It
is composed by Head and Modifier. This structure may enlarge, choose, change,
or even describe the Head. Both the Head and Modifier are not always single
words. They may be structures with more or less complexities.
Noun
as Head
Noun
very frequently can be found as Head of Structure of Modification. There are
five parts of speech, including noun it self, that can modify the noun.
Adjective
as Noun Modifier
Adjective
precedes the noun (Head) constantly except if the adjective is not a single
word but structure.
E.g. Modifier Head
Fried chicken
A great calamity
Head
A figure vague and
shadow
A house bigger than
I thought
Noun
as Noun Modifier
This
modifier also precedes the Head (noun) constantly. It can be a possessive form or basic form
(Noun Adjunct)
E.g. Possessive Noun
Kid’s play
A week’s holiday
The woman’s friend
Noun-Adjunct Noun
Bus
station
That woman doctor
Noun
adjunct is noun that has a function like an adjective (to modify noun). It is
always in a singular form, not plural form.
E.g. Book shops (not ‘Books Shop’)
Noun
as Noun Modifier can be from appositive words. The position still keeps
preceding the Head. Appositive form never follows the Head.
E.g. Noun Appositive
My Uncle Zakki
The disease influenza
The
River
Gangga
Verb
as Noun Modifier
It
can be from Present Participle (V-Ing), Past Participle (V-ed), or
to-infinitive. These verb positions may precede or follow the Head if they are
parts of larger structures, though
there are many exceptions to both these generalizations but to-infinitives
always follow the noun-Head.
E.g. Verb Noun Noun Verb
Running water Water running in the street
Baked potatoes Potatoes baked slowly
Money to buy
The man to see
Since
verbs in (-ing), Nouns in (-ing), and Adjective in (-ing) can all modify nouns
and all appear in the position between noun determiners and noun, ambiguity is
a strong possibility to such cases.
E.g. (1) A pleasing table
(2) A dining table
(3) A rotting table
Pleasing
in the example (1) is an adjective because a qualifier like ‘very’ can precede
it, and the phrase means ‘a table that is pleasing’. Rotting in the example (2)
is a verb because it cannot be preceded by a qualifier ‘very’ while it also
does not have a meaning ‘a table for rotting’. Dining in the example (3) is
noun because it has a meaning ‘a table for dining’
Adverb
as Noun Modifier
Adverb
is rarely functioned as noun modifier. The position is always directly after
noun (Head).
E.g. Head Modifier
The temperature inside
Heavens above
The conversations afterwards
The questions below
Prepositional
Phrases (Functional Words) as Noun Modifier
Prepositional
phrases consist of preposition and its object. The preposition can be in a
simple, compound or phrasal form.
e.g. Simple Prepositions Compound
After Across
From
As
Along with
Against along side of
Phrasal
Prepositions
In
regard to
By
means of
Object
of preposition usually is a noun. Sometimes it also cam be pronoun, or
structure of modification with noun as the Head.
E.g. Above suspicion (Noun)
Because of that
(pronoun)
In actual practice
(Structure of modification)
Verb
as Head
Verb
has a function repeatedly as Head
Adverb
as Verb Modifier
All
of the adverb kinds can modify the verb. The position may be after or before
verb; or between the verb auxiliaries.
E.g. After verb Before
the verb
He works successfully He successfully tried
He
drives rapidly He slowly drove
He
is moving ahead
He
was looking sidewise
Between Auxiliary-Verb
He
can swim backward
He has sometimes seen
He
has looked everywhere He
has seldom been heard
He
stepped inside
It may even rain
Since particular adverb can also
modify the noun, it is often be ambiguous.
E.g.
Children have nowadays
many kinds of toys
In
this sentence, the word ‘nowadays’ can modify the word ‘children’, or it may
modify the word ‘have’.
Noun
as Verb Modifier
Several
particular nouns can be verb modifier. The position is after verb and this noun
has a noun determiner because noun after verb also can be an object of verb. If
the noun can be changed by it or them, the noun must be an object not modifier.
E.g. Structure of Modification Structure of Complementation
(Noun as Verb Modifier) (Noun as The Object)
He walked this way He likes his own
way
He saw a mile He
measured a mile
Adjective
as Verb Modifier
There
are some kinds of adjective that have purpose to modify a verb and give a
special expression.
E.g. The machine ran true
The dog went crazy
The show fell flat
The
same verb can be followed by adjective if they are intransitive verb.
Verb
as Verb Modifier
Some
structure of Modification with verb as the Head can be followed by another verb
as modifier. The verb modifier can be present participle or infinitive form.
E.g. The children came running
He lives to eat
In
some cases, it can be found an ambiguity between verb as modifier and verb as
object.
E.g. As modifier As Object
He
works to succeed He wants to
succeed
Verb
as Object can be changed by ‘it’ while verb as modifier cannot be changed by
‘it’. However, some structure of modification may have verb which can be both
modifier and object.
E.g. He loves to live
He studies to succeed
Prepositional
Phrases as Verb Modifier
It
is frequent for the prepositional phrases to modify the verb.
E.g. (He) spoke about his work
(He) came rapidly down the
street on a bicycle
Adjective
as Head
Adjective
that habitually modify noun or verb also become the Head of structure of
modification.
Qualifier
as Adjective Modifier
The
word that is mostly used as modifier of Adjective is Qualifier such as very,
rather, pretty, etc.
E.g. She is very pretty
The sound was loud enough
Adverb
as Adjective Modifier
Adverb
that can modify the adjective is adverb that is ended by {-ly}
E.g. The widely famous (singer)
If
adjective comes after the linking verb, adverb does not modify the adjective
anymore. The function is as the modifier of the structure of complementation.
E.g. The house seems clean everywhere
Noun
as Adjective Modifier
In
some special expression, noun can modify the adjective.
E.g. Stone cold (coffee)
Sea green (cloth)
Verb
as Adjective Modifier
Adjective
can be modified by the verb in present participle form (-ing) that usually
precedes the adjective, or by to-infinitive that follows adjective
E.g. freezing cold hard to say
boiling hot good to see
Adjective
as Adjective Modifier
For
special expression, adjective can modify the other adjective
E.g. Icy cold dark blue deathly pale
Prepositional
Phrases as Adjective Modifier
The
position of the prepositional phrases as adjective modifier is after the
adjective
E.g.
easy on the eyes good
for nothing stronger than ever
Adverb
as Head
There
are four class words that can modify the adverb
Qualifiers
as Adverb Modifier
E.g. very easily rather slowly happily enough
Adverbs
as Adverb Modifier
E.g. far away sometimes below
Noun
as Adverb Modifier
E.g. a meter away some way up
Prepositional
Phrases as Adverb Modifier
E.g. away for a week behind in his work outside in the cold
Function
Word as Head
Functional
word can form a structure of modification by using qualifier as modifier.
E.g. very much more (easily)
Head
Rather
too (strong)
Head
Not
quite (well)
Head
Prepositions
as Head
Preposition
can be a Head of Structure of Modification. Modifier of preposition is
qualifiers, adverbs, or particular nouns.
E.g. very like (a whale) almost beneath (notice)
Adverb
that follows the prepositional phrases becomes the modifier of prepositional
phrases, while adverb that precedes the prepositional phrases becomes the
modifier of the preposition only.
Reference: Structure of American English by W.
Nelson Francise. Page 297-325
