Phrases (Types and Examples) | Grammar

What is a Phrase?

Phrases appear in a group of words that are chunked together as a grammatical unit being part of a clause or a sentence.

A phrase does not convey a complete sense and thought. Because it has neither a subject nor a verb. In contrast, it’s smaller than a clause. But there are the main types of Phrases in English, enlisted below:

Real Examples of Phrases in Sentences

• The lamp is lying at the table.
• In the fields, my cows are grazing.
• The passengers are waiting for the rail.
• Your officer will visit during this month.
• Maham makes breakfast early in the morning.

So, look at these different Phrases:

• at the table
• In the fields
• for the rail
• during this month
• early in the morning
• my friend from Paris
• to jump over the wall
• jumping over the wall

These are groups of words that stand together as a single grammatical unit. So, these words are function as different types of phrases.

Different Functions of Phrases

• Nouns
• Adjectives
• Adverbs
• Verbs
• Prepositions
• Pronouns
• Conjunctions
• Determiners
• Interjections
• Gerunds
• Infinitives
• Appositives
• Participles

For example:

I am looking for a famous book to make me laugh. =That describes a book, its functioning as= an adjective.

She is going to Paris to buy a book.

 =To buy a book= that tells us the reason=why she is going to Paris. So, it is functioning like= an adverb.

I am looking for a scary book.

That is functioning as= a noun.

I am looking for a book.

Here, = “am looking” that group of words is functioning like= a verb.

Now, these are the common grammatical units but actually, phrases can function as other ones too. For example:

• According to= is a preposition.
• No one= is an example of a pronoun.
• Not only, but also= is a type of conjunction called correlative conjunction.
• A few books= “a few” is a determiner.

Types of Phrases with Examples

Noun Phrase

A noun phrase is a group of words in which a noun functions as a headword with a modifier e.g., premodifiers and sometimes postmodifiers. For Example:

• I like these two books.
• Many people love these apple trees. 🍎
• A lot of problems will finish one day.
• The young boy bought that bicycle.
• Thousands of birds like to eat green fruit.
• My friend from Paris writes books about ghosts.

Explanation:

Pre modifier: (a word that is placed before the head of the phrase). Postmodifier: (a word that is placed after the head of the phrase). For example:

The phrase “my friend from Paris” is functioning as= a Pre modifier of this noun phrase and “books about ghosts” is functioning as= a post-modifier. But they are groups of words with a noun as a headword, so, they are Noun Phrases.

Adjective Phrase

An adjective phrase is a kind of phrase in which an adjective functions as the head. In other words, the phrase is headed by an adjective to describe the nouns.

• Please pass me the red plate.
• He has extremely evil eyes.
• A monkey is smarter than other animals.
• The audience was extremely delighted to see the hero.
• I am rather fond of writing letters.
• I met a lady with blue eyes.
• This glass door is of pink color.

Explanation:

“The red plate”, this phrase is functioning like= an adjective. Because it describes the plate telling us which plate we could have said.

So, = extremely evil in this example= evil is actually =an adjective. So, an adjective phrase functions as an adjective that is headed by an adjective.

Adverb Phrase

An adverbial phrase is a group of two or more words headed by an adverb. Because it modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, For Example:

• She sings with passion. (How)
• We lived a happy life in those days. (When)
• She makes us always happy.☺(How often)
• My friend is sleeping under the shade. (Where)
• We bought this home before the summer vacation. (When)
• A Leopard can run very faster than an Olympic cyclist. (How much)

Explanation:

The phrase, “with passion”, tells us =how she sings, it’s functioning as an adverb of manner.

“Very faster than an Olympic cyclist” This phrase is functioning as an adverb of frequency; it is describing the verb=run.

Prepositional Phrase

Prepositional phrases are headed by a preposition showing the links between subjects and verbs by describing nouns and verbs.

• The plate is on the table.
• We’re happy to see you in time.
• They are standing in the corner.
• The thief 🕵 is running 🏃 after us.
• Why are you staying with the strangers?

Gerund Phrase

A gerund phrase is a phrase headed by a gerund (a word with =ing form but behaves as a noun e.g., Smoking is prohibited here.) For example:

• Collecting old bottles is my hobby.
• Writing books is my passion.
• Throwing garbage is not allowed here.
• In my childhood, I liked eating sweets.
• I loved to see the flying kites.
• These eye-catching moments will never return.

“Collecting old bottles” is an example of a = gerund, it behaves as a noun if you ask what my hobby is.

Infinitive Phrase

It is a group of words that takes the infinitive = to + verb and behaves like a noun jointly. For example:

• I like to collect old bottles.
• Her profession is to repair the phones.
• To jump over the wall is dangerous.
• It’s not easy to keep everyone happy.
• I asked him to create a beautiful design.
• To obtain everybody’s trust is the best rule of life.

These phrases are headed by =the infinitives, given below.

Note: The gerund phrase and the infinitive phrase shown here are both noun phrases.

Participle Phrase

A participial phrase is a group of words that appears to be a verb but is an adjective that modifies a noun in the same sentence. But this kind of phrase may “boost up” a noun by adding more information about what it’s doing or how it appears.

• The dog sitting in the corner looks like snoopy.
• Slowly walking on foot, she got late.
• The worker got tired working all the day.
• Fond of eating more than need, he got fat.
• I’m not interested in growing my hair.
• No problem is solved with just making complains.

The group of words, “sitting in the corner” is a phrase headed by a participle. Because it is describing the dog. So, it is an adjective phrase. Because the participle= sitting is a type of an adjective.

Appositive Phrase

An Appositive is a noun phrase that renames or redescribes things by giving more details and information about a subject. Because it provides more explanation enriching the sentence to clarify its meaning.

• Quaid-e-Azam, the founder of Pakistan, was a lawyer.
• The lion, king of the jungle, is an animal with attitude.
• Karim, the expert hunter, couldn’t hunt a deer.
• My classmate, Ahmad, is a wise boy.
• The city of palaces, Kasur, is not a very old city.
• Elizabeth I, the daughter of Henry VIII, was a queen of England.

Difference between Phrases and Clauses

A clause just like a phrase is also a group of words but it contains its’s subject and a verb.  And, it functions as one part of speech or one grammatical unit.

• My friend Zaim, writes books about ghosts from Paris.
• That is an= adjectival phrase describing=, my friend.

But, look at this:

• My friend who lives in Paris writes books about ghosts.
• =who lives in Paris= is also describing= my friend but this group of words has a subject and a verb. So, that’s what makes it a clause. So, this is an adjective clause.

A clause contains a subject and verb, unlike a phrase. So, this is the main difference between a phrase and a clause.

Common Mistakes with Phrases

The first one is a noun phrase and the second is an adjectival phrase. But in this whole noun phrase= “a box of letters” the head noun in the box which is singular= of letters is just an= adjective it doesn’t determine the verb.

He fed the sharks in the cage.

Now, this is ambiguous so I’m going to mark it as wrong. =The sharks in the cage, that looks like a noun phrase. But that would be an unusual scenario so context would tell us that that was wrong.

Knowing the context will make it clear, For example:

He fed the sharks in the cage so the sharks would not be hungry.  

Here, =” the sharks” is a noun phrase, =in the cage would be an adverbial phrase, and it tells us where he fed the sharks. Because adverbs modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb to tell us how, when, where, why, how much, or how many. So, in this example, it’s telling us where. So, in the cage is a phrase functioning as an adverb. Because when you have a phrase functioning like an adverb or an adjective and it’s fronted it is usual to offset it with a comma.