1. A Review of Words and Phrases
Rhetorical Grammar Ch. 1

2. What’s the point?
Syntax- the way that words are structured in a sentence.
Authors make syntactical choices to relay their message.
Understanding the language associated with syntax will help you in analyzing texts you read.

3. LT 1: I can identify nouns and noun phrases in sentences.
What is a noun?
A person, place of thing!
What about fight and laugh? Aren’t those verbs?
The fight rattled the crowd.
Her laugh rang, high-pitched, through the cafeteria.

4. Let’s use some other words to help define:
Plural marker (s)- a word can only be made plural if it’s a noun. (Cool huh?)
Past tense marker (-ed)- only verbs can be identified by tense (like using –ed to make something past tense)
Inflections- noun endings: s is one, ‘s is another—or just an apostrophe. This is called possessive case. Only nouns can be possessive!
I made a promise to my boss. (noun)
I promised to be on time for work. (verb)

5. Practice
Use each of the following words in two different sentences, once as a noun and once as a verb:
Visit
Plant
Point
Feature
Audition
Offer

6. The Noun Phrase Parts of the phrase: Headword- the noun (main word)
Determiner- noun signaler (Watch out! A noun is coming!) most common is an article
the headword
a unit
the traditional definition
Other determiners: possessive nouns, demonstrative pronouns
Modifier- these can be adjectives

7. Now you can complete Exercise 1 in your Rhetorical Grammar book.