theory worked out by the American linguist
L. Bloomfield , phrases can be classified into two groups: endocentric and
exocentric. The former include phrases one or any constituent part of which can
function in a broader structure as the whole group.
Eg.
Red flower – He gave me a red flower. He gave me a flower.
Flowers and chocolate. – He gave me flowers. He gave me chocolate. As for exocentric structures, according to Bloomfield, none of their
constituent parts can replace the whole group in a broader structure.
Eg.
He gave, to the girl. Endocentric structures are further divided into subordinate
(red flower) and
coordinate
(flowers and chocolate) . Exocentric structures are divided into
predicative
(He gave) and prepositional
(to the girl) . Bloomfield’s classification
was further developed by his followers. It was made more detailed. Some new
types of phrases were singled out. A significant drawback of this scheme is that it
is not based on a single principle applied at every stage of the classification to all
discriminated types of structures.
