0805852212.pdf

detÆ

pro

NP poss

art

+

ì

í

ï

î

ï

ü

ý

ï

þ

ï

possÆ’s

This analysis shows that a determiner is a pronoun, a noun plus posses-
sive marker, or an article. We can use sentence 39 to analyze the underlying
nature of noun possessives:

39. Fred’s shirt had a hole in it.

Most grammatical analyses pay little attention to possessive pronouns for
good reason. The problem lies with pronouns. Designating the possessiveher
asshe+possseems counterintuitive because there is no evidence thatherex-
ists as anything other than an independent pronoun. We form the possessive
noun by attaching the possessive marker to the noun. Possessive pronouns,
however, exist as independent lexical items and are not formed at all—they
already exist in the lexicon. Initially, it may seem strange to classify posses-
sive NPs and pronouns as determiners, but they nevertheless do resemble arti-
cles. For example, we do not formanby addingntoa;the two forms exist
independently. The same holds true for possessive pronouns. Consequently,
most analyses exclude possessive pronouns from the domain of the NP and
place them in the domain of determiner.

Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Modification

Let’s consider the following sentences:

40. The goon with a gun in his hand stood guard at the entrance.


41. The goon, with a gun in his hand, stood guard at the entrance.


42. Buggsy’s girlfriend Rita loved Porsches.


43. Buggsy’s girlfriend, Rita, loved Porsches.

These sentences are very similar, but at the same time they are quite differ-
ent. We first notice that the modifiers—with a gun in his handandRita—are
functioning adjectivally to provide information to the noun phrasesThe goon
andBuggsy’s girlfriend,respectively.^2 In sentence 40, we understand that there

134 CHAPTER 4

(^2) Ritaalso renames the NP. Nouns that function in this way are often callednoun phrase appositives.