Week 1

Question 1

Categories of pre-modifiers

Answer 1

1. General adjectives
   The happy, white, fluffy bunny.
2. Quantifying adjectives
   A few people, the many problems.
3. Participle-based adjectives
   The sleeping baby, a discarded theory, your faded jeans.

Question 2

Participle-based adjectives as pre-modifiers

Answer 2

1. The sleeping baby (progressive)
2. A discarded theory (passive)
3. The faded jeans (perfect)

Question 3

Quantifying adjectives rules

Answer 3

They display the distribution of adjectives; much, many, few, little.

1. Can occur with determiners: a few men, those many books.
2. Can be subject complements: his mistakes were many.
3. Are gradable: fewer/more men.

Question 4

Rules of quantificational determiners

Answer 4

They display the distribution of determiners; every, some, any, no.

1. Can’t occur with other determiners: the every man, that each man.
2. Can’t be subject complements: his mistakes were every.
3. Are not gradable: everier man.

Question 5

Adjectives compared to Q-determiners and Q-adjectives

Answer 5

1. Can occur with determiners: the happy man, those shiny pans.
2. Can be subject complements: his mistakes were regrettable.
3. Are gradable (generally): a happier man.

Question 6

Categories of post-modifiers

Answer 6

1. PPs
   The cat [with two kittens].
   Your bike [in the shed].
2. Adjective phrases (APs)
   A rocket [fast enough to fly].
   The tree [taller than a skyscraper].
3. Relative clause
   A rocket that was sent to the moon.
   Jim, who I know from my childhood.

Question 7

When are adjectives phrases pre-modifiers and post-modifiers (AP placement rule)?

Answer 7

APs without anything following the adjective are pre.
• A [rather stupidly funny] dog.

APs with something following the adjective are post.
• A politician [available for comment].

Question 8

Exceptions to the AP placement rule

Answer 8

1. Some adjectives describing the situation
   • The person responsible.
2. Idiomatic phrases (borrowings) with most-modifier APs
   • Code red, femme fatale, Paradise Lost, attorney general.
3. Modifiers of indefinite pronouns (nobody; someone; nothing) follow the pronoun
   • I saw something scary. I saw some scary thing.

Question 9

Structure of phrases

Answer 9

1. Every phrase has a head
2. Complements (a must in VPs, PPs)
3. Modifier (optional)

Question 10

Are complements independent?

Answer 10

No, complements are dependent on the head and the head is dependent on the complement too.

Question 11

Are modifiers independent?

Answer 11

Modifiers are dependent on a head, but heads are not dependent on modifiers.

Question 12

Can a phrase have multiple modifiers (recursion)?

Answer 12

Yes

Question 13

Which test is evidence for N’?

Answer 13

One replacement test

Question 14

One replacement

Answer 14

One necessarily replaces the noun and its complement, but may also replace any number of modifiers.

One must replace student of History —> I like [that student of History] and you like [this one].

Question 15

Empty determiner

Answer 15

(DET: Ø) England’s (N) king (N)