A Linguistic Study of Pre-modification in Selected English Short Stories

دراسة لغوية للتعديل القبلي في قصص قصيرة إنجليزية مختارة

Asst. Inst. Fatin Waleed Jawad¹

DOI: https://doi.org/10.53796/hnsj66/27

Arabic Scientific Research Identifier: https://arsri.org/10000/66/27

Volume (6) Issue (6). Pages: 394 - 403

Received at: 2025-05-07 | Accepted at: 2025-05-15 | Published at: 2025-06-01

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1. Introduction

Generally, English sentences are built with a noun phrase and a verb phrase. Noun phrases can be expanded before the main noun through a process called pre-modification, where a group of words known as pre-modifiers comes before the noun. Quirk etal. (1985) explain that a noun phrase is a phrase whose core element is a noun. These phrases can act as different parts of a sentence, such as the subject or the object. The most basic noun phrase includes an article and a head noun. This head noun can be changed or added to in two ways: by adding words before it (pre-modification) or after it (post-modification). Stageberg (1981) similarly defines a noun phrase as a noun along with any related words or groups of words that describe it. The noun itself is the central part, or head, and the other words are its modifiers.

– The yellow tulips.

In their analysis of noun phrase (NP) structure, Quirk et al. (1985) highlight the head as the primary component. This head element is central to the NP, with other constituents positioned around it. Notably, the head often determines grammatical agreement with other parts of the clause:

–The man in the garden is my brother.

-The men in the garden are my brothers.

-The fat man in the garden who has a black coat is my brother.

2 – The determiner

Determiners commonly introduce noun phrases in English, with articles (a, an, the) and demonstratives being the most typical. English quantifiers (like some, all, few) also function this way, although other languages might classify them differently. Determiners usually indicate definiteness, number (singular/plural), and, for demonstratives, distance.

2. Pre-modifiers: An Overview

Quirk et al. (1985) state that a variety of words and phrases, from simple adjectives to even entire sentences, can come before a main noun. They then provide a list of these pre-modifiers. However, there’s no complete agreement among linguists about exactly which types of words can function in this way. For instance, Bache (1978) argues against adverbs as pre-modifiers, a view that Huddleston and Pullum (2006)

2.1 Adjectives

Arnaud (2010) contends that in contrast to concrete nouns, adjectives in isolation generally resist the formation of a corresponding mental image (p. 304). This necessitates their association with other discourse elements for complete understanding (ibid.). Teyssier (1968) echoes this observation, describing the adjective as a “mere semantic addition” dependent on a noun for its full functionality (pp. 225–6). According to Arnaud (2010), when functioning as a pre-modifier, adjectives can serve either a categorizing or a qualifying role in relation to the head noun (p. 305). A case in point is:

• We had a pleasant journey this time.

As Quirk et al. (1973: 395–6) explain, an adjective positioned before the noun it describes, notably when it immediately follows the determiner, can itself be modified by preceding words, illustrated by cases such as:

• His really quite unbelievably delightful cottage.

2.2 Nouns

Nouns can also act as pre-modifiers of other nouns (Quirk et al., 1984), illustrated by phrases like “staff room” and “pencil case.” Arnaud (2010) notes that frequent use of some nouns as pre-modifiers can lead to a specific dictionary entry for their modifier function. Quirk et al. (1973) also observe the close relationship between noun pre-modifiers and the nouns they modify, suggesting a compounding effect. Many of these pre-modifiers appear to be less explicit versions of post-modifying prepositional phrases.

• The question of partition ~ The partition question.
• The door of the cupboard ~ The cupboard door.
• A village in Sussex~ A Sussex village.

But not all noun pre-modifiers have prepositional phrase analogues:

• Bernard Miles was both actor and producer ~The actor-producer.

Noun modifiers have certain limitations. Typically, plural nouns don’t function as pre-modifiers; instead, they take a singular form, like “arms” becoming “arm” in “armchair” (Quirk et al. 1985:914). This is even true for nouns that lack a singular form altogether.

• The leg of the trousers ~ The ‘trouser leg.

2.3 Participles

2.3.1 ing participles

Linguists like Huddleston (1984) and Laczkó (2001) have recently pointed out issues with simply classifying all “-ing” words that come before a noun as adjectives. They argue that from a grammatical perspective, this one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t really work. For instance, the “-ing” words in phrases like “an interesting article” or “a fascinating experience” act a lot like typical adjectives. However, the “-ing” words in phrases such as “the approaching aircraft” or “the laughing man” behave differently. Because of these differences in how they function grammatically, “-ing” words that modify nouns can be split into two groups: those that act like adjectives and those that act more like verbs. Here’s an example to illustrate this:

• Freezing water (‘very cold water’) Adjectival participle
• Freezing water (‘the water’s temperature is decreasing towards its freezing point’) Verbal participle
• A stimulating lecture. Adjectival participle
• A stimulating electrode. Verbal participle
• Sparkling results. Adjectival participle
• Sparkling quartz. Verbal participle

Unlike the definite article (which suggests something specific or temporary), the indefinite article usually indicates a characteristic that is habitual or permanent.

• I was wakened by a barking dog. (indefinite article)

But it is strange to say:

• The barking dog is my neighbour (definite article).

2.3.2 – ed Participles

Wekker and Aurts (2013:141) state that -ed participles can only be used in pre-modification if they denote lasting characteristics or are already adverbially pre-modified.

• A renovated house.
• *A bought house.
• * An invited guest.
• A specially invited guest.

ed participles derived from prepositional and phrasal verbs, such as “a hoped-for takeover” or “a stuffed-up nose,” can be used in pre-modification in English. Generally, these participles are only permissible in pre-modifying positions if they are adverbially modified or preceded by the prefix “un-.”

• This endlessly talked- about subject.
• Un heard of achievement.
• Un hoped for success.

According to Quirk et al. (1973: 397), many rules applying to -ing participles also apply to -ed participles, but with some complexities. While -ed participles can be either active or passive, the active form is rarely used in pre-modification, as exemplified by:

• The immigrant who has arrived.

But not:

• *The arrived immigrant

However, an exception occurs when an active participle is modified by an adverb, as seen in:

The newly-arrived iimmigrant.

Other examples like (born, hidden, married, troubled, darkened, etc..), they must include a permanent reference or be modified by an adverb: a married man, a newly-born child, a carefully-hidden spy.

An example include -ing and -ed participles like ‘a carefully-hidden spy’:

• A spy, carefully hidden in the bushes (-ed participle)
• A spy, carefully hiding in the bushes (-ing participle)

2.4 Genitives

According to Quirk et al. )1973:399) in the presence of genitives, the determiner is used to indicate the genitive, the modifiers should refer to the genitive only:

• These nasty women’s clothing.

imply ‘the clothing of these nasty women’ and not ‘the nasty clothing of these women’ that would be expressed by: These women’s nasty clothing.

A modifier in the middle of the construction modifies the head:

• This nasty women’s clothing.

indicate ‘this nasty clothing belonging to (or designed for) women’.

Kreyer (2010:78) shows that pre-modification by the genitive is a specific case of pre-modification by noun phrase:

• Our local boy’s school.
• Our lovely friend’s bike.

In the first case, the genitive is a pre-modifier of school. This indicates the ‘classifying genitives’ in contrast with ‘specifying genitives’ which is obvious in the second case.

‘Friend’s bike’ does not mean a class of bikes but a special one. The genitive refers the head. Thus, it can be concluded that classifying genitive is a pre-modifier while the specifying genitive is usually a determiner (ibid:79).

3- Data Analysis of “The Swimmer” (1964) and “The Reunion” (1962)

Table (1) Pre-modification in “The Swimmer” and “The Reunion”

Type of Pre-modifier	Pre-modifier	The Reunion	Type of Pre-modifier	Pre-modifier	The Swimmer	NO.
Adjective	last	The last time I saw my father was in Grand Central Station	Noun, adjective	Midsummer, last	It was one of those midsummer Sundays when everyone sits around saying, “I drank too much last night.”	1
genitive	grandmother’s	I was going from my grandmother’s In the Adirondacks	ing- participle	leaving	You might have heard it whispered by the parishioners leaving church	2
Noun	information	he would meet me at the information booth at noon	Noun, noun, noun, adjective	Golf, tennis, Audubon, terrible	heard it from the golf links and the tennis courts, heard it from the wildlife preserve where the leader of the Audubon group was suffering from a terrible hangover	3
Adjective	a big, good-looking	He was a big, good-looking man	Adjective, adjective, adjective, adjective	Artesian, high, iron, pale	The pool, fed by an artesian well with a high iron content, was a pale shade of green.	4
Adjective	rich	It was a rich compound of whiskey.	Adjective	fine	It was a fine day.	5
Adjective, adjective, noun	Old,red, kitchen	There was one very old waiter in a red coat down by the kitchen door.	Ing- participle	approaching	a city seen from a distance— from the bow of an approaching ship— that it might have had a name.	6
Adjective	loud	my father hailed the waiter in a loud voice	Adjective	green	Neddy Merrill sat by the green water,	7
Adjective	empty	His boisterousness in the empty restaurant seemed out of place	Adjective, adjective	Slender, especial	He was a slender man, he seemed to have the especial slenderness of youth—	8
Adjective	little	Could we have a little service here	Adjective, noun, ing- participle	Bronze, hall, dining	he had slid down banister that morning and given the bronze backside of aphrodite on the hall table a smack, as he jogged toward the smell of coffee in his dining room	9
Noun	Beefeater	We would like a couple of Beefeater Gibsons.“	Genitive, adjective	summer’s, last	He might have been compared to a summer’s day, particularly the last hours of one	10
Adjective	old	I have a whistle that is audible only to the ears of old waiters	Noun, noun, noun, adjective, adjective	Tennis, sail, youth, sport, and clement	he lacked a tennis racket or a sail bag the impression was definitely one of youth, sport, and clement weather.	11
Adjective, adjective	Little, little	Now, take out your little pad and your little pencil	Genitive	cartographer’s	He seemed to see, with a cartographer’s eye, that string of swimming pools (p.2)	12
Adjective	brilliant	“That,” said my father, “is one of the most brilliant suggestions I have ever heard	Adjective	practical	He was not a practical joker	13
Adjective	Empty	He then struck the edge of his empty glass with his knife	Adjective, adjective, adjective	Vague, modest, legendary	He was determinedly original and had a vague and modest idea of himself as a legendary figure.	14
Adjective	interesting	“I have some very interesting news for you.	Adjective	long	The day was beautiful and it seemed to him that a long swim might enlarge and celebrate its beauty.	15
Adjective, ing- participle	Pink, hunting	Here the waiters wore pink jackets like hunting coats	Adjective	inexplicable	He had an inexplicable contempt for men who did not hurl themselves into pools.	16
Noun	horse	there was a lot of horse tack on the walls.	Adjective, adjective	Flutter, choppy	He swam a choppy crawl, breathing either with every stroke or every fourth stroke and counting somewhere well in the back of his mind the one-two one-two of a flutter kick.	17
Noun	Beefeater	I want two Beefeater Gibsons	Adjective, adjective	Serviceable, long	It was not a serviceable stroke for long distances	18
Adjective, adjective	Jolly, old	Things have changed in jolly old England.	Noun , adjective	Light, green	To be embraced and sustained by the light green water	19
Adjective	impudent	it is an impudent domestic	Noun, adjective, adjective	Ditmar, short, public	He would cross Ditmar Street to the Bunkers and come, after a short portage, to the Levys, the Welchers, and the public pool in Lancaster	20
			Adjective	marvelous	Mrs. Graham said, “what a marvelous surprise	21
			Ing- participle	living	The Lears heard him splashing past the open windows of their living room	22
			Genitive	Bunkers’	The Bunkers’ pool was on a rise and he climbed some stairs to a terrace where twenty-five or thirty men and women were drinking	23
			Adjective	rubber	. The only person in the water was Rusty Towers, who floated there on a rubber raft.	24
			Adjective, adjective, adjective	Prosperous, white, cold	Prosperous men and women gathered by the sapphirecolored waters while caterer’s men in white coats passed them cold gin.	25
			Ing- participle	smiling	A smiling bartender he had seen at a hundred parties gave him a gin and tonic and he stood by the bar for a moment	26

4. Results of the Analysis

4.1. The pre-modification in English Short Stories “The Swimmer” and “The Reunion”

Table (2) Types of pre-modifiers the English Short Stories

Types of Pre-modifiers	The Reunion	%	The Swimmer	%
Adjective	18	72%	32	64%
Noun	5	20%	10	20%
ing-participles	1	4%	5	10%
ed- participle	null	0%	null	0%
Genitive	1	4%	3	6%
Total	25	100	50	100

5. Conclusion

Pre-modification is a crucial grammatical concept in English. It is widely used with constructions that include noun phrases. Pre- modification can be expressed by adjectives, nouns, ing- participles, ed- participles as well as genitives. It has been concluded that pre-modifiers are used widely in English short stories. Adjectives are the most repeated pre- modifiers with excessive occurrences, they rate (64%) in “The Swimmer” and (72%) in “The Reunion”. Secondly, noun pre-modifiers constitute (20%) in both short stories. On the other hand, ing- participle are less used with the percentage (10%) in “The Swimmer” and (4%) in “The Reunion”. ed- participle scores no occurrences in both short stories, this indicates that there is a wider tendency to pre-modify by ing- participle than using ed- participle. Pre-modification by genetives occupies low percentage with little occurrences in both short stories, they rate (6%) in “The Swimmer” and (4%) in “The Reunion”.

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