NOUN PHRASES IN CONTEXT

NOUN PHRASES may consist simply of a 'pre- modifying' article or determiner + noun . A pre determiner may come before the article or determiner.
For example:
1 a storm
2 my relations
3 some money
4 the postman

5 these fashions
But in many noun phrases the noun has , besides the article or determiner , one or more adjectives , adjectival phrases , or prepositional phrases before it or after it :
For example :
1 the larger  picture
2 unusual  happenings
3 some wonderful  news 
4 our new neighbours  in the flat opposite
5 an  extraordinarily talented  girl in my class 
6 the in-your-face language typical of today ' s TV soaps 
7 an enormous plate of fish and chips 
8 a politely worded letter to the managing director 
9 last- minute applications for tickets for the show 
10 my parents' old fashioned  opinions about proper behaviour 
11 recent important  changes affecting many school - leavers
NOTICE that  within the adjectival material attached to these nouns there are a lot of ' sub ' noun phrases:
the flat opposite , today's TV soaps,TV soaps, the managing director ,my parents ,tickets for the show , proper behaviour, fish and chips, the show ,many school-leavers
The MAIN NOUN that is being described ( picture, happenings, news, neighbors and so on in the original examples)is said to be the head of the noun phrases.
NOTICE that a pronoun can also be the head of a noun phrases :
* anybody with an interest in saving the planet 
*the brutal few responsible for these atrocities 
* those on income support 
* the starving millions 
*Modification before or after nouns or pronouns 
The adjectival material added before or after a noun or pronoun is called modification. Many different types of modification can be added to a noun or pronoun; for example :
*  before a noun (pre- modification):
 1  a determiner ( or pre- determiner+ determiner) :
    * the frog, my cousin, half the trouble, some products, that factory, all our houses, few reasons, 
2  a number:
*  four blackbirds, two thousand sheep 
 3  one or more adjectives:
 * beautiful weather , a charming hostess . unhealthy, greasy food 
4  a possessive :
    * Helen' method, the city ' drain , tomorrow ' agenda 
5  an adjective modified ( intensified , moderated, emphasized or characterized) by an adverb:
*   an utterly unsuitable outfit, a highly appropriate punishment, the barely audible announcement , a         cheerfully flamboyant outfit 
6  a present or past participle :
     * whirling leaves , a planned pregnancy
7   an adverb + participle :
     * a slowly  moving crowds, their closely observed progress 
8    a descriptive or identifying noun :
     *  mountain scenery , the Singapore skyline 
9    a hyphenated string :
    *  blood- red lipstick , crystal- clear water , a three- hour meeting , made- up stories , sun- dried 
       tomatoes ,longer -lasting lather ,an old - clothes shop, a fruit - and -vegetable shop  ,an on- the -
        spot report , a longed- for break 
*    The  hyphenated string can be any of several kinds of phrase or word group , for example :
   *  a noun phrase ( three- hour , old- clothes) 
    * two nouns linked by a conjunction :( fruit- and - vegetable )
    * a phrase based on an adjective ( blood- red ,crystal -clear )
   * a prepositional phrase ( on- the- spot)
   *a phrase using a participle ( longer-lasting , sun- dried)
   * a form derived from a phrasal verb ( made-up , longed for)

NOUN PHRASE AFTER A NOUN OR PRONOUN (POST - MODIFICATION)

1 An adverb or adjective:
    * the route home , something strange , a court martial , people mad about football , a man capable        of murder  the way in
2   a participle  or participial  phrase:
     * the people dancing , those invited , the lady sitting on your left ,the rubbish strewn over the    ground
3   a prepositional phrase :
   * the things in this drawer , a present for my aunt , a box of books , the city of London , no place like home, plays of Shakespeare , the making of the Roman Empire , the matter of pay ,
NOTICE ALSO that  more complex constructions can be added as modification after a noun or pronoun , for example :
* a to- infinitive : the need to hurry ,time to relax , nobody to talk to ,a mat to stand on
* a clause: the reason why we failed , a theory that gets support nowadays , the discovery that the earth goes round the sun
* construction with as : birds such as macaws , cuisine as varied as Singapore
 NOUN PHRASES THAT EXPLAIN :APPOSITION
For example : my sister jill ,her dog Jupiter ,his partner Vicky , the composer Bach
 Noun phrase added with a comma: our new car, Honda

VERB PHRASES

VERB PHRASES are the words  in a sentence that make up the verb. That is ,a verb that consists of more than one word is a verb phrase. A verb phrase is typically made up of an auxiliary or modal auxiliary verb plus a main verb . But there may be more than one auxiliary :
* I have finished.
* Should we warn them?
* You might have been badly injured.
* Jim had been studying very hard.
*We shall soon be arriving in Switzerland.
* She must have forgotten.
THERE ARE WORD GROUPS that fill the role of other kinds of word class or part of speech. For example:
There are several word groups that act as prepositions:

• on top of  the cupboard         
• out of  the drawer
• according to my dad
• because of  the delay
• in spite of her injury
• away from the town
• in front of the hotel
• along with his friends
• on account of her injury
• in line with  our policy

These are called complex prepositions,NOT prepositional phrases.The term prepositional phrase refers to an adverbial or adjectival phrase that begins with a preposition, such as in bed,at school,with a limp,over the door,beside the railway.
2 There are several word groups that act as conjuctions, for example:

•  so long as it's safe
• last time i tried
• on condition that you pay
• in case it rains
• in view of the fact that it's late
• provided that they agree
• every time I try
• so that everyone gets a turn
• as if he already knew

These multi-word conjunctions can be called complex conjunctions.
The role of present and past particples
Participles can form part of a phrase acting as one of the word classes,or themselves
have the function of a word class,for example:

• Sweat was pouring off his face(part of a verb phrase)
• scattered showers (part of a noun phrase)
• the man leaning against the lamp post(part of an adjectival phrase)
• various points concerning the difficulties.(preposition or part of an independent participal phrase)
• Supposing everything's organised,we can start tomorrow.(conjunction)
• Granted she had a big disadvantage, she should have done better.(conjunction)

The term partcipal phrase is typically used for an adjectival phrase that contains a participle, and comes before or after or after or after a noun or pronoun:

• badly injured passangers
• those sitting at the rear of the train

We shall examine in more detail the roles of participles and participial phrases at the end of this chapter. 

WHAT IS A PHRASE ?

 IN everyday language a phrase is thought of vaguely as any group of words that has meaning but isn't a sentence or clause . In grammatical terms, however, a phrase is a word group that not only has meaning  but also grammatical status . It can have the grammatical status of any of the word clause or parts of speech. That is a phrase may have the function of a noun , adjective,adverb or verb and so on within a sentence.
We shall be looking at four main types of phrase; noun phrase, adjectival phrase,adverbial phrase and verb phrase. We shall also examine the roles of participial phrases.
NOUN PHRASES can have any of the grammatical roles that nouns have. For example;
1 subject of a verb ;
* My younger sister  is arriving tomorrow.
* The new supermarket opens everyday.
2  object of a verb:
*  I found a map of prague in my room
* I have lost my bunch of keys.
3   object of a preposition:
* A number of charities focus on child poverty.
* He arrived home with a cut knee.
4   complement of a linking verb  or object complement after a complex transitive verb:
*  Several of my friends were members of the choir.
* You have made me the proudest mother of the world.
ADJECTIVAL PHRASES act as adjectives, so they describe nouns and pronouns.They can be found in various positions in relation to the thing or person they describe. For example:
1  before a noun :
* an absolutely terrible experience
* on the sport reporting
* one day old chicks
2 after a noun or pronoun :
* anybody with any common sense
* a letter from the landlord
3  as the complement of a linking verb or as an object complement:
* The baby is sound sleep.
* You have made me extremely proud.
ADVERBIAL PHRASES act as adverbs, and can have a variety of adverbial roles:
1  describing or enlarging on the action:
* He died very peacefully.
* He died among his loved ones.
*I 'll see you this evening.
*Toys lay all over the floor.
*The work was completed in less than a month.
2  acting as the complement of a linking verb or as an object complement;
* Jack is at school.
*Joe seems in excellent form.
* The head looks out of proportion.
*Amy imagines herself  in the height of fashion.
*You think me out of touch, don't you?
3 acting as a sentence adverb:
*In my opinion ,Brian should have returned to Ireland.
*In the first place , we haven't enough cash.
* In conclusion I would say that the enterprise was a moderate success.
*Kenneth is still a child  ,in a way.
*To a certain extent  , you are right.
*At the end of the day it ' s audience enjoyment that counts.
*To my dismay , Kay refused my invitation.
*To be honest , I was quite relieved.