Chapter 4. The noun phrase

A  noun phrase is a syntactic category whose head is a noun or a pronoun. In Spanish Sign Language (LSE), the noun phrase may consist only of the head, with no additional constituents.

(1) PROI MOTORBIKE SELL (I have sold the motorbike)

In (1), both noun phrases consist solely of the head. The noun phrase functioning as the subject includes only the pronoun PROI, and the noun phrase functioning as the complement includes only the noun MOTORBIKE.

A noun phrase may also include other constituents, such as classifier nouns (or classificatory nouns), complements, demonstratives, possessives, numerals, locatives, other complements with classifiers, and indefinites (Herrero Blanco, 2009, p. 152).

(2) LAST WEEK HOT (It was hot last week)

The noun phrase LAST WEEK is made up of the head WEEK, accompanied by the adjectival complement LAST.

According to Herrero Blanco (2009), the order of constituents within the LSE noun phrase is as follows: classifier nouns precede the nominal head, while adjectival and nominal complements, demonstratives, possessives, numerals, locatives, and indefinites follow the head in the unmarked situation. The unmarked, or neutral, order of the noun phrase is the usual order in which its parts appear. In other words, the order used when it is not altered for a particular reason, such as meaning or context.

Villameriel García, S. (2026). Syntax: The noun phrase. In S. Villameriel García (Ed.), Gramática de la Lengua de Signos Española (GramLSE) / Grammar of Spanish Sign Language (GramLSE). Real Patronato sobre Discapacidad-Centro de Normalización Lingüística de la Lengua de Signos Española. Retrieved Month DD, YYYY, from https://cnlse.es/es/recursos/gramlse/ingles/index/syntax/chapter-4-the-noun-phrase