II.

SYNTAX
- PHRASES -
Nguyen Ngoc Nhat Minh, Faculty of English (FE), UFLS-UD
Basic structure of Phrase

[Premodifier(s)] + HEAD + [Postmodifier(s)]

■ The Head is the most important part of a phrase,
and defines the syntactic category of the phrase.
For example
➢ Noun phrase (NP) => Head is a noun. E.g. that fabulous
dress
➢ Adj phrase (Adj.P) => Head is an adj. E.g. extremely useful
➢ Adv phrase (Adv.P) => Head is an adv. E.g. pretty quickly.
➢ Preposition phrase (PP) => Head is a prep. E.g. for the
children
➢ Verb phrase (VP) => Head is a verb. E.g. have been
cleaning
NOUN PHRASE
Noun phrase (NP)

■ Pre-modifiers can include Determiner, Adjective,

and/or Noun (not the Head)
■ Post-modifiers can be Preposition, Adjective,
Adverb, Finite clause, or Non-finite clause
■ More detail (see textbook)
■ His book is yellow, and the teacher’s
(book) is red.
■ Donal Trump, the former US President, is
also running for election this year.
FINITE clause vs. NON-FINITE clause
■ Finite clause: Verb is marked for tense
Example: The inspector is standing there.
■ Non-finite clause: Verb is NOT marked for tense. A
non-finite clause might or might not have a subject.
Example: The inspector standing there is mainly
responsible for this case.
Types of Non-finite clause

1. To – Infinitive & Bare infinitive

2. Gerund (V-ing / present participle)
3. Past participle

More detail (see textbook)

Functions of a NP

■ Subject (S)
■ Object* (O)
■ Complement* (C)
■ Adverbial (A)
Sue passed Ann the ball.

He offered me (Oi) help (Od).

He offered help to me.
He bought me sugar, tomatoes, cream…
Object: Direct (Od) vs. Indirect (Oi)

‘Ann’ & ‘the ball’: Which one is Od , which one is Oi ?

■ Yesterday I bought tomatoes, milk, meat…
■ The company offered him a job / but he
refused.
■ The company offered a job to him ….
Object: Direct (Od) vs. Indirect (Oi)

1. Direct object: the one which receives the action

2. Indirect object: the one TO/FOR which the action was
done
Complement
■ Subject Complement (Cs): the part (which is usually a
noun, an adjective, … or even a clause) that follows a
linking verb and defines/characterizes the Subject.
E.g. That mountain range is the most majestic in the
region. (seem, look, become, smell….)
■ Object Complement (Co): the part (which is usually a
noun, an adjective , … or even a clause) that follows and
modifies/characterizes the (direct) Object.
E.g. We can make him the CEO of the company this year.
■ Occasionally (A), she goes to the movies while
being crazily (adv) busy at work.
ADJECTIVE PHRASE
& ADVERB PHRASE
 Adjective Phrase
■ Structure:
o Head: adjective (simple, comparative, or superlative)
o Premodifiers: Adverb
o Postmodifiers: Adverb Preposition, Finite clause, Non-finite
clause

■ Function: (1) modifier of NP; (2) Complement (Cs, Co)

■ More detail (see textbook)

 Adverb Phrase
■ Structure (similar to Adjective.Ph):
o Head: adverb (simple, comparative, or superlative)
o Premodifiers: Adverb
o Postmodifiers: Adverb Preposition, Finite clause, Non-finite
clause

■ Function: -Adverbial (A); -Modifier (Mod.) in larger phrases.

E.g. She is considered unusually intelligent. (adv p., mod.)

■ More detail (see textbook)

VERB PHRASE
Function of Verb/VP:
Predicator
Practice: Find out Adj.Ps and identify their functions

1. That is a bit premature, isn’t it?

2. I found it rather tight.

3. I’d be quite keen to try anything like that really.

 Practice: Identify types of the underlined phrases, analyse
them, and indicate their functions in the following sentences.
1. They are only concerned about profits.

2. For the holiday, they chose a small resort on the north coast.

3. Her parents were downstairs, and she could hear a little of

what they were saying.

4. You’ll be shown how to handle your huskies by an

experienced guide.