What is Noun phrases?

Noun phrases are phrases that capacity syntactically as nouns inside sentences, for instance as the subject or object of a verb. Most noun phrases have a noun as their head.

An English noun phrases commonly takes the accompanying structure (not all components need be available):

Determiner + Pre-modifiers + Noun + Post modifiers/Complement

In this structure:

* The determiner may be an article (the, a, an) or other equivalent word, as described in the following section. In numerous contexts it is needed for a noun phrase to incorporate some determiner.

* A Pre-modifiers incorporate adjectives and some adjective phrases (such as red, really lovely), and noun adjuncts (such as college in the phrase the college student). Adjectival modifiers generally come before noun adjuncts.

* A complement or post modifier may be a prepositional phrase (.... of London), a relative clause (like  ....which we saw yesterday), certain adjective or participial phrases (....sitting on the beach), or a dependent clause or infinitive phrase right to the noun (like .... that the world is round after a noun such as fact or statement, or .... to travel widely after a noun such as desire).

A sample of a noun phrase that incorporates all of the aforementioned components is that rather attractive young college student to whom you were talking. Here that is the determiner, rather attractive and young are adjectival pre-modifiers, college is a noun adjunct, student is the noun serving as the head of the phrase, and to whom you were talking is a post-modifier (a relative clause in this situation). Notice the order of the pre-modifiers; the determiner that must come first and the noun adjunct college must come after the adjectival modifiers.

Coordinating conjunctions such as and, or, and but can be used at various levels in noun phrases, as in Paul ,John, and Mary; the matching green coat and hat; a dangerous but exciting ride; a person sitting down or standing up.

Noun phrases can likewise be set in apposition (where two consecutive phrases refer to the same thing), as in that president, Abraham Lincoln, ....(where that president and Abraham Lincoln are in apposition). In a few settings the same might be communicated by a prepositional phrase, as in the twin curses of famine and pestilence (meaning “the twin curses” that is “famine and pestilence”).

Particular forms of noun phrases include:

* Phrases framed by the determiner the with an adjective, as in the English, the homeless (these are plural phrases referring to homeless people or English people in general);

* Phrases with a pronoun rather than a noun as the head;

* Phrases comprising simply of a possessive;

* Infinitive and gerund phrases, in certain positions;

* Certain clauses, such as that clauses and relative clauses like what he said, in certain positions.

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