Part 1: Introduction 1.1 Rationale In English in general, syntax and grammar in particular, complements and modifiers are two of the most important elements in forming phrases as well as sentences However, a large number of English learners are confused in uses of them; therefore, misusing these two components occurs regularly and commonly In order to contribute to solving the problem and assisting English learners to employ them efficiently and accurately, I decided to conduct the research called ‘A comparative and contrastive study on English modifiers and complements’ 1.2 Aims and objectives Identifying and distinguishing complements and modifiers in order to utilize them properly and efficiently 1.3 Scope of the study Due to the limited time and ability of the researcher, the data served for this study are: - Syntactic features of complements and modifier - Similarities and differences of complements and modifiers in sematic roles 1.4 Research questions - What are the Syntactic features of English Complements and Modifiers ? - What are similarities and differences of complements and modifiers in sematic roles? 1.5 Methods of the study - Qualitative (studying materials related and searching on the Internet) Part CONTENT 2.1 Theoretical background 2.1.1 Complement A phrasal element that a head must combine with or a head select Ex She is unbelievably beautiful 2.1.3 Modifier A phrase that optional occurs and modify a head Ex My boss is extremely strict 2.1.3 Minimal Phrase A minimal phrase is the phrase including this head and all of its complements Ex He donated thousands of dollar to the charity yesterday 2.1.4 Maximal Phrase: A XP (VP/NP/AP) that includes complements as well as modifiers Ex She have travelled to America five times 2.1.5 Phrase structure Rule The common structure of a phrase is: XP (specifier) (modifier) X (modifier) (complement) X is a head of phrase standing for N, V, A or P These words (determiners such as the, auxiliaries such as will, and degree words such as quite or almost) are said to function as specifiers Semantically, specifiers help to make more precise the meaning of the head Ex The book In building up any phrase, there is one obligatory element in each phrase We call this essential element the head of the phrase The head of each phrase thus determines its ‘projection’ into a larger phrasal constituent The head of an NP is thus N, the head of a VP is V, and the head of an AP is A Ex Have studied The elements which a head verb should combine with are called complements The complements include direct object, indirect object, predicative complement, and oblique complement since these are all potentially required by some verb or other The properties of the head become properties of the whole phrase Why are the examples in (1+b) and (2+b) ungrammatical? (1+) a They [want to leave the meeting] b *They [eager to leave the meeting] (2+) a The senators [know that the president is telling a lie] b *The senators [certain that the president is telling a lie] The examples in (1+b) and (2+b) are unacceptable because of the absence of the required head The unacceptable examples lack a finite (tensed) VP as the bracketed part, but we know that English sentences require a finite VP as their immediate constituent, as informally represented as in (3+): (3+) English Declarative Sentence Rule: Each declarative sentence must contain a finite VP Each finite VP is headed by a finite verb If we amend the ungrammatical examples above to include a verb but not a finite one, they are still ungrammatical: (4+) a *They [(to) be eager to leave the meeting] b *The senators [(to) be certain that the president is telling a lie] The VP is considered to be the (immediate) head of the sentence, with the verb itself as the head of the VP In this way, we can talk about a finite or non-finite sentence, one which is ultimately headed by a finite or nonfinite verb, respectively In addition to the complements of a head, a phrase may also contain modifiers: Ex a Tom offered advice to his students in his office b Tom offered advice to his students with love The PPs in his office or with love here provide further information about the action described by the verb, but are not required as such by the verb These phrases are optional and function as modifiers, and they function to augment the minimal phrase projected from the head verb offered The VP which includes this kind of modifier forms a maximal phrase We might say that the inner VP here forms a ‘minimal’ VP which includes all the ‘minimally’ required complements, and the outer VP is the ‘maximal’ VP which includes optional modifiers 2.1.6 Iterability Iterability is the possibility of iterating identical types of phrase can occur with the same head I met her in Ha Noi in December 2.2 Syntactic features of English Complements 2.2.1 Function Providing information about entities and locations whose is implied by the meaning of the head- necessary to complete the meaning of a given expression( obligatory) Ex He has established his own company In the example above, the noun phrase his own company act as a compliment of the head established If his own company is absent, the meaning of the verb phrase with the head established will not complete 2.2.2 Position Complements are attached to the right of the head Ex These policies have made a great impact on people’s lives 2.2.3 Distribution A complement is typically limited in its distribution Ex I rely on you 2.2.4 Testing method to identify If we try omitting a phase occurring in a head that make the given expression ambiguous, then it is a complement Ex She gave a cake to the children 2.3 Syntactic features of English Modifiers 2.3.1 Function Modifying or qualifying the head or adding extra information etc - not necessary to complete the meaning of a given expression( optional) Ex He went to the bank on Monday On Monday can be omitted without changes in the meaning or completion Therefore, on Monday is a modifier 2.3.2 Position Modifiers can be attached to both sides of the head Ex An incredibly beautiful girl The man with a gun 2.3.3 Distribution An modifier can co-occur with a relatively broad range of heads Ex Kim jogs on the hill/under the hill/over the hill 2.3.4 Testing method to identify Unlike a complement, a modifier can be left out Ex I often go to the supermarket at weekend 2.4 Syntactic differences between Complements and Modifiers 2.4.1 In distribution An modifier can co-occur with a relatively broad range of heads whereas a complement is typically limited in its distribution Note the following contrast: (1) a Kim camps/jogs/mediates on the hill b Kim jogs on the hill/under the hill/over the hill (2) a Kim depends/relies on Sandy b Kim depends on Sandy/*at Sandy/*for Sandy The semantic distribution of the adjunct- modifier on the hill in (1a) is independent of the head whereas that of the complement on Sandy is idiosyncratically dependent upon the head 2.4.2 In obligatoriness: As hinted at already, complements are strictly-required phrases whereas modifiers are not The examples in (3)– (5) show that the verb placed requires an NP and a PP as its complements, kept an NP and an AP, and stayed a PP (3) a John placed Kim behind the garage b John kept him behind the garage c *John stayed Kim behind the garage (4) a *John placed him busy b John kept him busy c *John stayed him busy (5) a *John placed behind the counter b *John kept behind the counter c John stayed behind the counter In contrast, modifiers are optional Their presence is not required by the grammar: (6) a John deposited some money in the bank b John deposited some money in the bank on Friday In (6b), the PP on Friday is optional here, serving as a modifier 2.4.3 In iterability: The possibility of iterating identical types of phrase can also distinguish between complements and modifiers In general two or more instances of the same modifier type can occur with the same head, but this is impossible for complements (7) a *The UN blamed global warming [on humans] [on natural causes] b Kim and Sandy met [in Seoul] [in the lobby of the Lotte Hotel] in March In (7a) on humans is a complement and thus the same type of PP on natural causes cannot co-occur Yet in Seoul is a modifier and we can repeatedly have the same type of PP 2.4.4 In testing methods to identify ( Do-so Test) A reliable test often used to distinguish complements from modifiers is the so or the same thing test As shown in (8), we can use the same thing to avoid repetition of an identical VP expression: (8) a John deposited some money in the checking account and Mary did the same thing (too) b John deposited some money in the checking account on Friday and Mary did the same thing (too) What we can observe in (8b) is that the VP did the same thing can replace either the minimal phrase deposited some money in the checking account or the maximal phrase including the modifier on Friday Notice that this VP can replace only the minimal phrase, leaving out the modifier (9) John deposited some money in the checking account on Friday and Mary did the same thing on Monday From these observations, we can draw the conclusion that if something can be replaced by the same thing, then it is either a minimal or a maximal phrase This in turn means that this ‘replacement’ VP cannot be understood to leave out any complement(s) This can be verified with more data: (10) a *John [deposited some money in the checking account] and Mary did the same thing in the savings account b *John [gave a present to the student] and Mary did the same thing to the teacher Here the PPs in the checking account and to the student are both complements, and thus they should be included in the the same thing phrase This gives us the following informal generalization: (11) Do-so Replacement Condition: The phrase so or the same thing can replace a verb phrase which includes at least any complements of the verb This condition explains why we cannot have another locative complement phrase in the savings account or to the teacher in (10) The unacceptability of the examples in (12) also supports this generalization about English grammar: (12) a *John locked Fido in the garage and Mary did so in the room b *John ate a carrot and Mary did so a radish 2.4.5 Structural Difference: We could distinguish complements and modifiers by tree structures, too: complements combine with a lexical head (not a phrase) to form a minimal phrase whereas modifiers combine with a phrase to form a maximal phrase This means that we have structures of the following forms: XP XP Modifier X Complement(s) As represented in the tree structures, complements are sisters of the lexical head X, whereas modifiers are sisters of a phrasal head This structural difference between complements and modifiers provides a clean explanation for the contrast in do-so test Given that the verb ate takes only an NP complement whereas put takes an NP and a PP complement, we will have the difference in the two structures shown in (13): (13) a VP VP PP V NP Ate some food b on the table VP V NP Put some food PP on the table In this way, we represent the difference between complements and modifiers 2.4.6 Ordering Difference: Another difference that follows from the structural distinction between complements and modifiers is an ordering difference As a complement needs to combine with a lexical head first, modifiers follow complements: (14) a John met [a student] [in the park] b *John met [in the park] [a student] A similar contrast can be observed in the following contrast: (15) a the student [of linguistics] [with long hair] b *the student [with long hair] [of linguistics] The PP with long hair is a modifier whereas the of linguistics is the complement of student This is why with long hair cannot occur between the head student and its complement of linguistics As such, observed ordering restrictions can provide more evidence for the distinction between complements and modifiers As we can see, there are several clear differences between modifiers and complements They can be summarized as the following table below: Dimensions Complements Modifiers Obligatoriness Iterability Compulsory One only In distribution Structure Limited combine with a lexical head (not a phrase) to form a minimal phrase complement needs to combine with a lexical head first Optional Two or more modifiers for the same head Broadly combine with a phrase to form a maximal phrase modifiers follow complements Order Part 3: Conclusion Generally, a few similarities can be seen between modifiers and complements For example, they are used to modify and qualify the head, making the meaning of the phrase or the sentence more obvious and fulfilled However, simultaneously, there are many noticeable differences between them Although both them are employed to provide additional information, the existence and presence of complements are compulsory in contradiction with modifiers Modifiers can be removed or absented themselves from the phrase or the sentence without changing the meaning or transforming the phrase the sentence into ungrammaticality but it is not true for complements, if we that the phrase the sentence will or not have complete meaning or be ungrammatical In addition to obligation, they differ in iterability in structural in distribution etc References https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complement_(linguistics) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_modifier https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predicate_(grammar) English Syntax, Quang Nam university Aarts, Bas 1997 English Syntax and Argumentation Basingstoke and London: Macmillan 6 Borsley, Bob 1991 Syntactic Theory: A Unified Approach Cambridge: Arnold Chomsky, Noam 1957 Syntactic Structures The Hague: Mouton Jacobs, Roderick 1995 English Syntax: A Grammar for English Language Professionals Oxford University Press ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_modifier https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predicate_(grammar) English Syntax, Quang Nam university Aarts, Bas 1997 English Syntax and Argumentation Basingstoke and London: Macmillan... an NP and a PP as its complements, kept an NP and an AP, and stayed a PP (3) a John placed Kim behind the garage b John kept him behind the garage c *John stayed Kim behind the garage (4) a *John... Minimal Phrase A minimal phrase is the phrase including this head and all of its complements Ex He donated thousands of dollar to the charity yesterday 2.1.4 Maximal Phrase: A XP (VP/NP/AP) that