Noun phrase: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
AdamRaizen (talk | contribs) it doesn't act as a noun, and getting rid of two inaccurate examples |
noun phrase as a grammatical unit |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
In [[linguistics]], a '''noun phrase''' is a phrase whose [[head]] is a [[noun]]. |
In [[linguistics]], a '''noun phrase''' is a phrase whose [[head]] is a [[noun]]. |
||
For example, in the sentence ''Most young people in England have been to school'', ''most young people in England'' is a noun phrase. |
For example, in the sentence ''Most young people in England have been to school'', ''most young people in England'' is a noun phrase. A noun phrase ''can'' be a single word: in ''See Jane run'', ''Jane'' could be described as a noun phrase. |
||
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 Queen of England's knickers'', the possessive [[clitic]] ''<nowiki>'s</nowiki>'' is not added to the ''Queen'' who actually wears the knickers, but instead to ''England'', to which the knickers only remotely belong. The clitic modifies the entire phrase ''Queen of England''. |
|||
A noun phrase ''can'' be a single word: in ''See Jane run'', ''Jane'' could be described as a noun phrase. |
|||
Revision as of 18:52, 8 September 2003
In linguistics, a noun phrase is a phrase whose head is a noun.
For example, in the sentence Most young people in England have been to school, most young people in England is a noun phrase. A noun phrase can be a single word: in See Jane run, Jane could be described as a noun phrase.
In 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 Queen of England's knickers, the possessive clitic 's is not added to the Queen who actually wears the knickers, but instead to England, to which the knickers only remotely belong. The clitic modifies the entire phrase Queen of England.