3.2. Phrasal Constituents 3.2.1. Noun Phrases.

Noun Phrases (NPs) are traditionally thought of as consisting minimally of a head noun, together with any number of NP modifiers (Abney 1987). y!ical NP modifiers in "nglish are# determiners ($" %$et%$)& 'uantifier (() and 'uantifier !hrases ((P)& ad)ecti*es (Ad)) and ad)ecti*e !hrases (AP)& nouns (N) and noun !hrases (NP)& ad!ositions (!re!ositions + P) and ad!ositional% !re!ositional !hrases (PP) and clauses (,P). 3.2.1.1. Determiners $eterminers form a closed class of functional words which ha*e the general !ro!erty of not themsel*es !ermitting modification. he class of determiners includes# articles (a, an, the)& !ersonal determiners (my, his, her)& demonstrati*es (this, that etc.)& interrogati*e determiners (which/what)& e-clamatory determiners (What an idiot.)& 'uality determiners ( Such an idiot .). NP NP $" a N house $" my N toy

3.2.1.2. Quantifiers and Quantifier Phrases (uantifiers (() ha*e the general function of indicating the 'uantity of elements referred to by the NP. /nli0e determiners, they !ermit *arious 0inds of modification and therefore ha*e their own !hrasal structure. y!ical 'uantifiers in "nglish are# all, both, half, every, each, any, either, some, much, enough, several, many, few, little, neither , together with the cardinal numerals one, two, three etc. NP NP ( much N noise ( fi*e N balls

1ith the modification of the 'uantifier, it is !ossible to form 'uantifier !hrases# virtually all the houses, not nearly enough houses, almost two hours. NP (P $" almost ( two hours N

3.2.1.3. Adjectives and Adjective Phrases

Ad)ecti*es and ad)ecti*e !hrases (AP) are NP modifiers !ar e-cellence. 2ere we include# general ad)ecti*es& ordinal numerals such as first and second& related ad)ecti*es such as next and last& ad)ecti*es such as same and other& the whole class of 'uantifiers. (i) Ad)ecti*es in "nglish are generally !ositioned between determiners and the head noun, for e-am!le, that first tentative try, a large red apple. NP $" a Ad) large Ad) red N a!!le

1hile there is a certain natural ordering relationshi!s between the ad)ecti*es themsel*es, orders which de*iate from this ordering are ty!ically !ossible# that tentative first try, a red large apple. (ii) APs in "nglish may be formed by !re3modification of the ad)ecti*e by ad*erbs, or !ost3modification by PPs and clauses, e.g. very proud; proud of his success; proud that she has got the job. NP NP $" $" AP Ad) N Ad) PP

*ery

!roud man

!roud

of his success

he ty!e of modification has an influence on the order of noun head and ad)ecti*e3!hrase modifier within the noun !hrase. 4nly !re3modified ad)ecti*e !hrases !attern with single ad)ecti*es occurring before the head noun# a very proud man. Post3modified ad)ecti*e !hrases must occur after the head# a woman proud of her children, a woman proud that she has got the job. NP
$"

N Ad)
woman

,on) NP

5 6P Au6 NP

!roud that N

she

s en ha*e get

the )ob

3.2.1.4. Nouns and Noun Phrases Nouns themsel*es may act as noun3!hrase !re3modifiers, e.g. a rubber factory. he item rubber is a noun rather than an ad)ecti*e because it can itself be modified by an ad)ecti*e a corrugated rubber factory. Ad)ecti*es themsel*es do not !ermit modification by ad)ecti*es, so there is no alternati*e but to consider rubber as a noun. Noun3!hrase modifiers of this ty!e cannot contain determiners, although they may contain 'uantifiers# a party committee, a two-party committee, etc. NP NP NP $" N N $" NP ( N

rubber

factory

two3!arty

committee

3.2.1.5. Adpositions and Adpositional Phrases Ad!ositions are !re!ositions or !ost!ositions, ty!ically ta0ing NP com!lements. (i) Post!ositional !hrases are a common form of NP !ostmodifiers in "nglish# the cat on the roof, a house without a roof . 5ome !re!ositions can occur alone as !ostmodifiers# the room underneath. NP NP $" N P $" PP NP N $" N P

he

cat

on

the

roof

the

room underneath

(ii) Pre!ositional !hrases in "nglish with the s geniti*e !ost!osition are !remodifiers with a *ariety of functions including# the !ossessor function, e.g. the girl s eyes which induces the so3called definiteness effect# the uni'ue eyes belonging to the girl& the sub)ect function, e.g. the government s decree that roads should be tested; the ob)ect function, e.g. the boy s punishment; the descri!ti*e function, e.g. a woman s dress of latest fashion. $"
he

NP PP
girl7s

N
eyes

$"
a

NP PP N
woman7s

NP PP
dress of latest fashion