Syntax:"John read an interesting book."

[snoopya1984]

In the sentece above, is it considered as an object the word "book" or the whole noun phrase "an interesting book"?I think that the object is "book" and the adjective "interesting" functions as modifier to "book" but I am not sure if we consider the whole noun phrase as an object for practical reasons.

Thank you

 

[5jj]

The answer depends on which system of grammatical analysis you follow. As far as learning to communicate in English is concerned, it doesn't really matter. If you arestudying grammar as part of a linguistics course, then you will be considering all the possibilities and deciding which you think is the most appropriate.

 

[MikeNewYork]

In the sentece above, is it considered as an object the word "book" or the whole noun phrase "an interesting book"?I think that the object is "book" and the adjective "interesting" functions as modifier to "book" but I am not sure if we consider the whole noun phrase as an object for practical reasons.

Thank you

If you diagram your sentence, the single word "book" would be placed on the horizontal line in the direct object position. The two modifiers of "book", the article "an" and the adjective "interesting" would be placed on slanted lines connected to and below "book". I would say the direct object is "book", along with all of its modifiers.