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How to write a phrase. Do you know how to write a phrase? Ya here we will discuss more about phrase and how to write and compose a phrase. 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:
- After lunch
- After slithering down the stairs and across the road to scare nearly to death Mrs. Philpot busy pruning her rose bushes
Examine the following sentence:
The house at the end of the street is red.
The words in bold form a phrase; together they act like a noun. This phrase can be further broken down; a prepositional phrase functioning as an adjective can be identified:
at the end of the street
Further, a smaller prepositional phrase can be identified inside this greater prepositional phrase:
of the street
And within the greater prepositional phrase, one can identify a noun phrase:
the end of the street
Phrases can be identified by constituency tests such as proform substitution (=replacement). For instance, the prepositional phrase at the end of the street could be replaced by an adjective such as nearby: the nearby house or even the house nearby. The end of the street could also be replaced by another noun phrase, such as the crossroads to produce the house at the crossroads.
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
- Absolute phrase
Noun phrase
A noun phrase includes a noun-a person, place, or thing-and the modifiers-either before or after-which distinguish it. The pattern looks like this:
Optional modifier(s) + Noun + Optional modifier(s)
Here are some examples:
The shoplifted pair of jeans
Pair = noun; the, shoplifted, of jeans = modifiers.
A cat that refused to meow
Cat = noun; a, that refused to meow = modifiers.
A noun phrase has a noun as its head. The modifiers may be:
Determiners:
He carried the bags
Possessives:
She brought Mary's bags
Adjectives:
The heavy bags are downstairs
Prepositional phrases:
The bridge over the river
Clauses:
The pub we went to
A noun phrase does the work of a noun in a sentence.
It can be:
1. the subject:
The red balloon soared upwards.
2. the object:
I read that book about dinosaurs
3. the complement:
She wants to be a doctor
4. possessive
My best friend’s father
5. the object of a preposition
looked over the fence
Most sentences contain several noun phrases, which often determine the overall length and complexity of the whole sentence. This is why it’s important to be able to focus attention on the noun phrases in a text, in order to discuss their structures and how they are used.
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:
auxiliary verb(s) + main verb + verb ending when necessary
Here are some examples:
Had cleaned
Had = auxiliary verb; clean = main verb; ed = verb ending.
Should have been writing
Should, have, been = auxiliary verbs; write = main verb; ing = verb ending.
Here are the verb phrases in action:
- Mom had just cleaned the refrigerator shelves when Lawrence knocked over the pitcher of orange juice.
- Sarah should have been writing her research essay, but she couldn't resist another short chapter in her Stephen King novel.
- If guests are coming for dinner, we must wash our smelly dog!
Prepositional phrase
At the minimum, a prepositional phrase will begin with apreposition and end with a noun, pronoun, gerund, or clause, 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:
preposition + noun, pronoun, gerund, or clause
preposition + modifier(s) + noun, pronoun, gerund, or clause
Example:
From eating too much
From = preposition; eating = gerund; too, much= modifiers.
A prepositional phrase will function as an adjective or adverb. As an adjective, the prepositional phrase will answer the question Which one?
Read these examples:
The spider above the kitchen sink has just caught a fat fly.
As an adverb, a prepositional phrase will answer questions such as How? When? or Where?
While sitting in the cafeteria, Jack catapulted peas with a spoon.
Infinitive phrase
An infinitive phrase will begin with an infinitive [to + simple form of the verb]. It will often include objects and/or modifiers that complete the thought. The pattern looks like this:
infinitive + object(s) and/or modifier(s)
Examples:
To slurp spaghetti
To send the document before the deadline
Infinitive phrases can function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Look at these examples:
To avoid another lecture from Michelle on the benefits of vegetarianism was Aaron's hope for their date at a nice restaurant.
Participle phrase
A participle phrase will begin with a present or past participle. If the participle is present, it will dependably end in ing. Likewise, a regular past participle will end in a consistent ed. Irregular past participles, unfortunately, conclude in all kinds of ways [although this list will help].
Since all phrases require two or more words, a participle phrase will often include objects and/or modifiers that complete the thought. The pattern looks like this:
participle + object(s) and/or modifier(s)
Here are some examples:
- Flexing his muscles in front of the bathroom mirror
- Ripped from a spiral-ring notebook
- Driven crazy by Grandma's endless questions
Participle phrases always function as adjectives, adding description to the sentence. Read these examples:
- The stock clerk lining up cartons of orange juice made sure the expiration date faced the back of the cooler.
- Lining up cartons of orange juice modifies the noun clerk.
Gerund phrase
A gerund phrase will begin with a gerund, an ing word, and will often include other modifiers and/or objects. The pattern looks like this:
gerund + object(s) and/or modifier(s)
Gerund phrases look exactly like present participle phrases. How do you tell the difference? You must determine the function of the phrase.
Absolute phrase
An absolute phrase combines a noun and a participle with any accompanying modifiers or objects. The pattern looks like this:
noun + participle + optional modifier(s) and/or object(s)
Here are some examples:
1. His brow knitted in frustration
Brow = noun; knitted = participle; his, in frustration = modifiers.
2. Her fingers flying over the piano keys
Fingers = noun; flying = participle; her, over the piano keys = modifiers.
3. Our eyes following the arc of the ball
Eyes = noun; following = participle; arc = direct object; our, the, of the ball = modifiers.
References
Chompchomp
Phon.ucl
Wikipedia
