[Linguists’ Forum] From Dread to Delight: An Insight into Grammatical Names and Functions (4), By Lateef Kugbayi, PhD
In continuation of the discourse on how to make the identification of grammatical names and their functions for students and those who are interested in the topic a delight, today’s episode delimits the topic to the identification of a noun phrase and its functions in sentences. Those who have been following the weekly discussion should, by now, be able to explain that the grammatical name that is given to an expression/a group of words usually carries the traditional name of the part of speech that the expression/group of words stands for. Therefore, any group of words that is regarded as a noun phrase will stand for a noun wherever it occurs in a sentence. It does the work of a noun in that sentence. What to do to test whether a phrase is a noun phrase or not is to simply remove the phrase and replace it with a noun or a pronoun. If the expression remains grammatically correct, the replaced phrase will be regarded as a noun phrase. However, if the expression is not grammatically correct when the phrase has been replaced with a noun or a pronoun, the replaced phrase is not a noun phrase. You may wish to replace the phrase with any of the other parts of speech – a verb, an adjective or an adverb to have a verb phrase, an adjective phrase or an adverbial phrase. Meanwhile, in the current episode, attention is given to the noun phrase.
Noun Phrase and Its Functions
A noun phrase is a group of words that is used as a part of a sentence and does not have a subject or a (finite) verb, but performs the function of a noun or pronoun in the sentence. This part of the sentence can be replaced with a noun or pronoun without disrupting the structure of the entire sentence. we shall consider the following examples.
“The young man in our class” loves “that beautiful girl.”
“The young man in our class” can be replaced with a noun (Ojo) or a pronoun (He)
“that beautiful girl” can be replaced with a noun (Aisha) or a pronoun (her).
We can then have:
“Ojo” loves “Aisha” (Nouns)
Or
“She” loves “him” (Pronouns)
Since “The young man in our class” and “that beautiful girl” can be successfully replaced by nouns or pronouns as given above, the phrases are noun phrases.
It, therefore, means that a noun phrase performs the same functions that a noun performs in sentences, as demonstrated below.
Subject of the Verb
A noun/noun phrase usually functions as the subject of the verb when it comes before the main verb of the sentence.
Example: “Nigerians” face growing visa hurdles (noun).
“Many young ladies” face growing visa hurdles (noun phrase).
“Nigerians”/“Many young ladies” functions as the subject of the verb “face”.
Object of the Verb
A noun/noun phrase functions as the object of the verb when it comes after the verb in a sentence. It receives the action of the main verb in the sentence.
Example: Davido praises “John” (noun).
Davido praises “his newly wedded wife” (noun phrase).
“John”/“his newly wedded wife” functions as the object of the verb “praises”.
Complement of the Subject
A noun/noun phrase functions as the complement of the subject when it comes after a linking verb or state-of-being verb. Examples of linking verbs include be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been, seem, become, feel, sound, appear and smell.
Example: My students are “girls” (noun).
My students are “the able-bodied men on the horse” (noun phrase).
“girls” /“the able-bodied on the horse” functions as a complement of the subject “My students”.
Complement of the Object
This comes after the object.
Example: They call him “Mumu” (noun).
They call him “something funny” (noun phrase)
“Mumu”/“something funny” functions as a complement of the object, “him”.
Object of the Preposition
In this case, the noun/noun phrase comes after a preposition in the sentence. Therefore, any noun that comes immediately after a preposition is the object of that preposition. Prepositions include to, on, at, with, and for.
Example: We believe in “God” (noun).
We believe in “one of the men in the group” (noun phrase).
“God”/“one of the men in the group” functions as the object of the preposition “in”.
Apposition to the Subject
This occurs when a noun/noun phrase is put next to the subject to explain the subject.
Example: Our class captain, “John”, has gone home (noun).
Our class captain, “the only boy among us,” has gone home (noun phrase).
“John”/“the only boy among us” functions as apposition to the subject, “Our class captain”.
Apposition to the Object
A noun/noun phrase functions as an apposition to the object when it is put next to the object to explain the object.
Example: I saw the great actor, “Ogogo” (noun).
I saw the great actor, “the most handsome actor in Nigeria” (noun phrase).
“Ogogo”/“the most handsome actor in Nigeri
a” functions as an apposition to the object, “the great actor”.
Lateef Iyanda Kugbayi, PhD
Senior Lecturer
Department of English Language
Zamfara State University
Talata Mafara
[email protected]/+2347032985052
