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

Re: Please correct the fololowing sentences

Grammar Geek — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:29:10 GMT

Hello Anon,

It's not a sentence, but looks more like a "bullet" format, since it's just a noun phrase, with no predicate.

Supply and installation of new vinyl flooring as per the sample approved by the client

Re: The verb complement in "John tends to get hungry."

ouyang — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:57:44 GMT

I think it would be useful for students to understand how these constructions relate to simpler sentence patterns, but I haven't found a rationale for classifying them. As I said, other substitutions imply that my last examples are predicate adjectives, e.g. "He seems to be the owner." -> "He seems in charge." Regardless, the verb definitely appears to be linking the phrase to the subject. However, in a sentence like "He seems to have fixed the TV." the verbal phrase doesn't appear to be a subject complement. I wouldn't call it an adjective or a noun phrase. That's why I find the verb-verbal complement concept intriguing. It would simplify the analysis to say that "seems" and "to have fixed" combine to form a transitive verb phrase that takes "the TV" as its object, giving this sentence a S-V-Object pattern. If the same principle is applied to all infinitives that follow "seem" and "appear", then the infinitive would determine whether the resulting verb phrase was intransitive or transitive.

Re: The verb complement in "John tends to get hungry."

ouyang — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:58:39 GMT

Actually, I do classify some infinitive phrases that follow the verbs "seem" and "appear" as subject complements. I'm not totally comfortable with that view, so I like to consider other options.

Also, I'm not fluent in Chinese, but I think that there is an important difference between its verb-verb complements and the verb-verbal phrase complements that begin with "tend" and "dare". Verb-verb complements are like phrasal verbs in that they combine as immediate constituents before they take objects. In phrases like, "tends to be late", "tends to say stupid things", and "dare to be different", I would say that the infinitves combine with their own complements before the infinitive phrase combines with the main verb. If this is true, then I think I need to correct my previous post because these infinitive phrases must be noun phrases functioning as objects.

I would say that the dependent clauses which follow "seem" and "appear" in sentences like, "It seems that he is confused" and "It appears that he fixed the computer" are noun clauses functioning as predicate nouns. The fact that a common noun can't be substituted for predicate nouns which follow these verbs is significant, but it doesn't matter. When verbal phrases follow these verbs, then the type of verb which forms the verbal shouldn't affect the function of the phrase. The verb phrases in the following sentences should have the same pattern, "He seems to be honest.", "He seems to be the owner.", and "He seems to eat a lot." Since these phrases could function as predicate nouns in sentences like, "The important thing is to be honest.", "The best job is to be the owner." and "My advice is to eat a lot.", I would say they are also predicate nouns when they follow "seem" and "appear". Different substitutions might imply that they are predicate adjectives. I wish there was a strong argument for classifying the infinitves which follow "seem" and "appear" as their immediate constituents, but I don't think there is.

Re: conjunctive adverbs

miriam — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 05:13:39 GMT

Conjunctive adverbs, or simply "conjuncts", do exist, and are different from sentence adverbials.These conjuncts link sentences or paragraphs and usually appear at the beginning of a sentence.

The adverbials Anonymous mentioned in their first post, those that tell us something about the verb (why, when, where, how, what for, etc.) are adjuncts (as opposed to conjuncts. Unlike conjuncts, adjuncts are part of the structure of the sentence (from the point of view of syntax); they will appear in the predicate. You also have âsentence adverbialsâ, which modify an entire clause or sentence and are placed, usually, at the beginning of the sentence).

Adverb: a part of speech whose main function is that of modifying a verb, an adjective or another adverb.

Adverbial: a syntactic function that may be realised by a number of structures (and even single words): adverbs, prepositional phrases, clauses (both finite and non-finite), noun phrases.

Both conjuncts and adjuncts are adverbials, only they are of different types.

Most conjuncts are adverbs or prepositional phrases: however, consequently, yet (meaning âhoweverâ), firstly, lastly, anyway, nonetheless, nevertheless, meanwhile, by the way, on the one hand, on the other hand, to begin with, to sum up, in short, etc. Even some conjunctions can function as conjuncts, as long as they appear at the very beginning of the sentence (for example âandâ and âbutâ). again, these are not part of either the subject or the predicate, but remain outside the structure of the sentence and act as links to the previous sentence/s or paragraph.

Miriam

Re: complete subject and simple subject

Mister Micawber — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 23:53:23 GMT

Bunches of flowers cover the float.

The simple subject is just the noun: Bunches
The complete subject is the whole noun phrase: Bunches of flowers
The simple predicate is just the verb for the noun's action: cover
The complete predicate is everything other than the complete subject (veb, objects, adverbs): cover the float.
.

Re: Syntax-semantic role-

Doll — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:20:43 GMT

Hi Anon,

I had a similar lesson in the university but I still couldn't understand what you mean.

Anyway, as I was taught predicates in a sentence follows this rule: Predicate= predicator + predicator complement.

I guess your teacher want you to find the function and category names of the components in the sentences. For example:

3. The doctor was on the village. "The doctor" is the subject of the sentence and this is its functional category. Additonally, it has a category, noun phrase, in the sentence.

Re: difference between "consider" and "consider to"

CalifJim — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 21:52:01 GMT

There are six patterns involving a predicate complement of the object. The complement can be a noun phrase (NP) or an adjective phrase (AP).

NP V NP NP |   NP V NP AP
NP V NP to be NP |   NP V NP to be AP
NP V NP as NP |   NP V NP as AP

The same verb can often take more than one of these patterns with no change of meaning. But exactly which pattern(s) each verb can take is a matter of considerable confusion at times! (Reminder: * = ungrammatical; ?= borderline grammatical; possibly ungrammatical.)

consider him a fool | consider him crazy
consider him to be a fool | consider him to be crazy
?consider him as a fool | ?consider him as crazy

prove him an innocent man | prove him innocent
prove him to be an innocent man | prove him to be innocent
*prove him as an innocent man | *prove him as innocent

appointed/named him secretary | *appointed/named him secretarial
appointed/named him to be secretary | *appointed/named him to be secretarial
appointed/named him as secretary | *appointed/named him as secretarial

*knew him an honest man | *knew him honest
knew him to be an honest man | knew him to be honest
*knew him as an honest man | *knew him as honest

*describe/treat him a friend | *describe/treat him foolish
*describe/treat him to be a friend | *describe/treat him to be foolish
describe/treat him as a friend | describe/treat him as foolish

proclaim him a hero | ?proclaim him heroic
proclaim him to be a hero | ?proclaim him to be heroic
*proclaim him as a hero | *proclaim him as heroic

CJ

Re: functional names

Mister Micawber — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 10:04:55 GMT

It -- S
will make-- V
them-- DO
wise-- Object Complement

The topic of complements is a broad and complex one, but here is a good basic introduction from an on-line source:

Complement

A complement is used with verbs like be, seem, look etc. Complements give more information about the subject or, in some structures, about the object.

There are various definitions of 'complement', which range from the very general (anything in the predicate except the verb, including the direct object and adverbs) to the much more restrictive one used here.

A complement is the part of the sentence that gives you more information about the subject (a subject complement) or the object (an object complement) of the sentence.

The complement to be used, if any, is dependent on the verb used in the sentence. Subject complements normally follow certain verbs.

For example:

He is Spanish.
She became an engineer.
That man looks like John.

Object complements follow the direct object of the verb-

For example.

They painted the house red.
She called him an idiot!
I saw her standing there.

The complement often consists of an adjective or noun phrase, but can also be a participle phrase, as in the last example. It is often not very clear whether a phrase is a complement or an adverbial.

Re: so or such???

Grammar Geek — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 20:27:34 GMT

Yes, the noun phrase is "such [a - if countable] [adjective] [noun]"

That is such a big dog. She wears such nice clothing.

So is part of an adverb phrase. She sings so well.

Or so can simply modify a predicate adjective. They seem so happy. Your voice is so pretty. Don't use so before an adjective that comes immediately before the noun it modifies. *She wears so nice clothing.

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