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Noun phrases are the building blocks of any language. They can refer to ideas, things, situations or just about anything else that you can imagine. There will be at least one noun in every sentence that you make, so we need to be able to make really great noun phrases that stand out and will make the IELTS examiner take notice of us. So lets get stuck into (start studying) this awesome topic

Nouns can be single words, or multiple word formations. In every noun, there will be a head noun, which is the main noun. Before this noun can come pre-nominals (words before the noun like adjectives) and post-nominals (words after noun like relative clauses). In this workshop we will look specifically at post-nominals, of which there are four types.

1. Noun + prepositional phrase

Common prepositions to use in these constructions include of, in, for, on, to, and with.

of is used after nouns of quantity or to show possession.

the number of fish (quantity)

the people of the past (people belonging to the past)

at, in, and on are used for physical location

the rubbish lying at the bottom of the harbour

with can be used instead of ‘have’

dogs with big sharp teeth (= dogs that have big sharp teeth)

2. Noun + past participle (-ed)

Past participles after a noun will give the same information as a relative clause with a passive verb.

the data collected from the sites (= the data which is collected from the sites)

3. Noun + present participle (-ing)

Present participles after nouns give the same information as a relative clause with an active verb.

the other rubbish (lying) on the ocean floor (= the other rubbish which is lying on the ocean floor)

4. Noun + to-infinitive

To-infinitives after nouns are used to show purpose or intention. They include:

time to go

the place to visit

a way to look at it

a lot to look at

Let’s see how this cool technique can work in two different IELTS task 1 tasks.

The (1) INFORMATION GIVEN in the graph shows that (2) MORE AND MORE PEOPLE WORKING in towns and cities prefer to live in the countryside and commute to work. (3) THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE MOVING out of towns and cities increased significantly between 1985 and 2005.

The graph gives (4) INFORMATION CONCERNING sales and profits of two manufacturing companies. Company A sells (5) PENCILS MANUFACTURED overseas. Company B has (6) LOWER COSTS RESULTING in a higher annual profit.

Time for some analysis.

1. The information = subject / Given = past participle reduced relative clause (that)

2. More and more people = subject / Working = present participle reduced relative clause (who)

3. The number of people = subject / Working = present participle reduced relative clause (who)

4. Information = object / Concerning = present participle reduced relative clause (that)

5. Pencils = object / manufactured = past participle reduced relative clause (that)

6. Lower costs = object / Resulting = present participle reduced relative clause (that)

Try to make use of longer noun phrases in your IELTS task 1 and task 2 writing. It is sure to bump up (increase) your overall grammar score. You can also use these in your speaking.