Binomial noun phrases in English

This paper discusses the structural and semantic properties of Binominal Noun Phrases (BNPs) in English. BNPs involve two nominals, N1 and N2, which are in a Subject-Predicate relationship with each other, such that N1 is the Predicate and N2 the Subject. Examples are a hell of a problem, a wonder of a city, that idiot of a prime minister etc. On the basis of various types of syntactic evidence, it is argued that they are headed by the second of the two nominals, not by the first one, as has often been claimed. It is further argued that BNPs do not involve movement, as has recently been suggested in the literature. A consequence of this study is that it supports viewing syntax as a flexible system, in which there may be a tension between a rigid arrangement of elements into categories and constituents, and the occurrence of unexpected configurations, or of shifts in patterns taking place diachronically or synchronically. © The Philological Society 1998.