Have you ever wondered why we use particular words to communicate things and how we make them make sense? Grammar refers to the structure of a language, particularly how words are put together in different ways to express meaning. Words don't stand alone; they are combined to form phrases (then clauses and then sentences). But what are the different types of phrases?
Fig 1. Types of phrases are an important part of English grammar
Types of phrases in grammar
There are several types of phrases in English grammar. A phrase is a group of words that form what the dictionary calls 'a conceptual unit' (an idea contained in a few words). Phrases normally form parts of clauses. A phrase is not a sentence on its own. The important thing to not is that phrases do not make sense on their own as they do not have a subject and predicate.
What are the different types of phrases?
Some different types of grammatical phrases are as follows:
It is helpful to remember that phrases can include other phrases within them. There can also be more than one of the same phrases in a single sentence.
Let's take a closer look at each of these types of phrases. But, before we do that, and in case you need a reminder…
A noun = a word that is used to name something, such as an object, place, person, idea etc. For example, ‘desk’, ‘city’, ‘woman’, ‘love’.
An adjective = a word that describes a noun or pronoun. For example, in the sentence “the cat is grey”, the adjective is ‘grey’ and it is used to describe the noun (the cat).
A verb = a word that describes an action or state. For example, in the sentence “the teacher writes on the board” the verb is ‘writes’ as it indicates the action. In the sentence “the ball is rolling down the hill”, the auxiliary verb ‘is’ indicates the tense of the sentence, and the main verb ‘rolling’ expresses the action.
An adverb = a word that describes a verb, adjective, another adverb or a whole sentence. For example, in the sentence “she walks slowly” the adverb is ‘slowly’ as it adds information about the verb. In the sentence “he is really tall”, the adverb is ‘really’ as it adds information about the adjective.
A preposition = a word or group of words that indicate where things are in relation to one another. This can refer to direction, time, location and spatial relationships. For example, words like ‘on’, ‘in’, ‘under’, ‘over’, ‘before’, ‘after’.
Okay, let's continue to look at the different types of phrases...
Examples of the different types of phrases
Below you will see some examples along with the different types of phrases so you can easily make sense of a sentence in the future.
Noun phrase
A noun phrase is a group of words that consists of a noun (or pronoun eg. he, she, it) and other words that modify the noun. Modifiers can refer to articles (a/an/the), quantifiers (some, a lot, a little), demonstratives (this, that, those), possessives (his, her, their), adjectives or adverbs.
Noun phrases are used to give more information about a noun. They can function as the subject, object or complement of a sentence.
Noun phrase examples
Here are some examples of the types of phrases known as noun phrases.
In the sentence:
“Your black cat is always outside.”
The noun phrase is
“Your black cat.”
It is used to add detail to the sentence, by indicating the subject (cat) and describing it (a cat that is black and belongs to someone).
In the sentence:
“I saw a scary movie at midnight.”
The noun phrase is:
“A scary movie.”
It is used to indicate the object of the sentence (a movie) and provide a description of it (scary).
It has been argued that a noun phrase CAN consist of only one word, which would be either a noun or pronoun.
“Beth is walking home from school”.
Here, Beth is the only noun in the sentence, so it can be considered a one-word noun phrase.
Adjective phrase
An adjective phrase (also known as an adjectival phrase) is a type of phrase which is a group of words that consists of an adjective and other words that modify or complement it. Adjective phrases have the purpose of an adjective and are used to describe or add more detail to a noun/pronoun. They can come before or after a noun.
Adjective phrase examples
Here are some examples of adjective phrases.
In the sentence
“The man with short hair is running in the park.”
The adjective phrase is
“Short hair.”
It appears after the noun and is used to provide more detail about the noun (the man).
In the sentence:
“I ate some sugar-coated
doughnuts.”
The adjective phrase is:
“Sugar-coated.”
It appears before the noun and is used to provide more information about the noun (doughnut) - it describes what they were like (sugar-coated).
Adverb phrase
An adverb phrase (also known as an adverbial phrase) is a group of words that consists of an adverb and often other modifiers. They have the function of an adverb in a sentence and are used to modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. They can appear before or after the elements they modify.
Adverb phrase examples
Here are some examples of adverb phrases.
In the sentence:
“I go to the gym every weekend.”
The adverb phrase is:
“Every weekend.”
It gives more information about how often the action takes place.
In the sentence:
“He very carefully lifted the trophy.”
The adverb phrase is:
“Very carefully.”
It gives more detail about how the action (lifted) is carried out.
Verb phrase
A verb phrase is a group of words that consists of a head (main) verb and other verbs such as copular verbs (verbs that join the subject to the subject complement ie., seems, appears, tastes) and auxiliaries (helping verbs ie., be, do, have). It can also include other modifiers. A verb phrase has the function of a verb in a sentence.
Verb phrase examples
Here are some examples of verb phrases.
In the sentence:
“Dave was walking his dog.”
The verb phrase is:
“Was walking.”
It consists of the auxiliary verb ‘was’, which indicates the tense of the sentence, and the main verb ‘walking’, which indicates the action.
In the sentence:
“She will go to the party tonight.”
The verb phrase is:
“Will go.”
It consists of the modal verb ‘will’, which indicates a degree of certainty, and the main verb ‘go’ which indicates the future action.
Fig 2. 'She will go to the party' contains the verb phrase 'will go'
Prepositional phrase
A prepositional phrase is a group of words that consists of a preposition and an object. It can also include other modifiers, but these are not essential. A prepositional phrase can either act as an adjective or adverb in a sentence. It is used to modify nouns and verbs and gives information about the relationships between subjects and verbs.
Prepositional phrase examples
Here are some examples of prepositional phrases.
In the sentence:
“The rat runs into the box.”
The prepositional phrase is:
“Into the box.”
It gives information about where the subject (the rat) goes.
In the sentence:
“The cut on my leg is painful.”
The prepositional phrase is:
“On my leg.”
It gives information about where the subject (the cut) is situated.
Types of Phrases - Key takeaways
- A phrase is a group of words that add meaning to a sentence. The different types of phrases include: noun phrase, adjective phrase, adverb phrase, verb phrase, and prepositional phrase.
- A noun phrase is a group of words that consists of a noun (or pronoun) and other words that modify the noun. It adds information about the noun.
- An adjective phrase is a group of words that consists of an adjective and other words that modify or complement it. It is used to add detail to a noun.
- An adverb phrase is a group of words that consists of an adverb and often its modifiers. It functions as an adverb in a sentence, with the purpose of modifying verbs, adjectives or other adverbs.
- A verb phrase is a group of words that consists of the main verb and other verbs (such as copulas and auxiliaries). It can also include other modifiers.
- A prepositional phrase is a group of words that acts as either an adjective or adverb in a sentence. It consists of a preposition and an object, and can also include other modifiers.
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