Noun Phrases

Nouns: Countability, plurality, and the genitive case

Determiners: Focusing on Articles and Quantifiers

Pronouns

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 Nouns

Words that refer to people, place, things, animals or abstraction;

Words that can be modified by adjectives

Words that can be used as subjects, objects and complements.

Words that can be used with determiners.

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 Nouns: Countability
Logic and grammar seem to produce
contradictions when it comes to
classifying countable and
uncountable nouns.

hair - a wig

rice - lentils —>

news - facts

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 Nouns: Countability
(1) How many apples are there in each bag?

(2) She fed the baby a teaspoon of apple.

(3) There are several new butters being produced without milk.

(4) Can I have two sugars please?

Countability is not a fixed property of English nouns. A noun may changes in a

countable versus a non-countable context. Pay attention to the “partitives” as well.

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 Nouns: Singular/Plural
(1) What is special about the verb forms following these collective nouns?

army, jury, family, band, press, school, union, community, audience, staff,
committee, cast

(2) There is/ There are

is a chair and a table in the room.

There _____

is a chair and two tables in the room.

There _____

are two tables and a chair in the room.

There _____
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 Nouns: Plurality
(1) Suffix -s/-es added to the Noun: books ! , potatoes " "

(2) Vowel change: mouse —> mice, foot —> feet

(3) Same forms: aircraft, sheep, headquarters

(4) Irregular endings:

ox oxen

crisis crises

nucleus nuclei
antenna antennae
penny pennies/pence
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 Nouns: Plurality
Nouns with a different meaning for the plural form:

damage vs. damages

saving vs. savings

experience vs. experiences

air vs. airs

compass vs. compasses

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Genitive/Possessive Case
Genitive case is used:
- to express possession: Julia’s coat
- to express relations between people: the man’s father
- to express purpose: children’s playground
- to express time: yesterday’s newspaper
- in fixed expressions: for pity’s sake
- as adjectival use: a man’s voice
- equivalent to a sentence: the residents’ protests (The residents protested.)
The genitive is not used with non-living things: e.g., the hands of the clock
rather than the clock’s hand
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 Basic Structure of a Noun Phrase
Pre-modifiers Head Noun Post-modifiers

Pre-Determiner Determiner Adjective Noun Noun Other modifiers

a hot meal for two

a lot of her friends

all these bottles here

each of the heavy glass doors of the building

What is the difference between pre-determiners and determiners?

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Determiners
• Determiner: A word which is used with a noun and which can limit the
meaning of the noun in some way.

Articles

Demonstratives

Possessives

Quantifiers

Numerals

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Zero Article
• When do we not use articles?

Who would want to be in prison?

Children should go to bed early.

I’ll be in town later and we can have lunch.

He’d rather stay at work than go to church.

(No differentiation required)

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Zero Article: Exceptions
• When do we not use articles?
Harvard University but the University of Social Sciences and Humanities

Lake Albano but the Mediterranean Sea

The French speak French. Americans speak English.

Mount Fuji but The Himalayas

The Queen, the President but Queen Elizabeth

She isn’t at home but Paris is the home of fashion.

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Zero Article: Abstract Nouns
• Zero article + abstract nouns: general concept.

• definite article + abstract nouns:: a “specifically identifiable case”

• indefinite article + abstract nouns:: “type/kind of”

Education is becoming more specialized these days.

The education I received at my alma mater prepared me for life.

He received a good, old-fashioned, liberal arts education.

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 Functions of Articles
• Classifying

Describing: There’s a big ugly dog

Unmodified: It’s a fact!
here.
Any member: Is there a doctor
Introducing: In a small village near
on the plane?
the river…
Labeling: I’m not an American.
A kind of thing: Do you have a
map?
Objects as category members:
a bank, a bus
Not yet identified: There’s a
policeman here.
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 Functions of Articles
• Identifying

Distinguishing: I’ve seen the dog, Post-modified: I mean the fact

but not the cat. that he’s dead.

Re-introducing: Meanwhile, back in The only member: He’s the

the village… luckiest guy.

The specific thing: Where’s the Already labeled: That’s the

map? American over there.

Already identified: The policeman Objects in shared experience:

is here again. It’s quicker to take the bus.
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 Articles in Information Structure
1.Last week a tornado ripped through a small town in Texas. The tornado
damaged many houses in the quiet little town. (Anaphoric)

2.We got a taxi and the driver was very helpful. (Inference)

3.The door opened and the killer walked in. (Cataphoric)

4. Instruction on how to carve a turkey: (zero article for given information)

“Grasp drumstick. Place knife between thigh and body; cut through skin to joint.
Remove leg by pulling out and back. Separate thigh and drumstick at joint.”
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 Summary of Article Uses
(basic/general uses of articles)

singular plural
uncountable
countable countable

definite THE THE THE

(known) (specific) (specific) (specific)

indefinite A/ AN zero zero

(not known) (not specific) (general) (general)
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 What can a Quantifier be?
Determiner Pronoun Adverb

I didn’t buy many I want some milk. I don’t like coffee very
new shirts yesterday. I want some. much.

Quantifiers can combine with different types of nouns to

express:
Degrees of indefinite quantity
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Whole amounts or separate items

 TYPES OF QUANTIFIERS

✤ NUMBERS (cardinals, fractions, ordinals, multiplying…)

✤ Some/ Any

✤ No, None, not…any

✤ Much/ Many

✤ (A) few, (a) little

✤ Enough 21

✤ Distributives (all, both, each, every, either, neither)

 SOME / ANY
SOME: Normally in sentences with positive meaning

•I want some strawberries. She asked for some help.

•In questions to make offers, requests or when we expect a YES answer. (Would you
like some coffee?)

ANY: Normally in negations and questions.

• Are there any apples left? Is there any milk in the fridge?

• Take any picture you like. (It doesn’t matter how many.)
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 MOST
Compare:

This is the most interesting chapter in the book.

She is a most charming girl.

Most of the gentlemen looked both angry and uncomfortable.

Most flowers smell sweet.

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 Few, a few, the few
Little, a little, the little

He was a very good man. There are We can’t go skiing today. There is too
few like him in the world today. little snow.

He left after a few moments. We have a little time.

You need not to fear the few remaining Don’t waste the little time you have.
words we have to say.

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 ALL and WHOLE
All the… (every thing, every “one” in a group)

The whole… (a complete package/group/container)

The baby cried all the time. (Compare: The baby cried the whole time.)

All my friends came. My whole group of friends came.

All cities were destroyed in the earthquake.

Whole cities were destroyed in the earthquake.

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 other(s), the other(s), another
That piece of cake was good. I’ll get you another.

This shop is no good — let’s try another!

I need another few minutes. / You owe me another ten pounds.

(another + few/number + plural noun)

Other (determiner) / The other (pronoun)/ Others (pronoun)

Other people may come later.

I’ve got one of her two albums. Have you got the other?

It’s his best book, though he wrote many others.

This computer’s crashed. Use one of the others.

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She was wearing a fine gold chain on every ankle and a ring on every finger.

(What is wrong with this sentence?)

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 Pronouns
How many types of pronouns are there in English?

Personal Demonstrative

Possessive Reflexive
So (substitution)
Relative Reciprocal

Interrogative Indefinite
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Personal Pronouns
I/me, you, he/him, she/her, it, we/us, and they/them

How about “thou, thee, thy, thine, ye?”

What is special about the pronoun “it?”

(“it” as an “empty subject, preparatory subject/object”)

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Possessive Pronouns
mine, yours, his, hers, its*, ours, theirs.

(1) Annie put her books in the corner and I put mine on the table.

(2) Her writing is clear and concise, but mine is obscure and wordy.

(3) My cat has its (very) own corner.

(4) My cat has a corner of its own.

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Relative Pronouns
who, whom, whose, which, and that

(1) I know that guy _______ you met.

(2) I know the guy _______ book that is.

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Interrogative Pronouns
whose, who, whom, which, what

Whose book is that?

Whose is that?

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Demonstrative Pronouns
this, that, these, those

Did you see these books? (demonstrative adjective)

Did you see these? (demonstrative pronoun)

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Reflexive Pronouns
(1) They saw themselves in the mirror.

(2) They themselves saw the UFO.

Compare:

(3) The two bank clerks blamed themselves for the mistake.

(4) The two bank clerks blamed each other for the mistake.
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Reciprocal Pronouns
each other, one another

Karen and Dave are deeply in love with _________________.

Those two are always copying _____________ homework.

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Indefinite Pronouns
None; some-, any-, no-, every- + one/body/thing

English has no singular personal pronouns for both male and female.

Everyone knows what he has to do, doesn’t he?

Everyone knows what they have to do, don’t they?

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So An unnamed type of pronoun/ a form of substitution, refers to the whole event.

I asked you to leave. Please do so immediately.

Normally in affirmative responses:

Is it true that Bill has had a heart attack?

- I am afraid so.

Or after “believe, expect, imagine, say, suppose, think”

- I don’t believe so. 37

 Ellipsis
Ellipsis means leaving words out by using a pronoun or a substitution form.

• She could take the money, but she won’t do it./ She could take the money but she won’t.

• He tired because he’s ill. (NOT He’s tired because ill.)

• She’ll leave unless he begs her not to.

Choose the correct sentence(s):

1. We go first and they go after us.

2. We go first and they after us.
3. The girls go first and the boys after them.

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 References

• CPE Use of English 1 for the Revised Cambridge Proficiency

Examination (Virginia Evans)

• Explaining English Grammar/ George Yule, OUP 19

• Longman English Grammar / L. G. Alexander
• Grammar and Vocabulary for Cambridge Advanced and Proficiency/
Richard Side and Guy Wellman

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 Reflection
1. What is the verb form after a collective noun?
2. How many types of articles are there in English? What are they?
3. Name the main cases when the definite and indefinite articles are used.
4. What is a pronoun? How many types of pronouns can you recognize?
5. What are the two cases when you can use the reflexive pronoun?
6. What is ellipsis?
Please refer to your textbook (George Yule, Oxford Practice Grammar, pp.104-106) and confirm the important notes on the use of
substitution forms and ellipsis.

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