Pronunciation: Phrase /freɪz/
PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE
The prepositional phrase is a phrase that consists of a preposition followed by a noun, a pronoun, a noun phrase, or an adverb.
Examples:
▪ Who is talking to Sara?
▪ They managed it between them.
▪ The child is playing with a puppy.
▪ To whom should I address my remarks?
▪ Since when have you been in charge here?
▪ What is in there?
Prepositional phrases may be modified (i.e. emphasized or limited) by adverbs.
▪Examples:
right beside the gate
quite beyond belief
exactly beneath the surface
simply for your benefit
Prepositional phrases should not be confused with complex prepositions.
Complex prepositions are groups of two or three words that together act as a single preposition.
In spite of, in front of, due to, apart from, with regard to, along with, on behalf of, on account of, with respect to, in case of, by means of , owing to, because of, except for, by way of
FUNCTIONS OF PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES
Two of the main functions of prepositional phrases in sentences are as adverbials (adjuncts, disjuncts, and conjuncts) and as complements (i.e. both subject complements and object complements). Prepositional phrases as Adjuncts (saying where, when, how, with what, for whom etc.)
Examples: on the table, in summer, in Canada, with great enthusiasm, with little knowledge, for her, etc.
Prepositional phrases as disjuncts( making a comment on the rest of the sentence)
▪To my surprise, there was no one there.
▪To her relief, the storm had not damaged her house.
▪In all fairness, I don’t think I can blame her for what happened.
Prepositional phrases as conjuncts (linking sentence)
Examples:
▪For a start, you cannot swim.
▪In the first place, you do not know how to swim.
▪For another thing, you cannot afford it.
Prepositional phrases as subject complements:
Examples:
▪Your work is of great value
▪Your opinion is of little interest
Prepositional phrases as object complements:
Examples:
▪He considered the argument of little importance.
▪He found the work beneath his dignity.
Prepositional phrases may modify the preceding nouns in much the same way as adjectives do. Examples:
▪Who is that man with red hair? ( that red-haired man)
▪He is a man of honor ( an honorable man)
▪We heard the screams of delight (delighted screams)
ADJECTIVE PHRASES
An adjective phrase is any phrase that has an adjective as its head and that can occupy the same position as a single adjective in a noun phrase or fill the same slot as a single adjective in a sentence.
Examples of adjectives as heads of adjective phrases:
▪Absolutely unbelievable
▪Quite good
▪Really easy
▪Strong enough
TWO MAIN FUNCTIONS OF ADJECTIVE PHRASES
1. Adjective phrases modify nouns.
For Example:
• a very exciting news
• a surprisingly easy exam
• a good enough result
Adjective phrases function as subject-complements or object complements.
For Example:
•The news was very exciting.
•John’s results were good enough.
•You made us very proud.
•George performed the task very well.
NOUN PHRASE
A noun phrase is any noun that has a noun as its head and that can occupy the same slot as a single noun or pronoun in a large phrase or in a sentence.
Examples:
▪ Big dogs frighten me
▪ The little girl is playing.
▪ Don’t touch those books.
▪ She came with her older sister.
▪ Your grandfather is a good-looking man.
▪ He has been decorating the hall all evening
Among the words that can be found with nouns and pronouns in noun phrases are:
Adjectives, participles, descriptive nouns, determiners, predeterminers, quantifiers , possessives and numerals.
Examples:
Empty boxes, a broken branch, a sudden blinding light, a stone wall, an orange , some people, my shoes, her cat, these books, both these books, half the seeds, what an idea, such a nice girl, many people, several books, much food, enough money, John’s car, Mary’s dress, five books, first three correct entries
FUNCTIONS PERFORMED BY NOUN PHRASES
1. Like nouns, noun phrases may fill the subject slot in a sentence:
Example:
▪ More heavy rain is expected later.
▪ An old man was sitting on the bench.
▪ The entire male population was in favor of the decision.
2. A noun phrase may occupy the direct object slot in a sentence:
Examples:
▪ I don't much like modern pop music.
▪ The waiter brought two cups of tea.
▪ The old lady was wearing a thick woolen coat.
3. A noun phrase may also function as an indirect object:
Examples:
▪ I gave the old beggar money for a cup of tea.
▪ Tom gave his mother some flowers.
▪ I've lent your brother my car.
▪ She promised her children a trip to the zoo.
4. Noun phrases may be subject-complements:
Examples:
▪ John is a gifted teacher.
▪ That's a very good idea.
▪ The rain was a great relief.
5. Noun phrases may be object-complements:
Examples:
▪ We consider John a very good teacher.
▪ They've elected me their chairman.
▪ He made her his personal assistant.
6. A noun phrase may be the object of a preposition in a prepositional phrase.
Examples:
▪ You're in great danger.
▪ They watched the river level rising with growing alarm.
▪ Stop scraping your knife and fork on your plate
ADVERB PHRASES
An adverb phrase is a group of words that has an adverb as its head.
Examples:
▪ She got out of bed very slowly.
▪ I get along very well with her.
▪ There's such a demand, we can't make these items fast enough.
▪ After being guided by her mother, she managed to bake the cake so easily.
▪ Please walk more quickly.
The head of an adverb phrase is the adverb that carries the main meaning of the phrase.
Examples:
▪ very slowly
▪ very well
▪ fast enough
▪ so easily
▪ more quickly
The words most commonly found along with adverbs in adverb phrases are also adverbs, such as very, slightly , really, thoroughly, quite, so, enough, etc. These adverbs modify the main adverbs (the heads of the phrases) by increasing or weakening their force.
Examples:
▪ She was behaving extremely oddly.
▪ I was walking very slowly.
▪ She was laughing slightly uneasily.
▪ His heart was beating rather irregularly.
FUNCTIONS PERFORMED BY ADVERB PHRASES
1. Adverb phrases mostly function as adverbials. For example, an adverb phrase may be an adjunct, saying how, when, how much, etc. something happens or applies.
Examples:
▪ I don't think john is behaving entirely rationally.
▪ She plays well but her brother plays even better.
▪ I so often feel that I have not made a good decision.
▪ You're not thinking very c1early, are you?
▪ I don't think I have read the book thoroughly enough.
Adverb phrases also function as disjuncts, commenting on the rest of the sentence.
Examples:
▪ Quite frankly, I don't want to know your reasons.
▪ Oddly enough, she didn't seem to recognize me.
▪ She is quite obviously lying.
▪ Very sensibly, she didn't give the man her address.
An adverb phrase may be a conjunct, linking two sentences or two parts of a sentence.
Examples:
▪ I know you only wanted to help. Even so, I don't think you should have participated in the argument.
▪ She might agree. Then again, she might not.
▪ She may not disapprove of what we're doing but even then she may not actually help us.
Another function of adverb phrases is, like adverbs, to modify adjectives, adverbs, and other word-groups, for example to say how much or how little something is the case.
Examples:
▪ I know only too well how you feel.
▪ You're singing far too loudly.
▪ The holiday was over much too soon.
▪ I know all too well the consequences of drug abuse.
ADVERB PHRASES AND ADVERBIAL PHRASES
An adverb phrase is sometimes called an adverbial phrase but, to avoid confusion, the two terms are best kept separate. An adverb phrase is a phrase that has an adverb as its head.
Examples:
▪ I know her quite well.
▪ The traffic is moving awfully slowly.
▪ do think we're doing this unnecessarily carefully.
▪ You are not thinking very clearly.
An adverbial phrase, on the other hand, is any phrase that can function as an adverbial in a sentence. Adverb phrases can, of course, function as adverbials, but so can prepositional phrases and noun phrases.
Examples:
NOUN PHRASES THAT FUNCTION AS ADVERBIALS
❖I will visit Susan tomorrow morning.
❖She moved out the very next day.
❖We will come back next week.
❖Are you going to sit there all day?
❖The patient feels tired all the time.
❖Every night, the baby would cry.
PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES THAT FUNCTION AS ADVERBIALS
Examples:
▪ Did you meet anyone interesting in town?
▪ They stood watching from a safe distance.
▪ School starts again on Tuesday.
▪ The old man was sitting under a chestnut tree.
▪ I have never felt so awful in my whole life.
▪ I thought he behaved with great dignity.
Noun phrases and prepositional phrases can therefore be classed along with adverb phrases as 'adverbial phrases'.
VERB PHRASE
A verb phrase is a group of two or more words that can function in a sentence in the same way as a single verb.
Examples:
▪ We looked for you everywhere. (verb)
▪ We have been looking for you everywhere. (verb phrase)
▪ I read some very interesting books. (verb)
▪ I have read some very interesting books. (verb phrase)
▪ Helen knew what to do. (verb)
▪ Helen should have known what to do. (verb phrase)
The head of a verb phrase is the main verb or lexical verb in that phrase, the word that carries the main meaning of the phrase
Examples:
▪ I have been reading some very interesting books.
▪ Helga should have known what to do.
▪ My sister might be coming tomorrow.
▪ My uncle will definitely be here though.
The other words (i.e. other than the lexical/ main verbs) in a verb phrase are auxiliary verbs or 'helping' verbs .
Examples:
▪I have been reading some very interesting books.
▪ John should have known what to do.
▪ I would tell you if I knew.
▪ I do not know; I have not decided yet.
Auxiliary verbs are used to indicate tenses:
▪ He is going. (present continuous tense)
▪ We will go. (future tense)
Auxiliary verbs are also used to indicate permission, intention, possibility, necessity, emphasis, etc. Examples:
• He can go.
• I shall go.
• We might go.
• You must go.
• She should go.
• They did go.
▪ They have gone. (present perfect tense)
Auxiliary verbs are usually divided into two groups: the primary auxiliaries ( be, have and do) and the modal auxiliaries (can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would and must). There are some other words as well that are usually included among the modal auxiliaries e.g.: dare, need, ought to and used to:
▪ I dare not tell her that.
▪ You need not leave.
▪ We ought to be on our way.
▪ They used to live next door to us.
Notice that be, have and do can be both auxiliaries and lexical verbs.
Examples:
✓ Maria was in the garden. (Iexical verb, a 'Iinking verb')
✓ Maria was singing. (auxiliary verb – the main verb is 'singing')
✓ The neighbours have a new car. (Iexical verb)
✓ The neighbours have crashed their new car. (auxiliary verb – the main verb is 'crashed')
✓ We did lots of interesting things during our holiday. (Iexical verb describing an action)
✓ We did not see anything interesting. (auxiliary verb – the main verb is 'see').
0 Comments