Noun phases

1. Noun phrases

2. Why is noun phrases useful?
◦ Noun phrases, also known as nominal, are a collection of words to function as a
noun. For example,
I went to the hospital because I injured my legs. (This is a proper sentence.)
I went to the hospital because of my leg injuries. (This is a noun phrase.)
◦ They are very useful when writing in an academic style because they can make your
writing more sophisticated, and most importantly, they can also make your writing
more succinct.
◦ Ever struggle with keeping your writing under the word limits while having all your
ideas presented clearly in your writing? Using noun phrases is one solution!
◦ p.s. You might want to familiarise yourself with nouns/verbs/adjectives in Parts of
Speech on our Canvas pages.

3. Which text reads better?

4. Text 2 because it’s more concise

5. The reason text 2 seems more concise is because of the
use of noun phrases, underlined in red below.

6. Head noun
◦ Being able to identify the head noun in a noun phrase allows you to use the
verb accurately. For more information about nouns and verbs, refer to Parts
of Speech.
◦ An example of a head noun is:
The number of university students has increased this year.
(The underlined part is the noun phase while the text in red is the head noun.)

7. Can you fill in the boxes with the correct
head nouns and verbs?
NOUN PHRASE HEAD NOUN VERB
The main cause of global health
problems…
cause is
The most important reasons for the
decrease in health…
reasons are
In developing countries, the major
threat…
threat is
… the main threat in developed
countries …
The most serious global health
issue …
… increased international
cooperation …
… large-scale healthcare
programmes …

8. The verb changes depending on whether
the head noun is singular or plural
NOUN PHRASE HEAD NOUN VERB
The main cause of global health
problems…
cause is
The most important reasons for the
decrease in health…
reasons are
In developing countries, the major
threat…
threat is
… the main threat in developed
countries …
threat is
The most serious global health
issue …
issue is
… increased international
cooperation …
cooperation is
… large-scale healthcare
programmes …
programmes are

9. Structure of common noun phrases
Structure Example
a/the + noun + preposition + noun(s) the cause of health problems
adjective/noun + noun(s) communicable diseases
noun + ‘s/s’ + noun(s) hospitals’ expenses
noun + to + infinitive the desire to improve

10. SET
1
government insurance
contributions
heart disease
developing world life
expectancy rates
C
SET
2
employee’s healthcare
insurance
the critic’s argument
the healthcare
system’s deterioration
Study the sets of noun phrases below and the on the next slide
to identify which structure is being used in each set.

11. SET
3
attempts to improve
reluctance to
participate
ability to breed
SET
4
an emphasis on crisis
care
incentives for building
community health
centres
the health care
systems of
industrialised countries
Study the sets of noun phrases below and identify which
structure is being used in each set.

12. B
SET
1
government insurance
contributions
heart disease
developing world life
expectancy rates
C
SET
2
employee’s healthcare
insurance
the critic’s argument
the healthcare
system’s deterioration
Have you got it right?

13. D
SET
3
attempts to improve
reluctance to
participate
ability to breed
A
SET
4
an emphasis on crisis
care
incentives for building
community health
centres
the health care
systems of
industrialised countries
Have you got it right?

14. Structure of common noun phrases
Structure Your example?
a/the + noun + preposition +
noun(s)
adjective/noun + noun(s)
noun + ‘s/s’ + noun(s)
noun + to + infinitive