like these are best analyzed as noun phrases with an empty element functioning as the head, yielding an analysis like this: [NP the [AP completelyAdv innocentAdj] ∅N]. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language offers a similar analysis, calling words like lucky and innocent in these cases "fused modifier-heads". In other words, they treat these words as adjectives that have fused with an unexpressed head. Verbs In English, nouns and verbs can typically be distinguished according to their grammatical features: Prototypical nouns can inflect for number while verbs cannot. Verbs take a variety of inflectional endings that nouns cannot, such as the -ing suffix of the present participle form. Nouns typically take prepositional phrases and clauses as complements while verbs typically take noun phrases and clauses as complements. The typical pre-head modifiers of nouns are adjective phrases, but the typical pre-head modifiers of verbs are adverb phrases. Nouns can head phrases containing determinatives and predeterminatives while verbs cannot. The following table summarizes some of these characteristics: Certain words derived from nouns, specifically those ending in -ing (such as painting), can share features of both nouns and verbs. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language illustrates the gradience from verbal nouns to verbs in their present participle forms, with the earlier examples behaving more like nouns and the later examples behaving more like verbs: some paintings of Brown’s Brown’s paintings of his daughters The painting of Brown is as skillful as that of Gainsborough. Brown’s deft painting of his daughter is a delight to watch. Brown’s deftly painting his daughter is a delight to watch. I dislike Brown’s painting his daughter I dislike Brown painting his daughter (when she ought to be at school) I watched Brown painting his daughter. Brown deftly painting his daughter is a delight to watch. Painting his daughter, Brown noticed that his hand was shaking. Brown painting his daughter that day, I decided to go for a walk. The man painting the girl is Brown. The silently painting man is Brown. Brown is painting his daughter. Painting(s) in [1]–[4] are unambiguously nouns. Paintings in [1] and [2] feature the plural -s morpheme associated with nouns and also head phrases containing determinatives (i.e., some and Brown's), a feature also observed in [3]–[5]. Painting in [4] is also modified by an adjective phrase (deft), further suggesting that it is a noun. Meanwhile, painting in [10]–[14] are unambiguously verbs.