Noun Phrases
Often a noun phrase is just a noun or a pronoun:
People like to have money.
I am tired.
It is getting late.
or a determiner and a noun …:I am tired.
It is getting late.
Our friends have bought a house in the village.
Those houses are very expensive.
… perhaps with an adjective:Those houses are very expensive.
Our closest friends have just bought a new house in the village.
Sometimes the noun phrase begins with a quantifier:
All those children go to school here.
Both of my younger brothers are married
Some people spend a lot of money.
- See more at:
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/clause-phrase-and-sentence/noun-phrase#sthash.0DXQHU2Y.dpufBoth of my younger brothers are married
Some people spend a lot of money.
Noun Phrases
Often a noun phrase is just a noun or a pronoun:
People like to have money.
I am tired.
It is getting late.
or a determiner and a noun …:I am tired.
It is getting late.
Our friends have bought a house in the village.
Those houses are very expensive.
… perhaps with an adjective:Those houses are very expensive.
Our closest friends have just bought a new house in the village.
Sometimes the noun phrase begins with a quantifier:
All those children go to school here.
Both of my younger brothers are married
Some people spend a lot of money.
- See more at:
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/clause-phrase-and-sentence/noun-phrase#sthash.0DXQHU2Y.dpufBoth of my younger brothers are married
Some people spend a lot of money.
Noun Phrases
Often a noun phrase is just a
noun or a pronoun:
People like to have money.
I am tired.
It is getting late.
I am tired.
It is getting late.
or a determiner and a noun
…:
Our friends have bought a house in the village.
Those houses are very expensive.
Those houses are very expensive.
… perhaps with an adjective:
Our closest friends have just
bought a new house in the village.
Sometimes the noun phrase begins
with a quantifier:
All those children go to school here.
Both of my younger brothers are married
Some people spend a lot of money.
Both of my younger brothers are married
Some people spend a lot of money.
Numbers:
Quantifiers come before determiners, but numbers come after determiners:
My four children go to school here. (All
my children go to school here.)
Those two suitcases are mine. (Both those suitcases are mine)
Those two suitcases are mine. (Both those suitcases are mine)
So the noun phrase is built up in this way:
Noun: people; money
Determiner + noun: the village, a house, our friends; those houses
Quantifier + noun: some people; a lot of money
Determiner + adjective + noun: our closest friends; a new house.
Quantifier + determiner + noun: all those children;
Quantifier + determiner + adjective + noun: both of my younger brothers
The noun phrase can be quite complicated:
a loaf of nice fresh brown bread
the eight-year-old boy who attempted to rob
the eight-year-old boy who attempted to rob
a sweet shop with a pistol
that attractive young woman in the blue dress
that attractive young woman in the blue dress
sitting over there in the corner
Some words and phrases come after
the noun.
These are called post-modifiers.
A noun phrase can be
post-modified in several ways:
Here are some examples:
• with a prepositional phrase:
a man with a gun
the boy in the blue shirt
the house on the corner
the boy in the blue shirt
the house on the corner
• with an –ing phrase:
the man standing over there
the boy talking to Angela
the boy talking to Angela
• with a relative clause:
the man we met yesterday
the house that Jack built
the woman who discovered radium
an eight-year-old boy who attempted to rob a sweet shop
the house that Jack built
the woman who discovered radium
an eight-year-old boy who attempted to rob a sweet shop
• with a that clause.
This is very common with reporting or summarising nouns
like idea, fact,
belief, suggestion:
He’s still very fit, in spite of the
fact that he’s over eighty.
She got the idea that people didn’t like her.
There was a suggestion that the children should be sent home.
She got the idea that people didn’t like her.
There was a suggestion that the children should be sent home.
• with a to-infinitive.
This is very common after indefinite pronouns and adverbs:
You should take something to read.
I need somewhere to sleep.
I’ve got no decent shoes to wear.
I’ve got no decent shoes to wear.
There may be more than one postmodifier:
an eight-year old boy with a
gun who tried to rob a sweet shop
that girl over there in a green dress drinking a coke
that girl over there in a green dress drinking a coke
Source:
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/clause-phrase-and-sentence/noun-phrase
Noun Phrases
Often a noun phrase is just a noun or a pronoun:
People like to have money.
I am tired.
It is getting late.
or a determiner and a noun …:I am tired.
It is getting late.
Our friends have bought a house in the village.
Those houses are very expensive.
… perhaps with an adjective:Those houses are very expensive.
Our closest friends have just bought a new house in the village.
Sometimes the noun phrase begins with a quantifier:
All those children go to school here.
Both of my younger brothers are married
Some people spend a lot of money.
Both of my younger brothers are married
Some people spend a lot of money.
Numbers:
Quantifiers come before determiners, but numbers come after determiners:
My four children go to school here. (All my children go to school here.)
Those two suitcases are mine. (Both those suitcases are mine)
So the noun phrase is built up in this way:Those two suitcases are mine. (Both those suitcases are mine)
Noun: people; money
Determiner + noun: the village, a house, our friends; those houses
Quantifier + noun: some people; a lot of money
Determiner + adjective + noun: our closest friends; a new house.
Quantifier + determiner + noun: all those children;
Quantifier + determiner + adjective + noun: both of my younger brothers
The noun phrase can be quite complicated:
a loaf of nice fresh brown bread
the eight-year-old boy who attempted to rob a sweet shop with a pistol
that attractive young woman in the blue dress sitting over there in the corner
- See more at:
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/clause-phrase-and-sentence/noun-phrase#sthash.0DXQHU2Y.dpufthe eight-year-old boy who attempted to rob a sweet shop with a pistol
that attractive young woman in the blue dress sitting over there in the corner
Noun Phrases
Often a noun phrase is just a noun or a pronoun:
People like to have money.
I am tired.
It is getting late.
or a determiner and a noun …:I am tired.
It is getting late.
Our friends have bought a house in the village.
Those houses are very expensive.
… perhaps with an adjective:Those houses are very expensive.
Our closest friends have just bought a new house in the village.
Sometimes the noun phrase begins with a quantifier:
All those children go to school here.
Both of my younger brothers are married
Some people spend a lot of money.
Both of my younger brothers are married
Some people spend a lot of money.
Numbers:
Quantifiers come before determiners, but numbers come after determiners:
My four children go to school here. (All my children go to school here.)
Those two suitcases are mine. (Both those suitcases are mine)
So the noun phrase is built up in this way:Those two suitcases are mine. (Both those suitcases are mine)
Noun: people; money
Determiner + noun: the village, a house, our friends; those houses
Quantifier + noun: some people; a lot of money
Determiner + adjective + noun: our closest friends; a new house.
Quantifier + determiner + noun: all those children;
Quantifier + determiner + adjective + noun: both of my younger brothers
The noun phrase can be quite complicated:
a loaf of nice fresh brown bread
the eight-year-old boy who attempted to rob a sweet shop with a pistol
that attractive young woman in the blue dress sitting over there in the corner
- See more at:
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/clause-phrase-and-sentence/noun-phrase#sthash.0DXQHU2Y.dpufthe eight-year-old boy who attempted to rob a sweet shop with a pistol
that attractive young woman in the blue dress sitting over there in the corner
Noun Phrases
Often a noun phrase is just a noun or a pronoun:
People like to have money.
I am tired.
It is getting late.
or a determiner and a noun …:I am tired.
It is getting late.
Our friends have bought a house in the village.
Those houses are very expensive.
… perhaps with an adjective:Those houses are very expensive.
Our closest friends have just bought a new house in the village.
Sometimes the noun phrase begins with a quantifier:
All those children go to school here.
Both of my younger brothers are married
Some people spend a lot of money.
Both of my younger brothers are married
Some people spend a lot of money.
Numbers:
Quantifiers come before determiners, but numbers come after determiners:
My four children go to school here. (All my children go to school here.)
Those two suitcases are mine. (Both those suitcases are mine)
So the noun phrase is built up in this way:Those two suitcases are mine. (Both those suitcases are mine)
Noun: people; money
Determiner + noun: the village, a house, our friends; those houses
Quantifier + noun: some people; a lot of money
Determiner + adjective + noun: our closest friends; a new house.
Quantifier + determiner + noun: all those children;
Quantifier + determiner + adjective + noun: both of my younger brothers
The noun phrase can be quite complicated:
a loaf of nice fresh brown bread
the eight-year-old boy who attempted to rob a sweet shop with a pistol
that attractive young woman in the blue dress sitting over there in the corner
- See more at:
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/clause-phrase-and-sentence/noun-phrase#sthash.0DXQHU2Y.dpufthe eight-year-old boy who attempted to rob a sweet shop with a pistol
that attractive young woman in the blue dress sitting over there in the corner
