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Nominal Groups

A nominal group is a group of words centered around a noun, with other words that define or describe the noun. Nominal groups have a set order of elements: pointer, numerative, describer, classifier, thing, and qualifier. Expanding nouns into nominal groups with more descriptive elements helps make writing more interesting and detailed.

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259 views

Nominal Groups

A nominal group is a group of words centered around a noun, with other words that define or describe the noun. Nominal groups have a set order of elements: pointer, numerative, describer, classifier, thing, and qualifier. Expanding nouns into nominal groups with more descriptive elements helps make writing more interesting and detailed.

Uploaded by

Sariyanto
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Nominal Groups

A nominal group is a group of words in which the head


word is a noun and all other words in the group serve to
define or further describe that noun.
Remember: nominal groups cannot be a whole sentence -
they are part of a sentence only

People Normally Do Crazy Things Pointer


Quickly Numerative
Describer
THIS is an acronym Classifier
for THIS Thing
Qualifier

Nominal groups always ‘work’ in a certain order. This is: pointer, numerative,
decriber, classifier, thing, qualifier.

Thing: The head word (noun). The central focus of the noun group.

Pointer: These words highlight the head word by pointing to it (e.g. the hat, that
donkey, your umbrella, Jerry’s eggs).

Numerative: These words highlight the quantity of the head noun (e.g. six apples,
many nights, some people).

Describer: These words tell us about the quality of the head noun. They are also
called adjectives (e.g. fluffy pillow, sizzling sausages, sharp knife).

Classifier: These words organise the head noun into a specific group (e.g. tropical
rainforest, Year 8 students, State government).

Qualifier: These words explain the head noun further by providing more information.
Expanding nouns into nominal groups helps to keep your writing interesting
by giving us more detail
For example: Let’s talk about donkeys

Pointer Numerative Describer Classifier Thing Qualifier

the donkey

the herd of donkeys

the herd of grey donkeys

the herd of grey African donkeys which broke


out of their
enclosure and
trampled the
garden.

Activity 1: Using the example head nouns, create a nominal group that progresses
like the example above. Head nouns: pig, t-shirt, Paris Hilton.

Pointer Numerative Describer Classifier Thing Qualifier

Activity 2: Think of a nominal group for the subject of your interview.

Activity 3: Think of a nominal group for the subject of your interview without using
their name as the Head Noun.

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