Phrase

In syntax and grammar, a phrase is a group of words which act together

as a grammatical unit. For instance, the English expression "the very
happy squirrel" is a noun phrase which contains the adjective phrase "very
happy". Phrases can consist of a single word or a complete sentence.
In theoretical linguistics, phrases are often analyzed as units of syntactic
structure such as a constituent.

A noun phrase plays the role of a noun. In a noun phrase, the modifiers
can come before or after the noun.

Note: A noun phrase can also be headed by a pronoun. For example:

 the dog with fleas
 the one with fleas
(This is a noun phrase headed by a pronoun.)

The Noun Phrase (NP)

The distribution of the noun phrase
An NP can occur
 As the subject, i.e. at the beginning of a sentence before a verb as
in: __ worked.
 As the direct object, i.e. after a transitive verb as in: Chris
met/experienced __ yesterday.
 Following a preposition, as in: Pat talked about __ .
 In front of the possessive 's, i.e. in: __'s car broke.
An NP can be substituted by a personal pronoun (I, she, him, it, ...)
The internal structure of a noun phrase
 An NP must contain a noun
 An NP can contain:
o exactly one determiner at the beginning of the NP
o an arbitrary number of adjectives before the N
o an arbitrary number of preposition phrases (PP) after the N
o one or more sentences at the end of the NP
 This is summarized in the following phrase structure rule: NP -> (Det)
A* N PP* S*
 Example 1: A complex NP
 ______NP___________
 / / | \
 / / | _____S______
 / / | / \
 Det A N / \
 | | | /____________________\
 the famous actor who played in ''High Noon''.
 Example 2: An NP consisting exclusively of a proper name
NP
|
N
|
Pat
More Internal Structure for the NP
Example 1 above gives a flat internal structure for the NP. Constituent
tests show that there is more structure:
 Pronominalization: one is a pro-form for a partial NP, usually
called N' .
Example: the brilliant student of English
o him as a pro-form for NP:
I met [NP: the brilliant student of English], and you met him, too.
o one as a pro-form for N':
I met [NP: the brilliant [N': student of English]] and you met the less
talented one.
(one refers to student of English)
o one as a pro-form for N':
I met [NP: a [N': brilliant [N': student of English]]] and you met the
same one.
(one refers to brilliant student of English)
o In this NP, A and N don't combine directly:
*I met the [brilliant student] of English and you met the one of
physics.
 Movement: An N' can be preposed in a though-construction.
Example: Though Pat is an excellent writer, she did not win the
Pulitzer price.
o [Excellent writer] though Pat is, she did not win the Pulitzer price.
o *An excellent though Pat is writer, she did not win the Pulitzer
price.
Example 3: An NP with a PP complement
__NP__
/ \
/ ____N'____
/ / \
/ / _______PP________
/ / / \
Det N / \
| | /_____________________\
a novel about a young magician
Example 4: An NP with an adjective
_NP_
/ \
/ _N'_
/ / \
/ / N'
/ / |
Det A N
| | |
no new furniture
Examle 5: An NP with a PP modifier
NP
/ \
/ _N'_
/ / \
/ N' \
/ | __PP__
Det N / \
| | /________\
the book on my desk
Example 6: An NP with only a proper name
(there is no N' level, because proper names don't allow for adjectives
or PPs.)
NP
|
N
|
Chris
Example 7: An NP with only a count noun or a mass noun
(there is always an N' level, because there could be an adjective or a
PP, and the one-test works.)

NP NP
| |
N' N'
| |
N N
| |
books furniture
When there is an adjective before the noun and a (modifying) PP
following the noun, a structural ambiguity arises:
the nice student from England
 I met [the [nice student] from England] and you met the one from
France.
 I met [the nice [student from England] ] and you met the arrogant one.
Example 1 (revisited): An NP with a relative clause and an adjective
_NP_
/ \
/ ___N'___
/ / \
/ / ____N'_____
/ / / \
/ / / _____S______
/ / / / \
Det A N / \
| | | /____________________\
the famous actor who played in ''High Noon''.
Read further on the other major phrases, VP, AP, PP.
Related exercises: