19 8.h
„She complained about the house being too far from the shopping centre.
‟
2. Components of English Noun Phrase
A phrase is defined by Kolln and Funk 2012 as “a word or a group of
words which functions as a unit within a sentence” p. 18. Given the definition, a
noun phrase is defined as a noun or a group of nouns that functions as a unit within a sentence. Syntactically, Kolln and Funk 2012 identify a noun as “a
word which can be made plural andor possessive and is signaled by a determiner”. As a unit, an NP consists of some components presented as follows.
a. Determiner
As mentioned by Kolln and Funk 2012, an ENP is usually signaled by a determiner. The class of determiners consists of articles, possessive nouns,
possessive pronouns, numbers, and demonstrative pronouns Kolln and Funk, 2012, p. 130. According to Quirk et al. 1985, determiners function to
“determine what kind of reference a noun phrase has, for example definite „the‟ or indefinite
„a‟ or „an‟” p. 64. The structure of the phrase is Determiner + Head.
9.a 1. a story 2. the story
The indefinite article as shown in example 9a.1 is functioned when the noun is mentioned first in the context. However, the definite article
„the‟ in example 9a.2 is used to refer to something previously mentioned. According to Quirk et
al. 1972, the definite article is used to introduce something as definite, or to refer
20 to “something which can be identified uniquely in the contextual or general
knowledge share d by the speaker and hearer” p. 265.
Other forms of determiners are demonstrative pronouns, „thisthese‟ and
‘thatthose‟, as shown in examples 9b. 9.b 1. that house
2. this house According to Quirk et al. 1985, p. 372, demonstratives have definite meanings
and their reference depends on the context shared by the speaker and hearer. It can show anaphoric reference coreference to an earlier part of the discourse,
cataphoric reference coreference to a later part of the discourse and situational reference reference to the extralinguistic situation, such as distant or near
reference. The demonstratives „thisthese‟ are used for either anaphoric and
cataphoric references, while „thatthose‟ are only for anaphoric references Quirk
et al., 1985, p. 375. 9.c 1. Anaphoric:
I read his latest novel, and that was so interesting. 2. Cataphoric:
He told the story like this : “Once upon a time …”
Indefinite pronouns like „some‟, „many‟, „both‟, „every‟ are of the examples of
determiners Kolln and Funk, 2012. 9.d 1.
Maria’s house 2. some books
b. Postmodifiers of the English Noun Phrase
An ENP can be modified by premodifiers and postmodifiers. The function of modifiers is to give descriptive information to the noun head, or often to restrict
21 the reference of head Quirk et al., 1985, p. 65. Premodifiers function as
attributes or complements preceding the noun head, whereas postmodifiers function as adjuncts or complements following the head. To begin with, the
following section discusses the types of postmodifiers in the ENP.
1. Nominal Postmodifier
Nouns can modify an NP. This type of modifier is called postnominal modifiers Radford, 1988. Postnominal modifiers function as adjuncts and
complements. According to Radford 1988, the difference between the two is that “adjuncts expand N-bar into N-bar, whereas complements expand N into N-bar”
p. 176. In other words, complements come closer to the noun head than adjuncts. Structurally, it is written as Head + Complement + Adjunct.
10.a 1. a student of Biology 2. a student in the corner
The PP „of Biology‟, in example 10a.1, specifies what the student is
studying. The NP „a student of Biology‟ can be paraphrased by the corresponding
sentence as in 10b. 10.b 1. He is a student of Biology.
2. He is studying Biology. The word
„Biology‟ becomes the complement of the verb „study‟. It complements the student. Therefore, the PP
„of Biology‟ functions as the complement of the noun head
„student‟. By contrast, the NP „a student in the corner‟ does not have any corresponding sentences like the previous NP, in which
„in the corner‟ functions as a complement of the verb
„study‟. 10.c 1. He is a student in the corner.
22 2. He is studying the corner.
The PP „in the corner‟ does not specify what the student is studying, it just gives
additional information about the student. It happens that the student stays in the corner. Therefore, the PP
„in the corner‟ functions as an adjunct Radford, 1988. In addition, Radford 1988 mentions that complements come closer to the noun
head than adjuncts. Therefore, the combination of the PP „of Biology‟ and „in the
corner ‟ is shown in 10d.
10.d 1. a student of Biology in the corner 2. a student in the corner of Biology
The next difference between complements and adjuncts is that adjuncts can be stacked on top of each other, whereas complements cannot Radford, 1988, p.
189. 10.e 1. a student in the corner with long dress
2. a student of Biology of Mathematics As mentioned that adjuncts expand N-bar into N-bar, the noun head
„student‟ in the NP
„a student in the corner‟ is an N-bar.
Figure 2.3 Noun Head + Adjunct
Besides being an N-bar, the noun head „students‟ functions as an N. By contrast,
in the NP „a student of Biology‟, the head only has a position as an N, as Figure
2.4 shows.
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