2. Noun Phrases
• A noun phrase is a noun (called a “head
noun”) and all the words that modify it.
• Let’s look at these noun phrases.
• What are the head nouns of the noun
phrases?
3. Examples
• A failed state
• Somalia
• Somali pirates
• The Andean region
• These disappearing glaciers
• A more recent efficiencychallenge
4. Structure of a Noun Phrase
• The word at the very front of a noun phrase is
often a determiner.
• Determiners are a class of words that include
words such as:
• Articles (a/the)
• Demonstratives (this/that/these/those)
• Possessives (my, your, his. . .)
5. Focus
• The focus of today’s lesson is how to select
the proper article to go in front of a noun.
• Before we begin remember that English has
two articles:
• The Definite Article: The
• The Indefinite Article: A/an
• There are four steps (questions to ask)to do
this successfully.
6. Step 1: Question 1
• Look at the head noun.
• Ask yourself this question: is the noun a
proper noun or a common noun?
• Common nouns are both count and non-count
nouns that are NOT proper nouns.
• Proper nouns are names.
7. You Decide
• What are the proper and common nouns in
this sentence?
• Although the U.S. Congress has been passing
legislation since 1975 to raise efficiency for 22
broad categories of household and industrial
appliances, from dishwashers to electric
motors, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
has failed to write the standards needed to
implement the legislation.
8. Common | Proper
• The common are in red; the proper in blue.
• Although the U.S. Congress has been passing
legislation since 1975 to raise efficiency for 22
broad categories of household and industrial
appliances, from dishwashers to electric
motors, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
has failed to write the standards needed to
implement the legislation.
9. Step 1: Rules
• If the noun is a proper noun, these very
general rules probably apply:
• If the noun refers to a singular referent, there is
no article in front of it. (Pepsi/ Greenpeace)
• If the head noun is plural, the definite article “the”
goes in front of it. (The United States)
• If the noun is modified by an “of” phrase that
follows it, then there is probably a definite article.
(The University of Washington)
• If your noun is proper, you don’t have to ask
further questions.
10. Step 2: Question 2
• If the noun is a common noun (which means it
is NOT a proper noun), you have to ask
yourself the next question:
• Is the common noun specific or non-specific?
12. Specificity 1
• Some are always specific when they have a certain
meaning and refer to something that is generally
understood by all. (the wind, the sun, the moon, the
climate).
• Dioxin migrates on the wind.
13. Specificity 2
• Some are specific because they are understood to
refer to other nouns that have been previously
mentioned.
• My cat hurt himself in a fightlast night. The incident
happened at about 8 p.m.
14. Specificity 3
• Some nouns are specific because a modifying
clause or prepositional phrase used with the
noun make it crystal clear which noun is being
referred to.
• The hotel [where we stayed on our last
vacation] burned down!
15. Specificity 4
• Some nouns are specific because they are
understood to be “part and parcel” of
something being referred to/described.
• Mom, something strange happened in my math
class today. The teacher enteredthe classroom
and went up to the boardand began to draw
pictures.
16. Specificity 5
• The noun represents shared information that
both the writer and the reader understand.
• Wife: Honey did you put the cat out?
• Husband: Of course I did! I don’t want to have to
get up in the middle of the night to let him out!
17. Specificity 6
• Some nouns are modified by restrictive words
that make them “unique.” The ordinal
numbers and ordinal words such as next, last,
and other such words are all examples of such
restrictive words.
• The last time I saw Paris I was 13 years old!
18. Step 2: Rule
• If the noun IS specific, put the word “the” in
front of it. In the case of a specific noun, you
don’t have to ask any further questions.
19. You Decide
• Locate all the specific common nouns in this
paragraph and decide why they are specific.
• Another innovative initiative in Paris was the
establishment of a city bicycle rental program that
has 24,000 bikes available at 1,750 docking stations
throughout the city. Rates for rental range from just
over $1 per day to $40 per year, but if a bike is used
for fewer than 30 minutes, the ride is free. Based
on the first two years, the bicycles are proving to be
immensely popular --- with 63 million trips takes as
of late 2009.
20. Specific Nouns
• Another innovative initiative in Paris was the
establishment of a city bicycle rental program that
has 24,000 bikes available at 1,750 docking
stations throughout the city. Rates for rental
range from just over $1 per day to $40 per year,
but if a bike is used for fewer than 30 minutes, the
ride is free. Based on the first two years, the
bicycles are proving to be immensely popular ---
with 63 million trips takes as of late 2009.
21. Reasons
• The establishment (of a city bicycle program that . . .).
Specificity 3: restricting preposition phrase.
• The city . Specificity 2: refers to Paris, which was previously
mentioned
• The ride: Specificity 4: part and parcel of the experience of
using a bike . . . The ride that came with the bike.
• The first two years: Specificity 6: Ordinal number (the first).
• The bicycles: Specificity 2: previously mentioned . . .bikes.
22. Step 3: Question 3
• If the noun is not specific, ask the next
question:
• Is the noun countable or uncountable?
23. How to Determine Countability
• Check the dictionary!
• The following lesson is developed for you to
check the countability of nouns:
• https://sites.google.com/site/esllinksandmate
rials/dictionary-exercise-3
24. Step 3: Rules
• If the noun is uncountable, do nothing to it.
• Never use “a” or “an” in front of an
uncountable noun.
• Never make it plural.
• Since it’s not specific, don’t use “the.”
• You can (if appropriate) use non-specific
quantifiers such as “some” or “most.”
25. Step 4: Question 4
• If you end up with a common, non-specific,
count noun, you have one more question to
ask: is the noun plural or singular?
26. Count Nouns
• If the noun is a singular count noun, use “a” or
“an” in front of it.
• If the noun is a plural count noun, add an “s”
to the end, but do not use an article in front of
it. You can, however, use a quantifier such as
“many” or “some.”
27. Find It!
• In the following sentences, find one example of a proper
noun, one of a specific common noun, one of a non-
countable, non-specific common noun, one of a singular
countable non-specific common noun, and one of a plural
countable non-specific common noun.
• The good news is that governments can help couples reduce
family size very quickly when they commit to doing so. Janet
Larsen writes that in just ten years, Iran dropped the
population growth rate to almost the lowest in the
developing world. But then Khoumeni wanted to build an
army . . .
28. Answers
• The good news (specific common) is that governments (plural,
count, non-specific, common) can help couples (plural, count,
non-specific, common) reduce family size (non-count, non-
specific, common) very quickly when they commit to doing
so. Janet Larsen (proper) writes that in just ten years (plural,
count, non-specific, common), Iran (proper) dropped its
population growth rate (specific common --- you could say
“the” here) to almost the lowest rate (specific common) in
the developing world (specific common). But then Khoumeni
(proper) wanted to build an army (singular, count, non-
specific, common). . .
