Plan: What is the nominal?

Author G. David Morley gives these examples of nominal phrases. The headwords are in italics.

• This Russian course
• My most enjoyable climb
• Her sister's new bicycle
• All of our recent holidays
• A voice from the past
• The song that Jill sang
• The secretary general

In all of these examples, the nominal gives more context to the noun. It's not just a course; it's this Russian course. It's more than just a climb; it was my most enjoyable climb. And, it's much more than just a bicycle; it's her sister's new bicycle.

• In all of these examples, the nominal gives more context to the noun. It's not just a course; it's this Russian course. It's more than just a climb; it was my most enjoyable climb. And, it's much more than just a bicycle; it's her sister's new bicycle.

To illustrate how nominals can function in a sentence just like nouns, here are ways to use "the attorney general" as a nominal phrase in different parts of the sentence:
The attorney general is running for reelection. (It's the subject.)
We took our concerns to the attorney general. (It's the indirect object.)
A bulletproof limo took the attorney general to the conference. (It's the direct object.)
The staff members went to lunch with the attorney general. (It's the object of a preposition.)
To illustrate how nominals can function in a sentence just like nouns, here are ways to use "the attorney general" as a nominal phrase in different parts of the sentence:

Authors have made great use of nominal phrases in literature. For example, using a version of the nominal phrase from the last section, authors Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin authored a book called "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace — One School at a Time." The book is about one man's quest to promote peace by sharing "three cups of tea" (together with thoughts of friendship and peace) with various individuals in Pakistan. In this title, "Three Cups of Tea" is the nominal phrase. It's not just a cup, but three cups of tea that Mortenson shared with others.

• Authors have made great use of nominal phrases in literature. For example, using a version of the nominal phrase from the last section, authors Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin authored a book called "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace — One School at a Time." The book is about one man's quest to promote peace by sharing "three cups of tea" (together with thoughts of friendship and peace) with various individuals in Pakistan. In this title, "Three Cups of Tea" is the nominal phrase. It's not just a cup, but three cups of tea that Mortenson shared with others.

Nominal Clauses
Nominal clauses contain a verb and often begin with words such as what (or other wh- words) or that. These are called that- clauses and wh- clauses or relative clauses. Consider, for example, the sentence "He can go wherever he wants." The clause starts with a wh- word, contains a verb, and functions, taken whole, as a noun. You can tell it functions as a noun because you could replace it with a noun or a pronoun. For example, you could say, "He can go home," "He can go to Paris," or "He can go there."