adjective + noun + preposition + noun (noun phrases) – English Grammar Profiler

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In this post, we are interested in discovering the most common noun phrases that follow the adjective + noun + preposition + noun pattern.

It was a short period of time.

In the above example, the noun ‘period‘ is the head noun of the noun phrase.

A search in iWeb for

_JJ _NN _I _NN

reveals that ‘of‘ phrases are most common and relate to quantities and or time:

of: 91 time: 24 amount: 14 money: 13 period: 9 range: 9 large: 8

wide: 8

1 SHORT PERIOD OF TIME 40830 2 LONG PERIODS OF TIME 30173 3 LONG PERIOD OF TIME 28664 4 NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH 20878 5 EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME 20084 6 SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME 17481 7 PAST COUPLE OF YEARS 15347 8 DAILY NEWS BY EMAIL 14861 9 LONGER PERIOD OF TIME 13537 10 GREAT DEAL OF TIME 11825 11 EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME 10723

12 BEST COURSE OF ACTION 10493

Here are AI-created examples of the above phrases:

  • LONG PERIODS OF TIME
    • I spent long periods of time in college.
  • NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
    • The NIH is a federal agency that conducts and supports medical research.
  • EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME
    • I spent an extended period of time in the hospital.
  • SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME
    • I only had a short amount of time to prepare for the presentation.
  • PAST COUPLE OF YEARS
    • The past couple of years have been very difficult for me.
  • DAILY NEWS BY EMAIL
    • I subscribe to the daily news by email.
  • LONGER PERIOD OF TIME
    • I’m going to need a longer period of time to finish this project.
  • GREAT DEAL OF TIME
    • I spent a great deal of time planning for the party.
  • EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME
    • I spent extended periods of time in nature.
  • BEST COURSE OF ACTION
    • I’m not sure what the best course of action is.

13 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 10304 14 GOOD RULE OF THUMB 10232 15 CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME 9078 16 GENERAL RULE OF THUMB 8844 17 GOOD VALUE FOR MONEY 8827 18 LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH 8728 19 AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS 8098 20 GREAT VALUE FOR MONEY 7984 21 LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE 7942 22 TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP 7779 23 VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE 7775 24 VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING 7511 25 METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART 7402 26 LONGER PERIODS OF TIME 7342 27 GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS 7139 28 FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION 6940 29 SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME 6933 30 CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME 6900 31 VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES 6719 32 WIDE RANGE OF TOPICS 6412 33 SHORT SPACE OF TIME 6353 34 WIDE RANGE OF PRODUCTS 6022 35 REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME 5930 36 LITTLE BIT OF TIME 5902 37 JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF 5806 38 SHORT PERIODS OF TIME 5750 39 FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY 5547 40 ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 5474 41 LARGE AMOUNTS OF DATA 5408 42 PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS 5383 43 WIDE RANGE OF SERVICES 5162 44 CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME 5101 45 BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE 5087 46 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS 4861 47 EXCELLENT VALUE FOR MONEY 4854 48 WIDE RANGE OF APPLICATIONS 4806 49 LARGE SUMS OF MONEY 4701 50 AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS 4666 51 LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE 4608 52 SQUARE FEET OF SPACE 4561 53 FULL RANGE OF MOTION 4509 54 NEW LEASE OF LIFE 4294 55 PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS 4276 56 GREAT SENSE OF HUMOR 4255 57 SMALL GROUP OF PEOPLE 4239 58 GOOD AMOUNT OF TIME 4173 59 WIDE RANGE OF INDUSTRIES 4165 60 SPECIFIED PERIOD OF TIME 4128 61 LIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME 4051 62 ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME 4033 63 SMALL NUMBER OF PEOPLE 4016 64 SHALLOW DEPTH OF FIELD 4014 65 WIDE RANGE OF ACTIVITIES 3987 66 VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS 3921 67 REASONABLE PERIOD OF TIME 3860 68 SMALL AMOUNT OF WATER 3784 69 GREAT DEAL OF MONEY 3701 70 SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT 3609 71 NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS 3532 72 SMALL AMOUNT OF MONEY 3531 73 BEST VALUE FOR MONEY 3526 74 SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY 3498 75 RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS 3485 76 GOOD SENSE OF HUMOR 3471 77 VAST MAJORITY OF CASES 3453 78 LARGE SUM OF MONEY 3369 79 LARGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY 3356 80 FAIR AMOUNT OF TIME 3349 81 EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE 3339 82 LARGE AMOUNT OF MONEY 3315 83 LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE 3307 84 DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW 3276 85 VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS 3268 86 SPECIFIC PERIOD OF TIME 3237 87 VICE PRESIDENT OF PRODUCT 3215 88 NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH 3193 89 BEST PLACES TO WORK 3192 90 DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY 3191 91 WIDE RANGE OF ISSUES 3173 92 NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE 3076 93 WIDE RANGE OF OPTIONS 3068 94 CERTAIN AMOUNT OF MONEY 3056 95 ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART 3021 96 INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE 2959 97 BEST INTERESTS AT HEART 2953 98 HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY 2937 99 PAST COUPLE OF DAYS 2936

100 SHORTER PERIOD OF TIME 2914

Sadly, a search in iWeb or NOW corpora is not allowed for

_JJ _NN _II _NN

(to avoid all the ‘of’ phrases)

so we turn to the smaller COCA:

1 INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE 460 2 ONLY GAME IN TOWN 342 3 ADDITIONAL IMAGE IN TABLE 318 4 NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG 312 5 BEST INTERESTS AT HEART 307 6 INSIGHTFUL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ISSUES 292 7 NEW LEASE ON LIFE 247 8 SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE 240 9 AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EDUCATION 235 10 NEW POSTS BY EMAIL 232 11 LONG WAY FROM HOME 228 12 GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR 224 13 NATIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE 216 14 GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS 215 15 SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE 176 16 ADDITIONAL IMAGE IN COVER 150 17 IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE 146 18 JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION 144 19 RELATED ARTICLE ON PAGE 132 20 NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING 127 21 GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH 124 22 FISCAL HOUSE IN ORDER 119 23 BEST INTEREST AT HEART 118 24 BEST THINGS IN LIFE 109 25 BEST INTERESTS IN MIND 105 26 AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EXERCISE 102 27 PARTICULAR POINT IN TIME 101 28 GOOD THINGS IN LIFE 99 29 WIDE WEB AT WWW.NPS.ARS.USDA.GOV 99 30 FINER THINGS IN LIFE 97 31 GIVEN POINT IN TIME 97 32 BIG MAN ON CAMPUS 91 33 CUBIC FEET PER SECOND 91 34 TRUSTED NAME IN NEWS 91 35 NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON ALCOHOL 90 36 NATIONAL SURVEY ON DRUG 90 37 GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM 88 38 LATEST HEADLINES VIA EMAIL 88 39 HIGH SCHOOL TO COLLEGE 82 40 NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN 82 41 DIFFERENT POINTS IN TIME 81 42 LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN POLITICS 80 43 SPECIAL PLACE IN HELL 77 44 LONG DAY AT WORK 76 45 OTHER THINGS IN LIFE 76 46 ADOLESCENT GIRLS IN GROUP 75 47 IMPORTANT THING IN LIFE 74 48 GREATEST NATION ON EARTH 73 49 HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH 73 50 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS 70 51 OTHER TIME IN HISTORY 69 52 RUSHING YARDS PER GAME 69 53 SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS 68 54 LIGHT YEARS FROM EARTH 67 55 LITTLE THINGS IN LIFE 67 56 ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON IMMUNIZATION 66 57 JOINT COMMISSION ON ACCREDITATION 66 58 NATIONAL COMMISSION ON EXCELLENCE 66 59 PASSING YARDS PER GAME 65 60 FINANCIAL HOUSE IN ORDER 63 61 AIRTIGHT CONTAINER IN REFRIGERATOR 62 62 PARTICULAR MOMENT IN TIME 62 63 DUE BACK IN COURT 61 64 HIGH SCHOOL IN PARKLAND 60 65 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON POPULATION 59 66 SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS 59 67 CLOSE LID ON GAS 58 68 SINGLE POINT IN TIME 57 69 GOOD GRADES IN SCHOOL 56 70 COMMERCIAL BREAK ON SCREEN 55 71 GREATEST COUNTRY ON EARTH 55 72 NEW COVERAGE BY ANALYST 55 73 BEST RECORD IN BASEBALL 54 74 FOLLOW-UP COMMENTS BY EMAIL 54 75 NEW STUDY BY RESEARCHERS 53 76 POWERFUL NATION ON EARTH 52 77 BEST INTEREST IN MIND 51 78 COLD DAY IN HELL 51 79 SIMPLE THINGS IN LIFE 51 80 SLOW WALTZ IN CEDAR 50 81 GLOBAL FUND TO FIGHT 49 82 PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS 49 83 BLACK BELT IN KARATE 48 84 LESBIAN ALLIANCE AGAINST DEFAMATION 48 85 METICULOUS ATTENTION TO DETAIL 48 86 SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL 48 87 HUMAN BEING ON EARTH 47 88 LIVING SIDE BY SIDE 47 89 OTHER NATION ON EARTH 47 90 ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 46 91 CUBIC FEET PER DAY 46 92 SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT 46 93 CERTAIN POINT IN TIME 45 94 CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO ABORTION 45 95 EASY ACCESS TO GUNS 45 96 JOINT COMMITTEE ON HEALTH 45 97 ONLY PERSON ON EARTH 45 98 SEXUAL ABUSE BY PRIESTS 45 99 DEMOCRATIC LEADERS IN CONGRESS 44

100 GREAT PLACE TO WORK 44