A construction C is a syntagma of some category. Given a section of the grammatical description devoted to C – e.g., the adverbial –, the description involves a classification by two criteria:

1. Internal structure:
   1. C may have a head of which it is a phrasal projection.
      • It may then just be represented by its head.
      • This may be a proform or a lexical item.
      • Otherwise, C may be expanded to a – possibly endocentric – phrase.
        Such grammatical properties of C which are related to its context are described in the section devoted to the higher-level syntagma comprising C. Consequently, the description of C comprises the syntactic behavior of its internal dependents, including their syntactic position and permutability.
   2. Otherwise, it may be a recategorized syntagma – e.g., a subordinate clause – sharing its distribution with the category in question.
2. Syntactic function: A syntagma of the category in question may occupy, in its context, diverse syntactic functions. These may, again, depend on its internal structure.

The description according to criterion #1 is complete in its place. The description according to criterion #2 mentions the possibilities and refers to the descriptions of the higher-level constructions which contain the syntagma in question.

Conversion, multicategoriality or categorial indeterminacy of C are mentioned, but not described, with the description of C. Each of the uses of C in one of the possible categories is described in the section comprising a component of that category. For instance, if an adjective can be substantivized, the chapter on the adjective describes its internal structure. Its use as an attribute is described in the chapter on the internal structure of a complex nominal. Its use as a noun s.s. is described in the section on the formation of nouns.