Phrases which, as a unit, act as a noun; and whose heads are nouns or pronouns. English noun phrases can include (among many other possibilities) articles or determiners such as "the" and "a" and one or more adjectives or other nouns used attributively followed by the head noun itself.
Questions tagged [noun-phrases]
174 questions
7
votes
3 answers
You two are shallow. [fused-head noun phrase?]
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (Page 410) defines "Fused-head NPs (noun phrases)" as follows:
Fused-head NPs are those where the head is combined with a dependent function that in ordinary NPs is adjacent to the head, usually…
JK2
- 6,553
7
votes
2 answers
How to determine if a pre-head dependent of a noun is a complement or a modifier
These examples are from CGEL*.
a linguistics student
a first-year student
CGEL says 'linguistics' is a complement of the noun 'student', whereas 'first-year' is a modifier of the noun 'student'.
How exactly do you determine the former is a…
JK2
- 6,553
6
votes
7 answers
"In person" equivalent for inanimate objects
This is much easier to explain by example. So you might hear someone say this photo of her is ok, but she looks much better in person.
I am looking for the equivalent of "in person" that applies to things, e.g.,
A photo of the house is on the…
doug
- 431
5
votes
1 answer
What is the head noun in a noun 'and' noun phrase?
In a phrase like 'each has a different style and attitude' which is the head noun?
Is it right that the head noun can only ever be one word, so I couldn't say it was 'style and attitude'?
user246929
- 59
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2
votes
1 answer
A phrase consisting of a "floating" noun and some verbiage following it
The question is on phrases like the ones that begin the following sentences.
(a) Her chin on the tabletop, she looked at me.
(b) His back turned to the door, he was writing a letter.
(c) His time being short, he turned to what he thought was the…
Catomic
- 298
2
votes
2 answers
Is it right to use 'Statesman' to modify an organization and corporation?
I found a case of using statesman in modifying AOL Inc. in the following sentence of New York Times (February 8). Statesman to me means a leading politician_ and I understand the word here was used figuratively. But the phrase, AOL is the elder…
Yoichi Oishi
- 70,211
1
vote
2 answers
What do we call this noun phrase?
"My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call
him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense - for eleven years I
have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name:
Voldemort." Professor McGonagall…
Listenever
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0
votes
0 answers
Correct form of this sentence
What would be the correct form of the verb in this sentence? They all have a noun clause a the subject followed by to be.
What you can do is playing with them.
What you can do is to play with them.
What you can do is play with them.
I always…
Shahroq
- 121
0
votes
0 answers
'People living overseas' 'People who live overseas'
In the two noun phrases, 'People living overseas' 'People who live overseas', is there any difference in meaning?
Woodland
- 53
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0
votes
0 answers
Noun phrases and which/where
does a noun phrase followed by a 'which' or 'where' clause form another noun phrase?
example 1:
*The fast car which fly's
In this case, does 'The fast car which fly's' form a noun phase?
My intuition tells me 'yes', because it can be followed by…
John
- 39
0
votes
0 answers
Go + to + noun phrase
Does the construct "Go + to + noun phrase" always express going somewhere, a specific physical location?
For example:
Go to school
Go to the movies
Go to the nearest store
They went to Paris
We will go to my aunt's
G̶o̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶a̶c̶k̶…
ielyamani
- 119
0
votes
2 answers
how long can a noun phrase be?
The ruby in the hand of the devil at the top of the mountain in the
country conquered by the army of devils existing until now does not make any sense.
Like this sentence, is it allowed to modify a word to the infinite point and make an…
sooeithdk
- 513
0
votes
2 answers
The demand for the stock /The demand for stock or Demand for the stock?
Context: a stock (traded in a stock exchange) was defined prior to the appearance of the following sentence:
The demand for the stock/the demand for stock/demand for the stock decreases significantly.
Question: which of the three phrases is suitable…
user76911
- 95