ABSTRACT
The simplest kinds of clause usually consist of nouns (sometimes called naming words) and verbs (doing words), for example:
However, in spoken language these positions before and after the verb are rarely occupied by just a single noun. More usually, they are filled by groups of two or more words. These groups of words are called noun phrases (NP) because, although they can consist of more than one word, they function in exactly the same way as a single noun:
function as nouns by substituting Bill or a pronoun like she, he or him:
Noun phrases consist of one head noun, which must always be present, and a number of further elements, all of which are optional. Noun phrases can therefore consist of only one, or very many, words. If only one word is present, it will usually be either a proper noun (a name) or a pronoun, for example:
The majority of noun phrases consist of a head noun plus one or two of the optional elements. These optional elements fit into four predetermined slots in the noun phrase:
for example:
variable appearance-from single words to very long passages of text, for example:
compare:
NP(it) was too expensive
Slots 2 and 4 in particular can be almost infinitely expanded-but note that slot 2 is usually occupied by single words (either adjectives, or nouns with an adjectival function), while slot 4 usually contains phrases or clauses. In all cases, the word in slot 3 is the most important one-it can be replaced by a pronoun, but never deleted. This is the head noun.
