Final answer:
In the provided sentence, 'Mr. Jones' is a proper noun phrase because it refers to a specific individual and is capitalized, indicating its specificity as a proper noun. Unlike regular noun phrases, it does not require additional words for identification.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the sentence 'Mikayla's homeroom teacher, Mr. Jones, is very proud of her,' the phrase 'Mr. Jones' functions as a proper noun phrase. A proper noun phrase identifies a specific individual, and in this instance, it refers to a particular person - Mikayla's teacher. Unlike a regular noun phrase that might contain a common noun and additional words like adjectives or determiners, a proper noun phrase like 'Mr. Jones' stands on its own without the need for any qualifiers because the name itself specifies the individual clearly.
As a comparison, consider the following two sentences as examples: In 'Mary jogged,' the word 'Mary' is a proper noun that serves as the subject of the sentence. In 'That tall woman jogged,' the subject of the sentence is made up of a noun ('woman') and additional words ('that' and 'tall') which combine to form a noun phrase. Proper noun phrases are always capitalized to denote their specificity.