A Skeletal Introduction to English GrammarCONSTRUCTION
very reliable source
MODIFIER HEAD
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MODIFIER HEAD
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As we will observe later, tree diagrams are used also to represent layers of
grammatical structure based on formal grounds. This mode of representation
is more common in modern linguistics than the Reed-Kellogg (functional)
diagrams you may be familiar with from school grammar lessons. Thus the
phrase above might be formally labeled as in:
NP
very reliable source
AP N
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INTENS ADJ
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(NP = noun phrase; AP = adjective phrase; N = noun; ADJ = adjective;
INTENS = intensifier)