Aturan Gramatika: Frase (phrase)

Saatnya mencoba merangkai kata-kata tersebut menjadi frase (phrase).

Frase adalah sekelompok kata yang kemudian menjadi bagian dari kalimat.
Terdapat beberapa jenis frase: Frase kata benda (noun phrase), frase kata
kerja (verb phrase), frase kata sifat (adjective phrase), frase kata depan
(preposition phrase) dan frase kata keterangan (adverb phrase).
Berikut contoh frase sesuai dengan jenisnya:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
A.

some important letters (noun phrase) arti: beberapa surat penting

go
to
school
(verb
phrase)
arti:
pergi
ke
sekolah
good at numbers (adjective phrase) arti: cakap dalam perhitungan
in
the
car
(preposition
phrase)
arti:
di
dalam
mobil
very
slowly
(Adverb
phrase)
arti:
sangat
pelan
Noun
Phrase

Noun Phrases

merupakan kelompok kata yang berfungsi sebagai

subyek atau objek dalam kalimat. Noun Phrases memiliki bentuk yang
beraneka macam seperti pada kata-kata yang dicetak tebal berikut ini:
Water is important for survival. Arti: Air penting untuk bertahan hidup (Single words)
Mr. Jones spoke to Dr. James. Arti: Mr. Jones berbicara kepada Dr. James (Proper names)
The boy ate an apple. Arti: Anak lelaki itu memakan apel
(Nouns and articles)
My friend works with her father. Arti: Teman saya bekerja dengan ayahnya. (Nouns and
possessives)
The young girl wore a long, white dress. Arti: Anak perempuan muda itu mengenakan gaun
panjang
berwarna
putih.
(Nouns
and
adjectives)
Some of the kids ate all of the cake. Arti: Beberapa dari anak-anak memakan semua kue.
(Nouns
and
quantifiers)
The man with the gun frightened the people in the bank. Arti: Lelaki dengan pistol itu menakuti
orang-orang
di
bank.
(Nouns
and
prep.
phrases)
The woman who lives there is my aunt. Arti: Wanita yang tinggal di sana adalah bibi saya.
(Nouns
and
relative
clauses)
The dogs sleeping on the deck should be left alone. Arti: Anjing-anjing yang sedang tidur di
dermaga
itu
seharusnya
dibiarkan
saja.
(Nouns
and
phrases)
Whoever wrote this is in trouble.Arti: Siapapun yang menulis ini berada dalam masalah.
(Noun
clauses)
Kata ganti dan kata-kata yang sejenis lainnya bisa juga berfungsi sebagai subyek dan objek
seperti
contoh
berikut
ini:
He

gave

the

money

to

us

Arti:

Dia

(laki-laki)

memberi

uang

kepada

kami.

Someone
Give me

left
one of

this.
each. Arti:

Arti:
Beri saya

Seseorang
meninggalkan
satu dari setiap jenis yang

ini.
tersedia

B. Verb Phrases
Verb phrases merupakan sekelompok kata yang mengungkapkan kegiatan atau keadaan. Verb
Phrases memiliki bentuk yang beraneka rupa pula seperti pada kata yang bercetak tebal berikut
ini:
The men live in the dormitory. Arti: Para lelaki itu tinggal di asrama itu (Single verbs)
He stayed at the Hi Hat Hotel. Dia (laki-laki) tinggal di hotel Hi Hat. (Past tense verbs)
I am learning many new things. Arti: Saya belajar banyak hal baru. (Progressive verbs)
She has been there before. Arti: Dia (perempuan) telah berada di sana sebeblumnya. (Perfect
verbs)
They have been working here five years. Arti: Mereka telah bekerja di sini selama lima tahun.
(Perfect progressive verbs)
I could use some assistance. Arti: Saya bisa mengunakan beberapa bantuan. (Verbs and
modals)
The trip was approved by the professor. Arti: Perjalanan itu disetujui oleh profesor itu.
(Passive verbs)
Do you want some more pie? Maukan anda beberapa kue lagi? (Verbs in questions)
Kata-kata lain bisa ditambahkan untuk mengembangkan verb phrases seperti kata-kata yang
dicetak tebal berikut ini:

The mayor works here. Arti: Walikota bekerja di sini (adverbs)

Neil is not a candidate. Arti: Neil bukanlah seorang kandidat (negatives)
They live in the suburbs Arti: Mereka tinggal di luar kota.. (prepositional phrases)
She'll leave whenever she wants. Dia (wanita) akan pergi kapanpun dia ingin. (adverbial
clauses)
Don't talk while eating. Arti: Jangan berbicara selagi makan. (phrases)

C. Adjective-Phrase
Kata sifat dalam sekelompok kata-kata disebut ADJECTIVE PHRASE. Adjective Phrase dapat
dilihat pada kata-kata cetak tebal contoh-contoh berikut ini:
Contoh:
The Politician is man of kindly nature. Arti: Politikus itu adalah seorang pria bersifat baik hati.
The students belong to the tribe dwelling in the hills. Arti: Para pelajar itu tergabung dalam
suku yang tinggal di perbukitan.

 June-23 is the day of the greatest length. Arti: Tanggal 23 Juni merupakan hari yang terpanjang
The boy with blue eyes is the most intelligent boy in this class. Arti: Anak lelaki yang bermata
biru adalah anak lelaki yang paling rajin di kelas.
The Police arrested a man of criminal nature. Polisi menangkap seorang pria kriminil.
He is a man without a friend. Arti: Dia (laki-laki) adalah seorang pria tanpa teman.
From this village came a man of great fame. Arti: dari desa ini lahir seorang pria yang sangat
terkenal.
It is of no use. Arti: Ini tidak ada gunanya.
He is an author of great versatility. Arti: Dia (laki-laki) merupakan penulis yang cakap dan
terampil
The tops of the mountains were covered with snows. Arti: Puncak-puncak gunung tertutupi
dengan salju.
I admit that he is a man of sense. Arti: Saya mengakui bahwa dia (laki-laki) merupakan pria
yang berperasaan.
He carried a sword stained with blood. Dia (laki-laki) membawa sebuah pedang yang dilumuri
dengan darah
He walked through the street covered with mud. Arti: Dia berjalan melalui jalan yang penuh
lumpur.

The Prepositional Phrase

Sebuah prepositional phrase akan dimulai dengan kata depan dan berakhir dengan noun,
pronoun, gerund, or clause.sebagai objek dari preposition.
Objek dari preposition akan sering memiliki satu atau lebih modifiers untuk mengambarkannya.
Berikut pola-pola untuk prepositional phrase:
? preposition + noun, pronoun, gerund, or clause
? preposition + modifier(s) + noun, pronoun, gerund, or clause
Berikut contoh-contoh prepositional phrase dasar:
? At home (di rumah), keterangan: At = preposition; home = noun.
? In time (kelak), keterangan: In = preposition; time = noun.
? From Richie (dari Richie), keterangan: From = preposition; Richie = noun.
? With me (dengan saya), keterangan: With = preposition; me = pronoun.
? By singing (Dengan bernyanyi), keterangan: By = preposition; singing = gerund.
? About what we need (tentang apa yang kita butuhkan), keterangan: About = preposition; what
we need = noun clause.
Kebanyakan prepositional phrases lebih panjang seperti contoh berikut ini:
? From my grandmother (dari nenek saya), keterangan: From = preposition; my = modifier;
grandmother = noun.
? Under the warm blanket (di bawah selimut yang hangat), keterangan: Under = preposition;
the, warm = modifiers; blanket = noun.
? In the weedy, overgrown garden (di taman yang rimbun penuh ilalang), keterangan: In =
preposition; the, weedy, overgrown = modifiers; garden = noun.
? Along the busy, six-lane highway (sepanjang jalan raya berjalur enam yang sibut),
keterangan: Along = preposition; the, busy, six-lane = modifiers; highway = noun.
? By writing furiously (dengan menulis dengan amarah), keterangan: By = preposition; writing

= gerund; furiously = modifier.

Prepositional phrase akan berfungsi sebagai adjective atau adverb. Sebagai adjective,
prepositional phrase akan menjawab pertanyaan Which one?( Yang mana?)
Baca contoh berikut ini:
? The book on the bathroom floor is swollen from shower steam.Arti: Buku di lantai kamar
mandi itu lembab oleh uap shower. Buku yang mana? Ya, buku yang di lantai.
? The sweet potatoes in the vegetable bin are green with mold. Arti: Kentang manis di
keranjang sayuran berwarna hijau karena lumut. Kentang manis yang mana? Ya, kentang yang di
keranjang sayuran.
? The note from Beverly confessed that she had eaten the leftover pizza. Arti: Catatan dari
Beverly mengakui bahwa dia telah memakan pizza yang tersisa. Catatan yang mana? Ya, catatan
dari Beverly.
Sebagai sebuah adverb, sebuah prepositional phrase akan menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan
seperti Bagaimana (How)? When(kapan)? atau Where (dimana)?
Baca contoh berikut ini.
? Freddy is stiff from yesterday's long football practice. Arti: Freddy menjadi kaku dari latihan
sepak bola yang lama kemaren. Bagaimana Freddy menjadi kaku ototnya? Karena latihan
sepakbola yang lama kemaren.
? Before class, Josh begged his friends for a pencil. Arti: Sebelum belajar, Josh memohon
teman-temannya untuk sebuah pensil. Kapan Josh memohon pensil? Ya, sebelum pelajaran.
? Feeling brave, we tried the Dragon Breath Burritos at Tito's Taco Palace. Merasa berani, kami
mencoba the Dragon Breath Burritos (makanan pedas) di restoran Tito's Taco Palace. Dimana
kami memakan makanan berbumbu pedas? Ya, di Titos Taco Palace.
Ingatlah bahwa sebuah prepositional phrase tidak akan pernah menjadi subjek dari sebuah
kalimat
Kadang-kadang sebuah kata benda di dalam prepositional phrase tampak seperti subjek dari
sebuah kata kerja. Perhatikan contoh berikut ini:
Neither of these cookbooks contains the recipe for Gudeg. Arti: tak satupun dari buku resep ini
berikan resep memasak gudeg.
Subjek pada kalimat di atas tadi bukanlah cookbooks tapi neither. Neither dianggap singular
maka kata kerja ditambah s sesuai aturan dalam simple present tense.
Beberapa prepositionsuch as along with dan in addition tomembuat anda berpikir bahwa
mereka adalah subjek jamak pada hal bukan. Bacalah contoh berikut ini:
Tommy, along with the other students, breathed a sigh of relief when Mrs. Markham announced
that she was postponing the due date for the research essay. Arti: Tommy, bersama dengan
pelajar-pelajar lain, bernafas lega ketika Mrs. Markham mengumumkan bahwa dia (perempuan)
menunda tanggal terakhir untuk tulisan riset. Secara logis memang lebih dari satu orang pelajar
tapi Tommy dianggap satu-satunya subjek pada kalimat itu.
Adverb phrases terbuat dari preposition
Semua jenis adverb phrase bisa berasal dari preposition. Berikut contohnya: (CD 314)

Type Adverb phrase

Example
Manner with a hammer The carpenter hit the nail with a hammer.
Arti: Tukang kayu memukul paku dengan palu
Place next door The woman who lives next door is a doctor.
Arti: Wanitayang tinggal di sebelah rumah itu adalah seorang dokter.
Time before the holidays We must finish our project before the holidays.
Arti: Kita harus menyelesaikan proyek kita sebelum liburan.
Frequency every month Jodie buys two CDs every month.
Arti: Jodie membeli dua CD setiap bulan..
Purpose for his mother Jack bought the flowers for his mother.
Arti: Jack membeli bunga untuk ibunya.
Adverb phrases yang dibuat dengan infinitive
Jenis lain dari adverb phrase bisa dibuat dengan bentuk kata kerja infinitive. Kebanyakan dari
frase frase seperti ini mengungkapakan tujuan seperti pada contoh berikut ini: (CD 315)

Type Adverb phrase

Example
I'm saving my money to buy a car. Arti: Saya sedang menabung untuk

Purpose to buy a car

membeli sebuah mobil
Purpose to support the team The students all showed up to support the team. Arti: Para
pelajar itu semua muncul untuk mendukung tim itu.
Purpose to show to her mother Sally brought a painting home from school to show to her
mother.Arti: Sally membawa lukisan pulang dari sekolah untuk ditunjukan pada ibunya.

Noun Clause Exercise

Find out the noun clauses in the following sentences and state what purpose they serve.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

The king ordered that the traitor should be put to death.

He said that he would not go.
That he is not interested in the offer is known to us.
He said that he was not feeling well.
I cannot rely on what he says.
I dont know where he has gone.
He asked whether the servant had polished his shoes.
The news that he is alive has been confirmed.
The belief that the soul is immortal is almost universal.
It is certain that we will have to admit defeat.
It was fortunate that he was present.
The report that only ten persons were killed in the riots is not true.

Answers

1. Here the noun clause that the traitor should be put to death is that object of the verb
ordered.
2. Here the noun clause that he would not go is the object of the verb said.
3. Here the noun clause that he is not interested in the offer is the subject of the verb is.
4. Here the noun clause that he was not feeling well is the object of the verb said.
5. Here the noun clause what he says is the object of the preposition on.
6. Here the noun clause where he has gone is the object of the verb know.
7. Here the noun clause whether the servant had polished his shoes is the object of the verb
asked.
8. Here the noun clause that he is alive is in apposition to the noun news.
9. Here the noun clause that the soul is immortal is in apposition to the noun belief.
10. Here the noun clause that we will have to admit defeat is in apposition to the pronoun it.
11. Here the noun clause that he was present is in apposition to the pronoun it.
12. Here the noun clause that only ten persons were killed in the riots is in apposition to the
noun report.

The Clause
Recognize a clause when you see one.

Clauses come in four types: main [or independent], subordinate [or dependent],
adjective [or relative], and noun. Every clause has at least a subject and a verb.
Other characteristics will help you distinguish one type of clause from another.
Main Clauses
Every main clause will follow this pattern:
subject + verb = complete thought.
Here are some examples:
Lazy students whine.
Students = subject; whine = verb.
Cola spilled over the glass and splashed onto the counter.
Cola = subject; spilled, splashed = verbs.
My dog loves pizza crusts.
Dog = subject; loves = verb.

The important point to remember is that every sentence must have at least
one main clause. Otherwise, you have a fragment, a major error.

Subordinate Clauses
A subordinate clause will follow this pattern:
subordinate conjunction + subject + verb = incomplete thought.
Here are some examples:
Whenever lazy students whine
Whenever = subordinate conjunction; students = subject; whine = verb.
As cola spilled over the glass and splashed onto the counter
As = subordinate conjunction; cola = subject; spilled, splashed = verbs.
Because my dog loves pizza crusts
Because = subordinate conjunction; dog = subject; loves = verb.
The important point to remember about subordinate clauses is that they can
never stand alone as complete sentences. To complete the thought, you must
attach each subordinate clause to a main clause. Generally, the punctuation looks
like this:
main clause + + subordinate clause.
subordinate clause + , + main clause.
Check out these revisions to the subordinate clauses above:
Whenever lazy students whine, Mrs. Russell throws chalk erasers at their
heads.
Anthony ran for the paper towels as cola spilled over the glass and splashed
onto the counter.
Because my dog loves pizza crusts, he never barks at the deliveryman.

Relative Clauses
A relative clause will begin with a relative pronoun [such as who, whom,
whose, which, or that] or a relative adverb [when, where, or why]. The patterns look
like these:
relative pronoun or adverb + subject + verb = incomplete thought.
relative pronoun as subject + verb = incomplete thought.
Here are some examples:
Whom Mrs. Russell hit in the head with a chalk eraser
Whom = relative pronoun; Mrs. Russell = subject; hit = verb.
Where he chews and drools with great enthusiasm
Where = relative adverb; he = subject; chews, drools = verbs.
That had spilled over the glass and splashed onto the counter
That = relative pronoun; had spilled, splashed = verbs.
Who loves pizza crusts
Who = relative pronoun; loves = verb.
Like subordinate clauses, relative clauses cannot stand alone as complete
sentences. You must connect them to main clauses to finish the thought. Look at
these revisions of the relative clauses above:
The lazy students whom Mrs. Russell hit in the head with a chalk eraser soon
learned to keep their complaints to themselves.
My dog Floyd, who loves pizza crusts, eats them under the kitchen table,
where he chews and drools with great enthusiasm.
Anthony ran to get paper towels for the cola that had spilled over the glass
and splashed onto the counter.
Punctuating relative clauses can be tricky. You have to decide if the relative
clause is essential or nonessential and then use commas accordingly.

Essential relative clauses do not require commas. A relative clause is essential

when you need the information it provides. Look at this example:
A dog that eats too much pizza will soon develop pepperoni breath.
Dog is nonspecific. To know which dog we are talking about, we must have the
information in the relative clause. Thus, the relative clause is essential and requires
no commas.
If, however, we revise dog and choose more specific words instead, the relative
clause becomes nonessential and does require commas to separate it from the rest
of the sentence. Read this revision:
My dog Floyd, who eats too much pizza, has developed pepperoni breath.

Noun Clauses
Any clause that functions as a noun becomes a noun clause. Look at this
example:
You really do not want to know the ingredients in Aunt Nancy's stew.
Ingredients = noun.
If we replace the noun ingredients with a clause, we have a noun clause:
You really do not want to know what Aunt Nancy adds to her stew.
What Aunt Nancy adds to her stew = noun clause.

Examples of Adjective Clauses

Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns, giving a description or more information. An
adjective clause is simply a group of words with a subject and a verb that provide a
description. The clause starts with a pronoun such as who, whom, that, or which or
an adverb such as when, where and why.

Adjective Clauses In Action

Adjective clauses do not change the basic meaning of the sentence. In some cases,
when they provide more information into a sentence, they need to be set off with
commas.
Here are several examples of sentences with the adjective clauses underlined:
Pizza, which most people love, is not very healthy.
The people whose names are on the list will go to camp.
Grandpa remembers the old days when there was no television.
Fruit that is grown organically is expensive.
Students who are intelligent get good grades.
Eco-friendly cars that run on electricity save gas.
I know someone whose father served in World War II.
Making noise when he eats is the main reason why Sue does not like to eat with
her brother.
The kids who were called first will have the best chance of getting a seat.
Running a marathon, a race of twenty-six miles, takes a lot of training.
I enjoy telling people about Janet Evanovich whose latest book was fantastic.
The people waiting all night outside the Apple store are trying to purchase a new
iPhone.
"He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe is as good as
dead." - Albert Einstein
Those who do not complain are never pitied. - Jane Austen
People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which
they avoid. - Sren Kierkegaard
Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died. - Erma Bombeck

Turning Adjective Clauses into Phrases

An adjective clause with a subject pronoun - such as which, that or who - can also
be shortened into a phrase.

You can shorten an adjective clause in two ways:

Omit the subject pronoun and verb.
Omit the subject pronoun and change the verb to the form ending in "ing."
Here are some examples of how to create an adjective phrase:
Adjective Clause: The books, which are lost, are not really necessary.
Adjective Phrase: The books lost are not really necessary.
Adjective Clause: The girl who is running is my best friend.
Adjective Phrase: The girl running is my best friend.
Adjective Clause: His share of the money, which consists of $100,000, was given
to him on Monday.
Adjective Phrase: His share of the money, consisting of $100,000, was given to
him on Monday.
Adjective Clause: Something that smells bad may be rotten.
Adjective Phrase: Something smelling bad may be rotten.

Remember, the goal of an adjective clause is to add more information to a noun or a

pronoun. You can add the information by including a few more words or by changing
the adjective clause to a phrase.

Adjective Clauses
Definition
An adjective clause is:
A clause that modifies (or describes) a noun.
Examples
In each sentence below, the adjective clause looks like this.
I like the car that you bought.
The woman who is singing seems happy.
The man whose dog is barking is a friend of mine.

I was happy to see the house where I grew up.

In 1966, the year when I was born, Washington. D.C. experienced heavy
snowstorms.

What you need to know for the TOEFL

All adjective clauses have this structure:
subordinating conjunction or relative pronoun + sentence

Examples
I like the car that you bought.
In this adjective clause, the relative pronoun is that. The sentence is you bought
[the car].
The woman who is singing seems happy.
In this adjective clause, the relative pronoun is who. The sentence is [woman]
is singing.
The man whose dog is barking is a friend of mine.
In this adjective clause, the relative pronoun is whose. The sentence is [The
man's] dog is barking.

All adjective clauses modify nouns.

Examples
Adjective clauses are often reduced.
Examples
Many adjective clauses are unmarked.
Examples
adverb phrase
"adverb phrase"

An adverb phrase (also called an adverbial phrase) usually answers one of these
questions.
Definition:
A word group with an adverb as its head. This adverb may be accompanied by
modifiers or qualifiers.
An adverb phrase can modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, and it can
appear in a number of different positions in a sentence.
See also:
Adding Adjectives and Adverbs to the Basic Sentence Unit
Adverb Clause
Phrase
Prepositional Phrase
Sentence Building With Adjectives and Adverbs
Examples and Observations:
The Cheshire Cat vanished quite slowly, beginning with the end of its tail.
The players responded surprisingly well to all the pressures of the playoffs.
The best way to preserve the flavor and texture of fresh vegetables is to cook
them as quickly as possible.
As quickly as possible we cleaned the fish and placed them in coolers.
The air was warm, stirred only occasionally by a breeze.
Only occasionally is there a rumble in the sky or a hint of rain.
"If youth be a defect, it is one that we outgrow only too soon."
(James Russell Lowell)
Snow fell much earlier than usual.
"Surprisingly enough, after meeting other minority professionals through the
years and being associated with various minority professional organizations, I found
that I was not alone."
(Keith R. Wyche, Good Is Not Enough. Penguin, 2009)

Another model of green living is, surprisingly enough, the shantytown.

Adverbial phrases are so-called because they can occur in the same range of
positions as single adverbs; but many such adverbial phrases, paradoxically, do not
contain an adverb. Such adverb-less adverbial phrases are typically prepositional
phrases, as [italicized] in the examples below:
- On Friday night, I'm playing squash.
- Their marriage broke up in the most painful way.
- May I, on behalf of the shareholders, congratulate you?

(Jame R. Hurford, Grammar: A Student's Guide. Cambridge Univ. Press, 1994)

"Like adverbs, adverb phrases can cause confusion because there is some
flexibility in where they occur within sentences, and even in modifying the sentence
structure. As well, adverb phrases are sometimes embedded into other phrases.
"Examples are:
a. 'Laura, a better, gentler, more beautiful Laura, whom everybody, everybody
loved dearly and tenderly.' [Norris]
[ADVERB PHRASE]
b. 'He had taken her hand sympathizingly, forgivingly, but his silence made me
curious.' [Michelson]
[ADVERB PHRASE]
c. 'David, on the lowest step, was very evidently not hearing a word of what
was being said.' [Porter]
[ADVERB PHRASE EMBEDDED INTO VERB PHRASE]
Our first example identifies an adverb phrase following the verb loved; the next
example shows an adverb phrase following the noun hand and removed from the
verb it modifies; the third example has an adverb phrase embedded into a verb
phrase was . . . hearing. Such flexibility makes it more difficult to identify these
phrases; therefore, noting the head adverb can be of help."

(Bernard O'Dwyer, Modern English Structures: Form, Function, and Position.

Broadview, 2006)
Also Known As: AdvP, adverbial phrase
noun phrase (NP)
Definition:
A word group with a noun or pronoun as its head. The noun head can be
accompanied by modifiers, determiners (such as the, a, her), and/or complements.
A noun phrase (often abbreviated as NP) most commonly functions as a subject,
object, or complement.
See also:
Adjective Phrase
Nominal
Noun Clause
Examples and Observations:
"The only white people who came to our house were welfare workers and bill
collectors."
(James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son, 1955)
"McSorley's bar is short, accommodating approximately ten elbows, and is shored
up with iron pipes."
(Joseph Mitchell, "The Old House at Home," 1940)
"The wells and water table had been polluted by chemical pesticides and
fertilizers that leached into the earth and were washed by rain into the creeks,
where the stunned fish were scavenged by the ospreys."
(Peter Matthiessen, Men's Lives, 1986)
"More than one determiner can introduce a noun phrase; for example, all and our
in [2]:
[2] In the initial sorties all our aircraft have returned safely [S2B-008-15]
" . . . A noun head may also have more than one postmodifier. Two postmodifiers
are exhibited in [3]:

[3] [. . .] I think it is a pity that LB is the only major corporation I have worked
for where this has been a problem. [W1B-020-24]
The noun head is corporation and the two postmodifiers are I have worked for
and where this has been a problem. The second postmodifier modifies the whole of
the preceding noun phrase, including the first postmodifier, since clearly the writer
does not want to generalize by extending the reference to major corporations where
he has not worked. On the other hand, the two postmodifiers in [4] modify the head
separately:
[4] [ . . .] we could not trace the invoice dated 22nd March 1990 for 43.13.
[W1B-021-37]
We could reverse the order of the postmodifiers without changing the meaning."
(Sidney Greenbaum, Oxford English Grammar. Oxford Univ. Press, 1996)
A Georgia woman was jailed briefly after a run-in with courthouse security over
her refusal to remove a religious head scarf.
"The men in the class--there were a few older students, veterans--listened with
good-natured interest, and the girls gazed at the instructor with rosy-faced, shy
affection."
(Bernard Malamud, A New Life, 1961)

"Your type really makes me puke, you vacuous, toffy-nosed, malodorous pervert!"
(Graham Chapman in "The Argument Clinic," Monty Python's Flying Circus)
"Some of the owners of Harlem clubs, delighted at the flood of white patronage,
made the grievous error of barring their own race, after the manner of the famous
Cotton Club."
(Langston Hughes, The Big Sea, 1940)
"Most forms of controlled English suggest revising noun phrases that are more
than three words long. However, even a two- or three-word noun phrase can be
unclear or ambiguous. For example, in the following sentences, someone who is not
familiar with the subject matter cannot fully understand the two-word noun phrases,
because each individual word has multiple possible meanings:
If you haven't imported a filter, the default is a unity gain.

The tracking loop mitigates the effects of multi-path interference on codephase errors.
On the other hand, some longer noun phrases are easy to comprehend-especially if part of the noun phrase is a proper noun. As long as the reader
understands the two-word noun phrase dialog box, the four-word noun phrase in the
following sentence is comprehensible:
In the Advanced Options dialog box, use the arrows to adjust the percentage.
" . . . Clearly it is important to keep noun phrases as short as possible in English.
But even the short ones often need to be explained or defined in order for
translators to be sure about their meanings."
(John R. Kohl, The Global English Style Guide: Writing Clear, Translatable
Documentation for a Global Market. SAS, 2008)
Also Known As: NP