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