narrative present

When the speaker uses a present tense to tell a story that has past time reference, she uses the narrative present: So the other day I’m sitting in a café and working on my computer when all of a sudden somebody I don’t know comes up to me and says he knows me. (AEG Ch. 4)

necessity, see modality

negation, see direct not-negation

negative expression of similarity, see expressions of similarity

negative possibility

When the negative marker is used in a sentence with a possibility modal, we say that the sentence expresses a negative possibility if the negation bears not on the modal verb (M) but on the proposition (P) (see scope of negation), as in The teacher may not accept your proposal (= it is possible that she will not accept your proposal). Conversely, a modal sentence expresses impossibility when the negation bears on the modal verb (M) rather than on the proposition (P): Unaccompanied children may not enter (= it is not possible (or ‘impossible’) for unaccompanied children to enter). (AEG Ch. 5)

non-assertive context

A non-assertive context is one that is negative or interrogative in tone: I can’t explain the problem; Can you give me a hand? In contrast, Can't you find someone to replace her? is assertive because it is affirmative and declarative in tone: ‘I’m sure you can lend me some money’. The modal auxiliary need is only used in non-assertive contexts: Need I do it? She needn’t do it, but *She need do it. The quantifier any is restricted to non-assertive contexts as well: Do you have any? I don’t have any, but *I have any. (AEG Ch. 3, Ch. 5)

non-epistemic modality

Non-epistemic modality (also called root modality) is concerned with the actualization of situations (or, more specifically, the possibility or necessity of a situation to actualize). The speaker may represent a situation as necessary (Tickets must be purchased online) or as possible (Winters can be cold in New York). She may say that the Subject referent has (or does not have) the ability to do something (Sue can (or cannot) speak Swedish) or the permission to do something (You may (or may not) park here), or that is it is necessary for someone to do something (You must / should / need to get in touch with him). (AEG Ch. 5)

non-finite clause

A non-finite clause contains a VP with a non-finite verb, that is, a verb that is not marked for tense: Remember to fill up the car; My friends made me do it; Do you resent being told what to do?; Seen from Earth, Mars looks like a star. (AEG Ch. 1)

non-finite verb, see non-finite clause

non-generic non-specific NP

A non-generic non-specific NP is an NP that refers to a potential, arbitrary instantiation of the head noun: Would you mind putting these glasses on a tray?; If we buy a car, I want the seats to be made of leather. (AEG Ch. 3)

non-generic reference

An NP with non-generic reference does not refer to a class as a whole (compare to generic reference). Rather, it refers to an individual member or individual members of the entire class of like items: Would you mind putting the /some glasses on a / the tray? (AEG Ch. 3)

non-generic specific NP

A non-generic specific NP is an NP that refers to a specific instantiation of the head noun: Would you mind putting the glasses on a tray? I had soup at 11 a.m. (AEG Ch. 3)

non-restrictive relative clause

A non-restrictive relative clause is a relative clause that provides additional information about the head noun but does not to restrict or narrow down the referent(s) of the NP. In He informed the manager, who apologized for the incident, the relative clause does not serve to indicate which manager. Rather, it gives additional information (in this case, about what the manager did after being informed). (AEG Ch. 3)

non-specific, see non-generic non-specific

noun phrase (NP)

A noun phrase is a constituent whose head is a noun ([happiness], [the black cat], [the destruction of the city], [the furniture you bought]) or a pronoun ([he], [that], [hers], [everyone present], [nothing to be alrmed by]). The NPs here are in brackets, and the heads of the NPs are underlined. Nouns refer to, for example, people, objects, places, actions or ideas and are either concrete or abstract. From a distributional perspective, they co-occur with determiners and adjectives (both of which precede the head noun in the NP (see prehead)) and with relative clauses and PrepPs (which follow the head noun in the NP (see posthead)). (AEG Ch.1, Ch.3)

noun, see noun phrase