Noun Phrases
A noun phrase is a noun made up of more than one word, used as a subject or object in a clause.
It is made up of a head noun which can be modified with words before it (pre-modifiers), such as adjectives, nouns and quantifiers; or after it (post-modifiers), by prepositional phrases, relative clauses or reduced relative clauses.
Pre-modifiers:
- academic language (adjective + noun)
- email address (noun + noun)
- a number of people (quantifier + noun)
Post-modifiers:
- articles by leading academics (noun + prepositional phrase)
- theories which have been discredited (noun + relative clause)
- behaviours observed over a long period of time (noun + reduced relative clause)
Test Yourself
Look at the noun phrases below and identify the head noun.
The currently unbranded initiative ...
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... the role which was crucial in the East Asian region.
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... children brought up by a violent mother or father.
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... contrary to Freud who believed that the offspring of aggressive parents become passive adults.
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... neoclassical development theory.
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... experiences of South Korea and Taiwan in the latter half of the twentieth century.
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