Adjective-preposition patterns realising appreciation: a local grammar approach

Masaoud, Alzobair A. Yahya (2026) Adjective-preposition patterns realising appreciation: a local grammar approach. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This thesis investigates how Appreciation is realised through adjective–preposition patterns in English and develops a more delicate local grammar of Appreciation. Drawing on Pattern Grammar, Appraisal theory, local grammar, and SFL transitivity analysis, the study examines 16 adjective–preposition patterns selected from Francis et al. (1998) and uses data from the British National Corpus. It proposes a two-level analysis: the top level, the evaluative structure, identifies the broad local-grammar roles of Target, Hinge, Evaluation, and Specifier, while the bottom level, the functional structure, refines them through more specific transitivity roles.

Previous research has shown that adjective complementation patterns are a useful starting point for analysing evaluative meaning, but detailed local-grammar work has focused more on Affect and Judgement than on Appreciation. Earlier studies have also made greater progress in refining the post-adjectival element (Specifier), than in differentiating the entity being evaluated (Target). This thesis addresses these gaps by applying the two-level analysis to adjective–preposition patterns that realise Appreciation, with particular attention to Target, the Specifier, and the functional relation between them.

These resources are used to develop a local grammar of Appreciation grounded in corpus evidence and sensitive to both evaluative meaning and functional roles.

The findings confirm that adjective–preposition patterns may realise more than one evaluative construction, as shown in earlier local-grammar work. The present study develops this point by showing how structure. In this structure, the Target is consistently the evaluated entity in the evaluative structure, but it may function more specifically as Carrier, Actor, Phenomenon, Affected, or other transitivity roles in the functional structure. The Specifier also varies in function, introducing roles such as Role, Evidence, Comparator, Purpose, Outcome, and others. The analysis also shows that Francis et al.’s (1998) meaning groups are useful starting points, but some are supported, while others split or converge when analysed as constructions.

Overall, the thesis contributes to a more precise local grammar of Appreciation by adding a second level of SFL transitivity analysis to Hunston and Su’s evaluative construction model, allowing the Target, Specifier, and their relation to be described more delicately.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > English Language and Linguistics
• Supervisor's Name: Anderson, Professor Wendy, Bartlett, Professor Tom and Hannaford, Dr. Ewan
• Date of Award: 2026
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2026-86332
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 10 Nov 2026 16:29
• Last Modified: 11 Nov 2026 09:29
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.86332
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/86332