Collins Cobuild English Grammar (60 page)

About
85 students were there.
Every year we have
approximately
40 pupils who take mathematics.
It would cost
around
35 million pounds.
A loft conversion costs
roughly
£12,000.
They have to pay America
some
$683,000 this year.
Harrington has cheated us out of
something like
thirty thousand quid over the past two years.

You put
odd
and
or so
after a number or amount, and
or thereabouts
after an amount.

…a hundred
odd
acres.
For half a minute
or so
, neither of them spoke.
Get the temperature to 30°C
or thereabouts
.

2.271
  You show a range of numbers using
between
and
and
, or
from
and
to
, or just
to
.

Most of the farms around here are
between four and five hundred
years old.
My hospital groups contain
from ten to twenty
patients.
…peasants owning
two to five
acres of land.

Note the use of
anything
before
between
and
from
, to emphasize how great the range is.

An average rate of
anything between 25 and 60 per cent
is usual.
It is a job that takes
anything from two to five weeks
.

Expanding the noun phrase

2.272
  This section deals with structures that are used to add further information about the person or thing referred to. These are called
qualifiers
. The word that is qualified is usually a noun but can be an indefinite pronoun or
those
.

possible structures

2.273
  The structures that are dealt with in this section are

prepositional phrases

…a girl
with red hair
.
…the man
in the dark glasses
.

The use of prepositional phrases to expand the noun phrase is explained in paragraphs
2.275
to
2.290
.

adjectives followed by phrases or clauses

…machinery
capable of clearing rubble off the main roads
.
…the type of comments
likely to provoke criticism
.
…a concept
inconceivable a hundred years earlier
.

The use of adjectives followed by phrases or clauses to expand the noun phrase is explained in paragraphs
2.291
to
2.292
.

non-finite clauses

…a simple device
to test lung function
.
…two of the problems
mentioned above
.
He gestured towards the three cards
lying on the table
.

The use of non-finite clauses to expand the noun phrase is explained in paragraphs
2.293
to
2.301
.

noun phrases giving further information about other noun phrases. This is explained in paragraph
2.302
.

2.274
  Some other structures are also used. These are explained fully in other sections. They include

single words such as
galore
and
concerned
, which are explained in paragraphs
2.58
to
2.62
.

relative clauses

Shortly after the shooting, the man
who had done it
was arrested.
Where’s that cake
your mother made
?

Relative clauses are explained in paragraphs
8.83
to
8.116
.

place adverbs and time adverbials

…down in the dungeon
beneath
.
…a reflection of life
today
in England.

Time adverbials are explained in
Chapter 4
and adverbs of place are explained in paragraphs
6.53
to
6.72
.

Nouns with prepositional phrases

2.275
  In general, any prepositional phrase that describes or classifies something can be used directly after a noun or pronoun.

…the man
in charge
.
…a film about four men
on holiday
.
She reached into the room
behind her
.

2.276
  In particular, there are several kinds of prepositional phrase that are usually only used in this way. Of these, prepositional phrases beginning with
of
are the most numerous. Others include certain uses of
with
,
in
and
by
.

of

2.277
  Many nouns referring to things and actions can be expanded by using prepositional phrases beginning with
of
after them. This allows the noun to be expanded with a wide range of meanings. You can use
of
with nouns referring to feelings such as
love
and
fear
to show what the feeling relates to; for example,
fear of flying
and
love of animals
. Further meanings are described in the following paragraphs.

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