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Noun Phrase
Phonetics:
naʊn freɪz
Pronunciation:
Mastering Noun Phrases
Comprehensive Definition, Description, Examples & RulesÂ
Introduction to Noun Phrases
What is a noun phrase? A noun phrase is referred to as a group of more than two words that are used together and function as nouns. The noun phrase can be used as a subject, object, complement, and object of preposition in a sentence.Â
The noun phrase is important in a sentence that acts as a noun.Â
The structure of noun phrases in a sentence:
Processor + nominal modifiers + head noun and appositive modifiers + adjectives + determiners + relative clause.Â
For instance,Â
- “Music and Dance are my hobbies.”Â
- “Andrew and Jack are from Melbourne.”Â
- “We had fruit and Juice as breakfast.”Â
Here, “Music and Dance”, “Andrew and Jack”, and “fruit and juice” are noun phrases.Â
Understanding noun phrases
Noun phrases can be identified in a sentence easily as they act as nouns in a sentence. The noun phrase can be formed with different combinations and components, let’s find out:Â
Component of a noun phraseÂ
The components of noun phrases include different combinations such as:Â
- Noun + Conjunction + Noun.Â
- Article + Adjective + Noun.Â
- Gerund + Noun.Â
- Article + Noun + Prepositional PhraseÂ
- Determiner + Noun.Â
These are common components of a noun phrase; however, it is not necessary for noun phrases to consist only of these.Â
For instance,Â
- “Reading novels is my hobby.”Â
- “Listening to music is her pass time.”Â
Here, “reading novels” and “Listening to music” are noun phrases that are used as subjects in sentences.Â
Noun Phrase Construction
After you know what is a noun phrase, let’s understand how it’s constructed:
A noun phrase structure includes nouns, determiners, adjectives, pronouns, and other modifiers.Â
Noun phrase with conjunction and noun-Â
- “Music and Dance” are my most favorite hobbies.
Here music and dance are a noun while conjunction and noun are subjects in the sentence.Â
Noun phrase with determiner and nounÂ
- “These books belong to Andrew”Â
- “That House is where I live”Â
Here, ” That house” and “These books” are noun phrases acting as subjects.Â
- “Are you planning to buy this laptop?”
- Here, “this laptop” is a noun phrase as an object.Â
Types of noun phrases
After understanding what is a noun phrase, let’s know about its types:Â
Simple Noun Phrases: Simple noun phrase is a type of noun phrase where a group of words including noun phrases form a sentence. Noun is the main work or key element of the phrase while others give information about it.Â
For instance,Â
- “My black gym socks are in the drawer”
Here, My black gym socks is a noun phrase while other words are giving information about it.Â
Expanded Noun Phrases: Expanded noun phrases is a type of phrase that adds one or more than one adjective to add detail to the noun.Â
Article + Adjective + NounÂ
For instance,Â
- “The beautiful box.”
- “A mysterious forest.”Â
Here, ” A and The” are articles, ” beautiful and mysterious” are adjectives, and ” box and forest” are nouns.Â
Appositive Noun Phrases: Appositive noun phrase is a type of phrase that follows the noun phrase and gives additional information about the same.Â
For instance,
- “Jack, my sister, lives in Melbourne.”Â
An appositive noun is used with a complement as a subject.Â
Gerund Noun Phrases: The type of noun phrase is a collection or group of words that include gerund, modifier, pronoun, or a noun phrase that will act as a complement, direct or indirect object.Â
For instance,Â
- ” Eating a slice of cake quickly is a disaster.”Â
Here, eat +ing is a gerund noun.Â
Infinitive Noun Phrases: Infinitive phrases is a type of noun phrase that includes an infinitive verb, modifier, pronoun, or noun that will function as a direct object or complement. In addition, it includes noun phrase actions or states that depict infinitives.Â
For instance,
- “He will leave early”Â
Here the time or action is infinitive.Â
Prepositional Noun Phrases: Prepositional noun phrase is a type of noun phrase that starts with a preposition and will end with a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun.Â
For instance,
- ” Without sugar is how I prefer my coffee”Â
Examples of Noun Phrases
Let’s find out what is a noun phrase example:Â
Noun phrase with gerund and nounÂ
- ” Reading novels is my favorite hobby.”Â
A noun phrase is a subject here.Â
Noun phrase with article, adjective, nounÂ
- ” The new boy became known to the whole office in an hour.”Â
Here, a noun phrase is used as a subject.
 Noun phrase with determiner and nounÂ
- ” These boxes belong to Andrew.”Â
Expanded Noun Phrases
An expanded noun phrase is a type of noun phrase that can be developed by adding 1 or more 1 adjectives to the noun. It puts emphasis on the noun and gives more details. Moreover, it is an important noun phrase.Â
For instance,Â
- She walks through the big, rough mountains.Â
- These are long, beautiful pens.Â
Common Mistakes with Noun Phrases
There are high chances of mistakes in noun phrases. Here are some of the common mistakes of noun phrases:
- Wrongly using the order of words to create noun phrases.Â
- Using a singular form of an adjective and an article with a plural noun.Â
Tips to use the noun phrase
- Make sure that the modifier in a noun phrase is in the correct order. For instance, “big, red boxes.” Here, big and red are singular while boxes are plural which doesn’t fit well in noun phrases.Â
- When you are creating the order for a noun phrase, make sure the most important word is placed before the noun. Such as a beautiful town. Here beauty is important to put emphasis on.Â
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Sign up NowKey Takeaways
- A noun phrase is a type of more than two words that act as nouns in a sentence.Â
- Noun phrases can be indirect, direct object, subject, or complement.Â
- There are different types of noun phrases that can be used in a sentence depending on requirements.Â
- A noun phrase is an important part of English grammar to make a sentence look more effective.
Quiz
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Frequently Asked Questions
A noun is a single word that is an adverb, article, or adjective. However, a noun phrase is a collection or group of words that are used as a noun.Â
The noun phrase can be identified when a noun phrase acts as a noun and its modifiers in a sentence.Â
Yes! Noun phrases make communication and English sentences more effective.
Wrong order of words and singular with plural nouns is one of the common mistakes when using noun phrases.Â
To expand a noun phrase, you have to add one or more adjectives. Such as ” A beautiful city.”Â
Yes! Edulyte provides practice worksheets for English that you can use for practice instantly.