Section outline

  • What are Phrases?

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    A phrase is a group of words working together as one unit.

    Features:

    1. It adds meaning to the sentence.
    2. It is a part of the sentence.
    3. It makes sense but not complete sense.
    4. It cannot stand on it's own.
    5. It does not have a finite verb.
    6. They contain infinitives & non-finite verbs.
    7. It does not have a subject & predicate.
    8. It depends on other words in the sentence for clarity.
    9. It provides clarity, additional information or details in a sentence.

    Examples:

    1. It is easy to find fault.
    2. I love clicking pictures.
    3. The children like to watch cartoons.

  • Types of Phrases

    There are five types of phrases.

    They are:

    Types

  • Noun Phrases

    A Noun Phrase is a group of words that functions as a noun in a sentence.

    Features:

    1. The noun is the head word of the phrase.
    2. To identify noun phrase, ask the verb, 'what'.
    3.  It consists of noun / pronoun & its modifiers which describe the noun (words like articles, adjectives, etc.)

    Examples:

    1. The small child cried all day.
    2. We love going on long walks.

    The noun phrases can function as:

    1. Subject: at the beginning of the sentence.

    Example:

    My sister's son is very cute.

    2. Object: at the end of the sentence.

    Example:

    Jane wanted to cook lunch.

    3. Complement:

    Example:

    My dream is a cozy house by the sea.

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  • Adjective Phrases

    An Adjective phrase is a group of words that functions as an adjective.

    Features:

    1. It describes or modifies a noun or pronoun in a sentence.
    2. It usually comes after the noun it describes.
    3. The main word is an adjective.
    4. It includes include other words like adverbs, prepositions, or modifiers to provide additional detail.

    Examples:

    1. The movie was incredibly funny.
    2. We bought an idol made of silver.
    3. The room is bright and clean.
    4. The ground was full of mud.

    Here, 

    The adjective phrases are describing more about the nouns 'movie, idol, room, ground'.

    List of how to use adjectives into adjective phrase:

    Adjectives Adjective Phrase
    a kind man a man of kind nature
    Indian goods goods made in India
    experience person a person with experience
    courageous soldier soldier with courage
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  • Adverb Phrases

    An Adverb phrase is a group of words that function as an adverb in a sentence.

    Features:

    1. It modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb.
    2. The main word in the phrase is the adverb.
    3. It provides detail about how, when, where, why, or to what extent something happens.

    Examples:

    1. She arrived after the meeting ended. (when?)
    2. The children are playing in the garden. (where?)
    3. He spoke in a calm tone. (how?)

    List of commonly used adverbs into adverb phrases:

    Adverb Adverb Phrase
    early at an early hour
    everywhere at every place
    slowly in a slow manner
    annually every year
    gradually step by step
    immediately at once / without delay
    now at this moment
    there at that place
    suddenly all of a sudden
    carefully with care

  • Prepositional Phrases

    A Prepositional Phrase is a phrase that starts with a preposition & ends with a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase.

    It shows direction, time or place. 

    Structure:

    Preposition + Object + Modifiers
    1. Preposition: words like 'in, on, at, to, by, out, for'.
    2. Object of the Preposition: a noun or pronoun that follows the preposition.
    3. Modifiers: words that describe the object.

    Examples:

    1. He sat under the tree.
    2. I exercise in the morning.
    3. The book is on the table.

  • Verb Phrases

    A Verb Phrase is a group of words that includes a main verb and any helping (auxiliary) verbs or modifiers.

    Features:

    1. It expresses action, state of being or condition.
    2. It shows tenses & modality.
    3. It helps the main verb.

    Examples:

    1. She has been reading all day.
    2. You should study for the exam.
    3. The homework is being done by the students

  • Summary

    In this course, we learn't:

    1. Phrases are group of words that act as one unit.
    2. They add meaning to the sentence but don't make sense independently.
    3. There are five types of phrases.
    4. A Noun phrase consists of noun as the main word.
    5. An Adjective phrase consists of adjective as the main word.
    6. An Adverb phrase consists of adverb as the main word.
    7. A Prepositional phrase begins with a preposition.
    8. A Verb phrase has a main verb and a helping verb.

    In the next course, we will learn about clauses.

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