Cambridge Grammar of English Hardback with cd-rom a comprehensive Guide

Noun phrases: functions

157b

Noun phrases can act as the subject (

S

), object (

O

) or complement (

C

) of a clause

(noun phrase in green, head in bold):

S   

O

Her

brother

mended 

our

car

.

C

You’re 

a good

friend

.

Noun phrases can be the complements of prepositions:

I did it 

for 

the

children

.

Less often, noun phrases may occur as clause adjuncts (modifying the clause in

some way, most typically in terms of time):

I saw him 

the following

day

.

Û

167–175 The noun phrase; 176–196 Nouns and determiners; 

197–212 Pronouns

300 | Introduction to word classes and phrase classes

Cambridge Grammar of English

---

VERBS

158

Verbs: forms 158a

Verbs are the second largest class of words. Typically, verbs denote actions, events,

processes and states. For example, sing, consult, eat, argue, break, sleep, encounter.

Suffixes

Some verbs are recognised from their endings, but most verbs are not identifiable

from their form. Suffixes which can denote verbs include: