A “noun phrase” is a phrase whose main word is a noun:

• Conditions^[1]
• The conditions
• The chaotic conditions
• The chaotic conditions that prevailed in Italy
• The chaotic conditions that prevailed in Italy after the war

Noun phrases are used exactly the same way a single noun is used:

• Conditions were difficult.
• The conditions were difficult.
• The chaotic conditions were difficult.
• The chaotic conditions that prevailed in Italy were difficult.
• The chaotic conditions that prevailed in Italy after the war were difficult.

Over the past two centuries, noun phrases in academic writing have grown steadily more common and more complex. Composition handbooks often warn against heavy reliance on noun phrases, but, used well, noun phrases allow writers to communicate more content in fewer words.

Using noun phrases to combine sentences

• Rye bread was a staple of the German diet.
• A kilo of rye bread weighed 2.2 lbs.
• A kilo of rye bread cost 163 marks on January 3, 1923.
• (3 sentences / 3 verbs / 29 words)

COMBINED using two noun phrases (underlined):

A kilo (2.2 lbs.) of rye bread, a staple of the German diet, cost 163 marks on January 3, 1923.

(1 sentence / 1 verb / 20 words)

PUNCTUATION: The underlined noun phrases in this example are set off from the rest of the sentence by commas, parentheses, dashes, or brackets because they are “supplemental.” You don’t need them to understand the sentence.

[1] Inside a clause or sentence, a noun phrase can consist of just one word.