A noun phrase is built around a head noun. Words before it (pre-modifiers) and after it (post-modifiers) tell us more about it: in "the tall man in the blue shirt", the head is "man". The answer key is at the end.
Learn the rules first: Noun Phrase with Examples: Pre-modifiers and Post-modifiers
Practise online, with instant answers: Phrases practice test (Basic)
Noun Phrase Worksheet with Answers
Free English worksheets, tests and lessons at enableacademy.in
A. Find the head noun
Write the head noun of each noun phrase.
- a beautiful red rose
- the tall man in the blue shirt
- my brother's new car
- a cup of hot tea
- the girl who won the race
- those three old wooden chairs
- a house near the river
- the best book of the year
B. Pre-modifiers
Write the adjectives and nouns that come before the head noun (not a, an, the, my, these or our).
- a busy railway station
- the old stone temple
- my younger sisters
- an interesting science lesson
- these expensive leather shoes
- our school library
C. Post-modifiers
Write the words after the head noun that tell us more about it.
- the boy with curly hair
- a letter from my grandmother
- the house that Jack built
- a book worth reading
- the people living next door
- a matter of importance
D. Build a longer noun phrase
Add a pre-modifier and a post-modifier to each noun phrase.
- a bag
- the teacher
- a house
- the film
Answer Key
A. Find the head noun
- rose
- man
- car
- cup
- girl
- chairs
- house
- book
B. Pre-modifiers
- busy, railway
- old, stone
- younger
- interesting, science
- expensive, leather
- school
C. Post-modifiers
- with curly hair
- from my grandmother
- that Jack built
- worth reading
- living next door
- of importance
D. Build a longer noun phrase
- Answers will vary, e.g. a heavy school bag with broken straps
- Answers will vary, e.g. the new English teacher from Kerala
- Answers will vary, e.g. a small white house near the lake
- Answers will vary, e.g. the funny Hindi film that we watched last night