Craig, It doesn seem like a postposition. I'm thinking that back, ago, hence, further and others are as well. I passed my competitor about a mile back and was confident of victory. (back about a mile) We met three years ago. (ago three years) Is hence like ago? We trudged a five miles further. (further five miles) -- Christine Reintjes Martin [log in to unmask] >From: Craig Hancock <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: what kind of phrase >Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2005 09:37:39 -0500 > >Bruce, Michael, > I'm surprised no one wrote in on this, but isn't "about eleven miles >away" adjectival rather than adverbial? It seems to me to modify >Laodicea, with the commas present to accomodate its nonrestrictive >nature. (The Which is test distorts the picture, as it would for many >postnominal modifiers. The box on the table. The box which is on the >table.) > I'm not sure how to describe the internal structure, though it's not >the only example I can imagine: two miles further, three days past, and >so on. At a place three miles away, we will stop for lunch. A >restaurant two miles back had been an ideal place for lunch. If I had to >choose, I would pick away as the head; it seems to be acting almost like >a preposition in a postposition (away about eleven miles). "About" >qualifies eleven. "about eleven miles" tells us the extent of the >awayness. Don't you think? > I tried some quick research, but couldn't find a treatment of it. >Has someone come up with a name for it? > >Craig > >Bruce D. Despain wrote: > >>Michael, >> >>In my grammar I take it as a non-restrictive adverbial (of place) >>modification to Laodicea. Without ellipsis the noun phrase would read: >>"Laodicea, (which is) about eleven miles (far) away (from it)." This >>makes >>_from_ (relation) the head, with the adverb (direction) _away_ modifying >>it, >>which in turn has the adverb (distance) _far_ modifying it, which in turn >>has the adverbial noun (extent) _miles_ modifying it, and then the >>adverbial >>noun (number) _eleven_ modifying _miles_ (many varieties of adverbs!). >>However, the idiom _away from_ seems to be moving in the direction of a >>prepositional phrase modifying _away_. If you can't live with ellipsis, >>then perhaps you will have to have some of these basic syntactic functions >>taken over by the parts that do appear. Maybe _miles_ would then take over >>as the head with _away_ modifying it, or prossibly better vice versa. >>They >>are both adverbial with very similar meaning, one being simply more >>specific >>than the other. >> >>I hope this helps. >> >>Bruce >> >>----- Original Message ----- >>From: "R. Michael Medley (GLS)" <[log in to unmask]> >>To: <[log in to unmask]> >>Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2005 7:52 PM >>Subject: what kind of phrase >> >> >> >> >>>In the sentence: >>> >>>"Colosse has never been either rebuilt or excavated, unlike its neighbor >>>Laodicea, about eleven miles away." >>> >>>What kind of phrase is "about eleven miles away"? I realize it is >>>performing an adverbial function, but what is the head word of the >>>phrase? >>> >>>Thanks in advance for your advice. >>> >>> >>>R. Michael Medley, Director >>>Intensive English Program >>>Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, VA 22802 >>>[log in to unmask] (540) 432-4051 >>> >>>To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web >>>interface >>> >>> >>at: >> >> >>> http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html >>>and select "Join or leave the list" >>> >>>Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ >>> >>> >>> >>>-- >>>No virus found in this incoming message. >>>Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. >>>Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 265.8.4 - Release Date: 2/1/05 >>> >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> >>-- >>No virus found in this outgoing message. >>Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. >>Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 265.8.4 - Release Date: 2/1/05 >> >>To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface >>at: >> http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html >>and select "Join or leave the list" >> >>Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ >> >> >> > > >To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface >at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html >and select "Join or leave the list" > >Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/