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3.2. FORMAL REPRESENTATION OF LAYERED STRUCTURE OF THE CLAUSE
3.2 Formal representation of layered structure of the clause
Having introduced the fundamental units of clause structure, we need to have an explicit
representation of them. We will present the non-universal features of the layered structure
of the clause (LSC).
3.2.1 Representing the universal aspects of the layered structure of the clause
Figure 3.3: Formal representation of the layered structure of the clause
To represent the nucleus, core, periphery and clause, we will use a type of tree diagram
which differs substantially from the constituent-structure trees discussed earlier. The ab-
stract schema of the layered structure of the clause can be represented as in Figure 3.3.
The clause consists of the core with its arguments, and then the nucleus, which subsumes
the predicate. At the very bottom are the actual syntactic categories which realize these
units. Notice that there is no VP in the tree, for it is not a concept that plays a direct role
in this conception of clause structure. The periphery is represented on the margin, and
the arrow there indicates that it is an adjunct; that is, it is an optional modifier of the core
(Van Valin and LaPolla 1997).
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