Noun,Adjective, Prepositional, and Adverbial Phrases in TOEFL Test

To win the grammar section of toefl test, you must understand the term of English phrases includes its substances. 

First, Noun Phrase. 

As its name indicates, noun phrase is a group of words used as a noun. It consists two parts: the head and modifier(s). The head is always in the form of a noun. The modifiers function to give more information about the person or thing you are talking about, rather than just giving their general or specific name. Anything which you put in front of a noun is called as a pre-modifier. Anything which you put after a noun is called a post-modifier. 

Most adjectives are used as a pre-modifiers. Nouns are also often used as a pre-modifiers. Take a look
at the following examples: 

... a big city 

... blue ink 

... the car door 

... the oil industry 

The use of post modifiers allows you great freedom in expanding the noun group. Post modifiers can be prepositional phrases, adjective phrases, infinitive phrases, present participle phrases, relative or adjective clauses, and adverbs of place or time. See the examples below.

... a girl in a dark grey dress (prepositional phrase) 

... the textbooks available at the university library (adjective phrase) 

... the desire to kill the animals (infinitive phrase) 

... the person applying for the job (present participle phrase) 

... the soldiers surrounded by their enemies (past participle phrase) 

... the man who employed me (relative or adjective clause)

Sequence of Adjectives in a Noun Phrase 

When more than one adjective precedes a noun in a noun phrase, the adjectives follow each other. This order is determined by the degree of generality of each type of adjective. Adjectives that can be used with the greatest number of nouns, the determiners, always come first. Then come descriptive adjectives, those with more general application preceding those that are more specific. This sequence of adjectives is indicated on below.

Sequence of Adjectives as Pre-Modifiers in a Noun Phrase

DETERMINERS: 

1. Partitive: all, both, half

2. Articles 

3. Indefinite adjective 

DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES

Numerals: 

1. Ordinals 

2. Cardinals 

General Description: 

Includes most adjectives with derivational endings (-y, -ous, -ful, -ing, etc) 

Physical States: 

1. Size 

2. Shape 

3. Age 

4. Temperature 

5. Color 

Proper Adjectives: 

1. Nationality 

2. Region 

3. Adjectives ending in )-ic, -al, etc) that function almost like noun adjuncts

Sequence of  Post-Modifiers in a Noun Phrase

Head: Noun 

Post Modifiers: prepositional phrase, adjective phrase, infinitive phrase, present participle phrase, past participle phrase, relative or adjective clause. 

You may use a noun group to modify a main group. A comma is always put after the main noun group because the second noun group (usually termed appositive) is separated from it, not part of it. See examples below. 

Orville Wright, the first man to fly. 

the Sifaka, a beautiful creature with pure white fur. 

Like other single nouns, a noun phrase or a  noun group can function as subject, object and complement of a sentence. Examine the following examples. 

1. Resistance to language shift tends to last longer in rural than in urban areas (Subject) 
2. The conversation between Ray and his mother illustrates the fact that language serves a range of function. (Subject) 
3. Translation clearly raises ethical questions that have yet to be sorted out (Object) 
4. He produced a third English version of his novel (Object) 
5. Another factor which may contribute to language maintenance for those who emigrate is the degree and frequency of contact with the homeland (Complement) 
6. Variety is a sociolinguistic term referring to language in context (Complement)

The second phrase which often presents in toefl test is adjective phrase. 

Adjective phrase is a group of words consisting of an adjective as the head and other words as modifiers (pre-modifiers or post-modifiers). Pre-modifiers in an adjective phrase are adverbs, such as very, rather, too and so. Post modifiers in an adjective phrase are prepositional phrases, infinitive phrases, that-clauses, and the adverb "enough". 

  

Pre modifiers        Head                                Post Modifiers 

Adverb                Adjective                          Prepositional phrases/infinitive phrases/adverbs

very                      slow

rather                   difficult 

so                        intensive 

too                      expensive 

quite                    (-ing adjectives)* 

extremely             happy                              with the result of the general election (prepositional phrase)

                            applicable                        for every case (prepositional phrase) 

                           glad                                  to hear the news (infinitive phrase) 

                           afraid                                that she might not come (that-clause) 

                           good                                 enough (adverb) 

*There are large number of adjectives ending in-ing. These -ing adjectives have a related transitive verb which you use to describe the way someone is affected by something. For example, if you speak of 'an alarming increase', you mean that the increase alarms you. If you speak of 'a surprising number', you mean that the number surprises you. 

Most of the -ing adjectives are related in form to present participle of verbs, as listed below. 

alarming 

amazing

amusing

annoying

appalling

astonishing

astounding

bewildering 

boring

challenging

charming

compelling 

confusing

convincing

demeaning

depressing

devastating

disappointing

disgusting

distracting

distressing 

disturbing 

embarrassing

enchanting 

encouraging 

entertaining 

exciting 

frightening 

harassing

humiliating 

infuriating 

inspiring 

interesting 

intimidating 

intriguing

menacing 

misleading 

mocking 

overwhelming 

pleasing 

refreshing 

relaxing 

rewarding 

satisfying 

shocking 

sickening 

starting 

surprising 

tempting 

terrifying 

threatening 

thrilling 

tiring 

welcoming 

worrying 

Examine the following examples of adjectives phrases containing -ing adjective as the head. 

1. He presented a research project with very convincing results. 
2. Translating from one language into another language is very challenging. 
3. A rather inspiring development program is being prepared by the ruling government. 

Like an adjective in general, adjective phrase functions as a complement in a sentence or as a pre-modifier in a noun group. 

The third phrase often tested in toefl test is prepositional phrases

Prior to the discussion of prepositional phrase, it is important to introduce English prepositions. A preposition is a word which opens up the possibilities of saying more about a thing or an action, because you can choose any appropriate noun group after it as its object. Most prepositions are single words. Below is a list of common one-word prepositions which are used to talk about place or destination. 

about 

above

across

along 

among 

around 

at

before 

behind 

below

beneath 

beside 

between 

beyond

by

down 

from

in

inside

into

near

off 

on 

opposite

outside

over

past

round

through

throughout

to

towards

under

underneath

up

within

In addition, there are some prepositions that consist of more than one word, such as out, of,and, in, between. below are listed prepositions which consists of more than one word and which are used to talk about place or destination. 

ahead of 

all over 

away from

close by

close to

in between 

in front of 

near to

next to

on top of

outside

out of

A prepositional phrase is a phrase which begins with a preposition followed by a single word or group of words, if you combine a preposition with a word or words, you produce a prepositional phrase. Examine the following examples. 

Preposition + Single word or a group of words = Prepositional Phrase 

about + me = about me 

above + sea level = above sea level 

across + the ocean = across the ocean 

along + the street = along the street 

among + the crowd = among the crowd 

before + September = before September 

opposite + the police station = opposite the police station

Position of Prepositional Phrases 

Prepositional phrases are most commonly used after verbs. They are used after verbs which indicate position in order to specify where something is. 

1. She lives in New York. 
2. An old piano stood in the corner of the room. 
3. You ought to stay out of the sun. 
4. She is in the library. 

Prepositional phrases are used after verbs indicating movement to specify the direction of movement.

1. I went into the kitchen and began to make the dinner. 
2. Mrs. Kaul was leading him to his seat. 
3. The others burst from their tents. 
4. The wire was too strong and pulled a hook out of the door. 
5. He took her to Edinburgh. 

Prepositional phrases are used after verbs indicating activities to specify where an activity takes place. 

1. ... children playing in the street. 
2. The meeting was being held at a community center in Logan Heights. 
3. He was practicing high jumps in the garden. 

Prepositional phrases usually come in the end of the clause, after the verb or after the object of the verb if there is one. 

1. We landed at small airport. 
2. We put the children's toys in a big box.

If you want to focus on the prepositional phrase for emphasis or contrast, it can be placed at the beginning of the clause. This ordering is mainly used in descriptive writing or reports. 

1. In the garden everything was peaceful. 
2. Through the glass of the frontage she could see a waiter bending attentively over a woman of about her own age. 

If you put a prepositional phrase which refers to the position of something at the beginning of the clause when you are using a verb intransitively, the normal word order after it is often changed, and the verb is placed before the subject. 

1. On the ceiling hung dustpans and brushes. 
2. Inside the box lie the group's US mining assets. 
3. Beyond them lay the fields.

If you are using 'be' as a min verb, the verb always comes before the subject; so, for example, you cannot say 'under her chin a colossal brooch was' 

1. Under her chin was a colossal brooch. 
2. Next to it is a different sign which says simply 'beware'.
3. Alongside him on the rostrum will be Mr. Michel Fromstein. 

The fourth phrase often appeared in toefl test is adverbial phrase

When you are talking about an event or situation, you sometimes want to say something about it which has not been indicated by the subject, verb, object, or complement. You can do this by using an adjunct. On the other words, an adjunct is a word or group of words which you add to a clause when you want to say something about the circumstances of an event or situation, for example, when it occurs, or where it occurs. 

The two main types of adjuncts are adverbial groups (or adverbial phrases) and prepositional phrases. The adverbial phrases discussed in this subsection are confined to adverbial phrases of manner. 

Adverbial phrase of manner consists of two parts. The first or main part is an adverb used as the head of the adverb group. The second part is another adverb used as modifier. The way it is constructed is similar to the way adjective phrase is formed. The difference is that the head in adverbial phrase is an adverb of manner which gives more information about the way in which an event or action takes place. Compare the following two examples: 

1. He nodded and smiled warmly. 
2. He nodded and smiled very warmly. 

Warmly in first sentence is an adverb of manner. Very warmly in second sentence is an adverbial phrase of manner. These examples imply that an adverbial phrase of manner can be formed by adding adverbs such very, rather, too, extremely, so or quite to the main adverbs. To familiar you with adverbs of manner and to guide on how to construct adverbial phrases of manner, you need to learn -ly adverbs listed below. 

abruptly 

accurately 

awkwardly 

badly

beautifully 

brightly

brilliantly

briskly

carefully

carelessly

casually

cheaply

comfortably

differently

economically

effectively

efficiently

evenly

explicitly

faintly

faithfully

fiercely

finely

firmly

fluently

formally

gracefully

patiently

peacefully

peculiarly

perfectly

plainly

pleasantly

politely

poorly

professionally

properly

quietly

rapidly

readily

sharply

smoothly

steadily

steeply

stiffly

strangely

subtly

superbly

swiftly

systematically

tenderly

thickly

thinly

truthfully

warmly

widely

As has been previously explained, an adverbial phrase of manner is used to describe how something is done.

    

Noun,Adjective, Prepositional, and Adverbial Phrases in TOEFL Test 2013-11-24T16:03:00-08:00 Rating: 4.5 Diposkan Oleh: Eko Wahyudi