Search results for 'tag:Noun phrases tag:Articles' matching tags 'Noun phrases' and 'Articles'

review

somer — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:49:02 GMT

3a) A cat ate the small animal.

3b) A cat is a small animal.

The syntactic analyses of the two sentences are differents. In the sentence 3a) we have (s, v, do) while, in the second sentence 3b) we have (s, v (copular), sP).

In 3a) âa cat âis noun phrase (a is determiner indefinite article, cat is head noun of noun phrase âa catâ), âateâ is verb in past simple tense,â the small animal â is noun phrase consist of determiner âtheâ, âsmallâ is adjective , âanimalâ is the head noun of the noun phrase, all the noun phrase functions as direct object.

In 3b) âa catâ is noun phrase (a is determiner indefinite article, cat is head noun of noun phrase âa catâ) function as subject, âisâ copular verb in simple present tense,â a small animalâ noun phrase consist of the indefinite determiner âaâ , the adjective small , and the head noun of the noun phrase âanimalâ, the noun phrase function as subject predicative.

Differences in the meaning: the first sentence means that there was a cat and it ate the small animal "the small animal" should be mentioned before, or known to the reader, while the second sentence means that a cat is a kind of animal and it is small. We are talking generally here.

What types of phrase have been underlined?

ericsteef — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:45:46 GMT

I answered this question i just need someone check my answer and tell me if there a mistake and what is the correction of it.

What types of phrase have been underlined? Analyse the phrases and give information about what elements they contain and what sort of words they consist of.

Hercule Poirot made his first appearance in The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Participial Phrase called upon by his friend Hastings, to solve a most mysterious murder. This Belgian refugee from the First World War began his career as a police officer - Christie felt it only fitting that he had a professional background as it would explain his knowledge of police proceedings when he later became a private detective. He began his private career on the continent, which is where he formed his lifelong friendship with Hastings.

Poirot would be the first to call himself a great man - he has never been known for his modesty - but with such success in his career he is quite justified in his opinion! He finishes each case with a dramatic dÃ©nouement, satisfying his own ego and confirming to all, that he is truly âthe greatest mind in Europe.â His love of elegance, beauty, and precision, as well as his eccentric mannerisms are often ridiculed by the local bumbling policemen, but it is always Poirot who has the last word!

Christie's inspiration for Poirot lay behind the Belgian refugees who had escaped the war and made their home in the Parish of Torre. Christie had seen how the locals had opened their arms to them and how some, not understanding the British way of life, preferred to do things their own way. Christie decided to make Poirot more mature, a decision she would later regret; âthe result is that my fictional detective is well over a hundred by now.â

But not even Christie could ever have imagined how popular Poirot would become, nor how many stories she would write about him. He would star in thirty-three novels and fifty-four short stories, including some of Christieâs best such as Murder on the Orient Express, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Death on the Nile.

Poirot deserves his place in crime fiction history and this was certainly achieved on his death in 1975; Poirot became the only fictional character in history to be honoured with an obituary on the front of The New York Times!

(Adapted from the official Agatha Christie page (http://uk.agathachristie.com)

a professional background:

it is NP âaâ is indefinite article function as determiner.âProfessionalâ is adjective,â

a professionalâ is a premodifier of the noun phrase, âbackground âis the head noun of the noun phrase.

2-Christie's inspiration for Poirot :

it is NP âChristieâsâ is noun of the noun phrase form functions as Premodifier ,â inspirationâ the head noun of the noun phrase âfor Poirotâ i

2-Christie's inspiration for Poirot :

it is NP âChristieâsâ is noun of the noun phrase form functions as Premodifier ,â inspirationâ the head noun of the noun phrase âfor Poirotâ is Prep: P âforâ preposition âPoirotâ noun and all the phrase âfor Poirotâ is the postmodifeir of the noun phrase.

3-More mature:

adjective phrase in its comparative form consists of âmoreâ determiner function as premodifier of the adjective phrase and âmatureâ adjective is the head of the adjective phrase.

Could have imagined:

verb phrase consists of, âcouldâ modal auxiliary verb, âhaveâ grammatical auxiliary, imagined stative verb in past participle form and all the phrase in the present perfective tense.

In thirty-three novels:

prepositional phrase consists of preposition âinâ,â thirty three" Post determinerâ âNovelsâ is the head noun of the noun phrase.

Sentence Analysis

Anonymous — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 12:49:24 GMT

I have to analyse the following sentence, but I'm really stuck...

"Amanda's practical solutions of what had seemed an insoluble mystery descended on the family like a balm."

I have to cut this sentence into constituents and cut those up in nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, pronouns, prepositions etc.
For now I have this:
'Amanda's practical solutions of what had seemed an insoluble mystery' = the subject of the whole sentence and is a Noun Phrase
'descended' = the main verb of the sentence,
'on the family' = a Prepositional Phrase
'like a balm' = a Prepositional Phrase

The two prepositional phrases don't give me any trouble (both start with a preposition, than have a determiner article and end in a noun).

The Noun Phrase is what gives me trouble...

'Amanda's practical solutions of what had seemed an insoluble mystery' has two constituents, I'd say...
'Amanda's practical solutions' = Noun Phrase
'of what had seemed an insoluble mystery' = ???
I really can't get beyond this point... How should I analyse this?

I really hope someone can help me with this sentence...

Re: When the teacher (had) arrived, they stopped talking.

Ant_222 — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:21:49 GMT

New2grammar
My problem with definite and indefinite articles is less than with definite/indefinite pronouns. I think I'm starting to see other and another as indefinite articles, my as definite article and mine as indefinite article.

There's no such corellation, except for "another", which is in fact "an" + "other", so dont' need to think of these words as capable of rendering a noun definite or indefinite on their own.

"Take by my hand" â how can it be definite when we don't no which hand is in question?

"Your English is better than mine" â how can it be indefinite when it's a comparison of the English skills of two people?

... And so on.

New2grammar
I have to say referring to other, another, my, mine as definite/indefinite is something new to me.

We didn't refer to this words alone. It were noun phrases buit therewith that we called definite or indefinite. And since nouns can be (in)definte, that's all right.

Re: gerund or verbal noun

CalifJim — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 20:25:23 GMT

All of your examples are gerunds if we stick to modern terminology.

Forget about the terminology verbal noun. It's total garbage!

It has many different definitions, depending on the author and when the grammar book was written.
_____________

The modern definition is given at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbal_noun

A verbal noun is a noun formed directly as an inflexion of a verb or a verb stem, sharing at least in part its constructions. This term is applied especially to gerunds, and sometimes also to [bare] infinitives and supines [i.e., full infinitives].

That is, there are three types of verbal noun: gerunds, bare infinitives, and full infinitives.

So anything that is a gerund is also a verbal noun, because a gerund is one of the types of verbal nouns.
____________

The modern definition is echoed at

http://www.ielanguages.com/english.html

Gerunds: [Like participles,] Gerunds are also formed by adding -ing to the verb, but they function as a verbal noun [as opposed to the participle, which is a verbal adjective] and are normally preceded by articles or demonstratives. The singing was excellent.
___________

A completely different definition is found here:

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-VERBALNOUN.html

VERBAL NOUN. A category of noncountable abstract noun derived from a verb, in English by adding the suffix -ing. Like the verb from which it derives, it refers to an action or state: writing in The writing has taken too long; hearing in His hearing is defective. Verbal nouns are frequently combined with the preposition of and a noun phrase that corresponds to the subject or object in a clause: The grumbling of his neighbours met with no response (compare His neighbours grumbled); His acting of Hamlet won our admiration (compare He acted Hamlet). Verbal nouns contrast with deverbal nouns, that is, other kinds of nouns derived from verbs, such as attempt, destruction, and including nouns ending in -ing that do not have verbal force: building in The building was empty. They also contrast with the gerund, which also ends in -ing, but is syntactically a verb.

Note the last (underlined) sentence. By this definition only usages like The neighbors were acting like fools are considered gerunds -- not all the other examples that preceded -- examples that we would all agree are gerunds in current terminology.
_____________

The next definition is more than 100 years old, and I've seen it quoted on this site. Note that it is classified (see the URL) under "Classic Literature". It is useful only as a historic document -- not as a guide to modern English and modern syntactic analysis.

http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/wmbaskervill/bl-wmbaskervill-grammar-parts-nouns.htm

An English Grammar

1896

by W. M. Baskervill & J. W. Sewell

273. It [the gerund] differs from the participle in being always used as a noun: it never belongs to or limits a noun.

It differs from the verbal noun in having the property of governing a noun (which the verbal noun has not) and of expressing action (the verbal noun merely names an action, Sec. II).

[Sec. II. is actually Sec. 11, where nouns are discussed. The discussion of verbal nouns is within a category called Abstract Nouns, so in Section 11 verbal nouns are called by their more specific name: Verbal Abstract Nouns.]

II. The VERBAL ABSTRACT NOUNS Originate in verbs, as their name implies. They may beâ

(1) Of the same form as the simple verb. The verb, by altering its function, is used as a noun; as in the expressions, "a long run" "a bold move," "a brisk walk "
[These are called deverbal nouns in modern terminology -- or 'zero-related nominals' or just 'nouns'.]

(2) Derived from verbs by changing the ending or adding a suffix: motion from move, speech from speak, theft from thieve, action from act, service from serve.
[These,too, are called deverbal nouns nowadays -- or just 'nouns'.]

(3) Derived from verbs by adding -ing to the simple verb. It must be remembered that these words are free from any verbal function They cannot govern a word, and they cannot express action, but are merely names of actions. They are only the husks of verbs, and are to be rigidly distinguished from gerunds (Secs. 272, 273). [These are nouns that end in -ing. They have acquired fixed meanings as nouns, referring to something more concrete than the action of the underlying verb.]

To avoid difficulty, study carefully these examples:

The best thoughts and sayings of the Greeks; the moon caused fearful forebodings; in the beginning of his life; he spread his blessings over the land; the great Puritan awakening; our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting; a wedding or a festival; the rude drawings of the book; masterpieces of the Socratic reasoning; the teachings of the High Spirit; those opinions and feelings; there is time for such reasonings; the well-being of her subjects; her longing for their favor; feelings which their original meaning will by no means justify; the main bearings of this matter.
______________

It is debatable whether anything whatsoever is to be gained in the study of modern English by resurrecting these older definitions.

CJ

Re: TEA

Grammar Geek — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:26:48 GMT

Which is better: (it's part of the information on the tea box)
1. Tea facilitating digestion process
2. Tea which facilitates digestion process
3. A tea which facilitates a digestion process
SHOULD I USE THE ARTICLE "a" BEFORE DIGESTION PROCESS. I KNOW THAT BEFORE ABSTRACT NOUNS WE DON'T HAVE TO PUT ARTICLES AND THE WORD PROCESS,ACCORDING TO ME, IS AN ABSTRACT NOUN CAUSE WE CANNOT TOUCH IT.

Tea facilitates the digestive process. This says that all types of tea helps digestion.

A tea that facilitates the digestive process... This is only a noun phrase - there is no main verb. It distinguished some types of teas (those that help disgestion) from others, but doesn't say anything else, such as will help you sleep better or control you appetite or whatever you want to say.

Abtract nouns can take articles: We could feel the anticipation in the auditorium building. or We improved the process.

Use "the digestive process." Which process? The digestive process. If you use "a digestive process" you are saying that there are many types, and this is just one of the types. Although a cow may have a different digestive process than a human, it's clear we're talking about humans, so use "the."

Re: In the following sentence ''He'' is subject, ''is'' is a...

CalifJim — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 02:22:28 GMT

Categories or Parts of Speech

he - pronoun
he - noun phrase (NP)*
is - verb
a - article
nice - adjective
person - noun
a nice person - noun phrase (NP)*
is a nice person - verb phrase (VP)*

*These designations come from a system of analysis called 'transformational grammar'.

Functions

he - subject
is - copula
a - determiner
nice - modifier
person - complement
a nice person - complement
is a nice person - predicate

At the highest level of functional analysis, each sentence has simply a subject and a predicate; the predicate is everything in the sentence except the subject.

The same part of speech (category), particularly nouns, can be used with different functions. For example a noun can act as a subject, a subject complement, a direct object, an indirect object, an object complement, the object of a preposition, or a modifier. In grammatical analysis the different kinds of terminology shown above are often mixed. The same component in a sentence may have several different names. Also, the same term may be used both as a category and as a function. The word verb, for example, is often used both to mean a part of speech and as the name of its function in the sentence. There are often many different terms that apply to the same word or group of words. The terms selected depend on the type of analysis which is being done.

CJ

Re: In the following sentence ''He'' is subject, ''is'' is a...

Jackson6612 — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 18:35:24 GMT

Hi Doll,

Calm down Jackson. You will find the answer you want in the end. If you don't want any other person to answer your posts, please add " teachers reply only" .And what is wrong with learning other sides of point? I think it is a chance for you to learn compound nominal predicate. By the way, don't forget that we are all volunteers here.

I didn't ask Paulio to stop replying to my question. I just asked him to be little more comprehensive. Yes, I do learn from everyone and I do respect everyone for teaching me.

And please let me know the definition of ''compound nominal predicate

He --- subject is --- copula a nice person--- subject complement/attribute. Who is a nice person? He. You see subject answers this so it is subject attribute. The things I explained are functions.¹As for categories¹: He---noun , is ---verb phrase² a nice person ---- noun phrase . More detailed: a is an article, nice is an adjective modifying person.

This is what I think.

1: What is the difference between categories and functions?

2: I never heard anyone calling is a verb phrase. Mostly they call it helping verb or linking verb. What do you say on this?

Re: In the following sentence ''He'' is subject, ''is'' is a...

Doll — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 18:03:47 GMT

Calm down Jackson. You will find the answer you want in the end. If you don't want any other person to answer your posts, please add " teachers reply only" .And what is wrong with learning other sides of point? I think it is a chance for you to learn compound nominal predicate. By the way, don't forget that we are all volunteers here.

He- subject is --- copula a nice person--- subject complement/attribute. Who is a nice person? He. You see subject answers this so it is subject attribute. The things I explained are functions. As for categories: He---noun , is ---verb phrase a nice person ---- noun phrase . More detailed: a is an article, nice is an adjective modifying person.

This is what I think.

Re: Article before proper noun+ common noun.

Feebs11 — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 00:18:26 GMT

Sabyakgp wrote:
Thanks for the reply Feebs11, I have gone through the document, But I would like to know should a noun be preceeded by the definite aritcle If a noun is premodified.

For example:

The General Electric Company
But Not: The Microsoft Corporation

There are many such examples where the noun phrase is preceeded by "the". Is there ay rule behind doing that.

Can anyone please help me in this regard.

Regards,
Sabya

You would use "the" in front of General Electric Company or Microsoft Corporation when referring to them as a company:

I work for General Electric.
He works for the General Electric Company

Microsoft has a massive new promotion going on.
The Microsoft Corporation has again dropped market share.

Going back to your first post, the Labour/Conservative Party are being discussed as specific organizations; the English language is a specific language, just as the French language and the German language are specific.

You will not need "the" if [for instance] you were to say Labour Party members or English language grammar rules, where the phrases are being used adjectively.