REPRESENTING THINGS

the two slightly nervous assistant lecturers from

the English department who taught grammar
last year
the two slightly assistant lecturers from the English
nervous department who
taught grammar
last year
Referrer Quantifier Describer Classifier Thing Post-modifier

Determiner Numeral Adjective Noun Noun Prepositional

phrase/ relative
clause
 REFERRERS
• Referrer is the constituent in a noun group
that provides information about the scope of
reference of the thing.
• There are 4 main kinds of referrers: Articles,
demonstratives, possessives and inclusives
(either, neither, each, every, none)
 GENERIC REFERENCE / DEFINITE
REFERENCE / INDEFINITE REFERENCE
• Would you like chips and peanuts?
• I hate chips.
• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
• I’ve got friends in London.
• The green hills which ring the town are covered with
colorful flowers.
• The computer has revolutionized the distribution of
information.
• Computers have revolutionized the distribution of
information.
• We had a very hot June last year.
 DEFINITE REFERENCE
• Backward – pointing reference
Yixing is a small town in Jiangnan to the
south of the Yangzi River. The town is set in
beautiful surroundings.
• Forward – pointing reference
The layout of the supermarket
• Outward – pointing reference
The president took oath of office
 Backward – pointing reference

A tiger attacked a child of six during a show at

a school in California after its handler
lost control of the 200lb animal. The head
teacher wrestled the boy from the animal’s
jaws and he was flown to hospital.
 Forward – pointing reference

• the bus coming now

• the journey home,
• the Ministry of Health
 (OUTWARD – POINTING/ EXOPHORIC
REFERENCE)

• the sun
• the sky
• the rain
• the government
• the political situation
• the television.
Ten lionesses at the city zoo are to be put on a
contraceptive pill to prevent a population
explosion. For 20 years the lions have prided
themselves on their breeding capabilities. Now,
the treatment will make them infertile for 3
years and so stop the increase.
Monsoon Asia includes those countries which are affected by the
monsoon rains such as Japan, China, SriLanka and Indi and South East
Asia including Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia,
Singapore and Indonesia. The population density which is expressed as
population over area is as high s 284 per square kilometre in Japan.
Within Monsoon Asia exist numerous millionaire cities, i.e. cities with a
million people or more. Several exceed 10 million.
The population of Monsoon Asia is distributed in ecological niches or
favoured growing areas, usually on river lowlands, and a large number
of Monsoon Asia live in the countryside.
Examples of these ecological niches include the North China Plain, the
Red River Delta of North Vietnam, the Ganges lowlands of India and
the Plains of Java in Indonesia where densities can reach as high s 100
per km.
Accompanying the rapid rise in population is the process of
urbanization or city growth.
Monsoon Asia is going through a demographic transition or population
change.
 DESCRIBERS
Describers are words that provide information
about a quality of the Thing represented by the
head noun or about the speaker or writer’s attitude
toward the Thing.

• Peaceful and happy lives

• A small, tubby, flightless bird
• A boring / bored teacher
• A falling / fallen statue
 CLASSIFIERS
Classifiers are words which subclassify the
Thing.

• urban growth
• city growth
• living organisms / shopping mall
• manufactured drug / manufacturing plant
VERB AS DESCRIBER / VERB AS CLASSIFIER
• Verb as Describer
a galloping horse
a bleeding nose
a wrecked car
a fallen idol
• Verb as Classifier
a stopping train
a travelling salesman
a tied note
spoken language