
M a y w e cordially in v ite you to o u r p a rty ?

M a y I hum bly offer m y apologies?
W ill y o u k in d ly ta k e a se a t ?
W ill y o u ;graciously co n se n t to o u r req u est?
W ill p assen g ers k in d ly re fra in from sm o k in g ?
P lease, h o w ev er, allow s all p e rs o n s :
M a y I please ex p lain m y reasons?

j
C o u ld | B r a n d t } Pêase nlove to o n e side?
B o th k in d ly a n d cordially (b u t n o t please) com m only c o o ccu r w ith th e p assiv e

in fo rm a lly official u sa g e :
1
P a ssen g e rs are k in d ly req u ested to re fra in fro m sm o k in g .
M e m b e rs o f the p u b lic a re cordially in v ited to su b m it th e ir view s o n th e
p ro ject.
8.91 C o u rte s y su b ju n cts d o n o t usually carry a nucleus o r o ccu p y a se p a ra te tone

u n it:
K in d ly h elp yourSELF|
?*K lN D ly h e lp y o u rs e If|
*K lN D ly| h e lp yourSELF|
A fo rm su c h as:
KlNDly b e q u ie t |
Subjuncts 571
w ould sug g est b o th irrita tio n an d a re p etitio n o f a m o re n o rm ally u tte re d

request. A g a in , h o w ev er, please is excep tio n al, a n d th is su b ju n c t freq u e n tly
h a s a to n e u n it to itself, especially in final p o sitio n w ith a risin g to n e. T h e re
is a d isco u rse c o n tra s t b etw een th e follow ing:
H elp yourSELF please |

H e lp yoursE L F | p l e F s e |
T h e fo rm er is m o re casu al, th e sp eak er ta k in g fo r g ra n te d th e c o u rtesy

su b ju n c t; in th e la tte r, th e sp e a k er seeks m o re d elib erately (as p e rh a p s w ith
people h e d o es n o t k n o w so well) to e m p h asize th e courtesy. B u t as th e sole
c arrier o f in to n a tio n nucleus, th e co u rtesy d isju n ct conveys n o t m ere ly
em p h asis b u t so m e u rg en cy , insistence, o r a n n o y an ce:
pu | F se b e q u ie t | Be q u iet pl e F s e |
K indly a n d please a re th e only courtesy su b ju n cts to a p p e a r freely w ith

im p e rativ es, th o u g h graciously occasionally does so to o (in v ery c ere m o n io u s
usage):
Graciously a c c e p t th is g ift from your ad m irers.
In d eed , u n lik e th e o th e r courtesy su b ju n cts, please is g en erally confined to

im p e rativ es o r to sen ten ces co n stitu tin g a req u est o r c o n ta in in g a re p o rte d
o n e:
W ill y o u please leav e th e room ? < rath er coldly fo rm a l)

Y ou w ill please leav e th e room , (a d m o n ito ry )
I w o n d e r w h e th e ry o u w ould m in d leaving th e room please, ( p o lite )
I a sk e d h im w h e th er h e would please leav e th e room .
* H e please le ft th e room .
A b o x o f m atc h es, please.
M ay I please h a v e m y b o o k b ack ?
Please a n d (to a lesser ex ten t) kindly a re v ery com m only u sed to to n e d o w n

th e a b ru p tn e ss o f a co m m an d .
W ith th e e x ce p tio n o f please, courtesy su b ju n cts can b e m o d ified b y very.
H o w ev er, k in d ly c a n n o t usually be so m odified in q u e stio n s a n d re q u e sts
(w h e th er o r n o t th ese a re g ram m atically im p erativ es). C o m p a re :
H e very k in d ly offered m e a seat.

* Very k in d ly ta k e a seat.
?W ill you very k in d ly ta k e a seat?
K in d ly ta k e a seat.
?You will very k in d ly leav e the room .
T h e q u e rie d ex am p les ab o v e are p e rh ap s po ssib le w h e n th ey a re sa id in a

to n e o f ex asp era tio n .
W ith please m u st be c o n trasted the co u rtesy fo rm u la th a n k y o u a n d its
m o re in fo rm a l v a ria n t thanks (the fo rm w ith subject, I m ust th a n k you f o r . . .,
I thank you, is c a p a b le o f b e in g a m a in clau se b u t a s su ch th e la tte r is u se d as
a co u rtesy m a rk e r only facetiously). T h ese a re n o rm ally a t E (ex ce p t as
disju n cts o f th e fo rm thanks to X , w h ich c a n b e a t I, M , o r E ; c /8 .1 2 7 # ) ,
unless th ey a re o p e ra tin g as v erbless c lauses (c /1 5 .5 8 # ). In e ith e r case th e y
n o rm ally c arry a nu cleu s. F o r e x am p le :
A : L e t m e sh o w you th e w F y |
t h An k s I
B : O h I c a n m an a g e aLdNEj
t h An k you |
T h o u g h n o rm ally o p p o sites, please a n d th a n k y o u c a n b e a lte rn a tiv e w ays o f

re sp o n d in g g ra te fu lly (n o rm ally to so m eth in g th a t is b ein g accep ted ):
A : W ill y o u h a v e a n o th e r glass?
(O
h)VES,j ™' .
. t h F n k s /t h F n k you|
[a falling to n e o n please , thanks ,
an d th a n k y o u (o fte n w ith o u t j a r )
w ould show a d d ed en th u siasm ]
B:
[No T H A N K S o r N o T H A N K yO U
(O h ) NO, ( ‘ Pi6386!, , w ould b e so em p h a tic a s to sound
v I t h F n k s /t h F n k v o u
rude]
B u t w hile th e re sp o n se please alo n e can p ass fo r ‘yes p lea se ’, tha n ks/th a n k y o u

c a n n o t b e u sed a lo n e to m ea n ‘no th a n k y o u ’.
N o te [a] T h e su b ju n c t p le a se is sh a rp ly d ifferent from th e o th e r item s d iscussed ab o v e b ecau se o f

c o u rse it still re ta in s som e co n n e ctio n w ith th e im p erso n al v e rb p h ra se (‘it pleases N ’) fro m
w h ic h it is h isto rically d e riv e d an d w h ich is reflected in m o re fo rm a l e x p a n sio n s:
C o m e th is w ay , i f y o u please, [w here yo u is h isto rically th e object]
I shall no w call m y la s t w itness, i f it please your Lordship. < B rE : law co u rt u sag e)
I n th is la tte r ex a m p le , th e th ird perso n ‘your L o rd sh ip ’ is o f course a v ery fo rm al a n d largely
a rc h a ic w ay o f in d ic a tin g resp ect fo r a perso n addressed. B u t tru e 3 rd -person in v o lv em en t w ith
please still o ccu rs a s a b rie f p ra y e r in ferv en t w ish es:
T he w a r w ilj b e o v e r soon, please God. [ — ‘if it pleases G o d [to en d th e w ar]’]
[b] E n g lish d iffers fro m sev eral o th e r languages (such as G e rm a n a n d R u ssian ) in n o t using th e
sa m e courtesy su b ju n c t to a c co m p an y b o th requests a n d ack n o w led g em en ts o f th a n k s. F o r th e
la tte r in E n g lish , w e h a v e n o t a t all, d on't m ention it, y o u ’re welcome <esp A m E ) , (it's) m y pleasure,
a n d som e v a ria n ts o f th e se . T h u s:
A : H e re is th e b o o k you lost.
B : O h th a n k you v ery m uch,
f *PIease. i
' [ N o t a t all. \
A g a in u n lik e m a n y o th e r la n g u ag es, E n g lish lacks a n in stitu tio n alized courtesy item fo r use in
o ffering. I t is difficult to m a k e h e r e y o u a r e sound co u rteo u s, a n d im possible to m a k e it sound
form al.
[c] C o m p a re also th e a d v e rb s used in ep isto lary fo rm u la s:
Yours follow ed b y fa ith fu lly , sincerely, truly, o r ever <esp B rE )
Cordially, Sincerely, T ru ly follow ed by yours <esp A m E )
W e also find Yours alo n e as well as (especially in in fo rm al use) Sincerely o r Affectionately w ith o u t
Yours.
N a rro w orientation
Item subjuncts
Subject-orientation
8.92 W e saw in 8.88 th a t a su b ju n c t m ig h t be in a sense su b o rd in a te to a n e lem en t
in clause s tru c tu re o r ev en to a c o n stitu e n t o f th e p h ra se o r clause realizin g
a n elem en t. T h ese su b ju n c ts w e call i t e m su b ju n cts.
S ub ju ncts 573
I f w e m o v e a sen ten ce ad ju n c t fro m E p o sitio n to / o r M , we c a n d o m o re

t h a n allow a n o th e r elem en t to be h ig h lig h ted by end-focus ( # 1 8 .9 ) . W e m a y
a p p e a r to n a rro w th e a p p lic atio n o f th e a d v erb ial from th e sen ten c e a s a
w h o le so th a t it n ow seem s to h av e a special relatio n w ith th e su b ject. T h is is
p a rtic u la rly tru e w ith process ad v erb ials o f th e m a n n e r su b class (c /8 .5 ).
C o m p a re [1] w here casually is such a n a d v erb ial, fu n ctio n in g as a s e n te n c e
a d ju n c t, w ith [2] w here th e fu n ctio n h as been n arro w ed to su b ju n ct s ta tu s :
L eslie g reeted th e stra n g er casually, [‘in a casu al offhand m a n n e r’,

h is greeting w as casual] [1]
Casually, Leslie g reeted th e stran g er. [‘L eslie w as casual, o ffh an d ,

w h e n h e g reeted th e stra n g er’] [2]
T h a t th e re la tio n s o f th e a d v erb ial in [1] a n d [2] a re d ifferen t is d e m o n s tra te d

n o t m erely b y th e p lau sib ility o f th e d ifferen t glosses b u t by th e f a c t th a t w e
c a n re ta in th e ite m a t I a n d also include a sen ten ce ad ju n c t o f th e s a m e
se m a n tic v alu e as th a t in [1] (th o u g h p a ra p h ra sin g it, to a v o id u n w a n te d
sty listic co m p licatio n s) w ith o u t u n d u e tau to lo g y :
C asually, L eslie g reeted th e stra n g er in an offhand way. [3]
O f course, su ch a c o m b in a tio n as in [3] is u n u su al for th e sim p le re aso n t h a t

to so m e e x te n t [2] presu p p o ses [1] a n d [1] p resupposes [2]: it is n a tu ra l fo r u s
to e x p ec t th a t in m ak in g a casu al g reetin g th e p erso n doing so w as c asu al.
B u t it is b y n o m ea n s n ecessary for th e tw o to go together.
A m o re c o n v in cin g d e m o n stra tio n th a t th e a d v erb ials in [1] a n d [2] fu n c tio n
d ifferen tly , th erefo re, is p ro v id ed if w e p o larize th e m sem an tically a n d sh o w
t h a t w e d o so w ith o u t seem in g to be co n trad icto ry . I f w e im a g in e L eslie
d o in g a n a ctio n w hile studiously try in g to show th a t he feels o th erw ise th a n
h is a ctio n im plies, w e h a v e:
C arefully, L eslie g reeted th e stra n g er ^ f o f f r a n d W(y, } M
T o assu m e su b ject-o rien tatio n , a n a d v erb ial m u st b e d e riv e d fro m a n

a d jectiv e th a t c a n be p re d ic ate d o f the subject concern ed . T h u s, th e re is
su b je ct-o rie n tatio n in [2]:
C asually, L eslie g r e e te d . . .
T h is is b ecau se it is po ssib le to s a y :
Leslie w as casual.
B u t c o n sid er th e follow ing, w ith a d v erb s such as unintentionally o r a c cid en ta lly :
A ccidentally, B e rn ad e tte d ro p p e d th e p late.
H e re th e a d v erb ial re m a in s a sen ten ce ad ju n c t a n d it is im p o ssib le to p a ralle l

[3] o r [4], as in :
*A ccidentally, B e rn ad e tte d ro p p e d th e p late on purpose. [5]
T h is is becau se it is im p o ssib le to say:
* B ern ad ette w as accidental.

T h e a p p a r e n t in te n tio n b eh in d [5] is o f course perfectly possible to exp ress

w ith a c o n tin g e n c y ad ju n ct:
A s though accidentally, B ern ad ette d ro p p e d th e p late on purpose.
T h e r e is, in d ee d , a stereotyped jo k e in w h ich th e tw o a d v erb s a re ju x ta p o s e d :

‘I s u p p o s e you d id th a t accidentally on purpose
N o te I f w e e x p e rim e n t in th e m a n n e r o f 8.25 w ith m a n y subject-oriented su b ju n cts, w e find th a t in

d o in g so w e h av e to u n d e rsta n d th e m as ad ju n cts. F o r exam ple:
I t w a s casually th a t Leslie g reeted th e stran g e r.
D id L eslie g re e t th e stran g e r casually o r . . . ?
F u r th e r m o r e som e su b ju n cts, like casually in [2], c a n be outsid e th e scope o f n e g a tio n w hile
m a n n e r a d ju n c ts c a n n o t. T h u s it m a k es p erfectly good sense to say b o th o f th e follo w in g :
C a su a lly , L eslie greeted th e stranger.
C a sually , L eslie d id n ’t greet th e stranger.
T h is la st w o u ld n o t m e a n th a t he d id n o t g reet th e stra n g e r casually, b u t ra th e r th a t h e w as so
c a su a l in h is b e h a v io u r th a t he did n o t b o th e r to m a k e a greeting. B ut w e c a n n o t say b o th o f th e
follo w in g , b ec au se slow ly is a n a d ju n c t:
S lo w ly , th e n u n w alk e d u p th e hill.
*S lo w ly , th e n u n d id n ’t w alk u p th e hill.
8.93 S u b je c t-o rie n ta tio n th u s effects a c h ara cte riz atio n o f th e r e fe re n t o f th e

su b je ct w ith re sp e c t to th e process o r s ta te d en o ted by th e v erb . M o st o f th e
su b ju n c ts c o n c e rn e d a re m a n n e r ad v erb ials, an d all a re e ith e r a d v e rb s o r
p re p o sitio n a l p h ra ses. T w o groups c a n b e d istin g u ish e d : [A] a g e n e ra l g ro u p ,
a n d [B] a v o litio n al group.
G ro u p [A ]: g e n e r F l g r o u p
G ro u p [A] a p p e a rs to b e a n o p en class; fo r exam p le:
R esen tfu lly, th e w o rk ers h av e stood b y th e ir leaders.

[‘T h e w o rk e rs h av e stood by th e ir lead ers a n d w ere resen tfu l a b o u t i t ’
o r - in c o n te x t - ‘. . . b u t w ere n o n eth eless re sen tfu l’]
W ith g rea t pride, h e accep ted th e a w ard . [‘H e w as very p ro u d to a cc ep t
. . . ’]
F o r o n ce, th e y h av e fra n k ly a d m itte d th e ir m istakes. [‘F o r o n c e th ey
h a v e b e e n fra n k a n d a d m itte d th e ir m istak es’]
M a n fu lly , th e y in sisted th a t th e situ atio n w as n o t to o b ad . [‘I t w as
m a n fu l o f th e m to i n s is t. . . ’]
S he h a s consistently ov erru led th e law y er’s objections. [‘S h e h a s b e en
c o n s is te n t in o v e rru lin g . . . ’]
B itterly , h e b u ried his ch ild ren . [‘H e w as b itte r w h en h e . . . ’]
S a d ly, sh e w a n d e re d th ro u g h th e lib ra ry . [‘She w as sad w h e n s h e . . . ’]
W ith g rea t unease, th ey elected h im as th e ir leader. [‘T h ey w ere v ery
u n e asy w h e n t h e y . . . ’]
G ro u p [B ]: v o l i t i o n l g r o u p
F
C o m m o n v o litio n al su b ject-o rien ted a d v erb ials in clu d e:

deliberately, ( u n in te n tio n a lly , purposely, reluctantly, voluntarily, w ilfully,
(uri)willingly, w ithout intention, on purpose, with reluctance; fo r e x a m p le :
Subjuncts 575
Intentionally, th e y sa id n o th in g to him a b o u t th e m atter.

[‘I t w as th e ir in te n tio n n o t t o . . . ’]
On purpose, h e le ft h is p ro p o sals vague. [‘I t w as h is p u rp o se t o . . . ’]
W ith great reluctance, sh e called th e police to a rre s t h e r guest.
[‘T h o u g h sh e w as v ery re lu c ta n t to do so, sh e caljed th e police . . . ’]
8.94 M any o f th ese su b ju n c ts, p articu larly those in G ro u p [A], show th e ir

re la tio n sh ip to th e su b je ct by th e p a ra p h ra se th e y allow , in w h ich th e ir
ad jectiv e base is in p re d ic a tiv e relatio n sh ip to th e su b je ct ( c f 8.92). F o r
exam ple, we m u st p ro v id e a d ifferen t p a rap h ra se fo r th e su b ject su b ju n c t
bitterly as c o m p a re d w ith th e sam e item as m a n n e r ad ju n c t o r b o o ste r
intensifier:
B itterly, h e b u rie d h is ch ild ren , [‘H e w as b itte r w h en h e . .

H e spoke bitterly a b o u t th e trea tm e n t he receiv ed . [‘H e sp o k e in a
b itte r w a y . . .’]
H e bitterly re g re tte d th e ir d e p artu e. [‘H e very m u ch re g re tte d . . . ’]
B ut sim ilarly, w ith a n e x am p le from G ro u p [B ]:

/
She re fra in ed deliberately fro m jo in in g th e p a rty . [‘S h e w as q u ite
d e lib erate in r e f r a in in g . . . ’]
She spoke slow ly a n d deliberately, [‘in a d e lib e ra te m a n n e r’]
T h e v olitional su b ju n c ts d iffer fro m th e oth ers in sev eral re s p e c ts :
(I) V o litional su b ju n c ts h a v e in com m on th a t th e y e x p ress th e su b je ct’s

in ten tio n o r w illingness, o r th e reverse.
(II) V o litional su b ju n c ts c a n o ften o c cu r w ith co p u la r v erb s if (i) th e a d jectiv e

as co m p lem en t is b ein g used dynam ically, o r (ii) if th e n o u n -p h rase
c o m p lem en t im p lies activ ity , o r (iii) i f th ere is a sp ace ad ju n c t:
H e is b ein g fo o lish intentionally.

H e is b ein g a n u isa n ce deliberately.
H e w as in L o n d o n reluctantly fo r his d a u g h te r’s w edding.
C o n trast:
*H e i s { ^ } intentionally.
*H e is a n a d u lt deliberately.
O n th e o th er h a n d , su b ju n c ts in th e general class, G ro u p [A ], c a n n o t co o ccu r

w ith in ten siv e v e rb s:
*H e w as in L o n d o n proudly.
* Sadly, h e is b ein g foolish, [asterisked as su b je ct-o rie n ted su b ju n c t: ‘H e
is sad w h en h e is . . . ’; th e sentence is fully a cc ep ta b le if sadly is a
co n te n t d is ju n c t: c / 8 . 129]
(III) V o litional su b ju n cts c an m o re easily a p p e a r b e fo re clau se n e g atio n th a n

th e g eneral su b ju n cts ( c f 8.92 N o te):
H e purposely d id n ’t w rite to m e a b o u t it.

D eliberately, th ey d id n ’t sen d h im th e m oney.

IP ro u d ly , he d id n ’t w rite to th em a b o u t it.
? R e se n tfu lly , th ey d id n ’t send h im th e m oney.
S u b je c t su b ju n c ts c a n n o t co o ccu r w ith a n o n p erso n al su b ject in a n in tra n sitiv e

o r a c ti v e -v o ice c la u s e :
* C onsistently, th e w a te r k e p t boiling.
* R elu c ta n tly , th e a v a la n c h e destro y ed th e ch alet.
H o w e v e r, in th e p a ssiv e fo rm it is th e a g en t (w h eth er p re se n t o r n o t) th a t
m u s t n o t b e n o n p e rs o n a l:
T h e c h a le t w as reluctantly d estroyed ^
T h e law y er’s o b je c tio n s w ere consistently overruled.
T h e p re se n c e o r im p lic a tio n o f a p erso n al a g en t does n o t in its e lf en su re

a c c e p ta b ility o f a su b je ct su b ju n ct. F o r ex am p le, th e sen ten ce:
? * T h e h o u se w as resentfully b u ilt last year.
is o d d , p re su m ab ly b eca u se b u ild in g a house ta k e s too long fo r re se n tm e n t to

b e m a in ta in e d . C o n tra s t:
‘ T h e h o u se w as resentfully sold last year.
P a s s iv e sen ten ces w ith p erso n al su b ject a n d a g en t leav e a n a d v erb ial

e q u iv o c a l:
J o h n was, willingly se n t to frien d s fo r th e Sum m er (by h is m o th er).

[ e ith e r ‘Jo h n w as w illin g ’ o r ‘his m o th e r w as w illing’]
C o n tr a s t:
T h e p arcel o f v a lu a b les w as willingly se n t to th e c h arity o rg an izers.

[o n ly ‘the se n d e r w as w illing’]
N o n e th e le s s, ev en w h e re a p erso n al a g e n t is w ell u n d ersto o d , su b ject

s u b ju n c ts a re often re g a rd e d as aw k w a rd w ith th e p assiv e. A lth o u g h th e
fo llo w in g textual e x am p le in a re cen t b o o k w ould b e w idely a cc ep ta b le , it
w a s c ritic iz e d by a re v iew er, p resu m ab ly becau se w ith th e ag en tless p assiv e
th e a d v e rb ia l could n o t easily b e lin k ed w ith a su b ject (‘S o m eo n e foolishly
d e s tro y e d th e letters’) a n d hence in v ite d in te rp re ta tio n as a n im p lau sib le
m a n n e r a d ju n c t:
T h e letters w ere fo o lish ly d estroyed.
N o te [a] T h e analo g y o f re g a rd in g ad jectiv es a n d clauses a s re strictiv e o r n o n re stric tiv e ( c f n . h f f )

p ro v id e s an o th e r w ay o f lo o k in g a t th e d istin c tio n b etw een process a d ju n c ts a n d su b ject
su b ju n c ts. T h e subjunct in , fo r e x a m p le :
B itte r ly , he buried h is ch ild ren ,
c a n b e p a rap h ra se d a s in th e italicize d p a r t b e lo w :
H e b u rie d his ch ild re n a n d I te ll y o u th a t he was bitter when he d id so.
T h e n o n restrictiv e re la tiv e clau se c a n sim ilarly be p a ra p h ra se d by a co o rd in a te c la u s e :
A la n , who is m y teacher, h as jo in e d th e arm y . [‘A la n has jo in e d th e a rm y a n d I tell you th a t
h e is my teach er’]
S ubjuncts 577
[b] T h e v o litio n a l su b jec t sub ju n cts are sim ilar to p u rp o se adv erb ials b o th sem an tically a n d in
th e ir g ra m m a r, re sem b lin g as th ey do pu rp o se d isju n c ts (W'8.12W/). C f also th e su b jec t-o rie n te d
d isju n c ts su ch a s fo o lish ly a n d wisely (8.129).
8.95 S u b ju n c ts in G ro u p [A] o f 8.93 te n d n o t to p reced e clause n e g a tio n :
* S a d ly, sh e d id n ’t w an d er th ro u g h th e library, [asterisk ed in th e s e n s e

‘S h e w as sad w h en s h e . . . ’]
? W ith g re a t unease, th ey d id n ’t elect h im a s leader.
S im ilarly , su b je ct su b ju n cts in G ro u p [A] ten d fo r th e m o st p a r t n o t to p r e c e d e

a n e g ativ e su b je ct:
* W ith g rea t unease, n o body elected h im a s leader.
H o w ev e r, i f w e c a n in te rp re t th e n e g ated sen ten ce as conveying th e m e a n in g

o f a v o litio n a l a ctio n , w e can so m etim es a d d a su b ject su b ju n ct o f G ro u p [ A j.
F o r e x am p le, in c o m p a rin g th e fo llo w in g :
?*P roudly, h e d id n ’t a cc ep t th e aw ard.

P roudly, h e w o u ld n ’t accep t th e a w ard .
w e n o te th a t, w h ile th e fo rm er is odd, th e la tte r is a ccep tab le, b e c a u s e

‘w o u ld n ’t a c c e p t’ m ea n s ‘refused ’, a n d a refu sal c an be d o n e w ith p rid e.
T h e v o litio n al su b ju n cts allow a lte rn a tiv e in te rro g atio n (c /8 .2 5 ), th o u g h
w ith a d e c id e d s h ift to w ard s ad ju n c t in te rp re ta tio n (c /8 .9 2 N o te ) :
D id h e leav e h is p roposals v ag u e on purpose o r d id h e d o so

unintentionally ?
S u b ju n c ts fro m b o th groups can co m e w ith in th e scope o f p re d ic a tio n p r o

fo rm s o r e llip s is :
S h e h a s consistently ov erru led th e law yer’s o bjections a n d so has h e r

colleag u e (consistently o v erru led th e law yer’s objections), [ie ‘T h e y
w ere b o th c o n sisten t in o v e r ru lin g . . . ’]
H e deliberately m isled us a n d so d id sh e (d eliberately m islead us).
S u b ject su b ju n c ts o fte n c an n o t coo ccu r w ith im p e ra tiv e s:
* U neasily e lect h im as yo u r lead er. * S a d ly tell th em a b o u t it.
I t sh o u ld b e n o te d th a t, in such cases, it is equally o d d to s a y :
* E le ct h im a s y o u r lead er and be uneasy when yo u do so.

*T ell th e m a b o u t it a n d be sa d when yo u do so.
( I f be is in te rp re te d as eq u iv a len t to seem o r preten d to be, th e s e n te n c e s

b eco m e a c c e p ta b le , o f course.)
O n th e o th e r h a n d , w e can h a v e :
G ladly re v eal w h a t you know .

W ith f u l l confidence in your success, m a k e y o u r view s k n o w n to th e m ,
ju s t as w e c a n h a v e:
R e v ea l w h a t you k n o w a n d be g la d when y o u do so.

M a k e y o u r v iew s k n o w n to th em and have f u ll confidence in yo u r success

w hen y o u d o so.
S u b je ct su b ju n c ts, lik e p ro cess adjuncts, d o n o t seem to be a cc ep ta b le befo re

an e m p h a tic a u x ilia ry :
*P ro u d ly h e D ID a c c e p t t h e a w a r d .
*O n purpose, h e d i d l e a v e t h e p r o p o s a l s v a g u e .
In th is re sp e c t th e y can b e co n tra sted w ith th e o th erw ise so m e w h a t sim ila r

su b je ct d isju n cts su c h as wisely a n d rightly ( c /8 .1 2 9 ,8.94 N o te [b]):
W isely, h e d i d a c c e p t t h e a w a r d .
R ig h tly , h e d ! d l e a v e t h e p r o p o s a l s v a g u e .
S u b je ct su b ju n c ts te n d to o ccu r in I a n d M p o sitio n s, b u t c a n a p p e a r a t E
w h ere a n a d ju n c t in te rp re ta tio n is excluded, as i n :
H e w a s in L o n d o n reluctantly.
V erb -p h rase and pred icatio n subjuncts

8 .96 In 8.1 , a tte n tio n w as d ra w n to th e d istin c tio n b etw een g ra m m a tic a l u n its
fu n c tio n in g as clau se ele m en t A a n d th e sam e u n its fu n c tio n in g a s a p a rt o f a
clau se e le m en t. T h e d istin c tio n is n o t, how ever, alw ays self-evident. B etw een
[1], w h e re really is p a r t o f C , a n d b o th [2] a n d [3], w h ere really is n o t, th e
d is tin c tio n is c le a r e n o u g h ; b u t it is n o t easy to e stab lish w h e th e r [4] is m o re
like [1] o r m o re lik e [2] in th is resp ect:
She is a really in te llig en t child. [ 1]

She is really a n in te llig en t child. 2
[ ]
She really is in tellig en t. [3]
She is really in tellig en t. [4]
S em an tically , th e re is little to choose b etw een re g ard in g really in [4] a s p a r t
o f C o r a s a se p a ra te s u b ju n c t; n o r a re th ere c o n v in cin g g ra m m a tic a l g ro u n d s,
since (fo r ex am p le) it is po ssib le for som e p eo p le to fro n t a su b ju n c t p lu s C
ju st a s i t is p o ssib le for e v ery o n e to fro n t a n a d v erb ially m o d ified C :
R e a lly in tellig en t, sh e i s ! R eally a n in tellig en t ch ild , sh e i s !
B ut w h ile it is sig n ifican t to see th e relatio n al sim ilarities, w e sh all ta k e th e

p o sitio n h e re th a t if, as in [4], an ad v erb can b e in te rp re te d as p a r t o f a
stru c tu re re alizin g a clau se elem en t, it is n o t to b e re g ard e d as fallin g w ith in
the p u rv ie w of' th is c h a p te r - an y m o re th a n very beautifully in ‘a very
b e au tifu lly d ressed g irl’ o r in the garage in ‘T h e c a r in th e g a rag e is J o a n ’s’.
By c o n tra s t, really in [2] is a p re d ic atio n subjunct.
T h e V -elem en t h a s to b e tre a te d differently fro m S, O , C , a n d A in th a t
su b ju n cts m u st b e seen b o th as A an d as sim u ltan eo u sly fu n c tio n in g w ith in
V. W e c a n illu strate th is b y co n tra stin g tw o sen ten ces w ith a superficially
sim ilar b e g in n in g :
[5]
S V C : ‘F re d a is (a) c o m p e ten t (sp e ak e r)’

S ubjuncts 579
F re d a is able to a d d re ss th e m eeting. [6]

S V O : ‘F re d a c a n a d d re ss it’
I n e ac h case, we c a n in tro d u c e ad v erb s before able. B u t w h e rea s in [5] th e y

relate to th e reg u lar a c c re tio n o f p h rase stru ctu re w ith in a n elem en t, in [6]
th ey fu n ctio n as su b ju n cts, affectin g th e m o d ality o f th e V -elem en t. I t w ill b e
n o tic e d th a t som e a d v e rb s a cc ep ta b le in th e o n e are sig n ifican tly d isallo w ed
in th e o th er:
very
really
F re d a is q u ite able.
[5a]
F re d a is a ’ p erfectly a b le speaker.
‘ w ell
‘ to tally
'v e ry
really
q u ite
F re d a is a b le to ad d ress th e m eeting. [6a]
perfectly
well
to tally
Su b ju n cts in som e v e rb p h ra s e s h a v e becom e so in stitu tio n a liz e d as to c a u s e
th e w hole sequence to b e re g ard e d as a sep arate u n it. O n m o d al id io m s,
c /3 .4 5 /. C o m p are:
I w ould go ~ I w o u ld \ rat^ e r \ g0
[so o n erj
I h a d better see a d o cto r.
T h is last exam ple is e sp ecially c le ar because th ere is n o “ I h a d see a d o c to r’.

A nalogously, th e su b ju n c ts in p h ra sal verbs a re so m etim es th o ro u g h ly
in co rp o rated as p a r t o f a n id io m a tic whole. C o n tra s t:
H e d ra n k (up) th e re st o f th e m ilk.
H e m ad e up th e re st o f th e story.
(C /1 6 .3 /)
Tim e-relationship subjuncts

8.97 T h e item s to c o n sid er h e re a re especially already, still, a n d y e t, co rre sp o n d in g
in sem an tic force to th e tim e relatio n sh ip ad ju n cts o f G ro u p (b) in 8.72.
Po sitio n ally , already a n d still n o rm ally o ccur in M , a n d y e t in M o r E . T h e s e
th re e adv erb s differ fro m e a c h o th e r in usage w ith re sp ec t to n e g atio n a n d
o th e r sentence processes n o rm ally re q u irin g n o n assertiv es ( c /1 0 .5 7 / ) . Y e t is
usually a n o n assertiv e fo rm , b u t it can occur in a ssertiv e v e rb p h ra se s
co m p risin g m o d als o r se m i-au x iliaries ( c /3 .2 1 ,3 .4 7 /):
T h e first sn o w d ro p s a re y e t to ap p ear.
I h ave y e t to fin d o u t w h a t h e w ants.
W e m ay y e t see h e r ele cte d to th e Senate.
580 T h e s e m antics and gram m ar o f adverbials
Y e t c a n b e u se d as a n assertiv e fo rm also w h en it is clo ser in m ea n in g to still

[‘e v e n n o w ’] :
f I c a n see h im y e t. f T h e re ’s p len ty o f tim e yet.
1 1 c a n still see h im . [ T h e re ’s still plen ty o f tim e.
S till c a n p re c e d e n e g atio n , b u t n o rm ally can n o t lie w ith in th e sco p e o f clause

n e g a tio n ( c f I0 .5 4 ff) ex cep t in qu estio n s. O n th e o th e r h a n d , already c a n n o t
c o m e w ith in th e sco p e o f clause n e g atio n ex cep t in questions, a n d it n orm ally
c a n n o t p re c e d e n e g atio n . T h e po ssib ilities for th e th ree ad v erb s in d e clarativ e,
n e g a tiv e , a n d in te rro g a tiv e sen ten ces are g iv en below , w here th e p a ra p h ra se s
o r su g g e stio n s fo r co n tex t in d ic a te sem an tic sim ilarities a n d d ifferences
b e tw e e n th e a d v e rb s. N o te also th e co o ccu rren ce o f p erfectiv e a sp e c t in th ree
o f th e five sets.
DECLARATIVE POSITIVE
I a lre a d y lik e h im . [‘I h a v e by th is tim e com e to lik e h im ’]
*1 y e t lik e h im .
I still lik e h im . [‘I c o n tin u e to lik e h im ’]
d e c l F r F t iv e n e g F t iv e ( a d v e r b p r e c e d in g n e g a tio n )
*1 a lre a d y h a v e n ’t sp o k en to him .
*1 y e t h a v e n ’t sp o k e n to him .
I still h a v e n ’t sp o k e n to h im . [‘I h a v en ’t sp o k en to h im so f a r ’,
im p ly in g ‘e v e n a fte r all th is tim e ’]
d e c l F r F t iv e n e g F t iv e (a d v e r b fo llo w in g n e g a tio n )
* H e c a n ’t already drive.
H e c a n ’t ['H e c a n ’t d riv e u p to th is tim e ’ im p ly in g
‘e v e n a fte r all th is tim e ’]

? H e c a n ’t still d riv e. [‘H e c a n ’t c o n tin u e to d riv e ’ o r ‘Surely it is n o t tru e
t h a t h e c a n still d riv e ? ’]
INTERROGATIVE POSITIVE
H a v e y o u already seen h im ? [expecting th a t you h av e o r im p ly in g th a t
you h a v e d o n e so e arlie r th a n e xpected]
H a v e y o u se e n h im y e t i [‘b y n o w ’: even y e t w ould im ply ‘a fte r all th is
tim e ’, b a la n c in g already in th e p revious ex am p le; th u s ‘I ’ve k e p t
a s k in g y o u to see h im fo r w e e k s : h a v e you seen h im even y e t i ' ]
D o y o u still see h im ? [‘D o you co n tin u e to see h im ? ’]
INTERROGATIVE NEGATIVE
H a v e n ’t you s e e n h im a lre a d y l [‘Surely you h a v e seen h im by n o w ? ’]
H a v e n ’t you seen h im y e t i [‘Surely you should have seen h im b y n o w ? ’]
D o n ’t y o u still see h im ? [‘Surely you c o n tin u e to see h im ? ’ ie ex p ectin g
th a t y o u do]
O n th e n o n a sse rtiv e s any more a n d a n y longer an d th e n eg ativ es no m ore, no

longer a s tim e -re la tio n su b ju n cts, c o n sid er th e follow ing e x am p les:
D o you see h im an ym o re /a n y lo n g erl \ [e th a t d o nQt]

D o y o u a n y longer j* any m ore see h im !\
Subjuncts 581
I see h im no m ore/no longer. <fo rm al)

I d o n o t see h im a n y m ore)any longer.
N o te [a] T h e d ifferen ce b etw e en already an d y e t in questio n s is th a t already expects a n a ffirm ativ e

an sw er w h ereas y e t leaves o p e n w h eth e r th e answ er is n eg a tiv e o r positive ( c / 11 ex cep t in
‘cond u civ e’ (n eg ativ e) q u estio n s su ch as ‘H av en ’t you seen h im y e tV
[bj Y et a n d s till c o m e clo se in m e an in g in m odal v erb p h rases;
I h a v e n e r to m e e t h im . [I]
W e m ay y e t see h e r electe d to th e S enate. [2]
I h av e still to m e e t him . [la ]
W e m ay still see h e r elected to th e S enate. [2a]
B oth o f th e se n te n ces [1] a n d [la ] m e an ‘It rem ains fo r m e to m e et h im ’, b u t th e ex a m p les w ith
still b o th ca rry th e im p lic a tio n o f a n ob jectiv e th a t is likely to be fulfilled.
[c] Still, y e t , a n d already o fte n blend concessive an d te m p o ral m eanings. F o r ex a m p le, i n :
™ , (still a t w ork.
I t’s 11.30 p .m . a n d h e ’s < • . . , ,. . . „
( a t w o rk y e t. < esp d ialecta l)
I t’s 5.30 a.m . b u t h e ’s already a t w ork. •
T h e effect o f still a n d y e t is to express n o t only th e co n tin u a n c e o f th e ac tio n b u t also to su g g est
th a t th e c o n tin u a n c e is su rp risin g (‘H e ’s c o ntinuing ev e n so to w o rk ’). So to o , already ex p resses
b o th th e tim e re la tio n (‘by n o w ’) a n d som e surprise a t its realizatio n . See also th e co n cessiv e
co n ju n ct still (8.137).
[d] T h e su b ju n c t s till c a n b e en d o rsed by y e t a t E , as i n :
S h e’s 'still th e re (ev en ) y &t . [b u t n o t th e converse: ‘*She’s y e t th e r e stiW]
S om etim es as y e t is a m o re fo rm a l v a ria n t o f y e t :
I h av e n o t a s y e t d ec id e d to ac c e p t th e ap p o in tm e n t.
In o th e r situ a tio n s, y e t a n d a s y e t hav e a q u ite d istin ct d is trib u tio n :
I have | > to m e e t him .

(? * a sy e fj
H a sn ’t sh e arriv e d
A s y e t, he w as o n ly a m in o r official. [ # ‘Y et, he w a s . . . ’]
[e] Inform ally in A m E (especially in th e M id-W est), y e t a t E c a n occur in a ssertiv e clau ses,
especially o f a n ex c la m a to ry k in d a n d w ith y e t h av in g so m eth in g o f th e fu n ctio n o f a fo cu sin g
su b ju n ct; c / 8 .1 16. F o r ex a m p le:
A h, so you’v e b o u g h t n ew s u p p e r s y e t !
E veryone else tu rn e d discreetly aw ay, b u t n o t J o h n : Jo h n ju s t h ad to tu rn a n d look y e t !
A g ain in so m e varie tie s o f A m E th e re is a n ex clam atory use o f an ym o re, w ith v ario u s m e a n in g s:
‘(even) y e t; (ev en ) n o w ; m o re a n d m o re ; w ould you believ e it? ’ F req u en tly th is usag e a m o u n ts
to little m o re th a n a n ex p re ssio n o f su rp ris e :
D id you say ‘e n c e p h a la te ’? W h a t’s th a t supposed to m e a n any m oreV [ap p ro x im ate ly :
‘W h a t on earth d o es th a t m e a n ? ’]
T hey’re d a n c in g in th e stre e t any more\
S h e’s lo o k in g b e tte r a n d b e tte r an y more\
O th e r tim e subjuncts
8.98 A s well a s b e in g u se d fo r focusing an d in ten sificatio n ( c f 8.116/f, 8.104/?) b u t
in close re la tio n to su c h uses, ju s t (alw ays a t M ) c a n express tim e p o sitio n .
W ith th e p e rfe c tiv e o r progressive, it can m ea n e ith e r ‘a t th is /th a t p re cise
m o m e n t’ o r ‘very re ce n tly ’ :
H e ’s ju s t s to p p e d talking.
I ’m ju s t fin ish in g a n article o n th e subject.
W h en I saw h e r, sh e h a d ju s t com e b ack .
I n in fo rm al A m E , th is is tru e also w ith th e sim p le p a st (‘W h ere ’s J o h n ? ’ ‘H e

ju s t w en t o u t’). M o re gen erally w ith th e sim p le p a st, ju st m ea n s ‘re ce n tly ’,
a n d w ith th e fu tu re o r p re se n t progressive it m ea n s ‘very so o n ’, in b o th cases

fre q u e n tly in a sso c iatio n w ith m ore specific tim e a d v e rb ia ls :
S h e ju s t sp o k e to m e a b o u t it (a m o m en t o r so ago).
H e ’s ju s t co m in g (in a m o m en t o r so).
O n j u s t as a d o w n to n e r (d im in ish er), c / 8 . 111.

T h e c o m b in a tio n j u s t now is used a t E for e ith e r ‘v ery recen tly ’ o r ‘very
soon’:
I saw h er ju s t now. I ’Jfb e J see' n S ^ e r Just now -
(C o n tra s t ju s t + then, right + now /then, 8.116.)

T im e d u ra tio n is ex p ressed (by im p licatio n ) in th e u se o f som e intensifiers
s u c h a s enough:
H a v e you ta lk e d to h im enough n ow ? [‘sufficiently long’]

W e p lay ed c a rd s a little last n ig h t, [‘fo r a short tim e ’]
I h a te h a v in g to w a it a lot a t th e b a n k , [‘a long tim e ’]
B u t it is tim e freq u e n c y th a t especially involves th e use o f subjuncts. F o r

e x am p le:
f d o esn ’t ever c o m e )
She < never co m e s !• to see m e.
[h a rd ly ever co m es J
[C /in fo rm a lly never ever: ‘T h ey never ever c lean th e ir w in d o w s’.]
T h ey a re fo re v e r co m p lain in g .
I a m ever o p e n to n e w ideas, (f o r m a l) [always w ould b e m o re usual,
a n d ever is n o rm ally n o n a sse rtiv e ; c /1 0 .6 0 ]
I h av e | rarej y I rev iew ed a m ore d ish o n est book.

[seldom j
T h ey sh o u ld som etim es give th e ir dog a b a th .
S ev eral in ten sifiers ( c /8 .1 0 4 /) are also used fo r tim e freq u en cy , as in :
I used to p la y sq u a sh very often b u t now I d o n ’t p lay m uch/a lot/a great

deal.
. . . b u t n o w I barely/hardly/scarcely p lay (at all).
. . . b u t n o w I {h a rd ly | ever p ja y
i [scarcely j J
. . . a n d I still p lay a little/a bit.
P o sitio n al n o rm s a re as illu strated , b u t som etim es m ay also o ccu r a t / o r E ;

rarely an d seldom a t / w ould usually req u ire su b je c t-o p e ra to r inv ersio n
( c f 18.24) a n d a t E w o u ld n o rm ally be ra th e r h eav ily m o d ifie d :
I play s q u a sh very seldom indeed.
N o te [a] S everal o f th e se su b ju n c ts h a v e som e o f th e c h a ra c te r o f ad ju n cts, esp ecially w h en prem odified

o r fo cu sed :
It is very seldom th a t I w rite p o etry th ese days.
It w as only ju s t now th a t I rem em b ered our ap p o in tm e n t.
?It is only a little th a t w e p lay bridge.
S ubjuncts 583
[b] In very in fo rm al use, hardly can be a t E w ith o u t p rosodic w eig h t:

(She used to w rite a lo t b u t n ow ) she d o e sn 't w rite a t l l hardly, [m ore u su al: ‘sh e h a rd ly
F
w rites a t all']
T h e re is also a n in fo rm al d o u b le n e g a tiv e as in : ‘Y ou can't hardly m ove in th is office’, [m o re
a c c e p ta b ly : ‘Y ou c a n hardly m ove . . . ’]
E m phasizers
8.99 T h e re is a ra n g e o f su b ju n cts c o n cern ed w ith e xpressing th e se m an tic ro le o f
m odality (c /8 .8 ) w h ich h a v e a rein fo rcin g effect o n th e tru th v alu e o f th e
clau se o r p a r t o f th e clau se to w h ich they apply. In ad d in g to th e force (as
d istin c t fro m th e degree) o f a c o n stitu en t, e m p h asizers do n o t re q u ire t h a t
th e c o n stitu e n t co n ce rn ed sh o u ld be g rad ab le. W h en , how ever, th e c o n s titu e n t
em p h asized : is in d ee d g ra d a b le , th e ad v erb ial tak e s o n th e force o f a n
in ten sifier (c/8 .1 0 4 ). C o m p are th e use o f really in th e follow ing:
H e really m ay h av e in ju red in n o ce n t people. [1]

H e m ay really hav e in ju re d in n o cen t people. [2]
H e m ay h a v e really in ju re d in n o cen t p eople. [3]
I n [1] a n d [2] w e h av e a p u re e m p h a size r an d w e m ig h t p a ra p h ra se as fo llo w s:
I t is really possible t h a t h e h a s in ju r e d . . . [ la ]
I t is possible t h a t it is really tru e th a t h e h a s in ju r e d . . . ; [2a]
W ith [3], how ev er, th e im p lica tio n is o f a h ig h deg ree o f injury as w ell a s th e
a sse rtio n o f c e rta in ty ; ie b o th [3a] a n d [3 b ]:
I t is possible th a t h e h as really [ie actually, in d eed , certainly]

in ju r e d . . . [3a]
I t is possible th a t h e h as really [ie seriously, to a severe extent]
in ju red in n o ce n t p eo p le. [3b]
N o te T h e ty p ical e m p h asizer really illu strates b o th th e stru ctu ral eq u iv o catio n d iscussed in 8.96 a n d
also th e in h e re n t n a tu re o f th e su b ju n c t in b ein g su b o rd in ated sem antically to a n o th e r u n it in
th e clause ( c / 8 .8 8 ,8.25). T h u s in d iv id u al sp eak ers will vacillate as to how th e e m p h a sis m a y be
g ram m atically realized, as in :
H e ’s in a real c o m er. H e ’s really in a corner. (?) H e’s in really a co m er.
H e ’s in real difficulties. H e ’s really in difficulties.
8.100 C o m m o n e m p h asizers in c lu d e :
(a) actually, certainly, clearly, definitely, indeed, obviously, plainly, really,

surely, fo r certain, fo r sure, o f course
(b) fra n k ly , honestly, literally, sim ply, fa irly <esp B r E ) , ju st
G ro u p (a) consists m ain ly o f item s th a t c a n also fu n ctio n as d isju n c ts

e x p ressin g th e co m m en t th a t w h a t is b eing said is tru e (e/8 .1 2 7 ). G ro u p (b)
co n sists m ain ly o f item s th a t c a n also fu n ctio n as d isju n cts co n v ey in g th e
s p e a k e r’s assertio n t h a t his w o rd s a re th e u n v a rn ish ed tru th (c /8 .1 2 4 ). S in c e
it is n o rm ally expected th a t a p erso n in ten d s his h e are r to a c c e p t w h a t he
says a s tru e, th e a d d itio n o f th e c o m m en t o r assertio n in n o w ay a lte rs b u t
m erely em p h asizes th e tru th o f th e c o m m u n icatio n . W h en th ese e m p h a siz e rs
a re p o s itio n e d n e x t to a p a r t o f th e c o m m u n icatio n , w ith o u t b ein g se p a ra te d

in to n a tio n a lly o r b y p u n c tu atio n , th eir effect is o ften to e m p h a size th a t p a r t
a lo n e , th o u g h th e re m ay b e a m b iv alen ce as to w h eth er th e em p h a sis is o n th e
p a r t o r o n th e w hole.
E x a m p le s o f th e use o f e m p h a siz e rs:
S h e plainly lik es th e dress.

I honestly d o n ’t k now w h a t he w an ted .
I c a n ’t really b elieve him .
H e actually s a t n e x t to her.
I j u s t c a n ’t u n d e rsta n d it.
T h e y w ill surely o b ject to his in terv en tio n .
T h e y literally to re h is a rg u m e n t to p ieces, [c/8.126]
T h e y obviously d o n ’t w a n t it.
M e fa ir ly ju m p e d for joy. <esp B rE )
I sim ply d o n ’t believe it.
T h e y w ill w a rn us fo r sure.
W ith G r o u p (a) sh o u ld be co n sid ered resp o n ses to req u ests:
A : P lease g e t m e th e file o n R o b e rt Schultz.

B : C E R ta in ly
SURE < e s p A m E i n f o r m a l )
s u R E ly < e s p A m E )
A ll RIGHT
RIGHT
ok
w iL td o <B rE in fo rm a l)
V ery GOOD
A : A re you w illing to h elp her?

B : (Y es) C E R ta in ly
sflR E < e s p A m E in fo rm a l)
s u R E ly < e s p A m E )
Y es inD EED
Y es y e s
ok
RIGHT <esp A m E )
A ll r i g h t [im plies lack o f en th u siasm ]
HAREfly
N o inD EE D
C e rta in ly n o t
( N o ) NO
O n ly a few o f th ese responses, o f course, co rresp o n d d irectly to su b ju n c ts in

full c la u se s; eg ‘I certainly will’, ‘I will indeed’, ‘I sure w ill’. I t is esp ecially
w ith G ro u p (a) th a t we sh o u ld asso ciate th e assev erativ es o f very in fo rm a l
sp eech . C o n sid e r th e follow ing r a th e r a n g ry ex ch an g e:
A : Y o u a lte re d th e clock.
B : I d id n ’t! I never even to u ch ed it.
A : Y ou d i d .
Subjuncts 585
A s well as th is last re sp o n se we m ig h t find:
Y ou d id so . (in fo rm a l, esp by c h ild re n )

Y o u certainly DID.
Y ou darned well d i d . (v e ry in fo rm a l)
C f also th e follow ing, all very in fo rm a l:
W ho ' ’ th e hell
W h at th e b lazes
r . . , , f fo r g o o d n ess’ sa k e ] „
W here o n e a rth [ + q u e s t , o n + ] | f o r ^ . ty ,s s a k e j?
W hy in h e av e n
H ow . in (th e) h e ll .
F o r ex am p le:
W hy on earth d id y o u a lte r t h e CLOCKf o r goodness’ s a k e l
O th e r ty p es o f u tte ra n c e w ith su b ju n ct assev erativ es in clu d e th e v e ry

in fo rm a l:
I to ld th em to d arned well go. [c/8.21]
I to ld th em to g et th e ir c a r j I o ut o f m y d riv e.
N o te [aj F o r som e sp eak ers, plain c a n inform ally fu nction as a su b ju n ct (‘H e ’s plain d ish o n est’), b u t
m o re usually th e info rm al v ersio n w ould be ju s t plain, as in ‘H e ’s 'just 'p lain disHONest’ (C /8 .9 6 ).
[ b ] T h e su b ju n ct sure in ‘ I sure w ill’ <esp A m E ) is to be distin g u ish ed fro m th e tw o ad je c tiv a l
u se s:
I am sure o f w in n in g . [‘I feel c o n fid en t th a t I shall w in’]
I am sure to w in . (‘T h e re is w id esp read confidence th a t I shall w in ’)
[c] In G ro u p (a ) ,fo r certain a n d fo r sure ca n n o t function as d isju n c ts o f c o m m en t (am o n g o th e r
th in g s, th ey are o nly rarely p o sitio n ed initially) but a re obviously related to certainly an d surely
respectively in th e ir e m p h a siz e r uses. I n G ro u p (b), fa irly <esp B r E ) a n d j u s t c a n n o t fu n c tio n as
sp eak er’s a u th o rity d isju n c ts. H o w e v er, fa irly c a n be related to th e set o f su ch d isju n c ts to be f a i r ,
to p u t it fa irly , etc, fo r w h ic h th e re h a p p e n s to be no co rresp o n d in g ad v e rb , w hile a n a sso cia tio n
c a n be seen b etw een sim ply in S im p ly tell him he's wrong, d isju n c t; / a m speaking sim ply , p ro cess
ad ju n ct, ‘in a sim p le m a n n e r’; I sim ply say, restrictive focusing su b ju n ct ( c / 8 .1 16/*), ‘m e re ly ’,
‘only’, ‘ju s t’; a n d ju s t in I ju s t sa y, restrictiv e subjunct.
[d] O n th e use o f literally, c / 8 . 126.
C o o c c u r r e n c e r e s t r ic t io n s o n e m p h a s iz e r s
8 .1 0 1 W hile e m p h asizers in G ro u p (a) seem to be free to coo ccu r w ith an y v e rb o r
p red icatio n , th o se in G ro u p (b) ten d to be lim ited. F o r ex am p le, fa ir ly <esp
B rE ) a n d absolutely re q u ire som e suggestion o f ex ag g eratio n in th e
p re d ic a tio n :
In h er a nger, sh e j j scream ed a t him .
* In h e r a n g er, sh e j j spoke to him .
O n th e o th er h a n d , honestly ten d s to cooccur w ith v erb s ex p ressin g a ttitu d e

o r c o g n itio n :
T h ey honestly a d m ire h e r courage.

H e honestly believes th e ir accusation.

? * I n h e r a n g er, she honestly scream ed a t h im . [?4 d isju n ct ( c /N o te ) a s in ‘I
a m h o n estly tellin g y o u . . . ’]
W h e n so m e e m p h asizers a re used w ith g ra d ab le v erb s th ey m ay also h av e a

s c a lin g effect a k in to th a t o f b oosters ( c f 8.105):
H e really lik es her. [‘H e lik es h e r very m u c h ’]

I in d eed a p p re c ia te y o u r help. [‘I greatly a p p re c ia te y o u r h e lp ’]
H e definitely im p ressed th em . [‘H e im p ressed th e m greatly']
B u t u n lik e th e boosters, th ese h av e o f course a re in fo rcin g a n d e m p h a tic

e ffe c t w ith n o n g ra d ab le v e rb s to o ;
H e really w as th ere. W e definitely saw it.

S h e indeed s a t n ex t to th em .
O th e r e m p h a siz e rs te n d to h a v e a scaling effect m o re re ad ily w ith g rad ab le

w o rd s t h a t a re a d jectiv es a n d n o u n s ( c /7 .4 ) ;
S h e is certainly in tellig en t. [‘She is very in te llig e n t’]

I w a s fr a n k ly ap p alled a t h is a ttitu d e. [‘I w as absolutely a p p a lle d ’]
H e ’s obviously a fool. [‘H e ’s a big fool’]
H e ’s clearly a d a n g ero u s m an . [‘H e ’s a very d an g ero u s m a n ’]
T h e s c a lin g effect o f really a n d indeed is m o re obv io u s w ith a d je c tiv e s;
I t w a s really funny.
H e ’s d an g ero u s indeed, [m an n ered w ith o u t a c o rre latin g very, ‘very
d a n g ero u s indeed']
S p e a k e rs m ay v a ry in th e e x te n t to w hich th ey feel th a t all o r so m e o f th ese

e m p h a s iz e rs h av e a scalin g effect.
N o te I f h o n e stly is used as in 'H onestly , she scream ed a t h im ’, th e a d v e rb ia l is a d isju n c t (c/8 .1 2 4 ),

a s s e r tin g th e s p e a k e r’s good fa ith in m a k in g th e statem e n t ra th e r th a n e m p h asizin g th e p a rtic u la r
c h o ic e o f w o rd s in tl)e p re d ic a tio n . A m ove to / w ould likew ise ch a n g e th e re la tio n sh ip in respect
o f s e v e ra l o th e r itenis illu strated in th e exam ples (eg: fr a n k ly ) ; so to o w ould a m o v e to E , w here
th e d is ju n c t w ould req u ire a s e p a ra te in to n a tio n nucleus: ‘She s c r e m e d a t h im FRANKly*, ‘She
F
s c r e F m e d a t h im | HONestlyf.’
S y n ta c tic featu res o f em phasizers

8.102 M o s t e m p h a siz e rs n o rm ally p reced e th e item th ey em p h a size (iM , M , e M
p o sitio n s in resp ect o f v e rb p h rases, c / 8 . 14/"), a n d f o r certain a n d f o r sure are
e x c e p tio n a l in b ein g a t E . A s su b ju n cts, em p h asizers d iffer fro m ad ju n c ts in
s e v e ra l w ays. T h ey c a n n o t b e c o n trasted w ith o n e a n o th e r in a lte rn a tiv e
in te rro g a tio n o r a lte rn a tiv e n e g atio n ; th ey c a n n o t b e th e focus o f focusing
su b ju n c ts o r o f a c left se n ten ce, n o r (in th e case o f th e a d v erb s) c a n th ey be
th e fo c u s o f clause c o m p a ris o n o r b e prem o d ified b y however, how, o r so.
M a n y c a n , how ever, c o m e w ith in th e scope o f p re d ic a tio n p ro -fo rm s o r
e llip sis; fo r e x a m p le :
J o a n w ill o b ject a n d so will M ary.
[ = ‘it is equally certain/sure th a t M ary w ill o b jec t’]

Subjuncts 587
A s several o f th e' e x am p les in 8.100 show , m o st em p h asizers can p reced e a

n eg ated v e rb p h ra s e , e x ce p t for fa irly <esp B r E ) :
T h ey fa ir ly d a n c e d fo r jo y a t th e new s. <esp B rE )
T h e y fa ir ly d id n ’t d a n ce for joy a t th e new s.
Several ite m s te n d to coo ccu r w ith clau sal n e g atio n a n d precede th e v e rb

p h ra se in su ch a c ase, in p a rticu la r honestly, ju s t, simply.
F iv e e m p h a siz e rs c a n lie w ith in th e scope o f clause n eg atio n , a n d th e l a s t
tw o listed a re n o rm ally th u s, since th ey are p lac ed a t E :
actually, d efinitely, really, fo r certain, fo r sure
All o f th e m c a n b e co m e th e focus o f n e g a tio n :
I d o n ’t RjSALly k n o w him..
H e d id n ’t ACTually sit n e x t to. her.
T h ey d o n ’t DEFinitely w a n t it.
T h ey d o n ’t k n o w fo r CERtain.
I c a n ’t tell y o u f o r s Or e .
Since actually, definitely, an d really c a n also lie o u tsid e th e scope o f c la u se
n eg atio n , w e h a v e a c o n tra st b etw een th e tw o possibilities, th e scope o f
n e g atio n b ein g m a rk e d by th e h o rizo n tal b ra c k e t (c f 10.64):
I re ally d o n ’t k n o w him . [‘T h e real tru th is th a t I d o n ’t k now h im ’,

1 1 ie ‘I d o n ’t k n o w h im a t all’]
I d o n ’t re ally k n o w him . [‘I t ’s n o t th e re al tru th th a t I know h im ’,
1 1 ie ‘I d o n ’t k n o w h im well']
H e a ctu ally d id n ’t sit n e x t to her. [‘T h e a c tu a l fa ct is th a t he d id n ’t s it
n e x t to h e r’]
H e d id n ’t a ctu ally sit n e x t to her. [‘I t ’s n o t a n a ctu al fa ct th a t he s a t n e x t
1--------------------------------- 1 to h e r’]
T h ey d efin itely d o n ’t w a n t it. [‘I t ’s d efin ite th a t th ey d o n ’t w a n t it’]
T h ey d o n ’t d efin itely w a n t it. [‘I t ’s n o t definite t h a t they w a n t it’]
A ll th e e m p h a siz e rs ex cep t certainly a n d surely (an d for m o st sp eak ers fa ir ly

too) c a n a p p e a r in a q u e s tio n ; c o m p a re :
*certainly "1
D o they sure/y I w an t t0 b e elected ?

d ejim tely
really J
In g en eral, th e e m p h a size rs do n o t a p p e a r w ith im p erativ es, b u t som e p e o p le
use actually, definitely, a n d really w ith im p e rativ es:
D o n ’t actually h a te h im for it - it w a sn ’t really his fault.

D efinitely b u y o n e now .
M ak e a n e ffo rt th is tim e ; b u t really m ak e a n effort.
N o te T h e in fo rm al p h ra s e a ll right c a n be a process a d ju n c t ( c f 8.79) as in ‘D id she m a n ag e to fin d th e

p lace a llr ig h tT ; a c o n te n t disju n c t ( c / 8 .12 7 )0 a s in ‘A ll R iG H T , s h e ’s a good S T U D e n t’ (ie ‘I g r a n t
you’) ; a n d also a n e m p h a siz e r su b ju n ct as i n :
S h e ’s a g o o d S T U D e n t, a l l r ig h t , [‘S h e ’s c e r t a i n l y a g o o d s t u d e n t ’]
T he s u b ju n c t m ay re la te to a specific elem en t, as to th e tim e ad ju n ct in :

S h e w o n 't w orry un less you h u rt yourself, t h e n s h e’ll w orry all r i g h t .
8 .1 0 3 T h e e m p h a siz e rs e ith e r c a n n o t be m odified o r are unlikely to b e m o d ified ;

an e x c e p tio n is definitely, w h ich is som etim es prem o d ified b y quite o r very.
C e rta in e m p h a size rs n o t listed in 8.100 a p p e a r in re stric te d e n v iro n m e n ts :
(i) A lw a y s w h en p re ce d ed by can o r could m u st b e in a p o sitiv e d e clara tiv e

c lau se:
Y ou c a n "always sleep o n th e f l o o r . [ ‘Y o u can c e r ta in ly . . . ’]
T h e p o ssib ility o f a d d in g to th is sentence a n a d v erb ial re ferrin g to a specific

fu tu re tim e such a s tonight o r ju s t fo r one night rules o u t th e tem p o ral m ean in g
o f alw ays. By c o n tra st, i f th e clause is n eg ativ e, th e tem p o ral m ean in g alo n e
is a c tiv a te d a n d th e item is no lo n g er a su b ju n c t:
Y ou c a r t ’t A lw a y s s le e p o n t h e FLOOR.
[ = ‘Y ou c a n ’t sleep o n th e floor on all occasions ’]
(ii) U n m o d ifie d w ell w h en p reced ed by can, could, m ay, or m ight m u st b e in

a p o sitiv e d e c la ra tiv e cla u se ; th e effect is to im ply p ro b a b ility w h ere th e
au x iliary a lo n e c o n n o te d o nly possibility:
m ay
It < m ^ t I w ell b
wen e tru e th a t he b eat her. [ = ‘It m ay in d ee d . . . ’ o r ev en
be,
can '
‘I t is q u ite likely to b e t r u e . . . ’]
could
N o te also w ith fro n tin g ( c f 18.20):
She h o p es th e y will resp o n d gratefully
T h is w o u ld im ply ‘sh o u ld ’, an d (especially w ith as) th ere w ould be little

d ifference in m ea n in g if th e ex am p le e n d ed ‘. . . as well th ey ought/should’ -
alth o u g h , w ith o u t fro n tin g , well does n o t th u s co o ccu r w ith ought o r sh o u ld :
W ith so m e verbs, th e re a re o th e r re strictio n s o n th e a u x iliaries a d m itte d :
He well a tte n d th e m ee tin g in stea d o f m e.
[‘H e m ay s u r e ly . . . ’, ‘H e c an very e a s ily . .
On th e o th e r h a n d , in ten sified by very, th e su b ju n c t u sage h a s n o su ch

restrictio n to p o sitiv e clau ses o r to c ertain v e rb s :
Subjuncts 589
He ve^ we^ a tte ^ m eeting. \

[‘H e surely c a n . . . ’, ‘H e surely c a n ?t . . ‘He c a n ’t very easily . . . ’]
(iii) N ecessarily is a n e m p h a size r w h en p receded by m ust:
A school tea ch e r w h o w ish es to b e h o n est m ust necessarily p re p a re h e r

lessons, [‘m u st in e v ita b ly ’]
O th e rw ise, necessarily is a n a d ju n c t o f contingency w h ich te n d s to c o o ccu r

w ith th e clausal n eg ativ e p a rtic le :
T h a t doesn’t fa c e s s a r ily f°Now. 1 ^ h a t d o esn 't follow in e v ita b ly ’]

[follow necessarily. J
(iv ) N eed s (ra re , lite ra ry ) h a s to b e p reced ed o r follow ed by m u st in a p o sitiv e

d e c la ra tiv e o r in terro g ativ e c la u s e :
T h a t m ust needs b e th e ir in te n tio n , [‘m u st inevitably’]
N o te [a] In d eed c a n be p o stp o sed :

I a p p rec iate yo u r help in d e e d . < ra th e r fo rm al o r o ld-fashioned)
T h is is m o re com m on w ith ad jectiv es (p articu la rly if th ey a re m odified b y a n o th e r in ten sifier)
a n d n o u n s w ith in definite a rtic le ;
H e w as very h a p p y inDEED.
I t w as a sacrifice inDEED.
S he becam e a m u ch a b le r d o c to r inDEED.
I n so m e o f these exam ples, in deed is fu n c tio n in g a s an in tensifier; ‘very h a p p y in d e e d ’.
C o n tra st, w ith indeed as c o n ju n c t;
H e w a s v e r y H A P p y , inD E E D . ( o r . . . H A P p y , i n d e e d .)
S he becam e a m u ch ab le r D o c t o r , in D E E D . ( o r . , . , indeed.)
I t w as a sAcrifice, inDEED. ( o r . . . , in d e ed .)
[b] R e a d ily , easily, with ease, a n d com fortably (especially w hen in M p o sitio n ) co m e close to b e in g
e m p h asizers. E asily te nds to c o o c cu r w ith th e m o d al auxiliaries. F o r ex a m p le ;
T h e y readily ad m itted th e ir guilt.
T h e y m ig h t easily h av e b een a rre ste d , [ { /‘m ig h t w ell . . .’J
W e w ill com fortably finish o n tim e.
C o n tra st th ese w ith th e m a n n e r a d ju n c t easily a n d th e m an n er/resu lt ad ju n c t com fortably i n :
H e answ ers questio n s readily, [‘in a read y an d cooperative w ay’]
A re you sittin g com fortably ? [‘in su ch a w ay th a t you a re co m fo rtab le’]
Intensifiers
8.104 T h e intensifier su b ju n cts a re b ro a d ly co n cern ed w ith th e se m a n tic c ateg o ry
o f d e g r e e (c/8 .9 ). I t sh o u ld b e n o ted th a t th e term ‘in ten sifier’ d o es n o t re fe r
o n ly to m ean s w h ereb y a n increase in in tensification is e x p ressed . R a th e r, an
in ten sify in g su b ju n ct in d ic a te s a p o in t o n an ab stractly co n ce iv e d in te n sity
scale; a n d the p o in t in d ic a te d m ay b e relatively low o r re la tiv e ly high. T h e
scale is seen as a p p ly in g to a p re d ic a te o r to som e p a rt o f a p re d ic a te , s u c h as
th e p red icatio n , th e v e rb p h ra se , o r ev en a n item w ith in th e v e rb p h ra se
(c /8 .9 6 ). T h e v erb s in q u e stio n a re largely expressive o f a ttitu d e .
I t is useful to d istin g u ish tw o su b sets o f in ten sifiers:
m F m p i i f i e r s f M ax im izers (eg: completely)

\ B oosters (e g : very much )
A p p ro x im ato rs (e g : alm ost)
{ C o m p ro m isers (e g : m ore or less)
D im in is h e s (eg: p a rtly)
M inim izers (eg: hardly)
A m p lifie rs scale u p w ard s from an assu m ed n o rm ; d o w n to n ers h av e a

lo w e rin g effect, usually scaling d o w n w ard s from a n assu m ed norm . Such
sc a lin g re q u ire s th a t th e item o r u n it to w h ich th e in ten sifier ap p lies is
g ra d a b le . T h e su b ty p es p ro v id e n o th in g m o re th a n a ro u g h g u id e to sem an tic
d is tin c tio n s , b eca u se (i) the varying effects o f in ten sifiers re p re se n t a se m an tic
g ra d ie n t, w h ic h is o b scu red by a clear-cu t d iv isio n in to classes; (ii) som e
in te n sifiers a r e so m etim es used for d ifferen t effects; a n d (iii) sp eak ers Vary in
th e ir use o f in ten sifiers.
In te n s ific a tio n is realized for th e m o st p a r t by ad v erb s, b u t occasionally
also b y n o u n p h ra s e s a n d p rep o sitio n al p h rases.
N o te [a] O n th e r e la tio n b etw e en ‘fully ap p ro v e’ a n d ‘full a p p ro v a l’ etc, c /’A p p 1.71 N o te [bj. F o r

in ten sify in g a d je c tiv e s , c / 7 .3 3 / F o r m odifying ad v e rb s as in ten sifiers, c f l & l f f .
[b] F o r g ra d a b ility w ith referen ce to ad jectives a n d ad v e rb s, c /7 .4 .
A m p lifie r s
8.105 A m p lifiers sc a le u p w a rd s. T h ey are d iv id e d in to (a) m x i m i z e r s , w h ich can
F
d e n o te th e u p p e r e x trem e o f th e scale, a n d (b) o o s t e r s , w h ic h d e n o te a h ig h

|
d e g ree , a h ig h p o in t o n th e scale. B o th su b sets, b u t esp ecially b o o sters, fo rm

o p en classes, a n d n ew expressions a re freq u e n tly c re a te d to rep lace o ld er
on es w h o se im p a c t follow s th e tre n d o f h y p erb o le in ra p id ly grow ing
ineffectual.
M o s t am p lifie rs can b e co n trasted in a lte rn a tiv e n e g a tio n w ith to som e
e x te n t, an d th is p ro p e n sity is a sem an tic te s t fo r th e ir in clu sio n in th e class o f
a m p lifiers:
H e d id n ’t ig n o re m y req u est com pletely, b u t h e d id ig n o re it to some

e xten t. \
T h ey d o n ’t a d m ire his m usic greatly, b u t th ey d o a d m ire it to some
exten t.
By c o n tra st, e m p h a siz e rs ( c f 8.99#') c a n n o t b e so u sed :
* H e d id n ’t retflly ignore m y req u est, b u t h e d id ig n o re it to som e extent.

* T h ey d o n ’t definitely a d m ire his m usic, b u t th ey d o a d m ire it to som e exten t.
C o m m o n a m p lifie rs, w ith in th e tw o subclasses (c/8 .1 0 4 ), in clu d e :
(a ) M A X IM IZER S
absolutely, altogether, completely, entirely, extrem ely, fu lly , perfectly, quite
(c o n tra st c o m p ro m ise r use, 8.111), thoroughly, totally, u tte rly , in a ll respects',
th e in te n sify in g u se o f m ost ( c f l S I ) . F o r e x am p le:
T h ey fu ll y a p p re c ia te o u r problem s.
T h ey thoroughly d isap p ro v e o f his m eth o d s.
Subjuncts 591
T hey totally b e liev ed in th e lea d er’s integrity.

H e h as com pletely ig n o red m y request.
I c an perfectly see w h y you a re anxious a b o u t it.
She entirely a g ree s w ith you.
W e utterly d e p lo re h is tactics.
I enjoyed th e p la y extrem ely.
I m u st absolutely re fu se to listen to your grum bling.
She w ill altogether re je c t such views.
I quite fo rg o t a b o u t h e r b irth d ay .
H e p a id fo r th e d a m a g e fu lly .
She h a sn ’t clo sed th e d o o r completely.
I m ost a p p re c ia te y o u r k in d n ess.
(b ) BOOSTERS
badly, bitterly, deeply, enorm ously, fa r, greatly, heartily, highly, intensely,
much, severely, so, strongly, terribly, violently, well', a great deal, a good dea l,
a lot, b y fa r ; e x clam a to ry how; th e intensifying use o f m ore (c /7 .8 5 N o te
[b])
C f also actively (en g ag ed in ), ha rd (a t w ork), ‘w o rk in g h a rd ’, w h ere ‘(She’s) a t
w o rk ’ w ould c o n n o te s p a tia l p o sitio n .
F o r ex am p le:
T h ey greatly a d m ire h is m usic.
I n eed a d rin k b adly,
T h ey like h e r very m uch.
T h ey re sen t h im deeply.
H e m u st h a v e b itterly re g re tte d his m istak e m an y tim es.
I much p re fe r th e o ld m eth o d s.
I so w an ted to see h er. [‘I w a n ted to see h er very m u c h ’]
H is results w ill h a v e f a r exceed ed his exp ectatio n s.
W e all k now h im well.
T hey an n o y m e a g re a t deal.
W e m iss o u r o ld frie n d s a lot. <inform al>
H ow th ey su ffe re d ! [‘H o w very m uch th ey su ffe red !’]
I used to c o n c e n tra te o n B ra h m s but n ow I m ore enjoy B eeth o v en .
T h e d istin ctio n b e tw e e n m ax im iz ers and b o o sters is n o t a h a r d a n d fa st o n e .

I n p a rticu la r, w h e n m a x im iz e rs are in M p o sitio n th ey o fte n ex p ress a v e ry
h ig h degree, w h e rea s w h e n th ey a re in E p o sitio n th ey a re m o re likely to
co nvey th e ir ab so lu te m e a n in g o f extrem e degree. F o r ex am p le, m a n y
sp eak ers m ay see v e ry little d ifferen ce in force b etw een th e m ax im iz er u tterly
a n d th e b o o ster violently w h e n th ese are in M p o s itio n :
S p eak ers vary in th e e x te n t to w h ich they give a seriously h y p erb o lic re a d in g

to th e m ax im izer. T h e ten d e n c y to use th e m ax im iz er fo r m erely a h ig h
deg ree is especially g re a t fo r a ttitu d in a l verbs su ch as detest.
N o te In so m ew h at o ld -fa sh io n ed in fo rm a l B rE , rather functions as a n ex c lam a to ry b o o s te r: ‘D id you

enjoy th e p a r t y ? *xAther\* (so m e tim e s 'R o t h Er ").
M o d if ic a t io n a n d c o m p a r is o n o f m a x im iz e r s
8 .1 0 6 I f th e m ax im izers are in te rp re te d as expressing the ab so lu te e x tre m e o n a
s c a le , th ey c a n n o t th em selv es be m odified o r c o m p a re d for degree.
M o d ifica tio n a n d co m p ariso n c a n n o t ap p ly to p rep o sitio n al p h ra ses o r to
m o s t a d v erb s th a t d o n o t en d in -ly (altogether, quite, m ost). W ith th e o th er
a d v e rb s th ere is co n sid erab le v a ria tio n in usage, w ith th e se m a n tic class o f
v e rb a s a fu rth e r variable. W e exem plify th e v a riatio n by ta k in g th e first n ine
se n te n c e s in 8.105 th a t illu strate th e use o f m ax im izers as tested for
m o d ific atio n a n d c o m p ariso n . L et us c o n sid er four po ssib ilities:
(i) p rem o d ificatio n o f th e m ax im iz er b y how, in tro d u cin g a q u estio n o r

ex clam a tio n , eg:
H ow thoroughly d o th ey d isa p p ro v e o f his m eth o d s ?

H ow utterly w e d ep lo re his tactics!
(ii) p re m o d ificatio n o f th e m ax im iz er by however to fo rm th e o p e n in g o f a

d e p e n d e n t a d v erb ial clause, eg:
However totally th ey b elieved in th e lead er’s in te g rity , th ey w ere

p re p are d to e x am in e his a ctio n s dispassionately.
(iii) th e m ax im iz er as th e focus o f clause co m p ariso n , eg:
H e ig n o red m y re q u est more com pletely than she did.
(iv) p rem o d ificatio n o f th e m ax im iz er by very, eg:
T h ey very fu lly a p p re c ia te o u r problem s.
T a b le 8 . 106a M o d ific a tio n a n d c o m p a ris o n o f m a x im iz e rs
(i) (ii) (iii) (iv )

how how ever m ore than very
fu l l y + + + +
th o ro u g h ly .+ + + +
to ta lly !+ + ?
+ \
c o m p letely + + + ?
p e rfe c tly '+ + ? ?
e n tir e ly + + -
u tte r ly + + - -
e x tre m e ly .? ? _
a b so lu te ly !- - _ -
T able 8.106a gives th e resu lts o f th e testin g . A s can be seen fro m th e results,
it is possible to use fu lly a n d thoroughly to d en o te a very h ig h p o in t o n th e
scale, b u t only absolutely is felt to be ab so lu te, m ark in g th e ab so lu te e x trem e
o f in te n sificatio n a n d h en ce n o t su scep tib le itself o f m o d ificatio n . T h e q ueries
in th e Table in d ic a te a n a re a o f d iv id e d usage. T h ere is a p re scrip tiv e
tr a d itio n fo rb id d in g th e u se o f very o r th e co m p arativ e w ith com pletely an d
p erfectly, as well as w ith th e ir resp ectiv e a d jectiv e form s.
N o te I n d e e d , sim ilar restrictio n s o n m o d ificatio n a n d co m p ariso n apply to th e ad jectiv e bases o f th ese

a d v e rb s , th ough th ey are n o t id en tical. Table 8.106b lists th ese adjectiv e b ases a n d show s th e
S ubjuncts 593
results o f te sts on th e m for m odification by more a n d by very. M odificatio n by how a n d k o w e v e r

co in cid es w ith th a t by more.
Table 8.106b M o dification a n d co m p ariso n o f ad jectiv e bases o f m axim izers
m ore very
fu l l + +
thorough + +
total 7 -
com plete 7 ?
perfect ? ?
entire — —
utter ? _
extrem e ? ?
absolute ? -
T h e q u e rie s re p re se n t in p a rt d iv id ed usage. B ut th e a c c ep ta b ility o f th e m odifiers w ith th e se

in ten sify in g ad jectiv es (c /7 .3 3 /) also d ep e n d s o n th e n o u n . I f th e n o u n is a b stra c t a n d d e r iv e d
fro m a v e rb , it seem s m o re ac cep ta b le to m odify th e ad jectiv e by m ore o r very. C o n tra st:
T, , . f investigation.
I h a v e n e v e r seen a m ore co m plete j y . ^
. . . e f ûnderstanding o f th e pro b lem .

H e h a s a very p e rfe c t { . , . , ,,
v [ l*right to d o w h a t he likes.
T h e ite m m a y also o cc u r a s o th e r th a n a n in ten sify in g ad jectiv e an d th e re n eed n o t th e n b e a n y
p ro b le m o f m o d ific a tio n :
She ex p ressed very extrem e view s. ] . ,,
.. .. . , . > [extrem e — n o t m o d e rate !
H e r v iew s o n th e subject a re m ore extrem e th a n m in e. J
C o occurrence restrictions on amplifiers

8.107 C e rta in am p lifiers ten d to co o ccu r p re d o m in an tly w ith c ertain v e rb s ; fo r
e x a m p le :
I entirely + agree
W e badly + n eed , w an t
I com pletely + forget [c f also, in fo rm ally , ‘I clean fo rg o t!’]
T h ey greatly + ad m ire, enjoy
In som e cases, th e am plifiers cooccur w ith a sem an tic class o f v e rb s, fo r

ex am p le g rea tly w ith v erb s h av in g a fav o u rab le im p lica tio n an d u tterly w ith
v erb s h a v in g a n u n fa v o u ra b le im p licatio n . S om e intensifiers, such a s d e ep ly,
te n d to o c cu r w ith a ttitu d in a l verbs ( c /8 . 101):
T h e y w o u n d ed h im deeply, [would usually re fe r to em o tio n al w o u n d in g ]

T h e y w o u n d ed h im badly, [would usually re fe r to p h y sical w o u n d in g ]
E v en w h e n th e re is a n item -class selectivity, th e am p lifier m ay n o t c o o c c u r

w ith all th e item s in the class. W e h a v e :
deeply + h a te , dislike, ad m ire, love, value, regret
but n o t:
*deeply + like, p refer, fav o u r
F u r th e r in v estig a tio n m ay also show th a t sem an tically -d efin ab le c la sses o f

a m p lifie rs te n d to c o o ccu r w ith sem antically-definable classes o f verbs.

B u t th e s itu a tio n c an b e ev en m ore co m p licated . S o m etim es th ere are
s y n ta c tic c o n d itio n s for c e rta in types o f lexical c o o ccu rren ce. M uch is largely
used in n o n a sse rtiv e s, u n less prem odified:
* S h e lik es h im m uch.
f very~]
S h e lik es h im 4 so > much.
[too J
I d o n ’t m uch c a re fo r M ax Bruch.
D o y o u lik e h im m M c /i? l r., ,, ...
I d o n ’t lik e h im m uch I lt ‘K)uS‘1 very m u c “ w ould b e m o re usual]
Y e t w ith som e v erb s, u n p rem o d ified much c a n b e used , b u t o n ly in M

p o s itio n :
p re fe r h is offer,
a d m ire y o u r technique,
W e much
a p p re c ia te yo u r in v itatio n .
. re g re t th e inconvenience.
p re fe r h is o ffer
a d m ire y o u r tec h n iq u e , , , ,
♦W e . r. > much, [w h ere v ery m u c h w ould
a p p re c ia te y o u r in v ita tio n , . ,, J , ,, ,
_re g re t th e in co n v en ien ce J e u y a cc ep a e]
N o te [a] Very m uch is a n o th e r ex a m p le o f w here it is possible to select th e g ra d a b le sense o f a verb.

W h ile:
T h e y m issed her;
is a m b ig u o u s b etw een th e ‘e m o tiv e ’ sense (‘feel sorry o r u n h a p p y a t th e lo ss o r ab sen ce o f ’) a n d
th e sen se o f ‘a rriv in g to o la te fo r1, th e ad d itio n o f very m uch allow s o nly th e em o tiv e se n s e :
T h e y very m uch m issed h er.
T h e y m issed h e r v e ry m uch.
W h e re th e em o tiv e sense w o u ld n o t b e no rm al, very m uch c a n n o t b e a d d e d :
♦T h e y g o t up la te, a n d so th e y ( " 7 T ? f * * 1 *he b “ S'

J ° T J (m issed th e bus very m uch.
C o m p a re a l s o : '
H e v e ry much e x p e c te d tro u b le a t th e m eeting.
?*H e ve ry much ex p e c te d a 14 b u s b u t i t tu rn e d o u t to b e a 73.
S h e v e ry much a p p e a rs to b e in trouble.
?*She ve ry much a p p e a rs in p u b lic.
[b] T h e co llo q u ia l n 't h a l f <esp B rE > ten d s to cooccur w ith p re d ic a tio n s a lre a d y im ply in g h igh
o r low in ten sific atio n :j
S he d o e s n't h a lf sw e ar. [‘S h e sw e ars a g re a t d ea l’]
I t’s n o t h a lf cold to d ay .
I t h a s n ’t h a lf b ee n co ld to d ay .
A s well a s b ein g a n am p lifier, th is p h ra se can be used (noncolloquially a n d m o re literally) as a
d o w n to n e r; co m p are:
I ’m n o t h l f 'satisfied. [‘I a m o n ly partially satisfied’]
F
I ’m n o t th a lf s^Tisfied. [‘I a m hig h ly satisfied’]] y. r , .. ,

Y o u r new suit is n ’t h a lf | A d . [’I lik e i t ] j <mformal'espdla,ectal>
8.108 A m p lifie rs cooccur o n ly w ith g rad ab le verbs, a n d w h e n a d v e rb ia l item s o f

th e s a m e form co o cc u r w ith n o n g rad ab le v erb s th ey d o n o t fu n ctio n as
S ub ju ncts 595
am plifiers, b u t as q u a n tifiers, d u ra tiv es, o r freq u en tativ es (c/8 .1 1 5 ), o r a s

pro cess ad ju n cts ( c /8 .
She d rin k s m ilk a lot. [‘o fte n ’]

H e will ju d g e us severely, [‘in a severe m an n e r’]
H o w ev er, a n o n g ra d ab le v e rb c a n becom e g rad ab le w hen th e focus is o n th e

resu lt o f th e pro cess r a th e r th a n o n the process itself. F o r ex am p le, if th e
p erfectiv e p article up is a d d e d to drin k o r th e p erfectiv e a sp e c t o f th e v e rb is
used , the focus is o n th e resu lt, a n d an am plifier such as com pletely c a n
coo ccu r w ith d r in k :
H e d ra n k u p h is b e er com pletely.
H e h as com pletely d ru n k h is beer.
Sim ilarly, w hile ju d g e is n o n g ra d a b le , m isjudge is g ra d ab le, sin ce m isjudge is

co n cern ed w ith th e resu lt o f th e ju d g in g an d is also su scep tib le o f a n
ev alu ativ e m ea n in g :
*H e { S r * } ju d g ed th e situ atio n .
He j m isju d g ed th e situ atio n .
A n d i f badly is u sed w ith ju d g e , it is in te rp re te d as a process a d ju n c t ( p e rh a p s

expressing a b len d o f p ro cess w ith result) a n d m u st be p u t in E p o s itio n :
H e ju d g ed th e s itu a tio n badly, [‘in a w ay th a t w as b ad a n d w ith b a d

resu lts’]
N o te [a] T h e perfectiv e p articles w ith c e rta in verb s fu n ctio n a s am plifying su b ju n cts ( c /a ls o 8 .33):
H e d ra n k (up) h is b eer.
[b] T h e g ra d ab le/n o n g ra d ab le d istin c tio n (c /7 .4 ) b etw een ju d g e a n d m isjudge is fo u n d in o th e r
m o rphologically-related verb s:
NONGRADABLE GRADABLE
calcu late m isc alc u late
estim ate o v e re stim a te , u n d erestim ate
ra te o v e rra te , u n d e rra te
rep resen t m isre p re se n t
beh av e m isb e h av e
m a n ag e m ism a n a g e
Po sitio n s o f am plifiers
8 .109 M a n d E p o sitio n s a re o p e n to m o st ad v erb s th a t a re a m p lifie rs; n o u n p h ra se s
a n d p re p o sitio n al p h ra ses a re re stric te d to E position. In p o sitiv e d e c la ra tiv e
clauses, M p o sitio n is fa v o u re d fo r b o th b oosters an d m ax im izers w h en w e
w a n t to ex p ress a scaling u p w ard s, b u t E p o sitio n is p re ferred fo r m ax im iz ers
w h en we w a n t to d e n o te th e a b so lu te u p p e r ex trem e o f th e scale. H e n ce , th e
effect o f th e m ax im izer com pletely in M p o sitio n in :
H e com pletely d en ie d it.
is close to th a t o f th e b o o ste r strongly o r th e e m p h asizer really, w h ic h c a n

h av e a scaling effect sim ila r to th a t o f b oosters (c/8 .1 0 1 ):
He { ^ f } denied i£.
O n t h e o th e r h a n d , w hen completely is in £ p o sitio n :
H e d e n ie d it completely.
th e in te n tio n se e m s to be closer to :
H e d e n ie d it in every respect.
W h e re th e a b so lu te m ean in g is ex p ected , som e p eo p le find o nly E p o sitio n

a c c e p ta b le :
? H e com pletely dissected th e an im al.

? T h e y com pletely d iv id ed u p th e m oney.
H e d isse c te d th e an im a l completely, [‘in to all th e p re scrib e d p a rts ’]
T h e y d iv id e d u p th e m oney com pletely, [‘th e w hole o f th e m o n ey ’]
W e c a n also c o n tra st th e p ro b a b le in te rp re ta tio n s o f violently in th e tw o

p o s itio n s sh o w n i n :
T h e y violently a tta c k e d him .

T h e y a tta c k e d h im violently.
In M p o s itio n , violently is likely to b e in te rp re te d as a b o o ster [‘stro n g ly ’] a n d

a tta c k e d w ill th e n be eq u iv alen t to ‘c o n d em n ed ’, a v e rb al assau lt. O n th e
o th e r h a n d , w h e n violently is in E p o sitio n , w e a re likely to in te rp re t it literally
[‘w ith v io le n c e ’] a s a m an n e r pro cess ad ju n c t (c/8 .7 9 ), w ith a tta c k e d n ow
r e fe rrin g to p h y sic al assault.
I n n e g a tiv e , in te rro g ativ e, a n d im p e rativ e clauses, E p o sitio n is n o rm a l in
all c a s e s . 1
N o te [a] T h e su b ju n c ts ex trem ely , m ost , a n d (w h en no c o m p a ra tiv e clause follow s) m ore a re usually in

£ p o s itio n . E x c la m a to ry how , o f course, ap p e a rs only a t I.
[b] S o m e b o o sters (in clu d in g well) occasionally a p p e a r in iM p o sitio n , usually (b u t n o t
n e c e ssa rily ) w h e n th e y are th em selves in tensified o r before a n em p h atic au x iliary a n d esp ecially
w hen t h e u tte ra n c e s follow a n asso ciated sta te m e n t; th e se subjuncts m ig h t th u s be seen as
su b je c t-o rie n te d (c /8 .9 2 ): .
A ; I ’d p re fe r to see them to m orrow .
B : A n d I | v ery m u c h | w ould pre fe r to see th e m to m orrow .
C /a ls o ;
I s o d id w a n t to m e et th em .
I w e lt c a n u n d e rsta n d your problem .
F o r s o m e s p e a k e rs , iiM p o sition is co m m o n for very m uch in very m uch w ould like, th o u g h o th e rs
find it o d d : J
?I v e r y m uch w ould like to sp eak to you so m etim e to day.
In all th e s e ex a m p les, M w ould be far m o re u su al as in : ‘I w ould very m uch p r e f e r . . . ’, T d id so
w a n t . . . ’ etc.
S y n t a c t i c f e a t u r e s o f a m p l if i e r s
8.110 A m p lifie rs c a n be c o n trasted w ith o th e r in ten sifiers in a lte rn a tiv e in te rro g a
tio n a n d n e g atio n , an d th ey can co m e w ith in th e scope o f p re d ic a tio n p ro
fo rm s o r ellipsis. O n th e o th e r h a n d , th ey c a n n o t be th e focus o f a cleft
s e n te n c e :
S ub ju ncts 597
* It w as com pletely th a t he ignored your request.
B ut fo r som e p eo p le, th ey c a n be th e focus o f a cleft sen ten ce if th ey a re

m odified o r i f th e fo cal clau se is in terro g ativ e o r n eg ativ e ( c fS .l 13, 8.83):
?W as it com pletely t h a t h e ignored your req u est?

?I k now t h a t it w a s n ’t entirely th a t he ag reed w ith us.
?I w o n d er h o w fu lly it w as th a t they a p p rec ia ted y o u r pro b lem s.
M o st boosters a c c e p t co m p ariso n an d m o dification, b u t m ax im izers vary in

th is re sp ec t ( c / 8 . 106).
A m plifiers d o n o t usually serve as a response to a flb w -q u estio n , th o u g h
th ey c a n if th e v e rb in th e q u estio n h as to do w ith g en eral e v a lu a tio n :
*H o w d o th ey a d m ire his m usic? (T hey a d m ire it)
H o w d o y o u lik e it? (I lik e it) j

T h ey can o ften b e e v o k ed by H ow m u c h :
H o w m u ch d o th e y a d m ire his m usic? (T hey a d m ire it) G reatly.
N o te O th e r q uestion fo rm s elic itin g am plifiers are To what e x t e n t . . . ? H ow f a r (do y o u th in k . . . ) 7

W hat do yo u think o f . . . ?
D o w n to n ers
8 .1 1 1 D o w n to n ers h a v e a g en erally low ering effect o n th e fo rce o f th e verb o r
p re d ic atio n a n d m a n y o f th em apply a scale to g ra d ab le v erb s. T h ey c a n b e
d iv id e d in to fo u r g ro u p s (c /8 .1 0 4 ):
(a) APPROXIMATORS serv e to express a n ap p ro x im atio n to th e fo rce o f th e

v erb , w hile in d ic a tin g th a t the v erb c o n cern ed ex p resses m o re th a n is
relevant.
(b) c o m p r o m i s e r s h a v e o nly a slight low ering effect a n d te n d , as w ith (a), to
call in q u e stio n th e ap p ro p ria te n e ss o f th e v erb c o n cern ed .
(c) d im in is h e r s s c a le d o w n w a r d s a n d ro u g h ly m e a n ‘to a sm a ll e x te n t’.
(d ) m in im iz e r s a r e n e g a tiv e m a x im iz e rs, ‘( n o t) to a n y e x t e n t ’.
G ro u p s (a) a n d (b) sh o u ld b e co m p ared w ith d isju n cts o f m eta lin g u istic

co m m en t, c/8 .1 2 6 .
T h e four g ro u p s re p re se n t sem an tic d istin ctio n s am o n g d o w n to n ers, b o th
in th e force o f d o w n to n in g a n d in co m b in in g th is a sp e ct w ith q u e stio n in g th e
expression in (a) a n d (b) as d istin c t from a sim p ler g ra d in g o f in te n sity in (c)
a n d (d). B ut th e a ssig n m e n t o f in d iv id u al d o w n to n ers to p a rtic u la r g ro u p s
w ould vary fro m sp e a k e r to speaker.
C o m m o n d o w n to n e rs include:
(a) F p p r o x im F t o r s
almost, nearly, practically (in fo rm a l), virtually, as go o d as ( in f o r m a l) , all

but
I a lm o st resig n ed .
H e virtually d ic ta te d th e term s o f th e settlem en t.
T h e y practically fo rced h im to resign.
T h e y a s g o o d a s ru in ed th e school.
S h e a ll b ut k issed us.
(b ) COMPROMISERS
k in d o f (in fo rm a l, esp A m E )
so rt o f ( in f o r m a l)
q u ite [c o n tra st m ax im iz er use w ith n o n g rad ab les, c / 8 . 105]
rather
enough, sufficiently, m ore or less
I k in d o /lik e h im . (in fo rm a l, esp A m E ) [on p o sitio n in g o f
k in d of, c/7 .6 4 ]
A s h e w as w alk in g a long, he sort o f stum bled a n d seem ed
ill. ( in f o r m a l)
I quite enjo y ed th e p a rty , b u t E ve b een to b e tte r on es, ( e s p B r E )
I ’m su re y o u ’ll lik e h e r enough to in v ite h er to y o u r p arty .
H e m ore o r less re sen te d th e ir interference.
(c) d im in is h e r s
T h ese m ay b e d iv id e d as b etw een (i) th e e x p r e s s i o n d im in ish e rs w h ich

se e k to ex p ress o n ly p a r t o f th e p o ten tial force o f th e ite m co n ce rn ed , a n d
(ii) th e F t t i t u d e d im in ish e rs w hich seek to im p ly th a t th e force o f th e
ite m c o n c e rn e d is lim ited . W ith (ii) should be c o m p a re d th e re stric tiv e
subjuncts, (c /8 .1 1 6 ).
(i) m ildly, p artially, partly, quite, slightly, som ewhat', in pa rt, in som e
respects, to som e extent', a bit, a little, least (o f alt)
(ii) only, m erely, sim p ly 'Ju st (in f o r m a l) , but (fo rm a l a n d r a th e r a r c h a ic )
(i) T h e in c id e n t som ew hat influenced h is actio n s in la te r life.
W e;k n o w th e m slightly.
I p d rtly a g ree w ith you. \
T h ey h a v e a lw ay s m ildly dislik ed him .
I c a n a d m ire h is co u rag e to som e extent.
(ii) I w a s only jo k in g .
I t w as m erely a m a tte r o f finance.
S h e ’ll j u s t b e o u t fo r a few m inutes.
I t se e m s b u t y esterd ay .
(d) m in im iz e r s
n e g ativ es: barely, hardly, little, scarcely ;

n o n a sse rtiv e s: in the least, in the slightest, a t all, a bit
F o r ex am p le:
She scarcely k n o w s m e.
I d id n ’t e n jo y it in the least.
H e little realizes w h a t tro u b le h e h as caused.
T hey d o n ’t s u p p o rt h e r a t all.
Subjuncts 599
I d o n ’t lik e his a ttitu d e a bit.

W e d o n ’t m in d in the slightest.
T h e re a re sev eral n o u n p h rases th a t can b e m in im izers only in n e g a tiv e

clau ses eg:
I d id n ’t sleep a w ink last night.

( in f o r m a l)
I d o n ’t ow e you a thing.
C f 10.62 fo r o th e r exam ples.
N o te [a] F o r th e d istin c tio n b etw een l i ttl e a n d a l i ttl e, c f 5 .2 3 /

fb] S om e s p eak ers use k i n d o f an d sort o f as ap p ro x im ato rs w ith n o n g rad ab le v e rb s :
H e sor t o f sm iled a t us. [‘Y ou co uld alm o st say he sm iled a t us’]
H e k i n d o f gru n te d . [‘Y ou could alm o st say he g ru n te d ’]
W h e n th e y are u sed as a p p ro x im ato rs, w e c a n say (c f 8.112): .
H e so rt o f sm iled a t us, b u t in fact it w as m o re lik e a sneer.
F o r o th e r sp eak ers, they a re alw ays n ea re r to m ore o r l ess th a n to al m ost. B oth uses a re v e ry
in fo rm al a n d k i n d o f is especially com m on in A m E . S o m ew h at m o re in form ally still, th ese ite m s
ca n b e a t E : T m puzzled, sor t o f .
[c] A s w ell as b ein g a m a x im izer (c f 8.105), especially w ith u n its th a t a re eith e r n o n g ra d a b le o r
a re seen as b ein g a t th e e n d o f th e scale (qui te perf ect ), v i e see th a t qui te, ap p a re n tly c o n trad icto rily ,
h a s tw o f u rth e r roles, w h e th e r used as a m odifier (c f 7.56, 7.63) o r as a n ad v e rb ial. A s
c o m p ro m iser, it is usually stressed only lig h tly ; as d im in ish e r, it is heavily stressed o r ac tu ally
m a d e n u c le a r; w ith verbs, th e usage is especially B rE . F o r ex am p le
T h e b o o k is q u ite GO O D, [com prom iser o r am plifier]
I t seem s th a t th e y q u ite l i k e her. [com prom iser]
T h e b o o k is Q U IT E g 6 o d . 1 . . . . . .
I t seem s th a t th ey q u I te lI k e her. J lm in ls e r - c/ • 1
T h e re is h o w ev er c o n sid e rab le v ariatio n idiolectically. N o te th a t w ith neg ativ es, o nly th e
m a x im iz e r use is fo u n d : ‘S he d id n 't qui te a p p ro v e ’.
8 .1 1 2 A p p ro x im a to rs differ fro m m o st o th e r d o w n to n ers in th a t th ey im ply a d e n ia l

o f th e t r u th v alu e o f w h a t is d en o ted by th e v erb . H e n ce w e can say, w ith th e
a p p ro x im a to r a lm o st:
I alm ost resig n ed (b u t in fa ct I d id n ’t resign).
B u t w e c a n n o t d eny in th is w ay th e tr u th v alu e o f w h a t is said w h en w e use

m o st o th e r d o w n to n e rs:
*1 k in d o f lik e h im (b u t in fa ct I d o n ’t lik e him ).

*W e k n o w th em slightly (b u t in fa c t w e d o n ’t k n o w them ).
T h e m in im iz e rs differ fro m o th er d o w n to n e rs in p ro v id in g a m o d ific atio n

to w a rd s a v ersio n th a t is m o re strictly tru e ra th e r th a n a d e n ial o f th e tr u th
v alu e o f w h a t h a s been sa id :
She k n o w s m e ( - in fa c t sh e d o e sn ’t k now m e).
I c a n barely u n d e rsta n d him ( - in fa c t I c a n ’t u n d e rstan d him ).

H e little realizes th e tro u b le he h as c au sed ( - in fa ct he d o esn ’t
re aliz e it).
In e a c h case, th e second clau se tu rn s th e p a rtia l d e n ia l in th e first clause in to

a d m ittin g a full denial.
C o m p ro m is e rs reach o u t tow ards a n assu m ed n o rm b u t a t th e sam e tim e

re d u ce th e fo rc e o f th e verb. C onsider th e fo llo w in g :
I k in d o / li k e him . (in fo rm a l, esp A m E )

I ra th er lik e him . (e s p B rE )
In s a y in g e ith e r o f th ese, w e do n o t deny lik in g him . B ut we seem to be ra th e r

d e p re c a tin g a n d g ru d g in g : ‘I m ig h t go as fa r as to say I lik e h im ’.
T h e d iffere n ce b etw een d im in ish ers an d m in im izers is n o t th e n earn ess to
th e b o tto m o f th e scale, th o u g h m ost m in im izers are in d ee d n e a r th e b ottom .
T h e y a r e d is tin g u ish e d in th eir b eh av io u r w ith resp ect to n e g atio n . T h e effect
o f n e g a tio n is to d en y th e tru th value o f w h a t is d en o ted by th e v e r b :
T h e y d id n ’t p ra is e h im in th e S L iG H T e st. [‘T h ey d id n ’t p ra ise h im ’]

W e d o n ’t lik e it a b i t . [‘W e d o n ’t like it’]
D im in is h e rs a r e n o t usually th e focus o f n eg atio n , b u t w h e n th ey are, th e

effect is to p u s h the scaling tow ards th e to p . F o r ex am p le, w ith fall-rise
n u c le i:
T h e y d id n ’t p ra is e h im SL lG H T ly. [‘T h ey p ra ised h im a lo t’]
W e d o n ’t lik e it a L i n l e . [‘W e like it a lo t’]
F o u r o f th e m in im iz e rs - b a r e l y , h a r d l y , l i t t l e , s c a r c e l y - fo rm a subgroup.
T h e y a re th em se lv es n eg ativ e ( c f 10.59,10.64) a n d can n o t b e n e g ated . O n th e
ra re o c ca sio n s w h e n th ey are p o sitio n ed in itially , th ere is s u b je c t-o p e ra to r
in v ersio n . O f th ese fo u r, h a r d l y , s c a r c e l y , a n d b a r e l y c a n co o ccu r w ith
n o n a sse rtiv e s o r w ith m in im izers like a th in g :
•m \ T rdfy\ J it
^XZfy /" “ ‘ W
I s c a r c e l y s le p t a w in k .
F o r so m e p e o p le , th e cooccurrence o f th ese n o n assertiv es o r m in im izers is

m arg in ally a c c e p ta b le w ith b a r e ly .
C e rta in m irtim izers n o t listed above a p p e a r in re stric te d en v iro n m en ts
(c /8 .1 0 3 ): ' X
(i) p o s s i b l y a n d c o n c e iv a b ly , w hen th ey o p e rate u p o n c a n o r c o u l d in
n o n a sse rtiv e c la u s e s :
T h e y c a n ’f p o s s i b l y leave now . [‘T h ey c a n ’t u n d e r a n y circu m stan ces

leave n d w ’]
C an he conceivably w a n t to see m e? [‘Is it possible to im a g in e th a t he
w a n ts . . . ? ’]
T h is use o f p o s s i b l y an d c o n c e iv a b ly is to b e d istin g u ish ed fro m th e ir use as

d is ju n c ts ( c /8 ,127). C o n tra s t:
T h e y c a n ’t p o s s i b l y leave now . [m inim izer]

T h ey possibly c a n ’t leave now . [disjunct - ‘I t ’s possible t h a t th ey c a n ’t
leave n o w ’]
(ii) n e v e r is a n e g a tiv e m in im izer in:

S ub ju ncts 601
Y ou will never c a tc h th e tra in to n ig h t. [‘Y ou will n o t u n d e r a n y

circu m stan ces c a tc h th e tra in to n ig h t’]
T h e p resen ce o f a n a d v erb ial refe rrin g to a specific fu tu re tim e su ch as tonight

rules o u t th e tem p o ral m ea n in g o f never (c f : always in 8.103). I n n o n a sse rtiv e
clauses ever (w ith som e re te n tio n o f tem poral m ean in g ) c a n re p la ce never a s
m in im iz e r; th is is co m m o n , fo r in stan ce, in rh eto rical q u e stio n s;
W ill th ey (n)ever sto p ta lk in g ? W o n ’t they ever learn ?

(* W o n ’t th ey never lea rn ?)
I w o n d ered if th e tra in w o u ld (njever arrive.
N o te Inform ally, in som e A m E , w e h a v e lik e to a s an ap p ro x im ato r, especially, in p ast-ten se

en v iro n m en ts:
W h en h e saw all th e blo od, he lik e to fain ted , [‘he nearly fain ted ’]
C /i n m o re w idespread inform al u s e : ‘T h e y dam n near killed th em selves in th a t a c c id e n t.’
S y n t a c t ic fe a t u r e s o f d o w n to n e r s
8.113 Som e d o w n to n ers can lie w ith in th e scope o f clau se in te rro g a tio n a n d
n e g atio n , b u t n o t th e co m p ro m ise rs k in d of, sort of, rather, m ore or less; th e
m in im iz e r n eg ativ es; o r m o st ap p ro x im ato rs. T h e focus o f clau se n eg atio n
c an b e o n th e c o m p ro m iser quite, th e dim inishers, a n d th e a p p ro x im a to rs
alm ost a n d nearly, b u t o n ly w h e n th e negation is a d e n ia l o f a p re v io u s
assertio n . F o r e x a m p le :
A : H e alm o st crash e d h is c ar.

B : H e d id n ’t A L m ost c r a s h | H e c r F sh e d |
C o n tra s t in a lte rn a tiv e in te rro g a tio n o r n egation seem s p o ssib le only fo r th e

co m p ro m isers enough a n d sufficiently, for the d im in ish ers, a n d fo r th e
a p p ro x im ato rs alm ost a n d nearly.
D o w n to n ers com e w ith in th e scope o f p red icatio n p ro -fo rm s a n d o f ellipsis.
Som e d o w n to n ers can b e fo cu sed by only; these include all th e d im in ish e rs o f
su b set (ci) in 8.111 (excluding least), a n d the m in im izers barely a n d a bit. T h e
sam e d o w n to n ers can b e th e focus o f a cleft sen ten ce u n d e r th e sam e
co n d itio n s as fo r am plifiers (c/8 .1 1 0 ). N one o f the d o w n to n e rs c a n be th e
focus o f also. O nly d im in ish e r a d v erb s and the m in im iz e r little c a n b e th e
focus o f clause c o m p ariso n o r b e prem odified.
A few d o w n to n ers c a n p re ce d e a n eg ativ e verb p h ra s e :
I alm ost d id n ’t m eet h im .

She k in d o f w asn’t listen in g . 1 .. .
H e sort o f d id n ’t w a n t to say a n y th in g ab o u t it. J o rm a ’ 6S^ 111
M an y d o w n to n ers c an serv e as th e response to a q u estio n in tro d u c e d by how

m uch, e tc (c/8 .1 1 0 N o te). T h ese include enough (b u t o nly a few o f th e
com p ro m isers), the n o n a sse rtiv e m in im izers (unless p re ced ed b y not), a n d
no n e o f th e a p p ro x im ato rs.
O n a use o f rather as a b o o ste r, c / 8 . 105 N ote.
P o s it io n s o f d o w n to n e r s
8.114 M o st d o w n to n ers fav o u r e M p o sitio n a n d some are re stric te d to i t :
quite, ra th er, as go o d as, all but
T h u s;
H e m u st h a v e b e e n rather in a difficulty.
S h e m ay h a v e as g o o d as finished th e p a in tin g by n o w . ( in f o r m a l)
S h e h ad a ll b u t fin ish ed th e p a in tin g w h en th e b u rg lary to o k place.
* S h e m ay a ll b u t h a v e fin is h e d . .
O th e rs ten d t o b e re stric te d e ith er to M o r i M :
barely, h a rd ly , scarcely, practically, virtually
F o r e x am p le:
H e c ould h a rd ly b e d escrib ed as a n expert.

S h e will virtually h a v e finished by th e tim e th ey a rriv e.
S h e scarcely h a s h a d a n y sleep, [less usual th a n ‘ha s scarcely h a d ’]
O n th e o th e r h a n d , i M is u n accep tab le to m an y p eo p le:
? H e hardly c o u ld b e d escrib ed as a n expert.

?S h e virtually will h a v e finished by th e tim e th ey a rriv e.
A fe w d o w n to n e rs a re restricted to M in a p o sitiv e clau se, b u t c a n b e a t iM
in a n e g ativ e o n e (c /8 .1 1 3 ):
k in d of, so r t o f, alm ost, nearly
A fe w o th ers f a v o u r E p o s itio n :
a bit, a t d ll
o r a r e largely r e s tric te d to E :
enough, a little , a n d th e em p h atic "one bit
I will try a n d h elp th e m a little.
O n th e o th er h a n d , a few d im in ish ers c an be p lac ed a t I:
p a rtly, in p a r t, in so m e respects, to som e exten t

1
I n t e n s if ie r i t e m s a s q u a n ti fie r s , fr e q u e n ta tiv e s , d u r a tiv e s
8.115 M a n y item s t h a t a re in ten sifiers are also used to d e n o te a m e a su re o f q u a n tity
o r o f d u ra tio n o r o f freq u en cy in tim e (</8.98). T h ese in ten sifiers in clu d e:
m o st o f th e m in im iz e rs ;
th e c o m p ro m ise rs enough, sufficiently;
th e b o o ste rs m uch, a lot (in f o r m a l) , a good deal, a g rea t d e a l ;
th e d im in ish e rs a bit ( in fo rm a l), a little, least, som ew hat, to som e extent.
W e c a n th e re fo re c o n tra s t several uses of, for ex am p le, a lo t :
I lik e th e m a lot. [‘to a g re at e x ten t’ - b o o ster in ten sifier]

Subjuncts 603
I p a id h im a lot fo r his w o rk , [‘a larg e a m o u n t’ - quantifier]

I see h im a lot. [‘o ften ’ - frequency]
I sle p t a lot last n ig h t, [‘a long tim e ’ - duratio n ]
In all o f th ese uses, a lot c a n b e ev o k ed as a n an sw er to th e q u e stio n how

m uch? B u t in a d d itio n th e freq u e n c y su b ju n ct can be a response to a how o fte n
q u e stio n (‘H o w o ften do you see h im ? ’), an d th e d u ra tio n su b ju n ct to a how
long q u e stio n (‘H o w long d id y o u sleep last n ig h t? ’).
T h ere c a n b e am b ig u ities a s a resu lt o f m ore th a n one o f th ese uses b e in g
allow ed in a g iv en in s ta n c e :
H e d o esn ’t d rin k very m uch, [‘a very large a m o u n t’ - q u a n tifier; o r ‘ve ry

o fte n ’ - frequency]
She suffered very little, [‘to a sm all e x te n t’ - d im in ish e r in te n sifier; o r
‘rarely ’ - frequency]
T h ey scarcely listen ed to h im . [‘to a m in im al e x te n t’ - m in im iz e r
in te n sifier; o r ‘ra rely ’ - freq u en cy ]
D id th e singers p lease you enough last n ig h t? [‘to a sufficient e x te n t’ -
b o o ster in ten sifier; o r ‘sufficiently o ften ’ - freq u en cy ; o r ‘fo r a
sufficiently long tim e ’ - d u ra tio n ]
Som e o f th e q u an tifiers m u st b e re g ard ed as d irect o bjects ra th e r th a n a s

su b ju n cts, becau se th ey can b e m a d e th e subject o f th e p assiv e fo rm o f th e
se n ten c e:
T h e n ew o w n er p a id h im a lot fo r his w ork. ~ A lot w as p a id h im (b y th e

n e w o w ner) fo r his w ork.
T h e stu d en ts h a v e e aten enough. ~ E n o u g h h as b een e aten (by th e
stu d en ts).
A n ex-m ayor w ro te a bit a b o u t c o n d itio n s in th e city. ~ A bit w as
w ritte n (by a n ex-m ayor) a b o u t co n d itio n s in th e city.
O th e rs c a n n o t be m ad e su b ject:
A fte r th e ir w alk, th e tw o frie n d s a te a n d d ra n k somewhat.

~ *A fte r their w a lk,som ew hat w as e aten a n d d ru n k (by th e tw o frie n d s ).
T h o se th a t c a n b e m ad e su b je ct c a n also b e ev o k ed b y a w hat q u e stio n a n d

th ey c a n ta k e th e p o sitio n n o rm ally o ccu p ied by th e h e ad o f a n o u n p h ra se
w ith p o stm o d ificatio n by a p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se; th ey m ay b e re g a rd e d as
p ro n o u n s lik e a ll ( c f 6.50):
very little
enough
In fact, a lot o f th e w o rk h a s b een successfully c o m p leted .
a b it
a good d e a l .
N o te [a] F o r th e relatio n sh ip betw e en q u a n tita tiv e s an d freq u en cy subjuncts, c f 8.71.

[b] M an y in tensifiers, p a rticu larly b o o sters, ca n also fu n ctio n as process ad ju n cts (c f& .l& ff ) :
H e bitterly reg retted h is m istak e, [b o o ster intensifier]
H e sp o k e bitterly ab o u t th e w ay h e h a d b ee n tre ated , [‘in a b itte r m a n n e r’ - m a n n e r p ro cess
adjunct]
C f also 8.81 for th e p ossibility o f a b le n d o f inten sifier w ith process ad junct.
F o c u s in g su b ju n c ts
8 .116 F o c u s in g su b ju n cts can d raw atte n tio n to a p a r t o f a sentence a s w id e a s th e
p r e d ic a tio n o r a s n arro w as a single c o n stitu e n t o f a n elem en t (such as a
p re m o d ify in g ad jectiv e in a noun p h ra se as subject, o r a n auxiliary w ith in a
v e r b p h ra se). T h ey a re realized by a fairly lim ite d set o f item s, m ostly
a d v e r b s , b u t in clu d in g also som e p re p o sitio n al ph rases. F u n ctio n ally , th e re
a r e tw o m a in su b d iv isio n s, RESTRICTIVES a n d F d d i t i v e s .
r e s t r i c t i v e su b ju n cts in d icate th a t th e u tte ran c e co n cern ed is tru e in
r e s p e c t o f th e p a r t focused. T h ere a re tw o su b s e ts :
(a ) e x c l u s i v e s re stric t th e a p p lic atio n o f th e u tteran ce exclusively to th e
p a r t focused:
alone, exactly, exclusively, ju st, m erely, only, precisely, purely, sim ply,
solely
(b ) p F r t i c u l F r i z e r s re stric t th e a p p lic a tio n o f th e u tte ran c e predom inantly
to th e p a r t fo c u sed :
chiejly, especially, largely, m ainly, m ostly, notably, particularly, prim arily,
principally, specifically ; a t least, in particular
F d d it iv e su b ju n cts in d ic a te th a t th e u tte ra n c e co n cern ed is additionally

tr u e in re sp ec t o f th e p a r t fo cu sed :
again, also, either, equally, even, fu rth er, likewise, neither, nor, sim ilarly,
too; as well, in addition
E x a m p le s o f th e use o f focusing su b ju n cts (w ith th e p a rt th a t is focused
p la c e d in angle b rack ets):
I w a s sim ply (ta k in g m y dog fo r a w a lk ).

W e ju d g e th em purely ( o n the final e x a m in a tio n ).
Y o u c a n g e t a B g rad e ju s t ( f o r th a t a n s w e r).
A t least ( t e n w o rk e rs) re p o rted sick yesterd ay .
( T h e g irls ) especially o b jected to h is m an n ers.
( T h e w o rk e rs,) in particular, a re d issatisfied w ith th e g o v ern m en t.
E ve n ( B o b ) w as th ere.
W e b o u g h t (so m e b e e r) as well. '
S h e m erely fo rg o t to give h er h u sb a n d ( a k iss).
H e fav o u rs particularly ( th e young w o m e n ).
S h e is c h arm in g only to h er ( w e a lth y ) clients.
W h e re a focusing su b ju n c t precedes th e ite m focused (im m ed iately o r

o th e rw is e ), it (is usually asso ciated w ith a n in to n a tio n nucleus o n th e ite m
c o n c e rn e d . W h ere th is ite m is len g th y (eg a p red icatio n ), th e in to n a tio n
n u c le u s w ill b e in th e u n m ark e d final p o s itio n ; c f l S A f f . F o r ex am p le:
I w a s sim ply (ta k in g m y dog for a w F l k ).
W h e re th e focused item is a p re p o sitio n a l o r n o u n p h rase, th e in to n a tio n

n u c le u s w ill be o n th e last stressed syllable o f th e p h ra se ; eg:
E ve n ( s o m e o f h e r f r ie n d s ) c r itic iz e d h e r .
W h e re th e focused item is p a rt o f a p h ra se, th e in to n a tio n nucleus w ill b e o n

th e stre sse d o r o nly syllable o f th e p h r a s e :
S ub ju ncts 605
She is c h a rm in g only to h e r (w EA LTH y) clients.
O n th e o th e r h a n d , if th e focusing subjunct follows th e item fo cu sed , it is th e

su b ju n ct th a t receiv es th e asso ciated in to n atio n n ucleus:
( T h e g irls ) e s p ic ia lly o b jected to his m anners.
C o n tra s t:
T h e girls especially o b je c te d to ( h is M A N ners).
T h e item selected fo r b e in g focused is generally ‘n ew ’ in fo rm a tio n (c /1 8 .8 ).
N o te [a] T h e clausal n eg a tiv e p a rtic le not could be regarded as a n e g a tiv e restrictiv e su b ju n c t,

ex cluding th e p a r t o f th e clau se th a t is focused. F o r clausal n eg atio n , c f 10.54 If. T h e p h rasal u se
o f not is freq u en tly co rrelate d (c f 13.33) w ith but w hen it is used as a fo cu sin g s u b ju n c t:
H e h a d s e e n not h e r <YO UN Ger> b r o th e r but h e r (E L D er) o n e .
[b] A m ong th e exclusive re s tric tiv e su b ju n cts, but h as a m in o r role. A s w ell a s its a rch a ic ( b u t
a lso cu rre n t d ia lect) u se for fo cu sin g a n £ -p la ced elem en t ( I I s a w but W illiam ; I saw W illiam b u t
once), it ap p e ars a t M a fte r m o d a l au x ilia ries, especially can. F o r ex a m p le :
W h e n I ask ed if sh e th o u g h t sh e w ould w in, she replied ‘W ell, I c a n b u t tr y .’
P o s it io n a n d f o c u s
8.117 W h eth er re strictiv es o r ad d itiv es, focusing subjuncts a re m o st freq u e n tly
p lac ed a t M unless th e ite m focused is the subject, a p a r t o f th e subject, o r a n
a u x iliary v erb. B u t w ith th e su b ju n ct a t M , o n e h as th e c h o ic e o f focusing th e
m a in verb , a n o th e r p a r t o f th e p red icatio n , o r th e w h o le p re d ic a tio n .
C o m p are th e follow ing, first w ith th e restrictiv e only, seco n d w ith th e a d d itiv e
also;
J o h n c o u ld o n ly ( s e e ) h i s w if e f r o m t h e d o o r w a y . [1 ]
[e g h e c o u ld n o t t a l k t o h e r ]
J o h n c o u ld o n ly s e e ( h i s w if e ) fro m th e d o o rw a y . [2 ]
[eg h e c o u ld n o t s e e h e r b r o t h e r ]
J o h n c o u ld only s e e h i s w if e ( f r o m t h e d o o r w a y ) . [3 ]
[eg h e c o u ld n o t s e e h e r f r o m f u r t h e r i n s i d e t h e r o o m ]
J o h n c o u ld also ( s e e ) h is w i f e f r o m t h e d o o r w a y . [4 ]
[eg a s w e ll a s b e i n g a b l e t o h e a r h e r ]
J o h n c o u ld also s e e ( h i s w i f e ) f r o m t h e d o o r w a y . [5 ]
[eg a s w e ll a s h e r b r o t h e r ]
J o h n c o u ld also s e e h i s w i f e ( f r o m t h e D O O R w ay ). [6]
[eg a s w e ll a s f r o m f u r t h e r i n s i d e t h e ro o m ]
P e rh a p s b ecau se th e c le a r d isc rim in atio n m ad e by in to n a tio n leav es n o ro o m

for am b ig u ity , n o o b jec tio n is m ad e o n stylistic g ro u n d s to a n y o f th e s e
ex am p les in speech. W h e n it com es to w ritin g d ow n su c h se n ten c es w ith in
th e n o rm al co n v en tio n s o f E n g lish p u n ctu atio n , h o w ev er, w e see a t once t h a t
th e id en tificatio n o f th e focused item is q u ite u n c ertain :
Jo h n could o n ly see h is w ife from th e doorw ay. [1], [2], o r [3]

Jo h n could also see h is w ife fro m th e doorw ay. [4], [5], o r [6]
N o tice th a t if not, never, hardly w ere to rep lace only a n d also, th e sam e d eg ree
o f in d ete rm in ac y w o u ld o b ta in , th o u g h o f course - g iv en th e n o rm s o f E n g lish
606 T h e sem antics aiid gram m ar of adverbials
se n ten c e in to n a tio n - w e w ould m o st n a tu rally assum e a re a d in g lik e [3] o r

[6]; c f l 8 3 f f . I n a n y ev en t, w ritte n sen ten ces do n o t o ccu r in iso latio n an y
m o re th a n sp o k e n sentences d o, a n d if th e c o n tex t m ad e a re a d in g lik e [1], [4]
o r [2], [5] a p p ro p ria te , we w ould u n h e sita tin g ly read th e sen ten ces acco rd in g ly .
N o n e th e le s s, th e p re scrip tiv e g ra m m a tic a l trad itio n h as left a stro n g p re ju d ice
a g a in st p la c in g only a t M fo r re ad in g s [2] a n d [3]; in stea d m an y w o u ld in sist
th a t th e ‘c o rre c t’ fo rm w ould b e :
J o h n c o u ld see o nly his w ife fro m th e doorw ay. [ = 2]

J o h n c o u ld see h is w ife o nly fro m th e doorw ay. [ = 3]
Illo g ically , n o co m p a rab le o b jec tio n is m a d e to also a t M ; n o r o f co u rse w ould

it b e c o n ce iv a b le to o b ject to hardly, never, o r hot a t M , sin ce a lth o u g h
p re cise ly th e sa m e ran g e o f p o ssib ilities exists as to th e item fo cu sed , th ese
su b ju n c ts a n d not d o n o t h a v e th e ra n g e o f possible p o sitio n s to ad o p t.
T h u s n o t o nly w ould th e follow ing se n ten ce be m o st n a tu ra lly u n d e rsto o d
as h a v in g th e su b ju n cts fo cu sin g u p o n th e final tim e ad ju n c t, b u t in m o st
c ases th e su b ju n c t could n o t fo r th is purp o se b e m o v ed to a p o sitio n
im m e d ia tely p re ce d in g o r follow ing th e focused a d v e rb ia l:
' also
always
even ,
Y o u c o u ld hardly leav e h e r c a r a t th e a irp o rt for a m o n th .
never
not
only
Cf Y o u c o u ld leav e h er c a r a t th e a irp o rt only for a m o n th .
Y o u c o u ld leav e h er c a r a t th e a irp o rt for a m o n th only,
but *Y ou c o u ld leav e h er c a r a t th e a irp o rt hardly fo r a m o n th .
T h e p a ralle lism b e tw ee n not a n d only, b o th g ram m atical a n d se m an tic, is in

fa ct e n d o rse d ijy p lacin g only a t M , d e sp ite th e co n tin u in g a v ersio n . T h ere
are o c ca sio n s v ihen it h as b e e n fo u n d useful to exp ress a k in d o f c o rre la tio n
b etw een not a n d only as in th e follow ing regulatory e x a m p le :
S tu d e n ts a re a d v ised th a t th ey c a n only a tte m p t ex am in atio n s a fte r

th e ir full p ro g ram m e o f study. T h ey cannot a tte m p t e x a m in a tio n s ,
fo r ex am p le, a fte r co m p le tin g tw o o u t o f th ree p re scrib e d courses.
A t th e sam e tim e , th e re a re u n d o u b ted ly cases w h ere th e n o rm a l M p o sitio n

fo r o nly (a n d o th e r su b ju n cts) leav es a sentence u n n ecessarily difficult to
in te rp re t, esp ecially in w r itin g :
T h e b o d y o f th e c h u rch co u ld only a t th a t tim e b e lit by c an d les.
T h is ex am p le in th e Survey o f E n g lish U sag e corpus h a s th e a d d ed

co m p lica tio n o f a tim e a d ju n c t a t M w h ich seem s o n first re a d in g to b e th e
focus o f only, th o u g h sc ru tin y o f th e co n tex t suggests t h a t th e w rite r’s
in te n tio n w as in fa c t o n ly . . . b y candles.
N o te [a] A b o u t h a lf th e ex am p les o f only in th e S urvey o f E nglish U sag e co rp u s a r e a t M w ith th e

focused item a t E.
Subjuncts 607
[b] W hen th e focus o f onl y is a tim e o r sp ace adjunct, tw o in te rp re ta tio n s are possible, ‘at [tim e /
place] a n d n o w h ere else’ o r w ith th e m o dality sense p re se n t in d im in is h e r d ow ntoners:
Jo h n onl y p h o n e d M a ry < an h o u r ag o ).
[either ‘a t n o o th e r tim e ’ o r ‘as recently as an h o u r a g o ’]
Jo h n onl y lives <in Islin g to n ).
[either ‘n o w h ere else’ o r ‘a s close as Islington’ o r ‘in as h u m b le a place as Islin g to n ’]
[c] C o n sid er th e follow ing s e n te n c e :
H e’s only th in k in g a b o u t m a rry in g a fellow doctor.
T h is could co n ceiv ab ly e x p ress fo u r d ifferent m e an in g s:
H e’s 0« / y < T H iN K in g > a b o u t . . . [7 ]
[i e n o t h i n g h a s y e t b e e n d e c i d e d ]
H e’s onl y th in k in g a b o u t (m a rry in g a fellow D d c to r). [ 8]
[i e he is th in k in g o f n o th in g else th ese days]
H e ’s onl y th in k in g a b o u t m a rry in g ( a fellow D o c to r) [9]
[i e he w ould n o t co n sid e r a w ife in an y o th e r p rofession]
T h e s i t u a t i o n i s onl y [i e: m erel y ) t h a t < h e ’s t h i n k i n g a b o u t m a r r y i n g a f e ll o w D o c t o r ) . [1 0 ]
[i e y o u m u s n ’t i m a g i n e , f o r e x a m p l e , t h a t h e i s w o r r i e d a b o u t a d i f f i c u lt p a t i e n t ]
In [10], we h a v e a s it w e r e ‘a d v a n c e d ’ th e subjunct fro m a ‘pre c e d in g ’ (b u t un sp o k en ) clau se; c f
in fo rm al u tte ra n c e s lik e ‘G o o n - y o u ’re onl y jealo u s’, w h ic h c a n be glossed as ‘I t is m erel y th e
ca se th a t you’re je a lo u s’. C o m p a re also th e clause relatio n s im p lie d by disju n cts: ‘H e w as f r an k l y
ru d e ’ ~ 7 tel l y ou f r an k l y th a t he w as ru d e’ ( c / 8. 121/). I n [9], by c o n tra st, w e h av e ‘retra c te d ’ th e
su b ju n ct fro m th e clause in w h ich it sem antically o p erates a n d p la ced it in a p receding clau se.
T h is p h en o m en o n co m m o n ly o ccu rs also w ith ev er, as i n :
I c a n ’t ev er recall th a t I to ld you ab o u t it.
[ = I c a n ’t recall th a t I ev er told you ab o u t it]
I d o n ’t ev er rem e m b e r seeing h er here.
[ = I d o n ’t re m e m b e r ev er seein g h er here]
B u t c f also a n e w sp a p e r e x a m p le :
H opes o f fin d in g th e b o d y w ere v i rtual l y said to be nil.
In th is case, th e co n te x t sh o w ed th a t th is w as in ten d ed to b e u n d ersto o d as ‘H o p es o f fin ding th e
body w ere sa id to b e v i rtual l y n il’. S uch le ftw ard m o v em en t o f a n ite m h as a significant re la tio n
to tra n sferre d n eg a tio n (c/1 4 .3 6 ). C f also ‘S he did n ’t so m u c h as say th a t she’d ev er l o v e d h im .’
P o s it io n s o f r e s t r ic tiv e su b ju n c ts
8.118 M o st restric tiv e su b ju n c ts c a n e ith e r p reced e o r follow th e item o n w h ic h
th ey are fo cu sed , p ro v id e d th is is a co m p lete clau se elem en t, th o u g h i t is
m o re usual for th e m to p reced e. Just, merely , p u re ly , a n d sim ply m u st n o rm ally
p reced e th e fo cu sed p a r t a n d p reced e it im m e d ia te ly ; ie th ey can b e a t M
only w h en th e w hole p re d ic a tio n is focused, b u t th ey c a n also readily a p p e a r
a t iE. T h u s :
Yju s t 'I
Y ou c an ^purely [ &e t a ® 8ra de ( f o r th a t a n s w e r).

sim ply J
f Just 'j
Y ou c an g et a B g ra d e < I ( f ° r th a t a n s w e r).
[ sim ply J
C o m p a re :
(Ju st 1
I had < m erely > ( ty p e d a letter to a frie n d o n his ty p e w rite r).
[sim p ly J
60S T h e sem antics and gram m ar of adverbials
T h e su b ju n c t alone n o rm ally m u st follow th e focused ite m :
Y o u c a n g e t a B g rad e < for th a t a n sw e r) alone.
a n d h e n c e alone a s a re stric tiv e subjunct does n o t o ccu r in / p o s itio n :
*A lo n e <ten w o r k e r s ) re p o rte d sick yesterday,
th o u g h t h e v irtu a lly syno n y m o u s only can tak e e ith e r p o s itio n :
O n ly <ten w o rk e rs )
rep o rted sick yesterday.
< T e n w o rk e rs ) only
W h e n t h e item fo cu sed is p a r t o f a clause elem ent, th e re stric tiv e su b ju n ct

m u st u su ally p r e c e d e :
H e o n ly <MAY> co m e - 1 d id n ’t s a y he would.
1 1 on^y s a ' v 1 jjjg < £ L D e r^ b r o t h e r - n o t t h e y o u n g e r o n e .

s a w only
t h o u g h i n s p e e c h ( n o t i n w r i t i n g ) a p a r t o f a n o u n p h r a s e l i k e t h e f o r e g o in g
c o u ld h a v e th e r e s tr ic tiv e fo llo w in g :
I s a w h is < E L D er> b r o t h e r only .
C o n tr a s t:
I s a w < h is e l d e r b r o t h e r ) ONly.
w h e r e t h e w h o le n o u n p h r a s e is f o c u s e d .
N o te [a ] In p a rtic ular fa v o u rs a posi tion a f te r th e focused p art.

[b] E x a c tly com m o n ly focuses o n w /i-item s, an d precisely does so too, b u t less co m m o n ly ; th is ca n
m e a n th a t th e focused p a r t is d isco n tin u o u s:
E x a c tly <who> is as k in g for m e ?
< W h a t) e x a ctly ,<do you m e a n ) ?
I k n o w exactly < w h ere to find h im ) .
O th e rw ise , e x a ctly d o e s n o t p rece d e th e subject unless it focuses o n a n o u n p h ra s e w ith a
q u a n tifie r, fractio n , m u ltip lie r, o r ca rd in a l n u m e ra l:
E x a c tly <ten p e o p le ) w ere presen t.
J u s t also focuses o n w fi-interrogatives, b u t can o nly precede th e m :
J u s t < w hy d o you w a n t i t ) ?
J u s t c a n also focus o n e x a c tly an d precisely:
J u s t « w h o ) e x a c tly > < a rey o u > ?

J u s t « w h e r e > precisely > <do you w an t to g o ) ?
I t will b e no ticed th a t b o th d isco n tin u ity an d em b ed d in g a re involved in th e se ex am p les.
[c] T h e re stric tiv e s ju s t, m erely, sim ply c a n freely ap p e a r in fro n t o f im p e ra tiv e se n te n c e s :
{
Ju st "I
M erely > <send a le tte r o f e x p la n a tio n ).
S im p ly J
[d] W h e n focusing n o u n p h rases, only an d alone a re to som e ex ten t tre a te d as th o u g h th ey form ed
p a r t o f t h e noun p h ra s e s co n c ern ed . C f :
S ub ju ncts 609
P o sitio n s o f additive subjuncts

8.119 T h e fo llo w in g a d d itiv es n orm ally p re ce d e (eith er a t M o r im m ed iately ) a
focu sed p a r t if th is is th e w hole o r p a r t o f th e p re d ic atio n ; b u t th e y m a y
follow th e focused p a rt, th en c a rry in g an in to n a tio n n u cleu s; a n d if th e
focu sed p a r t is subject, they m u st follow it. Even is ex cep tio n al in p o ssib ly
p re c e d in g th e su b ject a n d in n o t ta k in g a nucleus if it follow s th e fo cu sed
p a rt. T h e item s a re:
again, also, equally, even, sim ilarly, in addition
C o m p a re :
I ’v e n o tic e d th e fox in m y g a rd en a n d
also
even
J o h n h as . , seen it ( n e a r his b a c k d O o r).
similarly 1
in addition
also
even
J o h n h a s seen it < n ear his b a ck d 6o r ).
similarly
in addition
( al so .
J o h n h a s seen it ( n e a r h is b a c k d 6 o r ) -j slM ilarly.
(in adDlrion.
J o h n h as seen it ( n e a r h is b a c k d o o r ) even. ( in fo rm a l)
f al so I
( J o h n ) I slM ilarly > h a s seen it.
(in adDlrion J
even (JOHN) h as seen it.
T h e su b ju n c ts too a n d a s well n o rm ally follow th e focused p a rt a n d d o n o t

appear at M :
. . . J o h n h a s seen it ( n e a r h is b a c k d 6 o r ) 1 T*X>' .
[US WELL.
I n r a th e r ‘p re p a re d ’ usage, th ese m a y p reced e th e focused p a rt:
f T&O I
S h e h a s in v ite d j W£ L L f <s o m e ° f h e r o w n F A M ily).
In sp eech , especially inform ally, th e a d d itiv es c an be a t E a n d still focus e v e n

o n th e su b je ct:
f rdo.
. . . (JiiH N ) h a s seen it ■! even, (in f o r m a l)
( i n adDlrion.
N eith er a n d nor m u st p reced e th e focused p a rt, a n d w hen th ey a r e a t I , th e re

is s u b je c t-o p e ra to r in v ersio n ( c f 18.24):
61 0 T h e sem antics and gram m ar of adverbials
% ! } nei‘her
would h e
H is f a th e r w o u ld n ’t give th e m oney nor
<LfiND> it.
( ?and \
U ? 6 « f J nor
F o r so m e sp e a k e rs nor is tre a te d as a c o o rd in atin g c o n ju n ctio n , an d it can n o t

th e re fo re b e p re c e d e d b y a conjunction.
N e ith e r a n d nor c a n also b e correlative as a d d itiv e su b ju n cts:
H e h a d neither seen <the FILM) nor (even) re a d < th e | 6 o k ).
' f h a d neither re a d ] ,,, ■

I h a d re ad neither I ^ B^ ° K) nor < lhe r e v ie w s ) .
N e ith e r < s h e > nor <HE> h ad read the book.
T h e s u b ju n c t fu rth e r is p laced a t M w h e th er it focuses u p o n th e w hole

p re d ic a tio n o r only a p a rt o f i t :
S h e h a d stu d ied m etap h y sics an d she h a d fu rth e r < tak en a d eg ree in

lin g u is tic s ).
H e h a s a rg u ed th e case o n b e h alf .of Jo h n a n d h a s fu rth e r arg u ed it on
b e h a lf o f J o h n ’s <BROTHer).
N ote [a] A dditives are often positionally tied, such that ‘As well as/along w ith X, Y adm ires Z ’ means
‘X an d Y ad m ire Z \ If; the order were switched (perhaps to achieve focus on X ; c f 18.3), ‘Y
adm ires Z, a s well as/along w ith X ’, this would be interpreted as ‘Y adm ires Z and X ’.
[b] T h e ad d itiv e also can be used like only when focusing upon a p a rt o f a noun phrase (c/8.118):
I also saw his (ELD cr) brother. ~ I saw his <ELDer> brother A lso.
[cl A fu rth er additive, besides , is less frequent:
. . . I saw h is <ELDer> b r o th e r , beslD ES.
i \
S y n ta c tic fe a tu re s o f focusing subjuncts

8.120 F o c u sin g su b ju n c ts c an n o t n o rm ally focus u p o n o th e r focusing su b ju n cts (on
ju s t, h o w e v e r, c/8 .1 1 8 N o te [b]). T hey can n o t b e th e focus o f a cleft sen ten ce
o r o f c la u se com paijison, n o r c a n th ey be p rem o d ified by however, how, o r so
(c /8 .2 5 ). W h ile som e focusing subjuncts c a n c o m e w ith in th e scope o f b o th
in te rro g a tio n a n d n e g atio n a n d b e th e focus o f b o th q u e stio n a n d n e g atio n ,
it is n o t u su a lly possible to fram e a ltern ativ e in te rro g a tio n o r n e g atio n w ith
fo cu sin g su b ju n cts.
O th e r sy n ta ctic featu res ap p ly in g to fo cu sin g su b ju n c ts in clu d e th e fa ct
th a t th e y c a n n o t b e m odified i f very only, * extrem ely also). M o reo v er, m o st o f
th e m c a n n o t be c o o rd in a te d : *just and exactly, *equally a n d likewise. B u t w e
h a v e o n e c lic h e c o o rd in atio n :
H e is m ak in g th e suggestion purely a n d sim ply < for y o u r b en efit).
F o c u sin g su b ju n c ts are th e focus o f the q u estio n i n :
D id s h e see him only < o n ce )?

W ill th e y release <the m a jo r) as w elll
Subjuncts 611
a n d o f n e g a tio n i n :
T h ey w on’t p u n ish m erely <John>.

T h ey w o n ’t release < th e m a jo r) as well.
B u t m o st ad d itiv e su b ju n c ts c a n n o t be th e focus o f n e g atio n . In d eed , too

c a n n o t ev en b e w ith in th e sco p e o f n eg atio n , w hile neither a n d nor them selves
effect th e n eg atio n . A n e x a m p le o f a lte rn a tive in te rro g atio n w ith a restrictiv e
su b ju n c t:
D id she see h im o n ly ( o n c e ) o r d id sh e see h im m o r e than ( o n c e ) ?
A n d w ith a d ifferen t ty p e o f c o n tra stiv e in terro g ativ e:
D id she in v ite m erely ( g ir ls ) o r d id she in v ite also <BOYS> ?
A ltern a tiv e in te rro g a tio n does n o t seem p lausible w ith m o st ad d itiv e

subjuncts, a n d a lte rn a tiv e n e g atio n seem s im p lau sib le w ith b o th ty p es o f
focusing subjuncts.
C e rta in re strictiv es c a n b e th e focus o f a n in itial n ot w ith co n seq u en t
su b je c t-o p e ra to r in v ersio n . B esides the n o rm al:
H e not only ( p r o t e s te d ) : h e (also) (re fu s e d to p ay h is ta x e s ).
w e c an also h a v e:
N o t only d id h e ( p r o t e s t ) : h e (also) (refu sed to p a y h is ta x e s ).
(O n not only . . . but, c f 13.42.)

R estrictiv es a llo w in g th is su b je c t-o p e ra to r in v ersio n a re :
not + ju st, m erely, only, sim ply
o f w h ich not only a n d not m erely do so m ost com m only. T h e co n stru ctio n
im plies a c o rrelativ e co n stru ctio n , w ith (but) also as c o m m o n c o rre lativ es in
th e second clause. N o t o nly c a n a p p e a r in itially in su ch a seq u en ce w ith o u t
s u b je c t-o p e ra to r in v ersio n w h en th e focus is o n th e su b je ct:
N o t only ( h e ) p r o te s te d : several o th ers jo in e d in.
Focu sin g su b ju n c ts c a n a p p e a r in a co n stru ctio n re sem b lin g a cleft

sen ten ce:
W e should d istin g u ish th is co n stru ctio n fro m a sim ilar o n e w h ic h is d iffere n t

in b ein g c o rre la tiv e :
I t w as n o t th a t ( J o h n proTESTed); it w as rather th a t ( h e w as r u d e ).
I n th is ex am p le, th e su b ju n cts are fu n ctio n in g w ith in th e su p e ro rd in a te

clause to w h ich th e rtn t-c la u se is co m p lem en t. R e strictiv es, a d d itiv es, a n d
som e d isju n cts (eg: possibly, probably) com m only o ccu r in su c h a co rre lativ e
stru ctu re. O th e r e x am p les:
I t ’s p a rtly th a t ( h e ’s g o o d -lo o k in g ); it’s p artly th a t ( h e ’s c le v e r).

I t ’s n o t t h a t < they o b jec t to h i m ) ; it’s more probably th a t ( th e y h a v e n o

in te re s t in h im ).
I t ’s n o t ju s t th a t <she’s y o u n g ) ; it’s j th a t ( s h e ’s in e x p e rie n c e d ).
N ote [a] E x a c tly a n d precisely a te used as com m ent utterances on a previous declarative sentence:
A : T h a t was the day she was referring to.
(E x a c tly .
B :< Precisely.
(JtigfM. <esp AmE>
But these seem to be related to some im plied sentence such as ‘That was ex a ctly/precisely the
day’ o r ‘Y ou are exactlyjprecisely right'. Q uite [‘I quite agree’] is used in the sam e way in BrE.
R ight is used, especially in Am E, to express agreem ent, and is more common th an e x a c tly or
p recisely ; b u t it cannot be related like these to focusing subjunct use. Especially in BrE, q uite [‘I
quite ag ree’] commonly expresses agreem ent with something said by anoth er speaker, w hether
the p receding clause is positive or negative (c /8 .130 Note [cj):
A : S he should (not) have told you!
B : Q U IT E .
]b] Like n o t only, b ut w ithout a corresponding correlative, not even can focus upon the subject:
N o t even <HE> protested.
Di sj unct s;
8.121 Like su b ju n c ts, th e a d v erb ials th a t w e call d i s j u n c t s a re g ra m m atica lly

d istin c t fro m a d ju n c ts in te rm s o f th e featu res set o u t in 8.25. C o n sid e r in th is
c o n n e c tio n th e a d v erb ials in th e follow ing sentences:
S a d ly , th e sto rm d estro y ed th e e n tire to b acco crop. [1]

Y o u r son is! n o t, in all fra n k n ess, succeeding in his p re sen t jo b . [2]
S in c e she ran o ut o f m oney, sh e h a d to d efer buying a n e w c ar. [3]
W e n o te , first o f all, th a t it is n o t th e fo rm o f th ese ad v erb ials th a t m ak e s

th em d iffere n t fro m a d ju n c ts o r ev en fro m subjuncts:
D r F o x sat^'sadly in h e r room . [4]

T h e a rre ste d m an a n sw e red in all fra n kn ess th e ra th e r aw k w a rd
p e rso n al q u estio n s. [5]
S h e has b e e n living in g re a t h a rd sh ip since she ran out o f m oney. [6]
N o r y e t is it th e positions in w h ich th e ad v erb ials are p laced in [1], [2], an d

[3]. W e could m o v e the a d v e rb ia ls to I in [4] an d [6]; we co u ld m o v e in all
fra n k n ess to M in [5]; w e w o u ld leav e th e ir g ram m atical re la tio n s b ro ad ly
u n ch an g e d a n d still sh a rp ly d iffere n t fro m th e g ra m m atica l re la tio n s o f th e
a d v erb ials in [1], [2], a n d [3]. T h e ad v erb ials in [4], [51, a n d [6] c a n b e m a d e
the fo c u s o f a cle ft s e n te n c e ; c an b e th e basis o f c o n tra st in a lte rn a tiv e
in te rro g atio n o r n eg atio n ; c a n b e focused by focusing su b ju n c ts; a n d c an
com e w ith in th e sco p e o f p re d ic a tio n pro-form s o r ellipsis. T h ese p ro p e n sitie s
Disjuncts 613
a re th o se o f th e ir ad ju n c t sta tu s (c/8.25). B u t th e a d v erb ials in [I], [2], an d [3]

c a n n o t, w ith o u t p ro d u c in g ab su rd ity o r re q u irin g a different in te rp re ta tio n ,
un d erg o a n y o f th ese processes :
* D id th e sto rm d estro y th e cro p sadly o r . . . ?

* It is in a ll fra n k n ess th a t y o u r son is n o t su c c e e d in g . . .
* It is since she ran o ut o f m oney th a t sh e h a d to d e fer buying a new c a r.
[asterisk ed e x cep t a s a tim e ad ju n ct o f b ack w a rd sp a n , w h ereas in [3]
th e a d v e rb ia l co n cern s n o t tim e b u t reason]
S im ila r o b se rv atio n s hold tru e fo r subjuncts, as we saw in 8.88, b u t it sh o u ld

n o t b e th o u g h t o n th a t acc o u n t th a t d isju n cts a re especially a k in to su b ju n cts.
R a th e r, w e h a v e a th ree-fo ld d istin c tio n th a t can b e set o u t inform ally as
follow s:
A d j u n c t s a r e s im ila r in t h e w e ig h t a n d b a la n c e o f th e ir s e n te n c e ro le to
o t h e r s e n te n c e e le m e n ts s u c h a s su b je c t a n d o b je c t.
S u | j u n c t s h a v e in g e n e r a l a le s se r ro le t h a n th e o th e r s e n te n c e e le m e n ts ;
th e y h a v e f o r e x a m p le le ss in d e p e n d e n c e b o th se m a n tic a lly a n d g r a m m a t
ic a lly a n d in s o m e r e s p e c ts a r e s u b o r d in a te to o n e o r o th e r o f th e s e n te n c e
e le m e n ts .
D i s j u n c t s , b y t h e s a m e a n a lo g y , h a v e a s u p e r io r ro le a s c o m p a r e d w i t h
t h e s e n te n c e e le m e n ts ; th e y a r e sy n ta c tic a lly m o r e d e ta c h e d a n d in s o m e
r e s p e c ts ‘s u p e r o r d in a te ’, in t h a t th e y s e e m to h a v e a sc o p e t h a t e x te n d s
o v e r t h e s e n te n c e a s a w h o le .
W e sh all n ow sc ru tin ize th e g en eral sem an tic ro les o f d isju n cts in o rd e r to

u n d e rsta n d w hy th e y a p p e a r to h av e such a g ra m m atica l fu n c tio n in re la tio n
to th e clau ses in w h ich th ey o p erate.
8.122 I t is v ery difficult to m a k e a w holly o b jectiv e u tte ran c e , an d a lm o st ev ery th in g

w e say o r w rite co n v ey s th e im p ress o f o u r a ttitu d e . T h u s, a sen ten ce su ch a s
M r F o rs te r n eg lects his ch ild ren . [I ]
en ta ils assu m p tio n s a b o u t th e ‘au th o rity ’ o n w hich th e s ta te m e n t is m ad e . I t

is un lik ely th a t th e sp e a k er h as h e ard M r F o rs te r say, ‘I neglect m y c h ild re n ’,
b u t if th is w ere th e source o f au th o rity , th e sp e a k er w ould h a v e been m o re
likely to m ak e th e s e n te n c e :
M r F orster says ( th a t) h e n e g le c ts h is c h ild r e n . [2]
T h is m ig h t w ell im p ly th a t th e sp e a k er c a n n o t h im self confirm i t :
M r F o rs te r says (th at) h e neglects h is ch ild ren ( though I ’ve seen no

evidence o f this). [3]
If, in d eed , he h a d su ch ev id en ce, th e sen ten ce w ould be likely to b e d iffere n t

a g ain , b o th in th e sta te m e n t o f th e a u th o rity a n d the im p licatio n o f th e
s p e a k e r’s o w n v ie w :
M r F orster a d m its (th at) h e n eglects h is c h ild ren (as I m y s e lf have

suspected). [4]
614 T h e s e m a n tics and gram m ar o f adverbials
By c o n tr a s t w ith [2] a n d [4], th e ‘u n a ttrib u te d ’ sen ten ce [1] is likely to m ea n

a n d to b e in te rp re te d as m e a n in g :
F ro m th in g s I h av e h eard a n d seen, I claim it to be a fa ir a n d tru e

a s s e s s m e n t th a t M r Forster neglects his children. [5]
I t n e e d h a rd ly b e p o in te d o ut th a t such d etailed specificity is rarely m ad e

e x p lic it, th o u g h it is w o rth no tin g th a t in a co u rt o f law it w ould be b y no
m e a n s u n u su a l f o r th e sp e a k er o f [1] to b e obliged e ith e r to e x p a n d it to [5] o r
a t le a st to ack n o w le d g e th a t by his [1] h e in ten d ed to m e a n n e ith e r m o re n o r
less th a n [5].
B u t e v e n in o rd in a ry speech a n d w riting, it is n o t u n co m m o n to find som e
o v e rt in d ic a tio n o f a u th o rity accom panying th e b ald s ta te m e n t [1], such a s:
I t h in k V '
I g a th e r I (th a t) M r F o rste r neglects his c h ild ren .
I t seem s J
I tell y o u . . . I
I tell y o u f r a n k l y . . .
I tell y ou p r iv a te ly . . .
I p u t it to y o u c ru d e ly . . .
I say , i f y o u w ill allow m e (to do so), t h a t . . .
E a c h o f th e ita lic ize d sections in th e v arious a lte rn a te form s o f [6] is an

a d v e rb ia l in a c la u se w h ic h h a s th e sp eak er as su b ject a n d M r F orster neglects
his children as its o b ject. T h u s :
I tell you fra n k ly th a t M r F o rste r n eglects h is c h ild ren . [7]

s V Oj A od
B u t e v e n th e d e g ree o f o v e rt a u th o rity in [7] can be a b b r e v ia te d :
F ra n k ly , M r F o rs te r neglects his children. [8]
I t is w h e re se n te n c e s lik e [8] have th e sam e m ea n in g as [7], th a t w e sp eak o f

th e a d v e rb ia ls a s d isju n cts, an d it can no w be seen w hy su ch ad v erb ials h av e
in so m e sen se a| su p e ro rd in a te role in relatio n to th e sen ten ces in w h ich th ey
f u n c tio n . !
N o te [a ] N o t all d isju n c ts c a n be so straightforw ardly related to ad v e rb ia ls in s u p ero rd in ate clauses.

F o r e x a m p le , th e d is ju n c t i n :
P resum ably , A liso n h as b o u g h t a new car.
c a n n o t b e re la te d to :
*1 tell yo u presum ably th a t A lis o n . . .
B u t p la u sib le p a ra p h ra se s w ill nonetheless p lace ‘A lison h a s b o u g h t a new c a r ’ as a clause
fu n c tio n in g as an e le m e n t in a su p ero rd in ate clause, eg:
I pre su m e th a t A liso n h as bought a new car.
T h a t A liso n h as b o u g h t a new ca r is widely presumed.
I t is w idely p re su m e d t h a t A lison has bought a new car.
I t is a m a tte r o f in te re s tin g sp ecu latio n to account for th e processes b y w h ich w e ca n express th e
m e a n in g o f th e se fin ite v erb p h rases in term s o f verbless ad v e rb ials.
[b] M a n y co n ju n c ts also c o rresp o n d to a co nstruction co n tain in g a v e rb o f sp e a k in g ; c / 8 . 138.
fcj N o te th e follow ing ex a m p le s o f form al stereotyped ex p ressio n s o f a u th o rity :
I hereby declare th a t I s h a l l . . .
S to p - in th e n a m e o f the law.
N o flow ers by request.
D isjuncts 615
8.123 D isju n cts can be d iv id e d in to tw o m a in classes: s t y l e disjuncts (by fa r th e

sm aller class) a n d c o n t e n t d isju n cts. Style d isjuncts convey th e s p e a k e r ’s
co m m en t on th e style a n d fo rm o f w h a t he is saying, defining in som e w a y
u n d e r w h a t co n d itio n s he is sp e a k in g as th e ‘au th o rity ’ fo r th e u tte ra n c e .
C o n te n t d isju n cts (also k n o w n as a ttitu d in a l d isjuncts) m ak e o b se rv atio n s o n
th e a ctu al c o n te n t o f th e u tte ran c e a n d its tr u th conditions. T h ese tw o classes
an d th e ir subclasses a re d isp lay ed in F ig 8.123.
-(a) modality and manner

- s t y l e - conveying speaker’s (e g : tr u th fu lly , b lu n tly ,
com m ent as to -------- i f I m a y s a y so )
-(b ) respect
D isjunct- (eg : in b r o a d te r m s ,
p e r s o n a lly )
-(a) degree of or conditions

for truth of content
- c o n t e n t - m aking an (eg : re a lly , c e r ta in ly ,
observation as to - i f h e ’d liste n e d )
-(b ) value judgment o f content

(e g : u n d e r s ta n d a b ly , w is e ly ,
to e v e ry o n e 's s u rp r is e )
F i g 8 .1 2 3
S tyle disjuncts
8.124 T h e re la tio n sh ip b etw een a style d isju n ct an d th e clause to w h ic h it is
a tta c h e d c a n o ften b e ex p ressed (as we ex p lain ed in 8.122) by a c la u se in
w h ic h th e sam e fo rm al ite m as th e style d isju n ct is a process a d ju n c t ( c f
8.78\jf), w ith a v erb o f sp e ak in g , th e su b ject o f w h ich is ‘I ’. T h u s , fr a n k ly i n :
F rankly, I am tired .
is eq u iv a len t to 7 tell yo u fr a n k ly o r I say fra n k ly . I f th e clause is a q u e stio n ,

th e d isju n ct m ay be a m b ig u o u s:
F rankly, is he tire d ?
I n th is exam ple, th e a d v e rb ia l m ay c o rresp o n d to I a sk y o u fr a n k ly o r to th e

m o re p ro b ab le Tell m e fra n k ly . O fte n th e d isju n ct is q u ite o v e rt a b o u t th e
v e rb o f sp e ak in g a n d th e a d v e rb ia l m ay ta k e th e fo rm o f a fin ite c la u s e :
I f I m ay sa y so w ithout offence, y o u r w ritin g is im m ature.
I n th u s d raw in g a tte n tio n n o t o nly to w h a t is said b u t to how it is b e in g s a id ,

th e style d isju n ct is o ften a n im p licit co m m en t o n language its e lf (c /8 .1 2 6 ).
A d v e rb s com m only u sed a s style d isju n cts in c lu d e :
T y p e (a ): M o d ality a n d M a n n e r
c andidly,flatly, honestly, seriously, strictly, truly, truthfully, confidentially,

privately; approxim ately, bluntly, briefly, broadly, crudely, fr a n k ly ,
generally, roughly, sim ply
B rie fly , th ere is n o th in g m ore I can d o a b o u t it.

I d o n ’t w ant th e m oney, confidentially.
V ery seriously, do you in ten d to resig n ?
Y o u ask m e w h a t he w an ts. Quite sim ply, he w an ts to m ove to a b e tte r
clim ate.
S ty le d isju n cts o f T y p e (a) are also realized by p rep o sitio n al p h rases a n d by

c la u se s. F o r e x a m p le :
I n short, he is m a d b u t happy.
P u ttin g it bluntly, he h a s little m a rk e t value.
A s a rough approxim ation, you c an e x p e c t a g ro u p o f fifteen.
T h e r e w ere tw e lv e p eo p le p resen t, to be precise.
T y p e (b ): R esp ect
fig u ra tively, generally, literally, m etaphorically, personally, strictly
F o r e x am p le:
S h e w as strictly o u t o f o rd e r in ad jo u rn in g th e m eeting a t th a t p o in t.
Generally, th e ra in y season h as a lre ad y b eg u n by S eptem ber.
Personally, I fin d th e m usic too arid.
F re q u e n tly , h o w ev er, resp ect d isju n cts a re realized by lo n g er p h rases o r by

c la u se s, th u s m a k in g m o re explicit th e re sp ec t in w h ich a c o m m en t is b ein g
‘h e d g e d ’:
Generally speaking, th e rain y seaso n h a s alread y begun b y S ep tem b er.

S tric tly speaking she w as o u t o f order.
Spea kin g p u re ly fo r m yself, I find th e m u sic too arid.
f to ju d g e fro m her rem arks.
M ild red seem ed to enjoy the c o n ce rt, fr o m what her brother told me.
\ (since her brother told m e himself.
I t w a s not a 'v e ry difficult jo b to p e rsu ad e h im to go, i f yo u understand
m e. !
I f I m a y say 'so, 1 nQne 0 j- a re c o m p e te n t to m ak e th e legal
W ith respect, J
ju d g m e n t re q u ire d .
Recawse-clauses c a n also b e style d isju n cts o f th is ty p e (an d a s such th ey m u st

b e p lac ed a t J5):
H e w as d ru n k , because he had to support h im se lf on a frien d 's arm .
I n th is ty p e o f u sag e (c/15.21), i f an d s/nce-clauses (norm ally content d isju n cts)

o c cu r com m only a s style d isju n cts; th ese m ay o ccu r a t I, M , o r E . N o te ,
h o w ev er, the p ro s o d y :
I f y o u ask h e w as d r u n k .
H e w as d r u n k , i f yo u a sk
Since you 'w ant to K N dw , I saw h im w ith y our sister.

Disjuncts 617
I saw h im w ith y o u r sister, since yo u 'want to k n o w .
W h en a sp e a k er w ish es to em p h asize th a t he o r sh e a lo n e is th e au th o rity , a

style d isju n ct m ay be re in fo rc ed by a n o th er, even th o u g h a liste n e r m ay find
th e c o o ccu rren ce o b jec tio n a b ly tautologous (or o b tru siv ely egotistical):
((Speaking) fo r) m y s e l f , I fin d th e w o rk h e re q u ite PLEASant,

PER sonally.
I t w ill b e n o ted th a t -s e lf d isju n cts in th e ir tru n ca te d fo rm c a n be id en tica l

w ith ap p o sitiv e s ( c f 17.6 5 f f) :
I mySELF fin d t h e w o r k h e r e q u ite PLEASant.
(C /8 .1 2 5 N o te [b]).
N o te [a] Info rm ally , a so m ew h at in d ig n a n t use o f a n //d is ju n c t n o t un co m m o n ly occurs o n its o w n ,

leav in g th e situ a tio n a l co n te x t to m a k e ob v io u s w h at the un sp o k en sta te m e n t w ould have b ee n .
N o te th e ex ag g erated em p h a sis o n if: .
, , f ( th a t is m y seat).
")F yo u d o rit MiND<) . v
7 [(y o u r um b re lla is in m y way).
T h e //'-clause is u n d ersto o d a s sh o rt fo r som ething like ‘I f you d o n ’t m in d m y saying so /m y
p o in tin g th is o u t’.
A n o th e r stereo ty p ed e x p ressio n o f in d ig n atio n by m eans o f a n //-d isju n ct occurs w hen w e ca ll
a tte n tio n , fo r ex am p le, to th e w o rd s u sed by som eone else ( c / 8 .126):
She s a i d I w a s f C H iL D is h , ify o u please.
[b] U se o f th e d isju n c t personally n o rm a lly requires th a t th e su b ject o f th e clause is th e a u th o rity
fo r it:
Personally I reg ard th is m u sic as boring.
F red sa id th a t personally he fo u n d c o n c en tratio n increasingly difficult.
?*Personally, F red f i n d s c o n c e n t r a t i o n i n c r e a s i n g l y d if f i c u lt .
8.125 C o rresp o n d in g to so m e a d v erb s as style disjuncts, a series o f lo n g er d isju n cts

m ay b e used, o fte n in v o lv in g th e sam e item o r its lex ical base. F o r exam ple,
in p lace o f fra n k ly i n :
F rankly, h e h a s n ’t a ch an ce.
w e co u ld h av e:
p re p o sitio n a l p h r a s e : in a ll frankness
in fin itiv e c la u s e : to be fr a n k , to speak fra n k ly , to p u t it fr a n k ly
-ing c la u se : fr a n k ly speaking, putting it fra n k ly
-ed c la u se : p u t fr a n k ly
fin ite c la u se : i f I m a y be fr a n k , i f I can speak fr a n k ly , i f I can p u t it fr a n k ly
N o t ev ery style d isju n c t will allow so full a range. T h u s, w e h a v e in a llfairness

b u t n o t th e d isju n ct fa ir ly , in short b u t n o t shortly. C o n v ersely , we h a wefla tly
b u t n o t fla tly speaking.
B u t fo r alm o st all o f th e a d v erb s listed in 8.124, c o rre sp o n d in g p a rticip le
c o n stru ctio n s w ith speaking a re av ailab le as style d is ju n c ts; eg: fra n k ly ~
fr a n k ly speaking, seriously ~ seriously speaking. M an y h a v e in fin itiv e clauses
o f th e fo rm to be p lu s th e base a d jectiv e, e g : bluntly ~ to be blunt, personally ~
to be personal. T h o se allo w in g such infinitive clau ses h a v e a c o rresp o n d in g
finite clause w ith //; fo r ex am p le: i f I m ay be blunt, i f I m a y be personal.
N o te [a] T h e o rd e r o f a d ju n c t an d v erb in th e disju n ct p articip le construction w ith s peaking is m o re o r

less stere o ty p e d . S pea k in g fr a n k ly is f a r less likely th a n fr a n k ly speaking. O n th e o th e r h a n d ,
s p e a k in g generally is th e p articip le co n stru c tio n eq u iv alen t to th e ad v e rb style d is ju n c t generally,
as in :
T h e co m m ittee in terv ie w ed several w riters a n d p ublishers. Generally, th e w rite rs w ere
a g a in st cen so rsh ip .
T h e sty le d isju n c t use o f generally (w ith its co rresp o n d in g p rep o sitio n al p h ra s e in general ) is to
b e d is tin g u ish e d fro m th e tim e a d ju n c t use o f th e sam e w ord generally, sy n onym ous w ith norm ally
o r u su a lly (c /8 .6 6 , 8.67 N o te [bj). P e rh a p s because th e tim e ad ju n ct h as a n a lte rn a tiv e fo rm in
th e c o rre sp o n d in g p a rtic ip le clau se generally speaking, it is th e in v e rted fo rm speaking generally
th a t is used a s th e ex p a n d ed fo rm o f th e disjunct.
[b] T h e style d isju n c t personally is to be distin g u ish ed from th e inten sifier personally th a t is
sy n o n y m o u s w ith th e a p p ro p ria te reflexive form o f th e p ro n o u n :
I [personally) ^ a v e n ev er b e e n to N ew Y ork.
\m y s e lj J
T h e se a re b o th to b e d istin g u ish ed fro m th e ad ju n ct personally th a t is sy n onym ous w ith in person:
H e signed th e d o cu m en t personally.
[cj T ru ly h a s b een included am o n g style disjuncts. It co rresp o n d s to I tell y o u truly a n d also, in
m a n y en v iro n m e n ts, to I t is true (that), th e la tte r ty pe o f corresp o n d en ce bein g co m m o n to m a n y
c o n te n t d isju n c ts ( c / 8 .128). H o w e v er, unlike such c o n te n t disjuncts b u t lik e o th e r sty le d isju n cts,
it c a n a p p e a r b efo re a q u e s tio n :
I th in k h e h as no rig h t to be th e re . Truly, w h at is yo u r opin io n ?
T ru ly h ere c a n b e rep laced n e ith e r by I t is true n o r Is it true; it is p e rh a p s to b e seen as a n
a b b re v ia tio n o f Tell m e truly.
M e talin g u istic com m ent

8.126 O v e r t referen ce to th e lin g u istic m ed iu m , such as in th e se lectio n o r c o in in g
o f a n a p p ro p ria te ex p ressio n , is n o t o f course p ecu liar to a d v e rb ia ls ( c f A p p
1.15): ■
L et us call th is c o n ce p t ‘p re-im p ressio n ist’.
T h e o nly w o rd fo r it is banal.
T h e look o n h is face w as w h a t I w ould call, n o t baleful, b u t bileful.
N o n e th e le s s, a d v erb ials len d them selves very co n v en ien tly to in c o rp o ra tin g

m e ta lin g u istic c o m m e n t in to a sen ten ce w hose p u rp o se is n o t its e lf m erely
m eta lin g u istic . jThere is, fo r in stan ce, a subclass o f co n ju n cts (‘refo rm u lato ry ’,
c f 8.141) w hose c h ie f fu n c tio n th is is. B u t th e style d isju n ct len d s itself
p e cu liarly w ell to su ch a r o le :
H a w k in s w a s n o t, strictly speaking, a traito r.
I n th is se n ten ce, w e sh o u ld n o tice th a t w e a re c o n cern ed b o th w ith th e issue

o f w h e th e r o r n o t H a w k in s w as a tra ito r a n d also w ith th e issue o f w h e th er
th e w o rd ‘tra ito r’ is a fittin g term to express h is b ehaviour.
O th e r d isju n cts co m m o n ly used a s ‘h edges’ in th is w ay a re illu stra te d b y :
T h ey h a v e n o t, so to sa y, ‘co m b in ed ’ th e ir re so u rc e s;) a tfier âve

T h ey h av e n o t ‘c o m b in e d ’ th e ir resources, e x a c tly ; J
a g ree d to m a k e so m e jo in t decisions.
(In th is ex am p le, th e re fo rm u lato ry co n ju n ct rather a p p e a rs; c f ab o v e)
H e h a s a n id ea , a h y p o th esis, i f you will, th a t you m ay find in te restin g .

Y ou o u g h t to seize th is o p p o rtu n ity , i f I m ay so p ut it, w ith m o re g race
th a n you a re show ing.
Disjuncts 619
C f also so to spea k, ify o u like, to quote X , as X p u ts it, in the im m ortal words o f

X.
F req u en tly , h o w ev er, m etalin g u istic c o m m e n t is in ex tricab ly m ix ed u p
w ith e x p ressio n o f degree. T h e c o m p ro m iser su b ju n cts kin d o f an d sort o f
play a sim ila r ro le ; as d o a p p ro x im ato rs ( c fS A 0 4 ff) . C o n sid er, for e x am p le,
th e su b ju n ct u sag e in :
S he j u s t about a lie n ated h e r au d ien ce o n t h a t occasion.
I t is n o t easy h e re to k n o w w h eth er w e a re to u n d e rsta n d th e la tte r as m e a n in g

alm ost b u t not entirely alienated o r as w hat I m ight alm ost call ‘alienated', a n d
w e h a v e n o re a so n to believe t h a t th e o rig in a to r o f th e sen ten ce w as m a k in g
a d istin c tio n b e tw ee n these. So too w h e n w e a re told t h a t :
w e c a n n o t b e su re w h e th er it m ean s t h a t h e c am e close to stealin g it o r a c te d

in su ch a w ay t h a t i t could a lm o st be called ‘ste alin g ’. In co n seq u en ce, so m e
c o m m en t a d v e rb ia ls lik e actually, fra n k ly , a n d oth ers co m e to b e used a s
su b ju n cts (em p h asizers), cf&AOOjf. T h is is e specially tru e o f literally, a s in :
T h e p o lice literally left no sq u are in c h u n ex am in ed .

I t w as a tin y ro o m - literally a ‘o n e -m a n ’ office.
I c o u ld literally feel th e e a rth sh ak in g .
T h e c a r literally so m ersau lted off th e ro a d .
I t w ould seem th a t th e sp e a k er w ishes to e m p h a size th e e x tra o rd in a ry n a tu r e

o f w h a t h e is d e sc rib in g - ‘Believe it o r n o t!’ - , as well as to d ra w a tte n tio n
to th e h y p e rb o lic lan g u ag e used to d e sc rib e it. T h e in sertio n o f literally se e m s
o ften to ack n o w led g e th a t peo p le te n d to u se th e ex p ressio n c o n c e rn e d
{somersault, earth shaking) as m erely fig u rativ e or exag g erated ly co lo u rfu l
w h ereas in th e p re s e n t in stan ce th e w o rd is to b e tak e n in its lite ral m e a n in g .
B u t in c areless a n d in fo rm al speech, a n d e v en in d eed in w ritin g , th e a d v e rb
com es to b e u se d in w ays th a t a re ‘lite rally ’ a b s u r d :
S he literally FL E W o u t o f th e room .
I literally s p l i t m y s i d e s la u g h in g .
[a] O n th e sam e p a g e o f a re c e n t novel, a po licem an is d e scrib ed as p ark in g h is vehicle th u s :

H e litera lly th re w his ca r in to th e la st av a ila b le sp ace.
A n d in ta c k lin g a h o o d lu m :
H e literally th re w th e m a n dow n fro m th e stage.
A few p ag e s f u rth e r on , som e crim in als on m otorcycles ‘w ere, literally, u sing th e ir m a c h in e s as
w eap o n s’. I n th e second a n d th ird in sta n ce, th e use o f literally seem s ju stified if h y p e rb o lic ; in
th e first it is a b su rd .
[b] W ith th e c o m m e n t ad v erb ials, w e c a n focus o n in d iv id u a l item s in th e v e rb p h ra se (c /8 .9 6 )
as well a s o n th e m a in verb o r p red icatio n . C o m p a r e :
I a ctuallyffranklylliterally h d t o c r a w l t h r o u g h t h e f e n c e .
F
I had actuallylfranklylliterally t o c r a w l th ro u g h th e fe n c e .
[ . . . to actuallylfranklylliterally c r F w l . . . ; c/8 .2 1 ]
In t h e fo rm e r, it is th e o b lig atio n th a t has to be un derstood as litera lly an d seriously expressed;

in th e la tte r , it is th e a c t o f craw ling.
[c] I n c o llo q u ia l style, so m e p red icatio n s are co nventionally u sed in a no n literal w ay, a n d th is is
f r e q u e n tly in d ic a te d b y in to n atio n ally highlighting th e v e r b :
T h e bo y w a s A S K in g for tro u b le. [ \ . . w a s virtually a s k i n g . . .’]
T h e y w e n t o u t o f th e ir w y to be helpful, [‘w ent as it were o u t o f . . . ' ]
F
C o n te n t d isjuncts
8.127 T h e s p e a k e r ’s c o m m e n t o n th e co n te n t o f w h a t h e is say in g is o f tw o p rin cip al
k in d s , w h ic h c a n in tu rn b e subdivided.
T y p e ( a ) : D e g ree o f tru th
T h e s e d isju n c ts p re sen t a co m m en t o n th e tr u th value o f w h a t is said,
e x p re s s in g th e e x te n t to w hich, an d th e c o n d itio n s u n d er w h ich , th e
s p e a k e r b eliev es th a t w h a t h e is saying is tru e. H e re b elong th e g re a t
c la ss e s o f h y p o th etica l clauses o n w h ich closely reaso n ed discourse
d e p e n d s . D isju n c ts realized by concessive, c o n d itio n al, reaso n , a n d o th er
a d v e r b ia l clau ses will be g iven special a tte n tio n in 15.32, a n d we shall
c o n c e n tr a te h e re on sh o rte r realizatio n s, p a rticu la rly by ad v erb s. In d eed ,
a d v e r b s fa llin g in T y p e (a) co n stitu te w h a t is v irtu ally a closed class, a n d
m o s t ite m s w ill b e c ited below. T h ere a re th re e m a in groups.
G r o u p (i) T h ese ex p ress co n v ictio n , e ith e r as a d ire c t c laim (eg: undeniably)

o r a s a n a p p e a l to g en eral p ercep tio n (eg: evidently):
a d m itte d ly , assuredly ( r a r e , fo r m a l) , avow edly ( f o r m a l) , certainly, decidedly

( r a r e , f o r m a l) , definitely, incontestably ( r a r e , fo rm a l), incontro-
v ertib ly ( f o r m a l) , indeed, indisputably ( f o r m a l) , indubitably ( f o r m a l) ,
su rely, unarguably ( f o r m a l) , undeniably, undoubtedly, unquestionably;
clearly, evidently, m anifestly ( fo rm a l \o b v io u s ly , p atently ( f o r m a l) , plainly
G r o u p (ii) T h ese exp ress som e d eg ree o f d o u b t:
a lleg ed ly, arguably, apparently, conceivably, doubtless, likely (in f o r m a l) ,

m a y b e ( in f o r m a l) , m ost likely, perhaps, possibly, presum ably, purportedly
( f o r m a l ) , quite likely, reportedly, reputedly ( f o r m a l) , seem ingly (f o r m a l) ,
supposedly, very likely
S u c h ite m s as perhaps a n d by any chance p o litely red u ce th e im p a c t a n d
u rg e n c y o f q u e stio n s a n d co n d itio n s, o r co nvey a n a p o lo g etic to n e :
Is M a r y a t h o m e, ( Per^ aps ■
1 [b y any chancel
I f M a r y is (perhaps) a t liberty, I could see h e r fo r a m o m e n t (perhaps).
M a r y is n o t free for a m o m en t, by any c h a n cel
C f th e s im ila r effect by a lte rn a tiv e m ean s in :
, ., „, f I w o n d e r?
s ary a o m e ’ | w 0U[(jy 0U (ija p p e n to ) k n o w ?
M a r y is n o t free for a m o m en t, I su p p o se?
D isjuncts 621
G ro u p (iii) T h ese sta te th e sense in w hich th e sp eak er ju d g es w h a t h e say s to

b e tru e o r false. T h e re is o ften a reference to th e ‘reality ’ o r lac k o f ‘re ality ’ in
w h a t is said. Som e asse rt th e re ality o f w h at is s a id :
actually, really, fa c tu a lly { ra re , fo rm al)
S ev eral express a c o n tra st w ith re a lity :
only apparently, fo rm a lly , hypothetically, ideally, nom inally, officially,
ostensibly { fo rm a l), outw ardly, superficially, technically, theoretically
A few c laim th a t w h a t is b ein g said is tru e in p rin c ip le :
basically, essentially, fund a m en ta lly
T h e d istin c tio n is o fte n a fine o n e betw een co n te n t d isju n cts a n d v ie w p o in t
su b ju n cts (c/8 .8 9 ), p a rtic u la rly w h en th e sam e fo rm al ite m is in v o lv e d :
Technically, o u r ta s k is to recycle th e w aste p roducts, [disjunct]
Technically, recy clin g th e w aste p ro d u cts will be easy, [su b ju n c t;
c f ‘R e c y c lin g . . . w ill b e tech n ically easy’]
Som e fu rth e r e x am p les o f T y p e (a) disju n cts:
M r H aseg aw a seem ed to enjoy th e co n cert, although W agner is not one o f
his favourite composers.
Since she h a d no tim e to have the car fix e d , M ild red tele p h o n ed fo r a ta x i.
T h e p ro p o sal w o u ld h a v e b e en accep ted i f the m anager h a d been m ore
tactful.
T y p e (b ): V alue ju d g m e n t
D isju n cts o f th is ty p e co nvey som e e v alu atio n o f o r a ttitu d e to w a rd s w h a t
is sa id . A s w ith T y p e (a), w e co n cen trate o n re alizatio n b y a d v erb s a n d
som e o f th e m o re c o m m o n item s are listed below . T h o se w ith a p a rtic ip le
b a se { c f A p p 1.2) in -ing {eg: surprisingly) are th e m o st p ro d u c tiv e class o f
a d v erb s as c o n te n t d isju n cts. T h ere a re tw o m ain groups.
G ro u p (i) T h ese e x p ress a ju d g m e n t o n w h a t is b ein g sa id as a w h o le a n d

th ey n o rm ally a p p ly th e sam e ju d g m e n t sim ultaneously to th e su b ject o f th e
clause. F o r e x am p le:
R ightly, M rs J e n se n co n su lted h er law yer. [She w as rig h t a n d h e r a c tio n
w as right]
W ith som e, a s in th is e x am p le, ju d g m e n t is p assed o n w h e th e r w h a t is sa id is
rig h t o r w ro n g :
correctly, incorrectly, ju s tly , unjustly, rightly, wrongly
W ith o th ers, ju d g m e n t is p asse d o n th e w isd o m o r m a n n e r o f w h a t is
d escrib ed :
artfully, cleverly, cunningly, foolishly, prudently, reasonably, sensibly,
shrewdly, unreasonably, wisely, unwisely
G ro u p (ii) W ith th ese, th e ju d g m e n t carries n o im p lica tio n t h a t i t a p p lie s to

th e su b ject o f th e c lau se. F o r ex am p le:
R em arkably, M rs J e n se n consulted h e r law yer. [H e r a c tio n w as
re m a rk a b le ; th e sp eak er is n o t suggesting th a t M rs J e n se n w as
rem ark ab le]
A s w ith th is ex am p le, som e item s ju d g e w h a t is said to b e stra n g e o r
u n e x p e c te d (a n d item s listed are freq u en tly follow ed by enough ):
a m azingly, astonishingly, curiously, fu n n ily {B rE>, incredibly, ironically,
o d d ly, rem arkably, strangely, suspiciously, unexpectedly
W ith o th e r a d v erb s, w h at is said is ju d g ed to be ap p ro p ria te o r e x p e c te d :
appropriately, inevitably, naturally, not unnaturally, predictably, under
standably
W h a t is said is ju d g ed to cause satisfac tio n o r th e reverse:
annoyingly, delightfully, disappointingly, disturbingly, pleasingly, refresh
ingly, regrettably
W h a t is said is ju d g ed to be fo rtu n ate o r u n fo rtu n a te :
fo rtu n a te ly , unfortunately, happily { fo rm a l), unhappily { fo rm a l), luckily,
unluckily, sa d ly { fo rm a l), tragically
O th e r ju d g m e n ts:
am usingly, conveniently, hopefully ( c /8 .1 2 9 N o te [b]), m ercifully, prefer
ably, significantly, thankfully
Som e e x am p les o f T y p e (b) d isju n cts:
C ertainly, he h a d very little re aso n to fe a r th e ir com petition.

Obviously, n o b o d y expected us to b e h e re today.
R eally, th e p u b lic does n o t h av e m u c h ch o ice in th e m atter.
U nderstandably, w e w ere all e x trem ely an n o y ed w h en w e receiv ed the
letter. >
H e is wisely stay in g a t hom e today.
A s w ell as b y a d v erb s, co n te n t d isju n cts o f T y p e (b) are realized by

p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se s a n d clauses (c /9 .5 7 /, 15.20/). F o r ex am p le:
To m y regret, h e d id n o t a cc ep t o u r offer.
T h ey a rriv e d , to our surprise, b efo re w e d id .
W ith justice, th ey h av e a ssum ed th e ir p lace am ong th e n a tio n ’s heroes.
To the g rea t adm iration o f a ll the onlookers, he plu n g ed in to th e w a te r
an d rescu ed th e struggling ch ild .
O n paper, sh e o u g h t to have w on, b u t in f a c t she lost.
O f course, ncjbody im ag in es th a t h e will rep ay w h a t h e b orrow ed.
I t w as no dotjbt clever o f h im to o ffer h is resig n atio n a t th a t p o in t in th e
proceedings.
To be sure, w e h av e h e ard m an y su ch p ro m ises before.
T h ey are n o t going to buy th e h o u se, which is not surprising in view o f its
exorbitant price.
Even more important, sh e h a s c o n tro l o v e r th e finances o f th e p arty .
W hat is even m ore rem arkable, he m an a g es to in sp ire con fid en ce in th e
m ost su sp icio u s people.
T h e use o f m ore in th e last tw o ex am p les show s how c o n te n t d isju n cts c a n b e

a d a p te d to c o n ju n c t use (< /8 .137).
Disjuncts 623
N o te [a] S everal ad v e rb s w ith -ed p a rtic ip le bases im ply th a t th e view n o t o n ly o f th e sp eak er b u t o f

o th e rs is b ein g q u o te d : allegedly, reportedly, reputedly, supposedly. A m o n g co m m o n form ulas by
w h ich th e s p eak er identifies su ch a n au th o rity , how ever, th e follow ing tw o m ay be m e n tio n e d :
According to {M ary, th e G overnm ent, the morning paper . . . ) , a n d B y {their, her, his, M ary's , th e
G overnm ent’s . . . ) own adm ission.
£b] D oubtless is h o t sy n onym ous w ith "w ithout d o u b t'. L ik e no doubt , it in fa c t im p lies som e d o u b t
a n d is synonym ous w ith ‘very p ro b ab ly ’. Undoubtedly, on th e o th e r h a n d , expresses co n v ictio n .
Apparently is fo r m o st sp eak ers eq u iv alen t to ‘it a p p e ars’ o r ‘it seem s’, a n d th e se d o n o t ex p ress
ce rtain ty . H ow ever, so m e s p eak ers e q u a te apparently w ith ‘it is e v id e n t’. P rosody a n d p h ra sa l
fo rm co m b in e to m a k e a d is tin c tio n in th e deg ree of co m m itm e n t to a sta te m e n t o f a u th o rity :
T h e fire h ad alread y sta rte d , { ‘° m y ™ 6 w led g e. [som e do u b t]

/ ( t o m y c e r t a i n K N & w Ie d g e . [ n o d o u b t ]
[c] A d m itte d ly a n d certainly im p ly concession as well a s c e rta in ty . C o n cessio n ap p lie s still m o re

strongly to tw o d isju n c ts w h ich ta k e th e form o f nonfinite cla u s e s :
T h a ts A w ,
j I h a v e to agree th a t th e re are g re a t difficulties.
H aving s a i d t h at
A lth o u g h th e la tte r n o rm ally o b ey s th e su b jec t-attach m en t rule { c f 1 5 .5 8 /), th e d isju n c t h a s

becom e so stereo ty p ed th a t o n e ofte n finds exam ples like:
H aving said that, th e eco n o m y seem s unlikely to sh ow m a rk e d im p ro v em e n t fo r som e tim e .
[d] J u s t as th e v erb see c a n be used fo r b o th visual an d m e n tal p erc e p tio n {cf: I see [‘u n d e rs ta n d ’)
what y o u m ean), so ad v e rb s as d isju n c ts ca n be used for b o th ty p es o f p e rc e p tio n . I n :
O bviously, he do esn ’t w a n t us to help him .
th e s p e a k e r’s co n v ictio n m a y w ell be based o n w h at th e p e rso n has said ra th e r th a n a n y th in g
th a t h as bee n perceiv ed visually. O n th e o th e r h an d , i n :
Obviously, he is in very p o o r h ealth ,
it m ay be based largely o n th e p erso n ’s ap p e aran ce .
[e] S tyle d isju n c ts su ch as truthfully a n d honestly (c/8.124) a n d c o n te n t d isju n c ts su ch as certainly
a n d definitely alik e ex p ress co n v ictio n a b o u t w h a t is said. B u t th e style d isju n c ts asse rt th a t th e
sp ea k e r is saying so m eth in g sincerely, w hile th e co n ten t d isju n c ts a s s e rt th e tru th o f w h a t is said .
8.128 W e h av e seen th a t a d v e rb s as style d isjuncts c o rre sp o n d to a clau se w ith a

v erb o f sp e ak in g (c /8 .1 2 2 ). M an y a d v erb s as c o n te n t d isju n cts, th o u g h n o t
all, also c o rresp o n d to o th e r structures. T h e set o f c o rresp o n d en ces p re se n te d
below fo r ad v erb s o f o n e o r o th e r ty p e ap p lies o nly to ad v erb s o f th e ty p e
co n cern ed , a n d e v en so n o t necessarily to all th e ite m s o f th a t p a rtic u la r ty p e.
F o r exam ple, m a n y a d v e rb s o f co n te n t T y p e (a), su ch a s evidently, h av e th e
follow ing c o rre sp o n d e n c e s:
E vidently, h e d o e sn ’t object.
I t is evident {that) h e d o esn ’t object.
T h a t h e d o e sn ’t o b jec t is evident.
B u t th ese c o rresp o n d en ces do n o t apply, for e x am p le, to perhaps. T o av o id

re p etitio n , w e u se o nly th e v a ria n ts w ith ex tra p o sitio n a n d a n tic ip a to ry it { c f
18.33). H en ce, w e give th e co rresp o n d en ce for evidently in T y p e (a) as s im p ly :
I t is evident th a t h e d o e sn ’t object.
T h e sem an tic d istin c tio n b etw een ad v erb s o f T y p e (a) {eg: adm ittedly, clearly)
a n d T y p e (b) {eg: fo rtu n a tely, wisely) is reflected in th e fa c t th a t it is po ssib le
to use p u ta tiv e should { c f 4 .6 4 ,1 4 .2 5 ,1 6 .7 0 ^ ) in th e c o rre sp o n d e n c es o f T y p e
(b). I f should is in se rte d in c o rresp o n d en ces o f T y p e (a), it conveys o b lig a tio n
{ c f 4 .5 6 /0 a n d a lte rs th e m ean in g o f th e sen ten ce ra d ically , since th is g ro u p
is co n ce rn ed w ith th e fa ctu al b asis o f w h a t is a sse rted o r q u e s tio n e d :
624 T h e sem antics and g ram m ar of adverbials
T y p e (a)
Certainly,
sh e c o n su lts h e r law yer regularly.
Clearly,
certain
= I t is th a t sh e consults h er law yer regularly.
clear
b u t:
certain
^ I t is th a t sh e should co n su lt h er law y er reg u larly .
clear
[th is w o u ld m e a n ‘She ought to consult h e r law y er reg u larly ’]
By c o n tra s t, p u ta tiv e sh o u ld e n ters th e T ype (b) c o rresp o n d en ces, sin ce here

w e a r e c o n ce rn ed w ith th e ex p ressio n o f an o p in io n :
T y p e (b)
F ortunately,
sh e co n su lts h er law yer regularly.
W isely,
fo rtu n a te
= I t is
th a t She { s h o u ld S n s u lt} h e r law y 6 r reg u larly ’
M o s t o f th e a d v e rb s o f T y p e (b) allow also a co rresp o n d en ce w ith a n in fin itiv e

c la u se (co m m o n ly a re p la c e m e n t for a fte - c la u s e w ith p u ta tiv e should; c f
1 5 .4 8 /):
F oolishly, fiill d e clin ed th e in v itatio n .

= I t w as fo o lish o f B ill to d ecline th e in v itatio n .
B u t th is is n o t p o ssib le w ith ad v erb s o f T y p e (a ):
Certainly, j (jecijne(j th e in v ita tio n .

A d m itte d ly ,]
{
Certain 1
* It w as o f J o h n to d eclin e th e in v itatio n .
a d m itte d J
N o te [a] A ssu re d ly a n d d ecidedly a re ro u g h ly synonym ous w ith surely a n d undoubtedly respectively.

T h e y d o n o t co rresp o n d to su ch stru ctu res as:
. . . fa s s u r e d l,. .
I t i s ^ . . . .} ;th a t...
(d ecid ed J'
{IOl anme h a s1Ij f{[dassu

assured
red
e c id e d J
th a t. . .
S u re ly is com m only u sed to ch a lle n g e th e ad dressee a n d im plies d is b e lie f o r d isa g re e m e n t as to

p rev io u sly expressed assu m p tio n s, as well as th e self-evident p lau sib ility o f w h a t is b ein g said,
[b] N a tu ra lly a n d th e eq u i v a le n t un d ersta tem e n t, not unnaturally , a re p a r a p h r a s a b le b y ‘a s m ig h t
h av e b e e n ex p e cted ’ o r ‘o f c o u rse’. T h e y do n o t co rresp o n d to it is natural o r it is not unnatural.
8.129 T h e se m an tic d istin c tio n b etw een th e g ro u p s (i) (eg: rightly , wisely) a n d (ii)
(eg: surprisingly, understandably) o f T y p e (b) in 8.127 is reflected in th e fa ct
Disjuncts 625
th a t only in (i) is it n o rm al to h av e a co rresp o n d en ce in w hich th e ju d g m e n t

is p re d ic a te d o f th e subject. T h u s:
G ro u p (b ii)
Surprisingly,
J o h n re tu rn e d th e m oney.
U nderstandably,
surprising
± * Jo h n w as to re tu rn th e m oney.
understandable
B ut:
G ro u p (bi)
R ightly,
J o h n re tu rn e d th e m oney.
W isely,
right
= J o h n w as to re tu rn th e m oney.
wise
(C o m p are th e d iscu ssio n o f su b ject o rie n ta tio n w ith su b ju n cts: e sp e cially

8.94.) T h e p re d ic a tio n a u to m atically ap p lies to th e subject in a n a c tiv e
sen ten ce a n d to th e a g en t in a p assiv e sen ten ce, w h eth er th e la tte r is p r e s e n t
o r reco v e rab le o r in d efin ite ( c f 3.63/f). H en ce, w e can still se t u p th e s e
c o rre sp o n d en ces fo r item s in G ro u p (bi) in th e follow ing in stan ces:
R ig h tly,
th e m o n ey w as re tu rn e d b y Jo h n .
W isely,
right
=J o h n w as to re tu rn th e m oney,
wise
R ightly,
th e m o n ey w as re tu rn ed .
W isely,
right
= (S om eone) w as to re tu rn th e m oney.
T h ese a d v erb s c a n b e u sed w h e rev e r a p erso n al a g en t is im plied, th o u g h it

m ay n o t a lw ay s b e p o ssib le to s ta te th e c o rresp o n d en ces a s sy stem atically as
in th e a b o v e in stan ces:
R ig h tly,
th e m ee tin g e n d ed e arly today.
W isely,
to en d th e m ee tin g early today.
H ere ‘X ’ c a n n o t b e specified o r id en tified b u t obviously can n o t b e th e s u b je c t

o f th e e a rlie r sen ten ce, the meeting.
R ig h tly,
th e b o o k costs only five dollars.
W isely,
w as I right
= X to fix th e p rice o f th e b o o k a t only fiv e d o llars.
w e re f wise
A g ain , th e fo rm er sen ten ce m ak e s it im p o ssib le to id en tify a su b je ct f o r th e
latter. C o n tra s t:
R ig h tly ,
Bill’s c a r is in a g arage o v e rn ig h t th ro u g h o u t th e w in ter,
W isely,
right
■Bill is to keep his c ar in a g arag e o v e rn ig h t th ro u g h o u t
wise
th e w in ter.
S in c e so m e a d v e rb s in co n te n t T y p e (b) allow co rresp o n d en ce w ith a p erso n al

s u b je c t (usually, how ev er, n o t th e sp e a k er as a n in d iv id u al b u t as a
r e p re s e n ta tiv e o f w h a t can be tak e n as a g e n era l view ), it is useful to
d is tin g u is h a f F c t i v e type from a p e r s o n F l t y p e :
f F c t iv e :
U nderstandably, J a m e s refuses to speak.

T h a t Ja m e s refuses to sp eak is u n d erstan d ab le.
I t is u n d e rsta n d a b le th a t Ja m es refuses to sp eak . •
^ { o n f u X s f a n d s } th a t J a m e s r e fu se s to s P e a k -
[b u t r a th e r : ‘O n e u n d erstan d s w hy Ja m e s refuses to sp e a k ’; cf:
'* U nderstandably, th e w eath er w as a p p a llin g ’]
p e r s o n F l :
^ S a d ly ta ^ ’} *ameS re ûses to speak.
T h a t J a m e s refuses to sp eak is | ^ ® re^ a ^ e '
I t is | ^ ® re tta ^*e J th a t Ja m es refuses to sp eak .
i SK S} th a t Ja raes refu ses to sp e a k -

[C f: R egrettably, th e w e ath e r w as a p p allin g ]
W ith in th e p e rso n al ty p e, how ever, th ere is a su b set fo r w h ich th e first tw o

o f thie
e a b o v e ]p a ra p h ra s e s c an n o t o c c u r: '
H appily
]'
Thankfully, <Jam 6S refuS6S t0 SpeaL
# T h a t Ja m es refuses to speak is i ,
I th an k fu l.
* It is | ^ appkyfu)j th a t Jam es refuses to speak .
b u t r a th e r :
O n T is} ( t h a n k f u l} th a t Ja m es refu ses t o s P e a k ‘
W ith m o st o f th e p e rso n al type, it is possible to a d d to sa y in th e p a ra p h ra se s:

I re g ret (I a m sa d /h a p p y , etc) to say th a t J a m e s . . .
W e n o te , how ev er, th a t beside ‘H opefully, th e w e a th e r is im p ro v in g ’, we

h a v e n o ‘*1 a m h opeful to say th a t th e w e a th e r is im p ro v in g ’.
D isjuncts 627
N o te ' [a] In ‘Sadly, I resigned th e c h a irm a n s h ip ’, th e ad v erb ial m ay be close in m e a n in g to a su b jec t-

o rie n te d a d ju n c t o r su b ju n ct ( c /8 .7 8 ,8 .93); th u s ‘I w as sad to resign’, ‘I w as sad w h e n I re sig n e d ’.
B u t th e m e an in g m ay be th a t c o rresp o n d in g to a style d isjunct ( ‘S ad to say , I resig n e d ’) o r to a
c o n te n t d is ju n c t: ‘O ne is sad (P eo p le a re sad , I t is sad new s fo r you) th a t I resig n e d ’.
[b] Stylistic objections a re raise d to th e use o f th e personal type o f d is ju n c t ab o v e, n o ta b ly
th ankfully a n d ab o v e all hopefully. S tre n g th o f feeling concerning hopefully m a y b e a ttrib u ta b le
in p a r t to its la ck o f to ta l fit w ith th e o th e rs, as no ted above (‘*1 a m h o p efu l to say ’). S in ce ,
h ow ever, th e ‘g en eral view ’ in hopefully is usefully d istinguished th e re b y fro m th e p u re ly
in d iv id u al v ie w p o in t in I hope, th e d isju n c t h as co nsiderable co n v e n ien ce , a s c a n b e seen in th e
follow ing te x tu al ex a m p le fro m a n a d m in istra to r’s n o te p u t before a c o m m itte e ;
M y a ssistan t h a s arra n g e d fo r th e m a tte r to be considered by a n a d ho c w o rk in g p a r ty ,
a n d hopefully a p ro p o sal w ill b e read y in tim e for o u r n ex t m e etin g . / hope th is a p p ro a c h
w ill b e ac cep ta b le to m em bers.
T h e tw o italicized p a rts a re n o t id e n tic al in force a n d could n o t in f a c t b e in te rc h a n g e d ; th e
fo rm e r v en tu res to ex p ress a gen e ra l h o p e , attrib u te d by th e w rite r to th e c o m m itte e as a w h o le,
o r ev en a g en eral assessm ent o f p ro b ab ility (‘I t is likely th a t a p r o p o s a l .. . ’) ;t h e la tte r e x p r e s s e s
th e w rite r’s p erso n al ho p e th a t h is ac tio n will be app ro v ed .
S ynta ctic features o f disjuncts

8 .130 C lau sal realizatio n s o f c o n te n t d isju n cts o ccu r fairly freely w ith q u e s tio n s :
I f it stops raining, m ay w e go o u t an d play in th e w o o d ?

(W h a t is) even m ore interesting, d id you h ear h e r rep ly to th a t second
q u estio n ?
W h e n realized by ad v erb s, h o w ev er, m ost co n ten t d isju n cts c a n n o t a p p e a r

in an y p o sitio n in a d ire c t o r in d ire c t q uestion (c f N o te [a ]):
*D oes h e fo rtu n a tely k n o w a b o u t it?

*H e a sk ed w h eth er, fo rtu n a te ly, they k new a n y th in g a b o u t it.
O n th e o th e r h an d , m o st style d isju n cts can be freely u sed in d irec t an d

in d ire ct qu estio n s, ev en in itially ;
F rankly, does he k n o w a b o u t it?

T h ey w a n t to k n o w w h e th er, strictly speaking, th e y ’re tresp assin g .
B u te /:
*Personally, is she v e ry clev er?
M o st c o n te n t d isjuncts c a n n o t a p p e a r w ith im p e ra tiv e s:
*Fortunately, d o n ’t tell him .
(B u t c f : ‘Perhaps tell h im n o w .’)
O n th e o th e r h an d , so m e style d isju n cts (including m o st o f 8.124 T y p e (a))

c a n do so, ev en in I p o s itio n :
Seriously, go a n d see h e r a b o u t it.
F rankly, d o n ’t tell him .
W h ile d isju n cts c a n a p p e a r a t alm o st any place in clau se stru c tu re , the

n o rm al p o sitio n for m o st d isju n cts is I. H ow ever, so m e c o n te n t d isju n cts o f
T y p e (a i), eg: probably, possibly , an d all o f T y p e (bi), eg: rightly, wisely,

n o rm ally o c cu r a t M , an d o ften a t iM . N o te also th e p o ten tiality o f e M :
Y o u w o u ld h a v e \ P ro^ a^ y j m issed th e p lane.

ycertainly
I f th e clau se is n e g ativ e, iM w ould be m o re usual th o u g h M is p e rfectly

p o ssib le w ith th e sam e m ea n in g :
I fr a n k ly d o n ’t k n o w .
I d o n ’t fr a n k ly k n o w .
I f p ro so d ic focus is on th e o p e rato r, i M w ould b e u s u a l:
I fr a n k ly w F s annoyed.
D isju n c ts c a n a p p e a r (th o u g h o ften w ith som e aw k w ard n ess) in d e p e n d e n t

finite c la u s e s :
H e w as a m a n w ho, unaccountably , h a d few friends.

W h a t, interestingly enough , p leased th em m o st w as h e r en th u sia sm .
T h o u g h h e w as quite rightly dism issed, h e w as g iv en six m o n th s ’ salary .
N o te [a] C e rta i n co n ten t d isju n c ts o f T y p e (ai) ex p ressin g som e dou b t fe ? :perhaps, possibly, conceivably)
are m a rg in a lly ac c e p ta b le in d ire ct a n d in d irect q uestions, b u t n o t a t I p o sitio n . C / ‘C a n you
possibly!perhaps see h e r n o w ? ’ Som e o f T y p e (aiii) are ac cep ta b le in q u estio n s p e rh a p s ev e n
initially , eg: basically, essentially,fundam entally, ideally.
[b] It s e e m s th a t c o n te n t disju n cts c a n a p p e a r w ith in a clause th a t is loosely a tta c h e d to a
q u e s tio n :
D id th e y refu se th e first offer, ex p e ctin g , naturally , a b e tte r offer?
[c] S o m e c o n te n t d isju n c ts can be resp o n ses to questio n s o r can be used a s a c o m m e n t o n a
p revious u tte ra n c e , usually ac co m p an ied by .yes o r no:
A : T h e y h a v e re tu rn e d to S an F ran cisc o .
B : Very wisely. [‘T h e y w ere very w ise to d o so ’]
A : T h e y w o n ’t be co m in g back.
B : U nfo rtunately, no. [‘I t’s u n fo rtu n a te th a t they w o n ’t]
A few sty le disju n ct^ (honestly, literally, seriously, truly, truthfully) a re used a s verb less q u e s tio n s :
A : I ’m going tojresign.
B : Seriously1 \ ‘W e re you sp eak in g seriously w hen you said th a t? ’]
T he c o n t e n t d isju n c t really is com m only used in th is w ay:
A : I ’m g o in g to resign.
B : R e a lly l [‘Is th a t so ?’]
A p a r tic u la r in to n a tio n c o n to u r is n o t o b lig ato ry , b u t c e rta in ad v erb ials h a v e a c h a ra c te ris tic
in to n a tio n w h en us^d a s resp o n ses; fo r ex am p le, follow ing ‘I h e a r you m ay soon be e m ig ra tin g ’,
som epne m ig h t rep ly w ith o n e o f th e follow ing ( c f S . 120 N o te [a]):
C ER tainly q u i t e <BrE > Y es, inDEED AbsoLUTEly
W e ll, possibly Q u ite so <B rE> RATHer <esp old-fashioned B r E ) HARDly
( C /A p p I I .lin
8.131 M ost d isju n c ts c a n be m odified. C o m m o n p rem o d ifiers a re very a n d quite.

For so m e co n te n t d isju n cts o f T y p e (bii), th e po stm o d ifier enough is c o m m o n ,
p articu la rly fo r th o se e v alu atin g th e c o m m u n icatio n as o d d ( bizarrely ,
curiously , eerily, fu n n ily , o ddly, strangely):
O d d ly enough, he h a sn ’t sa id a n y th in g a b o u t it.
S everal c o n te n t d isju n cts can b e p rem odified b y not, in p a rticu la r surprisingly,

Disjuncts 629
a n d som e w ith n e g ativ e prefixes (unexpectedly, unreasonably, unusually,

unwisely):
N o t surprisingly, h e p ro tested strongly a b o u t it.

N o t unreasonably, sh e refused him .
O th e r co m m o n p re m o d ifiers include (in in ten sifier use) more, m ost, less, le a s t:
M ore personally, I h a v e to tell you th a t m y w ife is p reg n an t.

L ess strangely, h e h a s b een av o id in g m e lately ; a n d (even) less strangely
still, h e h a s n o t g iv en m e a p h o n e call.
M ore am usingly than wisely, he k e p t o n in sistin g o n his rig h t to speak.
M o st unexpectedly, T o sh ik o h a d to re tu rn to J a p a n b efore h er
stu d e n ts h ip h a d ex p ired .
N o te [a] C o n te n t d isju n c ts w ith -ed p articip le bases (eg: undoubtedly, allegedly ) c a n n o t usually b e
m odified; c /h o w e v e r m o st assuredly, m ost decidedly, m ost unexpectedly.
[b] Enough as a m o d ifier o f d isju n c ts does n o t so m u ch in ten sify a s draw atte n tio n to th e m e a n in g
o f th e item . T h u s, o d d ly enough is p arap h ra sa b le by ‘o d d th o u g h it m ay seem ’.
[cl N eg atio n o f th e d is ju n c t c a n co o ccu r w ith clause n e g a tio n :
N ot surprisingly, th e y w ere n o t h ap p y w ith th e ir results.
8.132 W h en th e se m an tic re la tio n s o f co n d itio n , co n cessio n , reason, a n d result a r e

realized by clauses, th e a d v erb ials co n cern ed a re n o rm ally c o n te n t d isju n cts.
F o r ex am ple:
Unless yo u have a valid passport, I c an n o t b o o k y our ticket.

Although John is so h a rd up, he refuses to look fo r a b e tte r-p a id jo b .
Since she rem ained adam ant in her diagnosis, h e r fellow d octors
c o n sid ered t h e case afresh.
H e w e n t o n a rg u in g in a n asty tone, so th a t in the end I lo s t m y patience.
A long w ith resu lt d isju n cts, w e m ay c o n sid er th e so m ew h at v ag u er ‘o u tco m e ’

disjuncts, o ften re aliz e d by n onfinite (to) c lauses (c /1 5 .2 5 ):
M ary d ro v e a ll th e w ay to M ain e, (only) to fin d that her frien d s had

m oved to F lorida.
C o n trast th e su p erficially sim ilar purp o se a d ju n c t:
M ary d ro v e a ll th e w ay to M ain e (only) to visit som e friends.

~ I t w as (only) to visit som e frien d s th a t M a ry drove all th e w ay to
M ain e.
A s d istin c t from fcecaizse-clauses, w hich in d ic a te a cau se o r reaso n so e ssen tial

th a t they are in te g ra te d in to the sen ten ce as a d ju n cts, n o n tem p o ral since-
clauses h av e a lo o ser re la tio n , m o re resem bling n o n re stric tiv e relativ e clauses,
a n d they fu n ctio n g ra m m atica lly a s d isju n c ts:
I t is because y o u are la zy th a t you lost y o u r jo b .

~ * It is since yo u are la zy th a t you lo st y o u r jo b .
O n i f , since-, a n d because- clauses a s style d isju n cts, c/8 .1 2 4 .

A co ntingency re la tio n s h ip can be expressed by a co n te n t d isju n ct in th e
fo rm o f a verbless o r n o n fin ite clause in tro d u ced by with(out):
W ith frie n d s like that, w h o needs enem ies?

W ith the audience m aking so much noise, I c o u ld n ’t h e a r th e o p en in g
o f th e c o n certo .
W ith o u t so m e indication o f her approval, we sh o u ld n ’t m a k e u p our
m in d s o n th is occasion.
8.133 A s p e c ific a tio n o f ran g e c a n b e a d d ed for co n ten t d isju n cts o f T y p e (bii) in

8.127, n o rm a lly a p re p o sitio n al p h ra se in tro d u ced by fo r .
L u c k ily f o r H erbert, th e g u n w as n o t loaded. [‘H e rb e rt w as lucky th a t
F or H erb ert specifies th a t luckily is n o t to b e g e n eralized , b u t applies

sp ecifically to H e rb e rt. Specification c a n also b e m a d e b y fr o m X ’s point o f
view, o r f r o m the point o f view o f X :
U nderstandably enough fr o m her point o f view, S u san d o es n o t w a n t th e

n ew s to re a c h h er fam ily before she tells th em herself.
A n e q u iv a le n t effect is o b tain e d in p rep o sitio n al p h ra ses as c o n te n t disjuncts,

w h e re th e ra n g e is specified by th e g enitive o r c /c o n s tru c tio n . C o m p a re :
A n n o y in g ly fo r J a ck , 'I
T o J a c k 's an n o y an c e, > his b ro th er w as late a rriv in g .
T o th e a n n o y a n c e o f J a c k ,)
C f a ls o : to m y regret, to her displeasure, to their disappointm ent, to J ohn’s

surprise, to the delight o f all present. A d v erb s o f T ype (bii) w ith p a rticip le base
in -ing (eg: annoyingly) gen erally have a co rresp o n d in g p re p o sitio n a l p h rase
in th is fo rm . T h e p re p o sitio n a l p h rases are indeed m o re c o m m o n ly used th a n
th e a d v e rb s. W e c a n a ch iev e th e sam e effect by se n te n tia l re la tiv e clauses ( c f
15.57, 17.9), eg: which annoyed Ja ck o r which I regret; o r b y c o m m e n t clauses
( c f 15.5377), eg: w hat delighted all present o r what disappoints them .
N o te [a] Surprisingly a n d its synonym s ca n ta k e a fo r-specification o nly i f it refers to a n o u n o r p ronoun

co re fe re n tia l w ith aj n o u n p h ra se la te r in th e clau se; even so, such ex a m p les as th e follow ing are
u n u su al:
Surprisingly f o r h im [ie fo r Jo h n ], th e altitu d e affected Jo h n adversely.
Surprisingly f o r him [ie for Jo h n ], J o h n failed th e exam .
*Surprisingly f o r his fa th e r, Jo h n failed th e exam .
C o n tra st th e la s t se n te n ce w ith
A n n o y in g ly fo r 'h is fa th e r , Jo h n failed th e exam .
W h e re a s surprisingly f o r him m e an s o th e rs a re surprised a b o u t h im , annoyingly fo r his fa th e r
m e an s h is fa th e r is an n o y e d .
T h is d is tin c tio n do es n o t ap p ly to th e co rresponding p rep o sitio n al p h ra se s. To m y surprise is
e q u iv a le n t to ‘I a m (o r ‘w as’) su rp rise d ’.
[b] C o rre s p o n d in g se n te n tia l relativ e clauses c a n be found fo r c o n te n t d isju n c ts in all groups
h av in g co rre s p o n d in g clauses o f th e form 'it is adj th a t . . .'e x c e p t T y p e (ai):
C ertainly , 'j
Ûnderstandably f ^ rs M acd o n ald d id n ’t w an t to have a n y th in g to d o w ith th em .

W isely, J
M rs M a c d o n a ld d id n ’t w an t to have an y th in g to d o w ith th em ,
*certain.
w h ic h w as \ obvious.
understandable.
C o n ju n cts 631
O n th e o th e r h a n d , ail h av e c o rresp o n d in g co m m en t clauses, th ough o ften a m o d ifier su ch a s

very o f m ore is required. H en ce, w e c a n h a v e :
[c] A d v erb s o f c o n te n t T y p e (b ii) th a t express a n o p in io n a s to w h eth e r w h a t is sa id is fo rtu n a te

o r n o t (eg: fo rtu n a tely , lu ckily) allow th e in terp re ta tio n th a t th e refe re n t o f th e su b jec t is fo rtu n a te
o r oth e rw ise . B u t th is is n o t a n essen tial im p licatio n o f th e ir use. F o r e x a m p le :
Fortunately, Bill keeps h is c a r in a garag e o v ern ig h t d u rin g th e w in ter,
d o es n o t necessarily m e an th a t Bill is fo rtu n a te , tho u g h o u t o f co n tex t th is sen te n ce Conveys t h a t
im p lic atio n strongly. B ut w e c a n a d d to th e sentence in such a w ay a s to m a k e it c le a r th a t i t is
so m eo n e else th a t is fo rtu n a te :
F ortunately, B ill k ee p s h is c a r in a g ara g e ov ern ig h t du rin g th e w in te r. S u san w as th e re fo re
able to s ta rt th e c a r v ery easily w h en sh e n eeded to borrow it in a hu rry ea rly th is m o rn in g .
F ro m th is co n tex t, it is clear th a t it is S u sa n w h o is fo rtu n ate. C o m p a re also:
F ortunately f o r m e, (‘I a m fo rtu n a te th a t’] Bill keeps his c a r in a garag e o v e rn ig h t d u rin g th e
w inter.
I n co n tra st, ad v e rb s o f T y p e (bi), su ch as rightly o r wisely, d o n o t allow fo r p rep o sitio n al p h ra s e s
sp ecify in g th e ran g e o f th e ad v e rb .
Conjuncts
8.134 L ik e su b ju n cts a n d d isju n cts, th e ad v erb ials th a t w e call c o n j u n c t s a r e

g ra m m atically d istin c t fro m ad ju n c ts in term s o f th e featu res set o u t in 8.25.
C o n sid e r nonetheless in th e follow ing e x am p le :
She m ay b e u n ab le to a tte n d th e m eeting. Y ou should nonetheless se n d

h er th e agenda.
T h e a d v erb ial can n o t be th e focus o f a cleft sen ten ce; c a n n o t b e th e b a sis o f

c o n tra st in a lte rn a tiv e in te rro g a tio n o r n e g atio n ; c a n n o t b e fo cu sed by
su b ju n c ts; a n d can n o t com e w ith in the scope o f p re d ic atio n p ro -fo rm s o r
ellipsis. C o m p are :
. . . * I t is nonetheless th a t you should send h er th e a g en d a.

. . . ‘ S hould you sen d h e r th e ag en d a nonetheless o r therefore'!
. . . ‘ You should o nly <nonetheLESS > send h e r th e agenda.
C o n ju n cts are m ore lik e d isju n cts th a n ad ju n cts in h a v in g a re la tiv e ly

d e ta ch e d a n d ‘su p e ro rd in a te ’ role as co m p ared w ith o th e r clau se e lem en ts.
B u t th ey are u nlike d isju n cts in n o t typically filling th e se m a n tic ro les
c h a ra c te ris tic o f ad ju n cts. C o n ju n cts, as p a rt o f th e ir ev en g re a te r d istin c tn e s s
fro m th e closely in te rrela te d c lau se elem ents such a s S, C , a n d O , o fte n h a v e
s e m an tic roles th a t a re conjunct-specific. T h a t is, th ey h av e th e fu n c tio n o f
c o n jo in in g in d ep e n d en t u n its ra th e r th a n o n e o f c o n trib u tin g a n o th e r fa c e t
o f in fo rm a tio n to a single in te g ra te d u n it (c/8.136).
T h u s, in co n sid erin g co n ju n cts, w e find it necessary to lo o k b ey o n d th e
p a rtic u la r g ram m atical u n it in w h ich they ap p ea r. W h ereas, in th e c a s e o f
d isju n cts, we related th e m to th e sp e a k er’s ‘au th o rity ’ fo r (or th e s p e a k e r’s
c o m m e n t on) th e acco m p an y in g clause, w e re late co n ju n cts to th e s p e a k e r’s

c o m m e n t in o n e q u ite specific resp ect: his assessm en t o f how h e view s th e
c o n n e c tio n b etw een tw o linguistic u n its. T h e u n its co n cern ed m ay be very
larg e o r very sm a ll: sen ten ces, p a ra g ra p h s, o r ev en larg er p a rts o f a te x t a t
o n e e x trem e ( c f 19.86); a t th e o th er e x tre m e , th ey m ay be co n stitu e n ts o f a
p h ra s e realizin g a single clause elem ent. F o r ex am p le:
T h e c a n d id a te is a fine teach er, a b ro a d c a ste r o f som e exp erien ce,

an d a re sp ec ted d ra m a critic. In addition, she h as w ritte n a
successful novel. [ 1]
T h e c a n d id a te h a s w ritte n a successful, len g th y , p o p u lar, an d in
addition h ig h ly o rig in al novel. [2]
A s in [2], it is c o m m o n for a co n ju n ct to h a v e a focusing role along w ith th e
c o n jo in in g o n e, esp ecially w hen it is c o n jo in in g relatively sm all u n its. I n th is
w ay , th e ex trem e o f co n joining w o rd s w ith in a p h ra se c a n b e ta k e n o n e stag e
f u r th e r : to co n jo in in g co n stitu en ts o f a w o r d :
T h e p a tie n t w as carefully observ ed in th e pre- a n d likewise p o s t

o p e rativ e p h a se o f treatm en t.
L ik e d isjuncts, such con ju n cts c an o fte n b e seen as e q u iv a len t to a d v erb ials

in cla u se s h a v in g th e sp e a k er as su b ject:
. . . a resp ected d ra m a critic. I tell y o u in addition th a t sh e h as

w r itte n . . . [la ]
S o m e co n ju n cts in clu d e a p ro n o m in al re fe re n ce to th e u n it w h ich is to be

re la te d :
in a d d itio n to this (ie w h a t I h a v e m e n tio n e d )

first of all (ie o f w h a t I shall list)
b e st o f all (ie o f w h a t I have listed)
fo r all that, (ie w h a t I h av e said)
In th e case o f th e in fo rm al co n ju n ct though, w e seem to have an a b b re v ia tio n

o f a co ncessive cla u se (c/8.145). T h u s w ith :
I ’m a fraid h e d o esn ’t e a t m uch th ese d ay s - b u t he looks p re tty fit,

though.
w e a re expectejl to u n d e rstan d so m eth in g lik e th e clausal d isju n ct (c /8 .1 4 3 ):
. . . pretty fit, though I have said th a t he doesn’t eat much.
N o te D isju n c ts and co n ju n c ts a re som etim es called ‘se n te n c e a d v e rb ials’ by g ra m m a ria n s o n th e

d o u b le ground th a t th e y c a n concern a sen te n ce a s a w h o le (ra th e r th a n a p a rtic u la r p a r t o f a
s e n te n c e such as th e p red icatio n ) an d - in th e c a se o f co n ju n cts - can relate o n e se n te n c e to
a n o th e r. W e do n o t follow th is conven tio n , p a rtly b ec au se th e d ouble m o tiv atio n involves tw o
q u ite sep arate c o n s id e ra tio n s; partly because o th e r a d v e rb ia ls (our ‘sen te n ce a d ju n cts’, c /8 .3 6 )
also re la te to th e s en te n ce as a w hole; partly b ec au se b o th disju n cts an d co n ju n cts can also relate
to q u ite specific u n its w ith in sentences, as i n :
I o b ject to his h e a rty a n d , j j c ru d e b eh a v io u r.
A f u rth e r reason is th a t co n ju n cts can relate u n its m u c h la rg e r th a n sen ten ces: nonetheless a t th e
b eg in n in g o f a p a ra g ra p h o r section o f a te x t w ill in d ic a te a co njoining co n tra s t w ith th e w hole
p rece d in g p arag ra p h o r section.
Conjuncts . 633
8.135 A lth o u g h w e h a v e sa id ( c f 8.134) th a t co n ju n cts in d ic a te ho w th e s p e a k e r

‘view s th e c o n n ec tio n b etw een tw o linguistic u n its’, su ch a n in d ic a tio n d o e s
n o t conv ersely e n ta il th e use o f a conjunct. T h e sem an tic role o f ex p ressin g a
relatio n b etw een tw o u n its c a n frequently be fulfilled by a n ad ju n ct. C o m p a re
th e follow ing (w h ere a p ro n o u n , as frequently, fu n ctio n s as a lin k in g d e v ic e ) :
I t w as sn o w in g , a n d in spite o f this M o n a w en t cycling.
T h e ad v erb ial h e re w h ic h conjoins a n d in d icates a concessiv e re la tio n is a n

ad ju n ct, as w e see fro m its p ro p en sity to be focused in a c left se n ten c e:
. . . a n d it w a s in spite o f this th a t M o n a w en t cycling.
By co n tra st, i n :
I t w as sn o w in g , a n d nonetheless M o n a w ent cycling.
th e sam e c o n jo in in g fu n c tio n w ith th e sam e concessive re la tio n is fulfilled

g ram m atically by a c o n ju n c t:
* . . . a n d it w as nonetheless th a t M o n a w en t cycling.
C o n ju n cts th u s both in d ic a te th e relatio n a n d are d e m o n stra b ly o u tsid e th e

sy n tactically in te g ra te d clau se stru ctu re w h ich a d m its ad ju n cts.
M oreo v er, th e re is o n e sig n ifican t resp ect in w h ich w e m u st relax th e
sem an tic c h a ra c te ris tic c o n cern in g th e co n jo in in g o f lin g u istic u n its. I t is
possible for co n ju n c ts to b e used a s d isco u rse-in itial item s. T h u s sp eech m a y
actually b egin, in th e follow ing w ay, given a p a rtic u la r co n te x t o f s itu a tio n :
So y o u ’re L E A V in g , th e n !
B o th so a n d then a re c o n ju n ctiv e com m ents o f a n in fere n tia l n a tu re , b u t in

th is exam ple th e sp e a k e r’s in feren ce is b ased o n e x tralin g u istic e v id en ce,
w hich h a s b een tre a te d ju s t a s th o u g h th e p erso n ad d ressed h a d b een h e a rd
to say ‘W ell, I ’ll see you to m o rro w ’ o r even m erely ‘N o w , w h e re ’s m y c o a t? ’
D isc o u rse -in itiatin g item s c a n b e less easy to a c c o u n t fo r p lau sib ly , b u t it
seem s sig n ifican t th a t su c h item s a re usually those th a t h a v e a w ell-estab lish ed
c o n ju n ctiv e role in m id -d isco u rse use. C o n sid er th e follow ing as e a c h b e in g
th e first w ords in a d is c o u rs e ; th ey w ould n o rm ally o ccu p y a se p a ra te to n e
u n it, w ith a fallin g n u cleu s, th o u g h solitary in itial well m ay b e e x ce p tio n a l in
h av in g a risin g n u cleu s o r n o n e a t a ll:
Well, h ow a re you th is m o rn in g ?
W hy then <esp A m E ) , how shall we sp en d th e e v en in g ?
W ell now, I w o n d e r if I could begin by ask in g you a few questions.
R ight (then), .. 1 how m an y o f you k n o w e ac h o th e r?
O K now < esp A m E , in fo rm a l), J
Now , th e su b je ct o f m y ta lk i s . . . [ ^ ‘T h e su b ject o f m y talk n o w , ie a t
th is m o m e n t’]
C o m p are som e o f th e sam e e xpressions o ccu rrin g betw een lin g u istic u n its :
Y ou d id n ’t feel so good y esterd ay ; well, how a re you th is m o rn in g ?

I ’ve b een lo o k in g fo rw a rd to th is m eeting for m o n th s ; w hy then, how
shall w e s p e n d the e v en in g ?
T h a n k you fo r w elcom ing m e h ere; now th e subject o f m y ta lk i s . . .
I t w o u ld seem th a t, in d isco u rse-in itial use, th ese item s seek to en fo rc e by

im p lic a tio n so m e c o n tin u ity w ith w h at m ight have gone b efo re. S ilence is
d ifficu lt to b re ak w ith o u t som e su ch convention.
N ote Ite m s lik e well, oh, ah h av e c o n v e n tio n al values in discourse th a t a re re la te d to su b ju n cts,

d is ju n c ts , a n d co n ju n cts. O n well c f 19.54; this ty pically prefaces a p a r t o f d isco u rse w h ich ,
th o u g h h a v in g p e rh a p s so m eth in g in co m m o n w ith w h at has g o n e before, in tro d u c e s a difference
o f so m e so rt. In co n seq u en ce, it is c o n v e n ien t as a freq u en t discourse in itia to r.
T h e sem antics of conjuncts

8.136 M u c h m o re th a n w ith d isju n cts, th e co n ju n ct fu n ctio n e n ta ils a co n ju n ct-
sp ecific se t o f se m an tic re latio n s. T h ey are co n n ected w ith , b u t a re freq u en tly
r a th e r re m o te fro m , th e a d v erb ial relatio n w e m u st assum e in th e sp eak er-
re la te d clause to w h ich th ey co rresp o n d . I t is necessary, th ere fo re, to set o u t
th e c o n ju n c tiv e m ea n in g s co n cern ed , alth o u g h w e shall r e tu rn to th e m in
1 9 .5 3 # w h ere th e y can b e seen in th e w id er co n tex t o f in te r-se n te n c e re latio n s
a n d d isc o u rse stru ctu re.
W e c a n d istin g u ish sev en c o n ju n ctiv e roles, in som e cases w ith fa irly c lear
su b d iv isio n s; see Tug 8 .136.
, , _ i— ( i ) e n u m e r a t i v e
(a) l is t in g — ------------- H ( i i ) a d d i t i v £ ------------------------- e q u a U v e
' L—- rr fetiinn ff on rr cr ii n g
( b ) SU M M A TIV E ;
(c) F p p o s it io n F L
(d ) r e s u l t i v e i
(e) IN F E R E N T IA L
( i) r e f o r m u la to r y
( f ) C O N TR A ST IV E; H jj>
( iii) a n tith e tic
— ( iv ) c o n c e s s iv e
, , i— ( i) d is c o u r s a l
(g ) T R A N S IT IO N A L -------- Q ,” c
- ( ii) te m p o r a l
fig 8.136
8.137 S om e o f th e c o m m o n c o n ju n c ts a re listed below acco rd in g to th e ir ro le classes

a n d subclasses. E x ce p t fo r e n u m e rativ e conjuncts (w hich a re a n o p e n class),
all a d v e rb re alizatio n s a re g iven, as well as som e fre q u e n tly o ccu rrin g
p re p o sitio n a l p h ra ses a n d n o u n phrases.
(a) LIS T IN G
(i) E N U M ER A TIV E
fir s t, second, th ir d . . .
first(ly ), secondly, thirdly . . .
one, two, th r e e . . . <esp in lea rn ed a n d tech n ical u se )
a , b , c . . . <esp in le a rn e d a n d tech n ical u se )
in the fir s t place, in the second place . . .
Conjuncts 635
fir s t o f all
second o f a ll ( A m E )
on the one h a n d . . .o n the other hand [c/(fiii)]
fo r one th in g . . . (and) fo r another (thing)
fo r a sta rt ( in f o r m a l)
to begin.with, to sta rt with
n e x t, then
to conclude
fin a lly, last, lastly, last o f all
(ii) ADDITIVE
EQUATIVE
correspondingly <form al>, equally, likewise, similarly, in the sam e way, b y
the sam e token
REINFORCING
again ( f o r m a l) , also, fu rth e r (fo rm a .)), furtherm ore ( f o r m a l) , more ( r a r e ,
fo rm a l), moreover, in particular, then (in fo rm a l, esp s p o k e n ), too ( r a r e ,
A m E ) , w hat is m ore, in addition, above all; a n d th e follow ing in fo rm a l
e x p re ss io n s: on top o f it all, to top it (all), to cap it (all)
(b ) SUMMATIVE
altogether, overall, then, therefore, thus ( f o r m a l) , (all) in all; a n d th e
follow ing larg ely fo rm al e x p ressio n s: in conclusion, in sum , to conclude, to
sum up, to sum m arize
(c) APPOSITIVE
nam ely (o ften a b b re v ia te d a s viz in fo rm al w ritte n E nglish), thus, in o th er
words, f o r exa m p le (o ften a b b rev iate d to eg o r e.g. in w ritte n E n g lish a n d
so m etim es sp o k e n a s fi\id fv .f),fo r instance, th a t is (often a b b re v ia te d to ie
o r i.e. in sp e cialized w ritte n E n g lish a n d so m etim es sp o k en as /,ai'i:/),
th a t is to say, specifically ; c f 17.73.
(d ) RESULTIVE
accordingly, consequently, hence ( f o r m a l) , now, so ( in f o r m a l) , therefore,
thus ( f o r m a l ) ; as a consequence, in consequence, as a result, o f course;
c f also som ehow [‘fo r som e reaso n o r o th e r’]
(e) INFERENTIAL
else, otherwise, then;
in other words
in th a t case
( f ) CONTRASTIVE
(i) REFORMULATORY
better, rather, m ore accurately, more precisely; alias, alternatively,
in other words
(ii) REPLACIVE
again, alternatively, rather
better, worse;
on the other hand
( i i i ) ANTITHETIC
contrariw ise ( f o r m a l) , conversely (fo r m a l)
in ste a d [b len d o f a n tith etic w ith replacive]
oppositely ( r a r e ) , then;
o n th e contrary, in contrast, by contrast, by w ay o f contrast, in comparison,
b y com parison, by way o f comparison, (on the one hand . . . ) on the other
hand
( i v ) CONCESSIVE
a n y h o w ( in f o r m a l) , anyw ay ( in fo rm a l), anyw ays (A m E in fo rm a l),
b e sid es [b len d o f rein fo rcin g w ith concessive], else, however, nevertheless,
nonetheless ( fo r m a l ) [also w ritten none the less], notw ithstanding ( fo r m a l) ,
o n ly ( in f o r m a l) , still, though, y et, in 'any case, in 'any event ( f o r m a l) , a t
'a n y rate, a t 'a ll events, fo r 'all that, in spite o f that, in spite o f it all, a fte r all,
a t the sam e ’tim e, on the other hand, all the sam e, ad m itted ly, o f course, still
a n d a ll ( in fo rm a l A m E ) ; that said
(g ) T R A N S IT IO N A L
( i) DISCOURSAL
incidentally, now ( in fo rm a l)
b y th e way
b y the by(e ) ( n o t com m only u se d )
( ii) TEMPORAL
m ea n tim e, m eanw hile, in the meantim e, in the m eanw hile; n o te also th e set:
originally, subsequently, eventually
8.138 LISTING (role a ) is o f co u rse a basic language fu n c tio n a n d w e h a v e stru ctu res
o f c o o rd in a tio n f o r th is p u rp o se ( c f 2.9), in v o lv in g a b o v e all th e c o n ju n ctio n
a nd; '
I d id th is a n d I d id th is a n d . . . I saw J o h n a n d M ary a n d . . .
C o n ju n c ts a re u se d to give a p a rticu la r stru c tu re o r o rie n ta tio n to a list. A t

its s im p le st, th e stru ctu re show s o rd er b y h a v in g item s p e rfo rm in g an
ENUMERATIVE fu n c tio n :
F irst th e e co n o m y is b eg in n in g to recover, a n d se c o n d ly )
u n e m p lo y m en t figures h av e n o t in creased th is m o n th .
T h e re la tio n o f su c h item s to ad ju n cts in th e s p e a k e r’s a ssessm en t o f w h a t he

is s a y in g c a n b(e seen in p a ra p h ra s e s :
I tell y o u f ir s t th a t th e e c o n o m y . . . an d I tell y o u secondly th a t

u n e m p lo y m e n t f i g u r e s . . .
T h e e n u m e ra tiv e fu n ctio n does m ore th a n m erely a ssig n n u m erical labels to

th e ite m s lis te d : it co n n o tes relativ e p rio rity a n d en d o w s th e list w ith an
in te g ra l stru c tu re , h a v in g a beg in n in g a n d a n en d . T h e id ea o f a n in teg ral
re la tio n is esp ecially co n ferred by th e F d d i t i v e co n ju n cts. By th e use o f th e
e q u F t i v e su b ty p e , w e in d ic a te th a t a n item h a s a sim ila r force to a p reced in g
one:
S h e h a s h ig h resp o n sib ilities a n d , equally, a h ig h salary.

C o n ju n c ts ; 637
W e m ig h t reg ard th e c o n ju n ct here as a frag m en t o f a sp e a k er’s c o m m e n t in

w h ich th e ad v erb fu n c tio n s as a n a d ju n c t: p erh ap s ‘I assess (o r ra te ) th is
e q u a lly \
T h e r e i n f o r c i n g su b ty p e o f a d d itiv e co n ju n ct typically assesses a n ite m
as a d d in g g re ater w eig h t to a p reced in g o n e :
H e h as th e o p p o rtu n ity , th e m o tiv a tio n , an d above all th e c o u rag e to d o

it.
H e re a g a in we m ig h t p o stu late th e c o n ju n ct as related to som e su ch c o m m e n t

as ‘I ra te th is above all th a t I have s a i d '
N o te [a] T h e -ly fo rm s o f o rd in a l n u m e ra ls a re chiefly used as conjuncts. C o n tr a s t:

H e arriv ed f ir s t (*firstly) a n d she arriv e d second, [adjuncts]
F ir s tly ), h e is m y frie n d , a n d secondly he is in desp erate n eed, [conjuncts]
O rd in a ls as co n ju n cts o cc u r w ith o r w ith o u t -ly, b u t for m any people firs tly is o b je ctio n ab le. N o te
th a t fir s t (also initially , originally) ca n also h a v e a subjunct use, especially w h e n asso cia ted w ith
su ch v erbs as invent a n d discover. T h u s :
H o rm o n es w ere fir s t id en tified by S tarlin g a t U n iv ersity College L o n d o n . [ 1]
T h e sta te m e n t w ould b e a diffe re n t o n e if in ste a d o f th e sub ju n ct we h ad fir s t a s a c o n ju n c t:
First, horm ones w ere id en tified by S tarlin g a t U n iv ersity College L o n d o n . [2]
N o r o f course does [ 1] p e rm it us e ith e r to rep lace fir s t by firs tly o r to p re d ic t a fu r th e r s e n te n c e :
H o rm o n es w ere secondly id en tified b y . . .
[b] C o n ju n c ts lik e m ore an d som ething else m u st rem in d us th a t th e se tr u n c a te d sp e a k e r-
assessm en ts are n o t n ecessarily related to a d ju n cts b u t (as in th ese in sta n ces) a re m o re p la u sib ly
seen a s o b je c ts :‘(I w ill say) m o re ’.
[c] T h e ca rd in a l a n d o rd in a l n u m e rals m a y b e rep resen ted in w riting by th e ir sym bols in th e
v ario u s sy stem s:
1 ,2 ,3 ,... I, II, I I I , . . . i, ii, i i i , . . .
S im ilarly, th e a lp h ab etic le tte rs m a y be rep resen ted eith e r as m inuscules (‘lo w er c a se’, a, b, c,
. . . ) o r as m ajuscules (‘u p p e r ca se ’ o r ‘c a p ita ls ’, A , B , C , . . . ) . T h e se d iffe re n t sy stem s allow th e
w rite r to choose a h ie ra rc h y o f listin g s a n d sublistings. In general, n o c le a r c o n v e n tio n s h a v e
b een estab lish ed fo r w h ich sets o f sym bols a re to be su b o rd in ate to o th e r sets, a n d th e w r ite r is
th e refo re free to ch o o se a h ie ra rc h y o f sets fo r his ow n p urpose. O ne w ould o f course o b serv e
co n sisten cy an d r a tio n a le ; o n e w ould n o t s u b o rd in ate ca p itals to low er-case le tte rs, fo r e x a m p le.
[d] Too as rein fo rcin g c o n ju n ct < rare, A m E ) occu p ies I p o sitio n :
S h e’s h ad h e r n o v el p u b lish e d th is y ea r; b u t t 6 o , she’s w ritten som e in te re stin g artic le s o n
acu p u n ctu re.
8.139 su m mF t iv e (role b) a n d F p p o s i t i v e (role c) con ju n cts h a v e th is m u ch in

co m m o n : they p reced e a n ite m w h ich is to be looked a t in re la tio n to all th e
item s th a t h av e g one before, s u m m F t i v e conjuncts in tro d u c e a n item th a t
em b ra ce s th e p re ce d in g o n e s :
H e lo st his w atch , his c a r b ro k e d ow n, an d he g ot a le tte r o f c o m p la in t

from a c u s to m e r: a ll in all, h e h a d a b ad day.
F p p o s it iv e c o n ju n c ts a r e c o n c e r n e d r a t h e r to e x p re ss t h e c o n t e n t o f th e
p r e c e d in g ite m o r ite m s in o th e r te r m s (c/1 7 .6 5 ):
She h as som e assistan ce - f o r instance, a secretary.
W h ere th e a p p o sitio n ap p lie s to m o re th a n o n e p re ce d in g ite m th e re is

usually a su m m ativ e im p lica tio n :
T h ey to o k w ith th em so m e ch o co late, can s o f b e er a n d fru it ju ic e , a

flask o f coffee, a p a c k o f sa n d w ic h e s: in other words, en o u g h
refresh m en ts.
638 Th e sem antics and gram m ar of adverbials
B y c o n tra st, w h e n th e a p p o sitio n itself consists o f several item s, th e c o n ju n c t

h a s the effect o f specifying a list:
T h ey to o k re fresh m en ts - that is, sandw iches, coffee, beer, fru it ju ic e ,

a n d c h o co late.
8 .1 4 0 r e s u l t i v e (role d ) an d i n f e r e n t i F l (role e) co n ju n cts ag ain h av e so m e th in g
in c o m m o n w ith e ac h o th er, as w ell as w ith a d d itiv e, su m m ativ e, a n d

a p p o sitio n a l co n ju n cts. T h e m o re stru c tu re d a list o f item s is, th e m o re th e
final ite m w ill te n d to be a conclu sio n in m o re w ays th a n o n e : a m ere
te rm in a tio n , a re in fo rcem en t, a su m m ary , a result, a n d a b asis fo r fu rth e r
in feren ce. T h is is reflected in th e fa ct th a t th e sam e co n ju n cts a re listed u n d e r
several h e ad s. RESULTIVE o f course a n d so a re illu strated i n :
She a rriv e d late , gave a n sw ers in a n offhand m an n e r, a n d o f course

d isp le a se d th e in terv iew in g panel.
H e w as irrita b le , u n ju st, u n reliab le, a n d so b ecam e increasingly
u n p o p u la r.
R esu lt c a n be ten ta tiv ely expressed b y a c o o rd in ate clause w ith a v ag u e

reaso n ite m , som ehow (c /N o te ):
I arg u ed t h a t it w a sn ’t m y fa u lt a n d somehow th ey let m e go.
in f e r e n t iF l co n ju n c ts in d ic a te a conclu sio n b ased o n logic a n d s u p p o s itio n :
Y ou h a v e n ’t a n sw ered m y q u e stio n ; in other words, you d isa p p ro v e o f

m y p ro p o sal.
E specially in fo rm al usage, a n //c la u s e c a n be follow ed by a c o rre la tin g

in fere n tia l then (‘I f th is is ag reed , then w e m ay pro ceed . . . ’). See fu rth e r,
8 .1 4 4 /
But th e c o n ju n c t then is especially used in a n in feren tial resp o n se to a n o th e r
sp eak er ( c f alsd 8.135):
i
A : G iv e m y reg ard s to Jo h n . B : Then you’re n o t com ing w ith m e ?
N o te Som ehow h a s b een in clu d ed am o n g co n ju n cts b ecause it fits th e crite ria fo r th e class (c /8 .1 3 4 ),
a n d it is m e n tio n e d in th e co n tex t o f resultive conjuncts b ecause it is o fte n close to th e m
s em an tically : ‘an d so, in som e w ay th a t I d o n ’t fully u n d ersta n d ’. I t differs fro m all o th e r
conjuncts in n o t in d ic a tin g a relatio n sh ip b etw een its clause a n d w h a t prece d es; in th is re sp e c t
it resem bles a reaso n d is ju n c t:
Som ehow I d o n ’t tru st him . [‘for som e reason o r o th e r’]
Som ehow is in fa c t used w h en th e reason is n o t m a d e ex p licit in th e p reced in g c o n te x t. In
co n trast, p u re resu ltiv e co n ju n cts {eg: therefore [‘for th a t reaso n ’]) req u ire th e reaso n o r ca u se to
be given in th e p rece d in g co n tex t. H en ce th e clause to w hich they a re a ttach e d sta te s th e re su lt
or consequence. .
8.141 c o n tra s tiv e co n ju n cts (role 0 p re se n t e ith e r c o n trastiv e w ords o r c o n tra stiv e
m atter in re la tio n to w h a t h as p reced ed . T h e fo rm er ty p e is o b v io u sly close
to the a p p o sitiv e an d differs in seek in g less to a d d a n o th e r fo rm u la tio n (‘in
oth er w o rd s’) th a n to replace w h a t has b een said by a d ifferen t fo rm u la tio n
(‘in o th e r w o rd s’). C o m p a re :
H e w as exceedingly in e b ria te d - hopelessly d ru n k , in other words.

[appositive]
Conjuncts 639
She has a p p lie d fo r a tra n s fe r - she is tired o f h e r p re sen t jo b , in other

words, [reform ulatory]
Such r e f o r m u l F t o r y c o n ju n cts are, th erefo re, freq u e n tly p reced ed by o r :
H e in v ited sev eral frien d s, or better, several p e o p le th a t he t h o u g h t
w ere frien d s, [ie ‘it w ould be b e tte r if I w ere to say ’]
S im ilarly, rather [‘I sh o u ld ra th e r say’].

T h e item alias p re ced es p ro p e r n o u n s; fo r e x a m p le :
H e w en t to C o n sta n tin o p le, alias Istan b u l.

She m arried E ric B lair, alias G eorge O rw ell.
W ith r e p l F c i v e co n ju n cts, co n trastiv e m a tte r m ay ag ain be p re fa c ed by

or. T h e sp e a k er w ith d ra w s a n item , n o t to: e x p ress it b e tte r b u t to re p la ce it
by a m o re im p o rta n t o n e. E x am p les o f th e r e p l F c i v e c o n ju n c ts:
H e w as o p p o se d b y his m o th e r or, rather, b y | o t h his p aren ts.

Please su it yourself. Y ou c an m ove in a t o n c e ; (or) again, you m ay
p refer to d o so n e x t w eek.
B u t a n item m ay b e c o n tra ste d w ith a p reced in g o n e by in tro d u cin g a d ire c t
a n tith e s is; th is is effected by m ean s o f F n t i t h e t i c co n ju n cts, as i n :
Y ou p ro m ise to h e lp m e ; then you let m e d o w n !

H e ex p ected to b e h a p p y b u t instead he felt m iserab le.
O n e ite m in th is g ro u p is o ften used as p a rt o f a c o rre la tio n : on the one h a n d

. . .o n the other (hand).
W h ere one u n it is seen a s u n expected in th e lig h t o f th e o th er, w e h a v e th e
use o f CONCESSIVE co n ju n cts, as i n :
She d id n ’t g e t th e a w ard a fte r all. Still, h e r resu lts w ere very good.
H e h a d w o rk e d h a rd b u t all the sam e he fa iled th e exam .
C oncessive o f course m ak e s a conjoin resem b le a su b o rd in a te clau se: ‘O f

course h e’s a b it lazy ; all th e sam e I ’d like to give h im th e jo b ’. ( C f ‘A lth o u g h
h e ’s a b it lazy, I ’d lik e to give h im th e jo b all th e sa m e .’)
N o te A n ex am p le o f th e a n tith e tic co n ju n ct oppositely < rare> :

A ny no rm al p erso n is d ep ressed w hen given p ro p er c a u se fo r depression. Oppositely, n o rm a l
people b eco m e very ex c ited w hen, for ex am ple, th e y h a v e w on a big prize.
8.142 t rF n s it io n F l co n ju n c ts (role g) serve to sh ift a tte n tio n to a n o th e r to p ic o r to

a tem p o rally re la te d e v en t. W e refer to th e fo rm er as d i s c o u r s F l :
I w a n t to tell y ou a b o u t m y trip , b u t, by the w ay, ho w is y o u r m o th e r?
A m o n g th e o th e r d isco u rsal conjuncts, n o te th a t now has a fu n c tio n as

d isco u rse-in itial; c /8 .1 3 5 . Such co n ju n cts d o n o t necessarily seek to c h an g e
th e subject o f th e d isco u rse; they a re freq u en tly used m erely to in d ic a te a
ra th e r ad v en titio u s r e la tio n :
She is stu d y in g ph y sics, astro n o m y , a n d , incidentally, m eteorology.

T h is la s t is in te n d e d to m ea n n o t ‘She is studying m eteorology a s a m in o r an d

in c id e n ta l c o m p o n e n t o f h e r w o rk ’ b u t ‘I regard it as a n in c id e n ta l fa ct w orth
p a s s in g o n to y o u ’. O ften , how ever, incidentally is used as a p o lite w ay o f
c h a n g in g th e su b je c t; in th is usage, it resem bles ‘by th e w a y ’ a n d is incidental
to w h a t h a s p re c e d e d o nly to the e x te n t th a t so m eth in g h a s b e en said th a t
re m in d s th e s p e a k e r o f th e o th e r topic.
t e m po r F l t r a n s i t i o n sim ila rly se e k s to in d ic a te a m o v e a w a y f ro m th e
n o rm a l se q u en ce in n a r ra tiv e :
H e sav ed a g r e a t d eal o f m oney b u t in the m eantim e h is house

d e te rio ra te d badly.
T h e sp e a k e r h e re is n o t, o f course, co n cern ed to re p o rt o n tw o sim u ltan eo u s

h a p p e n in g s b u t to re la te th e m (in th is case, iro n ic ally : th e m o n ey in th e b an k
sh o u ld h a v e b e e n u se d to r e p a ir th e house).
Correspondences to other structures

8.143 W e m a y n ow lo o k m o re closely a t th e w ay con ju n cts c o rre sp o n d to o th er
stru c tu re s. A lm o st all, in d ee d , are lik e style d isjuncts in th a t th e co rresp o n
d e n ce in c o rp o ra te s a v e rb o f sp eak in g a n d usually th e su b je ct is th e sp eak er
(c /8 .1 2 2 ). T h e c o n ju n c t is n o rm ally rep resen ted lexically in th e co rresp o n
d e n ce b y a c o g n a te a d v erb ial. W e th erefo re co n sid er th e co rresp o n d en ces
ac c o rd in g to th e c la ss o f th e a d ju n c t o r o th e r ad v erb ial c o n ce rn ed .
(i) TIME AND SPACE ADJUNCTS AND SUBJUNCTS

T h e su c c e ssio n 'in tim e o r sp ace conveyed by th e a d v erb ial is c o n v erted into
th e lo g ical su ccessio n o f disco u rse w h en th ere is th e im p lic a tio n o f a verb o f
sp e a k in g . T h e c o rre sp o n d in g clause h a s as its subject th e sp e a k er, b u t it is
so m e tim es p o ssib le to en v isag e a n in d efin ite p ro n o u n in ste a d (eg indefinite
one, we, o r you). T h e c o rresp o n d en ce c a n usually be g iv en th e fo rm ;
\
W e c a n in clu d e h e re m o st listin g co n ju n cts (role a in 8.136), th e co n ju n cts
now a n d then (w h a te v e r th e ir subclass), a n d a few co n ju n cts s c a tte re d th ro u g h
o th e r su b classes ; e g : b y the way, y et, still, after all, a t the sa m e tim e. E x a m p le s;
T h e re a re tw o th in g s th a t th e G o v e rn m e n t can d o : F irst [‘I w ill say ’ +

first], it c a n c u t sp e n d in g o n d e fen c e ; second [‘I w ill sa y ’ + second], it
c a n re d u ce th e n u m b e r o f civil serv an ts.
I f a stro n a u ts h a v e la n d e d o n th e m oon, then [‘one c a n s a y ’ + then] th ere
is n o re a so n w h y th ey c a n ’t lan d o n V enus.
(ii) PROCESS ADJUNCTS

T h e sa m e ty p es o f c o rresp o n d en ce c a n b e estab lish ed h ere. T h e co n ju n cts
in v o lv ed are sc a tte re d th ro u g h th e v ario u s subclasses o f co n ju n c ts. E x a m p le s:
Incidentally [‘I tell y o u ’ + incidentally], h e d id n ’t w a n t th e book.

To conclude [‘I tell y o u ’ + (in order) to conclude], it w as a g re a t success.
(iii) ADDITIVE SUBJUNCTS

H ere, to o , th e c o rre sp o n d e n c e in co rp o rates a verb o f s p e a k in g a n d usually
Conjuncts 641
th e su b je ct is th e sp eak er. W e can include here th e ad d itiv e co n ju n cts (ro le

a(ii) in 8.136). E x am p les:
M o s t o f us see no reaso n w hy c a p ita l p u n ish m en t should n o t be
ab o lish e d . F urther [‘I will fu rth e r say’], th e a rg u m en ts in fav o u r o f
c o rp o ra l p u n ish m e n t seem triv ia l to m o st o f us.
T h e a cts o f a p a rish c ouncil m u st b e confirm ed by th e p a rish m eetin g .
L ik ew ise [‘I w ill likewise tell y o u ’] d ecisions o f a p arish m eetin g m u s t
b e co n firm ed by a re feren d u m o f all th e electors in th e p arish .
T h e a d d itiv e su b ju n cts ( c /8 .1 16) c a n them selves o ften fu n ctio n also as tim e ,

space, o r p ro cess a d ju n cts.
M iscellan eo u s co rresp o n d en ces th a t c a n b e p o stu lated fo r o th er c o n ju n c ts :
(iv) T h e e n u m e ra tiv e co n ju n cts (role a(i) in 8.136) th a t are card in al n u m e ra ls

a n d a lp h a b e tic letters:
,T , tone, tw o , . . .
I w ill say + j ^ b,
(v) T h e c o n ju n c t only ( in f o r m a l) ; role f (iv ):
I in te n d e d to re ad th e book, only [‘I w ould only say ’] I felt too tired .
(vi) T h e c o n ju n c t rather, role f(ii):
W h a t u n ites th e p a rty is th e a b sen ce o f a policy. O r rather [‘I sh o u ld

rather say ’], th ere is a po licy b u t it h a s n o t b een p ro p erly fo rm u lated .
(vii) R e fo rm u lato ry better, role f(i); in th e ex am p le g iven for rather in (v i)

ab o v e, rather c o u ld be re p laced by better in th e sense ‘I t w ould b e better fo r
m e to s a y ’.
(viii) R e p la civ e c o n ju n cts better a n d worse, role f ( ii) :
Y o u c a n w rite to h im a b o u t it. B etter still [‘It w ould be better still to

s a y ’], w rite to h is fa th er.
(ix) C o n cessiv e c o n ju n c t however, role f (iv ):
H e d id n ’t lik e th e food. However [‘However tru e th a t m ay b e’], h e d id n ’t

c o m p la in a b o u t it.
(x) T h e co n ju n c t though in role f(iv) is related to th e co n ju n ctio n though ( c f

8.134). O fte n it is a n in fo rm al e q u iv a le n t to a n ab b rev iate d s u b o rd in a te
clause w ith th e c o n ju n ctio n though as su b o rd in a to r:
H is food is r a th e r a p ro b lem . H e looks fit, though.
T h e se n ten c e is in te rp re te d as:
H is fo o d is ra th e r a p ro b lem . H e looks fit, though his food is ra th e r a

p ro b lem .
T h e im p lied su b o rd in a te clau se n e ed n o t b e id en tical w ith th e c o n te n t o f a

p rev io u s c la u s e :
S in g a p o re m u st no w b e o n e o f th e m o st e n v iab ly pro sp ero u s c ities in

th e w orld. T h ere is n o reason, though, to sup p o se th a t th e people o f

S in g a p o re w ould w an t to spend as m u ch m o n ey on d efen ce as B rita in
u se d to sp en d .
T h e im p lied su b o rd in a te clause rep re se n ted by th e co n ju n ct could be

so m e th in g like ‘though th e people o f S in g ap o re m ig h t agree th a t it n eed e d
d e f e n d in g ’.
N o te [a] F o r so m e co n ju n cts, it is difficult to find a c o rresp o n d en c e w ith a co g n ate a d v e rb ia l

h o m o n y m o u s a d ju n c t; e g : so, otherwise, a t any rate. W ith o th e rs, th e re is n o d ire c t co rresp o n d en c e
a t a l l; e g : fu rtherm ore, moreover, namely, nevertheless, meanwhile. B ut som e o f th e se a re
c o m p o u n d s w ith a n e lem en t th a t functions as a n a d d itiv e o r o th e r su b ju n ct; eg: furtherm ore ,
m oreover, nevertheless.
[b] T h e concessive co n ju n c t though is a m arg in al case. W e h a v e ea rlier p o in ted o u t th a t though is
o f te n e q u iv a le n t to a su b o rd in ate clause w ith th e s u b o rd in a to r though (c/8 .1 3 4 ). T h e p ro b le m
a rise s w h e n though is in I p o sitio n (not to be in te rp re te d as con ju n ct) an d m e a n in g is p reserv ed
i f it is tra n sp o sed elsew h ere in th e clause. In su ch cases, th e re is norm ally a m a jo r p au se o r
p u n c tu a tio n m ark b etw e en th e tw o clauses. F o r e x a m p le :
H e is p o o r - though he is satisfied w ith his co n d itio n ,
is e q u iv a le n t to;
H e is poor. H e is satisfied w ith his co n d itio n , though. <m ore in fo rm al)
I n s p e e c h , a special k in d o f in to n atio n is req u ired fo r su ch a clause, norm ally a falling-rising
n u c le a r t o n e :
H e is p o o r | - th ough he is S A T isfied w ith his c o n d itio n l
N o tic e th a t th e sen ten ces a re n o t eq u iv alen t to:
T hough he is satisfied w ith his con d itio n , he is poor,
b u t to :
T hough he is p o o r, h e is satisfied w ith his co n d itio n .
C o m p a r e rep lacem en ts w ith alth o u g h :
H e is poor. H e is satisfied w ith his co n d itio n , though.
J - although h e i s S A T isfied w i t h h i s c o n d i t i o n l
( HAlthough
e is p o o r
h e i s p o o r , h e is s a t i s f i e d w i t h h i s c o n d i t i o n .
B u t u n lik e though, although is n o t a conjunct, a n d it c a n n o t be tra n sp o sed elsew here in th e c la u s e :

H e is poor. *H e is satisfied w ith his co n d itio n , although.
F in a l th ough- and alth o u g h -ch u ses ca n im ply som e claim o f th e sp eak er, eg:
(
although)
though J ' S s a t*s^ et* h*s co n d itio n .
C f e n d -p la c e d tecatije-clauses as disjuncts o f reaso n (8.132).
Cooccurrence and position of conjuncts

8.144 A s w e h av e seen in th e exam ples g iv en in 8.138#, con ju n cts freq u en tly
c o o cc u r w ith (ejnd freq u en tly im m ed iately follow ) c o n ju n c tio n s: and so, or
else , b u t instead. T h e effect o f th e co n ju n cts is o ften , indeed, to give a m o re
e x p lic it o rie n ta tio n to such basic c o n ju n ctio n s as and, or, a n d but, a n d th ey
c a n b e th u s used w ith o u t tautology. W h a t is m o re, con ju n cts o f d ifferen t
classes c a n cooccur w ith o u t necessarily b e in g tautologous, co n tra d ic to ry , o r
u n g ra m m atica l (th o u g h o ften, as in th e follow ing, a t th e co st o f b ein g
sty listically o b jec tio n a b le ):
A n d so [resultive] all in all [sum m ative] you th in k th a t d e sp ite h er ill

h e alth she h as nonetheless [concessive] m ad e a good im p ressio n a t th e
interview .
S o [resultive] you th in k nonetheless [concessive] sh e’ll g et th e jo b in other
words [in feren tial plus a p positional].
Co njun cts 643
W e c a n e v en h a v e a c o n ju n ct cooccur w ith one o r m o re fro m th e sam e c la ss

a n d ach iev e th e effect o f e m p h a tic en d o rsem en t ra th e r th a n o f tau to lo g y ; b u t
a g ain th e follow ing is stylistically very u n d e sirab le :
„ . , , f nevertheless do n e well.
B ut y e t, even so, sh e h a s t , „
[d o n e well, all the same.
W h ile em p h a sis by su ch m ea n s is m ore c h ara cte ristic o f loose in fo rm a l ta lk

th a n fo rm al w ritin g , th e co n v erse holds fo r a related ty p e o f e n d o rsem e n t.
T h is is th e in tro d u c tio n o f a c o n ju n ct in a m ain clau se c o rre latin g w ith a
c o n ju n ctio n in tro d u c in g a p reced in g su b o rd in ate clause. F o r th e m o st p a r t,
th is belo n g s to a ra th e r m a n n e re d a n d form al style o f w r itin g :
W hen w a r actu ally c am e, then (an d only th en ) th e c o u n try s ta r te d :

rearm in g .
Because Je n n ife r fo resaw th is well in a d v an ce, sh e therefore h a d th e
n ecessary tim e to ta k e p rev en tiv e action.
B u t su ch co rrelatio n c a n freely o ccu r in m o re o rd in ary d is c o u rs e :
7 /y o u k n ew th is all a long, then you could h av e to ld m e.

Even though you th o u g h t I k n ew , you could h a v e to ld m e in any case.
W hile I ’m o u t, you c a n m eantim e d o th e dishes.
Seeing th a t he h a d n o c h an c e o f w inning, he consequently p re te n d e d h e
w asn ’t trying.
See fu rth er, 8.145.

D isre g ard in g a n in tro d u c to ry co o rd in atin g c o n ju n ctio n , / is th e n o rm a l
p o sitio n for co n ju n cts a n d m a n y a re virtually restric te d to it, n o tab ly again,
besides, y e t, still, ( w hat is) m ore, so, else, hence. B u t as o u r ex am p les h a v e
sh o w n , M is q u ite n o rm al fo r several o f th e co n ju n cts th a t could n o t be
m isin te rp reted in th is p o s itio n : however, nevertheless, in other words, on the
contrary, etc. A t E , w e o ften fin d in other words, th e in fo rm a l anyhow , a nyw ay,
a n d (especially) though. C o n ju n cts a t / a re o ften follow ed b y a co m m a, a n d
th o se a t E a re o ften p re ce d ed b y o n e ; su ch a c o m m a is u sed esp ecially w h e n
th e c o n ju n ct w ould h a v e a se p a ra te in to n a tio n n ucleu s in sp e e ch o r w h e n it
m ig h t b e m is in te rp re te d a s a n a d ju n ct. F o r e x a m p le :
W h ere d id sh e GO| t h e n \ [in feren tial c o n ju n c t: ‘in t h a t c a s e ’; ‘So w h ere

d id sh e g o ? ’)
W h ere d id sh e go t h e n \ [tim e a d ju n ct: ‘afte r t h a t’]
A t M , thus a n d therefore d iffer in t h a t th e fo rm er does n o t follow a n e g ativ e,

w here th ere is n o su ch c o n stra in t on therefore; cf.
R a tio n a liz a tio n w ill thus I n 0 t be w ith o u t difficulties.

n e v er
? * R atio n aliz a tio n w ill i n o t > thus b e w ith o u t difficulties.
th e r e fo r e \n 0i }
(n e v e rj
R a tio n a liz a tio n will ■be w ith o u t difficulties.
[ n o t 1 therefore
n e v er
N o te [a] I n fo rm a lly , so a n d but c a n be a t E in Irish E nglish, a n d but c a n be a t E in A u stra lia n E n g lis h :

‘H e h a s g o n e , so' (w h ere so m e an s roughly ‘I g a th e r’), ‘I d id n ’t d o it, but ’ (w h ere bu t m e a n s ‘all
th e s a m e ’).
[b] D e s p ite th e ir p o te n tia lity fo r cooccurrence, co n ju n cts c a n n o t usually be c o o rd in ated .
E n u m e r a tiv e c o n ju n cts pro v id e so m e stereo ty p ed ex c ep tio n s: F i r st an d f o rem o st , L ast but not
l east , (S i x t h )l y andf i nal l y .
[cj S o , y et , onl y , a n d el se are d istin g u ish ed by th e pu n ctu atio n co n v en tio n th a t allow s th e m to be
s e p a r a te d fro m th e prev io u s clau se by a co m m a w h ere o th e r conjuncts w ould req u ire a m o re
m a jo r m a r k o f p u n c tu a tio n (c f A p p W l .bf f , I I I . 12/, I I I .17). H ow ever, el se is n o rm a lly preced ed
by th e c o o rd in a to r or.
So , y et , a n d el se u sually o ccu r w ith o u t in to n a tio n o r p u n ctu atio n s ep aratio n fro m w h a t follows.
H o w e v e r, w h en so sig n als a gen e ra l in feren ce from th e p revious ling u istic c o n te x t a n d m ig h t be
p a r a p h r a s e d by ‘it fo llow s fro m w h a t w e h av e sa id ’, it is o fte n m a rk ed by p u n c tu a tio n a n d
in to n a tio n :
S o , y o u th in k yo u know b est. <inform a!>
F o r so a n d y et in re la tio n to co o rd in ato rs, c /1 3 .1 8 /
C o n ju n c ts as correlatives
8.145 A s w e sa w in 8.144, som e c o n ju n cts c a n co rre late w ith th e s u b o rd in a to r o f a
p re c e d in g clau se to re in fo rce th e logical re la tio n sh ip b etw een th e p a rts o f a
s e n te n c e . T h is is becau se a sim ila r logical re la tio n sh ip is effected b y b o th th e
s u b o rd in a to r a n d th e co n ju n ct. T h e difference is t h a t w h ereas a su b o rd in a te
c la u se m a y o ften e ith e r p re ce d e o r follow its su p e ro rd in ate clau se, a c o n ju n c t
m u s t alw ay s d p e ra te an ap h o rica lly (c f 5.30). F o r ex am p le, th e follow ing
se n te n c e s are s im ila r in m e a n in g (c/8 .1 4 3 ):
T hough (he is) poor, h e is satisfied w ith h is situ atio n . [ 1]

H e is poor, y e t (he is) satisfied w ith his situ atio n . [2]
T h e m a jo r d ifferen ce is th a t [2] states his p o v e rty as a fact, w h e rea s in [1] his

p o v e rty is p resu p p o sed as a g iv en a ssu m p tio n (c/18.8). I t is w h e n w e c o m b in e
b o th s u b o rd in a to r a n d c o n ju n c t in o n e sen ten ce th a t we h a v e c o r re la tio n :
Though he is p o o r, y e t h e is satisfied w ith his situ atio n .
I n d e e d , w ith co n cessiv es w e c a n en d o rse th e con cessio n by h a v in g m o re th a n

o n e co n cessiv e c o n ju n c t in th e second clause ( c /8 .1 4 4 ,1 3 .2 0 ,1 3 .3 3 # ), th o u g h
th is is sty listically u n d e sirab le:
Though h e is p o o r, y e t h e is nevertheless satisfied w ith his situ atio n .
T h e c o n ju n c ts t h a t en d o rse p a rtic u la r su b o rd in a to rs by c o rre latio n a re sh o w n

b elo w . I t should b e n o ted , how ever, th a t it is less usual to en d o rse c au se an d
tim e su b o rd in a to rs th a n c o n d itio n a n d con cessio n su b o rd in ato rs.
In s h a rp c o n tra st to th e o b jec tio n a b le red u n d an c y to w h ich a tte n tio n w as
d ra w n in 8.144, fo rm al c o rre latio n c o n trib u tes b o th to sty listic eleg an ce
(th ro u g h rh e to rica l b a la n c e ; < /1 9 .1 8 ) a n d to tex tu al clarity (esp ecially w h ere
th e tw o p a rts to b e co n n ec te d are long a n d com plex).
E x am p les o f c o rre la tiv e s :
Conjuncts 645
c o n d it io n : th e n
yet
c o n c e s s io n : alth o u g h still
(even) though how ever
w hile nev erth eless
w hilst <esp B rE ) nonetheless
g ra n te d (that) n o tw ith sta n d in g
e v en if
anyhow}<eSpinf0rmal>
th erefo re
c F u s e : b ecau se )
seein g (th at) J { h en ce (u n u s u a l)
accordingly
c onsequently
f m ean w h ile
w hile
I m ean tim e
N o te [a] T he tw o in s ta n c e s o f w hi l e listed above are different. W hi l e in th e concessive list o f

su b o rd in ato rs is sy n o n y m o u s w ith th e su b o rd in ato r though, a n d th e o th e r while is eq u iv a le n t to
‘d u rin g th e tim e t h a t ’. T h e re is a fu rth e r p a ir o f tim e co rrelativ es, so m etim es used a d m o n ito rily :
*W hen you’ve do n e y o u r ho m ew o rk , then you’ll get y o u r p o ck e t m oney. ’
[b] C erta in o th e r ex p ressio n s w ith concessive force m ay c o rrelate w ith a concessive c o n ju n c t; fo r
ex am ple, true, clearly, o r certainly, c f 19.56.
C onjunctions w it h conjuncts
8.146 A clause c o n ta in in g a co n ju n ct m ay b e lin k e d to a p reced in g clause by o n e o f
th e c o o rd in a to rs (and, or, b u t ; c/8 .1 4 4 ), b u t n o t all c o n ju n cts cooccur w ith all
co o rd in ato rs. T h e follow ing con ju n cts seem to be lim ite d to th e c o o rd in a to rs
in d ic a te d :
and so
f however (?)
but I then [a n tith etic ]
(th o u g h
(else
\a g a in [rep laciv e]
besides
then (again) [an tith etic]
and
still
but
yet
nevertheless
O n e o f th ese c o n ju n c ts - though - c an n o t follow th e co n ju n ctio n im m ed iately

(c /8 .1 4 3 , N o te [b]), a n d th e sam e is tru e fo r however w ith m an y sp eak ers.
T h e reaso n s a re d ifferen t. W h en a t I, though is used a s a su b o rd in a to r a n d th e
co n ju n ct’s n e a re s t p lace to / is M . In th e case o f however, m an y people feel
th e sequ en ce b ut however to b e tautologous. In d e ed , so m e sp eak ers o b jec t to
th e co o ccu rren ce o f but a n d however ev en w h en th ey a re n o t in im m e d ia te
sequence. C o m p a re :
T , , ,., , , f but M ary seem s all rig h t, though.

J o h n d o esn t look very h ap p y < , , . , . , „ ...
J (but M ary, though, seem s all right.
(? )Y o u c a n p h o n e th e d o c to r if you like, but I very m u ch d o u b t, however,
w h e th e r y o u w ill get h im to com e o ut o n a S a tu rd ay n ight.
Y o u c a n p h o n e th e d o c to r if you like. However, I very m u ch d o u b t
w h e th e r y o u w ill g et h im to com e o ut o n a S a tu rd ay n ig h t.
O n th e o th e r h a n d , w e c a n n o t h a v e :
* J o h n d o e sn ’t look very hap p y , but though M ary seem s all right.
F o r m a n y s p e a k e rs th e follow ing w ould also be u n a c c e p ta b le :
* Y o u c a n p h o n e th e d o c to r if you like, but however, I very m u ch d o u b t

w h e th e r y o u w ill g et h im to com e o u t o n a S a tu rd ay n ig h t.
S o , o n ly, y e t, re p la civ e again, an d an tith etic then c a n n o t b e p reced ed by

su b o rd in a to rs .
N o te T h e c o n c e ssiv e c o n ju n c t only < in fo rm a l) is a m a rg in al case. Som e s p eak ers allow th e c o o rd in ato r

b u t to p re c e d e it:
?I in te n d e d to g o , b u t only I d id n ’t feel well.
F o r th o se w h o do n o t allow but to precede only , th e la tte r item h as a statu s sim ilar to th a t o f th e
s u b o r d in a to r s ca u sal f o r a n d resultive so that { c f 1 3 .8 # . Som e sp e a k e rs c a n begin a q u estio n
w ith o n ly :
I ’d lik e to co m e w ith y o u ; only, w ould I be ail rig h t in th ese clo th es?
O th e r s y n ta c tic features of conjuncts

8.147 E x c e p t c h iefly fo r only a n d somehow, conjuncts c a n o c cu r in questions. T h ey
c a n d o so w ith sim ila r ran g e o f po sitio n to th a t o b ta in in g in d eclarativ e
s e n te n c e s :
A n y w a y , do you k n o w th e an sw er?
S o w ill you b e go in g ?
D id h e , in other words, c h e a t h is em ployer?
T h e s a m e is b ro ad ly tru e for in d ire ct q u estio n s:
H e a sk e d w h e th e r th ey w ould nonetheless rem ain .
B u t c o n ju n c ts re stric te d to / a re excluded:
* H e a s k e d w k e th e r so they w ould stay.
U n lik e m o s t d isju n cts, m ost con ju n cts o ccur freely in im p e rativ e sen ten ces:
A ll th e sam e, try to ex p la in it.

D o n ’t try , w hat's more, to ju stify yourself.
T h ere a r e sev ere c o n stra in ts o n th e g rad ab ility o f co n ju n cts (as d istin c t ag ain
from d isju n c ts):
*V ery in c id e n ta lly ,. . . *A ccordingly e n o u g h ,. . .
B u t w e fin d better still, even worse, an d several co n ju n cts c a n be intensified by

q u ite :
Adverbials in conspectus 647
I h o p ed he w ould go early b u t, quite on the contrary, he sta y ed till

m id n ig h t.
A n d , quite by the way, how is yo u r sister?
C o n ju n cts can in d ic a te re latio n s b etw een tw o clauses ev en w h e re o n e is

su b o rd in a te to th e o th e r :
I will see h im to n ig h t b ecau se he will otherwise feel h u rt. [ c /I w ill see

h im to n ig h t; otherwise h e w ill feel h urt]
W h ere such a su b o rd in a te clause can b e in itial in th e sen ten ce, th e c o n ju n c t -

d e sp ite its n o rm ally a n ap h o ric referen ce ( c f 5.30) - m ay m a in ta in its re la tin g
fu n c tio n :
B ecau se h e w ill otherwise feel h u rt, I w ill see h im to n ig h t.
T h is is, how ever, ex cep tio n al. N orm ally, a co n ju n ct in a n /-p la ce d s u b o rd in a te

clau se w ill relate th a t clause n o t to th e follow ing m atrix clause b u t to a c la u se
in a p re ce d in g se n te n c e :
I c a n ex p la in it orally. If, however, y o u in sist, I w ill p u t it in w ritin g .
T ra n s p o sin g th e /-c la u s e h ere, w e w ould p u t th e co n ju n ct in to th e m a trix

clau se to show its c o n sta n t re la tio n to w h a t h as p re c e d e d :
I c a n e x p lain it orally. I w ill, however, p u t it in w riting, if you insist.
Adverbials in conspectus
8.148 W e h a v e seen re p ea te d ly th a t th e sa m e item c an o p e rate in ra d ic ally d iffere n t

g ra m m a tic a l fu n ctio n s. N o rm a lly , th e se m an tic fu n ctio n is c o n sta n t, a s w e
m ay illu stra te w ith th e pro cess (m an n e r) a d v erb fr a n k ly :
H e a d m itte d his m istak es fra n k ly . [ 1]

H e fr a n k ly a d m itte d h is m istak es. [ 2]
F ra n k ly , h e w as c o n tem p tu o u s o f th e p ard o n . [3]
H is fr a n k ly a d m itte d m ista k e s w ere p a rd o n ed . [4]
H is fr a n k ly e x tra o rd in a ry a ttitu d e d ism ay ed h is friends. [5]
I n [1] w e have a sen ten ce a d ju n c t ( c f 8.36), in [2] a su b ju n ct w ith su b je ct
o rie n ta tio n (c /8 .9 2 ), in [3] a d isju n ct (c/8 .1 2 1 ). In [4] a n d [5] w e h a v e n o u n
p h ra se s in co rp o ra tin g a d v erb s th a t c a n b e related to a n ad ju n c t a n d a d isju n c t
resp ectiv ely .
W ith som e a d v erb ials, n o tab ly th e closed-class item s, th e re c a n b e a
c o n sid era b le ra n g e o f m ean in g s a cco rd in g as th e g ra m m a tic a l fu n c tio n
s h if ts : for ex am p le, then as a n a d ju n c t co n cern ed w ith tim e, a n d a s a co n ju n c t
c o n c e rn e d w ith en u m e ratio n , re in fo rcem en t, su m m atio n , in fere n ce , o r
a n tith e s is ; a g ain , so can be a n in ten sify in g su b ju n ct, a process ad ju n c t p ro

fo rm , an d a c o n ju n ct. B u t ev en w ith su ch item s, a c en tral core o f m ea n in g
re m a in s c o n s ta n t: ‘in th a t e v en t’ is close en o u g h to ‘a t th a t tim e ’ to ju stify th e
use o f then for b o th ; w ith so, we are n ev er fa r fro m th e m ea n in g ‘in th a t w ay ’.
I t is su ch fa cts a s th ese th a t ju stified th e b a sic se p a ra tio n o f sem an tic roles
( c / 8 . 2 2 / ) a n d g ra m m a tic a l fun ctio n s ( c /8 .2 4 /) , b u t th ey also h av e a b earin g
o n c o o cc u rren c e a n d position.
C o n strain ts on cooccurrence
8 .1 4 9 I t w a s arg u ed in 8.11 th a t th e gro u n d s fo r d istin g u ish in g d ifferen t classes o f
a d v e rb ia l w ere b asically th e sam e as th o se fo r d istin g u ish in g tw o d ifferen t
ty p e s o f o b ject o r co m p lem en t. T o th is e x te n t, th erefo re, w e a re co m m itte d
to th e p rin cip le t h a t o n e (a n d only one) m e m b e r o f any o n e class o f ad v erb ial
c a n co o ccu r in a clau se w ith a m em b e r o f a n y o th e r class. B ut w e h a v e
a lre a d y d ra w n a tte n tio n to in frin g e m en t o f th is p rin cip le b o th w ays. O n th e
o n e h a n d , w e h a v e seen m ore th a n o n e m e m b e r o f th e sam e class o p e ra tin g
in a se n ten ce w ith o u t tautology o r c o n tra d ic tio n :
I ’ll m ee t you dow ntow n [A -S l] a t the drugstore [A-S2]

on M o n d a y [A -T l] a t fiv e [A-T2], [w here S a n d T re fe r to space
a n d tim e resp ectiv ely ] [1]
W e trav e lle d f r o m Paris [A l] to Cologne [A2] via Liege [A3], [2]
Y et [A 1] h e su cceed ed nevertheless [A2]. [3]
I n [1] we h av e tw o sp ace (position) a d ju n c ts a n d tw o tim e (p o sitio n ) a d ju n c ts;

in b o th cases w e w o u ld a cco u n t for th e co o ccu rren ce by in v o k in g th e p rin cip le
o f h ierarch ical; re la tio n s h ip (c f 8.45). So also th e source, goal, a n d p a th
a d ju n c ts o f sp ace in [2]. I n [3] we h av e tw o c o n ju n cts o f th e sam e concessiv e
su b class a n d w e m a y in v o k e th e p rin cip le o f sem an tic e n d o rsem en t a n d
re in fo rc e m e n t (c/8 .1 4 4 ).
O n th e o th e r h a n d , w e found th a t co o ccu rren ce o f q u ite d istin c t ty p es o f
a d v erb ial w as o fte n p reclu d ed ; sp a c e -d ire c tio n w ith sp a c e-p o sitio n , fo r
ex am p le, w h ere th e v e rb in th e clau se c o n n o te d stasis ( c f 8.42). T h ere a re
o th e r g ro u n d s fo r th e p reclusion o f c o o ccu rren ce. F o r exam ple, a lth o u g h
d isju n cts a n d su b ju n c ts w ith subject o rie n ta tio n a re in sh arp ly d istin c t classes,
th e ir co o ccu rren ce in th e sam e clause re q u ire s th e h ierarch ically su p e rio r
d isju n ct to b e p la c e d e arlie r th a n th e su b ju n ct.
F rankly, th e y h a v e deliberately b e en k e ep in g h im w ith o u t new s.
W ith the c o n v erse o rd e r, th ey can n o t co o ccu r;
*Deliberately, th e y h av e fra n k ly b een k e ep in g h im w ith o u t new s.
N o r does it seem easy to h a v e a style d isju n ct an d a c o n te n t d isju n ct in th e

sam e clause:
(?) Wisely, th ey h a v e - to be blunt - k e p t h im u n in fo rm ed .
M o re generally, th e re a re severe c o n stra in ts o n th e sam e fo rm al ite m

a p p ea rin g m o re th a n o n ce in a clause, e v en w h en it is realizin g d istin c t
g ra m m atica l ro les. T h is sty listic re stric tio n is do u b tless influenced by o u r
u n av o id ab le aw are n e ss o f a com m on m ean in g d e sp ite th e g ra m m a tic a l

difference, a n d h en ce a co rrespondingly u n av o id ab le feeling th a t th e re is
tautology. C o m p are th e follow ing versions o f th e ‘sa m e ’ se n te n c e :
Obviously [disjunct], N e d c a n see perfectly, [p red ic atio n adjunct]

Obviously, N e d c a n see clearly.
Clearly, N e d can see perfectly.
IC learly, N e d can see clearly.
N o te A vo id in g d ouble o c c u rre n ce o f th e 's a m e form al item is o f co u rse general an d has n o th in g

specifically to d o w ith a d v e rb s o r in d e ed w ith item s h av in g related m ean in g s. O n e is e m b arrasse d
(o r am used) to h e a r :
I like m o st an im als b u t I c a n ’t b ea r bears.
(C /a ls o 4 .6 7 ,1 3 .7 8 ,1 3 d 0 1 ,17.61).
Relative positions o f adverbials

8.150 Style affects also th e p o sitio n in g o f adv erb ials, ju s t as do o th e r in te ra c tin g
fa c to rs : re aliz a tio n a l, g ra m m a tic a l, an d sem an tic.
Ju x ta p o sitio n o f -ly item s is w idely held to be stylistically o b jectio n ab le.
T h u s, w hile th e follow ing is perfectly a c c e p ta b le :
In th e e n d it is p ro b a b le th a t Jo h n alone w ill b e chosen.
a p a ra p h ra se lik e th e follow ing w ould n o t b e :
?*Finally probably only Jo h n w ill be chosen.
(T h ere is little o r n o o b jec tio n to -ly sequences if th e first is a n in ten sifier:

‘She drove e xtrem ely slow ly.') S im ilarity o f fo rm in o th e r resp ects a lso
m ilitates a g a in st ju x ta p o sitio n : th u s w hile ‘I k issed h e r on the cheek'
[p red icatio n a d ju n ct] a n d ‘I kissed h er on the plane' [sen ten ce adjunct] a re
equally a ccep tab le, ‘I k issed h e r on the cheek on the plane' w ould b e av o id ed .
It is p artly o n stylistic g ro u n d s th a t o th er re aliz a tio n a l facto rs com e in to
play. Since clause-final p o sitio n is associated w ith p ro so d ic a n d se m an tic
‘w e ig h t’ (c/1 8 .9 ), it is u su ally d esirab le to p u t a d v e rb ia ls realized by relativ ely
long stru ctu res (su ch as clauses) a t the en d a n d h a v e th em p reced ed by
ad v erb ials w h o se re a liz a tio n is sh o rter (ad v erb o r p re p o sitio n a l p h ra ses); c f
8.87. T h u s:
H e stu d ied th e m carefully [A process] that night [A tim e].
b u t:
H e stu d ied th e m th a t night [A tim e] with the k in d o f care his wife had
suggested [A process].
In th is in stan ce, as freq u e n tly , such an o rd e r is d e te rm in e d in th e in terests

n o t only o f e n d -w eig h t b u t o f sim ple c la rity : if th a t night w ere to follow th e A
process in th e la s t e x am p le, it w ould seem to be fu n c tio n in g a s a n ad ju n c t in
th e clause w hose su b ject is his wife.
T h e n o tio n o f c e n tre a n d p e rip h e ry (c/2 .1 2 ) also h a s a n im p o rta n t b e arin g
o n th e relativ e p o sitio n o f ad v erb ials. T h u s if a p re d ic a tio n ad ju n c t a n d a
s e n te n c e ad ju n c t a re re q u ire d in one clause, th e fo rm er w o u ld n o rm ally

p re c e d e th e la tte r in thus p reem p tin g a m o re c en tral place:
H e u sed to k e e p th em in his garage [p red icatio n A] in A m erica

[sen ten ce A ]. [1]
H e c u t th e strin g with his p enknife [p red icatio n A] with g rea t care
[sen ten ce A]. [2]
I f a s in [1] th e re is d a n g e r o f am b ig u ity , o r if th ere is sty listic o b jec tio n to

h a v in g tw o a d v e rb ia ls o f sim ila r stru ctu re in ju x tap o sitio n , th e n th e m o re
p e r ip h e r a l a d v e rb ia l is m o v ed to / :
In A m erica , h e used to k eep th em in his garage. [ 1a]

W ith great care h e c u t th e strin g with his penknife. [2a]
C o o c c u rrin g a d ju n c ts o f th e sam e g ram m atical class, su b ject to th e stylistic

a n d re a liz a tio n a l fa cto rs alre ad y m en tio n ed , will have th e ir seq u en ce
d e te rm in e d by se m an tics a n d w ill n orm ally a p p e a r in th e o rd e r:
p ro c ess - sp ace - tim e
H e w o rk e d quietly [process] a t hom e [space].

H e w o rk e d a t hom e [space] that day [tim e].
T h e p la n e a rriv e d uneventfully [process] a t Honolulu [space]
b y m idnight [tim e].
T h u s w ith in th e sa m e class o f ad ju n cts, th o se concerned w ith tim e a re seen

to b e re la tiv e ly p e rip h e ra l a n d th is ex p lain s th e ease w ith w h ic h th e y c a n be
m o v ed to I:
B y m idnight, th e p lan e a rriv e d uneventfully a t Honolulu.
8.151 B u t if i t is re aso n a b le fro m o n e v iew p o in t to reg ard b o th E a n d I as

a p p ro p ria te lo c a tio n s fo r p e rip h e ra l ad v erb ials, it m u st be re co g n ized
(i) th a t E a n d / a re in n o w ay to b e eq u ated in th eir c o m m u n ica tiv e effect;

and
(ii) th a t ‘p e rip h e ra l’ im plies d ifferen t th in g s for different ty p es o f a d v erb ial.
O n (i) w e sh a ll h a v e m o re to say in C h a p te rT 8 , b u t for th e p re s e n t w e sh o u ld

n o te th a t E a n d I, so fa r fro m b e in g sim ilar, a re polarized in so m e resp ec ts -
n o tab ly in th a t E u su ally in d ic a te s a clim ax to w hich all th a t h a s p re ce d ed
c o n trib u tes, w hile / usually in d ic a te s a g en eral prem ise o r b a c k g ro u n d o f
w h ich th e h e a re r/re a d e r n e ed s to be a w are as we pro ceed to c o m m u n ica te
th e re al s tu ff o f o u r m essage. T h is m ea n s t h a t space as w ell a s tim e ad ju n c ts
c a n b e n a tu ra lly p lac ed a t / w h en realized by pro-form s, sin c e th ese reflect
in fo rm a tio n th a t is ‘g iv en ’ (c/1 8 .8 ). C o m p are:
H o t a n d flu stered , th e tw o C o n g ressm en anxiously a rriv e d a t the

a irp o rt ; there [space] th ey w aited all morning [tim e].
T h e tw o C o n g ressm en a rriv e d a t m id d a y, then [tim e] th e y h a d b e e n t o ld !
th e p la n e w o u ld be lan d in g .
So fa r as (ii) is c o n ce rn ed , w e need to note th a t for so m e a d v erb ials

p e rip h eraln ess d e p e n d s less o n th e ir g ram m atical relatio n s th a n o n th e ir

p ro p en sity (as w e h av e n o ted w ith tim e ad v erb ials in 8.150) to a c t a s
‘back g ro u n d ’, w h ereas w ith o th e r a d v erb ials - n o tab ly d isjuncts a n d c o n
ju n cts - p e rip h e raln e ss d ep en d s on th e ir g ra m m atica l relatio n to a n o th e r
clause w hose su b ject is th e sp eak er. O n th e face o f it, w e m ig h t ex p ect th e
latter to b e m o re p e rip h e ra l th a n th e form er, an d h en ce to be p lac ed still
closer to th e se n ten tial ‘rim ’. A t E o u r ex p ectatio n s seem to b e su p p o rte d .
T his is n o t a p o sitio n freq u en tly o ccupied by d isju n cts o r co n ju n cts, a n d o f
course w e w ould n o t n o rm ally w a n t to clu ster a d v erb ials in a single p o sitio n ,
p referrin g to p u t o n e a t / , o n e a t M , an d a th ird a t E . B ut if we h a d to
ju x tap o se a d v e rb ia ls o f d ifferen t classes, w e w ould b e in clin ed to d o so a t E
in th e o rd e r:
a d ju n c t - c o n ju n ct - d isju n ct
A w k w ard a n d im p lau sib le as a r e : th e follow ing exam ples, th ey a re

co m p reh en sib le a n d u n am b ig u o u s:
T h e o ld lad y d eclin ed to see m e la st night [Ad], however [Con],

unfortunately [Dis],
M y a ssista n t w ill b e aw ay a g ain tomorrow [Ad], w hat’s m ore [Con],
probably [Dis].
A t I, h o w ev er, a c o rresp o n d in g a tte m p t to m ove fro m ‘rim ’ to ‘c e n tre ’ w o u ld

be fru stra te d in m o re th a n o n e resp ect. A m a tc h in g p e rip h eraln ess o rd e r
w ould g ive us:
U nfortunately [Dis], however [C on], last night [A d] th e old lady d e clin ed

to see m e.
P robably [D is], w hat’s more [Con], tomorrow [Ad] m y a ssista n t w ill be
a w ay a g ain .
B ut first, th e trip le ju x ta p o sitio n w ould be ev en m o re stylistically clum sy a s

well as b ein g a little o b scu re fro m th e v iew p o in t o f in fo rm a tio n stru c tu rin g .
Secondly, th e re c a n b e co n fu sio n as to w h e th er b o th d isju n ct a n d c o n ju n c t
a re in d ep e n d en tly re la te d to th e follow ing clause o r w h e th er th e d isju n ct a n d
co n ju n ct a re th em selv es re la te d as th o u g h to m e a n ‘T h e re is th e a d d itio n a l
p ro b a b ility ’. T h ird ly , a n a d ju n c t a t / h a s g re ater p ro p e n sity to b e th e g ro u n d
for th e se n ten c e th a t follow s th a n h as a sp e a k er’s co m m en t, a n d it is th u s
liable to d isp lac e a d isju n ct o r c o n ju n ct from I. P u t differently, d isju n cts a n d
co n ju n cts easily p reserv e th e ir gram m atical p erip h e raln e ss even w h en lo c a te d
a tM :
L a st night [Ad], sh e w as clearly [D is] u n a b le to re m e m b e r a n y th in g .

In A m erica [A d], h e h a d moreover [C on] k e p t c h ic k en s in h is g arage.
U ntil recently [Ad], she w as in other words [C on] o b lig ed to fe n d e n tirely
fo r herself.
8.152 A n o th e r fa c to r c o n d itio n in g th e p lac em e n t o f a d v erb ials is sim ila r to th e

s u b je ct-attac h m en t rule ( c / ‘u n a tta c h e d p a rtic ip le ’ : 15.59) an d hence affects
especially th o se ad v erb ials th a t have a close if ellip tically expressed re la tio n
to a p a rtic u la r e lem en t o f clause stru ctu re. C o m p are :
1
? I n se a rc h o f a n ew house, the evening p a p e rs tu rn e d o ut to be o f little

u se to P a tric ia a n d h e r husband.
T o P a tric ia a n d h er h u sb an d , in search o f a n e w house, th e evening
p a p e rs tu rn ed o u t to be o f little use.
T h e m is p la c e m e n t o f ad v erb ials is p a rticu la rly serious w here th e result

h a p p e n s to b e a p erfectly accep tab le an d co m p re h en sib le sen ten ce, b u t n o t
w ith th e m ean in g t h a t w as in ten d ed . A n ex am p le fro m a n official letter:
E n tire ly in th e s p irit o f p ro tectiv e su p p o rt, co u ld I suggest you pass on

a n a p p ro p ria te c o m m en t to th e p erso n n el c o n ce rn ed ?
E n q u ir y show ed th a t th e w riter h a d n o t in te n d e d a suggestion th a t m ig h t

p r o te c t a n d su p p o rt e ith e r h er o r th e a d d re ss e e : sh e w as suggesting th a t the
a d d re s s e e e x ten d h is ‘p ro tec tiv e su p p o rt’ to th e ‘p e rso n n el c o n ce rn ed ’.
A s in th is ex am p le, m isp lacem en t o ften o ccu rs w h ere th e o rig in a to r is
a c tu a lly ta k in g som e c a re to ach iev e a c e rta in b a la n c e in a fairly co m p licated
s e n te n c e . T h e follow ing ex am p le (from a n e w sp a p e r review ) is an o th e r
illu s tr a tio n o f th is :
A lo n g w ith A risto tle, Shaw , an d W illiam G o ld in g , B ob D ix o n finds it

im p o ssib le to a p p ro v e w riters like L eo n G a rfield , in m y view one o f
th e b est c h ild re n ’s authors.
A lth o u g h th e sy n tax suggests q u ite o th erw ise, w h a t th e review er ap p are n tly

in te n d e d w as:
B o b D ix o n finds it im possible to ap p ro v e w rite rs lik e L eon G arfield,

a lo n g w ith A risto tle , Shaw , an d W illiam G o ld in g . Y et in m y view ,
G a rfie ld is o n e o f th e best c h ild ren ’s a u th o rs.
I t is e a s y to u n d e rsta n d w hy th e w riter w o u ld h a v e fo u n d th is version less

sa tis fy in g th a n his o w n , w h ich seeks to ach iev e a fine iro n y by fro n tin g th e
lis t o f g r e a t w riters w h o a re ap p are n tly d ism issed b y D ix o n . B y th is fro n tin g ,
m o re o v e r, it w as a p p a re n tly th e w riter’s h o p e to a p p e n d his o w n o p in io n
n e a tly , e co n o m ically , a n d ev en clim actically a fte r th e first (an d by th is device,
th e o n ly ) m en tio n o f G arfield .
R e alizatio n and role

8.153 I t w a s p o in te d out! in 8.13 th a t ad v erb ials co u ld h a v e w idely d iffering types
o f re a liz a tio n , and w e h a v e seen th a t b ro ad ly s p e a k in g a p a rtic u la r sem an tic
ro le o r g ra m m a tic a l fu n c tio n does n o t d e te rm in e a p a rtic u la r type o f
re a liz a tio n stru ctu re. T h is seem s tru e o f th e s e n te n c e a d ju n cts relatin g to
tim e (p o sitio n ) in th e follow ing:
I then.
recently.
H e s p o k e to m e
on a recent occasion.
when last Thursday’s m eeting was over.
I n o th e r w o rd s, for th e m o st p a rt, th e ch o ice o f re a liz a tio n ty p e is a d irec t

fu n c tio n o f th e deg ree o f specificity re q u ired , a n d th e foregoing exam ples
h a v e ra n g e d from a p u rely an ap h o ric re fe re n ce (then), in d ic a tin g a tim e
w h ich th e sp e a k er c an assu m e h a s b een adeq u ately specified elsew here, to a

p recise in d ic a tio n o f a p a rtic u la r p o in t o n a p a rtic u la r day.
B ut we h av e seen ev id en ce o f a d irec t tie b etw een re aliz a tio n a n d role s u c h
th a t (for in stan ce) ad ju n c ts o f pro cess (m an n er) are n orm ally realized by a n
ad v erb p h ra se w ith a n ad jectiv e-d eriv ed (-ly) ad v erb as h ead (c /8 ,7 8 ), w hile
a d ju n cts relatin g to sp ace (p o sitio n ) are usually realized by p re p o sitio n a l
p h rases (c/8 .4 0 ).
T h ere is a still m o re g en eral relatio n betw een role a n d realiz a tio n to w h ic h
a tte n tio n h a s b e en g iv en only im plicitly. W e have n oted th a t, th e lo n g er t h e
a d v erb ial, th e m o re w eig h t o f in fo rm a tio n it ra th e r o bviously carries.
T h e corollary o f th is is th a t th e a d v erb p h rase (the m o te especially w h e n
th is, in tu rn , is realized by a n unm odified ad v erb ) is relativ ely low in
in fo rm atio n c o n te n t a n d th a t th e a d v erb ial roles th a t are m o st freq u en tly so
realized a re p re sen te d to th e h e a re r/re a d e r as a ra th e r m in o r c o n trib u tio n to
th e co n te n t o f a sen ten ce. T h is assessm ent w e clearly en d o rse w h en w e
choose to p lace a n a d v erb ial a t M :
J o h n h as recently b een offered pro m o tio n .
T h e re are m a jo r stu d ies o f a d v e rb ia ls as a w hole by B uysschaert (1979, 1982); G re e n b a u m
(1969b); H u an g (1975); N ilsen (1972).
F o r som e n o ta b le th e o retical pro p o sals, see B aftsch (1976); D ik (1975); E m o n s (1974);
H aeg em an (1985); S ch lesin g er (1979); S ch reib er (1972),
O n specific su b sets o f E n g lish a d v e rb ials, see B olinger (1972a); H artv ig so n (1969); H e n y
(1973); H in d le a n d S ag (1973); Ja co b so n (1978, 1981); Lew is (1975); S v artv ik (1980); S w an
(1982).
O n ad v e rb ial collo catio n s, see B ack lu n d (1970); C rystal (1966); G re e n b a u m (1970).
F o r th e p o sitions o f ad v e rb ia ls in se n te n ce stru ctu re, see G re en b au m (1976b, 1977a); Ja co b so n
(1964, 1975).
O n in to n atio n al asp ects o f E n g lish a d v e rb ia l usage, see AH erton a n d C ru tte n d e n ( 1 9 7 4 , 1976,
1978); H alliday (1967); T a g lic h t (1983).
O th e r studies rele v a n t to th is C h a p te r in clu d e A nderson (1976); C ry stal (1980); H allid ay a n d
H asan (1976); K o la? (1975); G . L a k o ff(1 9 7 5 ); M enz (1981); S ch reib er (1971).
Prepositions and prepositional
phrases
9.1-6 Introduction 657

.1 S y n tactic fu n ctio n s o f p rep o sitio n al p h rases 657
.2 A d efin itio n o f ‘p re p o sitio n ’ 658
.3 P rep o sitio n s, co n ju n ctio n s, an d verbs 659
.4 F u n c tio n s o f than a n d like 661
.5 P re p o sitio n s a n d a d v erb s 662
.6 D e ferre d p rep o sitio n s 663
9.7-13 Simple and complex prepositions 665

.7 -9 S im p le p rep o sitio n s 665
.8 M a rg in al p re p o sitio n s 667
.9 Stressin g o f sim p le p rep o sitio n s 668
.10-12 C o m p lex p rep o sitio n s 669
.10 T w o-w ord sequences 669
.11 T h ree-w o rd seq u en ces 670
.12 G ra d ie n c e b etw een co m p lex p rep o sitio n s a n d free
n o u n -p h rase seq u en ces 671
.13 B o u n d ary b etw een sim p le a n d com plex p rep o sitio n s 672
9.14-59 Prepositional meanings 673

.15-32 P re p o sitio n s d e n o tin g s p a tia l relations 673
.15 D im en sio n 673
.16-17 P o sitiv e p o sitio n a n d d e s tin a tio n : at, to, on, onto, in, into 675
.18 Source o r n eg ativ e p o s itio n : aw ay fro m , off, out o f 677
.19 R e lativ e p o s itio n : over, under, etc 678
.20 S p a c e : by, beside, w ith, near (to), close to, opposite 679
.21 S p a c e : between, am ong, amongst, am id, am idst 680
.22 S p a c e: around, round, about 681
.23 R e lativ e d e s tin a tio n : over, under, behind, etc 681
.24 P a ss a g e : over, under, behind, etc 681
.25 P a ssag e: across, thro u g h ,p a st 682
.26 M o v e m en t w ith re fe re n ce to a d irectio n al p a th : up, down,
along, across, e tc 682
.27 O rie n ta tio n : beyond, over, past, up, across, etc 683
.28 R e su lta tiv e m e a n in g : fro m , out of, over, pa st, etc 684
.29 P e rv asiv e m e a n in g : over, throughout, with, etc 684
.30 E ig h t senses o f over 685
.31 V erb s in c o rp o ra tin g p rep o sitio n al m ean in g 685
.32 M e tap h o rica l o r a b s tra c t use o f place p rep o sitio n s 685
.3 3 - 4 2 P re p o sitio n s d e n o tin g tim e 687
.34 T im e p o sitio n : a t, on, in, by 687
.35 M e a su rem e n t in to th e fu tu re: in 688
.36 D u ra tio n : fo r, during, over, (all) through, throughout 689
.37 D u r a tio n : f r o m . . . to, until, up to 690
.38 B efore, after, since, till, until 691
.39 B e tw e e n . . . and, by 691
.40 A b sen ce o f p rep o sitio n in p o in t in tim e expressions 692
.41 A b sen ce o f p re p o sitio n in freq u en cy expressions 694
.42 A b sen ce o f p re p o sitio n in d u ra tio n expressions 694
.43 R a n g es o f m ea n in g o th e r th a n p lace a n d tim e 695
,4 4 - 4 7 T h e c au se/p u rp o se sp ectru m 695
.44 C au se, reaso n , m o tiv e: because of, on account of, fo r ,
fro m , etc 695
.45 P u rp o se, in te n d e d d e s tin a tio n :fo r 696
.46 R e cip ien t, g oal, targ e t '.for, to, a t 696
.47 S ource, o rig in :fro m 698
.4 8 -5 1 T h e m ea n s/ag e n tiv e sp ectru m 698
.48 M a n n e r: i n . . . manner, like, with 698
.49 M e a n s a n d in stru m e n t: by, with, w ithout 699
.50 In stru m e n t a n d a g e n tiv e : with, by 700
.51 S tim u lu s: a t 701
.52 A c c o m p a n im e n t: with 702
.53 S u p p o rt a n d o p p o s itio n :fo r , with, against 702
.5 4 - 5 9 O th e r p re p o sitio n a l m ean in g s 703
.54 V ario u s re la tio n s in d icated by o f 703
.55 ‘H a v in g ’ : of, with, without 704
.56 C o n cessio n : in spite of, despite, fo r all, with all, e tc 705
.57 R e s p e c t: with reference to, with regard to, as fo r, etc 706
.58 E x ce p tio n a n d ad d itio n 707
.59 N e g a tiv e c o n d itio n : but fo r 709
9.60-63 Prepositional phrases used chiefly in

c o m p le m e n ta tio n o f v e rb s an d a d je c tiv e s 709
.60 S u b ject m a tte r: about, on 709
.61 M a terial, in g re d ie n t: with, of, out o f ; su b s ta n c e : fro m 710
.62 S ta n d a r d : fo r, a t 711
.63 R e a c tio n : a t, to 712
9.64 M o d if ic a t io n o f p re p o s itio n a l p h ra s e s 713
9 .6 5 -6 6 P re p o s itio n s a n d p re p o s itio n a l a d v e rb s 713

Introduction 657
Introduction
Syntactic functions o f prepositional phrases

I n th e m o st g en eral term s, a p rep o sitio n expresses a re la tio n b etw een tw o
en tities, one b ein g th a t rep re se n ted by th e p re p o sitio n al co m p lem en t, th e
o th e r by an o th e r p a r t o f th e sentence. T h e p re p o sitio n al c o m p le m e n t is
ch aracteristically a n o u n p h ra se, a n o m in al w/i-clause, o r a n o m in al -ing
clause:
PR EPOSITION AL PHRASE
PR EPO SITIO N CO M PLEM EN T
on th e fa b le
fro m w h a t h e s aid
by sig n in g a p e a c e tre a ty
in te rm s o f m oney
a t v a ria n c e w ith th e official re p o rts
F ig 9.1 E x a m p le s o f p re p o s itio n a l p h ra ses
P rep o sitio n al p h ra ses h a v e th e follow ing sy n tactic fu n ctio n s:
(I) in a n o u n p h ra se ( c /1 7 .3 7 # ):
p o s t m o d if ie r
T h e p eople on the bus w ere singing.
(II) ADVERBIA L
(a) A d ju n c t ( c /8 .2 4 # ) :
T h e people w ere sin g in g on the bus.
In the afternoon, w e w e n t to Boston.
(b) S u b ju n ct (c /8 .8 8 # ) :
F rom a personal p o in t o f view, I find th is a good so lu tio n to th e p ro b lem .
(c) D isju n ct ( c /8 .1 2 1 # ):
In a llfairness, sh e d id try to p h o n e th e police.
(d) C o n ju n ct (c /8 .1 3 4 # ):
On the other hand, h e m ad e no a tte m p t to h elp her.
(III) C O M PLEM ENTATION

(a) C o m p le m en tatio n o f a v e rb (c /9 .6 0 # ; also p re p o sitio n al v e rb s, 1 6 .3 # ):
W e w ere lo o k in g a t his a w fu l paintings.
(b) C o m p le m en tatio n o f a n a d jectiv e ( c /9 .6 0 # 1 6 .6 8 # ):
I ’m sorry fo r his parents.
A s co m p le m e n ta tio n o f a verb o r a n ad jectiv e, th e p re p o sitio n is m o re
closely related to th e p reced in g w o rd ( look at, sorry fo r), w h ic h d e te rm in e s
its choice, th a n to th e p re p o sitio n a l c o m p lem en t.
T h e p o sitions a n d fu n c tio n s o f p re p o sitio n al p h ra ses a s a d v erb ial a re

discussed in C h a p te r 8. T h e fu n ctio n s o f p re p o sitio n al p h ra se s as m o d ifiers
in n o u n p h rases a re fu rth e r d e a lt w ith in 1 7 .3 7 #
658 P rep ositions and prepositional phrases
N o te [a] L ik e .a d v e rb s { c f l A b f f ), prep o sitio n al p h rases m ay occasionally ta k e a n o m in a l fu n ctio n , for

e x a m p le a s su b jec t o f a clause {<c f 10.15):
A : W h e n a re w e goin g to hav e th e nex t m eetin g ?
{
O n T uesday 'j f will be fine.
I n M ar c h I J su its m e.
D u ri n g th e v acati on [ j is w h a t w e decided.
B etw een 6 an d 7 J I m ay be co n v en ien t.
S uch n o m in a l u ses c a n be view ed as related to sentences th a t h av e been re s tru c tu re d so a s to
leav e o n ly th e a d v e rb ia l p rep o sitio n al p h ra s e :
( T h e p ro p o sal th a t w e m eet) on T u esd ay . . .
( T o m e et) i n M a r c h . . .
(M e e tin g ) d u ri n g th e v acati on . . .
T h e p r e p o s itio n c a n b e o m itte d u n d e r th e sam e co n d itio n s as stated in 9 .4 0 ^ :
T u esd ay ]
*6 a n d 7 J Su m e‘
W ith th e p re p o s itio n o m itte d , h ow ever, th e re is am b ig u ity (c /1 0 .15 N o te [b]), a s i n :
T uesd ay w ill b e fine. ^ T u e s d a y } w i" be fine-'
[b] I n a d d itio n to th e fu n ctio n s o f p rep o sitio n a l p h rases m entio n ed in th is c h a p te r, w e h av e a

q u asi-a d je c ti v a l fu n c tio n as co m p lem en t { cf 10.11), eg:
T h i s m a c h in e is (very) out o f date.
T h i s dress s e e m s ou t o f f ashi on.
T h e a d je c tiv a l n a tu r e o f th ese p rep o sitio n al p h rases is ev id en t f r o m :
(i) th e i r s e m a n tic sim ila rity to adjectiv es, eg:
ou t-o f - dat e [‘o b so lete’; cf : a n ou t-of -date m a ch in e, 17.111]
(ii) th e i r p o ssib ility o f b ein g c o o rd in ated w ith , o r ap p o sitio n al to , ad jectiv es, eg:
T h e y ’re h a p p y a n d i n g oo d heal th.
a n o ld a n d out-of -order te lep h o n e
(iii) th e ir use as co m p le m e n ta tio n also for co p u lar verbs o th e r th a n be ( c / 1 6.2 3), eg:
T h e y se e m i n go od heal th, [‘h e a lth y ’]
[c] E x c ep tio n ally ; (m a in ly in fixed p h rases), a n a d v e rb o r a n ad jectiv e m a y fu n ctio n as
p re p o sitio n a l c o m p le m e n t (c/7 .2 6 N o te ) :
a t l ast a t l east a t once a t w orst bef ore l ong
by f a r i n b r i ef i n there si nce w hen unti l now
[d] P re p o s itio n a l p h ra se s c a n them selves a c t as p rep o sitio n al c o m p lem en ts, so th a t tw o
p re p o sitio n s m a y o c c u r in sequence:
TT . . . { f rom und er th e ta b le. \
H e p ic k ed u p tfie gun ^ ^ (he co u n (er
W e d id n ’t m e e t un ti l af t er th e show .
F o o d h as b e e n scarce si nce bef ore th e w ar.
T h e w e a th e r h a s b ee n fine ex cept i n th e n o rth .
[e] S o m e p re p o s itio n s fo rm a co rrelativ e c o n stru c tio n w ith a conju n ctio n o r a n o th e r p rep o sitio n ,
eg: i
betw een B o sto p an d N ew Y o rk f r o m six to seven
[f] T h e fu n ctio n o f v e rb c o m p lem en tatio n ( I l i a above) m ay alte rn a tiv e ly b e reg a rd e d as
a d v e rb ia l (c/1 6 .5 ).
A d efin itio n of 'preposition'

9 .2 T h e re a re se v e ra l p o in ts o f sim ila rity b etw een p re p o sitio n s a n d o th e r w o rd
classes a n d c o n stru c tio n s in E n g lish g ra m m ar, in p a rtic u la r c o n ju n c tio n s an d
a d v erb s, b u t a lso p a rticip les a n d ad jectiv es. B efore d iscu ssin g th e m arg in al
cases, it w ill b e u seful to try to d efin e c en tral prepositions.
c e n t r F l p re p o sitio n s in E n g lish c a n b e defined n eg ativ ely w ith th ree
c rite ria . T h e y cannot h a v e a s a c o m p le m e n t:
(i) a f/w f-clause
Introduction 659
(ii) a n in fin itiv e clause

(iii) a su b jectiv e case fo rm o f a p ersonal p r o n o u n :
f *a t (that) she noticed him. [ 1]

H e w as su rp rise d < *at to see her. [2]
, ^ a t she. [3]
TTiaf-clauses a n d in fin itiv e clauses, alth o u g h th ey freq u en tly h a v e a n o m in a l

fu n ctio n in o th e r resp ec ts (c /1 5.4), d o n ot o c cu r a s p re p o sitio n al c o m p le m e n ts
in E nglish. A lte rn a tio n s b etw een th e presence a n d ab sen ce o f a p re p o sitio n
a re o b serv ed in c ases lik e th e follow ing:
th a t she noticed him . [ la ]

to see her. [2a]
H e w as su rp rise d a t her. [3a]
a t her attitude.
, a t w hat he saw.
o f the need fo r m ore troops,

o f how m any troops th ey needed.
T h ey c o n v in c ed h im * o fth a t \ ey neec*e<* more tr00Ps -
* o fto j send fo r m ore troops.
S u ch a lte rn a tio n s show th a t th e p rep o sitio n th a t n o rm ally cooccurs w ith

c e rta in v erb s a n d a d jectiv es is o m itted , b efo re a f ta - c la u s e o r in fin itiv e
clause. F u rth e r e x am p les o f v erb s a n d a d jectiv es w h ich c a n h av e e ith e r
p re p o sitio n s o r rfozr-clauses are ( c f 1 6 .3 /, 1 6 .6 8 # ):
ask (fo r) in fo rm (o f) b e b a d (at) be so rry (about)

d ecid e (on) tell (ofjabout) be a w are ( o f) be in te rested (in)
W h en o m issio n o f th e p re p o sitio n is im possible, som e co n stru ctio n o th e r

th a n a t/iat-clause o r in fin itiv e clau se m u st be u sed , eg:
( the m eeting with you. [noun p h rase]

I ’m lo o k in g fo rw a rd to ■
< meeting you. [-ing clause]
[ w hat you will say. [Wi-clause]
TTiar-clauses c a n o fte n becom e in effect p re p o sitio n al c o m p lem en ts th ro u g h

th e use o f a n a p p o sitiv e co n stru ctio n w ith a ‘g e n e ra l’ n o u n su c h as f a c t ( c f
17.26), o ften re su ltin g in a ra th e r clum sy e x p ressio n :
T h ey c o n v in c ed h im o f the fa c t that th ey n eed e d m o re tro o p s.
N o te T h e prep o sitio n p re c e d in g a iv/i-clause is optio n al in ce rta in circu m stan c es (c/1 6 .3 5 , 16.73):

I w asn ’t c e rta in { o f) w hat to do.
Prepositions, conjunctions, and verbs

9.3 B o th p re p o sitio n s a n d c o n ju n ctio n s have a re la tin g o r co n n ec tin g fu n c tio n .
C o m p are :
the d a { wên sê arr‘ve^ Iwhen = co n ju n ctio n ]

1 o f h er arrival [ o f — p rep o sitio n ]
660 Prepositions and prepositional phrases
In c e r ta in cases, th e sa m e item s can fu n ctio n b o th as p re p o sitio n s a n d

c o n ju n c tio n s , eg: after, as, before, since, until:
th e d a [b efo re she arrived [before = con ju n ctio n ]

[before her arrival [before = p rep o sitio n ]
O n e d is tin g u ish in g c rite rio n b etw een th e tw o w ord classes is th a t p re p o sitio n s

in tro d u c e c o m p lem en ts w h ich a re n o m in al o r n o m in alized , w h ereas th e
c o rre sp o n d in g c o n ju n ctio n s (su b o rd in ato rs) in tro d u ce a su b o rd in a te clau se
( c /1 4 .1 1 # ) .
T h e situ a tio n is h o w ev er co m p licated in th e case o f n o n fin ite clauses, sin ce
-ing c la u se s are p e rm itte d a fte r a p rep o sitio n in E n g lish ( c /1 4 .6 # ) :
O n arriving sh e to o k a taxi.
C o m p a r e after, w h ich c a n b e used e ith e r a s a c o n ju n ctio n o r a p re p o sitio n ,

w ith o n th e one h a n d when, w h ich c a n only b e a co n ju n ctio n , a n d o n th e
o th e r b y , w h ic h c a n o n ly b e a p re p o sitio n :
T ab l e 9 .3 C o n s tr u c tio n s a f te r p re p o s itio n s a n d c o n ju n c tio n s
w h en = af ter = by —
c o n ju n c t io n o n ly c o n ju n c tio n o r p r e p o s itio n o n ly
p re p o s itio n
(a ) + F IN IT E
w h en sh e sp o k e a f t e r sh e sp o k e * b y sh e sp o k e
CLAUSE
(b ) + N O N FIN IT E
w h en sp eak i n g a f t e r sp eak i n g b y sp eak i n g
CLAUSE
(c) + N O U N PHRASE * w hen h er sp eec h a f t e r h e r sp eec h b y h e r sp eec h
S o m e -ing and -ed p a rtic ip ia l form s can fu n c tio n b o th a s m arg in al

p re p o sitio n s ( c /9 .8 ) , as n o n fin ite verb form s, a n d as co n ju n ctio n s, eg:
considering an d g iven : \
p r e p o s it io n s :
Considering his age, h e h as m ad e excellent p ro g ress in h is stu d ies. [‘I f
o n e considers h is ag e . . . ’, ‘In view o f his age . . . ’]
G iven the present conditions, I th in k sh e ’s d o n e ra th e r well. [‘I f o n e tak e s
in to a c c o u n t. . . ’]
p F r t ic ip l e s :
Considering the conditions in the office, sh e th o u g h t it w ise n o t to a p p ly
f o r th e job. [‘W h e n sh e co n sid ered th e c o n d itio n s . . . ’]
G iven the chance, I ’d d o it a g ain . [‘I f I w ere g iv en th e c h a n c e . . . ’]
c o n j u n c t io n s :
Considering that he is rather young, his p a ren ts h av e a d v ised h im n o t to
a pply.
G iven that this w ork way produced under particularly difficult
circumstances, th e resu lt is b e tte r th a n could be e x p ected .
Introduction 661
O th e r -m g a n d -e d fo rm s th a t c a n b e used as co n ju n ctio n s a re seeing (th a t)

a n d provided (that) ( c /1 4 .12).
[a] I n stead o f may be classified! as a marginal preposition. It fulfils the th ird criterion for a
preposition (c/9.2) in requiring the oblique case form :
I propose you i n stead o f
It fails the first criterion since it can have an infinitive clause as com plem ent:
It must be so frightful to have to put things on in order to look better, i nstead o f to st r i p
thi ngs of f . (M argaret Drabble, A Sum m er B i rd-C age)
Although i nst ead o f + infinitive has been attested in good w ritten English, many would h e re
prefer; \ . . i n stead o f st r i p p i n g . . .’ (which, however, would spoil the parallelism w ith to p u t th a t
may have m otivated the use o f to stri p here).
I n stead o f also introduces a finite <w-clause, thus violating also the second criterio n :
H e pictures people as he sees them i nstead o f as they are.
[b] O n account o f is also used in familiar style as a conjunction, especially in A m E, violating th e
first condition in 9.2:
I was sitting over there wishing I could w rite, on account o / I ’ve thought up w hat I th in k ’s a
pretty good spy story. (K urt Vonnegut, Jr, M oth er N i ght).
The directly corresponding standard English construction on account o f m y hav i ng thought u p is
generally clumsy and unidiom atic in the colloquial style here; because or seei ng (t h a t ) would be
the common alternative constructions.
[c] C om binations such as ex cept th at , sav e t h at , but t h at [ = ex cept th at], and i n th at, w hich
introduce finite clauses, are complex subordinators, no t preposition + th at (c/14.12).
Functions of than and like

T h e g ra d ie n ce b etw een p re p o sitio n s a n d co n ju n ctio n s also a p p e a rs i n
c o m p a rativ e c o n stru ctio n s ( c f 1 5 .6 3 ^), such a s :
[la ]
[ lb ]
[ lc ]
W ith th e d e fin itio n o f p re p o sitio n g iv en in 9 .2 , than is a c o n ju n ctio n in [ la ]

a n d [lb ], a n d a p re p o sitio n in [lc]. H o w ev er, th e ch o ice b etw een [lb ] a n d [ lc ]
is a w ell-know n p re scrip tiv e issue in tra d itio n a l g ra m m ar, a n d it m ay b e
arg u ed th a t than is b o th a c o n ju n ctio n in [la ] a n d a p re p o sitio n in [lc], a n d
th a t than I in [lb ] is n o t a re d u ctio n o f [ la ] than f am b u t a h y p e rc o rre c t
v a ria n t o f [lc ] than me.
A s a n d like a re tw o o th e r item s w h ich h a v e fu n ctio n s th a t a re difficult to
classify in term s o f tra d itio n a l w o rd classes. T h e follow ing ex am p les w ith
like illu strate th e n eed for a g ra d ie n t ra th e r th a n a d isc rete fo rm o f
c la ssifica tio n :
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
( ? ) S h e c a n ’t w r i t e l i k e s h e u s e d to . 16]
662 Prep ositions and prepositional phrases
L ik e in [2] is a d je ctiv e-lik e in accep tin g th e in ten sifier very a n d co m p a riso n

(c /7 .2 ):
S h e lo o k s m o re like m e. [‘She resem bles m e m o re.’] [2a]
In [3], th e p re p o sitio n a l use o f like h a s a q u asi-co o rd in ativ e fu n c tio n (cf:

with, along w ith; 10.40):
S h e ’s a b lo n d e , a n d so a m I. [3a]
In [4], th e h y p e rc o rre c t su b jectiv e fo rm is a v o id ed by m an y , a lth o u g h it

occu rs c o m m o n ly e n o u g h w h en n o t im m ed iately p reced ed by like. C o m p a re :
S h e ’s a te a c h e r j y o u a n d l. } [4 a ]
In [5], th e m e a n in g o f like is sim ila r to th a t in a d v erb ial clauses ‘in th e

sam e m a n n e r a s (sh e d o es)’, ‘as w ell as (she d o es)’, b u t th e n o rm al fo rm is th e
o b jec tiv e lik e her; *like she is gen erally c o n sid ered u n accep tab le.
In [6], lik e in tro d u c e s a fin ite clau se w ith o b lig ato ry su b jectiv e p ro n o u n
fo rm (lik e she u se d to), a n d th u s fu n ctio n s as a c o n ju n ctio n . T h is use o f like
in ste a d o f as is w id ely c riticized b u t c o m m o n in in fo rm al style, esp ecially in
A m E . T h e s itu a tio n is sim ila r w ith like in c lauses o f co m p ariso n , su ch a s [7]:
(? )H e tre a ts m e like I was his sister. [7]
H ere, m a n y w o u ld p re fe r as i f o r as though, sin ce like is w idely re g ard e d as

n o n s ta n d a rd in th is fu n ctio n . By c o n tra st, o u t o f h y p erco rrectn ess, as is
so m etim es used in ste a d o f like ev en as a p re p o sitio n w h ere a useful d istin c tio n
should b e k e p t b e tw e e n th e m (</9.48), as in :
, j a s a leader o f m ankind, [‘in th e cap a city o f ’]
e sp o e a iea(j er 0y m ankind, [‘in th e m a n n e r o f ’]
N ote A nother group o f item s w ith fuzzy borders between word classes includes but, ex cept, and besi des
(c/9.58). ;
i
Prepositions and adverbs
9.5 P re p o sitio n s a re item s w h ic h are o ften form ally id en tica l w ith a n d
se m an tically s im ila r to a d v erb s. C o m p are th e follow ing p a irs :
S h e lo o k ed u p the hill. [1]

S h e lo o k ed Iup the word. 11a]
S h e w a lk ed across the street. [2]
S h e w alk ed across. [2a]
B oth up in [1 ] a n d across in [2] a re p re p o sitio n s w ith p re p o sitio n al c o m p le m e n t

(up the hill, across the street). H o w ev er, in [la ], up is a n F d v e r | p F r t i c l e in a
p h ra sal v e rb look 'up w ith , fo r ex am p le, p o sitio n a l m obility. C o m p are :
S h e looked th e w ord up. [lb ]

*She w alked th e stre e t across. [2b]
P h ra sa l v erb s a re d iscussed in 1 6 .3 / A cross in [2a] w ith th e c o m p le m e n t

o m itted is c alled a p r e p o s i t i o n F l F d v e r | (c /9 .6 5 /).
Intro ductio n 663
T h e d istin ctio n b etw een p re p o sitio n an d a d v erb is n o t c le ar in e x p ressio n s

lik e th e follow ing:
H e is near to (being) m ad . [‘n e arly ’]

T h is seem s n e x t to im p o ssib le, [‘alm o st’]
Close to 200 p eo p le cam e, [‘a lm o st’]
S h e is fa r fro m (being) w eak , [‘a n y th in g b u t’]
T h e sim ple p re p o sitio n near a n d th e com plex p rep o sitio n s near to a n d close
to (all lo cativ e; c /9 .2 0 ) satisfy all th ree c riteria for p rep o sitio n s. A t th e sam e
tim e , th ey h av e c ertain affinities w ith adjectives a n d a d v erb s. N e a r (to) a n d
close to a re th e only p re p o sitio n s w hich have b o th c o m p a ris o n a n d
in te n sific a tio n :
' (very) near (to)

(quite)close to
nearer (to)
(m uch)
S h e sat ( vmu“ w 1 closer to
nearest (to)
n e x t to
closest to
A b o u t is a n a d v erb in th e follow ing u s e :
She is about forty. [3]
T h a t th e fu n ctio n is a d v e rb ia l a p p e a rs from th e possibility o f o m issio n [3a],

su b s titu tio n by a d v erb s [3b], a n d p o stp o sitio n [3c]:
She is (about) forty. [3a]

fa b o u t )
S h e is \ roughly i forty. [3b]
(approxim ately J
about. <in fo rm a l) 1
She is FtiRty [3c]
approxim ately. J
N ote Some phrases consisting o f preposition + noun have become fixed and function as closed-class
adverbs (c/7.46), eg: o f course [‘natu rally’], i n f ac t [‘actually’]. Sometimes th e com bination is
spelled as a single w ord: i ndeed , i nstead. '
Deferred prepositions
9.6 N o rm a lly a p re p o sitio n m u st b e follow ed by its co m p lem en t, b u t th e re a re
so m e circu m stan ces in w h ic h th is does n o t hap p en .
I n th e follow ing th ree cases th e d e f e r m e n t o f the p re p o sitio n is o b lig ato ry .
(a) Passiv e c o n stru ctio n s w ith a prep o sitio n al v erb w h ere th e su b ject
co rre sp o n d s to th e p re p o sitio n a l co m p lem en t in th e a ctiv e ( c f 3 .6 9 ,1 6 .1 4 ):
H a s the room b een p a id f o r i

~ H as X p aid f o r the ro o m l
*H as fo r the room b e en p a id ?
664 P repositions and prepositional phrases
S h e w as so u g h t after by all th e lead in g im p resario s o f th e d a y . [also in

p re m o d ific a tio n : ‘a m u ch sought-after sin g er’]
H e w a s n o t p a id a tte n tio n to.
(b ) In fin itiv e clauses w ith th e m a tiz a tio n o f th e p re p o sitio n al c o m p le m e n t

(c /1 8 .3 6 ):
H e ’s im p o ssib le to w ork with.
(c) -ing c lau ses w ith th e m a tiz a tio n :
H e ’s w o rth listen in g to.
W ith in te rro g a tiv e an d relativ e p ro n o u n s as p re p o sitio n al co m p le m e n t,

th e re a re o fte n a lte rn a tiv e p o sitio n s a v a ila b le : o n e fo rm al w ith th e p re p o sitio n
in its n o rm a l p lac e before the c o m p lem en t [1 ,2 ], th e o th e r in fo rm a l w ith the
p re p o s itio n d e ferre d to final p o sitio n [ la , 2a]:
iw /-q u e s t i o n s ( c/ 1 1 . 1 4 / 1 6 .1 5 ):
( A t which house d id you leav e th e c a r? <form al> [1]
I W hich h o u se d id you leav e th e c a r a t ? [la ]
U su ally ( c / 1 1.14 N o te [e]):
W here d id you leave y our c a r ? [lb ]

RELATIVE CLAUSES ( c / 17.16):
(about which I w as tellin g you is em p ty . < form al> [2]
T h e o ld h o u se < , ^ ... , .. ' n i
[(which) I w as telling you about is em p ty . [2a]
A p re ju d ice ag ain st such d e ferred (or ‘stra n d ed ’) p re p o sitio n s [ la , 2a]

re m a in s in fo rm al E n g lish w h ich , for d irec t o r in d ire ct q u e stio n s a n d for
re la tiv e clau ses, offers th e a lte rn a tiv e o f an in itial p re p o sitio n [1, 2], T h e
a lte rn a tiv e co n stru ctio n is o ften felt, how ever, to b e stilte d a n d aw k w a rd ,
e sp e cially in sp eech . In som e cases, such as th e follow ing, th e d eferre d
p re p o s itio n h a s n o p reposed a lte rn a tiv e :
W h a t did! sh e look like'!

W h a t I ’m co n v in ced o f is th a t th e w o rld ’s p o p u latio n w ill g ro w to a n
u n fo re s e e n extent.
A ll sh e c o u ld talk about w as h e r dog.
In g e n e ra l, it is th e m o st co m m o n a n d th e sh o rt p re p o sitio n s w h ic h c a n be
d e ferre d , in p a rtic u la r sp atial p re p o sitio n s ( 9 .1 5 /) , c o m p a re :
i
H e le ft his c o at in the car.
f in which h e left his c o a tl ,,,
- . . . t h e c a r ( (/Aar) he left his c o a t m ) [3]
H e le ft p o litics because o f the election results.
~ . . . tn
th ee election
election results
results { becaUSe° f which
he ,eft he left
p olitics p o litic
because o s/ j! . j
W
T h e p lan e w as d estroyed through the p ilo t’s carelessness.
~ . . . th e p ilot s r through which th e p lan e w as d e stro y e d ! r ,,

carelessness \ * ( tbat} p lan e w as d estro y ed through J
Sim ple and com plex prepositions 665
Simple and complex prepositions
Sim ple prepositions

M o st o f th e c o m m o n E n g lish p rep o sitio n s, su ch a s at, in, a n d fo r , a re s i m p l e ,
ie they c o n sist o f o n e w ord. O th e r p rep o sitio n s, consisting o f m o re th a n o n e
w ord, a re c alled c o m p l e x (c f 9 . lQ f f ). T h e follow ing is a list o f th e m o s t
com m on sim p le p re p o sitio n s. In view o f th e d iffere n t stress p a tte rn s (c f9 .9 ) ,
they h av e b e e n d iv id e d in to m ono- a n d p olysyllabic. R eferen ces a re g iv e n to
sections in th is c h a p te r w h ere th e uses o f th e p rep o sitio n s are discussed.
(a) M o n o sy llab ic p re p o sitio n s

as B asis o f c o m p a riso n 7.86; R ole 9 .4 ,4 8
at S p ace 9 .\S ff; T im e p o sitio n 9.34; G o a l, ta rg e t9 .4 6 ; S tim ulus 9 .5 1 ;
S ta n d a rd 9 .6 2 ; R e ac tio n 9.63
but E x c e p tio n 9.58
by S p ace 9 .2 0 ; T im e 9.34, 39; M e a n s a n d in stru m e n t 9 .4 9 ; A g e n tiv e
9 .5 0 ; S tim u lu s 9.5 1 ; R eactio n 9.63
down M o v e m e n t 9.26, 32; O rie n ta tio n 9.27
fo r D u ra tio n 9.36, 38, 4 2 ; C au se, etc 9.44; P u rp o se, in te n d e d
d e s tin a tio n 9.45; R e cip ien t 9.46; S u p p o rt 9.53; S ta n d a rd 9.62
fro m S p ace 9.15 f f; O rie n ta tio n 9.27; R e su lta tiv e 9.28; O rig in a to r 9 .3 2 ;
D u ra tio n 9.3 7 ; C au se, e tc 9.44; S ource, orig in 9.4 7 ; S u b s ta n c e
9.61
in S p ace 9 .l5 ff, 32; T im e p o sitio n 9 .3 4 ; M e asu rem en t in to th e f u tu re
9.35
like M a n n e r 9 .4 ,4 8
near (to) (also c o m p a ra tiv e a n d su p erlativ e: nearer (to), nearest (to)) S p a c e
9.20
of C au se, m e a n s 9.49 N o te [b ]; v ario u s re latio n s 9.54/; S u b ject m a tte r
9 .6 0 ; M a te ria l 9.61
o ff S p ace 9 .1 5 #
on (cf: upon) Space 9 A 5 ff, 32; T im e p o sitio n 9.34; T a rg e t 9.46 N o te
[b]; M e a n s a n d in stru m e n t 9.49 N o te [a]; R esp ect 9.5 7 ; S u b je ct
m a tte r 9.60
out <esp A m E > N e g ativ e p o sitio n 9.18 N o te
pa st P a ssag e 9 .2 5 ; O rie n ta tio n 9.27; R e su lta tiv e 9.28, 32
per D is trib u tiv e freq u en cy 5.18, c /8 .6 4
pro (see N o te [a])
qua (see N o te [a])
re R e sp e c t 9.57, (see N o te [a])
round <esp B r E ) S pace 9.2 2 ; M o v em en t 9 .2 6 ; O rie n ta tio n 9.27
sans (see N o te [a])
since T im e 9.38
than B asis o f co m p a riso n 9.4, 7.85
through < in in fo rm a l A m E also spelt th ru ) R e lativ e p o sitio n 9.22; P a ssag e
9.2 5 ; O rie n ta tio n 9.27; P erv asiv e 9.2 9 ; P ersev eran ce 9 .3 2 ;
D u ra tio n 9 .3 6 /; In term ed ia cy 9.50
till (cf: u n til) D u ra tio n 9 .3 7 /
to S p ace 9.15 f f ; M o v em en t 9.26; R e c ip ie n t 9.32; D u ra tio n 9 .3 7 ;
R e a c tio n 9.63
up M o v em en t 9 .26, 32; O rie n ta tio n 9.27

via (see N o te [a])
with Space 9.2 0 ; P e rv asiv e 9.29; M a n n e r 9 .48; M ean s a n d in stru m en t
9.49/; A c co m p a n im e n t 9.52; S u p p o rt an d o p p o sitio n 9.53;
‘H a v in g ’ 9.5 5 ; In g red ie n t 9.61
(b) P o lysyllabic p re p o sitio n s

a'bout S p ace 9.22; R esp ect 9.57; Su b ject m a tte r 9.60
a'bove R e la tiv e p o sitio n 9 .1 9 ,3 2
a'cross R e la tiv e p o sitio n 9.22; Passag e 9.25, 28; M o v em en t
9 .2 6 ; O rie n ta tio n 9.27
'a fter R e la tiv e p o sitio n 9.19; T im e 9.38
a'g ainst P o s itio n 9.17 N o te [b ]; O p p o sitio n 9.53
a'long M o v e m en t 9.2 6 ; O rie n ta tio n 9.27; P erv asiv e 9.29 (also
a'longside)
a'm id(st ) ( f o r m a l) Space 9.21, 32
a'm ongfst) <am ongst esp B rE ) Space 9.2 1 ; R e la tio n 9.32
'anti (see N o te [a])
a'round <esp A m E fo r som e u se s) S p a c e 9 .2 2 ; M o v e m en t 9.26;
O rie n ta tio n 9.2 7 ; P erv asiv e 9.29
a'top <esp A m E ; lite ra ry ) R e lativ e p o sitio n , c /9 .1 9
b e fo re R e la tiv e p o sitio n 9.19; T im e 9.38
be'hind R e la tiv e p o sitio n 9.19; R e la tiv e d e stin a tio n 9.23;
P assag e 9.24
be'low R e la tiv e p o sitio n 9 .1 9 ,3 2
be'neath : ( f o r m a l) R elativ e p o sitio n 9 .1 9 ,3 2
be'side S p ace 9.20
be'sides A d d itio n 9.20, 58
be'tween S p ace 9.21; R e latio n 9.32; T im e 9.39
be'yond O rie n ta tio n 9.27, 32; E x cep tio n 9.58
'circa ; (see N o te [a])
de'spite 1 C o n cessio n 9.56
'during T im e p o sitio n 9.34; D u ra tio n 9.36
ex'cept E x ce p tio n 9.58
in'side S pace 9.15 N o te [a], 9.55 N o te
'into S p ace 9.15/"; M o v em en t 9.26, 32
fiotwith'standing^ ( f o r m a l) C oncession 9.56
'onto | S p ace 9 .1 5 ^
'opposite S pace 9.20
out'side S pace 9.15 N o te [a], 9.55 N o te
'over S urvey o f d ifferen t senses 9.3 0 ; R e la tiv e p o sitio n 9.19;
R e la tiv e d e stin a tio n 9.23; P assag e 9.24; M o v em en t
9 .2 6 ; O rie n ta tio n 9.27; R e su lta tiv e 9.2 8 ; P erv asiv e
9 .2 9 ; ‘m o re th a n ’ 9.32 N o te [a]; D u ra tio n 9.3 6 ; Subject
m a tte r 9.60
'pace (see N o te [a])
'pending D u ra tio n 9.38 N o te [b]
throughout P e r v a s iv e 9.29; D u ra tio n 9.36
to'ward(s) (Jo'w ard esp A m E ) M o v em en t 9 .1 7 ,2 6

'under R e lativ e p o sitio n 9.1 9 ; R elativ e d e s tin a tio n 9 .2 3 ;
P assage 9.24; Subjection, e tc 9.3 2 ; ‘less th a n ’ 9.32 N o te
[a]
,under'neath ( f o r m a l) R e lativ e p o sitio n 9.19; R elativ e d e s tin a tio n
9.23; P assag e 9.24
u rilike M a n n e r 9.48
un'til D u ra tio n 9 .3 7 /
u'pon ( f o r m a l) (see on above)
'versus (see N o te [a])
'vis-a-'vis (see N o te [a])
with'in Space 9.15 N o te [a], 9.55 N o te
w ith'out M ean s a n d in stru m e n t 9.49/; A c co m p a n im e n t 9 .5 2 ;
‘H a v in g ’ 9.55
N ote [a] Some o f the prepositions listed above are restricted in term s o f frequency, style, o r usage. T h e
following are foreign borrowings th at are restricted to certain contexts, usually form al o r
technical. Those th a t have not yet been fully anglicized are often italicized in print.
Latin o rig in : anti , ci rc a,p ace,p r o , q ua, re, v ersus [abbreviated v <BrE>, vs <AmE>], v i a
F rench o rigin: sans, v i s-a-vi s
[b] T he prepositions agi n and anent are rare and stylistically restricted; agi n is com mon in Scots
and so is outw i th /'aut,wi9/ [‘except’, ‘outside’]. Also <BrE d ialectal): w hi l e [‘till’].
[c] In poetic style, the reduced form s 'tw een and 'tw i x t [‘betw een’] may occur.
[d] U nto [‘to ’] is archaic and biblical.
[e] As in dicated in the lists above, there are differences between A m E and BrE in the use o f som e
prepositions. O ne such exam ple is to w ar d j t o w ar d s\ c f l A 6 Note [a]).
M a r g in a l p r e p o s itio n s
9.8 I n a d d itio n to th e p re p o sitio n s listed in 9.7, th ere are som e w o rd s w h ic h
b e h a v e in m an y w ays lik e p re p o sitio n s, alth o u g h th ey also h av e a ffin ities
w ith o th e r w o rd classes su ch a s v erb s o r adjectives ( c /9 .3 /) , eg:
G ranted his o bseq u io u s m a n n e r, I still th in k h e’s a m b itio u s en o u g h to

d o th e jo b .
H e g av e M ary all bar [‘e x c e p t’] th ree o f th e sketches.
T w o gold-hilted sw ords, e a c h worth £10,000, w ere sold a t S o th e b y ’s la s t
M onday.
H e re is a list o f som e m arg in al p rep o sitio n s w ith v erb al a ffin ities:
bar, 'barring, excepting, e x c lu d in g ; save ( f o r m a l) (E x cep tio n 9.58)

con'cerning ( f o r m a l) , con'sidering (c/9 .3 , 57), re'garding, re'specting,
'touching (fo rm a l o r lite ra ry ) (R esp ect 9.57)
'failing, 'wanting
follow ing, 'pending ( f o r m a l) (T im e 9.38 N o te [b])
'given, 'granted, including (c/1 7 .7 3 )
L ess, m inus, plus, tim es, a n d over form a special g ro u p in th e ir u se w ith

n u m e ra ls ( c f 6.68), eg:
6 + 2 is re ad as ‘six plus tw o ’.
I n in fo rm a l style, m inus a n d p lu s c a n also o ccu r in n o n n u m erica l c o n te x ts :

I ho p e h e co m es m inus his wife, [‘w ith o u t’]

S h e ’s h a d m u m p s p lus m easles, [‘a n d ’]
P lu s c a n e v en b e u se d as a co njunction (c /1 3 .5 N o te [b]):
Y ou c a n g et w h a t you w ant, plus you c a n save m oney, ( e s p A m E ) [‘a n d

in a d d itio n ’, ‘also’]
S t r e s s i n g o f s i m p le p r e p o s itio n s
A s re g a rd s stress, sim p le p rep o sitio n s c a n b e d iv id e d in to tw o g ro u p s :
(a) P re p o sitio n s w h ic h h a v e no red u ced fo rm in th e ir p ro n u n c ia tio n ( c /A p p

II.9 ), e g : lik e , ro u n d , since, through. F o r e x a m p le :
A : W h a t’s its s h a p e lik e /la ik /? B : I t ’s lik e /la ik / a sA usage.
(b) P re p o sitio n s w h ic h h a v e red u ced fo rm s, eg: fr o m /fro m , from , frm / a n d
w h e re th e ch o ic e o f p h o n etic form v a rie s acco rd in g to fu n c tio n . F o r
e x am p le:
A : W h e re ’s h e f r o m /fm m / ? B : H e ’s fr o m /fro m / N e w JERsey.
M o n o sy llab ic p re p o sitio n s are n o rm ally u n stre sse d ; polysyllabic p re p o sitio n s

a re n o rm ally stressed . H ow ever, stressed m onosyllabic p re p o sitio n s a re b y
n o m ea n s u n c o m m o n , especially in co o rd in a tio n :
T ra in s b o th 'to an d fr o m L on d o n a re la te th is m orning.
. . . g o v e rn m e n t 'o f th e people, 'by th e p eo p le, a n d f o r th e p eo p le
S tressin g o f p re p o sitio n s also occurs in re p ea te d p a tte rn s w h ere th e stress

sh ifts fro m a ‘g iv e n ’ ite m to a ‘n ew ’ item ( c f 19.25), as in:
A : W h y d o n ’t y o u b o r ro w th e b o o k f r o m th e L ib ra ry ?
B : I t ’s n o t i n th e lib ra ry .
Y e t stressin g ta k e s p lace n o t only in su ch c o n trastiv e use, b u t also in so m e

o th e r cases w h ere th e p rep o sitio n al co m p lem en t is u n stressed o r is th e ‘ta i l ’
o f th e to n e u n it ( c f Ap p 11.15), eg:
W h ere are y o u f r o m I H e ’s p a s t it.
T h ey to o k it o f f him . W h a t’s it f o r I
W h a t 6 f it?
T h e stress sh ift fro m th e co m p lem en t o f th e p rep o sitio n , as in [1], to th e
p re p o sitio n , as iin [2], is clearly co n d itio n ed by th e desire to a v o id stre ssin g
th e p ro n o u n it ( c f 6.16):
, ... f to th is ST dry. [1]

T h e re s n o th in g [2]
S p ecial stress p a tte rn s a re used for sp ecial effects. N o te th e d iffe re n t

m ea n in g s a cc o rd in g to w h e th er th e p re p o sitio n b y is stressed o r n o t i n :
, ( B t h e r . [‘n e a r h e rse lf’; place] (e s p B r E )

She w an ts to h a v e a b o o k < , . _A1
[ b y H&R. [ w ritte n by ; ag en tiv e; c /9 .5 0 ]
N o te also the d iffere n t m ean in g s o f f o r w ith v ary in g stress in th e fo llo w in g

set:
O u r vote is f 6 r /'fo:r/ the students, [‘in fa v o u r o f th e stu d e n ts’]

T h e ex am s a re f o r /f s r/ the sru d e n ts. [‘are d esigned fo r th e stu d en ts
to ta k e ’]
N ote Stressing monosyllabic prepositions hasbecom e rather fashionable, although some people regard
it as annoyingly affected. Public speakers and radio commentators tend to stress monosyllabic
prepositions where w eak forms are expected. Speakers may stress th em when searching for the
appropriate complement, e g :
f r o m . . . /o h :/. . . the P alace g a t e s . . . the Royal carriage proceeds. . .
However, some speakers do it w hen th ere is no such motivation, eg:
'o n t h is record| Benny p la y s b e a u tif u l v ib es |
Com plex prepositions
Two-word sequences
9.10 C om p lex p re p o sitio n s m ay be su b d iv id ed in to tw o- an d th ree-w o rd sequences.
In tw o-w ord seq u en ces, th e first w ord (w hich usually is relativ ely stressed )
is an ad v erb , a d je ctiv e, o r c o n ju n ctio n , a n d th e seco n d w o rd a sim p le
p rep o sitio n (usually fo r , fro m , of, to, o r with). F o r e x a m p le :
E xcept fo r M a rg a re t, e v erybody w as in fa v o u r o f th e idea.

W e h a d to leav e early because o f th e b a d w eath er.
I sa t n e xt to a n o ld lad y o n th e train .
H e re is a list o f som e tw o -w o rd p rep o sitio n s:
'up against 'as per
'as fo r ( 9.57) 'but fo r (9.59)

e x c e p t fo r (9.58)
a'partfrom (9.58) a'side fro m (e s p A m E ) (9.58)

a!way fro m ( 9 .1 5 /) 'as fro m
a'head o f 'as o f
'back o f (in fo rm a l A m E ) be'cause o f (9.44)
(9.11 N o te) de'void o f
ex'elusive o f in'side o f
in'stead o f irrespective o f (9.57 N o te)
'o ff o f (in fo rm a l A m E ) 'out o f (9 . 1 5 / 2 8 , 3 2 ,6 1 )
o u tsid e o f regardless o f (9.57 N o te)
'upwards o f 'void o f
according to (9.57, 63) 'as to (9.57)

'close to (9.20) 'contrary to
'due to 'near(er) (to) (9.20)
'next to (9.20) 1on to [cf: 'onto] (9 .7 ,1 5 N o te [b])
'owing to prelim inary to
preparatory to 'previous to
'prior to p u rsu a n t to ( f o r m a l)
'subsequent to 'thanks to
'up to (9.37)
a'long with to'gether with

N ote A s w ith sim ple prepositions (c/9 .7 N ote [a]), there are also complex prepositions o f French
o rig in w hich have n ot yet been fully anglicized and are often italicized in print, eg: a l a (c/17.60
N o te ) and apropos (o f ) [‘with regard to’] (c/9.57).
T h ree -w o rd sequences
9.11 T h e m o st n u m ero u s categ o ry o f com plex p rep o sitio n s is th e ty p e consisting
o f th r e e w o rd s, a s in:
P r e p l + N o u n + P r e p 2 : in view o f th e election [ 1]
O t h e r e x am p les:
I n term s o f m oney, h e r loss w as sm all.

T w o m e n w ere in terv iew ed a t Bow S treet Police S ta tio n in connection
w ith a th e ft fro m a n O x fo rd S treet store.
H o w m an y d eleg ates a re in fa v o u r o /th is m o tio n ?
H is b io g rap h y o f E isen h o w er is in m an y places at variance w ith th e
official rep o rts.
I n line w ith la te st tre n d s in fash io n , m an y dress d esig n ers h a v e been
sa crificin g e le g an ce to audacity.
W it h th re e -w o rd seq u en ces w e also include com plex p re p o sitio n s w h ere th e

n o u n is p re c e d e d by a d efin ite o r in d efin ite a rtic le :
[la]
C o m p le x p re p o sitio n s m a y b e su b d iv id ed a cco rd in g to w h ich p rep o sitio n s

f u n c tio n a s P r e p l a n d P re p 2 , eg:
in -I- n o u n + of:
in a id o f in back o f
in b e h a lf o f <A m E> in case o f
in charge o f in consequence o f
in (th e) fa c e b f in fa vo u r o f
in fr o n t o f (9 .'19) in (the) light o f
in lieu o f in need o f
in p la ce o f in (the) process o f
in q u e st o f in respect o f
in search o f ■ in spite o f (9.56)
in view o f !______
in + n o u n + with:
in accordance with (9.63 N o te) in common with
in com parison with in compliance with
in conform ity with in contact with
in line with
b y + n o u n + of:
b y d in t o f by m eans o f
b y virtue o f by w ay o f
on + n o u n + o f :
o n account o f (9.44) on b e h a lfo f
on (the) ground(s) o f on the m a tter o f (9.57)

on p ain o f on the part o f
on the strength o f on top o f (9.19)
O th e r ty p e s :
a s f a r a s ( 9 .l l ) a t variance with
at the expense o f a t the hands o f
f o r (the) sa k e o f f o r j fro m w ant o f
in exchange fo r in return fo r
in addition to (9.58) in relation to
w ithjin regard to (9.57) with/in reference to (9.57)
w ith/in respect to (9.57) with the exception o f ( 9.58)
Note Some complex prepositions consisting of three-word sequences tend to be shortened to tw o-w ord
sequences in casual speech, eg: (i n ) back of , (b y ) w ay of , (b y ) m eans of , (on ) pai n of , (f o r ) sak e of ,
(i n) spi l e of :
Spi te o /th is, I th in k we should go right ahead.
L et's do th is sak e o f consistency.
G radience betw een com plex prepositions and free noun-phrase sequences
9.12 In th e s tric te st d efin itio n , a com plex p rep o sitio n is a sequ en ce t h a t is
in d iv isib le b o th in te rm s o f syntax a n d in term s o f m ean in g . H o w ev er, th e r e
is n o a b so lu te d istin c tio n b etw een co m plex p rep o sitio n s a n d c o n stru c tio n s
w h ic h c a n b e v a rie d , ab b rev iate d , a n d ex te n d ed acco rd in g to th e n o rm a l
rules o f sy n tax . R a th e r, th ere is a scale o f ‘cohesiveness’ ru n n in g fro m a
se q u en ce w h ic h b e h av e s in every w ay lik e a sim p le p rep o sitio n , eg: in sp ite o f
(the weather), to o n e w h ich beh av es in e very w ay lik e a set o f g ra m m a tic a lly
se p a ra te u n its, eg: on the s h e lf by (the door). N in e in d ic a to rs o f sy n ta c tic
se p a ra ten e ss a re listed below.
(a) P re p 2 c a n b e v a r ie d :
on the s h e lf a t (the door) [but n o t : *in spite fo r, etc]
(b) T h e n o u n c a n b e v a rie d as b etw een sin g u lar a n d p lu ra l:

on the shelves b y (the door) [b u t n o t : *in spites of]
(c) T h e n o u n c a n b e v a rie d in resp ect o f d e te rm in e rs:

on a/ the s h e lf b y ; on shelves by (the door) [b u t n o t : *in a /th e spite of]
(d) P r e p l c a n b e v a rie d :
under the s h e lf b y (the door) [but n o t : *for spite of]
(e) P re p + c o m p le m e n t c a n b e rep laced by a possessive p ro n o u n ( c /N o te [c]

b e lo w ):
on the surface o f the table ~ on its surface
[ b u t: in spite o f the result ~ *in its spite]
(f) P re p 2 -1- c o m p le m e n t can b e o m itte d :

on the s h e lf [b u t n o t : *in spite]
(g) P re p 2 + c o m p le m e n t c a n b e re p laced by a d e m o n s tra tiv e :

on that s h e lf [b u t n o t : *in that spite]
(h) T h e n o u n c an b e rep laced by nou n s o f related m ea n in g :

on the ledge b y (the door) [b u t n o t: *in malice of]
(i) T h e n o u n c a n b e freely prem odified by a d je c tiv e s:

on the low s h e lf by (the door) [but n o t : *in evident spite of]
In all th ese resp ec ts, in spite o / ‘qualifies’ a s a com plex p re p o sitio n , w h ereas
on the s h e lf b y d o e s not. T o th ese sy n tactic c riteria o f cohesiveness, a lexical
c rite rio n m ay b e ad d ed : un lik e sy n tactic co n stru ctio n s, th e co m p lex
p re p o sitio n in spite o /h a s a synonym ous sim p le p re p o sitio n despite.
A s e x am p les o f seq u en ces w h ich lie b etw een th ese tw o poles, w e m ay ta k e
in q u est o f in search of, in comparison with, an d in defence of, as sh o w in g
p ro g ressiv ely less o f th e c h a ra c te r o f a p rep o sitio n a n d m o re o f th e c h a ra c te r
o f a fre e sy n ta ctic co n stru ctio n .
In quest o f is slig h tly less co h esiv e th a n in spite o f in th a t it h as p ro p e rty (h)
(cf. in search o f).
In com parison w ith goes fu rth er, in th a t it h a s p ro p erty (d) (cf: b y I through
comparison with), a s well as p ro p erties ( 0 (cf: in comparison) a n d (h) (cf: in
com m on w ith). In defence o f goes y et fu rth er, h a v in g fo u r o f th e p ro p e rtie s o f
a free c o n stru c tio n , viz (c) in the defence of, (e) in her defence, (h) in support of,
an d (i) in keen/stubborn)bold defence of.
O n th e o th e r h a n d , all th ese types m ig h t re aso n ab ly be co n sid ered ‘co m p lex
p re p o sitio n s’, in t h a t they h av e m o re in co m m o n w ith in spite o f th a n w ith on
the s h e lf by.
N o te [a] The cohesiveness o f complex prepositions (as com pared w ith free constructions) should be
related to complex subordinators like in th at , in order th at , as l ong as (c/14.12/7“), and to phrasal
lexicalization (c f A pp 1.9/0.
[b] Legal English is notable for complex prepositions, the following being among those found
mainly in legalistic>or bureaucratic usage: i n case o f i n def aul t o f in l i eu o f i n pursu an ce o f in
respect o f on p ai n o f
[c] Some complex prepositions ending in c /h a v e an alternative genitive construction (c /(e )
above an d 5.120), eg:
f o r th e sak e o f the people ~ for the people’s sake
on b eh al f o f Jim ~ on Jim ’s behalf
a t th e ex pense c/S u san ~ a t Susan’s expense
[d] Occasionally there ap p ear variants o f complex prepositional sequences, eg: i n l i ght o f for the
regularly used i n the l i ght o f and the rather idiosyncratic f o r di nt o f (obviously based on by d i n t
o f ) in the following exam ple from N orm an M ailer, M ar i l y n :
. . . u nable to pu t dow n a word f o r di nt o f listening to h e r . . . [‘because he was listening’]
Boundary betw een sim ple and com plex prepositions

9 .1 3 T h e b o u n d a ry b etw een sim p le a n d com plex p re p o sitio n s is also a n u n c e rta in
one. O rth o g ra p h ic s e p a ra tio n is th e e asiest te s t to a p p ly , b u t a n o m alies su c h
as w ritin g into as o n e w ord b u t o ut o f as tw o, an d instead o f as tw o w o rd s b u t
in lieu o f a s th ree, m erely e m p h asize th e a rb itra rin e ss o f th e d istin c tio n
b etw een o n e a n d m o re th a n o n e w o rd in w ritin g .
A te s t t h a t can b e a p p lie d to m an y cases is th a t a p re p o sitio n w h en sim p le
is id en tica l in fo rm to its co rresp o n d in g p re p o sitio n a l ad v erb ( c /9 .6 5 /) , eg:
by in:
f S h e sto o d by the door.

| S h e w alk ed by.
Prepositional m eanings 673
A com plex p rep o sitio n , o n th e o th e r h a n d , loses its final e le m en t w h e n

tra n s fe rre d to th e fu n ctio n o f a d v e rb (c /9 ,6 6 ):
S he p u t th e skis
[on top.
Note In colloquial AmE use, on top occurs also as a preposition (on top the c ar ), perhaps ju s t by syncope
o f /o/ to which o f is reduced.
Prepositional meanings
9.14 A s w e sa id in 9.1, a p re p o sitio n ex p resses a re la tio n b etw een tw o e n titie s,

o n e b ein g th a t rep re se n ted b y th e p rep o sitio n al c o m p lem en t. O f th e v a rio u s
ty p es o f re la tio n a l m ean in g , th o se o f s p F c e a n d t i m e are e asie st to d e sc rib e
system atically. O th e r re la tio n s h ip s su ch as i n s t r u m e n t a n d c F u s e m ay also
b e recognized, a lth o u g h it is difficult to d escrib e p re p o sitio n a l m ea n in g s
sy stem atically in term s o f su c h labels. Som e p rep o sitio n al uses m ay b e
e lu c id ated b est b y seeing a p re p o sitio n a s related to a clause, eg:
th e m a n with the red beard [‘th e m a n w ho h a s th e red b e a rd ’; c /9 .5 5 ,

17.37]
m y know ledge o f H in d i [‘I k n o w H in d i’; c f 17.41]
W e shall relate se m an tic c ateg o rie s to th e ir m o st usual sy n ta ctic fu n c tio n s,

b u t o n e sem an tic categ o ry o ften h as m o re th a n o n e sy n tactic fu n c tio n (c f
9.1). F o r exam ple, p re p o sitio n a l p h ra ses o f p lace can p o stm o d ify in
n o m in a liz atio n s ( c /1 7 .5 1 /) , as in [1], a s w ell as in th e ir m o re u su al a d v e rb ia l
fu n c tio n [2]:
h is d e p artu re fro m Paris [1]

H e d e p a rte d fro m Paris. [2]
In th e survey o f p re p o sitio n a l m ean in g s, to w h ich m o st o f th is c h a p te r is
d ev o ted , space a n d tim e re la tio n s will b e d e alt w ith first, a n d w ill b e follow ed
b y a m o re cursory e x em p lificatio n o f o th e r re latio n s su ch as ‘c a u s e ’, ‘g o a l’,
a n d ‘o rig in ’. So v a ried a re p re p o sitio n a l m ean in g s th a t n o m o re th a n a
p re se n ta tio n o f th e m o st n o ta b le sem an tic sim ilarities a n d c o n tra sts c a n b e
a tte m p te d here.
Prepositions denoting spatial relations
Dimension
9.15 W h e n w e use a p re p o sitio n to in d ic a te space, w e do so in re la tio n to th e
d im e n sio n a l p ro p erties, w h e th e r subjectively o r ob jectiv ely c o n ceiv ed , o f th e
lo ca tio n co n cern ed . C o n sid e r a t in ex am p le [1]:
M y c a r is a t th e c o tta g e . [1]
H e re th e u se o f a t treats cottage a s a dim en sio n less location, a m ere p o i n t in

re la tio n t o w h ic h th e p o sitio n o f th e c a r c a n be in d icated . T h is is d im en sio n -
ty p e 0. C o m p a r e on in [2]:
O u r c o tta g e is on that road. [2]
In [2], th e ro a d is view ed as a l i n e [‘alo n g th a t ro a d ’],ie d im e n sio n -ty p e 1.

B u t on c a n a lso b e used to d e n o te a n a rea , as in [3] a n d [4]:
T h e r e is so m e ice on that road. [3]

T h e r e is a n e w ro o f on the cottage. [4]
I n [3] a n d [4], th e ro ad a n d th e c o ttag e a re view ed as tw o -d im en sio n al a reas,

ie a s s u r f F c e s .
F in a lly , c o m p a re in, a s in [5]:
T h e re a r e o n ly tw o b ed s in the cottage. [5]
In [5], th e c o tta g e is view ed as th e th ree-d im en sio n al o b ject w h ich in re ality

it is. In is also c a p a b le o f b ein g used w ith o bjects w h ich a re essen tially tw o-
d im e n s io n a l, as i n [6 ]:
T h e c o w s a r e in the fie ld . [6 ]
H e re f ie ld is c o n ce iv e d o f as a n enclosed sp ace (c o n tra st: ‘W e w a lk ed o n th e

b e a c h ’). In th e re fo re b elongs to d im en sio n -ty p e 2 o r 3. F igure 9.15 below sets
o u t th e d im e n s io n a l o rie n ta tio n o f th e c h ie f p rep o sitio n s o f s p a c e :
d e s ti n a tio n p o s itio n d e s tin a tio n p o s itio n
F ig 9 .1 5 S p a c e a n d d im e n s io n
N ote [a] Some o f th e prepositions in the above figure can be replaced by o ther prepositions w ith the
sam e m eaning. Upon is a form al equivalent o f on where a surface is referred to, o r is the basis of,
th e m etap h o r concerned. W hen used m etaphorically in archaic expressions, upon is obligatory:
upon/*on m y w ord , upon/*on m y soul, etc. In some cases, inside and within can substitute for in,
and outside for out o f, but only within (not in) can be used in the following expressions: within
shooting distance, w ithin these fo u r walls.
[b] O nto is som etim es spelled as two words, especially in B rE :
j
She jum ped onto [ th
the
o n to
e horse.
I think you’re -I ont° [ something there, (inform al)

on to
The particle on + th e preposition to are always written as two w ords:
From L ancaster we w ent on to York, [‘continued to’]
[c] In to is obligatory in fixed m etaphorical expressions like g e t into trouble, get into debt (c/9.32).
P ositive position an d destination: at, to, on, onto, in, into

9.16 P re p o sitio n a l p h ra s e s o f p lace a re typically e ith e r ad ju n cts (relatin g a n e v e n t
o r state o f affairs to a lo catio n ) o r postm odifiers (relatin g som e ‘o b ject’ to a
location).
B etw een th e n o tio n s o f sim p le position (or s ta tic location) an d d e s tin a tio n
(m o v em en t w ith re sp ec t to a n in ten d ed lo catio n ) a cau se-an d -effect
re latio n sh ip o b ta in s :
DESTINATION POSITION
A n n w e n t to O x fo rd . Fs A r e s u l t : A n n w a s at O xford.
A n n clim b ed onto th e roof. AS A r e s u l t : A n n w a s on th e roof.

A n n d iv ed into th e w ater. a s A r e s u l t : A n n w a s in th e w a te r.
A p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se o f ‘p o sitio n ’ can a cc o m p an y m ost verbs, a lth o u g h

th is m ean in g is p a rtic u la rly asso ciated w ith v e rb s o f stativ e m ean in g (c /2 .4 3 ,
4 .2 8 /) , such a s be, stand, live, etc. T h e m ea n in g o f ‘d e stin a tio n ’ g en erally
(b u t by n o m e a n s alw ay s, c /9 .24/") acco m p an ies a v erb o f d y n am ic ‘m o tio n a l’
m ean in g , su ch a s go, m ove, f ly , etc.
I n m an y c ases (esp ecially in colloquial E nglish), on a n d in m ay b e u sed fo r
b o th p o sitio n a n d d e stin a tio n w h en onto a n d into m ak e a n u n n e ce ssa ry
e m p h a sis o n th e c o m b in a tio n o f d e stin a tio n + d im en sio n :
She fell on th e floor.

H e p u t h is h a n d s in his p ockets.
Note There are various restrictions, especially in BrE, on the interchangeability o f on w ith onto an d in
w ith into: most verbs o f m otion such as w alk, slide, swim require onto and into for destinational
meaning. N ote the difference betw een:
D on’t run in th e school . [‘when you are inside the building’]
D on’t run into the school, [ie from outside it]
Causative verbs such as place, stand, la y, sit, on the other hand, usually perm it com binations
both with and w ithout to, onto, and in to :
She put the typew riter case on(to) the top s h e lf and the key in{to) the drawer.
But there appear to be some restrictions:
The m other sat the baby the chair.
9.17 H e re a re som e m o re e x am p les o f e a c h dim en sio n -ty p e.
D im en sio n -ty p e 0:
a t the bus stop
at the N orth Pole
a t the e n d o f the ro a d
D im en sio n -ty p e 1 a n d 2 :
f on the R iver Thames.

lin e : T h e c ity is situ ate d < on the boundary.
[o n the coast.
f on the wall.
s u r f a c e : A n o tic e w as p a sted < on the ceiling.
[o n m y back.
D im en sio n -ty p e 2 a n d 3:
a r e a : in the w orld v o lu m e : in a box

in the village in the bathroom
in a p a rk in the cathedral
T h e co n tra st b e tw ee n on [‘su rface’] a n d in [‘a re a ’] has v a rio u s im p licatio n s

a c c o rd in g to c o n te x t, a s th ese ex am p les sh o w :
T h e frost m a d e p a tte rn s on the window, [window — g lass surface]

A face a p p e a re d in the window/mirror, [window/mirror = fram e d area]
T h e p layers w ere p ra ctisin g on the fie ld , [field = su rfa ce fo r sports]
C ow s w ere g ra z in g in th efield , [field = enclosed a re a o f lan d ]
[on the grass, [surface, ie th e g rass is short]
S he w as s ittin g f ® .. ,
[in the grass, [volum e, ie th e g rass is long]
In is used for sizeab le territo rie s su ch a s :
co n tin e n ts, c o u n tr ie s : in A sia, in China

p ro v in ces, c o u n tie s : in British Columbia, in Cheshire
c ity d is tric ts : in Brooklyn, in H am pstead
B u t fo r tow ns, v illag es, e tc, eith e r a t o r in is a p p ro p ria te , acc o rd in g to p o in t

o f v ie w : at/in Stratford-upon-A von. A very larg e city (su ch as N ew Y o rk ,
L o n d o n , o r T o k y o ) is gen erally tre a te d a s a n a r e a :
H e w orks in London, b u t lives in the country.
B u t e v en a large c ity m ay b e trea te d as a p o in t o n th e m a p if global d istan ces

a re in m in d : !
i \
O u r p lan e refu elled a t London o n its w ay fro m N ew Y o rk to M oscow .
N o te th e follow ing d ifference b etw een a t a n d in:
, [at O xfo rd . [‘S h e ’s a stu d e n t a t O xford U n iv e rsity .’]

6 S [in O xford. [‘S h e ’s staying, e tc in th e C ity o f O x fo rd .’]
W ith b uild in g s also, b o th a t an d in c a n be used. T h e d ifferen ce h ere is th a t

a t re fe rs to a b u ild in g in its in stitu tio n a l o r fu n c tio n al a sp e ct, w h ereas in
re fe rs to it as a th ree -d im e n sio n al s tru c tu re :
A n n w orks a publishing house.
W ith school, w e c a n find th e follow ing th ree c o n stru ctio n s:

f a t school. [1]
Sid is < in school. [ 2]
{!
l in the school. [3]
T h e m ea n in g ‘enrolled in ’ is ex p ressed by [1] in B rE a n d by [2] in A m E ; th e
m ea n in g ‘a t th e p lace, n o t a t h o m e ’ is ex p ressed by [1] o r [2] in B rE , a n d by
[1] in A m E ; th e m ean in g ‘w ith in th e b u ild in g ’ is expressed by [3] in b o th B rE
a n d A m E . O n the z ero a rticle w ith school, c f 5.44.
To d en o tes c o m p letiv e m o v em e n t in th e d irectio n o f a place, as in :
T h e S m ith s d ro v e to Edinburgh, [suggests a ctu al arrival]
Tow ards expresses m o v em e n t w ith o u t th e id ea o f co m p letio n ( c /9 .2 6 ; o n

th e ch o ice o f th e -wardj-wards fo rm s, c /7 .4 6 N o te [a ]):
T h ey d ro v e tow ards Edinburgh.
C o m p a re to, w ith pro g ressiv e asp ect, an d set o ut fo r, n e ith e r o f w h ich e x p re ss

th e id ea o f c o m p le tio n :
T h ey w ere d riv in g to Edinburgh.

T h ey set o u t fo r Edinburgh.
A s f a r a s stresses th e len g th o f th e jo u rn ey (sp ace only, n o t tim e ):
T h e y d ro v e as f a r as Edinburgh.
W ith th e p erfectiv e asp ect, to m ay also b e used in a w ay w h ich a p p e a rs to

m ak e it in te rch a n g e ab le w ith a t o r in :
T h is o c cu rren ce o f been follow ed by to, h ow ev er, is a resu lt o f th e s u b s titu tio n

o f th e -e d p a rticip le o f be for th e -ed p a rticip le o f go (gone) in o rd e r to c o n v ey
th e re su lta tiv e sense o f go ( c f 4.22 N o te [b]).
Note [a] W hen a place is being regarded as a destination rather th an a position, it is more n a tu ra l to
‘ see it vaguely as a geographical point th an as an area. H ence the more frequent use o f to th a n of
into in reference to countries, etc :
The gypsies cam e to E ngland in the fifteenth century. [C ontrast: The gypsies were in E n g la n d .]
[b] A gainst is commonly used as a preposition o f sim ple position or destination in the sense
‘touching the side surface o f ’:
H e’s leaning against the wall.
[c] Additional uses o f on as a preposition o f position:
H um pty D um pty sat on th e wall, [‘on top o f ’]
T here are still apples on the tree, [‘hanging from’]
W e m ay see these as extending the basic meaning o f on to include the most obvious static
relationship o f contiguity between a smaller and a larger object.
[d] Prepositions denoting position (not destination) are used with the verb arrive and the noun
arrival:
S o u rce o r negative position: aw ay fr o m , off, o u t o f

9.18 T h e re is a cause-and-effect re la tio n w ith n eg ativ e d e stin a tio n a n d p o s itio n
p aralle l to th a t o f p o sitiv e d e stin a tio n a n d p o s itio n :
A n n drove (aw ay) fr o m hom e. ~ A n n is aw ay fro m hom e.

T h e b o o k f e l l o f f th e shelf. ~ T h e b o o k is o f f th e shelf.
T o m g o t out o f th e w ater. ~ T o m is out o f th e w ater.
T h e n e g a tiv e p re p o sitio n s aw ay fro m , off, a n d o ut o f m ay b e defined sim p ly

by a d d in g t h e w o rd not to th e co rresp o n d in g p o sitiv e p rep o sitio n : aw a y fr o m
[‘n o t a t ’], o f T n o t o n ’], out o /[ ‘n o t in ’].
N ote In A m E , out is more commonly used th an out o /in such an expression a s :

, A o u t the window. <AmE and informal B rE )
e oo e Qj- tjie wjnciow_<BrE o r AmE>
In this usage, there needs to be a reference to an opening o r aperture:
T h e children gathered some bluebells before they went
f o u to f\
the wood and returned home.
J
R e lativ e position: over, under, etc

9.19 A p a r t fro m sim p le p o sitio n , p rep o sitio n s m a y exp ress th e r e l F t i v e p o s i t i o n
o f tw o o b jects o r g ro u p s o f objects. A bove, over, on top of, under, underneath,
beneath, a n d below ex p ress relativ e p o sitio n vertically, w h ereas in fr o n t of,
before, behind, a n d a fte r re p re se n t it h o rizo n tally . Figure 9.19 d e p ic ts th e
re la tio n s e x p ressed b y above X , behind X , etc.
t
above X
over X
on to p o f X
in fr o n t o f X ^ b e h in d X
-------------- j------------------------------------- X ------------------------------------------- -----------
befo re X | a fte r X
under X
below X
beneath X
u n derneath X
I
F ig 9 .1 9 V ertic a l a n d h o riz o n ta l d ire c tio n '
T h e a n to n y m s above a n d below, over a n d under, in fro n t o f a n d b ehind a re

co n v erse o p p o sites:
T h e p ic tu re is above th e m an telp iece.

= T h e rrlan telp iece is below th e p ictu re.
T h e bus is in fro n t o f th e car.

T h e c a r is behind th e bus.
O ver a n d under as p lace p rep o sitio n s a re roughly synonym ous w ith above
a n d below, resp ectiv ely . T h e m ain d ifferen ces a re th a t over a n d under te n d to
in d ic a te a d irec t v e rtica l re la tio n sh ip o r s p a tia l p roxim ity, w hile above a n d
below m ay in d ic a te sim p ly ‘o n a h ig h er/lo w er level th a n ’:
T h e castle s ta n d s o n a hill j 9 ^ ^ j the valley.

Prepositional meanings 679
K eep th is b la n k e t j you.
T h e d o c to r a n d th e p o lic e m a n w ere leaning th e bo d y w hen
w e a rriv ed .
Underneath a n d beneath { fo rm a l) are less com m on su b stitu tes fo r under.

Underneath, lik e on top of, g en erally in d icates a con tig u o u s r e la tio n :
T h e police fo u n d th e sto len m o n ey under/undem eath th e c arp e t.

W e p laced th e sk is on top o f th e car.
T h e follow ing p re p o sitio n a l a d v erb s (c /9 .6 5 /) o r fixed p h ra ses co rre sp o n d to

th e p rep o sitio n s o f p o sitio n :
PR EPO SITIO N A L ADV ERBS PREPOSITIO NS

overhead over
underneath { fo rm a l) under, underneath { fo rm a l)
in fro n t in fro n t o f
on top on top o f ( c /9 .13)
above above
below below
behind behind
beneath { fo rm a l) beneath { fo rm al)
E x am p le:
... . , ... . . [ in fr o n tl [P re p o sitio n a lad v e rb ]

W ould you lik e to sit ^ o /u s ? [Pre£ osition]
N ote [a] The actual use o f the prepositions relating to relative position varies considerably. T he
frequencies for th e bottom vertical set in Fig 9.19 are as follows in the LOB and Brown p rinted
corpora (note the sim ilar frequencies in B rE and A m E):
Table 9.19 F r e q u e n c ie s o f u nder, below, beneath, a n d underneath
T o ta l { B rE ) (A m E )
under 1352 645 707

below 295 150 145
beneath 117 60 57
underneath 22 11 11
[b] Beneath is obligatory in fixed m etaphorical expressions like beneath her dignity, beneath
contempt (e/9.32).
Space: by, beside, w ith, near (to ), close to, opposite

9.20 O th e r p re p o sitio n s d e n o tin g sp a c e a re by, beside, a n d w ith :
H e w as sta n d in g byfbeside the door, [‘a t th e side o f ’]

I left th e keys with m y wallet, [‘in th e sam e p lace a s ’]
B eside is usually a lo cativ e a n d besides a n onlocative p re p o sitio n :

. B e sid e M a ry th ere stood a young m an. [‘a t the side o f ’]

B e sid e s M a ry th ere w ere sev eral o th er stu d en ts in th e hall, [‘in
a d d itio n to ’]
H o w e v e r, th e p re p o sitio n beside is o ften used, especially in A m E , to m ea n

‘in c o m p a ris o n w ith ’, ‘a p a r t fro m ’. U n lik e beside, besides m ay also be an
a d v e r b m e a n in g ‘in a d d itio n ’ (e /8 .1 3 7 ,9.58):
S h e is intelligent. B esides, sh e is good-looking.
A s a lo c a tiv e p re p o sitio n , th e sim ple p rep o sitio n near m ea n in g close to can

b e re p la c e d by th e com plex p re p o sitio n near to'.
f near (to)l
S h e w a s sittin g < ^ ' km e.
N e a r (to ) a n d close to a re th e only p rep o sitio n s w hich in flect fo r c o m p ariso n

( c f 9.5). U n lik e th e a b so lu te fo rm , nearer a n d nearest u sually re q u ire to. N e x t
a lw a y s d o e s so:
S h e w a s sittin g f '' f arer ^ n e x t t0 m e -

[closer to/closest to m e.
O pposite m e a n s ‘fa cin g ’ a n d h as o p tio n al to:
H e r h o u se is opposite (to) m ine.
S pace: between, among, amongst, amid, amidst

9.21 B etw e en re la te s th e p o sitio n o f a n ob ject to a definite o r exclusive set o f
d is c re te o b jects, w h ereas am ong relates to n o n d iscrete o b jects. T h u s:
. . (betw een tw o farm s.

T h e h o u se sta n d s j .
[am ong farm s.
S w itz erlan d lies F ra n c e, G e rm an y , A u s tria , a n d Italy.
f H e lik es g ettin g am ong p eople, [‘likes m ix in g w ith ’]

1 1 sa w Bill sta n d in g (in) between M rs B rad b u ry a n d th e hostess.
A m id a n d a m id st (w h ich a re b o th form al) m ean ‘in th e m id s t o f ’ an d , like

a m o n g , c a n a p p ly to a n in d efin ite n u m b er o f e n tities:
T h e d e serted house sto o d a m id snow -covered fir trees, ( f o r m a l)

I
N ote [a] T h e frequencies in the LOB and Brown corpora o f printed English indicate th at some o f the
prepositions in 9.21 are rare; in the case o f amongst there is also a clear difference in usage
betw een A m E and BrE. See Table 9.21, which, however, includes all uses, not.just spatial.
T a b le 9.21 F re q u e n c ie s o f b e tw ee n , am ong(st), a n d am id{st)
T o ta l < B rE > <A m E >
b e tw ee n 1597 867 730

am ong 683 313 370
a m o n g st 49 45 4
a m id 23 9 14
a m id s t -8 5 3
[b] I t is co m m o n , b u t n o t ac cep te d by all sp eak ers, to say between each house in stead o f b e tw een
each house a n d the next.
S pace: around, round, about

9.22 A round a n d round re fe r to su rro u n d in g p o sitio n o r to m o tio n :
W e w ere sittin g (a)round the campfire.

T h e sp a c esh ip is trav ellin g (a)round the globe.
A bout a n d around o ften have a v ag u er m ea n in g o f ‘in th e a re a o f ’ o r ‘in

v ario u s p o sitio n s i n ’:
T h e g u ests w ere sta n d in g about I around the room.

T h ere a re very few tax is about/around here.
In A m E , about is ra re r a n d m ore fo rm al in th is sen se th a n around. I n g e n e ra l,

B rE o ften te n d s to u se about o r round w here A m E uses around.
R e lativ e p o sitio n c a n also be expressed by p re p o sitio n s w h ich u su a lly
d en o te p assag e o r p a th (c /9 .2 5 /), e g :
T h e tree lay across the road.
T h e ro a d ru n s through the tunnel.
N o te T h e freq u en cies o f around a n d round in th e L O B a n d B ro w n c o rp o ra o f p rin te d E n g lish a r e a s

follows (all uses):
Table 9.22 Frequencies of around and round

Total <BrE> <AmE>
around 806 245 561

round 410 336 74
R elative destination: over, under, behind, etc

9.23 A s w ell as re la tiv e p o sitio n , th e p rep o sitio n s listed in 9 .1 9 jf(b u t n o t, g e n era lly ,
above a n d below) c a n ex p ress r e l a t i v e d e s t i n a t i o n :
H e th rew a b la n k e t over her.

T h e b u sh w as th e only conceivable h id in g p lace, so I d ash ed behind it.
W h en it s ta rte d to ra in , we all w en t underneath the trees.
T h is use is d is tin c t fro m th a t d en o tin g ‘p a s s a g e o v er, u n d er, b e h in d ’, e tc ( c f
9.24).
P assag e: over, under, behind, etc

9.24 W ith v erb s o f m o tio n , p rep o sitio n s m ay ex p ress th e id ea o f p a s s a g e (ie
m o v em e n t to w a rd s a n d th e n aw ay fro m a p lace), as w ell as d e stin a tio n . W ith
th e p re p o sitio n s liste d in 9 . \9 ff, th is o ccu rs in se n ten c es like [1 - 3 ] :
H e ju m p e d over a ditch. [ 1]
S o m eo n e ra n behind the goalposts. [2]
T h e ball rolled underneath the table. [3]
In se n ten c es su c h as [2] a n d [3], th e re is a n a m b ig u ity . In [3], we can su p p ly

e ith e r th e m e a n in g o f ‘p assag e’ ( = ‘th e ball p assed u n d e r th e tab le o n th e w a y
to so m e o th e r d e s tin a tio n ’) o r th e m ea n in g o f ‘d e s tin a tio n ’ ( = ‘th e ball rolled

u n d e r th e ta b le a n d stay ed th e re ’).
N o te A trip le a m b ig u ity m ay in fact arise w ith th e abo v e sen ten ces, o r m o re clearly w ith :
A m o u se scu ttled b ehind the curtain.
T h is s e n te n c e m a y be in te rp re te d n o t only in th e senses o f ‘p assa g e ’ a n d ‘d e s tin a tio n ’, b u t also
(less p la u sib ly ) in th e s ta tic sense, im ply in g th a t th e m ouse sta y e d (scuttling b ac k a n d fo rth )
b eh in d t h e c u r ta in all th e tim e.
P a ssag e: across, through, p a st

9.25 T h e se n se o f ‘p a ssa g e ’ is th e p rim a ry lo cativ e m ea n in g a tta c h e d to across
(d im e n sio n -ty p e 1 o r 2), through (d im en sio n -ty p e 2 o r 3) a n d p a st (th e
‘p a ssa g e ’ e q u iv a le n t to by w h ich m ay also, h o w ev er, b e su b stitu te d for pa st
in a ‘p a s s a g e ’ sense). N o te th e parallel b etw een across a n d on, through a n d in
in F ig 9 .2 5 :
d im e n s io n -t y p e 1 o r 2 ____ ■ o n th e g ra ss — — - *• a c r o s s t h e g r a s s
d i m e n s i o n - t y p e 2 OR 3 111.1 M 1 1 11 in t h e g r a s s I H I H I t* th ro u g h th e g ra ss
F ig 9 .2 5 O n a n d across, in a n d through
T h e u p p e r p a ir tr e a t th e g rass a s a surface, a n d th ere fo re suggest sh o rt g rass;

th e lo w er p a ir, b y tre a tin g th e g rass as a volu m e, sug g est th a t it h a s h e ig h t as
well a s le n g th a n d b r e a d th - th a t is, th a t th e g rass is long. T h e re is a m ea n in g
o f over c o rre sp o n d in g to across in th is s e n s e :
M ovem ent w ith reference to a directional p a th : up, dow n, along, across, etc
9.26 Up, dow n, along, across (in a slightly d ifferen t sense fro m th a t o f 9.25) a n d
(a)round, w ith v e rb s o f m o tio n , m ak e u p a g ro u p o f p re p o sitio n s ex p ressin g
m o v em e n t w ith re fe re n ce to a n ax is o r d irec tio n a l p a th , as illu strated in F ig s
9.26a a n d 9 .2 6 b :;
dow n
Fig 9 .2 6 a up a n d dow n F ig 9 .2 6 b alo n g a n d across
Up a n d dow n c o n tra s t in term s o f v ertical d irec tio n , eg:
W e w alk ed up the h ill a n d down the other side.
But up a n d down a r e also u sed id io m atically in referen ce to a h o rizo n tal a x is :

I w alk ed up and down the p latform .

^ f up/down the road.
She w en
ent ( ,, , .
I up down the coast.
Up a n d dow n here ex p ress th e n o tio n o f ‘a lo n g ’, an d n eed n o t h a v e a n y

v e rtica l im p licatio n s (c/1 9 .3 2 ).
A long d en o tes ‘from o n e e n d to w a rd s th e o th e r’ o r ‘in a lin e p arallel w ith ’,
eg'-
W e w alk ed along the streets, ju s t looking a t people.
I to o k m y dog fo r a w a lk along the river.
A long c o n tra sts w ith across [‘fro m o n e side to a n o th e r’] in term s o f a h o rizo n tal
ax is:
Be carefu l w h en you w alk across a street.
W ith (a)round, th e d irec tio n a l p a th is a n an g le o r a c u rv e :
W e ra n (a)round the corner.
Towards in d icates b o th ‘re a l’ a n d ‘im p lied ’ m otion, ‘in th e d irec tio n o f ’ :
W e w alk ed towards the o ld farm house.

T h e w in d o w faces tow ards the south.
T h e co n cep t o f ‘im p lied ’ m o tio n also acco u n ts for th e u se o f o th e r

p rep o sitio n s, eg', to, over, a n d in to :
Is th is th e bus to O x fo rd ?
She g lan ced over her shoulder.
H e sp o k e into the microphone.
N o te O n th e a d v e rb s (w alk) hom e/hom eward{s), etc co rresp o n d in g to som e p rep o sitio n a l p h ra se s

a b o v e, c /1 .4 6 .
O rien tatio n : beyond, over, p a st, up, across, e tc

9.27 M o st p re p o sitio n s w h ic h e x p ress relativ e d e stin atio n , passag e, a n d m o v em e n t
w ith referen ce to a d ire c tio n a l p a th (c /9 .2 6 ) c an be used in a s ta tic sen se o f
o rien tatio n . T h is b rin g s in a th ird fa cto r a p a rt fro m th e tw o th in g s b e in g
sp atially re la te d : viz a p o i n t o f o r i e n t a t i o n , a t w h ic h (in re ality o r
im a g in atio n ) th e s p e a k e r is sta n d in g .
B eyo n d [‘o n th e fa r sid e o f ’] is a p re p o sitio n w hose p rim a ry m ea n in g is o n e
o f o rien tatio n . Over, p a st, across, an d through c o m b in e th e m e a n in g o f
‘b ey o n d ’ w ith m o re specific in fo rm a tio n a b o u t d im en sio n , a s d e sc rib e d in
9 .26:
T h ey liv e across the moors, [ie ‘fro m h e re ’]
Up, down, along, across, a n d (a)round a re used o rien tatio n ally w ith referen ce
to a n axis in :
684 ■Prep ositions and prepositional phrases
t h e sh o p down the road [‘tow ards th e b o tto m e n d o f . . . ’]

up the stairs, [‘at ( o r to w ard s) th e top o f . . = upstairs]
H e r office is down the stairs, [‘a t ( o r to w ard s) th e b o tto m o f
= downstairs]
T h e r e ’s a h o tel across/along the road, [‘o n th e o th er sid e /to w a rd s th e
o th e r en d o f . . . ’]
W e liv e ju s t (a)round the corner.
W e c a n , if w e lik e, sp ecify th e view point by using a fro m - p h ra se :
H e liv es u p /d o w n /alo n g /acro ss th e ro ad fro m me.
R e su lta tiv e m eaning: fr o m , o u t of, over, pa st, etc

9 .2 8 P re p o s itio n s w h ic h h a v e th e m ean in g o f m o tio n , as in [1], c a n usually h av e
also a s ta tic re su lta tiv e m ean in g w hen co m b in ed w ith be, in d ic a tin g ‘th e
sta te o f h a v in g re a c h e d th e d e stin a tio n ’, as in [2] (c /8 .4 2 ):
T h e ho rses ju m p e d over the fence. [ 1]

T h e h o rses a re over the fence, [‘h av e n ow ju m p e d o v er’] [2]
O u t o f c o n te x t, re su lta tiv e m ean in g is n o t a lw ays d istin g u ish a b le fro m o th e r

sta tic m ea n in g s. I ts presence, how ever, is o ften signalled by c e rta in a d v erb s
(already, ju s t, a t la st, (not) y e t, etc). R esu ltativ e m ean in g is c h ara cte ristica lly
fo u n d w ith n e g a tiv e p rep o sitio n s fro m , out of, etc, o r w ith p re p o sitio n s o f
‘p a ssa g e ’ su c h a s across, through, a n d past:
A t la s t w e a re o ut o f the forest. [3]

W h e n y o u ’re p a s t the n e x t obstacle, you c a n relax. [4]
Perv asiv e m eaning: over, throughout, w ith, etc

9 .2 9 Over (d im e n sio n -ty p e 1 o r 2) a n d through (d im en sio n -ty p e 2 o r 3), especially
w h en p re c e d e d b y all, h av e p erv asiv e m ean in g (e ith er static o r m o tio n a l):
T h a t c h ild w a s ru n n in g (all) over th eflo w er borders.
Throughout m e a n in g (all) through is th e only p re p o sitio n w hose p rim a ry

m ea n in g is ‘p e rv a s iv e ’:
C h a o s re ig n e d (all) through the house.

T h e e p id e m ic h a s sp read throughout the country.
O ccasio n ally th e ‘ax is’ type p rep o sitio n s o f 9.26 a re also used in a p e rv asiv e
sense:
T h e re w ere cro w d s (all) along the route.

T h ey p u t flo w ers (all) around the statue. !
W ith also h a s p e rv asiv e m ean in g in ex p ressio n s su ch as th e fo llow ing:
T h e g ro u n d w a s covered with snow .

T h e g a rd e n w a s buzzing with bees.
S im ilarly : lo a d ed with, p a ved with, surrounded with, d o tte d with, etc.

E ig h t senses o f over
9 .30 L et us now see how o n e p re p o sitio n (over) m ay b e u sed in so m e d iffere n t
se n se s:
p o s itio n (9.19): A lam p h u n g over the door.

d e s tin a tio n (9.23): T h ey threw a b lan k e t over her.
PASSAGE (9.24): T h ey Climbed over the wall.
o r i e n t a t i o n (9.27): T h ey live over the road, [‘o n th e fa r side o f ’]
RESULTATIVE (9.28): A t last we w ere over the crest o f the hill.
p e r v a s i v e [ s t a t i c ] (9.29): L eaves lay th ic k (all) over the ground.
p e r v a s i v e [ m o t i o n ] (9.29): T h ey splashed w a ter (all) over me.
a c c o m p a n y i n g c i r c u m s t a n c e s : W e discussed it over a g la ss o f wine.
V erbs incorporating p repositional m eaning

9.31 W h en a v erb c o n tain s, w ith in its o w n m eaning, th e m e a n in g o f a follow ing
prep o sitio n , it is o fte n p o ssib le to o m it th e p re p o sitio n . T h e v erb th e n
becom es tran sitiv e, a n d th e p rep o sitio n al c o m p lem en t b eco m es a d ire c t,
lo cativ e o bject ( c f 10.27). T h e follow ing ex am p les h a v e m ain ly s p a tia l
m ean in g , b u t o th e r e x am p les a re included to show th a t th is p ro cess is n o t
re stric te d to sp a tia l uses o f p re p o s itio n s :
roam (about/around) th e c ity ponder (on) a q u e stio n

p a ss (by) a house turn (round) a c o rn e r
fle e (from) th e c o u n try attain (to) a p o sitio n
cross (over) a stre et climb (up) a m o u n ta in
jum p/leap (over) a fen ce pierce (through) th e d efen ces
In m an y cases th ere is a d ifferen ce in m ean in g b etw een th e tw o c o n stru ctio n s.

T h e c o n stru ctio n w ith p re p o sitio n draw s a tte n tio n to th e pro cess, w h ereas
th e d ire c t ob ject c o n stru c tio n h a s p erfectiv e m ean in g , in d ic a tin g th a t th e
o b jectiv e is achieved. C o m p a r e :
L e t’s sw im across th e river.
( She w as th e first w o m a n to sw im the Channel.
M etap h o rical o r a b stra c t use o f place prepositions

9.32 M an y place p rep o sitio n s h a v e a b stra c t m ean in g s w h ic h a re clearly re la te d ,
th ro u g h m etap h o rical c o n n ec tio n , to th eir lo cativ e uses. V ery o fte n
p rep o sitio n s so used k e ep th e gro u p in g s (in term s o f sim ila rity o r c o n tra st o f
m ean in g ) th a t they h a v e w h e n used in a literal referen ce to p lac e. T h is is
o ften tru e for ex am p le o f te m p o ra l usage ( c /9 .33 # ).
O n e m ay p erceive a stag e-b y -stag e ex ten sio n o f m e ta p h o ric a l u sage in su c h
a series a s (a) to (d):
(a) in shallow w ater [p u rely literal]

(b) in deep water [also m e ta p h o ric a l: ‘in tro u b le ’]
(c) in difficulties [T h e n o u n is n o t m etap h o rical, b u t th e p re p o sitio n is.]
(d) in a tough spot [‘in a difficult situ atio n ’; T h e p re p o sitio n is a n alo g o u s to
th a t o f (c), b u t a n o th e r lo cativ e m eta p h o r is in tro d u c e d b y th e n o u n .
T h e result is a p h ra s e t h a t could n o t o ccu r in a lite ral sense, b ecau se
spot w ould th e n re q u ire a t o r on (dim ension-type 0).]
E x a m p le s in re la tio n to th e literal m ea n in g s are th e fo llo w in g :
in /o u t o f; am id, a m id st < b o th fo rm al a n d r a r e ) (c/9.21 N o te [a])

p o s itio n -> state, c o n d itio n :
to b e in/out o f d a n g er to k eep out o f trouble
to b e in j out o f office to be out o f a jo b
to b e in difficulties am idst m an y troubles
e n c lo su re -*• a b s tra c t in c lu sio n :

in b o o k s/p lay s in/out o f th e race
in a g ro u p /p a rty
in to /o u t o f
d e s tin a tio n - » a b s tra c t c o n d itio n o r c irc u m s ta n c e :
H e g o t into d iffic u lties/tro u b le/d e b t/a fight.
C a n y o u get m e o ut o /th is m ess ?
in/on
p o s itio n -> m em b ersh ip , p a rtic ip a tio n :
in th e arm y
on th e b o a rd /c o m m itte e/p ro jec t
above/below /beneath
v e rtic a l d ire c tio n -> a b stra c t le v e l:
to b e above/below so m eo n e o n a list
above/below [n o t: *beneath] o n e ’s incom e
S u c h b e h av io u r is beneath [n o t: *below] him .
H e ’s above [n o t: *over] su ch b e h av io u r.
above (the) a v era g e
above susp icio n
under
v e rtic a l d irec tio n - » su b jectio n , su b o rd in a tio n ; process:
under su sp icio n /o rd ers/co m p u lsio n
H e h a s a h u n d re d p eo p le w o rk in g under him .
T h e bridge is under co n stru ctio n .
! x
up/dow n \
m o v e m e n t on v e rtica l ax is -► m o v em e n t o n list o r scale:
m o v e up/down th e scale
c lim b up/down th e social lad d e r
fr o m /to I
s ta rtin g p o in t/d e stin a tio n -* o rig in a to r/re c ip ie n t:
a le tte r/p re s e n t fro m B ro w n in g to his w ife (c /9 .4 6 /)
beyond/past/over
r e s u lta tiv e m ean in g ; p h y sical -> a b stra c t:
b elief
beyo n d ] e n d u ra n c e
p a st J hope
[rec o v e ry
W e a r e over th e w orst.
betw eenjam ongjam ongst (c/9.21 N o te [a])

relativ e p o sitio n -> a b stra c t relatio n b etw een p a rtic ip a n ts :
a fig h t/m a tc h between X a n d Y
W e q u a rre l/a g re e am ong ourselves,
relatio n sh ip /co n tra st/a ffin ity between tw o th in g s
through
passage -► p e rsev e ra n ce , e n d u ra n c e :
She c a m e through th e ordeal. W e p u t h im through his paces.
W e a re through th e w orst.
N o te [a] O ver a n d under a c t a s ‘in ten sify in g p rep o sitio n s’ w ith th e m ean in g s ‘m o re th a n ’ a n d ‘less
th a n ’ in ex p ressio n s o f m e asu re (c /in te n sifiers in l.BlfiT)'-
T h e c a r w as tra v e llin g (at) j s‘xty m ^ e s Per h ° ur-
C f : overage ; overconfident [‘overly con fid en t’]

F o r d en o tin g te m p e ra tu re , above a n d below a re also u s e d :
T h e te m p e ra tu re is { * ^°.ve^ ve^ \ 300.

[below/under j
B ut w ith ze ro d e g ree s o n ly : abovejbelow zero.
[b] A few p re p o s itio n s (chiefly in a n d out o f) c a n op e ra te in a n ap p a re n tly converse re la tio n sh ip .
F o r ex a m p le:
T h e h o rse is in fo a l. [‘T h e re is a fo al in th e h orse’s w o m b .’]
T h e office is o u t o f envelopes. [‘T h e re a re n o env elo p es in th e office.’]
W e a re in lu c k jo u t o f luck.
[c] T h e in fin itiv e m a rk e r to m ay be view ed as related to th e sp atial p rep o sitio n to th ro u g h
m e tap h o ric a l co n n e c tio n . C o m p a re th e serie s:
Jo h n w e n t
' to th e pool. [D ire c tio n : ‘W h ere d id h e g o ? ’]
to th e p o o lfo r a s w im . [D irectio n + p u rp o se: ‘W h y d id h e go to th e pool?’]
f o r a sw im in th e p o o l.' [P urpose + location]
- fo r a sw im . [P u rp o se : ‘W h y d id he go th e re ? ’]
to sw im . [‘M eta p h o rical c o n n e ctio n ’ o f in finitive m a rk e r (in
to-infinitive clause)]
„ sw im m ing. [N o n fin ite v erb clause]
Prepositions denoting tim e

9.33 A p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se o f tim e usually o ccu rs a s a d ju n c t (H e came on F rid a y ),
p o stm o d ifier (the p a rty on F riday), o r p re d ic a tio n ad ju n ct (T hat was on
F riday ); b u t i t c a n o ccasionally b e itself th e c o m p lem en t o f a te m p o ra l
p re p o sitio n ( c / 9 . 1 N o te [d]):
a v o ice fr o m o u t o f the p a st
T h e te m p o ra l uses o f p rep o sitio n s freq u e n tly suggest m e ta p h o ric a l

ex ten sio n s fro m th e sp h ere o f place sim ila r to th e m eta p h o ric al ex te n sio n s
discussed in 9.32.
Tim e position: a t, on, in, by

9.34 A t, on , a n d in a s p re p o sitio n s o f ‘tim e p o sitio n ’ are to som e e x te n t p a ralle l to
th e sa m e ite m s as p o sitiv e p rep o sitio n s o f p o sitio n (c /9 .1 6 ), alth o u g h in th e
tim e sp h e re th e re a re o nly tw o ‘d im e n sio n -ty p es’, viz ‘p o in t o f tim e ’ a n d
‘p erio d o f tim e ’ ( c /8 .5 \ff ) .
A t is u se d for p o in ts o f tim e (chiefly clock-tim e [1]) a n d also, id io m atically ,

fo r h o lid a y p erio d s [2]:
a t ten o'clock, a t 6 .3 0 p .m ., at noon [ 1]

a t the w eekend < B rE ; b u t in A m E : on the w eekend ) , a t Christmas,
a t E aster [2]
T h e re fe re n c e is to th e seaso n o f C h ristm a s/E aste r, n o t th e d a y itself. A t can
b e u se d fo r p erio d s w h e n conceived o f as p o in ts o f tim e, as in :
a t the!that tim e, a t breakfast tim e, at night
O n is u sed for re fe rrin g to d ays as periods o f tim e :
o n M o n d a y, on the fo llo w in g day, on M a y (the)first, on N e w Y ea r’s D ay
A lso in th e e x p re s s io n :
T r a in s leav e th e s ta tio n on the hour, [‘ho u rly ’, ie 1 o ’clock, 2 o ’clock, etc]
In o r, less co m m o n ly , during is used for p erio d s lo n g er o r sh o rte r th a n a

day:
in th e evening in sum mer

in A u g u st during H oly W eek
in 1969 in the eighteenth century
in the m onths th a t fo llo w e d
O n M o n d a y m orning, on S a tu rd a y afternoon, on the fo llo w in g evening, etc

illu stra te a n e x c e p tio n a l use o f on w ith a co m p lem en t refe rrin g to a p a r t o f a
d a y , r a th e r th a ii a w h o l e d ay . T h is use also e x ten d s to o th e r cases w h ere th e
tim e se g m en t is' a p a r t o f a d a y w h ich is actu ally m e n tio n e d : on the morning
o f 1 J u n e, etc. B u t w ith p h ra ses lik e early morning a n d late afternoon it is
n o rm a l to use in : in the late afternoon.
W h e n w e w a n t to re fe r to a p e rio d o f the n ig h t w e use in. C o m p a re :
I w o k e u p se v e ra l tim es in the night.

A t night I u su ally h a v e th e w indow open, [‘d u rin g th e n ig h t’; a s o pposed
to in the evening, in the day]
B y o ccu rs in th e id io m s b y d a y an d by night, w h ic h re p la ce during the d a y /

the night w ith so m e a c tiv itie s such as trav e llin g :
W e stay ed u p during the night.
M e asu rem en t in to th e fu tu re: in

9.35 T o d e n o te m e a su re m e n t fro m th e p resen t tim e, th e p o stp o se d a d v e rb ago is
used fo r a sp a n b a c k to a p o in t o f tim e in th e p a st, a n d in fo r a sim ila r sp a n
a h e a d in to th e fu tu re ( c /8 .5 8 /) :
W e m e t three m onths ago. [1]

[ 2]
[3]
Prepositional m eanings $89
T h e c o n stru ctio n in [2 -3 ] is o nly acc ep ta b le w ith th e m e a n in g o f ‘a t th e e n d

o f a p erio d o f th re e m o n th s sta rtin g fro m n o w ’. In m ea su rin g fo rw a rd s fro m
a p o in t o f tim e in th e p a st, o nly th e follow ing co n stru ctio n is n o r m a l:
in three m onths, [‘in th e sp ace o f th re e m o n th s

fro m w hen he sta rte d i t ’] [4]
H e finished th e jo b
?(in) three m onths fro m then. [5]
*in three m onths' time. [6]
D u ratio n : fo r , during, over, (all) through, throughout

9.36 P h ra se s o f d u ra tio n an sw e r th e q u e stio n H ow long? D u ra tio n is u su ally
ex p ressed by fo r . C o m p are d u ra tio n a n d tim e-p o sitio n :
A : H o w long d id you c a m p in S co tlan d ?

B : W e c am p ed th e re f o r the sum m er, [‘all th ro u g h , fro m th e b e g in n in g
to th e en d o f th e su m m er’]
A : W h en d id you c a m p in S co tlan d ?
B: W e c am p ed th e re in the sum mer, [‘a t som e tim e d u rin g th e
su m m er’]
T h e d u ra tio n p h ra se fo r the sum m er in d icates th a t th e stop la s te d a s l o n g a s

th e su m m er p e rio d ; th e tim e-w h en p h ra se in the sum m er in d ic a te s th a t th e
sto p was i n c l u d e d in th e su m m e r p erio d . D uring the su m m er c o u ld b e u se d
h e re w ith th e sam e m ea n in g a s in, a lth o u g h during usually su g g ests d u r a tio n :
W e m an ag ed to sta y a w ak e during the whole meeting.
W ith o u t such d u ra tiv e m a rk e rs as sta y an d whole, during re fe rs to a p o in t o r

p e rio d w i t h i n d u r a t i o n ra th e r th a n d u ra tio n its e lf:
S h e spoke during the meeting.
D uring our j”j Ja p a n w e m e t several o ld friends.

For is also used in id io m atic p h ra se s like forever, fo r good [‘fo re v e r’], fo r y ea rs
(a n d years).
Over, (all) through, a n d throughout have a d u ra tio n al m e a n in g p a ralle l to
th e ir perv asiv e m ean in g in re fe re n ce to p lace (c/9 .2 9 ):
W e c am p ed th ere over the holiday/over Christm as/over the w eekend/over

the Sabbathjover night.
W e c am p ed th ere th ro u g h o u t) the summer.
O ver norm ally a cco m p an ies n o u n p h rases d en o tin g sp ecial o ccasio n s (su ch
as holidays a n d festivals), a n d so generally refers to a sh o rte r p e rio d o f tim e
th a n throughout). Since S a tu rd a y a n d S u n d ay are ‘sp ecial’ c o m p a re d w ith
o th e r days o f th e w eek, w e h a v e over S aturday and S u n d a y w h e rea s lo ver
W ednesday is n o t gen erally u sed . E x p ressio n s like over the la st three y ea rs,
over the last generation seem to h a v e becom e increasingly co m m o n .
N o te For h as d ifferent m eanings in th e follow ing tw o se n te n ces:

I ’ve do n e th a t fo r years. [1]
I’ve no! d o n e th a t fo r year.'.. [2]
In th e po sitiv e [1], th e a c tio n is in c lu d ed in th e fo r tim e sp an , ie in c lu d ed d u ra tio n . I n th e
690 P re p o s itio n s and prepositional phrases
n e g a tiv e [2], o n th e o th e r h an d , th e ac tio n is exclu d ed fro m th e fo r tim e sp an , ie exclu d ed

d u r a t io n ( ‘I t ’s y ea rs sin c e I ’ve do n e th a t’, ‘I h a v e n ’t d o n e th a t in years’). N o te th a t, h ere, in <esp
A m E > c a n b e used o n ly in neg ativ e se n te n c e s:
1 1 *j d o n e th a t in years.
D u ra tio n : f r o m . . . t o , until, up to
9.37 F ro m . . . to (or till) is a n o th e r p a ir o f p re p o sitio n s w hose lo cativ e m e a n in g is
tr a n s f e r r e d to d u ra tio n . T h e A m E a lte rn a tiv e ex p ressio n (from ) . . . through
a v o id s th e a m b ig u ity a s to w h e th er th e p e rio d m en tio n ed second is in clu d ed
in t h e to ta l s p a n o f tim e (cf: betw een . . . and, 9.39; c f also ‘fo rw a rd s p a n ’;
8 .5 8 /) :
W e c a m p e d th ere (from ) June through Septem ber. <A m E>
[‘u p to a n d inclu d in g S e p tem b e r’] i
W e c a m p e d th e re fro m June | ^ / | Septem ber.
[‘u p to ( ? a n d including) S e p tem b e r’]
B u t w ith fr o m a b se n t, only until, till, up to (b u t n o t alw ays sim p le to), a n d

through < A m E > c a n be u sed :
until
till
W e c a m p e d th ere up to Septem ber,
through < A m E>
*to
O n t h e o th e r h a n d , to can b e used a lo n g sid e till i n :
Y o u c a n sta y to I till the1end o f Septem ber.

T h e m e e tin g can b e postponed to /till Septem ber.
T h e r e are o n ly a fe w days to/till Septem ber.
I h a v e o nly a fe w years to\till retirem ent.
F rom a n d up to i r e used to d en o te, resp ectiv ely , sta rtin g a n d e n d in g p o in ts o f

a p e rio d . Up to n o rm ally specifies t h a t th e lo n g er p erio d does n o t in clu d e th e
p e rio d n a m e d in th e p rep o sitio n al c o m p le m e n t:
F ro m 1982 (o n w ard s) th e rules w ere c h an g ed .

W e w o rk ed up to C hristm as (b u t n o t o v er C h ristm as).
1
In fo rm a lly , unt\l a n d till are also so m etim es p re ce d ed by up:
Cuntil )
I w o rk e d (up) < till > last week.
U J
T ill a n d until c a n only coo ccu r w ith d u ra tiv e v erb s, ie v erb s th a t d e n o te a
p e rio d o f tim e (su ch as camp a n d work). C o n tr a s t:
M y g irlfrie n d | th e re till Christm as.
T h e s itu a tio n fo r until an d till is th u s th e rev erse o f th a t fo r b y d e n o tin g a n

e n d p o in t, w h ich cooccurs only w ith m o m e n tary v erb s (c /9 .3 9 ):
f* w o rk e d l ,
She Christmas.
1 a rriv e d J
In n eg ativ e c o n te x ts, u n til a n d till are accep tab le w ith b o th d u ra tio n a l an d

m o m en tary v erb s, as fo r ex am p le:
She d id n ’t a rriv e th e re till Christmas.
T h e tw o m ea n in g s o f till a n d until a re, how ever, d iffere n t w ith p o sitiv e an d

n eg ativ e p re d ic a tio n s. W ith po sitiv e p red icatio n s, till a n d until specify a
term in al p o in t (‘u p to ’), w h ereas, w ith n eg ativ e p re d ic atio n s, th ey specify a
sta rtin g p o in t (‘b e fo re ’) :
W e slept un til m idnight. [‘W e sto p p ed sleep in g th e n .’]

W e d id n ’t sleep u n til m idnight. [‘W e sta rte d sleep in g th e n .’]
Before, after, since, till, u n til

9.38 T h ese w o rd s a re co n ju n c tio n s as well as p re p o sitio n s ( c f 1 4 .1 2 # ). A s
prep o sitio n s, th e y o c c u r a lm o st exclusively as p re p o sitio n s o f tim e, a n d a re
follow ed by e ith e r
(a) a tem p o ral n o u n p h ra se (after n e x t week);

(b) a sub jectless -ing clau se (since leaving school ); o r
(c) a n o u n p h ra s e w ith a d e v erb al n o u n ( c f A p p 1 .3 4 /) o r so m e o th e r n o u n
p h ra se in te rp re te d a s e q u iv a len t to a c la u s e :
before the w ar [‘b e fo re th e w a r sta rte d o r to o k p la c e ’]

till/until the f a l l o f R om e [‘u n til R om e fell’]
since electricity [‘sin c e electricity w as in v en te d ’]
T o express th e s tr e tc h o f tim e (a fte r th e sta rtin g p o in t d e n o te d by since) w e

use fo r (c/9 .3 6 ):
W e h av e liv ed in N e w Y o rk
W e lived in C h ic a g o fo r 15 years.
F o r verb form s w ith since-c lauses, c f 14.26.

Before a n d a fte r in d ic a te relatio n s b etw een tw o tim e s o r e v en ts an d h a v e
o pposite m ea n in g s ( c / 9 . 1 9 ,9 .3 5 # ):
f The m eeting w ill ta k e p lace a fter the ceremony.

! = The cerem ony w ill ta k e place before the meeting.
N o te [a] A s a prep o sitio n , until is m o re freq u e n t th a n till (c/8.58).

[b] Pending is used in fo rm a l, especially legal style:
T h e d ecision m u st w a it pending his trial. [‘un til’]
Pending negotiations , th e tw o p a rtie s sh ould stop fu rth e r actio n , [‘d u rin g an d till th e en d o f ’]
T h u s pending c a n also in c lu d e a sense o f ‘d u rin g ’.
B etw een . . . and, by

9.39 Between . . . a n d is u sed for periods identified by th e ir sta rtin g a n d e n d in g
p o in ts b u t, in c o n tra s t to f r o m . ■■to (c/9 .3 7 ), d oes n o t re fe r to th e w hole tim e
sp a n :
W e ’ll p ro b a b ly a rriv e som e tim e between 5 a n d 6 o ’clock.

I ’ll p h o n e y o u betw een lunch a n d dinner.
B etw een X and Y c a n in clu d e X a n d Y, a s i n :
I ’ll rin g betw een Thursday a n d Saturday.
T h is ex p ressio n d o es n o t m ea n th a t th e call will be o n F rid a y , b u t could also

b e T h u rsd a y o r S a tu rd ay . T h u s between . . . and h e re m e a n s ‘a b o u t’, ie ‘so m e
tim e o n T h u rsd a y , F rid a y , o r S a tu rd ay ’. B etw een is fu rth e r re q u ired to
in d ic a te in terv als b e tw ee n sim ilar o bjects o r ev en ts w h ic h o ccu r re p ea te d ly :
betw een m eals/dances/acts/classes
B y re fe rs to th e tim e a t w h ich th e result o f an e v en t is in e x is te n c e :
Y o u r p a p e rs a re to b e h a n d ed in by n e x t week, [‘n o t la te r th a n ’]
S h e sh o u ld b e b a c k b y now (b u t I ’m n o t sure).
B y specifies a n e n d p o in t. A lready, still, yet, a n d any m ore a re re la te d in

m e a n in g :
B y th e tim e w e’d w a lke d fiv e miles, he w as a lread y ex h au sted .
C o n tra s t:
B y th a t tim e h e w as a lre ad y exhausted. [‘H e w as th e n e x h au ste d .’]

U ntil then h e w as n o t e x h au sted . [‘B efore th e n h e w as n o t e x h au ste d .’]
T h u s iy -p h ra s e s d o n o t co o ccu r w ith d u rativ e v erb s ( c /9 .3 7 ) :
N o te A s w ith p re p o sitio n s o f p la ce ( (/9 .3 2 ), prep o sitio n s an d p rep o sitio n al ad v e rb s o f tim e c a n h av e

m e tap h o rical uses, e g in view in g life as a jo u rn ey :
A t b ir th . . . fr o m th e ag e o f tw o . . . reaching th e age o f 16, he left school day s behind, a n d
ad u lth o o d w as in fr o n t o f h i m . . . a l l through m iddle age . . . up to 1945.
A b s e n c e o f p r e p o s i t i o n in p o i n t i n t i m e e x p r e s s i o n s
9.40 In m an y cases, '.a p re p o sitio n o f tim e is ab sen t, so th a t th e tim e a d v erb ial
takes th e fo rm o f a n o u n p h ra se in stead o f a p re p o sitio n al p h rase.
P rep o sitio n s o f tim e.-when are alw ays a b sen t im m e d ia tely b efo re th e d e ic tic
w ords la st, n e xt, this, that, a n d b efo re the q u a n tita tiv e w o rd s som e an d every.
I ’ll m e n tio n it n e x t tim e I see her.

This yea r, p lu m s a re m o re p len tifu l th an last.
S o m e d a y y o u ’ll re g re t th is d ecision.
E ve ry su m m er she re tu rn s to h er childhood hom e.
Also n o u n s w h ic h h av e ‘la s t’, ‘n e x t’, o r ‘th is ’ as a n e le m en t o f th e ir m ea n in g

lack p r e p o s itio n s :
I ’ll s e e h e r to m o r r o w (e v e n in g ).
T h e p re p o sitio n s w h ic h are a b se n t in p o in t in tim e ex p ressio n s seem to b e

re stric te d to a t, on, in; before a n d since, fo r ex am p le, a re o b lig a to ry :
I h a v e n ’t seen h e r since last w eek.
T h e p re p o sitio n is u sually o p tio n a l w ith d e ic tic p h rases re ferrin g to tim e s a t

m o re th a n o n e rem o v e from th e p resen t, su ch a s:
(on) M on d a y w eek
(on) the d a y before yesterday
f in the January befo re last <BrE>
[th e January b efo re last < A m E a n d B rE )
T h e p re p o sitio n is also o p tio n a l in p h ra ses w h ich identify a tim e b e fo re o r

a fte r a g iv en tim e in th e p a st o r fu tu re:
(in) the previous spring [‘th e sp rin g b efo re th e tim e in q u e stio n ’]
(on) the n e x t day
T h u s, th ere are a lte rn a tiv e s in cases lik e th e follow ing:
O n th e w hole, th e sen ten ce w ith o u t th e p re p o sitio n ten d s to be m o re in fo rm a l

a n d m o re usual.
P o stm o d ified n o n d eictic p h rases c o n ta in in g the o ften have th e p re p o s itio n
in B rE w h ereas it is o p tio n a l in A m E :
on the day
I o f the conference.
B u t w ith o u t p o stm o d ificatio n , th e p re p o sitio n is alw ays o b lig ato ry :
W e m et in the spring. i=- W e m e t the spring.
T h e p re p o sitio n is usually p re se n t in p h ra ses like th e follow ing w h e n th e

w o rd o rd e r (n ext Sund a y, last January) is in v erted <in B r E ) :
(on) S unday n e x t (in) January last
N o te W ith in a given w eek, if w e refer to th e n am e o f th e day th a t is yet to follow, th e ex p re ssio n n e x t

x -d a y (eg: ne x t Friday ) w ill b e used by som e to m e a n ‘x-day o f th e sam e w eek ’, by o th e rs ‘x -d ay
o f th e w eek to follow ’. O n th e o th e r h a n d , this x -d a y (eg: this F riday) will alw ays m e a n ‘x -d a y o f
th e p re se n t w eek’. T h e sam e ap p lies to m o n th s o f th e year, a s in nex t Septem ber a n d this
Septem ber.
A bsence o f p rep o sitio n in frequency expressions

9.41 T h e r e is n o p re p o s itio n in frequency p h ra ses lik e :
E ve ry S u n d a y we usually go for a w alk.
W ith o u t a fre q u e n c y in d icatio n such as every, the p re p o sitio n is o p tio n al,

a n d n o u n s d e n o tin g w eekdays m ay b e e ith e r sin g u lar o r p lu ral. T h e
c o n s tru c tio n w ith o u t a p rep o sitio n is in fo rm al in style <esp A m E ) :
O n S u n d a y (s ) )
S u n d a y (s) > w e usually go fo r a w alk.
*O n every S u n d a y J
Three tim es a week
we play d arts.
* A t three tim e s a week
B u t o th e r fre q u e n c y co n stru ctio n s alw ays re q u ire th e p re p o s itio n :
w ith + a d je c tiv e + frequency, with regular frequency

a t + a d je c tiv e + intervals', a t irregular intervals
on + a d je c tiv e + occasions: on specific occasions
fr o m tim e to tim e: W e saw e ac h o th e r fr o m tim e to tim e.
a t a /th e rate o f + n o u n : a t the rate o f $20 an hour
betw een /a t + each + singular
n o u n , o r a ll + p lural n o u n : H e h a d d ro p p e d th e h a b it o f
d rin k in g coffee a t a ll hours.
A bsence o f p rep o sitio n in duration expressions

9.42 F or re fe rs to a k tr e tc h o f tim e. T h e p re p o sitio n is o ften a b se n t in p h ra ses o f
d u ra tio n w ith a v e rb used w ith sta tiv e m e a n in g :
W e sta y e d th e re (for ) three months.

T h e sn o w y w e a th e r lasted (for) the whole tim e w e w ere th ere.
(F or) a lo t o f the tim e w e ju s t lay o n th e beach .
1
T h e p re p o s itip n is o bligatorily a b se n t in p h ra se s w h ich b eg in w ith all, such
a s all (the) w e ek ; a ll day. B ut co m p are th e synonym ous whole ( c f 5.17):
f all (the) week.

W e sta y ed th e re < (fo r) the whole w eek.
(_*fo r all week.
I h a v e n ’t s e e n h er all day.
H o w ev er, th e p re p o sitio n is o bligatory w ith d y n am ic v erb s w h ere th e a ctio n

o f th e v e rb is c le arly n o t continuously co ex ten siv e w ith th e p e rio d specified.
C o m p are :
I liv ed th e r e three years.

\th ree years.
S im ilarly :
T. , f fo r three m onths.
I h a v e n t sp o k e n to h er { * , ,
y* three m onths.
T h e p re p o sitio n is also re q u ire d in in itial po sitio n in th e c la u s e :
{
For 600 years, th e c ro ss lay u n d istu rb ed .
T h e cross lay u n d is tu rb e d (for) 600 years.
Sim ilarly, w h en th ey o c cu r in itially , th e p rep o sitio n is u sually re q u ire d in fo r -

p h ra s e s : fo r ages, fo r d ays, f o r years, etc. H ow ever, c o o rd in a tio n in th e tim e
e xpression im p ro v es a c c e p ta b ility . C o m p a re :
F or years
(?) T ears a n d y ea rs > w e h a v e all been ex p ectin g th is ev en t.
? Years J
Ranges of m eaning o th e r than place and tim e

9.43 W e n ow survey th e m o re im p o r ta n t p rep o sitio n al u sag es a p a r t fro m th o se o f
p lace a n d tim e. F ie ld s o f p re p o sitio n a l m ean in g a re n o to rio u sly difficult to
classify, a n d in som e c ases i t is b e tte r to th in k o f a ra n g e o r sp ectru m o f
m ean in g , first as a sin g le categ o ry , th en as b ro k e n u p in to s e p a ra te
o v erlap p in g sections. F irs t, th ere fo re, we d eal w ith tw o im p o rta n t s p e c tra
w h ich m ay b e re fe rre d to , fo r b revity, as c a u s e / p u r p o s e a n d m e a n s /
a g e n t i v e . I n p a rt, o u r r e a s o n fo r p u ttin g various m ea n in g s u n d e r a single
h ead in g is th a t som e o f th e m h av e, as a lin k in g e lem en t, asso c iatio n w ith
p a rtic u la r p re p o sitio n s a n d wA -words: fo r an d w hy a n d how in th e case o f
cau se/p u rp o se, a n d w ith a n d h ow in th e case o f m ea n s/ag e n tiv e . H e re a re th e
tw o ran g es w ith a n illu s tra tio n o f e a c h m e a n in g :
TH E CA U SE/PU R PO SE S PE C T R U M (9 .4 4 -4 7 )
C au se (9.44): S h e lo st h e r jo b because o f her age.
R easo n (9.44): H e w a s fined fo r drunken driving.
M o tiv e (9.44): S h e d id it o ut o f kindness.
P u rp o se (9.45): E v ery o n e ra n fo r shelter.
D e stin atio n (9.45): I ’m leaving_/or Seattle.
T a rg e t (9.46): T h is novel is aim ed a t a you n g audience.
TH E M EA NS/A G EN TIV E S PE C T R U M (9 .4 8 -5 1 )
M a n n e r (9.48): S h e p e rfo rm e d th e o p e ratio n with g re a t skill.
M ean s (9.49): T h e y left b y plane.
In stru m e n t (9.49): S h e trie d to op en th e lock with a knife.
A g en tiv e (9.50): T h e y w ere n o ticed by no one.
Stim ulus (9.51): I ’m asto n ish ed a t your reaction.
Th e cause/purpose spectrum
C ause, reason, m otive: because o f, on account o f, fo r , fr o m , etc

9.44 A t o n e en d o f th e c a u s e /p u rp o se sp ectru m , we h av e p re p o sitio n s ex p ressin g
eith e r th e m aterial c au se o r th e psychological cause (m o tiv e) fo r a h ap p en in g .
P h rases o f cause, re aso n , a n d m o tiv e answ er th e q u e stio n W h y . . . ? Som e
e x am p les:
W e h a d to d riv e slow ly because o f the heavy rain.

On account o f his wide experience, he w as m ad e c h a irm a n .
T h e survivors w ere w eak fro m exposure a n d lack o ffo o d .

S o m e su p p o rt ch aritie s out o f du ty, som e out o f a sense o fg u ilt.
I h id the m oney, fo r fe a r o f what m y parents would say.
T h e plane w a s destro y ed through the pilot's carelessness.
O n acco u n t o f is a m o re fo rm al a lte rn a tiv e to because o f as a n e x p ressio n o f

c a u s e o r reason. O ut o f a n d f o r are m ain ly restricted to th e e x p ressio n o f
m o tiv e , ie psychological c a u s e : out o f gratitude/kindness, etc.
F o r is found w ith a relativ ely sm all n u m b er o f expressions, eg:
f o r fearjlovejjoyjsorrow
H e offered to fix m y s i n k / o r ^ ' ^ ^ 0 ™ ^ A m E >
P u rp o s e , intended destination: f o r
9.45 F o r i s u s e d to e x p r e s s p u r p o s e in th e fo llo w in g e x a m p le s :
H e ’ll do a n y th in g ^ b r money.
E v ery o n e r a n fo r shelter.
F o r the journey, th ey p a ck e d th ree larg e p icn ic b ask ets o f food.
In t h is use o f fo r , th ere is a c o rre sp o n d in g p a ra p h ra se w ith a c la u se (in order)

to ( c f 15.48):
f o r m oney = in order to gain m oney
f o r shelter = in order to reach sh elter
T o express i n t e n d e d d e s t i n F t i o n , fo r is u sed w ith v erb s su ch a s run, start,

head, leave, a n d s e t out. F o r ex am p le:
H e set o u t f o r London.
W ith to-phrases, th e a ssu m p tio n is th a t th e d e stin a tio n w ill b e reach ed .

C o m p are :
He | | London. Is th is the train j y ^ j London ?
P h ra se s o f p u rp o se o r d e s tin a tio n an sw er th e q u estio n s W hy . . . ?, W h a t . . .

fo r? , Where . . . fo r? , o r W ho . . .fo r ? T h ey o ccu r as p o stm o d ifiers [1], as well
as a d ju n cts [2], a n d c o m p le m e n ts in c o p u lar clauses [ 3 -4 ]:
T h e scenery f o r the p la y is sp len d id . [1]

S h e cam e f o r the p la y. [2]
T h is p re sen t is fo r you. [3]
T h is m ach in e is f o r washing dishes. [4]
N o te N o te th e difference in m e an in g betw e en fo r fu n an d in f u n :
H e d id it fo r fu n . [‘w ith th e o b je c t o f g ettin g am u se m en t’]
H e said it in fu n . [‘jo k in g ly ’, ‘in je s t’]
R ecipient, goal, ta r g e t:/o r , to, a t

9 .4 6 W h e n fo r is follow ed b y n o u n p h ra ses d en o tin g p erso n s o r a n im a ls, th e
m ea n in g is ra th e r o n e o f i n t e n d e d r e c i p i e n t :
H e la id a tr a p f o r his enemies. [ 1]
S h e m a d e a b eau tifu l doll fo r her daughter. [2]
H e c o o k ed a d in n e r fo r her. [3]
D e n o tin g in te n d e d re cip ien t (her d a u g h te r m ay o r m ay n o t have a c tu a lly

received th e doll), the_/or-phrase can o ften b e e q u ated w ith a n in d ire ct o b je c t
(c/1 0 .7 , 16.56):
S he m a d e her daughter a b eau tifu l doll. [2a]
H e c o o k e d her a d in n er. [3 a]
In c o n tra s t to th e n o tio n o f in te n d e d re c ip ie n t ex p ressed by fo r , th e

p re p o sitio n to e x p resses F c t u F l r e c i p i e n t in sen ten ces su ch as:
S he g a v e a b e au tifu l doll to her daughter.
H e re a g a in , th e re is o ften a re la tio n sh ip w ith th e in d ire c t o b ject c o n s tr u c tio n :
f gave) ( gave)
I < le n t > th e b o o k to m y friend. ~ I < le n t > m y fr ie n d th e book.
[so ld J [so ld J
But n o t, fo r e x a m p le :
I d e liv e re d th e b o o k to m y frien d . ~ *1 d eliv ered m y frie n d th e b o o k .
A t, in c o m b in a tio n s s u c h a s aim a t ( w h e re th e p r e p o s itio n a l p h r a s e is

c o m p le m e n ta r y to t h e v e rb ), e x p re ss e s i n t e n d e d g o F l o r t F r g e t :
A fte r a im ing carefully a t th e b ird , he m issed it com pletely. [4]

A v icio u s d o g w as snapping a t h e r an k les. [5]
S h e sm ile d a t m e. [6]
A s se n ten c e [4] show s, th e in te n d e d goal n e ed n o t b e ach iev ed . A c o n tr a s t in

m an y c ases ( k ic k a t, charge at, bite at, catch at, shoot at, chew at) m a y b e
d ra w n b e tw e e n th is use o f at, in w h ich som e id e a o f ‘aim ’ is im p lied , a n d th e
d irec t o b je c t co n stru ctio n , w hich in d ic a te s a tta in m e n t o f th e g o a l o r
c o n su m m a tio n o f th e actio n as p lan n ed . S h e shot a t him m ean s so m e th in g
very d iffere n t fro m S h e shot him: to th e first o n e could a d d ‘b u t m issed h im ’,
w h ereas o n e co u ld n o t to th e second. I n o th e r cases, w here th e v e rb is
in tra n sitiv e , to m u st be used if th e a tta in m e n t o f th e goal is to be s tre s s e d :
She ra n a t m e. [denotes h o stility : ‘a tta c k e d ’]

She ra n to m e. [denotes m o v em en t to a goal]
S im ila rly : p o in t a tjto , throw a t/to
N o te [a] T h e re is a c o m p a ra b le differe nce betw een at a n d to w h e n co m b in ed w ith verbs o f sp e a k in g

such as ro ar, bel l ow , shout, m utter, grow l . Sen ten ce [7] suggests th a t I am b ein g tre a te d m e re ly as
a ta rg e t (eg o f ab u se), w hile [8] im plies th a t th e sh o u te r is co m m u n ic atin g w ith m e, i e th a t I a m
th e re c ip ie n t o f th e m e ss a g e :
H e sh out ed a t m e. [7]
H e sh ou ted to me. [8]
A t h ere usually suggests hostility. Sim ilarly, l augh at in d ic a te s h ostility [9], unless th e o b je c t is
so m eth in g in te n d e d to pro v o k e la u g h ter, su ch as a jo k e [10]:
T h e y f i r st l aug hed a t us. [9]
T h e y l au gh ed hear ti l y at ou r jo k es. [ 10]
[b] W i th w ork + ta r g e t th e p re p o sitio n is on in A m E b u t e ith e r on o r a t in B r E :
S h e is w orking j ° " < B rE only> ] h e r new play.
S o u rc e , origin-, f r o m
9.47 T h e c o n v e rse o f to [‘g o a l’] is fro m [‘source’] (c/1 8 ,3 1 N o te ):
B ill le n t th e b o o k to m e. ~ I borrow ed th e b o o k fr o m Bill.
F ro m is also u se d w ith referen ce to ‘place o f o rig in ’ :
H e co m es fr o m Scotland/Glasgow. [‘H e is a S c o t/a G la sw e g ia n .’]
T h is ty p e o f p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se occurs n o t o nly a s a n a d ju n c t, b u t also a s a

c o m p le m e n t in c o p u la r clauses [1] a n d as a p o stm o d ifier [2]:
I ’m fr o m M a d rid . [1]
T h is is a frie n d o f m in e fr o m London. [2]
Th e means/agentive spectrum
M a n n e r: i n . . . m anner, lik e , with

9.48 M a n n e r c a n b e e x p ressed by i n . . . manner a n d with. F o r e x a m p le :
T h e jo b w as d o n e in a w o r k m a n lik e m a n n e r .
W e w ere re ce iv e d w i t h th e u tm o s t c o u r te s y .
W ith tra n s itiv e o r in tra n sitiv e verbs, lik e c a n h a v e th e m e a n in g o f ‘in a

m a n n e r re se m b lin g ’; w ith co p u lar verbs, its m ea n in g is p u re ly th a t o f
‘re se m b la n c e ’:
T h e a rm y s w e p t th ro u g h th e city li k e a p e s t il e n c e .
L ife is lik e 'a dream . ■
T h is m e a n in g Of ‘resem b lan c e ’ is co m m o n w ith d isju n cts ( c f 8 .1 2 1 // in

se n ten c es w h o se m a in v e rb m ay be n o n co p u lar. C o n tra s t:
B ill w rites p o e try l i k e h is BR O TH er. [‘in a m a n n e r re sem b lin g th a t o f his

b ro th e r’s p o e try ’]
L ik e his B R b rn er, Bill w rites P d E T ry . 1 . ,, ,
[[resem b lan ce]
B u i w r ite s POETry, l i k e h is B R O TH er. J
T h e la s t p a ir o f e x am p les sh o w th a t the d ifferen ce in m e a n in g is n o t e n tire ly
a m a tte r o f o rd erin g .
U nlike is u sed w ith th e m ea n in g o f n e g ativ e resem b lan ce ‘n o t lik e ’:
f U nlike his brother (w ho w rites p oetry), Bill w rites science fiction.

1 Bill w rites sc ien c e fiction, u n lik e h is b r o t h e r (w ho w rites poetry).
A s d is tin c t fro m like, th e p rep o sitio n a n d c o n ju n c tio n a s re fe rs to a c tu a l

role (c /9 .4 ):
T h ere is freq u en tly c o m m u ta b ility b etw een m an n e r p h ra se s a n d m a n n e r

a d v erb s: with courtesy ~ courteously. M a n n e r p h rases a n d m a n n e r a d v e rb s
c a n b o th so m etim es b e ev o k ed by th e q u estio n H ow . . . ?, esp ecially if th e
sen se o f ‘m ea n s’ is excluded b y t h e co n te x t o r th e m ean in g o f th e v e rb :
competently,
A : H ow d id sh e s p e a k ? B : S h e spoke
with great skill.
B y air.
| u t : A : H o w d id you tra v e l? B:
*Comfortably.
M e a n s and instrum ent: b y , w ith, w ithout

9.49 P h ra se s o f m ea n s a n d in s tru m e n t a n sw e r th e q u estio n H o w . . . ? B y c a n
ex p ress th e m ean in g ‘by m e a n s o f ’ (n o te th e o m ission o f th e a rtic le ; c /5 .4 5 ) :
I usually g o to w o rk b y bus)train/car/boat, [m ode o f tra n s p o rt]

C o m m u n icatio n to o k p lac e b y letter/telex/radio/post <BrE)/m az7
< A m E ) . [m ean s o f co m m u n ica tio n ]
T h e th ie f m u st h a v e e n te re d a n d left th e house b y ( = through) the b a c k
door.
B y working the pum ps, w e k e p t th e ship afloat for a n o th e r 40 h ours.
W ith, o n th e o th e r h a n d , e x p resses in stru m e n tal m ea n in g ( c /9 .5 0 ) :
Som eone h a d b ro k e n th e w in d o w with a stone. [1]

H e c au g h t th e b all with his left hand. [2]
T h e re is a co rresp o n d en ce b e tw e e n sen ten ces [1 -2 ] (w h ic h n o rm ally re q u ire

a h u m an subject a n d a d ire c t o b jec t) an d sentences [ l a - 2 a ] c o n ta in in g th e
v e rb use + a p h ra se w ith {in order) to + in fin itiv e:
Som eone h ad u sed a stone to b re a k th e w indow . [ 1a]

H e used his left hand to c a tc h th e ball. [2a]
T h ere is also a n a lte rn a tiv e c o n stru c tio n in w hich th e n o u n p h ra se d e n o tin g

th e in stru m e n t becom es th e su b je ct (o n ‘in stru m e n tal’ su b jects, c/1 0 .2 1 ):
A stone h a d b ro k e n th e w in d o w . [ 1b]
H is left hand cau g h t th e b all. [2b]
F o r m ost senses o f w ith, in c lu d in g th a t o f in stru m en t, w ithout ex p resses th e

eq u iv a len t n eg ativ e m e a n in g :
I d rew it without (using) a ruler. [‘I d id n o t d raw it w ith a ru le r.’]
N o te [a] M ode o f tra n sp o rt is expressed b y on as w ell as by: on the bus/the trainla ship/a plane. T h e se
a re n o t purely lo cative p h rases - lo c a tio n in su ch cases w ould be ex p ressed b y in ra th e r th a n on
( c / 9 .1 6 /) - but ra th e r in d ic a te a c o n d itio n o f bein g ‘in tra n sit'. C o m p a re se n te n ces [3 - 6 ] :
I go to w ork on the bus. [3]
I go to w o rk by bus. [4]
I m e t P e te r on the bus. [5]
*1 m e t P ete r by bus. K1
S e n te n c e [3] is a less co m m o n alte rn a tiv e to [4]; b u t alth o u g h on e ca n say [5], o n e c a n n o t say [6J.
A b s e n c e o f th e a rtic le is norm al w ith th e unm o d ified n o u n p h ra se after by , b u t n o t o b lig a to ry :
I t ’s ea sie r to go to to w n by the bus (ra th e r th a n by th e trai n).
O n is u s e d in ste a d o f by in th e p h rases on f o o t , on horseback . N o tic e th e ab sen ce o f th e article in
th e s e p h r a s e s , a s w ell as in by bus, etc (c f 5.45). M odificatio n o f th e noun p h ra se is n o t allow ed
a f t e r b y u n less a d e te rm in e r is a d d e d :
the l ast bus
{ the 2 o ’cl ock bus

*} ast bus
[b] O f is u sed w ith th e verb di e in H e di ed o f hun ger , etc. T h is m e an in g is p oised b e tw e e n ‘c a u se’

a n d ‘m e a n s ’ : o n th e o n e h a n d , o n e sp eak s o f th e ‘c a u se o f d e a th ’ (cf : H e di ed f r o m ex posure)', on
th e o t h e r h a n d , th is ty p e o f p h rase w ould b e e v o k e d b y th e q u estio n H ow d i d he di e ? (o r W hat
d i d h e d i e o f ?) r a t h e r th a n W hy d i d he di e ?
In s tru m e n t an d agentive: w ith, b y

9,50 I n 9 .4 9 w e h a d th e follow ing e x am p le [1], w h ere with expresses th e m ea n in g
o f INSTRUMENT:
S o m e o n e h a d b ro k e n th e w in d o w with a stone. [1]
W e sa w th a t [1] h a s co rresp o n d en ces w ith sen ten ces [la ] a n d [ lb ]:
S o m e o n e used a sto n e to b re a k th e w in d o w . [1 a]
A s to n e h a d b ro k e n th e w in d o w . [Ib J
S e n te n c e [1] is also re la te d to th e p a ssiv e se n ten ce [ l c ] :
T h e w in d o w h a d b een b ro k e n w ith a sto n e by someone. [lc]
I n t h e p a ssiv e sen ten ce, th e a g e n t i v e is ex p ressed w ith a b y -p h rase ( c f 3.65):

b y som eone. H o w ev er, in m o st p assiv e sen ten ces, th e a g e n t b y -p h rase is
a c tu a lly o m itte d , as in [ 1d ] :
T h e w in d o w h a d b e en b ro k e n w ith a stone. [ 1d]
I n a p a ssiv e sen ten ce lik e [lc], th e b y -ag en t h a s th e ag en tiv e ro le (c /1 0 .1 9 ),

c o rre s p o n d in g to th e ag en tiv e ro le o f th e su b ject in a n a ctiv e se n ten c e [1].
T h e a g e n tiv e is th e in itia tin g cau se a n d ty p ically a n im a te , u su ally p e rso n al,
as a ls o in : 1 '
f A passing stranger o b se rv ed us. [2]

| W e w ere o b serv ed by a passing stranger. [2a]
H o w e v e r, w e m ay also find in a n im a te by-phrases, as in [3a]:
f F ro st h as ru in ed th e cro p s. [3]
[ T h e c ro p s h a v e b e en ru in e d by fr o s t. [3a]
I n c a s e s lik e [Id ], th e in stru m e n t c a n also b e expressed w ith a b y -p h rase:
T h e w in d o w h a d b e en b ro k e n by a stone. [le]
E ith e r o f th e sentences [Id ] a n d [ le ] co u ld d escrib e th e sam e in c id e n t, b u t

th e r e c a n b e a difference in m ea n in g , a s a p p e a rs m o re clearly in th e follow ing
tw o se n te n c e s :
, ,, , , f b y the branch o f a tree. [4]

M y c a r h a d b een d a m a g e d \ * ith ^ braJ o f a tree [4a]
B y in [4] w ould ex clu d e a h u m an agency: a sto rm m ay h a v e caused th e

b ra n c h to cau se th e d am ag e. By c o n trast, with in [4a] w ould exclude t h e
n a tu ra l cau se a n d w o u ld suggest th a t h u m an a g en ts h a d used th e b ra n c h
b ro k e n fro m a tre e to in flict th e d am age.
W e th u s m a k e a d istin c tio n b etw een a g e n t i v e , ie th e a n im a te b e in g
in stig a tin g o r c au sin g th e h ap p en in g d en o ted by th e v erb , and t h e
i n s t r u m e n t , ie th e e n tity (generally in an im ate) w h ich a n ag en tiv e uses to
p e rfo rm o r in stig a te a process. B o th agentive a n d in stru m e n t m ay be said to
d en o te th e se m a n tic ro le o f a g e n c y .
T h e b y -p h rase also o ccu rs as a postm odifier to d e n o te a u th o rs h ip (c /1 7 .4 6
N o te [c]):
a p ictu re b y D egas [‘p a in te d by D eg as’] [5]
a n o v el b y T olstoy [‘w ritte n by T olstoy’] [6]
a five-year-old h o rse b y Willwin out o f L a d y Barle
[p a re n ta g e o f a horse] [7]
Through im p lies in te rm ed iac y in :

T h ey a re re la te d through their grandm other.
T h e p re s id e n ts h a d to c o m m u n icate through an interpreter.
through J esu s C hrist O ur L ord [used as a fo rm u la a t th e en d o f a p ray er]
N o te [a] O n e reaso n w hy w e d is tin g u ish ‘in stru m en t’ a n d ‘a g e n tiv e’ is th a t th e y c a n n o t b e co o rd in a te d ,

o r co llapsed, b y c o o rd in a tio n , in to a single prep o sitio n al p h ra se (c/1 3 .4 0 ):
*H e w as killed b y a m a n a n d (by) an arrow.
I f h o w ev er d iffe re n t processes a re involved, c o o rd in atio n is possible, th o u g h w ith an effec t
sim ilar to th a t o f ze u g m a ( c f 13.87):
T h e a r e a w as ra v a g e d by flo o d s and by guerilla forces.
[b] O u tsid e th e p a ssiv e clau se p ro p e r, ag e n tiv e a n d in stru m en ta l hy-phrases c a n occur a fte r -e d
p artic ip ia l ad jectiv es w ith passiv e m ean in g ( c f i.lA ff) :
I w as v e ry a la r m e d b y the new s he bro u g h t. [8]
T h e ch ild w as unw anted by its parents. [9]
H is serv ices to th e co m m u n ity h ave n o t gone unnoticed b y those who have benefited. [ 10]
T h e in ten sifier very in [8], th e prefix un- in [9] a n d [10], a n d th e co p u la r u se o f go in [10] (c/1 6 .2 1 )
a re in d ic a to rs o f th e ad je c tiv a l statu s o f th e p articip le (7.1 S ff).
[c] T h e h y -p h rase m a y in d ic a te eith e r ‘m e an s’ o r ‘in stru m en t’ in a sen te n ce su ch a s :
T h e n ew s w as co n firm ed b y a telegram , [either ‘S om eone confirm ed it by m eans o f a
te le g ra m ’ o r 'A te le g ra m confirm ed it’]
S ince th e in s tru m e n ta l sense is tie d to a p assive clause, o nly th e ‘m e an s’ in te rp re ta tio n is p o ssib le
in an a c tiv e c la u se :
T h e new s c a m e b y (a) telegram .
S tim u lu s : at
9.51 T h e re la tio n b e tw e e n a n em o tio n a n d its stim u lu s (n o rm ally a n a b s tra c t
stim ulus) c a n o fte n be expressed b y a t o r by th e in stru m e n tal b y (c /9 .5 0 ):
I w as a la rm e d his behaviour. [1]
B o th o f th e s e c a n b e tre a te d a s p assiv e e q u iv alen ts of:
H is b e h a v io u r a la rm e d m e. [ la ]
T h e n o u n p h ra se follow ing a t m ay b e tre a te d as a sem i-ag en t. F u rth e r

ex em p lificatio n o f th is use o f a t is g iven in 9.63 a n d 16.69.
T h e id ea o f ‘stim u lu s’ is som etim es ex p ressed by o th er p rep o sitio n s, in

p la c e o f at, w h ic h fu n ctio n as sem i-agents ( c /3 .7 6 ) :
I ’m worried about this. ['T h is w orries m e .’]

H e ’s interested in history. [‘H isto ry in te rests h im .’]
H is p la n s w ere known to everyone. [‘E v ery o n e k new his p la n s .’]
N o te In B rE , w ith ra th e r th a n at is u sed w hen th e stim ulus is a perso n o r ob ject ra th e r th a n a n e v e n t:

I w a s fu rio u s w ith J o h n .
I w a s d elighte d with th e present.
B u t in A m E , a t is qu ite u s u a l:
I w a s fu rious/angryfliv idjm ad or C h ristine.
W ith a b s tr a c t n o u n s, a t is eq u ally accep tab le in B rE a n d A m E :
I w a s fu r io u s a t C h ristin e ’s behaviour.
A t h a s a co m m o n alte rn a tiv e in about: annoyed at/about, pleased atjabout, etc. (C f fu rth e r .
e x a m p le s in 16.69.)
A c c o m p a n im e n t: w ith
9.52 E s p e c ia lly w h e n follow ed by a n a n im a te co m p le m e n t, with h as th e m e a n in g
‘in c o m p a n y w ith ’ o r ‘to g eth er w ith ’ (co m itativ e fu n ctio n ):
I ’m so g lad you’re c om ing with us. [1]

J a c k , ( together ) with several o f his noisy frien d s, w as d rin k in g till
a fte r 2 in th e m o rn in g . [2]
In [2], th e w h/i-phrase serves a fu n ctio n v ery close to c o o rd in atio n w ith and.

N o te h o w e v e r th a t, u n lik e and, with h a s a sin g u lar v e rb (c/13.103):
J a c k a n d several o f h is noisy frien d s w e r e . . . [2a]
A n e x a m p le o f h p h ra se o f a cc o m p a n im e n t o c c u rrin g as po stm o d ifier i s :
C u r r y w ith rice is m y fav o u rite dish.
I n th is sense, as in m o st o th e r senses (b u t < /9 .5 3 ), w ithout is th e n e g ativ e o f

with (ie ‘u n a cc o m p a n ied b y ’):
Y o u n e v e r see h im without his dog.

S h e w as without her children.
W ith o u t you, I ’m n o t going.
W ith is also used to exp ress ‘a cc o m p an y in g circ u m stan c es’, as in [3], a n d

to in tro d u c e a subject ( c /9 .5 5 ,14 .1 5 # ), as in [4]:
W ith a ll the ftoise, sh e w as finding it h a rd to c o n cen trate. [3]

I t a ll s ta rte d with John('s ) being late fo r d in n er. [4]
In b o th th ese uses, with im p lies cau se: [3] ‘B ecau se o f all th e n o is e . . . ’; [4] ‘I t
all s ta r te d as a resu lt o f J o h n (’s) b ein g l a t e . . . ’.
S u p p o rt and o pposition: for, w ith , a gain st

9.53 F or c o n v e y s th e id ea o f su p p o rt [‘in fa v o u r o f ’] a n d with th a t o f so lid arity o r
m o v e m e n t in s y m p a th y :
A r e you fo r or against the p l a n 'll D o you s u p p o rt o r o p p o se th e p la n ? ’]

R e m e m b e r th a t ev ery o n e o f us is with y o u . [‘o n y o u r sid e’]
Prepositional meanings 703
In th is use, th e re is n o n eg ativ e without co n tra stin g w ith with. T h e c o n tra ry

idea o f o p p o sitio n is c o n v ey ed by against:
It is p ru d e n t to g o with ra th e r th a n against the tid e o f public opinion.

th e m o v em e n t against nuclear arm s [‘a n ti-n u c le a r’; c f prefixes o f
a ttitu d e , A p p 1.25]
H ow ever, with co n v ey s th e id ea o f o p p o sitio n b e tw ee n p eo p le in fig h t with,

quarrel with, argue w ith, etc. C o m p are :
T h e verb fig h t is u sed w ith th e prep o sitio n with to d e n o te o p p o sitio n in fig h t

with somebody, w h ic h c a n m ean fig h t som ebody ( c f 9 .31) o r fig h t against
som ebody, h o w ev er, w ith in fig h t with X against Y d e n o te s s u p p o rt [‘o n X ’s
sid e’]. B u t th e re is n o p re p o sitio n a l fo rm i n ;fig h t a b a d cause, fig h t an illness.
P lay can be c o n stru c te d in tw o w ays, a s i n :
Other prepositional meanings
V arious relations in d icated by o f

9.54 T h e m ost co m m o n p re p o sitio n , of, occurs chiefly a s a p o stm o d ifier in n o u n
p h rases in a fu n c tio n sim ila r to th a t o f th e g en itiv e ( c /5 . 1 1 5 # ), e g :
th e g rav ity o f the earth ~ the earth’s gravity
T h e c o rresp o n d en ce b e tw ee n th e gen itiv e a n d th e o /c o n s tr u c tio n is m o st

con v en ien tly d iscu ssed in th e c h a p te r d ealing w ith th e n o u n p h ra se (1 7 .3 8 # ).
H ow ever, p o stm o d ify in g o /-p h rases also h av e a w id e ra n g e o f o th e r uses
(c /5 .6 # ), eg:
(a) p a rt o f th e c ity [partition]

a kin d o f w o o d [quality]
a lot o f p eo p le [quantity]
H ere are som e m o re e x am p les w ith o /p h r a s e s ;
th e cou rag e o f the m an [‘th e cou rag e th a t th e m a n sh o w s’]

a ty p ew riter o f m y fa th e r's [‘a ty p ew riter th a t m y fa th e r h a s’]
the envy o f the w orld [‘th e en v y th a t the w orld feels’]
th e tria l o f the conspirators [‘th e tria l th a t th e c o n sp ira to rs fa c e ’]
th e v irtu e o f th rift [‘th e v irtu e th a t consists in t h r if t’]
a flock o f sheep [‘a flock th a t is m ad e up o f s h e e p ’]
a glass o f w ater [‘a g lass th a t c o n tain s w a ter’]
seven o f m y frie n d s [‘seven fro m am ong m y frie n d s ’]
people o f the M id d le A g es [‘people w ho lived in th e M id d le A ges’]
th e house o f m y dream s [‘th e house w hich I see in m y d re a m s ’]
th e C ollege o f Surgeons [‘th e college to w h ich su rg e o n s b e lo n g ’]
a b o a t o f fibreglass [‘a b o a t m ad e o f fibreglass’J
‘H a v in g ’: o f, w ith, w ithout
9 .55 T h e m e a n in g o f [1] is re la te d to all th e n o u n p h rases [ la - d ] :
T h e m a n h a s courage, [1]
th e m a n h a v in g co u rag e [la ]
th e m a n ’s c o u rag e [lb ]
th e c o u rag e o f th e m a n [lc ]
a m a n o f co u rag e [Id ]
B o th [lc ] a n d [Id ] h a v e p o stm o d ify in g o/-phrases. T h ey d iffer in th a t th e

h e a d o f [lc ] ( the courage) is th e n o tio n al object, w h ereas th e h e a d o f [Id ] ( the
m an ) is th e n o tio n a l su b ject. I n th e la tte r type o f co n stru ctio n , o / i s lim ite d to
th e e x p re ss io n o f a b s tra c t a ttrib u te s, as i n :
a p ia n is t o f g re a t talent [‘a very tale n te d p ia n is t’]

a p e rfo rm a n c e o f distinction [‘a d istin g u ish ed p e rfo rm a n c e ’]
T h e n o tio n o f ‘h a v in g ’ is m o re generally expressed b y with, esp ecially w ith

c o n c re te a ttrib u te s :
a m a n with a red nose [‘w h o h as a red n o se’; ‘a red -n o sed m a n ’]

a n in d u stria lis t w ith a house on the C osta Brava [‘w h o h a s a h o u s e . . . ’]
a w o m a n w ith a large fa m ily
a b o x with a carved lid
C o m p a re th e follow ing c o n s tru c tio n s : [2] c an h a v e e ith e r o f o r with, b u t only

with is g en erally a c c e p te d in [3]:
ract] [2]
[3]
T h e n e g a tiv e o f w ith is w ithout ( c f 9 . 52):
a p la y w ithout a n y fa u lts [‘a p lay w ith n o fau lts’]

w o m e n w ithout children [‘childless w om en’]
th e house w ithout a porch [‘. . . w h ich h as n o p o rc h ’]
T h e c o rre sp o n d e n c e b e tw ee n p h ra ses w ith with o r w ithout a n d relativ e

cla u se s w ith have a p p lie s also to to re-e x iste n tia l sen ten ces (c /1 8 .5 4 ):
th e girl who has a boyfriend in the navy

~ th e girl with a b oyfriend in the navy
W ith a n d without c a n also in tro d u c e a n o n fin ite o r v erb less clau se as

p o stm o d ifier in a n o u n p h ra s e :
th e facto ry with its sm o kin g chim ney

a ro o m with its door open
F u rth e rm o re , th e y c a n in tro d u c e fin ite a n d verbless clauses as a d v e rb ia l:
H e w a n d ere d in w ithout shoes or socks on.

W ith so m a n y essays to write, I w o n ’t have tim e to go o u t to n ig h t.
T h e fu ller clau sal e q u iv a len t is a p a rtic ip ia l a d v erb ial clau se e x p re ss in g

c o n tin g en cy ( c f 15.46):
H aving so m a n y essays to write, I w o n ’t h av e tim e to go o u t to n ig h t.
S in ce with a n d w ithout in th ese fu n ctio n s in tro d u ce clauses, th e y a re

su b o rd in a to rs, n o t p rep o sitio n s. T h e n o n fin ite clause m ay also b e a to-
in fin itiv e. C o m p are :
W ith M a ry being aw ay
W ith no one to ta lk to
W ith M a ry aw ay • J o h n felt m iserable.
W ith the house em pty
W ithout anyone to ta lk to.
I n th is c o n stru ctio n ,1with an d w ithout re q u ire a n o u n p h ra se (n o t n e c e ssa rily

a su b ject):
* W ith being a w a y . . .
T h is is a fu rth e r in d ic a tio n th a t th ey fu n c tio n here n o t as p re p o sitio n s b u t a s

su b o rd in a to rs ( c f 14.15). P re p o sitio n s c a n have -ing clauses b u t n o t to-
in fin itiv e clauses a s c o m p lem en t (c /9 .2 ):
On arriving 1 to o k a taxi.
*O n to arrive J
T h e c la u se-in tro d u cin g fu n ctio n o f with a n d w ithout is sim ilar to th a t o f f o r in

c ases lik e th e follow ing (c /1 4 .6 ):
I b o u g h t a c a r f o r M a ry to drive to w ork in.
A t th e sam e tim e , w e m u st reco g n ize a re la tio n sh ip b etw een th e ir u ses a s

co n ju n c tio n a n d p rep o sitio n . C o m p a r e :
W ith M a ry I alw ays feel h ap p y .

W ithout M a ry I alw ays feel m iserab le.
I b o u g h t a c a r fo r M a ry (so t h a t she could d riv e to w o rk in it).
N o te I n th is g ro u p , w i thout h as tw o m e an in g s: (a) ‘n o t w ith ’ an d (b) ‘o u tsid e’ :

(a) T h e y w o rk b o th w i th an d w i thout assi stance fro m me.
(b) T h e y o p e ra te b o th l^ e organi zati on.
N o te , h o w ev er, th a t th e re is a n im b ala n ce in th a t w i thout in th e second sense c a n b e u sed o n ly

w h e n co o rd in ated w ith w i thi n:
(a ) T h e y w ork j assi stance fro m m e.
(b) T h e y o p e ra te | ^ th^ \ the organi zati on.
C oncession: in spite o f, despite, f o r all, with all, etc

9.56 In spite o f is a g en eral-p u rp o se p re p o sitio n o f concession; despite is r a th e r
m o re fo rm al:
I a d m ire h im , in spite o f his fa u lts .

D e sp ite strong pressure fro m the governm ent, th e u n io n s h av e refused to

o r d e r a r e tu rn to w ork.
W ith a ll a n d fo r all ‘d e sp ite ’ are m o re co llo q u ial an d ra th e r re stric te d in

th e ir u s e :
W i th 1
r 1 a ll his boasting and ostentatious training, he w as k n o ck ed o u t
in t h e first round.
I n c o n c e ssiv e use, a ll m u st be p resen t a fte r b o th p re p o sitio n s: with all a n d f o r

all. I n c a u s a l use, a ll is o p tio n a l: with o r with all. C o m p a re :
For n o ' se * m an a Sec*to g et so m e sleep, [co n cessiv e: ‘in sp ite o f ’]
W ith a ll 1
th is noise, I c o u ld n ’t sleep, [cau sal: ‘becau se o f ]
W ith J
N o tw ith sta n d in g [‘in spite o f ’] is fo rm al a n d ra th e r legalistic in style,

p a rtic u la rly w h e n p o stp o se d :
T h o m a s C a rl le J notw^ standing Ms tedious rhetoric, )

* ’ 1/hs tedious rhetoric notw ithstanding , J
is a m a s te r o f th e sublim e in p ro se style.
C o m p a r e th e a d v erb ial use o f notw ithstanding, as in :
N o tw ith sta n d in g , th e case m u st b e p ro secu ted , [‘n o tw ith sta n d in g a n y

c o n d itio n s ’]
R esp ect: w ith reference to, with regard to, as f o r , etc

9.57 Som e o f th e p re p o sitio n s d en o tin g resp ect a re used in ra th e r fo rm al c o n tex ts,
ty p ic a lly b u sin e ss letters, eg:
W ith reference to [less u s u a l: In reference to] your letterlreguestlenquiry o f

A p ril 29th, I confirm m y D irecto rs’ a g ree m e n t to a d v an c e a fu rth e r
su m o f £2000. (fo rm a l)
W ith regard 'to the date o f d e livery . . . [less u s u a l: / « regard to o r R e / r i : / ;
ty p ic a lly in tro d u c in g a secondary o r te rtia ry to p ic in su ch a letter]
R e fu n c tio n s lik e with regard to b u t is m o re c o m m o n in n o tes th a n in fo rm al

letters, e g :
R e y o u r i d e i o f ex ten d in g th e c a n te e n . . .
O th e r p re p o s itio n s w ith in th e sam e g en eral a re a o f m ea n in g are regarding,

with respect to, in respect of, respecting, on the m a tter of, about, concerning, as
to (c f s u b je c t m a tte r , 9.60).
A s to fu n c tio n s lik e with regard to, as regards, e t c :
A s to the question you raise in your last letter, I th in k t h a t . . .
A s to is a lso u sed in th e sense o f according to, eg: correct as to size a n d colour.

A s f o r , o n th e o th e r h an d , in tro d u ces a to p ic tran sitio n , so it c a n n o t
n o rm ally o c cu r a t the beg in n in g o f a d isco u rse. I t h as th e m ea n in g o f
‘re tu rn in g to th e q u e stio n o f ’, a n d is less fo rm al th a n th e o th e r c o m p lex

p rep o sitio n s d e n o tin g r e s p e c t:
W e h a d a d elig h tfu l w eek en d in th e country. A s fo r the traffic, w e h ad

no difficulty.
T h ere is a p re d isp o sitio n fo r in itial a sfo r to in d ic a te a c o n te m p tu o u s a ttitu d e :
A s fo r his book, I su p p o se you’ve read th e re v ie w s!
T h ere are a n u m b e r o f m arg in al p rep o sitio n s th a t h a v e affin ities w ith v e rb s

w h ich belong h e re : concerning, regarding, a n d touching { fo rm a l) (c /9 .8 ), eg:
Concerning the recent proposal by the chairperson, I su g g est w e . . .
Considering is u sed lik e in view o / [ ‘tak in g in to c o n sid e ra tio n ’], o fte n ‘if o n e
tak e s in to acco u n t th e 'r a th e r su rp risin g fa ct th a t’:
Considering th e jo b situation, th e re w ere su rp risin g ly few a p p lic a tio n s

th is year.
P rep o sitio n al p h ra s e s a s ad v erb ials d en o tin g re sp ec t a re ch iefly used as
H a s th e c a n d id a te ex p ressed an opinion -I a^ o ut , I• legal

leg al a b o rtio n ?
r cconcerning
n n rp rn m p
with regard to
W e a w ait y o u r decision as to whether th ese re p a irs a re to b e c a rrie d o u t
im m ediately.
N o te T h e use o f irregardless (o f ) fo r regardless (o f ) is w idespread, esp ecially in A m E , b u t is c o n sid e red

n o n sta n d a rd b y m o st p eo p le. I t a p p e a rs to b e t h e resu l t o f a co n f u si o n b etw e en regardless a n d
irrespective, o r p e rh a p s a c h o ic e o f a d ouble neg ativ e (ir + less) w h ich is fe lt to be su ita b ly
em p h atic.
E xception and addition

9.58 T h e m o st co m m o n p re p o sitio n s d en o tin g ex cep tio n a re : e xc ep t f o r , with the
exception of, apart fr o m , aside fr o m (e s p A m E ), except, excepting, excluding,
but, an d save < form al> . W h e n used in a d v erb ials, p re p o sitio n s d e n o tin g
EX C EPTIO N fu n ctio n p rim a rily as d isjuncts ( c /8 .1 2 1 /) :
W e h a d a p le a s a n t tim e , except fo r the weather.

W ith the exception o f Ja m es, n o n e o f us h a d a n y m oney.
. • j r ,-r {apartfrom the war, )
T h e w orst p e rio d o f m y life, \ f > w as
[asidefrom the war <esp A m E ) ,J
w hen I w as o u t o f w o rk .
E xcep t a n d excepting fu n c tio n no rm ally , an d but exclusively, in p o stm o d ify in g

p h ra s e s :
F in a lly w e h a d p ack ed ev ery th in g l^ e typewriter.
A n y tim e b u t now. [‘an y o th e r tim e ’]
T h u s b u t c a n n o t o c cu r initially as a p r e p o s itio n :
*B ut
E x c e p t fo r j m e ’ every ° ne w as t *re d-
T h e p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se, in such co n stru ctio n s, is o ften se p a ra te d fro m its

n o u n h e a d , a n d p o stp o sed to th e e n d o f th e clause ( c f d isco n tin u o u s n o u n
p h ra se s , 18.39):
E veryone b u t m e w as tired . ~ E veryone w as tired but me.
F u rth e r, th e n o u n p h ra se w ith ta t-m o d ific a tio n m u st co n ta in a d e te rm in e r o r
in d efin ite p ro n o u n o f absolute m ea n in g (p o sitiv e o r n e g a tiv e ): no, all, any,
every, each, nobody, anywhere, everything, e tc o r a n in te rro g ativ e w/i-word
(who?, where?, etc). H e n ce o n e m ay say a ll b u t one, b u t n o t, eg: *som e b ut one,
o r * m any b ut one. O th e r e x a m p le s:
T h is c a r is anything but slow.
W e ’ve b o u g h t everything b u t m ilk .
W ho sh o u ld tu r n u p but o u r o ld frie n d T o m .
B a r a n d barring a re ra re r su b stitu tes fo r exc ep t a n d excepting:
T h is is th e m o st v ersatile m ic ro co m p u ter o n th e m a rk e t, bar none.
Barring accidents, w e’ll b e th e re o n tim e.
B eyond is so m etim es used in n o n a sse rtiv e co n tex ts in th e sense o f excep t
(for):
B eyo n d the press release, th ere a re n o fu rth e r com m ents.
H e d id n ’t h e lp , beyond showing a m ild interest.
F d d it io n c a n b e expressed by th e p re p o sitio n s besides, as well as, a n d in

addition to. F o r e x a m p le :
besides I
{ in addition to [ com m ittee-
A s well as learning to sw im h e h a s b een ta k in g S p a n ish lessons th is
sum m er.
C o m p are th e d ifferen ce in m ea n in g b e tw ee n except a n d but (b o th d e n o tin g

excep tio n ), on th e o n e h a n d , a n d besides (d e n o tin g a d d itio n ), o n th e o th e r, in
th e follow ing e x a m p le s:
E v ery o n e p asse d j L R ichard. [‘R ic h a rd d id n o t p ass b u t ev ery o n e

( b ut > else d id .’]
E v ery o n e p a sse d besides R ichard. [‘E v ery o n e p assed , in a d d itio n
to R ic h a rd .’]
In th e n eg ativ e, th e difference is c an c elled o u t, so th a t th e follow ing tw o

sen ten ces a re sy n o n y m o u s:
N o o n e p assed I f Xce. j 1 1 Richard,

besides
Com plem entation o f verbs and adjectives 709
Note [a] B u t as a preposition h as to be distinguished from b u t as a conjunction ( c f 13.5/T). Both the

resem blance an d the contrast between the two functions are brought out in:
Everyone h ad a good tim e but John, [preposition = ‘w ith the exception o f’, ‘except for’]
The students had a good time john°aMno/ } [coni uncl'on^
However, there is often indeterm inacy between the preposition and conjunction status o f ex cep t
and b ut, as can be seen in the variability o f constructions such a s :
He does everything in the house children to bed.
[b] As we have seen above, prepositions o f exception and addition quite often have a
prepositional phrase o r clause as complement (c /9 .1 N ote [d]):
except in the southeast
apart fr o m w hen I last spoke to you
except fo r w hat I ordered
in addition to being a fine colleague
[c] The com bination a ll b u t is used colloquially as an intensifier:
He all but (‘very nearly’] strangled me.
C f : She is b u t (‘only’] a child, [where but is a restrictive subjunct, c/8 ; 116 N ote [b]]
N egative condition: b u t f o r
9.59 B u t fo r is n o t u sed in th e sense o f exception, b u t ra th e r th a t o f ‘n eg ativ e
c o n d itio n ’:
B u t fo r G ordon, w e w ould h av e lo st th e m a tc h . [‘I f it h a d n ’t b een for

G o r d o n . . ‘I f G o rd o n h a d n ’t played a s h e d i d . . etc]
M an y peo p le u se exc ep t fo r in th e sam e w ay as but fo r to d e n o te n eg ativ e

co n d itio n . H o w ev e r, excep t fo r n o rm ally d en o tes ex cep tio n (c /9 .5 8 ). N o te
th e difference in m e a n in g b etw een th e follow ing tw o s e n te n c e s:
f w ould all have d ied . [‘I f it h a d n ’t b e en fo r Jo h n

E xcep t f o r John th e y s . . . ’]
[a ll died. [‘W ith th e e x cep tio n o f J o h n . . . ’]
Prepositional phrases used chiefly in

complementation of verbs and adjectives
Subject m atte r: about, on

9.60 W ith th e m e a n in g ‘o n th e su b ject o f ’, ‘co n ce rn in g ’, about an d on can co m b in e
w ith a co n sid era b le ra n g e o f v erb s a n d a d jectiv es ( c /1 6 .2 8 ,16.69), eg:
She is lecturing j new tech n iq u es o f m an ag em en t.
H e told m e \ j h is adv en tu res.

O th e r e x a m p le s:
a b o u t/o n ABOUT
a rg u e about/on fin d out about
b e know ledgeable about/on hear about
com m unicate about/on inform (som eone) about
confer a b o utjon learn about
h o ld fo rth about/on keep quiet about
p reach aboutjon quarrel about
s p e a k about Ion read about
w rite aboutjon teach (som eone) about
On is ch iefly re se rv e d fo r d elib erate, form al linguistic c o m m u n ic a tio n (public

sp e a k in g , le c tu rin g , w ritin g , etc), an d is th erefo re in a p p ro p ria te fo r verbs
lik e c h a t o r quarrel. T h u s [1] w ould suggest she w as m ak in g a fo rm al sp eech
[‘g a v e a lec tu re o n ’], w h ereas [2] could refer equally to a n in fo rm al
c o n v e rsa tio n o r c asu al a llu sio n :
[ 1]
[2]
T h is d ifferen ce o f m e a n in g occurs also w ith p o stm o d ify in g p h ra ses w here
on a n d about m e a n ‘o n th e su b ject o f ’:
a book a b out/on b u tterflies a story about a p rin cess

a ta lk a b outjon a n tiq u e s ignorance about sex
a discussion about/on drugs the fa c ts about n u c le a r p o w er
a w ord a b o u tjo n th e g a rd en a fu s s about n o th in g
P re p o sitio n a l p h ra s e s in tro d u ced by b o th about a n d on m ay fu n ctio n as

o b lig a to ry p re d ic a tio n ad ju n c ts w ith th e v erb be:
A less usual, a n d m o re fo rm al, a ltern ativ e to about a n d on is concerning {cf

9.57): a dispute concerning land rights.
O ver is also u se d to d e n o te ‘o n th e subject o f’, ‘in c o n n ec tio n w ith ’:
T h e y quarrelled over money.

I t ’s no u se crying over spilt m ilk.
O f is a so m e w h a t r a re r a n d m ore literary a lte rn a tiv e to about in tell, speak,

talk, inform . . . o f , etc. B o th about an d o f a re freq u en tly u sed w ith think, b ut
w ith a difference: o f m e a n in g :
H ih h t l a b °u t the problem. [‘H e p o n d e red /co n sid e re d th e p ro b lem .’]

e oug 1 0j tfoe problem , (‘H e b ro u g h t th e p ro b lem to h is m in d .’]
O f c a n also be u se d in v a ria tio n w ith about in n o u n p h ra se s ( c f above), a s i n :

a story o f a p rin c e ss ignorance o f sex the fa c ts o f n u c le ar po w er
M aterial, ingre die nt: w ith , of, o u t of-, substance: fro m

9.61 W ith v erb s o f ‘m a k in g ’, with in d icates a n in g re d ie n t; o f a n d o u t o f signify the
Com plem entation of verbs and adjectives 711
m a te ria l o r c o n stitu en cy o f th e w h o le th in g ; a n d fro m in d icates a s u b s ta n c e

from w h ic h so m e th in g is d e riv e d :
T h is c ak e is m ade with lo ts o f eggs. [‘Eggs a re a n im p o rta n t in g re d ie n t.’]

H e m ade th e fram e (out) o f w ood. [‘W ood w as th e only m a te ria l.’]
B eer is m ade fro m hops.
W ith also e n te rs in to su ch p e rv asiv e expressions as paved with brick, fill e d

with water, loaded with h a y (c/9 .2 9 ).
O f (used w ith n o u n s d e n o tin g ‘m a te ria l’) is fo u n d in a p o stm o d ify in g
fu n c tio n as w ell a s in a d v e rb ia ls :
a bracelet o f solid gold [‘m ad e o u t o f ’, ‘a solid gold b ra ce le t’]

a table o f polished o a k [‘m ad e /co n sistin g o f p o lish ed o a k ’, ‘a p o lish ed
o a k ta b le ’]
I t m ay also b e used m e ta p h o ric a lly :
a m an o f steel
a heart o f stone [ r / ‘a w o m a n o f/w ith stro n g feelings’, 9.55]
Sta n d a rd : for, a t
9.62 A c o m p a ra tiv e a d jectiv e m u st b e related , explicitly o r im p licitly , to a b a s is
o f c o m p a riso n (c /7 .8 6 ). T h u s w e c a n n o t say [1], w ith o u t so m e s u c h im p lic it
re la tio n :
T h is boy is bigger. [ 1]
S im ilarly, a g ra d ab le ad jectiv e w ith o u t th e co m p a rativ e fo rm im p lies so m e

s ta n d a rd o r n o r m ; big in [2] m ea n s so m eth in g d ifferen t fro m big in [3]:
T h is e le p h a n t is big. [2]
T h is c a t is big. [3]
T h e reaso n is th a t ‘b ig fo r a n e le p h a n t’ p resupposes a la rg e r scale, a n d a

larg e r n o rm , th a n ‘big fo r a c a t’.
W e c a n m ak e th e n o rm ex p lic it b y a /o r-p h ra se [ 4 -5 ]:
H e ’s n o t b ad fo r a youngster, [‘co n sid erin g th a t h e is a y o u n g ste r’] [4]

T h a t dog is long-legged f o r a terrier. [5]
A fu rth e r w ay in w h ich o n e m a y specify th e m ean in g o f a g ra d a b le a d je c tiv e

o r n o u n is to use a t to in d ic a te th e re sp ec t in w h ich th e a d jectiv e is a p p r o p ria te
to th e su b ject (c/1 6 .6 9 ), a s in [ 6 - 7 ] :
H e ’s good I clever Ibrilliant/an exp e rt a t organizing things. [6]

H e ’s bad/better/terrible/no good a t games. [7]
T h e use o f fo r a n d a t is n o t re stric te d to ad jectiv al c o m p le m e n ta tio n : th e s e

p re p o sitio n s o ccu r also in a n u m b e r o f o th e r g ra m m atica l roles, as th e
follow ing ex am p les sh o w :
I ’m a com p lete d u n ce a t m athem atics.

S h e’s g ettin g o n very w ell a t her job.
F or an Englishm an, h e sp e a k s foreign languages re m a rk ab ly w ell.
I t ’s a d read fu lly ex p en siv e toy fo r what it is.
R e a c tio n : at, to
9.63 C o n s id e r th ese th re e se n te n c e s:
T h e ir re jectio n o f th e offer surprised m e. [1]

I w a s surprised by th e ir rejection o f th e offer. [la ]
I w as surprised a t th e ir rejection o f th e offer. [lb ]
S e n te n c e [1] p resen ts, by m ean s o f a stra ig h tfo rw a rd s u b je c t-v e rb -o b je c t

c o n s tru c tio n , th e re la tio n sh ip b etw een a n e v en t, a n em o tio n al re ac tio n , a n d
th e p e rs o n w ho u n d erg o es th e reactio n . T h e sam e re la tio n sh ip c a n be
e x p re s s e d by the p a ssiv e [la ] ( c f ‘5 .6 'iff), o r, a ltern ativ ely , by th e p a ssiv e w ith
th e p re p o s itio n a t rep lacin g th e a g en tiv e p re p o sitio n by [ lb ]. H e re a t (as we
saw in 9.51) sig n als th e relatio n b e tw ee n th e em o tiv e re ac tio n a n d its
s tim u lu s. Surprised in th is co n tex t is a p a rtic ip ia l a d jectiv e (n o te th a t it can
b e p r e c e d e d by very; c f 1.15), an d it is w ith su ch ad jectiv al fo rm s th a t a t
[‘stim u lu s ’] ch aracteristically co m b in es ( c /3 .7 6 ,16.69):
ala rm ed a t disgusted a t
a m u se d a t delighted at
L ess com m o n ly , v erb s a n d n o n p a rtic ip ia l ad jectiv es h av e th is c o n s tru c tio n :
laughlstaeelgazelglancelaim jrejoice. . . a t
b e angry ig la d . . .a t
A n o th e r w ay to sta te th e sam e id e a is to le t th e m a in clau se re p re se n t th e

e v e n t a c tin g as a ‘stim u lu s’, an d to le t th e r e a c t i o n be ex p ressed by th e
p re p o s itio n to follow ed by a n a b stra c t n o u n o f em o tio n , eg: to m y regret, to
m y annoyance j to m y relief, to m y surprise, to m y horror, to m y d e lig h t:
To m y regret, they rejected th e offer.
To m y regret in th is co n te x t is a c o n te n t d isju n ct, c o m p a rab le w ith a d v erb s

s u c h a s regrettably (c/8.127).
T h e reactio n c a n also be ex p ressed b y to + p erso n al p ro n o u n o r a p h ra se
w ith to + possessive p ro n o u n + m ind, in + possessive p ro n o u n + opinion,
e tc, to id en tify 'the p e rso n re a c tin g : ,
To m e, 1
To m y mind, > th e ir rejectio n w as a surprise.
In m y opinion,J
I n th is sense, jto is n o t lim ite d to e m o tiv e re ac tio n s b u t a p p lie s eq u ally to

in te lle ctu a l or p e rce p tu a l responses:
To a m ind based in common sense, h is id ea s are u tterly a b su rd .

I t looked to m e lik e a v a st chasm .
H o w ev er, in th is last case th e /o -p h rase is n o t a d isjunct, b u t a n ad ju n c t.

A ccording to is used to id en tify n o t so m u ch a re ac tio n to , as a n
in te rp re ta tio n of, events. I t is used chiefly fo r a 3rd p erso n ( c /8 .127 N o te [a ]):
l L S ° t o h f m / ? y o u / ? ? m e } this is quite unexPected'

M odification of prepositional phrases 713
N ote This use o f according to should be distinguished from the different sense o f in accordance /
agreem ent/conform ity with:
in accordance w i / A l . t.
, > the new regulations
according to J
Modification of prepositional phrases

9.64 P re p o sitio n a l m e a n in g s (p a rtic u la rly o f tim e a n d p lac e) a re subject to
m o d ificatio n a s re g ard s d e g ree a n d m easure, an d p re p o sitio n s m ay th ere fo re
(like m an y ad jectiv es a n d a d v erb s) b e preceded b y in ten sifiers (c/7 .6 1 ). F o r
e x a m p le :
I left it ju s t < inside> th e g arag e , [‘a little w ay’]

H e h a d w a n d ere d right <off> th e p a th , [‘co m p letely ’]
N o w th e ir fo o tstep s c o u ld be h e ard directly < above> m y h ead .
I g o t u p ju s t j soon ( a f t e r ) ten .
T h ere w as ru b b ish all ( o v e r ) th e place.
T h ey follow ed close ( b e h in d ) me.
T h is c ak e m ix co m es straight ( o u t o f ) th e p a ck e t.
T h e d o g w as ly in g right ( i n th e m id d le o f ) th e floor.
T h ere is d o u b t in s u c h cases a s to w h e th er th e in te n sifier sh o u ld be tre a te d as

ap p ly in g to th e w h o le p re p o sitio n a l p h rase, o r to th e p re p o sitio n alone. I n
th e exam ples ab o v e, h o w ev er, th e intensifiers c a n m o d ify th e p re p o sitio n a l
a d v e rb s : right in the m iddle, etc.
Prepositions and prepositional adverbs

9.65 A p rep o sitio n al a d v e rb is a p a rticle w hich is fo rm ally id e n tic a l to o r re la te d
to a p rep o sitio n , a n d w h ich o fte n beh av es like a p re p o sitio n w ith ellip ted
c o m p lem en t:
A c a r d ro v e l p a st the door' ^past is a P rePo sitio n l

[past. [past is a p re p o sitio n al ad v erb ]
T h u s a p re p o sitio n al a d v e rb sh a res th e form , b u t n o t th e sy n ta ctic sta tu s, o f

a p rep o sitio n . I t is c a p a b le o f stan d in g alo n e as a n a d ju n c t, co n ju n ct,
p o stm o d ifer, e tc w ith o u t th e a d d itio n o f a p re p o sitio n al c o m p le m e n t:
D e sp ite th e fine w e a th e r, w e stayed in all day.

Besides, I d o n ’t feel lik e a w a lk ju s t now.
T h e day before, I h a d sp o k e n to her in the office.
P re p o s itio n a l a d v erb s n o rm ally receive stress, w h ereas sim p le p re p o sitio n s

(e sp ec ially m onosyllables, c /9 .9 ) norm ally d o not. In e ac h o f t h e follow ing
p a ir s , in is a stressed a d v e rb in th e first a n d a n unstressed p re p o sitio n in th e
s e c o n d e x am p le:
fS h e stay ed )N. [I]

[S h e stay ed in th e ftd u s E . [la ]
f H e th ru s t I n h is h A n d . [2]
[ H e sw am in th e l a k e . [2a]
f W h ic h p riso n e r d id th ey m arch Av? [3]
[ W h ic h u n ifo rm d id th e y MARCH in'! [3a]
B o th p re p o sitio n s a n d ad v erb s com m only a p p e a r in id io m a tic c o m b in a

tio n s w ith a p re c e d in g v e rb , eg: m a k e fo r , m a k e up, m a k e u p f o r . H ere,
h o w e v e r, w e shall p a y a tte n tio n only to th e ir m ean in g a n d sy n ta c tic b e h a v io u r
a s in d iv id u a l item s, id io m a tic usage b ein g a c o n cern o f th e d ic tio n a ry r a th e r
t h a n o f th e g ra m m ar. P h ra s a l v erb s a n d p rep o sitio n al v erb s, ie c o m b in a tio n s
o f v e rb + a d v erb a n d v e rb + p rep o sitio n w h ich b eh av e sy n ta ctically o r
se m a n tic a lly as a sin g le u n it, are d iscussed in 1 6 .2 /.
N ote T h e relation between prepositional adverbs and prepositional phrases [4] m ay be com pared to
th a t betw een intransitive and transitive use o f certain verbs [5] (c f 16.19):
She stayed in (th e house). [4]
She ate (breakfast). (51
9 .66 (a ) T h e follow ing list in clu d es som e p rep o sitio n al ad v erb s re la te d to sim p le
p re p o sitio n s (c /9 .7 ), as i n :
,,,, . . . ,. { b e fo r e 7 o ’clock?
W h y d id n t you c o m e j ^ ore?
d b o a rd a'bout a'bove
a'cross 'after a'long
a lo n g s id e a 'ro u n d b e fo r e
be'h in d be'low be'neath
be'sides be'tw een b e 'y o n d
by do w n in
iriside ne a r ('nearer, 'nearest) o ff
on 'opposite ou t'sid e
'over \ pa st ro u n d
since J through th r o u g h o u t
'under ,under'neath up
w ith'in w ith'out
A ll, w ith th e e x c e p tio n o f w ith o u t a n d th e co n ju n ct b e s id e s, a re p rim a rily

ad ju n c ts o f tim e o r sp ace.
(b ) T h e fo llo w in g lis t in clu d es so m e p rep o sitio n al a d v e rb s th a t a re related

to co m p lex (tw o-w ord) p rep o sitio n s (c/9 .1 0 ), as in :
_ , . . „ ^ f in ste a d o f going to a m u seu m .

Paul w a n ts to g o to th e Z oo j jnstga([
Prepositions and prepositional adverbs 715
a'head a'w ay back

close east, etc ’eastward(s), etc
in'stead out overhead
to'gether
(c) T h e follow ing list in clu d es som e p rep o sitio n al a d v erb s re la te d to

com plex (th ree-w o rd ) p rep o sitio n s ( c /9 .11), a s i n :
W h y d o n ’t you p u t th e tru n k car'
a t variance in addition in aid

in case in charge in common
in comparison in co ntext in exchange
in fa v o u r in fr o n t in lieu
in line in need in relation
in return on top
M o st o f th e c o m m o n p re p o sitio n s listed in 9.I f f c m also act as p r e p o s itio n a l

a d v erb s, fo r ex am p le:
P o s itio n (9.16): Is y o u r sister i n i - N o , sh e’s out/aw ay.

D e s tin a tio n (9.16): She w e n t out/aw ay/in.
P assag e (9.24): T h e d o g ju m p e d over/through.
P a th (9.26): M o v e along.
She cam e round to see m e.
O rie n ta tio n (9.27): T h e m a n (w ho sat) opposite k e p t lo o k in g a t h e r.
R e su lta tiv e (9.28): T h e p ric e o f o il is up ag ain today.
P e rv a siv e (9.29): T h e re w ere lo ts o f people around.
P re p o sitio n a l p h ra ses a n d p re p o sitio n a l a d v erb s c a n b e se e n a s th e

ex tre m e s o n a scale w ith a step w ise re d u ctio n in explicitness a s w e p ro c e e d
fro m [ 1] to [5]. I n th e sen ten ce p a tte rn ‘T h ey a re a l l . . . ’ w e c a n h a v e :
in (g reat) fa vo u r o f the proposal [1]

(greatly) in fa vo u r o f the proposal [2]
(greatly) in fa vo u r o f it [3]
(greatly) in its fa vo u r [4]
(greatly) in fa vo u r [5]
W e h a v e in [1] a free sy n tactic n o u n p h ra se w ith favour as h e ad w h ic h a d m its

a d je c tiv a l p re m o d ificatio n ; in [2] a co m p lex p rep o sitio n in fa v o u r o f w ith the
proposal as co m p le m e n t; in [3] th e p ro n o m in a l su b stitu te fo r th e n o m in a l
c o m p le m e n t in [2]; in [4] a p ossessive d e te rm in e r its; a n d in [5] th e
p re p o sitio n a l ad v erb in favour, w h ic h relies for its in te rp re ta tio n o n p re v io u s
m e n tio n in th e lin g u istic o r situ atio n al con tex t. T h e re d u c tio n in [4]
(p rem o d ificatio n ) as co m p a red w ith [2] an d [3] (p o stm o d ificatio n ) is d e a lt
w ith in c o n n ectio n w ith th e n o u n p h ra se. T h e ste p fro m [4] to [5] is o n e ste p
b ey o n d p rem o d ificatio n stru ctu re.
N o te [a] F or a n d against a re used as p rep o sitio n al ad v e rb s only in p h rases su ch a s votes f o r a n d against.

[bj T o is used as a p re p o sitio n al a d v e rb in s e t 1to (and finish), turn *to (a n d help), a n d in a few
id io m s su ch a s (w alk) to a n d fr o . C o m p a re th e p rep o sitio n al p h ra se in w alk to a n d fr o m work.
[c] T h e r e is n o p re p o sitio n al a d v e rb co rresponding to contrary to (c/9 .1 0 ). B ut n o te th e sim ilar

use o f t h e re d u ce d ex p ressio n to the contrary.
C o m p a r e also th e c o n ju n c t a d v e rb ia l (8.137):
| w h at I said w as th is year, n o t next.
B ib lio g ra p h ic a l n o te
A g e n e ra l a n a ly tic a l b ib lio g rap h y o f prep o sitio n s c a n b e fo u n d in G u im ie r (1981).
T h e o r e tic a l tre a tm e n ts o f th e roles o f p repositions a r e p ro v id e d by B en n e tt (1975); B ug arsk i
(1 9 6 9 ); F illm o re (1969); R o sen b au m (1967a); V esterg aa rd (1977).
S tu d ie s o f o th e r asp ects o f E n g lish prepositions c a n b e fo u n d , for ex am ple, in C h risto p h e rse n
(1 9 7 9 ); H ill (1968); Jaco b sso n (1977a); Lee (1969); L e ech (1969a); L in d k v ist (1 9 5 0 ,1 9 7 2 ,1 9 7 6 ,
1 9 78); P o u ts m a ( 1 9 2 6 - 29), P a r t II.2 ; Q u irk an d M u lh o llan d (1964); S orensen (1979a, 1979b);
T u r n e r (19 7 2 ); Z a n d v o o rt a n d D o o d k o rte (1962).
F r e q u e n c ie s h a v e b ee n ta k e n from H ofland an d Jo h a n sso n (1982).
The sim ple sentence
10.1-4 Clause patterns 719

.1 S im p le a n d m u ltip le sentences 719
.2 C lau se s tru c tu re s 720
.3 M u ltip le c lass m e m b e rs h ip o f v erb s 720
.4 V erb c o m p le m e n ta tio n 722
10.5-16 Syntactic functions of clause elements 723

.6 S ubject 724
.7 O b je ct: d ire c t a n d in d ire c t 726
.8 C o m p le m e n t: s u b je c t a n d object 728
.9-10 A d v e rb ial 729
.10 O b lig ato ry a d v e rb ia ls: subject-related a n d o b ject-related
a d v e rb ia ls 730
.11-16 G ra d ie n c e a n d m u ltip le analysis 732
.11 P re p o sitio n a l p h ra se s a n d ad v erb s as c o m p le m e n t 732
.12 P a rtic les a n d clau se ty p es 733
.13 E x te n t a n d m e a su re p h ra s e s : o bject o r a d v e rb ia l 735
.14 M id d le v e rb s 735
.15 A d v e rb ial fo rm s a s subject 736
.16 S u b ject c o m p le m e n t o r verbless clause 737
10.17 Order of clause elements 739
10.18-33 Semantic roles of clause elements 740

.18 P a rtic ip a n ts 740
.19 A g en tiv e, a ffected , a n d re cip ie n t roles 741
.20 A ttrib u te 741
.21-22 S u b ject as e x te rn a l c au ser, in stru m en t, a n d affected 743
.23 R e c ip ie n t su b je ct 746
.24 P o sitio n er su b je ct 746
.25 L o cativ e, te m p o ra l, a n d ev en tiv e subjects 747
.26 P ro p it su b ject . 748
.27 L o cativ e o b jec t 749
.28 R e su lta n t o b jec t 749
.29 C o g n ate o b jec t 750
.30 E v en tiv e o b jec t 750
.31 In stru m e n ta l o b je c t 752
.32 A ffected in d ire c t o b ject 753
.33 S um m ary 753
10.34-45 Subject-verb concord 755

.34 G e n era l ru le 755
P rin c ip le s o f g ra m m a tic a l concord, n o tio n al co n co rd ,
an d p ro x im ity 757
C o llectiv e n o u n s a n d n o tio n al concord 758
C o o rd in ate d su b je ct 759
C o o rd in atio n w ith and 759
C o o rd in atio n w ith in a singular subject 760
C o o rd in ativ e a p p o sitio n 760
Q u asi-co o rd in a tio n 761
C o o rd in atio n w ith or a n d nor 762
In d efin ite e x p ressio n s a s subject 763
C o n co rd o f p e rso n 765
S u m m ary 766
Other types of concord 767

S u b ject-co m p lem en t a n d o bject-com plem ent c o n co rd 767
D istrib u tiv e n u m b e r 76 8
P ro n o u n re fe re n ce 768
Semantic restrictions 771
Vocatives 77 3
F o rm s o f v o c ativ es 773
Negation 77 5
T y p es o f n e g atio n 775
C lau se n e g atio n 776
C lau se n e g a tio n th ro u g h v erb n egation 776
C o n tra c te d fo rm s o f n eg ato r an d auxiliaries 777
Sy n tactic fe a tu re s o f clau se n eg atio n 777
C lause n e g a tio n o th e r th a n th ro u g h v erb n e g atio n 778
I W ords n e g a tiv e in fo rm an d m ean in g 778
i W ords n e g a tiv e in m ean in g b u t n o t in form 780
N o n a ssertiv e ite m s a n d n egative item s 782
N o n a ssertiv e c o n tex ts 78 4
N e g ativ e in te n sifica tio n 78 5
M o re th a n o n e n o n a sse rtiv e item 787
Scope o f n e g a tio n 787
F o cu s o f n e g a tio n 78 9
L ocal n e g atio n 790
N e g atio n o f m o d a l au x iliaries 79 4
P re se n t fo rm s o f m o d als 794
P a s t fo rm s o f m o d als 796
P re d ica tio n n e g a tio n 797
D o u b le n e g atio n 798

Clause patterns 719
Clause patterns
S im ple and m ultiple sentences

10.1 S en ten ces a re e ith e r s i m p l e o r m u l t i p l e . A sim p le sen ten ce co n sists o f a
single in d e p e n d e n t clause. A m u ltip le se n ten ce co n ta in s one o r m o re c la u se s
a s its im m e d ia te co n stitu en ts. M u ltip le se n ten c es are e ith e r c o m p o u n d o r
c o m p l e x . In a c o m p o u n d sen ten ce th e im m e d ia te c o n stitu en ts are tw o o r
m o re c o o r d i n a t e clauses. I n a com plex se n ten c e o n e o r m o re o f its e le m en ts,
su ch as d ire c t o b ject o r a d v erb ial, a re realized b y a s u b o r d i n a t e clau se ( c f
fu rth e r 14.1f f ) .
E le m en ts su c h as su b ject an d v e rb a re c o n stitu e n ts o f sen ten ces a n d a ls o
o f clau ses w ith in sentences. W e shall sp e a k o f c l a u s e s a n d c l a u s e s t r u c t u r e
w h e n ev e r w h a t w e say ap p lies b o th to se n ten c es a n d to th e clauses o f w h ic h
s e n ten c es a re co m p o sed . T h u s a co m p lex sen ten ce w ith o n e s u b o rd in a te
clau se c a n b e a n aly sed tw ice ov er, once fo r th e sen ten ce a s a w hole a n d o n c e
fo r th e s u b o rd in a te clause in clu d ed w ith in th e se n te n c e :
Od A
JL
(conj)
subordinate clause
L
sentence
Fig 10.1 Sentence and clause elements
I n th e p re sen t c h a p te r w e are p rim a rily c o n ce rn ed w ith sim p le se n ten c es.

D iscu ssio n o f c o o rd in a te clauses is d e fe rre d to C h a p te r 13 a n d o f su b o rd in a te
clau ses to C h a p te rs 14 a n d 15. T h e p re se n t c h a p te r is fu rth er re stric te d to
asp ects o f th e sim p le sen ten ce chiefly in v o lv in g th e elem ents subject, v e rb ,
o b ject, a n d c o m p lem en t. T h e a d v erb ial, as a c lau se elem en t t h a t is g e n era lly
m o re d e ta c h a b le a n d m o re m o b ile th a n th e o th ers, receives d e ta ile d
c o n sid e ra tio n in C h a p te r 8.
N o te [a] W e use th e te rm ‘sim p le sen te n ce’ for a n in d e p e n d e n t clause th a t d o es n o t h av e a n o t h e r

clau se fu n ctio n in g a s o n e o f its elem ents. T h u s, (1) is a co m p lex sentence in w h ich i f y o u n e e d it
fu n ctio n s as a n a d v e rb ia l:
V o u c a n b o rrow m y c a r i f y o u need it. [1]
H o w e v er, a sim p le se n te n ce m ay h av e a clause fu n c tio n in g w ith in a p h rase. In th a t c a s e th e
co m p lex ity is a t th e level o f th e p h rase, n o t a t th e level o f th e sen ten ce o r clause. T h u s [2] is a
sim p le sen te n ce:
Y ou ca n b o rrow th e c a r that belongs to m y sister. [2]
I n [2] th e relativ e clau se that belongs to m y sister is a p o stm o d ifier w ith in th e com plex n o u n
p h ra se co n stitu tin g th e o b je c t elem en t th e car that belongs to m y sister. C lauses fu n c tio n in g as
m o d ificatio n o f n o u n p h rases a re d iscussed in C h a p te r 17. C lauses fu n ctio n in g i n th e
co m p le m e n ta tio n o f ad je c tiv e ph rases a re discussed in C h a p te r 16.
720 T h e sim ple sentence
T h e te r m ‘s im p le s e n te n c e ' is frequently used elsew here, b u t n o t in th is b ook, for an

in d e p e n d e n t c la u se t h a t d o es n o t co n tain an o th e r clause, reg ard less o f w h e th e r th e co n tain ed
c lau se is a n im m e d ia te c o n stitu en t o f th e sentence o r n o t. I n som e g ram m ars, nonfinite
c o n s tru c tio n s (w h ic h h a v e a nonfin ite verb as th e ir verb elem en t) a re co n sid ered p h rases ra th e r
th a n c la u se s. W e tr e a t s u c h co n stru ctio n s as clauses b ecau se th e y c a n b e analysed in to clause
ele m e n ts ( c /1 4 .5 ) . N o n fin ite clauses them selves are in trin sica lly s u b o rd in a te an d th erefo re d o
n o t c o n s titu te sim p le se n te n c e s in th e can o n ical form s (b u t c / 1 1 .41).
[b] A s im p le se n te n c e is n o t necessarily sim ple in a n o n te c h n ic a l sense. F o r ex am p le, a sim ple
s e n te n c e m a y b e very c o m p lic a te d because its p h rases a re co m p le x :
O n t h e r e c o m m e n d a tio n o f th e co m m ittee, th e te m p o rary c h a irm a n , w h o h ad p revious
e x p e rie n c e o f t h e m e d ical issues concerned, m a d e th e d ecisio n th a t n o f u r th e r ex p erim en ts
o n liv in g a n im a ls sh o u ld be conducted in circu m stan c es th a t m ig h t le ad to u n fav o u rab le
p re s s p u b licity .
O th e r f a c to r s a p a r t fro m th e com plexity o f p h rases are m e n tio n e d in 14.2.
Clause stru ctu re s

10.2 W e n o w tu r n to a f u rth e r co n sid eratio n o f th e c lau se stru c tu re s o u tlin ed in
2.1 3ff- W e th e r e d istin g u ish e d five fu n ctio n al c ateg o rie s o f clau se co n stitu en ts,
th re e o f w h ic h w e re fu rth e r subcategorized.
s u b je c t (S)
v e rb (V)
o b je c t ( O )- d irec t o bject (Od)
- in d ire ct ob ject (Oj)
c o m p le m e n t (C )- su b ject co m p lem en t (C s)
- o b ject co m p lem en t (C„)
a d v e r b ia l (A )- subject-related (A .)
'■ - ob ject-related (A0)
B y e lim in a tin g o p tio n a l ad v erb ials, w e e stab lish e d sev en m ajo r clau se types,
b ased o n th e p e rm iss ib le co m b in atio n s o f th e sev en fu n c tio n al categories,
th e c la u se e le m en ts. Table 10.2 o pposite exem plifies th e m a jo r clause types in
th e ir n o r m a l o r d e r in a sim ple d eclarativ e se n ten c e, th e c an o n ica l form o f
th e se n ten c e.
T h e c la u s e ty p e s a re d e term in ed b y th e v e rb class to w h ic h th e full v erb s
w ith in th e v e rb c o n stitu e n t belong. D ifferen t v e rb classes re q u ire d ifferen t
c o m p le m e n ta tio n (O d, Oj, C s, C 0, A ) to c o m p lete th e m ea n in g o f th e verb , o r
(in th e c a s e o f S V , w h ere th e verb is in tra n sitiv e ) n o co m p le m e n ta tio n .
M u ltip le class m em bership of verbs

10.3 I t m u st b e b o rn e in m in d th a t a g iven verb c a n b elong, in its v ario u s senses,
to a n u m b e r o f d iffe re n t classes (c /A p p 1.54), a n d h e n ce e n te r in to a n u m b er
o f d iffe re n t c la u se types. T h e verb get is a p a rtic u la rly v ersatile one, being
ex clu d ed o n ly fro m T y p e S K (and ev en th e n n o t u n iv ersally ; c /N o te ) ;
SVO H e ’ll g et a surprise.

SVC H e ’s g e ttin g angry.
S VA H e g o t th ro u g h th e w indow .
SVO O H e g o t h e r a sp len d id present.
SV O C H e g o t h is shoes an d socks w et.
S VO A H e g o t h im self in to trouble.
T a b le 10.2 M a jo r clause types
Type S (u b jec t) V (erb ) 0 ( b je c t) ( s ) C o m p le m e n t) A (d v e rb ia l)
in tr a n s itiv e
SV T h e sun is shining
m o n o tr a n s itiv e d ir e c t o b je c t
SVO T h a t lecture bored me
c o p u la r s u b je c t c o m p le m e n t
SV C Y o u r d im e r seem s rea d y
c o p u la r s u b je c t-re la te d a d v e r b ia l
SV A M y office is in th e n e x t building
d itr a n s itiv e in d ir e c t o b je c t
svoo I m u s t s en d m y p a ren ts
d ir e c t o b je c t
a n anniversary card
C la u s e
c o m p le x -tra n s itiv e d ir e c t o b je c t o b je c t c o m p le m e n t
svo c M o s t stu d en ts h ave fo u n d her reasonably h e lp fu l
p a tte r n s
c o m p le x -tra n s itiv e d ir e c t o b je c t o b je c t-re la te d a d v e r b ia l
SV O A Y ou can p u t th e dish on th e table
7 2 1
N o te O n e m in o r clau se ty p e is th e b are ex isten tial se n te n c e (1 8 .4 4 ^ ): T here is n o n eed f o r apologies; there m u st have been som e m isunderstanding.
T h r o u g h t h e m u l t i p l e c la s s m e m b e r s h i p o f v e r b s , a m b i g u i t i e s c a n a r i s e : /
f o u n d h e r an entertaining partner , l i k e S h e called him her favourite waiter, c o u ld
b e i n t e r p r e t e d e i t h e r a s b e l o n g i n g t o t h e S V O C o r S V O O ty p e s .
T h e c o m p le m e n ta tio n o f v erb s re ceiv es d e ta ile d tre a tm e n t in C h a p te r 16.
N o te I n in fo rm a l (especially d ia lectal) A m E , g e t is u sed e v e n a s a n in tran sitiv e v erb ( = ‘leave a t o n ce’)

in T y p e S T : S h e to ld him to get.
V e rb co m plem entatio n
1 0 .4 T h e ele m en ts, O d, C s, C0, a n d A in th e p a tte rn s exem plified in 10.2 a n d 10.3
a r e o b lig a to ry e le m e n ts o f clau se s tru c tu re in th a t they are req u ired fo r th e
c o m p le m e n ta tio n o f th e verb . G iv e n th e use o f a p a rtic u la r v e rb in a
p a r tic u la r s e n te n c e , th e sen ten ce is in co m p lete if o n e o f th ese elem en ts is
o m itte d , eg: * Y o u r dinner seem s (ty p e SV C ) a n d *You can p u t the dish (type
S V O A ) are u n a c c e p ta b le . In so m e c ases, how ever, a d irec t o b ject o r a n o b ject
c o m p le m e n t c o u ld fro m o n e p o in t o f v iew b e consid ered g ra m m atically
o p tio n a l:
T h e y ’re e a tin g . [S V] ~ c f T h e y ’re e atin g lu n ch . [S V O]

W e elected h e r. [S V O] ~ c / W e elected h e r o u r d eleg ate, ( S V O C ]
H e ’s te a c h in g . [S V] ~ c f H e ’s tea ch in g chem istry. [S V O]
H e ’s te a c h in g th e m ch em istry . [ S V O O ]
W e re g a rd th e s e as cases o f c o n v ersio n , w h ereby a w o rd su ch as e a t is
tra n s fe rre d fro m th e tran sitiv e to th e in tra n sitiv e category. T h u s, T h e y ’re
eating is a n in s ta n c e o f ty p e S V r a th e r th a n o f S V O (w ith o p tio n al d e le tio n o f
th e o b ject). W e a d o p t th is a p p ro a c h b ecau se th ere is to a g re a te r o r lesser
e x te n t a sh ift i d m ean in g .
T o ju stify tre a tin g o b ject o m issio n as a m a tte r o f conversion, w e m ay
n o tic e t h a t it a p p lie s to som e tra n s itiv e v e rb s b u t n o t to o th e r s :
T h e y ’re h u n tin g d eer. ~ T h e y ’re h u n tin g .

T h e y ’re c h a fin g cats. ~ T h e y ’re c h asin g .
A lso, o n e c a n fin d n o n ce o b jec t o m issio n s, w h ich a g ain p o in ts to a w ord-

fo rm atio n p ro c ess ra th e r th a n a s y n ta c tic process. T h u s ( *)John is licking
today is a h ig h ly im p ro b a b le se n ten c e fo r w h ich one could (as w ith all n o n ce-
fo rm atio n s) fin d a p lau sib le u se i f o n e trie d h a rd en o u g h {eg a s itu a tio n in
w h ic h tw o p eo p ]e a re alte rn a tiv e ly em p lo y ed in lick in g a n d stick in g sta m p s
o n letters). C o n v e rsio n s fro m o n e v e rb c ateg o ry to an o th e r, in clu d in g fro m
tra n s itiv e to in tra n s itiv e v erb s, a re e x em p lified in A p p 1.54.
A sim ila r a p p ro a c h m ay b e m a d e to in sta n c e s w here th e in d ire ct o b jec t is
o m issib le:
She gives e x p en siv e p resen ts. [S V O d]

c f She g iv es h er frien d s e x p en siv e p resen ts. [S V Oj O d]
B u t here th e case for c o n v ersio n is n o t so stro n g , a n d one m ay re g ard th e

in d ire ct o b je c t w ith m an y v e rb s a s a n o p tio n a l e lem en t sim ila r in s ta tu s to a n
o p tio n a l a d v e rb ia l.
W e should in p rin cip le d is tin g u ish d iffere n t types o f o m ission o f o b jects,
th o u g h th e d istin c tio n m ay be b lu rre d in p a rtic u la r in stan ces:
Syntactic functions o f clause elements 723
(1) A specific o b jec t is re co v erab le fro m th e p re ce d in g lin g u istic c o n te x t:
A : S how m e y o u r essay. B : I ’ll show you later.

L e t’s do th e d ish es. I ’ll wash a n d you dry.
In su c h in stan c es th e v e rb m ay b e analysed as g en u in ely tran sitiv e w ith

e llip sis o f th e d ire c t o b ject.
(2) A specific o b jec t is u n d e rsto o d fro m th e situ a tio n a l c o n tex t:
K eep off [sign o n grass] S h a k e w ell b e fo re use.

W atch! D o n ’t touch.
T h e tie d o e s n ’t fit.
(3) A specific reflex iv e o b jec t is u nderstood w h en th e v e rb allow s su ch a n
o b jec t (c/6 .2 5 ):
I ’m shaving. T h e y ’re dressing.
S om e v erb s allow o m issio n o f e ith e r a reflexive o r a non reflex iv e o b je c t: S h e ’s

washing (h e rse lf o r the clothes).
(4) A nonspecific o b jec t is se m an tica lly e n ta ile d ( c f 16.19):
A re you eating a g a in ? D o you drink ?

H e teaches. I d o n ’t w a n t to c a tc h y o u sm oking again.
T h ey c a n ’t spell. I c a n ’t com e n o w , b ecau se I’m cleaning.
I d o n ’t w a n t to read.
T h e ran g e o f u n d e rsto o d no n sp ecific objects is re stric te d w ith som e v erb s

w h e n th ey a re u se d in tra n sitiv e ly . F o r exam ple, D o y o u drink? re fers to th e
d rin k in g o f alco h o lic d rin k s, T m cleaning refers to d o m estic clean in g an d n o t
(say) to c le an in g te e th o r c le an in g a pipe, a n d to catch yo u sm oking again
n o rm ally excludes (say) sm o k in g fish. In o th e r in stan c es, th e in tra n sitiv e
v e rb m ay lac k th e c au sativ e m ea n in g o f th e tra n s itiv e v e rb : C o n trast H e
w alked an d H e w a lke d the dog ( c f 10.22).
N o te I n som e in stan ces th e o m issio n o f a sen ten ce elem ent rad ically ch a n g es th e sense o f th e v e rb .
C o n tra st th e use o f th e v erb fi n d a n d run in th e se exam ples:
I h a v e fo u n d h e r re aso n ab ly h elpful. [S V O C] 1 h a v e fo u n d her. [S V O ]
H e is ru n n in g a business. [S V O ] H e is running. [S V]
Syntactic functions of clause elements
10.5 A p a rtia l c h a ra c te riz a tio n o f th e clause e lem en ts b a se d on fo rm al c rite ria is

g iv en in 2.24. F o rm a l c rite ria usually suffice to id en tify the verb e lem en t
w ith in a clausal co n te x t, sin ce th e verb ele m en t is alw ay s realized by a v e rb
p h ra se. W e h a v e also n o te d its sy n tactic im p o rta n c e in d e te rm in in g w h a t
o th e r elem en ts m ay o r m u st o ccu r in th e clau se ( c f 1 0 .3 /). W e now g iv e
fu rth e r co n sid era tio n to th e o th e r clause elem en ts.
D is tin c tio n s b e tw e e n th e elem en ts - a n d b e tw e en ty p e s w ith in th e

e le m e n ts - are b a se d o n (i) form s (noun p h ra se, v erb p h ra se, a d je ctiv e p h ra se,
fin ite c la u se , e tc ), (ii) p o sitio n , (iii) sy n ta ctic fu n ctio n o th e r th a n p o sitio n al
p o te n tia litie s , a n d (iv) se m an tic role. I t is p rim arily o n th e b a sis o f (iii) an d
(iv ) t h a t a d is tin c tio n is m ad e b etw een O d a n d 0*, C s a n d C„. T h e follow ing
s e n te n c e s c o n ta in fin al p h ra ses th a t a re id en tica l in fo rm a n d p o sitio n :
f T h e y told th e m ay o r. J T h ey to ld h is life story.

1 T h e y a d m ire d th e m ayor. \ T h ey a d m ired his life story.
B u t th e id e n tity sto p s th ere. W hile th e pro cess o f a d m irin g th e m ay o r is

p a ra lle l to th a t o f a d m irin g h is life story, tellin g th e m ay o r in v o lv es so m eth in g
v ery d iffe re n t fro m tellin g h is life story. T h e difference is c o n firm ed by
c o o rd in a tio n :
T h e y a d m ire d th e m ay o r an d his life story.

T h e y to ld th e m ay o r a n d h is life story.
E q u ally , i f w e a tte m p t to in tro d u ce ap p o sitio n , w e c a n c o n tra s t:
T h e y a d m ire d th e m ay o r, ie his life story.

T h e y told th e m ay o r, ie h is life story.
I n o th e r w o rd s, th e m a yo r a n d his life story a re re aliz a tio n s o f th e sa m e ty p e

o f O w ith a d m ire b u t a re realizatio n s o f d ifferen t ty p es o f O w ith tell.
C o n se q u e n tly , w e c a n n o t h av e:
T h e y a d m ire d th e m ay o r his life story.
B ut w e c an h a v e :
T h e y to ld th e m a y o r h is life story.
H e n c e it is n e c e ssa ry (fo r th is last sentence) to d istin g u ish Oj ( th e m ayor )

fro m O d ( his life story).
N o te I f th e v e rb is in trie sim p le p re se n t, it m ay be indistin g u ish ab le fro m a n o u n in a sen te n ce in

b lo ck la n g u ag e (c f 11.45), w h ere determ in ers are com m only o m itte d :
M a il leaves to m o rro w . [‘M ail th e leaves to m o rro w .’o r 'T h e m a il leav es to m o rro w .’]
Su bje ct
10.6 O f th e cla u se e le m e n ts o th e r th a n th e v erb , the su b je ct is th e m o st im p o rta n t
in th a t (ex cep t fo r th e v erb ) it is th e e lem en t th a t is m o st o ften p re se n t. I t is
also th e e le m e n t fo r w h ich w e c an find th e g re a te s t n u m b e r o f c h ara cte ristic
featu res. I n c h a ra c te riz in g th e su b ject an d th e o th e r clau se elem en ts, we
id e n tify th e fo u r ty p es o f d istin c tio n listed in 10.5. B ecau se o f its
co n sp icu o u sn ess w e tre a t p o sitio n sep arately fro m o th e r sy n ta ctic fu n ctio n s.
(a) FORM
T h e su b je ct is n o rm ally a n o u n p h ra se ( c /C h a p te rs 5 ,6 , a n d 17) o r a n o m in al
clau se (c flS .'h ff).
(b ) POSITION
T h e su b je ct n o rm ally o ccu rs b efore th e verb in d e c la ra tiv e clauses, a n d after
th e o p e ra to r i n y e s -n o in terro g ativ e clauses (c fW .S jf)',
S yn ta c tic functions of clause elem ents 725
E verbody [S] has left [V] for th e d ay .

H a s [op] everybody [S] left fo r th e d a y ?
I n w /i-in terro g ativ e clauses, su b je c t-o p e ra to r in v ersio n also o ccu rs e x c e p t

w h ere th e w /i-elem ent is itself th e s u b je c t:
W h a t have [op] y o u [S] seen to d a y ?

W h a t [S] has [op] k e p t you so lo n g ?
(c) SYNTACTIC FUNCTION

(i) A su b ject is o b lig ato ry in fin ite clauses ex cep t in im p e rativ e cla u se s,
w here it is n o rm ally a b se n t b u t im p lie d ( c f 11.24/").
(ii) I n fin ite clauses th e su b ject d e te rm in e s th e n u m b e r a n d p e rso n , w h e re
re le v an t, o f th e v erb (c /1 0 .3 4 / ):
N a n c y [S] know s [V] m y p a ren ts, [sin g u lar n u m b er concord]

N a n c y a n d D avid [S] know [V] m y p aren ts, [plural n u m b er co n co rd ]
/ [S] am [V] y o u r new colleague, [sin g u lar n u m b er a n d 1st p erso n
co n co rd ]
(iii) T h e su b ject n o rm ally d e te rm in e s n u m b er o f th e su b ject c o m p le m e n t

w h e n th a t is a n o u n p h ra se ( c f 10.46):
Caroline [S] is m y sister [C].

Caroline a n d Vanessa [S] a re m y sisters [CJ.
(iv) T h e su b ject d e te rm in e s th e n u m b e r an d , w here re lev an t, th e p e rs o n

a n d g e n d e r o f th e reflexive p ro n o u n as d irec t object, in d ire ct o b jec t, s u b je c t
c o m p lem en t, o r p re p o sitio n a l c o m p le m e n t ( c f 6 .2 3 ,1 0 .4 8 , 10.50). T h e s a m e
c o n co rd re la tio n generally a p p lie s w h e n th e e m p h atic g en itiv e m y own, e tc is
used (c /6 .3 0 ):
/[ S ] sh a v e d m y s e lf [O] w ith m y ow n razor.

H e [S] sh a v e d h im se lf [O] w ith his own razor.
(v) T h e su b ject req u ires th e su b jectiv e form for p ro n o u n s th a t h a v e

d istin c tiv e case form s ( c f 6.4):
I [S] lik e him .

H e [S] lik es m e.
(vi) T h e re is a sy stem atic c o rre sp o n d e n c e b etw een a ctiv e a n d p a ssiv e

clau ses in th a t th e d irec t o r in d ire c t o b ject o f a n activ e clause b e c o m e s th e
su b je ct o f a p assiv e clau se w h ile th e su b ject o f th e active c lau se is e ith e r
o m itte d o r m a d e th e c o m p le m e n t in a h y-agent p h ra se ( c f 16.26):
M y son [S] h as p re p are d lunch [O] today, [active]

~ Lunch [S] h as b e en p re p a re d by m y son today, [passive]
(vii) T h e su b ject is re p ea te d in a ta g q u estio n by a p ro n o u n fo rm ( c /1 1 . i f f ) :
T h e m ilk is sour, is n 't if?
(viii) T h e im p lied su b ject o f a sub jectless n o n fin ite or v erb less c la u se is

n o rm ally id en tical w ith th e su b je ct o f th e su p e ro rd in ate c la u se :
S u san telep h o n ed before com ing over. [‘. . . before S usan c a m e o v e r’]
(d ) SEMANTIC PROPERTIES
(i) T h e su b je ct is ty p ically th e th em e (or to p ic ) o f th e clause (c /1 8 .9 # ).
(ii) I t ty p ically re fers to in fo rm a tio n t h a t is re g ard ed b y th e sp eak er as
g iv e n ( c /1 8 .8 # ) .
(iii) I n a clau se th a t is n o t passiv e, th e su b je ct is ag en tiv e if th e ag en tiv e
ro le is e x p re ss e d in th e clau se (c/10.33).
N o te [a] F o r a d v e rb ia l form s fu n ctio n in g as subject, c f 10.15. O n adjectiv es functio n in g as h ea d s o f

n o u n p h r a s e s (th e young), c fl.2 2 ff.
[b] F o r d e c la ra tiv e clauses w ith s u b je c t-o p e ra to r o r s u b je c t-v e rb inversion, c f 10.58/, 15.36,
. 18.22#
[c] F o r th e q u e stio n o f there as a su b ject in ex iste n tia l se n te n ces, c f 18.46.
[d] T h e im p lie d su b ject o f a p o stm o d ify in g p a rtic ip le clau se is th e h ead o f th e noun p h rase:
I h a v e n ’t y e t seen the fr ie n d s staying with you.
[‘T h e frie n d s a re staying w ith you.’]
T h e s e a re th e flow ers given to us by our children.
[‘T h e flow ers w ere g iv en to us by o u r c h ild re n .’]
[e] T h e id e n tity o f th e su b ject c a n b e tested in a n in d e p e n d e n t d ec larativ e clause th ro u g h a wh-
q u e s tio n w ith who o r w hat. T h e su b jec t is th e e le m e n t t h a t c a n be rep laced in its no rm al po sitio n
b y th e w /i-item :
J o a n [S] w a n ts a p ie ce o f cak e. ~ W ho [SJ w a n ts a p ie ce o f ca k e?
T h e bright light [S] is d istu rb in g Percy, ~ W hat [S] is d is tu rb in g Percy?
O th e r c la u s e elem ents re q u ire fro n tin g a n d su b je c t-o p e ra to r in v e rsio n :
J o a n w a n ts a piece o f c a k e [Oj. W hat [O] d o es J o a n w a n t?
O b je c t: direct and indirect

10.7 D ir e c t a n d in d ire ct o b jects h a v e som e c h a ra c te ris tic s in com m on, a n d th is
f a c t ju stifie s th eir sh a rin g th e term object:
(a) F O R M ;
L ik e th e subject, th e o b ject is n o r m a lly ^ n o u n p h ra se o r a n o m in al clause.
T h e r e a re c o n strain ts o n th e ty p es o f n o m in a l clauses th a t can b e in d ire ct
o b je c t: generally, o nly n o m in a l re la tiv e c lau ses (c /1 5 .8 /).
(b ) POSITION
T h e o b je c t norm ally follow s th e su b je ct a n d v e rb (b u t c /1 0 .5 8 / 11.1 4/ , 18.20).
I f b o th objects! a re p re sen t, th e in d ire c t o b je c t n o rm ally com es b efo re th e
d ir e c t o b je c t (blit c / 1 8.38):
I g a v e him [O J m y address [Od],
(c) SYNTACTIC FUNCTION

(i) T h e o bject fu n c tio n req u ires th e o b jec tiv e fo rm fo r p ro n o u n s th a t h av e
d is tin c tiv e case fo rm s:
T h e y am use m e [O d], T h ey g a v e m e [O J som e chocolate.

I a m u se them [Od], I g av e th em [O J so m e chocolate.
(ii) I f a n o bject is c o referen tial w ith th e su b ject, it usually re q u ire s a

re flex iv e p ro n o u n w h ich ag rees w ith th e su b je ct in p erso n a n d , w h ere
S yntactic functions o f clause elem ents 727
re le v an t, in n u m b e r a n d g en d er. S im ilar a g reem en t is re q u ire d for a n

e m p h a tic g en itiv e (m y ow n, etc) w ith in th e o bject ( c f 6.30):
You [S] can p lea se y our s e lf [0$].

/[S ] h a v e g iv en m y s e l f [O s] a trea t.
They [S] type their ow n letters [Od].
(iii) T h e o b ject o f a n a c tiv e clau se m ay generally b eco m e th e subject o f th e

c o rre sp o n d in g p assiv e c lau se (b u t c /N o te [c] below , 16.27):
W e h a v e fin ish ed the w ork [O d], ~ The work [S] has b een finished.
I f b o th o b jects a re p re se n t, it is o ften possible to m a k e e ith e r th e su b ject in a

c o rre sp o n d in g p a ssiv e c la u s e :
W e se n t J a c k [O,] a copy o f the letter [Od].

~ J a c k [S] w as s e n t a copy o f the letter [Od]. [ 1]
~ A copy o f the letter [S] w as sen t Ja ck [O J. [2]
B u t [1] is fa r m o re c o m m o n th a n [2], In ste ad o f th e re ta in e d in d ire ct o b je c t

in [2], th e p re p o sitio n a l p a ra p h ra s e is m o re u su a l:
A c opy o f th e le tte r w as s e n t to Jack. [2a]
(iv) T h e in d ire c t o b je c t g en erally co rresp o n d s to a p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se,

w h ic h is g en erally p la c e d a fte r th e d ire c t o b je c t:
I ’ll sen d Charles a n o th e r copy. ~ I ’ll send a n o th e r copy to Charles.

P o u r m e a d rin k . ~ P o u r a d r in k /o r m e.
(v) T h e in d ire c t o b je c t c a n generally be o m itted w ith o u t affecting th e

se m an tic re latio n s b e tw ee n th e o th e r elem ents:
D a v id sav ed m e a se a t. ~ D a v id saved a seat. ~ D a v id sav ed m e.
H e n ce , i f th ere is o n ly o n e o b jec t p re sen t, it is g en erally th e d ire c t object. B u t

w ith a few v erb s th a t a re n o rm ally d itran sitiv e, th e in d ire c t o b ject m ay b e
re ta in e d w hile th e d ire c t o b ject is o m itted . I n th a t case th e only o b ject p re se n t
is th e in d ire c t o b jec t:
B ob is te a c h in g the older children.

Y ou c an p ay m e in stea d .
(d ) SEM ANTIC P R O P E R T IE S
(i) T h e d ire c t o b je c t ty p ically refers to a n e n tity th a t is affected by th e
a ctio n d e n o te d in th e c lau se ( c /1 0 .19, b u t c / also 1 0 .2 7 /) :
N o rm a n sm a sh e d a window in his fa th e r’s car.
(ii) T h e in d ire c t o b je c t ty p ically refers to a n a n im a te b ein g th a t is th e

re cip ie n t o f th e a c tio n (c /1 0 .1 9 , b u t c f also 10.32).
N o te [a] W e d o n o t, a s so m e d o , ap p ly th e te rm ‘in d irect ob ject’ to th e co rre sp o n d in g p rep o sitio n a l

p h rases {eg: f a r m e in P our a d r in k f o r m e), th ough w e use th e te rm ‘p re p o sitio n a l o b je ct’ for th e
c o m p lem en t in su ch p h ra se s ( c / 1 6 .5 6 ,16.60). Som e apply th e te rm ‘d ire c t o b je ct’ to an in d ire c t
o b je ct if it is th e on ly o b je c t {eg: y o u in I'll show yo u o r his children in H e ’s teaching his children).
O th ers ag a in ap p ly th e te rm ‘o b je ct’ exclusively to th e first (o r only) ob ject.
[b] S p e a k e rs v a ry in th e ir a c c e p ta n c e o f w/i-questions in w h ich th e w /i-in terro g ativ e p ro n o u n

r e p la c e s a n in d ire c t o b ject. T h e co rresp o n d in g prep o sitio n al p h rase is fully a c c e p ta b le :
? W h o d id th e d e te c tiv e show h is bad g e?
~ W ho d id th e d etectiv e sh o w his bad g e to?
~ To w hom d id th e d e te c tiv e show his b adge? (f o r m a l)
S im ila r v a ria tio n ap p lie s to re la tiv e clau ses:
? T h e p erso n I s e n t th e b o o k h a s n o t acknow ledged receiving it.
~ T h e p e rso n I sen t th e b o o k to h as n o t acknow ledged receiving it.
~ T h e p erso n to whom I se n t th e book has not acknow ledged rece iv in g it. ( f o r m a l)
I t a lso a p p lie s to re ta in e d in d ire c t o b jects in passive clau ses:
? N o reply h a s b e e n given m e.
~ N o rep ly h a s been g iv e n to me.
R e ta in e d in d ire c t o b je cts are g en e ra lly restricted to pronouns.
A ll th re e c o n stru c tio n s h a v e b ee n exem plified by in d irect o b jects w ith c o rresp o n d in g
p re p o s itio n a l p h ra s e s in tro d u c e d by to. T h e con stru ctio n s are less a c c e p ta b le w ith o th e r
c o rre sp o n d e n c e s (e g :fo r - p h ra se s) o r no correspondences.
[c] I n in s ta n c e s w h e re th e p assiv e is in a p p lic ab le b ecause th e ob ject is a clau se, w e ca n te s t for
th e p re s e n c e o f a n o b je c t by a d d in g a co o rd in ate clause w ith a pro-form a n d m a k in g th e second
clau se p assiv e.
I a sk e d w h e th e r he w as th e re an d his p a re n ts a sk e d th a t too.
~ T hat w as ask ed by h is p aren ts.
[d] T h e id e n tity o f th e dire ct o b je c t ca n b e tested in a n in d e p en d en t d e c la ra tiv e clau se th ro u g h
a w /j-q u estio n w ith who o r w h a t ; fro n tin g o f th e wh -item a n d su b je c t-o p e ra to r in v e rsio n are
r e q u ire d :
T h e bu zz er sig n als th e e n d o f the g am e [O J.
~ W hat [Od] does [opl.f/ie b u zze r [S] signal?
O n th e difficulty o f ap p ly in g th is te st to th e in d irect object, c /N o te [b] above.
C o m p le m e n t: subject and object

10.8 B o th c o m p le m e n ts a re in a c o p u la r relatio n sh ip w ith a n o th e r c la u se elem en t.
T h e su b je ct c o m p le m e n t re la te s to th e subject, an d th e v e rb is c o p u la r (c f
1 6 .2 1 # ):
M y glass is em pty. [1]

T h e ir d a u g h te r h a s b eco m e an accountant. [2]
T h e o b jec t c o n ip le m e n t re la te s to th e d irect o b je c t:
W e find th e m very pleasant. [3]

C a ro l m a d e J o s h u a a n d P e te r her assistants. [4]
T h e im p lied re la tio n s h ip b e tw ee n th e o bject a n d th e o b ject c o m p le m e n t c an

be ex p ressed bV m ea n s o f a c o rresp o n d in g S V C sen ten ce w ith a c o p u la r verb ,
be if th e o b ject c o m p le m e n t is a c u rre n t a ttrib u te an d become i f it is a resu ltin g
a ttr ib u te (c /1 0 .2 0 ):
T h e y a re very pleasant. [3a]

J o s h u a a n d P e te r b e ca m e her assistants. [4a]
(a) FO R M
T h e c o m p le m e n t is n o rm ally a n o u n ph rase o r an ad jectiv e p h ra se , b u t it m ay
also b e a n o m in a l clau se ( c f 15.4#). I t is a d efin in g c h a ra c te ris tic o f
co m p le m e n ts, in c o n tra st to objects, th a t they m ay be a d je ctiv e p h rases.
(b) PO SITIO N
T h e su b ject c o m p le m e n t n o rm ally follows th e su b ject a n d th e verb . T h e
S yn ta ctic functions of clause elements 729
o b ject c o m p le m e n t n o rm ally follow s th e d ire c t object. (B ut c f 11.15, 11.31,

1 8 .2 0 /, 18.37).
(c) SY N TA CTIC F U N C T IO N
(i) I f it is a n o u n p h ra se, th e su b ject c o m p lem en t n o rm ally h a s co n co rd o f
n u m b e r w ith th e subject, a n d th e o b ject co m p le m e n t n o rm ally h a s c o n c o rd
o f n u m b e r w ith th e d ire c t o b ject (b u t c f 10.46). C o n tra s t [2] a n d [4].
(ii) I f it is a reflexive p ro n o u n , th e su b ject co m p lem en t h as co n co rd o f
n u m b er, p e rso n an d , w h ere re lev an t, g e n d er w ith th e subject:
Sh e is n o t h e rse lf today.
(iii) U n lik e th e object, th e co m p le m e n t c a n n o t becom e th e su b je ct o f a

c o rre sp o n d in g p assiv e clause. T h ere is n o c o rresp o n d in g p assiv e clau se fo r
the S V C type. W ith th e S V O C type, th e d ire c t o b ject c an o f course b e m a d e
th e su b ject o f a p a ssiv e c la u se :
H is frien d s c all h im Ted. [Ted is C 0] [5]

~ H e is c alled T ed by his frien d s. [T ed is C s] [5a]
T h e o b ject co m p le m e n t becom es th e su b je ct co m p lem en t in th e p a ssiv e

clause.
(iv) T h e co m p le m e n t c a n be q u estio n ed , b u t th ere is n o o n e g en eral w a y
o f d o in g so ( c / 1 1.5 N o te [e ], 11.15 N o tefi]).
(v) I f th e su b je ct co m p lem en t is a p ro n o u n , th ere is a d istin c tio n b e tw e e n
su b jectiv e a n d o b jectiv e fo rm s; th e su b je ctiv e form is m o re p re v a le n t in
fo rm al use (esp ecially in A m E ):
T h is is he. <form al> T h a t’s him.
(d) SEM ANTIC PR O PER TIES

T h e co m p lem en t typically identifies o r ch ara cte riz es th e re fe re n t o f th e c lau se
e lem en t to w h ic h it is related (c/10.20).
N o te [a] W ith som e v erb s, o b je ct co m p lem en ts c a n be o m itte d (c /1 6 .4 4 /f):

W e ap p o in te d h e r our delegate to the convention. —W e ap p o in te d her.
T h e y h av e n a m e d th e ir bab y Roger. —T h e y h a v e n am ed th e ir baby.
[b] T h e ob ject c o m p le m e n t c a n n o t be th e no rm al reflexive p ro n o u n , b u t it c a n h a v e a
co rresp o n d in g fo rm w ith self}selves'.
I p refer G eo rg e his norm al self. I d id n o t find th e m their usual selves.
Adverbial
10.9 A d v erb ials a re th e m o st d iv erse o f th e c lau se elem ents, a n d w e th e re fo re
d istin g u ish sev eral m ajo r ty p es ( c f C h a p te r 8 ,1 5 .1 7 / ) .
(a) FORM
T h e ad v erb ial is n o rm ally a n a d v e rb p h ra se , p re p o sitio n al p h ra se , o r
ad v erb ial clause. I t m ay also b e a n o u n p h ra se ( c /8 .13).
(b) POSITIO N
In g en eral, th e a d v erb ial is c ap a b le o f o c cu rrin g in m o re th a n o n e p o sitio n in
th e clause. C o n stra in ts o n its m o b ility d e p e n d o n th e ty p e an d fo rm o f th e
a d v erb ial. T h e a d v erb ial in th e S V A type n o rm ally follow s th e su b je ct a n d
v e rb , a n d th e a d v e rb ia l in th e S V O A ty p e n o rm ally follow s th e d ire c t o b ject

( c /1 0 .1 0 , a lso 8.27). O th e r p red icatio n a d ju n c ts ( c / 8 . 3 4 / 15.22) n o rm ally
a p p e a r a t th e e n d o f th e clause.
(c) S Y N T A C T IC F U N C T IO N
(i) E x c e p t fo r th e o b lig ato ry ad v erb ial in th e S V A a n d S V O A types ( c f
10.10), a d v e rb ia ls a re o p tio n a l: they m ay b e a d d e d to o r rem o v ed fro m th e
c la u se w ith o u t affectin g its accep tab ility a n d w ith o u t affecting th e re latio n s
o f s tr u c tu r e a n d m ea n in g in th e rest o f th e c lause.
(ii) O th e r s y n ta c tic p o ten tialities d ep en d cru cially o n th e ty p e o f ad v erb ial.
A t t h e m o s t g e n e ra l level, th e ad v erb ial m ay b e c h a ra c te riz e d n e g ativ ely : it
d o es n o t h a v e th e sy n tactic featu res listed fo r th e o th e r clau se elem en ts ( c f
10. 6# - ) .
(d) S E M A N T IC P R O PE R T IE S
T h e a d v e r b ia l re fe rs to th e circu m stan ces o f th e situ atio n (ad ju n ct an d
su b ju n c t), c o m m e n ts o n th e fo rm o r c o n te n t o f th e clau se (disjunct), o r
p ro v id e s a lin k b etw een clauses (conjunct). A m o re specific sem an tic
c h a r a c te riz a tio n re la te s to th e sem an tic su b ty p e s o f ad v erb ials ( c f C h a p te r 8
a n d 1 5 .2 4 # ).
N o te T h e te r m ‘a d ju n c t’ is so m etim e s ap p lied by oth ers to all ty p e s o f ad v e rb ial.
O b l i g a t o r y a d v e r b i a l s : s u b j e c t - r e l a t e d a n d o b j e c t - r e l a t e d a d v e r b ia l s
10.10 O b lig a to ry a d v e rb ia ls are a subclass o f p re d ic a tio n a d ju n cts ( c f 8.27) th a t
b e lo n g to th e S V A a n d S V O A types. In a sm u c h a s th ey a re o b lig ato ry , th ey
are c e n tr a l e le m e n ts o f th e clause (c /2 .1 3 ), p a r t o f th e clau se nucleus. T h ey
m ay b e a d v e r b p h ra se s , p rep o sitio n al p h ra ses, o r a d v erb ial clauses. I n 10.11
w e su g g e st t h a t so m e o bligatory ad v erb p h ra se s a n d p re p o sitio n al p h ra se s
m ay b e a n a ly se d a s com p lem en ts, b elonging to th e S V C a n d S V O C types.
O b lig a to ry a d v e rb ia ls a re com m only re q u ire d a s c o m p le m e n ta tio n fo r th e
v erb B E in th e S V A ty p e, b u t th ey are also fo u n d as co m p le m e n ta tio n for
o th e r v e rb s. T h e a d v e rb ia ls in th is type a re su b ject-related . M an y are sp ace
a d ju n c ts t h a t d e sig n ate th e p o sitio n o f th e re fe re n t o f th e su b ject:
Y o u r c h ild re n a re outside.
O u r c a r is n ’t in the garage.
W e a re n o w liv in g in a sm all village.
T h e p la n e ’s o f f the ground.
D o r o th y is r e m a in in g a t O xford.
S a m is s ta y in g a t a nearby motel.
Y o u r s c a rf is lying on the floor.
T h e r o a d b e g in s in Denver.
Som e e x p re s s o th e r types o f sp ace re la tio n s :
W e g o t o f f the train.
W e a ll g o t into m y car.
I s to le into her room.
A ll ro a d s le a d to Rom e.
T h e la w n goes all the way around the house.
T h e h ills e x te n d fr o m here into the n e x t county.
Syntactic functions o f clause elem ents 731
O th e rs ex p ress m eta p h o ric a l ex ten sio n s o f space relatio n s:
T h e y ’re into yoga, [‘a re k e en on yo g a’] <inform al>

W e g ot into a hea ted argum ent.
H e ’s o ff cigarettes.
T im e a d ju n cts c o m m o n ly c o o ccu r w ith a n ev en tiv e su b ject (c /1 0 .2 5 ):
T h e ir h o lid a y e x te n d e d through the summer.

T h e n e x t m ee tin g is on M onday.
T h e last p e rfo rm a n c e w a s a t eight o'clock.
T h e play lasts fo r three hours.
O n th e c o n d itio n s fo r o m ittin g th e p rep o sitio n s in th e last th re e e x am p les, c f

9 .4 0 /
W e briefly e x em p lify o th e r se m an tic types o f o bligatory a d v e rb ia ls in th e
S K /L /y p e :
T h e tw o eggs a re f o r you. [rec ip ie n t, 9.46]
T h e d rin k s a re f o r the journey. [purpose, 9.45]
I f fru it p rices a re h ig h e r th is y ear, it’s because [reason, 9.44]
o f the b a d harvest.
T ra n s p o rt to th e m a in la n d is b y ferry. [m eans, 9.49]
E n tra n c e w a s b y special invitation only. [m eans]
P a y m en t is by cash only. [m eans]
M elv in ’s m a in in te re s t is in sport. [stim ulus, 9.51]
J a c k a n d N o r a a re w ith me. [a cc o m p a n im e n t, 9.52]
T h e p a in tin g w a s by an unknown artist. [ag en t, 9.50]
H o w m u ch is th is ja c k e t? I t ’s £60. [m easu re, 8.9]
T h e c o n n ectio n o f su b je ct-rela te d a d v erb ial w ith su b ject is p a ralle l to th a t

o f su b ject co m p le m e n t w ith su b ject:
R o n ald is o f f cigarettes. [S V A J
A n n is happy. [S V C J
S im ilarly, th e c o n n e c tio n o f o b ject-related ad v erb ial to d ire c t o b jec t p a rallels

t h a t o f o b ject c o m p le m e n t w ith d ire c t o b je c t:
W e k e p t R o n a ld o f f cigarettes. [S V O d A 0]
W e k e p t A n n happy. [S V O d C J
H e re a re e x am p les o f o b ject-related a d v e rb ia ls:
I p u t th e k e ttle on the stove. [‘T h e k ettle is now o n th e sto v e .’]

T h ey a re p lac in g th e b la m e on us.
I ’m k eep in g m o st o f m y m o n ey in the bank.
I stu ck th e w a lle t in the drawer.
H e set th e ty p e w rite r on the table.
Y ou sh o u ld h a v e y o u r h a n d s on the wheel.
H e d irec te d h is s p e e ch a t the workers.
She w a n ts th e p a y m e n t in dollars.
L ik e o p tio n a l a d v e rb ia ls o f th e sam e se m an tic types, m o st o b lig ato ry

ad v erb ials c a n b e q u e stio n e d w ith w k-interrogative a d v e rb ia ls su c h as where,
w hen , how long , w hy. T h e e x cep tio n s in clu d e the m eta p h o ric al ex te n sio n s o f
sp a c e re la tio n s, b u t also th e se m an tic relatio n s o f recip ien t, m ea n s, a g en t,
stim u lu s, a n d a cc o m p an im en t.
N o te la ] I n ce rta in in sta n c e s, a verb o f m o tio n is im p lied b efo re th e oblig ato ry a d v e rb ia ls:

S h e ask e d th e m in. T ru th w illow /. I let th e c a t out.
I ’ll show you out. I w an t you inside.
T h e co n stru c tio n w ith th e in tra n sitiv e v e rb is co m m o n in som e v arieties o f co llo q u ia l A m E a n d
S co ttish E n g lish , esp ecially w ith want:
T h e d o g w a n ts out. I w a n t o f f a t S ix th Street.
[b] T h e o b lig ato ry m a n n e r ad v e rb ial w ith behave in H e's behaving badly is related to th e su b jec t,
th o u g h w e d o n o t h a v e a co rresp o n d in g se n te n ce w ith th e copula (*H e is badly ) b ec au se o f th e
a d v e rb form . W e sim ilarly lack c o rresp o n d in g sen ten ces w hen th e p rep o sitio n al p h ra s e b eg in s
w ith d ire c tio n a l into, a s in W e a ll g o t into m y car, th o u g h we h av e th e m e ta p h o ric a l in fo rm a l
T hey're into yoga. C o m p a re also th e m e ta p h o ric a l They're on to his machinations [‘a w a re o f ] ,
[c] T h e o b lig ato ry m a n n e r ad v e rb ial in T h ey trea ted him badly seem s to be re la te d b o th to th e
su b jec t (‘T h e y a re b e h a v in g bad ly .’) an d to th e o b je c t (‘H e is in a b a d w ay.’).
Gradience and m ultiple analysis
P r e p o s it io n a l p h r a s e s a n d a d v e r b s a s c o m p le m e n t
10.11 S om e clau se stru c tu re s a n d clause elem en ts can be analysed in m o re th a n o n e
w ay. In th is a n d th e follow ing sectio n s w e exam ine in stan c es t h a t a re b e st
tre a te d th ro u g h g ra d ie n ce a n d m u ltip le analysis (c /2 .6 0 /).
T h e d is tin c tio n b etw een o b lig a to ry a d ju n c t an d co m p lem en t is n o t c lear-
c u t for all p re p o sitio n a l p h rases. S om e p rep o sitio n al p h rases are se m an tica lly
sim ila r to a d je ctiv e o r n o u n p h ra ses fu n ctio n in g as c o m p le m e n t:
T h ey w ere o u t o f breath. ~ T h ey w ere breathless.

T h a t is o f no importance. ~ T h a t is u n im p o rtan t.
H e is under suspicion. ~ H e is a suspect.
She is in go d d health. ~ She is h ealthy.
T h ey a re n o t a t ease. ~ T h ey are n o t relaxed.
M ore im p o rta n tly , su ch p re p o sitio n a l p h rases can b e c o o rd in a te d w ith , o r

placed in a p p o sitio n w ith , ad je ctiv e p h ra ses th a t u n d o u b ted ly fu n c tio n as
c o m p le m e n t: ;
She is you n g a n d in g o o d health.

T h ey w ere o ut o f breath a n d ex trem ely tired.
T h ey a re n o t a t ease, ie n o t relax ed .
F u rth e rm o re , u n lik e c lear in stan c es o f o bligatory ad ju n cts, th ey c a n b e used

as c o m p le m e n ta tio n for c o p u la r v erb s o th er th a n b e , a c h a ra c te ris tic o f
adjective p h ra se s fu n c tio n in g as su b ject co m p lem en t:
T h ey a p p e a r out o f breath.
T h a t seem s o f no importance.
She feels in good health.
H ere a re o th e r ex am p les o f p re p o sitio n a l p h rases fu n c tio n in g as su b je ct

c o m p lem en t:
Syntactic fun ction s of clause elements 733
T h ey a re in love.
W e ’re over the worst.
T h e d e m o n s tra tio n g o t o ut o f hand.
H e feels a t home.
T h a t c h ild seem s in trouble.
I d o n ’t feel up to it.
T h e h ouse seem s in good condition.
H e so u n d s in great danger.
W e sim ilarly find p re p o sitio n a l p h rases fu n c tio n in g as o b ject c o m p le m e n t:
T h ey p u t m e a t m y ease. [‘I ’m a t m y ease.’]

I d o n ’t c o n sid er m y self at risk.
H e d id n ’t feel h im s e lf a t home.
She d id n ’t w a n t m e in a n y danger.
H e im a g in ed h im s e lf on the point o f death.
I fo u n d h im in trouble.
Som e ad v erb s c a n also b e co m p le m e n ts:
T h e m ilk seem s off. [‘so u r’] <inform al>

T h e p e rfo rm a n ce is over.
In tech n o lo g y w e a re ahead.
I a m behind in m y re n t.
T h e telev isio n is still on.
H e im a g in ed h im s e lf ahead.
I d eclare th is m ee tin g over.
T h ey le t u s off.
T h e ad v erb s a n d p re p o sitio n a l p h rases th a t fu n c tio n as c o m p lem en t a re

m eta p h o rically re la te d to sp ace adverbials. U n lik e th e latter, how ever, th e y
c a n n o t b e q u e stio n e d b y ad v erb ial where. C o n tra s t in th is re s p e c t:
A : W h ere a re th ey ?
O n th e o th e r h a n d , how m ay be used in so m e in stan c es to q u estio n th e s e

co m p lem en ts, a s it is fo r ad jectiv e p h rases fu n c tio n in g a s c o m p lem en t:
g , f She feels very happy.

A : H o w d o es sh e feel?
{:
*1 She feels in good health.
N o te [a] S p eak ers m a y v ary in p a rtic u la r in stan ces as to w h e th e r a co p u lar v e rb o th e r th a n b e is

ac cep ta b le; fo r ex a m p le, in Pm on tim e (cf: Pm early ) o r Y o u ’re on yo u r o w n '(c f: Y ou’re alone).
C o n tra st: ( ? ) / seem on tim e an d , w ith look as a co p u lar v e rb , ( l)Y o u lo ok on yo u r own.
[b] O ff in T he m ilk is o f f h as m o v ed in to th e a d jectiv e class for th o se w h o ac cep t its
p rem o d ifica tio n b y very.
[c] T h e re m a y b e sem a n tic differences b etw een p rep o sitio n a l p h ra se s a n d p a ra lle l a d jectiv e
p h rases. F o r ex a m p le, S h e is healthy suggests a m ore p e rm a n e n t c o n d itio n th a n Sh e is in g o o d
health.
P a rtic les and clause types

10.12 W e h av e so fa r co n sid ered th e v erb elem en t as re aliz e d only b y a v e rb p h ra se.
T h a t a s s u m p tio n re q u ire s u s to analyse [1] a s S V A , w ith lo o ked a s v erb a n d

into th e recent com plaints a s a d v e rb ia l:
T h e b o a rd lo o k ed in to the re cen t c o m p lain ts. [ 1]
B u t th e r e a r e a ls o g ro u n d s for analysing looked into as th e v e rb , p arallel to

in vestig a ted i n :
T h e b o a rd in v e s tig a te d the re cen t co m p lain ts. [2]
In t h a t case th e recent com plaints w ould b e d ire c t o b jec t in b o th [1] a n d [2],

O n e o f th e re a s o n s fo r th e a lte rn a tiv e an aly sis is th e p o ssib ility o f m ak in g the
recent com plaints th e su b je ct o f a c o rresp o n d in g p assiv e c la u s e :
T h e re c e n t c o m p la in ts w ere looked in to b y th e b o a rd . [la ]
A n o th e r is t h a t th e recent complaints can be q u e stio n e d by a w te -q u e s tio n ,

w h e re a s into the recent complaints c a n n o t b e so q u e s tio n e d :
W h a t d id th e b o a rd look in to ?
* W h a t d id t h e b o a rd look ?
T h is a lte rn a tiv e a n aly sis view s co m b in a tio n s o f v e rb s a n d p articles

(w h e th e r th e p a rtic le s a re p rep o sitio n s o r a d v erb s) a s m u lti-w o rd verbs.
E x a m p le s c a n b e fo u n d fo r six o f th e seven m ajo r clau se ty p es, th e ex cep tio n
b e in g ty p e S V O A . W e h e re give a n ex am p le o f e a c h ty p e, w ith th e verb
e le m e n t (so m e tim es d isco n tin u o u s) in d ic a te d in ita lic s:
(1) SV T h e soldiers gave in.

(2) SVO R a n d o lp h is paying fo r th e m eal.
(3) SVC I t turned out a h uge success.
(4) SVA\ W e a re p utting up a t a m otel.
(5) SVO O T h e y spoke to us about th e p ro b lem .
T h e y provided h e r with e v ery th in g sh e n eed ed .
(6) S V O C T h e y looked on m e as th e ir ro le m odel.
T h ey m istook h im fo r th e n ew su p erv iso r.
F o r th is a lte rn a tiv e an aly sis, c f I6.2ff.
i \
N o te [a] A sim ila r m u lti-w o rd an a ly sis c a n be p o sited for v erb -p lu s-ad jectiv e c o m b in a tio n s {m ake
clear, cu t short ) a n d fo r co m b in a tio n s o f v erb plus n o u n p h ra se plus p re p o s itio n {m ake fu n o f put
a stop fo) ( e / 1 6 .1 7 , 16.58). C o m p a re also ta k e a lo o k at, giv e a ju m p (10,30).
[b] S o m e p a rtic le s p ro v id e o b lig ato ry co m p lem en tatio n fo r th e v e rb in th e S V ty p e, in th a t the
v e rb o th e rw ise c a n n o t b e u sed in tran sitiv ely {m ake up, giv e in). O th e rs a re re q u ire d fo r th e S V O
ty p e {look a t, listen to ). S im ilarly, w hile consider c a n be u sed w ith o r w ith o u t th e p artic le as in th e
S V O C ty p e - I consider th em {as) acquaintances - o th e r v e rb s re q u ire a p a rtic le fo r th is ty pe, eg:
regard as, m is ta k e fo r . In a p a tte r n w ith close analogies (c /1 6 .5 6 /), a few v erb s in th e S V O O type
h a v e a lte rn a tiv e s in w h ic h o n e o f th e o bjects req u ires a p a rtic le : Sh e b lam ed us f o r the failure,
Sh e b la m e d the fa ilu r e on us.
[c] I n a se n te n ce su c h as I w on't p u t up with such nonsense, th e m u lti-w o rd v e rb is p u t up w ith an d
is m o n o tra n s itiv e u n d e r th is an aly sis, such nonsense b ein g a d ire c t o b je ct. I n T h e y p u t th e m istake
down to m y inexperience, th e analysis is less clear. W e m ig h t co n sid e r th e m u lti-w o rd v erb to be
p u t dow n to , in w h ic h ca se th e v e rb is d itra n sitiv e w ith tw o o b jects. W e ca n s u p p o rt th a t analysis
b y n o tin g th a t w /i-p ro n o m in al q u estio n s apply for b o th n o u n p h r a s e s : W h a t do the y p u t down to
m y inexperience?', W h a t do the y p u t the m istake down to? O n th e o th e r h a n d , o n ly th e first noun
S yn ta ctic functions of clause elem ents 735
p h ra se c a n b e m a d e su b ject o f a c o rresp o n d in g p assiv e: The m istake was p u t dow n to m y

inexperience. F u rth e rm o re , th e in d ire c t o b je c t in a d itran sitiv e co n stru ctio n n o rm a lly h a s
p e rso n al refere n ce, th e ex ceptions o c c u rrin g o n ly w hen it ta k es a n affected role ( c f 10.32), b u t
h ere n e ith e r n o u n p h ra se is p ersonal. I f w e still w ish to tre a t p u t down to as a m u lti-w o rd v e rb ,
w e m u s t co n sid e r b o th n o u n p h rases a s d ire c t objects; w e should p erh ap s do th e s a m e fo r T h e y
ascribed the m ista k e to m y inexperience , ascribe to being th e m ulti-w ord v erb, sin ce b o th n o u n
p h ra se s h e re to o m a y be qu estio n ed b y what.
E x te n t a n d m e a s u re p h ra se s : o b je c t o r ad v erb ial
10.13 N o u n p h ra ses o f m easu re a fte r c e rta in verbs d en o tin g m easu re a n d p h ra s e s
o f e x te n t in sp ace a re in d e te rm in a te b etw een d irect o bject a n d a d v e rb ia l:
EXTENT MEASURE
H e ra n a m ile. I t costs ten dollars.
I h o b b led a f e w fe e t. In len g th it m easu res seven fe e t.
S h e ju m p e d ten fe e t. I t w eighed alm ost a ton.
B o th ty p es d o n o t g en erally p e rm it th e passive, b u t we o ccasio n ally find th e

e x te n t p h ra s e as p assiv e su b je ct in a g en eric s e n te n c e :
A m ile c a n ’t b e ru n in tw o m in u tes.
B o th ty p es allow a d v erb ial q u e s tio n s :
H o w _/ar d id h e ru n ? H o w m uch does it cost?
B u t th e m ea su re p h ra ses c a n also be q u estio n ed by what:
W h a t does it co st?
T h e a d v e rb ia l q u e stio n in d ic a te s th a t th e stru ctu re is SV A . O n th e o th e r

h a n d , th e p ro n o m in a l q u e stio n a n d th e p o ssibility o f p a ssiv iz a tio n a r e
in d ic a tio n s th a t th e stru c tu re is SV O . O ne fu rth er difference b e tw ee n th e tw o
ty p es is t h a t th e m easu re p h ra se s a re o b lig ato ry co m p lem en tatio n .
N o te [a] I f th e p h ra se s o th e r th a n th o se o f e x te n t follow m o tio n verbs, p a ssiv iz atio n is g e n e ra lly

p o ssib le a n d th e p h ra se s c a n o n ly b e q u estio n ed b y w hat; th e stru ctu re is th e re fo re S V O ( c f
10.27):
T h e F re n c h te a m clim b e d the m ountain. ~ T h e m o u n tain w as clim b e d b y th e F r e n c h
team .
In so m e cases, p assiv iz atio n is p o ssib le only i f th e ag e n tiv e b y-phrase is ab sen t:
O n ce th a t c o m e r w as tu rn e d , th e ro a d w as easy to d riv e on.
[b] T h e in d e term in acy ap p lies also to som e clauses in th e S V O O p a tte rn w h ic h allo w b o th th e
W hat a n d H ow m uch qu estio n s, th o u g h th ey also allow th e p a ssiv e :
S h e c h a rg e d m e tw e nty dollars. I p a id h er three pounds.
In I b et him a large sum that the horse w ould win , we h a v e eith er th re e objects (th e first o f w h ic h is
O J o r tw o o b jects an d a n a d v e rb ia l (a large sum).
M id d le v e rb s
10.14 A sm all g ro u p o f a p p a re n tly tra n s itiv e verbs, th e m o st co m m o n o f w h ic h is
have, n o rm ally o c cu r o n ly in th e activ e. T h ey a re all stativ e r e la tio n a l v erb s,
a n d th ere fo re n o rm ally d o n o t o c c u r in th e p rogressive (b u t c /N o te [c ]):
J a c k d o esn ’t possess a life in su ra n ce policy. [*A life in su ra n c e p o licy

isn ’t p ossessed by J a c k .]
T h e y t o e a sm all house.
D e n n is lacks confidence.
W ill th is c o u rse suit th em ?
T h is d ress d o e sn ’t become you.
T h e c o at d o e s n ’t f i t m e.
F iv e tim es six equals thirty.
B e ca u se o f th e ir o th e r c h aracteristics (c f 10.7) th ese could b e co n sid ere d

tr a n s itiv e verbs co m p lem en ted by a d ire c t ob ject. N o tice, for ex am p le, th a t
th e n o u n p h ra se follow ing th e v e rb re q u ire s th e o bjective fo rm in p ro n o u n s
th a t h a v e th a t fo rm . O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e v erb s a re so m etim es tre a te d as a
s p e c ia l c lass te rm e d m i d d l e v e r b s . T h e final e le m en t m ay th e n b e assig n e d a
g e n e ra l te rm su c h as v e r b c o m p l e m e n t . T h e sam e analysis m ay b e e x te n d e d
to cla u se s th a t c o n ta in o b lig ato ry m ea su re p h ra se s (c/10.13).
N o te [a) F o r m o s t sp eak ers, resem ble is a m iddle v e r b ; fo r som e it c a n occur in th e p a s s iv e :

(?)G e o ffre y is resem b led b y h is eldest child.
[bj S t r i k e . . .a s in S h e struck m e as happy a n d consist o f in T he group consists o f ten m en a n d eight
w om en c a n n o t o ccu r in th e p assiv e, an d th e refo re m a y also b e considered m id d le verbs.
[c] M a r ry is a m id d le v erb in th e sense "enter in to a m a rriag e’, b u t it is d y n am ic a n d c a n
th e re fo re o c c u r in th e p ro g re ssiv e :
M y s is te r is m arrying R on.
M a r r y in th e senses ‘give in m a rriag e’ (m o re usually m arry o ff) o r ‘perfo rm th e m a rria g e
c e re m o n y fo r’ is a tra n sitiv e v e rb o ccurring in th e p a s s iv e :
D a v id an d J u d ith are m arrying o ff th e ir eld est so n n e x t w eek.
F a th e r B row n w ill be m arrying R on an d Jo an .
A d v erb ial form s a s subject

10.15 T h e su b je ct is1n o rm ally realized by a n o u n p h ra se o r a n o m in a l clause. In
c e r ta in re stric te d co n tex ts (all in fo rm a l) p re p o sitio n a l p h rases, a d v e rb s, a n d
a d v e rb ia l clauses - all o f w h ich n o rm ally re aliz e th e ad v erb ial e le m en t in th e
c la u se - fu n ctio n a s subject. T w o c o n d itio n s allow th is u se o f a d v e rb ia ls :
(i) t h e a d v erb ial is a frag m en t o f a n u n d e rsto o d clause (c/1 5 .1 6 ), o r
(ii) t h e sen ten ce can b e related to o n e w ith p ro p it ( c f 10.26):
S lo w ly is ex actly h ow he speaks. [‘S p e a k in g slowly is exactly h o w . . . ’]

O u t on the la k e w ill b e splendid. [‘A tr ip o u t o n th e lak e will b e s p le n d id ’]
W henever y o u are ready w ill be fine. [‘I t will be fine w h e n e v e r .. . ’;
c f: S unday will be fin e , 10.26]
W ill after th e show b e soon en o u g h ?
Because S a lly w ants to leave d o e sn ’t m e a n th a t we h av e to.
N o te [a] A n ad v e rb m ay b e subject in th e stereo ty p ed co n stru c tio n w ith th e p re d ic a te does i t :

C a r e fu lly |
S lo w ly > does it.
G en tly J
E a s y m a y b e subject in th is co n stru ctio n to o ; alth o u g h it h as th e sam e fo rm as th e a d jectiv e, it is
p re su m a b ly an a d v e rb in th is stereo ty p ed co n stru c tio n . C o m p a re easy in o th e r s te r e o ty p e d .
c o n s tru c tio n s ; E a sy come, easy g o ; T a k e it easy; G o easy on . . .
I n th is c o n stru c tio n w e c a n n o t su b stitu te a p re p o sitio n a l p h rase (*W ith great care does it) o r
c h a n g e th e form o f th e v erb {* Carefully d id it).
[b] T o d a y , yesterday , etc regularly fu n ctio n as su b jec t. B u t th ese are o n th e g ra d ie n t fro m ad v e rb
to n o u n . Clauses su c h as T oday will be fin e illu strate b lu rrin g o f no m in al an d a d v e rb ia l fu n ctio n s.
Syntactic fun ction s o f clause elements 737
T h e sen te n ce is a m b ig u o u s betw e en 'T o d ay , th e tim e you stip u la te d , w ill b e a su ita b le tim e ’ a n d

‘T h e w eath er w ill b e fine to d a y ’.
Subject com plem ent o r verbless clause

10.16 T h ere is a g ra d ie n t re la tin g th e functional c ateg o rie s o f co m p lem en t a n d
a d v erb ial. T h e c o p u la a t its p u rest, ie a verb h a v in g m ere ly a lin k in g fu n c tio n ,
is th e v e rb b e . O th e r c o p u la r v erb s co m b in e p u re lin k in g fu n ctio n w ith o th e r
m ean in g s. F o r ex am p le, become h a s a resu ltativ e m e a n in g , grow (H e g re w
angry) usually a d d s a n o tio n o f g rad u al c hange, a n d lo o k (Sh e looked happy)
ad d s a n o tio n o f in fere n ce fro m a p p earan ce.
T h e e lem en t fo llo w in g th e v erb is clearly a c o m p le m e n t if th e v e rb c a n
a ccep tab ly be re p la c e d by be w ith th e final e le m en t re ta in in g its sense a n d if
the v erb c a n n o t b e in tra n sitiv e . T h u s very quiet in H e becam e very quiet is a
co m p lem en t b e ca u se w e c a n h av e H e was very q u iet a n d w e c a n n o t h a v e * H e
became. T h e fin al e le m en t is a co m p lem en t also w h e n th e v erb c a n n o t b e
in tra n sitiv e in th e sa m e sense. T h u s very quiet in H e grew very quiet is a
co m p lem en t, s in c e w e c a n n o t h a v e H e grew in th e sa m e sense.
A t th e o th e r e x tre m e o f th e g ra d ien t, th e final e le m e n t is a verbless c la u se
w ith a d v erb ial sta tu s w h ere th e in d ep en d en ce o f th e c o n stru ctio n is m a rk e d
by in to n a tio n o r p u n c tu a tio n :
H e w a ite d , a nxio u s f o r a reply. [‘H e w a ite d ’, ‘H e w a s an x io u s for

a rep ly .’]
She w as sta n d in g , a picture o f innocence.
H ere, w e c an su b s titu te be, b u t th e v erb re ta in s its fu ll sen se w ith o u t th e fin al

elem ent. T h e a d v e rb ia l sta tu s o f th e final e lem en t is sh o w n by th e p o ssib ility
o f o m ittin g it w ith o u t affectin g th e accep tab ility o f th e sen ten ce. A d v e rb ia l
statu s is co n firm ed w h e n th e e lem en t c an re ad ily b e fro n te d :
A nxious f o r a reply, h e w aited .
A long th e g ra d ie n t fro m th a t extrem e, w e find sim ila r in stan ces w ith o u t

in to n a tio n o r p u n c tu a tio n se p a ra tio n :
H e d ied a poor m an. [‘H e w as a p oor m an w h e n h e d ie d .’]

T h ey m a rrie d young.
H e cam e in drunk.
T h ey p a rte d g o o d friends.
F u rth e r a lo n g th e g ra d ie n t w e find g re a te r c o llo catio n al re stric tio n s

b etw een th e final e le m e n t a n d th e verb, ie few er a d je ctiv e o r n o u n p h ra s e s
can p ro v id e c o m p le m e n ta tio n for the verb , sh o w in g a clo ser c o n n e c tio n
b etw een th e fin al e le m e n t a n d th e verb. T h e first se t re a d ily allow s o m issio n
o f th e final e le m e n t w ith o u t affecting th e m ea n in g o f th e v e r b :
T h e fire is b u rn in g low.
T h e su n sh o n e bright.
H e b lu sh ed scarlet.
T h e d o o r b a n g ed shut.
I n th e second set, c o m p le m e n ta tio n o f th e v e rb is m o re usually re q u ire d in

th e sam e sen se:
T h e w e a th e r is c o n tin u in g m ild.
T h e y a re p le a d in g guilty.
T h is d e te rg e n t w ash es whiter.
W e c o m e n e x t to in sta n c e s w here th e v erb can n o t b e in tra n s itiv e , a t lea st

in th e sam e sen se. T h ese a re m ore clearly co p u la r v e rb s, w ith th e final
e le m e n t as su b je ct co m p le m e n t. Som e v erb s are re stric te d in th e co m p le m e n ts
th e y allo w , re stric te d e ith e r sy n tactically (to ad jectiv e p h ra se s o n ly o r to n o u n
p h r a s e s only) o r c o llo catio n ally (to a relatively few lex ic al ite m s) o r in b o th
r e s p e c ts :
J a n e w ill m a k e a g o o d doctor.
T h e c h ild re n a re g o in g hungry.
T h e y tu rn e d conservative.
B o b ’s e x p la n a tio n d o e s n ’t rin g true.
Y o u r h a n d s feel cold.
T h e ro o m sm ells m u sty .
M a ry fell silent.
D a n ’s h a ir is w e arin g thin.
T h e w ell r a n dry.
S o m e v e rb s a re s o m e w h a t less restricted , th o u g h n o u n p h ra s e s a re less usual

in A m E :
S h e seem ed the right choice, [also: S h e seem ed to be the rig h t choice .]
M a x a p p e a rs upset, [a ls o : M a x appears to be upset.]
N o r a lo o k ed sober.
T h e v e rb s become a n d rem ain, ate closest to th e p u re c o p u la in th a t th ey

im p o s e n o re stric tio n s o n th e ch o ice o f th e co m p lem en t.
N o te [a] I n th is sectio n w e a re c o n c e rn e d w ith adjectiv e a n d n o u n p h ra se s fu n c tio n in g a s co m p lem en t

o r a s a d v e rb ia l. T h e d is tin c tio n b etw e en adjective an d a d v e rb is d iscu ssed in l.b f f.
[b] I n so m e id io m a tic c o llo catio n s th e final elem en t m ay b e c o n sid e red a co m p lem en t ev e n
th o u g h w e c a n n o t read ily re p la c e th e v e rb w ith | e a n d reta in a s im ila r sen se -re la tio n sh ip ; for
e x a m p le , H is jo k e s f e l l fia t.
[cj V erb less a d v e rb ia l clauses realize d solely by adjectiv e p h rases c a n follow su b je c t co m p lem en ts
(ty p e S K C ):
T h e y a re h a p p ie r fr e e . H e w ill b e n o use dead.
T h e y c a n also follow o th e r c lau se ty p e s:
H e ca m e h om e m iserable. (type SV A ]
T h e y se n t h im h o m e sober. [type S V O A }
W h ile t h e im plied su b je c t o f th e v erb less clause is usually th e su b jec t o f th e s u p e ro rd in a te clause,
it c a n a lso b e th e d ir e c t o b je c t, a s tw o o f these sentences d e m o n stra te (‘O u r coffee w as b la c k ’,
‘H e w a s so b e r’).
[d] T h e verbless clau se c a n o fte n b e p reposed, a fu rth e r in d ic a tio n o f its a d v e rb ia l s ta tu s (c f
fu rth e r \5 .5 S jf).
H e d ro v e th e d a m a g e d c a r h o m e com pletely undism ayed.
~ C om pletely undism ayed , h e d ro v e th e d am ag ed ca r hom e.
Ie] I n th e ra re p a tte rn 5K O ,C s, w e h a v e a co m b in atio n o f o p tio n a l in d ir e c t o b je c t w ith subject
c o m p le m e n t: H e m ade her a g o o d husband [‘H e w as a good h u sb a n d fo r h e r .’].
O rder of clause elem ents 739
Order of clause elements

10.17 T h e o rd e r o f th e clau se elem en ts is relativ ely fixed, in general follow ing t h e
seq u en ce in th e d e sig n a tio n o f th e clause types (S V C , S V O O , etc). B u t a
n u m b e r o f fa cto rs m a y in te rfe re w ith th e o rd er:
(a) O p tio n al a d v e rb ia ls m ay in te rv e n e b etw een th e elem ents in th e c la u se

p a tte rn . A lth o u g h m o st m u lti-w o rd ad v erb ials o ccu r finally, c e rta in ty p e s o f
ad v erb ials realized b y a d v e rb s o r sh o rt p rep o sitio n al p h rases regularly o c c u r
m edially ( c f 8.23); a n d in itia l p o sitio n is ty p ical for conjuncts:
D o es it often r a in in L o n d o n ?
Y ou h a v e perhaps h e a rd th e sto ry before.
T h ey m a y in f a c t b e a t h o m e now .
On the other hand, w e a re n ’t g o in g eith er.
In any case, w h y sh o u ld I m a k e th e first m ove?
(b) T h e b asic o rd e r is th a t o f th e can o n ica l d e clara tiv e clause. B u t th e o r d e r

m ay be affected b y v a ria tio n s in th e sy n tactic fo rm o f th e c la u se :
(i) In y e s-n o q u e stio n s, th e o p e ra to r precedes th e su b ject ( c /1 1.5):

H ave [op] y o u [S] h e a rd fro m R o g er?
(c /1 2 .4 9 / fo r ellip tic al q u e stio n s su c h as You seen R o g er7)
(ii) In w /i-questions, th e q u e stio n e d p a rt (th e w /i-interrogative o r th e w h o le

p h ra se o f w h ic h it is a c o n stitu e n t) a n d th e o p e rato r precede th e s u b je c t, if
th e q u estio n ed p a r t is n o t id en tica l w ith th e su b ject ( c /1 1 .1 4 /9 :
W hat [Od] d id [op] th ey [S] tell you?
Where [A] are [op] y o u [S] stay in g ?
(iii) I n relativ e c lau ses, th e re la tiv e w o rd o r th e w hole p h rase o f w h ic h it is

a c o n stitu e n t p re ced es th e su b ject i f it is n o t itself th e subject ( c /1 7 .1 0 /9 •'
I k n o w th e food th a t [Od] th ey [S] like.
C a n you p lea se sh o w m e th e ro o m where [A] the lecture [S] is b e in g h e ld ?
T h is is th e frie n d about whom [A ] y o u [S] h a v e h e ard so m uch.
C o n trast, w ith th e re la tiv e ite m as su b ject:
L et m e in tro d u c e you to so m eo n e who [S] h a s b een w an tin g to m e e t you
for a long tim e.
(iv) In e x clam ativ e sen ten ces, th e what- o r ftmv-phrase precedes th e su b je ct,
ex cep t in th e ra re in stan c es w h ere th e w to - p h r a s e is id en tical w ith th e
su b ject ( c /1 1 .3 1 /):
W hat a good tim e [O d] we [S] h a d ! H o w polite [Cs] they [S] a r e !
(v) S eco n d -p erso n im p e ra tiv e sen ten ces n o rm ally have n o e x p ressed
su b ject ( c f 1 1 .2 4 /9 :
Show [V] m e [O J yo u r paper [O d] now [A],
(c) C o n sid e ratio n s o f in fo rm a tio n a l h ig h lig h tin g an d em p h asis m ay p r o m p t

th e m o v em en t o f e le m en ts fro m th e ir n o rm al p o sitio n , usually to in itia l o r
final p o sitio n ( c f 1 8 .2 0 /9 :
T h a t question [Od] I w o n ’t answ er. In [A] you go.

S h e ila w a n ts to leave, an d so does H en ry [Sj. H ere com es E th e l [Sj.
(d ) A lo n g e r e le m e n t in th e p red icatio n , p a rtic u la rly if it is a clause, te n d s to

b e p la c e d a fte r a s h o rte r elem en t (c /1 8 .3 7 /):
T h e d isc o v ery h as m ad e possible [CD] new techniques fo r
brain surgery [Of],
S h e to ld h im [O J calm ly [A] what she thought o f him [Od].
(e) I t is sty listically p referab le for th e p a r t follow ing th e verb to b e lo n g er

th a n t h e p a r t p re c e d in g it ( c f 18.39):
A petition [S] w as circu lated [V] asking fo r a longer lunch break [S].
I n t h is e x am p le th e su b ject is a petition a sk in g fo r a longer lunch break, b u t th e
p o stm o d ifie r o f a petition is p laced a fte r th e v erb .
N o te [a] A s tu d y o f p a r t o f th e B row n C orpus rev ealed th a t in 9 o u t o f 10 cases th e su b jec t w as

im m e d ia te ly follow ed by th e v erb in clauses c o n ta in in g b o th S a n d V , a n d th e v e rb w as
im m e d ia te ly follow ed by th e d ire c t ob ject in clauses c o n ta in in g b o th V a n d Od.
[b] F o r th e a lte rn a tiv e B rE o rd e r in w hich th e d ire c t o b je c t p rece d es th e in d irect o b je c t (eg : She.
g a v e i t m e ), c /1 8 .3 8 N o te [a].
Sem antic roles of clause elements

Participa nts
10.18 I n te r m s o f m ea n in g , ev ery clause d e sc rib e s a situ atio n in w h ich a n u m b e r o f
p a r tic ip a n ts a re involved. By p a r t i c i p a n t s w e u n d e rstan d en titie s realized
by n o u n p h ra ses, w h eth er such e n titie s a re c o n crete o r ab strac t. T h u s, we
h a v e th re e p a rtic ip a n ts i n :
J o h n fo u n d a good spot for the magnolia tree.
T h e se n ten c e Tfte child tore m y book c o n ta in s a v e rb d escrib in g th e n a tu r e o f

th e a c tio n , a su b ject d e n o tin g a n a g en tiv e p a rtic ip a n t (th e a g en t o r d o e r o f
th e a c tio n ), ancj a d irect o b ject d en o tin g a n affected p a rticip a n t.
C la u s e elem en ts d e n o te sem an tic ro les in th e situ atio n a p a rt fro m th e
p a rtic ip a n ts . T h u s, th e v erb - o r th e c o p u la r v e rb in co m b in atio n w ith a
c o m p le m e n t - is th e p rim a ry device fo r d istin g u ish in g situ atio n ty p es as
s ta tiv e o r d y n a m ic a n d as subtypes o f th e s e tw o types ( c f b .T i ff a n d th e
su m m a ry in F ig 4.27). T h e subject c o m p le m e n t a n d th e o b ject co m p le m e n t
d e n o te a ttrib u te s o f th e subject a n d d ire c t o b je c t respectively. A d v e rb ials
d e n o te su ch circu m stan ces o f the s itu a tio n a s tim e, place, a n d m a n n e r o f
a c tio n , exp ress th e sp e a k er’s ev alu atio n o f th e situ atio n , o r p ro v id e logical
c o n n e c tio n s acro ss clauses o r sentences.
Sem antic roles of clause elem ents 741
A n aly sis o f p a rtic ip a n t ro les h a s n o t achieved a g en eral c o n sen su s, n o r h a s

it fully ex p lo red all d istin c tio n s. O u r d escrip tio n m ust th e re fo re b e c o n sid e re d
ten ta tiv e.
N o te [a ] T h e te rm c ase is o fte n used fo r p a rtic ip a n t roles. T h is sem a n tic use o f th e te rm is to b e

d istin g u ish ed fro m its u se a s a g ra m m a tic a l category realized (usually th ro u g h inflections) in
vary in g fo rm s o f n o u n s a n d p ro n o u n s ( c f 5.11 2ff, 6. Iff).
[b ] W e d o n o t d ea l in th is c h a p te r w ith th e sem antics o f adv erb ials o r o f su b o rd in a te clau ses in
g en eral. See C h a p te r 9 fo r p rep o sitio n a l p h rases, C h a p te r 8 for ad v e rb ials, a n d C h a p te rs 14 a n d
IS fo r s u b o rd in ate clauses.
A ge ntive . affected, and recipient roles

10.19 T h e m ost ty p ical se m an tic role o f a subject in a clause th a t h a s a d ire c t o b je c t
is th a t o f th e a g e n t i v e p a rtic ip a n t: th a t is, th e a n im a te b e in g in s tig a tin g o r
cau sin g th e h a p p e n in g d e n o te d by th e v e r b :
M argaret is m o w in g th e grass.
T h e m o st ty p ic a l role o f th e d ire c t ob ject is th a t o f th e a f f e c t e d p a r tic ip a n t:

a p a rtic ip a n t (a n im ate o r in a n im a te ) w hich does n o t c au se th e h a p p e n in g
d en o ted by th e v erb , b u t is d irectly involved in som e o th e r w a y :
M an y M P s c riticize d the P rim e M inister.

Ja m es sold his d ig ita l watch yesterday.
T h e m o st ty p ic a l role o f th e in d ire ct object is th a t o f th e r e c i p i e n t

p a rtic ip a n t: ie o f th e a n im a te b ein g th a t is p assively im p lic a te d by th e
h a p p en in g o r s t a te :
I ’ve fo u n d y o u a place. W e p aid them th e m oney.

N o te [a] O th e r te rm s used fo r F f f e c t e d a re p F t ie n t and o | j e c t iv e . A n o th e r te rm fo r r e c ip ie n t is
DATIVE.
[b ] Som e d istin g u ish a b e n e fa c tiv e o r beneficiary role (‘in ten d ed r e c ip ie n t’) fro m th e re c ip ie n t
ro le:
I’ve fo u n d yo u a p lace. S he m a d e her son a scarf.
T h e b en efactiv e in d ire c t o b je c t is p a ra p h ra sa b le by a /o r - p h ra s e :
I’ve fo u n d a p lace fo r you. She m a d e a scarf fo r her son.
T h e tw o roles ca n co o ccu r in th e sam e clau se if th e ben efactive role is ex p ressed by a jo r - p h r a s e :
She gav e m e a s c a rf fo r her son.
[c] A lth o u g h Foe fo u n d a p la c e fo r the m agnolia tree a n d I ’ve fo u n d a place f o r M r s Jones a p p e a r to
b e eq u iv a le n t u tteran ce s, on ly th e second c a n be tran sfo rm ed in to a clau se w ith in d ire c t o b je c t:
I ’v e fo u n d M r s Jones a plac e , n o t l l ’v e fo u n d th e magnolia tree a place. T h is is b e c au se th e m a g n o lia
tre e is n o t an im a te a n d th e refo re does n o t q ualify fo r th e recip ien t role ( c f also 8.32).
A ttribu te
10.20 T h e ty p ical sem an tic role o f a su b ject com plem ent a n d a n o b je c t c o m p le m e n t
is th a t o f a t t r i b u t e . W e c a n d istin g u ish tw o subtypes o f ro le fo r th e a ttr ib u te :
id en tificatio n a n d c h ara c te riz a tio n :
ID E N T IF IC A T IO N :
K e v in is m y brother.
B ren d a b e ca m e their accountant.
H is resp o n se to th e re p rim a n d seem ed a major reason fo r his dism issal.
H e n ry ’s ro o m is the one n e x t to mine.
742 T h e simple sentence
c h F r F c t e r iz F t io n :
D w ig h t is a n honest m an. T h e so u p is too hot.
M a r th a w as a good student. D a n iel re m a in s helpful.
T h e o p e ra tio n seem ed a success.
T h r e e s y n ta c tic f e a tu re s a r e a s s o c ia te d w ith t h i s s e m a n tic d i s t i n c t i o n :
(a) O n ly id en tificatio n a ttrib u te s n orm ally allow rev ersal o f su b je ct a n d

c o m p le m e n t w ith o u t affecting th e sem an tic relatio n s in th e clau se, i f th e
co p u la is | e :
K e v in is m y brother. ~ M y brother is K ev in .
I f th e c o p u la is o t h e r t h a n | e w e c a n te s t f o r r e v e rs a l b y s u b s titu tin g | e .
(b) O n ly c h a ra c te riz a tio n a ttrib u te s c an also be realized b y a d je ctiv e p h ra ses.
(c) Id e n tific a tio n a ttrib u te s a re n o rm ally asso ciated w ith d e fin ite n o u n
p h ra ses. N o u n p h ra ses u sed as c h ara cte riz atio n a ttrib u te s a re n o rm ally
in d efin ite.
T h e sa m e se m an tic d istin c tio n ap p lies to o bject c o m p lem en ts. T h e s u b je c t-
c o m p le m e n t rev ersa l c a n n o t ta k e place, b u t w e c a n te s t fo r its p o ssib ility by
fo rm in g a clause from th e o b je c t a n d th e co m plem ent.
I m a d e M a u rice m y assistant.
~ M au rice is m y assistant.
~ M y assistant is M au rice .
id e n t if ic F t io n :
T h e y called th e ir d a u g h te r E dna.
S h e c o n sid ers S u san her role model.
W e m ad e J o h n our representative.
c h F r F c t e r iz F t io n :
T h e te a c h e r called th e ir d a u g h te r a good student.
I c o n sid e r th e o p e ra tio n a success.
S h e m a d e th e m comfortable.
W e c a n fu rth e r su b d iv id e a ttrib u te s J n to c u rre n t o r e x istin g a ttrib u te s

(n o rm ally w ith verbs u sed stativ ely ) a n d resu ltin g a ttrib u te s, re su ltin g from
the e v e n t d esc rib e d by th e v e rb (w ith v erb s used d y n am ically ) ( c f 16.21 f ) .
H ere a r e ex am p les o f th e d istin c tio n fo r b o th su b ject a n d o b jec t c o m p le m e n ts :
c u r r e n t F t t r i| u t e :
H e ’s m y brother. She rem a in e d silent.
H e seem s unhappy I w a n t m y food hot.
W e lay quiet. I p re fe r m y coffee black.
W e felt cold. T h ey co n sid er m e their closest frien d .
RESULTING ATTRIBUTE:
W e b e ca m e restless. T h ey elected h im president.
H e tu rn e d traitor. T h e h e at tu rn ed th e m ilk sour.
H e fe lt ill. H e d riv es m e mad.
S h e ’ll m a k e a go o d worker.
Sem antic roles of clause elements 743
N o te [a] I f th e id e n tificatio n a ttr ib u te is a noun p h ra se w ith a n optio n ally o m itte d d e te rm in e r,

su b je c t-c o m p le m e n t rev ersal c a n n o t o cc u r:
Jo a n is president o f th e com pany.
C o n tra st:
Jo a n is th e president o f th e com pany. ~ T he president o f the com pany is Jo an .
[b] A subject co m p le m e n t m a y b e realize d by a g en itiv e n o u n p h r a s e :
T h a t w ritin g m u s t b e T o m ’s. [subjective g enitive] [1]
T h a t n e w sp a p e r is m ine. [possessive gen itiv e] [2]
T h e id ea w as K a th y 's. [genitive o f a ttrib u te ] [3]
T h e p h rases e x p ress v ario u s g en itiv e m eanings (c fS . 116). I n [1] th e co m p lem en t has th e a g e n tiv e
role (c f: T hat writing m u st be by T om ), in [2] a n d [3] th e role o f recip ien t (cf: That new spaper
belongs to m e; K a th y h a d th a t idea).
[c] T h e n o tio n o f c h a ra c te riz a tio n ex ten d s to vario u s m e asu re a n d ex ten t ph rases:
N o w she is thirteen (years old). T h e p a p e rb a c k is th ree dollars.
H e is s ix fo o l (tall). T h e en v elo p e is one ounce.
S im ilar to th ese a re e x p ressio n s t h a t den o te tim e o r p e r io d :
I t’s fiv e o ’clock. I ’m y o u r age. T h e h o u se is seventeenth century, ['se v en tee n th -cen tu ry
style’]
Subject as external causer, instrum ent, and affected

10.21 W e n ow tu r n to th e roles o f th e subject, a p a r t fro m its ty p ical role as a g e n tiv e
(c/10.19).
T h e su b ject so m etim es h a s th e ro le o f e x t e r n a l c a u s e r ; th a t is, it
expresses th e u n w ittin g (generally in a n im a te ) c au se o f a n e v en t:
The avalanche d e stro y ed several houses. T h e electric shock killed h im .
I t m ay also h a v e th e ro le o f i n s t r u m e n t ; t h a t is, th e e n tity (g en erally

in an im ate) w h ich a n a g e n t uses to p e rfo rm a n a c tio n o r in stig ate a p ro c e s s :
A stone b ro k e h is glasses.
A car k n o c k ed th e m d o w n .
The com puter h a s so lv ed th e p roblem .
W ith in tra n sitiv e v erb s, th e su b ject also freq u e n tly h as th e a f f e c t e d ro le

elsew here ty p ic a l o f th e d ire c t o b ject:
J a c k fell d o w n (accid en tally ). The pencil w as lying o n the tab le.
T h e term ‘affected ’ h a s b e e n ex te n d ed g en erally to subjects o f co p u lar v e r b s :
The pencil w as o n th e tab le.
B u t w e c a n m a k e som e fu rth e r d istin c tio n s w ith in th e affected role fo r

subjects acc o rd in g to w h e th e r th e su b ject co m p le m e n t as a ttrib u te id en tifie s
o r ch ara cte riz es ( c f 10.20). T hus, th e su b ject is i d e n t i f i e d in [1] a n d
c h a r a c t e r i z e d in [2]:
K evin is m y b ro th er. [1]

M artha w as a good stu d e n t. [2]
T h e assig n m en t o f th e affected role to th e su b je ct o f an in tra n sitiv e v e rb

seem s clearest w h e n th e re is a c o rre sp o n d in g tra n s itiv e verb w ith w h ic h th e
sam e n o u n p h ra se is a d ire c t o b ject in th e affected ro le :
I a m fry in g the fish . [Od a s affected] [3]

The fis h is fry in g . [S a s affected] [3a]
744 T h e sim p le sentence
W e c a n a lso m a k e [3] p a ssiv e :
T h e fis h is b e in g fried. [S as affected] [3b]
B u t th e r e is a d ifferen ce b etw een [3a] an d [3b]: [3a] focuses o n th e process,

w ith o u t im p ly in g (as in th e passive) h u m an agency. I n b ein g g iv en th e subject
fu n c tio n , th e fis h a c q u ire s a sta tu s th a t ap p ea rs to assig n it som e resp o n sib ility
fo r t h e p ro c e ss . H e n c e , th ere is g re ater c o n strain t o n w h a t c a n a p p e a r as
s u b je c t in th e in tra n sitiv e co n stru ctio n th a n in th e co rre sp o n d in g passive
c o n s tru c tio n . C o n tra s t:
W e ra is e d an alarm .
~ A n ala rm w as raised.
~ * A n alarm rose.
I n c e r ta in in tra n s itiv e c o n stru ctio n s, a n ad v erb ial is g en erally re q u ire d :
H e r b o o k s tra n s la te well. T h e sh eets w ash ed easily.

T h e se n te n c e re ad s clearly. M y te a p o t p o u rs w ithout spilling.
M y s h irts h a v e d rie d very quickly.
T h e a d v e r b ia l im p u te s a ch ara cte ristic to th e re fe re n t o f th e su b ject (‘H e r

b o o k s a re o f th e ty p e th a t are good in tra n s la tio n ’). T h e co n stru ctio n th erefo re
do es n o t c o rre sp o n d to a tran sitiv e c o n stru ctio n . F o r ex am p le, T om translates
her b o o k s w ell im p u te s th e c h ara cte ristic to T o m a n d n o t to th e boo k s (‘H e is
a g o o d tr a n s la to r o f h e r b o o k s’). T h e sam e im p u ta tio n a p p lie s e v en w h en an
a d v e rb ia l, th o u g h usual, m ay be o m itted . T h u s M y books sell well im plies
th a t t h e se llin g w ell is n o t b ein g necessarily a sc rib e d to th e effect o f a n a g en t
o f th e sellin g .
I n so m e c ases th e S K clause m ay d iv erg e from a c o rresp o n d in g S V O d
cla u se w h e n a n o p tio n a l a d v erb ial is ad d ed if a n a g e n t is re q u ire d only for
th e in itia tio n o f th e a ctio n :
T h e w a te r is b o ilin g vigorously.
■f S o m e o n e is boiling th e w a ter vigorously.
T h e w a te r h a s b een b o ilin g jo r fiv e m inutes.
S o m e o n e has been boiling th e w a te r fo r fiv e minutes.
T h e b o u n d a ry b etw een a g en tiv e a n d affected su b jects d e p en d s o n w h e th er

a n e le m e n t o f c au s a tio n o r v o lition is p re sen t. Som e v erb s allow b o th
in te r p r e ta tio n s : S u d d en ly he ju m p e d m ig h t suggest a n in v o lu n tary a ctio n (eg
a fte r b e in g s tu n g by a w asp) o r a d elib erate o n e. A p u rp o se a d v erb ial (eg: in
order to a ttra c t attention) o r a v o litio n al a d v e rb ia l (eg: deliberately, on purpose)
can b e a d d e d o n ly to th e ag en tiv e ty p e. T h e su b ject m u st be ag en tiv e in , for
e x am p le, J a c k f e l l down on purpose.
O n e o f th e re aso n s for d istin g u ish in g th e roles is th a t w e gen erally c a n n o t
c o o rd in a te su b je cts w ith d ifferen t roles. W e c a n say T h e gam ekeeper wounded
him (a g e n tiv e su b ject) a n d A gun w ounded him (in stru m e n tal subject), b u t n o t
*The g a m e ke e p er a n d a gun w ounded him. C o o rd in a tio n is possible if tw o
e v en ts a re in v o lv e d , as in th e c o m b in a tio n o f e x te rn al c au ser a n d ag en tiv e in
H urricanes a n d m arauding bands devastated the region (at different times). O n
th e o th e r h a n d , w h en a n in stru m e n t o r e x te rn al c a u s e r is th e subject o f a
tra n s itiv e v e rb it acq u ires m etap h o rically so m e n o tio n o f agency. W e c a n
th ere fo re occasio n ally find co m b in a tio n s w here th e sam e e v e n t seem s to b e

in v o lv e d : C lum sy m usicians a n d poor instruments ( together ) spoiled th e
perform ance o f the sym phony.
N o te [a] T h e role o f ex tern al ca u ser h as also b ee n term ed ‘force’.

[b] T h e ten d en cy to w ard s a m e ta p h o ric a l p ercep tio n o f agentiveness in n o n a g e n tiv e su b jec ts, a s
u sed in ev ery d ay la n g u ag e, is co n sp ic u o u s in exam ples such a s G uns k i l l ; M at ch es st ar t f i r e s; A
c ar drov e b y ; T he door ref used to open.
[c] A differen t analysis allow s m o re th a n o n e role for o n e elem en t an d allow s fo r th e re p e titio n
o f th e sam e ro le in o n e clause. I n o n e su ch analysis, th e external cau ser a n d affected roles c a n be
co m b in e d w ith th e ag e n tiv e role. H e re are exam ples o f such a n an a ly sis:
H u rrican e s [externa! cau ser] d e v a sta te d th e region [affected].
M arau d in g b a n d s [a g e n tiv e/ex te rn al causer] d ev astated th e region [affected].
T h e soldiers [ag en tiv e/ex te rn al ca u ser] p arad ed .
T h e w ard e n [ag en tiv e/ex te rn al cau ser] parad e d th e priso n ers [ag en tive/affected].
W h e re tw o ag e n tiv e s co o ccu r in th e sam e clause, th e first h a s som etim es b ee n d is tin g u is h e d a s
t h e ‘in itia to r’ o f th e action.
[d] T h e situ a tio n d escrib ed w ith a n ag e n tiv e subject m ay be th e result o f a n im p lie d a c tio n : Sh e
bl ew a f u se [‘S h e did so m eth in g w h ic h c a u sed a fuse to blow .’], H e burnt the f oo d.
[e] A n im a te subjects o f co p u la r v erb s follow ed by a n em otive co m p lem en t m ig h t b e assig n ed
th e role o f ‘ex p e rien ce r’ :
T h e w o rk ers a re an g ry . H e is un h ap p y .
T h e sam e ap p lies to an im a te su b jec ts o f c e rta in tra n sitiv e v erbs used in n o n v o litio n a l se n s e :
I ’ve h u rt m y knee. [‘M y k n e e is h u r t.’]
H e r e / is e x p e rien ce r a n d m y k nee affected.
[f] I n T he k ettl e’s boi l i ng , th e affected su b jec t is related by m etonym y to T he w ater’s boi l i ng.
10.22 T h e re is som etim es a re g u la r re la tio n , in term s o f clause fu n c tio n , b e tw e e n

tra n s itiv e v erb s ex p ressin g c a u s a t i v e m ean in g a n d co rre sp o n d in g in tra n s i
tiv e v erb s o r adjectives. I n th e first th ree groups below , th e su b je ct m ay b e
a g e n t, ex te rn al cau ser, o r in s tru m e n t; in th e last group, it is a g en t.
(i) S V O SV
T o m is co o k in g th e d in n e r. T h e d in n er is co o k in g .
G eoffrey/T he w in d /M y k ey o p en ed T h e d oor o p e n ed .
th e door.
B ren d a is im p ro v in g h e r w ritin g . H e r w ritin g is im p ro v in g .
(ii) SV O SV
Som eone ra ised a n a rm . A n arm rose.
T h e fro st h as k illed th e flow ers. T h e flow ers h a v e d ied .
M y ax e has felled t h a t tree. T h a t tree h a s fallen .
(iii) SVO SVC

T h ey h ave d im m e d th e lights. T h e lights b e ca m e dim .
T h e sun (alm ost) b lin d e d h im . H e (alm ost) w e n t b lin d .
H is m an n e r a n g ere d m e. I g ot angry.
(iv ) SVO ST
T h e serg ean t p a ra d e d th e com pany. T h e c o m p an y p a rad e d .
I a m exercising m y dog. M y dog is ex ercisin g .
W h ile in m an y c ases (G ro u p (i)) th e identical v e rb p e rfo rm s b o th tra n s itiv e

a n d in tra n sitiv e roles w ith o u t a ch an g e o f form , in o th e r cases (G ro u p (ii))
th e in tra n sitiv e v e rb h as to b e re p laced by an o th e r verb , w h ic h m a y resem b le
746 Th e sim ple sentence
it in sp ellin g a n d p ro n u n c ia tio n . I n G ro u p (iii), an adjective X is m a tc h e d by

a c au s a tiv e v e rb (o f th e sam e, o r slig h tly differen t, form ) w ith th e m e a n in g to
‘c a u s e to be X ’. G ro u p (iv), o n th e o th e r h a n d , show s th a t th e su b je ct o f a n
in tra n sitiv e v e rb m ay itself be a g en tiv e, in w h ich case th e sw itc h to a
cau sativ e c o n stru c tio n m ay en tail c h a n g in g th e role o f th e su b ject to affected .
T h u s, He p a ra d e d the soldiers does n o t necessarily im ply an y v o litio n o n th e
p a r t o f the s o ld ie rs ; ra th e r, it suggests th e opposite.
I n G ro u p s ( i- ii) th e in tra n sitiv e s u b je c t o f th e S V ty p e g en erally h a s th e
affected role. I n th e sen ten ce The dinner is cooking, how ever, the dinner is
re su lta n t, a s in th e o b ject o f Tom is cooking the dinner ( c f 10.28). O th e r
ex am p les o f re s u lta n t s u b je c t:
The cake is b a k in g . A new typ e o f camera is developing.

N o te T h e re are som e trip le ts show ing a co m b in a tio n o f th e relations in G ro u p s (i) a n d (ii); eg: open
(ad jectiv e); open ( in tra n sitiv e v erb ) [ —'b e c o m e o p e n ’]; open (tran sitiv e v erb ) [ —'c a u s e to b e
o p e n ’].
Recipient subject
1 0 .2 3 T h e su b ject m a y h a v e a re cip ie n t ro le w ith v erb s su ch as have, own, possess,
benefit (from), a s is in d ic a te d b y th e follow ing re la tio n ;
M r S m ith h a s g iv en his son a ra d io . [So n ow his son h a s a rad io .]
T h e p e rc e p tu a l verbs see a n d hear also req u ire a re cip ie n t su b je ct, in

c o n tra st to lo o k a t a n d listen to, w h ic h a re agentive. T h e o th e r p e rc e p tu a l
v e rb s taste, sm ell, a n d f e e l h av e b o th a n ag en tiv e m ean in g c o rre sp o n d in g to
look a t an d a re c ip ie n t m ean in g c o rre sp o n d in g to se e :
F oolishly, h e tasted th e soup. [1]

*Foolishly, h e taste d th e p e p p e r in th e soup. [la ]
T h e ad v erb fo o lish ly req u ires th e a g e n tiv e ; hence [la], w h ich c a n o n ly b e

u n d ersto o d in a n o n a g en tiv e m a n n e r, do es n o t m ak e sense. The soup in [2]
h as th e affected role, ju s t as in [1]:
T h e so u p ta s te d good. [2]
V erb s in d ic a tin g co g n itio n o r em o tio n m ay also req u ire a re c ip ie n t s u b je c t:
I th o u g h t you w ere m istak en , [cf: I t seem ed to m e you w ere m is ta k e n .]

I liked th e play, [cf: T h e p lay p leased m e/g av e m e pleasure.]
N o rm ally , re c ip ie n t subjects go w ith v e rb s used statively ( c f 4 .2 S ff). S o m e o f

th e m (n o tab ly have a n d possess) h a v e n o p assiv e fo rm (c /1 0 .1 4 ): T h e y have a
b eautiful house, b u t n o t *A b eautiful house is h a d b y them.
N o te [a] A passive fo rm o f Ha v e o ccasionally o cc u rs in id io m s: A good tim e w as h ad by al l ; H av e y ou
ev er been h a d ? < in fo rm a l) [ * tric k e d ; also w ith sexual m eaning]. Possess h a s a p a ssiv e in H e w as
possessed by the f e a r th at she w oul d l eav e hi m .
[b] A lte rn ativ ely , subjects w ith p erce p tu al, co g n itiv e , a n d em o tiv e verbs m ig h t b e a ssig n ed th e
role o f ‘e x p e rien ce r’ (c f 10.21 N o te [e]).
P o s it io n e r s u b je c t
10 .2 4 T h e su b ject m ay h a v e th e ro le o f p o s i t i o n e r w ith in tra n sitiv e s ta n c e v e rb s
( c f 4.23) su c h as sit, stand , lie , live [‘d w ell1], stay, remain , a n d w ith tr a n s itiv e
S em antic roles o f clause elem ents 747
v erb s re la te d to sta n ce v erb s su ch as carry, hold, keep , wear. T h e tra n s itiv e

v erb s a re c a u s a tiv e a n d th e d irec t objects th a t follow th e m h av e a n a ffe c te d
role. In th is p o sitio n e r ro le th e p a rtic ip a n t is in c o n tro l, b u t th e s itu a tio n is
n o t resu ltativ e in th a t n o ch an g e is in d ic a te d in th e p o sitio n er d u rin g th e
p erio d in w h ic h th e situ atio n la s ts :
/ h a v e liv ed in L o n d o n m o st o f The h ijacker w as holding a rev o lv er,

m y life.
They a re sta y in g a t a m o tel. H e k e p t h im s e lf u p rig h t.
M y fr ie n d is s ittin g in a c h a ir n e a r th e d o o r.
C o n tra s t th e ro le o f su b jects in th ese tw o s e n te n c e s :
Your sister [p o sitio n er] is lying o n th e b e d . [stan ce]

Your book [affected] is lying o n th e b e d . [state]
N o te [a] A s w ith th e a g e n tiv e ty p e , a p u rp o se ad v e rb ial (t o r est) o r a v o litio n a l a d v e rb ial (rel uctantl y )

c a n be a d d e d to th e p o s itio n e r type.
[b] Si t dow n is a p u n c tu a l verb . S i t m ay also be an a c tio n v e rb w h e n it is used in th e sam e se n s e
a s si t dow n , in w h ich case th e su b ject is ag entive.
[c] C o n tra st th e th re e uses o f h o l d in th ese se n te n c e s:
C ar ol w as h o ld in g a p a ssen g er’s arm . [ 1]
T hey w ere h o ld in g th e p assen g ers ag a in st th e ir w ill: [2]
T >oy ou h old a B ritish p assp o rt? [3]
I n [1] hol d [‘k e e p in g ra s p ’] is a tra n sitiv e verb related to sta n c e v e rb s a n d C arol is p o s itio n e r; in
[2], hol d [‘d e ta in ’] is a n ac tiv ity v erb a n d they is a g e n tiv e ; a n d in [3] hol d [‘h a v e ’] is a v e rb
d en o tin g re la tio n a n d y ou is rec ip ie n t (c f 10.23). I n M ar y h el d a N ew Z eal and passport , h o l d is
am b ig u o u s b e tw e e n th e m e an in g s in [1] a n d [3] a n d th e re fo re M ar y m a y be e ith e r p o s itio n e r o r
recip ien t.
Locative, tem poral, and eventive subjects

10.25 T h e su b ject m a y h a v e th e l o c a t i v e role o f d e s ig n a tin g th e p lace o f th e s ta te
o r actio n , o r th e t e m p o r a l role o f d esig n atin g its t im e :
L o s A ngeles is foggy. [‘I t ’s foggy in L o s A n g e les.’]

M y te n t sleep s fo u r people. [‘F o u r p e o p le c a n sleep in m y te n t.’]
This p a th is sw arm in g w ith an ts. [‘A n ts a re sw arm in g all o v e r th is
p a th .’]
This ja r c o n ta in s coffee. [‘T h e re ’s coffee in th is j a r .’]
Yesterday w a s a holid ay . [‘I t w as a h o lid a y y e sterd a y .’]
V erb s follow ing lo cativ e su b jects n o rm ally h a v e n o passive o r p ro g ressiv e

fo rm :
T h e b a g h o ld s sev en pou n d s.
~ *Seven p o u n d s a re h eld by th e b ag.
~ * T h e b a g is h o ld in g sev en p o u n d s.
A n im p o rta n t role o f th e su b ject is e v e n t i v e . T h e n o u n a t th e h ead o f th e

n o u n p h ra se is co m m o n ly d e v erb al ( c f A p p . 1.47) o r a n o m in a liz atio n ( c f
17.51):
The m atch is to m o rro w .

The N orm an invasion to o k p lace in 1066.
The explosion cau sed m an y casualties.
T h e dispute over the inheritance lasted a decade.

T h e r e h a s b e e n an accident.
Prop i t subject
10.26 T h e re a re cla u se s in w h ic h n o p a rtic ip a n t is re q u ired . I n su ch cases, the
su b je c t fu n c tio n m a y b e assu m ed by th e ‘p ro p ’ w o rd it ( c f 6.17), w h ich has
little o r n o s e m a n tic c o n te n t.
P r o p it m a in ly o ccu rs in clauses signifying (a) tim e , (b) atm o sp h eric
c o n d itio n s, a n d (c) d is ta n c e :
(a) tim e
I t ’s te n o ’c lo c k p recisely . I t ’s a lre a d y m id n ig h t.
I t ’s v ery la te . I t ’s S u n d a y tom orrow .
I t ’s o u r w e d d in g a n n iv e rsa ry n ex t m o n th .
(b) atm ospheric conditions
I t ’s to o w in d y in C h icag o . I t ’s g e ttin g d a rk .
I t ’s v e ry h o t in h ere. I t w as su n n y y esterd ay .
Is it r a in in g ? I t ’s freezin g o u tsid e.
(c) distance
I t ’s n o t v ery f a r to Y o rk .
I t ’s a lo n g w a y to D e n v er.
I t ’s ju s t o n e m o re sto p to T oronto.
I t ’s o n ly a h u n d re d m iles fro m here to P h ilad e lp h ia .
I n m a n y c ases a c lau se w ith p ro p it su b ject co rre sp o n d s to a clause in

w h ic h a lo c a tiv e o r te m p o ra l p h ra se is th e su b je ct ( c f 10.25). T he
c o rre sp o n d e n c y a p p lie s f o r th e (a) set w hen th e su b je ct c o m p le m e n t refers to
a p e rio d o f tim e a n d a n a d v e rb ia l is p re sen t th a t is a n o u n p h r a s e :
I t ’s S u n d a y to m o rro w . [1]
~ T o m o rro w is S u n d ay . [ 1a]
S en ten c es [1] a n d [ la ] d iffer from th e seem ingly a n alo g o u s [2] a n d [2a]:
I t ’s o u r w e d d in g a n n iv e rsa ry n e x t m o n th . [2]
~ N e x t m o n th is o u r w edding a n n iv ersary . [2a]
T h e d iffere n ce is c le a re r fo r [la ] a n d [2a], I n [ la ] tom orrow is identified as

S u n d a y, th e l a tte r h a v in g th e fu n ctio n o f su b ject c o m p le m e n t a n d th e role o f
id en tify in g a ttr ib u te . In [2a], on th e o th er h a n d , n e x t m onth a p p e a rs to be a
fro n te d a d v e rb ia l w ith co n se q u en t su b je c t-v e rb in v e rs io n (‘O u r w ed d in g
a n n iv e rsa ry ta k e s p lac e n e x t m o n th ’, cf: O ur w edding anniversary is in
January. ~ In J a n u a ry is our wedding anniversary.)
W ith o n e ty p e o f ex ce p tio n , th e c o rresp o n d en ce also a p p lie s fo r th e (b) set
w h en a n a d v e rb ia l is p re s e n t th a t is a n o u n p h ra se o r a p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se
c o n ta in in g a n o u n p h r a s e :
I t ’s to o w in d y in C h icag o . ~ C h icag o is too w indy.
I t w a s su n n y y e sterd a y . ~ Y esterd ay w as sun n y .
T h e e x c e p tio n is w h e n th e v erb is n o t a co p u la (fo r ex am p le, rain o r sn o w ):
I t ’s r a in in g i n M a n c h este r. " M a n c h e s te r is ra in in g .
Sem antic roles o f clause elem ents 749
T h e c o rre sp o n d e n c e g en erally a p p lie s fo r th e (c) s e t:
I t ’s n o t fa r to Y o rk .
~ Y o rk is n o t far.
I t ’s o nly a h u n d re d m iles fro m here to P h ilad elp h ia.
~ P h ila d e lp h ia is o n ly a h u n d re d m iles from here.
T h e (c) set read ily allow s p re p o sitio n a l p h rases as su b ject ( c f 10.15):
To Y ork is n o t v ery far.

F rom here to Philadelphia is o nly a h u n d red m iles.
N o te [a] P ro p i t h a s also b ee n te rm e d ‘a m b ie n t’ i t, in acco rd an ce w ith th e view th a t it h a s s o m e

g en eralized refere n ce to th e e n v iro n m e n t in a given co ntext. T hus, we can use i t f o r a m o re
restricted e n v iro n m e n t in I t ’s too m uddy to w al k . I n clauses o f tim e a n d w eath er th e e n v iro n m e n t
m ay be gen e ra l a n d un sp ecified , b u t it m a y be specified by a lo cative o r te m p o ral p h ra se , as i n I t
w as v ery chi l l y i n m y bedroom o r in so m e o f th e ex am ples giv en above. A n o th er te rm for p ro p i t is
‘ex p letiv e’ i t, th e te rm in d ic a tin g th e view th a t th is i t m erely fills a syntactic gap (th a t o f su b je c t)
a n d is o th e rw ise m ean in g less.
[b] O n o th e r u ses o f i t a s a p e rso n al p ro n o u n , c f 6.15f . T h e p ro p subject i t h e re sh o u ld b e
d istin g u ish ed f r o m th e a n tic ip a to ry i t o f se n te n ces like I t w as a g reat pl easure to see y ou ag ai n (c f
18.33//), w h ere i t h a s c a ta p h o ric refere n ce to a p o stp o n ed clausal subject (T o see y ou agai n w as a
g r eat p l easu re).
Locative object
10.27 W e tu r n n o w to roles o f th e d ire c t o b ject. T h e m o st ty p ical role o f th e d ir e c t
o b ject, th a t o f th e a ffected p a rtic ip a n t, h a s b een m en tio n ed in 10.19. T h e
d ire c t o b ject m ay h a v e a l o c a t i v e ro le w ith such v erb s as w alk, swim , p a ss,
ju m p , turn, leave, reach, surround, cross, climb ( c f fu rth e r ex am p les in 9 .3 1 ):
W e w alk ed the streets. [‘W e w a lk ed through th e stre ets.’]

S h e sw am the river. [‘She sw am across th e riv e r.’]
H e p a sse d a cyclist. [‘H e p a sse d b y a cyclist.’]
T h e h o rse ju m p e d the fe n c e . [‘T h e horse ju m p e d over th e fe n ce .’]
Superficially, th ese o b jects m a y seem to be a d v erb ials w ith a n o m itte d

p re p o sitio n (cf: W e sta y ed three days, 9.40/f). In m o st cases th e ir s ta tu s as
o b jects is c lear, h o w ev er, fro m th e ir ab ility to assum e su b ject role in a
co rre sp o n d in g p assiv e clau se, eg: The fe n c e was ju m p e d b y the horse.
N o te [a) W e sh o u ld in clu d e h e re lo c a tiv e o b je cts a fte r such v erb s as occupy an d i nhabi t, w h e re n o

p rep o sitio n ca n b e in se rte d :
W e o ccupy a spaci ous apar tm en t.
T h e y h a d in h a b ite d th e i sl and f o r o v er a century.
B rE m ay h a v e a lo cativ e ob je c t a fte r vi si t:
T h e y a re v isitin g A m sterdam .
A m E , o n th e o th e r h a n d , re stric ts th e d ire c t o b je ct to perso n al reference, a n d req u ires v i si t i n for
places. I n in fo rm al A m E , v i si t w i th is u sed in th e m e an in g ‘c h a t w ith ’:
I w as v i si ti ng w i th C aro l y e ste rd ay o u tsid e th e b an k .
[b] A related ca teg o ry o f o b je c t c o n sists o f p h rases o f ex te n t (H e ran a m i te; c / 1 0 .13).
Resultant object
10.28 A r e s u l t a n t o b jec t is a n o b je c t w hose re fe re n t exists only b y v irtu e o f th e
activ ity in d ic a te d by th e v e r b :
B a ird in v e n te d television. T h ey are d e sig n in g a new car.

J o h n h a s p a in te d a new picture. She m ad e a fire .
I ’m w ritin g a letter. I bak ed a cake.
W ith a n a g e n tiv e su b ject an d a n affected object, o n e m a y alw ays c ap tu re

p a r t o f th e m e a n in g o f a clau se (eg: X destroyed 7) by say in g ‘X d id so m eth in g
to Y ’; b u t th is d o e s n o t a p p ly to a re su lta n t o b ject: B aird invented television
d o e s n o t im p ly ‘B a ird d id so m eth in g to television’. C o n tra s t th e affected
o b je c t in I ’m dig g in g the ground w ith th e resu ltan t o b ject in I ’m digging a hole.
I n o n e ty p e o f re su lta n t ob ject, th e activ ity recreates th e r e fe r e n t:
S h e a c te d the p a rt o f Ophelia. T h ey are p laying the E g m o n t Overture.
N o te [a] O th e r te rm s fo r th e re su lta n t ob ject are ‘o b ject o f result’ an d ‘effected o b je c t’.

[bj W e sh o u ld d is tin g u is h b etw een I b ak ed a cak e, w here a cak e is re s u lta n t, a n d I bak ed som e
p o tato es, w h e re sem e p o tato es is affected. C o n tra st sim ilarly:
S h e co o k e d a m eal , [resu ltan t]
S h e co o k ed som e carr ots, [affected]
H e ’s fry in g an o m el et, [resu ltan t]
H e ’s fry in g an eg g . [affected]
[c] I n so m e cases it m a y be u n c le a r w h eth e r th e activ ity creates o r rec re a te s th e r e f e r e n t:
J a n e t to ld m e a j o k e.
C o g n a te o bje ct
10.29 A c o g n a t e o b je c t is sim ila r to a re su lta n t o bject in t h a t it re fe rs to a n e v en t
in d ic a te d by th e v e rb :
C h ris w ill sin g a song fo r us. She lived a good life.

T h e y fo u g h t a clean fig h t. H e b re ath ed his la st breath.
H e d ie d a m iserable death.
In th is ty p e o f o b ject, th e n o u n h e ad is sem antically an d o fte n m o rp h o lo g ically

r e la te d to th e v e rb . T h e o b ject can th erefo re n o t b e c o n sid ere d a p a rtic ip a n t.
Its se m a n tic fu n c tio n is to re p ea t, w holly o r p a rtially , th e m e a n in g o f th e
v e rb . M o s t c o g n a te o b jects ten d to convey a ra th e r o ro tu n d style.
T h e n o u n is g e n era lly m odified. T h e v e rb a n d th e o b jec t a re th e n e q u iv a len t
to th e v e rb a n d ,a co rre sp o n d in g a d v erb ial:
s
T h e y fo u g h t a clean fig h t. T h ey fo u g h t cleanly.
N o te [a] T h e o b je c t o f r an a race m ig h t also be classed as a cognate o bject, a lth o u g h it is lik e a lo cativ e

o b je c t in b ein g rep la c e a b le by a prep o sitio n al p h r a s e : ran in a race.
[b] T h e re a re ra re ca ses in w h ic h it is th e m e an in g o f th e subject th a t is p re su p p o se d by th e v erb :
T he f r o st f r o z e hard^, D ay daw n ed , T he w i nd i s bl ow i ng.
Eve ntive object

10.30 A fre q u e n t ty p e o f o b je c t gen erally tak es th e fo rm o f a d e v erb a l n o u n
p re c e d e d by a c o m m o n v e rb o f g en eral m ean in g , su ch as do, give, have, m a k e,
ta ke. T h is e v e n t i v e o b je c t ( c f 1 0 .2 5 ) is sem an tically a n e x te n sio n o f the verb
a n d b e a rs th e m a jo r p a r t o f th e m ean in g . C o m p a re :
T h e y are arguing, [v erb only]

T h e y are having an argum ent, [verb + ev en tiv e o b ject]
T h e m o re freq u e n t e v en tiv e o b ject c a n so m etim es be related to a c o g n a te

o b ject in th a t it su b stitu tes for th e m a jo r lex ical m ean in g o f th e v e rb w h e re a s
th e c o g n ate o b ject re p ea ts th e lex ical m ean in g . C o m p a re :
T h e y fo u g h t fo r a long tim e, [v erb + a d v erb ial]

T h e y fo u g h t a long fig h t, [v erb + co g n ate object]
T h ey h a d a long fig h t, [verb + ev en tiv e object]
T h e c o n stru ctio n w ith th e ev en tiv e o b ject p ro v id es g re ater w e ig h t t h a n th e

c o rre sp o n d in g S V ty p e, especially i f th ere a re n o o p tio n a l a d v erb ials, a n d is
o ften p re fe rre d to th e S V c o n stru ctio n in in fo rm a l E nglish.
S om e n o u n h e ad s in e v en tiv e o b jects a re n o t d eriv ed fro m v erb s. F o r
e x am p le th e re is n o v e rb effort, a lth o u g h an effort is ev en tiv e in F m m a k in g an
effort, a n d w h ereas w ork in H e d id som e w o rk is d ev erb al, th ere is n o re la te d
v e rb fo r hom ew ork in H e d id som e hom ew ork; o th e r ex am p les: have a g a m e ,
have a haircut, m a k e f m (o f), m a k e peace (w ith), (cf: m a k e war (on)). I n so m e
in stan c es, th e v e rb is n o t n o rm ally used in tra n sitiv e ly : I m ade a m ista k e /a n
attem p tja correction. I n o th e r in stan ces, th e c o m b in a tio n clearly d o es n o t
h av e th e sa m e m ea n in g as th e v e rb alo n e, eg: m a k e Jove (to), ta k e trouble
(over), m a k e a difference. I n a few in stan c es, th e co m b in a tio n h as (o r m a y
h av e) a p assiv e m ea n in g , p a rtic u la rly w ith have:
I h a d a frig h t. [‘I w a s f rig h te n e d . ’]

T h e b a b y ’s h a v in g a b a th . [‘T h e b a b y is b e in g b a th e d .’]
I ’ll h av e a sh am p o o , i f I m ay . [‘I w a n t m y h a ir to be sh a m p o o ed .’]
H e to o k offence a t m y re m a rk s. [‘H e w a s offended by m y re m a rk s .’]
H e re a re so m e co m m o n co llo catio n s o f v e rb a n d ev en tiv e o b ject w h e re th e

n o u n h e ad s in th e o b jec t are d e riv e d fro m v e r b s :
d o a dance a le ft/rig h t tu r n a som ersau lt

a d iv e a re p o rt a tran sla tio n
a d ra w in g a sk e tch som e w ork
V e rb al n o u n s a re com m only u sed a s o b jects, eg:
so m e clean in g som e re p a irin g
so m e d raw in g som e sew ing
so m e k n ittin g som e th in k in g
som e p a in tin g som e w ritin g
g e t a g la n c e (a t), a lo o k (a t), a s h o t a t ( i n f o r m a l ) , a v ie w (of)
g iv e a d v ic e , a n a n s w e r, a c h e e r , c o n s id e r a tio n (to ), a c o u g h , a c r y , a
d e f in itio n , a d e s c rip tio n , e n c o u r a g e m e n t, a n e x p la n a tio n , h e lp (to ), a k ic k ,
a k is s , a la u g h , a n o d , p e r m is s io n , a p u s h , a re p ly , a s ig h , a s m ile , a w a s h ,
a w ave
h F v e a n arg u m e n t, a b a sh ( in f o r m a l) , a b a th , a b ite ( in f o r m a l) , a c h a t
( in f o r m a l) , a d re a m , a d rin k , a n effect, a fight, a guess ( e s p B r E ) , a
h o lid ay ( e s p B r E ) , a n influ en ce (o n /o v er), a lie d ow n (in fo rm a l B r E ) , a
lo o k (at), a m eetin g , a n a p ( in f o r m a l) , a q u a rre l, a rest, a seat, a sh a v e , a
sh o w er, a sleep, a sm o k e, a sw im , a ta lk , a taste, a w alk, a w ash
m F k e a n a c c u s a tio n (a g a in s t), a n a g r e e m e n t ( w ith ), a llo w a n c e s (fo r), a n

a t t a c k (o n ), a b a r g a i n (w ith ), a ca ll (o n ), a c h o ic e , a c o m m e n t, a c o n tr ib u tio n
(to ), a c o p y (o f), a c r itic is m (of), a d e c is io n , a d isc o v e ry ( th a t) , a n e s c a p e , a
fu s s , a g u e s s, ( a n ) in q u ir y ( in to /o f ) , a n im p r e s s io n (o n ), a n i m p r o v e m e n t
( o n ), a n in v e s tig a tio n ( in to /o f ) , a n o te ( o f ) , a n o b je c tio n (to ), a n o b s e r v a tio n
( t h a t ) , a n o ffer ( th a t) , a p a y m e n t, a p r o m is e ( th a t) , a p r o p o s a l ( th a t) , a
r e c o m m e n d a tio n (th a t), a r e d u c tio n in , a re fe re n c e to , a r e p o r t (o n ), a
r e q u e s t ( t h a t /f o r ) , a s ta r t, a su g g e stio n , a tu r n , u s e o f
o f f e r a n a p o lo g y , o n e ’s r e s ig n a tio n , a su g g e s tio n
PAY a t t e n t i o n (to ), a c a ll (o n ), a v is it (to )
PUT e m p h a s i s o n , a n e n d to , a q u e s tio n to , a s to p to
t F k e a b a th , a b ite ( in f o r m a l) , a b re a th , c a re (of), a d islik e to , a d iv e, a

d r in k , a glance (a t), a guess, a look (at), a n a p , (a) note (of), n o tice (of),
o ffen ce (at), a p h o to g ra p h (of), p ity (o n ), a re st, a risk, a seat, a sh o w er, a
sh a v e , a sleep, a sm o k e, a sw im , a v a c a tio n <esp A m E ), a w alk, a w a sh
I t w ill b e n o tic e d th a t several n o u n p h ra s e s collocate w ith b o th have a n d

ta ke . I n s u c h cases, have is th e ty p ical B ritis h v e rb an d ta ke is th e ty p ic a l
A m e ric a n verb.
M o s t o f th e su b jects in clauses w ith a n e v e n tiv e o b ject a re ag en tiv e. B u t
so m e a re re cip ie n t (or experien cer, 10.21 N o te [e]): B ill g ot a view o f the
candidate, I had a w onderful dream, S a lly to o k an instant dislike to the new
tenant. O th e rs a re affe c te d : S a u l to o k a f a ll , T h e team has taken a beating, A t
the su d d en noise B o b gave a jum p. T h e v e rb s do , m ake, offer, p a y, a n d p u t
alw ay s ta k e a g en tiv e subjects.
I
N o te [a] H av e c a n m ore ea sily ta k e a n affected su b jec t th a n t ak e: T he baby ’s hav i ng a bath (also in
A m E ), g en e ra lly n o t l * T h e bab y ’s tak i ng a bath . D o a n d m ak e overlap in th e ev e n tiv e o b jects
th e y c a n ta k e , but o n ly d o ta k e s -i ng verbal nouns.
[b] T h e v e rb s v acati on <esp A m E ) a n d hol i day <esp B r E ) a re less u sual th a n th e ex p a n d e d
co n stru c tio n s.
[c] C o n tr a s t: ,
She g a v e a shriek, [a n in v o lu n tary shriek]
S h e h a d a good s h rie k , [vo lu n tary an d fo r ow n en jo y m en t]
S h e d id a (good) s h rie k , [a p e rfo rm a n ce befo re a n au d ien ce]
Instrum ental oibject

10.31 T h e o b je c t m ay o ccasio n ally b e in stru m e n ta l (c /1 0 .2 1 ):
W e e m ploy a com puter fo r o u r calcu latio n s.

S h e is playing the piano.
H e n o d d e d his head.
N o te O c casio n a lly th e n o tio n o f in stru m e n t is in c o rp o ra te d in to th e v e r b :

H e h ead ed the b all in to th e goal. [‘H e h it th e b a ll w ith h is h ea d . . . ’]
H e k i c k ed the b all in to th e goal. [‘H e h it th e ball w ith h is f o o t . . . ’]
T h is a p p lie s to nod, to o : hi s h ead in th e ex am p le in th e te x t w o u ld be im p lied if om itted .
Sem antic roies o f clause elements 753
Affected indirect object

10.32 T h e in d ire c t o b ject n o rm ally tak e s th e role o f re c ip ie n t ( c f 10.19, a n d N o te
[c] below ). I t o ccasio n ally ta k e s a n affected role w ith a few o f th e v erb s th a t
c o m b in e w ith a n e v e n tiv e o b jec t ( c f 10.30). T h e m o st c o m m o n v e rb in th e
la tte r c o n stru ctio n is g iv e :
She g ave m e a p u sh . [‘She p u sh ed m e.’]

I g av e H elen a n u d g e. [‘I n u d g ed H e len .’]
W e g av e the baby a b a th . [‘W e b ath e d th e b a b y .’]
I should g ive the car a w ash . [‘I should w ash th e c a r .’]
G iv e the car a p u sh . [‘P u s h th e c a r.’]
J u d ith p a id m e a v isit. [‘J u d ith v isited m e .’]
D e re k ow es us a tre a t. [‘I t ’s D e re k ’s tu rn to tre a t u s.’]
T h e in d ire c t o b je c t h a s th e sam e role as th e affected d ire c t o b ject in th e

p a ra p h ra se s. U n lik e th e re c ip ie n t in d ire ct ob ject, th e a ffected in d ire ct o b jec t
is n o t n o rm ally p a ra p h ra s a b le by a p rep o sitio n al p h r a s e :
I gave H elen a n u d g e.
~ ?I g av e a n u d g e to H elen.
T h e reaso n is t h a t th is ty p e o f c o n stru ctio n is in te n d e d to focus o n th e

n o m in a l e q u iv a le n t o f th e v e rb (nudge in th is ex am p le) a n d th erefo re th e
d ire c t o b ject sh o u ld re ce iv e en d -fo cu s (c /1 8 .3 /).
N o te [a] I n th is use, gi v e m a y b e co m p a re d w ith g et, hav e, a n d recei ve in a p arallel passive se n se : I g o t

a surpri se, T he c ar has h ad a pol i sh, I recei v ed a shock . T h e re is also a n in terestin g eq u iv alen c e o f
T hey gav e (o r shot ) each ot h er gl anc es a n d T hey ex changed gl ances [‘T h e y g la n ced a t ea ch o th e r.
[b] W e sho u ld in c lu d e h e re m e ta p h o ric a l uses o f o th e r verb s, w h ere p a ra p h ra se s in d icate t h a t
th e in d ire c t o b je ct h a s a n affected ro le : I taugh t hi m a l esson [roughly ‘I d iscip lin e d h im .’].
[c] T h e in d ire c t o b je ct h a s th e ro le o f ‘co m ita tiv e’ [‘to g e th er w ith ’] o r p e rh a p s ‘o p p o sitio n ’ in
th is ex a m p le:
I pla y ed Sam a g a m e o f chess. [‘I played a gam e o f chess w ith /a g a in st S a m .’]
S u m m a ry
10.33 A s a su m m ary , w e p re s e n t in Table 10.33 o v er p a g e th e c h ie f se m an tic
fu n c tio n s fo r e a c h clau se ty p e, w ith exam ple sen ten ces. A lth o u g h , as th e
tab le show s, th e se m a n tic fu n c tio n s o f th e elem en ts (p a rticu la rly S an d O d)
a re q u ite v a rie d , th e re a re c e rta in clear restrictio n s, su ch a s th a t th e o b jec t
c a n n o t b e a g en tiv e; a su b je ct (ex cep t in th e passiv e) c a n n o t b e re su lta tiv e ;
a n in d ire c t o b ject n o rm ally h a s o nly tw o fu n ctio n s - th o se o f affected a n d
re cip ie n t. T h e follow ing sy stem o f p rio rities g en erally o b ta in s :
I f th e re is a n ag en tiv e, e x te rn al c auser, o r p o sitio n e r, it is S ; i f n o t,
I f th e re is a n in stru m e n t, it is S ; if not,
I f th e re is a n a ffected, it is S ; if not,
I f th e re is a tem p o ral, lo cativ e, o r eventive, it m ay b e S ; i f n o t,
T h e p ro p w o rd it is S.
N a tu ra lly , in p assiv e clau ses th e role o f th e d ire c t o r in d ire c t o b jec t is
assig n ed to th e subject.
T a b le 10.33 S e m a n tic roles
Type S Oi Od cs Q A E x a m p le
SVC a ff a ttr ib S h e ’s happy.

agent a t tr ib H e turned traitor.
lo c a ttr ib T h e S ahara is hot.
te m p a ttr ib L a s t night w as w arm .
event a ttr ib T h e show w as interesting.
it a ttr ib It's windy.
SVA a ff loc H e w as a t school.

agent loc S h e g o t into th e car.
pos loc H e is lyin g on th e flo o r.
event te m p T h e m eetin g is a t e ight.
SV agent H e was w orking.

pos S h e is standing.
a ff T h e curtains disappeared.
ext T h e w in d is blow ing.
it I t ’s raining.
SVO agent aff H e threw th e ball.

ext aff L ig h tn in g s tru c k th e house.
pos aff H e is holding a k n ife .
in s tr a ff The stone b ro ke th e w indow .
re c ip a ff S h e has a car.
agent re c ip W e p a id the b u s d river.
in s tr re c ip T h e w ill ben efits u s all.
agent loc T h e y clim b ed th e m o u n ta in .
lo c aff T h e bus sea ts th irty .
agent , cog T h e y fo u g h t a clean fig h t.
agent re su lt I wrote a letter.
agent event T h e y h a d a n a rg u m e n t.
agent in s tr H e no d d ed h is head.
SVO C agent aff a ttrib H e declared h er th e w inner.

ext aff a ttrib The sun tu rn e d it y ello w .
in s tr ’ a ff a ttrib T h e revolver m a d e h im a fraid.
re c ip i a ff a ttr ib \ I fo u n d it strange.
SVO A agent a ff loc H e p la c e d it o n th e sh elf.

ext a ff loc T h e sto rm dro ve th e sh ip ashore.
in s tr a ff loc A car k n o c k e d it dow n.
re c ip a ff loc I prefer th e m on to a st.
i
SVO O agent r e tip aff I bought her a g ift.
agent aff event S h e g a v e th e d o o r a k ic k .
agent recip re su lt S h e k n itte d m e a sw eater.
k e y : aff(ected) ext(ernal causer) pos(itioner)

agent(ive) instr(um ent) recip(ient)
attrib(ute) (prop) it result(ant)
cog(nate) loc(ative) tem p(oral)
event(ive)
S ub je ct-verb concord 755
Subject-verb concord
General rule
10.34 c o n c o rd (also te rm e d ‘ag ree m e n t’) c a n b e d efin ed as th e re latio n sh ip
b etw een tw o g ra m m a tic a l u n its such th a t o n e o f th e m d isp lay s a p a rtic u la r
fe atu re (eg p lu rality ) t h a t a cco rd s w ith a d isp lay ed (o r sem an tically im p licit)
featu re in th e o th er. T h e m o st im p o rta n t ty p e o f c o n co rd in E nglish is
co n co rd o f 3 rd p e rso n n u m b e r b etw een su b je ct a n d verb . T h e n o rm ally
o bserved ru le is very s im p le :
A sin g u lar su b je ct req u ires a sin g u lar v e r b :
M y d a u g h te r w atches telev isio n a fte r su p p er, [singular su b ject +

sin g u lar verb]
A p lu ral su b je ct re q u ire s a p lu ral v e r b :
M y d a u g h te rs watch telev isio n a fte r su p p er, [p lu ral su b ject +

p lu ral verb]
W h en th e su b je ct is realized by a n o u n p h ra se , th e p h ra se co u n ts a s
sin g u lar if its h e a d is s in g u la r:
The c h a n g e in m a le a ttitu d es is m o st o b v io u s in in d u stry .

The c h a n g e s in m a le a ttitude are m o st o b v io u s in industry.
F in ite a n d n o n fin ite clauses gen erally co u n t a s sin g u lar:
H o w you g o t th ere d o e sn ’t co n cern m e.

T o tre a t th e m a s h o stag es i s crim inal.
S m o k in g c ig a re tte s is d an g ero u s to y our h e alth .
P re p o sitio n a l p h ra s e s a n d a d v erb s fu n ctio n in g as su b je ct (c /1 0 .15) also c o u n t

as sin g u lar:
In th e e v en in g s is b e st fo r m e. Slowly does i t !
A n a p p a re n t ex ce p tio n fo r clauses is th e n o m in a l relativ e clause. N o m in a l

relativ e clauses a re o n th e c o n tin u u m fro m clau se to n o u n p h ra se ( c /1 5 .8 /) .
F o r th e p u rp o se o f co n co rd , th e ir n u m b er d e p e n d s o n th e in te rp re ta tio n o f
th e n u m b er o f th e wA-element. W ith th e d e te rm in e rs w hat a n d whatever, th e
concord d e p en d s o n th e n u m b e r o f th e d e te rm in e d n o u n . C o n tra s t [3] a n d [4]
b elow :
W h a t w ere su p p o sed to b e n ew p ro p o sals were in fact

m o d ificatio n s o f e arlie r ones. [ 1]
W h a t w as o n ce a p a la ce is now a pile o f ru b b le. [2]
W h a te v e r b o o k a Tim es rev iew er p ra ises sells w ell. [3]
W h at id e a s h e h a s are h is w ife’s. [4]
A v erb c o u n ts as sin g u lar i f th e first v e rb in a fin ite v e rb p h ra se h a s a

sin g u lar fo rm :
M y so n has
n o in te n tio n o f sp e n d in g a v a c a tio n w ith m e.
M y sons have
A le tte r has
T w o letters have
;j
been sent to every a p p lic an t.
T h e a p p lic a tio n o f th e g eneral rule is re stric te d in sev eral g en eral re s p e c ts :
(1) E x c e p t for th e v e rb b e , th e verb show s a d is tin c tio n o f n u m b e r only in

th e 3 rd p e rso n p re sen t. H e n ce , the v erb g en erally d o es n o t show c o n co rd in
th e p a s t :
M y d a u g h te r 1 Watch ed television a fte r su p p e r.

M y d a u g h te rs j
T he v e rb | e d isp lay s c o n co rd also in the 3 rd p e rso n p a s t :
M y d a u g h te r w as w a tch in g television in m y b ed ro o m .
M y d a u g h te rs were w a tch in g television in m y b ed ro o m .
(2) N u m b e r co n co rd is d isplayed only in th e in d ic a tiv e . N o n fin ite verbs,

im p e ra tiv e s , a n d su b ju n c tiv e s m ak e n o n u m b e r d istin c tio n s.
(3) M o d a l a u x iliaries ( c f i . W f f ) m ak e n o n u m b e r d istin c tio n s:
M y d a u g h te rs } m a y w a tc *1 te 'ev ’s' on a fte r su p p e r.
N o te [a] I t is p o s sib le to g en e ra liz e th e ru le o f concord to 'A su b jec t w h ic h is n o t clearly sem an tically

p lu ra l r e q u ir e s a sin g u la r v e r b '; th a t is, to tre a t sin g u la r a s th e u n m a rk e d form , to b e used in
n e u tra l circ u m s ta n c e s , w h ere n o positiv e in d icatio n o f p lu ra lity is p resen t. T h is w ould ex p lain ,
in a d d i tio n to clau sal su b jects, th e tend en cy in in fo rm al sp e e c h fo r i sI w as to follow th e p seu d o
su b je c t t h er e in e x isten tial sen te n ces such a s T here’s hun dreds o f peopl e on the w ai ti ng l i st (c f
18.44/"). S im ilarly , in te rro g a tiv e w ho an d w hat as su b jects n o rm a lly ta k e a sin g u la r v erb even
w h e n th e s p e a k e r hh s re a so n to believ e th a t m ore th a n o n e p e rso n o r en tity is in v o lv e d : W ho i s
m ak i n g a l l t h at noi se ? H o w e v er, a plu ral v erb m ay be u sed i f o th e r w o rd s in th e se n te n ce in d icate
th a t a p lu r a l su b jec t'is e x p e cted in th e an sw er (W ho hav e no t recei v ed thei r p asses?).
O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e p rin c ip le o f p ro xim ity (c f 10.35) effects a ch a n g e fro m sin g u la r to
p lu ra l m o re o fte n th a n th e reverse, p erh a p s because th e p lu ra l is th e fo rm th a t is m orphologically
u n m a rk ed . !
[b] A p p a r e n t e x c ep tio n s to th e con co rd rule arise w ith s in g u la r n o u n s en d in g w ith th e -s o f th e
p lu ra l in fle c tio n (m easl es, bi l l i ards, m athem ati cs, etc, c f 5 .1 5 ), o r c onversely plu ral n o u n s la ck in g
th e in fle c tio n (c attl e,p eo p l e, cl ergy , etc, c/5 .7 8 ):
M e a sle s i s so m etim e s serious. O u r people are co m p la in in g .
[c] P lu ra l p h ra s e s (in c lu d in g c o o rd in ate phrases) c o u n t a s sin g u la r if th e y are used a s n am es,
title s, q u o ta tio n s , etc (p f fu rth e r 17.90): \
C ri m e an d Puni shm ent is p erh a p s th e b est co n stru c te d o f D ostoyevsky’s novels, b u t T he
B ro th ers K aram azov is un d o u b ted ly h is m asterp iece.
‘T h e C e d a r s ’ h a s a hu g e g ard en .
‘S e n io r c itiz e n s’ m e an s, in com m on parlan ce, peo p le o v e r six ty.
S u ch n o u n p h ra s e s c a n b e reg ard e d as appo sitiv e s tru c tu re s w ith a n im p lied sin g u la r h e a d : the
book 'C r i m e an d P u n i sh m e n t t h e ex pressi on *seni or ci ti zens’ . T h e title s o f som e w o rk s th a t are
co llectio n s o f sto rie s, 4 tc, m ay b e co u n ted as eith e r sin g u la r o r p lu r a l:
ex i sts I
e x .st > in m an y m a n u sc rip ts.
{
[d] O n th e tr e a tm e n t o f d at a, m edi a, cri teri a, an d phenom ena a s sin g u la r n ouns, c f 5.91, 5.98
N o te.
[e] Z e ro p lu r a l n o u n s (c/5 .8 6 ) d o n o t display n u m b e r. H e n c e , w h e n th ey are subject a n d th e v erb
is a m o d a l o r sim p le p a st, n um b er differences m an ifest th e m selv e s o nly co v ertly th ro u g h p ro n o u n
refere n ce (c f co v e rt g en d e r, 5.104):
fn9
T h e s h e e p ju m p e d o v e r th e fence, d id n ’t j ^ ^
[f] I t is a p e c u lia rity o f E n g lish th a t -s is th e regular in flectio n fo r sin g u la r in th e v erb b u t fo r

plu ral in th e noun.
S ub je ct-verb con co rd 757
Principles of gram m atical concord, notional concord,

and p roxim ity
10.35 T h e rule th a t th e v e rb m a tc h e s its su b ject in n u m b er m ay b e c alled th e
p rin cip le o f g r F m m F t i c F l c o n c o r d . D ifficulties over co n co rd arise th ro u g h
occasio n al co n flict b e tw ee n th is a n d tw o o th e r p rin cip les: th e p rin c ip le o f
n o t i o n F l c o n c o r d a n d th e p rin cip le o f p r o x i m i t y .
N o tio n a l co n co rd is a g re e m e n t o f v e rb w ith subject acco rd in g to th e n o tio n

o f n u m b e r ra th e r th a n w ith th e a c tu a l p resen ce o f th e g ra m m a tic a l m a rk e r
fo r th a t n o tio n . I n B ritish E n g lish , fo r exam ple, collective n o u n s su ch a s
governm ent a re o fte n tre a te d a s n o tio n a lly p lu ra l:
T h e g o v e rn m e n t have b ro k e n all their prom ises. <BrE>
In th is ex am p le, th e p lu ra l n o tio n is signalled n o t only b y th e p lu ra l v e rb

have, b u t also b y th e p ro n o u n their.
T h e p rin cip le o f p ro x im ity , also te rm e d ‘a ttra c tio n ’, d e n o te s a g re e m e n t o f
th e v e rb w ith a closely p re ce d in g n o u n p h rase in p re fe re n ce to a g re e m e n t
w ith th e h e ad o f th e n o u n p h ra se th a t fu n ctio n s as s u b je c t:
IN o one e x c e p t his o w n su p p o rte rs agree w ith him .
T h e p re ce d in g p lu ra l n o u n supporters h a s influenced th e ch o ice o f th e p lu ral

v e rb agree, a lth o u g h th e su b ject N o one except his ow n supporters is
g ra m m atica lly sin g u lar, sin c e th e h e a d no one is singular. O n th e o th e r h a n d ,
th e p ro x im ity p rin c ip le is h e re re in fo rc ed by n o tio n al c o n co rd (‘O n ly h is o w n
su p p o rte rs ag ree w ith h im ’), m ak in g th e sen ten ce so m ew h at m o re a cc e p ta b le
th a n i f th e p ro x im ity p rin cip le a lo n e ap p lied . T h e ch o ice o f th e v e rb m a y
also b e in flu en ced by p re ce d in g c o o rd in a te d n o u n p h rases, e v en if th ey a re
sin g u lar:
?*A good know ledge o f E n g lish , R u ssian , a n d F re n c h are re q u ire d fo r

th is p o sitio n .
C o n flict b e tw ee n g ra m m a tic a l co n co rd a n d a ttra c tio n th ro u g h p ro x im ity

te n d s to in crease w ith th e d ista n c e b etw een th e n o u n p h ra se h e a d o f th e
su b ject a n d th e v e rb , for e x am p le w h e n th e postm odifier is len g th y o r w h e n
a n a d v erb ial o r a p a re n th e s is in te rv en e s b etw een the su b ject a n d th e v erb .
P ro x im ity co n co rd o ccu rs m ain ly in u n p lan n e d discourse. I n w ritin g it w ill
b e co rrected to g ra m m a tic a l c o n co rd if it is noticed.
T h e th ree p rin cip les a n d th e ir in te ra c tio n will b e illu stra te d b elo w in th re e
area s w h ere c o n co rd c au ses som e p ro b lem s: w h ere th e su b je ct c o n ta in s (a) a
co llectiv e n o u n h e a d ; (b) c o o rd in a tio n ; a n d (c) a n in d efin ite e x p ressio n .
E n g lish sp e a k ers a re o fte n u n c e rta in a b o u t th e ru les o f c o n co rd .
P re sc rip tiv e tea ch in g h as in sisted ra th e r rigidly on g ra m m a tic a l c o n co rd ,
w ith th e resu lt th a t p eo p le o fte n e x p erien c e a conflict b etw een th is ru le a n d
th e ru le o f n o tio n a l c o n co rd , w h ic h ten d s to p re v ail o v e r it. W h e n th e
p ro x im ity p rin cip le is follow ed in d efian ce o f th e o th er p rin cip les, th e re su lt
is likely to be c o n d em n ed a s a n erro r.
N o te [a] T h e p rin c ip le o f n o tio n al co n c o rd ac co u n ts for th e com m on use o f a s in g u la r w ith su b jec ts

th a t are plu ral n o u n p h rases o f q u a n tity o r m easu re. T h e en tity expressed b y th e n o u n p h ra s e is
view ed as a single u n it:
T e n d o lla r s i s all I h a v e le ft. [‘T h a t am o u n t i s . .

F if te e n y e a rs represents a lo ng p erio d o f h is life. [‘T h a t period i s . . . ’]
T w o m ile s i s as f a r a s th ey c a n w alk . [‘T h a t d ista n ce i s . . .’]
T w o th i r d s o f th e a re a i s u n d e r w ater. [‘T h a t a re a i s . .
C f : S i x t y peopl e m eans a huge p ar ty . [ T h a t n u m b e r o f people m e a n s . . . ’]
[b] W e a lso fin d a ty p e o f n u m b e r co n co rd a t th e p h ra se level in th a t ce rta in d ete rm in e rs ag ree
in n u m b e r w ith th e ir n o u n h ea d s th at i dea, those i deas. T h e re a re a p p a re n t ex c ep tio n s w ith
m e asu re n o u n p h ra se s:
th at fiv e dol l ars ( a ls o : those five d ollars) ev ery few m i l es
thi s l u st tw o w eek s (a lso : these la st tw o w eeks) each te n ounces
an o th er tw o d ay s ano ther five p er cent
a h a p p y th re e m onths
A f ew a n d a g o o d m any fu n ctio n as u n its :
a g o o d m a n y frie n d s a few d ay s
[c] G r a m m a tic a l co n c o rd is usually obeyed fo r m ore than a n d m any a, th o u g h it m a y co n flict
w ith n o tio n a l c o n c o rd :
M o re th a n a th o u san d in h a b ita n ts hav e sig n ed th e petitio n . [1]
M o re th a n o n e m e m b e r has p ro te sted a g a in st th e proposal. [2]
M an y a m e m b e r h as p ro tested ag a in st th e p ro p o sal. [3]
A lth o u g h th e su b ject is no tio n ally plu ral in [2] a n d [3], th e sin g u la r is preferre d b ec au se m em ber
is analy sed a s h ea d o f th e n o u n ph rase. C o n tr a s t:
M ore m e m b e rs th a n on e 1 . ...
M an y m e m b e rs J p ro te sted ag a in st th e proposal.
C o lle ctive nouns and notional concord

10.36 S in g u lar co llectiv e n o u n s m a y b e n o tio n ally plu ral. I n B rE th e v e rb m a y b e
e ith e r s in g u la r o r p lu r a l:
T h e a u d ie n c e were en jo y in g every m in u te o f it. [ 1]

T h e p u b lic are tire d o f d e m o n stra tio n s. [2]
E n g la n d have w on th e cu p . [3]
O u r P la n n in g C o m m itte e have c o n sid ered yo u r req u est. [4]
T h e c h o ic e b e tw ee n sin g u lar o r p lu ral v erb s d ep en d s in B rE o n w h e th e r th e

group is b e in g c o n sid ered as a single u n d iv id e d body, o r as a c o llectio n o f
in d iv id u als. T h u s, in B rE p lu ral is m o re likely in [1] th a n sin g u lar, b ecau se
a tte n tio n is d ire c te d a t th e in d iv id u a l re ac tio n s o f m em b ers o f th e a u d ien ce.
O n the o th e r h a n d , th e sin g u lar is m o re likely in th ese sen ten ces:
T h e a u d ien ce was en o rm o u s. [ 1a]

T h e p u b lic consists o f you a n d m e. [2a]
T h e c ro w d hfis b een d isp ersed . [5]
In c o n tra st to [la], The audience were enormous m ig h t be in te rp re te d to re fe r

to an a u d ie n c e o f en o rm o u s p eople. O n th e w hole, th e p lu ral is m o re p o p u la r
in speech, w h ereas in th e m o re in h ib ite d m ed iu m o f w ritin g th e s in g u la r is
p ro b ab ly p re fe rre d . It is gen erally sa fer in B rE to use th e sin g u lar v e rb w h ere
there is d o u b t, in o b ed ien ce to g ra m m a tic a l concord.
A m E g e n erally trea ts sin g u lar c o llectiv e n o u n s as singular. T e rm s fo r th e
g o v e rn m e n t a n d for sp o rts tea m s a re n early alw ays tre a te d a s sin g u lar in
A m E , b u t o th e r term s m ay (less c o m m o n ly th a n in B rE ) ta k e p lu ral v e r b s :
T h e a d m in istra tio n has a n n o u n ce d its p lan s fo rstim u la tin g th e eco n o m y .

A m e ric a has w on th e cup.
T h e p u b lic has a rig h t to k now , [also in A m E : T h e p u b lic have a rig h t to
k n o w .]
S u b je ct-ve rb concord 759
B ut, as in B rE , p lu ra l p ro n o u n s are o ften used in A m E to re fe r to sin g u lar

collective n o u n s:
T h e c o m m ittee has n o t y et d ecid ed how they sh o u ld re a c t to th e

G o v e rn o r’s letter.
N o te [a] I f th e collective n o u n su b je c t occurs in th e p lural, th e v e rb is o f course p lu ra l in b o th B rE an d

A m E : T he v ari ous com m i ttees ar e now m eeti ng to di scuss y o u r proposal .
[b] W h en a noun refe rrin g to a collection o f people h as p lu ra l co n c o rd , th e p ro n o u n s for w h ic h
it is an teced e n t te n d to b e w hol w hom j they ! them rath er th a n w hichl i t. C o m p a r e :
a fam ily w ho qu arrel a m o n g st them sel v es
a fam ily w hich d ates b a c k to th e N o rm a n C onquest
[cj C oupl e in th e sense o f tw o p erso n s norm ally h as a p lu ra l v e rb ev en in A m E : T he coupl e ar e
happi l y m arri ed. W h e n it d e n o te s a u n it, th e singular v e rb is u s e d : E ac h coupl e w as ask ed to
com pl ete a f orm .
Coordinated subject
C oordination with a n d
10.37 W h en a subject c o n sists o f tw o o r m o re no u n p h ra se s (or clauses) c o o rd in a te d
by and, a d istin c tio n h a s to b e m ad e b etw een c o o rd in a tio n a n d c o o rd in a tiv e
a p p o sitio n { c f 10.39).
C o o rd in atio n c o m p rise s cases th a t co rresp o n d to fu ller c o o rd in a te form s.
A p lu ral verb is u sed e v e n if e ac h conjoin is s in g u la r:
T o m a n d A lice are n o w ready. [‘T o m is n o w re ad y a n d A lice is

now re ad y .’]
W h at I say a n d w h a t I th in k are m y o w n affair. [‘W h a t I say is m y o w n
affair a n d w h a t I th in k is m y o w n a ffair’; b u t cf: W hat I s a y a n d do is
m y ow n affair, 10.38]
A p lu ral v erb is sim ilarly re q u ired in asy n d e tic c o o rd in a tio n (w ith o u t a

co o rd in ato r):
H is cam era, h is ra d io , his m oney were co n fiscated b y th e

custom s officials.
C o njoins expressing a m u tu a l relatio n sh ip { c f 13.60), ev en th o u g h th ey c a n

only in d irectly b e tre a te d as red u ctio n s o f clau ses in th is w ay, also tak e a
p lu ral v e r b :
Y o u r p ro b lem a n d m in e are sim ilar. [‘Y o u r p ro b lem is sim ila r to m in e

a n d m in e is s im ila r to y ours.’]
W h a t I say a n d d o are tw o d ifferen t th in g s. [‘W h a t I say is o n e th in g
a n d w h a t I d o is a n o th e r th in g .’]
N o te [a] I f a singular n o u n p h ra s e is follow ed by etc an d s im ila r a b b re v ia to ry ex p ressio n s (an d so on,

an d so f o r th ), a plu ral v e rb is n o rm a l:
T h e size etc are less im p o r ta n t fo r o u r purposes.
[b] P reposed each o r ev ery h a s a d istrib u tiv e effect an d req u ire s a sin g u lar v e r b :
E very ad u lt an d ev ery ch ild w as h olding a flag.
E a c h sen ato r an d co n g re ssm a n w as allo cated tw o seats.
C o n tra st:
E a ch o f th e m has sig n ed th e p etitio n . T h ey hav e e a c h sig n ed th e p e titio n .
760 T h e sim pfe sentence
[c] T h e c o o rd in a tio n m a rk e rs respecti v e an d respecti v el y (c f 13.62 f ) o cc u r in c o o rd in atio n , b u t

n o t in c o o rd in a tiv e ap p o sitio n .
[d] T h e p rin c ip le o f n o tio n a l concord ex p lain s :
T h e h a m m e r a n d sick le w as flying fro m th e flagpole.
D a n is h b a c o n a n d eggs m ak es a good solid E n g lish break fast.
T h e B a t a n d B all sel l s good beer.
D e s p ite th e c o o rd in a tio n , th e subject nam es a single flag, a sin g le m e al, a n d a single p u b
re sp ectiv ely . C o n tr a s t:
D a n is h b a c o n a n d eggs sel l v ery well in London,
fe] A r ith m e tic a l s u m s m a y be used w ith a sin g u lar o r plu ral v e r b :
T w o a n d tw o four.
So a lso T en ti m es f i v e i s (o r ar e) f i f t y ; T w o f i v es m ak e (or m ak es) ten . B u t T w o f i v es ar e ten; T en

m i nus tw o i s ei g h t ; T en i nto f i f t y i sf i v e.
C o o r d in a t io n w ith in a s in g u la r s u b je c t
1.38 A s in g u la r n o n c o u n t n o u n h ead m ay b e prem odified b y p h ra s e s c o o rd in a te d
b y and. A s s u b je c t, th e resu ltin g n o u n p h ra se m ay im p ly tw o (o r m o re)
s e p a ra te se n te n c e s , a n d m ay th e n b e legitim ately follow ed b y a p lu ral v e r b :
A m e ric a n a n d D u tc h b eer are (both) m u ch lig h te r t h a n B ritis h beer.

[‘A m e r ic a n b e e r is . . . a n d D u tc h b e er i s . . . ’]
W h ite a n d b ro w n su g ar are (equally) accep tab le fo r th is recip e.
B u t a s in g u la r v e rb is o ften used in th is con tex t, a n d is re q u ire d w h en th e

p h ra s e s a re p o s tm o d ify in g :
B e e r fro m A m e ric a a n d H o llan d is m u ch lig h te r th a n B ritis h beer.
W h e n th e s u b je c t is a n o m in al relativ e clause, c o o rd in a tio n red u ctio n

allo w s so m e v a r ia tio n in n u m b er in te rp re ta tio n :
W h a t I s a y a n d d o are m y ow n affair. [‘W h a t I say i s . . . a n d w h a t I
d o . . c /1 0 .3 7 ]
W h a t I sa y a n d d o is m y o w n affair. [‘T h a t w h ic h I say a n d d o . . . ’]
A g e n e ric n o u n p h ra se w ith a sin g u lar co u n t h e a d re q u ire s a p lu ral v erb

w h e n th e h e a d is p rem o d ified a n d th e p rem o d ificatio n c o n ta in s c o o rd in a tio n
by a n d : j
i \
T h e s h o rt-te rm a n d (th e) lo n g -term lo an are h a n d le d v e ry d ifferently by
th e b a n k .
A first-la n g u ag e a n d (a) second-language le a rn e r share so m e strateg ies
in th e ir a c q u is itio n o f th e language.
T h ese n o u n p h ra s e s a re n o tio n ally p lu ral (‘sh o rt-term a n d lo n g -term lo an s’;
‘first-lan g u ag e a n d seco n d -lan g u ag e lea rn ers’).
C o o r d in a tiv e a p p o s itio n
9.39 W ith th e less c o m m o n c o o r d i n a t i v e a p p o s i t i o n , n o re d u c tio n is im plied,
sin ce e a c h o f th e c o o rd in a te d u n its h as th e sam e re fe re n ce . H e n ce , a sin g u lar
v e rb is re q u ire d if e a c h n o u n p h ra se is sin g u lar:
T h is te m p le o f ugliness a n d m em o rial to V ic to ria n b a d ta s te was

e re c te d in th e m a in stre et o f th e city.
Sub je ct-verb con co rd 761
T h e tw o o p e n in g n o u n p h ra ses h e re b o th re fe r to o n e en tity (a statu e). T h e

follow ing ex am p le, h o w ev er, c o u ld h a v e e ith e r a sin g u lar o r p lu ral v e r b ,
d e p e n d in g o n th e m e a n in g :
H is ag ed se rv an t a n d th e su b seq u e n t ed ito r o f his collected p a p ers
w ith h im a t h is d e ath b ed .
S in g u lar was is used if th e s e rv a n t a n d th e e d ito r a re th e sam e p erso n , a n d

p lu ral were if th ey a re tw o d iffere n t p eople. ^
Som e la titu d e is allow ed in th e in te rp re ta tio n o f a b stra c t n o u n s :
In v o k in g th e p rin cip le o f n o tio n a l co n co rd , w e m ay use e ith e r s in g u la r o r

p lu ral, d ep en d in g o n w h e th e r q u a litie s a re seen as se p a ra te o r a s a c o m p le x
u nity.
N o te [a] T h e co rrelativ es b o t h . . . a n d . . . (c /1 3 .3 5 ) m a rk co o rd in atio n in subject n o u n p h ra s e s : B o th

her cal m ness an d her conf i dence are astoni shi ng. W ith su b ject co m p lem en ts th ey m a r k c o o rd in a tiv e
a p p o s itio n : She i s both sec retary an d tr easu rer. C o n tr a s t:
B o th m y w ife a n d m y secretary w ere th e re , [tw o persons]
She was b o th m y w ife a n d m y s ecretary , [one person]
[b] N o u n p h rases are usually ap p o sed w ith o u t a co o rd in ato r. I f th e y are su b ject, a sin g u la r v e rb
is o f co u rse req u ired if th e n o u n p h ra s e s th em selv es are singular:
T h is tem p le o f ugliness, a m e m o ria l to V icto rian b ad taste, w as erected in th e m a in str e e t o f
th e city.
[c] A rep e a te d d ete rm in e r bia se s th e ch o ic e to p lu ra l:
Y o u r fairn ess a n d yo u r im p a rtia lity hav e been m u c h ap p rec iated .
Q uasi-coordination
10.40 S u b ject n o u n p h ra ses m ay b e lin k e d by q u asi-co o rd in ato rs ( c f 13.103), ie
p re p o sitio n s (such as along w ith, rather than, an d as w ell as) th a t are
sem an tically sim ila r to c o o rd in a to rs. G ra m m a tic a l co n co rd re q u ire s a
sin g u lar v erb if th e first n o u n p h ra s e is sin g u lar:
T h e c ap tain , as w ell a s th e o th e r p lay ers, was tired .

O n e sp e a k er a fte r a n o th e r was co m p lain in g a b o u t th e la c k o f
a d eq u a te sa n ita tio n .
O ccasio n ally th e p rin cip le o f n o tio n a l co n co rd (som etim es c o m b in e d w ith

th e p ro x im ity p rin cip le) p ro m p ts th e p lu ral, especially in loosely e x p ressed
sp e e ch :
?O ne m a n w ith h is w ife, b o th loo k in g very anxious, were p le a d in g w ith a

g u ard to let th e m th ro u g h .
?T h e P resid en t, to g e th e r w ith h is ad v iso rs, are p re p a rin g a s ta te m e n t on
th e crisis.
I f a n a d v erb ial is a tta c h e d to a second n o u n p h ra se lin k ed to the first n o u n

p h r a s e b y and, th e co n stru ctio n is co n sid ere d p a re n th e tic , a n d g ra m m atica l
c o n c o r d sim ilarly re q u ire s th e verb to a g ree in n u m b er w ith the first n o u n
p h ra se:
A w riter, a n d so m etim es a n a rtist, is in v ite d to ad d ress th e society.
T h e a m b a ssad o r - a n d p erh ap s h is w ife to o - is likely to b e p resen t.
T h e sam e g ra m m a tic a l ru le ap p lies w h e n th e second p h ra se is n e g ativ e,

w h e th e r o r n ot lin k e d by and, th o u g h h e re th e p rin cip le o f n o tio n a l c o n co rd
re in fo rc e s the u se o f th e sin g u lar:
T h e P rim e M in iste r, (an d ) n o t th e m o n a rc h , decides g o v ern m en t policy.
C o o rd in atio n w ith o r and nor

1 0 .4 1 T h e ru les are d iffere n t for subject p h ra se s o r clauses w h ich a re c o o rd in a te d
■with (e ith e r. . . ) or:
>{.L}[• b o u n d to com e.
E ith e r the M a y o r o r h e r d ep u ty < „ [ 1]
W h a t I say o r w h a t I th in
i n kk ! * " n o b u sin ess o f yours. [2]
[* are
f ^ has 1
E ith e r the s trik e rs o r th e bosses j ^ >m isu n d ersto o d th e claim . [3]
E ith e r your b ra k e s o r y o u r ey esig h t | ^ rg| a t fau lt. [4]
E ith e r your e y esig h t o r y our b ra k es | a t fault. [5]
A ll th e s e involve n o n a p p o sitio n al c o o rd in a tio n . G ra m m a tic al c o n co rd is

c le a r w h e n each m em b e r o f th e c o o rd in a tio n h a s th e sam e n u m b e r: w h e n
th ey a re b oth sin g u lar (as in [1] an d [2]), th e v e rb is sin g u lar; w h en th e y a re
b o th p lu ral (as in [3]), th e v erb is p lu ral. A d ile m m a arises w h en o n e m e m b e r
is s in g u la r and th e o th e r p lu ral (as in [4] a n d [5]). N o tio n ally , or is d isju n ctiv e,
so th a t each m e m b e r is sep arately re la te d to th e v erb ra th e r th a n th e tw o
m e m b e rs being c o n sid ere d o n e u n it, as w h e n th e c o o rd in ato r is ad d itiv e and.
S in ce th e d ilem m a is n o t clearly reso lv ab le b y th e p rin cip les o f g ra m m atica l
c o n co rd o r n o tio n a l co n co rd , recourse is g en erally h a d to th e p rin cip le o f
p ro x im ity : w h ic h ev e r p h rase com es la s t d e te rm in e s th e n u m b er o f th e v e rb ,
a s in [4] an d [5]j
W h ere the d isju n ctiv e fo rce is w eak a n d or ap p ro ac h es th e m ea n in g o f
and, th e plural v e rb is so m etim es fo u n d w ith singular su b ject p h ra ses,
esp ecially in in fo rm a l usage:
Jog g in g o r sw im m in g j su p p o sed to b e good for th e h eart.
W h e n or is u sed for co o rd in a tiv e a p p o sitio n ( c f 10.39), g ra m m atica l

c o n co rd requires th e n u m b e r o f th e v e rb to ag ree w ith th e first a p p o sitiv e if
th e tw o ap p o sitiv es differ in n u m b e r:
S u b je ct-v e rb concord 763
T h e hero , o r m a in p ro tag o n ist, is M ajor C olem an.

T h e h aw k s, o r bellicose officials, are in th e a sc en d an cy .
G o b b ied y g o o k , o r th e circu m lo cu tio n s o f b u re a u c ra tic lan g u ag e, is
in te n tio n a lly difficult to u n d erstan d .
T h e c ircu m lo cu tio n s o f b u re au cratic language, o r g o b b ied y g o o k , are
in te n tio n a lly difficult to u n d erstan d .
T h e rules for th e n eg ativ e co rrelativ es neither . . . nor a re th e sam e as fo r

e ith e r . . . o r in fo rm al usage. In less form al usage, th ey are tre a te d m o re lik e
a n d for co n co rd . T h u s, [6] is m o re n a tu ra l in sp eech th a n [7]:
N e ith e r h e n o r h is w ife have arriv ed . [6]

N e ith e r h e n o r h is w ife has arrived. [7]
T h is p re fe re n ce is p ro b a b ly c o n n ected w ith th e u se o f th e p lu ra l v e rb w ith

neither as a d e te rm in e r o r p ro n o u n (c/1 0 .4 2 ), b u t it m ay also reflect n o tio n a l
con co rd in th a t logically ‘n e ith e r X n o r Y ’ can b e in te rp re te d as a u n io n o f
n e g a tiv e s: ‘b o th (Uot-X) a n d (not-Y )’.
I f th e n u m b er a lte rn a tiv e s for th e v e rb a re b o th fe lt to b e a w k w a rd ,
sp eak ers m ay a v o id m a k in g a ch o ice by p o stp o sin g th e sec o n d n o u n p h ra s e
o r so m etim es by s u b s titu tin g a m o d al a u x iliary ( c f 10.44):
E ith e r yo u r b ra k e s a re a t fa u lt or your eyesight is.

H e h a sn ’t a rriv e d , nor has his wife.
E ith e r yo u r b ra k e s o r yo u r eyesight m a y be a t fau lt.
N o te [a] T h e co o rd in a tin g co rrelativ es n o t . . . bu t a n d no t onl y / j ust/ m erel y . . . b u t (al so/ ev en ) b e h a v e

like or w ith resp ect to n u m b e r c o n c o rd :
N o t o nly he b u t h is w ife h a s arriv ed .
N o t (only) o n e b u t all o f u s w ere inv ited .
N o t ju s t th e stu d e n ts b u t e v e n th e ir te a c h e r is enjoying th e film.
W h e re th e n o u n ph ra se s differ in n u m b e r, th e prin cip le o f p ro x im ity d e te rm in e s th e co n c o rd .
[b] T h e m ix ed ex p ressio n s one o r tw o an d betw een one an d tw o follow th e p rin c ip le o f p ro x im ity
in hav in g plu ral c o n c o rd :
O n e o r tw o reaso n s w ere suggested.
S im ilarly one an d plus a fra c tio n o r p ercen tag e h as plural co n c o rd , sin ce th e n o tio n o f p lu ra l
ap p lies n o t to a t le ast tw o b u t to m o re th a n o n e :
O ne an d a h a lf y ea rs hav e p assed sin ce w e last m et.
T h e selection o f th e p lu ra l is rein fo rc ed also by th e prin c ip le o f p ro x im ity . B u t n o te :
A y e a r a n d a h a lf h as p assed .
T h e co n jo in t p h ra se is tre a te d lik e *a p erio d o f a y ear a n d a h a i f t h o u g h th e sin g u la r v e rb m a y
be rein fo rced by th e im m ed iately prece d in g a hal f .
I n d e fin ite e x p r e s s io n s a s s u b je c t
10.42 A n o th e r a re a o f a m b iv a le n c e for su b je ct-v erb n u m b e r c o n c o rd is t h a t o f
indefinite e x p ressio n s o f a m o u n t o r q u an tity , e specially w ith th e d e te rm in e rs
an d w ith th e p ro n o u n s no, none, all, some, any, a n d fra c tio n s such as half.
T h ey h av e b o th c o u n t a n d n o n c o u n t uses.
W ith n o n c o u n t n o u n s (p re s e n t o r im plied), th e v e rb is o f co u rse s in g u la r:
So fa r n o m o n ey has b e en sp e n t on rep airs.

N o n e (o f th e m on ey ) has been sp en t o n rep airs.
Som e c em en t has a rriv e d .
Som e (o f th e c em en t) has arrived.
W ith p lu ra l c o u n t n o u n s ( p re s e n t o r im plied) th e v erb is p lu r a l:
N o p e o p le o f th a t n a m e live here.
S o m e b o o k s have b e en p lac ed o n th e shelves.
Som e
H a rd ly a n y
(o f th e b o o k s) have been p laced o n th e shelv es.
A ll
H a lf
N o n e w ith p lu ral c o u n t n o u n s is in d iv id ed u sage:
N o n e ( o f th e b o o k s) j been p laced o n th e shelves.
P re s c rip tiv e g ra m m a rs h a v e te n d e d to in sist o n th e sin g u lar v e rb , b u t n o tio n a l

c o n c o rd in v ite s a p lu ral v e rb , w h ic h ten d s to b e m o re fre q u e n tly u se d a n d is
g e n era lly a c c e p te d ev en in fo rm al usage. W ith either a n d neither th e sin g u lar
is g e n era lly u s e d :
T h e tw o g u ests h av e a rriv e d , n e ith e r J we*come-

B u t a p lu ra l v e rb so m etim es o ccu rs in in fo rm al u sag e w h e n either o r
(p a rtic u la rly ) neither is follow ed by a p rep o sitio n al p h ra s e w ith a p lu ral
c o m p le m e n t, b o th b ecau se o f n o tio n a l co n co rd a n d b ecau se o f th e p ro x im ity
r u le :
T V eiflerj t *le m are w e' c o m e - [‘B o th a re (not) w elco m e.’] < inform al>
T h e p lu ra l is e v en m o re fa v o u re d in such co n stru ctio n s w ith none:
N o n e o f th e m have b e e n p lac ed o n th e shelves.
10.43 T h e p ro x im ity p rin cip le m a y lead to p lu ral con co rd e v e n w ith in d efin ites
su c h a s each, every, everybody, anybody, a n d nobody (or in d e fin ite p h ra se s
su c h a s every one\ any one), w h ic h a re oth erw ise u n a m b iv a le n tly sin g u lar:
N o b o d y , n o t e v en th e tea ch e rs, listening.
{
w as 1
E v e ry m e m b e r o f th e v a st cro w d o f 50 000 p eo p le t ? ) p lea se d
I ?w
w erej
e re '
to see h im .
A lth o u g h th ese se n ten c es m ig h t well b e u tte re d in c a s u a l sp e e ch , o r

in a d v e rte n tly w ritte n d o w n , m o st p eo p le w ould p ro b a b ly re g a rd th e m as
u n g ra m m a tic a l, b ecau se th e y flatly c o n tra d ic t g ra m m atica l c o n co rd .
O th e r, m o re a cc e p ta b le , in stan c es arise w ith ex p ressio n s in v o lv in g k in d
a n d n u m b e r. T h e n u m b e r ch o ic e in th e v erb is usually in flu e n ce d b y n o tio n a l
c o n co rd :
T h e s e ] f Sort 1
T h e I I k in(l | Pa r t*es are dang ero u s. < inform a l> [1]
oseJ type J
S ub je ct-verb concord 765
A (large) n u m b e r o f p eo p le have ap p lied for th e jo b . [2]

T h e m ajo rity are M oslem s. [3]
L ots o f th e stu ff is g o in g to w aste. < inform al> [4]
[1] illu strates a n id io m a tic an o m a ly : th ere is a d isc rep an cy in n u m b e r

betw een th e n o u n a n d th e d e te rm in e r those , a s well as w ith the v e rb .
R e p h rasin g c a n a v o id th e a n o m a ly :
T h o se k in d s o f p a rtie s are'}
T h a t k in d o f p a rty is > d ang ero u s.
P a rtie s o f th a t k in d a re J
[2] an d [3] show seem ingly sin g u lar p h rases b ein g tre a te d as p lu ral; n o tio n ally
th ey a re e q u iv a le n t to m a n y a n d most. U se o f th e sin g u lar in th ese se n ten c es
w ould b e co n sid ere d p e d a n tic in [2], a n d u n a cc ep ta b le in [3] because o f th e
p lu ral c o m p le m e n t ( c f th e p e d a n tic b u t acc ep ta b le The m ajority agrees w ith
me). T h e o p p o site p h e n o m e n o n , a ttra c tio n to th e sin g u lar, is o b serv ed in [4]
w here lots o f is tre a te d as i f e q u iv a le n t to sin g u lar p len ty o f a n d much of; b u t
th e sin g u lar is also in flu en ced b y th e p ro x im ity o f sin g u lar stuff. C o n tra s t:
L o ts o f p eo p le are co m in g to o u r p arty .
N o tio n al c o n co rd (‘m a n y p e o p le ’) is rein fo rced b y th e p ro x im ity o f p lu ra l

people.
N o te [a] F o r th e an aly sis o f q u an tifie rs lik e a num&ero/, c /5 .2 5 .

Ib] D ete rm in ers o th e r th a n those o r these are fo u n d in p lu ra l co n c o rd w ith th e n ouns in [I], eg',
some., any. L ik e a (large) number o f in [2] a re locutions su ch as a lot of. a (whole) set o f a spate of,
plenty of; an alo g o u s to the (o r a) majority in [3] is the (or a) minority , a n d to lots in [4] a re m a n y
o th e r in fo rm al q u an tifie rs, su ch a s loads of, heaps o f
[c] T h e p ro x im ity p rin c ip le m a y b e ex ten d ed to m e an th a t co n co rd is d ete rm in e d by w h a te v e r
im m ed iately preced es th e verb , th e p o sitio n o f th e subject (w h ich n o rm ally d eterm in es co n c o rd ).
T h e p rin c ip le c a n th e n ex p la in a sin g u la r v e rb in cases o f in v e rsio n o r o f a n ad v e rb ial q u a s i
subject: ? Where’s the scissors?; Here’s John and M ary; TThere’s several bags missing. A s w h a t
p recedes th e su b ject h ere is n o t m a rk e d fo r plu ral ( c f 10.34 N o te [a]), th e sin g u la r verb fo llo w s
b y a ttra c tio n . T h e o ccasio n al use o f th e sin g u la r verb in in sta n ces su ch as ?* /s the scissors on the
table? a n d 1*Has m y glasses [‘sp ectacle s’] beenfound? m ay be ex p lain ed by a c o m b in atio n o f tw o
facto rs: th ese su m m a tio n p lu ra ls (c /5 .7 6 ) are notio n ally singular, th o u g h m o rphologically a n d
sy n tactically p lu ra l; sin ce th e v e rb p rece d es th e subject, th e influence o f th e su b ject on n u m b e r
is so m ew h at red u ced . C o m p a re th e g re a te r u n ac cep ta b ility o f *M y glasses has been found. A ll
th ese are co lloquial ex a m p les; in fo rm a l E n g lish plu ral fo rm s o f th e v e rb w ould be su b stitu ted .
[d] I f a relativ e clause follow s a n o u n p h ra s e c o n tain in g one o f plus a p lu ra l n o u n ph rase, th e r e is
o fte n a ch o ice a s to w h e th e r th e v e rb in th e relativ e clause should ag ree in n u m b e r w ith one o r
w ith th e plu ral n o u n p h r a s e :
H e’s o n e o f th o se stu d en ts w h o n e v e r get(s) a piece o f w o rk d o n e o n tim e.
T h e choice o f sin g u la r o r p lu ra l c a n d e p e n d o n w h eth e r a tte n tio n is d ire c te d to th e g en e ra lity o r
to th e uniq u en ess. C o m p a r e :
Charlatanry is o n e o f th e m a n y w o rd s in E nglish th a t are o f F re n c h o rigin.
[ = O f th e m a n y w o rd s in E n g lish th a t are o f F ren ch orig in , charlatanry is one.]
C h a rla ta n ry is o n e o f th e co m m o n vices th a t is p a rticu larly co n te m p ti ble.
[ = O f th e co m m o n vices, c h a rla ta n ry is o n e th a t is p articu larly co n tem p tib le.]
Concord of person
10.44 I n a d d itio n to 3 rd p e rso n n u m b e r co n co rd w ith th e su b ject, th e verb in th e
p re sen t ten se m ay h a v e p e rso n co n co rd (c /3 .2 , 3.52) w ith th e su b ject - 1st
a n d 3 r d p e rs o n co n co rd w ith | e a n d only 3rd p e rso n co n co rd w ith o th er

v e rb s:
I a m y o u r frie n d . [ 1st p e r s o n s in g u l F r c o n c o r d ]
H e is y o u r frie n d .] j 3 r d PERS0N S i N G U L F r c o n c o r d ]
H e know s you. J
A r e is th e u n m a rk e d fo rm fo r th e p re sen t o f BE w ith p erso n s o th er th a n 1st

a n d 3 r d sin g u la r; in all o th e r verbs th e base fo rm is used in th e p re sen t for
p e r s o n s o th e r th a n th e 3 rd singular. O nly th e p a s t o f BE h as fu rth er
d is tin c tio n s :
I w a s y o u r fr ie n d , j ^ a n d 3 rd pERS0N SINGULAR c o n c o r d ]
H e w as y o u r frien d . J
T h e u n m a r k e d p a s t fo rm o f | e - were - is u sed w ith th e 2 n d p erso n sin g u lar

a n d a ll th e p lu ra l p erso n s. L ik e n u m b er co n co rd , p e rso n co n co rd ap p lies o nly
to th e in d ic a tiv e ; th e su b ju n ctiv e h as o n e fo rm fo r all persons.
A c o o r d in a te su b je ct w ith and as c o o rd in a to r re q u ire s a p lu ral v erb . P e rso n
c o n c o rd d o e s n o t a p p ly , sin ce th ere are n o p e rso n d istin c tio n s in th e p lu ral
(Y o u a n d I know th e answ er ; She a n d I are in charge). I f th e c o o rd in a to r is or,
e ith e r . . . o r, o r n e ith e r . . . nor, in acco rd an ce w ith th e p rin cip le o f p ro x im ity
th e l a s t n o u n p h ra s e d e te rm in e s th e p erso n o f th e v e r b :
N e i th e r you, n o r I, n o r an y o n e else kn o w s th e an sw er.

E it h e r m y w ife o r I am going.
B e c a u se o f th e aw k w a rd n ess o f th is choice, a s p e a k e r m ay av o id it b y u sin g

a m o d a l a u x iliary w h ic h is in v ariab le for p e rso n (eg: E ither m y wife or I will
be go in g ) o r by p o stp o sin g th e last n o u n p h ra se (eg: E ith er m y wife is going or
l a m ) ( c f 10.41).
N o te [a] I n a r c h a ic E n g lish , th e re is also concord o f 2nd p erso n s in g u la r p ro n o u n s a n d v erb s in th e

p r e s e n t a n d p a s t (c f 6 .1 4 N o te fcj) Thou, Lord, hast redeemed us; Thou didst hear m y prayer. (C f
3.4 N o te [b] fo r a rc h a ic 2 n d an d 3rd perso n form s o f v erbs.)
[b] I n r e la tiv e clauses a n d cleft sentences, a relativ e p ro n o u n su b ject is usually follow ed b y a
v e rb in a g re e m e n t w ith its a n te c e d e n t: It is I who am to blame, It is Kay who is in command, I t is
they who are complbining. B u t 3rd person co n co rd p rev ails in in fo rm al E nglish w h ere th e
o b je c tiv e c a se p ro n o u n me is u s e d : It's me who's to blame. S im ilarly, 3rd perso n sin g u la r m a y be
u sed in in fo rm a l E n g lish in th e se co n stru c tio n s w hen th e p ro n o u n you h a s sin g u lar re fere n ce:
I t ’s you who's to blame.
In t h e a r c h a ic Our Father, which art in Heaven, ag re e m e n t is w ith th e 2nd p erso n statu s o f th e
v o c a tiv e O ur Father, ie: Our Father, thou which art in heaven. C o n tra st a m o d e m v ersio n Our
Father, who is in Heaven [‘he w h o is in H e av en ’].
S u m m a ry
10.45 W e su g g e st th a t th e follow ing g en eralizatio n s a p p ly to th e system o f su b je c t-
v e rb c o n c o rd in E n g lish .
(a) T h e p rin cip le o f g r F m m F t i c F l c o n c o r d te n d s to b e follow ed in fo rm al

u sa g e a n d h a s th e sa n c tio n o f tea ch in g a n d e d ito rial trad itio n .
(b ) T h e p rin c ip le o f n o t i o n F l c o n c o r d is m o st n a tu ra l to colloquial E n g lish .
(c) T h e p rin c ip le o f p r o x i m i t y , d esp ite its m in o r d ecisiv e role in cases w h ere
th e o th e r tw o p ro v id e n o g uid an ce, is g en erally felt to lac k v alid ity o n its
O ther types of con co rd 767
ow n , a n d h a s m o re o f a n au x iliary role in su p p o rtin g n o tio n a l co n co rd i n

colloquial sp eech .
G ra m m a tic a l a n d n o tio n a l co n co rd generally w o rk in h a rm o n y to g eth e r. I t

is only occasio n ally t h a t th ese p rin cip les a re in conflict.
Other types of concord
Su bje ct-co m p le m e n t and object-com plem ent concord

10.46 B etw een su b ject a n d su b je ct co m p lem en t an d b etw een d ire c t o b jec t a n d
o b ject co m p le m e n t, th e re is usually co n co rd o f n u m b er (b u t n o t o f p e rs o n ):
M y ch ild is a n a ngel. I c o n sid er m y ch ild a n angel.

M y ch ild ren a re angels. I c o n sid er m y ch ild ren angels.
T h is ty p e o f c o n co rd a rises n a tu ra lly from th e se m an tic ro le o f th e tw o

c o m p lem en ts (c /1 0 .2 0 ). T h e re are, how ever, ex cep tio n s:
M y o nly h o p e fo r th e fu tu re is m y ch ild ren , [also are] [ 1]

M o re n u rses is th e n e x t ite m o n th e agenda, [also are] [2]
T h e ir p rin c ip a l c ro p is p o tato es. [3]
T h a t m a n is n u ts. <slang> [‘in sa n e ’] [4]
G o o d m a n n e rs a re a r a rity th ese days, [also is] [5]
T h e y o u n g er c h ild re n a re a p ro b lem . [6]
T h e n e x t few b a rs a re p u re T ch aik o v sk y , [also is] [7]
D ogs a re go o d co m p an y . [8]
T h e c o m p lem en t in [ 1] seem s co n d en sed , w ith p e rh ap s a n im p lied p re p o s itio n :

M y only hope fo r the fu tu r e is in m y children. T h e subject o f [2] m ay sim ilarly
b e an aly sed as c o n d en sed (so m eth in g like ‘th e q u estio n o f m o re n u rse s’) o r
m ay p e rh ap s b e tre a te d as a title ( c f 10.34 N o te [c]). I n [3] th e su b je ct
co m p lem en t is a g e n eric n o u n p h ra se, w h ich m ig h t equally b e s in g u la r : Their
principal crop is the potato. S en ten ces [4-8] co n ta in a su b je ct c o m p le m e n t
w h ich , a lth o u g h n o m in a l in form , h a s a ch aracterizin g fu n c tio n c lo ser to th a t
o f a n ad jectiv e. T h e re is o fte n n o sin g u lar/p lu ral c o n tra st; fo r e x am p le, w e
d o n o t h av e *The houses are bricks, o nly The houses are brick.
N o te [a] T h e co m p lem en ts in [1], [2], a n d [3J a re iden tify in g (c f 10.20), as is sh o w n b y th e p o te n tia lity
fo r su b je c t-c o m p le m e n t r e v e rs a l: M y children are m y only hopefo r the fu tu re ; The next item on the
agenda is more nurses; Potatoes are their principal crop.
[b] P seudo-cleft co n stru c tio n s w ith a fro n te d ob ject what m ay hav e a p lu ra l su b jec t co m p lem en t
(c/1 0 .3 4 ):
W h a t we n eed m o st is books.
B u t what is am b iv a le n t in n u m b e r, o fte n in terp rete d as eq u iv alen t to e ith e r ’th e th in g th a t’ o r
‘th e thin g s th a t’, so th a t w e also find a plu ral v e rb in concord w ith th e su b jec t w hor-clause:
W h a t w e n eed m o st are b ooks.
S om e p rescrip tiv e te a c h in g req u ires th e sin g u la r bo th fo r th e verb w ith in th e what clau se a n d for
th e v erb th a t is in co n c o rd w ith th e clau se:
W h a t is n eeded m o st is books.
W e also fin d a sin g u la r v e rb w hen th e w /iaf-clause is subject com p lem en t, b u t th e re a re o b je ctio n s

to this in f rin g e m e n t o f th e con co rd r u le :
E B o o k s & f w h a t w e n eed m ost.
| w h a t is nee d ed m ost.
[c] I f th e su b je c t is s in g u la r th e re is no su b jec t-co m p iem e n t concord w ith th e id io m s b e a il ears,
b e all elbow s, be a ll fin g ers a n d thum bs. F o r ex a m p le : Fm all ears [‘I ’m listen in g w ith a ll m y
a tte n tio n .’].
D istrib utive num ber

10.47 T h e d is trib u tiv e p lu ra l is used in a p lu ral n o u n p h ra se to re fe r to a se t o f
e n titie s m a tc h e d in d iv id u ally w ith in d iv id u a l en tities in a n o th e r set:
H a v e you all b ro u g h t yo u r cameras'! [‘E ac h h a s a c a m e ra .’]

H a n d in y o u r papers n e x t M o n d ay . [‘E ac h h as to h a n d in o n e p a p e r .’]
W hile th e d istrib u tiv e p lu ral is th e n o rm , th e d istrib u tiv e sin g u lar m a y also

b e used to focus o n in d iv id u a l in stan ces. W e th erefo re o ften h a v e a n u m b e r
c h o ice:
T h e s tu d e n ts ra ised th e ir hand(s).
. fu n d e rstan d in g /a tA e rs.
S o m e c h ild re n h av e 1 , t ?• , ,
[ait u n d e rsta n d m g /a f« e r.
W e a ll h a v e j good aPPetites-
[ a good appetite.
P ro n o u n s a g ree w ith th e ir antecedent (s).
_ . . f noses n e e d \ . . . .
T h e ir 1 , 1 to be w iped.
I nose needs I
T h e e x ercise w a s n o t good fo r th e ir back(s).
T h e s in g u la r :is so m etim es o b lig ato ry o r p re fe ra b le w ith id io m s a n d

m e ta p h o rs : ;
W e a r e keeping an open m ind. [ lopen m inds ]

T h e y ven ted th eir spleen on him. [*their spleens]
T h e y c a n ’t p u t their fin g e r on w h a t’s w rong. [* their fingers ]
T he d is trib u tiv e sin g u lar is so m etim es u sed to avoid a m b ig u ity :
S tu d e n ts w ere ask ed to n a m e th e ir fa v o u rite sport.
T he s in g u la r m ak e s it c le ar th a t o n ly o n e sp o rt w as to be n am ed . S im ila rly :
C h ild re n m u s t be a cc o m p a n ied by a parent.
Pronoun reference
10.48 A g re em e n t b etw een a p ro n o u n a n d its a n te ce d e n t ( c f I 2 .8 ff) sh o u ld p ro b a b ly
be c o n sid e re d co referen ce ra th e r th a n g ram m atical co n co rd , b u t i t is
a p p ro p ria te to tr e a t th e p h e n o m e n o n here.
C o n c o rd o f n u m b er, p e rso n , a n d g e n d e r is necessary b etw een s u b je c t o n
the o n e h a n d , a n d o b ject o r c o m p le m e n t on th e o th e r h a n d , if th e sec o n d
elem ent is a reflexive p ro n o u n ( c f 6 .2 3 ff ) :
H e in ju re d h im se lf in b o th legs.
S h e b o u g h t h erse lf a ra in c o at.
/ h a v e n ’t b e en m y s e lf fo r w eeks. [‘I h a v en ’t felt w ell.’]
O th e r types o f concord 769
T h e sam e co n co rd re la tio n holds w h en th e reflexive p ro n o u n o ccu rs in o th e r

fu n ctio n s (eg as p re p o sitio n a l com p lem en t), o r w h en th e e m p h a tic g en itiv e
his own, e tc is u s e d :
S h e ’s m ak in g a sw ea ter fo r herself.
I w rote to th e m a b o u t m yself.
They’re ru in in g their own c h an ces.
F o r coreference re la tio n s o f th e ty p e exem plified by E verybody . . . their, c f

10.50.
N o te la] In B rE , collective n o u n subjects p erm it, a s one m ig h t e x p e ct, plu ral co n c o rd : The navy
congratulated themselves on. i f not a victory, at least an avoidance o f defeat. In b o th B rE an d A m E ,
p lu ra l reflexives o fte n follow th e in d efin ite p ro nouns (c f 10.50): Everybody behaved themselves;
som e, how ever, av o id th e c o n stru c tio n .
[b] T h e concord re la tio n m a y be w ith an elem en t o th e r th a n th e su b ject, n o tab ly an o b je c t:
I w rote to m y brother a b o u t himself. I dro v e them in their own car.
10.49 T h is ty p e o f co n co rd m a y ex te n d b ey o n d clause b o u n d a rie s. T h u s th e relativ e

p ro n o u n s who, w hom , a n d which agree w ith th e ir a n te c e d e n t in th e
su p e ro rd in ate clau se in g en d er, th e first tw o b e in g p erso n al, a n d th e la s t
n o n p e rso n a l:
H e re ’s th e h a m m e r which I b o rro w ed y esterd ay .

T h a t’s th e m a n who(m) I saw talk in g to y o u r p a re n ts.
W hose is used w ith e ith e r p e rso n al o r n o n p erso n al a n te c e d e n ts :
T h e m an whose w allet he stole. T h e h o u se whose ra fte rs w ere b u rn e d .
T h e re is a feeling, h o w ev er, th a t whose is m o re a p p ro p ria te to p e rso n al

a n teced en ts, p re su m ab ly b ecau se o f its m o rp h o lo g ical re la tio n sh ip to who
a n d whom, a n d so m e sp e a k ers feel uneasy a b o u t its use w ith n o n p erso n al
an teced en ts.
P erso n al a n d p o ssessiv e p ro n o u n s in the 1st a n d 3 rd perso n s ag ree w ith
th e ir an te ce d e n ts in n u m b e r. T h o se in th e 3rd p e rso n sin g u lar (he, she, it) also
agree w ith th e ir a n te c e d e n ts in g e n d er:
T o m h u rt his foot. [ 1]
B eatrice k n o w s t h a t she is late. [2]
T h e books w ere to o h eav y , so I left them . [3]
T h e v io latio n o f c o n co rd in th e case o f non reflex iv e p ro n o u n s does n o t lead

(as it does in th e case o f reflexive p ro n o u n s) to a n u n a c c e p ta b le sen ten ce, b u t
to a d ifferen t in te rp re ta tio n . O n e m ay c o m p are [1] w ith [4]:
T o m h u rt her foot. [4]
I n [4] th e p ro n o u n m u st re fe r to som eone else, so m eo n e m e n tio n e d o r k n o w n

from th e situ atio n al co n te x t. O f course, in b o th [1] a n d [2] th e p ro n o u n m ay
also re fe r to so m eb o d y o th e r th a n th e subject.
N o te I n p h rases d en o tin g b o d y p a r ts a n d close p e rso n al belongings (c/5 .3 5 ), possessive p ro n o u n s re fe r

b ack to th e su b ject w h ere so m e languages p re fe r th e d efin ite a rtic le :
John shook his h ea d . She d irtie d her shoes.
So also in [1], if th e refere n ce is to th e su bject.
10.50 T h e p ro n o u n th e y is c o m m o n ly used a s a 3 rd p erso n sin g u lar p ro n o u n th a t is

n e u tr a l b e tw e e n m ascu lin e a n d fem in in e. I t is a c o n v e n ie n t m e a n s o f av o id in g
th e d ile m m a o f w h e th e r to use th e he o r she form . A t o n e tim e restricted to
in fo rm a l u sa g e , it is n o w in creasin g ly accep ted e v e n in fo rm al usage,
e sp e c ia lly in A m E . (O n sexual b ia s in p ro n o u n usage, c f 6.10.)
R a th e r th a n u se he in th e u n m ark e d sense o r th e clu m sy h e or she, m an y
p r e fe r to se e k g e n d e r im p a rtia lity by u sin g a p lu ral fo rm w h ere possible in
re fe re n c e to th e in d efin ite p ro n o u n s everyone, everybody, som eone, somebody,
anyone, a n y b o d y, no one, nobody:
E veryone th in k s they h av e th e answ er. [1]

H a s a n y b o d y b ro u g h t their cam era ? [2]
N o one c o u ld h a v e b lam ed them selves for th a t. [3]
A s im ila r use o f th e p lu ra l o ccu rs w ith c o o rd in ate su b jects re fe rrin g to b o th

sex es, a s in [4], a n d w ith a sin g u lar n o u n p h rase su b je ct h a v in g a p ersonal
n o u n o f in d e te rm in a te g e n d er a s h ead , as in [5]:
E ith e r he or sh e is g o in g to h a v e to ch an g e their a ttitu d e . [4]

E v e ry s tu d e n t h as to h a n d in their p a p e r today. [5]
I n fo rm a l E n g lish , th e ten d e n c y h a s b een to use he a s th e u n m a rk e d form

w h e n th e g e n d e r is n o t d e te rm in e d . T h e fo rm al e q u iv a le n t o f [1], th o u g h
in c re a s in g ly ig n o re d n o w , is th e re fo re :
E veryo n e th in k s he h a s th e a n sw er. [la]
A m o re c u m b e rso m e a lte rn a tiv e is th e co n jo in in g o f b o th m ascu lin e an d

fe m in in e p r o n o u n s :
E v e ry stu d e n t h a s to h a n d in his or her p a p e r to d ay . [5a]
T h is d e v ic e is p a rtic u la rly clum sy i f th e p ro n o u n s h a v e to b e r e p e a te d :
I f a stu d e n t d o es n o t h a n d in his or her p a p e r to d ay , h e o r sh e will

n o t b e a llo w ed to c o n tin u e th e course. [5b]
O n e w a y o f a v o id in g th e d ile m m a is to m ak e th e su b je ct p lu r a l:
A ll stu d e n ts h a v e to h a n d in their p a p e r today. [5c]
S im ila r m e th o d s c a n u su ally be em p lo y ed for th e in d efin ite p ro n o u n s to o :
A l l o f th em th in k they h av e th e answ er. [lb ]

H a v e a n y h f yo u b ro u g h t y o u r c am era ? [2a]
F o r [4] th e o n ly a lte rn a tiv e in fo rm al E n g lish is to re p h ra se th e se n te n c e :
E ith e r he is g o in g to h a v e to ch an g e his a ttitu d e o r sh e hers. [4a]
T h e in d e fin ite p ro n o u n one is follow ed in fo rm al u sag e b y th e sam e

p ro n o u n fo r s u b s e q u e n t re fe re n c e s :
O ne sh o u ld ch o o se one's frien d s carefully. [6]
B ut A m E m a y also use th e m ascu lin e p ro n o u n :
O n e sh o u ld ch o o se his frien d s carefully. [6a]

Sem antic restrictions 771
I n a c c o rd a n c e w ith th e ten d e n cy to a v o id th e use o f th e m ascu lin e p r o n o u n

to su b su m e b o th m ale a n d fe m a le references w e m ay ex p ect th a t A m E w ill
in cre asin g ly rep lace in d efin ite one w ith indefinite we, you, o r they, a s
a p p ro p ria te :
W e sh o u ld choose our frie n d s carefully. [6b]
W e h a v e n o te d (c /1 0 .3 6 ) th a t, especially in B rE , sin g u lar co llectiv e n o u n s

h a v e p lu ra l su b je c t-v e rb c o n co rd in cases w h ere th e sp eak er th in k s o f t h e
g ro u p as m a d e u p o f se p a ra te in d iv id u als. T h e sam e p rin cip le e x te n d s to
p ro n o u n co n co rd :
T h e g o v e rn m e n t are c u ttin g their losses. <BrE> [7]

T h e g o v e rn m e n t is c u ttin g its losses. [8]
A lth o u g h th e re is n o n u m b e r c o n tra st in relativ e p ro n o u n s, th e n u m b e r

d is tin c tio n c a n be reflected in th e ch o ice o f p erso n al who (ie th e g ro u p th o u g h t
o f a s a se t o f in d iv id u als) as o p p o se d to n o n p erso n al which (ie th e g ro u p a s a n
in d iv isib le ab strac tio n ). T h u s c o rresp o n d in g to [7] a n d [8], w e m a y h a v e :
th e g o v ern m en t, who are c u ttin g their losses <BrE> [7 a]

th e g o v ern m en t, which is c u ttin g its losses [8a]
H y b rid fo rm s a re ra re , a n d seem o d d :
? th e g o v ern m en t, who is c u ttin g its /th e ir losses

? th e g o v e rn m e n t, which are c u ttin g its /th e ir losses
N o te [a] In fo rm ally , w ith in d e fin ite p ro n o u n subjects, they is com m only used in s u b se q u e n t ta g
q u e s tio n s : Everybody is leaving, aren’t they ?, Nobody is leaving, are they ?
[bj F o r in tro d u c to ry it, that, a n d this, c /6 .1 7 . E x am p les:
S o m eb o d y o p en e d th e d o o r. It w as D a v id .
H ello ! This is S usan. Is that G eo ffrey ? < on p h o n e )
Semantic restrictions
10.51 A p a r t fro m co n co rd , th e re a re o th e r w ays in w h ich th e choice o f o n e c la u se
e le m e n t m ay affect th e ch o ice o f a n o th e r:
T h e m en sc a ttered .
n ot T h e man sc a ttere d .
T h e po lice c o n tin g e n t d isp e rse d th e rioters.
not T h e p olice c o n tin g e n t d isp ersed th e rioter.
J o h n a n d M ary collided.
not
[ T h e c arl
1 collided.
but J o h n co llid ed w ith M ary .
T h e workers assem bled.
not T h e worker assem bled.
E a c h o f the a b o v e p a irs show s how a p a rtic u la r v erb req u ires a p a rtic u la r

ty p e o f su b ject o r o b jec t: collide req u ires a p lu ra l subject, a collective sin g u lar
s u b je c t (The tea m collided), o r a p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se e n ta ilin g n o tio n a l
p lu ra lity w ith th e su b ject ( I collided with her); scatter, disperse, a n d assem ble
r e q u ire a p lu ral affected p a rtic ip a n t - ie a p lu ral su b ject o f a co llectiv e
s in g u la r subject (T h e crowd scattered) w h e n u sed in tran sitiv ely , o r a p lu ral o r
c o lle ctiv e o b ject w h e n u sed tran sitiv ely (T h e police contingent dispersed the
rioters/them ob).
R u le s o f th is k in d differ from rules o f c o n co rd in th a t th ey d o n o t in v o lv e
tw o e lem en ts s h a rin g th e sam e featu re, b u t o n e elem en t p ro jectin g o n to
a n o th e r a fe a tu re w h ich is necessary fo r its m ean in g fu l use. T h a t it is
‘p lu ra lity ’ as a se m an tic featu re ra th e r th a n a s a strictly g ra m m atica l fe a tu re
th a t is in q u e stio n here is show n by th e p o ssib ility o f su b stitu tin g a co llectiv e,
s in g u la r for th e p lu ra l noun.
O th e r featu res co m m o n ly en terin g in to su c h sem an tic re strictio n s in c lu d e :
■ , , ., f T h e glass c o n ta in s w ater,
co n crete v s a b s t r a c t : f , . ,. .
[ ’ T h e glass c o n ta in s kindness.
. . , , ^ , f A p e d e s tria n saw m e.
a n im a te v s in an im ate : j * . ; , ,
[ A la m p sh a d e saw m e.
. , f F in ally w e g o t m arried ,
h u m a n vs n o n h u m a n : , , . . . ,
[ ’ F in ally th e sn a k e s g o t m arried .
T h e s e re stric tio n s a re freq u en tly v io la ted in p o e try a n d in o th e r im a g in ativ e

uses o f languages. T h e in congruity, in su c h c ases, in d icates th a t th e s p e a k e r
in te n d s us to m a k e sense o f his w ords a t so m e d e ep e r level, eg by m e ta p h o ric a l
in te rp re ta tio n : I n p o etry , leaves m ay dance, sta rs m ay bless, fe a r s m ay lu rk o r
linger, a n d a lo o k m ay contain kindness.
S e m an tic re stric tio n s ap p ly n o t o n ly to v erb s, b u t also to o th e r w o rd
classes, n o tab ly a d jectiv es an d p rep o sitio n s. T h e o d d ity o f *The m usic is too
green is ex p la in ed by th e re q u ire m e n t th a t green should b e in a c o p u la r
re la tio n s h ip w ith a c o n cre te no u n (unless th e n o u n is a su p e ro rd in ate te rm a s
in T h e colour ( I dike best) is green o r u n less green h as th e m eta p h o ric al sen se
‘im m a tu re ’). T h e o d d ity o f *They ran u ntil the town is acco u n ted fo r b y a ru le
th a t u n til re q u ire s a p rep o sitio n al c o m p le m e n t o r a clause w ith te m p o ra l
m e a n in g (They ran until six ; They ran u n til it w as dark).
i
N o te [a] S e m a n tic req u irem en ts o f th e ty pes th a t h a v e b e e n exem plified h av e so m etim es b ee n ca lled
‘sele ctio n al restrictio n s’.
[b] S em a n tic restrictio n s ap p ly o f course w ith in p h ra s e s a n d n o t ju s t betw een clause ele m e n ts:
*those married snakes , *the green music.
fc] T h e r e are se m a n tic restrictio n s th a t ap p ly to p a rtic u la r lexical item s. F o r ex a m p le, th e tw o
v erbs eat and feed, used intransitively, te n d to re q u ire perso n al a n d n o n p erso n al su b jec ts
resp ectiv ely ; w h ereas Janet and Joe are eating im p lie s t h a t J a n e t a n d Jo e a re persons, Janet and
Joe are feeding im p lie s th a t th ey a re anim als. S im ilarly, elder (unlike older) req u ires a p e rso n a l
su b jec t o r head n o u n : Carol is the elder, b u t n o t * This building is the elder. T o ta k e a v ery d iffe re n t
ex a m p le , m any sp eak ers d o n o t accep t th a t unique c a n be m odified by a n in ten sifie r o r
c o m p a ra tiv e : IH erplay is very unique.
Id] T h e r e are also restrictio n s th a t hold b etw e en lex ical item s. B o th want an d wish m a y be
in ten sified (for e x a m p le, b y very much), b u t w e c a n say I badly wanted to see them a n d n o t * /
badly wished to see them. S uch restrictio n s hav e b een te rm e d ‘collocational restric tio n s’.
Vocatives 773
Vocatives
10.52 A vo cativ e is a n o p tio n a l elem en t, usually a n o u n p h ra se, d e n o tin g th e o n e o r
m o re p erso n s to w h o m th e sen ten ce is addressed. I t is e ith e r a c F l l , d ra w in g
the a tte n tio n o f th e p e rso n o r p erso n s ad d ressed , sin g lin g th e m o u t fro m
o th ers in h e arin g , as in [1], o r a n F d d r e s s , ex p ressin g th e sp e a k e r’s
re la tio n sh ip o r a ttitu d e to th e p e rso n o r perso n s a d d ressed , as in [2] an d [3]:
jo h n , D iN ner’s read y , [voc S V C J ‘ HI

A n d t h F t , m y f r i e n d s , co ncludes m y s pe e c h , [v o c SV OJ [ 2]
M y | F c k is a c h in g , D o c to r . [S V voc] [3]
Sentences [ 1 - 3 ] sh o w th a t a v o cativ e m ay ta k e in itia l, m ed ial, o r fin al

. p o sitio n in th e se n te n c e ; in its o p tio n ality an d free d o m o f p o sitio n , it is m o re
lik e a n a d v erb ial (o r, m o re precisely, like a d isju n c t; c f % . \ 2 \ f f ) th a n a n y
o th er e lem en t o f clau se stru ctu re.
In to n atio n ally , th e v o c ativ e is se t off fro m th e re st o f th e clau se e ith e r by
c o n stitu tin g a s e p a ra te to n e u n it o r by form ing th e ta il o f a to n e u n it ( c f A p p
11.15). T h e m o st c h a ra c te ris tic in to n atio n s a re sh o w n a b o v e : fa ll-ris e for a n
in itial v o cativ e fu n c tio n in g as a call, an d o th erw ise ris e ; rise fo r a v o cativ e
fu n ctio n in g as a n a d d re ss ( c f also N o te [b]).
N o te [a] W h e n y o u preced es th e v o ca tiv e, th e d istin ctio n betw een a v o c a tiv e a n d a n ap p o sitiv e m a y

be n eu tralized in w ritin g , th o u g h n o t in speech :
You, R o b ert, w ill h a v e to w o rk h ard e r.
I h a v e b een lo o k in g fo r y o u , m y friend.
[b] T h e re a re form s o f ad d re ss th a t a re g en eral in ch a ra c te r a n d th e refo re h a v e low in fo rm a tio n a l
value. T h ey fo rm th e ta il o f a to n e u n it w hen th ey a re m ed ial a s w ell a s w h e n th e y are final. S u c h
addresses rarely o ccu r in itia lly :
I s h a ll s e n d y o u a CARD, s ir , w h e n t h e s u it is READy.
W e m u stn ’t be l F t e , d e a r, m u s t w e?
D o n ’t b e s i l l y , d arlin g .
Form s of vocatives
10.53 V ocatives m ay b e :
(a) N a m es: first n a m e , la s t n a m e , full n am e, w ith o r w ith o u t a title, o r a
n ick n a m e o r p e t n a m e : D avid, Caldwell, Sarah P eterson, M rs Johnson, D r
Turner, Ginger
(b) S ta n d ard a p p ellativ es, usually w ith o u t m o d ific atio n :

(i) term s fo r fam ily relatio n sh ip s (so m etim es w ith in itia l c a p ita ls):
mother, fa th e r, son, uncle, aunt, grandfather, gra n d m o th er ; o r m o re
fa m ilia r fo rm s lik e m o m (m y) <A m E>, m u m (m y) < B rE> , dad(dy), auntie,
granny, grandm a, grandpa.
(ii) titles o f re sp ec t (so m etim es w ith in itial c a p ita ls fo r your): m ad a m ,
m a ’am <esp A m E ) , sir, m y Lord, yo u r H onour, y o u r E xcellency, yo u r
M ajesty, your Ladyship.
(iii) m ark ers o f s ta tu s (so m etim es w ith in itial c a p ita ls ev en fo r th o se n o t
so m ark e d h e r e ) : M r P resident, Prime M inister, F a th er [for priest], S ister
[for a nun], Bishop, professor, doctor, general, m ajor, vicar.
(c) T e r m s fo r o c c u p a tio n s : waiter, driver, cabbie (in f o r m a l) , b a rm a id ( B r E ) ,

b a rten d er ( A m E ) , a ttendant, conductor, nurse, officer [for a m e m b e r o f th e
p o lic e force].
(d) E p ith e ts (n o u n o r ad je ctiv e p h rases) expressing a n e v a lu a tio n :
(i) fa v o u ra b le (som e also p reced ed by m y): (m y) darling, (m y) dear, (my)
dearest, (m y ) love, honey ( e s p A m E ) , (m y) frien d , handsom e, beautiful,
(m y ) sw eetie-pie ( e s p A m E ) .
(ii) u n fa v o u ra b le (also p re ce d ed by yo u in n o u n p h ra s e s ); bastard,
cow ard, f a t t y , idiot, imbecile, liar, pig, rotter ( B r E ) , sk in n y, slowcoach
( B r E ) , slow poke ( A m E ) , stupid, swine.
(e) G e n e r a l n o u n s, b u t w h ic h a re o ften used in m o re sp e c ia liz ed senses:

brother, b uddy ( A m E ) , girl, guys, lady, ladies and gentlem en; m an, m a te
( B r E ) , partner ( A m E ) , son. E x ce p t fo r ladies a n d gentlem en, th e s e a re usually
fa m ilia r a n d c o n sid ere d im p o lite w h en ad d ressed to p erso n s w ith w h o m o n e
is n o t fa m ilia r. B o y is av o id e d in th e U S b ecau se o f its ra cial c o n n o ta tio n s .
(f) T h e p e rso n al p ro n o u n y o u (You, why haven't yo u fin ish e d y et? ); it is

m a rk e d ly im p o lite. A n in d efin ite p ro n o u n ; eg: G et m e a p e n , som ebody is
a b ru p t.
(g) N o m in a l clau ses (very o ccasio n ally ): Whoever said that, (com e o u t here).
O th e r e x a m p le s : whoever y o u are, w hat’s yo u r name.
(h) I te m s fro m (a), (d), (e), a n d (f) m ay b e ex p an d e d b y th e a d d itio n o f

m o d ifie rs o r a p p o sitiv e ele m en ts o f v ario u s k in d s :
(a ) m y dear M rs Johnson; young D avid

(d ) m y very d ea rest ; m y o ld fr ie n d ; y o u silly bastard ; y o u f il t h y liar
(e) o ld m an, young m a n ; o ld boy ( B r E ) ; o ld chap ( B r E ) ; o ld fe llo w ( B r E ) ;
m y dear fello w ( B r E )
( f) yo u over there; y o u with the red hair. L ess im p o lite a n d m o re jo c u la r
in to n e a re a p p o sitiv e s lik e yo u boys, yo u people, y o u chaps ( B r E ) ,
y o u (young) fellow s. You-all (S o u th e rn A m E ) a n d y o u g u y s (e s p
A m E ) a re n o t im p o lite.
Ite m s in (bi) a n k (bii), u n less th e term s liave u n iq u e re fe re n ce (as in m other

o r M r President ), m ay b e c o m b in e d w ith n am es in (a): Uncle D avid, grandm a
P eterson, P rofessor Johnson.
T e rm s fo r o c cu p a tio n s in (c) differ from m ark e rs o f sta tu s (b iii), w h ic h also
d e n o te o ccu p a tio n s, in th a t o c cu p a tio n term s a re n o rm ally u se d a s v o cativ es
only w h e n th e p e rso n a d d re ss e d is fu n ctio n in g in th a t role, w h e re a s statu s
m a rk e rs m ay b e used a t all tim es. F o r exam ple, w e m ay a d d re s s a p e rso n as
professor o r doctor w hen w e d o n o t h av e a professional re la tio n s h ip w ith th a t
p e rso n , b u t w e o n ly ad d ress a p e rso n as waiter o r nurse in situ a tio n s w h en we
a re in te ra c tin g w ith th e p e rso n in th a t p a rtic u la r role.
S o m e vo cativ es are listed in m o re th a n o n e set. F o r e x am p le, son in (b i) is
u sed b y a p a re n t, b u t in (e) it is used by a su p erio r w h o is n o t a p a re n t.
S im ilarly , fa th e r in (bi) is a k in sh ip term , b u t in (biii) it is a sta tu s m ark e r.
M o re o v er, som e item s in (di) m ay ex p ress a vary in g d e g ree o f e v a lu a tio n :
love m a y be used b etw een in tim ate s, b u t in B rE it m ay b e u se d g e n erally for
Negation 775
stran g ers by a fem ale bus c o n d u cto r; a n d bastard m ay also convey t h e

sp e a k er’s a d m ira tio n for th e a d d ressee’s ingenuity.
In a d d ressin g so m eb o d y o n e k n o w s by n am e, la s t n a m e p reced ed by title
(M r Jones, M iss S m ith , M rs Brown, D r Robinson) is a politely fo rm al m a n n e r
o f a d d ress, w h ile first n a m e (John, M ary) in d icates frien d ly fam iliarity . I t is
now m u ch e a s ie r to b e ‘on C h ristia n n am e term s’ <BrE> o r ‘o n a first n a m e
b asis’ <esp A m E > th a n fo rm erly ; ad d ress by fam ily n a m e a lo n e (w hich u se d
to in d ic a te m ale c o m ra d esh ip , as in H olm es a n d W atson) \s rarely h e a r d
today, e x ce p t in sp ecial situ atio n s (arm ed forces, school).
V o cativ es a d d ressed to stra n g ers a re n o t n e u tra l, sin ce they alw ays ex p ress
som e re la tio n s h ip o r a ttitu d e . T h e ir effect a n d freq u en cy also v a ry
co n sid erab ly in A m E a n d B rE . F o r exam ple, miss, m a'am , m ister, a n d sir a re
used f a r m o re ex ten siv ely in A m E as vo cativ es a d d ressed to stra n g ers; m iste r
is c o n sid ered n o n s ta n d a rd in B rE , a n d m m is u n a cc ep ta b le to som e, w h ile
sir is m u c h m o re fo rm al in B rE th a n in A m E . P ro fessio n al v o cativ es a re a ls o
used sp a rin g ly n o w ad ay s, m ain ly Doctor, F ather, Vicar, Counsellor < A m E > .
I n m o st n e u tra l in te rc h a n g e w ith stran g ers, n o v o cativ e is used, n o r is o n e
felt to b e necessary . T o g a in th e a tte n tio n o f stra n g ers, sp eak ers o ften rely o n
E xcuse m e o r I beg yo u r pardon <A m E> r a th e r th a n a vocative. H e y is o f te n
used fo r th e sa m e p u rp o se, b u t it is im p o lite w h en a d d ressed to strangers.
M o st v o c ativ es th a t a re realized b y u n m o d ified co m m o n nou n s - e x c e p t
fo r th e fam ily re la tio n s h ip term s in (bi) - a re sy n tactically d ifferen t fro m th e
sam e n o u n s in o th e r fu n ctio n s in th a t th ey d o n o t re q u ire a d e te rm in e r.
H en ce w e c a n u se dear as a v o cativ e in C om e here, dear. B u t w e c a n n o t o f
course say *D ear cam e here. A d jectiv es su ch as handsom e, a n d stupid c a n n o t
be used in su c h co n te x ts e ith er.
N o te I t is c o n v e n tio n al to p la ce a s alu tatio n ab o v e th e body o f th e le tte r. T h e salu tatio n , w h ich is o n a

line o f its o w n , is g en e ra lly in tro d u ced by Dear ;
D e a r R u th D e a r D r B row n D ear M adam D e a r Sir
W h e n th e sex o f th e ad d ressee is u n k n o w n , it is cu sto m ary in bu sin ess le tte rs to use Dear S ir or
Madam. W h e n th e fam ily n am e o f a w o m an is k n o w n b u t h e r m a rita l statu s is u n k n o w n o r is
co n sid ered to b e irre le v a n t, m a n y use M s (Dear M s Wright), b u t w om en differ stro n g ly o n
w h eth e r th e y w ish to be ad d ressed , o r referre d to, b y M s (c /5 .6 6 N o te [a]). W hen th e re is d o u b t
o v er w h o sh o u ld b e th e ad d ressee, i t is cu sto m ary to w rite To whom it may concern ( f o r m a l ) .
Dear is o fte n o m itte d in in fo rm al n o tes. O ccasionally it is o m itte d in very fo rm al letters a d d re sse d
to a large n u m b e r o f p eo p le (Friends', Gentlemen).
Negation
Typ e s of negation
10.54 W e d is tin g u is h th r e e ty p e s o f n e g a tio n :
(a) F u s e n e g F t i o n , th ro u g h w h ich the w hole clau se is sy n tactically tre a te d
c l
as n e g ativ e (c/1 0 .5 5 jf, 10.67/);

(b ) LOCAL n e g F t i o n , in w h ic h o n e c o n s titu e n t ( n o t n e c e s sa rily a c la u s e
e le m e n t) is n e g a te d ( c f 10 .6 6 );
(c) p r e d i c F t i o n n e g F t i o n , a m in o r ty p e a p p ly in g o n ly a f te r c e r t a i n
a u x ilia r ie s , in w h ic h th e p r e d ic a tio n is n e g a te d (c/10.69).
N o te [a] T h i s c h a p te r d e a ls o n ly w ith neg atio n as a sy n tactic process w ith in th e clause. O n aftixal

n e g a tio n , c f A p p 1.21. In c e rta in contexts, clauses w ith affixal n eg a tio n a re a p p ro x im ately
sy n o n y m o u s w ith clau ses n eg a ted by th e clause n eg a to r not (eg : T h a t is not true ~ T h a t is untrue).
[b] F o r n e g a tiv e q u estio n s, c / 1 1 .7 /1 1 .1 7 ; for n egative d ire ctiv es, c / 1 1.28. T ra n sfe rre d n eg a tio n
is tr e a te d in 14.36.
[c] T h e d iffe re n ce b etw e en positiv e an d neg ativ e h as b e e n te rm ed a difference in p o l F r i t y .
C la u s e negation
C la u s e n eg atio n th ro u g h verb negation

10.55 A s im p le p o sitiv e sen ten ce (or a po sitiv e fin ite clau se w ith in a co m p lex
s e n te n c e ) is n e g a te d b y in sertin g th e clause n e g a to r not b etw een th e o p e ra to r
a n d t h e p re d ic a tio n (c /2 .4 8 ):
PO S IT IV E N EG A TIV E
I h a v e fin ish ed . I h av e n o t finished.
T h e c h ild re n a re play in g . T h e c h ild re n a re n o t playing.
T h e y h a v e b e e n told. T h ey h a v e n o t b e en told.
H e m ay b e w o rk in g . H e m ay n o t b e w orking.
T h e o p e r a to r h e re (as fo r questions) is th e first a u x iliary v e rb o f a co m plex

v e rb p h r a s e , o r e ith e r b e o r (especially in B rE ) s ta tiv e h a v e ( c /N o te [a]) as
th e v e r b in a sim p le v e rb p h rase. T h u s th e n e g atio n o f They are noisy is T h e y
are n o t noisy, a n d o n e n eg atio n (especially B rE ) o f H e has enough m oney is H e
h a s n o t enough m oney.
I f a n o p e r a to r is n o t p resen t in th e p o sitiv e sen ten ce, th e d u m m y (o r
s u b s titu te ) au x iliary D O is intro d u ced . L ik e m o d a l au x iliaries, it is follow ed
b y th e b a re in fih itiv e :
S h e w o rk s h a rd . She does n o t w o rk h ard .
T h e y k n o w you. T hey d o n o t k n o w you.
I p a id th e p o rter. I d id n o t p a y th e p o rter.
E x c e p t in fo rm al E n g lish , th e n e g ato r m o re usually occurs also in th e

e n c litic c o n tra c te d fo rm n ’t:
i \
I h a v e n ’t finished. T h ey d o n ’t k n o w you.
T h e c h ild re n a r e n ’t playing. I d id n ’t p a y th e p o rter.
C o n tra c te d n eg ativ e fo rm s o f auxiliaries a re liste d in 3 .3 2 / 3.36, 3.39.

T h e u n c o n tra c te d fo rm is o f course re q u ire d w h e n th e nucleus is o n th e
n e g a to r fo r e m p h a s is : I d id n o t say that.
N o te [a] T h e d y n a m ic m a in v e rb h ave requires d o as o p erato r:
W e d id n ’t h a v e a p a rty la st w eek. ~ *W e h a d n ’t a p a rty la st w eek.

T h e y d o n ’t h a v e a n arg u m e n t every day. ~ *T h ey h a v e n ’t a n arg u m e n t e v e ry d a y .
I d i d n ’t h a v e a look a t yo u r m aterial. ~ *1 h a d n ’t a look a t yo u r m aterial.
T h e s ta tiv e m a in v erb have usually h as d o as o p erato r, th o u g h (especially in B rE ) it does n o t
n eed to . I n B rE esp ecially, got is o ften added in in fo rm al sty le :
„T . , f H e d o esn ’t have enough m oney. <esp A m E )
e a s e n o u g m o n ey h a sn ’t (got) enough m oney. <esp B rE )
F o r th e d is tin c tio n b etw een dy n am ic an d stative verbs, c f 4 .4 ,4 .2 7 # .
[b] F o r th e restricted o cc u rre n ce o f c e rtain neg ativ e form s, especially m a y n ’t, c f 3.23.
Negation 777
[c] I f th e v e rb is su b ju n ctiv e, th e n e g a to r is po sitio n ed im m ed iately befo re th e v e rb , but w ith o u t

a n o p e ra to r:
I t is im p o rta n t th a t h e n o t stay b ey o n d th e en d o f th e m o n th .
I requested th a t th ey n o t in te rru p t m e.
T h is use o f th e su b ju n ctiv e is m o re co m m o n in A m E . I n B rE p u ta tiv e should { c f 4 .6 4 ,1 4 .2 5 ) o r
(to a lesser ex ten t) th e in d ic a tiv e are m o re lik ely w ith th e co n seq u en t n o rm a l n e g a tio n w ith th e
o p e ra to r:
I t is im p o rta n t th a t h e j
1 s ta y b eyond th e en d o f th e m o n th .
I requested th a t th ey j
1 in te rru p t me.
[d ]F o r ex am p les su ch as I f I m ista ke not , c /3 .2 2 N o te [c].

[e] Som e p o sitiv e clauses a re likely to be n eg a ted only in d en ials o f p rev io u s s ta te m e n ts :
A : H e iS { b o u n d jto su ccee d - » : N o , he to succeed.
I
C o n tracted form s o f n e g ato r and auxiliaries
10.56 I f th e o p e ra to r c a n b e c o n tra c te d to a form en clitic to th e su b je ct, th e re a re
tw o p o ssib ilities for c o n tra c tio n in n eg ativ e clauses (th o u g h n e ith e r is u se d
in fo rm al E nglish)— n e g a to r c o n tra c tio n a n d au x iliary c o n tr a c tio n :
J a n e isn ’t resp o n sib le. J a n e ’s n o t re sp o n sib le.

W e a re n ’t ready. W e’re n o t read y .
H e w o u ld n ’t n o tice a n y th in g . H e ’d n o t n o tice a n y th in g .
She w o n ’t o b ject. S h e’ll n o t ob ject.
T h ey h a v e n ’t cau g h t him . T h ey ’ve n o t c a u g h t h im .
F o r th e facto rs d e te rm in in g th e choice b etw een n e g a to r a n d au x iliary

c o n tra ctio n , < /3.23.
N o te T h e re is no s ta n d a rd n e g a to r c o n tra c tio n to p arallel Fm not ready . F o r th e sta tu s o f ain't, c f 3.22

N o te [b].
S y n tactic fe atu res o f clause negation

10.57 C e rta in sy n tactic fe atu res d iffere n tia te n eg ativ e clauses fro m p o sitiv e c la u s e s :
(i) T h ey a re follow ed by p o sitiv e c h eck in g tag q u estio n s ( c f 11 .S ff) ■

She d o e sn ’t w o rk h a rd , does sh e ?
[cf: S he w o rk s h a rd , doesn't she?]
(ii) T h ey a re follow ed b y n e g ativ e ta g clauses, w ith a d d itiv e m e a n in g :
. i „ . , , f a n d n eith eA ,
I h a v en t finished, 1 > have you.
[cf: I ’ve fin ish ed a n d so h a v e you.]
L ik e po sitiv e clauses, h o w ev er, th e y m ay be follow ed b y p o sitiv e ta g c lau ses

th a t d o n o t h a v e su b je c t-o p e ra to r in v e rs io n :
I h a v e n ’t fin is h e d , b u t 'y o u h F v e .
[cf: I ’ve finished, a n d 'y o u have TOO.]
O n neither a n d nor, c /1 3 .3 6 .
(iii) In d isc o u rse , th e y a re follow ed by n eg ativ e a g re e m e n t re sp o n se s:
A : H e d o e sn ’t k n o w R u ssian . B : n o , he DdEsn’t.
[cf: A : H e k n o w s R u ssian . B : y e s , he d o e s .]
(iv) T h e y a re follow ed by n o n assertiv e item s (c/1 0 .6 0 ):
A : H e w o n ’t n o tic e any c h an g e in you.

B : S h e w o n ’t n o tic e any c h an g e in you, either.
[c f: S h e ’ll n o tic e some ch an g e in you, too.]
(v) T h e y d o n o t co o cc u r w ith item s th a t h av e p o sitiv e o rie n ta tio n (c /1 0 .6 2 ):
♦It is n ’t p re tty late , [c f: I t ’s p re tty late.]
F e a tu re s (i-iii) a p p ly only to in d e p e n d e n t d e clara tiv e clauses, w h e rea s

fe atu res ( iv - v ) a p p ly also to su b o rd in a te fin ite an d n o n fin ite clauses. F e a tu re s
(iv -v ) d o n o t d iffe re n tia te n eg ativ e fro m p o sitiv e clauses in o th e r n o n a sse rtiv e
c o n tex ts, p a rtic u la rly q u estio n s a n d co n d itio n als (c /f u r th e r 10.60 N o te .) :
_ .(s o m e th in g
to e a t?
D o n t you w a n t
Is n ’t it p re tty la te ?
I f y o u ever w a n t m y ad v ice, d o n ’t h e sita te to a sk fo r it.
I f y o u see h e r a t all, give h e r m y b e st w ishes.
N o te [a] F e a tu re s (iv -v ) d o n o t ap p ly to d en ia ls o f p o sitiv e statem e n ts previously sta te d o r im p lie d :
A : I u n d e rs ta n d sh e show ed h im j p h o to g ra p h s.
B : N o , she D lp n 't (show h im photo g rap h s).
[b] L ike (ii) a re ta g s w ith either o r (in su ita b le co n tex ts) not even:
I h a v e n ’t finished, a n d you h a v e n ’t either.
[cf: I h av e finished, a n d you h a v e too.]
T h e b a b y co u ld n ’t w alk , not even craw l.
[c] T h e re a r e o th e r fe atu res in d isco u rse, a p a rt from (iii), th a t d iffe re n tia te n e g a tiv e fro m
positive s e n te n c e s ; fo r ex a m p le, d isag re e m e n t resp o n ses:
H e d o e s n 't know R u ssian . - O h yes, he d 6es.
H e k n o w s R u ssih n . - O h n o , he DdESn’t. ,
Clause n e g atio n o th er th an th rough verb negation
W ords n egative in fo rm and m eaning

10.58 C lausal n e g atio n m a y b e a cco m p lish ed by n eg atin g a clause e le m e n t o th e r
th an th e v erb w ith no o r not, o r by u sin g a n eg ativ e w o rd su c h as none o r
never. W e th e n so m etim es h a v e a ch o ice b etw een v e rb n e g atio n a n d n e g a tio n
o f som e o th e r e le m en t ( c f also 10.60):
V E R B N EG A T IO N N EG A T IO N O F O T H E R E L EM EN T
T h a t w as not a n a ccid en t. T h a t w as no a ccid en t.
H e is not a frien d o f yours. H e is no frien d o f yours.
S h e isn’t a n y differen t. She is no differen t.
Negation 779
A n h o n e st m a n w o u ld not lie. N o h o n e st m a n w ould lie.

D ogs a re n o t p e rm itte d h ere. N o do g s a re p e rm itte d here.
She isn't a fool. S h e is no fool.
I d o n 't see a n y clouds. I see no clouds.
H e w o u ld n 't say a w ord. H e w o u ld say not a w ord.
W e d id n ’t le a v e o n e b o ttle b eh in d . W e le ft not o n e b o ttle b ehind.
T hey a re n o t sta y in g w ith us any T h ey a re no lo n g er stay in g w ith
longer. us.
I w on’t m a k e t h a t m ista k e ever I w ill never m ak e th a t m istak e
again. a g ain .
I f th e n e g ated s u b je c t is n o t g en eric (in c o n tra st to th e su b ject in N o honest

m an would lie), th e r e is n o c o rresp o n d in g n e g a tio n w ith a n o p e rato r:
N o t o n e g u e st a rriv e d late. N o n e o f us w ere ready.

N e ith e r o f th e m w a n te d to stay. N o t m a n y p eo p le cam e to the
N o o n e liste n s to m e. p a rty .
W h ere n eg atio n w ith a n o p e ra to r is also p o ssib le, it h a s a d ifferen t m e a n in g
because th e sco p e o f n eg atio n ( c f 10.64) is d ifferen t. F o r ex am p le, M a n y
people d id not com e to the p a rty im plies th e ab se n ce o f m an y p eople, w h e rea s
N o t m any people ca m e to the p a rty im plies th e p re sen c e o f few people. I n o th e r
in stan ces, n e g a tio n w ith a n o p e rato r is n o t p o ssib le becau se a n o n a sse rtiv e
fo rm w ould b e re q u ire d to rep lace th e n eg ated su b ject, b u t it c a n n o t p re ce d e
not in the se n ten c e N o one listens to m e ~ *A n yo n e doesn’t listen to me.
I n fo rm al style, th e n e g ativ e elem en t m ay b e m o v ed o u t o f its u su al p o sitio n
to th e in itial p o s itio n , in w h ic h case su b je c t-o p e ra to r in v ersio n is o fte n
re q u ired (b u t c /1 0 .6 6 fo r som e in itial n eg ativ e a d v erb ials th a t d o n o t re q u ire
inv ersio n ):
N ot a w ord w o u ld h e say.
N ot a m o m en t d id sh e w aste.
N o t one b ottle d id w e leave b eh in d .
N o longer a r e th e y sta y in g w ith us.
N ever w ill I m a k e t h a t m ista k e again.
Under no circum stances will sh e re tu rn here.
N ot until y e ste rd a y d id h e ch an g e his m in d .
To no one w ill th e y a d m it th e ir guilt.
A ll th e ex am p les in th is sectio n have clau sal n e g atio n , as sh o w n by th e ir
accep tan ce o f th e c rite ria listed in 10.57; fo r ex am p le th ey req u ire th e p o sitiv e
ta g q u estio n :
N o dogs a re p e rm itte d h ere, are they ?
U n d e r n o c irc u m s ta n c e s w ill sh e re tu rn h e re , will s h e l
T h ey also re q u ire n o n a sse rtiv e s:

N e ith e r o f us h a s ever h a d a u n iv ersity ed u ca tio n .
N e g atio n w ith no m a y h a v e d ifferen t im p lic a tio n s th a n v erb n eg atio n w ith
not. W hile H e is n o t a teacher d en o tes th a t h is o c c u p a tio n is n o t tea ch in g , H e
is no teacher in d ic a te s th a t h e lack s th e sk ills n eed ed fo r teach in g . T h e
d e te r m in e r no c o n v e rts th e usually n o n g rad ab le n o u n in to a g ra d ab le no u n

th a t c h a r a c te riz e s th e person. C o n trast T m not a youngster [‘I'm n o t yo u n g .’]
w ith I ’m no y o u n g ster [ T m q u ite o ld’; c /th e idiom I ’m no chicken], She's not a
fo o l w ith S h e ’s no fo o l [‘She’s very in tellig en t.’], an d They d id n ’t p a y a n y ta x
this y e a r w ith T h e y p a id no ta x this yea r [‘T h ey certain ly sh o u ld have d o n e
so .’], H e ’s n ot a diplom at w ith H e's no diplom at [‘H e ’s n o t d ip lo m a tic .’]. A
stra ig h tfo rw a rd n e g a tio n is She isn't a politician, b u t S h e is no politician
e v a lu a te s h e r role a n d in tro d u ces g rad ab ility (cf: S h e is no politician b y any
stretch o f th e im agination).
E x c e p t fo r a fe w fixed p h rases (no good, no different ), th e a d v e rb no m odifies
a d je c tiv e s o n ly w h e n th ey a re c o m p arativ es (by in flectio n o r b y p e rip h rasis):
no w orse, no tastier, no better behaved, no more aw kw ard, no less intelligent.
(C o m p a re th e p o sitiv e w ith th e : H e is the worse fo r it.) F o r no a s a m o d ifier in
local n e g a tio n , c/1 0 .6 6 .
N o te [a] I f a n in itia l n e g a tiv e ad v e rb ial d o es n o t cause su b jec t-o p erato r in v e rsio n , th e n eg a tio n is n o t
clau sal b u t lo c al ( c f 10.66). N o tic e th e neg ativ e ta g q uestion in su ch in sta n c e s:
N o t lo n g ag o , th e y lived in M o n trea l, d id n ’t th ey?
N o t su rp risin g ly , h e is o n a d ie t, isn ’t h e?
T h e re is n o in v e rsio n w ith n e g a tiv e conjuncts (eg: nevertheless', no doubt) a n d n e g a tiv e disjuncts
(eg: not un reasonably; n o t to m y surprise).
[b] N o t y e t d o e s n o t o c c u r in itia lly in a finite c la u s e : *N ot y e t have I seen him . T h e co m b in atio n
c a n o c c u r in itia lly in n o n fin ite o r verbless clauses, w here th e re is a n e u tra liz a tio n o f I an d M
p o sitio n s (c /8 .2 0 N o te [bD :
N o t y e t h a v in g rece iv ed h e r visa, sh e w as un ab le to m a k e a rra n g e m e n ts fo r th e tour.
N o t y e t s ix te e n , h e h a s n ev e r b een to a n X -rated movie.
[c] S om e s p e a k e rs p o sitio n no m ore initially, w ith su b je c t-o p e ra to r in v e rsio n , a s a response in
d isco u rse follo w in g ia n e g a tiv e sen te n ce:
A : I d o n ’t play jten n is.
B : N o m ore do I. [‘In d e e d , I d o n ’t e ith e r.’]
T h e u su al e q u iv a le n t resp o n ses are N either do I o r N or do I. I n a B rE co n stru c tio n th a t som e find
a rc h a ic o r d ia lectal,.n o m ore also occurs in itially w ith o u t su b je c t-o p e ra to r in v e rsio n :
A : I th o u g h t you d id n ’t play tennis.
B : N o m ore I d id , u n til th is year.
I \
W o rd s n eg ativ e in m eaning b u t n ot in form
10.59 T h ere a r e sev eral a d v erb s a n d d e term in ers w h ich a re n e g ativ e in m ean in g
b u t n o t in fo rm . T h ey in clu d e:
seld o m , rarefy
scarcely, hardly, barely
little , f e w (in c o n tra s t to th e p o sitiv e a little a n d a fe w )
T h ese c a n effect clau se n e g atio n : for ex am p le th e y a re . follow ed by

n o n a sse rtiv e fo rm s, a n d sen ten ces in w h ich th ey a p p e a r g en erally re q u ire a
p o sitiv e ta g q u e stio n :
I se ld o m get a n y sleep.
H a rd ly anyone w an ts th e jo b .
F e w c h an g e s h a v e ever ta k e n so m an y people b y su rp rise.
I c a n b a rely s p e a k to any o f m y colleagues.
T h e y scarcely seem to care, do they ?
T h e y h a rd ly h a v e a n y frien d s, do they ?
N egation 781
A s w ith o th e r in itial n eg ativ e ad v erb ials ( c f 10.58), th e a d v e rb s n o rm a lly

cau se su b je c t-o p e ra to r in v ersio n w h en they are p o sitio n e d in itia lly as
a d v e rb ia ls o r as m o d ifiers w ith in a n a d v erb ial in lite rary a n d o ra to ric a l s ty l e :
R arely does c rim e p a y so w ell as m an y people th in k .

Scarcely ever h a s th e B ritish n a tio n suffered so m u ch o b lo q u y .
L ittle d id I e x p ect su ch e n th u sia sm fro m so m any.
A s w ell as th e d e te rm in e rs, th e ad v erb s scarcely, hardly, a n d barely fu n c tio n

w ith in a n o u n p h ra se subject, effecting clause n eg atio n :
Scarcely any wine h a s y et a rriv e d , has it I

B arely an y a rm s w ere a cc u m u la te d befo re th e w ar.
L ittle help c a n b e e x p ec te d fro m P eter.
H a rd ly f if t y people w ere in th e v a st hall.
O nly is to som e e x te n t n e g ativ e. W h en it focuses o n a su b je ct n o u n p h ra se ,

th e la tte r is follow ed by n o n a sse rtiv e item s:
O n ly tw o o f us h a d a n y e x p erien ce in sailing.
A n d w h en it focuses o n a fro n te d in itial elem en t o th e r th a n th e su b je ct, it

m a y occasio n ally (b u t n eed n o t) ta k e su b je ct-o p era to r in v e rs io n :
O n ly h is m o th e r w ill h e obey.
O n ly o n S undays d o th ey e a t w ith th e ir children.
C o n tra s t:
O n ly his m o th e r he w ill obey. [‘I t ’s only his m o th e r th a t h e w ill o b e y .’]
V erb s, adjectives, a n d p re p o sitio n s w ith n eg ativ e m ea n in g m a y b e fo llo w ed

b y n o n a sse rtiv e item s, p a rtic u la rly a n y a n d its co m p o u n d s :
H e denies I ever told him .

I fo rg o t to a sk fo r a n y ch an g e , [also : som e change', T h e m e a n in g w o u ld
th e n b e ‘I w a n te d som e ch an g e, b u t forgot to a sk fo r i t.’]
She a v o id ed ever sp e a k in g to us.
W e a re unaware o f any h o stility .
T h ey w ere unwilling ever to a cc ep t o u r help.
I ’m against g o in g o u t anyw here to n ig h t, [also : somewhere]
T h ey d ecid ed to leave w ithout telling any o f th eir frien d s, [a ls o : so m e o f
their friends]
N o n a ssertiv e item s also follow im p lied n eg atio n :
T a k e it b efo re h e says anything. [‘. . . so th a t h e d o esn ’t say a n y th in g ’;

a ls o : som ething]
N o te [a] R arely m ay be p o sitiv e w hen p la c e d initially, in w h ich case it does n o t c a u se s u b je c t-o p e ra to r

in v e rsio n :
R are ly , crim e pay s w ell. [‘O n ra re occasio n s, crim e pays w ell.’]
[b ] T h e n o u n p h rase o n w h ich only focuses m ay c o n ta in a n assertiv e item , b u t n o t a n o n asse rtiv e
ite m :
O nly j ° f us h ad a n y ex p e rie n c e in sailing.

C o n tr a s t:
S ca rcely
H a r d ly > j \ o f u s h ad an y ex p erien ce in sailing.
I B a r e ty } ^ a n y >
[c] In fo rm a lly , h ardly a n d (to a lesser extent) scarcely so m etim e s co o ccu r w ith th e clause n eg a to r,
a l th o u g h there a re p resc rip tiv e o bjections to th is usage o n th e g ro u n d s th a t these ad v e rb s a re
n e g a tiv e in th em selv es. T h e m o st com m on c o m b in a tio n s a re can’t hardly a n d couldn’t h a r d ly :
?I c a n ’t hardly see th e w ords.
[d] S p e a k e rs vary in th e ex ten t to w hich th e y ac c e p t n eg a tiv e ta g q u estio n s follow ing th ese
n e g a tiv e w ords. T h e ta g questio n s seem m ost ac c e p ta b le w hen po sitio n ed close to th e en d o f th e
s e n te n c e :
H e sees his p a r e n ts rarely, doesn't he*!
H a r d ly seem s m o st re s is ta n t to a neg ativ e ta g q u e s tio n :
? * H e w as hard ly au d ib le , w asn’t h e l
[e] J u s t is th e p o sitiv e a d v e rb th a t is closest se m a n tic ally to th ese n eg a tiv e ad v erb s. C o m p a re
h a rd ly a n d ju s t in th e se se n te n c e s:
J H e hardly sle p t a w ink.

( H e ju s t slept a little.
( II co u ld hardly see her.

co u ld ju s t see h er.
(SS hh ee had
had hardly a rriv e d w hen th e o rch estra started .
ju s t a r r iv e d w h en th e o rch estra s ta rte d .
N o n a s s e r t i v e i t e m s a n d n e g a t i v e it e m s
10.60 A s h a s already b e en p o in te d o ut ( c f 1 0 .5 7 # ), clause n e g atio n is freq u e n tly
fo llo w ed (not n ecessarily directly) by o n e o r m o re n o n a sse rtiv e item s.
C o m m o n n o n a sse rtiv e s a re listed belo w in th e th ird colu m n , a n d th e
co rresp o n d in g , asse rtiv e a n d n eg ativ e item s a re g iv en in p arallel co lu m n s.
(O n n o n a sse rtiy e p ro n o u n s, c /f u r th e r 6 .5 9 # ).
SY NTACTIC CLASS' ASSERTIVE NO NASSERTIVE NEGATIVE
(1) determiner som e any no

(2) determiner (<either one o r the either neither
other)
(3) pronoun | som e . any none
(4) pronoun j (one or the other) v eith er neither
(5) pronoun som ething a n yth in g nothing
(6)pronoun som ebody a n yb o d y nobody
(7) pronoun som eone a nyone no one
(8) process adverb som ehow (in a n y w ay) (in no w ay)
(9) place adverb som ew here anyw here nowhere
1
som eplace anyplace no place
11
(informal A m E ) (inform al A m E ) (inform al A m E )
(10) tim e adverb som etim e(s) ever never
alw ays a n y tim e
(inform al A m E)
(11) time adverb alrea d y yet —
(12) tim e adverb still a n y m ore no m ore
a n y longer no longer
(13) degree adverbial (ito som e e xten t) a t a ll —
(14) degree adverbial som ew hat a n y (the) no, (none th e)
( c f[ 14] below)
(15) additive adverbial a s well, too either (c/N o te [a])
Negation 783
T h e co m b in a tio n o f n o t w ith a n o n assertiv e fo rm c a n b e rep laced , in m o s t

in stan ces, b y th e n e g a tiv e w o rd in th e rig h t-h a n d c o lu m n ; th ere a r e
co n seq u en tly tw o n e g a tiv e eq u iv a len ts o f each p o sitiv e se n te n c e :
, , fW e h a v e n ’t h a d a n y lunch.
W e ve h a d som e lu n c h . ~ K , i
[ W e ve h a d n o lunch.
. . . IT . fH e d id n ’t see e ith e r m an .
[2] H e saw o n e m a n o r th e o th er. r | R e saw n e ith e r m a n <unusual>
[3] W e ’ve h a d som e. ~ { W e h a v e n ’t h a d any.

J ^W e ve h ad none.
TT Al_ ■ fH e d id n ’t see e ith e r o f th e m e n .
[4] H e saw o n e o r o th e r o f th e m en . ~ j R e saw n eith fjr o f ^ m en
rc, T, . ,. .. . r [ I h a v e n ’t b o u g h t a n y th in g fo r y o u .
[5] I v e b o u g h t so m e th in g fo r y o u , ~ ^ faought nQ thing fo r yQU
... T , • . , , f l w asn ’t sp e a k in g to anybody.

[6] I w as sp e a k in g to so m eb o d y . ~ w as sp e a k jn g tQ n o b o d y
. . . f I w asn ’t sp e a k in g to anyone.
m I w as sp e a k in g to so m eo n e. ~ t T
r °
. . . ______ '
[ I w as sp e a k in g to n o one.
f T h ey w o n ’t in a n y w ay finish it.
[8] T h e y ’ll fin ish it so m eh o w . ~ •; T h ey w on’t fin ish it a t all.
(.T hey will in n o w ay finish it.
. . . TT , fH e w o n ’t m e e t u s a n yw here.
[9] H e 11m e e t us so m ew h ere. ~ | R e ,n m ee t u s n o w h e re . ( c / N o te [b])
. r , , . .. f H e d o e sn ’t ever v is it us.
[10] H e so m etim es [or alw ays) visits us. ~ | R e n e y e r y isits us
[11] T h ey ’ve a rriv e d a lre ad y . ~ T h ey h a v e n ’t a rriv e d yet.
[12] H e ’s still a t school. ~ ( H e ’s n o t a t schooi a n y {m om ."'

(.H e’s no lo n g er a t school.
[13] I c an h e lp (to so m e ex ten t). ~ I c a n ’t h elp a t all.

1’m n o t a n y (th e) w iser now .
1
f 'j
I ’m ] .. > w iser now .

[n o n e th e ]
[15] H e r m o th e r’s co m in g , too. ~ H e r m o th e r’s n o t com ing e ith er.
In all cases (e x ce p t p o ssib ly th a t o f never), th e c o m b in a tio n o f n ot (-n't) a n d

th e n o n assertiv e w o rd is m o re colloquial a n d id io m a tic th a n th e n e g a tiv e
v a ria n t. T h e a b se n ce o f a n eg ativ e w ord fo r y et, a t all, a n d either m ea n s th a t
th ere is only o n e n e g a tiv e v ersio n in exam ples 1 1 ,1 3 , a n d 15 (b u t c /N o te [a]).
A ssertiv e ite m s m ay follow a n eg ativ e if th e y fall o u tsid e th e sco p e o f
n eg atio n (c/10.64).
T h e p rim a ry d iffere n ce b e tw ee n som e a n d a n y (a n d b etw een th e som e- a n d
any- c o m p o u n d s) is th a t som e is specific, th o u g h unsp ecified , w hile a n y is
nonspecific. T h a t is, so m e im p lies a n am o u n t o r n u m b e r th a t is k n o w n t o th e
s p e a k e r. T h is d iffere n ce te n d s to co rrelate w ith th e d ifferen ce b etw een

p o s itiv e a n d n e g a tiv e c o n te x ts:
I h a v e som e m oney o n m e. [a specific, th o u g h unspecified a m o u n t

o f m oney]
I d o n ’t h a v e a n y m oney o n m e. [an unspecified, a n d also n o n sp ecific
a m o u n t o f m o n ey ; n o lim it on th e a m o u n t is assum ed]
N o te [a] I t is n o t q u ite tru e to say th a t th e re is no neg ativ e w ord corresp o n d in g to th e a d v e rb either;

neither a n d nor b o th o c c u r a s n e g a tiv e a d d itiv e subjuncts, b u t only in a n in itia l p o sitio n w ith
n e g a tiv e in v e rsio n :
H e c o u ld n ’t s p e a k , (an d ) neither could he w alk.
H e c o u ld n ’t s p e a k , nor could he w alk.
H e c o u ld n ’t s p e a k , a n d he co u ld n ’t w alk either.
H e co u ld n ’t sp e a k o r w alk either.
A ll th e se sen te n ces m e a n th e sam e , b u t th e first tw o are so m ew h at litera ry in to n e , w h ile th e last
tw o a r e d ec id e d ly collo q u ial.
[bl N ow h ere is m o re u s u a l w h en a m o d a l au xiliary is p resen t. C o m p a re l e a n f i n d it nowhere w ith
th e u n u su a l I fo u n d U now here a n d I ’ve fo u n d it nowhere. B u t c f th e usual It's now here to be fo u n d
[‘I t c a n ’t b e fo u n d a n y w h e re .’].
N o n assertiv e c o n tex ts
10.61 A p a r t fro m n e g a tiv e c o n te x ts, n o n assertiv e item s a p p e a r in a n u m b e r o f
o th e r co n te x ts. T h e y in c lu d e :
(i) Y e s-n o q u e stio n s th a t e x p ec t a n eg ativ e resp o n se o r a r e n e u tra l in
e x p e c ta tio n ( 1 1 .6 /) :
D o you k n o w a n y o f th e teach ers h ere?
(ii) w /i-questions (1 1 .1 4 # ):
W h o h as e v e r re a d th e p lay ?
(iii) p u ta tiv e should -clauses (14.25):
I t ’s o d d th a t'h e sh o u ld ev er n otice it.
1
(iv) c o n d itio n a l c lau ses (1 5 .3 3 # ):
I f a n y o n e e v e r says th a t, p re te n d n o t to hear.
(v) c o m p a ra tiv e clau ses (1 0 .6 3 # ):
I h a v e m o re s ta m p s th a n I ’ve y e t show n you.
(vi) re stric tiv e re la tiv e clau ses m odifying g en eric n o u n p h ra se s , w h ere the
clauses h a v e c o n d itio n a l m e a n in g :
S tu d e n ts w h o h a v e a n y c o m p la in ts should raise th e ir h a n d s.
[‘I f s tu d e n ts h a v e a n y c o m p lain ts, th ey should ra ise th e ir h a n d s .’]
A ll t h a t h e h a s e v er s a id confirm s m y suspicions o f h is m o tiv es.
(vii) a fte r w o rd s th a t a re m o rp h o lo g ically n eg ativ e o r th a t h a v e n eg ativ e
im p o rt:
I t ’s un likely th a t sh e h a s e v er b een to Scotland.
Y o u still h a v e tim e before you h av e a n y n eed to reg ister.
[‘Y o u d o n ’t h a v e a n y n eed to reg ister n o w .’]
H e ’s too old to p lay an y rig o ro u s gam es.
[‘H e d o e sn ’t p lay a n y rig o ro u s g am es.’]
Negation 785
T h ey c a n prevent an y d em o n stratio n s.
I f a il to see a n y fo rce in y our arg u m en ts.
I ’m reluctant to give h e r an y ad v ice.
I t ’s ha rd to d o a n y w o rk u n d e r th ese co n d itio n s.
N o te [a] Som e v erb s (so m etim e s in co m b in a tio n w ith c e rtain m o d al au xiliaries) te n d to o cc u r in

n eg a tiv e o r o th e r n o n assertiv e c o n te x ts :
I \ ca n ] , , > j sta n d > th a t ty p e o f m usic. [ c f V c a n bear th a t type o f music.]
T h e y d o n ’/ m in d w aitin g , [cf: *T hey m inded waiting.)

I w ou ld n 't care to b e in his shoes.
M y p a re n ts d id n ’t budge fro m th e ir first offer.
I w on’t le t on w h a t I saw .
O n th e o th e r h a n d , w ould rather c a n n o t be n eg a ted in a d e c la ra tiv e s en te n ce (c f3 .4 5 ) :
I ’d ra th e r h a v e a n ap p le, [cf: * I wouldn’t rather have an a pple ; ac cep tab le only as a
d e n ia l sen ten ce] ■
W o u ld (n ’t) you ra th e r h av e a n ap p le ?
T h e lexical v e rb c a n b e n e g a te d : t d rather not tell y o u about it.
W hen u sed a s m o d a l au x ilia ries, n eed <esp B rE as a m o d a l) a n d dare a r e re stric te d to
no n assertiv e co n tex ts. S tereo ty p ed I daresay is a n ex ception.
[b] M uch, m any , a n d f a r te n d to b e restricted to n o n assertiv e co n tex ts w hen un m o d ifie d :
I d o n ’t lik e th e m (very) m uch.
I d o n ’t h a v e (very) m uch m oney.
W e d id n ’t see (very ) m a n y o n o u r la st visit.
T h e y d o n ’t liv e (very) f a r fro m us.
O n th e o th e r h a n d , o th e r item s th a t a re sem a n tic ally sim ilar te n d to be restricted to a s se rtiv e
co n tex ts:
, . f a good m any “I
{^ W e saw < a g rea t m any ) o n o u r la st visit.
a 1 e' Ia fe w J
C o n tr a s t:
T h c y { d o n ’t l i v e } { ,7 ^ ] fro m u s'
^ J { a long w a y )
T e m p o ral long a n d very long te n d to be restricted to assertiv e c o n te x ts :
I c a n ’t sta y (very) long.
C o n tra st:
longer,
I ca n (’t) stay
lo ng time.
{•
N egative intensification
10.62 T h ere a re v ario u s w ays o f g iv in g e m o tiv e in ten sificatio n to a n eg ativ e, so m e
ex am p les o f w h ic h a re g iv en here. N o n a ssertiv e ex p ressio n s o f e x te n t b e sid es
a t all in clu d e:
by a n y m eans in any way

in the slightest a bit ( in f o r m a l)
in the least
N e g ativ e d e te rm in e rs a n d p ro n o u n s are g iv en em p h a sis by a t all , whatever,

an d whatsoever-.
I fo u n d n o th in g a t all th e m a tte r w ith him .

Y ou h av e n o excuse w h atev er.
N e ve r is r e p e a te d fo r em p h asis, o r else c o m b in e d w ith a n in te n sify in g p h ra se

s u c h a s in (a ll ) m y life:
I ’ll n e v e r, n e v er go th ere again.

I ’v e n e v e r in all m y life seen su ch a cro w d .
N e ve r its e lf m a y serv e fo r som e as a n e m p h a tic in fo rm a l n eg ativ e in d e n ia ls :
(? )I n e v e r stay ed th e re last n ig h t. [‘I c ertain ly d id n ’t stay th ere

la s t n ig h t.’]
T h e c o m b in a tio n s n o t one a n d not a (single ) a re e m p h a tic a lte rn a tiv e s to no as

a c o u n ta b le d e te rm in e r (c/1 0 .5 8 ):
N o t a w o rd cam e fro m h e r lips. W e left n o t a single b o ttle b e h in d .
O th e r e m o tiv e ly coloured expressions in c lu d e :
H e d id n ’t give m e a thing, (in fo rm a l)

I d o n ’t c a re a d a m n w h e th er w e w in o r lose, ( f a m ilia r )
S h e d id n ’t say a word a b o u t it. ( in f o r m a l)
N o w ay w ill I a c c e p t su ch a n offer, ( f a m ilia r )
S o m e e x p ressio n s a re fo rm ed in c o m b in a tio n w ith specific v e r b s :
H e w o n ’t lift a fin g e r to h elp you. I w o n ’t d rin k a drop.

I d i d n ’t sleep a w ink . H e d id n ’t move a muscle.
S h e d id n ’t bat a n eye(lid). W e d id n ’t see a soul.
T h e y w o n ’t budge an inch.
O n th e o th e r h an d , th e in ten sifiers quite, p re tty , a n d rather a re a s s e rtiv e :
T h e y d riv e fast.
C o n tr a s t th e u n a cc ep ta b ility (except in d e n ia l sen ten ces) of:
S im ila rly , f a r as in ten sifier o f co m p a rativ es is a s s e rtiv e :
T h e food was f a r b e tte r th a n I exp ected .

* T h e food w asn’t f a r b e tte r th a n I ex p ected .
O th e r a sse rtiv e intensifiers in clu d e no end (o f), w h ic h intensifies n o u n p h rases

as w ell as v e rb s:
S h e p ra ised the p lay no end. I t w as no e n d o f a m ess.
F o r a sse rtiv e rather in would rather, c /1 0 .6 1 N o te [a], a n d for a sse rtiv e much,
c f 10.61 N o te [b].
N o te [a] T o speak o / i s an in fo rm al n o n assertiv e do w n to n e r (8. I t I ff ) :

T h e y h a v e n ’t any m o n ey , to speak of.
[b] Q uite is acceptable in a n eg a tiv e sen ten ce w h en it m odifies a p h ra se w ith th e po stm o d ifier
en o u g h :
Negation 787
T hey d o n ’t d riv e q uite fa s t enough. I t w asn ’t quite long enough.

[c] I n in fo rm al style, too m ay b e sy n o n y m o u s w ith very; h ence, th e re m a y b e a s h if t o f m e a n in g
in n eg a tio n o r w h en too m odifies w o rd s w ith neg a tiv e m e a n in g :
T h e y d riv e too fast. [‘T h e y d riv e f a s te r th a n th e y should’; ’T hey d o n ’t d riv e slo w ly e n o u g h .’]
T h e y d o n ’t d riv e too fast. [‘T h e y d o n ’t d riv e very fast’; th e sen te n ce c a n also b e a d en ial o f
th e p o sitiv e sta te m e n t.]
T h a t’s too b a d . [‘T h a t’s v ery b ad .']
[d] C ould care less < esp A m E > is so m etim e s used in th e sam e sense as couldn’t care less, b u t th e r e
a re p re scrip tiv e o b je ctio n s to th e lo cution.
[e] E ver is so m etim e s u sed a s a n in ten sifie r in co m b in atio n w ith never: r i l never ever sta y w ith
th e m again.
M o re th an one n o nassertive item

10.63 I f a clause is n e g ativ e, it is u su ally n eg ativ e th ro u g h o u t, o r a t le a s t u n til th e
b e g in n in g o f a fin al a d ju n c t (c/1 0 .6 4 ). N o n assertiv e item s m u s t n o rm ally b e
u se d a fte r th e n eg ativ e e le m en t in p lace o f every a ssertiv e ite m t h a t w o u ld
h a v e o ccu rred in th e c o rre sp o n d in g p o sitiv e c la u se :
I ’ve n e v e r trav elled anyw here b y a ir .pel.

I h a v e n ’t ever b e en o n any o f th e b ig liners, either.
N o o n e h a s ever sa id anything to either o f us.
N o t m an y o f th e refu g ees h a v e anywhere to live yet.
N o tice th a t n eg ativ e item s (n o rm ally o nly one) m u st alw ay s p re ce d e th e

n o n a sse rtiv e item s, a s in th is se ries o f co rresp o n d in g clau ses;
I don’t g ive any p o c k e t m o n ey to any o f m y ch ild ren a t a n y tim e .

I give no p o c k e t m o n ey to a n y o f m y c h ild ren a t any tim e .
I give p o c k e t m o n ey to none o f m y ch ild ren a t any tim e .
I give p o c k e t m o n ey to m y c h ild re n a t no tim e.
T h e fu rth e r th e n eg ativ e w o rd is postp o sted , th e m o re q u e stio n a b le th e

se n ten ce is, b ecau se th e sen ten c e is a t first p erce iv e d as p o sitiv e a n d th e n h a s
to b e re in te rp re te d as n e g ativ e.
N o te I n n o n s ta n d a rd E n g lish , a n eg a tiv e item c a n b e u sed w herever in s ta n d a rd E n g lish a n o n assertiv e

ite m follow s a n e g a tiv e :
s t F n d F r d : N o o n e ever sa id anything to anybody.
n o n s t F n d F r d ; N o o n e never sa id nothing to nobody.
v S u c h d o u b le o r m u ltip le n e g a tiv es a re co n d e m n e d by p rescrip tiv e g ra m m a tic a l tra d itio n ( c f

f u rth e r 10.70).
Scope o f negation
10.64 A n e g ativ e ite m m ay b e said to g o v e rn (or d e te rm in e th e o ccu rre n ce of) a
n o n a sse rtiv e o n ly i f th e la tte r is w ith in th e SCOPE o f th e n e g ativ e, ie w ith in
th e s tre tc h o f lan g u ag e o v e r w h ic h th e n eg ativ e item h as a se m a n tic influence.
T h e scope o f th e n e g atio n n o rm ally ex ten d s fro m th e n e g a tiv e ite m itself to
th e en d o f th e clau se, b u t it n e ed n o t include a n en d -p la ce d a d v erb ial. I n a
clau se w ith th e clau se n e g a to r n ot o r a n eg ativ e w o rd s u c h as never o r hardly
in th e sam e p o sitio n a fte r th e o p e ra to r, a d v erb ials o c c u rrin g b efo re th e
n eg ativ e n o rm ally lie o u tsid e th e sco p e. T h ere is th u s a c o n tra s t b e tw e e n ;
S h e d efin itely d id n ’t sp e a k to him .

i______________ i
[‘I t ’s d e fin ite th a t sh e d id n ’t sp eak to h im .’]
S h e d id n ’t d efin itely s p e a k to him .

i_______________________ i
[‘I t ’s n o t d efin ite t h a t sh e sp o k e to h im .’]
(T h e sc o p e is m a rk e d by th e h o rizo n tal brack ets.)

W h e n a n a d ju n c t is final, it m ay o r m ay n o t lie o u tsid e th e sc o p e :
I w a s n ’t L isten in g all th e t im e . [1 ]
I w a s n ’t lis te n in g all th e t i m e . [2 ]
I_____________________l
T h e d iffe re n c e o f scope, w h ic h is h e re m ark e d b y in to n a tio n , reflects a n

im p o r ta n t d iffere n ce o f m e a n in g : [1] m ea n s ‘F o r th e w hole tim e , I w a sn ’t
lis te n in g ’, w h e rea s [2] m ea n s ‘I t is n o t tru e th a t I w as listen in g all th e tim e ’.
I f a n a sse rtiv e fo rm is u sed in th e ad ju n c t, th e ad ju n c t m u st lie o u tsid e th e
s c o p e ; th ere fo re [3] a n d [4] belo w p aralle l [1] an d [2]:
I d id n ’t liste n to som e o f th e sp eak ers. [3]

l_________ i
[‘T h e re w e re som e o f th e sp e a k ers th a t I d id n ’t listen to .’]
I d id n ’t lis te n to an y o f th e sp eak ers. [4]

i [_ _____________________ i
[‘T h e re w e re n o t a n y sp e a k ers th a t I listen ed to .’]
D isju n c ts a n d c o n ju n c ts ( c f 8 .1 2 1 /f) alw ays lie o u tsid e th e scope o f clau se

n e g a tio n , w h a te v e r th e ir p o s itio n :
S h e d o e sn ’t k n o w h im , u n fo rtu n ately .
L_1____________
S h e d o e sn ’t .know h im , how ever,
i— ;— 1
T h e sc o p e c a n so m etim es e x te n d in to a su b o rd in a te c la u se :
S h e d id n ’t k n o w I w o u ld c o m e to h e r whenever she needed a n y advice.

i__________________________________________________________________ l
I w o u ld n ’t Hke you to disturb anyone.
i !---------------------------------------- 1
1
N o te W h en a n e g a tiv e a d l e r b ia l is p o sitio n e d in itially , th e su b ject a n d o p e ra to r follow th e n e g a tiv e
item . I n th a t case, th e su b jec t m a y h a v e a n o n assertiv e fo r m :
N e v e r h av e an y o f them been in te re ste d in m usic.
V ery o cc asio n ally , th e sco p e o f n e g a tio n m a y ex ten d to a n a d ju n c t th a t h a s bee n fro n te d fro m its
n o rm a l p o sitio n , in w h ic h ca se a n o n a sse rtiv e m ay o ccu r in th e a d ju n c t (w ith o u t su b je c t-
o p e ra to r in version):-.
T o a n y o f those speakers I w o u ld n ’t listen. < rare)
A m o re co m m o n fro n tin g (w ith su b je c t-o p e ra to r inversion) i s :
To none o f those speakers w ould I listen.
T h e n o rm a l fo rm i s :
I w o u ld n ’t listen to an y o f those speakers.
Negation 789
Focus o f n eg atio n
10.65 W e need to id e n tify n o t only th e scope, b u t also th e f o c u s o f n eg atio n . A
special o r c o n tra stiv e n u c le ar stress fallin g o n a p a rtic u la r p a rt o f th e cla u se
in d icates th a t th e c o n tra s t o f m ean in g im p licit in th e n eg atio n is lo cated a t
th a t sp o t, a n d also th a t th e rest o f th e clause c a n be u n d ersto o d in a p o sitiv e
sense. T o d istin g u ish th e p a rts th a t are to b e u n d ersto o d n eg ativ ely a n d
p ositively, w e n e e d to refine o u r n o tio n o f scope to allow for d i s c o n t i n u o u s
s c o p e a n d also to allow fo r th e p a rt p re ce d in g th e n eg ativ e ite m to c o m e
w ith in th e sco p e o f n e g atio n . D ifferen t p lac em e n ts o f th e focus d istin g u ish
th e follow ing se n ten c es. T h e p a rts th a t a re n o t w ith in th e scope a re u n d e rsto o d
p o sitiv e ly :
I d id n ’t ta k e J o a n to sw im in th e p o o l to d ay . - I fo rg o t to d o so.
i_______________________________________________ 1
I d id n ’t ta k e JOAN to sw im in th e pool to d ay . - I t w as M ary.

1— ( ) 1
I d id n ’t ta k e J o a n to s w i m in th e pool to d a y - ju s t to see it.
i— ( ) --------------1
I d id n ’t ta k e J o a n to sw im in th e POOL to d ay . - I to o k h er to th e
L— ( ) 1 seaside.
I d id n ’t ta k e J o a n t o sw im in th e p o o l toD A Y . - I t w as last w eek th a t I

d id so.
M )-----------1
i d id n ’t ta k e J o a n to sw im in th e pool to d ay . - I t w as m y b ro th e r w h o
H V to o k h er.
T h e p o sitiv e im p lic a tio n s can b e m ad e e x p licit b y a lte rn a tiv e n e g a tio n :
I d o n ’t l i k e C O F fee, b u t I d o l i k e t e F .
M )---------1
I d o n ’t m i n d t h e n o is e , but I do m in d th e h e F t .
1
—( ) 1
o r by focused n e g a tio n :
I t ’s n o t C O F fee t h a t I l i k e (, b u t t e a ) .
i_________ l
I t ’s n o t t h e n o is e t h a t I m i n d (, b u t t h e h e a t ) .
i_______________ i
Scope a n d fo cu s a re in te rrela te d such th a t th e scope m u st include th e focus.

F ro m th is it follow s th a t o n e w ay o f sig n allin g th e e x te n t o f th e scope is b y
th e p o sitio n o f th e focus. In d e ed , since th e sco p e o f th e n e g atio n is o ften n o t
o th erw ise clearly sig n alled , w e can in d ic a te it by w h ere w e place th e
in fo rm a tio n focus. O n e ex am p le o f th is is w h e n th e scope o f th e n e g atio n is
aty p ically e x te n d e d to include a su b o rd in a te clau se, w ith a c o n tra stiv e fall-
rise to e m p h a size th is :
I d i d n ’t l e a v e h o m e b e c a u s e I w a s a f r a i d o f m y FATHer. [ 1]
I____________ 1
[ = B ecau se I w as a fra id o f m y fa th e r, I d id n ’t leav e hom e.]
I d i d n ’t l e a v e h o m e b e c a u s e I w a s a f r a i d o f m y FA TH er. [2]
[ = I le ft h o m e, b u t it w asn ’t b ecause I w as a fra id o f m y fath er.]
W ith m o re u su al in to n a tio n , [1] allots a sep arate to n e u n it to e ac h clause, a n d

so p la c e s th e Aecause-clause o utside th e scope o f th e n eg ativ e. (T h is
in te r p r e ta tio n c a n also b e singled o u t by a co m m a in w ritin g .) B u t [2] ex ten d s
a s in g le to n e u n it o v e r b o th , an d places a c o n tra stiv e fall + rise o n fa th e r.
T h e e ffe c t o f th is is to p lac e n eg ativ e focus o n th e because- clau se, so t h a t th e
m a in c la u s e is u n d e rsto o d positively. V ariab le scope a p p lie s also to th e when-
c la u s e s i n [3] a n d [4]:
S h e d id n ’t co m e to s e e h im w h en h e a s k e d . [3]
i_________________i
[ = W h e n h e a sk ed , sh e d id n ’t com e to see him .]
S h e d id n ’t c o m e to see h im w h en he a s k e d . [4]
i_ _ ( ) ------------------------- 1
[ = S h e c a m e to see h im , b u t n o t a t th e tim e h e a sk e d h e r to
c o m e to see him .]
I n [3] th e w hen-clause is a n a d v erb ial o f th e sen ten ce, w h e rea s in [4] it is a n

a d v e r b ia l o f th e p re c e d in g in fin itiv e clause.
I n to n a tio n m a y b e c ru cial also in m ark in g w h e th e r o r n o t th e su b ject is th e
focus o f n e g a tio n , a d istin c tio n th a t m ay b e n eed e d in su b jects c o n ta in in g
o n e o f th e u n iv e rs a l item s all o r e very :
A ll th e c h ild re n d id n ’t s l e e p . [‘AH th e ch ild ren fa iled to sleep .’] [5]
F l l th e c h ild re n d id n ’t sleep. [‘N o t all th e c h ild re n s le p t.’] [6]

I--------------!------------------------ 1
[6] h a s c o n tra s tiv e (fall + rise) in fo rm atio n focus. T h e c o n stru ctio n o f [5] is
u n u su a l; m o re c o m m o n is th e p a rap h ra se w ith a n e g ativ e su b je ct: N one o f
the children slept.
N o te [al I n d e n ia l s e n te n c e s th e clause n eg a to r m ay h ave th e focus, sin ce th e re s t o f th e clau se h as

a lre a d y b e e n a s s e rte d o r im p lie d : \
I d id n o t o ffer h e r som e chocolates. [‘I t is n o t tru e th a t I offered h e r som e ch o co lates.’]
I I
T h e sa m e effec t is ac h ie v e d by focus o n a neg ativ e o p erato r:
I D i o n ’t o ffer h e r so m e chocolates.
o r so m e o th e r n e g a tiv e w o r d :
I N E v e r o ff e re d lh e r so m e c h o c o la te s .
N o b o d y o ffe re d h e r so m e c h o c o la te s .
[b] W h e n th e focus is o n a g ra d a b le item , th e effect is usually to in d ic a te less th a n th e n o r m :
T h e r o o m i s n ’t l r g e , b u t i t w i l l d o .
F
B ut th e c o n te x t m a y in d ic a te th e re v e rs e :
T h e ro o m is n ’t, (ju st) l r g e , i t ’s enorm ous.
F
Local negation
10.66 L ocal n e g a tio n n e g a te s a w o rd o r p h rase, w ith o u t m a k in g th e clau se n eg ativ e
(c/1 0 .5 7 ). A c o m m o n ty p e is exem plified in [1]:
N e gation 791
in som e ways.
S h e ’s a n o t u n a ttra c tiv e w om an,
*in an y respect. } a]
In [1] not n eg ates unattractive b u t n o t th e w hole clause, as w e c a n see fro m

th e in ad m issib ility o f th e n o n a sse rtiv e item any. C o n trast th e cla u sa l n e g a tio n
in [2], w here th e ta g q u e stio n is p o s itiv e :
S h e ’s n o t a n a ttra c tiv e w o m a n
in an y respect, is she? [2]
S h e isn ’t a n a ttra c tiv e w o m a n
T h e effect o f not in [1] is m erely to rev erse th e alread y n eg ativ e fo rce o f th e

follow ing expression. Such d o u b le n e g ativ e p h rases a re dev ices o f u n d e rs ta te
m e n t, S h e is a not entirely unintelligent woman m ean in g ‘S h e is a fa irly
in te llig en t w o m a n ’; sim ilarly, H e 's not a too sym pathetic doctor m e a n s ‘H e ’s a
r a th e r u n sy m p a th e tic d o c to r’. T h e do u b le n eg ativ e p h rases re q u ire a g ra d a b le
ad je ctiv e o r a d v erb a s h e ad , th e n eg atio n in d ic a tin g a p o in t b e tw e e n th e tw o
e x tre m e s o f th e g ra d a b le sc a le ; fo r [1] th e p o in t is so m ew h ere b e tw ee n
unattractive an d attractive. H e re a re o th er ex am p les o f d o u b le n e g a tiv e
p h ra se s :
T h ey m ad e so m e not unintelligent observations. [3]
T h e y are p ay in g a not inconsiderable am ount in ren t. [4]
T h e an n o u n ce m e n t w as follow ed b y a not unexpected silence. [5]
I v isit th em not infrequently. [6]
H e w rites not inelegantly. [71
E a c h o f th ese sen ten ces co rre sp o n d s to a p o sitiv e sen ten ce in w h ic h th e

d o u b le n e g ativ e is re p laced b y a d o w n to n er ( c f i . W l f f ) . T h u s, [3] m a y b e
p a ra p h ra s e d by T h ey m ade som e fa ir ly intelligent observations a n d [4] b y T h e y
are p a yin g a rather considerable am ount in rent. W e m ay sim ilarly p a ra p h ra s e
th e d o u b le n e g ativ e p h ra ses in th e o th e r th ree sen ten ces by p o sitiv e p h ra s e s
w ith d o w n to n e rs: a som ew hat e xp ected silence [5], fa ir ly fre q u e n tly [6], rather
elegantly [7].
Som e co n te n t d isju n cts { c f 8.127/D , those e ith e r h av in g a n e g a tiv e p refix
o r co n v ey in g u n ex p ected n ess, m ay b e n e g a te d :
N o t unnaturally, w e rejected th e ir co m p lain t. [8]
N o t surprisingly , th ey m isse d th e tra in . [9]
N o t unnaturally in [8] is a d o u b le n eg ativ e p h ra se, a n d th e effect o f th e

n e g a tio n is to u n d e rsta te (‘as w a s ra th e r e x p ected ’), as in th e d o u b le n e g a tiv e
p h ra ses in [1-7]. In [9], not sim p ly n eg ates surprisingly (‘th a t’s n o t su rp risin g ’).
I n a n o th e r ty p e o f local n e g atio n , not m odifies a d eg ree a d v e rb , w h ic h in
tu r n m odifies a p o sitiv e g ra d a b le ad jectiv e o r a d v e r b :
T h ey ow n tw o not very fie rc e dogs, [‘ra th e r d o cile’] [ 10]
I saw a not too sym pathetic report a b o u t you. [‘ra th e r
u n sy m p a th e tic ’] [11]
I v isit th e m not very often. [12]
J a n e t a rriv e d not m uch earlier th a n B ob. [13]
D e rek d riv es not as well a s e xpected. [14]
Sen ten ces [1 2 -1 4 ], w ith th e g ra d ab le a d v erb s, co rre sp o n d to n e g a tiv e

se n te n c e s; for ex am p le, [ 12] co rre sp o n d s to I don't visit them very often, th o u g h
[ 12] e x h ib its local n e g atio n , n o t clau se n e g a tio n . O n th e o th e r h an d , se n ten c es

[10] a n d [11] d o n o t co rresp o n d to n e g a tiv e sen ten ces, b ecause th e ad je ctiv e
p h ra s e s a re n o t clau se elem ents, b u t a re e m b e d d e d in no u n p h rases th a t a re
ele m en ts. T h e a d jectiv e p h ra ses c o rre sp o n d to a n an to n y m o u s a d je c tiv e
m o d ified by a d o w n to n e r: ‘ra th e r ta m e d o g s’ [ 10], ‘a so m ew h at u n sy m p a th e tic
re p o rt’ [11].
N o t m ay a lso m o d ify a d v erb ial e x p ressio n s o f e x te n t in d istan c e o r tim e :
T h e y liv e not f a r fro m us. [15]
I saw D a v e not long ago. [‘fairly re ce n tly ’] [16]
W e w ere th e re n ot m any years a fte r th e w ar. [‘ju s t a few y ears’] [17]
S in ce th e m odified p h ra se is a clause e le m e n t in [15], th e sentence c o rre sp o n d s

to a n e g a tiv e sen ten c e (‘T h ey d o n ’t liv e f a r a w a y fro m u s.’).
T h e q u a n tifiers a f e w a n d a little m ay b e n e g ated by not a n d th e q u a n tifie r
little b y no:
T h e y h a v e not a fe w eccentrics in th e ir fam ily.
I sen sed not a little hostility in h is m a n n e r.
T h e y d isp lay e d no little interest in h e r p ro g ress, { fo rm al)
T h e s e n e g a tiv e q u an tifiers h a v e th e c le ar fo rce o f u n d e rstatem e n t. A sim ila r

effect is co n v ey ed b y th e c o m p a rativ es m ore, less, a n d fe w e r w h en th e y a re
n e g ated b y e ith e r n o t or no:
Y o u m ay ta k e no m ore th a n a n h o u r’s b r e a k for lunch.
T h e y ’ll p a y you not less th a n te n d o lla rs a n hour.
I h a v e b e e n a b le to collect no fe w e r th a n sixty sig n atu res for th e
p e ti t io n .,
N o is so m e w h a t in o re e m p h a tic th a n n o t in th e s e contexts.
P re p o sitio n a l p h ra s e s m ay also b e n e g a te d , w h e th er as a d ju n cts o r as
p o stm o d ifiers in n o u n p h rases, by a n e g a tiv e w ord w ith in th e co m p le m e n t:
H e w as d e c o ra te d by none other than the President.
I ’ll give it to y o u fo r nothing.
W e c le are d th e tab le in no time.
She re p lie d with not a m om ent’s hesitation.
[c f: w ithout a m om ent's hesitation ]
T h e b ro th e rs se t o u t o n th e ir h ik e w ith never a worry in the world.
O u r h o u se h as o n e w all with no windows.
I t w as a d e cisio n o f no consequence.
I
A n u nusual type o f local n eg atio n a p p e a rs in n o u n p h rases th a t e x p ress a
c o m p ressed p r e d ic a tio n :
N o n ew s is g o o d new s.
[‘R e ce iv in g n o new s is good n e w s.’]
T he c o m p a n y p ro m ised n o v ictim iz atio n .
[‘T h e c o m p a n y p ro m ised th a t th e re w o u ld be n o v ictim iz atio n .’]
S o m e th in g is b e tte r th a n n o th in g .
[‘H a v in g so m e th in g is b e tte r th a n h a v in g n o th in g .’]
T he c h ild re n w a n t n o th in g b u t telev isio n .
[‘T h e c h ild re n w an t to do n o th in g b u t w a tch telev isio n .’]
Negation 793
In local n e g atio n , a n in itial n eg ativ e a d v erb ial do es n o t cau se s u b je c t-

o p e rato r in v ersio n ( c f 10.58/). W e m ay th erefo re c o n tra st local n e g atio n in
th e [a] se n ten c es b elo w w ith clause n eg atio n in th e [b] sentences. T h e [a]
sen ten ces a re d istin c tly less u s u a l:
In n o tim e w e c le a r e d th e ta b le .
( [‘W e c le are d th e ta b le w ith in a sh o rt tim e .’] [18a]
A t n o tim e w as w a r as im m in en t as now.
[‘W a r w a s n ’t a s im m in e n t as now a t an y p re v io u s tim e .’] [18b]
N o t e v en te n y ears ag o you could see such a film.

[‘Y ou co u ld see su c h a film as recen tly as te n y ears ag o .’] [19a]
N o t ev en te n y ears ag o could you see such a film .
[‘Y ou c o u ld n ’t see su ch a film ev en ten y ears ag o .’] [19b]
(E v en ) w ith n o c o a c h in g h e will p ass th e exam .

[‘H e w ill p a ss th e e x am (even) w ith o u t c o a c h in g .’] [20a]
• W ith no c o a c h in g w ill h e p ass th e exam .
[‘W h a te v e r c o a c h in g is p ro v id ed will n o t e n ab le h im
to p a ss th e ex am .] [20b]
T h e p a ra p h ra se s sh o w th a t sem an tically th e [a] sen ten ces a re p o sitiv e a n d

th e [b] sen ten ces a re n e g ativ e. T h e [a] sen ten ces ta k e a n eg ativ e ta g q u e stio n
(In no tim e we cleared the table, didn’t we?) w h ereas th e [b] sen ten ces ta k e a
p o sitiv e ta g q u e stio n ( A t no tim e was war as im m inent as now, was it?)
I t is c o n v e n ie n t to re fe r briefly here to th e uses o f th e n eg ativ e resp o n se
w o rd no. T h e se lectio n o f no is d e te rm in e d by w h e th e r it n eg ates th e im p lied
o r g iven s ta te m e n t:
A : I d i d n ’t d o to o g o o d a jo b to d a y . B : N o , y o u DIDn’t. [21]
A : I d id a g o o d jo b to d a y . B : N o y o u DIDn’t. [22]
N o tice th a t th e u se o f no is n o t d e term in ed b y th e sp e a k er’s d isa g ree m e n t

w ith a p re v io u s sp e a k e r’s sta te m en t, since in [21], u n lik e [22], sp e a k er B
agrees w ith s p e a k e r A . C o n tr a s t:
A : I d id n ’t d o to o g o o d a jo b today. B : Y es, you d id . [23]

A : I d id a go o d jo b to d ay . B : Y es, you d i d . [24]
Yes is used in [23] e v en th o u g h sp e a k er B disag rees w ith sp e a k e r A . T h e sa m e

, p rin cip le ap p lie s to re sp o n se s to yes-n o q u e stio n s:
A T -. • • n r , f Y es (, it Is).
A : Is it ra in in g ? B : - L . . ’ . '
6 [ N o (, it isn t).
B u t since th e y e s-n o q u e stio n typically asks fo r a resp o n se on th e tru th v alu e

o f th e co rre sp o n d in g s ta te m e n t (‘Is it o r is it n o t tru e th a t it’s ra in in g ? ’), th e
responses c o in cid e w ith a n assertio n (yes) o r a d e n ia l (no) o f its tru th value.
N o te [a] Local n eg a tio n also o cc u rs in co rrelatio n w ith but w h en n ot is p o sitio n ed befo re a clause
e lem en t ( c f 13.42)'.
T h e y w an t n o t y o u r p ity b u t yo u r help.
\ c f clause n e g a tio n : T h e y d o n ’t w a n t your pity b u t y o u r help.]
Y o u sho u ld p a y a tte n tio n n o t to w h at th ey say b u t to w h at th ey do.

I saw n ot 6 n e o f fic ia l, b u t t h r e e .
A to n e u n it b o u n d a ry is n o rm a l b efo re not.
[bj T h e y argued abo u t nothing is am b ig u o u s b etw een clause a n d local n e g a tio n : ‘T h ey d id n ’t
a rg u e a b o u t an y th in g ’ o r ‘T h e y arg u ed , but th e arg u m en t w as ab o u t n o th in g (o f significance)’.
[c] F o r not as a p ro -fo rm for a n e g a tiv e d ire c t ob ject clause (as in I believe not, I hope not , I guess
not), c /1 2 .2 8 .
N e gation o f m odal auxiliaries
P re s e n t fo rm s o f m o d als
10.67 T h e sco p e o f n e g a tio n m a y o r m ay n o t include th e m e a n in g o f th e m o d al
a u x iliaries. W e th e re fo re d istin g u ish b etw een a u x i l i a r y n e g a t i o n a n d m a i n
v e r b n e g a t i o n . T h e c o n tra s t is show n in th e tw o follow ing sen ten ces w ith
m a y not, w h e re t h e p a ra p h ra se s in d icate th e scope o f n e g a tio n :
A U X IL IA R Y N E G A T IO N
Y o u m ay n o t sm o k e in here. [‘Y ou a re n o t allow ed to sm o k e in h e re .’]

i____________________________i
M AIN V E R B N E G A T IO N
T h e y m a y n o t lik e th e p arty .
i_____________________i
[‘I t is p o ssib le th a t th e y d o n o t like th e p a rty .’]
W e g iv e e x am p les below o f th e m o d al auxiliaries, a cc o rd in g to w h e th er th e

sco p e o f n e g a tio n u sually in clu d es th e auxiliary o r e x clu d es it. T h e senses o f
th e m o d a l a u x ilia rie s a re d iscu ssed in 4.49ff.
A U X IL IA R Y N E G A T IO N
m a y n o t[ = ‘p e rm iss io n ’]
Y o u m ay n o t go sw im m in g . [‘Y ou are n o t a llo w e d . . . ’]

:_______ :___________________ i
cannot, can't [in a ll senses]
Y ou c a n ’t b e serious. [‘I t is n o t po ssib le t h a t . . . ’]

i--------- ;----------, x
Y o u c a n ’t go sw im m in g . [‘Y ou a re n o t allow ed t o . . . ’]
I_________:______________I
H e c a n ’t rid e a bicycle. [‘H e is n o t ab le t o . . . ’]
I_______________________i
need not, needn’t { b o th e sp B rE )
Y o u n e e d n ’t p a y t h a t fine. [‘Y ou are n o t obliged t o . . . ’]

i_________________________ I
I t n e e d n ’t a lw ay s be m y fault. [‘I t is n o t necessary t h a t . . . ’-]
i_____________________________ l
dare not, daren't
I d a r e n ’t q u a rre l w ith them ,

i________________________________i
[‘I h a v e n ’t g o t th e c o u rag e to q u arrel w ith th e m .’]

Negation 795
M AIN V ER B N E G A T IO N
m ay not [ = ‘p o ssib ility ’]
T h ey m ay n o t b o th e r to com e if i t ’s wet.
i__________________________ i
[‘I t is p o ssib le th a t th ey w ill n o t b o th er to c o m e . . . ’]
shall not, shan't <all se n se s; esp B r E ; shan't ra re e v en in B rE )
D o n ’t w orry. Y o u s h a n ’t lose y o u r rew ard.

I_________________l
[‘I ’ll m a k e su re th a t you d o n ’t lose y o u r re w a rd .’]
I s h a n ’t k n o w you w h e n you re tu rn . [‘I p re d ic t th a t I w ill n o t k n o w . . . ’]

I_______________:_ __________ l
m ust not, m u stn 't [‘o b lig a tio n ’]
Y o u m u stn ’t k e ep u s w aitin g .
i_________________ i
[‘I t is e ssen tial th a t you d o n ’t k eep us w a itin g ’]
ought not, oughtn't [b o th sen ses; fo r ought w ith th e b a re in fin itiv e, c f 3.43
N o te [a]]
Y o u o u g h tn ’t to k e ep us w aitin g , [‘o b lig a tio n ’]

I__________________ i
H e o u g h tn ’t to b e long, [‘te n ta tiv e in fere n ce ’]
i____________i
T h e d is tin c tio n b e tw ee n au x iliary a n d m ain n e g a tio n is n e u tra liz ed fo r w ill

in all its senses, as th e p a ra p h ra se s below in d ic a te :
D o n ’t w orry. I w o n ’t in terfere. [‘I d o n ’t in te n d to in te rfere ’; ‘I in te n d
n o t to in te rfere .’]
H e w o n ’t d o w h a t h e ’s told. [‘H e refuses to d o w h a t h e ’s to ld ’; ‘H e
in sists o n n o t d o in g w h a t h e ’s to ld .’]
T h ey w o n ’t h av e a rriv e d yet. [‘I t ’s n o t p ro b a b le th a t th ey ’ve a rriv e d
y e t’; ‘I p re d ic t th a t th ey h a v e n ’t a rriv e d y e t.’]
T h e a u x iliary n e g atio n o f m ust in th e logical n ecessity sense is u su a lly

a ch iev e d th ro u g h can’t:
T h ey m u st b e tellin g lies. [‘I t is c ertain th a t th ey a re tellin g lie s.’]

~ T h ey can't b e tellin g lies. [‘I t ’s n o t p o ssib le th a t th ey a re tellin g lie s .’]
B u t m u st n ot a n d m u stn ’t o ccu r in th is sense o ccasio n ally in A m E a n d , still
m o re o ccasionally, in B rE . T h is use (in stead o f can't ) seem s to b e g a in in g
favour. A less e m p h a tic n e g atio n o f m u st in th e sam e sense m ay b e a c h ie v e d
w ith needn’t a n d don't have to <esp A m E ) , b o th o f w h ic h h a v e th e e p is te m ic
m ea n in g s o f ‘n o t n ecessary ’ a n d ‘n o t o bliged to ’:
I t m u st b e h o t n o w in F lo rid a.
Tt f d o esn ’t h a v e to ! , , . . .,
~ It ( . . 1 b e h o t in F lo rid a now .
[n e e d n t J
[‘I t ’s n o t c e rta in th a t it is h o t in F lo rid a n o w ’ o r ‘I t ’s n o t n e cessarily
th e case t h a t it is h o t in F lo rid a n o w .’]
T h e a u x ilia ry n e g atio n o f m u s t in th e o b lig a tio n sen se is n e e d n 't o r d o n ’t h a v e

to :
A : M u s t we p a c k n o w ?
„ f d o n ’t h a v e t o ] . ...,
B : N o , we -j neecjn >t 1 p a ck till to m o rro w .
[‘I t is n o t n e ce ssa ry fo r us to p a c k till to m o rro w ’; ‘W e a re n o t o b lig ed

to p a ck till to m o rro w .’]
B e c a u s e o f t h e d i a m e t r i c o p p o s i t i o n o f m e a n i n g b e t w e e n ‘p e r m i s s i o n ’ a n d
‘o b l i g a t i o n ’, a n o d d - s e e m i n g e q u i v a l e n c e e x i s t s b e t w e e n m a y n o t [‘n o t
p e r m i t t e d t o ’] a n d m u s t n ’t [‘o b li g e d n o t t o ’] :
Y o u m u stn ’t g o sw im m in g today.
i___________________ i
= Y o u m ay n o t go sw im m in g to d ay .
I____________________________ i
I n th e p o ssib ility sense, c a n n o t a n d c a n 't, w h ic h ta k e au x iliary n e g atio n ,
c o n tr a s t w ith m a y n o t, w h ich tak es m a in v e rb n e g a tio n :
S h e c a n ’t be serious. [‘I t ’s n o t p o ssib le t h a t s h e ’s serio u s.’]

i ___________ I
S h e m a y n o t b e serious. [‘I t ’s p o ssib le th a t sh e ’s n o t serious.’]
i____________i
P a s t fo rm s o f m odals
10.68 T h e p a s t ten se n e g a tiv e au x iliaries ( m ig h tn 't, c o u ld n 't, w o u ld n 't, s h o u ld n 't)
fo llo w th e sam e n e g a tiv e p a tte rn as th e ir p re s e n t ten se eq u iv a len ts (b u t c f
4 .6 t f ) :
J
AUXILIARY NEGATION
c o u ld n o t, c o u ld n ’t [in all senses]
S h e c o u l d n ’t b e S E R ious. [‘I t is n o t p o s s i b l e . . . , is i t ? ’]
i ___________________ i
W e co u ld n ’t sm o k e in th e re sta u ra n t. [‘W e w ere n o t allow ed t o . . . ’]

i I_________________________ I
I X
H e co u ld n ’t d riv e a car. [‘H e w as n o t a b le to . . . ’]
I______ !----------------1
MAIN VERB NEGATION
m i g h t n o t , m ig h t n 't
T h e y m iglit n o t b e tellin g lies. [‘I t is p o ssib le th a t th ey a re n o t . . . ’]

I_________________i
s h o u l d n o t, s h o u ld n ’t [a ll senses]
Y o u sho u ld n ’t say a n y th in g . [‘Y ou a re a d v ised n o t to sa y a n y th in g .’]

i______________i
W e sh o u ld n ’t b e long. [‘A c co rd in g to m y in fo rm a tio n , w e w o n ’t b e
i------------- 1 lo n g ’.]
T h e y sh o u ld n ’t be th e re yet. [‘I t is p ro b a b le th a t th ey a re n o t th e re y e t.’]

i____________ i
Negation 797
A s is th e case w ith will (c f 10.67), th e d istin ctio n b e tw ee n a u x iliary a n d

m a in v e rb n e g atio n is n e u tra liz ed fo r would in all senses:
H e w o u ld n ’t c a rry th e b ab y , [‘refused to carry ’ o r ‘in sisted o n

n o t c a rry in g ’]
H e u sually w o u ld n ’t d riv e to w o rk , [‘w as n o t in th e h a b it o f d riv in g ’ o r
‘w as in th e h a b it o f n o t d riv in g ’]
T h a t w o u ld n ’t b e th e d o o rb ell. [‘I t ’s n o t p ro b ab le t h a t i t ’s th e d o o rb ell’
o r ‘I p re d ic t th a t i t ’s n o t th e d o o rb ell.’]
T h e p a s t ten se n e g ativ e au x iliaries d isplay co n tra sts in th e scope o f

n e g atio n sim ila r to th o se fo r th e p re sen t ten se form . C ould n o t a n d c ouldn’t
c o n tra st w ith m ight n o t a n d m ig h tn 't:
She c o u ld n ’t be serious. [‘I t ’s n o t possible th a t sh e is se rio u s’ o r ‘She w a s

n o t a b le to b e serious. ’]
She m ig h t n o t b e serious. [‘I t ’s possible th a t she is n o t se rio u s.’]
S im ila r c o n tra sts a re fo u n d b e tw ee n shouldn't, o n th e o n e h a n d , a n d couldn’t,
needn’t, a n d don’t have to, o n th e o th e r h a n d :
I t sh o u ld n ’t b e h o t in F lo rid a now . [‘I t ’s likely th a t it’s n o t h o t in

F lo rid a n o w .’]
I t co u ld n ’t b e h o t in F lo rid a now . [‘I t ’s n o t p o ssib le t h a t i t ’s h o t in
F lo rid a n o w .’]
j t I needn t 1 b e h o t in F lo rid a now .

I^doesn t h a v e to j
[‘I t ’s n o t c e rta in th a t it’s h o t in F lo rid a n o w .’]
N o te [a] M ig h t a n d m ig h t n o t in th e p e rm issio n sense are rare, occurring chiefly in p o lite q u e s tio n s :

M ig h t I (n o t) h av e a w o rd w ith y o u ?
I w o n d e r w h e th e r I m ig h t (n o t) h a v e a w o rd w ith you.
[b] T h e m a rg in a l m o d a l au x ilia ry n ee d fo rm s its p a st eq u iv alen t w ith have < esp B r E ) :
Y o u n e e d n ’t h a v e p a id th a t fine. [‘Y o u d id n ’t need to p a y . . . < B rE a n d A m E > ]
1_____________________ I
T h e m a rg in a l m o d a l a u x ilia ry dare h a s a p a s t fo rm dared <esp B r E ) :
I d a re d n o t q u a rre l w ith th em .
I___________________ I
N eg a tio n w ith do a n d th e b a r e in fin itiv e is usual b o th for th e p re s e n t an d th e p a s t:
I d a r e q u a rre l w ith th e m .
T h e lexical v erb s a re m o re c o m m o n ly u sed : did n't need to, d idn’t dare to ( c f 3.4 0 (7 for a m o re
d etailed discussion).
Predication negation
10.69 V ery rarely , p r e d i c a t i o n n e g a t i o n o ccurs in th e c o n te x t o f d en ials a n d
p erm issio n . I n p re d ic a tio n n e g a tio n , a m o d al au x iliary is u sed w ith a d iffere n t
scope o f n e g atio n th a n is n o rm a l fo r th a t auxiliary. W ith a sp e c ia l e m p h a tic
p au se b efo re not, o n e m ig h t sa y :
T h ey m ay 'n o t g o sw im m in g . [‘T h ey a re allow ed n o t to g o sw im m in g .’]

i_______________ I
Y o u c a n (sim ply) 'n o t o bey th e order. [‘I t ’s possible fo r you n o t to obey

I------------------------1 th e o rd e r.’]
I n s u c h in sta n c e s o f m a in v e rb n eg atio n , th e clause is n o t n e g ated (c/1 0 .5 7 ),

s in c e w e c a n say (th o u g h it is u n u su al to d o so ):
A : T h e y d o n ’t w a n t to go sw im m ing.
B : I suppose so. O K , le t’s agree th a t th ey m ay 'n o t go sw im m in g .
A : y e s , th e y m F y .
Y o u c a n 'n o t obey th e o rd e r, c a n ’t yo u ?
O n th e o th e r h a n d , th is p re d ic a tio n n e g atio n differs fro m local n e g a tio n ( c /

10.66) in th a t it c a n ex te n d o v e r several clause elem en ts b e g in n in g w ith th e
m a in v e rb .
P re d ic a tio n n e g atio n m ay also b e follow ed b y n o n assertiv e f o r m s :
Y o u c o u ld 'n o t a tte n d a n y o f th e m eetin g s. [‘I t ’s po ssib le fo r y o u n o t to

a tte n d a n y o f th e m ee tin g s.’]
B e c a u se b o th k in d s o f n e g atio n m ay o ccu r w ith th e sa m e au x iliary ,

a c c e p ta b le in stan c es o f tw o n e g ato rs in th e sam e clause so m e tim es a r is e :
I c a n ’t 'n o t o b ey h er. [‘I t ’s n o t p o ssib le for m e n o t to ob ey h e r ’, ‘I h a v e

to o b ey h e r .’]
Y o u c a n ’t 'n o t a d m ire h im . [‘I t ’s n o t po ssib le fo r you n o t to a d m ire
h im ’, ‘Y o u h a v e to a d m ire h im .’]
M o re n a tu ra l w ays o f e x p ressin g a co rresp o n d in g n e g atio n w o u ld b e :
I c a n ’t h elp o b ey in g h er.
I c a n ’t h e lp b u t o b e y h er. [‘T h e only th in g I can d o is to o b e y h e r .’]
Y o u c a n ’t h elp a d m irin g h im .
Y o u c a n ’t (h elp ) b u t a d m ire him .
O n th e su b ju n c t use o f but, c/8 .1 1 1 .
O ccasio n ally , tw o n e g ato rs m ay be used w ith au x iliaries o th e r th a n m o d a ls :
S h e d id n ’t 'n o t lik e th em . [‘She d id n ’t d islik e th e m .’]

T h e y don*t o ften 'n o t re m e m b e r h e r b irth d ay .
[‘T h ey d o n ’t o fte n fail to re m e m b e r h e r b irth d a y .’]
H e h a s n ’t e v e r 'n o t u n d e rsto o d a lecture.
[‘H e h a s n ’t e v e r failed to u n d e rsta n d a lectu re.’]
D o u b le negation
10.70 A s w e h a v e seen in 10.69, tw o n eg ativ es occasionally o c c u r in th e sam e
clau se. O u r e x am p le th e re in v o lv ed a co m b in atio n o f a u x ilia ry a n d m ain
v e rb n e g atio n , b u t o th e r co m b in a tio n s o ccu r:
N o t m an y p eo p le h a v e n o w h ere to live. [‘M o st peo p le h a v e so m ew h ere

to liv e .’]
N o o n e h a s n o th in g to o ffer to society. [‘E v ery o n e h a s so m e th in g to
offer to so ciety .’]
N o b o d y h as n o th in g to e at. [‘E v ery o n e h a s so m eth in g to e a t .’]
Negation 799
N o t all im p e ra tiv e s h av e no subject. [‘Som e im p erativ es h a v e a

su b je ct.’]
N e v er b e fo re h a d n one o f th e co m m itte e m em b ers su p p o rte d the
m ayor.
[‘S o m e o f th e c o m m ittee m em b e rs h a d alw ays su p p o rte d the
m a y o r b e fo re .’]
N o n e o f u s h a v e n e v er to ld lies. [‘AH o f us h a v e told lies a t so m e tim e .’]
T h ese se n ten c es a re so m ew h at sim ila r to th e do u b le n eg ativ e o f logic: e a c h

neg ativ e h a s its s e p a ra te value, a n d it is possible to find p a ra p h ra se s, lik e
th o se ju s t g iv en , w h ic h can cel o u t e a c h n e g ativ e, leav in g a n e n tirely p o s itiv e
sen ten ce in m ea n in g . S yntactically, how ev er, th e sen ten ces a re n e g a tiv e ; fo r
exam ple, th ey re q u ire p o sitiv e ta g q u estio n s ( c /1 1 .8 # ):
N o t all im p e ra tiv e s h a v e n o subject, d o th e y l
T h e d o u b le n e g a tio n in s ta n d a rd E n g lish is very d ifferen t fro m th e d o u b le

o r m u ltip le n e g a tio n in n o n sta n d a rd E n g lish , w h ere th e a d d itio n a l n e g a tiv e s
are used in p la c e o f n o n a ssertiv e w o rd s in s ta n d a rd E n g lish ( c / 10.63 N o te ).
T h e a d d itio n a l n e g ativ es in n o n sta n d a rd E n g lish d o n o t c an c el o u t p re v io u s
negatives.
O n m a jo r th e o re tic a l discussions, see C h a fe (1970); C h o m sk y (1957; 1965); L yons (1 9 7 7 );
Stockw ell e t al (1973).
O n sy n tac tic stru c tu re s a n d fu n ctio n s, see B ach (1967); D ulikova (1976); EUeg&rd (1 9 7 8 )
for freq u en cy d a t a ; G le a so n (1965), esp C h a p te r 13; H allid ay (1 967-68); K e e n a n (1 9 7 6 );
M atth ew s (1980); M ittw o c h (1971); S m ith (1978).
O n se m a n tic ro les, see A n d erso n (1977); C h a fe (1970), esp C h ap ters 9 & 12; D ik (1978), e s p
C h ap ters 3 - 5 ; F illm o re (1968; 1977b); H allid ay (19 6 7 -6 8 ); L o ngacre (1976), C h a p te r 2 ; L y o n s
(1977), C h a p te r 12; S chlesinger (1979).
O n it a n d there , see B olinger (1977a), C h a p te rs 4 & 5.
O n co g n a te a n d ev e n tiv e o bjects, see B aro n (1971); N ic k e l (1968); O isson (1961); W ie r z b ic k a
(1982).
O n n u m b e r co n c o rd , see J u u l (1975).
O n vo cativ es, see W h itc u t (1980); Z w ick y (1974).
O n n eg a tio n , see B olinger (1977a), C h a p te rs 2 & 3 ; H o rn (1978a); Ja c k e n d o ff (1 9 6 9 );
Jesp ersen (1917); K lim a (1964); Stockw ell e t al (1973), C h a p te r 5; T o ttie (1 977; 1980).
Sentence types and discourse
functions
11.1-3 Sentence types 803

.1 F o r m a l c la s s ific a tio n 803
.2 D is c o u r s e f u n c t i o n s 803
.3 Illo c u tio n a ry a c t s 804
11.4-23 Questions 806

.4 M a jo r c la ss e s 806
.5-13 Y e s-n o q u e s tio n s 807
.5 F o r m o f y e s - n o q u e s tio n s 807
.6 P o s itiv e y e s - n o q u e s tio n s 808
.7 N e g a tiv e y e s - n o q u e s tio n s 808
.8-11 T a g q u e s tio n s 810
.10 T a g q u e s tio n s w ith im p e ra tiv e s a n d e x c la m a tiv e s 813
.11 I n v a r ia n t t a g q u e s tio n s 814
.12 D e c la ra tiv e q u e s tio n s 814
.13 Y e s -n o q u e s tio n s w ith m o d a l a u x ilia rie s 815
.14-19 R 7 i- q u e s t io n s 817
.14 F o r m o f w / i- q u e s tio n s 817
.15 F u n c t i o n s o f w /i- e le m e n t 818
.16 P o s i t i v e w A - q u e s tio n s 819
.17 N e g a t i v e w A - q u e s tio n s 820
.18 P u s h d o w n w / i- e le m e n t 821
.19 M o r e t h a n o n e w /i- e le m e n t 822
.20-21 A lte rn a tiv e q u e s tio n s 823
.22-23 M in o r ty p e s o f q u e s tio n s 825
.22 E x c la m a to ry q u e s tio n s 825
.23 R h e to ric a l q u e s tio n s 825
11.24-30 Directives 827

.24 D ire c tiv e s w ith o u t a s u b je c t 827
.25 D ire c tiv e s w ith a s u b je c t 828
.26 D ire c tiv e s w ith le t 829
.27 S u m m a ry o f f o r m s o f im p e ra tiv e s 830
.28 N e g a tiv e im p e ra tiv e s 830
.29 Illo c u tio n a ry f o r c e o f im p e ra tiv e s 831
.30 D o w ith p o s itiv e im p e ra tiv e s 833
11.31-32 Exclamatives 833

11.33--37 Echo utterances 835
.34 R e c a p itu la to r y e c h o q u e s tio n s 835
.35 Q u e s tio n s a b o u t q u e s tio n s 836
.36 E x p lic a to ry e c h o q u e s tio n s 837
.37 E c h o e x c la m a tio n s 837
11.38--52 Irregular sentences 838

.39 S e n te n c e s w ith o p ta tiv e s u b ju n c tiv e 839
.40 I r r e g u l a r w A -q u e s tio n s 839
.41 S u b o r d in a te c la u se s a s irr e g u la r s e n te n c e s 841
.42 A d v e rb ia ls a s d ire c tiv e s 842
.43 A p h o ris tic s e n te n c e s 843
.44 S u b je c t - p l u s - c o m p l e m e n t c o n s t r u c t i o n s 844
.45--47 B lo c k l a n g u a g e 845
.46 N e w s p a p e r h e a d lin e s 845
.47 P e r s o n a l le tte rs , c a b le s , d ia rie s 846
.48 A b b r e v ia te d s e n te n c e s i n in s tru c tio n a l w ritin g 847
.49 A b b r e v i a t e d s e n t e n c e s i n in f o r m a l c o n v e r s a t i o n 848
.50 A b b r e v ia te d s e n te n c e s in b ro a d c a s t c o m m e n ta r ie s 848
.51 E l l i p t i c a l s e n t e n c e s i n d i a lo g u e 848
.52 E llip tic a l s e n te n c e s w ith o u t c h a n g e o f s p e a k e r 849
11.53--55 Nonsentences 849

.54 F o rm u la e 852
.55 In te rje c tio n s 853

Sentence types 803
Sentence types
Form al classification
11.1 I n C h a p te r 10 w e d escrib ed th e sim ple se n ten ce p rim a rily in term s o f
d e clara tiv e sen ten ces. W e n ow tu rn to th e o th e r m ajo r ty p es o f se n ten c es.
T h ese are m o re easily describ ed in relatio n to th e d e clara tiv e , sin ce to
d escrib e th em w e re q u ire a d d itio n a l rules; fo r ex am p le, w e n eed rules fo r th e
in sertio n o f DO as o p e ra to r in m an y yes-n o in terro g ativ es, fo r th e in itia l
p o sitio n in g o f th e wA-element in wA -interrogatives a n d in ex clam ativ es, a n d
fo r th e p resen ce o r (generally) ab sen ce o f a n o rm ally o b lig ato ry su b je ct in
im p erativ es.
S im ple sen ten ces m ay b e d iv id ed in to fo u r m ajo r sy n ta ctic ty p e s
d ifferen tiated by th e ir form . T h e ir use co rrelates largely w ith d iffere n t
d isco u rse fu n c tio n s ( c /1 1.2).
(I) d e c l F r F t i v e s are sen ten ces in w h ic h th e subject is p re se n t a n d

gen erally p re ced es th e v e r b :
P a u lin e g av e T o m a d ig ital w a tch for his b irth d a y .
O n ex cep tio n al d eclara tiv e s n o t co n ta in in g al su b ject c / 1 2 .4 6 #
(II) in t e r r o g F t iv e s a r e s e n te n c e s w h ic h a r e fo rm a lly m a r k e d in o n e o f
tw o w a y s:
(i) y e s-n o in te rro g a tiv e s : th e o p e rato r is p lac ed in fro n t o f th e s u b je c t:
D id P a u lin e g iv e T o m a d ig ita l w a tch fo r h is b irth d a y ?
(ii) w A -interrogatives: th e in terro g ativ e wA-element is p o sitio n e d in itia lly :
W h a t d id P a u lin e give T o m fo r his b irth d a y ?
(III) i m p e r F t i v e s a re sen ten ces w h ich n o rm ally h av e n o o v e rt g ra m m a tic a l

subject, a n d w hose v e rb h a s th e b a se fo rm (c /3 .2 ):
G iv e m e a d ig ita l w a tc h for m y b irth d ay .
(IV ) e x c l F m F t i v e s a re sen ten ces w h ich h av e a n in itial p h ra se in tro d u c e d

by what o r how, u su ally w ith su b je ct-v erb o rd e r ( c / 11.31/):
W h a t a fine w a tc h h e receiv ed for his b irth d a y !
T h ere are also so m e m in o r sen ten ce ty p es, w h ich will b e c o n sid ere d in
11.38#.
N o te [a] F o r (II) above, th e o p e ra to r n ee d n o t b e placed im m ed iately in fro n t o f th e su b ject ( c / 1 1.7).

[b] F o r d e p e n d e n t in te rro g a tiv e s, c f 15 .5 /; for d e p e n d en t ex clam ativ es, c f 15.7; fo r c o rre sp o n d
ences in in d ire c t sp eech , r/1 4 .3 3 .
Discourse functions
11.2 A sso ciated w ith th ese fo u r sentence ty p es a re fo u r classes o f d isco u rse
fu n ctio n s:
(a) s t F t e m e n t s a re p rim arily used to co nvey in fo rm atio n .

804 Sentence types and discourse functions
(b ) q u e s t io n s a r e p r i m a r i l y u s e d t o s e e k i n f o r m a t i o n o n a s p e c if i c p o i n t
(c /1 1 .4 # ).
(c ) d ir e c t iv e s a re p rim a r ily u s e d to in s tru c t s o m e b o d y to d o s o m e th in g
(c /1 1 .2 4 # ).
(d ) e x c l F m F t io n s a r e p rim a r ily u s e d fo r e x p re s s in g th e e x te n t to w h ic h
t h e s p e a k e r is im p r e s s e d b y s o m e t h i n g (c /1 1 .3 1 /).
D ir e c t a sso c iatio n b etw een sy n tactic class a n d sem an tic class is th e n o rm ,

b u t t h e tw o classes do n o t alw ays m atc h , as th e follow ing sen ten ces i llu s tr a te :
P a u lin e g a v e T o m a dig ital w F t c h ? [1 ]

W hat do i c are? [2]
I ’d 'love a c u p o f t e F . [3]
I s n ’t C h ristin e C L E v e r! (4]
[1] is a d e c la ra tiv e q u e stio n ( c / 11.12); it is sy n tactically d e c la ra tiv e b u t

se m an tica lly a q u e stio n . O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e rh e to ric a l q u estio n { c f 11.23)
in [2] is sy n tactically a n in te rro g ativ e b u t se m an tica lly a s ta te m e n t (‘I
c e rta in ly d o n ’t c a re ’). I n [3] th e d e clara tiv e is sem an tically a d ire c tiv e
su g g estin g th a t th e h e a re r b rin g th e sp e a k e r a cu p o f tea. F in a lly , [4] is
s y n ta ctica lly in te rro g a tiv e b u t sem an tically a n ex clam a tio n ; c o n tra s t H o w
clever C hristine is!, w h ic h is sy n tactically e x clam ativ e a s w ell as se m an tica lly
an e x clam a tio n .
N o te A tra d itio n a l te rm fo r d ire c tiv e is ‘co m m an d ’, b u t th a t h as a m o re restricted m e a n in g in th is

book, c f 11.29.
Illo cu tiona ry acts

11.3 T h e fo u r s e m a n tic classes o f disco u rse fu n ctio n s co n stitu te a clo sed c lass o f
se n ten c e c ateg o ries th a t d istin g u ish disco u rse fu n c tio n s a t th e m o st g e n era l
level. B u t w e c a n m a k e m an y m o re refined d istin ctio n s. F o r e x am p le, a
s ta te m e n t c a n b e used to m ak e a n a ssertio n [1], to m a k e a p re d ic tio n [2], o r
to o ffer a n ap o lo g y [3]:
E n g in e e rs a re b u ild in g m assive h y d ro electric p ro jects in C h in a . [ 1]

I t ’s g oing to ra in a n y m in u te now . [2]
I ’m so rry a b o u t th e delay. [3]
A sse rtio n , p re d ic tio n , a n d apology a re p ra g m a tic categ o ries th a t in d ic a te

how th e s e m a n tic classes o f sen ten ces a re used in a ctu al u tteran ces.
U tte ra n c e s # sen ten ces a re s p e e c h F c t s , ie acts o f v erb al b e h a v io u r
(sp o k e n o r w ritten ). W h e n a p erso n p erfo rm s a sp eech a ct, th a t p e rso n a t o n e
a n d t h e sam e tim e u tte rs a p a rtic u la r u tte ran c e , n am ely a l o c u t i o n F r y F c t .
W e u se i l l o c u t i o n F r y F c t to refer to a sp eech a c t id en tified w ith re fe re n ce
to th e co m m u n ica tio n in te n tio n o f th e h e arer. T h e in te n d e d effect o f a n
illo cu tio n ary a c t is its i l l o c u t i o n F r y f o r c e . O ccasionally, th e sp e a k e r
ex p licitly re fers to th e illocutionary a c t b ein g p e rfo rm e d by u sin g a
pe r f o r m F t iv e v e r | :
I apologize fo r m y re m ark s.
Y o u r p re sen ce a t th e m eetin g is reguested.
Sentence types 805
I p r o m is e you a b icy c le fo r y our b irth d ay .

Sm oking in th is c o m p a rtm e n t is fo r b id d e n .
B ut generally* p e rfo rm a tiv e v erb s a re n o t p re sen t in sp eech acts.

Illocutionary acts a re ty p ically associated w ith p a rticu la r se m an tic c lasses
o f sentences - fo r e x am p le, in q u iry w ith q u estio n s; an d req u ests, c o m m an d s,
an d in v itatio n s w ith d ire c tiv e s - th o u g h statem en ts a re related to a very larg e
ran g e o f illo cu tio n ary a c ts. B u t se m an tic a n d p ra g m a tic classes a re n o t alw ay s
d irectly asso ciated , a n y m o re th a n sem an tic classes an d sy n ta ctic types ( c f
11.2). Sentences fro m o n e se m an tic class are very o ften used to express a n
illocutionary a c t ty p ic a lly a sso ciated w ith sen ten ces fro m a d ifferen t se m an tic
class. In such in stan c es, th e sen ten ce retain s its n o rm al se m an tic statu s b u t
is a t th e sam e tim e in d ire c tly used to p erfo rm a n o th e r ty p e o f illo cu tio n ary
act. H ere are so m e e x a m p le s o f such i n d i r e c t s p e e c h a c t s :
I th in k y o u ’d b e tte r lea v e a t once, [req u est b y statem en t]

D in n e r is read y , [req u e st to com e to e a t by statem en t]
C ould you p lease m a k e less n o ise? [req u est by question]
D o you h a p p e n to h a v e a p e n cil? [req u est to be g iv en a p en cil
by question]
T ell m e w h a t y o u w a n t, [in q u iry by directive]
I ’d like to k n o w th e n a m e o f yo u r last em ployer, [in q u iry by
statem ent]
D o you w a n t a n o th e r c u p ? [offer by qu estio n ]
R em em b er th a t I ’m a lw ay s read y to help, [offer by d irectiv e]
W hy d o n ’t you ta k e a n a sp irin ? [advice b y question]
I ’d sell y o u r c a r if I w e re you. [advice b y statem en t]
T h e illo cu tio n ary fo rce o f a n u tte ran c e is d e p e n d e n t o n th e co n tex t, a n d a

p a rticu la r u tte ra n c e m a y h av e d ifferen t illo cu tio n ary fo rce in d ifferen t
contexts. F o r ex am p le, th e sen ten ce M y h u s b a n d w ill b e b a c k so o n m ay be
in ten d ed , am o n g o th e r po ssib ilities, as a p ro m ise, a th re a t, o r a w arn in g .
F u rth erm o re, th e c a te g o riz a tio n o f illocutionary acts m ig h t suggest d isc rete
d istin ctio n s th a t w e o fte n c a n n o t m ak e. T h u s W h y d o n ’t y o u ta k e a n a s p ir in ?
is in d eterm in ate, in th e s a m e c o n tex t, b etw een a d v ic e a n d re co m m e n d a tio n ,
an d W o u ld y o u l i k e to c o m e o u ts id e a n d s it in th e s u n ? is po ised b etw een
in v itatio n a n d su g g estio n .
N o te [til S om e p e rfo rm a tiv e v erb s m a y b e req u ired o r m ay be usual in ritu al o r legal situ a tio n s:
I sentence you to o n e y e a r’s im p riso n m en t. I n a m e th is sh ip D read n o u g h t.
T h e possible in sertio n o f hereby is a n in d icatio n o f th e p erfo rm a tiv e use o f th e v e r b :
I hereby n a m e th is sh ip D re a d n o u g h t.
T h e sam e verb m ay be u sed in sen te n ces w h ich m erely re p o rt th e p erfo rm a tiv e speech a c t :
She nam ed th a t sh ip D re a d n o u g h t.
[b] O n e type o f in d ire c t sp e e c h a c t involves h e d g e d p e r f o r m F t i v e s , w hich re fe r to th e
perfo rm an ce o f a sp eech a c t in d irectly , even th o u g h a perfo rm a tiv e verb is p r e s e n t:
I must apologize fo r m y b eh a v io u r.
I can swear th a t I lo c k ed th e door.
I would like to thank you fo r yo u r h ospitality.
I am happy to inform you t h a t you h av e passed th e ex a m in atio n .
F o r exam ple, in I m ust apologize fo r m y behaviour th e sen te n ce m erely refers to an o b lig a tio n to
perform an apology, b u t th e im p lic a tio n is th a t th e ac cep ta n ce o f th e o b lig atio n is e q u iv a le n t to
th e perform ance.
806 S e n te n c e types and discourse functions
[c] T h e in d ire c tn e ss o f a speech a c t is com m only du e to ta c t o n th e p a r t o f th e sp eak er, w h o

le av es i t to th e h e a re r to m a k e th e a p p ro p ria te inferences. T h u s, It's cold in here m ay indirectly
co n v e y a r e q u e s t to close a w indow o r d o o r o r to tu rn o n a h ea ter, o r it m ay in d irectly convey a
s u g g e s tio n f o r th o se p re s e n t to m o v e elsew here. T h e h ea re r is giv en a ch o ice o f responses.
S im ila rly , Your tie is not straight allow s th e h e a re r to d raw in feren ces, a n d is th erefo re m ore
p o lite t h a n Straighten your tie.
Questions
M a jo r classes
11.4 Q u e s tio n s c a n b e d iv id e d in to th ree m ajo r classes a cc o rd in g to th e ty p e o f
re p ly th e y e x p ec t:
(1) T h o s e th a t e x p ect affirm atio n o r n egation, as in H a v e y o u fin is h e d the

b ook?, a re y e s - n o q u e stio n s (c /1 1 .5 # );
(2) T h o s e t h a t ty p ically e x p ec t a reply from a n o p e n ra n g e o f replies, as in
W h a t is yo tir name ? o r H o w o ld are yo u ? are w h - q u e stio n s ( # 1 1 .1 4 # ) ;
(3) T h o s e t h a t e x p ec t as th e reply o n e o f tw o o r m o re o p tio n s p re sen te d in
th e q u e s tio n , as in W ould y o u like to go fo r a w a l k or s ta y a t h 6 m e ?, are
a l t e r n a t i v e q u e stio n s ( c / 1 1 .2 0 /) .
L o g ic a lly w ell-form ed rep lies, responses th a t co n fo rm w ith ex p ectatio n s,

are a s u b s e t o f p ra g m a tic ally a p p ro p ria te answ ers. M an y an sw ers th a t a re
a p p a r e n tly irre le v a n t b eco m e re lev an t in term s o f th e im p lica tu re s th ey
convey: '
A : H a v e you seen m y ch o co lates?

B : W ell,' th e ch ild ren w ere in your room th is m o rn in g .
I t is t h e r e f o r e p o ssib le fo r a q u e stio n to b e an sw ered b y a n o th e r q u e stio n :
A : A r e you g o in g to w a tc h telev isio n ag ain ?

B : W h a t d s e is th e re to d o ?
A : Is th a t y o u r b ab y ?
B : W h a t d o Y O U th in k ? [sarcastic: ‘O f course it’s m y b a b y .’]
A ny u tte r a n c e o f a q u estio n th a t has th e illo cu tio n ary fo rce o f a n in q u iry m ay

be a n s w e re d b y I d o n ’t know o r F m not sure, o r by a refu sal to a n sw er, eg: I t ’s
none o f y o u r busihess /im p o lite ) , o r by a n evasion, eg: G ood question, o r by a
c h allen g e to a p re su p p o sitio n o f th e q uestion, eg: D o y o u lik e Joan P arker? -
I don’t k n o w a n y Joan Parker.
Q u e s tio n s p rim a rily h a v e th e illo cu tio n ary force o f in q u irie s. B ut th ey a re
o ften u s e d a s d irec tiv e s co n v ey in g requests, offers, in v ita tio n s, a n d ad v ice
( c /1 1.3, 11.16/)< F o r e x clam ato ry a n d rh eto rical q u estio n s, c f 1 1 .2 2 /
N o te [a] A ffirm a tio n a n d n eg a tio n m ay b e conveyed by w ords o r ex p ressio n s o th e r th a n yes o r no, eg',
certainly', o f course ; not at all ; never. Yes-no questio n s m ay also b e an sw e re d by replies th a t lie
so m ew h ere a lo n g th e a ffirm a tio n -n e g a tio n scale, eg: probably, perhaps; It appears so; to some
extent; occasionally; very often.
Q uestions 807
[b ]An answ er may be truthful and yet misleading:

A : D id you enjoy the play?
B :N o .
B's answ er is truthful even if B has not seen the play, but it is misleading in that both the question
and the answ er imply th a t B had seen the play.
[c] W hile questions generally imply th a t the speaker does not know the answer, they are also
used in certain contexts where the speaker knows the answ er but wants to know w hether th e
hearer also knows it. Exam ples o f such contexts are written examinations, exercises in textbooks,
and questioning by teachers, parents, and interviewers to test the hearer's knowledge.
Y es-no questions
F o r m o f y e s - n o q u e s tio n s
11.5 Y e s - n o q u e stio n s a re u sually fo rm ed by p lacin g th e o p e rato r b e fo re th e
su b je ct a n d g iv in g th e se n ten ce a risin g in to n a tio n :
T he boat has l e f t . ~ H a s th e b o a t l e f t ?
A n n is w ritin g a PAPer. ~ Is A n n w ritin g a PAPer?
O u r te a m w as BEATen. ~ W as o u r tea m BEA Ten?
H e co u ld h a v e b ro k e n h is l e g . ~ C ould h e h av e b ro k e n h is l e g ?
S h e’ll b e w a i t i n g o u ts iD E . ~ W ill she b e w a i t i n g o u ts iD E ?
I f th e re is n o ite m in th e v e rb p h ra se th a t c a n fu n ctio n as o p e ra to r, d o is
in tro d u c ed , as w ith n e g atio n (c/1 0 .5 5 ):
T h ey liv e in S ydney. ~ D o th ey live in Sydney ?

H e r effo rts p ro v e d successful. ~ D id h e r effo rts p ro v e successful?
H e lik es d riv in g . ~ D o es he like d riv in g ?
A g a in as w ith n e g atio n , m ain verb | e fu n ctio n s as o p e ra to r; in B rE m a in

v e rb h F v e o ften acts a s o p e rato r, b u t inform ally h F v e . . . g o t is m o re
com m on:
P a tric k w as late . ~ W as P a tric k late ?

„. , ,. ( D o es she h av e a co ld ? <esp A m E )
She h a s a cold. ~ | H a s ^ ^ g coJ(J? <esp firE >
N o te [a] O b viously, 1st a n d 2 n d p erso n p ro n o u n s a re exchanged fo r on e an o th e r w h en a q u e stio n is

co n v e rted in to an -eq u iv ale n t s ta te m e n t in a logically w ell-form ed re p ly :
H a v e / m e t you b e fo re? ~ Y es, y o u h ave.
D o you like th is c lim a te ? ~ Y e s ,/d o .
[b] D ec la ra tiv e q u estio n s (c/T 1.12) are excep tio n al in n o t req u irin g su b je c t-o p e ra to r in v e rsio n .
[c] R isin g in to n a tio n is th e n o rm fo r y e s-n o q uestions, b u t falling in to n a tio n o cc u rs q u ite
freq u en tly . I n a co llectio n o f y e s-n o q u estio n s ta k e n fro m th e files o f th e S urvey o f E n g lish
U sa g e , chiefly in su rrep titio u sly reco rd e d u n scrip ted spoken m a terial, 430 q u estio n s e n d e d in a
rise a n d 290 in a fall. F u rth e r analysis show ed th a t y e s-n o q uestio n s w ith th e m o d a l o p e ra to rs
can, could, m a y, m ight, a n d w ould te n d ed to h av e alm o st as m a n y falling to nes a s risin g to nes.
[d] B y p la cin g th e n u c le a r stress in a p a rtic u la r p a rt o f a y e s-n o questio n , we a re a b le to fo cu s
th e in terro g atio n o n a p a rtic u la r item o f in fo rm atio n w h ich , u n lik e th e rest o f th e s e n te n c e , is
assu m ed to b e u n k n o w n ( c f focus o f n eg a tio n , 10.65). T h u s th e focus falls in d iffe re n t p la ces in
th e follow ing oth e rw ise id e n tic al qu estio n s:
W a s h e a f a m o u s a c to r in t h 6 s e d a y s ?
(T kn o w he w as o n c e a fam ous ac to r - b u t w as it th e n o r la te r? ’]
808 S en te nce types and discourse functions
Washea f F actorinthosedays?
m o u s
[‘I knowhewasanactorinthosedays- butwasheafamousone?’]

[e] Y e s -n o questionshavealsobeencalledpo l ar q ues tio ns ( / 10.54 Note[c]). c
P o sitiv e y e s -n o questions
11.6 L ik e n e g a tiv e sta te m en ts, yes-n o q u e stio n s m ay co n ta in n o n a sse rtiv e fo rm s
s u c h a s a n y an d ever (c f 10.60). T h e q u e stio n co n ta in in g su ch fo rm s is
g e n era lly n e u tra l, w ith n o b ias in e x p ec ta tio n to w ard s a po sitiv e o r n e g a tiv e
resp o n se.
STATEMENT QUESTION
Som eone c alled last n ig h t. D id anyone call last n ig h t?
T h e b o a t h a s le ft already. H a s th e b o a t left ye t?
I liv e som ew here n e a r D over. D o you live anywhere n e a r
D o v e r?
I su p p o se so m e o f th e class w ill ask D o you suppose a n y o f th e c lass
so m e b o rin g questions. will a sk any b o rin g q u e stio n s ?
B u t q u e stio n s m a y b e conducive, ie th e y m ay in d icate t h a t th e sp e a k e r is

p re d is p o se d to th e k in d o f an sw e r h e h a s w a n te d o r expected. T h u s, a p o sitiv e
q u e stio n m a y b e p re se n te d in a fo rm w h ic h is b iased to w ard s a p o sitiv e
an sw er. I t h a s p o sitiv e o rien tatio n , fo r ex am p le, if it uses a ssertiv e fo rm s
ra th e r th a n th e u su a l n o n assertiv e fo rm s :
D id som eone c all la s t n ig h t? [‘Is it tru e t h a t som eone called la s t n ig h t? ’]

H a s th e b o a t le ft already ?
D o y o u liv e som ewhere n e a r D o v e r?
A p o sitiv e q u e stio n m ay also h av e n eg ativ e o rien tatio n . N o tice th e effect o f

really i n : j
D o y o u really w a n t to leave n o w ? [‘S u rely you d o n ’t w a n t to .’]
A q u e s tio n th a t,is n o t c o n d u c iv e , ie t h a t h a s n o b ia s f o r e lic itin g a p o s i t i v e o r

n e g a tiv e r e s p o n s e , c a n b e s a id to h a v e n e u t r F l po l F r it y .
I
Note AssertiveformsinofferssuchasW ould y o u lik e som e ca k e ?maketheoffermorepolite, because
oftheassumptionof|apositivereply.
N egative y e s -n o questions
11.7 N eg ativ e q u e stio n s a re alw ays co n d u civ e. N e g ativ e o rien tatio n is fo u n d in
q uestions w hich, c o n ta in a n eg ativ e form o f o n e k in d o r a n o th e r :
H a v e th ey n e v er in v ite d y o u h o m e ?
A r e n ’t you jo in in g us th is e v en in g ? H a s n o b o d y called?
H a s n ’t h e to ld you w h a t to d o ?
N eg ativ e o rie n ta tio n is co m p lica te d by a n e lem en t o f su rp rise o r d isb elief.

T h e im p lic a tio n is th a t th e sp e a k er h a d o riginally h o p ed for a p o sitiv e
response, b u t n e w ev id en ce now suggests th a t th e response will b e n e g ativ e.
T hus, H a s n ’t he to ld you w hat to do? m e a n s ‘Surely h e h as told you w h a t to
do, h a sn ’t h e ? I w o u ld h a v e th o u g h t th a t h e h a d told you.’ H ere th e re is a
co m b in in g o f a p o sitiv e a n d a n eg ativ e a ttitu d e , w h ich o n e m ay d istin g u ish
as the o l d e x p e c t F t i o n (p o sitiv e) a n d n e w e x p e c t F t i o n (negative). B e cau se
Questions 809
th e o ld e x p ec ta tio n te n d s to b e identified w ith th e sp e a k er’s h o p es o r w ish es,

neg ativ ely o rie n ta te d q u e stio n s o ften express d isa p p o in tm en t o r a n n o y a n c e :
C a n ’t you d riv e stra ig h t? [‘I ’d h ave th o u g h t you’d be able to , b u t

a p p are n tly you c a n ’t.’]
A re n ’t you a sh a m e d o f y o u rself? [‘Y ou o u g h t to be, b u t it ap p ea rs
yo u ’re n o t.’]
N o tice th e n o n assertiv e item s in th e n e x t tw o ex am p les o f n eg ativ e o r ie n t

a tio n :
H a s n ’t th e b o a t le ft y e t ? [‘I ’d h o p ed it w ould h av e left by n o w , b u t it
seem s it h a s n ’t .’]
D id n ’t h e reco g n ize you either ? [‘I ’d th o u g h t h e w ould, b u t it seem s h e
d id n ’t .’]
I f a n eg ativ e q u e stio n h a s assertiv e item s, it is b iased to w a rd s p o sitiv e
o rie n ta tio n :
D id n ’t som eone c all la s t n ig h t? D id n ’t h e recognize you to o l
H a sn ’t th e b o a t le ft a lre a d y l
S u ch q u estio n s a re sim ila r in effect to type (i) tag q u estio n s ( c f 11.8), or

a lte rn ativ ely to s ta te m e n ts sh o w in g disbelief: ‘Surely so m eo n e called la s t
n ig h t!’
T h e p o sitio n o f th e n e g ativ e p a rticle varies acc o rd in g to w h e th er th e full
o r en clitic n eg ativ e p a rtic le is u sed ; n 't precedes th e subject, w h ereas not
gen erally follow s it:
D id n 't th ey w a rn you ? H a v en ’t th ey left ?
D id th ey not w a rn y ou? H a v e th ey not left?
T h e co n stru ctio n w ith n ot a fte r th e subject is gen erally c o n sid ered ra th e r

fo rm al, an d th ere fo re th e e n clitic is usually p re fe rre d in sp o k e n E nglish. T h e
fo rm al alte rn a tiv e is p a rtic u la rly u n lik ely if th e su b ject is lengthy. B oth o rd e rs
o bey th e g en eral ru le o f su b je c t-o p e ra to r in v ersio n , b u t since en clitic n ’t is
fused w ith th e o p e ra to r in to o n e g ra m m atica l w o rd , it n ecessarily m oves w ith
th e o p e rato r in su b je c t-o p e ra to r inversion.
Som e sp eak ers a c c e p t a th ird co n stru ctio n , also ra th e r fo rm al, in w h ic h
th e full p article is in th e sam e p o sitio n as th e e n c litic :
Is not history a social scien ce?

T h is co n stru ctio n is especially likely in fo rm al c o n tex ts w h ere th e su b je ct is
len g th y :
D oes not ev ery th in g w e see a b o u t us testify to th e p o w er o f D iv in e
P ro v id en ce?
T h e co n stru ctio n is a n a p p a re n t ex cep tio n to th e reg u lar p lac em e n t o f the

su b ject im m ed iately a fte r th e o p e rato r, b u t in p r in t it m ay m erely re p re se n t
th e p rin te d e q u iv a le n t o f th e a tta c h e d enclitic. F o cu sin g su b ju n cts ( c /8 .1 \ 6 f f )
c a n also a p p e a r b etw een o p e ra to r a n d subject, a n d th e ir p resen ce m a k e s a
p reced in g full p a rticle m o re likely in fo rm al c o n te x ts :
D id not even a sin g le stu d e n t com e to th e lectu re?

Note [ a ] Ifthesubjectisorcontainsaquantifier,thereisadifferenceinmeaningaccordingtowhether
.thenegativeparticleprecedesorfollowsthesubject:
Doesn’tanyoneknowtheanswer?[‘Surelysomeoneknowstheanswer.’]
Doesanyonen o t knowtheanswer?[‘Isthereanyonewhodoesnotknowtheanswer?’]
[b ] N egativeexclamatoryquestionsarediscussedin11.22,andnegativerhetoricalquestionsin
11.23.
[c] Althoughanegativesubjectofastatementcannotbereplacedbynot nonassertiveform
(c f 1 0.58), thesamerestrictiondoesnotapplytonegativequestions, wherethesubjectfollows
theclausenegatornot. TwoquestionformsthereforecorrespondtothesinglepositiveformN o
one b elieve s m e : D o e s no one believe m e? andD oesn’t anyone believe m e?
[d] Negativequestionssometimesoccuraselliptical responses. Thenegativequestionaffirms
thespeaker’sagreementwithwhatanotherspeakerhasjustsaid:
A: HerperformanceinR igoletto wasoutstanding. B:Yes,WAsn’tit?
Compareafullerresponseinwhichthetagquestionmightalsohaveafallingtone:
Yesitwas, wAsn’tit?
Thepositivequestionasresponsehere(wasit?)wouldsuggestthatthespeakerwasnotpresent
attheperformanceandthereforecannotexpressanopinion. Thepositivequestionisalsoused
toexpressdisagreement,oftenironically:
A: Isn’titalovelyday? B:tsit?
T a g q u e s tio n s
11.8 M a x im u m c o n d u civ en e ss is expressed by a fu rth er ty p e o f y e s - n o q u estio n
w h ic h c o n v e y s p o sitiv e o r n eg ativ e o rien tatio n - a ta g q u e stio n a p p en d e d to
a s ta te m e n t:
T h e b o a t h a s n ’t left, h a s it?
J o a n reco g n ize d y o u , d i d n ’t s h e ?
T h e g e n e ra l ru le s fo r fo rm in g th e m o st com m on ty p es o f ta g q u e stio n a re:
(a) T h e ta g q u e stio n c o n s i s t s o f o p e rato r a n d su b ject in t h a t o rd e r (enclitic

n ’t, i f p re s e n t, is a tta c h e d to th e o p erato r, c /1 1 .7 ): is h e ? , d i d n ’t s h e ? , c a n ’t
I ? , w i l l y o u ? . I n fo rm al E n g lish th e neg ativ e p a rticle is p lac ed a fte r th e
p r o n o u n : d i d t h e y n o t ?, is s h e n o t ? T h a t p o sitio n is u su al in in fo rm a l E n g lish
in N o r th e r n B rE d ialects.
(b) T h e o p e r a to r is g e n era lly th e sam e as th e o p e ra to r o f th e p reced in g

s ta te m e n t ( c /N o te [c] below ):
I h a v e n 't seen you b efo re, h a v e I ?
I f th e s ta te m e n t h as n o o p e rato r, th e dum m y a u x iliary d o is used, as for

y e s - n o q u e stio n s in g e n era l ( c /1 1.5):
S h e k n o w s you, d o e s n 't she?
(c) T h e s u b je c t o f th e ta g m u st be a p ro n o u n w h ich e ith e r re p ea ts, o r is in

c o refe ren c e w ith , th e su b je ct o f th e statem en t, ag reein g w ith it in n u m b er,
p e rso n , a n d g en d er.
(d) I f th e s ta te m e n t is p o sitiv e, th e tag is g en erally n e g ativ e, an d vice

v ersa (b u t c f 11.9).
(e) T h e n u c le a r to n e o f th e tag occurs o n th e au x iliary , a n d is e ith e r rising

o r fallin g .
Q uestions 811
F o u r m a in ty p es o f ta g q u estio n em erge fro m th e observ an ce o f th e s e ru les.

(T h e fo rm u la + S — T rep resen ts a p o sitiv e sta te m en t w ith fallin g n u c le a r
to n e follow ed by a n eg ativ e tag w ith risin g to n e. T h e o th er fo rm u la e a r e
sim ilarly ex p licab le.)
POSITIVE + NEGATIVE
RISING TONE F A L L IN G TO N E
(i) + S - f (iii) + S - f
H e lik es h is jo | , DOESn’t he? H e lik es h is j o b , D O E Sn’t h e ?
NEGATIVE + POSITIVE
RISING TONE FALLING TONE
(ii) - § + f (iv) - S + t
H e d o e sn ’t lik e h is jo | ,d 6es he? H e d o esn ’t lik e his jo | , d o es he?
T h e m ea n in g s o f th ese sentences, like th e ir form s, involve a s ta te m e n t a n d

a q u e stio n ; e ac h o f th e m , th a t is, a sserts so m eth in g , th e n in v ites th e lis te n e r ’s
resp o n se to it. S e n ten ce (i), for exam ple, c a n be ren d ered ‘I assu m e h e lik e s
h is jo b ; a m I rig h t? ’, (ii) m ean s th e o p p o site: ‘I assum e he d o e sn ’t lik e h is
j o b ; a m I r ig h t? ’ ( c f also 11.11). C learly th ese sen ten ces h ave a p o sitiv e a n d a
n eg ativ e o rie n ta tio n respectively. A sim ila r c o n tra st exists b etw een (iii) a n d
(iv). B ut it is im p o rta n t, a g ain , to se p a ra te tw o facto rs: a n F s s u m p t i o n
(e x p ressed b y th e sta te m e n t) a n d a n e x p e c t F t i o n (expressed by th e q u e stio n ).
O n th is p rin cip le, w e m ay d istin g u ish th e fo u r types a s :
(i) P o sitiv e a ssu m p tio n + n e u tra l e x p ec ta tio n + § - T

(ii) N e g ativ e a ssu m p tio n + n e u tra l e x p ec ta tio n - S+ f
(iii) P o sitiv e a ssu m p tio n + p o sitiv e e x p ec ta tio n + S —T
(iv) N e g a tiv e a ssu m p tio n + n eg ativ e e x p ec ta tio n — S —T
T h e ta g w ith a risin g to n e in v ites verificatio n , e x p ectin g th e h e a re r to d e c id e

th e tr u th o f th e p ro p o sitio n in th e sta te m en t. T h e tag w ith th e fa llin g to n e ,
o n th e o th e r h a n d , in v ite s co n firm atio n o f th e statem en t, an d h as th e fo rc e o f
a n ex clam a tio n r a th e r th a n a g en u in e q u estio n . I n th is respect, ty p es (iii) a n d
(iv) a re lik e (th o u g h n o t as e m p h a tic as) e x clam ato ry y e s - n o q u estio n s w ith a
fallin g to n e ( c /1 1.22). C o m p are , fo r ex am p le, I s n 't it w o n d e r fu l W E A th e r ! w ith
I t ’s w o n d e r fu l W E A th er, i s n ’t i t ? a n d W a s n ’t s h e A N g r y ! w ith S h e w a s A N g r y ,
w A s n 't s h e ?
Note [a] Thetagnormallymirrorsthesubjectandauxiliaryofthemainclauseofacomplexsentence.

Thereareexceptions,however,withverbslikesuppose whentheyareintroducedbya1stperson
subjectandfollowedbyar/kM-clause:
I supposeyou’renotserious,areyou? [not *
1supposeyou’renotserious,don’tI?]
Afurtherstageofirregularityisintroducedincasesoftransferrednegation( c f 14.36): I d o n ’t
suppose he's serious, is he? H ere, thesubjectofthetagistakenfromthe/Auf-clause, but the
absenceofnegationfromthetagisexplainedwithreferencetothenegativeparticleofthemain
clause,whichappliessem antically totherhut-clause,sinceI don't suppose he's serious isequivalent
toI suppose he isn't serious.
[b] Ifth esentenceislong, thetagquestionisoccasionallyinsertedinthemiddle, butbetween
constituents:
It’strue, isn't it, thatyou’rethinkingofgivingupyourjob?
[c] Thenegativetagquestionfollowingapositivestatementwithmodalauxiliarym a y posesa
problembecausetheabbreviatedformm ayn't israre(virtuallynotfoundinAmE). Thereisno
obvioussolutionforthetagquestion,thoughsomespeakerswillsubstitutem ightn't orcan't, or-
whenthereferenceisfuture- won't:
812 Sentence typ e s and discourse functions
?Imayinspectthebooks, *
?The3yma3ybeherenextweek, [wontthey? ■
Theunabbreviatedformisfullyacceptable,butlimitedtoformalusage:
I mayinspectthebooks,mayInot?
Theymaybeherenextweek, maytheynot?
Inatagquestionfollowingastatementwithused to ,theoperatorisdid:
. f d i d n ’t t h e y ?
T h e y u s e d t o w n t e to y o u , | d .d (h e y
(u sedn't<espBrE) (c/3.44)'|
They< usednot f towritetoyou,didthey?
(^didn’tuse<espAmE) J
Sh o u ld n 't isso metimessubstitutedforoughtn’t asanabbreviatedform:
Weoughttogonow,|o [shuoguhld
tnn,tw
'tw
ee
??
(Onaren't I , c f 3.32).
[d] Whenthefocusofapositivesentenceisonagradableunit, anegativetagquestionwitha
fallingtonecanbeusedasaresponseutterancetoexpressagreement:
A:Theirdaughterisveryclever.
B:(Yes,)isn’tshe? (‘I agree’]
Otherwise, thetagresponsewitharisingtoneexpressessurprise, thetagbeinginconstant
polaritywiththeprecedingstatement:
A:Theirdaughterisn’tveryclever.
B:isn’tshe?[‘I thoughtshewas.’]
A:They’removingtoNewYork.
B: they?[‘I didn’tknowthat.’]
F r e
A:Theyaren’tmovingtoNewYork.
B : AREn’t t h e y ? [‘I t h o u g h t th e y w e r e .’]
11.9 T h e re is a fu rth er, less com m on, type o f ta g q u e stio n in w h ich b o th s ta te m e n t

a n d q u e stio n arq p o sitiv e :
Y o u r c a r is o u tsiD E , is it?
Y o'u’ve h ad anA ccident, have you?
T h e ta g typically h a s a risin g to n e, a n d th e s ta te m e n t is c h ara cte ristica lly

p re c e d e d by oh d r so, in d ic a tin g th e s p e a k e r’s a rriv a l a t a co n clu sio n by
in fere n ce , or b y : recallin g w h a t h as a lread y b e en said . T h e to n e m ay
so m e tim es be o n e o f sa rcastic su sp ic io n :
So t h F t ’s y o u r little , g a m e , is it?
W e m ay th erefo re a d d a fifth, less usual, ty p e o f ta g q u estio n to th e e arlie r

fo u r ty p e s : '
POSITIVE + POSITIVE
RISING TONE
(V) + § + f
So he lik e s his job, does h e?
T h e tag o f this ty p e so m etim es h as n o nu cleu s, b u t is p a r t o f th e p re ce d in g
to n e u n it. Its effect m ay be scolding (O h, y o u ’ve h a d another accident, have
you?), sarcastic (S o that's your gam e, is it?), o r sarcastically c o n tra d ic to ry (So
yo u r car is outside, is it?).
Questions 813
N o te L ogically w e should e x p e ct a n e q u iv a le n t six th ty pe in w hich b o th sta te m e n t a n d ta g a re

n e g a tiv e :
NEGATIVE + NEG ATIVE
R IS IN G TONE
(v i)-S -f
So h e d o esn ’t l i k e h i s jo | , D O E Sn’t h e ?
T h is ty p e, how ever, has n o t b een clearly atte s te d in ac tu al use.
T ag questions with im peratives an d exclam atives

11.10 T ag q u estio n s can b e a p p e n d e d also to im p erativ e se n ten c es ( c f 11.24#},
w h ere th ey in v ite th e lis te n e r’s c o n sen t. F o r p o sitiv e im p e rativ es, ty p es (i),
(iii), a n d (v) a re av ailab le. T h e au x iliary in th e tag is usually won’t for th e
n e g ativ e a n d will fo r th e p o sitiv e , a n d th e subject is u sually you:
(i) O p en th e d o o r , w o n ’t y o u ?
(iii) O p en th e d o o r , w o n ’t y o u ?
(v ) O p e n th e d o o r , w il l you?
T y p e (i) tag is least in siste n t, a n d type (v) tag is m o st in sisten t. O th e r

a u x iliaries a n d subjects also o c cu r:
O p en th e door, c a n ’t y o u ?
H a n d m e a k n ife, w o n ’t so m eb o d y ?
T u rn o n th e lig h t, w ill so m eb o d y o r o th er?
Save us a seat, c a n o n e o f yo u ?
H a v e a n o th e r o n e, w h y d o n ’t y o u ?
N e g a tiv e im p e rativ es a re less co m m o n ly follow ed by ta g q u estio n s. T h e o nly

ty p e th a t seem s possible is w ill y o u ? in type (iv), w ith a fallin g to n e o n th e
ta g :
(i v ) D o n ’t m a k e a n o is e , w il l you?
T h e ta g is a p ersu asiv e so fte n er o f th e im p erativ e. H o w ev er, if th e will y o u ?

is n o n n u clear, it in creases th e p erem p to rin e ss o f th e d irectiv e.
F irs t p e rso n p lu ral im p e ra tiv e s ( c f 11.26) m ay ta k e sh a ll we? as a tag
q u e stio n :
L e t’s p l a y a n o t h e r g a m e , ] h a llw e ?
L et s n o t discuss it now , J
T y p e (iii) tag an d th e (only o ccasio n ally used) ty p e (i) ta g a re a p p e n d e d to

ex clam ativ es ( c /1 1.31/). T h e ta g q u estio n s in v ite th e h e a re r’s a g ree m e n t:
( iii) H o w t h i n sh e is, is n ’t s h e ?
(i) W h a t a b e a u tif u l PA lN Ting i t is, Isn ’t it? [‘O r d o n ’t y o u a g r e e ? ’]
T h e ta g m ay also b e a p p e n d e d to a b b re v ia te d verbless e x c la m a tio n s :
W h a t a b e au tifu l p a in tin g , is n ’t it?

H o w o d d , isn ’t it?
N o te T h e im p erativ es a n d th e ta g m ay be p o sitiv e a n d h av e falling tones, b u t th e sen te n ce is th e n

v ery perem p to ry an d is co n sid e red ill-m a n n e re d :
O p e n th e e > 6 o r , w iL L you?
814 S en te nce typ e s and discourse functions
I n v a r i a n t t a g q u e s t io n s
11.11 S e v e ra l o th e r ta g q u e stio n s in v itin g th e liste n e r’s response m ay b e a p p e n d e d
to s ta te m e n ts a n d ex clam atio n s. T h ey h a v e th e sam e form w h e th e r th e
s ta te m e n t is p o sitiv e o r n e g ativ e, a n d ta k e a risin g to n e :
am I right?
fo rg o t isn't that so?
T hey | to a tte n d th e lecture,
d i d n ’t f o r g e t don’t y o u th in k?
_wouldn’t yo u sa y ?
A g a in th e fallin g to n e is m o re in sisten t th a n th e rising tone.
N o te C o m m e n t clau ses (su c h as yo u know a n d I hope, c f 15.54) m ay in g en eral be co n sid e red in v a ria n t
ta g s, th o u g h th e y a re u su ally n o t qu estio n s.
D e c l a r a t i v e q u e s t io n s
11.12 N o t all y e s -n o q u e stio n s h a v e su b je c t-o p e ra to r inversion. T h e d e c la ra tiv e
q u e s tio n is a ty p e o f q u e stio n w h ic h is id en tica l in form to a d e clara tiv e ,
e x c e p t f o r th e fin al risin g q u e stio n in to n a tio n . I t is ra th e r casu al in to n e :
Y o u ’v e g o t t h e exP L O sive?
T h e y ’v e s p o k e n to th e am B A Ssador, o f c o u rs e ?
Y o u r e a liz e w h a t th e r is k s are ?
B o ris w ill b e t h e r e , I su p p o se?
H e d id n ’t fin ish th e r F c e ?
D e c la ra tiv e q u e stio n s a re co n d u civ e (c /1 1 .6 ), a n d resem ble ta g q u e stio n s

w ith a risin g to n e in th a t th e y in v ite th e h e a re r’s verificatio n . P o sitiv e
q u e s tio n s h a v e p o sitiv e o rie n ta tio n (c /1 1 .6 ), a n d can th erefo re a c c e p t o nly
a sse rtiv e fo rm s ( c f 1 0 .6 0 /):
H e w a n ts so m e th in g to e a t? ,
So m eb o d y is w ith you?
W h e n follow ed b y a c o m m e n t clause, th e d e clara tiv e m ay h a v e a fall:
f GAther.
Y o u realize ,w h at th e RlSKS a re , I -j h O p e .
I [ t r 6 s t .
N e g a tiv e q u e stio n s h a v e n e g a tiv e o rien tatio n , an d n o n assertiv e fo rm s m ay

b e u sed follow ing th e n e g a tiv e :
Y o u d id n ’t g e t a n y th in g to e a t?
Y o u w a n t n o th in g to e a t y e t?
N o b o d y e v er stays a t y o u r p lac e?
N ote [a] A s e co n d in terro g a tiv e use o f th e sta te m e n t co n stru c tio n is for echo q u estio n s (c f U . M f f ).
[b] A ta g q u e stio n m a y b e a d d e d to a d e c la ra tiv e q u e s tio n :
Y o u ’v e g o t t h e e x P L O s iv e , h F v e you ?
I n th a t ca se th e d e c la ra tiv e usually h as a fallin g to ne.
Questions 815
Y es-n o questions w ith m odal auxiliaries

11.13 T h e fo rm atio n o f y e s -n o q u estio n s w ith m o d al a u x iliaries is subject to c e rta in
lim itatio n s a n d s h ifts o f m ean in g . (F o r th e n e g atio n o f m o d al au x iliaries, c f
10.67/). T h e m o d a ls o f p e rm issio n (m ay <esp B r E ) , a n d can) an d o f o b lig a tio n
(m ust <esp B r E ) , a n d have to) generally involve th e sp eak er’s a u th o rity in
sta te m en ts a n d th e h e a re r’s a u th o rity in q u estio n s:
[‘W illyow p e rm it m e . . . ’]
[ 7 will p e rm it y o u . . . ’]
[‘A r e y o u tellin g m e . . . ’]
[ 7 am tellin g y o u . . . ’]
T h is m ean s t h a t th e q u e stio n fo rm a n tic ip a te s th e fo rm a p p ro p ria te fo r th e

answ er.
A sim ilar s w itc h fro m h e a re r to sp e a k er ta k e s p lac e w ith shall [volition],
w h ich (esp in B rE ) in v o lv es th e sp e a k er’s w ill in sta te m en ts, b u t th e h e a re r’s
w ill in q u e stio n s:
Y ou sh all suffer fo r t h is ! [ ra re ; 7 in te n d to m ak e you su ffe r. . . ! ’]

Shall I s w itc h o ff th e telev isio n ? [‘D o you w a n t m e t o . . . ? ’]
S h a ll is ra re w ith y o u a s su b je ct,'a n d generally in fre q u e n t in A m E , ex cep t fo r

in v itin g o r re q u e stin g a g ree m e n t (S h a ll we eat now 7). I t is u n lik e th e o th e r
m o d als in tw o re sp ec ts. F irs t, its use in q u estio n s is v irtu ally restricted to first
p e rso n su b jects. S econdly, its d e clarativ e use is n o t sym m etrical w ith its
in te rro g ativ e u se ; h e n ce , shall is n o t re p ea te d in th e response to a q u e stio n
w ith shall. T h e e x p e c te d resp o n se a fte r shall I a n d exclusive shall we is
ag reem en t, a n d m a y b e a 2 n d p erso n im p erativ e. A fte r inclusive shall we i t is
a 1st p erso n im p e r a tiv e :
A : Shall w e c a rry y o u r su itcases? [‘W o u ld you lik e us t o . . . ?’]
B : Y es, p lea se d o (so).
A : Shall w e h a v e d in n e r? [‘W ould you lik e us (in clu d in g you) t o . . . ? ’]
B : Y es, le t’s.
M a y in th e p o ssib ility sense is n o t o ften used in q u estio n s :
M ay w e b e d o in g h im a n in ju stice?
C an o r (m ore co m m o n ly in A m E ) could rep laces i t :
A: th e y h a v e m issed th e bus?
T h e h y p o th e tic a l u ses ( c f 4.62) o f th e a u x iliaries m ight [perm ission], w ould

[volition], a n d could [volition] req u ire sp ecial tre a tm e n t, since in y e s -n o
816 S e n te n c e type s and discourse functions
q u e s tio n s th e s e p a s t form s are regularly used fo r p o liten ess. I f m o d al

a u x ilia rie s a re re ta in e d , th e p re sen t form s a re gen erally su b s titu te d fo r m ight
a n d w o u ld in resp o n ses, a n d th e p resen t form is usual (or could:
A : M ig h t I c all you by yo u r first n am e?

B : Y e s, you m ay. [1]
A : W o u ld you p a y fo r m e?
B : Y e s, I w ill. [2]
A : C o u ld I see you fo r a m o m en t?
B : Y es, you can . [A lso m a y (e s p B r E ) , a n d less usually, could) [3]
A m o re c o m m o n re sp o n se fo r [1 - 3] w ould be (Y es,) ofcourse. O th e r resp o n ses

m ig h t b e (Y e s,) please do fo r [1] a n d I'll be g la d to fo r [2], T h e q u estio n s h av e
th e p o lite p a s t fo rm s a p p ro p ria te to th eir illo cu tio n ary fo rce a s requests.
N e e d (e sp in B rE ) is u sed a s a n o n assertiv e m o d al a u x iliary , a lth o u g h (esp
in A m E ) th e m a in v e rb need (c/3.41 f ) an d do have to a re c o m m o n su b s titu te s :
N e e d th e y lea v e n o w ? <esp B rE )
D o th e y j'j|^ j leav e n ow ?
B u t th e c o rre sp o n d in g p o sitiv e form s are m ust, have to, o r th e m a in v erb

need:
f m u st.
Y e s, th e y < h a v e to.
I^need to .
O n th e o th e r h aijd , m u st in th e necessity sense h as p o sitiv e o rie n ta tio n :
W h y m u s t it alw ay s r a in w h en w e w a n t to h a v e a p ic n ic ?
(O n th is la s t ex am p le, c f th e discussion o f rh e to rica l q u e stio n s in 11.23.)

N o tic e th e a sse rtiv e alw ays a fte r m ust, in co n tra st to th e p o ssib le n o n assertiv e
ever a f te r n e e d : \
I
M u s t i t alw ay s h a p p e n th is w ay ? \
N e e d it e v er [also: alw ays] h a p p en th is w ay?
D a re is o ccasio n ally used as a n o n assertiv e m o d al au x iliary , especially in

B rE . C o m m o n su b stitu te s a re th e m ain v erb dare a n d (esp in A m E ) th e b len d
c o n s tru c tio n w ith d are ( d o a n d th e bare infinitive, c f 3.42):
I
D o y o u d a re ko c a s t asp ersio n s on m y c h a ra c te r?
D a r e I su g g est a co m p ro m ise b etw een your tw o p o sitio n s? ( e s p B rE )
D o w e d a re tell th e m th e tru th ? (e sp A m E )
N e g a tiv e re sp o n se s m ay re p e a t th e sam e verbs, b u t p o sitiv e fo rm s re q u ire

th e m a in v e rb dare:
Y es, th e y d a re d to c o m p lain .
N o te A s w ith t h e n eg a tiv e, ought m a y o cc u r e ith e r w ith th e ro-infinitive o r w ith th e b a re in finitive

(c/3 .4 3 ).
Q uestions 817
W/?-questions
F orm o f ^ -q u e s tio n s
11.14 W7z-questions a re fo rm ed w ith th e a id o f o n e o f th e follow ing sim p le
in te rro g ativ e w o rd s (o r wh- w o rd s ):
who/w hom/whose, w hat , which, when , where, how, why
U n lik e y e s-n o q u e stio n s, w/z-questions generally h a v e falling in to n a tio n . A s

a rule,
(i) th e w'/t-element (ie th e clau se ele m en t c o n ta in in g th e w/z-word) co m e s
first in th e se n ten ce (a p a r t fro m so m e co n ju n cts, such as on the other ha n d ) ;
(ii) th e wh-w o rd its e lf ta k e s first p o sitio n in th e w/r-element.
T h e o nly ex ce p tio n to th e seco n d p rin cip le occurs w h en th e w h-w ord is w ith in
a p re p o sitio n a l c o m p lem en t. H e re E n g lish p ro v id es a ch o ice b e tw ee n tw o
c o n stru ctio n s, o n e b e in g fo rm al. I n fo rm al style, th e p re p o sitio n p reced es th e
co m p le m e n t, w h ereas o th erw ise th e co m p lem en t co m es first an d th e
p re p o sitio n is d e ferre d to th e e n d o f th e se n te n c e :
O n w hat d id you b a se y o u r p re d ic tio n ? <form al>

W h a t d id y o u b a se y o u r p re d ic tio n on ?
W e m ay p e rh a p s e x p ress th is d ifferen ce m o re n e atly by say in g th a t n e u tra l

style gen erally re q u ire s th a t th e wh- w o rd com es first, b u t fo rm al E n g lish
re q u ire s th a t th e w h s le m e n t as a w hole com es first.
N o te [a] Wfc-questions a re also ca lled in f o r m F t io n q u e s t io n s .

[b] T h e wh- w ords a re so m etim e s m odified (ex ce p t in fo rm al style) by th e in ten sifie r ever, w h ic h
e m p h asizes th e b afflem ent o r e m o tio n a l in v o lv em e n t o f th e sp eak er. U sually th e y a r e spelled a s
tw o s e p a ra te w ords, a n d w hy ever is in v a ria b ly spelled so. T h e y a re th e reb y d istin g u ish e d fro m
th e su b o rd in atin g wh- w o rd s whenever , whoever , however , etc.
W h y e v e r d id n ’t h e te ll m e ? H o w e v e r d id you find th e key?
W h a t ev e r a re you d o in g ? W h o e v e r w ould w an t su ch a m a g azin e ?
V ario u s o th e r w ays ex ist o f in ten sify in g th e em o tiv e effect o f a w /i-question:
W h o on earth o p en e d m y le tte r? <inform al>
W h o the hell a re yo u ? ( c a s u a l)
W h a t in heaven’s nam e d o you th in k you’re d o in g ? ( c a s u a l)
[cl I n a collection o f 858 w /j-questio ns fro m th e files o f th e S urvey o f E n g lish U sa g e, chiefly in
su rrep titio u sly reco rd e d sp o k en u n scrip te d m a te ria l, 775 h a d falling in to n atio n .
[d] O n facto rs affecting th e ch o ice betw een who a n d w hom , c f 6 .3 5 ,6 .3 8 ,7 . \4 ff.
[el T h e c o n stru c tio n w ith a p rep o sitio n in final p osition ( c f 9.6) is less d e s ira b le w h en th e
p re p o sitio n is rem o te fro m its co m p lem en t o r w hen it is sy n tactically b o u n d clo ser to th e
c o m p lem en t th a n to th e v erb . A w k w ard sen te n ces like W hat tim e d id yo u tell him to m eet us a t?
a re gen erally av o id ed . A se n te n ce lik e th a t w ould be rep laced by A t what tim e d id y o u te ll him to
m eet us? in fo rm al style o r, m o re g enerally, by W hen d id y o u te ll him to m e e t u s ? o r p rep o sitio n le ss
W hat tim e d id yo u te ll him to m e e t us ? T h e aw k w ard n ess reach es co m ic p ro p o rtio n s w h e n sev eral
final p articles co o ccu r: W hat d id y o u bring this book to be read out o f up fo r ?
T h e prep o sitio n s since a n d during o cc u r o nly a t th e b eg in n in g o f th e q u e s tio n : Since when d o I
have to explain m y actions to you?, D uring which years were y o u living in G erm any? U ntil is also
usually p laced in itially , alth o u g h till c a n b e regularly d eferre d : IW h e n are y o u staying until?,
W hen are y o u staying till? ( c f also 11.15 N o te [a]).
[f] T h e re a re occasio n al d e c la ra tiv e w h-questions, w here th e w /i-elem ent re m a in s in th e p o sitio n
n o rm a l in d ec larativ es for th a t item . T h e y a re asso ciated w ith in terv iew s an d in te rro g a tio n s :
A : So you b o ard e d th e tr a in w here ? B : A t Los A ngeles.
A : A n d you g o t off a t w hat station'! B : A t S an D iego.
T h e se d ec larativ e w h-questions a re to be distin g u ish ed fro m echo q u estio n s ( c f 11.3 4 /f).
818 S e n te n ce type s and discourse functions
F u n c ti o n s o f w A -e le m e n t
11.15 T h e fo llo w in g se n ten c es exem plify th e v a rio u s clause fu n ctio n s in w h ich th e
w /i-elem ent o p e r a te s :
W ho ever o p e n e d m y LETter? [w /i-e le m e n t : S] [13

W hich books h a v e yo u l e n t h im ? [w /i-e le m e n t: O d] [ 2]
W hose b ea u tifu l anr'iQUES a r e th e s e ? [ w /i-e le m e n t : C J [3]
H o w w ide d id th e y m a k e th e BOOKcase? [w /i-e le m e n t: C J [4]
W hen w ill y o u b e proM O Ted? [w /i-e le m e n t: A] [5]
W here s h a ll I p u t th e GLASSes ? [w /i-e le m e n t : A] [ 6]
W h y a r e th e y a lw a y s co m P L A lN ing? [w /i-e le m e n t: A] [7]
H o w d i d y o u m e n d it? [w /i-elem en t: A] [ 8]
H o w m u ch d o e s h e c F r e ? [w /i-elem ent: A] [9]
H o w long h a v e you b een w A rring? [w /i-elem ent: A] [ 10]
H ow o fte n d o y o u v isit N ew YORK? [w /i-elem ent: A] [ 11 ]
W e see a b o v e t h a t n o rm al sta te m en t o rd e r o f e lem en ts is alte re d in wh-

q u e stio n s n o t o n ly b y th e in itial p lac in g o f th e w /i-elem ent, b u t b y th e
in v ersio n o f su b je ct a n d o p e rato r in all c ases ex cep t w h en th e w /i-elem ent is
su b ject, w h e re th e ru le th a t th e w /i-elem ent ta k e s in itial p o sitio n a p p lie s,
o v e rrid in g th e ru le o f inversion.
S u b je c t-o p e ra to r in v ersio n is th e sam e in its a p p lic a tio n to w /i-questions
as in its a p p lic a tio n to y e s-n o q u e stio n s; if th e re is n o o p e ra to r in th e
e q u iv a le n t s ta te m e n t, d o is in tro d u ced a s o p e ra to r in th e q u estio n . T h e m a in
v e rb b e a n d (occasio n ally , esp in B rE ) h a v e a c t as o p e ra to r: W here is she?,
W hat k in d o f car have they ?
N o te [a] A d ju n cts o f in s tru m e n t, reason, a n d p u rp o se a re n o rm ally q u estio n ed b y th e p rep o sitio n a l

c o n s tru c tio n s :
W hat sh a ll I m e n d it with"! W hat d id you do th a t f o r i
A lth o u g h th e la tte r co u ld be rep laced b y W hy d id y o u do th at?, it h as n o a lte rn a tiv e w ith a
preposed p r e p o s itio n : *F or what d id y o u do th a t? I n th is resp ect it is lik e in fo rm al q u estio n s w ith
BE follow ed b y a final p r e p o s itio n : W hat was it lik e ? (b u t n o t * L ik e what was it ?); W hat was it in ?
(b u t not *In w h a t was it ?).
[b] A b b re v ia te d q u e stio n s c o n sistin g o f a wh- w o rd a n d a final p rep o sitio n (w h ich in th is
c o n stru c tio n reg u larly b e a rs nu clear stress), eg: W hatF dR ?, W here FR dM jrd?, W hat w i t h ?, W ho
w i t h / b y ?, a r e a s p o p u la r in in fo rm al sp eech a s q u estio n s c o n sistin g o f th e w/i-w ord o n ly :
Where?, W h y? , W ho? T h e re is a com m on a b b re v ia te d n e g a tiv e q u estio n W hy n 6 t ? { c f 11.17),
an d an in fo rm a l a b b re v ia te d reaso n question (esp in A m E ) H ow cdM E? ( c f also 11.40 N o te [a]).
[c] A lth o u g h th e re is n o w/j-word for th e verb , th e c o n te n t o f th e p re d ic a tio n ca n be q u estio n e d
b y what as th e o b je c t o f th e gen eralized ag e n tiv e v e rb do o r as su b jec t o f th e g en eralized e v e n t
v e rb happen :
A: W h a t a re you d o in g ? B : I ’m read in g .
A: W h a t h a v e y o u d o n e w ith m y bo o k ? B : I ’v e h id d e n it.
A: W h a t’s h a p p e n in g ? B : I t ’s snow ing.
[d] M any s p e a k e rs d o n o t ac cep t a n in d irect o b je ct a s w /i-elem ent: ? W ho(m ) d id y o u give th e
present ? T h e y use th e e q u iv a le n t p rep o sitio n al co m p lem en t c o n stru c tio n in ste a d : W ho(m ) d id
y o u give the p resent to ? o r (in fo rm a l style) To whom d id yo u give the present? S om e sp e a k e rs,
how ever, fin d th e c o n stru c tio n ac cep ta b le if th e re is n o am b ig u ity as to w h ich o b je ct is d ire c t
a n d w hich in d ire c t. (T h e re is am b ig u ity in * W ho d id y o u show yo u r daughter?)
[e] In w /i-questions o f th e S V C p a tte rn , it is possible to d istin g u ish b etw een n o u n p h ra se s a s S
a n d C by sig n a ls o f ca se a n d co n co rd , w here th e se a p p l y : W hich is m e ? (w /i-elem ent a s S - sa id ,
fo r exam ple, w h en lo o k in g a t a p h o to g ra p h ) c o n tra sts w ith W hich a m I ? (w /i-elem ent a s C ).
W hose in th e S V C se n te n ce p a tte rn m u st be C : W hose is that book?
Questions 819
T h e p o te n tia l resp o n se m a y also in d icate th e clause elem ents:

A : W h o w as H a m le t? B : M y b ro th e r w as.
[ W ho is S, id e n tify in g a ch a ra c te r in a play]
A : W h o w as A u g u stu s? B : A ugustus w as a R o m a n E m p ero r.
[ W ho is C , refe rrin g to id e n tity ]
A :W h a t w as yo u r b r o th e r ? B : H e w as H am let.
[ W hat is C , c h a ra c te riz in g a ro le in a play, c f 6.39]
N o tic e th e am b ig u ity o f W ho in th e fo llo w in g :
A : W h o is th e c a p ta in ?
f B : M y b ro th e r is. [ W ho is S]
\ B : T h e ca p ta in is m y b ro th e r. [ W ho is C]
[f] W hy <esp A m E ) a n d w h a t a re used in in fo rm al sp eech as in tro d u cto ry w ords to express
su rp rise, b o th w ith q u estio n s a n d w ith s ta te m e n ts :
W hy, w h a t d id sh e sa y ? W h a t, is th e bu s h ere alread y ?
W hy, th ey w on’t o b je c t. W h a t, he co u ld n ’t have passed.
W hy is also used in fo rm ally a f te r co n d itio n a l clauses, especially in A m E . I t is a m o re em p h a tic
c o n ju n ct th a n then ( c / 8 .135):
I f h e d o e s n ’t w a n t t o p r e s s c h a r g e s , w h y y o u s h o u l d .
[g] F o r irre g u lar w # q u e s tio n s - su ch as th o se begin n in g w ith how come, how about, a n d w hat
about - c / 11.40.
[h] H ow goes it? i s a s u r v i v i n g c o m m o n e x a m p l e o f a H’/ i - q u e s t i o n t h a t l a c k s t h e u s u a l o p e r a t o r
a n d i n v e r s i o n ( c f : H ow d id it g o ?).
[1] In te rro g a tiv e how h as v a rio u s senses. N o tic e th e am b ig u ity o f H ow does it work?, w h ere how
m a y re fe r to process o r effec t. H ow is also used as a w/i-word for a co m p lem en t as c u rre n t
a ttrib u te (c/1 0 .2 0 ):
A : H ow is sh e? B : F in e , (ev alu atio n o f h ea lth o r som e o th e r aspect]
A : H ow w as th e b o o k ? B : E x cellen t, [evaluative]
F o r how in th e n o n h e a lth e v a lu a tiv e sen se, W h a t . . . lik e ? is av a ila b le as a n in fo rm al synonym
( c f N o te [a] above). H ow , h ow m uch, how fa r , a n d to what ex te n t a re used w ith g rad ab le v erbs as
in ten sify in g w/?-elem ents: H o w d id y o u like her?, H ow m uch do y o u m iss him ?, H ow f a r do the y
agree with us ?, To what e x te n t w ould y o u trust them ?
Positive wA-questions
11.16 A wA-question m ay g e n erally b e m atc h ed w ith a s ta te m e n t called its
p resu p p o sitio n . T h is is a s ta te m e n t w h ich , in p lace o f th e w/z-element,
co n ta in s a n in d efin ite e x p ressio n su ch as som ebody. T h e p resu p p o sed
sta te m en t, w h ich is a ssu m e d to b e tru e by w h o ev er uses th e q u estio n ,
p reserv es o f co u rse n o rm a l s ta te m e n t o rd erin g . H en ce, if w e list th e
p resu p p o sitio n s c o rre sp o n d in g to som e o f q u estio n s [1 -1 1 ] in 11.15, w e c a n
clarify th e sy n tactic o rd e rin g o f w/z-questions in re la tio n to sta te m e n ts:
PRESUPPO SITION S
Som eone o p e n ed m y letter. [la ]

Y ou h av e len t h im som e o f the books. [2a]
Y ou w ill be p ro m o te d som etim e. [5a]
Y ou m en d ed it som ehow . [8a]
Y ou v isit N ew Y o rk som etim es. [H a ]
M odifying what a n d which (c/6 .3 9 ) h av e d ifferen t p re su p p o sitio n s:
W hat composer(s) d o you lik e b est?

~ Y ou like som e composer(s) best.
Which com posers) d o you lik e b est?
820 S entence typ e s and discourse functions
In so m e c ases th e re is n o sen sib le p re su p p o sitio n :
H o w d o es h e feel ? ~ *H e feels som ehow o r o th er.

W h e re w as sh e b o rn ? ~ She w as b o rn som ew here.
W h a t tim e is it? ~ I t ’s som e tim e o r o th er.
H o w sh o u ld I k n o w ?
W h y sh o u ld I?
A s th e a b o v e e x am p les in d icate, a p o sitiv e iv/i-question m ay generally be

m a tc h e d w ith a p o sitiv e p resu p p o sitio n . T h ere m ay , h o w ev er, b e n o
p re su p p o sitio n if n o n a sse rtiv e item s { c f 10.60) a re p re sen t:
W h e n w ill w e ever w in any p rizes?

W h a t h e lp h a v e th ey ever g iv en us?
W h o h a s a n y m o n ey ?
T h e q u e stio n s a re c o n d u civ e, h av in g a n eg ativ e o rie n ta tio n . Q u estio n s

in tro d u c e d by W h y do y o u h a v e a po sitiv e p resu p p o sitio n , b u t a n eg ativ e
o r ie n ta tio n w h e n th ey h a v e th e illocutionary force o f d ire c tiv e s :
W h y d o y o u b o th e r to rep ly ? [‘Y ou are replying b u t s h o u ld n ’t b o th er

to re p ly .’]
W h y d o y o u m a k e so m u ch fuss? [‘Y ou a re m ak in g a lo t o f fuss b u t
s h o u ld n ’t m a k e so m u ch fu ss.’]
A s a d ire c tiv e , it c a n n o t h a v e a p a st form . T h u s W hy d id y o u bother to reply?

is a n in q u iry , n o t a d irec tiv e , th o u g h th e o v erto n e is still n e g ativ e.
T h e a b b re v ia te d fo rm w ith th e b a re in fin itiv e is a lw ays a d irec tiv e :
W h y b o th e r to rep ly ?
W h y m a k e so m u c h fuss?
N o te O n rh e to ric a l ir/i-q u estio n s, c f \ 1.23.
N eg ativ e n>A-questions
11.17 H T t-questions c a n also b e n e g a tiv e :
W ho h a s n ’t: h a d an y coffee? ' [1]

W h y d id n ’t you tell m e ? [2]
W hen s h o u ld n ’t I c all? [3]
W hich b o o ks d o n ’t you w a n t? [4]
W here d id n ’t you c le an ? [5]
H o w long fyaven’t you h e ard from th em ? [6]
H o w o fte n d id n ’t h e p ay h is re n t? [7]
T h e p re su p p o sitio n s c a n b e listed ju s t as for p o sitiv e q u e stio n s (c/1 1 .1 6 ):
S o m e b o d y h a s n ’t h a d an y coffee. [la ]
Y o u d id n ’t tell m e f o r som e reason. [2a]
I s h o u ld n ’t call a t som e tim e. [3a]
Y o u d o n ’t w a n t som e books. [4a]
Y o u d id n ’t c lean in som e place. [5a]
Y o u h a v e n ’t h e ard fro m th em fo r som e tim e. [6a]
H e d i d n ’t p a y h is re n t a num ber o f tim es. [7a]
Q uestions 821
In [ l a - 7 a ] th e p resu p p o sed p a rtic u la r u n k n o w n is o u tsid e th e scope o f

n e g atio n (r/1 0 .6 4 ). T h u s [4a] m ay b e p a ra p h ra se d by ‘T h e re a re som e b o o k s
th a t you d o n ’t w a n t’.
Q u estio n s b e g in n in g w ith W hy don't you a n d th e a b b re v ia te d W h y not a r e
com m only used as d irec tiv e s ( c f 11.16). T h e d irec tiv e s a re in v ita tio n s o r
(m ore co m m o n ly in A m E ) suggestions or in stru ctio n s:
W h y d o n ’t y o u sh a v e ?
W h y d o n ’t you c lean y o u r tee th ?
W h y d o n ’t you co m e fo r a m eal o n e d ay n e x t w eek ?
W h y d o n ’t you m a k e y o u rself a n egg?
W h y d o n ’t you rev ise th is p a p e r?
W h y n o t ig n o re th e ir re m a rk s ?
W h y n o t go b y tra in ?.
W hy don't y o u co n v ey s ad v ice, b u t it freq u en tly h as a c ritica l a n d irrita b le

: to n e, sin ce it is u sed w h e n th e h e a re r has n o t p e rfo rm e d o r is n o t p e rfo rm in g
th e reco m m e n d e d a c tiv ity :
W h y d o n ’t you ta k e sleep in g tab lets? [‘A n y o n e else w o u ld .’]

W h y d o n ’t you see a d o cto r?
W hy don’t you, u n lik e W h y not, m ay also b e used as a n in q u iry . L ik e th e

in q u iry , th e d ire c tiv e allow s n o n assertiv e item s (W h y don’t yo u ever w rite?),
b u t u n lik e th e in q u iry , th e d irec tiv e does n o t allow a p a s t fo rm o f th e v e rb
(W h y d id n 't y o u write?). O n th e o th e r h an d , th e d irec tiv e ta k e s th e o p e r a to r
do b efo re b e : W h y d o n 't y o u be quieter? (c f th e in q u iry W hy aren’t y o u quieter?).
In th ese sy n ta ctic featu res, d irectiv es b eg in n in g w ith W hy don’t yo u a n d W h y
not resem b le im p e rativ e sen ten ces, w h ich n o rm ally h av e th e illo c u tio n a ry
force o f d irectiv es.
E sp ecially in A m E , W hy don't I is used fo r offers (W h y don't I give y o u a
hand?), o r W hy d o n ’t we fo r offers (W h y don't we give y o u a hand?) o r
suggestions ( W hy d o n 't we have a rest now ?).
Pushdow n w/i-elem ent

11.18 In 11.15, th e w /i-elem ent w as show n to o p e ra te in v ario u s clau se fu n c tio n s.
B ut it c a n also o p e ra te in d irectly in th e m a in clause, as p a r t o f a n o th e r c lau se
elem en t. W e call th e w /i-elem ent in such cases a p u s h d o w n e lem en t. H e re
are in stan c es in w h ic h th e w /i-elem ent is a p u sh d o w n e lem en t, th e
p re su p p o sitio n s b ein g g iv en in p aren th eses.
(I) w /i-elem ent a s p re p o sitio n a l c o m p lem en t w ith in a n o u n p h r a s e :

(i) th e p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se as a d ju n ct:
f W hat side o f the road w as he d riv in g o n ?

[ O n what side o f the road w as h e d riv in g ? (fo r m a l)
[H e w as d riv in g o n one side o f the road.]
(ii) th e p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se as m odifier o f a n o u n p h r a s e :
f W hich country is C a rac as th e capital o f? ( in f o r m a l)

\ O f which country is C a ra c a s th e c ap ital?
[C a rac as is th e c a p ita l o f som e country.]
822 Sentence type s and discourse functions
( I I ) w /i-elem ent a s e le m en t in a n o m in al f/utf-clause o r a to -in fin itiv e o r -ing

c la u s e ; th e clau se fu n ctio n s as d irect o b ject in th e m ain c la u s e :
H o w long d id he tell you (th at) he w a ite d ?
[H e to ld y o u (th at) he w aited fo r som e length o f time.]
W h a t w o u ld you lik e m e to bu y ?
[You w o u ld lik e m e to buy som ething.)
W h a t kinds o f novels d o you enjoy re ad in g ?
[You e n jo y re a d in g som e k in d s o f novels.]
( I I I ) w /i-elem ent as p rep o sitio n al co m p le m e n t w ith in a n o u n p h ra se, th e

n o u n p h ra se in tu rn fu n ctio n in g as e le m en t in a n o m in a l c l a u s e - a
c o m b in a tio n o f (I) a n d (II):
W ho did t h e tex tb o o k say (th at) Q u een E liz a b e th w as th e d a u g h te r o f ?
< inform al>
[T he te x tb o o k sa id th a t Q u een E liz a b e th w as th e d a u g h te r o f som e
p erso n ]
(IV ) w /i-elem ent as e lem en t (or p a rt o f a n elem en t) in a clau se th a t is

c o m p le m e n ta tio n to a n a d je c tiv e :
/ W hat is h e re a d y to confess to?
\ T o what is h e re ad y to confess? ( f o r m a l)
[H e is r e a d y to confess to something.]
H o w m uch is sh e re ad y to p a y ? [She is re a d y to p a y som ething.]
N o te [a] T h e r e are lim its to w h a t c a n b e a p u sh d o w n wA-elem ent. A m o n g th e exclusions a r e :

(i) th e co m p lem en t o f a p rep o sitio n al p h rase fu n c tio n in g as disju n c t (to m y regret) o r co n ju n ct
(on th e contrary), c f S . l l l f f .
(ii) th e co m p lem en t o f m a n y p rep o sitio n al p h rases fu n c tio n in g a s ad ju n ct, w h en th e co m p lem en t
re fe rs to a! specific tim e (M onday), p lace (D enver), o r process (great firm ness). T h e
co m p lem en t c a n , h ow ever, ofte n be questioned b y a iv/i-elem ent w ith a g en e ra l n o u n ( W hat
d a y d id you m e e t on ?, W hat city d id yo u go to ?, In w hat m anner d id yo u speak to th em I)
(Hi) a n elem en t in a re la tiv e clau se o r a n a d v e rb ia l clause.
(iv ) a n elem ent in a n o m in a l in terro g ativ e o r n o m in a l relativ e clause. T h is restric tio n is
som etim es re la x e d fo r n o m in al in terro g ativ e clauses in u n scrip te d sp eech , p articu larly fo r
y e s-n o in terro g a tiv e clauses in tro d u ced b y *whether a n d fu n ctio n in g a s d ire c t o b je ct; a
p ro n o u n is in s e rte d in th e su b o rd in ate clause if th e p rep o sed w /i-elem ent fu n ctio n s as
su b ject in th e su b o rd in a te clause. T h e se are felt to b e d e v ia n t, b u t th ey a re som etim es used
bec au se th e re is no o b v io u s alte rn a tiv e :
? Which e x a m d id you ask w h eth e r he w ould pass?
? Who else d id you n o tice w h eth e r they passed th e ex a m ?
(v) a n elem ent ih a co o rd in a te d p h ra se o r clause.
[b] I n com plex se n te n ces a p u sh d o w n w /i-elem ent m ay b e am b ig u o u s, fu n ctio n in g e ith e r in th e
m a in clause o r in a su b o rd in a te c la u se :
W hen did sh e p ro m ise to m e et h im ?
W hen m ay refer to th e tim e o f pro m isin g o r to th e tim e o f m eeting.
M o re than one w/i-elem ent

11.19 O rd in a ry q u e stio n s c a n have m o re th a n o n e w /i-elem ent (fo r ech o q u estio n s,
c /1 1 .3 4 # ) :
I h eard t h a t Sylvia a n d J a n e accu sed th e ir h u sb a n d s o f v ario u s

m isdeeds, b u t who accu sed whom o f w h a tl
Which p re s e n t d id you give to w hom ?
Q uestions 823
I f o n e o f t h e w /i- e le m e n ts is s u b j e c t , i t m u s t b e i n i t i a l :
W ho said what to whom ?
O th erw ise, th e re is a ch o ic e as to w h ich w/i-elem ent is fro n ted , so th a t th e

sam e q u estio n m ay be p u t in m o re th a n one way. C o n sid e r th e p re su p p o sitio n :
Y ou h a v e h id d en so m e th in g som ew here.
W e c a n m ove fro m it to e ith e r o f th ese q u e stio n s:
W hat h a v e you h id d e n w here ? Where h av e you h id d e n what'!
G en erally , o n ly o n e w h -elem en t is fronted, b ut a d v erb ial wA-elements m a y

b e c o o rd in a te d :
W hen a n d where d id th ey m e e t? H ow and why d id it h a p p e n ?
A ltern ativ ely , th e seco n d c o o rd in a te d w/i-elem ent m ay b e a p p en d e d { c f

13.94):
W hen d id th ey m ee t, a n d w here!
I f o nly o n e w /i-elem ent is a d v e rb ia l a n d th e o th er is d ire c t o b ject, o n ly

a p p e n d e d c o o rd in a tio n is fully a c c e p ta b le :
W hat does sh e tea ch , a n d w here ? Who d id he h it, a n d why ?

? W hat a n d where d o es sh e te a c h ? ? Who an d why d id h e h it ?
N o te D eclarativ e w /i-questions (c/T 1.14 N o te [f]) m ay rarely also h av e m o re th a n on e iv/i-elem ent:

W ell now , you say yo u r w ife is a te a c h e r. S he teach es what w here!
Alternative questions
11.20 T h e re are tw o types o f a lte rn a tiv e questions. T h e first resem b les a y e s-n o
q u estio n , an d th e seco n d a w /i-question:
W ould you like CHOColate, vaNiLla, o r STRAWberry (ice c rea m ) ? [ 1]

W h ic h ice c ream w o u ld you l i k e ? CHOcolate, vaNiLla o r
STRAWberry? [2]
T h e first type differs fro m a y e s -n o q u estio n only in in to n a tio n ; in stead o f th e

final rising to n e, it c o n ta in s a se p a ra te nucleus for e a c h a lte rn a tiv e : a rise
o ccu rs o n each item in th e list, ex cep t the last, o n w h ic h th ere is a fall,
in d ic a tin g th a t th e list is co m p lete. T h e difference o f in to n a tio n b etw een
a lte rn a tiv e a n d y e s-n o q u e stio n s is im p o rta n t, in th a t ig n o rin g it c an lead to
m isu n d ersta n d in g - a s th e c o n tra s t b etw een th ese rep lies in d ic a te s:
alternative: A : S h all w e go by | u s or t r F in ? B : By | u s .
y es-n o : A : S h a ll w e g o b y b u s o r t r F in ? B : N o , l e t ’s t a k e th e c F r .
T h e second type o f a lte rn a tiv e q u estio n is really a c o m p o u n d o f tw o se p a ra te

q u estio n s: a w /i-qucstion follow ed by an e llip tical a lte rn a tiv e q uestion. T h u s
[2] m ig h t be ta k e n as a re d u ce d v ersio n of:
W h ich ic e c r e a m w o u ld you l ik e ? W ould you l i k e C H O c o la te , v a N iL la ,

o r S T R A W b erry ?
A n a lte rn a tiv e q u e stio n p resupposes th e tru th o f o n ly o n e o f the

p ro p o sitio n s:
824 Sentence types and discourse functions
A re y ou a D E M ocrat o r a R eP U B lican?
[Y ou are e ith e r a D e m o cra t or a R ep u b lican .]
D o y o u w a n t SHERbet, Y o g h u rt, o r f r u i t ?
[Y ou are b e in g g iv en a ch o ice o f o nly o n e o f th e three.]
A y e s -n o q u e stio n p resu p p o ses th a t o n e o f tw o m u tu a lly exclusive p o ssib ilities

is t r u e :
A re y o u READy?
C o n v e rtin g a y e s -n o q u estio n in to a n a lte rn a tiv e q u estio n in tro d u c e s th is

tau to lo g y in to th e p re su p p o sitio n :
F r e y o u r e a d y o r AREn’t y o u r e a d y ?
[E ith e r you a re read y o r you are n o t ready.]
T h e sec o n d c o n jo in m ay be red u ced to or not:
F r e you re a d y o r n o t ?
T h e tau to lo g y gives a p e tu la n t to n e to th e q u estio n a n d e x p lain s w h y such

q u e stio n s a re n o t n o rm al.
N o te [a] A n a lte rn a tiv e q u estio n c o rresp o n d in g to a y e s-n o q uestion is d istin ctly o d d in c e rta in
s e n te n c e s ; fo r e x a m p le, if th e q u estio n h as th e illo cu tio n ary force o f a n in v itatio n o r a r e q u e s t:
? W o u ld you h a v e som e m o re coffee o r no t?
?W ill you op en th e d o o r p lease o r no t?
T h e re is n o ta utology i f th e re is a n o n triv ia l alte rn a tiv e :
,, , . /s h o u ld I?
W ill you o p e n th e d o o r please, o r t , „■
, [w o u ld you ra th e r n o t?
[b] T h e seco n d p a r t o f th e iv /i-altem ative qu estio n m ay be considered a kin d o f a p p o sitiv e to th e

udi-elem ent:
> d o you lik e b est, T om or D erek ?

W hich o f th e m j 1
11.21 T h e stru c tu re o f a lte rn a tiv e ye s-n o q u estio n s follows th e p a tte rn o f

c o o rd in a tio n ( c f\l3 A 3 ff), th e e ilip ted form s generally b eing p re fe rre d , w h ere
th e y a re p o ssib le:
D id ITaly w in th e W o rld C u p o r d id B raziL w in th e W o rld C u p ?

D id ITaly w in th e W o rld C u p o r d id B raziL ?
D id ITaly w in th e W o rld C u p o r B raziL ?
O fte n th e rem aijning p a rt o f a second o r su b seq u en t a lte rn a tiv e q u e stio n is

fro n ted to th e a p p ro p ria te p o sitio n in th e first q u estio n :
D id ITaly o r B raziL w in th e W o rld C u p ?
T h is ty p e o f fro n tin g is also p o ssib le for th e vacuous n eg ativ e a lte r n a tiv e :
A re y o u c o M in g o r F r e n ’t y o u (c o m in g )?
F r e you o r F r e n ’t yo u c o m in g ?
T h ere is no fro n te d version o f A re yo u com ing or not ? (* A re yo u or not coming?)

b ecau se fro n tin g w ould v io late th e re q u ire m e n t o f stru ctu re e q u iv a le n c e o f
co n jo in s ( c f 13.49).
Questions 825
M inor types o f questions
E x clam atory q uestions

11.22 T h e e x clam ato ry q u e stio n is in te rro g ativ e in stru ctu re, b u t has th e
illocutionary fo rce o f a n ex clam ato ry assertio n . T y p ically it is a n eg ativ e y e s -
no q u estio n w ith a final fallin g in stead o f risin g to n e :
H a s n ’t s h e g r o w n !
W asn ’t it a m a r v e llo u s c O N c e rt!
T h ese in v ite th e h e a r e r ’s ag ree m e n t to so m eth in g o n w h ich th e sp e a k er h a s

stro n g feelings. T h e m ean in g , c o n trary to th e a p p e a ra n c e o f th e lite ra l
w ording, is v ig o ro u sly positive.
A po sitiv e y e s -n o q u estio n , also w ith a falling to n e, is a n o th e r (b u t less
com m on) w ay o f e x p ressin g a strong p o sitiv e c o n v ic tio n :
'A m 'I H U N G ry ! 'D id 'h e look anNOYED ! 'H a s 'she g r o w n !
B o th o p e rato r a n d su b je ct usually receive e m p h a tic stress. In w ritte n E n g lish

a n ex clam atio n m a r k is u su al a t th e en d o f th e se n ten ce fo r b o th k in d s o f
exclam ato ry q u estio n .
T h e falling to n e fo r n eg ativ e a n d p o sitiv e ex clam ato ry q u e stio n s has a n
effect sim ilar to , b u t m o re e m p h a tic th an , th e fallin g to n e in ta g q u e stio n s
(c/11.8).
I t seem s o d d th a t p a irs o f sen ten ces w h ich c o n tra st in p o s itiv e -n e g a tiv e
p o larity sh o u ld h a v e roughly th e sam e effect: H a s she grow n! H asn't sh e
grow n! T h ere is, h o w ev er, a slight d iffere n ce : th e n eg ativ e q u e stio n has, as a
featu re o f its m e a n in g , an ap p ea l fo r th e liste n e r’s c o n firm atio n ; th e p o sitiv e
q uestion, o n th e o th e r h a n d , im plies th a t th e p o sitiv e resp o n se is self-ev id en t,
a n d would th e re fo re b e m o re a p p ro p ria te w h ere th e liste n e r’s a g re e m e n t
w ould n o rm ally n o t b e solicited, a s in A m I h u n g ry! (T h e ex p erien ce r e p o rte d
h e re is o f c o u rse n o t sh a red by th e listen er.) I n situ atio n s w h ere b o th th e
neg ativ e a n d th e p o sitiv e q u estio n s a re p o ssib le, th e difference is roughly
rep resen ted b y th ese p a ra p h ra s e s :
W a s n ’t it a m a r v e llo u s CON cert! = ‘W h a t a m a rv e llo u s CO N cert it w a s !’
H as sh e g r o w n ! = ‘She h F s g r o w n ! ’
E x clam ato ry q u e stio n s d o n o t a d m it n o n a sse rtiv e s: H a sn ’t she y e t grow n?

is a n inquiry. N e g a tiv e e x clam ato ry q u estio n s m u st ta k e e n clitic n't; H as sh e
not grown? is a n in q u iry , n o t a n ex clam atio n .
N o te In A m E an ex c la m a to ry q u estio n can be p ro n o u n ced w ith a risin g to n e :

W asn’t th e c o n c e rt teritific?
B ut in th is case, th e ex p e c ta tio n o f a response is stronger.
R hetorical q uestions
11.23 T h e rh eto rical q u e stio n is in terro g ativ e in stru c tu re , b u t h as th e force o f a
stro n g assertio n . I t generally does n o t ex p ect a n answ er.
A positive rh e to ric a l y e s-n o q u estio n is lik e a stro n g n eg ativ e a sse rtio n ,
w hile a n eg ativ e q u e stio n is like a stro n g p o sitiv e one.
POSITIVE:
I s t h a t a re aso n fo r desPAiR? [‘Surely th a t is n o t a r e a s o n . . . ’]
C a n an y o n e d o u b t th e w isd o m o f th is a ctio n ? [‘Surely no o n e can
d o u b t . . .’]
NEGATIVE:
I s n ’t th e a n sw e r OBvious ? [‘Surely th e a n sw e r is o b v io u s.’]
H a v e n ’t you g o t a n y th in g b e tte r to d o ? [‘Surely you h av e so m eth in g
b e tte r to d o .’]
U n lik e e x clam a to ry q u e stio n s, th ese rh eto rical q u e stio n s h a v e th e n o rm al

r is in g in to n a tio n o f a y e s -n o q uestion, and a re d istin g u ish e d chiefly by the
r a n g e o f p itc h m o v em en t.
T h e r e a re also rh e to rica l wA-questions. T h e p o sitiv e q u e stio n is e q u iv alen t
to a s ta te m e n t in w h ich th e iv/i-element is rep laced b y a n eg ativ e elem en t:
W ho k n o w s /c F r e s ? [‘N o b o d y k n o w s/cares’ o r ‘I d o n ’t k n o w /c are .’]

W h a t D iFference do es it m ak e? [‘It m ak e s n o d iffere n ce .’]
H o w sh o u ld i k n o w ? [‘T h ere is n o reaso n w h y I sh o u ld k n o w .’]
W h a t s h 6 u l d I sa y ? [‘T h ere is n o th in g th a t I sh o u ld say .’]
W h a t m ak e s YOU th in k you c an d o b e tte r? [‘N o th in g sh o u ld m ak e
y o u th in k you c a n d o b e tte r.’]
H o w can f h e lp it ? [‘T h ere is n o reaso n w hy I c a n h e lp it. ’]
N o n a s s e rtiv e s m ay o c c u r :
W h a t has h e e v e r d o n e fo r y o u ?
W h o h a s a n y MONey to s p a re th e s e d a y s ?
T h e less c o m m b n n e g ativ e q u estio n is e q u iv a len t to a s ta te m e n t in w h ich th e

iv/i-elem ent is re p laced by a positive elem en t:
W h o DOESn’t k n o w ? [‘E verybody k n o w s .’]

H o w c o u L D n ’t y o u r e m e m b e r ? [‘Y ou c e r ta in ly s h o u ld h a v e
r e m e m b e r e d .’]
tW i-questions g en erally h a v e a rise -fa ll tone, less co m m o n ly a sim p le falling

to n e.
R h e to ric a l q u e stio n s m ay also be responses to p re v io u s q u e stio n s:
A : D o you w a n t to e a t? B : D o I look HUNgry ?
N o te S o m e q u e stio n s, te rm ed r F t i o c i n F t j v e q u e s t i o n s , are self-ad d ressed . T h e y a re like rheto rical

q u e stio n s in n o t e x p e ctin g a n an sw e r from o th e r s :
L e t m e see. S hould I ta k e th e c a r o r go by bus?
B ut th e sp e a k e r m ay an sw er su ch a q u e stio n :
W h a t d o I w an t to e F t ? W ell, a roll will do.
D irectives 827
Directives
Directives w ith o u t a subject
11.24 D ire ctiv e s ty p ically ta k e th e form o f a n im p e rativ e sen ten ce, w h ic h d iffers
fro m a d e clara tiv e se n ten c e in th a t :
(i) it gen erally h a s n o subject, b u t c / U .25;
(ii) it h as e ith e r a m a in v erb in th e base form o r (less co m m only) a n

au x iliary in th e b ase fo rm follow ed by th e a p p ro p ria te fo rm o f th e
m a in v erb.
O th e rw ise, th e clau se p a tte rn s o f im p e rativ e sen ten ces show th e sam e ra n g e

a n d o rd e rin g o f ele m en ts a s d e clara tiv e s (c /1 0 .2 ):
OS) V: Ju m p .
(S) VO : O p e n th e d o o r.
OS) VC: Be re aso n ab le.
(S) VA: G e t in sid e.
(S) VOO: T ell m e th e tru th .
(S) VO C : C o n sid e r y o u rself lucky.
(S) VO A : P u t th e flo w ers o n th e table.
T h e im p e rativ e v e rb lack s ten se d istin c tio n an d does n o t allo w m o d al

au x iliaries. T h e p ro g ressiv e fo rm is ra re , a n d th e p erfectiv e ev en ra re r:
B e listen in g to th is s ta tio n th e sam e tim e to m o rro w n ig h t.

B e d o in g y o u r h o m ew o rk w h en y o u r p a re n ts a rriv e h om e.
S ta rt th e b o o k a n d h a v e fin ish ed i t b efo re you go to bed. ( c f N o te [a])
P assiv es w ith be o c c u r chiefly in n eg ativ e directiv es, w h ere th e y g en erally

h a v e th e m ea n in g ‘D o n ’t allow y o u rse lf to be . . . ’:
D o n ’t be d e ceiv ed by h is looks. D o n ’t b e m ad e to look foolish.

D o n ’t be bullied in to sig n in g . D o n ’t be told w h a t to do.
T h ey a re less c o m m o n in p o sitiv e d ire c tiv e s:
Be g u id ed by w h a t I say.
Be reassu red b y m e.
H ire a R olls R o y ce a n d be d riv e n a ro u n d by a u n ifo rm ed chauffeur.
W h a t m ig h t be tre a te d as p assiv es o ccu r w ith get (c /3 .6 6 o n th e g e t-p a ss iv e ):
G e t w ash ed . G e t tra n s fe rre d . G e t know n.

G e t dressed. G e t w eig h ed . G e t in tro d u ced .
D o n ’t g et m isled b y th e ir pro m ises.
G e t lost, [‘go a w a y ’ (in f o r m a l) ]
D o n ’t get d ressed yet.
Im p era tiv e s a re re stric te d to p re d ic a tio n s th a t allow a d y n a m ic in te rp re t

atio n , h en ce th e in co n g ru ity o f *N eed a car, *Be old, *Sound louder. M a n y
p re d ic atio n s th a t a re s ta tiv e w ith resp ect to d isallo w in g th e p ro g ressiv e
( c f 4.27'ff) a re easily a v a ila b le w ith a d y n am ic in te rp re ta tio n fo r im p e ra tiv e s :
Forgive us. Love your enem ies, O w e nobody anything, B e early, B e g la d that y o u
828 Sen te nce types and discourse fun ction s
escaped w ithout injury, D on’t be a stranger , B e a pilot , Know the poem b y heart
by th e n e x t lesson.
Im p e ra tiv e s refer to a situ atio n in th e im m e d ia te o r m o re rem o te fu tu re
a n d a r e th ere fo re in co m p atib le w ith tim e a d v erb ials th a t refer to a tim e
p e rio d in th e p a st o r th a t have h a b itu a l referen ce: * Come yesterday y * U sually
drive y o u r car. Im p e ra tiv e s also d o n o t co o ccu r w ith c o m m en t d isju n cts ( c f
8.127), sin c e th ese d isju n cts co m m en t o n p ro p o sitio n s ( c /th e sam e c o n s tra in t
w ith q u e stio n s ): * Unfortunately, p a y yo u r rent now. O n tag q u estio n s w ith
im p e ra tiv e s , c f 11.10.
N o te [al T h e r a r e p erfec tiv e constru ctio n H ave fin ish e d it before yo u go to bed is to be c o n tra ste d w ith
th e co m m o n c a u sativ e com p lex -tran sitiv e H ave it fin is h e d before yo u go to bed, w here have is a n
ac tiv e im p e ra tiv e a n d fin ish e d is a sim ple p assiv e in th e d ep e n d en t clause; c f. G et it fin is h e d
before y o u go to bed. T h e tw o sentences, how ever, a re closely sim ilar in m ean in g . T h e id io m a tic
H ave do n e with it is p resu m a b ly to be analysed as h av in g a p erfective im p erativ e verb.
[b] T h e p e rfe c tiv e p assiv e m ay very occasionally b e fo u n d w ith p a st tim e referen ce in a p riv a te
p ray er r e fe rrin g to in fo rm a tio n n o t y et know n to th e s p e a k e r; IPlease, dad. don't have been in that
plane.
[c] F o r re p o rte d im p erativ es in in d irect speech, c f 14.33.
[d] B e s e a te d a n d b e prepared a re exam ples o f p seu d o -p assiv es (c/3.77).
D irectives w ith a subject

11.25 I t is in tu itiv e ly c le ar th a t th e m ean in g o f a d irectiv e im plies t h a t th e o m itte d
su b ject is th e 2 n d p erso n p ro n o u n you. T h e im p lica tio n c an b e d e m o n s tra te d
by th e o c c u rre n c e o f yo u as subject o f a follow ing ta g q u estio n (Be quiet, will
you ?), b y th e o c cu rren ce o f only y o u rse lf o r yourselves as th e reflexive (B ehave
y o u rse lf o r B ehave yourselves, n o t * B ehave m yself, etc), a n d by th e o c c u rre n c e
o f o n ly th e e m p h a tic possessive y our ow n (U se yo u r own comb, n o t *U se her
own com b, etc);
T h e r e is, how ever, a ty p e o f d irec tiv e in w h ich th e stressed su b ject y o u is
ad d ed . Y ou m ay b e n o n c o n tra stiv e a n d a d m o n ito ry :
'Y o u b e QUIet!
‘Y o u 'm in d yo u r o w n B u sin ess, a n d 'le a v e th is to m e !
'Y o u 's h o w jm e w h a t to d o .
'Y o u 'tak e th e | o o k . ^
They fre q u e n tly ex p ress stro n g irrita tio n o r (as in the last tw o ex am p les)
m erely in sisten ce. O n th e o th e r h a n d , n o n c o n tra stiv e you m ay be p e rs u a s iv e :
I k n o w you c a n d o it if you try h a rd enou g h . 'Y ou 'show m e w h a t you

c a n DO. j
You m a y also b e c o n tra stiv e in th e sense o f ad d ressee-d istin g u ish in g , sin g lin g
out o n e p e rso n o r o n e set o f persons. T h e id en tity o f th e perso n s m ay b e m a d e
clear b y a v o cativ e o r by som e g estu re su c h as p o in tin g :
D o n ’t tell ME to b e q u ie t, y o u b e q u ie t!
H e r e ! YOU ta k e th e b o o k !
'Y o u ta k e t h i s ch air, an d I ’ll ta k e t h F t one.
V o cativ e you, as o p p o sed to im p e rativ e su b je ct you, is very im p o lite:
y o u | 'c o m e h e r e |
Directives 829
T h ird p erso n su b jects a re also p o ssib le :
Som ebody o p e n th is door.

Everybody sh u t th e ir eyes.
P arents with children go to th e front.
N obody m ove.
M en in the fr o n t row ta k e o n e ste p forw ard.
I t is easy to con fu se th e subject, in these co m m an d s, w ith a v o cativ e n o u n

p h ra se ( c f 10.52/). B u t w h ereas th e subject alw ays p reced es th e verb , th e
v o cativ e is a n e le m en t th a t c a n o ccu r in final a n d m ed ial, as w ell as in itia l,
p o sitio n s in th e se n ten c e. A n o th e r difference is th a t th e v o cativ e, w h e n
in itially p laced, h a s a se p a ra te to n e u n it (typically fall—rise ); th e su b je ct
m erely receives o rd in a ry w o rd s tre s s :
v o c F t iv e : m F r y , p la y o n m y side.
P la y o n m y sid e , m F r y .
s u | je c t : 'M a ry p lay o n MY sid e .
T h e d istin ctn ess o f v o cativ e a n d im p erativ e su b ject is co n firm ed by th e

p o ssib ility o f th e ir c o o c c u rre n c e :
JOHN, 'you lis te n t o m e !
N o te [a] A p a rt fro m will yo u ? , o th e r ta g q u estio n s h ea rd w ith a n im p e ra tiv e are w ould you?, co u ld

y o u ? , can you?, won't yo u ? , can't you?, wouldn't you?, couldn’t y o u ? A lso th e fa m ilia r ivA-question
w hy don’t yo u ? is so m etim e s a p p e n d e d : T a ke a rest, w hy don’t yo u ?
[b] D irectiv es w ith 3 rd p erso n subjects ta k e e ith e r 2nd o r 3rd p erso n p ro n o u n s in th e ta g
q u e s tio n : Som ebody open th is door, w ill yo u ?/will they ?
[c] T h e re is sim ilar u n c e rta in ty a b o u t th e person o f a reflexive p ro n o u n a fte r a 3rd p e rso n
s u b je c t: Everyone behave yourselves a n d Everyone behave them selves b o th seem a c cep ta b le. (O n
th e use o f a plural s u b stitu te p ro n o u n fo r everyone, c f 10.43.) W ith a v o ca tiv e, in co n tra st, o n ly
th e 2nd perso n reflexive, in a g ree m en t w ith th e u n d ersto o d subject, is allo w ab le: B e have
yourselves, everybody.
[d] A n o th e r co nfusion easily m a d e is th a t betw een a d irectiv e w ith you a s subject a n d a sta te m e n t
w ith y o u a s subject as used, fo r ex am p le, in giving stree t d ire c tio n s: You go up there un til y o u
reach the bridge , then y o u tu rn right . . . I t is th e unstressed su b ject o f th e s ta te m e n t th a t
distin g u ish es it fo rm ally fro m th e d irectiv e, since th e su b ject o f a d ire ctiv e is alw ays stressed ,
e v e n if a p ro n o u n : 'Y o u g o up there. N eed less to say, th e a d m o n ito ry to n e o f th e d ire c tiv e w o u ld
be q u ite u n su itab le in giv in g stre e t directions. (T he neg ativ e d o n ’t yo u is less p erem p to ry .)
Directives w ith le t
1 1 .2 6 F irs t p erso n im p e rativ es c a n b e form ed by p rep o sin g th e v erb let follow ed by
a su b ject in the o b jec tiv e case (c/3 .5 1 ):
L e t us all w o rk h a rd .
L e t m e th in k w h a t to d o next.
L e t m e see now . D o I h a v e any m oney o n m e?
( C f also ra tio cin a tiv e q u estio n s, 11.23 N o te). T h e sam e a p p lie s to 3rd p e rso n
s u b je c ts:
L e t no one th in k th a t a te a c h e r’s life is easy.

L e t each m an d e c id e fo r him self.
I f an y o n e sh rin k s fro m th is a ctio n , let him s p e a k now .
830 Sen te nce types and discourse functions
E x c e p t fo r th e le t m e ty p e, th ese a re generally ra th e r a rc h a ic a n d elev ated in

to n e . A c o llo q u ial a lte rn a tiv e to let us, how ever, is th e c o m m o n a b b rev iate d
fo rm let's:
L e t’s h a v e a p arty .
L e t ’s en jo y ourselves.
I n v e ry c o llo q u ial E n g lish , le t’s is som etim es used for a 1st p e rso n sin g u lar
im p e ra tiv e as w e ll: L e t’s give y o u a hand. T h ere are no 2 n d p e rso n im p erativ es
w ith l e t : * L e t y o u have a look.
N o te [a] T h is ty p e o f im p e ra tiv e , in w h ich le t is n o m ore th a n a n in tro d u cto ry p a rtic le , sho u ld be k ep t

s e p a r a te fro m th e o rd in a ry 2 n d p erso n im p erativ e o f le t a s a tra n sitiv e v erb. T h a t th ey a re
d is tin c t is sh o w n b y th e fa c t th a t L e t us go in th e sense ‘P erm it us to g o ’ c a n n o t b e a b b rev iate d
to L e t ’s go. F u rth e rm o re , th e full v e rb le t is followed by a tag q u estio n w ith y o u a s su b ject (L e t us
go, w ill yo u ? ), w h e re a s th e 1st perso n im p erativ e is follow ed by a ta g q u estio n w ith we as subject
{L et’s go, sh a ll w e?). I n L e t’s d o n ’t fo r g e t <esp A m E > , th e p article is in s titu tio n a liz e d (c/3 .5 1
N o te [b ]).
[b] L e t ’s have a lo o k c a n re fe r to th e sp e a k e r alone. C o m p a re Give us a ha n d to g e t the car started,
w h e re us c a n also re f e r m erely to th e sp eaker.
S u m m a ry o f fo rm s of imperatives
11.27 W e c a n n o w su m m a riz e th e stru c tu ra l types o f im p e ra tiv e :
1 st pe r s o n 2nd pe r s o n 3 r d PERSON
(i) Open
w ithout subject — —
the door.
w ithout (ii) You open (iii) Someone open

— the door.
let the door.
with (iv) Let me open
subject (v) Let someone
with the door.
- open the door.
let Let’s open
the door.
By f a r th e mostj c o m m o n ty p e is th e subjectless 2nd p e rso n im p e ra tiv e (class

(i» .
N egative im peratives
11.28 T o n e g a te th e first th re e classes o f im p erativ e, o n e sim p ly a d d s a n in itial
D on’t o r D o noli re p la cin g a ssertiv e by n onassertiv e ite m s w h e re n ecessary :
... (O p e n th e door.
[C o n s id e r, m y frien d s, th a t all is lost.
{
D on’t o p e n th e door.
D o not, m y frien d s, c o n sid er th a t all is lost. < form al>
...... , f D on’t you o pen the door.

(" I Y o u o p e n th e d o o r . - |
o pen the d o o r. <less c o m m o n )
0 , [D on't anyone o p e n th e d o o r.
(in ) S o m eo n e o p e n th e d o o r. ~ < . . ' x1r ,
| N o one o p en th e door.
Directives 831
F irs t p e rso n im p e rativ es, on th e o th e r h a n d , a re generally n eg ated b y t h e

in sertio n o f not a fte r th e p ro n o u n follow ing let:
, f L e t’s not say a n y th in g a b o u t it.

[L e t us not say a n y th in g a b o u t it.
(iv) L e t m e not b elieve su ch accu satio n s, (fo rm a l, ra re )
In fo rm ally , h o w ev er, th e n e g atio n w ith D on’t is freq u en tly h e a r d :
(iv) D on’t le t’s say a n y th in g a b o u t it. ( e s p B rE )

(iv) L e t’s d o n ’t say a n y th in g a b o u t it. ( e s p A m E )
(iv) D on’t let m e d istu rb you. <esp B rE )
T h ird p e rso n im p e rativ es w ith le t are n e g ated by not a fte r let o r (m o re

in fo rm ally ) by a n in itial d o n ’t :
(v) L e t not anyone fool h im self th a t he c a n g et aw ay w ith it. (fo rm a l, r a r e )

[A lso: L e t no one fool h im self th a t h e c a n g et aw ay w ith it.]
(v) D on’t let anyone fool h im self th a t he c a n g et aw ay w ith it.
T h e d istin c tio n th a t w e h av e n o ted ( c f 11.25) b etw een c o n tra stiv e a n d

n o n c o n tra stiv e yo u in p o sitiv e d irectiv es a p p lie s also to n eg ativ e d ir e c tiv e s :
D o n ’t "Y O U say a n y th in g , [contrastive]

D o n ’t 'you say A nything, [n o n co n trastiv e]
N o te [al T h e m o re fo rm a l full p a rtic le do not c a n n o t rep lace don't in classes (ii) an d (iii), th o u g h it c a n
in classes (i), (iv) a n d (v).
[b] N eg ativ e d ire ctiv es a re seld o m follow ed by tags. T h e o nly o p erato rs th a t seem p o ssib le a re
th e p o sitiv e au x ilia ries w ill a n d c a n : Don't m a k e a noise, will y o u ? / can yo u ? T h e ta g h as a fa llin g
to n e.
Illocutionary force o f imperatives

11.29 Im p e ra tiv e sen ten ces a re used fo r a w ide ra n g e o f illocutionary acts. I t is n o t,
how ever, alw ays po ssib le to m ak e p recise d istin c tio n s because th e illo c u tio n
a ry force d e p en d s o n th e relativ e a u th o rity o f sp e a k er a n d h e arer an d o n th e
re la tiv e b en efits o f th e a ctio n to each . H e re a re som e exam ples o f se n ten c es
th a t m ay b e used fo r d ifferen t illo cu tio n ary a cts, b u t we should be a w are t h a t
illo cu tio n ary fo rce d e p e n d s in m o st cases o n th e situ atio n al co n tex t. ( F o r
v erb less d irectiv es, c /1 1 .4 2 ,11.53.)
O R D E R , COM M AND
F i r e ! [fir e as v erb ] M ak e y our b ed a t once.
PR O H IB IT IO N
D o n ’t touch.
R EQ U EST
S h u t th e d o o r, please.
PLEA
H elp!
A D V IC E, RECO M M END A TIO N
T a k e a n a sp irin for y o u r head ach e.
L ock th e d o o r b efo re you go to bed.
W A R N IN G
L o o k o u t! Be carefu l! M in d y o u r h ead !
SU G G E S T IO N
A s k m e a b o u t it a g ain n e x t m o n th .
L e t’s h av e a p a rty .
IN ST R U C T IO N
T a k e the first stre et o n th e left.
IN V IT A T IO N
M a k e y o u rse lf a t h om e. C om e in a n d sit dow n.
O FFER
H a v e a c ig a rette.
G R A N T IN G PER M ISSIO N
H e lp yourself.
G O O D W ISHES
E n jo y y our m ea l. H a v e a good tim e.
IM PR E C A T IO N
G o to hell!
IN C R E D U L O U S R E JE C T IO N
O h , come n o w . [‘Y o u d o n ’t really m e a n th a t.’]
S E L F-D E L IB E R A T IO N '
L e t m e see n o w . (‘S hould I go stra ig h t h o m e? ’)
N o te [a] Im p e ra tiv e c lau ses jo in e d b y a n d o r or to a follow ing clause m ay h av e a co n d itio n a l

im p lic a tio n (c/T 3 }2 5 ,13.30). T h e illocutionary force o f th e co n stru c tio n varies:
REQUEST
S it next to J o a n a n d sh e’ll ex p lain w h at you h a v e to do.
PROMISE
F in is h your h o m e w o rk an d I ’ll g ive you som e ice cream .
D o n ’t m ake a n y n oise an d I ’ll ta k e you inside.
THREAT.
M a k e a m ove a n d I ’ll shoot.
D o n ’t m ake £ m o v e o r I ’ll sh o o t. "N-
[T hese tw o se n te n ces convey th e sam e m e a n in g , b u t th e po sitiv e im p e ra tiv e ca rries a
stronger e x p e c ta tio n o f th e h e a re r’s read in ess to m ove.]
WARNING
J o in the co m m itte e a n d you’ll re g ret th e w aste o f tim e.
D o n ’t ea t so m u c h o r y o u ’ll be sorry.
In G ive him enougft rope a n d he'll hang himself.\ th e s en te n ce is close to bein g a p u re co n d itio n a l
co n stru c tio n . F o r v erb less d ire ctiv es o f th is ty pe, c f 11.53 N ote.
[b] In stru ctio n al im p e ra tiv e s a re o fte n used in w r itin g :
T a k e one ta b lesp o o n fu l th re e tim e s a day a fte r m eals.
R em o v e the b o lt fro m th e h a n d le socket an d slid e th e cord re ta in e r in to th e slo t a t th e b ac k
o f th e han d le so ck et.
W ritte n in stru c tio n s a re o fte n in ab b re v ia te d fo rm (c/T 1.48).
[c] P lea se an d (to a le sser ex ten t) kin d ly ( c /8 .9 0 /) m ay be a d d e d to im p e ra tiv e sentences w ith
th e illocutionary fo rc e o f a req u est to convey g re a te r o v e rt po liten e ss: Please ea t up your dinner ;
K indly move to th e n e x t seat. R eq u ests a re o fte n ex p ressed by qu estio n s an d statem e n ts, e g \ W ill
yo u sh u t the door , p le a se ?, W ould yo u m ind shutting the door?, C ould yo u shut the door fo r m e?, I
w onder whether y o u w ould m ind shutting the door. Q u estio n s th a t convey in d ire c t requests need
not h a v e a question m a rk ( c f A p p I I I .23 N o te [b]).
Exclam atives 633
D o w ith positive im peratives

11.30 A p o sitiv e im p e rativ e c an b e m ad e m o re persuasive o r in siste n t (esp in B rE )
b y a d d in g do (w ith a n u c le ar to n e) before th e verb. Do rein fo rces th e p o sitiv e
sen se o f th e im p e rativ e. F o r m an y people th is p ersu asiv e use o f do seem s
m o re ty p ical o f fem ale th a n m ale sp eech :
d o h a v e s o m e m o r e te a . d o le t’s g o fo r a w a lk .
T h is use o f do ap p lie s o nly to classes (i) and (iv), a n d w e th ere fo re d o n o t

h a v e *Do you have som e m ore tea.
N o te [a] D o, lik e do n ’t an d let's, a c ts as a n in tro d u cto ry im p erativ e m a rk e r, a n d is n o t id e n tic al w ith

th e e m p h a tic do o f statem e n ts ( c / 18.56). T o see this, n o tice th a t n e ith e r d o n o r don't in
im p e ra tiv e s fulfils th e s tric t co n d itio n s o f do-support (c /3 .5 7 ): th ey a r e n o t in tro d u ced to m a k e
g o o d th e la ck o f a n o p erato r, b u t in d e ed a re added to th e fro n t o f a n o p e ra to r if o n e is p re s e n t:
D o be s e a te d ; D on't be silly. (C o n tra st th e unaccep tab ility o f *H e does be silly.) T h is p ec u liarity
o f im p e ra tiv e d o is also fo u n d in th e q u asi-im p erativ e W hy don’t yo u c o n s tru c tio n : W h y don't y o u
be m ore careful?
[b] D o, d on't , le t’s, a n d le t’s not a re used in isolation a s elliptical d ire c tiv e s :
A : S hould I o p en th e d o o r? B ; | d o n ’t
A : S hould w e w atc h th e g a m e ? B: j
Exclamatives
11.31 E x clam a tiv e s as a fo rm al c ateg o ry o f sen ten ce are re stric te d to th e ty p e o f

e x clam a to ry u tte ran c e in tro d u c e d b y what o r how. F o r e x clam ato ry q u estio n s,
d /1 1 .2 2 .
E x clam ativ es resem b le w /i-questions in req u irin g th e in itia l p la c e m e n t o f
a n ex clam ato ry w /i-elem ent. T h e sy n tactic o rd e r is th ere fo re u p se t to the
e x te n t t h a t th e w /i-elem ent (w h ic h m ay b e object, c o m p lem en t, o r a d v erb ial
as w ell as subject) m ay b e ta k e n fro m its usual (sta te m en t) p o sitio n a n d p ut
in to a p o sitio n o f in itial p ro m in e n ce . O n th e o th e r h a n d , in c o n tra st to wh-
q u estio n s, th ere is g en erally n o su b je ct-o p era to r in v ersio n :
w /i-elem ent as su b ject :

W hat an enormous crow d c a m e ! [S V - th e ra re st ty p e] [1]
w /i-elem ent as o b je c t:
W hat a tim e w e’v e h a d to d a y ! [Od S V A] [2]
w /i-elem ent as c o m p le m e n t:
H ow delightful h e r m a n n e rs a r e ! [Cs S V] [3]
w /i-elem en t a s a d v e rb ia l:
( H o w I u sed to h a te g e o g rap h y ! [A S V 0 d] [4a]
•j W h a t a lo n g tim e w e’ve been w aitin g ! [ A S V] [4b]
I. H o w q u ick ly you e a t ! [A S V] [4c]
In a d d itio n , th e wA-element, lik e the wA-element o f th e wA-question, c a n a ct

as p r e p o s itio n a l c o m p le m e n t:
W h a t a m ess w e’re i n !
I t c a n o c c u r e v en as a p u sh d o w n e lem en t o f a n in d ire ct sta te m e n t ( a g a in lik e

th e in te rro g a tiv e wA-element, c f 11.18):
H o w fo o lish you m u st h av e th o u g h t I w a s !
I t is p o ssib le (b u t a g ain rare) fo r th e p rep o sitio n al p h rase a s a w hole to o c cu r

in itia lly a s w /i-elem en t:
I n w h a t p o v e rty th ese p eo p le liv e !

F o r ho w m an y y ears d id I live in th a t d ream w o rld o f fa n ta sie s a n d
false hopes!
T h is la tte r ex am p le a n d th e follow ing sen ten ces illu strate th e o c casio n al

in v e rs io n o f su b je ct a n d o p e ra to r in lite rary E nglish, p a rtic u la rly w ith a
p re p o se d a d v e rb ia l, su b ject co m p lem en t, o r d irec t o b je c t:
H o w o ften h a v e I b itte rly re g re tte d th a t day!

H o w s tra n g e is h is a p p e a ra n c e !
W h a t m ag n ifice n t c h a ra c te rs does she p re sen t in h er la te s t n o v e l!
In v e rs io n is p re fe rre d w ith n eg ativ e rarely.
H o w rarely d o I see y o u ! ( r a r e a n d r h e to ric a l)
F o r ta g q u e stio n s w ith ex clam ativ es, c f 11.10.
11.32 O n ly tw o wA-words c an b e used to fo rm th e w/i-elem ent in e x clam a to ry

se n te n c e s : w hat as p re d e te rm in e r in a n o u n p h rase, c / [ 1], [2], a n d [4b] in
11.31; a n d hov). as in ten sifier o f an ad jectiv e, ad v erb , o r clau se, c / [ 3], [4a],
a n d [4c] resp ectiv ely in 11.31. T h e lim ita tio n to these fu n c tio n s is n o t
s u rp risin g w h en o n e realizes t h a t th e wA-word in d icates a n e x tre m e p o sitio n
o n so m e scale o f v alue, a n d th erefo re c a n only a p p e a r a t p o in ts in th e
se n ten c e w here a n ex p ressio n o f deg ree is possible. E x a c tly th e sam e
fu n c tio n s are fjulfilled (especially in som e w o m en ’s speech) b y th e e m p h a tic
d e g ree item s such (as a d ete rm in e r) an d so (as a n in ten sifier) in s ta te m e n ts
an d q u e stio n s (c /1 8 .5 7 ):
W e ’ve h a d such a tim e. W h y d id th ey tease you so ?

H e r m an n e rs a re so delightful.
E x clam a tiv e s a re very freq u en tly in d eed red u ced by ellip sis to th e single
wA-elem ent: W hat a terrible wind!, H o w encouraging!
N o te [a] H o w is like so (in ex c lam a to ry utteran ce s) in th a t w hen it is a n intensifier, it c a n n o t m o d ify

a n ad je c tiv e w hich itse lf h a s a p rem o d ify in g fu n ctio n . In stea d of:
Echo utterances 835
*a how j so noisy, p a rty

W e m ust p rep o se how noisy o r use what o r such a s intensifiers o f th e noun p h r a s e :
how noisy a p arty
whatjsuch a n oisy p a rty .
[b] T h e g en eralized e x c lam a to ry and how <esp A m E ) is used inform ally to refer to a p re v io u s
statem en t o r q u estio n b y th e sam e o r an o th e r sp ea k e r:
H e can arg u e, a n d h o w ! [‘H ow he ca n a rg u e !’]
A : W e h a d a co ld w in te r la st year. B : A n d how !
Echo utterances
11.33 E cho u tte ra n c e s a re u tte ran c e s w h ich re p e a t as a w hole o r in p a rt w h a t h a s

been said by a n o th e r sp eak er. T h ey m ay ta k e th e fo rm o f an y u tte ra n c e o r
p a rtial u tte ra n c e in th e language, b u t in th e ir disco u rse fu n ctio n th ey a re
eith er q u e stio n s { c f 1 1 .3 4 /) o r ex clam a tio n s { c f 11.37). E ch o q u estio n s a re
e ith er re c a p itu la to ry { c f 11.34/) o r ex p licato ry ( c /1 1.36).
Recapitulatory echo questions

11.34 A re cap itu lato ry e ch o q u estio n is sim ply a q u e stio n w h ich rep eats p a rt o r all
o f a m essage, a s a w ay o f h av in g its c o n te n t confirm ed. T h e sim p lest ty p e is
a yes-n o q u e stio n w h ic h m erely rep eats, w ith risin g in to n a tio n , w h a t h a s ju s t
been s a id :
A : I d i d n ’t lik e t h a t m e a l. B : Y ou d i d n ’t l i k e it?
A : T h e B ro w n s a r e e m ig r a tin g . B : E m ig ra tin g ?
A : S w itch th e lig h t off, p lease. B : S w itch th e l i g h t off?
T o m ake th e m e a n in g ex p licit, o n e could prefix to e ac h o f these q u estio n s th e

words ‘D id you sa y . . . ?’ Som etim es, in d ee d th e in v a ria n t tag clause (d id )
you say ? is a d d e d : Sw itch the l i g h t off, d id y o u sa y ? { c f 11. 11).
T h ere is also a w/i-echo q u estio n w h ich in d icates, by th e w/i-word, w h ic h
p a rt o f th e p re v io u s u tte ran c e th e sp e a k er d id n o t h e a r o r u n d e rs ta n d :
A : I t c o st five dollars. B : h o w m u ch d id it cost?

A : H e ’s a d e rm ato lo g ist. B: w h F t is h e?
A : W e ’re lea v in g h im here. B : w h F t are you d o in g w ith h im ?
In this case ‘. . . d id y o u say?' could be su p p lied im m ed iately afte r th e w/i-

elem en t: H d w m uch d id yo u say it cost? T h e s e w/t-echo q u estio n s, as w e see
above, h av e a c h a ra c te ris tic in to n a tio n p a tt e r n : a risin g in to n a tio n w ith th e
nucleus o n th e w/i-word itself.
In the e x am p les ab o v e, th e w /i-elem ent is fro n ted as in n o rm al w /i-questions
a n d in v ersio n ta k e s p lace a cco rd in g to th e re g u la r rule for w /i-questions { c f
11.14/). I n a v a ria n t ty p e o f w/i-echo q u estio n , th e s ta te m e n t o rd e r is r e ta in e d :
A : I ’ll p ay fo r it. B : Y o u ’ll w h F t ?

A : I saw T e d D a w so n today. B: Y o u saw w h o ?
836 S e n te n ce type s and discourse functions
T h e o r d e r w h e re n o fro n tin g tak e s p lace is o b lig ato ry fo r d irectiv es:
A : S w itc h th e lig h t off. B : S w itch w h F t o ff?
W h a t a n d who a re n o t restric te d in echo q u estio n s to th e ir n o rm al functions,

b u t m a y re p la c e a single n o u n o r a n ad jectiv e p h ra se. T h ere is a d eclin in g
a c c e p ta b ility th e f u rth e r o n e g ets aw ay from th e n o rm al fu n ctio n s o f who a n d
w hat:
A : H is so n is a m ac ro en g in eer.
B : H is s o n is a w h F t ?
A : S h e a lw ay s w ears a q uizzical expression.
B : She a lw ay s w ears a w h F t ex p ressio n ?
F u r th e r m o r e , w h a t m a y b e m a d e plural:
A : A s tro n o m e rs h a v e d isco v ered som e m o re b la c k holes.

B : T h e y ’v e d isco v ered som e m o re w h F t s ?
I t m a y e v e n re p la ce a v e r b :
A : S h e s a t th e re a n d ra tio cin a te d .
B : She s a t th ere a n d WHATted?
A lth o u g h r e c a p itu la to ry e ch o q u e stio n s a re o ste n sib ly requests fo r th e

r e p e titio n o f in fo rm a tio n , th ey frequently h a v e o th e r fu n ctio n s, su ch as to
e x p re s s iro n y , in cre d u lity , o r m erely to fill in a c o n v ersa tio n a l g ap . T h ey a re
f a m ilia r , o r e v en im p o lite, in im p licatio n unless a cc o m p a n ied by a n a p o lo g y :
S o rry , WHAT w a s h is j o b ?
N o te [a] T h e g e n e ra liz ed re c a p itu la to ry iv/i-question w h a t d id y o u s a y ? is so m etim es tru n c ated to th e

m o n o sy lla b le w h U t I (im p o lite e x c e p t am o n g friends), ju s t a s th e a lte rn a tiv e form ula I b e g your
p a r d o n ? c a n be red u ce d sim p ly to P ard o n ? O th e r a b b rev iate d req u e sts fo r rep etitio n a re Pardon
m e ? < A m E > , E xcuse m e? ( A m E ) , a n d Sorry? <BrE>.
[b] W h a t? o n its o w n ca n also ex p ress general incred u lity :
A : I p a id £1000 fo r th a t p ic tu re . B : w h t ? Y o u m u st be m ad .
F
!
Q u e s tio n s about questions
11.35 S in c e a n ech o q u e stio n c a n refer b a ck to any type o f u tte ra n c e , a sp ecial case
o f it is a q u e stio n a b o u t a q u e stio n , so m etim es called a q u e stio n raised to the
s e c o n d p o w e r:
A : H a v e jjou b o rro w e d m y P E N ? B : (H a v e I) borro w ed y o u r P E N ?
T h is is a y e s-n o q u e stio n a b o u t a y e s -n o q u estio n . I n a d d itio n , th ere a re th ree

fu r th e r ty p es:
Y e s -n o q u estio n a b o u t tv/i-question :
A : W h a t d o you th in k o f th e p ictu re?

B : W h a t d o I t h i n k o f it? [‘D id you say w h a t d o I th in k o f it? ’]
H Ti-question a b o u t y e s-n o q u e s tio n :
A : H a v e you e v er b e e n to V alladolid ?
B : (H av e I e v e r b e en ) w h e r e ?
Echo utterances 837
W 7i-question a b o u t iv/i-question:
A : H ow d id you enjoy th e c arn iv al?

B : H o w d id I enjoy w h F t ?
Explicatory echo questions

11.36 T h e second m a in categ o ry o f ech o q u estio n is th e e x p licato ry ech o q u e stio n ,
w h ic h a sk s fo r th e clarificatio n , ra th e r th a n th e re p etitio n , o f so m e th in g j u s t
said . I t is alw ays a w /i-question, a n d is id en tical to th e re ca p itu lato ry w h-
q u estio n , ex cep t fo r th e su b stitu tio n o f a falling to n e fo r th e risin g to n e o n
th e w /i-w ord:
A : T a k e a lo o k a t th is ! B : T ak e a look a t w h F t ?
A : H e ’s m issed th e b u s a g ain . B : w h o ’s m issed th e b u s ?
A : O h d e ar, I ’v e lost th e letter. B : WHiCH letter h av e y ou lost?
T h e last ex am p le co u ld be p a ra p h ra se d ‘W h ich letter d o you m e a n - [ ra th e r

th a n ‘d id you say ’] - you h a v e lo st? ’ T h e w/i-word rep laces som e d efin ite ite m
o f in fo rm a tio n m ea n in g {eg a p erso n al pron o u n ) th a t n e ed s c la rific atio n in
th e con tex t.
N o te la) T h e re are a b b re v ia te d fo rm s o f th e se a s o f o th e r iv/i-echo q u e s t i o n s - A : L o o k over th e r e !

B : w h £ r e ? T h e g en e ra l e x p licato ry ech o q u estio n ic i / a t m a y a lso be n o ted . I ts m e a n in g is
ro ughly ‘W h a t d o you w a n t? ’ - A : J o h n ! B: w h a t ?
[b] A n ex p licatory ech o q u estio n m ay follow a n incom plete qu estio n :
A : H ow d id you enjoy th e e r e r . . . ?
B : H ow d i d I e n j o y t h e w h t ?
F
Echo exclamations
11.37 T h e ech o ex clam atio n , lik e th e ech o question, re p ea ts p a r t o r all o f a
p re ce d in g u tte ra n c e ; b u t in c o n tra st to th e rising to n e o f th e e ch o q u e stio n , it
is c h ara cte riz ed by a rise -fa ll (or h ig h fall) to ne. T h e fo rm o f th e u tte ra n c e to
be re p ea te d m ay b e d e clara tiv e , in terro g ativ e, im p erativ e, o r e v en ex clam a-
tiv e :
A : I ’m g oing to L o n d o n fo r a holiday.
B : To L d N d o n ! T h a t’s n o t m y id ea o f a rest.
A : H a v e you b e en to P a ris?
B : Been to pA ris! I ’ll say I h a v e !
A : O p e n th e d o o r, please.
B : Open the d 6 o r \ D o you ta k e m e for a d o o rm an ?
A : W h a t a b e au tifu l d a y !
B : W hat a beautiful d a y \ Y ou m u st b e jo k in g .
A : H e m u st b e th e o nly a p p lic an t.
B : M u st be the o n ly applicant! T h a t c a n ’t be true.
S u ch ex clam atio n s, ex p ressin g asto n ish m e n t a t w h a t h as b een said , a re very

sim ila r in role to th e in cred u lo u s ty p e o f ech o q uestion. In d eed , th e re p e titio n s
italicized ab o v e could b e sp o k e n e ith e r w ith a n e x clam ato ry fallin g n u cleu s,
o r w ith th e risin g to n e o f th e e ch o question.
E ith e r in th e ech o q u e stio n o r th e echo ex clam atio n , o n e co u ld re p e a t th e
e arlie r u tte ran c e w ith v a ry in g deg rees o f com pleteness. T h u s, ra th e r th a n To
838 S en te nce type s and discourse functions
L o n d o n ! in th e first ex am p le, o n e could have said You're going to London!,

Going to L o n d o n !, o r sim ply L o n d o n ! Som e irreg u lar s u b je c t-p re d ic a te
co n stru ctio n s in w h ich th e finite v e rb is o m itted a re p ro d u ced in th ese
e x ch an g es:
A : I h e a r y o u ’re a linguist,
f B : I a lin g u is t! <form al>
| B : M e a lin g u ist!
A : T e d ’s g o in g to w rite th e m usic.
B : T ed w rite th e m u sic? W h a t a sp len d id id ea!
Irregular sentences
11.38 Som e se n te n c e s d o n o t co n fo rm to th e reg u lar p a tte rn s o f clause s tru c tu re s

(c /1 0 .2 ) o r to th e v a ria tio n s o f th o se stru c tu re s in th e m ajo r sy n ta ctic classes
(c /1 1 .1 ). I t is n o t po ssib le to m ak e p recise d istin ctio n s, b u t w e c a n m e n tio n
several w ays in w h ic h sen ten ces a re i r r e g u l F r :
(a) T h e y c o n ta in form s n o t fo u n d in reg u lar sen ten ce stru c tu re s, for

ex am p le th e su b ju n c tiv e in th e m a in clau se o f Long live the Queen ( c / 1 1.39).
(b) T h e y a re m a rk e d a s su b o rd in a te , fo r ex am p le by th e s u b o rd in a to r i f in
I f only I h a d been th ere! ( c /1 1.41).
(c) T h e y a re f r F g m e n t F r y , lac k in g co n stitu en ts th a t are n o rm ally
obligatory. T h e ellipsis m ay b e reco v erab le from th e linguistic fo rm o f th e
sen ten ce ( c / 12.46/''), fo r ex am p le th e o m issio n o f th e su b ject / a n d th e v erb
am i n :
S o rry to h e a r a b o u t y our fath er.
Or it m a y be re cp v erab le from th e p re ce d in g linguistic co n tex t, as in B ’s rep ly

in th e fo llo w in g iex ch an g e: \
A : W h e n c a n I see you?
B : T o m o rro w m o rn in g . [‘ You can see m e to m o rro w m o rn in g ? ’]
On ellip sis, c /C h a p te r 12.

T h e re a re o th e r in stan ces w here it is less co n v in cin g to p o stu late ellip sis
and w e shall n o t a tte m p t to d o so. W e co n sid er such in sta n c e s to b e
n o n s e n t e n c e s , sin ce w e can n o t an aly se th em w ith confidence in te rm s o f
clause e lem en ts. F o r exam ple, we w ould n o t w a n t to suggest th a t th e sign

Exit is ellip tic al for This is the exit, a n d th a t th erefo re E x it is a su b je ct
co m p lem en t, th o u g h d efectiv e b ecau se it lack s a d e te rm in e r such as the. W e
would n o t w a n t to do so because it is equally possible to say th a t th e sign
stands fo r (a m o n g o th e r possibilities) The e x it is here (w here T h e e x it is
subject). O th e r cases are m o re a rg u ab le; for exam ple, A good id ea ! m ig h t
reaso n ab ly be co n sid ered to be a su b je ct co m p lem en t, becau se o f th e ta g
q uestion th a t w e co u ld a d d to it: A good idea, isn’t it?
Irregular sentences 839
Irreg u la r sen ten ces m ay o ccu r also as in d ep e n d en t clauses in a co m p o u n d

sen ten ce. F o r e x a m p le :
N o t b a d , that j o k e , b u t I ’ve h e ard better.

A : A re you c o m in g w ith u s?
B : O f course, a n d so is D an iel.
Som e irreg u lar ty p es a re co m m only used as p a rts o f sentences, fo r e x am p le

Please G od as in :
Please God, th e re h a s n ’t b een a n accid en t.
In th e sectio n s th a t follow w e g en erally g roup irreg u lar sen ten ces by t h e ir

fo rm , b u t it is so m etim es c o n v en ien t to tre a t to g eth er c e rta in fe atu res th a t
are c h ara cte ristic o f a v a rie ty o f th e language. W e deal se p a ra tely ( c f 11.54)
w ith com m on fo rm u lae, m o st o f th e m n o n sen ten ces, used fo r ste reo ty p ed
co m m u n icativ e situ atio n s.
Sentences w ith op ta tive subjunctive

11.39 O n e type o f irre g u la r se n ten ce c o n ta in s th e o p tativ e su b ju n ctiv e, u sed to
express a w ish (c/3 .5 1 ). T h e o p ta tiv e su b ju n ctiv e su rv iv es in a few ex p ressio n s
o f a fairly fixed ty p e. I t is co m b in ed w ith su b je c t-v e rb in v ersio n in :
F ar be it fro m m e to spoil th e fu n . So be it.

Suffice it to sa y w e lost. So help m e God.
Long live th e R e p u b lic !
I t is found w ith o u t in v ersio n i n :
G od save th e Q u e e n !
f G od ~] f bless y o u !
■j T h e L ord I <j forbid'.
[H e a v e n J ( h e lp us!
T h e devil ta k e you. { a rc h a ic )
A less arch a ic fo rm u la (also w ith su b je ct-v erb in v ersio n ) fo r ex p ressin g

w ishes, usually blessin g s, is m a y + su b je ct + p re d ic a tio n :
M ay th e b e st m a n w in ! M ay you a lw ays b e h a p p y !
M ay all y our tro u b le s b e sm a ll! M ay you b re a k y o u r n e c k !
A n o th e r a rch a ic fo rm u la is would (to God) follow ed by a f/w f-clause w ith

p a st form s o f v e r b s :
W ould (to G o d ) t h a t I ’d n ev er h e ard o f h im !
Irregular w/i-questions
11.40 T h ere are several ty p es o f irreg u lar w /i-questions, w h ich o c cu r m ain ly in
c o n v e rsa tio n :
(i) H ow about a n d w hat about a re generally follow ed by n o u n p h ra ses or

-in g clauses. T h ey a re p rin cip ally used as d irectiv es:
840 S e n te n ce typ e s and discourse fun ction s
H o w a b o u t a n o th e r kiss?
W h a t a b o u t follow ing us in y o u r car?
B u t th e y a re a lso u sed as in q u iries:

H o w a b o u t y o u r p a ren ts? A re th e y w ell?
(ii) H o w com e is used in in fo rm al sp e e ch (esp in A m E ) to in tro d u c e reaso n

q u e s tio n s :
H o w c o m e y o u ’re so late ? [‘H o w d o es it com e a b o u t (th a t) y o u ’re so
la te ? ’]
T h e ste re o ty p e d how come is follow ed by a clause th a t follow s th e n o rm al

s u b je c t- v e r b o rd e r.
(iii) A n irre g u la r w fiy-question is fo rm ed w ith o u t subject o r a u x ilia ry : why

( + not) + p re d ic a tio n , th e v erb b ein g th e base form . I t is used a s a d irectiv e
( c /1 1 .1 6 /) :
W h y (n o t) lis te n to h im ? [‘W h y sh o u ld (n ’t)/d o (n ’t)/d id (n ’t) you listen to

h im ? ’]
(iv) T h e r e is a verbless w /iy-question, w h ich is used as a n in q u iry . T h e
q u e stio n s c o rre sp o n d to ex isten tial se n ten c es ( c / 18.44/"):
W h y n o classes to d ay ? ~ W h y a re th ere n o classes to d ay ?

W h y a ll th e n o ise? ~ W h y is th e re all th e noise?
(v) H 7 i-q u estio n s (except for W iy-questions) w ith o u t a su b je ct a n d w ith a

to -in fin itiv e as t h e v erb are o ccasio n ally fo u n d as in q u irie s :
W h a t to d o n e x t? [‘W h a t sh o u ld I/w e do n e x t? ’]
W h o to sipe?
W h ic h w a y to go?
(vi) D e p e n d e n t finite w A -interrogative clauses are u sed a s d irec tiv e
h e a d in g s in w r itte n E n g lish for su g g estio n s:
H o w you b a n m ak e y o u r fo rtu n e
W h e re y ou sh o u ld e a t in L os A ngeles
A d e p e n d e n t iviiy'-clause is used as a sta te m e n t h ead in g :
W h y y o u sh o u ld h av e a m ed ical e x a m in a tio n once a y e ar
(vii) D e p e n d e n t in fin itiv e w/i-clauses o f th e sam e form as th o se in (v) are

m o re c o m m o n jy u sed th a n th e fin ite c lau ses in (vi) a s d irec tiv e h e a d in g s:
W h a t to d o in a n em erg en cy [‘W h a t o n e should do in a n e m e rg en c y .’]

W h e re to g o fo r h elp [‘W h ere o n e c an go for h e lp ’]
W h o to p h o n e a fte r office h o u rs
W h e n to s e n d in yo u r a p p lic a tio n
H o w to m e n d a p u n ctu re
H o w to le a rn a foreign lan g u ag e
(viii) W h a t i f a n d how ( /in tro d u c e q u e stio n s used as in q u ir ie s :
W h a t if it ra in s ? [‘W h a t h a p p e n s if it ra in s ? ’]
T h e q u e stio n s a re also used a s d irectiv es:
W h a t if you jo in us fo r lu n ch ? [invitation]
W h a t i f you d o n ’t jo in us fo r lunch ju s t th is once ? [suggestion]
W hat i f a n d (o ccasio n ally , esp in B rE) W hat though m ay have th e m ea n in g

‘W h at d o es it m a tte r i f . . . ?’:
W h a t i f th ey a r e illite rate ? W h at th o u g h th ey a r e filthy?
N o te [a] W hat about it?, W hat o fi t? , a n d S o what f a r e used as responses to q u estio n th e sig nificance
o f w h at h as b een sa id b y a n o th e r sp e a k e r (‘ W hat difference does it m a k e ? ). H ow about th a t? is
used (esp in A m E ) to ex p ress su rp rise co m b in ed w ith ap p ro v a l o r d is a p p ro v a l:
A : F re d a n d P a m h a v e ju s t g o t m a rried . B : W ell, how a b o u t th a t?
[b] O n verbless e x c lam a to ry sen ten ces such as H ow very thoughtful! a n d W hat a good id e a !
c j 7.30.
Subordinate clauses as irregular sentences

11.41 A p a rt fro m th e s u b o rd in a te tv/t-clauses d iscussed in 11.40, sev eral o th er k in d s
o f clauses th a t a re s u b o rd in a te in form are used as irreg u lar sentences. T h ey
gen erally h a v e th e illo cu tio n ary force o f ex clam atio n s, th e o m issio n o f th e
m atrix clau se (c /1 4 .4 ) b ein g m im etic o f speechless am azem en t.
(i) 77ia(-clauses g en erally c o n ta in the p u ta tiv e should th a t m ay a cc o m p a n y

e x p ressio n s o f su rp rise { c f 14.25). T hey typically co nvey d isa p p ro v a l o r
reg ret:
T hat h e sh o u ld h a v e left w ith o u t ask in g m e!

T hat you c o u ld e v e r w a n t to m arry su ch a m an !
T hat it sh o u ld c o m e to t h is !
T hat I sh o u ld liv e to see su ch in g ratitu d e!
B ut th ey m ay also c o n v ey a p p ro v al or re lie f:
T h a t all y o u r frien d s should b e so sy m p ath etic!
T hese se n ten c es a re d istin c tly m o re fo rm al th a n th e infinitive se n ten c es in

(ii) below .
(ii) T o-infinitive clau ses co nvey k in d s o f illo cu tio n ary fo rce sim ila r to
those fo r r/iar-clauses. A c o m m o n type b eg in s w ith To think {that), an d is v ery
sim ilar in its illo c u tio n a ry force to th e f te - c la u s e s in (i), th o u g h less f o rm a l:
To th in k t h a t sh e could b e so ruthless!
To th in k th a t I w as o n ce a m illionaire!
To th in k t h a t th e y w ould tu rn m e dow n!
To th in k t h a t h e sh o u ld b e so m e a n !
To th in k th a t you m ig h t h av e been k ille d !
T h e im p lied su b je ct in su ch sen ten ces is th e first p erso n p ro n o u n ( c /N o te [b]

below ). W h en th e in fin itiv e clau se begins w ith som e o th e r v e rb th a n th in k,
its su b je ct is u n d e rsto o d fro m a n in tro d u cto ry su b ject { c f 18.58) o r v o cativ e,
o r it m ay be a p p a r e n t fro m th e previous c o n te x t:
842 S en te nce typ e s and discourse functions
T h a t b ro th er o f y ours, to be so u n couth!
Y o u fool, to fo rg e t y o u r w edding a n n iv ersary !
Y o u ’re going t o be in trouble. T o say so m eth in g like th a t!
(iii) In fin itiv e cla u se s in tro d u ced by oh exp ress a n ex clam ato ry w ish. T h e
style is p o e tic o r a rc h a ic , ex cep t w hen jo cu la r:
O h t o be in E n g la n d ! [‘I wish I w ere in E n g la n d .’]
O h t o be f r e e ! [‘I w ish I were, free .’]
(iv) N e g ativ e //c la u s e s , usually p reced ed by well o r w hy, are used to

ex p ress su rp rise:
W ell, if it is n ’t th e m an a g er him self! [‘It is in d eed th e m an a g er
h im s e lf!’]
W h y , if it isn ’t S u s a n ! [‘I t is in d eed S u s a n !’]
(v) S u b o rd in a te cla u se s beg in n in g i f only a n d c o n ta in in g th e fo rm o f th e

v e rb a p p ro p ria te to c o n d itio n a l clauses (c/1 5 .3 6 ) also ex p ress a n ex clam ato ry
w ish :
I f o n ly I ’d lis te n e d to m y p aren ts! [‘I w ish I h a d liste n e d to m y
p a re n ts.’]
I f o n ly he w e re n o t so tim id !
I f o n ly I could m a k e th e m u n d e rstan d m y p o in t o f v ie w !
A sim ila r c o n stru ctio n h a s only, ju st, o r but befo re th e m a in v e r b :

I f I ’d only lis te n e d to m y p aren ts!
I f I could ju s t m a k e th e m u n d e rstan d m y p o in t o f v ie w !
I f I could blit e x p la in !
(vi) S u b o rd in a te clau ses beg in n in g w ith supposing m ay h av e th e sam e

fo rce a s W hat i f ( c f 11.40) o r, indeed, o f th e im p e rativ e suppose:
S u p posing I k lo n ’t see h er. [in q u iry : ‘W h a t w ould h a p p e n if I . . . ?’]
S u p posing y o u c o m e w ith us. [in v itatio n ]
S u p posing thjey a r e p o o r? [‘W h a t does it m a tte r if t h e y . . . ? ’]
{ im p a tie n ce o r sc e p ticism )
N o te [a] V erb less clauses c o n sistin g o f O h f o r follow ed by a n o u n p h ra se also e x p ress an exclam ato ry
w ish. L ik e th e analogous in fin itiv e clauses, th ey are p oetic o r arc h a ic unless used jo cu larly :
O h fo r a d rin k ! : O h fo r an o th e r glim pse o f her!
O n th e o th e r hand, thfe ste re o ty p e d exclam ation O h fo r . . . 's s a k e expresses im p atien ce o r a n g e r:
O h , fo r heaven’slsak e! ( c a s u a l) O h, for C h ris t’s sak e! ( f a m ilia r )
In A m E ,/ o r heaven’s s a k e a n d f o r goodness' sake a re used by som e sp eak ers to ex p ress surprise.
E x c lam ato ry N ow f o r . . . is used to express g ratified a n tic ip a tio n th a t so m eth in g w ished for is
in d e ed av ailab le im m ed iately :
N o w fo r a good h o t b a t h !
[b] In fin itiv e clauses in tro d u c e d by To th ink (that) m ay be in te rp re te d a s so m eth in g lik e It
surprises m e to th in k . . . o r It surprises one to th in k . . . , th o u g h th e fuller fo rm s a re n o t ex clam atory.
(c] S tereo ty p ed N ot to w o rry ! is a n inform al friendly d ire c tiv e (‘D o n ’t w o rry !’). It is o fte n self-
ad d ressed .
Adverbials as directives
11.42 A d v e rb ia ls m ay h a v e th e illocutionary force o f c o m m an d s. G e n era lly a v erb
o f m o tio n is im p lie d :
F o rw ard ! O n yo u r feet! F a ste r!

L eft, r ig h t! A t th e d o u b le ! T o th e l e f t!
A t ease! Inside! T h a t w ay!
T w o a d v erb ials m ay be c o m b in e d :
Full sp eed a h ea d ! B ack to w ork!
O r a n o u n p h ra se su b ject a n d a n a d v e rb ia l :
E v ery b o d y inside! A ll a b o a rd ! C itizen s to th e left!
T h e im p lied v e rb o f m o tio n m ay be c au sativ e , th e n o u n p h ra se b e in g a d ir e c t

o b ject:
B acks to th e w a ll! [‘P u t y o u r b a ck s to th e w a ll!’]

H a n d s U p! S houlders b a c k !
H eads up! E yes dow n!
H ands on h ead s! Thum bs u p !
O n e k in d o f verbless co m m an d is co n stru cted w ith an a d v erb ial follow ed

by a u 'd /i-p h ra se :
O n w ith th e s h o w ! [‘B eg in o r co n tin u e th e sh o w .’]

O ff w ith his h e ad ! [‘C u t off his h e a d !’]
O ff w ith y o u r ja c k e t! [‘T a k e o ff y our ja c k e t!’]
O u t w ith i t ! [set e x p re ss io n : ‘T ell m e a b o u t it.’]
C o n stru c tio n s w ith up an d down a re g en erally used to ex p ress a p p ro v a l a n d

d isa p p ro v a l resp ectiv ely :
U p w ith d e m o c ra c y ! D o w n w ith ra c is m !
N o te [a] In tw o stereo ty p ed verbless sen ten ces a v erb o f m o tio n is im p lie d a fte r th e a u x ilia ry :
M u rd e r w ill o ut. [‘M u rd e r w ill com e o u t’; ‘M u rd e r w ill becom e k n o w n ’]
T ru th w ill out.
[b] O ccasio n ally ad jectiv e p h rases fu n ctio n in g as su b ject co m p lem en t m ay b e d ire c tiv e s:
C are fu l! [‘Be ca re fu l!’], Q uiet!
A phoristic sentences
11.43 T h e a p h o ristic sen ten ce stru c tu re is fo u n d in m an y p ro v erb s. T h e c o m m o n
stru c tu ra l fe atu re is th e b a la n cin g o f tw o e q u iv a le n t co n stru ctio n s a g a in s t
e ac h o th e r:
(i) T h e m o re, th e m errier. T h e sooner, th e b etter.

T h e less said, th e b e tte r.
(ii) L east sa id , soonest m en d ed . E asy c om e, easy go.
N o th in g v en tu red , n o th in g g ain e d . H e re to d ay , g one to m o rro w .
O n ce b itte n , tw ice shy. F irst com e, first served.
(iii) S p are th e rod, an d sp o il th e c h ild . M a rry in h aste, re p e n t a t leisu re.

Love m e, love m y dog. W aste n o t, w a n t not.
(iv) M o re h aste, less speed . I n for a p en n y , in f o r a p o u n d .

N o w o rk , n o m oney. O u t o f sig h t, o u t o f m in d .
L ike fa th e r, like son. So far, so good.
A ll a r e to so m e e x te n t anom alous. Item s in set (i) a p p e a r to b e ellip tical.

T h u s, th e first ex am p le m ay be co n sid ere d ellip tical (d e p en d in g o n th e
c o n te x t) fo r so m e th in g like The m ore there are o f us , the merrier we are , a
p a tte rn w h ich , a lth o u g h still on th e a p h o ris tic m odel, is m o re p ro d u c tiv e
th a n th o se o f a n y o f th e o th er sets. T h is p a tte rn is d e a lt w ith u n d e r
p ro p o rtio n a l c la u se s (c/15.51).
In (ii) th e v e r b is n o n fin ite; th e first p a r t is sem an tically s u b o rd in a te
(m o stly c o n d itio n a l). In (iii) th e v erb s m a y b e analysed as im p e rativ es, th e
tw o c la u se s b e in g in a c o n d itio n al re la tio n s h ip sim ila r to th a t in th e re g u la r
s tru c tu re e x em p lified in Spare the rod , a n d y o u (will) spoil the child ( c f 13.25).
I n (iv) b o th p a r ts are verbless.
N o te [a] A sin g le verbless c o m p a ra tiv e clause in tro d u ced by th e m ay o ccu r a s a resp o n se:
A : I d id n ’t call h e r. B : T h e m ore fool y o u !
I t m a y b e f u rth e r re d u ce d by th e om ission o f the: M ore fo o l y o u ! S im ilarly, The m ore haste, the
less sp e e d is e q u iv a le n t to th e fo rm found in th e say in g M ore haste , less speed.
[b] O th e r say in g s o f an o m a lo u s fo rm :
B e tte r la te th a n n e v e r. F irst th in g s first.
N o so o n er sa id th a n done. H an d so m e is a s h an d so m e does.
In th e la st ex a m p le, t h e ad jectiv e handsome is used in b o th po sitio n s as if it w ere a n o u n .
[c] N e w fo rm a tio n s o n th e m odel o f N o . . . n o . . . a re o ccasio n ally pro d u ced :
N o d in n e r, n o d e sse rt. [‘I f you d o n ’t e a t yo u r d in n e r, I w on’t give you a n y d essert.']
N o h o m e w o rk , n o T V .
S u b je ct-p lu s-co m p le m e n t constructions

11.44 S e v e ral ty p es o f v erb less sen ten ces o r clau ses, m o st o f th em e x iste n tia l, h a v e
th e b a sic stru c tu re o f su b ject a n d su b ject c o m p lem en t, o r o f c o m p le m e n t
a lo n e. j
(i) I n o n e co llo q u ial ty p e, th e su b ject is a p p e n d e d like a n o u n -p h ra s e tag

(c /1 8 .5 9 ): '
N ot | F d , th a t SA Lm on.
ODD s o r t , t h o s e N E lG H b o u rs o f y o u r s .
J u s t o u r L ljc K , s u e finding out.
I \
(ii) A v erb less clause co n sistin g o f su b je ct a n d su b ject c o m p le m e n t (in
th a t o rd e r) m ay b e lin k ed by a n d to a p re c e d in g clause w ith re g u la r clau se
stru c tu re . V ario u s logical re la tio n sh ip s m ay b e expressed:
H o w could y o u be so sp itefu l a n d h e r y o u r b est frien d ? [‘. . . seein g

th a t shejis y o u r b est frie n d ? ’]
Y o u c ould h a v e left befo re th e sp eech es, an d n o b o d y th e w iser,
[co n d itio n al re la tio n s h ip : ‘. . . a n d if you h a d d o n e so, n o b o d y w ould
h a v e b e e n th e w iser.’]
L ess c o m m o n ly , th e su b jectiv e case is used fo r a su b ject p r o n o u n :
T h e y left w ith o u t a w ord, an d he so sen sitiv e. [‘. . . th o u g h h e w as so

se n sitiv e .’]
(iii) A m o re co llo q u ial p a tte rn c o n ta in s a n ex isten tial v erb less clau se

c o n sistin g o f c o m p le m e n t alone. T h e clau se is a c o m m en t o n th e p re ce d in g
clau se, a n d is lin k e d to i t by a n d :
T h ey are th ic k a s th iev es, a n d no m istake.

[‘T h ey a re th ic k as th iev es, a n d th a t is no m is ta k e .’]
She left h im , a n d a g o o d th in g too. [ ' . . . , an d it ’s a good th in g too’]
H e finally b eg g ed fo r h elp , a n d n o wonder.
(iv) A lite rary a n d so m e w h a t arch aic type o f v erb less rh eto rical wh-
q u estio n ( c f 11.23) is follow ed by but in the second clause. T h e iWi-clause
consists o f su b ject follow ed by su b ject com plem ent o r o f su b ject co m p le m e n t
alone. T h e se n ten ce, also e x isten tial, expresses a c o m p a ra tiv e r e la tio n s h ip :
W h a t b e lie f so fo o lish b u t som e will e m b race it?

[‘T h ere is n o b e lie f so foolish b u t th a t th ere w ill be som e w ho will
e m b ra ce i t.’]
W h o so h o n e st b u t so m e will d o u b t his in teg rity ?
[‘T h ere is n o n e so h o n e st b u t th a t th ere will b e som e w ho will d o u b t
his in te g rity .’]
(v) A n o th e r v ersio n o f th e rh e to rica l w/i-question, b u t less fo rm al, c o n ta in s

a c o m p a ra tiv e :
W h a t b e tte r th a n a h o t sh o w er? W ho m o re fittin g th a n you ?
N o te A stereotyped su b je c t-c o m p le m e n t sen te n ce occurs in A ll clear. S im ila r stereo ty p ed sen ten ces,
b u t w ith a n a d v e rb ia l in ste a d o f a co m p lem en t, are A ll in good tim e a n d A ll cw e rp lt’s fin ish e d ’].
Block language
11.45 B lock lan g u ag e a p p e a rs in su ch fu n ctio n s as lab els, titles, n ew sp a p er
head lin es, h e ad in g s, n o tic e s, a n d ad v ertisem en ts. S im p le b lo ck lan g u ag e
m essages are m o s t o fte n n o n sen ten ces, consisting o f a n o u n o r n o u n p h ra se
o r n o m in al c lau se in is o la tio n ; n o v erb is needed, b ecau se all else necessary
to the u n d e rsta n d in g o f th e m essage is fu rn ish ed b y th e co n tex t. H ere are
som e e x am p les:
E n tra n c e 50 m p h lim it
N o e n try N o dogs w ith o u t leash
N a tio n a l F o re c a st D a n g er: falling rocks
E n g lish D e p a rtm e n t T h e N e w Y ork T im es
F re sh T o d ay P u re L em on Ju ice
F o r Sale A ll th e N ew s T h a t’s F it to P rin t
A C o m p reh e n siv e G r a m m a r o f th e E nglish L an g u ag e
T h e F irs t L u x u ry B o u n d C o llecto r’s E d itio n o f A g a th a C h ristie ’s W o rk
to be A v a ila b le in T h is C o u n try
Som e form s o f b lo ck lan g u a g e h av e recognizable clau se stru ctu res. T hose

form s d ev iate fro m re g u la r clau se stru ctu res in o m ittin g closed-class ite m s o f
low in fo rm a tio n v alu e, su ch a s th e finite form s o f th e v e rb b e a n d the articles,
a n d o th er w o rd s t h a t m ay b e u n d ersto o d from th e co n tex t.
N ew spaper headlines
11.46 N e w sp ap e r h e a d lin e s c o m m o n ly co n ta in block lan g u a g e b ecau se o f p ressu re
o n space. T h ey c a n g e n era lly b e analysed in term s o f clau se stru ctu re, th o u g h
f r e q u e n tly sc ru tin y o f th e tex t below a head lin e o bliges us to re in te rp re t th e

s tr u c tu r e .
F IL M STAR M ARRIE S E X -PR IE ST [S V Od]

[S V]
O IL S PIL L T H R E A T D EC R EA SIN G
P R E S ID E N T CA LLS F O R CALM [S V A]
S H A R E PR IC ES N O W H IG H E R TH A N EV ER [S A C5]
S T U D Y LIN K S DEA TH S TO C R O W D IN G IN PRISONS [S V O d A]
T H R E E JOCK EY S H U R T [S V]
C A M P H ELPS A D U LTS R ED ISC O V ER W ILD S [S V O d C J
T h e r e g u la r stru c tu re o f th e last tw o exam ples, for in stan c e, w ould b e Three

jo c k e y s a re hurt a n d The cam p helps adults rediscover the wilds.
I n a d d itio n to th o se m en tio n ed for block language in 11.45, c e rta in o th e r
s y n ta c tic fe atu res a re c h a ra c te ris tic o f n e w sp ap er h e a d lin e s:
(i) T h e sim p le p re sen t is used in stead o f th e p re sen t p erfectiv e, w h ich in

o th e r sty les (fo r e x am p le in co n v ersatio n ) w ould be n o rm al for re ce n t new s:
m e a t p ric e s r is e a g a in [‘M eat p rices h a v e risen a g a in .’]
(ii) T o is co m m o n ly used to exp ress the fu tu re o r a p re d ic te d a rra n g e m e n t

{ c f : b e to, 3 .4 5 /):
s e n a to r to seek re e le c tio n [‘T h e S e n a to r is to seek re elec tio n .’]
(iii) A sy n d eto n (c /1 3 .1 ) is m o re c o m m o n :
[‘A w o m an h as c la im e d th a t
w o m a n c la im s d r u g c a u s e d c a n c e r , s u e s
a d ru g hiad cau sed h e r can cer, a n d she h as su ed so m eb o d y .’]
U T IL IT Y PCILE FALLS, K IL L S PH O N E CO M PANY W O R K E R
[‘A utility p ole h a s fallen a n d has k illed a p h o n e c o m p a n y w o rk e r.’]
(iv ) V e rb s th a t a re g en erally tran sitiv e a re used in tra n sitiv e ly :
B R IT IS H v i c t o r y s u r p r i s e s [‘T h e B ritish victory h as su rp rised

(? ) e x p erts.’]
i \
N o te [a] T h e u s e o f p a s t c a u s e d in th e h e a d lin e w o m a n c l a i m s d r u g c a u s e d c a n c e r , s u e s follow s
th e n o rm a l b ac k sh ift rule in in d ire c t speech (c/'1 4.3I). S u b stitu tio n o f p resen t c a u s e s ch a n g es th e
tim e r e fe re n c e o f th e v erb to h ab itu al.
[b] T h e ex a m p le in (iv ) is stru ctu rally am biguous. In a d d itio n to th e in te rp re ta tio n giv en above,
w h ic h p resu p p o se s a n o u n p h ra se as subject w ith s u r p r i s e s , s u r p r is e s m ay be a n o u n h ea d o f th e
n o u n p h r a s e th a t co m p rises th e w h o le o f th e title.
P e rso n a l letters, cables, d iaries

11.47 B lo ck lan g u ag e is co m m o n o n p o stcard s, w h ere sp ace is re stric te d , a n d is
also o f te n used in in fo rm al p e rso n al notes. T h e first p erso n p ro n o u n an d
p e r h a p s a lso an"obvious a u x iliary are o ften o m itte d :
S o rry a b o u t Ja n e . [‘I ’m sorry a b o u t th e new s a b o u t J a n e .’]

W is h you w ere here. [‘I w ish you w ere h e re .’]
H a v in g w onderful tim e . [‘I ’m h av in g a w onderful tim e .’]
W e a th e r m arvellous. [‘T h e w eath er is m arv ello u s.’]
K n o w w ho I saw ? [‘D o you k now w h o I sa w ? ’]
E llip tical se n ten c es like the last ex am p le a re also c o m m o n in in fo rm a l

c o n v ersa tio n ( c f 11.49).
T h e lan g u ag e te n d s to be even m o re a b b re v ia te d in cables. T h e s e n d e r is
likely to o m it w h a te v e r c an be u n d ersto o d by th e receiv er fro m a k n o w le d g e
o f th e s itu a tio n :
NO m o n e y s e n d h u n d r e d [‘I h av e no m oney. Send m e a h u n d re d
d o lla rs.’]
N EG O T IA T IO N S PR O G R ESSIN G R E T U R N IN G E N D JU L Y STO P L E TTE R
f o l l o w in g [‘T h e n eg o tiatio n s a re p rogressing w ell. I a m re tu rn in g a t
th e e n d o f Ju ly . A letter will follow th is c a b le .’]
M A N U SC R IPT R E C E IV E D CH AN G ES A C C E PT E D P R IN T IN G JA N U A R Y [‘Y o u r
m a n u s c rip t h a s been received an d y o u r c o rrectio n s h av e b een
a cc ep te d . P rin tin g o f th e bo o k will ta k e p lace in J a n u a ry .’]
T h e lan g u ag e u sed in d iaries is also a b b r e v ia te d :
G o t u p a t 6, p h o n e d Bill. Bill sa id he w as ill, so h a d to can cel m ee tin g .
W e n t to office in stead . W o rk ed till 12 o n g o v e rn m e n t co n tra ct.
N o te [a] s t o p is u sed in cab les in p lace o f p u n ctu a tio n to in d icate th e en d s o f sen ten ces if th e re is a
d an g e r o f am b ig u ity .
[b] N o tes ta k e n fro m lectures, books, o r a rticles a re likely to be a b b re v ia te d , th e fo rm an d e x te n t
o f th e ab b re v ia tio n vary in g w ith th e in d iv id u al w riter.
[c] T h e in c re a sin g use o f telex instead o f ca b le h as ren d ere d th e e x trem e co n d e n sed f o r m o f
cab le la n g u ag e less co m m o n .
A bbreviated sentences in instructional w ritin g

11.48 A b b re v ia te d stru c tu re s a re typical o f in stru ctio n al w ritin g , such a s te c h n ic a l
m an u a ls, c o n su m e r leaflets o n assem b lin g o r using p ro d u cts, in s tru c tio n a l
labels o n p ro d u c ts, a n d recipes. A s in n e w sp a p e r h ead lin es, articles a re o f te n
o m itted . I t is c h a ra c te ris tic o f th is style to o m it d irec t o b jects th a t c a n be
u n d e rsto o d fro m th e context.
T ig h te n to h old b ra c k e t snugly a g ain st w all, b u t w ith o u t excessive
tig h te n in g o f screw s.
D isc o n n e c t cle an e r fro m electrical o u tle t b efo re re p la cin g belt.
A d d o n e c a n o f co ld w ater to th e c o n te n ts o f th is can . H e a t to b o ilin g
p o in t. A llow to sim m er a few m in u te s a n d serve.
W h e n m ix in g is finished, tu rn m ix e r off, u n p lu g co rd fro m o u tle t a n d
eject b eaters.
C o o k to g o ld en brow n.
B e at egg lig h tly w ith fork.
K e e p a w ay fro m h eat.
Ju s t h e a t a n d serve.
L ay flat.
O ccasio n ally th e su b ject is o m itted :

M a k e s fo u r serv in g s , \ cupful e ach
C o n ta in s w h iten e rs a n d b rig h ten ers
N o te [a] O sten siv e id e n tificatio n in d icates th a t a d ire c t o b je ct has been o m itte d an d th a t it re fe rs to

th e a rtic le o n w h ic h th e sen te n ce is w ritte n :
R e f r ig e r a te a f te r o p en in g [1]
K e e p co o l [21
K e e p o u t o f re a c h o f ch ild re n [3]
S ta n d u p rig h t [4]
O ut o f c o n te x t, se n te n c e s [ 1- 4 ] w ould be in terp rete d to refer to th e a d d ressee’s keep in g cool, etc.
[b] S p o k e n d e m o n stra tio n s, for ex a m p le o f cooking, so m etim e s a d o p t th ese ch a ra c te ristic s o f
in stru c tio n a l w ritin g .
A bbreviated sentences in informal conversation

11.49 In itial w o rd s in a se n ten c e a re frequently o m itted in in fo rm al c o n v e rs a tio n :
D o n ’t k n o w w h e re th ey are. [ 7 d o n ’t . . . ’]
W a n t a n o th e r c u p ? ['Do y o u . . .? ’]
L o st s o m e th in g ? [ 'H a v e y o u .. .? ’]
S e rv e s th em rig h t! ['It s e r v e s . . . ’]
G o o d to see y o u a g ain . [ 7 t’s g o o d . . . ’]
A n y th in g w ro n g ? [7 j a n y th in g . . . ? ’]
H o t? [ 'A r e y o u (fee lin g ). . .T]
T he p ro n o u n s a n d au x iliaries to be u n d ersto o d a re p a rtially cu ed by th e

w ords t h a t b eg in t h e sen ten c e a n d in c ase o f a m b ig u ity a re d e p en d e n t o n th e
s itu a tio n a l c o n te x t. F o r ex am p le, H o t ? could b e in te rp re te d as e ith e r A re y o u
hot? o r I s it hot?
F o r f u r th e r d iscu ssio n o f su ch sen ten ces in c o n v ersa tio n , c fY lA b ff.
A bbreviated sentences in broadcast com m entaries

11.50 C o m m e n ta rie s o n ra d io a n d television o ften c o n ta in a b b re v ia te d sentences,
usually w ith th e o m issio n o f there is, it is, o r a fo rm o f th e v e rb e : |
T h e first U p is over. F iv e m o re to com e.

S p o rt, a n d w e h a v e th e late st from W im b led o n .
A n o th e r b a ts m a n out.
T w o p lay ers w o u n d ed .
A n d n o w ai b a n d o f th e m arin es.
A n d a g ain th e sound o f bugles.
! \
Elliptical sentences in dialogue
11.51 In c o n v e rs a tio n a n d in w ritte n d ialogue, it is c o m m o n to find ellipsis in
sen ten ces th a t re sp o n d to, c o m m en t on, o r q u e stio n p rev io u s sen ten ces
sp o k en b y a n o th e r sp e a k er. T h e ellipsis is in te rp re te d from a p re ce d in g
s e n te n c e ; it av o id s re p e titio n so as to focus o n th e n ew m aterial. T h e re su lta n t
frag m e n ta ry se n ten c es c a n b e analysed for clau se fu n ctio n s th ro u g h a
re co n stru ctio n , b a se d o n p re ce d in g sentences, o f th e full fo rm s :
A : Is y o u r d a u g h te r a t h o m e ?
B : P ro b a b ly . [A - S he is probably a t hom e.]
A : W h o se n t y ou?
B : T h e m a n a g e r. [S - The m anager se n t m e.]
A : I ’m leav in g .
B : W h y ? [A - W h y a re you leaving?]
A : I c a n ’t p lay b aseb all.
B : I know . [S V - / kn o w you c a n ’t p lay baseb all.]
Nonsentences 849
A : N o b o d y ’s h ere.
B : O bviously. [A - Obviously, n o body’s here.]
A : W h en will you leav e ?
B : W ith lu ck , o n T u esd ay . [A A - W ith luck I ’ll leave on Tuesday.)
Elliptical sentences w ith o u t change of speaker

11.52 F ra g m en tary e llip tical se n ten c es m ay also o c cu r w ith o u t c h an g e o f s p e a k e r
o r w riter. In w ritin g , th e y a p p e a r especially in c ertain styles o f fiction a n d
a d v ertisin g :
T w o stran g e figures a p p ro a c h e d . M artians!

J a n e t felt u n c o m fo rtab le . Y es, very uncomfortable.
I t h as a very d is tin c tiv e ta s te . Crisp and fresh .
D esigned in S w ed en , th is te a k d esk is a terrific buy. Show n with our
exceptionally priced de sk chair.
N o te T h e se frag m en tary se n te n ces a re to be d istin g u ish ed fro m th e sen ten ce frag m en ts th a t are m e rely
th e resu lt o f a p u n c tu a tio n d ev ice to in d ic a te a d ra m a tic pau se for em p h asis. T h ey a re also
co m m o n in fiction a n d a d v e rtis in g :
H e w as d ru n k . A nd penni l ess.
W e h ave all k in d s o f c o n te m p o ra ry fu rn itu re. For every room in the house.
Nonsentences
11.53 N o n sen ten ces, u su ally b u t n o t exclusively n o u n p h rases, o c cu r fre q u e n tly in

sp eech , m ostly in in fo rm a l co n v ersa tio n . W e c an d o n o m o re th a n give so m e
ex am p les w ith th e ir illo c u tio n a ry force. (A n o p tio n al v o cativ e c a n freq u e n tly
b e a d d ed .)
(i) E x clam ato ry n o u n p h ra s e s m odified by a restrictiv e re la tiv e clause (in

m o st in stan ces w ith th e z ero re la tiv e ) generally exp ress d isa p p ro v a l:
The clo th es sh e w e a r s ! [c f . W h a t clo th es sh e w e a rs !]

The th in g s th ey g e t u p t o !
The w ay h e c o m p la in e d a b o u t th e fo o d !
The fuss th ey m a d e !
(ii) A lso e x p ressin g sco rn fu l d isa p p ro v al a re e x clam ato ry p h ra se s c o n sist

in g o f a no u n p h ra se, g e n era lly a p ro n o u n , follow ed by a n d a n d a n o th e r n o u n
p h ra se w ith a m a tc h in g p o ssessiv e p ro n o u n :
Y ou a n d y our s ta tis tic s ! [‘I d ep lo re th e w ay you so freq u e n tly reso rt to

sta tistics.’]
H im a n d his m alicio u s g o s s ip !
P a t a n d h e r c h ild ish h o b b ie s !
T h e su b jectiv e c a s e is less co m m o n ly used for th e first p r o n o u n : H e a n d his

m alicious gossip!
(iii) E x c la m a to ry p rep o sitio n al p h rases b eg in n in g w ith O f a ll ex p ress

stro n g d is a p p r o v a l:
O f all th e im p u d e n c e ! O f all th e stupid th in g s to s a y !
(iv ) E x c la m a to ry noun o r a d jectiv e phrases m ay ex p ress a p p ro v al o r

d is a p p r o v a l:
C h a r m in g cou p le! D irty place! S tupid!

E x c e lle n t m e a l! V ery in terestin g ! P o o r th in g !
(A ) g o o d i d e a ! D isg u s tin g ! Big b a b y ! [‘W h a t a helpless
p erso n you a r e ! ’]
N o tic e t h a t a rtic le s are o ften o m itted .

I f th e p h r a s e is d irected a t th e p erso n addressed, it m ay be p re faced by
y o u ; e g : Y o u a n g e l! [‘Y o u ’re a n a n g e l!’], You poor thing!, Y o u id io t! T o e x p re ss
a m o re f a m i l i a r - a n d m o re a ffe ctio n ate - relatio n sh ip m y is u se d ; eg: M y
poor b a b y !, M y silly b o y !
(v) N o u n p h ra s e s m ay h a v e th e force o f co m m an d s o r req u ests. W h ere

a p p r o p ria te , a n a d v erb ial such a s please m ay acco m p an y th e n o u n p h r a s e :
A tt e n t i o n ! P a tie n c e ! A p o und o f b u tte r, p lease.

A c tio n s ta tio n s ! L ig h ts ! A n o th e r coffee, if you
T a x i! Phone! d o n ’t m in d .
Y o u r tu rn . J u s t a d ro p m ore! T h e letter, p lease.
S c a lp e l! M y h a t, p le a s e ! T h e d o o r!
S cisso rs, so m eb o d y ! N e x t slide, please.
I n so m e in sta n d e s, th e in te rp re ta tio n d e p en d s on th e situ atio n al c o n tex t. F o r

e x am p le, T h e d o o r! m ig h t m e a n ‘S h u t th e d o o r!’, ‘W atch th e d o o r!’, ‘O p en
th e d o o r ! ’, o r e v e n ‘L eave th e ro o m !’ F o r o th e r verbless c o m m a n d s, c / 1 1.42.
(vi) N o u n p h ra s e s m ay h a v e th e force o f offers o r in v ita tio n s, p a rticu la rly

w h en th e y a re s p o k e n w ith risin g in to n a tio n :
C ig a r e tte ? j M y a p a rtm e n t?
M o re coffee; an y o n e? A n o th e r ro u n d ?
A g a in th e in te rp re ta tio n m ay d e p e n d on th e situ atio n al c o n te x t. A lte rn a tiv e

q u e stio n s m a y h a v e th e sam e fo rc e : t e a o r c d F f e e ? , M y p l a c e o r y o u r s ?
(v ii) N o u n a n d ad jectiv e p h ra se s w ith rising in to n a tio n m a y h a v e th e

force o f in q u irie s. T h ey m ay fu n c tio n as y e s-n o q u e stio n s:
N e w h a t? G ood flig h t? B oring?

Y our book? A n y lu ck , R o n ? T asty ?
N e x t s lid e ? F alse a la rm ?
I n p la c e o f th ese q u estio n s, it is p o ssib le to use a n o u n p h ra se follow ed by a

ta g q u e s tio n , eg: Too hot, are you?, N e w hat, is it?, Good flig h t, was it?.
T h ey m a y also fu n ctio n as a lte rn a tiv e q u estio n s:
y o u r c a r o r y o u r MOTHer’s ? HOT o r c o l d ?
o r as a n in q u iry h a v in g th e force o f iv/i-questions:

Nonsentences 851
Y o u r n F m e ? [‘Y o u r n am e i s . . . ? ’] Y o u r AGE? Y our r F n k ?

Y o u ro ccu p A tio n ?
T h ese c a n be an aly se d a s co rresp o n d in g to (for ex am p le) W hat is your n am e?,

TelI m e your nam e, C ould yo u tell m e your nam e ?
(viii) N o u n p h ra se s m ay m ak e assertions, co n v ey in g in fo rm a tio n :
False a la rm N o new s
N o luck T h a t w ay [‘T h ey w en t t h a t w ay .’]
B usiness call [‘T h e p h o n e call w as a b u sin ess c all.’]
(ix) E x clam a to ry n o u n p h ra ses m ay convey a w a rn in g :
F ire! [noun] T h e police! T im b er! A v a lan ch e!
(x) E x clam a to ry n eg ativ e n o u n ph rases m ay co nvey a p ro h ib itio n :

N o sm o k in g ! N o m o re noise! N o p u sh in g !
(xi) N o u n p h ra se s (w ith possible ex p an sio n s) m ay m erely convey so c i
ab ility :
N ic e d a y a g ain . G o o d w eath er w e’re h a v in g . Lovely e v en in g .
(xii) E x clam a to ry n o u n p h ra ses m ay be self-addressed, ex p ressin g th e

h e a re r’s a la rm o r fru stra tio n a fte r a p erio d o f fo rg etfu ln ess:
T h e c a k e ! [‘I sh o u ld h a v e ta k e n th e c ak e o u t o f th e o v en .’]
M y h u sb a n d ’s b irth d a y ! [‘I ’ve forg o tten m y h u sb a n d ’s b irth d a y .’]
M y in te rv iew !
(xiii) V o cativ es ( c f 1 0 .5 2 /) a re used alo n e for a v ariety o f p u rp o se s: fo r

ex am p le, to su m m o n , to reb u k e, to q u estio n w h e th e r th e person a d d re ss e d is
p re sen t, o r to re m in d o f a n o rd e r o r a request.
(xiv) N a m e s o r n o u n p h rases referring to p erso n s are used in v erb less

in tro d u ctio n s, g e n era lly w ith a v o c a tiv e :
L ad ies a n d g e n tle m e n , th e n ex t p re sid en t o f th e U n ited S ta te s o f

A m E rica! [‘I p re s e n t th e n ex t p r e s id e n t. . . ! ’]
M y m o th e r a n d FA ther, su san . [‘T hese a re m y . . . ’]
d F d - Jo h n T O bin, a good frien d o f m ine. [‘D a d , let m e in tr o d u c e . . .’]
T w o o r m o re p e rso n s m ay be in tro d u ced to e ac h o th er, g estures p e rh a p s

in d ic a tin g th e d iffere n t p e rs o n s :
JOAN, m y siste r - JOHN, a good f r i e n d o f m in e
O th e r ex am p les o f verbless sentences a p p e a r in th e list o f form ulae ( c f

11.54).
V erbless clauses a p p e a r a s th e first clause in coo rd in ated co n stru c tio n s th a t express a co n d itio n a l
relatio n sh ip ( c f 11.29 N o te [a], 13.25).
(a) T h e co n stru c tio n m a y h a v e th e force o f a dire ctiv e:
O ne m o re ste p an d I ’ll sh o o t, [cf: T a k e on e step m o re an d I’ll shoot.]
T w en ty p o u n d s a n d you c a n h av e th e radio, [cf: G iv e m e tw en ty p o unds a n d you can h a v e
th e radio.]
A n o th e r d rin k o r I ’ll d ie o f th irst, [cf: G iv e m e an o th e r d rin k o r I'll die o f th irst.]
A s te r e o ty p e d se n te n c e h a s verbless clauses in b o th p a r ts :
Y o u r m o n e y o r y o u r lif e ! [cf : G iv e m e yo u r m oney o r I ’ll ta k e y o u r life.]
T r ic k o r tr e a t !< A m E ) {‘G iv e m e a tre a t o r I ’ll play a tric k o n yo u .’]
(b ) T h e c o n s tru c tio n m ay h av e the force o f a sta te m e n t:
A m in u te m o re a n d we w ould h ave m issed th e tra in .
[‘I f w e h a d a rriv e d a m in u te la ter, w e w ould h av e m issed th e tr a in ’]
A n o th e r s u c h sto rm an d th e river w ould h av e overflow ed its b an k s.
A few m o re fe e t a n d you w ould have gone o v er th e cliff.
N o tic e th e u s e o f w o u ld have , ty p ical in co n d itio n a l sen ten ces ( c f 15.36).
Fo rm u lae
11.54 M o s t fo rm u la e u se d for stereotyped c o m m u n ica tio n situ atio n s are g ra m m a t
ically irre g u la r. O n ly in a very lim ited w ay c a n th ey b e an aly sed in to clau se
e le m en ts. I n th e fo llo w in g list, we give a few e x am p les o f th e m ajo r ty p e s :
GREETINGS: G o o d m o rn in g , G o o d afte rn o o n , G o o d e v en in g <all f o r m a l) ;

H e llo ; H i ( f a m ilia r )
f F r e w e l l s : G o o d b y e , G ood n ig h t, A ll th e b e st ( in f o r m a l) , C h eers,
C h e e rio ( B r E , fa m ilia r), See you ( f a m ilia r ) , B ye(-bye) ( f a m ilia r ) , So
lo n g ( f a m i l ia r )
in t r o d u c t i o n s : H o w d o you d o ? ( f o r m a l) , H o w a re you?, G la d to m ee t
yo u , H i ( f a m ilia r )
r e F c t io n s ig n F l s :
(a) assent, agreem ent: Y es, Y eah /je /; A il rig h t, O K ( in f o r m a l)
C e rta in ly , A b so lu tely , R ig h t, E xactly, Q u ite ( B r E ) , Sure ( e s p A m E )
(b) denial, disagreem ent: N o, C e rta in ly n o t, D efin itely n o t, N o t a t all,
N o t lik ely
t h F n k s : T h a n k you (very m uch), T h a n k s (very m u ch ), M an y th a n k s , T a
( B r E s la n g ) , T h a n k s a lot, C h eers (fa m ilia r B rE )

t o F s t s : G o d d h e a lth ( fo rm a l), Y o u r good h e a lth ( f o r m a l) , C h eers
( fa m ilia r> ? H e r e ’s to you, H e re ’s to th e fu tu re, H e re ’s to y o u r n e w jo b

s e F s o n F l g r e e t i n g s : M erry C h ristm a s, H a p p y N e w Y e ar, H a p p y
B irth d a y , M a n y h a p p y retu rn s (of y o u r b irth d a y ), H a p p y A n n iv e rsary
F l F r m c F l l s i H e lp ! F ire !
w F r n i n g s : Midnd, (Be) careful!, W atch o u t!, W atch it! ( f a m ilia r )
F p o l o g i e s : ( I ’p i) sorry, (I beg your) p a rd o n ( f o r m a l) , M y m ista k e
r e s p o n s e s t o A p o l o g i e s : T h a t’s O K ( in f o r m a l) , D o n ’t m e n tio n it, N o
m a tte r ( f o r m a l) , N e v e r m in d , N o h a rd feelings ( in f o r m a l)
c o n g r F t u l F t i o n s : C o n g ratu latio n s, W ell d o n e, R ig h t o n ( A m E s la n g )
e x p r e s s io n s o f F n g e r o r d is m is s F l (fam ilia r; g ra d ed in o r d e r fro m

e x p re ss io n sjo f dism issal to tab o o curses): B eat it ( e s p A m E ) , G e t lost,
B last y o u ( B r E ) , D a m n you, G o to hell, B ugger off ( B r E ) , F u c k off,
F u ck you
e x p l e t i v e s ( f a m ilia r ; likew ise g ra d ed in o rd e r o f in creasin g s tr e n g th ) : M y
G o sh , (By) G o lly , (G ood) H eav en s, D o g g o n e (it) ( A m E ) , D a rn (it),

H e ck , B last (it) ( B r E ) , G ood L o rd , (G o o d ) G o d , C h rist A lm ig h ty , O h
hell, D a m n (it), B ugger (it) ( e s p B r E ) , S h it, F u c k (it)
m i s c e l l F n e o u s e x c l F m F t i o n s : S h am e ( f a m ilia r ) , E n co re, H e a r, h e ar,
O v e r m y d e a d bo d y ( f a m ilia r ) , N o th in g d o in g ( in f o r m a l) , Big d eal

( f a m ilia r , ir o n ic ) , O h d ear, G o al, C h e ck m ate
Nonsentences 853
N o te T h at’s O K ^ in fo rm a l), D on't m enti on i t. Y ou're w elcome <esp A m E ) , an d N o probl em <esp A m E )

are also used a s :responses to th a n k s.
M o st o f th e fo rm u lae allo w fo r little o r no change in th e ir fo rm . T h e g reetin g form u la
(ap p ro p ria te to a first m e etin g ) H ow d o y ou d o ? has a regular clause stru ctu re, b u t in th e form u laic
sense th e v erb c a n n o t be m a d e p a s t (* H ow d i d y ou d o ?), th e su b ject c a n n o t be c h a n g ed from yon
( *H ow do they d o ?), th e se n te n c e c a n n o t be su bordinated as a n in d ire c t q uestion ( *T h ey ask ed
hi m bow be d i d .) o r a n sw ered in e q u iv a le n t statem en t form ( * / do v ery w el l ). T h e a p p ro p ria te
response to th e g reetin g is th e re p e titio n H ow do y ou d o ?
S om e im p recatio n s a r e im p e ra tiv e in fo rm , but th ey do n o t h a v e th e stru ctu ral p o te n tia litie s
o f im p erativ es. F o r in sta n ce, th e re a re n o neg ativ e form s * D on't b l ast y ou, * D on't bugger i t, a n d
a n indefinite o bject, su ch a s som e stu den ts, is n o t p o ssib le: *B l ast som e students / Sim ilarly, th e
form ulaic D on't m enti on i t c a n n o t b e m a d e po sitiv e (* M enti on i t).
Interjections
11.55 In terjectio n s a re p u re ly e m o tiv e w ords w h ich d o n o t e n te r in to sy n tactic
relations. Som e o f th e m h a v e p h o nological fe atu res w h ich lie o u tsid e th e
reg u lar system o f th e lan g u ag e. Whew, fo r in stan c e, c o n ta in s a b ila b ial
fricativ e [®iu], [$ :]; tu t-tu t co n sists o f a series o f alv e o lar clicks, [H], W h a t w e
p ro d u ce below a re th e sp ellin g co n v en tio n s fo r a w id e ra n g e o f so u n d s.
S econdary p ro n u n c ia tio n s a re d e riv e d from the sp ellin g co n v en tio n s ( c /N o te
[c] below ). I n a d d itio n , m an y in terjectio n s m ay be a sso ciated w ith
n o n sy stem atic fe a tu re s su c h a s e x tra len g th en in g a n d w id e p itc h range.
A h (satisfactio n , re co g n itio n , e tc ) ; A ha (ju b ila n t sa tisfac tio n , r e c o g n itio n );

A hem , [a?am] (m ild call fo r a tte n tio n ); Boo (d isa p p ro v al, usually fo r a
sp e a k er a t g a th e rin g ; also su rp rise noise); E h ? [ei] (im p o lite req u est fo r
rep etitio n , b u t c /1 1 .1 1 ) ; H ey (call for a tte n tio n ); M m (casu al ‘yes’); O h
(surprise); O ho ( ju b ila n t su rp rise ); Ooh (p leasu re o r p a in ); Oops (m ild
apology, shock, o r d ism ay ), Ouch [autj], O w [a u ] (p a in ); Pooh (m ild
disap p ro v al o r im p a tie n c e ); S h [J] (request fo r silen ce o r m o d e ra tio n o f
no ise); T u t-tu t [ll] (m ild re g ret, d isap p ro v al); Ugh [ x ] (d isg u st); Uh-huh,
F
also Uh-uh (a g re e m e n t o r d isa g reem en t); W ow (g rea t su rp rise)
N o te [a] T h e ab o v e is n o t in te n d e d a s a co m p lete list. Som e in terje ctio n s a re less freq u en t, eg: Y i ppee
(ex citem en t, delight), P sst [ps] (call fo r atte n tio n , w ith re q u e st fo r silence). T h e a rc h a ic
in terjectio n A l as (sorrow ) m a y be en c o u n te re d in literature.
[b] In terjectio n s a re so m etim e s used to in itia te u tte ra n c e s: O h, w hat a nui sanc e ; A h, t h at ’s perf ect.
[c] T h e re a re also som e sp ellin g p ro n u n c ia tio n s: [/wg] for ugh: (tx t txt] fo r tut -t ut , o fte n w ith a n
iro n ic to n e ; [hau h su ] a n d [h a : ha:], b o th rep resen tin g la u g h ter, a re alw ays ironic.
B ib lio g ra p h ic a l n o te
O n speech acts see A u stin (1962); C ole a n d M organ (1975); L eech (1980), esp C h a p te r 4, a n d
(1983); L yons (1977); S earle (1969, 1979).
O n questions see H u d d lesto n (1971) C h a p te r 2; H udson (1 975b); M alo n e (1967); P o p e (1976);
S tockw ell e t al (1973) C h a p te r 9 ; o n tag questio n s Bald (1979), C a tte ll (1973), M illar a n d B row n
(1979); o n altern ativ e q u e stio n s B olin g er ( 1 9 5 7 ,1978a); o n m o re th a n o n e w /i-elem ent B olinger
(1978b); on neg ativ e q u estio n s K o n tr a (1980).
O n directiv es see B olinger (1967c), a n d (1977a) C h ap ters 8 & 9 ; D o w n e s (1977); S tein (1976);
S to c k w e lle ta l (1973), C h a p te r 10; T h o rn e (1966); o n stativ e v e rb s in d ire ctiv es M an cza k (1979).
O n anom alous u tte ra n c e s see B ow m an (1966); L eech (1963); M o rg an (1973); S tra u m a n n
(1935); Y anofsky (1978).
12 Pro-forms and ellipsis
12.1 In tro d u ctio n 858
12.2-7 Reduction and coordination 858

.3 R ed u ctio n as a sy n tactic p h en o m en o n 859
.4 M o tiv atio n for red u ctio n 859
.5 C o o rd in atio n a n d red u ctio n as cohesive devices 861
.6 -7 R eco v erab ility 861
12.8-13 Pro-form substitution 863

.8 T h e d ifference b etw een co referen ce a n d su b stitu tio n 863
.9 C h a rac te ristic s o f su b stitu tio n 864
.10 L ists o f pro-form s 865
.11 A d v erb s w ith a c o refe ren tial o r su b stitu te fu n ctio n 866
.12 A n ap h o ric, c atap h o ric , an d situ atio n al use o f su b stitu tio n 867
.13 C ro ss-referen ce o f it, this, that, a n d so to clauses
an d sen ten ces 868
12.14-20 Substitution for noun phrases and their constituents 869

.15-16 O ne as su b stitu te form 869
.17-18 Som e, none, etc a s su b stitu te form s 870
.19 T hat an d those as su b stitu te form s 872
.20 The sam e as su b stitu te form 873
12.21-30 Substitution for clauses and clause constituents 874

.21 T h e v erb do in su b s titu tio n a n d e llipsis 874
.22-25 D o as m ain verb 875
.22 D o as in tra n sitiv e v erb 875
.23 T h e co m b in atio n do so 875
.24-25 C o m p ariso n o f do so w ith do it a n d do that 876
.26 Do as su b stitu te v e r b : a su m m ary 879
.27-30 S o as p ro-form 879
.27 So as c o m p lem en t su b stitu te 879
.28 So a n d not as su b stitu te s for t/iar-clauses 880
.29 In itia l so 882
.30 So as p ro -p red ic atio n 883
12.31-38 Ellipsis 883

.31 T h e n a tu re o f ellipsis 883
.32-38 C rite ria for ellipsis 884
.33 (a) T h e e liip ted w o rd s a re precisely recoverable 884
.34 (b) T h e ellip tical co n stru ctio n is g ram m atically ‘d e fec tiv e ’ 885
.3 5 (c) T h e in se rtio n o f th e m issing w ords resu lts in
a g ra m m a tic a l sentence (w ith th e sam e m ea n in g
as th e o rig in a l sentence) 886
.3 6 (d) T h e m issin g w ord(s) are textually reco v e rab le, an d
(e) are p re se n t in th e tex t in exactly th e sam e fo rm 887
.37 E llip sis d efin ed in term s o f g rad ien ce 888
.3 8 T y p es o f ellip sis 889
1 2 .3 9 -4 0 E llip s is a n d s u b s t itu tio n 890

.40 Q uasi-ellipsis and v irtu a l ellipsis 891
1 2 .4 1 -4 4 T h e c la s s if ic a tio n o f e llip sis 892

.42 Recoverability type 892
.43 Functional type 892
.44 Form al type 893
1 2 .4 5 -5 2 C a te g o rie s o f e llip s is : re c o v e ra b ility 895

.45 A n a p h o ric a n d c a ta p h o ric ellipsis 895
.4 6 - 5 1 S itu atio n al ellip sis 895
.4 7 - 4 8 E llipsis in d e c la ra tiv e sentences 896
.47 (a) E llip sis o f su b ject alone 896
.48 (b ) E llip sis o f su b ject plus o p erato r 897
.4 9 - 5 0 E llip sis in in te rro g a tiv e sentences 898
.49 . (a) E llip sis o f su b ject plus o p e rato r 898
.50 , (b) E llip sis o f o p e ra to r alone 898
.51 O th e r cases o f situ atio n al ellipsis 899
.52 S tru ctu ral ellip sis 900
1 2 .5 3 -7 0 C a te g o rie s o f e llip s is : fu n c tio n 900

.5 3 - 6 5 G e n era l ellip sis 900
.5 4 -5 8 E lljp tical n o u n p h ra ses x 900
.55 A d jectiv es a n d n o u n s as heads 90 1
.56 E llipsis o f m o d ifiers 902
.57 T h e n o n o c cu rre n ce o f in itial g eneral e llipsis 903
.58 M ed ial e llip sis 904
.5 9 -6 5 E llip tical c la u se s 904
.59 E llipsis o f th e p re d ic atio n in finite clau ses 904
.60 d o as ‘s tr a n d e d ’ o p e rato r 905
.61 E llipsis o f th e p re d ic ate 906
.62 M ed ial e llip sis 907
.63 E llipsis in vv/i-clauses 908
.64 E llipsis in ro -infinitive clauses 908
.65 E llipsis o f a n e n tire clause 909
.6 6 -7 0 Special types o f ellip sis 910
.67 In n o n fin ite a n d verbless clauses 910
In c o o rd in a tio n
In c o m p a ra tiv e clauses
In a p p e n d e d clauses
Bibliographical note
858 P ro -fo rm s and ellipsis
I n tr o d u c tio n
12.1 T h e p re c e d in g c h a p te rs have been co n cern ed w ith th e b asic stru ctu res o f
E n g lish se n ten c es. W e tu rn in th is a n d th e follow ing c h a p te rs to the w ays in
w h ic h th e s e b a sic c o n stitu en t stru c tu re s c an u n d erg o e lab o ratio n (or
e x p a n s io n ) a n d re d u ctio n (or a b b rev iatio n ). In 2 .9 -1 0 s u b o r d i n a t i o n a n d
c o o r d i n a t i o n w ere in troduced as tw o p rin cip les w h ereb y th e stru ctu re o f a
s im p le s e n te n c e c an e n te r in to a m o re co m p lex stru ctu re. In the case o f
s u b o rd in a tio n , o n e clause is e m b ed d ed in an o th e r, w hile in th e case o f
c o o rd in a tio n , o n e clause, o r p a rt o f a clause, is co m b in ed w ith a n o th e r
c o n s titu e n t o f e q u iv a le n t statu s in th e stru ctu re o f th e sentence. In p rin cip le,
b o th th e s e p ro cesses, if they are used iterativ ely , allow a lim itless com plexity
o f g ra m m a tic a l stru ctu re.
In c o n tr a s t to su b o rd in atio n an d co o rd in a tio n , r e d u c t i o n ( c / 2 . 5 2 ) is a
g r a m m a tic a l p rin c ip le w hereby th e stru c tu re o f a sen ten ce is a b b rev iate d ,
a v o id in g re d u n d a n c y o f expression. W e h a v e so fa r ( c /2 .5 1 - 2 ) recognized
tw o k in d s o f re d u c tio n , th e use o f p r o - f o r m s , an d e l l i p s i s :
M EA NS O F S T R U C T U R E R ED U C TIO N M EANS O F STR U C TU R E EX PANSION
P ro -fo rm s ( 1 2 .8 -3 0 ) C o o rd in atio n (C h a p te r 13)

E llip sis (1 2 .3 1 -7 0 ) S u b o rd in a tio n (C h a p te rs 14 an d 15)
T h ese d e v ic e s o f ex p an sio n an d a b b re v ia tio n w ill now b e m o re tho ro u g h ly

in v e s tig a te d ; b u t it will be c o n v en ien t to d iv id e th e w hole to p ic in to th ree ,
c o n c e n tra tin g in th is c h a p te r o n red u ctio n , tu rn in g in th e n e x t c h a p te r to
c o o rd in a tio n , a n d leaving u ntil C h a p te rs 14 a n d 15 th e d e ta ile d stu d y o f
s u b o rd in a tio n .
Reduction and coordination

12 .2 T h e re is good] reaso n , a p a rt fro m co n v en ien ce, fo r d ealin g w ith red u ctio n
a n d c o o rd in a tio n in n eig h b o u rin g ch ap ters. W h en we c o o rd in ate tw o o r
m o re u n its , w e d u p lic a te the sam e k in d o f s tru c tu re ; for ex am p le, C lause +
C la u s e ; N o u n P h ra se + N o u n P h ra se + N o u n P h rase. T h is k in d o f
d u p lic a tio n d o e s n o t n o rm ally o ccu r w ith o u t a p arallelism o f m ean in g o r
fu n c tio n b e tw e e n th e conjoins. Such p arallelism , in tu rn , im p lies an o v e rla p
o f c o n te n t a n d stru c tu re . F o r exam ple, tw o clauses w h ich a p p are n tly h a v e no
c o n n e c tio n o f m ea n in g , like th o se o f [1], a re n o t likely to be ju x ta p o se d o r
c o o r d in a te d :
P u s h k in w a s R u ssia ’s g reatest poet.

S p e c ia l te rm s a re av ailab le for sen io r citizen s.
B u t m o re co m m o n ly ju x ta p o se d a re sen ten ces lik e [2], w h ich sh are som e

com m on g ro u n d :
P u s h k in w a s R u ssia ’s g reatest poet.

T o lsto y w a s R u ssia ’s g reatest novelist.
Reduction and coordinatio n 859
T h is co m m o n g ro u n d , m o reo v e r, often show s itself in th e s h a rin g o f a

co m m o n s tru c tu re ; eg e a c h sen ten c e o f [2] has th e stru c tu re S V C . I t sh o w s
itself fu rth e r in th e re p e titio n o f th e w ords th em selv es: th u s b o th se n ten c es
o f [2] c o n ta in th e w o rd se q u en ce was Russia's greatest. T h is s h a rin g o f
c o m m o n lexical c o n te n t is a ty p ical con d itio n u n d er w h ich th e re d u ce d
a lte rn a tiv e is chosen. N o t o nly c a n [2] be expressed as a single u n re d u c e d
se n ten ce by th e dev ice o f c o o rd in a tio n :
P u sh k in w as R u ssia ’s g re a te s t poet, an d T olstoy w as R u ssia ’s

g re atest n o v elist. [2a]
I t c a n also be red u ce d to a m o re co m p act form by, fo r e x am p le, th e

c o m b in a tio n o f ellipsis o f th e seco n d verb w ith th e p ro-form her :
P u sh k in w as R u ssia ’s g re a te s t p o et, a n d T olstoy h er g re atest

novelist. [2b]
So close is th e a sso ciatio n b e tw ee n co o rd in atio n an d ellipsis th a t w e c a n n o t

very well u n d e rsta n d th e o n e p h en o m e n o n w ith o u t u n d e rsta n d in g th e o th e r
( c /f u r th e r 1 3 .4 4 ^ ).
Reduction as a syntactic phenomenon

12.3 A lth o u g h red u ctio n m ay in g e n era l b e reg ard ed in sem an tic o r p ra g m a tic
term s as a m ea n s o f a v o id in g re d u n d an cy o f expression, w h a t k in d s o f
re d u ctio n are p e rm itte d is larg ely a m atter o f syntax. E n g lish p e rm its, fo r
ex am p le, n o re d u ctio n o f th e fo rm o f [1], w h ereby the re p e titio n o f all th re e
w o rd s wax R ussia's greatest is a v o id e d :
* P u sh k in w as R u ssia ’s g re a te s t poet, a n d T olstoy novelist. [1]
O n e o f th e m ajo r task s o f th is c h a p te r will be to ex p lain th e c o n d itio n s fo r

ellipsis a n d th e use o f p ro -fo rm s, w hereby, for in stan ce, 12.2 [2b] is
g ra m m a tic a l a n d [1] a b o v e is n o t. S u ch an ex p lan atio n m u st g iv e a n a c c o u n t,
also, o f th e d ifferen t d eg rees a n d ty p es o f red u ctio n w h ich m ay b e a v a ila b le
to th e lan g u ag e u ser as sy n o n y m o u s altern ativ es. F o r e x am p le, [2a—f] a re
red u ced a lte rn a tiv e s to [2]:
T h e g irls sw am fa ste r th a n it w as exPECTed th a t th e girls w o u ld

sw im . [2]
T h e g irls sw am fa s te r th a n it w as exPECTed th a t th ey w ould sw im . [2a]
T h e g irls sw am fa s te r th a n it w as exPECTed th a t th ey w ould do .
<BrE> _ [2b]
T h e g irls sw am fa ste r th a n it w as exPECTed th a t th ey w ould. [2c]
T h e g irls sw am fa ste r th a n it w as exPECTed they w ould. [2d]
T h e g irls sw am fa ste r th a n w as exPECTed. [2e]
T h e g irls sw am fa ste r th a n exPECTed. [2f]
M o tiva tio n for reduction

12.4 S u ch synonym ous p o ssib ilities as a re illustrated in 12.3 [2a—f] a re n o t eq u ally
acc ep ta b le . W h a te v e r g ro u n d s th e re m ay be in an y g iven case fo r e x p ressin g
o n e se lf w ith m ax im u m e x p licitn ess, th ere a re generally stro n g p re fe re n c e s
860 Pro-fo rm s and ellipsis
fo r th e m ost eco n o m ical v a ria n t, viz th e o n e w hich ex h ib its th e g re atest

d e g re e o f red u ctio n . O th e r th in g s b e in g e q u al, language u sers w ill follow th e
m a x im ‘reduce a s m u ch as p o ssib le’. T h is generally m ean s p re fe rrin g ellipsis
to th e use o f p ro -fo rm s, w here th e re is a ch o ice b etw een th em . T h u s [2c] is
slig h tly m ore eco n o m ical th a n , a n d to th a t e x ten t p referab le to, [2 b ]; sim ilarly
th e ellipsis allow ed in [la ] below is slightly m ore eco nom ical th a n th e use o f
p ro -fo rm s in [ lb ] :
S h e m ig h t sin g to n ig h t, b ut I d o n ’t th in k sh e will (sing to n ig h t). [la ]

S h e m ig h t sin g to n ig h t, b u t I d o n ’t th in k sh e will do so. [lb ]
S u c h p re fe re n ce for re d u ctio n is n o t m erely a preference fo r e co n o m y : it c an

a ls o c o n trib u te to clarity , by red u cin g item s w h ich are sh a red as ‘g iv en
in fo rm a tio n ’, so th a t a tte n tio n w ill be focused on fresh m ate ria l, o r ‘n ew
in fo rm a tio n ’ (c /1 8 .8 ), a s in th e d ialo g u e below :
A : H av e y o u sp o k en to B o b ? B : A N o t y e t A. [2]
F ro m here on w e use, w h en co n v en ien t, th e co n v en tio n o f m a rk in g ellipsis

b y th e sym bol A . A lth o u g h th e full, u n red u ced version o f a se n ten c e is o ften
sty listically u n fa v o u re d , w e shall also, fro m tim e to tim e, follow th e p ra ctic e ,
a lre a d y in tro d u c ed in [la ], o f sh o w in g o ptionally e llip te d w o rd s in
p a re n th e s e s :
A : H av e you sp o k en to B o b ? B : (I h av e) N o t yet (sp o k en to B ob).
W e h av e m en tio n ed ab o v e a m ax im ‘red u ce as m u ch as p o ssib le ’; b u t it

sh o u ld be a d d e d th a t re d u ctio n is a v o id ed , a t least in carefu l w ritte n style,
w h e re it w ould lead to a m b ig u ity o r som e o th e r k in d o f difficulty fo r th e
in te rp rete r::
A fter H e r R oyal H ig h n ess h a d n a m e d th e ship, she slid sm o o th ly

and g racefu lly d o w n th e slipw ay, h ittin g th e w ater w ith b a rely
a sp lash . [3]
In th e c o u rse o f th e play , A tre u s k ills his w ife A ero p e, A e g isth u s
his u n c le A treu s, a n d P e lo p ia herself. [4]
O nly m y c o u sin , th e h o u sek eep er, a n d M rs B aldw in w ere in th e
house a t th e tim e o f th e b u rg lary . [5]
Ill-advised re d u c tio n c a n h a v e v ario u s effects; eg th e a m u s e m e n t c au sed by

[3], w here the ship is clearly th e in te n d e d an te ce d e n t o f she (c /5 .1 1 1 N o te );
a n d th e c o n tu sio n o r p u z zlem e n t w h ic h is likely to be a re a d e r ’s first re ac tio n
to [4], w here th e d o u b le ellipsis o f th e v erb kills adds to th e c o m p re h e n s io n
p ro b lem s cau sed by th e G re e k n am es. F u rth e r, sen ten c e [5] e x h ib its
a m b ig u ity , sin c e it is n o t c le ar w h e th e r the housekeeper A s c o o rd in a te d o r
a p p o sitiv e. T h is a m b ig u ity co u ld b e a v o id ed by using a re la tiv e cla u se in stea d
o f ap p o sitio n (m y cousin, who is the housekeeper ), o r by in se rtin g a n a d d itio n a l
and (m y cousin and the h o u se k ee p er . . . ; c/1 3 .1 7 ).
N o te U n red u ced fo rm s are used fo r rh e to ric a l effect in cases o f ‘expressive re p e titio n ’; c f 19.23. In
ad d itio n , re p e titio n m ay so m etim es b e a v o id ed by th e su b stitu tio n o f co refe re n tia l ex p ressio n s
(c/1 9 .4 9 ), such a s th e co refe ren tial n o u n p h ra se th e teacher i n :
Peter S a n d d e n ied he ev e r n eg lecte d h is stu d en ts: the teacher claim ed th a t th e school
ad m in istra tio n had a g ru d g e a g a in s t h im .
R eduction and coordination 861
Coordination and reduction as cohesive devices

12.5 T h ere is a fu rth e r reaso n , a p a rt from th e fact th a t c o o rd in a tio n o ften in v o lv es
ellipsis, fo r in clu d in g re d u ctio n an d c o o rd in a tio n in n eig h b o u rin g c h a p te rs .
T h e tw o p ro cesses o f re d u ctio n a n d c o o rd in a tio n , a lth o u g h d issim ilar in t h a t
o n e e x p an d s w h e rea s th e o th e r co n tracts stru c tu re , actu ally h av e re la te d
fu n ctio n s, in th a t th ey p ro v id e cohesion in d isco u rse ( c /1 9 .1 1 ,19.44 ff, 19.57).
W h en w e e x a m in e h ow a sequence o f sen ten ces c a n b e com b in ed to fo rm a
sp o k en o r w ritte n tex t, th e tw o devices w h ic h m o st p erv asiv ely m ark th e
co n n ectio n s b e tw ee n o n e id ea an d a n o th e r are, o n th e o n e h a n d , the o v e r t
linkage o f co n ju n c tio n s a n d conjuncts, an d , o n th e o th e r h an d , th e c o v e rt
lin k ag e o f co refe ren c e a n d su b stitu tio n w h ic h e x ists by v irtu e o f p ro -fo rm s
an d ellipsis. T h e p h e n o m e n a w e shall b e d iscu ssin g in th is c h a p te r c a n b e
illu strated n o t o n ly th ro u g h co n n ectio n s within sen ten ces, b u t th ro u g h
c o n n ectio n s betw een th e m , as in 12.4 [2]. N e v erth e le ss, o u r tre a tm e n t o f
co o rd in a tio n a n d re d u ctio n in th is c h a p te r will b e larg ely confined to sin g le
sentences. T h e ro le o f c o o rd in a tio n an d re d u c tio n in in te rse n ten c e c o n n e c tio n
will be ta k e n u p in C h a p te r 19.
Recoverability
12.6 O n e a sp e ct o f re d u c tio n as a cohesive d ev ice in tex ts is th e fa c t th a t th e full
form o f w h a t h a s b een red u ced is gen erally r e c o v e r l e f r o m c o n t e x t .F |
T h e re le v a n t ‘c o n te x t’ is o ften th e linguistic c o n te x t: ie a n eig h b o u rin g p a r t

o f th e t e x t ; b u t (as n o te d in 5 .2 8 -3 1 ) th e re are o th e r so u rces fro m w h ich w h a t
h as b een re d u ce d c a n be recovered. W e sh all first m e n tio n th e m o st im p o rta n t
type o f re c o v e ra b ility fro m th e g ra m m atica l p o in t o f v iew :
(i) t e x t u F l r e c o v e r F | il it y : th e full fo rm is reco v erab le from a n e ig h

b o u rin g p a r t o f th e text.
T o th is w e a d d tw o lesser k in d s o f re co v erab ility , w h ic h d o n o t c o n trib u te

directly to c o h esio n o f tex t:
(ii) s it u F t io n F l r e c o v e r F | il it y : th e full fo rm is reco v erab le from th e

ex tra lin g u istic situ atio n .
(iii) s t r u c t u rl r e c o v e r
F i l i t y : th e full fo rm is reco v erab le n o t th ro u g h
F |
k n o w led g e o f co n tex t, b u t sim ply th ro u g h k n o w led g e o f g ra m m a tic a l

stru ctu re.
A red u ced fo rm su c h a s th e p ro n o u n she m ay b e s a id to p resu p p o se k n o w led g e

on th e p a rt o f th e h e are r, as well as o f th e sp e a k e r, o f its in te n d e d re fe re n t.
W e c a n reco v er th e id en tity o f th e re fe re n t e ith e r fro m th e situ atio n o u tsid e
lan g u ag e [1], o r fro m th e linguistic c o n te x t [ 2 - 3 ] , ie fro m in fo rm atio n g iv e n
in th e d isco u rse itself:
Is she b a d ly h u rt? [1]

T he poor g irl d id n o t co m p lain , a lth o u g h she w a s b ad ly h u rt. [2]
A lth o u g h she w as b ad ly h u rt, the poor g irl d id n o t co m p lain . [3]
O n e c a n im a g in e so m eo n e saying [1] o n a rriv in g a t th e scene o f a n a c c id e n t

in w h ich a g irl h a s b e en stru ck by a c ar. I t w o u ld be ev id e n t fro m th e
situ atio n , w ith o u t fu rth e r elab o ratio n , w h ic h p e rso n w as m ea n t by she. I n [2]
an d [3], o n th e o th e r h a n d , th e id en tity o f ‘sh e ’ is g iven by th e lin g u istic
862 P ro -fo rm s an d ellipsis
c o n te x t. W e re co g n ize tw o k in d s o f tex tu al re co v e rab ility : [2] is a n exam ple

o f th e a n a p h o r i c u se o f th e p ro n o u n a n d [3] is a n e x am p le o f th e c a t a p h o r i c
use ( c f 6.19). W e sh o u ld , m o reo v er, m ak e th e sam e p o in t h e re a s in C h a p te rs
5 a n d 6 : textual re c o v e ra b ility is b est reg ard ed as a sp ecial case o f situ atio n al
re c o v e ra b ility ; ie th e in fo rm a tio n g iven elsew here in th e te x t is, for the
p u rp o se o f the d isc o u rse , th e explicit p a rt o f th e situ a tio n a l know led g e w hich
is a v a ila b le to a d d re s s e r a n d addressee. It is n a tu ra l, th e n , th a t an ap h o ric
re fe re n c e (refe re n ce to so m e a n te ce d e n t w h ich h as a lre ad y b een m en tio n ed )
sh o u ld b e m u ch m o re c o m m o n th a n c atap h o ric re fe re n ce (referen ce to som e
‘a n te c e d e n t’ to b e m e n tio n e d later). A lth o u g h th e te rm a n t e c e d e n t ( c / 2 . 4 4 )
lite rally m ean s ‘g o in g b e fo re ’, we ap p ly it, as o th e rs h a v e d o n e, to item s
w h ic h follow th e p ro -fo rm o r ellipsis, as well as item s w h ic h p reced e it.
T h e t h ir d k in d o f reco v erab ility , stru ctu ral re co v erab ility , is illu stra te d by
th e o p tio n a l o m issio n o f th e co n ju n ctio n that i n :
I t is stra n g e (th a t) n o b o d y h eard th e n oise. [4]
S in c e th e w ord th a t is u n iq u ely reco v erab le in [4], it is re aso n a b le to include

it u n d e r th e h e a d in g o f ellipsis. B ut in th is case, c o n te x tu a l in fo rm a tio n is
irre le v a n t: th e o p tio n a lity o f that is pu rely a m a tte r o f g ra m m a tic a l stru ctu re
(c /1 5 .4 ).
12.7 R e co v e rab ility is c ru cial to th e use o f p ro -fo rm s. P ro -fo rm s su c h a s p erso n al

p ro n o u n s h av e v ery u n sp ecific m ea n in g s; eg: she m ea n s sim p ly ‘th e fem ale
p e rso n w e k n o w a b o u t’, it ‘th e th in g w e k n o w a b o u t’, etc. T h ere fo re it is
n ecessary , for th e in te rp re ta tio n o f th ese w ords, to h a v e in fo rm a tio n from
w h ic h w e can u n iq u e ly p re d ic t th e ir in te n d e d referen ts. T h is in fo rm a tio n is
u su ally fo u n d 1in a p re c e d in g o r follow ing p a rt o f th e te x t, b u t it m ay also be
fo u n d in the situ a tio n . T h e task o f in te rp re ta tio n is th e sam e for p ro n o u n s
su c h as he, she, it as fo r d efin ite noun p h ra ses such as the o ld la d y ( c f 5 .2 8 /'),
e x ce p t t h a t sin ce th e m e a n in g o f a 3rd p e rso n p ro n o u n is less specific, th ere
is c o n seq u en tly m o re d e p en d e n ce o n co n tex t. I n th e case o f 1st an d 2nd
p e rso n p ro n o u n s, o n th e o th e r h a n d , th e re fe re n ts are u sually easily
re co v e rab le fro m th e situ atio n .
E ssen tially th e sa m e d istin c tio n s a p p ly to ellipsis. T h e n o rm al u n d e rstan d
ing o f th e term e l l i p s i s is th a t w ords are o m itte d w h ere u n d e rsta n d in g can
be a ch ie v e d w ith o u t w o rd re p etitio n , as in :
S h e m ig h t sing tonight, b u t I d o n ’t th in k t h a t sh e w ill (sing to n ig h t). [1]
T h is is a case io f te x tu a l reco v erab ility , specifically o f n p h o r i c e l l i p s i s ,

F F
sin ce th e a n te c e d e n t o ccu rs e arlie r in th e tex t. T h e o th e r p o ssib ility , th a t o f

c Ft p h o r ic
F e l l i p s i s , is illu strated i n :
I f you w an t (m e to (b u y th e tickets)), I ’ll buy the tic k e ts .. [2]
(O n th e o m issio n o r re te n tio n o f to in su ch cases, c f 12.64.) A s w ith p ro

fo rm s, h o w ev er, th e re d u n d a n c y need n o t re late to w o rd s im p lied by the
lin g u istic co n tex t. T h e w o rd s m ay b e o b v io u s fro m th e situ atio n . F o r
ex am p le, a h o st m ay in v ite a guest to e a t a sa n d w ic h w ith th e w o rd s: L ik e
one? I n th is case, th e se n ten c e m ay be re g ard ed as a n ellip tic al v a ria n t o f
W ould y o u like one ? ( c f 12.49).
P ro-form substitution 863
Pro-form substitution
Th e difference betw een coreference and substitution

12.8 T h e b o n d b etw een a p ro -fo rm a n d its an teced en t m ay be o f tw o d iffere n t
k in d s: c o r e f e r e n c e a n d s u s t i t u t i o n . T hese relatio n sh ip s a re in p rin c ip le
|
q u ite d istin c t, b u t in p ra c tic e th ey o v e rla p , as will b e seen in 12.9.

C o referen ce, as th e n a m e im p lies, m ean s th e bo n d o f ‘c ro ss-re fere n ce ’
b etw een tw o item s o r e x p ressio n s w h ich refer to th e sam e th in g o r set o f
th in g s. I t is, as w e h a v e seen, a ty p ic a l fu n ctio n o f p ersonal p ro n o u n s su ch as
she a n d th ey, a s well as a co m m o n fu n c tio n o f definite no u n p h rases c o n ta in in g
the, this, that, these, a n d those { c f 5.30f , 6.44). In th is c h a p te r, h o w ev er, w e
shall be m o re co n ce rn ed w ith th e relatio n o f su b stitu tio n th a n w ith th a t o f
co referen ce1.
S u b stitu tio n , as its n a m e suggests, is a relatio n b etw een p ro -fo rm a n d
a n te c e d e n t w h ereb y th e p ro -fo rm c a n b e und ersto o d to h a v e ‘re p la c e d ’ a
re p ea te d o c cu rren ce o f th e a n te c e d e n t. A m ajo r test o f su b stitu tio n , th ere fo re,
is w h e th er th e a n te c e d e n t c a n b e co p ied , w ith o u t ch an g e o f m ea n in g , in to
th e p o sitio n ta k e n by its p ro -fo rm su b stitu te. F o r ex am p le one su b stitu te s fo r
a fir s t p rize in [1], as th e e q u iv a len c e o f [1], g ram m atically a n d se m an tica lly ,
w ith [la ] show s:
Bill g o t a fir s t p rize th is y ear, a n d I g ot one last year. [ 1]

Bill g o t a fir s t p rize th is y e ar, a n d I g ot a fir s t p rize last year. [ la ]
I t is c le ar th a t th e p ro n o u n one is g ram m atically a n d sem an tically e q u iv a le n t

to a fir s t p rize in [1], b u t it is also c le a r th a t it does n o t refer to th e sam e p rize
a s does a fir s t prize. In o th e r w o rd s, th e su b stitu tio n relatio n b e tw ee n a p r o
fo rm a n d its a n te c e d e n t is n o t n ecessarily a relatio n o f coreference.
C o n v ersely , a re la tio n o f co refe ren c e b etw een tw o item s is n o t n e cessarily
a re la tio n o f re p la c e a b ility :
Two p la yers in ju red them selves d u rin g th e m atch . [2]
In [2], th e tw o p h ra ses in ita lic s a re co referen tial, in th a t th e set o f p e rso n s

d e n o te d by two players is th e sa m e se t o f perso n s as th a t d en o ted by them selves.
W e could n o t, how ever, re p la ce them selves by two players w ith o u t a c h a n g e
o f m e a n in g :
Tw o p la yers in ju red two p la yers d u rin g th e m atch . [2a]
(In o th e r c ases o f c o refe ren c e, o n th e o th er h a n d , such re p la c e m e n t is

po ssib le; c /1 2 .9 .)
S u b stitu tio n do es n o t im p ly a n e x ac t copying o f a n exp ressio n . W h e n th e
re p ea te d e x p ressio n is re sto red in th e p o sitio n o f th e su b stitu te, it m ay d iffer
m o rp h o lo g ically fro m th e a n te c e d e n t:
OH6S I
) I saw in th e m ark e t.
{ coats J
In th is resp ect, su b stitu tio n is a n alo g o u s to w h a t we la te r call s ta n d a rd ellip sis

(c/1 2 .3 8 ).
N o te O n th e o th e r h a n d , su b stitu tio n b rin g s w ith it th e req u irem en t th a t th e re p ea ted ex p ressio n h a v e

th e s a m e m e a n in g in b oth o f its occurrences. T h u s it w ould be im possible, e x c ep t in jo k in g , to

s u b s titu te one for th e rep etitiv e occurrence o f a n ai l in [3]:
( II hh uu rtrt mm yy nail w hile ham m erin g a nail in to th e wall.

nail w hile ham m ering one into th e wall.
[3]
[3a]
Cha racte ristics of substitution

12.9 A lth o u g h th e re are p o in ts at w hich co referen ce a n d su b stitu tio n o v e rla p , we
s h o u ld in g e n era l tre a t th em as d istin c t k in d s o f cohesive relatio n . T h e m a in
c h a ra c te ris tic s w h ich d istin g u ish su b s titu tio n from coreference a r e :
(i) A s a lre ad y show n by exam ples 12.8 [1] a n d [la ], a su b stitu te p ro -fo rm
c a n be re p laced by th e a n te ce d e n t w ith o u t u n a cc ep tab ility o n stru c tu ra l
g ro u n d s a n d w ith o u t ch ange o f m ea n in g . T h is, o f course, is su b je ct to
s tru c tu ra lly p re d ic ta b le v a ria tio n , as m en tio n ed in 12.8.
(ii) A s u b s titu te p ro -fo rm (eg: one, ones, some) can b e eith e r d e fin ite o r
in d efin ite , w hile a co referen tial p ro -fo rm (eg: he, she, they) is alw ays
definite.
(iii) C o re fe re n tia l p ro -fo rm s a re alw ays p ro n o u n s o r p ro n o u n -related a d v e rb s
(eg: there, th en ; c /1 2 .1 0 /), b u t su b stitu te p ro -fo rm s m ay b e o u tsid e th e
p ro n o u n c ateg o ry (eg the su b stitu te v e rb do).
(iv ) A s u b s titu te p ro-form is n o rm ally h ig h ly d e p en d e n t on its lin g u istic

c o n te x t fo r in te rp re ta tio n ; eg it is difficult to m ak e sense o u t o f co n te x t
o f:
I ’ve n e v e r m et one. D id you d o a n y !

A g n es said so. I h o p e not.
C o re fe re n tia l pro-form s, o n th e o th e r h a n d , can be p laced o n a scale o f

te x t-d ep e n d e n ce in th is sense. P ro n o u n s su ch as he a n d sh e te n d to be
hig h ly d e p e n d e n t o n linguistic co n te x t, w h ereas o th er w o rd s (su ch as
the, this, a n d that) o ften p o in t to so m e th in g w h ich is k n o w n o r o b se rv ed
in th e situ atio n al context.
W h ile th ese d istin c tio n s will b e illu stra te d in th e follow ing se ctio n s, it is as
w ell to b eg in w ith a com m only a risin g ex am p le o f th e difficulty o f d is
tin g u is h in g b etw een th ese tw o re la tio n s :
George w as th e b est ru n n e r in o u r school, an d so everyone

e x p ected th a t he would w in th e p rize. [ 1]
T h is is a stra ig h tfo rw a rd case o f co referen ce by p ersonal p ro n o u n s: unless

th e c o n te x t suggests a n o th e r a n te ce d e n t, it w ill generally b e u n d e rsto o d th a t
G eorge a n d he refer to th e sam e p erso n . B u t in th is case, u n lik e 12.8 [2], th e
s u b s titu tio n o f th e a n te ce d e n t fo r th e p ro n o u n will n o rm ally leav e th e
m e a n in g o f th e sen ten ce u n c h a n g e d :
George w as th e b e st ru n n e r in o u r school, a n d so everyone

ex p ected th a t George w ould w in th e prize. [la ]
I n fa c t, th e d istin c tio n b etw een c o referen ce a n d su b stitu tio n as sp ecified in

c rite rio n (i) ab o v e becom es in d is tin c t w h e rev e r b o th th e p ro -fo rm a n d th e
P ro -fo rm substitution 865
a n te ce d e n t a re d efin ite. F o r th is reason, it is im p o rta n t to c o n sid e r th e w h o le

set o f c riteria (i-iv ) a b o v e, ra th e r th a n to rely o n th e first c rite rio n only.
N o te E ven so, it is so m etim e s arg u e d th a t th e failure to reduce a noun p h ra s e to a p ro n o u n , as i n [la ],

inv ites a different in te rp re ta tio n from th a t o f th e reduced eq u iv alen t [ 13- I t is arg u e d , th a t is , th a t
th e tw o Johns in Jo h n thi nk s Jo h n w ill win a re n o t co referen tial, a n d th a t th e refo re Joh n thi nk s
John w i l l w in an d Joh n thi nk s he w i l l w in h av e d ifferent m ean in g s, o n ly th e la tte r in v o lv in g
coreference. M ore realistically , how ever, w e c a n ad m it th a t b o th th e se se n te n ces are am b ig u o u s
in th a t th ey m ay o r m a y n o t be in terp rete d as co n tain in g co referen ce. F o r ex a m p le, th e tw o
Johns in John thi nk s Jo hn w i l l w in m ay be co referen tial, if th e use o f a p ro -fo rm is a v o id e d for
som e special rh e to ric a l effect, such as th e irony o f: John's great est ad m i rer i s John.
Lists of p ro -fo rm s
12.10 In illu stratin g c rite ria (i-iv ) in 12.9, w e m ay ta k e it th a t c rite rio n (i) h a s b e en ,
an d will co n tin u e to be, exem plified w ith o u t th e n e ed fo r a n y fu rth e r
discussion. C rite rio n (ii), th a t o f definiteness, can b e st b e ex p la in ed by a
listin g o f th e m a in p ro -fo rm s in e ac h c ateg o ry :
LIST 1 : PR O -FO R M S U SE D F O R CO R EFER EN C E
(a) p e r s o n F l p r o n o u n s (6 .1 5 # ) su ch as he, she, it, th e y , her, them

(b) r e f l e x i v e p r o n o u n s (6 .2 3 # ) such as m yself, him self, them selves
(c) p o s s e s s i v e p r o n o u n s (6 .2 9 /) su ch as m y, his, her; m ine, hers, theirs
(d) d e m o n s t r F t i v e p r o n o u n s (6 .4 0 # ) this, that', these, those
(e) d e f i n i t e F d v e r | s o f tim e (8 .5 1 # ) then; a n d o f p lace ( 8 .3 9 # ) here, there
(f) th e D E F IN IT E P R O N O U N AN D PR E D E T E R M IN E R such (6.44 N o te [b]).
LIST 2 : PR O -FO R M S U SE D FO R SUBSTITUTION
(a) i n d e f i n i t e p r o n o u n s ( 6 .4 5 # ) one{s),som e, any, none, either, neith e r,fe w !
few er/few est, m any/m ore / m ost, (a) little/less/least, m uch/m ore/m ost, several,
enough, each, all, half, both, other(s), another. T h e s e a re in d efin ite
(q u a n tita tiv e ) p ro n o u n s o f th e k in d w h ich e n ters in to th e o /c o n s tr u c tio n
(6.48).
(b) d e m o n s t r F t i v e p r o n o u n s (6 .4 0 # ) that, those
(c) p r o - p r e d i c F t e a n d p r o - p r e d i c F t i o n do (1 2 .2 1 # )
(d) P R O -C O M P L E M E N T , P R O -P R E D IC A T IO N , a n d PR O -C L A U SE J O (1 2 .2 7 # )
(e) P R O N O U N a n d PR O -C O M PL E M E N T the sam e, likewise, sim ilarly (12.20)
(f) F d v e r | s o f p ro cess (8 .7 8 # ) j o , thus ; a n d o f d eg ree o r in te n sity (8 .1 0 4 # )
j o , that.
F ro m these lists, it is e v id e n t th a t pro-form s used in c o refe ren c e a re all item s

o f definite, ra th e r th a n o f in d efin ite m ean in g . A larg e p ro p o rtio n o f th e item s
in th e list o f su b s titu te form s, how ever, are indefinite.
M an y o f th e p ro n o u n s w h ich o ccu r in L ist l are fu n c tio n ally p a ralle l to
no u n p h ra ses in tro d u c e d by d efin ite d e term in ers, su ch as the bag, this tim e,
those new boots. C o re fere n ce is a g en eral fe atu re o f d efin ite n o u n p h ra se s , as
h as alre ad y b een m a d e c le ar in C h a p te rs 5 a n d 6 (c f 5.30 f, 6.19, 6.44), a n d as
will be fu rth e r d iscu ssed in 19.44#.
L ist 2 in clu d es do only as a m ain verb. T h e a u x iliary do, a n d p aralle l
‘stra n d ed ’ m o d a l au x iliaries, are som etim es an aly sed a s su b s titu te fo rm s in
exam ples su ch as:
D id
you leave e arly ? [1]
W ill
d id
B : Y es o f c d u R S E we [2]
will
In fa c t, w e will n o t an aly se such au x iliaries in term s o f s u b s titu tio n , b u t

ra th e r in te rm s o f ellip sis; fo r fu rth e r discussion o f th is p o in t, c/1 2 .6 0 .
T h e ite m s in L is t 3 c o n sist o f m o re th a n one p ro -fo rm , in som e cases
b rin g in g to g e th e r a sp e cts o f c o referen ce a n d su b s titu tio n :
l is t c o m p l e x p r o - f o r m s which are substitutes fo r p r e d i c F t

3: e s
or PREDICATIONS
do so, d o it, do (Just) that, do the sam e, do likewise (1 2 .2 3 jf)
N o te That and those are exceptional in occurring in both List 1 and List 2. They can obviously be
coreferential. O n the use o f these item s as substitute forms, c f\2 A 9 .
A dve rbs w ith a coreferential or substitute function

12.11 C rite rio n (iii) in 12.9 m a k e s th e p o in t th a t co referen ce is p rim a rily a
c h a ra c te ris tic o f p ro n o u n s. Y e t in L ist 1, n o t only p ro n o u n s b u t ad v erb s
occur. T h is a p p a re n t a n o m a ly will n ow be explained. T h e c o n c e p t o f reference
involves th e n a m in g o f so m e o b ject o r set o f o bjects in th e w o rld , a n d th is
re fe re n tia l fu n c tio n is c h ara cte ristica lly p erfo rm ed b y n o u n p h rases.
P ro n o u n s, w h ich h a v e a n o u n -p h rase-lik e c h ara cte r, are th e re fo re th e p rim a ry
in stru m e n ts o f co referen ce. O h th e o th e r h a n d , su b stitu tio n c a n in p rin cip le
apply to a n y type o f c o n s titu e n t:
P le a s e sign y o u r nam e i f you h a v e n ’t alread y done so.
H ere do n e so act's a s a su b s titu te for th e p re d icatio n signed y o u r name.

H o w ev e r, th e a d v e rb s (e) a n d th e p re d eterm in er such (f) w h ic h a p p e a r in
L ist 1 b e lo n g here b eca u se th e y co n ta in definiteness a s p a r t o f th e ir m ean in g ,
an d c a n b e easily p a ra p h ra s e d by m ea n s o f noun p h ra se s : then c a n o ften be
p a ra p h ra s e d by ‘a t/a fte r th a t tim e ’, here a n d there by ‘a t th is /th a t p la c e ’, a n d
th e p re d eterm in ep such (as in such a day)sipan sim ilarly b e p a ra p h ra s e d by
‘like th is ’ o r ‘like t h a t ’. T h e s e item s a re ty p ical o f c o re fe re n tia l p ro -fo rm s in
th a t th e y le n d th em selv es to s itu a tio n a l as well as to a n a p h o ric o r c a ta p h o ric
in te rp re ta tio n .
T h e c o re fe re n tia l use o f th ese item s is illustrated in th e fo llo w in g :
O ne m orning j h e c a p ta in in v ite d us to th e b ridge. H e to ld us then

a b o u t his se c re t o rd e rs. [ 1]
B e tw ee n L o n d o n a n d O x fo rd th e re is a fa m o u s inn called the
G eorge and D ragon. H ere w e sto p p ed for lunch. [2]
W ith th e a b o v e ex am p les, a s w ith p rev io u s exam ples o f co refe ren c e, th e pro-

form c a n n o t b e re p la ce d by th e a n te c e d e n t w ith o u t som e c h a n g e o f referen ce.
F o r e x am p le, if w e re p la ce then by one morning in [1], it is n o t c le a r w h e th er
the m o rn in g m e n tio n e d in th e first sen ten ce is th e sam e as th e o n e m en tio n ed
in th e s e c o n d sen ten ce. O n th e o th e r h an d , such re p la c e m e n t w ould be
possible i n [3], w h ere b o th p ro -fo rm a n d a n te ce d e n t a re d e f in ite :
P ro-fo rm substitution 867
I f y o u look in the top drawer, you’ll p ro b a b ly find it there. [3]
T h e a d v erb s in L is t 2, h o w ev er, are b est classified a s su b stitu tes:
P ro fesso r S a n d s w a s attending to one o f the routine laboratory tasks.

W h ile h e w as thus/so en gaged, how ev er, h e o b serv ed th a t o n e
o f th e ra ts w as b e h a v in g oddly. <form al> [4]
T o th e G re ek s, P a n w as a herdsm an god, half-m an, half-goat; an d
h e is thus/so re p re se n te d in th e ir scu lp tu re. <form al> [5]
T h o u g h B airsto w d e sig n ed th e c a r to ex ceed 400 miles per hour, few
peo p le b eliev ed t h a t it w ould go < fonnal> [6]
(c/T u rth er 7 .8 9 ,1 9 .5 0 .)
H e re, a lth o u g h p a ra p h ra s e w ith such p h ra ses as ‘in th a t m a n n e r’ o r ‘to
th a t e x te n t’ is po ssib le, t h e m ea n in g is m o re a b s tra c t th a n in th e case o f here,
then, e tc. F o r ex am p le, [5] is p a ra p h ra se d b y :
T o th e G re ek s, P a n w a s a herdsm an god, half-m an, half-goat; an d

h e is re p re se n ted a s a herdsm an god, half-m an, half-goat in th e ir
scu lp tu re. [5a]
E v en th o u g h th e re p e titio n in [5a] m a in ta in s sy nonym y w ith [5], th e ita lic iz e d

p h ra ses in [5a] c o n ta in in d efin ite r a th e r th a n d efin ite n o u n p hrases. W e m a y
th ere fo re re g ard th ese a d v e rb ia l uses o f j o a n d thus as in stan ces o f s u b s titu tio n
ra th e r th a n o f co referen ce.
A t th e tw o p o les o f co referen ce a n d su b s titu tio n th e d istin c tiv e n ess o f
th ese tw o cohesive re la tio n s is clear, b u t it is in th e ad v erb c ateg o ry in
p a rtic u la r th a t th e re te n d s to b e a m id d le g ro u n d o f overlap , as in d ic a te d in
F ig 12.11.
F ig 12.11 P r o -fo rm -A n te c e d e n t R e la tio n s
A naphoric, cataphoric, and situational use of substitution

12.12 C rite rio n (iv) o f 12.9 is th a t th e su b stitu te p ro -fo rm alm o st alw ays re q u ire s
tex tu a l reco v erab ility , w h e rea s th is is n o t g en erally tru e o f c o referen tial p r o
fo rm s. F o r ex am p le, th e fo rm s this a n d th a t freq u en tly h av e e x tra lin g u istic
referen ce, as in Is th is/th a t m y pla te? T h e sa m e is tru e, less freq u en tly , o f 3 rd
p e rso n p ro n o u n s su ch a s he, she, a n d it ( c f 6.15, 12.6). O n th e o th e r h a n d ,
su b stitu te s such as th e p ro n o u n one a n d th e p ro -p red ic atio n do so n o rm ally
re q u ire a n an te ce d e n t. T h e re la tio n w ith th e a n te c e d e n t m ay b e a n a p h o ric ,
as in [1], or, o ccasio n ally , c a ta p h o ric , as in [2]:
T h e re ’s a clean tow el in th e c u p b o ard , if you need one. [ 1]

I f you need one, th e re ’s a clean towel in th e cu p b o ard . [2]
E v e n w ith su b s titu te form s, how ever, situ atio n al referen ce c a n n o t be en tirely

e x c lu d e d . E x a m p le s such as W ould you like one? m ay b e h e ard , w here th e
m e a n in g o f one is o n ly reco v erab le from th e situ atio n (eg w here th e sp eak er
is c a r r y in g a b o w l o f peach es, so th a t one is in te rp re te d as synonym ous w ith
a peach).
N ote The conditions governing the cataphoric use o f substitute forms are the same as those governing
the catap h o ric use o f personal pronouns (c /6 .19) or o f ellipsis (c f 12.45).
C ro ss -re fe re n ce of it, this, that, and so to clauses and sentences

12.13 W e tu r n n o w to a fu rth e r respect in w hich co referen ce a n d su b stitu tio n are
so m e tim e s d ifficu lt to d istin g u ish . In b o th k in d s o f cro ss-referen ce, th ere c an
be a la c k o f co rre sp o n d e n c e in th e g ra m m atica l sta tu s o f th e p ro -fo rm a n d its
a n te c e d e n t. T h is is clearly illu strated in th e follow ing ex am p les, w here th e
p ro n o u n s it, this, a n d that refer respectively to a clause, a sen ten ce, a n d a
se q u e n c e o f se n ten c es ( c /fu rth e r 1 9 .4 4 /):
I f y o u d o n 't stu d y fo r the exam ination, y o u ’ll re g re t it. [ie : you’ll

re g re t n o t stu d y in g for th e ex am in atio n ] [ 1]
A : S h e ’s exp ectin g twins. B : H ow d o you k n o w t h a t '! [2]
A fte r m a n y w e ek s o f rain the dam burst. M illions o fg a llo n s o f water
p lu n g e d into the valley, a n d villages were sw ept aw ay in the flo o d .
In a short tim e, thousands o f square m iles o f low-lying ground were
covered w ith water. This w as a d isa ster o n a scale w h ich n o one
h a d fo reseen . I t led to loss o f life, a n d w id esp read d am ag e to
liv e sto c k a n d crops. [3]
S im ila rly , so as a su b stitu te p ro-form can su b stitu te for a w hole clause o r

s e n te n c e :
A : T h e F inance M inister has resigned.

B : W h o s a id s o l [ie: W ho said th a t th e F in a n c e M in ister h as
re sig n e d ? ] [4]
T h e d iffere n ce b e tw ee n it/this/that an d so in th is co n n ec tio n is d iscussed in

12.28. F o r th e k in d s o f cross-refercntial re la tio n illu strated here, the term
‘p ro -c la u se ’ is a p p ro p ria te .
T h e p re s e n t s e c tio n show s th a t, in th e case o f su b stitu tio n , it is n ecessary
to d istin g u ish th r e e d ifferen t g ram m atical ex p ressio n s: (i) th e su b stitu te ite m
itself; (ii) th e ex p ressio n w hich it replaces, an d w h ich in tu rn could rep lace
it; a n d (iii) th e a n te c e d e n t w hich supplies th e tex tu a l reco v erab ility c o n d itio n
fo r th e s u b s titu tio n . T h is m ay be illu strated w ith referen ce to [4] a b o v e :
(i) T h e s u b s titu te p ro -fo rm : so

(ii) th e e x p re ss io n it replaces (a clause): that the Finance M inister has
resigned
(iii) th e a n te c e d e n t (a se n te n c e ): The Finance M inister has resigned.
W h en a s u b s titu te form is referred to as a ‘pro-A”, X identifies th e item for

w h ich th e p ro -fo rm su b stitu tes, a n d n ot n ecessarily th e a n teced en t.
S u b stitution for noun phrases and their con stitue nts 869
Substitution for noun phrases and their constituents

12.14 S u b stitu te p ro-form s w ill b e co n sid ered in th e follow ing o rd e r:
P ro-form s rep lacin g n o u n p h rases an d th e ir co n stitu en ts (1 2 .1 5 -2 0 )

P ro -fo rm s rep lacin g c lau ses a n d th eir co n stitu en ts (12.21 - 3 0 )
W e b egin w ith n o u n p h ra ses. P aren th eses will be used to in d ic a te th e

p o ssib ility o f ellipsis w h ere b o th su b stitu tio n an d ellipsis a re p o ssib le.
One as substitute form

12.15 T h e re are tw o su b stitu te p ro -fo rm s one: one h as th e p lu ral som e, a n d th e
o th e r h a s th e p lural ones. B o th are in v ariab ly u nstressed, a n d a re th e re b y
d istin g u ish ed fro m th e n u m e ra l one ( c f 6.54). B oth types o f one a re re stric te d
to su b stitu tio n for p h ra se s w ith c o u n t n ouns as heads.
(i) one/some is a s u b s titu te fo r a n indefinite n o u n p h r a s e :
A : C a n you g iv e m e a fe w nails ? I need one.

B : I ’ll get you som e soon. 4
C o m p a re :
T h e a n te ce d e n t o f one, h o w ev er, m ay be d e fin ite :
The clean towels a re in th e d ra w er - if you need one. [ = ‘a c le an to w e l’]
Note Only stress distinguishes the num eral one from the substitute pronoun one in contexts such as the
following:
Have you any postage stam ps? I only w ant to
b o r ro w 6 n e . [n u m e r a l] m
B dR row o n e . [ p ro n o u n ] [21
In [ 1] one is a reduced version o f one stamp (in contrast to two, three, etc). In [2], one is a reduced
version o f a stamp, and the nucleus on borrow implies the contrast ‘I want you m erely to lend me
a stam p, not to give me one’.
12.16 (ii) one/ones h a s as its a n te c e d e n t a n o u n p h rase head w ith o r w ith o u t o n e o r

m ore m odifiers. W e call th is u n it a n o m i n F l e x p r e s s i o n : it acts a s a
single c o n stitu e n t fo r p u rp o ses o f su b stitu tio n an d ellipsis ( c f 13.75):
A : H a v e you an y k n iv e s ? I n eed a sh arp one.

B : I c a n g e t you sev eral very sh a rp ones, b u t th is is th e b e st (one)
I have.
U n lik e he, it, etc w h ic h s ta n d fo r noun phrases, one/ones is m o re lite rally a

‘p ro -n o u n ’.
In the above ex am p le, one su b stitu tes tw ice for knife, a n d ones for knives.
In all th ree in stan c es one/ones is a su b stitu te for a single w o rd - th e n o u n
h ead . In o th e r cases one m ay su b stitu te for a n o m in al ex p ressio n in clu d in g
p rem o d ificatio n , as w ell as a h e a d :
870 P ro-fo rm s and ellipsis
I f you w a n t to buy a n electric heater, you m ay be in terested
in th is f eêctr'c heater \ ^ w jn(jow [[]

I one J
o r fo r head + p o stm o d ifier:
I w ish I ’d b o u g h t a few ja rs o f honey. D id you n otice
th e j th ey w ere selling by th e ro a d sid e? [2]
o r f o r p re m o d ifier + h e ad + p o stm o d ifier:
H e goes a b o u t in te rv iew in g retired sailors who served in the pre-1914

navy. T h e one th a t h e m e t in D ev o n last w eek w as a fa scin a tin g
storyteller.
O ne as a p ro -fo rm for a n o u n p h ra se is n o t a cco m p an ied by d e te rm in e rs o r

m o d ificatio n , w h e rea s one a s a p ro -fo rm fo r a n o m in al e x p ressio n m u st h av e
a n o v e rt d e te rm in e r o r m odifier. T h e fo rm er one can be re g ard e d a s a m erg er
o f th e la tte r one w ith a p re ce d in g in d efin ite a rtic le : a + one. T h is sim p lify in g
assu m p tio n h a s tw o a d v a n ta g e s: (a) it ex p lain s w hy *a one d o e s n o t o ccu r
(b u t c /6 .5 5 N o te ); an d (b) it red u ces th e tw o h o m o m o rp h ic fo rm s one (i) an d
one (ii) to a sin g le su b stitu te form .
F o r n o n c o u n t no u n s, th e n o u n p h ra se su b stitu te is som e:
{
*one 1
some I a ^reac^
N ote Ellipsis can be used instead o f substitution both for count and noncount n ouns:
W hich m ustard would you prefer? English o r French A?
W hich heater(s) do you use? Electric o r gas A?
Som e , nonel e tc as substitute form s

12.17 T h e in d efin ite o r q u a n tifier p ro n o u n s some, none, a n y,few /few er)few est, m a n y I
m ore/m ost, little/less/least, m uch, several;enough, each, either, neither, all, both,
h a lf can all a c t a s su b stitu te s for n o u n p h ra ses in tro d u ced b y th e co rre sp o n d in g
d e term in ers ( c / 5 . 10#). F o r e x a m p le :
C a n you g iv e m e jI n £ e d some. [ =so m e n ails/o il] [1]

W h en thelchildren e n te re d , each[ = each child] w as g iv en a sm all
p resen t. [2]
Som e equipm ent h a s b e en d am a g ed , b u t none[ = no e q u ip m e n t]
has b e en lost. [3]
I ’d like so m e more coloured paper, if you h F v e any. [ = a n y m o re
coloured p a p er] [4]
B oth th e a ir c r a f t’s engines h a d b een h it, a n d neither [ = n e ith e r
engine] could be re lied u p o n to b rin g us safely h o m e. [5]
Jo h n a n d I w e n t lo o k in g for mushrooms. H e found a fe w [ = a few
m u sh ro o m s], I fo u n d several [ = several m ushroom s], a n d we
soon h a d enough [ = en o u g h m ushroom s] for b re ak fast. [6]
Sub stitution for noun phrases and their constituents 871
I a sk ed fo r a d o zen tickets, b u t they c o u ld n ’t sp a re m any. [ = m an y

tick ets] [7]
T h is y e a r w e p ro d u c ed m o re coal, b ut w e sold l e s s . [ = less coal] [8 ]
T h is y e a r w e p ro d u c ed m o re coal, b ut w e d id n ’t s e l l s o m u c h .
[ = so m u c h coal] [9]
H is sons go to th e sa m e school as he d id , a n d all [ = all his sons]
w a n t to b eco m e d o cto rs. [10]
W ith som e q u an tifiers, th e su b stitu te m ay b e p reced ed by an o th e r w o rd ,

w hich d e te rm in e s o r m odifies it:
I a sk ed fo r a d o zen tic k e ts, b u t they c o u ld n ’t
s p a r e I as^so m a n y a s THAT'
y th a t M A ny. < r a t h e r i n f o r m a l )
Jo h n fo u n d a few m u sh ro o m s, an d I fo u n d several m o r e .
In that m any, th e a d v e rb th a t m odifies the p ro n o u n m a n y, an d in several m o re,

the d e te rm in e r several d e te rm in e s th e p ro n o u n more. ( That m any is so m e tim es
reg ard ed as ‘b a d E n g lish ’, so m any b ein g p re fe rre d .)
W ith so m e o th e r q u an tifiers, neither, either, a n d both, it is re aso n a b le to
reg ard th e su b stitu te p ro n o u n as rep lacin g a p h ra se b eg in n in g w ith a
c o rresp o n d in g c o rre lativ e c o n ju n ctio n :
P roust a n d Jam es are g re a t novelists, b u t I lik e T olstoy b e tte r th a n

ElTHer. [ = e ith e r P ro u s t o r Jam es]
Proust a n d Jam es a re g re a t novelists, b u t neither [ = n e ith e r P ro u st n o r
Jam es] is easy to read .
12.18 It is difficult to tell, in th ese cases, w h e th er th e p ro n o u n is to be c o n sid e re d

a n ex am p le o f s u b s titu tio n o r ellipsis. N one is th e only q u an tifier p ro n o u n
w hose form is d ifferen t fro m th a t o f its c o rre sp o n d in g d e term in er (no). I n all
o th er cases, th e p ro n o u n a n d th e d e te rm in e r (or co o rd in ato r) are h o m o
m o rp h ic (c /2 .3 8 ), a n d it seem s reaso n ab le to tre a t th e c o n stru ctio n as o n e o f
ellipsis ra th e r th a n o f su b stitu tio n . F o r e x a m p le :
I ’d lik e som e m ore coloured paper, if you h F v e any
H ow ever, w e shall p ro p o se to d eal w ith c ases lik e th is as ‘v irtu a l e llip sis’ (c f

12.40), ie as cases o f a su b s titu tio n o f X for Y, w h ere Y co n tain s a h o m o m o rp h
o f X . T h ere is p a rtic u la r ju stific atio n for th is in th e case o f som e, sin ce so m e
as a d e te rm in e r c an b e reduced to a n u n stressed form /sa m / o r
/sm /, w h ereas th e p ro n o u n som e can n o t.
Note [a j A ccepting this analysis will still, however, lead to uncertainty as to w hether a reduction is to
be treated as substitution or ellipsis. This is because many examples will accept a different type
o f analysis, if the antecedent is a definite noun phrase. C om pare 12.17(1-3], for exam ple, w ith:
C an you give me a few o f these nails? I n e e d some (o f these nails). (la ]
W hen the children entered, each (of the children) was given a small present. [2a]
Some o f the equipment has been damaged, but none (o f the equipm ent) has been lost. [3a]
The problem o f classification is highlighted by [3] and [3a]: it is clear that the sentence as
analysed in [3] is a case o f substitution, where none substitutes for no equipment, and it is equally
clear that the sentence as analysed in (3a] is a case o f ellipsis. These two types o f reduction arc so
similar, however, that ellipsis has sometimes beenconsidered a kind of substitution, viz
‘substitution byzero’. In thislight, theproblemofdistinguishingbetweensubstitutionand
ellipsismayseemameretechnicality. But it isatechnicalitywhich, aswill beshowninthis
chapter, isimportantinenablingustomakegeneralizationsaboutgrammatical reduction.
[b] A furtheruncertainca seisthatofanantecedentconsistingofcoordinatedpropernames:
M a tijit a n d S h e r if app liedforascholarship.Each wasabletopresentexcellentreferences.
Each h erecanbetreatedasanellipticalvariantofEach o f M an jit and S h e r if butinothercases
suchananalystswouldmeanpostulatingasource se n te n c e o f lim ite d ac c e p ta b ility :
J o h n , B o b , and S u s a n w ereatthepartylastnight.
A l l (?ofJohn, B ob, andSusan)aregooddancers.
(cl Therearerestrictionsofcountabilityandnumberontheuseoftheindefinitepronounswe
havebeenconsidering.Somearecount,somenoncount,somesingular,etc.Thedetailsaregiven
in6.48.
[d] Onproblem sofconcordinvolvingsomeofthesepronouns,c f 10.42/
T h a t a n d those as substitute forms

12.19 A s d e m o n s tra tiv e p ro n o u n s, that an d those c a n fu n c tio n n o t o nly as
c o re fe re n tia l p ro -fo rm s ( c f 6.44) b u t as su b stitu te p ro -fo rm s. In th is latter
fu n c tio n , th ey a r e alw ays follow ed by restrictiv e p o stm o d ificatio n , an d are
e q u iv a le n t to the o n e a n d the ones resp ectiv ely :
T o w a rd s th e e n d o f his life, S ch u b ert w rote tw o re m a rk a b le trios: that

[ = th e trio ] in B flat, a n d that [ = th e trio] in E flat. <fo rm a l)
T h e p a in tin g s o f G a u g u in ’s T ah iti p erio d are m o re fam o u s th a n those
[ = the o n e s] h e p a in te d in F ran ce.
T h a t c a n also b e u sed as a su b stitu te w ith a n o n c o u n t n o u n , w h ere the one

co u ld n o t be u s e d :
1
T h e v ic tim ’s o w n b lo o d w as o f a d ifferen t b lo o d g ro u p fro m that [ = the
blood] f o u n d o n th e floor.
B u t w h e rea s th a t is less restricted th a n those in th is resp ect, it is m ore

re stric te d in th a t i t c a n n o t h a v e a p erso n al a n te c e d e n t:
T h e blo n d ejg irl I saw w as o ld er th an , | t | ^ t° n e |y o u w ere d a n cin g w ith.
T h e b lo n d e g irls I saw w ere older t h a n | * j | ^ n es Jy o u w ere d a n cin g w ith.
I t follow s th a t th e c o m b in a tio n *that who . . . is u n a cc ep ta b le , w h ereas those

who is p erfectly (’a c c e p ta b le . A n o th e r restrictio n o n th a t as a su b stitu te is th at
it c a n n o t n o rm ally p re ce d e a zero relativ e clau se:
p ro b lem is
The c o n fro n tin g us today n o t d issim ilar
p ro b lem s are
t h a t w h ich
from th e n a tio n c o n fro n ted in th e 1930s.
th o s e (w h ich )
P e rh a p s th is re stric tio n is d u e to a p o ten tial co n fu sio n o f th e d e m o n strativ e

that w ith the re la tiv e that. T h is use o f that is d ecid ed ly fo rm al, a n d ten d s to
b e restric te d to w ritte n E n g lish . Those, o n th e o th e r h a n d , is o nly slightly
form al.
S ub stitution fo r noun phrases and their constituents 873
Note [a] Onceagain, thedistinctionbetweensubstitutionandellipsis, whileimportantinprinciple,

isdifficulttodrawinpractice. Althoughtheabovecasesofthat andthose canonlybeanalysed
assubstitutes(forinsertionoftherelevant headnounwouldnotproduceanappropriatenoun
phrase), thereareother, similar instancesfor whichthepostulationof anelliptednoun or
nominalexpressionwouldyieldareasonableanalysis:
Thetopic ofcellularphysiologyisregrettablyamongthose & whichlieoutsidethecompass
ofthisbook.
Thepossibilityofinsertingtopics afterthose, andtherebyanalysingthisasaninstanceofellipsis,
hastobeacceptedinthestylisticcontextofformal writtenEnglish, sinceinthisvarietyofthe
languagethat andthose areusedas‘strengthened’equivalentsofcataphoricthe ( c f 5.32). There
islittledifferencebetweenthe andthose inthefollowingsentence, except that those ismore
emphatic:
Cellularphysiologyisregrettablyamongthe/those topicswhichlieoutsidethecompassof
thisbook.
[bj Afurtherrestrictiononthat asasubstituteformisthatitrarelycombineswiththerelative
pronounth a t ;thecombinationthose th a t ,ontheotherhand,isacceptable:
r,,Moremod,earnmeth, od.s-i r. .. u r ,have~i , ,f those that
LAamoremod ernme.t.
thoadJIofhorticulture1
[h«as J rep
rlaced p\.t the
h a tth a t \
one th a t f
prevailedatthetimeoftheCollege’sfoundation.
Note, inthisconnection,otherinstancesofavoidingrepetitionwhereoneitemfullyorpartially
echoesaprecedingonewhichhasadifferentfunction(c/3.5Note[d],4.40Note[a])..
The same as substitute form

12.20 The sam e c a n be a su b s titu te fo r a n o u n p h ra se :
A : C a n I h av e a cup o f b la ck coffee with sugar, please?
B : G iv e m e the sam e, p lease.
I t c a n so m etim es also be a su b s titu te for a n adjective p h ra se o r p re p o sitio n a l
p h ra se a ctin g as a c o m p le m e n t ex p ressin g a c u rre n t a ttrib u te ( c f 10.20):
Y esterd ay I felt under the w eather, an d today I feel the sam e.
T h e so u p sm ells delicious, a n d th e tu rk ey sm ells the same.
A fu rth er fu n ctio n o f the sam e is as su b stitu te for a n o m in al clau se, e sp ecially
a fte r sa y.
A : (I say) O x fo rd is likely to w in the n ex t b o at race.
B : I say the sam e. [ = th a t O x fo rd is likely to w in th e n e x t b o a t race,
too]
In b o th th ese la tte r fu n c tio n s, the sam e p artially o verlaps w ith so ( c f 12.29);
in a sim ila r way, do the sa m e o v e rla p s w ith do so (c/12.23).
In all su b stitu te uses, h o w ev er, the sam e ra th e r p erversely im p lies t h a t th e
tw o ev en ts b ein g referred to b y th e a n teced en t an d by th e s u b s titu te are not
th e sam e event. F o r ex am p le, the sa m e could n o t rep lace so in th e fo llo w in g
s e n te n c e :
T om phoned f o r the doctor, b u t d id n ’t tell his m o th er h e h a d done so.
B ut the sam e could rep lace so in th e follow ing:
T o m phoned fo r the doctor, b u t d id n ’t realize th a t his m o th e r h a d ju s t
done so.
A s illu strated in th is e x am p le, th e re is an a d d itiv e e lem en t o f m e a n in g in the
sam e, w hich is n o t p re s e n t in o th erw ise e q u iv a le n t. s u b s titu te fo rm s.
C o n se q u e n tly , Give m e the sam e , please c a n be roughly p a ra p h ra se d Give m e

one too p le a s e ; Joan sa id the sam e c an b e p a ra p h ra se d Joan sa id so too , an d
T he sa m e goes fo r m e can be p a ra p h ra se d T hat goes fo r m e , too. The sam e
im p lie s a c o m p ariso n betw een tw o o b jects o r events.
Note (a] But wasformerlyusedcoreferentiallywithout anyimplicationofcomparison: /

th e sa m e
uwsvisited by the sam e [ = him)a t 3 p .m . Thisuseisnowrareand
in v ite d D r Jone s to see me, a n d
possiblynonstandard. Itisassociatedwithlegalorbureaucraticjargon:
I recoveredtheweaponanddelivered{the) sam e tothesergeant.
Thevariant inwhichthe isomittedisfelttobeespeciallyobjectionable.
[b] Theu seofthe sam e asanounphrasesubstituteshouldbedistinguishedfromitsusewitha
followingellipsis:
A:Isthatanewbicycle?
B:No, it’sthe sam e (one)as(I had) before.
Insuchconstructions, whereidentityofreferenceisimplied, theadditionofthepro-formone is
preferred. Ellipsisisfelttobelessacceptableparticularlywhenapostmodifyingclausefollows:
A: We’restayingattheExcelsiorHotel.
B:?Isthatthesamea sfthat you staye d in la st su m m er ?
Substitution for clauses and clause constituents
T h e verb do in substitution and ellipsis

12.21 W h e n w e tu rn fro m th e noun p h ra se to su b stitu tiv e processes in th e clause,
th e u n its to w h ich p rim a ry a tte n tio n m u st be g iv en are th e p re d ic a te a n d th e
p re d ic a tio n . T h e tw o m ost im p o rta n t a n d v ersatile item s to c o n sid er in th is
c o n n e c tio n are th e p ro -p red ic ate o r p ro -p red ic atio n do, an d th e p ro -clau se,
p ro -co m p lem e n t, o r p ro -ad v e rb ial so.
A c are fu l d istin c tio n m u st be m ad e, h o w ev er, b etw een do as a n au x iliary
verb w ith th e statu s o f dum m y o p e ra to iv a n d do as a m ain v erb ( c /3 .3 6 ^ ) . I t
is in th e la tte r fu n ctio n th a t do is a su b stitu te form .
A s a n auxiliary, o n th e o th e r h a n d , do is stru ctu rally p aralle l to o th e r
o p e ra to rs :
M a rtin driv es a car, an d his sister d o es A, TOO.

M a rtin caji d riv e a c ar, an d his siste r c an A, too.
I n s u c h cases, w e w ill talk o f ellipsis o f th e p red icatio n , ra th e r th a n o f

su b s titu tio n for th e p red icate. F u rth e r d iscu ssio n an d e x em p lificatio n w ill be
g iv en in 12.60.
In th e follow ing sectio n s 1 2 .2 2 -6 , o n th e o th e r h an d , we e x a m in e th e
s u b s titu te role o f do as a m ain verb . In th is role, it is necessary to d istin g u ish
a tra n s itiv e use o f do fro m an in tra n sitiv e one. T h ere is also a p ro b le m a tic
fu n c tio n o f do in th e expression do s o : th is is p ro b lem atic in th e sen se th a t it
is d ifficu lt to d e te rm in e (p artly becau se o f v a ria tio n b etw een B rE a n d A m E )
w h e th e r do is in th is c ase tran sitiv e o r in tra n sitiv e ( c f 12.26 N o te).
S ubstitution for clauses and clause constituents 875
D o as main verb
D o as intransitive verb
12.22 In B rE m an y a llo w th e p ossibility o f ad d in g a fte r th e o p e ra to r a n o p tio n a l d o
as a n in tra n sitiv e s u b s titu te verb. T h is c an ta k e p lace o nly rarely a fte r do a s
a n o p e rato r (a), b u t is m o re com m on afte r a m o d al (b), o r a fte r p erfectiv e
have (c ):
(a) Bob says h e is g oing to jo in th e L ab o u r P a rty . I t will be in te restin g to

see w h e th e r h e does (do).
(b) T h e A m e ric a n s a re reducing th eir d efen ce e x p en d itu re th is year. I
w o n d er i f th e R ussians w ill (do) t o o .
A : W ill you b e a tte n d in g th e m eetin g th is e v en in g ?
B: I m a y (do).
(c) I d id n ’t to u c h th e television se t; b u t PERcy m ig h t h a v e (done).
A s th e last e x am p le show s, th is do fo rm can also o c cu r a fte r a sequ en ce o f

auxiliaries.
T h e in tra n sitiv e su b stitu te do m u st be d istin g u ish e d b o th fro m th e
tran sitiv e su b s titu te v e rb ( c f 12.25) a n d fro m th e g en era l-p u rp o se activ ity
verb do (as in H a v e y o u done the dishes? c/3.38).
Note [a] InsomeNorthernvarietiesofBrE, itisalsopossibleforthe-ing formofthesubstituteverb

do tobeusedafterprogressivebe'.
A: Whydon’tyousitquietly?B: IAM (doing). [—sittingquietly]
[b] Thisuseofdo doesnotoccurinnonfiniteclauses:
A:Peterhuntsrabbits. B:*Yes, hewantedmeto do, too.
Similarly, becausethisuseofdo isintransitive, itcannotoccurinapassiveconstruction.
The com bination do so

12.23 T h e c o m b in a tio n o f p ro -fo rm s do so, seen as a u n it, a c ts as a su b stitu te fo r a
p re d icate o r p re d ic a tio n , an d c o n tain s th e m a in v e rb do, ra th e r th a n th e
o p erato r do. W e th e re fo re find th a t th e c o m b in a tio n o ccu rs n o t only in th e
finite form o f does so, do so, a n d d id so, b u t also in n o n fin ite fo rm s follow ing
a m odal, be, o r have, o r in infinitive an d -ing p a rtic ip le clauses. (U n lik e th e
in tran sitiv e do o f 12.22, th e do in do so is usually stressed , an d th e so is alw ays
unstressed.) E x a m p le s rep re se n tativ e o f these v a rio u s c o n tex ts a re :
T h ey p lan n e d to re ac h th e top o f th e m o u n ta in , b u t n o b o d y
know s i f th e y d id (so). [ = reach ed th e to p o f th e m o u n ta in ] [ 1]
Y ou c an ta k e th e tra in b ack to M ad rid , b u t I sh o u ld n ’t (do (so))
u n til to m o rro w m o rn in g . [ = ta k e th e tra in b a c k to M a d rid ] [2]
T h e A m e ric a n te a m w ill h av e to th in k o f so m e n ew tac tic s, a n d
a re p ro b a b ly doing so a t th is very m in u te. [ = th in k in g o f som e
new tactics] [3]
W ould you m in d feed in g th e dog, if you h a v e n ’t a lre ad y (done
(so)) ? [ = fed th e dog] [4]
A s no o n e else h a s succeeded in solving th e m y stery , I shall
a tte m p t to (do so) m yself. [ = solve th e m ystery] [5]
A s n o o n e else h a s su cceed ed in doing so, I sh a ll a tte m p t to solve
th e m y stery m yself. [ = solving the m ystery] [6]
T h e d o so c o n stru c tio n is so m ew h at form al, a n d in g en eral th e re is an

a lte rn a tiv e ellip sis o f th e p re d ic a tio n ( c f 12.59) w h ich is p re fe rre d in in fo rm al
use, a n d w h ic h is in d ic a te d by th e b ra ck ets in th e a b o v e e x am p les. In [2] an d
[4], a ls o , th e use o f a m a in v e rb do w ith o u t so is p o ssib le (as d escrib ed in
12.22) in B rE .
T h e r e a re so m e cases w h e re th e elliptical a lte rn a tiv e is n o t possible (eg in
th e -in g p a rtic ip le clau se o f [6]), an d o th er cases w h ere th e ellip tical a lte rn a tiv e
is a v o id e d , (eg in [3]), p e rh a p s becau se ellipsis o f th e p re d ic a tio n w ould leave
th e m e a n in g u n c le ar, esp ecially w hen th e ellipsis is m ed ial (c f 12.62).
? T h e A m e ric a n te a m w ill h av e to think o f som e new tactics, an d

a r e p ro b a b ly A a t th is very m in u te. [3a]
Note [a] Thereisonefurther major instanceoftheconstructioninwhichdo so occurs: do so may

followanotheroccurrenceofdo, thistimeasoperator:
They plannedtoreachthetopofthemountain, but nobodyknowsiftheyd id ((do) so).
[= reachthetopofthemountain]
Therepetitionofdo here, however, isfelttobeawkward, andtendstobeavoided. Again, the
optionwithdo butwithoutso isassociatedwithBrE.
[b] Thecom binationdoing so, whetherinfiniteprogressiveconstructions, orin-ing participle
clauses,canbeinvertedtoso d o in g :
Robertswasroundingupthecattle. Whenaskedwhyhewasso doing, hereplied:‘Orders
areorders.’
Therescuecrewattemptedtolandahelicopterontheplatform;butthefireandthefierce
windpreventedthemfromso doing.
[c] Thereisasimilarinversion(rareandformal)ofdo andso inato-infinitiveconstruction:
Newspapersshouldnotincludeeditorialcommentintheirnewscolumns.
j'So *St0ketray confidenceoftheirreaders.
Whenit isfrontedinthisway, so receivesstress. Another variant ofthesameconstruction
involvesplacementofso betweento andd o : to 'so 'do. Thisisparticularlyrare, perhapsbecause
oftheprescriptiveobjectiontoa‘splitinfinitive’(c/8.21).
C om parison o f do so w ith do it and do that

12.24 T h e p re d ic a tio ji-su b s titu te do so is sim ilar to tw o o th e r co m b in a tio n s, do it
an d d o that. All; th re e c a n be used in:
A : R o v e r is scratching the door.

['does so
B : Y es, h e alw ay s < 1does it > w hen he w an ts a tte n tio n ,
j ydoes lthat J
O n m o re carefu l in sp e c tio n , how ever, th ese ex p ressio n s a re used so m ew h at

differently.
D o th a t a n d do it a re c o m b in a tio n s o f th e tra n s itiv e m a in v e rb do (c /3 .3 8 )
w ith th e d e m o n s tra tiv e th a t a n d th e p ro n o u n it. A s su ch , th ey c o m b in e th e
su b stitu te fu n c tio n o f do w ith th e co referen tial fu n c tio n o f it/that.
S ub stitution for clauses and clause constituents -877
In th e follow ing, a subtle d ifferen ce betw een these an d th e d o so

c o n stru c tio n is h ig h lig h te d :
M a rtin is p a in tin g his house. I ’m told h e does it every four years. [1]
M a rtin is p a in tin g his house. I ’m told th is is m erely because his
n e ig h b o u r d id so last year. [2]
A lth o u g h do it a n d do so could be in te rch a n g e d in th ese exam ples, th e u s e o f

do it is fa v o u red in [1] becau se th e sam e a ctio n (the p a in tin g o f M a r tin ’s
house) is b e in g d e sc rib e d o n b o th o c c a sio n s; w hile th e use o f do so is fa v o u re d
in [2] b ecau se it is m erely th e sam e g e n era l type o f actio n (p a in tin g o f h o u se s)
th a t is b e in g d escrib ed .
D o it a n d do that, o n th e o th e r h a n d , differ in th a t do th a t g iv es m o r e
p ro m in e n c e to th e o b jec t (that), w h ic h o ften receives n u clear stress, a n d is
tre a te d to so m e e x te n t as new o r c o n tra stiv e in fo rm atio n (c/1 8 .8 ). T h e it o f
do it, o n th e o th e r h a n d , is alw ays u n stre sse d :
Is C o n n ie still try in g to lig h t th e sto v e? She should h av e done it

by now . (3]
A re y o u try in g to lig h t th e sto v e w ith a m atc h ? I w o u ld n ’t do
t h a t [4]
I n [3] th e n a tu re o f th e ta s k d esc rib e d by done it is en tirely g iven, a n d so th e

focus o f in fo rm a tio n co m es u p o n th e co m p letiv e im p licatio n o f done. B u t in
[4] th e n a tu re o f th e ta s k itself is a c au se o f surprise, a n d so e m p h a sis fa lls o n
that.
Note Inaddition, d o th a t anddo it differforsomespeakerstosomeextentinmeaning, inthatd o it

substitutesforanarrowersetofpredications, thosewhichconveyvolitiononthepart ofthe
subject:
A:Whenyouchopoffachicken’sheadandit’salreadydead,itstillk icks a fe w times.
B:Whydoesitdo THAT? [B:*WhydoesitDO it?]
Butdo it isacceptablewherethereasonisnotasked:
A:Whenyouchopoffachicken’sheadandit’salreadydead,itstillk ic k s a fe w limes.
B : I w o n d e r h o w it d o e s it.
Thedo it pro-formsappeartobeacceptableonlywherek ic k impliesagencyonthepartofthe
chicken. Inthelastexample, Btalksasifthechickenwerestill aliveandhadcontrol over its
movements.
12.25 B oth do it a n d do th a t a re s tra ig h tfo rw a rd v erb + d irect ob ject c o n stru c tio n s,
a n d a re p a ralle l to o th e r c o n stru ctio n s in w h ic h a pro-form acts as o b je c t o f
th e p ro -v erb d o :
W h a t is sh e doing ? S h e’s m a k in g som e coffee.

W hat I d id n e x t w as (to) open the window, (c /1 8 .2 9 /)
She a sk ed m e to m ak e som e coffee, which I did. (c /I5 .5 7 )
It is p o ssib le fo r it o r that to b eco m e th e su b ject o f th e c o rresp o n d in g p a ssiv e
c lau se:
A : H a v e you n o ticed th a t th e fro n t w h eel is buckled?

B : T hat was done ages ago.
F o r do so, h o w ev er, th e re is n o c o rre sp o n d in g passive *So was done ages ago.

T h e do it/th a t co n stru ctio n s a re also ty p ic a l o f th e use o f do as a tra n s itiv e
878 P r o -fo rm s and ellipsis
v e rb . I n g e n e ra l, tran sitiv e d o is (i) d y n a m ic a n d (ii) a g en tiv e; ie it re fers to

so m e a c tio n t h a t is p erfo rm ed o r v o lu n tarily in itiate d by th e re fe re n t o f th e
s u b je c t ( c f 4 .3 3 # ; 4.4). I t is h en ce a b n o rm a l (in sp ite o f th e case d escrib ed in
12.24 N o te ) fo r do as a tran sitiv e m a in v e rb to b e asso ciated w ith sta tiv e
p r e d ic a tio n s , o r w ith in v o lu n tary pro cess p re d ic atio n s, as in :
A : T h e y th in k he is m ad.
B : *WE do it t o o . [1]
A : H e o w n s a C adillac.
B : *Y es, h is BRdTHer does j Tdo. [2]
(H e re a s e lsew h ere , how ever, do as o p e ra to r is a cc ep ta b le : Yes, his brother

does, to o .)
W ith re g a r d to do so, th ere is d iv id ed usage. Som e sp eak ers, p a rticu larly
in A m E , t r e a t th e do in do so as a g en tiv e a n d th ere fo re find rep lies su ch as
th o se in [1] a n d [2] o d d , ev en if do so is su b s titu te d fo r d o it\th a t. A ttitu d in a l
v e rb s a r e d o u b tfu lly a ccep tab le w ith do so:
?* A : P e te r likes work.
B : I th in k | | does (so) t o o .
?* A : S h e w ill h a te th e w ay he goes o n a b o u t h is prizes.
B : PETer w ill do (so) t o o .
?* A : D a v id m ig h t h av e w a n ted h is fo o d now .
B : MARy m ig h t h av e d o n e (so) t o o .
A g a in , d o as o p e ra to r o r as a n in tra n sitiv e m a in v e rb (in B rE ) is acc ep ta b le

in th e s e e x am p les. O th e r v erb s in th is class seem to allow th e su b stitu tio n s in
B rE , b u t th e y a re o d d to v ary in g degrees in A m E :
A : T h e y t h in k he is m ad .
B :w fc („ j° 1 t 6o .
[ ?do so J
A : I c a n sm ell p erfum e.
B : ?I c a n d o so t o o . \
A : B o b m ig h t h ave h e a rd th e stra n g e noises.
B : (?) H e m ig h t w e l l have done so.
H o w e v e r, e v e n in th e least acc ep ta b le o f su ch ex am p les, do so is m o re

a c c e p ta b le th a n d o it an d do th a t w ould be. C o n tra s t:
A ll th e c h ild re n resem b le th e ir m o th e r’s re la tio n s m o re closely th a n th e y
d o th e ir fa th e r’s. T h ey are th o u g h t to do so o n acco u n t o f th e

* itlth a tj
g e n e tic effects o f th is c urious k in sh ip system .
Note Do th e s a m e , do likew ise, do sim ilarly are alternativestod o th a t whenacomparisonisinvolved.

Just asth e sa m e cannot normallyrefertotheidentical thingreferredtobyitsantecedent (c f
12.20), sod o the sa m e cannotrefertotheidenticalevent. Itnotonlyisasubstitute,butalsohas
theadditivemeaningofto o :
I’llcontributetendollars, ifyou’lldothe s a m e [ = doso,too}.
Theaboveobservationsondo the sam e alsoapplytodo likew ise anddo sim ilarly.
Sub stitution for clauses and clause constituents 879
D o as substitute v e rb : a sum m ary

12.26 By w ay o f su m m ary , w e m ay n ow give th e follow ing lis t o f uses o f do. T o
av o id confusion, it is im p o rta n t to distin g u ish do fu n c tio n in g as an o p e ra to r
(w here it is n o t a s u b s titu te , b u t a dum m y o p erato r) an d do fu n c tio n in g a s a
m ain verb . T h e m a jo r c rite rio n for d istin g u ish in g th ese tw o is th a t th e m a in
verb do h a s n o n fin ite fo rm s (doing a n d done) as well as fin ite fo rm s (do, d o e s ,
did).
DO F O L LO W E D SU BSTITU TING RESTRICTIONS

F s : | y : f o r :
o p e ra to r do - - n o t a s u b s titu te b u t u sed w ith q u a s i

e llip sis (12.60)
m a in v e rb do p re d ic a tio n B rE o n ly (12.22)
(in tra n sitiv e )
m a in v e rb do + so p re d ic a tio n in A m E , a n d to so m e e x te n t in B rE ,
(tra n s itiv e ? d y n a m ic m e a n in g o n ly ( 1 2 . 2 3 /)
c /N o te )
m a in v e rb do + th a t p re d ic a tio n d y n a m ic m e a n in g o n ly (1 2 .2 4 /)
(tra n s itiv e )
m a in v e rb do + it p re d ic a tio n d y n a m ic a g e n tiv e m e a n in g o nly
( tra n s itiv e ) (12.24 f )
N o te W h ereas th e do p rece d in g it/th a t is clearly tra n sitiv e , th e status o f do p re c e d in g so is n o t so c le a r.

T h is reflects th e u n c e rta in n a tu re o f th e do so constru ctio n b o th g ram m a tic a lly a n d to so m e
ex te n t sem antically. W h a t k in d o f w ord is s o l I f it is a p ronoun, th e n it fu n ctio n s a s d ire c t o b je ct,
like it/that, a n d th e do p re c e d in g it is tra n sitiv e , an d h as dy n am ic m e an in g . T h is analysis seem s
to acco rd w ith th e facts o f u sag e in A m E fairly well, b u t not w ith th o se in B rE , w h e re th e re is, to
co m p lic ate m a tte rs, a n in tra n s itiv e m a in v erb ( c f 12.22) p ro -fo rm w h ic h is n o t restricted to
d y n am ic m ean in g . P e rh a p s it is asso cia tio n w ith th is do w h ich ac co u n ts fo r th e less restricted
use o f do so in B rE . T h e se o b se rv a tio n s suggest th a t so is m o re o f a n a d v e rb th a n a p ro n o u n , as
w ould be su p p o rted b y th e p a ra p h ra se o f do so as behave in that way. A s im ila r co n clu sio n is
su p p o rted by th e a b se n c e o f a p assiv e constru ctio n *so was d o n e . . . I t seem s safest, all in all, to
tre a t th is w o rd as a u n iq u e s u b stitu te form w hich does not easily fit in to an y o f th e w ord classes.
F u rth e r uses o f th is an o m a lo u s w ord w ill now be exam ined.
S o as p ro-form
S o a s com plem ent su b stitu te

12.27 So is a v ersatile p ro -fo rm . A p a rt from its use as a n a d v e rb (c /7 .8 9 , 12.10), it
c a n su b stitu te fo r a n ad jectiv e, an adjective p h ra se, o r a n o u n p h ra se
fu n ctio n in g as c o m p le m e n t:
Prices a t p re s e n t a re re aso n ab ly stable, an d will p ro b a b ly re m a in so.

If h e ’s a criminal, i t ’s h is p a ren ts w ho have m ad e h im so.
B rett’s w o rk is n o t y et consistent in style and quality, b u t w ill n o d o u b t
becom e so.
O n the o th e r h a n d , so c a n n o t e asily be re ta in e d follow ing be, th e usual fo rm

o f red u ctio n h ere b e in g ellip sis, o r (inform ally) th e su b s titu te s like that o r that
way. C o m p a re :
T h e p la n ts a re h e alth y e n o u g h n o w , b u t I w o n d er how long th ey

w i l l f M 7^ -
[rem ain so.
L a G ioconda is so called b ecau se o f h e r en ig m atic sm ile.
P ric es a t p re sen t a re reasonably stable, an d will p ro b ab ly sta y that way.
T h e c o m b in a tio n s more so an d less so su b stitu te for a c o m p a ra tiv e a d jectiv e

e x p re s s io n :
A lth o u g h th e p oor girl w as exhausted, sh e w as less so th a n w e feared .

T h e w e a th e r was hot in C a iro , b u t a t L uxor it w as e v en m o re so.
O th e r c o m b in a tio n s o f th is k in d a re too m uch so an d so m uch s o :
T h e w e a th e r w as h ot in C a iro - so m u ch so, th a t w e stay ed in d o o rs all

day.
N o te [a] S o as p ro -co m p lem e n t c a n also a p p e a r in in itia l p osition in th e cla u s e :

W e ho p ed th a t th e p ro g ram m e w ould b e a success, a n d so it tu rn e d out.
[b] F ollo w in g th e v e rb be in sen te n ces su ch as Thai is so, so is n o t a s u b stitu te fo rm , b u t a
sy n o n y m fo r true o r th e case. O th e r c o m p a ra b le ex am p les a r e :
I t m a y b e so. T h is m u st be so, b e c a u s e . . .
It is p e rh a p s th is c o n stru c tio n th a t occurs w ith su b je c t-v e rb inversion in th e lite ra ry arch a ism s
S o be it a n d B e it so.
[c] O therw ise c a n b e a n eg a tiv e co u n te rp a rt o f so as pro-co m p lem en t:
T h e y p ro m ise d th a t th e vessel w ould b e in good c o n d itio n J w e fo u n d it j^,erlv;Je j

S o a n d n o t a s s u b s titu te s f o r fA af-cIauses
12.28 A m o re fre q u e n t use o f so is as a p ro -clau se su b stitu tin g fo r a l/iot-clause as
d ire c t ob ject. T h e a n te c e d e n t is o ften a n e n tire se n te n c e :
O x fo rd is likely to win the n e x t boat race. A ll m y frien d s say so. [ = . . .

th a t O x fo rd w ill w in th e n e x t b o a t race]
J a c k h a sn ’t,fo u n d a jo b y et. H e told m e so y esterday. [ = . . . th a t he
h a s n ’t fo u n d a jo b yet]
1
T h is use o f so ap p lie s b o th to re p o rte d sp eech ( c f 14.30/f) a n d to re p o rte d

beliefs o r a s s u m p tio n s :
M an y p eo p le believe t h a t th e in te rn a tio n a l situ atio n w ill d e te rio ra te .

M y fa th e r th in k s so, b u t I b elieve not.
i
A s th is e x am p le show s, th e n e g ativ e su b stitu te e q u iv a le n t to so in th is
c o n stru ctio n is not. U n lik e so, how ev er, th e su b stitu te not u su ally receiv es
n u clear s tr e s s :
A : H a s the news reached hom e y e t i

f B : I ’m aFRAlD so.
[B : I ’m a fra id n 6 t .
A p a rt fro m t h e a d jectiv e afraid, th is use o f not is re stric te d m a in ly to v e rb s o f

b elief o r a ssu m p tio n , w h ile th e c o rre sp o n d in g use o f so is also fo u n d in som e
v erb s o f sa y in g such as sa y a n d tell. V erbs th a t com m only allow b o th so a n d
not ( c f 16.31 - 2 ) in c lu d e :
S ub stitution for clauses and clause constituents 881
appear e x p ect hope p re su m e seem su sp ect

believe guess im ag in e reck o n suppose th in k
In th is list, appear a n d seem o ccu r w ith a n in itial an tic ip a to ry it { c f 16.34,
18 .3 3 /f): it appears so/not , it seems so/not.
T h e p ro -fo rm not is occasio n ally used w ith th e verbs say a n d tell, b u t th e
use o f th e p o sitiv e p ro -fo rm so is m u ch m o re freq u en t w ith such v e rb s o f
saying. W ith o th e r v erb s a n d adjectives, su c h as know and {be) sure, n e ith e r
o f th ese fo rm s c a n n o rm ally be used, b u t th e w hole that- clause can be e llip te d
( / know ; I a m sure; c f 12.65), o r else th e p ro n o u n it can be u s e d : I k n o w it
< A m E ) ; I am sure o f it. F o r o th e r ex am p les o f ellipsis in place o f so {eg: W ho
says? I agree) c f 12.65.
S o as a p ro -clau se occasio n ally o ccu rs in in itia l position, w ith o r w ith o u t
su b ject in v ersio n :
A : O x fo rd w ill w in th e b o a t ra c e ; a t least, so all m y O xford f r ie n d s say.
g # f A n d so say m o st o f th e s p 6 r t s w riters, t 6o .
’ \ S o m o s t o f t h e s p i r t s w r ite r s sa y , t 6 o .
W h en th e su b ject is a p ro n o u n , how ever, n o in v ersio n is possible:
A : M o st p eo p le a re b ack in g th e O x fo rd crew .
B : S o I b eliev e; b u t th a t d o esn ’t m e a n th e y ’ll win. [*So believe I]
T h e fro n tin g o f so does n o t o ccu r w ith a fra id ( *So T m afraid ), a n d o ccu rs o n ly

m arg in ally w ith c e rta in v erb s {'ISo I guess; IS o we are hoping). O n th e o th e r
h a n d , S o it appears a n d S o it seem s a re c o m m o n expressions.
N o te [a] T h e id io m a tic clause so the y sa y (w here they refe rs to ‘peo p le in general’; c f 6.21) is o fte n
a d d e d to th e en d o f a sen te n ce, a n d has a statu s sim ilar to th a t o f a final com m ent clause { c f 15.55
N o te [a]):
T h e t o w n hall is g o in g t o be reBUiLT, s o th ey s F y .
[b] W ith v e rb s ta k in g tra n sfe rre d n eg atio n {eg\ th in k , suppose", c f 14.36), th e use o f not a s a c la u s e
su b stitu te is ra th e r fo rm al, a n d is o fte n rep laced b y th e use o f so preceded by n eg a tio n in th e
m a in clau se:
I d o n ’t th in k so. ( — I th in k not.)
I d o n ’t suppose so. ( ~ I suppose not.)
I d o n ’t believ e so. ( — I believe not.)
T h is co n stru c tio n w ith so is especially co m m o n w h e n / is subject. W ith v erbs n o t ta k in g
tra n sfe rre d n eg a tio n , th is alte rn a tiv e c o n stru c tio n is n o t p o s sib le :
I d o n ’t h o p e so. I h o p e no t.
[c] T h e re is so m etim es a c o n tra s t b etw een so a n d it j th a t a s pro-form s follow ing v erbs s u c h as
believe a n d s a y :
J 1 ( d o n ’t} k el‘eve ( t h a t } ' ô n rece‘v' n S a P*ece o f n e w s; n o t *1 c a n ’t believe so]
(.1 really believ e so. [confirm ing an opinion]

(A : C o m e in !)
R f W h o 's a y s j o ? [ = W h o gives perm ission?]
' | W h o said ith a t'}[ = W h o said ‘C om e i n ’?]
In such cases itjth a t refers to a n ac tu al u tteran ce , w h ile so refers to th e co n ten t o f a n u tte ra n c e .
C o m p a re th e sim ilar c o n tra st b etw een do so a n d d o itjth a t { c f 12.24/).
[ d ] E x c ep tio n al co m b in a tio n s o f a v erb w ith th e s u b stitu te so o r not occasionally o c c u r. F o r
ex am p le, I k n o w so is so m etim e s ac cep tab le if it is u sed contrastively in a ‘second in s ta n c e ’

u tte ra n c e :
A : D o you th in k T o m w ill succeed?
B : I d o n ’t t h I n k so, I k n 6 w so!
E q u a lly , a v e rb s u c h a s claim o r tell m ay o ccu r ex ceptionally w ith not as su b stitu te w hen the
co n tex t d e m a n d s c o n tr a s tiv e em p h a sis:
I t h o u g h t t h e y h a d a g r e e d to w r ite a n in d e m n ity i n to th e c o n tr a c t. B ut t h e y c l F i m n o t .
In itial so
12.29 T h ree c o n s tru c tio n s w ith in itial so h av e already been n o te d : th e o n e in w hich
so p re c e d e s do in n o n fin ite clauses (eg: in so doing, c f 12.23 N o tes b a n d c), the
o n e in w h ic h so is a p ro -co m p lem en t ( c f 12.27), an d th e o n e in w h ich so is a
//tuf-clause s u b s titu te ( c f 12.28). But here w e need to co n sid er p articu larly
tw o su p e rficially s im ila r co n stru ctio n s in w hich stressed 'so p re ced es a subject
a n d o p e r a to r :
So + o p + S CONSTRUCTION WITH SUBJECT-OPERATOR INVERSION
YOU a s k e d h i m to le a v e , a n d 'so d id i. [ = 1 a s k e d h im to le a v e , too]

T h e c o rn is rip e n in g , a n d 'so a re the Apples. [ = th e a p p le s a re rip en in g
too]
Y o u ’ve sp ille d coffee on th e tab le, an d 'so h av e i. [ = a n d I ’ve spilled
coffee o n t h e ta b le , too]
So + S + o p CONSTRUCTION WITHOUT SUBJECT-OPERATOR INVERSION
Y o u a sk e d m e to leave, a n d 'so I d i d . [ = a n d I d i d leave]

A : I t ’s s ta r tin g to snow . B : 'So it is 1
A : Y o u ’v e sp ille d coffee o n yo u r dress. B : O h d e a r ,'s o I h F v e .
In th e fo rm e r c o n s tru c tio n (S o + op + S) so is n o t a p ro -fo rm a t all, b u t an

a d d itiv e a d v e rb , e q u iv a le n t in m ean in g to too o r also ( c f 8.116). N o tice, in
co n firm atio n o f th is , th a t th e co n stru ctio n is ellip tical, a n d th a t th e m issing
p re d ic a tio n c a n b e su p p lied ( c f 12.21):
y o u a s k e d h im to le a v e , a n d 'so d id w e (a sk h im to le a v e ). [ 1]
In fa ct, th e n o n e llip tic a l v a ria n t in [1] is rarely used, b ecau se it involves

n eed less re p e titio n . B u t th e fa c t th a t it is possible im p lies t h a t th e co n n ectio n
b e tw ee n th e c la u se so d id we an d its a n te ce d e n t clau se is m a d e by ellipsis,
r a th e r th a n by a su b s titu te form . A fu rth er p o in te r to th is co n clu sio n is th a t
so in th is c o n s tru c tio n is precisely parallel to th e n eg ativ e ad d itiv e ad v erb s
neither a n d nor, w h ic h sim ilarly tak e su b je ct-o p era to r in v ersio n ( c f 13.36#):
T h e co rn is n ’t rip en in g , a n d neither/nor a re th e a p p le s (rip en in g ).
I t is p o ssib le to a p p ly a rule w h ereb y So + o p + S is c h an g e d in to S + o p , too

(w ith o u t c h an g e ojf m ea n in g ) for all clauses o f th is p a tte rn .
N o te [a] In s p ite o f th e p a ra lle l w ith th e neg a tiv e con stru ctio n s N either!N or + o p + S, S o + o p + S is
occasio n ally used (in v ery in fo rm al style) w ith a neg a tiv e o p erato r, a n d in th is case it refers back
to a n e g a tiv e c la u s e :
A : M y sister c a n ’t d riv e a car.
B : S o can't a lot o f other people, b u t th a t d o esn ’t p re v e n t th e m fro m trying.
[ = N e ith e r ca n . . . ]
T h e s im p le r c o n stru c tio n o f 1*So don't I o r ?*So can’t she , o n th e o th e r h a n d , w ould be extrem ely
unlikely a s an a lte rn a tiv e to N either do I o r Neither can she.
[b] A lth o u g h w e h a v e d e sc rib e d so in th is co n stru ctio n as an ad d itiv e ad v e rb , it actually h as the
value o f a co n ju n ct, a n d m a y b e co m p ared w ith so as a resu ltiv e c o n ju n ct ( c / 8 . 140).
Ellipsis 883
S o as pro-predication
12.30 F o r th e second c o n stru ctio n w ith in itial so, th a t w ith o u t s u b je c t-o p e ra to r
in v ersio n , th e p o ssib ility o f su p p ly in g an ellipted p re d ic atio n is ex trem ely
d o u b tfu l:
A : Y ou’ve spilled coffee o n y our dress.

B : ?*O h d ear, 'so I h v e spilled coffee o n m y dress.
F
a n d th erefo re it seem s m o re re aso n a b le to c o n sid er so in th is c o n stru c tio n to

be n o t a n ad v erb , b u t r a th e r a p re d ic atio n su b stitu te, e q u iv a le n t to th e so in
do so. T h ere is th ere fo re little difference, except for the in v ersio n , b e tw e e n :
I told Bob to e a t u p h is d in n e r, a n d 'so he DiD. [ = in d eed h e d id ]

I told Bob to e a t u p h is d in n e r, a n d he d i d so.
T h e only ch an g e o f m e a n in g b ro u g h t ab o u t by the in itial so here is a n

e m p h a sis w h ich m ig h t o th e rw is e b e conveyed by indeed o r in fa c t. In re p lies,
S o + S + op ex p resses s u rp rise d confirm ation o f w h at th e p re v io u s sp e a k e r
h as a sserted :
A : I t ’s p a s t m id n ig h t. B : [looks a t w a tch ]'S o it is!
N o te [a] In som e v arieties o f p o p u la r sp eech , fo r exam ple in dialects o f S co tlan d a n d N o rth e rn

E n g lan d , that is u sed as a p re d ic a tio n su b stitu te ra th e r like so, b o th in th e in itia l a n d final
p o sitio n s:
A : H e ’ll reg ret w h at he sa id . B : T h a th e w iL L .
A : H av e you b een w o rk in g h ere lo n g ? B : I ‘h ave t h t .
F
W h e n in final p o sition, that c a rrie s th e nucleus, T h e m ean in g o f th is co n stru c tio n is s tro n g e r

th a n th a t o f th e so co n stru c tio n , a n d te n d s to be one o f em p h atic confirm ation o r ag ree m en t.
[b] In som e regional v arieties, p a rtic u la rly Irish English, a clause o f th e co n stru c tio n so - f S +
o p (pro n o u n ced a t a low p itc h ) c a n be a d d e d to a statem e n t as a co m m en t clau se, by w a y o f
g en e ra l em p h asis:
H e spoils those c h ild ren to d e t h , so he does.
F
[c] In an o th e r re stricted v ariety o f sp eech , th e pro-form so is given n u clear e m p h a s is :

A : T h e y d id n ’t h u rt her. B : T h e y did so.
[d] Y et an o th er regionally re s tric te d v a ria n t is th e use o f nor as a n eg a tiv e p ro -p red ic ate w ith
in v ersio n (co rresp o n d in g to th e p o sitiv e 50) i n :
A : I couldn’t d o an y th in g fo r her.
B : N or y o u c o u l d - b u t y o u m ig h t h a v e g o t s o m e o n e e lse to h e lp .
[e] O n th e initial in tensifier so in co n stru c tio n s like So angry was s h e . . .,c /1 5 .7 4 N o te [b], 18.24
N o te [a].
Ellipsis
Th e nature o f ellipsis
12.31 E llip sis m ay be m ore strictly d esc rib e d as ‘g ram m atical o m issio n ’, in c o n tra s t
to o th e r k in d s o f o m issio n in lan g u ag e. T h ere is, for exam ple, th e p h o n o lo g ical
loss (aphaeresis) o f a sy llab le in th e fam iliar fo rm o f because (o ften spelled
'cos). I n w ord fo rm atio n ( c f A p p 1.74), the clip p in g o f w o rd s (eg: flu fro m
influenza) m ay well b e re g a rd e d as a process o f th is k in d : th e o m issio n is
d e s c rib a b le in te rm s o f phonological u n its (syllables) ra th e r th a n in te rm s o f

m o rp h o lo g ic a l u n its (m orphem es) o r g ra m m atica l u n its (w ords). T h e re is
also, a rg u ab ly , sem an tic om ission. In :
F ra n k ly , he is very stupid.
T h e d is ju n c t fr a n k ly im plies a co m m e n t by th e sp eak er o n th e w ay he is
s p e a k in g ( c /8 .1 2 4 /) . B ut th ere is n o o n e set o f m issing w ords th a t c a n be
s u p p lie d . W e c an ex p an d fr a n k ly to (a m o n g m an y form s) I a m speaking
f r a n k ly when / say . . . o r / f / m ay p u t it fr a n k ly I would tel! yo u . . . S im ilarly ,
in :
H e ’s d ru n k , b ecau se I saw h im stag g erin g . [1]
th e re is a n im p licit m ean in g ( c f 15.21) th a t m ig h t be expressed b y :
H e ’s d ru n k , a n d / claim this b ecau se I saw h im staggering. [2]
B u t eq u ally w e c a n express th is u n d ersto o d m ea n in g in o th er fo rm s, su ch as

a n d I k n o w , and I a m sure o f it, and I am convinced o f it, and the p r o o f is t h a t . . .
I n su c h cases it is difficult to p in d o w n in e x a c t w ords w h at h as b e e n o m itte d ,
so it is m o re a p p ro p ria te to d e sc rib e th is p h en o m en o n as s e m n t i c F
im p l ic Ft i o n ra th e r th a n as ellipsis.
Criteria fo r ellipsis
12.32 T o d is tin g u ish ellipsis fro m o th e r k in d s o f om ission, it is im p o r ta n t to
e m p h a sise th e p rin cip le o f v e r t i m r e c o v e r i l i t y th a t ap p lies to e llip s is ;
| F F |
th a t is, th e actu al w ord(s) w hose m ea n in g is understo o d o r im p lied m u st be

re co v erab le. E v en so, like th o se o f so m a n y o th er g ram m atical c ateg o rie s,
th e b o u n d a rie s ,of ellipsis are u n clear, a n d it is b est to reco g n ize d iffere n t
d e g ree s o f ‘s tre n g th ’ in th e id en tificatio n o f ex am p les o f ellipsis. T o b e ellip sis
in th e stricte st sen se, an ex am p le m u st satisfy all th e c riteria sp ecified in
1 2 .3 3 -6 . :
i
(a) T h e ellipted w ords are precisely recoverable
12.33 T h is m e a n s th a t in a co n tex t w here n o a m b ig u ity o f reference a ris e s , th e re is
n o d o u b t a s to w h a t w ords are to be s u p p lie d :
S h e c a n ’t sing to n ig h t, so she w o n ’t A. [ 1]
E x am p les like th is co n ta in a n ellipsis th a t p resu p p o ses w ords in a p re v io u s

p a rt o f th e samei sen ten ce. I t is c le ar th a t in [1] it is the w ord sing th a t h as
b een ellip ted . Bjit by ‘precisely re c o v e ra b le ’ we do n ot n ece ssa rily m ea n
‘u n am b ig u o u sly reco v e rab le ’. C o n sid e r th e follow ing:
I f h e w orks h a rd , I w o n ’t h av e to A. [2]
In o n e co n tex t, th e assu m p tio n wjll be m a d e th a t work hard is e llip te d a t th e

en d o f th e s e n te n c e ; b u t in a n o th e r c o n te x t, th is assu m p tio n c a n p ro v e fa ls e :
A : Y o u o u g h t to sp eak to Ja m es a b o u t his laziness.

B : I f he w o rk s h ard , I w o n ’t h av e to (sp eak to Jam es a b o u t h is
laziness).
Ellipsis 885
T h ere are also c ases o f sim u ltan eo u s a m biguity, su ch as:
T h e su sp ect a d m its stealin g a c a r from a g arage, b u t he c a n ’t rem em b er

w h ich A.
w h ere which c o u ld m ea n e ith e r ‘w h ich c a r’ or ‘w h ich g a rag e ’.

T h is am b ig u ity o f a n a p h o ra is parallel to th e a m b ig u ity o f p ro n o u n
a n a p h o ra n o ted in 12.4 [3] ab o v e. In saying th a t w ith ellipsis th e o m itted
w ords are p recisely reco v erab le, we d o n o t m ean to exclude fro m ellipsis su ch
cases o f g en u in e a m b ig u ity . R a th e r, we exclude in d e te rm in a te cases lik e
12.31 [1] a b o v e, w h e re th ere is n o clear-cu t choice b etw een o n e v e rb aliz a tio n
a n d an o th er.
N o te V erb atio n reco v ery d o es n o t n ecessarily m e an th a t th e ite m s rep laced a re m orphologically

id en tical to th e ite m s c o n stitu tin g th e an te c e d e n t; c f \ 2.36 below .
(b ) T h e e l l i p t i c a l c o n s t r u c t i o n i s g r a m m a t i c a l l y ‘d e f e c t i v e ’
12.34 T ypically, ellip sis is p o stu lated in o rd e r to ex p la in w hy som e n orm ally
ob lig ato ry e le m en t o f a g ra m m atica l sentence is lack in g . I f such ‘g a p s' d id
n o t occur, th e re w o u ld b e n o o b v io u s g ra m m atica l m o tiv e for in v o k in g th e
co n cep t o f ellip sis in th e first p lace. F o r ex am p le, in 12.33 [1] ab o v e, th e
au x iliary won’t o ccu rs w ith o u t a follow ing m a in v e rb (c /2 .2 7 ). S im ilarly, in
[2] th e in fin itiv e m a rk e r to o ccu rs w ith o u t th e in fin itiv e v e rb w hich it
n o rm ally in tro d u c es. W hile we m ig h t agree th a t su ch cases involve so m e
stru ctu ral ‘g a p ’, h o w ev er, th e re a re m an y o th e r cases fo r w h ich th is is less
clear. W o u ld w e d e cid e, eg, th a t [3] below is d eficien t if th e o p tio n a l in fin itiv e
clause is o m itte d ?
V isit m e to m o rro w , if you w ish (to v isit m e to m o rro w ). [3]
T h is d e p en d s o n w h e th e r we a cc ep t as ‘n o rm al’ th e o c cu rren ce o f wish as a n

in tra n sitiv e v erb . H e re, as in m an y o th e r cases, th e re co g n itio n o f a stru c tu ra l
‘deficiency’ d e p e n d s o n a p rio r d e scrip tiv e d ecisio n o f g ra m m a r. T h e m erits
o f each case m u st b e arg u ed o n th e b a sis o f av ailab le ev id en ce (c /fo r ex am p le
10.3 on in tra n s itiv e a n d tran sitiv e verbs).
Som e stru c tu re s a re clearly in so m e sense ‘d e fec tiv e ’ b u t d o n o t m atch th e
co n d itio n o f p recise reco v erab ility . Thanks, for ex am p le, can act as a
com p lete u tte ra n c e , b u t lack in g a clau se stru ctu re, it does n o t fulfil the n o rm al
req u irem en ts o f sen ten ceh o o d ( c f 11.38). I t is n o t clear, how ever, w h a t
m issing elem en ts are left un ex p ressed . W e could ex p an d Thanks in v ario u s
• ways, fo r ex am p le ;
I ow e y ou m y thanks. I give you thanks.
Thanks is th ere fo re n o t p ro p erly ellip tical acc o rd in g to criterio n (a) (12.33).

R a th e r, it resem b les ex am p les lik e H ello in th a t it h as a fo rm u laic status, a n d
can n o t be read ily an aly sed acco rd in g to any p ro d u c tiv e g ra m m atica l p a tte rn
(for fu rth er ex am p les c f 11.54). T h is suggests th a t th e c rite rio n o f stru c tu ra l
‘deficiency’ c a n n o t be usefully ap p lie d in iso latio n from th a t o f p recise
reco v erab ility .
A n o th e r k in d o f g ra m m atica l ‘deficiency’ w h ic h is n o t in cluded in th e
category o f ellipsis is illu strated by som e p o stm o d ify in g c la u s e s :
H e r h a ir is n o t so b la c k as it was. [black] [4]

M rs T r e n t is very c h a rm in g to speak to. [M rs T ren t] [5]
F o r th e c o m p le tio n b o th o f th e sense an d o f th e g ra m m a tic a l c o m p lem en tatio n
o f th e v e rb in th e su b o rd in a te clauses o f [4] a n d [5], it w ould b e n ecessary to
a d d th e w o rd s in s q u a re b rack ets. B ut if we a d d th ese w ords, [4] a n d [5]
b e co m e u n g ra m m a tic a l. T h is brin g s us to c riterio n (c).
(c ) T h e i n s e r t i o n o f t h e m i s s i n g w o r d s r e s u l t s in a g r a m m a t i c a l s e n t e n c e ( w it h
t h e s a m e m e a n in g a s t h e o r ig in a l s e n te n c e )
12.35 T h is th ird c o n d itio n o f ellipsis is m et by all th e ex am p les w e h a v e so far
c o n sid e re d e x c e p t fo r [4] an d [5] o f 12.34. B ut it d istin g u ish e s b etw een the
fo llo w in g c o m p a ra tiv e co n stru ctio n s:
H e alw ays w a k es u p e a rlie r t h a n /. ( f o r m a l) [1]

H e a lw ays w a k es u p e arlie r th a n m e. (in f o r m a l) [2]
T o [ 1] c o u ld be a d d e d th e ellip ted w ords w ake up, b u t n o t to [2]:

H e alw ays w a k es u p e a rlie r than I wake up. [3]
*H e a lw ays w a k es u p e arlie r than m e w ake up. [4]
T h is d ifferen ce m e a n s t h a t [1] is a m o re definite e x am p le o f ellipsis th a n [2],

a n d in d ee d p a rtly e x p la in s w hy p rescrip tiv e tea ch in g h as fav o u red [1] as the
‘m o re c o rre c t’ fo rm ( c f 15.67). A n o th e r c o n tra st in term s o f th is c riterio n is
p ro v id e d by p a rtic ip ia l c lau ses ( c f 4 .6 7 ,1 4 .1 9 ,1 5 .5 8 ) su ch a s :
W h ile (I w as) e a tin g m y lunch, I h eard a loud noise. [5]
(*Since I w as) K n o w in g n o F re n c h , I could n o t ex p ress m y
th an k s. [6]
T h e in se rtio n is n o t p o ssib le in [6] b ecause kn o w belo n g s to a categ o ry o f
v e rb s o f sta tiv e m e a n in g w h ic h lack progressive fo rm s : * I am know ing French
( c f 4.4). T h u s w h ile [5] c a n by th is criterio n be classified as ellipsis, [6] is not.
T h e b ra c k e te d p a r t o f criterio n (c) above - ‘with the sam e meaning as the
original s e n te n c e '- is n e ed e d because th ere is alw ays th e assu m p tio n th a t
w h a te v e r is ‘u n d e rs to o d ’ th ro u g h ellipsis is p a rt o f th e m ean in g o f the
e llip tic al sen ten ce. In fa c t, w ith o u t th e p roviso o f synonym y b etw een th e full
a n d ellip ted fo rm s o f th e sen ten ce, th ere w ould b e n o w ay o f confining the
c o n c e p t o f ellipsis w ith in reaso n ab le lim its. T h is p ro v iso excludes from
ellip sis su ch c ases a s th e follow ing, in w h ich th e in se rtio n lead s to a
g ram m atical^sen ten ce, b u t th e m ean in g is slightly a lte re d :
T h e poor (p eo p le) n e ed m o re help. [7]
N o u n p h rases su c h a s the poor presuppose, for th e ir in te rp re ta tio n , som e such
g e n era l n o u n as people; b u t i f we ad d such a n o u n , as in [7], th e no u n p h rase
c h an g e s its g en eric m e a n in g in to a specific m ean in g ( c f 5 .2 6 ,5 .5 2 -9 ). G en eric
m e a n in g req u ires th a t w e d elete th e a r tic le : Poor people need m ore help.
N o te T h e follow ing o b se rv a tio n le n d s som e confirm ation to th e a rg u m en t fo r n o t tre a tin g th e poor as

h a v in g an ellipted n o u n :
T h e p o o r in s p ir it n eed m o re help.
* T h c p o o r people in s p ir it n ee d m o re help.
T h e people p o o r in s p ir it n ee d m o re help.
Ellipsis 887
W h e re poor is p o stm o d ified , b u t n o t o th e rw ise , th e n o u n people m u st be in serted b efo re th e

a d jectiv e if th e resu lt is to b e a g ram m atical sen ten ce. A different form o f ellipsis m u st th e re fo re
b e po site d acco rd in g to w h e th e r a p h rase lik e in spirit is ad d ed o r n o t:
th e p o o r A
T h e A po o r in sp irit
B ut th e re is y et a fu rth e r co m p lic a tio n : w ith p rep o sitio n al phrases th a t c a n b e a n a ly se d as
red u ce d relativ e clauses, th e general n o u n ca n a p p e a r only after th e ad je c tiv e :
T h e po o r (people) in th e ghettos need m o re help.
W h ile in spirit po stm o d ifies poor , in the ghettos postm odifies poor (people).
S ince n o co n siste n t ac co u n t o f ellipsis c a n be given for th is constru ctio n , it is ju s t as well th a t
o u r analysis reg ard s it as non ellip tical.
(d) The m issing w ord(s) a re tex tu a lly recoverable, and

(e) are p resen t in th e te x t in ex ac tly the sam e form
12.36 O f th ese tw o re la te d c riteria , th e la tte r is d ep en d e n t o n th e form er. It m a y b e
h e ld th a t tex tu a l re co v erab ility is th e su rest g u a ran tee o f ellipsis, s in c e
w ith o u t it, th e re is u sually ro o m fo r d isa g ree m e n t on w h a t p a rticu la r w o rd o r
e x p ressio n h a s b een ellip ted . T o re tu rn to an exam ple sim ilar to t h a t o f L i k e
o ne? in 12.7: it w ould b e difficult to in sist, fo r a situ atio n in w h ich a g u e s t is
o ffered p e an u ts w ith th e w o rd s L ik e som e? th a t it is peanuts th a t is e llip te d
a fte r som e ra th e r th a n (say) nu ts o r o f these peanuts. H ow ever, w ith in th e
tex tu ally reco v erab le categ o ry th e re is a n even stro n g er c riterio n , w h ic h
d istin g u ish e s [1] fro m [2]:
She m ig h t singtonight, b u t I d o n ’t th in k sh e will (sing tonight). [1]
She rarely sings, so I d o n ’t th in k sh e w ill (sing) to n ig h t. [2]
T h e ellip ted e x p ressio n in [1] is a n e x ac t copy o f th e an te ce d e n t (sing tonight),

w h ile in [2] th e e llip ted v erb is m o rp h o lo g ically different from its a n te c e d e n t.
C rite rio n (e) m ig h t b e triv ially su b su m ed u n d e r th a t o f (c) if we sim p ly n o te d
th e u n g ra m m atica lity o f th e fo llo w in g :
*She rarely sings, so I d o n ’t th in k sh e w ill sings to n ig h t. [2a]
B u t it is im p o rta n t to reco g n ize th a t [1] an d [2] illu strate w h at, fo r m o s t

g ra m m atica l p u rp o ses, is th e sam e k in d o f ellipsis: it re m a in s tru e , in
p a rtic u la r, th a t th e ellipsis o f sing is ‘precisely reco v erab le’ in th e se n se o f
12.33. I t is only in so m e cases (eg som e types o f co o rd in a tio n ; c f 12.68) th a t
c rite rio n (e) is significant. C o m p a re th ese superficially sim ila r c ases o f
T h e club alw ays h a s p a id its way, a n d alw ays will (pay its way). [3]
?T h e club alw ays h a s (p aid its w ay) a n d alw ays will p a y its way. [4]
B o th th ese sen ten ces v io late th e ‘e x ac t m a tc h ’ c riterio n (e), in th a t d iffe re n t

form s o f th e v e rb p a y a re re q u ire d in th e tw o clauses. B u t w h ereas th e e llip sis
o f [3] is w idely tre a te d as q u ite acc ep ta b le , th a t o f [4] is w idely re g a rd e d as
in co rre ct (c/1 3 .8 8 ). A sim ila r p a ir o f ex am p les is:
T h is is o n e o f th e o ldest b u ild in g s in tow n,

if n ot (actu ally ) th e o ld est A. [5]
?T h is is o n e o f th e o ldest A, if n o t th e o ldest, building(s) in to w n . [6]
H e n ce th e tec h n ica litie s o f ellip sis, w h ich we have b een ex p lo rin g in 1 2 .3 3 -

6, are n o t m ere tec h n ica litie s, b u t h a v e im p o rtan ce in e n ab lin g us to m a k e
d iffe re n t g e n era lizatio n s a b o u t w h a t k in d s o f re d u ctio n are p o ssib le in

E n g lis h g ra m m ar.
N o te la] I n [6 ], b o th th e sin g u la r b u ild in g an d th e p lu ra l buildings w ould be o p en to sty listic critic ism ,

b u t b u ild in g s w ould be th e m ore accep tab le altern ativ e.
[b] T h e d is fa v o u re d ty pes o f ellipsis illustrated in [4] a n d [6] a re liab le to o ccu r, b u t w ill generally
be a v o id e d in ca re fu l sp o k en a n d w ritten use.
E llip sis defined in term s o f gradience

12.37 In v ie w o f th e v a ria b le a p p licatio n o f th e a b o v e c rite ria ( a -e ) for ellipsis, it is
re a s o n a b le to use th e term ‘ellipsis’ in a w ay w h ich acknow ledges d iffere n t
d e g ree s o f strictn e ss in its in te rp reta tio n . Table 12.37 illu strates th a t th e k in d s
o f o m is s io n d iscussed ab o v e show v ario u s k in d s o f fam ily resem b lan ce to
o n e a n o th e r , a n d m ay be loosely ra n g ed o n a g ra d ie n t ex ten d in g fro m th e
s tric te s t fo rm o f ellipsis (1) to sem an tic im p lica tio n (9):
T a b le 1 2 .3 7 C r i t e r i a f o r e llip s is
(a ) (b ) (c) (d ) (e)
+ + + ■+ + (1) I ’m h a p p y i f y o u a r e ( h a p p y ) .
+ + + + - (2) S h e s in g s b e t t e r t h a n I c a n (s in g ) .
+ 7 - + ( + ) (3 ) S h e w o r k s h a r d e r t h a n h i m (* w o r k s ) .
+ + + - 0 (4 ) ( I a m ) G la d t o s e e y o u .
- + + + - (5) W3S)} A n g r y , h e s ta l k e d o u t.
+ 7 + 0 (6) I b e l ie v e ( t h a t ) y o u a r e w r o n g .
- + + 0 (7 ) T h e m a n ( t h a t / w h o / w h o m ) I s a w w a s h a l f a s le e p .
- 7 + 0 (8 ) H o u s e s ( t h a t / w h i c h a r e ) o w n e d b y M r S m i t h . . .
- - + -■ 0 (9 ) T h e d o o r o p e n e d a n d ( t h e n / a f t e r t h a t / . . . ) M a r y e n t e r e d .
C r ite r ia '■
(a ) T h e m i s s i n g e x p r e s s io n is p r e c i s e ly r e c o v e r a b le .
i \
(b ) T h e e l l i p t i c a l c o n s t r u c t i o n is ‘d e f e c tiv e ’.
(c ) T h e i n s e r t i o n b f t h e m i s s in g e x p r e s s io n r e s u lt s in a g r a m m a t i c a l s e n te n c e w i t h
t h e s a m e m e a n i n g a s t h e e l lip t ic a l s e n te n c e .
( d ) T h e m i s s i n g e x p r e s s io n is r e c o v e r a b le f r o m t h e n e i g h b o u r i n g t e x t ( r a t h e r t h a n
f r o m t h e s t r u c t u r a l o r s i t u a t i o n a l c o n t e x t) .
(e ) T h e m i s s i n g e x p r e s s io n is a n e x a c t c o p y o f t h e a n t e c e d e n t.
KEY
+ T h e c r i t e r i o n is s a tis f ie d .
_ T h e c r i t e r i o n is n o t s a tis f ie d .
9 T h e r e is d o u b t a b o u t t h e c r i t e r i o n ’s s a t i s f a c t i o n .
(+ ) W i t h t h e r e q u i r e d g r a m m a t i c a l c h a n g e , t h e c r i t e r i o n w o u ld a p p ly .
0 T h e c r i t e r i o n is n o t a p p l ic a b l e .
Ellipsis 889
Types o f ellipsis
12.38 T o show how th e c rite ria o p e ra te w ith resp ect to th e sp e c im en c o n stru ctio n s
(1 - 9 ) , w e add a few c o m m e n ts o n each exam ple, a n d also in tro d u c e th e te rm s
w h ich w ill be used w h ere n ecessary to d escribe th e v a rio u s su b categ o ries o r
m arg in al categ o ries o f ellipsis.
(1) T h is is s t r i c t e l l i p s i s , to w h ich all five c rite ria a p p ly , a n d w hich is

ap p licab le m ain ly to c o o rd in a tio n ( c f l Z M j f ) .
(2) T h is is s t n d r d e l l i p s i s , to w h ich only th e ‘e x act co p y ’ c riterio n n e ed
F F
n o t apply (w e c a n n o t e x p an d th e sentence to *She sings better than I can

sings, since o n ly th e in fin itiv e m ay follow can). W e sh all u se th e te rm
‘sta n d ard e llip sis’ in c ases w h ere c riterio n (e), th a t th e e llip te d w ord(s) b e
an ex act co p y o f th e a n te ce d e n t, is n ot re q u ire d , b u t m ay well b e
in cid en tally satisfied a s a resu lt o f c o n strain ts o f c o n s titu e n t stru ctu re.
F o r exam ple, w e m a y sa y th a t S h e sings better than I can (*sings) a n d S h e
can sing better than I can (sing) b o th exem plify s ta n d a rd ellipsis, a n d th a t
th e la tte r also h a p p e n s to exem plify stric t ellipsis. S ta n d a rd ellipsis
ap p lies to th o se c ases stu d ied u n d e r the h e ad in g o f ‘g e n era l ellipsis’ in
12.53-65.
(3) T h is is less s tric t th a n e x am p le (2), because th e full fo rm o f th e se n ten ce
c a n n o t be re co v e red w ith o u t ch an g in g th e o b jectiv e p ro n o u n him to he.
It is p re fe ra b le to tr e a t th is as a case o f su b stitu tio n r a th e r t h a n ellipsis,
an d w e shall c all it q u s i - e l l i p s i s ( c/ 12 . 40 ) .
F
(4) A s a n ex am p le o f s i t u t i o n l e l l i p s i s , th is do es n o t satisfy c riteria (d)

F F
a n d (e) (c /1 2 .4 6 # ).
(5) T h is ex am p le falls sh o rt o f th e criterio n o f u n iq u e re co v e rab ility (a),
b ecau se v ario u s c o n ju n c tio n s, o r altern ativ ely a n o n fin ite v e rb , could b e
in se rte d : S in ce h e was angry, A s he was angry, B eing angry, e tc : (O n
verbless clau ses su c h a s (5), c /1 4 .9 ,15.61.)
(6) B eing stru ctu rally reco v e rab le (</12.6), th is m ay b e te rm e d s t r u c t u r l F
e l l ip s is .
(7) T h is m ig h t sim ilarly b e re g ard ed as stru ctu ral e llip sis; h o w ev er, it d o es
n o t q u ite m a tc h u p to th e ‘p recise re co v erab ility ’ c rite rio n , since a n
a lte rn a tiv e r e la tiv e p ro n o u n , who o r whom, could h a v e b e en used.
(8) T h is is a n o n fin ite cla u se ( c fl 4 .6 f f ) w h ich c a n be a n aly sed as a red u ced
version o f a fin ite r e la tiv e clause, w ith ellipsis o f th e re la tiv e p ro n o u n a n d
th e verb be. L ik e (7), how ever, th is exam ple ju s t falls sh o rt o f sta n d a rd
ellipsis by c rite rio n (a), sin ce an a lte rn a tiv e re la tiv e p ro n o u n , which,
could have b e e n in se rte d .
(9) T h is ex am p le illu stra te s th e e n d p o in t o f th e ellipsis g ra d ie n t, a n d in d ee d
is m ore fittingly classified n o t as ellipsis a t all, b u t a s a case o f s e m n t i c F
im p l ic t io n
F ( c f 12.31). A lth o u g h th e co n ce p t o f seq u en ce in tim e
(expressed b y then) is u n d ersto o d in the se n ten ce The door opened a n d
M a ry entered, w e c a n n o t easily m ain tain th a t th is is ellipsis, for th e re is
no reaso n ab le w ay o f ch o o sin g betw een d ifferen t a d v e rb ia ls co n v ey in g
roughly th e sam e c o n c e p t: then, after, afterw ards, a fter that, thereupon,
etc.
B ecause the b o u n d a rie s o f ellipsis c a n n o t be easily d efin ed , w e shall use th e

term q u ite g en erally fo r g ra m m atica l red u ctio n th ro u g h o m issio n . F o r cases
lik e (5), (7), a n d (8), w here th e ch o ice o f w h a t to in sert, a lth o u g h n o t u n iq u e,

is re stric te d to a sm all n u m b e r o f g ra m m atica l alte rn a tiv e s, th e term w e k F
e l l i p s i s m a y b e used.
N o te T h e ‘fu zzin ess’ o f th e co n c ep t o f ellipsis goes w ith a n un clarity , in m a n y cases, as to th e

a c c e p ta b ility o f c e rta in types o f ellipsis (c/Tor ex am ple, 13.88-9).
Ellipsis and substitution
12.39 O n e c o n se q u en c e o f th e g ra d ie n c e o f ellipsis is th a t it is so m e tim es difficult

to d is tin g u ish b e tw ee n ellipsis a n d th e use o f p ro -fo rm s a s su b stitu te s. T h e
p h e n o m e n o n o f p ro -fo rm su b s titu tio n ( c f 1 2 .8 -3 0 ) closely p a ralle ls ellipsis,
in th a t a p ro -fo rm m ay b e re g ard e d as a re p la ce m en t for a u n iq u e e x p re s s io n :
O u r h o u se is q u ite d iffere n t fro m theirs, [ie th e ir house] [1]

M a n y b u ild in g s w ere d a m a g e d , b u t none [ie n o b u ild in g ] w as
d e stro y ed . ' [2]
In th ese ex an ip les, h o w ev er, th e su b stitu te p ro -fo rm is m o rp h o lo g ically

re la te d to o n e o f th e re p la ce d item s. I f w e h a d ch o sen his ra th e r th a n theirs in
[1], a n d f e w ra th e r th a n none in [2], th e resu lt w ould seem to fit th e c rite ria o f
strict e llip sis:
O ur house is q u ite d ifferen t fro m his (house). [3]

M a n y buildings w ere d a m a g ed , b u t fe w (buildings) w ere d estro y ed . [4]
i \
T h e re a s o n f o r t h i s tec h n ica l difference b etw een [1] a n d [3] is th a t he is
ex ce p tio n a l a s a p e rso n al p ro n o u n in th a t it h as th e sam e g e n itiv e fo rm in th e
d e te rm in a tiv e a n d h ead fu n c tio n s (his/his), in c o n tra st to m y/m in e, your /
yours, e tc. T h u s th e ch o ice b e tw ee n su b stitu tio n a n d ellipsis seem s to rest a t
this p o in t m erely o n a n irreg u larity o f E n g lish p ro n o u n m o rp h o lo g y : th e
n e u tra liz a tio n d f his a n d his. (A sim ila r p o in t c a n b e m ad e a b o u t f e w a n d fe w
in [4].) B u t th ere is a n o th e r w ay o f loo k in g a t th is d e m a rc a tio n p r o b le m : a
case c a n b e m ad e , d e sp ite a p p e a ra n c e s , fo r tre a tin g [3] a s su b stitu tio n .
T h e a rg u m e n t is th a t his [d e te rm in ativ e] a n d his [head] a re d iffere n t w o rd s,
in th e sen se th a t th ey are d ifferen t g ra m m atica l fo rm s w h ic h h a p p e n to be
h o m o m o rp h ic ( c f 2.38). O n th is basis, we m ay d istin g u ish th em a s h is , a n d
his2, a n d m a in ta in th a t th e c o n tra ctio n o f [3] by th e o m issio n o f house
am o u n ts to th e s u b s titu tio n o f his2 for h isf house, ju s t a s th a t o f [1] a m o u n ts
to a s u b s titu tio n o f theirs fo r their house. A sim ila r an aly sis m ay b e m ad e o f
[4], in v o lv in g th e su b s titu tio n o f f e w 2 [pronoun] fo r fe w t [d e te rm in e r } people.
Ellipsis and substitution 891
Q uasi-ellipsis and virtual ellipsis

12.40 A c co rd in g to th e a rg u m e n t in 12.39, we su b su m e u n d e r su b s titu tio n :
(a) E x am p les su ch as theirs for their house [ 1] a n d none for no person [2], w h e re
th e s u b s titu te fo rm is a g ra m m atica l v a ria n t o f th e w ord o r c o n stru c tio n
w h ic h a p p e a rs in th e rep laced ex p ressio n (we m ay call th is q u F s i -
e l l ip s is ).
(b) E x am p les su ch as his for his house in [3] an d fe w for fe w people in [4],
w h ere th e s u b s titu te fo rm is a h o m o m o rp h o f a g ram m atical form in th e
re p la ce d e x p ressio n (we m ay call th is v i r t u F l e l l i p s i s ).
Q u a s i-e llip s is m a y r e a s o n a b ly in c lu d e n o t o n ly ca s e s su c h a s their/theirs, in

w h ic h th e r e is a r e p la c e m e n t b y a d if fe r e n t m o rp h o lo g ic a l f o rm o f th e s a m e
le x ic a l ite m , b u t a ls o c a s e s su c h a s th e D O -su p p o rt c o n s tru c tio n , w h e r e t h e
u n s tr e s s e d d u m m y o p e r a t o r fills th e p o s itio n o f a ‘s tr a n d e d ’ o p e r a to r (c /3 .2 6 ,
12.60):
s h e u n d e rsta n d s th e p ro b lem b e tte r th a n HE does. [5]
C o m p are th e m o d al au x iliary a s o p e ra to r in :
s h e w o u ld u n d e r s ta n d th e p r o b le m b e t t e r th a n h e w o u ld . [6]
I t is p o ssib le to re g ard understand the problem as ellipted in [6], b u t it w o u ld

n o t b e p o ssib le to re g ard understand(s) the problem as ellip ted in th e p a ra lle l
case o f [5]:
SHE u n d e r s ta n d s th e p r o b le m b e t t e r
. f * d o e s u n d e r s ta n d 1 ,,
th a n h e j * . , , > th e p r o b le m .
[/d o e s u n d e rsta n d s j
W e m ay , h o w ev er, view [5] as a case o f quasi-ellipsis, in w h ich th e d o -

su p p o rt c o n stru ctio n o ccu rs as a re g u la r v a ria n t o f th e p re sen t o r p a s t te n s e
v e rb co n stru ctio n in circu m stan ces (su ch as th a t o f o p e rato r ‘s tr a n d in g ’)
w h ere th e g ra m m a r o f E n g lish req u ires a n o p e ra to r (c /fu rth e r 12.60).
W h e th e r q u asi-ellip sis o r v irtu a l ellipsis a re to b e trea te d as cases o f e llip sis
o r as cases o f su b s titu tio n is a m a tte r o f definition. W e classify th e m
tech n ically a s su b s titu tio n , b u t a t th e sam e tim e, th e ir labels a re a r e m in d e r
o f th e close in te rc o n n e c tio n b etw een su b s titu tio n a n d ellipsis.
N o te [a] In o th e r cases, th e o p e r a to r DO is follow ed by sta n d a rd ellipsis (c/' 12.60).

[b] C e rta in p ro n o u n s w h ic h exem plify qu asi-ellip sis a n d v irtu al ellipsis in [1 -4 ] a b o v e {none,
his, fe w ) w ould in o th e r c o n tex ts pro v id e in sta n ces o f sta n d a rd ellipsis. F o r e x a m p le :
M an y o f the buildings w ere d am ag ed , b u t none/few A w ere destroyed.
H ere w e ca n p o stu la te a straig h tfo rw a rd ellipsis o f th e p rep o sitio n al p h rase o f th e buildings, sin ce
in b o th th e e llip tical a n d th e an tec e d e n t co n stru c tio n s th e q u an tifie r is a p ro n o u n . S u c h a n
e x p lan atio n could not h a v e w orked fo r [2] a n d [4], h o w ev er, b ecause to m a tc h th e a n te c e d e n t,
th e n o u n p h ra se in its u n red u c e d form w ould h a v e to c o n ta in a pro n o u n in th e d e te rm in a tiv e
p o sitio n , an d w ould th e re b y becom e u n g ra m m a tic a l:
•M a n y b u ild in g s w ere d a m ag ed , b u t n one/few , buildings w ere destroyed.
H en ce fo r th ese sen te n ces, e x p lan atio n in te rm s o f q u asian d v irtu al ellipsis is required.
A n a tte m p t to an aly se [2] a n d [4] a s s ta n d a rd ellipsis o f o f the buildings w ould com e to g r ie f
b ecause o f w ould h av e to b e ad d e d a n d the w ould a d d a m ean in g o f d efiniteness n o t w a r r a n te d
by th e a n te c e d e n t. O n ce th is ad d itio n o f m e an in g w ere allow ed, it w ould be im possible to a d h e re
to th e re q u ire m e n t o f u n iq u e reco v erab ility , sin ce th e ellipted expression could a s e a sily be o f
those buildings o r o f these buildings, etc, in ste a d o f o f the buildings.
The classification of ellipsis
12.41 In e x a m in in g in s ta n c e s o f ellipsis, we find it n ecessary to d istin g u ish th ree

m ajo r fa c to rs : (a) r e c o v e r i l i t y t y p e ; (b) f u n c t i o n l t y p e ; an d (c)
F | F
f o r m l
F t y p e . U n le ss all th ree o f these facto rs are ta k e n in to acco u n t, it is
im p o ssib le to say e x ac tly how an d w here ellipsis c an ta k e place.
R e covera bility typ e

12.42 W e h a v e a lre a d y m a d e th e relev an t d istin ctio n s in 1 2 .6 /:
A n a p h o ric
- S itu a tio n a l
t C a ta p h o ric
- S tru c tu ra l
F ig 1 2 .4 2
Fu nctiona l typ e
12.43 ' W h e n e x a m in in g in stan c es o f tex tu al ellipsis, w h e th e r a n ap h o ric o r
c a ta p h o ric , it is o fte n necessary to co n sid er th e re la tio n o f th e a n te ce d e n t
c o n stru c tio n to th e e llip tical co n stru ctio n w ith in th e larg er co n stru ctio n o f
w h ich th ey a re b o th a p a rt. F o r exam ple, ellip sis in co o rd in a te a n d
c o m p a ra tiv e c o n stru c tio n s is in som e resp ects fre e r th a n in o th e r k in d s o f
c o n stru c tio n , a n d m e rits sep arate trea tm e n t. N o tice , in th is co n n ectio n , th e
differen ce b e tw e e n [1 -2 ] a n d [3];
M a ry c a n b e a t A n n a n d A Phyllis easily. [1]

[ie M a ry c a n b e at A n n easily an d M a ry can b e a t P h y llis easily.]
M a ry c a n b e a t A n n m o re easily th a n A Phyllis. [2]
[ie M a ry c a n b e a t A n n m ore easily th a n M a ry can beat Phyllis.]
* M a ry c a n b e a t A n n if A P hyllis easily. [3]
[ie M a ry c a n b e a t A n n easily if M a ry can beat P h y llis easily.]
I
In th e sec o n d c o b rd in a te clause o f [1] an d th e c o m p a ra tiv e clau se o f [2], it is
p o ssib le to o m it th e su b ject a n d v erb if th ese re p e a t th e su b ject a n d verb o f
th e o th e r c lau se. B u t th e parallel ellipsis c a n n o t b e c a rrie d o u t w ith in th e
su b o rd in a te /- c la u s e o f [3].
S im ilarly , e llip sis is relatively free in re sp o n se fo rm s in d ialogue { c f
1 1 .5 1 # ). |
A : W hom tan M ary b e a t m o st easily?

B : (M a ry c a n b e at) Phyllis (m ost easily).
H ere, as in [1] a n d [2], th e su b ject a n d v erb M a ry can b eat m ay be ellipted.

T h e fre e r c a te g o rie s o f ellipsis illu strated a re po ssib le only in c ertain
c o n stru ctio n s. O n such g ro u n d s, w e d istin g u ish b etw een g e n e r l e l l i p s i s ,
F
w h ere th e fu n c tio n a l relatio n b etw een th e ellip tic al an d a n te ce d e n t

co n stru ctio n s is n o t im p o rta n t, an d s p e c i l e l l i p s i s , w h ere th e p o ssib ilities
F
o f o m issio n a r e closely d e term in ed by th e re la tio n {eg a co o rd in ativ e o r

c o m p a ra tiv e re la tio n ) b etw een th ese tw o c o n stru ctio n s. In th e p re sen t c h a p te r
Th e classification of ellipsis 893
w e shall confine o u rselv es chiefly to general ellipsis, sin ce sp ecial ellipsis is

m o re ap p ro p ria te ly h a n d le d in th e ch ap ters d ealin g w ith sp ecial re latio n s
su ch as c o o rd in a tio n o r co m p a riso n .
r G e n e r a l (1 2 .5 3 -6 5 )
(T e x tu a l ellip sis o n ly ) - —N o n fin ite a n d v e rb le ss c la u se s (1 4 .6 -9 )
- S p e c ia l >—C o o rd in a te c o n stru c tio n s (1 3 .4 4 // )
C o m p a ra tiv e c la u se s (1 5 .6 6 (f)
R esp o n se fo rm s (1 1 .5 1 /)
F ig 12.43 F u n c tio n a l ty p e s o f e llip sis
Form al type
12.44 F o rm ally sp eak in g , e llip tic al c o n stru ctio n s d iv id e in to th re e m a in categ o ries.
W e shall d istin g u ish i n i t i l ellip sis, w here in itial elem en ts a re ellip ted , fro m
F
f in l
F e l l i p s i s , w here final ele m en ts a re ellipted. F o r ex am p le, in [1] th e if-
clau se is an ex am p le o f in itia l ellip sis (‘ellipsis o n th e le ft’), w h e rea s in [2] th e

co m p a rativ e clause is a n e x am p le o f final ellipsis (‘ellipsis o n th e rig h t’):
H e will co m e later, if (he comes) a t all. [1]

I h av e e a te n m o re t h a n y o u (have eaten). [21
T h e co n ju n ctio n if, b e ca u se o f its p erip h eral in tro d u cto ry role ( c /1 3.54), m ay
b e d isreg ard ed in ju d g in g a n e x am p le like [1] as in itial ellipsis. T h e re is also
a category o f m e d i l ellip sis, w h ere only m ed ial ele m en ts o f a u n it a re
F
o m itted . B ut o ften it is b e tte r to arg u e th a t ‘m edial ellip sis’ is a stru c tu ra l

illusion w h ich results fro m lo o k in g a t too large a c o n stitu e n t in th e sen ten ce.
I f w e ex am in e c o n d itio n s o f ellip sis m ore carefully, m ed ia l e llip sis c a n o ften
be tre a te d as a special c ase o f e ith e r in itial o r final ellipsis.
F o r exam ple, w ith in th e clau se it is o ften c o n v en ien t to re p re se n t in itia l
a n d final ellipsis as fo llo w s:
in it iF l (e llip s is o n th e le f t) f in F l (e llip s is o n t h e r ig h t)
S u b je c t O perator j P redication Subject O perator j Predication
F ig 12.44a
T h a t is, initial ellipsis a p p lie s to th e subject a n d o p e ra to r, a n d final ellip sis

ap p lies to the p re d ic a tio n . B u t th is schem e ap p lies p rim a rily to th e m o re
c en tral elem ents o f th e clau se. T h e m ore p erip h eral ele m en ts ( c f 2.13) su ch
as in tro d u cto ry co n ju n c tio n s a n d op tio n al ad v erb ials a re in g en eral less
essen tial featu res o f th e c la u se ; a n d conversely, u n d e r ellipsis, it is th ese
elem en ts w h ich are p e rm itte d to o ccu r w hen o th ers d o n o t :
I know w e have n o t y et se t the record straight, b u t w e w ill A (som e

day). [3]
J u s t as in [1] th e co n ju n ctio n re m a in s as a clause in tro d u cer, so in [3] th e

a d v e rb ia l som e d a y rem ain s w h en th e re st o f the clause a fte r th e o p e ra to r is
o m itte d . N o te th a t by co n tra st, th e o b ject o r o b ject c o m p lem en t in [3] could
n o t b e re ta in e d e x ce p t as p a r t o f th e w h o le p red ic atio n :
*. . . b u t w e w ill A th e reco rd s tra ig h t som e day.

*. . . b u t w e w ill A stra ig h t som e day.
It m a y th ere fo re be p ro p o sed th a t o p tio n a l elem ents su ch a s o p tio n a l

a d v e rb ia ls do n o t e n te r in to th e p ro cess o f e llip sis:
C la u se
O n th is basis, th e ellipsis in [3] w ill b e classified as final r a th e r th a n m ed ial.

E llip sis w h ich is definitely m ed ia l is also fo u n d , b u t in r a th e r re stric te d
c irc u m stan c es (it w ill be discu ssed , w ith re fe re n ce to c o o rd in a tio n , u n d e r the
h e a d in g o f g p p i n g in 13.9 2 /). I n g e n era l, final ellipsis p re d o m in a te s over
F
b o th in itia l a n d m ed ia l ellipsis. I t is a g en eral co n d itio n th a t final o p tio n a l

e le m e n ts (a d v erb ials o r p o stm o d ifiers) m a y be re ta in e d u n d e r co n d itio n s
w h e re final ellip sis o p erates. T o c o n clu d e th is general c o n sid e ra tio n o f
c a te g o rie s o f ellipsis, w e su m m ariz e th e ty p es m en tio n ed in 1 2 .4 1 -4 in Fig
12.44c:
A n a p h o ric
P ( a n t e c e d e n t p re c ed e s)
C a ta p h o r ic
( a n te c e d e n t follow s)
— T e x tu a l — 1 —G e n e ra l
N o n fin ite
RECO VERABILITY — a n d v e rb le ss
— S itu a tio n a l
TY PE i FU N C T IO N A L c la u se s
j T Y PE
— S tru c tu ra l C o o r d in a te
c o n s tr u c tio n s
i— In itial — S p e c ia l—
C o m p a r a tiv e
FO RM AL c la u se s
_(M e d ia l)
T Y PE
__R e s p o n s e
—F in a l fo rm s
F ig 12.44c M ain categories o f ellipsis

Categories of ellipsis: recoverability 895
Categories of ellipsis: recoverability
A naphoric and cataphoric ellipsis

12.45 R e tu rn in g to th e reco v erab ility types o f ellipsis ( c f 12.42), we b egin w ith
tex tu al ellip sis, a n d th e d istin c tio n b etw een n p h o r i c an d c t p h o r i c
F F F F
referen ce ( c f 12.6). J u s t as final ellipsis is th e d o m in a n t form al type o f ellipsis,

so a n a p h o ric e llip sis is th e d o m in a n t type o f tex tu al ellipsis. In fact, ellip sis
is g o v ern ed in th is resp ect by th e sam e re strictio n s as p ro n o u n reference ( c f
6.19): th e a n te c e d e n t m ust n o rm ally h av e ‘p re ce d en c e ’ over th e ellip tical
c o n stru ctio n , b y ta k in g e ith e r a n e arlier p o sitio n in th e sen ten ce, o r a h ig h e r
p o sitio n (w h e re ‘h ig h e r’ refers to a h ig h er p o sitio n in th e tree d ia g ra m
specifying th e c o n stitu e n t stru ctu re o f th e sen ten ce). T ypically, c a ta p h o ric
ellipsis o ccu rs in a clau se w hich is su b o rd in a te in relatio n to th e clause in
w h ich th e a n te c e d e n t occurs.
I f yo u w ant m e to A, I ’ll lend you m y pen.

W e try , whenever we can A, to leave a window open.
T h o se who p re fer (to) A c an sta y indoors.
D o n ’t a sk m e w hy A, b u t the stone has been moved.
(B oth th e e llip tic a l clause a n d the a n te ce d e n t ex p ressio n are italicized in

th ese e x am p les.)
N o te [a] I t is difficult to sp ecify th e lim its o f ac cep ta b ility fo r c a ta p h o ric ellipsis. Som e k in d s o f
ellipsis (in c lu d in g m a n y ca ses o f w h at w e call g eneral ellip sis) a re ac cep ta b le if a n a p h o ric, b u t
o nly m a rg in ally so i f c a ta p h o ric . F o r ex am ple, ellipsis o f a n o u n h ea d a fte r a n adjectiv e:
I ’ll buy th e re d wine i f y o u ’ll buy th e w h ite A.
?If you’ll b u y th e w h ite A, I ’ll buy th e red wine.
T h e follow ing v ale d ic to ry sen ten ce regularly used b y a h u m o ro u s b ro ad ca ster (Jo h n E b d o n ,
BB C R ad io F o u r) illu strates th e stylistically m a rk ed effect th a t o fte n results fro m c a ta p h o ric
ellipsis:
I f you h av e b e e n A, th a n k s for listening.
[b] H ow ever, w h e n tw o n o u n p h rases a re in a parallel relatio n sh ip sim ilar to th a t o f c o o rd in atio n ,
ca ta p h o ric ellip sis o f th e h ea d (an d postm odifiers) o f th e first p h ra s e is q u ite u sual: 1 ca n't tell
real &fr o m im itation je w ellery; the change fr o m a fe u d a l A to a dem ocratic way o f life. T h is ty p e o f
ellipsis ap p e a rs to b e m odelled o n a sim ila r ty p e o f ellipsis in co o rd in ated noun p h rases; eg; rea l
or im itation je w e lle ry ( c / 1 3.79).
Situational ellipsis
12.46 W e h a v e a lre a d y seen th a t som e types o f ellipsis a re n o t d e p en d e n t o n th e
lin g u istic c o n te x t fo r th e ir in te rp reta tio n . In such cases, th e in te rp re ta tio n
m ay d e p en d o n k n o w led g e o f a p recise e x tralin g u istic con tex t. F o r ex am p le,
Get it? in o n e s itu a tio n m ig h t be u n d ersto o d to m e a n th e sam e as D id yo u g e t
it? (eg ‘D id y o u g e t th e letter/sh o p p in g /etc? ’), a n d in a n o th e r situ atio n D o
yo u get it ? (ie ‘D o you u n d e rsta n d ? ’). Sim ilarly, Told y o u so m ig h t b e e x p an d e d
in one co n te x t to I told yo u so, a n d in a n o th e r to W e told you so. In still o th e r
contexts, th e e x a c t w o rd s ellip ted m ig h t be u n clear. T h e term s i t u t i o n l F F
e l l i p s i s c an a p p ly to su ch cases o f w eak ellipsis, an d also to o th er cases w h e re
it h a p p en s to b e q u ite clear w h a t h a s b een o m itte d ; eg only it can be th e

ellip ted su b je ct in L o o k s like rain.
S itu atio n al e llip sis is so m etim es final; for e x am p le, th e w eakly reco v erab le
ellipsis H ow could y o u A ? said as a reb u k e to so m eo n e w ho h as ju s t co m m itte d
so m e situ a tio n a lly k n o w n folly. But m ore typically, situ atio n al ellipsis is
in itia l, e sp e cially ta k in g th e form o f om ission o f su b ject a n d /o r o p e ra to r; eg:
(D o you) W ant som ething? In such cases, w h ich a re re stricted to fa m ilia r
(g e n era lly sp o k e n ) E n g lish , th e ellipted w ords a re th o se th a t n o rm ally o ccur
b e fo re th e o n se t o f a to n e u n it (c f A pp II. 11), a n d h en ce h av e w eak stress an d
low p itc h . I t m a y th ere fo re b e m ore a p p ro p ria te to ascrib e th e o m issio n to
s u b a u d ib le u tte ra n c e o r som e o th er red u ctiv e p ro cess o n th e p h o n o lo g ical,
r a th e r t h a n o n th e g ra m m atica l level (c /N o te [b] below ).
In w h a t follow s, d e c la ra tiv e sentences a re trea te d se p a ra tely fro m y e s-n o
q u e stio n s , sin ce th e o p e ra to r is obligatory in th e full fo rm o f y es-n o qu estio n s.
N o te [a] Im p e ra tiv e se n te n c e s w ith o u t a subject {eg: S it down) c a n n o t b e co n sid e red co m p a ra b le to

d e c la ra tiv e a n d in te rro g a tiv e sen ten ces w ith initial ellipsis. T h e im p lie d su b ject o f th e im p erativ e
v e rb is y o u ( c f [ 1.24), b u t ab sen ce o f th e subject is th e n o rm w ith im p erativ es, a n d w h ere th e
im p e ra tiv e su b ject y o u d o es o cc u r ( c f 11.25), it receives stress; eg: 'Y o u s it down. T h e se factors,
to g e th e r w ith th e f a c t t h a t it is n o t restricted to fam iliar style, d istin g u ish th e subjectless
im p e ra tiv e from th e ty p es o f situ a tio n a l ellipsis w e are now co n sid erin g .
[b] T h e ex p la n a tio n o f s itu a tio n a l ellipsis in term s o f p honological red u ctio n is fav o u red by th e
o c c u rre n c e , in reco rd e d sp eech , o f ‘p h rasal ap h a eresis’ in su ch ex a m p les a s:
’k you. /k j o / [ = T h a n k you]
’s it m a tte r ? /,s it/ ( = W h a t does it m atter?]
’d you r a t h e r . . . ? /d jo / [ = W ould you rather?]
’s a n y o n e th e r e ? /'zem / [ = Is any o n e there?]
’s all rig h t, /so il/ [ = I t ’s all right]
I t is difficult to say w h e th e r th e m issing syllables are lo st b ecau se th e ir u tte ra n c e is su b au d ib le,
o r b ec au se o f m o re a b s tr a c t phonological processes. In o th e r cases, h ow ever, it is less realistic to
ta lk in te rm s o f su b a u d ib ility , sin ce m o re th a n on e syllable is lo st:
AY o u r n a m e ?
AT w o lo aves o f w h ite b re a d , please.
W h a te v e r th e c o rre c t e x p la n a tio n o f su ch in itial ellipsis m a y be, it seem s u n q u estio n ab le (a) th a t
th e o m issio n s a!,re a t le a st in p a r t phonologically d e te rm in e d ; a n d (b) th a t h a b its o f ren d erin g
su ch om issio n s in w r itin g (eg in p o p u la r fiction) h av e help ed to co n v e n tio n alize th e m in th e form
o f o m issio n o f c e rta in u n stressed w ords.
E llipsis in d eclarativ e sentences
(a) E llipsis of; su b je ct alone x

12.47 E ith e r n o au x iliary is av ailab le for ellipsis (eg: A Serves yo u right) o r o n e is
in clu d ed in th e s e n te n c e (e g : A Can’t see). T h e e lem en t ellip te d c a n b e :
(i) th e 1st p e rs o n p ro n o u n , norm ally /:

AB eg;your p a rd o n . AT o ld you so.
A W oijider w h a t th e y ’re doing. A H o p e h e ’s th ere.
AD o n ’t k n o w w h a t to say. AT h in k I ’ll go now .
M o st o f th e v e rb s in su c h elliptical co n stru ctio n s c an ta k e a clause as object.
(ii) th e 2 n d p e rso n p ro n o u n ;
AT u rn e d o u t a ll rig h t? AH a d a good tim e, d id you?
A W a n t a d rin k ? AW a n t a d rin k , do you?
T h e 2 n d p e rso n p ro n o u n is ellipted, as th e ex am p les o n th e left show , in

d e clara tiv e q u e stio n s ( c f 11.12). I t is ellip ted in s ta te m e n ts only i f a tag
Categoriesof ellipsis: recoverability 897
q u estio n is a d d ed . (W a n t a d rin k ? c a n also be in te rp rete d a s a n o rd in a ry y e s -

no q u estio n w ith Do yo u e llip ted , c / 12.49).
(iii) th e 3rd p erso n p ro n o u n s he, she, th e y :
(H e/S h e) D o e sn ’t look to o well.
(H e/S h e/T h e y) C a n ’t play a t all.
(iv) it:
AS erves you rig h t. A Looks lik e rain.
AD o e sn ’t m a tte r. AM u st be h o t in P a n a m a .
T h e it ellip ted fro m th e tw o ex am p les o n th e left is related to th e a n tic ip a to ry

it (c f 18.33) fo u n d in sen ten ces w ith e x trap o sitio n , a s in I t serves y o u right th a t
y o u fe ll. In th e sen ten ces o n th e rig h t, it is th e ‘p ro p ’ su b ject in se n ten c es lik e
I t is cold ( c f 10.26). T h ese ellip ted sen ten ces could re fe r d irectly , h o w ev er, to
a n a ctio n in th e situ atio n al c o n te x t; fo r exam ple Serves yo u right m ig h t b e
sa id to a ch ild im m ed iately a fte r a fall, if th e ch ild h a d been w a rn ed n o t to
a c t in a d an g ero u s w ay. O n th e o th e r h an d , it m ay b e used in re fe re n ce to
so m e th in g id en tified in th e s itu a tio n ;
AS eem s full. A M akes too m u ch noise.
A n d som e o th e r ex p ressio n s m ay be in te rp rete d o u t o f co n te x t as h a v in g

ellipsis o f e ith e r type o f it:
ASounds fine to m e. AW o n ’t b e a n y use.
(v) there:
A O u g h t to b e som e coffee in th e pot.
A M u st b e som ebody w a itin g fo r you.
A M ay b e so m e c h ild re n o u tsid e.
A A p p e ars to b e a b ig cro w d in th e hall.
T h is is th e ex iste n tia l su b ject there ( c f 1 8 .4 4 /), as d istin c t fro m th e ‘tru e

s u b je c t’ follow ing th e verb. T h e e llip tical co n stru ctio n is u n lik ely to c o n ta in
th e m o d al will, b u t won’t is c o m m o n :
(T h ere) W o n ’t b e a n y th in g left fo r supper.
N o te I n categ o ry (i) ab o v e , (I) bet you . . . is so m etim e s rendered n o n stan d a rd ly in w ritin g a s B e tcha
. . . ; eg: Betcha d o n ’t know what this is!
(b) E llipsis o f subject plus o p e rato r

12.48 I f th e m a in v e rb | e is e llip ted , th e e llip tical sentence b eg in s w ith w h a t w o u ld
b e a su b ject co m p le m e n t in th e full f o r m :
(i) th e 1st p erso n p ro n o u n (p a rticu la rly I) plus be :
(I’m ) Sorry I c o u ld n ’t b e th ere .

(I’m /W e ’re) A fra id n o t.
W e a lo n e c a n n o t be e llip ted , eg: * A re afraid not. F o r m an y sp e a k e rs, th e

sam e a p p lies to the sin g u lar p ro n o u n I : fo r th em A fra id not is a cc e p ta b le , b u t
n o t * A m afraid not.
(ii) it plus i s :
A G o o d to see you. AO d d h e w on’t h elp us.

A N o w o n d er sh e ’s late. A (A ) S h am e h e’s late.
A N o use w orrying. A N o t t h a t I m ind.
T h e e llip te d it here is generally th e a n tic ip a to ry if ju s t m en tio n ed in 12.47.

T h e la s t ex am p le N ot th a t I m ind, how ev er, exem plifies th e em p ty ‘p ro p w o rd ’
it.
(iii) th e 1st p erso n p ro n o u n follow ed by an o p e ra to r o th er th a n b e :
( I ’ll) See you later. (W e ’ve) G o t to go now .
N o te [a ] I n f a m ilia r style th e co m m o n ellip tical p h rases (I 'v e) go t to a n d (I 'm ) goi ng to h av e a c q u ired

s e m i-in s titu tio n a liz e d n o n sta n d a rd sp ellin g s g o tt a an d gon na resp ectiv ely : G otta go now ; G onna
g o no w ( c /3 .4 7 /) .
[b ] H a d is c o m m o n ly ellip ted in sp o k en E nglish in th e sem i-au x iliary h ad bettor ( c / 3 .4 5 /) : Y ou
b et t er t r y i t agai n. It is also possible to ellip t th e su b je c t: B et ter tr y i t agai n.
(c] T h e r e is aiso th e p ossibility o f m ed ial om issio n o f th e o p e ra to r alo n e in Y ou g o tt a be caref ul ,
I g o n n a d o w hat I l i k e, w h ere th e n o n sta n d a rd w ritte n fo rm , inclu d in g th e o m issio n , reflects
p h o n o lo g ic a i processes o f red u ctio n , as in N o tes [a] a n d (bj.
E llip s is in in te rro g a tiv e se n te n c e s
(a ) E ll ip s is o f s u b je c t p lu s o p e r a to r
12.49 If t h e s u b je c t a n d a m a i n v e r b b e a r e o m itte d in a yes-n o q u e s tio n , th e
r e s u l t i n g e llip tic a l s e n te n c e b e g in s w ith a s u b je c t c o m p le m e n t o r a n a d j u n c t :
(A re you) H ap p y ? (A re you) In tro u b le?

(A re you) A fra id o f h im ? (Is it) H o t?
(A re you) H o t? (A re th ey ) T o rn ?
W h y c a n ’t he get u p ? (Is h e) T o o w e ak ?
(Is th ere) A ny o n e in ?
(Is th ere ) A n y coffee left?
I f th e o p e ra to r is a u x iliary | e , h F v e , o r d o , th e ellip tical sen ten ce m ay b eg in

w ith a n o n fin ite m ain v erb , so m etim es p re ce d ed by a n a d v erb ial:
(D o you) W a n t som e ? (A re you) L ooking for a n y b o d y ?

(H a v e you) G o t a n y ch o co late ? (H a v e you) E v e r seen o n e o f th ese?
I n s u c h q u estio n s, th e ellip ted su b ject is g en erally you, b u t o th e r in te rp re ta

tio n s w o u ld be possible in c o n te x t; eg; (A re they) H appy? (Is she) In trouble?
N o te [a] W an n a, a s a n o n sta n d a rd spelling o f w ant to (especially in A m E ), occurs in su ch se n te n ces as

W an n a hav e a g o ? w ith su b jec t + o p e ra to r ellipsis (c f 12.48 N o te [cl).
[b] S o m e q u estio n s in categ o ry (a) ab o v e could altern a tiv e ly be classified as d e c la ra tiv e q u estio n s
(c f 11.12) w ith ellipsis o f th e su b ject only. F o r ex a m p le, W ant som e? could be a re d u ce d v ersio n
o f Y ou w ant som e ? ra th e r th a n o f D o y ou w ant som e ?
(b ) E llip s is o f o p e r a to r a lo n e
12.50 T h e r e a re also ellip tical y e s-n o q u e stio n s in w h ich , alth o u g h th e o p e ra to r is
o m itte d , th e subject is p ro n o u n ced . T h is w ill b e th e case if, fo r an y reaso n ,
th e su b je ct receives stre ss:
Categoriesof ellipsis: recoverability 899
(Is) 'A n y th in g th e m a tte r? (Does) 'A nybody n eed a lift?

(A re) 'Y ou h u n g ry ? (H as) 'Jo a n n a d o n e h e r h o m ew o rk ?
(Is) 'T h at you, S h irley ? (Is) 'N o th in g co m in g ?
(W ould) 'Y ou ra th e r I w aited ?
T h e exam ples o n th e le ft illu strate th e om ission o f | e as m a in verb , w hile

th o se o n th e rig h t sh o w th e om ission o f an auxiliary.
N o te [al T h e re are also c o m p a ra b le sen te n ces in w hich th e subject is p artially e llip te d :

W hy is n ’t h e h e r e to d a y ? (Is h is) 'C a r still n o t w orking?
H ere th e d ete rm in e r o f th e su b je c t n o u n ph rase is ellipted, w hile th e h ea d is realized.
[b] T h e re is o ccasio n ally m e d ia l om issio n o f th e o p erato r in w h-questions: W here y ou g oi ng ?
W hat y ou w an t? (c f 12.48 N o te s [b j a n d [cl). T h is is ch a ra cte ristic o f ca su al sp eech , b u t is o fte n
felt to be n o n sta n d a rd in its w ritte n form . Y ou in such q u estio n s is read ily red u ce d to /jo/, a n d
ad d itio n a l phon o lo g ical sim p lific a tio n an d assim ilation follow ing W hat c a n resu lt in a n affricated
p ro n u n ciatio n re p re se n te d in n o n sta n d a rd spellings such as W hal cha ; W otcher.
O th e r cases o f situ a tio n a l ellipsis

12.51 T h ere a re sev eral o th e r v a ria n ts o f th e fam iliar in itial ty p e o f situ atio n al
ellipsis illu strated in 1 2 .4 7 -5 0 . H ow ever, th ese fu rth e r ex am p les are less
p ro d u ctiv e, a n d te n d to o c c u r only in id io m atic e x p re ss io n s:
(a) E llipsis o f a n a r tic le :

(T he) T ro u b le is th e r e ’s n o th in g we c an d o a b o u t it.
(T he) F a c t is I d o n ’t k n o w w h a t to do.
(A ) F rie n d o f m in e to ld m e a b o u t it.
T h e om ission o f th e in d efin ite article is com m on in th e c o n stru ctio n 'a(n) +

n o u n p h ra se + o f p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se ’, as in (a) frie n d o f mine. T h e o m ission
o f a/an o r the m a y a lso c o m b in e w ith o th e r e llip se s:
(It is a) P ity h e w o n ’t help.

(It is a) S h a m e th e y w o n ’t be there.
(Is th e) T elev isio n n o t w orking?
(b) E llipsis o f a p re p o s itio n :

(O f) C o u rse h e ’s th ere .
Such cases as th ese p ro v id e fu rth er evidence th a t in itia l situ atio n al ellipsis is
a phonological, r a th e r th a n a g ram m atical process. I t is c le ar th a t in cases
lik e P ity he won't help o r C ar still not working? ( c f 12.50 N o te [a]) th e ellipsis
cuts across th e b o u n d a rie s o f g ram m atical c o n stitu en ts, an d is term in ated by
th e first stressed sy llab le o f th e fully-realized sen ten ce. T h e tru n ca tio n o f o f
course to course is p re v a le n t fo r the sam e reason. S u ch o m issio n s relate to th e
fa ct th a t th e e llip te d syllables h av e a low in fo rm a tio n v alu e w ith in th e
situation.
N o te T h ere are also cases w h e re th e in itia l syllable o f a w ord is o m itte d :

(I am a-)F raid I w o n ’t b e th ere.
T h e ap h a eretic sp ellin g ' F r ai d , in th is p a rtic u la r case, is se m i-in stitu tio n a liz ed . A less co m m o n
case is 'D eed in 'D eed I d o (f o r I nd eed). O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e a n a lo g o u s spelling o f because as
'cause o r 'cos <B rE> p ro b a b ly d o es n o t belong to th e sam e categ o ry . T h is tru n c atio n , alth o u g h
also restricted to fa m ilia r sty le , is n o t necessarily found a t th e b e g in n in g o f a se n te n c e :
H e d id it ’c a u se h e w a n te d to.
A p a ra lle l, th ough less co m m o n , ex a m p le is th e spelling o f except as 'cept. T h e se ca ses o f

a p h a e re s is , to g e th er w ith th e m a n y ex am p les o f w ord clip p in g in E n g lish (eg: (te lep h o n e,
photoigraph), (in)flu(enza)), belo n g m o re to th e lexical processes o f w o rd -fo rm atio n th a n to
g ra m m a r ( c f A p p 1.74).
S tru ctu ra l ellipsis

12.52 T h e re is no c le ar d iv id in g lin e b etw een situ atio n al ellipsis a n d stru c tu ra l
ellip sis ( c f 12.6), w here th e ellip ted w ord(s) can b e id en tified p u re ly o n the
b asis o f g ra m m atica l k now ledge. W ith o u t e n terin g in to a rg u m e n ts o n th is
score, w e can illu stra te stru c tu ra l ellipsis by c itin g th e zero c o n ju n ctio n that
(c /1 5 .4 ) in [1], a n d th e e llip te d p rep o sitio n s (c f9 A 0 ff) in [2] an d [3]:
I b elieve (th a t) you a re m istak en . [1]

T h e C lub m eets (on) M o n d ay evenings, ( f a m ilia r ) [2]
W e ’re stay in g th e re (for) a n o th e r th ree w eeks, ( in f o r m a l) [3]
F u r th e r ex am p les a re p ro v id e d by th e com m on o m issio n o f d e te rm in e rs,

p ro n o u n s, o p e rato rs, a n d o th e r closed-class w o rd s in b lo ck lan g u ag e ( c f
\ \ A 5 f f ) \ eg in h e ad lin es, b o o k titles, n o tices; also in lec tu re n o tes, d iaries,
tele g ra m s, etc:
U S h e ad in g for n e w slu m p , [te: The U S is h e ad in g fo r a n ew slum p.]
S u ch stru c tu ra l ellip sis is co n fin ed to w ritte n style, a n d c o n tra sts w ith th e

in itia l s itu a tio n a l ellipsis c h ara cte ristic o f fam iliar sp o k e n E n g lish , an d
d isc u sse d in 12.47 'ff. B o th styles o f ellipsis fu n ctio n as d ev ices o f econom y,
th ro u g h th e o m issio n o f ite m s o f little in fo rm atio n al value. I n th e w ritte n
e llip tic a l styles k n o w n a s ‘h ead lin ese ’ a n d ‘teleg rap h ese’, h o w ev er, closed-
class ite m s are o ften su p p re ssed n o t only in in itial p o sitio n b u t also in th e
m id d le o f sentences.
Categories of ellipsis: function
General ellipsis
12.53 G e n e ra l tex tu al ellipsis is ty p ically (i) final an d (ii) a n a p h o ric , a n d it is on
su ch re g u la r c ases th a t w e c o n ce n tra te in th e follow ing sectio n s. W e find it
c o n v e n ie n t to d is tin g u ish th re e m ajo r form al c a te g o rie s: (a) ellip tic al no u n
p h ra ses, (b) ellip tical c lau ses, an d (c) o th er elliptical c o n stru ctio n s.
E llip tical noun phrases

12.54 E llip tic al n o u n p h ra se s (ex ce p t in co o rd in ate n o u n p h rases) resu lt fro m final
ellipsis. T h is m ea n s t h a t p o stm o d ifiers (if any) a n d h e ad s te n d to be e llip te d :
M y own cam era, lik e P eter’s A, is Jap an ese. [ 1]

H e h a d to a d m it t h a t S a ra h ’s drawings w ere a s good as his own A. [2]
Y o u c a n ’t ta x one se t o f people w ith o u t tax in g the other A. [3]
T h e fir s t expedition to the A ntarctic w as quickly follow ed by
another tw o A. [4]
Categories of ellipsis: fun ction 901
Tom orrow's m eeting will h av e to b e our fir s t A a n d our last a . [5]

A lth o u g h H elen is the oldest girl in the class, Ju lie is the tallest A. [6]
In th ese ex am p les, th e second n o u n p h ra se in italics is n o tew o rth y in th a t its
h e ad is a w o rd th a t elsew here n o rm ally a cts as a prem odifier. In [1] th e h e a d
is a g e n itiv e n o u n ; in [2] an d [3] it is a p o std e te rm in e r; in [4] it is a c a rd in a l
n u m e ra l; in [5] it is a n o rd in al n u m e ra l; a n d in [6] it is a su p erlativ e a d je c tiv e .
N o u n p h ra se ellipsis, like clause e llipsis (c/12.59 >ff), involves som e d e g re e
o f p a rallelism b etw een th e ellip tical co n stru ctio n a n d th e an te ce d e n t. B y
v irtu e o f th is, so m e item (s) in th e e llip tical co n stru ctio n can b e sa id to
r e p u d i F t e , o r sem an tically can cel o u t, som e item (s) in th e a n teced en t. T h u s
the tallest in [6] m ay be said to re p u d ia te the oldest. T h is term is e sp e cially

a p p ro p ria te w h ere th e tw o c o n stru ctio n s a re in a c o n trastiv e relatio n sh ip .
T h e sh ift o f fu n ctio n fro m m o d ifier to ; h e ad in th ese ex am p les is to b e
ex p la in e d by th e o b v io u s fa ct th a t a n ‘u n d e rsto o d ’ n o u n has b een e llip te d ;
eg: th e n o u n cam era in [1] a n d th e n o u n meeting (tw ice) in [5]. I n so m e
ex am p les, viz [3 -6 ], p ostm odifiers are also ellip te d ; eg: se t o f people is e llip te d
in [3] a n d girl in the class in [6]. T h e re is c o n sid erab le v ariety in th e s tru c tu ra l
re la tio n b etw een th e ellip tical n o u n p h ra se a n d its an te ce d e n t n o u n p h ra s e .
T h is v a ria b ility is th e h a llm ark o f w h a t w e h av e term ed general ellipsis.
N o te [a] A lth o u g h th e red u ce d g en itiv e co n stru c tio n s Peter's [1] a n d hi s ow n [2] a re ex a m p le s o f

ellipsis, sim ilar co n stru c tio n s w ith a possessive p ro n o u n a s h ea d (eg: hi s, hers) are tr e a te d a s
v irtu al ellip sis o r quasi-ellipsis (c/12.40), an d th e refo re, strictly sp eak in g , as su b stitu tio n .
[b] E x a m p le s o f g en itiv es o r possessive p ro n o u n s fu n ctio n in g a s head s, b u t w ith o u t a n
a n te c e d e n t, m ay so m etim es be tre a te d as situ a tio n a l ellipsis. F o r e x a m p le :
L e t’s g o ro u n d to M o na an d F red 's A to n ig h t.
I t ’s a b o u t tim e you w en t to th e barb er’s a . ( c / 5 . 125)
[c] C a ta p h o ric ellipsis o f th e h ead occurs so m ew h at ex cep tio n ally in exam ples su ch a s : H er f i r s t
A w as b ad enough, but thi s second husband i s an absol ute bore.
A d je c tiv e s a n d n o u n s a s h ea d s
12.55 N o t all p rem o d ify in g elem en ts can re ad ily a c t as h ead s o f ellip tical n o u n
p h ra ses. C o m p a ra tiv e adjectives, a n d (ev en m o re so) absolute a d jectiv es ( c f
7.74) a re re stric te d in th is function. T h e follow ing, how ever, are a c c e p ta b le ;
H elen is the older girl, b u t Ju lie is the taller A.

T h is recip e req u ires plain flo u r, n o t self-raising A.
W e ’ve p u t some chocolate asid e fo r y o u ; six b a rs o f plain A a n d six A o f
fr u it and nut A.
F o r reaso n s w h ich a re n o t totally c lear, th ese a re m uch m o re a cc ep ta b le t h a n

e x am p les such a s:
T* Those plastic containers will last lo n g er th a n those wooden A.
?*A s th e c en tu rie s w en t by, the devout m o n ks w ere rep laced by
m ore w orldly A.
E v e n less acc ep ta b le is ellipsis o f th e h e ad o f a n o u n p h rase w h en p re c e d e d
by th e in d efin ite a rticle an d a n o th e r m o d ifie r:
* W e tu rn ed o ff the (main) road o n to a quieter A. [ 1]

* This (previously unprotected) species is n ow classified a s an
endangered A. [2]
As [1] a n d [2] show , th e ex iste n ce o f a p arallelism b etw een th e ‘s tra n d e d ’

m o d ifier a n d a m odifier in th e a n te c e d e n t n o u n p h rase plays little role in th e
a c c e p ta b ility o f th e ellipsis. In th is, general e llipsis o f th e n o u n p h ra se differs
from e llip sis asso ciated w ith c o o rd in a tio n ( c f 1 3 .6 4 /). N o u n m o d ifiers ( c f
1 7 .1 0 4 /0 , w h ich a re n o rm ally closely asso ciated w ith th e h ead n o u n , c a n
rarely a c t as h e ad o f a n e llip tical p h rase. D ifferen t degrees o f a cc ep ta b ility
a re illu stra te d i n :
D o y o u p re fe r silver rin g s to g o ld A ? [3]

(? )T h e recip e req u ires w ine vin eg a r , n o t m a lt A. [4]
* O n e ten d s to look a fte r p e r so n a l b o o k s b e tte r th a n lib ra ry A . [5]
T h is lim ita tio n m ay be p a rtly d u e to the am b ig u ity w hich arises, in th e case

o f a n o u n h ead , a s to w h e th er th e n o u n p h rase is elliptical o r n o t. T h u s in [4],
m a lt m ig h t be ta k e n to re fe r sim p ly to m alt, ra th e r th a n to m a lt v in eg ar. B u t
m o re g en erally , th e re a p p e a rs to b e a p rin cip le th a t th e clo ser a m o d ifier is
lin k e d , b y p o sitio n an d m ea n in g , to its h ead , th e less acc ep ta b le is th e ellipsis
o f th e h e a d w ith o u t th e m odifier.
N o te [a] A s o b se rv e d in 12.35, we d o n o t alw ays regard noun p h ra se s w ith ad jectiv es as h ea d a s cases

o f ellip sis; e g : the ri ch, the F rench, the ab su r d are not elliptical.
[b] S im ila rly , w e d o n o t c o u n t cases lik e th e se as ellip sis :
I ’d lik e a p in t o f b i tter. [ = b i t ter beer]
T h is a p p le is m y f av o uri te. [ = m y f av o ur i t e appl e]
In sp ite o f ap p e a ra n c e s, b i tt er a n d f av ou ri t e h ere are n o t ad jectives, b u t n o u n s d e riv e d from
ad jectiv es b y co n v ersio n (c f ' A p p 1.48). W e note, in su p p o rt o f th is, th a t su ch w o rd s c a n be
inflected f o r plu ral n u m b e r, lik e c o u n t n o u n s: Tw o bi tters, p l ease! T hese appl es ar e m y f av o uri tes.
[c] C a ta p h o r ic ellipsis w ith ad jectiv es (eg: Y ou shoul d nev er m i x ol d A w i th new w i ne) in c o n tra s t
to a n a p h o ric ellipsis, req u ires a p arallelism betw een th e ad jectiv es:
? * N e v e r m ix ol d A w ith chi l l ed w ine.
Such e llip sis (as alre a d y noted in 12.45 N o te [b]) show s a close c o n n e ctio n w ith co o rd in a tio n .
E l l ip s i s o f m o d ifie r s
12.56 T h e d o m in a n c e o f final ellip sis in th e no u n p h ra se m ea n s th a t ellip sis will
ten d to ta k e p lace a cco rd in g to th e follow ing o rd e r o f p re c e d e n c e :
: i i i
D e te r m in a tiv e (s ) j P rem o d ifie r(s) j H e a d j P o stm o d ifier(s)
I I I
T h u s w e f in d : j
(a) e llip sis o f p'ostm odifier(s) a lo n e :
S ta n sp e n t p a r t o f h is w innings, an d th e re st A he saved.
I f you n eed any o f th a t fir e w o o d , I c an give you p le n ty A .
S ince p o stm o d ifiers a re in g e n era l o p tio n al, it is difficult to reco g n ize ellipsis
in th is p o sitio n . T h e p o stm o d ifiers m ost readily o m itted (as in th e ab o v e
e x am p les) are p a rtitiv e o /-p h rases.
(b) e llip sis o f h e ad + p o stm o d ifier(s) as in [3], [4], an d [6] in 12.54 a b o v e :
T h e sficond novel s h e w ro te w a s very d ifferen t from th e f i r s t A .

Categories of ellipsis: function 903
(c) ellipsis o f p rem o d ifier(s) + head + postm odifier(s):
T h e S E cond historical novel she wrote w a s v e ry d iffe re n t f ro m th e f i r s t A .
H ere it is u n d e rsto o d th a t th e w hole ex p ressio n historical novel she wrote is

ellipted, in clu d in g th e p rem o d ify in g adjective.
A s p o stm o d ifiers a re o p tio n a l in an y a n te ce d e n t n o u n p h rase, we m ay a lso
find cases o f final ellipsis w h ich co rresp o n d to (b) an d (c), ex cep t th a t n o
postm odifier is ellip ted .
(d) ellipsis o f h e a d alo n e, as in [1], [2], an d [5] In 12.54:
H e r sficond novel w as very different fro m h e r f ir s t F .
(e) ellipsis o f p rem o d ifier(s) + h ead :
L ie b k n e c h t’s best pentathlon perform ance is well a h ead o f Lessing’s A.
N o te [a] A lth o u g h ellipsis o f ty p e (a) is lim ited b ecau se o f p o te n tia l am biguity, th e m eaning o f a n
elliptical ra th e r th a n a n o n ellip tical c o n stru c tio n can be singled o u t by th e co n trastiv e u se o f
in to n atio n , as alre a d y in d ic a te d in ex am ples above. In th e follow ing case, th e co n trastiv e n u cleu s
o n novel is o b lig ato ry if th e ellip tical in te rp re ta tio n is in te n d e d :
H a rd y 's N d v e ls a b o u t tV essex a r e b e tt e r k n o w n t h a n h is p o e m s , .
C o m p a re th e n o n e llip tic a l in te rp re ta tio n o f :
H a rd y ’s novels a b o u t w fesex a re b ette r kn o w n th a n his poem s.
[b] In ap p e a ra n c e , ty p e (b) ab o v e m ay be in d istin g u ish ab le fro m ty pe (c), an d type (d) from ty p e
(e). T h e follow ing a re th u s am b ig u o u s, according to w h e th e r w e read th e italicized prem odifier(s)
as p a rt o f th e m e a n in g o f th e ellip tical n o u n p h rase o r n o t:
T h e la st tw o sta n z a s o f th e po em im ita te the fir s t ((two ) stan za(s) o f th e poem ).
M y uncle bu ilt a little wooden house n ex t to m y fa th e r's (((little) wooden) house).
The nonoccurrence o f initial general ellipsis

12.57 As o n e w ould e x p e c t w ith final ellipsis, it is po ssib le to o m it p o stm o d ifiers
alone, as in ty p e (a) a b o v e, b u t n o t (in g en eral ellipsis) to o m it p rem o d ifiers
w ith o u t o m ittin g th e h ead . I f in itial ellipsis o f p rem odifiers w ere p e rm itte d ,
we sh o u ld e x p ec t th a t th e second o ccu rre n ce o f W essex o r digital could b e
ellip ted in:
H a rd y ’s W essex novels a re b e tte r k n o w n th a n his W essex poem s.

D igital w ristw a tch e s a re a s c h eap as digital a larm clocks.
H ow ever, if W essex o r digital is o m itted , th e m ean in g o f th e sen ten ce is

differen t:
H a rd y ’s W essex novels a re b e tte r k n o w n th a n his poems. [ 1]

D igital w ristw atches are as c h eap as alarm clocks. [2]
W e m ay c o n tra st th is w ith th e in itial ellipsis o f W essex an d digital w hich c a n

o ccur in n o u n p h ra s e s in c o o rd in a tio n (c /1 3 .6 7 ):
H a rd y is b e st k n o w n fo r his W essex novels a n d poems. [3]

T h is sh o p sp ecializes in digital wristwatches and alarm clocks. [4]
Sentences [3] a n d [4] a re am b ig u o u s a cc o rd in g to w h eth er th e a d jectiv e is

u n d ersto o d to m o d ify th e second co n jo in o f th e n o u n phrase. But no s u c h
am b ig u ity o ccu rs in [1] a n d [2], T h e c o n tra st b etw een general ellipsis, w h ic h
is fin al, a n d th e in itia l ellipsis w h ich can o ccu r in c o o rd in a te co n stru ctio n s is

c le arly illu stra te d b y th ese tw o exam ples.
I t also follow s th a t ellipsis o f every p a r t o f a n o u n p h ra se ex cep t for
p o stm o d ifie r(s) is im p o ssib le in general e llip sis:
* J o a n p re fe rs th e trio s o f M ozart, w hile I p refer A o f H ay d n .
( C o n tr a s t th e acc ep ta b ility o f Joan prefers M o za rt’s trios, while I prefer

H a y d n ’s A .)
H e re , a s o ften elsew h ere, ellipsis is in c o m p lem en tary d istrib u tio n w ith
s u b s titu te fo rm s : th e sen ten ce above becom es g ra m m a tic a l if w e in sert the
s u b s titu te h e ad those before o f H aydn (c f 12.19). In a d d itio n th ere is, o f
c o u rse, th e o p tio n o f rep lacin g th e final p rep o sitio n al p h ra se by a g en itiv e:
J o a n p re fe rs th e trio s o f M o zart, w hile I p refer H a y d n ’s.
M e d ia l ellipsis
12.58 H o w e v e r, lik e clau ses ( c f 12.44), noun p h rases c an o c cu r w ith m ed ia l ellipsis.
T h is a ris e s if a n o p tio n a l po stm o d ifier is re ta in e d w h ile th e h ead o f th e
p h ra s e is e llip te d :
T h e y c la im t h a t Danish butter is the fin e st A (in the world).

T h a t le tte r w as the la st A ( I ever received fr o m her).
A b ird in the h a n d is w o rth two A (in the bush), [a p ro v erb ]
I n o th e r c ases o f m e d ia l ellipsis, o n e o r m o re m odifiers, as w ell as th e h ead ,

m a y b e e llip te d :
H is re c e n t perform ance o f M acbeth is the best A he has ever done. [ 1]

T h a t new th ic k plastic rope th a t th ey sell is stro n g e r th a n a n y other
A y o u can g e t. [2]
O n ce a g a in , th e e llip tical p h ra se in [1] an d [2] is am b ig u o u s, acco rd in g to

w h e th e r th e ita lic ize d m odifiers are assum ed to b e a n im p licit p a rt o f th e
e llip tic al p h ra se , I n fa ct, th e a m b ig u ity m ay be m u ltip le. I n [2], any other you
can get m ig h t be; re g ard e d a s a n elliptical v a ria n t o f an y o f th e fo llo w in g :
an y o th e r ro p e you can get

any o th e r p la s tic ro p e you c an get
an y o th e r th ic k p lastic ro p e you c an get
an y o th e r n e w th ic k p lastic rope you c a n get
T o a v o id s u c h am b ig u ity , o n e has to re p ea t th e w o rd s o f th e an te ce d e n t
ra th e r t h a n e llijit th em .
E llip tical clauses
E llipsis o f th e p red icatio n in finite clauses

12.59 G e n e ra l e llip sis in th e finite clause is sim ilar to g en eral ellipsis in th e no u n
p h ra se, in th a t th e d o m in a n t type o f ellipsis is final. T ypically, th e clause is
d iv id e d in to tw o p a r ts : su b ject a n d o p e rato r (w h ich re m a in ), a n d p re d ic atio n
(w h ich is ellip te d ). In term s o f V , O, C , a n d A ( c /2 .1 2 / ) , th e co n stitu en cy o f
th e e llip te d p re d ic a tio n c an be v aried . F o r e x a m p le :
Categories of ellipsis: fu n ctio n 905
SUBJECT COMPLEMENT o nly (th e v e rb | e b ein g th e o p e rato r) :

I ’m happy i f you a re A.
SUBJECT COMPLEMENT + ADVERBIAL:

I f th ey ’re n o t ready b y lunchtim e, th ey o u g h t to be A.
F d v e r | iF l o n ly :
H is fa th e r w as a t O x fo rd w h e n H aro ld W ilson w as A.
NONFINITE PART OF VERB o n ly :

T o m w ill b e playing, b u t I d o n ’t th in k M a rtin will (be) A.
I ’ll do w h a t I c a n A.
NONFINITE PART OF VERB + ADVERBIAL:

W h en Shirley resigns fr o m the com m ittee, I ’m sure th a t a n u m b e r o f o th e r
peo p le will A.
NONFINITE PART OF VERB + OBJECT + ADVERBIAL:

W h o is cooking d im e r to d a y ? J o h n is A.
A ll th ese, a n d m an y o th e r p o ssib ilities, are sum m ed up in th e g e n e ra liz a tio n

th a t p re d ic atio n s c a n be ellip ted .
N o te [al O th e r possibilities, h o w ev er, d o n o t o ccu r. T h u s th e lexical v erb c a n n o t re m a in ‘s tr a n d e d ’

p rece d in g th e ellipsis o f a n o b je ct, co m p lem en t, o r a d v e rb ia l:
* I’ll o p en an account i f y o u ’ll o p en A.
*H e alw ays becom es ti r ed fa ste r th a n an y o n e else becom es A.
*A s soon as th e o n e airc ra ft h ad ta k e n of f , th e o th e r on e to o k A.
N o r can a n au x iliary alo n e be ellip ted , n o r a n en tire v erb ph rase:
•S u sa n w as h a p p y b ec au se A lice A m iserable.
•T o rn w ill play th e g u ita r if M ary A sing.
[bl O n th e o th e r h an d , in special co n stru c tio n s such as th e zero relative clause (c f 14.20, 17.14),
th e ob ject c a n be e llip te d : the g i r l (w hom ) I m et. T h is, how ever, is stru c tu ra l r a th e r th a n te x tu a l
ellipsis.
[c] A n au x iliary in its red u ced fo rm c a n n o t precede ellipsis:
• N e d is as k een o n box in g as j a (o n football).
d o a s ‘s t r a n d e d ’ o p e r a t o r
12.60 E llipsis o f th e p re d ic a tio n is o n e o f th e co n stru ctio n s o f E n g lish w h ich re q u ire
DO-support. T h a t is, if th e clau se in its u n red u ced form h a s n o o p e ra to r, to
c rea te th e c o n d itio n s for o m issio n o f th e p red icatio n it is n e ce ssa ry to
in tro d u c e th e d u m m y o p e ra to r DO:
did .
S am k ick ed th e b all h a rd e r th a n D en n is
k ic k e d th e ball.
T h is is strictly, h o w ev er, n o t ellipsis, b ut quasi-ellipsis ( c f 12.40), sin ce th e

in sertio n o f th e o m itted p re d ic a tio n a fte r d id w ould result in a n u n a c c e p ta b le
s e n te n c e :
*Sam k ick ed th e ball h a rd e r th a n D en n is d id k ic k the ball. [I ]
[1] is u n a cc ep ta b le b ecau se d o occu rs in a co n tex t w here th e d u m m y o p e ra to r
c a n n o t occur. B u t th e re a re o th e r c o n stru ctio n s (eg clause n e g a tio n , s u b je c t-

o p e r a t o r i n v e r s io n , e m p h a tic o p e r a to r c o n s tru c tio n s ) in w h ic h t h e o p e r a t o r

w o u ld o c c u r f o r i n d e p e n d e n t re a s o n s , a n d in th e s e c a s e s d o fu lfils th e
c o n d itio n s o f s t a n d a r d e llip sis o f th e p r e d i c a t i o n :
R u p e rt w a n te d to a tte n d the bullfight, a lth o u g h his w ife didn't

(w a n t to a tte n d th e bullfight). [2]
I d o n ’t like liv in g in th e country. D o y o u (like living in the
c o u n try )? [3]
A : D o es sh e lik e p lay in g w ith dolls?
B : Y es, sh e D d E S (like playing w ith dolls). [4]
I n [4], w h ere DO h a s n u clear stress, th e co n d itio n s for ellipsis a re m e t e v en in

a p o sitiv e d e c la ra tiv e sentence, sin ce d o is used as an e m p h a tic o p e ra to r in
th e e q u iv a le n t u n re d u c e d form .
N o te It h as b e e n arg u ed , c o n tra ry to th e view p resen ted h ere, th a t (like do) can, would, have, etc a re
s u b stitu te form s (ie p ro -p re d ic a le s) w hen th ey a re “ s tra n d e d ' o p erato rs.
E llip s is o f t h e p r e d ic a t e
12.61 E llip sis o f th e p re d ic a te m ean s in g e n era l th a t th e only p a r t o f th e clau se to
re m a in is th e su b ject. T h is type o f ellipsis is n o t w id e sp rea d : it c o m es u n d e r
th e h e ad in g o f sp e c ia l ellipsis, an d o ccu rs o nly in c ertain sp ecial co n stru ctio n s,
su ch a s c o m p a ra tiv e , c o o rd in ate, a n d resp o n se c o n stru ctio n s:
N ig el fin ish e d the e xa m a t th e sam e tim e as G eorge A. [1]

N ig el fin ish e d the e xa m first, th e n G e o rg e A. [2]
A : W h o fin ish e d the exa m fir s t ? B : G e o rg e A. [3]
T h e re stric te d d is trib u tio n o f th is k in d o f ellipsis is e v id e n t i f we c o m p a re [1]

w ith [4]:
*1 finished (h e e x am w h en G eo rg e A. [4]
I finished th e ex am w h en G eo rg e did. [5]
In th e c o m p a ra tiv e clau se [1], th e w hole p re d ic a te c a n b e ellip ted , b u t th is is

n o t possible in th e a d v e rb ia l clause in [4]. T o m ak e [4] g ra m m atica l, w e h av e
to a d d th e d u m m y o p e ra to r did, as in [5]. -
N o te [aj W hen th e ‘s tr a n d e d ’ subject o f th e ellip tical clause is a p ro n o u n , in in fo rm al use an o b je ctiv e

fo rm o f th e p ro n o u n is p referre d (for fu rth e r d iscu ssio n c f 6.4). T h u s G eorge in [ 1 - 3 ] could be
rep laced by eith e r / < form al> o r m e (in f o r m a l) . T h e use o f th e o b je ctiv e form is, h ow ever,
tra d itio n ally reg ard ed a s an erro r. S tructurally, as m e rep lacin g as G eorge a t th e en d o f [ 1] w ould
be classified as a p rep o sitio n a l p h rase (c f 15.67).
[b] T h e sta te m e n t t h a t it is im possible to e llip t th e w hole p re d ic a te o f a n a d v e rb ia l clau se
a p p e a rs to be c o n tra d ic te d by th e follo w in g :
N ig el finished th e exam |b e f o r e } G eo rg e finished th e ex am . [6]
a fte r 1
{b e fo r e I G e o r g e . [7J
T h e ac cep ta b ility o f [7], in c o n tra s t to [4], a p p e a rs to be due to th e fa c t th a t u n lik e w hen, th e

w ords af ter an d bef ore a re prep o sitio n s, as well as co n ju n ctio n s (t/9 .3 8 ). S trictly, th e refo re, af t erj
bef ore G eorge in [7] m a y b e d escrib ed n o t a s a n e llip tical clause, b u t a s a p rep o sitio n a l p h ra s e
w ith G eorge as its co m p lem en t. In su p p o rt o f th is analysis, n o te th a t a su b jectiv e p ro n o u n in th e
p osition o f George is u n a c c e p ta b le :
Categories of ellipsis: function 907
*Nigel finished the exam ^ b eforeJ
It is strik in g , h o w ev er, th a t d esp ite th is difference o f an aly sis, [7] is in terp reted as if it w ere a n
ellip tical v a ria n t o f [6].
M edial ellipsis
12.62 A s n o ted e a rlie r ( c f 12.44), a n o p tio n al a d v erb ial c a n easily be a d d ed a f te r a n
ellipted p re d ic a tio n , so th a t th e ellipsis becom es a p p are n tly m ed ial r a th e r
th a n final:
W h en S hirley resigns fro m the com mittee, I ’m su re th a t a n u m b er o f
o th e r p eo p le w ill A, (too).
T h ere a re m o re hungry people in the world to d ay th a n th ere w ere A (in
1900).
T h is last e x am p le sh o w s how a n ad v erb ial in th e elliptical clau se c a n
r e p u d i F t e (c/1 2 .5 4 ), o r c an c el th e m ean in g of, o n e in th e a n te ce d e n t clau se.
In th is case, w h e re o n e a d v e rb ia l o f tim e (in 1900) re p u d ia te s a n o th e r (today),

th e ellipsis is g en u in ely m ed ial. In the sa m e categ o ry we m ay p lace th e
follow ing, w h ere o nly th e lexical v e rb is o m itte d :
I ’ll gladly pay. fo r th e hotel, if you will A fo r th e food.
Since fo r the hotel is in th is case re p u d ia te d b y fo r the fo o d , th e o nly p a r t o f

th e a n te ce d e n t clau se t h a t is recovered by e llipsis is th e v erb pay.
M ed ial q u asi-ellip sis also o ccu rs w ith a u x iliary DO. T h e d u m m y o p e ra to r
c a n b e follow ed b y a n a d v e rb ia l (for ex am p le a n ad ju n c t o f tim e o r sp a c e)
re p u d ia tin g a sim ila r a d v e rb ia l in th e a n te ce d e n t c la u s e :
W e p a id m o re fo r th e tic k e ts t h Is y ear th a n we
f d id l F s t year.
1 h a v e i n P R fiv io u s y e a r s .
A : D id S ato ta k e th e p lan e to TOKyo to d ay ?

B : n o , I d o n ’t th in k h e d i d . B ut his w i f e d id to Osaka.
In th e last e x am p le, will co u ld replace d id : th e re is n o difference, in re sp ec t

o f such re p u d ia to ry c o n stru ctio n s, b etw een d o a n d o th e r auxiliaries.
U n lik e ad ju n c ts, d isju n cts a n d conjuncts ( < / 8 . 1 2 1 / 0 a re excluded fro m th e
a n te ce d e n t w h en th e y o c c u r a fte r a ‘stra n d ed ’ o p e rato r. W e can c o n tra st in
th is resp ect th e a d ju n c t usually w ith th e d isju n ct wisely:
A : D o es B ob u su ally w alk to w ork?

B : N o , b u t h is siste r does. [ = usually w alk s to w ork]
A : B ob w isely w a lk s to w o rk , d o esn ’t h e?
B : W ell, a t le a st h e c l F i m s h e does. [ = w alk s to w ork]
Sim ilarly, a ‘s tra n d e d ’ o p e ra to r such as do o r have excludes fro m th e

a n te ce d e n t o th e r, c o n tra stin g a u x iliaries:
N o t m an y p eo p le could h av e enjoyed th a t trip a s m u ch as y o u r m o th e r

did.
In th is ex am p le, d id is in te rp re te d to m ea n ‘enjo y ed th a t tr ip ’ ra th e r th a n
‘could h av e en jo y ed t h a t t r ip ’.
Note Thereisalsoalessusualformofrepudiatorymediaiellipsis,inwhichthepredicationisomitted
exceptforanobject. Suchellipsisisofvariableacceptability:
(?)I'll gladlyle n d h im theclothing, ifyouwillAthemoney.
ShewasexaminingthepictureswhileIwasAthesculptures.
(Cfgapping, 13.92/').
E llip s is in w A -c I a u se s
12.63 A m o re th o ro u g h -g o in g red u ctio n o f a clause by ellipsis in v o lv es ellipsis o f
th e w h o le cla u se , o r th e w hole clause ex cep t for an in tro d u c to ry w ord. O ne
su ch c la u se is a iv/t-clause w h ich is reduced, by ellipsis, to th e w/t-word alone.
In s u c h c irc u m s ta n c e s , th e stran d ed w/t-word n o rm ally receiv es n u clear
s tr e s s :
S o m e b o d y h a d hidden m y notebook , b u t I d o n ’t k n o w
w h o /w h y /w h e r e F .
H a v e you e v e r w a n ted to start a successful business'! T h is b o o k tells you
h o w a .
T h is ty p e o f e llip sis is restric te d to iv/i-interrogative clau ses (c /1 5 .5 ). I t does

n o t a p p ly to th e re la tiv e ty p e o f no m in al w/t-clauses ( c /1 5 .8 /) , n o r to clauses
in tro d u c e d by i f o r whether ( c f 15.6):
* S o m eb o d y h a s hidden m y notebook, an d I ’ll p u n ish w h o e v er A.

* T h e y say th e treasure was buried, b u t no one is sure w h e th e r A o r not.
T h e e llip tic a l iv/i-question is found n o t only in d e p e n d e n t, b u t also in

in d e p e n d e n t in te rro g a tiv e clauses (c f 11.14):
A : W e ’re b o u n d to win the prize som e day.

B : Y es, b u t w h e n A ?
T h e re is also a re d u ce d n eg ativ e wft-question, b u t th is o c cu rs o nly w ith why

a n d w ith w /i-infinitive c lau ses (< /15.5):
W h y n o t ? I d o n ’t k n o w why not.
I d o n ’t w a n t to accept, b u t I d o n ’t k n o w how n ot (to).
Note [a] Ellipticalwh-questionsarediscussedfurtherin11.15Note[b].
[b] The following are idiomatic examplesof informal elliptical wh-interrogativeclauses, in
whichtheellipsisis.situational: I'll tell y o u what'. S a y when. Theirmeanings, roughly, are: ‘I'll
tellyouwhatwecan/shoulddo’;and‘Saywhenyouhaveenoughtodrinkinyourglass’(saidby
thepersonservingadrink). I ’ll tell yo u what canbeelliptedstill further, byinitial ellipsis(c/
12.44),toT ell yo u w h a t:
(I’ll)Tellyouwhat- let’smeetagainwhenailtheresultsarein.
i
E ll i p s i s in to - in f i n it i v e c l a u s e s
12.64 L ike th e e llip tic al iv/i-clause ju s t d escrib ed , the e llip tical to -in fin itiv e clause
n o rm ally c o n sists o f ju s t o n e w o rd : in th is case, th e in tro d u c to ry unstressed
p a rtic le to. S in ce to is u n stressed , th e nucleus o f th e to n e u n it n o rm ally falls
o n th e p re c e d in g v e rb o r n o u n :
Y o u c an borrow m y pen, if you w n t to A. F [ 1]

Y o u will sp e a k to w h o (m )ev er I t e l l you to A. [2]
S o m eb o d y o u g h t to help. Shall I ask PEter to A ? [3]
A ‘s tr a n d e d ’ to a lso o ccu rs as a resu lt o f ellipsis follow ing th e m a rg in a l m odals

Categoriesof ellipsis: fun ctio n 909
ought to an d used to, an d follow ing sem i-auxiliary co n stru ctio n s su c h a s b e

able to, be going to, have to, a n d be supposed to (c /3 .4 7 ):
W e d o n ’t save as m u ch m o n ey th ese days as we
I w o n ’t disturb yo u again u n less I have to A.
A s w ith fo-infinitive clauses in gen eral, these a b b rev iated clauses a re m a d e

n eg ativ e by p lacin g not b e fo re to:
She b orro w ed m y p en , a lth o u g h I told her n o t to.
B oth th e ellip tical d e p e n d e n t w/i-clause a n d th e ellip tical to-infinitive c la u se

a re n o rm ally re stric te d to a fu n c tio n o f co m p lem en tatio n ( c f \ 6 .3 5 ff). F o r
ex am p le, in [1] to is th e co m p le m e n ta tio n o f like; in [2], to is p a r t o f th e
c o m p le m e n ta tio n o f want ; a n d in [3] to is p a rt o f th e co m p le m e n ta tio n o f a sk .
It is fo r th is reaso n th a t it is ra re to find ellipsis o f th ese ty p es in n o n fin a l
p o sitio n in th e sen ten ce. H o w ev er, it is possible fo r to to b e fo llo w ed b y
m ed ia l ellipsis w ith a final o p tio n a l a d v e rb ia l:
T h e c o m m ittee d id n o t discuss yo u r proposal, b u t it hopes to A

(n ex t m o n th ). [4]
Note Whetherornotto isinafinal positionintheclause, ifitisfollowedbyanellipsisitisnormally

pronouncedinanunreducedform/tu:/or/tu/ratherthanasafullyreducedorweakform/to/.
Inthisrespectitresemblesauxiliaryverbs, whichalsoremainunreducedinthesecircumstances
(c/12.59Note[c]). Comparetheunacceptabilityof:
*Thecommitteedidnotdiscussyourproposal,but "o“eT/°"extmonth.
Inveryinformal AmE, however, reductionofto to/ta/occursfinallyinexampleslike:
Well, Idon’twanna. Sothere!
Ellipsis o f an en tire clause
12.65 O n e stag e fu rth er, in clau se ellipsis, is th e ellipsis o f a n e n tire c la u se ,
in clu d in g in tro d u c to ry w o rd s, if any. T h is to tal clause ellipsis is lim ite d ,
ob v io u sly en o u g h , to d e p e n d e n t clauses, a n d m ain ly to fo-infinitive clau ses.
I t is also lim ite d to clauses a c tin g as co m p lem en tatio n o f o th e r clau ses. F o r
e x am p le, th e to in 12.64 [1] a n d [3] can be ellip ted , so th a t n o tra c e re m a in s
o f th e in fin itiv e clau se:
Y ou c a n b o rro w m y p e n , if you want A. [ la ]

S o m ebody o u g h t to help . S h all I ask PEter A ? [3a]
N o rm a lly th e w o rd w hose c o m p le m e n ta tio n clause is ellip ted is e ith e r a v e rb

o f say in g o r th in k in g , su ch as a sk , know , wish, o r a n adjective su c h as eager,
sure, an d willing. C o n tra s t:
W h o le m -infinitive clau se o m issib le To n ot om issible
I w as willing (to (com e)). I w ould hate you to (see th is).

S he begged us (to (help)). I w ould love you to (stay).
T h ey fo rc e d h im (to (recan t)). H e advised us to (leave).
O th e r c la u se s w hich m ay be ellipted a re so m e - ing clauses, som e that- clauses,

a n d s o m e wfi-clauses:
I f J a m going ,00 fa s ,, f[pPlease

!ease "stop
a rn me/ that 1am / ° \ ng 100 fast)'
m e (g o in g to o fast).
I a sk e d when she was leaving , a n d she said sh e d id n ’t know A.
I t m a y b e a rgued, how ev er, th a t precise reco v ery o f an ellip ted clau se c a n n o t

b e in siste d on h e re ; an d th a t th erefo re th is is a c ase o f w eak ellipsis only.
Note [a] Certain su bordinateclauses with an ellipted infinitive clause, suchas i f yo u like, are
formulaic, andresemblecomment clauses{ c f 15.53). Onesignoftheir idiomaticstatusisan
inabilitytobeexpandedbytheadditionofto: insteadofi f y o u like to, speakerswouldsayI f
y o u 'd lik e to. Conversely,ify o u 'd like to cannotnormallybereducedtoi f yo u 'd like.
[b] There issom evariation betweenAmE andBrE intheuseof ellipsisor apro-formin
colloquialsentencessuchasI know and I suppose so { c f \2 .2 8). Forexample, possiblevariantsin
A m E , butnotinB rE , a reI know it andI suppose.
[c] Therecanbetotalclauseellipsisincomparativeconstructions{eg: H e's older than I thought)
andindialogue(eg: I k n o w . W ho told you? and W hy do y o u a sk ?)c/15,65/.
Spe cia l types of ellipsis

12.66 W e n o w tu r n fro m g en eral ellipsis to th e sp e c ia l types o f ellipsis { c f 12.43)
w h ic h a r e defined by a p a rtic u la r stru c tu ra l re la tio n b etw een th e e llip tical
c o n s tru c tio n a n d th e a n te ce d e n t co n stru ctio n . U n lik e general ellipsis, all
c ases o f sp ecial e llipsis allow in itial ellipsis.
I n n o n f i n i t e a n d v e r b l e s s c la u s e s
12.67 S in c e th e s e will b e discussed fully in C h a p te r 14 (1 4 .6 -9 ), it is sufficient to
n o te t h a t ty p ically n o n fin ite an d v erb less clauses lack b o th su b je ct an d
o p e r a to r , a n d th a t th e ir relatio n to th e ir m a in clau se c a n be ex p la in ed if w e
p o s tu la te , in m an y cases, an ellipsis o f th e s e elem en ts, th e id en tity o f th e
su b je c t b e in g reco v erab le fro m th e m ain clause. (T he ellipsis m ay b e e ith e r
a n a p h o r ic o r c a ta p h o ric .) T h e clearest c ases o f su ch ellipsis a re a d v e rb ia l
c la u se s s u c h a s th e follow ing ( c f 1 4 .1 8 / I5-.-34, 15.39):
NONFINITECLAUSES:
A lth o u g h (he w as) ex h au sted by th e c lim b , h e c o n tin u e d his jo u rn ey .
D o g s w ill learn fa st if (they are) w o rk in g in reaso n ab le c o n d itio n s.
VERBLESSCLAUSES:
W h ile (she w as) a t O xford, she w as a c tiv e in th e d ra m a tic society.
Though (he w as) already middle-aged, h e to o k a sw im every m o rn in g .
W hether (it is) right or wrong, th e g o v e rn m e n t alw ays w ins th e a rg u m e n t.
I n c o o r d in a t io n
12.68 W h e n clau ses are c o o rd in a te d by and, or, o r but, a second clau se o r o th e r
n o n in itia l clause is o ften reduced by g e n era l ellipsis, th e a n te ce d e n t b e in g a
p a ralle l c o n stru ctio n in th e p reced in g c la u s e :
I to ld h im to go hom e, b u t he w o u ld n ’t A . [1]
Categories o f ellipsis: function 911
But th ere is also a sp e c ia l k in d o f ellipsis asso ciated w ith c o o rd in a tio n .

C o o rd in atio n is e sse n tia lly a relatio n b etw een tw o o r m o re stru c tu ra lly
parallel u n its, w h ich m ay b e w hole clauses o r sen ten ces, b u t w h ich are o fte n
sm aller u n its su ch a s n o u n p h ra ses o r p red icatio n s:
M argaret is [selling h e r bicycle] an d A [buying a car]. [ 2]

She has bought [a g re e n dress] an d A [a silver necklace]. [3]
T h ere is n o stru c tu ra l re a so n for p o stu latin g ellipsis in su ch cases. In stead w e

recognize th a t u n its m a y b e c o o rd in ated in c o n jo in t u n its w h ich function, a s
far as clause s tru c tu re is c o n cern ed , in the sam e w ay as o n e o f th e ir c o n jo in s
( c f 2.10). H o w ev er, fro m a sem an tic p o in t o f view , [2] a n d [3] a re g e n era lly
eq u iv alen t to [2a] a n d [3a] re sp e c tiv e ly :
M a rg are t is sellin g h e r bicycle a n d M arg aret is b u y in g a c ar. [2a]

She h a s b o u g h t a g re e n d ress a n d she h as b o u g h t a silver
necklace. [3a]
F o r th is reaso n , it m a y be claim ed th a t c o o rd in a tio n allow s b oth in itia l

ellipsis, as in [2] a n d [3], a n d final ellipsis, as in [1]. I n o n e resp ect, h o w ev er,
c o o rd in atio n is m o re re stric tiv e th a n general e llip sis: c o o rd in a tio n n o rm ally
req u ires s tric t ellipsis r a th e r th a n sta n d ard ellipsis ( c f 1 2 .3 7 -8 ). H en ce th e
follow ing a re usually re g a rd e d as u n g ram m atical (alth o u g h th e y o ccu r re ad ily
e nough in th e c asu al u n c o n sid ere d use o f language):
?*The c ity alw ays h a s A a n d will be proud o f its achievem ents. [4]
?*The p ro d u c t is a s g o o d A o r ev en b e tte r than its com petitors. [5]
F o r fu rth er d iscu ssio n , c / 13.44/, 13.88.
In c o m p a r a tiv e c la u s e s
12.69 L ike co o rd in a te c o n stru c tio n s, co m p a rativ e c o n stru ctio n s sh o w a p a rallelism
b etw een o n e stru c tu re a n d a n o th e r, a n d hence len d th em selv es to ellipsis.
A lth o u g h c o m p a ra tiv e clau ses w ill be d escribed la te r ( c /1 5 .6 3 /') it is to b e
n o ted here th a t, as in c o o rd in a tio n , so in c o m p a rativ e clau ses, b o th final a n d
in itial ellipsis is allow ed. H e n ce th e am biguity illu stra te d by:
M y u ncle loved th a t d o g m o re th a n his fam ily (loved th a t dog).

M y u ncle loved th a t d o g m o re th a n (m y uncle lo v ed ) h is fam ily.
T h e resem b lan ce b e tw ee n c o o rd in atio n an d co m p a riso n a cc o u n ts for th e

existence o f q u a si-co o rd in ato rs such as rather than, w h ich sh are in th e
c h ara cte ristics o f b o th ( c f 13.103). T h ere is, how ever, a m ajo r difference
b etw een c o o rd in a tio n a n d c o m p ariso n : in th e la tte r case th e e llip sis-
a n te ce d e n t re la tio n o b ta in s b etw een a su b o rd in a te clau se an d a m a trix
clause, ra th e r th a n b e tw e e n tw o co n stru ctio n s o f th e sam e lev el o f c o n stitu e n t
structure.
In a p p en d ed c la u s e s
12.70 A n a p p e n d e d clau se c a n b e reg ard ed as a n e llip tical clau se (usually
p a re n th e tic a l o r a n a fte rth o u g h t) fo r w h ich th e w h o le o r p a rt o f th e p reced in g
o r in te rru p te d clau se c o n stitu te s th e a n teced en t:
I c a u g h t th e tra in - ju s t. [ 1]
H e to ld th e m (p resu m ab ly w ith his tongue in his c h eek ) ho w he
c a m e to b e late. [2]
T h e s e tw o se n ten c es p re su p p o se th a t tw o se p a ra te assertio n s a re b e in g m ade.

T h e u s u a l fo rm f o r [1] is I (only) ju s t caught the train, so to ex p la in th e u nusual
w ord o r d e r o f [ 1] we su p p o se i t to be an elliptical v ersion o f :
I c a u g h t t h e tra in - 1 ju s t c au g h t th e train .
C o m p a re :
I c a u g h t th e tra in , b u t A o nly ju st A.
T h e s a m e so rt o f an aly sis a p p lie s if the item s a d d ed as a n a fte rth o u g h t a re in

th e ir n o rm a l o rd e r:
T h e tra in a rriv e d - o n tim e , for a change.
W h e re a s in th e s e e x am p les th e w hole o f th e in itial clau se acts as an

a n te c e d e n t fo r th e e llip tic al p a re n th e s is o r afte rth o u g h t, a n o th e r k in d o f
a p p e n d e d clau se re p u d ia te s p a r t o f th e o riginal clause, so th a t o n ly p a r t (th e
p a r t ita lic ize d below ) a c ts a s a n a n te c e d e n t:
T h e y are m ea n t to w o u n d , p e rh ap s A to kill.
H e is p lay fu l, A e v en m isch iev o u s.
H e r perform ance w ill be ju d g e d by h e r su p erio rs - a n d e v en m o re
im p o rta n tly - A b y h e r colleagues.
O n t h e re la te d c o n stru c tio n o f a p p en d e d c o o rd in atio n , c /1 3 .9 4 .
Note [a] A clauseinvolvingquantifiersinterestinglyillustrateshowtheappendedclausesometimes

hastobeinterpretedasrepudiatingpartoftheprecedingclause:
They-visitmanyschools,sometimesinanofficialcar.
Thisdoesnotmeanthesameas:
Theysometijnesvisitmanyschoolsinanofficialcar.
Rather, itpresupposestwoassertions:
Theyvisitmanyschools. [3]
{
Theysometimesvisitschoolsinanofficialcar,
Thesecondassertion[4]doesnotimplythattheyvisitmanyschools.
[4]
[b] Appendedclajisesconsisting of an adverbial only areclosely related tononrestrictive
adverbials{ c f 15.23):
I onlymethimonce-atyourplace. [5]
In[5], a t yo u r place isnonrestrictive(‘I onlymethimonce- andthat wasat your place'), in
contrasttoI only m e t him once a t y o u r place (‘butI’vemethimmanytimeselsewhere’).
[c] Anappendedclausesometimescontainsarepetitionofsomepartoftheantecedentclause:
I foundtheirbehaviourodd- veryodd, infact.
[d] Appendedclajusesresemblesometypesof apposition{ c f 17.65.#'), in which there isa
duplicationofanelementstructurallyandsemanticallyparalleltoanelementofthepreceding
clause:
We- thatistosay, JohnandI - intendtoresign.
Youcouldhavegiventhemtoacharity- toOxfam,forexample.
HetriedtomaketreatieswiththeIndians:firstwiththeSioux,andthenwiththeCheyenne.
Onreductiongenerally, seeAllcrton(I975); HallidayandHasan(1976).

Onpro-formsandsubstitutes, seeAllen(1961); Bolinger (1977b); Bouton(1969); Crymes
(1968); G. Lakoff(I970a).
Onellipsis, seeGreenbaumandMeyer (1982); Gunter (1963); Karlsen(1959); Kypriotaki
(1970).
ForfurtherreferencesseetheBibliographical notesforChs. 13&19.
Coordination
13.1 S y n d e tic a n d a s y n d e tic c o o rd in a tio n 918
1 3 .2 -4 C o o r d i n a t i o n a n d s u b o r d i n a ti o n 918
.3 -4 S e m a n tic d iff e r e n c e s b e tw e e n c o o rd in a tio n a n d
s u b o rd in a tio n 919
13.5-21 C o o rd in a to rs 920
.5 C o o rd in a to rs id e n tifie d 920
.6-17 S y n ta c tic f e a tu r e s o f c o o rd in a to rs 921
.7 (a ) C la u s e c o o r d in a to r s a re re s tric te d to c la u s e -in itia l
p o s itio n 921
.8 -9 ( b ) C o o r d i n a t e d c l a u s e s a r e s e q u e n tia lly f ix e d 921
.10-11 (c ) C o o r d i n a t o r s a r e n o t p r e c e d e d b y a c o n j u n c t i o n 922
.12-13 ( d ) C o o r d i n a t o r s c a n l i n k c la u s e c o n s t i t u e n t s 923
.14-15 (e ) C o o r d i n a t o r s c a n l i n k s u b o r d i n a t e c la u s e s 924
.16-17 ( f ) C o o r d i n a t o r s c a n l i n k m o r e t h a n t w o c la u s e s 925
.17 P o ly s y n d e t i c c o o r d i n a t i o n 926
.18-19 C o o rd in a tio n - s u b o r d in a tio n g ra d ie n t 927
.20-21 C o o r d i n a t i o n o f c l a u s e s a n d o f le s s e r c o n s t i t u e n t s 928
13.22-32 T h e u s e o f c o o r d i n a t o r s 930
.22-27 T h e u s e s o f a n d 930
.28-30 T h e u s e s o f or 932
.31 A n d i n r e l a t i o n t o or 934
.32 T h e u s e o f b ut 935
1 3 .3 3 -4 2 C o r r e la ti v e s 9 35
.34 E ither . . . o r 936
.35 B o th . . . a n d 936
.36 N or , neither 937
.37 T h e c o r r e l a t i v e s n e ith e r . . . nor 938
.38 A ‘m i x e d ’ c o n s t r u c t i o n w i t h n e ith e r. . .n o r 938
.39-41 R e s tric tio n s o n c o rre la tiv e s 939
.42 N o t (o n ly ). . .b u t 940
13.43 -4 9 C o o r d i n a t i o n o f c l a u s e c o n s t i t u e n t s 941
.44-49 E l lip s is a n d s i m p l e c o o r d i n a t i o n 942
.45-46 L im its o f e llip s is 942
.47-49 S e m a n tic im p lic a tio n s o f c o n s titu e n t c o o rd in a tio n 943
13.50-84 Types of simple coordination 946
.50-51 C o o rd in a tio n o f clau ses 946
.52 C o o rd in atio n o f p re d ic a te s 948
.53 C o o rd in a tio n o f p re d ic a tio n s 949
.54-55 C o o rd in atio n a n d th e sco p e o f ad v erb ials 950
.56-63 C o o rd in atio n o f n o u n p h ra ses a n d th eir co n stitu en ts 951
.56 N o u n p h ra se c o o rd in a tio n 951
.57 B u t as a n o u n p h ra se c o o rd in a to r 952
.58 M u ltip le c o o rd in a tio n o f no u n p h rases 953
.59-60 C o m b in a to ry a n d seg reg ato ry co o rd in atio n o f
n o u n p h ra se s 953
.61-63 In d ic a to rs o f seg reg ato ry m ean in g 955
.62 R espective 956
.63 R espectively 957
.64-76 C o o rd in a tio n o f p a rts o f n o u n p h rases 957
.66 C o o rd in a tio n a n d n u m b e r 959
.67 C o o rd in a te d n o u n h e a d s 960
.68 C o o rd in a te d p re m o d ifiers 960
.69 C o o rd in a te d p o stm o d ifiers 961
.70 F u r th e r am b ig u itie s o f c o o rd in a tio n in th e n o u n p h ra se 962
.71 C o o rd in a tio n o f d e te rm in e rs a n d n u m erals 962
.72 C o o rd in a tio n o f g e n itiv e s 963
.73 C o o rd in a tio n o f possessive p ro n o u n s 964
.74 C o o rd in a tio n o f g e n itiv e s w ith possessive p ro n o u n s 964
.75 1O th e r ellip tical c o o rd in a tio n s w ith in th e no u n p h ra se 965
.76 'S co p e o f q u an tifiers a n d n u m era ls in th e n o u n p h ra se 966
.77-84 C o o rd in a tio n o f o th e r c o n stitu e n ts 967
.78 C o o rd in a tio n o f v e rb s a n d v erb p h rases 967
.79 C o o rd in a tio n o f a d je ctiv es a n d a d jectiv e p h ra ses 967
.80 C o o rd in a tio n o f a d v e rb s a n d a d v erb p h ra ses 968
.81 C o o rd in a tio n o f p re p o sitio n s a n d p rep o sitio n al p h ra se s 968
.82 M ix e d c o o rd in a tio n o f a d v e rb ia ls 969
.83 C o o rd in a tio n o f s u b o rd in a to rs 969
.84 C o o rd in a tio n o f in te rro g a tiv e w ords a n d relativ e
pronouns 970
I
13.85-89 Additional constraints on coordination 970

.85 R e stric tio n s o n c o o rd in a tio n o f w o rd -p arts 970
.86 O r d e r o f co n jo in s in w o rd a n d p h ra se c o o rd in atio n 971
.87 ‘Ill-a sso rte d ’ c o o rd in a tio n : (a )s e m a n tic 971
.88 ‘Ill-a ss o rte d ’ c o o rd in a tio n : (b ) g ra m m atica l 972
.89 ‘Ill-a sso rte d ’ c o o rd in a tio n : (c) lexical 973
13.90-97 Less common types of coordination 973

.90-93 C o m p lex c o o rd in a tio n 973
.92-93 G a p p in g 974
.94 A p p e n d e d c o o rd in atio n 975
.95-97 In te rp o la te d c o o rd in atio n 976
13.98-102 Idiomatic and expressive uses of coordination 978

.98 P seu d o -c o o rd in atio n : T ry and come, etc 978
.99 P seu d o -c o o rd in atio n : N ice and warm , etc 979
.100 T h e in ten sify in g use o f co o rd in a tio n 980
.101 T h e ite ra tiv e o r c o n tin u ativ e u se o f c o o rd in a tio n 980
.102 O th e r ex p ressiv e uses o f co o rd in a tio n 981
13.103 Quasi-coordinators 982
13.104 Abbreviations for coordination 983
B i b lio g r a p h ic a l n o t e 984
918 Co ordina tion
Syndetic and asyndetic coordination
13.1 T h e te rm c o o r d i n F t i o n is used by som e g ra m m aria n s for b o th sy n d e tic (or

lin k e d ) c o o rd in a tio n , a n d asy n d etic (or un lin k ed ) c o o rd in a tio n . T h e
d iffe re n c e b etw een th e tw o co n stru ctio n s is th a t syndetic c o o rd in a tio n is
m a rk e d by o v e rt signals o f co o rd in a tio n (and, or, but), w h e re a s a sy n d etic
c o o rd in a tio n is n o t o v ertly m ark ed . S entence [la ] exem plifies sy n d etic
c o o rd in a tio n , w ith and as ex p licit m ark e r, w hile [lb ] exem plifies asy n d etic
c o o rd in a tio n , w ith and o m itte d :
Slow ly a n d stealth ily , h e c rep t to w ard s his victim . [la ]

Slow ly, stealth ily , h e c re p t to w ard s h is victim . [lb ]
L in k in g w o rd s w h ich ex p licitly in d icate co o rd in a tio n are te rm e d c o o r d i n F t

in g c o n j u n c t i o n s , o r (m o re sim ply) c o o r d i n F t o r s . N o t all ju x ta p o se d
w o rd s, p h ra se s , o r clauses a re m an ifestatio n s o f asy n d etic c o o rd in a tio n . T h e

p o ssib ility o f in se rtin g th e c o o rd in a to r a n d w ith little a lte ra tio n o f m ea n in g
is e v id e n c e th a t a c o n stru ctio n is one o f asy n d etic c o o rd in a tio n . I t is th is th a t
d is tin g u ish e s [ 1b] fro m o th e r types o f co n stru ctio n , for e x am p le th e a p p e n d e d
clau ses o f 12:70.
S y n d e tic c o o rd in a tio n is th e m o re usual form , a n d w e sh all th ere fo re
g e n era lly ex em p lify c o o rd in a tio n w ith a c o o rd in ato r p re sen t. A sy n d etic
c o o rd in a tio n is u sually stylistically m ark ed . I t is used fo r d ra m a tic
in te n sifica tio n , as in [lb ], o r to suggest a n o pen -en d ed list:
M rs V arley sold sw eets, ch o co late, toffee ap p les - a n y th in g a c h ild

c o u ld desire.
In a sy n d e tic c o o rd in a tio n , th e conjoins a re generally se p a ra te d b y a tone-

u n it b o u n d a ry in sp eech , o r by a p u n c tu a tio n stop in w ritin g . In th e sp o k en
fo rm , th e co n jo in s a re ty p ically m ark e d by a parallelism in th e to n e o f the
n u c le u s; fo r ex am p le:
SLOWly, STEALTHily . . . or: SLOWly, STEALTHily . . .
Note Inthepresentchapterwerestrictourattentiontocoordinationwithinthesentence.Coordination
asalinkbetweensentencesisdiscussedin19.57$;
Coordination
i
and subordination
13.2 E x p lic it in d ic a to rs o f su b o rd in a tio n a re term ed s u | o r d i n F t i n g c o n j u n c

t io n s o r s u | o r d i n F t o r s . (T h ey are m o re fully discussed in 14.11 ff.) B oth
c o o rd in a tio n a n d su b o rd in a tio n (c /1 4 .1-4) involve th e lin k in g o f u n its o f the
sam e r a n k ; b u t in c o o rd in a tio n the u n its a re c o n stitu en ts a t th e sa m e level o f
c o n s titu e n t stru c tu re , w h e rea s in su b o rd in a tio n th ey fo rm a h ie ra rc h y , the
s u b o rd in a te u n it b e in g a c o n stitu e n t o f th e su p e ro rd in ate u n it ( c / 1 4 . 2 / for
the re le v a n t tree d iag ra m s). C o o rd in atio n an d s u b o rd in a tio n a re sp ecial
cases o f tw o types o f sy n ta ctic a rra n g e m e n t trad itio n ally k n o w n as p F r F t F x i s
(‘e q u al a rra n g e m e n t’) an d h y p o t F x i s (‘u n d e rn ea th a rra n g e m e n t’). T h u s, to
Co ordination and subordination 919
tak e a n e x am p le w ith in a p h ra se ( c f 17.116), in his fir s t and best novel, th e

co o rd in ate a d je ctiv e p h ra se fir s t and best fu n c tio n s as a p rem odifier o f novel,
and in th a t p h ra se fir s t a n d best are e q u al c o n stitu en ts. O n th e o th er h a n d , in
his fir st successful novel, th e adjective fir s t do es n o t m odify novel d irec tly ; it
m odifies successful novel, a n d successful in tu rn m odifies novel. T h u s th ere is a
hierarch y in re la tio n sh ip s, a n d fir s t a n d successful a re in a h ypotactic r a th e r
th an a p a ra ta c tic relatio n .
T h e o p p o sitio n b etw een c o o rd in a tio n an d su b o rd in a tio n , a n d th a t b e tw ee n
p a ratax is a n d h y p o tax is, a re o ften tre a te d as eq u iv alen t. But we m a y
d istin g u ish th e m as follow s. P a ra ta x is ap p lie s n o t only to c o o rd in a te
co n stru ctio n s, b u t to o th e r cases w h ere tw o u n its o f e q u iv alen t statu s a r e
ju x ta p o se d : fo r e x am p le, a n ap p en d e d clause as d iscussed in 12.70 is in a
p a ra ta c tic re la tio n to th e clause p reced in g it; a n d a tag q uestion is in a
p a ra ta c tic re la tio n to th e s ta te m e n t p re ce d in g it. B u t in n e ith e r o f these c ases
could w e in se rt a n o v e rt co o rd in ato r. S im ilarly, th ere are o th e r h y p o ta c tic
relations (su ch as th e e m b e d d in g o f o n e p h ra se in a n o th e r, c /2 .8 ), q u ite a p a r t
from th e r e la tio n b etw een a su b o rd in a te clause a n d th e clause o f w hich it is a
p art.
Sem antic differences between coordination and subordination

A m ajor d ifferen ce b etw een c o o rd in a tio n a n d su b o rd in a tio n o f clauses is t h a t
th e in fo rm a tio n in a su b o rd in a te clau se is o ften p laced in th e b a c k g ro u n d
w ith re sp ec t to th e su p e ro rd in ate clau se ( c f 19.60). T h u s th e sy n ta ctic
in eq u ality o f s u b o rd in a tio n ten d s to b rin g w ith it a se m an tic in eq u ality w h ic h
is realized by sy n ta ctic h iera rch iz atio n , as w ell as by position. T h is is
p articu larly n o tic e ab le in th e case o f c e rta in a d v erb ial clauses, w hich p re s e n t
in fo rm atio n as if it is p resu p p o sed as g iv en (c /1 8 .8 ) ra th e r th a n a sserted a s
new :
f H e h as q u a rre lle d w ith th e c h a irm a n a n d h a s resigned. [ 1 a]

[ Since h e q u a rre lle d w ith th e c h a irm a n , he h as resigned. [ 1 b]
[2a]
[2b]
[2c]
T h e c a u s e -re su lt re la tio n sh ip b etw een th e tw o ev en ts is expressed b y a

c o o rd in a to r in [ la ] a n d by a su b o rd in a to r in [ lb ] ; the sem an tic d ifferen ce,
how ever, is th a t in [lb ] th e h e are r is assu m ed to k n o w a b o u t th e q u a rre l
already. A sim ila r o b se rv a tio n ap p lies to th e concessiv e relatio n sh ip e x p ressed
by but in [2a] a n d although in [2b] a n d [2c].
A th ird m ea n s o f ex p ressin g th e sam e re la tio n sh ip is a lin k in g s e n te n c e
ad v erb ial, o r c o n ju n c t ( c /8 . 1 3 4 /'), su ch as y e t:
H e trie d h a rd , y e t h e failed. [2d]
U n lik e th e o th e r tw o w ords, how ever, y e t c a n b e p re ced ed by a c o o rd in a to r:
H e trie d h a rd , an d y e t he failed. [2e]
D esp ite its a p p e a ra n c e , th ere fo re, [2d], in c o n tra st to [2e], illustrates a sy n d e tic
co o rd in a tio n (b u t c /f u r th e r 13.11).
920 C o ordination
1 3 .4 I t is so m etim es sa id th a t a n im p o rta n t d ifferen ce b etw een c o o rd in atio n a n d

s u b o rd in a tio n is t h a t o nly in th e fo rm er case c a n th e relatio n b etw een th e
tw o lin g u istic u n its be reversed w ith o u t a c h an g e o f m ea n in g ; ie (in sym bolic
te r m s ) :
A + c o n ju n c tio n + B = B + c o n ju n c tio n + A
T h is is n o m ore th a n a h alf-tru th . I t is tru e th a t th e o rd e r c a n be reversed in

c e r ta in c ases o f c o o rd in a tio n :
M a ry studies a t a u n iv ersity and J o h n w o rk s a t a factory.

{
= J o h n w o rk s a t a facto ry a n d M ary stu d ies a t a u niversity.
B u t th is p o te n tia lity is d e p e n d e n t on m a n y facto rs, only o n e o f w h ich is th e

re la tio n s h ip o f m e a n in g b etw een th e c o o rd in a te d u n its. Som e o f th ese facto rs
a re sy n ta ctic, o th e rs a re a m a tte r o f se m an tic o r p ra g m a tic asy m m etry (c f
1 3 .2 2 -7 ). F o r e x am p le, th e follow ing a re o b v io u sly n o t synonym ous:
H e d ie d and h e w as b u ried in th e cem etery .

H e w a s b u ried in th e cem etery and h e died.
Note Whentwocoordinatedunitsareplacedinsequence, thesecondunit gainsfocal prominence

fromitsposition{ c f XZ.Zff). Thisprominenceintermsofinformationfocusalsoattachestothe
final element inasubordinationrelation, but inthelattercasethepositional highlightingis
combinedwithahighlightingbasedontheformalinequalityofsubordination.
Coordinators
Coordinators identified
13.5 W e re g a rd th is e co n ju n c tio n s as clearly c o o rd in a to rs : and, or, a n d but. A n d
a n d or a re c en tral c o o rd in a to rs, b u t but d iffers fro m th e m in som e respects.
O n th e g ra d ie n t b e tw ee n ‘p u re ’ c o o rd in a to rs a n d ‘p u re ’ su b o rd in a to rs a re fo r
a n d so th a t (m ea n in g in th is c h ap ter, un less o th erw ise sta te d , ‘w ith th e resu lt
t h a t ’). T h e re is also a g ra d ie n t relatin g c o o rd in a to rs to c o n ju n c ts: fo r exam ple,
y e t a n d so arp tw o w o rd s w hich we shall classify as co n ju n cts, b u t w h ich
n e v erth ele ss resem b le co o rd in ato rs in so m e resp ects. N or is n o t a c lear case
o f a c o o rd in a to r, sin ce for m an y sp e a k ers it c a n be p reced ed by a n o th e r
c o o rd in a to r (a p o te n tia lity n o t a v ailab le to th e c e n tra l cases and, or, an d but,
a s w e sh a ll see). N o r also co n ta in s a n eg ativ e fe atu re, w h ich in tro d u ces som e
s y n ta c tic differences (c fM .'ib jf) .
B o th , either, a n d neither are used as th e first ite m in a c o rre lativ e p a ir w ith
a n d , or, and nor resp ectiv ely . T h ese a n tic ip a to ry w o rd s are o p tio n a l
e n d o rsem en ts o f th e c o o rd in a tio n , a n d a re o bviously closely related to th e
co rre sp o n d in g d e te rm in e rs both, either, a n d neither ( c f 5.12(7). S u ch
endor sing items a re n o t in them selves c o o rd in a to rs, sin ce, lik e nor, th ey c an
b e p re ce d ed by a c e n tra l c o o rd in a to r (a n d o r or).
Coordinators 921
Note [a] Weclasstheconjunctionsfo r andso th a t assubordinatorsinthisbook; butc/'below13.8,

13.10.
[b] Anothercoordinatorinm arginaluseisp lu s :
Mainframecomputersarebecominglessexpensive, 1p lus thebestsoftwareisavailablefor
desktopswhichofcoursearecheaperstill.
Thusused,p lus isnormallystressed,andisanemphaticalternativetoa n d inanadditivesense
(c f 1
3.27).
S yn ta ctic features o f coordinators

13.6 I n 13.3 w e sho w ed h o w th e sam e sem an tic lin k in g fu n c tio n could be
p e rfo rm e d n o t o nly b y c o o rd in a to rs, b u t by su b o rd in ato rs a n d c o n ju n cts:
H e trie d h a rd , but h e failed .

H e trie d h a rd , although h e failed.
H e trie d h a rd , y e t h e failed.
S ince all th re e o f th ese w o rd classes c a n in a general sense b e term ed l i n k e r s ,

it is im p o rta n t to u n d e rsta n d th e sy n tactic b asis o f th e d istin c tio n s b e tw ee n
th em , a n d a t th e sam e tim e to a p p re c ia te th a t these d istin c tio n s a re g ra d ie n t
(c /2 .6 0 ) ra th e r th a n clear-cu t.
W e shall th ere fo re ex am in e six featu res w hich a p p ly to th e c e n tra l
c o o rd in a to rs, a n d a n d or. F o r e a c h featu re, w e n o te w h e th e r it is a p p lic a b le
n o t o n ly to a n d a n d or, b u t also to item s w hich resem ble th em . A t th is sta g e
w e re stric t o urselves m ain ly to c e n tra l co o rd in ato rs a s c l F u s e l i n k e r s .
(a) C lau se co o rd in ato rs a re re stric te d to clause-initial position

13.7 A n d , or, a n d b u t a re re stric te d to in itial p o sitio n in th e c la u s e :
J o h n p lay s th e g u ita r, a n d his sister plays th e p iano.

* Jo h n plays th e g u ita r; h is siste r a n d plays th e p ian o .
T h is is g en erally tru e o f b o th c o o rd in ato rs a n d su b o rd in a to rs, b u t it is n o t

tru e o f m o st c o n ju n c ts :
J o h n p lays th e g u ita r; h is sister, moreover, plays th e p iano.
Note [a] Therearetwoorthreesubordinatorswhichareexceptionalinthattheycanoccurnoninitially

(c/15.39):
T hough heispoor,heishappy. Poorthough heis,heishappy.
[b] IncolloquialAustralianEnglish(c f 1.26)but canoccurinnoninitial position;thisindicates
thatinthisvariety, itresemblesconjuncts(c/8.134/).
(b) C o o rd in ated clauses are sequentially fixed
13.8 C lau ses b e g in n in g w ith and, or, a n d but are seq u en tially fixed in re la tio n to
th e p rev io u s clause, a n d th ere fo re can n o t b e tran sp o se d w ith o u t p ro d u c in g
u n a cc ep ta b le se n ten c es, o r a t least ch an g in g th e re la tio n sh ip b e tw e e n th e
clau ses:
T h ey a re liv in g in E n g la n d , or they are sp en d in g a v a c a tio n there.

* O r they a re sp e n d in g a v a c a tio n there, th ey a re liv in g in E n g lan d .
T h is is tru e fo r c o o rd in a to rs a n d conjuncts, b u t n o t fo r m o st su b o rd in a to rs.

C o n tra s t th e u n a c c e p ta b ility o f [la], co n ta in in g th e c o n ju n c t nevertheless,
w ith th e a c c e p ta b ility o f [lb ], co n ta in in g th e su b o rd in a to r although:
922 C o o rd in a tio n
* N everth eless J o h n gave it aw ay, M ary w an ted it. [la ]

A lth o u g h M a ry w a n ted it, Jo h n g ave it aw ay. [ 1b]
In th is resp ec t, how ever, th e su b o rd in a to rs fo r an d so th a t resem b le

c o o rd in a to rs . C o n tra s t:
* F o r h e w as u n h a p p y , h e a sk ed to be tran sferred .
B ecause h e w a s u n h ap p y , h e a sk ed to be tran sferred .
a n d th e re su lta tiv e so that in [2] w ith the p u rp o siv e so that ( c /1 5 .4 8 /) in [3]:
* S o th a t w e a rriv e d h o m e late, th e rush h o u r traffic delayed us. [2]

S o th a t he c o u ld buy a c ar, he sold his sta m p collection. [3]
13.9 R e la te d to th e fixed p o sitio n o f th e c o o rd in ate clause is th e fa c t th a t w h en

cla u se s a r e lin k e d b y th e co o rd in a to rs and, or, a n d but (also by f o r a n d so
that), a p ro n o u n in th e first clause c a n n o t n o rm ally h ave c a ta p h o ric re fe re n ce
to a n o u n p h ra se in th e second clause. F o r exam ple, she in [ la ] a n d [ lb ] d oes
n o t c o re fe r to m y m other:
S h e felt ill, a n d m y m other sa id n o th in g . [ 1a]

S h e fe lt ill, b u t m y m other sa id n o th in g . [lb ]
O n th e o th e r h a n d , a p ro n o u n c a n (b u t n eed not) have c a ta p h o ric re fe re n ce

w h e n it o ccu rs in a n in itial su b o rd in a te clau se ( c f 6.19):
A lth o u g h sh e felt ill, m y m other said n o th in g . [ 1c]
B u t th e m o st c o m m o n p o sitio n fo r a su b o rd in a te clause is final, in w h ic h c ase

a c o re fe rrin g p ro n o u n w ill be a n a p h o ric :
)
M y m other s a id n o th in g , a lth o u g h she felt ill. [1 d]
A g a in , as w ith c ata p h o ric referen ce, th e an te ce d e n t m u st b e in th e

su p ero rd in ate, c la u s e :
S h e said n o th in g , a lth o u g h m y m other felt ill. [2]
In [2], S h e c a n n o t c atap h o ric ally refer ta m y mother.
Note Therearebothapparentandrealexceptionstotherulethatapronouncannothavecataphoric
referencetoanelementinafollowingcoordinateclause. Consider:
Noonewhomether onsocialoccasionscouldimagineaharshwordpassingher
lips- butL iz P ettigrew wasnotoriousforspeakinghermindonmattersof
business, i [3]
Thetwooccurrencesofher inthefirstclauseappeartocorefercataphoricallytoL iz Pettigrew :
butthissentencewouldnormallyoccurinacontextinwhichLizwasalreadybeingdiscussed.
These pronouns couldthenbeexplainedasanaphoricallycoreferringtopart of anearlier
sentence.Exceptionally,however,asentencesuchas13]couldoccurwithoutprecedinganaphoric
reference- eg atthebeginningofanovel.
(c) C o o rd in ato rs a re n ot preceded by a conjunction
13.10 A n d a n d or d o n o t allow a n o th e r co n ju n ctio n to preced e th em . T h is is als
tru e fo r but, f o r , a n d so that (o f w hich th e la tte r tw o will b e tre a te d as
su b o rd in a to rs ; c f 13.18/). O n th e o th e r h an d , su b o rd in a to rs as w ell as
c o n ju n c ts c a n u su ally b e p re ced ed by co n ju n ctio n s:
H e w as u n h a p p y a b o u t it, a n d y e t h e d id as he w as told.
Coordinators 923
I n [1] a n d [2] tw o su b o rd in a te clauses are lin k e d by and, w h ich p reced es th e

second su b o rd in a to r because an d th e seco n d su b o rd in a to r so that (w ith
p u rp o siv e m e a n in g ):
H e a sk ed to b e tran sferre d , because he w a s u n h a p p y and because

he saw n o p ro sp e ct o f p ro m o tio n . [ 1]
She sav ed m o n ey so that she could buy a house, a n d so that h er
p e n sio n w ould b e su p p lem en ted by a re aso n a b le incom e afte r
re tire m e n t. [2]
In c o n trast, th e c o n ju n c tio n s but, fo r, an d re su lta tiv e so that (c/1 5 .4 9 ) c a n n o t

be p reced ed b y a n d in th is w a y :
♦He w as u n h a p p y a b o u t it, a n d but he d id w h a t he w as told.

*H e a sk ed to b e tra n s fe rre d , fo r h e w as u n h a p p y a n d fo r h e saw no
p o ssib ility o f p ro m o tio n .
*W e p a id h e r im m ed iately , so (that) she left c o n te n ted a n d so (that)
ev ery o n e w a s satisfied.
N o te A su b o rd in ate c lau se c a n n o t n o rm a lly be co o rd in ated w ith a s u p ero rd in ate c lau se; b u t t h i s is

w h a t ap p e ars to h a p p e n in th e follow ing c a s e ;
She w o uldn’t d o it - a n d {alt) because I did n 't ask her in person.
T h e e x p lan atio n o f th is ex a m p le, how ever, is th a t th e co o rd in a te d c o n stru c tio n in italics is a n
ellip tical ap p e n d e d clau se { c f 12.70), th e because clause b ein g s u b o rd in ated to th is a p p e n d e d
clause, ra th e r th a n to th e in itia l clause Sh e wouldn't do it.
13.11 I n in itial p o sitio n , som e c o n ju n ct ad v erb s resem b le co o rd in a to rs in th a t th e y

com m only o c cu r w ith asy n d etic c o o rd in a tio n , an d th ere fo re p ro v id e a lin k
sim ilar to c o o rd in a tio n :
I told h e r to go h o m e, y e t she refused to m o v e, [c f: b ut sh e r e fu s e d . . .]
T h e ra in fell, so w e all w e n t hom e, [cf: a n d w e a l l . . . ]
T om d o e sn ’t d rin k , neither does he use b a d language.
T h e c a r tu rn e d su d d en ly , then screech ed to a h alt.
T h e ease w ith w h ic h th e c o o rd in a to r is o m itte d in th ese cases suggests th a t

n o t only th e p o ssib ility o f a d d in g a c o o rd in a to r, b u t th e p ro b a b ility o f its
b ein g o m itted sh o u ld b e co n sid ered a fa cto r in co m p a rin g th e b e h a v io u r o f
linkers. O n e w a y o f e x p la in in g th e u n e x p ected lik elih o o d o f a sy n d e to n in
su ch cases is to p o stu late a n o p tio n a l m erg er o f th e c o o rd in a to r a n d w ith th e
ad v erb ; eg: a n d + y e t m erge in to y e t ; and + so m erg e as so. T h is is a m o re
co n v in cin g a n aly sis w h ere, as in all the ex am p les ex ce p t then ab o v e, th e
a d v erb is im m o b ile in in itia l p o sitio n . O th e r a d v e rb s w h ic h b e h av e sim ilarly
are nor (c/1 3 .1 8 ), otherwise, neither, only (as a c o n ju n ct), an d hence.
O n th e use o f c o m m a p u n c tu a tio n w ith th is set o f ad v erb s, c f A p p III.6 .
(d ) C o o r d in a to r s c a n li n k c l a u s e c o n s t itu e n t s
13.12 A n d a n d or m ay lin k c o n stitu e n ts sm aller th a n a clau se; fo r ex am p le, th e y
m ay lin k p re d ic a te s, th u s in effect allow ing ellip sis o f a second o r s u b seq u e n t
subject (on th e tre a tm e n t o f ellipsis in su ch cases, c /1 3 .4 4 /, 1 3 .5 2 /):
[I m ay see you to m o rro w ] or [I m ay p h o n e la te r in th e day],

I [m ay see you tom orrow ] or A [m ay p h o n e la te r in th e day].
Less fre q u e n tly , th is fe atu re also ap p lies to but:
T h e P o lish a th le te s [h av e succeeded today], b ut A [m ay n o t re p eat th e ir

su ccess to m o rro w ].
H o w e v e r, it d o es n o t a p p ly to fo r an d so th a t:
* H e [d id n o t w a n t it], fo r A [was o bstinate]:

* H e [d id n o t sp en d very m uch], so that A [could affo rd a trip abroad].
N o r d o e s it a p p ly to o th e r co n ju n ctio n s o r to m o st conjuncts. B u t th is
c o n s tr u c tio n se e m s to b e accep tab le w ith th e c o n ju n c t y e t a n d (to a lesser
e x te n t, a t lea st in in fo rm a l spoken E nglish) w ith th e co n ju n c t so an d th e tim e
a d v e r b then (m e a n in g ‘a fte r th a t’) :
T h e y d id n ’t lik e it, y e t (they) said n o th in g .

T h e y w ere tire d , so (th ey ) left early.
T h e y w e n t h o m e, then (they) w en t s tra ig h t to bed.
1 3 .1 3 A s u b o r d in a to r , o n th e o th e r h a n d , does n o t allo w ellip sis o f th e su b ject ev en

w h e n its c la u se is lin k e d b y a co o rd in ato r:
* S h e d id n ’t sa y a n y th in g a b o u t it because h e w a s n e w a n d because
lo o k ed u n w ell. [1]
I f th e s e c o n d s u b o rd in a to r o f [1] is o m itted , ellip sis is p o ss ib le :
S h e d id n ’t s a y a n y th in g a b o u t it because h e w as n e w a n d (he)
lo o k ed u n w ell. [la ]
T h is is a llo w ed , b e in g a re g u la r case o f c o o rd in a tio n o f p re d ic ate s ( c f 13.52),

w h e re a s th a t o f [1] is a n u n g ram m atical ty p e o f ellip sis ( c f 12.44). F o r th e
sa m e re a so n , ellip sis is p o ssib le p reced in g o r fo llo w in g a c o n ju n ct (su ch as
nevertheless) if th e e llip te d subject is itself p re c e d e d b y a co o rd in a to r:
H e w e n t to b ed early , b u t ( A neoert^ ess\ fe]t tired .

\ ^nevertheless ^ J
(e ) C o o r d in a t o r s c a n lin k s u b o r d in a te c la u s e s
1 3 .1 4 A s w e ll a s lin k in g tw o m a in clauses, a n d an d or, as w e saw in 13.10 [1] ab o v e,
c a n l in k su b o rd in a te c lau ses:
H e a sk ed to b e tra n s fe rre d , because he w a s u n h a p p y , (because) he

sa w n o p ro sp e c t o f p ro m o tio n , a n d (because) c o n d itio n s w ere
f a r b e tte r a t th e o th e r office. [1]
I w o n d e r w hether you should go a n d see h e r or w hether it is b e tte r
to w rite to her. [2]
U s u a lly , as in [1], th e seco n d an d an y s u b s e q u e n t su b o rd in a to rs m ay be

o m itte d . S u ch lin k in g is n o t possible for c o n ju n c ts o r fo r th e o th e r co n ju n ctio n s
e x c e p t b u t. B u t, h o w e v er, is re stricted to lin k in g a m ax im u m o f tw o clauses
(c /1 3 .1 6 ):
S h e said th a t J o h n w o u ld ta k e th em by c a r b u t (that) th ey m ig h t b e
late , [3]
Coordinators 925
E v en so, but c a n lin k only c e rta in ty p es o f su b o rd in ate c la u se s:
(a) 7/iat-clau ses { c f 15.4) as in [3] ab o v e; only w ith /to - c la u s e s can th e

second s u b o rd in a to r, th e o n e follow ing but, be o m itted .
(b) T e m p o ra l a d v e rb ia l clau ses:
I sp o k e to h im a fte r th e co n feren ce w as over, but before h e s ta r te d

w ork.
(c) C lau ses in tro d u c e d by th e sam e co n ju n ctio n s, such as in order th a t, so

that, a n d because, o r by th e sam e w/i-words. In such cases th e first p a r t o f
th e sen ten c e h a s to b e n e g ativ e, so th a t it co n trasts w ith th e p o sitiv e
m e a n in g o f th e p a r t w h ich follow s but { c f 13.42):
She d id n ’t see w h o M ET th e a m b assad o r, but w ho to o k h im aWAY.

H e d id n ’t sa v e in o rd e r to go to school, but in o rd e r to b u y a car.
1 3 .1 5 B u t c a n n o t lin k m o st o th e r su b o rd in a te clauses, because such clauses n o rm ally

lie o u tsid e th e sco p e o f n e g atio n { c f2 .5 5 , 1 0 .6 4 /), an d so c a n n o t c o n tra s t w ith
th e n e g ativ e im p lic a tio n o f th e first c o n jo in :
?T h ey w o n ’t h e lp you i f you p a y th em , b ut i f you pro m ise to h elp th e m in

re tu rn .
♦T hey d id n ’t s ta y although th ey w ere h ap p y , but although th ey w ere b o re d .
A n e x am p le w ith (^clau ses, such as th e o n e above, is m arg in ally a c c e p ta b le

in a c o n te x t w h ic h en ab les it to b e in te rp re te d as a refo rm u latio n o f w h a t
som eone h a s sa id o r im p lied . M oreover, if th e n eg atio n is o u tsid e th e v e rb
p h ra se, b u t c a n m o re easily lin k a d ju n c t a n d su b ju n ct clauses, in clu d in g s u c h
{^clauses a s :
I t m ig h t h a v e tu rn e d o u t all rig h t, not i f he h a d been m o re fo rcefu l b u t i f

he h a d b e e n m o re tactfu l.
O n fu rth e r a sp e cts o f th e n o t . . . b ut co n stru ctio n , c /13.42.
(f) C o o rd in ato rs c a n link m o re th an two clauses

1 3 .1 6 A n d a n d or c a n lin k m o re th a n tw o clauses, a n d th e c o n stru ctio n m a y th e n b e
called o n e o f m u l t i p l e c o o r d i n a t i o n . A ll b u t th e final in stan c e o f th e s e tw o
co n ju n c tio n s c a n b e o m itted . T h u s :
T h e b a tte ry m a y b e d isc o n n ec te d , th e co n n ectio n m ay be loose, or

th e b u lb m a y be fau lty . [1]
is in te rp re te d a s :
T h e b a tte ry m a y b e d isc o n n ec te d , or th e conn ectio n m ay b e loose,

or th e b u lb m a y b e faulty. [2]
In th is re sp ec t, a n d a n d or differ from su b o rd in a to rs a n d co n ju n cts. T h e y

d iffer ev en fro m b u t, sin ce but sem an tically sp eak in g c a n o n ly lin k tw o
co n jo in s a t th e s a m e level. W hile it is p o ssib le (th o u g h u n u su al) to c o n s tru c t
a se n ten ce su c h a s :
Jo h n p lay e d fo o tb all, M ary p lay ed ten n is, but A lice stay ed a t hom e. [3]
926 C o ordina tion
such a se n ten c e is in te rp rete d as if th e first tw o clauses h ad b een lin k e d by

and'.
J o h n p lay ed football, a n d M a ry p lay e d ten n is, but A lice stay ed a t

h o m e. [4]
A n in d efin ite n u m b e r o f clauses c an b e lin k ed by and o r or. B u t th e re is

a n o th e r w ay in w hich m o re th a n tw o elem ents can be c o m b in e d by
c o o rd in a tio n : o n e set o f c o o rd in a te clauses m ay becom e th e co n jo in o f a
h ig h er-lev el c o o rd in a te c o n stru ctio n . T h is is indeed w h a t h a p p e n s in [4],
w here th e c o o rd in a tio n by but is a t a h ig h er level th a n th e c o o rd in a tio n by
and. T h e c o n stitu e n t stru c tu re c a n b e co n v en ien tly sh o w n by b ra c k e tin g :
[[A] a n d [B]] b ut [C]. W h en tw o d ifferen t co o rd in ato rs occur, lik e th is, in th e
sam e c o m p le x c o n stru ctio n , stru c tu ra l am b ig u ities are liable to arise. T h e
a m b ig u ity can b e d e m o n stra ted b y d iffere n t b rack etin g s. F o r e x am p le, in th e
follow ing sen ten ces, [A], [B], a n d [C] re p re se n t th ree clauses:
[A ] I ’ll p a y fo r th e m eal a n d [B] you p a y for th e tax i, or [C]

p e rh a p s I ’ll p a y fo r bo th . [5]
T he r e la tio n s h ip b etw een th e clauses c a n b e rep resen ted a s fo llo w s:
[[A ] a n d [B]] or [C].
O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e s e n te n c e :
[A ] H is p a re n ts liv e in N ew Y o rk a n d [B] h e w rites to th e m from

tim e to tim e or [C ] (he) p h o n e s th em . [6]
can b e re p re se n te d by a b ra c k e tin g in w h ich [B] an d [C] m a k e up a single

con jo in o f and)
[A ] a n d [[B] or [C]].
T he c o n tr a s t b etw een [5] a n d [6] c a n be also rep resen ted by tree d ia g r a m s :
N o te P u n c tu a tio n is o fte n used to m a k e c le a r w h ich is th e m a jo r c o n stitu en t stru c tu re b o u n d a ry in

m ixed m u ltip le co o rd in ate co n stru c tio n s su ch as [5] an d [61. T h u s, th e p o te n tia l am b ig u ity o f th e
above tw o co n stru c tio n s c a n be elim in a te d by pla cin g a co m m a before th e m a in c o o r d in a to r :
[[A ] a n d [B1L o r [C ]; [A], a n d [[B] o r [CH.
A s im ila r d is tin c tio n can be m a d e proso d ically , by p lacin g a to n e-u n it b o u n d ary b efo re th e
m ajor co o rd in a to r, an d using ad d itio n a l fo rm s o f p rosodic em p h asis if required.
Polysyndetic coordination
13.17 W hen a co n stru ctio n w ith a n d o r or h a s m o re th a n tw o conjoins, th e ellipsis
of all b u t th e last c o o rd in a to r is cu sto m ary . H en ce 13.16 [1] ab o v e, ra th e r
Coordinators 927
th a n [2], illu strates th e usual p a tte rn . In th is w ay, th e in se rtio n o f th e

co o rd in a to r b etw een tw o conjoins signals th a t th e last co n jo in is a b o u t to b e
ad d ed . B ut w h ere a c o o rd in a to r o ccu rs betw een e ac h p a ir o f conjoins, eg in
[A] a n d [B] and [C], th e c o n stru ctio n is trad itio n ally te rm e d p o l y s y n d e t o n :
T h e w ind ro a re d , a n d th e lig h tn in g flashed, and th e sky w as

suddenly as d a rk as n ig h t. [7]
P o lysyndetic c o o rd in a tio n th u s c o n trasts b o th w ith a sy n d e tic co o rd in a tio n

a n d w ith o rd in ary sy n d etic c o o rd in a tio n (c /1 3 .1 ). S in ce it tran sg resses th e
p rin cip le ‘reduce w h ere p o ssib le’ (c/1 2 .4 ), p o lysyndeton te n d s to b e reserved
fo r stylistically m a rk e d effects; for exam ple, in [7] a b o v e it is used to
em p h a size a d ra m a tic seq u en ce o f events, a n d in 13.16 [2] it suggests (in
c o n tra st to [1]) th a t th e list o f th ree possibilities m ay n o t b e co m p lete.
N o te O n th e use o f a p u n c tu a tio n m a rk as a sep a ra to r o f nonfinal co n jo in s o f m u ltip le c o o rd in ate

co n stru c tio n s, c f A p p I I I .7 - 9 .
C o o rdination-subordination gradient
13.18 Table 13.18 d isp lay s th e g ra d ie n t fro m th e c en tral c o o rd in a to rs a n d an d or to
su b o rd in a to rs lik e i f a n d because, w ith but, fo r, a n d so th a t o n th e g ra d ie n t.
T h e co n ju n cts y et, so, a n d nor are ad d ed to th e Table, b ecau se, as w e h av e
seen, th ey in som e re sp ects resem ble co o rd in ato rs. T h e six featu res o f a n d
a n d or n o ted in 1 3 .7 -1 7 h a v e p ro v id ed six c rite ria u sed in c o n stru ctin g th e
m atrix . I f an ite m satisfies a c riterio n , th is is in d ic a te d b y a ' + ’ in th e
re le v an t cell. I f it fails to satisfy th e criterio n , ‘ ’ is e n te red . T h e c o m b in a tio n
‘ ta k e s care o f cases, ex p la in ed in th e p rev io u s d iscu ssio n , w h ere th e ite m
satisfies th e c riterio n o nly u n d e r c ertain co n d itio n s. T h e six c rite ria to be
a p p lie d to e ac h ite m a r e :
(a) I t is im m o b ile in fro n t o f its clause.

(b) A clause b e g in n in g w ith it is seq u en tially fixed in r e la tio n to th e p rev io u s
clause, an d h en ce c a n n o t b e m oved to a p o sitio n in fro n t o f th a t clause.
(c) I t does n o t allow a c o n ju n ctio n to precede it.
(d) I t lin k s n o t o nly clau ses, b u t p red icates a n d o th er clau se co n stitu en ts.
(e) I t c a n lin k su b o rd in a te clauses.
( f) I t can lin k m o re th a n tw o clauses, an d w h en it do es so all b u t th e final
in stan ce o f th e lin k in g ite m c an b e o m itted .
T a b le 1 3 .1 8 C o o r d i n a t i o n - c o n j u n c t - s u b o r d i n a t i o n g r a d i e n t s
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f)
coordinators and, or + + + + + +
but + + + + + -
conjuncts yet, so, nor + + X + - -

however, therefore - + - - - -
subordinators for , so that + + + - - -

if,\ because + ± - - - -
T h e c ro ss ‘ x ’ in co lu m n (c) reco rd s th e fact, a lre ad y n o te d in 13.11, th a t

w o rd s lik e y e t, so, a n d nor, a lth o u g h they allow a p re c e d in g c o o rd in a to r, also
a llo w th e o m is sio n o f th e c o o rd in a to r m o re read ily th a n o th e r c onjuncts. In
o th e r w o rd s, th e y fa v o u r asy n d eto n , an d to th a t e x te n t re sem b le co o rd in ato rs
w ith re s p e c t to c o lu m n (c) as m u ch as th ey resem ble c o n ju n cts.
N o te [a] W h e n because in tro d u c e s a d isju n c t clause (c /8 .1 2 4 , 15.21), it resem b les f o r a n d so that, in

th a t th e clau se w h ic h it in tro d u ces c a n n o t b e m oved to in itial po sitio n in th e se n te n c e :
S h e p i d f o r th e b o o k , because I s w her. r- Because I saw her, s h e p aid fo r ih e book.
F F
T h is e x p la in s th e *+ ’ in co lu m n (b).
[b] F o r m a n y s p e a k e rs , especially in A m E , nor c a n n o t be p reced ed by a co o rd in ato r. In B rE , th e
c o m b in a tio n b u t nor is so m ew h at m o re ac cep tab le th a n and nor.
13.19 A lth o u g h T able 13.18 d e m o n stra tes th e ab sen ce o f a c le a r d iv id e b etw een

c o o rd in a to rs a n d o th e r lin k in g item s, w e c a n ju stify th e tra d itio n a l inclusion
o f b u t a m o n g th e co o rd in a to rs a n d th e exclusion o f f o r a n d so that o r y e t an d
so b y p o in tin g to tw o facts w h ich d istin g u ish but fro m th ese w o rd s: (i) it
b e h a v e s lik e a c o o rd in a to r w ith re sp ec t to su b ject ellip sis (c f 13.12 a n d
c rite rio n (d) ab o v e), a n d (ii) it resem bles co o rd in a to rs in its ab ility to lin k
tw o cla u se s s u b o rd in a te to th e sam e m a in clau se (c rite rio n (e)). T h e la tte r
p o te n tia lity , in p a rtic u la r, reflects its statu s as a c o o rd in a to r, in th a t it lin k s
c o n s titu e n ts a t th e sa m e level. By th e sam e c riteria , f o r a n d so that a re show n
to b e s u b o rd in a to rs ra th e r th a n co o rd in a to rs; a n d y e t th ey are m o re
c o o rd in a to r-lik e th a n th e m o re ty p ical su b o rd in a to rs i f a n d because. S im ilarly,
y e t, so, neither, a n d nor are b e st tre a te d as co n ju n cts w h ic h a re n ev erth eless
m o re c o o rd in a to r-lik e th a n m o re ty p ical co n ju n c ts su c h as however a n d
therefore. T h e s e w o rd s w h ic h sh are som e o f th e d istin g u ish in g fe atu res o f
c o o rd in a to rs m a y b e called s e m i - c o o r d i n t o r s { c f also q u s i - c o o r d i n t o r s ,
F F F
13.103).
C o o rd in a tio n o f clauses and o f lesser constituents

13.20 I n th e a b o v e c o m p a riso n s, w e h av e assu m ed in g e n era l th a t th e u n its to be
lin k e d a re elap ses. T h is h as m e a n t ig n o rin g (except w ith re fe re n ce to criterio n
(d)) a n im p o r ta n t d istin g u ish in g ch ara cte ristic o f c o o rd in a to rs : th a t th ey can
b e u sed to lin k e le m en ts w h ich a re p a rts o f clauses, r a th e r th a n w hole clauses.
T h u s th e c o n jo in s in th e follow ing ex am p les a re a d je ctiv es a c tin g respectively
as s u b je c t c o m p le m e n t a n d p rem o d ifier:
The w e a th e r w ill b e cold and cloudy.

~ eolef a n d cloudy w e ath e r
The w e a th e r w ill b e rainy or changeable.
~ rainy or changeable w e ath e r
The w e a th e r w ill b e w arm but windy.
~ w arm b ut w indy w e ath e r
H e re a g a in , h o w ev er, w e n o te th a t lin k in g w o rd s w h ic h a re n o t c o o rd in a to rs
n e v e rth e le ss re sem b le co o rd in ato rs. C e rta in co n cessiv e su b o rd in a to rs an d
c o n ju n c ts, in p a rtic u la r, are cap a b le o f rep lacin g b u t in th e a b o v e types o f
c o n s tr u c tio n :
Coordinators 929
T im ’s sq u a t y e t ferocious bulldog could be h e a rd grow ling o n th e p a tio .

' I im m e d ia tely reco g n ized S a ra h ’s bold i f barely legible h a n d w ritin g .
M a rtin w as in clin ed to b o ast a b o u t his rich though disreputable
an cesto rs.
(O n th e co n cessiv e use o f i f here, c /1 5 .4 0 .)
T h ese co n cessiv e item s c a n lin k n o t only adjectives, b u t o th e r c la u se

c o n stitu e n ts, su ch a s a d v e rb ia ls :
T h e a d m ira l w alk ed clum sily, w ith dignity.
S im ilarly, nor, in its c a p a c ity as a c o rre lativ e co n ju n ctio n a fte r neither { c f

13.37), c a n lin k c o n stitu e n ts su ch a s ad jectiv es o r a d v erb ials:
T h ey w e re neither able nor willing to p ro v id e th e necessary c ap ital.
T h e g ra d ie n c e a n d o v e rla p b etw een c o o rd in ato rs, su b o rd in ato rs, a n d c o n

ju n c ts h a s n o t, th ere fo re, b e e n ex h au ste d b y Table 13.18.
13.21 W e sh all n o te su c h in -b etw e en cases a s th ey a r is e ; b u t even w ith c o o rd in a tio n ,

it is se n sib le to b eg in w ith th e c o n jo in in g o f clauses as th e m o st b a s ic
c o n stru ctio n . T h is is b e ca u se in m a n y cases (b u t by n o m ean s a ll; c /1 3 .4 5 - 6 )
th e c o o rd in a tin g o f sm a lle r u n its m a y be e lu c id ated as a n ellip tical re d u c tio n
o f clau se c o o rd in a tio n . F o r ex am p le, th e c o o rd in a tin g o f p re d ic a tio n s a s i n :
S am h a s trim m ed the hedge a n d m ow ed the lawn.
c a n b e a n aly sed as a n e llip tical c o o rd in a tio n o f clauses in w h ich th e in itia l

su b je ct a n d o p e ra to r a re r e p e a te d :
S am h a s trim m ed the hedge, a n d S am h a s m ow ed the lawn.
S im ilarly , th e follow ing se n ten c e w ith v erb -p h ra se c o o rd in a tio n :
I w ashed a n d ironed th e clothes.
c a n b e seen a s a red u ce d v ersio n o f :
I w ashed th e c lo th es a n d I ironed th e clothes.
In th is an aly sis, w e c a n tre a t ellipsis as a relatio n o f s y s t e m t i c F
c o r r e s p o n d e n c ein th e sense o f 2 . 2 0 , r a th e r th a n a tte m p tin g to e x p la in it as

a p ro cess o f d e riv in g th e red u ce d co n stru ctio n fro m th e fu ller o n e .
N e v erth e le ss, it w ill b e h elp fu l to c o n c e n tra te largely o n clause c o o rd in a tio n
in th e follow ing sectio n s, 1 3 .2 2 -3 2 , th ere fo re confining o u r a tte n tio n to
c o m p o u n d s e n t e n c e s a s d efin ed in 14.2. I t sh o u ld be n o ted , h o w ev er, t h a t
th e se m an tic re la tio n s to b e discu ssed a p p ly to c o o rd in atio n o f c la u se

c o n stitu e n ts, as w ell as o f e n tire clauses.
930 C o ordination
Th e use of coordinators
T h e uses of a n d
1 3 .2 2 A n d is th e c o o rd in a to r w h ich h as th e m o st general m ean in g a n d use. T h e
o n ly re stric tio n o n th e use o f a n d as c o o rd in a to r is the p ra g m a tic o n e th a t th e
c la u se s should h a v e sufficient in co m m o n to ju stify th e ir co m b in a tio n . T h u s
th e fo llo w in g is o d d sim ply because it w o u ld b e difficult to find an y co n n ec tio n
b e tw e e n the c o n te n t o f th e c la u se s:
T h e youngsters w e n t off to a d a n ce a n d th e e q u ato r is e q u id ista n t fro m

th e tw o poles.
In lo g ic a l term s, a n d m erely conveys (fo r d e clara tiv e clauses) th a t if th e w hole

s e n te n c e is tru e, th e n e ac h o f its c o n jo in ed clauses is true. B u t th e p ra g m a tic
im p lic a tio n s o f th e c o m b in a tio n vary, acc o rd in g to o u r p resu p p o sitio n s a n d
k n o w le d g e o f th e w orld. T h e relatio n c o n n o te d by th e lin k b etw een th e tw o
o r m o r e co n jo in s c a n generally b e m a d e ex p licit by th e a d d itio n o f a n
a d v e rb ia l. By u sin g th e term ‘c o n n o ta tio n ’, w e in te n d to in d ic a te th a t th e
re la tio n s o f m ea n in g b etw een co n jo in s a re n o t h a rd a n d fa s t: th ey v ary in
s tre n g th , an d m o re th a n o n e can coexist in th e sam e o ccu rren ce o f and. F o r
e a c h c o n n o ta tio n th a t w e exem plify in th e follow ing sections, w e in se rt
(w h e rev e r p o ssib le) a n a d v erb ial th a t w ould m ak e th e re la tio n sh ip ex p lic it
{ c f 19.20). F o r sim p licity , w e illu strate th e co n n o ta tio n w ith sen ten ces
c o n ta in in g ju s t tw o clauses.
O f th e e ig h t ty p es, o f co n n o ta tio n , in o nly t h r e e - ( c ) , (f), ( g ) - c a n th e
se q u e n ce o f c lau ses p e rh a p s be rev ersed w ith o u t ch an g in g th e re la tio n sh ip
b e tw e e n the clauses. E v en in th ese cases, th e seq u en ce is rarely ran d o m .
N o te T h u s th e general p rin c ip le o f co m m u n ic ativ e d y n a m ism ( ) d eterm in es th a t w h en tw o

u n its a r e co o rd in ated , th e seco n d is placed in focus a g a in st th e b ack g ro u n d o f th e first.
1 3 .2 3 (a) T h e second clau se is a c o n s e q u e n c e o r r e s u l t o f th e first; ie, th e first

conjoin p re se n ts th e c irc u m stan ces (freq u en tly th e c irc u m stan tia l
b a ck g ro u n d ) e n ab lin g th e e v en t d e sc rib e d in th e second con jo in to ta k e
place. T h is e n ta ils th a t th e o rd er o f t h e clauses also reflects ch ro n o lo g ical
sequence
H e h e a rd a n explosion a n d h e {therefore) p h o n e d th e police.
(b ) T h e second clau se is chro n o lo g ically s e q u e n t to th e first, b u t w ith o u t

a n y im p lip atio n o f a c au se-re su lt r e la tio n s h ip :
I w ash ed th e d ish es and {then) I d rie d th em .
In (a) and (b), th e v e rb o f e ac h clause is n o rm ally d y n am ic ra th e r th a n sta ti ve.
N o te [a] T h e re can o b v io u sly b e no im p lic atio n o f ch ro n o lo g ical seq u en ce if th e clauses a re giv en in a

se q u en ce co n trary to ch ro n o lo g ical order. T h u s, if th e second clause is te n se -m ark ed to in d icate
th a t its co n ten t is p rio r chronologically, co o rd in a tio n o f th e tw o clauses is u n a c cep ta b le in th e
in te n d e d m ean in g :
?I dried th e d ish es an d I h ad w ashed th e m .
T h is also ap p lies w h e n th e re is th e ad d itio n a l im p lic atio n o f a ca u se-re su lt re la tio n sh ip :
?H e ph o n ed th e p olice and he h a d h eard a n ex plosion.
Th e use o f coordinators 931
S uch sequences, how ever, ca n b e q u ite ac cep ta b le w ith o u t lin k in g by a n d :

H e ph o n ed th e p o lice; he h a d h ea rd an explosion.
A s such ex am ples show , p a ra ta x is differs fro m coordination in allow ing a relatio n betw een tw o
clauses w h ereb y th e second gives th e r eason o r ex pl an atio n for th e e v e n t d e scrib ed in th e f ir s t:
B ad e r’s c a r d ro p p ed o u t o f th e r a c e : th e engine w as o v erh eatin g .
[b] T h e asso ciatio n o f a n d w ith chro n o lo g ical sequence does n o t rule o u t th e p ossibility th a t th e
tw o clauses lin k ed by and refer to sim u ltan eo u s events o r s ta te s; eg:
M o th er w as read in g a n d (a t th e sam e tim e) I w as hav in g a b a th .
In th is case, w h ere th e relatio n o f m e an in g is d d i t i v e ( c f 1 3 .2 7 ) , th e re w ould be n o d ifferen ce
F
o f m ean in g if th e clauses w ere p la ced in th e o pposite o rd er:

I w as h av in g a b a th a n d m o th e r w as reading.
13.24 (c) T h e seco n d clau se in tro d u c es a c o n t r F s t :
R o b e rt is se c retiv e a n d (in contrast) D a v id is c a n d id .
(d) T h e second clau se is fe lt to be su rp risin g in v iew o f th e first, so th a t th e

first clause h as a c o n c e s s i v e fo rc e :
She tried h a rd a n d (yet) she failed.
I n b o th (c) a n d (d), a n d co u ld b e replaced by but.
13.25 (e) T h e first clau se is a c o n d it io n o f the s e c o n d :
G iv e m e som e m o n ey and (then) I ’ll h elp you escap e. [1]

L e t’s give h im so m e m o n ey and (then) he w o n ’t tell a n y b o d y
w h a t w e d id . [2]
T h e im p lica tio n o f th e first sen ten ce is show n b y th e p a r a p h r a s e :
G iv e m e som e m o n ey . I f you give m e som e m o n ey (then) I ’ll h e lp

you escape.
T h is illu strates a p a tte rn w h ic h is usual w ith th e c o n d itio n al use o f a n d :

th e first clause is a d irec tiv e an d th e second clau se d escrib es th e
conseq u en ce w h ich w ill en su e if th e d irectiv e is o b ey ed . I t is n o t
necessary, h o w ev er, fo r th e first clause to b e in th e im p e ra tiv e m o o d , o r
for th e second clau se to co n ta in will o r shall. O n e id io m a tic p a tte rn
co n sists o f tw o im p e ra tiv e s :
G o by a ir, and sa v e tim e. [3]

Jo in th e n a v y a n d see th e w orld. [4]
A n o th e r p a tte rn is illu strated by the follow ing:
O n e m o re w o rd fro m you, and I p h o n e th e police. [5]
H ere th e first clau se is v erb less, an d th e second illu stra te s th e d ra m a tic a lly
‘in stan ta n eo u s’ use o f th e p re sen t tense ( c f 4.7).
L ik e th e c o rre sp o n d in g co n d itio n al use o f or (c /1 3 .3 0 ), th is use o f a n d
is asso ciated w ith c e rta in d irectiv e sp eech a cts, su c h as p ro m ises (eg [1])
an d th re a ts (eg [5]).
N o te [a] Since it is n o rm a l fo r th e first clause to reta in som e d ire c tiv e fo rce, th e re is n o e x a ct

p ara p h ra se relatio n b etw e en (say) [ 1] ab o v e an d th e follow ing sen te n ce w ith a n (^ c la u se :
I f you give m e so m e m o n ey , f h e f p you escape.
O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e re is a p ro v erb ial ty pe o f sen ten ce in w h ich th e im p e ra tiv e clau se lack s a

d ire c tiv e m e a n in g , a n d w here th e co n d itio n a l sen ten ce w ith i f w ould offer a su ita b le p a r a p h r a s e :
A s k m e n o q u estio n s, a n d I'll tell you no lies.
G iv e a d o g a b a d n am e, a n d h e ’ll live up to it. [ = ‘I f you g iv e . . . ’]
[b] A q u a si-c o n d itio n a l use o f a n d in p ro h ib itio n s is illu strated in th e slo g an : D on't d rink and
drive[ = ‘I f you d rin k , d o n ’t d riv e ’]; c /1 3 .4 8 .
13.26 ( f ) T h e seco n d clau se m ak e s a p o in t s i m il F r to th e f irs t:
A tra d e a g ree m e n t should b e n o p ro b lem , and (sim ilarly) a cu ltu ral

e x ch a n g e could be easily arran g ed .
13.27 (g) T h e sec o n d clause is a ‘p u re ’ F d d i t i o n to th e first, th e o n ly re q u ire m e n t
b e in g t h a t th e tw o sta te m e n ts are co n g ru en t in m e a n in g :
H e h a s long h a ir a n d (also) h e o ften w ears jean s.
(h) S im ila r to (g) is a se n ten c e in w h ich th e second clau se a d d s a n a p p en d e d

c o m m e n t o n o r e x p l F n F t i o n o f th e first:
T h ey d islik e d J o h n - a n d th a t’s n o t su rp risin g in v iew o f h is

b e h av io u r.
T h e re ’s o nly o n e th in g to d o n ow - a n d th a t’s to ap o lo g ize.
A se n ten tial re la tiv e clau se, e g : . . . which is not surprising . . . ( c f 15.57),

c a n re p la ce th e seco n d clau se here.
N o te In ty p e (h), if th e first clause is long, th e second is som etim es in serted p a re n th e tic a lly w ith in it.
S uch p a re n th e tic a l c o o rd in a tio n g iv es th e im p ressio n o f b ein g a n a d hoc o r u n p la n n ed
in te rp o la tio n : ;
M a n y stu d e n ts a t o u r u n iv e rsity - and it is difficult to ex p lain th is - reject th e p ro p o sed
refo rm s id u n iv e rsity ad m in istra tio n .
F o r a d iffe re n t k in d o f in terp o la ted co o rd in atio n , c / 1 3 .9 5 /.
i ;
T h e uses o f p r
13.28 O r in tro d u c e s a n a lte rn a tiv e . L ogically, in co n tra st to a n d (c /1 3 .2 2 ) it conveys
th e m e a n in g (i^ ith d e c la ra tiv e clauses) t h a t if one o f th e in d iv id u a l conjoins
is tru e , th e n th ^ w hole se n ten c e is tru e. B u t as w ith and, th e re is th e p ra g m a tic
re q u ire m e n t th a t th e c o n te n ts o f th e tw o clauses should h a v e sufficient in
c o m m o n to ju stify th e ir ju x ta p o sitio n as a lte rn ativ es. T y p ic ally or is
e x c l u s i v e ; th a t is, it ex clu d es th e p ossibility th a t b o th c o n jo in s a re tru e, o r
a re to be fulfilled:
Y o u c a n sleep o n th e c o u ch in th e lounge or you c a n g o to a h o tel.
T h e p e rso n w ho m ak e s th e a b o v e suggestion does n o t e x p e c t th e h e a re r to

rep ly ‘T h an k s, I ’ll do b o th ’. B u t ev en w h en b o th a lte rn a tiv e s a re clearly
p o ssib le, as i n :
Y ou c a n boil y o u rself a n egg or (else) you c an m ak e so m e sa n d w ich es.
or is n o rm ally in te rp re te d as exclusive. T h e m ean in g o f or in s u c h c ases can

b e stre n g th e n ed b y th e c o n ju n c t else o r alternatively.
T h e re c a n also occur, h o w ev er, a n i n c l u s i v e in te rp re ta tio n o f or, w h ere it
is im p lied th a t b o th co n jo in s m ay be tru e. T h is inclusive m e a n in g is clearly
Th e use o f coordinators 933
signalled w h ere a th ird clau se is a d d ed to m ak e it ex p licit, a s in th e follow ing

e x a m p le :
Y ou c a n boil a n egg, (or) you c a n m ak e som e sand w ich es, or you c an

d o b o th .
In w ritte n v a rie tie s o f th e lan g u ag e w h ere p recisio n is req u ired (eg in official
in stru ctio n s), th e th ird p o ssib ility can be explicitly in cluded by th e c o m
b in atio n o f c o o rd in a to rs a n d /o r:
If th e a p p lia n c e is d efectiv e, w rite d irectly to th e m a n u fa c tu re r and/or

c o m p la in to y o u r local c o n su m er p ro tec tio n service.
N o te T h e exclusive m e a n in g o f or ac q u ires a specialized use in a lte rn a tiv e q u estio n s ( c f 11.2 O f), in

altern ativ e in te rro g a tiv e clauses in tro d u ced by whether o r i f ( c f 15.6), a n d in a lte rn a tiv e
con d itio n al-co n cessiv e clauses ( c f 15.41).
13.29 T h e a lte rn a tiv e ex p ressed by or m ay also b e a re statem e n t o r a c o r r e c t iv e
to w h at is sa id in th e first c o n jo in :
T h ey a re en jo y in g th em selv es, or th ey apPfiAR
to be en jo y in g them selves.
In such cases th e seco n d co n jo in is, o r p u rp o rts to be, a d d ed as a n a fte rth o u g h t.

Such co n stru ctio n s a re d iscu ssed u n d e r th e h e ad in g o f i n t e r p o l F t e d
c o o r d i n F t i o n in 13.95)f.
13.30 In a d d itio n to in tro d u c in g a lte rn a tiv e s as in d ic a te d ab o v e, or m ay im p ly a

F t i v e c o n d i t i o n . T h u s in :
n e g
G iv e m e so m e m o n ey or (else) I ’ll shoot.
th e im p lica tio n c a n be p a ra p h ra s e d by th e n eg ativ e c o n d itio n al c la u se :
G iv e m e so m e m oney. I f y o u don't give m e som e m oney I ’ll shoot.
T h e c o n d itio n al u se o f or is th u s th e n eg ativ e a nalogue o f th e c o n d itio n al u se

o f and ( c f 13.25). U n lik e and, how ev er, or typically follow s a n e g ativ e
im p erativ e clau se:
D o n ’t b e too long, or y o u ’ll m iss th e bus.
In th is case, th e m o st a p p ro p ria te p a ra p h ra se w ith a n (/-clause is p o sitiv e

in stead o f n e g ativ e:
. . . if you a re to o Iqng, y o u ’ll m iss th e bus.
A n o th e r d ifferen ce b etw een c o n d itio n al a n d a n d c o n d itio n al or is th a t th e

latter can re ad ily o c cu r a fte r d e clara tiv e , a s well as im p e rativ e c la u se s:
T h ey (m u st h av e) lik e d th e a p a rtm e n t, or th ey w o u ld n ’t h av e
stay ed so long. [1]
H ere or m a y b e view ed a s th e n eg ativ e c o u n te rp a rt o f because used a s a n

in feren tial d isju n ct ( c f 15.21):
T h e y (m u st h av e) liked th e a p artm e n t, because th ey stayed th ere

th e w h o le su m m er. [la ]
T h e im p lic a tio n o f o r in [1] can be em p h asized by a d d in g th e co n ju n ct else

( c /8 .1 3 7 , 8.144, 8.146): . . . o r else they wouldn’t have sta yed so long. Or can
also b e re p la c e d by th e co n ju n ct otherwise: . . . otherwise they wouldn’t have
s ta y e d so long.
T h e n e g a tiv e c o n d itio n al or an d th e c o n d itio n al a n d describ ed in 13.25 a re
c o n tra s tin g ly re la te d in m ean in g , as can be seen fro m th e v irtu al synonym y
o f:
M a k e a m o v e, a n d I ’ll shoot!
D o n ’t m a k e a m ove, or I’ll shoot!
N o te A s w ith c o n d itio n a l and, th e first conjoin w ith co n d itio n a l or m a y be a verbless clau se: Your
m o n e y or I shoot. T h e re is ev e n th e possibility th a t b o th co n jo in s a re v erb less: Your m oney or your
life [ = ‘G iv e m e y o u r m oney, o r I ’ll ta k e your life’] ( c /1 1 .53 N o te).
A n d in relation to o r
13.31 B e ca u se a n d a n d or c o n tra st w ith o n e a n o th e r in m ean in g , or follow ing a
n e g a tiv e is in so m e resp ec ts e q u iv alen t to and. T h u s:
H e d o e s n ’t h a v e long h a ir or w ear jea n s. [1]
is lo g ic a lly e q u iv a le n t to th e co m b in atio n o f tw o n e g ativ e sta te m en ts 'H e

d o e sn 't have long hair n d H e doesn’t wear je a n s ’. C o n v ersely :
F
H e d o e sn ’t (both) h a v e long h a ir and w e a r je a n s . [2]
is lo g ic a lly e q u iv a le n t to th e inclusive d isju n ctio n o f tw o n eg ativ e s ta te m e n ts :

‘ e i t h e r H e doesn’t have long hair o r H e doesn’t wear jea n s (or both)'. T h e
re v e rs a l o f m e a n in g a rises because in [1] a n d [2], th e c o o rd in a to r is w ith in

th e s c o p e o f n e g atio n (c/1 0 .6 4 ).
H e n c e or ten d s to rep lace a n d in c o n te x ts w h ic h we h av e called
N O N s s e r t i v e ( c f 2.53), a n d m ore generally in su b o rd in a te p o sitio n s in th e
F
s e n te n c e : ! •
I N
S o ld iers w h o m u tin ied or d eserted w ere p u n ish e d by d eath .

[ = ‘S o ld iers w h o m u tin ied w ere p u n ish e d by d e a th , and soldiers w ho
d e se rte d w ere p u n ish ed by d e a th .’]
I f w e c o m p la in or d e m a n d co m p en satio n , n o th in g h ap p en s.
[ = ‘I f wje c o m p la in n o th in g h ap p en s, a n d if w e d e m a n d
co m p e n sa tio n n o th in g h a p p en s.’]
H e is good a t p a in tin g w ith w atercolours or w ith oil p ain ts.
T h e sa m e re p la c e m e n t tak e s place follow ing can, m ay, an d o th er expressions

o f p e rm iss io n o r p o ssib ility :
Y o u c a n go sw im m in g or sim ply sit o n th e b each .

P e rm issio n h a s b e en g ra n te d for th e p lay to be p e rfo rm e d in p u b lic or
p riv a te th eatres.
I n th is last sen ten ce, a n d could be su b stitu te d fo r or w ith o u t effective ch an g e

o f m e a n in g .
Correlatives 935
T h e use o f b u t
13.32 B u t expresses a c o n tra st w h ich could usually b e altern ativ ely e x p ressed b y
a n d follow ed by y et. T h e c o n tra st m ay be in th e u n ex p ected n ess o f w h a t is
sa id in th e seco n d c o n jo in in view o f th e co n te n t o f th e first c o n jo in :
Jo h n is p o o r, but he is h ap p y . [ \ . . a n d y e t he is h a p p y ’]
T h is sen ten ce im p lies th a t his h a p p in e ss is u n expected in view o f h is p o v e rty .

T h e u n ex p ected n ess d e p en d s o n o u r p resu p p o sitio n s a n d o u r e x p e rie n c e o f
th e w orld. I t w ould b e reaso n ab le to s a y :
J o h n is rich , but he is hap p y .
if w e c o n sid ered w e alth a source o f m isery.

T h e c o n tra st ex p ressed by b ut m ay also be a re p u d iatio n in p o sitiv e te r m s
o f w h a t h as b e en said o r im p lied by n eg atio n in th e first co n jo in (c /1 3 .4 2 ):
Ja n e d id n ot w aste h e r tim e befo re th e e xam , but stu d ied h a rd

every e v en in g . [1]
In such cases th e force o f but c a n b e em p h asized by th e c o n ju n c t rather o r on

the contrary ( c /8 .137):
I a m n o t o b jec tin g to h is m o rals, but rather to his m an n ers. [2]
W ith th is m ean in g , but n o rm ally do es n o t lin k tw o clauses, b u t tw o sm a lle r

c o n stitu e n ts; fo r ex am p le, th e conjoins a re tw o p red icates in [1] a n d tw o
p re p o sitio n a l p h ra ses in [2], T h e conjoins can n o t be re g ard e d as fo rm e d
sim p ly by ellipsis from tw o full clauses, since th e not in th e first c lau se c o n jo in
is re p u d ia te d in th e second. T h u s th e ex p an sio n o f [2] in to tw o full c la u se s
m u st b e as follow s:
I a m not o b jectin g to his m o rals, but (rather) I am o b jectin g to his

m an n ers.
Correlatives
13.33 T o rein fo rce o r cla rify th e c o n jo in in g fu n ctio n o f and, it is freq u e n tly p o ssib le
to p lace th e w o rd both in fro n t o f th e first c o n jo in :
H e h as m et (both) h e r m o th e r and h er father.
Sim ilarly, either c a n b e p lac ed in fro n t o f th e first conjoin to re in fo rc e or, an d

th e re is a fu rth e r c o rre lativ e p a ir n e ith e r. . .n o r:
H e h as m e t ( either) h e r m o th e r or h e r father.
H e h as m et neither h e r m o th e r nor h e r father.
T h is la s t c o n stru c tio n is e q u iv a len t to :
H e h a s n 't m et either h er m o th e r or h e r fath er.
w here e ith e r a n d or are w ith in th e scope o f n eg atio n (c/13.31).

T h e s e p a irs both . . . and, either . . . or, an d neither . . . nor a re te rm e d
c o r r e l t i v e s , co m p o sed o f an en d o rsin g item (c /1 3 .5 ) a n d a c o o rd in a to r.
F
W e m a y a d d to th em tw o c o rrelativ es w ith but: n o t . . . but a n d not o nly . . .

but ( c f 13.42). A tten tio n will first b e g iv en to either . . . or as th e m o st
stra ig h tfo rw a rd c o rrelativ e p air.
N o te [a] O n c o rre la tiv e su b o rd in ato rs such as i f . . . then, w h eth er. . .o r , c/1 4 .1 3 .

[b] O n th e ‘m isp la c in g ’ o f th e en d o rsin g item , c / 1 3.40.
E ithe r. . . o r
13.34 E ith e r . . .o r e m p h asizes th e e x c l u s iv e m ean in g o f or (c /1 3 .2 8 ):
E ith e r th e room is too sm all or th e p ia n o is too large.
T he c o n jo in s m ay b e c o m p lete clauses, as ab o v e, o r else sm aller c o n stitu e n ts

w h ich a re o fte n re la te d by ellipsis to c o m p lete c la u se s:
Y o u m ay either [stan d up] or [sit dow n].

E ith e r [Sylvia] or [her sister] will b e stay in g w ith us.
T h ese se n te n c e s illu strate c o o rd in a te d p re d ic atio n s a n d c o o rd in a te d su b je cts

resp ectiv ely . ,
B o t h . . . an d
13.35 Both . ■. a n d e m p h asizes th e d d i t i v e m ea n in g o f a n d ( c f 13.27). I t s e p a ra te s
F
the c o n jo in s a n d p u ts th e m o n th e sam e footing, th ere b y d isso c ia tin g th e

c o n jo in s fro m th e consequential o r sequent relatio n ( c f 13.23) t h a t m ig h t
o th erw ise be im p lied . C o n tra s t:
D a v id loves J o a n a n d (th erefo re) w an ts to m arry her.

D a v id both Joves J o a n an d w an ts to m arry her.
Both . . . a n d also singles o u t th e segregatory m ean in g o f a n d ( c f 1 3 .5 9 -6 3 )

ra th e r th a n th e c o m b in a to ry use. N o te th e difference b e tw e e n :
D a v id a n d J o a n g o t d iv o rced , [ie ‘fro m e ac h o th e r’]

B o th D a v id a n d J o a n g o t d iv o rced , [‘so n ow th ey c a n g et m a r r ie d ’]
I
A t first sig h t, jb o th . . . a n d a p p e a rs to sta n d in th e sam e re la tio n s h ip to a n d
as e ith e r . . .o r do es to or. B ut in fact, b o th . . . and is n o t a d m issib le w h e re th e
co n jo in s a re full fin ite clauses. T h e re m u st b e som e k in d o f ellip sis. H e n ce ,
w hile w e c a n h a v e :
M a ry w ash ed th e d ish es a n d P e te r d ried th em .
we c a n n o t h a v e:
*B oth M ary w ash ed th e d ish es an d P e te r d ried them .
On th e o th e r h a n d , both c a n be in se rte d if th e conjoins are p re d ic a te s o r

p re d ic a tio n s :
Correlatives 937
M ary both w a sh e d th e d ish es a n d d ried them .

T h is new m a c h in e w ill both accelerate th e cop y in g p ro cess a n d im p ro v e
th e q u ality o f rep ro d u c tio n .
o r if th e conjoins a re p h r a s e s :
B oth M ary a n d P e te r w ash ed th e dishes.

T h e reg u latio n s a re both very p recise and very d etailed .
N o te Both . . . and can b e a w k w a rd w h en th ey co o rd in ate s u b o rd in ate (finite o r n onfinite) clauses,

especially w hen th o se c lau ses h a v e an o v e rt s u b je c t:
W e w an t som eone both w h o is a b le a n d w hom we ca n tru st.
T h e y have asked both fo r th e floor to be repolished a n d fo r th e lig h tin g to b e im proved.
T h e second o f th ese se n te n c e s is less o b je ctio n ab le th a n th e first.
I
N o r . neither
13.36 N or a n d neither c a n b e u sed a s n eg ativ e a d d itiv e ad v erb s (c /8 .1 1 6 ) w ith o u t
b ein g a c o rrelativ e p a ir. T h ey g en erally p resu p p o se th a t a p rev io u s clau se is
n eg ativ e e ith e r ex p licitly , as in [1], o r im plicitly, as in [2] a n d [3]:
H e d id not receiv e a n y a ssista n ce from th e a u th o ritie s nor d id he

believe th e ir a ssu ra n ce th a t a ctio n w ould so o n b e tak en .
(r a th e r fo rm a l) [1]
M an y p eo p le a re only d im ly a w are o f th e w ays in w h ich th e
e n v iro n m en t c a n b e p ro tec te d . N or h a v e g o v e rn m e n ts m ad e
sufficient effo rts to e d u ca te th em , ( f o r m a l) [2]
A ll th e stu d e n ts w ere o bviously very miserable. N o r w ere th e
teach ers satisfied w ith th e c o n d itio n s a t th e school, ( f o r m a l) [3]
N o tice th a t nor in th e s e ex am p les is n o t the e q u iv a len t o f or plus not, as m ig h t

b e th o u g h t from its m o rp h o lo g ical com p o sitio n . R a th e r, it is n e a re r to b ein g
th e eq u iv alen t o f a n d p lu s not (c/1 3 .3 1 ). T h u s:
T h ey never fo rg av e h im fo r th e insult, nor could he rid h im self o f

feelings o f g u ilt fo r h a v in g sp o k en th a t w ay. ( f o r m a l) [4]
h a s m u ch th e sa m e m e a n in g a s th e m o re in fo rm al:
T h ey never fo rg av e h im fo r th e insult, and h e c ould not rid h im self

o f feelings o f g u ilt for h a v in g sp o k en th a t w ay either. [4a]
In all th e sen ten ces [1 -4 ], neither c a n replace nor w ith o u t ch an g e o f m ean in g .

F o r m an y sp e a k ers (c /1 3 .1 8 N o te [b]) b o th neither a n d nor c a n be lin k e d to
p reced in g sen ten ces b y a n d o r but:
T h ey n ev er fo rg av e h im fo r th e insult, j co u 'd he rid
h im self o f th e feelin g s o f g u ilt fo r h av in g sp o k e n in th a t w ay. [4b]
T h is p ossibility ex clu d es th em fro m the class o f c en tral co o rd in ato rs ( c f

13.10,13.19). M o reo v er, as th e a b o v e e xam ples show , neither a n d nor req u ire
su b je ct-o p era to r in v ersio n w h en th ey in tro d u ce a clause, a featu re w h ich
they sh are w ith n e g a tiv e a d ju n c ts su c h as never a n d nowhere w h en they o ccu r
initially (c/18.24).
938 Coordination
O n th e o th e r h a n d , by th e c riteria o f m ean in g (and + not), o f im m obility,

a n d s u s c e p tib ility to a sy n d etic use ( c f 13.11), neither a n d nor show them selves
to b e a m o n g th a t c lass o f lin k in g ad v erb s w hich m ost resem b le c o o rd in ato rs.
N o te In a f o rm a l a n d e lev ate d style nor c a n be used w here th ere is n o n e g a tiv e im p lic atio n a t all in th e
first c l a u s e :
T h i s u n iq u e p ro d u c t ca rries a b ra n d nam e th a t represents an e n tire co u n try ; nor is this a n
a c c id e n t. [ = ‘a n d th is is no a c c id e n t’]
T h e co rrela tives n e i t h e r . . . nor

13.37 W h e n n either . . . nor co n stitu tes a correlative p a ir, o n th e o th e r h an d , nor
fu n c tio n s a s a c e n tra l c o o rd in ato r, like and an d or, a n d neither as a n en d o rsin g
ite m , lik e both a n d either. F o r exam ple, th e c o o rd in ated p re d ic a te s of:
D a v id loves J oan a n d w ants to m arry her.
c a n b e n e g a te d e ith e r by a d d in g the n eg ato r not in e a c h p r e d ic a te :
D a v id d o e s n ’t love J o a n , a n d (so) d o e sn ’t w ant to m a rry her. [I]
o r b y s u b s titu tin g th e c o rrelativ es n e ith e r. . .nor:
D a v id n either loves J o a n , nor w an ts to m arry h er. [2]
W h e re a s [1], h o w ev er, ten d s to co n n o te a co n seq u en tial re la tio n b etw een th e

c lau ses, th e c o rre la tiv e s in [2] em p h asize th a t th e n e g a tio n ap p lie s to b o th
c o n jo in s. C o rre la tiv e neither is m obile, its p o sitio n reflectin g th e scope o f
n e g a tio n (c /1 0 .6 3 ):
S a m n either [h as long h air], nor [w ears jeans],

M a r y w a s neither [h ap p y ] nor [sad].
N e ith e r [p e te r] nor [his w ife] w an ted th e responsibility.
T h e s a m e re s tric tio n ap p lie s to neither . . . nor as to both . . . a n d ( c / 13.35);

th ese c o rre la tiv e s c a n n o t be used to n eg ate w hole clau ses, as in :
* N e ith e r P e te r w a n ted th e responsibility, nor h is w ife d id .

I \
N o te T h e c o rre la tiv e neither . . . nor , b ein g th e neg ativ e co u n te rp a rt o f both . . . and , conveys a
c o rre sp o n d in g ly a d d itiv e m ean in g . T h u s th e use o f and for o th e r th a n a d d itiv e purpose (eg to
ex p ress a c o n tr a s t o r a c o n d itio n ; c f 1 3 .2 4 -5 ) has no p arallel in n e ith e r . . . nor.
A 'm ix e d ' co nstru ctio n w ith n e i t h e r . . . n or

13.38 In 1 3 .3 6 -7 w e)h av e discu ssed neither an d nor first as a d d itiv e a d v erb s an d
seco n d a s c o rre la tiv e co o rd in ato rs. T h ese tw o g ra m m a tic a l roles a re in
p rin c ip le q u ite d istin c t, b u t in p ractice are o ften superficially sim ilar. I t is
n o t s u rp ris in g th a t th e re exists a ‘m ix ed ’ co n stru ctio n , in w h ic h neither an d
nor b e h a v e lik e a d d itiv e a d v erb s, b u t a re a t th e sam e tim e co rrelativ e, an d
h av e th e ‘se g reg a to ry ’ m ea n in g a ssociated w ith b o th . . . a n d ( c / 13.59/"):
S a m neither h a s long h a ir, nor does he w ear jea n s.

M a ry w a s neither h a p p y , nor w as she sad.
? P e te r neither w a n ted th e resp o n sib ility , nor d id his w ife.
T h e y h a v e neither rep lied to m y letters, nor h a v e th ey a n sw e red my
te le p h o n e calls.
Correlatives 939
H ere, neither a p p e a rs in a m ed ial ad v erb ial p o sitio n in th e first c la u se , a n d

nor a p p e a rs in in itia l p o sitio n in th e seco n d clause, follow ed by s u b je c t-
o p e ra to r in v ersio n . T h e m ean in g o f th is co n stru ctio n is th e sa m e as t h a t o f
th e c o rre sp o n d in g co n stru ctio n w ith co rrelativ e co o rd in atio n (c/T 3 .3 7 ). B u t
th e u n its w h ich follow th em in e ac h clause a re n o t e q u iv alen t, a s o n e w o u ld
e x p ect th e m to b e if th is w ere a c o n stru ctio n o f co o rd in atio n . T h is is c le a r
w h e n sq u a re b ra c k e ts a re in serted in th e ex am p les ab o v e, en clo sin g p u ta tiv e
co n jo in s:
S am neither [has long hair], nor [does he w e ar jeans].
C a refu l u sers o f th e lan g u ag e m ay in d eed p re fe r to recast such a s e n te n c e in

acco rd an c e w ith th e p rin cip les o u tlin ed in 13.40:
S am neither [has long h air], nor [w ears jeans].
Restrictions on correlatives
A cco rd in g to a d id a c tic tra d itio n , th e use o f correlative c o o rd in a to rs is
u n a c c e p ta b le w h e n th e re are th re e o r m o re co n jo in s:
?W e a re both w illing, able, a n d read y to c arry o ut th e survey. [1]

?E ith er th e M in ister, or th e U n d er-secretary , or th e P e rm a n e n t
S e c retary will a tte n d th e m eetin g . [2]
?T o m p k in s h as neither th e p erso n ality , th e energy, nor the
ex p erien c e to w in th is election. [3]
(T h is re stric tio n is felt especially strongly in th e case o f both.) B o th , either,

a n d neither (lik e w hether ; c f 15.6) a re all h istorically asso ciated w ith d u a l
co n stru ctio n s, a n d th ese w o rd s h av e d u a l m ean in g w hen th e y o c c u r as
d e te rm in e rs in n o u n p h ra ses ( c f 6.50, 6.61, 6.62). T h e p a ralle l b e tw e e n
ex am p les su ch as th e follow ing suggests t h a t th e in itial w ord in [4] is in f a c t a
d e te rm in e r ju s t a s it is in [5]:
[4]
a re alive.
[5]
B u t both c a n n o t b e classed as a d e te rm in e r in sentences w h ere th e c o n jo in s
a re n o t n o u n p h r a s e s :
H e is a w ell-k n o w n w riter both in B rita in and on th e C o n tin e n t.
I t is p e rh a p s u n d e rsta n d a b le , th e n , th a t th e use o f co rrelativ es w ith m o re

th a n tw o co n jo in s is ju d g e d if a n y th in g a m o re obvious stylistic ‘f a u lt’ in [6],
w h ere th e c o n jo in s a re n o u n p h ra ses, th a n in [1], w here they a re n o t:
?*B oth h e r m o th e r, h e r fa th e r, a n d h er b ro th e r are still alive. [6]
A lth o u g h co m m o n ly stig m atized , m u ltip le co rrelativ es such as [1 - 3 ] c a n a d d

c la rity to co n stru ctio n s w hose co m p lex ity m ig h t otherw ise c au se c o n fu sio n .
F o r th is reaso n , su ch c o n stru ctio n s are som etim es used e v en in c a re fu l
w ritte n E n g lish , eg in th e ru b ric o f a n ex am in atio n p a p er:
C a n d id a te s a re re q u ire d to a n sw er e it h e r Q uestion 1 o r Q u e stio n 2 o r

Q u estio n s 3 a n d 4.
940 Coordina tion
13.40 G ra m m a tic a l tra d itio n also holds th a t c o rrelativ e c o o rd in a to rs sh o u ld

in tro d u c e c o n stitu e n ts o f eq u iv alen t fu n c tio n a n d statu s. (T h is reflects a
g e n e ra l c o n stra in t th a t th e conjoins o f a c o o rd in a te c o n stru ctio n m u st be
e q u iv a le n t; c f 13.88.) H e n ce in w ritte n E n g lish [ la ] is p referred to [lb ], a n d
[2a] t o [2b]:
f ? E velyn is either [stupid], or [p reten d s t h a t sh e is]. [1 a]

| E ith er [E v ely n is stupid], or [she p re te n d s t h a t sh e is]. [lb ]
f ?I ad m ire both [the d raw in g s o f R e m b ra n d t] a n d [of R ubens]. [2a]

| I ad m ire both [the d raw in g s o f R e m b ra n d t] a n d [those o f R ubens], [2b]
T h e b ra c k e te d p o rtio n s o f th e above sen ten ces a re th e conjoins w h ich a re

m a rk e d off by th e correlativ es. T h e co n jo in s a re co m p a rab le u n its in [lb ]
(w h e re they a re w h o le clauses) an d [2b] (w h ere th ey are n o u n p h rases), b u t
n o t i n [la ] a n d [2a],
W ith both . . . a n d a n d either . . . or, th e c o n stra in t th a t th e co n jo in s
d e lim ite d by th e c o rre lativ es should b e c o n stitu e n ts o f th e sam e k in d o f sta tu s
is freq u en tly v io la ted in speech, b u t is g en erally o b serv ed in carefu l w ritte n
E n g lish . W ith neither . . . nor, as w e saw in 13.37/, th e c o n stra in t is m o re
freq u e n tly ig n o red , b ecau se th ere is a ten d e n c y to tre a t nor as a n a d v e rb (w ith
su b je c t-o p e ra to r in v e rs io n ; </18.24) ra th e r th a n a s a co o rd in ato r.
13.41 A f u rth e r re stric tio n o n co rrelativ es is th a t th e first c o rrelativ e w o rd both,

either, etc can o c c u r o nly a t a p o in t w h ich is th e b eg in n in g o f a p h ra se. H e n ce
in th e follow ing ex am p les, th e [a] sen ten c e is a ccep tab le, w h e rea s th e [b]
se n ten c e is not':
)
/ T h e b u ild in g is both [very old] a n d [very decrep it], [la ]
\ * T h e b u ild in g is v ery both [old] a n d [decrepit], [lb ]
T h e c ar’s d isa p p o in tin g p erfo rm an ce is d u e to either [faulty

steering] or [faulty suspension]. [2a]
" * T h e c ar’s d isa p p o in tin g p erfo rm an ce is d u e to faulty either
[steering] o r [suspension], \ [2b]
(A g a in the c o n jo in s a re m ark e d b y sq u a re b rack ets.) T h e u n a c c e p ta b le

fe atu re o f [lb ] a n d [2b] is th e p lac em e n t o f th e in itial co o rd in a to r b e tw ee n
th e m odifier a n d th e h ead , ra th e r th a n a t th e b eg in n in g o f th e p h ra se. T o
a v o id this, we c a n p lace (as in [la ] a n d [2a]) th e co o rd in a to r in fro n t o f th e
m odifier, an d re p e a t th e m odifier in th e seco n d conjoin. T h is re stric tio n
m ea n s th at th e a m b ig u ity o f o ld m en a n d women ( c f 13.67) c a n n o t o c cu r w ith
a c o rrelativ e su c h a s both . . . and.
N o t (o n ly ) .... b u t
13.42 T h e n e g ato r n o t/n ’t o r th e c o m b in a tio n n o t/n ’t only m ay b e c o rre lativ e w ith a
follow ing but:
H e d idn’t c o m e to help , but to h in d e r us.

T h ey not o n ly b ro k e in to h is office a n d stole h is books, b ut (they) (also)
tore up h is m an u scrip ts.
Coordination of clause constituents 941
T h e re p u d ia to ry m e a n in g o i n o t j n 't . . .b u t h a s a lread y b een n o ted (c /1 3 .3 2 ).

T h e m ea n in g o f not only . . . b u t is essentially a d d itiv e, lik e th a t o f both . . .
a n d : it d istin g u ish es ra th e r th a n eq u ates th e conjoins, forcing us to lo o k a t
th e first co n jo in as ‘g iv e n ’ g ro u n d . B ut w ith not only . . ■b u t th e e m p h a sis is
g reater, suggesting th a t th e c o n te n t o f th e first clau se is su rp risin g , an d t h a t
th a t o f th e seco n d clau se, o fte n rein fo rced by a n a d v e rb such as also o r even,
is still m o re su rp risin g . W h a t p a rticu larly m ak es th ese co m b in a tio n s re sem b le
co rrelativ es is th e o p tio n o f m o v in g the n eg ativ e p a rtic le o u t o f its n o rm a l
p o sitio n follow ing th e o p e ra to r, so as to m ark th e p a ralle lism b etw een th e
tw o co n jo in s:
N o t [H enry], but [his w ife] is th e ow ner. [1]

H e c am e not [to help], b u t [to h in d er us]. [2]
N o t only [did th ey b re a k in to h is office a n d steal h is books], but
[they also to re u p h is m an u scrip ts]. [3]
T h e m o re d ra m a tic effect a ch iev e d by p o sitio n in g not only in itially , w ith

su b je c t-o p e ra to r in v ersio n ( c f 18.24), is illu strated b y [3], w h ere th e tw o
co n jo in s are e n tire clauses.
N o te [a] T h e not . . . b u t . . . co n stru c tio n freq u en tly occurs in a cleft sen te n ce (c /T 8 .2 6 /f): I t isn 't th e
players, but th e supporters, that are responsible fo r football hooliganism.
[b] T h e co rrelativ es {just) a s . . . so, w h ich h a v e an em p h atic effect sim ila r to th a t o f not o n l y . . .
but (also), a re co rrelativ e su b o rd in a to rs ra th e r th a n co rrelativ e co o rd in a to rs ( c f 14.13):
Ju st a s th ey m u st p u t asid e th e ir prejudices, so vie m u st b e p re p a re d to a c c e p t th e ir good
faith .
C f also th e co rrelativ es r a th e r . . . th an a n d not so m u c h . . . a s (13.103, 15.52).
[c] O n ce not is m oved o u t o f its p o st-o p e ra to r p o sition, as in [ 1 - 3 ] ab o v e , it c a n n o t o f co u rse
o cc u r in its en clitic form .
[d] T h e re is a ty p e o f rep u d ia to ry c o o rd in atio n a n d n o t . . . in w h ic h th e relatio n b etw e en th e
clauses is th e rev erse o f t h a t o f n o t . . . but d escrib ed a b o v e : H e cam e to help, a n d not to hinde r us.
In th is ty p e, w h ere th e n eg a tiv e o cc u rs in th e second conjoin, a re p u d iato ry force can also be
expressed asynd etically , by o m ittin g th e co o rd in ato r: H e cam e to help, not to hinder us.
Coordination of clause constituents
13.43 A lth o u g h w e re g ard e d th e c lau se as th e m o st a p p ro p ria te u n it to s ta rt w ith in

co n sid erin g th e u se o f c o o rd in a to rs ( c f 13, 20 ) , th e ex em p lificatio n o f
co rrelativ es in 13 . 3 3 - 4 2 h a s show n th a t th e co n jo in s o f a c o o rd in a te
c o n stru ctio n in m an y in sta n c e s a re, a n d in som e in stan c es h a v e to be, s m a lle r
th a n a clause. I n th e follow ing sections w e d eal in d e ta il w ith single clau ses
o r clause c o n stitu e n ts w h ic h m ay b e c o o rd in ated by m ea n s o f and, or, o r but.
W e w ill call th is u su al k in d o f c o o rd in atio n s i m p l e C O O R D IN A T IO N , a n d w ill
d istin g u ish it fro m less stra ig h tfo rw a rd a n d less c o m m o n types o f c o o rd in a
tio n , viz c o m p l e x c o o r d i n a t i o n o r c o o rd in a tio n o f g ro u p s o f c o n stitu e n ts ( c f
13 . 9 0 - 93 ) , a n d a p p e n d e d c o o r d i n a t i o n ( c/ 13. 94 ) . F o r th e p u rp o se o f sim p le
c o o rd in a tio n , a co n jo in m ay be an y c o n stitu en t such a s a p re d ic ate , a

p re d ic a tio n , a p h ra se , o r a w ord. T h e im p o rta n t p o in t, h o w ev er, is th a t the
c o n jo in s o f e ac h c o n stru c tio n a re p arallel to o n e a n o th e r in m ean in g ,
fu n c tio n , a n d also (generally) in fo rm (c/2 .1 2 ).
Ellipsis and sim ple coordination

13.44 T h e re a re tw o d ifferen t w ay s o f ex am in in g sim ple c o o rd in a tio n o f clause
c o n s titu e n ts . O n th e one h a n d , w e m ay ex am in e a co n stru ctio n as a n ellip tical
v e rsio n o f clau se c o o rd in a tio n , n o tin g w h a t elem ents are e llip te d ; a n d o n th e
o th e r h a n d , we m ay ex am in e th e co n stru ctio n in term s o f th e conjoins
th e m se lv e s - viz th e e lem en ts w h ich a re left in tact. T h ese tw o d ifferen t
a p p ro a c h e s are reflected in d ifferen t p rin cip les o f analysis. F o r e x am p le, th e
c o o rd in a te c o n stru c tio n i n :
T h e y h av e a lre ad y [finished th e ir w ork] a n d A [gone hom e], [1]
c a n b e v iew ed as a clau se c o o rd in a tio n in w hich a subject, o p e ra to r, an d

a d v e rb ia l h a v e b e e n e llip te d ; o r it c a n be view ed as a single c lau se c o n ta in in g
tw o c o o rd in a te p re d ic a tio n s. F o r sim p le co o rd in atio n (th o u g h less so for
o th e r k in d s o f c o o rd in a tio n ) th e re are ad v an tag e s in a d o p tin g th e la tte r
m e th o d a s th e m a jo r o n e (c f esp ecially 13.47, 13.60). T h u s in [1] w e shall be
in te re s te d in th e fa c t th a t th e co n jo in s (m ark ed here, a n d in su b seq u e n t
e x am p les, b y s q u a re b ra ck e ts) are p re d ic atio n s, a n d less in te re s te d in w h a t
e le m e n ts h a v e b e e n o m itted a t th e p o in t m ark e d by th e sy m b o l A.
N o te W e re g a rd ellip sis a s a relatio n o f sy stem a tic co rresp o n d en ce (c /2 .2 0 ) b e tw e e n sen ten ces. W e

th e re fo re d o n o t c o n s id e r th e e x p la n a tio n s o f [1 ] in te rm s o f ellipsis an d in te rm s o f co o rd in atio n
o f c la u se c o n s titu e n ts a s in c o m p e titio n w ith on e an o th er. R ath er, th e y a re c o m p lem en tary
a c c o u n ts : o n e fo cu sin g o n s en te n ce stru c tu re , a n d th e o th e r o n in tersen ten tial relatio n s (c/2 .2 0 ,
2.46). ;
L im its o f ellipsis
13.45 N o t a ll c ases o f c o o rd in a tio n c a n b e ex p lain ed in term s o f ellip sis. A lth o u g h
[1] in 13.44 co u ld b e e x p a n d e d in to :
T h e y have already fin ish ed th e ir w o rk a n d they have already gone

hom e. [la ]
a sim ila r e x p a n s io n could n o t b e a tte m p te d fo r such cases a s :
M a n y you n g w ives [go to w ork] a n d [put th e ir ch ild ren in a

p lay g ro u p ]. [2]
I h a v e n e v e r g ro w n [ap p les] or [pears]. [3]
T h e n a tio n a l flag o f J a p a n is [red] a n d [w hite], [4]
[M y sister] a n d [her h u sb a n d ] live in T ex as. [5]
[Y o u r house] a n d [m ine] a re sim ila r (to each other). [6]
In th e first p lace, [2] c a n n o t b e seen as a n e llip tical v ersion o f:
M a n y y o u n g w ives go to w o rk , a n d m an y young w ives p u t th e ir

c h ild re n in a p lay g ro u p . [7]
since [2] h a s a d iffere n t m e a n in g fro m [7], T h e sam e a p p lie s if w e try to

e x p an d [3] to :
I h a v e n e v e r g ro w n ap p les o r I have n ev er g ro w n p ears. [8]
T h e lac k o f synonym y, in th ese tw o exam ples, c a n be ex p lain ed in term s o f

scope ( c f 2 .5 5 ff): th e scope o f th e q u an tifier m any includes and in [2] b u t n o t
in [7]; sim ilarly , th e scope o f th e n eg ativ e w ord never includes or in [3] b u t
n o t in [8].
I t is fo r a s e m a n tic reason, too, th a t [4] c an n o t b e reg ard ed as a re d u ctio n
o f the self-co n trad ic to ry s e n te n c e :
* T h e n a tio n a l flag o f J a p a n is red, an d th e n a tio n a l flag o f J a p a n is

w h ite. [9]
O n th e o th e r h a n d , it is g ra m m atica l con co rd th a t p re v en ts th e e x p an sio n o f

[ 5 ] in to :
*M y siste r liv e in T ex as a n d h e r h u sb a n d live in T ex as. [10]
13.46 T h e la s t e x am p le in 13.45 is a re m in d er th a t tw o o r m ore sin g u lar n o u n

p h rases, w h en c o o rd in a te d by and, beco m e p lu ral, a n d th erefo re re q u ire
c o n co rd w ith a p lu ral v erb ( c f 10.37). W ith [6] in 13.45 abo v e, th e difficulty
o f th e e x p la n a tio n o f c o o rd in a tio n by ellipsis is c o m p o u n d e d : n o t o nly d o es
g ra m m a tic a l c o n co rd fail in th e u n ellip tical version [6a], b u t also th e
re cip ro ca l p ro n o u n each other c a n n o t m a k e sense in th e absen ce o f a p lu ra l
noun p h ra se :
*Y o u r h o u se a re sim ila r (to e ac h o th er), an d m in e a re sim ilar (to

e a c h o th er). [6a]
T h is n o n se n sic al se n ten c e also illu strates th e m o re g en eral p o in t th a t, in

a d d itio n to each other, th ere is a w hole ran g e o f expressions (be similar, be
different, be the sam e, be in love, p la y chess, get married, etc) w hich, w h e n
p re d ic a te d o f a n o u n p h ra se c o o rd in ated by and, c a n be in te rp re te d in a
recip ro cal o r sy m m etric m a n n e r ( c f 13.60) :
M a rg o t a n d D e n n is a re in love. [11]
T h u s in o n e o b v io u s in te rp re ta tio n , [11] expresses a m u tu a l relatio n (‘. . . in

love w ith e ac h o th e r’) w h ich is n o t suggested by th e se n te n c e :
M a rg o t is in love a n d D e n n is is in love. [12]
W e r e tu rn to su ch differen ces u n d e r th e h e ad in g o f c o m b in ato ry a n d

seg reg ato ry c o o rd in a tio n ( c f 1 3 .5 9 -6 3 ), b u t fo r th e p re se n t w e sim ply n o te
th e p ro b lem s o f c o n co rd , m ea n in g , an d scope th a t arise w h en a g e n e ra l
a tte m p t is m a d e to in te rp re t c o n stitu e n t co o rd in a tio n in term s o f ellipsis.
' Sem an tic im plications o f co n stitu en t coordination

13.47 T h ese o b se rv atio n s, a n d o th ers, m ay b e looked a t from th e o p p o site p o in t o f
view - a s e v id en ce in fa v o u r o f reg ard in g sim p le co o rd in a tio n as w h a t it
a p p e a rs to b e o n th e su rface - viz as a fo rm atio n o f a c o m p o u n d u n it w h ic h
is fu n ctio n ally an alo g o u s to e ac h o f its co n jo in ed m em b ers. T o u n d e rsta n d
th e v e rb p h ra se c o o rd in a tio n o f P eter washed a n d dried the dishes, fo r ex am p le,
w e d o n o t h a v e to p o stu late a ra th e r com plex ellipsis o f the o b ject in th e first
clause a n d th e su b ject in th e seco n d :
944 C o ordination
P e te r w ash ed (th e dishes) an d (P eter) d rie d th e dishes.
b u t in s te a d can tre a t washed and dried in [1] below as a v e rb elem en t

fu n c tio n a lly c o m p a rab le to washed in [2] a n d dried in [3]:
S u b je c t V erb O b je ct
P e te r w ashed and dried th e d ish e s [1]

P e te r w ashed th e d ish e s [2]
P e te r dried th e d ish e s [3]
T h is an aly sis is stre n g th e n ed by the fa ct th a t in [1] washed a n d dried is

ty p ic a lly in te rp re te d a s a single co m b in ed a c tiv ity (W h a t are y o u doing to the
d ish e s? I'm washing a n d drying them ), ra th e r th a n as tw o se p a ra te activ ities.
A f u r th e r ex am p le, th is tim e o f v erb -w o rd s c o o rd in a te d to fo rm a single
v e r b p h ra s e o f com plex co n stru ctio n , sh o w s th e sam e p rin cip le a t w o rk a t a
lo w e r lev el in the h ie ra rc h y o f g ram m atical u n i ts :
A d a m is checking a n d revising his m a n u s c rip t. [4]
T h e r e is, in o th e r w ords, a close c o rre sp o n d e n c e b etw een th e stru c tu ra l

a s p e c t o f c o o rd in a tio n a n d th e sem an tic a sp e c t w h ic h acc o m p a n ies it. T h is
m a tc h in g o f m ea n in g to fo rm applies m o re strik in g ly in cases w h ere th e
d iffe re n c e o f m ea n in g b etw een clause c o o rd in a tio n a n d co n stitu e n t c o o rd i
n a tio n is m o re ob v io u s, as in q uestions w ith c o o rd in a te d p re d ic a tio n s :
D id P e te r [tell lies] a n d [h u rt his frien d s]?
T h is is a single q u e stio n a b o u t tw o ev en ts in c o m b in a tio n ; b u t :
[D id P e te r tell lies], a n d [did h e h u rt h is frien d s]?
is in te rp re te d as tw o s e p a ra te questions. S im ila rly :
D id J o h n [b reak th e w indow ] but [refuse to p a y fo r it]?
is a sin g le q u estio n a b o u t Jo h n ’s p a st b e h av io u r, w h ich m ay be an sw ered y e s

o r no. B u t in this c ase a c o rresp o n d in g e x am p le o f clau se c o o rd in a tio n w ould
b e im p o ssib le, ^because th ere is n o in tellig ib le w ay in w h ich but c a n serv e as
a l in k b e tw ee n tw o q u e s tio n s : '
* D id J o h n b re ak th e w indow , but d id h e re fu se to p a y fo r it?
T h is d ifferen ce m ay be ex p lain ed in term s o f th e scope o f in te rro g a tio n ( c f
N o te I n s im ila r questions c o n ta in in g or, th e re is a n a m b ig u ity , signalled by in to n a tio n , b etw e en

in te r p r e ta tio n as an o rd in a ry y e s-n o question an d a s a n alte rn a tiv e q u estio n ( c / 1 1 .2 0 -2 1 ):
D id y o u [ p la y f o o tb a ll] or (g o f o r a w F l k ] ?
D id y o u [ p la y FO OTball] o r [g o f o r a w F l k ] ?
O n ly in th e la tte r case c a n th e sen ten ce be ex p a n d ed in to a c o o rd in atio n o f tw o co m p lete clau ses:
[D id you play F6oTball] or [did you go for a w F l k ] ?
13.48 T h e re is a sim ilar im p lica tio n o f co m b in ed p ro cess w h en th e tw o co n jo in ed

p re d ic a tio n s are w ith in th e scope o f n e g atio n (c/1 3 .4 5 ). F o r e x a m p le :
Jo h n D i D n ’t [ b r e a k t h e w in d o w ] b u t [ r e f u s e t o p a y f o r it]. [i]
T h is is a d en ial o f th e sta te m e n t:
Jo h n [b ro k e th e w indow ] b ut [refused to p ay for it]. [2]
A s a n e g atio n o f a co m b in ed p ro cess, [1] could evoke th e re to rt Y es, he d id .

O n th e o th e r h a n d , tw o se p a ra te p ro cesses are expressed by th e clau se a n d
p re d ic ate co o rd in a tio n s o f [3] a n d [4], an d th e scope o f n e g a tio n in th e first
co n jo in does n o t ex te n d to th e seco n d c o n jo in :
Jo h n d id n ’t b re a k th e w indow , b u t he offered to p ay fo r it. [3]

Jo h n d id n ’t b re a k th e w indow , b u t he refused to p ay for it. [4]
[ = ‘T h e cla im is not th a t J o h n b ro k e th e w indow , b ut th a t he
refu sed to p a y fo r its re p a ir.’]
C learly [4] c a n n o t b e re g ard ed as a se m an tically -eq u iv alen t u n re d u c e d

v ersio n o f [1].
T h e re is a sim ila r effect o f n e g atio n in th e slogan D on't d rin k a n d drive, t h e
force o f w h ic h is n o t to fo rb id e ith e r activ ity , b u t only to fo rb id b o th in
c o m b in a tio n . T h is d irec tiv e th ere fo re h a s a different m ea n in g fro m th e m o re
sev ere p ro h ib itio n : D on't drink a n d d o n ’t drive.
13.49 T h e re is n o d o u b t th a t ellipsis is im p o rta n t to th e u n d e rsta n d in g o f

c o o rd in a tio n , p a rtic u la rly w ith re sp ec t to m ea n in g an d style. B u t in th e first
in stan c e, th e re is m o re to b e g a in e d fro m a p u rely stru c tu ra l v iew o f
c o o rd in a tio n . T h is m ea n s th a t w e re g ard co o rd in a tio n as a ty p e o f lin k a g e
w h ereb y th e re su ltin g c o n j o i n t co n stru ctio n is e q u iv a len t, stru c tu ra lly
sp e ak in g , to e a c h o f its m em b ers. F o r ex am p le, a n o u n p h ra se m a y a c t a s
su b ject o f a cla u se ; a n d likew ise, a co o rd in a te d co n stru ctio n (o r c o n j o i n t
n o u n p h r Fs e ) w h o se co n jo in s a re n o u n p h rases m ay also a c t a s su b je ct.
E q u ally , if a n ad je ctiv e m ay a c t as h e ad o f a n ad jectiv e p h ra se , th e n a

c o o rd in a te d c o n stru ctio n w hose c o n jo in s are adjectives m ay also a c t as h e a d
o f a n a d jectiv e p h ra se. I n m o re fo rm u laic te r m s :
I f [A], [ B ],. . . a re c o n jo in s o f th e c o n jo in t c o n stru ctio n X , th e n an y

stru c tu ra l fu n c tio n w h ich m a y b e ta k e n in d iv id u ally b y [A ] o r [B] o r
. . . m ay also b e ta k e n b y X.
T h is g e n era liz atio n ap p lie s to all cases o f sim p le c o o rd in a tio n , a n d a f te r

slight ex te n sio n will also a p p ly to o th e r cases o f co o rd in atio n .
N o te [a] T h e g en e ra liz atio n ab o v e should n o t b e u n d ersto o d to deny th a t th e priv ileg e o f o c c u rre n c e

o f X m ay b e d iffe re n t fro m th o se o f [A ], [ B ] ,. . . w ith reg ard to co n c o rd ; e g [A ] m a y b e sin g u la r,
an d X m a y b e p lu ra l, a s in [John] a n d [M a r y ] a re fr ie n d s { c f 13.46).
[b] A p a rt fro m co o rd in a tio n , th e re a re o th e r types o f c o n stru c tio n fo r w h ic h th e w h o le
c o n stru c tio n h as th e sam e p rivilege o f o cc u rre n ce a s its m e m b ers; e g som e ty p e s o f a p p o sitio n
( c /1 7 .6 5 /):
W e h a v e b een in v ited to m e et th e Principal, M rs Joyce.
946 C o ordina tion
Type s of simple coordination
C o o rd in a tio n o f clauses
13.50 W e h a v e a lre ad y illu stra te d th e c o o rd in atio n o f co m p lete in d e p e n d e n t
c la u se s:
[T h e w in ter h ad co m e a t last], a n d [snow lay th ic k o n th e ground].
[W h o are you], and [w here d o you live]?
[H a v e a look at th e engine], b u t [d o n ’t tak e it to pieces].
D e p e n d e n t clauses m ay also be c o o rd in a te d , so long as th ey b elo n g to the

sa m e fu n c tio n c la s s :
I f y o u pa ss the exam ination a n d ( i f ) no one else applies, you a re

b o u n d to g et th e jo b .
[COORDINATE ADVERBIAL CLAUSES] [1]
T h e M in iste r b elieves th a t the economy is improving, an d (that)
unem ploym ent will soon decrease.
[COORDINATE NOMINAL T H A T-CLAUSES] [2]
I d id n ’t k n o w who she was, o r w hat she wanted.
[COORDINATE NOMINAL !W/-CLAUSES] [3]
S o m eo n e who know s the area, b u t whose hom e is outside it, is m o re
lik ely to b e a successful re p re se n tativ e.
[c o o rd in a te r e la tiv e c la u s e s ] [4]
In [ 1 - 2 ] , th e re p e titio n o f th e in tro d u c to ry su b o rd in a to r could b e a v o id e d by

e llip sis o f th e seco n d s u b o rd in a to r. H o w ev er, a g ain st th e p rin c ip le o f ‘red u ce
w h e re p o ssib le ’ m u st b e set th e o p p o site ten d en cy to av o id ellip sis w h ere it
lea d s to a m b ig u ity . I t is m o re likely t h a t th e second i f w ould b e o m itte d in [1]
th a n th e secojnd that in [2], b ecau se in [2] th e sen ten ce w ould b e am b ig u o u s,
th e s e c o n d c o n jo in . . . a n d unem ploym ent will soon decrease b ein g in te rp re ta b le
as a m a in clause.
N o n fin ite d e p e n d e n t c lau ses ( c /1 4 .6 - 8 ) m ay also be c o o rd in a te d :
I ’v e a sk e d h im to come this evening, o r (to) phone us tomorrow.

[COORDINATE ro-INFINITIVE CLAUSES] [5]
S a m a n th a is fo n d o f w orking a t night a n d getting up late
in the morning.
[ c o o r d i n a t e -i n g p a r t i c i p l e c l a u s e s ] [6 ]
A ll th e villagers h elp ed to re b u ild th e h ouses dam aged b y the storm

o r w ashed aw ay b y the flo o d s.
[ c o o r d in a te -e d p a r tic ip le c la u s e s ] [7]
A g a in , if th e in itia l s u b o rd in a tin g w o rd (such as th e to in [5]) is c o m m o n to

b o th clauses, it m ay b e o m itte d in th e second a n d su b seq u e n t o c cu rren ces. A
final c ateg o ry to be illu stra te d is th a t o f co o rd in a te verbless clau ses ( c / 1 4 .9 ,
1 5 .6 0 ):
W ith George ill a n d (w ith) the children a t home, Je n n y is fin d in g life

v ery difficult.
Ty p e s o f sim ple coordination 947
13.51 A s n o ted e a rlie r ( c f 13.47, 13.49), th e m em b ers o f c o o rd in ate c o n stru ctio n s

te n d to be p a ralle l b o th in th e ir stru ctu re an d in th e ir m ean in g . It is th ere fo re
q u ite usual fo r c o o rd in a te su b o rd in ate clauses to b elong to th e sam e s e m a n tic
as w ell as fu n c tio n a l categ o ry , o r to share th e sam e su b o rd in ato r (as in [ I -
2]). C o n v ersely , it is u n u su al for ad v erb ial clauses to b e co o rd in ated if th e y
b elo n g to d ifferen t c ateg o rie s, such a s those o f tim e a n d p lace ( c /8 .2 /1'). T h e
follow ing are th e re fo re u n u s u a l:
In order th a t y o u m a y subm it a claim without delay a n d because y o u d id

not receive the fo r m we sent earlier, I suggest th a t you w rite ag ain
giv in g th e fu llest details.
T h e book w ill b e d isp a tc h e d as soon as the p a ym en t is received an d unless
the order is cancelled.
W hen the p a le su n rose briefly over the horizon, a n d wherever they looked,
th e d e se rt o f ice seem ed to stre tc h o u t to infinity.
A p re fe rre d c o n stru c tio n in th e last case w ould be o n e in w hich th e tw o

clauses fu n ctio n ed a s a d v e rb ia ls o f th e sam e clau se, b u t in d ifferen t p o sitio n s,
a n d w ith o u t b e in g c o o rd in a te d :
W hen the p a le sun rose briefly over the horizon, th e d esert o f ice seem ed to
stre tc h o u t to in fin ity wherever they looked.
O n th e o th e r h a n d wA-clauses in tro d u ced by d ifferen t tvA-words, such as th o se

o f 13.50 [3], c a n b e c o o rd in a te d w ith relativ e ease.
I t is scarcely a c c e p ta b le fo r d ifferent ty p es o f n onfinite clause to b e
co o rd in a te d , o r fo r fin ite d e p e n d e n t clauses to b e c o o rd in ated w ith n o n fin ite
clauses, even w h e re th e re is a stro n g se m an tic affinity b etw een th e tw o
clauses. O ccasio n al e x am p les such as the follow ing o ccu r:
T h e e m p ress, nearing her death a n d surrounded by doctors and

necromancers, w as n o longer in c o n tro l o f h er m in isters.
T h e cu rfew bell ra n g a t su n set every e v en in g , to warn the citizens that it
was tim e fo r bed, a n d so that secret defensive m easures could be taken b y
the arm y.
B u t it seem s im p o ssib le , for ex am p le, to co o rd in a te a n o m in al infinitive w ith

a n -ing c la u se :
* G eorge lik es going to the races a n d to bet on the horses.
N o r is it n o rm al to c o o rd in a te a p o stm o d ify in g relativ e clause w ith a p o st

m o d ify in g n o n fin ite c la u s e :
?C h arles w as lo n g in g to ta lk to th e girl sitting in the corner an d who had

sm iled a t him.
In ste a d o f su ch h y b rid c o o rd in atio n s, m ean s have to be found to p reserv e

eq u iv alen ce o f b o th th e fo rm a n d fu n ctio n o f th e co n jo in s:
C h arles w as lo n g in g to ta lk to th e girl who was sitting in the corner a n d

who h a d sm ile d a t him.
o r else we h a v e to ju x ta p o se th e m odifiers w ith o u t c o o rd in atio n , th u s

in clu d in g th e first m o d ifier in th e scope o f th e s e c o n d :
C h a r le s w as lon g in g to ta lk to the girl sitting in the com er who had sm iled

a t h i m .( = [[the g irl sittin g in th e corner] w h o h a d sm iled a t him ])
N o te [a] W h e n c lau ses a r e conjoined, th e n o n in itia l conjoins o fte n c o n ta in g en e ra l ellipsis o f th e

k in d s d e a lt w ith in 1 2 .5 9 -6 5 :
[B o b seem ed an gry], and [E va certainly w as A],
[ M a r y ’s p a re n ts d id th e ir best to pro te ct her], but [[she w ished th a t th e y w o u ld n ’t A], a n d
[finally sh e ask e d th e m n o t to A]].
T h is d o e s n o t affect th e statu s o f th e conjoins as clauses (c f also a p p e n d e d co o rd in atio n , 13.94).
[b] O n th e c o o rd in a tio n o f su b o rd in ato rs ( i f a n d when , when a n d where, etc) c / 1 3.83.
C o o rd in a tio n of predicates
13.52 I n c o o r d in a tio n o f p re d ic ate s (c/2 .4 7 ), w hich is very c o m m o n , th e c o n jo in ed
p r e d ic a te s m ay b e d esc rib e d as sh arin g th e sam e su b ject:
P e te r a re the fr u it a n d d ra n k the beer. [ 1]

I s e n d y o u m y very best wishes, a n d look fo rw a rd to our n e xt
m eeting. [2]
M a r g a r e t is ill, b u t will soon recover. [3]
T h e p re d ic a te s m ay , o f course, have v aried stru c tu re s in term s o f clause

e le m en ts. F o r e x am p le, [1] a n d [2] have stru ctu res w h ic h c a n b e re p resen ted
as fo llo w s :
[1]: S [V O ] a n d [V O] [2]: S [V O, O d] a n d [V A A]
S u ch s e n te n c e s m ay be seen as elliptical a lte rn ativ es to c o o rd in a te d clauses,

for e x a m p le :
P e te r a te the fr u it, a n d P eterjhe drank the beer. [la ]
B ut, o n th e w h o le, re p e titio n o f th e subject is a v o id e d w h ere possible. In

o th e r c a s e s ( c f 1 3 .4 5 /), n o ellip tical e x p la n atio n o f th e se n ten c e is p o ss ib le :
T w o you h g m e n a te th e fru it an d (also) d ra n k th e b eer. [4]
[y4 T w o y o u n g m en a te th e fru it, an d tw o you n g m e n d ra n k th e beer]
T h is is b e ca u se fo r c o o rd in a tio n o f tw o p re d ic ate s to ta k e p lac e, th e su b ject

o f th e o n e p re d ic a te m u st be c o referen tial w ith th e su b je ct o f th e o th er. T h u s
[4] is sy n o n y n io u s w ith th e sen ten ce w h ich differs fro m it o nly in th a t a
c o re fe re n tia l they is in se rte d before th e second v e r b :
T w o y o u n g m e n a te th e fru it a n d they (also) d ra n k th e b eer. [4a]
N o te [a] I t is c o m m o n to in se rt a co m m a (or oth e r p u n ctu atio n ) befo re th e c o o rd in a to r in conjoined

clauses, b u t it is m u c h less co m m o n to in sert a co m m a befo re th e c o o rd in a to r in conjoined
p re d ic a te s. H e n c e [1] ab o v e is w ritte n w ith no co m m a, w h ereas in [ la ] th e co m m a is in serted ,
(T h e c o m m a s in se rte d in [2] a n d [3] a re o p tio n al ;< /A p p I I I .7.) T h is c h a ra c te ris tic d ifferen ce is
on e sig n o f th e g re a te r coh esiv en ess o f th e coord in ated p re d ic a te : so m e th in g w h ich acco rd s w ith
th e v ie w t h a t th e m a jo r c o n stitu e n t bou n d ary in su ch cases is b etw een th e su b jec t an d a co n jo in t
p re d ic a te , ra th e r th a n b etw een th e en d o f on e clause a n d th e b e g in n in g o f an o th e r. P u ttin g it
m o re sim p ly , w e m a y say th a t in [la ] th e re are tw o clauses, w hile in [I] th e re is o n e clause w ith a
c o n jo in t p re d ic a te ; th is is show n in F ig 13.52 opposite. T h is co n stitu e n t-stru c tu re a c c o u n t o f
p re d ic a te c o o rd in a tio n d o es n o t, o f course, p rev en t the p o stu la tio n o f ellip sis w h ere c r ite r ia ( c f
1 2 .3 2 -3 8 ) o f ellip sis a p p ly ; c f 13.44 N ote.
[b] T h e d is tin c tio n betw een co o rd in ate pred icates a n d o th e r c o o rd in a te co n stru c tio n s is
so m etim e s n e u tra liz e d . In th e c o o rd in atio n o f im p erativ e clau ses, e g : S il dow n an d listen to this,
Ty p e s of sim ple coordination 949
[1] C lause [ la ]
S u b je c t P r e d ic a te and P r e d ic a te C la u se and C la u se
f i g 13.52 S u b je c t P re d ic a te S u b je c t P r e d ic a te
w h ere th e re is n o o v ert su b ject, th is c o n stru c tio n could be equally described a s a c o o rd in a tio n

e ith e r o f clauses o r o f p red icate s. (C o n tra st th e im p erativ e w ith a su b ject: You s it dow n a n d listen
(to this ) is likely to be on e clause w ith co o rd in a te p re d ic a te s, w hereas S it dow n a n d ju s t yo u listen
(to this ) h a s to be tw o co o rd in a te clau ses.) In M a r y skip p e d a n d ju m p ed , on th e o th e r h a n d , th e re
is a d iffe re n t ty p e o f n e u tra liz a tio n : th is ex a m p le could b e analysed as co n tain in g tw o co n jo in ed
p red icate s, skipped an d ju m p e d , o r alte rn a tiv e ly as co n ta in in g a sin gle p re d ic a te (skipped a n d
ju m p e d ) w ith in w h ich tw o v erb p h ra se s are conjoined. Y e t a th ird possibility is th a t skip p e d a n d
ju m p e d is a single v erb p h ra s e , w ith in w h ich th e m a in v erb s are conjoined. S im ila r a lte rn a tiv e
analyses arise w ith co o rd in atio n in relatio n to th e scope o f ad v erb ials (c /1 3 .5 4 -5 ).
C oordination of predications
13.53 C o o rd in a tio n o f p re d ic atio n s (c /2 .4 8 ), as o f p red icates, is very c o m m o n , a n d
o ften involves ellipsis. C o n sid e r th e follow ing exam ples:
M o st p eo p le w ill h av e read the book o r seen the film . [ 1]

T h ey sh o u ld h a v e w ashed the dishes, d rie d them , a n d p u t th em in
the cupboard. [2]
Y ou m u st ta ke the course a n d p a ss the exam ination. [3]
T h ey w ere m arried in 1960, b u t divorced in 1970. [4]
A re you working o r on holiday ? [5]
W h y c o u ld n ’t sh e havefin ish ed w ork la te a n d still be travelling h o m e ! [6]
In all cases it is po ssib le to re g ard th e au x iliary o r auxiliaries p re c e d in g th e

p re d ic a tio n as ellip ted . T h u s [1], a lth o u g h w e c an n o t reg ard it as e q u iv a le n t
to tw o c o o rd in a te d clauses, c a n be re g ard e d as a n ellip ted v ersio n o f p re d ic a te
M o st p eo p le w ill h av e re a d th e bo o k o r ((will) h ave) seen th e film . [ 1a]
A s w ith p re d ic ate c o o rd in a tio n itself, h o w ev er, th e m o st red u ced fo rm o f th e

sen ten ce will te n d to b e p re fe rre d ; h en ce th e om ission o f will have w ill b e
p re fe rre d in [la]. A s [2] show s, m o re th a n o n e auxiliary c an b e e llip te d in th e
seco n d a n d su b seq u e n t co n jo in s; a n d as [6] show s, it is also p o ssib le (th o u g h
rare) fo r th e c o o rd in a te d p re d ic a tio n s to c o n ta in au x iliaries. W h a t is n o t
p o ssib le, how ev er, is th e o m issio n o f a re p ea te d o p erato r c o m b in e d w ith th e
re aliz a tio n o f a re p ea te d o r co refe ren tial s u b je c t:
* You m u st ta k e th e course a n d y o u A p a ss th e ex am in atio n .

* A re yo u w o rk in g o r A yo u o n h oliday ?
T h is w ould n o lo n g er be a case o f sim p le co o rd in atio n , sin ce th e c o n jo in s

w ould co n sist o f tw o se p a ra te c o n stitu e n ts w h ich a re n o t c o co n stitu en ts o f a
larg e r c o n s titu e n t: viz su b ject a n d p re d ic a tio n (c f 13.90/).
N o te [a] F o r th e sam e reason, it is not po ssib le fo r th e seco n d o f tw o re p eated au x ilia ries to be ellip ted
w ith o u t th e ellipsis o f th e first:
'M o s t p e o p le w ill h a v e r e a d t h e b o o k o r w ill s e e n t h e film .
950 Coordina tion
[b] A s w ith c o o rd in a te clauses, so w ith co o rd in a te p red icate s an d predications, g en eral ellip sis
( c f 12.43) o fte n o cc u rs in a second o r su b se q u en t co n jo in o f th e co nstruction. In th e follow ing,
fo r e x a m p le , th e h e a d o f th e o b ject no u n p h ra s e is ellip ted in th e seco n d p re d ic a tio n :
W e w a n te d frie d fish, b u t w ere u n fo rtu n a tely giv en boiled A.
A n d in th e follow ing, m edial ellipsis ( c f \ 2.62) o cc u rs in th e second conjoin:
M y b ro th e r is usin g his c a r th is m o rn in g , a n d will be ^ ag a in this afternoon.
C o o rdin ation and the scope of adverbials

13.54 I n th e ty p es o f c o o rd in a tio n w e h a v e d iscu ssed , ad v erb ials, as m ore p e rip h e ra l
ele m e n ts o f th e clause ( c f 2.13), o fte n sta n d o u tsid e the stru c tu re o f
c o o r d in a tio n :
Yesterday [th e sun w as very w arm ] a n d [the ice m elted]. [1]
A lth o u g h th is ex am p le c an reaso n ab ly be called c o o rd in atio n o f clau ses, th e

in itia l a d v e rb ia l actu ally stan d s o u tsid e th e tw o conjoins, an d its m ea n in g
a p p lie s sim u ltan eo u sly to b o th o f th em . T h e stru ctu re o f th is sen ten ce m ay
b e re p re s e n te d : A [S V C ] + [S V]. J u s t as in 13.45 an d 13.47 w e n o ted th a t
c o o rd in a tio n c o u ld ta k e place w ith in th e sco p e o f in terro g atio n a n d n e g atio n ,
so here w e m ay sa y th a t th e tw o co n jo in s a re w ith in th e scope o f th e a d v erb ial
y esterd a y. T h e ro le o f yesterd a y in [1] is th ere fo re ra th e r different fro m th a t
w h ic h it h a s in th e follow ing:
[ Yesterday th e su n w as very w arm ] a n d [during the morning th e
ice m elted ], [2]
[ Yesterday th e su n w as very w a rm ] a n d [th e ice h as m elted]. [3]
In [2], th e a p p e a ra n c e o f a n a d v erb ial o f th e sam e sem an tic class in th e seco n d

clau se lim its th e scope o f th e first a d v erb ial. In [3], for reaso n s o f ten se a n d
a sp e c t ( c f 4.23), y esterd a y c a n n o t a p p ly to th e second clause, a n d so it is
re stric te d to th e first conjoin. T h e fo rm u lae fo r th ese tw o ex am p les a r e :
[2]: [A S V C ] + [A S V] [3]: [A S V C] + [S V]
T h ere is go o d re aso n fo r saying th a t in a clause w ith a n in itial a d v erb ial,

as in Yesterday th e sun was very warm , th e w hole o f th e clause in clu d in g a n d
follow ing th e Subject is in th e scope o f th e ad v erb ial. T h is is p a rtly on
se m an tic g ro u n d s, a n d p a rtly o n g ro u n d s o f p u n c tu a tio n an d p ro so d y : it is
n o tab le th a t i f a! p ro so d ic o r p u n c tu a tio n b o u n d a ry occurs in such a clau se, it
w ill n o rm ally b e lo ca ted b etw een th e a d v e rb ia l a n d the rest o f th e clause. T h e
re m a in d e r o f th e clau se, w h ich th ere b y b e co m es a co n stitu e n t in its o w n rig h t
(ra th e r th a n a se q u en ce o f subject a n d p re d ic a te ), m ay be term ed th e k e r n e l
o f th e clause. T h e ty p e o f c o o rd in a tio n illu stra te d by [1] is classified a s a
c o o rd in a tio n o f tw o clau se kern els. I t is less co m m o n for a c o o rd in a te
c o n stru ctio n to to m e w ith in th e scope o f a final a d v e rb ia l; eg th e a n aly sis o f:
T h e tra in a rriv e d a n d we m et o u r g u ests o n tim e. [4]
w ould be [S V] + [S V O A] (w here on tim e a p p lie s only to th e second clause),

ra th e r th a n [S V ] + [S V O] A.
N o te T h e second in te rp re ta tio n o f [4] could be o b ta in e d , h ow ever, if th e sen ten ce w ere a c a se o f

in terp o la ted c o o rd in a tio n ( c f 1 3 .9 5 -7 ), w ith in to n a tio n a l o r p u n ctu atio n al s ep aratio n o f th e
second conjoin:
T h e t r a i n arR iV E D , a n d w e m e t o u r g u e s t s , o n t i m e .
Type s of sim ple coordination 951
13.55 I t is m o re usual, h o w ev er, fo r a co o rd in ate c o n stru c tio n to be w ith in th e

scope o f a d v e rb ia ls w h e re th e conjoins are p re d ic ate s o r p re d ic atio n s; eg:
Unfortunately w e [m issed th e train ] a n d [h ad to w a it six hours]. [ 1]

T h e g u ests w ere [w alking], [talking], a n d [d rin k in g wine] in the
garden. [2]
In [1], a n ex am p le o f p re d ic a te co o rd in atio n , b o th th e m issing o f th e tr a in

a n d th e long w a it a re re g ard e d as unfortunate ; a n d in [2], a n ex am p le o f
p re d ic atio n c o o rd in a tio n , all th ree activ ities a re assu m ed to ta k e p lace in th e
garden. (T h ere is a n o th e r possible in te rp reta tio n o f [2], how ever, w h e reb y
only th e w in e -d rin k in g tak e s p lace in th e gard en .)
In th e follow ing m o re com plex exam ple o f p re d ic ate co o rd in atio n , th e
c o o rd in a tio n ta k e s p lac e w ith in th e scope o f th ree a d v erb ials; o n e in in itia l,
o n e in m ed ial, a n d o n e in final p o s itio n :
In those d a y s th e y o ften used to [shoot th e b irds], [b rin g th em

hom e], [cook th em ] a n d [eat them ] on a single day. [3]
A lth o u g h th e scope o f th e a d v erb ial on a single d a y is am b ig u o u s h e re,

p e rh a p s th e m o re lik ely in te rp re ta tio n is th e o n e in w h ich it ap p lies to a ll
fo u r actio n s, a s sh o w n b y th e sq u are b rack ets. B u t it is clear th a t th e in itia l
tim e a d v erb ial h a s w ith in its scope th e w hole o f th e re st o f th e sentence, a n d
th a t often in clu d es w ith in its scope th e w hole o f th e p re d ic ate w h ich follow s
it. T h ere fo re a re p re s e n ta tio n o f th e m ore likely in te rp re ta tio n o f th is
se n ten ce, w ith sq u a re b ra c k e ts m ark in g scope re latio n s a s w ell as th e
in d iv id u a l co n jo in s, is a s fo llo w s:
In th o se d ay s th e y [o ften used to [[shoot th e b ird s,] [bring th em hom e,]

[cook th em ] a n d [eat th em ] o n a single day]].
F o r a n e x am p le o f th is co m p lex ity , it is obvious th a t n o p o stu lated ellip tic al

co n jo in s could lead to a p lau sib le c o rresp o n d en ce w ith clause c o o rd in a tio n :
?In th o se d a y s th e y o fte n used to shoot th e b ird s o n a single day,

in th o se d a y s th e y o fte n used to b rin g th e m h o m e o n a single day,
in th o se d ay s th ey o fte n used to cook th em o n a single day, and
in th o se d ay s th ey o fte n used to e a t th em o n a single day.
Coordination o f noun phrases and their constituents
N o u n p h r a se c o o r d in a tio n
13.56 In all p o sitio n s w h ere a n o u n p h ra se occurs (eg as su b ject, object, co m p lem en t)
th e re is also th e p o ssib ility o f a co n ju n ctio n o f tw o o r m o re n o u n p h rases,
m ak in g u p a c o n j o i n t n o u n p h ra se ( c /2 .1 0 ,13.49):
[Som e o f th e staff), a n d Iall o f the students,] h a v e v o ted for these

ch an g es. [s u | j e c t ]
O n th is farm , th e y k e ep [cows,] [sheep,] [pigs,] a n d [a few

ch ick en s.] [o | j e c t ]
Lucy G o d w in is [a w ell-k n o w n b ro ad caster] a n d [w in n er o f the N o v e list

o f th e Y e a r A w a rd fo r 1978]. [s u | j e c t c o m p l e m e n t ]
952 Co ordina tion
T h e p la n w a s op p o sed by [F red erick ,] [M ary,] and

[m e]. [p r e p o s i t i o n F l c o m pl e m e n t ]
J a n e p lay s th re e in s tru m e n ts : [the p ian o ,] [the viola,] and [th e F re n c h

h orn]. [n o u n p h r F s e s i n F p p o s i t i o n ]
T h e s e e x am p les show h ow th e co n jo in ed n o u n p h ra ses m ay b e sim ple o r

co m p lex , a n d m a y h a v e a n o u n o r a p ro n o u n as th e ir h ead . In fact, th e
stru c tu ra l p o ssib ilities o f th e conjoins a re th e sam e as fo r in d iv id u al n o u n
p h ra se s ( c f 2.25). O n e o f th e im p licatio n s o f th is is th a t no u n p h rases in
c o o rd in a tio n m ay c o n ta in g en eral ellipsis o f th e k in d s discussed in 1 2 .5 4 -5 8 .
T h e first co n jo in will o fte n co n ta in th e a n te ce d e n t fo r ellipsis in su b seq u en t
c o n jo in s:
W h ic h d o you p r e f e r : [the red dress,] [the g reen A)] or [the w h ite A] ?

I t’s [th e lo n g est single-span bridge in th is country,] a n d [the second
lo n g est A in th e world].
T h a t m u st b e either [Jo h n ’s writing] or [B rid g et’s A] . :
T h e re ’s little to choose b etw een [th at method] a n d [th e o th e r A ].
N o te [a] W h e n o n e o f th e co n jo in s is a perso n al pro n o u n , it is co n sid ered p o lite to follow th e o r d e r o f

p la c in g 2 n d p erso n p ro n o u n s first, a n d (m o re im p o rtan tly ) 1st perso n p ro n o u n s la st: J ilt a n d I
(n o t I a n d Jill ) ; y o u a n d Jill, (n o t J ill a n d you), yo u , Jill, or m e (n o t m e, y o u , or Jilt), etc.
[b] A c o m p lic a tio n arise s if a n y o f th e co o rd in ated n o u n p h rases exem plified abo v e is ac
co m p an ied b y o n e o r m o re ad v e rb ia ls; eg:
f occasionally, 1
J a n e play s th re e in stru m e n ts: th e p ia n o , th e viola, a n d ] now and then, > th e F ren ch h o rn .
(la s t but not le a st,)
W e c a n th e n no lo n g e r, stric tly sp eak in g , ta lk o f n o u n p h ra se c o o rd in a tio n ; ra th e r, this falls in to
a ca teg o ry o f c om ple x coordination to be discussed in 13.90/?!
B u t a s a n o u n p h r a s e c o o r d in a to r
13.57 T h e use o f b ut a s a c o o rd in a to r b etw een n o u n p h ra se s is restricted . B u t is
seldom used in su b ject p o sitio n , ex cep t w h ere it h a s a re p u d iato ry fo rce
follow ing not, o r a n a d d itiv e force follow ing n ot o n ly :
N o t only [(he stu d en ts,] but [som e o f th e staff] h av e v oted for these
changed.
W e w ere d isa p p o in te d to lea rn th a t not [a th o u san d ,] nor [a h u n d red ,]
b u t [a m e re tw en ty -th ree] h a d tu rn e d u p for th e in au g u ral m eetin g .
E v en w ith th ese c o n stru ctio n s, how ever, a n o n su b ject p o sitio n is m u ch m o re

u s u a l:
1
T h ey a p p ja u d e d n o t th e p layers but th e referee.
C o o rd in a tio n o f n o u n p h ra ses b y but in a n o n su b je ct p o sitio n is also liab le to

o c cu r w h e n but is follow ed by th e ad v erb only, o r by th e clause su b s titu te not
(c /1 2 .2 8 ):
O n th is fh rm , they k eep [[cows] a n d [sheep,]] but [only

a few ch ick en s]. [1]
[T he p la n w a s o p p o sed by F red erick ], b ut [not M aria]. [2]
Strictly, th is la s t ex am p le is a g a in a case o f clause c o o rd in a tio n , n o t n o u n

Types of sim ple coordination 953
p h ra se c o o rd in atio n . E lsew h ere, but is freq u en tly in a p p ro p ria te as a p h ra se

co o rd in a to r:
*O n th is farm , th ey k eep cow s b ut sheep , a n d only a few ch ick en s.
W h en th e co n jo in t n o u n p h ra se follow s a p rep o sitio n , as in [2], it is o fte n

stylistically p referab le, for reaso n s o f parallelism a n d clarity , to re p ea t th e
p re p o sitio n , th ereb y re p la cin g a co n jo in t no u n p h ra se by a c o n jo in t
p re p o sitio n a l p h rase, as in [3]:
T h e p lan w as o p p o sed n ot [by F re d e ric k ] but [by M aria], [3]
N o te A n o th e r reaso n fo r rep ea tin g th e p re p o sitio n in [3] is th e odd ity o f p la cin g not b etw e en a
p rep o sitio n an d its co m p le m e n t: IT h e p la n was opposed b y not Frederick but M aria.
M u ltip le coordination o f noun phrases

13.58 In n o u n p h ra se c o o rd in a tio n , as in clause c o o rd in atio n ( c f 1 3 .1 6 /), w e h a v e
seen th a t it is possible to fo rm c o n stru ctio n s w h ich are o f m o re th a n tw o
co n jo in s:
She a sk ed m e to b u y [fo u r oran g es,] [a p o u n d o f plum s,] a n d [a m elon].
A sy n d etic c o o rd in a tio n ( c f 13.1) o f m o re th a n tw o n o u n p h ra se s is also

p o ss ib le :
W e h a d n o frien d s, n o fam ily , n o m a te ria l resources.
a n d n o u n p h rases m ay h a v e poly sy n d etic c o o rd in a tio n (w ith m o re th a n o n e

c o o rd in a to r ; c f 13.17):
S h e a sk ed m e to b u y [fo u r oran g es,] a n d [a p o u n d o f p lu m s,] a n d [a

m elon].
T h e re m ay also be, as in clause c o o rd in atio n , m o re th a n o n e level o f

co o rd in a tio n :
She a sk ed m e to b u y [fo u r oran g es,] a n d [[one larg e m elon] or [tw o

sm all ones]].
C om binatory and seg reg ato ry coordination o f noun phrases

13.59 W h en p h ra ses lin k e d by a n d fu n ctio n in th e clause, th ey m ay ex p ress
c o m | in t o r y
F o r s e g r e g t o r y m ean in g . C o m b in ato ry c o o rd in a tio n is
F
c o o rd in a tio n for w h ic h it is in a p p ro p ria te to p ro v id e a p a ra p h ra s e in te rm s

o f c o o rd in a te d clau ses; th is is b ecau se th e conjoins fu n ctio n ‘in c o m b in a tio n ’
w ith resp ect to th e rest o f th e clause. W h en p h ra se c o o rd in a tio n is seg reg ato ry ,
o n th e o th e r h an d , w e c a n p a ra p h ra se it by clause c o o rd in a tio n . T h e
d istin c tio n ap p lies to v a rio u s k in d s o f c o o rd in ate co n stru ctio n , b u t is c learest
w ith n o u n phrases. F o r e x a m p le :
[John] a n d [M ary] m a k e a p lea sa n t couple.

* Jo h n m ak e s a p le a sa n t couple, a n d M ary m ak e s a p lea sa n t
couple]
[John] a n d [M ary] k n o w th e answ er.
[ = Jo h n k now s th e a n sw e r, an d M ary know s th e a n sw er]
M a n y c o n jo in t n o u n p h ra ses are am b ig u o u s b etw een a c o m b in a to ry a n d a

se g re g a to ry in te rp re ta tio n :
[Jo h n ] a n d [M ary ] w o n a prize.
T h is m a y m e a n e ith e r (a) th a t J o h n a n d M a ry each w on a p rize, o r (b) th a t

th e p riz e w a s a w a rd e d jo in tly to th e m b o th . R ead in g (b), h o w ev er, is
p re fe rre d u n less th e in sertio n o f each m ak e s it c lear th a t re a d in g (a) is
in te n d e d . (O n th e re la te d to p ic o f d istrib u tiv e n u m b er, c /1 0 .4 7 .)
13.60 W e m a y d is tin g u is h th re e k in d s o f c o m b in a to ry m e a n in g :
(a ) JO IN T PARTICIPATION
T h e c o n jo in s a re in te rp re te d as jo in tly c o n stitu tin g a single p a r tic ip a n t (c f
10.18(f) in th e p ro c ess o r re la tio n sh ip d e sc rib e d by th e clause. T h e se n ten c e:
Jo h n a n d M a r y p lay ed ten n is a g a in st S usan a n d Bill. [ 1]
m a y r e fe r to a sin g le co m b in ed pro cess, v iz a g am e o f doubles, a s sh o w n in

F ig 1 3 .6 0 a; b u t t h e sa m e sen ten ce m ig h t also h av e a segregatory in te rp re ta
tio n , re fe rrin g to fo u r g a m e s o f singles a s sh o w n in F ig 13.60b.
A f u r th e r seg reg a to ry in te rp re ta tio n in v o lv in g tw o singles g a m e s, as
re p re s e n te d in F ig 13.60c, is th e o n e t h a t w ould b e selected if th e a d v e rb
respectively w ere a d d e d to [1] (c /1 3 .6 3 ):
J -------------- «-S
M -------------- >-B
Fig 13.60c
KEY
J John
M Mary
S Susan
B Bill
^j- other players
(b ) MUTUAL PARTICIPATION
T h e c o n jo in s a re in te rp re te d as e n te rin g in to a sy m m etric o r re cip ro ca l
re la tio n to e a c h o th e r, as in d ic a te d in F ig 13.60d. T h is is o n e in te rp re ta tio n
of:
J o h n a n d M a r y p lay e d ten n is.
B u t th is sen ten c e also allow s a seg reg ato ry in te rp re ta tio n ‘J o h n a n d M a ry

e a c h p lay e d te n n is (w ith som eb o d y )’ a s suggested by F ig 13.60e. T h e
sy m m etric in te rp re ta tio n c a n b e m a d e ex p lic it by ad d in g o r s u b s titu tin g
so m e e x p ressio n c o n ta in in g each other o r one another.
F u r th e r e x a m p le s o f m u tu a l p a rtic ip a tio n a r e :
P e te r a n d B ob se p a ra te d .
P a u la a n d h e r b ro th e r look alike.
M ary a n d P a u l a re ju s t good friends.
J o h n a n d P e te r h a v e d ifferen t tastes.
N o te th e u se o f th e p lu ral n o u n s in co m p lem en t p o sitio n to in d ic a te r e

ciprocity :
M ary a n d S u san a re sisters/cousins/colleagues (o f each other).
T h e co rre sp o n d in g sin g u lar co m p lem en t c a n n o t be used w ith recip ro cal

m ean in g : IM a r y is a cousin a n d Susan is a cousin. B ut w ith th e seg reg ato ry
m ean in g o f M a ry a n d Susan are teachers, th e co rresp o n d in g co n jo in ed
singular c o n stru c tio n s m a k e a n a ccep tab le p a r a p h r a s e : M a ry is a teacher a n d
Susan is a teacher. T h e sam e m ean in g o f m u tu al p a rtic ip a tio n occurs w ith
th ree o r m o re c o n jo in s: S m ith , Brown, and Robinson became partners.
(c ) U N IT A R Y P A R T IC IPA T IO N
I n so m e c a s e s t h e c o n jo in s a r e so closely lin k e d in m e a n in g t h a t th e y
p a r tic ip a te in t h e m e a n i n g o f th e c la u s e as i f th e y r e f e r r e d to a sin g le o b je c t.
T h e w h o le p h r a s e m a y b e h a v e a s a sin g u la r n o u n p h r a s e f o r p u r p o s e s o f
c o n c o rd ( c / 1 0 .3 7 / 0 :
L a w a n d order is a p rim a ry c o n cern o f th e n ew a d m in istratio n .
O th e r ex am p les a re fis h a n d chips, a ball and chain, bread and butter, the S ta rs
and Stripes, a n d title s a n d n a m e s su ch as F athers a n d Sons (a novel b y
T urgenev) a n d the F o x a n d H ounds ( a p u b lic house). I t is a c h ara cte ristic o f
such u n ita ry p h ra s e s t h a t th e o rd e r o f th e conjoins c a n n o t be v aried , a n d th a t
n o d e te rm in e r p re c e d e s th e seco n d c onjoin (c/13.67).
N o te [a ] T h e d istin c tio n b e tw e e n co m b in a to ry a n d segregatory m e a n in g ap p lies n o t only to co n jo in t

n o u n ph rases, b u t to p lu ra l n o u n p h rases in general. T h u s th e c o m b in ato ry m eanings of:
They a re m a rrie d . T he three girls look alike.
W e h a v e n ’t m e t b efo re . H e p a in te d th e cars in tw o colours.
;
co n trast w ith th e seg reg ato ry m e an in g s o f T hey are fe v e rish The three girls have a cold.
[b] A special c a se o f m u tu a l p a rtic ip a tio n is th e use o f a n d as a n o u n p h rase c o o rd in a to r
following betw een (c/9 .3 9 ).
Indicators o f se g reg a to ry m eaning

13.61 C e rta in m a rk e rs e x p lic itly in d ic a te t h a t th e c o o rd in a tio n is segregatory:
both ( . . . and) n e ith e r. . . nor respectively <form al>

each respective <(formal> apiece < rath er r a re )
W hile John a n d M a ry have won a p rize is am b ig u o u s, w e are left in n o d o u b t

th a t tw o p rize s w e re w o n i n :
Jo h n a n d M a ry h a v e each w o n a prize.
Jo h n a n d M a ry h a v e w o n a p rize each.
B oth J o h n a n d M a ry h a v e w on a prize.
Jo h n a n d M a ry h a v e both w on a prize.
956 Coordina tion
H o w ev e r,^ b ec au se o f th e d istrib u tiv e m ean in g o f each ( c f 6.51), th ere is a

p o te n tia l difference o f m e a n in g b etw een [ 1] an d [2]:
J o h n an d M ary h a v e each w on prizes. [1]

J o h n a n d M ary h a v e both w on prizes. [2]
B o th p e rm its the d istrib u tiv e in te rp re ta tio n o f prizes w h ich occurs in [1]

( = J o h n h a s won p rizes a n d M a ry has won prizes ),b u t also p erm its th e
n o n d is trib u tiv e in te rp re ta tio n w h ereby prizes m ig h t re fe r to o n e prize w on
b y J o h n a n d a n o th e r p riz e w on by M ary.
C o rre sp o n d in g to th e p o sitiv e co rrelativ e both . . . a n d is th e n eg ativ e
c o rre la tiv e n e ith e r. . . nor, w h ich likew ise h as seg reg ato ry fo rce:
J o h n an d M ary d id n 't w in a prize. [3]

N e ith e r Jo h n nor M a ry w on a prize. [4]
W h e r e a s [3] is am b ig u o u s, [4] is u nam biguously seg reg ato ry , m ak in g it c lear

th a t tw o p rize-w in n in g s w ere involved. O r follow ing a n eg ativ e (c/1 3 .3 1 ) has
a s im ila r effect, se e n in th e c o n tra st b etw een th e c o m b in ato ry /seg reg ato ry
a m b ig u ity o f [5] a n d th e seg reg ato ry m ean in g o f [6]:
H e w o u ld n ’t len d h is b ooks to Tom a n d Alice. [5]

H e w o u ld n ’t len d h is b ooks to Tom or Alice. [6]
N o te [a] A p ie c e , a less co m m o n a d v e rb w h ich m a rk s segregatory m e an in g , is n o rm ally p la ced finally

a f t e r a d ir e c t o b je c t:
J o h n a n d M ary h a v e w o n a p riz e apiece.
I t is re s tric te d to clauses w ith a n o b je ct, to w h ich it gives th e d is trib u tiv e in te rp re ta tio n o f each.
[b] T h e a m b ig u ity o b serv ed in [2] ab o v e rem ain s w hen th e co o rd in a te su b jec t is rep laced by a
p lu ra l n o u n p h ra se : M y children have both won prizes. { C f 13.66 N o te [d] a n d 10.47 o n d istrib u tiv e
n u m b e r.)
R e sp e c tiv e
13.62 T h e a d je c tiv e respective prem odifies a p lu ral n o u n p h ra se , eg as object, to
in d ic a te segregatory in te rp re ta tio n o f a p reced in g c o n jo in t n o u n p h rase. In
th is fu n c tio n , it is n o rm ally p reced ed by a p lu ral p ossessive p ro n o u n :
J ill a n d Ben v isite d th e ir uncles. \
T h is c o u ld m ean:
(a ) Jill visited h e r un cle(s) a n d Ben v isited h is uncle(s).

(b ) Jill and B en to g e th e r v isited th e uncles th ey h a v e in c om m on.
(c) Jill an<j B en to g e th e r v isited J ill’s uncle(s) a n d also B en ’s.
O n th e o th e r h a n d :
J ill a n d Ben v isite d th e ir respective uncles.
c a n o n ly m ea n (a). T h e u se o f respective does n o t, h o w ev er, h elp us d istin g u ish

th e n u m b e r o f uncles, sin c e respective c a n n o t be used w ith a sin g u lar n o u n
p h ra se h e a d :
T i l l a n d Ben v isite d th e ir resp ectiv e uncle.
T h e re la te d noun p h ra s e s d o n o t h av e to b e in a su b je c t-o b je c t re la tio n s h ip :

W e in te rv iew e d f/je Director a n d the Producer in th e ir respective offices.

M a ry a n d Susa n w e n t to th e ir respective hom es.
T h ey c a n e v en be in d ifferen t clau ses o r se n te n c e s:
Bob a n d his best frie n d h a v e h a d som e serious tro u b le a t school lately.

T h e ir respective p a ren ts a re g oing to see the p rin c ip a l a b o u t the
co m p lain ts.
N o te L ik e o th e r m a rk e rs o f segregatory m e an in g , respective can be used analogously w ith p re c e d in g

p lu ra l n o u n p h r a s e s : The boys visited their respective uncles.
Respectively
13.63 T h e a d v e rb respectively is used to in d ic a te segregatory m ean in g , a n d also tells
us w h ic h c o n stitu e n ts go w ith w h ich w hen th ere a re tw o p arallel c o o rd in a te
c o n stru ctio n s. F o r ex am p le, if th e re a re tw o sets o f co n jo in s [A] a n d [ B ] . . .
[C] a n d [D ], respectively m ak e s it c le ar th a t [A] goes w ith [C], a n d [B] goes
w ith [D], I t c a n b e a d d ed to th e fro n t o r en d o f th e seco n d c o o rd in a te
co n stru ctio n . Som e illu stratio n s follow :
J o h n , P e ter, a n d R o b e rt p lay football, b ask etb all, a n d b aseb all

respectively.
[ = J o h n p lay s football, P e te r plays b ask etb all, a n d R o b e rt plays
b aseball]
A rn o ld a n d his so n w ere respectively th e g re atest e d u c a to r a n d th e
g re a te s t critic o f th e V ic to ria n age.
[ = A rn o ld w as th e g re atest e d u c a to r o f th e V ic to rian a g e, a n d his so n
w as th e g re atest critic o f th e V ic to rian age]
S m ith a n d Jo n e s a re g oing to P a ris and to A m ste rd a m respectively.
T h e respectively c o n stru ctio n is gen erally lim ited to fo rm al discourse. I n o th e r

c o n te x ts it sm ack s o f p e d an try .
Coordination o f parts of noun phrases

13.64 W h en c o o rd in a tio n ta k e s p lace within a single n o u n p h ra se , it is o fte n p o ssib le
to p o stu late ellipsis fro m a full fo rm in w h ich c o o rd in a tio n tak e s p la c e
betw een n o u n p h r a s e s :
T h ey sell [m anual] and [electric] ty p ew riters. [ 1]

Y o u r [son] a n d [d au g h ter] look so m u ch alike. [2]
T h ese m ay b e e x p an d e d resp ectiv ely to :
T h ey sell [m an u al ty p ew riters] a n d [electric ty p ew riters], [ 1a]

[Y o u r son] a n d [your d au g h te r] look so m u ch a lik e. [2a]
T h e re is a fu rth e r ty p e o f c o o rd in a tio n w ith in th e n o u n p h ra se w h ich allow s

n o ellip sis a t all. T h u s [3] is n o t usually p a rap h ra sa b le b y [3a], o r [4] by [4 a ]:
j T h ey m ad e [salm on] and [cucum ber] sand w ich es. [3]

[ ^ T h ey m a d e [salm on san d w ich es] a n d [cu cu m b er sandw iches], [3a]
f [Spacious] a n d [w ell-furnished] a p a rtm e n ts to let. [4]

| [Spacious a p a rtm e n ts] a n d [w ell-furnished a p a rtm e n ts] to let. [4a]
H e re a g a in , th e re is a d istin c tio n to b e m ad e , w ith and, b etw een c o m i n t o r y | F
a n d s e g r e g t o r y co o rd in atio n . C o m b in a to ry c o o rd in atio n is a sso c iated

F
w ith n o n e llip tic a l in te rp reta tio n , an d seg reg ato ry w ith ellipsis o r q u a s i
e llip sis ( c f 12.40). In th e c o m b in ato ry in te rp re ta tio n illustrated m o st clearly
by [3], th e c o n jo in s a c t sem antically ‘in c o m b in a tio n ’ w ith resp ect to th e re st
o f th e se n ten ce. I n th e segregatory in te rp re ta tio n illu strated by [1], h o w ev er,
th e p a r ts o f th e n o u n p h ra se, a n d ev en o f th e clause, w h ich a re o u tsid e th e
c o n jo in s c a n be re g ard e d a s the a n te c e d e n ts o f an ellipsis o r q u asi-ellip sis, so
t h a t th e n o u n p h ra se c an b e p arap h ra se d b y m ea n s o f a c o o rd in a tio n o f n o u n
p h ra s e s a n d u ltim ate ly o f clauses. A te s t o f segregatory c o o rd in a tio n is
w h e th e r th e e n d o rsin g w o rd both c a n be in se rte d before th e first c o n jo in ( c f
13.35): [1] m e a n s They sell both m anual a n d electric typewriters, b u t [3] d o es
n o t n o rm ally m e a n They m ade both salm on a n d cucumber sandwiches.
N o te F o r s o m e cases, it is p o ssib le to p o stu late yet a fu rth e r sta g e o f ellipsis, a n d to ex p a n d th e c o n jo in t

n o u n p h ra s e in to a co n jo in t c la u s e :
[T h ey sell m a n u a l ty p ew riters) and [they sell elec tric ty pew riters). [ lb ]
B u t s u c h a n an a ly sis le ad s to. results w h ich a re b o th n o n sen sica l a n d u n g ra m m a tic a l fo r o th e r
ex a m p le s:
* [T h e ir son lo ok alik e ] and [th e ir d au g h te r lo ok alik e]. [2b]
13.65 A s c a n b e seen from th e c o m p ariso n o f 13.64 [1] a n d [3] a b o v e, th e

c o m b in a to ry /se g reg a to ry d istin ctio n m ay b e m ad e a t v ario u s levels fo r th e
sa m e c o n stru ctio n . F o r exam ple, th e ita lic ize d p h ra se i n :
T h o se a re th e shelves fo r books on [skills,] [trades,] and [hobbies],
p e rm its a c o m b in a to ry in te rp re ta tio n o f skills, trades, a n d hobbies w h e reb y

e a c h o f th e b o o k s in th e w hole set is assu m e d to d eal w ith all th ree su b je cts;
b u t i f w e assu m e a segregatory in te rp re ta tio n a t th is level (ie, ‘b ooks o n skills,
b o o k s o n trad es, a n d b o o k s o n h o b b ies’), th e re is still a n o th e r level a t w h ic h
th e c o m b in a to ry in te rp re ta tio n is p o ssib le : v iz th e shelves in q u e stio n co u ld
e a c h c o n ta in a m ix tu re o f th e th ree ty p es o f b o o k . In c o n trast, a se g reg ato ry
in te rp re ta tio n o n th is level w ould m e a n t h a t e ac h sh elf is re serv ed fo r o n e
k in d o f b o o k [ = ‘shelves fo r books o n skills, shelves for boo k s o n tra d e s, a n d
sh elv es fo r b o o k s on h o b b ies’]. In th is w ay c o o rd in a tio n c rea te s p o ssib ilities
o f m u ltip le a m b ig u ity , a n d in gen eral, th e f u rth e r d ow n th e tree o f c o n s titu e n t
s tru c tu re th e c o o rd in a tio n occurs, th e g re a te r are the o p p o rtu n itie s fo r
a m b ig u ity , in th e m a n n e r in d icated b y F ig 13.65:
1
Level I I L evel 2 L evel S
s e g re g a to ry s e g r e g a to ry -----------s eg reg a to ry
e tc
c o m b in a to r y ^ ^ c o m b in a to ry ^ ^ c o m b in a to ry
F ig 13.65
T o a v o id co n fu sio n , th e n , it is b e st to use th e term s ‘c o m b in a to ry ’ a n d

‘se g reg ato ry ’ in re sp ec t to a g iven c o n tra st o f in te rp re ta tio n , ra th e r th a n w ith
m o re g en eral re fe re n ce to a g ra m m atica l c o n stru ctio n .
C oordination an d num ber

13.66 E ssentially th e q u e stio n o f w h e th er a g iv en no u n p h ra se (sim p le o r c o n jo in t)
is sin g u lar o r p lu ral d e p e n d s o n w h e th er it refers to o n e o r m o re th a n o n e
m em b er o f a c lass o f d e n o ta ta . (F o r special pro b lem s o f co n co rd , c f 1 0 .3 7 # )
F o r in stan ce, tw o n o u n p h ra ses, ev en w h en b o th are sin g u lar, fo rm a p lu ral
co n jo in t p h ra se w h en th ey are c o o rd in a te d by a n d :
[Jan e is w ell] a n d [S usan is well], | u t : [Jane] a n d [Susan] are well.
Sim ilarly w ith m o re co m p lex no u n p h ra s e s :
[The K in g o f D e n m a rk ] a n d [the Q u een o f D en m ark ] have arriv ed . [1]
T h e p lu ral have is a p p ro p ria te in [I], becau se th e su b ject refers to m ore th a n

o n e p erson. T h e sa m e is tru e w h en th e d e te rm in e r an d m o d ifier a re ellip ted ,
so th a t K ing a n d Queen a re c o o rd in a te d w ith in a single n o u n p h r a s e :
T h e [K ing] a n d [Q ueen] o f D e n m a rk have a rriv e d . [ la ]
I f o n th e o th e r h a n d th e m odifiers a re co o rd in ated , th e n o u n h e a d ch an g e s
fro m sin g u lar to p lu ral, th u s in d ic a tin g th e p lu rality o f th e w hole e x p re s s io n :
T h e P re sid e n ts [o f G re e c e ]a n d [of A u stria] were p re sen t a t th e cerem ony.

( = ‘[the P re sid e n t o f G reece] a n d [the P re sid e n t o f A u stria ]’)
I f th e h ead , in su ch a case, is n o n c o u n t, it can n o t ch an g e to th e p lu ral, a n d

th ere arises th e o d d ity o f a sin g u lar n o u n a ctin g as h ead o f a p lu ral n o u n
p h ra se (c /1 0 .3 8 ):
[In d ian ] a n d [C h in ese] te a sm ell to tally d ifferent fro m e a c h o th er.
(T he p lu ral teas w o u ld also b e po ssib le h ere, b u t w ould h a v e th e slig h tly

d ifferen t m ea n in g o f ‘k in d s o f te a ’.) A n o th e r ex am p le i s :
[R ed] a n d [w hite] c a b b a g e are (b o th ) useful in g red ien ts fo r a salad.
(H ere th e p lu ral cabbages w o u ld be ludicrous, suggesting th a t e ac h s a la d

should co n ta in w hole c ab b a g es; w hile th e sin g u lar is w ould suggest th a t th e
v ariety o f c ab b a g e in q u e stio n is p a rtico lo u red red a n d w h ite.)
N o te [a] A n a p p a re n t ex c e p tio n w h ich pro v es th e rule is th e case o f co o rd in ativ e ap p o sitio n (c/1 0 .3 9 ),

w h ere tw o sin g u la r c o u n t n o u n p h ra se s are p laced in a p p o sitio n to form a singular n o u n p h r a s e :
[T om ’s fath er] a n d [S u zan n e’s uncle] is w aitin g for you.
T h e only possible in te rp re ta tio n o f th is is th a t T o m ’s fa th e r an d S u zan n e’s u n d e are th e sa m e
person. A sim ilar c o n c lu sio n m u st be d ra w n w hen tw o sin g u la r n o u n s a re co o rd in a te d as h e a d s
o f a sin g u lar n o u n p h r a s e :
T h e [ow ner] a n d [ed ito r] o f th e D aily Post w as a m e m b er o f th e club.
[b] .
O n th e sin g u la r o r p lu ra l n u m b e r o f n o u n p h rases co n tain in g c o o rd in atio n by or, c f 10.41
[c] T h e re is u n c e rta in ty o v e r n u m b e r w h ere th e m any a co n stru c tio n (c/5 .2 3 N o te [c]) is follow ed
by sin g u lar heads co n jo in ed by a n d :
‘>a r A
{
^ 1 left hom eless.
[d] A fu rth e r u n c e rta in ty arise s w hen a n o u n is postm odified by a p rep o sitio n al p h rase, th e
co m p lem en t o f w h ic h co n ta in s co o rd in a te d n o u n s o r noun p h rases w ith seg reg ato ry m e a n in g : in
the caseis) o f France a n d G erm any, a t the hack(s) o f the stores and offices. N o rm ally th e s in g u la r
w ill in d icate c o m b in ato ry m e a n in g (eg: a t the back o f the stores a n d offices w ill suggest t h a t th e
stores a n d offices co m p rise a single b u ild in g o r blo ck o f buildings). B ut w h ere th e sin g u la r is to
so m e d e g re e a ‘fro zen ’ p a r t o f a co m p lex prep o sitio n (c /9 .1 1), th e plu ral w ould n o t be a c c e p ta b le :

*in ca s e s o ffir e a n d th e ft ; *on the p a rts o fa l l concerned. Y et even in id io m s o f th is k in d th e ability
to p lu r a liz e is ex ercised in o th e r c o n stru c tio n s (r/1 0 .4 7 ):
{a p a r,t *|
> in achieving victory,
our i Part I J
[p arts J
13.67 C o o r d in a te d n o u n h e a d s
I t is e v id e n t fro m w h a t h a s b e en said in 1 3 .6 4 /th at v ario u s a m b ig u ities arise
w h e n th e c o n stitu e n ts o f n o u n p h ra ses a re co o rd in ated .
W h e n c o o rd in a te d h e ad s a re preceded by a d e te rm in e r, th e usual in te r
p r e ta tio n is th a t th e d e te rm in e r a p p lies to each o f th e co n jo in s:
a [k n ife] a n d [fork] ( = a k n ife a n d a fo rk )

th e [h ead ] a n d [shoulders] ( = the h ead a n d the shoulders)
his [w ife] a n d [child] ( = his w ife a n d his ch ild )
(O n th e in te rp re ta tio n o f q u an tifiers such as many in m a n y girls a n d boys, c f

13.76.)
A s im ila r an aly sis in te rm s o f segregatory c o o rd in atio n ( c f 13.59) usually
a p p lie s w h e n th e c o o rd in a te d h e ad s a re p reced ed o r follow ed b y m o d ifie rs:
o ld [m en ] a n d [w om en] ( = [old m en] a n d [old w om en])

so m e [cow s,] [pigs,] a n d [sheep] fro m o u r farm ( = so m e cow s fro m o u r
fa rm , som e pigs fro m o u r farm , an d som e sh eep fro m o u r farm )
B u t t h e n th e re is also th e p o ssib ility o f in te rp retin g th ese p h ra se s as c o n jo in t

n o u n p h ra s e s :
[O ld m en ] a n d [w om en] w ere left to o rganize th e c o m m u n ity .

A t t h e m a rk e t w ere [som e cow s,] [pigs,] a n d [sheep fro m o u r farm ].
I f t h e d e te rm in e r is n o t re p ea te d in th e n o n in itial co n jo in s, how ev er, a n

e llip sis o f th e d e te rm in e r is n o rm ally a ssu m e d :
th e [boys] a n d [girls] sta y in g a t th e hostel ( = [the boys sta y in g a t th e

h o stel] ^ n d [the g irls stay in g a t th e hostel])
13.68 C o o r d i n a te d p r e m o d ifie r s
I f m o d ifie rs a re c o o rd in a te d , th e re m ay a g ain b e a m b ig u ity acco rd in g to
w h e th e r th e c o n stru ctio n is u n d ersto o d to be segregatory. T h u s :
H e sp e cializes in sellin g [old] a n d [valuable] books.
m ay m e a n 'b o o k s w h ich a re old an d v alu ab le’ (c o m b in ato ry m ean in g ) o r ‘old

b o o k s a n d v alu ab le b o o k s’ (segregatory m eaning). O n ly th e segregatory
m e a n in g is p o ssib le w h e n th e co o rd in ated m odifiers d e n o te m u tu ally ex
clu siv e p ro p e rtie s :
o ld a n d new fu rn itu re one-pound an d two-pound jars
E x c e p tio n s to th is a re co lo u r a d jectiv es (as in red, white, a n d blueflags), w h ich

allow th e c o m b in a to ry sen se o f ‘p artly o n e colour, p a rtly a n o th e r’. O n the
o th e r h a n d , o nly th e c o m b in a to ry in te rp re ta tio n is a v ailab le if th e h e ad is a
s in g u la r c o u n t n o u n :
Ty p e s of sim ple coordination 961
H e is a dishonest a n d la zy student.
A n o th e r sign o f c o m b in a to ry m ean in g is th e p o ssib ility o f rep lacin g a n d b y

asy n d etic c o o rd in a tio n :
H e ’s a d is H O N e s t, L A zy S T U d en t.
T h ey sell old, b attered furniture.
T h is is n o t n o rm ally a cc e p ta b le w ith segregatory m ean in g :
?*They sell old, new fu rn itu re.
In fact, fo r a c o m b in a to ry in te rp re ta tio n o f m odifiers, asy n d etic c o o rd in a tio n

is gen erally p re fe rre d to syndetic c o o rd in atio n . A g ain , how ever, co lo u r
a d jectiv es a re e x c e p tio n a l: a n d in such ex p ressio n s a s a red a n d green uniform
can n o t be o m itte d , e v en th o u g h the m ean in g is c o m b in ato ry .
T h e e n d o rsin g ite m both p laced a t th e b eg in n in g o f a n o u n p h ra se id en tifies
c o o rd in a tio n o f p rem o d ifiers as segregatory:
both you n g a n d o ld p eo p le [ = both you n g p eo p le a n d old people]
B ut w h en th e ad je ctiv es a re p laced in a p re d ic ativ e p o sitio n , th e c o n v erse

ap p lies, a n d th e c o m b in a to ry in te rp reta tio n is se le c te d :
* M en w h o w ere both young and old w ere in v ited .

S tu d e n ts w h o a re both h o n est and clev er alw ay s succeed.
N o te (a] I f th e a d jectiv e p h ra se is po stp o sitiv e (7.21), both ... a n d is possible w ith eith e r ty p e o f
m ean in g , b u t th e seg reg ato ry m e an in g is often m a rk ed by p itc h m ovem ent, as in d icated b e lo w :
M en both t o ld a n d I y o u n g w ere in vited.
S tu d en ts both h o n e st a n d c lev er alw ays succeed.
[b] W ith a series o f a d jectiv es, th e final and is occasionally o m itte d even w ith seg reg ato ry
m e an in g :
O ld, young, w ise, fo o lish , tall, (and) sh o rt m en w ere in v ited w ith o u t d istin ctio n .
[c] O ccasionally a n o u n m o d ifier is co o rd in ated w ith a n ad jectiv e m odifier, as in country a n d
western music.
[d] W ith or a n d either . . . or, th e segregatory in te rp re ta tio n o f prem odifiers occurs ev e n w ith
sin g u lar h ea d s; eg: It's a Georgian or R egency sofa.
C oordinated postm odifiers

13.69 C o o rd in ate d po stm o d ifiers, like co o rd in ated p rem odifiers, afford th e p o ss i
bility o f e ith e r a seg reg ato ry o r a c o m b in a to ry in te rp re ta tio n o f and. T h e
follow ing is likely to h a v e a co m b in ato ry in te rp re ta tio n :
T h e bus fo r th e H o u ses o f P a rlia m en t a n d (for) W estm in ster A b b ey

leaves fro m th is p o in t.
B ut if th e p h ra se is in th e p lu ral, an a m b ig u ity results:
th e buses fo r th e H o u ses o f P a rlia m e n t a n d (for) W estm in ster A b b ey
T h is could in th eo ry m e a n e ith e r: ‘th e buses w h ich go b o th to th e H o u ses o f

P a rlia m e n t a n d to W e s tm in ste r A b b ey ’ o r ‘th e bus(es) fo r th e H ouses o f
P a rlia m e n t a n d th e bus(es) for W estm in ster A b b e y ’. T h e sin g u lar h e ad bu s
do es n o t allow th e seco n d segregatory in te rp re ta tio n w ith and.
T h e second p re p o sitio n in e xam ples su ch a s th ese m ay be read ily o m itte d ,
962 C o ordination
so t h a t th e c o o rd in a tio n becom es o n e o f p re p o sitio n a l c o m p lem en ts ra th e r

th a n o f p re p o sitio n a l phrases. B ut th e n a c o m b in a to ry m ea n in g is fav o u red ;
w h e re a s if th e p re p o sitio n is re p ea te d , a segregatory m ea n in g is m ore
p ro b a b le . H e n c e th e s e a re likely to h a v e d ifferen t in te rp re ta tio n s:
E lsa G r a h a m ’s b o o k s o n [reptiles] a n d [am p h ib ian s]

(p ro b ab ly c o m b in ato ry )
E lsa G r a h a m ’s b o o k s [on reptiles] a n d [on a m p h ib ian s]
(alm ost c ertain ly segregatory).
N o te H e re a g a in ( c f 13.68 N o te [d]), th e segregatory in te rp re ta tio n is possible w ith a sin g u la r h ead

an d w ith or as c o o rd in a to r:
Y o u have to ta k e a bus fo r th e H ouses o f Parliam ent or fo r W estm inster Abbey.
F u r t h e r a m b i g u i t i e s o f c o o r d i n a t i o n in t h e n o u n p h r a s e
13.70 I f a p h ra se c o n ta in in g m odifiers c o o rd in a te d by a n d h a s a sin g u lar co u n t
n o u n h ead , o n ly o n e in te rp re ta tio n , th e c o m b in a to ry one, is possible. But if
it h a s a p lu ral h e a d , th e re are four po ssib le seg reg ato ry in te rp re ta tio n s for a
n o u n p h ra se c o n ta in in g tw o co n jo in s:
th e m eetin g s o n M o n d ay a n d o n T u esd ay
[ = ‘th e m e e tin g o n M o n d ay a n d th e m ee tin g o n T u esd ay ’
o r ‘th e m e e tin g s o n M o n d ay a n d th e m ee tin g o n T u esd ay ’
o r ‘th e m e e tin g o n M o n d ay a n d th e m ee tin g s o n T u esd ay ’
O R ‘th e m e e tin g s o n M o n d ay a n d th e m ee tin g s o n T u esd ay ’]
E v ery tim e a n e x tra co n jo in is a d d ed (as in the m eetings on M o n d a y , Tuesday,

a n d W ednesday) th e n u m b e r o f in te rp re ta tio n s is d o u b led . T h e a m b ig u ities
c a n b e av o id ed , if d esired , by th e use o f th e n o n e llip tic al e q u iv alen ts.
I n a d d itio n ] th is p h ra se allow s a c o m b in a to ry in te rp re ta tio n : viz th a t th e
m eetin g s, o r so m e o f th e m eetin g s, lasted fo r b o th days. T h e co m b in a to ry
in te rp re ta tio n w o u ld , how ever, be m o re likely i f th e seco n d p re p o sitio n w ere
e llip te d : the m eetings on M on d a y a n d Tuesday.
A sim ila r se tjo f re ad in g s is po ssib le fo r:
b ills for g as a n d (for) electricity s'

th e taxes o n e a rn e d a n d (on) u n e a rn e d in co m e
Since ta x is so m e tim es a n o n c o u n t n o u n , it is also p o ssib le to re a d th e

seg reg ato ry re ad in g s in to th e c o rresp o n d in g sin g u lar p h r a s e : the ta x on earned
and (on) unearned income.
I
N o te T h e follow ing ex a m p le show s how th e segregatory rea d in g o f ta x on earned a n d unearned income
c an b e asso ciated w ith th e m u tu al p a rtic ip a tio n (c/1 3 .6 0 N o te [b]) o f betw een:
T h e r e is no d iffe re n ce between th e ta x on earned a n d [=
'that on'\ unearned income.
A lth o u g h the o cc u rre n ce o f a sin g u la r noun p h rase as c o m p le m e n t o f betw een seem s irreg u lar,
th is sen te n ce is in fa c t c o n stru c ted regularly acco rd in g to th e p rin c ip le s o u tlin ed in p reced in g
sections.
C o o r d in a tio n o f d e te r m in e r s a n d n u m e r a ls .
13.71 T h e c o o rd in a tio n o f d e te rm in e rs is c o m p a rativ ely ra re . T h e follow ing a re
po ssib le, b u t a re u n id io m a tic : this or other books, these a n d those chairs, a fe w
Type s o f simple coordination 963
o r m a n y students, a n d th e re is a p referen ce for a synonym ous c o n stru c tio n

w ith c o n jo in t n o u n p h rases, su ch as this book a n d that (one), a fe w students o r
m any, w h ere th e seco n d co n jo in is a n o u n p h ra se reduced by su b s titu tio n o r
ellipsis. C o m p a ra tiv e form s a re m o re easily c o o rd in a te d :
W o u ld you p re fe r m o r e o r l e s s su g ar?
[ = * . . . m o re su g ar o r less s u g a r? ’]
b u t ev en h e re th e e q u iv a le n t n o u n -p h rase co o rd in atio n , w ith re d u c tio n o f th e

seco n d c o n jo in by sta n d a rd ellipsis, m ay be p referred :
W o u ld you p re fe r m o r e su g ar o r l e s s F ?
T h e re a re som e in stan c es o f id io m s in w hich d eterm in ers a re coord in a te d ; e g

th e r e d u n d a n t a n d e m p h a tic c o n jo in in g o f each a n d every i n :
T h e secret w as k e p t b y each a n d every o n e o f us.
C a rd in a l n u m era ls a re freq u e n tly co o rd in a te d w ith or, b u t h e re a g ain th e re

is a n id io m a tic fu n ctio n . F ive or s ix m ean s, for exam ple, ‘a p p ro x im ate ly in
th e ra n g e o f five a n d six’; ten or tw en ty m ean s ‘a n u m b er in th e re g io n o f 10
o r 20’; a n d th e m o st freq u en tly -o ccu rrin g c o o rd in atio n o f th is ty p e, one o r
two, h as th e sp ecial id io m a tic sen se ‘a sm all n u m b er’. T h is a p p ro x im a tiv e
use o f n u m e ra ls d o es n o t a p p ly w h e n th e c o rrelativ e e ith e r . . . o r is u s e d :
I am in v itin g one or two stu d e n ts to a party.
d o es n o t m ea n th e sam e a s :
I a m in v itin g either one or two stu d e n ts to a p arty.
N o te [a] O ccasio n a lly a p o std e te rm in e r su ch a s fe w o r m any m ay be co o rd in ated w ith a n a d je c tiv e :

his fe w b u t intelligent rem arks. N o te also th e id io m fe w a n d fa r between.
[b] T h e c o o rd in atio n o f a sin g u la r w ith a p lu ra l d eterm in a tiv e leads to a n an o m aly o f c o n c o rd :
logically , th e h ea d o f th e n o u n p h ra se co u ld b e e ith e r sin g u lar o r plural. T h e difficulty is resolved
(c /1 0 .4 1 ) b y m a k in g th e h e a d ag ree w ith th e la st con jo in : one or two students (NOT *one or tw o
);
stu d en t this a n d other argum ents (NOT *this a n d other argument ).
[c] M en tio n sho u ld b e m a d e o f th e ra rity a n d a d hoc q u ality o f co o rd in atio n s o f th e defin ite a n d
;
in d e fin ite a rtic le s: Sh e is the (or a ) professor in th e departm ent H e m ay be a, or even the Vice- ,
C hairm an o f the p arty. Such c o o rd in a tio n ta k e s p lace o nly w ith or , a n d th e u n re d u c e d
p ro n u n c ia tio n s o f th e a rticles (/ei/ an d /6 i:/) a re norm ally required.
C o o rd in atio n o f genitives
13.72 L ik e d ete rm in e rs, g en itiv es, w h en u sed in d ete rm in a tiv e fu n c tio n , are n o t
o ften c o o rd in a te d , a n d th e re is so m e uneasin ess a b o u t th e a p p ro p ria te
c o n stru c tio n to use. A c o o rd in a tio n o f g en itiv es such as Jo h n ’s a n d M a r y ’s
children resem b les a c o o rd in a tio n o f m odifiers in th a t it m ay be in te rp re te d
in e ith e r a c o m b in a to ry o r a seg reg ato ry fa s h io n :
c o m b in a to ry m ea n in g : ‘th e c h ild ren w ho a re jo in t o ffsp rin g o f

J o h n a n d M a ry ’ (A )
seg reg ato ry m e a n in g s : ‘J o h n ’s c h ild a n d M a ry ’s c h ild ’ (B )
o r ‘J o h n ’s c h ild ren a n d M ary ’s c h ild ’ (C )
o r ‘J o h n ’s c h ild a n d M a ry ’s c h ild re n ’ (D )
O R ‘J o h n ’s c h ild ren a n d M a ry ’s c h ild re n ’ (E )
964 Coordination
A n d as in th e case o f postm odifiers, a fu rth er ellipsis is c o m m o n if the

c o m b in a to ry m e a n in g is in ten d ed . T h e follow ing can be g iv en o nly read in g
(A ) a b o v e :
[Jo h n ] a n d [M ary ]’s ch ild ren ( c /th e c h ild ren o f Jo h n a n d M ary )
H e r e - th e ’s is o u tsid e th e co o rd in a te c o n stru ctio n , a n d is a d d ed to th e w hole

c o n jo in t n o u n p h ra se John a n d M ary. In th is, it resem bles t h e 's o f g ro u p
g e n itiv e s (c/5 .1 2 3 ), w h ich is a suffix to a p h ra se ra th e r th a n to a single w ord.
N o te T h e g ro u p g en itiv e c o n stru c tio n o f John and M a r y ’s children is c h a ra cte ristic o f in fo rm al speech.

In fo rm a l E n g lish , th is c o n stru c tio n is som etim es felt to be incorrect, a n d th e co n stru c tio n o f the
ch ildren o f Jo h n a n d M a r y o r (less com m only) J o h n ’s a n d M a r y ’s children m ig h t be preferre d
in s te a d . T h e la tte r co n stru c tio n , how ever, is forced a n d aw k w ard , especially i f th e co n jo in s are
stro n g ly asso cia ted w ith o n e a n o th e r : ?Laurel's a n d H a rd y ’s hilarious screen com edies.
C o o r d in a tio n o f p o s s e s s iv e p r o n o u n s
13.73 A n o th e r p ro b lem o f u sage arises o v e r th e co o rd in atio n o f p o ssessiv e p ro
n o u n s. T w o a lte rn a tiv e c o n stru ctio n s a re th e follow ing:
(a ) [p o s s e s s i v e ] + [ p o s s e s s i v e ] + . . . h e d F
eg: y o u r a n d m y p roblem s ; their a n d our students

( b ) [POSSESSIVE + . . . H EA D . . .] + [POSSESSIVE]
e g : y o u r problem s a n d m ine; their stu d en ts a n d ours
In (a ) b o th p ossessives h av e a d e te rm in a tiv e fu n ctio n , w hile in (b) th e seco n d

p o ssessiv e p ro n o u n h a s a n in d e p e n d e n t fu n ctio n { c f 6.29f ) , so th a t strictly
th is is a c o n jo in in g o f n o u n p h rases ra th e r th a n o f possessives. C o n stru c tio n
(b) is o ften p re fe rre d to c o n stru ctio n (a), w h ich c a n seem to b e a w k w a rd . A ll
th e s e construfctions, h o w ev er, suggest a segregatory in te rp re ta tio n , a n d if a
c o m b in a to ry m e a n in g is in ten d ed , a p e rip h ra sis m ay be p re fe rre d ; eg: her
a n d m y policy I policies m ay be rep laced by the policy/policies which she a n d I
share. Y e t a n o th e r c o n stru c tio n is so m e tim es en co u n tered , b u t is n o t fully
a c c e p ta b le : ,
(c) [POSSESSIVE] + [POSSESSIVE + . . . H E A D . . .]

eg: lyou'rs a n d m y problem s ; 1theirs a n d our students
i \
T h is d iffers fro m (a) in th a t th e first co n jo in is a n in d e p e n d e n t possessive
p ro n o u n su ch as yours, o r hers, an d differs from (b) in th a t th e o rd e r o f th e
c o n jo in s is rev ersed . O f course, in m an y situ atio n s th e aw k w a rd n ess o f th is
c o o rd in a tio n o f p ro n o u n s c an be a v o id ed by a n inclusive use o f our o r your:
our problem s, etc.
I
N o te [a] T h e polite o rd e r o f co n jo in ed perso n al p ro n o u n s ( c f 13.56 N o te [a]) m ay be a p p lie d to
,
po ssessiv e pro n o u n s, as w ell a s to pro n o u n s in th e su b jectiv e o r ob jectiv e c a se : your, his a n d m y
reports; y o u r a n d m y books; etc.
[b] T h e difference b etw een c o n stru c tio n s (b) an d (c) ab o v e is n eu tralized in th e ca se o f his, since
th e re is n o c o n tra s t in th is p ro n o u n betw een th e d e te rm in a tiv e a n d in d e p e n d e n t fo rm o f th e
possessiv e p ro n o u n : his a n d m y favourite drink.
C o o r d i n a t i o n o f g e n i t i v e s w it h p o s s e s s i v e p r o n o u n s
13.74 T h re e co n stru ctio n s co rre sp o n d in g to ( a - c ) a b o v e a re also a v a ila b le w h en
m ix ed co o rd in a tio n s o f g en itiv es an d p ossessives are re q u ired . H e re a g ain ,
som e u n easin ess is fe lt in th e ch o ice o f c o n stru ctio n . F o r (a) an d (b), th e re

are v a ria n t o r d e rs : th e possessive m ay precede th e g e n itiv e, o r vice v e rs a :
, , f[G E N IT IV E ] + [POSSESSIVE] . . . + HEAD

^ [[POSSESSIV E] + [G E N IT IV E ] . . . + HEAD
e g : Im y h usband’s a n d m y n a m e s ; '’your a n d yo u r wife's bank account
T h is co n stru ctio n is rarely u sed , a n d is felt to be a w k w a rd .
,,, |[G E N IT IV E + . . . H EA D . . .] + [POSSESSIVE]

' [ [ p o s s e s s iv e + . . . h e F d ] . . . + [g e n it iv e ]
e g : m y husband’s nam e a n d m in e ; your bank account a n d your husband's
T h is c o n stru ctio n is less aw k w a rd th an (a), b u t is clearly asso ciated w ith

segregatory c o o rd in a tio n . T h u s your bank account a n d yo u r husband's c o u ld
n o t n orm ally re fe r to a jo in t b a n k a cco u n t sh ared by h u sb a n d a n d w ife. A lso,
since (b) is tec h n ica lly a co o rd in a tio n o f n o u n p h ra se s ra th e r th a n o f
d e te rm in ativ es, th is c o n stru ctio n does n o t p e rm it a ‘segregatory sin g u lar’
in te rp re ta tio n o f a p lu ra l n o u n as h ead . F o r in stan c e, J a c k ’s a n d m y do g s
could m ean ‘J a c k ’s d o g a n d m y d o g ’; b u t J a c k ’s dogs a n d m ine w ould te n d to
im ply th a t J a c k h a s m o re th a n o n e dog.
A c o n stru ctio n c o rre sp o n d in g to (c) in 13.73, w h ere th e in d e p e n d e n t
possessive p ro n o u n ( c f 6.29) p reced es th e g en itiv e, is a fu rth e r p o ssib ility ,
w h ich h o w ev er h a s lim ite d a cc ep ta b ility :
(c) [p o s s e s s i v e ] + [g e n i t i v e ] . . . + h e d ] F
lyo u rs a n d y o u r husband's ba n k account
N o te T h e re is y et o n e f u rth e r o p tio n , w h ich corresp o n d s to th e c o n stru c tio n o f John a n d M a ry 's

children (c f 13.72), a n d w h ic h resem bles it in being asso ciated w ith info rm al style a n d
co m b in ato ry m e a n in g : y o u a n d y o u r husband's bank account. T h is w ill o fte n be felt to be
u naccep tab le w h ere th e first co n jo in is a n o u n , o r a ph rase w ith a n o u n h ea d , o r a pro n o u n in th e
subjective ca se: Ith e y a n d their fr ie n d s' surprise; ’John a n d her book. T h e use o f a n o b je ctiv e
pro n o u n fo r th e first co n jo in is also p ossible, b u t is n o n s ta n d a rd : Im e a n d m y husband’s b a n k
account.
O th er elliptical c o o rd in atio n s within the noun phrase

13.75 W e h av e alre ad y n o te d ( c f 13.67) th a t w h en h e ad s o f n o u n p h rases a re
conjoined, th e d e te rm in e r is o ften ellipted, resu ltin g in a c o o rd in a tio n a t
w ord level ra th e r th a n a t p h ra se level, w ith tw o n o u n s sh a rin g a single
d e term in er:
a [boy] o r A [girl]
th a t [butter] a n d A [m ilk]
th e [house] a n d A [gardens]
m y [father] a n d A [m other]
T h e sam e k in d o f ellip sis m ay be o bserved w h en th e d e te rm in e r is

acco m p an ied by o n e o r m o re m o d ifie rs:
th o se d elicio u s [pies] a n d A [pastries]
Y e t a n o th e r k in d o f ellip sis tak e s place w hen o n e o r m o re m odifiers are

included in th e co n jo in s. T h e u n its thus c o o rd in a te d a re n e ith e r w ords n o r
966 C o ordination
p h r a s e s , b u t th e i n t e r m e d i a t e u n i t s w e e a r l i e r c a l l e d n o m in F l e x p r e s s io n s
•(c /1 2 .1 6 ):
th o se [m in ce pies] a n d [D an ish p astries]

th o se d elicious [m in ce pies] a n d [D an ish p astries]
th o se d elicious [m in ce pies] a n d [D an ish p a stries] th a t you b o u g h t
I n s u c h c o n stru ctio n s, th e lim its o f th e conjoins a re v a ria b le , a n d th is leads

to a m b ig u ity . M y elder brother a n d sister, fo r ex am p le, m ay b e in te rp rete d as
m y e ld e r [brother] a n d [sister] ( = ‘my eld er b ro th er a n d m y e ld e r siste r’), o r as
m y [elder brother] a n d [sister] ( — ‘m y eld er b ro th er a n d m y siste r’). O f these
tw o in te rp re ta tio n s , th e fo rm er is p referred , for th e la tte r m e a n in g w ould be
s in g le d o u t b y th e re p e titio n o f m y before sister. T h e follow ing illu strates a
s im ila r b u t m o re c o m p lex k in d o f am b ig u ity o f c o n stru c tio n :
T h e M u n ic ip a l A r t G a lle ry is fam ous for its still life paintings and
draw ings by Van Gogh.
F o u r in te rp re ta tio n s a re p o ss ib le :
(a) its still life [p ain tin g s] and [draw ings] by V a n G o g h

(b) its [still life p a in tin g s] and [draw ings] by V a n G o g h
(c) its [still life p a in tin g s] an d [draw ings by V a n G o g h ]
(d) its still life [p ain tin g s] and [draw ings by V a n G o g h ]
O th e r th in g s b ein g e q u al, a n in te rp re ta tio n w h ich p re serv e s a parallelism

b e tw e e n th e co n jo in s w ill b e p re ferred to one w h ich d o e s n o t. O n th is ground,
(a) a n d (c) a re m ore likely re ad in g s o f th e above ex am p le th a n (b) a n d (d);
r e a d in g (b) is q u ite p o ssib le, how ever, becau se o f th e close asso ciatio n
b e tw e e n still life an d paintings.
S c o p e o f quantifiers an d n um erals in the noun phrase

13.76 I n 13.45 we stu d ied th e w ay in w h ich q u an tifiers w ith in th e clause include
c o o r d in a te co n stru ctio n s in th e ir scope. A sim ilar p h e n o m e n o n o ccu rs in th e
n o u n p h ra se , w hen q u a n tify in g d e term in ers o r n u m era ls in clu d e w ith in th e ir
sc o p e th e c o o rd in a tio n o f n o m in al expressions su ch as th o se d iscussed in
13.75 ab o v e. In such cases, th e n o u m p h ra s e c a n n o t be e x p an d e d in the
r e g u la r fash io n , by re p e titio n o f th e d ete rm in a tiv e ite m :
T h e y h a v e no b o o k s or m ag azin es for sale.

[ = no books a n d no m a g a z in e s . . . ]
[ no books or no m a g a z in e s . . . ] (c/1 3 .3 1 )
T h e y ’re going to p la n t several flow ering trees o r sh ru b s.
[ several flow ering trees or several flow ering sh ru b s]
T h e re a re ten b o y s a n d g irls in th e p laygroup.
In t h e last ex am p le, ten m ay o r m ay n o t in clu d e boys a n d girls in its scope.

H e n c e it is possible th a t th is p h ra se refers to a g ro u p o f c h ild ren ad d in g up
to a to ta l o f te n , ra th e r th a n to a g roup o f te n boys a n d te n girls. T h e fo rm er
in te r p r e ta tio n is n o t alw ay s selected, how ever, sin ce ten husbands a n d wives
o r ten knives and fo r k s w o u ld in v ite th e c o n tra ry re a d in g ‘te n o f th e o n e an d
te n o f th e o th e r’. T h is is b ecau se a h u sb a n d a n d w ife, o r a k n ife an d fork,
fo rm a u n it in a w ay in w h ic h a boy a n d a girl do not.
Coo rdination of o ther constituents

13.77 A ll th e m a in v a ria tio n s o f c o n stru ctio n w e have n o ted in c o n n ectio n w ith
clau ses a n d n o u n p h ra se s a re also found in v erb p h rases, ad jectiv e p h ra s e s ,
a d v e rb p h rases, a n d p re p o sitio n a l p h rases. T h e cen tral c o o rd in a to rs a n d a n d
or, a n d to a lesser e x te n t but, are used as linkers. In th e cases o f a n d a n d or,
th e re m ay b e m o re th a n tw o co n jo in s in a g iv en co n stru ctio n . C o o rd in a tio n
is a sy n d e tic, sy n d etic, o r polysyndetic. W h en and is th e c o o rd in a to r, th e r e is
a fu rth e r ch o ice b e tw ee n c o m b in ato ry an d segregatory read in g s. S o m e
re p re se n ta tiv e e x am p les o f o th e r p h ra ses a re g iven below .
C o o r d in a tio n o f v e r b s a n d v erb p h r a s e s
13.78 V e rb p h ra se c o o rd in a tio n is illu strated i n :
H e in ric h S c h m id t [w as born,] [lived,] a n d [died] in th e city o f V ie n n a. [1]

G o o d co o k in g [can disguise,] b ut [cannot improve ,] th e q u ality o f
th e in g red ien ts. [2]
Y e ste rd a y w e [bought] a n d [sold] te n p ain tin g s. [3]
T h e im p lica tio n o f c h ro n o lo g ical seq u en ce w h ich is fo u n d in c la u se

c o o rd in a tio n (c /1 3 .2 3 ) is also fo u n d , if th e m ain v erb h as d y n am ic m e a n in g ,
in v e rb p h ra se c o o rd in a tio n . W e m ay co n tra st, in th is resp ect, th e s ta tiv e
v e rb m ea n in g s o f S h e kn o w s a n d adm ires your w ork a n d the d y n a m ic v e rb
m ea n in g s o f George repaired a n d sold the car.
C o o rd in a tio n o f m a in verbs, w ith sh a red a uxiliary verb(s), is c o m m o n :
I h av e w ashed a n d dried th e dishes.

T h e g u ests w ere sittin g o r lounging a ro u n d in th e fro n t room .
Q u ite a larg e n u m b e r o f p eo p le m ig h t h ave been killed o r injured by
th e explosion.
C o o rd in a tio n o f a u x iliary v erb s is less c o m m o n a n d so m ew h at fo rm al:
T h e c o u n try can a n d m u st reco v e r from its p resen t crisis.

S taffo rd sh ire p o tte ry alw ays was, is, a n d will be p rized by collectors.
I t is p e rh a p s less ra re w h e n th e a u x iliaries are c onjoined by or:
H e m a y, o r (certain ly ) should, resign.
B u t c o o rd in a tio n th e n h a s th e c h a ra c te r o f a n in te rp o latio n (c /1 3 .9 5 /r).
N o te W h e n tw o d y n am ic v erbs o f o p p o site m e an in g a re conjoined, especially w hen c o m b in ed w ith

th e pro g ressiv e, th e m e an in g o f th e c o n stru c tio n is o fte n iterativ e ( c / l 3.101): H e la y there opening
a n d shutting his eyes [ie rep e a te d ly l; Visitors cam e a n d went throughout the summ er.
C o o r d in a ti o n o f a d je c t iv e s a n d a d je c t iv e p h r a s e s
13.79 A d jectiv e p h rases a re c o o rd in a te d i n :
T h e jo u rn e y w as long a n d e xtrem ely arduous.

O u r tea m is very f i t , very keen, an d ready to fa c e the strongest com petition
in the world.
I n th e follow ing, th e re is a c o o rd in a tio n o f adjective h e a d s :
I ’m feeling y ounger a n d healthier th a n I have felt for years.

But in th e follow ing, th ere is an am b ig u ity , acco rd in g to w h e th er th e

p re m o d ifie r belongs to th e first conjoin o r to b o th conjoins:
T h e so u v en irs th ey b o u g h t w ere very cheap a n d gaudy.
I t is u n c le a r w h e th e r th e analysis should b e:
[very cheap ] a n d [gaudy] or very [cheap] a n d [gaudy]
B ut t h e seco n d re ad in g , in w hich th e p rem o d ifier ap p lies to th e w hole

se q u e n ce , is p re fe rre d . A ch an g e in th e o rd e r o f th e w o rd s will e lim in ate th e
a m b ig u ity :
T h e so u v en irs they b o u g h t w ere [gaudy] a n d [very cheap].
A d je c tiv e s can b e c o o rd in a te d e ith e r in p re d ic a tiv e p o sitio n , as ab o v e, o r in

a ttr ib u tiv e p o s itio n :
H is clear a n d fo rc e fu l delivery im p ressed his au d ien ce. [ 1]
I n a ttrib u tiv e p o sitio n (c /1 3 .68), th e c o o rd in a to r a n d is o ften o m itte d :
H is clear, fo rc e fu l d eliv ery im pressed his au d ien ce. [2]
T h e a s y n d e tic co n stru ctio n in [2] is c o m b in a to ry , a n d is asso ciated w ith

n o n re stric tiv e m o d ific atio n (c/17.95). I t also suggests, m o re th a n th e sy n d etic
one, t h a t th e tw o e p ith e ts a re m ea n t to c o n trib u te to th e sam e g en eral e ffe c t:
i e ' . . . c le a r a n d , I m a y go so fa r as to. say, fo rcefu l’. T h e sy n d etic co n stru ctio n
o f [1], o n th e o th e r h a n d , h a s th e a d d itio n a l p o ssib ility o f a segregatory
in te rp re ta tio n i f th e h e ad no u n is p lu ral o r n o n c o u n t:
o ld a n d d ila p id a te d build in g s w et a n d w indy w eath er
T hese p h ra s e s , ih c o n tra s t to th o se o f [1] a n d [2], a re am biguous.
C o o r d in a tio n o f a d v e r b s a n d a d v e r b p h r a se s
13.80 C o o rd in a te d a d v e rb s a n d ad v erb p h rases a re n o rm ally o f th e sam e sem an tic
class (eg o f tim e, 6 f p lace, o f m an n er):
S h e m a d e th e a n n o u n c e m e n t quietly But quite confidently.

T h e G o v e rn o r n e v e r arriv es earlier or later th a n th e tim e o f an
a p p o in tm e n t.
T h e p isto n m o v ed up and down w ith in cre asin g speed.
I h a v e o nly sp o k e n to h er once or twice.
i
I n th is la s t ex am p le, once or twice is likely to h a v e th e vague m ean in g ‘a few
tim es’, c o m p a ra b le to th e use o f one or two as discu ssed in 13.71. T h e ra re r
case o f c o o rd in a tio n , in w h ich th e a d v erb s o r a d v e rb p h ra ses a re o f d ifferen t
se m an tic classes, is illu stra te d b y :
H e c o m p la in e d strenuously a n d often.
T h e y m e t som ew here a n d som etim e, b u t I h a v e fo rg o tten how or why.
C o o r d in a ti o n o f p r e p o s i tio n s a n d p r e p o s itio n a l p h r a s e s
13.81 T h e follow ing illu stra te c o o rd in a tio n o f p re p o sitio n a l p h ra s e s :
H e sp o k e fo r the fir s t m otion b u t against the second m otion.

J o h n c o m p lain ed b o th to M a ry an d to Peter.
T h ey a re going to France, to Germ any, o r to Switzerland.
T h e talk s held in 1951, in 1952, an d in 1955 m et w ith o nly lim ited
success.
I f th e tw o o r m o re p re p o sitio n s a re id en tical, all b ut the first p re p o sitio n c a n
b e ellip te d ; eg: to M a ry a n d P eter ; in 1951 and 1952 (b u t a c o m b in a to ry
m ea n in g is th en a llo w ed ; c f 13.70). F u rth e r possibilities a re th e ellipsis o f
p a rt o f th e p re p o sitio n a l co m p le m e n t in th e first o r su b seq u e n t co n jo in (th e
fo rm er, c atap h o ric o p tio n b ein g m ore form al):
H e sp o k e fo r the fir s t A b u t against the second motion.
H e sp o k e fo r the fir s t m otion b u t against the second A .
o r th e ellipsis o f th e p re p o sitio n a l co m p lem en t a lto g eth er, in w h ic h case th e

c o n stru ctio n is sim ply o n e o f c o o rd in ated p rep o sitio n s;
H e clim b ed up a n d over th e w all.
[ = H e c lim b ed up the wall a n d over the wall]
D id you sp eak f o r o r against th e m o tio n ?
D o you like y o u r coffee with o r without mil.k?
N o te A lso possible is a co n stru c tio n synonym ous w ith th e ab o v e in w hich ellipsis o c c u rs in th e seco n d
c o n jo in :
D id you sp eak f o r th e m otion o r against A ?
D o you like yo u r coffee w ith m ilk o r without A ?
T h e se a p p e a r to resem b le cases w h ere a prep o sitio n al ad v erb replaces a p rep o sitio n a l p h ra se ( c f
9 .6 5 - 6 ) ; b u t in fact th e y b elo n g to a differen t category, because th ey o c c u r w ith w o rd s ( w ithout
a n d against ) w h ich c a n n o t n o rm a lly b e used as prep o sitio n al ad v erb s. W e m u s t th e re fo re
d escrib e th ese as u n u su al cases o f ellipsis in w h ich a p rep o sitio n a p p e ars w ith o u t its p rep o sitio n a l
co m p lem en t. T h is analysis m a y b e fu rth e r ex ten d ed to cases like A sparagus is expensive o u t o f
season and in, w here, alth o u g h in m a y be a p rep o sitio n al adverb, in this in s ta n c e it is o b v io u sly a
p rep o sitio n parallel to out of. T h e effect o f p lacin g in a t th e en d , w ith ellipsis, in th is w ay is to
give it th e em p h asis asso cia ted w ith en d focus (c f l8 .9 J f ).
M i x e d c o o r d in a t io n o f a d v e r b ia ls
13.82 T h e g en eral p rin cip le g o v ern in g th e co o rd in atio n o f p h ra ses a n d w o rd s is
th a t th e conjoins m u st b elo n g to th e sam e category, form ally, fu n ctio n ally ,
a n d sem antically. S o m etim es, how ever, th e n o rm al fo rm al p a ralle lism is n o t
m a in ta in e d , so th a t th e re is c o o rd in a tio n o f d ifferen t a d v erb ial c ateg o ries. In
th e follow ing, a d v e rb p h ra se s a re c o o rd in ated w ith p re p o sitio n a l p h ra ses,
a n d n o u n p h rases w ith ad v erb ial clauses. In each case, h o w ev er, a close
sem an tic p arallel b etw een th e co n jo in s is m a in ta in e d :
T h e en em y a tta c k e d q uickly a n d with great force.
Y ou c a n w ash th e m m anually o r by using a machine.
T h ey c a n call this w eek o r whenever yo u wish.
I p refer th e sen ten ces below an d on the n e xt page.
C o o r d in a tio n o f s u b o r d in a to r s
13.83 I f tw o su b o rd in ate c lau ses a re id en tica l ex cep t for th e ir c o n ju n c tio n s, o n e o f
th e clauses c a n be o m itte d , n o rm ally th e first, so th a t c o o rd in a tio n ta k e s
p lace b etw een th e c o n ju n c tio n s:
I a m p r e p a r e d to m eet th em when a n d where th ey like.

[ = . . . w hen th ey lik e a n d where they like]
T h e y w ill b e a rriv in g e ith e r before o r after th e show begins.
N o te [a] O n t h e fo rm u la ic co o rd in atio n i f a n d only if, c f 15.35 N o te[i].

[ b ] I f a n d when is a stereo ty p ed ex pression w eak en in g th e e x p e ctatio n (co n v ey ed by when alone)
th a t th e c o n d itio n in th e clause will be re a liz e d :
I f a n d when h e b u y s a car, I ’ll tty to persu ad e him to buy th e in su ran c e fro m m e.
W ith i f a n d w hen ellip sis m a y be d isreg a rd e d , since i f and when h as b ec o m e a u nit. O th e r
in s titu tio n a liz e d c o n jo in in g s o f co n ju n ctio n s a r e : as and when ; unless a n d until.
C o o rd in atio n o f in terro g ativ e words and relative pronouns

13.84 C o o rd in a tio n c a n also ta k e p lace b etw een o th e r clau se -in tro d u c in g w ords,
su ch a s in te rro g a tiv e w ords, w h e th er th ey in tro d u ce a n in d e p e n d e n t o r a
d e p e n d e n t c la u se ( c f 1 1 .1 4 /):
I a m d e te rm in e d to find o u t who o r what cau sed th is u p ro a r.

H o w a n d w h y d id you b re a k in to m y room ?
A c o o r d in a tio n o f wh- w o rd s is n o t possible if th e w /t-w ords fu n ctio n as

d iffe re n t e le m e n ts o f stru ctu re. F o r exam ple, it is im p o ssib le to c o o rd in a te a
su b je ct who w ith a n a d v erb ial why:
* W h o a n d w hy b roke in to m y ro o m ?
B ut s u c h a s e n te n c e becom es g ra m m atica l if th e seco n d w/i-word is a p p en d e d

to th e c la u se :
W h o b ro k e in to m y room , a n d why?
T h is is b e c a u se th e a p p e n d e d w hy? co u n ts as a n e llip tical clau se ( c f 12.63)

( = ‘w h y d id th e y b re ak in to m y ro o m ? ’), an d so th e stru c tu ra l eq u iv alen ce
b e tw e e n th e first co n jo in a n d th e second is restored.
T h e sa m e p rin c ip le o f stru c tu ra l an d fu n ctio n al e q u iv a len c e p rev en ts
c o o rd in a tio n o f re la tiv e p ro n o u n s, b u t th e c o o rd in a tio n o f p re p o sitio n a l
p h ra se s c o n ta in in g a re la tiv e p ro n o u n is q u ite c o m m o n a t th e b eg in n in g o f
re la tiv e c lau ses
! N
I w a n t to kriow by whom a n d fo r whom it w as o rd ered .
Additional constraints on coordination
R estrictions on coordination of w o rd -p a rts

13.85 T h e m in im a l u n it w h ich c a n n o rm ally be c o o rd in ated is th e w o rd . T h e re are,
h o w ev er, o cca sio n al e x cep tio n s to th is lim itatio n . Som e d e riv a tio n a l prefixes
w h ic h te n d to be c o n tra ste d a n d w h ic h ten d to b e loosely a tta c h e d to th eir
base c a n be c o n jo in e d ; e g : ante- (or pre-) and p o st-n a ta l ; pro- a n d anti
establishm ent; sub- and super-hum an. T ig h tly -attac h ed prefixes d o n o t p e rm it
such c o o r d in a tio n : *im- a n d ex-ports.
Additional constraints on coordination 971
Sim ilarly, c o n stitu e n ts o f a co m pound c a n som etim es be co o rd in ated , w ith

ellipsis o f th e o th e r c o n stitu e n t; eg: fa cto ry- a n d office-workers, sons- a n d
daughters-in-law, h and-m ade and -packed, out- a n d in-patients, psycho- a n d
sociolinguistics. O n c e a g a in , th ese co n stitu en ts are loosely a tta ch e d , a n d w e
do n o t find lin k in g in m o re cohesive c o m p o u n d s such as toothache a n d
headache: * tooth- a n d headaches.
Order of co njoins in w o rd and phrase coordination

13.86 A p a rt fro m se m an tic fa cto rs such as ch ro n o lo g ical sequence ( c f 13.23) th e
o rd e r o f co n jo in s in w o rd a n d p h rase c o o rd in a tio n is relatively free. T h e
o rd e r o f co n jo in ed w o rd s c an , how ever, be influenced by a ten d en cy fo r th e
longer w o rd to c o m e seco n d (p erh ap s a v a ria n t o f th e en d -w eig h t p r in c ip le ;
c f 18.9). T h is is p a rtic u la rly noticeable in so-called b i n o m i a l s , ie re la tiv e ly
fixed c o n jo in t p h ra se s h a v in g tw o m em b ers; eg: big and ugly, cup and saucer.
O n e p rin cip le a t w o rk h e re a p p ea rs to b e a p rin cip le o f rh y th m ic re g u la rity :
eg th e d acty lic rh y th m o f 'ladies and 'gentleman, a n d th e tro ch a ic rh y th m o f
'men and 'women, a re p re fe ra b le to the less b a la n ce d rh y th m o f *'gentlem en
a n d 'ladies a n d *'w omen a n d 'men. It h a s also b e en arg u ed th a t se m a n tic
facto rs p lay a r o le ; e g th a t o th e r th in g s b e in g e q u al, th e first p o sitio n is g iv e n
to th e se m an tically sa lie n t o r culturally d o m in a n t m em b er, as in fa th e r a n d
son, g old a n d silver, g re a t and sm all, this a n d that. P h onological c o n s tra in ts
have also b e en su g g e ste d : th a t low vowels co m e a fte r h ig h o n es; th a t b a c k
vowels c o m e a fte r f r o n t on es, etc. W h atev e r th e c o n strain ts m ay be, th e y
lead to ste reo ty p ed co o rd in a tio n s w here th e co n jo in s a re v irtually in a n
irrev ersib le o rd e r; eg: od d s a n d ends, bread a n d butter, law a n d order, b y h o o k
or by crook, through th ic k a n d thin; knife, fo r k , a n d spoon.
N o te [a] A rg u ab ly ‘cu ltu ra l dom inance* c a n be exten d ed to in c lu d e th e tra d itio n al sexual bias ( c / 6 .10)
show n in th e te n d e n c y to p la c e m ale te rm s before fem ale on es in cases like m en a n d women, boys
a n d girls, ( if ) he or she (wishes). T h is tend en cy is rev ersed in m other a n d fa th e r (w here c u ltu ra l
d o m in an ce w o rk s in th e o p p o site d irectio n ) an d in ladies a n d gentlem en (influenced b y th e
courtesy co n v e n tio n o f ‘la d ie s first’).
[b] O n th e o rd e rin g o f y o u a n d I, etc, c/1 3 .5 6 N o te [a].
'ill-assorted' c o o rd in a tio n : (a ) sem antic

13.87 T h e re q u ire m e n t t h a t th e conjoins m atch o n e a n o th e r in form , function, a n d
m ean in g is o b se rv e d w ith vary in g degrees o f strictn ess. T h e follow ing a re
a p p are n tly e x am p les o f a sem an tic v iolation o f th e co n strain t, b u t n e v erth eless
such co n stru ctio n s c a n b e used for h um orous o r rh e to rica l effect:
She m ad e u p h er m in d a n d th e n her fa ce .
I d ro v e h o m e in a hurry an d a borrowed car.
Such ex am p les c a n b e ex p an d ed , by su p p ly in g ellip ted elem ents, in to

g ra m m atica l s e n te n c e s ; eg:
She m ad e u p h e r m in d a n d th en she m ad e u p h e r face.
B ut it is c le ar fro m th is th a t th e ellipsis is b a se d o n a n inco n g ru o u s a sso c iatio n

o f tw o h o m o n y m o u s id io m s, m a k e up (one’s m ind ) a n d m ake up (one’s fa c e ). I t
is to su ch e x am p les o f sem antically ill-asso rted c o o rd in atio n th a t th e
tra d itio n a l te rm z e u g m a is app lied .
972 C o ordina tion
'ill-a ss o rte d 'co o rd in a tio n : (b ) gram m atical

13.88 A d iffe re n t k in d o f ‘ill-asso rted ’ c o o rd in atio n is illu strated by th e follow ing:
W e have w a sh e d , d ried , an d p u t th e d ish es aw ay. [1]

B y giving t h e police a p ay rise, th e M in ister hopes to stren g th en
an d m ak e th e fo rce m o re efficient. [2]
T h e r e is no difficulty in u n d e rstan d in g su ch sen ten ces; th is tim e th e a n o m aly

is a m a tte r o f stru c tu re . T h ey co n tain a false p arallel, in th a t aw ay in [1] an d
m ore efficient [2] a re stru ctu rally o u tsid e th e co o rd in a te co n stru ctio n , a n d yet
sem an tica lly a p p ly only to th e last conjoin. S en ten ce [1] o u g h t to be a reduced
form o f :
* W e have w a sh e d th e d ishes aw ay, w e h a v e d ried th e d ish es aw ay, an d

w e have p u t th e d ish es aw ay.
b u t c le arly th is d o e s n o t m ak e sense. S u ch sen ten ces a re likely to o ccu r in th e

im p ro m p tu use o f lan g u ag e, b u t will b e ‘c o rre c te d ’ in th e m o re consid ered
a n d esp ecially in th e w ritte n use o f lan g u a g e ; [1 ], fo r ex am p le, c a n be ch an g ed
to :
W e h ave [w ash ed ,] [dried,] a n d [p u t aw ay] th e d ishes. [la ]
(O n t h e o rd erin g o f th e v erb p u t an d th e a d v e rb aw ay h ere, c f \ 6 .4 f f .) T h e

term ‘c o rre c te d ’ a b o v e h a s been ad v ised ly enclosed in q u o tatio n m ark s, since
it is n o t clear h o w fa r su ch exam ples a re to b e reg ard ed as sen ten ces w hich
a re u n g ra m m a tic a l in a d escrip tiv e sense, o r as a cc ep ta b le sen ten ces
stig m a tiz ed m ere ly b ecau se o f p re scrip tiv e trad itio n . O th e r in stan c es o f a
s im ila r k ind a r e :
T h e spy [w as in h is forties,] [of av erag e b u ild ,] a n d [spoke w ith a

slightly fo reig n accent], [3]
H a d the q u e e n [iived five y ears longer] or [h ad g iv en b irth to an
heir], thfe s u b s e q u e n t h isto ry o f th e n a tio n w ould h av e b een
very d ifferen t. [4]
E ith e r [the c h ild re n d id n o t k n o w w h a t h a d h ap p en ed ], or [were
trying to p ro te c t th e ir p aren ts]. [5]
? O u r an cien j c ity [has], a n d [alw ays wjll], b e p ro u d o f its
a ch iev em en ts. [6]
I a m fond b oth [o f dogs] a n d [cats]. [7]
T h e a n o m alo u s stru c tu re o f su ch sen ten ces c a n b e d isco v ered b y e x p an d in g

e ac h c o o rd in a tio n co n stru ctio n to a p o stu late d u n red u ced versio n , ie by
re p e a tin g before o r a fte r each co n jo in th e p a rts o f th e se n ten ce w h ich lie
o u tsid e the c o o rd in a te co n stru ctio n . T h e resu lt will b e a n u n accep tab le
se n ten c e in e a c h case. By w ay o f illu stratio n , th e u n red u ced v ersio n s o f [3]
a n d [7] a re:
* T h e spy w as in h is forties, th e spy o f av era g e build, a n d th e spy

spoke w ith a slightly foreign a ccen t. [3a]
*1 a m fond o f d o g s a n d I am fond c ats. [7a]
T h e ex p an sio n in e x am p le [7a] is b ased on th e p rin cip le th a t co rrelativ es

su ch a s both . . . a n d m a rk th e b eg in n in g o f e ac h conjoin. In fact, both c an n o t
Less com m on types of coordination 973
in tro d u c e clause c o o rd in a tio n (c f 13.35), an d w ould th ere fo re b e o m itte d

fro m a n u n re d u ce d sen ten ce su ch a s [7a].
N o te G ra m m a tic a lly ill-assorted co o rd in atio n ca n also o ccu r a t th e m orphological le v e l:

T h e re a d e r is in v ited to try th e e x p e rim en t for his or herseffbefore read in g on.
T h e p ro b le m w ith th is ex am ple is rev ealed i f w e ex p a n d th e first conjoin to h is s e lf (w h ic h is n o t
g ra m m a tic a l in sta n d a rd E nglish) by assu m in g , as th e co n stru ctio n seem s to re q u ire , a n e llip s is
o f -self. C o m p a re a related difficulty o f co o rd in ated possessive pronouns in 13.73.
'ill-asso rted co ordination': (c ) lexical

13.89 A th ird ty p e o f ‘ill-asso rted ’ c o o rd in a tio n is illustrated by th e fo llo w in g :
H e w as asham ed a n d alarm ed a t the vengeful a ttitu d e o f the

W a r C ab in et.
H e re th e s p e a k e r confuses th e p re p o sitio n s o f th e tw o c o m b in a tio n s a sh a m ed

o f a n d a larm ed at. T h e c au se o f th e false p arallel in th is case is lex ical, in th e
specific co m b in a tio n s o f ad je ctiv e an d p rep o sitio n ( c f 16.69), ra th e r th a n
g ra m m a tic a l. Such con fu sio n s, w h ic h a re n o t unusual, c a n be re m e d ie d by
a n in se rtio n o f th e a p p ro p ria te first p rep o sitio n : H e was a sh a m ed o f a n d
ala rm e d a t . . .
Less common types of coordination

C o m p le x coordination
13.90 U p to th is p o in t w e h av e b e e n c o n cern ed w ith sim ple c o o rd in a tio n : t h a t is,
th e c o o rd in a tio n o f single g ra m m atica l co n stitu en ts such a s clauses,
p re d ic a tio n s, p h rases, a n d w ords. W e tu rn now to th ree less re g u la r a n d less
co m m o n ty p es o f co o rd in a tio n , viz com plex co o rd in a tio n , a p p e n d e d
c o o rd in a tio n , a n d in te rp o lated c o o rd in a tio n : th ese types o f c o o rd in a tio n
m a y b e seen as related , by ellipsis, to th e c o o rd in atio n o f clauses.
W e a p p ly th e te rm c o m p l e x c o o r d i n F t i o n to c o o rd in ate c o n stru c tio n s o f
w h ic h th e c o n jo in s are c o m b in a tio n s o f u n its, ra th e r th a n single u n its . In th e
cla u se , fo r ex am p le, it is p o ssib le n o t m erely to co o rd in a te o b jec ts o r to
c o o rd in a te co m p lem en ts; b u t also to c o o rd in ate o n e c o m b in a tio n o f o b je c t
a n d c o m p le m e n t w ith a n o th e r c o m b in a tio n o f o bject a n d c o m p le m e n t.
13.91 O u r first ex am p les illu strate c o o rd in a tio n o f con tig u o u s c o m b in a tio n s o f

ele m e n ts in final p o sitio n in th e clause. (W e reserve n o n c o n tig u o u s c ases
u n til 13.92.)
(i) INDIRECT OBJECT + DIRECT OBJECT

W e gave [W illiam a b o o k o n stam ps], a n d [M ary a b o o k o n p a in tin g ],
(ii) OBJECT + OBJECT COMPLEMENT
J a c k p a in te d [the k itc h e n w hite] a n d [the living ro o m blue].
( i i i ) OBJECT + ADVERBIAL
Y ou sh o u ld serv e [the coffee in a m ug] an d [the lem o n ad e in a glass],
( i v ) ADVERBIAL + ADVERBIAL
P au la is flying [to M a d rid to n ig h t] a n d [to A th e n s n e x t w eek].
S u ch c o o rd in a tio n u sually estab lish es a stro n g p arallelism b e tw ee n th e

c o n jo in s, an d fo r th is reaso n it ten d s to b e asso ciated w ith a p re m e d ita te d ,
w r itte n style o f E n g lish , ra th e r th a n w ith in fo rm al co n v ersatio n .
B u t th ere is a n o th e r ty p e o f com plex c o o rd in a tio n w h ere th e re is n o stro n g
p a ra lle lis m . I n th is ty p e, the conjoins a re u n eq u al becau se o n e co n jo in
c o n ta in s o n e o r m o re a d v erb ials w here th e o th e r does n o t :
I fo u n d th e m u sic [unexciting] a n d - [fran k ly - d isco rd an t].

H e w ears [sm a rt clothes], a n d [som etim es a y ach tin g cap a t w eekends]:
S u ch e x a m p le s a r e m o re likely to o c cu r in in fo rm al speech.
G a p p in g
13.92 T h e p h e n o m e n o n k n o w n as g p p i n g o ccu rs w h en a seco n d o r su b seq u e n t
F
c o n jo in o f a c o m p le x c o o rd in a tio n c o n ta in s a m ed ial ellipsis. T h is h a p p e n s

w h e n e v e r th e e le m en ts b ein g c o o rd in ated a re n o n co n tig u o u s ele m en ts in th e
cla u se . F o r e x a m p le :
(i) SUBJECT + OBJECT

[O ne g irl h a s w ritte n a poem ], a n d [the o th e r A a sh o rt story].
(ii) s u je c t
| + d v e r i l (s )
F | F
[Sm ith, c o m p le te d th e course in th irty -fiv e m in u tes], a n d [Jo h n so n A

in th irty -sev en ].
(iii) SUBJECT + COMPLEMENT
[Ja n e h a s lo o k ed m o re healthy], a n d [M au rice A m o re relax ed ], sin ce
th e ir h o lid ay ,
i
T h e re is n o rm ally p ro so d ic se p a ra tio n o f th e conjoins, a n d in a d d itio n , th e
‘g a p ’ o r m ed ial ellip sis is o ften m ark e d b y th e en d o f a to n e u n i t :
M a g g ie o rd e re d a b a n a n a s p l it | a n d MYra| a n ice-cream suN dae.|
C o o rd in a tio n vyith g a p p in g is a p p a re n tly m o re difficult to d eco d e a n d

c o m p re h e n d th a n c o o rd in a tio n w ith o u t g a p p in g . A n in d ic a tio n o f th is is th a t
n o n g a p p e d in te rp re ta tio n s a re p re fe rre d to g a p p ed in te rp re ta tio n s in cases
w h ere a sen ten c e p e rm its b o th k in d s o f in te rp re ta tio n . In a sen ten c e su ch as
[1], fo r ex am p le, th e in te rp re ta tio n in d ic a te d by [ la ] will b e c h o se n in
p re fe re n c e to th a t o f [ 1b ] :
B a rb a ra g a v e Sue a m ag n o lia a n d A d a a cam ellia. [ 1]

[ = B a rb a ra g av e Sue a m ag n o lia a n d B a rb a ra g av e A d a a
cam ellia] [la ]
[ ^ B a rb a ra gave Sue a m ag n o lia a n d A d a gave S ue a cam ellia] [ 1b]
N o te [a] A n a d d itio n a l, ra th e r ra re , k in d o f g ap p in g is th a t in w h ich th e co n jo in s c o n sist o f a su b jec t

follow ed by a p re d ic a tio n (th e finite v erb bein g ellip ted ):
J o h n ca n clean th e sh ed a n d Sidney A feed th e ch ick en s.
T h e fo rtress h a d b een a tta c k e d a n d its co m m a n d e r A killed.
Less com m on types of coordination 975
[b] T h e first e lem en t o f a g a p p e d co o rd in atio n is norm ally th e subject o f th e clause; b u t

exceptions to th is o c c u r w ith fro n tin g (c/1 8 .2 0 ), if th e first e lem en t is a n o b je ct o r an a d v e rb ia l,
an d th e subject is e llip te d :
T h e tow ns th e y a tta c k e d w ith ta n k s, a n d th e villages A w ith aeroplanes.
T o G o d he c o m m itte d h is soul, a n d to th e fire A his body.
[c] C o o rd in a tio n s o f n o n fin a l seq u en ce s o f clause elem ents, e g su b ject + v erb, w ill be view ed
n o t as com plex c o o rd in a tio n , b u t as in terp o la ted coo rd in atio n ( c f 13.95).
13.93 F o r a c o n stru ctio n to c o u n t a s an a ccep tab le g a p p in g , it is n ecessary th a t

each conjoin c o n sist o f a seq u en ce o f u n its a t th e sa m e level o f stru c tu re ; viz
a t th e level o f clau se stru c tu re . I t is n o t possible, for in stan ce, fo r e ac h co n jo in
to consist o f a v e rb p h ra s e to g eth e r w ith the first w ord (a p rep o sitio n ) o f a
p rep o sitio n al p h ra se. T h u s :
R o b erts w o n in 1979 a n d D ingw all in 1980.
is g ra m m atica l, b u t n o t ;
‘ R o b erts w on in 1979 a n d D in g w all 1980.
N o te T h is ap p lies e v e n to c lau ses w h ere th e v erb a n d th e p rep o sitio n fo rm a ‘p rep o sitio n al v e rb ’ ( c f

1 6 .5 /), a n d w h ere th e p re p o s itio n a l co m p lem en t resem bles a d ire c t o bject. A lth o u g h th e
prep o sitio n in su ch cases a p p e a r s to b e m o re closely related to th e v erb th a n to its co m p lem en t,
th e ellipsis o f th e p re p o sitio n is n o t p e rm issib le :
• I lo oked a t A g n es, a n d sh e m e.
C o n tr a s t;
I saw A g n es, an d sh e m e.
Appended co ordination
13.94 T h ere is a loose k in d o f c o o rd in a tio n in w hich th e seco n d conjoin is a p p e n d e d
to th e clause in w h ic h th e first co n jo in occurs ( c f a p p e n d e d clauses, 12.70). I n
fact, it is p re fe ra b le to re g a rd all such cases as clause co o rd in a tio n w ith
ellipsis:
Jo h n w rites e x tre m e ly w ell - a n d SALly, t o o . [ 1]

M y m o th e r p lay s b a d m in to n , a n d so m etim es e v en ten n is. [2]
H e g o t a b ik e fo r h is b irth d a y , a n d a b o o k a n d a fo u n tain p en. [3]
H is left h o o k c o u ld fell th e ch am p io n , a n d in d ee d an y o th e r boxer
in h is class. [4]
U n lik e com plex c o o rd in a tio n , th is type o f c o o rd in a tio n is c h a ra c te ris tic o f

inform al sp eech . W e c o u ld arg u e th a t [la ] is a case o f n o u n p h ra se
co o rd in atio n , a n d is a v a r ia n t o f [1 ] w ith o u t a d isco n tin u o u s su b je c t:
Jo h n a n d Sally w rite e x trem ely well. [ 1a]
B u t th is d oes n o t a c c o u n t fo r th e sin g u lar v erb in [1], a n d it is m o re re alistic

to classify su c h a c o n stru c tio n as a c o o rd in a tio n o f clauses in w h ich th e
second co n jo in , w h ic h is e llip tical, is a d d ed as a n afte rth o u g h t. T h is la tte r
d escrip tio n also a cc o rd s b e tte r w ith e xam ples lik e [2] in w h ich th e a p p e n d e d
subject is a c c o m p a n ie d b y a n ad v erb ial. In [2] it is th e o b ject o f a n e llip tical
clause w h ich is a p p e n d e d , ra th e r th a n a subject.
W ith and, a p p e n d e d c o o rd in a tio n h as th e a ir o f a m ak e sh ift im p ro v isa tio n ,
som etim es a c c o m p a n ie d b y rh e to rica l em p h a sis (as in [4]). B ut w ith or a n d
but, i t i s m o r e lik e ly to o c c u r i n c a r e f u l a n d / o r w r i t t e n t y p e s o f l a n g u a g e :
I a m n o t s u re w h e th e r j F n e w r o te t h e l e t t e r , o r SALly. [5]
P E T e r p l a y s f o o tb a ll, b u t n o t JOHN. [6]
In [5] t h e a lte rn a tiv e in te rro g a tiv e clause ( c f 15.6) allow s th e p o ssib ility o f a
p o s tp o n e d con jo in . T h e sam e ap p lies to d irec t a lte rn a tiv e q u estio n s, an d
a lte r n a tiv e c o n d itio n al-co n c e ssiv e clauses ( c f 11.20/, 15.41). In [6] the
r e p u d ia to r y use o f but (c /1 3 .3 2 , 13.42 N o te [d]) allow s a p o stp o n e d n eg ativ e
c o n jo in . T h e s e a re sp ecial c o n stru ctio n s in w h ich a p p e n d e d c o o rd in atio n
o c c u rs freely .
In te rpo la ted coordination

13.95 A n o th e r less reg u lar ty p e o f co o rd in a tio n m ay be called i n t e r p o l F t e d ,
b e c a u s e o n e o f th e co n jo in s b e h av es as if it is in serted , a s a p aren th esis, in
th e m id d le o f th e clause. O n c e a g ain , th e c o o rd in atio n c a n be re g ard e d a s a n
e llip tic a l re d u c tio n o f clau se c o o rd in a tio n , an d in som e c ases th e re is a d irec t
p a r a lle l b e tw e e n in te rp o la te d c o o rd in a tio n an d clau se c o o rd in a tio n w ith
g e n e r a l e llip sis in th e seco n d c o n jo in :
rr . f o r wAs a t a n y r a t e , ] .
H e ,S’ | o r a t least h e w F s , J a m aj0 r CompoSer' [1]
H e is a m a jo r c o m p o ser, o r a t least he w F s a . [la]
S im ila rly , a p p e n d e d c o o rd in a tio n such as th a t o f [1] o f 13.94 c a n b e reo rd ered

so a s t o p ro d u c e a n e x am p le o f in te rp o lated c o o rd in a tio n :
J o h n - a n d Sally, to o - w rites ex trem ely well. [2]
I f w e a tte m p t to a n aly se [2] a s h a v in g a c o o rd in ated su b ject, w e h a v e to deal

w ith t h e c u rio sity o f a p lu ral su b je ct w ith a sin g u lar v e rb ; b u t i f w e tre a t it as
a c a s e o f in te rp o la te d c o o rd in a tio n , w e a cc ep t th a t th e s u b je c t-v e rb concord
w ill b e u n a ffe c te d by in te rp o la te d elem ents.
N o te T h e c o o r d in a tio n o f th e d efin ite a n d in d efin ite articles (c/1 3 .7 1 N o te [c]) m ay b e tre a te d as a

ca se o f in te r p o la te d co o rd in atio n .
13.96 T w o m a i n d istin g u ish in g m a rk s o f in te rp o lated c o o rd in a tio n a re t h e s e :
(a) T h e seco n d co n jo in is n o rm ally se p a ra ted by p ro so d y (in speech ) o r

p u n c tu a tio n (in w ritin g ) fro m th e rest o f th e clause, a n d th e re b y show s
its e lf to b e sy n tactically d islo cated .
(b) T h e r e is n q re q u ire m e n t th a t th e in te rp o latio n a c tin g as second o r
s u b s e q u e n t |conjoin sh o u ld co n stitu te a g ra m m a tic a l u n it, o r ev en a
s e q u e n c e o f g ra m m a tic a l u n its o f th e sam e ra n k . F o r e x am p le, th e second
c o n jo in in [la ] in 13.95 is a t least he was [A S V], w h e rea s in [3] below the
s e c o n d c o n jo in c o n sists o f a n ad v erb ial a t least, a m a in v e rb believes, an d
th e first p a r t o f a s u b o rd in a te clause that he i s :
H e is, or a t least believes th a t he is, a m ajo r c o m p o ser. [3]
H e m ay be, a n d (certainly ) believes th a t he is, a m a jo r c o m p o ser. [3a]
T h is s e q u e n c e o f w o rd s h a s n o au to n o m y a s a g ra m m atica l u n it, a n d does n ot

Less com m on types o f coordination 977
m a tc h th e g ra m m a tic a l form o f th e first conjoin, is. B ut w ith in te rp o la te d

c o o rd in a tio n th is do es n o t m a tte r : th e only im p o rta n t re q u ire m e n t is th a t t h e
seco n d c o n jo in (o r in te rp o latio n ) b e c ap a b le o f rep lacin g th e first c o n jo in , so
th a t th e resu lt o f th e su b stitu tio n is a g ra m m atica l sentence. T h is c o n d itio n ,
w h ic h is less e x ac tin g th a n th a t w h ic h ap p lies to sim p le c o o rd in a tio n ( c f
1 3 .43,13.49, 13.88) is fulfilled in 13.95 [la ] a n d 13.96 [3]:
f H e is a m ajo r co m p o ser. 1 ,
[ A t least he was a m a jo r c o m p o ser.]
f H e is a m ajo r co m p o ser. 1 ,
] H e a t least believes th a t he is a m ajo r com poser. J
L ik e co m p lex co o rd in a tio n , in te rp o lated co o rd in a tio n is a dev ice o f re s tric te d

use, n o rm ally asso c iated w ith th e p re m e d ita te d , p rim a rily w ritte n , use o f
E n g lish . F u r th e r ex am p les a re:
T h e fo lk m u sic o f h is n a tiv e R o m a n ia [inspired], an d [p ro v id ed th e

th e m a tic m a te ria l for], his g re atest w ork.
She [can], a n d [p ro b ab ly will,] b e a t th e w orld record.
S am [o ften th o u g h t ab o u t,] b u t [n ev er revisited,] th e h a u n ts o f his
c h ild h o o d .
I n th ese d ay s, few p eo p le [learn,] o r [in d eed see an y p o in t in lea rn in g ,]
th e lan g u ag es o f H o m e r a n d V irgil.
S ty listically , su ch in te rp o la te d c o o rd in a tio n is o ften a w k w ard , a n d is b e s t

a v o id e d if a m o re stra ig h tfo rw a rd co n stru ctio n can p ro d u ce th e s a m e
m e a n in g a n d effect. T h u s in stead o f th e first sen ten ce a b o v e o n e c o u ld w r i t e :
T h e fo lk m u sic o f h is n a tiv e R o m a n ia in sp ired his g re atest w o rk , a n d

p ro v id e d th e th e m a tic m a te ria l for it.
N o te In te rp o la te d c o o rd in a tio n m a y b e distin g u ish ed from par en t h et ic al c o o r d in at io n , w h ere a n

u n red u c e d co o rd in a te clau se is in serted p aren th e tic a lly w ith in a n o th e r c la u s e :
T h e y ask e d Bill J u d d - an d h e ’s one o f th e best m an ag ers in th e co u n try - if h e w ould ta k e
o v e r th e te a m n e x t season.
C o m p a re also p ar en t h et ic al par ataxis , w h ere th e p aren th etically included clause is co m p le te ly
in d e p e n d e n t o f th e o th e r c la u s e :
E n te rp ris in g b u sin essm en sell ea rth w o rm s (they are on e o f th e best soil co n d itio n e rs) in
h u n d re d s o f re ta il sto res acro ss th e U n ite d S tates a n d C an a d a.
13.97 S om e ty p es o f c o o rd in a tio n w h ich , o n pu rely fo rm al g ro u n d s, b elo n g w ith

co m p lex c o o rd in a tio n seem to b elo n g w ith in te rp o lated c o o rd in a tio n in te rm s
o f p ro so d y a n d style. T h ese a re co o rd in a tio n s w h ere th e co n jo in s c o n sist o f a
seq u en ce o f n o n fin al clau se e le m e n ts:
(i) SU B JEC T + V ERB

[R ic h a rd ad m ires], b u t [M a rg are t despises], th e b allyhoo o f m o d e rn
ad v ertisin g .
(ii) A D V ER B IA L + V ERB
G re g o ry P e c k [alw ays w as], an d [alw ays will be], h e r fa v o u rite
H o lly w o o d star.
978 C o ordina tion
(iii) v e r | + o | je c t ( w h e n th e o b j e c t is n o t a t t h e e n d o f t h e c la u s e )
M rs S ym es [gave a th o u san d dollars], a n d [prom ised sev eral th o u sa n d
m ore], to th e fund for d isab led ath letes.
To se e th a t th ese have th e c h ara cte r o f in te rp o lated co o rd in a tio n , w e n o te

firstly th e s tre n g th o f th e in to n a tio n b o u n d a rie s en clo sin g th e seco n d c o n jo in :
G re g o ry P e c k alw ays w F s | and alw ays w Il l b e | h e r fav o u rite

H o lly w o o d STAR|
and se c o n d ly , th e ease w ith w hich th ese ex am p les could b e c h a n g e d by

in se rtin g o r s u b tra c tin g w o rd s from e ith e r c o n jo in . F o r ex am p le, if we a d d o r
s u b tra c t a d v e rb ia ls fro m o n e o r th e o th e r c o n jo in in th e a b o v e ex am p le, th is
is o n ly a su p erficial v a ria tio n w ith in th e b asically v ersatile p a tte rn o f
in te rp o la te d c o o rd in a tio n :
G re g o ry P e c k j^|^ySwasj a n d (n o d o u b t) alw ays w ill be,
h e r fa v o u rite H ollyw ood star.
Idiomatic and expressive uses of coordination
Pseu do-co ordina tion: tr y and com e, etc

13.98 W h en th ey p re ce d e and, m em b e rs o f a sm all class o f verbs o r p re d ic a tio n s
have a n id io m a tic fu n c tio n w h ich is sim ila r to th e fu n c tio n o f c a te n a tiv e
c o n stru ctio n s (c /3 .4 9 ) a n d w h ich will b e te rm e d p s e u d o - c o o r d i n F t i o n . T h e
c learest e x am p le is try .
I ’ll try a n d co m e to m o rro w .

1
T his is ro u g h ly e q u iv a le n t to F it try to com e tomorrow, b u t is m o re in fo rm a l in
style. F u r th e r : •
T h e y sa t a n d ta lk e d a b o u t th e good o ld tim es.
is sim ila r in m e a n in g to T hey sat talking about the good o ld tim es. P seu d o
c o o rd in a tio n b elo n g s to in fo rm al style, a n d m an y ex am p les h a v e a d e ro g a to ry
c o n n o ta tio n : '
D o n ’t ju s t s ta n d th e re a n d grin. [ = s ta n d th e re grin n in g ]
H e w e n t a n d co m p la in e d a b o u t us.
T h e y ’ve g o n e a n d u p se t h e r again.
R u n a n d fell h im to com e here a t once.
W h y d id you go a n d d o a silly th in g lik e t h a t?
Like try in b e in g follow ed by a to-infinitive in th e c o rre sp o n d in g re g u la r fo rm

are stop, go, com e, hurry up, a n d run. L ik e sit a re sta n d a n d (p o sitio n al) lie.
Idiom atic and expressive uses of coordination 979
T h is q u asi-au x iliary use o f try a p p e a rs to be lim ited to th e b ase fo rm o f th e

verb . C o n tra s t th e a c c e p ta b ility of:
T ry and see h im to m o rro w .
H e m ay try a n d see us to m o rro w .
T h ey try a n d see u s ev ery day.
w ith th e u n a cc ep ta b ility o f:
*H e tried and saw us y esterd ay .
*She h as trie d a n d sp o k e n to him .
*H e tries a n d sees us e v ery day.
In ste ad o f co o rd in a tio n , in su c h cases, we h av e to use th e to -in fin itiv e ; e g :
H e trie d to see u s e v ery day.
N o te [a] O f th e tw o -ed p artic ip le fo rm s o f g o (c /3 .1 9 N o te [b ]) b o th gone an d been o cc u r in p se u d o

c o o rd in atio n in B rE , b u t o nly gone o cc u rs in pseu d o -co o rd in atio n in A m E :
T h e y ’ve gone an d sp illed w in e o n th e floor. <B rE a n d A m E )
T h e y ’ve been an d sp illed w in e o n th e floor. <BrE>
T h e n o rm a l m ean in g o f go is lo st in th e se sentences. T h e re is n o asp ectu al difference b etw e en
th e m , o f th e k in d n o rm ally a sso cia ted w ith gone a n d been ( c f 4.22 N o te [b]), a n d b o th usag es a re
in fo rm al a n d dero g ato ry . B rE h as a h u m o ro u s usage in w hich b o th been a n d gone a re c o n jo in ed
w ith a th ird v e r b : Look what you’ve been and gone and done.
[b] I n fam iliar speech w e also find th e id io m :
H e \ UP ,1 an d h it m e . She I ,1 an d le ft him .
[upped j [upped J
Pseu do-co ordina tion: n ice a n d w arm , etc

13.99 A g ain in in fo rm al sp e e ch , th e re is a sp ecial use o f som e co m m e n d ato ry
ad jectiv es as first co n jo in o f a c o o rd in a tio n by and. T h e m o st c o m m o n
ad jectiv e o f th is ty p e is n ice :
T h is room is nice a n d warm . [ = ‘w arm to ju st th e rig h t d e g ree ’]
T h e sem an tic role o f th e first a d je ctiv e is m o re like th a t o f a n in ten sifier th a n

th a t o f a n a d jectiv e, h e n ce th is , to o , m ay b e reg ard ed as pseudo-coordination.
O th e r ex am p les in clu d e:
H is sp eech w as nice a n d short.

I t w as lovely a n d cool in th e re . [ = ‘co m fo rtab ly cool’]
Som e sp eak ers (esp in A m E ) u se g o o d in th e sam e w ay:
T h e ro ad is good a n d long.
e v en w here th e a d je ctiv al fo rm follow ing a n d is used a s a n a d v e rb :
I h it h im good a n d hard. S h e d ro v e good and fa st.
N o te [a] In attrib u tiv e ra th e r th a n p re d ic a tiv e fu n ctio n , ad jectives o f th e k in d ju s t illu strated

com m only o ccu r w ith o u t and (c f 17.114):
I t's a lovely warm d ay . H e m a d e a nice short speech. I t w as a good long w ay
to th e co m er.
[b] A co m p arab le c o n stru c tio n is th e stere o ty p ed use o f th e conjoined a d v e rb s well and truly as
in :
S om e o f th e guests w ere well and truly d ru n k .
T h e in te n sify in g use o f coordination

13.100 T h e r e a r e a n u m b e r o f circ u m stan c es in w h ich a w ord o r p h ra se is co o rd in ated
w ith itself. W ith c o m p a ra tiv e fo rm s o f adjectives, a d v erb s, a n d d eterm in ers,
th e e ffe c t is to exp ress a c o n tin u in g in crease in degree. T h e c o m p arativ e
fo rm s m o re a n d less, o r else th e inflected form s in -er, are o fte n co o rd in ated
in t h is w a y :
S h e fe lt m o re and more a n g ry .] , <• ■ ■ > i

S h e fe lt angrier a n d angrier. j ^ She f d t l n c r e a s l n S 1y “ ***]
T h e c a r w e n t more a n d m ore slow ly.] [ = T h e c a r w e n t in creasin g ly

T h e c a r w e n t slower and slower. J slowly.]
C o o rd in a tio n o f th is k in d w ith m o re th a n tw o co n jo in s also o ccasionally

o c cu rs:
T h e n o ise g o t louder a n d louder a n d louder, u n til it so u n d ed a s i f a

w h irlw in d h a d e n te red th e house.
A s y n d e tic c o o rd in a tio n is ra re , b u t n o t im possible h e r e : The noise g o t louder,

louder, louder . . .
T h e ite ra tive o r continuative use o f coordination

13.101 A n o th e r k in d o f ex p ressiv e re p e titio n w ith and conveys th e id e a o f a re p eated
o r c o n tin u in g p ro cess. T h is ite ra tiv e use o f c o o rd in atio n m a y b e fo u n d w ith
v e rb s:
H e ta lk e d a n d ta lked a n d talked. [ = H e talk ed for a v ery lo n g tim e.]

T h e y k n o c k e d and kn ocked. [ = T h ey k n o ck ed rep eated ly .]
b o th w ith and; w ith o u t th e c o n ju n c tio n :
T h e y k e p t talking, talking, ta lkin g all n ig h t long.
I t a lso o c c u rs w ith ad v erb s, especially w ith again a n d th e p re p o sitio n al

a d v e rb s over, on, around, up, dow n, e tc :
I ’v e sa id it'again a n d again [ = repeatedly], b u t she still ta k e s n o notice.

H e k e p t re p e a tin g th e n a m e over a n d over.
S h e ta lk e d on and on a n d on. [ = continuously]
T h e b a llo o n w en t up a n d up in to th e sky. [ = co n tin u o u sly u p w ard s]
A g ain , a s y n d e tic c o o rd in a tio n c a n be used for special d ra m a tic e m p h asis:
T h e b a llo o n w e n t up, up, up, u n til it w as a tin y sp eck in th e sky.
A sim ila r e ffe c t o f ite ra tio n o r a lte rn a tin g m o v em en t is so m etim es ach iev ed
by c o o rd in a tin g c o n tra stin g p re p o sitio n s o r p re p o sitio n a l a d v e rb s: on and
off, o f f a n d on, in a n d out, up a n d down, backw ards a n d fo rw a rd s, e t c :
Jill a n d E ric h av e b e en seein g o n e a n o th e r o ff a n d on fo r th e last five

y e ars. [ = in te rm itten tly ]
W e w a tc h e d th e m o th e r b ird g o in g in a nd out o f th e n e st [ = rep eated ly
in a n d o u t] try in g to satisfy th e a p p e tite o f th e h u n g ry fledglings.
Idiom atic and expressive uses of coordination 981
T h e c o m b in a tio n o f th is ty p e o f co o rd in atio n w ith th e re p etitiv e c o o rd in a tio n

ab o v e p ro d u c es a m o re v iv id a n d e m p h atic effect :
T h e so ld iers m a rc h e d up a n d down, up a n d down to th e m usic o f the

b an d .
T h e re p e titiv e ty p es o f c o o rd in a tio n m en tio n ed in th is an d th e p re ce d in g

sections, a n d esp ecially th e last type, are p a rticu larly c h ara cte ristic o f p o p u la r
n a rra tiv e style.
O ther expressive uses o f coordination

13.102 T h e c o o rd in a tio n o f id e n tic a l item s also occurs w ith n ou n s. T h e effect, if th e
n o u n is r e p e a te d o n ce, m ay be to suggest th a t d ifferen t types, especially g o o d
a n d b a d , c a n b e d is tin g u is h e d :
T h e re a re teachers a n d teachers, [roughly: ‘good a n d b a d tea ch e rs’]

Y o u c a n find doctors a n d doctors, [roughly: ‘good a n d b a d d o c to rs’]
B u t if th e n o u n is re p e a te d m o re th a n once, th e effect is to suggest a larg e

n u m b e r o r q u a n tity :
W e saw dogs a n d dogs a n d dogs all over th e place.

T h ere w as n o th in g b u t rain, rain, rain fro m o n e w eek to th e next.
S o m ew h at sim ila r to th ese last exam ples is th e in ten sify in g effect o f re p e titio n
o f a ttrib u tiv e a d je ctiv es a n d o f degree intensifiers:
a n old, o ld m a n [ = ‘a very old m a n ’]

very, very, very g o o d [ = ‘extrem ely good’]
B u t th is ty p e o f c o o rd in a tio n is alw ays asyndetic.

In in fo rm al sp eech , th e c o o rd in atio n o f a n o u n p h ra se w i t h . . .o r so is u sed
to ex p ress a p p ro x im a tio n . T h e no u n p h ra se is n o rm ally a p h ra se o f
m easu rem en t. C o m p a re th e follow ing w ith th e c o o rd in a tio n o f n u m era ls
(c /1 3 .7 1 ):
th e y e a r o r 1 > I sp en t there.
I
f 1
*the m a n o r ^ > I saw there.
Iso J
T h e lim ita tio n s b e co m e c le ar w ith ad d itio n al ex am p les; th u s a lth o u g h w e
can sp e a k of:
a d o llar o r so to s p e n d . f o f b e er o r so
a p o u n d o r so o f b u tte r (o r so o f b e er
we c a n n o t sp eak o f *a chair or so, *a child or so, a n d still less o f *the chair or

so, th o u g h ‘another c h a ir o r so’ is accep tab le. H e n ce th e h e ad n o u n s p re ce d in g
th e or so a p p ro x im a tio n m u st be u n its o f m ea su re m e n t (year, pound ) o r ite m s
co n tex tu ally re n d e re d u n its o f m easu rem en t (another N ). I t m ay be w o rth
m en tio n in g th a t ‘a g lass o f b e e r o r so’ has th e s tr u c tu r e :
a [glass [o f beer]] o r so.
982 Co ordination
N o te [a] T h e stereotyped co o rd in a tio n in out and out h as a n inten sify in g effect in prem o d ificatio n o f
nouns:
H e ’s an out a n d out liar. [ = a n u tter, th oro u g h g o in g liar] ■
O ut-and-out is o fte n h y p h en a ted .
[b] I n inform al sp e e c h , ex p ressio n s like.ves, no , well, O K , all right are o fte n re p ea ted fo r em p h asis
( c / 1 8 .5 8 on re p etitio n ).
Quasi-coordinators
13.103 I n a d d itio n to th e sem i-co o rd in ato rs nor, so, an d y e t m en tio n ed in 13.19,

th e r e are se v e ra l lin k in g item s w h ich w e m ay call q u s i - c o o r d i n t o r s ,
F F
b e ca u se they b e h a v e so m etim es lik e co o rd in ato rs, a n d a t o th e r tim es like

su b o rd in a to rs o r p rep o sitio n s. T h e m o st p ro m in e n t o f th e m a re clearly
re la te d to c o m p a ra tiv e form s ( c f \5 .6 3 ff):
a s well as, a s m uch as, rather than, m ore than

4
O th e rs are i f not, not to say, a n d th e c o rre lativ e not so m u c h . . .a s.
I n th e follow ing e x am p les, th e q u a si-co o rd in ato rs d o n o t in tro d u c e clauses
o r n o u n p h ra ses, a n d resem ble c o o rd in a to rs in th a t th ey lin k ‘c o n jo in s’ o f
v a ry in g g ra m m a tic a l c o n stitu e n c y :
H e [publishes] a s well as [prints] his ow n books.

T h e sp e e ch w as a d d ressed [to th e em ployers] as m uch as [to the
strikers].
I t was [h o w well] m ore than [how loud] sh e sang t h a t im p ressed m e.
H e is [to b e p itie d ] rather than [to b e disliked].
H e r m a n n e r w as [unw elcom ing] • ^ n0t

not to sa y
H is late stlp lay is not so much [a farce] as [a b u rlesq u e tragedy],

i \
In o th e r sen ten ces, how ev er, th ey clearly h a v e a p re p o sitio n a l o r s u b o rd in a t
ing role, a n d h a v e th e m o b ility o f a d v erb ials, in th a t th ey c a n b e p laced in
in itia l or final p o s itio n (c/1 5 .5 2 ):
f A s well as printing the books, h e p u b lish es th em .

[H e p u b lish es th e books, as well as printing them .
{
R ather than cause trouble, I ’m going to fo rg et th e w hole a ffair.
I ’m g o in g to fo rg et th e w hole a ffa ir, rather than cause trouble.
A n o th e r re aso n fo r n o t tre a tin g th ese item s as fully c o o rd in a tiv e is th a t in

su b je ct p o sitio n , th ey n o rm ally do n o t b rin g a b o u t p lu ral c o n co rd if th e first
n o u n ph rase is sin g u lar:
Jo h n , as m uch as his brothers, w as resp o n sib le fo r th e loss.
Abbreviations for coordination 983
I n th is th ey resem b le p re p o sitio n s su c h as with, in addition to, a n d a fte r m o re

th a n c o o rd in a to rs lik e and', c o m p a r e :
Jo h n , with his brothers, w as resp o n sib le for the loss.

O n e se n a to r a fter another h a s p ro tested ag ain st th e ban.
C o m p are , h o w ev er, in te rp o lated c o o rd in a tio n ( c f 13.95), w here th e re can b e

a sim ila r lac k o f p lu ral co n co rd , e v e n w ith and. T h ese o b se rv atio n s re m in d
us t h a t c o o rd in a tio n is re la te d by g ra d ie n ce to su b o rd in a tio n ( c /1 3 .1 8 /), a n d
suggest th a t ju s t a s se m i-co o rd in ato rs such as f o r an d so th a t a re p lac ed o n
th e scale b etw een co o rd in a to rs a n d su b o rd in a to rs, so q u a si-co o rd in ato rs su c h
as a s w ell as m ay be re g ard ed as ta k in g th e ir p lace o n a scale b e tw ee n
c o o rd in a to rs a n d p rep o sitio n s.
N o te (a] N o n re s tric tiv e relativ e clauses h a v e also b een considered sem an tically e q u iv a le n t to
c o o rd in a te d clau ses. S u ch a classification seem s p articu larly a p p ro p ria te in th e c a se o f se n te n tia l
relativ e clau ses (c/1 5 ,5 7 ), w here th e relativ e clause h a s th e rest o f th e su p e ro rd in a te clau se a s its
a n te c e d e n t:
P a m d id n ’t go to th e show , which is a pity. [ * . . . an d th a t is a p ity ’]
[b ] L ess co m m o n ex am p les o f q u asi-c o o rd in ato rs a re still less an d its in fo rm al sy n o n y m let alone :
still less 1
{ let alone I book.
T o th e se m a y be a d d e d th e infin itiv e c o n stru c tio n not to mention , w h ich is, h o w ev er, m o re

re stric te d in th a t it req u ires a follow ing no u n p h ra se :
H e w ro te tw en ty novels, not to mention six th ic k volum es o f verse.
[c] T h e parallels b etw een in terp o la ted c o o rd in atio n ([1] c f 13.95/), q u asi-c o o rd in atio n ([3]),
p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se s ([2]), a n d ad v e rb ia l clauses ([4] c f 15.17/") is illu strated in th e fo llo w in g :
T h e n e x t m e etin g , the one after it, w ill be very im p o rtan t. j^ j
T h e n ex t m eetin g , as well as the one last month , will be very im p o rtan t. [3]
T h e n ex t m e etin g will be very im p o rta n t, as was the one last month. {4]
W h e re as [51 is u n ac cep ta b le b ecau se o f th e req u irem en t th a t conjoins sho u ld be m u tu ally
su b stitu ta b le , [6] is ac cep ta b le bec au se o f th e statu s o f like as a p re p o sitio n :
* T h e nex t m e etin g , and the one last month , w ill b e very im p o rtan t. [5]
T h e n ex t m eetin g , like the one last month, w ill be very im p o rtan t. [6]
Abbreviations for coordination
13.104 . T h e tag s a n d so on, and so fo rth , a n d e t cetera (L atin = ‘a n d o th e rs ’, a b

b re v ia te d in w ritin g as etc) a re a b b re v ia to ry dev ices w h ich a re a d d e d to a
c o o rd in a te d list, to in d ic a te t h a t th e list h as n o t b een ex h au stiv ely g iv en :
H e p ack e d h is clothes, h is b o o k s, his p ap ers, etc.
A n d so on a n d a n d so fo rth (a n d th e ir co m b in a tio n and so on and so fo rth ) a re

984 Co ordina tion
u se d in th e s a m e w ay , b u t a re re stric te d to inform al use, a n d te n d to o ccu r

a f te r c o o rd in a te d clauses ra th e r th a n c o o rd in a te d ph rases. A less co m m o n
p h ra s e o f th e sam e k in d is and the like.
N o te [al A n o th e r a b b re v ia to ry d ev ice used in a sim ilar w ay to etc is th e L atin e t a l (in full e t alsijaliaej
alia = ‘a n d o th e rs'), w h ich in d icates incom pletion o f a list o f nam es. It is m o st co m m o n in legal
d o c u m e n ts a n d in scholarly w riting o r le cturing, in th e la tte r ca se to avoid re p e a tin g a list o f
co a u th o rs :
J C B row n et al.
[b] M e n tio n sh o u ld also b e m a d e o f th e learned a b b re v ia tio n e t seq (L a tin e t sequens) m e an in g
‘a n d th e follo w in g (p ag e)'. T h is so m etim es h as a plu ral fo rm w ith le tte r re d u p lic a tio n et seqq,
p aralle lin g th e use o f red u p licatio n o f (final) letters to in d icate plu rality in o th e r a b b re v ia tio n s
su ch as f f , M S S , p p (c/5 .8 1 N ote).
[c] T h e ab b re v ia tio n if f in logical a n d m a th em atic al discourse m ean s a n d o nly i f ’.
G e n e ra l stu d ie s o f c o o rd in a tio n in clu d e: D ik (1968); D ou g h erty (1 9 7 0 -7 1 ); G le itm a n (1965);

S c h a c h te r ( l9 7 7 ) ; S to ck w ell e t al (1973), C h. 6.
O n co o rd in a tio n in relatio n to su b o rd in atio n a n d o th e r kin d s o f c o n n e ctiv ity , see G re e n b a u m
(1969b, 1980); H allid ay an d H a sa n (1976); H u d d lesto n (1965); T a lm y (1978).
O n th e c o o rd in a to r but, see G re e n b a u m (1969a); R . L ak o ff (1971).
O n c o o rd in a tio n in relatio n to ellip sis/red u ctio n , see G re e n b a u m an d M ey er (1982); H a rries-
D elisle (1978); M e y e r (1979); S an d ers (1977).
O n g a p p in g , see H u d so n (1976b); Ja ck en d o ff (1971); K o u tso u d as(1 9 7 1 ); K u n o (1976a).
O n o rd e rin g o f c o o rd in a te d elem en ts, see B olinger (1965); M alkiel (1959).
A m o n g o th e r stu d ie s o f co o rd in a tio n are A rd ery (1979); H udson (1970); L a k o ff a n d P ete rs
(1969); S o ren sen (1979a).
\
The com plex sentence
14.1-4 C o o r d in a t io n a n d s u b o rd in a tio n 987

.2 C o m p o u n d a n d c o m p l e x s e n te n c e s 987
.3 S u b o r d i n a t e a n d s u p e r o r d i n a t e c la u s e s 988
.4 S u b o r d i n a t e a n d m a t r i x c la u s e s 991
14.5-9 Finite, nonfinite, and verbless clauses 992

.6 - 8 N o n fin ite clau ses 993
.9 V erb less clau ses 996
14.10-20 Formal indicators of subordination 997

.11-19 S u b o rd in a to rs 998
.12-14 S u b o rd in a to rs fo r fin ite clauses 998
.13 C o rre la tiv e su b o rd in a to rs 999
.14 M a rg in al su b o rd in a to rs 1001
.15-19 S u b o rd in a to rs fo r n onfinite a n d v erb less clauses 1003
.16 S u b o rd in a to rs for b a re infinitive clauses 1003
.17 S u b o rd in a to rs fo r to-infinitive clauses 1004
. 18 S u b o rd in a to rs fo r -ed clauses a n d v erb less clauses 1004
.19 S u b o rd in a to rs for -ing clauses 1005
.20 O th e r in d ic a to rs o f su b o rd in atio n 1006
14.21-27 The verb phrase in subordinate clauses 10 0 7

.22 T h e p re s e n t ten se in a d v erb ial a n d n o m in a l clauses 1008
.23 T h e h y p o th etica l p a s t a n d p a st p erfectiv e 1010
.24 T h e p re s e n t a n d p a s t su b ju n ctiv e 1012
.25 P u ta tiv e should 1014
.26-27 T h e p e rfe c tiv e w ith tem p o ral clauses 1015
.26 T h e p e rfe c tiv e w ith tem p o ral sw ce-clauses 1015
.27 T h e p e rfe c tiv e w ith o th e r tem p o ral c lauses 1018
14.28-35 Reporting the language of others 1020

.29 D ire c t sp e e ch 1022
.30-34 In d ire c t sp e e ch 1025
.31 B a c k s h ift in in d ire c t speech 1026
.32 O th e r ch an g e s in in d ire c t speech 1028
.33 In d ire c t sta te m e n ts, questions, e x clam atio n s, an d
d ire c tiv e s 1029
.34 T h e s u b ju n c tiv e a n d m o d a l a u x ilia rie s in in d ir e c t s p e e c h 1030
.35 F r e e in d ir e c t s p e e c h a n d fre e d ire c t s p e e c h 1032
14.36 Tran sferre d negation 1033

14.37-41 Sentence complexity and comprehensibility 1035
.37 C o m b in in g s u b o rd in a tio n d ev ices w ith in a sen ten ce 1035
.38-39 Po sitio n s o f s u b o rd in a te clauses 1037
.40 S u b o rd in a tio n v ersu s co o rd in a tio n 1040
.41 S tru ctu ral a m b ig u ity 1042
\
Coordination and subordination 987
Coordination and subordination
14.1 In C h a p te rs 10 a n d 11 w e stu d ied th e sim ple sentence, a sen ten ce c o n sistin g

o f a single clau se in w h ic h e ac h o f its elem en ts (subject, object, a d v e rb ia l,
etc) is realized by a su b clau sal u n it - a p h rase. T h e m u ltip le sen ten ce, o n th e
o th e r h a n d , c o n sists o f m o re th a n o n e clause. O n e o f th e tw o m ajo r d e v ic e s
fo r lin k in g clau ses w ith in th e sam e sen ten ce is co o rd in a tio n , w h ich w e
d iscu ssed in C h a p te r 13. W e th e re d istin g u ish ed c o o rd in a tio n fro m th e o th e r
m ajo r d ev ice, s u b o rd in a tio n ( c f 13.2#"). In th is c h a p te r we ex am in e th e
co m p lex se n ten ce, a se n ten ce in w h ich o n e o f th e elem en ts is realized b y a
su b o rd in a te clause. H e re we d iscu ss th e stru ctu ral ty p es o f s u b o rd in a te
clauses, th e fo rm al in d ic a to rs o f su b o rd in a tio n , a n d th e ch o ices affecting th e
v e rb p h ra se s o f s u b o rd in a te clauses.
C o m p o u n d and com plex sentences

14.2 T h e m a jo r ty p es o f m u ltip le se n ten c es a re th e c o m p o u n d an d th e c o m p le x
sen ten ce. A c o m p o u n d sen ten ce co n sists o f tw o o r m o re c o o rd in a te d m a in
c lau ses; th e clau ses o f a co m p o u n d sen ten ce p ro v id e classic in stan c es o f a
p a ra ta c tic re la tio n s h ip ( c f 13.2), th a t is th e y h av e e q u iv a len t fu n c tio n , as
d ia g ra m m a tic a lly in d ic a te d in F ig 14.2a overp ag e. T h e tw o m a in clau ses in
th e F ig u re a re e q u a l c o n stitu e n ts o f th e sen ten ce, a n d are lin k e d by th e
co o rd in a to r but.
A c o m p lex se n ten c e is lik e a sim p le sen ten ce in th a t it co n sists o f o n ly o n e
m a in clau se, b u t u n lik e a sim p le se n ten ce it h as o n e o r m ore s u o r d i n t e
| F
clau ses fu n c tio n in g as a n e le m en t o f th e sen ten ce. S u b o rd in a tio n is a n

asy m m e tric al re la tio n : th e se n ten c e an d its su b o rd in a te clauses are i n a
h y p o tac tic re la tio n s h ip (c/T 3.2), th a t is th ey form a h iera rch y in w h ic h th e
s u b o rd in a te c lau se is a c o n stitu e n t o f th e sen ten ce as a w hole - a n a d v e rb ia l
in th e e x am p le d ia g ra m m e d in F ig 14.2b overpage.
S u b o rd in a tio n is n o t th e only fa c to r th a t en ters in to e ith e r th e len g th o r t h e
co m p lex ity o f se n ten c es, w h en ‘c o m p lex ity ’ is u n d ersto o d in a n o n te c h n ic a l
sense. P h ra se s m ay b e co m p lex in th e degree o f th e ir m o d ificatio n ; th e
v o c ab u lary m ay b e o b sc u re; b ecau se o f th e ir co m p ressio n , n o m in a liz a tio n s
( c f \ 1 . 5 \ f f ) m ay b e m o re difficult to u n d e rstan d th a n c o rre sp o n d in g
s u b o rd in a te c la u s e s ; th e co h ere n ce o f th e sen ten ce as a w hole m ay b e d ifficult
to u n d e rs ta n d ; th e c o n te n t o f th e sen ten ce m ay p resu p p o se k now ledge t h a t
is n o t g en erally a v ailab le.
W ith re sp ec t to its fu n ctio n , a su b o rd in a te clause m ay be v iew ed as
d o w n g ra d ed to a su b clau sal u n it, su c h as a p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se:
A lth o u g h I a d m ire h e r reaso n in g , I reject h e r conclusions.

[‘D e sp ite m y a d m ira tio n fo r h e r reaso n in g , I reject h e r c o n clu sio n s’]
B o th th e su b o rd in a te clause a n d th e p re p o sitio n al p h ra se in th e p a ra p h ra s e
a re fu n c tio n in g a s a d v e rb ia ls w ith in th e ir sentence.
A clau se th a t is n o t su b o rd in a te to a n o th e r clau se is a n i n d e p e n d e n t
clause. H e n c e th e tw o m a in clauses in Fig 14.2a an d th e m a in clau se (id e n tic a l
w ith th e se n ten c e) in F ig 14.2b a re in d e p e n d e n t clauses.
988 T h e com plex sentence
s e n te n c e
s e n te n c e
m a in c la u s e
N o te [a] M a in clauses h a v e also b een called ‘p rin c ip al clau ses’ o r (less com m only) ‘hea d clau ses'.
[b] S u b o rd in a te clauses (som etim es ab b re v ia te d to ‘sub-clauses’) h av e also b ee n called
‘d e p e n d e n t1, ‘e m b e d d e d ’, ‘in c lu d ed ’, ‘c o n stitu en t’^ a n d ‘sy n tactically bo u n d ’ clauses.
[c] S o m e g ra m m a ria n s h a v e ex ten d ed th e te rm sentence to c o v e r w h at w e hav e te rm ed clause.
[dl M a in clauses a re generally also in d e p e n d e n t clauses. B u t if a co o rd in ated m a in clau se w h e n
it is is o la te d fro m th e rest o f th e sen ten ce is u n a c c e p ta b le a s a sim ple sen ten ce, it is n o t a n
in d e p e n d e n t clause. F o r ex a m p le, th e second clause below is structurally deficien t a s a sim p le
sen te n ce b ec au se o f th e ellipsis, th e ac cep ta b ility o f th e clau se dep en d in g o n its relatio n sh ip to
th e first clau se: J
T h e p lo t w as ex c itin g a n d the characterization plausible.
Subordinate and superordinate clauses

14.3 F igures 14.2a a n d 14.2b p re se n t u n c o m p lica te d ex am p les in v o lv in g ju s t tw o
clauses. I n F ig 14.2b th e tw o clauses in th e com plex sen ten ce a r e th e
su b o rd in a te clau se a n d th e s u p e r o r d i n t e clau se, o f w h ich th e s u b o rd in a te
F
clause is a c o n stitu e n t; th e su p e ro rd in ate clau se is th erefo re also th e m a in

clause. B u t a clau se m a y e n te r in to m o re th a n o n e rela tio n sh ip ; it m a y b e
su b o rd in a te to o n e clau se a n d su p e ro rd in ate to a n o th e r, as in d ic a te d in F ig
14.3a o p p o site.
Coordination and subordination 989
sentence
s u b o rd in a te /s u p e ro r d in a te c la u se [X]
s u b o rd in a te c lau se [Y]
w hen he conducted h is n e x t e xp e rim en t
F ig 14.3a S u p e ro r d in a te a n d s u b o rd in a te c lau ses
C lau se [W ] is su p e ro rd in a te to clause [X], w h ich is in tu rn s u p e ro rd in a te to

clause [Y], C onversely, clau se [Y] is su b o rd in ate to clause [X], w h ic h is in
tu rn su b o rd in a te to c lau se [W ], C lau se [X] is th erefo re b o th s u p e ro rd in a te to
clau se [Y] a n d su b o rd in a te to clau se [W]. T h e relatio n sh ip s m a y b e f u rth e r
clarified b y labelled b ra c k e tin g :
w- x-
(H e p re d ic te d [th a t he w o u ld d isco v er th e tin y p article
Y- -Y -X -W
{w hen h e c o n d u cted his n e x t experim ent} ] )
I n e ac h in stan ce th e s u b o rd in a te clau se is included in its s u p e ro rd in a te

clau se: [X] fu n c tio n s a s o b ject in [W ], w hile [Y] fu n ctio n s as a d v e rb ia l in [X],
T h e dev ice o f su b o rd in a tio n en ab les us to co n stru ct a m u ltip le h ie ra rc h y
o f clauses, one w ith in th e o th er, so m etim es resulting in e x tre m e ly in v o lv ed
sen ten ces ( c f 14.37jf). F u rth e r co m p lex ity a n d stru c tu ra l v a ria b ility a re
p ro v id ed by th e in te rre la tio n o f su b o rd in a tio n a n d c o o rd in a tio n . E a c h m a in
clau se in a c o m p o u n d se n ten c e m ay include o n e o r m o re s u b o rd in a te clau ses,
990 T h e co m p le x sentence
e a c h o f w h ic h m ay in tu rn in clu d e su b o rd in a te clauses. A n ex am p le, by no

m e a n s u n u su a lly co m p licated , a p p ea rs in F ig 14.3b, w h ere th e labelling has
b e e n a b b r e v ia te d :
s u b o r d in a te c lau se s u b o rd in a te /s u p e ro r d in a te c lau se
a s the y ea rs go by
F ig 1 4 .3 b C o m p o u n d s e n te n c e w ith s u b o rd in a te c lau ses
S im ila rly , c o o rd in a tio n m a y o ccu r a t an y level. I n F ig I4 .3 c th e tw o

s u b o rd in a te c lau ses o f th e co m p lex sen ten ce a re c o o r d in a te d :
s e n te n c e
F ig 1 4 .3 c C o m p jlex sen te n c e w ith c o o rd in a te d clau ses
A s u b o rd in a te clau se m ay fu n c tio n n o t only as a c lau se ele m en t o f a

su p e ro rd in a te clau se b u t also as a c o n stitu e n t o f a p h ra se , fo r ex am p le as a
re la tiv e c la u se p o stm o d ify in g a n o u n p h r a s e :
T h e sch o o l which m y children a tte n d is w ith in w a lk in g d istan c e.
W e c o n s id e r su c h n o u n p h ra se s to be com plex, b u t w e d o n o t c o n sid er a

se n ten c e w ith a co m p lex n o u n p h ra se to b e a com plex s e n ten c e m erely o n th e
g ro u n d s t h a t it c o n ta in s a co m p lex p h ra se ( c f 10.1 N o te [a]).
Co ordination and subordination 991
Subordinate and m a trix clauses

14.4 W e h av e p o in te d o u t t h a t a su b o rd in ate clause is a p a rt o f its s u p e ro rd in a te
clause, fu n c tio n in g a s o n e o f its elem ents. T h u s, w e c a n m atc h clauses w ith
p h rases o r w o rd s in th e sa m e function, d irec t o b ject in [1] a n d a d v e rb ia l
in [2]:
[ 1]
[2]
W e have n o m o re re a so n to d esig n ate W e noticed a n d O ne m atures as c lau ses

in th e ir o w n rig h t w h e n th ey a re follow ed by su b o rd in a te clauses th a n w h e n
th ey are follow ed b y p h ra s e s o r w ords. F o r b o th a lte rn a tiv e s in [1] a n d [2] t h e
clause t h a t b eg in s th e s e n te n c e concludes th e sen ten ce.
N ev erth eless, w e find m an y occasions in th is c h ap ter, p a rticu larly in
discussing a d v e rb ia l clau ses, w h en it is useful to d istin g u ish b etw een a
su b o rd in a te clau se a n d th e re st o f th e su p e ro rd in ate clau se o f w h ich it is p a r t.
W h en w e h a v e n e e d e d to d o so, we h av e used th e term m t r i x clause to F
d esig n ate th e s u p e ro rd in a te clau se m inus its su b o rd in a te clause. F o r e x am p le,

w e h ave re fe rre d to th e situ a tio n describ ed in th e m a trix clause as c o n tin g e n t
o n th a t o f th e su b o rd in a te c o n d itio n al clause (c f 15.35):
I'll lend y o u so m e m o n ey i f you d o n ’t h a v e a n y m o n ey on you. [3]
T h e m atrix clau se I'll len d y o u som e money co n v ey s a n offer th a t is c o n se q u en t

o n th e fulfilm ent o f th e c o n d itio n expressed in th e su b o rd in ate clause i f y o u
don't have a n y m o n ey on y o u . Sim ilarly, w e h a v e re fe rre d to th e m atrix c lau se
in d iscussing th e tim e re fe re n c e o f a d v erb ial clauses o f tim e. F o r e x am p le,
su b o rd in a to rs su c h a s before a n d until in d ic a te t h a t th e situ atio n d esc rib e d in
th e m atrix clau se o c c u rre d b efo re o r led u p to th a t in th e su b o rd in ate c lau se
(c/1 5 .2 7 ).
W e illu stra te in F ig 14.4 w h a t w e have term ed a m atrix clause.
s e n te n c e
m a in /s u p e r o r d in a te clau se
S V "A
She telep h o n ed su b o rd in a te c lau se
m a trix c la u se
w hile you were out
F ig 14.4 M a tr ix a n d s u b o r d in a te c lau se
N o te Som e hav e used th e te r m ‘m a in c lau se’ fo r w h at we te rm m a trix clause.

992 Th e c om ple x sentence
Finite, nonfinite, and verbless clauses
14.5 W e reco g n ize th re e m ain stru ctu ral types o f c la u se s:
F u s e : a c la u s e w h o se v e rb e le m e n t is fin ite (su c h a s ta ke s ,

f in it e c l
took, can w ork, has worked, is writing, was written', c f 3.5 2 ff), eg:
I c a n ’t go o u t w ith you because l a m studying this evening.
c l F u s e : a clause w hose v e rb elem en t is n o n fin ite (such a s to

n o n f in it e
work, having w orked, taken: c/3 .5 3 ), eg:
K now ing m y tem per, I d id n ’t reply.
v e r | l e s s c l F u s e : a clau se th a t does n o t h a v e a v e rb e lem en t, b u t is
n e v erth eless c a p a b le o f b ein g an aly sed in to clau se elem en ts, eg:
A lth o u g h alw ays helpful, h e w as n o t m u ch liked.
W e re co g n ize n o n fin ite a n d verbless stru c tu re s as clauses becau se we c a n

an aly se th e ir in te rn a l stru ctu re in to th e sam e fu n c tio n al elem en ts th a t w e
d istin g u ish in fin ite clauses. C o n sid er, fo r exam ple, th e an aly sis o f th e
n o n fin ite c la u se i n :
Knowing [V] m y tem per [Od], I d id n ’t reply.

T h e a n aly sis d e p e n d s o n th e analo g y w ith th e co rresp o n d in g finite clause:
/[S ] k n o w [V] m y tem per [Od],
S im ilarly , th e v e rb less clause although alw ays helpful in :
A lthough [conj] alw ays [A] helpful [C J , h e w as n o t m u ch liked.
I t is a n aly sed a s in th e co rresp o n d in g fin ite c la u se :
A lthough [conj] he [S] was [V] alw ays [A ] helpful [C J , h e w as n o t m u ch

lik ed , i
O n e stru c tu ra l ty p e o f clause m ay b e e m b e d d ed w ith in a n o th e r:
Too nervous to reply a fter other speakers h a d praised her devotion to

du ty, M a rg a re t in d ic a te d t h a t she w o u ld sp e a k later. [1]
T h e italicized su b o rd in a te clause in [1] is a v erb less clause th a t c o n ta in s a

su b o rd in a te n o n fin ite clause (b eg in n in g to reply) th a t in tu rn c o n ta in s a
s u b o rd in a te fin ite clau se (b e g in n in g after other speakers).
N o te W e recognize a stru c tu re as a clause only w h en it is d escrib a b le in te rm s o f clausal ra th e r th a n

p h ra s a l stru ctu re. H e n c e th e su b ject in [2] is co n sid e red a n o u n p h ra s e b ecause it h a s th e stru ctu re
o f a n o u n p h ra s e w ith conquest a s its h e a d :
W illiam's conquest o f E ngland b ro u g h t a b o u t a ch a n g e in th e statu s o f th e E n g lish
language. [2]
C o m p a re W illiam 's conquests o f other countries , w h ere th e h ead o f th e p h rase show s th a t it c a n
ta k e th e n u m b e r c o n tra s t th a t is ch a ra c te ristic o f m o st n ouns. O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e p h rase
stru c tu re o f W illiam 's conquest o f E ngland is re la te d to clause stru c tu re ( W illiam conquered
E ngland) th ro u g h n o m in a liz a tio n ( c f \ 1 . 5 \ f f ) . B oth th e clau se a n d th e p h ra se c a n be d escrib ed
Finite, nonfinite, and verbless clauses 993
sem a n tic ally as a sequence o f ag e n tiv e, activ ity , a n d affected, but se m a n tic g ro u n d s a r e n o t
sufficient fo r sy n tac tic analysis. O nly th e clause d o w e analyse sy n tactically a s a s e q u e n c e o f
su b ject, v e rb , an d object. F o r ex a m p le, co n sid e r part-tim e teaching i n :
I en jo y p a rt-tim e teaching.
It h as th e stru c tu re o f a noun p h ra se w ith teaching a s head an d part-tim e as p rem o d ifier. C o n tr a s t
teaching u n d erg ra d u a tesln :
I enjoy teaching undergraduates.
I t h as th e stru c tu re o f a clau se (as in / teach undergraduates ) w ith teaching as v e rb a n d
undergraduates a s o bject. O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e re is stru ctu ral am b ig u ity i n :
I en jo y teaching.
Teaching m a y be a noun p h rase w ith only a h ead o r a clause w ith only a v erb ( c f 15.13).
N onfinite clauses
14.6 T h e n o n fin ite clau se m ay b e w ith o r w ith o u t a subject. T h e classes o f n o n fin ite
v e rb p h ra se (c /3 .5 3 ) serve to d istin g u ish four stru ctu ral classes o f n o n fin ite
v e rb c lau ses:
(i) TO -IN FIN IT IV E

w ith o u t su b ject: T h e b e st th in g w ould b e to tell everybody.
w ith su b je c t: T h e b e st th in g w ould b e fo r yo u to tell everybody.
T h e in fin itiv e clause w ith to p lu s a su b ject is found c h a ra c te ris tic a lly in

c o n stru c tio n s w ith a n tic ip a to ry it (c /1 8 .3 3 /0 ,./or being u sed to in tro d u c e th e
s u b je c t: I t w ould be better f o r y o u to tell everybody.
(ii) BARE IN FIN IT IV E

w ith o u t s u b je c t: A ll I d id w as hit him on the head.
w ith su b ject: R a th er than yo u do the job, I ’d p re fe r to fin ish it
m yself.
T h e b a re in fin itiv e is fo u n d c h ara cteristically in p seu d o -cleft s e n te n c e s
( c /1 8 .2 9 /) , w h ere th e in fin itiv al to is o p tio n a l:
W h a t th ey d id w as (to) dig a shallow channel around the tent.
(iii) - IN G P A R T IC IPL E
w ith o u t subject: Leaving the room, he trip p e d o v e r th e m a t.
w ith su b ject: H e r a unt having left the room, I a sk e d A n n fo r so m e
p e rso n al help.
W h e n th e su b ject o f -ing clauses is expressed, it is o ften in tro d u c e d b y a

p re p o sitio n ( c f 14.19 N o te [b]):
W ith the audience turning restive, th e c h a irm a n c u rta ile d h is lo n g

in tro d u ctio n .
O n th e q u estio n o f g e n itiv e subjects, c f 15.12.
(iv) -E D P A R T IC IPL E
w ith o u t su b ject: C overed with confusion, th ey ap o lo g ized a b jectly ,
w ith su b ject: The discussion completed, th e c h a irm a n a d jo u rn e d
th e m eetin g fo r h a lf a n hour.
C ate g o ries (i) a n d (iii) a re u sed m o st freq u en tly ; categ o ry (ii) is re la tiv e ly
ra re .
E x c e p t fo r th e -ed clause, w h ich is in h ere n tly p assive ( c / 14.7), all ty p es o f

n o n fin ite c lau ses h av e b o th active a n d p assiv e form s, fo r e x a m p le :
It w o u ld b e p o ssib le fo r m y son to drive y o u to the airport.

~ I t w o u ld b e possible fo r y o u to be driven to the airport b y m y son.
R a th e r th a n M ichael guarantee the loan, it can b e d o n e by his fa th e r.
~ R a th e r th a n the loan be guaranteed b y M ichael, it c a n b e d o n e by
h is fa th e r.
The paren ts having p a id fo r the dam a g ed window, th e p o lice w ere n o t
called.
~ The d a m a g e d window having been p a id fo r b y the parents, th e police
w ere n o t called.
P ro g re ssiv e a n d p e rfe c tiv e form s m ay fu n ctio n in th e v erb p h ra se o f n o n fin ite

c la u se s, th o u g h th e n o n fin ite verb p a ra d ig m is so m ew h at d e fec tiv e (c /3 .5 6 ).
B u t m o d al a u x ilia rie s a re excluded, sin ce th ey h a v e n e ith e r in fin itiv e s n o r
p a rtic ip le s .
I n n e g ativ e n o n fin ite clauses, th e n eg ativ e p article is g en erally p o sitio n e d
b e fo re th e v e rb o r th e to o f th e in fin itiv e :
I t ’s his fa u lt fo r not d o in g a n y th in g a b o u t it.

T h e w isest p o lic y is (fo r us) not to in terfere.
A d v e rb s a n d b r ie f p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se s t h a t in te rv en e b e tw ee n n o t a n d th e
v e rb in fin ite clau ses m ay also com e b e tw ee n not a n d th e v e r b :
I t ’s h is fa u lt fo r not ever doing a n y th in g a b o u t it.
W h e n not is in se rte d , th e re is o ften som e a sp e ctu al m a rk in g :
T h e p u rse not having b e en fo u n d ,] „

i _ j t w e w en t to th e police.
T h e pur$e n o t y e t fo u n d , J
O n t h e s p lit in fin itiv e , c /8 .2 1 .
14.7 T h e n o rm a l ra n g e o f clause types (c /1 0 .2 ) is a v ailab le fo r m o st n o n fin ite

clau ses, as in th is set o f /o-infinitive c la u s e s :
i N
SV I e x p e c t them to come.
SVO T h e y w a n ted us to learn economics.
SVC J o e su p p o sed the stranger to be frien d ly.
S VA I t ’s g re a t fo r everybody to be here.
S VOO I t ’s b e st f o r yo u to give him a call.
S VOC P a u l p re fe rs m e to m a k e the difference clear.
S VOA H e g o t her to p u t the car in the garage.
T h e su b je ct o f n o n fin ite clauses, how ev er, is com m only a b se n t.

B ecau se it is g e n era lly b o th sy n tactically a n d sem an tically p a ssiv e , th e -ed
p a rtic ip le clause is re stric te d to th e fo u r types o f p a ssiv e clauses. In [1] th e
s u b o rd in a to r when in tro d u c es th e -ed c la u s e :
( S ) ^ ~ a c tiv e S V O
W hen questioned, sh e d en ie d b e in g a m em b e r o f th e g ro u p . [1]
Finite, nonfinite, and verbless clauses 995
( S j F ^ C ~ a c tiv e S V O C
Considered w o rks o f a rt, th ey w ere a d m itted in to th e cou n try
w ith o u t cu sto m s d u tie s. [2]
(S'JKposj/l ~ a c tiv e S V O A
K ept in the refrigerator, th e d ru g should re m a in effective for at
least th re e m o n th s . [3]
(S) VpaJO ~ a c tiv e 5 V O O
A llow ed unusual privileges, th e p riso n er seem ed to enjoy his
c ap tiv ity . [4]
14.8 Because n o n fin ite clau ses lack ten se m ark ers a n d m o d al auxiliaries a n d
frequently lack a su b je ct a n d a su b o rd in atin g c o n ju n ctio n , th ey a re v a lu a b le
as a m ean s o f s y n ta c tic co m p ressio n . C e rta in k in d s o f n o n fin ite clause a re
p articu larly fa v o u re d in w ritte n prose, w here th e w rite r h as th e leisu re to
revise fo r co m p a ctn e ss. W e reco v er m eanings asso c iated w ith ten se, a sp e ct,
an d m ood fro m th e s e n te n tia l context. W e c an also n o rm ally see a
co rresp o n d en ce w ith a fin ite clau se w ith a form o f th e v e rb be a n d a p ro n o u n
subject h a v in g th e sa m e re fe re n ce as a noun o r p ro n o u n in th e sam e sen ten c e
( c f\ 5 .5 i f f ) . F o r e x am p les 14.7 [1 -4 ], o n e m ig h t m ak e th e follow ing
in sertio n s:
W hen (she w as) questioned, sh e d en ied b ein g a m em b e r o f th e

gro u p . [ la ]
(S in ce/B ecau se/A s th e y w ere) considered w orks o f art, th ey w ere
a d m itte d in to th e c o u n try w ith o u t cu sto m s d u ties. [2a]
(If it is) k e p t in the refrigerator, th e d rug sh o u ld re m a in effective
for a t lea st th re e m o n th s. [3a]
(S in ce/A fter h e w as) allow ed unusual privileges, th e p riso n e r
seem ed to e n jo y h is c ap tiv ity . [4a]
O n the o th e r h a n d , [5] sh o w s how the a d v a n ta g e o f c o m p actn ess m u st be

b alan ced a g a in st th e d a n g e r o f am b ig u ity ; fo r th e a b sen ce o f a su b ject leav es
d o u b t as to w h ic h n e a rb y n o m in a l elem en t is n o tio n ally th e su b ject:
W e m et you (when y o u ? I we? were) leaving th e room . [5]
W ith in fin itiv e clau ses, a c o rresp o n d in g finite clause also en ab les o n e to
id en tify a n u n d e rsto o d s u b je c t:
I ask ed to go. ~ I a sk e d i f I could go.

I a sk ed him to go. ~ I a sk e d i f he would go.
W h en no re fe re n tia l lin k w ith a n o m in al can b e d isco v ered in th e lin g u istic

context, a n in d efin ite s u b je ct m ay b e inferred, o r else th e ‘I ’ o f th e sp e a k er:
To be an adm inistrator is to h av e the w o rst jo b in th e w orld. [‘F o r a

p e rso n to b e . . . ’]
T h e p ro sp e cts a re n o t v ery good, to be candid. [‘. . . if I am to b e c a n d id ’]
C o n trast:
I t ’s h a rd w o rk to be a student, [indefinite su b je ct; c f 10.42/]

I t’s h a rd w o rk , to be honest, [ / a s su b ject; c /8 .1 2 5 ]
V e rb le ss clauses
14.9 V e rb le s s c lau ses ta k e sy n ta ctic com p ressio n o n e stag e fu rth e r th a n n onfinite
c la u se s a n d lik e th em a re also com m only subjectless. O n ce a g a in (c/1 4 .8 ), it
is o f te n p o ssib le to p o stu late a m issing form o f the v e rb | e a n d to reco v er the
s u b je c t, w h e n o m itted , fro m th e co n tex t:
W hether right or wrong, h e alw ays com es off w o rst in a rg u m e n t.

[‘w h e th e r he is rig h t o r w ro n g ’]
O n e sh o u ld a v o id ta k in g a trip ab ro ad in A u g u st where possible, [‘w here
it is p o ssib le’]
V e rb le ss clauses c an also so m etim es be trea te d as red u ctio n s o f nonfinite

c la u s e s :
Too nervous to reply, he stared a t the floor. ['Being to o n erv o u s to

r e p l y . . . ’]
( H e r e th e verbless clau se its e lf c o n tain s a su b o rd in a te n o n fin ite clause, to

reply.)
W h e n th e subject is p re sen t, only th e v erb h as to be reco v ered , th o u g h it is
n o t a lw a y s possible to in se rt it w ith o u t ju x tap o sin g th e clau se (c /[ 2] below ):
73 p e o p le have b e en d ro w n ed in th e a rea , m any o f them children.

[‘m a n y o f th e m b ein g c h ild re n ’] [ 1]
T h e r e h e stood, a tra y in each hand, [‘a tray w as in e ac h h a n d ’] [2]
T h e su b je c t is o ften in tro d u c e d by with ( c f 14.15):
W ith the children a t school, w e c a n ’t ta k e o u r v a ca tio n s w h e n w e

w a n t to. [3]
S in c e it is usually p o ssib le to in te rp re t th e clause as h a v in g a n o m itted | e ,

th e v e rb le ss clause is lim ite d to th e tw o clause-types S V C a n d S V A , w ith o r
w ith o u t a su b o rd in a to r (su b ):
S h e lo o k ed a t h im e x p ectan tly , her eyes fu ll o fex c ite m e n t a n d

curiosity. [S (V ) C] [4]
I d o n o t w ish to d e sc rib e his assertions, som e o f them offensive.
[S (V ) c j N [5 ]
H e looked rem a rk ab ly w ell, his skin clear and sm ooth. [S (V) C] [6]
Though som ew hat ed g y, sh e said she w ould stay a little longer.
su b [S (V) C] [7]
W e c a n m eet a g a in to m o rro w , i f necessary, sub [S (V ) C ] [8]
M a v is sa t in th e fro n t se a t, her hands in her lap. [S (V ) A ] [9]
W hile a t college, h e w as a p ro m in e n t m em b e r o f th e d ra m a tic
society, sub [(S V) A ] [10]
It is a ls o possible in [9] to view th e u n d ersto o d v e rb as h F v e (‘h av in g her

h a n d s in h er la p ’, c / ‘w ith h e r h a n d s in h er la p ’), in w h ich case th e stru ctu re
is [(S V ) O A].
O p tio n a l a d v erb ials m ay a lso be a d d ed , eith e r in itially o r finally:
‘T h a n k you very m u c h ,’ sa id R ay m o n d , ever m indful o f his manners.

[(S V) A rrcqmncy C J
Form al indicators o f subordination 997
L oath to reply fo r fe a r o f offending her parents , she stro d e o ut o f th e

ro o m . [(S V ) C s A reason]
Though now fra il, th ey w ere q u ite c ap a b le o f looking a fte r th em selv es,
su b [(S V ) A Ilme C J
W h en th e v erb less clause is red u ced to its m in im u m o f a single c o m p le m e n t

o r a d v e rb ia l, it m ay n o t be easy to d istin g u ish it fro m a n a p p o s itiv e
c o n stru c tio n ( c /1 7 .6 5 /') , a n o n re stric tiv e postm odifier ( c f 1 7 .4 8 /), o r a n
a d v e rb ia l w h ic h is a d irect c o n stitu e n t o f th e m ain clause. T h e in itia l
p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se below is an a d v erb ial o f th e sen ten ce:
O f hum ble parentage, he b e g an h is w o rk in g life in a shoe factory.
I t m ig h t b e re g ard ed as a n a d v erb ial realized by a verbless clau se c o n sistin g

o f ju s t a c o m p le m e n t, b ecause its an aly sis is directly p arallel to n o m in a l o r
verb less clau ses lik e :
A m a n o f h u m b le p a r e n ta g e ,. . . ~ B o m o f h u m b le p a r e n ta g e ,.
S im ilarly , if th e final n o u n p h rase below h a d been p laced n ex t to th e su b je c t

w e w o u ld h a v e reco g n ized it as full a p p o s itio n :
T h e riv e r lay in its c rescen t loop e n tirely w ith o u t m o v em en t, an artifice

o f green-black liquescent marble.
A s it is, w e co u ld re g ard it as a v erbless clau se fu n ctio n in g as a n a d v e rb ia l.

In d e e d , m a n y in stan c es o f p a rtial ap p o sitio n w ith n o u n p h rases (c /1 7 .6 6 )
c o u ld b e eq u ally re g ard e d as verbless clauses, eg \
Ju d g e C lem e n t T u rp in , now a fe d e ra l appeals court ju d g e, is b e in g

c o n sid ere d fo r a p p o in tm e n t to th e U S Suprem e C ourt.
Formal indicators of subordination

14.10 S u b o rd in a tio n is gen erally m ark e d by a signal in th e su b o rd in a te clause. T h e
sig n al m ay b e o f v ario u s k in d s:
(i) T h e clau se is in itiate d by a su b o rd in a tin g c o n ju n ctio n (1 4 .1 1 # ).

(ii) T h e clause is in itiate d by a w /i-elem ent (14.20).
(iii) I n itia l e lem en ts in the clau se a re in v erted (14.20).
(iv) T h e p resen ce o f c ertain v e rb form s in finite clauses is d e te rm in e d by
th e type o f su b o rd in a te clause (14.21jf).
(v) T h e v erb e le m en t o f th e clau se is e ith e r n o nfinite o r a b se n t (14.20).
M o re th a n o n e su b o rd in a tio n sig n al m ay cooccur in th e sam e su b o rd in a te

clau se. F o r e x am p le, a n o n fin ite o r v erbless clause m ay b e in tro d u c ed b y a
s u b o rd in a tin g c o n ju n ctio n ( c f 14.1 5 jf).
N o te [a] T h e v e rb form in th e su p ero rd in ate clau se m ay also be affected by th e type o f s u b o rd in a te

clau se. T h e clearest e x a m p le is in th e h y p o th e tic al c o n d itio n relatio n sh ip (c f 15.36).
[b] F o r n o n fin ite an d verbless clauses th a t are n o t p a r t o f a su p ero rd in ate clause, c f 1 1 .4 0 /
S u bordina tors
14.11 s u o r d in
| t o r s
F (or m o re fully s u o r d i n t i n g c o n j u n c t i o n s ) a re th e m o st
| F
im p o r ta n t fo rm al d ev ice o f su b o rd in atio n , p a rticu la rly for fin ite clauses. L ik e

p re p o sitio n s, w h ich th ey resem ble in h av in g a re la tin g fu n ctio n , su b o rd in a to rs
fo rm in g th e co re o f th e class consist o f a single w ord, b u t th ere is a larg e r
r a n g e o f co m p lex su b o rd in a to rs w h ich fu n c tio n , to v ary in g degrees, lik e a
sin g le co n ju n ctio n . In a d d itio n , th ere is a sm all class o f c o rre lativ e
s u b o rd in a to rs , w h ic h c o m b in e tw o m ark e rs o f su b o rd in a tio n , o n e b e in g a
su b o rd in a to r.
S u b o rd in a to rs m ay be restricted to p a rtic u la r types o f clauses, as th e
fo llo w in g sectio n s show .
S u b o rd in a to rs fo r finite clauses
14.12 M o s t s u b o rd in a to rs m ay in tro d u ce finite clauses. H ere is a list o f th o se
su b o rd in a to rs . T h ey are d iv id ed in to sim p le, com plex, a n d c o rre lativ e
su b o rd in a to rs . T h e c o rre lativ e su b o rd in ato rs~ are listed a n d d iscu ssed in
14.13.
SIM P L E SU B O R D IN A TO R S
a fte r, although, as, because, before, directly (in fo rm a l, esp B r E ) , if,
im m ed ia tely (in fo rm a l, esp B rE ), lest ( e s p A m E ) , like (in fo rm a l, esp
A m E ) , once, since, that, though, till, unless, until, w henever), where(vef),
whereas, whereupon, while, whilst ( a m in o rity a lte rn a tiv e to while, esp B r E )
C O M PL E X SU B O R D IN A TO R S
e n d in g w ith that:
b u t that, in that, in order that, insofar that (fo rm a l, r a re ) , in the event that,
save that ( l ite r a r y ) , such that
e n d in g w ith o p tio n a l th a t:
(a) p a rtic ip le f o r m :
assum ing, considering, excepting, given, granted, 1 , , .
granting, provided, providing, seeing, supposing J
(b ) o th e r s : \
\
en d in g w ith as:
according as, as f a r as, as long as, as soon as, forasm uch as ( f o r m a l) ,
inasm uch a r ( f o r m a l ) , insofar as, insomuch a s (fo r m a l)
O th e rs: I
a s if, as though, in case
N o te [a] T h e d istin c tio n in fo rm b etw een th e sim p le a n d com plex su b o rd in ato rs is in p a r t

o rth o g ra p h ic , sin ce so m e o f th e sim p le su b o rd in ato rs a re in tern ally (th a t is m orp h o lo g ically )
co m p lex . B ut th e ir o rth o g ra p h ic a l u n ity p o in ts to th e c e n tra l p lace o f th e sim p le s u b o rd in a to rs
in th e system .
[b] I n a d d itio n , th e follow ing a rc h a ic su b o rd in ato rs still h av e a lim ited cu rren c y -.albeit, whence,
whereat, wherefore , whither.
[c] M a n y o f th e su b o rd in a to rs in d icate m ore th a n on e logical relatio n sh ip . T h e relatio n sh ip s a re
discussed in su b se q u e n t sectio n s o f th is c h a p ter.
Form al indicators o f subordination 999
[d] T h e om ission o f a n o p tio n a l th a t in th e com plex subo rd in ato rs te n d s to low er th e le v el o f

form ality. O n th e o th e r h a n d , thie in c lu sio n o f that m ay avoid am biguity ( c f 14.41).
[e] A bout a n d w ithout a re used a s s u b o rd in a to rs for finite clauses in in fo rm al style, b u t a r e n o t
g enerally considered a c c e p ta b le :
?She ex p lain ed to us about th ere's nothing fo r teenagers to do in the village.
?W e c a n ’t even re a d in o u r b ed ro o m without one o f the children com es barging in w anting
something.
T h e y are am o n g rece n t ex a m p les o f a co n tin u in g tre n d to use prepositions also as su b o rd in a to rs.
O n account (o f ) <esp A m E ) , a n o th e r rece n t ex am p le, h as ach iev ed so m ew h at g r e a te r
ac cep ta b ility in in fo rm al style:
I ca n ’t com e no w on account ( o f) I have to look a fte r m y baby brother.
( f J B u t that is a su b o rd in a to r in th e sense ‘ex cep t (th a t)’:
She w ould h av e ig n o red E d w a rd but th a t she k new he w ould have co m p lain ed to her s is te r.
O ccasionally that is o m itte d :
It nev er rain s but it pours.
E x cep t is used w ith o u t th a t in th e sen se ‘u n less’ ( c f 15.34):
I w o uldn’t be h ere except I h a d to.
B u t th a t is o fte n ad d e d w h en ex c e p t h a s th e sense ‘o n ly ’ ( c /1 5.44):
I ’d lend you m y c a r except (th a t) I m ay n eed it la te r th is afternoon.
[g l T h e te m p o ral su b o rd in a to rs, in te rro g a tiv e w hether an d if, a n d co n d itio n a l i f c a n alone .serve
as tru n c a te d su b o rd in a te clauses fu n ctio n in g as ex clam atio n ta g s:
V irtu ally an y c o n ju n ctio n ca n fu n c tio n alo n e as a n ech o q u e stio n :

A : I ’ll let you k n o w i f th e re a re g o in g to be refreshm ents.
B : 'i f ? B u t surely you p ro m ise d you w ould arra n g e it.
A : W e’re arriv in g in N ew Y o rk afte r you leave.
B : A F ter? B u t I w a s h o p in g t o s e e y o u th e r e .
C o r r e la tiv e s u b o r d in a to r s
14.13 T h e co rrelativ e s u b o rd in a to rs a re d iv id e d in to five sets, listed below . T h e
second c o rre lativ e e n d o rses th e m ean in g o f th e first. F o r c o rre la tiv e
co o rd in a to rs, c f 13.33#*.
CORRELATIVE SUBORDINATORS
(a) as . . . so
n o so o n er . . . th a n , w h en (in fo rm a l)
(c) th e . . .th e
(d) w h e th e r
if
1000 T h e com ple x sentence
(e) su b o rd in a te * plus
o p tio n a l co n ju n ct
a lthough
even i f
> . . . y e t, nevertheless, etc
(even) though
w hile
once
>. . . then, in that case
since [reaso n ]
unless
b ecause
j . . . . therefore
seein g (that)
T h e (a ) set co n sists o f th e u n iq u e p ro p o rtio n a l c o rre lativ e as . . . so

( c f 15.51), also typical o f fo rm al an d d e lib erativ e style. T h e co n ju n ct
e m p h a s iz e s th e re la tio n sh ip in d ic a te d by th e in itial su b o rd in a to r:
A s th e s tre n g th o f th e d e fe n d e rs failed, so th e co u rag e o f th e a tta c k e rs
g rew .
T h e o m is s io n o f so ten d s to give a tem p o ral in te rp re ta tio n (‘all th e w hile
t h a t ’) to t h e su b o rd in a to r as.
T h e (b ) se t c o n ta in s c o m p a ra tiv e co rrelativ es ( c f 15.6 3 ff). In th is set th e
s u b o r d in a te c lau se is p o sitio n e d finally. T h e first e lem en t fu n c tio n s a s degree
m o d ifie r in th e su p e ro rd in a te clause, w hile th e seco n d is a su b o rd in a to r
in tro d u c in g th e final su b o rd in a te c la u se :
than I h av e ev er been.
H e h a d no sooner a rriv e d than h e a sk ed fo r food.
T h e (c) set' co n sists o f th e u n iq u e p a ir o f p ro p o rtio n a l co rre lativ es the . . .

the ( c /1 5 .51)?
T h e h a r d e r th ey w o rk ed , the h u n g rier th ey b ecam e.
[‘A s th ey w ork ed h a rd e r, so th ey b ecam e h u n g rie r.’]
I f th e o r d e r q f the tw o clau ses is reversed, th e m ea n in g re la tio n sh ip is

c h a n g e d ( c f N o te [d] b e lo w ): .
T h e h u n g r ie r th ey b e ca m e , the h a rd e r th ey w orked.
[‘A s th ey b ecam e h u n g rier, so they w orked h a rd e r.’]
T h e (d ) s e t co n ta in s th e whether . . . or co rrelativ es used in tw o different

ty p es o f su b o rd in a te c lau ses: a lte rn a tiv e in te rro g ativ e clau ses (c /1 5 .6 ) an d
a lte rn a tiv e cq'n d itio n al-co n cessiv e clauses (c/1 5 .4 1 ). In th e in te rro g ativ e
c o n s tru c tio n th e or-clause is o p tio n a l:
T h e y d id n ’t tell m e w hether I should w rite to th e m a n a g e r (or whether

I s h o u ld see h im p ersonally).
In th e co n d itio n al-co n c e ssiv e c o n stru ctio n , o n th e o th e r h a n d , th e or-clause

is o b lig a to ry . In b o th in stan c es, th e c o rrelativ e or c o o rd in a te s tw o su b o rd in a te
clau ses ( c f th e either . . . o r co rrelativ e, 13.33/), u n lik e th e p rev io u s sets,
w h ere o n ly o n e c o rre lativ e is a tta c h e d to th e s u b o rd in a te c lause. O r is also an
Formal indicators of subordination 1001
o p tio n a l c o rre la tiv e in th e a lte rn a tiv e in terro g ativ e clause in tro d u ced b y i f
(c/1 5 .6 ).
T h e (e) se t c o m b in e s a su b o rd in ato r in a n in itia l su b o rd in a te a d v e rb ia l
clause w ith a n o p tio n a l c o n ju n ct ( c /8 .1 3 4 /) *n th e su p ero rd in ate clause. T h e
c o n ju n ct em p h a size s th e relatio n sh ip in d icated by th e su b o rd in a to r:
Though th e w o rk ers w ere u n h ap p y w ith som e a spects o f th e p ro p o sed
n ew c o n tra c t, nevertheless they o verw helm ingly v oted in fav o u r o f it.
[c o n c e s s i v e c l F u s e ; c/ 1 5 . 3 9 / ]
/ t h i s y e a r's h a rv e s t is good, then they will n o t need to im p o rt w heat.
[ c o n d i t i o n F l c l F u s e ; c f 1 5 .3 3 /]
B ecause you h a v e n o t rep lied to m y fo rm al letter o f M ay 1 , 1 a m
therefore w ith d ra w in g m y offer.
[ r e F s o n c l F u s e ; c f 1 5 .4 5 # ]
Som e w rite rs a v o id th e co n ju n c t as re d u n d a n t in th ese exam ples. Its in se rtio n

is m o re u su al in a n in sisten tly persuasive arg u m e n t o r in a fo rm al a n d
d e lib e ra tiv e style o f w ritin g , especially if th e in itial su b o rd in a te c lau se is
lengthy a n d th e re la tio n s h ip th e n needs to b e recalled. T h e effect is to b a la n c e
th e tw o p a rts o f th e sy stem , a n effect a k in to parallelism (c/1 9 .7 ), a n d to
re m in d th e re a d e r o r h e a re r o f th e force o f th e arg u m en t.
N o te [a] T h e ran g e o f co rre la tiv e su b o rd in a to rs can be ex ten d ed so m ew h at in litera ry style to in c lu d e ,

fo r ex a m p le, w h e re . . . there a n d w h e n . . . th en :
W hen h e r im a g in a tio n w as stirre d , then th ere d escen d e d upon h er a frenzy to in scrib e h e r
th o u g h ts.
[b] T h e follow ing o c c u r w ith su b je c t-o p e ra to r inversion ( c f 18.24) in th e first c la u s e :
no so o n e r . . . than barely/hardly/scarcely . . when/before
T h e re is tra d itio n a l o b je c tio n to th e use o f when as c o rrelativ e w ith no sooner a n d to th e u s e o f
th an a s co rrelativ e w ith th e th re e neg a tiv e adverbs. .
[c] S ince s u b o rd in a te a d v e rb ia l clauses are usually in E p o sitio n , th e co rrelativ e in sets (a), (b),
a n d (c) c a n be seen a s p ro v id in g th e co n d itio n fo r th e clause to be in / position a n d su b se q u en tly
e n d o rsin g th e fo rce o f th e clause.
[d] The m a y b e used in tw o w ays to intro d u ce a final s u b o rd in ate clause w ith o u t a p re c e d in g
in itia l co rrelativ e the. In th e first use, it correlates w ith a co m p arativ e in th e su p e ro rd in a te
clause, th e co n stru c tio n th e n b elo n g in g to set (c ):
T h e y becam e (the) h u n g rie r th e h a rd e r th ey w orked.
T h e c o n stru c tio n is e q u iv a le n t in m e an in g to th e co rrelativ e t h e . . . the c o n s tru c tio n :
The h a r d e r th ey w o rk ed , the h u n g rie r they becam e.
[c /* H a rd e r th e y w o rk ed , h u n g rie r they becam e.]
T h e eq u iv alen c e p ro v id e s a n arg u m e n t for suggesting th a t th e first clause is se m a n tic ally
s u b o rd in ate, a s in sets (a) a n d (b).
In th e seco n d use, th e is n o n co rrelativ e. I t com bines w ith a co m p arativ e, chiefly to in tro d u c e
a final su b o rd in a te clau se o f p u rp o se, especially a /o -infinitive c la u se :
T h e y m oved to th e fro n t, the b ette r to h ea r th e sp eak er.
Less form ally:
T h e y m oved to th e fro n t in o rd e r to h ear th e sp eak er better.
In form al style, th e p u rp o se clau se m ay be in itial:
The m ore easily to in d u c e w itnesses to testify, w e are c o n d u c tin g o u r hea rin g s in p riv a te .
M a r g in a l s u b o r d in a to r s
14.14 A s w ith co m p lex p re p o sitio n s (c /9 .1 0 # ), it is difficult to d is tin g u ish
categ o rically b e tw ee n co m p lex su b o rd in ato rs a n d free sy n tactic c o n stru c
tions. Several m a rg in a l ty p es req u ire discussion.
T y p e 1 co n sists o f a h a b itu a l c o m b in a tio n o f a su b o rd in a to r w ith a

p re c e d in g o r fo llo w in g ad v erb ; for e x am p le even i f an d i f only. W e re g ard
th e s e as s u b o rd in a to rs because th e m e a n in g o f th e su b o rd in a to r is affected
by t h e p re se n c e o f th e ad v erb . In c o n tra st, co m b in a tio n s such as only i f an d
ju s t a s c o n sist o f a p rem odifier p re ce d in g a su b o rd in a to r.
T y p e 2 co n sists o f no u n p h ra ses th a t com m only fu n ctio n as te m p o ra l
a d v e rb ia ls ; fo r ex am p le, the m om ent {that) a n d every tim e (that). W e c o n sid er
th e s e to b e m o re lik e free sy n tactic c o n stru ctio n s th a n lik e co m p lex
s u b o rd in a to rs . T h e re la tio n sh ip b etw een the m om ent a n d th e follow ing clau se,
for e x a m p le , c a n be ex p lain ed as th e h e a d o f a n o u n p h ra se m odified b y a
r e s tric tiv e re la tiv e clause, th e no u n p h ra se fu n ctio n in g as a d v erb ial o f tim e.
C o m p a re :
I re c o g n iz e d h im that mom ent. I reco g n ized h im the m om ent I saw him.
T h e p h r a s e p e rm its th e ran g e o f stru c tu ra l v a ria tio n s th a t o n e w ould e x p ec t

fro m t h a t an aly sis. F o r e x a m p le :
'first
m om ent
n e xt
instant
last
f r o m \ ^ the minute ’ [w /je n J I saw him , I reco g n ized him .
precise
tim e
very
O th e r e x a m p le s o f su ch free co n stru ctio n s in clu d e during the p erio d when,

u ntil such tim e as, since the days that.
T y p e 3 co n sists o f p rep o sitio n al p h ra ses en d in g in the fa c t that. T h ey
ex p ress re la tio n s h ip s o f reaso n o r concession. B ecause th ey c a n be re p la ce d
m o re c o n cise ly by a sim p le co n ju n ctio n , th ey are co n sid ered to b e sty listically
clum sy. E x a m p le s in c lu d e :
because o f the f a c t that

d u e to the f a c t that
[‘be ca u se ’]
o n account o f the f a c t that
in {the) lig h t o f the fa c t that,
in spite o f the f a c t that 1 r, ... .
regardless o f the f a c t that J 3 ° U\
T h e s e a llo w so m e v a ria tio n o f th e p re p o sitio n an d c o n sid erab le v a ria tio n o f

th e h e a d o f th e n o u n p h rase. C o m p a re :
{
the fa c t
the news
th a t th ey w ere sick, I w e n t to v isit th em .
yo u r report
m y b e lie f
O n ly in spite o f the fa c t that can b e re p la ce d by a sim ple c o n ju n c tio n {eg:

although), y e t it is c le ar th a t all th e p h ra se s h av e a sim ila r fu n c tio n . W e
sh o u ld th e re fo re re g ard th em as p re p o sitio n a l p h ra ses follow ed by a clau se in
a p p o s itio n to th e n o u n -p h rase co m p lem en t.
T y p e 4 co n sists o f p a rticip le fo rm s su ch as supposing {that) a n d p rovided
{that). T h e p a rticip les form a g ra d ie n t. Som e re ta in c e rta in p ro p e rtie s
c h a ra c te ris tic o f v erb s, w hile th o se th a t a re m o st lik e sim p le co n ju n c tio n s
Formal indicators of subordination 1003
have lost all su ch p ro p e rtie s . T h u s, like o th e r p articip les, supposing a n d

assum ing c a n b e e x p a n d e d b y a d v e rb ia ls:
s u p p o s in g ] ] fo r th e sa k e o f arg u m en t
assu m in g ] l a s a re su lt o f yo u r advice
B ut such e x p a n s io n is n o t p e rm itte d for som e o f th e o th er p a rticip le f o r m s :
‘ seeing 1 f fo r th e sa k e o f a rg u m en t 1
‘ p ro v id e d ] ] a s a re su lt o f y o u r a d v ic e ]
O n th e o th e r h a n d , lik e m an y verbs, seeing an d considering c a n b e follow ed

by c o n ju n ctio n s o th e r th a n th a t:
S eeing X h o w h e re ac te d . ; .
C o n sid e rin g ]
B u t m o st im p o rta n t o f all, th e co n ju n ctio n al seeing, provided, providing, a n d

given a re n o w d is tin c t fro m th e p a rticip les in m ea n in g a n d in n o t re q u irin g
su b ject id en tific atio n (c /1 5 .5 8 /), so th a t th ey c a n n o t b e v iew ed as th e v e rb in
a p a rticip le c lause.
N o te [a] T h e p rem o d ifier in th e free c o n stru c tio n s o f ty pe 1 m ay be fo cusing ( c / 8 .116), as in even when
a n d only if.; in te n sify in g (c/8 .1 0 4 ), as in ever since a n d ju s t a s (in th e sim ilarity sen se); o r
specifying fu rth e r th e tim e re latio n sh ip , as in ju s t when an d a fe w d a ys before.
[b ] T h e re a re o th e r co n ju n c tio n -lik e p rep o sitio n al p h rases s im ila r to th o se in ty p e 3, b u t n o t
en d in g in the f a c t th a t ; f o r ex a m p le , in the event that, on the grounds th at, in the sense that.
S u b o rd in ato rs fo r nonfinite and verbless clauses

14.15 N o n fin ite a n d v e rb le ss clau ses are su b o rd in a te b y v irtu e o f th e ab sen ce o f a
finite v e rb as th e v e rb e le m en t o f th e clause. T h ey are, h o w ev er, so m etim es
in tro d u c ed by a s u b o rd in a to r, w h ich g en erally signals th e cla u se to b e
ad v erb ial.
T h e stru c tu ra l c lasses o f clauses vary in th e su b o rd in a to rs t h a t th ey a d m it.
H o w ev er, all th e classes e x cep t fo r th a t o f th e b a re in fin itiv e c lau ses m ay b e
in tro d u c ed by th e su b o rd in a to rs with a n d without. A n o u n p h ra se (n o t
n ecessarily th e su b ject) is re q u ire d a fte r th e su b o rd in a to r;
W ithout yo u to consult, I w ould b e co m pletely lost.

W ith the m ortgage pa id , th ey could afford to go a b ro a d fo r th e ir
v a ca tio n .
D o n ’t w alk a ro u n d with your shirt hanging out.
W ith y o u as m y frie n d , I d o n ’t need enem ies.
N o te R ather than is fo u n d w ith all ty p es o f clauses, inclu d in g fin ite clauses, b u t it is g en erally best
tre a te d as a q u a s i-c o o rd in a to r (c/1 3 .1 0 3 ), w ith m a tch in g fo rm s in th e clauses (b u t c f 4.19 N ote
W ):
T h e y w ere scream ing ra th e r th a n singing. S he telephoned ra th e r th a n wrote.
H e w a n te d to sunbathe r a th e r th a n (to) swim.
T h e p a r t a fte r r ather than refers to a n e a rlier a ssu m p tio n th a t is re je c te d ; rather than is h ere
e q u iv alen t to ‘a n d n o t’.
S u b o rd in ato rs fo r b a re infinitive clauses

14.16 B are in fin itiv e clau ses are lim ite d to th e tw o synonym ous su b o rd in a to rs
rather than a n d sooner than ( c f 14.15 N o te fo r th e fu n c tio n o f rather than as
1004 Th e co m p le x sentence
q u a si-c o o rd in a to r). T h e m atrix clauses express th e su b je ct’s preference ( c f

15.52):
H e p a id th e fine rather than appeal to a higher court.

Sooner th a n wait fo r a reply to your letter, I w ould tele p h o n e her.
T h e bare in fin itiv e c lau se o ccasio n ally tak es a su b ject:
R ather than RoBert drive in his present state , I’d p re fe r to d riv e h im hom e
m yself.
N o te [a] I n co n tra st to th e c o n s tra in ts on th e q u asi-c o o rd in ato r rather than, w hen clauses are
in tro d u c e d by th e su b o rd in a to rs rather than an d sooner than th e v erb form s d o not need to m a tc h
a n d t h e s u b o rd in a te clause m a y b e in itial as well as final.
[b] I f would o r sh o u ld is in th e m a trix clause, rather a n d sooner m a y be m oved into th at clause
w h e n th e su b o rd in a te clau se is fin a l:
H e w ould r a th e r pay th e fine than appeal to a higher court.
S u c h sen te n ces h ave, a n o b v io u s resem b lan ce to co m p arativ e co n stru c tio n s a n d a d m it vario u s
co m p a ra tiv e a d v e rb s :
f r ead i l y "|
H e w ould more< willingly >p ay th e fine than appeal to a higher court.
[^cheerfully J
S u b o rd in a to rs fo r fo-infinitive clauses
14.17 7 b -in fin itiv e clau ses m ay b e in tro d u ced by several su b o rd in a to rs ; as if, as
though, fo r , in order, so as, whether . . . (or), with, a n d without. F or in th is
fu n c tio n is re s tric te d to in fin itiv e clauses w ith th e ir o w n su b ject, a n d in d eed
is o fte n o b lig a to ry ( c f 15.10):
It w ould b e an a b s u rd id ea fo r them to move to another house a t this stage

o f their careers.
S in ce fo r m a y b e c o m b in e d w ith th e su b o rd in a to r in order to, it seem s to b e a

d e v ice for in tro d u c in g th e su b ject ra th e r th a n to b e a tru e su b o rd in a to r:
In order fo r y o u to be eligible fo r a student grant, y o u r p a re n ts m u st

receiv ^ less th a n a stip u la ted an n u al incom e.
W hether (w ith o r w ith o u t c o rre lativ e or) in tro d u ces a su b o rd in a te in te rro g a

tiv e clause:
I d o n ’t k n o w whether to p u t on the air-conditioning today.
I n the a b se n c e o f a su b ject in th e su b o rd in a te clause, th e su b ject is

u n d ersto o d a s id e n tic a l w ith th a t o f th e m atrix clause.
S u b o rd in ato rs fo r -ed clauses and verbless clauses

14.18 C lau ses w ith a n -ed p a rtic ip le a n d v erb less clauses m a y b e in tro d u ced by
som e su b o rd in a to rs th a t a re also used for finite clau ses ( c f 14.12):
although, a s [m an n er], as if, as soon as, as though, even if, if, once, though,
unless, u ntil [only -ed p a rtic ip le clauses], when(ever), where(ver), whether
. . .o r [co n d itio n al-co n cessiv e], while, whilst <esp B r E )
T h ese clauses c a n b e re la te d to finite clauses for w h ic h th e su b ject a n d th e

v e rb | e a re su p p lied (c /1 4 .9 ):
Form al indicators of subordination 1005
W hen taken according to the directions, th e d ru g h as n o side effects.

[‘W h en th e d ru g is tak e n . . [ 1 ]
A lthough n ot y e t s ix m onths old, she w as ab le to w alk w ith o u t
su p p o rt. [‘A lth o u g h sh e w as n ot y e t . . . ’] [2]
Unless told otherwise, b e here every n ig h t. [‘U n less you are told
. . y o u is im p lied subject o f th e im p e rativ e su p ero rd in ate
clause] [3]
I f necessary, he w ill ta k e n o tes for you. [‘I f his tak in g n o tes is
n e c e s s a r y ,. . . ’] [4]
T h e su b je ct o f th e su b o rd in a te clause m u st generally be u n d e rsto o d a
id e n tic a l w ith th a t o f th e m atrix clause, b u t fo r verbless clauses such a s i f
necessary a n d where possible it m ay refer to th e m atrix clause as a w hole, a s in
e x am p le [4].
N o te [a] T h e (/-clauses m ay b e used fo r h y p o th e tic al c o n d itio n s (c /1 4 .19 N o te [a], 15.35):

T h e m ilk w ould n o t tu rn so u r i f boi l ed, [‘i f it w ere b o iled ’]
I w ould h av e ty p ed y o u r m a n u sc rip t fo r you i f necessary , [‘if it h ad been n ecessary to d o s o ’]
[ b ] T h e re is a stere o ty p ed c o n stru c tio n in w h ich th e -ed p artic ip le follows no sooner th an :
( It w as) n o so o n er said th an done.
S u b o r d in a t o r s fo r -ing c l a u s e s
14.19 C lau ses w ith a n -ing p a rticip le m ay b e in tro d u c ed by a n y o f th e s u b o rd in a to rs
fo r -ed p a rtic ip le clau ses ( c f 14.18), e x cep t th a t th e su b o rd in a to rs w here,
wherever, as [m an n er], a n d as soon as a re excluded ( c /N o te [a] b e lo w ):
although, a s if, as though, even if, if, once, though, unless, until, w hen(ever),
w h e th e r. . .o r [conditional-concessive], while, whilst <esp B r E )
U n lik e -e d p a rtic ip le a n d v erb less clauses, how ever, these -ing p a rtic ip le
clau ses c a n n o t b e re g ard e d as strictly ellip tical clauses, since th e -ing p a r tic ip le
d o es n o t n ecessarily re p re se n t a p ro g ressiv e form in th e e q u iv a le n t fin ite
clause. T h e -ing p a rtic ip le n eu tralizes th a t asp ectu al d is tin c tio n :
W hen returning m erchandise, b e su re to b rin g y our receipt. [‘W h e n y o u
r e t u r n . . . ' or ‘W h en you a re r e tu r n in g . . . ’]
T h e n o n e q u iv a len c e o f th e -ing p a rticip le in th ese clauses w ith th e fin ite
p ro g ressiv e is m o st c o n sp icu o u s w h en th e pro g ressiv e asp ect is ru led o u t, as
w ith th e p e rfe c tiv e o r a v erb u sed stativ ely ( c f 4 .2 7 # ):
O nce having le ft the prem ises, you m u st b u y a n o th e r tick et to re e n te r.
[‘O n ce you h a v e l e f t . . . ’]
Though understanding no Spanish, sh e w as ab le to c o m m u n icate w ith th e
o th e r stu d en ts. [‘T h o u g h she u n d ersto o d n o S p a n is h ,. . . ’]
N o te [a] -i ng clau ses in tro d u c e d by i f , ev en i f , a n d unl ess a re restricted to op en co n d itio n s (c /1 5 .3 5 ), in
w h ic h th e y are ro ughly eq u iv a le n t to ‘in cases w h e re ’. E v e n so, i f sounds so m ew h at s til te d :
I f com i ng by c ar, ta k e th e A 10 a n d tu rn o ff a t th e A 414.
E v en i f an d unl ess a re relativ ely m o re ac cep ta b le in such co n te x ts :
U n l ess^ rece*vin8 v i si tors, p a tie n ts m u st o b serv e n o rm a l hosp ital ruies.
[b] A f t er, bef ore, a n d si nce (su b o rd in ato rs w ith fin ite clauses) differ from su b o rd in a to rs su c h a s
w hen o r w hi l e in th a t th ey a re follow ed by -i ng clauses b u t n o t by - ed clauses o r verbless c l a u s e s :
H e to o k a sh o w e r j ^ eJ ° re i returni ng home. [ 1]
S in c e moving here, I h a v e felt m ore relaxed. [2]

T h e s e th re e also d iffe r fro m the su b o rd in ato rs listed ab o v e in 14.19 in th a t th ey allow a subject
in th e -ing c la u s e :
S in c e m y com ing here, life has becom e m ore co m fo rtab le for my p aren ts. [3]
T h e d iffe re n c e s sug g est th a t after, before, a n d since a re b e tte r classed w ith p rep o sitio n s su ch as
on a n d through (b o th o f w h ich p erm it a subject in th e -ing clause) ra th e r th a n w ith s u b o rd in a to rs :
H e took a sh o w e r on returning home. [ la ]
T hrough m y m oving here, life has becom e m o re co m fo rtab le for m y p aren ts. [3a]
[c] L ik e a s well a s a n d instead of, rather than is a p rep o sitio n , n o t a q u asi-c o o rd in ato r ( c f 13.103),
w h e n it is follow ed by an -ing p articip le clause th a t do es n o t m a tc h th e v erb in th e m a trix clause
( c /1 4 .1 5 N o te):
T h e ir ac tio n s p re c ip ita te d th e w ar rather than averting it.
A s w ell as visiting N iagara Falls, w e spent a d ay in T oronto.
H e in ten d s to go as he is, instead o f changing into his best clothes.
O th e r indicators of subordination
14.20 W e n o w tu rn to o th e r in d ic a to rs o f su b o rd in a tio n a p a rt fro m su b o rd in a to rs.
(i) U Ti-elem ents a re in itial m ark e rs o f su b o rd in atio n in su b o rd in a te

in te rro g a tiv e clau ses ( c /1 5 .5 /) an d su b o rd in a te ex clam ativ e clau ses (c/1 5 .7 ),
in w /i-relative c lau ses (c /1 5 .8 /, 17.9/"), a n d in c o n d itio n al-co n cessiv e clauses
( c /1 5 .4 1 /) . T h e su b o rd in a tin g w/i-words a re :
who, whom, whose, which

when, where, what, why, how
whoever, w hom ever < rare>, whichever
wherever, whenever, whatever, however
whosoever, whomsoever, wheresoever, whatsoever, howsoever ( a ll r a re ;
legal a n d relig io u s)
(ii) T h e re la tiv e p ro n o u n that, w h ich c a n o ften rep lace w /i-pronouns, is a

su b o rd in a tio n m a rk e r in restrictiv e re la tiv e clauses (c f \ 1 . 9 f f ):
T h e style th a t we are exam ining in this exhibition w as a n u n u su a l o n e.
T h e re la tiv e pironoun is to be d istin g u ish ed fro m th e su b o rd in a to r that, w h ich

does n o t o p e ra te as a n e lem en t in th e s u b o rd in a te clause.
(iii) S u b je c i-o p e ra to r inv ersio n is a" m a rk e r o f s u b o rd in a tio n in som e

c o n d itio n al, sim ila rity , a n d co m p a rativ e clauses ( c /1 5 .3 6 ,15.50 N o te , 15.74).
I t is ty p ic a l o f a lite rary a n d elev ated style o f persu asio n . T h e o p e ra to rs th a t
p e rm it th e in v ersio n are had, were, should, a n d (less co m m only) could a n d
m ight: j
H a d I been less fo rth rig h t, I w ould h a v e a cq u ired m o re su p p o rt.

W ere she here, sh e w ould su p p o rt th e m o tio n .
In v e rsio n o f a d ifferen t k in d - th e fro n tin g o f th e w hole o r p a r t o f th e

p re d ic a tio n - m ay o c cu r w ith the su b o rd in a to rs as, though, a n d that ( c /1 5.39,
15.47):
E loquent though she was, she could n o t p e rsu ad e th em .
(iv) T h e ab se n ce o f a fin ite verb is itself a n in d ic a to r o f su b o rd in a tio n ,

since n o n fin ite a n d v erb less clauses a re n ecessarily su b o rd in a te :
Th e verb phrase in subordinate clauses 1007
D enying any interest in politics, sh e claim ed th a t sh e w ish ed to co n tin u e

in fo ren sic m ed ic in e .
T h ere a re only tw o ty p es o f su b o rd in a te clauses th a t h a v e n o c le ar in d ic a to r

o f su b o rd in a tio n w ith in t h e m :
(a) N o m in al r/iaZ-clauses allow th e om ission o f that in c e rta in c o n te x ts

(c/1 5 .4 ), b u t they m ay b e s a id to b e recognizable a s s u b o rd in a te th ro u g h th e
p o ten tiality for th e in se rtio n o f th a t:
I suppose I can use yo u r phone.

~ I suppose th a t I can use yo u r phone.
C o m p are also th e o m issib ility o f relativ e that, 17.13/T.
(b) Som e co m m e n t clau ses (c/1 5 .5 4 ) have no o v e rt m a rk o f su b o rd in a tio n ,;

b u t - as w ith th e zero re la tiv e clau ses m en tio n ed in (a) - th ey g en erally la c k
a n o b lig ato ry v erb c o m p le m e n ta tio n :
I h av e n o a lte rn a tiv e , I suppose.

I t co u ld be w orse, y o u know .
= You know , it c o u ld b e w orse.
You know (th a t) it c o u ld b e worse.
The verb phrase in subordinate clauses
14.21 In g en eral th e ru les fo r th e uses o f form s an d c ateg o ries o f th e v e rb p h ra s e -

such as ten ses, asp ects, a n d m o d al auxiliaries - a p p ly b o th to s u b o rd in a te
a n d in d ep e n d en t clauses. N ev erth eless, th ere a re cases in w h ic h c h o ices
affecting th e v erb p h ra se o f a su b o rd in ate clause a re d e te rm in e d by th e
p a rtic u la r ty p e o f s u b o rd in a te clau se it belongs to. W ith tem p o ral since-
clauses, o n th e o th e r h a n d , it is th e choice o f verb p h ra se in th e m a trix clau se
th a t is m o re obviously a ffected .
Such d e te rm in a tio n s c o n s titu te a signal o f s u b o rd in a tio n a d d itio n a l to
o th e r signals, su c h a s in itia l su b o rd in ato rs. T h ey a re a p a rtic u la rly
consp icu o u s signal w h e n th e v e rb p h ra se in th e s u b o rd in a te clau se p re v en ts
th a t clause from c o n stitu tin g a n in d ep en d en t sen ten ce, e v en w ith th e
o m issio n o f th e su b o rd in a to r, as in ( Though ) he be the P resident himself. L ess
obviously, th e m e a n in g o f th e v erb ph rase w o u ld b e d ifferen t in an
in d e p e n d e n t clause, as in (W h en ) the gam e ends.
N o te D ep en d en c y relatio n s o f th is k in d a re n o t necessarily found in disju n c t clau ses, p a rtic u la rly style

d isju n c t clauses (c/1 5 .2 1 ), w h e re v e rb ch o ices are prim arily d e p e n d e n t o n th e c irc u m sta n c e s o f
th e sp eech ac t. C o n tra st, fo r e x a m p le , th e m a tch in g tenses in [1), w h ere th e since-clause is an
ad ju n ct, w ith th e ab sen ce o f m a tc h in g in [2], w here th e since-clause is a style d is ju n c t:
S ince th e y really w anted to k n o w , th e y conducted th e ir ow n in v e stig atio n . [ 1]
S ince you really w ant to k n o w , th e y conducted th e ir ow n in v e stig atio n . [2]
T h e p r e s e n t t e n s e in a d v e r b i a l a n d n o m i n a l c l a u s e s
14.22 T h e s im p le p re se n t is co m m o n ly used in p referen ce to th e a u x iliary will o r (in
B rE , o p tio n a lly w ith / a n d we) sh a ll in c e rta in types o f a d v erb ial clauses to
e x p re s s fu tu re m ean in g ( c f also 14.26):
W hen
A fte r
B efo re
As h e arrives, th e b a n d will p lay th e N a tio n a l A n th e m .
If
A s soon as
O nce
E v e n i f to m o rro w ’s m a tc h is c an celled , L an cash ire will still b e a t th e to p

o f th e league.
H e ’ll c o m e in case h e ’s w an ted .
W h ile I am aw ay, th e c h ild re n w ill look a fte r th e house.
W h e th e r o r n o t th ey win th is b a ttle, th ey w o n ’t w in th e w ar.
W h a te v e r th ey say, I w o n ’t pay.
W h e re v e r she goes, I ’ll go.
T h e su b o rd in a to rs in v o lv ed b elo n g to th e tem p o ral, c o n d itio n a l, a n d

co n d itio n al-co n c e ssiv e c ateg o rie s ( c f 15.25, 15.34, 15.41/). T e m p o ra l since,
h o w e v e r, is e xcluded (c/1 5 .2 6 ).
C la u s e s o f sim ila rity ( c f 15.50) a n d p ro p o rtio n (c/1 5 .5 1 ) m ay also h a v e th e
s im p le p re s e n t to ex p ress fu tu re m e a n in g :
N e x t tim e I ’ll d o a s h e says.
T h e h a rd e r you exercise, th e b e tte r y o u ’ll feel.
N o m in a l that- a n d w/i-clauses te n d to c o n ta in th e sim ple p re s e n t w h en th e

m a tr ix clause (as w ell as th e su b o rd in a te clause) refers to th e fu tu re ; b u t
w h e n th e m a trix clau se re fers to th e p re sen t, will is likely to b e u sed in th e
su b o rd in a te clause. C o n tra s t:
I n a few m in u te s I ’ll a sk h im w h a t h e w ants tom orrow .
T h e q u estio n is w h a t h e will w ant to m o rro w .
H o w e v e r, thejre are e x ce p tio n a l v e rb c b n stru ctio n s like hope, bet, see (to it),
ta k e care, be careful, a n d (b o th in th e im p e rativ e) suppose a n d assum e, afte r
w h ic h th e sim p le p re se n t is o ften o r (fo r ta ke care a n d be careful) regularly
u sed:
I h o p e thjat th e p a rce l com es in tim e, [also will come ]
S u p p o se (he loses h is way.
L e t’s assum e o u r o p p o n e n ts win th e e lectio n , [also will win]
I ’ll see th a t n o b o d y disturbs you. [also will disturb ]
T a k e c are th a t sh e doesn't fall.
W ill a n d won’t o c c u r in a d v erb ial clauses, p articu la rly in ^ c la u s e s , in

c e r ta in uses. In g en eral, th e d ifferen ce b etw een th e sim ple p re s e n t a n d th e
m o d a l is th a t th e sim p le p re s e n t re fers to a n assu m ed fu tu re a c tu a l situ atio n
w h e re a s th e m odal re fe rs to th e assu m ed p re d ic ta b ility o f a s itu a tio n o r o f
s itu a tio n s. M ore specifically, will a n d won't a re co m m o n ly u s e d :
T h e verb phrase in subordinate clauses 1009
(i) w h ere th e m o d a ls h a v e a volitional m e a n in g :

I f y o u 'll help us, w e c an finish early, [‘are w illing to ’] [1]
I f you w on’t help us, all ou r p lan s will be ru in ed , [‘refuse to ’] [2]
I f h e ’ll p a y , I ’ll g o w ith h im . [3]
I f y o u 'll use it, you c a n have it. [4]
T h e use o f th e sim p le p re sen t in [1 -4 ] w ould su p p ress th e v o litio n al m ea n in g .
In [5] th e v o litio n a l m ea n in g is m eta p h o rically tran sferre d to in a n im a te
o b je c ts:
I f y o u r c a r w on’t start, call m e a n y tim e a n d I ’ll help, [‘refuses to ’] [5]
(ii) w h e re th e m o d a ls exp ress tim eless a n d h a b itu a l p re d ic tio n :

I f d ru g s w ill cure h im , th is d ru g should d o th e jo b . [6 ]
I f su g a r w ill dissolve in a h o t liq u id , th is c h em ical w ill d o so too. [7]
W ill c a n b e re p la c e d by can in [6 ] an d [7], I n b o th sentences, th e c o n d itio n a l

clause d o es n o t re fe r to a specific a ctu al situ atio n .
(iii) w h e re th e m o d als ex p ress th e p re sen t p re d ic ta b ility o f th e o ccu rre n ce o r

n o n o c cu rre n ce o f a fu tu re situ atio n :
I f you won’t arrive b efo re six, I c a n ’t m e e t you. [‘I f you w o n ’t be
a rriv in g b e fo re six’] [8 ]
I f th e g a m e w on’t be fin ish ed u n til ten , I ’ll sp e n d th e n ig h t a t your
p lac e. [‘I f th e g am e is n o t going to b e fin ish ed u n til te n ’] [9]
I f th e w a te r w ill rise above th is level, th e n w e m u st w arn
e v ery b o d y in th e n eig h b o u rh o o d . [‘I f th e w a ter is g oing to rise
a b o v e th is level, th e n w e m u st n ow p la n to w a rn ev erybody in
th e n e ig h b o u rh o o d ’] [1 0 ]
I f sh e w on’t be h e re before m id n ig h t, th e re ’s n o need to ru sh . [11]
I f w e d e fin itely w on’t win, w hy should w e b o th e r to p lay ? [‘I f we
d e fin itely a r e n ’t going to w i n , . . . ’] [1 2 ]
T h e sim p le fo rm is less usual in [8 -1 2 ] th a n th e p rogressive.

In [ 8 - 1 2 ] th e m a trix clause expresses th e p re sen t conseq u en ce o f th e
p re sen t p re d ic ta b ility . I n [8 -9 ] th e c o n seq u en ce is a p re sen t d ecisio n to ta k e
a fu tu re a c tio n , w h ile in [1 0 -1 2 ] it is a p re s e n t decisio n th a t a ffects p r e s e n t
actio n .
T h e m o d a l c a n b e rep laced by th e sim p le p re sen t in [8 -9 ], b ut w ith a
d ifferen t im p lic a tio n . C o n tra s t [8 ] w ith [8 a]:
I f y o u d o n ’t a rriv e b efore six, I c a n ’t m e e t you. [‘in th e e v en t o f

y o u r a rriv a l a fte r six’] [8 a]
T h e s itu a tio n in th e co n d itio n al clau se o f [8 a] is view ed as possibly o c cu rrin g .

In [10] re p la c e m e n t o f th e m o d al b y th e sim p le p re se n t yields th e im p la u sib le
se n ten ce [ 1 0 a]:
I f th e w a te r rises a bove th is level, th e n w e m u st w a rn everybody.

[ c f' w h e n th e w a te r rises ab o v e th is level, i f it does so’] [ 1 0 a]
R e p la c e m e n t o f th e m o d al by th e sim ple p re se n t in [11] a n d [12] p ro d u c e s

u n in te rp re ta b le sen ten ces.
N o te [a] T h e s im p le p r e s e n t m ay be u sed fo r fu tu re reference in relativ e clauses th a t to g e th er w ith

th e ir a n te c e d e n t ex p re ss s im ila r relatio n sh ip s to th ose expressed in th e a d v e rb ia l cla u se s:
I ’ll s p e a k to h e r th e first o p p o rtu n ity / have.
A nd s im ila rly in a p p o sitiv e f/w /*clauses m odifying an a p p ro p ria te n o u n p h ra s e h e a d :
W e ’ll b e th e re to m o rro w o n th e a ssu m p tio n th a t it doesn’t rain.
[b] T h e sim p le p re s e n t in a co n d itio n a l clause m ay refer to a state in p re se n t ti m e :
I f you lik e it, I ’ll g iv e it to you.
F or d y n a m ic situ a tio n ty p es, th e p resen t progressive is used to re fe r to p resen t ti m e :
I f s h e ’s working, I w o n ’t in te rru p t her.
T h e h y p o t h e t i c a l p a s t a n d p a s t p e rfe c tiv e
14.23 T h e v e rb s in h y p o th e tic a l c o n d itio n al clauses a re b a c k s h ifte d , th e p a s t ten se
fo rm b e in g used fo r p re se n t a n d future tim e referen ce a n d th e p a s t p erfectiv e
form f o r p a s t tim e re fe re n ce ( c f 15.36). W h en th ese fo rm s h a v e such
h y p o th e tic a l im p lic a tio n s w e term th em h y p o t h e t i c a l p a s t a n d h y p o t h e t
i c a l p a s t p e r f e c t i v e . T h e g eneral rule for v erb s in b o th clauses o f
h y p o th e tic a l c o n d itio n s m ay b e expressed t h u s :
Table 14.23 V e rb s in h y p o th e tic a l c o n d itio n s
c o n d it i o n a l c la u s e m a t r ix c la u s e
p resen t an d H Y POTHET IC AL PAST MODAL

fu tu re PAST
refe ren c e
past HY POTHET IC AL PAST PER FECTIV E MODAL

refe ren c e PAST PE R FEC T IV E
T h e m o d al m o st c o m m o n ly used in th e m atrix c lau se is would. I t is u sed to

ex p ress th e h y p o th e tic a l im p licatio n , w ith o u t n e cessarily a n y o th e r m odal
im p lica tio n s:
I f sh e | tr,e^ I h a rd e r n ex t tim e, she w ould pa ss th e ex am in atio n .

were to try
I
[fu tu re r e fe r e n c e : ‘b u t I ex p ect she w o n ’t try h a r d e r ’]
I f th ey were aliv e, th e y w ould be m oving aro u n d .
[p resen t re fe re n c e : ‘b u t I assum e they a re n o t a liv e ’]
I f th e y h a d invited h im to th e co nference, he w ould have attended.
[p a st r e fe re n c e : ‘b u t th ey d id n ’t invite h im ’]
As th e brackejted im p lica tio n s in d icate, th e h y p o th etica l m ea n in g is m o re

a b so lu te in th e p a st, a n d a m o u n ts to a n im p lied re jectio n o f th e c o n d itio n ;
w h ereas w ith p re s e n t a n d fu tu re referen ce th e m ea n in g m ay b e m erely o n e
of n e g a tiv e e x p e c ta tio n o r assu m p tio n , th e p o sitiv e n o t b e in g ru led o u t
co m p letely . D e p e n d in g o n th e lexical verb, th e p ro g ressiv e m ig h t be necessary
to c o n v e y p re s e n t referen ce, a s is in d eed th e case fo r t r y ;
I f sh e were trying h a rd e r, h er p a ren ts w ouldn't b e so anxious.
W h e n m o d al au x iliaries a re used in h y p o th etical c o n d itio n al clauses th ey

c o m b in e w ith p a s t a n d p a s t perfective. In th e m a trix clause th ey rep lace
w ould, sin ce tw o m o d al a u x iliaries c a n n o t cooccur. M odals in h y p o th e tic a l

c o n d itio n s, a p a rt from h y p o th etica l would, are would in o th e r uses, could,
m ig h t, a n d should:
I f th ey would help us, w e couldfinish early, [volitional would, ‘w o u ld b e
w illing to ’]
I f w e h ad e n o u g h m oney, w e could buy a typew riter.
I f you could type, you m ight save a lot o f tim e.
I m ight have m arried h e r if sh e w ould have agreed.
I f th ey h a d a sk ed m e, I w ould have had to speak, [have to as su b stitu te
fo r m ust, w h ich lack s a p a s t form ]
I f he h ad apologized, you should have done so too. [o b lig atio n al sh o u ld ]
S o m e B rE sp eak ers m a in ta in a d istin c tio n b etw een would a n d should in th e
m a trix clau se p arallel to th a t b e tw ee n will a n d shall (c f 4.42):
I f I h a d been a t h o m e la s t n ig h t, I should have heard th e n oise.
H y p o th e tic al p a s t o r p a st p e rfe c tiv e a re o bligatory in c e rta in o th e r
co n stru ctio n s th a t h av e h y p o th e tic a l m ea n in g :
I t ’s tim e you were in bed.
I w ish th is bus went to th e u n iv ersity .
I f o nly I had listened to m y p a r e n ts !
T h e y are o p tio n a l w ith o th e r co n stru ctio n s th a t also h a v e h y p o th e tic a l
m e a n in g (on th e su b ju n ctiv e were, c /1 4 .2 4 ):
H e a cts as if h e knew you.
I t ’s n o t as th o u g h w e were p o o r.
S uppose w e told h e r th e tru th .
Im ag in e yo u r ch ild p la y e d tru a n t.
I ’d ra th e r we h a d d in n e r now .
G e n era lly a n eg ativ e in feren ce c a n b e d ra w n , w h ich is m o re stro n g ly n e g a tiv e
w ith th e h y p o th etical p a st p e rfe c tiv e . T h u s I f only I had listened to m y paren ts
im p lies ‘I d id n o t listen to m y p a re n ts ’, a n d H e acts as i f he kn ew y o u im p lies
th e e x p ec ta tio n ‘H e d o esn ’t k n o w y o u ’. In I ’d rather we h a d dinner now, th e
h y p o th etica l p a st m ay ex p ress te n ta tiv e p o liten ess ra th e r th a n h y p o th e tic a l
m ean in g .
N o te [a] T h e hy p o th etical p a st is also used a fte r a n a rch a ic W ould that, w hich expresses a w is h :
W ould th a t everyone treated m e a s con sid erately .
[b] R estrictiv e relative clauses m o d ify in g g en e ric n o u n p h rases (c/1 5 .3 4 N o te [i]) a n d th e ir
m a trix clauses ta k e th e sam e fo rm s a s h y p o th e tic al co n d itio n a ls if th ey re fe r to a h y p o th e tic a l
s itu a tio n :
A n y perso n w ho h a d behaved in th a t w ay would have been dismissed.
[c] W e h a v e show n th a t th e rules fo r p a s t refere n ce in a hypothetical co n d itio n req u ire a p a s t
p erfe c tiv e in th e co n d itio n a l clau se a n d a p a s t perfec tiv e m odal, g enerally w ould have, in th e
m a trix clause:
I f I had seen her, I would have to ld her.
T h e o p erato rs are freq u en tly c o n tra c te d in in fo rm al sty le :
I f I ’d seen her, I ’d have told her.
In in fo rm al speech, th e have in th e seco n d p h ra se is freq u en tly reduced to /o v / o r /o/, so t h a t /
w ould have m ay be ren d e re d /a id s /. In fo rm a l A m E sp eech m ay have m a tc h in g m o d a ls in b o th
clau ses:
I f I 'd have seen h er, I ’d have told her.
1012 T h e c o m p le x sentence
The first p a rt o f b o th clauses may then be rendered /aids/. The contraction for the operator in
the co n d itio n a l clause is sometimes m isinterpreted as replacing h a d rather th an would, giving
rise to a n e rro r th a t is found in uneducated w riting and its fictional representation:
I f I h a d d a seen her, I woulda told her.
The n o n stan d a rd spelling I d a is similarly found as a representation o f /aids/, and o f is a frequent
m isspelling o f h ave w hen have follows a modal.
[d] In in fo rm al A m E the hypothetical past is som etim es used for past reference in place o f the
hy p o th etical p ast perfective:
I f th ey in v ite d h er to the conference, she w ould have attended.
[e] A m b ig u ities are occasionally found betw een open and hypothetical conditions (c/15.35),
since o p en conditions take the full range o f verb form s:
I f h e fo u n d a p a tien t listener, he would pour o ut his troubles.
This sen ten ce m ay be a hypothetical condition referring to the future (‘I don’t think he’ll find a
p atien t listen er’) o r a n open condition referring to the past ( would having a habitual meaning).
[f] In su b o rd in ate clauses following I wish (th a t), the hypothetical past may be replaced by
h y pothetical w ould o r by a /o-infinitive:
f she v isite d
I w ish < she w o u ld visit ^ me more often,
t h e r to visit
T h e p re se n t and past subjunctive

14.24 T h e p r e s e n t su b ju n c tiv e ( c /3 .5 8 /0 is u sed very o ccasionally in fo rm al style
in o p e n c o n d itio n a l clauses (c /1 5 .3 3 N o te [d], 15.36) a n d in co n cessiv e
c lau ses ( c f \ 5.41 N o te [b ], 15.42 N o te [b]):
I f a n y p e r s o n be found guilty, h e sh all h av e th e rig h t o f ap p eal.

W h a te v e r be th e reaso n s for th e ir a ctio n , w e c an n o t to le rate such
d islo y alty .
W h e th e r sh e be rig h t o r w rong, sh e w ill h a v e m y u n sw erv in g su p p o rt.
M o re u su a lly , t h e sim p le p resen t in d ic a tiv e is used.

C la u s e s o f c o n cessio n ( c f 15.39/") a n d p u rp o se (c /I5 ,4 8 ) m ay also very
o c ca sio n ally ih fo rm al style co n ta in a p re se n t su b ju n ctiv e (esp in A m E ) to
ex p ress p u ta tiv e ra th e r th a n factu al m e a n in g ( c f 14.25):
T h o u g h h e be th e P re sid e n t him self, h e shall h e a r us.

T h e y re m o v e d th e p riso n e r in o rd e r th a t h e not disturb th e p ro c ee d in g s
a n y fu rth e r.
T h e m o re u su a l v erb form s fo r th e though-c\ause a re th e sim p le p re se p t

in d ic a tiv e o r p iita tiv e should follow ed by th e infinitive. C lauses o f p u rp o se
re q u ire m o d a l au x iliaries, a n d th ere fo re o nly th e should -c o n stru ctio n is a
p o ssib le a lte rn a tiv e .
T h e p r e s e n t jsubjunctive is also u sed in fto - c la u s e s (esp in A m E ) a fte r
v erbs, a d je c tiv e s , o r n o u n s th a t e x p ress a n ecessity, p lan , o r in te n tio n fo r th e
f u tu re :
C o n g re ss h a s v oted th a t th e p re se n t law be m ain tain ed . [1]
W e in siste d th a t \ {if 1 leave a t o n ce. [2]

' Ith e y ]
f gfig ]
T h e y e x p ressed th e w ish th a t ■!j 1 accept th e a w ard . [3]
I t is e sse n tia l th a t a m eetin g be co n v en e d th is w eek. [4]

N o tice th a t th is m a n d a tiv e su b ju n ctiv e (c/3.59) is used ev en w h en th e m a trix

v erb is p a s t (c /1 4 .2 5 N o te [c]). I f th e m atrix v erb is p re sen t, th e d is tin c tio n
b etw een su b ju n c tiv e a n d in d ic a tiv e is neu tralized ex cep t in th e th ird p e rso n
sin g u lar o r if th e v e rb is be. I n B rE , p u tativ e should w ith th e in fin itiv e is fa r
m o re co m m o n . In b o th A m E a n d B rE , in d icativ e form s a re also o ccasio n ally
used in th is c o n s tru c tio n ; fo r ex am p le, left in [2] a n d is in [4].
In g en eral, th e p re s e n t su b ju n ctiv e occurs m ore freq u en tly in A m E th a n in
B r E ; in B rE it o ccu rs c h iefly in fo rm al style.
T h e p a st (or were-) su b ju n c tiv e (c/3 .6 2 ), w hich is a fo rm d istin c t fro m th e
p a st in d ic a tiv e o n ly in th e first a n d th ird perso n sin g u lar form s o f be, is u sed
in fo rm al style in h y p o th e tic a l c o n d itio n al clauses a n d in o th e r co n stru ctio n s
w ith h y p o th etica l m e a n in g exem plified in 14.23:
I w ish sh e were n o t m arried .

I f o n ly I were n o t so nervous. [6]
If she were h e re, sh e w o u ld sp eak o n m y behalf. [7]
T h e stuffed d o g b a rk e d a s i f it were a real one. [8]
S u p p o se h e were lost. [9]
I ’d ra th e r I were in b ed . [ 10]
In n o n fo rm al styles, h y p o th e tic a l p a st o r in d icativ e form s rep lace su b ju n ctiv e

were: ;
I w ish she was n o t m a rrie d . [5a]

I f only I was n o t so n erv o u s. [6 a]
I f sh e was h e re, sh e w o u ld sp e a k o n m y behalf. [7a]
T h e stuffed d o g b a rk e d as if it was a real one. [8 a]
Suppose h e lo st, w h a t w ould you d o ? [9a]
I ’d ra th e r I w as in b e d . [10a]
T h e p re sen t in d ic a tiv e is a possible a lte rn a tiv e a fte r as i f a n d as though w h e n

the referen ce is to p re s e n t tim e (eg: ‘T h e stuffed d o g barks as i f it is a re a l
o n e’) a n d a fte r im p e ra tiv e s suppose a n d imagine.
N ote (a] The use o f the p resent subjunctive seems to be increasing in BrE in ffort-clauses. There is a
greater use o f the subjunctive th a n the indicative if the agentive (perhaps im plied) in the that-
clause is shown to be w illing to perform the action. Contrast:
The com m ittee w as im pressed by the candidate, but recommended th at she reapply when
she had been aw arded her PhD.
He was very relu ctant to leave, but I recommended th at he went.
But in both instances th e usual form for BrE is the s/iouM-construction, here should go.
[b] The were-subjunctiye can n o t replace the hypothetical past in constructions introduced by
It's tim e (th a t), eg: I t ’s tim e I was in bed.
[c] M a y and m ight are alternatives, also in formal style, to the present subjunctive in purpose
clauses ( c f 15.48), in concessive clauses w ith though, even though, and even i f ( c f 15.39jf), and in
conditional-concessive clauses ( c f \ 5 A \ f ) :
Poor though you m ig h t be, you cannot live all your life on charity.
Let us fight on, th at the light o f justice and freedom m a y not die in our land.
W hatever m a y be the justification for their actions, we cannot tolerate such disloyalty.
But there may be a difference in m eaning between the subjunctive and the modal auxiliaries. In
the last exam ple, the subjunctive does not cast doubt on the factuality o f its clause; th at is,
W hatever be the ju stific a tio n f o r their actions presupposes that there is justification, whereas the
sentence with m ay allows the possibility th at there is no justification.
1014 Th e com plex sentence
[d ]Present subjunctive come is used in a temporal clause, (generally initial) without a

subordinator:
Come winter, w e ll have to pay a good deal more for vegetables and fruit. [‘W hen winter
com es,. . . ']
P u t a t i v e sh o u ld
14.25 T h e m odal a u x iliary should is used extensively (esp in B rE , c f 14.24) in that-
cla u se s to c o n v ey th e n o tio n o f a ‘p u ta tiv e ’ situation, w h ich is recognized as
po ssib ly e x istin g o r co m in g in to existence. C o n trast:
I ’m su rp rise d th a t h e should fe e l lonely. [ 1]

I ’m su rp rise d th a t he fe e ls lonely. [2]
W h ile [1] q u e stio n s th e loneliness, [2] a ccep ts it as tru e. H e re, a s o ften , th e
d ifferen ce is m ain ly o n e o f n u a n ce , since th e factual b ias o f th e m atrix clause
o v e rrid e s th e d o u b t o th erw ise im p licit in th e should- c o n stru ctio n . O n th e
o th e r h an d , th e n o n fa c tu a lity is c le are r in th ese e x am p les:
I t ’s u n th in k a b le th a t th ey should deny m y request.

I p re fe r t h a t sh e sh o u ld drive.
I'm a n x io u s th a t I shouldn’t be in th e way.
T h ey ’ve a rra n g e d th a t I should absent m yself for p a rt o f th e co m m ittee
m eetin g .
I c an u n d e rsta n d th e ir eag ern ess th a t you should be th e m a in sp eak er.
I t w o rries m e th a t th e ir ch ild ren should travel alone.
T h e n o n fa ctu al b ias o f th e s/jouW -construction em erg es m o st clearly in

in stan c es w h ere th e c o n stru ctio n is close in m ea n in g to a c o n d itio n al if-
c la u se :
I t ’s a p ity th a t th ey sh o u ld be so o b stin ate.
I t ’s a p ijy i f th ey are so o b stin ate.
In a fu rth er sta g e o f rem o ten ess, th e co n d itio n al clau se h a s p u ta tiv e sh o u ld :
I t ’s a p ity i f th ey should be so o b stin ate. [‘It w ould b e a p ity if th ey

tu rn ed o u t to b e so o b s tin a te ’]
P u ta tiv e should is u sed in that- clauses w hen th e m a trix clauses co n ta in

v erb s, ad jectiv es, o r n o u n s t h a t convey a n e m o tio n al re a c tio n o r th a t express
a n ecessity, p la n , o r in te n tio n for th e fu tu re. In th e la tte r case, a that- clause
w ith should is freq u e n tly re p laceab le by a n infinitive c la u s e :
I p re fe r her to drive.
T h ey ’ve a rra n g e d fo r m e to absent m y se lffo r p a rt o f the com m ittee meeting.
I
I t is also freq u e n tly re p la ce d (esp in A m E ) by a p re sen t su b ju n c tiv e ( c / 14.24):
I p refer t h a t sh e drive. [3]

W e in sisted t h a t th e m eetin g be ad jo u rn ed . [4]
I t w as in te n d e d th a t you be th e can d id ate . [5]
In d ic a tiv e fo rm s a re o ccasio n ally used in B rE in stead fo r [3] a n d [4],

A p a st v e rb in th e m a trix clause does n o t n ecessarily affect th e form o f
should in th e s u b o rd in a te clau se, ev en th o u g h th e s u b o rd in a te clause refers to
a p a s t s itu a tio n :
I was surprised th a t he should f e e l lonely w h en he w as in C alifornia.
B u t it is also po ssib le to u se a p erfectiv e f o r m :
I was surprised th a t h e should have fe lt lonely w h en he w as in C a lifo rn ia .
N ote [a] Sh ould is also used in a subject that- clause when the m atrix clause contains such verbs as
show, indicate, prove, dem onstrate, require, and d e m a n d :
T h at they should refuse to sign the petition required great courage.
It shows how considerate she is that she should drive you all the way to the airport.
[b] Putative should also occurs in some idiom atic questions and exclam ations:
How sho u ld I know ?
T h at he should dare speak in th at tone o f voice to me! [c /1 1.411
W ho should come in but my youngest sister!
[c] The use o f the present subjunctive or putative should in the subordinate clause evokes clearly
the suasive m eanings ( c f 16.32) o f the matrix verbs insist and s u g g est :
I in sisted [‘required’] that he j h‘s clothes. [6]
I insisted [‘asserted’] that he changed his clothes. [7]
She suggested [‘recommended’] that I responsible for the arrangements [8]
She suggested [‘said tentatively’] that I am responsible for the arrangements. [9]
W hile [6] and [8] are unambiguously suasive, [7] and [9] may also be suasive for those who use
the indicative even after suasive verbs.
The putative and obligational m eanings o f should sometimes m erge:
The report recommended th a t education for the over-sixteens should be improved. [‘. . . t h a t
education for the over-sixteens be im proved’ o r \ . . th at education for the over-sixteens
ought to be improved’]
[d] Sim ilar to putative should is the tentative should used in open conditions w ith i/c la u se s
(c/15.36):
If she should be interested, I ’ll phone her.
It is also used in somew hat literary style, w ith inversion:
S h o u ld she be interested, I ’ll phone her.
Th e perfective w ith tem poral clauses
T he perfective with tem poral s/nce-clauses

14.26 A te m p o ra l since- clause gen erally req u ires th e p re se n t p erfectiv e in th e
m a trix clau se w h e n th e w h o le c o n stru ctio n refers to a stre tc h o f tim e u p to
(a n d p o ten tially in clu d in g ) th e p re sen t:
I have lost te n p o u n d s sin ce I sta rte d sw im m in g . [1]

S in ce leav in g hom e, L arry has written to h is p a re n ts ju s t once. [2]
T h e p e rfe c tiv e is also re q u ire d w h en th e clause c o n ta in s a p re p o sitio n a l

p h ra se in tro d u c ed by since o r th e p re p o sitio n al a d v erb since, ju s t as it is
re q u ire d for c e rta in o th e r p re p o sitio n a l p h ra ses a n d a d v erb s (c f 4.23):
S ch o lars have been writing E n g lish g ra m m ars sin ce th e six teen th

c en tu ry .
T h ey called to see us th re e y ears ago, b u t I haven’t seen th em since.
In in fo rm a l A m E , a n d in creasin g ly in in fo rm al B rE , n o n p erfectiv e fo rm s a re
c o m m o n ly used in m atrix clauses w ith i/nce-clauses an d in clau ses w ith
p re p o sitio n o r a d v erb since:
I lo st ten p o u n d s sin ce I started sw im m in g . < inform al> [la ]

S in c e le a v in g h o m e, L arry wrote to h is p a re n ts ju s t once.
{ in f o r m a l) [2 a]
T h e r e are so m e ex cep tio n s to the g en eral ru le for m atrix clauses. In m o st

c a s e s, b o th p e rfe c tiv e a n d n o n p erfectiv e fo rm s a re possible.
(i) V e rb s used sta tiv e ly ( c f 4.28/7') - p a rtic u la rly be an d seem - m ay ta k e

n o n p e rfe c tiv e fo rm s w h en th e p red icatio n is d u ra tiv e :
I t ’s O K sin c e I h a d it fixed.
T h in g s are d iffere n t since you’ve gone.
S in ce P a t le ft, it seem s dull here.
I 'm fe e lin g m u c h b e tte r since I h a d a n o p e ratio n .
In a ll th e s e in sta n c e s , p e rfe c tiv e form s m ay also b e used, eg: Things have been
differen t since y o u ’ve gone.
T h e m o st c o m m o n p a tte rn th a t falls u n d e r th is ex ce p tio n is It + be + a
tim e ex p ressio n , in w h ich th e verb m ay b e in th e sim p le p re sen t o r sim p le
p a s t, o r h a v e th e will- fu tu re. N o n p erfectiv e fo rm s a re n o rm al h ere:
I t ’s te n y e a rs sin ce th ey w ere last here.

H o w long is it sin ce you last spoke to th e m ?
I t w as ages sin c e th ey last p aid th e ir bills o n tim e.
N e x t T u esd ay it will be six years sin ce I b e ca m e a n A m e ric a n citizen.
O th e r v erb s, p a rtic u la rly seem , also fit in to th is p a tte rn :
I t seem s a lo n g tim e since w e last m et.

I t fe e ls lik e ag es since I w as last h ere.
P e rfe c tiv e fo rm s m ay also b e used h e re to o , eg: I t ’s been ten y ea rs since they

were la st here; I t h a d been ages since they la st p a id their bills on tim e; N e x t
T uesday it will have been six years since I becam e an A m erican citizen.
(ii) M o d a l a u x iliaries, p a rticu larly can a n d could, o r sem i-au x iliaries o c cu r in

th e m a trix c lau se in n o n p erfectiv e form s. E ver is u su al h e r e :
(E v er) sin c e m y te e th w ere pulled o u t I ca n ’t e a t a n y th in g solid. [3]

I have to ulse c ru tc h es (ever) since I (had a c a r a cc id e n t. [4]
T h e y w on’t sm o k e (ever) since th ey sa w a film o n lung can cer.
[won’t A ‘re fu se to ’] [5]
T h e m o d als c a n n o t b e u sed here in p e rfectiv e fo rm s, b u t p e rfe c tiv e form s a re

a v a ila b le for se m i-au x iliaries o r eq u iv a len t lex ical v e rb s:
1
(E v er) sin c e m y te e th w ere pulled o u t I haven’t been able to e a t
a n y th in g solid. [3a]
I have h a d to use cru tc h es (ever) sin ce I h a d a c a r a cc id e n t. [4a]
T h ev have \ re ûse<^ t 0 I sm o k e (ev er) sin ce th ey saw a film

} (d e c id e d n o t to j
o n lung c a n c er. [5a]
P e rfec tiv e m o d als m ay be used w hen th e m a trix clau se refers to a situ atio n
in th e p a st:
Since h e left h o m e, L a rry m a y have written to his p a re n ts ju s t once.
(iii) T h e sim p le p re s e n t o r th e p re s e n t progressive is so m etim es used in th e

m atrix clau se w h en t h a t c lau se h a s h a b itu a l reference:
(E v er) sin ce w e b o u g h t t h a t c a r we go cam p in g every w eek en d .

I'm doing well sin ce I in v este d in th e m oney m ark e t.
W hen th e w hole p e rio d u n d e r co n sid eratio n is d istan ced in p a s t tim e, th e

p a st p erfectiv e is g e n era lly used in th e m atrix clause:
Since th e c o u n try h a d a ch iev e d indep en d en ce, it had revised its

c o n stitu tio n tw ice. [6 ]
E v er sin ce th e y h a d jo in e d th e o rg an izatio n , they m ust have had
little tim e fo r leisu re activ ities. [7]
T h e p a st p e rfe c tiv e m ay be re p la ce d by th e sim ple p ast, eg:
Since th e c o u n try a c h ie v e d in d ep en d en ce, it revised its

c o n stitu tio n tw ice. [ 6 a]
W h en th e p erio d in th e m a trix clau se refers to a fu tu re s itu a tio n , a m o d a l

p erfectiv e (generally will have) is used in th e m atrix c lause:
I f th e p ro m o tio n is c o n firm ed , you will have been p ro m o te d th re e tim e s

sin ce you jo in e d th e c o m p an y .
By to m o rro w D a n ie l w ill have been in b ed for a w eek sin ce h e cau g h t
th e flu.
T h e ir c a r should so o n have run 100,000 m iles since th ey b o u g h t it
seco n d -h an d .
W h en th e p e rio d in th e m a trix clau se refers to a future tim e in th e p ast, ie a

fu tu re fro m th e v ie w p o in t o f a p a s t p erio d ( c f 4.48), a p a s t m o d al p e rfe c tiv e
(generally w ould have ) is u se d in th e m atrix clause. T h e c o n stru ctio n is r a re :
A : By n e x t S u n d a y H a r r y w ill h av e com pleted 1200 m iles sin ce he

s ta rte d his w alk .
B : A t th a t r a te , h e w ould have covered 1000 m iles b y last S unday.
W e now c o n sid er th e v e rb in th e smce-clause. W h en th e w hole c o n stru c tio n

refers to a stre tc h o f tim e u p to (a n d p o tentially in clu d in g ) th e p resen t, th e
g en eral rule for th e te m p o ra l sm ce-clause is th a t th e sim p le p a s t is used w h e n
th e clause refers to a p o in t o f tim e m ark in g the b eg in n in g o f th e s itu a tio n
referred to in th e m a trix cla u se a n d th e p resen t p e rfe c tiv e is used w hen th e
clause refers to a p e rio d o f tim e lastin g to th e p resen t:
POINT OF TIME
She h as been ta lk in g sin c e sh e was o n e y ear old.

Since I sta rted sw im m in g , I h a v e lost five pounds.
Since I saw h e r last, sh e h a s d y ed h er hair.
D e rek h a s n ’t s to p p e d ta lk in g since he arrived.
Sim ilarly:
By to m o rro w D a n ie l w ill h a v e been in b ed for a w eek sin ce he caught
th e flu.
P E RI OD O F TIME
M a x h as b e en ten se sin ce h e's been ta kin g drugs.
S in c e I have been h ere, I h a v e n ’t left m y seat.
S in c e Vve known C a ro lin e, she h as b een in terested in a th letics.
I ’v e h a d a dog e v er sin ce Vve ow ned a house.
I ’v e go n e to c o n certs e v er since Vve lived in E d in b u rg h .
S im ila r ly :
B y n e x t y e ar M ary w ill h a v e w ritte n h e r second book since sh e ’s been a t

th is university.
T h e p re s e n t p erfectiv e m ay also b e used in th e p a tte rn I t + | e + tim e

e x p re s s io n , w h en th ere is n o ex p licit in d ic a tio n o f p o in t o f tim e , su ch as last:
I t ’s been a long tim e since I ’ve seen G erald (c f \ I haven't seen G erald f o r a long
tim e ). T h e p re sen t p e rfe c tiv e is sim ilarly used occasionally fo r o th e r since-
c la u s e s t h a t refer to a p o in t o f tim e, e g : I ’ve been lonely since y o u ’ve left.
W h e n th e w hole p e rio d is p laced in p a s t tim e, th e p a st p e rfe c tiv e o r th e
s im p le p a s t is used in th e si'nce-clause (r/b a c k s h ift, 14.31). T h e p a s t p e rfe c tiv e
c o rre s p o n d s to a p a s t o f th e sim p le p a st o r a p a s t o f th e p re sen t p erfectiv e. I t
te n d s to b e used m o re co m m only for p erio d s o f tim e, co rre sp o n d in g to th e
use o f th e p re sen t p erfectiv e in th e c o n stru ctio n s previously d iscu ssed :
S in c e th e c o u n try (had) achieved in d ep en d en ce, it (had) re v ised its

c o n s titu tio n tw ice.
, f ha d know n) , , fhad been] . .. ,
S in c e h e ] , ) h er, she < i a jo u rn alist.
\k n e w J [w a s J
S im ila r ly :
B y la s t S unday h e w ould h av e c o v ered 1000 m iles since h e (h a d ) started
h is w alk.
Note [a] T h e nonperfective forms can remember and could remember are used in smce-clauses to
in d icate th e span over which personal memory extends:
M y p arents have spent th eir summer vacations in F rance ever since I can remember.
E v er since she could remember, the winters in her hom e town had been severe.
Ever is com m only used with this collocation.
[b] W h en w e say th^t the construction refers to a stretch o f time up to the present, we m ean th at
the situ atio n occurred within a period o f tim e leading towards, but not necessarily up to, the
m om ent o f utterance:
I ’ve read ten books since I left college (but I haven’t read any books in the last couple of
months).
Since we’ve owned a car we've gone cam ping every year except last year (and I ’m afraid
w e’re going to have to miss this year again).
On th e a n terio r tim e zone, c f d. 1 8/
T h e p erfectiv e with o th er tem poral clauses

14.27 W h e n a n after-clause re fers to a p a st e v en t, th e verb m ay b e in th e p a st
p e rfe c tiv e , th o u g h it is m o re c o m m only in th e sim ple p a st:
W e a te o u r m eal a fte r w e j)^ ™ n < ry ie £ /J fro m th e gam e. [1]

I f a c o n stru c tio n w ith a w/ien-clause refers to a sequ en ce o f tw o p a st e v e n ts,

th e clause a llo w s th e sam e c h o ic e :
W e a te o u r m e a l w h e n we j / ^ r e f u r n e r f } fro m lhe g am e. [2]
A ll four fo rm s o f th ese sen ten ces a re accep tab le, an d m ea n roughly the sa m e .
T h e o nly d iffere n ce is th a t when an d th e sim p le p a st (p ro b ab ly the m o s t
p o p u lar ch o ice) suggests th a t th e o n e e v en t follow s im m ed iately o n the o th e r
in sequence.
T h ere m ay , h o w ev er, be a co n tra st if th e su b o rd in a to r is when an d th e
p re d ic atio n in th e su b o rd in a te clause is d u ra tiv e ra th e r th a n p u n c tu a l
(c /4 .3 3 # ) :
T h ey w a lk e d o u t w h en I j
^fajgjven th e lecture. [3]
T h e v a ria n t w ith th e sim p le p a st w ould n o rm ally m ean ‘as soon as I s ta r te d

giving th e le c tu re ’ o r ‘d u rin g th e tim e I w as g iv in g the lec tu re ’, w h ereas t h a t
w ith th e p a s t p e rfe c tiv e m ean s ‘a fte r th e lectu re w as o v e r’.
I f th e se q u e n ce o f ev en ts is h ab itu al, th e v erb in th e after- o r w fen-clause
m ay b e in th e p re s e n t p erfectiv e, th o u g h it is m o re co m m only in th e s im p le
p re sen t:
E v ery d a y w e e a t o u r m ain m eal ( a ^ e r 1 w e ( r^ turn 1

[w h e n j [have returned]
fro m th e g am e. [4]
A g ain , th e re m a y b e a c o n tra st w h en th e p re d ic a tio n is d u r a tiv e :
T h e a u d ie n c e c lap s w h en she -I s'ngs' [51

[has sung.
T h e differen ces in th e in te rp re ta tio n s o f th e tv/ien-clauses in [4] a n d [5] p a ra lle l

those fo r th e wAen-clauses in [2] a n d [3] respectively.
T h e p re s e n t p e rfe c tiv e is som etim es used in b o th clauses o f a te m p o ra l
c o n stru ctio n to im p ly th e rep etitiv en ess o f th e situ atio n :
In th e p a st, w h e n (ev er) I ’ve visited L o n d o n , I ’ve seen th em .

M y u su al p ra c tic e is th a t as soon as I ’ve taken a show er, I ’ve eaten
b re ak fa st.
T h e use o f th e p re s e n t p e rfe c tiv e ra th e r th a n th e sim p le p re se n t suggests t h a t

th e situ atio n m a y n o t a p p ly in th e future (fo r ex am p le, th a t I ’m no lo n g er
going to v isit L o n d o n ).
T h e p re s e n t p e rfe c tiv e is co m m o n in te m p o ra l as w ell as c o n d itio n a l
clauses fo r a fu tu re e v en t th a t precedes th e fu tu re e v en t re fe rre d to in th e
m atrix clau se (c /1 4 .2 2 ):
W h en I ’ve read th e c h ap ter, I ’ll p u t th e k ettle o n. [6 ]

W h en th e y ’re scored th e ir n e x t goal, w e’ll go hom e. [7]
A s so o n a s I ’ve retired , I ’ll buy a co ttag e in th e co u n try . [8 ]
A fte r th ey have left, we c an sm oke. [9]
I f I ’ve written th e p a p e r b efo re M onday, I ’ll call you. [10]
A c o m m o n a lte rn a tiv e fo r [7 -1 0 ] is th e sim ple p re se n t, w h ic h is excluded

fro m [6 ] b ecau se th e w/ien-clause is d u rativ e. A less c o m m o n a lte rn a tiv e ,
p e r m itte d also fo r [6 ], is will o r (in B rE o ptionally w ith / o r w e) shall p lu s th e
p e rfe c tiv e , eg: W hen P ll have read the chapter, I'll p u t the k e ttle on.
T h e u se o f th e p a s t p erfectiv e in before- co n stru ctio n s re q u ires special
c o n s id e ra tio n . T h ese fo u r sen ten ces seem to b e e q u iv a le n t in m ea n in g :
I sa w h im b efo re h e saw m e. [1 1 ]
I h a d seen h im b e fo re h e saw m e. [1 2 ]
I saw h im b e fo re h e h a d seen m e. [13]
I h a d seen h im b efo re he h a d seen m e. [14]
S e n te n c e [13] a p p e a rs to b e p arad o x ica l in th a t th e seco n d in th e succession

o f e v e n ts is m a rk e d w ith th e p a st perfective, c o n tra ry to w h a t w e h a v e n o ted
a b o v e in after- a n d w hcn-clauses. T h e e x p lan atio n (c /1 5 .2 7 ) is th a t th e before-
c la u se in [13], a n d p e rh a p s also in [14], m ay be n o n fa c tu a l; th a t is to say, th e
e v e n t in th e before- clau se m ay n o t h av e tak en p lace (‘H e d id n o t get a ch an ce
to see m e , b ecau se I e v a d e d h im ’).
N o te [a] I f th e v e rb p h ra s e in th e m a trix clause is progressive, o r c o n ta in s a v e rb u sed stativ ely , when

g en e ra lly in d icates sim u lta n e ity , ra th e r th a n successivity, o f th e ev e n ts:
W h e n P au l re tu rn e d h o m e , h is c h ild ren were using th e co m p u ter.
W e were asleep w h e n N o rm a te lep h o n ed .
H o w e v e r, when m ay so m etim e s h a v e th e m e an in g o f ‘a fte r’ ev en if th e v e rb is used sta tiv e ly :
W h e n I retu rn ed h o m e, I heard m y c h ild ren playing in m y b ed ro o m .
I d id n 't know w h a t to d o w h e n th e y left.
W hen a lw a y s in d ic a te s sim u lta n e ity w h en th e conditions ap p ly to b o th c la u s e s :
P a m e la was alw ays p o p u la r w h e n she was a t school.
T h e su n was s h in in g w h e n w e were playing.
T h e y were w orking w h e n I was there.
[b] W henever req u ire s th e v erb s in th e m a trix an d s u b o rd in ate clauses to b e m a tc h e d in b o th
ten se a n d asp ect. H e n c e if whenever rep laced when in [2] a n d [3] a b o v e , b o th v erbs w ould b e in
th e sim p le p ast, a h d in [4] a n d [5] b o th w ould b e in th e sim p le p resen t.
Reporting the language of others

1
14.28 T h e re a re sev eral m o d es in w h ich o th er p eo p le’s lan g u a g e m a y be re p o rted .
T h e m o s t e x p licit m o d es a re in tro d u ced by a r e p o r t i n g c l a u s e refe rrin g to
the s p e a k e r a n d th e a c t o f c o m m u n icatio n in sp eech o r w ritin g {Caroline said',
Caroline wrote), a n d p e rh a p s also to th e person o r p e rso n s sp o k e n to ( Caroline
told u s), to th e m a n n e r o f sp e a k in g {Caroline sa id hesitantly), o r to th e
c irc u m stan c es o f th e sp e e ch a c t {Caroline replied ; C aroline e xp la in ed ; Caroline
said w hile washing her hair).
I f a re p o rtin g clau se in tro d u ces th e re p o rt o f th e c o m m u n ica tio n , th e
r e p o r t e d c l a u s e (w h ic h re fers to th e u tte ran c e its e lf) m a y ta k e th e fo rm o f
Reporting the language of others 1021
d ir e c t speech ( c / 14.29) o r i n d i r e c t s p e e c h ( c f 14.30#). D ire c t sp e e c h

p u rp o rts to give th e e x a c t w o rd s th a t som eone (w ho m ay be th e re p o rte r)
u tte rs o r h as u tte re d in sp e e ch o r in w riting. In d irec t speech, o n th e o th e r
h a n d , conveys in th e w o rd s o f a su b seq u en t re p o rte r w h at h as b e en sa id o r
w ritte n by th e o rig in a l sp e a k e r o r w riter (w ho ag ain m ay be th e sa m e p e rs o n
a s th e rep o rter). C o n tra s t th e d ire c t sp eech in [1] w ith th e in d ire c t sp e e ch in
[la ]:
D a v id said to m e a fte r th e m eetin g , ‘In m y opinion, th e

a rg u m en ts in fa v o u r o f ra d ic al ch an g es in th e cu rricu lu m a re
n o t c o n v in c in g .’ [1]
D a v id said to m e a fte r th e m ee tin g th a t in h is o p in io n th e
a rg u m en ts in fa v o u r o f ra d ic a l ch an g es in th e cu rricu lu m w ere
n o t co n v in cin g . [la ]
T w o seco n d ary m o d es re la te d to th e p rim a ry m odes o f re p o rtin g a re f r e e

in d i r e c t sp eech , a n d f r e e d i r e c t s p e e c h . In b o th these seco n d ary m o d e s
th e re is n o re p o rtin g c la u se ; th e a c t o f co m m u n icatio n is sig n alled by, fo r
ex am p le, sh ifts in th e te n s e fo rm s o f v erb s (# 1 4 .3 5 ).
T h e re p o rt m ay b e a re p re s e n ta tio n o f m en ta l a ctivity (in te rn al c o m m u n i
catio n ), w h ich by its n a tu re is u n sp o k e n . T h u s, [2] an d [2a] c o n ta in d ir e c t
sp e e ch a n d in d ire ct sp e e ch r e sp e c tiv e ly :
‘S hould I tell th e m n o w ,’ I th o u g h t to m yself, ‘o r should I w a it

u n til th ey ’re in a b e tte r m o o d ?’ [2 ]
H e a sk ed h im s e lf w h e th e r h e sh o u ld tell th em th en o r w a it u n til
th ey w ere in a b e tte r m o o d . [ 2 a]
O b viously, th is ty p e o f d ire c t o r in d ire c t sp eech norm ally in v o lv es a re p o rt o f

th e supp o sed m e n ta l a c tiv ity o f th e sp e a k er o f the re p o rtin g clau se. T h e
n o ta b le ex cep tio n is in p ro se o r v erse fiction, w here by c o n v en tio n th e
n a r ra to r is o ften assu m e d to h a v e access to th e thoughts a n d feelin g s o f th e
c h ara cte rs.
In d ire c t speech fre q u e n tly in v o lv es p a ra p h ra se o r sum m ary, a n d th e re fo re
th e h e a re r o r re a d e r c a n n o t u n iq u ely reco v er th e o riginal sp e e ch o r w ritin g .
T h e o rig in al u tte ran c e o f [1] m ig h t well be re p o rted as in [lb ]:
D a v id told m e a fte r th e m ee tin g th a t he rem ain ed o p p o sed to any

rad ical ch an g e s in th e c u rricu lu m . [ 1 b]
In d e ed , th e a ct o f c o m m u n ic a tio n m ay n o t b e in d icated a t a ll :
I saw D av id a fte r th e m ee tin g . I t ’s a p ity th a t he rem ain s o p p o sed

to any ra d ic al c h an g e s in th e c u rricu lu m . [ 1 c]
W h ile [I b] is in d ire c t sp e e ch , a lth o u g h a p a ra p h ra se o f th e o rig in a l, [1c] d o e s

n o t h a v e th e reco g n izab le fo rm o f a re p o rte d c o m m u n icatio n , a n d is irre le v a n t
to th e p re sen t d iscussion.
N o te [a] D ire c t speech is also te rm ed ‘o ra tio re c ta ’, a n d in d ire c t speech is also te rm e d ‘o ra tio o b liq u a ’
a n d ‘rep o rted speech’. F re e in d ire c t sp eech is also know n by th e G e rm a n te rm erlebte R e d e a n d
b y th e F re n c h te rm sty le indirect libre.
[b] F o r th e om ission o f rep o rtin g clauses w ith d ire c t speech in certain w ritte n sty les, c/1 4 .2 9 .
D ire c t speech
14.29 D ir e c t sp e e ch is usually signalled b y b ein g enclosed in q u o tatio n m a rk s
( c f A p p 111.21):
T h e P re s id e n t said , ‘A failu re by C o n g ress to ap p ro v e n ew taxes

w ill le a d to larg er b u d g et deficits, h ig h er in terest rates, an d
h ig h e r u n e m p lo y m en t.’ [ 1]
T h e r e p o rtin g clause m ay o ccu r b efo re, w ith in , o r afte r th e d irec t sp eech .
M e d ia l p o sitio n is very frequent. W h e n th e rep o rtin g clause is p o sitio n e d
m e d ia lly o r finally, su b je ct-v erb in v ersio n m ay o ccu r if th e v erb is in th e
s im p le p re s e n t o r sim ple p ast:
I n v e rs io n is m o s t com m on w h en th e v e rb is said, th e su b ject is n o t a p ro n o u n ,

a n d th e re p o rtin g clause is m ed ial, as in [2]. I t is unusual a n d a rc h a ic ,
h o w e v e r, w h e n th e subject o f th e re p o rtin g clause is a p ro n o u n , e v en w h en
th e v e rb is s a id (eg: sa id he).
D ir e c t sp e e c h m a y ex ten d o v e r m a n y sentences. T h e re p o rtin g c lau se is
th e n u su a lly p o sitio n e d w ith in th e first sen ten ce.
R e p o r tin g clauses are o ften o m itted , how ever, in th e re p re se n ta tio n o f
c o n v e rs a tio n in fiction w riting w h en th e id en tity o f th e sp e ak ers is o b v io u s
fro m th e c o n te x t; q u o tatio n m ark s a re so m etim es o m itted too. R e p o rtin g
cla u se s a n d q u o ta tio n m ark s a re regularly o m itted in w ritte n plays, in fo rm al
re p o rts o f m eetin g s, a n d in som e ty p es o f h e ad lin es; in stea d th e n a m e o f th e
s p e a k e r (u su ally in c ap itals o r italics a n d follow ed by a colon o r p erio d )
p re fa c e s th e d ire c t speech.
T h e s tru c tu ra l re la tio n sh ip b etw een th e re p o rtin g clause a n d th e d ire c t
sp e e c h p o se s som e an aly tical p ro b lem s. I n som e resp ects th e d ire c t sp eech
fu n c tio n s as a su b o rd in a te clause:
D o r o th y skid, ‘M y m other's on the phone. ’ [4]
In [4] th e d ire c t sp eech seem s to b e a d ire c t object. W e c a n a sk a what-

q u e s tio n a n d e lic it th e d irect sp eech a s a re sp o n se :
A : W h a t d id D o ro th y actu ally say?

B : ‘M y jm o th e r’s on th e p h o n e .’ [5]
W e c a n m a k e it th e subject c o m p le m e n t in a pseudo-cleft c o n stru c tio n

( c /1 8 .2 9 /) :
W h a t D o ro th y said w as ‘M y m other’s on the phone.’ [6]

F u rth e rm o re , in b o th [4] an d [6 ] th e stru c tu re is defectiv e w ith o u t th e d ire c t
sp e e c h , w h ic h o b lig ato rily c o m p lem en ts sa id in [4] an d was in [6 ], C o m p are
a ls o :
Reporting the language o f others 1023
T h e w o rd s t h a t D o ro th y actually used w ere ‘M y m o th e r’s o n th e

p h o n e .’
H e re were re q u ire s c o m p le m e n ta tio n by a subject co m p lem en t. T h en , th e
d irec t sp eech m ay b e a p p o sitiv e to a u n it th a t is clearly a p a rt o r th e w hole o f
th e d irec t o b jec t:
D o ro th y u sed the fo llo w in g w o rd s: ‘M y m other's on the phone.’
F in ally , c o o rd in a tio n w ith a follow ing clause suggests th a t th e re p o rtin g

clause is a n o b lig a to ry p a r t o f th e first clause, in th a t c o o rd in a tio n w o u ld
o th erw ise n o t b e p o ssib le:
‘T h e ra d io is to o lo u d ,’ E lizabeth complained, a n d sh e th e n sta lk e d b a c k
to h e r room .
O n th e o th e r h a n d , w e c a n view the re p o rtin g clause a s su b o rd in a te ,

fu n ctio n in g as a n a d v e rb ia l. T h u s, like m ost ad v erb ials it can b e p o sitio n e d
variously a n d c a n - a t le a st som etim es - b e o m itted . B o th sy n tactically a n d
sem an tically , it resem b les th e m o st im p o rta n t ty p e o f c o m m e n t clau se
(c/1 5 .5 4 ). C o m p a re th e re p o rtin g clause in [7a] w ith th e c o m m e n t clau se in
[7b] a n d th e a d v e rb in [7 c]:
‘G e n e ra ls ,’ th ey alleged, ‘n e v er re tire; th ey m erely fad e a w a y .’ [7a]
G e n era ls, it is alleged, n e v er re tire ; th ey m erely fad e aw ay. [7b]
G e n erals, allegedly, n e v er re tire; they m erely fad e aw ay. [7c]
M o reo v er, th e d ire c t s p e e ch clause beh av es lik e a m a in clau se in t h a t it c a n ,

fo r ex am p le, b e a q u e stio n o r a d ire c tiv e :
D o ro th y sa id , ‘Is m y m o th e r o n the p h o n e ? ’ [8 ]
D o ro th y sa id , ‘T ell m y m o th e r I ’ll be o v er so o n .’ [9]
B ut, o f course, th e re p o rtin g clause beh av es likew ise:

D id you re ally say to R o n a ld , ‘Y ou’re m y b est frie n d ’? [10]
Tell R ic h a rd , ‘Y o u ’re m y b e st frien d .’ [11]
F inally, w e m ay n o te th e usual p u n c tu a tio n se p a ra tio n o f th e re p o rtin g clause

(th o u g h th is is n o t n ecessarily reflected in to n atio n ally ), w h ic h suggests
a n o th e r p arallel w ith c o m m e n t clauses an d m an y o th e r a d v e rb ia ls. In d e ed ,
i f th e d irect sp e e ch clau se is an aly sed as an object, th is is th e o n ly c o n stru ctio n
w h ere th e su b je ct a n d v e rb a re sep arated fro m th e o b ject b y a c o m m a ( c f
A p p III.9 , A p p I I I . 21). C o n tra s t the p u n c tu a tio n o f [11] fo r d ire c t sp eech
w ith th a t o f [1 la ] fo r in d ire c t speech :
T ell R ic h a rd (th a t) h e ’s m y b est friend. [11a]
I t is b e st to re co g n ize th a t th ere is a g ra d ie n t from d ire c t sp e e ch th a t is

clearly in d e p e n d e n t to d ire c t sp eech th a t is clearly in te g rate d in to th e clau se
stru ctu re. A t th e m o st in d e p e n d e n t extrem e w e h a v e d irec t s p e e ch w ith o u t a
re p o rtin g clause. N e x t along th e g ra d ie n t are in stan ces w h ere th e re p o rtin g
clause is m ed ial o r fin al a n d it e x h ib its su b je ct-v erb in v e rs io n :
‘I w o n d er’, sa id John, ‘w h e th er I c an b orrow your b icy cle.’
H ere th ere are se v e re re stric tio n s on th e form o f th e verb , a n d p ro n o u n s are

1024 Th e com ple x sentence
g e n e ra lly ex clu d ed a s su b ject. F u rth e r along th e g ra d ie n t a re in stan c es w here

th e re p o rtin g c lau se is m ed ia l o r final b u t w ith o u t s u b je c t-v e rb inversion.
N o tic e th a t th e re p o rtin g clau se is re stric te d also here to so m e e x te n t in th a t
it c a n n o t read ily be a q u e stio n o r a d irectiv e, a re stric tio n th a t ap p lies also
w h e n th ere is s u b je c t-v e rb in v ersio n . T h ere follow se n ten c es like [4], w here
th e re p o rtin g clau se is in itia l an d suffers from few er re strictio n s. M ost
in te g ra te d a re th e p a rtia l q u o tatio n s, as in th is version o f [ 1 ]:
T h e P re sid e n t sa id th a t a failu re by C ongress to a p p ro v e new

taxes w o u ld lea d to ‘larg er b u d g et deficits, h ig h er in te re s t rates,
a n d h ig h e r u n e m p lo y m e n t.’ [la ]
H e re w e h av e a m ix tu re o f in d ire ct a n d d irec t speech, th e d ire c t sp eech b ein g

o n ly a p a rt o f a clau se, a n d th e re p o rtin g clause b ein g im p lic it: ‘. . . w ould
lea d to w h a t h e sa id w ere larg er b u d g e t deficits, h ig h er in te re s t rates, a n d
h ig h e r u n e m p lo y m en t’.
H e r e are so m e re p o rtin g v erb s o f sp eak in g o r th in k in g t h a t a re freq u en tly
u se d w ith d ire c t sp e e ch , th e m o st co m m o n o f w h ich is sa y .
add com m ent object say

a d m it conclude observe shout (out)
announce confess order state
answer cry (out) prom ise tell
argue declare protest think
assert exclaim recall urge
a sk explain rem ark warn
beg insist repeat whisper
boast m aintain reply wonder
claim note report write
I n ad d itio n , ' th e re a re n u m ero u s o th er v erb s in d ic a tin g th e m a n n e r o f

sp e a k in g th a t a re o ccasio n ally used w ith d irect sp e e ch ; fo r exam ple,R after,
m um ble, m urm ur, m u tter, snap, sneer, sob.
N o te [a] P ro n u n c ia tio n a n d o th e r sp e e c h featu res m ay be im ita ted in a sp o k e n re n d erin g o f d ire c t

sp eech . In w ritin g it m a y be in d ic a te d by irre g u lar spelling or, to a lim ite d ex te n t, b y italics o r
u n d erlin in g . In b o th m e d ia , th e rep o rtin g clause m ay have in d icatio n s o f th e m a n n e r o f sp eak in g
(T om lisped, Jacqueline whispered, Charles h inted darkly, John sa id casually). S uch in d icatio n s are
co m m o n in som e fiction w ritin g .
[b] I n co n v e rsatio n , sa ys y o u , sa ys he, etc (w ith th e in v a ria n t -s) a re so m etim e s used in casual
style a s an im p o lite re to rt m e a n in g ‘T h a t’s w h a t yo u say’, ‘T h a t’s w h a t he say s’, e t c :
A : I ’m goin g to w in th is gam e. B : Says y o u !
In old -fash io n ed sp e e c h , th e n o n s ta n d a rd inversion says /s o m e tim e s o ccu rs. T h e h isto ric p resen t
( c f 4 .8 ) is o ccasio n ally u sed in sp o k e n n arrativ e.
[c] I n jo u rn a listic jw ritin g , a re p o rtin g clause w ith in version so m etim e s o ccu rs ev e n in in itia l
p o s itio n : D eclared tall, nineteen-year-old N apie r: ‘The show will g o on'.
[d] U n lik e in d ire c t sp e e c h , d ire c t sp eech m ay accep tab ly c o n ta in g ra m m a tic a l erro rs o r ev en be
in an o th e r la n g u ag e i f it p u rp o rts to give a record o f th e co m m u n ic atio n o f a n o th e r p e rs o n :
H e said, ‘I k n o w n o t w ell E n g lish .’
[e] It is com m on in n e w s p a p e r re p o rtin g to o m it q u o ta tio n m a rk s in w h a t a p p e a rs to be d ire c t
speech, as ex em p lified in th e first sen te n ce in th e follow ing:
N ew h o rses w ill s tre n g th e n th e b reed , M r S tein er claim ed. H e sa id th e new com ers would
arriv e a f te r th e ep id e m ic w as halted.
T h e second se n te n c e sw itch e s to in d ire c t speech, as in d icated by th e te n se b ac k sh ifts ( c f 14.31).
Reporting the language o f others 1025
Indirect speech
14.30 T y p ically , in d ire c t sp eech is used to re p o rt statem en ts, a n d takes th e fo rm o f
a n o m in a l r/iat-clause ( c f 15.4):
N e ig h b o u rs said th a t a s a teenager he had earned his pocket m oney

b y delivering newspapers. [ 1]
In [1] th e in d ire c t sp eech is a d ire c t object, b u t in [2] it is an e x tra p o s e d

su b ject a n d in [3] a su b ject c o m p le m e n t:
It w as said th a t as a teenager M a x had earned his po cket money by

delivering newspapers. [2 ]
W h a t n e ig h b o u rs said w as th a t as a teenager he had earned his
p o c k e t m oney by delivering newspapers. [3]
R e p o rtin g v e rb s th a t a re used w ith in d ire ct sp eech include th o se listed a s

freq u e n tly used w ith d ire c t sp eech ( c / 14.29). L ists o f v erb s o f sp e ak in g a n d
th in k in g used w ith in d ire c t sp eech m ay b e found in 16.31. A m o n g t h e
c o m m o n v e rb s a re believe, fe e l, im agine, know , mention, realize, recognize,
suppose.
W e h a v e o b serv ed e a rlie r ( c f 14.28) th a t a re p o rte r using in d ire ct s p e e c h
m a y p a ra p h ra s e o r su m m a riz e ; c h an g es m ay b e m ad e from th e o rig in a l
w o rd in g w ith o u t affecting th e e ssen tial tru th o f th e rep o rt. F o r ex am p le, th e
o rig in a l w o rd in g m ay b e as in [4]:
‘M y first ta s k to d ay ,’ s a id th e tea ch e r, ‘w ill b e to ex am in e c u rre n t

v iew s o n th e m o tiv a tio n s fo r a rm e d c o n flicts.’ [4]
T h e in d ire c t sp e e ch in [4a] a p p ro x im ate s as closely as possible in th a t m o d e
to th e o rig in a l w o rd in g :
T h e te a c h e r said th a t h is first ta s k th a t d ay w as to exam ine
c u rre n t view s o n th e m o tiv a tio n s fo r a rm e d conflicts. [4a]
T h e h e a re r o r re ad er, h o w ev er, c a n n o t be su re h ow close th e in d ire ct sp e e c h

o f [4a] is to th e o rig in al w o rd in g , sin ce [4a] could leg itim ately re p o rt th e
w o rd in g in [4b] in s te a d :
‘W h a t I w a n t to d o n o w ,’ sa id th e tea ch e r, ‘is to look a t
c o n te m p o ra ry th eo ries o f th e c au ses o f w a rs.’ [4b]
If, h o w ev er, th e re p o rt h a d b een conv ey ed b y [4c], th ere is n o c le a r

co rre sp o n d e n c e w ith th e re p o rte d clause in d ire c t s p e e c h :
T h e te a c h e r an n o u n ce d h is in te n tio n o f discussing th e causes o f

w ars. [4c]
W h en th e re p o rt is co n v ey ed th ro u g h in d ire c t speech as in [4a], we c a n
sp ecify th e c h an g es in w o rd in g t h a t a re re q u ire d b ecause th e situ atio n o f th e
u tte ra n c e by th e re p o rte r m ay d iffer in c e rta in resp ects from th a t o f th e
u tte ra n c e by th e o rig in al sp e a k er. T h e d ifferen ces affect the u se o f d e ic tic
featu res o f th e lan g u ag e, th o se fe atu res th a t re la te to th e tim e a n d p la c e o f
th e u tte ra n c e a n d to th e p erso n s referred to in th e u tteran ce. T h ey i n c lu d e :
(i) ten se fo rm s o f th e v e rb
(ii) o th e r tim e referen ces, eg: yesterday, now, last w eek, n e xt M onday
(iii) place referen ces, e g \h e re , there

(iv ) p e rso n al p ro n o u n s
(v ) th e d e m o n s tra tiv e s this and these
C h a n g e s in te n s e form s a re discussed in 14.31 a n d th e o th er c h an g es in 14.32.
F u r th e r c h an g e s m ay be req u ired to id en tify references in th e o rig in a l
u tte r a n c e th a t m ay n o t be know n to th e p erso n receiv in g th e re p o rt, for
e x a m p le th e id e n tity o f p erso n s o r th in g s referred to by pro n o u n s.
N o te A s w ith o th e r ;A a/-clauses, th e co njunction that is freq u en tly o m itte d from th e rep o rted clau se in
less fo rm a t in d ire c t speech.
B a c k s h ift in in d irect speech

14.31 T h e re p o rtin g v e rb m ay b e in th e p re sen t ten se fo r c o m m u n icatio n s in re ce n t
p a s t tim e , a s i n [ l ] a n d [ 2 ]:
J o a n tells m e sh e ’s g oing to th e a irp o rt in a n h o u r’s tim e. [1]

S h e says s h e was to o bu sy to jo in us la s t n ig h t. [2]
T h e p re s e n t te n s e is also used fo r re p o rts a ttrib u te d to fam o u s w o rk s o r

a u th o rs w h ic h h a v e p re se n t validity, as in [3] an d [4]:
The B ible sa y s th e re ’s n o end to th e w ritin g o f books. [3]

C haucer som ew here w rites th a t love is b lin d . [4]
T h e ch o ice o f v e rb fo rm in thk rep o rted clause d e p en d s on th e tim e re fe re n ce

o f th e v erb . T h u s , th e v e rb s in [1], [3], a n d [4] exem plify th e s ta te p re se n t
( c f 4.5), w h ile w as in [2] refers to a tim e p rev io u s to th e tim e o f re p o rtin g as
w ell a s to th e tim e o f th e o rig in al u tte ran c e .
V e rb s o f c o g n itio n m ay also be used in th e re p o rtin g clau se in th e p re s e n t
te n s e :
I know th e y don’t care.

Sy lv ia th in k s P a u l went to L a n c a s te r la s t n ig h t.
W h e n th e tim e re fe re n ce o f th e o rig in a l u tte ran c e (or m en ta l a ctiv ity ) no

lo n g er ap p lie s a t th e tim e th a t th e u tte ra n c e (or m en ta l activ ity ) is re p o rte d ,
it is o fte n n e ce ssa ry to ch an g e th e ten se fo rm s o f th e v erbs. S u ch a c h an g e o f
v e rb fo rm s in in d ire c t sp eech is term ed b a c k s h i f t . T h e resu ltin g re la tio n sh ip
o f v e rb fo rm s i n th e re p o rtin g an d re p o rte d clauses is k n o w n as th e SEQ U E N C E
O F t e n s e s (c /1 9 .3 9 ). T h e changes c a n b e illu strated b est if w e p o stu late an
e x a c t c o rre sp o n d e n c e fo r th e re p o rtin g clauses o f d irect a n d in d ire ct sp eech .
D IR E C T SPE E C H B A CKSH IFTED IN IN D IR E C T SPEECH

(i) p re s e n t ~ p a st
(ii) p a s t ~ p a st o r p a s t p erfectiv e
(iii) p re se n t p e rfe c tiv e ] t fective
(iv ) p a st p e rfe c tiv e J
T h u s, if th e p re s e n t d e ic tic referen ces in th e d irect sp eech b eco m e p a st

d e ic tic referen ces in th e in d ire ct sp eech , th e re is a co rre sp o n d in g s h ift o f
Reporting the language of others 1027
verb form s ftito th e p a s t, o r i f n e ce ssa ry in to the p ast p erfectiv e. E x am p les o f

each p a r t o f th e rule a r e :
‘I am being p a id by th e h o u r,’ sh e said.

~ S h e said s h e was being p a id by the hour. [5]
‘T h e e x h ib itio n fin ish ed la s t w e ek ,’ explained A n n .
~ A n n ex p lain ed th a t th e e x h ib itio n
p re ce d in g w eek. [6 ]
'I'v e been waiting o v er a n h o u r for you,’ she told him .
~ S h e to ld h im t h a t sh e h a d been waiting over a n h o u r for him . [7]
‘I h a d studied F re n c h fo r fo u r y ears a t school,’ I said.
~ I said th a t I h a d stu d ie d F re n c h for four years a t school. [8 ]
T h e ch o ice in [6 ] re p re se n ts th e u su al choice o f a sim p le p a s t in p lace o f a

p a st p erfectiv e w h e n th e c o n te x t m ak e s th e relative tim e re fe re n ce s c lear, in
th is in stan c e by th e u se o f the preceding week. T h ere is n o c h an g e in [ 8 ]
b ecause th e p a st p e rfe c tiv e a lre ad y expresses ‘p a st in th e p a s t’ a n d n o f u rth e r
b a ck sh ift to ‘p a st in th e p a s t in th e p a st’ can be ex p ressed . A s [5] a n d [7]
illu strate, th e ru le is n o t a ffected by co m b in atio n s o f th e sim p le a n d p e rfe c tiv e
form s w ith p ro g ressiv e a n d p a ssiv e form s.
B ack sh ift is o p tio n a l w h e n th e tim e-reference o f th e o rig in a l u tte ra n c e is
v alid a t th e tim e o f th e re p o rte d u tte ran c e , c/[5], [7], a n d [8 ]. T h u s, th e s h ift
is o b lig ato ry in [9], b u t o p tio n a l in [10]:
‘I a m a citizen , n o t o f A th e n s, b u t o f th e w orld,’ sa id Socrates.

~ S o crates said th a t h e was a citizen, n ot o f A th e n s, b u t o f th e
w orld. [9]
‘N o th in g can h a rm a g o o d m a n ,’ said Socrates.
~ S o crates sa id t h a t n o th in g I cou^ I h arm a good m an . [10]
Since th e sta te m e n t b y S o crates in [9] deals w ith w h a t is no w p a s t, it h a s to

be re p o rte d by a p p lic a tio n o f th e b a ck sh ift rule. T h e sta te m e n t in [ 10], o n th e
o th er h a n d , is a u n iv ersal ru le w h ich , if it w as tru e fo r S o c ra te s’ lifetim e,
should also be tru e to d a y ; th e b a ck sh ift rule is th erefo re o p tio n a l.
H e re are o th er e x am p les w h e re p resen t form s m ay b e re ta in e d in in d ire c t
speech:
T h e ir tea ch e r h a d to ld th e m th a t the e a rth moves a ro u n d th e sun. [11]
S am to ld m e la s t n ig h t th a t h e is now a n A m erican c itize n . [12]
I h e a rd h e r say t h a t sh e is stu d y in g Business A d m in is tra tio n . [13]
A Y ale p ro fesso r h a s s a id t h a t th e B rooklyn B ridge is th e m o st
m ajestic e m b o d im e n t o f th e A m erican e x p erien ce o f th e ro ad . [14]
T h ey th o u g h t th a t p riso n c o n d itio n s have im p ro v ed . [15]
I d id n ’t k now t h a t o u r m e e tin g is n ex t T uesday. [16]
She said th a t th ey are b e in g d iscrim in ated a g ain st. [17]
T h e w a ite r to ld m e t h a t lu n c h is now being served. [18]
In all th ese sen ten ces, p a s t fo rm s m ay also be used, by o p tio n a l a p p lic a tio n
o f th e b a ck sh ift rule. S e n ten c e [11] has th e sim ple p re s e n t in its tim eless use,
w hereas th e v erb s in th e s u b s e q u e n t sentences have a lim ite d tim e-referen ce.
T h e a p p ro p ria te n e ss o f th e p re se n t form s in [12—18] th ere fo re d e p en d s on

t h e i r referen ce a t th e tim e o f th e re p o rte d u tte ran c e . F o r e x am p le, if a t th a t
tim e S a m h a d ch an g ed his citize n sh ip , o r i f his c itize n sh ip w as th e n in d o u b t,
a n a p p r o p ria te form o f [ 1 2 ] w ould be, fo r e x a m p le :
S a m to ld m e in 1970 th a t he was then a n A m e ric an citizen . [ 12a]
S im ila rly , i f a long tim e h a d elap sed b etw een th e o rig in al u tte ra n c e rep o rted
in [15] o r if there w as d o u b t as to its p re sen t v alid ity , th e p a st p erfectiv e
w o u ld b e u s e d :
T h e y th o u g h t th a t p riso n c o n d itio n s h a d im p ro v ed . [ 15a]
A g a in , i f [18] w ere re p o rtin g w h a t th e w a ite r h ad sa id n o t five m in u te s ago

b u t fiv e d a y s ago it w ould h a v e r e a d :
T h e w aiter told m e t h a t lu n ch w as th e n b e in g served. [ 18a]

N o te [a] I f th e in d ire c t sp eech itse lf c o n ta in s a s u b o rd in ate clause, th e n th e v e rb o f th a t su b o rd in ate
c la u s e m a y be in th e p re se n t te n se becau se o f c u rre n t valid ity even th o u g h b o th th e m a in v erb o f
th e se n te n c e a n d th e su p e ro rd in a te verb are in th e p a s t:
T h e y rem inded us th a t th e y h a d freq u en tly denied th a t th e d ru g has a n y th e ra p e u tic value.
S h e thought she had to ld m e th a t b re a k fa st is served b etw een sev en an d te n.
[b] B a c k sh ift from sim p le p a s t to p a s t perfec tiv e is n ecessary w h en th e sim p le p a s t in th e
in d i r e c t sp eech m ay be m isin te rp re te d as rep resen tin g a sim p le p re se n t:
S h e said , ‘I w w m arried (, b u t m y h u sb an d d ie d la st y ea r).’
~ S he said th a t she h a d been married.
C o n tr a s t, w h ere there is no p o ssib ility o f m isin te rp re ta tio n :
S h e said , ‘I w as m a rrie d in c h u rc h .’
— S h e said th a t sh e f™ as m arried 1 c jlu rc j1

\h a d been m arried J
[c] B a c k sh ift is norm al if th e p ro p o sitio n in th e in d irect speech is co n sid e red to be false:
T h e ancientls thought th a t th e su n m oved a ro u n d th e e a rth , b u t fro m th e tim e o f G alileo it
w as know n th a t th e rev erse is true.
[d] W h e n can’t or couldn't is co m b in e d w ith sa y o r tell in a rep o rtin g clause, o n e m e an in g o f th e
c o m b in a tio n is roughly th e sam e as d o n ’t know o r didn’t know :
I c a n ’t <sa,^ > w h ere she is. [‘I d o n ’t k n o w ’]

[ te lly p u j
They m e j w h o called. [‘T h e y d id n ’t kn o w ’]
[e] S in c e th e sim ple p a st in in d ire c t sp eech m ay re p re se n t eith e r th e sim p le p a st o r th e sim ple

p r e s e n t o f d ire c t speech, it m a y g iv e rise to am b ig u ity w h ere b o th in te rp re ta tio n s a re plau sib le:
A : S h e told me th e g a m e sta rte d a t seven,
g f It didn't.
* 1 It doesn't.
^ i
I
O th e r changes in in d irect speech

14.32 I f th e id en tities o f th e p e rso n sp e a k in g a n d th e p erso n a d d re ss e d are n ot
id e n tic a l in the situ a tio n s o f th e o rig in a l a n d rep o rted u tte ran c e s, th e p erso n al
p ro n o u n s need to b e c h an g e d , p r o n o u n s h i f t re q u ires th e sh ift o f 1 st an d
2n d p e rso n p ro n o u n s to 3 rd p e rso n p ro n o u n s o r to nou n s, w h e n th e persons
re fe rre d to in the o rig in a l u tte ra n c e a re a b se n t in th e re p o rte d u tte r a n c e :
T i l b ehave m y se lf,’ h e pro m ised .

~ H e p ro m ised th a t he’d b eh av e h im se lf
R eporting the language o f others 1029
‘/ l i k e y o u r tie ,’ sh e told Jo h n .
~ S h e to ld J o h n th a t she lik ed his tie.
‘ You k n o w m y fa m ily ,’ she said.
~ S h e to ld h im [or Tom , fo r exam p le] th a t he k n ew her fam ily.
‘ You a re to o n o isy ,’ P am ela told them .
~ P a m e la to ld them th a t they w ere too noisy.
1 st a n d 2 n d p e rso n p ro n o u n s are used as a p p ro p ria te to th e re p o rtin g

s itu a tio n :
'Y o u sh o u ld b e a sh a m e d o f yourself,' sh e to ld m e.
~ S h e to ld m e t h a t / should b e a sh am ed o f m y se lf
‘/ a m y o u r frie n d , B ob,' h e said to me.
~ H e s a id to m e th a t he w as m y frien d .
S im ilarly, in re p o rtin g to M a rg are t a s ta te m e n t a b o u t herself:
‘M a rg a ret is v ery c le v er,’ T om said to me.

~ T o m to ld m e t h a t yo u are very clever.
‘M a rg a ret is in m y class,’ I said to h im .
~ I to ld h im t h a t yo u w ere in m y class.
W e m e n tio n briefly o th e r sh ifts th a t m ay b e necessary. I f th e tim e

re la tio n sh ip b e tw e e n tim e referen ces in th e in d ire c t sp eech a n d th e tim e o f
th e u tte ra n c e h a s c h an g e d b etw een th e o rig in a l u tte ran c e a n d th e re p o rte d
u tte ran c e , it is n e ce ssa ry to m ak e ad ju stm en ts. T im e references are c h a n g e d
variously a c c o rd in g to th e tim e o f th e re p o rte d u tte ran c e : for e x am p le,
yesterday to the d a y before yesterday, last M o n d a y, o r June 10', now to th en ;
n e x t M o n d a y to la st M o n d a y o r M o n d a y tw o w eeks ago. I f th e places o f th e
u tte ran c e s a re d ifferen t, p lace referen ces are c h an g ed acco rd in g ly : fo r
ex am p le, here to there, o r (if th e referen ce is to th e place o f th e re p o rtin g
u tte ran c e ) there to here, o r th e places m ay n eed to be specified by n a m e .
D e m o n stra tiv e s a re also c h an g ed if th e re la tiv e d istan c in g has ch an g e d : th is
a n d these to th a t a n d those, b u t a g ain th e rev erse if th e re is g re a te r p ro x im ity
a t th e tim e o f th e re p o rte d u tteran ce.
Indirect sta te m en ts, questions, exclam ations, and directives

14.33 O u r ex am p les h a v e so fa r been o f in d ire c t sta te m e n ts; b u t all th e m a in
sen ten ce ty p es (q u estio n s, ex clam atio n s, d irec tiv e s, as well as s ta te m e n ts)
m ay b e c o n v e rte d in to in d ire ct speech. T h e c o n stru ctio n s a re a s fo llo w s:
in d ir e c t s t F t e m e n t : that -clause (15.4)

in d ir e c t q u e s t io n : d e p e n d e n t w h-clause (1 5 .5 /)
in d ir e c t e x c l F m F t io n : d e p en d e n t u /i-clau se (15.7)
f t/iat-clause (1 5 .1 0 /)
INDIRECT DIRECTIVE: \ c ... , , . ,•
[to -m fim tiv e clau se (w ith o u t subject) (15.10/ )
H ere a re e x am p les o f th e last th ree c a te g o rie s:
‘A re you re a d y y e t? ’ a sk ed Jo an , [ y e s - n o q u e s t i o n ]
~ J o a n a sk e d (m e) whether I was ready y et.
‘W h e n w ill th e p lan e lea v e? ’ I w o n d ered , [ w w - q u e s t i o n ]
~ I w o n d e red when the plane w ould leave.
‘ A r e y o u s a tis f ie d o r n o t ?’ I a s k e d h e r. [ F l t e r n F t iv e q u e s t io n ]
~ I a sk e d h e r whether or not she was satisfied.
‘W h a t a b ra v e boy you a r e ! ’ M arg aret to ld h im . [ e x c l F m F t io n ]
~ M a rg a re t to ld h im what a brave boy he was.
‘T id y u p th e ro o m a t o n c e ,’ I said to T om . [ d i r e c t i v e ]
~ I in siste d that Tom ^ . f f u l d ritfj^ 'e sj^ B rE ) j UP ^ room at once-

~ I to ld T o m to tid y up the room.
‘H a v e a n o th e r a p p le ,’ C aro l suggested (to m e), [d i r e c t i v e ]
~ C a r o l su g g ested that I ^ Z u l d h a v ^ S > B rE > } an0ther apple'

~ C aro l a sk e d m e to have another apple.
A ll th e ty p es o f ch an g e s o u tlin ed in 1 4 .3 1 / a p p ly to q u estio n s an d
ex c la m a tio n s as w ell as sta te m en ts. W ith d irec tiv e s, th ere is n o ten se
b a c k s h ift in th e v erb fo rm s exem plified ab o v e: m a n d a tiv e su b ju n ctiv e,
p u ta tiv e should, to -in fin itiv e ( c f 14.24/).
D ire c tiv e s in fa c t in v o lv e th e sum m ary type fro m w h ich it is n o t possible
to re c o n s tru c t th e e x ac t w o rd s o f th e d irect speech.
I f th e to -in fin itiv e co n stru ctio n is used for a n in d ire c t d irectiv e, th e
re p o rtin g clau se n o rm ally re q u ires a n in d ire ct o b jec t o r a p re p o sitio n al
o b je c t:
‘E a t y o u r fo o d u p ,’ sh e b egged him .
~ She b e g g ed h im to e a t his food up.
‘S it d o w n ,’ I sn a p p e d a t'h im .
~ I sn a p p e d a t h im to sit dow n.
‘D o n ’t say a n y th in g ,’ h e w h isp ered to her.
~ H e w h isp e re d to h e r n o t to say an y th in g .
N o te [a] I f th e su b ject o f th e in fin itiv e is n o t p resen t in an in d ire c t d ire ctiv e, it is u n d ersto o d to be
id e n tic a l w ith th e in d ire c t o b je c t o r prep o sitio n al o bject w h en it is p r e s e n t:
S h e to ld m e td call again tomorrow, [‘th a t I should call ag a in to m o rro w ’]
I w h isp e re d to th e m to be q uiet. [‘th a t th ey should be q u ie t’]
T h e s u b je c t m ay tje in tro d u c e d by fo r , especially in A m E , e x c ep t w h en th e rep o rtin g v erb is
d itr a n s itiv e tell: \ N
S h e said fo r us )o sit dow n. I shouted fo r them to clear the way.
I f th e v e r b is sa y a n d th e ./or-co n stru ctio n is n o t used, th e su b jec t is u n d ersto o d fro m the
situ a tio n a l co n te x t:
S h e sa id to sit dow n.
[b] E c h o q u estio n s o cc asio n a lly o c c u r in in d irect sp e e c h :
A : A re you g o in g h o m e ? B : A m I going ho m e? A : Y es, th a t’s w h at I asked.
T h e se c o n d sen te n ce m ig h t a p p e a r in in d ire c t speech as / a sk e d ify o u ask e d i f I was going home.
T h e re a r e , how ever, n o in d ire c t c o n stru c tio n s for echo ex clam atio n s.
T h e s u b j u n c t i v e a n d m o d a l a u x i l i a r i e s in in d i r e c t s p e e c h
14.34 T h e re is n o in d ire c t sp eech co n stru ctio n fo r th e o p tativ e su b ju n ctiv e
( c f 11.39), b u t w h e n it is used to express a w ish th e c o n stru ctio n w ith m ay
(w ith a p o ssib le b a c k s h ift to m ight) is som etim es a n ear-e q u iv a len t:
‘G o d bless A m e ric a !’ sh e said.

~ She e x p ressed th e w ish th a t G o d m ight bless A m erica.
R eporting the language of others 1031
T h e re is n o b a ck sh ift for th e m a n d a tiv e su b ju n ctiv e (c/3 .5 9 ):
‘W e in sisted th a t he l e a v e a t o n c e ,’ she said.

~ She said th a t th ey (h ad ) in sisted th a t he le a v e a t once.
T h e p a s t su b ju n ctiv e ( c f 14.24) o r h y p o th etical p a st ( c f 14.23) is b a c k s h ifte d

to h y p o th etica l p a st p e rfe c tiv e if th e re is a ch an g e in tim e re fe re n c e :
‘I f he w e r e h ere, he w o u ld vote f o r the m o tio n ,’ she said.

~ She said t h a t if h e h a d b e e n th ere, he w ould have v o ted fo r th e
m otion.
‘I f sh e s t a y e d a n o th e r d ay , h e w ould d riv e h er h o m e,’ h e said.
~ H e to ld m e th e follow ing w eek th a t if she h a d s t a y e d a n o th e r d a y ,
he w ould h av e d riv e n h e r hom e.
B a c k s h ift is o p tio n a l i f th e p ro p o sitio n in th e in d irect speech is still v a lid :
‘I f I w e r e in N e w Y o rk , I w o u l d v isit th e c u rre n t e x h ib itio n a t th e

M e tro p o litan M u seu m ,’ h e said .
w ere w o u l d v i s it
H e said t h a t if h e in N e w Y ork, he
h a d been w o u ld h a v e v is ite d
th e c u rre n t e x h ib itio n a t th e M etro p o litan M useum .
I f th e re is a c h an g e in tim e -referen ce, a m o d al auxiliary is b a c k s h ifte d fro m

p re s e n t ten se fo rm s to p a s t ten se fo rm s ev en if th e p a st ten se fo rm s d o n o t
n o rm ally in d icate p a s t tim e in d ire c t sp eech :
‘Y ou m a y b e a b le to a n sw e r th is q u e stio n ,’ h e told her.

~ H e told h e r th a t sh e m i g h t b e a b le to an sw er th a t q u estio n .
‘I w o n 't p a y a n o th e r p e n n y ,’ I said.
~ I said t h a t I w o u ld n 't p ay a n o th e r penny.
I f a m o d al au x iliary in th e d ire c t sp e e ch is alread y in th e p a s t ten se fo rm ,

th e n th e sam e fo rm re m a in s in th e in d ire c t speech:
‘Y ou s h o u ld n ’t sm o k e in th e b e d ro o m ,’ he told them .
' ~ H e to ld th e m th a t th ey s h o u ld n 't sm o k e in the bed ro o m .
‘W e c o u l d b e w ro n g ,’ I to ld th em .
~ I told th e m th a t w e c o u l d b e w rong.
‘I c o u ld sp eak S p a n ish w h en I w as yo u n g ,’ I said.
~ I said t h a t I c o u l d s p e a k S p a n ish w h en I w as young.
‘W h en I w as in college I w o u l d stu d y till tw o o r th ree in th e m o rn in g ,’
sh e recalled.
tw o o r th re e in th e m o rn in g .
I n th e last tw o ex am p les (w ith c o u l d a n d w o u l d ) , th e m o d al au x iliaries h a v e

p a s t tim e referen ce in th e d ire c t speech, an d th erefo re b a c k s h ift e n ta ils
c h an g in g to th e p erfectiv e.
Sev eral m odal a u x iliaries o r m arg in al m odals h av e only o n e fo rm : m u s t ,
o u g h t to , n e e d , a n d h a d b e t t e r . T h a t form re m ain s in in d irect sp e e ch :
‘Y o u m u s t b e h u n g ry ,’ he said.
~ H e s a id th a t they m u s t b e hu ngry.
‘Y o u h a d b e t t e r n o t say a n y th in g a b o u t th is ,’ h e w a rn ed m e.
~ H e w a rn e d m e th a t I h a d b e t t e r n o t say a n y th in g a b o u t th at.
I n its o b lig a tio n a l sense, how ever, th e p a s t o f m u s t m ay b e re p laced by h a d to

in in d ir e c t sp e e c h :
‘Y o u m u s t b e in by ten to n ig h t,’ h is p a re n ts told him .
~ H is p a re n ts told h im t h a t h e b e in by ten t h a t n ig h t.
A s a lw ay s, b a c k s h ift (w here p ossible) is o p tio n al i f th e p ro p o sitio n in th e

in d ir e c t s p e e c h is v alid a t th e tim e o f u tte r a n c e :
‘P e rs is te n c e c a n o vercom e all o b sta cles,’ sh e said.
- S h e s a id th a t p ersisten ce can 1 overcom e all obstacles.
N o te [a] I f th e y a re fo llo w ed by a perfectiv e infin itiv e, m o d a l au x iliaries in th e rep o rtin g clau se a re

c o u n te d , f o r p u rp o se s o f b ac k sh ift, as p a s t ten se fo r m s :
‘W h a t a re you d o in g ? ’ I ought to hav e asked.
~ I o ught to have a sk e d w h at he was doing.
[b] B a c k s h if t n o rm a lly o cc u rs in th e su b o rd in a te clau se a fte r a n a ttitu d in a l p a s t used fo r
p o lite n e ss ( c / 4 . 16):
f is n
W h a t d id you sa y yo u r n am e < ^
I w o n d e re d i f y o u would le nd m e som e flour.

W e w e re h o p in g you would stay w ith us.
T h e re is n o im p lic a tio n in th ese ex am ples o f p a s t tim e reference.
Free in d ire ct speech and free direct speech

14.35 fre e in d ire c t speech is used ex ten siv ely to re p o rt sp eech o r ( p a rtic u la rly in
fictio n ) t h e s tre a m o f th o u g h t. I t is basically a form o f in d ire c t sp e e ch , b u t (a)
th e re p o rtin g clau se is o m itted (ex cep t w h en re ta in e d as a p a re n th e tic a l
clau se, a s in d ir e c t speech), an d (b) th e p o ten tialities o f d irec t-sp ee c h sen ten c e
s tru c tu re a re re ta in e d (for ex am p le, d ire c t q u estio n s a n d ex clam a tio n s,
v o c a tiv e s, tag q u e stio n s, an d in terjectio n s). I t is th erefo re only th e b a c k s h ift
o f th e v e rb , tog 'eth er w ith eq u iv a len t sh ifts in p erso n al p ro n o u n s, d e m o n s tra
tiv es, a n d tim e! a n d p lace referen ces, th a t signals th e fa c t th a t th e w o rd s are
b ein g re p o rte d , r a th e r th a n b ein g in d ire c t speech. T h e italicized v e rb s below
are b a c k s h ifte d to th e p a st te n s e :
S o t h a t w a s th e ir p lan , w a s it? H e w ell k n e w th e ir trick s, a n d w o u l d s h o w
th e m a th in g o r tw o befo re h e w a s finished. T h a n k g o o d n ess h e h a d
b e en a le rte d , a n d th a t th ere w e r e still a few h o n e st p eo p le in th e
w o r ld !
f r e e d i r e c t s p e e c h is also used in fiction w ritin g to re p re se n t a p e rso n ’s
stre am o f th o u g h t. I t is basically a fo rm o f d irec t speech, b u t it is m erg ed
w ith th e n a r ra tio n w ith o u t an y o v e rt in d ic a tio n by a re p o rtin g clau se o f a
sw itch to sp eech . I t is d istin g u ish ed fro m th e p a st tim e re fe re n ce o f th e
n a r ra tio n by its use o f p resen t-ten se fo rm s. In th e follow ing e x am p les th e
p a rts in free d ire c t sp eech are ita lic iz e d :
Transferred negation 1033
I sat o n th e g ra ss s ta rin g a t the passers-by. E very b o d y seem ed in a

h u rry . W hy c a n ’t I have something to rush to ?
A fly k e p t b u z zin g a ro u n d , occasionally try in g to settle o n m e. I
b ru sh e d it off. I t c am e b ack . Keep calm ! W ait until it fe e ls safe. T h ere!
G ot it. O n m y h a n d w as a disgusting flatten ed fly, o o zin g blood. I
w iped m y h a n d o n th e grass. N ow le a n relax.
W e u n d e rsta n d th ese a s if th e re w ere q u o tatio n m ark s aro u n d th e free d ire c t

speech.
N o te F o r d ire c t sp eech w ith a m e d ia l rep o rtin g clause but w ith o u t q u o ta tio n m a rk s, c f 14.29 N o te [e ].
Transferred negation
14.36 tr a n s fe r r e d n e g a t i o n , p a rticu la rly co m m o n in in fo rm al style, is th e

tran sfer o f th e n e g a tiv e fro m a su b o rd in ate clau se (generally a tte - c la u s e ) ,
w here sem an tically it belo n g s, to th e m atrix clause. F o r exam ple, I d o n ' t t h i n k
it's a g o o d id e a c a n h a v e tw o m ean in g s, one in w h ich th e n e g atio n a p p lie s to
th e m atrix clau se, a n d o n e in w h ich it ap p lies th ro u g h tra n s fe rre d n e g atio n
to th e su b o rd in a te clau se (‘I th in k it isn’t a good id e a ’). I t is th e difficulty o f
d istin g u ish in g th e first m e a n in g fro m the second th a t in p a r t acc o u n ts fo r th e
tran sfer. A n o th e r e x p la n a to ry fa cto r is th a t gen erally th e focus is o n th e
co n te n t o f th e su b o rd in a te clau se, w hich is p rag m atically m o re im p o rta n t:
th e m ean in g o f th e se n ten c e a p p ro x im ate s to ‘I t ’s p ro b a b ly n o t a good id e a ’.
T h e first m ean in g , h o w ev er, becom es p ro m in e n t i f th e focus is o n t h i n k : I
d o n 't t h i n k i t ’s a g o o d i d e a ; I k n o w it is. In th is co n tex t, tra n s fe rre d n e g atio n
does n o t ta k e p lace. B ecau se o f th e presence o f th e tw o m ea n in g s o f th e
m atrix clause, th e n e g a tiv e fo rce o f th e tra n s fe rre d n e g atio n in I d o n ’t t h i n k
it's a g o o d i d e a is w e a k e r fo r th e su b o rd in ate clau se th a n in th e less co m m o n
I t h in k it is n ’t a g o o d i d e a , w h e re th e n eg ativ e is actu ally p re sen t in th e clause.
T h e m atrix v erb s th a t allow tran sferre d n e g atio n fall in to sev eral sem an tic
g roups:
(a) o p i n i o n : a n t i c i p a t e , b e s u p p o s e d to , b e l i e v e , c a l c u l a t e , e x p e c t , f i g u r e
(in fo rm a l A m E > , i m a g in e , r e c k o n (in fo rm a l, esp A m E ) , s u p p o s e , t h in k
I d o n ’t b e lie v e I ’ve m e t you before. [‘I b elieve I h a v e n ’t m et you

b e fo re ’]
She d id n ’t im a g in e th a t we w ould say a n y th in g . [‘She im ag in ed
w e w o u ld n ’t say a n y th in g ’]
H e d id n ’t e x p ect to w in. [‘H e ex p ected n o t to w in ’]
(b) p e r c e p t i o n : a p p e a r , s e e m ; f e e l a s if , l o o k a s if , s o u n d a s i f [these
th ree v erb s a re also used in fo rm ally , especially in A m E , w ith l i k e in p lac e
o f a s if ]
It d o e s n ’t seem th a t we c an get o u r m oney b a ck . [‘I t seem s th a t we

c a n ’t g et o u r m o n ey b a c k ’]
T h e b a b y d o e sn ’t a p p e a r to be aw ake. [‘T h e b a b y a p p e a rs n o t to be
a w a k e ’]
It d o e s n ’t look lik e it’s g oing to rain . [‘It looks lik e it isn ’t g oing to
r a in ’]
T ra n s fe rre d n e g a tio n is a n u n c le ar p h en o m en o n : in tu itio n s m ay differ as to

w h e th e r an d to w h a t d e g ree tw o sen ten ces w ith d ifferently p lac ed neg ativ es
a re syn o n y m o u s. C o n sid e r, for exam ple, n eg ativ e sen ten ces w ith likely an d
p ro b a b le :
I t isn ’t I p j Q ^ b l e } l ^ a t P r ' ces w dl fall th is year. [1]
I t is n o t c lear to w h a t e x te n t [I] is synonym ous w ith [2]:
I t ’s jp fQ ^ a b le } ^ a t ° 'l p rices w o n ’t fall th is year. [2]
A la c k o f sy n o n y m y b e co m es e v id e n t if th e adjectives a re in te n sifie d :
I t isn’t v e ry oil p rices will fall th is y ear. [la ]
I t ’s very | p j Q ^ 5 [e | l^ a t P r *ces w on’t fall th is y ear. [2a]
N o t all v e rb s in th e sa m e sem an tic field allow tra n s fe rre d n egation. F o r

ex am p le, assum e, presum e, a n d surmise, th o u g h sim ila r to so m e o f th e v erb s
liste d in (a) a b o v e , d o n o t gen erally allow th e tra n s fe r ( c /N o te [e]). T h e
follow ing tw d se n ten c es, fo r e x am p le, are n o t e q u iv a le n t in m ea n in g :
I d id n ’t a ssu m e t h a t h e k n ew m e.
I assu m ed th a t h e d id n ’t k n o w m e.
T h e a d d itio p o f m o d a l a u x iliaries o r a d v erb ials in th e m a trix clause m ay

p re v e n t tra n s fe rre d n e g a tio n w ith v erb s th a t o th erw ise allow it:
I c a n ’t b eliev e t h a t th e y a re m arried .
Y ou m u s tn ’t th in k h e ’s stu p id .
I w o u ld n ’t h a v e im a g in e d th a t S a n d ra would be h ere.
I d id n ’t e|ver su p p o se th ey w ere hap p y .
I t ju s t d id n ’t seem t h a t it w ould rain.
N o te [a] T ra n sfe rre d n e g a tio n h a s also b ee n te rm ed ‘neg ativ e ra isin g ’ a n d ‘n e g a tiv e tra n sp o rta tio n ’.
[b] W ish allow s tra n sfe rre d n e g a tio n in in fin itiv e clauses, b u t n o t in finite cla u se s:
I d o n ’t w ish to b e rude. [*I w ish n o t to be ru d e’]
[c] S a y allow s tra n sfe rre d n e g a tio n if it is used w ith som e m odal au x ilia ries (p rincipally wouldn't
an d couldn't ):
I w o u ld n ’t say I tru s t th e m . [‘I w ould say th a t I d o n ’t tru st th e m ’]
[d] I n can't seem a n d couldn't seem , th e m e an in g o f th e m odal a u x ilia ry is also tra n sfe rre d :
T h e y c a n ’t seem to c o n c e n tra te . [‘T h e y seem n o t to be able to c o n c e n tra te ’]
[e] V erb s like assum e so m etim e s allow tra n sferre d n eg a tio n :
I d o n ’t assu m e it nee d h a p p e n u n d e r th o se circum stances.
I d o n ’t p re s u m e it w ould b e in y o u r best in terest to ack n o w led g e th e in su ltin g rem arks.
Sentence com plexity and com prehensibility 1035
[f] M a n y o f th e m a trix v erb s th a t allow tra n sferre d n eg a tio n a p p e a r also in c o m m en t c la u s e s

( c f 15,54). In c o m m e n t clauses th ey do n o t p e rm it th e tra n sfe r o f n e g a tio n :
M y p a re n ts w o n ’t say an y th in g ab o u t it, I th in k .
I t w o n 't ra in today, I (d o n ’t) believe.
T h e y d o n ’t ca re , I (d o n ’t) suppose.
B ut v e rb s n o t o th e rw ise allo w in g th e tra n sfe r also a p p e a r in co m m en t clauses, e g : k n o w , s e e .
[g] T h e s u b o rd in a te clause is u n d e r th e scope o f n eg a tio n (c/1 0 .6 4 ) an d th e re fo re a c c e p ts
n o n asse rtiv e ite m s (c /1 0 .6 0 /) :
T h e y d id n ’t th in k I ’d e v e r m e t you before.
I d o n ’t su p p o se you’ve p a id fo r it y e t.
B u t th is fe a tu re ap p lies to su b o rd in a te clauses w hen tra n sfe rre d n eg atio n does n o t a p p ly :
T h e y d id n ’t know I ’d e v e r m e t you before.
W h e n th e su b jec t o f th e m a trix clause is / , th e tag q u estio n co rresp o n d s w ith th e s u b o r d in a te
c la u s e :
I d o n ’t im ag in e he c a r e s , d Oe s h e ? I im ag in e he d o esn ’t c a r e , d 6 e s h e? )
I d o n ’t th in k she know s f r e n c h , d o e s s h e ? [ ~ I th in k she d o esn ’t know f r e n c h , d o e s
she?]
T h e use o f th e p o sitiv e tag q u estio n w ith a falling to n e is a n o th e r in dication th a t th e s u b o r d in a te
clau se is u n d e r th e scope o f n eg a tio n . B u t ag a in th is fe a tu re is n o t lim ited to tra n sferre d n e g a tio n :
I ’m n o t su re he c a r e s , d o e s he?
Sentence complexity and comprehensibility
C o m b in in g subordination devices w ith in a sentence

14.37 F o r sim p lic ity o f illu stratio n , m o st o f o u r ex am p les in th is c h a p te r h a v e b e e n
o f se n ten c es w ith ju s t o n e su b o rd in ate clause. W e n ow give so m e e x a m p le s
th a t illu stra te h ow sev eral dev ices o f su b o rd in a tio n c an b e c o m b in e d in
sen ten ces. T h e sen ten ces a re fairly b rie f a n d n o t u n d u ly c o m p licated . A ll o f
th e m c o n sist o f o n e m a in clause, a n d n o n e o f th e su b o rd in ate c la u se s a r e
c o o rd in a te d .
F b c
[T h ey p o in t o u t [th a t In d ia h as n o t h a d th e luxury, [as th e U n ite d S ta te s
C D E
did ,] o f [finding a fresh , v irg in lan d a t its d isp o sal a t th e m o m e n t [w h e n its
EDBA
m o d e m d e v elo p m en t b eg an .] ] ] ]
(T he N e w Y ork Tim es, A u g u st 1 6 ,1 9 8 2 ,1 .4 ) [1]
AB B
[ [To keep d irt ro ad s e v en m arg in ally useful,] b a rrie r gates a re sw u n g s h u t
c CD
[w h en d ro p s b e g in to fall,] [lest th e ro ad s becom e c h u rn e d in to
DA
im p assab ility .] ]
(‘P a ra g u ay ’ by G o rd o n Y oung, N ational Geographic, A u g u st 1982,
p. 259) [2]
1036 T h e c om ple x sentence
A B C
[H e w a s ir r ita te d a t [E dw in tak in g [w h at seem ed to h im lik e a n u n fa ir
c | D e E
a d v a n ta g e ] ], [th o u g h [w here th e a d v a n ta g e lay] he co u ld n o t have
DA
s a id .] ]
(Q uartet in A u tu m n by B arb ara P ym , P e re n n ia l L ib rary , 1980, H a rp e r &
R o w , p. 9 5 ; first p u b lish ed 1977) [3]
A B B C
[In K o w lo o n h e h ired a c a r from th e b ig g est outfit [he co u ld find], [using
d E E
th e esc ap e p a s s p o rt a n d d riv in g licence [because m arg in ally [he th o u g h t]
F FDCA
th e false n a m e w as sa fe r [if only by a n h our.] ] ] ]
( T h e H onourable Schoolboy by Jo h n L e C arre, B a n ta m B ooks 1978,
p . 4 6 2 ; first p u b lish ed 1977) [4]
F B
[A H o u se-S en a te co n feren ce c o m m ittee ag reed to d ay [to p re serv e a fe a tu re
c D
o f th e tax c o d e [th a t allow s businesses [to d e d u ct th e c o st o f c e rta in m eals
DCB E F
] ] ] [as it m o v e d to w a rd final ag ree m e n t o n a bill [to ra ise tax es by $98.9
FEA
b illio n o v er t h r e e years.] ] ]
(T h e N ew Y o rk Tim es, A ugust 1 6 ,1 9 8 2 ,1 .1 ) [5]
O n e o f th e fa cto rs w h ich d eterm in e th e o rd e r in w h ich th e c o n stitu e n t clauses

o f a se n ten c e a r e a rra n g e d is th e p rin cip le o f r e s o l u t i o n , th e p rin c ip le th a t
sta te s th a t th e fin al clau se should b e th e p o in t o f m ax im u m e m p h a sis ( c f
c o m m u n ic a tiv e d y n a m ism , 18.3). In re ad in g aloud, th e reso lu to ry effect o f
th e fin al clau se is o ften p o in ted by in to n a tio n . A ty p ical re ad in g o f [1] w o u ld
p u t risin g o r fa llin g -risin g tones on all p o in ts o f in fo rm a tio n focus ( 1 8 .9 /r)
e x c e p t th e l a s t:
. . . o u t . . .. L u x u r y . . . s t F t e s d id . . . d i s p o s a l . . . beGAN
A s risin g an d fa llin g -risin g to n es have im p licatio n s o f n o n fin ality , th e effect

o f th is p a tte rn is to b u ild u p a c o n tin u in g sen se o f a n tic ip a tio n , w h ic h is a t
last resolved b y th e finality o f the falling to n e. T h is p rin cip le o f reso lu tio n is
th e c o u n te rp a rt, o n th e sen ten ce level, o f th e p rin cip le o f e n d -fo cu s ( c /1 8 .3 /)
in th e to n e u n it.
T h e p rin cip le o f reso lu tio n is illu strated effectively in sen ten ces [ 1 -4 ]. I t is
in frin g e d , h o w ev er, in [5], since th e os-clause is p e rip h e ra l: m eals, in d ee d ,
w ould p ro b a b ly re ce iv e a falling to n e, a lth o u g h i t is n o t th e la s t p o in t o f
in fo rm a tio n fo cu s. T h is sen ten ce w as th e first in th is p a rtic u la r n ew s item ,
an d p e rh a p s its a rra n g e m e n t acco rd s w ith th e jo u rn alistic p ra c tic e (in
c o n tra v e n tio n o f th e reso lu tio n p rin cip le) o f p re sen tin g th e m o st im p o rta n t
in fo rm a tio n a t th e very b eg in n in g o f th e lead sentence. N e v erth e le ss, th e
se n ten ce w ould re a d m o re sm oothly if th e os-clause w ere p o sitio n e d in itially .
N o te [a] T h e le tte rs in se n te n c e s [1 -5 ] serve to k eep tra c k o f th e b rack etin g . T h e y d o n o t alw ays

in d icate a su p e ro rd in a te -s u b o rd in a te relatio n sh ip . F o r exam ple, in sen te n ce [2], clauses [b ], [c ],

an d [d ] are all a d v e rb ials th a t a re im m e d ia te ly subordinate to th e com plex sen te n ce (a ].
[b] T h e p rin c ip le o f reso lu tio n , alo n g w ith th e in to n atio n p a tte rn asso ciated w ith it, is g en e ra lly
ap p licab le only to restrictiv e a d ju n c t clauses ( c f 15.23). It does no t ap p ly to o th e r sy n tac tic ty p e s
o f ad v e rb ial clauses.
Positions of subordinate clauses

14.38 S u b o rd in ate clauses m ay b e p o sitio n e d initially, m edially, o r a t th e e n d o f
th eir su p e ro rd in ate clau se ( c / 8 . 1 4 ^ 'for ad v erb ial positions). In itia l p o sitio n
an d en d p o sitio n a re here ta k e n to b e th e very b eg in n in g a n d th e very e n d o f
the su p e ro rd in ate clau se, e x c e p t th a t a su b o rd in ate clau se c a n n o t o f co u rse
p reced e th e c o n ju n ctio n ( if p re se n t) o f th e su p ero rd in ate clause. F o r e x am p le,
the i/c la u s e in th e follow ing sen ten c e is in / p o sitio n in th e s u p e ro rd in a te
l/iaf-clause:
I suspect th a t i f it rains w e w o n ’t go.
W e visually re p re se n t th e th re e arra n g e m e n ts in F ig 14.38a. T h e tria n g le

m ark e d ‘M ’ re p re se n ts th e m a trix clause an d th e tria n g le m ark e d ‘S ’
rep resen ts th e s u b o rd in a te clau se.
INITIAL M ED IA L EN D
F ig 1 4 .3 8 a P l a c e m e n t o f s u b o r d i n a t e c l a u s e s ■
T h e low er clause is th e s u b o rd in a te clause, an d its re la tiv e p o sitio n in th e

su p ero rd in ate clau se (th e c o m b in a tio n o f m atrix a n d s u b o rd in a te clauses) is
in d icated by th e p o in t fro m w h ic h th e line leading to th e lo w er tria n g le
b ra n ch es d o w n w ard . In itia l clau ses a re said to be l e f t - b r a n c h i n g , m ed ia l
clauses n e s t i n g , a n d final c lau ses r i g h t - b r a n c h i n g .
E x am p les o f th ese th re e a rra n g e m e n ts:
in itia l : W hen you're ready, w e’ll go to m y p a re n ts ’ place.

m e d ia l : W e’ll go, when y o u ’re ready, to m y p a re n ts ’ place.
end : W e’ll go to m y p a re n ts ’ p lace when y o u ’re ready.
W e can now d iag ra m in F ig 14.38b overp ag e th e re la tiv e p o sitio n s o f th e

su b o rd in a te clauses in th e five sen ten ces in 14.37. I f a su b o rd in a te clau se is
n o t a n im m ed iate c o n s titu e n t o f its su p ero rd in ate clause, w e h a v e in se rte d
the trian g le re p re se n tin g it w ith in th a t for the s u p e ro rd in a te clau se; for
exam ple in [1 ] , clause [ d ] is a c o m p le m e n t o f the p re p o sitio n o f a n d clau se [ e ]
is a postm odifier o f the m om ent.
C lau ses t h a t are c o n stitu e n ts o f p h rases alm ost alw ays o c cu r a t th e e n d o f
the phrases. I f we c o n sid er th e clauses th a t are im m e d ia te c o n stitu e n ts o f
th e ir su p ero rd in ate clau ses in [1 -5 ], we see th a t m o st o f th e tria n g les in F ig
14.38b a re rig h t-b ra n ch in g . I t is, in fact, a d o m in a n t ten d e n cy o f sy n ta ctic
F ig 14.38b Structures o f sentences 14.37(1-5]

stru c tu re th a t th e g re a te s t d e p th o f su b o rd in a tio n is reach ed in th e final p a r t

o f th e se n ten ce.
I.39 R ig h t-b ra n c h in g clau ses are th e easiest to co m p re h en d . C o n sid erab le le ft-

b ra n c h in g is p o ssib le in th e n o u n p h ra se, as illu strated in th e fo llo w in g
g en itiv e c o n stru c tio n , a lth o u g h c o m p reh en sio n becom es m ore difficult as t h e
co m p lex ity o f le ft-b ra n c h in g increases:
12345 5 4 3 2 1
[[[[[Tom ’s] sis te r’s] h u sb a n d ’s] m o th e r’s] house]
B u t in clau se stru c tu re , left-b ran ch in g ten d s to be lim ite d to tw o deg rees o f

e m b e d d in g :
1 2 3 4 4 3
[H e sa id [ th a t [if [w hen you’ve finished] y o u ’d close the door] h e’d b e

21
very gratefu l.]] [1]

In [1] th e w /ien-clause is in itial in th e (/-clause, a n d th e / c l a u s e in tu r n is
in itial in th e r/zor-clause. H o w ev er th is e x te n t o f e m b ed d in g b e c o m e s
e x trem ely a w k w a rd a n d in d eed in co m p reh en sib le if th e clauses a re p o s itio n e d
in itially in th e se n ten c e, w here th e len g th a n d co m p lex ity o f th e c la u se s
c o n tra v en e s th e p rin c ip le o f en d -w eig h t (c /1 8 .9 ):
* T h a t i f w hen y o u ’ve fin ish e d y o u ’d close the door h e ’d be very grateful w as

o b v io u s to ev ery o n e p resen t. [ 1 a]
In in itia l p o sitio n in th e sen ten ce, o n e d eg ree o f left-b ran ch in g is p o ssib le,
th o u g h still a w k w a r d :
12 3 3 2 1
[[T h at [ if y o u could] you w ould h elp m e] is o f sm all com fort] [2]
W e c a n red u ce th e aw k w a rd n ess o f [2] th ro u g h ex tra p o sitio n o f th e su b je c t

( c f 1 8 .3 3 /0 , th e re b y c o n v ertin g left-b ran c h in g in to rig h t-b ra n c h in g :
1 ' 2 3 321
[It is o f sm a ll c o m fo rt [th a t you w ould h e lp m e [if you could]]] [2a]
E x tra p o sitio n is u su al, a n d th e re su ltin g se n ten c e [2a] is m u ch m o re

a cc ep ta b le th a n [2], T h e ch an g e fro m [2] to [2a] b ro u g h t ab o u t by e x tra p o sitio n
is visually p re s e n te d in F ig 14.39.
Fig 14.39 S tru ctu re o f sentences [2] and [2a]

N e s tin g (m ed ial b ra n ch in g ) causes th e m ost a w k w ard n ess, if th e n ested

c lau se is lo n g an d is its e lf c o m p le x :
V a n e s s a , w h o se b ro th e r Jim likes to tell a t g re at len g th how he

u se d to p lay ten n is w ith fam ous m ovie stars w hen he lived in
L o s A n g eles, is m y b e st friend. [3]
A lth o u g h th e su b o rd in a te clauses w ith in th is n ested re la tiv e clause are all

rig h t-b ra n c h in g , th e n e stin g o f ju st th e one su p e ro rd in ate relativ e clau se is
su fficien t to red u ce th e acc ep ta b ility o f the sen ten ce. C o n tra s t [3] w ith [3a],
w h ere b y a sw itc h o f su b je ct an d subject co m p lem en t th e re la tiv e clause
b e co m es rig h t-b ra n c h in g , resu ltin g in a m u ch m o re a cc ep ta b le se n ten c e:
M y b e st frie n d is V an essa, w hose b ro th er Jim lik es to tell a t g reat

len g th h ow he used to p lay ten n is w ith fam ous m o v ie stars
w h e n h e liv ed in L os A ngeles. [3a]
T h e re is a fu rth e r fa c to r c o n trib u tin g to th e a w k w ard n ess o f [3]: it vio lates

the p r in c ip le o f e n d -w eig h t. A t th e sentence level, th is p rin cip le re q u ire s th a t
th e p a r t o f the s e n te n c e follow ing th e verb should b e as long as, a n d p referab ly
lo n g er th a n , th e p a r t t h a t p reced es th e verb.
P o s in g p a rtic u la r difficulties for co m p reh en sio n is s e l f - e m b e d d i n g , th e
m e d ia l su b o rd in a tio n o f o n e c o n stitu e n t w ith in a n o th e r c o n stitu e n t o f th e
sam e k in d . W h ile th e se n ten c e (found in a w ell-know n n u rse ry story) This is
t h e ■ra t that a te the m a lt th a t lay in the house that J a c k built is to lerab le an d
easily in tellig ib le reg ard less o f th e n u m b er o f re la tiv e clauses, th e self
e m b e d d e d a lte rn a tiv e : , -
1 2 2 1
? * T h is is th e h o u se [th a t th e m alt [th at th e r a t ate] lay in]
is e x tre m e ly a w k w a rd a n d n o t easy to u n d e rstan d , ev en th o u g h th ere is only

o n e la y e r o f se lf-em b ed d in g . W e n eed ad d o n ly a seco n d lay er o f self
e m b e d d in g to re n d e r th e se n ten ce com pletely b a fflin g :
I 2 3 3 2
* T h is is th e h o u se [th a t th e m alt [th a t th e r a t [th a t th e c a t killed] ate] lay
in] 1 ^
T h e v a rio u s a rra n g e m e n ts o f su b o rd in a te clauses, th erefo re, d o n o t ju st
c o n c e rn sty listic o p tio n s a n d th e ir relativ e m erits, b u t also th e m o re b asic
q u e stio n o f w h a t c o n stitu te s a p o ssib le E n g lish sen ten ce.
N o te D e sp ite th e overall te n d e n c y to w ard s final su b o rd in atio n , c e rta in ty p es o f a d v e rb ial clauses

fav o u r in itia l po sitio n . T h e y in c lu d e co n ju n cts ( c /1 5.18), su b ju n cts ( c / 1 5.19), m o st style disju n cts
(c /1 5 .2 1 ), a n d s en te n ce a d ju n c ts (c/1 5 .2 2 ). M oreover, a d v e rb ia l c o rrelativ e co n stru c tio n s w ith
a c o rre la tiv e a d v e rb ia l in th e seco n d clause (c/1 4 .1 3 ) n o t m e rely fa v o u r b u t re q u ire in itia l
p la c e m e n t o f th e su b o rd in a te clause.
Subordination versus coordination

14.40 C o o rd in a tio n is th e k in d o f lin k m o st used fo r o p tim u m ease o f c o m p re h en
sion. A t th e sa m e tim e th e lin k , especially w ith and, is v ague in t h a t it leav es
the sp ecific lo g ical re la tio n sh ip s to th e in feren ce o f th e sp e a k er ( c f 13.22/T).
S entence com plexity and com prehensibility 1041
In th e follow ing ex am p les w e seek to d e m o n stra te co rresp o n d en ces b e tw ee n

c o o rd in a tio n an d su b o rd in a tio n , w hile p reserv in g th e in fo rm a tio n o rd e rin g .
T h is o rd erin g , how ever, h a s th e effect o f suggesting an in itia l p o sitio n in g o f
su b o rd in a te clauses t h a t is m o re fre q u e n t th a n usual.
su b o rd : R eac h in g for th e p h o n e , h e ask ed for th e o p erato r. [ 1]

co o rd : H e re ach ed fo r th e p h o n e a n d (th en ) asked for th e o p e rato r, [ la ]
su b o rd : A lth o u g h ad m issio n w as free, few p eo p le a tte n d ed th e

lecture. [2 ]
c o o r d : A d m issio n w as free, b u t (nev erth eless) few people a tte n d e d
th e lecture. [2 a]
su b o rd : I f you p u sh th e d o o r h a rd , it will o p en . [3]

c o o rd : P u sh th e d o o r h a rd , a n d (th en ) it w ill open. [3a]
su b o rd : U n less you g ive it b a c k to m e, I ’ll tell y our m o th er. [4]

co o rd : G iv e it b a c k to m e o r (else) I ’ll tell y o u r m o th er. [4a]
su b o rd : O v er fifty d e m o n s tra to rs w ere a rrested , som e o f th e m

w om en. [5]
c o o r d : O v er fifty d e m o n s tra to rs w ere a rre ste d , an d som e o f th e m
w ere w om en. [5a]
su b o rd : W h en th e sh ip a rriv e d a t N a p les, th e sailors w ere g iv en

sh o re leave fo r tw elve h o u rs. [6 ]
c o o r d : T h e sh ip a rriv e d a t N a p les, a n d th e sailors w ere (th en )
- g iv en shore leav e fo r tw elv e h o u rs. [6 a]
su b o rd : I le n t m y b icycle to R o b e rt, w ho le n t it to D av id . [7]

c o o r d : I le n t m y b icycle to R o b e rt, a n d h e (th en ) len t it to D a v id . [7a]
su b o rd : W h ereas th e N o rth e a s t a n d th e M id w est are ra p id ly losing

p o p u latio n , th e Sun B elt s ta te s a re receiv in g m o re p eo p le th a n
th ey c an cope w ith . [8 ]
COORD: T h e N o rth e a s t a n d th e M id w est a re rap id ly losing
po p u latio n , a n d /b u t (a t th e sa m e tim e) th e Sun B elt sta te s a re
receiv in g m o re p eo p le th a n th ey c an c ope w ith . [ 8 a]
su b o rd :M o rtim e r ex p lo d ed a firecrack er d u rin g th e lesson, as a

resu lt o f w h ich h e w as su sp e n d e d fro m school for a w eek. [9]
COORD: M o rtim e r ex p lo d ed a firecrack er d u rin g th e lesson, a n d as a
resu lt o f th a t h e w as su sp en d e d fro m school for a w eek. [9a]
SUBORD: D isco v ered a lm o st by acc id e n t, th is su b stan ce h as

rev o lu tio n ized m ed ic in e . [10]
c o o r d : T h is su b sta n c e w as d isco v ered alm o st by a cc id e n t, a n d it
h a s (since) rev o lu tio n ized m ed icin e. [ 1 0 a]
su b o rd : A s Ja n e w as th e eld est, sh e looked a fte r th e o th ers. [11]

c o o r d : J a n e w as th e eld est, a n d (so) sh e lo o k ed a fte r th e o th ers. [11a]
T h e co n d itio n al uses o f a n d a n d or exem plified in [3a] a n d [4a] a re ra rely

e n co u n tered in w ritte n E n g lish . O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e a d v e rb ia l p a rtic ip le
clau ses in [1] a n d [10] (c /1 5 .58/") a re rarely en co u n tered in s p o k e n E n g lish .
P a r a ta x is w ith o u t a c o o rd in a to r (c /1 3 .2 ) is also a co m m o n su b stitu te for

s u b o r d in a tio n . T h e clauses m ay be p u n c tu a te d as se p a ra te sen ten ces o r th ey
m a y b e s e p a ra te d by sem icolons o r (in re stric te d circu m stan ces, c f A p p I I I . 6 )
by c o m m a s w ith in th e sam e o rth o g ra p h ic sen ten ce. T h e th ree ex am p les a re
b a se d o n th e la s t th ree p a irs a b o v e :
M o rtim e r e x p lo d ed a firecrack er d u rin g th e lesson; as a resu lt he

w a s su sp en d e d from school fo r a w eek. [9b]
T h is s u b s ta n c e w as d iscovered a lm o st by a ccid en t. I t h as since
re v o lu tio n iz ed m edicine. [ 1 0 b]
J a n e w as th e eldest, so she lo o k ed a fte r th e oth ers. [lib ]
S tru c tu ra l am bigu ity

14.41 A m b ig u itie s m a y arise in co m p lex se n ten c es w h en tw o in te rp re ta tio n s a re
p la u s ib le . I f a c o m p lex sen ten ce c o n ta in s tw o final su b o rd in ate clauses, as in
[ 1 ], th e la s t s u b o rd in a te clause m ay b e in te rp re te d as su b o rd in a te (a) to th e
s e n te n c e as a w hole o r (b) to th e p re c e d in g su b o rd in a te clause. T h e tw o
p a r a p h r a s e s a re g iv en in [la ] a n d [lb ] respectively.
I ’ll l e t you k n o w w h e th er I ’ll n e e d you here w h en th e d o c to r

a rriv e s. [1]
W h e n th e d o c to r arriv es, I ’ll let you k n o w w h e th er I ’ll n eed you
h e re . [la ]
I ’ll l e t you k n o w w h eth er, w h en th e d o c to r arriv es, I ’ll n eed you
h e re . [lb ]
T h e tw o s tru c tu re s a re show n in F ig 14.41a.
F ig 1 4 .4 1 a S t r u c t u r a l a m b ig u it y o f [ 1]
If th e (a ) in te rp re ta tio n is in te n d e d , th e la s t su b o rd in a te clau se sh o u ld be
p re p o se d , as in th e p a ra p h ra se in [la ], sin ce gen erally a final s u b o rd in a te
clause is in te rp re te d a s su b o rd in a te to th e im m ed iately p reced in g clau se. B u t
the fin al p la c e m e n t in [1] fo r th e (a) in te rp re ta tio n is n o t u n co m m o n . In
c o n v e rsa tio n , a n y m is in te rp re ta tio n c a n be im m ed iately co rrected , b u t in
w ritin g th e m is p la c e m e n t in [ 1 ] fo r th e (a) in te rp re ta tio n is a sty listic erro r.
T he s a m e a m b ig u itie s m ay o ccu r w ith p h ra se s a s well a s clauses:
D o r is w a tch e d h e r c h ild ren d o in g th e ir h o m ew o rk fo r a short tim e.

I re m e m b e re d h av in g told T o m soon afterwards.
A sim ila r a m b ig u ity o ccasionally arises w ith tw o co o rd in a te d clauses

follow ed o r p re c e d e d b y a su b o rd in ate clause:
J o h n re p o rte d to m e a n d I info rm ed B ob th a t ev ery th in g w as
ready. [2 ]
I f M a ry h a s re co v e red from th e flu she is in th e su p e rm ark e t a n d
th e c h ild re n a re a t a p lay cen tre. [3]
T h e in te rp re ta tio n o f th e sen ten ces d e p en d s o n w h eth er th e su b o rd in a te

clause belo n g s (a) to b o th m a in clauses o r (b) to only o n e o f th em . P u n c tu a tio n
(and in sp eech , in to n a tio n ) c a n d istin g u ish th e tw o in te rp reta tio n s o f [2 ]:
Jo h n re p o rte d to m e, an d I info rm ed B ob, th a t ev ery th in g w as
ready. [2 a]
J o h n r e p o rte d to m e, a n d I info rm ed B ob th a t ev ery th in g w as
ready. [2 b]
F o r th e [2a] in te rp re ta tio n o f [3], sep aratio n by p u n c tu a tio n o r in to n a tio n o f

only th e s u b o rd in a te clau se m ay be su fficien t:
I f M a ry h a s re co v e red fro m th e flu, sh e is in th e su p e rm ark e t a n d
th e c h ild re n a re a t a p lay cen tre. [3a]
A c le are r a lte rn a tiv e is to su b o rd in a te th e second c la u se :

I f M a ry h a s re co v e red fro m th e flu, she is in th e su p erm ark et
w hile th e c h ild re n a re a t a play cen tre. [3a']
F o r th e (b) in te rp re ta tio n , th e m ain clauses m ay be sw itc h e d :

T h e c h ild re n a re a t a p lay c en tre a n d , if sh e h as recovered fro m
th e flu, M a ry is in th e su p erm ark et. [3b]
A ltern ativ ely , th e su b o rd in a te clause m ay b e p laced a t th e en d o f th e first

m ain c lau se:
M a ry is in th e su p e rm a rk e t, if she h as reco v ered fro m th e flu, an d
th e c h ild re n a re a t a p lay c en tre. [3b']
Y e t a fu rth e r ty p e o f a m b ig u ity involves a final c o o rd in a te d clause w h ich

follow s a s u b o rd in a te clause. T h e am b ig u ity d e p en d s o n w h e th e r th e final
clause (a) is a m a in c lau se o r (b) is co o rd in ated w ith th e p reced in g su b o rd in a te
clause:
I k n o w (th a t) h e ’s c h ea tin g an d I c a n ’t d o a n y th in g a b o u t it. [4]
I f a re la tio n o f c o o rd in a tio n is rep resen ted as A A . th en th e tw o

in te rp re ta tio n s o f [4] c a n be rep resen ted as in F ig 14.41b.
F ig 14.41b S tru ctu ral am biguity o f [4]

T o m a k e it c le a r th a t in te rp re ta tio n (b) is in ten d ed , w e co u ld in sert that a t

th e b e g in n in g o f th e final clause as well as at th e b e g in n in g o f th e first
su b o rd in a te c la u s e :
I k n o w th a t h e ’s c h e a tin g a n d th a t I c a n ’t do a n y th in g a b o u t it. [4b]
I f w e d o n o t c h an g e th e w o rd in g o f [4] th ere is no sure w ay o f insisting o n

in te rp re ta tio n (a), b u t th e m ajo r sy n tactic b reak a fte r cheating can be
in d ic a te d a t th a t p o in t by a sem icolon, o r by a to n e u n it b o u n d a ry an d a
p a u se . A c le are r a lte rn a tiv e req u ires in a d d itio n th e o m issio n o f a n d :
I k now th a t h e ’s c h e a tin g ; (how ever) I c a n ’t do a n y th in g a b o u t it. [4a]
I n o u r d iscu ssio n o f stru c tu ra l am b ig u ity we have co n sid ere d five devices

th a t c a n be u sed to a v o id a m b ig u ity :
(1) c h an g in g th e o rd e r o f th e clauses, as in [la] [lb ], [3b], [3 b']

( 2 ) using p u n c tu a tio n to m a rk th e m ajo r (ie lea st e m b ed d ed ) clau se
b o u n d a ry , as in [2a], [2b], [3a]
(3) using in to n a tio n , if necessary endorsed by p au se, to m a rk th e m ajo r
c lau se b o u n d ary , as in [2a], [2b], [3a]
(4) su p p ly in g e llip te d elem en ts, as in [4b]
(5) c h an g in g th e s tru c tu ra l re la tio n sh ip o f the clause, eg fro m c o o rd in ate
to. s u b o rd in a te , as in [3a'], o r from co o rd in ate to p a ra ta c tic w ith o u t a
c o o rd in a to r, a s in [4a].
B ib lio g r a p h ic a l n o te
O n th e te rm in o lo g y fo r se n te n ce an d clause, see G reen b au m (1980).

O n th e co m p lex se n te n ce a n d su b o rd in a tio n in g en eral see H aeg em an (1985); H u d so n (1971);
N a k a jim a (1982); S m ab y (1974). O n n o n fin ite an d verbless clauses b e g in n in g w ith a su b o rd in ato r,
see B ack lu n d (1984).
O n th e o v erlap o f co n ju n c tio n an d p rep o sitio n , see Jacobsson (1977a); M atth ew s (1981), esp
1 7 4 -8 1 .
O n th e ch oice o f v e rb in s u b o rd in a te clauses, see P alm er (1974; 1979), b o th passim . O n m o re
sp ecialized to p ics, ,see C lose (1980); H aeg em an (forthcom ing b ); J o h a n sso n (1979); Q u irk
(1981). T h e la st th re e cite e v id en ce fro m elicitatio n ex p erim en ts o r fro m co rp u s an aly sis on th e
p referen ces for th e m a n d a tiv e su b ju n ctiv e, th e s/iouW -construction, an d th e in d icativ e.
O n b ac k sh ift in in d ire c t sp eech , see P alm er (1974; 1979), b o th passim .
O n tra n sferre d n eg a tio n , see C attell (1973); H o rn (1978b); L ak o ff (1969); L in d h o lm (1969).
O n sen ten ce co m p lex ity a n d co m p reh en sib ility , see C hom sky (1965), esp ecially pp 1 0 -1 4 ;
H u d d lesto n (1965); R o se n b a u m (1967b); W illiam s (1979); Y n gve(1961).
Syntactic and semantic functions
of subordinate clauses
1 5 .1 - 2 S y n ta c tic fu n c tio n s o f s u b o rd in a te c la u s e s 1047

.2 F u n c tio n a l classes o f su b o rd in a te clauses 1047
1 5 .3 -1 6 Nominal clauses 1048

.4 77jar-clauses 1049
.5 W Ti-interrogative clauses 1050
.6 Y es-no an d a lte rn a tiv e in te rro g ativ e clauses 1053
.7 E x clam ativ e clauses 1055
.8 - 9 i N o m in al relativ e clauses 1056
.1 0 - 11 T o-infinitive clauses 1061
. 1 2 - 14 -ing clauses 1063
.15 B are in fin itiv e clauses 1067
.16 V erbless clauses 1068
1 5 .1 7 -■23 Syntactic functions of adverbial clauses 1068

.18 C o n ju n cts 1068
.19 S ubjuncts 1069
.2 0 A d ju n cts a n d d isju n cts 1070
.2 1 Style d isju n cts a n d c o n te n t d isjuncts 1072
.2 2 P re d ica tio n a n d se n ten ce a d ju n cts 1074
.23 R estrictiv e a n d n o n re stric tiv e a d v erb ial clauses 1075
1 5 .2 4 - 56 Semantic roles of adverbial clauses 1077

.2 5 - 29 C lau ses o f tim e 1078
.25 S u b o rd in ato rs a n d stru c tu ra l ty p es o f clauses 1078
.2 6 - 29 T im e relatio n sh ip s 1080
.27 T im e b efo re 1080
.28 Sam e tim e 1083
.29 T im e a fte r 1084
.30 C lau ses o f c o n tin g en cy 1086
.31 C lau ses o f p lace 1087
.3 2 -■43 C lau ses o f c o n d itio n , co n cessio n , a n d c o n tra st 1087
.32 O v erlap o f se m an tic roles 1087
.3 3 --38 C o n d itio n a l clauses 1088
.33 D ire ct a n d in d ire c t c o n d itio n 1088
.34 S u b o rd in ato rs a n d stru c tu ra l ty p es o f clauses 1089
.3 5 --37 D ire ct c o n d itio n 1091
.35 O p en a n d h y p o th etical c o n d itio n 1091
.36 T h e v erb p h ra se in th e c o n d itio n al clause 1093
.37 R h e to ric al c o n d itio n al clauses 1094
.38 In d ire c t c o n d itio n 1095
.39-42 C lau ses o f co ncession 1097
.39 S u b o rd in a to rs a n d s tru c tu ra l types o f clauses 1097
.40 C on cessiv e re la tio n sh ip s 1098
.41 A ltern a tiv e co n d itio n al-co n cessiv e clauses 1099
.42 U n iv e rsal co n d itio n al-co n cessiv e clauses 1101
.43 C lau ses o f c o n tra st 1102
.44 C lau ses o f ex cep tio n 1102
.45-47 R e a s o n clauses 1103
.45 D ire c t a n d in d ire ct re aso n re la tio n sh ip s 1103
.46-47 S u b o rd in a to rs a n d s tru c tu ra l ty p es o f clauses 1104
.48 C lau ses o f p u rp o se 1107
.49 C lau ses o f result 1108
.50 C lau ses o f sim ilarity a n d c o m p a ris o n 1110
.51 C lau ses o f p ro p o rtio n 1111
.52 C lau ses o f p referen ce 1111
.53-56 C o m m e n t clauses 1112
15.57 S e n te n t ia l re la tiv e c la u s e s 1118
15.58-62 Nonfinite and verbless adverbial clauses 1120

.58 T h e a tta c h m e n t rule for id e n tify in g th e subject 1120
.59 U n a tta c h e d n o n fin ite a n d v erb less clauses 1121
.60-62 S u p p le m e n tiv e clauses 1123
.61 S ubjectless su p p le m e n tiv e clau ses 1124
.62 S u p p lem en tiv e clauses in final p o sitio n 1126
15.63-75 Comparative clauses 1127

.64-65 T h e c o m p -elem en t 1128
.65 C lau se fu n ctio n s o f th e c o m p -elem en t 1130
.66-67 E llip sis in c o m p a rativ e clau ses 1130
.67 ' A m b ig u ity th ro u g h ellip sis 1132
.6 8 M u ltip le a n d p a rtia l c o n tra sts 1132
.69-70 F u n c tio n s o f c o m p a ra tiv e m ore 1134
.71 C o m p ariso n s o f e q u iv alen ce : a s . . .a s 1137
.72-74 C o m p a riso n s o f sufficiency a n d excess 1139
.73 E nough a n d too 1140
.74 ' S o . . . (that) an d such . . . (that) 1142
.75 S y n ta c tic fu n ctio n o f c o m p a ra tiv e clauses 1144

S yn ta c tic functions of subordinate clauses 1047
Syntactic functions of subordinate clauses

15.1 S u b o rd in a te clauses m ay fu n c tio n as subject, object, co m p lem en t, o r a d v e rb ia l
in a su p e ro rd in a te clau se:
s u b je c t: T h a t we need a larger com puter h as becom e obvious,

d ire c t o b je c t: H e d o e sn ’t k n o w whether to send a gift.
in d ire c t o b jec t: Y ou c a n tell whoever is waiting th a t I ’ll b e b a c k in ten
m in u tes.
su b ject c o m p le m e n t: O n e likely result o f the p o stp o n em en t is that the cost
o f constructing the college will be very much higher.
o b ject c o m p le m e n t: I k n o w h er to be reliable.
a d v e rb ia l: When yo u see them , g ive th em m y b est w ishes.
In a d d itio n , su b o rd in a te c lau ses m ay function w ith in th ese elem en ts, e g :
p o stm o d ifier in n o u n p h r a s e : (F ew o f th e im m ig ran ts re ta in e d ) the

c u sto m s th a t they h a d brought with them.
p re p o sitio n a l c o m p le m e n t: (It d ep en d s) on what we decide.
a d je ctiv al c o m p le m e n ta tio n : (W e are) h appy to see you.
N o te T h e re are c o n stra in ts o n th e fu n c tio n in g o f clauses as in d irect o bjects o r a s o b je c t co m p lem en ts.

A m ong th e fin ite clauses, o nly n o m in a l relativ e clauses function as in d ire c t o b je ct (b u t c f 15.4
N o te [a]) o r a s o b je ct c o m p lem en t.
Functional classes o f subordinate clauses

15.2 O n th e b a sis o f th e ir p o te n tia l functions, we d istin g u ish sev eral m a jo r
categ o ries o f su b o rd in a te cla u se s: n o m i n a l , a d v e r b i a l , r e l a t i v e , a n d
c o m p a r a t i v e . T h e fu n c tio n a l classification resem bles to som e e x te n t t h a t o f
subclausal u n its su ch as n o u n p h ra se s an d a dverbs.
n o m i n a l c l a u s e s h a v e fu n c tio n s th a t ap p ro x im ate to th o se o f n o u n
p h ra ses: su b ject, o b ject, c o m p le m e n t, appositive, a n d p re p o sitio n a l c o m p le
m en t. E v ery n o m in a l c lau se m ay fu n ctio n in som e o r all o f th ese fu n ctio n s.
U n lik e n o u n p h ra ses, h o w ev er, n o m in al clauses m ay also fu n ctio n as
a d jectiv e c o m p le m e n ta tio n w ith o u t a prep o sitio n (c /1 6 .7 0 ):
I ’m n o t sure th a t l e a n rem em ber the exa ct details.
T h e p riv ileg e o f o c c u rre n c e o f n o m in al clauses is m o re lim ite d th a n th a t o f

n o u n p h ra se s b ecau se se m a n tic a lly th e clauses a re n o rm ally a b s tra c t; ie th e y
refer to su c h a b stra c tio n s as ev en ts, facts, d ates, a n d id eas ra th e r th a n to
p e rcep tib le objects. T h e o n e ex ce p tio n to this g e n eralizatio n is th e n o m in a l
relativ e clau se (c /1 5 .8 / ) , w h ic h m ay refer to o bjects (in clu d in g persons) a n d
w h ich h as som e o f th e p ro p e rtie s o f a noun p h rase c o n sistin g o f head a n d
p o stm o d ify in g relativ e cla u se , th e head an d relative p ro n o u n coalescing to
form a single w h-elem ent. C o m p a re th e eq u iv alen t sen ten ces:
W hat pleases one p a rty in fu ria te s th e other.

That which pleases one p a rty in fu ria tes the o th er. ( f o r m a l)
1048 S yn ta c tic and sem antic functions of subordinate clauses
S in c e in d ire c t objects n o rm ally refer to persons, we c an see w h y th e n o m in a l

re la tiv e clau se is the only ty p e o f clause th a t c a n norm ally fu n c tio n as an
in d ir e c t o b ject. N o m in al clauses th a t are involved in the c o m p le m e n ta tio n
o f v e r b s a n d adjectives a re e x am in ed in d etail in C h a p te r 16.
a d v e r b i a l c l a u s e s ( c f 15.17./?') fu n ctio n m ain ly as a d ju n cts o r d isju n cts
( c f 1 5 .2 0 /) . In those fu n ctio n s they a re lik e ad v erb p h rases, b u t in th eir
p o te n tia lity for g re ater ex p licitn ess, th ey a re m o re o ften lik e p re p o sitio n a l
p h ra ses:
W e left after the speeches ended.
W e left after the end o f the speeches.
W e left afterw ards.
r e l a t i v e c l a u s e s g en erally fu n ctio n as restrictiv e o r n o n re stric tiv e

m o d ifie rs o f noun p h rases a n d are th erefo re fu nctionally p arallel to a ttrib u tiv e
a d je c tiv e s . C o m p are:
a m a n who is lonely ~ a lonely m an
B u t th e y a re p o sitio n ed lik e p o stm o d ify in g p rep o sitio n al p h ra ses:
to u ris ts who come fro m Ita ly ~ to u rists fr o m Italy
T h e s e a d n o m in a l relativ e clauses are discu ssed in d etail in C h a p te r 17, th e

c h a p te r co n ce rn ed w ith n o u n ph rases. T w o types o f relativ e clau ses, h o w ev er,
a re discu ssed , in th is c h a p te r: th e n o m in a l relativ e clause ( 1 5 .8 /) a n d th e
s e n te n tia l relativ e clau se (15.57). T h e sta tu s o f th e n o m in al re la tiv e clau se is
in d e e d eq u iv o cal b etw een n o u n p h ra se a n d n o m in al cla u se , b u t its
re se m b la n c e to n o m in al clauses p ro p e r is sufficient to ju stify its tre a tm e n t
to g e th e r w ith them . T h e se n ten tial re la tiv e clau se does n o t fu n c tio n as a
m o d ifie r o f a .n o u n p h ra s e ; its relativ e item refers a n ap h o rica lly to a u n it
la rg e r th a n a p h ra se, usually to a clause b u t som etim es ev en to a series o f
se n te n c e s . T h e in clu sio n o f th e se n ten tial re la tiv e clause in th is c h a p te r is
w a rra n te d by its resem b lan ce in c e rta in resp ects to ad v erb ial clauses.
c o m p a r a t i v e c l a u s e s (c/1 5 .6 3 f f ) resem b le ad jectiv es an d a d v e rb s in th e ir
m o d ify in g fu n c tio n s:
H e ’s n o t as clev er a m a n as I thought.
I love you more d eep ly than le a n say.
S e m an tica lly , the c o m p a ra tiv e clauses to g eth e r w ith th e ir c o rre lativ e e lem en t
(eg: m ore, as, -er) are e q u iv a le n t to deg ree ad v erb s.
Nominal clauses
15.3 N o m in a l clauses (clauses a p p ro x im a tin g in fu n ctio n to n o u n p h ra ses) fall

in to s ix m ajo r C ategories:
ftar-c la u se s, o r su b o rd in a te d e clara tiv e c lauses (15.4)

su b o rd in a te in te rro g ativ e clauses (15.5 f )
N om inal clauses 1049
su b o rd in a te ex clam a tiv e clauses (15.7)

n o m in al re la tiv e clauses ( 1 5 .8 /)
M -infinitive c lau ses (1 5 .1 0 /)
-/«g clau ses (15.12 J f )
N o m in al cla u se s m ay ta k e it o r that as p ro -fo rm s:
I k n o w th a t y o u m ean well , b u t they d o n ’t k n o w it.

H o w a book sells d e p en d s on th e a u th o r, b u t it also d e p en d s o n the
p u b lish er.
I h o p e to see y o u tomorrow, b u t th a t d e p en d s o n th e w eather.
C ollecting sta m p s w as h er h o b b y , b u t sh e h as g iv en that up.
77>at-clauses
15.4 N o m in al t/iat-clau ses m ay fu n ctio n a s:
su b je c t: T h a t th e invading troops have been w ithdrawn h as n o t affected o u r

g o v e rn m e n t’s tra d e sanctions,
d irec t o b je c t: I n o tic e d that he spoke E nglish with an A ustralian accent.
su b ject c o m p le m e n t: M y a ssu m p tio n is th a t interest rates will soon fa ll.
a p p o sitiv e : Y o u r criticism , th a t no account has been taken o f psychological
fa cto rs, is fully justified,
a d je ctiv al c o m p le m e n ta tio n : W e a re g lad th a t y o u are able to join us on o u r
w edding anniversary.
T h ey m ay n o t, h o w ev er, fu n ctio n as o b jec t c o m p lem en t o r (b u t c /9 .2 ) a s

p re p o sitio n a l c o m p lem en t.
W h en th e that-cl&use is d irec t o b ject o r c o m p le m e n t, th e c o n ju n ctio n th a t
is freq u e n tly o m itte d ex cep t in fo rm al use, lea v in g a zero that- c la u se :
I k n o w it's late.
It is sim ilarly o m itte d freq u en tly w hen a su b ject l/w r-clause (w ith a n tic ip a to ry
it) is e x tra p o se d (c /1 8 .3 3 /r):
It's a p ity y o u d o n ’t know Russian.
B u t o th erw ise th a t c a n n o t be o m itted in a su b je ct clause, since w ith o u t th e

su b o rd in a te m a rk e r th e clause w ould be in itially m isin te rp reted as a m a in
clause:
* You d o n 't k n o w Russian is a p ity .
Subject fA at-clauses are usually e x trap o sed . E x tra p o sitio n is p a rticu la rly
p referred w h e n th e su p ero rd in ate clause is in te rro g ativ e o r p a ssiv e :
Is it p o ssib le th a t they can't afford to rent th a t apartm ent I

It w as th o u g h t th a t the cease-fire still held.
I f th e su p e ro rd in a te clause is ex clam ato ry , e x tra p o sitio n is o b lig ato ry :
H ow s tra n g e it is that the children are so q u ie t !

1050 S yn ta c tic and sem antic fun ction s of subordinate clauses
O b je c t that- clau ses a re n o rm ally ex trap o sed w h en th ey cooccur w ith an

o b je c t c o m p le m e n t:
T h e ir d a u g h te r’s success m ak es it very likely that she will return to

California.
N o te [a] A n o m in a l that- c lau se fu n c tio n in g as in d irect object is m arg in ally ac cep ta b le an d rare:
T h e y w ould n o t g iv e th a t she passed her examination with distinction an y co n sid e ratio n in
d e te rm in in g h e r salary.
[b] T h e zero //^ /-c la u s e is p artic u la rly com m on w hen th e clause is b rie f a n d uncom p licated .
R e te n tio n o f that is n ec essary u n d e r c e rtain co n d itio n s o th e r th a n w hen th e clause is a n
u n e x tra p o se d su b jec t:
(i) to clarify w h e th e r a n a d v e rb ia l belongs to th e m atrix clause o r th e th at- clause:
T h e y told us o n c e ag a in th a t th e situation was serious.
T h e y told us th a t once again the situation was serious.
(ii) to p re v e n t a c o o rd in a te d f/ja/-clause from being m isin te rp re te d as a co o rd in ated m a in
c lau se (c/1 4 .4 1 ):
I re a lise th a t I ’m in c h a rg e a n d that everybody accepts m y leadership.
'v I realize th a t I'm in c h a rg e , a n d everybody ac cep ts m y lead ersh ip .
(iii) w h e n th e o b je c t th a t-c la u s t is fro n te d (as w ith an in itia l su b ject clause):
T h a t she ever s a id such a thing I sim p ly d o n ’t believe.
(iv ) w h e n a clau se o r a lo n g p h ra s e in terv en es betw een th e v erb an d th e that- clause:
W e d ec id ed , in view o f h is sp ecial circum stances, that we w ould adm it him fo r a
probationary period.
[c] L ik e m o st o th e r n o m in a l clauses, n o m in al r/w f-clauses c a n n o t be o b je ct co m p lem en ts, b u t
a lte rn a tiv e re-in fin itiv e co n stru c tio n s a re availab le w ith som e v erb s ( c / 1 6 .5 0 /):
*1 th o u g h t his arg u m e n t th a t we should pay.
I th o u g h t h is arg u m e n t to be that we should pay.
A lso a finite c o n s tru c tio n : -
~ I th o u g h t (th a t) his argum ent was (that) we should pay.
[d] I f t h e su b ject o f th e r/iar-clause is a push d o w n w /i-elem ent (c /1 1 .1 8 ) a n d is th e refo re m oved
to th e fro n t o f th e su p e ro rd in a te clau se, th e su b o rd in ato r that m u st b e o m itte d , p erh ap s to
p r e v e n t that b ein g in itia lly m isin te rp re te d as subject o f th e follow ing v e r b :
W h o did she h o p e w ould be th e w in n e r? [1]
* W h o d id she h o p e that w ould b e th e w in n er? [la ]
T h e y p o in te d ’o u t th e d a m a g e which th ey supposed h ad been d o n e by la st n ig h t’s
sto rm . [2]
T h e y p o in ted p u t th e d a m a g e which th ey supposed th a t h ad b ee n do n e by last
n ig h t’s sto rm . [2a]
C o n tr a s t [ 1b] w ith [i ] a n d [la ] :
W h o d id she h o p e (that) th a t w ould b e? ^ [lb ]
In [ lb ] , th e seco n d th a t is in d e ed th e subject o f th e that- c lau se; who is th e subject co m p lem en t
an d th e re fo re th e su b o rd in a to r th a t m ay be optionally reta in e d , th e p resen ce o f a subject th at
b efo re th e v erb p re v e n tin g m isin te rp re ta tio n .
H e re a re sev eral o th e r e x a m p les o f o p tio n al that w hen th e w /i-elem ent is n o t th e subject a n d
h en c e a su b ject a p p e a r s b efo re th e v erb in th e that- clause:
W h o d o you e x p e c t (th a t) th e y h a v e chosen ?
S h e told m e hofr sh e th o u g h t (that) th e m ach in e w orked.
T h e y m e n tio n e d th e n a m e o f th e m e n (who) they knew (that) you h ad sp o k en to.
W / j-in t e r r o g a t i v e c la u s e s
15.5 S u b o rd in a te iv /i-in terro g ativ e clauses o ccur in th e w hole ra n g e o f fu n ctio n s
a v a ila b le to th e n o m in a l that-clause (c/1 5 .4 ) a n d in a d d itio n m ay fu n ctio n as
p re p o sitio n a l c o m p le m e n t:
s u b je c t: H o w the book will sell d e p en d s on th e review ers,

d ir e c t o b je c t: I c a n ’t im a g in e w hat they want with your address.
Nom inal clauses 1051
su b je ct c o m p le m e n t: T h e p ro b lem is who will water m y plants when I am

away.
a p p o s itiv e : Y o u r o rig in a l q u e stio n , why he d id not report it to the police
earlier, h as n o t yet b e en an sw ered .
ad je ctiv al c o m p le m e n ta tio n : I ’m n o t sure which she prefers.
p re p o sitio n al c o m p le m e n t: T h ey d id n o t consult us on whose nam es sh o u ld
be p u t forw ard.
T h ese su b o rd in a te clauses re sem b le w/i-questions sem an tically (c/T1.14

J f)
in th a t th ey leave a g a p o f u n k n o w n in fo rm atio n , re p resen ted b y th e w h -
e le m en t. C o n tra s t th e k n o w n in fo rm a tio n expressed in th e f/iat-clause w ith
th e u n k n o w n in fo rm a tio n in th e wA-clause:
I k now (that) Caroline w ill be th ere.
D o you k n o w who w ill b e th e re ?
I ’m sure (that) T ed h a s p aid .
I ’m n o t su re who h a s p aid .
T h e type o f su b o rd in a te w A -interrogative clause th a t m o st closely resem b les
iv/i-questions is th e in d ire c t wA-question (c/1 4 .3 3 ):
She a sk ed m e who w ould look a fte r the baby.
C o m p a re th e d ire c t q u e s tio n :
She a sk ed m e, ‘W h o w ill look a fte r th e baby ?’
B u t w e c a n claim a c h a in o f resem b lan ce from th e req u est for a n a n sw e r t o a

q u e stio n (as in th e in d ire c t q u e s tio n ) th ro u g h u n certain ty a b o u t th e a n sw e r
(as in I ’m not sure who will look a fte r the baby), c ertain ty a b o u t th e a n sw e r ( I t ’s
obvious who will look a fte r the baby), expressions o f o th e r m e n ta l s ta te s o r
p ro cesses a b o u t th e a n sw e r ( I fo u n d out who will look a fter the baby, I t ’s
irrelevant who will look a fte r the baby), a n d in fo rm in g a b o u t th e an sw e r ( I to ld
y o u who would lo o k a fter the baby). In all in stan ces a q u estio n is ex p lic itly o r
im p licitly raised , a q u e stio n fo cu sed o n th e ivA-element.
T h e re are also g ra m m a tic a l sim ilarities to in d ep e n d en t ivfi-questions:
(i) th e w /i-elem ent is p lac ed first in its clause, as in all th e ex am p les in th is

sectio n . I f th e w /j-elem ent is a p re p o sitio n a l p h rase, we h a v e th e sa m e c h o ices
as fo r th e tWi-element in w /i-questions ( c /1 1.14, a n d N o te [a] below ):
I ask ed th e m on w hat th e y b a se d th e ir predictions, ( f o r m a l)

I a sk ed th e m w hat th e y b a se d th e ir p red ictio n s on.
(ii) T h e w /i-elem ents h a v e th e sa m e ran g e o f fun ctio n s as th e w fi-elem ents

in w /i-questions (c /1 1 .1 5).
(iii) A lth o u g h th e s u b o rd in a te clause usually does n o t h a v e s u b je c t-

o p e ra to r in v ersio n , su ch in v e rs io n m ay occur, p articu larly w h e n th e c lau se
fu n c tio n s as c o m p lem en t a n d th e su p e ro rd in ate v erb is | o r w h en it fu n c tio n s
as a p p o sitiv e :
T h e p ro b lem is who can we g e t to replace her.

1052 S y n ta c tic and sem antic functions of subordinate clauses
Y o u r o rig in al q u e stio n , why d id he not report it to the police earlier , h as

n o t yet b e e n an sw ered .
F u rth e rm o re , th e su p e ro rd in a te p red icatio n s th a t allow w/i-clauses will

g e n erally also allow y e s-n o in terro g ativ e c la u se s:
W h eth er the book w ill sell d e p en d s on the review ers.

I ’m n o t sure whether she prefers coffee.
T h e y d id n o t c o n su lt us o n whether our nam es should be p u t forw ard.
A n in fin itiv e w /i-clause c an b e form ed w ith all w/i-words, th o u g h in stan c es

w ith w h y a re r a r e :
I d o n ’t k n o w w hat to say. [‘ . . . w h at I should say .’]

Y o u m u st e x p la in to th e m how to start the motor.
[4 . . . h ow o n e /th e y should sta rt th e m o to r.’]
I n e v e r k n o w who to speak to. [‘ . . . w ho o n e /I should sp e a k t o .’]
I ’m w o n d e rin g where to p u t m y coat. [‘ . . . w here I sh o u ld p u t m y c o a t.’]
I ’m w o n d e rin g w hy to go a t all. [‘ . . . w hy I should go a t all.’]
T h e in fin itiv e c lau se h a s a n o b lig atio n al sense.
N o te [a] A s w ith w /i-questions (c/1 1 .1 5 N o te [a]), th e final p rep o sitio n follow ing be in c e rta in in fo rm al
q u e s tio n s m u s t b e d e f e r r e d :
I c a n im ag in e w h a t it is like. [*like what it is]
I ’m n o t sure who it’s fo r . [*for whom it is]
T h e p r e p o s itio n is g en e ra lly d e fe rre d in :
I c a n ’t u n d e rs ta n d w hat y o u d id th a t fo r . [*for what yo u d id that]
[b] I n lite ra ry style, s u b je c t-v e rb in v ersio n occasionally occurs w h en th e w /i*elem ent is th e
su b je c t co m p le m e n t o r an o b lig a to ry ad v e rb ial, p articu larly if th e su b ject is le n g th y :
S h e to ld us h o p strong w as her m otivation to engage in research.
I t to o k m e so m e tim e to d isco v e r in which village stood the m em orial to our fa lle n com rades.
In a d d itio n su b je c t-o p e ra to r in v e rsio n is com m on in Irish E nglish a n d d ia le c ta lly :
W h e n e v e r I see h e r, sh e ask s when will I be visiting her mother.
[c] P re p o sitio n s a re o p tio n a lly o m itte d before wh- c lau ses:
W e h a v e solved th e p ro b le m (o f) who was a t fa u lt.
I ’m n o t su re (about) w hat to do.
[d] T h e r e m a y be m ^ re th a n o n e w /j-elem ent in th e clau se:
I d o n ’t know wfio w a n ts what. \
C o m p a r e th e m u ltip le w /i-elem ents in iv/i-questions ( c f 11.19).
[e] T h e c a se d is tin c tio n in fo rm a l co n tex ts betw een subjective who a n d o b je ctiv e whom d ep e n d s
o n th e fu n ctio n o f th e w /i-w ord in its clau se:
I d o n o t k n o w w ho w ants you.
r , ,, (w h o y o u want.
I d o n o t know < , ' . ,c IV
\]w hom y o u want. < fo rm a l)
T h e d is tin c tio n a p p lie s reg ard less o f a governing prep o sitio n in th e su p e ro rd in a te clause, since
th e c o m p le m e n t o f t h e p re p o sitio n is th e w hole clause, n o t th e nVr-word :
I t d ep e n d s o n w ho wants you.
_ , . (w h o y o u want.
epen s o n y 0U warif ^ fo rm a l)
N ev e rth e le ss, th e p re c e d in g p re p o sitio n som etim es influences sp eak ers to use o b je ctiv e whom as
a h y p e rc o rre c tio n e v e n w h e n it h a s th e fu n ctio n o f subject in th e wh- clause. E x c ep t in fo rm al
c o n te x ts, who is u se d fo r all fu n ctio n s.
W h a t w e h av e s a id in th is N o te ap p lies equally to th e case d istin c tio n b etw e en su b jectiv e
whoever a n d fo rm a l o b je c tiv e w hom ever in no m in al relativ e clauses.
[f] S o m e noun p h ra s e s c o rre sp o n d sem an tically to su b o rd in ate w /j-clauses, in c o n tex ts w here
su ch c lau ses a re also a p p r o p r i a te :
Nominal clauses 1053
H e ex p lain ed th e w ay to th e park . . . . ho w to g et to (he p a rk .’] [1]

W e found o u t th e tim e it ta k e s to get th e re . [‘ . . . ho w long it ta k es to g et th e re .’] [2]
I d o n 't kn o w th e ( C ulprit' [‘ ' ' ' w ho th e cUlP rit is’ ' [3]
[p e rso n you w ant.
S h e ask ed th e reaso n fo r th e delay. [ * . . . w h y th e re w as a delay.’] [4]
E x a m p le [3] c a n also m e a n ‘I am n o t ac q u a in te d w ith th e cu lp rit/th e person you w a n t’.
Y e s -n o and alternative interrogative clauses

15.6 S u b o rd in a te y e s-n o in te rro g ativ e clau ses ( c f 11.i f f ) an d su b o rd in a te
a lte rn a tiv e in te rro g ativ e clauses ( c f 1 1 .2 0 / ) o ccur in th e w hole ran g e o f
fu n c tio n s av ailab le to su b o rd in a te w /i-in terro g ativ e clauses (c/1 5 .5 ), an d m a y
in clu d e in fin itiv e clauses. T h e y es-n o clau se is in tro d u ced by th e su b o rd in a to rs
w hether o r i f
D o you k n o w whether the banks are open ?

I w o n d e r i f you can help me.
T h e a lte rn a tiv e clauses a re fo rm ed w ith th e correlatives whether . . . o r o r

i f . . . o r:
whether
I c a n ’t fin d o u t the flig h t has been deLAYED o r
if
whether
it has been CANcelled. [ 1]
if
If, a s in [1], th e seco n d u n it is a full clau se, th e su b o rd in ato r is re p ea te d . I t is
n o t re p ea te d in [2 -4 ], w here th e seco n d u n it is a n a b b rev iate d fo rm :
T h ey d id n ’t say whether it w ill r a i n o r be sO rn y. [2]

I ask ed th em i f they w anted m e a t o r f i s h . [3]
I d o n ’t care i f they j 6 i n u s o r N dT. [4]
T h e a b b re v ia te d fo rm s p arallel th o se fo r in d ep e n d en t a lte rn a tiv e y e s-n o

q u estio n s ( c f 11.21). R e p etitio n is o p tio n a l w ith to-infinitive c la u s e s :
H e d id n ’t tell us whether to w a it f o r him o r (whether) to go on w ith o u t h im .
B u t th e su b o rd in a to r is n o t re p e a te d if th e second clause is a b b re v ia te d b y
th e o m issio n o f th e in fin itiv al t o :
H e d id n ’t tell us whether to w a it f o r h im o r go on w ithout him .
W hether-clauses pose a lte rn a tiv e s m o re o bviously th a n i/-clauses, w h ich c a n

be a m b ig u o u s b etw een th is c o n stru ctio n a n d th a t o f c o n d itio n al clau ses.
UTiet/ier-clauses, u n lik e (/’- clauses, m ay be used w here th e re is little
resem b lan c e to a n in d ire c t q u e s tio n :
I t ’s irre le v a n t | she’s under sixteen.
Y ou h av e to ju stify y o u r jo u rn e y is re a lly necessary.
I f te n d s to be m o re freq u e n t th a n w hether in in fo rm al style for yes-n o clau ses.

O n t h e o th e r h an d , i f is m o re re stric te d sy n tactically th a n whether. I t m u st

o c c u r a s c o m p le m e n ta tio n o f verbs a n d ad jectiv es, in consequence o f w h ich
it is e x c lu d e d fro m c ertain c ontexts:
(i) / /'c a n n o t in tro d u c e a subject clause u n less th e clau se is e x tra p o se d :
W h e th e r sh e likes the present

is n o t c lear to m e.
* I f s h e lik e s the present
she likes the present.
(ii) / / c a n n o t in tro d u ce a subject c o m p le m e n t c la u s e :
M y m a in p ro b lem rig h t now is w hether I should a sk fo r another loan.

? * M y m a in p ro b lem rig h t no w is i f I should a sk fo r another loan.
(iii) T h e (/-clause can n o t b e th e co m p le m e n t o f a p re p o sitio n :
I t all d e p e n d s o n whether they will support us.

? * It all d e p e n d s o n i f they will support us.
(iv ) T h e ( /c la u s e c a n n o t b e a n a p p o sitiv e :
Y o u h a v e y et to a n sw e r m y q u estio n , w hether I can count on your vote.

?* Y o u h a v e y et to a n sw e r m y q u estio n , i f l e a n count on your vote.
In a d d itio n :
(v) / / c a n n o t in tro d u c e a to-infinitive clau se:
I d o n ’t k n p w whether to see m y doctor today.

*1 d o n ’t k n o w i f to see m y doctor today.
(v i) / / c a n n o t be follow ed d irectly by or not'.
H e d id n ’t say whether or not he'll be staying here.

* H e d id n ’t sa y i f or not h e'll be staying here.
B ut or n o t c a n b q p o stp o se d :
H e d id n ’t say i f he'll be staying here or not.
N o te [a] T h e r e is a clo se co n n e ctio n b etw een co n d itio n a l i f a n d in terro g ativ e i f b o th convey d o u b t

a b o u t th e tr u th v alu e o f th e clause. C o m p a re :
I f s h e w a n ts you, (th e n ) she w ill say so.
D o e s sh e w a n t yo u ? (T h en ) sh e will say so.
W h ere a m b ig u ity m a y arise , in to n a tio n o r p u n c tu a tio n se p a ra tio n m ay som etim es be n ecessary
to d is tin g u is h th e in terro g a tiv e fro m th e co n d itio n a l c la u s e :
in te rro g a tiv e [ S V O f l A :
I ’ll te ll you la te r i f le a n fi n d the time. \ i f = whether]
c o n d itio n a l [SYO iA]'.
I ’ll te ll you la te r, i f I can fi n d the time. [‘I f I ca n find th e tim e, I ’ll tell you la te r.’]
[b] A s w ith either ( c f 13.3 9/"), whether or i f c a n b e used fo r m o re th a n tw o choices, d esp ite a
tra d itio n o f b in a ry asso cia tio n ( c / 1 5.41 N o te [d ]):
I d o n ’t c a re whether you d o y o u r hom ew o rk or play o u tsid e or go to bed.
[c] O n w hether- a n d /-c la u s e s as c o m p lem en tatio n o f v erb s such as doubt, c f 16.73.
[d] T h e re is so m e p resc rip tiv e ob jectio n to or not as re d u n d a n t.
Exclam ative clauses

15.7 S u b o rd in a te e x clam a tiv e clau ses generally fu n ctio n as ex tra p o se d subject,
d ire c t o b ject, o r p re p o sitio n a l co m p lem en t:
ex trap o sed su b je ct: I t ’s in cre d ib le how fa s t she can run. [‘I t ’s in cred ib le
th a t sh e c an r u n so f a s t.’]
d irect o b jec t: I re m e m b e r what a good tim e I h a d a t yo u r party.
[‘I rem em b er t h a t I h a d such a good tim e at y o u r p a rty .’]
p re p o sitio n a l c o m p le m e n t: I read an a ccount o f w hat an impression you
had m ade. [‘I re a d a n a cc o u n t th a t you h ad m ad e a n e x cellen t (or a
terrib le) im p re ss io n .’]
A s in in d ep e n d en t e x c la m a tiv e clauses ( c f 11.31 / ) , th e e x clam ativ e e lem en t
is form ed w ith w hat a s p re d e te rm in e r in a no u n p h ra se a n d how as in ten sifier
o f a n ad jectiv e, a d v e rb , o r clau se; the ex clam ativ e ele m en t is p o sitio n ed
in itially regardless o f its n o rm a l p o sitio n in a d e clarativ e clause.
S u b o rd in ate e x c la m a tiv e clauses generally h a v e th e sam e form a s
su b o rd in a te in te rro g a tiv e clauses in tro d u ced by what o r how ( c f 15.5).
H ow ever, in e x c la m a tiv e clauses what is a p re d e te rm in e r (p reced in g th e
in d efin ite article), w h ile in in terro g ativ e clauses what is e ith e r a c e n tra l
d e te rm in e r o r a p ro n o u n . T h u s [1 ] w ith p re d eterm in er w hat is u n am b ig u o u sly
ex clam ativ e, w h ile [2] w ith c en tral d e term in er w hat a n d [3] w ith p ro n o u n
what are u n a m b ig u o u sly in te rro g a tiv e :
T h ey d id n ’t k n o w w h a t a crime he had com m itted.
[‘ . . . th e te rrib le c rim e h e h a d co m m itted .’; c f. W h a t a crime he
had c o m m itted /] [1 ]
T h ey d id n ’t k n o w w hat crim e he had com m itted.

[‘ . . . th e id e n tity o f th e crim e he h a d c o m m itte d .’; c f. W hat
crime h a d he c o m m itte d ?] [2 ]
T hey d id n ’t k n o w w h a t the crime was.
[‘ . . . th e id e n tity o f th e c rim e ’; cf: W hat was the crime?} [3]
T h e d istin c tio n b e tw e e n p re d eterm in er a n d c en tral d e te rm in e r what is
n eu tralized for n o n c o u n t n o u n s (what foolishness ) an d p lu ral n o u n s (w hat
crimes).
I f th e s u p e ro rd in a te c lau se h a s a p red icatio n a p p ro p ria te fo r b o th types o f
clauses an d th e w /i-w ords a re how o r what w ith a n o n c o u n t o r p lu ral n o u n , th e
su b o rd in ate clau se m a y b e a m b ig u o u s:
Y ou c a n ’t im a g in e w hat difficulties I have with m y children.
ex clam ato ry in te r p r e ta tio n : Y ou c a n ’t im ag in e th e g re a t difficulties I
hav e w ith m y c h ild ren ,
in te rro g ativ e in te r p r e ta tio n : Y ou c a n ’t im ag in e th e k in d s o f difficulty
I h av e w ith m y c h ild ren .
I told h er how la te sh e was.

e x clam a to ry i n te r p r e ta tio n : I told h e r she w as very late,
in te rro g a tiv e in te r p r e ta tio n : I told h e r th e e x te n t to w h ich she w as
late.
1056 S yn ta c tic and sem antic fun ction s o f subordinate clauses
W e all sa w how strange a look she gave him.

e x clam ato ry in te r p r e ta tio n : W e all saw th a t she gave h im a n extrem ely
s tra n g e look.
in te rro g a tiv e in te rp re ta tio n : W e all saw the e x ten t to w h ic h th e look
she g a v e h im w as stran g e.
N om ina l relative clauses

15.8 N o m in a l re la tiv e clauses resem b le wA -interrogative clauses (c /1 5 .5 ) in th a t
th ey a re also in tro d u ced b y a tv/i-element. Indeed, a m a jo r reaso n for
in clu d in g n o m in a l relativ e c lau ses in th is c h ap ter is th a t it is o ften difficult to
d istin g u ish th e m from th e in te rro g a tiv e clauses.
O n th e o th e r h a n d , in som e resp ects n o m in al relativ e clauses are m o re like
n o u n p h ra ses, since th ey c a n be c o n crete as well as a b s tra c t a n d can re fe r
e v e n to p erso n s. In fa c t, we c a n p a ra p h ra se th em by n o u n p h ra se s c o n ta in in g
a n o u n h e ad w ith g en eral re fe re n ce t h a t is m odified b y a re la tiv e c la u s e :
W hoever d id that sh o u ld a d m it it frankly.

[‘T h e p e rso n w h o d id t h a t . . . ’]
I to o k w hat they offered m e.
[‘ . . . th e th in g (s) th a t th ey o ffered m e .’]
M a c y ’s is where I buy m y clothes.
[‘ . . . th e p lace w h ere I b u y m y clo th es.’]
C o m p a re also th e p a ra p h ra s e w h en th e wA-element is a d e te rm in e r:
I to o k w hat books she gave m e. [‘ . . . th e books th a t she g av e m e .’]
F u rth e rm o re , n o m in a l re la tiv e clauses sh are w ith n o u n p h ra se s a w id e r ran g e

o f fu n c tio n s th a n a re a v a ila b le to o th e r n o m in al clauses (see below ). In
a d d itio n , lik em o u n p h ra ses, th e y m ay d isplay n u m b er c o n co rd w ith th e v erb
o f th e se n ten c e (c/1 0 .3 4 ). C o n tra s t fo r e x a m p le :
W hatever book y o u see is yours to tak e.

W hatever books I have in the house are borrow ed fro m th e p u b lic lib rary .
T h e n o m in a l re la tiv e clau se is b asically a noun p h ra se m o d ified by a n

a d n o m in a l re la tiv e clau se ( c f 1 7 .9 /0 , ex cep t th a t its w /i-elem ent is m erg ed
w ith its a n te c e d e n t (th e p h ra se to w h ich th e wA-element refers). I n th a t
re sp ec t th e n o m in a l re la tiv e clau se is m o re self-contained th a n th e a d n o m in a l
relativ e cla u se an d c a n fu n c tio n as a n elem en t in a s u p e ro rd in a te clause.
C o m p are th e n o m in a l re la tiv e c lau se in [1] w ith th e n o u n p h ra se in [la ] :
I e a t w h a l I like. [1]
I e a t th a t which I like. < form al> [ 1 a]
In [la ], w h ic h h a s a p p ro x im a te ly th e sam e m ean in g as [1], th e a n te c e d e n t o f

th e a d n o m in a l re la tiv e clause is that.
T h e w h -ite m m a y b e a p ro n o u n , su ch a s w hat in [2], a d e te rm in e r, su ch as
w hat in [3], o r a n a d v erb , s u c h as where in [4]:
S h e ta s te d what I b o u g h t. [2]
S h e saw w hat f o o d I b o u g h t. [3]
H e re is where I b o u g h t th e food. [4]
O n th e iv/i-item s th a t fu n c tio n as n o m in al relativ es, c f 6.35 N o te [b].

T h e vv/i-element m ay fu n ctio n w ith in th e n o m in al relativ e clause as su b je ct,
d irec t o b jec t, su b ject co m p lem en t, o b ject co m p lem en t, a d v erb ial, o r
p re p o sitio n a l c o m p le m e n t:
su b je ct: W hat h a p p en e d (u p set him ).

(T h ey w elco m ed ) whatever visitors cam e th e ir way.
d ire c t o b je c t: W hat he saw (u p set him ).
(She took) w hat sh e needed,
su b ject c o m p le m e n t: W hat she b ecam e in la te r life (distressed h e r frien d s).
(I'm h a p p y w ith ) what I am .
o b ject c o m p le m e n t: (T h a t’s) w hat she calls h er sister,
a d v e r b ia l: W here sh e w en t (w as M an ch ester).
(N o w is) when I need you.
p re p o sitio n a l c o m p le m e n t: (I’ll show you) w hat you c a n o p en th e b o ttle
w ith .
T h ere are s o m e re stric tio n s o n th e u se o f th e iW i-element:
(a) T h e d e te rm in e r w hat is o nly m arg in ally acc ep ta b le w h en th e w /i-elem ent

is su b ject. C o n tra s t [5] w ith [5a]:
?(T h ey glad ly acc ep te d ) what m oney c am e th e ir way.

[iv/i-elem ent as S] [5]
(T h ey g ladly a cc ep te d ) what m oney p eo p le gave to th em .
[w /i-elem ent a s O d] [5a]
C o n tra s t [5] also w ith [5b], w h ere th e d e te rm in e r whatever is fully a c c e p ta b le :
(T h ey gladly a cc ep te d ) whatever m oney cam e th e ir w ay. [5b]
(b) W hich, whom, a n d who (in its no n sp ecific m ean in g , c /1 5 .9 ) a re re stric te d

to co o cc u rren c e w ith a sm all sem an tic class o f v erb s (choose, like, please, w ant,
wish):
ol f whomiever) she pleases, ( f o r m a l) )

S he c a n m a r r y ] , , )
\w ho(ever) she pleases. J
[‘ . . . an y o n e th a t/w h o /w h o m she p lea se s.’]
Y ou c a n ta k e w h ich ever) yo u like.
[‘ . . . an y (th at) you lik e .’]
In th is e n v iro n m e n t, th e th re e relativ es h a v e a nonspecific m ea n in g (c /1 5 .9 ).
(c) W ho in its specific m ea n in g (c /1 5 .9 ) is m o st freq u en tly fo u n d in a c la u se

fu n c tio n in g as su b ject c o m p lem en t, p a rticu la rly a fte r th a t’s:
Y o u ’re n o t who I thought you were. [‘ . . . th e perso n I th o u g h t you w e re .’]

So t h a t ’s who h e ’s w orking fo r.
I ’m who you're looking fo r.
H o w a n d w hy a re gen erally re stric te d to th e sam e en v iro n m en t ( c f also N o te

[b] below ):
T h a t ’s h o w sh e w orks. . th e w ay (th at) she w o rk s.’]

T h a t ’s /joiv long it takes. [‘ . . . th e len g th o f tim e ( th a t) it ta k e s .’]
T h is is h o w big it was. (‘ . . . th e size (th at) it w a s.’]
T h a t ’s w h y I d o n ’t go there anymore. [‘ . . . th e re aso n ( th a t) I d o n ’t go
th ere a n y m o r e .’]
N o m in a l re la tiv e clau ses have the sam e ra n g e o f fu n c tio n s as n o u n phrases.

In a d d itio n to th e fu n c tio n s available generally to n o m in a l clauses, they c an
f u n c tio n as in d ir e c t o b jec t a n d o bject c o m p le m e n t:
s u b je c t: W h a t I w ant is a cu p o f h o t cocoa,
d ir e c t o b je c t: Y o u sh o u ld see whoever deals with complaints.
in d ir e c t o b j e c t : H e g a v e whoever a sked fo r it a copy o f his la te st p ap er,
s u b je c t c o m p le m e n t: A p ril is when the lilacs bloom.
o b je c t c o m p le m e n t: Y o u c an call m e w h a te v e r )y o u like.
a p p o s itiv e : I ’ll p a y you th e w hole d e b t: what I originally borrowed a n d what
I ow e y o u in interest.
p re p o s itio n a l c o m p le m e n t: Y ou should vote fo r w h ich ever) candidate you
th in k best.
L ik e n o u n p h r a s e s , n o m in a l relative clauses re q u ire p re p o sitio n s in a d jectiv e

c o m p le m e n ta tio n :
C o n tr a s t th e o p tio n a lity o f th e p rep o sitio n w ith w /i-in terro g ativ e clauses ( c f

15.5 N o te [c]).
T o -in fin itiv e cla u se s m ay be n o m in al relativ e clauses, b u t th ey seem to be
re stric te d to -the fu n c tio n s o f subject c o m p le m e n t a n d p rep o sitio n al
c o m p le m e n t: J
su b je ct c o m p le m e n t: T h a t’s where to go fo r yo u r n e x t vacation.

[‘ . . . th e p la c e to g o . . . ’]
p re p o sitio n a l,c o m p le m e n t: T h e b o o k is on how to use a computer.
[‘ . . . th e w a y to u s e . . . ’] \
E x clu d ed as r e la tiv e s in to-infinitive clauses a re all th e -ever c o m p o u n d s an d

which, why, a n d th e d e te rm in e r what. T h e p ro n o m in a l re la tiv e s who(m ) an d
what d o n o t f u n c tio n a s su b ject w ith in th e in fin itiv e clau se, b u t o th erw ise
have t h e sam e ra n g e o f fu n c tio n s as in th e finite c la u s e s :
I
d ire c t o b jec t :|H e re ’s w hat to eat. [‘ . . . th e th in g to e a t.’]

in d ire c t o b je c t: T h a t’s who(m) to a sk. [‘ . . . th e p e rso n to a s k .’]
su b je ct c o m p le m e n t: T h a t’s who to be. [‘ . . . th e role to b e .’]
o b jec t c o m p le m e n t: H e re ’s what to call your dog. [‘ . . . th e n a m e to call
y o u r d o g .’]
a d v e rb ia l: T h is is where to be. [‘ . . . th e p lace to b e .’]
p re p o sitio n a l c o m p le m e n t: T h is is what to season the rice with. [‘ . . . the
sp ic e to s e a s o n th e rice w ith .’]
N o te [a) N o m in a l relativ e clauses h a v e also b een called ‘in d e p en d en t’ o r Tree’ relative clauses.
[b] W h y is sometimes used in a pseudo-cleft sentence with a correlative because in th e
superordinate clause (c/T5.46 Note [h]):
W h y w e left early w as bec au se w e w ere tired .
[c] T h e re m ay be occasio n al a m b ig u ity betw een a n om inal relative clause a n d a u n iv e rsa l
conditio n al-co n cessiv e clause ( c f 15.42):
C om e here, whoever yo u are.
relativ e in te r p r e ta tio n : C o m e h ere, you (I d o n 't know your nam e),
concessive in te r p r e ta tio n : C o m e h ere, n o m a tte r w ho you are.
[d ]O n th e ch o ice b etw een su b jec tiv e whoever a n d form al objective whomever, c /1 5 .5 N o te[e].
[e] W h e n a v erb c a n b e used tra n sitiv e ly o r intran sitiv ely , th e re m ay be a m b ig u ity w ith tim e o r
place ad v erb ials b o th w ith n o m in a l re la tiv e clauses an d co rresp o n d in g noun p h rases w ith
relativ e clauses:
S h e rem em b ered { wJ*e,[ s^ e m e' 1 [direct object o r tim e adverbial]

( th e tim e she sa w m e. J
15.9 T h e w /j-elem ent m ay e x p ress e ith e r a s p e c i f i c m ean in g (generally in d ic a te d

b y th e a b sen ce o f th e -ever suffix) o r a n o n s p e c i f i c m ea n in g (g en erally
in d icated by th e p resen ce o f th e -ever suffix):
s p e c if ic :
I to o k what was on the k itch en table. [‘ . . . th a t w h ich w as o n th e

k itc h e n ta b le .’] [ 1]
M ay is when she ta kes her last examination. [‘ . . . th e tim e w h en
she tak es h e r last e x a m in a tio n .’] [2 ]
n o n s p e c if ic :
W hoever breaks this la w d e se rv e s a fine. [‘A ny o n e w ho b re ak s th is

l a w . . . ’] [3]
I ’ll sen d whatever is necessary. [‘ . . . a n y th in g th a t is n e ce ssa ry .’] [4]
A s th e p a rap h ra se s in d ic a te , th e iW i-element in [1] a n d [2] is specific, w h ile in

[3] a n d [4] it is n onspecific. T h e c o n tra st is hig h lig h ted in :
Q u ality is what counts m ost. [‘ . . . is th a t w hich co u n ts m o s t.’]
Q u ality is whatever counts m ost. [‘ . . . is a n y th in g th a t co u n ts m o st.’]
T h e first sen ten ce, w ith sp ecific what, is a pseudo-cleft sen ten ce ( c f 1 8 .2 9 /)
co rresp o n d in g to Q uality counts m o st [‘Q u ality is suprem ely im p o rta n t.’]; th e
second sen ten ce, w ith n o n sp ecific whatever, p u rp o rts to define quality. T h e
tw o m ean in g s p arallel th o se co n v ey ed by specific some (a n d its co m p o u n d s)
an d nonspecific a n y (an d its co m p o u n d s); c f 6.5 9ff.
T h ere are p ro b lem s in so m e in stan ces in d istin g u ish in g n o m in a l re la tiv e
clauses from W i-in terro g ativ e clauses. T h ey differ sy n tactically in sev eral
resp ects:
(a) W hile an in te rro g a tiv e clau se as subject m u st tak e a sin g u lar v e rb , a
n o m in al relativ e clause m a y ta k e e ith e r a sin g u lar o r a p lu ral v erb , d e p e n d in g
o n th e m ean in g o f th e vv/i-elem ent:
W h a t m oney I h av e is y ours. [‘T h e m oney (th at) I h av e is y o u rs.’]
W h a t possessions I h a v e are yours. [‘T h e possessions (th at) I h a v e a re
y ours.’]
W h a t w ere le ft b e h in d were five em p ty bottles. [‘T h e th in g s ( th a t) w ere
left b e h in d were five e m p ty b o ttle s.’]
1060 S yn ta c tic and sem antic fun ction s o f subordinate clauses
F o r t h e n u m b e r choice, c /1 0 .3 4 ,10.38. A s w e h ave suggested e arlie r (c/1 5 .8 ),

th e n u m b e r v a ria tio n is in d icativ e o f th e g rad ien ce betw een th e iWi-element
o f a n o m in a l relativ e clause a n d a n o u n p h rase.
( b ) W h ile a n in terro g ativ e clau se allow s a choice in the p lac em e n t o f the

p re p o s itio n in a ivft-element (r/1 5 .5 ), a n o m in al relative clause req u ires the
iv/j-w ord to be p laced first a n d th e p re p o sitio n to be d e fe rre d :
T h e y a te w hat they p aid fo r.

~ T h e y a te f o r what they paid.
( c f : T h ey a te th e th in g s fo r which they paid, [adnom inal relativ e
clause])
W hoever they lend the m oney to m u st b e trustw orthy.
( c f : A nybody to whom they lend the m oney m u st b e tru stw o rth y )
M a k e sure you in clu d e in th e e x am in atio n p a p er whatever questions they
d id n ’t kn o w the answers to last tim e.
[p u sh d o w n n o m in al relativ e c lau se, c f l 1 .18]
(c) W ho, whom, a n d which a re c o m m o n in in terro g ativ e clauses, b u t in

n o m in a l relativ e clauses they a re re stric te d to cooccurrence w ith a sm all
s e m a n tic class o f v erb s (choose, like, please, want, wish); c/1 5 .8 .
(d) T h e co m p o u n d form s in -ever a re used in n o m in al relativ e clauses, b u t

n o t in in te rro g ativ e clauses. T h u s w hile T h ey a sked m e what I d id n ’t know is
a m b ig u o u s (see below ), They a sk e d m e whatever I didn't know is u n am b ig u o u sly
re la tiv e (‘T h ey a sk ed m e those th in g s th a t I d id n ’t k n o w .’) (< /N o te [c]).
(e) U n lik e in in te rro g ativ e clauses, d e te rm in e r what in n o m in a l relativ e

c la u se s h a s a pkucal m e a n in g :
W h a t frien d s she has are o u t o f th e co u n try .
[‘T h e few frien d s she h a s are o u t o f th e c o u n try .’]
H e collected what information he couldfind.
[‘H e collected th e little in fo rm a tio n he could find.’]
I n th is fu n c tio n ,' what c a n be follow ed b y o nly th e p au cal q u an tifiers fe w a n d

little (w h a t few frie n d s, w hat little inform ation ) a n d n o t by th e m u ltal q u an tifiers
m a n y a n d much o r by c ard in al n u m era ls. F o r som e speakers th e d e te rm in e r
w hatever does not necessarily h a v e a p a u ca l m ean in g . L ik e what it c a n n o t be
fo llo w ed by n u m erals o r the m u ltal q u an tifiers, b u t for som e sp e a k ers it
c a n n o t b e follow ed by th e p au cal q u an tifiers eith er.
T h e sem an tio d istin c tio n b etw een th e in terro g ativ e vv/i-clause a n d the
n o m in a l relative! clause is e asier to ex em p lify th a n to define. T h e in te rro g ativ e
clau se c o n ta in s a g a p o f u n k n o w n in fo rm a tio n , expressed by th e iv/i-element,
a n d its su p e ro rd in ate clause e x p resses so m e co n cern w ith the clo sin g o f th a t
g a p , w ith supplying th e m issin g in fo rm a tio n . T h e n o m in al re la tiv e clause
do es n o t co n ta in a g ap in in fo rm atio n , a n d th erefo re th e su p e ro rd in ate clause
is n o t c o n cern ed w ith th e closing o f th a t g ap . T h e in fo rm atio n m ay in d eed
b e k n o w n to b o th sp e a k er an d h e are r, a s in I took what was on the kitchen
table. S in c e only th e n o m in al re la tiv e clau se c an be concrete, w h e n se m an tic
re stric tio n s in d icate th a t th e clau se is a p hysical object, th e clau se is
u n a m b ig u o u sly relativ e : I sent them w hat they needed. In o th er in stan c es th e
clau se m a y be a m b ig u o u s:
D o you re m e m b e r when iv<? got lo stl

relativ e in te r p r e ta tio n : D o you rem em b er th e o ccasio n , th e tim e w e
got lost?
in te rro g ativ e in te rp re ta tio n : D o you re m e m b e r w h en it w as we g o t
lost?
[‘W h en d id w e get lost? D o you re m e m b e r? ’]
T h ey a sk e d m e what I knew.
relativ e in te rp re ta tio n : T h ey asked m e th in g s th a t I knew ,
in te rro g ativ e in te rp re ta tio n : They a sk ed m e, ‘W h a t d o you k n o w ?’
W hat she wrote w as a m ystery,
re la tiv e in te r p r e ta tio n : She w rote a m ystery story,
in te rro g ativ e in te rp re ta tio n : I d o n ’t k now w h a t sh e w ro te.
N o te [a] T h e nonspecific m e a n in g o f th e w /j-elem ent often im plies p lu ra lity o f p erso n s, th in g s, o r

situ a tio n s:
W rite to who(ni)ever you w an t, [‘any p erso n s’]
G iv e m e b a c k w hatever you to o k from m y desk, ['th e vario u s o b je cts’]
H e w as h a p p y w ith w hatever sh e did. [‘an y ac tio n s ']1
T h e specific m e a n in g le av es th e n u m b e r und eterm in ed , ex c ep t th ro u g h co n te x t:
I to o k in w hat I fo u n d outsid e th e door, ['th e th in g ’ o r 'th e th in g s ’]
[b] N o nspecific who is o ccasio n ally found in nom in al relative clauses th a t a re n o t fu n ctio n in g as
su b ject co m p lem en t:
W ho should run th e business is m e. [clause as S]
I ’ve fo u n d who y o u were looking fo r . [clause as Od]
[c] W e d istin g u ish th e co m p o u n d iv/i-w ords in -ever (eg: whoever, whatever) fro m th e info rm al
in ten sify in g c o m b in a tio n s th a t a re norm ally spelled as tw o w ords (eg: who ever, what ever), w h ich
o ccasionally o c c u r in su b o rd in a te in terro g a tiv e clau ses: 1 can't im agine who ever would m arry him
[‘ . . . w ho on e a rth . . .’] ( c / 11.14 N o te[b ]).
7"o-infinitive clauses
15.10 N o m in al fo -in fin itiv e clauses m ay fu n ctio n a s :
s u b je c t: T o be neutral in this conflict is o u t o f th e q u estio n ,
d irect o b je c t: H e lik es to relax.
su b ject c o m p le m e n t: T h e b est excuse is to sa y th a t yo u have an
exam ination tomorrow morning.
a p p o s itiv e : Y o u r a m b itio n , to become a fa rm er, re q u ire s th e energy an d
p e rsev e ra n ce th a t you so obviously have,
a d je ctiv al c o m p le m e n ta tio n : I ’m very eag er to m e et her.
T h e p resen ce o f a su b ject in a fo-infinitive clau se n o rm ally req u ires th e
p resen ce o f a p re c e d in g /o r. W h en th e subject is a p ro n o u n t h a t d istin g u ish es
su b jectiv e a n d o b jec tiv e cases, it is in the o b jectiv e c a s e :
For yo u r country to be neutral in this conflict is o u t o f th e q u estio n .
For us to ta ke p a rt in the discussion w ould be a co n flict o f in terest.
I ’m v ery e ag e r f o r them to m eet her.
W h en th e clau se is a d ire c t ob ject, how ever, fo r is g en erally a b se n t b efore th e
s u b je c t:
H e l i k e s e v e r y o n e to r e la x .
B ut, e sp e cially in A m E , c e rta in v erb s o f w a n tin g a n d th e ir a n to n y m s allow

a n o p tio n a l f o r in th e o b je c t clause (c /1 6 .4 1 ):
H e d id n ’t lik e m e to be alone a t night.

H e d id n ’t lik e f o r m e to be alone a t night. < A m E o n ly )
P re p o s itio n a l v e rb s w ith f o r a n d a d jectives co m p lem en ted by a p re p o sitio n al

p h ra s e w ith fo r allow f o r to h a v e th e ad d itio n al fu n ctio n o f in tro d u c in g a to-
in fin itiv e clause w ith a su b je ct:
I a m w a itin g fo r her to say something, (cf: I am w a itin g for h e r reply.)

S h e m u st b e im p a tie n t fo r m e to be appointed, ( c f: S h e m u st b e im p a tie n t
fo r m y a p p o in tm e n t.)
A s w ith f/iof-clauses (c /1 5 .4 ), ex trap o sitio n is m o re u su al fo r su b ject clau ses:
I t 's im p o rta n t (fo r us) to agree on our position before the meeting.
O b je c t clau ses a re o b lig a to rily ex trap o sed w h en th ey c o o ccu r w ith an o b ject

c o m p le m e n t:
I t h in k it w ise r ( fo r m e) to leave a t once.

T h e y c o n sid er it th e ir d u ty to speak to his parents.
F o r o th e r ty p es o f n o m in a l fo-infinitive clauses, see also th e sectio n s d ealin g

w ith w /i-in terro g ativ e cla u se s (c /1 5 .5 ), y e s-n o a n d a lte rn a tiv e in te rro g ativ e
clau ses (c /1 5 .6 ), a n d n o m in a l relativ e clauses (< /15.8/ ) .
N o te [a] W h e n th e in fin itiv e clau se is n o t fun ctio n in g as d ire c t o bject, f o r is g en erally availab le.
C o n tr a s t:
E v e ry em ployee in m y c o m p a n y w ould p refer f o r m e to retire now. < A m E o n ly )
F or m e to retire n ow w ould b e p referre d by every em ployee in m y co m p an y .
F or is o b lig ato rily d m itte d , h o w ev er, in c e rta in con stru ctio n s w h ere th e focus is o n th e su b ject o f
th e in fin itiv e clause. T h u s , f o r is o p tio n a l in th e sentence
H e d i d n ’t like f o r m e to be alone a t night. <A m E o n ly )
B ut th e c le ft sen te n ce fo cu sin g o n th e subject o f th e clause is:
I t w a s m e he d id n 't like to b e alo n e a t night.
A n d th e m a tic fro n tin g o f th e su b je c t (c /1 8 .2 0 /) pro d u ces:
M e h e d id n 't lik e to be alo n e a t night.
S im ilarly , f o r is o m itte d in a q u e stio n focusing on th e subject:
W ho{m ) d id n ’t h e lik e to b e alo n e a t n ig h t?
O n th e o th e r h an d , iii a p seu d o -cleft sen ten ce th a t focuses o n th e w hole infin itiv e clause fo r m ay
b e re ta in e d , an d is in d e ed m o re usu al even in B rE :
W h a t he d id n ’t lik e w as { fo r ) m e to be alone at night.
[b] Som e A m E sp e a k e rs also use f o r w ith th e subject in an ob ject clau se follow ing w a n t :
H e w a n ts fo r m e]to go with him .
[c] W h e re th e subjecjt o f th e in fin itiv e clause c a n be m a d e p assiv e in th e s u p e ro rd in a te clause,
th e co n stru c tio n is co m p lex tra n sitiv e co m p lem en tatio n o f th e su p e ro rd in a te verb ( c /1 6 .5 0 /):
T h e y co n sid ered h er to be th e best candidate.
~ S h e w as co n sid e red to be th e best candidate.
By a n a lo g y w ith T h ey considered her the best candidate, to be the best candidate m a y b e analy sed
as o b je ct co m p lem en t o f her.
[ d ] F o r se n te n c e s su ch a s It w><wclever o f her to sta y away, c f 1 6.75/: F o r w ith a n d w ithout , c f 1 4 . 15.
15.11 T h e n o m in a l fo -in fin itiv e clau se o ften in d icates th a t th e p ro p o sitio n it

ex p resses is v iew ed as a p o ssib ility o r a p ro p o sal ra th e r th a n so m eth in g
alre ad y fulfilled ( c f : -ing clauses, 15.12). T h e infinitive clause is th e n c lo s e s t

se m an tically to a th a t- clause w ith p u ta tiv e should ( c f 14.25):
I t ’s n a tu ra l fo r them to be together. [ 1]
I t ’s n a tu ra l that th ey should be together. [ 1a]
T h is p u ta tiv e fe atu re o f th e in fin itiv e clau se m ay o ften be p a ra p h ra se d b y a

c o n d itio n a l c la u s e :
I p re fe r them to sta y with us. [2 ]

I p re fe r it i f they sta y with us. [ 2 a]
I t w ould b e u n w ise fo r y o u to m a rry him. [3]
I t w ould b e u nw ise i f y o u were to m arry him . [3a]
O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e in fin itiv e c lau se m ay also refer to a n a ctu al fa ct. T h u s

[ 1 ] c a n also b e p a ra p h ra s e d by [lb ]:
I t ’s n a tu ra l that they are together. [ 1 b]
In d e ed , th e in fin itiv e clau se m ay re fe r clearly to a pro p o sitio n th a t is a ssu m e d

to b e tru e o r (th ro u g h th e u se o f p e rfe c tiv e have) to a situ atio n th a t is a ssu m e d
to h a v e a lre ad y o c c u rre d :
T h ey fo u n d him to be m entally com petent to stand trial.

I ’m h a p p y to have m e t you.
T h e su b ject a n d th e su b ject c o m p le m e n t m ay b o th b e fo-infinitive clau ses,

in w h ich c ase th e seco n d clau se ex p resses a ch ara cte riz atio n o f th e fir s t:
To be hum an is to err. [‘I f o n e is h u m a n , o n e will e rr.’]

To be a m em ber o f the Space Club is to belong to one o f the m ost exclusive
clubs in the world.
-in g clauses
15.12 N o m in a l -ing clauses (or m o re fully, n o m in a l -ing p articip le clau ses) m a y
fu n c tio n a s:
su b je ct: W atching television k eep s th e m o u t o f m ischief,

d ire c t o b jec t: H e enjoys playing practical jo kes.
su b ject co m p le m e n t: H e r first jo b h a d b een selling computers.
a p p o s itiv e : H is c u rre n t re search , investigating attitudes to racial
stereotypes, tak e s up m o st o f h is tim e,
a d je ctiv al c o m p le m e n ta tio n : T h e y a re b u sy preparing a barbecue.
p re p o sitio n a l c o m p le m e n t: I ’m re sp o n sib le for drawing up the budget.
I f th e -ing clause h a s a su b ject, th e item realizin g th e subject m ay b e in th e

g en itiv e case o r o th erw ise in th e o b jectiv e case (fo r p ro n o u n s h a v in g a
d istin c tiv e o b jectiv e case) o r c o m m o n case (fo r all o th er n o u n p h rases). I n
g en eral, th e g e n itiv e is p re fe rre d if th e ite m is a p ronoun, th e n o u n p h ra s e
has p e rso n al referen ce, a n d th e style is fo rm al (c /1 6 .4 2 ):
I in te n d to voice m y o b jectio n s to their receiv in g a n in v ita tio n to

o u r m eetin g . [ 1]
C o n tr a s t th e p re fe re n ce for th e com m on case in [2], w here the item is a

n o n p e r s o n a l n o u n ph rase a n d n ot a p ro n o u n a n d th e style is n o t fo rm al:
I d i d n ’t k n o w a b o u t the weather b ein g so aw ful in th is area. [2 ]
T r a d itio n a l stip u la tio n o f th e gen itiv e case is b ased o n th e a ssu m p tio n th a t

th e -in g fo rm in su ch clauses is a verb al n o u n ( c f 1 7 .5 2 /) . T h a t a ssu m p tio n is
in c o r r e c t, as w e c a n see from th e d irect o b ject (an invitation to our m eeting)
th a t fo llo w s th e -ing form in [ 1 ], w hich d e m o n stra tes th a t th e -ing form h a s
th e f o r c e o f a v e rb . O n th e o th e r han d , th e use in [1] o f th e g en itiv e (w h ich is
a d e te r m in e r in n o u n p h rases) itself p ro v id es th e -ing fo rm w ith a n o m in a l
c h a r a c te ris tic ( c f also 15.13.)
T h e g e n itiv e is av o id ed w h en the n o u n p h ra se is len g th y an d req u ires a
g ro u p g e n itiv e ( c /1 7 .1 19):
D o y o u re m e m b e r the students a n d teachers protesting against the new

r u le 0!
O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e g en itiv e case is p re fe rre d w h en th e item is in itial in

th e s e n te n c e :
M y fo rg e ttin g her nam e w as em b arrassin g .
S o m e a r e tro u b le d by th e ch o ice o f case h ere. I n som e in stan ces, an a ccep tab le

a lte rn a tiv e is a ftaf-c la u se , w h ich is n o rm ally e x tra p o s e d :
I t w a s e m b a rra s sin g that Ifo rg o t her name.
U n lik e su b je ct f te - c la u s e s (c /1 5 .4 ) a n d fo-infinitive clauses ( c f 15.10),

su b je ct -ing cla u se s a re n o t n o rm ally e x trap o sed . T h e su p ero rd in ate clause
can b e in te rro g a tiv e o r p assiv e w ith o u t th e ex tra p o sitio n :
W ill our saving energy red u ce th e b u d g et d eficit?

P o stp o n in g the proposed legislation is b eing c o n sid ered by the
su b c o m m itte e.
i \
N o te [a] N o m in a l -ing clau ses a re som etim es called ‘g eru n d iv e ’ o r ‘geru n d iv al clauses’. T h e ir v erb is
c o m m o n ly ca lled a ‘g e ru n d ’.
[bj F o r m o n o tra n s itiv e a n d co m p lex -tran sitiv e co m p lem en tatio n w ith -ing clauses, c f 16.39,
16.42. F o r a d je c tiv e s th a t allow co m p lem en tatio n by an -ing clause, c/1 6 .8 3 .
[c] T h e p r e p o s itio n a l statu s o f worth ( c f 9.6) is co n firm ed by th e fact th a t it can govern a n o u n
p h ra se , a nom ina^ -ing clause w ith a genitiv e subject, a n d a n o m in al relativ e clause (b u t n o t a
r/joz-clause o r a fo-in fin itiv e c lau se):
S a n F ra n c isc o is w o rth ( M “ “ '

[your visinngjrequentiy.
T h e bicy cle is n o t w o rth what yo u p a id fo r it.
[d] T h e -in g fo rm in th e -ing clause occasionally ta k e s d eterm in ativ e s o th e r th a n th e g e n itiv e :
I ’m tire d o f a d th a t fe e d in g th e anim als every day.
T h is sm o k in g y o u r pipe on every possible occasion will ru in your health .
O n n o a n d a n y as d e te rm in e rs in th is co n stru ctio n , c / 1 5 .14.
15.13 A n o m in a l -ing clau se m ay refer to a fa ct o r a n a ctio n :
f a c t : Your driving a car to N ew York in your condition d istu rb s me

g re atly . [ 1]
a c t i o n : Your driving a car to N ew York took lo n g er th a n I expected. [2]
W h en a n -ing fo rm o c cu rs alo n e o r preceded ju st by a g e n itiv e no u n p h ra se ,

th e co n stru ctio n is sy n ta ctica lly am biguous b etw een a n -ing clause a n d a
no u n p h ra se w ith a v e rb a l n o u n in -ing as its head (c /1 7 .5 2 /D :
M y hobby is sw im m ing. [3]

I h a te lying. [4]
T h ey lik ed our singing. [5]
O ur singing in [5] c a n re fe r e ith e r to the a ctio n o f sin g in g o r to th e m o d e o f
singing. W ith o u t f u rth e r ex p an sio n by an object o r a n a d v e rb ia l, th e g e n itiv e
biases to w ard s a m o d e in te rp re ta tio n . In c o n trast, th e o b jec tiv e in [5a] a llo w s
only a n a ctio n in te rp re ta tio n :
T h ey liked u s sin g in g (w hile they w orked). [5a]
Since th e -ing clau ses in [1] an d [2] do n o t allow a m o d e in te rp re ta tio n , it

a p p ea rs th a t th is in te rp re ta tio n belongs to the n o u n p h ra se stru c tu re ra th e r
th a n to th e clause stru c tu re . Sim ilarly, w hen we ex p an d [5] by a d d in g a n
o bject an d th ereb y m a k in g th e -ing co nstruction u n am b ig u o u sly a clause, th e
m ode in te rp re ta tio n is n o lo n g er available. In [5b] th e -ing clau se refers t o a n
a ctio n :
T hey liked our singing f o l k songs. [5b]
C onversely, w h ere o n ly th e m o d e in te rp reta tio n is a v ailab le, w e m ay a ssu m e

th a t the co n stru ctio n is a n o u n p h rase:
Your driving h a s im p ro v e d considerably since I last saw you. [6 ]
C o n trast also [7] a n d [8 ], d istin g u ish ed only by th e p o sitio n o f fa s t:
I w arn ed h im a g a in s t f a s t driving. [7]

I w arn ed h im a g a in s t driving fa s t. [8 ]
In [I] fa s t is a n a d je ctiv e p rem o d ify in g th e n o u n driving, w h ic h is th e h e a d o f

th e no u n p h rase. In [8 ] th e a d v e rb f a s t is a n a d v erb ial in th e -ing clause driving
fa s t. C o m p are th e a n alo g o u s co n trastin g p a ir in [7a] a n d [8 a ] :
I w arn ed h im a g a in s t careless driving. [7a]

I w arn ed h im a g a in s t driving carelessly. [8 a]
W hen the -ing fo rm is alone and is th e d irec t o b ject, as in [4], tw o

in te rp reta tio n s o f th e im p lied subject a re often possible. T h u s, I hate lyin g
m ay m ea n ‘I h a te it w h e n I lie’, linking th e actio n specifically to th e su b je ct
o f th e su p e ro rd in ate clau se, o r it m ay generalize (‘I h a te it w h en peo p le lie ’).
W h en th e -ing c o n stru c tio n co n tain s a d irect o b ject o r a n ad v erb ial a n d is
th erefo re u n am b ig u o u sly clausal, th e usual in te rp re ta tio n is th a t th ere is a n
im p licit lin k to th e su p e ro rd in a te subject:
I h a te telling lies. [‘I h a te it w hen I tell lies.’]

T h ey enjoy sin g in g w h ile playing th e g u itar. [‘T h ey enjoy it w hen th e y
sing w hile p lay in g th e g u ita r.’]
B ut th is re stric tio n is n o t ab so lu te. It does n ot a p p ly a fte r v erb s o f sp eak in g ,

w here th e g en eric in te rp re ta tio n holds:
1066 S yn ta c tic an d sem antic fun ction s of subordinate clauses
S h e c o n d e m n e d a tta ckin g defenceless citizens.

[‘ . . . th a t p eo p le a tta c k d efen celess c itizen s.’]
T h e y re co m m e n d not paying taxes. [‘ . . . th a t people n o t p a y ta x e s.’]
I n o th e r in stan c es, th e im p lied su b je ct o f th e -ing clause m ay b e ta k e n fro m

th e c o n te x t o f th e s e n te n c e :
W ritin g t h a t letter w as his d o w n fall. [H e w rote th at letter]

D riv in g in h e av y traffic m ak e s m e nervous. [I drive in h e av y traffic]
B u t it m ay also b e d ra w n fro m th e p rev io u s linguistic co n te x t o r e v en fro m

th e s itu a tio n a l c o n te x t:
B o rro w in g su c h a larg e su m w as a b ig m istake.
A n d so m e se n ten c es m ay allow a g e n eric in te rp re ta tio n :
B o rro w in g larg e su m s is a b ig m istak e.
N o te [a] A n -ing fo rm m a y also be a co n c re te n o u n ( c / th e discussion in 17.54).

[b] In T h a i ivas a p la n o f his frie n d 's devising, th e -ing fo rm is a n -ing n o m in a liz a tio n ( c f 17.5 \f f ) .
C o m p a re H is fr ie n d devised the plan.
[c ]O n th e d is tin c tio n b etw een They lik e d our singing a n d They liked us to sing, c f 1 6 .40,16.42.
15.14 A n -ing clau se m a y be th e su b je ct o f a b a re existential clau se ( c f 18.47), in

w h ic h case it n o rm ally a p p e a rs in n o n assertiv e contexts ( c f 10.61). A s w ith
th e -ing clau se t h a t h as a g e n itiv e a s its subject ( c f 15.12), th is c o n stru c tio n is
an o m alo u s b e ca u se th e -ing fo rm is p re ce d ed by a d e te rm in e r, g en erally no
b u t less c o m m o n ly a n y :
T h e re ’s nol m ista kin g th a t voice. [‘O n e could n o t m ista k e th a t
v o ice.’]: [ 1]
T h ere w as no lighting fire w o rk s th a t day. [‘O ne could n o t h a v e lit
firew o rk s t h a t d a y .’] [2 ]
T h e re isn ’t an y telling w hat th ey will do. [‘O ne could n o t tell w h a t
th ey w ill.d o .’] [3]
T h e re m u st b e no standing beyond the yellow line. [‘O n e m u s t n o t
s ta n d b ey o n d th e yellow lin e .’] ^ [4]
I f the -ing c o n stru ctio n c o n ta in s a d ir e c t ob ject, it is gen erally p a ra p h ra sa b le

w ith m o d al a u x iliaries, as in [1 -3 ]. I n [4], w here th e c o n stru c tio n lac k s an
object, a m o d al a u x iliary is p re s e n t in th e sentence. A b b re v ia te d fo rm s w ith
ju st th e n eg ativ e -ing clauses g en erally h av e th e force o f a p ro h ib itio n :
N o sm o k in g . N o p a rk in g h ere. N o playing loud m u sic.
T h e n o n m o d a l in te rp re ta tio n is o ccasio n ally found, usually in c e rta in fixed

expressions:
T h ere w as no turning the other cheek. [‘N o o n e tu rn ed th e o th e r c h e e k .’]
It is e n co u rag ed by the -ing n o m in a liz atio n (c /1 7 .5 Iff):

T h ere w as no shooting o f prisoners. [‘N o o n e shot p riso n e rs.’]
I f th ere is n o d ire c t o b jec t o r o /c o n s tru c tio n , the -ing c o n stru c tio n is

am biguous b e tw ee n th e -ing clau se a n d th e -ing n o m in a liz atio n :
T h e re w as n o sm o k in g in th e co rrid o rs.
(i) ‘S m o k in g w as n o t allow ed in th e c o rrid o rs.’
(ii) ‘N o o n e sm o k ed in th e c o rrid o rs.’
N o te [a] O nly th e -ing n o m in alizatio n occu rs in th e p o sitiv e :

T h e re w as shooting o f prisoners. [‘T h ey sh o t priso n ers.']
T h e re w as sm oking in the corridors. (‘T h e y sm oked in th e co rrid o rs.’]
[b] T h e follo w in g sen te n ce is trip ly a m b ig u o u s:
T h e re ’s n o w ritin g o n th e b la ck b o ard today.
(i) -ing clause w ith m odal in te rp re ta tio n :
‘W e c a n ’t w rite on th e black b o ard today (b eca u se w e h av e n o chalk).’
(ii) n o m in a liz a tio n w ith n o n m o d ai in te rp re ta tio n :
‘W e ’re n o t g o in g to w rite o n th e b la ck b o ard to d ay (because th e re’s going to b e a n
e x a m ).’
(iii) d e v e rb a l n o u n :
‘T h e r e ’s n o th in g w ritten o n th e b la ck b o ard to d a y .’
Bare infinitive clauses

15.15 T h e n o m in a l b a re in fin itiv e clause (w ith o u t to) is severely lim ited in its
fu n c tio n s. I t m ay b e th e su b ject c o m p le m e n t o r (rarely) su b ject in a p s e u d o
cleft se n ten c e ( c f 18.2 9 ff):
su b je ct c o m p le m e n t: W h a t th e p lan does is ensure a fa ir pension fo r all.

s u b je c t: M o w the lawn w as w h a t I d id th is aftern o o n , ( r a r e a n d in f o r m a l)
I t m a y also b e th e su b ject o r su b ject co m p le m e n t o f a v a ria n t o f th e p s e u d o
cleft se n ten c e, w h ere a n o u n p h ra se o f g e n era l referen ce replaces w h a t :
T urn o f f the tap w as all I d id.

T h e b e st th in g you c a n d o n ow is write her an apology.
T h e to o f th e in fin itiv e is o b lig ato rily a b s e n t w h en th e in fin itiv e c lau se is

su b ject in th ese c o n stru ctio n s, b u t it is o p tio n a lly p resen t w h en th e c lau se is
su b ject c o m p le m e n t:
W h a t th ey m u st d o is (to) propose an am endm ent to the resolution.

T h e th in g you sh o u ld d o is (to) show them yo u r diploma.
T h e b a re in fin itiv e re q u ires th e su b stitu te v e rb d o in th e o th e r s u b o rd in a te

clause. C o n tra s t th e o b lig ato ry to in [1] w ith th e o p tio n a l to in [2]:
A ll I w a n te d w a s to help him . [ 1]
A ll I w a n te d to do w as (to) help him . [2]
A b a re in fin itiv e clau se m ay fu n ctio n a s o b jec t c o m p lem en t w ith a re la tiv e ly

few s u p e ro rd in a te v e rb s ( c /1 6 .5 2 ):
T h ey m a d e her p a y fo r the damage.
F in a lly , th e b a re in fin itiv e clause m ay follow p rep o sitio n s o f e x ce p tio n ( c f

9 .58):
She d id e v ery th in g b u t m a k e her bed.

1068 S yn ta ctic a n d sem antic functions of subordinate clauses
V e rb le s s clauses
15.16 T h e n o m in a l v e rb le ss clau se is a m ore d e b a ta b le categ o ry th a n th e o th er
n o m in a l clauses. T h e category seem s to be re q u ire d to acco u n t for
c o n stru c tio n s w h ic h , a lth o u g h superficially n o u n p h ra ses, h a v e som e o f the
s e m a n tic a n d s tr u c tu r a l c h aracteristics o f c la u se s:
A fr ie n d in n e e d is a frie n d indeed, [proverb] [1]

W all-to-w all carpets in every room is th e ir d re am . [2]
A re bicycles w ise in heavy traffic ? [3]
T h e s e m a y be p a ra p h ra s e d by n o m in al n o n fin ite ex isten tial clauses ( c f

1 8 .4 4 # ):
T o b e a fr ie n d in need is to be a frien d indeed. [1a]
H a vin g w all-to-w all carpets in every room is th e ir d re am . [2a]
Is it w ise to h a v e bicycles in heavy tra fficl [or: ‘ . . . fo r th ere to be
bicycles in h e a v y traffic ?’] [3a]
V a rio u s s y n ta c tic fe atu res d ifferen tiate th ese co n stru ctio n s fro m no u n
p h ra s e s :
(i) T h e p re p o sitio n a l p h rases in [1] a n d [2] a re n o t o f th e k in d th a t

p o stm o d ify th e h e a d in a n o u n p h rase. A frie n d in need a s a n o u n p h ra se, for
e x a m p le , w ould m e a n ‘a frien d w ho is in n e e d ’, w h ereas [ 1 ] m ea n s ‘(to be) a
frie n d w h e n a n o th e r is in n e ed ’ ( ie ‘F rie n d sh ip in a tim e o f n eed is indeed
f r ie n d s h ip ’).
(ii) T h e v erb in [2] is singular, w h ich w ould b e difficult to ex p la in if the

s u b je c t w e re a p lu ra l n o u n phrase.
(iii) S e m an tic re s tric tio n s (c/1 0 .5 1 ) w ould m ak e it a n o m alo u s to c o m b in e

th e n o u n -p h ra s e h e a d bicycles as subject w ith th e a ttrib u tiv e o r p red icativ e
a d je c tiv e wise (*w ise bicycles', *The bicycles are wise). I n th e p a ra p h ra se [3a],
wise c o m p le m e n ts th e in fin itiv e clause to have bicycles in heavy traffic. T h e
p ro x im ity p r in c ip le ( c f 10.35) m ay a cco u n t fo r th e p lu ral v erb . T h e stru ctu re
S V C , o n th e o th e r h a n d , biases th e syntax o f th e se n ten ce to w ard s clausal
g r a m m a r a n d th e c o n se q u e n t sin g u lar n u m b er c o n co rd ( # 1 0 .1 5 ) :
B icycles in h e a v y traffic is sh eer m adness.
Syntactic functions of adverbial clauses
15.17 I n C h a p te r 8 w e d istin g u ish e d four b ro ad categ o ries o f sy n tactic fun ctio n s

fo r a d v e rb ia ls : a d ju n c ts, subjuncts, d isjuncts, a n d co n ju n cts. A d v erb ial
clau ses, h o w e v er, fu n c tio n m ain ly as a d ju n cts a n d d isju n cts.
In th e n e x t tw o se c tio n s w e briefly c o n sid er a d v e rb ia l clauses fu n ctio n in g
a s c o n ju n c ts a n d su b ju n c ts. T h ey will n o t b e tre a te d fu rth e r in th is c h ap ter.
Co n ju n cts
15.18 T h e sy n ta c tic s ta tu s o f co n ju n cts is d iscussed in 8 .1 3 4 # T h ey a re p e rip h e ral
to th e cla u se to w h ic h th ey are a ttach ed . O n ly a few ad v erb ial clauses
Syn ta ctic functions of adverbial clauses 1069
fu n ctio n a s co n ju n cts. T h ey a re stereotyped o r v irtually stereo ty p ed , an d c a n

b e co m p reh en siv ely listed.
O n e finite clau se ty p e, th e n o m in a l relative clause ( c f 15.8/f), fu n c tio n s a s
a rein fo rcin g c o n ju n ct:
W h a t is m ore,
W h at is m o st w orrying,
W h at in terests m e m o re,
In a d d itio n , that is (to say) is a n a p p o sitio n m arker.

A n u m b er o f fo-infinitive clauses function as listing o r s u m m a tiv e
c o n ju n c ts:
to begin (with), to cap it (all) <inform al>, to conclude, to continue, to recap

( in fo rm a l), to recapitulate, to sta rt (with), to sum m arize, to su m up
T h ese allow a d ire c t o b jec t o r p rep o sitio n al co m p lem en t, eg: to su m m a rize

the argum ent so fa r', to begin our discussion. In a d d itio n , th ere a r e tw o fo-
in fin itiv e clauses w h ich re q u ire a p rep o sitio n al c o m p le m e n t:
to return to [eg] m y e a rlie r d iscussion
to tu rn to [eg] th e n e x t p o in t
A ll o f th ese fo-infinitive c lau ses h a v e c o rresp o n d in g -ing clauses, b u t m o s t o f

th em re q u ire c o m p le m e n ta tio n o f th e verb. O nly a few c an b e u se d w ith o u t
c o m p le m e n ta tio n : capping it all, continuing, recapitulating, recapping ( i n f o r
m a l) , sum m arizing, sum m ing up.
N o te T h e nonfin ite co n ju n cts im ply a s su b jec t th e I (or au th o rial we) o f th e sp eak er. I n th is re sp e c t,
th e y resem ble style d isju n c ts ( c / 8 .124) su ch a s to p u t it bluntly u n i fr a n k ly speaking. In d e e d , th ey
co u ld altern ativ ely be analysed as style d isjuncts.
Subjuncts
15.19 T h e sy n tactic sta tu s o f su b ju n c ts is discussed in 8.116. S u b ju n cts a re g e n era lly
n o t realized by clauses, th e e x ce p tio n b eing v iew p o in t subjuncts.
B o th finite a n d n o n fin ite (p articip le) clauses fu n ctio n as v ie w p o in t
su b ju n cts. T h e v erb s in th e clauses c o n stitu te a restricted s e m a n tic set,
p rin cip ally be concerned a n d go (only in th e finite clauses as f a r a s . . . a n d so
f a r a s . . . ) , consider, look a t, view:
A s fa r as the econom y J n ex t six m o n th s a re c ritic a l.
I f we look a t it fr o m an historical point o f view, they h a v e little c la im o n

th e territo ry .
Looking at it objectively,} hg js defin ^ ^

Viewed objectively, J
N o te A s w ith th e co n ju n ct clause ( c f 15.18 N o te ), th e - ing clause as v iew p o in t s u b ju n c t im p lie s as

su b ject th e I o f th e sp eak er. O n th e o th e r h an d , th e subject o f th e - ed clause is im p lic itly th e
m a trix clause itself. C o m p a re th e an a p h o ric reference o f th e p ro n o u n it in th e c o rre s p o n d in g
(/■-clause: I f it is viewed objectively, he is definitely a t fa u lt.
A d ju n c ts and disjuncts
15.20 A d ju n c ts a n d d isju n cts ten d to differ sem an tically in th a t a d ju n c ts d e n o te
c irc u m s ta n c e s o f th e situ atio n in th e m a trix clause, w h ereas d isju n cts
c o m m e n t o n the style o r fo rm o f w h a t is said in th e m atrix clau se (style
d is ju n c ts ) o r on its co n te n t (co n ten t o r a ttitu d in a l disjuncts). T h e p rim a ry
d iffe re n c e is th a t th ey differ sy n tactically in th a t d isjuncts a re p e rip h e ra l to
th e c la u s e to w h ich th ey are a tta ch e d .
T h e sy n ta ctic d ifferen ce does n o t m an ifest itself in differences in fo rm o r
p o s itio n . F o r exam ple, finite clauses th a t fu n ctio n as ad ju n cts a n d d isju n cts
m a y s h a r e th e sam e su b o rd in a to r, an d in b o th fu n ctio n s the clau ses m ay be
p o s itio n e d initially o r finally. T h e p e rip h e ra l statu s o f d isju n cts is in d ic a te d
m a in ly n e g a tiv e ly : th ey d o n o t allow a n u m b e r o f sy n tactic pro cesses to a p p ly
to th e m th a t are allow ed by ad ju n cts, processes th a t reflect a m e a su re o f
in te g r a tio n w ith in th e su p e ro rd in ate c lause.
I n th is section w e c o n sid er th e d ifferen ces b etw een ad ju n c t a n d d isju n ct
c la u se s. B elow we exem plify th e c o n tra sts b etw een a d ju n c t clau ses in th e [a]
s e n te n c e s a n d c o n te n t d isju n ct clauses in th e [b] sentences:
te m p o r a l since [a] a n d reaso n since [b ]:

I h a v e been relax in g since the children went aw ay on vacation. [a]
H e to o k his c o at, since it was raining. [b]
te m p o ra l while [a] a n d concessive while [ b ]:

H e looked a fte r m y dog while I was on vacation. [a]
M y b ro th er lives in M an c h este r, while m y sister lives in Glasgow, [b]
p u rp o s e so that [a] a n d resu lt so that [b ]:

T h e y took a p lan e so th a t they could g e t there early. [a]
W e know h e r w ell, so that we can sp e a k to her on your behalf. [b]
c o n d itio n a l i f [a] an d c o n d itio n al unless [b ]:

T h e y ’ll send it to you i f yo u a sk them politely. [a]
I ’ll g et lost unless I can fin d m y compass. [b]
te m p o ra l as [a] a n d reaso n as [b ]:
T h e p o licem an sto p p ed th em as they were about to enter. [a]
I w e n t to t!he b a n k , as I h a d run o ut o f cash. [b]
T h e sy n ta ctic difference b etw een a d ju n c t a n d co n te n t d isju n ct c lau ses will

b e illu stra te d by tw o finite clauses, a n a d ju n c t because- clause a n d a d isju n ct
since- cla u se . Both a re in c o rp o ra te d w ith in th e sam e su p e ro rd in a te clause,
a n d b o th a re clauses o f r e a s o n :
H e lik e s them becau se th ey a re alw ay s helpful. [la ]

H e lik es them , since th ey a re alw ays h elpful. [ 1b]
B o th c a n b e p ositioned in itially , a lth o u g h th e ad ju n c t clause is m o re usual

f in a lly :
B e ca u se they a re alw ays h elp fu l, h e (really) likes th em . [2 a]
S in c e th ey are alw ays h elpful, he (really) likes them . [2 b]
S yn ta ctic functions of adverbial clauses 1071
T h e sy n tactic d ifferen ces b etw een the tw o types o f clauses m ain ly involve
focusing d ev ices:
(i) O nly th e a d ju n c t clause can be th e focus o f a cle ft s e n te n c e :

I t ’s b ecau se th e y a re alw ays h elpful th a t he lik es th em . [3a]
♦It’s sin ce th ey a re a lw ays h elp fu l th at he lik es th em . [3b]
(ii) O nly th e a d ju n c t clau se c an b e th e focus o f a v a ria n t o f th e p seudo-cleft

se n te n c e :
T h e re aso n h e lik es th e m is becau se th ey are a lw ay s h elpful. [4a]
♦The re aso n h e lik e s th em is sin ce they a re alw ays h elpful. [4b]
(iii) O nly th e a d ju n c t clau se c an b e the focus o f a q u e stio n , as we can te s t

w ith a lte rn a tiv e in te rro g a tio n :
D oes h e lik e th e m b ecau se th ey a re alw ays h elp fu l o r becau se they
n e v er c o m p la in ? [5a]
♦D oes h e lik e th e m sin ce th ey a re alw ays h elp fu l o r sin ce they
n e v er c o m p la in ? [5b]
(iv) O nly th e a d ju n c t clau se c a n b e the focus o f n eg atio n , as w e can te s t

w ith a lte rn a tiv e n e g a tio n :
H e d id n ’t lik e th e m becau se th e y are always: h elp fu l b u t b ecause
th ey n e v e r co m p la in . [6 a]
♦H e d id n ’t lik e th e m sin ce th ey a re alw ays h elp fu l b u t since they
n e v er c o m p la in . [ 6 b]
C o n tra s t sim ilarly :

H e lik e d th e m , n o t becau se th ey are alw ays h elp fu l b u t because
th ey n e v e r c o m p la in . [7a]
♦H e lik e d th e m , n o t sin ce th ey a re alw ays h elp fu l b u t sin ce they
n e v er c o m p la in . [7b]
(v) O nly th e a d ju n c t clau se c a n be focused by fo cu sin g su b ju n cts ( c f

8 .1 1 6 # ) su ch a s only, ju s t, sim ply, a n d m a in ly:
H e lik es th e m o n ly b ecau se th ey are alw ays h elpful. [ 8 a]
♦H e lik es th e m , o n ly sin ce th ey a re alw ays h elp fu l. [8 b]
C o n trast also:
O nly b eca u se th ey a re a lw ays helpful does h e lik e th em . [9a]
♦Only sin ce th e y a re alw ays h elp fu l does he lik e th em . [9b]
(vi) O nly th e a d ju n c t clau se c a n b e the resp o n se to a wA-question fo rm ed

from th e m a trix c la u s e :
W h y does h e lik e th e m ? B ecau se they a re a lw ay s h elpful. [10a]
♦W hy d o es h e lik e th e m ? S in ce they are alw ays h elp fu l. [ 10b]
H e re a re so m e fu rth e r ex am p les o f co n ten t d isju n ct c lauses ( c /8 .127):
H e b ro u g h t m e a cu p o f coffee although I h a d a sk e d fo r tea.

W illiam h a s p o o r eyesight, whereas Sharon has poor hearing.
Y ou c a n r e tu rn to a n o rm al d ie t now that y o u have lost enough weight.
1072 S yn ta ctic and sem antic functions of subordinate clauses
I ’ll tak e y o u for a rid e p rovided that your parents give yo u perm ission.
H e p aid fo r a se a t, when he could have entered fre e, [concessive when]
T h ey rid icu led h im until she f e lt obliged to come to his aid. [resu lt until]
T h e y will sta rv e before they will surrender unconditionally, [neg ativ e
result before]
I n fin al p o sitio n , c o n te n t disju n ct clauses ten d m o re co m m o n ly th a n
a d ju n c t clauses to be se p a ra te d from th eir m atrix clauses by in to n a tio n o r
p u n c tu a tio n , th o u g h p u n c tu a tio n usage varies. Such se p a ra tio n is p articu la rly
c o m m o n w h en th e s u b o rd in a to r o f a d isju n ct clause is freq u en tly u sed as th e
s u b o rd in a to r o f a n a d ju n c t clause, a co n d itio n th a t ap p lies to reaso n since
a n d as, con cessiv e while, a n d result so that. In in itial p o sitio n , all a d v erb ial
c la u se s, reg ard less o f fo rm o r function, are se p a ra te d by in to n a tio n a n d
(u su ally ) by p u n c tu a tio n fro m th e ir m atrix clause.
S ty le disjuncts and co nten t disjuncts

15.21 T h e sy n ta ctic d ifferen ces e n u m e ra te d in 15.20 a p p ly eq u ally to style d isju n cts
a n d c o n te n t d isju n cts. Style d isju n cts are d istin g u ish ed sem an tically in th a t
th e y g en erally im p ly a v e rb o f sp eak in g a n d th e su b ject I. T h e style d isju n cts
im p lic itly re fe r to th e c irc u m stan ces o f th e sp eech a ct, w h ile th e c o n te n t
d is ju n c ts re fe r to th e c o n te n t o f th e m atrix clause. T h e style d isju n cts are
th e re fo re m o re p e rip h e ra l to th e ir su p ero rd in ate clause th a n a re th e co n te n t
d isju n cts.
H e r e are so m e c o n tra s ts b etw een e ith e r ad ju n cts o r c o n te n t d isju n cts [a],
a n d sty le d isju n cts [b j:
a d ju n c t because [a] a n d style d isju n ct because [b ]:
W e h a v e n o ele ctricity , because there's a pow er fa ilu re. [a]
I h av e n o th in g in m y b a n k acco u n t, because / checked this
morning. [b]
a d ju n c t i f [a] a n d style d isju n ct i f [b ]:
W e ’ll ta k e a lo n g S h a ro n , i f she’s ready. [a]
W e c a n d o w ith so m e m o re b u tter, i f you're in the kitchen. [b]
c o n te n t d isju n ct since [a] a n d style d isju n ct since [b ]:
Since y 6 u kn o w L a tin , you should b e able to tra n s la te th e
in sc rip tio n . [a]
W h a t d o es th e w o rd m ean , since you're so c leverl [b]
c o n te n t d isju n ct though [a] a n d style d isju n ct though [b ]:

S h e enjbys d riv in g , though she doesn't like to drive in heavy traffic, [a]
H e d eserv ed th e p ro m o tio n , though it’s n ot m y place to sa y so. [b]
W e ex em p lify th e s e m a n tic an d syntactic d ifferences by tw o finite clauses,
a c o n te n t d isju n ct although-clause an d a style d isju n ct ji'nce-clause:
E liz a b e th e n jo y ed la s t n ig h t’s co n cert although p a rt o f the
program m e included W agner. [la ]
E liz a b e th e n jo y ed la s t n ig h t’s co n cert, since her brother to ld m e so. [lb ]
T h e c o n cessio n in [ la ] re fe rs to th e co n te n t o f th e m a trix clau se, b u t th e
re a s o n in [lb ] re fe rs to th e s p e a k e r’s m o tiv a tio n fo r th e a sse rtio n (‘I tell you
S yn ta ctic functions of adverbial clauses 1073
th is sin ce h e r b ro th e r told m e so’)- T h e m o re p erip h eral statu s o f th e s ty le

d isju n ct is sh o w n in its g re ater in d ep e n d en c e w ith respect to p ro -fo rm s .
T h u s, the style d isju n ct m o re re ad ily allow s th e rep etitio n o f a n o u n p h r a s e ,
w h ereas th e c o n te n t d isju n ct n o rm ally req u ires p ro n o u n s u b s titu tio n :
E liz a b e th enjoyed last n ig h t’s c o n ce rt although the program m e was n o t

.. , f ?E liza b eth 's\ r_ ,
entirely to t ^ 1 taste. [ 2 a]
E liz a b e th enjo y ed last n ig h t’s c o n ce rt, since j ?| brother to ld
m e so. [ 2 b]
Style d isju n cts realized by clau ses are alw ays se p a ra ted from th e m a tr ix
clau se by in to n a tio n a n d p u n c tu a tio n .
H e re a re som e f u rth e r ex am p les o f style d isju n cts:
W hile we're on the subject, w h y d id n ’t you send your ch ild ren to a p u b lic
school?
I f y o u will allow m e to say so, y o u r a ttitu d e is equally racist.
T h e la te s t u n em p lo y m en t figures a re en couraging, as it were.
B efore y o u leave, w h ere c a n I re a c h you ?
Since yo u don't seem to know , all fu rth e r n eg o tiatio n s h ave b een
su sp en d ed .
B efore y o u sa y anything, you h a v e th e rig h t to be silent.
I ’m in ch arg e h ere, in case yo u don’t know.
I f y o u ’re so clever, w h a t’s th e a n sw e r?
Speaking o f the devil, here co m es m y n ephew .
S ta te d bluntly, I h a v e legal c o n tro l o v e r th e ir estate.
N o te [a] T h e sam e fo rm o f clause c a n be a style d isju n c t in a statem e n t a n d a n a d ju n c t w h en i t is a

resp o n se to a q u estio n . Style d isju n cts c a n be th e response to a q uestion if th e im p lie d
su p e ro rd in a te clau se is m a d e explicit. C o m p a re th e a d ju n c t clause in [3J, [3aJ, a n d [4a] w ith th e
style d isju n c t clau se in [4]:
W e h a v e n o electricity , because there was a pow er failure. [3]
~ A : W hy d o you h av e no electricity ?
B : Because there was a pow er failu re. [3a)
I h a v e n o m oney in m y b a n k acco u n t, because I checked this morning. [4]
—A .' W h y d o y o u sa y th a t yo u h a v e n o m o n e y in y o u r ban k account?
B : B ecause I checked this m orning. [4a]
T h e sen te n ce relatin g to th e q u estio n -re sp o n se set in [5a) is [5], w hich (like [5a]) c o n ta in s a n
a d ju n c t hecaw se-clause; th e q u estio n ask s fo r som e v erification o f th e claim in th e m a tr ix clau se
in [5]:
I know th a t I h a v e no m oney in m y b a n k ac co u n t, because I checked this m orning. [5]
—A : H ow do yo u know th a t you h a v e no m o n ey in your b a n k account?
B : Because / checked this m orning. [5a]
N o tic e th a t th e a d ju n c t because-c\austs in [3] a n d [5] c a n be p ositioned in itially , b u t n o t th e
because- clause in [4], c /N o te [c] below .
[b] In [6] th e because- clause is a n ad ju n ct, w hile in [7] it is a style d isju n ct:
H e lik es th e m because th e y a re alw ays helpful. [6]
H e lik es th e m , bec au se h is w ife told m e so. [7]
S in ce tw o clauses w ith differen t sy n ta c tic fu n ctio n s c a n n o t be co o rd in ated , th e tw o because-
clauses c a n n o t b e c o o rd in a te d :
*H e lik es th e m becau se th e y a re h elp fu l an d b ec au se h is w ife told m e so.
T h e y c a n co o ccu r in th e sam e sen ten ce, th o u g h th e ju x tap o sitio n is stylistically clum sy in w r itte n
E n g lis h . T h e d isju n c t clause is th e n positioned p erip h erally :

? H e lik es th e m b e c au se th ey a re helpful, b ecau se h is w ife to ld m e so.
[c] T h e sty le d isju n c t hecar/sc-clause is excep tio n al in th a t it m u st follow th e m atrix c la u s e :
I h a v e n o th in g in m y b a n k ac co u n t, because I checked this morning.
* B e c a u se I c h e cked this morning, I h ave n o th in g in m y b a n k account.
C o n tr a s t:
I ’m u p to m y e a rs in d eb t, since y o u ask me.
S in c e y o u a sk m e . I ’m up to m y ears in deb t.
[d] W e h a v e n o te d th e an alogies betw een clauses fu n ctio n in g as co n ju n cts (c/1 5 .1 8 N o te) a n d
v ie w p o in t s u b ju n cts ( c /1 5 .1 9 N o te), o n th e on e h an d , a n d style d isju n cts, o n th e o th e r h an d .
W ith r e s p e c t to th e ir in teg ratio n w ith in th e ir su p e ro rd in a te clause, co n ju n cts are m ost lik e style
d is ju n c ts . V ie w p o in t sub ju n cts are closer to c o n te n t disju n cts, a s show n by th e te st involving
re p e titio n o f a n o u n p h r a s e :
A s fa r as j economy is co n cern ed , G erm an y show s signs o f im p ro v em en t.
[e] T h e sty le d isju n c t a s it were [‘as if it w ere so’] is roughly synonym ous w ith so to speak.
P re dicatio n and sentence adjuncts

15.22 F o r a d ju n c t clau ses, a m ajo r d istin c tio n c a n b e m ad e b e tw ee n p r e d i c a t i o n
a d j u n c t s a n d s e n t e n c e a d j u n c t s . P re d ic a tio n a d ju n c ts c a n in tu rn be
d iv id e d in to o b lig a to ry a n d o p tio n al ad ju n c ts ( c f 8 .2 6 //). A ll o b lig ato ry
a d ju n c ts a re p re d ic a tio n adjuncts.
P r e d ic a tio n a d ju n c t clauses are n o rm ally p o sitio n e d finally; fro n tin g o f a
p r e d ic a tio n a d ju n c t exceptionally occurs fo r rh e to ric a l p u rp o ses. O b lig ato ry
a d ju n c t cla u se s re sem b le d irec t o bjects a n d su b ject co m p le m e n ts in p ro v id in g
c o m p le m e n ta tio n to th e v erb . S entence a d ju n c t clauses a re m o re m obile th a n
p r e d ic a tio n a d ju n c t clau ses: th ey m ay a p p e a r in itially as w ell as finally, a n d
o c c a sio n a lly e v e n m edially.
O b lig a to ry a d ju n c t clauses ( c f 10.10) m ay p ro v id e co m p le m e n ta tio n for
th e v e r b b e in th e SV A ty p e :
Y o u r c o a t is where yo u left it.
D in n e r w ill b e when everybody has arrived.
T h e traffic ja m w as because there was an accident. (in f o r m a l)
T h e w a te r is in case yo u fe e l fa in t, ( in f o r m a l)
T h e p u rp o se o f th e in q u iry w as so that all com plaints w ould be m ade
public, j
A n d t h e y m ay p ro v id e c o m p lem en tatio n for o th e r v e rb s in th e SV A ty p e :
T h e w a te r w ill last until y o u return.
M y g ra n d p a re n ts lived before television was invented.
H e lo o k s a s i f he's tired.
J a n e looks! a s i f she doesn't know me.
Y o u m a y liv e wherever y o u like.
T h e y a re c o m in g to see us n ext week.
T h ey m a y also fu n c tio n as th e a d v erb ial in th e S V O A ty p e:
I p u t it w here I fo u n d it.
H e tr e a te d th e m as i f they were young children. [‘H e b e h a v e d to
t h e m . . . ’]
T h e y w a n te d th e m o n ey where it w ould earn the highest interest rates.
E v en w h e n th e y a re o p tio n al, d irectio n ad ju n c ts ( c f 15.31) d e p en d o n th e

Syntactic functions o f adverbial clauses 1075
se m an tic category o f v e rb s w ith w hich they co o ccu r - v erb s d e n o tin g

d ire c tio n :
T h ey m oved where the clim ate was milder.
T h ro w it where y o u wish.
S im ilarity a d ju n cts ( c f 15.50) a re a blend o f sim ilarity w ith m a n n e r w h e n

th ey cooccur w ith v e rb s u sed d y n a m ic ally :
She w alks e x a c tly as her m other used to.
P ro n o u n ce th e w o rd j
\lik e I do. <inform al, esp A m E >
Likew ise, c o m p a riso n clau ses ( c f 15.50) a re a b len d o f co m p a riso n w ith

m a n n e r w h en th ey c o o cc u r w ith v erb s used d y n a m ic ally :
H e talk s as i f he has a h ot po ta to in his mouth.

She is ru n n in g a s i f her life depended on it.
C alv in lau g h ed as though he really understood the jo ke .
T h ey talk like th ey k n o w w hat th ey ’re doing, (in fo rm a l, esp A m E >
O th e r o p tio n a l p re d ic a tio n a d ju n cts relate solely o r p re d o m in a n tly to th e

v e rb c o m p le m e n ta tio n r a th e r th a n to th e m atrix clause as a w hole. T h e m o st
co m m o n a re p o sitio n a d ju n c ts:
I fo u n d th e b o o k where y o u sa id it would be. [‘T h e b o o k w as w h ere you

said it w ould b e .’]
She h it h im w here it hurts. [‘She h it h im in th a t p a r t o f h im w h e re it
h u rts.’]
S en ten ce ad ju n c t clau ses a re n o t d ep en d en t o n th e p re d ic a tio n an d a re

th erefo re m ore m o b ile. T h e e x am p les th a t follow are p lac ed in in itia l p o sitio n
to show th e ir re ad y a c c e p ta b ility in th a t p o sitio n ; th ese ty p es o f ad ju n c t
clauses could ju s t a s e asily (a n d m o st would m ore usually) b e a t E .
Before I could sit dow n, sh e offered m e a cup o f tea.

When he saw us, h e sm iled .
To em phasize her p o in t, sh e in v ited m e to visit h e r village.
Because it is near M a d rid , to u rists com e for th e day.
I f they achieve independence, co n d itio n s will im prove.
A s we ran tow ard the beach, it started to rain.
Whenever I com e here, th e h o tels h ave n ew ow ners.
Where he stood, he c o u ld see san d dunes stretch in g fo r m iles.
W hile she was in school, sh e becam e friendly w ith a boy w h o m she la te r
m arried .
N o te T h e su b o rd in ate clause in t i e tre a te d them as i f they were young children is a n o b lig ato ry a d ju n c t
o nly if treated h as th e m e a n in g ‘b e h a v ed to w ard ’ in w h ich case treated req u ires to be
co m p lem en ted by a m a n n e r a d ju n c t. I f treated is in terp rete d a s ‘gave m e d ical tre a tm e n t to ’ o r
‘gave a tre a t (or tre ats) to ’, th e as if-clause is a n optio n al p red icatio n ad ju n ct.
Restrictive and nonrestrictive adverbial clauses

15.23 Som e linguists h a v e a tte m p te d to apply th e d istin c tio n b e tw ee n restrictiv e
a n d n o n restrictiv e m o d ific atio n in noun p h rases (c f 17.3) to ad v erb ials,
1076 S y n ta c tic and sem antic fun ction s o f subordinate clauses
th e re b y d istin g u ish in g b etw een r e s t r i c t i v e an d n o n r e s t r i c t i v e a d v erb ial

c lau ses. T h e sem an tic an alo g y w ith m o d ificatio n in th e n o u n p h ra se is th a t
th e re stric tiv e a d v erb ial restric ts th e situ atio n in the m atrix clause to the
c irc u m s ta n c e s d esc rib e d by th e a d v erb ial. T h e n o n restrictiv e a d v erb ial, on
th e o th e r h a n d , m ak e s a s e p a ra te a ssertio n , supplying a d d itio n al in fo rm a tio n .
T h e re s tric tiv e /n o n re stric tiv e d istin c tio n o verlaps w ith so m e o f the
d is tin c tio n s th a t we h av e m ad e earlier. A ll disju n ct clauses h a v e b een e arlie r
c h a ra c te riz e d a s p e rip h e ra l b ecau se th ey do n ot give c irc u m s ta n tia l
in fo rm a tio n a b o u t th e s itu a tio n in th e m atrix clause ( c f 15.20); th ey a re
th e re fo re n ecessarily n o n re stric tiv e . T h e sam e applies to th e lim ite d ran g e o f
c o n ju n c t cla u se s ( c /1 5.18) a n d su b ju n c t clauses (c/15.19). O n th e o th e r h a n d ,
o b lig a to ry a d ju n c t clauses m u st be restrictiv e, since they a re re q u ire d to
c o m p le te th e d e sc rip tio n o f th e s itu a tio n in th e m atrix clause. T h e re stric tiv e /
n o n re stric tiv e d is tin c tio n th ere fo re a p p lie s only to o p tio n al a d ju n c t clauses.
P e rh a p s th e cle are st p a ralle l to a n o n re stric tiv e ad ju n ct clau se is th e type
t h a t h as b e e n c h a ra c te riz e d a s a n a p p e n d e d clause, a ty p e o f clause th a t is
u su ally p a re n th e tic o r a n a fte rth o u g h t ( c f 12.70):
S usan sees h e r f a th e r - when her m other insists on it. [1]
U tte ra n c e o f th e sen ten ce in [1] conveys tw o sep arate asse rtio n s: S u san sees
h e r fa th e r; sh e does so w h e n h e r m o th e r in sists on it. O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e
w /ien-clause in [2 ] is n o rm ally in te rp re te d as restrictin g th e circ u m stan c es in
w h ic h S u san sees h e r fa th e r (S u san sees h e r fa th e r only o n th o se o ccasio n s) :
S usan sees h e r fa th e r when he com es to London. [2]
T h e n o n re stric tiv e clause is m a rk e d by in to n a tio n se p a ra tio n w h e th e r it

follow s o r p re c e d e s its m a trix clau se. P u n c tu a tio n p ra ctic e is less co n sisten t.
I n p a rtic u la r, jp u n ctu atio n m ay be o m itte d w h en the n o n re stric tiv e clau se is
p rep o sed . Brit, in fa ct, p u n c tu a tio n is a re d u n d an t signal w h en the
n o n re stric tiv e clau se is p re p o sed , since a preposed clau se is alw ays
n o n re stric tiv e . T h u s, b o th [ la ] a n d [2a] a re n o n restrictiv e:
W hen h er m o th er insists on it, S u san sees h e r fath er. [ 1a]

W hen her fa th e r comes to L ondon, Su san sees h im . [2a]
i \
T h e se m a n tic difference b e tw ee n re stric tiv e an d n o n re stric tiv e ad ju n c t
clauses m a n ife s ts itself w h en th e m atrix clau se c o n tain s a fo cu sin g device.
N o n re stric tiv e clauses c a n n o t b e th e focus o f such devices, a n d in th is resp ect
are sy n tactically sim ila r to d isju n cts ( c f 15.20). F o r exam ple, th e focus o f the
n eg atio n c a n jae o n th e re stric tiv e iv/icn-clause in [2 b], b u t n o t o n th e
n o n re stric tiv e Clause in [ lb ]:
S usan d o e s n ’t see h e r fa th e r w h e n h e c o m e s to L d N d o n .
[‘S u san sees h e r fa th e r, n o t w h e n h e com es to L o n d o n , b u t a t
o th e r tim e s .’] [2 b]
S usan d o e s n ’t see h e r F A th er - when she can a v d io it.
[‘S u san d o e sn ’t see h e r fa th e r - th e tim es she does a re w h en she
c a n ’t a v o id it.’] [lb ]
N o tice th a t if th e iv/ien-clause in [2b] is prep o sed , it is o u tsid e th e scope o f

n e g a tio n :
Sem antic roles o f adverbial clauses 1077
' W hen her fa th e r comes to London, S usan d o e sn ’t see him . [2c]
T h e se m a n tic d ifferen ce is even sh a rp er fo r tecm zse-clauses. C o n trast th e

re stric tiv e c lau se in [3a] w ith th e n o n restrictiv e clauses in [3b] a n d [3c]:
R a v e n d id n ’t leav e th e p arty early because c a r o I was there. [3a]
[‘R a v e n left th e p a rty early, n o t b ecause C aro l w as th ere, b u t for so m e
o th e r re a so n .’]
R a v e n d id n ’t leav e th e p a rty EARly, because c a r o I was there. [3b]
[‘R a v e n d id n ’t leave th e p a rty early, a n d th e reaso n he d id n ’t w as t h a t
C a ro l w as th e re .’]
B ecause c a r o I was there, R a v en d id n ’t leave th e p a rty EARly. [3c]
[= [3 b ]]
W e c a n n ow d istin g u ish th ree Aecnizse-clauses: restrictiv e ad ju n c t [4 a],
n o n re stric tiv e a d ju n c t [4b], a n d style d isju n ct [4c]:
R a v e n d i d n ’t le a v e th e p a r ty e a rly because c a r o I was there. [4 a ]

R a v e n d i d n ’t le a v e th e p a r ty EARly, because c a r o I was there. [4 b ]
R a v e n d i d n ’t le a v e th e p a r ty EARly, because I c h e c k e d . [4 c ]
S im ilarly, w e c a n d istin g u ish four w M e-clauses: p re d ic atio n (an d re stric tiv e )

ad ju n c t [5a], se n ten c e (a n d non restrictiv e) a d ju n c t [5b], c o n te n t d isju n ct [5c],
an d style d isju n c t [5 d ]:
I d id n ’t se n d m y ch ild ren to a b o a rd in g school while I was in iNdia. [5a]

W hile I was in India, I d id n ’t sen d m y c h ild re n to a b o ard in g
school. [5b]
M y c h ild re n enjoy jaz z, while I prefer classical music. [5c]
W hile w e’re on the subject, I p refer classical m usic. [5d]
Semantic roles of adverbial clauses

15.24 W e n o w tu r n to th e se m an tic roles o f a d v erb ial clauses. T h e roles m a y b e
re la te d to th o se fo r ad v erb ials in g eneral ( c /C h a p te r 8 ) an d for p re p o sitio n a l
p h ra ses in p a rtic u la r ( c /9 .1 4 4 /) .
F o r e a c h se m an tic set, w e first discuss fin ite clauses a n d th e n tu r n to
no n fin ite a n d verbless clauses in tro d u ced by a su b o rd in a to r o r (in so m e
in stan ces) a p re p o sitio n ( c f 1 5 .2 5 # ). W e th e n c o n sid er sep arately n o n fin ite
an d v erb less a d v erb ial clauses th a t do n o t b eg in w ith a su b o rd in a to r o r
p re p o sitio n ( c f 1 5 .5 8 # ). W e conclude by d iscu ssin g th e verb p h ra se in th o s e
cases w h e re th e ch o ice o f form is lin k ed to p a rtic u la r types o f su b o rd in a te
clauses.
S e m an tic an aly sis o f a d v erb ial clauses is co m p licated by th e fa c t th a t m a n y
su b o rd in a to rs in tro d u c e clauses w ith d ifferen t m ea n in g s; for ex am p le a since-
clau se m ay b e te m p o ra l o r causal. F u rth e rm o re , som e clauses c o m b in e
m ean in g s, fo r e x am p le tim e w ith p u rp o se o r resu lt ( c /1 5 .4 8 /) ; in such c a s e s,
w e tre a t th e clauses u n d e r sections th a t d eal w ith w h at a p p ea rs to be th e ir
p rim a ry m ean in g .
Clauses o f tim e
S u b o rd in a to rs a n d stru c tu ra l types o f clauses

15.25 A d v e rb ia l fin ite clau ses o f tim e are in tro d u ced by o n e o f th e follow ing
s u b o rd in a to rs : a fte r , as, before, once, since, till, until, when, whenever, while,
w hilst ( e s p B r E ) , now (that), as long as, so long as, as soon as, im m ediately
( in f o r m a l, esp B r E ) , directly (in fo rm a l, esp B r E ) :
B uy y o u r tic k e t a s soon as you reach the station.

W hen I la st sa w y o u , you lived in W ash in g to n .
M y fam ily, once th e y saw the m ood I way in, left m e co m pletely alone.
D ro p by whenever y o u get the chance.
A ll a p p lic a tio n s , when they are received before the deadline, are d e alt
w ith p ro m p tly .
W hile I was asleep, I d ream ed a b o u t you.
W e c am e in ju s t as it started to rain.
A s / drove a w a y, I saw th em w aving goodbye.
W a it until y o u ’re called.
Sin ce I saw her last, sh e h as dyed h e r hair.
I ’ll g ive y o u a n a n sw e r im m ediately I've fin ish e d reading your file.
(e s p B r E )
A d v e rb ia l -in g clau ses o f tim e are in tro d u c ed by o n e o f th e follow ing
s u b o r d in a to r s : once, till, until, when, whenever, while, w hilst :
H e w ro te h is g re a te s t novel while working on a freighter.
B e c arefu l w hen crossing streets.
O nce having m a d e a prom ise, you sh o u ld k e ep it.
I n a d d itio n , th e y a re in tro d u c ed by th e p re p o sitio n s after, before, on, and

since ( c f l 4 . 19 'N o te [b ]):
T h e y w a sh e d th e ir h a n d s before eating.
Since com ing here life h a s been m u ch m o re p leasan t.
I to o k a b a th a fte r w orking in the garden all day.
O n becom ing a m em ber, you will receive a m e m b e rsh ip c a rd an d a
b ad g e. [ W h e n you becom e a m e m b e r ,. . .’]
S om e sp e a k ers fin d u n til o nly m arg in ally a cc ep ta b le w ith -ing clauses :

? U ntil m eeting yo u r parents, I h ad n o id ea t h a t you w ere a n n o y ed w ith
m e.
? I’ll w a it heire u n til hearing fro m yo u again.
A d v e rb ia l -e d clau ses o f tim e a re in tro d u c ed by o n e o f th e follow ing

su b o rd in a to rs t h a t a re also used w ith fin ite c lau ses: as soon as, once, till, until,
when, whenever, w hilst ( e s p B r E ) :
S p in a c h is d e lic io u s when eaten raw.
T h e dog sta y e d a t th e e n tra n ce u ntil told to come in.
O nce seen, t h a t p a in tin g will n e v er b e fo rg o tten .
H e slep t w hile stretched out on the floor.
W henever kn o w n , su ch facts should b e re p o rted .
A s soon as is o n ly o ccasio n ally possible as a su b o rd in a to r for -ed c la u se s:
f completed.
T h e d o c u m e n ts w ill be re tu rn e d as soon as signed.
(required.
V erbless clauses o f tim e a re in tro d u ced by the sam e su b o rd in a to rs as -e d
c la u s e s : as soon as, once, till, until, when, whenever, while, whilst ( e s p B r E ) :
W hen in difficulty, c o n su lt th e m an u al.
C o m p le te y our w o rk as soon as possible.
W hile in R om e, b e su re to see th e Colosseum .
C lau ses w ith as soon as seem to b e lim ited to a few ad jectives th a t a re u se d
p re d ic ativ ely w ith n o m in a l clau ses an d convey th e m odal m ea n in g s o f
po ssib ility o r necessity , p rin cip ally available, feasible, necessary, possible. T h e
im p lied su b je ct o f th e v erb less c lau se is it, referrin g to th e m a trix clau se (‘as
soon as it is p o ssib le’). T h e sa m e im p licatio n is com m on, th o u g h n o t re q u ire d ,
fo r th e o th e r su b o rd in ato rs.
Som e sp e a k e rs fin d until a n d till o nly m arginally accep tab le w ith v e rb less
clau ses:
? M a rg a re t sta y ed w ith h e r p a re n ts until well.
?Sam w a tch e d T V until too tired to do so any more.
T h ey seem a c c e p ta b le in in s tru c tio n a l language:
B eat th e m ix tu re u n tilflu ffy.
F ile th e edges until sm ooth.
7 b -in fin itiv e clauses w ith o u t a su b o rd in a to r o r a subject m ay h a v e te m p o ra l
fu n ctio n , e x p ressin g th e o u tco m e o f th e situ atio n :
I ru sh e d to th e d o o r, only to discover that it was locked a n d barred.
H e left, never to return.
I aw o k e o n e m o rn in g to fin d the house in an uproar.
She tu rn e d a ro u n d , to f in d the ca r gone.
T h e c u rta in s p a rte d , to reveal a m arket scene.
H e su rv iv ed th e d isg race, to become a respected citizen.
L eech rose a b o v e th e U n iv e rsity C ollege defen ce to bullet the header a
fra c tio n over fr o m a fr e e k ic k.
T h ese c lau ses are re stric te d to final p o sitio n , suggesting a n an alo g y b e tw ee n
th e m a n d resu lt clauses ( c f 15.49), w hich they resem ble in m ean in g . T h e
sen ten ces c a n u sually b e p a ra p h ra se d by rev ersin g th e re la tio n s h ip o f
su b o rd in a tio n (c/1 5 .2 8 N o te [a]), a n d using a when- o r q /fer-clau se:
W hen I aw oke one m orning, I fo u n d th e house in a n u p ro ar.
A fte r he survived the disgrace, h e becam e a resp ected citizen .
W ith d u ra tiv e v erb s in th e m a trix clause, th e co n stru ctio n ex p resses d u ra tio n
o f tim e to g eth e r w ith o u tc o m e :
She liv ed to be 100. [‘S h e re ac h ed 100 y ears o f ag e.’]

Y o u ’ll live to regret it. [‘Y o u ’ll eventually re g ret it.’]
T h e sh o w w e n t o n to becom e a great success. [‘T h e show ev en tu ally
b e ca m e a g re a t su ccess.’]
H e lin g ered o n to see his d a ughter’s wedding.
She g rew u p to be a successful actress.
S o m e o f th e v erb s in th is type o f c o n stru ctio n have becom e c a te n a tiv e s ( c f

3 .4 9 ): grow to, come to, turn out to.
F in a lly , -ing clauses w ith o u t a su b o rd in a to r o r a su b ject m ay also ex p ress
tim e re la tio n s h ip :
R eturning to m y village a fter thirty years, I m et an old scho o lteach er.

[‘W h en /A fter I retu rn ed . . . ’]
T h e stran g er, having discarded his ja c k e t, m oved th rea te n in g ly to w a rd
m e. [‘ . . . a fte r h e h ad d is c a r d e d . . . ’]
A d v e rb ia l clauses o f tim e a re ad ju n cts. Since they a re c om m only se n ten ce

a d ju n c ts ( c f 15.22), th ey o ften a p p e a r in itially a n d occasionally m ed ially , as
th e e x a m p le s in th is sectio n in d icate.
N o te [a] N o u n p h rases (som etim es intro d u ced by a p rep o sitio n ) m odified by a relativ e clau se m ay
h a v e a s e m a n tic role sim ilar to ad v e rb ial clauses o f tim e (c/1 4 .1 4 ):
E v e ry tim e (that) th e telephone rings, h e g ets n ervous.
R e m a in in your seats until such tim e a s y o u are told that y o u can leave.
B y th e tim e the alarm went off', I w as aw ak e.
T h e y m a d e me feel a t h o m e the m om ent 1 arrived.
T h in g s h a v e ch an g ed a g re a t d ea l since th e last tim e yo u were here, ( c f: sin ce you w ere h ere
la s t tim e)
Throughout the period I was in London, it ra in e d h ea v ily .
T h e s e n o u n ph rases an d p rep o sitio n al p h rases a re ad v erb ials o f tim e, th o u g h n o t a d v e rb ia l
c la u se s.
[b] T h e co rrelativ es no sooner. . . than ( c f 14.13 N o te [b]) express tim e relatio n sh ip :
T h e m e e tin g had no so o n er s ta rte d ) ..
,, . .. . * j I th a n th e re w as an uproar.
N o s o o n e r had th e m e etin g started J
T h e m e a n in g is sim ilar to th a t o f a n a s soon a s clause, b u t it add itio n ally ex p resses su rp rise.
S y n ta c tic a lly , th e no sooner clause is th e m a trix clause.
T im e relationships
15.26 A n a d v e rb ia l clause o f tim e re la te s th e tim e o f the situ atio n d e n o te d in its
c la u se to th e tim e o f th e situ atio n d e n o te d in th e m atrix clause. T h e tim e o f
th e m a tr ix clause m ay b e p rev io u s to, su b seq u e n t to, o r sim u ltan eo u s w ith ,
th e tim e o f th e a d v erb ial clause. T h e situ a tio n s in the clauses m ay be view ed
as o c c u rrin g once o r as recu rrin g . T h e tim e relatio n sh ip m ay a d d itio n ally
c o n v e y duration! a n d th e relativ e p ro x im ity in tim e o f th e tw o situ atio n s.
S o m e o f these tim e rela tio n sh ip s a re ex p ressed n o t only by th e ch o ice o f
s u b o rd in a to r, b ut also by o th er d ev ices in th e tw o cla u se s: ten se a n d asp ect,
th e s e m a n tic category o f th e v erb s, a d v e rb s an d p rep o sitio n al p h ra ses o f
tim e , a n d adjectives a n d n o u n s ex p ressin g tim e ( c f 19.35). T em p o ral
re la tio n s h ip s b etw een clauses m ay be im p lied by th e ir se m an tic re la tio n sh ip s
in ju x ta p o s e d or co o rd in a te d clauses ( c f \3 .2 2 ff). H ere we a re co n ce rn ed
m a in ly w ith the tem p o ral su b o rd in ato rs.
T im e before
15.27 U ntil, till, a n d before in d ic a te th a t th e s itu a tio n in th e m atrix c lau se o c cu rred
b e fo re o r lead in g u p to th e situ atio n in th e su b o rd in a te clause. T ill is used in
th e sa m e w ay as until, b u t is fa r less fre q u e n t a s a su b o rd in ato r. U ntil m ark s
th e tim e u p to w hich th e situ atio n in th e m a trix clause a p p lies:
I d islik ed M a u ric e until I got to know him.

T h e c h ild re n w ere n oisy until told to be quiet.
T h e m atrix clau se m u st b e d u ra tiv e, th e d u ratio n lastin g to th e tim e in d ic a te d

by th e unt/V-clause. A n eg ativ e clause is alw ays d u ra tiv e , ev en th o u g h th e
c o rre sp o n d in g p o sitiv e clause is n o t du rativ e (c /8 .5 8 ), sin ce th e ab sen ce o f
th e e v en t ex te n d s th ro u g h o u t th e in d icated p e rio d :
I d id n ’t s ta r t m y m eal until A d a m arrived.

*1 sta rte d m y m e a l until A d a m arrived.
Before also m a rk s th e tim e from w h ich th e situ atio n in th e m atrix clau se

ap p lies, b u t th e m a trix clause n eed n o t be d u ra tiv e:
I sta rte d m y m e a l before A d a m arrived.
T h e situ atio n in ««»7-clauses is generally p resu p p o sed to b e tru e, b u t th a t

is n o t alw ays so fo r fce/ore-clauses. N o n factu al fee/ore-clauses m ay im p ly
p referen ce, as in [ 1 ], o r im p lau sib ility , as in [2 ]:
H e ’ll b eg fo r fo o d before he'll a sk his parents fo r m oney. [‘H e w o n ’t

ask h is p a re n ts fo r m o n ey ’; ‘H e would ra th e r b eg fo r food th a n
ask h is p a re n ts fo r m oney. ’] [ 1]
P ig s w ill fly before he'll become a mathematician. [‘H e ’ll n ev er
b eco m e a m a th e m a tic ia n .’] [2 ]
O r th e s itu a tio n in th e m a trix clause m ay p re v en t th a t in th e he/ore-clause

fro m tak in g p la c e :
H e d ied before writing a will.

Sally sto p p e d T e d before he had a chance to reply, (c /1 4 .2 7 )
Som e before- clau ses m a y be in te rp re te d as e ith er fa ctu al o r n o n fa c tu a l:
I se n t a d o n a tio n before I was a sk e d to.
B e/ore-clauses m a y im p ly p u rp o se ( c f 15.48) an d re su lt ( c f 15.49) as well a s

tim e :
I h a d to p u t m y c o m p la in t in w ritin g before they w ould ta ke any action.

[‘ . . . so t h a t th e y w ould tak e som e a ctio n a n d w ith th e resu lt th a t th ey
to o k a c tio n ’; also ‘T h ey w o u ld n ’t tak e a n y a c tio n u n til I p u t m y
c o m p la in t in w ritin g .’]
6 te7 -c la u se s m ay im p ly resu lt a s well a s tim e :
She m assa g ed h e r leg until it stopped hurting. [‘ . . .w ith th e result th a t it

sto p p e d h u rtin g .’]
T h e untiV-clause ex p resses th e result o f th e activ ity d e sc rib e d in th e m atrix

clause.
W h en th e m a trix clau se is im p erativ e, th e sen ten ce w ith a he/ore-clause
m ay im p ly a c o n d itio n a l re la tio n sh ip as well as tim e :
G o before I call the police. [‘G o! I f you d o n ’t go, I ’ll c all th e p o lice.’]
C o m p are th e c o o rd in a te c o n stru ctio n s im plying th e sa m e rela tio n sh ip :

G o or I'll c a ll the police. G o a n d I won’t call the police.
N o n a s s e rtiv e ite m s (c /1 0 ,6 0 ) c a n a p p e a r in 6 c/orc-clauses, p e rh a p s b ecau se

before-clauscs, lik e c o n d itio n a l clauses (c f 1 5 .3 3 ff), in h e re n tly re la te to
m a tte r s u n fu lfilled in re sp e c t o f th e m atrix c la u s e :
I sp o k e to th e m before I ever heard a n y gossip about them .

[‘A t th e tim e I sp o k e to th em I h ad n o t h e ard an y gossip a b o u t th e m ’]
C o n tra s t:
*1 sp o k e to th e m a fte r I h a d ever heard any gossip about them .
B e fo re m a y be m o d ified to in d ic a te relativ e p ro x im ity o f tim e ( c f : after, 15.29)

by a ra n g e o f m o d ifiers, eg: ju s t , right , im m ediately , som etim e , a long tim e ,
m any da ys:
I to o k th e e x a m in a tio n a yea r before m y brother did.
U n til is re stric te d to th e m o d ifiers ju s t an d right.
N o te [a] C o n s tru c tio n s w ith before a n d a fte r a re n o t n ecessarily converses. I f w e d esig n a te th e first
s itu a tio n as ‘X ‘ a n d th e seco n d a s ‘Y \ th e n in th e factu al use o f b efo re :
X befo re Y = X h a p p e n e d b efo re Y hap p e n ed .
O n th e o th e r h a n d , t h e a fte r co n stru c tio n has tw o in te rp re ta tio n s :
Y a fte r X — (i) Y h a p p e n e d a f te r X h ap p e n ed , [converse]
(ii) Y c o n tin u e d to h a p p e n a fte r X began to h a p p e n , [n o t converse]
I f Y is n o n d u ra tiv e , th e tw o co n stru c tio n s are converses:
I sh a v e d [XI before I w e n t to th e p a rty [Y]. [31
= I w en t to th e p a rty [Y ] a fte r I sh av ed [X). [4]
H o w e v e r, i f Y is .d u rativ e, th e tw o co n stru c tio n s n eed n o t m e a n th e s a m e :
I k n e w CatHy [X ] before sh e p ractised m ed icin e [Y], [5]
# C a th y p ra c tis e d m e d ic in e [Y] a fter I knew h e r [X]. [ 6]
S e n te n c e [6] allow s th e p o ssib ility th a t C ath y p ractised m e d icin e ev e n befo re I k n ew her.
N o n f a c tu a l before -clau ses ru le o u t a n eq u iv a le n t q /ter-cla u se:
S ally sto p p ed T e d [X] before h e h a d a ch a n ce to reply [Y]. [7]
T e d h ad a c h a n c e to re p ly [Y] a fter Sally sto p p ed h im [X]. 181
S e n te n c e [7] im plies th a t T e d d id n o t hav e a c h a n ce to reply.
W h e n th e o/ter-cla u se im p lie s cau se, th e re is no eq u iv alen t before-claxxse:
A f te r N o rm a sp o k e , sh e rece iv ed a stan d in g o vation.
# N o rm a sp o k e before sh e received a stan d in g o v atio n .
[b] W h e n b o th m a trix a n d s u b o rd in a te clause differ only in th e ir subjects, a p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se
c o rre s p o n d s to th e before- o r after- c la u s e :
[9]
[ 10]
N o tic e th e use o f th e o b je c tiv e ca se in [10]. In som e co n tex ts th e re m ay be am b ig u ity b etw e en

te m p o ra l a n d p o sitio n al b e fo re :
T h e y should s ta n d u p before m e. [‘before I d o ’ or ‘in fro n t o f m e’] [ 11]
P o sitio n a l b e fo re is used in fre q u en tly .
[c] S im ila r to th e s u b o rd in a to rs a re p rep o sitio n al p h rases w ith until , till, an d before follow ed by
n o u n p h ra s e s m od ified by re la tiv e clauses, eg: till the m om ent (that), before the tim e (that), c f 15.25
N o te [aj. B u t th e b efore -phrases c a n n o t be used in p lace o f n o n fa c tu a l before-clauses.
S em antic roles of adverbial clauses 1083
Id] Until- clau ses, lik e /'e/ort'-clauses. m ay e x p ress a co m b in atio n o f tim e, purpose, a n d re su lt.
C o n tra st:
L a rry polished th e ta b le un til co u ld see his face in it.
I f th e su b jec t o f th e m a trix clause a n d th e until- clause a re here co referential (for ex a m p le L a rr y

a n d he), all th re e m e a n in g s are com bined. I f th e y a re n o t coreferential, th e tmn7-clause co n v e y s
o nly tim e a n d result.
S a m e tim e
15.28 S ev eral su b o rd in a to rs in d ic a te th e sim u lta n eity o f th e situ atio n s in th e m a tr ix
a n d s u b o rd in a te clau ses, o r a t least a n o v e rla p in tim e o f th e tw o s itu a tio n s :
as, a s long as, so long as, while, whilst. W hen, whenever, a n d now (that) m a y
h a v e th e sam e fu n ctio n .
A s, a s long as, so long as, while, a n d whilst alw ays den o te sim u ltan eity w h e n
th ey a re u sed a s te m p o ra l c o n ju n ctio n s. T e m p o ra l clauses in tro d u ced b y th e
last fo u r o f th ese s u b o rd in a to rs a re d u ra tio n adv erb ials.
A s d e n o te s m e re ly sim u ltan eity o f tw o situ atio n s:
J u st as she w as about to speak, sh e w as h a n d e d a note.

A s it grew d a rk , w e could h e a r th e h u m o f m osquitoes.
F o r a s long as a n d so long as, b o th c lauses m u s t be d u rativ e. G en erally , th e s e

su b o rd in a to rs im p ly t h a t th e situ atio n s b eg in a n d en d a t th e sam e t im e :
A s long as I live here, 1 do it m y w ay.

H e ’ll c o n tin u e w o rk in g so long a s he has the strength.
T h ey e m p h a size m o re strongly th a n th e o th e r su b o rd in ato rs b o th sim u lta n e ity

a n d d u ra tio n . W hile a n d th e less fre q u e n t w hilst req u ire th a t th e ir clau se m u s t
be d u ra tiv e , b u t th e m a trix clause n e e d n o t b e :
T h e y a rriv e d w hile I was sunbathing.

H e c u t h im s e lf while shaving.
W henever is p rim a rily used to in tro d u c e a frequency ad v erb ial, d e n o tin g

th a t th e situ a tio n is re p eated . I t m ay also im ply th a t th e tw o situ a tio n s
o v e rla p in tim e i f a t least o n e o f th e c lau ses is d u rativ e:
I t ra in s whenever w e’re camping. [‘ . . . a t a n y tim e w e’re c am p in g .’]

She v isits h e r p a re n ts whenever possible.
L ik e whenever, when m ay im ply sim u lta n e ity i f one o f th e clauses is d u r a tiv e :
W hen I dream I see angels ru n n in g u p a n d d ow n a ladder.

B e c are fu l when crossing streets.
W hen m ay also im p ly re p etitiv en ess, in w h ic h case it is synonym ous w ith

whenever:
W hen I read I lik e to be alone.
A s long as a n d so long as m ay im p ly c o n d itio n (‘p ro v id ed th a t’) as w ell as

tim e :
I ’m h a p p y as long as m y children are.

1084 S y n ta c tic and semantic functions o f subordinate clauses
N o w th a t c o m b in e s reason w ith tem p o ral m ea n in g , in p re sen t o r p a st tim e.

I t m a y b e u sed to in d ic a te s im u lta n eity :
W e a r e h a p p y now that everybody is present.

N o w th a t she could drive , she felt in d ep e n d en t.
N o te [a] A ty p e o f tv/ien-clause, o b ligatory a t E position, rep resen ts clim a ctic in fo rm atio n in n a r r a t iv e :

T h e la s t m a n w as em erg in g from th e escape tunnel when a d istant shout signalled its
d isco v ery b y th e guards. [1]
I w a s p la y in g th e p ia n o , when there w a s a k n o c k a t the door. [2]
I w a s w a tc h in g th e television, when suddenly the lights went out. [3]
T h e m o r e im p o r ta n t in fo rm a tio n is given in th e s u b o rd in ate clauses, w hich in d icate th a t a n
e v e n t h a p p e n e d w ith in a p eriod referred to in th e m a trix clause. N o tic e th a t th e m a trix v e rb is
in th e p ro g re ssiv e a n d th a t th e iWitvi-clause is p ositioned finally. T h e effect is to p ro v id e a
d r a m a ti c a n d e m p h a tic clim ax. T h e vv/jen-clause is n o n restrictiv e ( c f 15.23), an d is usually
s e p a r a te d b y in to n a tio n a n d p u n ctu atio n from th e m a trix clause.
[b] C e r t a in n o u n a n d p rep o sitio n a l p h rases co m b in e w ith relativ e clauses to convey a m e an in g
s im ila r to t h a t o f th e se su b o rd in ato rs, c f 15.25 N o te [a]. T h e y in clu d e every tim e (that), a s often
as, a t th e ve ry m om ent (that), during the period (that), throughout the tim e (that).
T im e a f t e r
15.29 S e v e ral su b o rd in a to rs in d ic a te a seq u en ce in w h ich th e situ atio n in th e
m a trix c la u se o c cu rs a fte r th a t in th e su b o rd in a te c la u s e : after, as soon as,
d irectly ( e s p B rE > , im m ediately (e sp B rE >, once, since, when, whenever. N o w
(th a t) m a y h a v e t h e sam e fu n ctio n .
A s so o n as, im m ediately, directly, a n d once a d d th e n o tio n o f p ro x im ity in
tim e o f th e tw o s itu a tio n s :
A s soon as I le ft, I b u rst o u t laughing.

W e ’ll e a t once I fin ish preparing the meal.
Im m e d ia te ly a n d directly p articu larly e m p h asize p ro x im ity :
S h e re tu rn e d im m ediately she heard the good news.
A s im ila r effect is o b tain e d by ad d in g a p p ro p ria te m odifiers to after a n d as

soon a s, eg: im m ediately after, ju s t as soon as.
A fte r m ere ly m a rk s th e sequ en ce o f th e clauses. M o d ificatio n s (cf. before,
15.27) m a y in d ic a te relativ e p roxim ity, eg: ju s t, right, im m ediately, m om ents,
som e tim e , a lo n g tim e , soon, three days, a year:
C o m e o v e r right a fter you've fin ish ed working.

I w e n t to sle ep soon a fte r hearing the news, [after as p rep o sitio n ]
U n lik e th e p ro x im ity su b o rd in ato rs, a fte r allow s th e p ossibility th a t th e

s itu a tio n in th e m a trix clause a p p lied b efo re th e e v e n t:
H e w a s still tire d (even) a fter he had h a d eight hours o f sleep.

* H e w a s still tire d im m ediately he h a d h a d eight hours o f sleep.
S in ce m a r k s th e b eg in n in g o f th e p e rio d a fte r w h ich th e situ atio n in th e

m a trix c la u se a p p lie s ( c /8 .6 0 /, 14.26):
H e feels m u c h m o re relaxed since he left school. [1]

S in c e returning home, C aro l h as b een w o rk in g in h e r p a re n ts ’
b u sin ess, [since a s p rep o sitio n ] [2 ]
Sem antic roleso f adverbial clauses 1085
Since I last saw y o u , I h a v e given b irth to a b eau tifu l d a u g h te r. [3]

T h ey h ad n o t re a d an y b o o k s since they left school. [4]
T h e perio d m ark e d b y since m ay extend to the m o m e n t o f u tte ra n c e , as in

ex am p les [1 -3 ], o r to th e p a s t tim e o f n a rra tio n , as in [4], B u t since does n o t
rule o u t a n e x ten sio n b ey o n d th e p eriod. T h e m atrix clau se m ay b e d u ra tiv e,
as in [1], [2], an d [4], in w h ic h case we c an p rem odify since by ever an d ask a
H ow long? q u estio n to elic it th e s/nce-clause. O n th e o th e r h a n d , it m ay b e
n o n d u ra tiv e, as in [3]. T h e m atrix clause (it follow ed by be) m ay m erely
specify th e tim e p e r io d :
It has been tw o y e ars since I last saw you. [‘I last saw you tw o years
ago.’]
T h e p erio d , how ever, m ay b e left vague:
T., , f a long tim e ] . ,

I t s been \ } since you were here.
[a g es J
W hen a n d whenever m a y in d ic a te a sequence w h e n th e tw o clauses a re

n o n d u ra tiv e:
She w as sh o ck ed when she heard his story. [5]

When(ever) I cry, m y ey es g et puffy. [6 ]
I d rin k coke w hen(ever) I f e e l sick. [7]
N o w (that) does n o t h a v e t h a t restrictio n , b u t it co m b in e s c irc u m s ta n tia l ( c f

15.45) w ith te m p o ra l m e a n in g :
N o w th a t th e y ’ve m oved, w e w o n ’t see th em very o ften .
T h e seq u en tial m e a n in g o f after, when, an d whenever m ay in d u ce a n

im p licatio n o f cause, as in [5] a n d the follow ing :
H e felt b e tte r a fte r he h a d a short nap.

I h it h im b a ck when he h it me.
M y h e a rt leap s whenever I see you.
W hen, whenever, a n d once m a y co m b in e tim e w ith c o n d itio n , as in [7] an d th e

follow ing:
When
W henever > I m a k e up m y m ind to do something, I d o it im m ed iately .
Once
W hen a n d whenever m ay also c o m b in e tim e, cause, a n d c o n d itio n , as in [6 ].

When m ay im p ly co n ce ssio n as well as tim e. L ik e whereas ( c f 15.43), it
re q u ires a n tith esis b e tw e e n tw o situations, b u t a d d itio n ally h a s th e m ea n in g
‘in th a t sam e s itu a tio n ’ o r ‘in th o se sam e situ atio n s’:
T h ey w ere g o ssip in g , when they should have been working.

[‘ . . . , w h ereas th e y sh o u ld h av e been w o rk in g .’]
She cleans th e h o u se b y herself, when she could easily have a sk e d her
children to help her.
I n th is use, th e when- c la u se is n o n restrictiv e a n d is u su ally in fin al p o sitio n .

1086 S yn ta ctic and sem antic fun ction s of subordinate clauses
N o te [a ]T h e p rep o sitio n u n til m ay in tro d u ce a /fe r-c la u se s:

D o n ’t le av e un til after I've spoken to you.
[b] S ev eral p rep o sitio n s m ay co m b in e w ith relativ e when, w hich is not to be con fu sed w ith th e
s u b o r d in a to r : by, since <esp B r E ) , till, until:
T w o y ea rs ag o I b o u g h t a p a c k e t o f y o u r razo r b lad es, since when I h av e used n o o th ers,
[‘sin ce w h ich tim e ’]
T h e y settled in S eattle, by when she h a d o b ta in e d a m a ster’s degree in econom ics, [‘by
w h ich tim e ’]
T h e se c o n stru c tio n s a re sen te n tia l relativ e clauses ( c f 15.57).
[c] P ro x im ity m ay also be conveyed by p h ra se s su ch as the (very) m om ent th a t a n d fr o m the m inute
(th a t) follow ed by a relativ e clause, c f 15.25 N o te [a]. O th e r phrases th a t c o m b in e w ith relativ e
clatffces to co n v e y a m e an in g sim ilar to th a t o f su b o rd in ato rs in this sectio n in c lu d e fr o m the very
f i r s t tim e (th a t), by th e tim e (that), since th e d a y s (when).
[d] S ee 15.25 fo r fo-infinitive clauses th a t b len d tim e w ith outcom e.
Clauses o f co ntingency
15.30 T h e m ea n in g o f sev eral su b o rd in a to rs th a t prim arily ex p ress tim e , p lace, o r
c o n d itio n m ay b e n e u tralized in c e rta in co n tex ts to co nvey a m o re a b stra c t
n o tio n o f re c u rre n t o r h a b itu a l co n tin g e n cy : when, whenever, once; where,
wherever; if. T h e su b o rd in a to rs m ay th e n b e p a rap h ra se d by su c h p re p o si
tio n a l p h ra ses as ‘in c ases w h e n ’ o r ‘in c ircu m stan ces w h e re ’:
W hen(ever ) there’s sm o ke, th e re ’s fire.
W here(ver) children are involved, d iv o rces are
[ 1]
If p a rticu la rly u n p lea sa n t.
Once know n, su ch facts h a v e been reported.
W h e n (e v er)f f necessary, s e n d u p a flare.

W here(ver) > < in doubt, see m e. [ 2]
If i J [possible, you sh o u ld te s t all m oving p arts.
W hen(ever)
Where(yer) conscious o f an infringem ent o f his rights, h e alw ays
Once p ro teste d to th e m an a g er. [3]
If
| f when 'I
She always! w ro te a n e n co u ra g in g re m a rk , even < where > the essay
p aper was poor. ' [4]
Once, whenever, a n d wherever c a n n o t be focused by focusing a d v e rb s su c h as

even, an d a re th erefo re e x clu d ed fro m [4],
N o n fin ite a n d v erbless clau ses w ith o u t a su b o rd in ato r m ay also exp ress
recu rre n t c o n tin g en cy :
Driving a t high speed, o n e m ay w ell m iss d irectio n signs.

T h e se n ten c e is a m b ig u o u s, ta ken o ut o f context.
Fresh fro m the oven, rolls a re delicio u s.
W e can su p p ly th e su b o rd in a to r when for th ese clauses, a n d i f fo r th e -e d a n d

verbless clauses.
T h e c o rre lativ e c o n stru ctio n w ith th e -c la u se s(c fl5 .5 l) so m e tim es expresses
Sem antic roles of adverbial clauses 1087
a m e a n in g sim ila r to th a t o f a co n tin g e n t re la tio n sh ip , the first t/ie-clause

roughly c o rre sp o n d in g to a tWien-clause o r a n [/-clause:
The harder he worked, th e h a p p ie r he felt.

W hen he w orked harder, he felt h ap p ier.
Clauses o f place
15.31 A d v e rb ial clau ses o f p lace a re in tro d u ced m ain ly by where o r wherever. W here
is specific a n d wherever nonspecific ( c /1 5.9). T h e clause m ay in d icate p o sitio n
[ 1 ] o r d ire c tio n [ 2 ]:
W here the fir e h a d been, w e saw n o th in g b u t b lack en ed ruins. [1)

T h ey w e n t wherever they co u ld fin d work, [‘to a n y place w h ere’] [2]
T h e m e a n in g o f p lace m erges w ith th e g en eral c o n tin g en cy m ean in g ‘in c ases

w h ere’ (c /1 5 .3 0 ) in th e follow ing:
H e p u t co lo n s where(ver) he should have p u t semicolons.
IW iere-clauses m ay c o m b in e th e m ean in g s o f p lace an d c o n trast:
W here I sa w only wilderness, they saw a b u n d a n t signs o f life.
N o tice th a t th e c o n tra st su b o rd in ato r whereas, w h ich can replace w here

abo v e, is a c o m p o u n d w ith where as o n e o f its m em b ers.
S everal te m p o ra l su b o rd in a to rs m ay h a v e p rim a rily a place m ea n in g in
d e sc rip tio n s o f scenes, w h en th e scenes a re d e sc rib e d d ynam ically in te rm s
o f m o v e m e n t fro m o n e p lace to a n o th e r:
T a k e th e rig h t fo rk when the road splits into two.

T h e r iv e r c o n tin u e s w in d in g until it reaches a large lake.
T h e b u ild in g becom es n a rro w er as it rises higher.
T h e ro a d sto p s ju s t a fter it goes under a bridge.
Once th e m ountains rise above the snow line, v eg etatio n is sparse.
N o te [a] W here a n d wherever also in tro d u ce -ed a n d verbless clauses ( where grown, wherever necessary),
b u t th e clau ses th e n convey th e g en e ra l contingency m ean in g .
[b] T h e s a m e p la c e relatio n sh ip m ay also be expressed b y p rep o sitio n al ph rases w ith re la tiv e
clause p o stm o d ific a tio n (a t the place t h a t . . . , in the direction where . . . ) o r w ith a where- o r
wherever-c la u se a s c o m p le m e n t (loward(s) w here. . . . to w herever. . .).
[c] T h e a r c h a ic fo rm s whence [‘from w h ere’] an d w hither [‘to w h ere’] a re occasionally fo u n d ,
p articu larly in religious la nguage.
Clauses o f co ndition, concession, and contrast
O verlap o f sem an tic roles

15.32 W e h a v e se e n th a t so m e clauses o f tim e a n d p lac e m ay express a g e n e ra l
n o tio n o f a co n tin g e n cy re latio n sh ip b etw een th e situ atio n s d escrib ed in th e
s u b o rd in a te a n d m a trix clauses, a re la tio n sh ip also conveyed by c o n d itio n a l
//-clauses ( c f 15.30). W e h av e also n o ted th a t som e tem p o ral clauses m a y
im ply re la tio n s h ip s o f c o n d itio n ( c f 15.27f f ) a n d concession (c /1 5 .2 9 ), a n d
th a t so m e clau ses o f p lace m ay im ply c o n tra s t (c/* 15.31). W e now f u r th e r
n ote th a t m a n y su b o rd in a to rs an d co n ju n cts ex p ressin g those th ree lo g ical
re la tio n s h ip s o f c o n d itio n , concession, a n d c o n tra st m ay o th erw ise convey

m e a n in g s o f tim e a n d p lace, as in th e e xam ples in F ig 15.32.
s u b o r d in a t o r s c o n j u n c ts
c o n d itio n a l a s lo n g a s , in th e e v e n t th a t th e n , in th a t c a s e
c o n c e ssiv e w h e r e a s , w hile b e s id e s , y e t
c o n tr a s tiv e w h e r e a s , w hile o n th e o th e r h a n d , in s te a d
F i g 1 5 .3 2 S u b o r d i n a t o r s a n d c o n j u n c ts w i t h o v e r l a p p i n g ro le s
T h e r e is a ls o c o n sid erab le overlap in a d v erb ial clauses th a t express

c o n d itio n , c o n ce ssio n , a n d co n trast. C o n d itio n a l clauses ( c f 1 5 .3 3 # ) convey
t h a t th e s itu a tio n in th e m atrix clause is c o n tin g e n t o n th a t in th e su b o rd in a te
c la u se :
I f the w eather is fin e , (then) w e’ll h ave a b arb ecu e.
C lau ses o f c o n tr a s t ( c f 15.43) m erely co nvey a c o n tra st b etw een tw o
situ a tio n s :
W hereas th e U S has im mense mineral wealth, J a p a n (in contrast) h as
c o m p a ra tiv e ly little.
C o n c essiv e c la u se s ( c f 15.39f f ) m ay also im p ly a c o n tra st, b u t th e ir m ain role
is to im p ly th a t t h e situ a tio n in th e m atrix clause is u n e x p ec te d in th e lig h t o f
t h a t in th e c o n ce ssiv e clau se:
A lth o u g h adm ission was free, (nevertheless) few p eo p le a tte n d e d th e
lecture.
T h e p a re n th e s iz e d ite m s illu strate th e d ifferen t co n ju n cts th a t o p tio n ally
co rre late w ith t h e th re e clauses (c/14.13).
T h e o v e rla p b e tw e e n th e th ree roles is h ig h lig h ted by th e o v e rlap p in g use
o f s u b o r d in a to r s : fo r ex am p le, i f in tro d u ces all th re e ty p es o f clauses a n d
whereas b o th C o n trast a n d concessive clauses. F u rth e rm o re , even i f expresses
b o th th e c o n tin g e n t d e p en d en ce o f one situ atio n u p o n a n o th e r a n d th e
u n e x p ec te d n a tu r e o f th is d ep en d en ce:
E ven i f th e y offered to pay, I w ou ld n ’t a cc ep t an y m o n ey from th em .
All th re e ty p es o f clau ses te n d to assum e in itial p o sitio n in th e su p e ro rd in ate

clause.
I
I
C onditional clau ses
D ire ct an d in d ire ct condition

15.33 T h e c e n tra l u se s o f c o n d itio n al clauses express a d i r e c t c o n d i t i o n : th ey
co n v ey t h a t th e s itu a tio n in th e m atrix clause is d irectly c o n tin g e n t o n th a t o f
the c o n d itio n a l clau se. P u t an o th e r w ay, th e tr u th o f th e p ro p o sitio n in th e
m a trix clau se is a co n seq u en ce o f the fulfilm ent o f th e c o n d itio n in the
c o n d itio n a l cla u se . H e re is a n ex am ple:
I f y o u p u t t h e b a b y d o w n , s h e ’ll s c r e a m . [1 ]
Semantic roles of adverbial clauses 1089
In u tte rin g [1] th e sp e a k er in te n d s th e h earer to u n d e rstan d th a t th e tr u th o f

th e p re d ic tio n ‘s h e ’ll sc re a m ’ d e p en d s on th e fulfilm ent o f th e c o n d itio n o f
‘y o u r p u ttin g th e b a b y d o w n ’. T h e h earer also in p ractice in fers th e c o n v e r s e :
I f yo u don’t p u t the baby dow n, sh e w on’t scream .
H o w ev er, th e s p e a k e r m ay c an c el th is im p licatio n by h e d g in g (e x p re ssin g

som e u n certain ty , c / 8 . 124, 8.126):
I f yo u p u t the baby dow n, s h e ’ll scream . But sh e m ay sc rea m anyw ay.
M o re p e rip h e ral uses o f c o n d itio n a l clauses ex p ress a n i n d i r e c t c o n d i t i o n .

T h e co n d itio n is n o t re la te d to th e situation in th e m atrix clause. C o n sid e r
[ 2 ]:
S h e’s fa r too c o n sid era te , i f I m a y say so. [2]
In u tte rin g [2], th e sp e a k er d o es n o t intend th e tru th o f th e a sse rtio n ‘S h e ’s

fa r to o co n sid era te ’ to b e d e p e n d e n t o n o b tain in g p erm issio n fro m th e h e a re r.
R a th e r, th e c o n d itio n is d e p e n d e n t o n the im p licit sp eech a c t o f th e u t te r a n c e :
‘I ’m tellin g you, i f I m ay , th a t s h e ’s fa r too c o n sid e ra te ’. I n c o n v e n tio n a l
p o liten ess, th e sp e a k er is m a k in g th e u tteran ce o f th e a ssertio n d e p e n d e n t o n
o b ta in in g p erm issio n fro m th e h earer,T hough th e fulfilm ent o f th a t c o n d itio n
is co n v en tio n ally ta k e n for g ra n te d . H ere is a n o th e r ex am p le:
She a n d I a re ju s t good frien d s, i f you understand me.
T h e sp e a k er w a rn s th e h e a re r t h a t th e co rrect in te rp re ta tio n o f th e u tte ra n c e

‘She a n d I a re ju s t good frie n d s ’ d e p en d s on th e h e a re r u n d e rsta n d in g w h a t
th e sp e a k er m ean s by th e u tte r a n c e : ‘I ’m telling you th a t o n th e a ssu m p tio n
th a t you u n d e rstan d m e c o rre c tly ’.
I n d ire c t co n d itio n s, th e //-clause is a n ad ju n c t (c f l 5 . 2 0 f f ); in in d ire c t
c o n d itio n s, it is a style d isju n c t (c/15.21).
Sub o rd in ato rs and stru c tu ra l types o f clauses

15.34 T h e tw o sim ple s u b o rd in a to rs for co n d itio n al clauses a re i f a n d unless. T h e
m o st com m on a n d m o st v ersatile o f the co n d itio n al su b o rd in a to rs is if; w e
th erefo re generally em p lo y it in th e sections th a t follow to illu stra te th e
d ifferen t uses o f c o n d itio n al clauses. T h e n eg ativ e su b o rd in a to r unless is th e
n e x t m o st com m on. O th e r c o n d itio n al su b o rd in ato rs a re:
as long as, so long as, assum ing (that), given (that) ( f o r m a l) , in case, in the
event that, ju s t so (that) ( in f o r m a l) , on condition (that), p rovided (th a t),
providing (that), supposing (that)
G en era l recu rre n t c o n tin g e n cy is expressed by once, when, whenever, where,

a n d wherever (c/15.30). I n a d d itio n , several su b o rd in ato rs c o m b in e c o n d itio n
w ith tim e : before ( c f 15.27), a s long as, so long as, when, whenever, once ( c f
15.28). E xcept that a n d c o n ju n c tiv e only co m b in e ex cep tio n w ith c o n d itio n
(c/15.44).
A ll th ese su b o rd in a to rs a re used w ith finite clauses:
I f yo u want some m ore, you should ask m e.

Unless the strike has been called off, th ere will b e no tra in s to m o rro w .
109.0 S yn ta ctic and sem antic fun ction s o f subordinate clauses
H e d o esn ’t m in d in co n v en ien cin g o th e rs ju s t so he’s comfortable.

(in f o r m a l)
S h e m ay go, as long as he goes with her.
Y o u m ay leav e th e a p a rtm e n t a t a n y tim e , provided that y o u give a
m o n th ’s notice or p a y an additional m o n th ’s rent.
In case you w ant m e, I ’ll be in m y office till lunchtim e.
G iven that x — y , th e n n(x + a) = n(y + a) m u st also be tru e, ( i n fo rm al
a rg u m e n ta tio n )
A ssu m in g th a t the movie starts a t eight, sh o u ld n ’t we be leav in g n o w ?
Supposing they won the raffle, w h a t w ould th ey d o w ith a n e x tra c a r?
O f th e su b o rd in ato rs th a t are specifically co n d itio n al, o nly i f a n d unless

in tr o d u c e n o nfinite clauses (m ain ly -ed p a rticip le clauses) a n d verbless
c la u se s. T h ey a re m arg in ally a cc e p ta b le in -ing p a rticip le clauses ( c f 14.19
N o te [a]):
T h e grass w ill grow m o re q u ick ly i f w atered regularly.
U nless otherwise instructed, you sh o u ld leav e by th e b a ck exit.
I f w et, the p ip e w o n ’t give you a g o o d sm oke.
I t h a s little ta s te , unless hot.
H e r e b e lo n g the p o sitiv e a n d n e g ativ e c o n d itio n a l pro-clauses ifs o a n d i f not.

T h e im p lie d subject is th e m a trix c lau se its e lf (or p a r t o f it) in so m e v erb less
(^ c la u s e s, inclu d in g th e co m m o n ifp o ssib le a n d i f necessary:
M a rio n w an ts m e to ty p e th e le tte r i f possible.

[‘i f it is po ssib le fo r m e to ty p e th e le tte r’]
I c a n discuss th e m a tte r w ith you n o w , i f necessary.
[‘i f it is,necessary to discuss th e m a tte r w ith you n o w ’]
N o n fin ite an d verbless clauses w ith with or w ithout as su b o rd in a to r m ay

e x p re s s a c o n d itio n al re la tio n s h ip :
W ith o u t me to supplem ent yo u r income, you w o u ld n ’t b e a b le to m an ag e.

W ith them on our side, we a re secure.
i
C f 15.36 fo r finite co n d itio n al clau ses, w ith o u t a su b o rd in a to r b u t w ith
s u b je c t-o p e ra to r in v e rs io n :
H a d M a rk been in charge, it w o u ld n ’t h a v e h a p p en ed .
N o te [a] T h e tra d itio n a l te rm s p r o t F s i s fo r su b o rd in a te clause a n d F p o d o s i s for m a trix clau se a re

esp ec ia lly u sed for (conditional relatio n sh ip s.
[b] U nless, except (in fo rm a l A m E > , a n d a rc h a ic save also co m b in e ex c ep tio n w ith c o n d itio n , c f
15.35 N o te [f]:
I ’m n o t going y o u go with m e.
[c] C o n d itio n a l relatio n sh ip s a re also im p lie d in c e rta in k in d s o f clauses c o o rd in a te d b y a n d a n d

o r ( c f 13.25, 13.30) a n d in p a ra ta c tic co n stru c tio n s su ch a s waste not, want not ( c f 11.43).
[d] A m o n g so m e com m on stere o ty p ed c o n d itio n a l ex p ressio n s w ith o u t su b o rd in a to rs a r e :
(a) a b so lu te clauses (c/1 5 .5 8 ; a n d 9.58 fo r e x p ressio n s such as barring bad weather );
w e T th e rj w illing
C f: fo r th e tim e being
(b) subjectless clau ses w ith a subju n ctiv e v e r b :

com e to th a t [‘if it c o m e s to th a t’, ‘if I m ay ad d to th a t’]
please G o d [‘i f it p le a s e s G o d ’]
[e] C f 11.41 for (^ c lau ses a s sentences.
[f] C o n tin g en cy re la tio n sh ip s m ay also be expressed by various co m p lex prep o sitio n s, eg:
fire
in case
a fire b rea k in g o u t
on condition th at
[g] In fin itiv e clauses so m etim e s co m b in e con d itio n w ith o th e r co n tin g en cy relatio n s { c f 15.73)
such as pu rp o se o r re a s o n :
Y ou m u st be s t r o n g to lift th a t weight. [‘. . . in o rd er to lift th a t w eig h t’, ‘. . . because you
w ere able to lift th a t w eig h t’, ‘. . . i f you were able to lift th a t w eig h t’]
Y ou’d be a fool ta k e th e scholarship, [‘if you d id n ’t . . . ’]
To be consideredfor adm issiony you m u st m a k e a form al a p p lic a tio n . [‘I f you are to be
c o n s id e r e d . . . ’, ‘I n o r d e r to be c o n s id e re d . . . ’}
[h] c y 15.6 N o te [a] fo r th e re la tio n sh ip b etw een cond itio n al i f a n d in terro g a tiv e if.
[i] R estrictiv e re la tiv e cla u se s m o d ify in g gen eric noun p h rases { c f 5.26) m ay b e p a ra p h ra se d by
m e an s o f a co n d itio n a l c la u s e :
People who w ant secu rity sh o u ld n ’t ta k e a jo b in com m erce. [ 'I f people want security, th e y
s h o u ld n ’t ta k e a jo b in com m erce’]
T h e sa m e so m e tim e s ap p lie s to o th e r re stric tiv e m odifiers w ith g e n e ric n o u n p h rases;
Careless drivers c a u se ac c id e n ts. [ 'I f drivers are careless , th e y c a u se ac cid en ts’]
Cars m anufactured a b road a re less expensive. [ 'I f cars are m anufactured abroad , th ey are less
ex p e n siv e’]
D ir e c t c o n d it io n
O p e n a n d h y p o th e t ic a l c o n d itio n
15.35 A d ire c t c o n d itio n m a y b e e ith e r a n o p e n c o n d i t i o n o r a h y p o t h e t i c a l
c o n d i t i o n . O p e n c o n d itio n s a re n e u tra l: they leave u n reso lv ed the q u e stio n
o f th e fulfilm ent o r n o n fu lfilm en t o f th e co n d itio n , a n d h en ce also th e tr u th
o f th e p ro p o sitio n e x p ressed by th e m atrix c la u se :
I f Colin is in L o n d o n , h e is u n d o u b ted ly stay in g a t th e H ilto n .
T h e sen ten ce lea v es u n reso lv ed w h eth er C olin is in L o n d o n , an d h e n ce it

leaves u n reso lv ed w h e th e r h e is staying a t th e H ilto n .
A h y p o th etica l c o n d itio n , o n th e o th er h a n d , co n v ey s th e sp e a k er’s b e lie f
th a t th e c o n d itio n w ill n o t b e fulfilled (for fu tu re c o n d itio n s), is n o t fulfilled
(for p re sen t c o n d itio n s), o r w as n o t fulfilled (for p a s t co n d itio n s), a n d h e n ce
th e p ro b a b le o r c e r ta in falsity o f th e p ro p o sitio n ex p ressed by th e m a trix
clause:
I f he changed his opinions , h e ’d b e a m ore lik e a b le p erso n . [1]
T h ey w o u ld b e h e re w ith us i f they had the tim e. [2]
I f yo u h a d listened to m e , you w o u ld n ’t h av e m a d e so m an y m istakes. [3]
T h e c o n d itio n al c la u se s in th ese sentences convey th e follow ing im p lic a tio n s:

H e very p ro b a b ly w o n ’t ch an g e his o p in io n s. [la ]
T h ey p re su m a b ly d o n ’t h av e th e tim e. [2a]
Y ou c ertain ly d id n ’t liste n to m e. [3a]
T h e p recise fo rm u la tio n o f th e sp e a k er’s b elief d e p e n d s b n th e tim e referen ce
o f th e c o n d itio n al clau se. F o r fu tu re referen ce as in [1], th e c o n d itio n is
c o n tr a r y to e x p e c ta tio n ; fo r p re sen t reference a s in [2 ], it is c o n tra ry to

a s s u m p tio n ; fo r p a s t re fe re n ce as in [3], it is co n trary to fact. I f is th e m a in
s u b o r d in a to r u se d in h y p o th etica l conditions.
T h e d is tin c tio n b e tw ee n o p en a n d h y p o th etical c o n d itio n s is im p o rta n t
g ra m m a tic a lly b e ca u se th e v erb s in h y p o th etical c o n d itio n s a re b a e k s h ifte d
( c /b a c k s h if tin g in in d ire c t sp eech , 14.31).
c o n d it i o n a l c la u s e m a t r ix c la u s e
p rese n t and PAST PAST MODAL

f u tu r e refe ren c e I f I w ere younger, I w ould s tu d y C lassical G reek.
past PAST PER FECTIV E PAST P ER FECTIV E MODAL

re fe re n c e I f I h a d seen you, I would have invited y o u hom e.
Fig 15.35 Verb forms with hypothetical conditions
O n t h e v e rb fo rm s, c /f u r th e r 14.23.
C o n d itio n a l clau ses - p a rticu la rly clauses in tro d u ced b y if, in case, a n d in
th e even t that - a r e lik e q u e stio n s in th a t qu estio n s are gen erally e ith e r n e u tra l
in th e ir e x p e c ta tio n s o f a n an sw er o r b iased to w a rd a n eg ativ e resp o n se
( c / 1 1 .6 /) . T h ere fo re, lik e qu estio n s, they te n d to a d m it n o n a sse rtiv e fo rm s
( c /1 0 .6 0 /) ;
In th e e v e n t th a t h e is a t a ll in terested , I ’ll sp eak to h im .

I f y o u ever to u c h m e a g ain , I ’ll scream .
I f y o u h a d ever lis te n e d to any o f my lectures, you w ould h a v e k n o w n
th e a n sw er.
S h e ’s ta k in g a s tic k w ith h e r in case sh e h as a n y tro u b le o n th e w ay.
N o n a ss e rtiv e ite m s also a p p e a r in in d irect co n d itio n s (c /1 5 .3 8 ):
T h e y ’re g o in g ste ad y , i f it’s o f any in te rest to you. [‘I d o n ’t k n o w i f it’s

o f an y in te re s t to y o u .’]
I ’ll b e in m y o ffice a ll d F y , in c a s e y o u h a v e any PROBlem a t all. [‘I ’m
te llin g y o u th is in c a s e y o u h a v e a n y p r o b le m a t a ll.’]
M o s t s u b o rd in a to rs a re n o t used, o r rarely used, in h y p o th etica l co n d itio n s.

T h e ir clau ses te n d to c o n ta in a ssertiv e fo rm s :
I w o n ’t p h o n e you, un less som ething u n fo reseen h a p p en s.
S econd-instanC e i/c la u s e s m ay h av e assertive form s:
A : I ’ve g o t som ething to tell you later.

B : W ell, if y o u ’ve g o t som ething to tell m e, tell m e now .
N o te [a] O p e n co n d itio n s h a v e a lso bee n te rm ed ‘real’, ‘factu al’, a n d ‘n e u tra l’ c o n d itio n s. H y p o th etical
c o n d itio n s h av e also b een te rm e d ‘closed’, ‘u n real’, ‘rejected ’, ‘n o n factu al’, ‘c o u n te rfa c tu a l’, an d
‘m a r k e d ’ c o n d itio n s.
Ib] I f a n d when is s o m etim e s used fo r fu tu re op en co nditions.
[c] I f only is an in ten sifie d e q u iv a le n t o f if, typically used in h y p o th etical clauses to ex p ress w h at
th e s p e a k e r w ishes w ould h a p p e n , w ould be h a p p e n in g , o r w ould h av e h a p p e n e d :
I f o n ly yo u w ould help m e n e x t week, I w ould not be so nervous.
I f only th e y were here now , w e w ould be ab le to ce leb rate th eir w edding a n n iv ersary .
I f only som ebody h a d told us, w e could h a v e w arn ed you.
W h en po sitiv e, th e co n d itio n a l clause g en e ra lly c o n tain s assertive form s, a n d n ea rly a lw a y s
p reced es th e m a trix clause. T h e clause is so m etim e s used o n its ow n as a h y p o th e tic a l w is h
(c /1 1 .41): I f o n ly I h a d n ’t lost // / T h e c o m b in a tio n o nly / / i s qu ite differen t: / / i s restricted b y th e
focusing only.
[d] G iven (that) a n d assum ing (that) are used fo r o p e n c o n d itio n s w hich th e sp eak er assu m es w e re ,
a re , o r w ill b e fulfilled, an d fro m w h ich a p ro p o sitio n is deduced. A clause in tro d u ced by g r a n te d
(that) is also u sed a s a p rem ise for a d ed u c tio n , b u t usually im plies a previous s ta te m e n t o n w h ic h
th e prem ise is b ased . I f m ay be used in th e sam e w a y : I f yo u were there (and y o u sa y y o u w ere),
yo u m u st have seen her-, a n d so also in //-clauses w ith clausal pro-form s: i f so, i f n o t , i f th a t’s tr u e ,
i f that's the case, a n d (w ith no n assertiv es) i f anything, i f a t all. Given (that) an d g ra n ted (th a t) te n d
to be used in fo rm a l w ritte n style, p articu larly in arg u m en tatio n .
[e] A s long as a n d so long as a re less fo rm a l th a n th e sem antically sim ilar b u t fo rm a l p r o v id e d
(that) a n d providing (that). J u s t so (that) te n d s to a p p e a r in inform al co n v ersatio n . T h e y all m e a n
‘if an d o nly if ’.
[f] Unless in tro d u ces a n eg a tiv e c o n d itio n ; th e w /t/m -clause is usually roughly s im ila r to a
n eg a tiv e jA clause. W ith unless th e re is a g re a te r focus o n th e conditions as an ex c e p tio n (‘o n ly if
. . . n o t’). T h e re a r e th e refo re co n tex ts in w h ich th e unless-claust can n o t occur:
. . . . f i f he doesn't com e with us.
I ll feel m u c h h a p p ie r , ..
[fu n le ss he com es w ith us.
I f y o u hadn’t studie d hard, 1 ,.. r .. , , ,
* :/. . , .. . . , ^ you d h a v e failed th e exam .
* Unless y o u h a d stu d ie d ha rd .j 3
[g] In case ( c f also 15.46) is used fo r op en c o n d itio n s, norm ally w ith fu tu re refere n ce (‘i f it sh o u ld
h a p p e n th a t’):
I’ll let you k n o w in case they come b y here.
I n fo rm al A m E it also has th e m ean in g ‘o n co n d itio n th a t’ :
T h e v e rb is p lu ra l (only!just) in case the subject is plural.
[h] In th e event (th a t) c a n generally rep lace / / i n o p en conditions. Because o f its g re a te r le n g th , it
i s re g a rd e d a s stylistically clum sy.
[ij T h e fo rm i f a n d only i f is used in m a th e m a tic s a n d fo rm al logic to in tro d u ce a n e c e ssa ry a n d
sufficient c o n d itio n on th e tr u th o f th e m a trix clause. It is som etim es ab b re v ia te d iff.
T h e v e r b p h r a s e in t h e c o n d i t i o n a l c l a u s e
15.36 T h e p re se n t su b ju n c tiv e is so m etim es used fo r o pen co n d itio n s in c o n d itio n a l
clauses, in ste a d o f th e n o rm al p re s e n t te n s e :
I f a n y v eh icle be fo u n d p a rk e d o n th ese prem ises w ith o u t w ritte n

p e rm issio n , it shall be to w ed a w ay a t th e expense o f th e v e h ic le ’s
ow ner.
T h is use is m ain ly confined to very fo rm al, legal, o r quasi-legal co n te x ts.

T w o w ays o f expressing fu tu re h y p o th etica l conditions a re o c c a sio n a lly
used in fo rm al c o n tex ts. T h ey h av e o v e rto n e s o f ten tativ en ess:
(i) was to o r were to follow ed by th e in fin itiv e:
I f it t0 r a *n >th e ro p es w o u ld sn ap . T h ey ’re fa r too tig h t. [1]
(ii) should follow ed by th e in fin itiv e ( c f p u tativ e should 14.25):
I f a serio u s crisis should arise, th e p u b lic w ould have to be

in fo rm e d o f its full im p licatio n s. [2 ]
In [1] were is th e sin g u lar p a st su b ju n c tiv e form o f be a n d n o t th e s im p le

p a s t fo rm , were b ein g used in th e p a s t su b ju n ctiv e for th e sin g u lar as w ell as
1094 S y n ta c tic and sem antic functions o f subordinate clauses
th e p lu r a l ( c f 3.62). A s [1] illustrates, b o th th e p a s t su b ju n ctiv e an d th e p a st

in d ic a tiv e fo rm s are possible for h y p o th etical c o n d itio n s, th e su b ju n ctiv e
b e in g p re fe rre d by m any, especially in fo rm al w ritte n E n g lish :
I f J o h n \ w as I here, w e would soon lea rn th e tru th .

[ were]
T h e id io m i f l . . . yo u by co n v en tio n usually c o n ta in s th e su b ju n ctiv e were,

th o u g h was also o ccu rs frequently.
W e m a y s ig n a l th e c o n d itio n al re la tio n sh ip , w ith o u t u sin g a su b o rd in a to r,
by s u b je c t- o p e r a to r in v ersio n . T h e m o st co m m o n use o f th is in v ersio n in
c o n d itio n a l c lau ses is w ith th e o p erato r had:
H a d I know n, I w ould h av e w ritten b efo re. [‘I f l h a d k n o w n ,. . . ’]
F o r th e n e g ativ e, not is p laced before th e lexical v erb , th e en clitic n ’t n o t

b e in g p o s s ib le :
H a d I not seen it with m y own eyes, I w o u ld n o t h av e believed it.
In v e rs io n m ay a lso o ccur in a so m ew hat lite rary style w ith su b ju n ctiv e were

a n d te n ta tiv e s h o u ld :
W e re it to reveal its secrets, th a t house w ould co llap se in sham e.

W e re she in charge, sh e w ould d o th in g s differently.
S h o u ld y o u change yo u r m ind, n o o n e w o u ld b lam e you.
S h o u ld she b e interested, I ’ll p h o n e her.
M o re ra re ly , i h e o p e ra to r m ay be could o r m ig h t:
C b u ld J ^ f ut see m y n at‘ve ând’ I w ould d ie a h a p p y m an .
F o r th is c o n stru c tio n , th ese tw o o p e rato rs re q u ire a n a d v e rb such as b u t o r

ju s t b e fo re th e lex ic al verb.
O n th e ch o ic e o f v erb s in b o th th e c o n d itio n al a n d th e m atrix clause, c f
14.23. \
I
| \
R h e to ric a l co n d itio n al clauses
15.37 R h e to ric a l c o n d itio n a l clauses give th e a p p e a ra n c e o f ex p ressin g a n o p e n
c o n d itio n , b u t (lik e rh e to rica l questions, c / 1 1.23) th e y actu ally m ak e a stro n g
a sse rtio n . T h e re a re tw o ty p es o f rh e to rica l /-c la u s e s , o n e in w h ich th e
a sse rtio n is d e riv e d from th e co n d itio n al clau se a n d th e o th e r in w h ich it is
d e riv e d fro m th e m a trix clause.
(a) I f t h e p ro p o sitio n in th e m atrix clause is p a te n tly a b su rd , th e p ro p o sitio n

in th e c o n d itio n a l clause is show n to be fa ls e :
I f th e y ’re Irish, I ’m th e P ope. [‘Since I ’m ob v io u sly n o t th e P o p e, th e y ’re

c e rta in ly n o t I ris h .’]
I f y o u believe that, you’ll believe a n y th in g . [‘Y ou certain ly c a n ’t b elieve
t h a t . ’]
I f sh e doesn't g e t fir s t p rize, sh e ’s no d a u g h te r o f yours. [‘She c ertain ly
w ill g e t first p riz e .’]
(b) I f th e p ro p o sitio n in th e co n d itio n al clau se is p a te n tly tru e, th e

p ro p o sitio n in th e m a trix clau se is show n to be tru e. T h is ty p e is used w ith
m easu re ex p ressio n s w ith th e im p licatio n o f a t least th e m ea su re s ta te d in
th e c o n d itio n al clau se. T h e (/-clause is p ositioned finally:
H e ’s n in ety i f h e ’s a d a y . [‘I f you’ll agree th a t h e ’s a t lea st a d a y old,

p e rh ap s y o u ’ll ta k e m y w ord th a t h e’s n in ety .’]
T h e p ack ag e w e ig h ed te n p o u n d s i f it weighed an ounce. [‘T h e p a ck a g e
c ertain ly w e ig h ed te n p o u n d s.’]
T h e p ain tin g m u st b e w o rth a th o u san d dollars i f it’s worth a cent. [‘T h e
p a in tin g m u s t c e rta in ly be w orth a th o u san d d o lla rs.’]
N o te T h e m a trix clause in ty p e (a) h as som e fixed expressions w h ich s ta te p a te n t falsehoods, w ith

som e v ariatio n in th e p e rso n o f th e su b ject, su ch as l i t eat m y hat an d H e ’s a D utchm an:
I f D a v e ’s younger th a n m e . I ’ll e a t m y h at. [‘D av e’s certain ly n o t y o u n g er th a n m e.’l
M ore stereotyped, b ec au se re s tric te d to a n /-subject, are I ’ll be (or I'm ) d a m n e d a n d I'll be (o r I'm )
hanged, b o th fam iliar in s ty le :
I I I be I d am ne(j i f j apologize, [*i’H ce rtain ly not apologize.’]

Im J
A s a result, th ese c a n s ta n d alo n e a s expressions o f am azem en t, eg: W ell, r i l be dam ned. T a b o o
expressions also o cc u r in th e m a tr ix ctau se w ith rh eto rical co n d itio n a l c lau ses ( e g : F uck m e i f I'm
going to lift a fin g er to help th em ).
C o m p a re also th e s te re o ty p e d p a tte r n s in She's nothing i f not tough [‘S h e's certain ly to u g h .']
a n d H e ’s nothing i f not cruel [‘H e ’s ce rta in ly cruel.’].
I n d ir e c t c o n d itio n
15.38 In d irec t c o n d itio n s a re o p e n co n d itio n s ( c f 15.35) th a t a re d e p e n d e n t o n a n
im p licit sp eech a c t o f th e u tte ra n c e ( c /1 1.3), an d a re th ere fo re style d isju n cts
(c/1 5 .2 1 ). T h ey a re m a in ly realized by (/clau ses. W e c a n d istin g u ish se v e ra l
classes o f style d is ju n c ts :
(a) T h e c o n d itio n al c lau se is a co n v en tio n al ex p ressio n o f p o liten ess w h ic h

m ak es th e s p e a k e r’s u tte ra n c e seem ingly d e p en d e n t o n th e p e rm issio n o f th e
h e a re r ( c /8 .1 2 4 /):
I f y o u don’t m in d m y saying so, your slip is show ing. [‘I f you d o n ’t m in d

m y saying so, I ’m tellin g you t h a t . . . ’]
I f I m a y be quite f r a n k w ith you, I d o n ’t a p p ro v e o f an y concessions to
igno ran ce.
O th e r exam ples in c lu d e :
i f I m a y sa y so (w ithout contradiction), i f I m a y p u t it bluntly, i f I m a y be

personal, ify o u can be serious fo r ju s t this once, ify o u can k ee p a secret, i f we
can be practical f o r a m o m en t, i f I m ay p u t the m atter a s sim p ly as possible, i f
I m a y interrupt, i f I m a y change the subject
(b) T h e c o n d itio n a l c la u se is a m etalin g u istic c o m m e n t (c /8 .1 2 6 ) w h ic h

hedges th e w o rd in g o f th e u tte ra n c e , e ith er suggesting t h a t th e w o rd in g is n ot
q u ite p recise o r th a t it sh o u ld n o t be m isu n d ersto o d in so m e sense n o t
in te n d e d by th e s p e a k e r. I t explicitly o r im plicitly calls fo r th e h e a r e r ’s
a g reem en t:
H is style is florid, i f that's the right word. [‘I ’m n o t sure th a t flo r id is

th e rig h t w o rd .’] [1]
T h e B ig B a n g T h eo ry o f th e o rig in o f th e universe b ears a
sta rtlin g resem b lan c e to th e d e sc rip tio n o f c reatio n in G en esis,
i f one m a y p u t it so. [‘I ’m n o t su re th a t one m ay p h ra se th e
re se m b la n c e in th a t w a y .’] [2]
S h e is resig n in g , i f y o u know w hat I m ean. [P e rh a p s: ‘Y ou a re to
in te r p r e t t h a t to m e a n th a t sh e h a s been a sked to re sig n .’] [3]
I n [1] a n d [2] th e sp e a k e r is u n c e rta in o f th e correctness o f th e w o rd in g . I n [3]

th e s p e a k e r is u n c e rta in w h e th e r th e h e are r will in te rp re t th e w o rd in g
co rre c tly a n d th ere fo re w a rn s th e h e a re r to in te rp ret it in th e in te n d e d w ay.
O th e r e x a m p le s in c lu d e :
i f I m a y p u t it so, i f that's the correct term , i f that’s the word fo r it, i f yo u see
w hat I m ean, i f I m ay phrase it d elicately j loosely I crudely I figuratively, i f yo u
w ill ( f o r m a l) , i f yo u like
A lth o u g h th e clau ses w ith I in d ic a te explicitly th e sp e a k er’s u n c ertain ty ,

clau ses su c h as i f I m ay p u t it so m ay b e used to convey a w a rn in g m o re
in d irectly .
(c) T h e c o n d itio n a l clau se ex p resses u n certain ty ab o u t th e e x tra lin g u istic

k n o w led g e re q u ire d for a c o rre c t in te rp re ta tio n o f th e u tte ran c e . T h e
u n c e rta in ty m ay b e th e sp e a k e r’s o r th e h e a re r’s :
I m e t y o u r g irl frien d C a ro lin e la s t n ig h t, i f Caroline i s yo u r girl

frie n d . ! [4]
C h o m sk y ’s v iew s c a n n o t b e reco n ciled w ith P iag et’s, i f I
u nd erstd n d both correctly. [5]
T h e w a r w as sta rte d by th e o th e r side, i f yo u remember yo u r history
lessons . . [6]
E in s te in ’s jtheory o f g ra v ita tio n is b ased o n a m ath e m a tic al
c o n c e p t,; / you've n ot fo rg o tte n already, (iro n ic a l) [7]
T h e c o n d itio n a l clauses in [4] a n d [5] hedge a b o u t th e s p e a k e r’s o w n

k n o w led g e, w h e rea s those in [6] a n d [7] hed g e a b o u t the h e a re r’s k n ow ledge.
T h e p o ssib le clau ses for th is ty p e a re o p en -en d ed , p a rticu la rly fo r th o se
ex p ressin g th e s p e a k e r’s u n c e rta in ty . O th e r exam ples in c lu d e :
i f I ’m correct, i f I understand y o u correctly, i f we can believe the experts, in

case y o u d o n ’h rem em ber, i f y o u rem em ber, ify o u know w hat I ’m referring to,
in case y o u d o h ’t know
(d) T h e c o n d itio n a l clau se ex p resses th e co n d itio n u n d e r w h ic h th e sp e a k er

m ak es th e u tte r a n c e :
I f y o u ’re going m y way, I n e ed a lift b ack . [‘I f you’re g o in g m y w ay,

w ill you p lea se give m e a lift b a c k .’] [8]
In case he ever asks y o u , I d o n ’t k n o w you. [‘In case h e e v er asks
y o u , tell h im th a t I d o n ’t k n o w y o u .’] [9]
I f y o u w ant to borrow a shoebrush, th e re ’s one in th e b a th ro o m . [‘I f
y o u w a n t . . . use th e o n e in th e b a th ro o m .’] [10]
W h ere d id yo u r p a re n ts go, i f yo u k n o w ? [‘I f you know , tell m e . . . ’] [11]

N o tice th a t th e u tte ra n c e o f [8] an d [9] h as th e illocutionary force o f in d ire c t
req u ests, [ 10] o f a n in d ire c t offer, an d [ 11 ] o f a d ire c t question. T h e c o n d itio n a l
clause ex p resses u n certain ty . I f th e sp e a k er is c ertain o f the fulfilm ent o f th e
c o n d itio n , a since -clause is used in s te a d :
Since you're going m y way, I need a lift b ack . [8a]
F o r all fo u r ty p es th e u n certain ty o f th e c o n d itio n p rovides a te n ta tiv e n e ss

w h ich a d d s p o liten ess to utterances.
N o te A p a rt fro m if, o th e r su b o rd in ato rs used to in tro d u ce in d irect co n d itio n s a re in case (th a t),
assum ing (that), in the event (that), a n d supposing (that).
C lauses o f concession
S u b o rd in ato rs an d stru c tu ra l types o f clauses

15.39 C lau ses o f co n cessio n a re in tro d u ced chiefly by although o r its m o re in fo rm a l
v a ria n t though. O th e r su b o rd in a to rs used w ith concessive clauses a r e :
if, even if, even though, when, whereas ( f o r m a l) , while, an d whilst (e sp B r E ) .
C f also b elo w th e e x cep tio n al concessive u ses o f as a n d that ( B r E ) .
A lthough he h a d ju s t jo in e d the company, h e w as trea te d ex actly lik e a ll

th e o th e r em ployees.
N o goals w ere scored, though it was an exciting gam e.
W hile I d o n 't w ant to m a ke a fu ss, I feel I m u st p ro test a t your
in te rfere n c e.
W hereas the am endm ent is enthusiastically supported by a large m ajority
in the S enate, its fa te is d o u b tfu l in th e H ouse.
S h e p a id when she could have entered fre e.
H e b o rro w e d m y m o w er even though I to ld him not to.
E x ce p t fo r when a n d whereas, th e co ncessive su b o rd in ato rs m ay in tro d u c e

-ing, -ed, a n d v erb less c la u se s:
W hile not w anting to seem obstinate, I in sisted o n a definite reply.

E ven though given every opportunity, th ey w ould n o t co o p erate w ith us.
Though w ell over eighty, he can w alk fa ste r th a n I can.
T h e sa m e ty p es o f clauses m ay also exp ress concession w ith o u t a
su b o rd in a to r th o u g h th ey th e n generally re q u ire a co rrelativ e c o n ju n c t to
m ak e th e re la tio n s h ip c lear:
N o t w anting to give offence, they d id so a ll the same.

T rained in karate, h e nevertheless used a g u n to d efen d him self.
A w a re o f the dangers to Am erican citizens during the crisis, she still
in sisted o n stay in g w ith the o thers.
L ik e c o n d itio n a l clau ses ( c f 15.36), con cessiv e clauses so m etim es h a v e

u n u su al sy n ta ctic o rd e rin g s w h en th e su b o rd in a to r is as o r though. In a r a th e r
fo rm al style, th e p re d ic a tio n in th e co n cessiv e clause m ay be f ro n te d :
G enius though she was, she w as q u ite u nassum ing.

F a il though I did, I w ould n ot a b an d o n m y goal.

N a k e d as I w as, I b ra v ed th e storm . [‘E v en th o u g h I w a s n a k e d ,. . . ’]
C hange y o u r m in d a s y o u will, you will g ain n o a d d itio n a l su p p o rt.
[‘E v en th o u g h you c h an g e your m in d ,. . . ’]
T h e o rd e rin g is o p tio n a l fo r though, b u t o b lig ato ry fo r as, w h ic h w ould n o t b e

c o n ce ssiv e i f p la c e d in itially (but c /N o te [d] below ).
T h a t is also u s e d concessively w ith th e sam e o b lig ato ry o rd e rin g as as, b u t
in A m E o nly a n o u n p h ra se fu n ctio n in g as su b ject co m p le m e n t can be
f r o n te d :
F o o l th a t h e was, h e m an ag ed to evade h is p u rsu ers. [‘E v en th o u g h he
w a s a f o o l , . . . ’]
T h e n o u n p h ra s e h a s th e role o f a c h aracterizin g a ttrib u te ( c f 10.20). O n th e

o th e r h a n d , in B rE a n ad jectiv e p h ra se fu n c tio n in g as su b ject co m p lem en t
c a n a ls o b e f r o n t e d :
P oor th a t th e y were, th ey gave m oney to c h arity . <B rE> [‘E v en th o u g h
th e y w e re p o o r , . . . ’]
F o r a sim ila r re o rd e rin g o f as an d that in c irc u m stan tia l clau ses, c /1 5 .4 7 .
N o te [ a ] C o n c e ssio n m a y a lso b e expressed by several p rep o sitio n al p h ra se s follow ed b y a relativ e

c lau se:
d e s p ite
in s p ite o f
irre sp e c tiv e o f > th e fa c t (th a t)
reg a rd le ss of.
n o tw it h s t a n d in g .
B ec au se o f th e ir g r e a t e r le n g th th a n th e su b o rd in ato rs, th e y are co n sid e red stylistically clum sy.
[b] F o r though as a, c o n ju n c t o f concession, c / 8 . 137.
[c] In c o n c essiv e c la u s e s su c h as greatly though I adm ire her a n d m uch as I w ould like to help , only
th e a d v e rb is in th e o b lig a to ry in itia l position. T h is ty p e is lim ite d to th e su b o rd in ato rs though
a n d as.
[d] T h e n o n in itia l p la c e m e n t o f concessive as is p erh ap s to b e related to a s . . . as in th e follow ing
e x a m p le o f a n in f r e q u e n t ty p e o f concessive c lau se:
A s widespread a s th e effects m a y be, th e M id w est still b ea rs th e b r u n t o f th e recession.
[‘E v e n th o u g h th e effects m a y be w id e s p re a d ,. . .’1
T h e n o n in itia l as m a y th e re fo re be regarded as a co frelativ e to an o m itte d in itia l as. See also th e
s im ila r o m issio n o f t h e in itia l co m p a ra tiv e as (c/15.71).
C o n c e s s iv e r e la t io n s h ip s
15.40 C o n c essiv e c la u se s in d ic a te th a t th e situ atio n in th e m a trix clau se is co n tra ry
to e x p e c ta tio n j i n th e lig h t o f w h a t is sa id in th e co n cessiv e clause. I n
co n se q u en c e o r th e m u tu a lity , it is o ften p u rely a m a tte r o f ch o ice w h ich
c lau se is m ad e s u b o r d in a te :
N o goals w e re sco red , although it was an exciting gam e.
I t w as a n e x c itin g g a m e , although no goals were scored.
O fte n th ey also im p ly c o n tra s t b etw een th e situ atio n s d e sc rib e d by th e tw o
clauses.
A lth o u g h a n d th e m o re in fo rm al though a re th e m o st v ersatile o f th e
su b o rd in a to rs , s in c e th e y m ay in fa c t relate clauses in w h ic h th e situ atio n s
a re sim ila r:
A lthough S a m h a d to ld the children a bedtim e story, Ju n e told th e m o n e

too (anyway).
W hile an d whilst a re m o re re stric te d , b ut th ey m ay relate clauses in w h ic h th e

c o n tra st is m u te d , th e co n cessiv e relatio n sh ip arisin g from a c o n tra ry
e x p e c ta tio n :
W hile he has m any frie n d s , P e te r is (nevertheless ) o ften lonely.

W hile I a d m it I d id it, (nevertheless ) I d id n ’t in ten d to.
W hereas is th e m o st re stric te d o f th e four su b o rd in ato rs, re q u irin g a n tith e s is

b etw een tw o situ atio n s:
W hereas it w ould be naive to m aintain that inflation is no longer o f concern,

(nevertheless) all th e eco n o m ic in d icato rs suggest th a t th e m o n ey
su p p ly c a n n ow b e safely increased.
E ven though a n d even when a re m o re em p h a tic form s o f though a n d w hen,

th e m o d ify in g even also e x p ressin g unexpectedness. Even if, o n th e o th e r
h a n d , co m b in es th e co n cessiv e fo rce o f even w ith the c o n d itio n al fo rce o f if-,
h en ce th e se m an tic c o n tra st b e tw ee n [ 1 ] a n d [2 ]:
E ven though yo u d is u K E ancient m onum ents, W ar w ick C astle is

w o rth a v isit. [ 1]
E ven i f you dislike ancient m onum ents, W arw ick C a stle is w o rth a
v isit. [2 ]
W h ereas th e even though c lau se in [1] p resupposes ‘you d islik e a n c ie n t

m o n u m e n ts’, th e even i f c lau se in [2 ] leaves o p en w h e th er th a t is so o r n o t.
T h e p re su p p o sitio n o f [1] c a n b e can celled by ad d in g m o d al m a y o r a h e d g in g
ad v e rb ia l such a s perhaps.
I f b y its e lf m ay be u sed c o n ce ssiv e ly :
I f he's poor, h e ’s (at least ) h o n est. [‘H e m ay b e po o r, y et h e ’s a t

least h o n e st.’] [3]
I f h e ’s poor, h e ’s (also) h o n est. [‘H e is poor, yet h e ’s also h o n e st.’] [3a]
In [3] it is p a ra p h ra s e d a s sy n o n y m o u s w ith even i f a n d in [3a] w ith even

though. T h ese tw o d ifferen t uses o f concessive i f are freq u en tly re aliz e d in
a b b re v ia te d verbless c la u s e s :
I t ’s possible, i f difficult. [‘I t m ay b e difficult.’]

M y c a r is a s c le an a s y ours, i f n ot cleaner. [‘I t m ay b e c le a n e r.’]
H e spoke u n g racio u sly , i f not rudely. [‘H e m ay h av e sp o k en ru d e ly .’]
T h ey w ere in good h e a lth , i f som ew hat fa tte r than desirable. [‘T h e y w e re
so m ew h at fa tte r th a n d e sira b le .’]
H e r salary w as g o o d , i f n o t up to her expectations. [‘H e r sa lary w a s n o t
u p to h e r ex p ec ta tio n s. ’]
N o te O n when w ith concessive im p lic a tio n s, c/1 5 .2 9 .
A lternative conditional-concessive clauses

15.41 T h e o v e rla p b etw een c o n d itio n a n d concession, alread y n o ted w ith even i f
(c/1 5 .4 0 ), is p a rticu la rly m a rk e d in th e tw o types o f a d v erb ial clau ses te rm e d
1100 Syntactic and sem antic fu n ctio n s of subordinate clauses
ALTERNATIVE CONDITIONAL-CONCESSIVE a n d UNIVERSAL CONDITIONAL-CONCES

SIVE.
T h e c o rrelativ e sequence w h e th e r. . .o r {whether) is an a lte rn a tiv e c o n d itio n
in t h a t logically it co m b in es th e c o n d itio n a l m ean in g o f i f w ith th e d isju n ctiv e
m e a n in g o f e ith e r . . .o r ( c f also N o te [a]). I t is thus a m eans o f c o o rd in a tin g
tw o su b o rd in a te clauses. I f th e seco n d u n it is a full clause, w hether m ay be
re p e a te d , as in [1]; c f 15.6:
W hether M a rtin p a y s fo r the broken vase or {whether) he replaces it
with a new vase, I ’m n o t in v itin g h i m ag ain . [1]
Y o u will h a v e to face th e p u b lic ity , w hether you want to or not. [2]
W hether or not he fin d s a jo b , h e ’s g e ttin g m arried . [3]
T h e co n cessiv e m e a n in g em erg es fro m th e u n ex p ected im p lica tio n th a t th e

sa m e situ atio n a p p lie s u n d e r tw o c o n tra stin g co nditions. T h u s, [3] m ay be
p a ra p h ra s e d ‘E v e n if h e finds a jo b o r ev en if he d o esn ’t find a jo b , h e ’s
g e ttin g m a rrie d .’ O n a lte rn a tiv e o rd e rin g s fo r [2] a n d [3], c /N o te [a].
T h e lo n g er a n d m o re e m p h a tic co n stru ctio n s I t doesn’t m a tter whether
(in itia l only) an d N o m a tter w hether c a n also b e used to in tro d u ce clauses th a t
a re a lte rn a tiv e c o n d itio n al-co n cessiv e { c f 15.42).
Y o u will h a v e to face th e p u b lic ity , no m a tter whether yo u w ant to

o r not. [2 a]
I t doesn’t m a tte r whether or n ot h e fin d s a jo b , h e ’s g ettin g m arried . [3a]
T h e s a m e su b o rd in a to rs also in tro d u c e n o n fin ite a n d verbless c la u s e s :
S a ra h is a lw ay s in ten se, whether w orking or playing. [4]

W hether tyained or not, M a rily n is d o in g a n excellent jo b . [5]
N o matter, w hether right or wrong, y o u r son n eeds all th e su p p o rt
y o u can g iv e h im rig h t now . [6]
T h e s u b o rd in a to r m ay be o m itted , b u t th e clause is th en n o rm ally in iti
W orking or playing, S a ra h is alw ay s in ten se. [4a]

Tra in ed or n o t, M a rily n is d o in g a n e x cellen t jo b . [5a]
T h e re a re also v erb less clauses in tro d u c e d by with, w h ich is th e n co rrelated

w ith without'. ;
W e ’ll buy th e house, with a b a n k loan or without one. [7]

W ith or w ithout a bank loan, w e’ll b u y th e house. [7a]
T h e sa m e m e a n in g m ay be co n v ey ed m erely by th e co o rd in ated n o u n p h ra ses

i f th e seco n d is inegated by th e d e te rm in e r no:
W e ’ll buy th e house, bank loan or no b a n k loan. [8 ]
T h is c o n stru c tio n is also av ailab le w h e n th e im p lied v erb is be ra th e r th a n

have:
I h a v e to go t o w o rk , rain or no rain. [9]
[‘. . . w h e th e r o r n o t th e re is r a in .’]
A f u rth e r re d u c tio n is p o ssib le, th o u g h less co m m o n , by th e o m issio n o f th e

sec o n d n o u n p h ra se. T h e red u ced c la u se is th e n usually p laced in itially :
B a n k loan or no, w e’ll b uy th e house. [ 10]
In all th e ty p es ex em p lified by [7-10], the verbless clau se m ay be e ith e r in itia l

o r final. I n th e ty p es exem plified by [8-10], th e in d efin ite a rticle is o m itte d in
th e p arallel stru c tu re b efo re c o u n t nou n s su ch as ba n k loan.
N o te [al W e m ay see a re la tio n sh ip also w ith altern ativ e in terro g ativ e clauses ( c / 15.6). C o m p a re [1]
ab o v e w ith :
I d o n 't kn o w w h e th e r M a rtin will pay for th e bro k en vase o r w h eth e r he will rep lace it. I 'm
n o t in v itin g h im ag a in anyw ay.
T h e s u b o rd in a te clau se in [21 can be reordered as whether or not yo u want to a n d th a t in [3] a s
w hether h e fin d s a jo b or not. C f alte rn a tiv e q uestions, 11.2 0 /
[b] O ccasio n ally a lte rn a tiv e co n ditional-concessive m e an in g is expressed by a finite clau se
w ith o u t a su b o rd in a to r, in w h ich th e v erb is su bjunctive (c /1 5 .34 N o te [d ], 15.42 N o te [b}):
R a in or shine, w e’re h av in g o u r p a rty o u tsid e today. [‘W h e th e r it rain s o r s h in e s ,. . . ’]
C o m p a re : {C om e) w ind o r rain ['W h e th e r w ind o r rain com es.']. A ra re r an d so m ew h at lite ra ry
co n stru c tio n in v o lv es th e use o f su b ju n ctiv e b e :
{Be he) fr ie n d o r fo e , th e la w reg ard s h im a s a crim in al. [‘W h e th e r he is (or be) friend o r
f o e ,. . . ’]
[c] T h e a lte rn a tiv e in th e second clau se m ay be parallel to o nly p a r t o f th e first clause. T h u s, th e
finite clause c o rre s p o n d in g to [6] i s :
N o m a tte r w h e th e r h e ’s rig h t o r w r o n g ,. . .
a n d a slightly a m e n d e d v e rsio n o f [5] m ig h t b e :
W h e th e r tr a in e d as a nu rse o r as a ra d io lo g is t. . .
[d] A s w ith either ( c / 1 3 .3 9 /jj , som e sp eak ers allow m ore th a n tw o choices (c/1 5 .6 N o te [b ]):
W hether y o u d o y o u r h o m e w o rk or play or w atch telev isio n , you m u st n o t d istu rb m e.
[e] L ik e no m a tte r w hether a re regardless o f whether a n d irrespective o f whether { c f 15.39 N o te [a ] ) :
Regardless o f w hether o r not h e fin d s a jo b , h e ’s g ettin g m a rrie d .
U n iv e r s a l c o n d itio n a l-c o n c e s s iv e c la u s e s
15.42 T h e c o n tra s t b e tw e e n a lte rn a tiv e clauses a n d u n iv ersal clauses is p a ralle l to
th a t b e tw ee n a lte rn a tiv e q u estio n s ( c f 11.20/) a n d w /t-questions ( c /1 1 .1 4 //)
o r to th a t b e tw ee n th e ir c o rresp o n d in g d e p e n d e n t clauses ( c /1 5 .5 /) . T h e
a lte rn a tiv e c o n d itio n al-co n cessiv e clause gives a ch o ice b etw een tw o (o r
o ccasio n ally m o re, c f 15.41 N o te [d]) stated co n d itio n s, n o rm ally in s h a rp
o p p o sitio n , w h e rea s th e u n iv ersal co n d itio n al-co n cessiv e clause in d ic a te s a
free ch o ice fro m a n y n u m b e r o f con d itio n s. C o m p a re :
W hether I shout a t them or p lea d with them , I c a n ’t k eep th em
q u iet, [tw o s ta te d altern ativ es] [1 ]
W hatever I s a y to them , I c a n ’t k eep th em q u iet.
[an y n u m b e r o f choices] [2 ]
T h e co n cessiv e im p lic a tio n in [2] com es th ro u g h th e in feren ce th a t, fo r

e x am p le, I c a n ’t k e ep th e m q u iet even i f I p ro m ise th e m a treat.
T h e a lte rn a tiv e clauses are in tro d u ced b y th e w/i-words th a t a re
c o m p o u n d e d w ith -ever a n d by th e longer c o n stru ctio n s I t doesn’t m a tter
(in itia l only) a n d N o m a tter (c /1 5 .4 1 ) follow ed b y vWi-elements. T h e clau ses
s h a re w ith o th e r wA-clauses th e in itial p lacem en t o f th e w /i-elem ent, an d th e
c o n se q u en t s h ift o f th a t e lem en t (unless it is th e subject) from its n o rm al
sy n ta ctic o rd e r:
S ta n d p e rfe c tly still, wherever yo u are. [A S V]
H ow ever m uch advice y o u give him , he does e x actly w h a t h e w ants.
[O u S V O J
1102 S yn ta ctic and sem antic functions o f subordinate clauses
D o n ’t let th em in , whoever they are. [Cs S V]
T h e r e is a su b tle s e m a n tic difference b etw een th e u n iv ersal clauses a n d th e

a p p a re n tly id en tica l tim e a n d p lace clauses b eg in n in g w henever a n d wherever.
T h e c o n tra s t c a n be sh o w n in a sentence such a s :
W herever y o u live, you c a n keep a horse.
T h e lo ca tiv e m ea n in g is ‘Y ou can keep a horse a t an y p lace w h ere you m ay

liv e’ ( c f specific lo ca tiv e where: You can keep a horse where y o u live). T h e
co n d itio n al-co n c e ssiv e m ea n in g (m ore ap p licab le to a city-dw eller) is ‘It
d o e s n ’t m a tte r w h ere you live, you c an k eep a horse (an d th e h o rse need n o t
b e in th e sam e p lac e a s you live)’.
N o te (a) T h e v e rb be c a n b e o m itte d fro m a universal clause if th e su b ject o f a n S V C clause is a n

a b s tr a c t n o u n p h r a s e :
W hate ver yo u r problem s (are[m ay be), th ey c a n ’t b e w orse th a n m in e.
H o w ever great th e p itfa lls (pre/m ay be), we m u st d o o u r b e st to succeed.
[b] O ccasio n a lly th e u n iv e rsa l m e a n in g is expressed by a fin ite clause w ith o u t a su b o rd in ato r, in
w h ic h c a se th e v e rb is su b ju n c tiv e a n d is initial (c/1 0 .3 4 N o te [d], 15.41 N o te [b]): C om e what
m a y [‘W h a te v e r m a y h a p p e n .’], B e th a t as it m ay [‘H o w ev er th a t m a y b e .’].
C la u s e s o f c o n tr a st
15.43 C lau ses o f c o n tra s t a re in tro d u ced by several o f th e su b o rd in a to rs th a t
in tro d u c e co n cessiv e clau ses ( c f 15.39): whereas, while, a n d whilst. In d e ed ,
th e re is o ften a m ix tu re o f c o n tra st an d concession. T h e c o n tra stiv e m ea n in g
m ay b e e m p h a siz e d b y c o rre lativ e a n tith e tic co n ju n c ts su c h as in contrast a n d
by contrast w h e n th e c o n tra stiv e clause is in itial:
M r L arso n te a c h e s p h y sics, while M r Corby teaches chem istry.

I ig n o re th e m , w hereas m y husband is alw ays w orried about w h a t they
th in k o f us.
T h e th r e e s u b o rd in a to rs a re in terch an g eab le, ex cep t t h a t th e less co m m o n

w hilst is fo u n d esp ecially in B rE.
C lau ses o f c o n tra s t a re very sim ilar to clauses co o rd in a te d b y but. T h is is
p a rtic u la rly so jw hen th e c o n tra stiv e clau se is final. W h e n th e c o n tra stiv e
clau se is in itia l; it is v iew ed as co n ta in in g th e su b o rd in a te in fo rm a tio n , the
p o in t o f d e p a r tu r e fo r th e co n tra st.
Clauses of exception
15.44 C lau ses o f e x c e p tio n a re in tro d u ced b y several su b o rd in a to rs : but that
( f o r m a l) , e xc ep t (that ) ; less freq u en tly excepting (that) a n d save th a t ( f o r m a l) .
S ev e ral o f th e s u b o rd in a to rs also b len d ex cep tio n w ith c o n d itio n . E xc ep t
(that), excep tin g (that), a n d save that h av e very sim ila r uses, a p a r t fro m th e
sty listic r e s tric tio n o n save that:
I w o u ld p a y you n o w , excep t I don’t have any m oney on me.

N o m e m o ria l re m a in s fo r th e b ra v e w h o fell o n th a t b a ttlefield , save
th a t th e y w ill leave their image fo r ever in the hearts a n d m in d s o f their
g ra te fu l countrym en, ( f o r m a l)
B u t that, lik e th e p re p o sitio n but, re q u ires th a t th e m atrix clause p re c e d e it

a n d h e n e g ativ e:
N o th in g w ould satisfy th e c h ild but that I place her on m y lap.

( f o r m a l) [1]
M ore usually a n in fin itiv e clau se w ould b e u s e d :
N o th in g w ould satisfy th e c h ild b ut fo r m e to place her on m y lap. [ la ]
In stereo ty p ed sentences, b u t a lo n e m ay occu r:
I t n e v er ra in s b ut it pours.
O nly, re stric te d to in fo rm al style, also expresses th e m ean in g o f e x c e p tio n

( c /N o te [a] b e lo w ):
I w o u ld ’ve a sk ed you, only m y m other told m e not to.
Unless co m b in es c o n d itio n w ith e x ce p tio n (‘ex cep t i f ’), h en ce th e n e g a tiv e

m e a n in g ; provided (that) an d its sy n o n y m s a re th e p o sitiv e eq u iv a len t.
F o r p re p o sitio n s o f ex cep tio n th a t in tro d u ce bare in fin itiv e a n d to -in fin itiv e
clauses, c /9 .5 8 .
N o te [a] O nly is a b o rd erlin e case b etw e en c o n ju n c t a n d conju n ctio n . I t is u n c le a r w h e th e r a

c o o rd in a tin g co n ju n ctio n (fo r ex am p le, but) c a n be in serted betw een th e clau ses; i f it c a n , i t h as
o n e o f th e d efin in g c h a ra cte ristic s o f th e class o f conjuncts ( c f 8.134(f), b u t i f i t c a n n o t, its
sy n ta c tic statu s is sim ilar to fo r , w h ic h is o n th e g ra d ie n t betw een co o rd in ato r a n d s u b o r d in a to r
( c /1 3 .1 8 /) . I t m a y be p a ra p h ra se d 'T h e o nly th in g is’.
[b] E x cep t (that), excepting (that), a n d save th a t c a n usually b e rep laced by th e c o o rd in a tin g
co n ju n ctio n but. T h e y c a n also usually be rep laced by longer, a n d hence stylistically clu m sy ,
p rep o sitio n a l p h rases fo llow ed b y re la tiv e clauses, eg: except for/a p a rt fr o m th e f a c t (th a t).
C o n te x ts ex cluding rep lacem en t by th e co n ju n ctio n an d th e prep o sitio n al p h rases a re w h e r e b u t
th a t is ad m issib le.
[c] A m E p refers th e p re se n t sub ju n ctiv e fo r th e v erb in th e su b o rd in ate clause in [1], w h ile B rE
p refers p u ta tiv e should ( c f 14.24/).
Reason clauses
D ire ct and indirect reason relationships

15,45 W e su b su m e u n d e r clauses o f r e a s o n sev eral types o f su b o rd in a te c la u se s
th a t c o n v ey basic sim ilarities o f re la tio n s h ip to th e ir m atrix clau ses. F o r a ll
ty p es th e re is gen erally a te m p o ra l seq u en ce such th a t the situ atio n in th e
s u b o rd in a te clause p reced es in tim e th a t o f th e m atrix clause. A s th e
p a ra p h ra s e s in d ic a te , th e w o rd reason is a su p e ro rd in ate term a v a ila b le fo r
all ty p es:
(a) C au se a n d effect: th e c o n stru c tio n expresses th e p e rce p tio n o f a n

in h e re n t o b jectiv e c o n n ec tio n in th e real w o rld :
T h e flow ers a re grow ing so w ell because I sprayed them . [‘T h e c au se f o r

th e flow ers g ro w in g so w ell is th a t I spray ed th e m ’ or ‘T h e re aso n t h a t
th e flow ers a re g ro w in g so w ell is th a t I sp ray ed th em .’]
H e ’s th in because he doesn't eat enough.
(b ) R e aso n a n d c o n se q u e n c e : the co n stru ctio n ex p resses th e sp e a k e r’s

in fe re n c e o f a c o n n e c tio n :
S h e w a tere d th e flow ers because they were dry. [‘T h e re aso n th a t she
w a tere d th e flow ers w as th a t they w ere d ry .’]
S in c e she's m y frie n d , sh e m u st have p u t in a good w o rd fo r m e.
(c) M o tiv a tio n an d re su lt: th e co n stru ctio n expresses th e in te n tio n o f a n

a n im a te b ein g th a t h a s a su b seq u e n t result:
I w a tere d th e flow ers because m y parents told m e to do so. [‘M y
m o tiv a tio n fo r w a te rin g th e flowers w as th a t m y p a re n ts to ld m e to
d o so ’ or ‘T h e re a so n t h a t I w atered th e flowers w as t h a t m y p a ren ts
to ld m e to do so .’]
Y o u ’ll help m e because you're m y friend.
A g e n c y an d in te n tio n a re a lw ay s involved in m o tiv atio n .
(d ) C irc u m sta n c e s a n d c o n se q u e n c e : th e circ u m stan tia l cla u se co m b in es

re a s o n w ith a c o n d itio n t h a t is assu m ed to be fulfilled o r a b o u t to b e fulfilled,
th e c o n stru c tio n e x p ressin g a re la tio n sh ip b etw een a p re m ise in the
su b o rd in a te clau se a n d th e co n clu sio n in th e m atrix c la u s e :
S in ce the w eather h a s im proved, th e g am e w ill be h eld as p la n n e d . [‘In
v iew o f th e fa c t t h a t th e w e ath e r h as im p ro v ed , th e g a m e w ill be h eld
a s p la n n e d ’ or ‘T h e re aso n th a t th e g am e will be h e ld a s p la n n e d is
th a t th e w e a th e r h a s im p ro v ed . ’]
Seein g th a t it is only three, w e should b e ab le to finish th is b e fo re w e
leav e to d ay .
T h e ex am p les w e h a v e g iv e n so fa r exp ress a d i r e c t r e a s o n re la tio n sh ip

b e tw e e n th e re aso n cla u se a n d th e m atrix clause. M o re p e rip h e ra l uses o f
re a s o n clauses e x p ress a n i n d i r e c t r e a s o n . T h e reaso n is n o t re la te d to th e
s itu a tio n in th e m a trix c lau se b u t is a m o tiv a tio n for th e im p lic it sp eech act
o f th e u tte ra n c e :
P e rc y is in jw a s h in g to n , f o r he phoned m e fro m there. [‘S in ce h e p h o n e d

fro m th e re , I c a n tell y ou th a t P ercy is in W a s h in g to n .’]
A s y o u ’re in charge, w h e re a re th e files on th e new p ro je c t? [‘A s y o u ’re in
ch arg e , I ’m a s k in g y o u . . . ? ’]
V a n essa is y o u r fa v o u rite a u n t, because yo u r parents to ld m e so. [‘Since
y o u r p a re n ts to ld m e so, I c a n say t h a t V anessa is y o u r fa v o u rite
a u n t.’] |
A s long as y o u ’re here, w h y d o n ’t we discuss o u r p lan s?
S ince yo u seem to k n o w them , w hy d o n ’t you in tro d u ce m e to th e m ?
[‘Since you seem to k n o w th em , I a sk you to in tro d u c e m e to th e m .’]
S in ce a n d because a re th e m o st co m m o n su b o rd in a to rs fo r in d ire c t cause.

C lau ses e x p ressin g a n in d ire c t c au se a re style d isjuncts, c /1 5 .2 I .
S u b o rd in a to rs a n d stru c tu ra l types o f clauses

15.46 R e a s o n clauses a re m o st c o m m o n ly in tro d u ced by th e s u b o rd in a to rs because
(also ’cause ) a n d since. O th e r su b o rd in a to rs a re as a n d (in s o m e w h a t fo rm al
style) f o r :
I le n t h im th e m o n ey because he needed it.

A s J a n e w as the eldest, she looked a fte r th e others.
Since w e live near the sea, we o ften go sailing.
M u c h h a s b een w ritte n a b o u t psychic p h en o m en a, fo r they pose
fa sc in a tin g problem s th a t have y e t to be resolved.
In case c o m b in e s re aso n w ith c o n tin g en cy (‘b ecause it m ay h a p p en t h a t’) :
T a k e y o u r u m b rella in case it rains. [‘T a k e y our u m b rella becau se it m a y

r a in ’, ‘. . . b ecau se o f the possibility th a t it will ra in .’]
Y ou sh o u ld w rite a will in case som ething happens to you abroad.
C irc u m sta n tia l clauses (c /1 5.45) a re in tro d u ced by th e sim ple su b o rd in a to rs

because, since, a n d a s a n d b y sev eral c o m p lex su b o rd in ato rs: seeing ( th a t ); a s
long as\ inasm uch a s ( f o r m a l ) :
Seeing th a t it seem s as i f it will rain soon, we h a d b e tte r leave now .

A s long a s y o u ’re here, w e m ig h t as w ell ta lk a b o u t your last gam e.
It is d o u b tfu l w h e th e r re sea rc h p ro p o sa ls by F reu d h im self w ould h a v e
b e e n a p p ro v e d by rev iew ers, inasm uch as he was not affiliated to a n y
academ ic institution, ( f o r m a l)
C lau ses in tro d u c e d b y with m ay also be circ u m stan tia l:
W ith the e x a m s com ing n e x t w eek, I h a v e n o tim e for a social life.

W ith so m a n y children to support, th ey b o th h av e to w ork full tim e.
C f also c irc u m s ta n tia l now (that), 15.28.

In th a t ( f o r m a l) co m b in e s reaso n w ith p o in t o f v ie w :
T h e e v id e n c e is in v alid in th a t it was obtained through illegal means.

[‘T h e e v id e n ce is in v alid in th is re sp ec t: it w as o b tain ed th ro u g h
illegal m e a n s .’] ( f o r m a l)
W h en while in tro d u c es a style d isju n ct, it b len d s tim e a n d r e a s o n :
W hile y o u ’re in the kitchen, b rin g m e a n o th e r d rin k .
C lau ses w ith o u t a su b o rd in a to r m ay im p ly the m ean in g s discussed in th is

s e c tio n :
K now ing their tastes, sh e w as a b le to b rin g a g ift th a t they w ould lik e .

C onstructed according to m y specifications, th e b u ild in g w as ab le to
w ith s ta n d th e e a rth q u ak e .
A ssu red o f your support, h e w ould n o t com prom ise.
It is a te s tim o n y o f th e close a n d o b v io u s co n n ectio n b etw een re aso n a n d

te m p o ra l se q u e n ce th a t as a n d since are co n ju n ctio n s o f tim e as w ell a s o f
cause. T h is d u a l fu n c tio n c a n give rise to a m b ig u ity :
A s he w as standing near the door, h e co u ld h e ar th e co n v ersatio n in th e

k itc h e n . [‘S in ce he w as sta n d in g n e a r th e d o o r . . . ' or ‘W hile h e w a s
sta n d in g n e a r th e d o o r . . . ’]
[a] A n u m b e r o f p rep o sitio n a l p h ra se s a re used to in tro d u ce reason relatio n sh ip s, b u t th e y a re

o fte n co n sid e re d to be sty listically clum sy b ecau se o f th e ir g reater le n g th :
1106 S y n ta c tic and semantic functions of subordinate clauses
b ecause o f
b y v irtu e o f
in ( th e ) lig h t o f
in v ie w o f the fact (that)
o n acco u n t of
o w in g to
d u e to
F o r p r e s c r ip tiv e o b je ctio n s to th e use o f due to as a p rep o sitio n , c /1 5 .5 9 N o te [d]. F o r th e use o f
on acc o u n t o f a s a s u b o rd in a to r in inform al style (esp A m E ), c f 14.12 N o te[e],
[b] I n f in itiv e clau ses m a y convey a m e an in g sim ilar to th a t o f reaso n in that:
H e ’s fo o lish to m a k e such a fu s s . [4. . . in th a t he m a k e s su ch a fu ss.’]
T h e y m a y also blen d reaso n w ith co n d itio n , c f \ 5 . 34 N o te [g].
(cj T h e ste re o ty p e d clau se com e to th ink o f it, w ith n o su b o rd in a to r a n d w ith a v erb in th e base
fo rm is s im ila r to now th a t I com e to think o f i t :
C o m e to th in k o f it, sh o u ld n 't you w rite to her?
[d] T h e re a s o n /c o n tin g e n c y m e an in g o f in case easily m erges in to a n e g a tiv e purpose m ean in g ( c /
15.35 N o te [ g ] , 15.48). C o m p a re :
W r i te a w ill in case y o u die. [\ . . because you m ay d ie .’]
W r i te a w ill in case y o u d ie without providing fo r yo u r fa m ily . [\ . .b ecau se you m a y d ie
w ith o u t p r o v id in g fo r yo u r fam ily’, ‘in o rd er th a t you d o n o t d ie w ith o u t p ro v id in g for
y o u r fa m ily ’]
[e] C ir c u m s ta n tia l w hat with refers to on e o r m o re g iv en c ircu m stan c es o f a n unspecified set,
w h e re a s c irc u m s ta n tia l w ith im plies only o n e :
W h a t w ith the p rices (being) so high, (and (w ith) m y w ife b ein g o u t o f w ork), I c a n ’t afford a
n e w re frig e ra to r.
N o tic e t h a t i t is p o ssib le to a d d in fo rm al a n d all if a co o rd in a te d a n d (w ith ) . . . is n o t p resen t:
W h a t w ith Carol (being) out o f work a n d all, we d id n ’t sen d a n y C h ristm a s card s th is year.
T h e re is a ste re o ty p e d p h ra s a l an alo g u e:
W h a t w ith one thing a n d another, I co u ld n ’t sleep la st n ig h t.
[f] A s fo llo w e d b y a n o u n p h rase m ay co rrespond to a fin ite c la u s e :
A s I ’m y o u r m o th e r ,\ j,,,decide
A s y o u r m other,, J
B ut th e re s tr ic tio n to n o u n p h rases suggests th a t as is h ere a prep o sitio n .
[g] A n a d j u n c t because- clause, b u t n o t a style d isju n c t because-clsM st, co rresp o n d s to a
p re p o s itio n a l p h ra s e in tro d u c e d by because of:
T h e flo w ers are g ro w in g well \ ^ o a « s e I fe rtilize d them .

[b e c a u s e o fm y fertilizin g them .
[h] A b ecause- clau se is so m etim e s used inform ally as e q u iv a le n t to a that- c la u s e :
(J u s t) because I object to his prom otion d o esn ’t m e^n th a t I ’m v in d ictiv e. [‘T h e (m ere)
f a c t t h a t I ob je!ct. . . ’] [ 1]
T h e re a r e p re s c rip tiv e ob je ctio n s to th is use. A lte rn ativ es a r e :
M y o b je c tin g } to Pro m o tio n do esn ’t m ean th a t I ’m v in d ictiv e. [la ]

I c a n ’t b e ac cu se d o f being v in d ictiv e (just) because I o b je c t to his p ro m o tio n . [lb ]
T h e re a r e also p re s c rip tiv e o b jectio n s ag a in st th e alleg ed re d u n d an c y in th e in fo rm al use o f a
because-c\& use th a t c o rre la te s w ith a p revious why o r the reason (th a t):
W hy )
The reason (that) ftîe^d*dntS°t0see house is because th e y p re fe r to live in an
a p a rtm e n t. [2]
S im ilar o b je c tio n s a p p ly to th e use o f the reason w hy in p la ce o f the reason (that). T h e fully
a c c e p ta b le a lte rn a tiv e to [2] w ould rep lace because by that.
M o st s u b o rd in a to rs used fo r d irec t cause in tro d u c e c o n te n t disju n cts, b u t

because , in case , a n d in th a t in tro d u ce ad ju n cts (c /I5 .2 0 ).
A d ju n c t because-cl&uses te n d to be in I p o sitio n , w h ile style d isju n ct
because -c la u se s a re alw ays a t E . F or , w h ich is close to c o o rd in a to r statu s, is
alw ays a t E . Table 15.47 d ra w s o n a n an aly sis o f B ritish E n g lish b ased o n a
100 000-w ord sa m p le fro m b o th th e L o n d o n -L u n d co rp u s (w h ic h c o n ta in s

m o st o f th e S E U sp o k e n tex ts) a n d th e LO B w ritte n co rp u s to p ro v id e fig u res
fo r th e p o sitio n s o f clauses in tro d u c e d by th e m ajo r reaso n su b o rd in a to rs.
Ta b le 15.47 D is tr ib u tio n o f re a s o n cla u se s in

sa m p le s fro m th e w ritte n L O B c o rp u s a n d th e
s p o k e n L o n d o n - L u n d c o rp u s
LL LOB T o ta l
as 7 19 26
in itia l 2 9 11
final 5 10 15
because (cos) 355 70 425

in itia l 4 8 12
m e d ia l 4 2 6
fin al 347 60 407
f o r (all final) 0 64 64
since 5 33 38
in itia l 2 12 14
m e d ia l 1 0 1
fin al 2 21 23
W h en as is a c irc u m s ta n tia l su b o rd in a to r, th e p re d ic atio n m ay o p tio n a lly

b e fro n ted :
W riting hurriedly a s she was, she d id n ’t n o tice the sp ellin g e rro rs.
T ired as they were, th ey w e n t to b ed a s soon as th ey c am e b a ck .
T h a t m ay be a c irc u m s ta n tia l su b o rd in a to r, w hen th e su b ject c o m p le m e n t is

o b lig ato rily fr o n te d :
C lum sy idiot th a t he was, M ich ael com pletely ru in ed th e d in n e r.
C /1 5 .3 9 for a sim ila r fro n tin g w ith concessive clauses.
Clauses of purpose
1 5 .4 8 C lau ses o f p u rp o se, w h ic h a re a d ju n cts, are m ore o ften in fin itiv al th a n f in ite :
To open the carton, p u ll th is tab .

I left early to catch the train.
M y p u b lish er se n t it f o r m e to com m ent on (it).
M o re e x p licit su b o rd in a to rs o f p u rp o se a re in order to <form al> a n d so as t o :
T h ey left th e d o o r o p e n (in order) fo r m e to hear the baby.

S tu d en ts sh o u ld ta k e n o tes ( j o as) to m a ke revision easier.
T h e co m m itte e a g ree d to ad jo u rn (in order) to reconsider the m a tte r when
fu lle r inform ation becam e available.
F in ite clauses o f p u rp o se a re in tro d u c ed by so that o r (less co m m o n ly a n d

m o re in fo rm ally ) by so, a n d (m o re form ally) by in order that:
1108 S y n ta c tic and sem antic fu n ctio n s o f subordinate clauses
T h e sch o o l closes e arlie r so (that) the children can get home before da rk.
T h e ju r y an d th e w itnesses w ere re m o v ed from th e c o u rt in order that
th e y m ight n ot hear the argum ents o f the lawyers on the prosecution's
m otion fo r an adjournment.
T h ese fin ite c lau ses, w h ich a re p u ta tiv e ( c f 15.49), req u ire o n e o f th ese m o d al
a u x ilia r ie s : can, could, m a y, m ight, should, would.
N e g a tiv e p u rp o se is ex p ressed in th e in fin itiv e clauses by so as not to a n d
in order n o t t o :
T u r n th e v o lu m e d o w n so as not to w a ke the baby.

I ig n o red th e re m a rk in order not to prolong the dispute.
In fin ite cla u se s it is ex p ressed b y in order t h a t . . . not, b u t also by specific

su b o r d in a to r s : fo r fe a r (that) <form al>, in case <BrE>, o r th e very fo rm al le s t :
T h e y le ft early fo r fe a r (that) th ey w ould m eet him. [ 1]

T h e y e v a c u a te d th e b u ild in g in case the wall collapsed. [2]
F or fe a r (th a t) co n v ey s also th e m e a n in g o f a p p reh en sio n a n d re q u ire s a

m o d al a u x iliary , b u t in case n eed n o t h a v e a m o d al auxiliary. I n [2] th e re is
a n im p lic it n e g a tiv e p u rp o se ‘in o rd e r t h a t, i f th e w all c o llap sed , th ey w o u ld
n o t be a ffe c te d .’ A rc h a ic lest ten d s to h a v e a m o d al a u x iliary o r (esp in A m E )
th e p re s e n t su b ju n c tiv e :
E a r th e n m o u n d s w ere b ein g h a stily e rec te d lest an a tta ck
N o te [a] T h e im p lie d su b je c t o f a n in finitive clau se m a y b e th e o b je ct (in d ire c t o r d ire c t) o f th e

s u p e ro rd in a te clausej:
[*.
I le n t P a u l a d o ljar to g e t hom e. . . (fo r P au l) to g e t h o m e .’]
T h e p u rp o se in fin itiv e c lau se c a n be fro n te d w h e n th e im plied su b ject is th e su b jec t o f th e
su p e ro rd in a te clau se:
,
T o g et h om e I h a d to b o rrow m oney fro m P aul.
[b] A s a su b o rd in a to r fo r finite clauses o f p u rp o se, th a t is a r c h a ic :
T h e ju ry a n d w itn e sses w ere rem oved fro m th e co u rt th at they m ight not hear the argum ents
|
o f th e la w yers. \
S h o u ld not hear <esp B r E ) a n d not hear <esp A m E ) co u ld also be used in ste ad o f m ight not hear.
[c] P u rp o se m ay be ex p ressed b y a n //-clause c o n ta in in g th e sem i-auxiliaries be to o r be going to :
,
I f I'm to be there on tim e I m u st leav e a t once.
Clauses o f result
15.49 C lau ses o f re su lt ^ re in tro d u c ed by th e su b o rd in a to rs so th a t < fo rm a l) a n d so.
T h e s e cla u se s o v e rla p w ith th o se o f p u rp o se b o th in m ea n in g a n d in
su b o rd in a to rs . T h e c h ie f se m an tic d ifferen ce is th a t resu lt clauses a re fa ctu al
ra th e r th a n p u ta t i v e : b o th e x p ress resu lt, b u t in th e resu lt clause th e re su lt is
ach iev ed , w h e re a s in th e p u rp o se clau se it is yet to be a ch iev ed - it is a
d esired o r a im e d -a t result. H e n ce fin ite clau ses o f resu lt d o n o t re q u ire a
m o d al a u x iliary :
W e p a id h im im m e d ia tely , so (that) he left contented, [result] [1]

W e p a id h im im m e d ia tely so (that) he w ould leave contented.
[p u rp o se] [2 ]
A s w e see fro m th e s e e x am p les, so an d so that ex p ress b o th p u rp o se a n d

resu lt, b u t so th a t is m o re c om m only used for p u rp o se a n d so for result. W h en
th a t is o m itted in th e resu lt clause, the co n ju n ctio n so is in d istin g u ish a b le
fro m th e co n ju n c t so in asy n d etic co o rd in atio n . I f and is in serted , so is
u n am b ig u o u sly th e c o n ju n c t:
W e p a id h im im m e d ia tely , and so he left c o n te n ted . [ la ]
R esu lt clau ses d iffer sy n ta ctically from p urp o se clauses, in th a t resu lt c lauses
are d isju n cts w h e rea s p u rp o se clauses are ad ju n c ts ( c f 15.20). F u rth e rm o re ,
resu lt clau ses c a n o n ly a p p e a r finally. U n lik e th e p u rp o se clause, th e resu lt
clause in tro d u c ed b y so (that) is sep arated by c o m m a p u n ctu atio n .
T h e resu lt re la tio n is th e converse o f th a t o f m o tiv a tio n ( c fl 5.45). C o n sid e r
th e follow ing se n te n c e :
I to o k n o n o tic e o f h im , so he fle w into a rage.
Its m ea n in g c a n b e ex p ressed by reversing th e m a trix a n d su b o rd in ate clauses
a n d u sin g a c o n ju n c tio n su c h as because:
H e flew in to a ra g e because / took no notice o f him .
T hat m ay in tro d u c e a fin al clause w ith resu ltativ e m ea n in g in in te rro g ativ e

sen ten ces:
W h a t h a v e I d o n e , th a t yo u should insult m e l
In o n e ty p e o f c o m p a ra tiv e clause, the clau se ex p resses result. T h is ty p e

( c f 15.74) h a s th e c o rre lativ es so . . . (that) o r such . . . (that), in w h ich so a n d
such a re i n te n s if ie s :
H e r p a re n ts g a v e h e r so m a n y toys (that) she couldn’t possibly play

with th em all. [ c /N o te [b]] [3]
S he is such a go o d le c tu re r (that) all her courses are fu ll. [4]
Such th a t < form al> c o m b in e s resu lt w ith m an n e r:
T h e tw o h a lv e s o f th e h u m a n b ra in b eh av e in d ep e n d en tly , such that

each h a l f can be ta u g h t opposite solutions to sim ple problems. [‘. . . in a
w ay t h a t h a s th e re su lt t h a t . . . ’]
N o te [a] C /1 5 .2 5 fo r fo -infinitive c lau ses th a t blend th e m ean in g s o f tim e a n d outcom e.
[b] I f that is o m itte d in [3] a n d [4] above, a n in to n atio n b re a k is no rm al a t th a t place. I f so
intensifies a v erb it m a y a p p e a r a t th e en d o f th e clause, a n d a n in to n a tio n b re a k (or in w ritin g ,
a co m m a) is n o rm a l a f te r s o :
T h e y w a n te d it so, (th a t) th e y agreed to p a y more than the norm al price, [so = ‘so m u c h ’]
C o m p a re th e resu lt clau se w ith th e com plex su b o rd in ato r so th a t :
T h e y w an te d it, so (th a t) th e y agreed to p a y more than th e norm al price.
In fo rm a l style, so m a y be a m a n n e r a d v e rb ra th e r th a n a n in ten sifie r, in w hich case that m u st
be r e ta in e d :
T h e y so a rra n g e d th e se a tin g th a t a ll had a clear view o f the stage, [ro = ‘in such a w ay’]
( f o r m a l)
A g a in , so m a y b e p o s tp o s e d :
T h e y a rra n g e d th e s e a tin g so, th a t all had a clear view o f the stage, (f o r m a l)
[c] In in terro g a tiv e a n d n e g a tiv e sen ten ces, that m ay in tro d u ce a re su lt clause th a t is related to
th e co rre la tiv e so... that c o m p a ra tiv e clause exem plified in [3] a n d [4] above, ex cep t th a t th e
in ten sifier so is o m itte d . T h e sty le is fo rm al an d a rc h a ic :
D o you k n o w h e r in tim a te ly , th a t yo u presum e to address her in such a casual m annerl
(C o m p a r e : D o y o u kn o w her so intim ately th a t . . . )

T h e y a re n o t d e s titu te th a t the)' nerd yo u r help.
In th e n e g a tiv e se n te n ce, th e resu lt clause is co u n terfactu al (‘th ey d o n o t n eed yo u r h elp ’).
C la u s e s o f s im ila r ity a n d c o m p a ris o n

15.50 A d ju n c t clau ses o f sim ila rity are p red icatio n ad ju n c ts ( c f 15.22). T h ey are
in tro d u c e d by as a n d lik e < inform al, esp A m E >. A s a n d lik e a re com m only
p re m o d ified by ju s t a n d exa ctly :
S h e c o o k s a tu rk e y (ju st) as her m other did. [‘. . . in a w ay th a t is

sim ila r to th e w ay t h a t . . . ’] [1]
P le ase d o it (e xa ctly) a s I said. [2]
?S ay th e w o rd (exactly) like I did. <esp in fo rm al A m E ) [ c /N o te [b]] [3]
I t w as (ju st) a s I im agined. [ \ . . sim ilar to w h a t I im a g in e d .’] [4]
W h e n th e v e rb is d y n a m ic , as in [1-3], sim ilarity is c o m b in e d w ith m an n er.

T h e c la u se in [4], o n th e o th e r h a n d , expresses p u re sim ilarity .
I f th e as-clau se is p lac ed initially, as in [5], c o rre lativ e so in tro d u ces th e
m a tr ix clau se in fo rm al lite rary style:
(J u st) a s a m o th is a ttra cted by a light, so he w as f a sc in a te d b y h er. [5]
T h e c la u se th e n e x p resses a n analogy.
A d ju n c t cla u se s o f co m p a riso n a re also p re d ic a tio n a d ju n c ts. T h ey are
in tro d u c e d by a s if, a s though, a n d like < inform al, esp A m E ) . A s w ith
s im ila rity clau ses, w h e n th e v erb is d y n am ic th ey also co n v ey a m an n e r
m e a n in g . I f th e c o m p a ris o n is factu al, th e v erb in th e c o m p a ris o n follow s th e
n o rm a l ru les fo r te m p o ra l re fe re n c e :
H e looks as i f he’s g ettin g better.
I f th e c o m p a ris o n is h y p o th etica l (im plying lack o f reality ), a su b ju n ctiv e o r

h y p o th e tic a l p a s t m a y b e used as a n a lte rn a tiv e ( c /1 4 .2 3 /) :
( I ’m 1
S h e tre a ts m e as i f < I was > a stranger.
[ i were J
H e talk s as i f a potato in his mouth.
( I was "I
S h e tre a te d m e as though -j I were > a stranger.
. ( I h a d been)
T h e su b o rd in a to rs as, a s if, an d as though in tro d u ce n o n fin ite a n d verbless

c la u s e s :
F ill in th e a p p lic a tio n fo rm as instructed.

H e b e n t d o w n as i f tightening his shoe laces.
Y o u sh o u ld d isc u ss th e c o m p an y w ith h im as though unaw are that you
were being considered fo r a job.
A s i f a n d as though m ay also in tro d u ce to-infinitive c la u s e s :
S h e w in k e d a t m e a s i f to sa y that I shouldn't sa y anything.

N o te [a] A n os-clause th a t b len d s m a n n e r w ith sim ilarity m ay allow su b je c t-o p e ra to r in v e rsio n ifU he
clause co n sists o nly o f th e su b jec t a n d th e o p erato r:
H is c o n d u c tin g o f th e th ir d m o v e m en t show s th e sub tlety o f his in te rp re ta tio n , a s does h is
earlier recording o f the M a ss in C.
T h e p re se n t o w n e r is a k een a rt collecto r, as were several o f her ancestors.
[ib1 T h e re a re p resc rip tiv e o b je ctio n s to th e use o f like as a su b o rd in atin g m a n n e r or c o m p a ris o n
co n ju n ctio n , b u t it is com m o n ly used as su ch in in form al style, especially in A m E . I t is m o re
ac cep ta b le w hen it expresses p u re sim ilarity , a s does th e p rep o sitio n like, th o u g h it still te n d s to
be confined to in fo rm al sty le :
I t w as (Just) lik e I im agined. < in fo rm a l) [4 a]
C o m p a re th e c a s u a l:
? It w as (just ) lik e what I im agined. <casual> [4b]
[c] A d v e rb ia l clauses o f co m p ariso n a re n o t to be confused w ith th e co m p arativ e clau ses in
15 ,6 3 #
Clauses o f proportion
15.51 P ro p o rtio n a l clauses in v o lv e a k in d o f co m p ariso n . T h ey ex p ress a p r o
p o rtio n a lity o r e q u iv alen ce o f ten d e n cy o r d eg ree b etw een tw o s itu a tio n s.
T h ey m ay b e in tro d u c e d by as, w ith o r w ith o u t c o rrelativ e so ( f o r m a l) , o r b y
th e fro n te d c o rre lativ e t h e . . . the follow ed by co m p a rativ e fo rm s:
A s h e grew disheartened, (so) h is w o rk d eterio rated .

A s the lane g o t narrower, (so) th e o v erh an g in g b ran ch es m ad e it m o re
difficult fo r us to k e ep sig h t o f o u r q u arry .
T h e m ore sh e th o u g h t a b o u t it, the less sh e lik ed it.
T he harder h e w o rk ed , the happier he felt.
T h e fro n tin g o f th e c o m p a ra tiv e elem en ts results in th e k in d o f s y n ta c tic

o rd e rin g fo u n d in re la tiv e a n d w A -interrogative clauses:
T h e la te r you a rriv e [A S V], th e b e tte r th e food is [Cs S V],

T h e m o re you tell h im [Od S V O,], th e less n o tice he tak es [Od S V].
O n th e co rre lativ e the- clauses, c f fu rth e r 14.13 a n d (as ex p ressin g a c o n

tin g en cy m ea n in g ) 15.30.
N o te [a] C o rre la tiv e clauses o f p ro p o rtio n a re fo u n d in som e ap h o ristic sentences su ch as T he m ore,

the m errier ( c f 11.43).
[b] T h e su b o rd in a to rs insofar as, inasmuch a s < fo rm a l), an d insofar that < form at, r a r e ) in tro d u c e
ad ju n ct clauses o f e x te n t o r d e g r e e :
W e ag ree d w ith th e le c tu re r only insofar a s she condem ned the governm ent's dom estic policies.
[ * ... on ly to th e ex te n t t h a t . . . ’]
C o rresp o n d in g prep o sitio n s a re to th e e x ten t th a t a n d to th e degree that.
Clauses o f preference
15.52 C lau ses o f p re fe re n ce a re m ain ly in tro d u c ed by th e su b o rd in a to rs rather than
a n d sooner than, w ith th e b a re in fin itiv e as th e v e rb o f th e clause:
R a th e r than go there by air, I ’d ta k e the slow est train . [T ’d p re fe r to

ta k e th e slow est tr a in .’] [ 1]
T h e y ’ll fight to th e finish sooner than surrender. [‘T h ey p refer to
fight to th e fin ish .’] [2]
T h e c o m b in a tio n ’d rather [ = w ould rather o r h a d rather] is a m o d al id io m
( c /3 .4 5 /) . C o rre sp o n d in g to [1] is [ la ] :
1112 S yn ta ctic and sem antic functions o f subordinate clauses
I 'd rather ta k e th e slow est train than go there by air. [ La]
T h e su b o rd in a te clause m ay very o ccasio n ally h a v e its ow n su b ject:
R a th e r than y o u sa y anything, I w ould sp e a k to the m an ag er

m yself. [‘I ’d p re fe r to sp eak to th e m a n a g e r m yself.’] [3]
A r a r e a n d fo rm al finite clause o f p re fe re n c e occurs w ith p u tativ e should

( c f 14.25):
R a th e r than sh e should fe e l lonely, h e r frien d s a rran g ed to tak e her

w ith th em o n th e trip . [4]
T h e s u b o rd in a te clause expresses th e rejected altern ativ e. T h a t n eg ativ e

m e a n in g allow s it to c o n ta in n o n assertiv e ite m s ( c f 10.60), as in [3] a n d [5]:
R a th e r th a n ever a d m it th a t he h a s a n y p a in a t all, h e’ll suffer for

w eeks. [5]
T h e m a trix clau se expresses an im p lied c o n d itio n al m ean in g (‘if th e re ’s a

c h o ic e ’), an d th e re fo re th e m atrix v erb te n d s to c o n ta in a m o d al au x iliary .
N o te [a] O n rather than as a qu asi-co o rd in ato r, c f 14.15 N o te , a n d as a prep o sitio n w ith -mg clauses,
c / 1 4 .1 9 N o te [c],
[b] T h e p referen ce c o n s tru c tio n ex ten d s th e n o tio n o f p rio rity in tim e to th e n otion o f p rio rity in
c h o ic e . I t is th erefo re n o t su rp risin g th a t te m p o ra l ex p ressio n s o th e r th a n sooner are u sed to
c o n v e y p refere n ce: n o ta b ly th e su b o rd in ato r before, b u t also such co m p arativ e a d v e rb s as
q u ic ker, fa s te r , more readily, plus than. B oth clauses ta k e m o d a l au x ilia rie s:
H e ’d s it alone in th e d a rk before he’d watch television. [‘H e prefers to sit alone in th e d a r k .’]
S h e ’ll use the te le p h o n e before she'll put pen to paper.
T h e y w ould v o lu n te e r th e ir ow n w ork m ore rea d ily than th e y would contribute m oney.
. I ’d b u y a ty p e w riter fa s te r than I'd buy a television set.
I n e a rlie r perio d s o f E n g lish , rather also had te m p o ra l m ean in g .
1
C o m m e n t clauses
15.53 C o m m e n t clauses are p a ren th etica l d isju n cts. T h ey m ay o ccu r in itially ,
finally, o r m edially, a n d th u s g enerally h a v e a se p a ra te to n e u n it:
K lN G sto n , \as yo u probably k n o w , | is t h e c a p i t a l o f J aM A lc a |
C o m m e n t clauses are e ith e r co n te n t d isju n c ts th a t exp ress th e s p e a k e rs’

c o m m e n ts on th e c o n te n t o f th e m atrix clau se, o r style d isju n cts th a t c o n v ey
th e s p e a k e rs’ view s o n th e way th ey a re sp e a k in g ( c f 15.20/). H e re we
c o n sid e r form s o f th ese clauses th a t w e h a v e n o t d iscussed in th e p rev io u s
se c tio n s o n the s e m a n tic roles o f a d v e rb ia l clauses.
W e d istin g u ish th e follow ing types:
(i) lik e the m a trix clau se o f a m ain c la u se :

T h ere w ere n o o th e r a p p lican ts, I believe, for th a t jo b .
(ii) lik e an a d v e rb ia l finite clause (in tro d u c e d by as):

I ’m w o rk in g th e n ig h t shift, as y o u know .
(iii) lik e a n o m in a l re la tiv e c la u se :

W hat was m ore upsetting, we lo st a ll o u r luggage.
(iv) fo -infinitive clau se a s style d isju n ct:

I ’m n o t su re w h a t to d o , to be honest.
(v) -ing clau se a s style d is ju n c t:

I d o u b t, speaking as a laym an, w h eth er television is th e rig h t m edium
fo r th a t story.
(vi) -erf clau se a s style d isju n ct:

S ta te d bluntly, h e h a d n o ch an ce o f w inning.
In e ac h categ o ry , th e re are id io m a tic o r cliche e x p ressio n s: y o u see, as I sa y ,

w hat’s more to the point, to be fa ir , generally speaking, p u t bluntly. Sim ilarly, in
each categ o ry th e re is a t least som e freedom to coin n ew expressions.
C o m m e n t clau ses, m a n y o f w h ich a re c h ara cte ristic o f sp o k e n E nglish, a re
generally m a rk e d p ro so d ically b y increased speed a n d low ered volum e.
15.54 T y p e (i) c o m m e n t clau ses, w h ich a re th e m ost im p o rta n t, generally co n ta in a

tran sitiv e v e rb o r ad je ctiv e w h ic h elsew here req u ires a n o m in a l that- clau se
as o b ject (< /15.4). W e c a n th ere fo re see a co rresp o n d en ce b etw een sen ten ces
c o n ta in in g s u c h clau ses a n d sen ten ces co n tain in g in d ire c t s ta te m e n ts :
T h e re w ere n o o th e r a p p lic an ts, I believe, for th a t jo b . [ 1]

I believe th a t th e re w ere n o o th e r ap p lican ts for th a t jo b . [ 2]
T o co n v ert a se n ten c e w ith a r te - c la u s e su ch as [2] in to a sen ten ce such a s
[ 1 ], we h a v e to rev erse th e re la tio n sh ip o f su b o rd in a tio n b etw een th e tw o
clauses, m a k in g th e f/iat-clause in to the m atrix clause, a t th e sam e tim e
o m ittin g th e s u b o rd in a to r that, a n d m ak in g th e m a trix clause in to th e
co m m en t clause. B ecau se o f th is rev ersal o f sy n tactic roles, th e tw o sen ten ces
[ 1 ] a n d [2 ] a re n o t e x a c t p a ra p h ra se s; b u t th e re la tio n sh ip b etw een th e m
illu m in ates th e f u n c tio n o f th e c o m m en t clause. F u rth e rm o re , th e v erb in th e
c o m m en t clau se m ay h a v e o n ly o n e o f the m ean in g s po ssib le fo r th e v erb in
th e m atrix clause. V e rb s lik e believe an d think m ay h a v e a m o re d efin itiv e
m ean in g o r m ay m ere ly h ed g e (express a ten ta tiv e m ea n in g ); b u t o nly th e
hed g in g m e a n in g is p re s e n t in co m m en t clauses. T h e po ssib le difference is
h ig h lig h ted in th e c o n tra s t b etw een [3] an d [4], a n d b etw een [5] a n d [6 ]:
I believe that th e re is a G o d .
[‘I a sse rt th e b e lie f th a t th e re is a G o d ’ o r ‘T h e re m ay b e a G o d .’] [3]
T h e re is a G o d , I believe. [‘T h e re m ay be a G o d .’] [4]
You kn o w th a t it b elo n g s to m e. [‘You know t h a t’] [5]
I t b elo n g s to m e, y o u know . [‘I w a n t you to k now t h a t ’] [6 ]
Since th e th a t o f a n o b ject rfim-clause is n o rm ally d e le tab le (c/1 5 .4 ), o nly

th e in to n a tio n (reflected by c o m m a se p a ra tio n in w ritin g ) d istin g u ish es a n
in itial c o m m e n t c lau se fro m a n in itial m atrix c la u se :
Y ou |know (th a t) I th in k y o u ’re w r< 5 n g |. [Y o u know is a m atrix clause]
C o m m e n t clauses re sem b le m a in clauses in th a t th ey co n ta in a t least a

1114 S yn ta c tic and sem antic functions o f subordinate clauses
s u b je c t a n d a v e rb a n d a re n o t in tro d u ced by a su b o rd in ato r. H o w ev er, they

a r e n o t in d e p e n d e n t c lau ses, sin ce they are defective sy n ta ctica lly : th e verb
o r a d je c tiv e lack s its n o rm ally o b lig ato ry co m p lem en tatio n .
M a n y type (i) clauses are stereo ty p ed , eg: I believe, yo u know . O u tsid e th is
g ro u p , h o w ev er, clauses c a n b e fairly freely co n stru cted , p e rm ittin g v a ria tio n s
o f s u b je c t, ten se, an d a sp e ct, o r a d d itio n s o f adjuncts, e t c :
T h e In d ia n railw ays (m y uncle was telling m e some tim e ago) h av e alw ays
m ad e a profit.
T y p e (i) c o m m en t c lau ses th a t a re stereotyped m ay h a v e v a rio u s se m an tic

f u n c tio n s :
(a ) T h ey hed g e, ie th ey e x p ress the sp e a k er’s ten ta tiv en e ss o v e r th e tru th

v a lu e o f th e m a trix clause. C om m only, th e subject is I a n d th e v e rb is in the
s im p le p re sen t, b u t th e su b je ct m ay be a n indefinite one o r th ey o r (usually
w ith a p assiv e v erb ) it a n d th e v e rb m ay (for exam ple) h a v e a m o d al au x iliary
o r b e in th e p re se n t p e rfe c tiv e . H e re are som e exam ples:
I believe, I guess, I th in k , I expect, I fe e l, I hear, I presum e, I assum e, I

understand, I suppose, I consider, I suspect, I ’m told, I have read, I have heard,
I have heard tell, I can see, I m a y assume, I daresay, I venture to say, one
h ears, they tell me, th ey allege, they say, it is said, it is reported, it is claimed,
it is rum oured, it has been claim ed, it seem s, it appears
T h e c o m m e n t clau se m a y b e n eg ativ e (w ith / as subject) if th e m a trix clause

is n e g a tiv e :
T h e y a re n ’t a t h o m e, I d o n ’t believe.
T h e m a tc h e d n e g a tiv e e x p resses g re a te r ten tativ en ess th a n th e p o sitiv e. T h e

v e rb s th a t corhm only allow th e n eg ativ e a re believe, expect, suppose, think.
S o m e c o m m e n t clauses a re a d d e d to q u e stio n s:
W h a t’s h e D o in g , I w d N d e r'i
A re th ey to get aW A Y w ith it, I ask m y se lf ?
(b ) T h e y ex p ress th e s p e a k e r’s certain ty . C om m only, th e su b je ct is I a n d

th e v e rb is in th e sim p le p re sen t. H ere are som e e xam ples:
I k n o w , I claim , I see, I rem em ber, I agree, I adm it, I ’m sure, I ’m convinced', I

have no doubt; it’s true, it transpires; there’s no doubt; I m u st say, I m ust
a d m it, I m u st tell you, I have to say
C e r ta in ty m ay also be e x p ressed by n eg atio n o f a verb th a t e x p resses rejectio n

o r la c k o f certain ty , e g : I d o n ’t deny, I don’t doubt.
(c) T h ey ex p ress th e sp e a k e r’s em o tio n al a ttitu d e to w a rd s th e c o n te n t o f

th e m a trix clau se. A g a in , u su ally th e subject is I a n d th e v e rb is in th e sim ple
p re se n t. Som e a re follow ed b y a to-infinitive v erb o f sp e ak in g . H e re a re som e
e x a m p le s:
I ’m g la d to sa y, I ’m happy to sa y, I'm pleased to say, I'm d elig h ted to sa y, I'm

happy to tell y o u ; I hope, I wish, Ife a r , I regret, I'm a fra id ; I regret to say, I ’m
sorry to say; it pains m e to tell you, it grieves m e to say
In terjectio n s su c h as G o d know s a n d H ea ven know s, w h ich express th e

sp e a k er’s lac k o f co m p reh en sio n , p e rh ap s belong here b ecau se th ey a lso
im ply a n e m o tiv e a ttitu d e .
(d) T h ey a re used to claim th e h e are r’s atte n tio n . Som e also call fo r th e
h e a re r’s a g ree m e n t. A t th e sam e tim e, they exp ress th e sp e a k e r’s in fo rm a lity
a n d w a rm th to w a rd th e h earer. T h e su b ject is usually yo u o r th e im p lied y o u
o f th e im p e rativ e. H e re are som e e x a m p le s:
yo u know , y o u see , y o u realize ; y o u can see, yo u m a y know , yo u m ay have
heard, yo u m u st a d m it; m in d you, m a rk you; it m a y interest y o u to know
N e g ativ e q u e stio n s gen erally call for th e h e a re r’s ag reem en t, e g : wouldn’t y o u
say ?, don’t y o u th in k ?, don’t y o u agree ?, can’t y o u see ?, don’t y o u know ? T h ey
are a tta c h e d to d e c la ra tiv e se n te n c e s:
I t ’s e th ically w ro n g , w ouldn’t you s a y l
P o sitiv e q u e stio n s gen erally call for th e h e a re r’s atte n tio n . T h ey are a tta c h e d
to in te rro g ativ e sen ten ces:
W h a t’s sh e d o in g , do yo u th in k ?
Is th e h e a tin g on, do y o u suppose ?
N o te [a] T h e rep o rtin g clauses fo r d ire c t sp eech (c/1 4 .2 9 ) a re related to th e sem a n tic roles (a) an d (b )
o f ty p e (i) c o m m en t clau ses, an d m a y b e co n sid ered a n ad d itio n a l sem a n tic ca teg o ry w ith in ty p e
(0 :
‘I t ’s tim e w e w e n t,’ / said.
L ik e th e o th e r c o m m e n t clauses, th e ir v erb s also norm ally req u ire co m p lem en tatio n .
[b] T a g q u estio n s (c /1 a re related to th e sem a n tic role (d) o f ty p e (i) c o m m en t clauses, a n d
m ay also be co n sid e re d c o m m en t cla u se s:
T h e y ’re in a g re a t h u rry , aren’t they?
T h ey m a y alte rn a tiv e ly be analysed a s related to th e m a trix clause by p a ra ta x is (c /1 3 .2 ) r a th e r
th a n b y s u b o rd in atio n , p a ra ta x is b ein g a relatio n sh ip th a t m ig h t be p o stu la ted for all ty p e (i)
co m m en t clauses.
[c] A lth o u g h c o m m e n t clauses a re sy n tactically d e p e n d e n t in th a t th e ir v erbs la ck th e re q u ire d
co m p lem en tatio n , so m e clauses id e n tic al in fo rm to co m m en t clauses m ay be u sed as in d e p e n d e n t
u tte ra n c e s in resp o n ses:
A : W ill you b e le av in g to n ig h t? B : I daresay.
A : Y o u r tie is un d o n e. B : I know .
O th e r su ch resp o n ses re q u ire a clausal p ro -fo rm as co m p lem en tatio n , e g : I th in k so.
[d] N o tic e th e differen ce betw e en [7] a n d [8]:
[ 7]
B u t is th is r I g h t , \^T ^ ^ e r ?
[ I wonder? 1 J
B u t is th is RlGHT, / wdNder? [8]
W h ere [7] expresses reserv atio n , [8] expresses d ecid ed disag re em en t. T h e fallin g to n e, as w ith
ta g q u estio n s, in v ite s co n firm atio n .
[e] I n a n in fo rm al u se, I don’t think is a tta c h e d to a p o sitiv e sen ten ce to in d icate th a t th e se n te n c e
is bein g used iro n ic a lly :
T h a t’s a M A S terp iece, I don’t think.
I don’t th in k h a s ta il in to n a tio n ( c f Ap p 11.15).
[f] N o tic e th a t som e c o m m en t clauses in su b ty p e (b) m a y h a v e a concessive force, eg: I t ’s true, I
m ust sa y, I ad m it, I m u st adm it.
15.55 T y p e (ii) c o m m e n t clauses, w h ic h a re n e x t in im p o rtan ce, a re in tro d u ced b y

as. A s serv es o n e o f tw o sy n tactic fu n ctio n s in th ese c la u se s: as a relativ e o r
as a s u b o rd in a to r.
I n its re la tiv e fu n c tio n , as in tro d u ces a ty p e o f se n ten tial relativ e clause

t h a t m a y p re ce d e o r be in serted in its a n te c e d e n t, in th is case th e clause o r
se n te n c e to w h ic h it is a tta ch e d . In its m obility, th is as-clause is in term ed iate
b e tw e e n th e re la tiv e a n d a d v erb ial c o n stru ctio n s. L ik e th e sen ten tial relativ e
w hich ( c f 15.57), a s m ay fu n ctio n as a relativ e p r o n o u n :
S h e is e x tre m e ly p o p u lar am o n g stu d en ts, a s is common knowledge.

( c f : which is com m on knowledge)
I liv e a lo n g w a y from w o rk , as you know , ( c f: which you know)
O th e r e x a m p le s o f clauses w ith relativ e as: a s everybody know s, as you m ay

rem em b er, as y o u sa y, as I can see, as I have said, a s I ’m told, as yo u m a y have
heard.
A s a s u b o rd in a to r, a s in tro d u ces a clearly a d v e rb ia l clause, an d th e
s e n te n tia l a n te c e d e n t is rep laced by it. I t is ro ughly synonym ous w ith insofar
as [‘to th e :e x te n t t h a t ’] :
H e is th e b e s t c a n d id a te , as it seems. [ * ... in so fa r a s it seem s th a t h e is

th e b e st c a n d id a te .’]
O th e r e x a m p le s o f clauses w ith su b o rd in a to r as: a s it appears, as it happens,

as it transpired, a s it m a y interest yo u to know , as I see it, as I interpret it.
. T h e tw o ty p es o f c o n stru ctio n o ften m erg e, p ro v id in g a choice w h e th er o r
n o t to in s e rt it. T h u s , som e o f th e ex am p les w ith su b o rd in a to r a s allow a n
o p tio n a l it w h e n th e y a re e x te n d e d : as (it) seem s likely, as (it) often happens.
O th e r e x a m p le s w ith o p tio n a l it: as (it) was p o in ted out, as (it) was said earlier,
as I rem em b er (it), as I understand (it).
A s (it) appears fro m her essay, she h as re ad w id ely in R o m an tic

lite ra tu re .
T y p e (i) c o m m e n t clauses can o ften b e c o n v erted to type (ii) c o m m en t

c la u se s b y th e a d d itio n o f a s :
T h e I n d ia n ra ilw ay s, ((as) m y uncle was telling m e som e tim e ago), have

alw ay s m a d e a profit.
B u t th e a d d itio n c h an g e s th e m ean in g . T h e ty p e (ii) clau se is affirm ative,

im p ly in g th e t r u th o f th e m a trix clause, w h e rea s th e type (i) clause is n eu tral.
T h e d iffe re n c e m a y be c le are r w ith a n o th e r p a ir o f se n te n c e s:
GEORGE, a s y o u s a i d , is a L ia r (*but I d o n ’t b eliev e it).

GEORGE, y o u said, is a L ia r (b u t I d o n ’t b eliev e it).
T h e a ffirm a tio n o f tru th v alu e is ev en m o re s trik in g w h e n th e as-clau se co m es

first:
A s y o u said, G e o rg e is a liar.
M a n y o f th e ste re o ty p e d ty p e (i) clauses b e co m e u n a c c e p ta b le if as is a d d e d

( * a s l s e e , *as I daresay) o r ch an g e th e ir m e a n in g ra d ically (as yo u know).
N o te [a] T h e c la u s a l p ro -fo rm so m a y b e used in p a re n th e tic a l clau ses th a t co rresp o n d to ty p e (i) in

th e ir m e a n in g , a lth o u g h th ey resem b le ty p e (ii) in th e ir fo rm : so he sa ys, so I understand, so it
seem s, so I believe . T h e sem a n tic resem b lan ce to ty p e (i) co m m en t clauses lies in th e ir n e u tra lity
a s to th e tr u th value o f th e m a trix clause.
[b] T h e re a re a few n e g a tiv e stere o ty p ed co m m en t clauses w ith you as subject, b u t th e y re q u ire a
m o d al a u x ilia ry , usually m a y, m ight , will, o r w ould ; e g : as you m ay not rem em ber, as y o u w on’t h a v e
heard, a s y o u m ig h t not realize.
[c] R e la tiv e a s m a y h av e th e fu n ctio n o f subject in its clause, but only if th e o p e r a to r is b e o r
a n o th e r co p u la r v e r b :
{
was) seem ed natural,
was expected.
*delighted us.
C o n tra st w ith th e se n te n tia l re la tiv e :
S he h a s m a rrie d ag a in , which delighted us.
T h is c o n d itio n d o es n o t ap p ly to th e m erged constru ctio n s w here a su b jec t it is o p tio n a lly
o m itte d :
S h e h a s m a rrie d ag a in , a s (it) o ften happens.
T h e re a p p e a rs to b e th e ad d itio n a l req u ire m e n t th a t thea.s-clause m ust be se m a n tic ally c o n g ru e n t
w ith its m a trix c la u s e :
f *as waswas
which unexpected.
unexpected.
S h e h a s m a rrie d a g a in , ^
*as was disgraceful.
\ which was disgraceful.
T h is re q u ire m e n t suggests th a t re la tiv e as re ta in s som e reason im plication th a t is n o rm a l f o r as
w h e n it is a co n ju n ctio n o f reason.
15.56 T h e o th e r ty p es o f c o m m e n t clauses c a n b e d e alt w ith m o re briefly.

T y p e (iii) c o m m e n t clauses a re n o m in a l relativ e clauses in tro d u c e d by w hat
(c /1 5 .8 /):
W h a t’s m ore surprising, h e d id n ’t in fo rm his p aren ts. [ 1]
T h e wA ar-clause m u st b e in itia l. A s w ith ty p e (ii) { c f 15.55), se n te n c e s

c o n ta in in g th e m c o rre sp o n d to sen ten ces in w hich th e re la tio n s h ip o f
s u b o rd in a tio n b etw een th e tw o clau ses is reversed. F o r ex am p le, [1]
co rre sp o n d s to [ 2 ]:
I t ’s m ore surprising (th a t) h e d id n ’t in fo rm his p aren ts. [2]
I t also co rre sp o n d s to a se n ten tial re la tiv e clause (c/1 5 .5 7 ) as in [3], e x c e p t

th a t a se n te n tia l re la tiv e c lau se m u st b e fin a l:
H e d id n ’t in fo rm h is p a re n ts, which is more surprising. [3]
I t fu rth e r co rre sp o n d s to a se n ten ce in w h ich th e no m in al re la tiv e clau se is

su b ject a n d lin k e d to th e su b je ct c o m p lem en t by th e verb be, as in [4]:
W h a t’s m ore surprising is (th a t) h e d id n ’t in fo rm his p a ren ts. [4]
O th e r ex am p les o f ty p e (iii) c o m m e n t c la u se s: w hat’s more serious, w hat’s m o st

significant o f all, w hat’s very strange, w hat annoys me.
T y p es (iv), (v), a n d (vi) o f th e co m m e n t clauses are style d isju n cts { c f
15.21). T h ey a re n o n fin ite clau ses, d ifferen tiated by form . W e give so m e
e x am p les o f ste reo ty p ed c lau ses fo r e ac h type.
E x am p les o f ty p e (iv) c o m m e n t clauses, w h ich h av e a /o -in fin itiv e : to be
honest, to be fa ir , to be fr a n k , to be precise, to be truthful, to be serious f o r a
m om ent, to sp e a k candidly, to p u t it briefly.
E x a m p le s o f ty p e (v) co m m en t clauses, w hich have an -ing c la u s e : broadly

speaking , loosely speaking, roughly speaking, figuratively speaking, speaking
fr a n k ly , speaking generally, speaking personally, p utting it m ildly, p u ttin g it
crudely.
E x a m p le s o f ty p e (vi) co m m en t clauses, w hich have a n -ed c la u s e : p u t in
another way, rephrased, worded plainly, sta ted quite simply.
Sentential relative clauses

15.57 C losely re la te d to co m m en t clauses o f ty p e (ii) (as you know , c f 15.55) a n d
ty p e (iii) ( w hat’s m ore surprising, c f 15.56) a re s e n t e n t i a l r e l a t i v e c l a u s e s .
U n lik e a d n o m in a l relativ e clauses, w h ich h av e a n o u n p h rase a s a n te c e d e n t,
th e s e n te n tia l re la tiv e clause refers b a c k to th e p re d icate o r p re d ic a tio n o f a
clause, [1] a n d [2], o r to a w hole clau se o r sentence, [3] a n d [4], o r ev en to a
series o f se n ten c es [5]:
T h ey say h e p la y s truant, which he doesn’t. [1]

H e w alks fo r an hour each m orning, which would bore m e. [2]
R elativ e clau ses su c h as in [1] a re used to affirm (if p o sitiv e) o r d en y (if

n eg ativ e) a n a sse rtio n o r th o u g h t a sc rib e d to others.
T h in g s th e n im p ro v e d , which surprises me. [3]

C o lin m a rrie d m y siste r a n d I m a rrie d h is b ro th er, which m a kes
Colin a n d m e double in-laws. [4]
In [3] th e a n te c e d e n t m a trix clau se is a single clause a n d in [4] it is tw o

co n jo in ed clau ses. B u t o n e m ig h t eq u ally im ag in e a sto ry teller co m in g to th e
en d o f th e sto ry w ith th e w o rd s :
- which is how the kangaroo cam e to have a pouch. [5]
H e re which could! re fe r b a c k to th e w hole len g th o f th e story.

S en ten tial re la tiv e clauses p aralle l n o n restrictiv e p o stm o d ify in g c lauses in
n o u n p h ra se s in th a t th ey a re se p a ra te d by in to n a tio n o r p u n c tu a tio n fro m
th e ir a n te ce d e n t. T h e y a re c o m m o n ly in tro d u ced by th e re la tiv e w o rd which.
In [1-5] which is a re la tiv e p ro n o u n , b u t it m ay also be a relativ e d e te rm in e r
o f g en eral a b s tr a c t n o u n s su ch a.sfa c t, case, event, o r situation, o r m o re specific
v e rb al n o u n s su ch as fa ilu re o r claim. T h e no u n p h rases, w h ich m ay b e
p re p o sitio n a l c o m p le m e n ts, re p re se n t th e an te ce d e n t:
T he p la n e m a y be sev eral h o u rs late , in which case there’s no point

in our waiting. [6 ]
T hey a re sa id to have ta u g h t c h im p a n ze es to u se h u m an
lan g u ag e, which claim has been disputed by som e scholars.
( f o r m a l) [7]
T h e ra th e r fo rm a l c o n stru c tio n in [7] is m o re com m only re p laced b y a n o u n

p h ra se w ith a p o stm o d ify in g re la tiv e clause, as in [8 ]:
Sentential relative clauses 1119
T h ey are said to h a v e ta u g h t ch im p an zees to u se h u m an

language, a claim which has been disputed b y som e scholars. [8 ]
T h e p ro secu to r c h arg e d h im w ith lying, an allegation which he
vehem ently denied. [9]
In [8 ] a n d [9] th e n o u n p h ra se , in clu d in g the p o stm o d ifier, is in ap p o sitio n to

th e p re d ic atio n o f th e m a trix clause. T he d e te rm in e r which m ay be found
w ith p rep o sitio n s o th e r th a n in (exem plified in [6 ]):
T h ey w ere u n d e r w a te r fo r several hours, fr o m which experience they

em erged unharm ed.
T h e last sp e a k er assu re d th e audience th a t th e p a r ty w ould w in the
election, on which optim istic note the m ee tin g e n d ed .
F u rth e rm o re , th e p ro n o u n which m ay be a p re p o sitio n a l c o m p le m e n t:
M o rtim e r e x p lo d ed a firecrack er du rin g a lesso n , a s a result o f which he

was suspended fr o m school fo r a week.
H e r b ro th e r sn a tc h e d th e letter aw ay, a t which sh e was furious.
In a ra th e r fo rm al style, th e p ro n o u n which m ay b e th e o b ject o f a n onfinite

v e rb :
T h ere w as a su d d e n in crease in th e re ad e rsh ip o f S u n d ay p a p ers, after

noticing which several editors changed their policy.
Profits h a d to b e in cre ased , to achieve which object became the main
occupation o f business executives.
T w o special ty p es o f a p p o sitio n a l clauses sh o u ld b e n o ted here, because

th ey p ro v id e c o m m o n a lte rn a tiv e s to se n ten tial re la tiv e clauses. B o th types
c o n ta in a n o u n h e a d m o d ified by a n ad n o m in al re la tiv e c la u se :
(a) r e s u m p t i v e clau ses re p e a t as th e n o u n h e a d a w o rd o r a m orp h o lo g ical

v a ria n t o f a w o rd :
She ex p ressed h e r b e lie f in th e econom ic re co v ery o f th e co u n try , a

b e lie f th a t was w ell fo u n d ed .
T h e P re sid e n t announced th a t he w ould ru n fo r a second term , an
announcem ent th a t was acclaim ed by m ost m em bers o f his party.
(b) s u m m a t i v e clauses p ro v id e a s th e n o u n h e ad a w o rd t h a t su m m arizes th e

m a trix clause:
N o rm a n m ay b e p re te n d in g to be sick to a v o id g o in g to school,
a possibility th a t we cannot ignore.
R e la tiv e w o rd s o th e r th a n which a re used to in tro d u c e se n ten tial re la tiv e

clauses. Whereupon [‘a f te r w h ic h ’, ‘in co n seq u en ce o f w h ic h ’] a n d whence
[‘fro m w h ich ’, ‘in c o n se q u en ce o f w h ich ’] are fo rm al:
A t th e a n n u a l m ee tin g , th e parish io n ers sev erely criticize d th e m in ister,

whereupon he resigned.
T h e a rm y h a s b e e n m o b ilized , whence we m a y d educe that an invasion is
im minent.
T h e c o m b in a tio n s since when [‘since w h ich tim e ’ <esp B rE >], until when, fr o m
w hen, a n d b y w hen are also used as se n ten tial relativ es:
S h e jo in e d th e ed ito rial sta ff o f a local n ew sp ap er, since when she has

contributed to various monthlies. <esp B rE )
T h e sta tu s o f th e se n ten tial relativ e clause is so m e w h a t anom alous.

S e m a n tic a lly it is sim ila r to c o m m en t clauses th a t a re c o n te n t d isju n cts;
c o m p a re which surprises m e in [3] a b o v e w ith th e c o m m e n t clau se what
surprises m e. H o w ev e r, th e which- clause can n o t b e in itia l, w h ile th e what-
c la u se m u s t be. O n th e o th e r h an d , it is sim ila r to o th e r n o n re stric tiv e relativ e
c la u se s in th a t it follow s its a n te ce d e n t a n d in th a t it c a n b e m o st nearly
p a r a p h r a s e d b y a c o o rd in a te clau se in w hich th e w h-w o rd is re p laced by a
d e m o n s tra tiv e s u c h as that', for e x am p le th e relativ e clau se in [4] can be
re p la c e d b y a n d th a t m a k e s Colin a n d m e double in-laws, a n d th e o n e in [6 ] by
a n d in th a t case there's no point in our waiting.
N o te [a] T h e r e a re se v e ra l a rc h a ic com pounds, w ith where- th a t in tro d u ce se n te n tia l relativ e clauses.

,
T h e y h a v e th e m e a n in g ‘in co n seq u en c e o f which* o r ‘a fte r w h ic h ’: w hereafter, w hereat wherefore,
wherew ith.
[b] T h e se n te n tia l re la tiv e clau se is closest to th e co n tin u ativ e n o n restric tiv e rela tiv e clause su ch
as:
T o m le n t th e b o o k to S ue, w h o lent it to P a t, w h o retu rn ed it to T o m . [ ' . . . a n d sh e len t it to
P a t, a n d sh e re tu rn e d it to T o m .’]
[c] A lth o u g h th e se n te n tia l re la tiv e clause is g en erally fixed in final p o s itio n , it is occasionally
fo u n d in m e d ia l p o s itio n in in fo rm a l co n v e rs a tio n :
M a rv in a n d T e r r y - which is som ething r i l never understand - w ere q u a rre llin g w ith in a
m o n th o f th e ir m a rria g e a n d w ere sep a ra te d w ith in th re e m o n th s.
N o n fin ite and verbless adverbial clauses
T h e a tta ch m e n t rule fo r identifying the subject

15.58 I n o u r d isc u ssio n o f th e g ram m atical fu n ctio n s a n d se m a n tic roles o f
a d v e rb ia l c la u se s, we h a v e freq u en tly c ite d exam ples o f n o n fin ite a n d verbless
clauses. W e c o n c lu d e o u r d iscu ssio n o f a d v erb ial clauses w ith a c o n sid era tio n
o f m a tte rs t h a t p a rtic u la rly affect n o n fin ite an d v erb less clauses.
N o n fin ite a n d v erb less a d v erb ial clauses th a t h av e a n o v e rt su b ject b u t are
n o t in tro d u c e d b y a s u b o rd in a to r an d a re n o t th e c o m p le m e n t o f a p rep o sitio n
a re a b s o l u t e p a u s e s , so te rm e d b ecau se th ey a re n o t e x p lic itly b o u n d to the
m a trix c la u se sy n ta ctica lly . A b so lu te clauses m ay b e -ing, -ed, o r verbless
clauses, b u t n o t in fin itiv e c la u se s:
N o fu r th e r discussion arising, th e m eetin g w as b ro u g h t to a close. [1]

L unch fin ish e d , th e gu ests re tire d to th e lounge. [ 2]
C h ristm a s then o nly d a y s aw ay, th e fam ily w as p e n t u p w ith
e x c ite m e n t. [3]
A p a r t fro m a fe w ste reo ty p ed p h ra ses ( c /N o te [b] below ), a b so lu te clauses
a re fo rm a l a n d in fre q u e n t.
N onfinite and verbless adverbial clauses 1121
W h e n a su b je ct is n o t p re sen t in a n o n fin ite o r verbless clause, th e n o rm a l

a tta c h m e n t r u le fo r id en tify in g th e su b ject is th a t it is assu m ed to b e
id en tica l in re fe re n ce to th e su b ject o f th e su p ero rd iriate clause:
T h e o ra n g es, when (they are) ripe, a re p ick ed a n d sorted

m ech an ically . [4]
In -ed a n d v erb less clauses w ith a su b o rd in a to r such a s [4], a n ellipsis o f th e

su b ject a n d o p e ra to r m ay be p o stu late d . In o th er cases, a p a ra p h ra s e b y a
finite c lau se rev eals th a t th e s u b o rd in a te clau se subject is id en tical w ith th e
su p e ro rd in a te clau se su b ject. T h e a tta c h m e n t rule is com m only g iv en fo r
p a rtic ip le clauses, b u t it a p p lie s eq u ally to infinitive a n d verbless c lau ses:
P ersuaded b y our optim ism , he g ladly c o n trib u ted tim e an d m o n ey to th e

sch em e. [‘Since h e w as p e r s u a d e d . . . ’]
D riving hom e a fter w ork, / a cc id en tally w en t th ro u g h a red lig h t. [‘W h ile
I w as d riv in g h o m e a fte r w o r k . . . ’]
C onfident o f the ju stic e o f their cause, they agreed to p u t th e ir case b e fo re
a n a rb itra tio n p an el. [‘S in ce th ey w ere c o n fid e n t. . . ’]
To clim b the rock fa c e , we h a d to ta k e v ario u s precau tio n s. [‘So t h a t w e
c o u ld c lim b . . . ’]
N o te [a] A s We see fro m th e ex a m p les a b o v e , te n se , aspect, a n d m ood a re also in fe rre d in n o n fin ite
a n d v erb less clauses fro m th e se n te n tia l c o n tex t, c/1 4 .8 .
[b] S tere o ty p ed ab so lu te clauses in c lu d e present com pany excepted, all told, w eather/tim e p e rm it
ting, G o d willing.
U nattached nonfinite and verbless clauses

15.59 I t is co n sid ere d to b e a n e rro r w h e n th e u n d ersto o d subject o f th e c la u se is
n o t id en tifia b le w ith th e su b je ct o f th e m a trix clause, a n d p e rh a p s d o e s n o t
a p p e a r in th e se n ten ce a t a ll :
?D riving to Chicago th a t night, a su d d en th o u g h t stru ck me. [ 1]

1 Since leaving her, life h a s seem ed pointless. [ 2]
? W a lkin g dow n th e boardw alk, a ta ll b u ild in g cam e in to view . [3]
I n th e s e ex am p les th e im p lied su b je ct o f th e clauses is p resu m ab ly I , b u t I
does n o t o c cu r as th e su b ject o f th e m atrix clauses. I f w e w ish to k e e p th e
n o n fin ite clau ses as th e y a re, w e re p h ra se th e m atrix clauses to in tro d u c e / a s
s u b je c t; fo r e x a m p le :
D riving to Chicago th a t night, I w as stru ck by a su d d en th o u g h t. [ 1a]

S ince leaving her, I h av e fe lt th a t life seem ed pointless. [2a]
W a lkin g down the boardw alk, I saw a tall building. [3a]
C lau ses involved in th is ty p e o f e rro r, as in [1-3], a re u n a t t a c h e d clau ses.

H e re a re som e fu rth e r e x am p les o f u n a tta c h e d clau ses:
1A fte r serving on several com m ittees, th e asso ciatio n elected h e r th e ir

se c retary -treasu rer.
I F rien d o fsta te sm e n a n d patron o f the arts, m an y honours w ere b e sto w ed
o n h im .
? W hile in a hospital near the school, h e r teach ers v isited h e r reg u larly .
I T o see the procession, I p u t th e ch ild o n m y shoulders.

? B ein g th e eldest, th e resp o n sib ility fell p a rtic u la rly on m y shoulders.
?A lth o u g h the la te st m odel, they d id n ’t lik e th e c ar.
? A d v ise d to stu d y anthropology, his ch o ice w as psychology in stead .
I A n author o f considerable distinction, p e o p le flocked to h er p ublic
lecture.
T h e s a m e e rro r m a y occur- w hen a n -ing cla u se is the co m p lem en t o f a

p re p o s itio n :
l O n reaching the sum m it, th e view d e lig h ted u s all.
A s w ith [1-3], w e c a n in te rp re t c o rrectly th e im plied su b ject in th ese

se n te n c e s , b u t th e s e u n a tta c h e d clauses a re fro w n ed upon. S u ch clauses a re
to ta lly u n a c c e p ta b le if th e sen ten ce p ro v id e s n o m ean s for id en tify in g th e
im p lie d su b ject:
* R e a d in g the evening paper, a dog s ta rte d b a rk in g .

* U sing these techniques, a w heel fell off.
* A result o f the rise in prices, ou r eco n o m y is suffering.
S o m e tim e s th e e rro r suggests a n a b su rd in te r p r e ta tio n :
* O pening the cupboard, a skeleton fell o u t.

*G rilled on charcoal, everyone enjo y ed th e fish th ey caught.
* H a v in g eaten our lunch, th e s te a m b o a t d e p a rte d .
T h e a tta c h m e n t ru le does n o t apply, o r a t le a st is relaxed, in c e rta in c a s e s :
(a) T h e clause is a style d isju n ct ( c f 15.21), in w h ic h case th e im p lied s u b je ct

is t h e su b je ct o f th e im p lied clause o f sp e a k in g , n o rm ally I:
P u ttin g it m ildly, you have cau sed us so m e in convenience.

H is m o ralip rin cip les, to be fra n k , b e g in a n d e n d w ith h is o w n in terests.
T o sa y the least, th e ir tech n iq u es a re old-fashioned.
(b ) T h e im p lied su b je ct is th e w hole o f th e m a trix clause:
I ’ll h e lp yoi) i f necessary. [‘. . . i f it is n e c e ssa ry .’]

U nknow n to h is closest advisers, h e h a d secretly n eg o tiated w ith a n
en em y em issary. [‘I t w as u n k n o w n to h is closest ad v isers t h a t . . . ’]
T h e sire n so u n d ed , indicating that the air raid was over. [‘. . . w h ich
in d ic a te d t h a t . . . ’]
(c) I f th e im plied su b ject is an in d efin ite p ro n o u n o r p ro p it ( c f 10.26), th e

c o n s tru c tio n is Considered less o b je c tio n a b le :
W hen dining in the restaurant, a ja c k e t a n d tie a re req u ired . [‘W h en o n e

d i n e s . , . ’]
B ein g Christmas, th e g o v ern m en t offices w ere closed. [‘Since it w as . . . ’]
T o -in fin itiv e clauses a re n o rm al in th is u s e :
T o borrow books fro m this library, it is n ecessary to reg ister as a m em b e r

o f th e lib rary . [‘F o r one to b o r r o w . . . ’]
(d ) I n fo rm al scientific w ritin g , th e c o n stru ctio n h a s becom e in stitu tio n a liz e d

Nonfinite and verbless adverbial clauses 1123
w h ere th e im p lied su b ject is to be identified w ith th e I, we, a n d yo u o f th e

w riter(s) o r re a d e r(s ):
When treating pa tien ts with language retardation an d deviation o f

language developm ent, th e th erap y consists, in p a rt, o f discussions o f
th e p a tie n t’s p ro b lem s w ith p aren ts a n d teach ers, w ith su b seq u e n t
lan g u ag e te a c h in g c a rrie d o ut by them .
To check on the reliability o f the fir st experiment, th e e x p e rim e n t w as
re p lica ted w ith a seco n d set o f subjects.
N o te [a] T h e e rro r o f u n a tta c h e d clauses h a s trad itio n ally b een discussed in c o n n e c tio n w ith p a rtic ip le
clauses, p articu larly -ing clauses. O th e r tra d itio n al term s fo r th e e rro r a re ‘u n a tta c h e d ’,
‘un related ’, ‘p e n d a n t’, a n d ‘d a n g lin g ’ p articip le.
[b] T h e ac c ep ta b ility o f u n a tta c h e d clauses p erh ap s varies acco rd in g to how easily th e p a r tic u la r
h e a re r o r read e r c a n perce iv e th e im plied subject. P articip le fo r m s th a t a r e lex icalized a s
conju n ctio n s o r p re p o sitio n s a re o f course ex em p t from th e atta c h m e n t ru le :
Provided th a t a film e n te rta in s, few people care a b o u t its m erits.
Considering its co st, th is m a c h in e is n o t w o rth buying.
[c] /45-p h rases a re so m etim e s p la ced initially w hen th ey a re related to a n e le m e n t in final p o sitio n
o r to n o e lem en t a t all. T h e y th e n resem b le un attach e d clauses:
?/4s a protection against inflation, w e m u st seek increasingly to d iv e rsify o u r in v e stm en ts.
?/4s a professor o f political science, it has b een in terestin g to sp e n d a y ea r in G erm an y .
{P resum ably: \ . . I h a v e fo u n d it in te re s tin g . . 4’]
[d] D ue to is gen erally ac ce p te d as a com plex prep o sitio n synonym ous w ith owing to. S o m e
sp eak ers, h o w ev er, c o n sid e r th a t du e functions as a n adjectiv e in th a t co llo catio n a n d th e re fo re
o b ject to its use in [4] a s a n in frin g e m e n t o f th e a tta c h m e n t rule fo r verbless clau ses:
ID tie to b a d weather, classes h a v e bee n cancelled to day. [4]
F o r th o se w ho o b je c t to [4], [4a] p ro v id e s a n accep tab le a lte rn a tiv e :
C an c ellatio n o f classe s to d a y is du e to bad weather. [4a]
Supplem entive clauses

15.60 W h en a d v erb ial p a rtic ip le clauses an d a d v erb ial v erb less clauses a re n o t
in tro d u ced b y a s u b o rd in a to r, th ere m ay b e c o n sid erab le in d ete rm in ac y a s to
th e sem an tic re la tio n s h ip to b e in ferred . In fin itiv e clauses, a lth o u g h th e y
e x h ib it a n u m b e r o f se m a n tic relatio n sh ip s, p re sen t n o p a rtic u la r p ro b le m in
th is resp ect, b u t c /1 7 .3 1 /.
In th e ir in d ete rm in ac y , a d v e rb ia l p a rticip le a n d v erb less c lau ses resem b le
th e versatile re la tio n s h ip s expressed by n o n re stric tiv e re la tiv e clau ses
(c f 17.23) an d th e c o n n e c tiv e fu n ctio n o f th e c o o rd in a to r a n d ( c f 1 3 .2 2 # ).
T h ey a re all c ap a b le o f assu m in g , acco rd in g to co n te x t, a m o re p recise ro le:
Ja so n , to ld o f his son's accident, im m ediately p h o n e d th e h o sp ital. [1]

Jaso n , who w as to ld o f his son’s accident, im m ed iately p h o n e d th e
h o sp ital. [2 ]
Ja so n w as to ld o f his so n ’s accid en t, a n d he im m ediately p honed the
hospital. [3]
F o r all th re e se n ten c es, a lth o u g h th e m ode o f clau se co n n ec tio n d o es n o t

m ak e th is ex p licit, w e in fe r a tem p o ral sequ en ce o f ev en ts. O n th e o th e r
h a n d , in th e n e x t th re e se n ten c es w e in fer th a t th e logical c o n n ec tio n b e tw ee n
th e clauses is p rim a rily o n e o f reason, alth o u g h th e re is also a te m p o ra l
seq u en ce:
Jo h n , know ing th a t his wife was expecting a baby, sta rte d to ta k e a

course o n b a b y care. [4]
1124 S y n ta c tic and sem antic fu n ctio n s of subordinate clauses
J o h n , who k n e w th a t his w ife w as expecting a baby, sta rte d to ta k e a

c o u rse o n b a b y care. [5]
J o h n k n ew th a t his w ife w as e x p ectin g a b aby and he sta rte d to
ta k e a course on baby care. [6 ]
In [7] th e c o n n e c tio n is o n e o f reaso n w ith o u t tem p o ral se q u e n c e :
J u lia , being a nun, sp e n t m u ch o f her life in p ra y er a n d m e d ita tio n . [7]
S e n ten c es [1], [2], [4], [5], a n d [7] all c o n tain su b o rd in a te clauses, b u t o nly [1],
[4], a n d [7] a re a d v e rb ia l clau ses, since th ey c a n be p o sitio n e d initially,
m ed ially , a n d (e x ce p t for [ 1 ]) finally.
A d v e rb ia l p a rtic ip le a n d v erb less clauses w ith o u t a s u b o rd in a to r are
s u p p l e m e n t i v e c l a u s e s ; lik e n o n re stric tiv e relativ e clauses a n d clau ses in
a n a n rf-c o o rd in atio n , th ey d o n o t signal specific logical re la tio n s h ip s , b u t
such re la tio n s h ip s a re g en erally c le ar from th e con tex t. S u b jectless su p p le
m e n tiv e clau ses, ie th o se th a t (u n lik e su p p lem en tiv e a b so lu te clauses, c f
15.58) d o n o t h a v e th e ir o w n o v e rt subject, resem ble n o n re stric tiv e relativ e
clau ses in a n o th e r re sp e c t: th e im p lied su b ject in th e su p p le m e n tiv e clause
p ro v id es a lin k w ith th e m a trix clau se ra th e r as the relativ e p ro n o u n p ro v id es
a lin k in p o stm o d ify in g re la tiv e clauses. T h e fo rm al in ex p licitn ess o f
su p p le m e n tiv e clau ses allow s c o n sid erab le flexibility in w h a t w e m a y w ish
th em to co n v ey . A c co rd in g to co n tex t, w e m ay w ish to im p ly tem p o ral,
c o n d itio n a l, c au sal, con cessiv e, o r c ircu m stan tial re la tio n sh ip . I n sh o rt, th e
s u p p le m e n tiv e clau se im p lies a n acco m p an y in g c irc u m stan ce to th e situ atio n
d e sc rib e d in th e m a trix clau se. F o r th e re ad e r o r h e arer, th e a c tu a l n a tu re o f
th e a c c o m p a n y in g c irc u m s ta n c e h a s to be in ferred fro m th e co n te x t. H ere
are so m e illu stra tio n s o f p ro c ess a d v e rb ia ls :
i
Using a sharp a x e , G ilb e rt fo u g h t his w ay in to th e b u ild in g . [‘B y u sin g a
s h a rp a x d ,. . .’]
M a rily n craw le d th ro u g h th e n a rro w tu n n el, hands in fro n t.
W e sp o k e fa c e to fa ce .
T h e y sto o d Silently, their eyes fix e d on the horizon.
E liz a b e th d iy e d in h e a d first.
T h e y strolled: th ro u g h th e p a rk with their arm s intertwined.
N o te [a] C la u se s in tro d u c e d b y with a n d w ithout o fte n convey little m o re th a n a v ag u e n o tio n o f

a c c o m p an y in g circ u m sta n c e :
W ith te ars o f jo y in her eyes, sh e saw h e r d au g h te r m arried.
W ithout anyone noticing, I slip p e d o u t o f th e room .
[b] In -ing clau ses, v erbs u sed d y n am ically te n d to suggest a tem p o ral lin k , a n d s ta tiv e verbs a
causal lin k : |
R eaching th e river, w e p itc h e d c a m p fo r th e night. [‘W hen w e reached th e r i v e r , . . . ’]
B eing a fa r m e r , h e is su sp icio u s o f all g o v ern m en tal interference.
[‘S in ce h e is a f a r m e r ,. . . ’]
S ubjectless supplem entive clauses

15.61 T h e fo rm al c h a ra c te ris tic s o f su b jectless su p p lem en tiv e clau ses a r e :
(a ) T h e y a r e p a r t i c i p l e o r v e r b l e s s c la u s e s .
Nonfinite and verbless adverbial clauses 1125
(b) T h e ir m o st ty p ic a l p o sitio n s in th e su p e ro rd in ate clause are in itial, fin al,

and im m e d ia tely a fte r th e ir an te ce d e n t, ie th e n o u n p h ra se in t h e
su p e ro rd in a te c la u se w h ich is id en tical w ith th e ir im p lied subject.
T h e p o sitio n im m e d ia tely a fte r the a n te ce d e n t poses th e m o st difficulties

fo r analysis. W h e n subjectless su p p lem en tiv e clauses occur in th a t p o sitio n ,
th ey m ay b e in d is tin g u ish a b le fro m p o stm o d ify in g p articip le clauses o r ( in
th e case o f v e rb less clauses) fro m n o u n p h ra ses in ap p o sitio n . T h u s th e tw o
c o n stru ctio n s m a y m erg e in th a t it is im possible (and se m an tically
u n im p o rta n t) to d e cid e w h e th er th e p a rticip le clause in [ 1 ] is to b e re g ard e d
a s fu n ctio n ally e q u iv a le n t to th e n o n re stric tiv e relativ e clause in [la ]:
T h is su b s ta n c e , discovered alm ost b y accident, has rev olutionized

m ed icin e. [1]
T h is su b s ta n c e , which was discovered alm ost b y accident, has
re v o lu tio n iz ed m ed icin e. [ la ]
A ltern ativ ely , it m a y b e e q u iv a le n t to a subjectless su p p lem en tiv e clause:
Discovered a lm o st b y accident, th is su b stan ce h as revolutionized

m ed icin e.
T h ere a re, h o w e v er, tw o ty p es w h ich in g en eral m ay b e u n am b ig u o u sly

labelled su p p le m e n tiv e :
(a) -ing clauses c o n ta in in g a u x iliary v erb s o r th e v erb b e :
T h e c h ild re n , having eaten their fill, w ere allow ed to leave th e table.

T h e old m a n , being o f sane m ind, d ic ta te d a n d signed h is will.
Such -ing clau ses g en erally c a n n o t b e p ostm odifiers o f n o u n phrases.
(b) verbless a d je ctiv e clau ses:
L aw so n , im placable, c o n te n ted h im self w ith a glare o f defiance.
A d jectiv e clau ses c a n , how ev er, be n o n re stric tiv e postm odifiers o f n o u n

p h rases in c e rta in c irc u m stan c es:
(i) i f th e clau se is len g th y a n d c o n ta in s w eighty in fo rm a tio n :
W e to o k Jo e , unable to sta n d because o f weakness, to the n e are st h o sp ital.

I m e t B etty, angry w ith m e as always, a t th e luncheon.
C o n trast:
*W e to o k Jo e , w eak, to th e n e are st h o sp ital.

*1 m e t B etty, angry, a t th e lun ch eo n .
(ii) if th e ad je ctiv e c a n b e o b jec t co m p lem en t in th e co m p lem en tatio n o f th e

su p e ro rd in ate v e r b :
I found G e o rg e , unconscious, a few h o u rs later.
C o n tra s t:
*1 tre a te d G e o rg e, unconscious, a t th e hospital.
I n in itial p o sitio n , th e clau ses a re u n am b ig u o u sly subjectless su p p lem en tiv e

clauses. F o r su p p le m e n tiv e clau ses in final p o sitio n , c / 1 5.62.
S u p p lem en tiv e clau ses in final position

i.62 In s p ite o f th e ir re sem b lan ce to n o n restrictiv e re la tiv e clauses, su p p lem en tiv e
c la u s e s n e e d n o t b e se p a ra te d from th eir m a trix clau se in to n atio n ally w hen
th e y o c c u r in final p o sitio n . T h e follow ing a re th ere fo re a lte rn a tiv e ren d erin g s
o f t h e s a m e se n ten ce, d iffering only in th a t [ 1 ] h a s tw o focuses o f in fo rm atio n ,
w h e re a s [2 ] h a s o n ly o n e :
T h e m a n a g e r apPROACHED us, SM lL ing. [ 1]
T h e m a n a g e r a p p r o a c h e d u s SM lL ing. [2]
O n e re s u lt o f th e a lte rn a tiv e show n in [2] is th e p o ssib le n e u tra liz atio n o f th e

fo rm a l d iffere n ce b etw een n o n fin ite clauses fu n c tio n in g as su p p lem en tiv e
c la u se s a n d th o se fu n ctio n in g as co m p le m e n ta tio n o f th e verb. T h u s [3] is
a m b ig u o u s :
I sa w P a m g o in g hom e. [3]
O n o n e in te rp re ta tio n (th a t o f th e su p p lem en tiv e clause), I is th e im p lied

su b je c t o f going hom e, w h ereas on th e o th er (th a t o f v erb co m p lem en tatio n ),
P a m is th e o v e rt subject.
A n o th e r resu lt o f th e lac k o f in to n a tio n is illu stra te d in [4] an d [5], W h en
th e -in g p a rtic ip le im m ed iately follows c e rta in fin ite v erb s w ith ex isten tial
m e a n in g , th e la tte r seem close to b eing a sp ectu al c a te n a ti ves (c /3 .4 9 ):
F r a n k sa t reading th e n ew sp ap er. [4] ;
E d it h cam e running to w ard s us. [5]
F u r th e r , a s e n te n c e su ch a s [6 ] is a m biguous in m o re th a n o n e w ay:
I c a u g h t th e b o y waiting fo r m y daughter. [6 ]
In a d d itio n to'ithe tw o po ssib le stru ctu res o f [3], th is m ay b e in te rp rete d as

h a v in g a th ir d stru c tu re , in w hich th e n o n fin ite clause is a po stm o d ify in g
c la u s e : j
‘I c a u g h t th e b o y w hile I w as w aiting fo r m y d a u g h te r.’ [supplem entive

clau se] \
‘I c a u g h t th e b o y in th e a c t o f w aitin g for m y d a u g h te r.’ [verb
co m p le m e n ta tio n ]
‘I c a u g h t th e b o y w ho w as w aiting for m y d a u g h te r.’ [postm odification]
O n th e analogy] o f [2], we m ay identify th e final a d jectiv e p h rases o f th e

fo llo w in g e x a m p le s (w h ere th ere is n o in to n a tio n a l se p a ra tio n ) as verbless
su p p le m e n tiv e c la u s e s :
i
T h e m a n a g e r a p p ro a c h e d us f u ll o f apologies. [7]
H e d ro v e d ie d a m a g e d c a r hom e undism ayed. [8 ]
In e a c h , th e a d je ctiv e p h ra se is in a co p u lar re la tio n sh ip w ith th e su b ject o f

the s e n te n c e , a n d is th u s d istin c t from a n o b jec t co m p le m e n t, w h ich w ould
be in a c o p u la r re la tio n s h ip w ith th e d irec t o b ject. F u rth e rm o re , a n o bject
c o m p le m e n t c o u ld n o t n o rm ally be placed in in itial p o sitio n , w hereas th a t
p o s itio n is p e rfe c tly n a tu ra l fo r [7] a n d [8 ]:
F u ll o f apologies, th e m an a g er ap p ro ac h ed us. [7 a ]
U ndism ayed, h e d ro v e th e d am ag ed c a r hom e. [8 a ]
Com parative clauses 1127
A d jectiv e p h ra se s in final p o sitio n th a t can n o t be p re p o sed a re g e n erally

n o n re stric tiv e p o stm o d ifiers o f th e p reced in g no u n p h ra se s ( c f 15.61 fo r
m ed ial n o n re stric tiv e postm odifiers), even though th ey a re s e p a ra te d
in to n a tio n a lly fro m th e re st o f th e s e n ten c e :
T h e cow s c o n te n ted ly c h ew ed th e grass, g r e e n a n d s u c c u le n t a fte r th e

r a i n , [‘w h ic h w as g re en an d s u c c u le n t. . . ’]
T h e drill q u ick ly p e n e tra te d th e layer o f rock, lo o s e a n d c r u m b l y w i t h
y e a r s o f w e a th e r in g .
N o u n p h ra ses in final p o sitio n th a t can n o t be p rep o sed a re g e n era lly

ap p o sitiv e s o f th e p re ce d in g n o u n p h rases:
S hirley se n t us a g ift, a b o x o f c h o c o la te s .
T h ere is a g ra d ie n t re la tin g th e fu n ctio n al categories o f su b je ct c o m p le m e n t

a n d re stric tiv e a d ju n c t ( c f 15.23) realized by a verbless su p p le m e n tiv e clau se.
W e th ere fo re fin d sen ten ces in w h ich th e final phrases c a n n o t b e p re p o se d
(a t lea st w ith o u t c h an g in g th e m ean in g ), because they a re o n th e g ra d ie n t
to w a rd s su b je ct c o m p le m e n t s ta tu s :
T h ey e n d ed th e seaso n b o t t o m o f t h e le a g u e .
H e cam e o u t o f p riso n a c h a n g e d m a n . .
H e b e g an life a P r o t e s t a n t .
She em erg ed fro m th e co n flict v i c to r io u s .
N o te P rep o sitio n al p h rases th a t m a y be co n stru e d as subject co m plem ent c a n also b e view ed o n th e

g ra d ie n t b etw een a d v e rb ia l an d co m p le m e n t (c /1 0 .1 1): ’
T h e y en d ed th e season a t th e bottom o f the league.
H e b eg a n life a s a P rotestant.
S he em erg ed fro m th e co n flict w ith a clear victory.
Comparative clauses
15.63 I n a c o m p a ra tiv e co n stru ctio n , a p ro p o sitio n expressed in th e m a trix clau se

is co m p a red w ith a p ro p o sitio n ex p ressed in th e su b o rd in a te clau se w ith
resp ect to som e s t a n d a r d o f c o m p a r i s o n :
J a n e is as h e alth y a s h e r s i s t e r ( is ) . [1 ]
T h e sta n d a rd o f c o m p a riso n in [1] is h ealth .

B roadly co n ceiv ed , c o m p a ris o n includes com p ariso n s o f e q u i v a l e n c e ( c f
15.71), as in [1], a n d c o m p a riso n s o f s u f f i c i e n c y an d e x c e s s ( c f \ 5 1 2 f f ) , as
in [2] a n d [3]:
D o n is s e n s i t i v e e n o u g h t o u n d e r s t a n d y o u r f e e l i n g s . [2]
M arily n w as t o o p o l i t e t o s a y a n y t h i n g a b o u t m y c l o th e s . [3]
1128 S y n ta c tic and sem antic fun ction s of subordinate clauses
M o re n a rro w ly co n sid ered , h o w ev er, co m p ariso n co n cern s a sta n d a rd

m e a su ra b le in term s o f degree th a t is ex p ressed by m ea n s o f th e c o rre lativ e
se q u e n ce m ore, less, o r o th e r c o m p a ra tiv e form s (c f 1 .1i f f ) in th e m a trix
cla u se , to g e th e r w ith than in th e su b o rd in a te clause. Such c o m p ariso n s a re
C O M PA R ISO N S O F N ON EQ U IV A LEN C E .’
[4]
T h e clau se e le m en t in the m atrix clau se w hich specifies th e s ta n d a rd o f

c o m p a ris o n (h e a lth in [1] a n d [4]) is th e c o m p a r a t i v e e l e m e n t (a b b re v ia te d
in o u r f u r th e r d iscu ssio n to ‘co m p -e le m en t’), in [1] a n d [4] a s healthy, m ore
healthy, healthier, less healthy. T h e b a s i s o f c o m p a r i s o n is g iv en in th e
c o m p a r a t i v e c l a u s e , th e c o rrelativ e su b o rd in a te clau se; it is J a n e ’s siste r in
[1] a n d [4], T h e b asis o f c o m p ariso n n eed n o t be o v ertly ex p ressed , b u t it is
th e n im p lied fro m th e con tex t.
C o m p a ra tiv e clauses o f n o n eq u iv alen ce, eq u iv alen ce, a n d excess m ay
in clu d e n o n a sse rtiv e form s ( c f 10.60):
T h e y p le a se d m e m o re th a n th ey c a n in any way im ag in e.
Y o u h a v e a s m u c h rig h t to vote a s you ever had.
I a m to o y o u n g to re m e m b e r any o f th e ev en ts d u rin g th e last w ar.
N o te A n a lte rn a tiv e te r m fo r eq u iv alen c e is ‘eq u a lity ’. O th e r term s fo r n o n eq u iv alen c e a re ‘in e q u a lity '
a n d ‘d iffe re n tia tio n ’. . s
Th e c o m p-e lem en t
15.64 W e m ay im a g in e th e sem an tics o f th e c o m p a rativ e c o n stru ctio n a risin g fro m
th e a n sw ers [ la ] a n d [lb ], a n d [2 a] a n d [2 b] to th e /icnv-questions p o sed in [ 1 ]
a n d [2 ]: i
H o w o ld is M ary (co m p ared w ith Ja n e )? [ 1]

H o w o ld is J a n e (co m p ared w ith M ary )? [ 2]
M ary is older th a n J a n e (is). [la ]
M ary is younger th a n J a n e (is). \ [lb ]
J a n e is yo u n g er th a n M ary (is). [2 a]
J a n e is older th a n M ary (is). [2 b]
O f th e fo u r a n sw ers, [la ] a n d [2a] a re synonym ous, b ein g co n v erses o f e a c h

o th e r; an d sim ila rly [lb ] a n d [2b]. L ess freq u en tly , co m p a riso n is ex p ressed
th ro u g h less, w h ic h in d ic a te s a ten d e n cy to th e n eg ativ e pole o f th e s ta n d a rd
o f c o m p a ris o n ;
M ary is less o ld th a n Ja n e (is). [lc ]

M ary is less you n g th a n J a n e (is). [Id ]
A g ain , p a ra p h ra s e re la tio n sh ip s h o ld ; [lc ] is synonym ous w ith [lb ] a n d [2b],

an d [Id] w ith [ la ] a n d [2a]. S en ten ces lik e [Id ], in w h ich th e m ark e d m em b e r
o f th e p a ir o f a d je ctiv es (c /7 .8 8 ) is c o m b in e d w ith less, a re rare. S en ten ces
lik e [lc] a re n o t co m m o n w h en th e a d jectiv e is inflected for c o m p a riso n
ra th e r th a n t a k in g p e rip h ra stic more.
W ith o th e r a d je cti v e s co m p a riso n w ith less is c o m m o n e nough w hen th e re

is n o t a n e stab lish e d p a ir o f anto n y m o u s a d jectiv es o r w hen a n a v ailab le
an to n y m so u n d s o ffe n s iv e :
C a ro lin e is less perceptive th a n R osem ary (is). [3]
V io let is less sophisticated th a n Felice (is). [4]
O r a c o m p a riso n o f e q u iv a len c e in th e n egative is su b stitu te d (c/1 5 .7 1 ):
C a ro lin e is not as/so perceptive as R osem ary (is). [3a]
V iolet is not as/so sophisticated as Felice (is). [4a]
B oth ty p es o f c o m p a ris o n seem c learer th an more w ith a n eg ativ e a d jectiv e:
C aro lin e is m ore im perceptive th a n R osem ary (is). [3b]
V iolet is m ore unsophisticated th a n Felice (is). [4b]
In th e c o m p a ra tiv e c o n stru c tio n s in [la —Id], th e c o m p -elem en t (italicized )
to g eth er w ith than fo rm s a h in g e by w hich th e tw o w/i-elem ents o f th e
q u estio n s [1] a n d [2] c o u ld b e said to be co m b in ed . T h is coalescence a cco u n ts
for th e a p p e a ra n c e o f d e fec tiv e stru ctu re in th e c o m p a rativ e clause. F o r
ex am p le, in [la ] th e c o m p a ra tiv e clause than Jane (is) c o n ta in s (optionally) a
fo rm o f th e v e rb be, b u t n o t a co m p lem en t o r a d ju n c t su ch as the v erb be
n o rm ally req u ires fo r co m p le m e n ta tio n . Som e g ra m m a ria n s h av e p o stu lated
a n o m itted re p e titio n o f th e sta n d ard o f co m p a riso n in th e co m p a rativ e
clau se: M a ry is older than Ja n e is (old). B ut w e d o n o t follow th is analysis. In
th e first place, th e full fo rm suggests th a t J a n e is o ld a n d M ary even o ld er.
A n d obviously th is is n o t necessarily th e case fo r th e co m p a rativ e
c o n stru c tio n : b o th M a ry a n d J a n e m ay be b ab ies. T h e sta n d a rd o f co m p ariso n
involves a scale w ith o u t c o m m itm e n t to ab so lu te values. F u rth e rm o re , a
co m p a rativ e clau se e le m e n t c o rresp o n d in g to th e co m p -elem en t in th e m atrix
clause c a n o ccu r o n ly w h e n th e sta n d ard s o f c o m p a riso n in th e tw o clauses
are different, tw o scales th e n b eing c o m p a re d : M a ry is cleverer than Jane is
pretty. F u rth e r s tru c tu ra l g a p s a rise th ro u g h th e o p tio n a l ellipsis o f o th e r
elem en ts in th e c o m p a ra tiv e clause, as discussed in 15.66 ff.
M ore a n d th e in fle ctio n al v a ria n t in ~er a re th e ty p ic a l c o m p a r a t i v e i t e m s
w ith in co m p -elem en ts. W e th erefo re use th e m to ex em p lify co m p a rativ e
co n stru ctio n s in th e s e c tio n s th a t follow.
N o te [a] C o n stru ctio n s w ith m ore . . . than a n d less . . . than d o n o t necessarily intro d u ce co m p arativ e
clauses. T h e re is a ty p e o f n o n clau sal com parison in w h ich th an is follow ed by a n explicit
sta n d a rd o r y ard stick o f c o m p a ris o n , norm ally a noun p h ra se o f m easu re, o r a noun p h rase
im plying d egree:
I w eigh more than 2 0 0 pounds.
I t goes fa s te r than J00 m ile s p er hour.
T h e strik e w as n o th in g le ss than a national catastrophe.
H ere than is b est c o n sid e red a p rep o sitio n , an d th e p h ra se w h ich follow s it a p repositional
co m p lem en t, since th e re is n o p o ssib ility o f ex p an d in g th e t/w ri-phrase into a c la u s e :
* It goes fa s te r than 100 m ile s p er hour goes.
[b] T h e re is a second ty p e o f m o re . . . than constru ctio n n o t in tro d u c in g a co m p arativ e clause.
T h is is th e q u asi-c o o rd in ativ e ty p e o f co nstruction illu strated by:
{Ii w as more an g ry ..th an fr. ig. . h. te n e d,.)1 [,,T i. , .. ., „

I t is m ore tru e to say th a t I w as . . . ]
I w as an g ry m ore than frig h te n e d . J
A distin g u ish in g c h a ra c te ris tic o f th is construction is th e n o n o cc u rre n ce o f th e suffixal fo rm o f
c o m p ariso n :
1130 S yn ta c tic an d sem antic functions o f subordinate clauses
*1 w a s a n g rie r th a n frig h ten ed .

[c] T h e n e g a tiv e c o m p a ra tiv e clauses m ore often than not an d m ore likely than not, w ith th e pro
c lau se n o t, a re id io m s th a t o c c u r q u ite fre q u e n tly :
H e w as fo u n d o u t m ore o ften than not . [‘M ore o fte n th a n he w as n o t fo u n d o u t.’]
S h e w as satisfied w ith h e r jo b m ore lik e ly than not.
It is so m e tim e s p r e p o s e d :
M o r e lik e ly than not, sh e w as satisfied w ith h er jo b .
O th e rw is e n eg a tiv e c o m p a ra tiv e clauses a re ra re , because w e have little o cc asio n to use them .
C lau se fun ctio n s o f the com p-elem ent

15.65 L ik e th e tp/t-elem ent o f a w /i-question ( c f 11.15), th e c o m p -elem en t o f a
c o m p a ra tiv e c o n s tru c tio n c a n b e an y o f th e clause elem en ts, a p a r t from the
v e rb :
S: M o re people use th is b ra n d th a n (use) an y o th e r w in d o w -clean in g
fluid.
Od: She k n o w s m ore history th a n m ost p eople (know ).
M y g r a n d p a r e n ts gave m e more money th a n m y p a re n ts (did).
O j: T h a t to y h a s g iv en more children h ap p in ess th a n a n y o th e r (toy)
(has).
Cs: L io n el is m ore rela xed th a n h e used to be.
C0: She t h in k s h e r c h ild ren more obedient th a n (they w ere) la s t year.
A : Y o u ’v e b e e n w o rk in g much harder th a n I (have).
A n n tr e a ts th e c h ild re n m ore harshly th a n G eo rg e (does).
T h e c o m p -e le m e n t m a y also be a p rep o sitio n al co m p le m e n t:
S h e ’s a p p lie d fo r m ore jo b s th a n Joyce (has (ap p lied for)).
L ik e vv/i-elements o f v ario u s k in d s ( c f 11.18), th e c o m p -elem en t m ay
re p re s e n t a p u sh d o w n e le m en t w ith in a n o m in al f te - c la u s e su b o rd in a te to
th e c o m p a ra tiv e c la u se :
D e re k c a u g h t m ore fis h th a n I expected ((th at) he w o u ld (catch)).
S h e is b e tte r th a n sh e th in k s ((th at) she is).
I felt m ore m iserable th a n I can say ((th at) I felt).
or w ith in a s u b o rd in a te fo-infinitive c la u se :
Y o u a rriv e d earlier th a n (it w as) n ecessary (for you to arriv e).
Ellipsis in co m pa rative clauses

15.66 E llip sis o f a p a r t o f th e c o m p a ra tiv e clau se is likely to o c cu r w h e n th a t p a rt
is a rep etitio n ! o f so m e th in g in th e m atrix clause. Since it is n o rm al fo r the
tw o clau ses to b e closely p aralle l b o th in stru ctu re a n d c o n te n t, ellipsis is the
ru le ra th e r th a n th e e x ce p tio n in c o m p arativ e c o n stru ctio n s. H o w ev er, th ere
is n o n ecessary p a ralle lism b etw een th e m atrix a n d c o m p a ra tiv e clau ses; the
c o m p a ra tiv e cla u se , so lo n g as it o v erlap s w ith th e c o n te n t o f th e m atrix
c la u se in re sp e c t o f th e c o m p -elem en t, c an be o f in d e p e n d e n t stru ctu re. T h u s
w e m a y ta k e tw o Ziow-questions o f d isp a rate clause ty p es ( S V a n d S V O ) in [1]
a n d [2] a n d u se th e m to c o n stru ct th e c o m p arativ e c o n stru c tio n in [3]:
H o w q u ick ly d o es h e sp e a k ? [ 1]
H o w q u ick ly c a n h is se c re tary ta k e d ic ta tio n ? [2]

H e sp e a k s m o re q u ick ly th a n h is secretary c a n tak e d icta tio n . [3]
T h e m o st c h a ra c te ris tic ty p e o f co m p a rativ e clause, o n th e o th e r h a n d , is
o n e w h ic h im ita te s th e stru ctu re o f th e m atrix clause, a n d re p ea ts its w h o le
c o n te n t e x c e p t fo r one elem en t, th e differing elem ents p ro v id in g th e c o n tra s t.
T h is ty p e o f clau se, as w e see below , allow s o p tio n al ellipsis a n d o p tio n a l
su b stitu tio n s b y p ro n o u n s a n d by p ro -p red icatio n :
Ja m es a n d S u san o ften go to p lay s but

(i) Ja m e s enjoys th e th e a tre m o re th a n S usan enjoys th e th ea tre .
(ii) Ja m e s enjoys th e th e a tre m o re th a n S usan enjoys it.
(iii) Ja m e s enjoys th e th e a tre m o re th a n S u san does.
(iv) Ja m e s enjoys th e th e a tre m o re th a n Susan.
(v) Ja m e s enjoys th e th e a tre m ore.
E llip sis o f th e o b jec t gen erally c a n n o t ta k e p lace unless th e m a in v e rb to o is

ellip te d , as in (iii) a n d (iv), w h ere th ere is a ch o ice b etw een th e re te n tio n o f
a n o p e ra to r a n d its o m issio n :
‘ Ja m e s en jo y s th e th e a tre m o re th a n S u san enjoys.
B u t i f th e o b jec t is th e c o m p -elem en t itself, th e n in a d d itio n to ( i-v ) th e v e r b

a lo n e m a y b e r e ta in e d :
Ja m e s k n o w s m o re a b o u t th e th e a tre th a n S usan knows.
C o m p a re also th e co rre sp o n d in g p seu d o -cleft c o n stru c tio n :
W h a t Ja m e s k n o w s a b o u t th e th e a tre is m o re th a n S usan k n o w s.
T h e su b je ct is o m itte d in th e c o m p a ra tiv e clause b e lo w :
Y o u s p e n t m o re m o n ey than was intended to be spent.
T h e o m issio n su ggests th a t than is fu n ctio n in g lik e a relativ e p ro n o u n .

C o m p a re :
Y o u sp e n t th e m o n ey th a t was intended.
C f also a s is comm on know ledge, 15.55.
N o te [a] In fin itiv e clau ses w ith a p u sh d o w n e lem en t (c/T 1.18) c a n be ellipted fully o r a lte rn a tiv e ly
only th e in fin itiv e v e rb an d w h a t follow s it ca n be ellipted, leav in g a stran d e d to ( c f 12.64):
She en jo y ed it m u c h m o re th a n I ex p e cted (h e r to (enjoy it)).
T h e y d id m o re th a n w e m a d e th e m (do).
T h e v e rb be alone, h o w ev er, c a n n o t be so easily ellipted in th is co n tex t:
S h e w as m o re b ea u tifu l th a n I im ag in e d h er to be.
[a lso : th a n I im ag in e d o r th a n I im ag in e d her]
T h e y w a n te d to be m o re p layful th a n I le t th e m be.
[b] D ifferent than is a w idely ac c e p ta b le (esp A m E ) sequence w hen a clause ( p a rtic u la rly a n
ellip tical clause) follow s:
S chools a re diffe re n t th a n th e y u sed to be.
T h e y are p la y in g in a very d iffe re n t w ay th a n (they played) before.
T h e re a re , h o w ev er, w id esp read ob jectio n s to different than w hen only a noun p h ra s e follow s, o n
th e g ro u n d s th a t than is in a p p ro p ria te in co n tex ts w h ere it c a n be view ed as a p re p o s itio n :
?F ilm s a re v ery d iffe re n t th a n plays.
D ifferent fr o m is th e p re fe rre d form . 6 / f u r t h e r 16.74.
A m b ig u ity thro u g h ellipsis

15.67 W h e n n o rm a l ellip sis is tak e n to its fullest e x te n t, we are o ften left w ith no
m o re th a n th e su b ject o f o b ject o f the c o m p a ra tiv e c la u se :
I s p e a k G re ek b e tte r th a n you (sp eak G reek ).

T h e p h o to g ra p h s d isa p p o in ted m y p a re n ts m o re th a n (they
d isa p p o in te d ) me.
A m b ig u ity can a ris e as to w h eth er a re m a in in g n o u n p h ra se is subject o r

o b je c t:
H e loves his do g m o re th a n his ch ild ren .
T h e a b o v e ex am p le c o u ld m ean e ith er [1] ‘. . . th a n his c h ild ren love his d o g ’

o r [2] \ . . th a n he loves his c h ild ren ’. I f his children is replaced by a p ro n o u n ,
fo rm a l E n g lish m ak e s th e d is tin c tio n :
H e lo v e s h is d o g m o re th a n they. [ 1]
H e loves his d o g m o re th a n them . [2]
I n o th e r styles, h o w ev er, th e objective case th em is used for b o th [1] a n d [2],

P re s c rip tiv e g ra m m a r re q u ire s th e su b jectiv e case in [1 ], b o th o n g ra m m atica l
g ro u n d s (th a t they is th e su b ject o f th e e llip tic al clause) a n d o n g ro u n d s o f
c la rity , sin ce it p re serv e s a useful d is tin c tio n th a t c a n o ccasionally a v o id
p o te n tia l am b ig u ity . O n th e o th e r h a n d , w e m ay acc o u n t for th e use o f th e
o b je c tiv e p ro n o u n fo r [ 1 ] in o th e r styles b y p o in tin g o u t th a t a s than in th is
c o n s tru c tio n m ay b e c o n sid ered a p re p o sitio n { c f 15.64 N o te [a]), th e p ro n o u n
falls w ith in o bject territo ry { c f 6.5). S ince b o th fo rm s can be criticized (on
a c c o u n t o f stiffness o n th e o n e h a n d , a n d ‘b a d g ra m m a r’ o n th e oth er), an d
sin c e in an y event w e c a n n o t b e sure t h a t th e o b jec tiv e case in [2 ] re p re se n ts
c h o ic e in fo rm al style a n d is th erefo re u n a m b ig u o u s, w e m ay w ish to e v ad e a
c h o ic e by e x p an d in g th e clause {than they do ; than he does them ).
M u ltip le and partial contrasts

15.68 I f th e tw o clauses in a co m p ariso n differed solely in th e co m p -elem en t ( * /
hear it m ore clearly than I hear it), th e c o m p a ris o n w ould o f course be
n o n s e n s ic a l; th efefo re, a c o n tra st o f a t lea st o n e v a ria b le is re q u ire d b etw een
th e tw o clauses. W h ile th e sin g le-v ariab le c o m p a ris o n is th e m ost co m m o n
ty p e, m o re th a n o n e clau se elem en t c a n b e c o n tra sted . F o r exam ple, th e re
a re tw o c o n trasts i n :
2 2
J a m e s knowjs m o re a b o u t film s th a n Su sa n d o es a b o u t music.
E v e n th ree -v aria b le a n d fo u r-v ariab le c o m p a ris o n s a re p o ssib le:

2 3 2
W alter pla yed the piano m ore sk ilfu lly th a n his brother conducted
3
the orchestra.
1 2 3 4 1 2
W alter played the piano m o re o ften in Chicago th a n his brother conducted
3 4
concerts in the rest o f the States.
C om parative clauses 1133
O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e c o n tra st m ay affect only p a rt o f a clause e le m e n t.

F o r ex am p le, th e v e rb s m ay b e lexically id en tical a n d d iffer only in te n s e o r
in th e a d d itio n o f a m o d al au x iliary . In su ch cases it is n o rm al to o m it th e
rest o f th e c o m p a ra tiv e clau se a fte r th e a u x ilia ry :
I h e a r it m o re c learly th a n I did. [‘th a n I used to h e a r it’]

I g et u p la te r th a n I should, [‘th a n I should get u p ’]
I f th e c o n tra st lies o nly in ten se, it m ay be ex p ressed in th e c o m p a ra tiv e

clause solely by a n a d v e rb ia l:
S h e’ll enjoy it m o re th a n (she enjoyed it) last year.
T h is p ro v id es th e b a sis fo r th e to tal ellipsis o f th e su b o rd in a te c lau se in

ex am p les lik e:
Y ou a re s lim m e r (th a n you w ere).

Y o u ’re lo o k in g b e tte r (th a n you w ere (looking)).
T h e only c o n tra st m a y b e in th e m o d ality expressed in th e m ain clau se o r

th ro u g h a p u sh d o w n co m p -e le m en t in th e c o m p a rativ e clau se ( c /1 5.65):
H e ’s a g re a te r p a in te r th a n people suppose (he is).

She th in k s sh e ’s f a tte r th a n sh e (really) is.
T h e co m p -elem en t its e lf m a y c o n ta in a p a rtia l c o n tra st w ith o u t th e p u sh d o w n

d ev ice:
She is a better psychologist th a n ((she is) a) pathologist.

T h e house is m uch taller th a n it is wide.
W h en th e c o n tra s t in v o lv es tw o p o in ts o n th e sam e scale, o n e h ig h er th a n

th e o th er, th e p a r t fo llo w in g than can n o t b e e x p an d e d in to a clause. T h a n is
th e n fu n c tio n in g a s a p re p o sitio n in a n o n clau sal c o m p a riso n ( c f 15.64 N o te
[a]):
I t ’s h o tte r th a n ju s t w arm . ( c /I t ’s h o tte r th a n 90°.)
H e ’s taller th a n tall.
S h e’s w iser th a n m e re ly clever.
She b ecam e p r e ttie r th a n ju s t m id d lin g p retty .
W e d ro v e f a rth e r th a n (beyond) C hicago.
T h ey fo u g h t h a r d e r th a n th at.
W e h a v e to b u ild it stro n g e r th a n this.
W h en th e c o n tra sts a re n o t on precisely th e sa m e sem an tic scale, th e

co n stru ctio n is c o m p a ra tiv e a n d c a n be e x p a n d e d :
H e ’s m o re s h re w d th a n (he is) clever.
( H e's m ore shrew d th a n clever can also be th e q u a si-co o rd in ativ e ty p e, ‘H e ’s

sh rew d r a th e r th a n c le v e r’, c /1 5 .6 4 N o te [b]).
I t is p e rh a p s th e e x iste n ce o f th is n o n clau sal c o m p a riso n o f d eg ree th a t
m ak e s it n ecessary to re p e a t th e su b ject a n d v e rb in sen ten ces such a s The
house is m uch taller th a t it is wide, since *The house is m uch taller than wide
w ould suggest th e a b s u rd ity o f a se m an tic o v erlap b e tw ee n ta ll a n d wide. T h e
1134 S y n ta c tic a n d sem antic fun ction s of subordinate clauses
q u a si-c o o rd in a tiv e type, how ever, allow s se m an tic d is p a rity : I t ’s a big house,
but m o re ta il than wide [‘tall ra th e r th a n w id e’].
N o te (a) T h e re is a re stric tio n o n th e p a rtia l co n tra s t in th e v erb elem ent. I t is ac c e p ta b le to s a y :
I s ta r e d a t h e r m o re often th a n I ^jtave^'
[should have done. <BrE>
But it is o d d to u se th e sim ple p re se n t o r fu tu re shall/will alone as th e p a rtia l c o n tra s t in th e
c o m p a r a tiv e c la u s e :
*1 li k e d h e r b e tte r th a n I do.
* T o m saw B etty m o re often th a n he will.
W e n ee d to ad d a te m p o ra l ad v e rb ial to p o in t th e co n trast:
I lik e d h e r b e tte r th a n I do now.
T o m saw B etty m o re often th a n he w ill in th e future.
lb] A n alo g o u s to th e n o n clau sal c o m p ariso n exem plified in It's hotter than ju s t w arm is an o th e r
type o f n o n c la u sa l c o m p ariso n ex p ressed b y m ore than follow ed by on e o f a ran g e o f sy n tac tic
u n its:
I a m more than happy to h e a r th a t.
H e m o re than com plained ; he th re w th e w hole book o f rules a t me.
T h e y w ere m ore than slightly wounded.
S h e b e h a v e d m ore th an fa ir ly to him .
S em a n tic ally , m ore than expresses a h ig h e r degree, b u t it also conveys a c o m m e n t o n th e
in a d e q u a c y o f th e lin g u istic ex p ressio n . F o r ex am ple, th e la st sen ten ce could b e rep h rased
‘Fairly is a n in a d e q u a te w ord to d escrib e th e w ay she b eh av ed to h im ’.
[c] T h e c o n tr a s t b etw e en th e tw o clauses is, exceptionally, positiv e versus n e g a tiv e in th e idiom s
m ore o fte n than not a n d m ore likely than not ( c f 15. 64 N o te [c]).
[dj T h e re a r e tw o o th e r co n tex ts in w h ich th e co m p a ra tiv e clause is o m itte d . O n e is w h e re th e re
is a n a p h o ric refere n ce to a n im p lie d o r a c tu a l prece d in g clause o r se n te n c e ;
I c a u g h t th e b u s fro m to w n ; b u t H a rry c a m e hom e even later, [ie ‘la te r th a n I ca m e h o m e ’]
T h e o th e r is w h ere th e refere n ce is to th e ex tralin g u istic s itu a tio n :
Y o u s h o u ld h a v e co m e h om e earlier, [ie ‘ea rlie r th a n you d id ’]
Fu n ctio n s of com parative m ore

15.69 T h e c o m p a ra tiv e ite m (w h ich , fo r p re sen t purp o ses, w e id en tify w ith the
w o rd m ore) m ay h a v e seven d iffere n t fu n ctio n s w ith in th e c o m p -e le m en t:
(i) d e te rm in a tiv e ( c f 5.1 O ff ) :

Isa b elle h a s m ore books th a n h e r b ro th e r (has).
(ii) h e a d o f a n o u n p h ra s e :
M o re ( o f m y frien d s) a re in N e w Y o rk th a n (are) here.
(iii) s u b ju n c t (<1/ 8 .88 # ) : \
I ag ree w ith you m ore th a n ((I agree) w ith ) R o b ert.
(iv) m o d ifie r o f a n a d je ctiv e h e a d :
T h e a rtic le w as m ore objective th a n I e x p ected (it w ould be).
(v) m o d ifier o f a p rem o d ify in g a d je c tiv e :
I t w as a m ore heated discussion th a n w e th o u g h t it w ould be.
(vi) m o d ifie r o f a n a d v e r b :
T h e tim e p assed m ore q u ickly th a n (it passed) last y ear.
(vii) m o d ifie r o f a p re m o d ify in g a d v e r b :
I a m m ore severely handicapped th a n you (are).
I n e a c h o f th e a b o v e ex am p les, th e w hole com p -elem en t is in italics. I t will
be n o tic e d t h a t in so m e c ases m ore c a n co n stitu te th e w h o le o f th e co m p -
elem en t. M o re is a d e te rm in e r in (i), a p ro n o u n in (ii), a n d a n a d v e rb in all
th e o th ers.
In fu n c tio n s (i) a n d (ii), m ore refers to q u a n tity a n d can b e replaced in

co u n t c o n tex ts b y a greater num ber of, as in th e first tw o sen ten ces ab o v e, a n d
in n o n co u n t c o n te x ts b y a greater am ount of.
F u n c tio n ty p es (iv) a n d (v) h a v e to be d istin g u ish ed because o f th e sem an tic
im p licatio n s o f (v). C o n sid e r:
T h ere a re m o re in te llig e n t m onkeys th a n H e rb ert. [ 1]
In [1] we n o rm ally im p ly th a t H e rb ert is a m on k ey o f a c ertain level o f

in tellig en ce (c f. H o w intelligent a m onkey is Herbert?). T h a t is, by p lacing th e
co m p a rativ e a d je ctiv e b efo re th e n o u n , w e im p ly th a t th e n o u n is p a rt o f th e
co m p -elem en t a n d th ere fo re is also im p lied in th e c o m p a rativ e clause. O n
th e o th e r h a n d , b y p lac in g th e c o m p a rativ e ad jectiv e afte r th e n o u n , w e
read ily a d m it th e m o re p lau sib le in te rp re ta tio n th a t H e rb e rt is a m an :
T h ere a re m o n k ey s m o re in tellig en t th a n H e rb ert.
T h is d ifferen ce o f m e a n in g acco u n ts fo r th e in su lt im p lied i n :
I ’ve n e v e r m e t a m o re in tellig en t m o n k ey th a n o u r C h a irm a n .
T h e sam e d istin c tio n a p p lie s to th e difference b etw een (vi) a n d (v ii):
I ’ve n e v e r seen a d o g m o re o bviously frien d ly th a n y our cat.

T v e n e v er seen a m o re o bviously frien d ly dog th a n y our cat.
T h is la s t se n ten c e is se m an tica lly u n a cc ep ta b le b ecau se it im plies th a t th e

d o g is a cat.
T h e n o rm al p o sitio n fo r th e ad jectiv e p h ra se is sh o w n in th e exam ple fo r
(v), b u t it c a n also be p re p o sed [2 ], o r (less usually) p o stp o sed [2 a]:
I t w as m ore h ea ted a d iscu ssio n th a n w e th o u g h t it w ould b e. [2]

I t w as a d isc u ssio n more lively th a n w e th o u g h t it w ould be. [2a]
T h e a d v e rb p h ra se in (v ii) c a n also b e p o stp o se d :
I a m h a n d ic a p p e d m ore severely th a n you (are).
N ote [a] In its determ inative function in (i) or as modifier o f an adjective in (iv), m ore is the
com parative o f the quantifiers m any o r much. Thus, m ore expensive clothes is ambiguous in :
M orton has m ore expensive clothes than I have.
In one interpretation m ore modifies expensive, the adjective phrase then being com parative; in
the other interpretation m ore determ ines the noun phrase (‘a greater quantity of expensive
clothes’).
[b] The m odifying sequences m ore o f a . . . and less o f a . . . occur with gradable singular o r
noncount noun h ead s:
H e’s more o f a fool than I thought (he was).
It was less o f a success th a n I imagined (it would be).
C /th e Aow-question, H o w m uch o f a fo o l is he ? [‘To w hat an extent is he (in your view) a fool?’]
[c] T he com parative items m ore, ~er, and less cannot be used in a definite noun phrase in the
com parative construction:
*Sally has th e better radio th an D aniel (has).
C ontrast:
Sally has the better radio (of the two).
In certain contexts we can use com pared with o r relative to instead:
T he superior reception o f Sally’s radio accounts for its higher price tag com pared with th at
for D aniel’s radio.
C o n tra s t:
Sally’s radio has a higher price tag than D aniel’s (radio) (has).
[d] T h e d eterm in er other is used as a comparative item:
I d o n ’t have any other cups th an those ((that/w hich) I have) in the sink.
It can b e (less usually) postposed:
I d o n ’t have cups other than those ((that/which) I have) in the sink.
15.70 W h e n m ore is a d e te rm in a tiv e o r a h ead o f a n o u n p h ra se - fu n ctio n s (i) an d

(ii) in 15.69 - th e u n it no m ore ( . . . ) than is syno n y m o u s w ith only as m any
( . . . ) a s in c o u n ta b le c o n tex ts o r w ith only as much ( . . . ) as in n o n co u n tab le
c o n te x ts :
P a u l h a s n o m o re frien d s th a n I have. [‘ . . . only as m an y a s . .
I h a v e n o m o re m o n ey th a n you have. [‘ . . . o nly a s m u ch a s . . . ’]
T e d g o t n o m o re (o f th e votes) th a n he n eed ed . [‘ . . . only as m an y
a s . . . ’]
S h e sa id n o m o re th a n w e expected. [ * . . . o nly a s m u ch a s . . . ’]
B u t w h e n m ore is a n a d v erb (or its inflectional v a ria n t -er is used), as in th e

o th e r fu n c tio n ty p es in 15.69, no more . . . than h a s sp ecial im p licatio n s.
C o n s id e r:
R a c h e l is n o m o re cou rag eo u s th a n Saul (is).
T h e s e n te n c e im p lies th a t b o th R ach el an d Saul a re n o t co urageous (‘R ach el

is n o t c o u rag e o u s, an y m o re th a n S aul is co u rag eo u s’). H e re a re som e fu rth er
e x a m p le s :
T o m is n o m o re a th le tic th a n h e ever w as. [‘T o m is n o t a th letic, an y
m o re th a n h e e v er w as a th le tic .’]
I c a n n o m o re apo lo g ize th a n I could k n eel to th em .
I w o u ld n b m o re th in k o f h ittin g a stu d e n t th a n I w ould a policem an.
N o m o r e . . . than h a s th e sa m e m ean in g w h en m ore m odifies a g rad ab le n o u n :
S h e is n o m o re a fool th a n you (are). [‘She is n o t a fool, an y m o re th a n

yo u a r e ’, ‘S h e is n o t m o re f o o lis h . . . ’]
T h e y a re n o m o re sch o lars th a n m y b a b y (is). [‘T h ey a re n o m ore
s c h o la r ly . . . ’]
T h e r h e to ric a l effect o f th e c o n stru ctio n is n o t so m u ch to m ak e a c o m p ariso n

as to in te n sify th e n e g atio n . T h a t effect is m o st o b v io u s w h en th e co m p ariso n
is a b s u r d ( c f rh e to ric a l (/"-clauses, 15.37):
I
H e ’s n o m o re y o u r frie n d th a n I ’m y our m o th e r.
N o t a n y m ore ( . . . ) than is a n e m p h atic v a ria n t o f no more . . . th a n :

P a u l h a s n ’t a n y m o re frien d s th a n I h av e, [‘o n ly as m an y a s . . . ’]
R a c h e l isn ’t an y m o re courageous th a n Saul (is). [‘R a ch e l isn ’t
c o u rag eo u s, a n y m o re th a n . . . ’]
N o t m o re . ■. than, o n th e o th e r h a n d , is d ifferen t fro m b o th no m o r e . . . than

a n d n o t a n y m ore . . . than w h en more is a n a d v e rb o r m odifies a g ra d ab le
noun:
R a c h e l is n o t m o re co u rag eo u s th a n Saul (is).
T h is la s t sen ten ce allow s for th e possibility th a t R achel is less c o u ra g e o u s

th a n Saul. I t m ay also b e m erely a d en ial sen ten ce in resp o n se to R a ch e l is
m ore courageous than S a u l (is).
S im ila r d istin c tio n s a p p ly to no less ( . . . ) than, not any less ( . . . ) than, a n d
not less ( . . . ) than, ex ce p t th a t th e double n eg ativ e is less c o m m o n a n d a s a
co n se q u en ce th e d istin c tio n s a re so m ew h at b lurred.
Com parisons o f equivalence: a s . . . as

15.71 B ro ad en in g o u r d iscu ssio n o f co m p ariso n , we tak e in to a c c o u n t n o t o n ly
c o m p ariso n s o f n o n e q u iv a len c e (lack o f equivalence o n som e scale) s u c h as
th o se ex p ressed by more a n d less, b u t also co m p ariso n s b a se d o n o th e r
relatio n sh ip s. O n e su ch re la tio n sh ip is th a t o f eq u iv alen ce, e x p ressed
p rin cip ally by th e c o rrelativ es a s . . . as.
T h e a s . . . as c o n stru ctio n is g ram m atically parallel to th e m ore . . . than
c o n stru ctio n , ex ce p t t h a t th e a s-p arad ig m lacks th e d e te rm in a tiv e , p ro n o u n ,
a n d su b ju n c t fu n c tio n s o f m o re ; th ese g ap s a re filled by as m a n y (c o u n t) a n d
as m uch (n o n co u n t). W e c an th erefo re parallel th e fun ctio n s o f m o re lis te d in
15.69, s u b s titu tin g a s m a n y a n d as much w here necessary:
(i) d e te rm in a tiv e : Isa b elle h a s as m any books as h e r b ro th e r (h as).

(ii) h e a d o f a n o u n p h ra s e : A s m any o f m y frien d s are in N e w Y o rk as
(are) here.
(iii) su b ju n c t: I ag ree w ith you as m uch a s ((I agree) w ith ) R o b e rt.
(iv) m o d ifier o f a n ad jectiv e h e a d : T h e article w as a s objective a s I
e x p ected (it w o u ld be).
(v) m o d ifier o f a p rem o d ify in g ad jectiv e: I t w as as lively a discussion as
w e th o u g h t it w ould be.
(vi) m o d ifier o f a n a d v e r b : T h e tim e p assed as quickly as (it p a sse d ) la s t
year.
(vii) m o d ifier o f a p rem o d ify in g a d v e rb : I am as severely h a n dicapped a s
you (are).
T h e reaso n fo r d iffere n tia tin g (iv) a n d (v) an d also (vi) a n d (v ii) a r e th e sa m e

as in th e m ore . . . than c o n stru ctio n ( c f 15.69). C o n trast I ’ve n ever seen a dog
as frie n d ly as yo u r cat w ith th e u n a cc ep ta b le * I’ve never seen a s frie n d ly a dog
a s y o u r cat.
N o tice th a t th e a d jectiv e p h ra se p reced es th e d e te rm in e r in (v). T h e p h ra se
c a n a lso be p o stp o se d ( c f 15.69):
I t w as a d iscu ssio n as lively as w e th o u g h t it w ould be.
T h e a d v erb p h ra se in (vii) c a n also be p o stp o se d :
I a m h a n d ic a p p e d as severely as you (are).
T h ere a re p a rallels b etw een a p o sitiv e as . . . as sen ten ce a n d n e g a tiv e m ore

. . . than a n d l e s s . . . than sen ten ces:
C a esar w as as ru th less as A ttila. [ 1]

A ttila w as not m ore ru th less than C aesar. [2]
C a esar w as not less ru th less than A ttila. [3]
B ut th e y a re n o t ex actly synonym ous, sin ce [2] allows, th e p o ssib ility th a t

A ttila w a s less ru th less a n d [3] th a t h e w as m o re ru th less. S im ila r p a rallels
ex ist b e tw e e n a n eg ativ e as . . . as sen ten c e an d p o sitiv e more . . . than a n d
le s s . . . than sen ten c es, b u t th e n eg ativ e a s . . . a s sen ten ce (eg: Caesar was not
a s ruthless as A ttila ) en courages th e in te rp re ta tio n o f less . . . than, th o u g h a
h e av y stress o n th e first as allow s th e in te rp re ta tio n o f m ore . . . than (eg:
C aesar was n ot a s ruthless as A ttila ; indeed, he was more ruthless).
In n e g a tiv e s u p e ro rd in a te clauses, as . . . as can be rep laced by so . . . as,
esp ecially w h e n th e re is to ta l o r c o n sid erab le o m ission in th e s u b o rd in a te
c la u s e :
H e ’s n o t a s n a u g h ty a s he was.
H e ’s n o t so n a u g h ty a s he was.
H e ’s n o t so n a u g h ty (now ). -------
S om e p re fe r to use so . . . as w ith n e g ativ e clauses. B ut fo r som e p eo p le so

ten d s to c arry th e a b su rd im p lica tio n o f a p o ssib ility th a t is th e n n e g ated ,
a n d th e y th e re fo re find it o d d to s a y :
(? )H e r b a b y is n o t so o ld a s I th o u g h t.
T h e re aso n is th a t fo r th e m th e sen ten c e im p lies th a t a b a b y c a n b e old. I n

o th e r w o rd s, a n u n m a rk e d te rm o ld ( c f 7.88) c a n n o t b e used in th is c o n te x t to
c o v er th e w h o le scale.
T h e first a s in th e as . . . as c o n stru ctio n is so m etim es o m itted in tw o
co n te x ts: (a) a f te r a c o p u la r v e rb ; (b) w h ere a co p u lar v erb is im p lied .
(a) T h e o m issio n o f as te n d s to o c cu r p articu la rly in m o re in fo rm a l style,

especially if o n ly a n o u n p h ra se follow s. T h e single as p ro v id es a less
e m p h a tic c o m p a ris o n a n d is closer to like w h en as is follow ed by a n o u n
p h ra se : j
T h ey w ere g o o d as gold w hile you w ere aw ay.

A t th e sig h t, sh e tu rn ed p ale a s a g host.
Y ou look p re tty as ever.
I n in fo rm al s p e e c h th e su b je ct c o m p le m e n t m ay b e fro n ted as in [4], o r it

m ay be in itia l b e ca u se th e su b ject a n d c o p u la a re ellip ted , as in [5]:
W h ite a s sn o w , it w as. [4]

P ro u d a s e v e r,:isn ’t h e? [5]
(b) In a r a th e r lite ra ry style, th e first as m ay be o m itted in v erb less a n d

subjectless suppleiA entive c la u se s:
L aw son, im placable as ever, c o n te n te d h im self w ith a g lare o f

defiance. [6 ]
C autious a s the rest o f her fa m ily , sh e w o u ld n o t give a n im m e d ia te
reply to m y q u estio n . [7]
H e c lim b ed o v e r th e w all a n d d ro p p e d o n to th e g ro u n d o n th e
o th e r sid e, agile as a cat. [8 ]
T h e a d d itio n o f a v e rb (w h ere th a t is possible) w ould c o n v e rt th e clau se

in to a finite c o n cessiv e o r c ircu m stan tial clau se w ith fro n tin g o f th e su b je ct

co m p lem en t ( c /1 5 .3 9 ,15.47):
Cautious as the rest o f the fa m ily was , she seem ed w illing to give an
im m e d ia te re p ly to m y q uestion.
Note [a] Count as many ( . . . ) a s an d noncount as much ( . . . ) A5 are equivalent to more ( . . . ) than
when they are premodified by a Jimes-phrase:
{
Five times as m any people cam e to the dem onstration as (did) last time.
Five times more people cam e to the demonstration than (did) last time.
{ 1 paid three times as much for the meal as they did.

I paid three times more fo r the meal than they did.
O ther lexical com paratives can also be used:
{ The Gross N ational P roduct is four times as muchjhigh as (it was) a decade ago.
The Gross N ational P roduct is four times more/higher than (it was) a decade ago.
Twice is used w ith as m any as o r as much as rather th an w ith more.
Fractions are also used in the as many ( . . . ) a s and as much ( . . , ) a s constructions:
W e have a third as many students in our class as we had last term , f a th ird o f the num ber’]
I paid h a lf as much fo r th e m eal as they did. [‘h alf the price’]
W hen again is added, th e m eaning is equivalent to more ( . . . ) than :
r Houses cost a third as much again this year as they did five years ago.
_ I [‘T he price is one th ird higher.’]
— j Houses cost one third more this year than they did five years ago.
I. [‘Houses cost a th ird m ore.’]
( There were a third as m any arrests again for assault this year as there were last year.
There were a third more arrests for assault this year than th ere were last year.
But th ere is uncertainty and div id ed usage w ith the constructions when again is added. Some
speakers find percentages odd in these constructions:
tm- * f 50 per cent as much 1 . .
They cost ( , , . > as last year.
(_?50 per cent as much againj
[b] T he construction analogous to more o f a . . . than (c/15.69 N ote [b]) is as much o f . . . as:
It was as much o f a success as I had imagined it would be.
H e’s as much o f a fo o l as I thought (he was).
Analogous to less o f a . . . than is as little o f a . . .as:
It was as little o f a success as I had imagined it would be.
There are no such constructions for plural nouns.
[c] A s . . .a s is used like m o re . . . than and less . . . than in a nonclausal com parison containing an
explicit standard o f com parison a fter the second as (c/1 5.64 N ote [a]):
• The car goes as fast as 100 m iles an hour.
A reliable q uartz w atch can cost as little as ten dollars.
H e drinks as many as three bottles o f milk a day.
O ur factory consumes as m uch as 500 tons o f solid fuel per week.
Com parisons o f sufficiency and excess

15.72 C o m p ara tiv e clau ses o f sufficiency a n d excess c o m b in e th e n o tio n s o f
sufficiency o r excess w ith th e n o tio n s o f p u rp o se ( c f 15.48) o r resu lt ( c f 15.49).
T h ey differ fro m c o m p a ra tiv e clauses o f n o n e q u iv a len c e a n d eq u iv alen ce
( c / 1 5 .6 3 # ) in t h a t th e y d o n o t m atc h the m a trix c la u se in term s o f id en tica l
an d co n tra stin g e le m en ts, a n d th erefo re th ey d o n o t lend th em selv es to
ellipsis. T h e ir stru c tu re is relativ ely in d e p e n d e n t o f th e stru c tu re o f th e
m a trix clause.
1140 S y n ta c tic and sem antic fun ction s of subordinate clauses
E n ou gh a n d to o
15.73 O n e ty p e o f c o m p a r a tiv e co n stru ctio n co n tain s a w ord o r p h ra se expressing
th e n o tio n o f sufficiency o r excess follow ed by a fo -infinitive clau se o f
p u rp o se , resu lt, o r c o n d itio n (c /1 5 .3 4 N o te [g]). T h e m o st c o m m o n w ord for
sufficiency is e nough (as ad v erb , d e te rm in e r, o r p ro n o u n ) a n d th e m ost
c o m m o n w o rd fo r ex cess is th e ad v erb too. H ere a re som e ex am p les o f this
ty p e o f c o m p a ris o n :
Y o u ’re o ld enough to lo o k a fter yourself. . . . so th a t y o u c a n look after

y o u rse lf.’]
I ’m m uch too tire d to go out. [‘. . . w ith th e result th a t I w o n ’t go o u t.’]
Y o u r te a c h e r w a s excessively generous to give y o u an A . . . i f h e gave
you a n A . ’]
T h e y m u s t b e p re tty cru el to do that. [’. . . if they d o t h a t .’]
T h e y w o rk e d enough to be hungry.
H e p ro te s te d too m uch to be sincere.
T h is c o a t is j u s t th e right len g th to j i t you.
T h e r e w a s enough food to fe e d an army.
S h e k n o w s enough a b o u t th e to p ic to explain it to you.
F o u r th o u s a n d d o lla rs is an excessive am o u n t to charge even f o r a luxury
cruise lik e this.
T h e r e is n ’t sufficient m ilk to give everybody some.
P a ra p h ra s e p a ir s m ay b e co n stru cted w ith an to n y m o u s ite m s, in w hich

o n e se n te n c e is p o sitiv e a n d th e o th e r n e g ativ e; o n e se n ten c e h a s enough o r
o n e o f its sy n o n y m s, a n d th e o th e r too o r o n e o f its sy n o n y m s:
_ f T h e y ’r e r ic h en o u g h to o w n a car.
— [T h ey V e' n o t too p o o r to o w n a car.
T h e b o o k is sufficiently sim p le to u n d erstan d , ( f o r m a l)
{
T h e b o o k is n o t excessively difficult to u n d e rstan d , ( f o r m a l)
I f th e c o n te x t allo w s, th e in fin itiv e clause m ay b e o m itted . Sufficienl(ly) a n d

e x c e ssiv e ly ) a re m o re fo rm al synonym s o f enough a n d too.
T h e n e g a tiv e fo rce o f too is show n in the use o f n o n a sse rtiv e form s
(c /1 0 .6 0 /). C o n tr a s t:
S h e ’s o ld enough to d o som e w ork. [‘She is old e n o u g h so th a t sh e c an do

so m e w o rk .’]
S h e ’s too o ld to d o a n y w o rk . [‘She is so old th a t she c a n ’t d o an y w o rk .’]
I
H e re a r e f u rth e r E xam ples o f too follow ed by n o n assertiv e fo rm s:
H e ’s too w ea k to h elp y o u a t all.

S h e ’s too p o lite to ever say anything like th at.
T h e in fin itiv e c la u se m ay also co n ta in a su b ject:
I t m o v es to o q u ick ly f o r m ost people to see (it).

T h e tele v isio n in th e a p a rtm e n t above w as loud e n o u g h fo r us to
hear (it).
M y a m b itio n s a re m o d est e nough fo r m e to fu lfil (them ).
H e w as o ld en o u g h fo r us to ta lk to (him ) seriously.
H e r p a re n ts a re sufficiently g e n ero u s f o r her to take a long vacation

abroad a t their expense.
A s th e first fo u r o f th ese ex am p les in d icate, a d irec t o bject o r th e o b je c t o f a

p re p o sitio n a l v e rb in a ro-infinitive clause m ay be o m itted o r re ta in e d if i t
su b s titu te s fo r th e su p e ro rd in ate subject. W h en th ere is n o su b je ct in th e
in fin itiv e clau se, it is id en tified w ith th e su p ero rd in ate subject o r w ith a n
in d efin ite su b je ct:
S h e w rites q u ickly en o u g h to fin is h the paper on tim e, [‘for h e r to fin ish
th e p a p e r o n tim e ’]
T h e k n ife is sh a rp en o u g h to carve the turkey, [‘for it to carv e th e tu r k e y ’]
A n d th e re m ay b e am b ig u ity as to w h ich id en tificatio n to m ak e :
S h e w as to o young to date. [‘. . . to d a te o th e rs’ o r ‘fo r o th ers to d a te h e r ’]
W h en th e su b je ct o f th e su p e ro rd in a te clause is agentive ( c /1 0 .19), it m a y b e

re d u n d a n tly re p ea te d :
S h e w rites q u ickly e n o u g h fo r her to fin ish the paper on time.

S h e ’s too p o lite f o r her to ever sa y anything lik e that.
A : W ill J o h n lend m e m o n ey ? ,
B : J o h n ’s m u ch to o m e a n f o r h im to lend you money.
T h a t o p tio n a l re d u n d an c y (so m etim es ju stifiab le for e m p h asis) p a ralle ls th e

o p tio n a l red u n d an c y th a t w e h a v e ju st o bserved for a d ire c t o b je c t o r
p re p o sitio n a l ob ject. T h e in fin itiv e m ay b e p assive in fo rm :
T h e w ritin g is to o f a in t to be read.
In t h a t case th e im p lied su b ject is id en tica l w ith th e su p e ro rd in ate su b je c t

a n d it is e ith e r th e im p lied a g e n t k n o w n fro m th e situ atio n al c o n te x t o r
p re v io u s lin g u istic c o n te x t o r it is in d efin ite (‘to be re ad by anyone’). B u t th e
in fin itiv e m ay b e a c tiv e w ith o u t a su b ject o r o b ject (c f N o te [b ]):
T h e w ritin g is to o fa in t to read, [‘for an y o n e to re ad ’]

T h e food is good en o u g h to eat.
W h en n e ith e r su b ject n o r o b jec t is expressed in th e in fin itiv e c la u se ,

am b ig u ity is po ssib le w ith v erb s th a t m ay b e used transitively.
S he is frien d ly enougl
T h e la m b is too h o t
(him ).
H e is to o good a persi
(others).
A s w e see from th e la s t ex am p le, w hen a n a d jectiv e p h ra se m o d ified b y too

in tu rn m odifies a sin g u lar c o u n t n o u n , th e p h ra se p reced es th e in d e fin ite
a rticle ( c /1 5 .7 1 : as lively a discussion as . . . ) . T h ere is no p lu ral o r n o n c o u n t
e q u iv a le n t for th is co n stru ctio n . In ste ad , we have to postpose th e a d je c tiv e
p h r a s e : I t ’s fo o d too g o o d to throw aw ay; They are persons too good to sw indle.
T h e s a m e p ro b lem do es n o t arise w ith enough , w h ic h is usually a p o stm o d ifier;

b u t enough usually prem odifies w h en it is a d e te rm in a tiv e : We have enough
m o n e y to last.
N o te [a] T h e r e is a th reefo ld a m b ig u ity in It's too hot to eat. T w o o f th e m eanings h av e b ee n illu strated
a b o v e : T he lamb is to o hot (for it to eat (anything)) a n d T he la m b is too hot (for us/m e/anyone) to eat
(it). I n th e th ird m e an in g it is th e p rop-// used as a su b jec t to re fe r to th e w eath er. B o th a su b jec t
a n d a d ir e c t o bject c a n th e n be su p p lie d : I t is too hot (for anyone) to eat (anything).
[b] T ra d itio n a lly , g ra m m a ria n s h a v e reg ard ed th e in fin itiv e clause in The writing is too f a i n t to
r e a d a s h a v in g a p assiv e m e an in g (‘to be re a d ’), b u t w e an a ly se it as h av in g a n u n ex p ressed
s u b je c t a n d object (‘fo r an y o n e to read th e writing*).
[c] T h e co n stru c tio n s enough o f a . . . an d .too m uch o f a . . . should be co m p ared w ith th o se
m e n tio n e d in 15.69 N o te [b] a n d 15.71 N o te [b] (eg: m ore o f a . . . than a n d as m uch o f a . . .a s ):
H e ’s en o u g h o f a cow ard to d o th at.
T h a t ’s too m uch o f a b o th e r to th in k ab o u t.
C f a l s o : H e was fo o l enough to go out without a coat.
S o . . . (that) and s u c h . . . (that)

1 5.74 T h e p a irs o f co rre lativ es so . . . (that) a n d such . . . (that) also in tro d u c e
c o n stru c tio n s th a t c o m b in e th e n o tio n o f sufficiency o r excess w ith th e n o tio n
o f re su lt. T h e a d v e rb so prem odifies a n ad je ctiv e o r ad v erb , w h ereas th e
p re d e te rm in e r such p re ced es a n o u n p h ra se . T h e a d jectiv e prem o d ified b y so
m a y its e lf p rem o d ify th e h ead o f a n o u n p h ra se. F o r b o th so a n d such, th e
n o u n p h ra se m a y h av e e ith e r th e in d efin ite a rticle o r th e zero article. S o
p re c e d e s the in d efin ite a rticle to g eth er w ith th e ad jectiv e it p rem odifies, b u t
such (w hose n o u n p h ra se n eed n o t h a v e a n a d je ctiv e) does so alone.
I ’m so h a p p y to h e a r y our good n ew s th a t I c o u ld k iss you.
T h e y w alk ed so q u ick ly that I c o u ld n ’t c a tc h u p.
S o few (ppople) c am e to th e m eetin g th a t it w a s a djourned.
T h e c h ild ren h a d so good a tim e th a t th e y w o u ld n ’t leave.
T h e soldiers en co u n tere d such (g reat) re sistan c e that th ey re treated .
T h e a p a rtm e n t has such a (b eau tifu l) v iew th a t I in te n d to re n t it.
T h e co rrelativ e th a t is so m etim es o m itted in in fo rm a l style:
H e polished th e floor so hard yo u could see y o u r fa c e in it.
T h e re is a close co rresp o n d en ce b e tw ee n so . . . that a n d such . . . th a t
c o n stru ctio n s, w h e n th e ffiaf-clause is n e g ativ e, a n d c o n stru ctio n s w ith too
a n d a n infinitive cla u se :
I t ’s so good a m o v ie th a t we m u stn ’t m iss it.
~ I t’s too g o o d a m o v ie to m iss.
I t w as such a p lea sa n t d ay that I d id n ’t w a n t to go to school.
~ It w as too p le a sa n t a d ay to go to school.
T h e r e m ay also b e a close c o rresp o n d en ce b e tw e e n o n th e o n e h a n d so . . .
th a t a n d such . . . th a t co n stru ctio n s, w h e n th e that- clause is p o sitiv e, a n d o n
th e o th e r han d c o n stru c tio n s w ith enough a n d a n in fin itiv e clause:
I t flies so fa st that it c a n b eat th e sp e e d reco rd .
~ It flies fa s t enough to b e at th e sp eed reco rd .
I h a d such a b a d h e a d a c h e that I n e ed e d tw o asp irin s.
~ I had a b a d enough h ead a ch e to n e ed tw o asp irin s.
B ut th e c o rre sp o n d e n c e o fte n does n o t o b tain , sin ce so a n d such are n o t u se d

w ith ad je ctiv es a n d a d v e rb s in th e ir u n m ark ed sense (c /7 .8 8 ); th ey in d ic a te
a h igh d egree. T h u s, th e enough- co nstruction c a n n o t rep lace th e so . . . th a t
an d such . . . th a t c o n stru c tio n s in th e follow ing c o n te x ts :
T h e lio n w as so ta m e th a t the lionkeeper could e n te r its cage. [ 1]

T h e lio n w as ta m e enough for th e lio n k eep er to e n te r its cage. [2]
I t w as such a clear in tro d u c to ry lecture that w e d e cid ed to ta k e the
course. [3]
I t w as a clear enough in tro d u cto ry lecture for us to d e cid e to tak e
th e course. [4]
W hile [1] asserts th a t th e lio n w as very tam e, [2] does n o t; a n d sim ilarly [3]
asserts th a t th e lec tu re w as very clear b u t [4] does n o t.
So ex p resses a h ig h d e g ree w h en used alone w ith a v erb , a n d such d o e s th e
sam e w h en its n o u n p h ra s e do es n o t co n ta in a n ad je ctiv e p rem o d ifier:
I so enjoyed it th a t I ’m d e term in ed to go ag ain .
[‘I so m u c h en jo y ed i t . . . ’]
T h e re w as such a c ro w d that we couldn’t see a th in g .
[‘T h ere w a s s u c h a larg e crow d . . . ’] ,
C o m p are e x clam a to ry how a n d what: H ow I enjoyed it!, W hat a crowd there

w as! In a m o re fo rm a l v a ria n t, so a n d such m ay b e p o sitio n ed b e fo re
c o rrelativ e th a t ; a n in to n a tio n b re ak (or in w ritin g , a co m m a) is n o rm a l
before that:
I enjoyed it so, th a t I ’m d e te rm in e d to go ag ain .
T h e cro w d w a s such, th a t w e co u ld n ’t see a th in g .
Such c a n be p o s itio n e d h e re only if the sen ten ce is re p h ra se d to m a k e it

follow a c o p u la r v e rb . I t also differs here from so in th a t it identifies (‘o f th a t
ty p e’) a n d d oes n o t in te n sify (c f also 15.49 N o te [b]).
In a n o th e r v a ria n t, fo u n d in in fo rm al style, th e r/iat-clause is p o sitio n e d
first, b u t that is o m itte d :
I couldn't kee p m y eyes open, I w as so tired . [5]
T h e first clau se is se m an tica lly an d in to n atio n ally su b o rd in a te , b u t it is

p re fe ra b le to re g a rd th e c o n stru ctio n as p a ratac tic . C o m p a re :
I w as so tire d , I couldn’t keep m y eyes open. [5a]
In a m o re fo rm al v a ria tio n o f [5] th e elem en t c o n ta in in g so is fro n te d ;

s u b je c t-o p e ra to r in v e rs io n is u s u a l:
H e h a d n o n e ed to m a k e speeches, so im pregnable was his position. [6]
She w as e x h a u s te d b y fo u r, so hard h a d she worked. [7]
A n o th e r in fo rm al v a r ia n t (w ith regional re stric tio n ) o f [5] su b stitu te s

in ten sifier th a t fo r s o :
I w as 'that tire d I couldn't keep m y eyes open. [5b]

B ut in ten sifier th a t is m o re co m m o n w ith o u t th e co rre lativ e c lause:
W hy should you b e (all) that tired in th e m o rn in g ? [8]
1 1 44 S yn ta c tic and sem antic fun ction s of subordinate clauses
N o te [a] I n a fo rm a l a n d so m ew h at a rc h a ic usage, th e su b o rd in atecla u se in a such . . . a s c o n stru c tio n

is f in ite :
T h e y w ere fed such su m p tu o u s fa re as kings dream of.
T h e p a r a p h r a s e o f such . . . as by ‘o f a k in d w h ich ' suggests th a t these clauses a re re la tiv e ra th e r
th a n c o m p a ra tiv e . Less restricted is so . . . a s w ith th e in finitive:
H is te m p e r w as so vio len t as to m a k e even his closest companions fe a r him.
[b] In fo rm a l (esp ecially literary ) style, th e com p-elem ent is so m e tim es fro n te d , ac co m p a n ie d by
s u b je c t- o p e r a to r in v e rsio n :
T o such le ngths d id she go in rehearsal th a t tw o acto rs w alked out.
[c] I n p h ilo so p h ic a l ex position, such th a t is o fte n used, such here being id e n tify in g :
I f th e r e is a four-sided figure such th a t th re e o f its an gles are 90°, th e re m a in in g an g le will
also be 90°.
S y n ta c tic function o f com parative clauses

15.75 T h e r e a re tw o m ajo r a n aly ses fo r th e sy n tactic function o f th e c o m p a ra tiv e
c la u se in c o m p a riso n s o f n o n e q u iv alen ce (more/-erl less ( . . . ) than) a n d o f
e q u iv a le n c e ( a s . . . as). O n e tra d itio n a l analysis is p resu p p o sed in o u r use o f
th e te r m co m p -elem en t - th e co m p -elem en t o n its ow n is a cla u se elem en t
a n d th e c o m p a ra tiv e clau se is a n a d v erb ial:
S V Cs „ A
J o h n is m o re in te llig e n t th a n B ill is.
O n e a rg u m e n t in fa v o u r o f th is analysis is th a t in in flected c o m p a ra tiv e

a d je c tiv e s o r a d v erb s (e g : longer, fa ster) th e com p-elem ent is m o rp h o lo g ically
o n e w o rd . B u t m o rp h o lo g ical a n d sy n tactic u n its d o n o t n e cessarily co in cid e;
o th e rw is e , fo r exam ple, w e w o u ld need to give different sy n ta ctic an aly ses to
she's n ot a n d she isn’t. C lo ser p a ralle ls m ig h t be th e sy n tactic fu n c tio n o f th e
g e n itiv e in flectio n in th e g ro u p g en itiv e (eg: the P resident o f M e x ic o ’s
daughter, c f 17.119) a n d o f th e inflections in th e stru ctu re o f th e v e rb p h rase
th a t e x h ib it m o rp h o lo g ical d isc o n tin u itie s to express a sp e c tu a l a n d voice
c a te g o rie s ( e g :’th e d isc o n tin u o u s c o m b in atio n o f be a n d -ing to express
p ro g ressiv e a sp e ct in S h e ’s running).
A n a lte rn a tiv e , an d b e tte r, an aly sis is to reg ard th e c o m p a ra tiv e clause
to g e th e r w ith the p re ce d in g c o m p a rativ e item (including in sta n c e s w here
th a t ite m is th e inflection -er) as a deg ree m odifier, ev en th o u g h it is co m m o n ly
a d isc o n tin u o u s m o d ifier:
J o h n is more in te llig e n t than B ill (is).

S u san sp o k e lo n g er than I expected (she would (speak)).
T h e re w as less noise than (there was) yesterday.
H e le n is as ^n erg etic a s T om (is).
T h e c o m p a ra tiv e clau se th e n p ro v id es co m p lem en tatio n fo r th e c o m p a ra tiv e

m ore o r th e in flectio n -er. T h e m o d ifier is som etim es p o stp o sed , a n d is th en
c o n tin u o u s :
J o h n is in tellig en t, fm ore
[ a s m uch (so) as J
j
p m (js).
T h is c o n stru ctio n is p o ssib le e v en fo r a n ad jectiv e o r a d v erb t h a t is n o rm ally

in flected , b u t in th a t case m ore rep laces th e inflection:
J o h n looks good, m ore (so) than Ted (does).

In th is seco n d an aly sis, n e ith e r th e co m p -elem en t n o r th e c o m p a ra tiv e

clause a re clau se elem en ts. See F igs 15.75a a n d 15.75b:
s tru c tu re o f s e n te n c e :
S V C,
J o h n is m o re in telligent than B ill is
s tru c tu re o f C s :
c o m p -e le m e n t c o m p a ra tiv e c lau se
intelligent th a n B ill is
p re m o d ifie r c o m p le m e n ta tio n o f p re m o d ifier m ore
d e g re e m o d ifier o f h e F d
F ig 15.75a C o m p a r a tiv e c o n s tr u c tio n w ith m ore
s tru c tu re o f s e n te n c e :
S V Cs
M a r y is y o u n g e r th a n T o m is
. s tru c tu re o f C s :
c o m p -e le m e n t c o m p a ra tiv e c lau se
i--------------------1 i-------------------------- 1
y o u n g er th a n T o m is
.b a s e suffix.
h e F d c o m p le m e n ta tio n o f -er suffix
F ig 15 .7 5 b C o m p a r a tiv e c o n stru c to n w ith -er suffix
T h e c o m p a ra tiv e clau se is usually se p a ra ted from th e co m p -elem en t w h e n

th e c o m p -elem en t is th e su b ject:
M o re fa ta l accidents o ccu r in th e h o m e than on the roads.
B ut su ch a se p a ra tio n o f p rem o d ificatio n a n d n o u n h e ad fro m p o stm o d ifica

tio n is n o t u n u su al w h en a long n o u n p h ra se is su b ject (c /1 8 .3 9 /):
M ore than
difficult questions w ere posed were convincingly
M any that
answ ered by the panel o f experts.
O n th e o th e r h a n d , in co m p ariso n s o f sufficiency a n d excess ( c / 1 5 .7 2 /0 th e

c o m p a rativ e clauses a re m o re ap p ro p ria te ly an aly sed as a d v erb ials, s in c e
th o se clauses c a n p ro p erly be id en tified w ith ad v erb ial clauses o f p u rp o se o r
resu lt (c f 1 5 .4 8 /). T h e ir re stric tio n to final p o sitio n is easily e x p la in e d :
a d v e r b ia l clauses, o f resu lt a re alw ays p o sitio n e d fin ally ; a d v erb ial clauses o f
p u rp o s e , th o u g h n o rm ally m obile, are re stric te d to final p o sitio n in th ese
c o m p a r a tiv e c o n stru c tio n s b ecause they are lin k e d to a first co rrelativ e (eg:
as , too).
O n n o m in a l cla u se s in g en eral, see especially A ijm er (1972); H u d d lesto n (1971), C h a p te rs 4 an d
5; K ip a r s k y a n d K ip a rs k y (1970); Lees (1960a); S tockw ell e t al (1973), C h a p te r 8 ; V endler
(1968). O n r/iar-clauses in p articu lar, see B ehre (1955); E lsness (1982); H o o p er (1975); S torm s
(1966). O n o th e r sp ecialized topics, see Jacobsson (1971); K jellm e r (1980); L uelsdorff a n d
N o r r ic k (1979); T h o m p so n (1973).
O n a d v e rb ia l cla u se s o f tim e in g eneral, see especially E d g re n (1971). O n m o re specialized
to p ics, see A a r ts (1979); D eclerck (1979a; 1979b); H ein a m iik i (1978); K a rttu n e n (1974);
M ittw o c h (1 9 8 0 ).
O n a d v e rb ia l clau ses o f c o n d itio n a n d concession, see G e is (1973); H aeg em an (1984;
fo rth c o m in g a ) ; H a e g e m a n a n d W e k k er (1984); H a im a n (1974); K jellm er (1975b); M orreall
(1980); Y a m a n a sh i(1 9 7 3 ).
O n c lau ses o f re a so n , see A lte n b erg (1984), w hich is th e so u rce o f th e d a ta in Table 15.47, a n d
H e in a m a k i (1975).
O n c o m m e n t clau ses, see E m o n d s(1 9 7 3 ); Lakoff, G . (1974); M ittw o c h (I9 7 9 ).
O n cla u se s in tr o d u c e d by instead o f o r rather than , see D ie tric h a n d N ap o li (1982); Jaco b sso n
(1 9 7 7 a); T h o m p so n (1972).
O n a d v e rb ia l -ing c lau ses, see G reen b au m (1973b).
O n c o m p a r a tiv e clau ses, see especially H udd lesto n (1971), C h a p te r 6. See also H ale (1970);
H u d d le s to n (1 9 6 7 ); j0 rg e n se n (1 9 8 O );L ees(1 9 6 1 );M ittw o c h (1 9 7 4 );R iv a ra (1 9 7 5 );S m ith (1 9 6 1 ).
\
Complem entation of verbs
and adjectives
16.1 In tro d u c tio n 1 150
1 6 .2 -1 7 M u lti-w o rd verbs 1150

.2 V e rb -p article c o m b in a tio n s 1150
.3 -1 6 P h ra sa l, p re p o sitio n a l, an d p h ra sal-p re p o sitio n a l v erb s 1152
.3 T y p e I (In tra n s itiv e ) p h rasal v erb s 1152
.4 T y p e II (T ra n sitiv e ) p h ra sal verbs 1153
.5 T y p e I p re p o sitio n a l v erb s 1155
.6 P re p o sitio n a l v e rb s c o n trasted w ith p h ra sal v e rb s 1156
.7 -8 T y p e I I p re p o sitio n a l verbs 1158
.9 P h ra s a l-p re p o s itio n a l verbs 1160
.10 A su m m ary o f ty p es o f m ulti-w ord verbs 1161
.1 1 - 1 6 Som e se m a n tic a n d sy n tactic d istin ctio n s 1162
.12 S e m an tic c rite ria fo r id io m atic statu s 1162
.1 3 - 1 6 S y n tactic c rite ria fo r prep o sitio n al v erb s 1 1 63
.14 T h e p re p o sitio n a l passive 1164
.15 T h e c rite rio n o f q u estio n form s 1165
.16 C rite ria fo r d istin g u ish in g p h rasal a n d p re p o sitio n al
v e rb s 1166
.17 O th e r m u lti-w o rd v e rb c o n stru ctio n s 1167
16.18-19 Verbs in relation to verb complementation 1168

.19 V e rb s in in tra n s itiv e fu n c tio n 1169
1 6 .2 0 -6 7 Types of verb complementation 11 7 0

.2 1 - 2 4 C o p u la r c o m p le m e n ta tio n 1171
.21 [A 1] A d je ctiv e p h ra se a s subject co m p lem en t 1171
.22 [A 2] N o u n p h ra se a s subject co m p lem en t 1173
.23 S e m an tic n o te s o n c o p u la r verbs 1 1 74
.24 [A3] C o m p le m e n ta tio n by an ad ju n c t 1174
.2 5 -2 7 M o n o tra n sitiv e co m p le m e n ta tio n 1176
.2 6 -2 7 C o m p le m e n ta tio n b y a no u n p h ra se as d ire c t o b jec t 1176
.26 [B l] W ith th e p a ssiv e 1176
.27 [B2] W ith o u t th e p assiv e 1177
.2 8 - 4 2 V a rian ts o f m o n o tra n sitiv e c o m p lem en tatio n 1177
.2 8 - 2 9 C o m p le m e n ta tio n by n o u n p h ra se as p re p o sitio n a l o b ject 1 1 7 7
.28 [B lp r] P re p o sitio n a l verbs 1177
.29 [B 1p h -p r] P h ra sa l-p re p o sitio n a l v erb s 1179
.3 0 -3 5 C o m p le m e n ta tio n by a finite clause 1179
.3 0 -3 2 [B3] 77iat-clause a s o b ject 1179
.31 T y p e (i): F a c tu a l v erb s 1 180
.3 2 T y p e (ii): S u asiv e v erb s 1182
.3 3 - 3 4 O th e r types o f v erb w ith r/wf-clause c o m p lem en tatio n 1 1 8 3
.34 C o m p le m en tatio n by a n ex trap o sed subject
f t e - c la u s e 1183
.35 [B4] BTi-clause a s o b ject 1184
.3 6 - 4 2 C o m p le m en tatio n by a n onfinite clause 1185
.36 N o n fin ite clau ses in c o m p lem en tatio n 1185
.37 [B5] W 7i-infinitive clau se as o bject 1187
.38 [B6] S ubjectless in fin itiv e clause as d irect o bject 1187
.39 [B7] S ubjectless -ing p a rticip le clause as o b ject 1189
.40 C h o ice b e tw ee n th e in fin itiv e a n d p articip le
co n stru ctio n s ([B6] a n d [B7]) 1191
.41 [B8] C o m p le m e n ta tio n by ro-infinitive clause (w ith
s u b je c t) 1193
.42 [B9] C o m p l e m e n t a t i o n b y -ing p a r t i c i p l e c la u s e ( w i t h
su b ject) 1194
.4 3 - 4 8 C o m p lex tra n s itiv e c o m p le m e n ta tio n 1195
.4 4 - 4 5 [C l] A d jectiv e p h ra se a s o b ject co m p lem en t 1196
.46 [C2] N o u n p h ra se as o b jec t co m p lem en t 1198
.47 [C 1pr] a n d [C 2 p r] O b je ct co m p lem en t follow ing
p re p o sitio n a l v e rb 1200
.48 [C3] C o m p le m e n ta tio n b y o b ject a n d a d ju n ct 1201
.4 9 - 5 4 V a rian ts o f co m p lex tra n s itiv e co m p lem en tatio n 1202
.5 0 -5 1 [C4] O b ject + fo-infinitive c o m p lem en tatio n 1203
.52 [C5] O b ject + b a re in fin itiv e co m p lem en tatio n 1205
.53 [C6] O b ject + -ing p a rtic ip le co m p lem en tatio n 1206
.54 [C7] O b je ct + -e d p a rtic ip le co m p lem en tatio n 1207
.5 5 - 5 8 D itra n s itiv e c o m p le m e n ta tio n 1208
.55 [D l] N o u n p h ra se s a s b o th in d irect a n d d irect o b ject 1208
.56 [D 2] O b je ct a n d p re p o sitio n a l o b ject 1208
.5 7 - 5 8 V erb s o f c o m p le m e n ta tio n ty p es [D l] a n d [D 2] 1210
.5 9 - 6 3 V a rian ts o f d itra n s iti ve co m p le m e n ta tio n 1212
.59 [D3] In d ire c t o b jec t + r/iaAclause o b ject 1212
.60 [D 3pr] P re p o sitio n a l o b ject + r/zar-clause o b ject 1213
.61 [D 4] In d ire c t o b je c t + fin ite wA-clause o b ject 1214
.62 [D 5] In d ire c t o b je c t + w/i-infiniti ve clause o b ject 1215
.63 [D 6] In d ire c t o b je c t + ro-infinitive clause o b ject 1215
.6 4 - 6 7 M u ltip le a n aly sis a n d g ra d ie n ce in v erb c o m p le m e n ta tio n 1216
.6 6 - 6 7 G ra d ien c e 1218
1 6 .6 8 -8 3 Adjective complementation 1220

.69 [E 1] A d jectiv e c o m p le m e n ta tio n by a p re p o sitio n al p h ra se 1221
.7 0 - 7 2 [E2] A d jectiv e c o m p le m e n ta tio n by a r/iar-clause 1222
.71 [E2a] A d jectiv es w ith e x p erien cer as su b ject 12 2 3
.72 [E 2b] A d jectiv es w ith a n tic ip a to ry it a s subject 12 2 4
.73 [E3] A d jectiv e c o m p lem en tatio n b y a w/i-clause 1225
.74 [E4] A d jectiv e c o m p lem en tatio n b y a r/ian-clause 1226
.75-82 [E5] A d jectiv e c o m p lem en tatio n b y a fo-infinitive clause 1226
.76 [E 5(i)j B ob is splendid to wait 1227
.77 [E 5(ii)j B ob is slow to react 1227
.78 [E 5(iii)] B ob is sorry to hear it 1227
.79 [E 5(i v)] B ob is hesitant to agree with yo u 1228
.80 [E 5(v)j B ob is hard to convince 1229
.81 [E 5(vi)j T he fo o d is ready to eat 1229
.82 [E 5(vii)j I t is im portant to be accurate 1230
.83 [E6] A d jectiv e c o m p lem en tatio n by a n -ing p a rticip le clause 1230
16.84-85 Complementation of abstract nouns 1231

1150 C o m p le m e n ta tio n of verbs and adjectives
In tro d u c tio n
16.1 I n 2 .3 2 w e d e fin e d c o m p l e m e n t F t i o n as ‘p a rt o f a p h ra se o r clause w hich
fo llo w s a w o rd , a n d co m p letes th e specification o f a m ea n in g relatio n sh ip
w h ic h t h a t w o rd im p lies’. In th is ch ap ter, we ex am in e th e w ays in w hich
lex ic al v e r b s a n d a d je ctiv es d eterm in e, in th is w ay, th e g ra m m a tic a l p a tte rn s
th a t fo llo w th e m . W e b e g an th is task in 2.19, w here v erb s w ere classified in to
v a rio u s ty p e s (tra n s itiv e , in tran sitiv e, co p u lar, e tc ) a cc o rd in g to th e ir
c o m p le m e n ta tio n . N o w w e m u st go fu rth er, an d e x am in e p a tte rn s o f g re ater
v a rie ty . B u t b e fo re d o in g so, we m u st analyse th e p h e n o m e n o n o f m ulti-w ord
v e rb s, a to p ic o f p e c u lia r im p o rtan ce in E nglish. T h is stu d y w ill occupy th e
first s e v e n te e n se c tio n s o f th e c h ap ter, as a n ecessary p re lu d e to th e study o f
v e rb c o m p le m e n ta tio n .
M u lti-w o rd verbs
V e rb -p a rtic le com binations

16.2 T h e m a in c a te g o ry o f m u lti-w o rd v erb s co n sists o f su c h co m b in a tio n s as
; d rin k up, dispose o f, a n d g e t aw ay with, w h ich we w ill s tu d y u n d e r th e h ead in g s
o f PHRASAL VERB, PREPOSITIONAL VERB, a n d PHRASAL-PREPOSITIONAL VERB
re sp ec tiv e ly . H o w ev e r, th ese c o m b in atio n s a re c o n sid ere d m u lti-w o rd verbs
o n ly w h e re th e y b e h a v e as a single u nit.
S in ce t h e v e rb h a s b e en c o n sid ered a class o f w o rd (c /2 .3 5 ), it m ay seem a
c o n tra d ic tio n to s p e a k o f ‘m u lti-w o rd v erb s’. T h e te rm ‘w o rd ’ is frequently
u sed , h o w e v er, n o t o n ly fo r a m orphologically d efin ed w o rd class, b u t also
fo r a n ite m w h ic h a c ts a s a single w o rd lexically o r s y n ta ctica lly (c /9 .1 0 /f on
c o m p lex p re p o sitio n s). I t is th is ex ten d ed sense o f ‘v e rb ’ a s a ‘u n it w h ich
b e h av e s to so m e e x te n t e ith e r lexically o r sy n tactically as a sin g le v e rb ’ th a t
w e u se in la b e ls,s u c h as ‘p re p o sitio n a l v e rb ’. T h u s in th e s e n te n c e :
W e d isp o sed o f th e p ro b lem .
th e w o rd d isp o sed re m a in s m orphologically a verb , b e in g th e ite m w h ich h as

v a ria b le in fle ctio n {dispose/disposes/disposed, etc); b u t th e se q u en ce disposed
o f also fu n c tio n s in v a rio u s w ays a s a single u nit, su ch t h a t fo r so m e p urposes
th e s e n te n c e c a n b e reaso n a b ly d iv id e d in to :
[W e] [d isp o se d of] [th e problem ].
r a th e r t h a n in to :
[W e] [d isp o sed ] [o f th e problem ].
T h e w o rd s w h ic h follow th e lexical v erb in e x p ressio n s lik e d rink up,

dispose of, a n d g e t aw ay with a re m orphologically in v a ria b le , a n d will be
g iv en th e n e u tra l d e sig n a tio n p F r t i c l e s . T hey a ctu ally b e lo n g to tw o d istin c t
b u t o v e rla p p in g c ateg o rie s, th a t o f p rep o sitio n s a n d th a t o f sp a tia l a d v erb s
(th o u g h su c h a d v e rb s a re n o t n ecessarily used w ith s p a tia l m ean in g ). T h e
te rm ‘p a r tic le ’ w ill th e re fo re a p p ly to such w ords as th e s e (see th e fuller lists
in 9.7 a n d 9.66), w h e n th e y follow a n d a re closely a sso c ia te d w ith verbs.
M u lti-w o rd verbs 1151
PARTICLES
(A ) against, am ong, as, a t, beside, fo r , fro m , into, like, of, onto, upon, with, e tc .
(B) about, above, across, a fter, along, around, by, down, in, off, on, o u t < A m E > ,
over, pa st, round, through, under, up, etc.
(C ) aback, ahead, apart, aside, astray, away, back,forw ard(s), hom e, in fr o n t,
on top, out <B rE>, together, etc.
(O n o ut a s a p re p o sitio n , c / 9 . 18 N o te.)
T h o se g ro u p e d in lis t (A ) a re p rep o sitio n s only; those in (C ) a re s p a tia l

a d v erb s o nly (unless th e y fo rm p a r t o f a com plex p rep o sitio n , a s in out o f ) ;
a n d th o se in (B) c a n b e e ith e r p rep o sitio n s o r sp a tia l a d v erb s, a n d in th e
la tte r fu n c tio n are k n o w n a s ‘p rep o sitio n al ad v erb s’ ( c f 9.65 f ) . L ist (C )
in clu d es ad v erb s lik e aw ay a n d on top, w hich co rresp o n d to c o m p le x
p re p o sitio n s such a s a w a y fr o m a n d on top o f an d so a re also k n o w n as
p re p o sitio n a l a d v erb s ( c f 9.66). T h u s we include p a rticles w h ic h fo rm th e
first e le m en t o f a c o m p lex p re p o s itio n :
C o m e along (w ith u s/m e). T h ey m oved out ( o f th e house).
T h e m o st o b v io u s d ifferen ce b e tw ee n th e p rep o sitio n s a n d th e sp a tia l a d v e rb s

is th a t w h ere p re p o sitio n s re q u ire a follow ing n o u n p h ra se as a p re p o sitio n a l
c o m p le m e n t, th e re is n o su c h re q u ire m e n t for a d v erb s (cf, h o w ev er, th e
p h e n o m e n o n o f d e ferre d p re p o sitio n s, 9.6). H en ce C lasses (A ), (B ), a n d (C )
c a n b e d istin g u ish e d a s fo llo w s;
_________PREPOSITIONAL CONSTRUCTION_________ADVERBIAL CONSTRUCTION
(A ) T h e dog w e n t f o r m e. *T he dog w e n t fo r .
(B) J a c k fell dow n the hill. J a c k fell down.
(C ) *W e m u st n o t look b a c k the pa st. W e m u st n o t lo o k back.
P a rtic le s o f C lass (B ) a re th e only ones w hich a re acc ep ta b le in b o th

c o n stru ctio n s.
N o t all m u lti-w o rd v e rb s c o n sist o f lexical verbs follow ed by p a rticle s. W e
sh all illu strate o th e r ty p es, su c h a s th o se o f take pride in, cut short, see f i t , o r
p u t p a id to, in 1 6 .7 -8 a n d 16.17.
N o te [a] A lth o u g h th e inflection o f a m u iti-w o rd v erb is regularly a tta c h e d to th e lex ical v e rb , th e
o c c u rre n c e o f ‘slips o f th e to n g u e ’ su ch as th e follow ing (noted d u rin g a rad io in terv ie w ) d e serv es
a tte n tio n :
‘ T h e e d ito r m u st d o p recisely as h e see fits .
T h is an o m alo u s sh ift o f th e in flectio n fro m th e v erb to th e adjectiv e testifies to a te n d e n c y fo r
s p e a k e rs to perceiv e th e m u lti-w o rd v e rb a s a sin gle g ram m atical u nit.
[b] O n th e ex cep tio n al use o f som e C la ss (A ) w o rd s as ad v e rb s (eg: to), c/9 .6 6 N o te s [a] an d [b].
[c] T h e lexical v erb s o c c u rrin g in m u lti-w o rd v erbs a re frequently th e m o st co m m o n le x ical
v erb s, a n d a re typically asso cia ted w ith p h y sica l m ov em en t o r s ta t e : e g : come, fa ll, get, give, go,
k e ep , m a k e , p u t, a n d ta k e. A t th e o th e r ex tre m e , how ever, are w o rd s w h ich o c c u r a s v erb s o n ly
w h e n co m b in ed w ith p artic le s, eg: beaver in beaver aw ay, egg in egg on, a n d e k e in e k e o u t:
S h e egged h im on. ‘ S h e egged (him ).
N o te also th a t som e n o rm a lly in tra n s itiv e v erb s can becom e tra n sitiv e w hen co m b in e d w ith a
p a rtic le , a n d th a t conversely som e n o rm a lly tra n sitiv e verbs can becom e in tra n s itiv e w h en
co m b in e d w ith a p a r tic le :
T h e y are living it dow n. ‘ T h e y a re living it.
T h e pla n e to ok off. ‘ T h e p la n e took.
Phrasal, prepositional, and phrasal-prepositional verbs
T y p e I (in tra n sitiv e ) p h rasal verbs

16.3 O u r p ro c e d u re in 1 6 .3 -9 w ill be to illustrate th e m ain c ateg o rie s o f m u lti
w o rd v e rb s, b e fo re th e c rite ria for c ertain d istin ctio n s a re co n sid ered m o re
c a re fu lly in 16.11 - 1 6 . O n e co m m o n type o f m ulti-w ord v e rb is th e Type I o r
in tr a n s itiv e p h ra s a l v erb co n sistin g o f a v erb plus a n a d v e rb p article, as
e x e m p lifie d i n :
T h e p la n e h a s ju s t touched down D id he catch o n l

H e is p la y in g around. T h e p riso n er finally broke down.
I h o p e y o u ’ll g e t by. She turned up u n ex p ected ly .
H o w a re y o u g ettin g o n l W h en will th ey g ive in ?
T h e p la n e h a s n o w taken off. T h e tan k blew up.
S u c h p h r a s a l v e rb s a re usually inform al. T h e p a rticles a b o v e com e fro m

C la s s (B) i n 16.2, b u t sim ila r ex am p les can b e given w ith p a rticle s fro m C lass
(C ):
O n e o f m y p a p e rs h as gone astray.
T h e n e w s m a d e h im reel back.
T h e f a v o u rite rom ped home.
T h e tw o g irls h av e fa lle n out. [ = ‘q u arrelled ’]
T h e p a r tic le fu n c tio n s lik e a p re d icatio n ad ju n ct ( c f 8 .2 6 /) , a n d usually

c a n n o t b e s e p a ra te d fro m its lexical v e rb :
? * T h e n e w s m a d e h im reel d istracted ly back.
A lth o u g h so m e o f th ese a re m o re id io m atic an d cohesive th a n o th ers, w e will

d ra w a d is tin c tio n b etw een su ch p h ra sal verbs, o n th e o n e h a n d , a n d f r e e
c o m | i n F t i o n s 'in w h ic h th e v e rb a n d th e ad v erb h a v e d is tin c t m ea n in g s o n
th e o th e r. I n p h ra s a l v erb s lik e give in [‘su rre n d er’], catch on [‘u n d e rsta n d ’],
a n d blow up [‘e x p lo d e ’], th e m ea n in g o f th e co m b in atio n m an ifestly can n o t
b e p r e d ic te d fro m th e m ea n in g s o f v e rb a n d p article in iso latio n . B u t in free
c o m b in a tio n s tlie v e rb a cts a s a n o rm al in tra n sitiv e v erb , a n d th e a d v erb h as
its o w n m e a n in g . F o r e x am p le:
H e w a lk e d p a st. [ = ‘p a s t th e o b ject/p lace’]

I w a d e d across. [ = ‘acro ss th e riv er/w a te r/etc ’]
P a st a n d across h e re a re ad v erb s ( c /9 .6 5 ,16.4 N o te [d]), b u t th e ir fu n c tio n is

e q u iv a le n t to th a t o f a p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se o f d irectio n . T h e sep a ra b ility o f
v e rb a n d a d v e rb in term s o f m ean in g is sh o w n by p o ssib le su b s titu tio n s: fo r
w ade in w ade across, fo r ex am p le, we could su b stitu te w a lk, run, swim , ju m p ,
f l y , e tc ; a n d fo r across w e co u ld su b stitu te in, through, over, up, down, etc. In
o th e r c a s e s, th e p a rtic le m ay h av e a n intensifying o r a sp e ctu al force, as in
liven up, g o on, o r chatter aw ay.
T h e re a r e also sy n ta ctic sig n s o f cohesion. In free c o m b in a tio n s, it is o ften
p o ssib le to p lace a m o d ify in g a d v erb right (or so m etim es straight ) b etw een
th e a d v e r b p a rtic le a n d th e v e r b :
G o right/straight o n . D rin k right up. W alk straight in.

T h is in se rtio n is to d ifferin g ex ten ts u n acc ep ta b le w ith p h rasal v erb s:
?T h e p riso n e r b ro k e right dow n.

*She tu rn e d right u p a t last.
A n o th e r sig n o f a free c o m b in a tio n is th e p o ssibility o f p lacin g th e a d v e r b

b efo re th e v e rb w ith su b je c t-v e rb in v ersio n (or w ith o u t in v ersio n w h ere th e
su b ject is a p ro n o u n ):
O u t cam e th e sun.
Up you come.
On w e drove in to th e n ig h t.
B u t w ith p h ra sa l v erb s th is is n o t possible:
*Up blew th e ta n k .
*U p i t blew, [‘ex p lo d e d ’]
*O ut h e passed, [‘fa in te d ’]
H o w ev er, in th is as in o th e r c riteria , th e re is a n u n c le ar b o u n d a ry b e tw e e n
p h ra sa l v e rb s a n d free c o m b in atio n s. W ith They chattered aw ay th e in v e rs io n
is very m arg in ally a cc e p ta b le : ?*Away they chattered. Som e e x am p les a r e
m o re a cc ep ta b le if th e p a rticle is re d u p lica ted acco rd in g to th e p a tte r n o f
ite ra tiv e c o o rd in a tio n (c/1 3 .1 0 1 ):
O n a n d on h e w ent a b o u t his w ife a n d fam ily.
A n d w h e re th e p h ra s a l v erb m ak es m eta p h o ric al u se o f s p a tia l a d v e rb s ,

in v ersio n seem s q u ite a cc ep ta b le :
D ow n cam e th e p rices, an d up went th e sales.

T h e re w as a g u st o f w in d , a n d out w ent th e light.
W e e x am in e th e b o u n d a ry b etw een m u lti-w o rd v erb s a n d free c o m b in a tio n s

m o re g en erally in 16.12.
T ype I I (tran sitiv e) p h ra sal verbs

16.4 M an y p h ra sa l v e rb s m ay ta k e a d irec t o b ject, an d m ay th erefo re b e d e sc rib e d
a s tran sitiv e. H o w ev er, to sim p lify c o m p ariso n w ith p re p o sitio n a l v erb s, w e
w ill call th e m Type //p h r a s a l verbs, as c o n tra sted w ith T y p e I (or in tra n s itiv e )
p h ra sa l v erb s. E x am p les a re :
W e w ill se t up a n ew u n it. H e c a n ’t live down h is p a st.
S h all I p u t aw ay th e d ish es? I c a n ’t m a k e out w h a t h e m ea n s.
F in d o ut if th e y a re com in g . W e p ushed hom e o u r a d v a n ta g e .
S h e ’s bringing up tw o ch ild ren . She looked up h e r frien d s.
Som eone turned on th e light. I ’ve handed in m y re g istra tio n .
T h ey h a v e called o f f th e strik e. T h ey m ay h a v e blown up th e b rid g e .
E x am p les h e re a n d in 16.3 show t h a t som e c o m b in atio n s, su ch a s give in a n d

blow up, c a n b e e ith e r T y p e I o r T y p e II. I n som e cases, eg: give in, th e re is a
s u b s ta n tia l d ifferen ce in m ean in g , a n d in o th ers, eg: blow up, th e re is n o t ( c f
A p p 1.18).
W ith m o st T y p e I I p h ra s a l verbs, as w ith free co m b in a tio n s o f th e s a m e
p a tte rn , th e p a rtic le c a n e ith e r p reced e o r follow th e d ire c t o b jec t:
1154 Com plem entation of verbs and adjectives
T h ey turned on th e light. T h ey turned th e lig h t on.
B e a rin g in m in d t h e ad v erb ial statu s o f th e p a rticle , we w ould in d eed expect

th e la tte r o rd e r ( S V O A ) to be th e m o re u su al, ev en th o u g h it m ean s a
s e p a ra tio n o f th e p a rticle fro m its verb . W h e n the o b ject is a p erso n al
p r o n o u n , th e S V O A o rd e r is in fa c t th e o nly o n e a llo w a b le :
* T h ey sw itched on it. T h ey sw itched it on.
T h e p a rtic le ten d s to p reced e th e o b ject if th e o b jec t is long, o r if th e in ten tio n

is t h a t th e o b ject sh o u ld receive end-focus (c /1 8 .3 /).
A s before, p h ra s a l v erb s h av e to be d istin g u ish ed lexically fro m free
s y n ta c tic c o m b in a tio n s o f v erb a n d p re p o sitio n a l ad v erb . C o n tra s t:
S h e took in th e box. [‘b ro u g h t in sid e ’] [f r e e c o m | i n F t io n ]

S h e took in h e r p a ren ts, [‘d e ceiv ed ’] [p h r F s F l v e r | ]
T h e v e rb an d p a rtic le in p u t out the cat, fo r in stan c e, p reserv e th e ir se p a ra te

m e a n in g s in th a t c o m b in a tio n , as well as in a w ide ra n g e o f c o m p arab le
c o m b in a tio n s : p u t + down/outside/aw ay/aside', take/turn/bring/push/send/
d ra g + out. A h ig h ly id io m a tic ex p ressio n lik e p u t 0# [ ‘p o stp o n e ’] h as n o such
v a r ia n ts a t all, fo r th e tw o w ords p u t a n d o f f a re fused in to a u n it w h ich allow s
fo r n o su b stitu tio n fo r th e in d iv id u a l elem en ts. O n ce a g ain , th e re a re u n clear
c ases b etw een th e s e tw o e x tre m e s: som e su b stitu tio n s, b u t a lim ited n u m b er
o n ly , c a n be m a d e in a ‘sem i-id io m atic’ ex am p le su ch as Turn o ut the light'.
W ith T y p e I I p h ra s a l v erb s, th ere is n o se n sitiv e m eth o d o f testin g cohesion

b y p la c in g th e p a rtic le b efo re th e su b ject (c f 16.3), as th is c o n stru ctio n is
sc a rc e ly possible e v e n w ith free c o m b in a tio n s: I* O u t he to o k a gun. T h e
o th e r te s t o f in d ep e n d en c e , in sertio n o f a n a d v e rb befo re th e p article, c an
h o w e v e r be u sed :
The
T h e u an cei |(nretv u e r u a n u s w uaiy about a b o v e h e r h ead .
(A g a in , right is 'a n in te n sifier o f th e p a rtic le , ra th e r th a n a n a d v erb ial in

itself.) C o n tra s t th e p h ra s a l v erb l* T h e y p u t the m eeting hurriedly off. W h ere
th e re is a n am b ig u ity b e tw ee n id io m atic a n d n o n id io m a tic in te rp re ta tio n s o f
th e s a m e c o m b in a tio n , in se rtio n o f a n a d v e rb w ill select th e n o n id io m a tic
o n e. T h u s [1], u , c a n m ea n ‘She re a re d th e g irls’:
S h e brought th e g irls up. [1]

S h e brought th e g irls right up. [2]
B u t [2] c a n only h a v e a s p a tia l m ean in g ‘S h e c au sed th e girls to co m e u p (the
s ta irs , e tc )’. •:
L ik e tran sitiv e v e rb s in g en eral, T y p e I I p h ra s a l v erb s c a n n o rm ally be
tu rn e d in to the p a ssiv e w ith o u t stylistic a w k w a rd n ess (b u t c /N o te [c]):
A u n t A d a brought up R oy. ~ R oy w as brought up by A u n t A d a.

N o te [a] S o m e T y p e II p h ra sa l verbs do n o t easily allow th e possibility o f p la cin g th e p a rtic le afte r th e

o b je c t (u n less th e o b je ct is a p ro n o u n ):
T h e y h a d given up hope. ~ ?T hey had given ho p e up.
T h e y la id dow n th e ir arm s. ~ ?T hey laid th e ir arm s down.
T h is fixing o f th e S V A O o rd er te n d s to o ccu r, a s th e above exam ples illu strate, w h ere th e re is a
stro n g id io m a tic b o n d (freq u en tly m a tc h in g a change from literal to m e tap h o rical) b etw een th e
p h ra sa l v e rb a n d th e o bject. In a d d itio n , th e p article can n o t norm ally b e p la ced a fte r a c lau sal
o b je ct, su ch as a n - ing clause, ev e n w h e n th e clause is sh o rt:
S h e gave up trying. ~ *S he gave trying up.
[b] C o n v ersely , so m e p h rasal v erb s d o n o t easily allow th e placem en t o f th e p artic le befo re th e
o b ject. I n so m e c a ses th e S V A O o r d e r is p ro b ab ly avoided because o f am b ig u ity :
G et t h a t p a rc e l o f f rig h t a w a y ! ~ G et o ff th a t parcel rig h t a w a y !
H e re th e tra n sitiv e p h ra sa l v erb g e t . . . o ff c a n b e confused w ith th e in tra n sitiv e v e rb g e f follow ed
by th e p re p o sitio n off. T h is la tte r c o n s tru c tio n occurs, for ex am ple, in G et o f f th a t sto o l - it’s j u s t
been p a in te d ! b u t w ould suggest a n in a p p ro p ria te m eaning in th e ab o v e sen te n ce. O th e r rea so n s
fo r av o id in g th e S V A O o rd e r in c lu d e co o rd in atio n o f p artic le s:
I sw itched th e lig h t on a n d off. ~ ?I sw itched on and o f f th e light.
A lso, a s in [a] ab o v e , th e o rd e r te n d s to be fixed by id iom atic c o n v e n tio n :
{
crying m y eyes out. ( crying out m y eyes.
laughing m y h ea d off. *1 w as < laughing o ff my head.
sobbing m y h e a rt out. { sobbing out m y heart.

In th e se cases o f co n v e n tio n alize d h y p erb o le, th e S V A O o rd e r is im possible.
[c] A n o th e r re s tric tio n o n p h ra sa l v e rb s is t h a t som e o f th e m d o n o t h a v e a p assiv e. T h e se a re
p rin c ip a lly c o m b in a tio n s for w h ic h th e o b je c t is id iom atically lim ited to a p a rtic u la r n o u n o r
p ro n o u n :
T h e tr a in p ic k e d up speed. ~ * ?Speed w as p ic k e d up (by th e tra in ).
J ill a n d h e r boss d o n ’t hit it off. ~ * I t is n o t hit o f f (by Jill a n d h e r boss).
[‘are n o t g o o d frie n d s’]
[d] A s in in tra n s itiv e co m b in a tio n s, so in tra n sitiv e v e rb -a d v e rb co m b in a tio n s th e ad v e rb m a y
b e sem a n tic a lly e q u iv a le n t to a re d u c e d p rep o sitio n al p h rase, fro m w h ich th e co m p lem en t h a s
b ee n o m itte d :
T h e y p u lle d th e c a rt along. [’along th e road, etc’]
M o ve th e fu rn itu re out. ['out o f th e house, etc’]
T h e se a re c learly free co m b in atio n s, n o t p h ra sa l verbs.
[e] E x p re ssio n s lik e b e f e d up, be run down a p p e ar to be p assive p h ra s a l v e rb s w ith o u t a
co rre sp o n d in g a c tiv e :
I w as f e d up w ith th e noise. ^ * T h e noise f e d m e up.
Y et th e se a re n o t tru e passives, b u t r a th e r ‘pseudo-passives’ (c/3.77), as w e see fro m th e ir a b ility
to co m b in e w ith a n in ten sifie r su ch a s thoroughly , an d a co p u lar v erb su ch as lo o k :
H e lo o k ed thoroughly fed up.
a n d also b y th e im po ssib ility o f a n a g e n t A y-phrase:
*1 w as fed u p b y the noise.
T ype I p repositional verbs

16.5 H e re , as in 16.3, w e use T y p e I as a label for m u lti-w o rd v e rb s w ith o u t a
d ire c t o b ject. A p re p o sitio n a l v e rb consists o f a lexical v e rb follow ed b y a
p re p o sitio n w ith w h ich it is se m an tically an d /o r sy n tactically asso ciated . T h e
p re p o sitio n , as is to be e x p ec te d , p reced es its c o m p lem en t:
L o o k a t th ese p ictu res. C a n you cope with th e w o rk ?

I d o n ’t care f o r J a n e ’s p a rtie s . I approve o /th e ir a ctio n .
W e m u st go into th e p ro b lem . H is eyes lighted upon th e jew el.
In th ese ex am p les, th e lex ical v e rb is follow ed b y a p a rtic le w h ic h is

un eq u iv o cally a p re p o sitio n (ie fro m C lass (A) in 16.2).
I n u sin g th e te rm p r e p o s i t i o n a l v e r b we in d ic a te th a t w e re g ard th e
s e c o n d n o u n p h ra se in a sen ten ce lik e [ 1] as th e co m p lem en t o f th e p re p o sitio n

a t a n d n o t as th e d ire c t o b ject o f a verb look a t :
M a n y p eo p le looked a t the pictures. [1]
T h is is d e sp ite th e fa c t th a t th e p assiv e is freq u en tly possible (w ith so m e

sty listic a w k w ard n ess) a s in [la ]:
T h e p ictu re w as lo o ke d a t by m an y p eople. [la ]
T h e in tra n s itiv e in te rp re ta tio n , o n th e o th e r h a n d , is ju stified (fo r ex am p le)

by t h e p o te n tia lity o f a d v e rb ia l in s e rtio n :
M a n y p eo p le lo o k ed disdainfully a t th e pictu re.
w h e re in se rtio n b e tw e e n V a n d O d is usually av o id ed :
* ? M a n y p eo p le e x am in ed d isd ain fu lly th e p ictu re.
T h e n o u n p h ra se fo llo w in g th e p re p o sitio n in such c o n stru ctio n s is te rm e d a

P R E P O S IT IO N A L OB JE C T.
T h e r e are th e re fo re tw o c o m p lem en tary an alyses o f a sen ten c e lik e S h e
lo o k e d a fte r [‘te n d e d ’] her so n :
a n a ly s is 1: S V A
She looked a fter her son
a n a ly s is 2: S V O
T h e fo rm e r a n aly sis is th e o n e w e follow if w e call th is k in d o f c o n stru c tio n

in tra n s itiv e . A n aly sis 2, o n th e o th e r h a n d , h ig h lig h ts th e re sem b lan c e
b e tw e e n Sh e lo o ke d a fter her son a n d S h e tended her son. By n a m in g th is
c a te g o ry o f p re p o sitio n a l v erb s ‘T y p e I ’, w e a v o id th e u n clarity w h ic h resu lts
fro m th e use o f ‘in tra n s itiv e ’ o r ‘tra n s itiv e ’ in th is co n n ectio n . T h e a b o v e
an aly se s a re d iscu ssed fu rth e r in 16.13 - 1 5 .
N o te W h e re a s a seq u en ce .of v e rb a n d p rep o sitio n lik e live a t is a purely n o n id io m atic free c o m b in a tio n ,
in p re p o s itio n a l v erb s lik e lo o k a t, look fo r , etc th e v e rb w o rd h as a litera l use, b u t h a s a fixed
a sso c ia tio n w ith th e .p rep o sitio n . T h e se cases m ay, in th e ir tu rn , be d istin g u ish ed fro m o th e r
p re p o s itio n a l v erb s, eg: go into [‘in v e stig ate’] w here b o th w ords form a sem an tically id io m a tic
(o fte n m e ta p h o ric a l) u n it ( c f 16.12 for a fu rth e r ex p lo ratio n o f th ese categories a n d th e ir relatio n
to a scale o f idiom aticity).
P re p o sitio n a l verbs co n trasted w ith p h rasal verbs

16.6 W e m u s t no w briefly a tte n d to a n o th e r d istin c tio n b etw een sim ilar-lo o k in g
c o n stru ctio n s. T h e follow ing exem plify T y p e I p rep o sitio n al v e rb s w h ic h
c o n ta in p a rticle s o f C lass (B) in 16.2, an d a re th erefo re c ap a b le o f co n fu sio n
w ith T y p e I I p h ra s a l v erb s (c /1 6 .4 ):
S h e called on h e r frien d s. Y o u should invest in p ro p e rty .

W e saw through his im p o stu re. She came by a fo rtu n e.
I ’v e come across a p ro b lem . T h e c a r ran over a b u m p .
T h ese a re d istin g u ish e d fro m a lm o st all T y p e II p h ra sal v erb s by th e in a b ility

o f th e p a rtic le to be m o v ed to a p o sitio n a fte r th e follow ing n o u n p h r a s e :
(1) She c alled on h e r friends. ~ *She called h e r frien d s on.

[c f : (2) She sw itch ed on th e light. ~ She sw itched th e lig h t on.]
( la ) She cam e b y a fo rtu n e. ~ *She cam e a fo rtu n e by. [‘a c q u ire d ’]
[cf: (2a) She p u t b y a fo rtu n e. ~ She p u t a fo rtu n e by. [‘k e p t’]]
Sim ilarly, th e o rd e r o f p a rtic le a n d p ro n o u n is d iffere n t:
(1 b) She called on th e m , n o t *She called th e m on.

(2b) She sw itched it on. NOT *She switched on it.
A n o th e r c rite rio n is stress. B o th co n stru ctio n s g en erally p e rm it th e c o rre

sp o n d in g p assiv e , b u t in th e T y p e I I p h ra sal v e rb (2), a h ig h er d eg ree o f
stress (in clu d in g n u c le a r stress w h en th e p article is in final p o sitio n ) u su ally
falls o n th e a d v e rb p a rticle . I n th e p rep o sitio n al v e rb (1), o n th e o th e r h a n d ,
th e stress n o rm ally o c cu rs o n th e lexical v erb p re ce d in g th e p a r tic le :
( lc ) H e 'called on th e d ean . ~ T h e d e a n w a s c a l l e d on.

(2c) She sw itched 'on th e light. ~ T h e lig h t w as sw itched 6 n .
T h e sam e c o n tra s t o f stress is observ ed in o th e r c o n stru ctio n s w ith a

p o stp o n ed p a rtic le , eg re la tiv e clauses:
(1 d) th e fo rtu n e (th a t) h e c a m e by.

(2d) th e fo rtu n e ( th a t) h e p u t b y .
C o m p are also:
( le ) T h is is a d a n g e ro u s ro a d to g e t over. (a ls o . . . to get o v er)

(2e) I t ’s a loss sh e w ill n e v er g et over:
H ow ever, th e ‘stre ss te s t’ is n o t en tirely reliab le, as polysyllabic p re p o sitio n s

lik e across, over, a n d w ithout usually receive stress, a n d o th e r fa cto rs su ch a s
c o n trastiv e fo cu s m a y affect th e p o sitio n in g o f th e n u c le u s:
I co u ld h a v e d o n e w ith o u T t h a t PRESent.
~ T h a t’s a p re s e n t I could h a v e do n e w ith o u T .
She will n e v e r g e t o v e r it.
~ I t is a loss t h a t sh e w ill n e v er get o v er.
W e shall re tu rn to th e s e d istin c tio n s in 16.16.
N o te [a] I t is no t u n u su al fo r th e sa m e sequence o f v erb + p article to fu n ctio n e ith e r as a p h ra sa l v e rb

o r as a prep o sitio n al v e r b :
H e 't u r n e d 'o n h i s s u p p o R T e r s . [ p h r a s a l v e r b : ‘H e e x c i t e d t h e m ’] [1 ]
H e 'turned on h i s s u p p O R T e r s . [ p r e p o s i t i o n a l v e r b : ‘H e a t t a c k e d t h e m ’] [2]
A re d u c e d v e r s io n o f[1] w o u l d b e H e 'turned them 'on, w h i l e t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g l y r e d u c e d v e r s i o n
o f [2] w o u l d b e H e 'turned on them .
[b] A special ca se o f th e a b o v e h o m onym y o ccu rs w here th e p h ra sa l a n d p rep o sitio n al v e rb s are
n o t only id e n tic al in fo rm , b u t sim ilar in m eaning. E x am p les a re run through, run over, a n d look
over. T h u s:
T h e ca r ran h im over. T h e c a r ran over him .
T h e se h av e v irtu ally th e s a m e m ean in g , b u t th e fo rm er (th e p h ra s a l v erb ) is reserv ed fo r th e
d escrip tio n o f d riv in g ac c id e n ts, in w h ich th e o b ject refers to a casu alty .
T h e car ran 'over a u m p .
|
th e refo re h as n o c o rre sp o n d in g p h ra sa l verb c o n s tru c tio n :

*T he ca r ran a 'b u m p Over.
1158 C o m p lem en tatio n of verbs and adjectives
T y p e I I p rep o sitio n al verbs

16.7 T h e T y p e I/T y p e I I o p p o sitio n ap p lies n o t only to p h ra sa l, b u t to p rep o sitio n al
v e rb s:
t y pe I ( w ith o u t O d) t y pe II ( w ith O d)
PHRASAL VERB P lease d rin k up. P lease d rin k it up.
PREPOSITIONAL H e invested in p roperty. H e invested h is m o n ey in

VERB p ro p erty .
T y p e I I p re p o sitio n a l v e rb s a re follow ed by tw o n o u n p h rases, norm ally

s e p a ra te d b y th e p r e p o s itio n : th e fo rm er is th e d ire c t o b ject, th e la tte r the
p re p o s itio n a l o b ject. T h re e su b ty p es m ay be d is tin g u ish e d ; th e italicized
w o rd s in d ic a te t h a t th e id io m h a s a d ifferen t g ra m m a tic a l statu s in e ach case,
as w ill b e e x p la in ed .
ty p e iia
T h e g a n g robbed h e r o / h e r necklace.
H e deprived th e p e a s a n ts o f th e ir land.
T h e y p lie d th e young m a n with food.
P le a s e confine y our re m a rk s to th e m a tte r u n d e r discu ssio n .
T h is c lo th in g w ill p ro tect you fro m th e w o rst w e ath e r.
J e n n y th a n k e d us fo r th e p re se n t.
M a y I rem in d you o f o u r a g reem en t ?
T h e y h a v e p rovided th e ch ild with a good e d u ca tio n .
TYPE lib :
T h e y h a v e m a d e a (terrib le) m ess o f th e house.
D i d y o u rrtake (any) allowance fo r in flatio n ?
M a r y to o k (good) care o f th e children.
TYPE l i e !
S u d d e n ly we caught sig h t o /th e lifeboat.
G ive w a y to traffic o n th e m ajo r road.
I h a v e lost tpuch with m o st o f the fam ily.
T h e firs t a n d m o st n u m ero u s ty p e has a p assiv e o f th e re g u la r k in d , th e d irec t

o b je c t b e c o m in g su b je ct o f th e p assiv e v e rb p h r a s e ;
S h e w a s robbed o f h e r n e ck lace (by th e gang).

T h e p e a s a n ts w ere deprived o f th e ir land.
T h e y o u n g (n a n w as p lie d with food.
W ith T y p e l i b , th e re a re tw o p ossible p a ssiv es; th e re g u la r p assiv e in w h ich

th e d ir e c t o b je c t b eco m es su b ject (labelled (1) below ), a n d a less accep tab le
p a ssiv e c o n stru c tio n in w h ic h th e p re p o sitio n a l o b je c t becom es subject
(la b e lle d (2) b e lo w ):
(1) A (te rrib le ) m ess h a s b een m ade o f th e house.

{
(2) (? )T h e h o u se h a s b e e n m ade a (terrib le) m ess o f
(1 ) H a s (any) allowance b e en m ade fo r in flatio n ?
{
(2) ? H a s in flatio n b e e n m a d e allowance fo r?
( I ) (G o o d ) care w as taken o f th e c hildren.

{
(2) T h e c h ild re n w ere taken (good) care o f
In T y p e H e, o n th e o th e r h a n d , th e only accep tab le passive is th e irre g u la r

p assiv e in w h ic h th e p re p o sitio n a l o b ject becom es su b ject:
T h e life b o a t w as su d d en ly caught sight o f

?Traffic o n t h e m ajo r ro a d sh o u ld alw ays b e given way to.
(?)M o st o f th e fam ily h as b een lost touch with.
N o te [a] F o r co m p leten ess, m e n tio n m u st be m a d e o f a fo u rth ty pe o f tra n sitiv e p rep o sitio n a l v e r b

w h ich h a s n o p a ssiv e w h atso e v e r; a n id io m atic type in w hich th e d ire ct o b je ct is a reflex iv e
p ro n o u n ( c f 3 JO ):
H e p rid ed h im s e lf on h is craftsm an sh ip .
* H im s e lf w as p r id e d on h is c raftsm an sh ip .
[b] In th e in terests o f en d -fo cu s o r en d -w eig h t (c/1 8 .9 ), it is som etim es a c cep ta b le to p la c e a n
e la b o ra te d ire c t o b je c t a f te r th e prep o sitio n al object. C o n tra st:
H e h ad b een k n o w n to reduce m o v ie-stars to tears.
H e h a d b een k n o w n to reduce to te ars som e o f th e m o st seasoned a n d idolized m o v ie -sta rs
in H ollyw ood.
16.8 T o a g re a t e x te n t, m e m b e rs h ip o f T y p es I la - I I c ab o v e d e p e n d s o n th e
id io m a tic sta tu s o f th e p re p o sitio n a l verb.
I n T yp e I l a th e lex ical v e rb a n d th e p rep o sitio n , a lth o u g h n o rm a lly
se p a ra te d by th e o b jec t, fo rm a n id io m a tic co m b in atio n . H e re a s e lsew h ere ,
th e id io m a tic ‘c o h e s io n ’ o f th e tw o m ay b e o f v ariab le stren g th . V erb s s u c h
as accuse N o f a n d th a n k N fo r (w h ere ‘N ’ sym bolizes th e d ire c t o b jec t n o u n
p h ra se) a re n o t id io m a tic in th e sense th a t ap p lies to p h ra sal v erb s lik e p u t N
off, fo r th e lex ic al v e rb is used in its p rim a ry literal m ean in g . W e m a y
n ev erth eless s p e a k o f th e v e rb g o v e r n i n g th e p rep o sitio n , in th e sense t h a t
th e p re p o sitio n is selected by reaso n o f th e v erb , ra th e r th a n by i n d e p e n d e n t
se m an tic ch o ice. T h u s d e sp ite sim ilarity o f m ean in g , d ifferen t p re p o sitio n s
a re selected w ith accuse a n d blam e, v iz : o f a n d f o r respectively.
. f o / th e c r i m e . .,, ... f* o f th e crim e.

I accused h im { I blam ed h im ( , ..
|* f o r th e crim e. [ fo r th e crim e.
I n less id io m a tic cases, th e v erb s g ro u p them selves in to re stric te d sets su c h

as rob N of, cheat N o f, a n d deprive N of, w here o f to som e e x te n t c a rrie s its
o w n p riv a tiv e force.
In a fu rth e r su b c a te g o riz a tio n o f T y p e I l a w e n eed to reco g n ize th a t th e
p re p o sitio n a l p h ra s e is o p tio n a l in som e cases, b u t n o t in o th e r s :
They{ S " i } theboyo/hissavings' They{ v S } theboy-

I n y et a n o th e r su b -ty p e, th e p re p o sitio n a l o bject form s p a rt o f th e id io m : lic k
N into shape ( i n f o r m a l) ; lull N to sleep; p u t N to rights; etc.
I n Type H b a s w ell a s th e v erb w o rd a n d th e p rep o sitio n , th e h e a d n o u n o f
th e d ire c t o b jec t fo rm s p a r t o f th e id io m :
m a k e a m ess o f ta k e notice o f lose hope o f

p a y attention to ta k e advantage o f m ak e m ention o f
B ut t h e o b ject is still v a ria b le to som e e x te n t: eg a n open-class ad jectiv e o r a

d e te rm in e r can b e a d d e d :
m a k e a horrible m ess o f ta k e som e n o tice o f

p a y careful a tte n tio n to ta k e unfair ad v an tag e o f
lo se all h o p e o f m a k e occasional m en tio n o f
T o th is e x ten t, th e id io m atic b o n d is w eak en ed , an d it is easier, esp ecially

w h en th e o b ject c o n ta in s a m o d ifier o r d e te rm in e r, to se p a ra te th e o b jec t
from th e re st o f th e co n stru ctio n by th e re g u la r passive tra n s fo rm a tio n :
S o m e notice w as ta k e n . . . C areful attention w as p a id . . .
In T y p e l i e th e d ire c t o b ject is m o re firm ly w elded in its id io m atic p o sitio n ,

so t h a t its se p a ra tio n by m ea n s o f th e re g u la r p assiv e co n stru ctio n is a w k w a rd
if n o t im p o ssib le : I* S ig h t was caught o f the lifeboat. T h e o b ject is ty p ically
in v a ria b le , a n d c a n n o t easily be a u g m e n ted by a n ad jectiv e o r a d e te rm in e r:
cross sw ords with, give rise to, keep p ace with, keep tabs on, etc. H e n ce th e
d u b io u s a c c e p ta b ility o f 1*cross violent sw ords with, 1*keep fa s t pace w ith,
l* k e e p w atchful tabs on, etc. O th e r co m b in a tio n s o f th is k in d a re fa r m o re
a c c ep ta b le , h o w e v e r: keep close tabs on, give sudden rise to.
P h ra sa l-p re p o sitio n a l verbs

16.9 T h ere is a fu rth e r m ajo r categ o ry o f m u lti-w o rd verbs w h ich will b e c alled
p h r a s a l - p r e p o s i t i o n a l v erb s, b ecau se th ey co n tain , in a d d itio n to th e
lexical v e rb , b o th a n a d v e rb a n d a p re p o sitio n as particles. T h ese c o m b i
n a tio n s a re larg ely re stric te d to in fo rm a l E n g lis h :
W e a re dW looking fo rw a rd to y o u r p a rty o n Saturday.

H e h a d to p u t up with a lo t o f tea sin g a t school.
W h y d o n ’t you look in on M rs J o h n s o n o n y o u r w ay b a c k ?
H e th in k s he c a n g e t a w a y with ev ery th in g .
A c o m m o n sign o f id io m a tic statu s h e re, as w ith o th e r categories, is th e

existen ce o f a one-w o rd p a ra p h ra s e :
p u t up w ith = ‘to le ra te ’ look in on = ‘visit’
T he p re p o sitio n a l p assiv e w ith su ch v e rb s is n o t too com m on, a n d is lia b le to

sound cu m b e rso m e. E x am p les su ch as th e follow ing, how ever, are n o rm a l
and a c c e p ta b le :'
T h e s e ta n tru m s could n o t be p u t up with a n y longer. [‘to le ra te d ’]

T h e d e a th p e n alty h a s b e en re cen tly done aw ay with. [‘a b o lish e d ’]
S u c h p ro b lem s m u st b e sq u arely fa c e d up to. [‘c o n fro n te d ’]
T h e y w e re looked dow n on by th e ir n eig h b o u rs. [‘d e sp ise d ’]
In a d d itio n to th e T y p e I p h ra sa l-p re p o sitio n a l verbs a lread y illu stra te d ,

there a r e a lso T y p e II o nes re q u irin g a d ire c t o b ject:
fo b N o f f with ( e s p B rE > p u t N down to take N o u t on

f i x N up {with) let N in on p u t N up to
(where ‘N ’ a g a in id en tifies th e o b ject n o u n p h rase). E x am p les:

D o n ’t ta k e it o u t on m e ! [‘v e n t your a n g er’]

T h e m a n a g e r fo b b e d m e o f f with a c h eap cam era. <esp B rE )
W e p u t o u r success dow n to h a rd w ork, [‘a ttrib u te to ’]
I ’ll let you in on a secret.
O nly th e reg u lar p a ssiv e o ccu rs w ith th ese:
I w as fo b b ed o f f w ith a c h ea p cam era. <esp BrE>

O u r success c a n b e p u t down to carefu l p lanning.
A re you fix e d up w ith a jo b yet?
N o te T h e re a re tw o eq u iv a le n t p h ra s a l-p re p o sitio n a l v erbs in w hich th e tw o n o u n p h rases follo w in g

th e v e rb ex ch an g e ro le s :
{HH ee fofo bb bb ee dd tha cehun

e a p c a m e ra o f f on th e unsuspecting tourist.
su sp e ctin g to u rist o f f with a ch e ap cam era.
A sum m ary o f ty p es o f m ulti-w ord verb

16.10 W e h a v e n ow re a c h e d a p o in t w h ere it will be useful to su m m ariz e th e v a rio u s
c ateg o ries d esc rib e d in 1 6 .3 -9 . T h e p ictu re w h ich e m erg es in Table 16.10 is
a sy m m etrical o n e, w ith th re e b in ary co n trasts, ex p ressed in th e fo rm u la :
v e rb + d ire c t o b je c t + ad v erb + p rep o sitio n
Ta b le 16.10 P r in c ip a l ty p e s o f m u lti-w o rd v e rb s
P a rticle s
+ P rep
L ex ical D ire c t P rep o s itio n a l
V erb O b je c t A d v e rb o s itio n O b je c t
1 (fre e c o m b in a tio n ) (A ) com e — in — —
T y p e I PHRASAL VERB (B ) crop — up — —
2 (fre e c o m b in a tio n ) (A ) sen d so m eo n e aw ay — —
T y p e I I PHRASAL (B ) turn so m eo n e dow n

VERB
3 (fre e c o m b in a tio n ) (A ) com e — — with + me

T y p e I PR EPOSITIONAL (B ) com e across + a p ro b le m
VERB
4 (fre e c o m b in a tio n ) (A ) receive so m e th in g — fr o m + me

T y p e II (B ) ta k e so m eo n e fo r + a fool
PR EPOSITIONAL VERB
5 (fre e c o m b in a tio n ) (A ) run — aw a y w ith - b it

T y p e I PHRASAL- (B ) com e up w ith + an an sw er
PREPOSITION AL V ERB
6 (fre e c o m b in a tio n ) (A ) send s o m eo n e out in to + th e w o rld

T y p e I I PHRASAL- (B ) p u t s o m eo n e up fo r + e le c tio n
PR EPOSITION AL VERB
[a] E x a m p le s (A ) a n d (B ) o f ea ch type illu strate respectively n o n id io m a tic a n d id io m a tic

v a ria n ts. T h u s (A ) is a free co m b in a tio n , w h ereas (B ) is a m ulti-w ord v erb .
[b] T h e italicized w o rd s are th o se w h ich m a k e up th e id iom o r lexical u nit.
S o m e se m an tic an d sy n tactic distinctions

16.11 I t w ill also b e useful to an aly se in a sy stem atic m a n n e r th re e d istin ctio n s
w h ic h u n d e rlie Table 16.10, a n d w h ic h h av e been found p ro b le m a tic by those
d e a lin g w ith th is a sp e c t o f E n g lish g ra m m ar. T h e th ree d istin c tio n s, w hich
h a v e b e e n to u c h e d on in p re ce d in g sections, a re:
id io m a tic v e rsu s nonidiom atic statu s (16.12)
p rep o sitio n a l verbs v ersu s fr e e combinations o f verb + prepositional phrase
( 1 6 .1 3 - 1 5 )
p h ra sa l v e rsu s prepositional v erb s (16.16)
T h e first tw o o f th ese a re g ra d ie n t ra th e r th a n clear-cut.
S e m an tic c rite ria fo r idiom atic sta tu s

16.12 (A ) T h e s e m a n tic u n ity o f m u lti-w o rd v erb s c an o ften b e m an ifested in
re p la c e m e n t b y a single-w ord v e rb ; eg: visit for call fo r , sum m on for call
up, o m it f o r leave out, tolerate for p u t up with. T h is c rite rio n , how ev er, is
n o t a lw a y s reliab le . F irs t, th e re are m u lti-w o rd v erb s, lik e g e t aw ay with
a n d run b u t o f, w h ic h d o n o t h a v e on e-w o rd p a ra p h ra se s. Seco n d , th ere
a r e n o n id io m a tic c o m b in a tio n s, such as go across ( — cross), go p a st
( = p a ss), a n d sail around ( = circumnavigate) w h ic h d o h a v e such
p a ra p h ra s e s .
(B) T h e f a c t th a t th e m e a n in g o f a n id io m is n o t p re d ic ta b le fro m th e
m e a n in g s o f its p a rts c a n b e verified by n o tin g t h a t th e m e a n in g o f th e
v e rb o r p a r tic le in th e c o m b in a tio n does n o t re m a in c o n s ta n t w h e n o th er
p a r ts o f th e id io m u n d e rg o su b stitu tio n . T h is c rite rio n lead s us to
re c o g n iz e th r e e m a in c ateg o ries :
(i) F re e , N o n id io m atic co n stru ctio n s, w h ere th e in d iv id u a l m ean in g s
o f th e c o m p o n e n ts are a p p a re n t fro m th eir c o n stan c y in possible
su b s titu tio n s :
(ii) ‘S e m i-id io m a tic ’ c o n stru ctio n s w h ich are v a ria b le b u t in a m ore

lim ite d w ay. T h e re la tio n b etw een th e verb a n d p a rtic le is sim ilar
to t h a t b e tw ee n a ste m a n d an aflBx in w ord fo rm a tio n ( c f A p p 1.5),
in t h a t th e s u b s titu tio n o f o n e v erb fo r an o th e r, o r o n e p article for
a n o th e rl is c o n stra in e d by lim ited p ro d u ctiv ity . I n p h ra sa l verbs
lik e f i n d o ut [‘disc o v er’], cut up [‘c u t in to p iec es’] a n d slacken o ff
[‘re d u c e p a c e /e n e rg y ’] th e v erb w o rd keeps its m ea n in g , w hereas
th e m e a n in g o f th e p a rtic le is less easy to isolate. I n c o n tra st, it is
th e p a r tic le w h ich e stab lish es a fam ily re sem b lan ce in th e follow ing
g ro u p s :
‘p e rs is te n t a c tio n ’ ‘c o m p le tio n ’
c h a tte r a w a y fire aw ay d rin k up b re ak u p

w o rk a w a y b e a v e r a w ay finish up u se up
<BrE>
‘aim less b e h a v io u r’ ‘en d u ran ce’
p lay around m ess around d ra w out eke out

fool around w a it around la s t out h o ld o u t
C o m p le tio n c a n also be signalled by out, as in fin d out, point o u t,

se e k o u t, fig u re out, w o rko u t, etc.
(iii) ‘H ig h ly id io m a tic ’ co n stru ctio n s su c h as bring up [‘re ar’], com e b y
[‘a c q u ire ’], turn up [‘m ak e an a p p e a ra n c e ’]. T hese are th o ro u g h ly
id io m a tic in th a t th e re is n o p o ssib ility o f co n trastiv e s u b s titu tio n :
bring up/dow n; com e byjpast/through; turn up/down; etc.
P u ttin g a v e rb in th e th ird category do es n o t necessarily m ean , h o w e v er,

th a t its m e a n in g is co m p letely o p aq u e. W e c a n see a m e ta p h o ric a l
a p p ro p ria te n e ss in bring up for ‘e d u ca te ’, a n d th is is only o n e o f m a n y
id io m a tic v e rb s c o n ta in in g m eta p h o rs fairly clearly d eriv ed fro m th e ir
lite ral lo ca tiv e in te rp re ta tio n s: gloss over (a difficulty); hand down ( a n
h eirlo o m ), piece together (a story), etc. F o r o u r purposes it w ill b e
c o n v e n ie n t in g e n era l to tre a t classes (II) a n d (III) as m ulti-w ord v e rb s.
S y n tactic c rite ria fo r p repositional verbs

16.13 I n d is tin g u ish in g p re p o sitio n a l v erb s su ch a s call on [‘v isit’] in H e called on
the dean fro m o th e r seq u en ces o f v e rb + p re p o sitio n such as called before in
H e called before lunch (c /1 6 .5 ), th e sem an tic c rite ria o f id io m aticity m u s t b e
su p p le m e n ted b y sy n ta ctic criteria.
W e a re ch iefly c o n c e rn e d here w ith T y p e I verbs, w h eth er th ese a r e
p re p o sitio n a l v e rb s lik e call on, o r p h ra sa l-p re p o sitio n a l verbs su ch a s p u t up
with. H o w a re w e to ch o o se b etw een th e tw o analyses o f 16.5, th a t o f S V O
(w ith a p re p o sitio n a l o b jec t) a n d th a t o f S V A (or in the case o f p h r a s a l -
p re p o sitio n a l v e rb s, S V A A )? F irst, th e re a re good reasons fo r a rg u in g t h a t
ev en a n id io m a tic c ase lik e H e called on the dean co n tain s a p h rase b o u n d a ry
b etw een th e v e rb a n d t h e p a r tic le :
(A) T h e w h o le p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se m ay b e fro n ted , eg in q u e stio n s:

On w hom d id h e call?
(B) A n a d v e rb c a n b e in se rte d b etw een th e v e rb a n d th e p a rtic le :

H e called u n e x p ec te d ly on the dean.
(C ) T h e p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se can be iso late d in o th er co n stru ctio n s; e g

(o p tio n ally ) in resp o n ses, in co o rd in a te co n stru ctio n s, o r in c o m p a ra tiv e
c o n stru c tio n s:
. f O n w h o m d id h e call? 1 „
A : |w h o ( m ) d id h e call o n ? ) B: (0 n ) m0ther'
D id h e c all o n th e d e a n o r (on) his frien d '!
H e calls o n th e d e a n m o re o ften th a n (on) his friend.
W e d o n o t re je c t th e S V A analysis, th erefo re, b u t ra th e r w e offer th e S V O

an aly sis as, to v a ry in g d eg rees, a su itab le a lte rn a tiv e .
1164 Co m p lem en tatio n of verbs and adjectives
T h e p rep o sitio n al passive

16.14 W e w ill a cc ep t th e p o ssib ility o f tu rn in g th e p re p o sitio n al co m p lem en t into
th e s u b je c t o f a p a ssiv e sen ten ce (c/3 .6 4 ) as o n e criterio n fav o u rin g th e S V O
a n a ly sis. T h is c o n stru c tio n , w hich leav es th e p rep o sitio n d e f e r r e d
(‘s tr a n d e d ’) in its p o st-v erb al position, will b e called th e p r e p o s i t i o n a l
p a s s i v e . C o n tr a s t:
T h e d e an was called on. *L unch was called after.

T h e w a r was p u t up with. *A n d y was gone out with.
N o tic e th a t am b ig u o u s co m b in a tio n s like arrive a t tak e th e passive only

w h e n t h e p re p o sitio n is p a r t o f an id io m :
W e a rriv e d a t a sta tio n . ~ * A sta tio n w as a rriv e d at.

W e a rriv e d a t a conclusion. ~ A c o n clu sio n w as a rriv e d at.
C o m b in a tio n s o f v e rb a n d p rep o sitio n al p h ra se w h ich a re aw k w a rd in b rief

s e n te n c e s can , h o w e v er, b eco m e m o re to lerab le w ith a n e n larg ed c o n te x t:
?* T h is office h a s been called/phonedfrom .

T h is office h a s been called/phoned fro m so m an y tim es th a t it w as n a tu ra l
to assum e t h a t it w as th e source o f th e la te st call.
H e re a r e som e m o re u su al cases o f th e p re p o sitio n a l passiv e, w h ere th e

p a ssiv e v e rb is a T y p e I p re p o sitio n al v e r b :
T h o u g h so m e th in g very d ifferen t fro m o rd in a ry fo rest m an a g em e n t

is called fo r , th e tree s in th e p a rk s d o n eed th e fo rester’s skilled
c o n sid era tio n .
T h is m atter, w ill h a v e to be dealt with im m ed iately .
O th e r p o ssib ilities are ta lked o f b y m an y o f o u r colleagues.
I f a w o m an w ith a u n iv ersity deg ree rejects a c are er fo r m arriag e , her
e d u c a tio n is n o t to be thought o f as th ro w n a w ay unless w e c o u n t the
fam ily a re n a o f n o im p o rtan ce.
O th e r p re p o sitio n a l p assiv es a re :
be a sk e d fo r \ be done f o r be shouted at
be believed in i be hoped fo r -be sta red a t
be ta lk e d to ; be done aw ay with be sent aw ay fo r
H o w ev e r, th e p a ssiv e is also q u ite a ccep tab le w ith p re p o sitio n s w h ich have

a lo ca tiv e m ean in g , a n d w h ic h o n o th e r g ro u n d s (eg th e w /i-question criterio n
o f 16.15) m u st b e ju d g e d a s in tro d u c in g a p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se o f p la c e :
T h e y m u st h i v e p la y e d on th is field last w eek. [la]

~ T h is field m u st h av e been pla yed on la s t w eek. [ 1b]
V isito rs are n o t to sit on th ese L ouis X V c h airs. [2a]
~ T hese L o u is X V c h a irs a re n o t to be sat on. [2b]
P rim itiv e m e n o n c e lived in th ese caves. [3a]
~ T hese c av e s were o n c e lived in by p rim itiv e m en . [3b]
W e c a n n o t, th ere fo re, in v a ria b ly re g ard th e p re p o sitio n al p assiv e as a m ark e r

o f a p re p o sitio n al v e rb . R a th e r, th e p assiv e is p rim a rily a n in d ic a to r o f th e
fa c t th a t the p re p o sitio n a l co m p lem en t is b ein g tre a te d a s a n affected
p a r tic ip a n t in th e clause ( c f 10:19, 10.21). F o r ex am p le, in [lb ] a n d [2b]

ab o v e, th e fu n c tio n o f th e p assiv e is n o t m erely to o b ta in e n d focus, b u t to
im p ly th a t th e su b ject o f th e p assiv e clause refers to a n o b jec t affected by th e
(unspecified) a g e n t’s actio n . T h e a ccep tab ility o f th e p assiv e is th u s a c c o u n te d
fo r in term s o f clause p a r tic ip a n t roles (1 0 .1 8 /1 , as w ell a s in term s o f
c o n v en tio n o r id io m a tic statu s. B o th factors play a role in m a k in g th e p a ssiv e
select th e a b stra c t m e ta p h o ric a l m ean in g in:
T h ey w en t in to th e tu n n el. ~ *T he tu n n el w as g o n e into.
T h ey w en t in to th e p ro b lem . ~ T h e p ro b lem w as g one into.
W e m ay , in fact, recognize a stro n g asso ciatio n b etw een th ese facto rs, a n d
th ere fo re b etw een p re p o sitio n a l p assiv es a n d p re p o sitio n a l verbs.
N o te T h e prep o sitio n al p assiv e is p aralleled by a sim ilar prep o sitio n al use in -e d p a rtic ip le cla u s e s :
T h e sh o p broken into la st w eek h a s no w b een reopened.
‘P rep o sitio n a l participles* c a n also b e c o n v e rted in to ad jectiv es: the hoped-for arrival o f th e r e lie f
force., the m uch-talked-about visit o f the Pope. T h e re a re also ‘p seudo-passive’ (c /3 .7 7 ) o cc u rre n ces
o f p re p o sitio n al verb s, as in I was fe e lin g g o t a t ( in fo rm a l). T h e h y p h en , in p re d ic a tiv e p o sitio n ,
is g en e ra lly o m itte d .
T h e criterio n o f question fo rm s
16.15 T h e seco n d c riterio n fo r p re p o sitio n a l verbs is th e fo rm atio n o f w/z-questions
w ith th e p ro n o u n s who(m ) a n d w hat (for p erso n al a n d n o n p e rso n a l
p re p o sitio n a l o b jects resp ectiv ely ), ra th e r th a n w ith ad v erb ial q u e stio n fo rm s
su c h as where , when, how, o r w h y :
J o h n called o n her. ~ W ho(m) d id J o h n call o n ?

J o h n lo o k ed for it. ~ W hat d id Jo h n lo o k fo r?
C o n tra s t:
J o h n called fro m th e office. ~ Where d id Jo h n call fro m ?

J o h n called a fte r lu n ch . ~ When d id Jo h n call?
O n c e a g ain , th e criterio n is n o t clear-cut. T h ere is firstly co n sid era b le o v e rla p

b e tw ee n th e tw o q u estio n ty p e s : S h e died o f pneumonia co u ld b e a n a n sw e r
e ith e r to th e q u e stio n H o w d id she die ? o r (m ore usually) to th e q u e stio n W h a t
d id she die o f? Secondly, th e re a re m an y types o f p re p o sitio n al p h ra se s w h ic h
a re classified as a d ju n cts (c /8 .1 3 , 9.14 - 53) b u t w hich reg u larly c o rre sp o n d
w ith q u estio n s in who(m ) o r what. T h ese a re classes o f a d ju n c t fo r w h ic h
E n g lish lack s a n in te rro g ativ e a d v erb , such as a d ju n cts o f a c c o m p a n im e n t:
. [W ith w h o m d id P e te r go fishing? [ la ]
' |W h o ( m ) d id P e te r g o fishing w ith ? [ lb ]
B : ((H e w en t fishing) w ith ) h is b ro th er. [2]
T h e w /l/i-phrase in [2] c a n only b e q u estio n ed b y th e in te rro g a tiv e p ro n o u n

who(m) in [la ] an d [ lb ] ; a n d y et th e m obility a n d o p tio n a lity o f th e with-
p h ra se , as sh o w n in [3], are sig n s o f its ad v erb ial s ta tu s :
P e te r (, w ith his b ro th e r,) w e n t fishing. [3]
S in ce n o n e o f th e c rite ria fo r p re p o sitio n a l o r p h ra sal-p re p o sitio n a l v e rb s a re

c o m p e llin g , it is b e st to th in k o f th e b o u n d ary o f th ese categ o ries a s a scale,

su ch a s t h a t d e p ic te d in F ig 16.15:
v* pass Qpro N o Q adv
+ + + T h e p o lic e h a v e a s k e d f o r d e ta ils. [4]

+ + — T h e q u e e n slept in th is bed. [5]
— + + W h ite w in e goes w ith p o u ltry . [6]
-
+ S h e d ie d o f p n e u m o n ia . [7]
— — ■ H is jo b a lso com es into th e p ic tu re . [8]
- _
- S h e le ft befo re n o o n . [9]
VpaSs = p a s s iv e Q pro = p r o n o u n wA-word Q adv = a d v e rb w/i-word
F /g 16.15
O f th e s e , [4] is a c le a r case o f a p re p o sitio n a l verb , w hile [5] a n d [6] a re

m a rg in a lly in th a t class. T h e m atrix is so a rra n g e d th a t th e larg e r th e n u m b e r
o f p lu se s, th e stro n g e r th e c h ara cte ristics o f th e p rep o sitio n al v e rb . F o r th is
re aso n , th e w /i-adverb c rite rio n is ex p ressed in a n eg ativ e fo rm , ie a p lu s in
th is c o lu m n m e a n s ‘th e p re p o sitio n a l v e rb canNOT b e th e a n sw e r to a wh-
a d v e rb ’. A s k f o r in [4] is th u s th e c o m b in a tio n w h ich m o st clearly m e e ts th e
re q u ire m e n ts o f th e S V O analysis, a n d left before in [9], b e in g le a st lik e a
p re p o s itio n a l v e rb , is to b e an aly sed w ith e q u a l clarity a s :
S h e [S] le ft [V] b e fo re n o o n [A].
I t is p e r h a p s s u rp risin g th a t [8], w ith its id io m a tic c h ara cte r, scores so low o n

th e p re p o sitio n a l v e rb scale. T h is is b ecau se in th is sen ten ce n o t o n ly th e
v e rb a n d p a rtic le ( com e into ) b u t also th e o b ject ( the picture ) is p a r t o f th e
id io m , a fa c to r \y h ich in h ib its th e p assiv e a n d in terro g ativ e tra n s fo rm s o f
th e se n te n c e . j
A n a d d itio n a l C riterion fo r p re p o sitio n a l v e rb s is o u r u n w illin g n ess to h a v e
th e p re p o s itio n ciit o ff fro m th e lex ical v e rb b y fro n tin g th e w hole p re p o sitio n a l
p h ra se in (eg) w /i-questions a n d relativ e c lauses ( c fW .iA ff, n . 9 j f ) :
i ,
A : 1*A fte r whom d id sh e look?
A: W ho(m ) d id sh e look a fte r! j B : She looked a fte r Jtm .
A: W ith whom d id sh e ag ree ? 1
A: W ho(m ) d id sh e a g ree w ith?) ' e a 8ree WI lm -
S im ila rly W h a t d id sh e wish fo r ? is fully a cc ep ta b le , b u t n o t IF o r w hat d id she

wish ? B y th is test, look a fte r a n d wish fo r co m e closer to th e ideal p re p o sitio n a l
v e rb t h a n d o es agree with.
I
N ote In a d d itio n to th e m e n tio n e d w /i-pronouns who{m) a n d what, th e re are o th e r q u e stio n fo rm s w ith
th e d e te rm in e rs w hat a n d w hich ; eg [5] could an sw er th e q u estio n :
W hich b e d d id th e q u ee n sleep in ?
T h is a lte rn a tiv e c o n stru c tio n is ignored for th e p u rp o ses o f th e abo v e m atrix.
C rite ria fo r distinguishing p h rasal and prepositional verbs

16.16 T h e q u e stio n here is n o t o n e o f g ra d ie n ce , b u t o f how to d is tin g u ish tw o
su p erficially lik e c o n stru ctio n s, th a t o f a T y p e I p rep o sitio n al v e rb lik e call
on in H e called on the dean, a n d th a t o f a T y p e II p h ra sal v e rb su ch a s call u p

in H e called up the dean ( c f 16.6).
T h e differen ces a re b o th sy n ta ctic a n d p h o n o lo g ic a l:
(a) T h e p a rtic le o f a p h ra s a l v erb c a n sta n d e ith e r befo re o r a fte r th e n o u n

ph rase fo llo w in g th e v e rb , b u t th a t o f th e p rep o sitio n al v erb m u st (unless
d eferred ) p re c e d e th e n o u n p h rase.
(b) W h en th e n o u n p h ra s e follow ing th e v erb is a p erso n al p ro n o u n , th e
p ro n o u n p re c e d e s th e p a rticle in th e case o f a p h ra sal verb , b u t follow s
th e p a rtic le in th e c ase o f a p rep o sitio n al verb.
(c) A n a d v erb (fu n c tio n in g a s a d ju n ct) c a n o ften b e in serted b etw een v e rb
a n d p a rtic le in p re p o sitio n a l v erb s, b u t n o t in p h ra sa l verbs.
(d) T h e p a rtic le o f th e p h ra s a l v e rb c an n o t p reced e a relativ e p ro n o u n a t th e
b eg in n in g o f a r e la tiv e clause.
(e) Sim ilarly, th e p a rtic le o f a p h ra sa l verb c a n n o t p re ce d e th e in te rro g ativ e
w ord a t th e b e g in n in g o f a iv/i-question.
(f) T h e p a rtic le o f a p h ra s a l v e rb is n orm ally stressed (c /1 6 .6 ), a n d in final
p o sitio n n o rm ally b ears th e n u c le ar to n e, w h ereas th e p a rticle o f a
p re p o sitio n al v e rb is n o rm ally u n stressed a n d h a s th e ‘ta il’ o f th e n u c le a r
tone w h ic h falls o n th e lex ical v e rb ( c f A p p 11.15).
T h ese c rite ria a re d isp la y e d in Table 16.16:
Table 16.16 Diagnostic frames for phrasal and prepositional verbs
TYPE I PREPOSITIONAL VERB TYPE II PHRASAL VERB
call on = ‘visit’ call up —‘summon’
They ca lled on the dean. They ca lled up the dean.

(a) —"They c a lle d the dean on. ~ They ca lle d the dean up.
They ca lled o n him. They ca lled him up.

(b) ~ *They c a lle d him on. — T h e y ca lle d up him.
(c) They c a lle d angrily o n the dean. ‘ They ca lled angrily up the dean,
(d) the man on whom they ca lle d ‘ the man up whom they called
(e) O n which m an did they c a ll ? *U p which man did they c a ll ?
(f) Which m an did they c a l l on'! Which m an did they call O r1
O ther m u lti-w o rd verb constructions

16.17 A p a rt from th e ty p es o f m u lti-w o rd v erb su m m ariz ed in Table 16.10, so m e
o th e r id io m a tic v e rb c o n stru ctio n s m ay be briefly n o ted .
(a) VERB—ADJECTIVE COMBINATIONS
T h ese are sim ila r to p h ra s a l v erb s. C o m p a re :
M eg p u t th e c lo th straight. M eg p u t th e c a t out.
L ik e p h ra sal v e rb s, v e rb -a d je c tiv e co m b in a tio n s fo rm cohesive u n its ; b u t

u n lik e p h ra sa l v erb s, so m e o f th e m allow c o m p a ra tiv e m o d ificatio n :
i u j j A th e c lo th as s tra ig h t]
J o h n d id n t p u t 1 x , l a s M eg.
r [ ‘ th e c a t a s o u t J
1168 C o m p lem en tatio n o f verbs and adjectives
T h e y m a y b e e ith e r c o p u la r (clause p a tte rn S V C ), o r com plex tran sitiv e

(c la u s e p a tte r n S V O C ) :
S V C : break even, ple a d g u ilty, lie low

S V O C : c ut N short, w ork N loose, rub N d ry
S o m e tim e s th e id io m c o n ta in s ad d itio n al elem en ts, su ch as a n in fin itiv e (p la y

h a r d to g e t) o r a p re p o sitio n ( ride roughshod o v e r . . .).
(T h e ‘N ’ a b o v e in d ic a te s a d irec t ob ject in th e case o f tran sitiv e exam ples.)
( b ) VERB-V ERB COMBINATIONS

I n th e s e id io m a tic co n stru ctio n s ( c f 3 .4 9 -5 1 , 16.52), th e second v erb is
n o n fin ite , a n d m a y b e e ith e r a n infinitive:
m a k e do w ith, m ak e (N ) do, let (N ) g o, let (N ) be
o r a p a rtic ip le , w ith o r w ith o u t a follow ing p re p o sitio n :
p u t p a id to, g et r id o f, have done with

leave N standing, send N packing, knock N fly in g , get going
( c ) VERBS GOVERNING TW O PREPOSITIONS

T h e s e a re a fu rth e r v a r ia n t o n p rep o sitio n al v e r b s :
I t developed fr o m a sm all club into a m ass o rg a n iz a tio n in th ree years.
S im ila rly : struggle w ith N f o r N , compete with N f o r N , apply to N f o r N , talk

to N about N . N o rm a lly e ith e r o n e o r b o th p re p o sitio n a l p h rases c an be
o m itte d ; eg':
I t developed into a m ass o rg an izatio n in th re e years.

N ote T o e n d th is survey o f verb idiom s and their grammatical characteristics, m ention may be made
o f rare pattern^ such as m ake sure/certain followed by a r/tuf-clause; see f i t followed by a to-
in finitive; a nd verb + noun com binations such as turn turtle an d turn traitor.
Verbs in relation to verb complementation
16.18 I n 1 6 .2 0 -6 7 w e su rv e y ty p es o f verb c o m p le m e n ta tio n , b efo re tu rn in g to

a d je c tiv e c o m p le m e n ta tio n (1 6 .6 8 -8 3 ), a n d (m o re briefly) to no u n com ple
m e n ta tio n (1 6 .8 4 -5 ). M a n y v erb s a re v ersatile en o u g h to allow several
c o m p lem en tajtio n ty p es ( c f th e discussion, fo r e x am p le, o f get in 10.3). I t is
th e re fo re likely to b e m isle a d in g to talk o f ‘in tra n sitiv e v e rb s ’, ‘m o n o tran sitiv e
v e r b s ’, ‘co m p lex tra n s itiv e v e rb s’, etc. R a th e r, it is o fte n b e tte r to say th a t
v e rb s h a v e ‘m o n o tra n sitiv e use’, ‘m o n o tra n sitiv e c o m p le m e n ta tio n ’, etc.
A lth o u g h o n e v e rb m a y b elo n g to a n u m b er o f d iffere n t c o m p lem en tatio n
ty p e s , it is u sually p o ssib le to observe a c o m m o n g ro u n d o f m ea n in g in th e
v a rio u s uses.
F o r e a c h ty p e o f c o m p le m e n ta tio n , w e give a lis t o f v e rb s b elonging to th a t
p a tte r n . N o c la im o f co m p leten ess is m ad e fo r th ese lists: w h en th e
m e m b e rs h ip o f a ty p e is sm all, a fairly ex h au stiv e list o f v erb s is given,
w h e re a s w h en th e m e m b e rs h ip is very larg e (as in th e case o f in tra n sitiv e
V erbs in relation to verb com plem entation 1169
v e rb s, o r m o n o tra n sitiv e v erb s w ith a n o u n p h ra se object), w e c a n give o n ly

a sam p le o f c o m m o n verbs. In a n y case, it should b e b o rn e in m in d t h a t th e
lis t o f v erb s c o n fo rm in g to a g iv en p a tte rn is difficult to specify e x a c tly : t h e r e
a re m an y d ifferen ces b etw een o n e v ariety o f E n g lish a n d a n o th e r in r e s p e c t
o f in d iv id u a l v e rb s, a n d m an y cases o f m arg in al a ccep tab ility .
N ote T he term ‘valency’ (or ‘valence’) is som etim es used, instead o f complementation, for the w ay in
w hich a verb determ ines the kinds and num ber o f elements that can accom pany it in the clause.
Valency, however, includes the subject o f the clause, which is excluded (unless extraposed) from
com plem entation.
V e rb s in intransitive function
16.19 W h ere n o c o m p le m e n ta tio n o ccu rs, th e v erb is said to have a n in t r F n s it iv e
use. T h re e ty p es o f v e rb m ay b e m en tio n ed in th is c ateg o ry :
(I) ‘p u r e ’ in t r F n s it iv e v e r | s , w h ich do n o t ta k e a n o b ject a t all ( o r a t

lea st d o so o nly very ra re ly ):
Jo h n h a s arrived. Y o u r view s d o n o t matter.
E x am p les:
appear d ie f a ll happen rise
come digress go lie wait
(II) v e r | s w h ic h c F n F l s o |t h e s F m e m e F n in g , and
e t r F n s it iv e w it h
w ith o u t a c h a n g e in th e su b je c t-v e rb relatio n sh ip . In fo rm ally , s u c h

v e rb s c a n b e d esc rib e d a s h a v in g a n ‘u n d ersto o d o bject’ (c f Ap p 1.54):
H e smokes ( a p ip e). I a m reading (a book).
B u t in so m e cases th e in tra n sitiv e v erb acq u ires a m o re sp ecific
m ea n in g , so th a t a p a rtic u la r k in d o f o b ject is ‘u n d e rsto o d ’; e g : Jo h n
d rinks heavily [‘d rin k s a lco h o l’].
E x a m p le s :
approach drive help pass win

d rin k enter leave p la y write
(III) v e r | s w h ic h c F n F b u t w here th e s e m a n tic
l s o | e t r F n s it iv e ,
co n n e c tio n b e tw e e n su b je ct a n d v erb is d ifferen t in th e tw o c a s e s ; eg
th e in tra n sitiv e use h a s a n affected p a rtic ip a n t as su b ject ( c f 1 0 .2 1 /),
w h e rea s th e tra n s itiv e use h a s a n a g en tiv e as subject ( c f A p p 1.54):
T h e d o o r opened slowly. c f : M ary opened th e door.
T h e c a r stopped. c f: H e stopped th e car.
E x am p les:
begin close increase turn walk
change drop move unite work
T y p e (III) also in clu d es in tra n sitiv e v erb s w ith m u t u F l p F r t ic ip F t io n
(c/1 3 .6 0 ), as in :
I h a v e met you. ~ W e h a v e met.
T h e b u s collided with th e c ar. ~ T h e bus a n d c a r collided.
In tra n s itiv e v erb s a re n u m ero u s, p a rticu larly in categ o rie s ( I I ) a n d
(III).
N ote [a] T h e following are exam ples o f intransitive (ie Type I) phrasal verbs (c f 16.3):
fa llo u t [‘quarrel’] make ©/'’[‘escape’} pass away [‘die’]
blow over [of a storm , etc] fa ll back [‘retreat’] catch on [‘understand’]
com e o / [ ‘succeed’] make up [‘end a quarrel’] pull up [‘stop’]
look up [‘im prove’] fa ll through [‘fail’] crop up [‘occur’]
com e out [‘bloom’] pass out [‘fain t’] opt out [of a choice]
com e to [‘becom e conscious’] fa ll o /T d eclin e’]
F urth er exam ples are to be found in 16.3.
[b] C ategory (I) includes the intransitive verbs lie and rise, which are sometimes confused by
native speakers w ith th eir transitive counterparts lay and raise, because o f their form al sim ilarity.
A sim ilar correspondence exists between fa ll (intransitive) and fe ll (transitive); eg: They fe lle d a
Types of verb complementation
16.20 T h e re a r e fo u r m a in types o f co m p le m e n ta tio n to c o n sid e r:
[A ] C o p u lar, e g : John is only a boy.

[B] M o n o tra n sitiv e , eg: I have caught a big fish.
[C ] C o m p le x tra n s itiv e , eg: S h e called him a hero.
[D ] D itra n s itiv e , eg: H e gave M a ry a doll.
A lth o u g h th ese c o m p le m e n ta tio n ty p es h a v e alread y b een gen erally d isc u sse d

in 2 .1 6 a n d elsew here, it is n ecessary n o w to list th e v erb s o f e a c h ty p e in
m o re d e ta il, p a y in g p a rtic u la r a tte n tio n to th e a ctiv e-p a ssiv e re la tio n ( c f
3 .6 9 /0 . I n th is survey, w e shall also list v a ria n ts o n th e a b o v e p a tte rn s ; fo r
e x am p le, c ases w h ere th e v e rb is follow ed by a finite o r n o n fin ite clau se. S u ch
v a ria n ts w ill b e d istin g u ish e d by n u m b ers: [A l], [B2], etc. T h e v a rio u s sub-
ty p es o f c o m p le m e n ta tio n u n d e r th ese h e ad in g s are illu strated in T able 16.20.
I n a d d itio n ; w e shall u se w h ere n ecessary th e suffixes ‘p h ’ (fo r p h ra s a l
v erb s), ‘p r ’ (fo'jr p re p o sitio n a l v erb s), a n d ‘p h -p r’ (fo r p h ra s a l-p re p o s itio n a l
v erb s). F o r e x am p le, [B 4ph-pr] will re fe r to a class o f p h ra s a l-p re p o s itio n a l
v erb s ta k in g a ;tv/i-clause a s p re p o sitio n a l o b ject (eg: fin d out about whether
. . . ) . I t is n o t alw ays n ecessary to reco g n ize su ch d etailed classificatio n s, b u t
it is u sefu l to be a b le to d o so w h en th e o ccasio n arises. T w o p o in ts m ay b e
n o te d a b o u t c o m p le m e n ta tio n o f m u lti-w o rd verbs. F irst, a p h ra s a l v e rb
c a n n o t n o rm ally b e in te rru p te d by a clau se a s o b ject:
H e le ft off driving a car. ~ * H e le ft driving a car off.
Second, a T y p e I p re p o sitio n a l o r p h ra sa l-p re p o sitio n a l v e rb is a p p ro p ria te ly

classified, fo r th e p u rp o ses o f c o m p le m e n ta tio n , a s m o n o tra n sitiv e , sin c e th e
p re p o sitio n a l o b jec t is an alo g o u s (eg w ith resp ect to th e a c tiv e -p a s s iv e
re latio n ) to a d ire c t o b ject (c /1 6 .1 4 ). In gen eral, m u lti-w o rd v e rb s b e h a v e
like o th e r v erb s o f th e sam e g en eral ty p e, an d w e will m ak e a p o in t o f
m e n tio n in g th e m o r listin g th em se p a ra tely only w h en th ey are n u m e ro u s o r
w h ere th e re is so m e th in g sp ecial to be n o ted ab o u t them .
(N o te : in Table 16.20, + S = ‘w ith su b je ct’; —S = ‘w ith o u t su b je ct’.)
Types o f verb com plem entation 1171
Ta b le 16.20 V erb com plem entation types
Variants Example Section
c o p u l r (Types SV C and SVA)

F
[A l] Adjectival C8 The girl seemed restless. (16.21)

[A2] Nominal Cs William is my friend. (16.22)
[A3] Adverbial complementation The kitchen is downstairs. (16.24)
m o n o t r n s i t i v e (Type SV O )
F
[Bl] Noun phrase as O Tom caught the ball. (16.26)

(with passive)
[B2] Noun phrase as O Paul lacks confidence. (16.27)
(without passive)
[B3] TTiaf-clause as 0 I think that we have met. (16.30)
[B4] WA-clause as O Can you guess what she said? (16.35)
[B5] IV/r-infinitive as O I learned how to sail a boat. (16.37)
[B6] Jo-infinitive ( —S) as O We’ve decided to move house. (16.38)
[B7] •Ing clause ( —S) as O She enjoys playing squash. (16.39)
[B8] Jo-infinitive ( + S) as O They want us to help. (16.41)
[B9] •Ing clause ( + S) as O I hate the children quarrelling. (16.42)
c o m p l e x t r n s i t i v e (Types SV O C and SV O A)
F
[C l] Adjectival C„ That music drives me mad. (16.44)

[C2] Nominal CQ They named the ship ‘Zeus'. (16.46)
[C3] O + adverbial I left the key at home. (16.48)
[C4] 0 + fo-infinitive They knew him to be a spy. (16.50)
[C5] O + bare infinitive I saw her leave the room. (16.52)
[C6] O + -ing clause I heard someone shouting. (16.53)
[C7] O + -ed clause I got the watch repaired. (16.54)
d it r F (Type SVOO)
n s it iv e
[D l] N oun phrases as Oj & O d They offered her some food. (16.55)

[D2] W ith prepositional O Please say something to us. (16.56)
[D3] Oi + t/iaf-clause They told me that I was ill. (16.59)
[D4] Oj + wA-clause He asked me what time it was. (16.61)
[D5] Oj + wA-infinitive clause M ary showed us what to do. (16.62)'
[D6] Oi + fo-infinitive I advised M ark to see a doctor. (16.63)
W ith in the su b -ty p es [A l], [A2], e tc it is so m etim es v alu ab le to d istin g u ish

a d d itio n a l se m an tic su b -ty p es, fo r w h ich th e ro m an n u m era ls (i), (ii), e tc w ill
be used. O th e r d istin g u ish in g m ark s a p p lied to v erb s in th e follow ing sectio n s
w ill be e x p lain ed w h e re th e y occur.
Copular com plem entation
[A l] Adjective p h ra se a s subject com plem ent

i.21 A v erb is said to h a v e c o p u l a r co m p le m e n ta tio n w h en it is follow ed b y a
su b ject c o m p le m e n t (C s) o r a p re d ic a tio n ad ju n c t (c /2 .1 6 , 2.22, 8.26iff), a n d
w h en th is e lem en t c a n n o t be d ro p p e d w ith o u t c h a n g in g th e m ea n in g o f th e
verb . T h e v erb in su c h a clau se is a c o p u l a r (or lin k in g ) verb , a n d is
eq u iv a len t in fu n c tio n to th e p rin c ip a l copula, th e v e rb be. C o p u lar v e rb s fall
in to tw o m ain classes, a cc o rd in g to w h e th er th e su b je ct co m p lem en t h a s th e
role o f CURRENT ATTRIBUTE o r o f RESULTING ATTRIBUTE ( c / 10.20). T h is
1172 : C o m p lem en tatio n of verbs and adjectives
d is tin c tio n c o rre sp o n d s to th a t b etw een c u r r e n t co p u las a n d r e s u l t i n g

c o p u la s ( c f c o n clu siv e v erb s, 4.35). N o rm ally , c u rre n t c o p u las a r e s ta tiv e ( c f
4 .2 8 ff) , a n d c a n n o t co o ccu r w ith th e p rogressive aspect.
T h e d is tin c tio n is illu strated below w ith a n ad jectiv al c o m p lem en t, th e
f irs t k in d o f c o m p le m e n ta tio n w e will c o n sid er:
c u r r e n t : T h e g irl seem ed very restless.
r e s u l t in g : T h e g irl becam e very restless.
T h e fo llo w in g is a fairly full list o f v erb s regularly used in th is p a tte rn ,

to g e th e r w ith ty p ical a d je ctiv al c o m p lem en ts:
CU RR EN T RESULTING
(i) be (frien d ly ) [JV] (iv) become (older) [A]
(ii) appear (h a p p y ) [A] come (true)
f e e l (a n n o y e d ) [A ] end up (hap p y ) [JV]
lo o k (p re tty ) [JV] g et (ready)
seem (v e ry restless) [JV] go (sour)
sm e ll (sw eet) grow (tired)
so u n d (su rp rise d ) [JV] prove (ra th e r useful) [AT]
ta ste (b itte r) turn (cold) [A]
turn o ut (fo rtu n ate) [AT]
(iii) rem ain (u n c e rta in ) [JV]
wind up (d ru n k ) [A ] { in fo rm a l)
k e e p (silen t)
sta y (m o tio n less) [JV]
E n d up, turn out, a n d w ind up a re co p u la r p h ra sa l verbs. T h e v erb s m ark e d

[IV] in th e lis t also o c c u r w ith a n o u n p h ra se c o m p lem en t (th o u g h n o t all w ith
th e s a m e fre e d o m o r a c c e p ta b ility ; c f 16.22). T h e ro m an n u m e ra ls in th e list
id e n tify s e m a n tic g ro u p s w h ic h a re d iscussed in 16.24 below .
I n a d d itio n .to th e c o p u la r v erb s ab o v e, th e re a re v erb s w h ic h h a v e th is
fu n c tio n w ith Severe re stric tio n s o n th e w o rd s o ccu rrin g in th e co m p lem en t
( c f 10.16). The; re stric tio n m a y be a lexical re stric tio n to c e rta in id io m atic
v e rb -a d je c tiv e ,' seq u e n ce s su ch as rest assured ( c f 16.17), o r it m ay be a
se m a n tic r e s tric tio n (eg th e m e a n in g o f blush re stric ts th e ad je ctiv e to a su b set
o f c o lo u r w ords.: blush scarlet, b u t n o t *blush green). Som e e x am p les are given
b elo w , w ith ty p ic a l a d je ctiv e c o m p lem en ts:
C U R R EN T 1 R ESISTIN G
(v) b u m (low ) (vi) blush (b rig h t red)
lie (flat) f a ll (silent)
loom (larg e ) f a l l down (dead)
p la y (ro u g h ) [A] fre e ze (solid)
p le a d (in n o cp n t) run (w ild)
rest (assured]) slam (shut)
sta n d (firm ) [JV] spring (open)
s ta n d up (stra ig h t) w a x (eloquent) { a r c h a ic )
M an y o f th e s e v e rb s re sem b le in tra n sitiv e verbs, th e c o m p le m e n t b ein g

a d d ed a lm o s t a s a n o p tio n a l specifier.
[a] Go is cu rre n t in go hungry Inaked, but is normally resulting elsewhere, as in go [ = ‘becom e’]
sour/redI wild/ mad.
Type s of verb com plem entation 1173
[b] D i e as in : H e d i ed y oung/ poor, etc does no t fit easily into either o f the categories listed. T h e
verb di e itself is conclusive, but th e com plement which follows it refers to a current attrib u te.
T he m eaning is: 4H e was young/poor, etc at the time o f his d eath’.
[A2] N oun p h rase a s subject com plem ent

16.22 A g ain , th e v e rb b e is th e p rin c ip a l copula used in th is p a tte rn :
W illia m is m y frien d . O slo seems a p lea sa n t city.
T h e v erb s m a rk e d [A ] in 16.21 can b e used w ith n o u n p h ra se c o m p le m e n ts,

as w ell a s w ith ad je ctiv e p h ra se com p lem en ts. T h e follow ing lis t o f s u c h
v erb s is fa irly full. H o w ev er, it should be n o ted th a t especially in A m e ric a n
E n g lish , th e re is a ten d e n cy to a v o id th is co n stru ctio n w ith c e rta in v e rb s.
In ste a d , b o th A m E a n d B rE p re fe r an in fin itiv e c o n stru ctio n (T ype [B6] in
16.38 below ) w ith to be follow ing th e finite v e r b :
I t a p p e a rs th e o n ly solution. ~ I t a p p e a rs to be th e only solution.
T h e re is also , e sp ecially in in fo rm al A m E , a ten d en cy to p re fe r a c o n stru c tio n

in w h ic h a c o p u la r v e rb is follow ed b y like ( c f 16.24 N o te [a]):
I t seem s lik e th e o n ly solution.
CURREN T RESULTING
(i) he (m y frien d ) (iv) become (an expert)

(ii) appear1 (th e o n ly so lution) en d up (h er slave)
f e e l 1 (a fool) p rove1 (h is equal)
lo o k 1 (a fine day) turn (traito r)
seem (a genius) turn o u t (a success/disaster)
so u n d 1 (a re aso n a b le id ea) w ind up (a m illionaire) < in fo rm al>
(iii) rem ain (good frien d s)
T h e classes (i-iv ) m a tc h th o se in 16.21. (O n th e om ission o f th e a rticle in t h e

c o m p le m e n t in becom e president, etc, c f 5.42.) T h e su p erscrip t ‘1’ in d ic a te s
th a t su c h v erb s d o n o t o fte n o ccu r in th is p a tte rn b u t (p articu larly in A m E )
a re p re fe rre d in th e c o n stru ctio n w ith to be o r like (see above).
N ote [a] W ith a noun phrase com plem ent, f eel has the m eaning ‘have the sensation o f b e in g . . . ’; b u t
w ith an adjective com plem ent, it has not only this m eaning (as in She f el t i l l ), bu t also th e
m eaning o f ‘cause a sen sa tio n . . . ’, as in T he tabl ef el t rough (c f 4.29/).
[b] T he noun phrase following act as, count as, pose as, p ass f o r and sim ilar com binations is in a
copular relation w ith the subject, and these combinations may be reasonably described as
‘copular prepositional verbs’ on the analogy o f intransitive and transitive prepositional verbs (c f
1 6 .5 -7 ; also 16.47). Corresponding to these constructions w ith current meaning are resulting
copular prepositional verbs such as change i nto, grow i nto, and turn i nto, with the general m eaning
o f ‘becom e’. N ote the near-synonym y o f H e turned t r ai t o r and H e turned i nto a trai tor.
[c] Some verbs occur m ore m arginally in the above p attern s; eg : stay in T hey stay ed go od f r i en d s.
T urn as in turn tr ai t o r is formulaic, and is more or less restricted to a small num ber o f
com binations.
[d] O ne o r tw o verbs such as m ak e and p ar t can appear w ith a noun phrase complement, b u t n o t
w ith an adjective phrase com plem ent:
They p ar t ed the best o f friends.
They m ak e a charm ing couple.
(In a sentence like T hey p ar t ed f r i en d l y once m ore, f ri en dl y once m ore would be not a com plem ent,
but a verbless clause; c /1 0 .1 6 ,14.9.)
1174 Com plem entation o f verbs and adjectives
S e m a n tic notes on co p u lar verbs

16.23 T h e m a in v erb be is th e m o st c en tral co p u la r verb , a n d th e m o st n e u tra l in
m e a n in g . I t is also o v erw h elm in g ly th e m o st com m o n . A lth o u g h it g enerally
h a s c u rre n t a n d s ta tiv e m ean in g , n o tice sh o u ld be ta k e n o f its use also in
r e fe re n c e to e v en ts a n d a c tiv itie s : I
T h e re was a ro a r as th e b all b o u n ced off th e g oalpost.
Y o u ’re being very helpful, ( c f 4.31)
I n so m e cases, be is close in m ean in g to becom e:
A n n w ill be a q u alified nurse n e x t year.

C o ra was a n g ry w h e n she h e ard ab o u t th e accid en t.
A s th e -lists in 1 6 .2 1 -2 show , co p u lar v erb s a p a rt fro m be fall in to th ree

cla sses. F irst, th e re is th e d iv isio n b etw een c u rre n t a n d resu ltin g v erb s; th en
th e c u rre n t v e rb s d iv id e fu rth e r in to ‘verbs o f seem ing’ (ii) (in clu d in g seem,
appear, an d th e p e rc e p tio n v erb s look, sound, etc), a n d ‘verb s o f remaining’
(iii) su ch as remain, sta y , a n d keep. T h e resu ltin g v erb s (iv) a re in th e m a in
‘v e rb s o f becom ing’, b u t th e ir m ean in g s differ in d etail, a s w e shall no w briefly
sh o w .
B ecom e is a p ro c ess v e rb ( c f 4.34), p lac in g e m p h asis o n th e d u ra tio n o f th e
c h a n g e , w h ereas g e t p lac es m o re em p h a sis o n th e ag ency b e h in d th e e v en t o r
o n th e resu lt o f th e c h a n g e ; G et rea d y! b u t n o t *B ecom e rea d y ! Go a n d turn
te n d to re fe r to c h an g es w h ich h a p p e n in sp ite o f h u m a n agency, a n d
th e re fo re a re o fte n u se d fo r d e te rio ra tio n s: go m a d ; go wild; go sour; go stale;
turn livid; turn white [o f h a ir]; turn sour. Turn m o re especially seem s to a p p ly
to n a tu ra l ch an g e s fro m o n e sta te to its o p p o s ite : turn green/brown [of leav es];
turn fin e lco ld [o f w e ath e r]; turn ripe <BrE>. Grow is also asso ciated w ith
n a tu r a l ch an g es, esp ecially w ith g ra d u al c h an g es (grow old, grow tall), a n d is
lik ely to o ccu r w ith c o m p a ra tiv e ad jectiv es as in grow cooler, grow m ore
content. In m an y cases, m o re th a n o n e v e rb c a n o ccu r w ith th e sam e ad jectiv e,
a n d it is difficult to g iv e p recise c o n d itio n s fo r selecting o n e ra th e r th a n
a n o th e r. ■
N o te Come is very restricted as a copular verb, but it makes an interesting contrast w ith go in exam ples
like go wrongjcom^right. T he association o f go w ith deterioration (go rotten, etc) is com plemented
by th e association o f come w ith improvem ent in come true, etc. These associations may be
connected w ith the positive and negative direction (from the speaker’s viewpoint) o f come and
go as verbs o f motion.
[A3] C om plem entation by an adjunct

1 6 .2 4 T h e p rin cip al jcopula th a t allow s a n a d v erb ial as co m p le m e n ta tio n is o n ce
a g a in be. T h e c o m p le m e n tin g a d v erb ials, te rm e d p re d ic a tio n a d ju n cts in th is
fu n ctio n , a re m ain ly sp ace a d ju n cts ( c /8 .3 ,8 .3 9 /) :
T h e c h ild re n a re a t the zoo. T h e k itc h e n is downstairs.
b u t tim e a d ju n c ts to o a re co m m o n w ith a n ev en tiv e su b ject (c/8 .7 6 ):
T h e p a rty w ill be a t nine. T h e o u tin g is tomorrow.
a n d o th er ty p es o f p re d ic a tio n a d ju n ct a re g ra m m atica l (fo r fu rth er ex am p les

c/10.10).
Types of verb com plem entation 1175
G et a n d keep are tw o m o re c o p u la r verbs w hich o ccu r specifically w ith

p lace a d ju n c ts (br a d ju n cts m eta p h o ric ally related to th e s e ):
A t la s t w e g o t home. G e t o f f that chair !

T h ey k e p t out o f trouble. H ow d id you get here ?
B e, g et, a n d keep a re clearly co p u la r v erb s in th is fu n c tio n b ecau se o f t h e ir

in a b ility to o ccu r w ith o u t th e a d ju n c t: *The children are; * A t last we g o t;
*T h ey k ep t. M o re m arg in ally , o th e r v erb s su ch a s live, com e, go, remain, sta y ,
stand, lie b elo n g to th is c ateg o ry ( c f 8.27). T h ese also o c cu r as in tra n s itiv e
v erb s w ith roughly th e sa m e lo cativ e (or a b stra c t locative) m ea n in g , b u t a re
in m an y c o n tex ts felt to b e in co m p lete unless som e c o m p le m e n ta tio n is
added:
M y a u n t lives in S h ro p sh ire.
?*M y a u n t lives.
T h e n eed fo r th e v e rb to b e follow ed b y som e co m p le m e n ta tio n is p e rh a p s

stro n g e st in p u re lo cativ e sta te m e n ts su ch as Cannes lies on the French Riviera.
W h e re a s v erb s lik e live a n d lie show th e resem b lan ce o f a d v e rb ia l co m p le
m e n ta tio n to th e ‘zero c o m p le m e n ta tio n ’ o f in tra n sitiv e v erb s, v erb s lik e
remain, stay, come, go, turn, a n d grow show its sim ila rity to c o p u la r
c o m p le m e n ta tio n b y ad je ctiv e p h rases. T h e p arallel is b ro u g h t o u t by p a ir s
su c h as:
f H e tu rn e d red. f She grew tall.
[ H e tu rn e d into a m onster. [S h e grew into a fin e woman.
H o w ev er, fo r o u r p u rp o ses it w ill b e p referab le to tre a t seq u en ces s u c h as

turn into a n d grow into as c o p u la r p rep o sitio n al verbs ( c f 16.22 N o te [b]).
N ote [a] The verbs o f ‘seeming’ { cf 16.23) seem , appear, l ook , sound, f eel , sm el l , an d t ast e are
complemented by an adverbial clause beginning as i f (or less frequently a s though) in sentences
such as the following:
J ill l ook ed as i f she had seen a ghost.
It seem s as (/'the w eather is im proving.
(In a sim ilar m eaning, ap p ear a n d seem can also be followed by a th at- clause; c f 16.34.) A n
alternative construction is one in w hich the as i f clause is replaced by a phrase introduced by
l i k e:
T h at music sounds l i k e M ozart, [i e ‘like the music o f M ozart’]
Bill l ook s Oust) l i k e his father.
A fter the sam e verbs, one also frequently hears clauses introduced by l i k e, but these are often
regarded as n o nstandard: I t seem s l i k e the w eather i s i mprovi ng.
[b] There is also a curious idiom atic use of f eel l i k e { cf 16.22 N ote [a]) m eaning ‘w ant’:
I f e e l l i k e a cup o f coffee.
Arguably, th is is n o t copular; it belongs rather to the category o f m onotransitive prepositional
verbs [B lpr] (c/16.28).
[c] M ore exceptional cases o f verbs w ith adverbial complementation a re :
(i) behav e followed by an adverbial o f m anner:
[w ell.
H e b eh av ed )... . c
(like a prisoner o f conscience.
(However, behav e can also occur intransitively o r reflexively as in : W hy d o n 't y ou behav e
{ y o u r sel f )?)
(ii) l ast and tak e followed by an adverbial o f measure (duration):
f to o k \
T h e h a y m a k in g |w ( f o r ) }aw eek .
1176 C o m p le m e n ta tio n o f verbs and adjectives
I n the case o f lake the duration adverbial is obligatory, since the verb entails the
com pletion o f the task. In the.case o f last, the adverbial is omissible in such exam ples as:
The hot weather won’t last.
M o n o tra n s itiv e com plem entation

16.25 V e rb s u sed in m o n o tra n sitiv e fu n c tio n re q u ire a d irec t object, w h ic h m a y be
a n o u n p h ra s e , a fin ite clause, o r a n o n fin ite clause. In a d d itio n to th ese
c a te g o rie s th e v e rb m ay b e a T y p e I p re p o sitio n a l v erb (c /1 6 .5 ) o r p h r a s a l-
p re p o s itio n a l v e rb (c /1 6 .9 ), w h ic h for o u r p re sen t purposes w ill b e tre a te d as
a n alo g o u s to a v e rb w ith a d ire c t o b ject. W e will b egin by c o n sid e rin g th e
s tra ig h tfo rw a rd c a s e o f v erb s w ith a n o u n p h ra se as d irect o b ject, a n d th en
c o n tin u e w ith v a r ia n ts o f th is b asic p a tte rn .
C o m p le m e n ta tio n b y a n o u n p h r a s e a s d ir e c t o b je c t
IB 1 ] W it h t h e p a s s iv e
16.26 D ir e c t o b jec ts a re ty p ically n o u n p h ra ses w h ich m ay becom e th e su b je ct o f a
c o rre s p o n d in g p a ssiv e c lau se:
T o m ca u g h t th e ball. ~ T h e ball w as caught (by Tom ).
(O n th e lim ita tio n s o f th e p assiv e tran sfo rm a tio n , c f 3 .6 7 //) C o m m o n

e x am p les o f m o n o tra n sitiv e v e rb s a llow ing th e passive a re:
begin desire . g e t love pass support

believe i do hear m a ke produce ta ke
bite ' doubt help m arry receive use
bring I end hold m ean remember visit
call i enjoy kee p m e et require w ant
carry i exp e ct know m in d say wash
close ! fe e l lead move see waste
cut \ fin d like need start watch
describe \ fo llo w lose obtain study win
S o m e o f th e s e v e rb s, su ch as e n d a n d move, belong to ty p es w h ic h c a n be
e ith e r in tra n s itiv e o r tra n s itiv e ( c / 16.19). S om ething o f th e ra n g e o f
m o n o tra n sitiv e Iverbs c a n b e seen by d iv id in g th em in to se m a n tic g ro u p s
a c c o rd in g to th e k in d s o f su b je ct a n d o b jec t th a t they ta k e :
(i) T y p ic ally a n im a te su b ject + ty p ically co n crete o b ject:
P ro fesso r D o b b s won th e prize.

~ T h e p riz e was won (b y P ro fesso r D obbs).
carry cover exa m in e see throw win
clean eat low er stop watch write
(ii) T y p ically a n im a te su b je ct + e ith e r c o n crete o r a b stra c t o b je c t:
E v ery b o d y understood th e p ro b lem .

~ T h e p ro b le m was understood (by everybody).
abolish define explain invent report u tter
cover discuss fo r g e t lose rule win
(iii) T y p ically a n im a te su b ject + typically a n im a te o b ject:

M rs W o o d lik e d th e n ew n eighbours. ,
~ T h e n e w n e ig h b o u rs were liked (by M rs W ood).
adm ire despise h ug kiss reject ridicule
beat fla tte r k ill meet respect support
(iv) T y p ically c o n c re te o r a b s tra c t subject + a n im a te o b je c t:

T h e n ew s shocked o u r fam ily.
~ O u r fam ily was shocked (by th e new s).
affect bother fascinate incense satisfy trouble
appal deceive grieve please surprise upset
N ote The following is a sam ple o f m onotransitive (or Type II) phrasal verbs [B lph] with typical
objects. F urther exam ples are illustrated in 16.4.
back up [‘support’ someone] l et dow n [‘disappoint* someone]
bl ow dow n (a tree) m ak e up (a story)
break (^ (n eg o tiatio n s) p ass ov er (a question)
bri ng abo ut (a change) p u t across (an idea)
bum dow n (a house) p u t of f (an appointm ent)
draw up (a contract) tel l o f f [‘rebuke’ someone]
jilt out (a form) turn o ff ([he light)
k nock dow n (someone) win ov er [‘convince’ someone]
These, like the verbs in (i—iv) above, can be used in the passive voice.
[B2] W ith o u t th e passive

16.27 A few sta tiv e m o n o tra n sitiv e v erb s, th e m o st co m m o n o f w h ic h is have,
n o rm ally d o n o t allow a p assiv e tran sfo rm a tio n :
T h ey have a n ic e house. ~ *A n ice house is h ad (by them ).
T h ese so-called m i d d l e v e r b s , in clu d in g have, lack, f i t , suit, a n d resemble, a r e

d iscu ssed in d e ta il in 10.14.
N ote A related type o f verb is found in expressions o f measure such as cost ten dol l ars; w ei gh 20 k i l os;
b ut these can equally well be analysed as having an obligatory adjunct as com plem entation,
since H ow m uch . . . ? is a n alternative question to W h at . . . ? in eliciting this kind o f expression
as a reply:
A : W hat l d o e s i t | cost’ B : T en dol l ars.
A ; H ow m u c h ] (w eigh? B: T w enty k i l os.
V ariants o f m onotransitive com plem entation
C om plem entation by noun ph rase as prepositional object
[B lp r] P re p o sitio n a l verbs
16.28 A lth o u g h v e rb s su ch as look at h a v e been classified as ‘T y p e I p re p o sitio n a l
v e rb s’ (th o se w ith o u t a d ire c t o b je c t; c /1 6 .5 ), in th e an aly sis o f co m p le m e n
ta tio n th ey fit m o re h a p p ily w ith m o n o tra n sitiv e ra th e r th a n in tra n sitiv e
verbs. T h is is p a rtly b ecau se o f th e resem b lan ce o f th e p rep o sitio n al o b je c t
to a d ire c t o b ject, e g in a cc e p tin g a passive voice ( c f 16.14), th o u g h u su ally
w ith so m e a w k w a rd n ess o f s ty le :
1178 Co m p lem en tatio n o f verbs and adjectives
T h e m a n a g e m e n t p a id fo r his a ir fares.
~ H is a ir fares were p a id fo r by th e m an a g em e n t.
B u t a ls o w h e n a p re p o sitio n a l verb is follow ed b y a th a t-c lm se o r a to-

in f in itiv e clau se, th e p re p o sitio n d isap p ears, a n d th e p re p o sitio n a l o b ject
m e rg e s w ith th e d ire c t o b ject o f th e m o n o tra n sitiv e p a tte rn . C o m p are th e
fo llo w in g tw o series, (A ) w ith a p rep o sitio n al v e rb a n d (B) w ith a n o rd in ary
m o n o tr a n s itiv e v e rb :
' on th e m eeting.
on it.
on m ee tin g each other.
(A ) T h e y agreed
on w h e n to m eet,
(th a t) th ey w ould m eet,
to m e e t each other,
th e m eeting,
it.
m eetin g each other,
(B ) T h e y remembered
w h e n to m eet.
(th a t) they h a d m et.
to m eet each o th er.
Y e t th e p re p o sitio n o m itte d before a tfo t-c lau se c a n re a p p e a r in th e
c o rre s p o n d in g p a ssiv e : T h a t they should m e et was agreed (on), ev en in
e x tr a p o s itio n ( c f 18.33(f), w h ere th e p re p o sitio n im m ed iately follow s th e
p a s s iv e v e rb p h ra se:
I t w a s agreed (on) e v en tu ally th a t th ey sh o u ld m eet.
E x a m p le s o f T ype I p re p o sitio n a l v erbs a r e :

a c co u n t fo r concentrate on look a fter/at/on/to
a d d to > conform to object to
a d ju st to i consent to p a rt with
a d m it to J contribute to p a y fo r
agree with/on/to d e a l with pra y fo r
aim a t/fo r \ decide on preach about/on
allow f o r d w ell (up)on provide fo r
a p p ly f o r ! enlarge (up)on quarrel about/w ith
argue about hear a b o u t/o f read about
arrange fo r h in t a t refer to
a sk fo r hope fo r rejoice a t
a tte n d to insist on rely on
believe in ; interfere with resort to
callfor/(up)on learn about run fo r
care f o r lecture about/on speak about/on
co m m e n t on listen to ta ke to
com plain about live on th in k a b o u t/o f
conceive o f long fo r wish fo r
Note [a] W hen to precedes an infinitive, it is an infinitive m arker (as in fo rget to meet her) and not a
p re p o sitio n ; when it precedes an -ing participle, however, it is a preposition (as in S he consented
to getting engaged). O ther exam ples o f to in a prepositional verb preceding an -ing clause a re :
Ty p e s o f verb com plem entation 1179
H e adm i tt ed to doing his bit. I conf ess to telling a lie.

T his am ou nts to doing nothing. She took to playing golf.
[b] Prepositions m ay com bine with th at to form complex subordinators such as i n th at, sav e t h a t ,
ex cept th at (c/14.12).
[c] In general, choice o f preposition is the sam e for morphologically related verbs and nouns:
ref er to ~ ref erence to; bel i ev e i n ~ bel i ef i n, etc. There are exceptions, however: hope as a v erb is
followed by f o r , while th e corresponding noun construction has of : H e hopes f o r success, but H i s
hope o f success.
[B lp h -p r] P h ra sa l-p re p o sitio n a l verbs

16.29 T y p e I p h r F s F l - p r e p o s i t i o n F l v e r | s also ta k e a p re p o sitio n a l object. A s
w e saw in 16.9, su ch v erb s c an , lik e p re p o sitio n al v erb s, o c cu r in th e p a ssiv e
(eg: S h e d e a lt with th e problem ~ T h e problem was dealt with); b u t m an y o f
th e m a re a w k w a rd , in fa c t b arely acc ep ta b le , in th is c o n stru ctio n : l* T h e
discussion was w a lked o ut on (by the principal negotiator). In th e sam p le lis t
below , th e v e rb s m a rk e d [P] a re a m o n g th o se th a t c a n fairly read ily o c cu r in
th e p a ssiv e :
b reak in on keep aw ay fro m [‘a v o id ’]

(so m eo n e’s co n v ersatio n ) keep up with (th e Joneses)
catch up on (m y re ad in g ) look down on [‘d esp ise’] [P]
catch up with [‘o v e rta k e ’] look fo rw a rd to
check up on [‘in v e s tig a te ’] [P] [‘a n tic ip a te w ith p lea su re ’] [P]
com e dow n with (a cold) look o ut fo r [‘w a tch fo r’]
c ut dow n on (expenses) look up to [‘re sp ec t’] [P]
do a w a y with [‘ab o lish ’] [P] p u t up with [‘to le rate ’] [P]
fa c e up to [‘c o n fro n t’] [P] run aw ay with
g e t aw ay with (a crim e) sta n d up fo r [‘d e fen d ’]
g et dow n to (serious talk ) tu rn o u t fo r (a m eeting)
P h ra s a l-p re p o s itio n a l v erb s a re ra th e r in fo rm al, a n d m a n y o f th e m h a v e

id io m a tic m e ta p h o ric a l m ea n in g s w h ich are difficult o r im p o ssib le to
p a ra p h ra s e (eg: run aw ay with).
C om plem entation by a finite clause
[B3] TAaf-cIause a s object

16.30 T h e c o n ju n ctio n in /Aof-clauses w h ic h fu n c tio n as o b ject m ay b e zero, a s in I
hope he arrives soon; b u t w h en th e clau se is m ad e passiv e, th e th a t c a n n o t b e
d eleted , a n d th u s obeys th e sam e rules as o th e r fhaf-clauses as su b je ct ( c f
15.4). T h e n o rm al p a ssiv e an alo g u e h a s it a n d e x tra p o sitio n , th a t b ein g a g a in
o p tio n a l:
T /iat-clauses h a v e o n e o f th re e ty p es o f v e rb p h ra se, d e p e n d in g o n th e
‘g o v e rn in g ’ v e rb in th e m a trix c la u s e :
rs coming alone.
will be coming alone.
(A ) in d ic a tiv e v e r b : I su p p o se t h a t h e
will come alone.
has come alone.
(B ) p u ta tiv e should'. I reg ret t h a t h e should be so stu b b o rn .
(C ) s u b ju n c tiv e v e rb : I re q u est t h a t sh e go alone.
(A ) w ith th e in d ic a tiv e is th e m o st u su al type. T h e p u tativ e should ty p e (c f
14.25) (B ) is m o re co m m o n in B rE th a n A m E , an d (C ) th e m a n d a tiv e
s u b ju n c tiv e { c f 3 .5 8 -9 ) is m o re c o m m o n in A m E th a n in B rE . In B rE th e
s u b ju n c tiv e is fe lt to b e fo rm al, a n d is fo u n d typically in official styles o f
w ritin g . C o rre sp o n d in g to th ese th re e co n stru ctio n s, it is n e ce ssa ry to
re co g n ize only tw o m a in c ateg o ries o f su p e ro rd in ate v erbs. Type (i) m ay be
c alled f F c t u F l , sin ce it goes w ith th e in d ic a tiv e verb (A ), a n d in tro d u c es
w h a t o n e m ig h t g en erally d e scrib e as fa ctu al o r p ro p o sitio n al in fo rm a tio n .
Type (ii) m a y be d e sc rib e d as s u F s i v e ; su ch v erb s im ply in te n tio n s to b rin g
a b o u t so m e c h a n g e in th e fu tu re, w h e th e r o r n o t th ese a re v erb ally fo rm u la ted
as c o m m a n d s , suggestions, etc. S u asiv e v erb s c a n b e follow ed in th e that-
c lau se b y a ll th re e c o n stru ctio n s ( A -C ), b u t th e in d ic a tiv e (A ) c o n stru c tio n is
r e s tric te d , a n d is n o t g en erally a c c e p te d in A m E .
T h e r e a re tw o m in o r categ o ries, T y p e (iii) em o tiv e v erb s ( c f 4.29, 10.23)
a n d T y p e (iv ) h y p o th esis v erb s, w h ic h a re d e a lt w ith in 16.33. T h e s e ty p es
are d is p la y e d in F ig 16.30:
CL ASSES OF VERB VERB PHRASE IN THA T-CLAUSE
T y p e (/) f a c t u a l (A) indicative verb

(16.31) (eg : cla im ) o f 1' /
M ajor
s /
T y p e (ii) s u a s i v e
(16.32) (e g : s u g g est ) (B) putative should
T y p e (iii) EMOTIVE (C) mandative subjunctive verb

(16.33) (eg : regret)
Minor
T y p e (Ar) HYPOTHESIS (D) hypothetical past OR were-
(16.33)|(eg: wish) \ subjunctive
F ig 16.30 M onotransitive verbs with a rhaf-clause as complementation (Class [B3])
N ote In term s o f the speech act classes o f 11.2, Type (i) (factual) verbs are associated w ith the
expression o f speech acts concerned w ith s t a t e m e n t s , while Type (ii) (suasive) verbs are
associated w ith d ir e c ti v e s .
T ype (i): F a c tu a l verbs

16.31 W e m a y su b d iv id e fa c tu a l v erb s in to ‘ p u | l i c ’ a n d ‘ p r i v F t e ’ ty p es. T h e
fo rm e r co n sists o f sp eech a c t v e rb s in tro d u c in g in d ire ct s ta te m e n ts:
T h e y agree I a d m it I claim t h a t sh e w a s m isled.
T h e s u p e rsc rip ts 1 - 5 in th e lists b elo w a re to b e in te rp re te d as f o llo w s:

1: T h e verb also o c cu rs in th e a ctiv e w ith a fo-infinitive.directly follow ing:

H e p rom ised to com e (c/1 6 .3 8 ).
2 : T h e v erb also o c cu rs w ith a follow ing n o u n p h ra se follow ed by a fo-
in fin itiv e : T h e y supposed her to be dead ( c f 16.50).
3 : T h e v erb is also a m e m b e r o f th e suasive g ro u p below , in 16.32.
4 : T h e p ro -fo rm so c a n sta n d in p lace o f th e f/iof-clause ( c f 12.28); eg: / th in k
so.
5 : S a y occurs w ith a n in fin itiv e, a s in She said to com e before ten in th e
d irec tiv e sen se o f ‘S h e to ld us to com e b efo re te n ’.
E x am p les:
acknow ledge2 boast declare 2 mention report2
add certify 2 deny2 object retort
a d m it2 cla im 1 disclose predict* sa y 2’4' 5
affirm 2 com m ent exclaim proclaim 2 state 2,4
agree 1,3 complain explain 2 prom ise 1,2,4 subm it
allege2 concede3 forecast pronounce2 suggest 3
announce2 confess2 fo re te ll prophesy swear
argue ' confide guarantee1,2 protest testify2
assert confirm 2 hint rem ark : vow 1
bet contend insist 3 repeat warn2
! convey m aintain* reply write
T h e ‘ p r i v F t e ’ ty p e o f fa c tu a l v erb expresses in tellectu al sta te s su ch a s b e lie f

a n d in tellectu al a c ts su c h a s d iscovery. T h ese states a n d a c ts a re ‘p riv a te ’ in
th e sen se th a t th e y a re n o t o b se rv ab le : a p e rso n m ay b e o b serv ed to assert
th a t G od exists, b u t n o t to believe that G od exists. B elief is in th is sen se
v a te ’. E x am p les o f su c h v erb s a re :
accept doubt imagine 2,4 realize

anticipate dream imply reason
ascertain ensure3 indicate* recall
assum e 2,4 establish infer* reckon 1,4
believe 2,4 e stim a te2 insure recognize 2
calculate e x p e c t1' 2'* ju d g e 2 reflect
check fa n c y 2 know 2 remember
conclude fe a r 1'* learn 1 reveal2
conjecture fe e l 2 m ean1’2 see
consider2 fin d 2 note2 sense
decide 1,3 fo resee notice 2,4 show 2
deduce fo r g e t1 observe2 signify
d e em 2 g ather* perceive 2,4 suppose 2,4
dem onstrate guess* presum e 2,4 suspect 2,4
determ ine1,3 hear* presuppose2 th in k2’*
discern hold pretend1 understand 2,4
discover2 hope 1,4 prove2
M a n y o f th ese v e rb s, esp ecially th e ‘p u b lic ’ verbs, a re also u sed fo r in tro d u cin g

d ire c t sp e e ch ; eg:
‘P e rh a p s it’s tim e to lea v e ’, suggested T im .

1182 C o m p le m e n ta tio n of verbis and adjectives
F o r d e ta ile d d iscu ssio n o f th is use o f v erb s o f sp e a k in g a n d th in k in g , c f

1 4.30#.
N ote [a] N o t included in th e first list above are verbs expressing m anner o f utterance, such as mumble ,
m utter, shout, whimper, whisper, and yell. These can introduce direct speech quotations (eg: ‘I am
ill*, she m uttered ), b u t they can also introduce indirect or reported speech by means o f a that-
clause: Sh e m uttered that she was ill. The list o f such verbs is large, and some verbs occur more
easily w ith /^ /- c la u s e s than others do.
[b ] All th e following phrasal verbs belonging to this ‘factual’ category are ‘public’ verbs: chime
in, let on, let out, m ake out, point out, report back :
T im pointed out th a t the train was often late.
In this construction, th e particle has to precede the ^ /-c la u s e .
[c] A m ong th e ‘priv ate verbs’, see, suppose, and assume can be used w ith a f/iar-clause in which
th e p resen t tense refers to future time (c f 14.23):
See (to it) th at th ey get som ething to eat.
See here m eans ‘m ake sure’.
[d] Doubt, being a verb o f negative meaning, is typically followed by whether/if (c f 15.6, 16.35).
But m ore especially w hen it is in a nonassertive context, doubt occurs w ith a Maf-clause:
I d o n ’t doubt (but) that they’ll accept at once.
N ote th a t in th is construction, doubt is sometimes followed by but. Doubt cannot be followed by
an altern ativ e wA-clause (c/15.6):
*1 d o u b t w hether o r not they’ll accept.
T y p e (ii): S u asiv e verbs

16.32 T h e s e v e rb s c a n b e follow ed by a r/iar-clause e ith e r w ith p u ta tiv e should ( c f
14.25) o r w ith th e m a n d a tiv e subjunctive. A th ird p o ssib ility , a f to - c la u s e
w ith a n in d ic a tiv e v e rb , is largely restricted to B r E :
f should leave
P e o p le a re d e m a n d in g th a t she-j leave U h e co m p an y . [ 1]
[leaves <esp B rE > J
I t is m o re d ifficu lt, in th e case o f suasive verbs, to m a k e a su b d iv isio n b etw een
‘p u b l ic ’ a n d ‘P r i v a t e ’ v e r b s : for th is reason, w e p re se n t th e v erb s below in a
sin g le lis t. N e v e rth e le ss , g en erally it is useful to see a d istin c tio n b etw een th e
‘p u b lic ’ v e rb s ^vhich d e sc rib e in d ire ct d irectiv es (su ch as request; c f 14.33),
a n d th e ‘p r iv a te ’ v e rb s w h ic h d escrib e states o f v o litio n o r d esire, su ch as
in te n d : i
a g re e 1 dem and1 intend 1,2 recom m end2
a llo w 2 \ desire1,2 move 4 request1,2
a rra n g e1 ! d eterm ine1 ordain2'"" require
a s k 1,2 enjoin2 order2 resolve1
b e g 1' 2 ensure pled g e 1,2 ride
com m and2 entreat2 p r a y i.2,+ stipulate
concede f grant pre fer1,2'* suggest2'*
d e c id e 1 j insist pronounce2 urge2
d ecree* instruct2 propose1' 2 vote1,2
T h e s u p e rs c rip ts 1, 2 a n d 4 h a v e th e sam e m ean in g as in 16.31 ab o v e. T h e
ch o ice b e tw e e n th e th re e c o n stru ctio n s in th e fto - c la u s e in [1] ab o v e v aries
b e tw e e n A m E a n d B rE . F o r d etailed discussion o f th e s e p referen ces, c f
14.25.
I t w ill b e n o ted th a t th e n o u n p h ra se + in fin itiv e c o n stru c tio n (c /1 6 .5 0 ) is
a c o m m o n a lte rn a tiv e to th e tbaf-clause for suasive v e r b s :
Ty p e s of verb com plem entation 1183
Th ' t rl j f th e new s to be su p p ressed .

ey in e n e ^ n ew s (shouic{) \,e suppressed. <m ore fo rm a l)
W ith so m e v erb s, su ch a s allow, th e in fin itiv e co n stru ctio n is by f a r th e m o r e

usual.
O th e r ty p es o f verb w ith fAaf-clause com plem entation

T ype (iii): E m otive verbs
16.33 T h is c o n sists o f a sm all g ro u p o f v erb s su ch as regret, marvel, rejoice, a n d
wonder, w h ic h c a n o ccu r w ith (A ) th e in d ic a tiv e o r (B) th e p u ta tiv e sh o u ld
co n stru ctio n , b u t n o t w ith th e m a n d a tiv e su b ju n ctiv e c o n stru c tio n :
f worries a b o u t it.
I re g re t th a t sh e < should worry a b o u t it.
worry a b o u t it.
S em an tically , th is g ro u p belongs w ith a d je ctiv al co n stru ctio n s su ch a s be

sorry, be anxious (c/1 6 .7 1 ).
T ype (iv): H y p o th esis verbs
T h e tw o v e rb s wish a n d (in th e im p e rativ e) suppose m ay be follow ed b y a
fAaf-clause c o n ta in in g a v e rb in th e h y p o th etica l p a st o r th e w c rc-su b ju n c tiv e :
/ wish (that) she were here; S h e wished sh e ha d n ’t spent the m oney; Su p p o se
(that) one o f us died. C f 14.24 o n th e use o f ten se a n d m ood follow ing th e s e
v erb s, w h ic h m ay also o c cu r in a n u m b e r o f o th e r p attern s. In p a rtic u la r, fo r
o th e r uses o f wish, c /l;6 .3 8 ,1 6 .4 1 ,1 6 .4 4 ,1 6 .4 6 ,1 6 .5 7 .
T h e m o d al id io m w ould rather (or its c o n tr a c tio n ’d rather) ( c f 3,46) is a
th ird ex am p le o f a h y p o th esis v e r b :
V d rather y o u d id n ’t m en tio n th e price.

M a n y re sid en ts w ould rather th a t th e b u s service w ere sub sid ized .
C om plem entation by an extrap o sed subject fAaf-clause

16.34 T h e fAaf-clause in ex am p les like I t seem s th a t y o u are m istaken is n o t a n o b je c t
o f th e v e rb , b u t r a th e r a n ex trap o sed su b ject. N ev erth eless, it resem b les o th e r
fAaf-clauses w e h a v e b een e x am in in g (a) in h a v in g a deletable th a t, a n d (b)
in b e in g sem an tica lly asso ciated w ith th e p re ce d in g verb. M o re o v er, n o
n o n e x tra p o se d fAaf-clause is possible in th is case i f That you are m ista k en
seem s), a n d so it seem s a p p ro p ria te to in clu d e th is w ith fA af-clause
co m p le m e n ta tio n . T h e m a in v erb s o c cu rrin g in th is p a tte rn fo rm tw o g ro u p s
o f sy n o n y m s: (i) seem a n d appear; a n d (ii) chance, happen, an d transpire :
I t appears t h a t F r a n k lost his tem p er.

I t happened th a t th e w e ath e r w as e x cep tio n ally cold.
T h e p h ra s a l v e rb s come about [ = ‘h a p p e n ’] a n d turn out [ = ‘tra n s p ire ’] also

b elo n g h ere. A ppear a n d seem can b e follow ed b y th e p ro-form so: I t seem s/
appears so. T h e a d v e rb so so m etim es o c cu rs before happen o r o n e o f its
sy n o n y m s: I t so happens/happened t h a t . . . .
Note [a] A related construction w ith extraposed object (c f 18.35) occurs in the following tran sitiv e
phrasal verbs:
let (it) ou t ; noise (it) aboutjabroad:p u t (it) about ; rub (it) in :
Jack let (ii) out [ = ‘divulged’] th at the anim al had been stolen.
1184 - C o m p le m e n ta tio n o f verbs and adjectives
T h e it w h ich occurs a s preparatory object is in this case optional, although the omission is not
usual. In th e com parable construction take it that, the it is obligatory: I take it that you are
enjoying yourselves.
[b] C o m p are the com plem entation o f seem , appear , etc by an as i f clause (c/16.24 N ote [a]).
[c] O n the related constructions It strikes me th a t. . . . I t occurs/seems to me th a t. . . , c f 16.59
N ote, 16.60 Note.
[B4] fFA -clause a s o b ject

16.35 M a n y o f th e v e rb s w h ic h ta k e a that- clause as o b ject c a n also ta k e a wh-
in te rro g a tiv e cla u se ( c f 15.5f f ) :
I a sk e d h e r to confirm w h e th er th e flight h a d b een b ook ed .

C a n you confirm w h ich flight w e a re ta k in g ?
T h e y h a v e n ’t y e t confirm ed h ow m u ch th e flig h t costs.
N o tic e th a t in all th r e e illu stra tiv e sen ten ces a b o v e, confirm o ccu rs in w h at
m a y b e d e sc rib e d a s a n o n assertiv e co n te x t ( c f 2.53). T h e use o f th e wh-
in te rro g a tiv e c lau se (w h ic h gen erally im plies la c k o f know led g e o n th e p a rt
o f th e sp e a k er) is p a rtic u la rly co m m o n w h ere th e su p e ro rd in ate clause is
in te rro g a tiv e o r n e g a tiv e . O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e re a re so m e v erb s w h ich
th em se lv es ex p ress u n c e rta in ty , su ch as a sk a n d wonder: th ese o ccu r w ith th e
wA-clause w ith o u t th is n o n a sse rtiv e c o n strain t. E x am p les o f v erb s tak in g th e
w A -interrogative c la u se a r e :
anticipate [ n F ] doubt note [ n F ]3

a rgue I n F ] 2 enquire2,3 notice [ n F ] 3
arrange [ n F ]3 establish3 observe [ n F ] 3
ascertain 3 explain3 perceive [ n F ] 3
a s k 2,3 express p o in t o ut [ n F ]
beware2 fa th o m [ n F ] p onder 3
calculate [ n F ]? fin d o u t2,3 predict [ n F ]
care [ n F ] 1• 2 ; fo rg e t3 prove
c h ec k 2,3 i guess realize [n a ]
choose 3 ' hear [ n F ] 2 record [ n F ]
confirm [ n F ] im agine [ n F ] 3 reflect2
consider [ n F ] 3 ’ indicate [ n F ]3 rem em ber [ n F ]'
decide1' 3 \ inquire2' 3 sa y [ n F ] 3
dem onstrate3 ju d g e 3 see [ n F ]3
depend2 ■ know [ n F ] 3 show 3
disclose learn [ n F ] 3 te lll n F ] 1- 3
discover3 m a k e out [ n F ] th in k [ n F ] 3
discuss3 m in d [ n F ] 1 wonder 3
T h e sym bol [ n F ] [after a v e rb in d ic a te s th a t th is c o m p le m e n ta tio n is

p a rticu la rly lik e ly to o c cu r in a n o n a ssertiv e co n te x t. T h e su p e rsc rip ts 1 - 3
a re in te rp re te d a s fo llo w s:
1: T h is v erb is p a r t o f a n eg ativ e o r p re d o m in a n tly n e g ativ e c o n stru ctio n

w h e n c o m b in e d w ith th e w A -interrogative c la u s e : not care ; not m in d ; can't
fa th o m ', ca n ’t tell.
2 : T h e verb is b a sica lly a p re p o sitio n a l v erb , a n d h a s a p re p o sitio n w h ich
m ay be o p tio n a lly a d d e d (see below ).
3 : T h e v e rb c a n also o c cu r w ith a follow ing wA-infinitive clause ( c f 16.37);

e g : I d id n ’t k n o w w hat to say.
T h e p re p o sitio n o f a p re p o sitio n a l v e rb is o p tio n ally o m itte d b efo re a wh-

clau se, a n d h e n ce it is c o n v e n ie n t to include in th e ab o v e lis t v e rb s for w hich
th e wA-clause is b asically a p re p o sitio n a l object. F o r e x a m p le :
I inquired (about) w h e th e r th e tick ets w ere ready.

T h ey h a v e n ’t y et decid ed (on) w h ic h flight th ey will ta k e .
F o r th e co rre sp o n d in g p a ssiv e , a g ain , th e p rep o sitio n is o p tio n a l, w h e th er or

n o t th e n o m in a l clau se is in e x tra p o s itio n :
W h ic h flight th ey w ill ta k e h a s n o t yet been decided (on).

I t h a s n o t y et b een d e cid ed (on) w h ich flight th ey w ill tak e .
S o m etim es th ere is a slig h t d ifferen ce o f m ean in g i f th e p re p o sitio n is

in clu d e d ; c o n tra st:
She a sked w h a t he w a n te d .
/ She a sk e d about w h a t h e w anted.;
W h e re a s a sk in tro d u c es th e q u e stio n w hich th e sp e a k er actu ally a sk ed a n d

fo r w h ic h she re q u ire s a n a n sw e r, a sk about does n o t in d ic a te w h a t th e
q u e stio n m ig h t h a v e b een . O th e r p rep o sitio n al v erb s in th is class a re ; argue
(about); beware (o f) (c /3 .5 4 N o te ); not cafe (about); check (on); depend (on);
hear (about); reflect (on). T h e r e is also th e p h ra sa l-p re p o sitio n a l v e rb f in d out
(about).
N ote A few verbs are followed by a wA-exclamative clause (indirect exclam ation; c/10.104) beginning
w ith what o r how : I realized what a fo o l I had been; 1 know how busy you are. These clauses are
difficult to distinguish from wA-interrogative clauses. Other verbs in the p attern include exclaim,
express, marvel, reflect, think.
C om plem entation by a nonfinite clause
N onfinite clauses in com plem entation

16.36 W h e n a n o n fin ite clau se follow s th e v e rb it is o ften difficult to s e p a ra te th ree
o f th e m ajo r ty p es o f c o m p le m e n ta tio n w hich w e d istin g u ish e d in 2.16. T h is
is especially tru e i f a n o u n p h ra s e in terv en es b etw een th e s u p e ro rd in ate v erb
a n d th e v e rb o f th e n o n fin ite c o n s tru c tio n :
T h ey lik e the children to visit them . [1]

T h ey su p p o sed the children to be guilty. [2]
T h ey a sk ed the children to bring som e food. [3]
O n th e face o f it, all th re e o f th ese sentences c o n fo rm to th e sa m e p a tte rn
(v e rb + n o u n p h ra se + fo -in fin itiv e . . . ) . B ut th ere are reaso n s fo r classify in g
th e m d iffe re n tly :
[1] e x e m p lif ie s m o n o t r F n s i t i v e c o m p l e m e n t a t i o n (16.38f f )

(cf; They lik e the children’s visits - S V O )
[2] exem plifies c o m p l e x t r F n s i t i v e c o m p lem en tatio n (16.43jf)
( c f : They supposed the children guilty - S V O C )
1186 C o m p le m e n ta tio n o f verbs aiid adjectives
[3] ex em p lifies d i t r F n s i t i v e co m p lem en tatio n (16.55$)

( c f : T h e y a s k e d the children a question - S V O O )
W e w ill r e tu rn in I 6 .6 4 ff to differences b etw een ex am p les su c h a s th ese. A t

p re s e n t, sin c e w e a r e d ealin g w ith m o n o tran sitiv e c o m p le m e n ta tio n , we are
c o n c e rn e d o nly w ith th e ty p e illu strated by [1]. In n o m in al fu n c tio n , only tw o
k in d s o f n o n fin ite clau se n o rm ally o c cu r; th e fo-infinitive c lau se a n d th e -ing
p a r tic ip le clause. H e n ce n o n fin ite clauses fu n ctio n in g as o b je c t c a n be
d istin g u ish e d , fo r th e p re se n t purp o ses, in term s o f the c ateg o rie s in Table
16.36:
Table 16.36 N onfinite clauses as object
W ithout subject With subject
fo-infinitive [B6] Jack hates [B8] Jack hates

to miss the train. her to miss the train.
-ing participle [B7] Jack hates [B9] Jack hates

missing the train. her missing the train.
I n T able 16.36, th e ita licized p a rts a re an aly sed as n onfinite c la u se s a c tin g as

d ire c t o b je c t. T h e s ta tu s o f th e in fin itiv e clau se an d its su b ject in p a tte rn [B8]
is d isc u sse d in 16.41. L a te r, in 16.66, w e co n sid er th e a rg u m e n ts for
c o n s id e rin g her a n o b je c t in th e [B8] a n d [B9] exam ples.
T h e fo llo w in g c rite ria co n firm th a t th e italicized p o rtio n o f [B 6 -B 9 ] is
b a sica lly a n o n fin ite clause a s d ire c t o b je c t:
(A ) T h e n o n fin ite clau se c a n b e re p la ce d by a p ro n o u n it c o re fe rrin g to a

c la u se , o r b y a n o u n p h ra se n o m in alizin g th e m ea n in g o f a clau se;
E veryone lik e s it; H e likes her fre q u en t visits.
(B ) T h e n o n fin ite c lau se c a n be m ad e th e focus o f a p seu d o -cleft se n ten c e ( c f
18.29);
W h a t e v ery o n e lik es (best) is to ta lk to her. [B6]
W h a t e v e iy o n e lik es (best) is talking to her. [B7]
W h a t h e lik e s (best) is f o r her to call often. [B8]
I n th is v e rsio n o f [B8], as th e in fin itiv e clause is n o w in c o m p le m e n t
p o sitio n , th e in tro d u c to ry fo r h a s to m a k e its ap p ea ran c e.
(C ) F o r [B8] th e in tro d u c to ry fo r itself, w h ere it a p p ears, is a m a r k e r o f th e
c o n stru c tio n a s a n o n fin ite clause.
(D ) C o rre sp o n d in g ly , for [B9], a su b ject p ro n o u n in th e o b jec tiv e case can
o fte n b e re p la c e d , in fo rm al style, by a possessive p ro n o u n (c /1 4 .6 ):
H e d o e sn ’t lik e m e /m y coming often.
T h is is w h a t o n e w ould e x p ect ( c f 15.12) given th a t m e a n d m y c a n b o th
b e su b je cts o f a n -ing clause.
N o t all v e rb s t h a t we co n sid er d ire c t o b jects satisfy all th e s e c rite ria .

N e v erth e le ss, it is o n th is b asis t h a t th e v e rb s listed below a re in c lu d e d in th e
classes [B 6-B 9].
|B 5 | ITA-infinitivc clause a s object

16.37 I t is as w ell to b eg in th e survey o f n onfinite clau ses as o b jects w ith clau ses
w hich h a p p e n to b e im m ed iately related to th o se d e alt w ith in 16.35. T h e s e
are wA-infinitive c lauses (c /1 5 .5 );
H e lea rn ed how to sail a boat as a sm all boy.

Y ou m u s t n o t fo rg et when to keep your m outh shut.
I c o u ld n ’t d e cid e (on) which bicycle to buy.
T h e last e x am p le illu strates th e occu rren ce o f th e o p tio n al p re p o sitio n w ith

p rep o sitio n al v erb s, as a lread y o b serv ed w ith fin ite clauses o f th e sam e ty p e.
T h e c o rre sp o n d in g p assiv e p a tte rn also o c c u rs:
T h e C u ries d isco v ered how to isolate radioactive elements.

~ H o w to isolate radioactive elem ents w as d isco v ered by th e C uries.
T h e p assiv e w ith ex tra p o sitio n ( c /1 6 .3 0 ,16.35) is also so m etim es p o ss ib le :
E arly in th e p re s e n t cen tu ry , it w as d isco v ered how to isolate radioactive

elem ents.
T h e v erb s m a rk e d ‘3’ in th e lis t in 16.35 a b o v e p ro v id e a sam p le o f v e rb s

o ccu rrin g w ith th e wA-infinitive clause a s object.
Note Many verbs w hich introduce wA-infinitive clauses rarely if ever introduce yes-no interrogative
clauses (introduced by whether) o f the sam e ty p e ; I have forgotten how to swim but not * / have
forgotten whether to swim. A mong such verbs are demonstrate, discover, and explain. N evertheless
in unusual contexts such sentences can be found:
I have forgotten whether to unfreeze thisfo o d before cooking it.
|B6] Subjectless infinitive clause a s d irect object

16.38 W h en a su b jectless in fin itiv e clau se is d irec t o b ject, th e ‘u n d e rsto o d ’ su b je ct
o f th e in fin itiv e c lau se is alw ays th e sam e as th e su b je ct o f th e su p e ro rd in a te
clause. V erb s ta k in g th is k in d o f co m p le m e n ta tio n a re listed below ,
su b d iv id ed in to se m an tic categ o ries:
(i) dread [B7, B8] (iv) choose [Bl] (vi) a sk (vii) affect
hate [B7, B8] hope beg claim
like [B7, B8] intend [B7, B8] decline profess [B7]
loathe ( B l, B8] mean [B7, B8] dem a n d
(viii) afford [B l]
love [B7, B8] need [B7] offer
a ttem pt [B7]
prefer [B 7, B8] plan [B7] prom ise
contrive
propose [B7] refuse
(ii) begin IB7] endeavour
w ant [B7, B8] sw ear
cease [B7] f a il
wish [B8] undertake
com m ence [B7] learn
vow
continue [B7] (v) deign manage
sta rt [B7] disdain [B7] neglect
help [B7, B8] om it
(iii) fo rg e t [B7]
scorn [B7] tr y [B 7 ]
rem em ber [B7]
venture [B7]
regret [B7]
T h e sy m b o ls to th e rig h t o f som e v erb s in d ic a te th a t th ese v erb s also o ccu r

w ith th e su b jectless -ing clau se (T ype [B7]) o r w ith th e in fin itiv e clau se w ith
a s u b je c t (T ype [B8]). F ro m th e la tte r gro u p , h o w ev er, v erb s su ch a s a sk a re
e x c lu d e d , b ecau se th e c o n stru ctio n o f sen ten ces lik e H e a sked m e to help is
d itr a n s itiv e ( c f 16.63) r a th e r th a n m o n o tran sitiv e.
W e n o w ad d a lis t o f p re p o sitio n al v erb s b elo n g in g to th e sam e p a tte rn
[B 6 p r], T h e p re p o sitio n is o m itted b efo re th e in fin itiv e clause o b ject (c f 9.2),
b u t is p r e s e n t w h ere th e p rep o sitio n al o b jec t is a n o u n p h ra se or, for th a t
m a tte r , a n -ing clau se. C o m p a r e :
( about th e baby. [B lp r]
S h e d id n ’t bother < about feeding th e b ab y . [B7pr]
[ t o feed the baby. [B6pr]
I n th e fo llo w in g list, th e v erb s are p laced in se m an tic g ro u p in g s co rresp o n d in g

to so m e o f those a b o v e (a p a rt from a n a d d itio n a l m iscellan eo u s g ro u p (ix)),
a n d th e o m itte d p re p o s itio n is placed in sq u a re b r a c k e ts :
(i) long [for] [B8] (vi) agree [to/on/about] [B8]

a c h e [for] assen t [to] .
a im [/or] [B8] consent [to]
b u rn er] (vii) M
b u rst [for] (viii) striae [/or]
(not) care [for] se e k [for]
n c n i/orj liJBj decide [on] [B7]

y e a rn [for] [B8] r e so lv e \o n ]m
(iii) b o th er [about] [B7, B8] prepare [for] [B7]
condescend [to] serve [for] [B7]
d elig h t [in] [B7]
h esita te [about] [B7]
E x a m p le s :
M a r tin longed to leav e hom e.

T h e y sought txj m a k e a m en d s.
I w o u ld hesitate to in te rfere . \
W e ’v e decided, to m o v e to a new house.
Note [a] W e distinguish the verbs o f Type [B6] from catenative verbs {cf 3.49) o f ‘seeming’ and
‘occurrence’ preceding infinitive clauses which are not direct objects, but which relate
sem antically to a rtwr-jclause as subject: H e appears to like the show ~ That he likes the show
appears [true]. The vefbs in this class correlate closely w ith those occurring with obligatory
extraposition o f the subject (c/16.34) appear, seem, chance, happen, turn out:
It appearedfchanced th a t the children were asleep.
~ T h e children appearedjchanced to be asleep.
[b] A n o th er group of verbs which are closely associated with a following infinitive but which do
n o t belong to Type [B6] includes hasten, conspire, and set o u t :
I hastened to reassure her.
They conspired to murder Caesar.
H e set o ut to conquer the world.
The fo-infinitive here, however, has a resultative m eaning which m akes the construction
resemble on the one hand th a t o f a catenative verb, and on the other hand th a t o f an intransitive
verb followed by an adjunct. W ith pay and (to a lesser extent) wait, the adjunct status is m ore
obvious, as is clear from th e possibility o f fronting the infinitive clause:
You have to pay to go in.
— {In order) to go in, you have to pay.
He w aited to see her.
~ ?(/n order) to see her, he waited.
Similarly, unlike begin -4- infinitive, the infinitive following stop is purposive; contrast:
She [S] began [V] to eat lunch [O].
u t : She [S] stopped [V] to eat lunch [A].
|
O n the other hand, these tw o verbs have m atching uses in com plementation Type [B7]:
She {stcfpped} eat' ng lunch-
|B 7] S ubjectless -ing participle clause a s object

16.39 A g ain , w ith th is ty p e o f c o m p le m e n ta tio n , th e su b ject o f th e n o n fin ite v e rb
is usually id e n tic a l w ith th e su b je ct o f th e p reced in g v e r b :
I love listening to music.

T h e a cc u se d d e n ie d having m e t the witness.
[‘T h e a ccu sed d en ied th a t he/she h a d m et the witness’]
T h is ru le a c c o u n ts fo r th e re stric tio n th a t w h en th e p a rticip le is follow ed b y

a reflexive p ro n o u n , th e p ro n o u n n o rm ally h as to agree (in n u m b e r, p e rso n ,
an d g en d er) w ith th e su b ject o f th e su p e ro rd in ate c la u se :
u n d e rsto o d su b je ct o f th e p a rtic ip le , b u t its u n d ersto o d o b ject th a t is id en tifie d

w ith th e su b je ct o f th e su p e ro rd in ate clause. In such cases, th ere fo re, th e
p a rticip le c o n stru c tio n m atc h es in m ea n in g th e p assiv e o f th e c o rre sp o n d in g
in fin itiv e c o n stru c tio n [B6]:
m en d in g , p a in tin g ,
Y o u r sh o es need T h a t d o o r needs
to b e m en d ed . to b e p a in te d .
(T h e a b o v e u se o f need is o ften re p laced , in d ialectally re stricted usage, b y a n

e q u iv a len t u se o f want.)
F o r a n a d d itio n a l g roup o f v erb s (m ark ed ‘3’ in th e list below ), th e su b je ct
o f th e p a rtic ip le is in d efin ite, a n d is in d e p e n d e n t o f th e su b je ct o f th e
p re ce d in g v e rb . F o r ex am p le, in H e recom m ended introducing a w ealth ta x , it
is c le a r th a t th e p e rso n recom m ending th e ta x is likely to b e d iffere n t fro m th e
p erso n (s) w h o w ould b e re sp o n sib le for introducing it. T h e m e a n in g o f th is
sen ten ce is e q u iv a le n t to th a t o f H e recom m ended the introduction o f a w ealth
ta x .
I n th e fo llo w in g list o f v e rb s in the p a tte rn o f [B7], T y p es (i) a n d (ii)
co rre sp o n d to T y p e [B6 (i)] (‘e m o tiv e ’) a n d T y p e [B6 (ii)] (‘a s p e c tu a l’). T h e
v erb s g ro u p e d u n d e r (iii) are h o w ev er in th is case a m iscellany, sin ce fu rth e r
sem an tic g ro u p in g is difficult.
(i) (c a n 't) bea r1 (not) fa n c y 1 m iss1

begru d g e 1 b a te 1 regret1'*
d e te s t1 lik e 1 relish 1
d is lik e 1 loathe1 resent1
d read1 love1 (can’t) s ta n d 1
e n jo y (not) m in d 1
(ii) cease quit sta rt 1

com m ence resum e stop1
continue
(iii) a d m it* fo r g e t1,3'* recom m end 1,3

a vo id (can’t) help1 rem em ber1,3'*
confess* im agine1 repent
consider involve1,3 require2
deny* ju s tify 1,3 risk 1,3
deserve 2 n e e d 1,3 save 1,3
discourage 1' 3 p e rm it 1,3 try 5
envisage1,3 propose w ant1, ( d ia le c ta l2)
escape recall1,3-*
T h e v e r b s o f T y p e (i) p re ce d ed by a n eg ativ e (such as can’t bear) h a v e a b u ilt-

in n e g a tiv e b ia s , so t h a t th e y c a n n o t o ccu r in s tra ig h tfo rw a rd a ssertiv e
c o n te x ts :
C o r a doesn't m in d w aitin g . ?* C o ra m inds w aiting.
T h e y c a n , h o w ev er, o c cu r in n o n a sse rtiv e c o n te x ts:
D o you m in d w a itin g ?
H o w can a n y o n e bear w e arin g clothes lik e th a t?
a n d a ls o in ‘seco n d in sta n c e ’ co n tex ts, ie w h ere th e c o n stru ctio n re fe rs b a ck

to a n o n a sse rtiv e o ccu rre n ce o f th e sam e co n stru ctio n e arlie r in th e d isc o u rse :
can't sta n d
A: I w o r k in g w ith t h a t g irl.
don’t fa n c y
sta n d it.
B : W e ll, I ’m a f r a id y o u ’ll h Av e to
fa n c y w o rk in g w ith h e r.
S u p e rsc rip ts in (h e a b o v e lists a re in te rp re te d as follow s:
1: T h e v erb a lso o ccu rs in p a tte rn [B9], ie w ith a su b ject p re c e d in g th e

p a rtic ip le (c/1 6 .4 2 ).
2 : T h e p a rtic ip le h a s a ‘p a ssiv e ’ in te rp re ta tio n (see above).
3 : T h e p a rtic ip le h a s ‘in d e p e n d e n t’ in te rp re ta tio n ; ie th e su b je ct o f th e
p a rtic ip le clau se is n o t n ecessarily c o referen tial w ith th e su b je ct o f th e
p re ce d in g v e rb , a n d m ay h a v e in d efin ite m eaning.
4 ; T h e p a rtic ip le m ay o ccu r w ith a p erfectiv e c o n stru c tio n :
I a d m it having seen it. [1]
B u t w ith su c h v erb s, th e n o n p e rfe c tiv e c o n stru ctio n c a n also b e u se d w ith
p a s t m ean in g . T h u s [1] is syno n y m o u s w ith [2]:
I a d m i t s e e in g i t . [2]
Ty p e s of verb com plem entation 1191
T h is p a ra p h ra s e re la tio n , how ever, exists m ain ly w ith v erb s o f d y n a m ic

m ea n in g ; c o n tra s t v erb s o f sta tiv e m ean in g :
I a d m it k n o w in g him .
i= I a d m it h a v in g k n o w n him .
5: O n th e c o n stru c tio n w ith try, c /1 6 .4 0 .
E xam ples o f p re p o sitio n a l v erb s b elonging to th is class ([B7pr]) a r e :
bank o n 1 decide on p la y a t see a b o u t1

c o u n to n 1 d elig h t in 1 resort to shrink fro m
E xam ples o f p h ra s a l v e rb s ([B7ph]) a r e :
break o f f g ive up leave o f f put o ff ta ke up
E x am p les o f [B 7ph-pr] a r e :
do aw ay with g e t around to go in fo r look fo rw a rd to
T h e follow ing se n ten c es illu strate th ese p a tte rn s :
W e counted on g e ttin g th ere early. [B 7pr]

I ’ve ta ke n up p la y in g ten n is. [B 7ph]
Jim is looking fo rw a rd to h a v in g the house to him self. [B 7ph-pr]
I t is im p o rta n t to n o tic e th a t th e to in get around to, lo o k fo rw a rd to, an d resort

to is n o t a n in fin itiv e m a rk e r, b u t a p rep o sitio n . H e n c e I a m looking fo rw a rd
to seeing y o u is g ra m m a tic a l, b u t n o t *1 am looking fo rw a rd to see you.
N o te [a] T h e su p erscrip t ‘1’ in th e a b o v e lists is n o t ad d ed to v erb s lik e stop , alth o u g h a n o u n p h r a s e

c a n b e in serted b e tw e e n th e p a rtic ip le an d th e p receding v e rb in su ch c a s e s :
T hey sto p p e d (h e r) w o rk in g all night.
T h is is b ecause th e co n stru c tio n co n tain in g th e ex tra n o u n p h ra s e ( her in th e ab o v e ex am p le) is
arguably co m p lex tra n sitiv e { c f 16.53) r a th e r th a n m o n o tra n sitiv e (as is e v id e n t fro m th e
m arginally a c c e p ta b le p a ssiv e IS h e was stopped working a ll night).
[b] A lso we e x c lu d e fro m th e a b o v e lists ca ten ativ e v erb s su ch as go in W e went running a n d g e t
in G et m oving! (c/3 .4 9 ).
C h o ic e b e tw e e n t h e in f in i tiv e a n d p a r tic ip le c o n s t r u c t i o n s ( [ B 6 | a n d [B 7 ])
16.40 W h ere b o th c o n stru c tio n s [B6] a n d [B7] a re a d m itte d , th e re is usually felt to
b e a difference o f a s p e c t o r m ood w h ich influences th e choice. A s a rule, th e
infinitive g iv es a sen se o f m ere ‘p o te n tia lity ’ fo r a ctio n , as in S h e hoped to
learn French, w h ile th e p a rticip le gives a sense o f th e a ctu al ‘p e rfo rm a n c e ’ o f
th e actio n itself, a s in S h e enjoyed learning French. I n th e case o f try, th e
double m ea n in g is p a rticu la rly c le a r :
. . , (to bribe th e jailo r. [1]

Sheila trie d i , ... r
(bribing th e jailo r. 12]
[1] im plies t h a t S h e ila a tte m p te d a n a ct o f b rib ery , b u t d id n o t m an ag e it; [2]

im plies th a t sh e actu ally d id b rib e th e ja ilo r, b u t w ith o u t (n ecessarily )
ach iev in g w h a t sh e w a n ted . W ith o th e r verbs, th e d ifferen ce is m o re su b tle ,
a n d m ay b e o v e rru le d o r n e u tra liz ed by th e m e a n in g o f th e v e rb o f the m a in
clause. F o r ex am p le, th e n e g ativ e m ean in g o f a void a n d escape can cels o u t
th e sense o f ‘p e rfo rm a n c e ’ in H e escapedjavoided being branded as a traitor.
L e t u s c o n sid er m ore carefu lly th ree classes o f v e rb w hich ta k e b o th

(i) e m o t i v e v e r b s (see T y p e (i) in th e lists in 16.38 a n d 16.39). W ith the

v e r b s w h ich ta k e b o th c o n stru ctio n s (dread, hate, like, loathe, love, an d
p re fe r ) th e b ia s o f th e in fin itiv e to w a rd s ‘p o te n tia lity ’ ten d s to fa v o u r its
u s e in h y p o th etica l a n d n o n factu al c o n te x ts; eg:
W o u ld you like j Tseeing

m y sta m p co llectio n ?
I t e t e | ^ ^ ” ^ |r u d e , b u t you’re b lo ck in g th e view .
O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e p a rticip ial c o n stru ctio n is fav o u red w h ere th e

s p e a k e r is re fe rrin g to so m eth in g w h ich d efin itely h a p p en s o r has
happened:
B ria n loathed j' j >n th e co u n try .
( B u t w ith w ould loathe, th e in fin itiv e is ju s t as acc ep ta b le as th e -ing

p a rtic ip le .)
H e re to live im p lies th a t B rian co u ld exercise ch o ice a b o u t w h ere to
liv e , w h e rea s living p resu p p o ses th a t h e actu ally d id live in th e co u n try ,
a n d p ro b a b ly h a d n o ch o ice in th e m a tte r. B u t in o th e r co n tex ts th e re is
l ittle a p p re c ia b le d ifferen ce b etw een th e tw o c o n stru ctio n s:
to co o k to e a t
D o you p refer for yourself, o r in a re sta u ra n t?
co o k in g e atin g
(ii) ASPECTUAL v e r | s o f b e g in n in g , c o n tin u in g , a n d e n d in g a lso in m a n y

c a s e s ta k e b o th c o n s tru c tio n s :
L u cy sta rted ! continued/ceased j w h ile in h o sp ital.
I n s u c h e x am p les a s th is, th ere is n o o b serv ab le difference o f m ean in g

b e tw e e n th e c o n stru ctio n s. B ut in o th e r cases, a c o n tra st b etw een
‘p o te n tia lity ’ a n d ‘p e rfo rm a n c e ’ m ay in flu en ce th e c h o ic e :
H e s t a r t e d l t0 sPea^ ' *3ut st0PPe^ b ecau se sh e o b jected .

speaking, a n d k e p t o n fo r m o re th a n a n hour.
T h e a sso c iatio n o f th e -ing p a rticip le w ith th e p ro g ressiv e a sp ect m ay

a ls o in flu en ce a p re fe re n ce for th e p a rtic ip le w h ere m u ltip le activ ities
a r e in v o lv e d :
[ to open a ll th e c u p b o ard s.
H e began 1 0p gnjng a |j t jje CUpb o ard s.
H e r e opening is m o re a p p ro p ria te th a n to open. W h ile som e v erb s in th is

g r o u p (begin, continue, cease, start), allow b o th co n stru ctio n s, o th ers
(fin is h , stop) allow o n ly th e p a rticip le co n stru ctio n . (Go on a n d keep (on)
m a y b e classified a s c ate n a tiv e v erb s ( c f 3.49); o n fin ish /sto p follow ed by
th e in fin itiv e, c/1 6 .3 8 N o te [b].)
(iii) r e t r o s p e c t i v e v e r | s . F o r th ree v erb s fo rg e t, remember, a n d regret, t h e
‘po ten tiality V 'p erfo rm an c e ’ d istin c tio n becom es e x ten d ed in to th e p a s t

so th a t th e re is a tem p o ral (as w ell as in p a rt m odal) d ifferen ce b e tw e e n
th e tw o c o n stru ctio n s. T h e in fin itiv e c o n stru ctio n in d ic a te s th a t th e
a c tio n o r e v e n t tak e s p lace a fte r (an d as a result o f) th e m e n ta l p ro c ess
d e n o te d b y th e v e rb h as begun, w hile th e reverse is true for th e p a rtic ip le
c o n stru c tio n , w h ic h refers to a p reced in g e v en t o r occasion c o m in g to
m in d a t th e tim e in d icated by th e m ain v e r b :
I rem em bered to fill o u t th e form . [T rem em b ered th a t I w as to fill
o u t th e fo rm a n d th en d id so’]
I rem em bered filling o u t th e form . [T rem em b ered th a t I h a d filled
o u t th e fo rm ’]
I fo rg o t to g o to th e b an k . [‘I forgot th a t I w as to go to th e b a n k , a n d
th e re fo re d id n o t do so’]
I fo rg o t (about) going to th e b a n k , [rare w ith o u t about', ‘I fo rg o t t h a t
I w e n t to th e b a n k ’ o r ' . . . th a t I should have g o n e . . . ’]
I regret to tell you t h a t J o h n stole it. [‘I regret th a t I am a b o u t to tell
(
y o u th a t J o h n stole it’]
I regret tellin g you th a t J o h n stole it. [‘I reg ret th a t I to ld you t h a t

J o h n sto le it’ o r ‘. . . th a t I am n ow telling y o u . . . ’]
[B 8 ] C o m p le m e n t a t i o n b y r e -in fin itiv e c l a u s e (w ith s u b je c t)

16.41 T h e v erb s in th is g ro u p (as d istin c t fro m th e ap p are n tly sim ila r ‘o b je c t +
in fin itiv e ’ c o n stru c tio n ; c f 16.50) a re re stric te d to a sm all n u m b e r ch iefly
d e n o tin g (n o t) lik in g o r w a n tin g : (can't) bear, desire, hate, like, love, prefer,
want, a n d wish:
T h e y d o n ’t like th e house to b e le ft em pty.
I w o u ld n ’t w ant you to lose y o u r way.
A fte r th ese v e rb s, th e n o u n p h ra se p re ce d in g th e in fin itiv e c a n n o t b e m a d e
th e su b je ct o f a p assiv e m a in c la u s e : *The house isn’t lik e d to be le ft e m p ty (by
them ).
T h e re is m o re o v e r an a lte rn a tiv e c o n stru ctio n (chiefly re stric te d to A m E )
in w h ic h t h e n o u n p h ra se is p re ce d ed by fo r w h ich m ark s it a s th e s u b je c t o f
a n in fin itiv e clau se, ra th e r th a n as o b jec t o f th e m ain c la u se :
Ja c k p re fe rs f o r h is w ife to d riv e th e tru ck . <esp A m E )
T h ese tw o o b se rv a tio n s p o in t in th e d irectio n o f a m o n o tra n sitiv e a n aly sis o f

su ch v erbs.
In th e follow ing, h o w ev er, fo r h a s a d ifferen t statu s a n d m u st o c cu r in b o th
A m E and B rE :
T h ey a rra n g e d f o r M ary to co m e a t once.
I n th is case th e co n stru ctio n is th a t o f a p rep o sitio n al v e rb arrange fo r

([B8pr]), th e in fin itiv e clau se a ctin g as p rep o sitio n al object. O th e r e x am p les
w h e re v e r o ccu rs a s p a r t o f a p re p o sitio n a l v erb a r e : a sk fo r , call fo r, ache fo r ,

aim f o r , burn fo r , burst fo r , care fo r, clam our fo r , crave fo r, hope fo r, itch fo r ,
long f o r , plan fo r , prepare fo r , wait fo r , yearn f o r :
W e w ere all aching/burning/bursting fo r th e p erfo rm a n ce to begin.

T h e y pla n n ed fo r th e m ay o r to a rriv e o n th e follow ing day.
F o r so m e o f th e v e rb s in th ese clauses, th e that- clause w ith should ([B3(ii)]) is

a n a lte rn a tiv e fo rm o f c o m p le m e n ta tio n :
T h e y p la n n e d th a t th e m ay o r should arrive o n th e follow ing day.
A f u r th e r reaso n in fa v o u r o f a m o n o tra n sitiv e an aly sis o f v erb s o f T y p e

[B 8pr] is th e p o ssib ility (in som e cases) o f a passiv e, w ith o r w ith o u t
e x tra p o s itio n :
F o r th e a d m in istra tio n to resign so quick ly w as n o t called for.

I t h a d b e en a rra n g e d fo r th e food to b e served indoors.
N o te [a] S om e [B 8pr] verb s, su ch a s arrange fo r , p lan fo r , a n d prepare fo r , also h a v e a [B2] c o n stru c tio n
in w h ich th e y a re follow ed b y a d ire c t object. C o m p a re : H ave yo u arranged the m eeting? H ave
yo u arranged f o r th e m eeting? C o m p a re also Sh e a sk e d fo r th e children to leave an d S h e a s k e d th e
children to leave.
[b] Desire, e x pect, a n d in tend, alth o u g h th ey lit in to th is category w ith resp ect to in tro d u cto ry fo r
an d th e ex tra p o se d passiv e, also ac c e p t th e p assiv e o f th e ‘raised o b je ct’ w h ich ap p lies to [C 4]
(c/1 6 .5 0 ). T h u s e xpect, fo r ex a m p le, p erm its tw o asso ciated passiv es:
I t w a s n o t e x p e c te d fo r th e a d m in istra tio n to resign.
T h e a d m in is tra tio n w as n o t ex p e cted to resign.
T h e fo r m e r o f th e se , how ever, is felt to be aw k w a rd a n d o f m arg in al ac cep tab ility . O n su ch
conflicts o f c lassificatio n c f 16.64jf.
[B 9 ] C o m p le m e n t a t io n b y -ing p a r t i c i p l e c la u s e (w ith s u b je c t)
16.42 V erbs w h ic h a c c e p t th is p a tte rn co m p rise a co n sid erab le su b set o f th o se
verbs a c c e p tin g th e su b jectless -ing clau se as o b jec t: th ey in clu d e th e v e rb s
m a rk e d ‘1’ in th e list o f 16.39. T h e g en itiv e fo rm o f th e su b ject is a n o p tio n
in fo rm al E n g lish ( c f 15.12), b u t is o ften felt to be a w k w ard o r stilted :
I d islik e h im /his driving m y car.

W e look fo rw a rd to y ou/your becom ing our neighbour.
In som e cases, p a rtic u la rly w h en th e su b ject o f th e p a rticip le is n o t a p ro n o u n

an d d o e s n o t h a v e p e rso n al referen ce, th e g en itiv e o p tio n is r a r e :
P e te r sto p p e d th e j c rash in g in to th e fence.
The g e n itiv e is a|iso ra re w ith a p ro n o u n w ith n o n p erso n al referen ce:
I lo o k fo rw a rd to | ^ | g e ttin g w a rm er in spring.
The v e rb s o f n e g ativ e m ea n in g stop, prevent, a n d prohibit h av e a re la te d

d itra n sitiv e c o n stru ctio n ( c f 1 6 .5 6 /) in w h ic h th e p rep o sitio n fro m p re ce d es
th e -ing c lau se a s seco n d o b je c t:
T h e y trie d to prevent th e p lan e fr o m lan d in g o n th e runw ay.

T h u s th e fro m is o p tio n a l.
In th e very few c ases w h ere w e h av e a ch o ice b etw een a n -ing p a rtic ip le
a n d a re-infinitive c o n stru c tio n th ere is usually felt to b e a d ifferen ce o f a s p e c t
o r m o o d su ch as th a t d e sc rib e d in 16.40:
I hate th e c h ild re n to quarrel [ . . . th ey ’re o rd in arily su ch good

friends], [1]
I h ate th e c h ild re n quarrelling [ . . . all th e tim e]. [2]
[1] focuses on th e c h ild re n ’s ‘p o ten tial’ for q u a rre llin g ; [2] em p h asizes th e ir
‘p erfo rm a n ce ’ - th e p o in t b ein g th a t th ey d o q u a rre l, ra th e r o ften in fact. A n
a sp e ctu al difference is u p p e rm o st in :
I hate th e clo ck 1 “ * (; ’ ' a “ long).

( to chim e ( . . . ju s t w h en I m g o in g to sleep).
T h e in fin itiv e suggests a single ch im e, w hile th e p a rtic ip le suggests c o n tin u a l

ch im in g { c f 4 .3 5 ,4 .6 7 f ) .
N o te V erb s o f th e ‘o b se rv a tio n a l’ ty p e , e g : notice in I noticed him writing a letter , d o n o t belong in th is

g ro u p , a n d a re d ea lt w ith in 16.53. F o r such v erb s, th e g en itiv e is n o t a possible a lte rn a tiv e : * /
noticed his writing a letter.
C o m plex transitive com plem entation

16.43 I n 2.16 w e ap p lie d th e te rm c o m p l e x t r a n s i t i v e to v erb s in th e p a tte rn s
S V O C a n d S V O A . I n th is c h a p te r w e ex ten d th e te rm to o th e r clau se p a tte rn s
in w h ic h a n o b ject is follow ed by a n o th e r e lem en t w h ic h is n o t a n o b ject {eg
a n o n fin ite clause). A d istin g u ish in g c h a ra c te ris tic o f co m p lex tra n s itiv e
co m p le m e n ta tio n is t h a t th e tw o e lem ents follow ing th e v e rb {eg o b ject a n d
o b ject co m p lem en t) a re n o tio n ally eq u ated w ith th e su b je ct a n d p re d ic a tio n
resp ectiv ely o f a n o m in a l clause. F o r e x am p le :
m o n o tra n s itiv e : She presu m ed th a t her fa th e r was dead. [ 1]
f She p resu m ed her fa th e r to be dead. [2]
c o m p l e x t r F n s it iv e : , , , , , , ,
[S h e p resu m ed herJather dead. |3J
I n [3], her fa th e r (O ) a n d d e a d (C ) are e q u iv a len t in m ea n in g to a se p a ra te

clause, viz the rta r-c la u se in [1]. T h is re la tio n sh ip re m a in s w h ere th e o b je c t
c o m p lem en t is e x p a n d e d in to a n infinitive clause, a s in [2]. Y e t her fa th e r to
be dead , in spite o f its clause-like m ea n in g a n d a p p e a ra n c e , does n o t a c t
sy n tactically as a sin g le c o n stitu e n t, as is e v id e n t in th e p assiv e, w here th e O
is se p a ra ted fro m its c o m p le m e n t:
H er fa th e r w as p re su m ed (by h er) to be dead.
T h is d iv isib ility in to tw o elem en ts o f a sem an tically clau sal c o n stru ctio n

follow ing th e v e rb is th e d efin in g p ro p erty o f co m p lex tra n s itiv e co m p le m e n t
atio n .
W e b egin w ith th re e alread y fa m ilia r p a tte rn s o f co m p lex tra n s itiv e
co m p le m e n ta tio n : th o se co rresp o n d in g to [A 1 -A 3 ] (c/1 6 .2 1 - 4 ) .
N o te O n th e sim ilarities b e tw e e n co m p lex tra n sitiv e an d d itra n sitiv e co m p lem en tatio n , see 16.66#.
[C l] A d jectiv e p h ra se a s object com plem ent

>.44 T h e S V O C p a tt e r n (c /2 ;1 6 ) in w h ich th e o b ject c o m p le m e n t is a n adjective
p h ra s e is f o u n d w ith v erb s w h ich , lik e co p u lar verbs, m ay b e d iv id e d in to
C U R R E N T a n d R E S U L T IN G types:
Y o u s h o u ld kee p th e c ab b a g e fresh . [1]

T h a t m u s ic drives m e m ad. [2]
T h e v e r b k e e p in [1] in tro d u ces th e c u rre n t a ttrib u te fre sh , w h ile th e verb

drive in [2] in tro d u c e s th e resu ltin g a ttrib u te m ad. T h ese tw o v e rb s th erefo re
e x em p lify th e tw o m a in categ o ries o f com plex tran sitiv e c o m p le m e n ta tio n in
th is p a tte r n . T h e c u rre n t v erb s ( c f 16.21#} are u sually sta tiv e , a n d the
re su ltin g v e rb s a re alw ay s d y n am ic. F u rth e r ex am p les o f e a c h ty p e a r e :
CURRENT R ESU LTIN G
(i) h o ld [C2] (v) drive [C4]

k e e p [C 2 ] get [C4]
leave [C 2] m a k e [C 2, C4]
prove [B3, C2, C4]
(ii) c a ll [C 2]
render [C4]
confess [B 3, C 2, C4]
send
p ro fe ss [B 3, C 2 ,C 4 ]
turn
p ronounce [B3, C 2 , C4]
report [B 3, C 4] (vi) certify [B3, C2, C4]
declare [B3, C 2, C 4]
(iii) lik e
proclaim [B3, C 2, C4]
p re fer [B3]
w ant
wish [B 3, C 2 , C4]
(iv) believe [B 3, C 2 , C4]

consider [B 3, C 2 , C4]
d e em [B 3; C 2 , C4]
f i n d [ B 3, C 2 , C4]
h o ld [B 3, C 4]
im agine [B3, C 2 , C4]
ju d g e [B 3 ,\C 2 ,C 4 ]
p re su m e [B3, C 2 , C4]
ra te [C 2 , C4] \
reckon [B 3; C 2, C4]
suppose [B3, C 2, C4]
th in k [B 3, C 2 , C4]
T y p e (i) is a c a te g o ry o f c u rre n t v erb s o f general m e a n in g ; T y p e (ii) consists

o f fa c tu a l s p e e c h a c t v erb s ( c f 16.31); T y p e (iii) o f v o litio n al v e rb s ; T y p e (iv)
o f v e rb s o f in te lle c tu a l sta te ; T y p e (v) o f g en eral re su ltin g v e rb s; a n d T ype
(vi) o f re s u ltin g v e rb s re fe rrin g to sp eech acts w h ich h a v e th e p e rfo rm a tiv e
force o f d e c la ra tio n s . (H o ld o ccu rs tw ice in th e above lis t: a s a g e n era l verb
[T ype (i), a s in S h e h eld her h ead high] ; a n d as a n in tellectu al s ta te v e rb [Type
(iv), as in I h o ld y o u responsible ]). T h e sym bols a d d e d a fte r so m e verbs
in d ic a te o th e r re la te d c o m p le m e n ta tio n types to w h ich th o s e v e rb s b e lo n g :
[B3] T h e v e rb c a n also b e used m o n o tran sitiv ely ( c f N o te [a]) w ith a

fAaf-clause.
[C2] T h e v e rb c a n also o ccu r w ith a n o u n p h ra se as o b ject co m p lem en t.
[C4] T h e v e rb c a n a lso o c cu r w ith a n o b ject + in fin itiv e co n stru ctio n .
E x am p les:
T h e se c re ta ry left all th e letters unopened. (i)

T h e d o c to rs pronounced h er c o n d itio n utterly hopeless. (ii)
I w ant m y coffee stronger than this. (iii)
W e’ve a lw ay s fo u n d th e a ssista n ts very frie n d ly . (iv )
T h e lo n g w a lk m a d e u s all hungry. (v )
T h ey h a v e declared th e h ous e unfit fo r habitation. (v i)
N o te th a t th e ad je ctiv al co m p le m e n t m ay co n ta in m odifiers a n d a d je c tiv a l

c o m p le m e n ta tio n ( c f 1 6 .6 8 -8 3 ). A p assiv e c o n stru ctio n in w h ich th e d ir e c t
o b ject b eco m es su b ject is also a n im p o rta n t c riterio n :
A ll th e letters were le ft unopened (by th e secretary). (i)

H e r c o n d itio n was pronounced utterly hopeless (by th e doctors). (ii)
N o te [a ] T h e re is so m etim e s a m e a n in g difference b etw een th e ob ject co m p lem en t co n stru c tio n a n d
th e co rre sp o n d in g that- c lau se [B 3] o r ob ject + in finitive [C4] c o n stru c tio n :
I im ag in e d m y self severely ill. [3]
im ag in e d m y self to b e severely ill. [4]
S en ten ce [3] suggests th a t th e sp e a k e r is in d u lg in g in a flight o f fan cy ; sen ten ce [4] suggests t h a t
th e sp e a k e r is d elu d in g h im se lf {eg th a t h e is a h y p o ch o n d riac). A difference is also to b e
o b se rv e d b etw e en [5] a n d [6]:
T h e y g o t h im an g ry . [5]
^ T h e y g o t h im to be an g ry . [6]
w h ere [5] suggests ‘m a d e h im a n g ry in sp ite o f h im s e lf , a n d [6] suggests ‘p e rsu ad ed h im to b e
an g ry ’. (Y e t a th ir d m e a n in g is re p resen ted by D on't g e t m e wrong [‘D o n ’t m isu n d e rsta n d m e ’].)
T w o f u rth e r c o n tra sts a r e :
W e fo u n d th e ch ild re n un d ern o u rish ed . [‘W e en c o u n tered th e m in th a t co n d itio n ’] [7]
^ W e fo u n d th e c h ild re n to be u n d ern o u rish ed . [8]
[‘O u r e x a m in a tio n re v e a le d th e ir co n d itio n ’]
and:
H e declared th e m e e tin g official. [9]
H e declared th e m e e tin g to b e official. [10]
w h ere [9] ha s a p e rfo rm a tiv e a n d resu ltativ e fo rce (‘T h e m eetin g becam e official as a resu lt o f h is
an n o u n c e m e n t’) n o t reg u larly p re s e n t in [10].
[b] H a ve in sen te n ces s u c h as W e have tw o em ployees sic k is n o t a m e m b er o f th e [ C l] c a teg o ry ,
b u t belongs to a sp ecial /w ue-existential co n stru c tio n to b e discussed, w ith ex isten tial se n te n c e s
in gen e ra l, in 18.51. S in ce it h a s n o passive, th is clause c o n stru c tio n lack s o n e c rite ria l fe a tu re o f
co m p lex tra n sitiv e co n stru c tio n s: *Tw o em ployees are h a d sick.
[c] T h e re is a v a r ia n t o rd e r in w h ic h th e o b je c t co m p lem en t precedes th e o b je c t; eg: H e th o u g h t
' desirable m ost o f the wom en in th e room { c f 18.37). T h is o rd e r te n d s to occu r w hen th e o b je ct is a
long n o u n p h rase.
16.45 I n a d d itio n to th e v erb s liste d in 16.44 a b o v e, th e re are m an y v e rb s w h ic h

b elo n g m o re p e rip h e ra lly to T y p e [C l]. T h e ir m em b ersh ip is m o re p e rip h e ra l
in o n e o r b o th o f th e follow ing re s p e c ts : (a) T h ey occur o n ly in re s tric te d
seq u en ces su c h as rub . . . d ry (c f 16.17); (b) T h ey c an o c cu r in th e [B l]
m o n o tra n sitiv e c o n stru c tio n w ith o u t a p p rec ia b le ch an g e o f m e a n in g ; ie, th e
o b ject c o m p le m e n t is o p tio n a l, a n d resem b les a n o p tio n a l a d v erb ial. I n th e
follow ing ty p ic a l co llo catio n s, th e o b ject n o u n p h rase is sy m b o lized b y N :
1198 Co m p le m e n ta tio n of verbs and adjectives
CURRENT R E SU L T IN G
b rin g (a c h ild ) up h e a lth y ' boil (an egg) s o ft’

b u y N cheap 1 crop (h a ir) short'
re tu rn (a letter) unopened fre e z e N h ard'
serve (food) h o t/c o ld ' p a in t N red Iblue / . .
se ll N cheap/new ' roll N f la t
sweep (th e floor) clean'
colour N bluelyellow / . . . 1
d y e N p in k lg re e n l . . . '
k n o ck (som eone) senseless
polish N sm ooth'
scrape N clean'
swing (a d o o r) open
F o r th o s e c o m b in a tio n s m ark e d ‘1’, th e o b jec t co m p lem en t could be easily

o m itte d w ith o u t a c h an g e in th e basic sense o f th e verb.
A m o n g resu ltin g a ttrib u te s, th e ad jectiv es open, loose, fre e , a n d clean a re
p a rtic u la rly c o m m o n : push N open, shake N loose, se t N fre e , wipe N clean.
T h e c o llo catio n s m a k e sure an d m a k e certain a re p e cu liar in th a t th e o b ject
is a th a t- clause a n d alw ays follow s the a d je ctiv al c o m p lem en t:
P le a s e m a k e sure/certain th a t you enclose y o u r b irth certificate.
T h e re is no p a ssiv e *be m ade surejcertain . . . W ith o th e r collocations, th e

r t e - c la u s e o b jec t is p o stp o n e d by e x tra p o sitio n (c/1 8 .3 5 ):
H e fo u n d it strange th a t n o o n e else h a d a rriv e d .

I th in k it very o d d th a t she left w ith o u t say in g goodbye.
T h e em p e ro r pronounced it illegal for lan d lo rd s to e n fra n c h ise th eir
ten a n ts.
E x tra p o sitio n is o p tio n a l w ith m a k e N clear, a n d th erefo re th e p re p a ra to ry it

m ay b e o m itted \ \She m ade (it) clear that we were regarded as trespassers.
N o te [a] S o m e collo catio n s re q u ire th e ob ject to be a reflexive p ro n o u n : I laughed m y s e lf sick; T hey

roared them selves hoarse. H e re th e o b je ct co m p lem en t c a n n o t be o m itte d : *1 laughed m yself.
[b] T h e resu lta tiv e p a t te r n illu strated in th is section is q u ite p ro d u ctiv e, a n d o cc u rs w ith ra re o r
n ew ly -co n v erted v e rb s su ch as sellotape a n d scotchtape : sellotape N fl a t < B rE };sc o tc h ta p e N fl a t
< A m £ > . S im ilarly : j \
I ’v e deepfrozen th e b re a d solid.
[C2] N o u n p hrase a s object com plem ent

16.46 M o st o f the verjbs listed in 16.44 can o c cu r also w ith a n o u n p h rase
co m p le m e n t. I n a d d itio n , th ere a re a few v erb s w h ich o c cu r w ith a n o u n
p h ra se , b ut n o t w ith a n ad jectiv e p h rase, as co m p lem en t, eg: appoint. T h ese
v erb s, m a rk e d ‘ 1’ in th e list below , c an also o c cu r w ith th e o b ject + in fin itiv e
c o n s tru c tio n :
T h e queen appointed W illiam C ecil (to b e) h e r p e rso n al secretary.
T h e lis t is s u b d iv id ed in to categ o ries c o rre sp o n d in g to th o se in 16.44:

(i) hold1 (iv ) believe (v) appoint1' 1' 1

keep1 consider1 choose 1,2,3
leave1 deem elect 1,2,3
(ii) call e steem 1’1,1 m a ke
confess f i nd Prove
profess imagine1 vote 1
pronounce ju d g e 1 (vi) b aptize 1,3
presum e certify1' 1
(iii) wish
ratel christen1,2
reckon2 crown1,2,3
suppose declare
th in k proclaim
nam e 1,2,3
T h e su p e rsc rip t ‘2’ in d ic a te s th a t th e ^ -c o n s tru c tio n (c/16.47) is also p o ssib le.
T h e su p e rsc rip t ‘3’ in d ic a te s th a t th e verb is also m o n o tra n sitiv e , a n d t h a t
th e v e rb re ta in s th e sam e m ea n in g w h en th e o b ject c o m p le m e n t is o m itte d .
H e n ce S h e appointed him secretary im plies t h a t she appointed him . E x a m p le s
o f e a c h su b -ty p e follow . W ith p rofess an d wish, w h ich a re used to illu stra te
su b -ty p es (ii) a n d (iii) resp ectiv ely , a reflexive p ro n o u n a s o b ject is n o rm al.
She h e ld h e r n iece (a) c a p tiv e for several years. (i)
T h e p rin c e professed h im s e lf a su p p o rter o f free sp eech . (ii)
I h a v e o fte n w ished m y se lf a m illio n a ire .' (iii)
C h a rle s do es n o t esteem h im a tru stw o rth y ad v iser. (iv )
T h e co m m itte e h a s elected you its c h airm a n . (v)
H e r p a re n ts na m ed h e r S o p h ia a fte r h e r g ra n d m o th er. (v i)
Som e v erb s in th is p a tte rn a re unlikely to o ccu r in th e a c tiv e ; eg: th in k ,

believe, reckon. T h e follow ing a re exam ples o f th e p assiv e c o n stru c tio n :
H e r n iece was held (a) c a p tiv e fo r several years. (i)

She w as n a m ed S o p h ia a fte r h e r g ran d m o th er. (v i)
A s w ith T y p e [C 1], th e o b jec t m ay be a clause p o stp o n e d b y e x tra p o s itio n :
W e h a v e m a d e it a c o n d itio n that the new agreem ent be signed b y all the

original signatories.
H e h a s p ro v e d it a fallacy that o ld age brings wisdom.
N o te [a] T h e zero article o cc u rs o p tio n ally w ith captive a n d prisoner a s o b je c t co m p lem en ts, as i n (i)
a b o v e : S h e held her niece la) captive. H old . . . captivejprisoner a n d keep . . . captive/prisoner a re
u n u su al in th a t th e o m itte d artic le is in d efin ite rath er th a n d efinite. E x a m p le s o f th e zero a rtic le
w ith defin ite m e an in g (c /5 .4 2 ) a re :
E d g a r w as ju d g e d ov erall winner.
T h e y a p p o in te d Sue captain o f th e ath letics team .
[b] T h e o b je c t + in fin itiv e c o n stru c tio n w ith to he, a s w ith T y p e [C l], is n o t alw a y s e q u iv a le n t to
th e p a tte rn w ith a p h ra sa l o b je ct co m p lem en t. F o r ex a m p le, nam e c a n b e used w ith to be o n ly if
th e follow ing n o u n p h ra se d esig n a te s a fu tu re role o r s ta tu s :
H e r p a re n ts n a m e d h e r (*ro be) G ladys.
T h e selectors n a m e d h e r [to be) a m e m b e r o f th e to u rin g te am .
*
A s c a n b e used w ith nam e o nly o n th e sam e c o n d itio n as ap p lies to to be: H er parents n a m e d her
a s G ladys ( c f 16.47 below ).
[c] T h e co p u lar relatio n c a n o b ta in n o t only betw een th e o b je ct a n d c o m p le m e n t a s in [1], b u t
also betw e en su b jec t an d c o m p le m e n t as in [2]:
S h e m a d e h im a go o d h u sb an d . (S V O dC 0) [ 1]
S h e m a d e h im a g o o d w ife. (S V O .C ,) [2]
[ 1] h a s th e p a ssiv e a n a lo g u e H e was m ade a good husband ; b u t in th e entirely d iffe re n t c o n stru c tio n
o f [2], w h ere th e c o p u la r relatio n is betw een she a n d a good wife, n o p assiv e is po ssib le. T h e
m e a n in g is: ‘S h e w as a good w ife to h im ’. A prep o sitio n al v erb o f th is sam e u n u su al p a tte rn is
s tr ik e . . in , fo r e x a m p le :
H e s tru c k m e a s a b rillia n t strateg ist,
w h ere a brilliant stra teg ist is su b ject co m plem ent.
[C lp r] an d |C 2 p r] O b je ct com plem ent following prepositional verb

16.47 T h e p re p o s itio n a s d e sig n ates a c o p u la r relatio n , p a rtic u la rly in sp ecify in g a
role o r s ta tu s a sso c ia te d w ith th e d irec t o b je c t: The church co n dem ned the relic
a s a fr a u d . F o llo w in g a co m p lex tran sitiv e verb a n d a d ire c t o b ject, th e
p re p o sitio n a l c o m p le m e n t o f a s fu n c tio n s sem antically a s a n a ttrib u te , an d
m ay b e te rm e d a ‘p re p o sitio n a l o b ject co m p lem en t’ in th e sa m e w ay a s th e
n o u n p h ra s e fo llo w in g a tra n s itiv e p rep o sitio n al v e rb is c alled a p re p o sitio n a l
o b jec t:
f a genius. [C2]
W e c o n sid e re d h im < a s a genius. [C 2pr]
( t o b e a genius. [C4]
~ H e w as c o n sid e re d { a 8e n ' u s‘
(to be a genius.
Consider as, lik e regard as, class as, e tc, th erefo re exem plifies y e t a n o th e r ty p e
o f p re p o s itio n a l v e rb : o n e th a t is follow ed by a p re p o sitio n a l o b ject
c o m p le m e n t r a th e r th a n a p re p o sitio n a l object.
O c ca sio n a lly th e p re p o sitio n fo r o ccu rs in th is co p u la r fu n c tio n , in ste a d o f
as:
H e to o k th e s e w o rd s a s ev id en ce. H e to o k m e f o r a fool.
I n th e fo llo w in g jlist, fo r v e rb s in colu m n (i) th e p rep o sitio n is o p tio n a l, w h ere

fo r v e rb s in co lu m n (ii) th e p re p o sitio n is oblig ato ry :
(i) appoint (as)1 (ii) accept as

choose (as)\ acknowledge as
consider (as) characterize as
count (as) | class as ,
deem (as) ! define as
esteem (as)1, describe as
rate (as) intend a s 1
reckon (as) m ista ke fo r
report (as) j regard as
e le c te e s )1 | see as
certify (as) ta ke as!for
crown (as)1 treat as
m a k e (into)1 use as
proclaim (as)
M o st v e rb s in [ C lp r ] a n d [C 2 p r] c an also in tro d u ce a n ad je ctiv e p h ra s e in th e

fu n c tio n o f p re p o sitio n a l o b je c t c o m p lem en t:
T h e e x p e rts ra te d h is p a in tin g s (as) poor b ut representative o f

their class.
T h ey classed J a n e a s p a rtia lly sighted.
T h e m e d ia described th e situ atio n a s hopeless.
~ T h e situ a tio n w a s described as hopeless.
V erb s n o t a llo w in g th is c o n stru ctio n are m ark e d ‘1’ in th e above lists. T h e

co n stru ctio n is e x c e p tio n a l in allow ing a n ad jectiv e p h ra se to o ccu r a f te r a
p re p o sitio n . A m o re o rth o d o x co n stru ctio n is o b ta in e d by a d d in g th e w o rd
being b e fo re th e a d je ctiv e p h ra se , a n d th ereb y c o n v e rtin g th e p re p o sitio n a l
co m p lem en t in to a n o m in a l -ing c la u se :
T h e m e d ia d e sc rib e d th e situ atio n as being hopeless.
N o te [a] Count a s a n d rate a s c a n also o c c u r in a n analogous a j-co n stru ctio n w ith o u t th e o b je ct, a s
‘prep o sitio n al’ c o p u la r v e rb s ; e g : T his counts/rates as a notable success (c/1 6 .2 2 N o te [b]).
[b] A lth o u g h a s is classed a s a p re p o sitio n in th e abo v e p a tte rn , it in som e w ays resem bles th e
co n ju n ctio n as w h ic h in tro d u c e s clau ses o f co m p ariso n (c/1 5 .7 1 ). C o n sid er th e follow ing cu rio u s
ex am ples, in w h ic h a s in tro d u c e s o n th e on e h a n d a clause a n d on th e o th e r h a n d a noun p h ra s e
in a n ap p o sitio n al re la tio n to th e c lau se:
R e p o rt m e a s I a m - a superannuated don.
,
H e d escrib ed h e r a s h e fo u n d her a liar.
[C3] C om plem entation by o b ject and adjunct ,

16.48 O u r n e x t categ o ry , T y p e [C 3], co n sists o f v erb s w h ic h o ccu r in th e S V O A
p a tte rn ( c f 2.16), ie v e rb s w h ic h h av e as th e ir co m p le m e n ta tio n a n o b je c t
follow ed b y a p re d ic a tio n a d ju n c t. T h e m o st c h a ra c te ris tic a d ju n cts to o c c u r
in th is p a tte rn a re p re p o sitio n a l p h rases o f sp ace, a n d m o re p a rtic u la rly o f
d irec tio n ; eg:
I slip p ed th e k e y into th e lock. [1]

H e sto o d m y a rg u m e n t on its head. [2]
T a k e y o u r h a n d s o u t o f y o u r pockets. [3]
T h e p a ssiv e is illu stra te d b y :
T h e key w a s slip p ed into the lock. [ la ]
S en ten ce [2] exem plifies th e a b s tra c t o r m e ta p h o ric a l use o f su ch v erb s a n d

ad ju n cts. M a n y o f th e v e rb s w h ic h fit in to th is p a tte rn a re c au sativ e v e rb s o f
m o tio n : p u t, g et, stand, se t, sit, lay, place, send, bring, ta ke, lead, drive, e tc .
T h e class is o p e n -en d e d , sin c e v erb s n o rm ally w ith o u t cau sativ e m e a n in g
c a n be a d a p te d to th is f u n c tio n ; eg: show, see, elbow, e tc in :
T h e a tte n d a n t show ed u s to o u r seats, [‘c o n d u cted u s . . . ’]

M a y I see y o u h o m e ? [‘e sc o rt y o u . . . ’]
H e elbow ed a n d bribed h is w ay to fam e.
T h ey ta lk e d m e in to it. [‘p e rsu ad e d m e . . . ’]
O th e r v e rb s a re a sso c iated w ith sp ace p o sitio n a d ju n c ts ra th e r th a n d ire c tio n

a d ju n cts:
T h ey le ft th e p a p e rs a t m y office.
A lw ays keep y o u r eyes on the road w h en d riv in g .
T h e a tta c k e rs caught u s o ff our guard.

H e w ished th e m a t th e bottom o f the sea.
A g a in , th e sp a tia l m ea n in g o f the ad ju n ct m ay be u n d ersto o d in som e a b strac t

o r m e ta p h o ric a l sen se, as in th e th ird ex am p le above.
A d ju n c ts o f o th e r sem an tic types a re less co m m o n , b u t in stan ces are th e
a d ju n c t o f m a n n e r follow ing tre a t :
( badly.
H e r p a re n ts tre a te d h e r < as i f she were a baby.
[a s/lik e a sm a ll child.
a n d th e o p tio n a l a d ju n c t o f d u ra tio n follow ing la s t:
T h is m o n ey w ill h a v e to last you (.(for) s ix months).
N o te [a) T re a t h as a differen t m e an in g w hen th e ad ju n ct is o m itte d :

H e r p a re n ts treated her. [ = ‘d id so m eth in g p le asan t fo r h e r’]
[b ] S u p e rfic ia lly sim ilar to th e ab o v e p a tte rn is th a t illu strated by rem ind an d furnish followed by
a n o b je c t a n d a p re p o sitio n al p h ra se :
S h e rem inds m e o f m y sister.
T h e y fu rn ish e d all th e passen g ers with life ja c kets.
T h e s e h o w e v e r are classed as tra n sitiv e p rep o sitio n al v e rb s { c f 1 6 .7 -8 ), an d w ill b e d ea lt w ith in
1 6 .5 6 /b e lo w . T h e d ifferen ce b etw een th e se p re p o sitio n al v e rb s a n d v erbs o f co m p lem en tatio n
T y p e [C 3 ] is t h a t in th e fo rm e r c a se th e lexical v erb g o v ern s a p a rtic u la r p rep o sitio n , r e m in d . . .
o f f u r n i s h . . . with. (A lte rn a tiv e p rep o sitio n al co n stru c tio n s a re so m etim es av a ilab le, how ev er:
p r o v id e . . . w ith*provide. . .fo r .)
V a ria n ts o f com plex ^transitive com plem entation

16.49 W e n o w e x am in e v a ria n ts o f co m plex tra n s itiv e co m p le m e n ta tio n in w hich
th e d ir e c t o bject is follow ed by a n o n fin ite clau se a ctin g as p re d ic atio n
a d ju n c t. A ll four k in d s o f n o n fin ite c o n stru ctio n (c /1 4 .6 - 8 ) a re p o ssib le :
[C 4] /o -in fin itjv e: [C6] -m g p a rtic ip le :

T h e y knew h im to be a spy. I c a u g h t A n n reading m y diary.
[C 5] b a re in fin itiv e: [C7] -ed p a rtic ip le :

I h e a rd soijieone slam W e saw h im beaten by the
th e door, j -W o r ld H eavyw eight Champion.
T h e n o n fin ite clause in th ese p a tte rn s (in ita lic s in th e ab o v e tab le) h as n o
s u b je c t itself, but its im p lied subject is alw ay s th e p re ce d in g n o u n p h rase,
w h ic h is o b ject o f th e su p e ro rd in ate clause. T h is n o u n p h ra se, w h ich if a
p e rs o n a l p ro n o u n is in th e o b jectiv e case, is co m m o n ly term ed a r a i s e d
o | je c t ( c f fu rth er 1 6 . 6 4 / 0 : sem antically, it h a s th e role o f su b ject o f th e
n o n fin ite v e rb ; b u t sy n tactically it is ‘ra is e d ’ fro m th e n o n fin ite clause to
f u n c tio n as object o f th e su p e ro rd in ate v erb . H e n c e in g en eral, th is no u n
p h r a s e (in italics in th e ta b le below ) can b eco m e su b ject o f th e co rresp o n d in g
p a ssiv e . (T h e passive o f [C5] n o rm ally re q u ire s su b stitu tio n o f a to-infinitive
fo r a b a r e in fin itiv e; th e p assiv e o f [C7] is o f m a rg in a l c u rre n c y ; c f 16.54
N o te [a].)
[C4] H e w as k n o w n to be a spy. [C6] A nn w as cau g h t re a d in g m y

diary.
[C 5] Som eone w as h e ard to slam [C7] H e w as seen ex ecu ted by a firin g

th e door. squad.
O n th e face o f it, th e p a tte rn s [C4] an d [C6] a re in d istin g u ish a b le fro m th e

m o n o tra n sitiv e p a tte rn s [B8] (eg: S h e hates the train to be late) a n d [B9] (e g :
S h e hates the train being late), in w h ich the nonfinite clau se h as a su b ject o f its
ow n . T h e ab ility o f th e n o u n p h ra se p receding th e n o n fin ite v e rb to b e c o m e
su b je ct o f a p a ssiv e is, h o w ev er, a n im p o rta n t d istin ctio n b e tw ee n th e m (se e
f u rth e r 16.51 a n d 16.53).
N o te T h e se p a tte rn s [C 4] a n d [C6J a re d istin g u ish ed from co rresp o n d in g p a tte rn s in w h ich th e

n o n fin ite clause is a n a d v e rb ia l by th e fa c t th a t the im plied subject o f th e n o n fin ite v e rb is O
ra th e r th a n S. N o te th e am b ig u ity o f:
She le ft h im to fin ish the Job. S he left h im holding the baby.
[C 4| O b ject + fo-infinitive com plem entation

16.50 T h e v erb s in th is g ro u p a re ra th e r num erous, a n d m ay b e su b d iv id e d ,
sem an tically , in to th e follow ing c a te g o rie s:
(i) announce (iii) intend (vii) assist

declare m ean bother
proclaim bribe
(iv) appoint
pronounce condemn
elect
report dare
nam e
repute [esp P] de fy
vote
rum our [P only] encourage
sa y [P only] (v) cause help
tip <esp B rE ) drive induce
fo rc e inspire
(ii) assum e
g e t[n o P] press
believe
lead sum m on
conceive <form al>
prom pt
consider
expect (vi) allow
fe e l authorize
fin d compel
imagine constrain
know enable
presum e entitle
reckon equip
see [P only] fit
suppose oblige
take perm it
th in k [esp P] require
understand [P = P assive]
T y p e s (i) a n d (ii) c o rre sp o n d to th e factu al verbs o f categ o ry [B3] discussed

in 1 6 .3 1 : th e n o n fin ite co n stru ctio n follow ing th e s e v e rb s c a n o ften b e
re p la c e d b y a thaf-clause w ith a n in d icativ e verb . C o m p a re :
f T h e p o lice re p o rte d th a t th e traffic w as heavy. [B3]

| = T h e police re p o rte d th e traffic to b e h eavy. < form al> [C4]
f J o h n believed th a t th e stra n g er w as a p o licem an . [B3]
| = J o h n b eliev ed th e stra n g er to be a p o licem an . < form al> [C4]
W ith fa c tu a l verbs su ch as these, th e n onfinite clause n o rm ally c o n ta in s the

v e rb b e o r som e o th e r v e rb o f sta tiv e m ean in g . E sp ecially w h e n th e n onfinite
m a in v e r b is o th er th a n be, th e finite clause (o f p a tte rn [B3]) is p re ferred to
th e in fin itiv e one, e x ce p t th a t th e infinitive c o n stru ctio n p ro v id es a c o n v en ien t
p a ssiv e fo rm :
T h e traffic w as re p o rte d to be heavy.

T h e stran g er w as b e liev ed to b e a policem an.
S o m e v e rb s in this c o n stru c tio n h av e no rto - c la u s e e q u iv a le n t:
T h e y tip p e d h im to b e th e n e x t p resid en t. <esp B rE >

~ H e was tip p e d to b e th e n ex t p resid en t.
(♦T h ey tip p e d t h a t h e w ould be th e n e x t p re sid en t.)
S o m e v e rb s (m ark ed [P only] in th e list ab o v e) o c c u r o nly in th e passive

v e rsio n o f th is c o n s tru c tio n :
T h e field m arsh al w as sa id to be p lan n in g a n ew strateg y .

(♦S om eone sa id th e field m arsh al to b e p lan n in g a n ew strateg y .)
O th e r v e rb s (m ark e d [esp P]) o ccu r chiefly in th e p a ssiv e :
T h e B ro ad w ay p ro d u c tio n was thought to have m a d e M a x ’s fo rtu n e.

(? N ew sm en thought th e B roadw ay p ro d u c tio n to h a v e m a d e M a x ’s
fo rtu n e .) j
O f th e tw o classed o f fa ctu al verbs, T ype (i) consists o f p u b lic v e rb s (c/1 6 .3 1 )

re fe rrin g to a sp eech a c t, a n d T y p e (ii) co n sists o f p riv a te v e rb s expressing
b e lie f, e tc . .
\
16.51 O f th e re m a in in g se m a n tic ty p es, T ype (iii) consists o f v erb s o f in te n tio n (on
in te n d its e lf c f l b A l N o te [b]); T y p es (iv) a n d (v) c o n sist o f c a u s a tiv e verbs,
w h e re th e in fin itiv e clau se id en tifies th e re su lta n t s ta te (T y p e (iv ) v erb s also
b e lo n g to class [Cjl]); T y p e (vi) consists o f verbs w ith a m o d a l c h a ra c te r,
e x p ressin g su ch co n ce p ts as e n ab lem en t, p erm issio n , a n d co m p u lsio n ; an d
T y p e (v ii) consists o f a v a rie ty o f verbs o f ‘in flu en cin g ’ b e tw ee n w h ich a
c o m m o n fa c to r a p p e a rs to b e th a t th e n o n fin ite clau se h a s a p u rp o siv e
m e a n in g . E x am p les a r e :
(iii) T h e y intended M ary to sing a n aria.

( ~ M a ry was intended to sing a n a ria .)
(iv) T h e m eetin g e lected M r M a rtin to be th e n ex t trea su re r.
( ~ M r M a rtin was elected to be th e n e x t trea su re r.)
(v) T h is o p tim istic fo recast led th e ad m in istratio n to p ro m ise tax cuts.

( ~ T h e a d m in istra tio n w as led (by th is o p tim istic fo recast) to
p ro m ise ta x cuts.)
(vi) M y c o n tra c t allows m e to ta k e o n e m o n th ’s leave.
( ~ I a m allow ed to ta k e o n e m o n th ’s leave.)
(vii) O u r tea ch e rs encouraged us to th in k for ourselves.
( ~ W e were encouraged to th in k for ourselves.)
I n T y p e (iv), th e in fin itiv e m a in v e rb is norm ally be, a n d c a n b e o m itte d :

They appointed her (to be) the social secretary. T h is type o v erlap s w ith T y p e
(v), 16.46.
N o te [a] T h e re a re a n u m b e r o f m u lti-w ord v e rb s in th is ca teg o ry : [C 4 p r] : count o n . . . t o . . . ; d e p e n d

on . . . to . . . ; rely on . . . to . . . ; [C 4 p h ]: m a k e . . . out to . . . ; [C 4 ph-pr]: keep on a t . . . to . . .
(w h ich h as n o p assiv e). E x a m p le s a r e :
1 a m depending on you to give us y o u r full su pport.
T h e y m ade h im out to b e a m o n ste r o f d ep rav ity .
W h y do you ke ep on a t m e to w o rk h a rd e r?
[b] S om e passiv es o f p a tte rn [C4] (eg: b e allowed , be supposed) h av e a sem i-auxiliary ( c / 3 .4 7 / )
in te rp re ta tio n in w h ic h th e y lose th e ir co n n e ctio n w ith th e co rresp o n d in g ac tiv e c o n s tru c tio n ,
especially as reg a rd s ag ency. ^
[C5] O b ject + b a re infinitive com plem entation

16.52 T h is p a tte rn o ccu rs w ith a relativ ely sm all n u m b e r o f v e r b s :
(i) have (ii) f e e l overhear [P ?] (iii) help [P?]

let hear [P] see [P] know [P]
m a k e [P] notice [PI] watch
observe [P]
T y p e (i) c o n sists o f v e rb s o f co erciv e m ea n in g ; T y p e (ii) h as p e rce p tu a l v e rb s

o f seein g a n d h e a rin g ; a n d T y p e (iii) is a resid u al class o f tw o v erb s w h ic h
a re o p tio n a lly follow ed by a to-infinitive. T h e m a rk e r [P] in d ic a te s th a t th e
p assiv e (n o rm ally w ith a to-infinitive) is p o ssib le; [P?] in d icates th a t th e
p assiv e is o f d o u b tfu l o r lim ited a ccep tab ility .
(i) Y o u sh o u ld n ’t let your fam ily interfere with our plans.

W e m u st m a k e th e p u b lic ta k e notice o f us.
( ~ T h e p u b lic m u st be m ade to ta ke notice o f us.)
(ii) D id you notice an y o n e leave the house 1
T h e cro w d saw G ra y score two magnificent goals.
( ~ G ra y w as seen to score two magnificent goals.)
(iii) S a ra h helped us (to) edit the script.
I h a v e know n J o h n (to) give better speeches than that.
( ~ J o h n h as b een know n to give better speeches than that.)
K now follow ed b y th e b a re in fin itiv e is confined m ain ly to B rE , a n d to th e

p e rfe c tiv e a sp e c t: have know n. L e t in g ro u p (i) is in o th er c o n stru c tio n s
classified as sim ila r to a n au x iliary (c /3 .5 1 ). L e t h as a n a p p a re n t p assiv e in
c o m b in a tio n w ith su ch v erb s a s let go a n d let fa ll, b u t th ese a re b e st re g a rd e d
as fixed ex p ressio n s, in w h ich let h as a n au x iliary o r p article-lik e fu n c tio n :
T h ey let th e p riso n e r go home. ~ ?T he p riso n e r w as let go home.

N o te t h a t th is a p p a re n t p assiv e h as th e b a re infinitive, in c o n tra st, fo r

e x a m p le , to m a k e, w hich h a s to h av e th e to-infinitive in th e p assiv e:
T h e y m ade h im understand. ~ H e w as m ade to understand.
A t h ir d v e rb in g roup (i) is have, w h ich (like have in m o n o tra n sitiv e

c o n stru c tio n s) d o e s n o t o c cu r in th e p a s s iv e :
T h e y h a d m e repeat the message. ~ *1 w as had (to) repeat the m essage.
N o te [a] T h e fo rm u la ic n a tu re o f le t h im go an d sim ilar ex p ressio n s is illu strated by v a ria n ts su ch as

[1 -3 1 , w h ic h c a n n o t b e fitted in to an y regular c o m p lem en tatio n p a tte r n :
HI
[2]
[3]
[b] O f t h e tw o co n stru c tio n s w ith help , th a t w ith to is m o re com m on in B rE , a n d th a t w ith o u t to
is m o r e c o m m o n in A m E .
[c] A r a r e v e rb in ca teg o ry (i) is th e now ra th e r a rc h a ic bid, w ith a to-infinitive co m p lem en tatio n
in th e p a s s iv e :
T h e y bidlbade m e sit down. — I w as bidden to sit down.
|C 6 | O b je c t + -in g particip le com plem entation

16.53 T h e v e rb s in c ateg o ry [C6] co n sist o f v erb s o f p e rce p tio n (T ype (i)), v e rb s o f
i e n c o u n te r (T y p e (ii)), a n d tw o v erb s o f co erciv e m ean in g (T y p e (iii)):
(i) f e e l [C5] iee [C 5 ] (ii) catch (iii) have

hear [C5] sm ell discover get
notice [C5] spot fin d
observe [C5] spy leave
overhear [C 5] watch [C5]
perceive i
P e rc e p tio n veijbs m a rk e d [C5] o ccu r also w ith th e bare in fin itiv e p a tte rn
[C5], W ith su ch v e rb s th ere is a n a sp e ct d ifferen ce b etw een [C5] a n d [C6], as
d e sc rib e d in 4 .6 1 /:
T im w a tc h e d Bill m end/m ending th e lam p .
T h e b a r e in fin itiv e , h a v in g n o n p ro g ressiv e m ea n in g , im plies th a t Bill d id th e

w hole jo b w hile T im w as w a tc h in g ; th e -ing clau se, w ith pro g ressiv e m ea n in g ,
h a s n o su c h im p lica tio n .
T h is c o m p le m e n ta tio n p a tte rn differs fro m th a t o f [B9], n o t o nly in its
p ro g ressiv e a sp e c t, b u t also iii th a t th e n o u n p h rase follow ing th e
su p e ro rd in a te v e rb c a n n o t ta k e th e g e n itiv e (or possessive) fo rm ( c f 16.42):
I sa w him ljjin g o n th e b e ac h ~ *1 saw his lying o n th e beach .
A n o th e r d ifferen ce from p a tte rn [B9] is th a t th e -ing p re d ic atio n c a n n o rm ally

be o m itte d w ith o u t rad ically a lterin g th e m ea n in g :
I sa w h im ly in g o n th e b each , [e n ta ils : I saw him]
C o n tra s t:
I h a te m y frie n d s leav in g early, [does n o t e n ta il: I hate m y friends]

Type s o f verb com plem entation . 1207
T h e p a s s iv e w ith th is p a t t e r n is re g u la r:
W e could hear th e r a in splashing on the roof.

~ T h e ra in c o u ld be heard splashing on the roof.
A tea ch e r caught th e m sm oking in the playground.
~ T h ey were caught sm oking in the playground (b y a tea ch e r).
P re p o sitio n al v e rb s w ith th is ty p e o f co m p lem en tatio n ([C 6pr]) in clu d e com e

across, come upon, listen to, a n d look at: L o o k a t those children climbing the
wall. B u t th ese [C 6pr] p re p o sitio n a l verbs have no p re p o sitio n a l p assiv e:
,seen )
i
?iwatched [ searc^ 'nS t *le b uilding.
*looked at)
H ave in th is c o n stru c tio n ( c /1 8 .5 1(D also h as n o p assiv e, in k e ep in g w ith its

use in o th e r co n stru ctio n s:
She had us w o rk in g d a y a fte r day.

*W e were h a d w o rk in g d a y a fte r day.
N o te F e el occurs especially w ith a reflexive p ro n o u n o b je c t: Sh e f e lt h erselffalling in love.
|C 7] O b ject + -e d p articip le com plem entation

16.54 W e c a n d istin g u ish th re e sm all groups o f verbs co m p le m e n te d b y a ra is e d
o b ject follow ed by a n -e d p a rtic ip le c la u se :
(i) c a u s a t i v e v e r b s : g et, have

She g o t/h a d th e w a tc h re p aired im m ediately.
(ii) v o l i t i o n a l v e r b s : w ant, need, like
I w ant/need th is w a tc h re p aired im m ediately.
(iii) p e r c e p t u a l v e r b s : see, hear, fe e l (oneself), watch
Som eone m u st h a v e seen/heard th e c a r stolen.
A fo u rth g ro u p is p e rip h e ra l to th is co n stru ctio n :
(iv) V erbs fo r w h ic h th e -ed p a rticip le describes a re su ltin g s ta te : fin d ,

discover, leave
T h ey found/discovered/left h im w o rn o ut by trav e l a n d e xertion.
In th is c o n stru ctio n , a s in th a t o f [C6], have can h a v e e ith e r a n ag en tiv e

c au sativ e m ean in g , o r a sta tiv e m ean in g . H en ce The g u a rd p a tro l h a d two m en
shot is am b ig u o u s, m e a n in g e ith e r ‘T h e p atro l caused tw o m en to b e s h o t’, o r
‘T h e p a tro l suffered th e loss o f tw o m en by shooting’. T h e la tte r m e a n in g is
th a t o f th e /iaue-existential co n stru ctio n ( c / 18.51/r). In g en eral, th is
c o m p le m e n ta tio n ty p e is sem an tically eq u iv alen t to o n e w ith a n in fin itiv e
fo rm o f th e v erb be. T h u s in T y p e (ii), I would like m y room cleaned is
synonym ous w ith I w ould lik e m y room to be cleaned', in T y p e (iii), H e saw the
team beaten is sy n o n y m o u s w ith H e saw the team be beaten.
N o te [a]T h e re is n o p assiv e fo r m o st v e rb s in p a tte rn [C 7 ] , a n d a t b est th e p assiv e is d u b io u s: IT h e

car m u st have been seen stolen. T h e ac cep ta b ility o f th e passive w ith T y p e (iv ) is ex c e p tio n a l:
The car w as fo u n d abandoned. T h is is, in d eed , a n in d icatio n th a t T y p e (iv ) m ay n o t belong h ere

s o m u c h a s w ith th e o b je ct co m p lem en t c o n stru c tio n [C l], th e p a rtic ip le c o n stru c tio n being
a d je c tiv a l ( c f : an abandoned car).
[b] In a d d i tio n to th e tw o m ean in g s o f have + ob ject + -ed p artic ip le ab o v e , a th ird m e an in g
re su lts i f th e -ed clau se is analysed a s a postm odifier o f th e o b je c t; eg: She had a book (which was)
stolen fr o m the library.
D itra n s itiv e com plem entation
[D l] N o u n p h ra ses a s both in d irect and d irect object

16.55 D itr a n s itiv e c o m p le m e n ta tio n in its b asic fo rm involves tw o o b ject n o u n
p h r a s e s : a n in d ire c t o b ject, w h ic h is n o rm ally a n im a te a n d p o sitio n e d first,
a n d a d ir e c t o b ject, w h ich is n o rm ally concrete. T h e tw o n o u n p h ra ses differ
fro m th o s e o f [C2] in n o t b e in g in a co p u la r re la tio n sh ip :
H e g a v e th e g irl a doll
S V Oj Od
T h e d iffe re n c e b e tw ee n th is a n d co m plex tran sitiv e c o m p le m e n ta tio n is seen
in :
S V O C : H e fo u n d h e r a loyal frien d .
( ~ She w a s a loyal frien d )
S V O O :; H e fo u n d h e r a n a p a rtm e n t.
( ~ T h e a p a r tm e n t w as fo r her)
T h e c h a r a c te ris tic s o f in d ire c t o b jects in c o n tra st to d ire c t o b jects a re fully

d isc u sse d in 10.7.
S o m e d itr a n s itiv e v erb s h a v e tw o p assiv e analogues, w h ic h w e shall
d is tin g u is h a s ‘first’ a n d ‘sec o n d ’ :
T h e g i r l w a s g iv en a d o ll, [f ir s t p F s s iv e ]
A d o l l w a s g i v e n t h e g ir l , [s e c o n d p F s s iv e ]
O f th e s e tw o , th e first p assiv e, in w h ich th e in d ire ct o b ject b e co m es subject,

is th e m o r e co m m o n . T h e p re p o sitio n a l p a ra p h ra se is m o re u su al, as a n
a lte rn a tiv e , th a n ih e second p a s s iv e : A doll was given to the girl. (F o r a list o f
v erb s o f T y p e [D l], c f 16.57 below .)
[D2] O b je c t a n d prepositional object

16.56 In th e d itr a n s itiy e categ o ry , p re p o sitio n a l v erb s fo rm a n im p o r ta n t g ro u p
w ith its o w n su b jd iv isio n s, a n d m ay th erefo re b e g iv en a s e p a ra te category
n u m b e r [D 2 ]. T h ese v erb s a re th o se we h av e called T y p e I I p re p o sitio n a l
v erb s ( c f 1 6 .7 -8 ). A lo n g sid e th e o rd in ary in d ire ct o b ject p a tte rn , tw o m a in
p re p o s itio n a l p a tte rn s m ay b e d istin g u ish e d :
I n d i r e c t o b ject + d ire c t ob ject. [D l]

D ir e c t o b je c t + p re p o sitio n a l object. [D 2a]
I n d ir e c t o b ject + p re p o sitio n a l object. [D 2b]
Ty p e s o f verb com plem entation 1209
T h e in d ire c t o b je c t is n o rm ally a n im ate, a n d is th e re cip ien t o r b en eficia ry o f

th e p ro cess d e sc rib e d b y th e verb ( c f 10.19). U n lik e d itra n sitiv e v e rb s o f
categ o ry [ D l] (eg : give), d itra n sitiv e verbs w ith p re p o sitio n al o b jects n o rm a lly
h av e o nly o n e p a s s iv e :
W e a d d re ss e d o u r re m a rk s to th e c h ild ren . [D 2 a ]
~ O u r re m a rk s w ere ad d ressed to th e ch ild ren .
( T h e c h ild re n w ere ad d ressed o u r re m a rk s (to))
W e re m in d e d h im o f th e agreem ent. [D 2 b ]
~ H e w a s re m in d e d o f the ag reem en t.
( T h e a g re e m e n t w a s rem in d ed h im (of))
Som e v erb s h a v e all th re e p ossibilities o f c o n stru ctio n in th e a c tiv e ; m a n y
h a v e tw o ; fo r o th e rs th e re is o nly one p o ssib ility (in som e cases th e a lte rn a tiv e s
a re n o t id e n tic a l b u t v ery sim ila r in m e a n in g ):
tell [ D l + 2 a + 2b] M ary told only J o h n th e secret. [ D 1]

M ary told th e secret only to Jo h n . [D 2 a]
M ary told o nly J o h n about th e secret. [D 2 b ]
offer [D l + 2a] J o h n offered M a ry som e help. [ D l]

J o h n offered so m e h e lp to M ary [D 2 a]
envy [D l + 2b] S h e envied J o h n h is success. [ D l]

S h e envied J o h n f o r his success. [D 2 b ]
wish [D l] T h ey w ished h im g o o d luck. [ D 1]
blam e [D 2 a + 2b] H elen blam ed th e d iv o rce on Jo h n . [D 2 a]

H elen blam ed J o h n fo r th e divorce. [D 2 b ]
sa y [D 2a] W h y d id n ’t a n y b o d y sa y th is to m e? [D 2 a]
warn [D 2b] M a ry warned J o h n o f th e dangers. [D 2 b ]
T h e d ifferen t c o n stru c tio n a l p ossibilities o f c e rta in v erb s p ro v id e a m e a n s o f

ach iev in g d iffere n t focus (c /1 8.37 f ) . C o m p are th e follow ing p a irs o f se n ten c es
as p ro n o u n c ed w ith u n m a rk e d (end) fo c u s ;
f M a ry b la m e d th e b ro k e n vase o n Jte N .
|M a r y b la m e d J o h n fo r th e b ro k en vASE.
( C f : J o h n w a s b la m e d . . . by m a ry .)
T h e g o v e rn m e n t su p p lied b lan k ets fo r th e HdMEless.
(
T h e g o v e rn m e n t su p p lied th e h om eless w ith BLANKets.
(C f: B la n k e ts w ere s u p p lie d . . . by th e G o v ern m en t.)
N o te [a] T h e a b o v e c o n stru c tio n s a re p resen ted in th e m o st typical sy n tactic o rd erin g , b u t p o s t

p o n em en t o f th e d ir e c t o r in d ire c t o b je ct m ay ta k e p la ce in co n tex ts w h ere end-focus o r e n d -
w eight is req u ired (c /1 8 .3 7 ); eg: Jo h n offered to M a r y the help that she needed.
[b] A d d itio n a l p re p o sitio n a l v erb p a tte rn s should be briefly m en tio n ed . T h e re is, for e x a m p le ,
th e d o u b le -p rep o sitio n al-v erb p a tte rn noted in 16.17(c):
I a m applying to th e h o sp ita l f o r a jo b .
T h e r e is a f u r th e r p o ssib ility th a t tw o prep o sitio n al objects m ay follow a d ire c t o b je c t:
W e are p a y in g $100 to th e g arag e f o r th e repairs.
V erb s o f com p lem en tatio n types [D l] and [D2|

16.57 T h e fo llo w in g list g iv es som e o f th e verbs th a t o ccu r in T y p es [D l], [D2a],
[D 2 b ], o rg a n iz e d a cc o rd in g to th e cross-classifications o f 16.56 ab o v e. W e
a re in te re s te d h e re o n ly in synonym ous o r n early synonym ous c o n stru ctio n s,
in w h ic h th e sa m e p a r tic ip a n t roles ( c f 10.18#) occur. H e n ce m an y possible
p re p o sitio n a l v e rb s a re ig n o red . P a y fo r, fo r ex am p le, is ign o red because it
in tro d u c e s a f u r th e r p a rtic ip a n t (th e c o m m o d ity b o u g h t) n o t in clu d ed in p a y
(w ith) a n d p a y (to).
T able 16.57
T y p e [ D l] T y p e [D2a] T y p e [D 2b]
EXAMPLE serve (J a c k scam p i) serve (scam pi) serve (Ja ck )

to (Jack ) with (scam pi)
[ D l + 2 a + 2b] p a y p a y to p a y with
provide < A m E> provide fo r provide with
serve serve to serve with
tell tell to tell about
[D l + 2a] (i) bring bring to

deny i deny to
give give to
grant grant to
, ha n d hand to
leave leave to/for
\lend lend to
•offer offer to
ow e owe to
prom ise prom ise to
read read to
Send send to
show show to
teach teach to
throw throw to
(ii) do do fo r
f in d f in d fo r
m ake m a ke fo r
order order fo r
reserve reserve fo r
save save fo r
spare spare fo r
(iii) a sk ask o f
Type s o f verb com plem entation 1211
[ D l + 2b] envy envy f o r

excuse excuse fo r
forgive forgive fo r
[D l] allow
charge
fin e
refuse
wish
[D 2 a + 2b] blame on blam e fo r

supply fo r/to supply with
[D 2a] address to
announce to
com municate to
explain to
sa y to
[D 2b] advise about

punish fo r
etc
T h e m em b e rsh ip o f [D 2b] is n u m ero u s. H ere a re fu rth e r e x am p les, a rra n g e d

b y p re p o sitio n s:
th a n k fo r convince o f rob o f refer to

prevent fr o m deprive o f suspect o f sentence to
p rotect fro m inform o f warn o f subject to
interest in persuade o f congratulate on treat to
accuse o f relieve o f confine to charge with
convict o f rem ind o f introduce to com pare with
N o te th a t reflexive v e rb s ( c f 6.25) som etim es o ccu r w ith a p re p o sitio n a l

o b je c t; eg'. W e pride ourselves on the service we offer. Som e o f th e v erb s a b o v e
(su ch a s compare with ) c a n h a v e tw o in an im ate objects.
I n Table 16.57, we h a v e d istin g u ish ed , u n d e r [D l + 2a], v erb s ta k in g to as
th e ir p re p o sitio n from th o se ta k in g /o r ; eg'.
(i) She se n t P au l a p re sen t. - She se n t a p re sen t to P aul.

(ii) S h e m ad e P au l a m eal. - She m ad e a m eal fo r Paul.
O ccasio n ally , a p re p o sitio n o th e r th a n to a n d f o r occurs in th is f u n c tio n :
(iii) She a sk ed P aul a fav o u r. ~ She ask ed a fav o u r o /P a u l.
16.58 D is tin c t fro m [D 2a] a n d [D 2b] ab o v e is a k in d o f p re p o sitio n a l v e rb w h ic h

h a s a lre ad y b een d iscu ssed in 1 6 .7 -8 ; a v erb for w h ich th e d ire c t o b je c t
fo rm s p a r t o f a n id io m a tic u n it w ith th e v e rb an d th e p re p o sitio n . T h e
sy n ta c tic p ro p e rties o f th is ty p e, w h ich we lab el [D2c], h a v e a lre ad y b e e n
d e a lt w ith , a n d it is en o u g h h e re to list a fu rth er sam p le o f su ch id io m s :
ca tch sig h t o f m a ke allowance f o r ' ppuutt aa stop

stop to
to
g iv e p la ce to m a ke fu n o f set
setfir
firee toto
g iv e w ay to m a ke a fu ss over I about1 ta k e account o f 1
k e e p p a c e with m a ke room f o r ta ke advantage o p
lose sig h t o f m a ke use o f 1 ta ke care o p
lo se touch with p a y attention to 1 ta ke note o p
lose tra c k o f p u t an end to ta ke notice o p
T h o se m a r k e d w ith a raised ‘1’ can ta k e n o t o nly a p re p o sitio n a l p a ssiv e ( c f

1 6 .7 -8 ) b u t also c a n easily ta k e a p assiv e fo r w h ich th e id io m atically -fix ed
d ire c t o b je c t b e c o m e s su b ject; eg: (Som e) allowance was m ade f o r loss o f
earnings ; (L ittle ) notice was taken o f this event. O th e r v e rb s c a n ta k e th e
p assiv e , b u t w ith g r e a te r difficulty; w ith th ese exam ples, a s w ith p re p o sitio n a l
v erb s in g e n era l, id io m a tic cohesion is a m a tte r o f gradience.
V a ria n ts o f d itra nsitive com plem entation
|D 3 | In d ire c t o b ject + fAaf-clause object

16.59 C o rre sp o n d in g to m o n o tra n sitiv e v erb s o f T y p e [B3] (c/16.30) a re d itra n s itiv e
v e rb s f o r w h ic h th e d ir e c t o bject is a r ta l- c la u s e :
J o h n convinced m e (th at) h e was rig h t.

~ I w as convinced (by. Jo h n ) (th a t) h e w a s rig h t.
T h e s e c o n d p a ssiv e is u n a cc ep ta b le w h e n th e d ire c t o b ject is a c la u se : * T h a t

h e was rig h t w as convinced m e. T h u s th e first p assiv e ( c f 16.55) a b o v e is th e
o nly p a ssiv e t h a t c a n o c cu r w ith th is p a tte rn . W ith som e v erb s, s u c h as
convince a b o v e, it is im p o ssib le to d elete th e n o u n p h ra se o b je c t:
* Jo h n c o n v in c e d (th a t) h e w as rig h t.
W ith o th e r v erb s, su c h a s show, th e in d ire c t o b ject is o p tio n a l:

i
T h e p ro fe s so r o f m a th e m a tic s sho w ed m e th a t P y th a g o ras w as m is ta k e n .
~ T h e p ro fe s so r o f m ath em atics sh o w ed th a t P y th a g o ras w as
m is ta k e n .
D itra n s itiv e v e rb s fo llo w ed b y a that- clau se m ay b e d iv id e d in to a su b ty p e

in tro d u c in g a n in d ir e c t sta te m en t, a n d a su b ty p e in tro d u c in g a n in d ire c t
d ire c tiv e ( c f 14.33). I n th e in d ire ct sta te m e n t, th e f to - c la u s e c o n ta in s a n
in d ic a tiv e v e rb ; in th e in d ire ct d irec tiv e th e v erb m ay b e in d ic a tiv e o r
su b ju n c tiv e , a n d o f te n co n ta in s p u ta tiv e should o r a n o th e r m o d al v e rb ( c f
16.32 fo r th e d is trib u tio n o f th ese o p tio n s):
IN D IR E C T S T A T E M E N T :
M a y I inforjn y o u th a t yo u r order is ready fo r collection ?
IN D IR E C T D IR E C T IV E :
I n th e follow ing list, T y p e (i) v erb s in tro d u c e in d ire ct sta te m e n ts, a n d T y p e

(ii) v erb s in tro d u c e in d ire c t d irectives. T h e in d ire c t d irec tiv e c o n stru c tio n is
ra re a n d fo rm al in c o m p a ris o n w ith th e sim ilar in fin itiv e co n stru ctio n ( c f

16.63):
?I begged h e r t h a t sh e help. (fo rm a l)
I b egged h e r to h e lp . <m ore u su a l)
F o r th o se v erb s m a rk e d ‘O ’ th e in d ire c t object is o b lig a to ry ; for th o se m a rk e d

‘( 0 ) \ th e in d ire c t o b je c t is o p tio n a l; for those m a rk e d ‘((O ))’ th e in d ire c t
o b ject is n o t o nly o p tio n a l, b u t u n u s u a l:
(i) advise (O ) rem ind O (ii) ask2 ((O))

assure O sa tisfy O beg 3 (O)
bet (O ) show 3 (O ) charge (O )
convince O teach1 (O ) com m and ((O))
forew arn (O ) tell O instruct ((O))
inform O wager (O ) order ((O))
notify 3 O warn (O ) petition 3 (O)
persuade1 0 w rite2,2 (O) tell O
prom ise1 (O )
T h e su p erscrip ts a re in te rp re te d a s follow s:
1: P ersuade in t h e sen se o f ‘c o n v in c e ’ belongs to T y p e (i); b u t it m ay also
b e used in a T y p e (ii) sen se o f ‘p e rsu ad e som eone to d o so m e th in g ’.
2 : W rite is fo u n d w ith a n in d ire c t o bject + f/iat-clause especially in A m E .
3 : W ith v erb s so m a rk e d , th e in d ire ct o b ject c a n b e re p laced b y a
p re p o sitio n a l o b je c t (c/1 6 .6 0 ).
N o te Superficially sim ilar to th e [D 3] p a tte r n is th e ‘im personal’ c o n stru c tio n it strike s/struc k m e (that)
...,a s in :
I t strik e s m e th is w o rk is fo r h is ow n am usem ent.
B u t h ere th e r/tnr*clause (as in 16.34) is th e ex trap o sed su b jec t o f th e v erb . C o m p a re : H e strike s
m e a s . . . (c/1 6 .4 6 N o te [c]) a n d I t occurs to m e lh a l . . ,(c /1 6 .3 4 N o te [c J ).
[D 3 p r j P r e p o s it io n a l o b j e c t + r t a f - c la u s e o b je c t
1 6 .6 0 T h e v erb s m a rk e d ‘3’ in th e a b o v e list c a n b e o p tio n ally follow ed b y a
p re p o sitio n , th u s f o rm in g a categ o ry sim ilar to [D 2a] in 16.56:
H e p rom ised ((to) m e) th a t th e d e b t would b e re p aid .
F o r m o st v erb s o f [D 3] w h ic h p e rm it a p rep o sitio n al o b ject, th e p re p o sitio n

is to:
H e wrote to m e . . . H e reported to m e t h a t . . . etc
E x cep tio n s a re a s k a n d beg, w h ic h (in so m ew h at fo rm al usage) a re follow ed

by th e p re p o sitio n of:
I ask/b eg o f you t h a t you w ill k eep th is secret, ( f o r m a l)
T h ere is, in a d d itio n , a g ro u p o f v erb s w hich w ere classified in 1 6 .3 1 -3 2 as

m o n o tran sitiv e, b u t w h ic h o p tio n a lly allow th e p re p o sitio n to p re ce d in g a
p rep o sitio n al o b ject. T h e s e m ay b e d istin g u ish ed as T y p e [D 3pr], a n d
su b d iv id ed in to su b -ty p e s (i) a n d (ii), as in th e p a ralle l d e sc rip tio n o f [B3]
verbs:
J o a n mentioned (to m e) t h a t h er fa th e r w as sick. [T ype (i)J

D r D a y recom m ended (to her) th a t the tre a tm e n t b e c o n tin u e d . [T ype (ii)]
acknow ledge declare rem ark (ii) propose

a d m it explain report recom m end
announce m ention say suggest
com plain point out signal
c onfess prove state
A s b e fo re , T y p e (i) v e rb s in tro d u c e in d ire ct statem en ts, a n d th e less n u m ero u s

T y p e (ii) v e rb s in tro d u ce in d ire c t d irectives. A s before, too, som e ex cep tio n al
v e rb s ta k e a p re p o sitio n o th e r th a n to:
S h e d e m a n d ed o f m e t h a t . . . She ag reed with m e t h a t . . . etc
U n lik e th e n o n p re p o sitio n a l v erb s o f [D3], th ese p re p o sitio n a l v erb s allow

th e th a t- c la u se to becom e su b ject o f a co rresp o n d in g p assiv e clau se, a n o p tio n
w h ic h is m o re a ccep tab le w ith e x trap o sitio n :
T h a t sev eral m in iste rs a re resig n in g h as been a d m itte d to o u r
c o rre sp o n d e n t.
~ I t h a s been a d m itte d to o u r c o rresp o n d en t th a t se v e ra l m in iste rs
a re resigning.
I t h a s b e e n shown to u s all th a t M iss Jo n es w as in n o cen t.
W ith o u t th e p rep o sitio n , ie w ith a n o rd in ary in d ire ct o b ject, su c h sen ten ces
a re a t b e s t m arg in ally g ra m m a tic a l: I* I t has been shown us a ll th a t M iss Jones
w as innocent.
N o te T h e co n s tru c tio n s o f / / appears/happens/occursjseems to m e t h a t . . . superficially a p p e a r to belong

to th e p a t t e r n [D 3pr], b u t in f a c t th e se co n ta in m o n o tran sitiv e v erb s w ith a n e x trap o sed that-
c lau se a s s u b je c t: :
I t occurred!seem e& to m e th a t h e w as lying.
C f s im ila r p a t te r n s w ith e x tra p o s itio n i n 16.34,16.59 N o te .
[D4] In d ire c t object + finite tvA-clause object

16.61 T h is p a tte r n o f c o m p le m e n ta tio n is p rim a rily fo u n d w ith th e v e rb a sk, w hich
in tro d u c e s a rep o rted q u e s tio n : .
i x
J o h n a sk e d m e w h a t tim e th e m eetin g w ould end.
~ I w as a sked (by J o h n ) w h a t tim e th e m eetin g w o u ld en d .
A lso u s e d w ith th is p a tte rn a re v erb s w h ich ta k e a n in d ire c t o b jec t follow ed

b y a th a t- clau se (Type (i) o f [D3]), b u t fo r th ese th e wA-clause ten d s to be
lim ite d to n onasseijtive c o n te x ts (c/16.35). C o m p are :
G e o rg e d id n ’t tell th e m th a t th e tra in w as late . [ 1]
G e o rg e d id n ’t tell th e m w h e th er th e tra in w as late. [2]
T h e d iffere n ce o f m ean in g b e tw ee n th e that- a n d w /ietfter-constructions can

b e s ta te d in term s-o f p re su p p o sitio n . S entence [1] ty p ically im p lies th a t th e
tr a in w a s late , w hile [2] is n o n c o m m itta l o n th e m a tte r. [D4] v e rb s c a n also
in tro d u c e o th e r q u estio n w o rd s su ch as where a n d how:
Jim w as re lu c ta n t to inform u s (o f) w h ere he g o t th e m oney.

W o u ld you rem ind m e (about) h ow we s ta rt th e en g in e ?
A p re p o sitio n m ay alw ays be p laced before th e w/i-clause. In the a b o v e c ases,

th e p re p o sitio n is o p tio n a l, b u t in th e case o f v e rb s lik e enquire o f (T y p e
[D 4pr]) th e p re p o sitio n is o b lig ato ry : I enquired o f the clerk which d ocum ents
were needed. T h e co m p lex p rep o sitio n as to c an b e ra th e r gen erally used f o r
in tro d u c in g th e wh- c la u se ; eg: I enquired . . . as to which docum ents w ere
needed.
[D51 In d irect object + H>b-infinitive clause object

16.62 T h is is y et a n o th e r co m p lem en tatio n p a tte rn (co m p arab le w ith [B5], 16.37)
w h ic h m ay b e ta k e n by som e v erb s listed u n d e r [D3] in 16.59:
advise a sk instruct rem ind show teach tell warn
T h e in stru c to r ta ught us how to land safely.

~ W e w ere taught (by th e in stru cto r) how to land safely.
T h ey advised h im w hat to wear in the tropics.
Please rem ind m e where to m e et y o u after lunch.
T h e e q u iv a le n t p re p o sitio n a l v e rb p a tte rn [D 5pr] is illu stra te d b y suggest to ,

recom m end to:
C o u ld you p lease suggest to th e v isitors which m useum s to visit ?
H e re, as in th e [D 4] ty p e, a p rep o sitio n al p h ra se in tro d u c ed by a s to c a n b e

u se d :
H e le n advised u s (as to) how to m a in ta in th e m ach in e.
[D6] In d irec t o bject + to-infinitive clause object

16.63 W e h a v e seen t h a t th e [D3] p a tte rn m a y be u sed to in tro d u c e in d ire c t
sta te m e n ts, a n d th a t th e [D4] p a tte rn m ay be u sed to in tro d u c e in d ir e c t
q u estio n s. N o w w e tu rn to th e v erb s o f class [D6], w h ic h in tro d u c e in d ire c t
d irec tiv e s (c /1 4 .3 3 ):
I toldjadvised)persuaded M a rk to see a d o cto r. [ 1]

~ M a rk w as told)advised)persuaded to see a d o c to r. [2]
T h is c o m p le m e n ta tio n categ o ry looks like th o se o f [B8] a n d [C5], in th a t th e

v e rb is follow ed b y a n o u n p h rase a n d a n infinitive co n stru ctio n . B u t th e [D 6 ]
p a tte rn d iffers fro m th ese in th a t th e n o u n p h ra se follow ing th e v e rb is a n
in d ire c t o b jec t, a s w ill b e clarified in 16.66 below . A s w ith o th e r v e rb s
in tro d u c in g in d ire c t sp eech , th e su b ject refers to th e s p e a k e r o f so m e sp e e ch
a ct, a n d th e in d ire c t o b ject refers to th e addressee. L ik e [D3] v erb s, [D 6]
v e rb s fo rm o n ly th e first p assiv e exem plified in [2] a b o v e : w e do n o t find * T o
see a doctor was to ld M a rk . T h e follow ing v erb s belong to th is c la s s :
advise com m and entreat instruct rem ind teach

a sk counsel exhort invite 1 request 1 tell
beg d eta il 1 fo rb id order recom m end urge
beseech direct implore persuade
challenge 1 enjoin 1 incite' p ra y 1
T h o s e v e rb s m a rk e d w ith a ra ised ‘ 1’ d o n o t h a v e th e e q u iv a len t c o n stru ctio n

w ith a t/w t-clau se c o n ta in in g a m o d al o r a su b ju n ctiv e v e rb (T ypes [B 3(ii)j,
[D 3 (ii)]). C o n tra s t:
T hey h e r to sta y a n o th e r w eek.
T hey (h er) t h a t she w ould stay a n o th e r w eek.
T h e a lte rn a tiv e rât-clau se c o n stru ctio n , h o w ev er, is m o re fo rm al, esp ecially

w h e n th e in d ire c t o b ject is p resent.
N o te [a] T h e v e rb prom ise, w hen it occurs w ith th is k ind o f c o m p lem en tatio n , is ex c ep tio n a l in th a t
th e u n d e rs to o d s u b je c t o f th e infin itiv e is identified w ith th e su b ject ra th e r th a n w ith th e o b je ct
o f th e m a in c la u s e :
S a m p ro m ise d m e to g e t som e food.
{— SS am
am p ro m ise d m e th a t he w ould g e t som e food.
p ro m ise d m e th a t / w ould get som e food.
T h e p r e s e n t p a tte rn [D 6] is, h o w ev er, less co m m o n w ith prom ise th a n th e [B6j p a tte r n w ith o u t
th e in d ir e c t o b je c t: S a m prom ised to g et som e fo o d .
[b] O n ly order c a n be follow ed b y a p assiv e in fin itiv e : H e ordered them to be im prisoned!released.
M u ltip le analysis and gradience in verb com plem entation

16.64 B e fo re w e leav e v e rb classificatio n , it is im p o rta n t to reflect o n th e p ro b lem s
o f d iv id in g v e rb s in to c o m p le m e n ta tio n itypes. T h e m a jo r d iv isio n o f
c o m p le m e n ta tio n p a tte rn s in to co p u la r [A], m o n o tra n sitiv e [B], co m p lex
tr a n s itiv e [C], a n d d itra n sitiv e [D] categ o ries (in tro d u ced in 2.16) h a s b een
e x te n d e d w ith little difficulty to in clu d e p a tte rn s in w h ic h th e v e rb ’s
c o m p le m e n ta tio n includes finite a n d n o n fin ite clauses. T h is is th e b a sis fo r
th e cla ssifica tio n <jf v erb s in to types in 1 6 .2 0 -6 3 abo v e. B u t u n a v o id a b ly , o u r
a im o f p re se n tin g a c le ar classification h a s o b scu red so m e p ro b lem s o f
g ra d ie n c e a n d 1,m u ltip le an aly sis ( c /2 .6 0 # ) , a n d to illu strate th ese w e r e tu rn
to th r e e superficially id en tica l stru ctu res alre ad y discu ssed in 16.36. T h ese
are n o w illu stra te d w ith th re e n ew e x am p les, e a c h o f w h ich c o n fo rm s to th e
p a tte r n N 3 V N 2 to V N 2, (w h ere N = n o u n p h ra se, a n d V = v e rb p h r a s e ) :
T a b le 1 6 .6 4 a
1V, I V a 2 to V n 3
[B8] s V o
' s
We i like all parents to visit the school [1]
i
[C4] s 1 V O
They expected James to win the race [2]
[D6] S V o. 0d
■*--------------- .
We asked the students to attend a lecture [3]
E a c h o f th ese sen ten ces co n sists o f th e sequence N t V N 2 to V N 3, a n d y et w e

h a v e analysed th e m resp ectiv ely as m o n o tran sitiv e (S V O ), c o m p lex
tra n s itiv e ( S V O C 0), a n d d itra n sitiv e (S V O jO d). A d ifferen t an aly sis, in
som e w ays m o re re v ea lin g , w ould recognize a n o v e rla p b etw een tw o
c o m p etin g d e sc rip tio n s o f th e in te rm ed iate no u n p h ra se N 2 . T h e re is little
d o u b t th a t in [1] th is is to b e an aly sed as subject o f th e in fin itiv e clau se ( c f
16.36); w hereas in [3] th e re a re equally stro n g reasons fo r re g ard in g N 2 a s
(in d irect) o b ject o f th e m a in clau se (c /1 6 .6 6 ):
Fig 16.64c Sentence [3]
S en ten ce [2], h o w ev er, p a r ta k e s o f b o th th ese d escrip tio n s. F ro m th e se m a n tic

p o in t o f view , it re q u ire s th e an aly sis o f F ig 16.64b (cf: T h ey expected [that
Ja m es w ould win the race]). B u t fro m th e stru ctu ral p o in t o f v iew , th e a n aly sis
in F ig 16.64c is m o re a p p ro p ria te , reflecting N f s ab ility to b e co m e su b je ct o f
th e passive s e n te n c e : J a m e s w as expected to win the race. W e m ig h t re aso n a b ly
say th a t in [2], N 2 b e h a v e s lik e a n o b ject (O d ra th e r th a n Oj) in re la tio n to th e
first verb, b u t lik e a s u b je c t in re la tio n to th e second, in fin itiv e verb . T h e
te rm r F i s e d o | j e c t , a p p lie d in 1 6 .4 9 # to th e in te rm e d ia te n o u n p h ra se o f
p a tte rn s [C4 - C 7], in c o rp o ra te s y e t a n o th e r w ay o f reco g n izin g th is d o u b le
analysis, by e n v isag in g a p ro cess w hereby th e su b je ct o f th e in fin itiv e
becom es th e o b ject o f th e p re c e d in g finite verb. T h is ra ised o b ject w ill b e
sym bolized, in w h a t follow s, S/O .
16.65 G iv e n th a t th e d o u b le an aly sis a b o v e p ro v id es som e in sig h t in to clau ses

c o n ta in in g n o n fin ite c o m p le m e n ta tio n , w e could ta k e su c h a n a n aly sis
fu rth er, a n d a p p ly it to all c o m p lex tran sitiv e p a tte rn s, in clu d in g th e m o re
stra ig h tfo rw a rd S V O C a n d S V O A p a tte rn s o f [C l - C 3]:
( th a t J o h n is a go o d d riv er. [B3]

I co n sid er < J o h n to b e a g o o d d riv er. [C 4]
( J o h n a g o o d driver. [C 2]
T h e p arallelism o f m e a n in g a n d p h ra sal relatio n s d e m o n s tra te d in th e s e

th re e sen ten ces re c o m m e n d s a n analysis in w h ich th e c o m p le m e n ta tio n o f
p a tte rn [C2], John a g o o d driver, w ould b e reg ard ed a s a clau se in its o w n
r ig h t: ie as a v e rb less c la u se c o n sistin g o f S = John a n d C s = a good driver,
w ith o u t a n in te rv e n in g V . T h is d e sc rip tio n w ould n o t, h o w ev er, d isp lace th e
by n ow fa m ilia r S V O d C 0 a n aly sis, b u t w ould ra th e r b e se e n as a n a lte rn a tiv e
w ay o f looking a t th e sa m e c o n stru ctio n .
G ra d ien c e
16.66 T h e te c h n iq u e o f m u ltip le an aly sis still leaves som e su b tleties u nexposed.
W h a t th is te c h n iq u e h as su ggested is th a t th ere a re th e follow ing th ree
c a te g o rie s c o rre sp o n d in g to [1 - 3 ] in 16.64:
N 2 — S: W e like all parents to v isit th e school. [1]
N 2 = S /O : T h ey e x p ected Jam es to w in th e race. [2]
N 2= O : W e a sk ed the students to a tte n d a lecture. [3]
B ut m o re th a n th re e categ o ries can be ap p ro p ria te ly d istin g u ish e d if we

re co g n ize [ 1] a n d [3] as en d -p o in ts o f a g ra d ie n t, w ith [2] a t som e p o in t o n th e
scale b e tw e e n th e m . T h is a re a o f g ra m m a r affords a good ex am p le o f
g ra d ie n c e .
A t th e m o n o tra n sitiv e e n d o f th e scale, [1] can b e ch ara cte riz ed by a
n u m b e r o f c r ite r ia w h ich suggest th a t N 2 to V N 3 (all parents to visit the school)
c o n s titu te s th e d ire c t ob ject o f a n S V O p a tte rn :
(a) I t c a n b e re p la ce d by a p ro n o u n referrin g to th e clau se o r n o u n p h ra se
n o m in a liz in g it: W e like it; W e like all parents' visits.
(b) I t c a n b e a n a n sw e r to a w /iat-q u estio n :
A : W h a t d o you lik e b est?
B : W e lik e all p a re n ts to v isit th e school.
(c) I n so m e d iale cts, it c a n b e p re ce d ed by th e in fin itiv e clau se in tro d u c er
f o r : W e lik e (it) fo r all parents to visit the school.
(d) I t c a n e asily (w h en p re ce d ed by fo r ) be th e focus o f a pseudo-dleft
s e n te n c e : W h a t we like (best) is fo r a ll parents to visit the schooL
(e) W h e n th e se q u en ce N 2 to V N 3 is tu rn ed in to th e p assiv e fo rm N 3 to be
V e d 2 b y N 2 , th e re is n o c h an g e o f m e a n in g :
W e lik e all p a re n ts to v isit th e school.
= W e lik e th e sch o o l to b e v isited b y all p aren ts.
( f ) I n a re d u c e d c o n stru ctio n th e in fin itiv e m a rk e r to r e m a in s : W e lik e them
d o e s n o t h a v e th e sam e m ea n in g as W e like them to.
A t t h e o th e r , d itra n s itiv e e n d o f th e scale, a c o n tra stin g set o f c rite ria

c h a ra c te riz e [3), a n d su p p o rt th e an aly sis o f N 2 (the students) as a n in d ire ct
o b jec t a n d to V N 3, (to a tte n d a lecture) as a clau sal d ire c t o b je c t:
(a') to V N 3 c art b e re p laced b y a p ro n o u n , a n o u n p h rase, o r a finite clause,

w ith N 2 still fu n c tio n in g a s in d ire ct o b ject:
j ( som ething.
W e a sk e d th e stu d e n ts <! a question.
(w h a t they wanted.
(b') to V N 3 c a n b e th e a n sw e r to a W i-question, w h ile N 2 fu n c tio n s as
in d ir e c t o b je c t:
A : W h a t d id you a s k th e stu d en ts?
B : W e a sk e d th e m to a tte n d a lecture.
(c') W h e n th e seq u en ce N 2 to V N 3 is tu rn ed in to th e p assiv e seq u en ce N 3 to
b e V e d 2 b y N 2, th e m ea n in g is alw ays c h a n g e d :
T h e y a sk ed th e stu d e n ts to a tte n d a lecture.
vt T h e y a sk ed a lec tu re to be a tte n d e d by th e stu d en ts.
( I n t h is c ase, in d ee d , th e p a ssiv e tran sfo rm resu lts in a n a b su rd ity .)
Type s o f verb com plem entation 1219
(d') to V N 3 c a n m arg in ally becom e th e focus o f a pseudo-cleft s e n te n c e :

7 W h a t th ey a s k e d the students was to a tte n d a lecture. (C o n tra s t th e
d ecid ed ly u n a c c e p ta b le * W hat we like the parents is to visit the school ’.)
(e') N 2 , w h ic h lik e O; in g en eral is usually ‘p e rso n al1, can be d e ta ch e d fro m
its p lac e a f te r th e first V to becom e su b ject o f a co rresp o n d in g p a ssiv e
s e n te n c e : T h e stu d en ts were a sked to a tte n d a lecture.
( f ') In a re d u ce d co n stru ctio n , th e in fin itiv e m a rk e r to can b e o m itte d : W e
a sk e d th e m ; W e persuaded th em ; etc.
N o te [a] W ith so m e d itra n s itiv e v erb s, criterio n (a') has to be in te rp re te d as th e rep lacem en t o f t h e
infinitive clau se by a p re p o sitio n an d prepositional o b je ct (c /1 6 .5 6 - 8 ):
T h e y rem inded h im o f his responsibilities.
O n e m a n challenged th e o th e r to a duel.
[b] C rite rio n (d ') is less reliab le th a n th e others, since th e p seudo-cleft sen ten ce is u n a c c e p ta b le
for m an y v erb s. B u t a pseu d o -cleft sentence in w h ich th e in d ire c t object is rep laced b y a
prep o sitio n al o b je c t te n d s to be m o re g ram m atical: W hat th e y a sk e d o f the students was to a tte n d
a lecture. (T h e a lte rn a tiv e c o n stru c tio n w ith th e su b stitu te v e rb do. w hich also o ccu rs w ith [ 1], is
alw ays m o re a c c e p ta b le : W h a t th ey a sk e d the students to do was to attend a lecture.)
16.67 T o give a sim p lified illu stra tio n o f th e an aly sis o f g rad ien ce in th e s e q u e n c e
N i V N 2 to V N 3 , w e n o w ta k e a subset o f th e c rite ria listed ab o v e, a n d a p p ly
th em to a ra n g e o f v e rb s o n th e g rad ien t co n n ec tin g [1] a n d [3] o f 16.66.
(1) (2) (3) (4)

VERB CLASSES ►
ask, elect, intend, want,
CR IT ERIA
tell, allow, expect, like,
etc etc etc etc
(a') to VNy can be replaced by

a finite clause + - - -
(c’l change o f m eaning in passive

+ + - -
of N 2 to VNy
(e') N 2 can become subject of passive + + + -
Fig 16.67 A complementation gradient
T h e m a trix uses o n ly th ree criteria, a n d th ere b y d istin g u ish es o nly f o u r

categories. T h is is sufficient to in d icate th e p rin cip le, how ever, th a t th e th r e e
categ o ries [B8], [C 4], a n d [D 6] o f o u r tax o n o m y could be b ro k e n d o w n in to a
finer sp e c tru m o f c ateg o ries b etw een w h ich th e differences a re sm all. I n
effect, F ig 16.67 d istin g u ish e s tw o subcategories o f [C4]: o n e (in clu d in g e le c t
a n d allow) w h ic h is c lo ser to th e d itra n sitiv e ty p e, a n d o n e (in clu d in g in te n d
a n d expect) c lo ser to th e m o n o tran sitiv e ty p e. E lect a n d allow re sp o n d to
c riterio n ( c ') :
T h ey elected M iss C o e to succeed th e p re s e n t secretary.

T h e y elected th e p re sen t secretary to b e succeeded b y M iss C o e .
W e d o n ’t allow re sid en ts to e n te rta in v isito rs.
^ W e d o n ’t allow v isitors to be e n te rta in e d by residents.
w h ile intend a n d e xp e ct d o n o t:
T h ey in te n d e d th e stu d en ts to see th e professor.

=±= T h e y in ten d ed th e p ro fesso r to be seen by th e stu d en ts.
T h ey exp e ct th e stu d e n ts to enjoy th e classes.
= T h e y exp e ct th e classes to be enjoyed by th e stu d en ts.
N o te F o r v e rb s in g ro u p (3), th e voice o f th e infinitive clause an d th e voice o f th e m a in clause m ay be

in d e p e n d e n tly v a rie d , w ith th e result th a t a sen ten ce lik e They exp ecte d the students to enjoy th e
classes has th re e c o rre sp o n d in g passives w ith th e sam e m e a n in g :
{TT hh ee ystue xdpeenctste dwere

th e classes to be enjoyed by th e students.
exp ecte d to enjoy th e classes.
T h e classes were exp ecte d to be enjoyed by th e students.

T h e la s t e x a m p le h a s a p assiv e v erb p h rase in b o th th e s u p ero rd in ate clause a n d th e infinitive
clause.
Adjective complementation
16.68 C a teg o ries o f c o m p le m e n ta tio n in a d jectiv e p h ra ses ( c /2 .2 8 , 7 .2 1 -2 ) a re

sim ila r in v a rie ty t o th o se o f v e rb co m p lem en tatio n . W e d istin g u ish [E 1 -E 5 ]
as follow s:
[ E l] C o m p le m e n ta tio n by a p re p o sitio n a l p h ra se
[E2] C o m p le m e n ta tio n by a that- clause
[E3] C o m p le m e n ta tio n by a w/i-clause
’ [E4] C o m p le m e n ta tio n by a rtan -clau se
[E5] C o m p le m e n ta tio n by a to-infinitive clause
[E6] C o m p le m e n ta tio n by an -ing p a rticip le clause
T h ese c o m p le m e n ta tio n p a tte rn s c a n o ccu r a fte r a n ad jectiv e (a n d its

m odifiers, if a n y ) in v ario u s sy n tactic fu n ctio n s. F o r e x am p le:
T h e v io lin is (rather ) difficult to play.

(ad jectiv e p h ra s e as C J
M ary fo u n d ith e v io lin ( rather ) difficult to play.
(ad jectiv e p h ra s e as C 0)
T h e v io lin is a n in stru m e n t ( rather) difficult to play.
(ad jectiv e p h ra s e a s p ostm odifier)
T h e only p o sitio p in w h ic h a n ad jectiv e c a n n o t n o rm ally b e follow ed by its

c o m p le m e n ta tio n is th e p rem o d ify in g p o sitio n in a n o u n p h ra s e : *a keen
child on chess. B u t h e re, too, w ith c e rta in c o n stru ctio n s (T y p es [E5(i)] a n d
[E5(v)]) th e c o m p le m e n ta tio n can follow d isco n tin u o u sly a fte r th e h ead
n o u n : The violin is a difficult instrument to p lay { c f d isc o n tin u ity w ith
co m p a rativ e c o n stru c tio n s, 15.75). F o r illu strativ e p u rp o ses, w e will confine
ex am p les in th e fo llo w in g sectio n s to th e su b ject c o m p le m e n t fu n ctio n . T h e
lists, lik e th e v e rb lists in 1 6 .2 0 -6 3 , will b e selective.
Adjective com plem entation 1221
Note T h e re is a co n sid e rab le parallel, a s th e ca teg o rie s [E l-E S ] ab o v e d em o n strate, b e tw e e n p a tte r n s

asso cia ted w ith ad jectives an d th o se asso c ia te d w ith m o n o tran sitiv e verbs. T h e c h ie f d iffe re n ce
is th a t ad jectiv es canno.t be follow ed b y a n o u n ph rase object. T o b rin g o u t th e p a ra lle l f u r th e r,
w e could d escrib e adjectiv es exem plified in 16.69 below (averse to, conscious o f, etc) a s
‘p re p o sitio n a l adjectives* co m p a ra b le w ith p rep o sitio n al verbs. W e could m o re o v er id e n tify
‘p h ra s a l adjectives* (d erived fro m p a rtic ip ia l fo rm s o f p h rasal verbs) such a s run dow n ( ‘ex h a u ste d ,
d e p re sse d ’) a n d ‘p h ra sa l-p re p o sitio n a l a d jectiv es’ su ch as f e d up (with). T h e se la tte r v a ria n ts ,
ho w ev er, a re ra re en o u g h to be d isre g a rd e d in th e follow ing lists.
[E 1 ] A djective co m plem entation by a prepositional phrase

16.69 L ik e p re p o sitio n a l verbs, a d je ctiv es o ften fo rm a lexical u n it w ith a fo llo w in g
p re p o sitio n : good a t, fo n d of, opposed to, etc. T h e lexical b o n d is s tro n g e st
w ith ad jectiv es fo r w h ich , in a g iv en sense, th e c o m p le m e n ta tio n is
o b lig a to ry : M a x is averse to ga m es ~ * M a x is averse. S u ch a d je ctiv es a r e
m a rk e d ‘ 1’ in th e follow ing lists.
T h e lists m ak e a d is tin c tio n b etw een p a rticip ial ( c f 7 .1 5 -1 9 ) a n d
n o n p a rtic ip ia l adjectives. T h e d ifferen ce b etw een p a rtic ip ia l ad je ctiv es a n d
th e -ed p a rtic ip le o f th e p a ssiv e co n stru ctio n is d iscussed in 3 .7 5 -7 7 . T h e s e
lists p ro v id e only a sm all sa m p le o f th e adjectives a cc o m p a n y in g th e
p re p o sitio n s co n cern ed . I n p a rtic u la r, it is o ften possible fo r th e s a m e
a d je ctiv e to go w ith tw o o r m o re p rep o sitio n s, as in angry about, angry a t a n d
angry with.
a b o u t : H e w as v ery w orried about h e r reactio n , (c/9 .6 0 )

N O N PA R T IC IPIA L : PA R T IC IPIA L
angry know ledgeable aggrieved frig h te n e d

g la d m ad annoyed pleased
happy reasonable delighted worried
at : S he w as b a d a t m a th e m a tic s, (c/9 .6 2 )
N O N P A R T IC IPIA L PA R T IC IPIA L
angry good alarm ed disgusted

brilliant hopeless am used plea sed
clever terrible delighted p u zzle d
FROM'. T h e village is rem ote fr o m th e b ustle o f city life, ( c /9 .1 8 ,9.47)

different distant distinct fr e e remote
of : She w as aware o /h is difficulties.

N O N P A R T IC IPIA L P A R T IC IPIA L
afraid conscious1 g la d convinced

asham ed em pty p ro u d 1 scared
capable fo n d 1 sh o rt1 tired
certain f u ll w orthy
ON/u p o n : T h e ir p lan w as based on co o p eratio n .

NONPARTICIPIAL PARTICIPIAL
contingent 1 intent 1 reliant1 based1 set

dependent keen severe bent 1
1222 Co m p le m e n ta tio n of verbs and adjectives
TO : A ll c a p ita l g a in s a re subject to ta x a tio n .

N O N P A R T IC IP IA L PA R T IC IPIA L
answ erable close liable* accustom ed 1 inclined 1

a v erse 1 due1 similar a llie d 1 opposed 1
w it h '. T h is p la n is n o t compatible with o u r principles.

N O N P A R T IC IP IA L P A R T IC IPIA L
a n g ry happy annoyed drunk

b u sy im patient bored enchanted
com fortable incom patible 1 concerned obsessed
co m p a tib le 1 sick delighted occupied
c o n ten t uneasy depressed overcome
fa m ilia r disappointed pleased
fr ie n d ly disgusted satisfied
fu r io u s dism ayed ta ke n 1
distressed
N o te [a] I n g e n e ra l, c h o ic e o f p rep o sitio n rem ain s th e sam e a fte r m orphologically re la te d verbs,

ad je c tiv e s, a n d n o u n s : different fr o m , differ fr o m , difference fro m . B ut th is co rresp o n d en c e is n o t
a lw a y s to b e relied o n : c o n tra s t fu l l o f w ith fille d w ith ; p roud o f w ith pride in.
[b] O th e r p re p o s itio n s w h ich less com m only e n te r in to adjective + preposition id io m s in c lu d e fo r
a n d tow ards: g ra te fu l fo r , sorry fo r , inclined towards.
[cj U se d follow ed by t h e p rep o sitio n to, a m o re in fo rm al synonym o f accustom ed (to), is p a rtic ip ia l
in sp e llin g , b u t h a s th e sp ecial p ro n u n ciatio n /'ju ists/. U n lik e accustomed, h o w ev er, u sed does
n o t o c c u r w ith a follo w in g infin itiv e ( c f 16.79). T h is ad jectiv al used to, in sp ite o f id e n tity o f
sp ellin g a n d p ro n u n c ia tio n , is q u ite d istin c t fro m u sed to a s a m arg in al m o d al (c/3 .4 4 ). C o n tr a s t:
I ’m u se d to h a r d w o rk . I used to w o rk h a rd .
[d] I n t h e p a s t, p re s c rip tiv e o b jectio n s h av e b ee n m a d e to th e use o f to ra th e r th a n fr o m a fte r
averse a n d different. H o w e v er, to is th e n o rm a l p rep o sitio n to follow averse, a n d different to is
q u ite w id e ly u sed (esp in B rE ) as an alte rn a tiv e to different fro m . O n different than, c f 15.66 N o te,
16.74.
[e] W ith c a n be o m itte d a f te r (incom patible if th e su b ject is plural, c f ‘m u tu al p a rtic ip a tio n ’,
13.60; ;!
* C a rl is in c o m p a tib le . | u t : C arl a n d E v a a re in com patible.
[E 2 ] A d je c tiv e com plem entation b y a f/raf-clause

16.70 L ik e r/iar-clauses follow ing a v erb , r/iaf-clauses follow ing a n ad je ctiv e m ay
have: 1 \
(A ) in d ic a tiv e v e r b : I am sure (th a t) h e is here now .

(B) s u b ju n c tiv e v e r b : T h ey w ere insistent (th at) w e be ready, ( f o r m a l)
(C ) p u ta tiv e s h o u ld : I ’m sorry (th a t) h e should have left, ( f o r m a l)
T h e u ses o f the; m a n d a tiv e su b ju n ctiv e a n d o f p u tativ e should h a v e been

d isc u sse d in 3.$9 a n d 14.25 resp ectiv ely . P u ta tiv e should o fte n o c cu rs a fte r
ex p ressio n s o f em o tio n (sorrow , jo y , d isp leasu re, surprise, w o n d er, etc), a n d
is o fte n a c c o m p a n ie d by in ten sify in g ex p ressio n s such as so, such, lik e this/
that, ever, o r a t all. T h e in d ic a tiv e f/iaf-clause, o n th e o th e r h a n d , re fers to a n
e stab lish e d fact. T h e follow ing p a irs illu stra te choices o f c o n s tru c tio n ;
I a m sorr I * ^ ave to *e av e so e a r'y-

a m sorry | ( t jja t) yOU sf,0u ld have b e e n (so) inco n v en ien ced .
f (th at) you didn't call th e d o c to r before.

I a m surprised < (th at) an y o n e o f your intelligence should swallow a lie
(. like th at.
W ith som e a d je ctiv es (those in category [E2b(ii)], 16.72) th e s/io«W -clause

c a n be p a ra p h ra s e d by a n in fin itiv e clause w ith a su b ject:
It w as n a tu ra l fo r h im to go to L ondon a fte r th e w ar.

= I t w a s natural th a t h e should go to L o n d o n a fte r th e w ar.
77iar-clauses c a n n o t b e p reced ed by prep o sitio n s. H en ce ad jectiv es w h ic h

are c o n stru cted w ith p re p o sitio n s before n o u n p h rases ([E l]) d ro p th e
p re p o sitio n b e fo re a I te - c la u s e ( c / 16.28). C o m p are th e follow ing:
T A o f h is innocence. [E l]
I a m convinced-! / . . . . . . .
[(that) he is innocent. [E2]
M an y rA a/-clauses follow ing a n adjective are actu ally subjects p o stp o n e d b y

e x tra p o sitio n ( c f 18.33):
I t is lu ck y (th a t) y o u came. ~ That you cam e is lucky.
T h ese a re lis te d se p a ra te ly in 16.72.
[E 2al A djectives w ith experiencer (c/10.23 N o te ) a s subject

16.71 (i) h ^ t - c l a u s e h a s i n d i c a t i v e v e r b o n l y ( c /N o te [a] below )
T h ese a d je c tiv e s ex p ress degrees o f c e rta in ty o r co n fid en ce: aw are,
certain , confident , su r e :
W e w ere confident th a t K a re n was still alive.
(ii) r /L ir - C L A U S E h a s p u t a t i v e s h o u l d , o r s u b j u n c t i v e v e r b
(or m arg in ally a lso a n in d ic a tiv e verb)
T h e th re e p rin c ip a l a d jectiv es in this class a re anxious, eager, a n d w illing:
f h e should be p e rm itte d to resign?
A re you willing th a t < h e be p e rm itte d to resig n ?
( ?he is p e rm itte d to resig n ?
(O n th e d is trib u tio n o f th ese th ree alte rn a tiv e s, c /1 6 .3 0 .)
(iii) TH A T-C LA U SE HAS IN D IC A TIV E VERB O R PU T A T IV E SH OU LD

T h ese a d je ctiv es e x p ress e m o tio n s:
I ’m so th a n k fu l th a t n o b o d y was hurt.
W ere you surprised th a t R ay should win th e p rize?
N O N P A R T IC IPIA L PA R TIC IPIA L
afraid hopeful alarm ed depressed horrified

angry p ro u d am azed disappointed irritated
gla d sa d am used distressed pleased
gra tefu l sorry annoyed disturbed shocked
happy th a n kfu l astonished frig h te n e d upset
T h ere is a te n d e n c y to p re fe r the p u ta tiv e should c o n stru ctio n in

n o n a sse rtiv e c o n te x ts, o r w h ere th e ad jectiv e h as n eg ativ e o r u n fa v o u r
a b le a sso ciatio n s.
N o te [a ] T h e re s tric tio n o f T y p e (i) ab o v e to ‘in dicative v erbs o nly’ is m e a n t to allow for th e use o f
m o d a l a u x ilia rie s , in clu d in g should in a n o n p u ta tiv e sen se; eg : l a m aware that I should [ = ‘o u g h t
to '] h a v e jo in e d lo ng ago .
[b] A f r a i d is u n iq u e a m o n g ad jectiv es in th a t it ac cep ts th e p ro n o u n so (an d its neg ativ e
e q u iv a le n t not) as a lAnf-clause su b stitu te (c/16.31): T m afraid sojnot.
[E2b] A djectives with a n ticip ato ry i t as subject

16.72 T h e that-clsm se in th is c o n stru ctio n is a n ex trap o sed subject. T h re e types are
a g a in d istin g u ish e d , m a tc h in g those in 16.71.
(i) T H A T - CLAUSE HAS INDICATIVE VERB ONLY (c/16.71 N o te [a])

T h e s e a d jectiv es h a v e to d o w ith tru th o r k n o w le d g e :
I t is true th a t sh e n e v e r comes on tim e.
a p p a ren t evident likely possible untrue

certain im plicit obvious true well-known
c lea r indubitable plain unlikely
(ii) t h a t - c l a u s e h a s p u t a t i v e s h o u l d , o r s u b j u n c t i v e v e r b (o r m a rg in
a lly , a lso , a n in d ic a tiv e v e rb )
T h e s e a d jectiv es ex p ress co n cep ts co n cern ed w ith m o d ality o r v o litio n ;
( should be lifted to m o rro w .

I t is essen tial t h a t th e b a n < be lifted tom orrow .
U ? ) is lifted tom orrow .
appropriate essential important necessary vital

com pulsory fittin g impossible obligatory ■
■
crucial im perative improper proper
V a rio u s d e y erb al a d je ctiv es en d in g in -able also b elo n g to th is g ro u p , eg:

advisable, desirable, preferable.
( ii i) TH A T-C L K U SB . HAS INDICATIVE VERB OR PUTATIVE SH O U L D

T h is g ro u p co n sists m ain ly o f em o tiv e adjectives, a n d in clu d es a larg e
n u m b e r o f p a rtic ip ia l ad jectiv es en d in g in -ing:
. . f strange 1 , f sh e is so late.
iS [upsetting) a |s h e should be so late.
NONPARTICIPIAL PARTICIPIAL
a w kw a rd logical alarm ing perplexing
curious i odd annoying pleasing
disastrous j peculiar depressing shocking
drea d fu l ' sa d disappointing surprising
extraordinary silly embarrassing
fo rtu n a te tragic frightening
irrational unfortunate irritating
V a rio u s -able/-ible ad je ctiv es also belong to th is g ro u p : admirable,

com m endable, deplorable, despicable, incomprehensible, inconceivable,
lam entable, rem arkable, understandable, unjustifiable, etc.
N o te [a] A lth o u g h th e p ro -fo rm s so a n d n ot c a n n o t b e used a fte r th ese [E2b] a d jectiv es ( c f 16.71

N o te [b]), th e re is a po ssib ility o f rep lacin g th e ad jectiv e + sol not by a related a d v e rb + s o /n o t:
A : It is apparent th a t she lives/doesn’t liv e here. obviously!fortunately so.
^ [B : N o ; eviden tlyfsa d ly not.
[b] W h e n a n a d jectiv e o f T y p e (iii) ab o v e o cc u rs a fte r a m odal v erb co n stru c tio n , th e f/iaf-clau se
is com m o n ly rep laced b y a n (/-clause. I f th e m odal v erb in th e m a in clause is h y p o th e tic a l (e g -,
w ould), th e v e rb in th e (fa la u se is p laced in th e h y p o th e tic al past. C o m p a re :
{ II tt iswillsadbethat you have to leave.

sad i f you have to leave.
It w ould be sad i f you h a d to leave.
[E 3 ] A d je ctive com plem entation b y a w/>-clause

16.73 A s w ith rta /-c la u se s, w e h av e to d istin g u ish th o se ad jectiv es ([E3a]) w h ic h
a re p re d ic a te d o f a n e x p erien cer (n o rm ally a person) as subject, a n d th o s e
([E3b]) w h ic h g o w ith a n tic ip a to ry it. I n th e la tte r case, th e vv/i-clause is a n
e x tra p o se d su b ject. E x am p les a re:
rE 3al I w as unsure I ^ U w h a t 1 sh o u ld say- [1]

|( a b o u t) J [w h e th e r th e p ro b lem w as solved. [2]
[E3b] I t w as unclear w h a t th ey w ould do. [3]
T y p e [E 3a] c o n sists o f ad jectiv es w h ich a re c o n stru cted w ith p re p o sitio n s,

a n d w h ic h th ere fo re belong also to T y p e [E l]. T h e p re p o sitio n is s o m e tim e s
o m itte d b e fo re th e vWi-clause ( c / 15.5 N o te [c]). I n T y p e [E3b], o n th e o th e r
h a n d , n o p re p o sitio n c a n b e in s e rte d : * It was unclear o f j about w hat they w o u ld
do. A lso n o in fin itiv e tv/i-clause is p o ssib le (c /1 6 .3 7 ): I t is unsure where to g o
is u n a c c e p ta b le u nless it refers to som e a n im a te b ein g (such as a m ouse), a n d
is co n se q u en tly n o t in te rp re te d in term s o f ex trap o sitio n .
R e tu rn in g to T y p e [E3a], w e n o te th a t in som e cases th e a d jectiv e ta k e s a
w/i-clause in asse rtiv e c o n tex ts: eg: careful (about), doubtful (as to), f u s s y
(about), p u z z le d (as to), unclear (about), uncertain (o f), undecided (about),
unsure (o f), unaware (o f):
Jo h n is careful (about) w h a t h e does w ith h is m oney.
M o st o f th ese a d jectiv es a re in trin sically n eg ativ e in m ean in g . I n o th e r c a s e s,

a lth o u g h elsew h ere it is a sso ciated w ith a n in d ic a tiv e rtaf-c la u se [E 2a(i)], th e
a d je ctiv e te n d s to o c cu r w ith a wA-clause in n o n assertiv e co n tex ts ( c f 16.35),
e g : aware, certain, clear, su re :
A re you sure (o f) how m u ch th e m ac h in e costs?

I w a sn ’t a lto g e th e r clear (about) w h a t w e h a d to do.
A sim ila r d iv isio n m ay be m ad e am o n g ad jectiv es o f th e an tic ip a to ry -;?

ty p e ([E3b]). T h o se w h ich in trin sically ex p ress d o u b t, a n d th erefo re ta k e th is
stru c tu re ev en in assertiv e co n tex ts, in clu d e doubtful, uncertain, unclear,
unsure, a n d unknown. T h o se n o rm ally o ccu rrin g w ith an in d icativ e that- c la u se
(ie T y p e [E 2b(i)]) include apparent, certain, obvious, a n d plain. T h ey can ta k e
a wA-clause in n o n a sse rtiv e c o n tex ts. E ac h ty p e is illu strated i n :
I t w a s unclear w h e th e r a n a m e n d m e n t w o u ld b e accepted.
I t w as n o t obvious how fa r th e w e ste rn iz atio n p ro cess w ould go.
A fte r a d je c tiv e s o f T y p e [E3a] th ere m ay also o c cu r a n in fin itiv e iv/i-clause: /

was uncertain (o f) w hat to do. T h is is p re fe ra b le to th e finite clause in cases
illu s tra te d b y [ 1 - 3 ] ab o v e, sin ce th e su b ject c a n re m a in unex p ressed in th e
re d u c e d n o n fin ite v ersio n .
[E 4 ] A d je c tiv e co m plem entation by a f/jan-clause

16.74 T h e re is a n u n u su a l co n stru ctio n in w h ich a n o n c o m p a rativ e ad jectiv e is
fo llo w ed b y a c o m p a ra tiv e than-clause as c o m p lem en tatio n . D ifferent is th e
o nly a d je c tiv e w h ic h fits in to th is p a tte rn , a n d ev en th e n th ere is a tra d itio n
w h ic h re g a rd s th e use o f than here as im p ro p e r. T h ere is, how ev er, no
fe licito u s a lte rn a tiv e to th e different than c o n stru ctio n in ex am p les su c h a s:
S h e ’s q u ite a different g irl than she was fiv e years ago. [ 1]
T h e v a rio u s sty listic v a ria n ts o f, a n d a lte rn a tiv e s to, th e than- clau se a fte r
different a re e x a m in e d in 15.66 N o te [b]. W h en th e clause is red u ced to a
no u n p h ra s e , it b e co m es p o ssib le to use fr o m a s a n a lte rn a tiv e to th a n :
T h e u n io n s a re ta k in g a very d ifferen t a ttitu d e th e e m ployers.
W h en th e n o u n p h ra s e follow ing than/from c a n n o t b e d eriv ed by ellipsis fro m

a c lau se, than is d e cid ed ly less a ccep tab le th a n fro m :
T h e m a in lan g u a g es o f so u th ern In d ia a re to ta lly d ifferen t in o rig in
1 t h o s e o f th e n o rth e rn p a r t o f th e country.
N o te [a] O n different from a n d different to, c f 16.69 N o te fd ].

(b] I t is a ls o p o ssib le fo r a than- clau se to be used a fte r th e ad v e rb differently:
In t h e w est o f th e co u n try , th ey pro n o u n ce th e ir vow els q u ite differently than ( the y do) in the
" e a st.
T h e s a m e p re sc rip tiv e o b je c tio n s are m a d e to differently than a s to different than.
[E5] Adjective! com plem entation b y a to -in f initive clause

16.75 W e d is tin g u is h se v e n k in d s o f co n stru ctio n in w h ich a n a d jectiv e is follow ed
by a /o -in fin itiv e: c lau se. T h ey a re exem plified in th e follow ing sen ten ces,
w h ich a r e su p erficially a lik e:
(i) B o b is splendid to w ait. \

(ii) B o b is slow to re ac t.
(iii) B o b is sorry to h e a r it.
(iv) B o b is hesitant to a g ree w ith you.
(v) B o b is h a rd to co n v in ce.
(vi) T h e food is ready to eat.
(vii) I t is im portant to b e accu rate.
In T y p es (i-iv ) th e s u b je c t o f th e m a in clau se (Bob) is also th e su b je ct o f th e

in fin itiv e clau se. W e c a n th ere fo re alw ays h a v e a d ire c t o b ject in th e in fin itiv e
clause i f its v e rb is tra n s itiv e . F o r ex am p le, if w e re p la ce in tra n sitiv e w ait by
tra n s itiv e build in (i), w e c a n h a v e : Bob is splendid to build this house.
F o r T y p e s (v -v ii), o n th e o th e r h a n d , th e su b ject o f th e in fin itiv e is
unsp ecified , a lth o u g h th e c o n te x t o ften m ak e s c le a r w h ich subject is in te n d e d .
In th ese ty p es it is p o ssib le to in se rt a subject p reced ed b y f o r \ eg in T y p e

(v i) : The fo o d is ready (fo r the children) to eat.
N o te In fin itiv e c o m p lem en tatio n follow ing adjectiv es m odified by too a n d enough is d iscussed e lse
w h ere, in 15.73.
[E S (i)| Bob is splendid to wait

16.76 T y p e (i) h a s a n a n alo g u e in a c o n stru ctio n involving e x tra p o sitio n (r/1 8 .3 3 ):
It is splendid o f B ob to w ait. T h is ty p e o f co n stru ctio n also p e rm its a h e a d
n o u n b etw een th e a d je ctiv e a n d th e infinitive:
B ob m u st b e a splendid craftsm an (jU jjt j house.
A s th is ex am p le show s, th e in fin itiv e m ay be p erfectiv e. W e m ay also

c o m p a re co n stru ctio n s in w h ic h a n evaluative n o u n w ith its d e te rm in e r
re p laces th e a d je c tiv e :
Y o u ’re | to s p e n d so m uch.
Y o u ’re wond e rfu l\ to w a it fo r m e.

an angel J
A d jectiv es in th is g ro u p a re e v alu ativ e o f h u m an b e h av io u r. T h e y in c lu d e :
careful c ra zy m a d silly wise

careless greed y nice unwise wrong
T h ese ad jectiv es c a n a lso o c cu r w ith an tic ip a to ry it a n d a n o /-p h rase as

a d d itio n a l c o m p le m e n ta tio n (c /1 6 .8 2 ):
I t w as foolish o f you to s p e n d so m uch.
[E S (ii)| Bob is slow to react

16.77 I n T y p e (ii), th e s e n ten c e c o rre sp o n d s to one in w hich th e a d je ctiv e b eco m es
a n a d v erb , w h ile th e in fin itiv e b eco m es th e finite v e rb :
B ob is slow to re ac t. ~ B ob re ac ts slowly.
I n a n o th e r an alo g u e, th e a d je ctiv e is follow ed by in a n d a n -ing p a rtic ip le :

B ob is slow in reacting. T h e in fin itiv e verb p h rase m u st b e s im p le : fo r e x am p le,
u n lik e th e in fin itiv e p h ra s e in [E 5(i)j, it can n o t be p e rfe c tiv e : *Bob is slow to
have reacted. O th e r a d je ctiv es in th is sm all group a re quick a n d prom pt.
N o te T h e re is also a p a rtia l a d v e rb ia l an a lo g u e ( c / 8 . 1 2 7 /) for T ype (i), b u t in T y p e (i), u nlike T y p e

(ii), th e p erfec tiv e in fin itiv e, a n d ev e n th e ger-passive (c/3 .6 6 ) c a n be u s e d :
J o a n w as w ise to resig n . ~ J o a n w isely resigned.
J o a n w as ca re less to g e t b e a te n . — J o a n carelessly got beaten.
{ J o a n is careless to h a v e g o t b ea ten .
[E 5 (iii)l Bob is sorry to hear it

16.78 I n T y p e (iii), th e h e a d o f th e ad jectiv e p h rase is a n e m o tiv e ad je ctiv e
(co m m o n ly a p a rtic ip ia l ad jectiv e), a n d th e in fin itiv e cla u se ex p resses
c a u s a tio n :
1228 C o m p le m e n t a t io n of verbs and adjectives
I ’m s o rry t o h a v e k e p t you w a itin g . [‘I ’m so rry b e ca u se I h a v e k e p t y o u

w a itin g ’]
I w a s e x c it e d t o b e th e re . [ ~ ‘T o b e th e re e x c ite d m e ’]
A d je c tiv e s in t h i s g r o u p c o rre sp o n d closely to th e a d je c tiv e s fo llo w ed b y a

/A af-clause in 1 6 .7 1 ( T y p e [E 2 a(iii)]):
N O N P A R T IC IP IA L P A R T IC IP IA L
a fra id happy a n n o yed d isg u sted o verw h elm ed

a ngry im p a tie n t astonished dissatisfied pe rtu rb e d
a sh a m e d in d ig n a n t bored em barrassed p u z z le d
c ontent ju b ila n t concerned fa sc in a te d relieved
fu rio u s th a n k fu l d elig h ted frig h te n e d surprised
g la d depressed in terested w orried
disa p p o in ted overjoyed
IES(iv)] B o b is h e s i ta n t to agree w ith y o u

1 6 .7 9 I n T y p e (iv ), t h e h e a d o f th e a d je c tiv e p h ra s e e x p resses v o litio n a l m e a n in g ,
o r a m o d a l m e a n i n g s u c h a s a b ility , p o ss ib ility , o r lia b ility . E x a m p le s a r e :
N O N P A R T IC IP IA L P A R T IC IP IA L
able keen d e te rm in e d
a n xio u s lia b le disposed
apt l ik e ly [E 2 b ] f a t e d {E 2 b ]
certain [E 2 b ] lo a th inclined
curious p o w e rle ss po ise d
due p ro n e , p rep a red
eager r e a d y [E5] {all) se t
eligible re lu c ta n t unqualified
f i t [E 5] s u r e [E 2 b ]
f r e e [E 5] u n a b le
g re e d y ! w elc o m e
h e sita n t w illin g
im p o ten t w o rth y
T h e a d je c tiv e s m a r k e d [E 2 b ] o c cu r w ith a c o rre s p o n d in g c o n s tru c tio n w ith

e x tr a p o s itio n o f a f/m f-c la u se :
\
J ill is lik e ly to a tte n d .
~ I t is l ik e ly t h a t J ill w ill a tte n d .
T h o se m a r k e d [E 5 ] a r e c a p a b le o f o c c u rrin g w ith a n in fin itiv e c o n s tr u c tio n

o f ‘p a s s iv e ’ m e a n in g , ie w ith a n in d e fin ite im p lie d s u b je c t a n d a c o re fe re n tia l
im p lie d o b je c t: j
T h e y a re n o t fit to e a t. = T h ey a re n o t fit to be eaten.
S o m e o f th e m o s t c o m m o n a d je c tiv e s in th is lis t h a v e a te n d e n c y to c o a le s c e
w ith th e p r e c e d in g c o p u la to fo rm a se m i-a u x ilia ry v e rb ( c /3 .4 7 ) : be a ble to,
be w illing to, be su r e to. I n a d d itio n to m o d a l a n d v o litio n a l a d je c tiv e s , so m e
a d je c tiv e s o f a s p e c tu a l m e a n in g , su c h a s a c cu sto m ed a n d w ont m a y b e p la c e d
h e re :
A d je c tiv e co m p le m e n ta tio n 1 2 29
W e a r e a c c u sto m e d to ta k e te a o n th e te r r a c e . < form al>

H e w a s w o n t to le a v e th e office a t 5 p .m . < fo rm a l, a r c h a ic )
[E 5 (v )| Bob is hard to convince

16.80 I n T y p e (v ), th e s u b je c t o f th e se n ten c e is id e n tifie d w ith th e u n e x p r e s s e d
o b je c t o f th e in fin itiv e c la u se , w h ic h m u st th e re fo re h a v e a tr a n s itiv e v e r b ;
h e n c e th e u n a c c e p ta b le *B ob is h a rd to arrive. T h e re is a n a n a lo g o u s
c o n s tru c tio n in "w h ich th e a d je c tiv e is c o m p le m e n t to a n in fin itiv e c la u s e
a c tin g a s (e x tr a p o s e d ) s u b je c t ( c /1 8 .3 6 ):
„ , . , ,. f ~ T o c o n v in c e B o b is hard.
B o b is h a rd to c o n v in c e / T. . . ,
^ — I t is h a rd to c o n v in c e B ob.
A d je c tiv e s s o u s e d r e f e r to d e g re e s o f ease o r c o m fo rt, a n d in c lu d e :
a w k w a rd ha rd tough ( i n f o r m a l)
convenient im possible trick y ( i n f o r m a l)
difficu lt nice ( i n f o r m a l) unpleasant
e a sy p le a s a n t
U n le ss th e r e is e llip s is , w e c a n n o t o m it th e in fin itiv e c la u se , a n d so t h e r e is

n o s e m a n tic im p lic a tio n b e tw e e n (say) T h e b re a d w as h a rd to b a k e a n d T h e
b re a d w as h a rd . U n lik e th e p re c e d in g ty p es, T y p e (v) p e rm its f o r + s u b je c t t o
b e in s e rte d a t th e b e g in n in g o f th e in fin itiv e c la u s e : Those d a rts a re tr i c k y
( f o r a beginner) to use. W h e re th e in fin itiv e h a s n o o v e rt su b je c t, its i m p lic it
s u b je c t is u n d e r s to o d to; h a v e a n in d e fin ite m e a n i n g :
J a c k is e a s y to fo o l. = J a c k is easy fo r a n y o n e to fool.
N o te W i th so m e a d je c tiv e s in t h i s g ro u p , su c h a s nice o r u n p le a sa n t, th e e n ta ilm e n t r e la tio n b e t w e e n

b e + a d je c tiv e to V a n d be + a d je c tiv e is le ss ea sy to a v o i d ; e g : J e n n y is nice to k n o w im p lie s t h a t
J e n n y is nice.
[E 5 (v i)l The fo o d is ready to eat

16.81 A g a in , in t h is ty p e t h e s u b je c t o f th e m a in c la u se is id e n tifie d w ith th e o b j e c t
o f th e in f in itiv e c la u se . B u t u n lik e T y p e (v ), T y p e (vi) h a s n o a n a lo g o u s
c o n s tru c tio n w ith a n in fin itiv e c lau se su b je c t:
T h e f o o d is r e a d y to e a t. ~ *T o e a t th e fo o d is read y .
A lso , w e c a n g e n e r a lly (a) o m it th e in fin itiv e c la u se , o r (b ) s u b s titu te a p a s s iv e

in fin itiv e c la u se w ith o u t c h a n g e o f m e a n in g :
A re th e s e c u p s a v a ila b le (to u se)?

= A r e th e s e c u p s a v a ila b le (to b e u se d )?
S o m e a d je c tiv e s o f th is ty p e , s u c h as available, f i t , fr e e , re a d y, a n d su ffic ien t,

b elo n g a d d itio n a lly to T y p e (iv ), so t h a t a s e n te n c e lik e T h e la m b is r e a d y to
e a t is a m b ig u o u s , in o n e se n se (th e m o s t a c c e s sib le ) b e in g e q u iv a le n t to th e
p a ssiv e T h e la m b is r e a d y to be eaten. T h e n th e r e is a w id e r s e t o f a d je c tiv e s
w h ic h o f te n o c c u r w ith o u t c o m p le m e n ta tio n a t a l l :
T h e a ir is f r o s ty (to b re a th e ).
I ts f u r is s o ft ( to to u ch ).
1230 C o m p le m e n ta tio n o f v e rb s an d ad jectives
I n b o t h T y p e ( v ) a n d T y p e (v i), th e s u b je c t o f th e m a in c lau se c a n b e e q u a te d
w ith t h e p r e p o s itio n a l o b je c t o f th e in fin itiv e clau se, so t h a t th e in fin itiv e
c la u s e e n d s w ith a d e f e r r e d p r e p o s itio n :
S h e is p le a s a n t to ta lk to. ( ~ I t is p le a s a n t to ta lk to h e r.)
T h is p a p e r is te r r ib ly flim sy to w rite on.
Is t h e c lo th su ffic ie n t to m a k e a dress o u t o f !
I n T y p e (v i), a s w ell a s in T y p e ( v ) ,f o r + s u b je c t m a y b e in s e rte d b e fo re th e

in f in itiv e v e r b : A re th ese b o o k s f r e e (fo r visitors) to borrow ? [ = ‘A re th e s e
b o o k s a v a ila b le . . . to b o r r o w ? ’].
[E 5 (v ii) | I t is im portant to be accurate

1 6 .8 2 W e s a w in 1 6 .7 2 t h a t a th a t -c la u se fo llo w in g a n a d je c tiv e m a y p ro v e to b e a
s u b je c t p o s tp o n e d b y e x tr a p o s itio n (c /1 8 .3 3 ). A to -in fin itiv e c la u se fo llo w in g
a n a d je c tiv e m a y h a v e th e s a m e s o u r c e :
I t is e sse n tia l to s p r a y t h e tre e s e v ery y e ar.

~ T o s p r a y th e tre e s e v e ry y e a r is essential.
T h e in f in itiv e c la u s e c a n a ls o b e in tro d u c e d b y f o r + s u b je c t:
I t is v ita l (fo r th e c h ild r e n ) to b e p ro p e rly c lad .

I t w ill b e stra n g e (fo r u s) to b e liv in g a lo n e .
A d je c tiv e s o f T y p e s (ii) a n d (iii) in 16.72 ([E 2b]) m a y h a v e th is c o n s tru c tio n :

im p o rta n t, fo r tu n a te , lu c k y , surprising, e tc . P ossible a lso b e lo n g s to t h is g ro u p .
A n a d d itio n a l g ro u p o f a d je c tiv e s o c c u rrin g a f te r a n tic ip a to r y it a r e th o se
a d je c tiv e s (c h ie fly n a m in g e v a lu a tiv e a ttr ib u te s o f p e rso n s) w h ic h o c c u r in
p a t t e r n [E 5 (i)] ( c / 16.76). T h e a d je c tiv e in th is g ro u p is o fte n fo llo w ed b y a n
o /- p h r a s e id e n tify in g t h e p e rso n (s) b e in g d isc u sse d :
I t w a s wrong, ( o f h im ) to te ll lies. I t is nice o f y o u to p h o n e .
[E 6 ] A d je c tiv e 1co m p le m e n ta tio n b y an -in g p a rticiple clause

1 6 .8 3 A n u m b e r o f su b -ty p e s o f th is p a tte r n m a y b e m e n tio n e d .
(i) B u s y is fo llo w ed b y a n -in g p a r tic ip le c la u se w ith o u t s u b je c t:
M a r g e r y is.b u sy w r itin g le tte rs . x

(ii) W o rth a n d w orthw hile, o n th e o th e r h a n d , o c c u r b o th w ith a n d w ith o u t
su b je c t:
I t is s c a rc e ly w o r th w h ile ) ( y o u /y o u r ) g o in g h o m e.
H e r e w o rth w h ile ) fo llo w s p r e p a r a to r y it, a n d th e p a r tic ip le c la u se is a n
e x tr a p o s e d s u b je c t (c /1 8 .3 4 ). O th e r a d je c tiv e s o f th is p a tte r n a r e p o in tless
a n d u seless ( I t ’s p o in tle ss b u yin g so m u c h fo o d ) , a n d a d je c tiv e s o f T y p e
[E 2 b (iii)] ( c f 16.72) a lso so m e tim e s h a v e th is c o m p le m e n ta tio n : absurd,
a w k w a rd , fo r tu n a te , a nnoying, etc.
(iii) E ls e w h e re w orth a n d w orthw hile a c c o m p a n y a n -ing p a r tic ip le c la u se

w ith o u t s u b je c t, b u t w ith a p a s s iv e m e a n in g , c o m p a r a b le t o t h a t o f th e
in f in itiv e c la u se in p a tte r n [E 5 (v )j (c /1 6 .8 0 ):
C o m p le m e n ta tio n of abstract no u n s 1231
T h e c a r to n s a re w o rth w h ile ) sa v in g .
( ~ I t ’s w o rth w h ile ) s a v in g th e carto n s).
(iv ) T h e r e is a v a r ia n t c o n s tru c tio n in w h ic h a p re p o s itio n o c c u rs b e tw e e n

t h e a d je c tiv e a n d th e p a r tic ip le c lau se. I n so m e c ases th e p re p o s itio n is
o p tio n a l ( c /( i) a b o v e ):
I ’m b u sy (w ith) g e ttin g th e h o u se re d e c o ra te d .
W e ’re fo r tu n a te (in) h a v in g A u n t M a ry a s a b a b y -sitte r.
I n o th e r c a ses, th e p re p o s itio n is o b lig a to r y :
W e a re u se d to n o t h a v in g a c a r (c /1 6 .6 9 N o te [c]).
I ’m hopeless a t k e e p in g th e g a r d e n tidy.
S h e ’s n o t capable o /lo o k in g a f te r herself.
N o te [a ] T h e a d je c tiv a l c o n s tru c tio n s in (ii) a b o v e m a y be c o m p a re d , in s o m e cases, w ith n o m in a l

c o n s tr u c tio n s o f e q u iv a le n t m e a n in g :
I t ’s n o g o o d fu s e te llin g h im a n y th in g .
T h e r e ’s no p o in t (in ) te llin g h im a n y th in g .
S u c h c o n s tr u c tio n s a re in tro d u c e d e i th e r b y a n tic ip a to r y it ( c f 18.33) o r b y e x is te n tia l th e re ( c f
18.45). A m E a ls o h a s T h ere's no use te llin g h im a nything.
[b] W o rth w h ile is s o m e tim e s sp e lle d a s tw o w o rd s. T h e v a c illa tio n b e tw e e n th e s p e llin g s
w o rth w h ile a n d w orth w hile refle c ts a n u n c la r ity a b o u t th e s ta tu s o f th is se q u e n c e , w h ic h m a y
a lte r n a t iv e l y b e re g a rd e d a s th e p r e p o s itio n w orth ( c /9 .6 ) fo llo w ed b y a n o u n . C o m p a r e :
I t ’s n o t worth your while staying. I t’s n o t j I (your) staying.
Com plem entation of abstract nouns
1 6.84 I n t h is c o n c lu d in g s e c tio n w e w ill sh o w , as a c o n n e c tin g lin k b e tw e e n th is

c h a p t e r a n d th e n e x t, h o w th e p a tte r n s o f c o m p le m e n ta tio n d e s c rib e d f o r
v e r b s a n d a d je c tiv e s in 1 6 .2 0 -8 3 a r e a ls o to b e fo u n d w ith a b s tr a c t n o u n s
w h ic h a r e m o rp h o lo g ic a lly r e la te d to th o se v e rb s a n d a d je c tiv e s . ( C f
n o m in a liz a tio n , 17.51j / -, a n d a p p o s itio n a l c o n stru c tio n s, 17.26, 17.35.) F o r
e x a m p le , th e n o u n lik e lih o o d is d e r iv e d fro m , a n d s e m a n tic a lly r e la te d to , th e
a d je c tiv e lik e ly . I t is th e re fo re n o t s u rp ris in g th a t a c o n s tru c tio n a s s o c ia te d
w ith t h e a d je c tiv e is fo u n d w ith t h e c o rre s p o n d in g n o u n :
I t is lik e ly t h a t J o a n w ill g e t m a r r ie d . [1]
T h e likelih o o d is t h a t J o a n w ill g e t m a rrie d . [2]

th e likelih o o d t h a t J o a n w ill g e t m a rrie d [3]
B u t t h e a s s u m p tio n o f c o r re s p o n d e n c e c a n n o t b e a u to m a tic , fo r i t m a y fa il i n
b o t h d i r e c ti o n s :
J o a n is lik e ly to g e t m a r r ie d .
~ * J o a n ’s likelih o o d to g e t m a r r ie d
* I t is lik e ly o f J o a n ’s g e ttin g m a r r ie d .
~ th e lik e lih o o d o f J o a n ’s g e ttin g m a rrie d
1232 C o m p le m e n t a t io n o f ve rb s and adjectives
I n th e f o llo w in g s e c tio n , w e illu stra te h o w m a n y o f th e s e p a tte r n s c a n b e

m a tc h e d w ith c o r r e s p o n d in g p a tte rn s o f n o u n c o m p le m e n ta tio n . S o m e fa irly
re g u la r c h a n g e s , i t w ill b e o b se rv e d , ta k e p la c e in th e c o n v e rs io n fro m th e
v e rb o r a d je c tiv e p a tt e r n s to th e ir n o m in a liz a tio n s ( c f 17.5 l f f ) . F o r in s ta n c e ,
a p re p o s itio n m u s t b e in s e r te d b e tw ee n a h e a d n o u n a n d a n im m e d ia te ly
fo llo w in g n o u n p h r a s e o r a d je ctiv e. T h e lis t b e g in s w ith m o n o tr a n s itiv e
p a tte rn s , b e c a u s e t h e r e a r e n o n o m in a liz e d fo rm s o f c o p u la r v e r b c o m p le
m e n ta tio n . ( M a n y o f t h e n o u n c o m p le m e n ta tio n p a tte rn s , p a r tic u la r ly in
c a te g o rie s [C ] a n d [D ], a r e sty listic ally a w k w a rd .)
1 6 .8 5 Table 16.85 V erb /ad jectiv e a n d noun com plem entation com pared
V E R B /A D JE C T IV E C O M P L E M E N T A T IO N N O U N C O M PL E M E N T A T IO N
[Bl] H e exam ined th e room . his examination o f the room

[B2] Paul tacks confidence. P aul’s lack o f confidence
[B2pr] They rely o n her. th eir reliance on her
[B3] I predict th a t it’ll rain. my prediction th at it’ll rain
[B4] I doubt w h eth er he w ill win. my doubt (about) w hether he will win
[B5] W e enquired (about) w here to go. o u r enquiry (about) w here to go
[B6] She refused to answ er. h er refusal to answ er
[B7] H e denied h av in g ta k e n it. ?his denial o f having tak en it
(cf: his denial o f the theft)
[B8] X needs us to w ork harder. the need for us to w ork h ard er
[B9] She resented h is/h im losing. her resentment o f his/him losing
[C1pr] They elected Jo e (as) leader. th eir election o f Joe as leader

[C2prj X certified M ax (as) insane. the certification o f M ax as insane
[C3] X expelled Sue from school. the expulsion o f Sue from school
[C4] They chose Jim to be boss. th eir choice o f Jim to b e boss
[C7] W e got h er elected. *our getting o f her elected
[D 1] I p a id h im five pounds. m y paym ent to him o f five pounds

[D2] I t protected R io from attack. the protection o f Rio from attack
[D3] X warned'us th a t it w ould snow. the warning to us th at it would snow
[D3pr] H e adm itted to m e th a t he told lies. his admission to m e th at he told lies
[D4] X reminded us (of) w ho he was. X ’s reminder to us o f w ho he was
[D5] X advised us (on) w h at to do. the advice to us on w hat to do
[D6] S h t invited m e to sta y . h er invitation to m e to stay
[E l] I was im patient w ith F reda. my impatience w ith F reda

[E2] I t was certdin th a t we would lose. \th e certainty th at we would lose
[E3] I was careful (over) w h a t to say. m y care over w hat to say
[E5] Sam w as quick to reply. S am ’s quickness to reply
[E6] I was lucky m eeting you. my luck in m eeting you
T h ese s tr u c tu r e s | w ith a b s t r a c t n o u n s w ill b e s tu d ie d f u r th e r in th e n e x t

c h a p te r. j
O n p h rasal verbs a n d o th e r ty p es o f m ulti-w ord verbs, see A kim oto (1983); B olinger (1971a);
C arvell a n d S vartvik (1969); C o w ie and M ackin (1975); D ixon (1982b); F ras e r(I9 7 6 ); K en n ed y
(1920); L ive (1965); M ak k a i (1 9 7 2 ); Sroka (1972); W itto n (1979).
B ib lio gra p h ica l n o te 1233
O n general aspects o f v erb classification an d com plem entation, see A lexander an d K unz
(1964); A llerton (1982); B resn an (1970); C hom sky (1965, C h. 2); F illm ore (1 9 6 8 ,1977a, 1977b);
H alliday (1967-1968); J a in (1978); Lyons (1977, C h . 12); R osenbaum (1967a, 1967b); U reland
(1973).
Som e basic p attern s o f co m p lem en tatio n are discussed in Bald (1972); D uskova (1976);
Fillm ore (1965); H u ddleston (1969).
O n verb co m p lem en tatio n by finite clauses (especially by ^ /- c la u s e s ) , see Behre (1955);
G reen b au m (1976a, 1977a); G . M . H o rn (1978); K iparsky an d K ip arsk y (1970); Q u irk (1981);
S torm s (1966).
O n verb c om plem entation by no n fin ite constructions, see A ndersson (1985); Bladon (1968);
D uskova (1979); Eagleson (1972); v an E k (1966); Freed (1979); M ach acek (1965).
O n the properties o f specific verbs w ith regard to m eaning an d co m plem entation, see Bald
an d Q uirk (1970); B ehre (1973); B olinger (1971b); Fodor (1970); K em pson and Q uirk (1971);
P ittm an (1970); P o ld au f (1967); Po stal (1971); Z a n d voort (1961).
O n adjective com p lem en tatio n , see A lex an d er an d M atthew s (1964); B olinger (1961a); H erbst
(1983,1984); Lees (1960b).
O th er studies relevant to co m p lem en tatio n in clude Bridgem an (1965); E m onds (1976); N ickel
(1968); N o m c k (1 9 7 9 ); N o se k (l9 6 5 ); P o stal (1974).
The noun phrase
1 7 .1 - 8 I n tr o d u c tio n 1238
.1 T h e in d e fin ite ly c o m p le x n o u n p h r a s e 1238
.2 N o u n -p h ra s e c o n s titu e n ts 1238
.3 -6 R e s tric tiv e a n d n o n re s tric ti vc m o d ific a tio n 1239
.7 T e m p o r a r y a n d p e r m a n e n t m o d ific a tio n 1242
.8 T h e e x p lic itn e ss o f p o s tm o d ific a tio n 1243
1 7 .9 - 2 7 P o s tm o d if ic a tio n b y f in ite c la u s e s 1244

.9 T y p e s o f p o s tm o d ify in g fin ite c la u se s 1244
.1 0 - 2 5 C h a r a c te r is tic s o f re la tiv e cla u se s 1245
.1 1 - 1 2 G e n d e r c o n co rd 1245
.1 3 - 2 0 R e s tric tiv e re la tiv e c la u se s 1247
.1 5 R e la tiv e p r o n o u n a s s u b je c t a n d o b je c t 1250
.1 6 R e la tiv e p ro n o u n a s o b je c t a n d p re p o s itio n a l
c o m p le m e n t 1251
.1 7 - 2 0 R e la tiv e p r o n o u n a s a d v e r b ia l 1252
.2 1 T e le s c o p e d r e la tiv e c la u se s 1257
.2 2 - 2 4 N o n r e s tr ic tiv e re la tiv e c la u se s 1257
.2 5 R e la tiv e p r o n o u n as c o m p le m e n t 1260
.2 6 - 2 7 A p p o s itiv e c la u s e s 1260
1 7 .2 8 - 3 6 P o s tm o d ific a tio n b y n o n fin ite c la u s e s 1263

.2 8 P o s tm o d if ic a tio n b y -ing p a r tic ip le cla u se s 1263
.2 9 P o s tm o d if ic a tio n b y -e d p a r tic ip le cla u se s 1264
.3 0 - 3 2 P o s tm o d if ic a tio n b y in fin itiv e c la u se s 1265
.3 3 B lu rre d re la tio n s h ip s in p o s tm o d ific a tio n 1269
.3 4 N o n r e s tr ic tiv e p o s tm o d ific a tio n b y n o n fin ite c la u se s 1270
.3 5 A p p o s itiv e p o s tm o d ific a tio n b y in fin itiv e a n d - in g c la u se s 1271
.3 6 C o n s tr u c tio n s w ith to -in fin itiv e o r p / p h r a s e 1272
1 7 .3 7 - 5 0 P o s tm o d ific a tio n b y p r e p o s itio n a l p h r a s e s 1274

.3 7 R e la tio n to m o re e x p lic it m o d ifie rs 1274
.3 8 - 4 5 T h e c h o ic e b e tw e e n th e ^ /-c o n s tru c tio n a n d th e g e n itiv e
c o n s tr u c tio n 1275
.3 9 (a ) L e x ic a l f a c to rs 1277
.4 0 (b ) R e la tio n a l fa c to rs 1277
.4 1 - 4 3 (c) O b je c tiv e a n d s u b je c tiv e re la tio n 1278
.4 4 (d ) S y n ta c tic fa c to rs 1281
.4 5 (e) C o m m u n ic a tiv e fa c to rs 1282
.4 6 T h e 'p o s t- g e n itiv e ' 1283

.4 7 A p p o s itio n w ith o / p h r a s e s 1284
.4 8 R e s tric tiv e a n d n o n r e s tr ic tiv e p re p o s itio n a l
p o s tm o d ific a tio n 1285
.4 9 - 5 0 P o s itio n an d v a rie d fu n c tio n a l re la tio n s h ip 1286
1 7 .5 1 - 5 4 N o m in a liz a tio n 1288

.5 4 T h e g ra tiie n c e fro m d e v e r b n l n o u n s via v e rb a l n o u n s
to p a rtic ip le s 1290
1 7 .5 5 - 6 0 M in o r t y p e s o f p o s t m o d if ic a t io n 1292
.5 5 P o s tm o d if ic a tio n b y a d v e r b p h r a s e 1292
.5 6 -5 9 P o s tp o s e d a d je c tiv e s 1293
.5 7 T y p e (a ): so m e b o d y big g er 1294
.5 8 T y p e ( b ) : a m is ta k e ty p ic a l o f beginners 1294
.5 9 T y p e (c): th e p r e s id e n t e le ct 1295
.6 0 P o s tp o s e d ‘m o d e ’ q u a lif ie r : L o b ste r N e w b u rg 1296
1 7 .6 1 - 6 4 M u ltip le p o s t m o d if ic a t io n 1296
.6 2 A m b ig u ity a n d c o n s tr a i n ts o n m u ltip le p o s tm o d ific a tio n 1298
.6 3 - 6 4 P u s h d o w n e le m e n ts 1298
1 7 .6 5 - 9 3 A p p o s itio n 1300
.6 5 T h e n a tu r e o f a p p o s it io n 1300
.6 6 F u ll a n d p a r tia l a p p o s itio n 1302
.6 7 S tr ic t a n d w e a k a p p o s it io n 1303
.6 8 N o n r e s tr ic tiv e a n d r e s tr ic tiv e a p p o s itio n 1303
.6 9 D e fin e d /d e fin in g r e la tio n s h ip s 1305
.7 0 C o m b in a tio n s o f a p p o s it io n a l ty p e s 1305
.7 1 M o re th a n tw o u n its in a p p o s itio n 1 306
.7 2 A m b ig u ity b e tw e e n a p p o s it io n a n d o th e r c o n s tr u c tio n s 1306

.7 3 E x p lic it i n d ic a to r s o f a p p o s itio n 1307
.7 4 - 8 7 T h e s c a le o f s tr ic t n o n r e s tr ic tiv e a p p o s itio n 1308
.7 5 -8 0 (A ) E q u iv a le n c e 1308
.7 6 (A i) A p p e lla tio n 1309
.7 7 -7 8 (A ii) I d e n tif ic a tio n 1309
.7 8 P o s tp o n e d a n d a n tic ip a t e d id e n tific a tio n 1310
.7 9 (A iii) D e s ig n a tio n 1310
.8 0 (A iv ) R e f o r m u la tio n 1311
.8 1 - 8 4 (B ) A ttr ib u tio n 1313
.8 2 D e fin in g a p p o s itiv e w ith a r tic le o m itte d 1313
.8 3 T h e r e la tio n o f a p p o s it io n to v e rb le ss a d v e r b ia l c la u s e 1314
.8 4 D e fin in g a p p o s itiv e w ith a d v e r b ia l 1314
.8 5 - 8 7 (C ) In c lu s io n 1315
.8 6 (C i) E x e m p lif ic a tio n 1315
.8 7 (C ii) P a r tic u la r iz a tio n 1316
.8 8 - 9 1 S tr ic t r e s tr ic tiv e a p p o s itio n 1316
.89 G e o g r a p h ic a l n a m e s 1317
.90 C ita tio n s 1318
.91 A p p o s itiv e s w ith n a m e s o f p e rso n s 1319
.92 W e a k a p p o s itio n 1320
.93 A p p o s itio n w ith g e n e ra l n o u n s 1321
1 7 .9 4 -1 2 0 P re m o d ific a tio n 1321

.9 4 T y p e s o f p r e m o d if y in g ite m 1321
.9 5 R e s tr ic tiv e a n d n o n re s tr ic tiv e p re m o d if ic a tio n 1322
.9 6 - 9 7 P r e m o d if ic a tio n b y a d je c tiv e s 1323
.97 N o n p r e d ic a t iv e a d je c tiv e s 1324
.9 8 - 9 9 P r c m o d ific a tio n b y - in g p a rtic ip le s 1325
.1 0 0 - 1 0 3 P r c m o d ific a tio n by - « / p a rtic ip le s 1327
.1 0 4 - 1 0 9 P r e m o d ific a tio n b y n o u n s 1330
.1 0 8 - 1 0 9 P lu r a l a ttr ib u ti v e n o u n s 1333
.110 P r e m o d if ic a tio n b y g e n itiv e 1335
.111 P r e m o d ific a tio n b y a d v e r b a n d o th e r p h ra s e s 1336
.112 P r e m o d ific a tio n by s e n te n c e 1337
.1 1 3 - 1 1 6 R e la tiv e s e q u e n c e o f p re m o d ifie rs 1337
.1 1 4 P r e c e n tr a l, c e n tr a l, p o s tc e n tr a l, a n d p r e h e a d p o s itio n 1338
.115 G e n e r a l p r in c ip le fo r th e o rd e r o f p re m o d ifie rs 1341
.116 H y p o ta c tic re la tio n s a n d o rd e r o f p re m o d if ie r s 1341
.1 1 7 - 1 1 8 M u ltip le a d je c tiv e /n o u n p re m o d ific a tio n 1342
.119 T h e ‘g ro u p g e n itiv e ’ 1344
.1 2 0 M u ltip le h e a d s 1345
1 7 .1 2 1 -1 2 2 S p e c ia l r e la tio n s b e t w e e n h e a d s a n d m o d ifie r s 1347

.1 2 1 S o m e p ro b le m s o f c o o r d in a tio n 1347
.1 2 2 D is c o n tin u ity b e tw e e n h e a d a n d m o d ifier 1348
1 7 .1 2 3 -1 2 4 C o n c lu s io n 1349
.1 2 3 R e d u c e d e x p lic itn e s s a n d in c re a se d e c o n o m y s tr u c tu r e 1349
.1 2 4 T y p e s o f n o u n - p h r a s e s tr u c tu r e in re la tio n to v a rie ty 1350
B ib lio g r a p h ic a l n o te 1352
1238 T h e n o u n p h ra se
In tro d u c tio n
T h e in d e fin ite ly c o m p le x n o u n p h r a s e
17.1 J u s t as th e s e n te n c e m a y b e in d e fin ite ly c o m p le x , so m a y th e n o u n p h ra s e .

T h is m u s t b e so , s in c e s e n te n c e s th e m s e lv e s c a n be re s h a p e d so a s to co m e
w ith in n o u n -p h r a s e s tru c tu re . F o r e x a m p le , th e fo llo w in g s e n te n c e s [la--c],
sim p le a n d c o m p le x , c a n b e co m e o n e sim p le s e n te n c e [2] w ith a v ery c o m p le x
n o u n p h r a s e a s s u b je c t:
T h e g irl is M a r y S m ith . [la ]

T h e g irl is ta ll. [ lb ]
T h e g irl w a s s ta n d i n g in th e c o rn e r. [Ic ]
Y ou w a v e d to th e g irl w h e n you e n te re d . [Id ]
T h e g irl b e c a m e a n g ry b e c a u s e y o u k n o c k e d o v e r h e r g lass. [ 1e]
T h e ta ll g ir t s ta n d in g in the corner who beca m e a n g ry beca u se y o u
k n o c k e d oner h e r gla ss a fte r y o u w a n 'd to her w hen y o u e n te re d is
' M a ry S m ith . [2]
M o re o v er, s ta r tin g fr o m [2], w e c o u ld r e c o n s tr u c t a n y o f th e s e n te n c e s liste d

in [ l a - e ] - a n d in f a c t w e c o u ld n o t u n d e r s ta n d th e n o u n - p h r a s e s u b je c t
(p r in te d in ita lic s ) o f [2], u n le ss w e re c o g n iz e d its c o n s ti tu e n t p a r ts as th e y
a re set o u t in [ la - e ] .
Y et [2] h a s in tr o d u c e d m a n y c h a n g e s . W e h a v e , f o r e x a m p le , s u p p re s s e d
all o r p a r t o f th e v e rb s i n [ 1c] a n d [ 1d ] ; w e h a v e p u t ta ll , w h ic h is c o m p le m e n t
in [lb ] , as a m o d if ie r b e fo re th e n o u n g irl; w e h a v e r e p la c e d th e g ir t o f [le ] b y
who.
A fte r d e s c r ib in g d e te r m in a tiv e s a n d n o u n s in C h a p t e r 5, th e p u rp o s e o f
th e p re s e n t c h a p t e r is to s ta te th e c o n d itio n s g o v e rn in g th e m a k in g o f n o u n
p h ra s e s b y p ro c e ss e s s u c h a s th o s e in d ic a te d a b o v e.
Noun-phrase constituents
1 7 .2 In d e s c rib in g n o u n p h r a s e s w e n e e d to d is tin g u is h th e fo llo w in g c o n s titu e n t
p a rts :
(A ) T h e h e d , a r o u n d w h ic h (fo r th e m o s t p a r t) th e o th e r c o n s titu e n ts
F
c lu ste r a n d w h ic h d ic ta te s c o n c o rd w ith o th e r p a r ts o f th e s e n te n c e :
[T h e ta ll g ir l s ta n d in g in th e c o rn e r] is m y siste r.
[T h e ta ll g irls s ta n d in g in th e c o rn e r] a re m y s iste rs .
[T h e ta ll g ir l in th e c o r n e r j h a s a b lu e s w e a te r] is m y s iste r.
I saw th e ta ll g irl in [th e corner ^ J w as p eo p le],
(B ) T h e D E T E R M IN A T IV E , w h ic h in c lu d e s
(a) p r e d e te r m in e r s , ie all ite m s w h ic h c a n p r e c e d e a n y c e n tr a l d e te r m in e r
(in c lu d in g z e r o a rtic le ) in a n o u n p h r a s e , e g ; all, b o th , d ouble ( c / 5 .1 5 f f ):
a ll th e f u r n itu r e both th o s e m u s ic ia n s
(b) c e n tra l d e te r m in e r s , in c lu d in g th o s e ite m s lis te d in 5 .1 1/?] eg th e

a rtic le s , this, s o m e ;
s o m e n e w office f u r n itu r e all those fin e rflu sic ia n s
In tro d u c tio n 1239
(c) p o .std c lc rm in c rs , w h ich follow c e n tra l d e te r m in e r s h ul p r e c e d e

p r e m o d if ie r s , eg ad je ctiv e s. P o s td e te rm in e rs in c lu d e eg n u m e r a ls ,
m a n y , fe w , sev e ra l (c / 5 .2 0 / / j :
th e m a n y n e w offices th e f e w s u rv iv o rs
(C ) T h e p r e m o d i f i c a t i o n , w h ic h c o m p ris e s all th e ite m s p la c e d b e fo re th e

h e a d o th e r th a n d e te rm in a tiv e s , n o ta b ly a d je c tiv e s (o r, r a th e r , a d je c tiv e
p h ra s e s , c /'7 .2 0 ) a n d n o u n s :
som e f u r n itu r e
so m e e x p e n siv e fu r n itu re
so m e very e x p e n siv e fu rn itu re
so m e very e x p e n siv e office fu rn itu re
som e very very exp en sive office fu r n itu re
(D ) T h e p o s tm o d if ic a tio n , c o m p ris in g all th e ite m s p la c e d a f te r t h e h e a d ,

n o ta b ly :
p r e p o s itio n a l p h r a s e s : th e c a r o u tsid e th e s ta tio n
n o n fin ite c la u s e s : th e c a r sta n d in g o u tsid e th e sta tio n
r e la tiv e c la u s e s : th e c a r th a t s to o d o u tsid e the s ta tio n
c o m p le m e n ta tio n ( c f 1 5 .6 3 /0 : a b ig g e r c a r th a n th a t
R e s tr ic tiv e a n d n o n r e s tr ic tiv e m o d ific a tio n
1 7.3 M o d ific a tio n c a n b e re s tric tiv e o r n o n r e s tr ic tiv e . T h e m o d if ic a tio n is

r e s t r i c t i v e w h e n th e re fe re n c e o f th e h e a d is a m e m b e r o f a c lass w h ic h c a n
be id e n tifie d o n ly th r o u g h th e m o d ific a tio n th a t h a s b e e n su p p lie d . T h e g irl
in e x a m p le [2] in 17.1 is o n ly id e n tifia b le a s M a r y S m ith p r o v id e d w e
u n d e r s ta n d t h a t it is th e p a rtic u la r g irl w h o is ta ll, w h o w a s s ta n d in g in th e
c o rn e r, a n d w h o b e c a m e an g ry . S u ch m o d if ic a tio n w o u ld n o t h a v e b e e n
a c tu a lly n e c e s s a r y u n le ss th e re h a d b e e n o th e r g irls p re s e n t, tall b u t n o t in
th e c o rn e r, o r in th e c o r n e r b u t n o t ta ll, o r w h o h a d n o t b e c o m e a n g ry .
R e s tr ic tiv e n e s s , th e n , in d ic a te s a lim ita tio n o n th e p o s sib le r e fe re n c e o f th e
h e ad .
A lte r n a tiv e ly , th e r e f e r e n t o f a n o u n p h r a s e m a y be v ie w e d as u n iq u e o r a s
a m e m b e r o f a c la ss t h a t h a s b e en in d e p e n d e n tly id e n tifie d (fo r e x a m p le in
th e p r e c e d in g c o n te x t). A n y m o d ific a tio n g iv e n to s u c h a h e a d is a d d itio n a l
in f o r m a tio n w h ic h is n o t e ss e n tia l fo r id e n tific a tio n , a n d w e call it
n o n r e s t r i c t i v e . F o r e x a m p le , th e r e la tiv e c la u se who is in th e corner in [ 1 ] is
n o n r e s tr ic tiv e :
M a r y S m ith , w ho is in the corner, w a n ts to m e e t y ou. [ 1]
By r e a s o n o f b e in g d e s ig n a te d by a p r o p e r n a m e , M a ry S m ith 's id e n tity is

in d e p e n d e n t o f w h e th e r o r n o t sh e is in th e c o r n e r ( th o u g h th e in f o r m a tio n
o n h e r p r e s e n t l o c a tio n m a y b e u sefu l e n o u g h ). I f a m a n say s [2], th e d a u g h te r
is id e n tifie d a s b e in g o n e o u t o f tw o d a u g h te r s in th e fa m ily a n d a lso a s
y o u n g e r t h a n th e o th e r d a u g h te r :
C o m e a n d m e e t m y y o u n g er d a u g h te r. [2]
[2] is th u s an ex am p le o f restrictive prem odification. If, on the o th er h a n d , a

1240 T h e n o u n phra se
m a n (in a m o n o g a m o u s so ciety ) say s [3], th e p re m o d if ie r b e a u tifu l is

u n d e rs to o d as n o n r e s tr ic tiv e :
C o m e a n d m e e t m y b e a u tifu l w ile . 13]
A n o th e r e x a m p le :
I d o n 't w a n t h im to p u l his u gly n o se in to m y house a g a in . |4 |
S e n te n c e s [I], [3], a n d [4] a rc in e v ita b ly n o n re s tric tiv e s in c e - b e in g tre a te d

a s u n iq u e - M a r y S m ith , wife, a n d nose, in th e se s e n te n c e s will n o t a d m it
r e s tr ic tio n . B u t a lm o s t a n y h e a d th a t c a n b e re s tric tiv e ly m o d ifie d is a lso
s u s c e p tib le o f n o n re s tr ic tiv e m o d if ic a tio n , eg:
T h e tall g irl, who is a d e n tist, is M a ry S m ith . [5]
H e re th e o n ly in fo r m a tio n o ffered to id e n tify th e g irl a s M a ry S m ith is th e

a llu s io n to h e r ta lln e s s ; th e m e n tio n o f h e r w o rk a s a d e n tis t is n o t o ffe re d as
a n a id to id e n tific a tio n b u t fo r a d d itio n a l in te re s t.
O th e r n o u n s w h ic h h a v e n o n re s tr ic tiv e p o s tm o d ific a tio n in c lu d e th o s e
w ith g e n e r ic r e f e r e n c e :
T h e g ia n t p a n d a , w hich is to b e fo u n d in the rem o te p a rts o f C hina, liv e s

e x c lu siv e ly o n b a m b o o sh o o ts.
N o te In p o p u la r n a rra tiv e style, th ere is a n o n restric tiv e use o f p rem o d ify in g ad jectiv e in cases like
th e follow ing ( c /c le ft sen ten ces, 18.26 N o te [b]):
R e p o rte rs h o u n d e d a n e m b a r ra s s e d Ben M iles o v er his T V gaffe last w eek a n d in rep ly to
on e q u e stio n e r th e u n h a p p y M iles m ad e th in g s still w orse b y . . .
1 7 .4 T h e f a c t t h a t n o n r e s tr ic tiv e r e la tiv e c la u se s a re n o t e s s e n tia l fo r id e n tif ic a tio n

e n a b le s u s in [1] a n d [ la ] to m a k e d if f e r e n t p a r ts o f th e s e n te n c e in to a r e la tiv e
c la u s e :
M y b r o th e r , w ho is an engineer, liv e s in A m e ric a . [1]

M y b r o th e r , w ho lives in A m e ric a , is a n e n g in e e r. [ la ]
S e m a n tic e q u iv a le n c e is still p r e s e r v e d in [1] a n d [ la ] (a lth o u g h th e r e is a

d iff e r e n c e in fo cu s). A n o n re s tr ic tiv e r e la tiv e c la u se m a y r e s e m b le a n
a d v e r b ia l c la u se (c f s im u lta n e o u s m e a n in g , 15.28), eg:
M y b r o th e r , w ho h a s lived in A m e ric a f o r over 30 y e a rs, c a n still

s p e a k Ita lia n . [2]
I n [2], th e r e la tiv e cla u se is g ra m m a tic a lly o p tio n a l, lik e a n y o th e r

n o n r e s tr ic tiv e ite m , b u t s e m a n tic a lly o b lig a to ry as th e c o r r e la te o f s till in th e
s u p e r o r d in a te c la u se . T h e re la tiv e c la u se h e r e c a n b e p a r a p h r a s e d a s a n
a d v e r b ia l c la u se [2a], w ith in itia l p o s itio n (u n lik e th e re la tiv e c la u se ) [2b], o r
a s a n a d v e r b ia l p re p o s itio n a l p h r a s e [2c]:
M y b r o th e r c a n still s p e a k I ta lia n , a lth o u g h he h a s liv e d in A m e ric a

f o r over 3 0 y e a rs. [2a]
A lth o u g h he h a s liv e d in A m e ric a f o r o ver 3 0 y e a rs, m y b r o th e r c a n
still s p e a k I ta lia n . [2b]
A f te r o ver 3 0 y e a r s in A m e ric a , m y b r o th e r c a n still s p e a k I ta lia n . [2c]
In t r o d u c t io n 1241
T h e p re d ic a tio n s o f th e tw o c la u se s [2a] a n d [2b] a re c o n tra s tiv e .

N o n re s tric tiv e re la tiv e c la u se s m a y a lso im p ly o th e r a d v e r b ia l f u n c tio n s ,
s u c h as c a u s e (‘b e c a u s e lie h a d b e e n v ery h e lp fu l', T o r beinj* v ery h e l p f u l ') in
[3]:
A n il th a n k e d h e r te a c h e r , who h a d been eery helpful. [3]
By c o n tra s t, re s tric tiv e r e la tiv e c la u se s w ith g e n eral a n te c e d e n ts ( c /'I 7 .21)

e x p re ss c o n d itio n a l r e la tio n s h ip , eg:
S tu d e n ts who w ork h a r d p a ss th e ir e x am s. [‘I f s tu d e n ts w o rk h a r d , th e y

p a s s th e ir e x a m s .’]
P r o p e r n o u n s c a n n o t h a v e re s tric tiv e m o d ific a tio n w h e n th e y h a v e th e

n o rm a l u n iq u e d e n o ta tio n . H o w e v e r, w h en th e p r o p e r n o u n te m p o r a r ily
ta k e s o n fe a tu re s o f a c o m m o n n o u n , re s tric tiv e m o d if ic a tio n is p o s s ib le
(c /5 .6 4 ) :
the S p rin g fie ld t h a t is in Illin o is [ 1]

the Johnson w h o w r o te t h e d ic tio n a r y [2]
N o r a re re s tric tiv e r e la tiv e c la u se s p o s sib le w ith n o n n o m in a l a n t e c e d e n t s

( c / ’s e n te n tia l re la tiv e c la u s e s ', 17.9):
H e lik e s d o g s, w h ic h s u rp ris e s m e. [3]
N o n a s s e r tiv e h e a d s c a n n o t h a v e n o n r e s tr ic tiv e m o d if ic a tio n :
*1 w o n ’t see j w ^ 0 ^ a s n o t m a d e a n a p p o in tm e n t. [4]
B y c o n tra s t, n o n re s tr ic tiv e m o d if ic a tio n is p o ssib le w ith a s s e r tiv e h e a d s :
S o m eo n e, w h o s o u n d e d lik e y o u r m o th e r, called to say s h e w a n te d

to see y o u . [5]
N o n s p e c ific d e te r m in e r s lik e an y, all, a n d every u su ally h a v e o n ly r e s tr ic tiv e

m o d if ic a tio n :
* E v e ry b o o k, w h ic h is w r itte n to d e c e iv e th e r e a d e r , s h o u ld b e
banned. [6]
* A ll th e s tu d e n ts, w h o h a d fa ile d th e te st, w a n te d to try a g a in . [7]
H o w e v e r w e m a y o c c a s io n a lly fin d n o n re s tric tiv e as w ell a s r e s tr ic tiv e

m o d if ic a tio n , a s i n :
A l l th e s tu d e n ts, w h o h a d re tu r n e d fro m th e ir v a c a tio n , w a n te d t o

ta k e th e e x am . [8]
B u t p o s itio n a l v a r ia tio n o f a ll is p o s s ib le o n ly w ith a n o n r e s tr ic tiv e c la u se

( c /5 .1 6 ,6 .5 0 ) :
T h e stu d en ts, w ho h a d a ll ( o f th e m ) r e tu rn e d fro m th e ir v a c a tio n ,

fa ile d th e te st. [7a]
* T h e stu d e n ts w ho h a d a ll ( o f th e m ) fa ile d th e te s t w a n te d to t r y
a g a in . [8 a]
1242 T h e n ou n p h ra se
1 7 .6 Wc sh all d ra w a tte n tio n to th e d is tin c tio n b e tw e e n re s tr ic tiv e and

n o n re s tric tiv e in th e d e s c r ip tio n o f th e m o d ific a tio n ty p e s la te r o n , h u t tw o
g e n e ra l p o in ts m a y b e o f v a lu e no w .
F ir s t, m o d ific a tio n a t its ‘m o s t r e s tr ic tiv e ' te n d s to co m e a f te r th e h e a d :
A n y p e rs o n w ho w ishes to see m e m u s t m a k e a n a p p o in tm e n t.
By c o n tr a s t, o u r d e c is io n to u se a n ite m a s a p re m o d ifie r (su ch a s n o n r e s tr ic tiv e

silly in a silly fool) o fte n reflects o u r w ish th a t it be ta k e n fo r g r a n te d a n d n o t
be in te rp r e te d as a s p e c ilic id e n tifie r.
S eco n d ly , re s tric tiv e m o d if ic a tio n te n d s to b e g iv e n m o r e p r o s o d ic e m p h a s is
th a n th e h e a d , sin c e th e r e is a b u ilt-in c o n tr a s t, a s in ( c /e x a m p le s in 17.3):
S u s a n is m y k i o e r d a u g h te r .
J o h n is m y L A zy so n .
N o n re s tric tiv e m o d if ic a tio n , o n th e o th e r h a n d , te n d s to be u n s tre ss e d in

p r e h e a d p o s itio n :
m y b ea u tifu l w if e
In p o s t-h e a d p o s itio n , its ‘p a r e n th e tic ' re la tio n is e n d o rs e d b y b e in g g iv e n a

s e p a r a te to n e u n it ( f re q u e n tly w ith re d u c e d p ro m in e n c e a n d n a r r o w p itc h
r a n g e ) ; o r, in w ritin g , b y b e in g e n c lo se d b y c o m m a s ( c f 17.22).
Temporary and permanent modification

1 7 .7 T h e r e is a s e c o n d d ic h o to m y th a t h a s s o m e affin ities w ith th e d is tin c tio n
b e tw e e n re s tric tiv e a n d n o n r e s tr ic tiv e b u t r a th e r m o re w ith th e c o n tr a s t o f
n o n p ro g r e s s iv e a n d p ro g r e s s iv e in p r e d ic a tio n ( c j'4 .2 5 ff ), o r p e r m a n e n t a n d
te m p o r a r y in a g e n tia l n o u n s ( c / A p p 1 .3 4 /) . M o d ific a tio n in n o u n - p h r a s e
s tr u c tu r e m a y a lso b e s e e n a s p e r m a n e n t o r te m p o ra ry ( c /7 .2 1 ) , s u c h th a t
ite m s p la c e d in p r e m o d if ic a tio n p o s itio n a re ty p ic a lly g iv e n th e s ta tu s o f
p e r m F n e n t o r, a t a n y r a te , c h a r a c te r is tic fe a tu re s. A lth o u g h th is d o e s n o t
m e a n t h a t p o s tm o d if ic a tio n p o s itio n is c o m m itte d to e ith e r te m p o r a r in e s s o r
p e r m a n e n c e , th o s e a d je c tiv e s w h ic h h a v e to b e p r e d ic a tiv e h a v e a n o ta b ly
t e m p o r r y re fe re n c e . T h u s [ l ] w o u ld b e u n d e rs to o d as [ la ] :
F
th e courteous m a n [1]
th e m a n who is co u rteo u s
(ie ‘n o rm a lly a n d n o t m e re ly a t th is m o m e n t’] [ la ]
In c o n tr a s t, [2] w o u ld b e u n d e rs to o d a s h a v in g r e fe re n c e o n ly to a sp ecific
tim e , a n d th is c o r r e s p o n d s to th e n o n o c c u r re n c e o f [2a]:
T h e m a n is rea d y . [2]
* th e rea d y m a n [2a]
(O n th e r e le v a n c e o f th e d is tin c tio n in d e te r m in e r s b e tw e e n in d e fin ite a n d

d e fin ite , c f 5 .2 6 ff.) O n th is b a s is , w e see th a t tim id ity a n d f e a r a r e c o n tr a s te d
in p a r t a c c o rd in g a s t h e first is s ee n a s p e r m a n e n t [3], th e s e c o n d a s te m p o r a r y
[4]:
a m a n who is tim id ~ a tim id m a n [3]

a m a n who is a fr a id -c * a n a fr a id m a n [4]
In tr o d u c tio n 1?43
J u s t a s s o m e m o d if ie r s a re to o stro n g ly id e n tifie d w ith te m p o ra ry s ta t u s to

a p p e a r in p r e ltc a d p o s itio n , so th e re c a n lie m o d if ic a tio n c o n s tr a i n e d to
p re h e a d p o s itio n b e c a u s e it in d ic a tes p e r m a n e n t s ta tu s. T h u s th e to e w h ic h
is c h a r a c te r is tic a lly (a n d p e rm a n e n tly ) b ig in re la tio n to th e re s t is c a lle d th e
hig toe, a n d w e c a n n o t say o f it *Tlie toe is big w ith o u t d e s tr o y in g th is
p e r m a n e n t c h a r a c te r is tic a n d m a k in g th e e x p re s s io n see m to re fe r o n ly (fo r
e x a m p le ) to a te m p o r a r y sw ellin g . C o m p a re a lso th e orig in a l [‘first, e a r lie s t']
version b e s id e H is w o rk is q u ite original ['o f a n ew ty p e '], w h ic h w o u ld p e r m it
a d v e r b ia l in d ic a tio n o f tim e s p an (now, a lw a ys, e tc ; r /7 .8 7 ) .
The explicitness of postmodification

17.8 In g e n e r a l, p re m o d if ic a tio n is to be in te r p r e te d (a n d , m o s t f r e q u e n tly , c a n
o n ly be in te r p r e te d ) in te rm s o f p o s tm o d ific a tio n a n d its g r e a te r e x p lic itn c s s .
T h a t is, so m e ta ll college g irls will be in te r p r e te d a s 's o m e g irls w h o a r e ta ll
a n d w h o a r e (s tu d y in g ) a t a co lleg e'. T h e p re m o d ilie d n o u n p h r a s e [I ] m a y
in c lu d e , f o r e x a m p le , all o f th e re la tio n s w h ic h a re e x p lic it in th e p o s tm o d ifie d
n o u n p h r a s e s [ 1a —e ] :
a n o il m a n [1]
a m an w ho se lls o il [ la ]
a m an w ho d e liv e rs oil [ lb ]
a m an w h o p ro d u c e s oil [ lc ]
a m an w ho in v e stig a te s oil [I d ]
a m an w ho a d v o c a te s the use o f oil [le ]
W h a t n o r m a lly h a p p e n s , a s in th e c ase o f b ig toe (in 17.7) a n d o il m a n [I ], is

t h a t a m b ig u ity d o e s n o t a ris e sin ce o n e s e n s e is s e le c te d in a sp ecific c o n te x t
( c /le x ic a l iz a tio n , A p p 1 .9 # ) . T h u s , fo r e x a m p le , th e q u e s tio n "W ill th e o il
m a n call to d a y ? ’ w ill n o rm a lly c a rry o n ly o n e in te r p r e ta tio n in a n y g iv e n
c o n te x t.
E x p lic itn e s s i n p o s tm o d ific a tio n v a rie s c o n s id e ra b ly , h o w e v e r. I t is g r e a te r
in th e fin ite re la tiv e c la u se [2] th a n in th e n o n fin ite -ing c la u se [2 a], fr o m
w h ic h th e e x p lic it te n s e ( is l/w a s l) is a b s e n t, th o u g h th is in tu r n is m o re
e x p lic it t h a n th e p r e p o s itio n a l p h ra s e [2b], fr o m w h ic h th e v e rb in d ic a tin g a
sp ecific p o s tu r e is a b s e n t:
th e g irl w ho w a s s ta n d in g in the corner [2]

th e g irl s ta n d in g in th e corner [2a]
th e g irl in th e c o rn er [2b]
R e d u c tio n in e x p lic itn e s s in th e n o u n p h r a s e is c lo sely r e la te d to th e

lin g u is tic a n d s itu a tio n a l c o n te x t. T h e re is, ty p ic a lly , a p ro g r e s s io n fr o m
‘m o re e x p lic it’ to ‘le ss e x p lic it’ in a d is c o u rse . O n e i n s ta n c e o f su c h s e q u e n tia l
a n d g r a d u a l r e d u c tio n fro m s e n te n c e [3], v ia r e la tiv e c la u se [3 a], v ia
p re p o s itio n a l p h r a s e [3b], to p ro -fo rm [3c], c a n b e s e e n in A n th o n y B u r g e s s ’s
n o v e l In s id e M r E n d e r b y . W h e n fly in g to R o m e , th e m a in c h a r a c t e r o f th e
n o v e l is w a r n e d b y a n A m e r ic a n p a s s e n g e r :
‘Y o u r t i c k e t d o e s n o t e n title y o u to u n d is p u te d m o n o p o liz a tio n o f

th e jo h n . ’ [ie th e la v a to ry ] [3]
T h e fe llo w p a s s e n g e r w h o issu ed th is w a rn in g is s u b s e q u e n tly r e f e r r e d to a s :

th e A m e ric a n w ho h a d o u s te d E n d e r h y fr o m th e J ohn [3aJ
lo he f'lirlh cr re d u c e d to :
th e A m e ric a n fr o m th e jo h n 13 b J
a n d fin ally :
a n A m e r i c a n , n o t th e jo in t on e, p o is e d h is c a m e r a lo s h o o t [3 e |
T h e o r d e r o f p r e s e n ta tio n in th is c h a p t e r w ill b e fro m m o s t e x p lic it to le a st

e x p lic it. W e th e r e f o r e s ta r t w ith th e m o s t e x p lic it ty p e o f n o u n - p h r a s e
m o d if ic a tio n , ie p o s tm o d ific a tio n by fin ite c la u se .
Postmodification by finite clauses

Types of postmodifying finite clauses
1 7 .9 W e d is tin g u is h tw o m a jo r ty p e s o f fin ite c la u s e s a s n o u n -p h r a s e p o s tm o d ifie rs ,
r e lt i v e c la u s e s [1 ] a n d
F p p o s i t i v e c la u se s [ 2 ] :
F
T h e n e w s th a t a p p e a re d in the p apers this m o rn in g w a s w ell

re c e iv e d . [1]
T h e n e w s th a t th e te a m h a d won c alls f o r a c e le b r a tio n . [2]
A lth o u g h s u p e rfic ia lly s im ila r, th e d iff e r e n c e b e tw e e n th e se tw o ty p e s o f

f in ite c la u se b e c o m e s a p p a r e n t, fo r e x a m p le i f w e tr y t o r e p la c e th a t by w hich
in t h e tw o e x a m p le s :
T h e n e w s w hich a p p e a re d in the p a p e rs th is m o rn in g w a s
w ell re c e iv e d . [ 1a]
* T h e n e w s w hich th e te a m h a d won c a lls f o r a c e le b r a tio n . [2a]
T h u s th a t is n o t re p la c e a b le b y a tv /t-p ro n o u n in a p p o s itiv e c la u se s, a s it is in
r e la tiv e c la u se s. M o re s ig n ific a n tly fro m a g e n e r a l p o in t o f v ie w , th a t in [2]
h a s n o f u n c tio n a s c la u s e e le m e n t w ith in th e t t a - c l a u s e , a s it h a s in re la tiv e
c la u se s tr u c tu r e . T h u s in [1], th e r e la tiv e p r o n o u n is s u b je c t; in [ lb ] it is
o b je c t:
T h e n e w s w hich w e s a w in th e p a p ers th is m o rn in g w a s w ell

re c e iv e d . [ lb ]
A p p o s itiv e c la u s e s w ill b e fu r th e r d is c u s s e d in 1 7 .2 6 / T h e ty p e o f r e la tiv e

c la u se r e p r e s e n te d b y [ 1 ] is c a lle d a n d n o m i n l re la tiv e c la u se , a n d w ill b e
F F
d is c u s s e d b e lo w .
I n a d d itio n to a d n o m in a l re la tiv e c la u se s, w e d is tin g u is h n o m in F l r e la tiv e
c la u se s, a s in [3], a n d s e n t e n t iF l re la tiv e c la u s e s , a s in [4]:
W h a t su rp rise s m e is t h a t th e y a re fo n d o f s n a k e s a n d liz a rd s . [3]

T h e y a r e fo n d o f s n a k e s a n d liz a rd s , w hich surprises m e. [4]
N o m in a l re la tiv e c la u se s a r e u n iq u e a m o n g r e la tiv e c la u se s in t h a t th e y
‘c o n ta in ’ th e ir a n te c e d e n ts . T h e y a r e d is c u s s e d , w ith o th e r n o m in a l d e p e n d e n t
c la u se s, in 1 5 .8 /
P o s tm o d if ic a tio n b y fin ite c la u s e s 1245
In s e n te n tia l r e la tiv e c la u se s, th e a n te c e d e n t is n o t n o m in a l b u t c l a u s a l , ie
in [4] th e w h o le c la u s e T h e y a rc f o n d o f sn a k e s a n d liz a r d s is p o st m o d Ilie d b y
w h ic h s u r p r is e s in c . T h a t th is is so c a n be see it in Ihe e h o ie e o! s in g u la r v e r b
c o n c o r d (s u r p r is e s ). T h e s e n te n tia l re la tiv e c la u se h a s a llin itic s w ith , o n th e
o n e h a n d , n o m in a l r e la tiv e c la u se s, a n d , o n th e o th e r h a n d , w ith c o o r d i n a t e
c la u se s (c / 13 .5 0 /'):
T h e y a r e liu u l o f s n a k e s e n d l i / a r d s , a n d th a t sitr/>ris<'s in c . [4 a ]
T h e a d n o m in a l re la tiv e c la u se is th e c e n tr a l ty p e o f re la tiv e c la u s e , a n d ,
u n le ss in d ic a te d o th e rw is e , ‘re la tiv e c la u s e ’ h e re m e a n s ‘a d n o m in a l r e la tiv e
c la u s e ’. W ith in su ch re la tiv e c la u se s w e m a k e a d is tin c tio n b e tw e e n r e s t r i c t i v e
[5] a n d n o n re s tric tiv e [6] ( c / 1 7 .3 # ) :
S n a k e s w hich o re poiso n o u s sh o u ld be a v o id e d . [5]

R a ttle s n a k e s , w hich ore p o isonous, s h o u ld b e a v o id e d . [6]
A m o n g th o s e tw o ty p e s, th e re s tric tiv e is th e m o re c o m m o n , a n d w ill be

tr e a te d b e fo re th e n o n re s tric tiv e .
Characteristics of relative clauses

1 7 .1 0 P a r t o f t h e e x p lic itn e s s o f re la tiv e c la u se s lies in th e s p e c ify in g p o w e r o f t h e
re la tiv e p ro n o u n . I t m a y b e c a p a b le o f
(i) s h o w in g c o n c o r d w ith its a n te c e d e n t, ie th e p re c e d in g p a r t o f t h e n o u n

p h r a s e o f w h ic h th e r e la tiv e c la u se is a p o s tm o d ifie r [e x te rn a l r e l a t i o n ] ;
and
(ii) in d ic a tin g its fu n c tio n w ith in th e r e la tiv e c la u se e ith e r as a n e le m e n t

o f c la u se s tr u c tu r e (S, O , C , A ), o r a s a c o n s titu e n t o f a n e le m e n t in th e
r e la tiv e c la u se [ in te r n a l re la tio n ].
Gender concord
1 7 .11 C o n c o r d is o n th e b a sis o f a tw o -te rm ‘g e n d e r ’ s y ste m , p e r s o n a l a n d
n o n p e r s o n a l ( c / 5 . 105#', 6 . 8 / ) , a n d a p p lie s o n ly to th e ir/i-series:
J o a n , who . . . L o n d o n , w hich . . .
th e b o y /p e o p le w h o . . . th e fo x /a n im a ls which . . .
th e h u m a n b e in g w h o . . . th e h u m a n b o d y w hich , . .
th e f a iry who . . . th e u n ic o rn which . . .
I t w ill b e s e e n fro m th e se e x a m p le s t h a t ‘p e r s o n a lity ’ is a s c rib e d b a s ic a lly to

h u m a n b e in g s b u t e x te n d s to c r e a tu r e s in th e s u p e r n a tu r a l w o rld ( a n g e ls ,
elv e s, e tc ) w h ic h a r e th o u g h t o f a s h a v in g h u m a n c h a r a c te r is tic s s u c h a s
s p e e c h . P e t a n im a ls c a n b e r e g a rd e d a s ‘p e r s o n a l’ (a t le a s t b y th e ir o w n e r s ;
c /5 .1 0 9 /) :
R o v e r , who w a s b a r k in g , fr ig h te n e d th e c h ild re n .
O n th e o th e r h a n d , h u m a n b a b ie s c a n b e re g a rd e d (th o u g h ra re ly p e r h a p s b y
t h e i r p a r e n ts ) as n o t h a v in g d e v e lo p e d p e r s o n a li ty :
T h is is t h e b a b y w hich n e e d s in o c u la tio n .
1246 T h e n o u n phrase
T h o u g h s h ip s m ay la k e th e p e rs o n a l p r o n o u n s h e , th e r e la tiv e p r o n o u n is
re g u la rly n o n p e rs o n a l ( r /5 .1 1 1 N o le ):
Is | ^ | th e sh ip w h ic h is d u e to le a v e fo r a C a r ib b e a n c ru is e to m o r ro w ?
C o lle c tiv e n o u n s ( c / 5 . 1 0 8 ) a rc n o rm a lly tre a te d as p e rs o n a l w h e n th e y

h a v e p lu ra l c o n co rd (e s p in B rE ), a n d as n o n p e rs o n a l w h e n th e y h a v e s in g u la r
c o n co rd :
who w ere
T h e c o m m itte e re s p o n sib le fo r th is d e c is io n . . .
w hich w as
T h e g e n d e r c o n tra s t is n e u tra liz e d w h e n th e u7i-scries is re p la c e d b y th a t o r a

z e ro r e la tiv e :
S h e m u s t b e th e n ic e s t p e r s o n th a t e v e r liv ed .
T h a t m u s t be th e n ic e s t th i n g th a t e v e r h a p p e n e d .
W ith c o o rd in a te d a n te c e d e n ts o f m ix e d g e n d e r , th e c h o ic e o f re la tiv e
p ro n o u n m a y c re a te a p ro b le m . I t d o e s n o t a ris e w h e n z e ro r e la tiv e is p o s sib le
o r w h e n th a t is c h o se n , e g :
W ith w /i-p ro n o u n s, th e p r in c ip le o f p ro x im ity see m s to b e fa v o u re d ( c f 1 0 .35):
W h ic h c a n h a v e a p e r s o n a l n o u n a s its a n te c e d e n t w h e n th e r e la tiv e is a
c o m p le m e n t w ith th e s e m a n tic ro le o f c h a r a c te r iz a tio n a t t r ib u te ( c f 1 0 .20):
H e im a g in e d h im s e lf to b e a n a r tis t, w h ic h h e w as n o t.
N o le [a] O th e r n o n h u m an c re a tu re s b esid es p e ts m ay ta k e w ho e v en in sen ten ces w h ere th is involves

a n a p p a re n t c lash w ith the n e u te r p ro n o u n i t ; th u s, from a recen t w ork o f n o n fic tio n :
th e c h am eleo n w ho c h a n g es its colours
T h is is less likely how ever w h en th e rela tiv e p ro n o u n is o b ject in its clau se, as w e sec from the
follow ing e x am p les on tw o su ccessiv e p ag es o f a w ork o n zo o lo g y :
th e b lack rh in o cero ses w h o liv e in th e p a rk
th e w h ite rh in o cero s w h ic h w e saw in th e w ilds o u tsid e th e p ark
O n th e facto rs involved in th is differen ce, r/1 7 .1 6 .
[b] It so h a p p e n s t h a t, in fam ilia r s p eech , th e w ord c h a r a c te r can be u sed in th e sen se o f ‘p e rs o n ’,
a n d th e w ord p e r s o n a lity c a n b e u sed fo r so m eb o d y w ho h a s a c h iev ed n o to rie ty . In c o n seq u en ce,
w e m ay h av e n o t only [1] a n d [2] b u t also [ la ] a n d [2 a]:
C h a rle s h as a fine c h a ra c te r w h ic h h e in h erits from his fath e r. [11
S m ith h as a s tran g e p e rso n a lity w h ic h rep els m an y p eople. [2]
C h a rle s is a s tran g e c h a ra c te r w h o d islik es p a rties, ( fa m ilia r ) [la ]
S m ith is n ow a fam ous p e rso n a lity w h o is o ften in terv iew ed on telev isio n . [2a]
17.12 T h e n o m in a l re la tiv e c la u se is c o m m o n w ith d e fin ite n o n p e r s o n a l r e fe re n c e

(th o u g h w ith a d if f e r e n t p r o n o u n fro m th a t u s ed in a d n o m in a l r e la tiv e
c la u s e s ; c /1 5 .8 /, 6.35 N o te [b ]): w hat, w hatever, w hichever.
W h a t is m o st h ig h ly v a lu e d in th e t r ib e is v a lo u r. [ 1]
P o y lm o d if ic n tim i by f in ito c lm n iu u \'?A)
T h is is w h a t / c a n ’t u n d e rsta n d . [2]
S h e'll d o w h a tever y o u s a y . |.1|
C h o o se w hichever y o u lik e best. [4j
In th e e ase o f cielin itc p e rs o n a ! re fe re n c e, th e o n ly p r o n o u n is w hoever:
* W ho )
W hoever I ^ clp c li m c llas g o n c - [5]
A p e rs o n a l p ro n o u n + a r e la tiv e p ro n o u n , on th e o th e r h a n d , is p o s s ib le o n ly
in a rc h a ic o r v e ry fo r m a l c o n te x ts :
H e who m a d e th is p o s s ib le d e se rv e s o u r g r a titu d e . [6]
It is m o re a c c e p ta b le i f he h a s g e n eric re fe re n c e , as in [7], w h ic h h o w e v e r
a lso s o u n d s a r c h a i c :
H e who h e lp s th e h a n d ic a p p e d d e se rv e s o u r s u p p o rt. [7]
T h e n o rm a l e x p re s s io n s a r e [7a] a n d [7 b ]:
A nybody} ^ e *Ps h a n d ic a p p e d d e se rv e s o u r s u p p o r t. [7a]
T hose w ho h e lp th e h a n d ic a p p e d d e se rv e o u r s u p p o rt. [7 b ]
R e p la c e m e n t is im p o s s ib le w ith p lu ra l *ih ey w h o jw h ich , a n d a ls o w ith

s in g u la r *it w h ic h :
*/Tvt’/u 'c /t| * c a n t u n h ersl;alld is t h i s : . . . [2a]
T h a i is a c c e p ta b le w ith w hich o n ly in v ery fo rm al s ty le :
T h a t w hich is m o s t h ig h ly v a lu e d in th e trib e is v a lo u r. [ 1a]
N o te In relatio n to * il w h ic h . . . , th ere is a sim ilar co n strain t on p o stm o d ificalio n b y so m e o th e r

stru ctu res:
I H e i n th e c o r n e r is m y new boss. [8]
* l t in th e co rn e r is an a n tiq u e . [8a]
P o stm o d ificatio n follow ing y o n is po ssib le in inform al and p erem p to ry v o cativ es (:;/ I (J.5.1):
Y o u in th e co rn e r, sto p c h a tte r in g ! [8b]
R e s tric tiv e re la tiv e cla u se s

17.13 T h e c h o ic e o f re la tiv e p r o n o u n is d e p e n d e n t, in p a r tic u la r , o n th e fo llo w in g
th r e e f a c to rs :
(a ) th e r e la tio n o f th e r e la tiv e cla u se to its a n te c e d e n t: r e s tr ic tiv e [1] o r

n o n re s tr ic tiv e [2], e g:
T h e w o m a n w ho is approaching us see m s to b e s o m e b o d y I
know . [1]
T h e B ib le , w hich h a s b een retra n sla ted ,re m a in s a b e s ts e lle r. [2]
(b ) th e g e n d e r ty p e o f th e a n te c e d e n t: p e rs o n a l [3] o r n o n p e r s o n a l [4]
( e / 1 7 . 1 1 / ) , eg:
th e p e r s o n w ho I w a s v is itin g [3]
th e b o o k w hich I w a s re a d in g [4]
(c ) th e fu n c tio n o f th e r e la tiv e p ro n o u n as s u b je c t, o b je c t, c o m p le m e n t, o r
a d v e r b ia l ( in c lu d in g its role as p re p o s itio n a l c o m p le m e n t) o r a s a
c o n s titu e n t o f a n c le m e n t in th e re la tiv e c la u se , ie a s a d e te r m in e r (in
w hose h o u s e ; c / 17.14).
In th e fo llo w in g d is c u s s io n o f c h o ic e o f re la tiv e p ro n o u n , we w ill first m a k e

a d iv is io n in to re s tric tiv e a n d n o n re s tric tiv e re la tiv e c la u se s, a n d [lien
c o n s id e r o th e r fa c to rs , su c h a s m e d ia l o r final p o s itio n o f th e re la tiv e c la u se
in re la tio n to th e s u p c r o r d in a tc c lau se, a n d le n g th o f th e re la tiv e c la u se .
T h e s e t o f re la tiv e p r o n o u n s h as b een g iv e n in 6 .3 2 //! It is in th e
n o n r e s tr ic tiv e re la tiv e c la u se s th a t th e m o s t e x p lic it fo rm s o f r e la tiv e
p ro n o u n , ie th e tv/t-series (w ho, w hom , which, whose) a rc ty p ic a lly u sed
(6 /1 7 .2 2 ). In re s tric tiv e c la u se s, fr e q u e n t u se is m a d e o f th e tv /t-p ro n o u n s a n d
a lso th a t o r ‘z e r o ’ r e la tiv e . T h a i d iffers fro m th e ii'/t-scric s:
(a ) in n o t h a v in g g e n d e r m a r k in g a n d th u s b e in g in d e p e n d e n t o f th e
p e r s o n a l o r n o n p e r s o n a l c h a r a c te r o f th e a n te c e d e n t;
(b ) in n o t h a v in g a n o b je c tiv e fo rm (lik e w h o /w h o m );
(c) in n o t h a v in g a g e n itiv e (lik e w hose o f w ho a n d w hich), th u s n o t b e in g
a b le to fu n c tio n a s a c o n s titu e n t o f a n e le m e n t in th e r e la tiv e c la u se .
17 .14 In r e s tr ic tiv e r e la tiv e c la u se s, th e p ro n o u n s g iv e n in th e su rv e y b e lo w a re

u s e d . W h e n w e in d ic a te a p a re n th e s iz e d r e la tiv e p ro n o u n , it m e a n s th a t th e r e
is th e o p tio n b e tw e e n r/in f-re la tiv e a n d ‘z e r o ’ :
T h is is th e b o o k (th a t) I b o u g h t a t th e sale.
W h e n w e u se p a r e n th e s e s o n ly ‘( ) ’, th is is to in d ic a te ‘z e r o ’ :
T h is is th e b o o k ( ) I b o u g h t a t t h e sale.
S, O , C , A in th e s u rv e y b e lo w m e a n s th a t th e r e la tiv e p ro n o u n fu n c tio n s
r e s p e c tiv e ly a s s u b je c t, o b je c t, c o m p le m e n t, a n d a d v e r b ia l (o r c o m p le m e n t
in a p r e p o s itio n a l p h r a s e fu n c tio n in g a s a d v e r b ia l) in th e r e la tiv e c la u se w ith
p e rs o n a l a n d n o n p e r s o n a l a n te c e d e n ts :
th e p erso: h a s b e e n a p p o in te d .
S : T h e y a r e d e lig h te d w ith
th e b o o k h a s ju s t a p p e a re d .
( which
C : T h is is n o t th e ty p e o f m o d e rn h o u se < * th a t }> m y o w n is.
l*( >
a t w hom th e b u r g la r fired th e g u n .
( th a t > th e b u rg la r h rc d th e g u n at.
() J
f on which 1 w a s ill.
^ f I w as ill (on),
A : S h e a r r iv e d th e d a y *{ that
f in which')
A : I m a k e c a k e s th e w ay < th a t > m y m o th e r m a d e th e m .
l( ) J
W ith a p e r s o n a l a n te c e d e n t, th e re la tiv e p ro n o u n c an sh o w th e d i s t i n c t i o n
b e tw e e n w ho a n d w hom , d e p e n d in g o n its ro le a s s u b je c t o f th e re la tiv e c la u s e ,
o r a s o b je c t, o r a s p re p o s itio n a l c o m p le m e n t:
who s p o k e to h im [su b je ct] [1]

( to w hom h e sp o k e [p r e p o s itio n a l c o m p le m e n t] [2]
w h o (m ) h e sp o k e to [ p r e p o s itio n a l c o m p le m e n t] [2 a]
w h o (m ) h e m e t [o b ject] [3]
W h e n th e g o v e rn in g p re p o s itio n p re c e d e s its c o m p le m e n t, as in th e r a t h e r
f o r m a l [2], t h e c h o ic e o f w hom is o b lig a to ry . W h e n it d o es n o t, as in [2 a ], o r
w h e n th e r e la tiv e p ro n o u n is th e o b je c t o f th e v e rb , as in [3], th e re is s o m e
c h o ic e b e tw e e n who o r w hom : th e la tte r is p re f e r r e d in fo rm a l E n g lis h , th e
f o r m e r is p r e f e r r e d in in fo r m a l use, w h e re h o w e v e r th e z e ro fo rm is b y f a r
th e m o s t c o m m o n .
I f th e p r o n o u n is a p o s se ss iv e d e te r m in e r o f t h e n o u n p h ra s e , th e f o r m is
w h o se :
T h e w o m a n w hose d a u g h te r y o u m e t is M rs B ro w n . [‘T h e w o m a n
is M rs B ro w n ; y o u m e t h e r d a u g h te r .’] [4]
T h e h o u s e w hose r o o f w as d a m a g e d h a s n o w b e e n r e p a ire d . [‘T h e
h o u s e h a s n o w b e e n r e p a ir e d ; its ro o f w a s d a m a g e d .’] [5]
I n c a s e s l ik e [5] w h e re th e a n te c e d e n t is n o n p e r s o n a l, th e r e is so m e t e n d e n c y
to a v o id th e u se o f w hose (p re s u m a b ly b e c a u s e m a n y re g a rd it a s th e g e n itiv e
o n ly o f th e p e r s o n a l w ho), b u t a v o id a n c e in v o lv e s s ty lis tic d ifficu lty . T h e r e is
th e stiffly f o r m a l a n d c u m b e rs o m e o f w h ic h :
T h e h o u s e th e r o o f o f which w as d a m a g e d . . . [5 a]
O th e r v a r ia n ts a r e c lu m s y o r u n a c c e p ta b le in s ta n d a r d E n g l is h :
? T h e h o u s e th a t th e y d a m a g e d th e r o o f o f . . . [5 b ]
* T h e h o u s e th a t th e r o o f w a s d a m a g e d o f . . . [5c]
S a tis f a c to r y a lte r n a tiv e s c a n h o w e v e r b e fo u n d , s u c h as [5d], o r e v e n [ 5 e ] :
T h e h o u s e th a t h a d its r o o f d a m a g e d . . . [5d]
T h e h o u s e w ith th e d a m a g e d r o o f. . . [5e]
In a n y case, in so m e fie ld s o f d is c o u rse su ch us m a th e m a tic s , n o e v a s io n is

fe lt to be n e c e s s a r y :
Let A B C b e a tr ia n g le w hose sid es a rc o f u n e q u a l le n g th . [6]
T h e o f which c o n s tr u c tio n is s o m e tim e s p la c ed b e fo re its h e a d (lik e whose).

T h u s w e h a v e [7] b e s id e s th e m o re u su al [7a] a n d [ 7 b ] :
Co f w hich the results will so o n be p u b lis h e d . . . [7]

T h e in v e s tig a tio n < th e r esu lts o f w hich will s o o n lie p u b lis h e d . . . [7a]
w hose r esu lts w ill so o n b e p u b lis h e d . . . [7b]
R elativ e p ro n o u n a s s u b je c t an d ob ject
17.15 W h e n th e a n te c e d e n t is p e rs o n a l a n d th e p r o n o u n is th e s u b je c t o r th e re la tiv e
c la u se , who is fa v o u r e d , irr e s p e c tiv e o f th e sty le a n d th e o c c a s io n ; th u s [1]
r a th e r th a n [ 1a], th o u g h th e r e is n o th in g w ro n g o r o d d a b o u t th e l a t t e r :
P e o p le w ho liv e in n e w h o u ses . . . [1]

P e o p le th a t liv e in n e w h o u s e s . . . [ la ]
Z e r o c a n n o t re p la c e th e s u b je c t in a re la tiv e c la u se s u c h a s [2] a n d [3];
‘ T h e ta b le ( ) s ta n d s in th e c o rn e r h a s a b r o k e n leg. [2]
* T h e m a n ( ) s ta n d s o v e r t h e r e I k n o w . [3]
H o w e v e r, c o n s tr u c tio n s a r e e n c o u n te r e d th a t a re a r g u a b ly e x c e p tio n s ; fo r
e x a m p le , in v e ry in f o r m a l s p e e c h w h e re th e a n te c e d e n t is a n in d e fin ite
p ro n o u n :
? A n y b o d y ( ) d o e s t h a t o u g h t to b e lo ck ed u p . [4]
T h e re a so n f o r p u ttin g a q u e s tio n m a r k in [4] is, first, t h a t it is o f d o u b tfu l

a c c e p ta b ility ; s e c o n d ly , th a t m a n y s p e a k e rs w o u ld c o n d e m n it a s s lo v e n ly ;
th ir d ly , th a t it m a y r e s u lt fr o m th e s u b a u d ib ility o f a re la tiv e p ro n o u n w ho o r
th a t a n d th u s n o t s tr ic tly b e z e r o a t all.
A c o m m o n e r ty p e o f e x a m p le is to b e f o u n d in e x is te n tia l a n d c le ft
s e n te n c e s ( c f 18. 4 4 ff\ 18.25 iff) :
T h e r e ’s a ta b le ( ) s ta n d s in th e c o rn e r. [5]
I t ’s S im o n ( ) d id it. [6]
S e n te n c e s [5] a n d [6] w o u ld a g a in b e v e ry c o llo q u ia l, a n d th e u s e o f th a t o r a

w h- ite m w o u ld b e r e g a r d e d a s m o re a c c e p ta b le :
T h e r e ’s a ta b le s ta n d s in th e c o rn e r. [5a]
I t w a s S im o n j d id it- I6 a I
H o w e v e r, th e r e a r e g o o d re a so n s fo r d is tin g u is h in g s u c h th a t/w h ic h -c \a u se s
fr o m a d n o m in a l re la tiv e c la u se s. T h e o b lig a to ry n a tu r e o f s u c h p o r tio n s o f
e x is te n tia l o r c le f t s e n te n c e s w o u ld a rg u e a g a in s t o u r e q u a tin g th e m w ith
p o s tm o d ific a tio n s in n o u n - p h r a s e s tru c tu re (c /1 8 .4 8 ).
P o s tm o d if ic a tio n b y fin ite cla u s e s 1251
T h a i a s s u b je c t an ti th a t o r zero as o lijccl a re p id 'c r r e d to which w h e n th e

a n te c e d e n t is n o n p e rs o n a l all, anything, e very th ing, nothing, little, o r m u c h :
.u - 1 { th a t s trik e s you as o d d .. .
T h e r e w a s little th a t [‘n o t m u c h th a t'] in te r e s te d h im a t th e m o to r

sh o w .
M u c h th a t [‘m u c h o f w h a t’] h a s b e en s aid to n ig h t w ill so o n be
f o r g o tte n .
W h e n th e a n te c e d e n t is m o d ified by a s u p e r la tiv e o r b y o n e o f th e p o s t-
d c tc r m in e r s fir s t, last, n e x t, only, th e re la tiv e p ro n o u n as su b je c t is u s u a lly
th a t, a n d , a s o b je c t, th a t o r z e r o r a th e r th a n which o r who[/n) ( c / 5 . 22):
S h e m u s t b e o n e o f th e m o s t re m a rk a b le w o m e n th a t ever liv ed .
~u * n r . (th a t is a v a ila b le .
T h e y e a t th e fin e st fo o d . . . ,
J {(th a t) m o n e y c a n b uy.
In s u c h s e n te n c e s , a n a lte r n a tiv e to a p o s tm o d ify in g c o p u la r re la tiv e c la u s e

w ith a n a d je c tiv e as c o m p le m e n t is p re- o r p o s tp o s itio n o f th e a d je c tiv e
( c /7 .2 1 ) :
available fo o d .
T h e y e a t th e fin e st < ,. , ,.
' [ f o o d a v a ila b le .
N o te [a] T h e p ro n u n cia tio n o f th a t as a relative p ro n o u n is g en erally red u ced to -Oat/, w h e re a s th e

d e m o n s tra tiv e th a t (c/6 .4 0 ) h as the full form /diet/.
[b] O n e reaso n w h y zero relativ e su b ject is u n accep tab le m ay be related to p ercep tio n . In e x a m p le
{2], it is o n ly w h en en co u n te rin g th e v e rb h a s (th e sev en th w o rd in th e sen ten ce) th a t th e re a d e r /
h e a re r can in te r p re t th is seq u en ce as a relativ e c o n stru c tio n , in stead o f an ex p ected SP/1
stru c tu re e n d in g w ith c o rn e r , as in [2 a]:
T h e tab le s ta n d s in th e c o rn er. [2u]
C o m p a re th e s itu a tio n w ith th e accep tab le zero co n stru ctio n of n o n su b ject fu n ctio n in [2b],
w h ere it is c le a r o n reach in g you (th e th ird w ord) th a t y o u b eg in s a new c o n stru c tio n :
T h e tab le y ou see s ta n d in g in the c o rn er h as a b ro k en leg. [2b]
R e la tiv e p ro n o u n a s o b je c t a n d p rep o sitio n a l c o m p lem en t

17.16 W ith th e a n te c e d e n t still p e rs o n a l b u t w ith th e p ro n o u n n o w o b je c t o f a v e r b
o r p r e p o s itio n a l c o m p le m e n t, th e re is a m u c h s tro n g e r p re fe r e n c e fo r th a t o r
z e ro , p e r h a p s to a v o id th e c h o ic e b e tw e e n w ho a n d w hom . T h u s [ I ] r a t h e r
th a n [ l a ] :
P e o p le tQ } [1]
P e o p le ,v/)0(m ) I { ^ k to } [ la ]
A g a in , th e r e is n o th in g a c tu a lly w ro n g a b o u t [ la ] ; b u t w hom h e re w o u ld s e e m
p e d a n tic to m a n y p e o p le , w h ile who a s o b je c t in re la tiv e c la u se s is in f o r m a l
a n d te n d s to b e r e g a rd e d a s in c o rre c t. S in c e , th e re fo re , n e ith e r who n o r w h o m
is w h o lly s a tis f a c to r y , th a t (a n d p a rtic u la rly z e ro ) is fr e q u e n tly u sed d e s p it e a
p e r s o n a l a n te c e d e n t.
A v o id a n c e o f w hom m a y n o t be th e o n iy f a c to r in flu e n c in g th a t a s o b je c t
w ith p e rs o n a l a n te c e d e n t. G r a m m a tic a l o b je c ts a rc m o re lik e ly to b e
n o n p e r s o n a l, o r to c a rry n o n p e rs o n a l im p lic a tio n , th a n su b jec ts.
T h e r e a re s e v e ra l o th e r fa c to rs in flu e n c in g th e se le c tio n o f a p ro n o u n th a t
is o b je c t o r p re p o s itio n a l c o m p le m e n t in th e re la tiv e c la u se , e sp e c ia lly w h e n
th e a n le c e rle n t is n o n p e rs o n a l. O n e is th e p ro x im ity o f th e r e la tiv e c la u se In
th e h e a d o f th e a n te c e d e n t p h r a s e ; a n o th e r is th e d e g re e o f c o m p le x ity o f th e
s u b je c t o f th e a n te c e d e n t p h ra s e .
W h e n c o m p le x p h ra s e s o r c la u se s in te r v e n e b e tw e e n th e a n te c e d e n t h e a d
a n d th e re la tiv e p ro n o u n , which is g e n e r a lly p r e f e r a b le to th a t a n d v ery m u c h
p r e f e r a b le to z ero ;
I h a v e [[interests o u ts id e m y im m e d ia te w o rk a n d its p ro b le m s ] w hich I

fin d satisfy in g ].
W h e n th e a n te c e d e n t o f th e r e la tiv e c la u se is n o m o re c o m p le x th a n
d e te r m in e r + h e a d , th a t is b y m a n y p r e f e r r e d to which a n d z e ro ;
I ’ll ta k e y o u to [th e b u ild in g [th a t all e ld e rly u n iv e rs ity te a c h e rs p re fe r]].
O n th e o th e r h a n d , w h e n th e s u b je c t o f th e r e la tiv e c la u se is a p e r s o n a l
p r o n o u n , z e r o is p re f e r r e d to e ith e r w hich o r th a t, e sp e c ia lly i f th e r e la tiv e
c la u s e its e lf is fa irly s h o r t a n d s im p le :
W h o 's d r u n k [th e m ilk [( ) J b o u g h t]]?
F in a lly , o th e r th in g s b e in g e q u a l, m o re in fo r m a l d is c o u r s e w ill te n d to
h a v e a p re fe re n c e f o r zero . I n th e fo llo w in g e x a m p le fro m a n in f o r m a l
c o n v e r s a tio n , th e z e ro c o n s tr u c tio n c o u ld n o t a p p r o p r ia te ly h a v e b e e n
re p la c e d b y a n y o f th e o th e r r e la tiv e p r o n o u n s t h a t a re a v a ila b le in t h e s y ste m
(w h o , w h o m , th a t ):
Y o u le a r n a lo t a b o u t [ a u th o r s [y o u d i d n ’t k n o w to o m u c h a b o u t to s ta r t
w ith ]].
R e la tiv e p ro n o u n a s ad v erb ia l
1 7 .1 7 W h e n t h e r e la tiv e p ro n o u n is th e c o m p le m e n t o f a p r e p o s itio n (a n d , to g e th e r
w ith th e p re p o s itio n fu n c tio n in g a s A ), s o m e c h o ic e e x ists in p la c in g a
p r e p o s itio n w h ic h h a s a n>A-pronoun a s its c o m p le m e n t. N o s u c h c h o ic e
e x is ts w ith th a t, w h e re p o s tp o s itio n w ith d e fe rre d p r e p o s itio n r e p r e s e n ts th e
s o le p a t t e r n ;
T h e c h o ic e o f re la tiv e c la u s e s tr u c tu r e in v o lv e s s ty lis tic d is tin c tio n s . In

P o s tm o d ific a tio n b y fin ite c la u s e s 1253
g e n e ra l, it is c e r ta in ly tru e t h a t w /i-p ro n o u n s w ith in itia l p r e p o s itio n a r e u s e d

p r e d o m in a n tly in fo rm a l E n g lis h :
T h e p e rs o n to w hom a n y c o m p la in ts sh o u ld bo a d d re ss e d is . . . [ ]]
I n itia l p r e p o s itio n s a r e n o r m a lly a v o id e d in m o re in fo rm a l u se, w h e r e th e y

w o u ld be felt to he s tilte d o r p o m p o u s, A d e fe rre d p re p o s itio n is m o re
g e n e ra lly u sed w illi p r e p o s ilio n a l v e rb s :
T h a t ’s th e b o o k ( ) h e ’s b e e n lo o k in g fo r . [2]
B u t m a n y p re p o s itio n s (e s p e c ia lly th o s e d e a lin g w ith te m p o r a l a n d o t h e r

a b s tr a c t re la tio n s ) c a n n o t e a s ily be d e fe rre d ( c / 9 . 6 ) :
? T h a t w a s th e m e e tin g (th a t) 1 k e p t fallin g asle e p during. [3]
O n e m ig h t fin d [3a], b u t in f a m ilia r sp e e c h a n a d v e r b ia l r e la tiv e w ith w h en

o r w here ( c f 17.18) w o u ld b e p r e f e r r e d to during w h ic h :
T h a t w a s th e m e e tin g d u rin g w hich I k e p t fallin g a sle e p . [3a]
P r e p o s itio n s e x p re s s in g s p a ti a l re la tio n s allo w a d e fe rre d p r e p o s itio n e v e n

w h e n th e p r e p o s itio n is c o m p le x :
T h is is th e h o u s e h e s to o d in fr o n t o f [4]
H o w e v e r, c la rity o f e x p r e s s io n w o u ld o fte n in flu en c e u s in th e d ir e c tio n o f a

c o n s tr u c tio n o th e rw is e r e g a r d e d a s fo rm a l i f a fin a l p r e p o s itio n le a d s to
c lu m s in e s s . C o n s id e r th e fo llo w in g s e n te n c e :
I t w a s in a b o o k th a t a f o r m e r te a c h e r o f m in e th o u g h t o f a t o n e
tim e p re s e n tin g m e w ith so m e q u o ta tio n s fro m . [5]
H e a r in g o r r e a d in g it, w e m a y su cce ssiv e ly h a v e to re je c t th e i n te r p r e ta tio n s ,

first, th a t th e fo r m e r te a c h e r th o u g h t o f th e b o o k ; s e c o n d , th a t th e te a c h e r
th o u g h t o f p r e s e n tin g m e w ith th e b o o k , b e fo re th e b e la te d fr o m e n a b l e s u s
to a c h ie v e th e c o r r e c t in te r p r e ta tio n (’. . .fr o m which a fo r m e r t e a c h e r . . . ’).
A d e fe rre d p r e p o s itio n m a y b e th e o n ly n a tu ra l c h o ic e w h e n t h e r e is
c o o r d in a tio n o f o n e p r e p o s itio n a l a n d o n e n o n p re p o s itio n a l c o n s tr u c t io n in
th e r e la tiv e c la u se . T h u s in s te a d o f th e c lu m sy [6], zero re la tiv e a n d a d e f e r r e d
p r e p o s itio n w o u ld b e fa r m o r e n a tu r a l, a s in [ 6 a ]:
Y o u s h o u ld re s tr ic t y o u rs e lf to w o rd s w ith which you a re f a m ilia r

a n d which y o u c a n u s e c o n fid e n tly . [6]
Y o u s h o u ld re s tr ic t y o u r s e lf to w o rd s ( ) you a re f a m ilia r w ith a n d
c a n u se c o n fid e n tly . [6a]
B u t n o te th a t [6a] r e q u ir e s s u b je c t e llip sis, sin ce c o o r d in a tio n w i t h z e ro

r e la tiv e s is n o t fully a c c e p t a b l e :
?Y o u s h o u ld re s tr ic t y o u r s e lf to w o rd s ( ) you a re f a m ilia r w ith a n d

( ) y o u c a n u s e c o n fid e n tly . [6b]
1 7 .1 8 In a d v e r b ia l e x p re ss io n s o f p la c e , tim e , a n d cau se , th e re is a w id e r a n g e o f
c h o ic e in a d d itio n to w h a t w a s s ta te d in 17.17 fo r th e re la tiv e p r o n o u n a s
a d v e r b ia l. T h e p r e p o s itio n + p ro n o u n c an be re p la c e d b y s p e c ia l a d v e r b s
(e /7 .5 3 ), eg:
s h e liv ed h ere. [ 2]
N o te t h a t / d r w hich in [3] h a s lim ite d a c c e p ta b ility .

H o w e v e r, th e re a r e c o n s id e r a b le a n d c o m p lic a te d r e s tric tio n s o n th e se wh-
fo rm s w h ic h o p e r a te in re la tiv e c la u se s e x p re ss in g p la c e , tim e , a n d cau se .
M an y s p e a k e rs fin d th e ir u se a lo n g w ith th e c o r r e s p o n d in g a n te c e d e n t
s o m e w h a t ta u to lo g o u s - e sp e c ia lly th e ty p e th e reaxon w h y - a n d p re fe r th e
tv/i-clause w ith o u t a n te c e d e n t, ie a n o m in a l re la tiv e c la u se { c f 1 5 .8 /):
Is th is w here s h e w a s b o r n ? [ la ]
T h a t w a s w hen s h e liv e d h e re . [2a]
T h a t ’s w h y s h e s p o k e . [3a]
T h e re is n o r e la tiv e how p a ra lle l to where, when, a n d w h y to e x p re ss m a n n e r

w ith a n a n te c e d e n t n o u n [4], b u t o n ly [4a]:
* T h a t’s the w ay h o w s h e s p o k e . [4]
[4a]
T h e fo llo w in g p a tt e r n s c a n b e d is tin g u is h e d f o r tim e e x p re s s io n s in a s e n te n c e

s u ch as ‘. . . w a s T h u r s d a y ’.
P a tte r n 1: a n te c e d e n t + p r e p o s itio n + w /i-p ro n o u n :

th e d a y on w hich s h e a r r iv e d
P a tte r n 2 : a n te c e d e n t + iW i-pronoun + d e fe rre d p r e p o s itio n :

th e d a y w hich s h e a r r iv e d on
P a tte r n 3 : a n te c e d e n t + th a t + d e fe r r e d p r e p o s itio n :
the d a y th a t s h e a r r iv e d on
P a tte r n 4 : a n te c e d e n t + z e r o r e la tiv e + d e fe rre d p r e p o s itio n :

th e d a y s h e a r r iv e d on
P a tte r n 5 : a n te c e d e n t + w A -ad v erb :

the d a y w hen s h e a r r iv e d
P a tte r n 6 : a n te c e d e n t + z e r o re la tiv e + z e ro p r e p o s itio n :

th e d a y s h e a r r i ved
P a tte r n 7: a n te c e d e n t + th a t + z e ro p r e p o s itio n :
th e d a y th a t s h e a r r iv e d
P a tte r n B: ivA -clause w ith o u t a n te c e d e n t (ie a n o m in a l r e la tiv e c la u se ,

c /1 5 .8 /) :
w hen she arriv ed
P o s trn o d ific a tio n b y fin ite c la u s e s 1255
17.19 T h e r e a r c a lso r e s tric tio n s o n th e a n te c e d e n t n o u n s, W ith re la tiv e c la u s e s

w h e re th e a n te c e d e n t d e n o te s c au se o r re a s o n , reason is v irtu a lly t h e o n ly
p o ssib le a n te c e d e n t; w h e re th e a n te c e d e n ts d e n o te p la c e a n d tim e , th e m o s t
g e n e ric n o u n s {place, period, tim e , e tc ) also see m to b e p re f e r r e d . T h u s p a tte r n
5 is a c c e p ta b le :
th e o ffice w h ere h e w o rk s
H o w e v e r, m a n y w o u ld p re fe r a lte rn a tiv e e x p re s s io n s ( p a tte r n s 1, 2, 3, 4 ,

w h e re p a tte r n 1 is m o s t fo rm a l an d p a tte r n 4 le a st fo r m a l):
a t w hich h e w o rk s [p a tte r n 1]
th e office
I w hich he w o rk s a t [ p a tte r n 2]
th a t h e w o rk s at [p a tte r n 3]
( ) h e w orks at [p a tte r n 4]
o n w hich sh e w a s b o rn [p a tte r n 1]
( w hich s h e w a s b o rn on [p a tte r n 2}
th a t s h e w a s b o rn on [ p a tte r n 3]
( ) sh e a m born on [ p a tte r n 4]
P la c e a d ju n c ts in re la tiv e clau ses a d m it o f tw o f u r th e r p a tte r n s : o n e w ith

w here a n d o m is s io n o f th e p re p o s itio n ( p a tte r n 5), th e o th e r w ith th e d e f e r r e d
p r e p o s itio n a t ( p a tte r n 9):
. . j w h ere sh e w o rk s [ p a tte r n 5]
ie p a c e | <)w ftere S^ Q w o rjcs a t [ p a tte r n 9]
P a tte r n 5 is a c c e p ta b le , w h e re a s p a tte r n 9 is o f d o u b tf u l a c c e p ta b ility . I t

re q u ire s a f a irly s p e c ific a n te c e d e n t, eg:
th e g o v e r n m e n t b u ild in g where s h e w o rk s a t
W ith a g e n e r a l a n te c e d e n t, su c h a s p la c e , w e m a y fin d th e fo llo w in g p a tte r n s ,

w h ic h h o w e v e r a r e n o t a c c e p ta b le to all s p e a k e r s :
sh e s ta y s w h e n s h e ’s in L o n d o n . [1]
{ sh e w orks. [2]
sh e studies. [3]
H o w e v e r, a fin a l a t ( p a tte r n 4) w o u ld b e fully a c c e p ta b le , a t le a st in f a m ilia r

u s ag e :
Cshe s ta y s a t w h e n s h e 's in L o n d o n . [ la ]
T h a t ’s th e p la c e < sh e w orks a t. [2 a]
stu d ie s at. [3a]
W ith a g e n e r a liz e d a n te c e d e n t su ch as w a y, e x p re s s in g d ir e c tio n , w e u s u ally

have zero ra th e r th a n th a t:
17.20 In e x p re s s io n s o f tim e , o m is sio n o f th e p r e p o s itio n is u s u a l w h e th e r th e
p r o n oWu na sist htha at tthoer w : e w e n t ? [‘W as th a t w h e re s h e w e n t? ']
z earyo sh
Cthat) sh e n o rm a lly a r r iv e s (a /)?

W h itt's th e tim e ■{ w hen sh e n o rm a lly a r r iv e s ?
*w hcn sh e n o rm a lly a r r iv e s at'!
W h a t w a s th e d a y {that) sh e left (on)?
W h e n (less f r e q u e n tly a n d m o r e fo rm a lly ) t h e p ro n o u n is w hich, h o w e v e r, th e

p r e p o s itio n m u s t b e e x p re ss e d in all th r e e in s ta n c e s , a n d it w o u ld b e u s u a l to
m a k e it p r e c e d e th e p ro n o u n (p a tte rn 1):
5.30 is th e tim e a t which sh e n o rm a lly a rriv e s .

1 d o n ’t r e m e m b e r the d a y on which s h e left.
H e w o rk e d fo r t h e w h o le th re e m o n th s d u rin g w hich h e liv e d th e re .
W ith e x p re s s io n s o f m a n n e r a n d re a s o n , th e zero c o n s tr u c tio n is u su al

(o c c a s io n a lly th a t), a n d th e r e is n o p r e p o s itio n ( p a tte r n s 6 a n d 7):
T h a t ’s th e w a y (th a t) h e d id it, [‘T h a t ’s h o w h e d id i t . ’] [4]

Is th is th e reason (th a t) th e y c a m e ? [‘Is th is w h y th e y c a m e ? ’] [5]
In m o re f o r m a l sty le , w e m ig h t fin d p a tte r n 1:
T h a t ’s th e w a y in w hich h e d id it. [4a]
T h e r a r e u se o f f o r w hich a f te r reason s trik e s m o s t p e o p le a s clu m sy a n d

u n n a tu r a l, w h ile th e reason w h y see m s ta u to lo g o u s ; th e r e is g e n e r a l p re fe re n c e
fo r z e r o [5 a] o r a n o m in a l re la tiv e c la u se [5 b ]:
. , [ th e reason th e y c a m e ? [5a]
s a \ w h y th e y c a m e ? [5b]
H o w e v e r, a f te r o th e r n o u n s w h ic h e x p re ss a d v e r b ia l- r e la te d m e a n in g s s im ila r
to reason a n d w a y, n o th a t o r zero c o n s tr u c tio n w ith o u t p r e p o s itio n is p o ssib le .
T h u s n o t [6] a n d [7] b u t o n ly [6a] a n d [ 7 a ]:
f T h i s is the s ty le h e w ro te it. [6]

\ T h is is th e s ty l e h e w ro te it in. [6a]
* Is th is th e ( 'cause j s h e c a m e ? [7]
[ m o tiv e )
Is t h is 'ie r c o rn in g ? [7a]
T h e r e is a t e n d e n c y to f a v o u r w hen o r w here i f th e a n te c e d e n t is a lre a d y th e

c o m p le m e n t o f a p re p o s itio n a l p h r a s e , ie [8] r a th e r th a n [8 a] (to a v o id
re p e titio n o f th e p r e p o s itio n ) :
, T ,. , , . | w hen h is so n a r r iv e d . [8]
H e d ie d on th e d a y ( ,. , , . . , ro ,
[o n w hich h is s o n a r r iv e d . l« aj
O c c a s io n a lly p lu ra l a n te c e d e n ts c a n b e m e t w ith , as i n :
I t w o u ld b e w ise to le a v e d o c to rs w a ys ( ) th e y c o u ld a d d p e rs o n a l
to u c h e s to t h e ir t re a tm e n t.
Note C o n stru c tio n s w ith tim e n o u n s + zero relativ e clause {eg: T h e m o m e n t y o u d o s o m e th i n g .. . ) m ay

be a m b ig u o u s up to a c e rta in p o in t in th e sen ten ce, in th a t th e n o u n p h ra s e can be e ith e r
a d v e rb ia l, as in [9], o r su b ject, as in [10]:
P o stm o cii/ic a tio n b y f in it o c la u s e s 1257
T h e m o m e n t i ) y o u d o s o m e th in g th e y d is a g r e e w ith i h c y arc at y o u r l li r o a l . . . [9]

The m om ent ( ) . iv jh r e a liz e th e im p o rta n c e n f 'a n im a l p.syclm ln av wi ll h e e m b a r r a s s i n g
toyitn. | i n]
I y p e [ 9] i s n o r m a l ; t y p e JI<>J s e e m s t o h e r a i e w h e n , a s l i e i e . t h e s u h j e e t is ' h e a v y ' , h u t e m n p a r c
UU:
T h e J a y sh e a r r iv e d a t th e co n g re ss w a s s u n n y . (11 ]
T e lesco p ed rela tiv e clau ses

17.21 T h e d is tin c tio n b e tw e e n re s tric tiv e a n d n o n re s tric tiv e is v a lu a b le , b u t w e
sh o u ld b e p r e p a r e d to v ie w it a s a g r a d ie n t ra th e r th a n a s a d ic h o to m y
b e tw e e n tw o h o m o g e n e o u s c a te g o r ie s . O n e ty p e o f r e la tiv e c o n s tr u c t io n
w h ic h d e m o n s tr a te s th e n e e d fo r th is a p p r o a c h c a n be illu s tr a te d b y th e
fo llo w in g e x a m p le o f t e l e s c o p e d r e la tiv e c o n s tr u c tio n :
A ll th is I g a v e u p fo r th e m o th e r who n e e d e d m e. [ 1]
I n [1], m o th e r m a y b e s ee n a s h a v in g a n a p p o s itio n a l re la tio n to a n o u n p h r a s e

w h o se h e a d is a g e n e r a l n o u n s u c h as p erso n , a c c o m p a n ie d b y a r e la t i v e
c la u se a s p o s tm o d if ie r :
A ll th is 1 g a v e u p fo r a p erson w ho n e e d e d m e, ie m y m o th e r. [ 1a]
T h is b o o k is a b o u t a B lo o m sb u ry I s im p ly d o n ’t recognize, [‘a b o u t a
p la c e I sim p ly d o n ’t r e c o g n iz e ; b u t I o u g h t to re c o g n iz e b e c a u s e
I k n o w B lo o m s b u ry a n d th e b o o k say s it is B lo o m sb u ry ’] [2]
N o n re stric tiv e re la tiv e c la u se s

17.22 I n n o n r e s tr ic tiv e re la tiv e c la u se s, th e m o s t e x p lic it fo rm s o f re la tiv e p r o n o u n s ,
ie th e iv/i-series, a re ty p ic a lly u s e d . T h e re la tiv e p ro n o u n c a n b e s u b je c t,
o b je c t, c o m p le m e n t, o r a d v e r b ia l. H e r e is a su rv e y o f th e d iff e r e n t f o r m s fo r
p e r s o n a l a n d n o n p e rs o n a l a n te c e d e n ts :
w/iod
{ * th a t > w a s u n w illin g to g iv e f u r th e r d e ta ils .
*( ) J
which').
p u b lis h e d a y e a r a g o .
{ l* lh a t
*() J
> h a s o n ly ju s t b e e n re v ie w e d , w a s
w hom j
I * th a t
*(f J
I * m e t a *le r l ^ e ' n tl u e s l -
f w hichî
O : T h is e x c e lle n t b o o k , < ‘I* th a t > F r e d a h a s on ly ju s t re c e iv e d f o r r e v ie w ,
I *() J
C : A n n a is a v e g e ta r ia n , n o o n e else is in o u r fa m ily .
A : T h is is a n ew ty p e o f w o rd p ro c e ss o r,
A s c a n b e seen , th e c h o ic e o f p r o n o u n s is r e s tric te d to w h o /m ) a n d which.

N o n s u b je c t who is th o u g h t b y m a n y to b e m o re o b je c tio n a b le in n o n r e s tr ic tiv e
th a n in re s tric tiv e c la u se s (e /1 7 .1 4 ). Z e r o c a n n o t o c cu r, a n d th a t is v e ry ra re .
W ith n o n re s tric tiv e re la tiv e c la u se s, w e u su ally h a v e a to n e u n it b o u n d a ry ,
o fte n a c c o m p a n ie d b y a p a u s e , b e fo re th e re la tiv e c la u s e ; a n d , o fte n , a
r e p e titio n a t th e e n d o f th e r e la tiv e c la u s e o f th e n u c le a r to n e o f th e to n e u n it
p re c e d in g th e re la tiv e c la u se . I n w ritin g , n o n r e s tr ic tiv e re la tio n s h ip is u su ally
m a r k e d o ff b y c o m m a s ( c f A p p 111.19). C o m p a r e :
w r i t t e n : T h e n h e m e t M a r y , w h o i n v i t e d h im to a p a r t y .
spoken : T h e n h e Im et M A R y | - w ho in\vited h im to a PARty\
B y c o n tr a s t, w ith re s tr ic tiv e r e la tiv e c la u se s, th e re is u s u ally n o to n e u n it

b o u n d a ry o r p a u se b e fo re th e r e la tiv e c la u s e ; n o r in w ritin g is th e re la tiv e
c la u se s e p a ra te d b y a c o m m a fr o m w h a t p re c e d e s . C o m p a r e ;
w r i t t e n : T h a t ’s th e g irl (th a t) he m e t a t the p a rty .

SPO KEN: |T h a t’s t h e g irl ( t h a t ) h e m e t a t th e PA R ty\
I t m u s t b e e m p h a s iz e d t h a t th e s e a re ty p ic a l r a th e r th a n o b lig a to r y p ro s o d ic
fe a tu re s. T h e fo llo w in g e x a m p le is e x c e p tio n a l in h a v in g a p ro s o d ic b o u n d a ry
b e fo re th e r e la tiv e c la u se th o u g h it is u n q u e s tio n a b ly r e s tr ic tiv e ;
b u t i n t h e |l o n g r u n | - |t h e s e a r e F O R c e s[ t h a t w i l l | u L t i m a t e l y | - |w i n
s u p p o R T | f r o m t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e p e o p le in t h is C 0 U N try |
1 7 .2 3 N o n r e s tr ic tiv e re la tio n s h ip is o f te n s e m a n tic a lly v ery s im ila r to c o o r d in a tio n ,

w ith o r w ith o u t c o n ju n c tio n ( c f 1 3 .I f f ) , o r a d v e r b ia l s u b o r d in a tio n
( c / 1 5 . 1 7 /') . B o th ty p e s a r e in d ic a te d b y p a r a p h r a s e s in th e fo llo w in g
e x a m p le s :
w h o in v ite d h im to a p a rty . [1]

T h e n he m et M ary a n d s h e in v ite d h im to a p a rty . [ la ]
s h e in v ite d h im to a p a rty . [ lb ]
, w h o ( m ) I m e n tio n e d th e o th e r d a y . [2]
[2a]
[2b]
; I ta lk e d a b o u t h im th e o th e r d a y . [2c]
P o s tm o d if ic titio n b y fin ite c la u s e s 1259
f , which w as e n v e lo p e d in fog. [31

1Ie g o t lo s t o n S n o w d o n < ; it w as e n v e lo p e d in lo g. [3a I
f , when it w as e n v e lo p e d in fog. [3b]
r , w hich s h e h a s s tu d ie d . [4]
; sh e h a s s tu d ie d them . [4a]
S h e re a d a p a p e r o n la m p re y s • , w hich sh e h a s d o n e re s e a rc h on. [4b]
, on which sh e h a s d o n e re s e a rc h . [4c]
s ; sh e h a s d o n e re s e a rc h o n th em . [4(1]
M y b r o th e r , w ho h a s liv e d in A m e ric a sin ce b o y h o o d , c a n still
s p e a k f lu e n t Ita lia n . [5]
M y b r o th e r c a n still s p e a k flu en t Ita lia n , d/u l he h a s liv e d in
A m e r ic a s in c e b o y h o o d . [5a]
M y b r o th e r c a n still s p e a k Ita lia n alth o u g h he h a s liv ed in
A m e r ic a s in c e b o y h o o d . [5b]
N o te A n o n restric tiv e in te r p re ta tio n is occasionally intro d u ced by th a t w h en a p r c m o d iiic r or

d e te rm in e r w ould m a k e a restric tiv e clause ab su rd , but w hen w h ic h , on th e o th e r h a n d , m ig h t
im ply too p a re n th e tic a r e la tio n :
I looked a t M a r y 's s a d f a c e , th a t I had o n ce so p assio n ately loved, [6]
In [6] w e seem to h a v e a n e llip tica l form o f an a p p o sitiv e e x p re s s io n :
1 looked a t M a r y 's s a d f a c e , a f a c e that 1 h ad once so p assio n ately loved. [6a]
H e re th e a p p o sitiv e a f a c e ju stifies th e restrictive c lause th a t follows,
U sually th e use o f n o n re s tric tiv e th a t show s th at a w riter h as m u d d le d w h a t he h as w a n te d to
set dow n, as in th e fo llo w in g e x am p le from a serious a rtic le :
O n e o f th e m o st im p o r ta n t recen t d evelopm ents in n eu tral h y d ro g en stu d ies o f o u r G a lax y
h as b een t h e d isc o v e ry o f h ig h velocities in th e cen tre a n d in regions a w ay from th e p lan e ,
th a t I h a v e m e n tio n ed .
D esp ite th e c o m m a - a n d th e c o rresp o n d in g pro so d ic s e p ara tio n if th is is read alo u d (a
s e p ara tio n t h a t is e s se n tia l if p la n e w ere not to be th o u g h t th e a n te c e d e n t h ead ) - it se em s likely
th a t th e w rite r o rig in a lly w a n te d th e relative clause to be restrictiv e, as it co u ld re a d ily h av e
b een if p laced e a rlie r:
. . . h a s b e e n th e d is c o v e r y th a t 1 have m en tio n ed of hig h v e lo c itie s . . .
H o w ev er, th is p o s itio n o f th e rela tiv e clause v iolates the rule th a t p rep o sitio n a l p h ra s e s p rec e d e
relativ e c lau ses as p o stm o d ifiers, p roducing a rh eto rically u n ac ce p ta b le s en ten ce ( c / 1 8 .3 9 /).
17.24 W h e re th e r e la tiv e p r o n o u n is a d e te r m in a tiv e in a n o u n p h ra s e , th e r e is

a g a in less c h o ic e t h a n in re s tric tiv e clau ses. E x p r e s s io n s w ith w hich te n d to
b e u n c o m m o n e x c e p t in fo rm a lly p re c ise w ritin g . T h e p r e p o s itio n u s u ally
p re c e d e s w h ic h , a n d e x p lic itn e ss o fte n e x te n d s to c o m p le tio n o f th e
p r e p o s itio n a l p h r a s e b y a g e n e ra l n o u n , lo c a tiv e o r t e m p o r a l, a s th e c a s e m a y
b e (m a k in g w hich a r e la tiv e d e te rm in e r, c / 5 . 14):
In 1960 h e c a m e to L o n d o n , in which c ity h e h a s liv e d e v e r s in c e . [1]

tt • i c u n \ a t which tim e [
H e c a m e m 1960, { . ... [th e re w a s . . . [2]
[in w hich y ea r j
M o re c o m m o n ly , w e fin d w here o r w hen in s te a d o f th e w hich e x p r e s s io n :
. . . to L o n d o n , w here . . . [ la ]
. . . in 1960, w h en . . . [2a]
T h is is a p o in t a t w h ic h th e r e is little d is tin c tio n b e tw e e n a d n o m in a l r e la tiv e

c la u se s a n d a d v e r b ia l c la u s e s o f p la c e a n d tim e in c o m p le x s e n te n c e s tru c tu re
( f / 'l 5.25/?').
N o l o I h c p o s s i b l e v a r i a t i o n s in w o r d o r d e r w i l d r rA p ro n o n n . s ( s o /n e, ea ch ,
a ll, h a ili, e l c ; <;/ 6 . 4 8 / / ) :
T h e re a rc tw o s c h o o ls h e re ,
T h e r e a r e s e v e ra l s c h o o ls he
F o r both th e r e is a ls o th e p o s sib ility o f th e o r d e r w hich a re b oth g o o d (b u t

h a rd ly 7* w hich l e a n a ll recom m end).
N o te a lso th e u se o f th e c o n s tr u c tio n w ith p /- p r o n o u n s w h e n th e y m o d ify
th e c o m p le m e n t o f a p r e p o s itio n :
T h e h o s p ita l a d m itte d se v e ra l p a tie n ts th a t m o n th ,

fo r a ll o f w h o m c h e m o th e r a p y w a s th e a p p r o p r ia te tr e a tm e n t.
{ *o f w h o m c h e m o th e r a p y w a s th e a p p r o p r ia te tr e a tm e n t f o r all.
* w hom c h e m o th e r a p y w a s th e a p p r o p r ia te tr e a tm e n t f o r a ll of.
R elativ e p ro n o u n a s c o m p le m en t
17.25 W h e n th e re la tiv e p r o n o u n fu n c tio n s as n o n p r e p o s itio n a l c o m p le m e n t in th e
re la tiv e c la u se , th e c h o ic e is lim ite d to w hich fo r b o th p e rs o n a l a n d n o n
p e rs o n a l a n te c e d e n ts , in b o th re s tric tiv e c la u se s ( c /1 7 .1 4 ) a n d n o n re s tric tiv e
c lau ses ( e f 1 7 .22):
H e is a te e to ta lle r , w hich I a m not.

T h is is a p o w e rfu l c a r , w hich m y last c a r w a s n o t.
Appositive clauses
17.26 T h e r e m a in in g ty p e o f fin ite v e rb c la u se th a t p la y s a p a r t in p o s tm o d ific a tio n
is th e a p p o s itiv e ( c /1 7 .3 5 , 1 7 .6 5 /') . T h is re s e m b le s th e re s tr ic tiv e re la tiv e
c la u se in b e in g c a p a b le o f in tr o d u c tio n b y th e u n s tre s s e d th a t / 6 o t / :
S h e o b je c te d to th e f a c t th a t a reply h a d n o t b e en s e n t earlier, [re s tric ti ve

a p p o s itiv e c la u se ]
T h e a p p o s itiv e c la u s e d iffers fro m th e r e la tiv e c la u s e in th a t
(i) th e p a r tic le th a t is n o t a n e le m e n t in th e c la u s e s tr u c tu r e (f u n c tio n in g

a s s u b je c t, o b je c t, e tc , a s it m u s t in a r e la tiv e c la u se ) b u t a c o n ju n c tio n ,
a s is th e c a s e in n o m in a l t/m f-clau ses g e n e r a lly ;
(ii) th e n o n r e s tr ic tiv e a p p o s itiv e c la u se h a s th e s a m e in tr o d u c to r y ite m a s

th e r e s tr ic tiv e , ie: th a t ( c f 17.33):
S h e r e je c te d th eir exc u ses, ev en th is l a s t o n e , th a t in v e s tig a tio n s h a d
ta k e n s e v e ra l w e ek s, [ n o n r e s tric tiv e ]
(iii) th e h e a d o f t h e n o u n p h r a s e m u s t b e a g e n e r a l a b s tr a c t n o u n s u c h as
f a c t, idea, p ro p o sitio n , reply, rem ark, a n sw e r, a n d th e lik e ( c / 1 6 .84):
T h e f a c t th a t h e w rote a le tte r to h er s u g g e s ts t h a t h e k n e w h e r. [ 1]
T h e b e l ie f th a t no on e is infa llible is w e ll-fo u n d e d . [2]
I a g re e w ith th e o h l sa yin g th a t a b sen ce m a k e s th e h e a rt g r o w

fo n d e r. [3]
I Ic h e ard the n ew s that his te a m h a d ii an. [4]
A s w ith a p p o s itio n g e n e r a lly ( c f \ l . b i f f ) , w e c a n lin k th e a p p o se d u n its w ith

b e (w h e re th e c o p u la ty p ic a lly h as n u c le a r p r o m in e n c e ) :
The |fact /.s| th a t lie |w ro le a u Y rlcr lo h c r| [ I a]

The helier/.v th a t n o o n e is in ra llih le. |2 u ]
The o ld say in g is t h a t a b se n c e m a k e s th e h e a r t g ro w fo n d e r. [3 a)
The n e w s wo.r t h a t h is te a m h a d w o n . [4 a]
W e s h o u ld a lso n o te t h a t n o u n s lik e b e lie f v /ilh t/io f-clau ses c o r r e s p o n d to

v e rb s w ith o b je c t c la u se s ( c f 16.3 0 // ):
H e believes th a t no o ne is infa llible. [2b]
W ith b o th re s tric tiv e a n d n o n re s tric tiv e a p p o s itiv e c la u se s, a n a n t e c e d e n t

n o u n is o f te n a n o m in a liz a tio n ( c f 17.51 f f ) :
T h e p o lic e r ep o rte d th a t th e d ru g s h a d b e e n fo u n d , [5]

T h e police report th a t th e d ru g s h a d b e e n fo u n d (a p p e a r e d in th e
p re s s y e ste rd a y ). [5 a]
T h e s e re s tr ic tiv e e x a m p le s h a v e th e d e fin ite a rtic le b e fo re th e h e a d n o u n .

T h is is n o rm a l, b u t b y n o m e a n s in v a r ia b le (e x c e p t w ith a few n o u n s r e f e r r i n g
to c e r ta in ty , e sp e c ia lly fa c t) :
A m e ssa g e th a t h e w o u ld be la te a r r iv e d b y s p e c ia l d e liv e ry . [6]

T h e u n io n w ill re s is t a n y proposal th a t M r J o hnson should
b e d ism issed . [7]
S to r ie s th a t th e h o u se w as h a u n te d a n g e r e d th e o w n e r. [8]
P lu r a l h e a d s , a s in [8], a r e a lso r a r e w ith a p p o s itiv e p o s tm o d if ic a tio n , a n d

a r e u s u a lly re g a rd e d as u n a c c e p ta b le w ith b e lie f fa c t, p ossibility, e tc . W e m a y
c o n tr a s t [9] w ith th e p e rfe c tly a c c e p ta b le p lu ra l h e a d w ith re la tiv e c la u s e
p o s tm o d if ic a tio n [ 9 a ]:
? H e r m o th e r w a s w o rrie d a t th e p o ssib ilitie s th a t her d a u g h te r was

la z y a n d ( th a t sh e) d islik e d school. [9]
T h e po ssib ilities th a t sh e was now o ffe re d s e e m e d v ery a ttr a c tiv e . [9a]
H o w e v e r , w e o c c a s io n a lly find e x a m p le s o f p lu ra l n o u n s w ith a p p o s it iv e

p o s tm o d ific a tio n , s u c h a s f a c ts in th e f o llo w in g :
T h e re a so n p r o b a b ly lies in the fa c ts th a t th e In te llig e n c e S e rv ic e is

r a th e r d e s p is e d , th a t th e in d iv id u a l m e m b e r s c h a n g e ra p id ly a n d a r e
th e r e f o r e in e x p e rie n c e d , a n d th a t th e y feel b o u n d to p u t th e ir o w n
s p e c ia l in te re s ts first.
W e h a v e s ee n in 16.70 th a t c e r ta in v e rb s w ith r/io r-clau ses h a v e a

c o n s tr u c tio n w ith p u ta tiv e sh o u ld o r w ith a m a n d a tiv e s u b ju n c tiv e , e g :
T h e y r e c o m m en d e d th a t she (sh o u ld ) be p r o m o ted . [10]
W h e n s u c h v e rb s a re n o m in a liz e d ( c f 1 7 .5 1 # ) , th e o b je c t c la u se b e c o m e s a n
a p p o s it iv e c la u se , re ta in in g th e p u ta tiv e sh o u ld o r th e m a n d a tiv e s u b j u n c t i v e :
T h e r e w a s a reco m m en d a tio n th a t sh e (shouhf) he p ro m o ted . [10c«]
T h e n o m in a liz c d v e rb m a y b e s e p a r a te d fro m th e a p p o s itiv e c la u se u n d e r

th e c o n d itio n s fo r d is c o n tin u o u s n o u n p h ra s e s (c j 17 . 122, I H.39):
T h e suggestion th a t the tuny rule (sh o u ld ) he a d o p te d c a m e fro m th e

c h a irm a n . [in
T h e su g g estio n c a m e fro m th e c h a ir m a n th a t th e n e w rule (should)
he a d o p te d . [lla l
1 7 .2 7 D e s p ite th e lim ited n u m b e r o f n o u n h e a d ty p e s th a t m a y be p o s tm o d ifie d by

a n a p p o s itiv e c la u se , th e s u p c r tic ia l s im ila rity to re la tiv e c la u se p o s tm o d ili-
c a t io n c a n so m e tim e s c a u s e m o m e n ta r y difficu lty . T o ta l a m b ig u ity , h o w e v e r,
is r a r e sin c e so m a n y fa c to rs o f se le c tio n h a v e to be in v o lv e d b e fo re a n y th in g
lik e [1] c a n o c c u r:
A r e p o r t th a t h e stole w a s u ltim a te ly s e n t to th e p o lic e . [ 1]

T h e tw o in te r p r e ta tio n s (‘h e sto le a r e p o r t’ o r ‘th e re p o r t w a s t h a t h e sto le ')
d e p e n d u p o n th e p o s s ib ility th a t a report c a n be a p h y s ic a l o b je c t o r a n
a b s tr a c tio n (th a t is, n o m in a liz in g th e v e r b rep o rt ); u p o n s te a l b e in g
p e rm is s ib ly tr a n s itiv e o r in tr a n s itiv e ; a n d se v e ra l o th e r f a c to r s : m a d e in
p la c e o f s e n t , fo r e x a m p le , w o u ld p r e v e n t th e a m b ig u ity ( th o u g h it m ig h t n o t
p r e v e n t t h e h e a r e r o r r e a d e r fr o m h a v in g te m p o r a r y difficu lty ).
N o n r e s tr ic tiv e a p p o s itiv e c la u se s lik e [2] c a n less e asily re s e m b le r e la tiv e
c la u s e s sin c e , irr e s p e c tiv e o f n o n r e s tr ic tiv e n e s s , th e y still in v o lv e t h e p a rtic le
th a t, in s h a r p c o n tr a s t w ith n o n r e s tr ic tiv e re la tiv e c la u s e s :
T h is la s t fa c t, (n a m e ly ) t h a t th a t is o b lig a to ry , s h o u ld be e a s y to
re m e m b e r. [2]
I n illu s tra tin g th e p re v io u s p o in t, e x a m p le [2] a lso illu s tra te s th e n e x t p o in t,

(n a m e ly ) t h a t a p p o s itiv e in d ic a to r s n a m e ly o r viz c a n b e o p tio n a lly in tr o d u c e d
in th e n o n r e s tr ic tiv e a p p o s itio n s , a s c a n th a t is (to s a y ) o r ie ( c f 17.73). I t also
illu s tra te s th e f a c t th a t w ith th is ty p e o f c la u se , th e a n te c e d e n t h e a d n o u n
m a y b e free ly p re m o d ifie d b y a d je c tiv e s a n d w ith a c h o ic e o f d e te r m in e r s . I t
w ill be re c a lle d th a t, w ith re s tr ic tiv e a p p o s itiv e s , th e w a s o b lig a to ry b e fo re
f a c t , a n d it m a y n o w b e a d d e d th a t th e o n ly a d je c tiv e s a d m is s ib le w o u ld be
n o n r e s tr ic tiv e in s c o p e ( c f M . i f f ) . C o n tr a s t [3], w h e re th e r e s tr ic tiv e c la u se
p e r m its o n ly th e n o n r e s tr ic tiv e a d je c tiv e , w ith [3a], w h e re th e n o n re s tr ic tiv e
c la u s e p e rm its a re s tric tiv e a d je c tiv e :
T h e u g ly fa c t th a t he w a s h o ld in g a g u n in d ic a te d h is g u ilt. [3]
T h e m o re r elevant fa c t, th a t th e g u n h a d n o t b e e n fired , w a s
c u rio u s ly ig n o re d . [3a]
N o te T h e n o n restric tiv e ap p o sitio n m ay b e closely related to a n o n restric tiv e rela tiv e clau se ( c f
a p p o s itiv e iv/i-interrogativc c lau ses, 15.5). C o m p a re :
th a t his w ife sh o u ld com e an d visit h im , w as n e v e r g ran ted .

P o u lm o tlific M io n t»y u o u f in i u i 1 ?fi3
P o s t m o d if ic a t io n b y n o n fin ite clause s
P o s t m o d if ic a t io n b y -in g p a r tic ip le c la u s e s
1 7 .2 8 P o s tm o d if ic a tio n o f (lie n o u n p h ra s e is p o ssib le w ith all ilir e e o f Ihc n o n f in i te

c la u se ty p e s : -ing p a r tic ip le , -etl p a rtic ip le , a n d in fin itiv e c la u s e s . T h e
c o rre s p o n d e n c e b e tw e e n -in g cla u se s a n d re la tiv e c la u se s is lim ite d t o th o s e
re la tiv e c la u se s in w h ic h th e re la tiv e p ro n o u n is s u b je c t:
w ilt w rite
w ill he writing
w rites
T h e p e rs o n w ho reports is m y c o lle a g u e . [1]
is w riting
w rote
w as w riting
T h e p e rs o n w riting rep o rts is m y co lleag u e. [ 1a]
T h e n o n fin ite c la u se w ritin g reports in [la ] m a y be in te r p r e te d , a c c o r d i n g to

th e c o n te x t, a s e q u iv a le n t to o n e o f th e m o re e x p lic it v e rs io n s in [1]. O th e r
e x a m p le s o f p o s tm o d if y in g -in g c la u se s:
T h e d o g b a r k i n g n e x t d o o r s o u n d e d lik e a te rrier, [‘w h ic h w a s b a r k i n g

n e x t d o o r’]
A tile f a i l i n g f r o m a r o o f s h u t t e r e d in to f r a g m e n ts a t h is fe e t, [‘w h ic h f e l l
fr o m a r o o f ]
Y o u sh o u ld lo o k f o r a m a n carrying a la rg e um brella, [‘w h o w ill b e
ca rryin g a la r g e u m b r e lla ’]
I t m u s t b e e m p h a s iz e d t h a t -ing fo rm s in p o s tm o d ify in g c la u se s s h o u ld n o t
b e s ee n a s a b b r e v ia te d p ro g r e s s iv e fo rm s in re la tiv e c la u se s. S ta tiv e v e rb s ,
fo r in s ta n c e , w h ic h c a n n o t h a v e th e p ro g re s siv e in th e fin ite v e r b p h r a s e , c a n
a p p e a r in p a r tic ip ia l fo r m { c f 4 .4 , 14.19):
T h is is a liq u id w ith a ta s te resem bling t h a t o f s o ap y w a te r .

[‘w h ic h r e s e m b le s ’; « o / : ‘* w h ich is re s e m b lin g ’] [2]
I t w a s a m ix tu r e c o n sistin g o f o il a n d v in e g a r, [‘th a t c o n s is te d o f ’ ;
n o r: “" th a t w a s c o n s is tin g o f '] [3]
I n a ll in s ta n c e s , th e a n te c e d e n t h e a d c o rre s p o n d s to th e im p lic it s u b je c t o f
th e n o n fin ite c la u se . T h e r e is n o n o n fin ite p o s tm o d ifie r, th e r e f o r e , c o r r e s p o n d
in g d ire c tly to t h e re la tiv e c la u se in [lb ] , w ith o u t re c o u rse to th e p a s s iv e [ I c ] ;
R e p o r ts th a t m y c o llea g u e is w riting w ill b e d iscu ssed to m o r ro w . [ 1b]

R e p o r ts b e in g w r i t t e n b y m y c o ll e a g u e w ill be d is c u s s e d to m o r r o w . [ lc ]
T h e r e a re s h a r p c o n s tr a i n ts u p o n a sp e c t e x p re ss io n in th e p a r tic ip le c la u se s
u s e d in p o s tm o d ific a tio n . W e h a v e ju s t n o te d th a t rese m b lin g in [2] [a ta ste
resem b lin g th a t o f so a p y w a te r) o b v io u sly c o u ld n o t re p r e s e n t th e p r o g r e s s iv e ,
a n d th e n e u tr a liz a tio n o f th e a s p e c tu a l c o n tr a s t c a n f u r th e r b e s e e n in [4] in
c o n tr a s t w ith [ 4 a ] :
th e m a n \ who w o rk s j b e h in d th e d e sk [4]
I w ho is w o rk in g ]
1264 T h e n o u n p h ra s e
l l i c m , . n | ' lfl.rW ' w ]■ b e h in d th e d esk [4a]

[ * h em g w o r k in g )
O n th e loss o f th is a s p e c tu a l d is tin c tio n in n u n lin ile v e rb p h ra s e s , <;/ .1.5(>.

S im ilarly th e p e rfe c tiv e a s p e c t c a n n o t u su ally be e x p re ss e d in I lie n o n tin ite
clau se. C o m p a r e f 5 ] a n d [5a]:
T h e m a n w ho h a s won th e r a re is m y b ro th e r. 15|
?* T h e m a n h a v in g wan th e race is m y b ro th e r. [5a]
H o w e v e r, in a s tr u c tu r e w ith a n in d e fin ite n o u n p h r a s e as h e a d , a s in [6],

p e rfe c tiv e a s p e c t is m o re a c c e p ta b le :
? A n y p e rs o n o r p e rs o n s h aving w itnessed the a tta c k is u n d e r

su sp ic io n . [6]
T h e te n se to b e a ttr ib u te d to th e -ing c la u se w ill u s u ally b e t h a t o f th e fin ite

c la u se in w h ic h th e n o u n p h r a s e o c cu rs, e sp e c ia lly if th e n o u n p h r a s e is
o b je c t:
D o y o u k n o w th e m a n ta lk in g to m y sister'! [‘w h o is ta lk in g to m y s is te r ’]
D id y o u k n o w th e m a n ta lk in g to m y s iste r ? [‘w h o w a s t a lk in g to m y
s is te r ’]
T h e te n se o f th e n o n f in ite c la u se c a n a lso be in fe rr e d fro m th e c o n te x t:
T h e m a n s ittin g n e x t to h er (n o w ) w a s s p e a k in g o n th e r a d io (la s t
n ig h t) , [‘w h o is s ittin g ’] [7]
I n a s e n te n c e lik e [7], th e te n s e o f th e -ing c la u se w o u ld b e a s s u m e d to b e th e

p re s e n t te n s e [8], u n le s s th e c o n te x t su g g ests o th e rw is e , a s in [ 8 a ] :
,, .... . f to h er [‘w h o is s ittin g ’] [8]

the m a n sittin g n e x t i . , . . . . r* <. n ro i
( to her o n t h a t o c c a s io n [ w h o w a s s ittin g ] [8a]
I n [9], th e p a s t te n s e w a s in d ic a te s th e te n se o f b eing q u e stio n e d a n d d o e s n o t

m e a n t h a t h e w a s n o lo n g e r m y b r o th e r , ie [9] = [ 9 a ] :
T h e m a n b ein g q u e stio n e d b y th e p o lic e w as m y b ro th e r . [9]

T h e m a n th a t w as (being) q u e stio n e d b y th e p o lic e is m y b r o th e r . [9a]
N o te l a som e c ases, -in g p a rtic ip le s o c c u r in frozen exp ressio n s w ith n o relativ e c lau se a lte rn a tiv e , e g :
f o r th e lim e b e in g ( m l : ‘“ fo r th e tim e th a t is’).
P o s t m o d if ic a t io n b y -e d p a r tic ip le c la u s e s
17.29 A s w ith -in g c la u s e s , th e r e is c o rre s p o n d e n c e o n ly w ith r e la tiv e c la u se s th a t

h a v e t h e r e la tiv e p r o n o u n a s s u b je c t. T h e n o n fin ite -e d p a r tic ip le c la u s e in [ 1]
c a n b e r e la te d to th e fin ite r e la tiv e c la u se s in [ la ] :
T h e c a r (being) rep a ire d b y t h a t m e c h a n ic . . . [1]

f w ill be rep a ire d 4
T h e c a r th a t < is (b ein g ) rep a ire d > b y t h a t m e c h a n ic . . . [ la ]
1. w as (being) rep a ired J
T h e -e d p a r tic ip le c la u s e [1] w ill b e in te r p r e te d , a c c o r d in g to th e c o n te x t, a s

e q u iv a le n t to o n e o f th e f in ite c la u se s in [ la ]. T h u s :
P o s tm o d if ic a tio n b y n o n fin ite cla u s e s 1265
( b eing rep a ire d b y th a t m e c h a n ic n o w . . .

T h e e a r < rep a ired by th a t m e c h an ic w h e n it b re a k s d o w n . . .
[ re jn d r e d by th a t m e c h an ic In-lorc he left . . .
O th e r e x a m p le s :
A r e p o r t n r /lte n b y m y co/Jcnguc n p p c n rc ti la st w e ek , [‘th a t was) h a s

b een w r itte n . . .'] [2 |
A n y c o in s f o u n d on Ibis sire m u st b e h a n d e d to th e p o lic e , [‘th a t a re
fo u n d . . o r, m o re p recisely , ‘th a t m a y be f o u n d . . .'] [3]
T h e a n te c e d e n t is a lw ay s id e n tic a l w ith th e im p lie d s u b je c t o r t h e -e d

p o s tm o d ify in g c la u se , a s it is w ith th e -ing c o n s tr u c tio n . A lso , p o s tm o d if y in g
-ed a n d -in g p a r tic ip le c la u se s a re b o th u su ally re s tr ic tiv e ( h u t c f 1 7 .3 4 /) .
H o w e v e r, in th e c a s e o f th e -e d c o n s tr u c tio n , th e p a r tic ip le c o n c e rn e d is as
firm ly lin k e d w ith th e p a s s iv e voice a s th a t in th e -in g c o n s tr u c tio n is lin k e d
w ith th e a c tiv e . S in c e -e d p a rtic ip le s c a n n e v e r b e p a s s iv e w ith in tr a n s itiv e
v e rb s , th e r e is n o -e d p o s tm o d ifie r [4a] c o r r e s p o n d in g e x a c tly to th e r e la tiv e
c la u se in [4]:
T h e tr a in w hich has a rrived at p la tfo rm 1 is fro m Y o rk . [4]

? * T h e tr a i n a rriv e d a t p la tfo rm I is fro m Y o rk . [4 a]
E x c e p tio n s o c c u r w h e re th e -e d p a rtic ip le is p re c e d e d by c e r ta in a d v e r b s , a s
in :
T h e tr a i n rec e n tly a rrived a t p la tfo rm 1 is fro m Y o rk . [4b]

. . [g o n e to In d ia 1 . ,, , . .. trl
A m anuM M , , } to ld m e a b o u t it. [5]
[co m e fr o m th e m eetin g J
T h is p h e n o m e n o n is re la te d to o u r a b ility a lso to p re m o d if y n o u n s w ith

p a r tic ip le s w h ic h , u n le ss th e m s e lv e s p re m o d if ie d , c a n o n ly p o s tm o d ify .
T h e r e a r e c o n s tr a in ts o n a sp e c tu a l e x p re s s io n in -e d p o s tm o d ify in g c la u s e s ,
th o u g h th e y a r e n o t id e n tic a l w ith th o s e f o r -ing c la u se s. U n lik e -ing c la u s e s ,
- e d c la u s e s c a n in d ic a te p ro g re s siv e a sp e c t. A p ro g r e s s iv e c o n tr a s t is p o s s ib le ,
as in [6a], w h ic h re fle c ts th e a sp e c tu a l c o n tr a s t in [6]:
T h e fo o d w hich i wa^ as *een eaten\ was m e .m t fo r to m o rro w . [6]

[ ts b e in g ea ten J
T h e fo o d \ e a [en I Was m e a n t fo r to m o r ro w . [6 a]
I b ein g eaten j
A s w ith -in g c la u s e s , th e r e is u su ally n o p e rfe c tiv e a s p e c t in -e d c la u s e s :
T h e fo o d w hich h a s been e aten] .„ , .,, ,

r j , . , 1 w a s m e a n t fo r to m o r ro w . [6 b ]
.'’ T h e fo o d h a v in g been ea ten j
P o s t m o d if ic a t io n b y in fin itiv e c la u s e s
1 7 .3 0 U n lik e -in g a n d -e d c la u se s, in fin itiv e c la u se s a s p o s tm o d ifie rs in n o u n

p h r a s e s a llo w c o rre s p o n d e n c e s w ith re la tiv e c la u s e s w h e re th e re la tiv e
p r o n o u n c a n b e n o t o n ly s u b je c t, b u t a lso o b je c t o r a d v e r b ia l a n d , to a lim ite d
e x te n t, c o m p le m e n t:
S: T h e m a n to h elp y o u is M r J o h n s o n , ['w h o c a n h e lp y o u '] [1]

0 : T h e m a n (fo r y o u ) to sec is M r J o h n s o n . |'w lio ( m ) you
s h o u ld s e e ’] [2]
C : T h e th in g (fo r y o u ) to h r th e se d a y s is a sy ste m s a n a ly s t, [‘th e
th in g t h a t p e o p le w ill try to b e th e se d a y s is a s y ste m s
a n a l y s t'; c /p s e u d o - c le f t s e n te n c e s 1 8 .2 9 //] [3]
A : T h e tim e (fo r y o u ) to go is Ju ly , [‘a t w h ic h you s h o u ld g o ’] [4]
A ; T h e p la c e (fo r y o u ) to s ta y is th e u n iv e rs ity g u e s t h o u se.
( ‘w h o re y o u sh o u ld s ta y ’] [3]
U n lik e [1], [2] c a n h a v e a n o p tio n a l s u b je c t o f th e in fin itiv e c la u se in tr o d u c e d

b y f o r ( c f 1 4 .6 /). W ith o u t su ch a s u b je c t, th e in fin itiv e c la u se in [2] c o u ld be
u n d e r s to o d , a c c o rd in g to c o n te x t, a s ‘(T h e m a n ) t h a t y o u /h e /ev e ry o n e , e tc
sh o u ld s e e ’.
S im ila r ly , in [3 -5 ] th e s u b je c t o f th e in fin itiv e m a y a ls o b e o m itte d . A less
c o m m o n a n d m o re fo rm a l a lte r n a tiv e is th e n to in tr o d u c e th e r e la tiv e
p ro n o u n a n d r e ta in th e in fin itiv e c la u s e :
T h e tim e a t w hich to g o i s . . , [4a]

T h e p la c e a t w hich to s ta y is . . . [5a]
A g o o d p la c e a t w hich to e a t isth e p u b r o u n d th e c o rn e r. [6]
C o m p a r e a lso th e fo r m a l [7] b e sid e th e in f o r m a l [7b] (n o te t h a t th e p r e p o s itio n

c a n n o t b e d e fe r r e d in [7 a]; n o r c a n in b e k e p t in [7c]):
f in which to do it [7]
* w hich to do it in [7a]
th e w ay
to do it [7b]
[ *to d o it in [7c]
A lte r n a tiv e ly , w e m ig h t h a v e fully e x p lic it r e la tiv e c la u se c o n s tr u c tio n s w ith

p r e p o s itio n + r e la tiv e p ro n o u n , o r a d v e r b ia l r e la tiv e ( w ith o u t p r e p o s itio n ;
c /1 7 .1 8 /) :
T h e tim e j everyone sh o u ld g o is Ju ly . [4 b ]
T h e p la c e Jy ° u sh o u ld s ta y is th e u n iv e rs ity g u e s t h o u se. [5b]
A g o o d p la c e u u yo n e ca n e a t is th e p u b r o u n d th e c o rn e r. [6a]
A s s ta t e d a b o v e , th e r e is n o -ing o r -e d c la u se a s p o s tm o d ifie r w h ic h allo w s

c o r r e s p o n d e n c e s w ith re la tiv e c la u se s w h e re th e p r o n o u n is a d v e r b ia l.
C o m p a r e th e s y n ta c tic fle x ib ility a n d th e p o s s ib ility o f d iff e r e n t d e g re e s o f
re d u c tio n in in fin itiv e cla u se s c o m p a r e d w ith -in g c la u s e s :
( *sta y in g
( a t w h ic h ! to s ta y
th e p la c e < y o u sh o u ld s ta y
' ^ (fo r y o u ) to s ta y (a t)
P o r.lm o tJific a tlo n b y n o n fln ito olmiisou 1207
f * re ly in g .
( on w hom j lo rely.
S h e is n o t a p e rs o n < I one c on rely.
( ( f o r o n e ) lo rely on.
m easuring '1
to m ea su re > v ib r a tio n .
th e y m easure J
[( fo r th e m ) to m easure v ib r a tio n w ith.
17.31 U n d e r c e r ta in c o n d itio n s , f u n c tio n a l a m b ig u ity m a y a ris e , a s w h e n th e

s u b je c t is n o t e x p re ss e d b y f o r . . . to a n d th e v e rb c a n b e u s e d b o th
in tr a n s itiv e ly a n d tra n s itiv e ly . In th e la tte r case th e re a r e n o s e m a n tic
r e s tric tio n s to e x clu d e th e a n te c e d e n t fro m b e in g in te r p r e te d a s e ith e r s u b je c t
o r o b je c t. C o n s id e r s e n te n c e [ 1]:
H e is th e b e s t m a n lo choose. [ 1]
I t c a n th e n m e a n e ith e r [ I a], ie s u b je c t in te r p r e ta tio n a n d n o e q u iv a le n t fin ite

re la tiv e c la u se p o s sib le , o r [ lb ] , ie o b je c t in te r p r e ta tio n a n d w i t h a
c o r r e s p o n d in g fin ite r e la tiv e c la u se a lte r n a tiv e :
to d o the choosing. \ j-1.j

to m a k e th e choice, j
H e is th e b e s t m a n ■ th a t ire (e tc ) can choose.']
f o r u s (e tc ) to choose. V [ lb ]
to b e chosen (by us, etc). J
A s th e e x a m p le s h a v e n o w s h o w n , it is b y n o m e a n s o n ly te n se t h a t h a s to
b e in fe rr e d in th e in fin itiv e c la u se . M o o d is a fa r m o re v a r ia b le f a c to r , a n d
th e ra n g e a c c o u n te d fo r in th e a d v e r b ia l in fin itiv e c la u se is a v a ila b le a ls o fo r
n o u n -p h r a s e p o s tm o d ific a tio n ( c /a ls o [2 -4 ] below a n d 17.32), eg-.
T h e tim e to arrive is . . . [‘a t w h ic h y o u should a rriv e ']
W ith in fin itiv e c la u se s, a s p e c t is a lso less r e s tra in e d th a n w ith o th e r n o n f in i te

c la u s e s :
to m e et 'I
{ to be m e e tin g > is W ilso n .
to h ave m e t J
T h e p o s tm o d ify in g in fin itiv e c la u se c a n b e a c tiv e o r p a s s iv e :
I to choose.
H e is th e b e s t m a n ] , ,
[to he chosen.
B esid e th e a c tiv e e x a m p le s a lre a d y g iv e n , w e m a y c o n s id e r th e fo llo w in g

p a ss iv e s, w h ic h a lso f u r th e r illu s tra te th e v a rie ty o f im p lic it te n s e a n d
m o d a lity :
T h e c ase to be in v e stig a te d tom orrow . . . [‘th a t w ill, or is to , be

in v e s tig a te d ’] [2]
T h e a n im a ls to b e f o u n d in K e n y a . . . [‘th a t c a n b e, or a r e , f o u n d ’] [3]
1268 The noun phrase
T h e p ro c e d u re to be follow ed . . . [‘th a t m u s t, or s h o u ld , or w ill, be

f o llo w e d '] [4]
I n so m e c ases, o n ly a c tiv e in fin itiv e s p o s tm o d ify in g c la u se s a r e n a tu r a l, v#

[5]; in so m e, o n ly p a s s iv e [6]:
I 'v e g o t le t t e r s to w r ite t o n i g h t . )
(5 |
Vl’v c g o t le t t e r s to h e w r itte n t o n i g h t . |
T h e a n im a ls to be fo u n d in K e n y a . . .
[6 ]
?T h e a n im a ls to f itu i
in K e n y a . . .
I n o th e r c ase s, e ith e r a c tiv e o r p a s s iv e in fin itiv e s se e m e q u a lly p o s s ib le w ith

n o o r little c h a n g e o f m e a n i n g :
G iv e m e a lis t o f th e p e o p le | t0 \ [71
1 1 [to be invited.
T h e p ro c e d u re \ ^ f f j Z o w e d \ - is t h i s : . . . [8]
T h e b e s t th in g >0 is a s f o ll o w s :. . . [9]
[to be done j
T h is is tru e a lso f o r th e e x is te n tia l s e n te n c e p a tte r n there + be + n o u n

p h r a s e + to -in fin itiv e c la u s e w h ic h is a llie d to re la tiv e c la u s e s ( c f 18.44/?]:
f to write.
T h e re a re le tte rs [ 10]
[to be written.
f to lose.
T h e r e is n o tim e [ 11]
[ to be lost.
T h e r e is n o p a s s iv e e q u iv a le n t i t fo r is u sed to i n tr o d u c e a s u b j e c t :
to consult I .
is M r J o h n s o n . [ 12]
to be consulted j
T he m an
for you to consult , . .. , ,
, , , m s M r J o h n so n . [13]
*fo r you to be consulted J
N o r d o e s a p a s s iv e a lw a y s s o u n d p la u s ib le w h e n th e h e a d is a q u a n tif ie r :
a tot to do. j
[14]
la lot to be done, j
W e have
plenty to eat. [15]
Iplenty to be eaten.
to write.
a large num ber o f pages [16]
[(?)/« be written.
W ith a r/ie re -c o n s tru c tio n t h e r e is n o v o ic e r e s tric tio n
f (for everybody) to do.

a lo t
to be done (by everybody).
T h ere is
, . , to do.
be done.
P o s tm o d if ic a tio n b y n o n fin ite cla u se s 1269
17.32 P o s tm o d if y in g fo -in fin itiv e clauses c a n h a v e e ith e r a m o d a l o r a n o n m o d a l

sen se , h u t th e m o d a l in te rp r e ta tio n see m s to h e n o rm a l, as in d ic a te d h y m o s t
ol' th e e x a m p le s g iv e n so far. If the a n te c e d e n t eoi re s p o n d s to th e o b je c t o f
th e in fin itiv e , th e m o d a l in te r p r e ta tio n is th e o n ly p o s sib le o n e :
T h e th in g to d o i s . . . [‘T h e th in g we sh o u ld d o is . , n ot = ‘T h e t h i n g
w c d o is . . or ‘T h e tilin g we a re g o in g to d o is . . .”1
If th e a n te c e d e n t c o r r e s p o n d s to th e su b jec t o f th e in fin itiv e , th e in te r p r e ta tio n

m a y be n o n m o d a l, p a r tic u la r ly if th e a n te c e d e n t h a s a ‘r e s tr ic tiv e ' m a r k e r
s u ch as la s t a n d th e in fin itiv e is e q u iv a le n t to a re la tiv e c la u s e :
T h e y w e re th e la s t g u e sts to arrive. [‘T h e y w e re th e la s t g u e sts w h o

a r r iv e d .']
S u ch ‘r e s tr ic tiv e 'm a r k e r s in clu d e a d je c tiv e s in th e s u p e r la tiv e d e g re e , g e n e r a l

o rd in a ls (n e x t, la st, o n ly ), fir s t, o r o th e r o rd in a l n u m e ra l ( c f 5.22).
Blurred relationships in postmodification

1 7.33 T h e s h a r p ly re d u c e d e x p lic itn e s s in th e -ing, -ed, a n d in fin itiv e c la u se s a llo w s
us to b lu r o r n e u tr a liz e t h e d is tin c tio n b e tw e e n n o u n -p h r a s e p o s tm o d if ic a tio n
a n d c e r ta in o th e r ty p e s o f c o n stru c tio n . I t is in te re s tin g , fo r e x a m p le , th a t
n a tiv e E n g lis h s p e a k e r s c o n fro n te d by s e n te n c e [1] a re lik e ly to a g re e th a t
th e y see little o r n o d iff e r e n c e in m e a n in g b e tw e e n [1] a n d e ith e r o f [ l a - b ] :
f a m a n h id d e n b e h in d th e b u s h e s . [ 1]
I n o tic e d < a m a n w ho w as h idden b e h in d th e b u sh es. [ la ]
[ t h a t a m a n w as hid den b e h in d th e b u sh es. [ lb ]
So a lso w ith tw o o th e r s e n te n c e s o f o b v io u s ly d iff e r e n t s t r u c t u r e :
He w a r n e d h v / th e fa C t <hat a I'8 l’t fla s h e d rep ea ted ly. [2]

j o lig h t that fla s h e d rep ea ted ly. [3]
G r a m m a tic a l ru le s f o r n o m in a liz a tio n ( c f \ 7 . 5 \ f f ) c a n re a d ily p r o v id e fo r

th e r e la tio n o f [2] to [4] a n d fo r th e re la tio n o f b o th [2] a n d [3] to [5]:
H e w a s w a rn e d h v I ' the repeated fla s h in g o f a light. [4]

H e w as w a rn e d by ^ npeat ed( y_ [5]
S e n te n c e [5] c a n b e a v a r ia n t o f th e r a r e r fo rm w ith g e n itiv e n o u n ( a lig h t's )

c o r r e s p o n d in g to th e s u b je c t o f [2] (c /d 5 .1 2 ). T h e f a c t t h a t [4] a n d [5] a re
v irtu a lly in d is tin g u is h a b le s e m a n tic a lly m e a n s th a t, d e s p ite o u r a b ility to
re la te [4] g r a m m a tic a lly to [2] r a th e r th a n to [3], it is p o in tle s s to s p e c u la te o n
w h e th e r [5] is to b e g ra m m a tic a lly re la te d p r im a r ily to [2] o r to [3],
T h e in fin itiv e c la u s e o c cu rs in s im ila r m e rg e d c o n s tr u c tio n s , b u t w ith
a d d itio n a l p o s s ib ilitie s . E x a m p le [6] is b ro a d ly u n a m b ig u o u s :
S h e e x p e c ts s o m e b o d y to repair th e T V set. [6]
H o w e v e r, it c a n b e r e la te d to m o re th a n m e re ly n o u n - p h r a s e p o s tm o d if ic a tio n
[7]:
S h e e x p e c ts s o m e b o d y who w ill repair the T V set. [7]

II cu n a lso h e re la te d to c o m p le m e n ta tio n ty p e d e s c rib e d in 16.30//', th e

n o n lin ilc c la u se c o rre s p o n d in g lo u fin ite c la u se :
S h e e x p e c ts th a t s o m e b o d y w ill repair I h e T V set. |(i]
T h e r e a re r e la tio n s a lso w ith tw o p o s sib le a d v e r b ia l p u rp o s e c la u se s [9]

a n d [10]:
S h e e x p e c ts s o m e b o d y in order th a t h e w ill rep a ir the T V set. [9]

S h e e x p e c ts s o m e b o d y in order th a t she eon repair the 7 'V se t (w ith
h is help). [ 10]
H o w e v e r, b o th [9] a n d [10] sh o u ld b e s e e n as r a th e r c u m b e rs o m e
c irc u m lo c u tio n s o f th e n a tu ra l e x p re ss io n in [6], A n o th e r a n d m o re n a tu r a l
a lte r n a tiv e lo [10] w o u ld be [11]:
S h e e x p e c ts s o m e b o d y to help h er repair th e T V set. [11]
I t is d o u b tle s s c o n v e n ie n t to h a v e a s tr u c tu r a l ty p e lik e [6] t h a t h a s s u c h

fle x ib ility . F o r e x a m p le , th e p o s sib ility o f p o s tm o d ify in g th e h e a d (so m eb o d y )
is c ru c ia lly im p o r ta n t i f w e w ish to e x p a n d s u c h a s e n te n c e in to th e m o re
e x p lic it fo r m [7] r a th e r th a n [9]. E x a m p le [6a], w ith a p r o p e r n o u n as h e a d ,
ru le s o u t a n o n r e s tr ic tiv e c la u se [7 a] a s a n a n a lo g u e to [73:
S h e e x p e c ts J o n a th a n to repair the T V set. [6a]

* S h e e x p e c ts J o n a th a n who will repair th e T V se t. [7a]
So a lso , w e c a n re d u c e [12] to th e n o n fin ite fo r m [I2 aJ w ith o u t p e r c e p tib le

c h a n g e o r lo ss o f m e a n i n g :
„, , , , (w h o checks th e T V s e t regularly. [12]

S h e h a s s o m e b o d y | (w ) check (/ie T V s e t regularly. [12a]
H o w e v e r, w e m u s t n o t a ss u m e th a t a n y s e n te n c e o f th e fo r m [13], a n d still
less o f th e fo r m [14], c a n h a v e th e n o n fin ite c la u se e x p a n d e d a s a r e la tiv e :
S h e h a s X to d o Y. [13]
S he h a s X do Y. [14]
Nonrestrictive postmodification by nonfinite clauses

17.34 N o n r e s t r ic tiv e p o s tm o d ific a tio n c a n a lso b e a c h ie v e d w ith n o n fin ite c la u s e s :
T h e a p p le tre e , sw a y in g g e n tly in th e b re e ze , w as a r e m in d e r o f o ld
tim e s , [‘w h ic h w a s s w a y in g g e n tly in th e b re e z e . . .’] [1]
T h e s u b s ta n c e , d iscovered a lm o st b y a c c id e n t , h a s re v o lu tio n iz e d
m e d ic in e , [‘w h ic h w a s d is c o v e re d a lm o s t b y a c c i d e n t . . .’] [2]
T h is s c h o la r, to be fo u n d d a ily in th e B ritish M u se u m , h a s d e v o te d
h is life to th e h is to ry o f sc ie n c e , [‘w h o c a n b e f o u n d d a ily in th e
B r itis h M u se u m . . . ’] [3]
A s w ith r e s tr ic tiv e n o n fin ite cla u se s ( c f l l . 2 & f f ), n o n re s tr ic tiv e -ing a n d -e d

c la u se s o n ly c o rre s p o n d to re la tiv e c la u se s w h e re th e r e la tiv e p ro n o u n is
s u b je c t. B u t a lso in fin itiv e c la u se s h a v e th is c o n s tr a in t w h e n th e y a r e
* T h is s c h o la r, to f i n d . . .
* T h is p la c e , to s ta y . . .
P o s tm o tfific a tio n b y nonfinitfe c la u s e s 1271
N o n r e s tr ic tiv e n o n fin ite cla u se s c a n h e m o v e d to in itia l p o s itio n w ith o u t

c h a n g e o f m e a n in g ;
D iscovered a lm o st b y a c cid en t , th e s u b s ta n c e h a s re v o lu tio n iz e d

m e d ic in e . [2aJ
B u t th is m o b ility in fa c t im p lie s th a t n o n fin ite n o n rc .strictiv e c la u s e s a rc

e q u iv o c a l b e tw e e n a d n o m in a l a n d a d v e r b ia l role. T h u s , th e n o n fin ite c la u s e
in s e n te n c e [4] c o u ld b e a re d u c tio n o f a re la tiv e c lau se [4a], b u t e q u a lly o f a
c a u s a l c la u se [4b], o r a te m p o ra l o n e [4c]:
T h e m a n , w earing such d a r k g la sses, o b v io u s ly c o u ld n o t see c le a r ly . [4]

( w h o w as w e a r i n g . . . [4a]
T h e m a n , 4 b e c a u s e he w a s w e a r in g , . . [4b]
[^ w h e n e v er h e w o r e . . . [4c]
S o to o , w e c a n m a k e th e re la tiv e c la u se in [5] n o n fin ite :
T h e c o st, w hich in cludes m ea ls, is 2 9 0 fra n c s . [5]
H o w e v e r, w e m u s t th e n re c o g n iz e t h a t th e re s u lt, including m e a ls, m a y be

r e g a r d e d b y a r e a d e r o r h e a r e r as a re d u c tio n o f a c o n d itio n a l c la u s e , ‘i f w e
in c lu d e m e a ls ’, o r inclu d in g m a y be r e g a rd e d a s a p re p o s itio n (c / 9.8).
N o te [a] T h e ran g e o f s e m a n tic p o ssib ilities an d th e m o b ility to in itial p o sition (befo re t h e n o u n

p h ra s e ) o f n o n restric tiv e non fin ite clauses m ak e su ch clauses equivocal betw een noun m o d ifie rs
a n d ad v e rb ia ls { c f 8.150$').
[b] C o m p a re th e d iscu ssio n in th is section w ith t h a t o f finite n o n restrictiv e clau ses in 1 7 .2 2 $ ’a n d
su p p le m e n tiv e clauses in \ 5 .6 0 ff.
A p p o s itiv e p o s tm o d ific a tio n b y in fin itiv e and - i n g clauses

1 7 .3 5 A p p o s itiv e p o s tm o d ific a tio n b y n o n fin ite c la u se o c cu rs w ith in f in itiv e a n d
-in g c la u s e s ; -e d c la u se s c a n n o t e n te r in to a p p o s itiv e p o s tm o d if ic a tio n .
A p p o s itiv e p o s tm o d ific a tio n is fa irly c o m m o n b y m e a n s o f in fin itiv e c la u s e s .
A re s tr ic tiv e e x a m p le lik e [1] w o u ld c o rre s p o n d to th e fin ite th a t p e o p le
(sh o u ld ) g iv e blood, th o u g h s u c h a u se o f th e s u b ju n c tiv e o r o f p u ta tiv e s h o u ld
( c /4 .6 4 , 1 6.70/") is u n c o m m o n :
T h e a p p e a l to give b lo o d re c e iv e d s tro n g s u p p o rt. [ 1]
T h e r e a r e a ls o n o n r e s tr ic tiv e e x a m p le s , e g [2]:
T h is la s t a p p e a l, to com e a n d visit h im , w a s n e v e r sen t. [2]
A c o m m o n f e a tu re o f in fin itiv e c la u se s, a p p ly in g to r e s tr ic tiv e a n d

n o n re s tr ic tiv e a lik e , is th a t th e y le a v e th e s u b je c t o f th e in fin itiv e c la u s e to
b e in fe rr e d fr o m th e c o n te x t (a s in [ 1] a n d [2]), u n le ss th e re is a p re p o s i tio n a lly
in tr o d u c e d s u b je c t, a s in [ la ] a n d [2 a]:
T he appeal J t0 g>ve b lo o d re c ei ved s tro n g s u p p o rt. [ 1 a]
T h is la s t a p p e a l j t0 c o m e a n d v isit h im , w as n e v e r s e n t. [2 a]
T h e -ing c la u se f u n c tio n s a s a p p o s itiv e p o s tm o d ific a tio n in e x a m p le s lik e

[3 -5 ]:
I ’m lo o k in g fo r a jo b d rivin g cars, [‘a jo b a s a d r iv e r ’] [3]

W c c an o ffer y o u a c a r e e r counselling delin q u en ts. [4]
T h e re is p le n ty o f w o rk (fo r us) shorefiing snow . (f>l
T h e ty p ic a l p o s tm o d ify in g fu n c tio n o f -ing c la u se s is as c o m p le m e n t o f a

p re p o s itio n {the jo b o f d rivin g cars, the p ro b lem o f learning E n g lish ; 1 7 .3 7 # ).
In a p p o s itiv e s tru c tu re s , -ing c la u se s h a v e p r e p o s itio n s w h ic h a r c a b s e n t
in th e c o rre s p o n d in g fin ite c la u se s:
th e h o p e . } ~ X h o p e s th a t X will win.
1 ( th a t X w ill w m J
C o n s tru c tio n s w it h to -in f in itiv e o r o f-p h ra s e

1 7 .3 6 A p p o s itiv e p o s tm o d ific a tio n b y m e a n s o f a n in fin itiv e c /a u se [ ) ] m a y h a v e
n o c o rre s p o n d in g fin ite c la u se a s a p p o s itio n [ lb ] , b u t in s te a d a n a lte r n a tiv e
c o n s tr u c tio n w ith a p r e p o s itio n a l p h r a s e [ la ] :
to u se h is h a n d s. [1]
{ o f u sin g his h a n d s. [ 1 a]
* th a t h e c o u ld u se h is h a n d s. [ 1 b]
S im ila rly :
( to lea ve e a rly "j
A n y a tte m p t < a t lea vin g e a rly V is a g a in s t re g u la tio n s ,
t * th a t o n e sh o u ld h a v e e a rly J
H o w e v e r, th e c h o ic e b e tw e e n to + in fin itiv e c la u se a n d p r e p o s itio n (u su a lly

o f ) + -ing c la u se a s n o u n p o s tm o d ific a tio n is a lso s tric tly lim ite d . W e m a y
d is tin g u is h th r e e m a in ty p e s o f c o n s tr u c t io n :
(a ) T o -in fin itiv e o n l y :

A n n a h a s th e w ill ] * , . .
* oto/ w
win.
inning.
(b ) E ith e r to -in fin itiv e o r o f + -ing:
T heir chance j 10? ° . > a b r o a d w a s lo st.

[ o fg o in g ]
(c) O f + ing o n l y :
S h e fo u n d th e r isk | j m o n e y to o g re a t.
T y p e (a) w ith to -in fin itiv e is f o u n d c h ie fly a f te r n o u n s w h ic h h a v e in tr in s ic

u ses (c /4 .4 9 ), ie th o s e n o u n s w h ic h e x p re ss m o d a l m e a n in g s t h a t in v o lv e
h u m a n c o n tro l o v e r e v e n ts , eg:
a greem en t decision d e te rm in a tio n

disinclination inclination invitation
p ro p o sa l rea d in e ss refu sa l
resolution (u n )w illingness w ill
W e m a y d is tin g u is h tw o ty p e s : o n e w h e re th e c o n s titu e n t e x p r e s s in g m o d a lity

a n d th e fo llo w in g v e r b s h a r e th e im p lie d su b je c t. C o m p a r e :
P o s t m o d if i c a t io n b y n o n f in i te c l a u s e s 1273
( w a n ts to 3
A n n a < 'w ill [s tre s se d ] > d o the jo b .
[ is w illin g lo J
~ A n n a ’s w illingness j îej°t>
A s e c o n d ty p e is fo u n d a f t e r n o u n s w h e re th e c o n s titu e n t e x p re s s in g m o d a lity
a n d th e fo llo w in g v e r b h a v e d in 'eren t s u b jec ts ( ir re s p e c tiv e o f w h e th e r o r n o t
th e in fin itiv e h a s a n e x p re s s e d su b ject), as i n :
H e r f a th e r p e r m itte d h e r to d o th e jo b .
~ h e r f a t h e r ’s p e rm issio n (for her ) th e jo b
T h e s u b je c t m a y b e im p lic it o r e x p lic it (in tro d u c e d b y fo r ) in c a s e s lik e th e

fo llo w in g (w h e re th e r e is a n o p e n c h o ic e o f s u b je c t):
H e r e ’s an in v ita tio n \ \ ™e\ \ to visit th e m o to r sh o w .

{ ( f o r her ) J
T y p e (c) w ith o f + - ing c la u s e see m s to o c c u r ch iefly a f te r n o u n s e x p r e s s in g

e x trin s ic m o d a lity , ie a f t e r n o u n s w h o se m e a n in g s d o n o t p r im a r ily in v o lv e
h u m a n c o n tro l o f th e a c t io n itse lf, b u t ty p ic a lly in v o lv e h u m a n j u d g m e n t, eg:
hope, p o ssib ility, p ro sp e c t, risk . C o m p a re (on th e c h o ic e o f g e n itiv e A n n a ’s,
c /1 5 .1 2 ) :
I t is p r o b a b le t h a t A n n a w ill d o th e jo b .
~ th e p r o b a b ility th e jo b
T h e te a m is r u n n in g th e risk o f(u s jo u r ) losing a n o th e r g a m e .

T h e r e is a c tu a lly n o h ope o f (th e m /th e ir) w inning th e w ar.
I n ty p e (b ) th e r e is v a r ia tio n b e tw e e n th e tw o k in d s o f c o n s tr u c t io n , b u t
c e r ta in n o u n s te n d to h a v e p re d o m in a n tly p o s tm o d ific a tio n b y f o - in fin itiv e ,
s u c h a s:
chance fr e e d o m need
obligation o p p o rtu n ity p lan
p o w er
T h e fo llo w in g a r e e x a m p le s o f n o u n s th a t h a v e p r e d o m in a n tly o f + -in g

c o n s tr u c t io n :
a im im p o ssib ility in tention

ne ce ssity p o s sib ility responsibility
O n e re a so n fo r th e c h o ic e a m o n g th e tw o a lte r n a tiv e s m a y b e f o u n d in th e
c o n tr a s t b e tw e e n r o o t a n d e p is te m ic p o s sib ility (c /4 .4 9 ), a s i n :
The p o ssib ility f o r m a n to coexist w ith m a n is slig h t.

[c/: ‘I t is p o s s ib le fo r m a n to c o e x i s t. . . ’ w ith s u b je c t in tr o d u c e d b y
f o r ; r o o t p o s s ib ility ]
1274 The n o u n p h ra se
The p o ssib ility o f (th e m )llh ’ir) coexistin g is s lig h t.

[cf: ‘I t is p o s sib le t h a t . . .'; c p istc in ic p o s sib ility ]
T h e c o n s tr u c tio n w ith /o -in fin itiv c is e sp e c ia lly s u ita b le fo r case s w h e re th e

s u b je c t o f th e in fin itiv e is e x p r e s s e d :
„ , , , (th e w o rker som e free d o m

S u c h s c h e m e s le a v e < . .. . , ) lo regulate th e
[so m e fr e e d o m J a r th e w o rker j
r e la tio n s h ip b e tw e e n e ffo r t a n d re w a rd .
T h e c o n s tr u c tio n w ith o f + -ing clau se is e sp e c ia lly c o n v e n ie n t w h e n n o

e x p re ss e d s u b je c t is p r e s e n t o r im p lic it ( g e n e ra liz in g f u n c tio n ) :
T h e fr e e d o m o f h o ld in g a n o p in io n a n d e x p re s s in g it is a h u m a n rig h t.
Postmodification by prepositional phrases

Relation to more explicit modifiers
1 7 .3 7 In a d d itio n to re d u c tio n o f s e n te n c e s in to n o u n p h r a s e s ( c f 17.1) b y m e a n s o f
p o s tm o d ific a tio n b y fin ite a n d n o n fin ite c la u se s, w e h a v e th e f u r th e r
p o s sib ility o f r e d u c tio n o f p o s tm o d ific a tio n b y p r e p o s itio n a l p h r a s e s , as in
th e la s t ite m o f th e fo llo w in g se rie s :
T h e c a r w a s s ta n d in g o u ts id e th e s ta tio n ,
th e c a r w hich w as s ta n d in g outside th e sta tio n
th e c a r sta n d in g o u tsid e the station
th e c a r o u tsid e th e sta tio n
A p re p o s itio n a l p h r a s e ( c f 9 . 1 / ) is b y fa r th e c o m m o n e s t ty p e o f
p o s tm o d ific a tio n in E n g lis h : it is th r e e o r fo u r tim e s m o r e f r e q u e n t th a n
e ith e r fin ite o r n o n fin ite c la u s a l p o s tm o d ific a tio n . T h e fu ll ra n g e o f
p r e p o s itio n s is in v o lv e d , in c lu d in g c o m p le x p r e p o s itio n s (eg: on b o a rd in [4]
a n d in c a se o f in [5]; c / 9 . 1 0 / ') :
th e r o a d to L in c o ln [ 1]
th is b o o k o n g r a m m a r [2]
a m a n fr o m th e e le ctric ity co m p a n y [3]
p a s s e n g e r s o n b o a r d th e sh ip [4]
a c tio n in case o f fir e [5]
th e m e a n in g o f th is sen te n c e [6]
th e h o u s e b e y o n d the church [7]
tw o y e a r s b e fo re th e w ar [8]
a d e la y p e n d in g fu r th e r in quiry [9]
a t r e e by a s tre a m [10]
I t is n a tu r a l to r e la te s u c h p re p o s itio n a l p o s tm o d ifie rs as (th e ca r) o u tsid e

th e s ta tio n to ie - s e n te n c e s (‘T h e c a r is o u ts id e th e s ta t io n ’), th o u g h in so m e
in s ta n c e s th e p h r a s e see m s to c o rre s p o n d w ith m o re th a n m e re ly th e fin ite
P o s tm o d if io a lio n b y propouUioM &l p b ru tio s 1275
v e r b he. F o r e x a m p le , w e p re s u m a b ly n e e d to re g a rd H U as r e la te d t o a
s o m e w h a t fu ller p re d ic a tio n [I la ]:
th e u n iv e rs ity a s a p o litica l fo r u m [11]

T h e u n iv e rs ity is a c tin g /re g a r d e d as a p o litic a l lo ru m . [1 1 a]
A g a in , a lth o u g h th e r e is n o p ro b le m w ith [12], th e in te r p r e ta tio n is n o t so

s tr a ig h tf o r w a r d fo r [ 13], w h e re a n a d d itio n a l c o m p o n e n t h a s lo be u n d e r s to o d
[1 3 a]:
T h e p re s e n t fo r Jo h n c o sts a g r e a t d e al. ['T h e p re s e n t is fo r J o h n .'] [12]

T h e m a n fo r th e jo b is J o h n . [13]
T h e m a n is r ig h t/b e s t fo r th e jo b . [ 13 a]
T h is is s e e n still m o re c le arly in [14], w h ic h is a m o re e x p lic it form o f s e n te n c e

[13]:
T h e r ig h t m a n f o r th e jo b is J o h n . [ 14]
J u s t a s w e d o n o t w is h to p o s tu la te [ 13b] in re la tio n to [ 13], so w e d o n o t w is h

to p o s tu la te [ 14 a] in r e la tio n to [ 14]:
* T h e m a n is fo r th e jo b . [1 3 b ]
* T h e rig h t m a n is fo r th e jo b . [1 4 a]
T h i s p r o b le m w ill b e s ee n in its m o re g e n e r a l c o n te x t w h e n w e d is c u s s
d is c o n tin u o u s m o d if ic a tio n ( c f 17.122).
T h e p r e p o s itio n w ith is a n o th e r th a t w e c a n n o t fully a c c o u n t fo r u n le s s w e
c o n s id e r m o re th a n 6 e -s e n te n c e s ; t h a t is to say , th e se a re a d e q u a te t o e x p la in
[15], a n d e v e n th e id io m a tic ( a n d o ld -f a s h io n e d ) [16]:
T h e w o m a n w ith th e c h ild is J o a n . [‘T h e w o m a n is w ith th e c h i l d . ’] [15]

T h e w o m a n w ith child is J o a n . [‘T h e w o m a n is w ith c h ild ,
ie p r e g n a n t.’] [16]
B u t, in g e n e r a l, th is is tru e o n ly w h e re w ith c a n b e g lo ssed as ‘a c c o m p a n ie d

b y ’. N o s u c h g loss is p o s sib le in [1 7 -1 8 ]:
th e m a n w ith a red b ea rd [17]

th e g ir l w ith a fu n n y h a t [ 18]
H e r e w e n e e d to c o n n e c t t h e p re p o s itio n a l p h r a s e w ith a ha ve- s e n t e n c e : ‘T h e

m a n h a s a r e d b ea rd ', a n d h e n c e w ith a r e la tiv e c la u s e : ‘th e m a n w h o h a s a
r e d b e a rd ' ( c f 9.55). T h e c o m m o n e s t p r e p o s itio n in n o u n -p h r a s e p o s tm o d if i
c a tio n , o f, h a s a clo se c o rre s p o n d e n c e to /m u e-se n ten c e s ( c /T 7 .38).
A m o n g th e p rep o sitio n s used in p o stm o d ificatio n , w e should m en tio n lik e ( c f 9.4) w h ic h h a s th e

tw o sen ses o f ‘resem b lin g in a p p e ara n c e ’ in [19] a n d ‘resem b lan ce in c h a ra c te r' in [20]:
T h e m a n l ik e J o h n is o v e r th ere. ( 19j
A m a n l i k e J o h n w ould n ev er d o th at. [20]
T h e c h o ic e b e tw e e n th e o f -c o n s tru c tio n and th e g e n itive

c o n s tru c tio n
I n m a n y c a s e s th e r e is a re g u la r c o r r e s p o n d e n c e b e tw e e n a n o / p h r u s e a n d
th e g e n itiv e ( c / 5 . 1 15). C o m p a r e :
T h e s h ip h a s a fu n n e l. 11 is red .
~ T h e s h ip h as a red fu n n e l.
~ 'I'hc ship's fu n n el is re d . b 'c n il i ve c o n s tn ie lio n ]
~ T h e fu n n e l o f the sh ip is re d . [ ( / c o n s tr u c tio n ]
T h e g e n i t i v e c o n s t r u c t i o n c o n s is ts o f tw o n o u n p h r a s e s : o n e a n o u n
p h r a s e m a rk e d fo r (he j'.en iliv e case b y in f le c tio n ; th e o th e r a s u c c e e d in g a n d
s u p e r o r d in n le n o u n p h ra s e u n m a r k e d for c a s e in w h ic h llte g e n itiv e n o u n
p h r a s e is e m b e d d e d w ith a d e te r m in a tiv e fu n c tio n ( c / 5 . 121). ‘D e te r m in a tiv e ’
f u n c tio n m e a n s th a t th e g e n itiv e n o u n p h r a s e fu n c tio n s lik e a d e fin ite
d e te r m in e r : it p la y s a ro le in th e s u p e r o r d in a te n o u n p h r a s e e q u iv a le n t to
t h a t o f a d e te r m in e r su c h a s th e o r o u r ( c f 5.11 f f ) :
th e 'I
our > p o p u la tio n
th e c ity ’s J
I n th e 07-CONSTRUCTION, w h ic h is o fte n e q u iv a le n t in m e a n in g to th e
g e n itiv e c o n s tr u c tio n , th e s u p e r o r d in a te n o u n p h r a s e p re c e d e s a n o u n p h r a s e
in tr o d u c e d b y of. T h e g e n itiv e p h r a s e a n d th e c / p h r a s e th u s o c c u r in d iff e r e n t
o r d e r in th e tw o c o n s tr u c t io n s :
f [[the c ity ’s ] p o p u la tio n ] [N H r N 2]

| [ t h e p o p u la tio n [ o f th e city]] [ N 2 o / N 1]
I n e a c h c o n s tr u c tio n , th e tw o n o u n p h ra s e s m a y b e e x p a n d e d b y m o d ifie rs,

e g:
( [[th e la rg e c ity ’s] g ro w in g p o p u la tio n ]

[[ th e g ro w in g p o p u la tio n [o f th e la rg e c ity]]
H o w e v e r , th e g r a m m a tic a l s ta tu s o f th e g e n itiv e n o u n p h r a s e is d iff e r e n t

fr o m t h a t o f th e o / p h r a s e in t h a t th e fo r m e r h a s th e fu n c tio n o f a d e fin ite
d e te r m in a tiv e , w h e re a s th e s e c o n d h a s th e fu n c tio n o f a p o s tm o d ifie r w ith
th e s u p e r o r d in a te n o u n p h r a s e e ith e r d e fin ite o r in d e fin ite . T h u s , [1] sh o w s
d ir e c t c o rre s p o n d e n c e w ith [ la ] ; [2] c o r r e s p o n d s to [2 a ]; [3] h a s n o
c o r r e s p o n d e n c e w ith a g e n itiv e c o n s tr u c t io n :
th e f u n n e l o f th e s h ip [1] ~ th e s h ip ’s fu n n e l [ la ]
th e fu n n e l o f a s h ip [2] ~ a s h ip ’s fu n n e l [2 a]
a fu n n e l o f th e s h ip [3]
M o re d is tin c tio n s c a n b e m a d e in p o s t- th a n p r e m o d if ic a tio n g e n e r a lly , a n d

th is , as w e c a n see h e re , is tr u e a lso fo r th e ( /c o n s t r u c t i o n .
T h e o n ly ty p e o f g e n itiv e w h e re in d e fin ite re fe re n c e is p e r m itte d is th e
‘p o s t- g e n itiv e ’, w h e re th e g e n itiv e a n d ( / c o n s t r u c t i o n s a r e c o m b in e d
( c f 1 7 .46):
a f r ie n d o f m y b ro th er’s
N o te th a t th e fu n c tio n o f th e g e n itiv e is n o t d e te r m in a tiv e in tw o u s e s :

d e s c r ip tiv e g e n itiv e , eg: a g ir l’s sch o o l ( c f 5 .1 2 2 , 17.110) a n d g e n itiv e o f
m e a s u re , eg: a n h o u r’s d e la y ( c / 5 . 1 16).
P o s tm o d ific a tio n b y p ro p o n itio riu l p h ra s e s 1277
W e w ill n o w d is c u s s o th e r fa c to rs w h ic h in flu e n c e th e c h o ic e of
c o n s tr u c t io n :
(a) Lexica! f a ct o r s ( 17. 39)
( b ) R e l a t i o n a l f a c t o r s ( 1 7 .4 0 )
(c) O b je c tiv e a n d s u b je c tiv e re la tio n (1 7 .4 1 -4 3 )
( d ) S y n t a c t i c f a c t o r s ( 1 7 .4 4 )
(c) ( 'o i n i n i m i c a l i v c f a c t o r s (17/15)
(a) L e x ic a l fa c to rs
17.39 A s w e h a v e s ee n in 5 .1 1 7 , th e g e n itiv e is fa v o u re d b y th o s e g e n d e r c la ss e s
w h ic h a re h ig h e s t o n th e g e n d e r sca le , in p a r tic u la r w h e re N 1 is a p e r s o n a l
n a m e , a p e rs o n a l n o u n , a n d a n o u n w ith p e rso n al c h a r a c te r is tic s , ie a n im a l
n o u n s a n d c o lle c tiv e n o u n s :
A n n 's c a r a- * th e c a r o f A n n
the la d y ’s ca r •+• * ? th e ca r o f th e la d y
the d o g ’s c o lla r a- ? th e co lla r o f the dog
the fa m ily ’s c a r a- ?th e c a r o f the fa m ily
W ith in a n im a te , in p a r tic u la r c o n c re te , n o u n s, th e o/: c o n s tr u c tio n is n o r m a lly

r e q u ir e d :
th e ro o f o f th is h o u se a- V t h i s house's ro o f
T h e r e is, h o w e v e r, a g r o u p o f in a n im a te n o u n s w h ic h p e r m it th e g e n itiv e ,
e sp e c ia lly g e o g ra p h ic a l n o u n s a n d n o u n s d e n o tin g lo c a tio n a n d tim e
( c f 5.118), eg:
C h in a ’s p o p u la tio n ~ th e p o p u la tio n o f C hina

the w orld's e c o n o m y ~ th e e co n o m y o f the w orld
last y e a r's p ro f it ~ th e p ro fit fo r fa st y e a r
W h a t h a s b e e n s a id so f a r a b o u t lex ical fa c to rs re la te s to g e n d e r in th e
d e te r m in a tiv e n o u n ( N l ) . S p e c ific le x ical n o u n h e a d s (N 2 ) lik e e d g e, le n g th ,
e tc a lso in flu e n c e th e c h o ic e o f c o n s tr u c tio n ( t/ 5 .1 2 0 ) . T h e ‘p e r s o n a l
c o n n e c tio n ’ o f th e g e n itiv e c a n be s ee n in a scale lik e th e fo llo w in g w h e re ,
w ith o u t p re v io u s m e n tio n , N 2 n o u n s th a t h a v e th e c lo se s t r e la tio n to th e
p e o p le o f th e c o u n try a r e m o s t lik e ly to be a c c e p ta b le in th e g e n i t i v e :
* C h in a ’s m a p th e m ap o f C h in a
J C h in a ’s c lim a te th e clim a te o f C h in a
( ? ) C h in a ’s roads th e roads o f C h in a
C h i n a ’s eco n o m y th e econom y o f C h in a
N o te W h ereas th e ca r o f th e l a d y is u n a c c e p ta b le w hen unm odified, it b eco m es a c c e p ta b le w h e n th ere

isp o stm o d iftc a tio n o f th e w h o le n o u n p h rase, o r p a rt o f it { c f 17.44). C o m p a re :
* "!thc c a r o f th e la d y.
H e c rash ed in to ] th e c a r o f th e la d y in f r o n t o f him .
th e c a r o f th e g ir l he h o p e d to m a n y .
(b ) R e la tio n a l f a c to rs
1 7 .4 0 T h e re la tio n b e tw e e n th e tw o n o u n s, a s d e sc rib e d b y m e a n s o f s e n te n tia l a n d
p h r a s a l a n a lo g u e s in 5 .1 1 6 , is a p o w e rfu l c o n d itio n in g f a c to r in th e c h o ic e o f
1278 T h e n o u n p h ro s o
c o n s tr u c tio n . I n p a r tic u la r , p a r titiv e c o n s tr u c tio n s o f th e q u a n tita tiv e a n d

q u a lita tiv e ty p e s n e v e r h a v e a g e n itiv e v a ria n t:
a g lass o f w a te r •+■*a w ater's g lass

th is k in d o f resea rch -S'* th is research's k in d
(c) O b jectiv e an d s u b jectiv e re la tio n

17.41 T h e v a ria b le ‘d ir e c tio n ’ o f p r e d ic a tio n s w h ic h c o rre s p o n d to n o u n p h ra s e s
p o s tm o d ific d b y q / c o n tr ih u tc s g re a tly to th e c o m p le x ity o f th e s e e x p re ss io n s
a n d h a s a b e a r in g o n th e c o rre s p o n d e n c e w ith th e g e n itiv e . II' w c look a t it in
th is w ay , w e h a v e le f t- to - r ig h t p re d ic a tio n in th e fo llo w in g :
th e im p r is o n m e n t o f th e m u r d e r e r
~ (S o m e o n e ) im p r is o n e d th e m u rd e re r. [I ]
a w o m a n o f c o u ra g e
~ T h e w o m a n h a s c o u ra g e . [2]
W e h a v e rig h t-to -le ft p r e d ic a tio n i n :
th e a r r iv a l o f th e t r a i n ! , . . , ,,,
, , . , . , \ ~ T h e tr a m a rriv e d . 13]
th e tr a in s a r r iv a l J
th e fu n n e l o f th e s h ip ~ T h e sh ip h as a fu n n e l. [4]
W ith th e le ft- to -rig h t e x a m p le s [1] a n d [2], it see m s re a s o n a b le to a ss u m e a

v e r b - o b je c t r e la tio n s h ip ; s im ila rly , th e rig h t-to -le ft e x a m p le s [3] a n d [4] sh o w
a s u b je c t- v e r b re la tio n s h ip . T h e s e re la tio n s a re m o r e o b v io u s in [1] a n d [3],
w h e re th e h e a d s a r e d e v e r b a l n o u n s , th a n in [2] a n d [4], w h e re th e
p r e d ic a tio n a l r e la tio n s h ip is c o v e r t o r im p lic it. W h e n th e g e n itiv e o r of-
c o n s tr u c tio n h a s th e r e la tio n in [ 1 ] , w e sh a ll c a ll it o b j e c t i v e ; w h e n th e
r e la tio n s h ip is lik e t h a t i n [3], w e sh a ll c all it s u b j e c t i v e .
W ith th e o b je c tiv e re la tio n , u se o f a p r e m o d if y in g g e n itiv e ‘o b je c t’ is
r a th e r u n c o m m o n a n d u n n a tu r a l, a s c o m p a re d w ith th e o / p h r a s e , e x c e p t
w h e re t h e h e a d is a d e v e r b a l n o u n . T h u s :
the im p riso n m e n t o f th e m u rd e rer ~ the m u rd e re r’s im p riso n m en t
B u t th e r e is n o 's g e n itiv e c o rre s p o n d in g to th e fo llo w in g :
a w om an o f co u ra g e [ b u t n o t; * courage's wom an]

~ T h e w o m a n h a s c o u ra g e .
th e love o fp o w e r [b u t n o t : *pow er's love]
~ (S o m e o n e ) lo v e s p o w e r.
rem iniscences o f th e w a r [b u t n o t : *the w ar's rem iniscences]
~ ( S o m e o n e ) rem e m b ers the war.
m en o f scien ce [ b u t n o t : *scien ce’s men]
~ M e n (s tu d y ) sc ie n c e .
17 .42 B y c o n tr a s t, fu ll c o r r e s p o n d e n c e b e tw e e n th e s u b je c tiv e o f- p h r a s e a n d th e
g e n itiv e is c o m m o n w ith m o s t ty p e s o f h e a d , irr e s p e c tiv e o f w h e th e r th e
s u b je c t- p r e d ic a te r e la tio n is o v e r t o r n o t :
th e a r r iv a l o f th e tr a in
~ th e t r a i n ’s a r r iv a l II]
P o fttrn m H firJilio n l»y p ro p o 'iltio n ftl p h rn s u s 1774
th e a c tiv ity o f th e s tu d e n ts
~ th e s tu d e n ts ' a c tiv ity ['T h e .stu d en ts a rc a c tiv e .'] [2]
th e W a r R e q u ie m o f/b y B ritten
~ B r itte n ’s W ar R eq u iem ['B r itte n c o m p o se d th e W ar R e q u ie m .'] [3]
T h is is e a s y e n o u g h to u n d e rs ta n d in re la tio n to [2 J a n d [3], w h e re th e 's u b j e c t '

is th e ty p e o f n o u n (‘a n im a te , e sp e c ia lly p e rs o n a l'} th a t re a d ily a d m its th e
g e n itiv e ( c / 5 . 1 1 7 / ) . F o r [1] an d o th e r su c h e x a m p le s , th e « /: p h r a s c m a y
a c q u ir e , b y im p lic a tio n , so m e p ro p e rtie s o f a n im a tc n c s s th ro u g h t h e v e ry
fa c t th a t th e n o u n in q u e stio n h as a su b je c t fu n c tio n .
N e v e r th e le s s , th e r e a re so m e s u b je c t c o n s tr u c tio n s w h e re r e p la c e m e n t b y
g e n itiv e is im p o s sib le . F o r e x a m p le :
th e jo y o f h is re tu rn [bur not: * h is r e tu r n 's jo y ] [ 'H is re tu rn

g iv e s j o y .’] [4]
a n a n g e l o f a g irl [but n o t : * th e /* a g irl's an g el] ['T h e g irl is a n
a n g e l .’; e /1 7 .4 7 ] [5]
T h is c o n s tr a i n t is m a rk e d b y o th e r re s tric te d a n d s p e c ia l fe a tu re s in th e s e
e x a m p le s , n o t le a s t th e p ro p e rty ‘in d e fin ite n e s s ' in re s p e c t o f th e h e a d n o u n ,
w h ic h is r e le v a n t a lso i n :
a n o p e r a o f V e r d i’s [‘V e rd i c o m p o se d th is o p e ra - a n d o th e rs '] [6]
H e re , h o w e v e r , th e r e is n o b lo c k in g o f a d ir e c t c o rre s p o n d e n c e w i t h th e
g e n itiv e {one o f V erdi's operas). W e sh a ll r e tu r n t o th is e x a m p le in 17.46.
1 7 .43 B ro a d ly s p e a k in g , th e o b je c tiv e re la tio n is u su ally e x p re ss e d w ith th e o f-

c o n s tr u c tio n , a n d th e su b je c tiv e r e la tio n w ith e ith e r th e q /;c o n s tr u c tio n o r
th e g e n itiv e . W h e r e th e im p lic it v e rb is in tr a n s itiv e , eg: arrive in th e a r riv a l
o f th e tr a in , th e r e c a n b e n o d ifficu lty in in te r p r e tin g th e o f- p h r a s e a s
s u b je c tiv e . B u t p ro b le m s c a n a ris e w h e re th e v e rb is o n e th a t c a n b e u s e d
e ith e r tr a n s itiv e ly o r in tr a n s itiv e ly , eg: s h o o t , a s in th e sho o tin g o f th e rebels.
T h e a m b ig u ity in su ch p h ra s e s (‘X s h o o ts th e r e b e ls ' o r ‘T h e re b e ls w e re
s h o o tin g ’) is u s u ally re s o lv ed by th e c o n te x t. T h e fo llo w in g s e n te n c e in a
n e w s p a p e r , h o w e v e r , is a m b ig u o u s :
T h e re m in is c e n c e s o f th e P r im e M in is te r w e re v e ry a m u sin g . [1]
T h e r e p o r t d id n o t e x p la in w h e th e r it w a s th e P r im e M in is te r w h o h a d b e e n
re m in is c in g o r w h e th e r s o m eo n e h a d b e e n re m in is c in g ab o u t th e P r im e
M in is te r .
B u t in g e n e r a l it see m s th a t, w h e re a n o /; p h r a s e c a n b e in te r p r e te d a s
o b je c tiv e , i t w ill b e so in te r p r e te d u n le ss th e r e is a c o u n te r - in d ic a tio n . T h u s
[2] a n d [3] w ill te n d p rim a r ily to s u g g est th a t so m e o n e is e x a m in in g t h e
f ir e m a n o r s c r u tin iz in g th e te n a n t s :
th e e x a m in a ti o n o f th e fire m a n [2]
th e s c r u tin y o f th e te n a n ts [3]
H o w e v e r , th e c o n v e rse w o u ld be p e rfe c tly re a s o n a b le , a n d in d e e d p r e f e r a b le

w ith c e r ta in le x ic a l ite m s, a s in [4]:
th e ex a m in a tio n o f the experts [4]

C o r re s p o n d in g ly , th e g e n itiv e c o n s tr u c tio n w ill p ro b a b ly b e in te r p r e te d as

suh jccT iv c in th e a b s e n c e o f a c o u n te r - in d ic a tio n , as in [2 a | a n d [3a]:
th e fir e m a n 's e x a m in a tio n |2 a ]

th e t e n a n t s ’ s c r u tin y [3a]
B u t a le x ic a l c o u n te r-in d ic a tio n v ery e a s ily s w in g s in te r p r e ta tio n in th e o th e r

d ir e c tio n , a s in [5]:
th e s tu d e n t’s e x a m in a tio n [5]
A c le a r in d ic a tio n o f th e r e la tio n s h ip s in th e g e n itiv e c o n s tr u c tio n is

a c h ie v e d b y a d d in g a p r e p o s itio n a l p h r a s e b e g in n in g w ith o f ( a f te r a
c o n s tr u c tio n o f s u b je c tiv e re la tio n s h ip ) a n d o n e b e g in n in g w ith b y ( a f te r a
c o n s tr u c tio n o f o b je c tiv e re la tio n s h ip ). S u c h p o s tm o d ifie rs o v e rru le a n y
le x ic a l p re s s u re in th e d ire c tio n o f a p a r tic u la r in te r p r e ta tio n :
th e m a n ’s e x a m in a tio n o f th e s tu d e n t [S V O ] [6]
th e m a n ’s e x a m in a tio n b y th e d o c to r [O V S] [6a]
th e t e n a n t s ’ s c r u tin y o f th e la n d lo r d [S V O ] [7]
th e t e n a n ts ’ s c ru tin y b y th e la n d lo r d [O V S] [7a]
H e re , w e a r e d e a lin g w ith tr a n s itiv e ‘v e r b s ’ w h ic h c a n to le ra te d e le tio n o f

t h e ir o b je c ts m o re easily th a n o th e r v e rb s . T h e v e rb p o sse ss w o u ld s c a rc e ly
y ie ld a n o u n p h r a s e in w h ic h th e s u b je c t c o u ld b e e x p re ss e d w ith o u t th e
o b je c t:
'’T h e m a n ’s possession w o rrie d m e . [8]

’’T h e p ossession o f the m a n w o rrie d m e . [8a]
I f w e k n e w (fro m th e c o n te x t) th a t th e m a n w a s s u b je c t, w e w o u ld b e in c lin e d
to a s k ‘W h a t d o e s h e p o s se ss ? ’ a s a c o n d itio n o f try in g to a s s im ila te e ith e r o f
th e s e s e n te n c e s . C o n t r a s t :
T h e p ills c a m e in to th e p o ssessio n o f so m e children. [‘S o m e c h ild r e n

p o sse ss p ills .’] [9]
S o m e c h ild re n c a m e in to p o ssessio n o f the pills. [9a]
E n g lis h .s p e a k e r s w o u ld b e in c lin e d n o t to in te r p r e t th e ita lic iz e d p o r tio n o f

[9] a s a n o u n p h r a s e b e c a u s e th e r e w o u ld n o t b e a s e n te n c e h a v in g it as
s u b je c t a n d p re s e r v in g th e s u b je c t- r e la tio n in th e o /:p h r a s e :
* T h e p o s se ss io n o f s o m e c h ild r e n w o u ld b e d a n g e ro u s.
T h e a n a lo g o u s p o r tio n o f [9a] w o u ld b e m o re re a d ily re g a rd e d a s a u n it w ith

n o u n - p h r a s e s tr u c tu r e :
P o s se s sio n o f th e p ills w o u ld b e d a n g e ro u s.
I n b o th [9] a n d [9a], h o w e v e r, (th e )p o sse ssio n see m s to e n te r in to c o n s tr u c tio n

w ith ca m e (into) r a th e r th a n w ith th e s u b s e q u e n t p a r t o f e a c h s e n te n c e :
c o m p a r e th e c o n s tr u c tio n ta k e a r e s t a n d th e p h r a s a l v e r b ty p e ta k e a d v a n ta g e
o f ( c f 16.58).
T h e s u b je c tiv e re la tio n is in d ic a te d b y th e a rtic le (th e c h a rg e /c o n tro l o f ) in
th e fo llo w in g o /-c o n s tru c tio n [10], w h ic h h a s a g e n itiv e a lte r n a tiv e [1 0 a]:
P o s tm o d if ic a tio n b y p re p o s itio n a l p h ra s e s 1281
[ 10]
T h e c h ild r e n n rc in
11 Oil]
T h e o b je c tiv e re la tio n , h o w e v e r, c a n n o t b e e x p re ss e d by th e g e n itiv e w it h o u t

c h a n g e o f w o rd o r d e r [11a], a n d th e ^ c o n s t r u c t i o n re q u ire s th e c o m p le x
p re p o s itio n in ch a rg e o f w ith o u t a r tic le [11]:
[11]
[H a ]
N o te In n o u n s w ith reg u lar p lu ral, th e fo rm al d istin ctio n in w riting betw een th e g e n itiv e p lu r a l (b o y s '),
th e g en itiv e s in g u la r (b o y 's), a n d also th e co m m o n gen d er plural (b o y s) d o es not e x is t in th e
p ro n u n cia tio n /boiz/ ( c / 5 . 113). In o rd e r to preclu d e am biguity, th e use o f th e g e n itiv e o f n o u n s
w ith reg u lar p lu ral te n d s to b e a v o id ed in sp eech , unless th e n u m b er a p p e a rs from t h e c o n te x t
(th e tw o b o y s ' te a c h e r , etc). H o w ev er, th ere is no p ro b lem with irreg u lar p lu ra ls: th e c h i l d r e n ’s
teacher.
(d ) S y n ta c tic f a c to rs
17.44 W e h a v e s a id t h a t n o u n p h r a s e s m a y be in d e fin ite ly c o m p le x ( c f 1 7 .1 ). S in c e
b o th th e g e n itiv e a n d o /c o n s t r u c tio n c o n s is t o f tw o n o u n p h ra s e s e a c h o f
w h ic h , a t le a st th e o re tic a lly , a d m its in d e fin ite e x p a n s io n , th e m in im a l
s tru c tu re s [1] a n d [ la ] m a y b e e x p a n d e d to , fo r e x am p le, [2] a n d [2a]:
h is d a u g h te r ’s a rriv a l [1]
~ th e a r r iv a l o f h is d a u g h te r [la ]
h is 1 9 -y ear-o ld d a u g h te r ’s a r r iv a l fro m H a m b u rg [ 2]
~ th e a r r iv a l fr o m H a m b u r g o f h is 1 9-year-old d a u g h te r [2 a]
T h e re a re so m e ty p e s o f e x p a n s io n o f n o u n -p h r a s e h e a d s th a t a r e o f p a r t i c u l a r
in te re s t to th e p r e s e n t d is c u s s io n : le f t- b r a n c h in g s tru c tu re b y p r e m o d if ic a tio n ,
a n d r ig h t- b r a n c h in g s tr u c tu r e b y p o s tm o d ific a tio n , a p p o s itio n , a n d c o o r d i
n a tio n ( c /1 7 .1 2 1 /) .
H e a v y re s tric tiv e p o s tm o d ific a tio n o f th e h e a d o f th e n o u n p h r a s e
c o n s tr a in s t h e c h o ic e o f th e ( / c o n s t r u c t i o n , eg:
th e a r r iv a l o f a f r ie n d w h ic h h a d b e e n e x p e c te d fo r s e v e ra l w e e k s [3]
I n su ch c ases, th e p o s tm o d ific a tio n o f th e h e a d is lik c iy to b e u n d e r s to o d a s

th e a r r iv a l o f a f r ie n d , w h ic h . . .
W ith r e s tr ic tiv e m o d if ic a tio n , th e g e n itiv e is c o m p u lso ry o r g re a tly p r e f e r r e d ,

in o rd e r to a v o id a w k w a r d n e s s , d is c o n tin u ity , o r a m b ig u ity :
a f r ie n d ’s a r r iv a l w h ic h h a d b e e n e x p e c te d fo r s ev e ra l w e e k s [3a]
T h e c h o ic e o f c o n s tr u c tio n is th e c o n v e rse w h e n th e o th e r n o u n p h r a s e is
p o s tm o d ifie d , in w h ic h c a s e th e ( /- c o n s tr u c tio n is th e n a tu r a l c h o ic e :
th e a rriv a l o f a fric m l w in) b a d b e e n s tu d y in g fo r a y e a r a t a

G e r m a n u n iv e r s ity (4)
*a M e n d 's a r r iv a l w h o h a d b e e n s tu d y in g fo r a y e a r a t a G e r m a n
u n iv e rs ity [4a]
S u c h ‘s p lit g e n itiv e s ’ a s in [4a] a r e n o t a c c e p ta b le . I n s o m e c a s e s , th e ‘g ro u p

g e n itiv e ' c a n be u s e d , in w h ic h th e g e n itiv e m a r k e r is affix ed to th e la s t ite m
o f th e p o s tm o d ific a tio n , in p a r tic u la r p re p o s itio n a l p h r a s e s ( c / 1 7 . 119), as in
[5]:
th e K in g o f S p a in ’s a r m a d a [5]
* th e K in g ’s o f S p a in a r m a d a [5a]
G e n itiv e s a f te r p o s tm o d ific a tio n b y fin ite c la u se , a s in [6], w o u ld n o t b e

n o rm a lly a c c e p ta b le , b u t c o u ld w ell o c c u r a n d b e u n d e rs to o d in a c o llo q u ia l
c o n te x t:
* ? th e la d y I m e t i n th e s h o p ’s h a t [6]
T h e sa m e p r in c ip le s t h a t h a v e b e en illu s tra te d fo r p o s tm o d ific a tio n a lso

h o ld fo r o th e r h e a v y r ig h t- b r a n c h in g s tru c tu re s lik e a p p o s itio n a n d
c o o rd in a tio n . T h u s , w h e n th e d e te r m in a tiv e n o u n h e a d is c o o r d in a te [7] o r
h a s a p p o s itiv e e x p a n s io n [8], th e g e n itiv e c o n s tr u c tio n is o f te n im p o s s ib le :
th e a r r iv a l o f h is d a u g h te r a n d h is G e r m a n f r i e n d ) ,y,
?* h is d a u g h te r 's a n d h is G e r m a n fr ie n d 's a r r iv a l J
th e a r r iv a l o f h is d a u g h te r , a s tu d e n t o f G e r m a n )
* h is d a u g h te r ’s, a s tu d e n t o f G e r m a n , a r r iv a l j
(e) C o m m u n icativ e f a c to r s
17.45 T h e c h o ic e b e tw e e n th e g e n itiv e a n d th e © /-c o n stru c tio n is a lso c o n d itio n e d
b y th e lin e a r o r g a n iz a tio n o f u tte r a n c e s in d is c o u r s e , in p a r tic u la r f a c to rs
(su c h a s e n d -fo c u s a n d e n d -w e ig h t, c / 1 8 . 3 / ) t h a t e n c o u r a g e th e p la c in g o f
m o re c o m p le x a n d c o m m u n ic a tiv e ly m o re im p o r ta n t c o n s titu e n ts to w a rd s
th e e n d o f th e s u p e r o r d in a te n o u n p h r a s e . T h e g e n itiv e ( N H r N 2 ) is g e n e ra lly
fa v o u re d w h e n N 2 h a s a h ig h e r c o m m u n ic a tiv e v a lu e t h a n d o e s N 1 (e x a m p le
[1]), w h e re a s th e © /-c o n stru c tio n (N 2 o / N l ) is p r e f e r r e d w h e n th e th e m a tic
d is tr ib u tio n is th e re v e r s e (e x a m p le [2]):
T h e s p e a k e r s a id th a t, a m o n g th e g lo b a l p ro b le m s t h a t fa c e us
n o w , th e c h ie f o n e is th e w o rld ’s econom y. [e c o n o m y is in fo c u s ] [1]
H e w e n t o n t o s a y , h o w e v e r , t h a t in o rd e r to s u c c e e d w e m u s t first
ta c k le th e e co n o m y o f th e in d u stria lize d n a tio n s , w h ic h is th e
b a sis f o r th e s o u n d e co n o m y o f th e w orld. [ w orld is in fo c u s] [2]
W e h a v e s e e n t h a t th e r e a r e a n u m b e r o f f a c to rs w h ic h , sin g ly o r in
c o m b in a tio n , in flu e n c e th e c h o ic e o f th e © /c o n s tr u c tio n . T h e m o s t s e v e re
c o n s tr a in ts o n v a r ia tio n se e m to b e (i) th e le x ic a l c o n s tr a i n t im p o s e d b y th e
c h o ic e o f in a n im a te , e sp e c ia lly c o n c r e te , n o u n ( N l ) ; a n d (ii) th e u se o f th e
c o n s tr u c tio n to e x p re s s a n o b je c tiv e re la tio n . I n b o th th e s e c a s e s, th e of-
c o n s tr u c tio n is o b lig a to r y o r w id e ly p re fe rr e d .
Po slm oclif ic a lio n b y p re p o s itio n a l p h ra s e s 1283
The 'post-genitive'
17.46 W e m ay r e tu r n n o w lo e x a m p le [6] in 17.42 a n d c o n s id e r Ih c p e c u lia r itie s o f
th is ‘p o s t- g e n itiv e ’ u s a g e (c /5 .1 2 6 ). It w ill b e o b s e r v e d t h a t th e p o s tm o d ilie r
m u st be d e fin ite a n d h u m a n :
a n o p e r a o f V erd i's B U T n o t : * an o p e r a o f a com poser's

a n o p e r a o f m y f r ie n d ’s b u t n o t : *a fu n n e l o f the s h ip ’s
T h e re a re c o n d itio n s t h a t also affect th e h e a d o f th e w h o le n o u n p h r a s e . T h e

h e ad m u s t h e e s s e n tia lly in d e fin ite : (rial is, Ih c h e a d m u s t b e seen u s o n e o f
a n u n s p e c ifie d n u m b e r o f ite m s a ttrib u te d to th e p o s tm o d ilie r. T h u s IJ --3J b u t
n o t [4]:
A fr ie n d o f th e d o c to r 's h as a rriv e d . [ 1i
A d a u g h te r o f M rs B ro w n ’s h a s a rriv e d . [2]
A n y d a u g h te r o f M rs B ro w n 's is w elco m e. [3]
* T h e d a u g h te r o f M rs B ro w n ’s h a s a rriv e d . [4]
A s a c o n s e q u e n c e o f th e c o n d itio n th a t th e h e a d m u s t b e in d e fin ite , t h e h e a d

c a n n o t b e a p r o p e r n o u n [ c f 5.60 f f ) . T h u s w h ile w e h a v e [5], w e c a n n o t h a v e
[6] a n d [7]:
M r s B r o w n ’s M a r y [5]
* M a r y o f M r s B ro w n [6]
* M a r y o f M r s B r o w n ’s [7]
T h e p o s t- g e n itiv e th u s in v o lv e s a p a r titiv e a s o n e o f its c o m p o n e n ts . T h e tw o

c o n s tr u c tio n s a fr ie n d o f h is fa th e r 's a n d on e o f h is fa th e r 's fr ie n d s a r e u su ally
id e n tic a l in m e a n in g . O n e d ifferen c e , h o w e v e r, is t h a t th e f o r m e r c o n s tr u c tio n
m a y b e u s e d w h e th e r h is fa th e r h a d o n e o r m o re fr ie n d s , w h e re a s th e la tte r
n e c e s sa rily e n ta ils m o re th a n o n e frien d . T h u s :
M rs B r o w n ’s d a u g h te r [8]
M rs B r o w n ’s d a u g h te r M a r y [9]
M a r y , ( th e ) d a u g h te r o f M rs B ro w n [10]
M a r y , a d a u g h te r o f M rs B ro w n ’s [11]
[8] im p lie s ‘s o le d a u g h t e r ’, w h e re a s [9] a n d [10] c a r r y n o s u c h im p lic a tio n ;

[ I I ] e n ta ils ‘n o t so le d a u g h te r ’.
S in c e th e r e is o n ly o n e c o m p o sitio n c a lle d th e W a r R e q u ie m b y B r itte n , w e
h a v e [12] b u t n o t [13] o r [14]:
T h e W a r R e q u ie m o f/b y B ritte n (is a s p le n d id w o rk .) [12]

* T h e W a r R e q u ie m o f B ritte n 's [13]
* O n e o f B r itte n 's W a r R eq u iem s [14]
Y e t, w e a r e a b le , in a p p a r e n t d e fia n c e o f th is s ta te m e n t, to u se d e m o n
s tra tiv e s a s fo llo w s :
t h a t w ife o f m in e [15]
th is W a r R e q u ie m o f B r itte n ’s [16]
I n th e se in s ta n c e s , w h ic h alw ay s p re s u p p o s e fa m ilia rity , th e d e m o n s tr a tiv e s

a re n o t b e in g u s e d in a d ire c tly d e fin in g ro le ; r a th e r , o n e m ig h t t h in k o f th e m
as a llo w in g us to see w ife a n d W a r R e q u ie m a s a p p o s itio n a l, as m e m b e r s o f a
c l a s s o f o b j e c t s : ‘T h i s i n s t a n c e o f B r i t t e n 's w o r k s , n a m e l y , W a r R e q u ie m '.
l iv e n w h e r e m o r e I lia n lin e o b je c t e x is ts c o r r e s p o n d in g to t h e n o u n , t h e p o s t-
g e n itiv e p h r a s e p r e c e d e d b y th is s h o u l d b e r e g a r d e d a s h a v in g , a g e n e r ic
p a r t i t i v e , eg'.
th i s h a n d o f m i n e [17]
llx a m p le [1 7 ] s h o u ld h e iiilc r p r e le d n o t a s ‘t h i s o n e o f m y ( Iw o ) h a n d s ' b u t

r a t h e r a s ‘t h i s p a r t o f m y b o d y t h a t 1 c a l l " h a n d ' '
N o te [a] So to o , w h en a d a u g h te r o f M r s liro w n 's I 11 J is a lre a d y estab lish ed in th e lin g u istic c o n tex t, tve
co u ld refe r to th e lth a t d a u g h te r o f M r s B r o w n s ( th a t 1 m e n tio n e d ).
[b] T h e use o f th is a n d th a t in such c o n stru ctio n s p arallels th eir use elsew h ere, th e fo rm er
d ire c tin g im m e d ia te a n d o ften sy m p ath etic a tte n tio n , th e la tte r o ften h a v in g a n eg ativ e o r e ven
c o n te m p tu o u s rin g : th a t son a / y o o r s i c j fi.4l).
(cj N o te th e d ifferen t m ea n in g s in the following set (<:7‘).5(1,17.34):
a p a in tin g o f m y s is te r 's ['d o n e by my siste r’ o r ‘b elo n g in g lo my sislcr'I
a p a in tin g o f m y s is te r [‘rep resen tin g m y siste r’]
a p a in tin g b y m y s is te r [‘d o n e by m y sister']
a p a in tin g o f m y s is te r h y m y bro th e r [‘rep re se n tin g m y sis te r an d d o n e by m y b r o th e r ’]
C o m p a re also:
H e ’s u s tu d e n t o f J e s p e r s e n . [‘o n e w ho studies J e s p e r s e n ‘s w r it i n g s ' [
H e w as o s t u d e n t o f J e s p e r s e n ’s. [‘one w ho s tu d ied u n d er Jesp e rse n ’]
[d] In e a rlie r E n g lish , a n a p p o sitio n al stru ctu re w as o b v io u s in such a v a ria n t o f (id s h a n d o f m in e
as th is m y h a n d . I t is a v a ria n t s till o ccasionally u sed w ith o rato ric a l to n e :
T o d a y , sadly, th e r e is n o room for h u m o u r in th is o a r c o u n tr y , [‘th is c o u n try o f o u r s ’]
A p p o s itio n w ith o f - p h ra s e s
1 7 .47 Some noun phrases have a prepositional phrase component, e g : th e c ity o f
R o m e , which is not a regular postmodifier, as in th e p eo p le o f R o m e ( c f 17.37).
Such expressions are relatable to Ae-sentences whose subjects are put into o f
phrases, when an indefinite complement is m ade definite:
Rom e is a city.
~ T he city (that I mean) is Rome.
~ the city o f R o m e
Similarly we m ight postulate such a relation as the following (c/1 7 .2 6 /):
The team ’s victory was (announced as) news.
~ The news was the team ’s victory.
~ the news o f th e te a m 's v ictory
W e have here a basis for the prepositional postmodification which
corresponds directly to the clausal appositive (on the te a m versus the tea m 's,
c f 15.12):
, f th at the team had won

e news j ^ te a m (’s) h aving won
Because of the obvious relation between, for example, T h e c ity is R o m e and

th e c ity o f R o m e , it is common to regard such noun phrases as simply
nom inalizations of fce-sentences in which the implied subject has become the
head of the noun phrase.
A special case o f prepositional apposition is offered by singular count
nouns where th e o /p h ra s e is subjective (c f \ l A \ f f ) , e g :
P o s tm o d i fic a tio n b y p re p o s itio n a l p h ra s e s 1285
th e fo o l o f a policem an [ 1]
an a ngel o f a g irl [2]
th is je w e l o f a n isla n d [3]
T h is s tr u c tu r e c o n s is tin g o f d e te r m in e r -f- n o u n (N 2 ) + o f + in d e f in ite

a rtic le +• n o u n ( N 1) is n o t a re g u la r p re p o s itio n a l p o s tm o d ific a tio n , s in c e N 1
is n o tio n a lly th e h e a d , a s c a n he s ee n in th e p a ra p h ra s e s :
j'h e policem an is a fo o l, [n o te th e A m H in fo rm a l v a ria n t .so m e /o o f
p o lic e m a n ] [la ]
T h e g irl is a n angel. [2 a]
T h is isla n d is a je w e l. [3 a]
T h e w h o le p a r t N 2 + o f + a c o rre s p o n d s to a n a d je c tiv e :
ih c fo o lis h p o lic e m a n [ I b]
a n angelic g irl [2 b ]
th is je w e l-lik e is la n d [3 b ]
T h e n a tu r a l s e g m e n ta tio n is re fle c te d in v a r ia n t sp ellin g s, a s in t h e f a m ilia r

A m E e x p re s s io n a h ell o f a g u y ( n o n s ta n d a r d s p e llin g : a hellu va g u y ).
I n th is c o n s tr u c tio n , th e d e te r m in e r o f N1 m u s t be th e in d e f in ite a r tic le ,
b u t t h e r e is n o s u c h c o n s tr a in t o n th e d e te r m in e r o f N 2 :
^ f a p o lic e m a n
th is f * t^te P ° ^ cem an
th a t} [ * p olicem an
A lso , N 2 m u s t b e s in g u la r:
I* those fo o ls o f p o lic e m e n
T h e p o s se ss iv e d e te r m in e r a c tu a lly n o tio n a lly d e te rm in e s N 1, n o t N 2:
h e r b r u te o f a brother [‘H e r b r o th e r w a s a b ru te .']
B o th N 2 a n d N 1 c a n b e p r e m o d if ie d :
a little m o th y wisp o f a m a n
th is g ig a n tic e a rth q u a k e o f a p ie c e o f m u sic
a d r e a d fu l ra g b a g o f a B ritish m u sic a l
th is c rescen t-sh a p ed je w e l o f a S o u th S e a island
R e s t r ic t iv e a n d n o n r e s tr ic tiv e p r e p o s itio n a l p o s t m o d if ic a t io n
1 7 .4 8 P r e p o s itio n a l p h r a s e s m a y b e re s tr ic tiv e o r n o n re s tric tiv e in b o th a p p o s i t i o n a l

a n d n o n a p p o s itio n a l fu n c tio n s :
T h e course on E n g lish g ra m m a r s ta r ts to m o rro w .

[ n o n a p p o s itio n a l, r e s tric tiv e ] [ 1]
T h is course, on E n g lish g r a m m a r, s ta r ts to m o rro w .
[n o n a p p o s itio n a l, n o n re s tric tiv e ] [la ]
T h e q uestion o f s tu d e n t g ra n ts w a s d is c u s s e d y e ste rd a y .
[ a p p o s itio n a l, re s tric tiv e ] [2]
T h is question, o f s tu d e n t g ra n ts, w a s d iscu ssed y e ste rd a y .
[ a p p o s itio n a l, n o n re s tric tiv e ] [2 a]
B u t w e m u s t m e n tio n s o m e lim ita tio n s : [ l a ] a n d [2 a] a re r a r e a n d r a th e r

a w k w a rd . N o n re s tric tiv e a p p o s itiv c s c o u ld e q u a lly h a v e n o p re p o s itio n , as
w ith :
T h is question, s tu d e n t g ra n ts, w a s d is c u s s e d y e ste rd a y . [2b]
O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e n o u n p h r a s e in [3] is a m b ig u o u s :
th e issue o f s tu d e n t g r a n ts [3]
It c a n e ith e r h a v e a p p o s itio n a l o r n o n a p p o s ilio n a l m e a n in g . In th e la tte r

s en se [o b je c tiv e o f. ‘S o m e o n e is su e d s tu d e n t g ra n ts '], n o n re s tric tiv e fu n c tio n
w o u ld b e ra re a n d u n n a tu r a l, p la in ly s u g g e s tin g a p a r e n th e tic a f te r th o u g h t:
t.T hc issue, o f s tu d e n t g ra n ts, w a s slow b e c a u s e th e r e w e re so m a n y

a p p lic a n ts .
S im ila r ly :
O n e m an, o f a ro u n d f o r t y y e a rs, w as c o n v ic te d o f b ig am y .
7/1 p a r ty , o f children, e n te r e d th e th e a tr e .
I T h e end, o f th e w orld, is a t h a n d .
A n a p p o s itio n a l in te r p r e ta tio n is im p o s s ib le w h e n th e p o s tm o d if ic a tio n is

c le a r ly re s tr ic tiv e :
* T h e m an, o f p ro p erty , w a s S o a m e s F o rs y te .
N o n r e s tr ic tiv e , n o n a p p o s itiv e m o d if ic a tio n is m o re u s u a l w ith o th e r

p r e p o s itio n s th a n of:
T h is te x tb o o k , b y a colleague o f m in e, w ill b e o u t sh o rtly .

T h e passage, fr o m a fa m o u s speech b y C h urchill, h a s b e c o m e p r o v e r b ia l.
By c o n tr a s t, c o m p le x p r e p o s itio n s ( c / 9 . 1 0 / ) se e m to le n d th e m s e lv e s less
re a d ily to re s tric tiv e p o s tm o d if ic a tio n :
H is re s ig n a tio n , on a c co u n t o f a b rib ery scandal, w a s d e e p ly r e g re tte d .

? H is re s ig n a tio n on a cco u n t o f a bribery s ca n d a l w a s d e e p ly re g r e tte d .
P o s itio n a n d v a r ie d f u n c ti o n a l r e la tio n s h ip
17.49 A s w ith n o n fin ite p o s tm o d ifie rs w h e n n o n re s tric tiv e , so w ith p re p o s itio n a l
p h r a s e s : th e n o n re s tr ic tiv e fu n c tio n m e rg e s w ith a d v e r b ia l e x p re s s io n s
(c /8 .4 4 ). C o m p a re [1] a n d [ la ] :
T h e c h ild re n ^ ^ ' t h e l i t s ^ e n ce 'j je e r e d a t th e s o ld ie rs. [1]
T h e c h ild re n , Je e r e d a t th e so ld ie rs. [ la ]
E x a m p le [1] m e a n s ‘T h o s e c h ild r e n w h o w e re . . e x a m p le [ l a ] m a y m e a n
‘T h e c h ild re n , w h o (b y th e w a y ) w e re . . .’ o r ‘T h e c h ild re n , n o w t h a t th e y
w e re (sa fe ly . . . ) ’ ( c f s im ila r v a c illa tio n in n o n fin ite c la u se s, 1 7 .3 4 /) . I t is
r a th e r th is la tte r im p lic a tio n t h a t b e c o m e s u p p e rm o s t i f th e p r e p o s itio n a l
p h r a s e is m o v e d in to in itia l p o s itio n , a s in [ lb ] :
P o iitm o d iJ ic a iio n b y p r o p o s iti o n s ! p h n i s o s 1207
^ 1C c h ild r c n -icercti a t d ic so *d *e r s - [ lb ]
A g a in , th e p r e p o s itio n a l p h ra s e in [2] is p o is ed b e tw e e n in te r p r e ta tio n a s

n o n re s tric tiv e p o s tm o d if ie r a n d as a d v e r b ia l:
M o n ey , in a id o f th e refugees, w as c o lle cte d fro m th e s tu d e n ts

a n d staff. [2]
In th e fo r m e r i n te r p r e ta tio n , th e m o n ey co lle cte d w a s in a id o f th e re fu g e e s ,

an d in th e la tte r , th e a c t o f c o lle ctin g m o n ey w as in a id o f th e re fu g e e s, s in c e
in th is c a s e th e a d v e r b ia l m o d ifies th e w h o le p r e d ic a tio n ju s t as it w o u ld in
in itia l p o s itio n :
In a id o f the re fu g e e s, m o n e y w as co llected . . . [2 a]
D e s p ite th e s im ila r ity in m e a n in g in th e e x a m p le s d is c u s s e d h e re , w e d o

in d e e d h a v e d if f e r e n t c o n s tr u c tio n s a n d n o t m e re ly th e a d d itio n a l p o s s ib ility
o f p la c in g a p r e p o s itio n a l p o s tm o d ifie r in fr o n t o f th e n o u n - p h r a s e h e a d .
T h is b e c o m e s c le a r w h e n it is sh o w n th a t, u n le ss a g iv e n p h r a s e c a n b e a n
a d ju n c t, it c a n n o t b e m o v e d fro m its p o s tm o d ify in g p o s itio n . F o r e x a m p le ,
th e r e s tric tiv e p o s tm o d if ic a tio n in th is leap right across th e fissu re c a n b e m a d e
n o n re s tric tiv e :
T h is le a p , r ig h t a c ro ss th e fissu re , w as sh o w n o n te le v isio n . [3]
B u t a s t h e p h r a s e c a n n o t b e a d ju n c t in th is s e n te n c e , it c a n n o t b e m a d e in itia l
[3a]:
* R ig h t across th e fis s u r e , th is leap w a s sh o w n o n te le v isio n . [3a]
1 7 .5 0 T h e r e s tr ic tio n o n in itia l p o s itio n n a tu ra lly a p p lie s a lso to ther>/:p o s tm o d if ie r s

th a t a r e a lm o s t s o lely re s tr ic tiv e :
* O f ch ild ren , a p a r ty e n te r e d th e th e a tre . [1]
B u t th e r e is a n a p p a r e n t e x c e p tio n w ith p a r titiv e e x p re s s io n s . T h u s b e s id e

[2] w e m a y th e m a tic a ll y p re p o s e th e o /-p h ra s e w ith n o o b v io u s d iff e r e n c e in
m e a n in g [2a]:
O n ly a few o f th e te n review ers p ra is e d h is p la y . [2]

O f th e te n review ers, o n ly a few p ra is e d h is p la y . [2 a]
T h is e x a m p le is m is le a d in g , h o w ev er, in g iv in g th e im p r e s s io n t h a t th e
in itia lly p la c e d p h r a s e o f [2a] is id e n tic a l w ith th e p o s tm o d if y in g p h r a s e o f
[2], T h e y a re n o t id e n tic a l, a s c a n b e s ee n w h e n w e s u b s titu te zero a r tic le ;
th is is a c c e p ta b le w h e n th e p h r a s e is in in itia l p o s itio n , a s in [3] a n d [4], b u t
n o t in p o s tm o d if ic a tio n , a s in [3a] a n d [ 4 a ]:
O fte n review ers , o n ly a few p ra is e d h is p lay . [3]

O f fo u r te e n w o m e n , te n w e re h ig h ly c ritic a l o f th e p r o p o s a l. [4]
? * O n ly a fe w o f te n review ers p ra is e d h is p lay . [3a]
'!* T e n o f fo u r te e n w o m e n w e re sin g le. [4 a]
T h e fa c t t h a t [4a] b e c o m e s a c c e p ta b le if th e p o s tm o d ify in g p h r a s e is
in tr o d u c e d b y o u t o f (a s in T en o ut o f fo u r te e n w om en , w h e r e th e p h r a s e c a n
also be in itia l) c o n firm s th a t th e in itia lly p la c e d o /: p h r a s e is fu n c tio n a lly

d ifferen t, a lth o u g h s e m a n tic a lly sim ila r lo th e p o s tm o d ify in g p h ra s e.
In o ilie r w o rd s , w e sh o u ld ic g a ril th e in itia l p re p o s itio n a l p h ra s e in s u ch
e x a m p le s a s [3] a n d [4] a s a d v e r b ia l a n d n o t a s d is p la c e d p o s tm o d ific a tio n ;
in d e e d , a s f o r a n d a s to p h ra s e s , w h e n d e n o tin g re s p e c t ( c / 9 . 57), m u s t a lw ay s
he in itia l. P e r h a p s b e tte r , w e sh o u ld see th e in itia l p h ra s e in [3] a s d ire c tly
re la te d to a n e x is te n tia l s ta te m e n t |3 b | ( c f ! HAAJ/ ):
O f te n re v ie w e r s t h a t th e r e w e re ,] , .,. . rou1
4 4 } o n ly a fe w p r a is e d h is p la y . 3b]
T h e r e w e re te n re v ie w e r s , b u t j
IM o m in a liza tio n
17.51 W e s h o u ld n o t e x a g g e r a te th e d ifferen c e b e tw e e n (a ) th e p r e p o s itio n a l p h r a s e

as a d v e r b ia l a n d (b ) th e p re p o s itio n a l p h r a s e a s p o s tm o d ifie r ( c f l l 3 1 f f ) .
T h e s e c o n d o f th e s e s h o u ld r a th e r b e r e g a rd e d a s a s p e c ia l in s ta n c e o f th e
first, d e p e n d in g f o r its in te r p r e ta tio n o n o u r a b ility to r e la te it to a s e n te n c e
in w h ic h it is a d ju n c t. I n [1], fo r in s ta n c e , b o th th e p re p o s itio n a l p h ra s e s a re
in tr o d u c e d a s a d j u n c t s :
In th e m o rn in g , a q u a r r e l b r o k e o u t o v e r p a y . [1]
I f n o w w e w is h to r e f e r a g a in to t h e q u a rre l, w e m a y d o so in r e la tio n to e ith e r

o f th e s e a d ju n c ts , w h ic h n o w b e c o m e p o s tm o d if ie r s :
T h e q u a r r e l in th e m o rning ru in e d th e ir f r ie n d s h ip . [ la ]
T h e q u a r r e l over p a y w a s t h e re a so n fo r h is r e s ig n a tio n . [ 1b]
T h e re la tio n o f p o s tm o d ifie r to a d ju n c t m a y b e e v e n c le a r e r if, in s te a d o f [1],

w e ta k e a s e n te n c e l ik e [Ic ]:
I n th e m o rn in g , th e y q u a rre lle d over p a y . [ 1c]
In [ 1c], q u a rre l d o e s n o t o c c u r a s a n o u n b u t a s a v e r b , to w h ic h w e a lso r e la te

[ la ] a n d [ lb ] , b u t in th is c a s e th ro u g h th e p ro c e s s o f w o rd f o r m a tio n c a lle d
c o n v e r s io n ( c f A p p 1 .4 3 $ '). C o n v e rsio n s h o u ld b e d is tin g u is h e d fr o m n o m i-
n a liz a tio n .
A n o u n p h r a s e s u c h a s th e q u a rrel over p a y in [ lb ] w h ic h h a s a s y s te m a tic
c o r r e s p o n d e n c e w ith a c la u se s tru c tu re w ill b e te r m e d a n o m i n a l i z a t i o n .
T h e n o u n h e a d o f s u c h a p h r a s e is n o rm a lly r e la te d m o rp h o lo g ic a lly to a v e rb
[2], o r to a n a d je c tiv e [3] (ie a d e v e r b a l o r d e a d je c tiv a l n o u n , c f A p p l.h A ff ) :
h is re fu sa l to h e lp ~ H e refu se s to h e lp . [2]
th e tru th o f h e r s ta t e m e n t ~ H e r s ta t e m e n t is true. [3]
B u t th e c o r r e s p o n d e n c e m a y a lso s o m e tim e s b e b a se d o n a c o n c r e te n o u n
a n d a d e n o m in a l a b s tr a c t n o u n :
h e r fr ie n d s h ip f o r C h o p in ~ S h e w a s a fr ie n d o f C h o p in . [4]
N o m in a liz a tio n 1289
B y d e s c r ib in g s u ch p h ra s e s as h a v in g a s y s te m a tic c o r r e s p o n d e n c e w ith a
c la u s e s tru c tu re , w e d o n o t w ish to im p ly th a t lo r e v ery c la u se th e r e is a
c o r r e s p o n d in g n o u n p h r a s e ; (lie cm r c s p u iu lc n c c is bcsl seen as o h lu ining, in
a less re g u la r fa s h io n , a n d as d e p e n d in g o n w h e th e r , lo r e x a m p le , th e r e is a
s u ita b le n o m in a l le x ic a liz a tio n o f th e v e rb 's m e a n in g (< /A p p 1.8f j ). T h e
c la im is, h o w e v e r, th a t we c a n m u tc h e le m e n ts o f th e n o u n p h r a s e ( h e a d ,
m o d ifie rs, d e te r m in a tiv e s ) w ith e le m e n ts o f c lau se s tru c tu re , c o n s id e r e d
s e m a n tic a lly in te rm s o f th e v e rb a n d its a ss o c ia te d p a r tic ip a n t ro le s
{ c f 10 . 1 8 / 0 o f a g e n tiv c , affe c te d , etc.
W e c a n a lso d is tin g u is h , in th e e a s e o f d c v c r b a l n o u n h e a d s , b e tw e e n
a c tiv e a n d p a ss iv e n o m in a liz a tio n p a t t e r n s :
th e c r itic s ’ h o stile reception o f th e p la y

~ T h e c r itic s received th e p la y in a h o stile m a n n e r.
[su b je c tiv e , c f \ l . A \ j f ] [5]
th e p la y ’s h o stile reception by th e c ritic s
~ T h e p la y w as received in a h o stile m a n n e r by th e c ritic s .
[o b je c tiv e , c f \ T A \ f f ] [6]
T h e t e r m n o m in a liz a tio n m a y a p p ly n o t o n ly to n o u n p h r a s e s w ith a n a b s t r a c t

n o u n h e a d , a s in [5] a n d [6] in 17.51, b u t a lso to c o n c re te n o u n p h r a s e s w ith
a n a g e n tia l n o u n h e a d (c /7 .7 3 ), as in :
S h e is a g o o d w riter. ~ S h e writes w ell. [1]

H e is a c le v e r liar. ~ H e lies c le v erly . [2]
T h e re la tio n b e tw e e n a n o m in a liz a tio n a n d a c o rre s p o n d in g c la u s e

s tr u c tu r e c a n b e m o re o r less e x p lic it, a c c o rd in g to h o w fa r th e n o m in a liz a tio n
s p e c ifie s , th r o u g h m o d ifie rs a n d d e te r m in a tiv e s , th e n o m in a l o r a d v e r b i a l
e le m e n ts o f a c o rre s p o n d in g c lau se. I n th is re s p e c t w e m a y c o m p a re [3] w ith
[3 a—f ] :
T h e re v ie w e rs c r itic iz e d h is p la y in a h o s tile m a n n e r. [3]

th e review ers' h o stile c riticizing o f h is p la y [3 a]
th e review ers' h o stile c riticism o f h is p la y [3 b ]
th e r eview ers’ criticism o f h is p la y [3c]
th e review ers’c riticism [3 d ]
th e ir criticism [3e]
th e c riticism [31]
T h e s e n o u n p h ra s e s a re o rd e re d fro m m o s t e x p lic it [3a] to le a st e x p lic it [3f],

b u t e a c h o f th e m c o u ld o c cu p y th e fu n c tio n o f a n o m in a liz a tio n as
p r e p o s itio n a l c o m p le m e n t in th e f o llo w in g :
L a n z a r o tti w as d is a p p o in te d b y . . .
T h e e x tr e m e o f in e x p lic itn e s s is re a c h e d w ith a n a b s tr a c t o r a g e n tia l n o u n

s ta n d i n g o n its o w n a s a n o u n p h r a s e :
C riticism is a lw ay s h e lp fu l. [3g]
S o m e v e r b s h a v e n o c o rre s p o n d in g d e v e r b a l n o u n : fo r e x a m p le , c o r r e
s p o n d in g to lie [‘tell u n tr u t h s ’] th e re is n o d e v e r b a l a b s tr a c t n o u n , a lth o u g h
1?90 T li o n o u n phrnno
th e r e is th e a g e n tia l n o u n liar. In s u c h c ase s, h o w e v e r, w e c a n u su ally m a k e

use o f a v e rb a l n o u n e n d in g w ith -in g ( c f A p p 1.35):
L y in g is all to o c o m m o n .
H is f i r i n g o f W i lli a m w a s a m i s t a k e .
( C o n t r a s t : H is d is m is s a l o f W i lli a m w a s a m i s t a k e .)
S o m e s u c h -in g n o u n s c a n a lso b e u s e d in th e p lu r a l:
T h e n u m b e r o f re p o rte d sig h tin g s o f U F O s sin c e 1980 is re la tiv e ly

sm all.
1 7.53 V e r b a l a n d d e v e r b a l n o u n s d iffe r in th e ir a c c e p ta n c e o f m o d if ic a tio n b y

p r e p o s itio n a l p h ra s e s . C o m p a r e th e fo llo w in g :
th e ir a r r iv in g fo r a m o n th [ la ]
? th e (ir) a r r iv a l fo r a m o n th [ lb ]
th e ir b e h a v in g w ith c o u rtesy [2a]
? th e (ir) b e h a v io u r w ith c o u rtesy [2b]
th e ir a c tin g in a n a sty m a n n er [3a]
* th e (ir) a c tio n in a n a s ty m a n n e r [3b]
th e ir c o n tr ib u tin g o u t o f k in d n e ss [4a]
* th e (ir ) c o n tr ib u tio n o u t o f k in d n e ss [4b]
I t a p p e a r s th a t a d ju n c ts r e la tin g to d u r a tio n , m a n n e r , o r c a u s e a re a w k w a r d
o r in a d m is s ib le a s p o s tm o d ifie rs . D e v e r b a l n o u n s (e s p e c ia lly fr o m p u n c tu a l
v e r b s lik e a rriv e ; c f 4 .3 3 ) m ig h t b e d e s c rib e d a s m e re r e c o rd s o f a n a c tio n
h a v in g ta k e n p la c e r a th e r th a n a s d e s c rip tio n s o f t h e a c tio n itse lf. T h u s th e
p o s tm o d ifie rs a r e th e a d ju n c ts t h a t c a n o c c u r in s e n te n c e s lik e th e fo llo w in g :
T h e y a r r iv e d on T h u rsd a y . [5]
T h e a r r iv a l to o k p la c e on T h u rsd a y . [6]
C o n tra s t:
T h e y a r r iv e d fo r a m o n th . [5a]
* T h e a r r iv a l to o k p la c e f o r a m o n th . [6a]
T h e gra d ie n ce fro m d e ve rb a l n o uns via ve rb a l n o u n s to

p a rtic ip le s
1 7 .5 4 A s w e ll as d is tin g u is h in g b e tw e e n d e v e r b a l n o u n s lik e quarrel, arrival,
b ehaviour, action, a n d con trib u tio n ( c f A p p 1.35) a n d th e c o r r e s p o n d in g v e rb a l
n o u n s in -in g (quarrelling, arriving, e tc ), w e n e e d to re c o g n iz e a c o m p le x
g r a d ie n c e , a s in th e fo llo w in g e x a m p le , fro m th e p u re c o u n t n o u n in [1], som e
p a in tin g s o f B row n's, to th e p u r e ly p a r tic ip ia l fo r m in a fin ite v e r b p h r a s e in
[14], ‘B ro w n is p a in tin g h is d a u g h te r ’ :
so m e p a in tin g s o fB r o w n ’s [[a] ‘s o m e p a in tin g s t h a t B ro w n o w n s ’;

o r [b] ‘so m e p a in tin g s p a in te d b y B ro w n ’] [1]
B ro w n ’s p a in tin g s o f h is d a u g h te r [[a] ‘p a in tin g s d e p ic tin g h is
d a u g h te r a n d p a in te d b y h im ’; o r [b] ‘p a in tin g s d e p ic tin g h is
d a u g h te r a n d p a in te d b y so m e o n e else b u t o w n e d b y h im ’] [2]
W o in in n li/ n tio n 1291
T h e p a in tin g o f B ro w n is a s sk ilfu l as th a t o f G a in s b o r o u g h , [[a]

‘B ro w n ’s m o d e o f p a in tin g ’ ; o r [b] ‘B ro w n ’s a c tio n o f p a i n t i n g ’] [3]
B row n's d e ft p a in tin g o f h is (laughter is a d e lig h t to w a tc h . [‘ It is a
d e lig h t to w a tc h w h ile B row n d e ftly p a in ts h is d a u g h te r .'] [4]
Brow n's d e ftly p a in tin g h is d a u g h te r is a d e lig h t to w u lch . [ - [ 3h ) o r
[4] in m e a n in g ] [5]
I d is lik e B ro w n 's p a in tin g his d a ughter. [‘I d is lik e e ith e r [a] th e f a c t
o r [b] th e w a y th a t B ro w n d o es it.’] [6]
I d is lik e B ro w n p a in tin g h is d a u g h te r (w h en sh e o u g h t to b e a t
sch o o l). [ = [6a]] [7]
I w a tc h e d B ro w n p a in tin g his d a u g h ter, [[a] ‘ I w a tc h e d B ro w n as h e
p a i n t e d ’; o r [b] ‘I w a tc h e d th e p ro c e ss o f B ro w n (’s) p a in tin g h is
d a u g h te r .’] [8]
B row n d e ftly p a in tin g h is d a u g h te r is a d e lig h t to w a tc h . [ = [3 b ] o r
[4]; c f 1 4 .6 # ] [9]
P a in tin g h is d a u g h te r, B ro w n n o tic e d th a t h is h a n d w a s s h a k in g .
[‘w h ile h e w a s p a i n t i n g ’; c / 5 . 1I f f ] [ 10]
B row n p a in tin g h is d a u g h te r th a t d ay , I d e c id e d to g o fo r a w alk .
[‘sin c e B ro w n w a s p a in tin g ’; c / 5 . 12#'] [11]
T h e m a n p a in tin g th e g ir l is B ro w n , [‘w h o is p a in tin g ’; c / 1 7 .28] [12]
T h e sile n tly p a in tin g m a n is B ro w n , [‘w h o is s ile n tly p a in tin g ’ ;
c f 1 7 .9 8 /] [13]
B ro w n is p a in tin g h is d a u g h te r , [ c f 4.25 f f ] [ 14]
I n [1] a n d [2] w e h a v e th e d e v e r b a l n o u n p a in tin g s w ith a p lu ra l e n d in g .

I t c o u ld b e re p la c e d b y p ic tu r e s o r p h o to s ; it is th u s a p e rfe c tly re g u la r c o n c r e t e
c o u n t n o u n , re la te d o n ly to t h e v e rb p a in t b y w o rd fo r m a tio n .
In [3] a n d [4] p a in tin g is a ls o a n o u n , a s c a n b e s ee n b y th e d e fin ite a r tic le
in [3], a n d in [4] n o t o n ly b y th e g e n itiv e c o n s tr u c tio n b u t a lso b y t h e a d je c tiv e
p re m o d if ie r d e ft (a s c o m p a r e d w ith th e a d v e r b d e ftly in [5]). Y e t p a in tin g h e re
c o u ld n o t b e r e p la c e d b y p ic tu re o r p h o to , b u t o n ly by a b s tr a c t n o u n s lik e
representation, p o r tra y a l, p o rtra itu re , depiction, etc. T h u s p a in tin g in [3] a n d [4]
is a n a b s tr a c t n o n c o u n t n o u n o f th e k in d th a t c a n b e f o r m e d fr o m v e r b s b y
a d d in g -in g a n d in s e r tin g o f b e fo re th e n o u n p h r a s e t h a t c o r r e s p o n d s to th e
s u b je c t i f th e o b je c t is n o t e x p re ss e d ( c / 1 7 .41):
th e p a in tin g o f B ro w n ~ B ro w n p a in ts .
th e w riting o f S m ith ~ S m ith w rite s.
T h is c o n s tr u c tio n c a n a ls o o c c u r b e fo re th e n o u n p h r a s e th a t c o r r e s p o n d s to
th e o b je c t, if th is is e x p r e s s e d :
their p o lish in g o f th e fu r n itu r e ~ T h e y p o lis h th e fu r n itu r e .

th e w riting o f n o v els (b y S m ith ) ~ S m ith w rite s n o v els.
F o r m s lik e p a in tin g in [3] a n d [4] a re v e r b a l n o u n s ( c f 17.51, A p p 1.3 N o te ).

I n [5] a n d [6], th e g e n itiv e B row n's is u sed , b u t in p la c e o f th e a d je c tiv e d e ft
in [4] w e h a v e th e a d v e r b d e ftly in [5]; in p la c e o f th e o / p h r a s e o f h is d a u g h te r
(in [4]), w e h a v e in [5] a n d [6] th e n o u n p h ra s e his d a u g h te r d ire c tly fo llo w in g
p a in tin g , e x a c tly a s d o e s th e o b je c t o f a fin ite v e rb p h r a s e in [ 14], T r a d i tio n a l ly
th is m ix tu r e o f n o m in a l a n d v e rb a l c h a r a c te ris tic s in th e -in g fo r m h a s b e e n
g iv en th e n a m e ‘g e r u n d ’, w h ile th e u ses o f p a in tin g in [7 -1 4 ] h a v e b e en

d is tin g u is h e d us th o s e o l'th c '■(present) p a rtic ip le '.
N ote lal W h ere n o p rcin o d ific r a p p e a rs , g e n itiv e o r o th erw ise, th e tra d itio n a l view held p a in tin g to he
‘g eru n d ', a s in [15], w h e re th e item is in a stru ctu re fu n ctio n in g n o m in ally (in this case as
su b ject); b u t it w as c o n sid ered a p articip le if th e sam e stru ctu re fu n ctio n ed ad v erb ially , a s in
I I f» j :
P a in tin g a c h ild is d iilicu ll. 115 1
P a in tin g a c h ild th a t m o rn in g , I q u ite forgot th e tim e. (. 16 j
H ow ever, no an alo g o u s categ o rial d istin c tio n w as m ad e betw een to p a in t in [17] a n d [IK):
T o p a in t a c h ild is d iilicu ll. 1171
T o p a in t a ch ild , 1 b o u g h t a new c an v as. 1181
H ere th e tra d itio n w as c o n te n t to reg ard to p a in t as a n ’in fin itiv e' in b o th .
F o r reaso n s th a t will now b e p lain , we do n o t find it useful to d istin g u ish a g e ru n d from a
p articip le, but term in o lo g ically class all th e -in g i t e m s in [ 5 14} a s P a j i t j c i p l e s . In [5 12], th e
p articip le is in each c a se th e n o n f i n it e v erb o f a non fin ite clau se, in [ 13] a prcm o d iftcr, a n d in
[14] th e h ead o f a fin ite v e rb p h rase. By av o id in g th e b in ary d istin c tio n o f geru n d an d p articip le,
we seek to rep re se n t m o re satisfacto rily th e c om plexity o r th e d ifferen t p a rticip ial ex p ressio n s as
we m ove alo n g th e g r a d ie n t to the ‘m o st v e rb a l’ e n d a t 114}.
O n e in d ic a tio n o f th e co m p lex ity o f th e ■in g form is th a t w h a t o th e rs h a v e called th e geru n d
carries in F.nglish b o th n o n m o d al m ean in g s, a s in [19], an d m o d al m ean in g s, a s in [20]:
T h e re w as n o s h o u tin g , n o m e r r y -m a k in g , no w a vin g o f fl a g s . [‘N o sh o u tin g , m erry
m ak in g , o r w a v in g o f flags to o k p lace. 'J [19]
T h e re w as no m is t a k i n g th a t s c r e a m . [‘N o o n e could m ista k e th a t scream .'] [20]
T h u s in [I9J th e -ing form c o rresp o n d s to th e L atin g eru n d , b u t in [20] lo th e L atin g eru n d iv e
w hich, u n lik e th e g e ru n d , typically m an ifests a m odal m ean in g such a s p o ssib ility o rco n tin g cn c y .
T h is lack o f co rre sp o n d e n ce b etw een th e English g e ru n d a n d th e tra d itio n a l use o f th e term c an
b e a d v an ced as a f u rth e r reaso n fo r rejectin g th e term geru n d in E n g lish .
F u rth e rm o re , th ere is p o ten tial a m b ig u ity n o t o nly alo n g th e m o d al/n o n m o d a l d im en sio n b u t
also alo n g th e (tra d itio n a l) g e ru n d /d ev erb al-n o u n d im en sio n ( c / I 5 .I 4 N o te [b]). F o r exam ple,
sen ten ce [21] c a n b e in te rp re te d in th ree w ays (21a, b, c[:
T h e r e ’s no w r itin g o n th e b lac k b o a rd to d ay . [21]
as a m odal ‘gerund* [2 1 a];
‘W e c a n 't w rite o n th e b lac k b o a rd to d ay (because w e h av e n o chalk).* [21a]
as a n o n m o d al ’g e ru n d ' [21b]:
‘ W e a re n o t g o in g to w rite o n th e b lack b o ard to d ay (since all o u r w o rk is going to
b e o ra l).' [2 lb]
as a n o n m o d al d e v e rb a l n o u n [21c];
' ‘T h e re ’s n o th in g w ritte n o n th e b lack b o ard to d ay (b ecau se w e h a v e n ’t used this
cla ssro o m ).' [21c]
T h e sense o f [ 2 1c] is d o u b tle ss m o re ex p ected t h a n c ith e r [21a] o r [21b].
[Jb] O n e e x p ects th e n a m e in [3] to b e th a t o f a n a rtist o f som e re p u ta tio n if th e qT-construction is
to be u sed ; o th erw ise th e g en itiv e w ould be m o re n a tu ra l lo co n v ey th is m ea n in g ;
J a c k 's p a in tin g is n e a rly a s good as h is wife's.
[c] T h e re is a n asp ec tu a l d ifferen ce betw een verb al n o u n s, w h ich ten d to d en o te a c tiv ity th a t is
in p ro cess, a n d a b s tr a c t d ev erb a! no u n s, w hich d en o te co m p leted a c tiv ity ( c f A p p 1.35 N o te).
M in o r ty p e s o f p o s tm o d if ic a tio n
Postmodification by adverb phrase

1 7 .5 5 S o m e ty p ic a l e x a m p le s o f p o s tm o d ific a tio n b y a d v e r b p h ra s e s ( c f l . 6 1 ) a re
th e fo llo w in g :
M in o r typ o s o f p o s tm o d ific a tio n 12.93
T h e r o a d b a c k is d e n se w ith traffic. m
T h e w a y o a t w a s h a rd to find. [2]
T h e p e o p le b e h in d w ere ta lk in g all Ih e lim o . m
In [I], w e re c o g n iz e so m e s u c h p a r a p h r a s e as ‘ T h e ro o d w h ic h le a d s h a c k to
L o n d o n ’ fr o m w h ic h e v e r y th in g e x c e p t a n im p o r ta n t a d ju n c t h as to be
u n d e rs to o d fro m th e c o n te x t. S im ilarly , fo r [2]: ''The w a y w h ic h lead s o u t o f
th e a u d ito riu m * ; a n d fo r [3]: 'T h e p eople w h o w e re s illin g b eh in d '. In s o m e
c a s e s, th e p o s tm o d ify in g ite m could b e r e g a rd e d a lte rn a tiv e ly a s a p r e p o s itio n
w ith o m itte d c o m p le m e n t: 'T h e p e o p le w h o w e re s ittin g b e h in d us*.
T h e r e a r c in d e e d a few c a s e s w h e re a p re p o s itio n a l in te r p r e ta tio n is f o r c e d
o n u s ( c /9 .5 3 ) , eg:
T h e v o le s f o r f a r o u tn u m b e r th o se a g ainst. [4]
I n [4], th e r e la te d e x p lic it s tru c tu re h a s n o a lte r n a tiv e to th e p r e p o s itio n a l

p h ra se :
T h e v o te s a r t f o r the m otion.
B u t s in c e m o s t e x a m p le s c a n be e x p la in e d a s a d v e r b ia l a n d f e w a s
p r e p o s itio n a l, it s e e m s b e s t to re g a rd th e few th a t m u s t b e p r e p o s itio n a l a s
b e in g m o d e lle d u p o n th e a d v e r b ia l o n es.
A s in d ic a te d in 7 .67 (w h e re m o re e x a m p le s a re g iv e n ), a d v e r b s w h ic h
p o s tm o d ify n o u n s sig n ify tim e o r p la c e. In s o m e p h ra s e s , th e a d v e r b c a n b e
u s e d e ith e r a s a p re - o r p o s tm o d ifie r:
h is h o m e w a rd jo u rn e y ~ h is jo u rn e y h o m e w a rd
S o m e n o u n p h r a s e s o f m e a s u re , d e n o tin g s ize , a g e, e tc , c a n a lso b e p o s t p o s e d :
A m a n th e s ize o f a g ia n t c a m e u p to m e.
S o m e b o d y h e r a g e s h o u ld n ’t d o s u c h s tr e n u o u s e x ercises.
N o te O 'c lo c k is a n a d v e rb o p tio n ally a d d e d a fter n u m b ers from I to 12 to d en o te tim e o f d a y :

W h a t tim e w as the a c cid en t?
- A t 10 ( o ’clock) in th e m o rn in g /at n ight.
- A t 12 ( o ’c lo ck ) n o o n /m id n ig h t.
O 'c lo c k is n o t used to g eth e r w ith a .m . [‘before m idday*) o r p .m . [‘a fte r m id d a y ']:
9 o ’clo ck in th e m o rn in g [ = 9 a .m .]
9 o ’c lo ck in th e e v en in g [ = 9 p.m .)
O 'c lo c k is used on ly in m en tio n in g the exact h o u r, not th e h o u r a n d a p a rticu la r n u m b e r o f
m in u te s :
a t 7 o ’clo ck , a t 7 a .m ./p .m .; a t 7.15 a .m ./p .m . | u t n o t : *al 7.15 o 'clo ck . *at 15 p a s t 7
o ’clock
P o s tp o s e d a d je c tiv e s
1 7.56 P o s tp o s e d a d je c tiv e s ( c /7 .2 l ) c a n b e d iv id e d in to th r e e m a in ty p e s , d e p e n d i n g
o n w h e th e r th e p o s tp o s itio n is re q u ire d b y :
(a ) th e h e a d o f t h e n o u n p h ra s e ( c f 17.57), eg :
I w a n t t o tr y som ething d ifferen t [a s o p p o s e d to a d iffe ren t
approach] [ 1]
(b) th e p o stm o d ificatio n o r co m p lem en tatio n o f th e adjective ( c /1 7 .58),
eg'.
1294 T h e n o u n phroao
a p la y p o p u la r m the 1890s [a s o p p o s e d to a p opular play] [2]
(c) th e p a r tic u la r n o u n a d je c tiv e c o m b in a tio n (r;/ 17.59), eg:

th e heir a p parent [as o p p o s e d to the a p p a ren t reason, th e rich
heir] [-1 1
T y p e s (a ) a n d (b ) a re c e n tra l c o n s tr u c tio n s a n d c a n b e s ee n as re d u c tio n s o f
r e la tiv e c la u se s:
.som ething (th a t i.s) d ifferent [ la ]

a p la y (th a t w as) popular in th e IH 90s [2 a]
T y p e (c) is r e s tr ic te d to id io m a tic p h ra s e s .
T y p e (a ) : so m e b o d y bigger
1 7 .57 T h is ty p e in c lu d e s n o u n -p h r a s e h e a d s c o n s is tin g o f in d e fin ite p r o n o u n s in
-b o d y, -one, -th in g , a n d th e a d v e r b -w here, p lu s o n e o r tw o w h -fo r m s ( w hat
else, w ho n e x t, e tc ), w h ic h c a n o n ly b e m o d ifie d p o s tp o s itiv e ly ( c / 7 . 6 9 ) :
A n y b o d y y o u n g er w o u ld h a v e d o n e b e tte r.
H o w e v e r, w e c a n n o t p o s tp o se w ith in d e fin ite s e v ery m o d if y in g ite m t h a t c a n

b e p re p o s e d w ith o rd in a r y n o u n h e a d s . W h ile w e h a v e b o th a ta ll g ir l a n d an
office g irl, w e h a v e so m e b o d y la!! b u t n o t *so m e b o d y office ( c /7 .1 2 ).
E v e n a d je c tiv e s n e e d g e n e ra lly to b e ‘p e r m a n e n t’ a n d h e n c e e lig ib le fo r
a ttr ib u ti v e u se ( c /1 7 .7 ) ; th u s s o m e b o d y tim id r a th e r th a n ?so m e b o d y afra id .
N ote [a] We not infrequently come upon noun phrases which defy the conditions described; for
example, beside the regular s o m e th in g n a s ty we hav e:
T h a t n a s ty s o m e th in g has reappeared.
In such instances (which are almost always fam iliar, playful, or ironic), the head items are not
being used as compound indefinite pronouns (c/6 .4 5 # ) but as nouns. The motivation for the
deviation will vary from one example to another, but a possible explanation for the example ju st
provided would find ready parallels. W e might paraphrase it thus: ‘You mentioned seeing
something nasty; well, the thing you called “som ething” has reappeared’.
[b] T he type of postmodification consisting o f pronoun in - th in g + adjective has an alternative
construction w ith a + adjective + th in g as h e a d :
^ n a s t y ^ h in g ^ '^ h ap p en ed to me on t *ie way t0 work this morning.

S o m e n a s ty th in g s has the somewhat different sense o f ‘certain nasty things', T here is no * s o m e
th in g s n a s ty .
T here is a possibility of using on e (but not b o d y ) as a head in this w ay:
A n y yo u n g body [‘anybody young’] is dialectal.
T y p e (b ): a m is ta k e ty p ic a l o f b eg in n ers
1 7 .5 8 T h i s ty p e in c lu d e s a d je c tiv e p h r a s e s w h ic h a re h e a v y in re la tio n to th e h e a d ,
u s u a lly b y h a v in g a p re p o s itio n a l p h r a s e o r a n o n fin ite v e rb p h r a s e as
c o m p le m e n t. W h e r e a s w e h a v e o n ly th e n o r m a l o r d e r in [1], p o s tp o s itio n is
r e q u ir e d in [2]:
M in o r ty p o ‘( of p o u tm o d if ic n tio n 1?05
a ty p ic a l m is ta k e [ 1]
a m is ta k e ty p ic a l o f beginners [2]
T h u s E n g lish a c c e p ts n e ith e r [2a] (u n le ss u sed ad ho c a n d s p e c ia lly m a r k e d

by h y p h e n s'. ‘T h a t c o u ld b e d e s c rib e d a s a tY p irn l-n p -b ri’in n c r s m i s t a k e ') n o r
[2b]:
*a ty p ic a l o f b e g in n e rs m is ta k e [2a]
* an o f b e g in n e rs ty p ic a l m is ta k e [2b]
W ith c o o rd in a te d a d je c tiv e s , c ith e r p rc- o r p o s tp o sitio n is p o s s i b l e :
a both typical a n d c o m m o n m is ta k e [3]

a m is ta k e b oth ty p ic a l a n d com m o n [3a]
W h e n a h e a d is n o n r e s tr ic tiv e ly m o d ified by a c o o rd in a te s tr in g o f a d je c tiv e s ,

it is c o m m o n to p o s tp o s e t h e m :
A m a n , tim id a n d h e sita n t, a p p r o a c h e d th e official. [4]
H o w e v e r, th e p o te n tia l m o b ility o f th e s trin g allow s it to b e d e ta c h e d fr o m

th e n o u n p h r a s e a lto g e th e r ( c /7 .2 7 , 17.49) a n d sh o w s it to b e a n a d v e r b ia l
r a th e r t h a n p a r t o f th e n o u n p h r a s e :
f T im id a n d h e sita n t, a m a n a p p r o a c h e d th e o fficial. [4 a]
[ A m a n a p p r o a c h e d th e o ff ic ia l, tim id a n d hesitant. [4b]
E v e n a re s tric tiv e ly m o d if y in g a d je c tiv e c a n be p o s tp o s e d i f it is its e lf

m o d ified (b y a n a d ju n c t, n o t b y t h e in te n s ifie r very, c / 7 . 8 7 / ' ):
A m a n a lw a y s tim id is u n fit fo r th is ta sk , [b u t n o t : *A m a n very

ti m i d . . .] [4c]
T h is c o n s tr u c tio n is p a r tic u la r ly c o m m o n w h e re th e m o d if ic a tio n e x p r e s s e s a

‘te m p o r a r y ’ a ttr ib u te (c /1 7 ,7 ) . T h u s b e sid e th e d u b io u s n e s s o f ?s o m e b o d y
a fr a id ( c /1 7 .4 9 ), c o m p le m e n ta tio n o f th e a d je c tiv e (so m eb o d y a fr a id o f th e
d a r k ) re s u lts in c o m p le te a c c e p ta b ility . C o m p a ris o n in v o lv in g n o u n s o f
d iff e r e n t g e n d e r c la ss e s r e q u ir e s p o s tp o s itio n o f th e a d je c tiv e a s i n [5 ] :
a m a n taller th a n M a r y 1 . .
■+■* a ta ller m a n th a n M a r y J
W h e r e th e n o u n s a r e o f th e s a m e c la ss, p o stp o sitio n is o p tio n a l ( c f 1 7 .1 2 2 ):
a m a n ta ller than Jo h n
a taller m a n th a n J o h n \ ^
T y p e (c): th e p re sid e n t e le c t
T h is ty p e o f p o s tp o s e d a d je c tiv e c o n sis ts ch iefly o f th e s p r in k lin g o f fixed
n o u n -p lu s -a d je c tiv e p h r a s e s (m o d e lle d o n F r e n c h ) lik e th e p r e s id e n t e le c t, heir
apparent, blood ro ya l ( c /T u r th e r e x a m p le s in 7.21). T h e s e a r e o f little
im p o r ta n c e in th e m s e lv e s , b e in g in fr e q u e n tly used ( th o u g h o u r a b i l i t y to
fo rm n a m e s lik e H o te l M a je s tic su g g ests t h a t th e y a re m o re t h a n m e r e fo ssils),
a n d it is lik e ly th a t n a tiv e s p e a k e r s feel th e m to be v ery s im ila r lo c o m p o u n d
n o u n s . U n lik e th e a d je c tiv e s in free c o m b in a tio n s , th e se p o s tp o s e d a d je c tiv e s
c a n n o t b e m o d ifie d :
12fl(> T h e n o u n p h rn s o
* T h e p resid en t n e w ly e le ct ")
T h e p resid en t n e w ly e le c te d > w ill ta k e o llice n e x t M o n d a y .
T h e n ew ly e le c te d p resid e n t J
* 'I'lie heir s till a p p a ren t w a s b e in g w ell e d u c a te d .
VSlte Itacl b lo o d w holly r o y a l in h e r v e in s .
W ith a q u a n tifie r w e c a n say ‘A lo t o f ro y al b lo o d flo w ed in th e F re n c h

re v o lu tio n ’, b u t n o t ‘*A lot o f b lo o d royal . . In so m e e a s e s , a s e q u e n c e h a s
o b v io u sly b e en re u n a ly sc d a s p rc m o d ilic r p lu s h e a d ; th is c a n b e s ee n in th e
p lu ra l co u rt-m a rtia ls (a lo n g s id e c o u rts-m a rtia l, c f 5 .1 0 2 ):
N o c o u rt-m a rtia ls a re h e ld o n C h r is tm a s D ay.
P o stp o scd ‘m ode’ q u a lifie r: L o b ste r N ew b u rg

1 7 .6 0 T h e re is a n o th e r F r e n c h m o d e l o f p o s tp o s itio n in F.nglish th a t w c m a y call
p o s tp o se d ‘m o d e ’ q u a lifie r, a s in L o b ste r N ew b u rg . T h o u g h v irtu a lly c o n fin e d
to c u isin e ( r a th e r th a n m e re c o o k in g ), it is m o d e ra te ly p ro d u c tiv e w ith in
th e se lim its, p e r h a p s e sp e c ia lly in A m E . In B rE o n e fin d s v ea l p a p rik a a n d
m a n y o th e rs , b u t th e r e is so m e re s is ta n c e to th is ty p e o f p o s tp o s itio n w ith
o th e r th a n F r e n c h le x ic a l ite m s , a s in p a te m aison, so le bonne fe m m e .
N e v e r th e le s s ( p e r h a p s p a r tly b e c a u s e , in e x a m p le s lik e th e l a tte r , th e F r e n c h
a n d E n g lish h e a d n o u n s a r e id e n tic a l), th e la n g u a g e h a s b e c o m e r e c e p tiv e to
h y b rid s lik e p o a c h e d sa lm o n m ayo n n a ise, E nglish scallops p ro v e n c a l.
N o te T h e p rep o sitio n al p h ras e in v o lv in g a la (c /9 .1 0 N o te) is a related p h e n o m e n o n . I t a p p e a rs in

cu lin ary fo rm atio n s lik e c h ic k e n a la k in g , b u t is very general in in fo rm a l o r facetio u s use to
d esig n ate style, ‘in th e m a n n e r o f ’ :
A n o th e r p la y a la S to p p a r d h as a p p e are d , th o u g h I forgot w ho w ro te it.
Multiple postmodification
1 7 .6 1 M u ltip le m o d if ic a tio n a r is e s th r o u g h a n y o r all o f th e fo llo w in g th re e
c o n d itio n s (a, b , c ):
(a ) M o re th a n o n e m o d if ic a tio n is a p p lic a b le to a s in g le h e a d . T h u s th e tw o
s e n te n c e s [1] a n d [2] c a n b e b r o u g h t to g e th e r as [3]:
th e m a n in th e corner [ 1]
th e m a n ta lk in g to J o h n [2]
.u • f ta lk in g to Jo h n 1
th e m a n in th e corner { [3)
[ ( ? ) a n d ta lk in g to J o h n )
’ T h e s e c o n d p o s tm o d ifie r ( ta lk in g to Jo h n ) m o d ifies th e w h o le o f th e p re c e d in g
c o m p le x n o u n p h r a s e :
[[th e m a n [in th e c o rn e r]] ta lk in g to J o h n ]

M u ll ip lo pot; t m o d i M e ntio n 1207
T h e u s u a l ty p e o f c o n s tr u c tio n is w ith n o c o n ju n c tio n . B ut, w ith o u t a

c o n ju n c tio n , th e r e is a m b ig u ity (th o u g h o fte n w ith little d iff e r e n c e in m e a n in g
in p r a c tic e ) b e tw e e n a c o o rd in a te d re la tio n o f th e p o s tm o d ific rs a s in F ig
I 7 . 6 ! a a n d a h ie r a r c h ic a l re la tio n as in Fig I7.M I).
I _____ _
iiic m a n in th e co rn e r (and) talking lo John
Fig 17,61a
the m an in th e c o rn er talking to John

Fig 17.61 b
(b ) A m o d if ic a tio n is a p p lic a b le to m o re th a n o n e h e a d . T h u s [4] c a n b e

b r o u g h t to g e th e r b y m u ltip le -h e a d ru les w h ic h p e r m it th e d e te r m in e r to
ap p ly to b o th h e a d s ( c f 13.67) as [5]:
th e m a n in th e c o r n e r a m i th e w o m a n in th e c o r n e r [4]
[th e [ m a n a n d w o m a n ] [in [th e co rn er]]] [5]
(c) B y b r in g in g to g e th e r th e ty p es o f s tr u c tu r e e lu c id a te d in (a) a n d (b ), w e
c a n p r o d u c e c o m p le x e s s u ch a s [6]:
th e m a n a n d w o m a n in th e c o rn e r ta lk in g to J o h n [6]
T h e h e a d o f a m o d if y in g p h ra s e m a y its e lf b e fu r th e r m o d ifie d . W e h a v e
a lre a d y s e e n n u m e r o u s e x am p les o f w h e re s u c h f u r th e r m o d if ic a tio n is
a c h ie v e d b y m e a n s o f a n a d v e r b ; w e a r e h e r e c o n c e rn e d w ith c a t e n a tio n s
lik e [9] fr o m th e lin k in g o f [7] a n d [8]:
th e m a n in th e c o r n e r [7]
th e c o r n e r n e a r e s t th e d o o r [8]
[th e m a n [in [th e c o r n e r [n e a re st th e d o or]]]] [9]
By b r in g in g (a ), (b ), a n d (c) to g e th e r, w e fo rm [10]:
[th e [ m a n a n d w o m a n ] [in [th e c o r n e r [ n e a re s t th e d o or]]] [ ta lk in g

to J o h n ] ] [10]
A lth o u g h th e la s t p o s tm o d ifie r in th is e x a m p le (th e n o n fin ite c la u se ta lk in g to

Jo h n ) is r a t h e r f a r re m o v e d fro m t h e h e a d , a m b ig u ity is im p o s s ib le : th e d o o r
c o u ld n o t b e t a lk in g to J o h n . N e v e r th e le s s , m a n y u s ers o f E n g lis h w o u ld
p r e f e r to u s e a fin ite r e la tiv e clau se h e re ( . . . w ho a re ta lk in g to J o h n ), n o
d o u b t in r e s p o n s e to a d e s ir e fo r m a x im a l e x p lic itn e s s a t a p o in t w h ic h is
re la tiv e ly d i s t a n t f r o m th e h e ad .
P r o b a b ly m o r e is in v o lv e d th a n a n e e d fo r e x p lic itn e s s : r e p e titio n o f
1?0R T h o n o u n p h ra se
id e n tic a l ite m s (eg a s e q u e n c e o f p re p o s itio n a l p h ra s e s o r re la tiv e c la u se s) is

p e r h a p s a s o b je c tio n a b le in a le n g th y p o s tm o d ific a tio n as is th e d a n g e r o f
lo sin g th e th r e a d . O b je c tio n s to th e fo llo w in g s e n te n c e a re o b v io u s :
? H e w a s [th e m a n [w h o w ro te th e le tte r [w h ic h M a ry fo u n d in th e h o u se
[w h ic h s h e re n te d fro m th e m a n [w h o k n e w h e r u n cle]]||].
A m b ig u ity and c o n stra in ts on m u ltip le p o s tm o d ific a tio n

17.62 T h e in s ta n c e s o f m u ltip le m o d ific a tio n so f a r c o n s id e re d h a v e ra is e d p ro b le m s
o f s ty le b u t h a rd ly o f a c tu a l a m b ig u ity o r s tru c tu ra l u n a c c e p ta b ility .
F r e q u e n tly , h o w e v e r , c a re fu l o rd e rin g o f c o n s titu e n ts in a n o u n p h r a s e is
e s s e n tia l to c o m m u n ic a te o n e 's in te n tio n . T o ta k e a n e x a m p le , th e fo llo w in g
p a ir [1] a n d [2] d iffe r in m e a n in g a n d a r e n o t m e re s ty lis tic v a r ia n ts :
th e m a n in b la c k ta lk in g to the g ir l [ 1]
th e m a n ta lk in g to th e g irl in b la c k [2]
O n e o f th e re a s o n s fo r p re fe rr in g th e o f - p h r a s e to th e g e n itiv e is to a v o id
d is c o n tin u ity (w ith u n w a n te d g ro te s q u e a m b ig u ity , c / 1 7 . 4 4 ); th u s [3] b u t n o t
[4]:
th e e a rs o f th e m a n in th e d e c k c h a ir [3]
* th e m a n 's e a rs in th e d e c k c h a ir [4]
P u s h d o w n e le m e n ts
17.63 A s p e c ia l ty p e o f m u ltip le p o s tm o d ific a tio n t h a t re q u ire s c a r e f u l o r d e r in g
o c c u r s w h e n th e m o d if y in g c la u se b e c o m e s its e lf e m b e d d e d in a c la u se
( ‘p u s h d o w n r e la tiv e c la u s e ’; c /1 1 .1 8 , 1 5 .4 N o te [d]). C o n s id e r th e fo llo w in g
s e r ie s :
J o h n w ill s e n d y o u a m em o . [1]
P a t h o p e s ( th a t) J o h n w ill s e n d y o u a m e m o . [2]
I w ill r e a d th e m e m o (w h ic h ) P a t h o p e s ( th a t) J o h n w ill s e n d y o u . [3]
In [3], th e r e la tiv e p ro n o u n which is o b je c t in th e re la tiv e c la u se w hich . . .

J o h n w ill s e n d y o u . W h e n , h o w e v e r, a r e la tiv e p r o n o u n is s u b je c t u n d e r
a n a lo g o u s c o n d itio n s , th e c o n ju n c tio n th a t, w h ic h r e m a in e d o p tio n a l in [3],
is o b lig a to r ily a b s e n t in [ 3 a ]:
A m e m o w ill b e s e n t to you. [ la ]
P a t h o p e s (th a t) a m e m o w ill b e s e n t to y o u . [2a]
I w ill r e a d th e m e m o (w h ic h ) P a t ( *!l o p e S ... j b e s e n t to y o u . [3a]

[ ♦h o p e s th a t w ill J
S in c e v e rb s in n o m in a l c lau ses m a y b e n o n fin ite o r a b s e n t, v a r ia tio n s in

s tr u c tu r e c a n b e v e ry c o n s id e ra b le . R e la te d to [4 -6 ] w e h a v e th e n o u n p h r a s e s
[4 a -6 a ]:
f (th a t) th e b o y w a s h o n e s t. [4]
W e th o u g h t -j the b o y to be h o n est, ( r a t h e r r a r e ) [5]
1J h e b o y honest. [6]
f w as h o ttest [4a]
th e b o y (th a t) w e th o u g h t < to be h o n e st [5a]
[ h o n e st [6a]
M u llip lo p o M iiim tif ic .itio n 121)0
N o n fin ite a n d v c rb lc ss p o s tm o d ific a tio n is less a c c e p ta b le w h e n th e a d je c tiv e

i s ‘te m p o r a r y ’ (c /'1 7 .7 ):
( w as r e a d y [4b]')
T h e boy {th a t) w e th o u g h t \< ?r,
Ita be re a d y [5 b | > is n o t. tille r all.
{ • 'r e a d y ' [fib lj
C la u se e m b e d d in g in p o s tm o d ific a tio n c a n s o m e tim e s resu lt in a n a c o lu th o n

th ro u g h th e in s e r tio n o f th e p e rs o n a l p ro n o u n , esp e c ia lly in s p e e c h ( c f 11.1 4 /?'
o n u’/i-q u es tio n s ):
? * l’m g o in g to a p a rty th a t I d o n ’t k n o w w h e n it w ill e n d . [7]

? * T h e c o m p u te r which y o u s a id y o u w o u ld te a c h m e h o w it w o rk s
h a s n o w a rriv e d . [8]
? * T h e re is in th is c o u n tr y a tr e n d which I d o n ’t k n o w h o w s tro n g it is
to w a rd s a d is in te g r a tio n o f th e tr a d itio n a l p a r ty sy ste m . [9]
T h e re la tiv e c la u se s in [7 -9 ] a re d e v ia n t sin c e th e y in tr o d u c e a d o u b le
p ro n o m in a liz a tio n o f th e a n te c e d e n t (th a t o r which, it), b u t a v o id a n c e o f th e
d e v ia n c e in v o lv e s r a th e r r a d ic a l r e o rg a n iz a tio n , eg:
T, . , w
w hh iic
c hh w
wmill ce un ud iI ud o n ’ti Kk nn oo w
w wn
h cn
en. [7a]
m g o in g o a p a r y | an (j j d o n 't k n o w w h en it will e n d . [7 b ]
w h ic h y o u s aid y o u w o u ld te a c h m e h o w to use
( h a s n o w a rriv e d . [8a]
th e o p e r a tio n o f w h ic h you s a id you w o u ld te a c h

m e h a s n o w a rriv e d . [8b]
Tl • . ... f w h ic h I d o n 't k n o w th e s tre n g th o f . . . [9a]

T h e r e is in th is r , L, ,
, < o r w h ic h I d o n t k n o w th e s tre n g th . . . [9b]
N o te c o u n try a t r e n d ] , , , „, ‘ ,
w h o s e s tr e n g th I d o n t k n o w . . . [9c]
[a] T h e re is no p ro b lem , o f course, if th e clauses c o n cern ed are m ade p a ra la c tic :

I ’m going to a p a rty ; I d o n ’t k n o w w h en it will end. [7c]
T h e c o m p u ter Jias a rriv e d ; you s a id you would teach m e how it works. [8c]
T h e re is in th is c o u n try a tre n d to w ard s a d isin teg ratio n o f the tra d itio n a l p a rty
system ; I d o n ’t k now how s tro n g it is. [9d]
[b] C o n fu sio n o f th e finite w ith th e n o n fin ite form s o f e m b ed d ed clause p ro d u ces h y p e rc o rrc c t
d e v ia n t sen ten ces { c f 6.35 N o te [a]) lik e [10]:
T h a t is th e m an w h o m ire th o u g h t hy7.v n o t c o m in g , {C f: T h a t is th e m an w h o m ire
th o u g h t to be d iffic u lt.) [10]
R e la tiv e clauses m ay be c o m p lica te d m ore th a n we h av e illustrated so far, th o u g h o n e le n d s to
av o id m ultiple e m b ed d in g s w ith successive 'p u s h d o w n 'c la u s e s ;
?I h av e read th e b o o k w hic h y o u th o u g h t I h a d a s k e d J o h n w h e th e r he w o u ld te n d m e . [11]
In [12], th e use o f w h o m m ay seem o d d :
. . . th is Lady M a cb e th is lu m b e red w ith such an alarm in g husb an d w hom H a ro ld
C a rte r plays . . . on th e b rin k o f m adness. [12]
T h e rea so n m ay be t h a t t h e a c to r actu ally plays th e p a r i o f th e h u sb an d . H o w ev er, th e fo llo w in g
co n stru c tio n [12a] m ay h av e b een con scio u sly a v o id ed as bein g aw k w ard a n d to o h e a v y (an d
h a rd ly necessary a n y w a y ):
. . . a n alarm in g h u sb a n d H a r o ld C a r te r p la y s . . . [ 12a]
[c] T h e re are also sig ns th a t relativ e clauses, by in v o lv in g tran sp o sitio n o f lexical ite m s, w e a k e n
th e tics betw een lexical item s a n d th e ir a p p ro p ria te co m p lem en t-fo rm in g p rep o s itio n s . E v en
re p u ta b le n ew sp ap ers will o ccasio n ally p rin t s en ten ces like (13];
T h e a u th o rities, ag a in st w h o m in cre a sin g n u m b ers o f refugees a rc fleeing a c ro ss th e

se a , h a v e n o t c h a n g e d t h e ir p o lic y . [I3 j
A l t h o u g h t h e o d d i t y o f t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n m a y w e ll p a s s u n n o t i c e d b y j o u r n a l i s t a n d r e a d e r a l i k e ,
n e i t h e r w o u ld h a v e a c c e p t e d t h e v e r b •}- p r e p o s i t i o n s e q u e n c e in I i . t a |:
• T h e refugees a re fleeing a g a in st th e au th o rities. II 3a|
1 7 .6 4 F v e n w i t h s i m p l e r e x a m p l e s a n d m o r e c a r e f u l o r d e r i n g , w e m a y fi n d c l m i l y
a n d a c c e p t a b l e g r a m m a r d i l l i c u l t t o m a i n t a i n in m u l t i p l e m o d i f i c a t i o n . A n
e x a m p le :
S h e rec alled th e s m ile s o f d e lig h t o n all th e faces. [1]
A n o u n p h ra s e b a se d o n s e n te n c e [1] a n d h a v in g sm ile s a s its h e a d m a y be

a m b ig u o u s in o n e o r d e r in g (W a s it th e sm iles o r th e fa c e s t h a t s h e re c a lle d ? ):
ih c s m ile s o f d e lig h t o n all th e fa c es th a t s h e re c alled [la ]
A n o th e r o rd e rin g [ l b ] m a y b e g ra m m a tic a lly , a w k w a rd , s in c e it in tr o d u c e s

d is c o n tin u ity ( c / 17.122) to a v o id a m b ig u ity :
?th e sm iles th a t s h e re c a lle d o f d e lig h t o n all th e fa c e s [lb ]
W h e n w e g o o n fr o m th is s a m e s e n te n c e to a tte m p t a n o u n p h r a s e w h ic h h a s
fa c e s o r delig h t a s h e a d , th e p r o b le m s in c r e a s e :
?all t h e fa c es t h a t s h e r e c a lle d th e s m ile s o f d e lig h t o n [ 1c]
O n e s o lu tio n to th is p r o b le m is to r e p la c e th e r e la tiv e c la u se b y a c o n s tr u c tio n

w ith p re p o s itio n + -in g p a r tic ip le c la u se (a lth o u g h th e s u b je c t th e n h a s to be
m e re ly im p lic it) :
O n re c a llin g th e s m ile s o f d e lig h t o n all th e fa c e s (sh e w a s

re m in d e d o f b i r t h d a y p a r tie s in h e r o w n c h ild h o o d ). [Id ]
N o te T h e ob jectio n in [ lc ] is n o t m erely to th e final p rep o sitio n (c/1 7 .1 6 ), as is sh o w n by th e

a w k w ard n ess also o f [ le j:
?all th e faces on w h ic h sh e recalled the sm iles o f d elig h t [le]
N o u n p h rases w ith d e lig h t a s h e a d a re n o less p r o b le m a tic :
?the d elight th a t sh e r ecalled th e sm iles o f on all th e faces [If]
• th e d elig h t o f w h ic h s h e recalled th e sm iles on all th e faces [Ig]
• th e d elig h t on all th e faces t h a t s h e recalled th e sm iles o f J lh ]
*, , ,, . r ( o f w h ic h she recalled th e sm iles! r. .,
• d e h g h t o n all th e faces | w h o s e s m .|e s s h c r e c a ||e d j [h ]
All th ese exam ples, h o w e v e r, in v o lv e d isco n tin u o u s stru ctu res, w h ich w ill b e discu ssed in 17.122
an d 18.39,
A p p o s it io n
T h e nature o f a p p o s itio n
1 7 .6 5 I n 17.26 w e lo o k e d a t a p p o s itiv e p o s tm o d ific a tio n b y t/ia r-cla u ses, in 17.35 a t
a p p o s itiv e n o n fin ite c la u s e s , a n d in 17.47 a t a p p o s itiv e p r e p o s itio n a l p h ra s e s ,
W e n o w c o n s id e r t h e n a tu r e o f a p p o s itio n itse lf. A p p o s itio n is p rim a r ily , a n d
A p p o s it io n 1301
ty p ic a lly , a r e la tio n b e tw e e n n o u n p h ra s e s , a n d th is is th e re a so n fo r t r e a t i n g
a p p o s itio n in th is c h a p t e r .
F o r lin g u is tic u n its to h e Ai’p o s m v ii s , iV in a p p o s itio n , th e y m u st n o r m a lly
b e id e n tic a l in r e f e r e n c e . T h u s in [ ll, A n n a a n d m y b est ./fien d a rc e o r d 'e r e iiti a l,
a n d s im ila rly , in [2], P a u l Jo n es a n d the d istin g u ish ed a rt critic re fe r to th e
sam e p e rs o n :
A n n a , n i l ’ b e s t f r ie n d , w as h e re Iasi n ig h t. 111
P a u l Jo n es, th e d is tin g u ish e d art critic , d ie d in h is sle e p la s t n ig h t. [2]
A lte rn a tiv e ly , th e re fe r e n c e o f on e m u s t be in c lu d e d in th e re fe r e n c e o f th e
o th e r , eg [3], w h e re a neig h b o u r is id e n tifie d a s F re d B r ic k :
A neighbour, F r e d B ric k , is o n th e te le p h o n e . [3]
T h e r e la tio n s h ip d e n o te d by a p p o sitio n is th e re fo re a n a lo g o u s to a c o p u la r
r e la tio n s h ip ( c / 2 . 1 6 ) :
P a u l J o n e s w a s th e d istin g u ish ed a rt critic. [2a]

F r e d B r ic k is a neig h b o u r. [3a]
S u c h e x a m p le s o f a p p o s itio n m a y b e c o m p a re d w ith n o n r e s tr ic tiv e

p o s tm o d ific a tio n , in p a r tic u la r n o n re s tric tiv e re la tiv e c la u s e s :
A n n a , w ho is m y b e st fr ie n d , w as h e re la s t n ig h t. [ la ]
T h e n o u n p h r a s e m y b e st fr ie n d in [1] m a y be c o n s id e re d to b e a r e d u c tio n o f
th e r e la tiv e c la u s e in [ la ] . In d e e d , so m e g r a m m a r ia n s h a v e in c lu d e d
n o n r e s tr ic tiv e r e la tiv e c la u s e s a m o n g a p p o s itiv e s . P r e s u m a b ly th is a s s ig n
m e n t is m o tiv a te d
(a ) b y th e f r e q u e n t p o s s ib ility o f e x p a n d in g a s e c o n d a p p o s itiv e in to a
r e la tiv e c la u s e ;
(b ) b y th e lo o se a tta c h m e n t o f th e n o n re s tric tiv e r e la tiv e c la u s e to th e

s e n te n c e ; a n d
(c) b y th e r e q u ir e m e n t fo r c o re fe re n c e b e tw e e n th e iv/i-w ord in th e c la u se

a n d a n a n te c e d e n t n o u n p h ra s e .
H o w e v e r, in th is g r a m m a r w e m a k e a d is tin c tio n b e tw e e n a n o u n p h r a s e
w ith its r e la tiv e c la u s e a n d a p p o s itio n , th e la tte r b e in g p r im a r ily a r e la tio n
b e tw e e n tw o n o u n p h r a s e s . O n e re a so n fo r th is is th a t, u n lik e re la tiv e c la u s e s
w h e re a r e la tiv e p r o n o u n is a n e le m e n t o r c o n s titu e n t in th e c la u se ( c f 1 7.10),
a p p o s itio n h a s n o s u c h ite m . T h e s im ila rity b e tw e e n n o n re s tr ic tiv e re la tiv e
c la u se s a n d a p p o s it io n is in f a c t lim ited to re la tiv e c la u se s o f th e S K C ty p e
th a t h a v e a n o u n p h r a s e a s c o m p le m e n t, a s in [ la ]. T h e r e is n o a p p o s itio n a l
c o n s tr u c tio n [4 a] p a r a lle l to c lau ses lik e [4] ( c f 11.22):
H e re is a l e tte r f r o m J o h n , who w ants a jo b in L o n d o n . [4]

‘ H e re is a le tte r fr o m J o h n , a jo b in L o n d o n . [4a]
T h u s , a p p o s itio n d iff e r s fr o m re la tiv e c la u se s in th a t it in v o lv e s th e lin k in g

o f u n its o f th e s a m e r a n k .
A p p o s itio n r e s e m b le s c o o r d in a tio n ( c f 13. I f f ) in th a t n o t o n ly d o c o o r d in a te
c o n s tr u c tio n s a lso in v o lv e th e lin k in g o f u n its o f th e s a m e r a n k , b u t th e
130? T h o n o u n phra so
c e n tr a l c o o rd in a to rs a n d a n d o r m a y th e m s e lv e s o c c a s io n a lly b e u s e d as
e x p lic it m a rk e rs o f a p p o s itio n ( c f \2 .2 2 ff) .
F u ll and partial app ositio n

1 7 .6 6 G r a m m a r ia n s v a ry in th e fr e e d o m w ith w h ic h th e y a p p ly th e te rm 'a p p o s itio n '
e v e n in th e q u ite sp ecific s e n s e a d o p te d h e re . S o m e h a v e re s tr ic te d it m o re
n a rro w ly to c a s e s w h e re th e fo llo w in g c o n d itio n s a r e m e t:
(i) E a c h o f tile a p p o s itiv e s c a n be s e p a r a te ly o m itte d w ith o u t a ffe c tin g

th e a c c e p ta b ility o f th e s e n te n c e .
(ii) E a c h fu lfils th e s a m e s y n ta c tic fu n c tio n in th e r e s u lta n t s e n te n c e s .
(iii) I t c an b e a ss u m e d t h a t th e r e is n o d iffe re n c e b e tw e e n th e o rig in a l
s e n te n c e a n d e ith e r o f th e r e s u lta n t s e n te n c e s in e x tr a lin g u is tic
re fe re n c e.
F o r e x a m p le , b y o m ittin g e a c h a p p o s itiv e in tu r n fro m [1] w e o b ta in th e tw o

s e n te n c e s [ 1a] a n d [ lb ] :
A neighbour, F r e d B r ic k , is o n th e te le p h o n e . [1]
A neighbour is o n th e te le p h o n e . [ 1a]
F r e d B ric k is o n th e te le p h o n e . [ I b]
T h e a p p o s itio n in [1] m e e ts th e th r e e c o n d itio n s :
(i) T h e r e s u lta n t s e n te n c e s a r e a c c e p ta b le .
(ii) B o th n o u n p h ra s e s a r e s u b je c t o f th e ir s e n te n c e .
(iii) S in ce F re d B r ic k a n d a neig h b o u r a re c o re fe re n tia l in [1], w e c a n
a ss u m e th e r e fe re n c e o f th e tw o r e s u lta n t se n te n c e s to b e th e s a m e .
A p p o s itio n m e e tin g th e s e th r e e c o n d itio n s w e te rm f u l l a p p o s i t i o n .

O n th e o th e r h a n d , w e c a n n o t e x c lu d e c o n s id e ra tio n o f s e q u e n c e s w h ic h
re s e m b le su ch full a p p o s itio n b u t n o n e th e le s s d o n o t m e e t th e s e th r e e
c o n d itio n s e n tire ly . I f c o n d itio n (i) a lo n e is u n fu lfilled , th e d iff e r e n c e fro m
fu ll a p p o s itio n is c o m p a r a tiv e ly tr iv ia l. F o r e x a m p le , fro m [2] o n ly t h e s e c o n d
a p p o s itiv e c a n b e o m itte d , a s in [2a]:
A n u nusual p rese n t w a s g iv e n to h im fo r h is b irth d a y , a b o o k

on ethics. [2]
A n u nusual p rese n t w a s g iv e n to h im fo r h is b irth d a y . [2a]
O m is s io n o f th e first a p p o s itiv e re s u lts in a n u n a c c e p ta b le s e n te n c e [2b],

u n le ss w e re p o s itio n it in itia lly [2c]:
‘ W a s g iv e n to h im fo r h is b ir th d a y , a b o o k on ethics. [2b]
A h o o k on e th ics w a s g iv e n to h im f o r h is b irth d a y . [2c]
T h e ty p e o f p a r tia l a p p o s itio n w h e re th e p o s itio n o f th e a p p o s itiv e is t h e sole

d iffe re n c e m ig h t be c o n s id e re d ‘d is c o n tin u o u s full a p p o s itio n ’.
C o n d itio n (ii) is n o t m e t in [3]:
N o rm a n J ones, a t on e tim e a la w s tu d e n t, w ro te s e v e ra l b e st-se lle rs . [3]
N o rm a n Jo n es is s u b je c t in [3 a], b u t a t one tim e a la w stu d en t c a n n o t b e s u b je c t

in [3 b ]:
A p p o n it io n 1303
N o rm a n J o n es w r o te s e v e ra l best-sellers. [3a]
+ A t one tim e a la w stu d e n t w ro te sev e ra l b e st-se lle rs. [3 b ]
H o w e v e r, th e p r e p o s itio n a l p h ra s e m a y p re c e d e th e s u b je c t in a d v e r b ia l
fu n c tio n w ith th e s a m e m e a n in g as [3]:
A t one tim e a la w s tu d e n t, Jones/he w ro te . . . [3c]
T h e p a ir [3] a n d [3 c] illu s tra te th e g e n e ra l fe a tu re o f g r a m m a r t h a t a

p a r a p h r a s e re la tio n o f te n o b ta in s b e tw e e n s tru c tu re s th a t a r e v ie w e d as
g ra m m a tic a lly d iff e r e n t.
F in a lly , c o n d itio n (iii) is n o t m et in [4]:
T h e reason he g a v e, th a t he d idn't notice the car till too la te , is

u n s a tis fa c to ry . [4]
W e c a n o m it e a c h o f th e a p p o s itiv e s in tu rn , a n d e a c h fu lfils th e f u n c tio n o f

s u b je c t in th e r e s u lta n t s e n te n c e s :
T h e reason he g a v e is u n s a tis fa c to ry . [4a]

T h a t he d id n 't n o tic e th e c a r till too la te is u n s a tis fa c to ry , [4b]
H o w e v e r, [4b] is d if f e r e n t fr o m b o th [4] a n d [4a] sin c e it d o e s n o t a s s e r t t h a t

a p a r tic u la r re a s o n is u n s a tis f a c to r y b u t th a t a p a r tic u la r f a c t is u n s a t i s f a c t o r y :
(T h e f a c t ) th a t h e d id n 't notice the car til! too la te is u n s a tis fa c to ry .
T o d e s ig n a te th e s tr u c tu r e s in [2], [3], a n d [4], w e u se th e g e n e r a l te rm p a r t i a l

a p p o s itio n .
N o te C o referen tial rela tio n s h ip s w h e re th e u nits fulfil d istin ctly d illc re n t sy n tactic fu n ctio n s a re not
co n sid ered to b e a p p o s itio n a l, eg:
J o h n w ashed h im s e lf, [su b ject + o b ject o f pro n o u n , c/ 6.23// ]
J a n e likes h e r o w n c a r b est, [su b ject + d e te rm in e r, c /5 .1 0 // J
S u s a n d oes w h a te v er s h e w an ts, [subject + subject o f em b ed d ed clau se, c / 1 4 . 4 / / ]
S tr ic t and w e a k a p p o s itio n
1 7 .6 7 T h e a p p o s itiv e s m a y b e lo n g to th e s a m e g e n e ra l s y n ta c tic c la s s (eg th e c e n t r a l
ty p e n o u n p h r a s e + n o u n p h ra s e ) , as in [1]:
F ootball, his o n ly in te re st in life, h a s b r o u g h t h im m a n y fr ie n d s . [ 1]
In s u c h a case w e t e r m th e c o n s tr u c tio n s t r i c t a p p o s i t i o n .
O n th e o th e r h a n d , a p p o s itiv e s fro m d iffe re n t s y n ta c tic c la sses a re s a id to
b e in w e a k a p p o s i t i o n ( c f 17.92), fo r e x a m p le , n o u n p h r a s e + -m g -clau se in
[ 2]:
H is o n ly in te re st in life, p la y in g fo o tb a ll, h a s b ro u g h t h im
m a n y fr ie n d s . [2]
N o n re s tric tiv e a n d re s tric tiv e app ositio n

1 7 .6 8 A p p o s itio n m a y b e n o n r e s t r i c t i v e o r r e s t r i c t i v e ( c f 17 . i f f ) . So fa r , all o u r
e x a m p le s h a v e s h o w n n o n re s tric tiv e a p p o sitio n . T h e a p p o s itiv e s in n o n r e
s tric tiv e a p p o s itio n a r e in s e p a ra te in fo r m a tio n u n its ( c / 1 8 . 3/7')- T h i s f a c t is
in d ic a te d , in s p e e c h , b y th e ir in c lu sio n in s e p a ra te to n e u n its ( c /'A p p 11 .1 6 //');
in w ritin g , b y th e ir s e p a r a tio n by c o m m a s o r h e a v ie r p u n c tu a tio n . F o r

e x a m p le , th e a p p o s itio n is n o n r e s tr ic tiv e in [1] b u t re s tr ic tiv e in [ l a ] :
M r C a m pbell, a la w y er, w as h e re last n ig h t. 111
M r C a m p b e ll th e la w y e r w a s h e re Iasi n ig h t, [ie M r C a m p b e ll fhe
la w y e r as o p p o s e d to a n y o th e r M r C a m p b e ll w e k n o w ] [ la ]
in n o n r e s tr ic tiv e a p p o s itio n , th e tw o a p p o s itiv e u n its c o n tr ib u te re la tiv e ly

in d e p e n d e n t in f o r m a tio n , w ith th e first a p p o s itiv e a c tin g a s th e d e f i n e d
e x p re ss io n , a n d th e s e c o n d a p p o s itiv e h a v in g a d e f i n i n g role (‘th e d c fin e r’).
T h e d e fin in g ro le is re fle c te d in th e fa c t th a t th e s e c o n d a p p o s itiv e is m a rk e d
as p a r e n th e tic b y p u n c tu a tio n [2] o r i n to n a tio n [2 a]:
The P re sid e n t o f th e c o m pany, M r s L o u ise P a rso n s, g a v e a p re ss

c o n fe re n c e a f te r th e b o a rd m e e tin g . [2]
T h e (pR Esident o f th e c o m p a n y ! (M rs L o u ise PARsonsf Ign v e u p ress
c o n f e r e n c e a f te r th e b o a r d m e c tin g | [2a]
I n [2] a n d [2a], th e P re sid e n t o f the com p a n y is th e d e fin e d a n d M r s Louise

P arsons th e d e fin in g e x p re s s io n . O n th e o th e r h a n d , in [2b], th e ro le s a re
re v e rsed :
M r s L o u ise P a rso n s, th e P resid en t o f th e c o m p a n y , g a v e a p re s s

c o n fe re n c e a f te r th e b o a r d m e e tin g . [2b]
In [2b], M r s L o u ise P a rso n s is th e d efin e d e x p re s s io n , a n d th e P re sid e n t o f the

co m p a n y th e d e fin in g e x p re s s io n , th e la tte r c o n s titu tin g a s e p a r a te in fo r m a tio n
u n it.
N o te [a] T h e first (ie d efin ed ) a p p o sitiv e d eterm in es c o n co rd :

L a n d , bra in s, w e a lth , te c h n o lo g y - in o th er w ords e v e r y th in g we n e e d - J p len tifu l in
o u r co u n try .
E v e r y th in g w e n e e d - la n d , b ra in s, w ea lth , te c h n o lo g y - p len tifu l in o u r country.
[b] A d efin in g a p p o s itiv e is n o t th e sam e as a tag e x c la m atio n (c/'I8 .5 9 N o te [a]). A n asid e such
a s th e u t t e r f o o l in [3] is a n irre g u la r in sertio n a n d c an co m e a n y w h e re in th e sen ten ce:
J o h n (th e u tte r f o o l ) in siste d o n s tay in g w ith th em . [3]
C o m p a r e a n in te rp o la tio n su ch as in [3a]:
J o h n (c a n y o u b e lie v e it? ) in sisted on stay in g w ith th em . [3a]
T h e d ifferen ce b etw een th e tw o co n stru ctio n s is h ig h lig h ted in t h e am b ig u ity o f [4]:
R ich ard ( th e v illa in ) fo rced his sister into m arriag e. f4]
In o n e in te rp re ta tio n , th e villa in is in ten d ed as a c ritical term , ‘th e b a d c h a ra c te r in th e p lay ’, a n d
is ap p o sitiv e to R ic h a r d ; in th e o th er in te rp re tatio n , it is an ev a lu a tiv e co m m e n t sy n onym ous
w ith ‘th e w ick ed m a n ’, a n d is a n ex clam ato ry aside. T h e tw o in te rp re ta tio n s can b e d istin g u ish ed
in to n atio n ally :
A p p o sitio n :
|RiCHard| th e |v n .la in | |forced his sister into MARriagej [4a]
E x clam ato ry a sid e :
(RlCHard th e v iU a in l |forccd his s ister into MARriagc) [4b]
T h e a s id e in [4b], a s w e)} a s b e in g i n th e sam e to n e u n it as R ic h a r d , is also m ark e d by a low ering
o f its p itc h rela tiv e to t h a t o f th e rest o f th e sentence.
[c] T he m o st c o m m o n ty p e o f se p a ra to r used in d e lim itin g a n o n restric tiv e a p p o sitio n in w ritin g
is th e c o m m a ; b u t d a s h e s o r p a re n th e se s a re also used (as th ey a rc for o th er ty p es o f p a re n th e tic
ite m s ,c /A p p l l l . l 6 J f ) :
( , Susan Long, ]
O nly o n e p e r s o n < - S u s a n L o n g - > voted ag a in st m e.
L (S u s a n L o n g ) J
D e fin e d / d e fin in g relatio nsh ips

17.69 W h e n a p p o s i t i o n is full a p p o s i t i o n ( c f 1 7. 6 6 ) , it m a y n o t h e c l e a r w h i c h o f t h e
a p p o s i t i v e s is t h e d ef i n i n g : o n e :
M y fr ie n d A n n a w as h e re last n ig h t, [full + s tric t] [ 1]

T h e q uestion w h eth er to confess or no t tr o u b le d th e g irl, [full -t- w e a k ] [2]
In p a r tia l re s tric tiv e a p p o s itio n , o n th e o th e r h a n d , o n e o f th e a p p o s it iv e s is

d e f in c r o f th e o th e r. In [3], th e d e fin e r i s fin a n c ia l e xp e rt:
N e x t S a tu rd a y , fin a n c ia l e xp ert T om T im b e r will b eg in w ritin g a

w e e k ly c o lu m n o n th e n a tio n a l e c o n o m y , [ p a r tia l + s tric t] [3]
(O n th e s ty lis tic a s p e c t o f th is e x am p le, c f 17.88.) S im ila rly , in [4], th e d e f in e r

is th a t h e c o u ld n 't s ee th e car:
T h e e xp la n a tio n th a t he c ouldn’t see the e a r is u n s a tis fa c to ry .

[ p a r tia l + w e ak ] [4]
T h e s y n ta c tic a lly s u b o r d in a te role o f o n e o f th e a p p o s itiv e s is c l e a r w ith

p a r tia l a p p o s itio n , s in c e o n ly th e d e fin e r c a n be o m itte d ( i f 17.66).
C o m b in a tio n s o f app ositio nal ty p e s

17.70 T h e th r e e ty p e s o f d is tin c tio n w e h a v e m a d e a p p ly in c o m b in a tio n , a s
illu s tr a te d b e lo w :
(fu ll [e ith e r o m issib le]

' \p a r tia l [o n ly o n e o m issib le]
f s tric t [sa m e s y n ta c tic class]
A P P O S IT IO N -- ] , r 1 . • , 1
[ w eak [ d i f f e r e n t s y n t a c t i c c la s s ]
_ / nonrestrictive [d iffe re n t in fo r m a tio n u n it]

\ restrictive [s a m e in fo r m a tio n u n it]
( i ) F U L L , ST R IC T, NO NR ESTR IC TIV E
P a u l Jones, th e d istin g u ish ed a rt c ritic , d ie d in h is sle e p la st n ig h t.
( i i ) F U L L , W E A K , NO NR ESTR IC TIV E
P la yin g fo o tb a ll, his only interest in life, h a s b r o u g h t h im m a n y
frie n d s .
( i i i ) F U L L , ST R IC T , R ESTRICTIV E
M y fr ie n d A n n a w a s h ere la s t n ig h t.
( i v ) F U L L , W E A K , R ESTRICTIV E
T h e q u estio n w h eth er to co n fess o r n o t tr o u b le d th e g irl.
( v ) P A R TIA L, STR IC T , N O NR ESTR IC TIV E
A n u n u su a l p rese n t w as g iv e n to h im fo r h is b irth d a y , a h o o k on
ethics.
( v i ) P A R T IA L , W E A K , N O N R ESTR IC TIV E
H is e xp la n a tio n , th a t he cou ld n 't see th e car, is u n s a tis fa c to ry .
( v ii) P A R T IA L , STR IC T, RE STRICTIV E
N e x t S a tu rd a y , fin a n c ia l e x p e rt T o m T im b er w ill b e g in w r i t i n g a
w e ek ly c o lu m n o n th e n a tio n a l e co n o m y , [ty p ica l o f jo u r n a lis tic
style]
130*) T h o n o u n phraso
(v iii) P A R T IA L , W EA K , RESTRICTIV E
B i s claim th a t he c o u ld n 't see th e car w a s u n c o n v in c in g .
M o re th a n t w o un its in a p p o s itio n
1 7.7! T h o u g h w c h a v e fo u n d it c o n v e n ie n t to e x e m p lify a p p o s itio n w ith m e re ly
tw o a p p o s itiv e s , th e re m a y o c c a s io n a lly be m o re th a n tw o u n its in a p p o s itio n
a t t h e s a m e lev el, as in [1]:
T h e y re tu rn e d to their b irthplace, their p la ce o f residence, the

c o u n try o f which th ey were c itizen s. f 11
l n [ l ] , th e r e see m s to b e n o re a so n fo r c o m b in in g a n y tw o o f th e n o u n p h ra s e s
a s o n e u n it in th e a p p o s itio n a l re la tio n s h ip . O n th e o th e r h a n d , w e o fte n fin d
c a s e s in w h ic h tw o o r m o re n o u n p h ra s e s fu n c tio n as o n e a p p o s it iv e :
S h e h a d a sp len d id v a c a tio n : a M e d ite rra n e a n cruise a n d a trip to th e

B a h a m a s. [2]
I n th is c a s e , th e c o o rd in a te d n o u n p h ra s e s a r e to g e th e r a p p o s itio n a l to th e
g e n e r a l te r m a sp len d id vacation in r e la tio n to w h ic h a M e d ite rra n e a n cruise
a n d a trip to the B a h a m a s a re th e p a r tic u la r s . B u t th e u n its f u n c tio n in g a s a
s in g le a p p o s itiv e n e e d n o t b e c o o r d in a te d b y a n d :
W e h a v e eve ryth in g w e n e e d : land, brains, w ealth, (a n d ) tec h n o lo g y • [3]
I n [3], th e s e c o n d a p p o s itiv e is a n a s y n d e tic s e rie s o f ju x ta p o s e d u n its w h ic h ,

ta k e n to g e th e r, a re in c lu d e d u n d e r th e g e n e r a l first a p p o s itio n a l u n it
e v e ry th in g we need. T h e r e i s y e t a n o th e r p o s s ib ility : a h ie r a r c h y o f a p p o s itio n a l
re la tio n s h ip s , a s in d ic a te d h e r e b y b r a c k e t i n g :
W e n o w find [a n e w ty p e o f s tu d e n t: [th e rev o lu tio n a ry - [th e ra d ica l

b e n t on changing the s y s te m a n d the a n a rch ist b e n t on d e stro y in g
if]]]. [4]
A n e w ty p e o f stu d e n t is th e first a p p o s itiv e , w h ile all t h a t fo llo w s i t in th e
s e n te n c e c o n s titu te s th e s e c o n d a p p o s itiv e . B u t w ith in th e s e c o n d a p p o s itiv e
th e r e is f u r th e r a p p o s it io n : th e r evo lu tio n a ry is th e first a p p o s itiv e , w h ile w h a t
fo llo w s in th e s e n te n c e is a p p o s itiv e to it.
A m b ig u it y b e tw e e n a p p o s itio n and o th e r c o n s tru c tio n s

1 7 .7 2 In 17.68 w e n o te d th e u se o f in to n a tio n a n d p u n c tu a tio n s e p a r a tio n f o r th e
a p p o s itiv e in n o n r e s tr ic tiv e a p p o s itio n . W h e r e th e le x ic a l ite m s a n d s y n ta c tic
c o n s tr u c tio n allo w fo r p o te n tia l a m b ig u ity , in to n a tio n o r p u n c tu a tio n
s e p a r a tio n m a y o r m a y n o t re s o lv e th e a m b ig u ity . T h e p a ir o f n o u n p h ra s e s
in [I ] is in te r p r e te d as in d ir e c t o b je c t a n d d ir e c t o b je c t, re s p e c tiv e ly ,
s y n o n y m o u s w ith [ la ] :
T h e y s e n t Jo a n a w aitress fr o m th e hotel. [ 1]
T h e y s e n t a w aitress fr o m th e h o te l to J o a n . [ 1a]
O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e p a ir in [2] is in te r p r e te d a s d ir e c t o b je c t a n d o b je c t
c o m p le m e n t, re sp ec tiv e ly , s y n o n y m o u s w ith [2a]:
T h e y c o n s id e re d M is s H a r tle y a v ery g o o d teacher. [2]

T h e y c o n s id e re d M is s H a r tle y to be a v ery g o o d teacher. [2a]
A p p o s itio n 1307
H o w e v e r, i f th e s e c o n d n o u n p h ra s e in e a c h s e n te n c e is s e p a r a te d f r o m w h a t
p re c e d e s b y a to n e u n it b o u n d a r y in s p o k e n E n g lish o r b y a c o m m a in w r i t t e n
E n g lish , th e n (lie in te r p r e ta tio n is w e ig h te d in I'n v o m o l'ln k in g th e lir s t n o u n
p h r a s e a s d ir e c t o b je c t w ith th e s e c o n d n o u n p h ra s e in a p p o s itio n to i t :
't h e y s e n t J n n n , a w a i t r e s s f r o m th e h o te l.
[‘T h e y s e n t J o a n (w h o w as a w a itre ss fro m th e h o te l) .’] [ lb ]
T h e y c o n s id e re d M is s H a rtley , a very g o o d teacher.
[‘T h e y c o n s id e re d M is s H a rtle y (w h o w a s a v ery g o o d t e a c h e r ) . ’] [2b]
E x p lic it in d ic a t o r s o f a p p o s itio n
17.73 N u m e r o u s e x p re s s io n s a r e a v a ila b le fo r e x p lic itly in d ic a tin g n o n r e s tr ic tiv e

a p p o s itio n . T h e y c a n be in s e r te d b e tw e e n a p p o sitiv e s , fo r e x a m p le n a m e ly in
[I]:
H o w c a n a s o lu tio n b e fo u n d to t h e c u r r e n t d is ea s e o f
c o n te m p o r a r y s o c ie ty , n a m e ly th e in te rn a tio n a l e c o n o m ic c r is is ? [1]
I f w e a d d a n e x p lic it in d ic a to r o f a p p o s itio n su ch as n a m e ly, th a t is, ie, w e d o

n o t re g a rd th is as c h a n g in g full a p p o s itio n in to p a r tia l a p p o s it io n , e v e n
th o u g h t h e p re s e n c e o f th e in d ic a to r m a y affe c t th e a b ility o f th e c o n s tr u c t io n
to m e e t th e c o n d itio n s fo r fu ll a p p o s itio n ( c f 17.66).
T h e in d ic a to r s e x p re s s c e r ta in s e m a n tic re la tio n s h ip s b e tw e e n th e
a p p o s itiv e s , a n d th e r e f o r e c a n n o t b e u sed fo r all case s o f a p p o s itio n . S o m e ,
h o w e v e r, h a v e th e s a m e s e m a n tic fu n c tio n , th o u g h th e y m a y b e a s s o c ia t e d
w ith d iff e r e n t v a rie tie s o f th e la n g u a g e . C o m m o n in d ic a to rs a r e lis te d b e lo w ,
th o s e m a r k in g th e s a m e , o r s im ila r, re la tio n s h ip b e in g g ro u p e d t o g e th e r
(e /8 .1 3 7 ) :
th a t is to s a y , th a t is, ie ( f o r m a l a n d w r itt e n )
n a m e ly, v iz ( f o r m a l a n d w r itt e n )
to w it ( f o r m a l, e s p le g a l)
in o th e r words
or, or rather, or b e tte r
and
as fo llo w s
f o r e x a m p le , f o r in sta n c e, eg ( f o r m a l a n d w r itt e n ) , sa y , including,
in clu d ed , such as
e sp ecially, p a r tic u la rly , in p a rtic u la r, n o ta b ly, chiefly, m a in ly , m o s tly
of
S o m e o f th e s e in d ic a to r s e i t h e r p re c e d e o r (less c o m m o n ly ) fo llo w th e s e c o n d
a p o s i t i v e : th a t is, th a t is to s a y , f o r e xa m p le , f o r instance, in p a rtic u la r, in o th e r
words'.
, , . , .. . , f that is (to s a y) th e 18 4 0 s, 1
D ic k e n s s m o s t p r o d u c tiv e p e rio d , C , , . . . , . , , iw a s a
[ th e 1840s, th a t is (to s a y ), J
tim e w h e n p u b lic d e m a n d fo r fictio n w a s g ro w in g a t a tr e m e n d o u s
ra te .
B u t o th e r in d ic a to r s c a n o n ly p re c e d e th e s e c o n d a p p o s it iv e : n a m e ly , a n d , or,
o r ra th er, or be tte r, a s fo llo w s , including, such a s, o f ; a n d th e a b b r e v i a t e d fo rm s
ie, viz, eg. In c lu d e d c a n o n ly fo llo w th e s e c o n d a p p o s itiv e ( c f 9 .8 ):
M a n y p e o p le , m y s is te r,! w o n q fo rg jve h im fo r th a t.
| m y s is te r i n c l u d e d , I
T h e s c a le o f s t r ic t n o n r e s tr ic tiv e a p p o s itio n
17.74 In a d d itio n to th e r e la tio n s h ip s w e h a v e su b su m e d so fa r u n d e r o u r d e fin itio n

of a p p o s itio n , w c i c c o j ' i i i y c a s c n u u i l i i : s t o l e nin n iiip , fro m i/q u iv a le n c e { i f
‘m o s t a p p o s itiv e ’) to lo o se a n d u n e q u a l re la tio n s h ip (’le a st a p p o s it iv e ’), su ch
as e x e m p lific a tio n . T h e s e s e m a n tic r e la tio n s h ip s a re illu s tra te d in F i g 1 7.74:
‘most (A) e q u iv l e n c e (17.75-80)

F
appositive' (A i) a p p ellatio n : th a t is ( to s a y ) ( i 7.76)

(A ii) id en tificatio n : n a m e ly (17.77-78)
( A i ii ) d e s i g n a t i o n : th a t is to s a y ( 1 7 .7 9 )
(A iv) refo rm u latio n : in o th e r w o rd s ( 17.80)
(B) t t r i u t i o n [ = n o n r e s t r i c ti v e r e l a ti v e c la u s e ) ( 1 7 .8 1 - 8 4 )
F |
(C) i n c l u s i o n (17.85-87)
‘least (C i) exem plification:f o r e x a m p le , s a y (17.86)
appositive’ (CiiJ p a rticu larizatio n : especially (17.87)
F ig 17.74 A scale o f sem antic relationships in strict n onrestrictive noun-phrase

apposition
O f th e th r e e m a jo r s e m a n tic ty p e s (e q u iv a le n c e , a ttr ib u ti o n , a n d in c lu s io n ),
in c lu s io n is th e m o s t p e r ip h e r a l to th e c o n c e p t o f a p p o s itio n , in th a t th is
c o n s tr u c tio n a lo n e r e q u ir e s a n in d ic a to r , s u c h a s p a rtic u la rly in [3], C o m p a r e :
M y best fr ie n d , ( th a t is to say ) A n n a , w a s h e re l a s t n ig h t. [ 1]
T h e house, ( w h ic h is ) a rt
im p o sin g build in g , d o m in a te s th e s tre e t. [2]
T h e c h ild re n lik e d th e anim a ls, p a rtic u la rly th e m o n k e y s . [3]
O n th e o th e r h a n d , e q u iv a le n c e is th e o n ly ty p e t h a t a llo w s e ith e r o r d e r o f
th e a p p o s itiv e s , a s in [1] a n d [ la ] :
A n n a , t h a t is t o say m y b e st f r i e n d , . . . [ la ]
* A n im p o sin g b u ild in g , w h ic h is th e house, d o m in a te s th e s tre e t. [2a]
‘ T h e c h ild r e n lik e d th e m o n k e y s , p a rtic u la rly the a n im a ls. [3a]
T h u s , in te rm s o f th e se tw o c r ite r ia , th e s c a le fro m ‘m o s t to le a s t a p p o s iti v e ’

is in th e o r d e r e q u iv a le n c e -> a ttr ib u tio n -► in c lu s io n .
A p p o s itiv e -lik e r e la tio n s e x is t a lso b e tw e e n o th e r u n its th a n n o u n p h ra s e s ,
s u c h a s c la u se s [4], p r e d ic a tio n s [5], a n d a d je c tiv e s [6]:
A lth o u g h sh e w a s re lu c ta n t, a lth o u g h she f e l t a n u n d e rsta n d a b le

hesita tio n , s h e e v e n tu a lly a g re e d . [4]
T h e y h a d s u m m o n e d h elp - ca lle d th e police a n d fir e b rigade. [5]
S h e is b e tte r, very m u c h be tte r, t h a n sh e u sed to b e . [6]
H o w e v e r, to ta lk a b o u t a p p o s itio n o f u n its o th e r t h a n n o u n p h r a s e s m a k e s
th e c o n c e p t o f a p p o s itio n to o w e a k . S u c h a p p o s itio n - lik e c o n s tr u c tio n s w ill
b e t r e a te d a s e x c e p tio n a l.
(A ) E q u iv alen ce
1 7 .7 5 A p p o s itiv e s in a n e q u iv a le n c e re la tio n s h ip allo w th e in s e r tio n o f th a t is (to
sa y) a n d , less c o m m o n ly , o f in o th e r w ords. A s F ig 1 7.74 s h o w s , th e r e a r e fo u r
ty p e s o f e q u iv a le n c e re la tio n s h ip : a p p e lla tio n , id e n tific a tio n , d e s ig n a tio n ,

a n d r e f o r m u la tio n . T h e ty p e s can be p a rtly d if f e r e n tia te d b y th e d if f e r e n t
o p tio n a l in d ic a to r s th e y a d m it.
(Ai) Appellation
17.76 W i t h a p p e l l a t i o n , ie a ‘n a m i n g r e l a t i o n ', b o t h a p p o s i t i o n a l n o i m p h r a s e s
a r c d e f i n i t e , a n d I l ie s e c o n d is t y p i c a l l y a p r o p e r n o u n . T h e s e c o n d a p p o s i t i v e
is m o r e s p e c i f i c t h a n t h e f i r s t , a n d h e n c e t h e u s e u l'n a m e ly , a n i n d i c a t o r t h a t
i n tr o d u c e s a m o r e s p e c if ic a p p o s itiv e . O r is le s s c o m m o n l y u s e d t h a n th e
o t h e r i n d i c a t o r s , th a t is {to sa y ) a n d in o ilier w ords:
T h e c o m p a n y c o m m a n d e r , th a t is to say C a p ta in M a d iso n ,
a s s e m b le d h is m e n a n d a n n o u n c e d th e ir m is s io n . [I ]
M y b e st fr ie n d , in o th e r w o rd s A n n a , w as h e re la st n ig h t. [2]
M y b e st fr ie n d w a s h e re la s t n ig h t - A nna. [3]
S e n te n c e [3] is a n e x a m p le o f p a r tia l a p p o sitio n .

T h e r e is a o n e -to -o n e c o r re s p o n d e n c e b e tw e e n th e re fe re n c e s o f t h e tw o
a p p o s itiv e s w ith a p p e lla tio n . T h e s ec o n d a p p o s itiv e c a n be re p la c e d b y a
c o r r e s p o n d in g r e la tiv e c la u s e :
T h e c o m p a n y c o m m a n d e r, who is C aptain M a d iso n , a ss e m b le d his

m e n a n d a n n o u n c e d th e ir m issio n . [ 1a]
(A ii) Id e n tific a tio n

1 7 .7 7 W ith i d e n t i f i c a t i o n , th e fir s t a p p o s itiv e is ty p ic a lly a n in d e fin ite n o u n
p h ra s e a n d th e s e c o n d a p p o s itiv e is m o re sp ec ific. H e n c e th e o p tio n a l r e la to r
n a m e ly m a y b e in s e r te d . I f w e m a k e th e first a p p o s itiv e o f [I] in 1 7.76
in d e fin ite , w e n o w h a v e id e n tific a tio n :
A c o m p a n y c o m m a n d e r, (n a m e ly ) C apta in M a d iso n , a ss e m b le d h is
m e n a n d a n n o u n c e d th e ir m issio n . (1 b]
I n [ lb ] th e r e is n o lo n g e r a o n e -to -o n e c o rre s p o n d e n c e , a s th e r e w as w ith [1],

T h e s e c o n d a p p o s itiv e id e n tifie s w h a t is r e fe rr e d to in th e first a p p o s itiv e . A
s im ila r r e la tio n s h ip o b ta in s i f th e first a p p o s itiv e is, o r c o n ta in s , a p r o - f o r m
c o r e fe rrin g to th e s e c o n d a p p o s itiv e :
W e - t h a t is to say J o h n a n d / - in te n d to re s ig n . [2]
S h e still e n jo y s such b o o k s : science fic tio n , d e te c tiv e stories,
h isto rica l novels. [3]
W e h a v e e v e r y th in g w e n e e d : land, brains, w ealth, tech n o lo g y. [4]
I n p a r tia l a p p o s it io n , th e s ec o n d a p p o s itiv e m a y b e p re c e d e d b y a c o lo n as a
g ra p h o lo g ic a l in d ic a to r o f id e n tific a tio n , a s in [3], [4], a n d [5]:
A n u n u su a l p r e s e n t w a s g iv e n to h im fo r h is b i r t h d a y : a b ook
on e th ic s. [5]
N o te T h e re a re o th e r g ra m m a tic a l c o n stru ctio n s w hich a re so m e w h at s im ila r to a p p o s itio n in

m ean in g . C o m p a re e x am p les [3] a n d [4] w ith, respectively, th e c o rre la tiv e su c h . . . a s in [3a] a n d
th e co m p lex p r e p o s itio n in t 4 a f
S h e still en jo y s s u c h b o o k s a s science fiction . . . [3a]
W e h a v e e v e ry th in g w e n eed in th e w a y o /'lan d , b r a i n s ,. . . [4a]
P o s f p o iK - d a n d a n t i c i p a t e d i d e n t i f i c a t i o n
1 7 .78 A s a s p e c ia l s u b ly p e of' id e n tific a tio n , w e m ig h t c o n s id e r (lie p h e n o m e n o n o f
'p o s tp o n e d ' a n d ‘a n tic ip a t e d ’ id e n tific a tio n .
P o s tp o n e d id e n tific a tio n in v o lv e s p la c in g a p ro - fo rm e a r lie r in t h e s e n te n c e
w h ile th e n o u n p h r a s e to w h ic h it re fe rs is p la c e d fin ally as a n a m p lilic a lo ry
ta g { c f 18,59). T h is c o n s tr u c tio n , w h ic h is s o m e tim e s te rm e d ‘rig h t d is lo c a
tio n ’, is re s tr ic te d to in fo r m a l s p o k e n E n g lis h , w h e re it is v ery c o m m o n :
l i e 's acompleteidiot, th a t b rother o f yo u rs. [1]

S u c h u tte r a n c e s a re u su ally s p o k e n w ith d iv id e d fo cu s (c /1 8 .1 7 ), w ith a rise
o n th e ‘ta g ’ c o n firm in g its ‘g iv e n ’ s ta tu s :
It |w c n t o n fa r to o l o n g | f o u r oAtti:] [2]
In in f o r m a l s p o k e n E n g lish w e a ls o h a v e th e re v e rs e p ro c e s s , ‘a n tic ip a te d
id e n tif ic a tio n ’ (a lso c a lled ‘le ft d is lo c a tio n ’), w h e re a n o u n p h r a s e is p o s itio n e d
in itia lly a n d a re in fo r c in g p ro n o u n s ta n d s ‘p r o x y ’ fo r it in th e r e le v a n t
p o s itio n in th e s e n te n c e :
Y o u r fr ie n d J o h n , I s aw h im h e re la s t n ig h t. [3]
T h a t p la y , it w a s te rrib le . [4]
N o te [a] In e v en m o re in fo rm a l style, th e o p e ra to r is so m etim es in clu d ed w ith p o stp o n e d id en tificatio n

( c / 18.58):
7/ w e n t o n far to o long, y o u r g a m e d id . (2a]
I n som e d iale c ts, th e re m ay b e in v ersio n w h en th e v e rb is b e:
H e 's a c o m p lete id io t, [ 1a]
[b] In th e follow ing sen ten ces, p o stp o n ed id en tificatio n in [5] c o n tra s ts in in to n a tio n a n d article
u sage w ith a p p o s itio n in [6], w h ere th e d efinite a rticle m ay be zero :
H e’s ( h a d a lo t o f b a d lu c k J t h e ( n e w m e c H A N ic j [5]
H e’s l h a d a lo t o f b a d l u c k (th e ) p o o r m a n | [61
(A iii) D e sig n a tio n

1 7 .7 9 d e s ig n t io n
F is th e c o n v e r s e o f a p p e lla tio n a n d id e n tific a tio n . T h e s e c o n d
a p p o s itiv e is less sp ec ific th a n th e first, a n d h e n c e th e o p tio n a l in s e r tio n s
c a n n o t in c lu d e th e in d ic a to r n a m e ly. B o th a p p o s itiv e s a r e c o m m o n ly d e fin ite
noun p h ra se s:
C a p ta in M a d iso n , ( th a t is to sa y ) th e c o m p a n y c o m m a n d e r,
a s s e m b le d h is m e n a n d a n n o u n c e d th e ir m is s io n . [I ]
A n n a , ( th a t is to s a y ) m y b e st fr ie n d , w a s h e r e la s t n ig h t. [2]
L a n d , brains, w ealth, technology - in o th e r w o rd s e ve ryth in g we
n e e d - a r e p le n tifu l in o u r c o u n try . [3]
H e s e n t a h e a d the sergeant, in o th e r w o rd s th e m o st e xp e rie n ce d
s c o u t in th e co m p a n y. [4]
R e p la c e m e n t o f th e s e c o n d a p p o s itiv e b y a c o r r e s p o n d in g r e la tiv e c la u se is
p o s s ib le :
H e s e n t a h e a d th e sergeant, w ho w as th e m o s t e x p e rie n c e d sc o u t in
th e c o m p a n y . [4a]
D e s ig n a tio n m a y a lso in c lu d e m a tc h in g in d e fin ite n o u n p h r a s e s :

W e a re u sin g S iriu s - a new m ic ro c o m p u te r with a large m e m o ry . [5]
E x a m p le s o f 'p a r tia l a p p o s it io n :
A n n a w a s h e re la st n ig h t, m y b e st fr ie n d . f2a]
H a v e so m e H a rv e y s w ith y o u r C h r is tm a s the m o st d istin g u ish e d
sherries y o u can b u y. [6]
(A iv) R efo rm u la tio n

17.80 K liro R M U l.A T lO N is a re w o rd in g in th e s e c o n d (d efin in g ) a p p o s it iv e o f th e
le x ic a l c o n te n t o f th e first (d e fin e d ) a p p o s itiv e . F o u r g ro u p s o f r e f o r m u la tio n
m a y b e d is tin g u is h e d :
(a) R e f o rm u la tio n b a se d o n lin g u is tic k n o w led g e

(b ) R e f o rm u la tio n b a se d o n f a c tu a l k n o w led g e
(c) M o re p re c ise fo r m u la tio n
(d ) R e v isio n
(a ) R e f o rm u la tio n b a se d o n lin g u is tic k n o w le d g e

I n re fo r m u la tio n b a s e d o n lin g u is tic k n o w le d g e , th e d e fin in g a p p o s i t i v e is a
s y n o n y m o u s e x p r e s s io n :
T h is is w h a t is s o m e tim e s re f e r r e d to as an intentional
term inological in e x a ctitu d e, in o th e r w o rd s a lie. [1 ]
S o u n d units o f th e la n g u a g e, te c h n ic a lly p honem es, a re u su ally
s u rro u n d e d b y s la n t l i n e s : fp f. [2]
Y o u sh o u ld h a v e c o n s u lte d an ophth a lm o lo g ist, th a t is (to say ) an
e y e d octor. [3]
A s y n o n y m o u s w o rd o r p h r a s e m a y re p la c e th e first fo r m u la tio n in o r d e r to
a v o id m is in te r p r e ta tio n o r p ro v id e a m o re f a m ilia r o r a m o re te c h n ic a l te r m .
I n a d d itio n to th e m a r k e r s it s h a r e s w ith o th e r ty p e s o f r e f o r m u la tio n (in
p a r tic u la r or), th is ty p e a d m its a la r g e r a n g e o f e x p re ss io n s t h a t s p e c if ic a lly
m a r k lin g u is tic r e f o r m u la tio n ( c /8 .8 9 , 8 .1 3 7 ), eg:
(m o re) sim p ly in m o re difficult language

in sim p le(r) w ords in scientific term inology
in sim p le(r) te rm s in m o re technical term s
p u t (m ore) sim p ly te ch n ica lly (speaking)
to p u t it (m ore) sim p ly in w o rd s o f one syllable
P a r ti a l a p p o s itio n in v o lv in g lin g u is tic r e fo r m u la tio n in c lu d e s tr a n s l a t i o n s

fr o m fo re ig n la n g u a g e s : “sa vo ir (‘k n o w ’ in E n g lish )” .
(b ) R e f o rm u la tio n b a se d o n f a c tu a l k n o w le d g e
I n th is g ro u p , th e re fo r m u la tio n is b a s e d less o n lin g u istic k n o w le d g e th a n o n
k n o w le d g e a b o u t th e e x te r n a l w o r ld :
F r e d - o r G in g er as h e is u s u ally c a lle d - . . . [4]

T h e N o rd ic countries, o r D e n m a r k , F inland, Iceland, N o rw a y ,
Sw eden, . . . [5]
T h e U n ite d S ta te s o f A m e r ic a , o r A m e ric a fo r s h o r t , . . . [6]
T h e d is tin c tio n b e tw e e n lin g u is tic a n d f a c tu a l k n o w le d g e is n o t a b s o lu t e a s,

fo r e x a m p le , in :
A llig a to r p e a rs, o r avo ca d o s a s t h e y a r e u s u a l l y c a l l e d , . . . [7]
11 c u n b e a rg u e d th a t it is o u r k n o w l e d g e o i' t h e e x t e r n a l w o rld th a t is
r e s p o n s i b l e 1'or o u r a w a r e n e s s o f t h e g r e a t e r f r e q u e n c y o f ( li e s y n o n y m o u s
avocados i n [7 ],
R e f o r m u l a t i o n c u n a l s o b e n e g a t i v e , ie ( h e m o d i f y i n g a p p o s i t i v e is n o t a
s y n o n y m o u s e x p re s s io n :
Y o u sh o u ld h a v e c o n s u lte d an ophtha/n ia /o g ist, n ot (th a t is) a n

opticia n , fo r y o u r ey es. [3a]
W ith o u t c o n te x t, s u c h a s e n te n c e a s th e fo llo w in g is p o te n tia lly a m b ig u o u s

in w ritin g :
A n n a W ilson, not m y b e st fr ie n d , v o te d a g a in s t m e. [8]
I t e ith e r h a s a n e g a tiv e a p p o s itiv e m e a n in g , ‘A n n a W ilso n , w h o h a p p e n s n o t

to b e m y b e s t fr ie n d , . . o r a d e n ia l s e n s e ( c f 10.66): ‘I t w a s A n n a W ils o n
w h o v o te d a g a in s t m e , n o t t h e o th e r p e r s o n ’.
(c ) M o re p re c is e fo r m u la tio n
T h is ty p e c o n v ey s a m o re p re c is e re fo r m u la tio n , o r a c o r r e c tio n in th e
d e fin in g a p p o s itiv e o f w h a t w a s s a id in th e first a p p o s itiv e :
T h e y s ta r te d g o in g t o th e church, th e C a th o lic C hurch. [9]
B u t th e in te n tio n m a y b e r h e to r ic a l (a s in d e e d in [9]) to p r o v id e a c lim a c tic

e ffe c t b y r e p e titio n a n d e x p a n s io n o f th e first n o u n p h r a s e :
Y o u c o u ld c u t th e a tm o s p h e r e w ith a k n ife , a b lunt k n ife a t t h a t. [10]
A t th a t a tta c h e d to th e e n d o f th e m o d if y in g a p p o s itiv e in [10] is a n e x p lic it

m a r k e r o f r h e to ric a l in te n tio n . W h e n it is p re s e n t, a n d c a n b e in s e r te d
( c f a p p e n d e d c o o rd in a tio n , 1 3 .9 4 ; c o o r d in a tiv e a p p o s itio n , 1 0 .3 9 ):
Y o u c o u ld c u t th e a tm o s p h e r e w ith a k n ife , a n d a b lu n t k n ife

a t th a t. [10a]
P e r h a p s u n d e r th is ty p e o f re fo r m u la tio n w e sh o u ld in c lu d e o th e r in s ta n c e s
o f m o re p re c ise fo r m u la tio n , s o m e o f w h ic h d o n o t in v o lv e r e p e titio n b u t
w h ic h h a v e a c o n s tr a in in g a n d a n tith e tic a l f o r c e :
th is a n d ju s t this th e se a n d these alone

th e w om en a n d o n ly th e w om en those a n d no o th ers
then a n d no t before
(d ) R e v isio n
U n d e r th is h e a d in g w e m a y in c lu d e th e fo rm o f ‘e d itin g ’ o r ‘s e lf -c o rre c tio n ’
th a t is ty p ic a l o f im p r o m p tu s p o k e n E n g lis h w h e re e x e c u tio n a n d p la n n in g ,
a t le a s t to so m e e x te n t, ta k e p la c e s im u lta n e o u s ly . S u c h e d itin g is o f c o u rs e
n o t lim ite d to n o u n p h ra s e s . W e m a y d is tin g u is h so m e d if f e r e n t ty p e s :
‘R e f e r e n c e e d itin g ’ b y th e u se o f th a t is (to s a y ) as i n :
H is p a r ty c o n tro ls L o n d o n , G re a te r L o n d o n th a t is to s ay . [11]
T h is ty p e is v ery s im ila r to th e p r e v io u s o n e in [9], in p r o v id in g m o re p re c is e

in fo r m a tio n , I t is u s ed w h e n th e s p e a k e r w a n ts to a c h ie v e g r e a te r a c c u ra c y
a n d p re c isio n .
‘N u a n c e e d itin g ’ b y th e u se o fo r r a th er b e fo re a s u b s titu te d e x p r e s s io n , a s
in :
S h e p u ls s u c h v ita lity (o r ra th e r virility) in lo h e r play , [12]
‘M is ta k e e d itin g ’ b y th e u se o f I m ea n in o r d e r to c o rre c t a p h o n o lo g ic a l o r
s e m a n tic m is ta k e ( w h ic h is c o m m o n e n o u g h in im p r o m p tu s p e e c h ), e g :
T h e th irst th in g , I m e a n th e ,fa st thing lo re m e m b e r is I h e! , . . f 13]
T h en y o u a d d th e p ea ch es - 1 m e a n , the apricots . . . [14]
‘C la im e d itin g ’ b y th e u se o f well w h e n a s p e a k e r w a n ts to m o d if y a c la im
h e fin d s e x c e s siv e , e g :
A l l fa m ilie s , w e ll ( a t le a s t) those w ho can a ffo r d to , w ill be g o in g
a w ay f o r th e i r h o lid a y . [15]
(B ) A ttrib u tio n
1 7.81 A ttr ib u tio n in v o lv e s p r e d ic a tio n r a th e r th a n e q u iv a le n c e , a n d th e e q u iv a le n c e
in d ic a to r s th a t is {to s a y ) a n d in other w ords a r e n o t a d m itte d . O n th e o th e r
h a n d , w e c a n r e p la c e th e d e fin in g a p p o s itiv e b y a c o r r e s p o n d in g n o n r e s tr ic
tiv e re la tiv e c la u s e . T h e d e fin in g a p p o s itiv e is c o m m o n ly a n in d e f in ite n o u n
p h ra se :
C a p ta in M a d is o n , a c o m p a n y c o m m a n d er, a s s e m b le d h is m e n a n d
a n n o u n c e d th e i r m is sio n .
T h e house, a n im p o sin g building, d o m in a te s th e s tre e t.
R o n P all, a b la ta n t lia r , c la im ed th a t h e h a d w o n first p riz e .
B u t th e d e f in in g a p p o s itiv e can a ls o b e d e fin ite , w ith c a t a p h o r ic th e

in tr o d u c in g a d e f in ite d e s c rip tio n ( c /5 .3 2 ) ;
H e in tr o d u c e d m e t o th e yo u n g wom an, the heir to a fo r tu n e .

M a n y s tu d e n ts, th e c rea m o f the school , d ie d in th e w a r.
‘I d o n ’t k n o w w h a t I w o u ld h a v e d o n e i f I h a d s e e n h im ’, e x c la im e d
M a r y , th e p r e y o f violent and obscure em otions.
D efin in g a p p o sitiv e w ith a rtic le om itted

1 7 .8 2 I n a ty p e o f p a r t i a l a p p o s it io n e x p re ss in g a ttr ib u tio n (p a r tic u la r ly a u n iq u e
ro le), a n a r tic le ( d e fin ite o r in d e fin ite ) is a b s e n t fr o m th e d e f in in g a p p o s it iv e
( c /5 .4 2 ):
M a r y C o rd w e ll, 2 5 -y e a r-o ld singer on television show s, is b e in g

in v ite d to th e re c e p tio n . [ 1]
T h e o m is sio n o f t h e a r tic le is o p tio n a l in th e d e fin in g a p p o s itiv e w h ic h m a y

b e s e e n a s a r e d u c e d re la tiv e cla u se :
R o b in so n , ( w h o is) {the) leader o f th e D em o cra tic g ro u p on the

c o m m itte e , r e fu s e d to a n sw e r q u e stio n s. [2]
N o te [a] T h e o m issio n o f th e a rtic le is o n e o f th e d ev ices used in h ead lin es, w h ere a s e n te n c e su c h as

[2a] would n o t b e u n u s u a l:
D e m o c r a tic le a d e r refu ses to an sw e r qu estio n s. [2a]
[b] If th e d efin in g a p p o s itiv e is sh o rt enough, it c a n be p ro p o sed in restric tiv e a p p o sitio n

( c f 17.6 8, 17,88):
D e m o c r a tic le a d e r R o b in so n refused to answ er q u estio n s, f.?h|
2 5 -y e a r -o ld te le v isio n .singer M ary C'ordwel! is bein g in v ited to th e recep tio n . I ln |
T h is usage is g en erally a sso c ia te d w ith th e jo u rn alistic style o f m ag azin es, especially in Am H . It
is to he d istin g u ish ed fro m cases w h ere the [irsl elem en t is an ollieial tille, e g : l i c c - I 'r c s id m i
D u rn e y , th o u g h , h ere to o , th e ir use is com m o n er in A m H th a n UrK ; th u s S e c r e ta r y o f S t a l e S m ith
(b u t h ard ly F o re ig n S e c r e ta r y B row n).
T h e re la tio n o f a p p o sitio n to v erb less a d v erb ial d a n s e

17.83 A n a d v e r b ia l (th e n , o b v io u sly , also, n o rm a lly , e tc ) th a t i.s a n e le m e n t in a
v e rb le ss c la u s e m a y o c c u r w ith th e d e fin in g a p p o s i t i v e :
N o r m a n J o n e s , th e n a stu d e n t, w ro te s e v e ra l b est-se lle rs.

Y o u r b r o th e r , ob vio u sly an e xp ert on E n g lish g ra m m a r, is h ig h ly p ra is e d
in th e b o o k I ’m re a d in g .
T h e y e le c te d a s c h a ir m a n E d n a J o n e s , a lso a C a m b rid g e g ra d u a te.
J o n e s a n d P e te r s , bo th o f u nknow n a d d ress, w e re c h a r g e d w ith th e
m u r d e r o f W illia m s o n .
A t th e e n tr a n c e th e r e a re tw o p illa rs, one on each side.
A s o m e w h a t d if f e r e n t c o n s tr u c tio n is w h e re th e d e fin in g a p p o s itiv e is a

v e rb less c la u s e c o m p r is in g th e s tru c tu re s u b je c t -f c o m p le m e n t:
T h e tw o m e n , o n e a N o rw e g ia n a n d th e o th e r a D a n e , w e re a w a r d e d
m e d a ls . [1]
I n e a c h c a s e , th e p a r tic ip le being c an b e in s e r te d b e tw e e n th e tw o in te r n a l
c o n s titu e n ts o f th e d e f in in g a p p o s it iv e :
T h e tw o m e n , one (being) a N orw egian a n d th e o th e r (being) a

D ane . . . [ la ]
T h e y c a n a lso b e s e e n a s re d u c e d re la tiv e c la u s e s :
T h e tw o m e n , o n e ( o f w hom was) a N o rw e g ia n a n d th e o th e r ( o f
w hom w as) a D a n e , . . . [X b]
D e f in in g a p p o s itiv e w ith a d v e rb ia l
1 7 .8 4 A n a ttr ib u ti o n a p p o s it iv e is to b e d is tin g u is h e d fr o m a v e rb le ss a d v e r b ia l
clau se. V e rb le s s a d v e r b ia l cla u se s (c /1 4 .9 ) o f te n o c c u r in itia lly a n d a re
c h a r a c te r is tic a lly in te r p r e te d a s c o n ce ssiv e o r c a u s a ! :
A n e v e n -te m p e re d m a n , P a u l n e v e r th e le s s b e c a m e e x tre m e ly a n g ry
w hen he h eard w hat had happened. [I ]
T h e heir to a fo r tu n e , h e r fr ie n d d id n o t c a r e a b o u t p a s s in g
e x a m in a tio n s . [2]
T h e v e rb le s s c la u s e in [1] is in te rp r e te d a s c o n c e s s iv e : ‘T h o u g h h e w a s a n
e v e n - te m p e r e d m a n ’. ( N o tic e th a t n everth eless re f e r s b a c k to th e c o n te n t o f
th e in itia l c la u s e : ‘in s p ite o f h is b e in g a n e v e n - te m p e r e d m a n ’.) T h e v e rb le ss
c la u se in [2], o n th e o th e r h a n d , is in te r p r e te d a s c a u s a l: ‘S in c e s h e w a s th e
h e ir to a f o r tu n e ’. T h e s e c o n s tr u c tio n s d iffe r f r o m id e n tif ic a tio n a p p o s itio n
( c / 1 7 .7 7 ) in t h a t, w h e n th e y o c c u r in itia lly , th e s e c o n d n o u n p h r a s e is th e
s u b je c t o f th e s e n te n c e , a n d is n o t m a rk e d o ff fro m th e p re d ic a te by i n t o n a t i o n
o r p u n c tu a tio n s e p a ra tio n .
H o w e v e r, th e v e rb le ss a d v e r b ia l c la u se c a n o c c u r a f te r (be su b je c t a n d is
th e n , lik e a p p o s itio n , m a rk e d o lf b y in to n a tio n o r p u n c tu a tio n :
H e r fr ie n d , the heir to a fo r tu n e , d id n o t c a r e a b o u t p a ssin g

e x a m in a tio n s . [2 a)
B o h R a n d , a n o torious burglar , fo u n d it e asy to fo rc e o p e n th e lo c k . [3]
In s u c h c ase s, th e le x ical c o n te n t o f th e s e n te n c e su g g ests th e m o re p r o b a b le

in te r p r e ta tio n . F o r e x a m p le in [4J, a b la ta n t liar c a n be in te r p r e te d a s a
(v e rb le s s ) a d v e r b ia l c a u s a l clau se, s in c e it is r e a s o n a b le to a s c r ib e th e
e x p u ls io n to P a ll’s b e in g a b la ta n t l i a r :
R o n P all, a b la ta n t liar, w as ex p elled fro m th e g ro u p . [4]
I n [4a], o n th e o th e r h a n d , a b la ta n t lia r w o u ld n o rm a lly be u n d e rs to o d a s a

c a s e o f a p p o s itio n :
R o n P a ll , a b la ta n t liar, u s e d to b e in m y c la s s a t sch o o l. [4 a]
I n [4a], th e r e is n o m o tiv a tio n fo r a s s u m in g th a t P a ll's p re s e n c e in th e c la s s

h a d a n y th in g to d o w ith h is b e in g a b la ta n t lia r. If, h o w e v er, th e o r d e r o f th e
a p p o s itiv e s w e re re v e rs e d [4b], o n e w o u ld a s s u m e th a t th e re is s u ch a c a u s a l
o r e x p la n a to r y in te n tio n :
A b la ta n t liar, R o n P a ll, u sed to be in m y c la ss a t sch o o l. [4 b ]
(C ) I n c lu s io n
1 7.85 In c lu s io n a p p lie s to c a s e s o f a p p o s itio n w h e re th e re fe re n c e o f th e first
(d e fin e d ) a p p o s itiv e is n o t id e n tic a l w ith th a t o f th e s ec o n d (d e fin in g ), b u t
r a t h e r in c lu d e s it. T h e in c lu s io n re la tio n s h ip a p p lie s o n ly to p a r tia l a p p o s it io n
s in c e th e o m is sio n o f th e first a p p o s itiv e b rin g s a b o u t a r a d ic a l s e m a n t ic
change.
T h e r e a r e tw o ty p e s o f in c lu s io n : (i) e x e m p lific a tio n , a n d '( i i) p a r t i c u l a r
iz a tio n . E x e m p lif ic a tio n n e e d n o t be in d ic a te d b y e x p lic it r e la to rs , w h ile
p a r tic u la r iz a tio n m u s t h a v e th e m ( c /8 .1 1 6).
( C i) E x e m p lific a tio n
1 7 .8 6 I n e x e m p l i f i c t i o n , th e s e c o n d a p p o s itiv e e x em p lifie s th e re fe re n c e o f th e
F
m o r e g e n e r a l te rm in th e first a p p o s itiv e :
T h e y v is ite d s ev e ra l cities, fo r e x a m p le R o m e a n d A lliens.

H is e x c u se s, s u c h a s th e b rea k d o w n o f h is c ar, n e v e r s ee m e d p la u s ib le .
M a n y peo p le, in c lu d in g m y sister, w o n ’t fo rg iv e h im fo r th a t.
T h e e x p lic it in d ic a to rs o f e x em p lific a tio n a p p o s itio n a r e th o s e in th e g r o u p

h e a d e d b y / o r e.vaw p/e in 17.73.
S o m e tim e s th e re m a y b e a m b ig u ity b e tw e e n e x em p lific a tio n a n d id e n tif i
c a t io n ( c f 17.77) if n o in d ic a to r is p r e s e n t:
F a m o u s m e n - H e n ry J a m es, G an d h i, S a u l B ello w - h a v e v is ite d th is

u n iv e rs ity .
P r e s u m a b ly th e m e n re fe rre d to in th e s e c o n d a p p o s itiv e a re n o t th e o n ly
fa m o u s m en to visit th e u n iv e rs ity , b u t a rc m e n tio n e d as e x a m p le s o f su ch
v is ito rs (/V (h e list o f n a m e s is o p e n -e n d e d , a n d is u su ally n u n k ed a s su c h in
s p e e c h b y ris in g in to n a tio n ; c f a s y n d e tic c o o rd in a tio n , 1 3 .1). O n th e o th e r
h a n d , it is n o t im p o s sib le fo r th e r e la tio n s h ip to b e in te r p r e te d a s o n e o f
id e n tific a tio n (/<* th e list is c lo se d , w h ic h is in d ic a te d by fallin g to n e ). I f o n e
o f th e in d ic a to rs fo r id e n tific a tio n n a m e ly, th a t is {fa sa y), in o th e r w ords, all
o f w h ic h a rc o p tio n a l - is in s e r te d , th e a p p o s itio n m u s t b e a n in s ta n c e o f
id e n tif ic a tio n ; il* th e in d ic a to rs ,/br c x a m p lc ,J o r in sta n ce , eg, s a y , o r in cluding
a r e in s e r te d (w h ic h is th e n o rm ) , th e n w e h a v e a n u n a m b ig u o u s c a s e o f
e x e m p lific a tio n .
N o te W c sh o u ld p e rh a p s include h ere in sta n c es lik e ifou follow ing, whore a n u m eral or q u a n tifie r in
th e seco n d a p p o sitiv e in d icates th e in c lu s io n :
T h e tw o m e n , one a D a n e , w ere a w a rd e d m edals.
T h e s o ld ie rs, so m e d r u n k , sta rte d fighting each o th er.
S e v e r a l sa ilo rs, one lo o k in g lik e s o m e o n e I k n o w , s tep p ed up to th e bar.
(C ii) P a r tic u la r iz a tio n

1 7 .8 7 P A R T IC U L A R IZ A T IO N is th e m a r k e d fo r m o f in c lu s io n a n d re q u ire s a n e x p lic it
in d ic a to r w h ic h sh o w s th a t th e p a r tic u la r iz a tio n h a s b e e n c h o s e n b e c a u s e it
is in s o m e w ay p r o m i n e n t:
T h e b o o k c o n ta in s so m e fa s c in a tin g p a ssa g e s, n o ta b ly an a cco u n t o f their

trip to N o rth A frica.
T h e c h ild re n lik e d the a n im a ls, p a r tic u la r ly th e m o n k ey s.
W e w a n t to in v ite a n u m b e r o f fr ie n d s , e sp e c ia fly J o a n a n d B e tty .
O th e r in d ic a to rs o f p a r tic u la r iz a tio n a re in p a rtic u la r, ch iefly, m a in ly , a n d

m o stly .
S tr ic t re s tric tiv e ap p o s itio n

1 7 .8 8 T h e r e a r e th re e ty p e s o f s tr ic t re s tr ic tiv e a p p o s itio n o f n o u n p h ra s e s .
I n ty p e (a), th e first a p p o s itiv e is p re c e d e d by a d e fin ite d e te r m in e r (a n d
p o s s ib ly p re m o d ifie r) a n d is m o r e g e n e r a l th a n th e s e c o n d a p p o s it iv e :
th a t fa m o u s c r itic P a u l J o n e s th e n u m b e r th re e
th e s o p ra n o J a n e t B a k e r th e y e a r 2000
th e n o v e l ‘G r e a t E x p e c ta tio n s ’ y o u r b r o th e r G e o rg e
T h e ty p e fr ie n d A n n a u s u ally im p lie s c r i t i c i s m :
O ur fr ie n d A n n a h e re d o e s n ’t t h in k so, h o w e v er.
T y p e (b ) is th e re v e rs e o f (a ), ie th e s e c o n d a p p o s itiv e is p re c e d e d b y th e
d e te r m in e r the, a n d is m o re g e n e r a l th a n th e first:
P a u l J o n e s th e c r itic T h o m p s o n th e p lu m b e r
J a n e t B a k e r th e s o p r a n o W r ig h t th e la w y er
T y p e (c) is lik e (a) b u t w ith o m is s io n o f th e d e te r m in e r ( c f 1 7 .7 6 , 17.82

N o te [b]); th e e x a m p le s in th e rig h t- h a n d c o lu m n a r e e sp e c ia lly A m E :
B ro th e r G e o rg e S o p r a n o J a n e t B a k e r <csp A m E >
P a r m e r B ro w n L a w y e r W rig h t < e s p A m P >
T y p e (a) is th e m o s t c o m m o n . T y p e (c), w ith o m issio n of ific d e t e r m i n e r ,
p ro d u c e s p a r tia l a p p o s itio n , w ith th e first a p p o sitiv e b e c o m in g p r e m o d if ie r
a n d re s e m b lin g a title (L o r d N elso n . M rs J o h n so n , e tc ; c / 5 . 66). G e n e r a ll y ,
su ch re d u c tio n o f th e first a p p o s itiv e o c cu rs o n ly w h en 1lie s e c o n d is t h e n a m e
o f a p e rs o n . I le n e e w e d o n o t find *novel 'G rea t E x p e c ta tio n s' o r * y e a r 2 0 0 0 .
P r o n o u n s fo llo w ed b y n o u n p h ra s e s , su ch a s y o u g irls (c f\< ).53), y o n B ritish
(c f 7 .2 5 N o te [ej), a n d we m e n , c a n a lso be a n a ly se d a s re s tr ic tiv e a p p o s it io n .
N o te D e te rm in e rs a re reg u larly o m itte d in p ro p er noun use, a s is o b serv ed not on ly in p e rs o n a l an d

g eo g rap h ical n am es, b u t also in, e g :
O p e ra tio n A b o litio n , I l u rric a n e H dna, M ission Im possible
P o stp o sed n u m erals a n d le tters p e rh a p s im ply the ellipsis o f th e w ords n u m b e r o r le tte r :
lin e (n u m b er) 12 room (n u m b er) IDA
eq u a tio n (n u m b er) 4 W a rd (letter) C
I f th a t is so , th e p h rases c o n ta in a p p o sitio n a l co n stru ctio n s, w ith th e n u m b e r o r le tte r b e in g in
a p p o sitio n to th e cllip tcd w o rd n u m b e r or le tte r , e g : n u m b e r JO A - T h e n u m b e r is JOA . W e also
find p rcm o d ify in g n u m b ers a n d letters, p articu larly on signs like i\'o 2 P la tfo r m , Q B l o c k . T h e
follow ing c o n stru c tio n s a rc fully a cce p ta b le in o n o m astic u se :
N u m b e r 3, N o 3, < esp A m E ) # 3
C h (a p te r) 6, C lass 2 b , F ig (u rc) B, Section 10, T ab le 8, Type A
T h e re is no type (a) w ith a d efin ite d e te rm in e r possible in the following use:
. . f N u m b e r 1 0 3 2 [ n o t : *the n u m b er 103)
re you in 7
/ ^ J [N0T; "'the room 103]
G e o g ra p h ic a l n a m e s
1 7 .89 G e o g r a p h ic a l n a m e s (c / 5 .6 8 ) m e rit s e p a ra te tr e a tm e n t b e c a u s e th e p r o p e r
n o u n is o fte n p r e c e d e d o r fo llo w e d b y a d e s c rip to r ( c f 5 .6 0 ) w h ic h h a s a n
a p p o s itiv e fu n c tio n . C e r ta in n a m e s o f in d iv id u a l m o u n ta in s a n d la k e s ta k e
M o u n t a n d L a k e , r e s p e c tiv e ly , as a title , ie ty p e (c) ( c / 1 7 . 88 ):
M o u n t E v e re s t L a k e M ic h ig a n
M o u n t V e su v iu s L a k e W in d e rm e re
W e d o n o t p refix th e m w ith a d e te rm in e r. M o st o th e r g e o g r a p h ic a l n a m e s
ta k e a d e te r m in e r , th e g e n e r a l te rm b ein g p re c e d e d b y th e p r o p e r n o u n as
p re m o d if ie r :
th e A tla n tic O c e a n th e R o ck y M o u n ta in s
th e M e d ite r r a n e a n S e a th e N ile V alley
S o m e riv e rs allo w e ith e r s tr ic t a p p o s itio n ty p e (a) o r p re m o d if ic a tio n ( c f 5 .7 2 ):
th e (R iv e r) R h in e /T h a m e s /S e in e /R h d n e /N ile
N e w -w o rld riv e rs h a v e th e p r o p e r n o u n b e fo re th e d e s c r ip t o r :
fO h io T
th e < M is s is s ip p i > ( R iv e r)
f P o to m a c J
I n n a m e s o f s o m e d is tr ic ts a n d a few c itie s a n d v illa g e s, th e r e is n o a r tic le

a n d th e d e s c r ip to r c o m e s s e c o n d . T h e se e x a m p le s o f th e ‘n a m e fir s t'
c o n s tr u c tio n a r e e s p e c ia lly c o m m o n a n d in N o rth A m e r ic a h a v e a re s tr ic tiv e

im p lic a tio n , ie: N e w York C ity is d is tin g u is h e d Iro n i, fo r e x a m p le , N ew York
S ta te :
N e w Y o rk C ity M ilw a u k e e C o u n ty
Q u e b e c P r o v in c e D u lw ic h V illag e
In a n a m e lik e K a n sa s C ity , C ity is in f a c t p a r t o f th e n a m e a n d c a n h a rd ly be

o m itte d . In o th e r c a s e s b o th o rd e rs a re p o s s ib le : C o u n ty C o rk o r C o rk C o u n ty
(a n d o th e r Irish c o u n tie s).
In s te a d o f ty p e (a ) o f s tr ic t re s tric tiv e a p p o s itio n , th e tw o a p p o s itiv e s a re
m o re c o m m o n ly lin k e d b y o f, in w h ic h case th e r e is n o im p lic a tio n o f
re s tric tiv e n e s s , fo r th e n a m e s o f m o n th s a n d fo r th e n a m e s o f v illa g e s, c itie s,
d is tric ts , c o u n tie s , a n d reg io n s'.
th e B o ro u g h o f C a m d e n th e S ta te o f G u a te m a la
th e C ity o f W e s tm in s te r th e Is la n d o f C y p ru s
th e S ta te o f W a s h in g to n th e C o n tin e n t o f A u s tr a lia
In s o m e c ase s w e h a v e a c h o ic e b e tw e e n th e fo rm s e x e m p lifie d in W a sh in g to n
S ta te (as d is tin c t fr o m W a sh in g to n , D .C .) a n d th e S ta te o f W a sh in g to n . B u t, in
m a n y c ase s, th e f o r m e r o p tio n is n o t a v a ila b le :
th e C ity o f L o n d o n [not ’ L o n d o n C ity ]

th e D is tr ic t'o f C o lu m b ia [not: ’ C o lu m b ia D is tric t]
th e m o n th o f D e c e m b e r [ n o t: ’ D e c e m b e r m o n th ]
th e C o n tin e n t o f A f r ic a o r th e A f r ic a n C o n tin e n t [ n o t: *A f r ic a
C o n tin e n t]
th e R e p u b lic o f F r a n c e or t h e F r e n c h R e p u b lic [ n o t: ’ F r a n c e R e p u b lic ]
N o te B ooks o f the B ible n o rm ally h a v e t h e (./-c o n stru c tio n :

th e book o f G e n e sis th e b o o k o f Job
F or o th e r uses o f th e a p p o s itiv e i n d ic a to r of, c f t l A l f f .
C ita tio n s
1 7 .9 0 A n im p o r ta n t u se o f ty p e (a ) o f re s tric tiv e a p p o s itio n ( c f 17.68) is fo u n d w ith
c ita tio n s a n d title s o f b o o k s , film s, e t c :
th e te r m ‘h e a v y w a te r ’
th e e x p re s s io n ‘d o y o u r o w n t h in g ’
T h e first a p p o s itiv e is o f te n a b s e n t:
(T h e w o rd ) i / i s a c o n ju n c tio n .
(T h e n o u n ) m e n is a n ir r e g u la r p lu ra l in E n g lish .
I ’m re a d in g ( th e n o v e l) C rim e a n d P u n ish m en t.
(T h e v e rb ) hiss e x p re s s e s b y its v e ry s o u n d th e m e a n in g it c o n v ey s.
T h e b o o k a n d th e p a p e rs is a c o o rd in a te d n o u n p h ra s e .
W e m a y a ss u m e a w e a k fo r m o f ellip sis (c /1 2 .3 8 ) in s u c h c a s e s, a n e llip sis o f

s o m e g e n e r a l p h r a s e s u c h a s th e expression o r th e cita tio n fo r m , o r o f a n
a p p r o p r ia te te rm in th e c a s e o f title s, su c h a s th e b o o k , the f ilm , th e p la y .
N o tic e th e s in g u la r n u m b e r c o n c o rd w ith m en a n d th e b o o k a n d the p a p e rs
(e/T O .3 4 N o te [c]), w h ic h c a n b e e x p la in e d i f w e a s s u m e th e e llip s is o f a
s in g u la r first a p p o s itiv e .
A p p o s itiv e s w ith n a m e s o f p e rs o n s
17.91 W ith n a m e s , ty p e (It) o f re s tric tiv e a p p o s itio n ( r /' 17 .88) is re s tric te d to e a s e s
w h e re th e first a p p o s itiv e is th e n a m e o f a p e rs o n a n d th e s e c o n d is th e
d e s ig n a tio n o r a n o c c u p a tio n , re la tio n s h ip , e t c : B ill J o h n sto n the a rch itec t.
In ty p e (c ) o f r e s tric tiv e a p p o sitio n , th e lirst a p p o s itiv e is used a s i f it w e re
a title in A r c h ite c t Jo h n sto n <esp jo u r n a lis tic A m E ) . T h is u se s h o u ld b e
c o m p a r e d w ith in s titu tio n a liz e d titles ( c f 5 .6 6 ):
P r e s id e n t K e n n e d y Ju d g e ! l a r r is < c sp A m f . )
D r S m ith V ic e-p re sid e n t J o h n s o n < esp A m E )
W ith a p p o s itiv e s , a p re p o s e d d e te rm in e r is n o r m a l (ty p e a ), a lo n g w ith ty p e

(c):
th e c r itic P a u l J o n e s th e a r c h ite c t B ill J o h n s to n
B u t a d e te r m in e r is n o t u sed w ith title s lik e queen a n d p ro fesso r u n le s s th e

n o u n p h r a s e s a r e m o d if ie d :
(th e p r e s e n t) Q u e e n E liz a b e th
( th e s p rig h tly ) P ro fe ss o r B ro w n
(th e ) M r P o r te r (w h o liv e s n e x t d o o r to y o u )
W ith a p p o s itiv e s , p o s tp o s itio n w ith the (ty p e b ), a s in P a u l J o n es th e c ritic,

is m o re c o m m o n th a n p r e -p o s itio n w ith o u t th e (ty p e c), as in critic P a u l J o n e s
( c f 17.88).
B ro w n th e fa r m e r is p e r h a p s o n th e b o rd e rlin e in th is re s p e c t. S in c e w e
h a v e m y b ro th er G eorge, a n d h e n ce G eorge m y bro th er, th e in *G eorge th e
b rother a n d a n a lo g o u s c o n s tr u c tio n s w ith fa m ily re la tio n s h ip s a re ru le d o u t,
u n le ss th e is c a t a p h o r i c : G eorge, the b rother o f J a m e s.
P r e - p o s itio n is n o r m a l fo r title s , a n d th o s e p h r a s e s th a t a re n e a r e s t t o b e in g
e x c lu siv e ly title s d o n o t allo w p o s tp o sitio n a t a ll: S ir J o h n C a rtw rig h t, M r
P orter.
W e c a n n o w sh o w th e g ra d ie n c e fro m a p p o s itio n in critic P a u l J o n e s to fu ll
title in M r P o r te r w ith th e fo llo w in g e x a m p le s :
(0 (2) (3)
c r itic P a u l J o n e s <esp F a r m e r B ro w n B ro th e r G e o rg e
jo u r n a lis tic A m E ) th e f a rm e r B ro w n m y b r o th e r G e o r g e
th e c r itic P a u l J o n e s B ro w n th e f a rm e r ? th e b r o th e r G e o r g e
P a u l J o n e s th e c r itic th e fa rm e r ’ G e o rg e th e b r o th e r
th e c r itic ’ fa r m e r [v o cativ e] th e b r o th e r
’ c r itic [ v o c a tiv e ] b r o th e r [v o c a tiv e ]
(4) (5) ( 6)
P r o fe s s o r B ro w n D r S m ith [n o n m e d ic a l] M r P o r te r
’ th e p r o f e s s o r B ro w n ’ th e d o c to r S m ith ’ th e M r P o r te r
? B ro w n th e p ro f e s s o r ’ S m ith th e d o c to r ’ P o r te r th e m is te r
th e p ro f e s s o r ’ th e d o c to r ’ th e m is te r
P r o fe s s o r [ v o c a tiv e ] D o c to r [v o cativ e] m is te r [v o c a tiv e ; in
n o n s ta n d a r d u s ag e ]
N o te [aj M osl a p p o s itiv e d e scrip to rs an d titles can be used w ith a d e te rm in e r an d w ith o u t th e p ro p er

noun:
th e fu n n e r . th e judy.v, th e P r e s id e n t . (h r d o c to r (w hen used for ft m ed ical p racfit ionerj
liul m i - a n d m is te r a re mil used m llns w a y : * (h r m i . T h e nn.Mer ‘i<'< in •»as n o in lim tlim l use 'm y
h u s b a n d ’; c f th e m is s u s ['m y (or your) w ife’]. T h e L o r d (w ith a c a p ita l I.) refers to Clod. O n the
use o f in itia l c a p ita l letter fo r a p p o sitiv e titles. c / A p p 111.29.
|b | M ost title s c an be used as vocatives ( e f \ 0 . 5 2 f ) an d so can som e a p p o sitiv e s such as I-'arm cr
and U rol her. T h e title M is s is used in the vocative •: e sp A m T an d fam iliar o r n o n sta n d a rd K rl; \
but o th erw ise is g en erally billow ed by a nam e. T h e a c co m p an y in g n am e m ust be Ific las) n am e
(<'#: M is s J o n e s an d n o t M is s A lic e ), e x cep t in a rch aic o r m in o rity use (esp ecially sou th ern A m E
an d o ld -fash io n ed BrH>.
O n (he o th e r h a n d , s ir w hen used a s a title is fa llo w e d by th e lirst o r full n a m e : S ir J o h n
(S p e n c e r ) a n d n o t * S ir S p e n c e r ( c /5 .6 6 N o te [b]). T h e v o cativ e s ir ( T h is w a y , s ir ! ) is n o t an
a b b re v ia te d fo rm o f th e title fou n d in S ir J o h n but th e g en eral p o lite v o cativ e for ad d ress to all
ad u lt m ales. T h e v o cativ e m is te r o ccu rs on ly in n o n sta n d a rd u se: Y ou c o m e h e re , m ixte r.
T h e a p p o s itiv e /;'« /['E sq u ire'] is used in K rl:., but v irtu ally only in w ritin g (chiefly in ad d ressin g
letters), an d is postponed to a nam e co n sistin g o f a fam ily n am e w ith e ith e r a lirst n am e or
in itials:
J o h n P o rter, E sq o r J . P o rter, F.sq
T h is is a m o re fo rm al a lte rn a tiv e t o :
M r J o h n P o rte r o r M r S. P o rter o r M r P o rter
A /ra n d E s q a re n o t c o m b in e d : * M r J . P o r te r , E s q . E s q c a n n o t o ccu r w ith s u rn am e alone (* S m ith ,
E s q ) n o r c an it c o o ccu r w ith o th er titles (* S ir S id n e y M a r x , E sq).
[cj In c e rta in titles, th e p ro p er noun is follow ed by an a rticle a n d ad jectiv e ( c /5 .64 N ote [b]):
C a th e r in e ( th e G r e a t) ; o r n u m eral: H e n r y V I I I [‘th e e ig h th ’]. In such d e sig n a tio n s th ere is
o ccasio n ally a reo rd e rin g w ith th e m o d ificatio n p r o p o se d :
P itt th e Y o u n g e r o r th e Y ounger P itt
W eak a p p o s itio n
1 7 .9 2 In w e a k a p p o s itio n , th e a p p o s itiv e s c o m e fr o m d iff e r e n t s y n ta c tic cla sses ( c f
17.67). T h e o p tio n a l in d ic a to r n a m e ly m a y b e u s e d i f th e s e c o n d a p p o s itiv e is
m o re sp e c ific , w h ic h is th e c a s e w h e n th e s e c o n d a p p o s itiv e is a c la u se (fin ite
o r n o n fin ite ) . N o rm a lly th e n o u n p h r a s e c o m e s first, a s in th e s e in s ta n c e s o f
fu ll a p p o s itio n ;
S h e h a s a p r o b le m : n a m e ly sh o u ld sh e charge th e m f o r th e d a m a g e or
s h o u ld s h e fo r g e t a b o u t it ?
T h e ir so lu tio n , n a m e ly to appoint a c o m m itte e , is d e p lo ra b le .
B u t th e c la u se , p a r tic u la r ly i f it is a n o n fin ite c la u se , c a n c o m e first:
F o r th e m to p a y h im a com m ission - h is o w n su g g estio n - s e e m e d a n

a c c e p ta b le id e a .
H o w e v e r, it w o u ld b e m o re n a tu r a l to h a v e a re la tiv e c la u s e : ‘a c o m m is sio n ,
w h ic h w a s h is s u g g e s tio n . . . \ T h e s e c o n d a p p o s itiv e , w h e th e r a n o u n p h r a s e
o r a c la u s e , c a n in d e e d b e r e g a rd e d a s a r e d u c e d r e la tiv e c la u s e :
, f h e r jo b , (w h ic h w a s) te a c h in g E n g lish .
e e n jo y e y te a c ^ n^ £ ngHsfjt (w h ic h w a s) her jo b .
A g a in , w h e n th e first a p p o s itiv e is a n o n fin ite c la u se , th e r e la tiv e c la u se

c o n s tr u c tio n w o u ld b e p r e f e r a b le : \ . . te a c h in g E n g lis h , w h ic h w a s h e r j o b ’.
I n p a r tia l w e a k a p p o s itio n b e tw e e n n o u n p h r a s e a n d c la u se , th e n o u n
p h r a s e a p p e a r s first:
H is e xp la n a tio n , th a t is to say th a t h e cou ld n 't see th e car, is u n s a tis fa c to ry .

P r c m o d if ic u t io n 1321
H e g a v e th e m th e n e w s : n a m e ly th a t (he troops w ould he leaving.
T h e lirst a p p o s itiv e c a n n o t he o m itte d w ith o u t p r o d u c in g a n u n a c c e p ta b le

s e n te n c e (<;/ 17.06). '/'h u t is ( to s a y ) a m i in a n e ly a re th e (o p tio n a l) i n d ic a to r s
fo r th is ty p e o f a p p o s itio n . T h e c la u se c a n be re g a rd e d a s a r e d u c e d re la tiv e
c lau se.
T h e lirsl a p p o s itiv e m a y he p a rt o f 'th c cla u se :
I f th e g o v e rn m e n t h a d k n o w n w h a t w as g o in g to h a p p e n , it w o u ld n o t
h a v e increased c red it fa c ilitie s a m o re th at a ccelera ted in fla tio n .
A p p o s itio n w it h g e n e r a l n o u n s
R e s tric tiv e a p p o s itio n is c o m m o n w ith su ch g e n e ra l n o u n s a s th e f a c t , th e

view , th e q u e stio n , y o u r d u t y :
T h e f a c t th a t sh e w o uldn't b e tra y h er frie n d s is v ery m u c h to

h e r c re d it. [I ]
I d o n ’t a g re e w ith th e view th a t there is no a dvantage in being
p a tie n t. [2]
T h e question w h eth er to co n fess or no t tro u b led h e r. [3]
Y our d u ty to report the a c cid en t ta k e s p re c ed e n c e o v e r
e v e r y th in g else. [4]
F in ite a p p o s itiv e c la u se s lik e [I-2] a r e fu r th e r d iscu ssed in 17.2 6 /; in f i n itiv e

c la u se s lik e [ 3 - 4 ] in 17.35.
W ith p a r tic ip le c la u se s, a n d s o m e tim e s w ith u7/-clauses, o f is u s e d a s a n
in d ic a to r (c /L 7 .4 7 ):
T h e th o u g h t o f p la y in g a g a in st th e m a ro u s e s all m y a g g re ssiv e in s tin c ts .

H e d i d n 't a c c e p t the id ea o f w o rkin g w hile he was stu d yin g .
H e r a ccount o f w hat sh e h a d d one th a t y ea r d id n o t s atisfy h e r c o lle a g u e s .
Premodification
T y p e s o f p r e m o d ify in g ite m
I n a d d itio n to d e te r m in a tiv e s th a t c o o c c u r w ith th e h e a d o f a n o u n p h r a s e

( c / 5 . 1 0 # '), le x ic al a n d g r a m m a tic a l ite m s o f a w id e ra n g e a n d in d e f in ite
c o m p le x ity a n d in te r r e la tio n s h ip c a n p re c e d e a n o u n h e a d to fo rm a n o u n
p h r a s e w h o se m o d if ic a tio n is g e n e r a lly less e x p lic it th a n th a t o f p o s tm o d if i
c a tio n (c /1 7 .8 ) . A re la tio n s h ip h a s a lre a d y b e en in f e r r e d b e tw e e n th e
p r e d ic a tiv e a d je c tiv e (T h e g ir l is ta il) a n d p re m o d ific a tio n (th e k ill g ir l) , a n d
in 17.3#' it w a s sh o w n t h a t su c h p re m o d ific a tio n c a n be r e s tr ic tiv e o r
n o n re s tric tiv e .
T h e m a jo r ty p e s o f p r e m o d if y in g ite m s a re th e fo llo w in g ( t h e h e a d
in d ic a te d b y a n g le b r a c k e ts ) :
1322 T h e n o u n phroyo
(a ) adjective ( 1 7 . 9 6 - 9 7 ) :
Wealsomet \vyc d e l ig h tf u l (family). |‘llor family isdelightful.']
(b ) p F r t ic ip l e ( 1 7 .9 8 - 1 0 3 ):
T h e y n e v e r fo u n d th e m is s i n g ( r e p o r t ) . [‘T h e re p o rt w a s m is s in g .’]
H a v e y o u r e p o rte d th e s to le n ( c a r ) ? [‘T h e c a r h as b e e n s to le n .']
(c) n o u n ( 1 7 .1 0 4 -1 0 9 ):
I h a t e c i ty ( t r a f f i c ) , [ ‘tr a f fic in t h e c i ty ']
In a d d itio n , th e r e a re s o m e m in o r , ie less fr e q u e n t an d less p r o d u c tiv e , ty p e s

o f p re m o d if ic a tio n :
(d ) g e n it iv e ( 1 7 . 1 1 0 ):
1 v is ite d h is f i s h e r m a n 's ( c o t t a g e ) . [‘T h e c o tta g e b e lo n g s to a f is h e r m a n '

o r ‘b e lo n g e d to a f is h e r m a n ’ o r ‘re s e m b le s th e c o tta g e o f a f is h e r m a n .’]
( e ) ADVERB AND OTHER PHRASES ( 1 7 .1 1 1 ) :

W e h a v e r o u n d - th e - c lo c k ( s e r v i c e ) . [‘T h e serv ice is r o u n d th e c lo c k , ie
all d a y a n d n ig h t. ’]
( f ) SENTENCE ( 1 7 .1 1 2 ) :
S h e h a s a sk e d I d o n 't k n o w h o w m a n y ( p e o p le ) to th e p a r ty . [‘I d o n ’t
k n o w h o w m a n y p e o p le s h e h a s a s k e d to th e p a r ty .’]
R e s tr ic tiv e a n d n o n r e s t r ic tiv e p r e m o d ific a tio n
1 7 .9 5 B e fo re lo o k in g in m o re d e ta il a t th e m a jo r ty p e s o f p re m o d if ic a tio n , th e r e a re
tw o g e n e r a liz a tio n s to b e m a d e a b o u t th e re s tr ic tiv e /n o n r e s tr ic tiv e a n d
t e m p o r a r y /p e r m a n e n t d is tin c tio n s .
A lth o u g h th e r e a re fe w f o r m a l c u es a s to w h e th e r a p r e m o d if ic a tio n is
re s tric tiv e o r n o t, it m a y b e n o te d th a t, b y th e ir im p r o v is e d n a tu r e itse lf,
ty p e s (e) a n d (f) te n d to b e re s tr ic tiv e a n d to b e g iv e n m o r e p ro s o d ic
p ro m in e n c e ( c f A p p t h a n th e h e a d o f th e n o u n p h r a s e . N o w , it is a
g e n e r a l ru le th a t, w h e re th e r e is n o p o s tm o d ific a tio n , it is th e h e a d o f a n o u n
p h ra s e th a t is g iv e n p ro s o d ic p r o m in e n c e . A lth o u g h r e s tr ic tiv e p re m o d ifie rs
n e e d n o t affe c t th is ru le , it is in te r e s tin g to n o te th a t w h e re p r o m in e n c e is
g iv e n to a p re m o d if ie r (a s it n o rm a lly is to a p o s tm o d ifie r), t h e i te m c o n c e rn e d
m u s t b e re s tric tiv e . C o m p a r e [1] a n d [2]:
myugly nose [ 1]
*myUGlyn o se [2 ]
T h e n o u n p h r a s e [1] is n o t n o n s e n s ic a l, b u t [2] n o rm a lly is, u n le ss in th e
s p e c ia l c o n te x t o f, f o r e x a m p le , d r a w in g a tte n tio n to s o m e o n e e ls e ’s u n k in d
a llu sio n . In th is c o n n e c tio n it s h o u ld b e n o te d th a t, a lth o u g h p r o p e r n a m e s
d o n o t n o rm a lly n e e d r e s tr ic tiv e m o d if ic a tio n { c f 1 7 . 3 # ) , th e y c a n h a v e it
w h e n a d is tin c tio n is b e in g m a d e b e tw e e n m o re e n titie s b e a r in g th e sa m e
nam e:
D o you m e a n th e K e n r il C K y R ic h m o n d o r th e V irO lN ia
T y p ica lly , n o u n s a n d a d je c tiv e s a r e s ta tiv e , a n d v e rb s a r e d y n a m ic ( c /2 .4 3 ).

P re rn o d ific u tlo n 1323
I t fo llo w s t h a t, a s m o d if ie r s , m ost a d je c tiv e s a n d n o u n s d e s c rib e p e r m a n e n t

c h a r a c te r is tic s w h ile m o st p a rtic ip le s d e s c rib e te m p o ra ry o n e s. S in c e , a s w e
saw in 17.7, p r e h e a d p o s itio n in th e n o u n p h ra s e is s tro n g ly a s s o c ia te d w ith
re la tiv e ly p e r m a n e n t c h a r a c te ris tic s , it fu r th e r fo llo w s t h a t p r e m o d if ic a tio n
by p a rtic ip le s is fr e q u e n tly su b jec t to c o n s tr a in t b u t th a t p r c m o d if ic a tio n b y
a d je c tiv e s a n d n o u n s is ra re ly so.
P r e m o d ific a tio n b y a d je c tiv e s
1 7 .96 A p r e m o d if y in g a d je c tiv e (o r, m o re s tric tly , a p re m o d if y in g a d je c tiv e p h r a s e ;

r /7 .2 0 ) , e s p e c ia lly w h e n it is th e first ite m a f te r th e d e te r m in a tiv e , c a n its e lf
b e p re m o d if ie d , a s in [1], in th e sam e w ay a s it c a n in p r e d ic a tiv e p o s itio n , a s
in [ la ] ;
H e r fa m ily is [ r e a lly [q u ite [unbelievably]]] ( d e lig h tf u l) . [1]

h e r [ r e a lly [ q u ite [u nbelievably]]] ( d e lig h tf u l) fa m ily [ la ]
S o m e in t e n s i f i e s te n d h o w e v e r to b e a v o id e d w ith p r e m o d if y in g a d je c tiv e s .
T h u s th e p r e d ic a tiv e p h r a s e in [2] w o u ld seem a little g u s h y in p re m o d ific a tio n
[2a]:
h e r d a u g h te r w h o is so b e a u tifu l [2]
h e r s o b e a u t i f u l d a u g h te r [2 a]
W ith in d e fin ite d e te r m in e r s , in c lu d in g zero , s o w o u ld b e re p la c e d b y s u c h .

T h u s , in p la c e o f s o in p o s tm o d ific a tio n , a s in [3] a n d [4], w e c a n h a v e s u c h in
p re m o d if ic a tio n [3 a] a n d [4a]:
f a d a u g h te r whois s o b e a u tifu l [3]

[but: s u c h a b e a u t i f u l d a u g h te r [3a]
f daughterswhoares o b e a u tifu l [4]

[but: s u c h b e a u t i f u l daughters [4 a]
H o w e v e r, in r a t h e r fo r m a l c o n te x ts, s o p lu s a d je c tiv e c a n b e p la c e d b e f o r e
th e in d e fin ite a r tic le [3 b ]:
so b e a u tifu l a daughter [3b]
T h e r e is re s is ta n c e a ls o to tra n s fe rrin g c la u se n e g a tio n to a s tr u c tu r e o f

p re m o d if ic a tio n , w h ic h is p o s sib le o n ly in lim ite d c ir c u m s ta n c e s (u s u a lly n o t
p lu s in te n s ifie r o r n e g a tiv e affix); th u s [5] a n d [6] a llo w th e f o r m a tio n o f [5a]
a n d [ 6 a ]:
u- , u . fv e ry. c o u r te o u s. [5]
H is b e h a v i o u r w a s n o t <
[u n p le a s a n t. [6]
, fv e r y c o u r te o u s b e h a v io u r
~ h is n o t 1
[5a]
\, I
[ u n p le a s a n t b e h a v io u r [6a]
T h is g iv e s a s lig h t im p r e s s io n o f im p r o v is a tio n (n o te t h a t r e p la c in g h i s b y th e
in [5a] a n d [6 a] m a k e s th e n o u n p h ra s e slig h tly less a c c e p ta b le ) . T h u s m a n y
m ig h t p r e f e r to re f o r m u la te b y le x ic a liz a tio n ( c /'A p p l.& ff) , ie r e p la c in g th e
free , a n a ly tic n e g a t io n n o t b y a n affix al n e g a tio n ( c f A p p 1.21), as in [5b], o r
b y s e le c tin g a p o s itiv e in s te a d o f tw o n e g a tiv e s [6b]:
h is ra th er d isco u rte o u s b e h a v io u r [5b]

h is < /uilepleasant b e h a v io u r [bb]
H o w ev e r, w e h a v e n o w c h a n g e d th e m e a n in g in th e d ire c tio n o l' m a k in g I lie

b e h a v io u r less c o u rte o u s a n d m o re p le a sa n t, re s p e c tiv e ly .
N o iip m lie n liv e ad je ctiv e s

17.97 T h e re a re a le w p e r ip h e r a l a d je c tiv e s t h a t c a n n o t b e u sed in p re m o d ilie a lio n ,
a n d , c o n v e rse ly , s o m e th a t c a n n o t be p r e d ic a tiv e . B o th ty p e s a re d iscu ssed
in 7.20/7, a n d h e r e w e w ill o n ly g ive so m e f u r th e r illu s tra tio n s o f a d je c tiv e s
w h ic h a r e re s tr ic te d to a ttr ib u tiv e p o sitio n .
F ir s t, c o n s id e r th e s m a ll g ro u p (c/ 7 .33 / / j e x e m p lifie d as fo llo w s:
th e m ere m e n tio n | u t n o t : * The m e n tio n is m ere.

th e o n ly tr o u b le | u t n o t : * T h c tro u b le is only.
T h e s e a d je c tiv e s b e h a v e irre g u la rly a lso in n o t a llo w in g in te n s ific a tio n b y

very, th o u g h s o m e w ill allo w s u p e rla tiv e u s e :
T h e m e re st w o r d w a s e n o u g h to u p s e t h im .
M o st o f th e m a r e c le a rly re la te d to a d v e r b i n t e n s i f i e s :
T h e m e n tio n w a s m e re ly o f . . .
I t w a s u tte r ly d is g ra c e fu l.
S o m e ite m s in th is c la ss, h o w e v e r, h a v e h o m o n y m s t h a t a re c e n tr a l a d je c tiv e s

(c /7 .3 ). C o m p a r e :
T h is is p u re n o n s e n s e , [p e rip h e ra l a d je c tiv e ]
T h e a ir is (v e ry ) p u r e , [c e n tra l a d je c tiv e ]
S e c o n d ly , th e r e is a g ro u p p o sin g a s p e c ia l p ro b le m in th a t th e y a r e re la te d
to n o u n s ( c f 7 .1 2 //j. W h ile a d je c tiv e s n o rm a lly re fe r to q u a lity o r to
r e s e m b la n c e w ith s u b s ta n c e , so m e r e fe r to th e p o s s e s s in g o f s u b s ta n c e ( c f
7.37). T h u s p o e tic c a n m e a n ‘h a v in g th e q u a litie s o f p o e tr y ’ o r ‘c o n s is tin g o f
p o e try ’ ; in th e l a tte r s e n s e , it c a n n o t b e p r e d ic a tiv e o r b e in te n s ifie d o r
g ra d e d :
th is v e ry p o e tic im a g e ~ T h is im a g e is v e ry p o e tic .
, . . , , f~ h is o u tp u t o f p o e try
is p o e tic o u p u | ^ 01J(pU( j s (v e ry ) p 0 e tic.
h e r r a t h e r n a sa l p r o n u n c ia tio n ~ H e r p r o n u n c ia tio n is r a th e r nasal.

, f ~ th e c a v ity o f th e nose
t e n a sa c a v i y j ^ T h e c a v ity is ( r a th e r ) n asal.
P r e d ic a ti v e u s a g e w ith n asal, oral, p o etic, e tc is h o w e v e r p o s sib le in s p e c ia liz e d

c o n te x ts :
H is o u tp u t is e x c lu siv e ly poetic, [‘c o n s is ts . . . o f p o e tr y ’]
O th e r c o n d itio n s o f n o n p r e d ic a b ility ( a t a n y ra te , w ith o u t in tr o d u c in g

s o m e d iff e r e n c e o f c o n n o ta tio n ) a re to b e s e e n in fo r m u la ic e x p re s s io n s , eg:
P re m o d ific a t io n 132 5
‘g r a t e f u l th a n k s ’ [ b u t n o t: *‘H is th a n k s a r c g r a t e f u l ' - , c;/ 8 .9 0 /'o n c o u r te s y

s u b ju n c ts]. S im ila r ly : h u m h l e { a p o l o g i e s ) , k i n d ( r e g a r d s ) .
W e sh o u ld a lso m e n tio n ite m s w ltieh lull b o th o n tsiile th e e lo se it e la s s
p o s U le te rm in e r s d is c u s s e d in 5.21)// a n d a lso o u ts id e th e c la ss o f a d je c tiv e s a s
n o rm a lly u n d e rs to o d . N u m e ra ls , fo r e x a m p le , c a n n o t be freely p r e d i c a t e d :
b e s id e t h e t w e n t y m e n , th e p re d ic a tiv e 7 h e m e n a r e t w e n t y w ould n o r m a lly
m e a n th a t th ey w e r e a g e d tw e n ty . (I t o w e v e r , ‘ I l o w m a n y a i e you?* ‘ W e a r e
th r e e ', ‘W e a re liv e ', e tc is a p o s sib le , if u n u s u a l, s e q u e n c e fo r th e n o r m a l
‘T h e r e a r e th r e e o f u s .’) A g a in , a b so lu te c o m p a r a tiv e s ( c f 7 .8 5 ) lik e l a t t e r ( t h e
l a t t e r q u e s t i o n ) a n d u p p e r ( t h e u p p e r s t o r e y s ) m u s t b e in p r e m o d if ic a tio n
p o s itio n .
P r e d ic a tio n o f th e a d je c tiv e is b lo c k e d w h e n th e n o u n h e a d is a g e n t ia l a n d
th e a d je c tiv e re fe rs to th e a c tiv ity ( r /'7 .3 6 ; ‘n o n in h e r e n t a d je c tiv e s ’, 7 .4 3 ) :
W h e r e th e n o u n c a n o n ly re fe r to a c tiv ity , th e r e is o f c o u rse n o d if f ic u lty :
h is good w r itin g ~ H is w ritin g is good.
C o m p a r e a lso a n o l d f r i e n d ' . ‘H e h as b e e n a fr ie n d fo r a lo n g tim e ’ c a n n o t b e

tu r n e d in to t h a t f r i e n d o f m i n e i s o l d , w h ic h o n ly re fe rs to t h e fr ie n d 's a g e .
N o te S p ecial co n tex ts c re a te th e ir o w n usage w here th e g en eral rules o f th e lan g u ag e m ay b e w a iv e d .

S o m eo n e a d d icted to th e g am e o f b rid g e, for e x am p le, m ay well a sk : ‘G o o d , now wc a rc fo u r, so
let's s ta r t’ w ith o u t r u n n in g th e risk o f bein g u n d ersto o d as r efe rrin g to age.
P r e m o d ific a tio n b y -in g p a r tic ip le s
17,98 T h e p o s s ib ility o f m o d if ic a tio n by a p r e s e n t p a rtic ip le d e p e n d s o n th e

p o te n tia lity o f th e p a r tic ip le to in d ic a te a p e r m a n e n t o r c h a r a c te r is tic f e a tu r e .
T o a le ss e r e x te n t, g ra d a b ility (e sp ec ia lly as in d ic a te d th r o u g h in te n s if ic a tio n
b y v e r y ) is in v o lv e d . S e n te n c e [1] s h o w s i n t e r e s t i n g as fully a d je c tiv a l ( c / 7 . 2 ,
7 . 1 5 / ) , d e s p ite th e d ir e c t re la tio n to th e v e rb i n t e r e s t [ 2 ] :
S h e h a s a v e ry i n t e r e s t i n g m in d . [1]
H e r m in d i n t e r e s t s m e v e ry m u c h . [2]
B u t a n ite m c a n b e a p r e m o d if ie r a n d y e t d is a llo w very:
a ro a r in g b u ll [ b u t n o t : * v ery ro a rin g ]
A n d th e c o n v e r s e c a n b e tru e , v i z a p a r tic ip le w ill h a v e lim ite d a c c e p ta b ility

u n le ss a c c o m p a n ie d b y a n in te n s ifie r s u c h a s v e r y :
T h is la s t e x a m p le w ill illu s tra te th e c ru c ia l sig n ific a n c e o f th e ‘p e r m a n e n c e ’

T h o n o u n phrnao
c h a r a c te r is tic ; su c h p a r tic ip le s c a n freely p re m o d if y n o u n s su c h a s lo o k a n d

s m ile :
T h e m a n h im s e lf c a n n o t h a v e s h o c k o r s u rp ris e a ttr ib u te d p e r m a n e n tly to

h im ( th o u g h c f: s h e ll - s h o c k e d ) , b u t a p a r tic u la r look c an o f c o u rs e be
p e r m a n e n tly a ss o c ia te d w ith s u c h a v alu e. So lo o w c m a y s p e a k o f a s m ilin g
f a c e m o re o fte n th a n o f a s m ilin g p e r s o n . It is th u s n e c e s sa ry to re a liz e th a t wc
a re n o t h e re c o n c e rn e d w ith p a r tic u la r p a r tic ip le s so m u c h a s w ith th e ir
c o n te x tu a l m e a n in g . A w a n d e r in g m in s tr e l is o n e h a b itu a lly g iv e n to
w a n d e r in g , b u t i f w e saw a m a n w a n d e r in g d o w n th e s tre e t, w e c o u ld n o t say
[3] b u t o n ly [4]:
* W h o is th e w a n d e r in g m a n ? [3]
W h o is th e m a n w a n d e r in g d o w n th e s tre e t? [4]
A g a in , s o m eo n e w h o to ld g o o d s to rie s c o u ld b e a ( e e r y ) e n t e r ta in i n g p e r s o n
b u t o n e w o u ld n o t say th is o f s o m e o n e w h o h a p p e n e d a t th e m o m e n t o f
s p e a k in g to b e e n te r ta in in g h is fr ie n d s w ith a g o o d sto ry .
N o te T h e ten d e n c y to w ard s p e rm a n e n ce in th e in te rp re ta tio n o f p rem o d ify in g p a rticip les is also seen

in th e no n p ro g ressiv e in te rp re ta tio n o f th e p a rticip le in e g : a w o r k in g m a n , ie ‘o n e w ho does
esp ecially m an u al w o rk ’, o r ‘o n e w h o w orks, esp ecially m an u a lly ’.
1 7 .9 9 T h e in d e fin ite a rtic le fa v o u rs th e h a b itu a l o r p e r m a n e n t, th e d e fin ite a rtic le

th e sp ecific o r te m p o r a r y ( c f 5.26). T h u s s o m e p e o p le fin d [1] s tra n g e ,
e sp e c ia lly in B rE :
? T h e a p p r o a c h in g tr a in is fr o m L iv e rp o o l. [ 1]
O n th e o th e r h a n d , [2] is fu lly a c c e p ta b le :
H e w as fr ig h te n e d b y a n a p p r o a c h in g tra in . [2 ]
H e re , w e a re c o n c e rn e d p e r h a p s w ith w h a t is c h a r a c te r is tic in ‘a p p r o a c h in g
t r a i n s ’. S im ilarly , so m e fin d [3] o d d , c o m p a r e d w ith [4]:
? T h e b a r k in g d o g is m y n e ig h b o u r ’s. [3]
I w a s w a k e n e d by a b a r k in g d og. [4]
O n th e o th e r h a n d , a f te r a n in d e fin ite h e a d h a s b e e n p o s tm o d ifie d b y a n -in g

c la u se , th e -in g p a r tic ip le c a n p re m o d if y th e s a m e h e a d w ith th e d e fin ite
a r tic le ( c f th e s im ila r c o n d itio n s fo r n o u n p re m o d if ic a tio n , 1 7 .1 0 4 ):
a p ro p o s a l o ffe n d in g m a n y m e m b e rs
th e o ffe n d in g p ro p o s a l
I n a d d itio n , th e d e fin ite a r tic le m a y b e u s e d g e n e r ic a lly a n d h e n c e e v o k e th e

s a m e g e n e r a lity a n d p e r m a n e n c e a s th e in d e fin ite a r ti c l e :
T h e b e g in n in g s tu d e n t s h o u ld b e g iv e n e v e ry e n c o u r a g e m e n t.
[‘b e g in n e rs in g e n e r a l’, n o t = ‘a p a r tic u la r b e g in n e r ’]
T h is la s t e x a m p le r e p r e s e n ts w h a t m a y b e a c u r r e n t tr e n d in jo u r n a lis m a n d
P m m o fJ jfjo / iiio n 1377
in te c h n ic a l w ritin g (e s p e c ia lly in th e so cial s cien ces) to a d m it -in g p a r tic ip le s

,
r a th e r m o re freely in p re m o d if ic a tio n : th e d e v e lo p in g c o u n tr ie s th e { p a r t i a l l y )
, , ,
h e a r in g c h ild a c o n tin u in g c o m m itm e n t a n o n g o in g c o n c e r n a v o tin g m e m b e r .
P r e m o d ific a tio n b y -e c fp a r tic ip le s
1 7.1 0 0 M u c h o f w h a t h a s b e e n s a id o f -in g p a rtic ip le s (c /'1 7 .9 8 / ) a p p lie s to - e d

p a r tic ip le s also , b u t th e r e a re a d d itio n a l issues. In th e first p la c e , th e - e d
p a r tic ip le c a n b e a c tiv e o r p a ss iv e b u t, as w ith p o s tm o d ific a tio n ( c f 17.29),
th e a c tiv e is ra re ly u s ed in p rc m o d ifie a tio n . C o n tra s t:
t h e i m m i g r a n t w h o h a s a r r iv e d
B U T n o t : * th e a r riv e d im m ig r a n t
T h e fo llo w in g a r e e x c e p tio n a l:
th e v a n is h e d tr e a s u r e [‘th e tre a su re w h ic h h a s v a n is h e d ']

a r e tir e d te a c h e r
r e d u c e d ! f a lle n jin c r e a s e d p ric e s; ris e n c o sts ( i n th e te c h n ic a l la n g u a g e o f
e c o n o m ic s )
P r e m o d ific a tio n is s o m e w h a t m o re c o m m o n w h e n a n a c tiv e p a r t i c i p l e is

m o d ifie d b y a n a d v e r b ;
th e n e w ly - a r r iv e d im m ig r a n t [‘th e im m ig r a n t w h o h a s a r r iv e d r e c e n tly ']

o u r r e c e n t ly - d e p a r t e d f r ie n d [‘o u r fr ie n d w h o h a s d e p a r te d re c e n tly ']
a w e ll- r e a d w o m a n [‘a w o m a n w h o h a s re a d a lo t']
a s o ft- s p o k e n p e r s o n [‘a p e rs o n w h o s p e a k s so ftly ']
?a r e c e n tly - a r is e n p r o b le m [‘a p ro b le m w h ic h h a s a ris e n re c e n tly ']
W ith in th e p a s s iv e , w e m u s t d is tin g u is h th e p a ss iv e w h ic h re fe rs t o p ro c e s s
fr o m th e p a ss iv e w h ic h re f e r s to s ta te ( c f ‘s ta ta l p a s s iv e ’, 3.77). A s ta ta l
e x a m p le :
s o m e c o m p lic a te d m a c h in e r y
~ T h e m a c h in e r y is c o m p lic a te d .
* T h e m a c h in e r y w a s c o m p lic a te d by th e d e sig n e r.
W ith th e s ta ta l ty p e b e lo n g a lso b o rn a n d so m e u ses o f h id d e n m a r r i e d , ,

,
tr o u b le d d a r k e n e d , e tc , b u t in p re m o d ific a tio n th e y m u s t e i t h e r h a v e
‘p e r m a n e n t’ r e fe re n c e o r b e m o d ified b y a n a d v e r b :
a b o r n m u s ic ia n [‘a n a tu r a l m u s ic ia n '], a n e w ly -b o r n ch ild

a m a r r ie d m a n , m a r r ie d life
T h e c a r e fu lly h id d e n s p y illu s tra te s th e g e n e ra l c o n tr a s t b e tw e e n - in g a n d

- e d p a rtic ip le s . T h e y a r e s im ila r in p o s tm o d if ic a tio n :
T h e sp y , c a r e f u lly h id d e n in th e b u s h e s ,] . , A. iL. ,
r ,, , . . lt , , > k e p t w a tc h o n th e h o u s e .
T h e sp y , c a r e f u lly h id in g m th e b u sh es, J
B u t th e -in g p a r tic ip le , u n lik e th e - e d p a rtic ip le , re s ists p r e m o d i f i c a t i o n : * th e

c a r e fu lly -h id in g s p y .
N o te W ith th e a c ce p ta b ility o f a re c e n tly -a r r iv e d p la n e beside *an a r r iv e d p la n e , c o m p a re a b r o w n - e y e d

g ir l b esid e * a n e y e d g i r l ( c f 17.102).
17.101 M o st -e d p a rtic ip le s h a v e p a s s iv e m e a n in g , a n d o n ly a few w ill e asily a d m it

tlie p e rm a n e n t re fe r e n c e th a t will p e rm it p rc m o d if y in g use. W e m a y c o n tr a s t
th e p a rtic ip le o f th e s la tiv c v e rb in 11 ] w ith th a t o f th e d y n a m ic v e rb in |?.|:
The w a n te d m a n w as la s t s e e n in C a m b rid g e .
[th e m a n g o es o n b e in g w a n te d b y th e p o lic e ] [1]
''T h e fo u n d p u rse w a s r e lu m e d to its o w n er.
[th e p u rs e w a s f o u n d a t a p a r tic u la r m o m e n t] [2]
B ut a lo st p a rse is a c c e p ta b le , b e c a u s e , a lth o u g h a p u rs e is n o lo n g e r re g a rd e d
as 'f o u n d ' a f te r it h a s b e e n r e trie v e d , a p u rs e w ill b e re g a rd e d a s ‘lo s t’
th ro u g h o u t th e p e r io d o f its d is a p p e a r a n c e . T h is a s p e c tu a l r e la tio n
c o rre s p o n d s to t h a t o f th e p e rfe c tiv e o f c o n clu siv e v e rb s { c f 4 .3 3 ), a s c a n be
s ee n in th e p o s s ib le p a r a p h r a s e : a lost purse [‘a p u rs e th a t h a s b e en los-i’J.
th e d e fe a te d a rm y , a d a m a g e d c a r , a broken v a se
C o n tr a s t:
a w a n te d m a n [‘a m a n w h o is w a n te d b y th e p o lic e ’]
B u t n o t, e x c e p t in s p e c ia l c o n te x ts , s u c h a s s e c o n d in s ta n c e s { c f 17.109),
w h ic h w e m u s t ig n o r e h e r e :
* a s o ld c a r *a b uilt h o u se
* th e m e n tio n e d a r tic le *a d escribed m a n
E x c e p tio n s to th e g e n e r a l ru le s u g g e s t th a t th e s e m a n tic a n d a s p e c tu a l
f a c to rs a r e m o r e c o m p lic a te d th a n w e h a v e i n d ic a te d . F o r e x a m p le , a lth o u g h
a s u m o f m o n e y c a n g o o n b e in g n e e d e d , o n e d o e s n o t n o rm a lly s a y '’.th e
n e e d e d m o n e y ; a lth o u g h a c a r is s to le n a t a m o m e n t o f tim e , o n e c a n s p e a k o f
th e stolen c a r [ 'th e c a r t h a t h a s b e e n s to le n ’].
T h e p r e m o d if y in g p a r tic ip le u su ally c h a r a c te r iz e s a ty p e r a th e r t h a n a n
i n s ta n c e : a m u tte r e d rep ly is a ty p e o f rep ly , a n d a d ra w n sw o rd d e s c rib e s a
ty p ic a l p o s tu re . W ith a n o rg a n ize d tour w e m a y p e r h a p s e x p la in th e
p r e m o d if ic a tio n th r o u g h th e c o n tin u in g a n d p r o f e s s io n a l n a tu r e o f th e
o r g a n iz a tio n (ie ‘a p a c k a g e to u r ’, a s d is tin c t fr o m a to u r p r iv a te ly o rg a n iz e d
o n a sp ec ific o c c a s io n ) ; o r p e r h a p s w e sh o u ld s u p p ly a n o m itte d a d v e r b ‘a n
(officially or s p e c ia lly ) o rg a n iz e d to u r ’, s in c e w e m u s t r e m e m b e r t h a t a ll o f
th e s ta r r e d p a r tic ip ia l p h r a s e s b e c o m e a c c e p ta b le w h e n m o d if ie d b y a d v e r b s
(o n t h e te n d e n c y , e sp in B rE , to h y p h e n a te s u c h p re m o d if ie r s , c / A p p I I I . 4 / ) :
a recen tly so ld c a r a w ell-built h o u s e

th e a b o v e-m e n tio n e d a r tic le a ca re fu lly d e sc rib ed m a n
1 7 .1 0 2 M o d ifie rs in -e d m a y b e d ire c tly d e n o m in a l a n d n o t p a r tic ip le s a t all

’ { c f A p p 1.38):
a b e a rd e d m a n [‘a m a n w ith a b e a r d ’, 'a m a n w h o h a s a b e a r d ’]

th e v a u lte d r o o f [‘a r o o f w ith v a u lts ’]
a w o o d ed h ills id e [‘a h ills id e c o v e re d w ith w o o d s ’]
B u t c o n s tr a i n ts o
do n o t have
*u p o w ere d et
* u le g g e d sp ic
T h e s e c o n s tr a in t
b u t c o m m u n ic a t
u s efu l, n o n tr iv ia
s p id e r s h a v e legs
a n e n g in e p o w e reu
B y th e s a m e p r
a w h ite -b e a rd e d r
fe w e r h a v e w h ite
th e y e x p re s s the
th o u g h t to b e pe
* l'v e lo st m y bear
m a n [‘a m a n w itl
a c c e p ta b le a n d p
It fin a lly r e m a
-ed , b u t in eg'.
d e g re e , a m o u n t,
a p o w e r fu l ei
a h a ir y c a te r
a le g g y s p id t
a p im p ly faci
T h u s th is ty p e oh
w ell a s a d ie se l-p t
I n tr a n s itiv e ve
p la n e , 1 7 .1 0 0 N o i
1 7 .1 0 3 I f th e -e d p a r tic i
p o s tm o d ific a tio n
h a v e ‘th e d e fe a te
th e a r m y de,
th e a r m y dej
a m m u n iti
H o w ev e r, som e
p o s tp o s itio n (c /7
th e a m o u n t
f o r s e r v ic e s .
P r e p o s itio n a l vet
th e s u m agri
th e p a g e s rej
an e v en t uni
17.101 M o st -e d p a rtic ip le s h a v e p a s s iv e m e a n in g , a n d o n ly a few w ill e a s ily a d m it

th e p e r m a n e n t re fe re n c e t h a t w ill p e r m it p rc m o d if y in g use. W e m a y c o n tr a s t
th e p a rtic ip le o f th e s ta tiv c v c rh in 111 w ith th a t o l'th e d y n a m ic v e rb in |7.|:
T h e M i n t e d m a n w as last s e e n in C a m b rid g e .
[th e m a n g o es o n b e in g w a n te d by th e p o lic e ) [I]
* T h e fo u n d jmr.se w as re tu r n e d to its o w n e r.
[th e p u rs e w a s fo u n d a t a p a r tic u la r m o m e n t] [2 J
B u t a lost purse is a c c e p ta b le , b e c a u s e , a lth o u g h a p u rse is n o lo n g e r re g a rd e d

as ‘f o u n d ’ a f te r it h a s b e e n r e tr ie v e d , a p u rs e w ill b e re g a r d e d a s ‘lo s t’
th r o u g h o u t th e p e rio d o f its d is a p p e a r a n c e . T h is a s p e c tu a l r e la tio n
c o rre s p o n d s to th a t o f t h e p e r f e c tiv e o f c o n c lu siv e v e rb s (c / 4 ,3 3 ), a s c a n b e
s ee n in th e p o s sib le p a r a p h r a s e : a lo st p u rse [‘a p u rse th a t h a s b e e n lo s t’].
th e d e fe a te d a rm y , a d a m a g e d c a r , a b ro ke n v ase
C o n tr a s t:
a w a n te d m a n [‘a m a n w h o is w a n te d b y th e p o lic e ’]
B u t n o t, e x c e p t in s p e c ia l c o n te x ts , s u c h a s s e c o n d in s ta n c e s ( c f 17.109),
w h ic h w e m u s t ig n o re h e re :
* a so ld c a r b u ilt h o u se
♦th e m e n tio n e d a rtic le * a d e sc rib ed m a n
E x c e p tio n s to th e g e n e ra l ru le s u g g e s t th a t th e s e m a n tic a n d a s p e c tu a l
fa c to rs a re m o re c o m p lic a te d t h a n w e h a v e in d ic a te d . F o r e x a m p le , a lth o u g h
a s u m o f m o n e y c a n g o o n b e in g n e e d e d , o n e d o es n o t n o rm a lly s a y Ith e
n e e d e d m o n e y ; a lth o u g h a c a r is s to le n a t a m o m e n t o f tim e , o n e c a n s p e a k o f
th e sto len car [‘th e c a r t h a t h a s b e e n s to le n ’].
T h e p re m o d if y in g p a r tic ip le u s u a lly c h a r a c te riz e s a ty p e r a t h e r th a n a n
i n s ta n c e : a m u tte re d reply is a ty p e o f re p ly , a n d a d raw n s w o rd d e s c r ib e s a
ty p ic a l p o s tu re . W ith a n o r g a n ize d to u r w e m a y p e r h a p s e x p la in th e
p r e m o d if ic a tio n th r o u g h th e c o n tin u in g a n d p ro fe s sio n a l n a tu r e o f th e
o r g a n iz a tio n (ie ‘a p a c k a g e t o u r ’, a s d is tin c t fro m a to u r p r iv a te ly o rg a n iz e d
o n a sp ecific o c c a s io n ); o r p e r h a p s w e s h o u ld su p p ly a n o m itte d a d v e r b ‘a n
(o fficially or s p ec ia lly ) o r g a n iz e d t o u r ’, sin c e w e m u s t r e m e m b e r t h a t a ll o f
th e s ta r r e d p a r tic ip ia l p h r a s e s b e c o m e a c c e p ta b le w h e n m o d if ie d b y a d v e r b s
(o n t h e te n d e n c y , e sp in B rE , to h y p h e n a t e su c h p re m o d ifie rs, c f A p p I I I . 4 / ) :
a rec e n tly so ld c a r a w ell-built h o u se

th e a b o v e-m en tio n ed a r tic le a c a re fu lly d e sc rib ed m a n
17.102 M o d ifie rs in -e d m a y b e d ir e c tly d e n o m in a l a n d n o t p a r tic ip le s a t all

’ ( c f A p p 1.38):
a b e a rd e d m a n [‘a m a n w ith a b e a r d ’, ‘a m a n w h o h a s a b e a r d ’]
th e v a u lte d ro o f [‘a r o o f w ith v a u lts ’]
a w o o d ed h illsid e [‘a h ills id e c o v e r e d w ith w o o d s’]
P r e m o d if ic a t io n 1329
B u t c o n s tr a in ts o c c u r : w h ile we h a v e a p o w erfu l engine, a n d a le g g y s p id e r , w e

do n o t have
*a p o w ere d e n g in e HUT: a tliesel-pow ereil e n g in e

*a le g g e d s p id e r b u t : a long-legged s p id e r
T h e s e c o n s tr a in ts o n u n m o d ifie d -e d fo rm s c a n h e e x p la in e d b y th e s im p le
b u t c o m m u n ic a tiv e ly re le v a n t p rin c ip le th a t w h a t o n e say s s h o u ld c u rry
u sefu l, n o n tr iv ia l in f o r m a tio n . T h u s all e n g in e s will p r o d u c e p o w e r a n d a ll
sp id e r s h a v e legs. H o w e v e r, - « / d e n o m in a te w h ic h p r o v id e n e w in f o r m a tio n ,
an engine p o w e r e d b y d ie se l, a spider with long legs, e tc , b e c o m e fu lly a c c e p ta b le .
B y th e s a m e p r in c ip le , b o th th e u n m o d ified a b e a rd e d m a n a n d th e m o d if ie d
a w h ite -b e a rd e d m a n a r e a c c e p ta b le , sin c e n o t all m e n h a v e b e a r d s a n d e v e n
fe w e r h a v e w h ite o n e s. A c o m m o n fe a tu re o f a c c e p ta b le -e d a d je c tiv e s is th a t
th e y e x p re ss th e n o tio n o f ‘in a lie n a b le p o s se ss io n ’, ie th e y a r c n o r m a lly
th o u g h t to b e p e r m a n e n t a ttr ib u te s (c f. I've lost m y car, b u t n o t n o r m a lly :
*I've lost m y b e a rd ). T h o s e w h ic h e x p re ss a lie n a b le p o s s e s s io n , e g : * a c a rr e d
m a n [‘a m a n w ith a c a r ’], *a tw o-carred m an [‘a m a n w ith tw o c a r s '] , a r e n o t
a c c e p ta b le a n d p r o d u c tiv e fo rm a tio n s.
I t fin a lly r e m a in s to e x p la in th e a c c e p ta b ility o f a d je c tiv e s h o t e n d i n g in
-ed, b u t in eg: -fu l, -y , -ous, -ic, -ish. S u ch fo r m a tio n s e x p re s s a n u n u s u a l
d e g re e , a m o u n t, e t c :
a p o w e rfu l e n g in e [‘a n e n g in e w ith u n u su al p o w e r’]

a h a iry c a te r p illa r [‘a c a te r p illa r w ith a n u n u s u a l a m o u n t o f h a i r ’]
a le g g y s p id e r [‘a s p id e r w ith u n u s u ally lo n g le g s’]
a p im p ly fa c e [‘a fa c e w ith a n u n u s u ally la rg e n u m b e r o f p im p le s ’]
T h u s th is ty p e o b e y s th e s a m e p rin c ip le th a t w e in v o k e d fo r a b e a r d e d m a n a s
w ell a s a d ie se l-p o w e red engine: to c a r ry u sefu l, n o n tr iv ia l in f o r m a tio n .
I n tr a n s itiv e v e r b s ra r e ly y ield p re m o d if y in g -e d p a r tic ip le s (c f: * a n a rriv e d
p la n e , 17.1 0 0 N o te ).
1 7 .1 0 3 I f t h e -e d p a r tic ip le h a s a 6 y -a g e n t o r o th e r p re p o s itio n a l c o n s tr u c tio n , o n ly

p o s tm o d ific a tio n is p o s s ib le ( c f a d je c tiv e c o m p le m e n ta tio n , 16.69). T h u s w e
h a v e ‘th e d e fe a te d a r m y ’, b u t:
t h e a r m y d e fe a te d b y th e en em y [ n o t : * th e b y th e e n e m y d e f e a t e d a rm y ]
t h e a r m y d e fe a te d f o r la c k o f a m m u n itio n [ N O T : * t h e f o r l a c k o f
a m m u n itio n d e f e a te d a rm y ]
H o w e v e r, s o m e u n m o d if ie d -e d p a rtic ip le s in fix ed e x p r e s s io n s have

p o s tp o s itio n ( c /7 .2 1 ) :
th e a m o u n t d e m a n d e d !a sk e d th e e a r lie s t in v e n tio n s k n o w n
fo r s e r v ic e s ren d e r e d m o n e y w ell sp en t
P r e p o s itio n a l v e rb s n o r m a lly follow th e h e a d :
th e s u m a g r e e d u p o n
th e p a g e s re fe r re d to
a n e v e n t u n h e a rd o / [ b u t a l s o : ‘a n u n h e a rd -o f e v e n t ’]
So m e -cd p a r tic ip le s h a v e p rc - o r p o s tm o d ify in g p o s itio n w ith d iffe re n t

m e a n in g s, o ?:
th e p e o p le c o n cern ed a concerned e x p re s s io n
(‘th e p e o p le in q u e s ti o n ’] [‘w o rrie d , a n x io u s ']
th e s tu d e n ts in v o lv ed a n involved q u e s tio n
[‘th e s tu d e n ts in q u e s tio n '] [‘c o m p lic a te d ’]
jo b s w a n ted w a n te d p e rs o n s
[‘jo b s w a n te d by in d iv id u a ls '] [‘p e rs o n s w a n te d by th e p o lic e ']
P re m o d ific a tio n b y n o u n s
17.104 N o u n p re m o d ifie rs a r c o fte n so closely a s s o c ia te d w ith th e h e a d as to be
re g a rd e d as c o m p o u n d e d w ith it, as in d ic a te d by th e s tre ss o n th e p re m o d if y in g
n o u n in s te a d o f th e h e a d :
h is 'life s to ry a 'dish c lo th a 'S u s s e x m a n
O n th e o th e r h a n d , w e s a y :
a n ,iron 'ro d J ife im p r is o n m e n t a ,S u s s e x 'v illag e
T h e c o n d itio n s u n d e r w h ic h th e d iffe re n t s tre ss p a tte r n s a r e a d o p te d a r e by

n o m e a n s w h o lly c le a r , b u t a re c o n n e c te d w ith th e d e g re e to w h ic h a s e q u e n c e
is ‘in s titu tio n a liz e d ’ a s a le x ic a l ite m , ie a c o m p o u n d ( c f A p p 1.57#*).
I n m o s t c a s e s, p r e m o d if y in g n o u n s c o rre s p o n d to p o s tm o d if ic a tio n w ith
p re p o s itio n a l p h r a s e s :
h i s life s t o r y - th e s to ry o f h is life
a d ish c l o t h [ n | s in g u la r] * a c lo th f o r d ish es
a S u s se x m a n * a m a n fr o m S u s s e x
a n iron r o d - a ro d o f iron
/ // e i m p r i s o n m e n t ' im p r is o n m e n t f o r life
a S u s se x v i l l a g e ' a v illa g e in S u s s e x
a g ift t a x [ n | s in g u la r] ' a ta x on g ifts
In a c c o rd a n c e w ith th e g e n e ra l te n d e n c y n o te d e a r lie r ( c f 17.8), th e

p re m o d if y in g s tr u c tu r e h a s re d u c e d e x p lic itn e ss in r e la tio n to th e p o s tm o d i
fy in g s tr u c tu r e , a n d i f th e re la tio n s h ip s b e tw e e n th e n o u n s b e c o m e u n c le a r
o r u n p r e d ic ta b le , p re m o d if ic a tio n is u n a c c e p ta b le . T h i s b e c o m e s a p p a r e n t if
e x a m p le s [ 1 - 1 0 ] in 1 7.37 w ith th e r a n g e o f p r e p o s itio n s in v o lv e d in
p re p o s itio n a l p h r a s e p o s tm o d ific a tio n a re te s te d fo r n o u n p r e m o d if ic a tio n :
th e ro a d to L in c o ln m ~ th e L in c o ln ro a d [ la ]
th is b o o k o n g r a m m a r [2] ~ th is g r a m m a r b o o k [2a]
a m a n fr o m th e e le ctric ity ~ ? a n e le c tric ity c o m p a n y
com p a n y [3] man [3a]
p a ss e n g e rs o n b o a rd the ~ Ish ip p a s s e n g e r s [4a]
ship [4]
a c tio n in c a se o f fir e [5] ~ i f ire a c tio n [5a]
th e m e a n in g o f th is ~ ? th is sen te n c e m e a n in g [6a]
sen ten ce [6]
P re m o d ific a t io n 1331
th e h o u s e b e y o n d th e church |7 ] •*- th e church h o u se f7;i]

tw o y e a rs b efo re th e war [8j tw o war y e a rs [8 a]
a d e la y p e n d in g fu r th e r * a.fu r th e r inquiry
inquiry [9] d e la y [9 a]
a tre e b y a s tre a m [ 10] *a s tre a m tre e [ 10a]
In th is s e t, o n ly [ l a ] a n d [2a] a re fully p o s sib le p rc m o d iiie a tio n a lte r n a tiv e s

to p o s tm o d ific a tio n b y p re p o s itio n a l p h r a s e ; [3a], [4a], [5a], a n d [6a] h a v e a n
u n u s u a l r in g a b o u t th e m a s e q u iv a le n ts o f [3], |4 ], [5], a n d [(>] r e s p e c tiv e ly ;
[7a], [8a], a n d [9a] d o n o t c a rry th e r e s p e c tiv e m e a n in g s o f [7J, [8], a n d [9];
[10a] is u n a c c e p ta b le .
A s o b s e r v e d in c o n n e c tio n w ith p re m o d if y in g n o u n s in th e p lu r a l
( c f 17.109), a p h r a s e lik e [3a] is s o m e w h a t m o re lik e ly to be u sed in s e c o n d
in s ta n c e s , ie a f te r th e e x p lic it re la tio n s h ip h a s b e e n fully c la r if ie d :
A : T o d a y a m a n fr o m the e lectricity c o m p a n y called .

B : O h , so w h a t d id the e lectricity c o m p a n y m a n s ay ?
A lso , [3a] m ig h t c o n c e iv a b ly be used in te c h n ic a l ja r g o n w h e re e x p lic it

re la tio n s n e e d n o t b e in d ic a te d o r in h e a d lin e la n g u a g e w h e re th e e x p la n a tio n
fo llo w s.
N o te A n e x am p le s im ilar to [7a] w hose in te rp re tatio n w as indeed tried legally is th e follow ing:

D o ck w o rk is ard u o u s.
It sh ould b e in te rp re te d as ‘w o rk in o r on th e d o ck s', not as ‘w o rk n ear th e d o ck s'. A B ritish
C o u rt o f A p p e a l u p h eld th e ab o v e lin guistic sta te m e n t, a n d T h e T im e s law rep o rt h a d th e
follow ing h e a d lin e in c o n s e q u e n c e :
W o rk n e a r d o ck s is n o t d o ck w ork.
17.105 O n e n o te w o r th y c o n s tr a i n t a g a in s t u sin g n o u n s fro m p o s tm o d ify in g p h r a s e s

a s p re m o d if ie r s is th e r e la tiv e i m p e rm a n e n c e o f th e m o d if ic a tio n in q u e s tio n .
T h u s [I] w ill r e a d ily y ie ld [ la ] :
T h e ta b le in th e corner w a s la id fo r d in n e r. [1]
T h e corner ta b le . . . [ la ]
B u t w e c a n n o t d o th e s a m e w ith [2];
T h e m a n in th e corner s p o k e to m e. [2]
* T h e corner m a n . . . [2a]
H o w e v e r, th is is n o t a p r o p e r ty o f th e le x ic a l ite m (in th is in s ta n c e , corner)

b u t o f th e s e m a n tic r e la tio n . P r e m o d ific a tio n c o n fe rs re la tiv e p e r m a n e n c e ,
a n d b e c a u s e a ta b le is n o t fre e to m o v e o f itse lf, w e c a n p re m o d if y ta b le b u t
n o t m a n b y corner.
C o n v e r s e ly , n o t all n o u n p re m o d ifiers h a v e p r e p o s itio n a l p h r a s e a n a lo g u e s ,
eg:
co n su m e r g o o d s ^ g o o d s o f the c o n su m er
a w elfa re s ta te a s ta te o f w elfa re
T h e r e is a ls o a n a n a lo g o u s re la tio n b e tw e e n s o m e ty p e s o f p re m o d if ic a tio n
a n d c o o r d in a tio n ;
T h e p la n e is b o th a fig h te r a n d a bom ber.

~ a fig h te r-'b o m b e r
B e r n a r d M ile s w as bo th actor a n d p ro d u cer.

— th e tic to r -p r o d u r c r B e r n a r d M ile s
S im ila rly b e tw e e n p re m o d ilic a tio n a n d a p p o s itio n :
S m ith is a sergeant. — S e rg e a n t 'S m ith

M y frie n d is a girl. ~ m y g ir lfr ie n d
H o w e v e r, th e k in d o f a p p o s itio n fo u n d in title s is s e v e re ly re s tr ic te d by
c o n v e n tio n a n d style ( c f 5 .6 6 , 17.91),
In s o m e e ase s, b o th c o n s tr u c tio n s a r e a c c e p ta b le h u t h a v e d iffe re n t
m e a n in g , e g :
f a g la ss o f wine [‘a g lass c o n ta in in g w in e ’]

l a w ine g lass [‘a g lass fo r w in e ’]
j a b o x o f m a tc h es [‘a b o x c o n ta in in g m a tc h e s ’]
[ a m a tc h b o x [‘a b o x m a d e to h o ld m a tc h e s ’]
17.106 T h e m a in ty p e s o f p re p o s itio n a l p a r a p h r a s e o f n o u n + n o u n c o m b in a tio n s ,

in c lu d in g b o th free s y n ta c tic p h ra s e s a n d c o m p o u n d s , a r e th e fo llo w in g ,
a r r a n g e d a c c o rd in g to s e m a n tic re la tio n s .
S o u r c e - r e s u lt: a ,m e ta l 's h e e t ~ a s h e e t o f m e ta l
P a rt- w h o le : .d a y 's o il ~ soil w ith d a y
P la c e : a ,top 'd r a w e r ‘a d r a w e r a t th e to p ’
a ,g a rd en 'fen c e ~ a fe n c e ro u n d th e g arden
T im e : a ,m orning 'tr a in ~ a tr a in in the m orning

a flig h t 's k y ~ a s k y a t n ight
W h o le -p a rt: a ,board 'm e m b e r ~ a m e m b e r o f th e b oard
W ith th e fo llo w in g c la ss w e a re c lo se r to le x ic a l c o m p o u n d s , th u s th e m a in
s tre s s o n th e first e le m e n t. (T h e c o m b in a tio n s a b o v e c o u ld e q u a lly o c c u r w ith
th e m a in s tre ss o n th e first e le m e n t in o th e r s e m a n tic re la tio n s .):
'se a fo o d [‘fo o d fr o m th e s e a ’]
a 'fire p la c e [‘a p la c e fo r fire ’]
a 'b u llet h e a d [‘a h e a d lik e a b u lle t’]
I t s h o u ld b e e m p h a s iz e d th a t th e s e m a n tic re la tio n s illu s tra te d in th is s e c tio n

in d ic a te n o c le a r b o u n d a ry b e tw e e n n o u n p h ra s e s a n d n o u n + n o u n
c o m p o u n d s ( c f A p p 1 .5 7 //). S tress o n th e fir s t e le m e n t is u su ally in d ic a tiv e o f
c o m p o u n d in g , eg: [firep la ce b u t ,top 'draw er. C o n v e rse ly , th e p o s s ib ility o f
s u b s titu tin g one fo r th e s e c o n d c o n s ti tu e n t in d ic a te s t h a t th e first is a
p re m o d if ie r in a n o u n p h r a s e :
S h e w a n ts a n o a k ta b le b u t I ’d p r e f e r a te a k one.
u t
| N O T : T h a t ’s n o t a n o a k tr e e b u t a n e lm one.
17.107 In m o s t c ase s, th e c o n s tr u c tio n s w ith b o th p re p o s itio n a l p o s tm o d ific a tio n

a n d w ith p re m o d if ic a tio n a re a v a ila b le , b u t th e c h a n g e fro m p o s tm o d ific a tio n
to p r e m o d if ic a tio n m a y h a v e c o n se q u e n c e s o th e r th a n a p o s sib le lo s s in
e x p lic it n ess. O n e s u ch co n scq lien ee is loss of’ th e d e fin ite a r t i c l e , .rs in :
o ilic ia ls in th e P en ta g o n ~~ P entagon oilicittls
T h e u se o f a rtic le s is id e n tic a l in th e fo llo w in g :

a s h e e t o f m e ta l - a m e ta l sh ee t
B u t it d iffers in :
life in a v illa g e - v illag e life
IIk sh o o tin g o f tig e rs ~ tig e r sh o o tin g
A n o th e r c o n s e q u e n c e is th e u se o f a p refix in p re m o d if ic a tio n c o r r e s p o n d in g
to th e p r e p o s itio n in p o s tm o d ific a tio n ( c f A p p 1.21//'):
d e m o n s tr a tio n s a g a in st th e w ar — anti-w a r d e m o n s tra tio n s

th e p e rio d a fte r the w ar ~ th e p o stw a r p e rio d
P lu r a l a ttrib u tiv e n o u n s
17.1 0 8 A ttr i b u tiv e n o u n s a re n o rm a lly n u m b e r-n e u tr a l. A s a fu r th e r illu s tr a tio n o f
th e p rin c ip le th a t p o s tm o d ific a tio n is re la tiv e ly e x p lic it a s c o m p a r e d w ith
p re m o d if ic a tio n , n o u n s w h ic h a re p lu ra l in p o s tm o d ific a tio n a r e s in g u la r
(n u m b e r - n e u tr a l) in p r e m o d if ic a tio n :
a c h a i r w ith a rm s — a n a rm c h a ir
d e c a y o f te e th ~ tooth d e ca y
th e p ic k in g o f hops ~ /o p -p ic k in g
A h y p h e n b e fo re th e s in g u la r fo r m is n o rm a l in e x p re ss io n s d e n o tin g a g e ,
tim e , w e ig h t, size, e tc o f th e fo llo w in g t y p e :
a g irl (w h o is) te n y e a r s o ld ~ a te n -ie o r- o ld g irl

a p a u s e la s tin g th re e sec o n d s ~ a th ree -se co n d p a u se
in fla tio n a m o u n tin g to tw o d ig its ~ Ivta-digii in flatio n
a n a g r e e m e n t b e tw e e n fo u r p o w e rs ~ a fo u r -/w n w a g re e m e n t
a b ill w o rth te n d o lla rs — a te n -d o lla r bill
H o w e v e r, in q u a n tita tiv e e x p re s s io n s o f th e fo llo w in g ty p e th e r e is p o s s ib le

v a r ia tio n ( c / 5 . 118 N o te [ b ] ) :
a te n d a y a b s e n c e [s in g u la r]
a te n -d a y a b s e n c e [h y p h e n + s in g u la r]
a te n d a y s a b s e n c e [p lu ral]
a te n d a y s ' a b s e n c e [g e n itiv e p lu ra l]
T h e u se o f s in g u la r h o ld s e v e n fo r s o m e n o u n s th a t o th e rw is e h a v e n o s in g u la r
fo rm ( c f 5 .7 6 ):
a s h a r p e n e r f o r scissors ~ a 'scissor s h a r p e n e r
a p re s s f o r trousers ~ a 'trouser p re ss
H o w e v e r, th e p lu ra l a ttr ib u ti v e c o n s tr u c tio n is o n th e in c re a se , p a r tic u la r ly

in B rE w h e re it is m o re c o m m o n th a n in A m E , eg:
careers g u id a n c e
a g r a n ts c o m m itte e
a n ew s y s te m s a n a ly st
an a p p o in tm e n ts o fficer
th e p o lic y a n d resources w o rk in g p a rty
T h e c h o ic e o f p re m o d if y in g n o u n s in th e p lu ra l r a th e r th a n th e s in g u la r m a y
be a ttr ib u te d to a n u m b e r o f fa c to rs , b u t p re d o m in a n tly to th e fa c t th a t an
e n tity h a s b e en in s titu tio n a liz e d in p lu ra l fo rm . S in c e th e p lu ra l a ttr ib u tiv e
c o n s tr u c tio n is re la tiv e ly r a r e in A m E , th e s ta te m e n ts in th e fo llo w in g s e c tio n
a p p ly , fo r th e m o st, o n ly to BrF..
17.109 (i) 'E x c lu s iv e p lu r a ls ’

O n e d ille rc n c c b e tw e e n b ranch superrisor a n d branches su p erviso r is th a t th e
s in g u la r is m o re v a g u e a n d m a y b e in te rp re te r! a s ‘s u p e r v is o r o f a b r a n c h o r
b r a n c h e s ’, w h e re a s th e p lu ra l c a n be in te r p r e te d o n ly a s 's u p e r v is o r o f sev e ra l
b r a n c h e s ’ a n d th u s e x c lu d e s th e a m b ig u ity o f n u m b e r. T h e s e m a n tic
d is tin c tio n see m s to b e in s titu tio n a liz e d in career g ir l ‘a g irl w h o p u ts
a d v a n c e m e n t in h e r p ro f e s s io n b e fo re o th e r th in g s ’ a n d ca reers g ir l ‘a g irl
w h o h a s h a d s e v e ra l c a r e e r s ’ o r (m o re u su ally ) ‘a g irl w h o d e a ls w ith c a r e e r s ’.
S u ch ‘e x c lu siv e p lu r a ls ’ te n d to o c c u r w ith c o lle ctiv e n o u n s a n d n a m e s o f
in s titu tio n s as h e a d s , a n d th e s tre s s te n d s to b e o n th e p r e m o d if y in g p l u r a l :
p a r k s d e p a r tm e n t
courses c o m m i t t e e
e xa m in a tio n s b o a r d
th e h e a v y c h em ica ls in d u s tr y
S c o tla n d Y a r d ’s O b s c e n e P u b lica tio n s S q u a d
C h e s te rfie ld H o sp ita ls M a n a g e m e n t C o m m itte e
th e B ritis h M u s e u m P r in ts a n d D ra w in g s G a lle ry
H ig h ly in s titu tio n a liz e d p lu ra ls a r e a lw ay s re ta in e d , in p a r tic u la r w h e n th e

s in g u la r fo rm m ig h t le a d to a m b ig u ity :
a n A r ts d e g re e [‘a d e g re e in th e h u m a n itie s ’, as o p p o s e d to a n a rt degree

‘a d e g re e in fin e a r t ’]
P lu r a lia ta n tu m ( c f 5 . l l ) r e ta in th e ir p lu ra l sin c e th e y h a v e n o s in g u la r :
a c u sto m s o fficer a c u sto m officer

a g o o d s tra in ~ a g o o d tra in
(ii) P lu r a l d e n o tin g v a rie ty

T h e re is a te n d e n c y fo r m o r e g e n e r ic te rm s to b e p lu ra l a n d m o re sp ec ific
te rm s to b e s in g u la r:
so ft ‘d rin k s m a n u f a c t u r e r [d rin ks = ‘k in d s o f d r i n k ’;
| u t : ‘c a r m a n u f a c t u r e r ]
e n te rta in m e n ts g u i d e [en terta in m en ts = ‘k i n d s o f e n t e r t a i n m e n t ’ ;

| u t : ' th e a tre g u id e ]
s u r g i c a l a p p lia n c e s m a n u f a c t u r e r [appliances = ‘k i n d s o f a p p l i a n c e ’ ;
| u t : 'b a b y , c a r r i a g e m a n u f a c t u r e r ]
(iii) ‘T e m p o r a r y in s titu tio n a liz a tio n ’

A s w e h a v e s e e n , in m o s t c a s e s th e r e is v a ria tio n a v a ila b le b e tw e e n
P r u m o d if lc u tio n 1335
p r e m o d if ic a tio n b y n o u n a n d p o s tm o d ific a tio n b y p r e p o s itio n a l p h r a s e , w ith

c e r ta in s y n ta c tic a n d s e m a n tic c o n s tr a in ts . W h e n s u ch v a ria tio n is freely
a v a ila b le , th e c h o ic e m a y be seen as c o n d itio n e d by th e e x p lic it/in e x p lic it
d is tin c tio n o r s im p ly b y a d e sire fo r sty listic v a r ia tio n . H o w e v e r, i t s h o u ld
a lso b e s e e n in te r m s o f c o m m u n ic a tiv e fa c to rs , a s in th e c a s e oT th e v a r i a t i o n
b e tw e e n th e g e n itiv e a n d th e r e c o n s tr u c t io n (c;/' 17 .3 8 //'). In a b o o k o n
lin g u is tic s w e m a y fin d th e ita lic iz ed p a r t o f [I] re s u m e d la te r, as a ‘s e c o n d
in s ta n c e ’, in th e d is c u s s io n b y [la ] ( c f 17.8):
T h e id ea o jle v e ls h a s b e en a m a jo r issue fo r a lo n g tim e . [I]

the levels id ea [la ]
A s p e c ia l in s ta n c e o f ‘te m p o ra ry in s titu tio n a liz a tio n ' is th e u se o f p lu ra ls

in h e a d lin e s . A to p ic a l issu e will cau se th e p lu ra l to be r e ta in e d in
p r c m o d if ic a tio n w h e n it is a ss o c ia te d w ith a w id ely d is c u s s e d p u b lic issu e . I f
th e r e is c o n tr o v e r s y o v e r th e w e a rin g o f c ra s h h e lm e ts b y m o to r c y c lis ts , th is
c a n b e c o m e r e f e r r e d to in th e m e d ia as the h e lm e ts issue. I n th is w a y , d u r in g
th e in te r n a tio n a lly d is c u s s e d crisis o f P r e s id e n t N ix o n 's a d m in is tr a tio n
c o n c e rn in g ta p e - r e c o r d in g s , w e b e c a m e h a b itu a te d to re a d e x p re s s io n s su c h
a s:
th e ta p es is s u e th e W a te r g a te ta p e s a ffa ir
th e ta p e s c o m p r o m is e th e W h ite H o u se ta p e s m y s te ry
T h e f r e q u e n t u se o f a ttr ib u tiv e s tru c tu re in n e w s p a p e r h e a d lin e s , e g : jo b s

c u t fo r ‘c u t in j o b s ’, w o u ld seem to c o n tr a d ic t th e g iv e n /n e w p r in c ip le
(c /1 8 .8 ). O th e r e x a m p le s :
PH O N E S O R D E R HEAD ACHE PR OBLEM

PR IO R IT Y P R O JE C T NUM ER OUS W A R O F F IC E STA FF R E SIG N A T IO N S
T h e flo u tin g o f th e g iv e n /n e w p rin c ip le m a y b e e x p la in e d n o t o n ly a s a

s triv in g fo r b r e v ity in a h e a d lin e w ith lim ite d s p a c e b u t a ls o a s ‘p r e m e d ita te d
in v e r s io n ’ o f th e g iv e n /n e w seq u e n c e in o rd e r to a ro u s e th e r e a d e r ’s in te r e s t
in g o in g o n t o r e a d th e fu lly e x p lic it te x t o f th e n e w s ite m .
Premodification by genitive
17.110 T h e illu s tr a tio n o f th e g e n itiv e a s p re m o d ifie r w ith re s tr ic tiv e f u n c tio n in
17.94 w a s th e fo llo w in g e x a m p le :
I v is ite d h is fis h e rm a n 's c ottage. [1]
T h e m e a n in g is ‘T h e c o tta g e b e lo n g s/b elo n g e d to a f is h e r m a n ’ o r ‘r e s e m b le s /

re s e m b le d th e c o tta g e o f a fis h e rm a n ’. It sh o u ld b e n o tic e d th a t i f w e h a d
u s e d a n o th e r n o u n in th e g e n itiv e , eg: his f r ie n d ’s c o tta g e , w e w o u ld h a v e
m o v e d fr o m n o n r e s tr ic tiv e to re stric tiv e fu n c tio n a n d , a b o v e all, c h a n g e d th e
r e la tio n s h ip o f t h e c o n s titu e n ts fro m p re m o d if ic a tio n to d e te r m in a tiv e . T h e
d iffe re n c e in s tr u c tu r e is c le arly b ro u g h t o u t i f f u r th e r p r e m o d if y in g ite m s
a re a d d e d :
I v is ite d f ^ ‘S f i s^ e rm a n s cottage, [ la ]
[h is o ld fr ie n d ’s cottage. [ lb ]
T h e s tr u c tu r e s cu n b e seen in a tre e d ia g ra m (F ig 1 7 .110):
h is o ld f i s h e r m a n 's c o tta g e O lU lfC
F i g 17 .1 1 0
T h u s , in [ la ] , o ld m o d ifie s fis h e r m a n 's c o lla g e , w h e re a s , in [ lb ] , o ld m o d ifies

th e d e te r m in a tiv e g e n itiv e h e a d fr ie n d 's . In [ la ] , n o ite m c a n in te rv e n e
b e tw e e n f i s h e r m a n 's an d c o lla g e an ti th e p re m o d if y in g g e n itiv e m ay b e
re p la c e d b y , fo r e x a m p le , a n o u n ( c f 17.104// j : h is o l d c o u n tr y c o lla g e . I n [ I b],
th e h e a d o f th e s u p e r o r d in a te n o u n p h ra s e ( c / 5 . 1 2 1 /) c a n b e f u r th e r m o d ified
in th e u s u a l w a y :
h is o ld f r ie n d ’s d e lig h tfu l bu t crum bling c o tta g e
E x a m p le [ l b ] is, th e n , a fully s y n ta c tic s tr u c tu r e o f th e ty p e d is c u s s e d in

5 .1 1 2 /''a n d 1 7 .3 8 # w h e re th e g e n itiv e h a s a d e te r m in a tiv e f u n c tio n ; in [ la ],
o n th e o t h e r h a n d , th e g e n itiv e a c ts a s a d e s c r ip tiv e p r e m o d if ie r (c /5 .1 2 2 ),
a n d is r e la te d to th e u s e o f th e g e n itiv e in c o m p o u n d s , s u c h a s b ull's-eye.
Premodification by adverb and other phrases

17.111 A n o th e r m in o r ty p e o f p r e m o d if ic a tio n is th e a d v e r b p h r a s e , as in :
S h e tra v e lle d to m a n y fa r -a w a y p la c e s . [‘T h e p la c e s a r e fa r a w a y .’]

I h a v e th is s tr a n g e u n d er-th e-w ea th er fe e lin g . [‘I feel u n d e r th e
w e a th e r .’] ■
T h e r e is a m e d le y o f o th e r p re m o d if y in g p h r a s e s , s o m e o f w h ic h a re c o m m o n
e x p re s s io n s , eg:
r o u n d -th e -c lo c k s erv ic e
a n u p -to -d a te tim e ta b le
a to n g u e -in -ch e e k re m a r k
A p a r t fr o m a fe w in s titu tio n a liz e d e x a m p le s s u c h a s an a w a y m a tc h [‘th e

m a tc h is b e in g p la y e d a w a y fro m th e h o m e g r o u n d ’, in c o n tr a s t w ith a h o m e
m atch], th e fle x ib ility o f th is ty p e o f p r e m o d if ic a tio n te n d s to b e e x p lo ite d
o n ly c o llo q u ia lly , a n d m o s t e x a m p le s h a v e ( a n d s e e m d e lib e ra te ly to h a v e ) a
fla v o u r o f o r ig in a lity , c o n v e n tio n -flo u tin g , a n d p r o v is io n a l o r n o n c e a w k
w a rd n e s s :
th e i r d a y -a fle r -d a y c o m p la in ts
h e r to o -sim p le -to -b e-tru e d re ss
a c o m e -a n d -fig h t-m e a ttitu d e
E x a m p le s lik e th e fo llo w in g a r e m o re fu lly ie x ic a liz e d , a n d m a y b e re g a rd e d

a s c a s e s o f c o n v e r s io n ( c f A p p 1 .4 3 # ):
S h e ’s w e a r in g a w ith - it d re ss.
T h a t is th e in th in g a t p re s e n t.
Premodification by sentence
17.112 W h a t w a s s aid o f a d v e r b p h ra s e s a p p lie s at least e q u ally to p r c m o d if ic a tio n
by a s e n te n c e :
(?)I v is ite d h is w ha t-d o -yo u -ca ll-it c o tta g e [cf: W h a t d o y o u call it w h e n a

c o tta g e h a s w alls m a d e fro m o v e r la p p in g p ie c es of' tim h e r?
( la p h n a r d .j
A few in s titu tio n a liz e d e x a m p le s re ta in a co llo q u ial o r s la n g f la v o u r : a

w h o d u n it s to ry is o n e a b o u t c rim e , a n d th e n o n s ta n d a rd g r a m m a r a n d s p e llin g
a re p re s e r v e d a s p a r t o f th e iro n ic s lan g . D o -it-yo u rself ’as in a d o - it- y o u r s e lf
jo b h a s b e c o m e so o fte n u sed a s to p a s s o u t o f th e a re a o f s la n g (a n d s o m e t im e s
be r e d u c e d < esp in B r E ) to D I Y ) .
S o m e w h a t m o re w id ely a c c e p ta b le a r c n o u n p h ra s e s w h ic h c a n b e
in te r p r e te d e ith e r a s h a v in g a s e n te n c e a s p rc m o d ific r o r as b e in g o b je c t
(u s u a lly o f kn o w ) in a n e m b e d d e d n o m in a l c la u s e :
H easked d o n 't k n o w H d w m a n y p e o p le . [1]

[ / d o n 't K N d w how m a n y p e o p le . [Ia]
W ith e ith e r in to n a tio n , th e m e a n in g is ‘H e a sk e d a re la tiv e ly la r g e n u m b e r

o f p e o p le , th o u g h I d o n ’t k n o w p re c ise ly h o w m a n y ’. T h e m e a n i n g is
s o m e w h a t d iff e r e n t i f th e s e n te n c e is re o rd e re d , e n fo rc in g a d if f e r e n t
g r a m m a tic a l s tr u c tu r e :
I d o n ’t k n o w h o w m a n y p e o p le h e a s k e d . [‘I d o n ’t k n o w th e n u m b e r o f
p e o p le h e a s k e d .’]
F o r th e m o s t p a r t, h o w e v e r, s e n te n c e p re m o d ifie rs h a v e a n a i r o f th e
o u tr a g e o u s a n d im p r o v is e d . P a r t o f a p o litic a l le a d e r’s e le c tio n c a m p a i g n
w a s d e s c r ib e d b y a jo u r n a lis t as
to d a y ’s m e e t the p eo p le { if th e y can f i n d y o u ) to u r
F a r m o r e r e m a r k a b le is th e fo llo w in g q u o ta tio n fro m a lite ra ry c o m m e n t in

w h ic h th e s e n te n c e p r e m o d if ic a tio n its e lf h a s h ig h ly irr e g u la r a n d s o p h is ti
c a te d p u n c tu a tio n to c o n v e y h ig h ly ir r e g u la r c o o rd in a tio n d e v ic e s :
H is o th e r c o m m e n ts ig n o re . . . th e o b v io u s falla c ies in h e r e n t i n th e
’'B u t th e p o e m {play , novel) w as m e a n t to be te d io u s!p re te n tio u s/
pointless'’ lin e o f c ritic a l a rg u m e n t.
Relative sequence of premodifiers

17.113 W h e n a h e a d h a s m o re th a n o n e p re m o d if ie r , th e re a ris e s th e q u e s ti o n o f
r e la tiv e o r d e r ; w h y e ith e r [ 1] o r [ I a] ?:
a th in d a r k (ace [1]
a d a r k th in fa c e [la ]
B u t w h y o n ly [2] a n d n o t [2a] ?:
a c a rd b o a rd d e te rg e n t c a r to n [2]
*a d e te rg e n t c a rd b o a rd c a r to n [2 a]
T h e p r o b le m b e c o m e s e v e n m o re a c u te w ith lo n g e r s trin g s o f p r e m o d if ie r s .
1338 The n o u n p h ra se
A lth o u g h th e re is, th e o re tic a lly , n o g r a m m a tic a l u p p e r lim it to th e n u m b e r

o f'p rc m o tlilic rs , it is u n u su al In lint! m o re th a n th re e o r four. P r c m o d ific a tio n
is a n a re a o f E n g lish g r a m m a r w h e re th e r e is c o n sid e ra b le v a r ia tio n a m o n g
th e v a rie tie s o f th e la n g u a g e. T o a la rg e e x te n t, su ch v a ria tio n , a s w ell a s th e
e x iste n c e o f a n u p p e r lim it, c a n b e g iv e n a p s y ch o lin g u istic e x p la n a tio n . F o r
e x a m p le , a te c h n ic a l m a n u a l, w r itte n e x c lu s iv e ly fo r s p a c e re s e a r c h s c ie n tis ts ,
m a y h a v e v ery lo n g a n d c o m p le x s tr u c tu r e s o f p re m o d ific a tio n , a s i n :
A p o llo B lo ck 11 fuel cell v o lta g e c u r r e n t V I c h a r a c te ris tic s
N o th in g c o m p a ra b le is lik e ly to b e u s e d b y th e s a m e s c ie n tis t in a c a s u a l
co ffe e -b re a k c h a t w h e re n e w to p ic s w ill tu rn u p u n e x p e c te d ly a n d w h e re
c o n c e n tr a tio n a n d p e rh a p s a u d ib ility a re low . T h e re is in d e e d e v id e n c e o f a
h ig h e r p r o p o r tio n o f th re e -o r- m o re ite m s e q u e n c e s in w ritte n th a n in s p o k e n
E n g lish .
A s e q u e n c e su ch as [3] m a y b e u n lik e ly . Y e t, u n lik e [3a], it w ill be
re c o g n iz e d a s a c c e p ta b le b y a n a tiv e s p e a k e r :
all th e m a n y o th e r s m a ll in c o n s p ic u o u s c a r v e d ja d e id o ls [3]
* o th e r th e a ll ja d e c a r v e d in c o n s p ic u o u s s m all m a n y id o ls [3a]
I n o r d e r to d e s c rib e th e ru le s fo r th e r e la tiv e o rd e r o f p re m o d if ie r s , it w ill b e
h e lp fu l to d iv id e th e te r r ito r y b e tw e e n d e t (th e d e te r m in a tiv e ) a n d h e d (th eF
h e a d ) in to fo u r p r e m o d if ic a tio n z o n e s ( i, I I, i i i , i v ) , fo r e x a m p le :
DET I II III IV HEAD

th is fir st im p o rta n t lo n g F ren ch novel
P r e c e n t r a l , c e n tr a l, p o s tc e n t r a l , a n d p r e h e a d p o s itio n
17.114 T h e fo u r zo n es a r e la rg e ly c o r r e la te d w ith th e s e m a n tic c la ss e s d is c u s s e d in
7 .4 5 .
(I ) Z o n e I : PR EC EN TR A L
I n th e p r e c e n tr a l z o n e w e fin d p e r ip h e r a l n o n g ra d a b le a d je c tiv e s ( c /7 .4 2 ) , in
p a r tic u la r in te n s ify in g a d je c tiv e s ( c / 7 . 3 3 / ) :
(i) e m p h a s iz e rs , eg: c erta in , d e fin ite , p la in , p u re, sheer

(ii) a m p lifie rs , eg: a b so lu te , en tire, e x tre m e , p e rfe c t, to ta l
(iii) d o w n to n e rs , eg: fe e b le , slig h t
( I I) Z o n e I I .- c e n t r l F
T h e c e n tr a l z o n e in c lu d e s th e c e n tr a l, g ra d a b le a d je c tiv e s , ie th e ‘m o s t
a d je c tiv a l ite m s ’, w h ic h s a tis f y a ll f o u r c r ite r ia o f a d je c tiv a l s ta tu s ( c / 7 . 3 / ) ,
eg: big, fu n n y , in telligent, k e e n ,p o w e r fu l, slow , th ick. C e n tra l a d je c tiv e s a d m it
in t e n s i f i e s (a v ery cold d a y ), c o m p a r is o n ( I t ’s colder th a n y e s te r d a y ), a n d
a lte r n a tiv e p re d ic a tiv e p o s itio n ( L a s t s u m m e r w as very cold). T h e i r fu n c tio n
is to d e s c rib e o r c h a r a c te r iz e a n d , c o n s e q u e n tly , th e y o fte n fo r m c o n tr a s tiv e
p a ir s lik e b ig /sm a ll, g o o d jb a d , h o t/c o ld . T h e y a re ty p ic a lly in h e r e n t (c /7 .4 3 )
a n d in c lu d e b o th n o n d e r iv e d a d je c tiv e s (lik e th o s e ju s t m e n tio n e d ) a n d
d e riv e d a d je c tiv e s , w h ic h a r e e ith e r d e v e r b a l (lik e in terestin g , in te reste d ,
h e sita n t) o r d e n o m in a l (lik e a n g ry , ra in y, pea cefu l).
T h is m o rp h o lo g ic a l c la s s ific a tio n h a s a b e a r in g o n th e i n te r n a l s tr u c tu r e o f
th e z o n e o f c e n tr a l a d je c tiv e s in t h a t th e u su al o rd e r is n o n d e r i v e d +
DEVERBAL + D E N O M IN A L :
P r o m o d if ic n t io n 13.30
a ta ll a ttra c tiv e w o m a n
th is green h illy s lo p e
a s a tisfie d sle e p y look
W ith in th e c la ss o f n o n d e riv e d a d je c tiv e s , th e o rd e r is la rg e ly a r b i t r a r y , b u t

a d je c tiv e s d e n o tin g S I Z E , l e n g t h , a n d h e i g h t n o rm a lly p r e c e d e o th e r
n o n d e riv e d a d je c tiv e s . T h u s we u su ally p re fe r:
a s m a ll r o u n d ta b le to a round sm a ll table:
long s tra ig h t h a ir to stra ig h t long hair : an d
a ta ll a n g ry m a n to a n a n g ry ta ll m an
A m o n g a d je c tiv e s in z o n e II, w e m a y fu r th e r d is tin g u is h a g r o u p o f

e m o tiv e , e v a lu a tiv e , o r s u b je c tiv e a d je c tiv e s (lore/y, nice, w o n d erfu l, terrible,
horrible, n a sty , e tc ), w h ic h u su ally p re c e d e o th e r c e n tra l a d je c tiv e s . T h u s w e
p re fe r b e a u tifu l lo n g h a ir to long b e a u tifu l hair. S u ch e m o tio n a lly tin g e d
a d je c tiv e s o fte n h a v e a n a d v e r b ia l, s u b o rd in a te d r e la tio n a s i n d ic a te d b y
th e ir n o tio n a l s im ila r ity w ith a d v e r b s :
b e a u tifu l w a rm w e a th e r ~ b e a u tifu lly w arm w e a th e r
T h e s ta te m e n ts m a d e a b o u t th e re la tiv e o r d e r o f z o n e II p r e m o d if ie r s s h o u ld
h o w e v e r b e u n d e r s to o d to b e te n d e n c ie s r a t h e r th a n a b s o lu te ru les.
T h e r e la tio n o f p re m o d if ie r s in ‘u n b r o k e n ’ s e q u e n c e s , ie w ith o u t c o m m a s
o r c o o rd in a to rs , te n d s to b e o n e o f h y p o ta x is ( c f 17.116).
(III) Z o n e I I I : p o s t c e n t r l F
T h is z o n e in c lu d e s , in p a r tic u la r , p a rtic ip le s a n d c o lo u r a d je c tiv e s , e g :
a r e tire d c o lo n e l a w orking th e o ry
a d e se r te d v illa g e blue s k ies
(IV ) Z o n e I V : p r e h e d F
T h is z o n e in c lu d e s th e ‘le a s t a d je c tiv a l a n d m o s t n o m in a l’ p r e m o d if ie r s :
(i) A d je c tiv e s w ith a p r o p e r n o u n b a sis d e n o tin g n a tio n a lity ( c /5 .5 7 ) ,

p r o v e n a n c e , a n d s t y l e : A m erican, G othic
(ii) O th e r d e n o m in a l a d je c tiv e s w ith a re la tio n to n o u n s ( e /7 .3 7 ) , o f te n

w ith th e m e a n in g ‘c o n s is tin g o f ’, ‘in v o lv in g ’, o r ‘r e la tin g t o ’ : a n n u a l,
econom ic, m e d ic a l, social, politica l, rural
(iii) N o u n s : to u r ist ( a ttr a c tio n ) , Y o rksh ire (w o m e n ), college ( s tu d e n t)
A d je c tiv e s in z o n e IV a r e n o rm a lly n o t c e n tr a l b u t p e r ip h e r a l a d je c tiv e s , ie

th e y d o n o t g e n e r a lly a d m it i n te n s if ie s , c o m p a ris o n , o r p r e d ic a tiv e p o s i t i o n :
all th o s e m e d ic a l e x a m in a tio n s fo r m ilita r y s erv ice

*all th o s e very m e d ic a l e x a m in a tio n s
* T h e e x a m in a tio n s a r e m ore m e d ic a l than . . .
S im ila rly , p o litic a l a n d ru ra l in th e fo llo w in g u ses w ill n o rm a lly b e i n te r p r e te d

as n o n g r a d a b le a d je c tiv e s ( c /7 .4 2 ):
all th e p o litic a l p a r tie s o f th is c o u n try

th e b a c k w a r d ru ra l a r e a s in t h e n o rth
1340 T h e n o u n p h ra so
W h e n ite m s fr o m th e s a m e g ro u p co o cc u r, th e r e is a te n d e n c y fo r th o s e
m o d ifiers w h ic h d e n o te p la c e a n d tim e to ta k e p r e c e d e n c e :
lo ca leco n o tn ic i n t e r e s t s
th e an n u a l lin g u istic m e e tin g
P re m o d ifie rs in th e p r e h e a d z o n e c a n n o t u su ally b e c o o r d i n a t e d :
th e local w a te rb o a rd a u th o ritie s
* th e local a n d w a te rb o a rd a u th o ritie s
P re m o d ify in g n o u n s , w h ic h a re n o rm a lly p la c ed im m e d ia te ly b e lo r c th e h e a d
o f th e n o u n p h r a s e , m a y fo r m a c o m p o u n d o r q u a s i- c o m p o u n d w ith th e h e a d ,
as is su g g e s te d in t h e c o m p o u n d stress p a tte r n o n t h e fir s t ite m a s in 'telephone
call, 'fireplace. T h i s is w h e re n o u n -p h r a s e s tr u c tu r e im p in g e s u p o n c o m
p o u n d in g ( c f 1 7 .1 0 4 # , A p p l . b l f f ) , w ith tw o n o u n s f o r m in g a n e w c o n
c e p tu a l u n it.
I n so m e c a s e s th e r e is l ittle o r n o d ifferen c e in m e a n in g b e tw e e n d e n o m in a l
a d je c tiv e s a n d n o u n s a s p r e m o d if ie r s :
a L iv e rp u d lia n a c c e n t ~ a Liverp o o l a c c e n t
a n icy p a tc h ~ a n ice p a tc h
a g la m o ro u s g irl ~ a g la m o u r g irl
a b e a u tifu l s p o t ~ a b e a u ty s p o t
a g ra ssy s tr ip ~ a g ra ss s trip
O n e g e n e ra l d is tin c tiv e f e a tu r e is th a t th e in f o r m a tio n p r o v id e d b y th e

a d je c tiv e is fe lt to b e te m p o r a r y o r s u b je c tiv e , w h e re a s t h a t p r o v id e d b y th e
n o u n p re m o d if ie r is p e r m a n e n t, o r o b je c tiv e , ie h a s a ‘c la s s ify in g ’ fu n c tio n .
S o m e e x a m p le s o f s e q u e n c e s o f p re m o d ifie rs a re g iv e n in T a b le 17.114.
Table 17.114 E x am p les o f sequences o f premodifiers
PREMODIFIERS
DETER Zone I : Z one II: Zone III: Z one IV : HEAD

MINATIVE PRECENTRAL CENTRAL POSTCENTRAL PREHEAD
attractions
tourist attractions
London tourist attractions
splendid A frican tourist attractions
our num erous splendid A frican tourist attractions
all this costly social security
a certain grey church tower

these crum bling grey G o th ic church towers
some in tricate old interlocking C hinese designs
all the small carved C hin ese ja d e idols

both the m ajor D an ish political parties
P rm n o rlif ic u tio n 1341
G e n e r a l p r in c ip le f o r th e o r d e r o f p rc m o d ifie rs
17 .115 In p a r t, th e p re fe re n c e s seem clearly to c o rre s p o n d to th e ‘n a tu r a l’ o r d e r o f
re c u rs iv e q u a lific a tio n . T h u s [ I ] w ould he m o re u su al I b a n 11 si | :
th e tw o ty p ic a l la rg e c o u n try h o u ses [ 1]
th e tw o la rg e ty p ic a l c o u n try h o u ses [ 1a]
In o r d e r to b e ty p ic a l, c o u n try h o u ses m u s t b e la r g e ; b u t it w o u ld s c a r c e ly b e
tru e th a t, in o r d e r to b e la rg e , th e y m u s t b e ty p ic a l. T h is is f a c tu a l, n o t
lin g u is tic , in fo r m a tio n . T h e p re fe rre d o r d e r in th e tw o n o u n p h r a s e s in [1]
a n d [ l a ] th u s re fle c ts re a lity in s h o w in g th a t th e s p e a k e r h a d b e e n o b lig e d to
sp e c ify th e h o u s e s a s c o u n try h o u ses a n d th e c o u n tr y h o u ses as la rg e , b e f o r e
it b e c a m e m e a n in g fu l to s p ec ify th e la rg e c o u n tr y h o u ses a s ty p ic a l. A g a in ,
th e p r e f e r r e d o rd e rs b e a u tifu l long hair a n d long stra ig h t h a ir p e r h a p s re fle c t
th e n o n lin g u is tic w o rld : le n g th o f h a ir m a y b e a c o n d itio n o f its b e in g
a d ju d g e d b e a u tifu l, a n d th e s tra ig h tn e s s o f h a ir w o u ld te n d to b e a c o n d itio n
o f its s e e m in g lo n g .
A tte m p ts to e x p la in p re fe re n c e s o f p re m o d if ie r o r d e r in g h a v e in v o k e d
r h y th m (eg s h o r t ite m s b e fo re lo n g er o n e s ) ; c o m m o n ite m s b e fo re r a r e o n e s ;
r e s tr ic tiv e b e fo re n o n re s tric tiv e . W e s u g g e s t o n e p rin c ip le a c c o u n tin g f o r all
p re m o d if ie r s : a s u b je c tiv e /o b je c tiv e p o la rity . T h a t is, m o d ifiers r e la tin g to
p r o p e r tie s w h ic h a r e (rela tiv e ly ) in h e r e n t in th e h e a d o f th e n o u n p h r a s e ,
v isu ally o b s e r v a b le , a n d o b je c tiv ely re c o g n iz a b le o r a ss e ss ib le , w ill te n d to
b e p la c e d n e a r e r to th e h e a d a n d be p re c e d e d b y m o d ifie rs c o n c e r n e d w ith
w h a t is re la tiv e ly a m a tte r o f o p in io n , im p o s e d o n th e h e a d by th e o b s e r v e r ,
n o t v is u a lly o b s e r v e d , a n d o n ly s u b jec tiv e ly a sse ssib le .
O n e n e e d h a r d ly a d d th a t, w ith c r ite r ia th a t a r e th e m s e lv e s so s u b je c tiv e ,
th e r e is p le n ty o f ro o m fo r d ifferen c e o f o p in io n . T h e w rite rs a n d s p e a k e r s
w ill n a tu r a lly a r r a n g e p re m o d if ic a tio n s e m a n tic a lly , ie a c c o rd in g to th e ir
c o m m u n ic a tiv e in te n tio n s . H o w e v e r, th e r e is n o to ta l free d o m .
N o te T h o u g h th ere are m an y ex cep tio n s a n d few firm c o n stra in ts, it seem s th a t, to som e e x te n t, th e
o rd e r o f p rem o d ify in g ad jectiv es is th e inverse o f p red ic a tiv e o rd er:
b e a u tifu l lo n g h a ir - h a ir th a t is long a n d b e a u tifu l
lo n g str a ig h t h a ir - h a ir th a t is sfrnig/if a m i long
W ith th is we m ay c o m p a re th e ad v erb ial + o b ject + h ead o r d e r in p rcm o d ificatio n w ith th e
in v erse o r d e r o f clau se e le m e n ts :
a g a s c ig a r e tte lig h te r ~ I t lights cig a re tte s b y g a s.
A lso a d ju n c t + su b ject + h ead :
E u s to n tra in a rriv als ~ T h e tr a in s arriv e a t E u s to n .
S im ilarly , th e seq u en ce o f m odifiers w ith subjective a n d o b jectiv e g en itiv e { c J ' \ l A \ f f ) w h ere,
a lth o u g h in v ersio n is n o t alw ays in v o lv ed , th e sam e p rin c ip le o f o rd ere d c lu sterin g in r e la tio n to
th e h e a d is m a in ta in e d :
th e m en 's e x a m in a tio n o f th e s tu d en t ~ T h e m en e x a m in e d th e stu d en t,
th e m e n 's e x a m in a tio n by th e d o cto r ~ T h e m en w ere e x a m in e d by th e d octor,
th e e x a m in a tio n o f th em b y h im ~ T h ey w ere e x a m in e d by him .
H y p o ta c tic r e la tio n s a n d o r d e r o f p re m o d ifie rs

1 7 .1 1 6 D if f e r e n t h y p o ta c tic re la tio n s o f p re m o d if ie r s w ill u p s e t th e n o r m a l o r d e r
d e s c r ib e d in 1 7 .1 \Z ff. T h u s w h ile d ir ty B ritish b o o k s c o u ld b e u n d e r s to o d as
b o o k s t h a t h a d b e c o m e g rim y , B ritish d ir ty b o o k s c o u ld o n ly m e a n b o o k s t h a t
‘c o n s is te d o f ’ o r ‘w e re c h a r a c te r iz e d b y ’ d i r t {ie o b s c e n ity ).
1342 T h e n o u n phratio
W h e n tw o n o u n s p re m o d ify , o n e w h ic h c o rre s p o n d s to th e h e a d a s o b je c t
t o v e r b w i l l f o ll o w o n e r e l a t i n g t o m a t e r i a l , m e a n s , i n s t r u m e n t , s p a c e , o r a n y
c o m p a r a b le a d v e rb ia l r e la tio n :
( a d e te rg e n t carton a n d a c a rd b o a rd cu rlon
^ ~ a cardboard d e te rg e n t c a r t o n [ ‘T h e c a r t o n c o n t a i n s d e t e r g e n t . ’]
[ * a d ete rg e n t ca rd b o a rd c a r t o n [ * ‘T h c c a r t o n c o n t a i n s c a r d b o a r d . " ]
m y eiga'rette l i g h t e r a n d m y 'g a s l i g h t e r
{ ~ m y tg a s eiga'rette l i g h t e r
'v * m y cig a rette g a s M ahler
j a c ity b rea d d e l i v e r y
I ~ * a b rea d c ity d e l i v e r y
f a d ie se l passen g er t r a i n
| ? a p a ssen g er d ie se l t r a i n
a j e t fr e ig h t a i r c r a f t
{ '•*- ? a fr e ig h t j e t a i r c r a f t
W h e r e a n a d v e r b i a l -|- v e r b s e q u e n c e h a s p r i o r i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d s t a t u s , a s
w i t h p ressu re cooker , t h i s u n i t m a y b e p r e m o d i f i e d b y a n o b j e c t s u c h a s
veg e ta b le :
a vegetable p ressu re c ooker [‘ w h i c h c o o k s v e g e t a b l e s b y p r e s s u r e ’]
Multiple adjective/noun premodification

1 7 .1 1 7 T h e n o u n p re m o d ifie r c a n b e its e lf p re m o d ifie d b y e ith e r a n a d je c tiv e o r a
n o u n a n d , i f th e la tte r , t h is c a n in t u r n b e r e c u r s iv e ly p r e m o d i f i e d :
expensive office fu r n itu r e

office fu rn itu re -+
incom e ta x office fu rn itu re
overseas incom e ta x office fu rn itu re
F ig 17.1 ] 7a
I t s h o u ld b e n o te d , h o w e v e r, th a t i f w e in tr o d u c e a n a d je c tiv e in th is la s t
n o u n p h r a s e , a lr e a d y c lu m s y a n d im p r o b a b le , th e a d je c tiv e h a s to c o m e
im m e d ia te ly a fte r th e d e te r m in e r a n d w o u ld n o r m a lly b e in te rp re te d as
r e l a t i n g d i r e c t l y t o t h e h e a d fu r n itu r e :
ex p en sive overseas incom e ta x office fu r n itu re
F ig 17.117b
P ro m n riificn tio n 1343
H o w e v e r, s u c h s tr a ig h tf o r w a r d le ft-to -rig h t o r d e r in g o f p r e m o d ifie rs is n o t

com m on. C o m p a re th e s tr u c tu r e o f th e fo llo w in g tw o e x a m p l e s fro m a
n e w sp a p e r:
the [[[food price] rise] [warning .v r.v u v u ]] ' a s y s t e m f o r w a r n i n g a g a i n s t

ris e s in th e p r ic e o f f o o d ’
th e [ voluntary [[price rise] [warning system ]]] ‘a s y s t e m w h i c h is
v o l u n ta r y f o r w a r n i n g a g a i n s t r is e s in p r ic e s ’
T h e tw o e x a m p le s lo o k s u p e rf ic ia lly a lik e h u t a r c in fa c t r a d ic a lly d i f f e r e n t in

n o u n - p h r a s e s t r u c t u r e . T h e i d e n t i c a l p o s i t i o n i n g o f fo o d a n d v o lu n ta r y m u s t
n o t o b s c u r e t h e f a c t t h a t t h e f o r m e r m o d i f i e s price a n d t h e h i t t e r s y s te m .
H o w e v e r , t h e r e is p o t e n t i a l a m b i g u i t y w i t h m u l t i p l e n o u n m o d i f i c a t i o n .
C o n s id e r:
a n e w g ia n t size c a rd b o a rd d e te rg e n t carton
w here size d o e s n o t p r e m o d i f y c a rd b o a rd a n d cardboard d o e s n o t p r e m o d i f y

d e te rg e n t b u t w h e r e t h e l i n e a r s t r u c t u r e is r a t h e r a s i n :
a ln e w [g ia n t size] [c a rd b o a rd [d eterg en t carton]]]
a new g ia n t s iz e c a rd b o a rd d e te r g e n t c a r to n
Fig 1 7 .1 17c
S u c h a n e x a m p l e is n o t , o f c o u r s e , o b s c u r e . I n d e e d , i t is g e n e r a l l y t h e c a s e
t h a t o b s c u r i t y i n p r e m o d i f i c a t i o n e x i s t s o n l y f o r t h e h e a r e r o r r e a d e r w h o is
u n f a m i l i a r w i t h t h e s u b j e c t c o n c e r n e d a n d w h o is n o t t h e r e f o r e e q u i p p e d t o
to le r a te th e r a d ic a l r e d u c tio n in e x p lic itn e s s th a t p re m o d ific a tio n e n ta ils .
T a k e e v e n a f a ir ly s im p le e x a m p le lik e t h e f o llo w in g :
H e h a d so m e F rench o nio n soup.
I f w e a re u n fa m ilia r w ith t h i s t y p e o f s o u p , t h e r e is n o t h i n g a b o u t th e
g r a m m a t i c a l , o r t h o g r a p h i c , o r p r o s o d i c f o r m t h a t w i l l t e l l u s w h e t h e r i t is
s o u p m a d e fro m F r e n c h o n io n s , o r F r e n c h so u p m a d e fro m o n io n s , o r o n io n
s o u p m a d e in th e F r e n c h m a n n e r .
17.118 T h e r e a r e o th e r s p e c ia l ty p e s o f m u ltip le p re m o d ific a tio n t h a t s h o u ld be

m e n tio n e d . A f r ie n d s h ip b e tw e e n a b o y a n d a g irl b e c o m e s :
a b o y a n d g ir l f r i e n d s h i p
A c o m m itte e d e a lin g w ith a p p o in tm e n ts a n d p r o m o tio n s c a n r e a d ily be

d e s c r i b e d a s (o n th e p lu ra l, c f 1 7 .1 0 8 /) :
t h e a p p o in tm e n ts a n d p ro m o tio n s c o m m i t t e e
A c o m m i tt e e w h o s e b u s in e s s is th e a llo c a tio n o f f in a n c e c a n b e :
th e allo ca tio n o f fin a n c e c o m m itte e

A n o u n p h r a s e in w h ic h t h e r e is n o u n p r c m o d i l i c a t i o n c a n b e g iv e n th e
d e n o m i n a l a llix w h i c h p u t s i t i n t o t h e ‘c o n s i s t i n g o f ’ c l a s s o f a d j e c t i v e s
( / ; / 7 . 3 7 , 1 7 ,1 1 4 ) w h i l e r e t a i n i n g th e n o u n p r e tn o d ilie r; h e n c e , fro m p a r ty
p u li'lie s w e h a v e :
a p a r ty p o litic a l b r o a d c a s t
S im i la r l y , a n o u n p h r a s e h a v i n g a d e n o m i n a l a d j e c t i v e n itty i t s e l f t a k e a
d e n o m i n a l affix to b e c o m e a p r e n u n l i t i e r in a n o u n p h r a s e , b a r e x a m p l e ,
b e s i d e cerebral p a ls y [‘ p a l s y o f th e c e r e b r u m '] , w e have cereb ra l p a lsie d
children w h i c h h a s t h e f o l l o w i n g s t r u c t u r e :
[ [ [ c e r e b r a l p a l s i ] e d ] c h ild r e n ] n o t : * [c e re b ra l [p a lsie d c h ild r e n ] ]

W e s e e t w o t y p e s o f m o d i f i c a t i o n w i t h m o d i f i e d m o d i f i e r i n [ 1 ] a n d [ 2 ], T h e
p r e m o d i l 'y i n g a d j e c t i v e d e lig h tfu l is i t s e l f p r e m o d i f i e d b y t h e a d v e r b p h r a s e
rea lly q u ite u n b e lie v a b ly :
h i s really q u ite u n b e lie va b ly d e lig h tfu l c o t t a g e [ 1]
I n [ 2 ], t h e g e n i t i v e p r e m o d i f i e r w om en's i s i t s e l f p r e m o d i f i e d b y th e se ch ic ,
a n d th e w h o le g e n itiv e p h r a s e c o u ld p r e m o d ify a n o th e r g e n itiv e :
[ [ [ t h e s e [chic w om en's]] e m ployer's] c l o t h i n g ] [2 ]
th e se ch ic w o m en 's e m p lo y e r's clo th in g
F ig 17.118
A l t h o u g h t h e r e is n o t h e o r e ti c a l l im it to su ch seq u en ces o f g e n itiv e s , th e r e

s e e m s to be a p r a c tic a l lim it o f tw o - a n y th in g m o re b e in g s ty lis tic a lly
o b je c tio n a b le , c o m ic , a n d d iffic u lt to c o m p r e h e n d :
? t h e s e chic w o m en 's e m p lo y e r ’s w ife's c l o t h i n g
N o te W ith a sin g u lar g en itiv e th ere m ay b e a m b ig u ity , in th a t ch ic m ay m o d ify w o m a n 's [3] o r clo th in g
[3a]:
th is [[chic w o m a n 's] clo th in g ] [3]
th is [chic [w o m a n 's c lo th in g ] ] [3a]
The 'group genitive'

17.119 O ne im p o r ta n t ty p e o f m u ltip le p re m o d ific a tio n is t h e ‘g r o u p g e n itiv e ’
(c /5 .1 2 3 ):
so m eo n e else's c a r T h e W ife o f B a th 's T a l e

E liza b e th the S e c o n d ’s h e i r a m a n o f d istin c tio n ’s i n f l u e n c e
W h ile t h e a ffix in g to a n o u n o f t h e g e n itiv e in f le c tio n a n d t h e p l u r a l in f le c tio n

fo llo w s s im il a r r u le s f o r r e g u l a r n o u n s in g e n e r a l, t h e r u le s f o r t h e tw o
i n f l e c t i o n s a r e d i f f e r e n t i f t h e n o u n is p o s t m o d i f i e d ( c f F ig 1 7 .1 1 9 ):
P re m o d ific a t io n 1345
th e te a c h e r th e te a c h e r 's (ro o m )
s in g u la r
th e te a c h e r o f m u s ic th e te a c h e r o f m u s ic 's (ro o m )
th e te a c h e r s th e te a c h e r s ' ( m o m )
p lu ra l
th e te a c h e r s o f m u s ic th e te a c h e rs o f m u s ic 's (ro o m )
n o u n p h rase
d e te rm in a tiv e head
th e tea c l o f m u s ic ( '.y J roam
f- i g 17 . 1 19
O th e r e x a m p le s in v o lv e c o o rd in a tio n s :
a n h o u r a n d a h a l f 's d i s c u s s io n
a w e e k o r s o ’s s u n s h i n e
T h e g r o u p g e n i t i v e i s n o t n o r m a l l y a c c e p t a b l e w h e n t h e p o s t m o d i f i c a t i o n is
a c la u s e , th o u g h in c o llo q u ia l u se o n e s o m e tim e s h e a r s e x a m p le s l i k e :
O ld m a n w h a t- d o - y o u - c a ll- h i m ’s h o u s e h a s j u s t b e e n s o l d .
? H a v e y o u s e e n th a t m a n s ta n d in g a t th e c o r n e r 's h a t ?
? S o m e o n e h a s s t o l e n a m a n I k n o w 's car.
I n n o r m a l u s e , e s p e c i a l l y i n w r i t i n g , s u c h g e n i t i v e s w o u l d b e r e p l a c e d b y o f-
H a v e y o u s e e n t h e h a t o f th a t m a n s ta n d in g a t th e c o r n e r ?
S o m e o n e h a s s t o l e n th e c a r o f a m a n I k n o w .
T h e g r o u p g e n it i v e is to le r a b l e e v e n w ith p r e p o s i ti o n a l p h r a s e s p r o v i d e d it
e n c o u r a g e s n o u n w a n t e d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . T h u s [1 ] m i g h t p a s s m u s t e r :
t h e m a n in t h e c a r ’s e a r s [ 1]
B u t [2 ] w o u l d o b v i o u s l y b e a v o id e d i f t h e m e a n i n g ‘t h e e a r s o f t h e m a n w i t h
th e c a t’ w a s in te n d e d :
t h e m a n w ith t h e c a t ’s e a r s [2 ]
Multiple heads
1 7 .1 2 0 M o d if ic a tio n m a y a p p ly to m o r e t h a n o n e h e a d (c f 1 3 .6 8 ):
T h e m u l t i p l e h e a d t h u s p r o d u c e d ( ta b le a n d c h a ir s ) c a n n o w b e s u b j e c t t o
re c u rs iv e m o d if ic a tio n o r c o o r d i n a ti o n :
th e b e a u t ifu l n e w ta b le a n d c h a irs
th e n e w ( b u t ) u g ly ta b le a n d c h a irs
T h e r e d u c e d e x p lic itn e s s n a tu r a lly m a k e s a m b ig u ity p o s s ib le . S in c e w e c a n

c o o r d i n a t e t w o n o u n p h r a s e s o n l y o n e o f w h i c h is p r c m o d i f i e d , t h e r e s u l t i n g
s tr i n g w ill s u g g e s t t h a t th e m o d if ie r a p p li e s to b o t h h e a d s i f i t c o m e s fir s t:
H e w r i t e s lo n g p a p e r s .
— H e w r i t e s lo n g p a p e r s a n d b o o k s .
H e w r ite s books.
In th e s e c ir c u m s ta n c e s , w c m a y d is a m b ig u a te b y r e o r d e r in g , b y in tr o d u c in g
s e p a r a te d e te r m in e r s , e tc :
H e w r i t e s b o o k s a n d lo n g p a p e r s .
H e w r i t e s s o m e lo n g p a p e r s a n d s o m e h o o k s .
N o u n p h r a s e s w ith s e p a r a te p r e m o d ific a tio n c a n h o w e v e r b e jo in tly p r e

m o d ifie d , a s in :
b o o k s a n d lo n g p a p e r s ~ e x c e ll e n t b o o k s a n d lo n g p a p e r s
S p o k e n w i t h o n e to n e u n it, th is n o u n p h r a s e c a n b e in te r p r e t e d a s h a v in g th e
s t r u c t u r e o f F i g 1 7 .1 2 0 ':
[ e x c e lle n t [ [b o o k s ] a n d [lo n g PAPers]]]
e x c e lle n t books and lo n g p a p e rs
F ig 17.120
T h is in te r p r e t a t i o n w o u ld b e a lm o s t in e s c a p a b le i f a d e te r m in e r s u c h a s som e
p r e c e d e d e x c e ll e n t. I t f o l l o w s t h a t i f w e w i s h t o c o o r d i n a t e n o u n p h r a s e s b o t h
o f w h ic h a re p re m o d ifie d , w e m u st in tro d u c e e ith e r p ro s o d ic o r p u n c tu a tio n
s e p a r a to r s , o r s e p a r a t e d e te r m i n e r s , i f m a x i m a l c la r it y is r e q u i r e d :
e x c e ll e n t b o o k s , a n d lo n g p a p e r s
s o m e e x c e l l e n t b o o k s a n d s o m e lo n g p a p e r s
A lte r n a tiv e ly , th e o r d e r c a n b e r e v e r s e d :
lo n g p a p e r s a n d e x c e ll e n t b o o k s
S p e cia l re la tio n s b e t w e e n h o w ls a n d m o d if ie rs 1347
S p e c ia l re la tio n s b e tw e e n h e a d s a nd m o d ifie rs
Some problems of coordination

17.121 C o o r d in a tio n p ro v id e s so m e p o in ts o f in te re s t in re la tio n to m u l t i p l e
m o d if ic a tio n . C o n s id e r th e p h ra s e [1]:
c h ild r e n who h a v e speech th a t is im p a ired [ 1]
T h is c a n b e re d u c e d to [ 1a] o r [ 1b ] :
c h ild r e n who h ave im p a ired speech f Ia]

c h ild r e n w ith im p a ired speech [lb ]
T h e n o r m a l p re m o d if ie d fo rm ( c f A p p 1.38) is th e n [ 1c ] :
sp ee c h -im p a ired c h ild re n [Ic]
B u t if th e im p a ir m e n t is in speech a n d language (a c o n v e n tio n a l c o n jo in in g

re c o g n iz e d in s p e e c h th e ra p y ), th e p r e m o d if ic a tio n fo rm b e c o m e s :
speech a n d lang u a g e im p a ired c h ild r e n [Id ]
T h e h y p h e n is o m itte d a f te r la nguage s in c e th is w o u ld e n ta il o n e a f t e r sp e e c h
a s w ell, a ty p e o f e llip sis in d ic a tio n re s e r v e d fo r r a th e r s tiff a n d te c h n i c a l
w r itin g ( c / A p p I I I . 5 N o te [b]):
sp eech - a n d la n g u a g e-im p a ired c h ild r e n [ 1e]
E llip sis p ro v id e s d iffic u ltie s in n o u n p h r a s e s in v o lv in g c o m p a ris o n a lso . T h e

fo llo w in g is u n o b je c tio n a b le :
a n e q u a lly serious or m o re serious s itu a tio n [2]
T h e s e q u e n c e b e c o m e s o b je c tio n a b le w h e n p o s tm o d ify in g c o m p le m e n t a ti o n
is a d d e d [ 2 a ] :
?an e q u a lly serious o r m o re serious s itu a tio n than befo re [2 a ]
T h e p h r a s e [2a] w ro n g ly su g g ests th a t w e h a v e a p o ssib le s e q u e n c e ( c f 1 7 .1 2 2 ):
* a n e q u a lly serious s itu a tio n th a n b efo re [2 b ]
A s o m e w h a t s im ila r d ifficu lty a ris e s th ro u g h c o o r d in a tio n a n d r a t h e r

c a re le s s e llip s is , a s in [3]:
? th e s im ila r ity o f h is h o u ses in N e w Y o r k a n d C o n n e c tic u t [3]
A m o r e fu lly e x p lic it fo r m w ith o u t e llip s is w ill h e lp to sh o w w h a t h a s g o n e

w ro n g :
th e s im ila r ity o f h is h o u s e 1 in N e w Y o rk to his h o u se2 in

C o n n e c tic u t [3 a]
T h e ru le s f o r e llip sis ( c f \ 2 3 \ f f ) h a v e to d is tin g u is h b e tw e e n id e n t i t y o f

le x ic a l ite m a n d id e n tity o f r e fe re n c e : i f w e h a v e o n ly th e first w ith o u t th e
s e c o n d , th e r e a r e c o n s tr a in ts o n e llip s is. S u c h c o n s tr a in ts a r e n o t s u ffic ie n t,
h o w e v e r , to b lo c k e llip ses lik e th e fo llo w in g w h ic h re ta in c o m p le te
a c c e p ta b ility :
m o re th a n on e le c tu r e r so m e b o o k or o th e r one or tw o b o o k s
D is c o n tin u ity b e t w e e n h e a d a n d m o d ifie r
17.122 I t is n o t u n c o m m o n fo r t h e n o u n p h r a s e t o b e i n t e r r u p t e d b y o t h e r i t e m s o f
c lau se s tru ct u re . N o lo , for i n s t a n ce , t h e p la c i n g o f t he l im e a d j u n c t b e t w e e n
t h e h e a d a n d p o s l m o d il ie r in th e f ol l ow i n g n o un p h r a s e :
I m e t a m a n th is m o rn in g ca rryin g a h e a v y p a r c e l
A l t h o u g h t h e re is n o t h i n g w r o n g witli th i s s t ru c t ur e , to a v o i d d i s c o n t i n u i t y ,
t h e a d v e r b i a l c a n be m o v ed to i n itia l p o s i t i o n :
T h is m o rn in g I m e t a m a n c a rry in g a h e a vy parcel.
F u r th e r e x a m p le s o f d is c o n tin u itie s in n o u n -p h r a s e s tru c tu re a r e p r e s e n te d

in 18.39/, to g e th e r w ith so m e d is c u s s io n o f th e c o n se q u e n c e s f o r in f o r m a tio n
p ro c e ss in g .
N o u n -p h ra s e m o d ifiers w h ic h h a v e th e ir o w n c o m p le m e n ta tio n c a n o fte n
o c c u p y a lte r n a tiv e p o s itio n s . T h e s tr u c tu r e is e ith e r c o n tin u o u s ( n o u n h e a d +
a d je c tiv e w ith c o m p le m e n t) o r d is c o n tin u o u s (a d je c tiv e + n o u n h e a d +
a d je c tiv e c o m p le m e n t). W e c a n d is tin g u is h th e fo llo w in g ty p e s o f c o m p le
m e n t:
(a ) A d je c tiv e w ith a p r e p o s itio n a l p h r a s e as c o m p le m e n t ( c f 1 7 .58):

fa c ilitie s co m p a ra b le 1
to o urs
com parable fa c ilitie s J ° o urs
(b ) A d je c tiv e w ith a n in fin itiv e c la u se a s c o m p le m e n t (c /7 6 .7 5 /T ):
(c) A d je c tiv e in c o m p a r a tiv e d e g re e w ith a c o m p a ra tiv e c la u s e a s c o m p le -
W ith th e fo llo w in g ty p e s it s h o u ld b e n o te d th a t a lte r n a tiv e a d je c tiv e p o s itio n

a ls o e n ta ils c h a n g e , c o m p a re d w ith ty p e s ( a -c ), in th e p o s itio n o f th e
in d e fin ite a rtic le , su ch t h a t it a lw a y s im m e d ia te ly p re c e d e s th e n o u n h e a d .
(d ) A s + a d je c tiv e + a s w ith c o m p a r a tiv e c la u s e :
■an y th in g y o u ’ve e v e r h e a r d o f
(e ) S o + a d je c tiv e + th a t- o r a s f o - c la u s e :
a n id e a so o d d th a t y o u w o n ’t b e lie v e it
so o d d a n id e a a s to b e u n b e lie v a b le
(f) Too + a d je c tiv e + in fin itiv e c la u s e :

a n a c c u s a tio n to o s e r io u s ] . , ,
Htoo b e le ft u n a n sw e re d
too serious an accusation
C o n c lu s io n 1349
In so m e o f th e s e e x a m p le s , th e v a ria tio n is n o t s ty listica lly f r e e ; fo r e x a m p le ,

in re la tio n to (a), m a n y w o u ld p re fe r (a t lea st in a m o re fo rm a l c o n te x t) th e
c o n t i n u o u s o r d e r 11 j t o t h e d is c o n t i n u o u s | In]:
J fa c ilitie s com parable’ to ours [ 1J

[ c om parable fa c ilitie s to ours [ la ]
T h e p r e p o s i t i o n a l p h r a s e s a n d o t h e r s t ru c tu re s (u nc ti on h er e as c o m p l e n u m Is
to a d je ct iv es , n o t as m o di f ie rs o f n o u n - p h r a s e h ead s , as in n ew r o a d s to
Lo u d o n . T h u s w e h a v e ro a d s to London h ut no t *fa c ilitie s to ours.
C o m p a re n o w th e fo llo w in g p a irs;
J th e h a n d so m e m a n t h a t sh e k is se d [2 ]
[ th e fir s t m a n t h a t s h e k issed [ 2 a]
f a n e x tra o r d in a ry d is c o v e ry t h a t I m a d e [3]
[ a n ea rly d is c o v e ry th a t I m a d e [ 3 a]
[ T h e m o st r ec e n t p la y I k n o w w ell is B edroom F arce. [4]
[ T h e m o st rec e n t p la y I ’v e seen is H a m le t. [4a]
T h e s u p e rfic ia l r e s e m b la n c e w ith in e a c h p a ir m u s t n o t p r e v e n t u s f r o m s e e in g
th a t, in e a c h c a s e , th e s e c o n d m e m b e r h a s a n a d v e r b ia l re la tio n in w h a t is a
p la u sib le c o r r e s p o n d in g s e n te n c e :
th e m a n w as th e ! J ! r s t . [ t h a t sh e k issed
[* h a n d so m e )
a d is c o v e ry t h a t I m a d e ] ear^
\ j e xtra o rd in a ry
T h e p la y ^ | * | ^ 0^ e n recen tly is H a m le t.
C o m p a ra tiv e s o f ad je c tiv e s w ith c o m p a ra tiv e clause co m p lem en ts like [5] a n d (6) c an h a v e a s a d

hoc ‘c o m p o u n d s’ th e n o rm a lly p o stp o n ed c o m p a ra tiv e c o n stru ctio n s in [5a] a n d [6a] ( c /1 7 . I l l ;
reg ard in g th e use o f h y p h e n a tio n , c f A p p 1,17):
H e r salary is higher th a n average. [5]
H is c a r looks worse than ever. [6]
h e r iugher-than-average sa la ry [5a]
h is worse-than-ever-looking c a r [6a]
N o te th a t w ith a c o p u la r v erb o th e r th an be [6a], th e v e rb is included in th e p rcm o d ific atio n .
B ut:
*her higher-than-average-being sa la ry [6b]
C o n c lu s io n
R e d u c e d e x p lic it n e s s a n d in c r e a s e d e c o n o m y s tr u c tu r e
17.123 T h e n o u n p h r a s e , th e n , is p o te n tia lly v ery c o m p le x in d e e d . It is h o p e d th a t

b y n o w e n o u g h h a s b e e n s a id to g iv e so m e c le a r in d ic a tio n o f th e r e la tio n s h ip
t h a t e x ists b e tw e e n ty p e s o f n o u n -p h r a s e s tru c tu re a n d th e f o r m s o f
p re d ic a tio n to w h ic h th e y a p p e a r to h a v e a n e s s e n tia l i f o f te n in d ir e c t
c o rre s p o n d e n c e . B y m e a n s o f (h e s tru c tu re s th a t h a v e b e en d e v e lo p e d in th e
n o u n p h ra s e , w e c a n ta k e a n in d e fin ite ly w id e ra n g e o f g r a m m a tic a l a n d
s e m a n tic d a ta w h ic h h a v e e ith e r been p re v io u sly e s ta b lis h e d in th e d is c o u rse
o r w h ic h c a n b e a s s u m e d a s k n o w le d g e h e ld in c o m m o n b e tw e e n s p e a k e r /
w rite r a n d h e a r e r /r e a d e r , a n d th e n e x p re ss th e m , o r r e fe r to th e m , w ith
g re a tly re d u c e d e x p lic itn e s s , a n d c o n s e q u e n tly in c re a s e d e c o n o m y . T o
illu s tra te th e d e g re e o f c o m p le x ity th a t o c cu rs q u ite re a d ily in E n g lis h p ro se ,
h e re a r e th r e e e x a m p le s :
A t th e m o u th o f th e r e s p ira to ry tu b e is a series o f velar te ntacles,

c orresponding e x a c tly in position to those o f a m p h io x u s, a n d
serving to s e p a ra te th e m outh a n d o esophagus fr o m th e respiratory
tube w hile th e la m p r e y is fe e d in g . [ 1]
I t w as th e b e g in n in g o f a n operation in w hich th e p o w e r o f the H o ly
S p irit w as f u lfil le d in the person a n d w ords a n d a c tio n s o f a h u m an
character, J e s u s o f N a za re th . [2]
S u b seq u e n t w o rk b y H uisgen (1 9 5 1) a n d H ey, S tu a r t- IT ebb a n d
W illia m s ( 1 9 5 1 , 1 9 5 2 ) on the dep en d en ce o f th e r a te o f
rea rra n g e m e n t o n b o th th e a r y l a n d a c y l g ro u p s o f the
a c yla ry ln itro sa m in e , a n d on the c a ta ly sis o f th e r eaction b y bases
such a s p ip e rid in e, h a s le d to th e fo r m u la tio n o f th e rea rra n g e m e n t
as an in tra m o le cu la r process, a s in d ic a te d in eq u a tio n ( 6 ) ,
involving m tcleo p h ilic a tta c k , b y a n in tern a l S ^ 2 m e ch a n ic ism , o f
th e o x y g e n o f th e . . . n itro sy l g roup on th e c a rb o n y l carbon a to m . [3]
In th e ita lic iz e d n o u n p h r a s e o f [1], w e a re e x p e c te d to u n d e r s ta n d th a t th e

te n ta c le s fo r m a s e r ie s a n d th a t th e y c o rre s p o n d to th e te n ta c le s fo u n d in th e
sp ec ie s a m p h io x u s . M o re in te re s tin g ly , w e a r e e x p e c te d to r e la te th e te n ta c le s
to th e v e lu m w ith o u t p re ju d ic e a s to w h e th e r th e y a re a p p e n d e d to it (a
p a r titiv e r e la tio n s h ip ) o r a c tu ally c o n s titu te it (a n a p p o s itiv e r e la tio n s h ip ),
o n w h ic h d is tin c tio n s o m e b io lo g ists w o u ld n o t w is h to c o m m it th e m s e lv e s .
T y p e s o f n o u n - p h r a s e s tr u c tu r e in r e l a t i o n t o v a r ie ty
1 7 .1 2 4 I t m u s t b e e m p h a s iz e d t h a t a n y th in g a p p r o a c h in g full e x p lo ita tio n o f th e

p o te n tia lity e x is tin g in n o u n -p h r a s e s tr u c tu r e is re la tiv e ly r a r e a n d re la tiv e ly
c o n fin e d to s p e c ific field s o f d is co u rse . A s a m p le o f s o m e 17 0 0 0 n o u n p h ra s e s
in th e S u rv e y o f E n g lis h U sa g e files y ie ld e d th e s tr ik in g c o n tr a s ts t h a t a re
s u m m a riz e d in T a b le 17.124.
‘S im p le ’ is h e r e d e fin e d as n o u n s w ith o u t m o d if ic a tio n , ie s im p le n o u n
p h ra s e s (eg : J o h n , she, th e m an). I n v iew o f th e ir n u m e r ic a l a n d d is tr ib u tio n a l
im p o r ta n c e , p r o n o u n s a n d n a m e s a re d is tin g u is h e d as a s u b c la s s o f ‘s im p le ’.
‘C o m p le x ’ e m b r a c e s a ll o th e r n o u n p h ra s e s , b u t a s u b c la s s is d is tin g u is h e d
c o m p ris in g th o s e h a v in g m u ltip le m o d if ic a tio n (m o r e th a n m e re ly a sin g le
a d je c tiv e p r e m o d if ie r o r p re p o s itio n a l p h r a s e p o s tm o d ifie r) . T a b le 17.124
show s t h a t :
(a ) L e ss t h a n o n e - th ir d o f th e 17 0 0 0 n o u n p h r a s e s in th e s a m p le a re
‘c o m p le x ’, e v e n w ith in th e se m o d e s t lim its o f ‘c o m p le x ity ’.
Cunclut-.lon 13t>1
T able 17.1 24 N o u n - p h r a s e stru c tu re a n d d is trib u tio n
SIMPLE COMPLEX
NOUN PHRASES NOUN PHRASES
TOTAL
Names Multiple
All and All modi
pronouns fication
W h o le subject 7898 6749 5821 1 149 456

sample 4 6 .6 % 39.8% , 3 4 .3 % 6 .8 % 2 .7 %
not subject 9063 4753 2193 4310 1777 -

5 3 .4 % 2 8 .0 % 1 3 .0 % 2 5 .4 % 1 0 .5 %
total 16961 11502 8014 5459 2233

100% 6 7 .8 % 4 7 .2 % ■p 9 0/ 1 3 .2 %
Informal subject 2984 2064 1941 148 62

speech
not subject 2220 1 169 677 811 327
Fiction subject 4466 2220 1943 211 92
not subject 3991 1682 754 1121 434
Serious subject 3693 1745 1478 343 127

talk
n o t subject 3602 1 273 59 9 1238 492
Scientific subject 1831 720 459 447 175

writing
not subject 2456 629 163 1140 524
(b ) L e ss t h a n o n e - e ig h th h a v e m u ltip le m o d if ic a tio n .
(c) N e a r ly o n e - h a lf o f th e s am p le c o n s is ts o f p r o n o u n s o r n a m e s.
(d ) T h e m a jo rity o f s im p le n o u n p h ra s e s - a n d t h e o v e rw h e lm in g m a jo r ity
o f n a m e s a n d p r o n o u n s - a re s u b je c ts o f c la u se s o r s e n te n c e s , b u t o n ly
r a th e r le ss th a n a q u a r te r o f c o m p le x n o u n p h ra s e s a re s u b je c ts .
(e) W h e n th e w h o le s a m p le is b ro k e n d o w n in to fo u r ty p e s o f te x t, o n e
s u c h ty p e ('s e rio u s t a lk a n d w ritin g ') v e ry c lo sely fo llo w s th e p a t t e r n o f
d is tr ib u tio n fo r th e s a m p le as a w h o le .
( f ) I n re s p e c t o f th e se p a r tic u la r n o u n - p h r a s e p a r a m e te r s , p r o s e fic tio n
a n d in f o r m a l s p o k e n E n g lish a g re e c lo sely a n d a r e s h a r p ly d is tin c t
fr o m th e o th e r tw o v a rie tie s re p re s e n te d in th e s a m p le ; th e y h a v e a
m u c h h ig h e r p r o p o r tio n o f s im p le to c o m p le x a n d a m u c h s tr o n g e r
a s s o c ia tio n o f s im p le w ith s u b je c t, a n d c o m p le x w ith n o n s u b je c t, th a n
th e o th e r v a rie tie s .
(g) S c ie n tific w r itin g d iffe rs g re a tly fr o m th e o th e r v a rie tie s in h a v in g a
d is tin c tly h ig h e r p ro p o r tio n o f n o u n p h ra s e s w ith c o m p le x ity ( a n d
m u ltip le c o m p le x ity ); a d is tin c tly lo w e r p r o p o r tio n o f n a m e s a n d
p ro n o u n s a m o n g its sim p le n o u n p h r a s e s ; a n d th e w e a k e s t a s s o c ia tio n
o f s im p le w ith s u b je c t a n d c o m p le x w ith n o n s u b je c t.
A su rv e y o f p re p o s itio n a l p h r a s e s h ig h lig h te d a d ifferen c e b e tw e e n s p e e c h

a n d w ritin g , In a c o rp u s o f h a lf a m illio n w o rd s, p re p o s itio n a l p h r a s e s w e re
fo u n d to be c o n s id e ra b ly m o re f r e q u e n t in w ritte n th a n in s p o k e n m a te r ia l,
re s p e c tiv e ly a b o u t 140 a n d 100 p h ra s e s p e r 1000 w o rd s. A lso , in w r itte n te x ts ,
40 p e r c e n t o f th e p r e p o s itio n a l p h ra s e s f u n c tio n e d as p o s tm o d if ic a tio n in
n o u n p h ra s e s , as c o m p a r e d w ith o n ly 33 p e r c e n t in s p ee c h .
liv e n su ch c o a r s e -g r a in e d c o m p a ris o n s as th e se m a k e c le a r h o w s e n s itiv e
is th e n o u n p h ra s e a s a n in d e x o f sty le a n d h o w re s p o n siv e it c a n b e to th e
b a sic p u rp o s e a n d s u b je c t m a t t e r in v a ry in g ty p e s o f d is co u rse .
B ib lio g rap h ical n o te

O n relativ e clauses a n d o th e r ty p es o f p o slm o d ifiealio n , see A isscn (1972); B rcsn an an d
G rim s h a w (1978); D o w n in g (1978); E fsncss (1982); H arfvjgson (1979); H u d d le sto n (1971);
J aco b so n (1983); Jaco b sso n (1963, 1970); K arlscn (1965); K jcllm cr (1975a); M ich icls (1975,
I 9 7 7 );0 1 o fsso n (1 9 8 t),' v an k a c y ( l 9 6 9 ) ; R o g g e ro ( 1967); R o n w in c (l9 8 0 ); R y d c n (1970, 1974);
S c h a c h te r (l9 7 3 ); S ears (1972); T a g lic h t (1972, 1977); W eisler(1 9 8 0 ); Y o u n g (1980).
O n p r c m o d ific a tio n , s e e A b h e r t o n ( i 9 7 7 ); B ach e (J9 7 8 ); B olinger (1 9 6 7 a); C o a te s (1977);
D ie ric k x (1970); F ries (1970); Jo h a n ss o n (1980); L evi (1978); M a rlin a n d F c r b (1973); M u tt
(1967); P c n n a n e n (1980); S a m p so n (1980); S o ren sen (1980); W a rre n (1978); W y le r (1979).
O n m od ificatio n in rela tio n to fu n ctio n , see A a rts (1971); F ries (1972); W illia m s (1979); on
special relatio n s b etw een h e a d s a n d m odifiers, see A a rts an d A arts (1982); C h risto p h e rs e n
(1974), S cp p an en (1978).
O n n o m in alizatio n , sec C h o m sk y (1972); C olen (1984); D o w n in g (1977); F r a s e r (1970);
K jellm er (1980); Lees (1 9 6 0 a); V e n d le r (1968); W eb ster (1977); W o n d er (1970).
O n th e g en itiv e an d © /-construction, see A lten b crg (1980, 1982); D ah l (1 9 7 1 ); J a h r S o rh cim
(1980).
O n a p p o sitio n , see A u stin (1980); D u B ois (1974); H au g e n (1953); H o c k e tt (1 9 5 5 ); L ee (1952).
T h e m e , fo c u s , a n d in fo rm a tio n
p ro c e s s in g
1 8 .1 In tro du ctio n 1355
1 8 .2 - 1 9 P r o s o d ic a s p e c t s 1355
.3 - 8 I n f o r m a tio n a n d c o m m u n ic a tiv e d y n a m is m 1356
.5 - 7 T o n e u n its a n d g ra m m a r 1357
.8 G iv e n a n d n ew in fo r m a tio n 1360
.9 - 1 1 T h e m e a n d fo cu s

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Index by David Crystal

P u b lis h e d in th e U n ite d S tates o f A m erica

B ritish L ib r a ry C ataloguing in Publication D ata

L ibrary o f C ongress Cataloguing in Publication D ata

F ro m the tim e w h en w e s ta rte d co llab o ratin g as a team in th e 1960s, w e

Pronunciation table viii

Abbreviations and sym bols ix

1 The English language 1

3 Verbs and auxiliaries 93

5 Nouns and determ iners 241

6 Pronouns and numerals 333

10 T h e simple sentence 717

11 Sentence types and discourse functions 8 01

12 P ro-form s a n d ellipsis 855

1 4 The com plex sentence 985

15 Syntactic and sem antic functions of subordinate

16 Com plem entation of verbs and adjectives 1147

1 8 Them e, focus, and inform ation processing 1353

1 9 From sentence to text 1421

A ppendix I W o rd -fo rm a tio n 1515

Appendix II Stress, rhythm , and intonation 1587

Appendix III Punctuation 1609

M P‘g M big M sheep

[] co n tin g e n t alte rn a tiv e s, as i n :

/ a lte rn a tiv e s (in exam ples)

1.1-11 Th e English language today 3

1.12-18 Gram m ar and the study of language 11

1.42 Acceptability and frequency 33

The English language today

1 .1 I f w e re stric t th e first c riterio n to n a tiv e sp eak ers o f th e lan g u ag e, th e n u m b e r

lan g u a g e o f th e sp e a k er, a n d as a n additional language. In som e co u n tries

N o te [al A b ilin g u al c h ild m a y h a v e m o re th a n o n e n a tiv e la n g u ag e, a n d a b ilingual ad u lt m a y be

d isin te g ra tio n o f E n g lish . T h e d iv ersity in E n g lish is g reatest in c o u n trie s

s e c o n d lan g u ag e th a t b rin g s benefits to th o se p ro ficien t in it. E n g lish is likely

N o te O n s ta n d a r d a n d n o n s ta n d a rd E nglish, c/1 .2 2 . O n v arie tie s o f stan d a rd E n g lish , c fl.2 3 J f.

Grammar and the study of language

Type s of linguistic organization

Sounds and spellings

Lexicology, g ram m ar, sem antics, prag m atics

t h a t is o u r p rim a ry co n ce rn in th is book. W o rd s m u st b e c o m b in e d in to larg er

T h e m ea nings o f 'gram m a r'

T h e c o m m e n t sh o w s th a t sp ellin g is excluded fro m g ra m m a r; a n d if Jo h n

L a tin h a s a g o o d d e al o f g ra m m a r, b u t E n g lish h a s h a rd ly any.

T h is m e a n in g o f ‘g ra m m a r’ h a s co n tin u ed to b e used by lay n a tiv e sp eak ers.

T o b eg in w ith , it is c le a r th a t the sp e a k er c a n n o t n o w be in ten d in g to re s tric t

Je sp e rse n w ro te a good g ra m m ar, an d so d id K ru isin g a.

A n d th is sen se n a tu ra lly lead s to th e c o n crete use a s i n :

D id you b rin g y o u r g ra m m ars?

N a tu rally , to o , th e co d ifica tio n m ay refer to g ra m m a r in a n y o f th e sen ses

C h o m sk y d e v elo p ed a tra n s fo rm a tio n a l g ra m m a r th a t differed co n sid ­

In th e u sag e o f m a n y lea d in g linguists, th is la s t sense o f g ra m m ar h as re tu rn e d

N o te A ccid en ts o f in te lle c tu a l h isto ry in th e n in e te e n th ce n tu ry resu lt in th e fact th a t a n o ld -fash io n ed

O ld H ig h G e rm a n g ra m m a r (or a n O ld E nglish g ram m ar) m ay well c o n ta in only in flections

I t ’s b a d g ra m m a r to e n d a sen ten ce w ith a p rep o sitio n .

G ra m m a r and o th e r types o f org an izatio n

inflections in verbs a n d n o u n s (c /3 .5 /, 5.80). I t is seen to b e a r o n lexicology,

F e a r rep laced in d ecisio n . [1]

T h e b o rd e rlin e b etw een g ra m m a r a n d sem an tics is u n c le ar, an d lin g u ists w ill

b r a n c h o f lan g u a g e stu d y called s o c i o l i n g u i s t i c s . T h is d isc ip lin e is fa r from

T h e first tw o ty p e s o f v a ria tio n relate p rim a rily to th e lan g u ag e u ser. P eo p le

N o te W e h av e co n sp icu o u sly o m itte d v ariatio n in tim e, sin ce th is b o o k is solely c o n c e rn e d w ith th e

National standards of English

B ritis h a n d A m e ric a n E n g lis h

C h o m sk y d e v elo p ed a tra n s fo rm a tio n a l g ra m m a r th a t differed co n sid

O v e rtim e em o lu m en ts are n o t av ailab le for em ployees w h o a re n o n