# Noun Phrases and Nominalisation

https://langs123.com/en/english/nouns-determiners/noun-phrases/
CEFR B2–C2 · 2026-10-19 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> Noun phrases are built round a head noun with determiners, modifiers and complements, and nominalisation turns verbs and clauses into nouns. Short modifiers go before the head noun and long ones after it: a small house with a view of the park.

## Cheatsheet

| Point | Rule | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Slots | predeterminer, determiner, number, adjective, noun modifier, head noun | all the other ten new bus drivers |
| Order | ordinal before cardinal; all, both and half before the determiner | the first three days / all my friends |
| After the noun | prepositional phrase, to-infinitive, that-clause, of-phrase, apposition | a chance to win / the house on the hill |
| Before the noun | singular noun modifier, -ing or -ed adjective; three at most | a bus ticket / a broken window |
| As the head | an adjective, one or mine can stand for the whole phrase | The injured were treated quickly. / I'll take the red one. |
| Nominalisation | a noun names the action; its object follows with of | They destroyed the city. → the destruction of the city |
| Light verb | a general verb carries the action of the noun | make a decision / carry out an analysis |
| Shell noun | a noun sums up an earlier clause | The company cut prices. This move surprised its rivals. |
| Register | verbs in speech, nouns in formal and academic writing | We analysed (US: analyzed) the data. ≠ An analysis of the data was performed. |
| Headline stack | the last noun is the head; the others modify | Government job cuts plan row |
| Of and a noun | of and an abstract noun do the work of an adjective | a man of means / a matter of urgency |
| Trap | the unit stays singular before a noun | a five-day course |

## Form: the slots of a noun phrase

| Slot | Words | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| predeterminer | all / both / half / double / such / what / quite | both my brothers / such a big house / quite a long walk |
| determiner | the / a / this / my / some / no / each / every | both my brothers / such a big house |
| ordinal and number | first / second / last / next / other / two / ten | the first day / my two sisters |
| other quantifier | many / few / several / much / little | her many cousins / the few tickets left |
| adjective | any number, in the usual order | a lovely old house |
| noun modifier | a noun that classifies the head | a kitchen table |
| head noun | the noun the verb agrees with | the price of the tickets |

- Only the head noun is required; the other slots keep this order: all the other ten new bus drivers
- The order of several adjectives: Adjectives and Adjective Order.

## Order of determiners and numbers

| Rule | Example |
| --- | --- |
| the ordinal comes before the cardinal | the first three days |
| other, last and next come before a number | the last two weeks / the next three buses |
| many and few follow the determiner | his many friends / the few people I know |
| all, both and half come before the determiner | all my friends / both the boys / half the class |

## Modification after the noun

| Modifier | Form | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| prepositional phrase | noun + preposition and noun phrase | the house on the hill |
| to-infinitive | noun + to + base verb | a chance to win |
| that-clause | noun + that + clause | the fact that she left |
| of-phrase | noun + of + noun | a cup of tea / the end of the story |
| apposition | a second noun phrase, after a comma | my brother, a doctor / Paris, the capital of France |

- The verb agrees with the head noun, however long the modifier: The price of the tickets has risen.
- A relative clause also follows the noun: Relative clauses.

## Modification before the noun

| Modifier | Form | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| noun modifier | singular noun + noun | a bus ticket / a tennis ball |
| number and unit | number + hyphen + singular noun + noun | a ten-minute walk / a two-hour drive |
| -ing adjective | V-ing + noun | a barking dog / a sleeping baby |
| -ed adjective | V-ed + noun | a broken window / a closed door |

- A noun modifier is singular, even before a plural head noun: two bus tickets
- Three modifiers is the practical limit before the head noun; put further detail after it: a small old wooden table with a drawer

## Pronouns and adjectives as heads

| Head | Meaning | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| the + adjective | a group of people; the verb is plural | The injured were treated quickly. |
| one / ones | a countable noun already named | I like the blue one. / Which ones are yours? |
| those who | people who | Those who arrive early get the best seats. |
| mine / yours / hers / ours | the owner and the thing in one word | This seat is mine. |
| some / many / none | a quantifier without its noun | Many were late. |
| the same | something already mentioned | I'll have the same. |

## Form: nominalisation

| From | Change | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| verb | decide → decision | Her decision surprised us. |
| verb | develop → development | The development of the area took years. |
| verb | arrive → arrival | Their arrival was a surprise. |
| verb | fail → failure | The failure of the plan was a shock. |
| verb | grow → growth | Population growth slowed. |
| adjective | possible → possibility | There is a possibility of rain. |
| adjective | able → ability | She has the ability to learn fast. |
| clause | They destroyed the city. → the destruction of the city | The destruction of the city shocked the world. |

## Subject and object of a nominalisation

| Role | Form | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| the doer, with of | the + noun + of + agent | the arrival of the guests |
| the doer, as a possessive | agent + 's + noun | the president's decision |
| the thing affected, with of | the + noun + of + noun | the destruction of the city |
| the doer after the thing affected, with by | the + noun + of + noun + by + agent | the destruction of the city by the army |

| Light verb | Noun | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| make | a decision / a suggestion / a mistake | The board made a decision on Friday. |
| carry out | an analysis / a survey / a test | Researchers carried out an analysis of the results. |
| give | consideration to / priority to / an explanation | Please give consideration to my request. |
| reach | a conclusion / an agreement | The two sides reached an agreement. |

- A light verb and a noun say what the full verb says: They analysed (US: analyzed) the data. = They carried out an analysis of the data.

## Compare: gerund and verbal noun

| Gerund | Verbal noun |
| --- | --- |
| acts like a verb: it takes an object and an adverb | acts like a noun: it takes the or a, of and an adjective |
| Singing the anthem is a tradition. | The singing of the anthem is a tradition. |
| Painting portraits quickly takes skill. | Her quick painting of portraits impressed us. |

- A possessive before the -ing form is formal; speech uses the object form: Do you mind my opening the window? ≠ Do you mind me opening the window?
- Verbs followed by -ing: Gerund vs Infinitive.

## Complex noun phrases in academic prose

| Device | Example |
| --- | --- |
| heavy postmodification | the impact of rising prices on the spending of families in rural areas |
| apposition for definition | Inflation, the general rise in prices, reduces what people can buy. |

- Find the head noun first, then read each phrase as detail about it.
- Break a chain of of-phrases with a noun modifier or a possessive: the analysis of the results of the study of the market ≠ the analysis of the market study results

## Summary and shell nouns

| Type | Form | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| summary noun | this / that / such a + noun | The council raised parking fees. This decision upset drivers. / She answers every email within an hour. Such an approach builds trust. |
| shell noun with a clause | noun + that + clause | The fact that prices rose surprised no one. |
| shell noun with a preposition | the problem + with + noun | The problem with this plan is the cost. |
| shell noun with a wh-word | the reason + why + clause | The reason why prices rose is unclear. |

- Shell nouns such as fact, idea, problem, reason and claim get their content from the clause around them.

## Compare: verb style and noun style

| Verb style | Noun style |
| --- | --- |
| speech and plain writing; people act | academic and official writing; processes are things |
| We analysed (US: analyzed) the data. | An analysis of the data was performed. |
| Many people worry about the cost. | The cost is a source of widespread concern. |
| She applied for the job in May. | Her application for the job was received in May. |

## Dense noun phrases in headlines and specialist prose

| Device | Reading | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| noun stack | the last noun is the head; the others modify it | Oil price rise fears |
| unpacking | turn each noun into a phrase, from the head backwards | City council parking fee plan protest = a protest over the city council's plan for parking fees |
| hyphen | joins words into one modifier | a little-used car ≠ a little used car |
| comma | separates modifiers of equal weight | a quiet, reliable engine |

## Grammatical metaphor

| Verb style | Noun style |
| --- | --- |
| As demand increased, prices rose. | The increase in demand led to a rise in prices. |
| Because the team trained harder, it improved. | The team's harder training led to its improvement. |
| If people save more, banks can lend more. | Higher savings allow banks to lend more. |

- A noun phrase replaces the clause; a verb such as lead to replaces the conjunction.
- Revise noun style into verb style when the nouns hide who does what.

## Of and an abstract noun

| Phrase | Meaning | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| a man of means | wealthy | My grandfather was a man of means. |
| a woman of few words | quiet | The new manager is a woman of few words. |
| a thing of beauty | beautiful | The old clock tower is a thing of beauty. |
| a matter of urgency | urgent | Repairing the roof is a matter of urgency. |
| the likes of | people or things like | We cannot compete with the likes of big banks. |
| the likelihood of | the chance of | There is little likelihood of snow tonight. |

- The abstract noun stands without an article: a matter of urgency

## Typical errors

| ✗ | ✓ | Rule |
| --- | --- | --- |
| the three first days | the first three days | the ordinal comes before the cardinal |
| a five-days course | a five-day course | the unit is singular in a modifier |
| the half price | half the price | half comes before the determiner |
| The injured was treated quickly. | The injured were treated quickly. | the + adjective takes a plural verb |
| the destroy of the city | the destruction of the city | after the, the noun destruction replaces the verb |
| She did a decision. | She made a decision. | decision takes make |
| the singing the anthem | the singing of the anthem | after the, the object of the -ing noun takes of |
| There is little likelihood to rain. | There is little likelihood of rain. | likelihood takes of |