Chapter 5 Lesson 1 Syntax

1 |CHAPTER 5 LESSON 1 NOVEMBER 15_17_2022
CHAPTER 5
NOUN PHRASES
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
LESSON 1: 1. Describe how phrasal categories fit into the
STRUCTURE OF NOUN
structure of sentences
PHRASES (NP) AND
2. Analyze the internal structure of NP
MODIFICATION
3. Diagram NPs
CONTENT: Noun Phrases and Modification

The internal structure of other phrasal categories, Noun Phrases may consist of just a pronoun or just
a name – single words that count as full NPs in themselves
Determiners. These are a fixed set of ‘grammatical’ words that give information relating to definiteness
and indefiniteness (roughly, whether the thing referred to by the NP is familiar to both speaker and hearer
or not) and information about quantity and proportion.
The basic determiners are the articles (ART): the definite article – the and the indefinite
article – a(n). The articles are ‘basic’ in the sense that they provide a touchstone as to what counts
as a determiner. Any expression that occupies the same position in NP structure as an article
counts as a determiner. How can you tell whether an expression is occupying the same (determiner)
position as an article? Well, if a word can appear in sequence with an article – put another way, if a word
can co-occur with an article – in an NP, then that word must be analysed as occupying a different position;
it cannot be the determiner. There is a small set of words which perform the same function as the
articles:
Demonstratives (DEM): this, that, these, those
Certain quantifiers (Q): some, any, no, each, every, either, neither
Possessives (POSS): my, your, its, her, his, our, their, John’s
The determiner consists of three subcategories:

1. Pre-determiners words like all and both
2. Core determiners are articles like a and the, demonstratives like this and that
and possessives like my and his
3. Postdeterminers are quantifiers like three and comparative reference like
other or both
Premodifiers. The most obvious pre-modifiers of the noun within NP are Adjective phrases
(APs). Quantifying Adjectives. Much, many, few, and little are quantifying adjectives (QA). As adjectives,
they come under N in NPs.Here are my reasons for treating them as adjectives (rather than
determiners)
a. Like adjectives, they co-occur with and follow determiners (those many books, the little butter that I have, some few
successes).
b. Like adjectives, they may occur in the VP, functioning as subject-predicatives: His mistakes were many, It
wasn’t much, It was little enough.
c. Like adjectives, they are gradable: very many books, too much garlic, so few ideas, very little tact, where they are
modified by degree.

Participle Phrase. The non-finite forms of verbs referred to as the progressive, perfect, and passive
participles (V-part, for short) may also appear as pre-modifiers within N.
PROGRESSIVE PERFECT or PASSIVE
[1] the leering manager [3] a faded dream [5] sliced cake
[2] the sleeping guard [4] the departed nymphs [6] a forgotten valley
Nouns. Nouns themselves may act as pre-modifiers of nouns. Examples are chess piece, traffic light, roof
maintenance, carbon trader, computer game. The relation between a head noun and a pre-modifying noun is
much closer than that between the head noun and any other pre-modifier.
Post Modifiers. Two of the categories that follow the head noun within N: Prepositional Phrases and
certain types of Adjective Phrase.
a. Prepositional Phrase. In the NP an expedition to the pub, the head N is expedition and it is
modified by the PP to the pub, which consists of P +NP.
b. Adjective Phrase. A few adjectives (including present, absent, responsible, visible) can pre-modify
or post-modify the head noun in N.
[1] the responsible men [2] the men responsible
[3] the present members [4] the members present
As post-modifiers, APs occupy the same position in the structure of N as PPs. A difference in meaning is
associated with this difference of position of the AP. In [1] the men are responsible sort of people – that’s
their nature. But in [2] they are responsible FOR something. In [3] they are the current members. But in [4]
they were present AT (i.e. attended). When, in an NP, a modifying AP includes a complement, it
always post- modifies the head noun.
Modification of Pronouns. Pronouns are also determiners ( or pre-determiners . In fact, genuine

pronouns, which cannot also function as determiners or pre-determiners, cannot be post-modified: *they
from the factory, *he of the men. It’s arguable, then, that the ‘pronouns’ are not pronouns at all, but are
what they always were: determiners or pre-determiners. They only appear to have changed into pronouns –
and thus be functioning as the head of their NP because the real head of the NP has been ellipted.

TASK 1. Draw the tree for the following NPs.
1. Melancholy thoughts
2. Some very clever chess moves
3. The boat’s sudden move to the left
4. The word on the tip of my tongue
5. An invitation to the palace from the Queen
6. All performers absent from the rehearsal
7. Two of those city plans
8. Coffee and oranges
9. Three stars visible to the naked eye
10. The king of England’s short and turbulent reign
11. These smartly-dressed men and women. (ambiguous)
12. Both the man’s eyes
13. The few remaining pieces of kitchen furniture
14. Anyone capable of rational thought or reasonably sensitive
15. Some of those people at the back
16. These two coins and the three in the pocket of your coat.
17. Three tall passengers angry about the altered height of the
bulkheads
18. Many of the more successful chess players
19. pink skirt with a dropped waistline
20. the west gate of the building
21. those large paintings by Michaelangelo
22. the rather frightening bats up under the eaves
23. a tall, bald man with a bushy moustache
24. a long vacation on Amanpulo of Palawan
25. her most recent, very provocative novel
26. your very much deserved success in your career
27. a very long and boring contemporary novel
28. the weather in New York on any given day in winter
29. the high wooden fence around our farmyard
30. a serious conversation with Lilian about her problems
TASK 2. Underline the subject in each of the following sentences:

1. Every evening this week, there will be a different movie.
2. Running the race exhausted him.
3. The chairs in the back room are to remain.
4. That I am not pleased with the findings must be obvious.
5. Last winter in Kentucky, it didn’t snow.
6. Mustard on French fries I find disgusting.

TASK 3. River of Life. Develop a story of your life, narrating your
experiences (ups and downs, positivity and negativity, success and
challenges) when you were still a child until you started college. Include
illustrations or even photos.
75 points; 45 points without photos/illustrations

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1 |CHAPTER 5 LESSON 1 NOVEMBER 15_17_2022

CONTENT: Noun Phrases and Modification

The determiner consists of three subcategories:

2 |CHAPTER 5 LESSON 1 NOVEMBER 15_17_2022

Modification of Pronouns. Pronouns are also determiners ( or pre-determiners . In fact, genuine

3 |CHAPTER 5 LESSON 1 NOVEMBER 15_17_2022

TASK 2. Underline the subject in each of the following sentences:

4 |CHAPTER 5 LESSON 1 NOVEMBER 15_17_2022

5 |CHAPTER 5 LESSON 1 NOVEMBER 15_17_2022

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