Inflectional Phrase - Definition

Definition

An inflectional phrase is a phrase which contains as its head an abstract category called Infl (short for 'inflection'). the Infl head bears inflectional properties such as tense and person, and may or may not be realised as separate words in the surface representation of the phrase. The other usual components of the IP are a Verb phrase (VP) which is the complement of the phrase, and a Noun phrase (NP) which is structurally the specifier of the phrase, and structurally the subject of the phrase. In this analysis, every simple sentence (i.e. one which is not coordinated) is an IP.

Read more about this topic:  Inflectional Phrase

Famous quotes containing the word definition:

    It’s a rare parent who can see his or her child clearly and objectively. At a school board meeting I attended . . . the only definition of a gifted child on which everyone in the audience could agree was “mine.”
    Jane Adams (20th century)

    Was man made stupid to see his own stupidity?
    Is God by definition indifferent, beyond us all?
    Is the eternal truth man’s fighting soul
    Wherein the Beast ravens in its own avidity?
    Richard Eberhart (b. 1904)

    The definition of good prose is proper words in their proper places; of good verse, the most proper words in their proper places. The propriety is in either case relative. The words in prose ought to express the intended meaning, and no more; if they attract attention to themselves, it is, in general, a fault.
    Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)