Unit 95 Adding to a noun group

Main points

* Some adjectives can be used after nouns.

* You can use relative clauses after nouns.

* Adverbials of place and time can come after nouns.

* A noun can be followed by another noun group.

* You can use `that'-clauses after some nouns.

1 You can use some adjectives after a noun to give more information about it, but the adjectives are usually followed by a prepositional phrase, a `to'-infinitive clause, or an adverbial.
This is a warning to people eager for a quick profit.
These are the weapons likely to be used.
For a list of the facilities available here, ask the secretary.
You must talk to the people concerned.
See Unit 31 for more information on adjectives used after nouns.


2 When you want to give more precise information about the person or thing you are talking about, you can use a defining relative clause after the noun.
The man who had done it was arrested.
There are a lot of things that are wrong.
Nearly all the people I used to know have gone.

Note that you can also use defining relative clauses after indefinite pronouns such as `someone' or `something'.
I'm talking about somebody who is really ill.
See Unit 92 for more information on defining relative clauses.


3 You can use an adverbial of place or time after a noun.
People everywhere are becoming more selfish.
This is a reflection of life today.

4 You can add a second noun group after a noun. The second noun group gives you more precise information about the first noun.
Her mother, a Canadian, died when she was six.

Note that the second noun group is separated by commas from the rest of the clause.

5 Nouns such as `advice', `hope', and `wish', which refer to what someone says or thinks, can be followed by a `that'-clause. Here are some examples:

advice, agreement, belief, claim, conclusion, decision, feeling, hope, promise, threat, warning, wish

It is my firm belief that more women should stand for Parliament.
I had a feeling that no-one thought I was good enough.

Note that all these nouns are related to reporting verbs, which also take a `that'-clause. For example, `information' is related to `inform', and `decision' is related to `decide'.

Some of these nouns can also be followed by a `to'-infinitive clause.

agreement, decision, hope, order, promise, threat, warning, wish

The decision to go had not been an easy one.
I reminded Barnaby of his promise to buy his son a horse.

6 A few other nouns can be followed by a `that'-clause.

advantage, confidence, danger, effect, evidence, fact, idea, impression, news, opinion, possibility, view

He didn't want her to get the idea that he was rich.
I had no evidence that Jed was the killer.
He couldn't believe the news that his house had just burned down.

Note that when a noun group is the object of a verb, it may be followed by different structures.
See Units 69 to 72 for more information.