A noun phrase is a noun with the words around it. The usual order is determiner, adjectives, noun, and then extra information after the noun, such as a prepositional phrase or a relative clause.
The head is the main noun. Words before it are premodifiers. Words after it are postmodifiers.
| Part | Example |
|---|---|
| determiner | the, my, this, some |
| adjective | old, blue, interesting |
| noun adjunct | school bag, kitchen table |
| head noun | the old school building |
| after the noun | the building on the hill |
| Level | Example |
|---|---|
| noun alone | Dogs bark. |
| determiner + noun | The dog barked. |
| + adjective | The small dog barked. |
| + noun adjunct | The village dog barked. |
| + after the noun | The small dog next door barked. |
| + relative clause | The small dog that lives next door barked. |
The words before the head follow this order: determiner, number or quantity, opinion, size, age, colour, origin, material, noun adjunct, head. See Adjective order and position.
Add information after the noun with a prepositional phrase, a relative clause, an -ing or -ed clause, or a to + verb clause.
Writers pack a lot of information into one noun phrase. To read them, find the head noun first.
✗The very old a man helped us.
✓The very old man helped us.
A determiner goes only once.
✗A man tall waited outside.
✓A tall man waited outside.
Adjectives go before the noun.
✗The students in my class who are late waits.
✓The students in my class who are late wait.
The verb agrees with the head noun students.
See Adjective order and position for adjective order, Defining relative clauses: who, which, that for relative clauses, Noun + noun: a bus driver, a car door, a shopping list for noun adjuncts, and Subject-verb agreement: finding the subject and choosing the verb for agreement with the head noun.
Eight questions. Choose one answer for each.