INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS
&
PHONETICS - PHRASE STRUCTURE: NP
Syntax is a set of rules that govern the structure of sentences in a given language in order to convey a complete thought. A basic feature of a language's syntax is the sequence in which the subject (S), verb (V), and objeet (O) usually appear in sentences. A sentence is a linear sequence of elements. The purpose of the Phrase Structure Rule is to identify these clements and to elassify them.
S----NP VP
Noun Phrase (NP) is the expression used to refer to entities like things, people, places, ideas etc. Noun Phrase has a noun as its Head Word which performs the function of a phrase. In NP a noun can be identified by removing all other words from the phrase, without damaging the sentence structure.
A tvpical NP consists of a noun (the head of the phrase) together with zero or more dependents of various types. These dependents, since modify a noun, are called adnominal.
These are:
Determiners (Det)
Modifiers (Mod)
A determiner is word, phrase or affix that occurs together with a noun or noun phrase in the context. Determiners are of three types :-
i. Pre-determiners are used to express proportion of the whole, to show surprise or other kinds of emotions. Like all, both, half, double, two-third, what etc
ii. Central-determiners are used before a noun or a post-determiner and preceded by a pre- determiner. They are used to give information about definiteness and indefiniteness of the NP to modify it and to indicate which entities are being referred to. Like a, an, the
** Possessives and demonstratives etc..
iii. Post-determiners follow the deternminers and are used to express level or position in a Group, to indicate quantity of the NP, Like Ordinals, Cardinals and all the quantifiers.
A modifier is an optional element in a phrase structure which is said to modify and add descriptive information to the head word in the structure, on which it is dependent. According to their modifiers are divided into two types:-
i. Pre-modifiers are placed before the head word. They can be an adjective or a noun and describes or restricts its meaning in some way.
ii. Post-modifiers are placed after the head word. It follows the NP it qualifies or limits. It is a one-way dependency/function.
NP Modifiers are grammatical functions. They are five in numbers:-
1. Noun Phrases
2. Adjective Phrases
3. Prepositional Phrases
4. Verb Phrases
5. Adjective Clauses.
INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS & PHONETICS - PHRASE STRUCTURE: NP