GUIDE ENGLISH GRAMMAR BOOK

PAGE 189
148 Phrases after a noun
b
We can use adjectives in these complex noun patterns.
a comprehensive road atlas a handy plastic shopping-bag
a 'Sunuser' solar heating system British Channel Island Ferries
NOTE
We can also sometimes use a phrase with a preposition.
state-of-the-art technology a sensational end-of-season sale
148 Phrases after a noun
1 We can use a clause or phrase after a noun to modify it.
Clause: the fact that I got there first • 262 (7)
some of those people who called • 272
a lot of time to spare • 124
Phrase: all these boxes here
every day of the week
a hot meal for two
2 The phrase after the noun can be a prepositional phrase, an adverb phrase, an
adjective phrase or a noun phrase.
Prepositional phrase: When will I meet the girl of my dreams?
Adverb phrase: We don't talk to the people upstairs.
Adjective phrase: The police found parcels full of cocaine.
Noun phrase:
The weather that day was awful.
The phrase modifies the noun, tells us more about it.
The prepositional phrase is the most common.
The period just after lunch is always quiet.
I'd love an apartment on Fifth Avenue.
A man with very fair hair was waiting in reception.
The idea of space travel has always fascinated me.
What are the prospects for a peaceful solution?
For noun + preposition, e.g. prospects for, • 237.
NOTE
We can use a pattern with of with the names of places or months. It is rather formal.
Welcome to the city of Coventry.
Here is the long-range weather forecast for the month of June.
3 We can sometimes use two or more phrases together after a noun. Here are some
examples from British newspapers.
Passengers on some services from King's Cross, Euston and Paddington will
need a boarding pass.
Violence erupted at the mass funeral of African National Congress victims of last
week's massacre at Ciskei.
Chris Eubank recorded his fourth successful defence of the WBO supermiddleweight
championship at Glasgow on Saturday with a unanimous
points win over America's Tony Thornton.
We can also use a mixture of phrases and clauses.
The baffling case of a teenage girl who vanished exactly twenty years ago has
been re-opened by police.