4.1 Phrase types 1. pre-determiners, e.g.

all, both, half

There are five types of phrases:
1. noun phrase a peaceful result
(main word: noun result)
2. verb phrase must have been dreaming
(main word: verb dreaming)
3. adjective phrase very pleasant
(main word: adjective pleasant)
4. adverb phrase very carefully
(main word: adverb carefully)
5. prepositional phrase in the shade
(main word: preposition in)
THE NOUN PHRASE
4.2 The structure of the noun phrase
The main word in a noun phrase is a noun or a pronoun. There
are a number of
subclasses of nouns and pronouns.
The structure of the typical noun phrase may be represented
schematically in
the following way, where the parentheses indicate elements of
the structure that
may be absent:
(determiners) (pre-modifiers) noun (post-modifiers)
Determiners (words like the, a, those, some) introduce noun
phrases. Modifiers are
units that are dependent on the main word and can be
omitted. Modifiers that
come before the noun are pre-modifiers, and those that come
after the noun are
post-modifiers. Here are examples of possible structures of
noun phrases:
noun books
determiner + noun those books
pre-modifier + noun new books
determiner + pre-modifier + noun some long books
noun + post-modifier books on astronomy
determiner + noun + post-modifier some books on astronomy
pre-modifier + noun + post-modifier popular books on
astronomy
determiner + pre-modifier + noun +
post-modifier some popular books on astronomy
4.3 Determiners
There are three classes of determiners:
2. central determiners, e.g. a(n), the, those
3. post-determiners, e.g. other, two, first
Here are two examples with determiners from each class:
all these other works
both our two daughters
4.4 Modifiers
The noun phrase may have more than one pre-modifier or
post-modifier:
a long hot summer
acute, life-threatening diseases
a nasty gash on his chin which needed medical attention
The modifier may itself be modified:
a comfortably cool room
the investigation of crimes against children
4.5 Relative clauses
One very common type of post-modifier is the relative
clause:
He had a nasty gash which needed medical attention.
The relative clause is embedded in the noun phrase. As an
independent sentence it
might be:
[1] The gash needed medical attention.
We might think of the embedding as a process that takes
place in stages. The first
stage puts the sentence close to the noun it will be modifying:
[1a] He had a nasty gash. The gash needed medical attention.
You will notice that the two sentences share nouns (gash) that
refer to the same
thing. The next stage changes the noun phrase into a relative
pronoun here which:
[1b] He had a nasty gash which needed medical attention.
The relative pronoun which functions as subject in the relative
clause just as The
gash functions as subject in [1a].
Here is another example:
[2] The woman is an engineering student. The woman was
sitting next to you.
[2a] The woman (The woman was sitting next to you) is an
engineering student.
[2b] The woman who was sitting next to you is an engineering
student.
In both [1b] and [2b] the relative pronoun can be replaced by
relative that:
[1c] He had a nasty gash that needed medical attention.
[2c] The woman that was sitting next to you is an engineering
student.
For the choice of relative pronouns, see 5.24.
4.6 Appositive clauses
Another type of clause that is often embedded in a noun
phrase is the appositive
clause. It is introduced by the conjunction that:
the assumption that people act out of self-interest
the fact that she rejected his offer of marriage
the realization that miracles dont happen
the news that agreement has been reached
The conjunction that in appositive clauses differs from the
relative that (cf. 4.5)
because the conjunction does not have a function within its
clause. The appositive
clause can be a sentence without that:
[1] You must have heard the news that agreement has been
reached.
[1a] Agreement has been reached.
In contrast, the relative clause cannot be a sentence without
the relative that:
[2] He had a nasty gash that needed medical attention.
[2a] *Needed medical attention.
We can convert the noun phrase containing the appositive
clause into a sentence by inserting a form of the verb be
before the clause:
[3] the assumption that people act out of self-interest.
[3a] The assumption is that people act out of self-interest.
4.7 Apposition
Apposition is a relationship between two noun phrases which
have identical
reference:
Bono, the lead singer with U2, also took part.
As with the appositive clause, we can show that the lead
singer with U2 is in
apposition to Bono by converting the two phrases into a
sentence:
Bono is the lead singer with U2.
Here are some more examples of noun phrases in apposition:
our Political Correspondent, Eleanor Goodman
vitamin B12, a complex cobalt-containing molecule
the witness, a burly man with heavy stubble
the rattlesnake, a venomous animal capable of causing death
in human beings
Apposition is sometimes signalled by expressions such as
namely and that is to say:
You can read the story in the first book of the Bible, namely
Genesis.
A determiner may serve two or more nouns or modified
nouns:
his wife and two sons [his wife and his two sons]
some friends and close acquaintances [some friends and some
close
acquaintances]
the reactions of the students and teachers [the reactions of
the students
and the reactions of the teachers]
It is sometimes possible to interpret coordination of parts of
phrases in more
than one way:
frustrated and desperate men
(1) frustrated men and desperate men
old men and women
(1) old men and old women
their cats and other pets
(1) their cats and their other pets
4.9 Noun phrase complexity
Noun phrases can display considerable structural complexity.
It is easy to embed
in them appositional structures, clauses, and linked noun
phrases. Both the subject
and the direct object in [1] are complex noun phrases:
[1] Wordsworths several reactions to tourisms threat to
treasured precincts exhibit tendencies we can also observe in
many nineteenth- and twentieth-century records.
[ James Buzard, The Beaten Track, p. 30. Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1993]
Here are two other examples of complex noun phrases
functioning as subject of the sentences:
[2] A full-blown financial collapse of the kind last seen in the
1930s is not out of
the question.
[3] Iron resolve in the fight against internationalism terrorism of auxiliaries.
and determined auxiliary 1 auxiliary 2 auxiliary 3 auxiliary 4 main verb
leadership on the budget and the economy could make Mr It is very unusual for all four auxiliaries to appear in one verb
Bush the president phrase, but if two or
no one ever really thought he could be. more auxiliaries co-occur they must appear in the sequence
In [4] the complex noun phrase is subject complement and in indicated in the diagram,
[5] it is a direct e.g. 1+3, 1+2+4, 2+3. For the four subclasses, see 4.17
object: below.
[4] Taxonomy is a practical science used to distinguish, name,
and arrange plants 4.18 Finite and non-finite verb phrases
and other organisms in a logical way.
4.10 Functions of noun phrases Verb phrases are either finite or non-finite. A finite verb is a
The following is a brief list, with illustrations, of the possible verb that carries a
functions of noun contrast in tense between present and past, and may also be
phrases: marked for person and number. In a finite verb phrase the first
1. subject or only verb is finite, and the other verbs (if any) are non-
The people in the bus escaped through the emergency exit. finite. In a non-finite verb phrase all the verbs are non-finite.
2. direct object Play and played are finite verbs in these sentences:
They are testing some new equipment. [1] We play football every day.
3. indirect object [2] We played in a football match last week.
The bank gave David a loan. The following are the non-finite verb forms:
4. subject complement 1. the infinitive, often introduced by to: (to) phone
The performance was a test of their physical endurance. 2. the -ing participle: phoning
5. object complement 3. the -ed participle: phoned
Many of us consider her the best candidate.
6. complement of a preposition THE ADJECTIVE PHRASE
The box of chocolates is intended for your children. 4.21 The structure of the adjective phrase
7. pre-modifier of a noun or noun phrase The main word in an adjective phrase is an adjective. The
Milk production is down this year. structure of the typical
He suffers from back problems. adjective phrase may be represented in the following way,
The matter has been referred to the Academic Council where the parentheses
Executive Committee. indicate elements of the structure that may be absent:
8. adverbial (pre-modifiers) adjective (post-modifiers)
The term finishes next week. Modifiers qualify in some respect what is denoted by the
You will not succeed that way. adjective, and they are
For noun phrases as dependent or independent genitives, see optional. The pre-modifer comes before the adjective and the
5.8. post-modifier comes
THE VERB PHRASE after it.
4.11 The structure of the verb phrase
The typical structure of the verb phrase consists of a main THE ADVERB PHRASE
verb preceded optionally 4.23 The structure of the adverb phrase
by a maximum of four auxiliary verbs. The four belong to The main word in an adverb phrase is an adverb. The
different subclasses structure of the typical
adverb phrase is similar to that of the typical adjective phrase, Genitive Case
except for the class of the main word:
(pre-modifiers) adverb (post-modifiers) The genitive case is one of the 4 main cases in modern English. Whilst it
Here are some examples of possible structures of adverb has other uses (explained below), it is predominantly the form used to
phrases: indicate possession. For nouns, it is usually created by adding 's to the
adverb surprisingly word or by preceding it with "of".
pre-modifier + adverb very surprisingly Examples:
adverb + post-modifier surprisingly for her
pre-modifier + adverb + post-modifier very surprisingly Carl's haircut
indeed the edge of the table
There are several other ways of forming the genitive case:
THE PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE
4.25 The structure of the prepositional phrase Type Example Genitive Case
The prepositional phrase is a structure with two parts:
singular noun dog dog's dinner
preposition complement
The prepositional complement is typically a noun phrase, but plural nouns dogs dogs' dinner
it may also be a singular noun ending s Chris Chris' hat or Chris's hat
nominal relative clause (cf. 6.9) or an -ing clause (cf. 6.8).
Both the nominal relative plural nouns not ending
Men Men's room
clause and the -ing clause have a range of functions similar to s
that of a noun
phrase. Take out the hamster's wheel and open the back of the cage. [show me
the genitive case]

When the genitive case is used to show possession, it may also be

classified as the "possessive case".
Example:

Dan's bike (genitive case and possessive case)

However, the genitive case does not always indicate possession.

Examples:

children's songs (genitive case)

(In this example, the children do not own the songs. They are
songs for children.)
Constable's paintings (genitive case)
(Constable may not own the paintings. This denotes only that they are
paintings by Constable.)

Possessive adjectives and possessive personal pronouns are also

considered as being genitive forms.
 Adjectives referring
the
to classes of people
Examples:

our carpet (our - a genitive form of us) Relative Pronouns

Can I use yours? (yours - a genitive form of you)
relative
The combination of the preposition of and use example
pronoun
apossessive form--either a noun ending in -'s or
apossessive pronoun--is called a double
genitive (ordouble possessive). And while it may who subject or object pronoun for I told you about the
appear overly possessive, the construction has been people woman wholives next door.
around for centuries and it's perfectly correct.
The absence of a determiner and the use of A, An and The which subject or object pronoun for Do you see the cat which is
before countable nouns animals and things lying on the roof?

Singular Plural
Use Countable Countable which referring to a whole sentence He couldnt
read which surprised me.
Nouns Nouns
A weakened form
a/an
of One whose possession for people animals Do you know the
Naming a profession a/an no determiner and things boy whosemother is a
nurse?
Making a general
a/an no determiner
statement
Something not whom object pronoun for people, I was invited by the
a/an no determiner especially in non-defining professorwhom I met at the
mentioned before
relative clauses (in defining conference.
Something referred relative clauses we colloquially
the
to as a class prefer who)
Something
the the
mentioned before
that subject or object pronoun for I dont like the
When it is obvious people, animals and things in table that stands in the
the the
what is meant defining relative clauses kitchen.
(who orwhich are also
Nationalities ending
the possible)
in ch, se, sh
Nouns as appositives

An appositive is very like a predicate nominative, except that it

doesn't have a verb linking it with the subject. The
sentence: James is a child has a subject and predicate
nominative form, whereas in the sentence: 'James, a child of
ten years old, was bullied in school' the phrase 'a child of ten
years old' is still part of the subject. Not everyone makes the
distinction between subjects and appositives, so it's not a
particularly important word to remember.

Attributive and Predicative Adjectives

Most adjectives can occur both before and after a noun:

the blue sea ~ the sea is blue

the old man ~ the man is old
happy childre ~ the children
n are happy

Adjectives in the first position - before the noun - are called

ATTRIBUTIVE adjectives. Those in the second position - after the
noun - are called PREDICATIVE adjectives. Notice that predicative
adjectives do not occur immediately after the noun. Instead, they
follow a verb. Most adjectives can freely occur in both the
attributive and the predicative positions. However, a small number
of adjectives are restricted to one position only. For example, the
adjective main (themain reason) can only occur in the attributive
position (predicative: *the reason is main). Conversely, the
adjective afraid (the child wasafraid) can only occur predicatively
(attributive: *an afraid child).