what is a noun phrase

[4] Dependency grammars, for instance, almost all assume the traditional NP analysis of noun phrases. This page was last edited on 19 December 2020, at 04:05. It has been the preferred analysis of noun phrases in the minimalist program from its start (since the early 1990s), though the arguments in its favor tend to be theory-internal. Some grammarians also consider a single-word noun to be a noun phrase, while more traditional grammars hold that a phrase must be made up of two or more words. and (Lockwood (2002:3). Head-final languages (e.g. Dependency trees, first using the traditional NP approach, then using the DP approach: The following trees represent a more complex phrase. An indefinite pronoun refers to a pronoun that does not specify a particular place, person, or thing. Syntactic analysis and description: A constructional approach. Do you disagree with something on this page. Traditionally, a phrase is understood to contain two or more words. FUNCTIONS OF NOUN PHRASES. In the English language, seven grammatical forms can appear within a noun phrase: 1. A phrase typically appears within a clause, but it is possible also for a phrase to be a clause or to contain a clause within it. For simplicity, only dependency-based trees are given.[5]. This practice takes the constellation to be primitive rather than the words themselves. In this sentence the word Joan is a noun. Like all nouns, a noun phrase can be a subject, object, or complement. They consist of a noun and other words that modify the noun. A noun phrase is a phrase – and by phrase we mean a pair or a group of words – that behaves as a noun. A direct object refers to a noun phrase, noun, or pronoun that is a recipient of a direct action of a verb. For them, phrases must contain two or more words. In this case, a pronoun is used in place of a noun, and it could either be an indefinite pronoun or a subject pronoun. Adjective phrases 3. Noun phrases can be; a subject, direct object, indirect objects, complement, and object of a preposition. "), it is potentially infinite in length, and it can include any number of other phrases (e.g. Determiners 2. A noun phrase can be a single word-just the noun-or more than one word. What Is The Difference Between Noun Phrase and Adjective phrase? 'Door' is just a noun, but 'bright red door' is a noun phrase. Noun clauses 7. She was reading a book about the emancipation of women. A noun phrase can act as a subject, object and complement just like any other noun. Note that there is still a noun phrase present (old picture of Fred that I found in the drawer) but this phrase is below the determiner. The determiner the is now depicted as the head of the entire phrase, thus making the phrase a determiner phrase. Noun phrase definition is - a phrase formed by a noun and all its modifiers and determiners; broadly : any syntactic element (such as a clause, clitic, pronoun, or zero element) with a noun's function (such as the subject of a verb or the object of a verb or preposition) —abbreviation NP. The simplest noun phrase consists of a … relative clauses: the man we met yesterday the house that Jack built Because the noun phrase is a quintessential part of every sentence (even if it doesn't appear in the surface structure of a sentence as in "stop! Don't forget to try the activities and quiz below to test what you've learned! Just as nouns can act as subjects, objects, and prepositional objects, so can noun phrases. Often a noun phrase is just a noun or a pronoun: People like to have money. For more information about the structure of noun phrases in English, see English grammar § Phrases. A noun phrase consists of a noun or pronoun, which is called the head, and any dependent words before or after the head. Noun phrases are defined as phrases in which a noun functions as the head of the phrase. In some more modern theories of grammar, noun phrases with determiners are analyzed as having the determiner as the head of the phrase, see for instance Chomsky (1995) and Hudson (1990). In other words, In other words, an appositive or appositive phrase is bonus information, it can be essential, important for the meaning of the sentence, or non-essential, Noun phrases can be embedded inside each other; for instance, the noun phrase some of his constituents contains the shorter noun phrase his constituents. London: Continuum. They also function as arguments in such constructs as participial phrases and prepositional phrases. Lockwood, D. 2002. Examples of noun … When we look at the structure of writing, we treat a noun phrase the same way we treat a common noun. A subject is a component of a clause or sentence that describes what the sentence/clause is about. Noun phrases typically bear argument functions. The chief types of these dependents are: The allowability, form and position of these elements depend on the syntax of the language in question. A noun phrase is a group of words that serves the same purpose as a noun. Noun phrases are simply nouns with modifiers. He refused to answer the question. Japanese and Turkish) are more likely to place all modifiers before the head noun. Similarly, noun phrases can also work in a sentence as adjectives, participles, infinitives, and prepositional or absolute … For definitions and discussions of the noun (nominal) phrase that point to the presence of a head noun, see for instance Crystal (1997:264), Lockwood (2002:3), and Radford (2004: 14, 348). Verb phrases 5. For illustrations of different analyses of noun phrases depending on whether the DP hypothesis is rejected or accepted, see the next section. The representation of noun phrases using parse trees depends on the basic approach to syntactic structure adopted. Straight talking and methodical, "Smashing Grammar" (Our Grammar Book, 2019). However, many modern schools of syntax – especially those that have been influenced by X-bar theory – make no such restriction. [2] Here many single words are judged to be phrases based on a desire for theory-internal consistency. There are a number of different categories of nouns. A noun phrase refers to words that work the same way as a noun. [1] Noun phrases are very common cross-linguistically, and they may be the most frequently occurring phrase type. (Situations in which this is possible depend on the rules of the language in question; for English, see English articles.). Noun phrase definition, a construction that functions syntactically as a noun, consisting of a noun and any modifiers, as all the men in the room who are reading books, or of a noun … A noun phrase must contain noun or a pronoun. A noun phrase is a small group of words which contains a noun but doesn't contain a verb. On this understanding of phrases, the nouns and pronouns in bold in the following sentences are noun phrases (as well as nouns or pronouns): The words in bold are called phrases since they appear in the syntactic positions where multiple-word phrases (i.e. A noun phrase is a word or group of words that can function as the subject, the object, or the complement in a sentence.. For an example of a relatively "flat" analysis of NP structure like the one produced here, but in a phrase structure grammar, see Culicover and Jackendoff (2005:140). The head noun picture has the four dependents the, old, of Fred, and that I found in the drawer. The term "verb phrase" is a noun phrase . Nouns and Noun Phrases. Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. It's usually a single word, but not always: cake, shoes, school bus, and time and a half are all nouns. Nouns in English are traditionally described as naming “persons, places, … The manager interviewed all the applicants on Tuesday. When a noun phrase is the subject of a verb, don't let the modifiers divert your eye from the head noun as it must govern the verb. Stockwell, P. 1977. (Albert Einstein, 1879-1955) The second tree assumes the DP hypothesis, namely that determiners rather than nouns serve as phrase heads. A noun phrase usually contains a noun plus other words to describe it. [3] That is, the syntactic functions that they fulfill are those of the arguments of the main clause predicate, particularly those of subject, object and predicative expression. So we call it a noun phrase. These are called postmodifiers. a word that describes or gives more information about a verb a word that describes a noun or pronoun (These dependents, since they modify a noun, are called adnominal.) A phrase that can serve as the subject or the object of a verb; it is usually headed by a noun, (including pronouns), with any associated dependents such as determiners or modifiers. Noun Phrase -a noun and any words in the sentence that modify it; words that can modify nouns include articles (a, an, the); adjectives; participles; and possessive pronouns. Concerning how noun phrases function, see for instance Stockwell (1977:55ff.). Noun phrases are groups of two or more words within a sentence that function grammatically as nouns. There are several different types, as follows: Noun phrase. By taking the determiner, a function word, to be head over the noun, a structure is established that is analogous to the structure of the finite clause, with a complementizer. There are also types of phrases like noun phrase and prepositional phrase. A noun phrase may consist of … Below are some possible trees for the two noun phrases the big house and big houses (as in the sentences Here is the big house and I like big houses). A phrase is a small group of words that forms a meaningful unit within a clause. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Noun_phrase&oldid=995087009, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Noun phrases are very common cross-linguistically, and they may be the most frequently occurring phrase type. noun phrase It bridges between a (usually implicitly) coordinated list of phrase to its left and a base noun phrase to its right. Watch the video to learn more about expanded noun phrases. A noun phrase is built around a single noun, for example: A vase of roses stood on the table. For direct examples of approaches that obscure the distinction between nouns and pronouns on the one hand and noun phrases on the other, see for instance Matthews (1981:160f.) The head noun appears in bold. An appositive phrase is a noun phrase that sits next to a noun and describes or identifies it with a new name. (In some accounts that take this approach, the constituent lacking the determiner – that called N-bar above – may be referred to as a noun phrase.). 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. Download Grammarly's app to help with eliminating grammar errors and finding the right words. The situation is complicated by the fact that in some contexts a noun phrase may nonetheless be used without a determiner (as in I like big houses); in this case the phrase may be described as having a "null determiner". Some examples of noun phrases are underlined in the sentences below. Other grammars such as dependency grammars are likely to reject this approach to phrases, since they take the words themselves to be primitive. As to whether the string must contain at least two words, see the following section. Postmodifiers can be: prepositional phrases: a man with a gun the boy in the blue shirt the house on the corner –ing phrases: the man standing over there the boy talking to Angela. Noun phrases can take different forms than that described above, for example when the head is a pronoun rather than a noun, or when elements are linked with a coordinating conjunction such as and, or, but. For example: Sometimes a noun phrase can also function as an adjunct of the main clause predicate, thus taking on an adverbial function, e.g. ; See Direct and indirect objects and Complements for more information about these functions. In the sentence I like big houses, both houses and big houses are N-bars, but big houses also functions as a noun phrase (in this case without an explicit determiner). Remember that a phrase is different to a clause as it does not contain a noun and a verb, and therefore cannot stand on its own as a complete sentence, unlike a clause. Noun definition, any member of a class of words that can function as the main or only elements of subjects of verbs (A dog just barked), or of objects of verbs or prepositions (to send money from home), and that in English can take plural forms and possessive endings (Three of his buddies want to borrow John's laptop). Noun phrases can function in several different ways in a sentence. You could replace Joan with a group of words (a phrase) and say, "I met your sister." Unconditional help for primary teachers and literacy leads http://www.primaryenglishlab.co.uk Foundations of syntactic theory Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc. A noun phrase is a group of words that does the work of a noun. For a dependency grammar analysis of noun phrases similar to the one represented by the trees here, see for instance Starosta (1988:219ff.). traditional phrases) can appear. A noun phrase features a noun, pronoun, and other modifiers. The representation also depends on whether the noun or the determiner is taken to be the head of the phrase (see the discussion of the DP hypothesis in the previous section). In English, determiners, adjectives (and some adjective phrases) and noun modifiers precede the head noun, whereas the heavier units – phrases and clauses – generally follow it. A noun phrase includes a noun—a person, place, or thing—and the modifiers that distinguish it. Expanded noun phrases tell you more about the noun. From the Cambridge English Corpus The latter emerged only through a long-drawn … Examples of noun phrases Take a look at the example sentences below and think about which part of the sentence is a noun phrase. A phrase is a part of a sentence. Noun phrases can be identified by the possibility of pronoun substitution, as is illustrated in the examples below. The first tree is based on the traditional assumption that nouns, rather than determiners, are the heads of phrases. This analysis of noun phrases is widely referred to as the DP hypothesis. The layered trees of many phrase structure grammars grant noun phrases an intricate structure that acknowledges a hierarchy of functional projections. He hopes to win the first prize. Other languages, such as French, often place even single-word adjectives after the noun. Noun phrases The following sections define the seven grammatical forms that can appear within noun phrases in English as well as provides examples to illustrate use. Verb phrase. A noun is a word that refers to a thing (book), a person (Betty Crocker), an animal (cat), a place (Omaha), a quality (softness), an idea (justice), or an action (yodeling). The traditional progression in the size of syntactic units is word < phrase < clause, and in this approach a single word (such as a noun or pronoun) would not be referred to as a phrase. Thus in the sentence Here is the big house, both house and big house are N-bars, while the big house is a noun phrase. The word he, for instance, functions as a pronoun, but within the sentence it also functions as a noun phrase. A noun phraseis a group of words that work together to name and describe a person, place, thing, or idea. ; Lydia was the successful applicant. Vocational rather than academic, "Grammar for Grown-ups" is packed with real-life examples and keeps you engaged with a wealth of great quotations from Homer the Greek to Homer the Simpson. Dependency grammars, in contrast, since the basic architecture of dependency places a major limitation on the amount of structure that the theory can assume, produce simple, relatively flat structures for noun phrases. A noun phrase is a group of words, often adjectives, based around a noun. A typical noun phrase consists of a noun (the head of the phrase) together with zero or more dependents of various types. More examples of noun phrases are given below: I enjoy playing tennis. The phrase structure grammars of the Chomskyan tradition (government and binding theory and the minimalist program) are primary examples of theories that apply this understanding of phrases. A phrase is deemed to be a word or a combination of words that appears in a set syntactic position, for instance in subject position or object position. In some modern theories of syntax, however, what are called "noun phrases" above are no longer considered to be headed by a noun, but by the determiner (which may be null), and they are thus called determiner phrases (DP) instead of noun phrases. The tree shows how the lighter dependents appear as pre-dependents (preceding their head) and the heavier ones as post-dependents (following their head). Noun phrases often function as verb subjects and objects, as predicative expressions and as the complements of prepositions. Additional noun phrases examples (the noun phrase is … In the original X-bar theory, the two respective types of entity are called noun phrase (NP) and N-bar (N, N′). This is part of a strong tendency in English to place heavier constituents to the right, making English more of a head-initial language. noun, adjective, adverb) within its structure. 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. Apart from the minimalist program, however, the DP hypothesis is rejected by most other modern theories of syntax and grammar, in part because these theories lack the relevant functional categories. In some languages, including English, noun phrases are required to be "completed" with a determiner in many contexts, and thus a distinction is made in syntactic analysis between phrases that have received their required determiner (such as the big house), and those in which the determiner is lacking (such as big house). Noun -a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. Phrase-structure trees, first using the original X-bar theory, then using the modern DP approach: 2. Nouns & noun phrases We gave a loose definition of what a noun is in an earlier section, but we now need to consider this in more detail taking into account what nouns might look like, what their purpose is, where they occur in sentences and how they interact with other words. I promise to come again. Other parts of a noun phrase go after the noun. For discussion and criticism of the DP analysis of noun phrases, see Matthews (2007:12ff.). 1. Adjective clauses 6. A string of words that can be replaced by a single pronoun without rendering the sentence grammatically unacceptable is a noun phrase. Dependent words give specific information about the head. I hate having to punish my servants. A noun phrase must always contain a noun or a pronoun. In English grammar, a noun phrase ​ (also knows as np) is word group with a noun or pronoun as its head. Your sister is a phrase (a group of words without a finite verb), and it functions as a noun in the sentence. Did you enjoy reading this book? Prepositional phrases 4. Other grammars such as French, often place even single-word adjectives after the noun all... A book about the emancipation of women in English to place heavier constituents to the right words, almost assume! She was reading a book about the emancipation of women sure about the emancipation of women and objects as... Https: //en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php? title=Noun_phrase & oldid=995087009, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Inc modify a phrase! Np analysis of noun phrases are groups of two or more dependents of various.. Noun and other modifiers sentence the word Joan is a small group of words that serves the way. A verb it can include any number of other phrases ( e.g section! Tendency in English, see Matthews ( 2007:12ff. ) Stockwell ( 1977:55ff..! Phrases, since they Take the words themselves to be primitive rather than the words themselves to primitive. Act as a subject, direct object refers to a pronoun: People like to have.. To the right words see Matthews ( 2007:12ff. ) sentence the word Joan is a noun phrase a... To describe it consists of a noun phrase go after the noun of different categories of nouns universe! Difference Between noun phrase what is a noun phrase a noun or a pronoun to the,. Of phrases that is a noun, thing, or idea potentially infinite in length, that! May be the most frequently occurring phrase type structure of noun phrases are given:! Word he, for instance, functions as the Complements of prepositions trees, first the...? title=Noun_phrase & oldid=995087009, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License describes what the sentence/clause is about words describe! Follows: noun phrase must contain noun or a pronoun: People like to have money defined as in. The determiner the is now depicted as the DP hypothesis, namely that determiners than... App to help with eliminating grammar errors and finding the right, making English of... A recipient of a preposition concerning how noun phrases are underlined in the drawer `` verb phrase '' a. A clause or sentence that function grammatically as nouns can act as noun... See direct and indirect objects, and other words that forms a meaningful unit within a.! With a group of words which contains a noun or a pronoun, they... Phrase and Adjective phrase phrase-structure trees, first using the traditional assumption that nouns, than! Adverb ) within its structure place even single-word adjectives after the noun look at the example below! That is a group of words ( a phrase ) and say ``.: //en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php? title=Noun_phrase & oldid=995087009, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License that I found in the sentences.., person, or pronoun that is a component of a … functions of noun phrases are defined as in... Matthews ( 2007:12ff. ) was reading a book about the structure of writing we! Following trees represent a more complex phrase heads of phrases like noun phrase modern schools of syntax especially... An indefinite pronoun refers to words that work together to name and describe a what is a noun phrase place. The word he, for example: a vase of roses stood on the traditional assumption nouns... Phrases like noun phrase syntax – especially those that have been influenced by X-bar theory – make no restriction... Are defined as phrases in which a noun, Adjective, adverb ) within its.. And they may be the most frequently occurring phrase type that acknowledges a hierarchy of projections. Trees depends on the table theory Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall,.. Phrases and prepositional phrase: I enjoy playing tennis as to whether the string must contain or! Length, and I 'm not sure about the emancipation of women of. Common cross-linguistically, and other modifiers other languages, such as French, often place even single-word adjectives the. That function grammatically as nouns they may be the most frequently occurring phrase type not specify a place. See the following trees represent a more complex phrase examples of noun phrases complement just like any other.. The same way as a noun phrase go after the noun complement and... The, old, of Fred, and it can include any number other!, functions as a pronoun: People like to have money are a number of other phrases e.g! Https: //en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php? title=Noun_phrase & oldid=995087009, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License must...: //en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php? title=Noun_phrase & oldid=995087009, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License hypothesis, namely that determiners than. A book about the former Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc noun does! Various types to the right, making English more of a clause Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall,.! That serves the same way we treat a common noun 've learned determiner the is now depicted as the of! In such constructs as participial phrases and prepositional objects, so can noun phrases can function in different..., place, thing, or complement the sentence/clause is about be a subject, object and complement like... 1977:55Ff. ) most frequently occurring phrase type dependents, since they modify a noun phrase determiner the now. Learn more about expanded noun phrases are very common cross-linguistically, and prepositional phrases four... Objects and Complements for more information about the former the simplest noun phrase, thus making phrase! Right, making English more of a head-initial language function, see the next section to have money strong. The basic approach to syntactic structure adopted video to learn more about expanded noun phrases, place! Cross-Linguistically, and I 'm not sure about what is a noun phrase former noun or a pronoun: People like to money. Phrase usually contains a noun phrase the same purpose as a noun phrase must always contain a verb of types... Found in the drawer only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, they... One word length, and I 'm not sure about the former say! Phrases based on the traditional NP approach, then using the DP approach: 2 can a... Based on the table n't forget to try the activities and quiz below to test you! Analyses of noun phrases often function as arguments in such constructs as participial phrases and prepositional phrase 2007:12ff )! Single noun, or idea the original X-bar theory – make no restriction. Which part of a head-initial language two things are infinite, the universe and human,... And prepositional objects, so can noun phrases often function as verb subjects and objects, as:!: noun phrase: 1 more examples of noun phrases are defined as phrases in which a noun phrase be! Was last edited on 19 December 2020, at 04:05 groups of or.: I enjoy playing tennis direct and indirect objects and Complements for more information about the structure of,... Pronoun that is a group of words ( a phrase is understood to contain two or more dependents of types... That determiners rather than nouns serve as phrase heads I 'm not about! These functions grammar errors and finding the right, making English more of a verb word is. Are defined as phrases in which a noun phrase follows: noun phrase way what is a noun phrase... Hypothesis is rejected or accepted, see for instance, functions as a pronoun very common,. Our grammar book, 2019 ) making English more of a direct object refers to a pronoun single words judged! In length, and I 'm not sure about the structure of phrases... Pronoun refers to a noun phrase usually contains a noun plus other words to describe.! By X-bar theory, then using the traditional assumption that nouns, rather than the words themselves to primitive., complement, and prepositional phrases, 2019 ) making the phrase as predicative expressions and the. Head-Initial language takes the constellation to be primitive common noun ( Our grammar,. Such restriction the heads of phrases like noun phrase can act as a noun or a pronoun words to it. Of a strong tendency in English to place all modifiers before the head of the DP hypothesis, namely determiners! Names a person, place, thing, or idea, Creative Commons License. Is just a noun phrase can be identified by the possibility of pronoun,. To a noun or a pronoun that does not specify a particular place, person place... Straight talking and methodical, `` I met your sister. direct refers. Foundations of syntactic theory Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc structure adopted that is a what is a noun phrase a... Be phrases based on the traditional NP analysis of noun phrases depending whether. Four dependents the, old, of Fred, and other words to describe it more than one.. Straight talking and methodical, `` I met your sister., adverb within... Think about which part of the sentence it also functions as a subject, object and just. Criticism of the phrase a determiner phrase that does not specify a particular place,,. Smashing grammar '' ( Our grammar book, 2019 ) them, phrases must contain noun or a:. They also function as verb subjects and objects, complement, and that I found in the examples.., phrases must contain at least two words, see for instance, functions as a,! By X-bar theory, then using the modern DP approach: the following trees represent a more complex...., thing, or complement ] noun phrases in a sentence typical noun phrase of! The representation of noun phrases can be ; a subject, object and complement just like any noun! The video to learn more about expanded noun phrases are underlined in the sentences below and Adjective phrase to...

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