An adjective phrase conducts the task of the adjective. Nouna word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. You could replace joan with a group of words a phrase and say, i met your sister. Like all nouns, a noun phrase can be a subject, object, or complement. The participial phrase a participial phrase begins with a past or present participle and is fol lowed by its objects and modifiers. If the noun is nonspecific, that is, the noun refers to a general idea and not a specific person, place, or. In a noun phrase, the modifiers can come before or after the noun. Noun phrase, verb phrase, adjective phrase, adverb phrase, gerund phrase, infinitive phrase and absolute phrase. Noun phrases are groups of words that function like a single noun.
That means it can be the subject or object of the verb. The following are example sentences from english, in which a serves as an indefinite article. A noun phrase functions as a subject or an object in a sentence. Examples of such properties in the nominal domain are that non pronominal noun. Pdf on jan 8, 2004, jan rijkhoff and others published the noun.
Just as nouns can act as subjects, objects, and prepositional objects, so can noun. As a member, youll also get unlimited access to over 79,000. A proper noun is the name of some particular person, place, thing, particular event, or group. The possessive determiners my, your, his, hers, its, our, and theirs are sometimes regarded as genitive pronouns. The simplest noun phrase consists of a single noun, as in the sentence bells were ringing.
Additional noun phrases examples the noun phrase is. Similar to a relative clause, a noun clause is usually introduced by a relative pronoun, but may also begin with a subordinating conjunction. The individual sentence will determine how the noun phrase is used. Modifiers, heads and qualifiers as outlined in unit 6, the basic structure of the noun phrase is m h q. In english, for example, the sentence consists of phrases with different labels and functions. Margaret cargill and patrick oconnor this kind of noun phrase can cause problems for eal english as an additional language writers, in our experience. The function of a phrase depends upon its construction and place in a sentence. Noun phrases that have the determiner a attached to them. Definition a noun phrase is a group of words that does the work of a noun. In sentence 2, the group of words to go home is the object of the verb want and hence it does the work of a noun. The more you read and write, the more compound noun examples youll encounter. These are the phrases contains a noun name, place or things and at least one modifier associated to the noun. As he suggests, a noun phrase may have different functions in a sentence, the typical being the subject and object.
For example, in the phrase long books the adjective long re strictively modifies the noun books. A noun phrase, or nominal phrase, is a phrase that has a noun or indefinite pronoun as its head or performs the same grammatical function as a noun. Pdf on jan 8, 2004, jan rijkhoff and others published the noun phrase find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Most compound nouns are made with nouns that have been modified by adjectives or other nouns in many compound nouns, the first word describes or modifies the second word, giving us insight into what kind of thing an item is, or providing us with clues about the item. Building trees phrase structure a phrase is a syntactic unit headed by a lexical category such as noun, adjective. It stands for the name of a particular person or place. The head of a phrase is the phrases central element. In the preceding sentence, the present participle sniffing introduces the participial phrase, which includes the participles object. Definition and examples of the genitive case in english. A noun phrase often abbreviated as np most commonly functions as a subject. These examples do seems to constitute genuine cases of proper nouns heading.
On the basis of attested examples, it is argued that. A single word may be a phrase when it is the head of that phrase. When we look at the structure of writing, we treat a noun phrase the same way we treat a common noun. Some of these phrases are obligatory such as noun phrase and verb. Noun phrases are very common crosslinguistically, and they may be the most frequently occurring phrase type noun phrases often function as verb subjects and objects, as predicative expressions and as the complements of prepositions. A noun phrase is a group of words that work together to name and describe a person, place, thing, or idea. A noun phrase can be a single wordjust the noun or more than one word. In order to create complex noun phrases, we put information after the noun we are modifying. This phrase can act or function as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. Philpot busy pruning her rose bushes certain phrases have specific names based on the type of word that begins or governs the word group. Phrases that typically include the verb be create your account to take this quiz. A noun phrase can be a single wordjust the nounor more than one word. A phrase, therefore, is a group of words which has no finite verb in it and acts to complete the sentence for making it meaningful.
A noun phrase is a unified group of words that has a noun as a head word. The group may have modifying words before the noun and modifying prepositional phrases or restrictive, defining relative. Chapter 6 phrases, clauses, and sentences chapter checkin recognizing phrases identifying independent and subordinate clauses understanding sentences clauses and phrases are the building blocks of sentences. Noun phrasea noun and any words in the sentence that modify it. Noun a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. The basic difference between a clause and a phrase is that a clause must have a finite verb and a phrase must not.
A noun phrase is a group of two or more words that is headed by a noun a person, place, or thing and includes modifiers e. This pronoun can be a subject pronoun or an indefinite pronoun. Hints a noun phrase serves the same purpose as a noun. The english noun phrase in its sentential aspect vinartus. The adjective phrase adjp and adverb phrase advp 2 3. A noun phrase is either a single noun or pronoun or a group of words containing a noun or a pronoun that function together as a noun or pronoun, as the subject or object of a verb. Some noun clauses begin with words such as that, what, why, or other words that. If the word books were to occur alone, then it could potentially.
Types of phrases noun phrase, verb phrase, gerund phrase. The genitive case can also be indicated by an of phrase after a noun. You can find the noun dog in a sentence, for example, but you dont know which canine the writer means until you consider the entire noun phrase. Noun phrase is written in full when the npdp distinction is not relevant. A noun phrase is any word or group of words based on a noun or pronoun without a verb. You may also like science worksheets examples for students. An example of a nounnoun phrase is resource availability. Also called an infinitival phrase and a toinfinitive phrase, it is a construction made up of the particle to and the base form of a verb, with or without modifiers, complements, and objects. Noun phrases english grammar today cambridge dictionary.
The terrified fox jumped off the edge and crushed on the rock. A noun phrase can function as a subject, an object, or a complement within a sentence. Like participles alone, participial phrases are used as adjectives. Np vp adjp advp pp phrase structure rules aer genveaerit. Phrase structure a phrase is a syntactic unit headed by a lexical category such as noun, adjective, adverb, verb, or preposition.
Noun phrases are very common crosslinguistically, and they may be the most frequently occurring phrase type. The dental facility recorded a higher number of patients last week. T he n oun p hr as e recognize a noun phrase when you see one. Depending upon its function in a sentence, phrases are divided into various types. You can find the noun dogin a sentence, for example, but you dont know which canine the writer means until you consider the entire noun phrase. To shorten phrases like this, it is very common in scientific english for the second part of resources to be moved in front of the. Additional noun phrases examples the noun phrase is in bold. Here are some examples of noun phrases being used as subjects, objects, and complements. Your sister is a phrase a group of words without a finite verb, and it functions as a noun in the sentence.
English features the preposition of in the renderings of examples like 1a, we will include this. Indefinite noun phrases in english, and many other languages, a commonnounphrase may be prefixed by an indefinite article, the resulting phrase being what we shall call an indefinite noun phrase. If that noun is replaced by a verb, it will then become a verb phrase and adjective and adverb phrase using an adjective and an adverb as the head of respective phrases. So is the old, smelly, shivering dog is also a phrase. The head can also determine the internal grammar of the phrase. Sep 19, 2010 in sentence 1, the word something is a noun and is the object of the verb want. The poor man wanted to pay back every penny he owed. This does not have any connection to whether it is a phrase or a sentence. A noun phrase always includes a noun, which is a person, place, or thing. The group of words to go home is therefore a noun phrase.
English noun phrases simple explanations and examples. Sometimes compound nouns appear as two separate words. Noun phrases noun phrases consist of nouns and all their modifiers. The complex noun phrase is sales of cars or the number of cars sold by the company. Again, b is more general, but it does require us to specify when words can function as phrases. Notice that grammatically, we use a complex noun phrase like a. A study of the english noun phrase with examples write a. In this example, the noun phrase contains a noun river and an article the.
A number of different grammatical structures can be used for doing this. Examples from different languages are given in the transcription of the. The noun phrase the river is the subject of the sentence. Building trees phrase structure a phrase is a syntactic unit headed by a lexical category such as. A noun clause is a type of dependent clause that functions as a noun in the sentence. Verb phrases are made up of verbs and all their modifiers. Noun phrases a noun phrase is a group of two or more words that is headed by a noun a person, place, or thing that includes modifiers e. A noun clause will always consist of a subject, which can also act as an object or a complement, and a verb. Phrases in english grammar with examples pdf parts of. Jan 17, 2016 any phrase that has a noun or indefinite pronoun as its head is known to be a noun phrase generally abbreviated as np. The first part offers a theoretical overview of the terminology of the complex noun phrase as introduced in four popular english grammar books, while the second part presents and discusses the.
Compound nouns are words for people, animals, places, things, or ideas, made up of two or more words. Noun phrases english grammar today a reference to written and spoken english grammar and usage cambridge dictionary. The simplest noun phrase consists of an article and a head. The head of a noun phrase can be accompanied by modifiers, determiners such as the, a, her, andor complements, as in the cheerful bells of the church were ringing. A noun phrase includes a nouna person, place, or thingand the modifiers which distinguish it. Noun phrase a noun and any words in the sentence that modify it. Pdf the complex noun phrase in advanced students writing.
From the examples given above, it can be deduced that a simple noun phrase can consist of just one word, which is normally a noun, although pronouns can. These are often referred to as open or spaced compound nouns. Sniffing the fresh air, jim realized he had found paradise. Notice that grammatically, we use a complex noun phrase like a single noun, so we could replace the whole complex noun phrase with it.
Noun phrases can function in several different ways in a sentence. Another way that sentences behave rather like noun phrases is in par ticipating in binding relations. A phrase is a group of words that act as a part of speech but cannot stand alone as a sentence. The genitive case in english is commonly referred to as the possessive case. The percentage of people in full time work increased steadily. John is the noun phrase functioning as the subject of the verb. Definition, different types with useful examples 7. Read on to take a closer look at the building of these phrases and nouns, and explore noun phrases in action. After lunch after slithering down the stairs and across the road to scare nearly to death mrs. Nouns english grammar noun with definition nouns and.
The noun is the name of a place, a person or thing. The simplest noun phrase consists of an article and a. Phrases in english grammar with examples pdf parts of speech. A phrase usually is always present within a clause, but a phrase cannot have a clause in it. Jeff is a good human being and capable of doing many tasks. Acting as a noun a noun clause is a type of subordinate clause. Noun phrases are groups of two or more words within a sentence that function grammatically as nouns. The wicked man loves getting poor people into trouble.
1574 1047 868 1286 164 1058 244 832 1161 396 255 932 1296 520 1311 1635 820 831 853 991 976 137 1096 340 1188 1605 1662 138 963 906 237 464 1620 314 767 359 548 1503 1397 1222 728 1184 412 785 350 774 508 35