Noun Phrases

If I ask you what a noun is, you will probably say 'the name of something', which in its simplest form is correct. However, nouns can take many forms as demonstrated in the section on Collocations. One of the key features of academic text is the use of noun phrases, which is a group of words, when put together, act as a noun. Noun phrases play a key role in giving academic authority to your writing. They do this by helping to 'create fact' rather than directly expressing your opinion, and on a more practical note can reduce your word count. Collocations can be used to create noun phrases, but there are other language features all of which are key to creating your text.

What is a noun phrase?

They are called noun phrases as they do not stand alone to create a sentence or clause. There are 2 main types of noun phrase; those written as a premodifier , something that comes before the main verb and adds to the meaning, and those as a postmodifier coming after the main verb, also adding to the meaning.

The types that can act as both a pre-modifier or postmodifier are

Type 1. noun + noun

Coffee beans are grown in many South American countries.

Type 2. adjective + noun

A strong coffee is preferred by many tired, overworked people.

Type 3. noun + prepositional phrase

Coffee without milk and sugar is preferred by caffeine addicts around the world.

Type 4. -ing participle + noun

Growing coffee beans can be a difficult process.

Type 5. -ed participle + noun

Decaffeinated coffee is growing in popularity.

Type 6. noun + relative clause

Coffee beans, which are grown in many parts of the world are an expensive commodity.

Type 7. noun + reduced adjective/relative clause

Coffee, being a popular drink is an expensive commodity.

Coffee beans grown in many parts of the world are an expensive commodity.

*Notice that using a reduced adjective clause can affect your word count.

More often than not a noun phrase will be a combination of the different types creating text that contains ideas and information using concise language. The following illustrates how the information can be combined to form clear, concise sentences.

Coffee beans (which are) grown in many parts of the world including South America are an expensive commodity.

The preference for strong coffee without milk and sugar and (which is) drunk by tired, overworked people is fading due to the increasing popularity of decaffeinated coffee.

So what do we do with the verbs?

The role of the main verb in academic text is often to act as linguistic 'glue' as well as adding meaning to your writing. If you look closely at the sentences, the main verb is a simple construct linking 2 or more noun phrases to create a sentence.

Coffee beans (which are) grown in many parts of the world including South America are an expensive commodity.

The verb are connects the information and agrees with the subject of the sentence which is Coffee beans.

The preference for strong coffee without milk and sugar and (which is) drunk by tired, overworked people is fading due to the increasing popularity of decaffeinated coffee.

The verb is fading carries meaning and agrees with the subject The preference.

Example 1

The following abstract illustrates the role of the verb in each sentence. We can see the authors have used noun phrases to create a concise, authoritative, academic text.

Children's dietary-related diseases and their associated costs have expanded dramatically in many countries, making children's food choice a policy issue of increasing relevance. As children spend a considerable amount of money on energy-dense, nutrient-poor (EDNP) products, a better understanding of the main drivers of children's independent food purchase decisions is crucial to move this behavior toward healthier options.

Hartmann, M., Cash, S.B., Yeh, C.H., Landwehr, S.C. and McAlister, A.R., 2017. Children's purchase behavior in the snack market: can branding or lower prices motivate healthier choices?. Appetite, 117, pp.247-254.

The 2 main verbs here are have expanded and is. The rest of the text consists of noun phrases.

What is the subject of the verb have expanded?

Both Children's dietary-related diseases and their associated costs are the subjects of the verb.

Let's look at the noun phrases in more detail.

Looking at the first sentence, two noun phrases have been joined using and to create a longer, more complex noun phrase which then acts as the subject of the verb have expanded

Children's dietary-related diseases and their associated costs.

The following prepositional phrase and reduced relative clause acts as the object of the verb have expanded

in many countries, making children's food choice a policy issue of increasing relevance.

Let's look at the second sentence in this paragraph. We can see the first part tells us when something happens, so it is an adverbial clause.

As children spend a considerable amount of money on energy-dense, nutrient-poor (EDNP) products,

The next part of the sentence is a noun phrase which gives the subject of the verb is

a better understanding of the main drivers of children's independent food purchase decisions

while this part of the sentence is the object of the verb is

crucial to move this behavior toward healthier options.

Here we can see an adjective, crucial, the infinitive of the verb, to move, plus a noun phrase

Notice the use of the words dramatically and crucial in this paragraph to indicate the writers' stance.

*It's important to note that noun phrases carry the meaning of the text and therefore it is necessary to cite any content that includes another's ideas or findings.

Head words

Another important feature of a noun phrase that you need to understand is the key word, usually referred to as the head word.

The head word cannot be deleted otherwise a noun phrase loses its meaning. Here we can see the head words in our example.

Let's see what happens to our example if we delete the wrong (head) word.

Children's dietary-related _______ and their associated __________ have expanded dramatically.....

As you can see, it becomes meaningless.

However, if we delete some other words, the basic structure is still there.

Children's __________ diseases and their __________ costs have expanded dramatically....

Let's look at another example.

making children's food choice __________ increasing relevance.

The meaning is lost. However,

__________ a policy issue of increasing relevance.

still has meaning.

When you are reading, you need to be aware of the head word to find the correct meaning of the text.

Being concise

If we look again at the text,

it consists of 58 words, 2 sentences and 2 main verbs, have expanded and is.

**Academic text is created by using noun phrases, in which the person, or thing doing the action is removed giving the text and its content a life of its own! What was once an 'opinion; can now become 'fact'.

**However, by choosing certain 'facts' to support your argument, you are also including your opinion or stance.

The text as written by the author has 58 words. Let’s see what happens when we include the actor and verb in the first sentence.

According to research recently carried out, children have increasingly more diseases that are connected to the kind of food that they eat. The cost of these diseases has also risen significantly. This is evident in many countries around the world. The result of this phenomenon is that what children choose to eat has now become increasingly more relevant and is therefore now a policy issue.

The paragraph has now become four sentences with 4 main verbs, and 65 words.

Is this important? Well, yes if you are studying and need to write academic text. The use of noun phrases not only creates a shorter, more concise text, it also gives an academic voice by stating the points as 'facts'. This is essential for writing within word limits and more importantly, when demonstrating academic authority in your writing.

Example 2

The main verb(s) in each sentence has been highlighted. Their function is to guide the reader through the detailed content of this text which is outlining the background, method and findings of their research.

The 21st century has seen a strong upward trajectory in empirical research on the multiple benefits that foreign language/world language learning and bilingualism can afford to both individuals and society. This analysis of research published from 2012-2019 extends Fox et al.'s analysis of research published from 2005 to 2011 (Part I). The 100 empirical studies in Part II, drawn from seven data bases, were conducted in multiple countries. Six overarching themes emerged: cognitive abilities and benefits, aging and health, employability, academic achievement, communicative and intercultural competence, and enhanced creativity. Results report multiple cognitive benefits of language study and bi-multilingualism, particularly later in life, including enhancement of cognitive flexibility, higher cognitive reserve in advanced age, and delay in the onset of dementia. Other results underscore the importance of early and sustained language learning and support for L1 literacy development. Additional results stress the benefits of foreign/world language skills relating to employability and academic achievement and propose that the accumulation of years of language learning positively impacts the development of cross-cultural awareness and communicative competence. This research illustrates the importance of establishing cross-/interdisciplinary research and sharing results with language advocates, policy makers, and legislators.

Fox, R., Corretjer, O. and Webb, K., 2019. Benefits of foreign language learning and bilingualism: An analysis of published empirical research 2012–2019. Foreign Language Annals, 52(4), pp.699-726.

Let's look in more detail at the content of the first sentence.

The 21st century

is the subject of the verb made up of an adjective and a noun, type 2

a strong upward trajectory in empirical research on the multiple benefits

is a noun phrase made up of types 2 & 3

that foreign language/world language learning and bilingualism can afford

is a relative clause, type 6

to both individuals and society

is a prepositional phrase, type 3

Noun phrases can be long and complex, but if you understand your content words, then this should be less daunting.

Example 3

If we look at this text on Flow Physics, its content may seem a mystery to many of us but the way it is written rather than the topic is clear.

Flow physics plays a key role in nearly every facet of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes the generation and aerosolization of virus-laden respiratory droplets from a host, its airborne dispersion and deposition on surfaces, as well as the subsequent inhalation of these bioaerosols by unsuspecting recipients. Fluid dynamics is also key to preventative measures such as the use of face masks, hand washing, ventilation of indoor environments and even social distancing. This article summarizes what we know and, more importantly, what we need to learn about the science underlying these issues so that we are better prepared to tackle the next outbreak of COVID-19 or a similar disease.

Mittal, R., Ni, R. and Seo, J.-H. (2020) “The flow physics of COVID-19,” Journal of Fluid Mechanics. Cambridge University Press, 894, p. F2. doi: 10.1017/jfm.2020.330.

There are 5 main verbs in the text as highlighted, while the subject of each verb is relatively short.

Flow physics plays
This includes
Fluid dynamics is
This article summarizes
we are

Notice that This includes refers back to something already mentioned in the text, while This article refers to the content of the article which you will read. For more on this, look at the section on Making Connections.

If we look at the text again and focus on the objects of the main verbs, we can see that the author has used postmodifiers that consist of long noun phrases giving detailed information about the content of the article.

Mittal, R., Ni, R. and Seo, J.-H. (2020) “The flow physics of COVID-19,” Journal of Fluid Mechanics. Cambridge University Press, 894, p. F2. doi: 10.1017/jfm.2020.330.

The first sentence is modified using type 3 with 2 prepositional phrases.

Flow physics plays a key role

in nearly every facet
of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The second sentence then uses more of type 3 creating a longer, more complex noun phrase.

This includes the generation and aerosolization

of virus-laden respiratory droplets from a host,
its airborne dispersion and deposition on surfaces,
as well as the subsequent inhalation of these bioaerosols by unsuspecting recipients.

Practice

Now it's time to focus your activity on texts that you may need to read and understand for your own discipline. Nowadays academic papers from relevant, peer-reviewed, academic journals are the main resource for research for your assignments. You can use your institution's database which will give you access to a wealth of resources, or if you are not enrolled in an institution, you can use Google Scholar which will give you abstracts for numerous texts on all academic disciplines.

Using an abstract or introduction to an academic paper in your discipline or area of interest, skim the text to understand the main idea.

Now, find examples of the different types of noun phrases in the text. There will be a lot so focus on a variety, or items that will be useful for your studies.