Expanded noun phrases: tarpon
The Grammar Bit!
Read the sentences opposite. They each contain one or more expanded noun phrases. With your talk partner, see if you can identify them. You’ll remember from Year 5 that effective expanded noun phrases should build descriptions of nouns in a concise and precise way.
The most common way to create an expanded noun phrase is to add an adjective before the noun e.g. ‘The mighty tarpon, …’
You can also build description by adding a relative clause or a prepositional phrase after the noun. e.g. ‘They have shiny, silvery scales that cover most of their body‘ (relative clause), and ‘The deadly tarpon nearest the surface …’ (prepositional phrase).
With your talk partner, read each of the sentences opposite. Identify how the expanded noun phrases have been created – can you find any more prepositional phrases or relative clauses?
Scintillating Sentences
1) The deadly tarpon nearest the surface struck first.
2) The mighty tarpons with cavernous jaws hunted the silversides, which swam in vast shoals.
3) They have shiny, silvery scales that cover most of their bodies, excluding their heads.
Did you know?
Tarpons are rarely eaten by people, as their flesh is full of small, hard to remove, bones. Most fishermen catch them for sport and then return them to the water.