You are on page 1of 18

English phrase

(n phrase) [freiz] is a small group of words


(usually without a finite verb) which forms
part of an actual or implied sentence
He arrived after dinner .

Clauses and phrases are the building


blocks of sentences. A phrase is a group
of words that act as a part of speech but
cannot stand alone as a sentence.
Clauses are groups of words that have a
subject and a predicate. Independent
clauses express a complete thought and
can stand alone as a sentence but
subordinate clauses depend on other
parts of the sentence to express a
complete thought.

A sentence expresses a complete thought


and contains a subject, a noun or
pronoun, and a predicate, a verb or verb
phrase. The four basic types of sentences
simple, compound, complex, and
compound-complexuse phrases and
clauses in varying degrees of complexity.

phrase - an expression consisting of one or more words


forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence
head word, headword - a content word that can be
qualified by a modifier
grammatical construction, construction, expression - a
group of words that form a constituent of a sentence and
are considered as a single unit; nominal, nominal phrase,
noun phrase - a phrase that can function as the subject or
object of a verb
verb phrase, predicate - one of the two main constituents
of a sentence; the predicate contains the verb and its
complements
prepositional phrase - a phrase beginning with a
preposition
pronominal, pronominal phrase - a phrase that functions
as a pronoun
modifier, qualifier - a content word that qualifies the
meaning of a noun or verb

A phrase is a small group of words that adds meaning to


a word. A phrase is not a sentence because it is not a
complete idea with a subject and a predicate.
In English there are five different kinds of phrases, one
for each of the main parts of speech. In a phrase, the
main word, or the word that is what the phrase is about,
is called the head. In these examples, it is printed in
cyan. The words which make up the rest of the phrase
and do the work of changing, or modifying the head, are
printed in green.

I. NOUN PHRASE
A noun phrase is a group of words that
ends with a noun as its headword;
moreover, it consists of one or more words
working together to give more information
about a noun.
all my dear children
the information age
seventeen hungry lions in the rocks
A noun phrase can be a single noun, but
often include other words such as
determiner, numbers, adjective, etc.

Forms of NP
a. Noun
It is a word used as the name of a person, place, or thing,
for examples:
Tiger is a fierce animal.
Experience is a good teacher.
b. Pronoun (for-a-noun)
All pronouns can be noun phrases, for examples:
This is my home
That bag is hers
I shall do it myself
Somebody stole my mothers money
c. Determiner + Noun
He was eating an apple

This pen is expensive


We discuss the case
d. Modifier + Noun
Andrew has long hair
Andy will buy bigger house
e. Determiner + Modifier + Noun
He has many good friends
You should not follow her stupid idea
f. Noun + Noun
We shall spend our holiday in Sanur Beach
The bank is in front of the post office

g. NOUN + Prepositional Phrase


I spoke to a girl in a dark grey dress
He pressed a button on the ships radio
h. Gerund
Dancing is my hobby
He hates reading a novel
i. Infinitive
To win a prize is my ambition
He decided to leave this town

j. Clause
What you have just said is true
I believe in what you said
k. Noun + Clause
I have homework that I must finish today
He goes to school which is located in Japaris Road
l. WH + Infinitive
How to solve this problem is very easy
I know where to find him
m. That + Clause
I realize that you like him
That you have divorced with her surprises me

Functions of Noun Phrase


a. As a subject of a sentence
The girl is very beautiful
To err is human
b. As an object of a sentence
The police caught the robber
My friend prefers reading to writing
c. As a complement
He seemed a nice man
subject complement

They called the man a provocateur


object complement
d. As an object of a preposition
The pyramid is made from good stones and eggs
Take him to the room
e. In the possessive case
My dog never bites people
Tinas boyfriend is quite boastful
This is my fathers car
In an adjective phrase, one or more words work
together to give more information about an

adjective.
so very sweet
earnest in her desire
very happy with his work
In a verb phrase, one or more words work together to
give more meaning to a verb. In English, the verb phrase
is very complex, but a good description of its many forms
can be found here.
In an adverb phrase, one or more words work together
to give more information about an adverb.
especially softly
formerly of the city of Perth
much too quickly to see clearly

In a prepositional phrase, one or more


words work together to give information
about time, location, or possession, or
condition. The preposition always appears
at the front of the phrase.
after a very long walk
behind the old building
for all the hungry children
in case it should happen again

Prepositional Phrases
Like adjectives and adverbs, prepositional
phrases add meaning to the nouns and
verbs in sentences. A prepositional phrase
has two basic parts: a preposition plus a
noun or a pronoun that serves as the
object of the preposition.

The Prepositional Phrase


The most common phrase is the prepositional
phrase. You'll find these phrases everywherein
sentences, clauses, and even in other phrases.
Each prepositional phrase begins with a
preposition (in, of, by, from, for, etc.) and
includes a noun or pronoun that is the object of
the preposition.
in the room
of the people
by the river
from the teacher
for the party

The object of a preposition can have its own modifiers,


which also are part of the prepositional phrase.
in the smoky, crowded room
of the remaining few people
by the rushing river
from the tired and frustrated teacher
for the midnight victory party
Prepositional phrases function as either adjectives or
adverbs.
The woman in the trench coat pulled out her cellular
phone.
The prepositional phrase here acts as an adjective
describing the noun woman.
Most of the audience snoozed during the tedious
performance.
The prepositional phrase here acts as an adverb
modifying the verb snoozed.

A spaceship from Venus landed in my back yard.However, like


adverbs, prepositional phrases that modify verbs can also be
found at the very beginning or very end of a sentence:
In the morning, the Venusians mowed my lawn.
The Venusians mowed my lawn in the morning.In both versions,
the prepositional phrase in the morning modifies the verb mowed.
The Venusians swam for two hours after lunch in my pool.This
arrangement gives the idea that the visitors from Venus enjoyed
lunch in the pool. If this is not the case, shift the prepositional
phrase:
After lunch, the Venusians swam for two hours in my pool.The
best arrangement is one that is both clear and uncluttered.
On a rickety stool in one corner of the crowded honky tonk, the
folk singer sits playing lonesome songs on his battered old guitar
about warm beer, cold women, and long nights on the road.In this
case, the best way to break up the string of phrases is to make
two sentences:
On a rickety stool in one corner of the crowded honky tonk, the
folk singer sits hunched over his battered old guitar. He plays
lonesome songs about warm beer, cold women, and long nights
on the road.

You might also like