Question 1

What is a phrase?

Accepted Answer

A phrase is a group of words that works as one part of a sentence, built round one main word called the head, with no subject and finite verb of its own. Length does not decide it: the tall girl in the red coat is one noun phrase, and in modern grammars even Dogs in Dogs bark is a one-word noun phrase.

Question 2

What are the types of phrases?

Accepted Answer

The five main types are named by their head: noun phrase (my little brother), verb phrase (will read), adjective phrase (very sleepy), adverb phrase (far too slowly) and prepositional phrase (after lunch). School grammar also names infinitive phrases (to win the match), gerund and participle phrases (-ing), appositives and absolute phrases. Quirk et al. and CGEL call the non-finite ones clauses.

Question 3

What is the head of a phrase?

Accepted Answer

The head is the one word a phrase cannot lose, and it decides the phrase's type. In the big red ball the head is ball, so it is a noun phrase; in very tall it is tall, so it is an adjective phrase. The head need not come last: in the house with the green door, the head is house.

Question 4

What is a noun phrase?

Accepted Answer

A noun phrase is a group built round a noun head that does a noun's job, such as subject or object. It has four slots: determiner, premodifier, head, postmodifier, as in those three old houses by the river. Only the head must be filled, so Dogs in Dogs bark is a noun phrase. He, she, it or they can replace it.

Question 5

What is a verb phrase?

Accepted Answer

A verb phrase is a group built round a main verb, with any helping verbs in front: is running, will go, might have been waiting. The main verb comes last and is the head; helpers go in the order modal, have, be, be. Grammars differ on size: Quirk et al. mean only this verb group, while CGEL also includes the verb's complements.

Question 6

What is the difference between a phrase and a clause?

Accepted Answer

A clause has its own subject and a tensed, finite verb; a phrase does not. After we won is a clause (we + won); after the match is a phrase. Length does not decide: before I left is short but a clause. To-groups and -ing groups are phrases in school grammar and non-finite clauses in Quirk et al. and CGEL.

Question 7

What is a prepositional phrase?

Accepted Answer

A prepositional phrase is a preposition followed by its noun phrase: in the park, after lunch, with a smile. It works as one unit: in the park swaps for there, after lunch for then. Its head is the preposition, so it stays a prepositional phrase whether it tells where or when or describes a noun: the girl in the red coat.

Question 8

What is an infinitive phrase?

Accepted Answer

An infinitive phrase is to plus a base verb, with whatever that verb needs: to win the match. It shows no tense and can be a subject (To win the match was hard), an object (She wants to win), a purpose (He came to help) or a describer (a place to stay). Quirk et al. and CGEL call it a non-finite clause.

Question 9

What is the difference between a gerund phrase and a participle phrase?

Accepted Answer

The job decides. A gerund phrase does a noun's job, so it can replace it: Swimming in the sea is fun. A participle phrase describes a noun: The girl swimming in the sea is my cousin. With a helper in front (is swimming), the -ing word belongs to a verb group. Modern grammars call both non-finite clauses; CGEL says gerund-participle.

Question 10

What is an appositive?

Accepted Answer

An appositive is a noun phrase placed beside another to rename the same person or thing: My friend, a talented singer, won the prize. It passes the swap test: A talented singer won the prize. Commas mark an extra name and come in pairs mid-sentence; no commas mean the name picks out which one, as in The film Lagaan won many awards.

Question 11

What is an absolute phrase?

Accepted Answer

An absolute phrase is a noun plus a participle, set apart from the rest of the sentence: Her hands trembling, she opened the letter. It has its own noun but no finite verb, so it never borrows the main subject and is not dangling. Adding were makes a comma splice. Some grammars call it an absolute construction or a non-finite clause.

Question 12

What is the difference between 'stop to do' and 'stop doing'?

Accepted Answer

Stop to eat means pause another activity in order to eat; stop eating means no longer eat. Remember, forget, try, regret and go on shift meaning the same way: remember to lock is a task still ahead, remember locking is a memory. Verbs such as like, love, start, begin and continue take either form with little difference, so neither is wrong.

Question 13

Can a long group of words be just one phrase?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A phrase can grow at both ends while its head stays the same: a dog, a small brown dog, a small brown dog with a long tail. All three are one noun phrase, head dog, because it can replace each. Words before the head say which one and what it is like; words after usually say which one.

Question 14

What is an adjective phrase?

Accepted Answer

An adjective phrase is a group built round an adjective head, often with a word in front saying how much: very tall, so kind, too tired. The head is the adjective, not very: The giraffe is very makes no sense. One adjective alone can fill the slot (The baby is happy), and words can follow: afraid of the dark.

Question 15

How do you identify a phrase in a sentence?

Accepted Answer

Use the Phrase Test. First find the head, the one word the group cannot lose. Next test the group as one part: can one word (it, they, there, then) replace it, can it move as a block, or can it answer a question? Last, check it has no subject and finite verb of its own; if it does, it is a clause.