In
linguistics, a
determiner phrase (
DP) is a type of
phrase posited by some theories of syntax. The
head of a DP is a
determiner, as opposed to a noun. For example in the phrase
the car,
the is a determiner and
car is a noun; the two combine to form a phrase, and on the DP-analysis, the determiner
the is head over the noun
car. The existence of DPs is a controversial issue in the study of syntax. The traditional analysis of phrases such as
the car is that the noun is the head, which means the phrase is a
noun phrase (NP), not a determiner phrase. Beginning in the mid 1980s, an alternative analysis arose that posits the determiner as the head, which makes the phrase a DP instead of an NP.