Sentence elements

A sentence (S) is a hierarchically structured sequence (or string). The immediate constituents of a simple English sentence are a noun phrase (NP) and a verb phrase (VP).

Phrase types are named after their most important elements, or heads: the head of an NP is a noun (N).

We can now present the structure of this sentence in full, using the phrase-structure marker or tree diagram below.

The large NP and the VP are the two constituents of the sentence (S). The NP the large doughnut is a constituent of the VP, and the PP with the red ribbon is a constituent of the subject NP. Constituents like the red ribbon, which do not express arguments as we defined them earlier, are called adjuncts. Adjuncts generally provide additional information about time, manner or place and are therefore often adverbs, or adverbial phrases:

The man lifted the boy carefully.

Dinosaurs existed many millennia ago.

Mary yawns several times a day.