Grammar I (Prof.

Martín Califa)
The noun and the NP
Lesson Handout

(Exercises marked * are taken and/or adapted from Huddleston & Pullum 2005: 289-290)

Exercise 1. Underline the nouns and enclose in square brackets the NPs in the following
passage from Steven Pinker’s The Language Instinct.*

a. I have never met a person who is not interested in language.

b. I wrote this book to try to satisfy that curiosity.
c. Language is beginning to submit to that uniquely satisfying kind of understanding that we
call science but the news has been kept a secret.

Exercise 2. Some nouns are plural-only in some of their senses, but not in all. For example:

Plural-only Eat more greens. (= vegetables)

Ordinary Those greens don’t match.

For the first nine of the following, give two examples containing the word in an appropriate
context: one with its plural-only sense and one with an ordinary plural. For the last item
(people) give one example where it is a plural-only noun and one where it is a singular.*

a. arts
b. beginnings
c. brains
d. compliments
e. customs
f. holidays
g. letters
h. spectacles
i. spirits
j. people

Grammar I - Prof. Martín Califa

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Exercise 3. Say whether the underlined nouns in the following examples have a count or
non-count interpretation. In each case, construct another example in which the noun has the
opposite interpretation.*

a. You needn’t have gone into so much detail.

b. I’ve run out of paper.
c. Can I have another orange?
d. He has jet-black hair.
e. They treat their new help appallingly.

Exercise 4. Decide if either or both of the underlined verbs are fine. If there’s a difference in
meaning, explain it.

a. A lot of people was/were found in the basement.

b. Ten people is/are enough for the experiment.
c. Ten people is/are coming to the party.
d. The Cabinet meets/meet every Friday.
e. The Cabinet is/are all Ivy-League graduates.
f. Lots of paper was/were strewn on the floor.
g. A lot of paper was/were strewn on the floor.
h. A lot of post-it notes was/were strewn on the floor.

Exercise 5. Analyse the following NPs. Indicate the function and category of each element.

a. Twenty spaceships.
b. A few record players.
c. Those blue skirts.
d. Johnny’s SUV.
e. My old laptop.
f. Little sea salt.
g. Those lazy good-for-nothings.
h. Which day?
i. My best friend.

Exercise 6. Analyse the NPs below. Identify both functions and categories.

a. An English citizen.
b. Some very hot afternoons.
c. Three hard marble plaques.
d. More sudden power cuts.
Grammar I - Prof. Martín Califa
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e. More quick deep cuts.
f. Four nuns.
g. Several up-to-date biology coursebooks.

Exercise 7. Analyse the following NPs. Establish the functions and categories.

a. Three gray mice with cute hats.

b. Some unusually stubborn politicians on the road to success.
c. Nearly every Portuguese embassy around the world.
d. Jesus Christ our Saviour.
e. A sturdy linen bag for shopping at just $2!
f. The two people responsible for the leak.
g. Jason’s reckless behaviour.
h. Environmentally-friendly non-profit organisations in the area with lots of resources.

Exercise 8. Analyse the following sentences in full.

a. The hard-working assistant summoned the French suppliers.

b. Several current students are hardened felons.
c. The team’s star footballer passed his eager teammate the ball with admirable skill.

Exercise 9. Decide if the underlined constituents are complements or modifiers.

a. A mechanics workshop in the afternoon.

b. The cruel destruction of Guernica.
c. The Fascist destruction of Guernica.
d. A Fascist attitude.
e. Heavy-looking packages in the mailbox.
f. A renowned expert on African history from Cambridge.
g. A renowned Cambridge African history expert.
h. My deep hatred of cockroaches.
i. A heart of gold.
j. Three Da Vinci sketches at the museum.
k. The opportunistic alliance of the progressives to the conservatives.
l. The mother of a thousand kids.
m. The man of a thousand faces.
n. Dog owners in the park.
o. Dog toys in the park.

Grammar I - Prof. Martín Califa

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Exercise 10. Analyse the following NPs in full.

a. Five Romanian films about the war.

b. My bloody Valentine.
c. Many unexpected meetings of the adversaries by the river.
d. Very few talented bass players.

Exercise 11. Analyse the sentences in full.

a. The president of the US awarded a medal to the Armenian President in Geneva.

b. The most dangerous animal on Earth is the hyena from the Nigerian savannah.

Exercise 12. Select an appropriate case-form for the pronoun I for the blank position in the
following examples. If more than one case-form is admissible in Standard English, list them
all and comment on the difference between them.*

a. Your father and ____ have been considering this matter.

b. In the other photo, the guy in the middle of the front row is ____.
c. They’ve arranged for you and ____ to meet with Dr. Jackson this evening.
d. They went to the same school as ____.
e. They’re seeing Kim before you and ____.

Exercise 13. Analyse the following sentences in full.

a. Eric’s cousin lent the new kids on the block his Blu-ray player.
b. The Queen of Bohemia killed her daughter in 1346.
c. My sister’s husband became the new head of the Literature Department.

Grammar I - Prof. Martín Califa

UNAHUR - 2024
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