A Student's Introduction to English Grammar

108 Chapter 5 Nouns and noun phrases

4ft The dependent form usually functions in NP structure as determiner to a follow­

ing head, as in [ia]. It also occurs as subject of a gerund-participial clause, as in

[iia], where it is a dependent of the VP head; this latter use is somewhat formal in

style, with accusative me as an informal alternant.

• The independent form occurs as head in NP structure - a pure head in rib], a
  fused determiner-head in [iib], where we understand "my proposal".

8.4 Reciprocal pronouns

There are two reciprocal pronouns, each other and one another. They are
written with a space as if they were two words, but the parts are inseparable and they
are best regarded as single pronouns. There is no difference in meaning between them.
The reciprocal pronouns are similar to the reflexives (in their complement use) in
that they have to be in a close syntactic relation to their antecedent. Compare:

[59] REFLEXIVES

a. Lee and Pa t cursed themselves.

ii a. * Lee and Pa t knew that I would

curse themselves.

RECIPROCALS

b. Lee and Pat cursed each other.

b. * Lee and Pat knew that I would

curse each other.

Usually, the antecedent is subject of the clause containing the pronoun, as in [i]. It

cannot normally be in a different clause, as shown in [ii]. It should be clear that lack

of meaning is not the problem. Just as [ib] means that Lee cursed Pat and Pat cursed

Lee (as the term 'reciprocal' suggests), so [iib] could have meant (if it were gram­

matical) that Lee knew that I would curse Pat and Pat knew that I would curse Lee.

The reciprocals differ from the reflexives, however, in two major respects.

• First, they do not display person agreement with their antecedent.
  " Second, they have genitive forms, as seen in Lee and Pat blamed each other's
  parents.

9 Genitive case

Leaving aside interrogative and relative whose and the personal pro­

nouns (which have the irregular forms listed in [53]) the genitive is marked in writ­

ing by. 's (dog's) or by the apostrophe alone (dogs '): for the distinction between

these, see Ch. 16, §4.2.

9.1 Genitive NPs as subject-determiner

The most frequent use of genitive case is to mark a dependent in the

structure of an NP:

[60] a. [The teacher's car] was stolen. b. Th ey phoned [� mother).

11 a. [These people 'state] is unknown. b. I met [the Secretary of State's son].