NOUN PHRASES
Information about a noun can be added before and after it, and in several different ways.
Here are four of them.
Plural expressions become singular when used in compound adjectives.
a ten-mile walk
a fifteen-year-old girl
a three-ton lorry
Compound nouns (two nouns together) are very common.
traffic lights
pain-killer
toothpaste
After the noun, prepositional phrases and participle clauses occur.
a story about ghosts
Prepositional phrases : a man with an axe in his hand
a cheque for $20
a tool for cutting glass
Participle clauses :
a girl wearing green trousers
a book written by a friend of mine
PRACTICE
Make one sentence by combining the information in brackets into the base
sentence. Use the patterns above.
He bought a house. (farm; eighty thousand pounds; three acres of land)
A girl came into the room.( twelve years old; she was wearing a clown’s
outfit)
I need some nails.(six inches long; steel)
Concorde is a plane. (passengers; fastest in the world)
Have you seen those knives? (Swiss; army; gadgets for everything)
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Telephone TEACHING
She is a lecturer. (economics; Bristol University; much-respected)
She has just started a job. (fifteen thousand pounds a year; a firm of
accountants; New York)
He bought a picture. (three hundred years old; two men; working in a field)
We had a meal. (four courses; two bottles of wine; splendid; less than fifteen
pounds)
It was a long flight. (twelve hours; stopovers in Delhi and Moscow)
The pile-up has finally been cleared by police. (on the M1; forty cars; it was
caused by yesterday’s freak weather conditions)
Passengers can expect delays(three hours; Pan Am Airways; those who are
flying to New York).
PRACTICE
Fill each gap in the following sentences with an auxiliary verb or a modal
verb. Sometimes you will need to add not.
I tried to repair the car at the weekend, but I ………………… . I didn’t have
the right tools.
A: Come on, John! It’s time you were getting up.
B: I …………….. ! I’ll be down in a second.
A: You look awful. Why don’t you see a doctor?
B: I ……………. . He just gave me some pills and told me to take things easy.
A: It’s a long journey. Take care on the motorway.
B: Don’t worry. I ………………………… .
I met your sister last night. She thought we’d met before, but we……………. .
A: Have you read those reports?
B: No, I ………….. but I …………….. .I promise.
The weather forecast said that it could rain this afternoon. If it ……………. ,
we’ll have to call off the tennis.
My car isn’t working at the moment. If it …………….. . I could give you a
lift. Sorry.
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Telephone TEACHING
The baby very nearly fell into the fire last night. If I hadn’t managed to catch
her just in time, she …………….. .(two words).
I learned this morning that I got the job I applied for. I was delighted. I really
didn’t think I ………………… .
A: I think I’ll give Robert a ring.
B: You …………… . You haven’t been in touch for ages, and he’d be pleased
to hear from you.
A: Andrew easily beat me in our match yesterday.
B: I knew he would. He’s been playing very well recently.
I went to a party last night, but I wish …………. . It was awful.
My husband insist on doing the cooking, but I wish he ……………… . What
he cooks is inedible.
A: Are you still going to America for your holidays?
B: We ………………. We haven’t made up our minds yet.
A: The party was wonderful until Andy got drunk and started insulting
everyone.
B: He …………………. . It’s terrible the way he’s always doing that.
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Telephone TEACHING