noun phrase determiner phrase nominal expression partitive phrase determiner phrase prepositive quantifier determiner postpositive limiter determiner possessive expression demonstrative article identifier

Section 8-3 NOUN PHRASES

Elements of a noun phrase.  
Rule [P16] describes the analysis of the noun phrase as one of two possible structures. It may be a bare nominal expression, which is often realized as a single word, such as a proper noun or personal name. It is also possible to class the personal pronoun as a bare nominal, since it appears in almost the same syntactic environment. In some cases where a pronoun is followed by an adjectival post-positive quantifier (modifier), I have chosen to treat the pronoun as a nominalized form of the determiner. In other cases the pronoun (or noun) may have a prepositional phrase complement called a partitive phrase. The determiner is usually a pre-modifier in the noun phrase. This noun may also have a null reflex, so that the determiner then looks like a pronoun.
[P16] The Noun Phrase
[P20] describes the determiner phrase as having four basic structures (linear combinations).
[P20] The Determiner Phrase
[P21] expands the description of the determiner itself as being equivalent to four mutually exclusive kinds of structures.
[P21] The Determiner

Overview of the syntax of the noun phrase.  
Here are some examples using the structural elements for the syntactic description for which [P10], [P13], and [P14] were designed. Fuller treatment of these various elements follows in chapters 14 and 15.
SentenceParts with Structural Description
(1) John is a man. "John" =
NOM		nominal expression
"a man" =
[ART]DET + NOM		determiner with nominal
(2) My wife met a certain man. "my" =
NOM + POSS		possessive nominal
"a certain" = [ART]DET + [SPC]MDFarticle with adjectival modifier
(3) Both these gloves are my own. "both these" =
AJ + [DEM]DET		prepositive adjective (quantifier) with demonstrative
"my own" =
[NOM + POSS]DET + [SPC]MDF		possessive nominal with adjectival modifier (specifier)
(4) A part of the flies were poisonous. "a part of the flies" =
[ART]DET + NOM + PAP		determiner (article), nominal, partitive phrase complement

Examples of Determiners

The semantics of the noun phrase.  
The meaning of the noun phrase, like that of most arguments, is that of a set and its member elements. The limiting modifiers of the noun often have the force of quantifiers of various kinds. This will become clear when it comes to putting together the various rules of interpretation.

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