Noun Phrases for intermediate learners
When a group of nouns come together, they form a noun phrase. To know what is a noun phrase and how short or how long a noun phrase can be, start here!
What Are Noun Phrases?
Noun phrases consist of a noun and one or more modifiers. These modifiers are there to describe the noun. In this lesson, we will learn all about it.
Different Parts of a Noun Phrase
A noun phrase consists of a noun which is called a head noun and some modifiers. These modifiers can be adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, etc. They modify and describe nouns. Those that come before the head noun are called pre-modifiers and those that come after it is called post-modifiers. Below, we are going to examine them:
Pre-modifiers
As mentioned above, pre-modifiers come before the head noun and modify it. Look at the list below to understand the different kinds of pre-modifiers:
Now, let us analyze each:
Possessive Nouns
When we want to show possession of something or someone or the relations between some people, we use 'possessive nouns' as pre-modifiers before the head noun. Look:
My sister's
As you can see, the 'partner' is the head noun.
Haven't you seen Sarah's
Noun Modifiers
We can also use some nouns to modify the head noun of the noun phrase. Look at the examples below:
Dad has cooked us a
Here, 'tomato' is a noun modifying 'soup'.
Have you ever tried
Attributive Predicative Adjectives
Sometimes, we can have adjectives before the head noun to modify it. Look below:
Hannah and I wanted to watch a
That
Determiners
Determiners can also be pre-modifiers and describe the head noun in a noun phrase. Look at the examples below:
As you can see, 'those' is a determiner and 'cats' is the head noun.
You left your book at
Here, 'my' is a determiner and 'place' is the head noun.
Post-modifiers
As mentioned above, some modifiers come after the head noun and describe it. Below is a list of the most common post-modifiers:
Now, let us examine each closely:
Non-finite Clauses
As you know, 'non-finite' clauses are subordinate and they are mainly infinitives or participles. Look at the examples below to see how 'non-finite' clauses can be used to modify the head noun:
A place
Here, an infinitive has been used as a post-modifiers to describe the head noun which is 'place'.
Look at that fluffy dog
Here, a present participle is modifying the head noun 'dog'.
Prepositional Phrases
We can also use prepositional phrases to modify the head noun in the noun phrase. Look at the following examples:
Somebody quiet down that dog
No one has ever been in that room
Relative Clauses
When a clause starts with a relative pronoun or a relative adverb, it is called a relative clause. Look at the following examples to understand how relative clauses can modify nouns:
The dog
The girl
Uses
Noun phrases can have many different functions. Look at the list below:
Now, let us see how a noun phrase can be used as all the functions above:
I don't need
It seems
My girlfriend cooked me
Warning!
Please note that a noun phrase is different from a noun clause in that a noun clause has a verb whereas a noun phrase does not have a verb. Compare:
Tip!
It might come in handy to know that a noun phrase can sometimes have only one noun with no modifiers. Look:
She texted
Here, 'Archie' is a noun phrase and is the object of the sentence.
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