Chapter 4 - The Determiner Phrase(18) VP PP AP
V' P' A'
V P A
fly out short
These phrases can be found in sentences such as:
(19) a birds [fly]
b the manager is [out]
c the trousers were [short]
Of course, if we analyse pronouns as nouns, then we get a similar situation with
them heading an NP:
(20) NP
N'
N
they
However, the analysis in (17) accounts for the absolute complementary distribution
between pronouns and determiners:
(21) a the he
b a her
c *every they
If pronouns are determiners, this observation is accounted for. But if pronouns are
nouns something else must be said to account for why they cannot appear with
determiners. Some nouns do not sit well with determiners. In English, proper nouns
are not usually accompanied by a determiner:
(22) a a Linda left cf. Linda left
b I spoke to the Thomas cf. I spoke to Thomas
Yet, in some circumstances we can use determiners with proper nouns:
(23) a a Linda that I used to know telephoned me yesterday
b the Thomas you are thinking of is not the one I am
Interestingly, even in these situations a pronoun is ungrammatical accompanied by a
determiner:
(24) a a she/her that I used to know telephoned me yesterday
b the he/him you are thinking of is not the one I am
It seems that the evidence all points to the assumption that pronouns are
determiners. But, if the noun is the head of the phrase and not the determiner, how are