(Tiểu luận) topic functions and structure of a noun phrase, types of nouns phrase

Trang 1 THUONG MAI UNIVERSITYENGLISH FACULTYDICUSSIONSubject: Advanced GrammarTopic: Functions and structure of a noun phrase, types of nouns phraseGroup 5Teacher: Nguyễn Thị Thúy Hạnh

THUONG MAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY

DICUSSION

Subject: Advanced Grammar

Topic: Functions and structure of a noun phrase, types of nouns phrase

Group 5

Teacher: Nguyễn Thị Thúy Hạnh

Hà Nội 04/2021

II The Functions of Noun phrases 7

III The structure of noun phrases

- Person: Marry, John, Bill Gates

- Animal: Bird, fish, turtle

- Abstract concept: Language, culture, education

- Thing: Computer, book, bag.

A noun can be categorized as either a common noun or a proper noun.

2 Classification

2.1 Common nouns is a word for person, place, or thing It is the word that appears in the dictionary For example: City, dog, home, person.

Common noun can be divided into four subtypes:

- Concrete nouns A concrete noun is the exact opposite of an abstract noun It refers to the things we see and have physical existence Ex: Chair, doll, money.

- Abstract nouns An abstract noun is a word for something that cannot be seen but is there It has no physical existence Generally, it refers to ideas, qualities, and conditions Ex: Truth, lies, happiness

- Countable nouns The nouns that can be counted are called countable nouns Countable nouns can take an article: a, an, the Ex: Ball, book, pen (you can say 1 pen, 2 pens,…)

- Uncountable nouns The nouns that cannot be counted are called countable nouns Ex: Water, sugar, oil.

non-2.2 Proper nouns is a specific name of a person, place, or thing It's likely to be

a personal name or a title For example: Tokyo, Trump,…

3 Grammatical Categories of Nouns

- The various kinds of grammatical categories include the following: Number, Case, Gender.

3.1 Number

- The category NUMBER merely indicates the numerable property (singularity

or plurality).

It falls into two classes: Invariables and Variables number.

- Invariables number is nouns that do not vary.

Invariable

s

Singular

invariables

Concrete non-count nouns: oil, information.

Abstract non-count nouns: sadness, dependence

Proper nouns: Marry

Some nouns ending in -s: means, gallows

Abstract adjectival heads: the happy

Plural

invariables Summation plurals/ dual object plurals: shorts, bags, glasses

Other pluralia tantum in -s: arms, goods, holidays

Some plural proper nouns: the East Indies, the Netherlands

Unmarked plural nouns: nation,

Personal adjectival heads: the rich

2022 - Tài liệu tham…

- Variables number is nouns that do vary.

Variable

Regular plurals Ex: Chair -> Chairs

Irregular plurals

Voicing: Wife -> Wives

Mutation: foot -> feet Man -> men

-en plural: Child -> Children

Zero plural: Fish -> fish

Foreign: Appendix -> appendices

3.2 Case

- Case is a grammatical category which shows relation of the noun with other words in a sentence The main meaning of the genitive case is that of possession.

- Genitive case consists of 3 types: “s” genitive, “of” genitive, “double” genitive

+“s” genitive: The s-genitive is used to express a possessive relation between two objects.

+“of” genitive

a) The genitive with is usually used with inanimate nouns: of

e.g the leg of the table, the bank of the river.

In some constructions of this type it is possible to use such expressions e.g town walls, church tower, where "the possessor" noun functions as an adjective.

b) The of construction is also found with animate nouns if they are modified by a phrase or relative clause:

post-e.g What is the name of the guest in the long white dress?

What is the name of the guest who came first ?

+ Double genitive

The double genitive is formed by combining an of- genitive with an -s genitive : e.g a friend of Tom's

this book of my brother's.

A double genitive construction must begin with a, this, that, these, those whereas it cannot start with the definite article the or with the proper noun.

On the contrary, the noun with the -s genitive must be both definite and personal.

3.3 Gender

- Gender is a category of noun A noun can have a masculine gender, a feminine gender, or a neuter gender.

- For example:

· man (masculine gender)

· woman (feminine gender)

· house (neuter gender)

· chicken (neuter gender – if we don't know if it’s a rooster or a hen)

II The Functions of Noun phrases

- A noun phrase consists of a pronoun or noun and any associated modifiers, including adjectives, adjective phrases, adjective clauses and other nouns in the possessive case.

- Like any noun, a noun phrase may act as a subject, the object of a verb or verbal, a subject complement or object complement, or the object of a preposition, as in the following examples:

Subject

Small children often insist that they can do things by themselves.

The spotted puppy is up for adoption.

Object of a verb

To type quickly and accurately is Eugene’s goal.

I want a cute puppy for Christmas.

Object of a preposition

The Arctic explorers were caught unawares by the spring breakup.

Mary lives in an eclectic household.

Subject complement

Frankenstein is the name of the scientist, not the monster

She was the devil in disguise.

Object complement

I consider Loki my favorite cat

The committee elected James president.

III The structure of noun phrases

- Definition of Noun phrase: The NP is typically constructed by either a noun or

a pronoun as the head and other constituents as modifiers.

As we can see a noun phrase consists of three parts: pre-modification, head, post-modification In a noun phrase, the head is obligatory but the Pre- modification and the Post-modification are optional As their names have suggested, the function of the pre- modification and post-modification is to elaborate or limit the head noun’s meaning

1 Pre-modifiers

can also include:

noun phrases

+ determiners: Those houses are very expensive.

+ quantifiers: I've lived in a lot of houses

+ numbers: My brother owns two houses.

+ adjectives: I love old houses

These parts of the noun phrase are called premodifiers because they go before the noun.

We use pre-modifiers in this order:

Pre-modifiers + Head + Post-modifiers

Their many young children

2 Head Noun

The word noun phrase is self-explanatory It is obvious that the most common kind of head word in a noun phrase is a noun In some cases, a pronoun may also act as the central part of a noun phrase There are four kinds of pronouns functioning as heads: personal pronoun, (a) indefinite pronoun (b), possessive pronoun (c), and demonstrative pronoun (d) For example:

a man with a gun

the boy in the blue shirt

the house on the corner

 –ing phrases :

the man standing over there

the boy talking to Angela

 relative clauses :

the man we met yesterday

the house that Jack built

the woman who discovered radium

an eight-year-old boy who attempted to rob a sweet shop

 that clauses These are very common after nouns like idea, fact, belief, suggestion:

He's still very fit, in spite of the fact that he's over eighty.

She got the idea that people didn't like her

There was a suggestion that the children should be sent home

 to infinitives :

I've got no decent shoes to wear

These are very common after indefinite pronouns and adverbs :

You should take something to read

I need somewhere to sleep

 There may be more than one post-modifier:

an eight-year old boy with a gun who tried to rob a sweet shop

that girl over there in a green dress drinking a Coke

EXAMPLE:

"The very tall education consultant with the roving eye"

 The structure of this noun phrase contains three sections:

Head noun

o consultant

Post-modification

with the roving eye = preposition phrase

 Exercises for part I:

Exercise 1:Identify the central determiners, pre-determiners and determiners in the NPs in the following sentences.

post-1 Each student carried some English books.

Each: central determiners

Some: central determiners

2 Neither student understood either teacher.

Neither: central determiners

Either: central determiners

3 There is no second dress.

Second: post-determiners

No: central determiners

4 She took these three bottles of water.

These: central determiners

Three: post-determiners

5 All his students are here

All: pre-determiners

His: central determiners

6 He made double the work.

Double: pre-determiners

The: central determiners

7 We ate half those fish we caught

Half: pre-determiners

Those: central determiners

8 Every day, Jane goes to school.

Every: central determiners

9 The next lesion is tomorrow.

The: central determiners

Next: post-determiners

10 Which bookstore has enough English book Enough: central determiners

Which: central determiners

11 Does any supermarket has enough milk Any: central determiners

Enough: central determiners

12 This is the first laptop I have.

This: central determiners

The: central determiners

The: central determiners

15 The last lesson is next week.

The: central determiners

Last: post-determiners

Next: post-determiners

Exercise 2: Choose the appropriate quantifiers to complete the sentences.

1 He is an expert on languages, but he knows about mathematics.

5 Although she thought she knew of the subject, the teacher asked a few details she hardly remembered.

IV TYPES OF NOUN PHRASES

BASIC AND COMPLEX NOUN PHRASE

 Among the five different types of phrases in English namely noun phrases, verb phrases, adjective phrases, adverb phrases and prepositional phrases, noun phrases are the most common playing various syntactic functions in the sentence and clause structure: subject, object and complement (of various kinds), apposition and attribute They are used to refer to things that people want to talk about: people, objects, concepts, processes and all kinds of entities However, the problem arises here: “How can we construct noun phrases, both basic and complex ones?” This article is to deal with the structure of basic and complex noun phrases.

1 Basic Noun Phrase

Structurally speaking, in the first place, basic noun phrases consist of pronouns, numerals or nouns with articles (indefinite, definite or zero) or nouns with other closed-system items that occur before the noun head including pre-determiners (pre-det), determiners (det.) and post-determiners (post-det.).

Basic Noun Phrase Pre-modifiers

half; Double/

twice fractions) Demonstrative possessive,

Quantifying determiners)

Ordinal numerals, General ordinals, quantifiers)

1.1 Pre-determiners

In grammar, a pre-determiner is a type of determiner that precedes other determiners in a noun phrase (The word that immediately follows a predeterminer is called the central determiner.) Predeterminers are also known

as pre-determiner modifiers.

As it is obvious from the name, pre-determiners are words, which appear before determiners As well as determiners they tell us some important information about the noun phrase they modify Nevertheless, there are more particular functions they perform that distinguish them from regular determiners: Add information to a determiner; Demonstrate a speakers or writer's opinion about the noun; Often are used to show surprise or intensify other kinds of emotions Predeterminers are used to express a proportion (such as all, both, or half) of the whole indicated in the noun phrase

Like determiners, predeterminers are functional elements of structure and not formal word classes.

For example:

 Half our time in a day is spent working to build a strong career.

 All the students in our class are focusing on the lesson.

Pre-determiners can be classified into four types as shown in the chart below.

1.1.1 Multipliers are the type of pre-determiners used to specify the amount of objects mentioned in the noun phrase, as well as to add some emotional quality

to a determiner They include words: twice, three times, four times, ten times, etc For example:

 He has twice as much money as I have

 I go to the dentist three times a week

1.1.2 Fractions are pre-determiners you use when you talk about fractions of some amount They include such words as: half, one-third, two-fourth, etc Some examples:

 We need to sell one-third clothes at least to protect profit.

 I ate half food I bought in this morning

1.1.3 Intensifiers are the most emotional of all pre-determiners, because they are used to add certain emotional coloration to a noun phrase and a determiner before it They can express disappointment, surprise, pleasure and other emotions Intensifiers include words: such, what, rather, quite Let’s look at some examples to understand how intensifiers work:

 Look, what a beautiful girl!

 This dress is such a best.

Words rather and quite deserve special attention They are considered to be commenting words, which are able to intensify a certain quality of a noun phrase They don’t have any stable positive or negative characteristic, because the emotion depends on the adjective or determiner that stands before a noun phrase For example:

 He is quite a gentleman.

 He told us quite happy news.

1.1.4 Other determiners: Few determiners, all and both, fall into the category of other, because they are used to refer to a group as a whole or a couple and not to individuals.

For example:

 Both her brothers are good at math.

 Do you want to buy all of these cosmetics?

1.2 Determiners

Most noun phrases contain only one determiner or none at all, but if there are more, they follow a definite order Determiners show the type of reference the noun phrase makes Determiners are used to provide information about a noun

or to introduce a noun It always comes before a noun, not after, and it also comes before any other adjectives used to describe the noun Determiners are required before a singular noun but are optional when it comes to introducing plural nouns.

The reference may be definite (the), indefinite (a/an), demonstrative (this, that, these, those), possessive (my, our, their, etc.) Determiners can also indicate number or quantity (e.g seven, all, some, no).

There are six classes of determiners, classified according to their co-occurrence with the noun classes:

 Articles: a/an, the

 Possessive: my, your, his, her, etc.

 Demonstrative: this, that, these, those

 Partial universal pronouns

 Indefinite quantifiers: some, any, all, enough, no, every, etc.

 Wh-elements: which, what, whose

For example:

 All of the students passed the contest.

 Your every pen is being used.

1.2.1 Articles

Articles are among the most common determiners There are three singular articles: a, an and the Articles specify (or determine) which noun the speaker is referring to and are indefinite articles and are used when you are talking A an about a general version of the noun is used before words that begin with A consonants while an is used before words beginning with vowels or vowel sounds.

 Ex: A car is a beautiful gift on her birthday.

In these examples, the sentence is talking about car in general, meaning any car When your meaning is general, use an indefinite article.

On the other hand, the is a definite article, meaning the speaker is referring to a specific noun.

 Ex: We decide to go to the best store in the street.

Here is referring to a particular store It's not a general category, but only one place that's important When your meaning is specific, use a definite article 1.2.2 Demonstrative

There are four of demonstratives: this, that, these, and those Demonstratives are used in situations where the speaker can point to the item they mean, making them even more specific than a definite article.a particular dog and a particular restaurant.

For examples:

 Do you like this car?

 My mother bought these dresses for me.

This and that are singular while these and those are plural.

 Have any students volunteer to take part in?

 All motorbikes in the shop are sold.

 I will give you all the notebooks.

All can be used with other determiners to specify which particular items are meant (ex: all the notebooks) In this case, the quantifier always comes before the article or demonstrative It's also possible to use all alone to refer to items generally, as in the third example.

1.2.4 Possessive

When referring to a noun that belongs to someone or something, you can use possessive pronouns to show ownership Possessive pronouns include my, your, his, her, its, our, and their.

For examples:

 My best friends will come late.

 Her cat is playing with its tail.

As always, the determiner comes before the noun and any modifying adjectives You can use the same possessive whether the noun it references is singular or plural.

1.3 Post-determiners

Post-determiner is a limiting noun modifier (as first or few) characterized by occurrence after the determiner in a noun phrase Cardinal and ordinal numerals occupy the postdeterminer slot (The three dogs; her sixth birthday).

 There are four people in the class.

 Do you want one or two dishes served?

1.3.2 Ordinal numerals and general ordinals

The numbers which give us the exact position of an object are called ordinal numerals Ordinal numerals tell the position of an object rather than their quantity.

Except first, co-occur only with count nouns An ordinal usually precedes any cardinal numbers in the noun phrase General ordinals may be used freely before or after cardinals.

Example: There are many floors in a building We can use ordinal numbers to define their position The numbers 1st (first), 2nd (second), 3rd (third), 4th (fourth), 5th (fifth), 6th (sixth), 7th (seventh), 8th (eighth), etc to tell the position

of different floors in the building Hence, all of them are ordinal numerals.

The Difference Between Cardinal Numbers and Ordinal Numbers

Cardinal numerals Ordinal numerals

There are two small groups of closed-system quantifiers:

 Many, (a) few and several co-occur only with plural nouns.

 Much and (a little)

There is a large open class of phrasal quantifiers:

 General partitives: a lot of, a piece of, a number of, etc.

 Specific partitives: a herb of, a crowd of, a school of, a flock of, etc.

 Measures: a pint of, a pound of, etc.

2 The complex noun phrase