Head
Definition:
A head is a constituent of an endocentric construction that, if standing alone, could perform the syntactic function of the whole construction.
It may govern the:
- agreement of grammatical categories, such as person and number, or
- occurrence of other constituents.
Examples:
(English)
In the following construction, the noun chair heads the noun phrase. It also determines number on the verb:
In the following construction, the verb given heads the verb phrase would have given. It also determines the occurrence of a direct object and indirect object later in the clause:
See Also:
Source:
146
34, 102
557
25–26
This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library. Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003.