Which of the following is an example of a proper noun?

a. western states
b. region
c. midwest
d. national map

answer: d.she abandons people when they least expect it.

in the monk's tale, we encounter seventeen stories that relate historical events. all of these stories have tragic commonalities. they tell the stories of heroes who, despite their success in life, all met sad ends. the monk blames these sad outcomes on fortune. one of fortune's traits is that she abandons people when they least expect it. this is one of the most common themes of medieval tragedies.

the sentence does not violate the phrase structure second rule (introduced by noam chomsky) because noun phrases consist of a determiner such as a, the or every, and a noun. in the sentence, the noun phrase the cake includes a determiner (the) and a noun (cake).

on the other hand, the first rule indicates that a sentence encloses a noun phrase, followed by a verb phrase. the example sentence can be analysed as follows:

john (n) + ate (v) + the (det) + cake (n).