Noun Phrases: Structure &

Function
UWP/ENL/LIN 106
WQ 2015
Day 8 (Week 3)

Review
Nouns
Describe a person, place, thing, or idea
Can be marked for plural and/or
possessive
Can be replaced/substituted for by a
pronoun
Can be modified by an adjective and/or
a determiner

Phrases (Introduction)

Definition: a semantically coherent

group of words within a
clause/sentence; words that hang
together
Consists of head + modifiers; the
head names the phrase (i.e., nouns
are heads of noun phrases,
prepositions are heads of
prepositional phrases, and so forth)

Noun Phrases

Can be noun or pronoun alone

May be a noun + modifiers
Can be very simple or quite complex

Examples
Bill (noun alone)
He (pronoun replacing noun)
My parents (determiner + noun)
The Smiths (determiner + noun)
That old teacher (determiner + adjective + noun)
My big yellow dog (determiner + adjective +
adjective + noun)
The man in the moon (determiner + noun +
prepositional phrase)

Noun Phrases--Roles

Subject
Direct object
Indirect object
Object of a preposition
Subject complement
Object complement

Subject NPs

Traditional definition: Who or what the

sentence is about: The boy kicked the
ball
Grammatical subject vs. logical subject:
The ball was kicked by the boy
Dummy subjects (It/There): Its cold in
Chicago; There are 60 students in this
class.
Usually at/near beginning of sentence or
clause; precedes main verb

Direct Object NPs

The receiver of the action (verb):

The boy kicked the ball.
Usually right after the main verb
Can be made passive: The ball was
kicked by the boy.

Practice (adapted from

Barry, Ch. 3)
1.

2.

3.
4.
5.

The playful child frightened the

pony.
Both her parents attended her
wedding.
The librarian found the book.
Mary hid Toms keys.
Everyone loved the charming little
puppy.

Practice (adapted from

Barry, Ch. 3)
1.

2.

3.
4.
5.

The playful child frightened the

pony.
Both her parents attended her
wedding.
The librarian found the book.
Mary hid Toms keys.
Everyone loved the charming little
puppy.

What about?

Jane saw the president.

Jane was the president.

Indirect Object NPs

The receiver/beneficiary of the

action: The clown gave the child a
balloon.

Two possible patterns:

Dad read Ben a bedtime story. (inverted
indirect object)
Dad read a bedtime story to Ben.

Object of a Preposition

A noun phrase that follows a preposition

(to, in, on, at, etc.): I parked my car in the
faculty lot.

Cannot be inverted (like an indirect

object):
Dad read a bedtime story to Ben.
Dad read Ben a bedtime story.
I parked my car in the faculty lot.
*I parked in the faculty lot my car.

But
1.
2.
3.
4.

I looked up the number.

I looked the number up.
I walked up the hill.
*I walked the hill up.

Why are 1-2 OK but not 3-4?

Practice (adapted from

Barry, Ch. 3)
Identify indirect objects OR objects of a preposition.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Keith gave Mary a birthday present.

John cooked dinner for his parents.
Larry sliced the bread with his new knife.
The coach taught Sam a lesson.
Harry walked slowly up the hill.

Practice (adapted from

Barry, Ch. 3)
Identify indirect objects OR objects of a preposition.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Keith gave Mary a birthday present.

John cooked dinner for his parents.
Larry sliced the bread with his new knife.
The coach taught Sam a lesson.
Harry walked slowly up the hill.

Complements

Noun phrases that describe other

noun phrases:

Jane was the president. (subject

complement)
She called me a liar! (object
complement)

Practice (Adapted from

Barry, Ch. 3)
Identify the complements & say whether
they are subject or object complements.
1.
2.
3.
4.

The earthquake was a frightening experience.

We declared Judy the designated driver.
You are my best friend.
I now pronounce you husband and wife.

Practice (Adapted from

Barry, Ch. 3)
Identify the complements & say whether
they are subject or object complements.
1.
2.
3.
4.

The earthquake was a frightening experience.

We declared Judy [to be] the designated driver.
You are my best friend.
I now pronounce you [to be] husband and wife.

Special Cases: Verbal Nouns

Gerunds (verb + -ing, used as nouns)

Infinitives (to + verb, used as nouns)

There's no crying in baseball!A

League of Their Own (1992)

Verb or Gerund?
Coach: Are you
crying? ARE YOU
CRYING?
Player (crying): No
Coach: Theres no
crying! THERES NO
CRYING IN BASEBALL!

Infinitives

Subject: To leave now would be

ridiculous.
Direct object: Everyone wants to be
happy.
Complement:

Subject: My first goal is to become

wealthy.
Objective: Dont you want somebody to
love?

Practice (adapted from

Barry, Ch. 3)
Which ing words are gerunds?
1.
2.
3.

4.

5.

You learn vocabulary by studying everyday.

Practicing the piano can be frustrating.
The most exciting activity at camp is swimming
in the lake.
Serena Williams is playing very well at
Wimbledon.
Playing tennis is great exercise.

Practice (adapted from

Barry, Ch. 3)
Which ing words are gerunds?
1.
2.
3.

4.

5.

You learn vocabulary by studying everyday.

Practicing the piano can be frustrating.
The most exciting activity at camp is swimming
in the lake.
Serena Williams is playing very well at
Wimbledon.
Playing tennis is great exercise.

Practice (adapted from

Barry, Ch. 3)
Find the infinitive phrase and identify its
function (subject, direct object, subject
complement, object complement).
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

The important thing is to print your name legibly.

She prefers to work alone.
My dad wants me to make a lot of money.
To quit now would be a mistake.
Max liked to lie in the sun.

Practice (adapted from

Barry, Ch. 3)
Find the infinitive phrase and identify its function
(subject, direct object, subject complement, object
complement).
1.

2.
3.

4.
5.

The important thing is to print your name legibly.

(subject complement)
She prefers to work alone. (direct object)
My dad wants me to make a lot of money. (object
complement)
To quit now would be a mistake. (subject)
Max liked to lie in the sun. (direct object)

For Next Time

Well talk about noun subcategories

(see first part of Barry, Ch. 3)
Well also talk about how these
subcategories affect noun plurals
(read LP, Tutorial 22)