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CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW
This chapter explains about the theories used to analyze the data in this research. It is divided into two main points, i.e. syntax, and semantics. Each of
two main points consists of several applied theories in this research. This research only analyzes the ambiguity of genitive of-construction
semantically. However, it cannot be separated from the theory of syntax since the genitive of-construction is a part of syntax field. Therefore, the theory of syntax is
used as a supporting theory. Before the writer gives further explanation about the theory of syntax, it will be better if we know the definition of syntax itself.
2.1 Syntax
Thomas 1993:1 states that syntax is the study which seeks to describe the way words fit together to form sentences or utterances. Furthermore, Chaer
1994:2006 argues that: Pembahasan sintaksis meliputi 1 Struktur sintaksis: masalah fungsi,
kategori dan peran sintaksis 2 satuan-satuan sintaksis yang berupa kata, frasa, klausa, kalimat, dan wacana 3 hal-hal lain ynag berkenaan
dengan sintaksis: modus, aspek, dan sebagainya.
Based on the above definition, it can be concluded that syntax is the study of words, phrases, clauses to form sentences or utterances. In this case, the writer
analyze genitive of-construction. Genitive of-construction is a kind of phrases
which is examined in syntax. Therefore, we need to know kinds of phrases before we discuss further theory of genitive of-construction.
According to Quirk 1985: 60, there are five formal categories of phrases: noun phrase, verb phrase, adjective phrase, adverbial phrase, and prepositional
phrase. Here, the writer will explain the phrases one by one as follow: 1 Noun Phrase
Noun phrase consists of either determiner and noun, or just noun. The most meaningful part of a noun phrase is the noun. It is the obligatory constituent
and is the head of the noun phrase. For instance:
The child
Determiner Noun
2 Verb Phrase Functioning as verb. It consists of either verb and noun phrase, or just verb.
He eats an apple
NP V NP
VP 3 Adjective Phrase
Adjective phrase is used to pre-modify nouns. Adjective phrase, like any other phrases, can consist of one or more than one element. Within the noun phrase,
then, the adjective phrase has the function of pre-modifying the head.
For example: The
fat dog
Determiner Adjective Phrase
Noun as Pre-modifier
4 Adverbial Phrase In terms of a phrase category, an Adverbial Phrase or AdvP can be formed by
one only an adverb or more constituents degree adverb + adverb. Adverb phrase is used to modify a verb. A degree adverb, as its name suggests, tell us
to what degree something is done, so a degree adverb is here said to modify or limit the sense of an adverb.
For example: Ken
snores very loudly
Noun Verb degree
Adverb NP
VP AdvP
5 Prepositional Phrase Prepositions P belong to a small group or class of words which express
relations of place, direction, time or possession. Words belonging to this class include, of, at, to, from, till, with, for, beside, against, up, down, by and so on.
The preposition is a part of Prepositional Phrase PP. The Prepositional Phrase consists of either preposition and noun phrase, or just a preposition.
For instance: The
incineration of
the astronauts
Det Noun
Prep det
Noun Noun Phrase
Noun Phrase
PP Genitive of-construction is a kind of genitive constructions. Actually, there
are two kinds of genitive constructions; they are genitive construction by inflection ’s and genitive construction by of-construction of-phrase. According
to Quirk 1985: 1276-1277, genitive ’s construction is a genitive case which consists of two noun phrases; one a noun phrase marked for the genitive case by
inflection ’s; the other a succeeding and super ordinate noun phrase unmarked for the case in which the genitive noun phrase is embedded with a determinative
function; determinative function mean that the genitive noun phrase functions like a definite determiner. For Example, the following are some cases of genitive ’s
construction; the city’s population, the dog’s collar, and the family’s car. Meanwhile, Quirk 1985: 1276 also states that the genitive of-
construction consists of the superordinate noun phrase precedes a noun phrase introduced by of. Actually, the genitive of-construction is often equivalent in
meaning to the genitive ’s construction. However, the grammatical status of the genitive ’s construction is different from the genitive of-construction. The
genitive of-construction fuctions like a post modifier with the super ordinate noun phrase either definite or indefinite.
2.2 Semantics
