The Noun Phrase - Power up your description - Writing skills

To English

Make your writing more interesting to read

THE NOUN PHRASE

Learning outcome

• You will understand how the English language uses noun phrases to make writing more interesting and efficient

• You will be able to improve your writing by building up noun phrases

• This also prepares you for academic and descriptive writing

Let’s get started

Reminder

A noun is a word that names the things we are talking about. A noun names a person, place or a thing (object or idea).

Look what happens to the noun

carred with a sunroof

sporty,My

It has just been expanded!!!

Let’s see it again

woman inblack mysterious

The

Example noun phrases

a class of excellent studentsa beautiful little girlmy pena Coca-Cola bottlethe best school in the areaa disappointed parentany questionthe lesson after Maths

the three musketeersa gold ring

A group of words which act like a nounWords can go before the noun

the great river

man of honour

and/or after the noun

They modify the meaning of the noun

The noun phrase

Why noun phrases?

efficient: using minimum resources

Complex noun phrases are effectiveComplex noun phrases are effectiveComplex noun phrases are effectiveComplex noun phrases are effectiveComplex noun phrases are effectiveComplex noun phrases are effectiveComplex noun phrases are effectiveComplex noun phrases are effective

They give extra information about

the nound very efficient way

It is very boring to read a text without them

Compare these sentences. Which is more interesting to read?

The sun has risen.

The glowing sun that gives life has slowly

risen.

Let’s get rolling then

What is this road like?

What kind of road is it?

Don’t just say it is a road, but add some more information to it

What is this wheel like?

What kind of wheel is it?

Don’t just say it is a wheel, but add some more information to it

What are these pebbles like?

What kind of pebbles are these?

Don’t just say they are pebbles, but add some more information to it

What are these swimmers like?

What kind of swimmers are they?

Don’t just say they are swimmers, but add some more information to it

What is this mask like?

What kind of mask is it?

Don’t just say it is a mask, but add some more information to it

What are these blocks like?

What kind of blocks are these?

Don’t just say they are blocks, but add some more information to it

What are these books like?

What kind of books are these?

Don’t just say they are books, but add some more information to it

Let’s pull it together

to English

THE NOUN PHRASEPart 2Make your writing more interesting to read

Learning outcome

• You will understand how the English language uses noun phrases to make writing more interesting and efficient

• You will be able to improve your writing by building up noun phrases

• This also prepares you for academic and descriptive writing

Let’s get started

The girl with red hair was afraid of flying. She was determined to overcome this fear. Her aunt in America had invited her to stay and she wanted to go. Fears like this can be overcome, she decided.

See if you can spot the noun phrases

Let’s get rolling then

CircumstanceProcess(Verb)

Participant(Object)

Participant(Subject)

The little girl is reading her new book in the living room.

FORMlabels

FUNCTIONlabels

noun phrase noun phraseverb phrase prepositional phrase

preposition + noun phrase

Noun phrases in sentences

See how a noun phrase can be built up

girl

girlEnglish

girlEnglishnice

girlsEnglishnicefour

girlsEnglishnicefourthe

girlsEnglishnicefourthe from the neighbourhood

You can add more of

this

The possible components of a noun phrase

girlsEnglishnicefourthe from the neighbourhood

HeadClassifier

DescriberQuantifier

Determiner Qualifier

Can you find the noun phrases in this extract from a novel?

Ours was the marsh country, down by the river, within, as the river wound, twenty miles of the sea. My first most vivid and broad impression of the identity of things, seems to me have been gained on a memorable raw afternoon towards the evening. At such a time I found out for certain, that this bleak place overgrown with nettles was the churchyard; and that Philip Pirrip, late of this parish …

Extract from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Look for the nouns and

see what you find around

them

Ours was the marsh country, down by the river, within, as

the river wound, twenty miles of the sea. My first most

vivid and broad impression of the identity of things,

seems to me have been gained on a memorable raw

afternoon towards the evening. At such a time I found out

for certain, that this bleak place overgrown with nettles

was the churchyard; and that Philip Pirrip, late of this

parish …

Notice how much percentage of the text

is basically noun phrases:

50/73

to English

THE NOUN PHRASEPart 3Make your writing more interesting to read

Process(Verb)

Noun Phrase or Sentence

nobody knew exactlyNobody knew exactly.

Noun Phrase or Sentence

the burial siteAlso recovered from the burial site were scraps of expensive clothing that seemed to correspond roughly in gender, age and size to the Romanov family and followers.

Part of a Circumstance

Components of the noun phrase

Nounphrase

Head

Classifier

Describer

Quantifier

Determiner

Qualifier

lesson

English lesson

great English lesson

a few great English lessons

those few great English lessons

those few great English lessons when I was twelve

Let’s look at the parts of the noun phrase again and see some examples at work

Head

The Head is the main part of the noun phrase; this is what gets modified by the other parts. It is usually a noun

Classifier

The Classifier classifies the Head. It tells about the type of something rather than just describing it

DescriberThe Describer describes the Head. It tells about the quality of something rather than putting it in a class. It is usually an adjective or a participle (improving…/improved)

Quantifier

The Quantifier tells how many Heads there are. This can be a number or some indefinite word

Determiner

The Determiner specifies the kind of reference a noun has. This can be an article or a possessive/ demonstrative/quantifier/numeral

Type of Determiners

Determiner

• article a/an, the, books (zero article when plural)

• possessive determiner my, your, his, its, etc.

• demonstrative determiner this, that, these, those

• quantifier every/each, either/neither, any,no; all, many, some, (a) few, enough, several, both

• numeral one/two…

Qualifier

The Qualifier is some extra information put after the Head. This is usually a prepositional phrase (a preposition + another noun phrase).

Describer

this bleak place overgrown with nettles

Let’s analyse this noun phrase

Determiner Head Qualifier

a memorable raw afternoon towards the evening

Determiner

Head

Qualifier

Describer (describes the raw afternoon – that is why there is no comma)

Describer


Quantifier

My first most vivid and broad impression of the identity of things


Determiner Describer Head

Determiner

Head

Qualifier

DescriberQualifier

Describer of the Describer

Task: Now, build up a noun phrase. Start with the Head

HeadClassifierDescriberQuantifierDeterminer Qualifier

What possible parts can a noun phrase have by function?

Head

Classifier

Describer

Quantifier

Determiner

Qualifier

Noun PhraseComponents

Can you add any information to these nouns?

• The meeting went well.• The bus came late.• The cat is hiding under the bed.• Their house is near the beach.• After the show we went home.

The first trick – two statements in one

This ring is beautiful.

This beautiful ring ....is mine.broke because of you.

Try it. See how the sentences improve

• The clock is big.

• The summer is cold.

• The school is fantastic.

• The big clock never works.

• The cold summer is not good for kids.

• This fantastic school has just opened its theatre.

Identify the noun phrases in this extract. What is the purpose of them?

The sea which lies before me as I write glows rather than sparkles in the bland May sunshine. With the tide turning, it leans quietly against the land, almost unflecked by ripples or by foam. Near to the horizon it is a luxurious purple, spotted with regular lines of emerald green. At the horizon it is indigo. Near to the shore, where my view is framed by rising heaps of humpy yellow rock, there is a band of lighter green, icy and pure, less radiant, opaque however, not transparent. We are in the north, and the bright sunshine cannot penetrate the sea. Where the gentle water taps the rocks there is still a surface skin of colour. The cloudless sky is very pale at the indigo horizon which it lightly pencils in with silver. Its blue gains towards the zenith and vibrates there. But the sky looks cold, even the sun looks cold.

Extract from the novel, The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch


The noun phrases in this opening paragraph serve as a resource for capturing both the look and the feel of the landscape.

Analyse these noun phrases;use the table on your sheet


Determiner Quantifier Describer Classifier Head Qualifier

the bland May sunshine

luxurious purple*

regular lines of emerald green

Rising heaps of

humpy yellow rock

a band Of lighter green, icy and pure, less radiant, opaque* however, not transparent

the bright sunshine

More like a type

Determiner Quantifier Describer Classifier Head Qualifier

the gentle water

a surface skin of colour

the cloudless sky

the indigo horizon

More like a type

This time you will see that although there are many adjectives serving to capture the colours and atmosphere of Ayemenem, a town in India, the description seems clumsy. Can you diagnose what is wrong – grammatically speaking?

May in Ayemenem is hot. May is also brooding. The days are long. They are humid. The river shrinks. The mango trees are still. The mango trees are also dust green. Black crows are on the mango trees. They gorge on the mangoes. The mangoes are bright. The bananas are red. The bananas ripen. There are jackfruits. The jackfruits burst. Bluebottles are dissolute. They hum vacuously in the air. The air is fruity. The bluebottles then stun themselves against windowpanes. These windowpanes are clear. The bluebottles die. When they die they are fatly baffled in the sun.

The nights are clear. But the nights are suffused with sloth. The nights are also suffused with expectation. This expectation is sullen.

Nearly all the adjectives in the paragraph are functioning as Participants (complements). They are not in a noun phrase as Describers.

The descriptions seem drawn out and stilted. It is a list of things, but not shaped and compacted in such a way as to capture our attention in writing

The original text

May in Ayemenem is a hot, brooding month. The days are long and humid. The river shrinks and black crows gorge on bright mangoes in still, dust green trees. Red bananas ripen. Jackfruits burst. Dissolute bluebottles hum vacuously in the fruity air. Then they stun themselves against clear windowpanes and die, fatly baffled in the sun.

The nights are clear but suffused with sloth and sullen expectation.

Compacted description; it focuses our attention

May in Ayemenem is hot. May is also brooding. The days are long. They are humid. The river shrinks. The mango trees are still. The mango trees are also dust green. Black crows are on the mango trees. They gorge on the mangoes. The mangoes are bright. The bananas are red. The bananas ripen. There are jackfruits. The jackfruits burst. Bluebottles are dissolute. They hum vacuously in the air. The air is fruity. The bluebottles then stun themselves against windowpanes. These windowpanes are clear. The bluebottles die. When they die they are fatly baffled in the sun.

The nights are clear. But the nights are suffused with sloth. The nights are also suffused with expectation. This expectation is sullen.

May in Ayemenem is a hot, brooding month. The days are long and humid. The river shrinks and black crows gorge on bright mangoes in still, dust green trees. Red bananas ripen. Jackfruits burst. Dissolute bluebottles hum vacuously in the fruity air. Then they stun themselves against clear windowpanes and die, fatly baffled in the sun.

The nights are clear but suffused with sloth and sullen expectation.

The most common adjectives used as describers and classifiers in noun phrases

Size/Amountbiglittlesmalllonggreathighlowlarge

Timenewold young

Colourblackwhitereddark

Evaluativegoodbestrightniceimportantspecial

Scopesamewholedifferentfullgeneralmajorfinalmainsingle

Topicalpoliticalpublicsocialhumaninternationalnationaleconomic

These more in the news and academic writing

Blue = in conversations

These are all frequent in fiction

Trick 2

The potato has grown.

The grown potato ....is very delicious.sells very well.

Try it. See how the sentences improve

• The clock is ticking.

• The summer is coming.

• The school is shut.

• The school has improved.

• The ticking clock never works.

• The coming summer promises surprises.

• The shut school is being renovated.

• The improved school hired more good teachers.

TRICK 3: Making nouns from verbs – another way of compacting information

• It rained yesterday.

• The rain yesterday was very sudden.

This is called NOMINALISATION. There is a tendency in English – especially technical English – to represent events, qualities of objects and qualities of events not as verbs, adjectives and adverbs but as nouns.

Examples:

to own→ownership, to move→movement, to grow→growth

How we make nouns from verbs

Verb formevaporateabsorbvibrateto rainto flowdeliverarrivemoveconvertunderstand

Nominalised form (abstract idea)evaporationabsorptionvibrationthe rainthe flowdeliveryarrivalmovementconversionunderstanding

Why is it good to know how we can build noun phrases?

• They give more information about the Participant and Circumstance in a very efficient* way

• It is very boring to read a text without them

Match the meanings of these words to the right word

to describe sg

to classify sg

to quantify sg

to determine sg

to qualify sg

• to arrange or order by classes

• to describe sg as having a particular quality

• to discover or express the quantity of sg

• to give an account of sg in words

• to fix in scope, extent…… (here)

Apply Trick 1 to one to these sentences

• The road is bumpy.

• The light is red.

• The banana was fresh.

• Have you put the adjectives in Participant role into Describer role in to the noun phrase?

• Have you introduced a new Process?

Noun phrases can help to enrich writing. Look at the following passage. The nouns have been highlighted. See if you can modify them and improve the passage.

The teacher raised his eyes and looked at the class. He held up the paper.

‘Which student has done this work?’

‘It’s mine, ’ said a voice.

‘Come and get the reward,’ said the teacher.

Now read two other versions. As you read them, discuss the differences, the effects of the noun phrases and how they compare to your version. The demon-like teacher raised his blood-shot eyes and looked at the class of terrified children. He held up the crumpled and torn paper.

‘Which miserable student has done this so-called work?’

‘It’s mine, ’ said a tiny trembling voice.

‘Come and get the reward you deserve,’ said the teacher with malice in his voice.

36/54 67%

The laughing teacher raised his watery eyes and looked at the puzzled class. He held up the paper he’d been reading.

‘Which quick-witted student has done this hilarious work on ‘My Life as a Whoopee Cushion’?’

‘It’s mine, ’ said a voice from under a table.

‘Come and get the reward for the funniest story this year,’ said the teacher through his giggles.

As you can see, noun phrases and how you construct them, are important aspects of writing.

You need to know when enough is enough too.

Read the following passage. Discuss how they could be improved.

The tall, imposing and really rather massive monument was made from cool white marble with lots of little, itsy-bitsy, infinitesimal flecks of emerald green running all the way through it. The girl gasped as she looked up at the absolutely huge, thick, chunky pillars, utterly and thoroughly amazed by its simplicity.The description contains too many adjectives.

The tall, imposing monument was made from cool white marble with little flecks of emerald green running through it. The girl gasped as she looked up at the thick pillars, amazed by its simplicity.

Now read another version and discuss why it might be more effective.

Sometimes less is more.

Be aware of noun phrases in your own writing and also in the writing of others.

You have learnt how to build complex noun phrases. You understand their roles in making writing more interesting. Use them in your writing.

MY CORONAyour subtitle goes here

YOUR TOPIC GOES HERE

• YOUR SUBTOPICS GO HERE

Backdrops:

- These are full sized backdrops, just scale them up!

- Can be Copy-Pasted out of Templates for use anywhere!

www.animationfactory.com

http://www.animationfactory.com/

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Homework – for next lesson

• Find 10 examples of complex noun phrases in any printed material at home.

• Write down the example and state source like this

1. ‘sudden death’ from CCHR website, article on child drugs

2. …

• Write a piece of descriptive writing about a place (where you live or where you have been)

• Minimum 150 words

The Noun Phrase - Power up your description - Writing skills

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Transcript of The Noun Phrase - Power up your description - Writing skills