Noun Phrase - Grammar 101 Holic

 

 Noun Phrase

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DEFINITION OF NOUN PHRASE

Noun phrases are groups of two or more words within a sentence that function grammatically as nouns. They consist of a noun and other words that modify the noun. Noun phrases allow groups of words to function as a noun in the sentence. 

Noun phrases are used when the noun is not specific enough to describe the object in a sentence. In other words, a noun phrase is used with the aim of describing an object more specifically.

OBSERVING

Look at the pictures below.

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After observing at the pictures above, do you know what noun phrases are?

GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE OF NOUN PHRASE

The pattern of the Noun Phrase is Modifier + Head (M + H). Modifiers can be articles (a, an, the), adjectives, and nouns. In a noun phrase, the modifiers can come before or after the noun.

What is modifier?

A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that is used to describe a noun.

For example:

There are two kinds of modifiers, pre-modifiers and post-modifiers.

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⏩ Pre-modifiers

Pre-modifiers are elements that form a noun phrase that are placed before a noun. Conventionally the adjectives are usually placed before the nouns. So, most of the adjectives are pre-modifiers. Adverbs are often placed before the words they modify. premodifiers can be divided into:

a. Determiners (determiners): a, an, the, this, that, those, these, my, your, our, and so on.

b. Quantifiers (number): all, some, few, many, much, a lot of, most, both, and others.

c. Numbers (numbers): one, two, three, four, five, and so on.

d. Adjectives (adjectives): large, small, beautiful, handsome, new, old, young, rich, exciting, serious, and so on.

In writing, premodifiers are used in the following order:

Determiners and quantifiers - Numbers - Adjectives + Noun

Example:

- Two beautiful dresses

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Explanation:

Two beautiful dresses is a noun phrase with the arrangement of number - adjective + noun. Two is a number, beautiful is an adjective, and dresses is a noun.

- A cute cat

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Explanation:

A cute cat is a noun phrase with determiner arrangement - adjective + noun. A is a determiner, cute is an adjective, and cat is a noun.

⏩ Post-modifiers

Post-modifiers are other parts of a noun phrase go after the noun. These are called post-modifiers.

A green hat hung on the wall.

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a = determiner, hat = head, hung = past participle, on the wall = prepositional phrase

Post-modifiers can be:

1. prepositional phrases:

• a man with a gun
• the boy in the blue shirt
• the house on the corner

2. –ing phrases :

• the man standing over there
• the boy talking to Angela

3. relative clauses :

• the man we met yesterday
• the house that Jack built
• the woman who discovered radium
• an eight-year-old boy who attempted to rob a sweet shop

4. that clauses. 

These are very common after nouns like idea, fact, belief, suggestion:

• He's still very fit, in spite of the fact that he's over eighty.
• She got the idea that people didn't like her.
• There was a suggestion that the children should be sent home.

 5. to infinitives :

• I've got no decent shoes to wear.

THE FUNCTION OF NOUN PHRASE

Like any noun, a noun phrase can function as a subject, an object, or a complement within a sentence. In each example below, the noun phrase is in bold and the head noun is highlighted.

⏩ Singing in the bath relaxes me.
(Here, the noun phrase is the subject of the verb "relaxes.")

⏩ I know the back streets.
(Here, the noun phrase is the direct object of the verb "know.")
⏩ She was the devil in disguise.
(Here, the noun phrase is a subject complement following the linking verb "was.")

The ability to replace the noun phrases with a pronoun proves that the bold texts are noun, making them noun phrases. We can test this because we know that a noun can be replaced by a pronoun (e.g., he, she, it, them). Looking at the examples above, we can replace each noun phrase with a pronoun.

• It relaxes me.
• I know them.
• She was him.

EXAMPLES OF NOUN PHRASE

In real life, it is far more common for nouns to feature in noun phrases, namely, to be accompanied by modifiers. Here is a list of noun phrases. In this list, every noun phrase consists of a head noun (highlighted) and at least one modifier.

• People: the soldier, my cousin, dopey Alan, the lawyer with the big nose

• Animals: that  aardvark, one rat, a shark, funny Mickey

• Places: the house in the corner, inner London, dirty factory, no shelter

• Things: this table, our London Bridge, the sharp chisel, that nitrogen, last month, an inch, her cooking

• Ideas: utter confusion, some kindness, your faith, the Theory of Relativity, a joy

Here are some real-life examples of noun phrases as subjects, objects, and complements:

• This man has  a nice smile, but he's got iron teeth. (Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko on Mikhail Gorbachev)

("This man" is the subject of the verb "has." The phrase "a nice smile" is the direct object of "has." The noun phrase "iron teeth" is the direct object of the verb "got." Here's the "pronoun test": He has one, but he's got them.)

• I never learned from a man who agreed with me. (Science-fiction writer Robert Heinlein)

(The noun phrase "a man who agreed with me" is the object of the preposition "from." Here's the "pronoun test": I never learned from him.)

• Every man of courage is a man of his word. (French dramatist Pierre Corneille)

("Every man of courage" is the subject of the verb "is." The noun phrase "a man of his word" is a subject complement following the linking verb "is." Here's the "pronoun test": He is one.)

Noun phrases are extremely common. Remember that a noun with any sort of modifier (including just a number or an article) is a noun phrase. Here are some more examples of noun phrases:

• The best defense against the atom bomb is not to be there when it goes off. (Anon)

(In this example, there is a noun phrase within a noun phrase. The noun phrase "the atom bomb" is the object of the preposition "against." The prepositional phrase "against the atom bomb" modifies "defense.")

• I don't have a bank account, because I don't know my mother's maiden name. (Paula Poundstone)

(In this example, both noun phrases are direct objects.)

• The best car safety device is a rear-view mirror with a cop in it . (Dudley Moore, 1935-2002)

(In this example, the first noun phrase is the subject, and the second is a subject complement.)

• Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. (Albert Einstein, 1879-1955)

You can watch the following video which also explains the function, structure, and examples of noun phrases.

Besides that, you can watch the following recommended videos to increase your knowledge about noun phrases.

Cara mudah memahami Noun Phrase. Materi Bahasa Inggris kelas 12 SMA by LINA HASNA

Noun Phrases | English Grammar by Iken Edu

Noun Phrases | What is Noun Phrase? | How to use Noun Phrase? by English Rankers

NOUN PHRASE by VK's Project

References:

teachingenglish.org.uk
learnenglish.britishcouncil.org
thefreedictionary.com
grammar-monster.com
studioliterasi.com
learngrammar.net