_{Syntactic Theory}

The Noun

Tests to identify nouns

• semantic test:
  • Nouns name persons, things or places
• morphological test:
  • Nouns can combine with a plural morpheme (-(e)s)
• syntactic test
  • Nouns can occur with the possessive 's, i.e. in the environment:
    __ 's
  • Nouns can occur between a determiner and a verb, i.e. in the environment:
    Det __ V

Here is an exercise to work with these tests and to get a feel for potential problems. Identifying nouns.

Or continue here to learn about problems with these definitions.

Categories: Glossary