University of M'sila - Faculty of Letters and Language

Department of English Language and Literature Written Expression Credits

Lesson Three : Phrases

In a sentence, words do not only act individually,but also in groups.The grouped words act
together as a unit which my function as a modifier,a subject,a verb,an object,or a predicate
nominative.The most common group of related words is known as the phrase

Phrases are groups of related words that do not contain both a subject and a verb. They act as parts of
speech within sentences. In other words, phrases are groups of words that serve as nouns, adjectives
or adverbs in sentences. Because sentences are made up of phrases and clauses, understanding these
basic elements of sentence structure will help you to create writing that is clear, concise, stylistically
interesting and free of errors such as sentence fragments.

1.Phrase Definition

A phrase is two or more words that do not contain the subject-verb pair necessary to form a clause.
Phrases can be very short or quite long. Here are two examples:

a- After lunch
b- After slithering down the stairs and across the road to scare nearly to death Mrs. Philpot busy
pruning her rose bushes

Traditionally “phrase” is defined as “a group of words that does not contain a verb and its subject
and is used as a single part of speech.”.

2.Kinds of Phrases and their Functions

Certain phrases have specific names based on the type of word that begins or governs the word
group: noun phrase, verb phrase, prepositional phrase, infinitive phrase, participle phrase, gerund
phrase, and absolute phrase.

• Some people classify them as : Prepositional phrase (used as a noun,an adjective ,or an
adverb), verbal phrase ( including the participial phrase, the gerund phrase,and the infinitive
phrase) ,and appositive phrase.

2.1.Noun Phrase

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 A noun phrase includes a noun (a person, place, or thing) and the modifiers -either before or after-
which distinguish it. Its pattern looks like this:

O P T I O N A L M O D I F I E R ( S ) + N OUN + O P T I O N A L M O D I F I E R ( S )

E.g.s. a-The shoplifted pair of jeans ( the + shoplifted (modifiers) + pair (Noun) + of jeans (
modifiers))

b - A cat that refused to meow

c- A great English teacher

• Noun phrases function as subjects, objects, and complements

E.g.s a-The tree with the purple blossoms hangs over the sidewalk, sprinkling flowers along the path
(as a Subj)

b-He decided to wear the yellow shirt. (as an object)

c-With her love of Shakespeare and knowledge of grammar, Jasmine will someday be a great
English teacher ( as a subject compliment)

2.2.Verb phrase

Sometimes a sentence can communicate its meaning with a one-word verb. 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:

A U X I L I A R Y V E R B (S) + M A I N V E R B +V ER B E N D I N G IF N E C E S S A R Y

E.g.s.: a- Had cleaned( Had = auxiliary verb ; clean = main verb; ed = verb ending ) .

b - Should have been writing ( Should, have, been = auxiliary verbs; write = main verb; ing =
verb

ending)

c- Must wash ( Must = auxiliary verb; wash = main verb.

Here are the verb phrases in action:

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

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 ý Sarah should have been writing her research essay, but she couldn't resist another short
chapter in her Stephen King novel.
ý If guests are coming for dinner, we must wash our smelly dog!

2.3. Prepositional phrase

At the minimum, a prepositional phrase will begin with a preposition and end with a noun,
pronoun, gerund, or clause ( i.e. the "object" of the preposition) The object of the preposition will
often have one or more modifiers to describe it. These are the patterns for a prepositional phrase :

P R E P O S I T I O N + N OUN , P R O N O U N , G E R U N D , OR C L A U S E.

P R E P O S I T I O N + M O D I F I E R ( S ) + N OUN , P R O N O U N ,G E R U N D , OR C L A U S E

E.g.s. 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 an adverb. Occasionally, a prepositional phrase

§ As an adjective, the prepositional phrase will answer the question Which one?

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

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

Tourists from the East visit the old frontier towns in the West.

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

E.g. He practises in his studio ( Where he practises)

He practises with diligence ( How he practises)

He practises for his own good ( Why ge practises)

He practises before a concert tour ( When he practises)

He practises for weeks ( To what extent / how long he practises)

He was true to his words ( The adverb phrase modifies the adjective " true")