Delahunty and Garvey
The only somewhat difficult case in Table 4 is the noun modifier, that is,
the case where a noun modifies a head noun, as in metal plates. Remem-
ber that metal is not an adjective for formal reasons—e.g., it cannot be
compared or intensified: metaler, more metal, *very metal. Noun modifiers
appear frequently when one speaks of a material out of which something is
made, but the semantic range of such constructions is extensive:
(29) a. government spying
b. state law
c. pie chart
d. desert safari
e. Sunday newspaper
f. stone wall
g. plastic cups
h. cardboard boxes
Exercise
- Try to describe the semantic/meaning relations between the head
noun and its noun modifier in each of the constructions in (29). - What do writing handbooks say about the use of noun modifiers?
Examine a piece of real-life prose, identifying various types of pre-
modifiers. Can you determine different writing styles according to their
variety?
More complex NPs: head + prepositional phrase
Most of the simple premodifiers above contain one word. The least complex
postmodifier—and by far the most common—is the prepositional phrase
(PP). Remember that PPs consist of a preposition and a noun phrase. So this
simple postmodification will have the structure: N + PP. (31a-f) are examples,
each with the structure: