EL001 Pre-Pathway Module 2010 Grammar and Vocabulary Development Session 10 Noun phrases and Complexity

THE SEVEN MOST IMPORTANT NOUNS?

MOST COMMON WORDS (NOT JUST NOUNS)

NOUN PHRASES

With the growing trend toward geographical dispersion in today’s global society, an explosion has occurred the use of both the Internet and internal networks to facilitate computer-mediated discussion among participants in separate locations. Computer-mediated conference systems and other groupware are continually under revision and evaluation for their potential to augment group cohesion and effectiveness (Hiltz, 1988, 1992, Rada, 1995). Both teachers and managers are chellened to duplicated in computer-mediated communication (CMC) the conditions that encourage productive interchanges such as occur when people regularly, over time, meet physically and converse in a classroom or at a conference table.

SO WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED? LET’S REVIEW SOME COMMON FEATURES OF NOUN PHRASES IN ACADEMIC TEXTS

1. Adjectives of classification 2. Evaluative adjectives 3. Co-ordinated pre-modifiers 4. Hyphenated compound adjectives 5. Adverbs to pre-modify adjectives 6. Embedded prepositional phrases 7. Apposition (using a noun phrase to provide extra information about another noun phrase) 8. Relative clauses

1. Adjectives of classificationchemical, Asian, metallic, conical, prehistoric 2. Evaluative adjectives 3. Co-ordinated pre-modifiers 4. Hyphenated compound adjectives 5. Adverbs to pre-modify adjectives 6. Embedded prepositional phrases 7. Apposition (using a noun phrase to provide extra information about another noun phrase) 8. Relative clauses

1. Adjectives of classificationchemical, Asian, metallic, conical, prehistoric 2. Evaluative adjectives interesting, ground-breaking, misguided, excellent 3. Co-ordinated pre-modifiers 4. Hyphenated compound adjectives 5. Adverbs to pre-modify adjectives 6. Embedded prepositional phrases 7. Apposition (using a noun phrase to provide extra information about another noun phrase) 8. Relative clauses

1. Adjectives of classificationchemical, Asian, metallic, conical, prehistoric 2. Evaluative adjectives interesting, ground-breaking, misguided, excellent 3. Co-ordinated pre-modifiers normal and oblique incidence, social or economic participation 4. Hyphenated compound adjectives 5. Adverbs to pre-modify adjectives 6. Embedded prepositional phrases 7. Apposition (using a noun phrase to provide extra information about another noun phrase) 8. Relative clauses

1. Adjectives of classificationchemical, Asian, metallic, conical, prehistoric 2. Evaluative adjectives interesting, ground-breaking, misguided, excellent 3. Co-ordinated pre-modifiers normal and oblique incidence, social or economic participation 4. Hyphenated compound adjectives a disc-like appearance, spiral-shaped arms, policy-relevant implications 5. Adverbs to pre-modify adjectives 6. Embedded prepositional phrases 7. Apposition (using a noun phrase to provide extra information about another noun phrase) 8. Relative clauses

1. Adjectives of classificationchemical, Asian, metallic, conical, prehistoric 2. Evaluative adjectives interesting, ground-breaking, misguided, excellent 3. Co-ordinated pre-modifiers normal and oblique incidence, social or economic participation 4. Hyphenated compound adjectives a disc-like appearance, spiral-shaped arms, policy-relevant implications 5. Adverbs to pre-modify adjectives potentially irreversible losses, socially anxious individuals 6. Embedded prepositional phrases 7. Apposition (using a noun phrase to provide extra information about another noun phrase) 8. Relative clauses

1. Adjectives of classificationchemical, Asian, metallic, conical, prehistoric 2. Evaluative adjectives interesting, ground-breaking, misguided, excellent 3. Co-ordinated pre-modifiers normal and oblique incidence, social or economic participation 4. Hyphenated compound adjectives a disc-like appearance, spiral-shaped arms, policy-relevant implications 5. Adverbs to pre-modify adjectives potentially irreversible losses, socially anxious individuals 6. Embedded prepositional phrases an explosion [in] the use of both the Internet and internal networks to facilitate computer- mediated discussion among participants in separate locations 7. Apposition (using a noun phrase to provide extra information about another noun phrase) 8. Relative clauses

1. Adjectives of classificationchemical, Asian, metallic, conical, prehistoric 2. Evaluative adjectives interesting, ground-breaking, misguided, excellent 3. Co-ordinated pre-modifiers normal and oblique incidence, social or economic participation 4. Hyphenated compound adjectives a disc-like appearance, spiral-shaped arms, policy-relevant implications 5. Adverbs to pre-modify adjectives potentially irreversible losses, socially anxious individuals 6. Embedded prepositional phrases an explosion [in] the use of both the Internet and internal networks to facilitate computer- mediated discussion among participants in separate locations 7. Apposition (using a noun phrase to provide extra information about another noun phrase) Antarctica, the most sparsely-populated continent in the world, 8. Relative clauses

1. Adjectives of classificationchemical, Asian, metallic, conical, prehistoric 2. Evaluative adjectives interesting, ground-breaking, misguided, excellent 3. Co-ordinated pre-modifiers normal and oblique incidence, social or economic participation 4. Hyphenated compound adjectives a disc-like appearance, spiral-shaped arms, policy-relevant implications 5. Adverbs to pre-modify adjectives potentially irreversible losses, socially anxious individuals 6. Embedded prepositional phrases an explosion [in] the use of both the Internet and internal networks to facilitate computer- mediated discussion among participants in separate locations 7. Apposition (using a noun phrase to provide extra information about another noun phrase) Antarctica, the most sparsely-populated continent in the world, 8. Relative clausesa word that first slipped into its current usage during the 1960s

A CHALLENGE FOR YOU...

Business and finance Business.view A Good African tale An African entrepreneur struggles for recognition in rich-country markets May 11th 2010 | From The Economist online

“IT USED to be a badge of pride that we were the only African coffee brand in British supermarkets. Now I see it as shameful,” says Andrew Rugasira, the founder of Good African. He is bemoaning the fact that other African firms—in coffee and many other lines of business—have struggled to follow the trail blazed by Good African since it was founded in 2003.Good African

Read the next paragraph in its painfully simplified form: Mr Rugasira created the firm with a goal. The goal was to create a brand for his coffee. He wanted the brand to be African. He wanted the brand’s African-ness to be distinct. Mr Rugasira wanted to do this by carrying out some of the parts of the supply chain These parts of the chain add value. He can roast and pack the coffee. He can do these things in Africa. This is better than shipping coffee abroad – raw and in berry form for processing. Jamaica has done this with its coffee called Blue Mountain. In 2005, Mr Rugasire persuaded Waitrose to stock his coffee. Waitrose is a British supermarket chain Waitrose is upmarket Mr Rugasira has won round the rivals of Waitrose. Last month Sainsbury’s placed an order. It is the latest rival of Waitrose to do so. Coffee will soon be available in America, too. This coffee will be good. This coffee will be African. However, initially this coffee will only be avaialble online, not in shops. The firm also has plans. The plans are ambitious. The firm plans to to start marketing tea and chocolate. The tea and chocolate are good. The tea and chocolate are African.

Last month Sainsbury’s placed an order. It is the latest rival of Waitrose to do so. Coffee will soon be available in America, too. This coffee will be good. This coffee will be African. However, initially this coffee will only be avaialble online, not in shops. The firm also has plans. The plans are ambitious. The firm plans to to start marketing tea and chocolate. The tea and chocolate are good. The tea and chocolate are African.

Now can you complete this more sophisticated version of the paragraph: Mr Rugasira created the firm with the goal _______________________ _________________________________________________________, by carrying out some of the ___________________________________ _________________________________________________________, such as __________________________________________________, in Africa, instead of just shipping _______________________________ abroad to be processed—rather like Jamaica has done with its Blue Mountain coffee. Since persuading Waitrose, _____________________ _________________________________________, to stock his coffee in 2005, Mr Rugasira has won round its rivals. Last month __________ ______________ became the latest to place an order _____________ __________________ will soon be available in America, too, though initially only online, not in shops. The firm also has ________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________.

Mr Rugasira created the firm with the goal of creating a distinctly African coffee brand, by carrying out some of the value-added parts of the supply chain, such as roasting and packaging, in Africa, instead of just shipping raw coffee berries abroad to be processed—rather like Jamaica has done with its Blue Mountain coffee. Since persuading Waitrose, an upmarket British supermarket chain, to stock his coffee in 2005, Mr Rugasira has won round its rivals. Last month Sainsbury’s became the latest to place an order. Good African coffee will soon be available in America, too, though initially only online, not in shops. The firm also has ambitious plans to start marketing Good African tea and Good African chocolate.

COMPLEXITY

Can you complete the following sentences so that they are true for you? Don’t worry if there are any sentence beginnings that you can’t continue: 1.I came to England to… 2.I will stay in England until… 3.If I can’t sleep at night… 4.I hate people who… 5.I like Colchester more than… 6.It’s a mystery why… 7.Being a student, I…

time adverbialinfinitive clausecomparative participle clauseconditional clausewh- noun clause relative clause

2. time adverbial1. infinitive clause5. comparative 7. participle clause3. conditional clause 6. wh- noun clause 4. relative clause

Here are seven more examples. Can you match them to a similar sentence from 1-7? a)Adel cooks much more expertly than Muhammed does. b)Being an honest person, Reham decided to hand in the wallet containing £5000. c)Eisa will dance for us, provided Abdullah dances too. d)When you see Mark, ask him for more homework. e)Fadia has a plan to give up her studies and become a TV presenter. f)The man (who was) beaten up by Maha was taken to hospital. g)Where Mr Turki goes at night is unknown but he often comes home with lipstick on his collar.

KEY a)Adel cooks much more expertly than Muhammed does. - comparative b)Being an honest person, Reham decided to hand in the wallet containing £ participle c)Eisa will dance for us, provided Abdullah dances too. - conditional d)When you see Mark, ask him for more homework. – time adverbial e)Fadia has a plan to give up her studies and become a TV presenter. - infinitive f)The man (who was) beaten up by Maha was taken to hospital. – reduced relative clause g)Where Mr Turki goes at night is unknown but he often comes home with lipstick on his collar. – wh- clause

HOMEWORK Find examples of each complex construction in a text related to your field of study. You can submit your findings to Mark on paper or electronically. Full electronic versions of the texts we have looked at are available from Mark’s blog.