GRAMMATICAL name is the name giving to a word or group of words in a sentence. The grammatical name of a word or group of words in a sentence could be NOUN PHRASE, VERB PHRASE, ADJECTIVAL PHRASE, ABVERBIAL PHRASE, ETC.
The grammatical functions differ DEPENDING on its name.:
1) NOUN PHRASE:
A noun is the name of anything. A phrase is a word or a group of words performing a specific function in a sentence. A noun phrase is a word or group of words functioning as OBJECT or SUBJECT of a verb in a sentence.
SUBJECT OF A SENTENCE
The subject of a sentence is the person or thing that a sentence is about:
English language is an interesting subject
It has been raining all day
In the above sentence, “English language” and “raining” are the Subjects of the sentences. But over and above this rule, the Subject of a sentence is the PERFORMER of the action of the verb in a sentence:
Tunde slapped Kemi
In our sentence above, “TUNDE” is the performer of the action ‘slapped’, therefore it is the subject of the sentence.
OBJECT OF A SENTENCE
The object of a sentence is the receiver of the action of the verb in a sentence:
Referring to the above sentence, “Kemi” receives the action of the verb “slapped”; therefore, it is the object of the sentence.
MORE EXAMPLES
The man stole the car< subject: the man object: the car
Everybody knows him< subject: everybody; object him
I polished the shoe< subject: I ; object: the shoe
Pastor divorced his wife< subject: pastor: object: his wife
QUESTION
Identify the NOUN PHRASES in the passage below and state their functions each
Loving is the best expression of Godness. Love is the cement that binds people together. Anyone who loves exudes God. In, fact, it could rightly be said that God lives in the heart of all who loves. Love is not bound by religion, tribes, race, etc. Love is simply boundless.
NOUN PHRASES: loving, Godness, love, the cement, people, anyone, God, the heart, all who, religion, tribes, race, …
FUNCTION: SUBJECT or OBJECT of their various verbs…….
