Complex noun phrases are used by all good writers of English because of their efficiency in providing detail. Noun phrases allow writers to include a great deal of information without using too many words. It is important that you be able to recognize and use them in your writing to make it efficient, academic and ‘reader-friendly’. Most academic texts use a high percentage of complex noun phrases, so practice in constructing them will definitely help both your reading and your writing.

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Look at the following:

1. This ICOSA website is modern. It is interactive. It can be accessed by Hong Kong tertiary learners. The tertiary learners are interested in English independent learning.

This piece of writing does not ‘flow’ well. This is called ‘choppy’ writing because it contains several short, simple SVO (subject + verb + object) sentences, making it uncomfortable for the reader. This is a very basic and inefficient way of writing.

Now read this:

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This modern and interactive ICOSA website can be accessed by Hong Kong tertiary learners interested in English independent learning.

This one sentence uses two noun phrases (in red colour). It contains exactly the same information as in the first example, but flows much better. It is the noun phrases which make the writing more efficient and reader-friendly. Notice that noun phrases may appear on either or both sides of the verb.

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Here are some other good examples of well-written sentences using noun phrases:

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These highly educated and well qualified young people cannot find well-paid work offering medical insurance and other basic benefits.

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This newly established minimum wage law has brought a great deal of criticism from many factions of society.

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Possessing too many labor-saving machines can result in laziness, atrophy and a general lack of appreciation of the benefits of manual labour.

Now try constructing some complex noun phrases in the activity that follows.