1. The noun phrase
1. Definition
A noun phrase is a phrase in which a
noun is the head. It may consist of only the
head or the head and other preceding
items or following items as modifiers .

2. Ex:
a pretty
pre modifier
A Vietnamese country
The
a
two
every
the first
all the
the active
these
girl
who was born in a rich family.
H.noun post modifier
girl
girl
girl
girls
girl
girl
girls
girls
present
with sweet voice
playing in the garden
injured yesterday
to help me
upstair
in our college
girls
are my classmates

3. English noun phrases can be classified
into the basic NPs and complex NPs
The basic NP consists of pre-modifier and
head noun.
The complex NP consists of pre-modifier,
head noun and post modifier

4. 2. Basic NP
pre modifier – head noun
Pre modifier
Closed system items
Open system items

5. Close system items
Pre-determiner
determiner
Post -determiner

6. Pre determiner
1. Quantifiers: All, both,
half
2. Multipliers: Double, twice, three times
3. Fraction: one- thirds, two - fifths

7. Determiner
1. article: a, an, the
2. possessive: my, your, our, their,
student’s, John’s
3. demonstrative adj: this, that, these, those.
4. Quantifier : some, any, enough, every,
each, either, neither, no

8. Post determiner
1. Cardinal number: 1,2 3,...
e.g. All these
three
diamond
necklaces
Prede Det
post det modification Head noun
2. Ordinal number
e.g. The
first
Det
post det
3. General ordinal
e.g. next, last, another
grammar
modification
lesson
HNoun

9. Pre-modifier
Close system items
Pre determiner
Open-class items
determiner
Post determiner

10. Open class items
-adj
-participle-genitive
-noun
-adv
-sentence

11. Adjectives as pre-modifiers
Ex:
effective methods
beautiful flowers
ambitious leaders

12. Participle as pre-modifier
A broken heart
A torn letter
A damaged building
My dying soul
A crying woman
An approaching train

13. -S Genitive as pre-modifier
Women’s clothing
Men’s shampoo
Teacher’s book

14. Nouns as pre-modifiers
Blood pressure
Gold ring
Summer holiday
Listening skill
Reading lamp
Swimming pool
Note: Plural noun become singular even
those that have no singular form.
Ex: the shoe shop

15. Adverb as pre-modifier
An away wind
The then president
His far-way cottage

16. Sentence
I don’t like her “ I don’t care” manner.
Everyone hates “ I’m the best” attitude.

17. Order of pre-modifiers
Determiners +
general + age +shape + color +
participle + provenance (Chinese,
Vietnamese,…) + noun + denominal (
medical, criminal, solar,…)
+ head noun

18. Form one basic noun phrase ( pre-modifiers +
head noun) from these items
1. Two chairs/ made of oak/ beautifully
carved
2. Your blue/ old/ scarf/ the silk one that
you bought in Japan
3. This pot/ round/ small/ made of iron/
used for cooking
4. The murder that took place in the villa by
the side of the river
5. Their masks to keep out the smog/ neat/
white

19. 6. Stamps for insurance/ several thousand/
unused/ stolen recently.
7. all these shells/ walnut shells/ broken.
8. a famous school/ teaching medicine/ in
Scotland.
9. The cultivator/ that sells best in the
country.
10. A cottage in the country/ very
picturesque though crumbling slightly/
roof of thatch.

20. 1. two beautifully carved oak chairs
2. your old blue Japanese silk scarf
3. this small round iron cooking pot
4. the riverside villa murder
5. their neat white smog masks

21. 6. Several thousand recently stolen unused
insurance stamps
7. All these broken walnut shells
8. A famous Scotland medical school
9. The country best selling cultivator
10. A very picturesque, slightly crumbling
roofed country cottage

22. 3. Complex noun phrases
Post modifier
adj
adv
pre
Non finite
finite

23. Adjectives as post modifiers
The people involved this court.
All the students present are students of
English.
These are best books available in our
shop.
She is a woman happy in marriage.
I want to meet the person responsible.

24. Adverbs as post modifiers
The neighbor upstairs is very cold.
Always walk on the way ahead.
The road back was dense with traffic.

25. Prepositional phrases as post
modifiers
The man with elegant suit.
The girl in red.
The students without money.

26. Nonfinite clause( phrase)
Nonfinite phrases
- Ing phrase
Ed phrase
To phrase

27. - ing phrase( present participle)
The girl smiling beautifully is my
roommate.
I see the people shaking hands, hear the
babies crying, feel the wind blowing,...
I never love people not having kind heart.

28. -ed phrase
The soldiers wounded in Vietnam war
asked for compensation.
The only thing left is the future.
This is the picture painted by Raphael.

29. Infinitive phrase
Pham Tuan was the first Vietnamese man
to fly in space.
You are the only one to help me.
Chatting is one of the ways to get
information.

30. Convert the participle clause into
relative clause
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Every body, hearing the noise, jumped up in alarm.
The castle, burnt in the sixteenth century, was never
rebuilt.
The train standing at platform six is for Brussels
Any article left in this bus was taken to the Lost
Property Office
A car, coming unexpectedly out of a side street ,
crashed into us.
He was accompanied by a porter weighing at least
150kilos.

31. Convert the infinitive clause into
relative clause
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
The first man to fly non-stop across the Atlantic was
John Alcock.
The cheapest place to eat at is the café.
The last problem, to be considered at our next
meeting, is how to invest the money.
The way to get to the head of the queue is slip in
through the kitchen.
Will you buy me a magazine to read on the journey?
The next train to arrive is from Edinburgh.

32. Replace each prepositional phrase by a relative
clause that will make the post modification more
explicit
1.A house by the church
2. A picture by a famous artist
3. The plane for Moscow
4. A land for all seasons
5. A man of strong will
6.The man with your wife

33. Finite clauses
Relative clause
Non- restrictive
Appositive clause
Restrictive

34. What are the differences
between restrictive and nonrestrictive clause?

35. Restrictive
Ex: The architect who
designed this villa
doesn’t live here.
Non restrictive
Ex: Aristotle was taught
by Plato, who
founded Academy at
Athens.
I can’t find the book that Hemmingway, who
wrote” The old man
I saw on TV last night.
and the sea” won
Nobel prize for
I hate people who laugh
literature.
at their own jokes

36. 1.
2.
3.
4.
Restrictive
Identify the head
noun
Can’t be omitted
Isn’t put between
commas
No pause is made
in speech
1.
2.
3.
4.
Non-restrictive
Add more inf. to
the head.
Can be omitted
Put between
commas
Pause after head
noun

37. Restrictive or non-restrictive
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Andy, who always admired John Lennon, was very sad
to hear he was killed.
The person who best answers the following questions
will go on to the next round.
Her friend who arrived last night is from Las Vegas.
The policeman who gave her the ticket was polite.
Chicago , which is home to two major league baseball
teams, rarely gets to see its team in the playoffs.

38. Is the relative clause below post modification or
sentence relative clause?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
We were taken to the theatre, at which new plays were
constantly being produced.
We were taken to the theatre, which was a great
delight to us.
The climbers spent two nights on the mountain, which
was swept by biting winds.
They spent two nights finding the lion, which was hard
task.
The singer sang five songs, all of which were quite
strange to me.
The singer sang five songs, which was
acknowledgement of the welcome he had received

39. What are the differences between
relative and appositive clause?

40. Relative
The story that (which) I
told you is still a
secret.
If some day you go out
with other girl please
don’t pass the way
that( which) we have
passed.
I never forget the day
that( when) we met.
Appositive
The fact that he is not
on the land of alive
people makes her
depressed.
The belief that God
does exist gives her
strength to go on.
The hope that he will
return someday is
great comfort to me.

41. Relative
1. That (which, what,
when, who) is an
element in the
structure.
Appositive
1. That is not an
element in the
structure
2. The head noun post
modified by relative
clause can be of any
kind.
2. Head noun must be
abstract noun
3. Define the head or
add inf. to the head
3. Express the contain
of the head noun

42. Rewrite the sentences by using appositive clauses.
1. You went to sleep during the lecture, and this
fact suggests that you should go to bed earlier.
( fact)
2. I know that you are always for me, and that is
my great incentive.( knowledge)
3. You excuse there is not enough time to finish
the task, I can’t accept that.( excuse)

43. Explain the difference in function between the two
words underlined
1. a, John is promising you too much.
b, he is a promising young man
2. a, that story is interesting.
b, the speaker is interesting his audience
3. a, he is painting it extremely well.
b, the man painting that picture is a real artist.
4. a, Mary is charming.
b, the peacock is charming its partner.

44. Change the form of the phrase so that the post modifier
become pre modifier.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
A house that has been built well
The article which was mentioned above
An improvement that is needed badly
A secret that has been kept closely
Central heating fired by oil
A man with red nose
Wealth that has never been told

45. Replace the relative pronoun that by who, whom, which or
zero
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
This is the house that Jack built.
He looks like a dog that has lost its tail.
Danny, our dog that followed us all the way, has just
died.
Don’t believe everything that you read in the
newspaper.
Babies that were born prematurely had little chance of
survival.
Children that disobey their parents should be
punished.

46. Write these sentences in different ways.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Here is the article about which I was speaking.
This is the man that will tell you all about it.
Is this the book from which that quotation was
taken?
He is the man from whom I have the greatest
respect.
That was the day on which I first saw Mary.
Is this really the house in which Shakespeare was
born?
I shall remember the way in which you received
us that evening.
Is he the man to whom you gave your heart.