Modifiers in the Noun Phrase I. What is a noun modifier?

A noun modifier is a linguistic unit which

comes either before or after a noun

to provide information about

what is referred to by the noun.

i. What is a premodifier?

A premodifier is a linguistic unit that comes before a noun to classify/categorize the referent of the noun by pointing out its quality.

a red flower: a flower that is red, not a flower of any other color

a beautiful red flower: a red flower that is beautiful, not a red flower that is ugly

ii. What is a postmodifier? A postmodifier is a linguistic unit that comes after a noun either to classify the referent of the noun by defining its scope, or to explain the referent by supplying additional information about it.

red roses in this garden: red roses in this location, not red roses anywhere else

Red roses, which are the national flower of that country, can be seen almost everywhere in the country.

II. When to have a premodifier? And when to have a postmodifier?

i. The general rule (a formal criterion):

Words → premodifiers Phrases and clauses → postmodifiers

Examples:

(medical) college students (very) intelligent boys boys from a foreign country boys fond of pop music boys studying abroad boys (ready) to begin school next year boys taken good care of by their parents boys who ride to school every day

ii. Special cases (different reasons):

Words → postmodifiers

Phrases → premodifiers

1. For syntactic reasons A: I have something important to tell you. B: But I have some important things to deal with right at the moment. A: This boy is really nice. There isn’t anyone so nice in my school. B: But if you come to my school, you will see some nicer ones, I bet. The house (that is) ablaze is next to the station. Who is the greatest Chinese poet (that is) alive? I bumped into a former colleague of mine on my way home.

2. For semantic reasons a. He didn’t allow me to read the letter proper. b. We must do things in proper manners. a. All the members present said no to the proposal. b. All the present members are younger than the former members. a. For more information, you have to ask the person responsible. b. John is a responsible person. You can lean on him. a. Venus is the only star visible tonight. b. Venus is a clearly visible star.

a. Things seen are mightier than things heard. b. ? Seen things are mightier than heard things. a. Present at the meeting were members of the departments concerned. b. ? Present at the meeting were members of the concerned departments.

But: the party concerned // the concerned party the statements above // the above statements the rooms downstairs // the downstairs rooms the only solution possible // the only possible solution

3. For historical reasons

the third person singular

(cf. the singular form of the noun)

the second person plural

(cf. the plural form of the verb)

the Court Martial

(cf. the martial law)

4.For rhetorical reasons

All the villagers, old and young, turned

out to the scene. People with steadfastness never bow

before difficulties, big or small. They climbed the mountain by a route

uncharted, steep and dangerous.

5. For rhetorical/economical reasons

That was a never-to-be-forgotten day. Women have outgrown the jumping-on-a-

chair-at-the-sight-of-a-mouse era. The University of California at San

Francisco researchers surprised the whole world by their great achievements.

III. How to arrange their word order when two or more

modifiers co-occur?

i. When two or more premodifiers co-occur1. short → long (when they co-occur on the same level) John is an eager and intelligent boy. It was a rainy, windy, freezing day.2. subjective → objective (when they appear on different levels) It was a well-known British medical school. I saw an interesting little red French oil painting. He has a charming small round old brown French o

ak writing desk.

Rearrange the word order of the premodifiers in the following:

a bunch of (yellow red white) roses a (blue old little peculiar) dress some (new large well-designed wooden

red) chairs a (tall lovely blue-eyed young) creature

Rearranged forms of the phrases:

a bunch of red, white, yellow roses a peculiar little old blue dress some well-designed large new red

wooden chairs a lovely tall young blue-eyed creature

★Why are premodifiers thus arranged?

1. A semantic account: the semantic relationship between the premodifier and the noun →

The closer the premodifier is to the noun in meaning, the nearer it is to the noun in position.

The more inherent the quality a premodifier describes is, the closer to the noun the premodifier stands.

2. A cognitive account: the cognitive relationship between external features and internal features →

The more external the feature is, the earlier it is seen in observation.

The more internal the feature is, the later it is seen in observation.

What is the most inherent quality/the most internal feature?

Compare the following: A: Which do you prefer, Chinese wine or French wine? B: Chinese wine, of course. A: Red Chinese wine or white Chinese wine? B: Red Chinese wine. A: Which do you prefer, red wine or white wine? B: Red wine, please. A: Chinese red wine or French red wine? B: Chinese red wine, please.

ii. When two or more postmodifiers co-occur

1. When they are on the same rank of structure There are forms that occasionally occur but which

should not be taught. He’s the person I meet at the club every day and

whom I’ve invited home to dinner tonight.2. When they are on different levels of structure He is one of the people I know who want to take the

job. People in this room that want to take the job please

sign your names here. He’s the best man I can find who can mend it within

an hour. She’s about the only friend of yours I’ve met whom I

really like.