Noun Phrase
First, what is a phrase? A phrase is a group of words, which makes sense, but not complete sense. If it makes complete sense, the group of words is called sentence. For example,
The telephone in the house rang every few minutes.
In the above sentence, the phrases are the telephone in the house and every few minutes. Both of them make some sense but not complete sense. For complete sense we must get the answer to what happens?, what does it do?, what is it?, etc.
A noun phrase is a group of words that does the work of a noun. For example, in
I do not know what to do,
the italicized part is a noun phrase because this part could as well have been substituted by a noun like Mr. Jha. What to do is the object of verb know.
Noun Clause
Again, let us begin with some more definitions. A clause is a group of words which forms a part of a sentence, and contains a subject and a predicate. Note that a sentence too has three elements – subject (about which something is being said) and predicate (which tells something about the subject). Predicate necessarily contains a verb. So, a clause and a sentence have the same elements more or less. The difference lies in incompleteness.
A sentence is complete.
A clause is incomplete.
For example,
I saw that it was raining.
In the above sentence, the italicized part is a clause.
You should also know the difference between a phrase and a clause. Look at the following sentences:
I hope to join the navy.
I hope that I shall join the navy.
Both the italicized parts give the same meaning. But the former is a phrase and the latter a clause. What is the difference? The latter contains the verb shall join. The former has no verb. To join is not verb, but infinitive, which acts as noun. So,
A phrase has no verb.
A clause contains verb.
Now, a noun clause is a clause that does the work of a noun. That I shall join the navy in the above example is a noun clause which functions as an object to hope.
Exercise:
1. Daniel come to judgement!
2. The army have been called to carry out the rescue operations.
3. The parliament is divided on the bill.
4. Do not pride on your youngness because one day you shall grow old.
5. Keep on laughing. Laugh is the best medicine.
6. His brother committed a thiefhood in his house.
7. The chair is made of a wood.
8. He wears glass to aid his short-sighted eyes.
9. Lata works as a she-servant in the house.
10. The team camped at Namkum. They followed a rigorous routine.
11. While experimenting on the guinea pig, the doctor took his special care.
12. Time passes in the chariot majestically.
13. The Earth treats us as his children, not strangers.
14. When the moon comes between the earth and the sun, her shadow causes lunar eclipse.
15. Take care of the vixen because they are wily creatures.
16. The trees bore mangos last summer.
17. Who shall win if there is a contest between the dwarves and the giants.
18. Sunil Gavaskar scored more than ten thousand runs.
19. He does not cut paper with blade, but with scissor.
20. The same board is used for chess as well as draught.
21. The Indians are a religious-minded people.
22. It is very difficult to chase a huge score in the fourth inning.
23. Children should not seek admissions to the elder’s society.
24. The down-to-earth never forget the grounds on which they stand.
25. The law of indexes proves very helpful in algebraic calculations.
26. The bright lamps gave much lights.
27. The practices of the lawyers vary from those of the doctors.
28. This vehicle is a carrier of goods.
29. I spoke to Kumar Gaurav’s the actor’s secretary.
30. He brought the cake from Deepak’s.
31. There was no money in the bank in Maya’s and Veena’s joint account.
32. The cup’s base was rounded.
33. You will be promoted in the time of a year.
34. Mr. M is ready to make any sacrifice for the sake of justice.
35. Devendra Kaushik is Anand of our chess circle.
36. The fleet of ships move at a uniform speed.
37. Aurangzeb’s religious bigotism caused severe harm to the Mughal empire.
38. The tin is a precious metal.
39. Queen Elizabeth is the monarchess of England.
40. The milk woman said that she would not supply milk on holidays.
Answers
1. Correct: A Daniel come to judjement.
It is true that Daniel is a proper noun. Proper nouns do not take articles before them. But in the above usage, Daniel has become a common noun which means a wise judge. The judge here is not named Daniel but shares the characteristics epitomized by Daniel. This is what Shylock says in The Merchant of Venice when he feels Dr. Balthazar (who is actually Portia) is passing a judgement that would be favourable to him:
A Daniel come to judgement! Yea, a Daniel!
O wise judge! How I do honor thee!
2. When we think of the army, what strikes our mind is the soldiers. So, we tend to use plural verb have. In fact, however, the army is a group of soldiers.
Correct: The army has been called to carry out rescue operation.
3. Since the parliament is divided, it is not being thought of as a whole, but in terms of its constituents. Hence the plural verb.
Correct: The parliament are divided on the bill.
4. The abstract noun from adjective young is not youngsters, but youth.
Correct: Do not pride on your youth because . . .
5. Laugh is generally used for the sound or manner of laughing. So, Ratan might have a hissing laugh and Kali might have a gurgling laugh. But when we talk of the act of laughing, and that too as a generality, we use laughter. It is not person-specific best medicine, but the best for one and all.
Correct: Keep on laughing. Laugher is the best medicine.
6. The abstract noun from common noun thief is theft, not thiefhood.
Correct: His brother committed a theft in his house.
7. Wood is a material noun. A material noun does not take an article before it. Delete a.
Correct: The chair is made of wood.
8. The given sentence suggests that merely glass the material is being worn. However, what the writer intends is spectacles made of glass. So, use glasses.
Correct: He wears glasses to aid his short-sighted eyes.
9. Servant may be used as a noun of the common gender. However, if it is necessary to make a gender distinction, the feminine is maid-servant (not she-servant) and the masculine maid-servant.
Correct: Lata works as a maid-servant in the house.
10. Team like army, is a collective noun. Collective nouns are of neuter gender and in the singular number. So, replace they by it.
Correct: The team ….. It followed a rigorous routine.
11. Do you go to the extent of finding out which sex the guinea pig belongs to? Grammar has a way out. It treats lower animals in the neuter gender. So,
Correct: While experimenting on the guinea pig, the doctor took its special care.
12. Here time is being personified. We are talking of Time the king who is possessor of a chariot and invested with majesty. So,
Correct: Time passes in his chariot majesty.
13. The earth is being treated as a person. Upto that extent the sentence is correct. But whenever you personify something, you are confronted with another question: is the person male or female? Now, convention has it that the Earth is the Mother, the female, while the Sky is the father, the male. And the convention is logical enough. We are more in touch with our mother. We are more in touch with the Earth.
Correct: The Earth treat us as her children, not strangers.
14. The moon also, when personified, is treated as a female whereas the sun is considered to be a male. But, in the given sentence, the moon is a scientific object, not a person. So, the neuter gender should be used.
Correct: When the moon comes between the earth and the sun, its shadow causes lunar eclipse.
15. The mistake being made here is in the use of vixen. Vixen is the feminine of fox, not its plural. So,
Correct: Take care of the foxes because they are wily creatures. OR Take care of the vixen because she is a wily creature.
16. The plural of mango is mangoes.
Correct: The trees bore mangoes last summer.
17. Though dwarf ends in f, its plural is formed by merely adding –s not by changing the ending to –ves.
Correct: Who shall win if there is a contest between the dwarfs and the giants.
18. Thousand is a unit of counting. Since it is being used after a number – ten -, it will be in the singular,.
Correct: Sunil Gavaskar scored more than ten thousand runs.
19. How do you use scissors? Both its parts are brought into action together. So, don’t say scissor but a pair of scissors or scissors (plural).
Correct: He doesn’t cut paper with blade, but with scissors.
20. The game is not draught but draughts.
Correct: The same board is used for chess as well as draughts.
21. The sentence is correct. People usually is used as plural. But when it means a nation, as it does here, it is used as a singular. So, …. a ….. people.
22. Though used in the singular, innings retains its plural form. So,
Correct: It is very difficult to chase a huge score in the fourth innings.
23. Admissions here means the act of admitting – an abstract noun. Abstract nouns are not used in the plural.
Correct: Children should not seek admission to the elders’ society.
24. While referring to the down-to-earth, the ground obviously means the earth. Hence, it should not be used in the plural.
Correct: The down-to-earth never forget the ground on which they stand.
25. The index used in algebra, when changed to plural, becomes indices.
Correct: The law of indices proves very helpful in algebraic calculations.
26. If one lamp gives light, do you think two lamps will give two lights? Light is not countable and so does not have a plural. When you use light for lamp itself, then the use of plural is justified.
Correct: The bright lamps gave much light.
27. Here we are talking of persons from different professions – lawyers and doctors. Practice thus means exercise of a profession. This meaning does not have a plural. So,
Correct: The practice of the lawyers varies from that of the doctors.
28. The sentence is correct. Goods is always used in plural when it means things to be transported.
29. Here, the actor refers to kumar Gaurav. So the nouns are in apposition. In such cases the possessive sign is used only for the latter noun.
Correct: I spoke to kumar Gaurav the actor’s secretary.
30. The sentence is correct. In such usages, merely the use of the possessive is sufficient to denote a building or a place of business. Deepak’s means Deepak’s shop.
31. Using two possessives would imply separate accounts. But it is clearly mentioned that it is a joint account. So, the possessive must be used with the latter only.
Correct: There is no money in the bank in Maya and Veena’s joint account.
32. The cup is not a living thing. So, it is incorrect to use the possessive sign.
Correct: The base of the cup was rounded.
33. The possessive is used with nouns denoting time. So,
Correct: You will be promoted in a year’s time.
34. The phrase in use is for justice’ sake.
Correct: Mr M is ready to make any sacrifice for justice’ sake.
35. Devendra Kaushik is not Vishwanathan Anand. Anand here is a common noun that stands for top-notch chess players.
Correct: Devendra Kaushik is the Anand of our chess circle.
36. The fleet is a collective noun. It should be used in the singular.
Correct: The fleet of shops moves at a uniform speed.
37. The abstract noun from bigot is bigotry, not bigotism.
Correct: Aurangzeb’s religious bigotry caused severe harm to the Mughal empire.
38. Tin is a precious metal. A material noun does not take an article before it.
Correct: Tin is a precious metal.
39. Monarch does not have a feminine. It is of the common gender.
Correct: Queen Elizabeth is the monarch of England.
40. The feminine of milkman is milkmaid, not milkwoman.
Correct: The milkmaid said that she would not supply milk on holidays.
Compiled By: Chaudhary Amit V.
Post Credit: (Book: English is easy by Chetananand Singh)
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