What is a secondary source? A. Firsthand information
B. Information that has been repeated, Interpreted, and analyzed
C. Information that has been reported by a reporter
D. A personal opinion

i think its c or d, its been awhile since i read this book

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).