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In case you need to go online, our branch four blocks away will be open to serve you.

I've known "which is" can be omitted, provided that noun is followed by participle or adjective. How can noun be followed by noun like branch (four) blocks in the above sentence?

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    Grammar aside, the sentence makes no sense. If I'm going online, I can do so from my home or anywhere with an internet connection; I don't need to walk four blocks to another branch. If I were at that (closed or out of order) branch, I'd be scratching my head if I read that. It should instead read in case you need a bank machine or in case you need in-person banking. Or simply: We apologize for the inconvenience. Our branch four blocks away is open to serve you.
    – Jason Bassford
    Commented Dec 12, 2018 at 17:47
  • @JasonBassford Anywhere that ordinarily provides internet access to patrons (libraries and some coffee shops spring to mind) might say something of this kind if the branch in question were not presently able to provide that service.
    – Darael
    Commented Dec 12, 2018 at 22:15

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Your mistake is in assuming there are two adjacent nouns. Rather, "four blocks" is, here, not a noun-phrase but part of the adjective-phrase "four blocks away". One could also more deeply analyse this as an adjectival use of an adverb ("away") by attaching it to the implied copula ("is", from the omitted "which is" which you already noted), modified by an adjunct noun-phrase ("four blocks").

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  • is that “noun + adverb” after copula is an adjective a feature of “away”, or adverbs?
    – Orient
    Commented Dec 13, 2018 at 1:51
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    @Orient For our purposes, not exactly either. The copula is relevant only in that you need a verb to use an adverb. Some people would say that "away" is already an adjective in the example for that reason; that it can't be an adverb because it's not attached to a verb. You can use noun adjuncts with multiple grammatical constructs, of which adjectives and adverbs are two. "Away" can be either of those (though it's usually classed as an adverb) and so we can modify it with a noun adjunct.
    – Darael
    Commented Dec 13, 2018 at 2:10

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