Delahunty and Garvey
The headword will typically determine the grammatical category of the
phrase that it heads. Thus a phrase with a noun head will be a noun phrase;
one with a verb head will be a verb phrase; and so on.
Meaning
The third perspective on grammar is that of meaning, i.e., the definition of an
expression or the information potentially communicated by it. In this topic,
we include the meaning of words, phrases, and whole sentences. A simple
example of lexical (word) meaning used in grammatical analysis is the familiar
definition of a verb as a word that denotes “action or state of being.” Another
familiar example is the traditional definition of the subject of a clause as the
“doer of an action.” Several chapters in this book will say more about such
constructional meanings in regard to phrases, clauses, and entire sentences.
Our position in this book is that the study of grammar can take place most
successfully when built on a solid base of formal analysis. Thus our chapters
on parts of speech identify parts of speech primarily by analyzing their forms.
Our emphasis on form does not at all imply that function or meaning is
unimportant to language. Exactly the opposite is true, and we do include
functional and semantic commentary on parts of speech and other grammati-
cal forms. However, we will not rely solely or even primarily on function or
meaning as criteria for identification. As we proceed to phrases and clauses,
we will be able to make a more extensive use of the functional and meaning-
ful properties of grammar, precisely because of our strong formal foundation.
Our goal is to help you make appropriate use of all these facets in your think-
ing and teaching about language.
references and resources
Bauer, Laurie. 1983. English Word-formation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press.
Biber, Douglas, Susan Conrad, and Geoffrey Leech. 2002. Longman Student
Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Harlow, UK: Pearson Education
Limited.
Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman, and Nina Hyams. 2007. An Introduction
to Language. (8th ed.) Boston, MA: Thomson Wadworth.
Huddleston, Rodney and Geoffrey K. Pullum. 2005. A Students’ Introduction
to English Grammar. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
O’Grady, William, John Archibald, Mark Aronoff, and Janie Rees-Miller.
- Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction. (5th ed.) Boston, MA:
Bedford/St. Martin’s.