Noun phrase
Start with a simple sentence about The Great Fire of London.
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The Great Fire of London started at a bakery.
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Add another fact using a relative clause.
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The Great Fire of London, which happened in 1666, started at a bakery.
What is a 'noun'?
Nouns are:
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People
Places
Things / Objects
Click here if you are unsure what a noun is.
What is a 'noun phrase'?
Noun phrase = determiner + noun
A cat = A + cat
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The pen = The + pen
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My house = My + house
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Some books = Some + books
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This plate = This + plate
Review of determiners
A or The
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'A / An' is one of many.
Can I have a yellow sweet please?
Yes, here you are.
There are four yellow sweets and four purple sweets. The boy wants a (one of four) yellow sweet.
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'The' is one of one
Can I have the yellow sweet please?
Yes, here you are.
There is one yellow sweet and seven purple sweets. The boy wants the (one of one) yellow sweet.
This / That / These / Those
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This or That
This
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One thing
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Close to you
That
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One thing
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Away from you
This present is blue. That present is red.
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These or Those
These
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Two or more things
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Close to you
Those
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Two or more things
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Away from you
These presents are blue. Those presents are red.
Possessive
We can use a 'possessive' determiner to say who owns a noun.
My
This is my ball.
His
That is his ball.
Her
That is her ball.
Its
That is its ball.
Our
This is our ball.
Their
That is their ball.
That is their ball.
Your
That is your ball.
Using 'noun phrases'
Present tense
I eat my breakfast.
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My friend does her homework.
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My friends don't read their text messages.
Past tense
I wore a shirt and tie.
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My sister had a roast dinner.
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My dog lost her toy.
Future tense
I will have a beer.
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My sister will do the dishes.
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My mum will read her book.
Continuous tense
I'm having a glass of wine.
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My cat is eating its dinner.
Tom and Jill are going to their bedrooms.
What is an 'expanded noun phrase'
An 'expanded noun phrase' is a noun phrase with an adjective attached to it.
Expanded noun phrase = determiner + adjective + noun
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my difficult homework = my + difficult + homework
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the new supermarket = the + new + supermarket
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this interesting book = this + interesting + book
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that green ball = that + green + ball
We are going to keep the same colour for 'noun phrases' and 'expanded noun phrases' because grammatically they are the same.