Noun Phrase

Sunday, May 6, 2018

Definition of noun phrase

A single noun added with other word(s) to specify the noun. The position of the additional word(s) can be located before (pre-modification) or after the noun (post-modification). Example: the book,
some students, my hat, etc. In that noun phrases, the nouns are: book, students, and hat. ‘The’, ‘some’, and ‘my’ are additional words to modify or specify the nouns.

Pre- and Post- Modification

Pre-modification:

- Determiners

Demonstratives: this, that, these, those
Quantifiers: some, any, each, no, etc
Possessives: my, your, her, his, our, their
WH-determiners: whose, what, which

- Genitives

- Adjective Phrase

- Noun

Post-modification:

- Prepositional phrase

Compund word

Device of language to form new words by combining or putting together old words
Compounding word occurs when a person attaches two or more words together to make them one word.
The meaning of the words interrelate in such a way that a new meaning comes out which is very different from the meaning of the words in isolation.

Classification of compunds

Endocentric

Consist of head (the basic meaning) and modifier (restrict the meaning). Doghouse: house = head, dog = modifier

Exocentric

Do nothave a head, and the meaning cannot be guessed from its constituent parts. White-collar, barefoot, blackbear

Copulative

Have two semantic heads: Sleepwalk, bittersweet

Appositional

Have two (contrary) attributes which classify the compound. Actor-director, maidservant

Type	Description	Examples
endocentric	A+B denotes a special kind of B	darkroom, smalltalk
exocentric	A+B denotes a special kind of an unexpressed semantic head	skinhead, paleface (head: 'person')
copulative	A+B denotes 'the sum' of what A and B denote	bittersweet, sleepwalk
appositional	A and B provide different descriptions for the same referent	actor-director, maidservant