Noun phrase: Difference between revisions
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{{Wiktionarypar|noun phrase}} |
{{Wiktionarypar|noun phrase}} |
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In [[grammar|grammatical theory]], a '''noun phrase''' (abbreviated '''NP''') is a [[phrase]] whose [[Head (linguistics)|head]] is a [[noun]] or a [[pronoun]], optionally accompanied by a set of |
In [[grammar|grammatical theory]], a '''noun phrase''' (abbreviated '''NP''') is a [[phrase]] whose [[Head (linguistics)|head]] is a [[noun]] or a [[pronoun]], optionally accompanied by a set of Read a book |
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<ref> |
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"Noun Phrases - Glossary Definition - UsingEnglish.com" (with examples), |
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UsingEnglish.com, 21 August 2006, ''UsingEnglish.com/glossary'' webpage: |
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[http://www.usingenglish.com/glossary/noun-phrase.html UEng-noun-phrase]. |
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</ref> |
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The modifiers may be: |
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*[[determiner]]s: [[Article (grammar)|articles]] (''the'', ''a''), [[demonstratives]] (''this'', ''that''), [[numerals]] (''two'', ''five'', etc.), [[possessive adjective|possessives]] (''my'', ''their'', etc.), and [[quantifiers]] (''some'', ''many'', etc.); in English, determiners are usually placed before the noun; |
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*[[adjective]]s (''the '''red''' ball''); or |
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*[[Complement (linguistics)|complements]], in the form of an [[adpositional phrase]] (such as: ''the man '''with a black hat'''''), or a [[relative clause]] (''the books '''that I bought yesterday'''''). |
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In [[English language|English]], for some purposes, noun phrases can be treated as single grammatical units. This is most noticeable in the [[syntax]] of the English [[genitive case]]. In a phrase such as ''The king of Sparta's wife'', the possessive [[clitic]] "<nowiki>-'s</nowiki>" is not added to the ''king'' who actually has the wife, but instead to ''Sparta'', as the end of the whole phrase. The clitic modifies the entire phrase ''the king of Sparta''. |
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== Grammatical Function == |
== Grammatical Function == |
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Revision as of 01:37, 22 March 2007
Look up noun phrase in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
In grammatical theory, a noun phrase (abbreviated NP) is a phrase whose head is a noun or a pronoun, optionally accompanied by a set of Read a book
Grammatical Function
A noun phrase can play the role of a verb argument (such as the subject, the object) or the role of the predicate. A prototypical case is the case when the noun phrase cooccurs with the copula and another noun phrase. The possibility for a noun phrase to play the role of subject and predicate leads to the constructions of syllogisms.
References
- Giorgi, A. - Longobardi, G. (1991) The syntax of noun phrases, Cambridge University Press, England.
- Moro, A. (1997) The raising of predicates. Predicative noun phrases and the theory of clause structure, Cambridge University Press, England.