Noun Phrase As Object:11 Facts You Should Know

Noun phrase as object is our topic of discussion.You will get familiar with it once you go through the article.

A noun is familiar to us. A noun phrase adds specific details to a noun. ‘Pen’ is a noun. But when we say ‘a green gel pen’ we are adding specific details to  the pen. A noun phrase can function as an object .It can be a direct object,an indirect object or an object of preposition.

For example:

  Sara baked a red velvet cake.

  Here ‘a red velvet cake’ is the noun phrase. It acts as an object.Object of the verb ‘bake’.

noun phrase as object
Noun phrase as object

Is Noun Phrase an Object?

     Noun phrase can act as an object in a sentence.

Her friend has eaten all the dark chocolate .

     Here ‘her’ is a determiner and ‘friend’ is a noun. Both of them together form  a noun phrase ‘her friend’. ‘Has’ and ‘eaten’ are verbs. ‘All’, ‘the, and  ‘dark’ are determiners and ‘chocolate’ is a noun.Thus ‘all the dark chocolate’ forms another noun phrase in the sentence. ‘All the dark chocolate’ is the noun phrase which acts as an object here.It receives the action of the verb ‘eaten’.

How is noun phrase an object?

  Noun phrase can act as an object when it receives the action of the verb.

 Jeffry introduced his new colleague.

    Here the noun phrase is ‘his new colleague’ .It receives the action of the verb ‘introduced’.Thus the noun phrase ‘his new colleague’ is an object here.

When is noun phrase an object?

 A sentence can have more than one noun phrases.But every noun phrase need not be functioning as an object. When a noun phrase receives the action of a verb ,it is an object.

My mother gifted me a beautiful wrist watch.

Here ‘a beautiful wrist watch’ is a noun phrase.It became an object when it received the action of the verb’gifted’.

Where is noun phrase object?

    Noun phrase acts as an object where it receives the action of a verb .It can also be an object of preposition where it follows a preposition.

 The wild pig destroyed the pineapple plants.

  Here ‘the wild pig’ is a noun phrase.But it is not an object. ‘The pineapple plants’ is another noun phrase.But it acts as an object.

My younger sister plays with a cute puppy.

   Here ‘my younger sister’ is a noun phrase.But it is not an object.’A cute puppy’ is a noun phrase which acts as an object of preposition by following the preposition ‘with’.

Noun phrase as direct object of verb

  Noun phrase is said to be a direct object of the verb when it bears the direct action of that verb.

I love big blue candles.

 Here ‘big blue candles’ is the noun phrase working as direct object since it receives the action of the verb ‘love’.

Noun phrase as indirect object of a verb

  A noun phrase works as an indirect object when it receives the direct object.It usually occurs between the verb and the direct object.

   The man  gave the child a blue doll.

Here ‘the child’ is the noun phrase which acts as an indirect object.Notice that the noun phrase ‘a blue doll’ is a direct object here.

The man gave what?.A blue doll.Who received the blue doll?.The child.

Noun phrase as an object of preposition.

  When a noun phrase acts as an object and follows a preposition  it is said to be functioning as an object of preposition

Ann lives in a beautiful house.

A beautiful house’ is the noun phrase functioning as the object of the preposition ‘in’.

Noun phrase as object of preposition examples

Let us discuss some sentences were noun phrases act as object of preposition.

She hides under the wooden table

Here the noun phrase ‘the wooden table’ is working as the object of the preposition ‘under’.

She placed the cake on the wooden counter.

Here ‘the wooden counter’ is the noun phrase which acts as the object of the preposition ‘on’.

Noun phrase as object of a verb

    Like nouns,noun phrases can act as object of a verb.

Radha weaves handloom frocks.

 Here the noun phrase  ‘handloom frocks’ acts as the object of the verb ‘weaves’.

How does a noun phrase function as an object?

   A noun phrase can function as an object of a verb.It can function as an object of a preposition as well.

When a noun phrase receives the direct action of a verb it works as a direct object.

She drew the beautiful scenery.

Here ‘ the beautiful scenery’ is the noun phrase which acts as a direct object of the verb ‘drew’

When A noun phrase receives the action of a direct object,then it works as an indirect object.

My mother gave my younger sister a new diamond ring.

Here ‘my younger  sister’ is the noun phrase which acts as an indirect object.’A new diamond ring’ is a noun phrase which acts as the direct object.

What did my mother give? A new diamond ring.Who received that diamond ring?My younger sister.

When a noun phrase acts as an object of preposition,it follows a preposition.

James talked about the new neighbor.

Here ‘the new neighbour’ is the noun phrase which acts as an object of the preposition ‘about’.

Can a noun phrase have a preposition?

A noun phrase can follow a preposition.

 She jumped across the wooden fence.

Here ‘the wooden fence’ is the noun phrase and ‘across’ is the preposition.

Noun phrase as object of a verb examples.

 Syed writes long Urdu poems

    Here ‘long Urdu poems’ is the noun phrase which acts as the object of the verb ‘writes’.

I bought a beautiful Kashmiri shawl.

    Here ‘a beautiful Kashmiri shawl’ is the noun phrase which acts as the object to the verb’bought’.

Conclusion:Noun phrases can act as objects like the nouns do.They can be direct or indirect in acting as an object.They can also be objects of prepositions.