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Phrases

Verb phrases, noun phrases, adjective phrases, and prepositional phrases

NOUN PHRASES
HEAD
noun
Optional elements
DETERMINERS: Words which specify the range of reference of a noun, by making it definite,
indefinite or by indicating its quantity.
a) articles: a, an, the e.g. a book
b) possessives: my, your, his, etc. e.g. My car
c) demonstratives: this/ that, these/those. e.g. those children
d) numerals: one, five, etc. Two girls
e) quantifiers: some, all, a few, a little, etc. e.g. some people
MODIFIERS: describe or classify the head.
a) adjectives: a delightful cottage
b) participles (-ing and -ed participles) e.g. the destroyed building
c) nouns e.g. a country house
COMPLEMENT: complete the meaning of the noun.
E.g. the girl next door the popular assumption that language serves
det noun adv phrase
complement

det

adj-modif

noun

that clause as complement

det

noun

her refusal to accept


to inf. Clause as complem.

ADJECTIVE PHRASE
HEAD
Adjective
Other elements
that precede or follow the head
e.g. desperately poor
good enough
adverb

head

head adverb

Complements of an adjective phrase


E.g. slow to answer
head

to inf. as complem.

Head

guilty of a crime
prep phrase as comp.

afraid of snakes
Head

prep. Phrase as comp.

According to function/ position


a) Attributive they precede the noun they modify
a sick man
b) Predicative they follow the noun they modify, usually after a verb. He is sick.
Syntactic functions of adjective phrases
a)Subject complement e.g. Peter is extremely intelligent.
CS
a)Object complement
e.g. I consider Peter extremely intelligent.
CO

VERB PHRASE
Head
verb
Types of verbs :
Lexical verbs: carries meaning
Auxiliary verbs: Primary aux. ( be- have- do) and modal aux. ( may- will- can, etc)
Semi auxiliaries (marginal) : be going to have to be about to
Intransitive verbs: do not take an object.
e.g He laughed loudly. George sat down.
Transitive verbs: take an object or more objects
e.g. They brought thesuitcasetwo days back.
I bought him a present.
Copula verbs (also linking verbs) take a subject complement
a)Verb to be
Mary is a lawyer.
He is a good man.
b)Verbs of appearance, sensations: look, feel, appear (happy), seem, smell, sound, taste.
E.g. That cloth feels soft.
c)Verbs of becoming: become, get, fall, turn (sour) e.g. she got very sick.
Forms of lexical verbs
a)base/ bare infinitive go
b)To infinitive to go
c) Vs 3er person sing. Present tense goes

d) ing form/ present participle going


e) Ved 1 ( past form) went
f) Ved 2 ( past participle) gone

Adverbial Phrase
Head
adverb
Optional elements that follow or precede the head
Possible structures
Adverb
surprisingly
Pre-modifier + adverb
very surprisingly
Adverb + post-modifier
surprisingly for her
Pre-modifier+ adverb + pot-modifiers
very surprisingly indeed
Roles
Modifier of an adjective or adverb in a phrase,
adv.(mod)

adj (head)

adv.(mod)

adj (head)

Those kids were horribly spoiled by their grandparents. The description was remarkably accurate.
adjective phrase

Adverbial in a sentence structure

adjective phrase

she smiled sweetly.


adv. Phrase

Most modifiers are intensifiers ( indicate a point in the scale ) e.g. very, pretty, incredibly, rather, too,
entirely.
Mod. Adv.
He was driving very fast.
adv. phrase
.

Prepositional Phrase
Head
preposition ( in, on , at, for, with)
followed by Noun Phrase e.g. in the garden, on the chair, to town
followed by clauses
a) Wh- clauses Components carry instructions on where they are used.
b) -ing clauses It was hard to live in Missouri after spending so much time in California.
Roles/ functions of prepositional phrases:
Post-modifier of a noun
I took several courses in history.

The installation of energy-saving devices is expensive.

post-modifier of an adjective
He wasnt aware of his drinking problem.

I was happy with my marks last term.

Adverbial
After the storm, the sky brightened.

In my opinion, people behave differently in crowds.

Note: two or more prepositional phrases may appear independently side by side in a sentence.
I read stories at home in the evenings.
adverb

adverd

Practice
Identify the role of the underlined adverb phrase.
A ( adverb),
M. Adj (modifier of adjective)
M. Adv. (modifier of adverb)
a)Small forks first appeared in the eleventh century.
b)They were widely condemned at that time.
c)In the eighteenth century, they suddenly became fashionable.
d)Knives were used far earlier than forks and spoons.
e)When meals were generally eaten with fingers, towel-sized napkins were essential.
f)After fork introduction, napkins were retained in a much smaller size.

Underline the prepositional phrases and circle the prepositions.


a)That massage is mentioned in Ancient Chinese writings.
b)Its a natural therapy for aches and pains in the muscles.
c)Its value is recognized by many doctors.
d)Non-professionals can learn to give massage.
e)They should be careful about applying it.
f)The main requirements are a warm room, a comfortable table and a bottle of oil.
Identify the function of each prepositional phrase. P Noun, p Adj or Adv
a)A candidate can no longer win with little campaign money.
b)The candidates are aware of the need for huge financial contributions.
c)They frequently distort the policies of opposing candidates.
d)In recent campaigns, television advertisements have been belligerent
e)They often resemble extravagant Hollywood films in their lavish productions.

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