Noun Phrase, Apuntes de Idioma Inglés

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The Noun Phrase

The noun PhraseThe noun Phrase

Determiners There is a characteristic function in the internal structure of the noun phrase which makes it different from the adjective phrase and the adverb phrase, this is the determiner function. The determiner is invariably the first element that appears in the noun phrase. eg. That thick book over there The man I told you about My sister Mary Every time you come Any person who wants to Another year A well educated man

1-Central determiners1-Central determiners The most common and typical are the definite and indefinite articles, the and a / an. Other central determiners are: this , that , every , each , no and some. We may summarize the main characteristics of central determiners as:

Characteristics of centralCharacteristics of central determiners determiners  (^) It cannot be realized more than once. eg. * Every the book

• His a car  (^) A syntactic characteristic of this function is that it can only be realized by members of a closed class.  (^) Semantically, we can say that the determiner determines the reference of the noun phrase , that is, it specifies whether it’s definite or indefinite and if one or more referents are intended.

3-Postdeterminers3-Postdeterminers

 (^) They follow predeterminers or central determiners, if these are present.  (^) They precede any adjectives and other premodifying items. a- Cardinal numbers. eg. My two sisters b- Ordinal numbers. eg. The first two days c- Closed – class quantifiers. eg. Few people d- Open – class quantifiers. eg. A large number of people

Types of determinerTypes of determiner

FUNCTION Predetermine r Central determiner Postdetermin er REALIZATION All Both Double Half Twice Many (a) Such (a) Definite article Indefinite article Demonstrative Pronouns Possessive Pronouns Specifying genitive Another Any Each Either Enough Every Much Neither No Some What Which Whose Cardinal numbers Ordinal numbers Next, last Few, fewer, fewest Little, less least Many, more, most Other Own Same Such

Differences between modifiersDifferences between modifiers and determiners and determiners 1-Modifiers can appear both before and after the head. If it appears before, it is called premodifier , if after, postmodifier. eg. The pretty girl I told you about A nicely dressed woman A man whom I know 2- It can appear more than once in the noun phrase (examples above). 3- In a noun phrase the presence of a modifier is not essential for its internal structure, whereas the determiner is.

Descriptive andDescriptive and classsifying classsifying

Semantically, we can divide modifiers into

two main types: descriptive and

classifying , the former describes the

referent of the noun phrase in terms of a

particular quality of the referent, whereas the

latter creates a subclass of the class denoted

by the head of the noun phrase.

eg. His pretty wife (descriptive)

That tall boy (descriptive)

A polar bear (classifying)

A criminal court (classifying)

Realizations of theRealizations of the

premodifier premodifier

In the structure of the noun phrase the function premodifier may be realized by: 1-Adjective phrase 2-Noun phrase 3-Classifying genitive 4-Adverb phrase

1-Adjective phrase1-Adjective phrase

The premodifier can consist of one- word adjective phrases: eg. All women All beautiful women Both my friends Both my best friends Our next attempt Our next good attempt Half this cheese… Half this French cheese Any other solution Any other acceptable solution

Number of premodifyingNumber of premodifying

adjectives adjectives

There is no limit on the number of adjectives that can appear before the head; but it is important to know that the order in which they appear is not always free, normally the order of these adjectives is determined by the semantic class to which they belong.

Order of premodifyingOrder of premodifying adjectives adjectives In the following list we can see the positional behaviour of adjectives depending on their semantic class: 1-Adjectives denoting material : silk, woollen, wooden, etc. 2- “ “ origin : English, Dutch, German, etc. 3- “ “ colou r: red, yellow, blue, etc. 4- “ “ shape : round, square, rectangular, etc. 5- “ “ age : old, young, middle aged, etc. 6- “ “ size : large, huge, small, big, etc. 7- “ “ properties other than those mentioned under 1-6 (opinion) : expensive, gay, fine brave, silent, angry, obscure, dirty, etc.

-ed and -ing participles as-ed and -ing participles as

premodifiers premodifiers

There are other elements that can also act as

adjectives and have the function of premodifiers in

the noun phrase, these are the – ed and –ing

participles.

eg. A sweeping statement

An interesting proposition

A fascinating novel

A mixed company

A respected businessman

 Isolated villages

2- Noun phrase2- Noun phrase The head of a noun phrase can also be premodified by another noun phrase which often consists of a head only. Many of these combinations are fixed and it is often very difficult to distinguish them from compound nouns. eg. sign language weather chart garden city church bazaar London Policemen