Phrase in Grammatical English

The Phrase

What Is a Phrase? (with Examples)

A phrase is a group of words that stand together as a single unit, typically as part of a clause or a sentence.

A phrase does not contain a subject and verb and, consequently, cannot convey a complete thought. A phrase contrasts with a clause. A clause does contain a subject and verb, and it can convey a complete idea.

A.  Adjective Phrase

Definition:

A word group with anadjective as its head. This adjective may be accompanied by modifiers,determiners, and/or qualifiers.

Adjective phrases modifynouns. They may beattributive (appearing before the noun) or predicative(appearing after a linking verb), but not all adjectives can be used in both positions. See Examples and Observations, below.

Examples and Observations:

·         Merdine opened a sweet young coconut.

·         "Humans can be fairly ridiculous animals."
(Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, 2007)

·         Buddy thinks the shampoo tastes awfully funny.

·         Tony lost his dark brown briefcase.

·         After Don's accident, his behavior grewstranger and stranger.

"An adjective phrase consists of an adjective which may be preceded and/or followed by other words. The premodifier is always an adverb phrase, but the post-modifiers can be an adverb phrase, a prepositional phrase, or even a clause. It is also possible to have a modifier that is partly in front and partly behind the head, called a discontinuous modifier, abbreviated as disc-mod."
(Marjolijn Verspoor and Kim Sauter, English Sentence Analysis: An Introductory Course. John Benjamins, 2000)

·         "Marge, you're as pretty as Princess Leia and as smart as Yoda."
(Homer Simpson)

·         "There is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary."
(Brendan Behan)

B.  Adverbial Phrase

Definition:

A word group with an adverb as its head. This adverb may be accompanied by modifiersor qualifiers.

An adverb phrase can modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, and it can appear in a number of different positions in a sentence. (See Examples and Observations, below.)

Examples and Observations:

·         The Cheshire Cat vanished quite slowly, beginning with the end of its tail.

·         The players responded surprisingly well to all the pressures of the playoffs.

·         The best way to preserve the flavor and texture of fresh vegetables is to cook themas quickly as possible.

·         As quickly as possible we cleaned the fish and placed them in coolers.

·         The air was warm, stirred only occasionally by a breeze.

·         Only occasionally is there a rumble in the sky or a hint of rain.

·         "If youth be a defect, it is one that we outgrow only too soon."
(James Russell Lowell) 

·         Snow fell much earlier than usual.

·         "Surprisingly enough, after meeting other minority professionals through the years and being associated with various minority professional organizations, I found that I was not alone."
(Keith R. Wyche, Good Is Not Enough. Penguin, 2009)

·         Another model of green living is,surprisingly enough, the shantytown.

·         Adverbial Phrases Without Adverbs
Adverbial phrases are so-called because they can occur in the same range of positions as single adverbs; but many such adverbial phrases, paradoxically, do not contain an adverb. Such adverb-less adverbial phrases are typically prepositional phrases, as [italicized] in the examples below:

o    On Friday night, I'm playing squash. 

o    Their marriage broke up in the most painful way. 

o    May I, on behalf of the shareholders, congratulate you?

o    (Jame R. Hurford, Grammar: A Student's Guide. Cambridge Univ. Press, 1994)

·         Positioning Adverb Phrases
"Like adverbs, adverb phrases can cause confusion because there is some flexibility in where they occur within sentences, and even in modifying the sentence structure. As well, adverb phrases are sometimes embedded into other phrases.

"Examples are:

a.       'Laura, a better, gentler, more beautiful Laura, whom everybody, everybody loved dearly and tenderly.' [Norris]
[ADVERB PHRASE] 

b.       'He had taken her hand sympathizingly, forgivingly, but his silence made me curious.' [Michelson]
[ADVERB PHRASE] 

c.        'David, on the lowest step, was very evidently not hearing a word of what was being said.' [Porter]
[ADVERB PHRASE EMBEDDED INTO VERB PHRASE]

Our first example identifies an adverb phrase following the verb loved; the next example shows an adverb phrase following the noun hand and removed from the verb it modifies; the third example has an adverb phrase embedded into a verb phrase was . . . hearing. Such flexibility makes it more difficult to identify these phrases; therefore, noting the head adverb can be of help."
(Bernard O'Dwyer, Modern English Structures: Form, Function, and Position. Broadview, 2006)

C.    Noun Phrases

A noun phrase includes a noun—a person, place, or thing—and themodifiers—either before or after—which distinguish it. The pattern looks like this:

Optional Modifier(s) + Noun + Optional Modifier(s)

Here are some examples:

The shoplifted pair of jeans

Pair = noun; the, shoplifted, of jeans = modifiers.

A cat that refused to meow

Cat = noun; a, that refused to meow = modifiers.

A great English teacher

Teacher = noun; a, great, English = modifiers.

Noun phrases function as subjects, objects, and complements:

The shoplifted pair of jeans caused Nathaniel so much guilt that he couldn't wear them.

The shoplifted pair of jeans = subject.

Jerome adopted a cat that refused to meow.

A cat that refused to meow = direct object.

With her love of Shakespeare and knowledge of grammar, Jasmine will someday be a great English teacher.

A great English teacher = subject complement.

D.  Verb Phrases

Sometimes a sentence can communicate its meaning with a one-wordverb. Other times, however, a sentence will use a verb phrase, a multi-word verb, to express more nuanced action or condition. A verb phrase can have up to four parts. The pattern looks like this:

Auxiliary Verb(s) + Main Verb + Verb Ending When Necessary

Here are some examples:

Had cleaned

Had = auxiliary verb; clean = main verb; ed = verb ending.

Should have been writing

Should, have, been = auxiliary verbs; write = main verb; ing= verb ending.

Must wash

Must = auxiliary verb; wash = main verb.

Here are the verb phrases in action:

Mom had just cleaned the refrigerator shelves when Lawrence knocked over the pitcher of orange juice.

Sarah should have been writing her research essay, but she couldn't resist another short chapter in her Stephen King novel.

If guests are coming for dinner, we must wash our smelly dog!

The Clasifiction Phrase Based on Introductory Words of Pivot Word

A.Prepositional Phrases

At the minimum, a prepositional phrase will begin with apreposition and end with a noun, pronoun, gerund, or clause, the "object" of the preposition.

The object of the preposition will often have one or more modifiersto describe it. These are the patterns for a prepositional phrase:

Preposition + Noun, Pronoun, Gerund, or Clause

Preposition + Modifier(s) + Noun, Pronoun, Gerund, or Clause

Here are some examples:

On time    

On = preposition; time = noun.

Underneath the sagging yellow couch

Underneath = preposition; the, sagging, yellow = modifiers; couch = noun.

From eating too much

From = preposition; eating = gerund; too, much = modifiers.

A prepositional phrase will function as an adjective or adverb. As an adjective, the prepositional phrase will answer the question Which one?

Read these examples:

The spider above the kitchen sink has just caught a fat fly.

Which spider? The one above the kitchen sink!

The librarian at the check-out desk smiles whenever she collects a late fee.

Which librarian? The one at the check-out desk!

The vegetables on Noel's plate lay untouched the entire meal.

Which vegetables? The ones on Noel's plate!

As an adverb, a prepositional phrase will answer questions such as How? When? or Where?

While sitting in the cafeteria, Jack catapulted peaswith a spoon.

How did Jack launch those peas? With a spoon!

After breakfast, we piled the dirty dishes in the sink.

When did we ignore the dirty dishes? After breakfast!

Amber finally found the umbrella wedged under the passenger's front seat.

Where did Amber locate the umbrella? Under the passenger's front seat!

B.     Infinitive Phrases

An infinitive phrase will begin with an infinitive [to + simple form of the verb]. It will often include objects and/or modifiers that complete the thought. The pattern looks like this:

Infinitive + Object(s) and/or Modifier(s)

Here are some examples:

To slurp spaghetti

To send the document before the deadline

To gulp the glass of water with such thirst that streams of liquid ran down his chin and wet the front of his already sweat-soaked shirt

Infinitive phrases can function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Look at these examples:

To avoid another lecture from Michelle on the benefits of vegetarianism was Aaron's hope for their date at a nice restaurant.

To avoid another lecture from Michelle on the benefits of vegetarianism functions as a noun because it is the subject of the sentence.

Cheryl plans to take microbiology next semesterwhen Professor Crum, a pushover, is teaching the course.

To take microbiology next semester functions as a noun because it is the direct object for the verb plans.

The worst thing to happen during the severe thunderstorm was a lightning strike that fried Clara's computer.

To happen during the severe thunderstorm functions as an adjective because it modifies thing.

Ryan decided to mow the long grass on the front lawnto keep his neighbors from complaining to the homeowners association.

To keep his neighbors from complaining to the homeowners association functions as an adverb because it explains why Ryan mowed the lawn.

C.    Participle Phrases

A participle phrase will begin with a present or past participle. If the participle is present, it will dependably end in ing. Likewise, a regular past participle will end in a consistent ed. Irregular past participles, unfortunately, conclude in all kinds of ways [although this list will help].

Since all phrases require two or more words, a participle phrase will often include objects and/or modifiers that complete the thought. The pattern looks like this:

Participle + Object(s) and/or modifier(s)

Here are some examples:

Flexing his muscles in front of the bathroom mirror

Ripped from a spiral-ring notebook

Driven crazy by Grandma's endless questions

Participle phrases always function as adjectives, adding description to the sentence. Read these examples:

The stock clerk lining up cartons of orange juicemade sure the expiration date faced the back of the cooler.

Lining up cartons of orange juice modifies the noun clerk.

Elijah likes his eggs smothered in cheese sauce.

Smothered in cheese sauce modifies the noun eggs.

Shrunk in the dryer, the jeans hung above John's ankles.

Shrunk in the dryer modifies the noun jeans.

D.    Gerund Phrases

A gerund phrase will begin with a gerund, an ing word, and will often include other modifiers and/or objects. The pattern looks like this:

Gerund + Object(s) and/or Modifier(s)

Gerund phrases look exactly like present participle phrases. How do you tell the difference? You must determine the function of the phrase.

Gerund phrases always function as nouns, so they will be subjects,subject complements, or objects in the sentence. Read these examples:

Washing our dog Gizmo requires strong arms to keep the squirming, unhappy puppy in the tub.

Washing our dog Gizmo = subject of the verb requires.

A good strategy for avoiding dirty dishes is eating every meal off of paper towels.

Eating every meal off of paper towels = subject complement of the verb is.

Susie tried holding the slippery trout, but the fish flipped out of her hands and splashed back into the stream.

Holding the slippery trout = direct object of the verb tried.

E.     Absolute Phrases

An absolute phrase combines a noun and a participle with any accompanying modifiers or objects. The pattern looks like this:

Noun + Participle + Optional Modifier(s) and/or Object(s)

Here are some examples:

His brow knitted in frustration

Brow = noun; knitted = participle; his, in frustration = modifiers.

Her fingers flying over the piano keys

Fingers = noun; flying = participle; her, over the piano keys = modifiers.

Our eyes following the arc of the ball

Eyes = noun; following = participle; arc = direct object; our,the, of the ball = modifiers.

Rather than modifying a specific word, an absolute phrase will describe the whole clause:

His brow knitted in frustration, Thomas tried again to iron a perfect crease in his dress pants.

Francine played the difficult concerto, her fingers flying over the piano keys.

We watched Leo launch a pass to his fullback, our eyes following the arc of the ball.