The noun phrase
The noun phrase
‘Noun phrase’ is used in a broad sense, including nouns, noun phrases proper, and pronouns. Furthermore, attention is paid to the internal structure of adjective phrases. Typical noun phrases consist of a head and a modifier. The function of head can be fulfilled by various constituents, the most frequent being common nouns, but many other categories can be used ‘substantively’, such as adjectives and infinitives. With some nouns a modifier is required (an adnominal argument). All nouns can be modified by one or more optional attributes, the range of which is very wide including adjectives, determiners, quantifiers and others. Noun phrases are either referring or non-referring. Referring noun phrases are either specific or generic, and if specific, either definite or indefinite. In Latin there is often no formal marking corresponding to these distinctions. The traditional category of pronouns contains in reality pronouns proper and determiners, which have very diverse properties.
Keywords: noun phrase, head, attribute, adjective, pronoun, determiner, referring, specific, generic, definite
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