NOUN PHRASE

What is a phrase?
A Phrase, may consist of a word or a group of words, often doing the work of a Noun, an Adjective or an Adverb in a sentence. A phrase does not contain a Finite Verb, but it may contain a Non-finite verb like Infinitive, Participle or Gerund. It may have a subject. In itself a Phrase cannot make a complete sense, but to obtain a definite meaning it should be fitted in a sentence.
 
Types of phrases:
 
Phrases are of three types: they are Noun phrases, Adjective phrases and Adverb phrases.
 
What is a Noun phrase?
According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, a noun phrase is defined as “a word or a group of words in a sentence that behaves in the same way as a noun does, that is, as a subject, an object, a complement, or as the object of a preposition etc.”
 
The structure of a Noun Phrase
In general, a noun phrase contains a head noun while qualifiers, determiners and other words in the phrase qualifies or provides additional information about the head noun, such as its quantity, possession, location, or other qualities.
The manin parts of a Noun Phrase
Basically, a noun phrase can consist of three main parts:
1. Pre-qualifier(s)
2. Head Noun
3. Post- qualifier(s)
 
The English pre- qualifier(s) include:
1. Determiners
2. Possessive nouns
3. Attributive prepositive adjectives
4. Noun modifiers
 
Determiners
A determiner is a pre-qualifier that provides information about the identity, quantity, or possession of the head noun. There are several different types of determiners in English, including articles, demonstratives, possessives, and quantifiers. Pay attention to the examples in the Noun Phrase.:
All these houses have been built by the government.
 Here, 'all' is a quantifier, and 'these' is a demonstrative determiner and together with the noun (house) they form a noun phrase.
 
Possessive Nouns
Possessive nouns can function as qualifiers in a noun phrase, providing information about the possession or relationship of the head noun. Check these examples:
Ram’s brother is a cricketer.
I met my son’s friend.
 
Attributive Prepositive Adjectives
A noun phrase can consist of an adjective and a noun. In this case, the adjective qualifies or describes the noun, providing additional information about its characteristics or qualities.
He wanted to buy new shoes.
Here, 'new' is an adjective that qualifies the noun 'shoes'.
The red cotton skirt is hers.
Here, ' red and cotton' are the adjectives that qualify the noun skirt.
 
Noun Qualifiers
 
Noun (pre)qualifiers are optional words that come before a noun and qualify its meaning. These qualifiers function similarly to adjectives by providing additional information about the noun. Take a look at some examples:
I love fish curry.
He has made a paper boat.
I'm looking for a glass shop.
 
In the above examples ‘fish’, ‘paper’ and ‘glass’ are nouns, and they function as adjectives qualifying their following nouns curry, boat and shop respectively.
 
Post- Qualifiers
Post-qualifiers are words or phrases that come after a noun or noun phrase to qualify or provide additional information about it. Here are some of the most common post-qualifiers in English:
1. Prepositional phrases
2. That-clauses
3. Infinitive clauses
4. Participle clauses
5. Relative clauses
6. Adnominal adverbs
 
Prepositional Phrases
A prepositional phrase is a phrase that is placed after a preposition. In the case of noun phrases, prepositional phrases can be placed after the noun and qualify it. Here are a few examples:
The building beside the fence is ours.
That shop in the back is ragged.
The man in the garden is a farmer.
The bat under the table is mine.
 
In the above examples ‘beside the fence’, ‘in the back’, ‘in the garden’ and ‘under the table’ are the ‘prepositional phrases’, and they function as adjectives qualifying their preceding nouns building, shop, man and bat respectively.
 
That-clauses
 
That-clauses are subordinate clauses that begin with the word 'that' and modify or provide additional information about a noun or noun phrase. Here are some examples:
The dog that keeps barking is theirs.
The house that is painted blue belongs to Hari.
The teacher that taught us lives here.
The doctor that saved treated him is my uncle.
 
In the above examples ‘that keeps barking’, ‘that is painted blue’, ‘that taught us’ and ‘that saved treated’ are the ‘that clauses’, and they function as adjectives qualifying their preceding nouns dog, house, teacher and doctor respectively.
 
Infinitive Clauses
Infinitive clauses, made up of the particle 'to' followed by the base form of the verb, function as adjectives qualifying their preceding nouns.
Here are the examples:
The book to read is in the bag.
The apple to eat is being washed.
The house to let is ours.
The motor-cycle to repair is in the garage.
 
In the above examples ‘to read’, ‘to eat’, ‘to let’ and ‘to repair’ are the ‘infinitive clauses’, and they function as adjectives qualifying their preceding nouns book, apple, house and motor-cycle respectively.
 
N.B. Do not confuse infinitive clauses with prepositional phrases. While prepositional phrases consist of a preposition followed by a noun or pronoun, infinitive clauses consist of the particle "to" followed by a verb.
 
Participle Clauses
Participle clauses are a type of non-finite clause that can qualify a noun or noun phrase in a sentence. When used as postqualifiers, they follow the noun they qualify. Here are some examples:
The boy running in the field is my son.
The dog sleeping on the veranda is ill.
The student trained at our academy has topped the class.
The food sold in the hotels is not good for health.
 
In the above examples ‘running in the field’, ‘sleeping on the veranda’, ‘trained at our academy’ and  ‘sold in the hotels’, are the ‘participle clauses’, and they function as adjectives qualifying their preceding nouns boy, dog, student and food respectively..
 
 
Relative Clauses
Relative clauses are the clauses that start with a relative pronoun or a relative adverb, and are used to post-qualify the head of a noun. Here are a few examples:
This time when you arrived was 10 o’ clock.
The batsman who scored a century became the player of the match.
The food that is stale should not be eaten.
The teacher who taught us has been awarded by the President of India.
 
In the above examples ‘when you arrived’, ‘who scored a century’, ‘that is stale’ and ‘who taught us’, are the ‘relative clauses’, and they function as adjectives qualifying their preceding nouns time, batsman, food and teacher respectively.
 
Adnominal Adverbs
Adnominal adverbs are a kind of adverb that is used as the modifier of a noun and comes immediately after the noun or pronoun it modifies. For example:
 
Look at the pond here!
Let's climb up that hill over there.
The shop downstairs is open.
The park outside is beautiful.
The book here deals with physics.
 
In the above examples the adverbs ‘here’, ‘there’, ‘downstairs’, ‘outside’ and ‘here’ are called adnominal adverbs because they come respectively  just after the nouns they modify in their preceding noun phrases.
 
What are the types of a Noun phrase?
 
1. A noun phrase as the subject of a verb
2. A noun phrase as the object of a verb
3. A noun phrase as the subject complement
4. A noun phrase as the object complement
5. A noun phrase as the object of a preposition
6. A noun phrase as the object of a gerund
7. A noun phrase as the object of a participle
8. A noun phrase as an apposition
 
Examples:
 
1. A noun phrase as the subject of a verb
 
i. Children played cricket.
ii. My Children played cricket.
iii. Ram’s Children played cricket.
iv. The children played cricket.
v. These children played cricket.
vi. These four children played cricket.
vii. All these four children played cricket.
viii. The four young children played cricket.
ix. The four talented young children played cricket.
x. The building beside the fence is ours.
xi. The dog that keeps barking is theirs.
xii. The book to read is in the bag.
xiii. The boy running in the field is my son.
xiv. The food that is stale should not be eaten.
xv. The book here deals with physics.
 
Let’s analyse the parts of the Noun Phrases used in the above sentences.
i. Children: head noun
ii. My: possessive determiner, children: head noun
iii. Ram’s: possessive noun, children: head noun
iv. The: definite determiner, children: head noun
v. These: demonstrative determiner, children: head noun
vi. These: demonstrative determiner, four: cardinal determiner, children: head noun
vii. All: quantifier, these: demonstrative determiner, four: cardinal determiner, children: head noun
viii. The: definite determiner, four: cardinal determiner, young: adjective, children: head noun
ix. The: definite determiner, four: cardinal determiner, talented: adjective, young: adjective, children: head noun
x. The: definite determiner, building: head noun
xi. The: definite determiner, dog: head noun
xii. The: definite determiner,  book : head noun
xiii. The: definite determiner, boy: head noun
xiv. The: definite determiner, food: head noun
xv. The: definite determiner, book: head noun.
 
2. A noun phrase as the object of a verb
 
i. I will buy a new car.
ii. They made a great mistake.
 
3. A noun phrase as the subject complement
 
i. A diamond ring is a big expensive present.
ii. He became a successful player.
 
4. A noun phrase as the object complement
 
i. They made him the monitor.
ii. We call Dravid the wall of Indian team.
 
5. A noun phrase as the object of a preposition
 
i. There is no sense in his words.
ii. Please listen to the lecture of the teacher.
 
6. A noun phrase as the object of a gerund
 
i. Explaining the rules of grammar is not eassy.
ii. Climbing the coconut trees is too tough.
 
7. A noun phrase as the object of a participle
 
i. Explaining the rules of grammar he became popular.
ii. Climbing coconut trees he plucks coconuts.
 
8. A noun phrase as an apposition
i. Dhoni, the former captain of India, brought two World Cups.
ii. Poetry, a forrm of literature, cannot be comp0osed by all.
 
Here are some examples of Gerunds (verbs ending in -ing) functioning as noun phrases:
 
1. Singing is my favourite hobby.
    - "Singing" is a gerund and it functions as the subject of the sentence.
2. Writing stories is her passion.
    - "Writing stories" is a gerund phrase and it functions as the subject of the sentence.
3. I love eating ice cream.
    - "Eating ice cream" is a gerund phrase acting as the direct object of the verb "love".
4. The team enjoyed winning the championship.
    - "Winning the championship" is a gerund phrase and it functions as the object of the verb "enjoyed".
5. He told me reading books is his favorite pastime.
    - "Reading books" is a gerund phrase that acts as the object of the verb “told” , and at the same time it functions, as the subject  of verb “is”  in the main clause of the noun clause “(That) reading books is his favorite pastime.
6. My favorite hobby is reading books.
    - "Reading books" is a gerund phrase and it functions as the complement of the verb "is".
7. The company focuses on developing new products.
    - "Developing new products" is a gerund phrase and it functions as the object of the preposition "on".
8. She is good at solving puzzles.
    - "Solving puzzles" is a gerund phrase and it functions as the object of the preposition "at".
 
Here are some examples of participles (verbs ending in -ing) functioning as noun phrases:
 
1. The Present Participle (verb ending in -ing)
 
1. The sleeping baby is smiling.
    - "The sleeping baby" is a present participle phrase qualifying the noun “baby”. The phrase also functions as the subject of the sentence.
2. Reading books he earned knowledge.
- "Reading books" is a present participle phrase. “Reading” is a present participle qualifying the pronoun “he”, the subject of the sentence.
3. The winning team will receive a trophy.
    - "The winning team" is a present participle phrase. Here, “winning” is a present participle qualifying the noun “team”. The phrase also functions as the subject of the sentence.
4. I love the sound of running water.
    - "Running water" is a present participle phrase acting as the object of “of’. Running qualifies the noun “water”.
5. The shining stars are visible at night.
    - "The shining stars" is a present participle phrase acting as the subject.
Shining qualifies the noun “stars”.
6. He was the shining star in the team’s victory.
    - "The shining star" is a present participle phrase acting as the subject complement. ‘Shining’ qualifies the noun “star”.
7. Where are the blooming flowers?
- "The blooming flowers” is a present participle phrase acting as the subject complement. ‘Blooming’ qualifies the noun “flowers”.
8. I enjoy the rising Sun.
- "The rising Sun” is a present participle phrase acting as the object of the verb “enjoy”. ‘Rising’ qualifies the noun “Sun”.
9. I love the swimming birds.
- "The swimming birds” is a present participle phrase acting as the object of the verb “love”. ‘Swimming’ qualifies the noun “birds”.
10. I love to watch the rising Sun.
- "The rising Sun” is a present participle phrase acting as the object of the infinitive “to watch”. ‘Rising’ qualifies the noun “Sun”.
11. Wordsworth liked to praise the dancing daffodils.
- "The dancing daffodils” is a present participle phrase acting as the object of the infinitive “to praise”. ‘Dancing’ qualifies the noun “daffodils”.
 
 
 
The Past Participle (verb ending in -ed or -en)
 
1. The broken toy needs to be fixed.
    - "The broken toy" is a past participle phrase acting as the subject. “Broken”, the past participle, qualifies the noun “toy”.
2. The finished project is impressive.
    - “The finished project" is a past participle phrase acting as the subject. “Finished”, the past participle, qualifies the noun “project”.
3. I'm tired of the repeated questions.
    - "Repeated questions" is a past participle phrase acting as the object the preposition “of”. “Repeated”, the past participle, qualifies the noun “questions”.
4. The fallen leaves are blown by the wind.
    - "The fallen leaves" is a past participle phrase acting as the subject. “Fallen”, the past participle, qualifies the noun “leaves”.
5. Where is the captured money?
- "The captured money” is a past participle phrase acting as the complement of the verb ‘is’.
6. Children enjoy fried chips.
- " Fried chips” is a past participle phrase acting as the object of the verb “enjoy”. ‘Fried’ qualifies the noun “chips”.
9. I found the stolen cycle.
- "The stolen cycle” is a past participle phrase acting as the object of the verb “found”. ‘Stolen’ qualifies the noun “cycle”.
10. I like to wear the ironed dress.
- "The ironed dress” is a past participle phrase acting as the object of the infinitive “to wear”. ‘Ironed’ qualifies the noun “dress”.
11. Students like to remember the highlighted points.
- "The highlighted points” is a past participle phrase acting as the object of the infinitive “to remember”. ‘Highlighted’ qualifies the noun “points”.
 
Here are some examples of infinitives (verbs beginning with "to") functioning as noun phrases:
 
1. To learn is my greatest joy.
    - "To learn" is an infinitive phrase acting as the subject.
2. Her goal is to succeed.
    - "To succeed" is an infinitive phrase acting as the subject complement.
3. The best thing to do is to relax.
    - "To do" is an infinitive phrase acting as the complement of the noun “thing”, and "to relax" is an infinitive phrase acting as the complement of the verb “is”.
4. I want to eat something.
    - "To eat something" is an infinitive phrase acting as the object of the verb ‘want”.

N.B. The above resources have been collected from different grammar books including Meta AI & Google AI.