(5) .Jht!" waterlogged conditions ;)Mr( ruled out play ye~y JtHr
pr~ed_,,at'B_9llrtfa this morning and.ft"~_ J}0f' yPri(. JlHtfaf~
on ;)Mf(the match restarted ...
This is an unusually complex instance of a very common phenomenon.
Higher nodes of a derivation are deleted, which automatically raises and
re-attaches the lower constituents without requiring any further changes.
This occurs particularly in complex NPs (6), or with time or place adverbials
embedded in a subordinate clause (7):
(6) for pickpocketing offences
~ for pickpocketing
(7) who was killed last week while practising in South Africa for the
Grand Prix
~ who was killed last week in South Africa
The motive for these deletions is abbreviation. But the form which the
deletions take is governed by the physical process of copy editing. Editors
favour changes which are easy to make on a page. Re-ordering material is
disfavoured; minor insertions are more acceptable; and words or phrases
that can be crossed out and still leave a good sentence are a gift to the
overworked copy editor. There is probably no time to retype the copy before
the next deadline. If something can just drop out and the linear surface be
rejoined, it is much faster than shifting bits of sentences around.