Noun Phrases in English: A comprehensive guide for English learners

We often hear that noun phrases  are important in English,  

我们经常听说名词短语在英语中很重要，

and students often tell me that they are  interested in learning more about them.

学生们经常告诉我他们有兴趣更多地了解它们。

So, in this video I’ll show you how  to use noun phrases more effectively  

因此，在本视频中，我将向您展示如何更有效地使用名词短语

and even improve your exam score in the process.

，甚至可以在此过程中提高您的考试成绩。

I’ll explain what a noun phrase is, how to create  one, how to identify one, how to make sure your  

我将解释什么是名词短语、如何创建名词短语、如何识别名词短语、如何确保您的

sentences are grammatically correct with a  long noun phrase and why they’re important.

句子在使用长名词短语时语法正确，以及它们为何重要。

Hello everyone, Anna here  from EnglishLikeANative.co.uk 

大家好，Anna 来自 EnglishLikeANative.co.uk

This lesson is going to get technical,  so have your pen to hand, or download  

这节课将是技术性的，所以请准备好你的笔，或者下载

the FREE PDF Worksheet that accompanies this  lesson - link can be found in the description.

本节课附带的免费 PDF 工作表 - 链接可以在描述中找到。

So, first of all, let’s define our terms.

所以，首先，让我们定义我们的术语。

What, exactly, is a noun phrase  and why are they so important?

究竟什么是名词短语，为什么它们如此重要？

Put very simply, a noun phrase is a noun or  pronoun and all the words that modify it.

简而言之，名词短语是名词或代词以及修饰它的所有词。

You can add the modifiers before the noun… like

您可以在名词前添加修饰语……例如

“The tall man is happy.”

“高个子很高兴”。

In this sentence ‘the tall man’ is the noun  phrase and ‘the’ and ‘tall’ are the modifiers.

在这句话中，“the tall man”是名词短语，“the”和“tall”是修饰语。

Or you can put the modifiers after the noun.

或者你可以把修饰语放在名词后面。

“Could you pass me the pen  that’s on the table, please?”

“请把桌上的笔递给我好吗？”

In this sentence ‘the pen that’s  on the table’ is the noun phrase.

在这句话中，'the pen that's on the table' 是名词短语。

‘That’s on the table’  modifies ‘pen’ after the noun.

“That's on the table”修饰名词后的“pen”。

And, of course ‘the’ modifies ‘pen’ before it.

当然，'the' 修饰了它之前的 'pen'。

You could also replace ‘pen’ with the pronoun  ‘one’ in this sentence, to have the same meaning.

您也可以将这句话中的“笔”替换为代词“一”，以获得相同的含义。

“Can you pass me the one  that’s on the table, please?”

“你能把桌子上的那个递给我吗？”

The main noun/pronoun in this  sentence is ‘pen’ or ‘one’.

这句话中的主要名词/代词是“pen”或“one”。

Let’s look at a few more examples.

让我们再看几个例子。

Take the sentence “Help me find my cat”.

以“帮我找到我的猫”这句话为例。

‘My cat’ is already the noun  phrase and it includes a noun,  

“我的猫”已经是名词短语，它包括一个名词

‘cat’ and a possessive adjective  which describes the noun, ‘my’.

“猫”和一个描述名词“我的”的所有格形容词。

Now let’s add some adjectives before the noun.

现在让我们在名词前加一些形容词。

“Help me find my scruffy black and white cat.”

“帮我找到我那只邋遢的黑白猫。”

Now let’s add some more description  after ‘cat’ - ‘with a red collar on her’.

现在让我们在“猫”之后添加更多描述 - “她身上有一个红色项圈”。

By the way, this is called ‘a  prepositional phrase’ because  

顺便说一句，这被称为“介词短语”，因为

we have the preposition ‘with’ followed  by what is on the cat - ‘a red collar’.

我们有介词“with”，后面跟着猫身上的东西——“红项圈”。

We often find prepositional  phrases in noun phrases.

我们经常在名词短语中发现介词短语。

We can add another prepositional  phrase to describe the collar and  

我们可以添加另一个介词短语来描述项圈，并

create an even longer noun phrase,  like, ‘with a silver bell on it’.

创建一个更长的名词短语，例如“with a silver bell on it”。

So now the whole sentence is

所以现在整个句子是

“Help me find my scruffy black and white cat with  a red collar with a silver bell on it on her.”

“帮我找到我那只邋遢的黑白相间的猫，它的项圈是红色的，上面有一个银色的铃铛。”

Hmmm wait… now there are  two ‘withs’ and two ‘ons’.

嗯等等……现在有两个“withs”和两个“on”。

That’s not great.

那不是很好。

I’m going to change the first ‘with’ to ‘wearing’,  then I can take away the ‘on her’ at the end.

我要把第一个'with'改成'wearing'，然后我可以去掉最后的'on her'。

So now the sentence reads

所以现在这句话

“Help me find my scruffy black and white cat  wearing a red collar with a silver bell on it.”

变成了“帮我找到我那只邋遢的黑白相间的猫，它戴着一个红色的项圈，上面有一个银色的铃铛。”

Now my sentence gives a complete  description, is precise, doesn’t  

现在我的句子给出了完整的描述，精确，不

repeat words and uses a long noun phrase  that will surely impress any examiner!

重复单词并且使用了一个很长的名词短语，这肯定会给任何考官留下深刻印象！

Writing is always about editing, after all, so  it’s important to leave time in your exam so  

毕竟，写作总是与编辑有关，因此在考试中留出时间很重要，这样

you can think about ways to expand your  noun phrases just as we have done here.

您就可以像我们在这里所做的那样思考如何扩展名词短语。

It can sometimes be difficult  to determine if something is  

有时很难确定某物是否

a noun phrase or not, but here’s a simple trick.

是名词短语，但这里有一个简单的技巧。

If you can replace this part of the sentence  with just one pronoun, it’s a noun phrase.

如果你能用一个代词代替句子的这一部分，它就是一个名词短语。

Let’s get back to our cat example, shall we?

让我们回到猫的例子，好吗？

In the sentence “Help me find my scruffy black  and white cat wearing a red collar with a silver  

在“Help me find my scrunch black and white cat wearing a red collar with a silver

bell on it.”, if we replace the noun phrase with  ‘her’, it still makes sense – “Help me find her.”

bell on it.”这句话中，如果我们将名词短语替换为“her”，它仍然有意义——“Help me find her”。

So, then we know that ‘my scruffy  black and white cat wearing a red  

那么，我们就知道“我那只邋遢的黑白相间的猫戴着红色的

collar with a silver bell on it’ is a noun phrase.

项圈，上面有一个银色的铃铛”是一个名词短语。

This can help us in reading, to identify  the subject or object of a sentence and when  

这可以帮助我们阅读、识别句子的主语或宾语，以及在

completing the answers in the listening section  to help us identify the correct grammar to use.

完成听力部分的答案时帮助我们识别要使用的正确语法。

Ah, speaking of verb agreement, to  determine the form of a verb to use,  

啊,说到动词一致,要确定动词的使用形式,

we first need to determine the main noun in  the phrase - sometimes called ‘the head noun’.

我们首先要确定短语中的主要名词——有时也称为“中心名词”。

For example, “The tall man in  the black car is my uncle.”

例如，“开黑车的那个高个子是我叔叔。”

Can you guess what the head  noun is in this sentence?

你能猜出这句话中的中心名词是什么吗？

If you said ‘car’, I’m afraid  you’re wrong, it’s ‘uncle’.

如果你说“车”，恐怕你错了，是“叔叔”。

Now, let’s take the example,

现在，让我们举个例子，

“The tall men in the black car ____ my uncles.”

“黑色汽车里的高个子 ____ 我的叔叔。”

If we use the verb ‘to be’, which form  should we use here? - ‘is’ or ‘are’?

如果我们使用动词“to be”，我们应该在这里使用哪种形式？ - '是'还是'是'？

Well, you may already know it’s ‘are’ because  you know the head noun is ‘men’, not ‘car’.

好吧，您可能已经知道它是“are”，因为您知道中心名词是“men”，而不是“car”。

So, the sentence is “The tall  men in the car are my uncles.”

所以，句子是“车里的高个子是我的叔叔。”

This is where many students make mistakes,  because they look at the closest noun to  

这是许多学生犯错误的地方，因为他们只看最接近

the verb, without looking at the WHOLE  noun phrase and they try to match the  

动词的名词，而不看整个名词短语，他们试图将

verb with that instead of making sure  the verb agrees with the HEAD noun.

动词与其匹配，而不是确保动词与 HEAD 名词一致。

Let’s look at one more example, but before we do,  

让我们再看一个例子，但在我们这样做之前，

please take a second to give this  video a like and click subscribe.

请花点时间给这个视频点赞并点击订阅。

Now, which is correct?

现在，哪个是正确的？

“a) One of the important things  has to be critical thinking.” 

“a) 重要的事情之一必须是批判性思维。”

Or

或者

“b) One of the most important things  have to be critical thinking?”

“b）最重要的事情之一必须是批判性思维？”

It’s ‘a’. Even though we have ‘things’ and  ‘has’ next to each other, we have to use the  

它是'。即使我们把“things”和“has”放在一起，我们也必须使用

third person singular form of the verb because the  head noun in this phrase is ‘one’, not ‘things’.

动词的第三人称单数形式，因为这个短语中的中心名词是“one”，而不是“things”。

- Erm, why is it important for learners to  understand and use noun phrases correctly?

- 嗯，为什么学习者正确理解和使用名词短语很重要？

- Well, understanding noun phrase construction  helps you to be more precise and descriptive.

- 嗯，理解名词短语的结构可以帮助你更准确和描述性更强。

Also, as in the example “The tall  man in the black car is my uncle.”,  

另外，如“The tall man in the black car is my uncle.”的例子，

we use a noun phrase to put the important  information at the beginning of the sentence  

我们使用名词短语将重要信息放在句子的开头，

because we want to draw attention  to the tall man in the black car.

因为我们想引起人们对黑色汽车中的高个子男人的注意.

The listener doesn’t know who my uncle is so I  

听众不知道我叔叔是谁，所以我

have to describe him first before  giving more information about him.

必须先描述一下他，然后再提供更多关于他的信息。

It also means that the grammar  you use will be more accurate,  

这也意味着您使用的语法会更准确，

as we saw with correctly  identifying the head noun.

正如我们在正确识别中心名词时看到的那样。

This is useful for completing gap  fill exercises that you might find  

这对于完成您可能

in the Listening and Reading papers on the IELTS  exam and in Use of English in Cambridge exams.

在雅思听力和阅读试卷以及剑桥英语考试中的英语使用中找到的填空练习很有用。

In academic writing, these  things are all really important.

在学术写作中，这些东西都非常重要。

The use of noun phrases also helps  to make your writing impersonal,  

使用名词短语也有助于让你的写作没有人情味，

which is important in exam tasks  where you have to be more formal,  

这在你必须更正式的考试任务中很重要，

like IELTS writing Task 2 or  Cambridge Advanced, parts 1 and 2.

比如雅思写作任务 2 或剑桥高级，第 1 部分和第 2 部分。

Noun phrases can also help you score higher in  the IELTS part 1 on the General Training exam by  

名词短语也可以帮助你在 通过 在句子中添加更多信息——形容词、副词或介词短语，

adding more information - adjectives, adverbs  or prepositional phrases to your sentences,  

例如当你被要求描述你留在公共汽车上的包时

like when you are asked to describe  a bag you left on a bus, for example.

，雅思考试第 1 部分 。

You could say “Would it be possible to  help me find my bag?” or you could modify  

你可以说“可以帮我找到我的包吗？”或者你可以修改

the noun and make the sentence  more precise and descriptive.

名词并使句子更精确和描述性。

“Would it be possible to help me find my small  

“能不能帮我找到我的小

green leather bag with all  my work documents in it?”

绿皮包，里面装着我所有的工作文件？”

‘Bag’ is still the head noun in this sentence,  

'bag'在这句话中仍然是中心名词，

but is modified by three adjectives before  it and a preposition phrase after it.

但被前面的三个形容词和后面的介词短语修饰。

This use of noun phrases is very  common in English and will give  

这种名词短语的使用在英语中很常见，会给

your examiner a good impression of your writing.

考官留下良好的印象。

If you’d like a full video explaining  

如果您想要解释

adjective word order or prepositional  phrases, let me know in the comments!

形容词词序或介词短语的完整视频，请在评论中告诉我！

Now it’s time for a quick quiz. Are you ready?

现在是进行快速测验的时候了。你准备好了吗？

Look at the following noun phrases and pick  the main noun or head noun in each phrase.

查看以下名词短语，并选择每个短语中的主要名词或中心名词。

1. The small yellow children’s scissors  on the corner of the dining table.

1.餐桌角上的黄色小剪刀。

2. Several highly-paid top-level  executives who have flown in from overseas.

2、从海外飞来的高薪高层管理人员数名。

3. The tendency toward over-valuing  and under-performing sports teams.

3. 高估和表现不佳的运动队的趋势。

The answers are:

答案是：

1: scissors

1：剪刀

Number 2: executives

数字 2：高管

Number 3: tendency

数字 3：趋势

Now let’s try creating a sentence with these  noun phrases. Which form of the verb is correct?

现在让我们试着用这些名词短语造句。动词的哪种形式是正确的？

1. The small yellow children’s  scissors on the corner of the  

1. 餐桌 角上的黄色小儿童剪刀

dining room table ____ there for  my nieces and nephews to use.

____ 供我的侄女和侄子使用。

2. Several highly-paid top-level executives who  

2. 几位从海外飞来的高薪高层管理人员

have flown in from overseas ____  meeting in the boardroom all day.

____整天在会议室开会。 3.

3. The tendency toward over-valuing  and under-performing sports teams ____  

在过去几年中， 高估和表现不佳的运动队的趋势 ____

risen dramatically over the last few years.

急剧上升。

Ok, if you need a little bit more time you  can go back and just play those questions  

好吧，如果你需要多一点时间，你可以返回并

again until you have the answers, but  now I’m going to reveal the answers.

再次播放这些问题，直到你得到答案，但现在我要揭晓答案。

Number 1. The small yellow children’s scissors  on the corner of the dining room table are  

1 号。餐桌角上的黄色小剪刀是

there for my nieces and nephews to use.  Scissors is a noun which is always plural.

我的侄女和侄子们用的。剪刀是一个名词，它总是复数形式。

Number 2. Several highly-paid top-level  executives who have flown in from overseas have  

第二，几位从海外飞来的高薪高层，

meetings in the boardroom all day or are  having meetings in the boardroom all day. 

整天都在会议室开会，或者整天都在会议室开会。

Executives is a countable plural noun. Number 3.  

Executives 是可数复数名词。第三

The tendency toward over-valuing  and under-performing sports teams  

， 在过去几年中， 对运动队估值过高和表现不佳的趋势

has risen dramatically over the last  few years. Tendency is a singular noun.

急剧上升。 趋势是单数名词。

How did you do?

你怎么做的？

Now for three more, Cambridge  Use of English style questions.

现在还有三个，剑桥英语风格问题的使用。

You have to fill in the gap with 3 - 6  words to make the second sentence have  

你必须用 3 - 6 个词来填补空缺，使第二句

the same meaning as the first sentence. Oh, and  use the word in brackets as part of your answer.

与第一句的意思相同。哦，用括号中的词作为你答案的一部分。

Here it goes.

就这样吧。

1. There are few people in the world who  are said to write as well as she can.

1. 据说世界上没有几个人写得像她一样好。

So, now, using the word ‘as’ you need to complete  this sentence to mean the same as the first.

所以，现在，使用“as”这个词，你需要完成这个句子来表示与第一个相同的意思。

Few people worldwide can be called  as good a writer ____________.

世界上很少有人可以被称为优秀作家 ____________。

And the answer is: Few people worldwide can be  called as good a writer as she is or as she can.

答案是：世界上很少有人能像她这样或尽可能地称得上是一名优秀的作家。

2. The team, who will be  crowned all-state champions,  

2. 将获得全州冠军的球队将于

is going to parade down the main street next week.

下周在大街上游行。

You have to complete this  sentence using the word ‘due’.

你必须用'due'这个词来完成这个句子。

The soon-to-be-crowned all-state champions  ______ parade down the main street next week.

即将加冕的全州冠军 ______ 将于下周在大街上游行。

And the answer is: The soon-to-be-crowned  

答案是：即将加冕

all-state champions are due to parade  down the main street next week.

的全州冠军将于下周在大街上游行。

3. The companies have grown in a way we did  not foresee, which has greatly contributed  

3. 这些公司以我们没有预见到的方式发展，这极大地促进

to reaching our targets for this quarter. You need to complete the sentence using ‘helped’.

了我们本季度的目标的实现。你需要用“helped”来完成这个句子。

This unforeseen ____________ us  reach our targets for this quarter.

这个不可预见的 ____________ 我们实现了本季度的目标。

The answer is: This unforeseen  growth has greatly/ or really  

答案是：这种不可预见的增长极大地/或确实

helped us reach our targets for this quarter.

帮助我们实现了本季度的目标。

I hope now that noun phrases and their  uses and usefulness are clearer. Let  

我希望现在名词短语及其用法和用处更加清晰。 在下面的评论中 让

me know how many of the quiz answers  you got right in the comments below!

我知道您答对了多少测验答案！

Until next time, take care and goodbye.

直到下一次，保重，再见。