Wiktionary:Tea room: difference between revisions
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::''a great deal'' is a noun phrase, and not an adverb. ''Deal'', the head of the phrase, is a quantificational noun, similar to ''number, lot, heap, load, rest'', etc., but limited to the singular. The adjectives ''good'' and ''great'' function as attributive modifiers, though the choice of modifiers in the phrase is somewhat restricted, and even required, making it idiomatic. Of course, the determinative ''a'' functions as a determiner in the NP.
::The entire NP has a number of functions, many of which are quite typical of NPs. The following are those that I can think of:
::*subject/object (e.g., ''a great deal depends on..., we learned a great deal'')
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::**in adjective phrases, mainly with comparatives (e.g., ''a great deal worse'')
::*adjunct in clauses (e.g., ''That bothered me a great deal.'')
::As I said, these are not particularly unusual functions for NPs. Consider:
::*subject/object (obvious)
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::*adjunct in clauses (e.g., ''We dragged it two miles.'')
::I hope that helps.--[[User:Brett|Brett]] 17:50, 18 July 2009 (UTC)
*It certainly gives DCDuring a choice between what Wiktionary editors say and what grammarians in books say. ☺ Note that [[w:Charles Talbut Onions|C. T. Onions]] calls your "adjunct in clauses" an "adverb equivalent", an "accusative of time/distance/&c.". He even gives "a great deal bigger" as one example. See page 12 of his ''Modern English syntax''. Since this was 1971 and he was once ''SOED'' editor, it would be interesting to see what the ''SOED'' says now. The ''Compact OED'' distinguishes between noun and adverb for this phrase, giving one meaning for each (although not marking them with a part of speech more specific than "phrase").<p>And in case it wasn't clear, the aptness in the quotation above was that the phrase was being used as a noun, in a sentence about adverbial phrases. [[User:Uncle G|Uncle G]] 18:41, 18 July 2009 (UTC)
== [[doesn't one]] ==
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