Nominal Groups: The Modifying Relation Is Inherently Ascriptive (Intensive, Possessive Or Circumstantial)

Halliday & Matthiessen (1999: 183):

Experientially, there is a ‘carrier’ — the Thing — and there are ‘attributes’ — Epithets and other modifiers. However, participants are construed not only experientially but also logically, which means that the Thing (typically) serves as a Head that can be modified by successive attributes and that this modifying relation is inherently ascriptive. […] There is the same range of types of ascription as are found in ascriptive figures, and these can be interpreted in terms of the different categories of expansion.

expansion of Thing	Deictic	Epithet	Classifier	Thing	Qualifier
elaboration (intensive)	these	nutritious		swedes
	these		Mexican	mangoes
				kitchens	of distinction
extension (possessive)	my aunt’s			teapot
	the			stems	of the leek
	the		table	leg
enhancement (circumstantial)	these		18th C	vases
	some			mangoes	from Mexico
	a	chicory-like		plant