Grammar

Fall '09

Kim Ebensgaard Jensen

SIS English, AAU

The noun phrase I

1. Introduction
Having looked at some sentence analysis, we will now turn to the noun phrase (NP), looking at it in
more detail in terms of its internal structure and functions.
2. The noun phrase
Noun phrases are structures in which the head is a noun. Below is a generalized sketch of the
structure of the noun phrase:
NP
Determiner

Premodifier
(optional)

Head
(obligatory)

Postmodifier
(optional)

Determiners (D) specify the quantity and/or definiteness of the noun phrase, while premodifiers
(PreM) and postmodifiers (PoM) add further information/details to that expressed by the nominal
head.
Here are some examples:
I want |an| ice cream |
D
H
Look at |the| size| of that thing|
D H
PoM
| The | talented | Mr Ripley |
D
PreM
H
We saw | an | incredibly ugly | man | who claimed to be a grammar teacher |
D
PreM
H
PoM
3. Nouns
Nouns are heads of nouns phrases, and, as you know, nouns typically refer to things, entities, beings
and the like.
As you also know there are two types of noun namely, proper nouns and common nouns:

proper nouns: names of unique entities, persons, places, events etc.

common nouns: names of non-unique entities
countable nouns: may appear with quantifiers like 'one', 'two' etc. and 'a(n)'; refer to
individuated entities; countable nouns may appear in the plural
uncountable nouns: may not appear with quantifiers like 'one', 'two' etc., but may still be
quantified by some, any or partitive constructions like 'a glass of', 'a piece of', 'a
handful of', 'three kilos of' etc.; uncountable nouns do not appear in the plural

Still, we often see cases, where a countable noun is used like an uncountable noun, or an
uncountable noun is used like a countable noun, or a proper noun is used like a common noun.
What happens here is communicatively interesting, because in using a countable noun like an
uncountable noun, you inform the listener/reader that the entity is no longer an individuated one. By

Grammar
Fall '09

Kim Ebensgaard Jensen

SIS English, AAU

doing it the other round, you inform the reader/listener that (part of) the mass entity in question has
been individuated into units. And by using a proper noun like a common noun, you compare
whatever you are talking about to the qualities associated with the referent of the proper noun:
There was a cat on the road

There was cat on the road

There was beer in the case

There were beers in the case

He is Luke Skywalker

He is a (regular) Luke Skywalker

4. Number
With regular nouns, number is relatively simple. You form the plural by adding an -s. But you don't
add an apostrophe, like a lot of Danes incorrectly do 'two year's from now' is wrong! With nouns
that end in 'y', you do it this way: 'lady' + -s 'ladies'. With some words that end in 'o', you do it
like this: 'potato' + -s 'potatoes'. Remember that, when you pluralize a noun, the verb should also
be in the plural form to maintain concord, or congruence:

The cats eat mice = ok

The cats eats mice = wrong

Irregular nouns are more tricky. See Hjulmand/Schwarz pp. 75-77 for an overview of some irregular
nouns patterns.
5. Collective nouns
Collective nouns are interesting, because they have a kind of both-and nature. Collective nouns
refer to groups of people, such as 'family', 'band', 'group', 'Iron Maiden', 'Metallica', 'audience' etc.,
or to organizations, such as 'the BBC', 'the UN', 'British Airways' etc.
The thing about collective nouns is they may refer to a collection of people as one single
unit or as a collection of individuals. Which of the two a collective noun refers to is typically
reflected in the form of the verb or in the form of the pronouns that refer to the collective noun in
question:

My family has arrived (singular verb form = the group is one unit)
The rich family sold all its properties (singular pronoun form = the group is one unit)

My family are musicians (plural verb form = refers to the members as individuals)
The family sold all their proper ties (plural pronoun form = refers to the members as
individuals)

6. The genitive case

Nouns may be inflected in the genitive case to express among, other things, possession. This is
quite simple:

if the noun does not end in 's', add -'s (e.g. man man's; children children's)
if the noun ends in 's' or in the plural '-s', add -' (e.g. Ramses Ramses'; boys boys')

The genitive is often added to nouns of high animacy while 'of' is reserved for nouns of low, or no,
animacy.

Grammar
Fall '09

Kim Ebensgaard Jensen

SIS English, AAU

6.1 Specifying genitive

In the specifying genitive, the genitive noun serves as the determiner of another noun (e.g. Bill's
hat). The specifying genitive always expresses definiteness and in addition serves the following
functions:

expression of possession: the possessive genitive expresses various types of possession or

association (e.g. 'Bob's car', 'the mayor's arm', 'the president's husband')
subjective genitive: the subjective genitive is added to a noun that would otherwise have
been a subject in a clause (e.g. 'Talmy's arguing through introspection is fascinating')
objective genitive: the objective genitive is added to a noun that would otherwise have been
an object in a clause (e.g. 'Hussein's execution was broadcast live on TV')

6.2 The classifying genitive

In the classifying genitive, the genitive noun is a premodifier of another noun. The classifying
genitive expresses a kind-of relationship (e.g. 'women's magazines')
6.3 The local genitive
The local genitive is used to express a place often a familiar one (e.g. 'We went down to Pter's and
got drunk').