Noun Phrases

Noun
phrases
E M I L I A G R R I D O
M A N U E L A L A G O S
A N A Í S M A T U S
G R A M Á T I C A I N G L E S A I
Definition
A noun phrase is a word or a group of
words headed by a noun. It can function
as the subject, the object or the
complement in a sentence.
Their components are: noun, article,
adjective, prepositional phrase and
determiner.
How to identify a
Noun Phrase
The two main parts of a noun phrase are the main noun and its modifiers. The modifiers can
be placed before or after the noun. Once you have identified the noun, it is easy to identify
the modifiers.
Example:
He delivered the book in golden letters.
In this sentence, the head noun is 'book'. The premodifier (modifier that comes before the
noun) is the article 'the'. 'In golden letters' is the postmodifier (modifier that comes after
the head noun).
How do we know that the head noun is the 'book' and not the 'letters'? Because the
spine gives extra detail about the book rather than the other way around.
Types of Noun
Phrase
EXPANDED NOUN PHRASE SINGULAR NOUN PHRASES
An expanded noun phrase is a noun phrase that A singular noun phrase is a phrase that only
includes additional words, such as adjectives, contains one word, which must be a noun or a
prepositional phrases, or relative clauses, to pronoun.
provide more information and detail about the Interesting fact's: Some linguists suggest these
noun it modifies. aren't phrases at all, whereas others argue that
They can be as short as two words or they could nouns/pronouns on their own can work as noun
be much longer and contain many pre and post phrases.
modifiers. Example: "The book".
Example: The thick, leather-bound book with gold
lettering on the cover".
Noun phrases Noun phrases come with words that are placed either
before or after the main noun. These are called
Modifiers modifiers. If the modifier comes before the main noun,
it is called a premodifier, and if it comes after, it is
called a postmodifier.
DETERMINERS PREMODIFIER
Determiners are important because they
are paramount to expressing the kind of Premodifier come before a noun and are usually made made
reference the noun phrase makes. up of up of determiners, adjetives, and nouns.
Examples: DETERMINERS
"The tall, slender woman" Determiners will usually como first in a noun phrase. These
"The old, rusty car" Incluide:
"The delicious, homemade apple pie" Demostrative: these, this, that, those.
"The vibrant, colorful painting" Quantifiers: every, all, some, any, no.
"The energetic, playful puppy" Possesive: his, her, my, your.
Numerals: one, two, seven.
Noun phrases ADJECTIVES
Adjectives are also premodifiers. adjectives are parts of
"premodifier" speech which are meant to define and add datail to a
noun. Examples:
Examples: " A huge snowstorm"
" a high school diploma" This contains the main noun "snowstorm" and 2 premodifiers
The noun "high school" specifies the type of diploma. The indefinite determiner "a" and the adjective "huge".
"A tall skyscraper" "The good boy"
"Several enthusiastic fans" "The red dress"
"An old wooden table" "The small house"
"My favorite childhood memory"
"The pink pencil"
Identifying nouns as premodifiers can be difficult

because you run the risk of confusing them with NOUN
the main noun. Make sure to test whether the Nouns can also act as the premodifiers of noun phrases.
noun adds more information to another noun or if
it is the noun that the other elements work to
They tend to explain specific attributes of the noun, such
define. as material, era, type, texture etc.
Noun phrases POSTMODIFIERS
these are placed after the head noun. They include
"postmodifiers" complements and more general postmodifiers.
GENERAL POSTMODIFIERS
COMPLEMENTS
Complements include prepositional phrases or This consist of adverb phrases, prepositional phrases, and
clauses and are placed immediately after the noun. clauses. General postmodifiers give additional or more
As their name suggests, they complement the specific information about the noun (place, time
noun. possession, features, type etc.).
Examples:
"An increase in electricity prices" Examples:
complement: "in electricity prices" "The man with the briefcase"
"The winner of the competition" "The restaurant known for its delicious food"
"The leader of the team" "The girl with the red hair"
"The owner of the house" "The house by the river"
"The captain of the ship" "The book on the shelf"
Functions of noun phrases
a noun phrase can function as a subject, an object complement, or as an appositive within a
sentence.
OBJECT
SUBJECT COMPLEMENTS APPOSITIVE
the function of a noun phrase as provides additional information or An appositive phrase is a

a subject is to serve as the main describes the direct object of a construction that provides
topic or doer of the action in a sentence. An object complement additional information about a
sentence. The subject is typically is typically used with verbs that noun or pronoun. It typically
the noun or pronoun that take direct objects and modify appears right after the noun or
governs the verb and indicates or complete the meaning of pronoun and is separated by
what or who is performing the those objects. commas.
action or being described.
Functions of noun phrases
OBJECT
SUBJECT APPOSITIVE
1. the action or being COMPLEMENTS 1. "My friend, a talented musician,
described."Running is my favorite 1. "They elected her president." In performed at the concert." In this
exercise." The noun phrase "Running" this sentence, "president" is the sentence, the appositive "a talented
serves as the subject of the object complement that describes musician" provides additional information
sentence. the role or position to which "her" about the noun phrase "my friend."
2. "Her singing captivated the was elected. 2. "The city of Paris, known as the City of
audience." 2. "They consider him a genius." Love, is a popular tourist destination."
3. "Learning a new language requires 3. "I painted the wall red." 3. "The author, a renowned novelist, will be
dedication and practice." 4. "We found the room empty." signing books at the bookstore."
4. "The cat and the dog are best 5. "They named the baby Sarah." 4. "My dog, a playful Labrador retriever,
friends." loves to chase balls."
5. "Writing poetry is a form of self- 5. "John, my best friend, is coming to visit
next week."
Thank you!

Noun Phrases

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Identifying nouns as premodifiers can be difficult

the function of a noun phrase as provides additional information or An appositive phrase is a

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