Noun Phrases: Difference between revisions

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== The Noun Phrase (NP) ==
== The Noun Phrase (NP) ==


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An NP can occur
An NP can occur


*As the subject, i.e. at the beginning of a sentence before a verb as in: __ worked.
*As the subject, i.e. at the beginning of a sentence before a verb as in: <span style="color: blue>[<sub>NP</sub>The student] is working hard.</span>
*As the direct object, i.e. after a transitive verb as in: Chris met/experienced __ yesterday.
*As the direct object, i.e. after a transitive verb as in: <span style="color: blue>Chris met [<sub>NP</sub>the student] yesterday.</span>
*Following a preposition, as in: Pat talked about __ .
*Following a preposition, as in: <span style="color: blue>Pat talked about [<sub>NP</sub>the student] again .</span>
*In front of the possessive 's, i.e. in: __'s car broke.
*In front of the possessive 's, i.e. in: <span style="color: blue> [<sub>NP</sub>the student] 's car broke.</span>
 
An NP can be substituted by a personal pronoun (<span style="color: blue>I, she, him, it, ...</span>)
 
=== The internal structure of a noun phrase ===
 
* An NP must contain a noun
* An NP can contain:
** exactly one determiner at the beginning of the NP
** an arbitrary number of adjectives before the N
** an arbitrary number of preposition phrases (PP) after the N
** one or more sentences at the end of the NP.
 
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  [[Phrases| &larr; Phrases]]  &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  [[Verb_Phrases|Verb Phrases &rarr;]]
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An NP can be substituted by a personal pronoun (I, she, him, it, ...)
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The internal structure of a noun phrase
An NP must contain a noun
An NP can contain:
exactly one determiner at the beginning of the NP
an arbitrary number of adjectives before the N
an arbitrary number of preposition phrases (PP) after the N
one or more sentences at the end of the NP
This is summarized in the following phrase structure rule: NP -> (Det) A* N PP* S*
Example 1: A complex NP
          ______NP___________
        /  /  |            \
      /  /    |        _____S______
    /  /      |        /            \
  Det  A      N      /                \
    |    |      |    /____________________\
  the famous actor who played in ''High Noon''.
Example 2: An NP consisting exclusively of a proper name
                NP
                |
                N
                |
              Pat

Latest revision as of 09:37, 26 April 2017


The Noun Phrase (NP)

The distribution of the noun phrase

An NP can occur

  • As the subject, i.e. at the beginning of a sentence before a verb as in: [NPThe student] is working hard.
  • As the direct object, i.e. after a transitive verb as in: Chris met [NPthe student] yesterday.
  • Following a preposition, as in: Pat talked about [NPthe student] again .
  • In front of the possessive 's, i.e. in: [NPthe student] 's car broke.

An NP can be substituted by a personal pronoun (I, she, him, it, ...)

The internal structure of a noun phrase

  • An NP must contain a noun
  • An NP can contain:
    • exactly one determiner at the beginning of the NP
    • an arbitrary number of adjectives before the N
    • an arbitrary number of preposition phrases (PP) after the N
    • one or more sentences at the end of the NP.