Phrases are an essential part of the English language and are the building blocks of all sentences. There are five main types of phrases in English: noun phrases, adjective phrases, verb phrases, adverb phrases, and prepositional phrases. Today we will be looking at noun phrases.
This article will introduce noun phrases, explain the different types, discuss noun phrase modifiers and provide plenty of examples.
What is a noun phrase?
A noun phrase is a group of words that acts as a noun. Noun phrases typically consist of two or more words, including a noun, and other words that modify the noun, such as an article (e.g. a, an, the), a quantifier (a number), or a possessive (e.g. his, hers, theirs). Some linguists consider single nouns to be noun phrases too. They call them 'single-word noun phrases'.
Fig 1. 'spotted puppy' is a noun phrase
In this example, the head noun (or main noun) is 'puppy', and its modifiers are the article 'the' and the adjective 'spotted'.
How do I identify a noun phrase?
The two main parts of a noun phrase are the main noun and its modifiers. The modifiers can be placed before or after the noun. Once you have identified the noun, it is easy to identify the modifiers. Just look at what is next to the noun!
He delivered the book with a blue spine.
In this sentence, the head noun is 'book'. The premodifier (modifier that comes before the noun) is the article 'the'. 'With a blue spine' is the postmodifier (modifier that comes after the head noun).
How do we know that the head noun is the 'book' and not the 'spine'? Because the spine gives extra detail about the book rather than the other way around.
When confused, try to find out which noun introduces the main idea in the sentence. Any other nouns will simply add detail to the main noun.
The tall tree with oranges.
The head noun here is 'tree'. 'The tall' are premodifiers, whereas 'with oranges' is the postmodifier. How do we know that 'tree' is the main noun? Because the noun 'oranges' does not introduce an idea but rather defines what kind of tree it is.
When trying to identify noun phrases, a useful technique is to replace the noun phrase with a pronoun, like this:
The blue sky could be seen from the mountain.
It could be seen from the mountain.
If the sentence still makes sense after replacing the phrase with a pronoun (like in the above example), you can be confident that it is a noun phrase. This might not work in all cases, but it is useful as a general rule.
Types of noun phrases
Let's take a look at some different types of noun phrases.
Expanded noun phrases
Expanded noun phrases can vary significantly in length. They can be as short as two words (the minimum accepted by most grammarians to form a phrase), or they could be much longer and contain many pre and post modifiers.
Expanded noun phrases provide additional information in a sentence. They are made up of the main noun and one or more adjectives, pronouns, or prepositions which are meant to add further description.
How would you describe the picture below?
Fig 2. Use noun phrases to discuss the alpaca
Some further examples of expanded noun phrases:
The man on the balcony.
The child across the table.
These are expanded noun phrases that contain prepositions (on and across) that introduce postmodifiers (the balcony and the table).
Singular noun phrases
A singular noun phrase is a phrase that only contains one word, which must be a noun or a pronoun. Some linguists suggest these aren't phrases at all, whereas others argue that nouns/pronouns on their own can work as noun phrases.
Beth was hungry.
Fathima left early.
It is cold.
Noun phrase modifiers
Noun phrases come with words that are placed either before or after the main noun. These are called modifiers. If the modifier comes before the main noun, it is called a premodifier, and if it comes after, it is called a postmodifier.
Premodifiers in noun phrases
Premodifiers come before a noun and are usually made up of determiners, adjectives, and nouns.
Let's look at each of these now.
Determiners
Determiners will usually come first in a noun phrase (e.g. 'the pink skirt'). Determiners include:
Articles, e.g. a / an, the
Demonstrative, e.g. this, that, these, those
Possessive determiners, e.g. my, your, his, her,
Quantifiers, e.g. some, any, all, enough, no, every
Numerals, e.g. one, two, three
Determiners might seem insignificant, but they are paramount to expressing the kind of reference the noun phrase makes.
This book is a history textbook.
The determiner, in this case, is the demonstrative 'this', which makes it clear exactly which book is a history book.
Adjectives
Premodifiers also include adjectives. Adjectives are parts of speech which are meant to define and add detail to a noun.
This noun phrase contains the main noun 'storm' and two premodifiers. The indefinite determiner 'a' and the adjective 'tremendous' act as the premodifiers.
My interesting and profitable business
This expanded noun phrase contains the main noun 'business' and three premodifiers. The possessive determiner 'my' and the adjectives 'interesting' and 'profitable' act as its premodifiers.
As you can see, premodifiers often work together when forming noun phrases.
Nouns
Nouns can also act as the premodifiers of noun phrases. They tend to explain specific attributes of the noun, such as material, era, type, texture etc.
The noun 'high school' specifies the type of diploma.
The noun 'silk' specifies the type of jacket.
Identifying nouns as premodifiers can be difficult because you run the risk of confusing them with the main noun. Make sure to test whether the noun adds more information to another noun or if it is the noun that the other elements work to define.
Modifiers that specify time or measurement remain singular even when expressing a plural. For example, 'Scotland will be testing a four-day week', not 'Scotland will be testing a four-days week'.
Fig 3. The noun phrase 'high school diploma' specifies the type of diploma the students receive
Postmodifiers in noun phrases
Postmodifiers are placed after the head noun. They include complements and more general postmodifiers.
Complements
Complements include prepositional phrases or clauses and are placed immediately after the noun. As their name suggests, they complement the noun. They are necessary to complete the meaning.
A rise in house prices (prepositional phrase = 'in house prices')
A feeling of uncontrollable excitement (prepositional phrase = 'of uncontrollable excitement)
The notion that the government should take immediate action (clause = 'that the government should take immediate action ')
In all these cases, removing the complement would dissolve the meaning, and the noun phrase would not make sense anymore.
General postmodifiers
General postmodifiers consist of adverb phrases, prepositional phrases, and clauses. General postmodifiers give additional or more specific information about the noun (e.g. place, time, possession, features, type etc.). The main difference between general postmodifiers and complements is that general postmodifiers are not necessary for the noun phrase to make sense.
A new school nearby
A friendly man with dark hair
The brand new hoover she bought yesterday
The woman in the white trousers giving a lecture
Can you identify the general postmodifiers in these sentences?
Answers:
- nearby
- with dark hair
- she bought yesterday
- giving a lecture
General postmodifiers usually come after any complement in the sentence.
Look at the following sentence, for example:
'There is a new supermarket in our town just next to the car park.'
'in our town' comes directly after the main noun 'supermarket'. It is the complement as it adds necessary information.
'just next to the car park' is a general postmodifier because the noun phrase would still make sense without it.
Uses of noun phrases
Noun phrases can have several uses in a clause/sentence. Specifically, they can be used as the subject or object.
Noun phrases as the subject
The subject of a sentence identifies who does the action of the verb:
The yellow tennis ball flew across the court
The sneaky fox hid behind the fence
In both of these sentences, the noun phrase is the subject of the sentence and is completing the action.
Noun phrases as the object
The object in a sentence identifies what/who receives the verb's action.
He threw the yellow tennis ball across the court.
In this sentence, the subject is now 'he', and the 'yellow tennis ball' has become the object.
Noun phrase examples
By now you should have a good idea of what noun phrases are. Let's look at some example sentences to see if you can identify the noun phrase in each. Remember, there may be more than one noun phrase in a sentence!
- The tall towering tree began to fall.
- The cheeky monkey was eating a ripe banana.
- That car is cool.
- Lewis hated maths.
- She bought a new warm coat.
- She has eleven cats.
Answers:
- The tall towering tree
- The cheeky monkey and a ripe banana
- That car
- Lewis
- a new warm coat
- eleven cats
Noun Phrase - Key takeaways
- A noun phrase consists of two or more words that function as a noun; this includes the main noun and its pre and post-modifiers.
- Premodifiers include determiners, adjectives, and nouns.
- Postmodifiers include complements and general postmodifiers. The key difference between the two is that complements are necessary to complete the meaning of the noun phrase, whereas general postmodifiers are not necessary.
- Expanded noun phrases consist of the main noun and one or more adjectives or nouns.
- Noun phrases can act as subjects or objects within a sentence.
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