Phrase: Types of Phrase

What is a phrase?

A phrase is a grammatical term referring to a group of words that does not have a subject and a verb (together in a sentence). On its own, a phrase cannot make a complete thought or meaning. For this reason, it must therefore be appended to a clause in order to make a grammatically correct sentence.

Please read more on clause and types of clause here.

It is important to state that the words that make up a phrase cannot make a complete thought, sense or grammatically correct sentence because they lack a subject and verb respectively.

Below is an example of a phrase.

• In the school

The above instance is a phrase because it has neither a subject nor a verb; thus does not make a complete thought.

Please read more on the meaning and examples of phrase here.

Recall that the subject of a sentence is the doer of an action. The verb is the action done by the subject. In short, the verb is an action word or a doing word.

Below is an instance that identifies the subject and verb in a sentence.

• Alfred loves education

From the above instance, 'Alfred' is the subject because he is the doer of an action. The action shown by Alfred is 'love'. Therefore, 'love' is the verb in the above instance.

You can read on transitive and intransitive verbs here.

Types of Phrase

We have different types of phrase. Always understand that a phrase cannot make a complete sentence, thought or meaning on its own.

The types of phrase include:

1. Noun or Nominal Phrase

It always contain a noun. When a nominal phrase is present in a grammatically correct sentence, the noun within it can function as the subject, object, or prepositional object in the sentence. For example:

• The beautiful woman in the bank is my mother.

Notice that the phrase 'in the bank' contains the noun 'bank'.

Please read on nouns formed from adjectives here.

2. Verb Phrase

This phrase contains a verb with another word or words (without a subject). For example:

• We saw her dance when we were studying.

Notice that the phrase 'saw her dance' contain the verbs 'saw' and 'dance' with another word - 'her'.

You can read on homonyms here.

3. Adverbial Phrase

They are group of words that cannot make a complete thought but will function as an adverb in a sentence. For example:

• Ade ate very quickly.

Notice that the phrase 'very quickly' contains the adverb 'quickly' which described the manner at which Ade ate.

Recall that an adverb is a word that qualifies or describes a verb. The word 'ate' is the verb in the above instance and the adverb 'quickly' described how Ade ate.

You can read on synonyms here.

4. Prepositional Phrase

They are phrases that consists of a preposition and a noun (or a preposition and a pronoun).

Recall that a preposition is a word that link together nouns, pronouns, or phrases to other words within a sentence.

You can read on relative pronouns and compound relative pronouns here.

Below is an example of a prepositional phrase:

• The food is on the cupboard.

From the above instance, 'on' is a preposition. The prepositional phrase 'on the cupboard' contains the preposition 'on' and a noun 'cupboard'.

5. Gerund Phrase

Any verb ending with '-ing' is called a gerund. A gerund phrase include the gerund in combination with any modifier and complement. An example is shown below:

• Kelechi and Chioma had fun dancing at the party.

Notice that the verb 'dance' contains an 'ing' which makes it a gerund. Its presence (that is; dancing) in the underlined phrase makes it a gerund phrase.

You can read on idioms and examples of idioms here.

6. Infinitive Phrase

Any form of a verb that begins with the word 'to' is called an infinitive verb.

An infinitive phrase therefore include the infinitive, plus any modifier or complement. For example:

• Tunde loves to surprise children.

The above phrase is an infinitive phrase because it begins with the infinitive 'to'.

You can read on essay writing here.

7. Appositive phrase

When a noun phrase renames another noun in a sentence, then it's called an appositive phrase. For example:

• The lady, a fair beauty, was pleasing to look at.

Notice that the appositive phrase 'a fair beauty' described and renamed 'the lady' in the above sentence.

Please read more on figures of speech here.

8. Participle phrase

A participle phrase begins with '-ing' (for present participle) and '-ed' (for past participle); in addition to its modifiers. The participle phrase often functions as adjectives in a grammatically correct sentence.

Recall that an adjective is a word that qualifies or describes a noun.

Below are examples of sentences containing the participle phrase:

• The boys playing in the field never seemed to tire.
• The baby cried throughout the night.

Notice that the participle phrases 'playing in the field' and 'cried throughout the night' began with the participle 'playing' and 'cried' respectively. In addition, they describe the nouns 'boys' and 'baby' in the above instances.

9. Adjectival Phrase

They are group of words that function as an adjective in a sentence. For example:

• The young man is handsome.

Notice that the phrase 'is handsome' contains the adjective 'handsome' which describes the young man.

Recall that an adjective is a word that qualifies or describes a noun or a pronoun. In the above instance, 'handsome' is the adjective and it describes the young man.