UNIT 3:

NOUNS NOUN PHRASES NOUN EQUIVALENTS

Nouns
Revision and Expansion
FUNCTION: Referring to things, people, places,
etc.
You have already studied that a noun is a word used to refer to a person, a thing, a place, an event, etc.
Examples:
window

success

laboratory

electrician

connectivity

building

GRAMMAR/LANGUAGE FOCUS:

Noun Phrases

Premodification

You have also seen that these nouns can be premodified by determiners like articles and adjectives.
Examples:
a window

the building

a big success

modern laboratories

These strings of words are referred to as Noun Phrases. Each of them refers to only one or one kind of
entity. A noun phrase then is a group of two, three or more words which together are used to refer to a
person, a thing, a place, an event, a situation, etc. or its plural condition, i.e. people, things, places,
events, or situations of the same kind.
Its also common to see two nouns together to mean or refer to only one thing, person or idea.
Examples:
house key

temperature sensor

Samsung tablets

steel gears

In each of these noun+noun sequences, the first noun is like an adjective. The second noun is the head of
the noun phrase, i.e. the most important noun; the thing, the person, the event one is talking about. Thus,

This is my house key

It is a key to open my house, and not my car or safe

Temperature sensors have been installed. They are sensors to measure (and control) temperature
Samsung tablets

They sell steel gears

It is a reference to tablets (portable computers) made by Samsung

They sell gears made of steel

As you have seen in the first example my house key these two nouns can, in turn, be premodified.
New temperature sensors have been installed in the laboratory.

(by adjective)

This vehicle has a high fuel consumption.

(by article + adjective)

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The Apple iPad 2 tablets are still very expensive in our country.
Written instructions had to be given to untrained factory workers.

(by a proper name)

(by past participle)

The vehicles brake lights, parking brake and electric signals must work properly.

(by genitive)

You may also come across noun phrases made up of three or more nouns. Groups of four or more nouns
together are not common.
Examples
table tennis ball

information technology courses

carbon fiber bicycle frames

Sony playstation 3D games

fuel tank capacity

vehicle theft prevention tips

Remember that each group of nouns always refer to only one thing, person or situation. And that the third
or last noun is the head noun. The other noun(s) before the head noun function as predeterminers. Now
lets see more complex examples with articles, adjectives and adverbs all premodifying the head noun of
the phrase. Give the information of the whole statement in Spanish.
Michelin has announced that they will manufacture stronger rubber car tyres.
These multi-task robots have been designed to work in car assembly lines.
New water pump designs are included in the last chapter of this book.
These retailers only sell Intels new Core i3,i5 and i7 quad-core processors.
The 553m-tall CN Tower in Toronto is an observation and communications tower.
Practice in longer texts
Tasks: Spot the Noun Phrases (premodification) in the following paragraphs and give Spanish equivalents. Then, tell us about the information in both texts.

1- The maximum speed limit on most California highways is 65 mph.

Speed limit signs are posted for the type of roads and traffic in each
area. All speed limits are based on ideal driving conditions. Construction zones usually have reduced speed zones with their corresponding reduced speed zone signs.
Noun Phrases

(with headwords premodified)

- .....

- .

- .

- .

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Main Concept

(Use between 20 and 30 words in Spanish)

- ...
2- Smartphones have high speed data capability that gives them fast
Internet access and email. They also feature music players, video
playback and record, and have extensive game capability. With
regard to these features, the trends are to have larger, higher
resolution screens, faster data connections and more video
capability.
Noun Phrases (with headwords premodified)
- .

- .

- .

- .

- .

- .

- .

- ..

Main Concept (in not more than 30 words in Spanish)

- ...

Noun Phrases
Postmodification
Like premodifiers, postmodifiers give more information or specify the nature of the head noun. They may
be:
Prepositional Phrases
the train from Crdoba
the cell phone on the desk
aircraft engineers in England and France
Clauses (Relative Clauses)
PC games which are very expensive
(To be seen in detail later on)

a woman who they saw near the hospital

the car plant where the Amarok pickup is made
Short-form relative clauses (reduced clauses)
the steel beams forming the chassis of this vehicle (= that form the )
the iPad 2, launched in 2011, . . . (= the iPad 2, which was launched )
the first tablets capable of delivering social networking experience

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( = which were capable of delivering . . .)

Examples of Nouns pre and postmodified
PC games magazines in the United States (are )
The most interesting detective novel written in the 19th century (was )
These high-performance brake systems that are manufactured in Sweden (have been )
The only Intel core i7 processors now available in Argentina (can be )
Practice in longer texts
Now analyse the following pieces. Underline whole noun phrases and say what each is about. Give details
in Spanish.
1-

Those powerful V6 engines used for race cars are made in Germany.

2-

Students at the local medical school are studying the properties of the laser beam
that surgeons use to operate.

3-

Please. Dont disturb people working in that area.

4-

Adults visiting California: visitors over 18 years old with a valid driver license from
their home state or country may drive in California without getting a driver license
as long as their home state license remains valid.

5-

Any plane flying at altitudes of about 2,150 metres is subjected to pressures of 80

or more kilonewtons per square metre.

GRAMMAR/LANGUAGE FOCUS:

Noun equivalents

- Noun Clauses
A whole clause may fulfil the function of a noun. In such case this clause is classified as Noun Clause.
Now lets see in the following examples how an entire construction functions like a noun:
Subject of the sentence
What our technicians have done to solve the problem must be published on the Internet.
How much money I will get is none of your concern.
Whether a house gains or loses heat depends on design factors.
Object of the verb
I dont know what to do.
They should calculate when exactly such heavy objects will fall.
Nobody could explain how these older machines did the job better than the new ones.

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The managers agree that the new applicant is the best man for the position.
- Gerunds
A gerund is a noun which is derived from a verb (verbal noun). It is also seen as a verb which functions
like a noun (nominal verb). In either case, a gerund is a noun and a verb, i.e. it is a noun because it refers
to something, an activity; and it is a verb because it describes an action.
Examples of gerunds in different positions in sentences.
Smoking is bad for your health

(subject)

My daughters dont like driving.

(object of verb)

Its a substance used for cleaning.

(object of preposition)

Seeing is believing.

(subject subject complement)

A gerund may introduce a phrase a gerundial clause. Examples:

As subject
Driving fast is quite dangerous.
Lifting such a heavy weight will require the use of a crane.
Its no use crying over spilt milk.
As object
These clothes need washing. (=to be washed)
This tool is used for tightening bolts.
The government is interested in building a new bridge over this river.
Summing up: Nouns, Noun Phrases and other Noun Equivalents Noun Clauses and Gerunds may
stand in different grammar positions subject, object or complements in the sentences which make up
the text you are analyzing.
Something else to be aware of
There are nouns ending in -ing which are not gerunds. These -ing nouns are pure nouns and as such
they have plural forms and can be premodified. In some cases, they qualify the noun that follows next.
Examples in short texts:
- Please remove your belongings by seven this evening.
- The architect thinks that a bigger opening is necessary to pas through.
- Our chemists have explained us why the beginning of the process will last much longer.

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- The lining panels are fixed only after the wiring has been checked.
Now compare the following:
- Building in Moscow is costly.
<

(Gerund the action of building in . . . )

- This high building in Moscow was built in 1998.

(Pure Noun its something)

And for the advanced student:

- Building the new hospital, the workers found ancient coins.

(While the workers were building)

(Participial phrase)

Also compare:
<

- Famous paintings were stolen from a museum in Paris.

- My aunt likes painting landscapes

(Pure Noun in its plural form)

(Gerund Gerundial phrase)

And for the advanced student:

- Painting a landscape, the old woman noticed that her hand was shaking.
(While she was
painting, she ...) (Participial phrase)

Practice in Wider Contexts

Now read the following texts; pay attention to how nouns or noun equivalents have been used to present
what or who the writer is referring to. Analyse the information in all and tell us in Spanish what he/she
wants to inform the reader about. There are some exercises to do.

1- If you get a flat tire

In case of sudden tire failure, avoid applying
the brakes heavily. Heavy brake application is dangerous. Instead,
gradually decrease speed. Hold steering wheel firmly and move
slowly to a safe, off-road place. Park on a level spot, turn off the ignition, and turn on the hazard flasher system.

2 - Hearing is more important to driving (not than driving) than many

people realize. The sound of horns, a siren, or screeching tires can
warn you of danger. Sometimes you can hear a car but you cannot
see it, especially if it is in the blind spots of your car mirrors.

3 -Technically a plug-in hybrid rather than an electric car, the Chevy Volts
technology has leapfrogged standard hybrids like the Toyota Prius. This
well equipped, five door, four-seat hatchback operates as an electric car
for its first 35 or so miles after a full charge and then uses gas to extend
its range. When it burns no gasoline during the first miles, it draws energy
from a lithium ion battery pack. When the battery is depleted, a 1.4 liter
engine kicks in to power a generator that sustains the battery charge

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enough to give the car another 260 miles of range.

Previewing reading material

It is a very important to think about what you are going to read before you analyse a particular text. This
is much better than starting to read the text immediately. The title of the selection, diagrams, pictures and
other illustrations will help you to make reasonable guesses or predictions about the contents of the text.
At the same time, you will recall pertinent information that you have studied before.
Now do the following pre-reading activities with selections 4 and 5.
Focusing your thoughts
A- Do or Answer the following:
- Analyse the title (if any) and /or accompanying pictures.
- Analyse the subheadings. Remember they are useful to organize the information.
- Do all these textual elements refer to the same thing? What is it?
- What do you already know about this subject/topic?
B- Now do the following before reading the text in detail:
- Scan the text and illustrations again to spot important words (in noun phrases) and concepts.
- Make some predictions about the contents without reading the text. Make up concepts.
C- Read the text at your own pace. Verify if your guesses or predictions about the text are true.

Now get ready to do the following after-reading activities orally or in written form:
- Speak or write briefly (between 40 and 50 words) about the information in text 4.
- Text 5 is longer so it demands more details to be included in your work. Select information, organize it and write out a summary of about 200 words.

4- A jet engine for an airplane works slightly differently from

other turbines engines. The whole point of the engine is to
use exhaust to create thrust from the engine.
Large jetliners use turbo fan engines, which are nothing
more than gas turbines combined with large fans at the front
of the engine. The core of a turbofan is a normal gas turbine
engine. But the final turbine drives a shaft that makes its way
back to the front of the engine to power the fan.

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5How car air bags work

Since model year 1999, all new cars and light trucks in the United States have been required to have air bags
on both driver and passenger sides. Statistics show that air bags reduce the risk of dying in a direct frontal
crash by about 30%.
Stopping momentum safely
The goal of an air bag is to safely stop a moving object. Moving objects
have momentum (the product of the mass and the velocity of an object),
and the passengers in a car are objects with momentum of their own.
Passengers continue moving at whatever speed the car is traveling, even
if the car is stopped by a collision.
Stopping a passengers momentum requires force acting over a period
of time. The goal of any supplemental restraint system is to help stop the
passenger with as little damage to the passenger as possible.
What an air bag is supposed to do is slow the passengers speed to
zero with little or no damage. The air bag has only the space between the
passenger and the steering wheel or dashboard and a fraction of a second
to work with. Even that tiny amount of space and time is valuable, however,
if the system can slow the passenger evenly rather than forcing an abrupt
halt to the motion.

Sensors
Controller

Parts of an Air Bag

To accomplish its magic, an air bag needs three parts:
Bag The bag itself is made of a thin nylon fabric that is folded
into the steering wheel, dashboard or side panel of your vehicle.
Control system The airbags electronic control unit constantly
monitors several mechanical or electronic impact sensors. The sensor and control system is designed to distinguish between a minor
impact and a serious crash. In the event of the serious crash, the
control unit triggers the inflation system to deploy the airbags.
Additional sensor gauge whether the airbags inflated properly.
Inflation system the air bags inflation system uses the rapid pulse
of hot nitrogen gas from the chemical reaction of sodium azide (NaN3)
and potassium nitrate (KNO3) to inflate the bag.
The inflation system could be compared to a solid rocket booster. The
air bag system ignites a solid propellant, and it burn extremely rapidly
to create a large volume of gas to inflate the bag. The bag then literally
bursts from its storage compartments at up to 200 mph (about 322 kph).
The gas then quickly dissipates through tiny holes in the bag to get out
of the way. The whole process happens in only 40 milliseconds.

Folded Air Bag

Vents

Igniter

Sodium
Azide

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