Ways that we modify nouns

1. Ways that we modify nouns
Modify = change, describe, tell about

2. Simple adjectives
•The teacher is wearing a red jacket.
•English grammar is difficult.
•It’s dangerous to drive too fast.

3. Possessive adjectives
• My jacket is red.
• Oakland’s crime rate is high.
• The teachers’ lounge is on the fourth floor of the Tower
building.
• The organization Doctors Without Borders has helped people
in areas of conflict since 1971. Most recently, the
organization’s doctors have been working in Syria and South
Sudan.

4. Noun modifiers—often, we use a noun like an
adjective
Laney is a community college.
College classes require two hours of homework for
every hour of class.
(In English, an adjective has no plural form. That
includes noun modifiers.)
I have two five-year-old sons.
Job candidates don’t always tell the truth.

5. Sometimes the name of something follows
the noun:
The organization Doctors Without Borders
works in dangerous war zones where other
doctors don’t go.
This sentence has a singular subject even
though you see plural words in the title.

6. This sentence has a singular subject even
though you see plural words in the title.
Sons and Lovers is a famous novel by D.H.
Lawrence.
The novel Sons and Lovers was written by D.H.
Lawrence.

7. Sometimes an adjective clause follows the
subject.
My sister, who has a lot of experience waiting
on tables in restaurants, is a very generous
tipper.
People who like music are going to enjoy this
movie.

8. Sometimes a prepositional phrase follows the subject:
Jobs in the technology field require a high level of skill and
knowledge. A degree in computer science or information
technology is usually necessary.
Developments in technology help communication between
people. However, better communication hasn’t resulted in world
peace.
(A non-count noun uses the singular verb.)

9. Sometimes one person has two names, but the person is
still a singular subject:
Between 1997 and 2006, Kofi Annan was the Secretary-
General of the United Nations. In 2012, he published his
memoir, Interventions: A Life in War and Peace.