POINTS TO REMEMBER
Noun phrases in isolation are easy enough to
recognize (Determiner + (Optional Adjective
phrases) + Noun).
But the way noun phrases work in English
SENTENCES is by folding into ever bigger
noun phrases that become giant NPs. This
folding in process is called modification.
The definition of a noun phrase in a sentence in
English is a noun head and all its modifiers.
So to begin with we have this sentence:
This need for extra food was never the case.
We can visually recognize noun phrases:
This need (DET (article) + noun)
Extra food (Adjective + noun)
The case (DET (article) + noun)
The reason (DET (article) + noun)
My request (DET (possessive pronoun) + noun)
An essay (DET (article) + noun)
But what are they doing in the sentence?
To answer that we have to see how they connect
to each other.
Keep in mind this rule: In a sentence, an NP is
a noun head and all its modifiers.
So what are modifiers?
Prepositional phrases can be one type of noun
modifier. They can hang on to a noun and
“modify” it (change it) in some important way.
This need FOR extra food.
We now have a new noun phrase -[This need for [extra food]]
The head noun is “need” and the modifier is the
prepositional phrase “for extra food” – which
contains another noun phrase “extra food”!
The way we indicate this relationship is by
bracketing as shown above.
So now we can look at this sentence and
recognize that there are three noun phrases in it,
and one is embedded inside another in a
prepositional phrase that modifies the head noun
“need.”
[This need for [extra food] ]was never [the case].
Now note: I could add some extra information
onto “extra food” – maybe “soy protein” –
which would give me:
[This need for [extra food with [soy protein]]]
was never [the case].
See how this works?
Let’s create a giant noun phrase showing bracketing.
Consider this picture:
Consider this list of noun phrases. See if you can combine them
into one properly bracketed giant NP with “background” as the
head noun! The murky background; the enigmatic smile; the
placid face; the model
[The murky background] is disturbing.
Directions: Answer each question with reference to the
sentence ABOVE it.
Colombian rebels are at the center of a diplomatic
crisis in South America's northern Andean region as
Ecuador and Venezuela order troops to the Colombian
border.
1.
Underline the finite verb phrase(s) in this
sentence.
On Saturday Colombian forces entered Ecuador.
2.
Is the verb phrase in this sentence transitive?
They killed Raul Reyes, the No. 2 leader of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
3. Is there a pronoun in this sentence? If so, circle
it and identify it by person, number, gender (if the
pronoun shows gender), and case.
The neighboring countries accuse Colombia of violating
Ecuadorean sovereignty in the raid.
4. Is there a non-count noun in this sentence?
, circle it.
If so
The facts below are about Colombia's biggest rebel
army.
5. Circle the longest (most words) noun phrase in this
sentence and underline the head noun.
The assassination of Reyes is considered the hardest
blow ever against the FARC, which was established in
the 1960s.
6.
Is the pronoun which vague in this sentence?
FARC is a communist insurgent army.
7.
Circle the lexical verb in this sentence.
The aim of FARC is the reduction of the wide gulf
between economic classes in the South American state.
8. Draw brackets around every noun phrase in this
sentence.
The group has used the multibillion-dollar Colombian
cocaine trade to its advantage.
9. What is the tense and aspect of the finite verb
phrase in this sentence?
The drug trade has funded its operations over the last
20 years.
10. If there is a pronoun in this sentence, circle it,
identify it (person, number, gender, case) and then
determine if it qualifies as “vague.”
In many regions, the conflict consists of turf battles
by guerrillas of different factions over lucrative
cocaine-producing land.
11. Circle: Is the verb phrase active or passive?
Active/Passive
The FARC, right-wing paramilitaries and other drug
smuggling gangs are involved in these turf battles.
12. Circle: Is the verb phrase active or passive?
Active/Passive
The FARC has been branded a terrorist organization by
the United State and European Union.
13. Circle: Is the verb phrase active or passive?
Active/Passive
It has been pushed onto the defensive by U.S.-backed
security policies.
14.
What is the operator of the finite verb phrase?
The United States has given Colombia $5.5 billion in
mostly military aid over the last seven years.
15.
Is there a modal in this sentence?
But the FARC still controls some rural areas.
16. Is there a noun phrase with a proper head noun in
this sentence? If so, circle that head noun.
In these camps, the FARC produces cocaine.
17.
Is the verb phrase in this sentence intransitive?
Hundreds of kidnap victims hostage are kept in secret
jungle camps.
18. Is this sentence passive? If so, rewrite it in
the active. If not, do nothing.
Three American defense contractors and French-Colombian
politician Ingrid Betancourt are among the captives.
19.
Draw a line under the subject of the verb
She was snatched during her 2002 presidential campaign.
20. Is this sentence passive? If so, rewrite it in
the active. If not, do nothing.
In January and February, the group freed six long-term
hostages.
21.
Circle the object of the verb.
Venezuela’s leftist president, Hugo Chavez, brokered
the deal.
22.
Circle the subject of the verb.