I.

THE PHRASE - GENERALITIES

)rrting as far back as the 1520s, the English term phrase is the result of a back
lirlmation process that yielded this noun from the plural of phrzsls, namely
lthrases. The Latin phrasls (plural phra,ss) meant "diction" or "style", coming
lirrm the Greek phrdsis, which had the additional meaning of "speech", from
l'ltrizein: to speak, to declare, to tell, to point outr. The English word phrase
|

lr;rs been

defined as:

. Any small group of words within a sentence or a clauser.

. A word or group of words forming a unit and conveying

meaning:

expression, locution'.

A word or group of words forming a syntactic constituent with a single

grammatical functiona.

A group of grammatically connected words within a sentence'.

A

sequence of grammatically related words lacking subject and predicate6.

A sequence of words intended to have meaningT.

A brief, apt, and cogent expressiono.

A word or group of words read or spoken

as a unit and separated by

pauses or other junctures'.

'I'wo or more
words in sequence that form a syntactic unit that is less
tlran a comolete sentence.lo

l'lr;r,rt'." Dictionary.con Unabridged. Randorn House. Inc. Last updated on 03 Jul.,

'rtl I Itir'tiotrury.com Avallable at: http://diclionary.reference.com/browse/phrase
I r r I

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lllnar. about.conr./od/pq/y'phrase.htm

!;,,\,tt'\'ll. The Neyv Thesauras,3rd edition,

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published by the Houghton Mifflin

'l'ltc Men'iam Ll/ebster Dictnnaryhttpllwww.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/

rl I)i('tionar),ty' Cultural Lilerac"v, edited by James S. Trefil, Joseph F. Kett,

',,'r | 111 l)onuki Ilirsc:h. pLrblishcd by Houghton Mif'flin company. Available at:
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Alina Preda

Phrasal Syntax

r A

sequence

of two or more words

arranged

in a

grammatical

construction and acting as a unit in a sentence".

o A sequence

of two or more words that does not contain a finite verb

and its subject or that does not consist of clause elements such
subject, verb, object, or complement

as

[...].'t

DEFINITION: in English syntax the phrase is a sequence of words that

lunctions as q grammaticsl unit in the structure of a clause but does not
include both a subject and a tensed verb, acting, instead, like a single part of
speech, namely as a noun, adjective, adverb or as the verb of a clause. Any
phrase hss s head, the central constituent which deterntines the syntactic type
of'that phrase.

r
o
.
o

verbal phrases (injinitive phrases, gerund phrases

I.

and participial phrases).

I. THE NOUN PHRASE

a group of words consisting of a noun, called the head-noun (or,

lcss frequently, of a pronoun, an adjective or an adverb) plus any determiners,
p rc m o diJi ers and/ or p o stm o diJie rs.

I)EFINITION:

I.I.I. THE STRUCTURE

OF NOUN PHRASES

A rroun phrase may simply consist of a pronoun (e.g. they) or of a proper noun
(c.g. Pavarotti),but most often it contains a cofiunon noun as head, this headrrrrun being preceded by determiners and/or premodifiers andlor followed by
postnr<ldifiers. The head of a noun phrase is a compulsory element, so it cannot

lrc ornitteci. If the noun is not mentioned, the pronoun one(s) must be used.
('orrscclucntly, the head of a noun phrase is usually a noun, but some
u!!!!fL;, udiactives ot pronouns may also perform'this role:

" lrl 1l://tlicl

' llrirl
|

iorurry.

r'cl

crcrtcc.cottt/ltrowsc/pltritsc

The here and now is all that matters to him.

The rich shouldhelp the poor.

Mark is the one I love.

The following parts of speech may be determiners in the structure of a noun

phrase, specifying the kind ofreference that the head-noun has:

Articles

o
o

definite: a(n)
indefinite: the

E.g. a street, an island,

o
CILASSIFICATION: depending on the core element around which all the other
phrasal constituents cluster, the centrul word that gives the phrase its syntactic
properties, srx difTerent types ofphrases have been identified - noun phrases,
prepositional phrases, adjective phrases, adverb phrases, verb phrases and

The !!99 roars.

thefla|

the error

Adjectives

o demonstrative: this, these; that, those.

E.g. this dreant, these trees, thatfact, those books
o

possessive: my, your, his, her, its, our, their.

E.g. my students, yoar honrework, his grades, her passion, its bone, our
house, their idea

o interrogative: whose, which, whichever, what, whatever.

Y.g. whose psychogram, which partner, whichever path, what answer,
whstever magnetometer

indefinite: each, every, all, some, any, no; either, neither, both,
half; other, another; few, a few, fewer, fewest; little, a little,

less, least; many, much, more, most, enough, certain, several,

various, whole.
E.g. each mistmderstanding, every determiner, all women, some men, any
questions, no consequences, either hook, neither interpretation, both
children, half a book, other sttggestions, snother jonrney, few solutions,
little tirne, many problems, much trouble, more money, most people,
enough time, certuin principles, several cltairs, various interpretations, the
whole book

Adverbs of degree and focusing adverbs: rather, quite, such, nearly,

almost, only, just.

l'..g. rather a mes.\, quite a fils,s, such a nic'e do.v, nearly att hour, almost a
rit'lrtr'.r', onlJ, u.fi)ol, just u ninutc.

Alina Preda

Phrasal Syntax

a bellow of laughter

Numerals

cardinals: one, two, fiftY, etc'

E.g. one teacher, two

suhie<'t's,

fifq'

o ordinals: first' second, ftfth, tenth, etc'

E.g. the iirst kid, the second book, the Jifth

elernent' the

tenth

comntandment

general ordinals: next. last' fortner' latter' only'

subsequent.

o fractions: one-third' one-fourth, etc'

E.g. one-thirtl the price, one-fourth my salary

ten times the Price

Phrases such as:

o a lot of, lots of, plenty of, most of, all of (used
coantable and uncountable nouns)

o a large number of, a great number

of' none

of

countable nouns)

a large amount of, a small quantity of' a good deal

deal o1', a bit of (usecl with uncountable nouns)

with both

(used with

of' a great

books; plenty of time'

E.g. a lot oJ'time, a lot oJ'books; Iots of time, lots of
alt of my time' all of
books;
ptZnty oJ'iooks, most oi my fime, mosl of my

.myb-ooks;alargenu--b..oflocusts,agreatnumberofcandidqtes,none

of the applicants,

ct

geo(!ieg!. qLtvriting' a great deal qf work' a bit qf

laughter
Numeratives: a couple of, a dozen of' a pair of' etc'
E.g. a couple of f ientls, a dozen of eggs, a pair of ieans

Unit nouns:

peal oflaughter

a block of marble

a peal

a breath

ofair

a bark of laughter

a bitr ol's<ta1'l

a barrel

bltt ol' t'llot'ttlltlt:

a basket

ofbeer
of fiuit

ofthunder

a piece of news
a piece of pie
a

pile of earth

a bunch ofgrapes

pinch of salt

a burst of laughter

pint ofbeer

ofsoup

a bowl

a can

ofsoda

a portion of food

a can

ofsoup

puff of smoke

pound of flour

roar of laughter

milk

a clap of thunder
a cloud

ofdust

roast of meat

a crash

ofthunder

roll ofpaper

a crack

ofthunder

a ro11

ofthunder

a crust

of bread

a rumble of thunder

a cube

ofice

a sheet

a drop

of-oil

a slice of cake

fit of laughter

ofsilver

a slice ofpizza

a flash of lightning

a stick of butter

a gale of laughter

a stick

a glass of

milk

ofchalk

a stick of gum

a grain of corn

a sip of tea

a grain of truth

a speck

a gust

oflaughter

ofdust

a spell of work

an item of fumiture

a strand o{'hair

-jar of marmalade

a tube ofcream

an acrc o1'land

rr

a blade ofgrass

a carton of

multipliers: double, once, twice' four times' ten times' etc'

times the amourtt'
E.g. rlouble tlte time, once ct week, twice a month' four

pack ofgum

bit of knowledge

a bottle of wine

previous'

the former
E.g. the neut day, her last v'ords, a previous engagement'
,i"gory, the lattir solution, the only option, the subsequent developments

pupils

a mug of cocoa

l.jLr-u ol-wafcr

a rilft ()f {rr:rcs

lr lolr l' o l' txcl rtl

rt lulttlt ol'sttlrtt

lt lvottl

wink o1'slccp
o

I'lttlrricc

Alina Preda

Multipliers:

E.g. rlouble the amount, once a 1tear, twice a

price

, ;Hl:il-i.'
'
.

a box of matches
a carton ofeggs
a pack ofcigarettes, etc.

Determiners are classified as central determiners, predeterminers and

postdeterminers. On the one hand, central determiners exclude each other in
i nour phrase. On the other hand, predeterminers and postdeterminers can
either qualify a head-noun by themselves, or combine with central determiners;
posttleterminers can even combine with one another.

Central determiners

da1t,

tbur times the askittg

are:

Articles.'

E.g. such an understanding, rather a surprisinglv great ,tuccess, the most

dffie:ult dec:ision

o
E,.g.

Demonstrativeadjectives.'
this smart question, twic:e that huge amount,

all rf

these amazing

pictures, only those priceless books

Possessiveadjectives.'

E.g. my lilb,

all o/ his children, only its faded colour, their Jitolislt

questions, onets orl"? bttsiness

Predeterminers are:

Adverhs oJ'degree and focusing adverbs: rather, quite, such, nearly,

fairly, almost, onlY, just, etc.
E.g. rather a.jumble, qaite a wonder.ful day, such a.fuss, nearly a disaster,
fuirty a blessing in disguise, ulmost a tragedy, only a minttte, iust a fool

IndeJinite adjectives: each, either, neither, all, hall both, some, any,
many (sometimes the indeJinite pronoun is used, followed by the

preposition o/):
E.g. each of the girls, either of your parents, neither of your grandparents,
all the people, all of the people, alt the time, sll of the time, halJ'his tirue,
half oj thi stuclents, both these boxes, both of these cases, some of the
people, any of the three, many a w-ofltafl

Relative-interrogative pronouns: the pronoun which followed by the

preposition o/:
F,. g. w,hic:h of the books

o lndefinite adjectives.' each,

much, many, enough.

E.g. each man, every rvotnan, /tlsl some naughtv kids, any further

questions, no additional information, either reply, neither applicant, much

ado about nothing, many good ideas' enough time

whatever.

E.g. whose stupitl idea, which Jbolish question, whichever answer, what
ryecific pos ition, whatever decision
Postdeterminers

IntleJinite adjectivesr other, few, a few, fewer, f-ewest; littie, a little,

problems, much trrntble, more vtork, most indivirluals, several srtggestiotts, the
whole book

c
Fractions:
nr.t, .salur.tt,

are'.

E.g. the other opinion,s, the t'ery Jbw problems, Iittle monel', hi"s many

Csrdinul numbers followed by the preposition o/:

of the books, trventy of the students
one
E.g.

lr.g onc-thinl

Relative - interrogative adjectives.. whose, which, whichever, what,

less, least; many, much, more, most, several, whole.

every, some, any' no; either, neither,

one-Jifth the price

fr.q. //i.\'

l,{umeruls:

cal'tlinllls:

ottt'itlt'tt, tlt,'ir'lwrt r tu':. llrrtst.li.fi.l' ltttltil';

Alina Preda

Phrasal Syntax

10. Predeterminers + of +

ordinals:

E.g. the Jirst idea, the second car, his tenth attempt

general ordinals: next, last, former, latter, only, previous,

subsequent.

E.g. the next day, her lust book, a previous engagement, the former type' tlte
latter option, the only solution, the subsequent developments

Here are various types of possible combinations:

l. Predeterminer

central determiner

of + central determiner

head-noun - these are called modifiers. Depending on the

position that they occupy in the structure of the noun phrase, modifiers are
classified as oremoclifiers and postmodiJiers. Whereas premodiliers are words
or phrases modifying a noun placed after the determiner und before the hesdnoun, postntodijiers are words, phrases, or clauses modifying a noun, which
immediately follow the head-noan.

PremodiJiers are
nouns:

noun
one of my books

* of + central determiner * noun

3. Predeterminers

Noun phrases may contain words other than determiners, words which precede

or follow the

noun

bothmv books

2. Predeterminer

central determiner * postdeterminers t noun

some more of the last ten books

o
o
o
o

a cofl'ee mug
a poundts worth
a gold watch

Winterson's work

two or three more of mv books

4. Central determiner

postdeterminer

noun
the other books

5. Predeterminer

6. Predeteminer

central determiner * postdeterminer

noun
all the other books

I noun
only the.frsr three books

central determiner * postdeterminers

adjectives:
o a ginger cat
o the old woman
o a younger man

white chocolate

adverbs:

o
o
o

the above inlormation

the alter life

the inside repairs

compound structures:
7. Predeterminer + of + central determiner

* postdeterminer * noun
all ofthose ten books

8. Predeterminers

of + central determiner * po^stdetenniner * noun

many more of thos e ten hooks

9. I)r.crlctcrnrincr I ol' I ccntr:rl dcterminer * postdeterntirters I noun

all ofthose other ten books

o
o
o
o
o
o
o

lirst-class presentation

some brand-new clothes

my record-breaking performance
these hard-working students

rnany good-looking women

most brave-hearted men
a lbw hard-hearted kids

Alina Preda
a

as "combinations
compound premodifiers are deftned by Leech and Svartvick
noun"r3'
or
of words which function as a single acljective

groups ofwords:
o a black and white dress
o the half-Past-nine train
o a readY-to-wear dress
o an out-of-the-waY cabin
o an uP-to-date edition

o
Groups

of words (which may be Noun

:>

ofa clause they are never hyphenated:

black and white dress
The dress is black and white'

the half-Past-nine train

:>
a

The train arrives at half past nine'

ready-to-wear

:>

dress

The dress is readY to wear'

an out-of-the-waY cabin

:>

The cabin is out of the waY.

an up-to-date edition

:>

This edition is uP to date'

r.,(ico(1icy l.ccclr ancl .lan Svartvick (1993 [975]), A Cotnmunk:ative Grummur ol'
lin,ql ish. Lotltlott. Lortqttllltt,

"

Ihitl

11.

272'

This outfit is extremely cheap but,

throw it away in the morning.

if you wear it

at night, you can

gerunds:

o
o

differentiated from compouni

:>

non-finite clauses:
o an extremely cheap wear-at-night-and-throw-away-in-themorning outfit

Phrases' Adjective Phrases'

premodifiers consisting
Prepositional Phrases, Participial Ph'u'es, etc') used as
in that they
premodifier.s,
of more than one word are different from compound
*make up a syntactic construction rather than a compound word"'*' Although
as premodifiers' they can be
such word groups are often hyphenated when used
when placed after the verb
because
premodifiers

That car has recentlv been tuned.

Such non-finite clauses premodifying nouns behave like the above-mentioned

groups of words, since, u'hen rephrased the elements forming the clause are no
longer hyphenated:

tuned car

a recentlY

recently tuned car

a reading lamp
a sleeping bag

participles:

o
o
o
o

our sinking ship

the sleeping baby
the lost letter
my hidden feelings

Gerunds are verbals used as nouns and participles are verbals used as
adjectives. adverbs or verbs. There is an obvious difference between the -ing
verb forms labelled as "gerunds" and the ones called "present participles": thus,
a reading lamp : a lamp used for reading :> in both cases reading is a
gerund, a noun equivalent. In the first case it is used as premodifier of the
head-noun "lamp", just like nouns can be used as premodifiers (e.g. a coffee
mug), in the second it is used as a complement of preposition (nouns and
noun equivalents can have this syntactic function). Siurilarly, a sleeping bag:
a bag uscd for sleeping.

In contrast, our sinking ship : our ship which is sinking, and here sinking is
also used as a premodifier, but it works like an adjective, not like a noun, fbct
proven by the rephrase, where the deJining relative clause "which is sinking"
is used. Moreover, inside the relative clause, sinking is the lexical verb.
Similarly, the sleeping baby : the baby who is sleeping.

Alina Preda

Phrasal Syntax

verbal phrases:
o infinitive phrases:

Postmodiiier.t can be:

o
o

nouns:
n

^
6

the river Thames

Professor Brown
the planet Mars

noun phrases:

o
o
o

a shirt
a skirt

that size
this colour

o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

some kids Your age

o
o

ofnoun phrases in apposition:

Michael the Brave

as heads

o
o

Ivan the Terrible

predicative:

o
o

two ideas alike

the building abhze

others:
the audience Present

o
o

the man on the phone

the shop at the end ofthe street
no idea of how old I was
no information about where he lived

comparatives: finite comparative clauses introduced by the

conjunction "tlran", or prepositional phrases beginning with

o
o

a motorbike faster than mine

a book less impressive than we expected
a stamP hard to come bY
a room so dirtY that we got sick

llrc silrrrrl iorr lhcrcallcr

villa

Stoppard's

structure placed after the head-noun:

fiction Proper

the girls inside

the boys outside
the lloor below
tlrc wuy tlown

a play of

"than" * in such cases the head of the noun

phrase is modified by a discontinuous adjective phrase, which
begins before the head-noun and ends with the comparative
She is a much better person than you are.
I need much more time tha4 that.

relative clauses: clauses functioning as adjectives and

introduced by relative pronouns (which, who, whom, whose,
that) or relative adverbs (why, where, when)

adverbs:
o

the roof of our

the prepo.sition

adjective phrases:

o
o
o
o

nouns of Greek origin

a matter of principle
the expectations of the teachers
the claws of the lion

clauses:

following expressions of measurement:

o a hotel twentY-storeYs high
o a girl nine-Years old
o a bridge two-hundred-miles long

o
o

participial phrases:
o the children digging a hole
o the people injured in the accident

prepositional phrases:

adjectives:

the courage to do such a thing

the person to talk to

deJining (or restrictive) relative clauses: always bring

essential information to the sentence thev are nart of

l'lrc fcar that ovenuhelmed Jane was the deep-seated fear most women
ovcrc()Iilc.

llrr' li'rrl

u1us1

Alina Preda

Phrasal Syntax
The thought that May entertsined could well be read in her eyes'

No one really believed in his story that the cat had eaten his homework.
Q that the cat had eaten his homework IS the story

information about the thought

The fact that John brought to our sttention got all of us worried'

Robert Malcolm Ward Dixon'u offers the following two examples

.
.

information about the fact

This is the book (that)

have been telling you about'

the engine of Fred's old car outside in the back garden which John
tried to mend

Here is a brief analysis of the two examples:

. some of the bestJifteen new shiny plastic Germun cat baskets

Some of
the :

separated by comma(s) from the rest of the sentence,

cannot be introduced by the relative pronoun that, and
do not bring essential information to the sentence they
are part of

My sister, Aho lives in Csnqdo, is a doctor'

best
fi

Jane was terrified by the fear that her child would never be found.
+ that her child would never be found lS the fear

that he might have been cheating on her lS the thought

helped him'
John refused to heip me, in spite of the fact that I had always
+ that I had always helped him IS the fact

an abstract
Thc Noun Phrascs which take "that" nominal clauses in apposition have
promisc,
news.
idea,
t-ear,
fact,
claim,
bclicl,
ltor.ilt its hcad: answcr, appcal, argunlcnt,
r5

tprcsliott. slory. lltottgltl. clc.

adjective, premodifier

baskets

o
:

adjective, premodifier

adjective, premodifier

noun, premodifier

corunou noun. head ofthe noun nhrase

the engine of Fred's old car outside in the back garden which John
tried to mend

definite article, central determiner

engine
The thought that he might have been cheating on her tenifred Diane'

cardinal number, premodifi er

German

the

predeterminer

adjective, premodifer

shiny

cat:
nominal clauses: clauses functioning as nouns and introduced
by the conjunction that, in apposition to noun phrasesr5 (in
subject, object or complement position), having the syntactic
function of noun comPlement

"of',

superlative adjective, premodifier

fteen

new

indefinite pronoun + the preposition

dehnite article, central determiner

plastic

Tokyo, which is the cqrital of Japan, has a rather low crime rate'

noun

some of the best Jifteen neb, shiny plastic German cst baskets

My sister who lives in Canudq is a doctor'

a nurse.

of

phrases containing a multitude of determiners and modifiers:

comrnon noun, head of the noun phrase

ofFred's old car: prepositional phrase, poshrodifier

outside

place adverb, postmodifier

in the back garden

prepositional phrase, postmodifier

'" llobcrl Malcolrtt Wirll l)ixorr (1991). A

Ncv' ,41t1tnxtt'h to English (]rommar, on

St'rttttrtlit l'r'irrt iltlt'.s, ( )xlorrl ('lrttt'ttriott Itlcss, p. 2 L

Alina Preda
postmodifier
which John tried to mend: defining relative clause'

Free Modifier:

A very enjoyable read,

1.1.2. SYNTACTIC FUNCTIONS

functions:
Noun phrases may perform the following syntactic

Subject:

The President is abroad'

Subject ComPlement:

Patrick is the President'

The Hours is a marvellous novel.

1.1.3. CONCLUDING REMARKS

A Noun Phrase may have up to four structural constituents: determiners,

premodiJiers, a head, and postmodijiers. The presence of the head is
compulsory; therefore, even when it appears on its own, the head-noun is
viewed as a complete Noun Phrase. Moreover, a pronoun may substitute for a
Noun Phrase in its entirety:
E.g. : The noisy young men thst had clisturbed the

Direct Object:

They offended the President'

whole neighbourhood were taken into custody at 4 a.m.

They were taken into custody at 4. a. m.

Indirect Object:

I gave the President mY report'

Determination is employed in order to specifu the kind of reference that the

- a/an, definite - the, existential - some, &ny,
several, many, etc., partitive - a couple of, a bar of, a packet of, etc. or
universal - all, every, etc.). Most countable nouns in the singular require some
kind of determination, and so does any adjective or adverb that features as the
head ofa Noun Phrase, but proper nouns and pronouns acting as heads do not,
as they are inherently definite, so no determiner is required.
head-noun makes (indefinite

Object ComPlement:
We elected Patrick President of Fantasia'

Complement of PrePosition:
I asreed with the President.

Premodifier within a Noun Phrase:

to alllaze us'
The Information Age technology never ceases

Postmodifier within a Noun Phrase:

A skirt that colour wouldn't suit a woman your age'
Noun ComPlement/APPosition:
Patrick, the president of Fantasia, decided to resrgn'

Adverbial Modifier:
The next day he changed his mind'
They went that way'

- adverbial modifier of time

- adverbial modilter of place

In this book I have used the term "determiners" solely when making reference
to the structural constituents of a Noun Phrase, in order to differentiate
determination items from modification items, and not in contrast with the
category of "pronoun", as many linguists do. Instead, I have employed the
morphological terminology in order to specify the word class to which the
Noun Phrase detenniners belong (article, indeJinite pronoun, relative-

interrogative pronoun, adjective, demonstrutive adjective, possessive

adjective, indejlnite adjective, relutive - interrogative adjective, numeral, etc.).
This is because, on the one hand, the class of determiners is extremely diverse,
so many word classes, can be used as determiners, some pronouns included
(indeJinite pronoans and relutive-interrogative pronouns followed by the
preposition oJ), and, on the other hand, two or more determiners can co-occur
before a noun, and it is essential that the terminology employed should allow
for the differentiation required during the process of morpho-syntactic analysis.
The modifying constituents n'hich are placed after any determiners hut before

tha heud-norrn lirrrrr wlrat is knor,vn as premodiJication. The modifying

conslilucnls lhal arr lll:rct'rl al'icr lhc hcad-n<lun constitute what is called
posl rrro<lilicir I iorr.