Functions of a noun how nouns function in a sentence. 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. A subject is a word, phrase, or clause that performs the action of or acts upon the verb. For example, the following italicized noun phrases function. Noun phrases populate diverse sentence structures that students must know for further development of grammar and writing skills. A common noun is usually a countable noun but a material noun is an uncountable noun. Functions of a noun provides the eight different noun functions so that you can understand how nouns function in a sentence. A phrase is a group of words that act as a part of speech but cannot stand alone as. In sentence 1, the word something is a noun and is the object of the verb want. This article identifies the ten functions and describes noun phrases as. These lecture notes present the basic principles of phrase structure that apply in english. Gerunds can work alone, or they can be banded together with other words to formulate a gerund phrase. To avoid another lecture from michelle on the benefits of vegetarianism functions as a noun because it is the subject of the sentence.
To avoid another lecture from michelle on the benefits of vegetarianism was aarons hope for their date at a nice restaurant. This is to ensure that you do not end up mistakenly stating the grammatical function reserved for an adverbial phrase, for example, as the function of a noun phrase. T he pr eposi ti onal p hr as e recognize a prepositional phrase when you see one. A noun or a pronoun can be descriptive of another noun or a pronoun. There are several grammatical functions of a noun phrase. The function of phrases hypergrammar2 termium plus. The group of words to go home is therefore a noun phrase.
The opposite of an endocentric phrase is an exocentric phrase. If the head is removed from the phrase, then so is the meaning. Syntactic variation in english quantified noun phrases with all, whole. A noun phrase modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that describes a noun or noun phrase. Download free pdf english books from common useful english phrases at easypacelearning. Like a regular gerund, a gerund phrase always functions as a noun, and can act as a subject, direct object, indirect object, object of a preposition, or predicate nominative in a sentence. Simply download the grammar ebook understanding the parts of speech. A subject is a word, phrase or clause which performs the action or acts upon the verb. This chapter focuses on the syntactic structure of the noun phrase in chinese. What is the syntactic function of the noun phrases above in their respective clauses see text. What is the syntactic function of the noun phrases above. Referent argument external thematic role of nounsadjectives.
The following article defines the ten grammatical functions that nouns and noun phrases perform in the english language. Some noun which are used for expressing length and measurements should always be used in singular form and do not use of after such nouns. I have argued that same performs the role of postdeterminer supplementing the identifiability of the noun phrase referent, which is expressed by the or the. Definitions, functions, as well as descriptions on noun phrases have much been presented by linguists throughout the world, but few, if any, have touched on. A noun phrase functions as the subject of a clausesentence. Presentday english noun phrase types including the quantifiers all, whole, both and half.
It discusses the different forms the nominal phrase can take and their interpretational properties, and investigates. Object of preposition is the last word in a prepositional phrase. What do nouns and noun phrases do in english grammar. Phrases may function as verbs, nouns, adverbs or adjectives verb phrases. A verb phrase vp is a verb or any group of words that can substitute for a verb. In this sentence, the phrase the tall tree functions as the subject of the verb tell and is, therefore, a noun phrase. 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. English books for download pdf common useful english phrases. Noun phrases consist of a noun or pronoun and any modifiers, complements, and determiners. A noun phrase does not usually make sense on its own and it is not a sentence. John is the noun phrase functioning as the subject of the verb. Astudy of the noun phrase in spoken and written english.
A single word may be a phrase when it is the head of that phrase. In the noun phrase acts as the nominative subject of the clause, in as the accusative direct object, in as the dative indirect object, and in, finally, as the complement of a preposition. About this grammar the professional of language the informed reader about glosses naming morphemes about grammars apologies 2. My dog floyd, who eats too much pizza, has developed pepperoni breath. The following italicized adjectives are examples of noun phrase modifiers. They can also serve as predicative complements, providing more. Building trees phrase structure a phrase is a syntactic unit headed by a lexical category such as noun, adjective.
A relation where one thing is dependent on another for its existence, value, or significance. 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. Quarters is a noun whose meaning is place of residence. The nounphrase the expresident of india has been used in apposition with mr. A particularly important type of verb phrase is the main verb phrase mvp, which is the main verb of the. The group of words in bold in each of the examples below is the noun phrase functioning as the subject of the sentence.
We start by presenting in some detail the most complex phrase type in english, the noun phrase. The function of noun phrases like any noun, a noun phrase can function as a subject, an object, or a complement within a sentence. Noun clauses any clause that functions as a noun becomes a noun clause. Noun phrases can serve as subjects or objects within a clause. 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. English grammar students must learn and understand the ten functions to use nouns and noun phrases properly. This article is about noun function 10 noun absolutes enjoy your reading. Here, the noun phrase is the subject of the verb relaxes. That means that the noun can be in apposition with another noun.
At the minimum, a prepositional phrase will begin with a preposition and end with a noun, pronoun, gerund, or clause, the object of the preposition. Adjectives and adjective phrases secondly function as noun phrase modifiers. A noun phrase is a group of words that functions in a sentences as a subject. The predicate of a clause or sentence is always a verb phrase corinne is trying to decide whether she wants to go to medical school.
Infinitive phrases can function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Cow is a common noun countable, but milk is a material noun uncountable. The second main function of an adjective phrase is to be a. The head of a phrase is the phrases central element. Definition a noun phrase is a group of words that does the work of a noun. Do your students know a direct object or object complement from a predicate nominative. Noun phrase a word or group of words that functions in a sentence as subject, object, or prepositional object. A noun phrase sometimes called a noun groupnormally has a noun or pronoun as its most important word or headword to identify what kind of entity is being referred to. Some noun gives different meaning when s or es is used with them. The study is based on samplers of the christine corpus and the susanne corpus in tigersearch software. In addition, nouns can be identified by the presence of signal words such as the word order can also provide clues about nouns. What do adjectives and adjective phrases do in english.
Astudy of the noun phrase in spoken and written english 1 introduction. Grammatical functions of english nouns and noun phrases. The sentence could simply have said jamie kicked the ball. If the head of the noun phrase is one of the following pronouns, the adjective phrase occurs after the pronoun. A noun phrase np is a noun or any group of words that can substitute for a noun.
This certainly helps one to recognize a noun phrase by means of its role in the. Our noun phrases worksheets are free to download and easy to access in pdf. Traditional grammarians define a noun as a person, place, thing, or idea. A noun phrase has a noun or pronoun as its headword and can be premodified by an articledeterminer and an adjective. I would like to acknowledge timothy shopen, stuart robinson and matthew dryer for providing helpful comments on several versions of this paper. The semantic function of noun phrases was analyzed based on the excerpts generated by the concordance tool. A verb phrase consists of a verb, its direct andor indirect objects, and any adverbs, adverb phrases or adverb clauses that modify it. The adjective phrase adjp and adverb phrase advp 2 3. As he suggests, a noun phrase may have different functions in a sentence, the typical being the subject and object. The rest of the phrase, apart from the head, is optional and can be removed without losing the basic meaning. Having done that, we demonstrate that all the other main phrase types, the ap. A4 the interpretation of a noun phrase at lf is done in its highest specifier position. Clauses and clause elements most of the links in this handout go to the glossary of grammatical terms where you will find more explanationsexamples than can be given in the handout.
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