TSL476 – STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT

LECTURER’S NAME: MADAM NORSIAH SIRUN

NAME STUDENT ID

MOHAMAD AZZIMMIN BIN MOHAMAD ARIF 2020473618

SITI AISYAH BINTI RAZALI 2020492618

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS PAGE

1.0 Introduction 2

2.0 Phrase Structure 2

2.1 Determiners 2

2.2 Adjective Phrases 5

2.3 Prepositional Phrases 5

2.4 Adjective / Relative Clauses 6

2.5 Non-finite Clauses 6

3.0 Text Analysis 7

4.0 Conclusion 13

5.0 References 15

6.0 Appendix 16

1
1.0 INTRODUCTION

The writer of this essay is a 1st year Anthropology and Sociology course student. This is a

continuous assessment for subject AIA1002 – Introduction To Ethnography, which is a book

review. This assessment requires the students to review and analyse a book/essay, and this

student had reviewed an essay entitled “This Is What Inequality Looks Like”, by Teo Yeo Yenn.

2.0 PHRASE STRUCTURE

Our group has chosen to analyse the noun phrases that we found from this student’s written

assignment. Noun phrases are groups of two or more words within a sentence that function

grammatically as nouns and consist of a noun or other words that are modifying the noun.

(Herring, 2016). However, there are some grammarians who consider a one-word noun to be

classified as a noun phrase. According to Gelderen (2010), a noun phrase may be modified by

words, phrases, and clauses, which describe the noun or pronoun in the noun phrase. In the

English language, there are five grammatical forms that can be functioning as noun phrase

modifiers, which are :

2.1 Determiners

In the English language, four types of determiners are used to modify a noun which are articles,

demonstratives, quantifiers, and possessives. The first type which is articles that are used for

singular nouns can be categorised into two types which are indefinite articles (‘a’ and ‘an’) and

definite articles (‘the’) (Herring, 2016). According to Bretts (n.d.), definite articles are utilised

when talking about a general version of a noun. The usage of articles is different as ‘a’ is used

2
before a word that begins with a consonant or consonant sound while ‘an’ is used before a word

that begins with a vowel or vowel sound. This can be seen in the examples below:

1) A boy ate an apple. (Article ‘a’ modifies the noun ‘boy’ that starts with a consonant ‘b’

while ‘an’ modifies the noun ‘apple’ that starts with a vowel ‘a’. It does not specify

which boy and which apple, just stating the noun generally.)

2) Joe has a car. (Article ‘a’ modifies the noun ‘car’ that starts with a consonant ‘c’. It does

not specify the type of car, just stating that Joe owns a car.)

Definite articles ‘the’ are used to speak about a specific noun. For examples:

1) The dog went to the park. (Article ‘the’ is used to modify the noun ‘dog’ and ‘park’. The

definite article is used to refer to a particular dog and park.)

The second type of determiner is demonstratives. Demonstratives; this, that, these and those are

used when the speaker can point to the item that they are referring to, making them more specific

than a definite article (Bretts, n.d.). Demonstrative ‘this’ and ‘that’ are used for singular nouns

while ‘these’ and ‘those’ are used for plural nouns. For examples:

1) Those people were mean to her. (Demonstrative ‘those’ modifies the noun people which

is a plural noun.)

2) Give me that blue water bottle. (Demonstrative ‘that’ modifies the noun ‘blue water

bottle’ which is a singular noun.)

The third type is quantifiers that are used to indicate the quantity of the noun (Bretts, n.d.).

Examples of quantifiers are all, a lot of, few, many and some. These are the sentence example in

the usage of quantifiers:

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 1) Few children like lima beans, so the cafeteria stopped serving them. (The quantifier ‘few’

shows the quantity if the noun ‘children’)

2) Jack has many friends here. (The quantifier ‘many’ shows the quantity if the noun

‘friends’)

3) She liked all desserts equally. (The quantifier ‘all’ shows the quantity if the noun

‘desserts’)

The fourth type of determiner is possessives that modify a noun to show ownership. Possessives

can be divided into possessive nouns and possessive pronouns. Possessive nouns modify nouns

by indicating the noun owns to someone, something or some group (Herring, 2016).

1) The mailman’s truck was parked. (The noun ‘truck’ is modified by the noun ‘mailman’ to

show the truck belongs to the mailman.)

2) The woman's purse was blue. (The noun ‘purse’ is modified by the noun ‘woman’ to

indicate that the owner of the purse is the woman.)

Possessive pronoun holds a similar function as possessive nouns, however, it uses pronoun (my,

our, your, his, her, its, and their) instead of a noun in showing the ownership (Herring, 2016). For

instance:

1) His wife brought him his forgotten briefcase. (The pronoun ‘his’ modifies the noun wife

and briefcase to show possession.)

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 2) Her shoe was untied. (The pronoun ‘her’ modifies the noun ‘shoe’ to show possession.)

2.2 Adjective Phrases

Adjective phrase can be defined as a group of words that describe a noun or pronoun in a

sentence, and consist of an adjective and any modifier that functions as a degree verb. (Your

Dictionary, n.d). Adjective phrases are usually used to describe humans, animals, objects, or any

other nouns or pronouns in sentences. The adjective in the phrases can appear at the start,

middle, or end of the phrase, and place before or after the nouns or pronouns.

Examples :

1) A very small kitten came into our house. (“Very small” is the adjective phrase of this

sentence, “Very” used to emphasize the Adjective, which is “small”. This adjective

phrase modifies the noun, which is “kitten”.)

2) The cat covered in mud is mine. (“Covered in mud” is an adjective phrase that modifies

the noun, which is “cat”.)

2.3 Prepositional Phrases

Prepositional phrase is a group of words that consist of a preposition (such as to, in, or

with), an object, and any modifier of the object. (Traffis, 2017) Prepositional phrases are usually

used to modify noun phrases, such as :

Examples :

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 1) The man in the suit is his father. (The underlined PP is used to modify the noun “man”.)

2) Everyone in the car is sleeping soundly. (The underlined PP modifies the pronoun

“everyone”.)

2.4 Adjective / Relative Clauses

Relative clauses (also known as adjective clauses) show a quality of nouns the same as

adjectives (Herring, 2016). These clauses are introduced by relative pronouns: who, which,

whom, whose and that to tell more details about people or things (Relative pronouns and relative

clauses, 2019). However, relative clauses contain a subject and a verb.

Examples:

1) The car that drove up the street turned left. (The underlined part is a relative clause that

has been introduced by the relative pronoun ‘that’ and modifies the noun ‘the car’. The

clause consists of the verb ‘drove up’ and the noun ‘the street’)

2) Marie Curie is the woman who discovered radium. (The underlined part is a relative

clause that has been introduced by the relative pronoun ‘who’ and modifies the noun ‘the

woman’).

2.5 Non-finite Clauses

The non-finite clauses that can modify a noun can be categorised into three types which are

to-infinitive, -ing participle and -en / -ed participle. The first type, to-infinitive modifies the noun

through the verb phrase to help in elaboration and clarification of the noun (Herring, 2016).

Examples:

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 1) He was the person to contact if you wanted pastries. (provide further elaboration of the

noun ‘the person’)

2) He will put the paintings to be sold near the front door. (provide further elaboration of the

noun ‘the paintings’)

The second type and the third type, -ing participle and -en / -ed participle (also known as

participle phrases) provide a group of words with a present participle (-ing participle) and past

participle (-en / -ed participle) that function as an adjective to modify the noun (Herring, 2016).

Examples:

1) The man waving his hand for a taxi was being ignored. (modify the noun ‘The man’)

2) The woman clearing the table had served me my coffee. (modify the noun ‘The woman’)

3) The porridge eaten by the boy was for his baby sister. (modify the noun ‘The porridge’)

4) The Food Panda guy chased by the stray dogs fell off his motorbike. (modify the noun

‘The Food Panda guy’)

3.0 TEXT ANALYSIS

1. In this book, Teo explores the why and what in the gap between the wealthy and

poverty-stricken in contemporary Singapore. She explains that rather than describing the poor as

otherly, she had taken 1) the ethnographic approach to examine the inequalities present in the

systems of law and the social world of Singapore by presenting the flaws in both structures as the

main perpetrators that affect all Singaporeans. Narratively, she aims to include 2) all

7
Singaporeans in the discussion to address the problems, rather than simply writing about 3) the

struggles of the poor from an outsider perspective.

Pre-modifiers Post-modifiers

DETERMINER ADJECTIVE HEADWORD Prepositional Finite Clause Non-finite

(Relative/Adjective)
PHRASE Phrase Clause

1. the ethnographic approach to examine the

inequalities
present in the
systems of law
and the social
world of
Singapore by
presenting the
flaws in both
structures as
the main
perpetrators
that affect all
Singaporeans

2. all Singaporeans in the to address the

discussion problems

3. the struggles of the poor

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2. First, Teo describes 4) the daily lives of those living in low-cost rental flats, 5) the site

where she regularly conducts her field work throughout the book.Many inhabitants of these flats

do not often venture much outside of their immediate area besides for work as everything they

need and can afford is within a few kilometres. 6) Their living areas are transformed into

bedrooms come night time for 7) any larger families in the flats. 8) Children roam about freely in

the corridors. There is also 9) an obvious sense of community between neighbours as they help

each other take care of children because some cannot afford to send them to day cares.

Pre-modifiers Post-modifiers

Determiner Adjective HEADWORD Prepositional Finite Clause Non-finite

Phrase Phrase (Relative/Adjective) clause

4. the daily lives of those living in

low-cost rental
flats

5. the site where she

regularly
conducts her
field work
throughout the
book

6. their living area

7. many larger families in the flats

9
 8. Children

9. an obvious sense of community

between
neighbours

3. Besides that, Teo then relates these observations to the why and what beginning with the

perceptions of the privileged towards the poor. She explains that as Singapore is 10) a newly

developed and rich nation, the value of meritocracy is placed highly in society. The general

mindset of Singaporeans is one that values hard work and academic excellence mainly through

examinations. This brings up 11) one issue that becomes a root issue of poverty in the country

starting from the earliest levels of kindergarten. Many families in the low-cost flats do not

possess 12) the flexibility to regularly pick their children up from school. Prices for overstaying

are sometimes too high for them. To apply for financial aid to cover these costs requires formal

writing and pay checks which many simply do not have access to through their odd jobs. This

presents 13) a systemic issue where help is difficult to access, thus many choose not to, or do,

but are rejected by the system and society which deems them deviant by 14) their way of living

off odd jobs.

Pre-modifiers Post-modifiers

Determiner Adjective HEADWORD Prepositional Finite Clause Non-finite clause

Phrase Phrase (Relative/Adjective)

10
 10. a newly nation
developed
and rich

11. one issue that becomes a starting from

root issue of the earliest
poverty in the levels of
country kindergarten

12. the flexibility to regularly pick

their children up
from school

13. a systemic issue where help is

difficult to
access

14. their way of living off

odd jobs.

4) Overall, 15) Teo You Yenn does a good job to paint a picture of the situation in

Singapore through a local lens, one that resonates with 16) many people from different parts of

the world. She takes care not to devalue the lives of the poor by treating them as charity cases,

but instead presents the harsh reality of these residents as real people with human problems that

can be alleviated if more thought and attention went into the systems that loom over them. Teo

points out seemingly mundane, but nonetheless 17) damning details of everyday life that impact

11
the outlooks of those ‘above’ towards the underprivileged. She also succinctly and clearly

explains the mechanics of the systems of Singapore and 18) its flaws that keep poorer citizens

out of opportunities such as the difficulty of bureaucracy and the competitiveness of education

that seems to simply leave children behind without much for them to fall back on.

Pre-modifiers Post-modifiers

Determiner Adjective HEADWORD Prepositional Finite Clause Non-finite clause

Phrase Phrase (Relative/Adjective)

15. Teo Yeo

Yenn

16. many people from different

parts of the
world

17. damning details of everyday that impact the

life outlooks of
those ‘above’
towards the
underprivileged

18. its flaws that keep poorer

citizens out of
opportunities

12
5. In conclusion, 19) this book serves 20) its purpose to educate its readers on the persistent

systemic and societal issues pertaining to inequality in a concise and moving fashion.

Pre-modifiers Post-modifiers

Determiner Adjective HEADWORD Prepositional Finite Clause Non-finite clause

Phrase Phrase (Relative/Adjectiv
e)

19. this book

20. its purpose to educate its

readers on the
persistent systemic
and societal issues

4.0 CONCLUSION

All in all, when we analyse the 20 noun phrases in the table, we can conclude that the

student has used various types of noun modifiers. We have classified the pre-modifiers,

headwords and post-modifiers in each noun phrase. The most common modifiers used by the

student is determiners as 12 nouns are being modified by determiners which are articles (the, an,

a), demonstratives (this), quantifiers (all, many. one) and possessives (their, its). The students

also used adjective phrases as noun modifiers which are ethnographic, daily, living, larger,

13
obvious, newly developed and rich, systemic, and damning which is the second most common

modifiers in her writing. Next, in the essay, we have found the usage of prepositional phrases

that starts with the preposition of, in and from in giving more details about the noun. Moreover,

the finite clause or relative clause (also known as adjective clause) can be identified in the noun

phrases with the usage of relative pronouns as the introducer which are where and that. The least

used noun modifier is the non-finite clause. The student uses to-infinitive, for example, to

examine, to address, to regularly pick and to educate and -ing participle, starting to elaborate the

noun. Besides that, based on the 20 noun phrases that we have analysed, the student has used a

one-word noun as a noun phrase which is children and proper noun which is the name of the

author of the essay to be reviewed, Teo You Yenn. Our group has no further suggestions as we

think that this student did a brilliant job in using different structures of noun phrases in her essay,

which makes it more interesting and better.

14
5.0 REFERENCES

Adjective phrase example. (n.d.). Your Dictionary.

https://examples.yourdictionary.com/adjective-phrase-examples.html

Betts, J. (n.d.). What is a determiner?. Your Dictionary

https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/nouns/what/what-is-a-determiner.ht

ml

Gelderen, E. V. (2010). An introduction to the grammar of English (Revised Edition). John

Benjamins Publishing Company.

Herring, P. (2016). Complete English grammar rules. Createspace Independent Publishing

Platform.

‌Relative pronouns and relative clauses. (2019, June 11). British Council.

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/relative-pronouns-and-r

elative-clauses

Traffis, C. (2017, May 18). What Is a Prepositional Phrase?. Grammarly.

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/prepositional-phrase/

15
6.0 APPENDIX

AIA1002 – INTRODUCTION TO ETHNOGRAPHY

CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT – BOOK REVIEW

‘This Is What Inequality Looks Like:

Essays by Teo You Yenn’

by

Teo You Yenn

LECTURER: En. Kamal Solhaimi Bin Fadzil

NAME: Tia Najya binti Effendee

MATRICS NO.: U2002672

Teo, Y Y. (2019). This Is What Inequality Looks Like: Essays by Teo You Yenn. Strategic
Information and Research Development Centre. Reviewed by Tia Najya.

16
 In this book, Teo explores the why and what in the gap between the wealthy and

poverty-stricken in contemporary Singapore. She explains that rather than describing the poor as

otherly, she had taken 1) the ethnographic approach to examine the inequalities present in the

systems of law and the social world of Singapore by presenting the flaws in both structures as the

main perpetrators that affect all Singaporeans. Narratively, she aims to include 2) all

Singaporeans in the discussion to address the problems, rather than simply writing about 3) the

struggles of the poor from an outsider perspective.

First, Teo describes 4) the daily lives of those living in low-cost rental flats, 5) the site where she

regularly conducts her field work throughout the book.Many inhabitants of these flats do not

often venture much outside of their immediate area besides for work as everything they need and

can afford is within a few kilometres. 6) Their living areas are transformed into bedrooms come

night time for 7) any larger families in the flats. 8) Children roam about freely in the corridors.

There is also 9) an obvious sense of community between neighbours as they help each other take

care of children because some cannot afford to send them to day cares.

Besides that, Teo then relates these observations to the why and what beginning with the

perceptions of the privileged towards the poor. She explains that as Singapore is 10) a newly

developed and rich nation, the value of meritocracy is placed highly in society. The general

mindset of Singaporeans is one that values hard work and academic excellence mainly through

examinations. This brings up 11) one issue that becomes a root issue of poverty in the country

starting from the earliest levels of kindergarten. Many families in the low-cost flats do not

possess 12) the flexibility to regularly pick their children up from school. Prices for overstaying

are sometimes too high for them. To apply for financial aid to cover these costs requires formal

writing and pay checks which many simply do not have access to through their odd jobs. This

17
presents 13) a systemic issue where help is difficult to access, thus many choose not to, or do,

but are rejected by the system and society which deems them deviant by 14) their way of living

off odd jobs. For older kids, many in these flats may find their home spaces inconducive for

studying and begin to slip in grades. They are then encouraged to take up tutor classes which

many simply cannot afford, causing them to slip farther behind their peers. In a meritocratic

society such as Singapore, this lag in academics is difficult to overcome and thus, the cycle of

poverty continues to push those in already disadvantageous situations further down the rungs.

Besides that, the author also points out the difference in visual language around the area

of low-cost flats and how it perpetuates a wider gap between the privileged and unprivileged.

She presents the examples in the form of public service announcement posters or signages:

posters in upscale condominiums are bright and positive with colourful illustrations while those

in the areas of low-cost flats are mainly intimidating warning signs cautioning those in the area

to keep away from loan sharks. This surrounding only serves to perpetuate negativity for

residents in the area and reinforce the unfavourable views of those in the upper rungs towards

them. This visual dissonance also carries through the lives of those living in the flats as many are

service workers who work for richer clients. Often, these clients live in condominiums and

housing areas within the general vicinity of the flats, meaning the service workers need not travel

far to experience a world of difference from their own lives. From a distance, one can even see

the towering glass offices right next to blocks of low-cost flats, their contrast a stark

representation of the country’s inequality.

Overall, 15) Teo You Yenn does a good job to paint a picture of the situation in Singapore

through a local lens, one that resonates with 16) many people from different parts of the world.

She takes care not to devalue the lives of the poor by treating them as charity cases, but instead

18
presents the harsh reality of these residents as real people with human problems that can be

alleviated if more thought and attention went into the systems that loom over them. Teo points

out seemingly mundane, but nonetheless 17) damning details of everyday life that impact the

outlooks of those ‘above’ towards the underprivileged. She also succinctly and clearly explains

the mechanics of the systems of Singapore and 18) its flaws that keep poorer citizens out of

opportunities such as the difficulty of bureaucracy and the competitiveness of education that

seems to simply leave children behind without much for them to fall back on. Teo also stresses

that this systemic inequality persists throughout the Singaporean society that upholds them

through the meritocracy value system, despite it being one that does not serve everyone to the

same advantage.

In conclusion, 19) this book serves 20) its purpose to educate its readers on the persistent

systemic and societal issues pertaining to inequality in a concise and moving fashion. It manages

to paint a picture of the underprivileged of Singapore without separating them as otherly, instead

focusing on how they are a disadvantaged part of a whole, which is important for all of us to

realize.

19