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Question

Difficulty: MediumNouns and Noun Phrases

Match each bolded noun phrase in the sentences on the left with its correct syntactic function on the right.

  • Dr. Adebayo, the lead investigator, submitted the final report to the executive committee.Appositive
  • The selection panel considered the young diplomat a formidable candidate for the posting.Object Complement
  • After hours of intense deliberation, Mr. Okafor became the chairman of the board.Subject Complement
  • The environmental activists devoted all their available resources to the preservation of wildlife.Complement of a Preposition

Answer

The sentence featuring 'the lead investigator' matches Appositive; the sentence featuring 'a formidable candidate' matches Object Complement; the sentence featuring 'the chairman of the board' matches Subject Complement; and the sentence featuring 'the preservation of wildlife' matches Complement of a Preposition.
Each noun phrase fulfills a distinct syntactic function based on its structural placement: 'the lead investigator' re-identifies an adjacent noun phrase (appositive); 'a formidable candidate' modifies the direct object after a complex transitive verb (object complement); 'the chairman of the board' completes a linking verb predicate referring to the subject (subject complement); and 'the preservation of wildlife' functions as the object following the preposition 'to' (complement of a preposition).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the position and structural relationship of 'the lead investigator' relative to 'Dr. Adebayo'.
The phrase re-identifies the adjacent proper noun without requiring a connecting verb.
A noun phrase positioned next to another noun to explain or rename it serves as an appositive.
2
Examine the role of 'a formidable candidate' following 'considered the young diplomat'.
The verb 'considered' takes 'the young diplomat' as a direct object, and 'a formidable candidate' describes a state/quality attributed to that object.
A noun phrase following a direct object that completes its meaning after verbs like consider, name, or appoint is an object complement.
3
Determine the function of 'the chairman of the board' after the verb 'became'.
The phrase follows the copular/linking verb 'became' and refers back to the subject 'Mr. Okafor'.
Noun phrases following linking verbs that describe or rename the grammatical subject function as subject complements.
4
Identify the structure governing 'the preservation of wildlife'.
The noun phrase immediately follows the preposition 'to' inside a prepositional phrase.
A noun phrase functioning as the object of a preposition acts as the complement of that preposition.

Key Concept

Syntactic Functions of Noun Phrases
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Topics

Nouns and Noun Phrases

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