Michael, An addition to my response of last night. Adverbs in English accumulate as complements or predicate adjuncts. Hence, you get a sentence like: _John rode his bicycle rapidly down the street from home to school every morning for a week last May._ The order here is: manner, direction, origin, goal, frequency, duration, time-when. It is like peeling an onion; the manner adverb is the closest bound and the time-when the loosest. This all relates to my analysis of _away from_ in my post last night. The direction (_away_) comes before the origin (_from it_), because these are two loose adjuncts modifying the predicate. I think it is clearer to me now that the other adverbials are modifiers of the direction and internal to that adverbial and not directly related to any origin phrase, which doesn't even appear expressed in your original sentence. Bruce >>> [log in to unmask] 2/2/2005 8:48:13 PM >>> 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/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This message may contain confidential information, and is intended only for the use of the individual(s) to whom it is addressed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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/