04 · Frame
Noun phrases
A noun phrase is a group that can fill one position in a larger sentence. It may be one word or a longer run: they and the workers in the tunnel can both fill the subject position.
The workers in the tunnel waited. The location tells us which workers, so all five words form the subject noun phrase.
The workers waited in the tunnel. Now the location belongs to the predicate: it tells us where they waited.
the test
Replace the whole run with one pronoun
Replace the suspected group with they, she, he, or it. In this example, They waited keeps the same basic claim. That supports treating all five original words as one noun phrase.
The workers in the tunnel fills the subject position as one noun phrase.
They fills the same position, and the claim stays the same.
The pronoun occupies the position filled by the full run. It does not prove that every shorter replacement is impossible, but it shows that the five words can move through the larger sentence as one unit.
Find a noun-phrase boundary
- Choose the full run of words that may form one phrase.
- Replace the entire run with one pronoun.
- Read the new sentence. If it keeps the same basic claim, the result supports that boundary.
This is evidence for a phrase boundary, not a definition of noun phrase. The pronoun must fit the context, and quantified phrases may not keep the same meaning with they or it. Replacement also does not by itself tell you the phrase’s job.
the summary
What a noun phrase is and does
A noun phrase is organised around a noun or pronoun. Words inside it can help identify or count what the phrase concerns, add description, or complete the noun’s meaning. The whole phrase then enters one relationship at the next level, so one sentence can contain several noun phrases in different positions.
Ten sentences from this lesson, one decision at a time.