Download Lecture 3. Phrases

Erik Smitterberg ([email protected])
Dept. of English, Uppsala University
A1/T1/HS1 Grammar
Autumn/Fall Term 2013
Lecture 3. Phrases

Function:
o
Phrases are at a higher level of grammatical structure than individual words
(although a phrase may consist of a single word!).
o
Phrases function as clause elements or parts of clause elements.

Structure:
o
Phrases always contain a head, which is often – but not always – a word
belonging to the word class after which the phrase is named.
o
Phrases may also contain other elements.
o
Phrases can sometimes be identified through substitution tests (see slide 11 on
the slideshow for an example).

The noun phrase (NP):
o
Always contains a head, which may be:

A noun (e.g. my black dogs).

A pronoun (e.g. you).

(More rarely) an adjective (e.g. the unemployed) (see Lecture 9).
o
May contain one or more determiners, which specify the reference of the noun
phrase:

Articles (e.g. the environment).

Pronouns (e.g. her textbook).

Genitive noun phrases (e.g. my old friend’s address).

Numerals (e.g. three attempts).

NOTE. UGE (p. 59) says that numerals can be classified either as
determiners or as premodifiers. In this course, they are considered
to be determiners.
o
May contain one or more premodifiers, which describe or classify the head:

Adjectives (e.g. every available man), including participial adjectives (e.g.
a stunning performance).

Nouns (e.g. a bronze sculpture).

Classifying genitive nouns (e.g. a children’s book).

NOTE. UGE (p. 59) lists girl’s in a girl’s school as a premodifier and a
classifying noun in the genitive. This is an error: in a girl’s school
(Swedish en flickas skola), a girl’s is a determiner (a genitive noun
phrase) and school is the head. The example should be a girls’ school
(Swedish en flickskola), with a as determiner, girls’ as premodifier,
and school as head.
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Erik Smitterberg ([email protected])
Dept. of English, Uppsala University
o
o
A1/T1/HS1 Grammar
Autumn/Fall Term 2013
May contain one or more postmodifiers, which provide more information on
the head, such as (see UGE [p. 60] for a more comprehensive list):

Prepositional phrases (e.g. a nice lecture on grammar).

Dependent (relative) clauses (e.g. the guy who stole your jacket).
NPs often function as subjects, objects, predicatives, adverbials,
prepositional complements, or (in the genitive) determiners in other NPs.

The verb phrase (VP):
o
Always contains a head – the main verb, which is always the last (and
sometimes the only) verb in the verb phrase.
o
May contain between one and four auxiliary verbs (e.g. That would have made
sense with would and have as auxiliaries and made as main verb).
o
A VP forms the clause element verb (V).

The adjective phrase (AdjP):
o
Always contains a head, which is an adjective (e.g. The sofa is blue) or a
participial adjective (e.g. Those people seem interesting).
o
May contain modifiers such as adverbs (e.g. Those people seem extremely
interesting) or complements (e.g. I’m happy to wait here).

The adverb phrase (AP):
o
Always contains a head, which is an adverb (e.g. You speak quietly).
o
May contain modifiers (e.g. You speak too quietly).

The prepositional phrase (PP):
o
Contains a head, which is a preposition (e.g. I’m at the office).
o
Contains a complement:

The complement is usually a noun phrase (e.g. I’m at the office).

The complement slot may also be filled by other structures (see section
3.3.5 in UGE), especially -ing forms of verbs (alone or together with other
words).

NOTE. That-clauses and infinitives cannot be prepositional complements
in English (see Lecture 8).
o
Frequent functions of PPs:

Postmodifier in a NP.

The clause element adverbial (A).
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