Year 4 English: Noun phrases and determiners
Part of the Year 4 English noun phrases, pronouns and verb forms chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Noun phrases and determiners
A noun phrase is a noun and the words that go with it. The noun is the main word. The other words say which one, what it is like, or whose it is. The hens, a brown dog and those ducks are all noun phrases.
A determiner comes first in many noun phrases. It tells us which one or whose it is. Common determiners are the, a, this, that, these, those, my, your, his, her, its, our and their.
A determiner does not describe the noun. Words that describe a noun are adjectives, such as brown or tiny.
| Determiner | It tells us | Example noun phrase |
|---|---|---|
| the | which one, a particular one | the hens |
| a | one of several, not a particular one | a brown dog |
| this, that | which one, near or far | this kite, that kite |
| these, those | which ones, near or far | these eggs, those ducks |
| my, your, his, her, its, our, their | whose it is | my bike, their garden |
Key ideas
- A noun phrase is a noun and the words that go with it.
- The determiner comes first, and it tells which one or whose it is: the, a, this, my.
- A determiner does not describe the noun. An adjective does: the brown dog.
- This and that go with one thing; these and those go with more than one: this kite, these kites.
Method. Find the noun, then copy the words that go with it.
- Find the noun. The noun is the main word; the other words describe it or say which one.ducks
- Find the words that go with it. Look for a determiner, adjectives and describing nouns that belong to the noun.Those ducks
- Copy the whole noun phrase. Copy every word that belongs to the noun, and no more.Those ducks
- Write the answer. Those ducks
Check. Every word in Those ducks goes with ducks. ✓
Watch out. Do not copy the verb, or a prepositional phrase that comes after the noun phrase.
Method. Name the determiner in the phrase.
- Look at each word. Find the word that does the job of a determiner.the golden egg
- Check its job. It comes first, and it says which egg.the
- Name it. the is the determiner.the
- Write the answer. the
Check. the does this job. ✓
Method. Build the noun phrase in order: determiner, adjectives, nouns, then the prepositional phrase.
- Add the determiner. The determiner comes first in the noun phrase, and it says which one or whose.these
- Add the noun. The main noun comes after the words that describe it.these pencils
- Write the answer. these pencils
Check. These goes with a plural noun, pencils. ✓
Watch out. Use these with a plural noun. This would be wrong with pencils.
Watch out
Watch out: a noun phrase can be a single noun with no determiner, such as Rain in Rain fell. Do not add a determiner that is not there. Also, the word the in the river is a determiner, not the noun.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Point to something in the room, such as a cup, and ask your child to add the words that go with it: which cup, what sort, whose. Every word that goes with the noun belongs to the noun phrase.
Exercise 7A Practice: noun phrases and determiners
Method. Find the noun, then copy the words that go with it.
- Find the noun. The noun is the main word; the other words describe it or say which one.farmer
- Find the words that go with it. Look for a determiner, adjectives and describing nouns that belong to the noun.The old farmer
- Copy the whole noun phrase. Copy every word that belongs to the noun, and no more.The old farmer
- Write the answer. The old farmer
Check. Every word in The old farmer goes with farmer. ✓
Watch out. Do not copy the verb, or a prepositional phrase that comes after the noun phrase.
Method. Name the determiner in the phrase.
- Look at each word. Find the word that does the job of a determiner.those tall trees
- Check its job. It comes first, and it says which trees.those
- Name it. those is the determiner.those
- Write the answer. those
Check. those does this job. ✓
Method. Name the determiner.
- Find the word that does this job. It is the determiner in this phrase.my
- Check the job. It comes before the noun bike, and it says whose bike.my
- Write the answer. my
Check. my is the determiner. ✓
Method. Name the determiner.
- Find the word that does this job. It is the determiner in this phrase.a
- Check the job. It comes before the noun biscuit, and it says one of several.a
- Write the answer. a
Check. a is the determiner. ✓
Method. Name the determiner.
- Find the word that does this job. It is the determiner in this phrase.these
- Check the job. It comes before the noun eggs, and it says which eggs.these
- Write the answer. these
Check. these is the determiner. ✓
Method. Name the noun in the phrase.
- Look at each word. Find the word that does the job of a noun.the shiny silver spoon
- Check its job. It is the main word, and the other words describe it.spoon
- Name it. spoon is the noun.spoon
- Write the answer. spoon
Check. spoon does this job. ✓
Method. Build the noun phrase in order: determiner, adjectives, nouns, then the prepositional phrase.
- Add the determiner. The determiner comes first in the noun phrase, and it says which one or whose.the
- Add the adjective. An adjective describes the noun, so it comes before the noun.the yellow
- Add the noun. The main noun comes after the words that describe it.the yellow bus
- Write the answer. the yellow bus
Check. Read it aloud: the yellow bus. ✓
Watch out. The adjective goes between the determiner and the noun.
Method. Choose the word that fits the grammar and the meaning.
- Read the sentence with the gap. Decide which word the sentence needs.___ puppies are asleep in the basket.
- Think about the grammar and the meaning. Puppies is a plural noun, so the determiner must be the plural form: these.These puppies are asleep in the basket.
- Check the other choice. This goes with one thing, such as this puppy, not with several.These puppies are asleep in the basket.
- Write the answer. these
Check. Read the whole sentence aloud with these in the gap. ✓
Watch out. Put each choice in the gap and read the sentence aloud.
Method. Choose the word that fits the grammar and the meaning.
- Read the sentence with the gap. Decide which word the sentence needs.___ hat is mine, not yours.
- Think about the grammar and the meaning. Hat is one thing, so the determiner is the singular form: this.This hat is mine, not yours.
- Check the other choice. These goes with more than one thing, such as these hats.This hat is mine, not yours.
- Write the answer. this
Check. Read the whole sentence aloud with this in the gap. ✓
Watch out. Put each choice in the gap and read the sentence aloud.
Method. Decide which word is the noun.
- Look at the word the. The tells which river, so it is a determiner.the = determiner
- Look at the word river. River names the thing, so it is the noun.river = noun
- Write the answer. No. The is a determiner, and river is the noun
Check. The determiner comes before the noun. ✓
Watch out. A noun names a person, place, thing or animal. A determiner does not.
Method. Name the noun.
- Find the word that does this job. It is the noun in this phrase.mouse
- Check the job. It is the main word, and tiny describes it.mouse
- Write the answer. mouse
Check. mouse is the noun. ✓
Method. Name the noun.
- Find the word that does this job. It is the noun in this phrase.apples
- Check the job. It is the main word, and red describes it.apples
- Write the answer. apples
Check. apples is the noun. ✓
Method. Name the noun.
- Find the word that does this job. It is the noun in this phrase.star
- Check the job. It is the main word, and bright describes it.star
- Write the answer. star
Check. star is the noun. ✓
Method. Compare what each word does.
- Look at the. It tells which ball, so it is a determiner.the = which ball
- Look at red. It describes what the ball is like, so it is an adjective.red = what it is like
- Write the answer. the is a determiner; red is an adjective
Check. A determiner says which one; an adjective describes. ✓
Watch out. Ask: does the word say which one, or what it is like?
Method. Choose three different determiners, then add a noun to each.
- Choose three determiners. Use three different ones, such as this, a and my.this, a, my
- Add a noun to each. Each determiner needs a noun after it.this garden, a robin, my spade
- Check that they differ. No two noun phrases use the same determiner.three different determiners
- Write the answer. this garden, a robin, my spade
Check. Each noun phrase has its own determiner. ✓
Watch out. Each phrase must use a different determiner.