Misconstruing Embedded Things (And An Epithet) As Participants

Martin (1992: 133):

Another way in which nominal groups can expand their structural potential to realise more than one participant is through embedding in Pre-Deictic, Pre-Numerative, Pre-Epithet and Pre-Classifier positions (for the first two of these see Halliday 1985:174-175).  This can be exemplified as follows (embedded groups in bold face; see Martin 1988 for further discussion):

Pre-Deictic	the top of the mountain
Pre-Numerative	a pair of boots
Pre-Epithet	the tallest of the mountains
Pre-Classifier	that kind of gear

Blogger Comments:

[1] This again confuses the nominal group function of Thing with the generalised clause function of participant.  In these three examples, the confusion extends even to Things in embedded nominal groups serving as three types of Extended Numerative: Facet (Martin's Pe-Deictic), Aggregate (Martin's Pre-Numerative) and Variety (Martin's Pre-Classifier):

the	top	of	the	mountain
Premodifier	Head	Postmodifier
Numerative: facet			Deictic	Thing
Deictic	Thing

a	pair	of	boots
Premodifier	Head	Postmodifier
Numerative: aggregate			Thing
Deictic	Thing

that	kind	of	gear
Premodifier	Head	Postmodifier
Numerative: variety			Thing
Deictic	Thing

[2] In the remaining example, which is falsely presented as of the same type of structure as the other three, the confusion extends even further, to an Epithet/Head (Martin's Pre-Epithet) of a nominal group:

the	tallest	of	the	mountains
Premodifier	Head	Postmodifier
Deictic	Epithet	Qualifier
			Deictic	Thing

For superlative Epithet as Head of a nominal group, see Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 391).