|
A noun phrase is group of two or more words that function as a subject, an object, or a prepositional object in a sentence. The phrase is led by a noun and joined by one or more modifiers that can come before the noun or after it.
For example, if you write the man with all the belt buckles, the entire string is a noun phrase. Man is the primary noun and with all the belt buckles is a modifier. Together, the words describe one man. Because the entire construction identifies a particular individual, the full unit serves as a single noun.
Noun Phrases in Action
You'll often hear noun phrases used as nouns in everyday grammar. That's because many of us tend to think and speak descriptively. Which sentence could you see yourself using to identify someone while talking with another person in a store?
The man is paying in hundred-dollar bills.
The man with all the belt buckles is paying in hundred-dollar bills. |
We might see and hear noun phrases just as often as we do simple nouns standing alone. More examples might be:
The cat on top of the counter is getting ready to jump.
The restaurant on the corner of the street serves great pancakes.
It felt good to find the owner of the missing dog. |
Once you understand what noun phrases are and how they're constructed, you can spot them with ease. Using them correctly in your writing and speech can become effortless too.
More Noun Phrase Details
As we mentioned, any words in a sentence that modify the noun can be part of the noun phrase. These words might also include articles (a, and, the), determiners (four, few), adjectives, participles, and pronouns.
Four girls have requested those roller skates.
His blue shirt is hanging on the towel bar. (Here, towel bar is not a noun phrase, but a compound noun.)
A book unwritten is a book unread by someone who might learn from it. |
As you can see, a noun phrase can be formed by any number or combination of words. These examples further show a noun phrase being used as a subject, a direct object, and a predicate nominative.
|
View and comment on this
article on our website.
|
|
|
|
Pop Quiz
Identify the noun phrase in each sentence below.
1. A pouring rain fell through the afternoon.
2. Should we test-drive the blue truck?
3. I'm in the mood for a steaming-hot cup of tea.
4. A towering mountain was looming in the distance.
5. A striking woman with jet-black hair sat next to me.
|
 |
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
by Lester Kaufman and Jane Straus |
The Authority on English Grammar! Twelfth Edition Now Available
An indispensable tool for busy professionals, teachers, students, homeschool families, editors, writers, and proofreaders.
Available in print AND as an e-Book! Over 2,000 copies are purchased every month!
To order the book, simply click the link to order the book from the GrammarBook.com website.
|
Free BONUS Quiz for You!
[[firstname]], because you are a subscriber to the newsletter, you get access to one of the Subscribers-Only Quizzes. Click here to take a Pronouns Quiz and get your scores and explanations instantly!
We will be adding many more quizzes this year to our already substantial list of them. If you have suggestions for topics we have not yet covered, please send us a message at help@grammarbook.com.
|
Hundreds of Additional Quizzes
at Your Fingertips
Subscribe now to receive hundreds of additional English usage quizzes not found anywhere else!
Teachers and Employers
Save hours of valuable time! You may assign quizzes to your students and employees and have their scores tallied, organized, and reported to you! Let GrammarBook.com take the hassle out of teaching English!
"Fun to test my skills."
"The explanations really help ... thanks!"
"I can select the quizzes to assign to my students, and then the results are reported to me automatically!"
If you think you have found an error in a quiz, please email us at help@grammarbook.com
|
Wordplay
Pop Quiz Answers
1. A pouring rain fell through the afternoon.
2. Should we test-drive the blue truck?
3. I'm in the mood for a steaming-hot cup of tea.
4. A towering mountain was looming in the distance.
5. A striking woman with jet-black hair sat next to me.
|
 |
English in a Snap:
68 One-Minute English Usage Videos FREE |
Learn all about who and whom, affect and effect, subjects and verbs, adjectives and adverbs, commas, semicolons, quotation marks, and much more by just sitting back and enjoying these easy-to-follow lessons. Share them with your colleagues (and boss), children, teachers, and friends as well! Click here to watch.
|
|
