Lesson overview

Introduction
UNIVERSAL
Middle years and up
noun groups
functional grammar
grammar basics
nominal groups
focus
pointers
quantifiers
describers
classifiers
qualifiers
nouns
metalanguage
language about language
pronouns
describing things
describing people
precision
specificity
In this lesson we explore the elements that make up a nominal or noun group, using the language of systemic functional grammar: focus, pointer, number, describer, classifier, thing, qualifier. We do this by highlighting noun groups in a variety of fiction and non-fiction snippets, and writing our own variations. Noun groups can become very complex once you start encountering long qualifiers with their own nested noun groups, so this is a lesson that is best led by a teacher who can facilitate discussion and answer questions.