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A noun phrase is either a single noun or pronoun or any group of words containing a noun or a pronoun that function together as a noun or pronoun, as the subject or object of a verb.
For example, ‘they’, ‘books’, and ‘the books’ are noun phrases, but ‘book’ is just a noun, as you can see in these sentences (in which the noun phrases are all in bold)
Example 1:
Aditya : Do you like books?
Dodi : Yes, I like them.
Aditya : Do you like books over there?
Dodi : Yes, they are nice.
Aditya : Do you like the book I brought yesterday?
Dodi : Yes, I like it. (Note: ‘It’ refers to ‘the book’, not ‘book’)
Example 2:
Nicko was late.
(‘Nicko’ is the noun phrase functioning as the subject of the verb.)
Some noun phrases are short: The students
Some are long: The very tall education consultant
Structures of noun phrases:
▪ A beautiful old painting on the wall
Pre-modifier
- A beautiful old
Head noun
- painting
Post-modifier
- on the wall
When you use a noun in front of another noun, you never put adjectives between them. You put adjectives in front of the first noun.
Example: We just spoke with a young American boy.
Noun phrase can be in form of gerund (Vbase+ing) or gerund and other nouns compounding.
Example: passing the exam watching TV
preparing the equipment sliding down a rope
going to school diving board
