Expanded noun phrases: sloth bear
The Grammar Bit!
Read the three scintillating sentences opposite.They each contain one or more expanded noun phrases (bold).
- A simple noun phrase is made up of a determiner and a noun. e.g. ‘their claws‘.
- An expanded noun phrase adds more description. Putting one or more adjectives between the determiner and the noun is a common way to expand a noun phrase: e.g. ‘their long, curved claws‘.
With your talk partner, see if you can replace the adjectives with your own words?
Teacher note: A noun phrase can also be expanded by adding a prepositional phrase or a relative clause after it. This is explored in the Y4, Y5 and Y6 grammar programmes.
Scintillating Sentences
1) The sloth bear cubs were hiding in their mother’s shaggy, black coat.
2) Sloth bears use their long, sharp claws to dig up hundreds of tiny bugs for their dinner.
3) The sloth bear was mostly black apart from her long, cream-coloured snout.
Did you know?
Sloth bears are fast, agile creatures that are not related to the slow-moving sloths of South America. They may have been misclassified in the 1700s due to their long claws and their superb tree-climbing skills.