Misrepresenting The Functional Range Of Verbs In Nominal Groups

Martin, Matthiessen & Painter (2010: 188):

A lexical verb such as wrecked can function as the Event in a verbal group and as Epithet in a nominal group. In any particular instance the syntagmatic environment can be checked. For example, we find that for the example has been wrecked, wrecked is preceded by the auxiliary verb been, whereas in the example the wrecked car, it is preceded by the determiner the and followed by the noun car. This tells us that the first instance is an Event in a verbal group and the second is an Epithet in a nominal group.

 

Blogger Comments:

[1] This is potentially misleading. To be clear, verbs can function in nominal groups as either Epithet or Classifier (Halliday 1994: 185-6).

[2] To be clear, the function of wrecked is 

Epithet if the wrecked car is agnate to the old car (cf. the very old car, the older car), but 

Classifier if the wrecked car is agnate to the abandoned car (not the very abandoned car, the more abandoned car).

The 'Selecting' Subtype Of Focus As A Confusion Of Numeratives And Epithets

 Martin, Matthiessen & Painter (2010: 170):

The Focus element can have a range of functions, which are outlined in Table 5.7 below.

⁴ Some selecting Focus items appear without the structure marker of (e.g. half the boys, all the problems).

Blogger Comments:

To be clear, from the perspective of SFL Theory, the 'selecting' subtype of Focus includes not just quantitative (three, four, some, none, hundreds, thousands) and ordinative (first, third, last, next) Numeratives but also Epithets (bigger, smaller, largest, smallest).

The Numeratives in the 'selecting' subtype of Focus are just Pre-Numeratives on the SFL model:

In such cases, the fact that numeral serves as Head is shown by 'subject-verb agreement': one of the awards is… vs three of the awards are… . Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 394):

It is the Head that determines the value of the entity in the mood system, and therefore as a potential Subject.

On the basis of the same reasoning that Halliday used to derive 'Pre-Numerative' and 'Pre-Deictic', these Epithets can be interpreted as 'Pre-Epithets'. Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 394):

When the Head is conflated with the Epithet or the Classifier, the relationship between the Head and the Thing is an elaborating one (which is why this type of construction has been called appositive): ‘Head is Thing’.

cf.