Collins Cobuild

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.

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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’,

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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.

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