Types of Phrases

Types of phrases in grammar

There are several types of phrases in English grammar. A phrase is a group of words that form what the dictionary calls 'a conceptual unit' (an idea contained in a few words). Phrases normally form parts of clauses. A phrase is not a sentence on its own. The important thing to not is that phrases do not make sense on their own as they do not have a subject and predicate.

What are the different types of phrases?

Some different types of grammatical phrases are as follows:

• Noun phrase

• Adjective phrase

• Adverb phrase

• Verb phrase

• Prepositional phrase

Let's take a closer look at each of these types of phrases. But, before we do that, and in case you need a reminder…

A noun = a word that is used to name something, such as an object, place, person, idea etc. For example, ‘desk’, ‘city’, ‘woman’, ‘love’.

An adjective = a word that describes a noun or pronoun. For example, in the sentence “the cat is grey”, the adjective is ‘grey’ and it is used to describe the noun (the cat).

A verb = a word that describes an action or state. For example, in the sentence “the teacher writes on the board” the verb is ‘writes’ as it indicates the action. In the sentence “the ball is rolling down the hill”, the auxiliary verb ‘is’ indicates the tense of the sentence, and the main verb ‘rolling’ expresses the action.

An adverb = a word that describes a verb, adjective, another adverb or a whole sentence. For example, in the sentence “she walks slowly” the adverb is ‘slowly’ as it adds information about the verb. In the sentence “he is really tall”, the adverb is ‘really’ as it adds information about the adjective.

A preposition = a word or group of words that indicate where things are in relation to one another. This can refer to direction, time, location and spatial relationships. For example, words like ‘on’, ‘in’, ‘under’, ‘over’, ‘before’, ‘after’.

Okay, let's continue to look at the different types of phrases...

Examples of the different types of phrases

Below you will see some examples along with the different types of phrases so you can easily make sense of a sentence in the future.

Noun phrase

A noun phrase is a group of words that consists of a noun (or pronoun eg. he, she, it) and other words that modify the noun. Modifiers can refer to articles (a/an/the), quantifiers (some, a lot, a little), demonstratives (this, that, those), possessives (his, her, their), adjectives or adverbs.

Noun phrases are used to give more information about a noun. They can function as the subject, object or complement of a sentence.

Noun phrase examples

Here are some examples of the types of phrases known as noun phrases.

It is used to add detail to the sentence, by indicating the subject (cat) and describing it (a cat that is black and belongs to someone).

It is used to indicate the object of the sentence (a movie) and provide a description of it (scary).

It has been argued that a noun phrase CAN consist of only one word, which would be either a noun or pronoun.

Here, Beth is the only noun in the sentence, so it can be considered a one-word noun phrase.

Adjective phrase

An adjective phrase (also known as an adjectival phrase) is a type of phrase which is a group of words that consists of an adjective and other words that modify or complement it. Adjective phrases have the purpose of an adjective and are used to describe or add more detail to a noun/pronoun. They can come before or after a noun.

Adjective phrase examples

Here are some examples of adjective phrases.

It appears after the noun and is used to provide more detail about the noun (the man).

It appears before the noun and is used to provide more information about the noun (doughnut) - it describes what they were like (sugar-coated).

Adverb phrase

An adverb phrase (also known as an adverbial phrase) is a group of words that consists of an adverb and often other modifiers. They have the function of an adverb in a sentence and are used to modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. They can appear before or after the elements they modify.

Adverb phrase examples

Here are some examples of adverb phrases.

It gives more information about how often the action takes place.

It gives more detail about how the action (lifted) is carried out.

Verb phrase

A verb phrase is a group of words that consists of a head (main) verb and other verbs such as copular verbs (verbs that join the subject to the subject complement ie., seems, appears, tastes) and auxiliaries (helping verbs ie., be, do, have). It can also include other modifiers. A verb phrase has the function of a verb in a sentence.

Verb phrase examples

Here are some examples of verb phrases.

It consists of the auxiliary verb ‘was’, which indicates the tense of the sentence, and the main verb ‘walking’, which indicates the action.

It consists of the modal verb ‘will’, which indicates a degree of certainty, and the main verb ‘go’ which indicates the future action.

Fig 2. 'She will go to the party' contains the verb phrase 'will go'

Prepositional phrase

A prepositional phrase is a group of words that consists of a preposition and an object. It can also include other modifiers, but these are not essential. A prepositional phrase can either act as an adjective or adverb in a sentence. It is used to modify nouns and verbs and gives information about the relationships between subjects and verbs.

Prepositional phrase examples

Here are some examples of prepositional phrases.

It gives information about where the subject (the rat) goes.

It gives information about where the subject (the cut) is situated.