A two-rule analysis of measure noun phrases.

Abstract

In this paper we present an analysis of English measure noun phrases.

Measure noun phrases exhibit both distributional idiosyncrasy, in that they

appear in positions normally lled by degree adverbs: a ten inch long string;

and agreement discord: ten inches is enough, it is ten inch/*inches long. The

analysis introduces one idiosyncratic construction, the Measure Phrase Rule,

which links together syntax and in ectional morphology. Combined with

existing rules, in particular the Noun-noun Compound Rule, the new rule

accounts for the both the distributional and agreement idiosyncrasies. The

rule has been implemented and tested in the ERG, a broad-coverage grammar

of English. Our analysis supports the position that broad-coverage grammars

will necessarily contain both highly schematic and highly idiosyncratic rules.