In linguistics, the head of a phrase is the word thatdetermines the syntactic type of that phrase. Forexample:

The head of the noun phrase boiling hot water is the noun water.

Analogously, the head of a compound is the stemthat determines the semantic category of thatcompound. For example,

The head of the compound noun handbag is bag, since a handbag is a bag, not a hand.

In grammatical analysis, most phrases contain a key

word that identifies the type and linguistic features of

the phrase; this is known as the head-word or the head.

The syntactic category of the head is used to name the

category of the phrase, for example:

A phrase whose head is a noun is called a noun phrase.

A phrase whose head is a verb is called a verb phrase and so on

The remaining words in a phrase are called

the dependents of the head.

too slowly — Adverb phrase (AdvP); the

head is an adverb

very happy — Adjective phrase (AP); the

head is an adjective

the massive dinosaur — Noun phrase (NP);

the head is a noun

at lunch — Preposition phrase (PP); the

head is a preposition

watch TV — Verb phrase (VP); the head is a

verb

Most theories of syntax view most phrases as having a head,

but some non-headed phrases are acknowledged. A phrase

lacking a head is known as exocentric, and phrases with heads

are endocentric.

An endocentric construction consists of an

obligatory head and one or more dependents, For

example:

big house - Noun phrase (NP)

sing songs - Verb phrase (VP)

very long - Adjective phrase (AP)

The traditional binary division[5] of the sentence (S)

into a subject noun phrase (NP) and

a predicate verb phrase (VP) was exocentric, for

example:

Hannibal destroyed Rome. - Sentence (S)

In grammar, a modifier is an optional element in

phrase structure or clause structure.

A modifier is so called because it is said to

modify (change the meaning of) another element

in the structure, on which it is dependent, for

example:

This is a red ball

(The adjective red is a modifier, modifying the noun

ball).

Premodifiers and postmodifiers

Modifiers may come either before or after the modified

element (the head), depending on the type of modifier and the rules

of syntax for the language in question;For example, in land

mines, the word land is a premodifier of mines, whereas

in the phrase mines in wartime, the phrase in wartime isa postmodifier of mines.

A head may have a number of modifiers,

and these may include both premodifiersand postmodifiers. For example: that nice tall

man from Canada whom you met

The two principal types of modifiers are

1. adjectives (and adjectival phrases and adjectival clauses), which

modify nouns;

2. adverbs (and adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses), which

modify other parts of speech, particularly verbs, adjectives and

other adverbs, as well as whole phrases or clauses

It was [a nice house]. (adjective modifying a noun, in a noun phrase)

[Only the dog] was saved. (adverb modifying a noun phrase)

[Put it gently in the drawer]. (adverb in verb phrase)

He was [very gentle]. (adverb in adjective phrase)

She set it down [very gently]. (adverb in adverb phrase)

[Even more] people were there. (adverb modifying a determiner)

It ran [right up the tree]. (adverb modifying a prepositional phrase)

[Only the dog] was saved. (adverb modifying a noun phrase)

He painted her sitting on the step.( ambiguous)

Walking along the road, a vulture loomed

overhead.( dangling )

Barri, Nimrod. Note terminologique: endocentrique-exocentrique.

Linguistics 163, November 1975, pp. 5–18.

http://en.wikipedia.org

Matthews, P. 1981. Syntax. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University

Press.

Chomsky, Noam 1957. Syntactic Structures. The Hague/Paris:

Mouton.