Noun Phrases
A noun phrase (NP) can consist of one word (for example, the pronoun we or the plural noun cats), or it can consist of a noun with a number of dependents. The dependents occur before or after the noun head depending on their function. For example, the new boat that I bought yesterday is a noun phrase containing the determiner the, the adjective new, the head noun boat, and the relative clause that I bought yesterday.
Noun phrases often function as complements to the verb; for example, in the clause Many people run the marathon every year, the NPs many people and the marathon function as the subject and object respectively. The NP every year is an adjunct, which is an optional element in the grammatical structure of this clause.
a. Noun Phrase heads
All noun phrases (NPs) have a noun or pronoun as the head. The noun is the anchor of the phrase and the phrase will not be grammatical without it. For example, the NP a really lovely dress from my favourite shop is ungrammatical if the word dress is omitted: * a really lovely from my favourite shop.
Pronouns can stand in place of an NP. An easy way to see how pronouns can substitute for larger constituents is to try substitution. We can substitute it for the NP that house on Plenty Road in the clause I have to paint that house on Plenty Road so that we have I have to paint it.
b. Noun Phrase dependents
The Noun Phrase can also have different types of dependents, such as determiners (for example, those, the), adjectives (for example, beautiful, green), nominal modifiers (nouns which modify other nouns, for example, bluestone house), prepositional phrases (for example, in Eltham) and relative clauses (for example, which the magazine featured). The dependents modify the noun by adding information. The structure of the noun phrase the beautiful garden in Eltham which the magazine featured is given below:
A dependent in the Noun Phrase can also be categorised according to its position in the NP:
- Determiners, nominal modifiers and adjectives occur before the Noun Phrase head. (Determiners can have modifiers as well, for example, at least twelve eggs.)
- There is often restriction on the order of other pre-head constituents. For example, determiners always occur before adjectives: the long red satin ribbon, not *satin the red long ribbon.
- Some adjectives (often with their own complements) can occur as post-head modifiers, for example, someone skilled, or people taller than 180cm.
- Post-head modifiers in an Noun Phrase include prepositional phrases (for example, boats on the water), modifying NPs (for example, my sister Bertha, or children her age), relative clauses (for example, a friend [who/whom] I've known for fourteen years) and non-finite clauses (for example, swans floating on the lake).
c. Function of Noun Phrase
Noun phrases often function as complements to the verb. This means that they fulfil specific grammatical functions required by the verb. The examples below show NPs functioning as subjects and objects in different clauses.
· subject NPs typically appear before the verb, and control the verb's inflectional agreement (for example, Fenella sings well).
· object NPs typically follow the verb and are affected by the situation described by the verb (for example, Atticus taught Felix).
We can see that a large NP such as in the diagram above behaves as a unit (constituent) in clause structure because we can use it as a subject or object in a sentence in a similar way to a NP with only one element, the head noun or pronoun:
(The beautiful garden in Eltham which the magazine featured]SUBJECT is closed on Mondays.
[Parliament]SUBJECT is closed on Mondays. [It]SUBJECT is closed on Mondays.
We all loved [the beautiful garden in Eltham which the magazine featured]OBJECT.
We all loved [dinner]OBJECT.
We all loved [it]OBJECT.
Other functions in the clause that an NP can fulfil include the role of complements and adjuncts.
There are a number of types of constituents that take NP complements. At clause level, an NP can function as a subject complement (for example, Georgia is an architect) or an object complement (for example, We voted Kerry class representative). NPs also funciton as complements in prepositional phrases (for example, under the bed).
Noun phrases can also function as adjuncts within a clause. Adjuncts are not essential to a clause but provide additional information (for example, We meet for lunch most Fridays).
Countable and uncountable nouns
Countable and uncountable nouns
You will learn about countable and uncountable nouns. but before you continue the lesson, look at the following chart and study the nouns.
Countable
|
Uncountable
|
books
|
money
|
friends
|
meat
|
teachers
|
juice
|
tables
|
milk
|
a. Countable nouns (count nouns):
Countable nouns have a singular and a plural form. In plural, these nouns can be used with a number- they can be counted. (That's why they are called "countable nouns").
Example:
1 friend, 2 friends, 3 friends...
1 book, 2 books, 3 books...
Countable nouns take many.
Example:
100 friends – many friends
100 friends – many friends
b. Uncountable nouns (uncount / non-count nouns):
Uncountable nouns can only be used in singular. These nouns cannot be used with a number- they can't be counted. (That's why they are called "uncountable nouns").
Examples:
I have a lot of money. (Not 1000 money)
You say I drink a lot of milk. (Not 5 milk)
Uncountable nouns take much.
Example:
Note: Of course you can count money, milk, meat; but then you would use the currency, liter, kilo, glass,...and say that you have got:
- 5 euros or dollars... (but not
5money). - 2 liters, pints, glasses... of milk (but not
2milk) - 3 kilos... of meat (but not 3 meat)
- 10 bottles of mineral water... (but not
10mineral water)
Indefinite articles - a and an (determiners)
A and an are the indefinite articles. They refer to something not specifically known to the person you are communicating with.
A and an are used before nouns that introduce something or someone you have not mentioned before:-
| For example: |
"I saw an elephant this morning."
"I ate a banana for lunch." |
A and an are also used when talking about your profession:-
| For example: |
"I am an English teacher."
"I am a builder." |
Note!
| You use a when the noun you are referring to begins with a consonant (b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y or z), for example, "a city", "a factory", and "a hotel". You use an when the noun you are referring to begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) Pronunciation changes this rule. It's the sound that matters, not the spelling. |
Definite Article - the (determiners)
There are two ways to pronounce "the". One "thuh" and the other "thee". To learn when we use them see the pronunciation files: How to pronounce "the".
You use the when you know that the listener knows or can work out what particular person/thing you are talking about.
For example:
|
"The apple you ate was rotten."
"Did you lock the car?" |
You should also use the when you have already mentioned the thing you are talking about.
For example:
|
"She's got two children; a girl and a boy. The girl's eight and the boy's fourteen."
|
We use the to talk about geographical points on the globe.
For example:
|
the North Pole, the equator
|
We use the to talk about rivers, oceans and seas
For example:
|
the Nile, the Pacific, the English channel
|
We also use the before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a particular thing.
For example:
|
the rain, the sun, the wind, the world, the earth, the White House etc..
|
However if you want to describe a particular instance of these you should use a/an.
For example:
|
"I could hear the wind." / "There's a cold wind blowing."
"What are your plans for the future?" / "She has a promising future ahead of her."
|
The is also used to say that a particular person or thing being mentioned is the best, most famous, etc. In this use, 'the' is usually given strong pronunciation:
For example:
|
"Harry's Bar is the place to go."
"You don't mean you met the Tony Blair, do you?"
|
- http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/articlestext.htm
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