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The function of phrases
Phrases may function as verbs, nouns, adverbs or adjectives. Verb phrases A verb phrase consists of a verb, its direct and/or indirect objects, and any adverbs, adverb phrases or adverb clauses that modify it. The predicate of a clause or sentence is always a verb phrase: Corinne is trying to decide whether she wants to go to medical school or to go to law school. Joe did not have all the ingredients the recipe called for; therefore, he decided to make something else. After she had learned to drive, Alice felt more independent. We will meet at the library at 3:30 p.m. Noun phrases A noun phrase consists of a pronoun or noun and any associated modifiers, including adjectives, adjective phrases, adjective clauses and other nouns in the possessive case. As is the case with nouns, a noun phrase may act as a subject, the object of a verb or verbal, a subject complement or object complement, or the object of a preposition, as in the following examples: Subject Small children often insist that they can do things by themselves. Object of a verb To type quickly and accurately is Eugene’s goal. Object of a preposition The Arctic explorers were caught unawares by the spring breakup. Subject complement Frankenstein is the name of the scientist, not the monster. Object complement I consider Loki my favorite cat. Noun phrases using verbals Since some verbals—in particular, the gerund and the infinitive—may act as nouns, they may also form the nucleus of noun phrases: Ice fishing is a popular winter pastime. However, since verbals are formed from verbs, they may also take direct objects and be modified by adverbs. Gerund phrases and infinitive phrases are noun phrases consisting of a verbal, its modifiers (both adjectives and adverbs) and objects: Running a marathon in the summer is thirsty work. Bridget is planning to buy a house next month. Adjective phrases An adjective phrase modifies a noun or pronoun. Adjective phrases are often constructed from participles or prepositions together with their objects, as in the following: Example Explanation I was driven almost mad by the sound of my neighbour’s constant hammering. The prepositional phrase of my neighbour’s constant hammering acts as an adjective modifying the noun sound. My director locked his keys in the trunk of a borrowed car. The prepositional phrase of a borrowed car acts as an adjective modifying the noun trunk. We saw Peter dashing across the parking lot. Here the participle phrase dashing across the parking lot acts as an adjective describing the proper noun Peter. We picked up the records broken in the scuffle. The participle phrase broken in the scuffle modifies the noun phrase the records. Adverb phrases A prepositional phrase may also be an adverb phrase that functions as an adverb, as in the following: Example Explanation Joe bought some spinach when he went to the corner store. The prepositional phrase to the corner store acts as an adverb modifying the verb went. Lightning flashed brightly in the night sky. The prepositional phrase in the night sky functions as an adverb modifying the verb flashed. In early October, Giselle planted twenty tulip bulbs; unfortunately, squirrels ate the bulbs and none bloomed. The prepositional phrase in early October acts as an adverb modifying the entire sentence. We will meet at the library at 3:30 p.m. The prepositional phrase at 3:30 p.m. acts as an adverb modifying the verb phrase will meet. The dogs were sniffing about the letter carrier’s feet. The prepositional phrase about the letter carrier’s feet acts as an adverb modifying the compound verb were sniffing.Source: HyperGrammar 2 (basics of English grammar)
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Preposition
A preposition links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition. A preposition usually indicates the temporal, spatial or logical relationship of its object to the rest of the sentence. In each of the following sentences, a preposition locates the noun book in space or in time: The book is on the table. The book is beneath the table. The book is leaning against the table. The book is beside the table. She held the book over the table. She read the book during class. A prepositional phrase is made up of a preposition, its object and any associated adjectives or adverbs. A prepositional phrase can function as a noun, an adjective or an adverb. The most common prepositions are about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, but, by, despite, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on, onto, out, outside, over, past, since, through, throughout, till, to, toward, under, underneath, until, up, upon, with, within and without. Each of the highlighted words in the following examples is a preposition. The climbers rappelled the mountain face without fear. In this sentence, the preposition without introduces the noun fear. The prepositional phrase without fear functions as an adverb describing how the climbers rappelled. There was rejoicing throughout the country when Canada won a gold medal in hockey. Here the preposition throughout introduces the noun phrase the country. The prepositional phrase throughout the country acts as an adverb describing the location of the rejoicing. The spider crawled slowly along the banister. The preposition along introduces the noun phrase the banister and the prepositional phrase along the banister acts as an adverb, describing where the spider crawled. The dog is hiding under the porch because it knows it will be punished for chewing up a new pair of shoes. Here the preposition under introduces the prepositional phrase under the porch, which acts as an adverb modifying the compound verb is hiding. The screenwriter searched for the manuscript everywhere in his office. Here the preposition in introduces the prepositional phrase in his office, which acts as an adverb describing the location of the missing papers.Source: HyperGrammar 2 (basics of English grammar)
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Building phrases: Introduction
A phrase is a group of two or more grammatically linked words without a subject or predicate. However, a group of grammatically linked words with a subject and predicate is called a clause. The word group teacher both students and is not a phrase because the words have no grammatical relationship to one another. Similarly, bay the across is not a phrase. In both cases, the words need to be rearranged in order to create phrases. The word groups both teachers and students and across the bay are both phrases. Phrases add information to sentences and may function as subjects, objects, subject complements or object complements, verbs, adjectives or adverbs. The highlighted words in each of the following sentences make up a phrase: Joe bought some spinach when he went to the corner store. Lightning flashed brightly in the night sky. They heard high-pitched cries in the middle of the night. In early October, Giselle planted twenty tulip bulbs; unfortunately, squirrels ate the bulbs and none bloomed. Small children often insist that they can do things by themselves. The details The function of phrases - Next Page Review exercise: Function of phrasesSource: HyperGrammar 2 (basics of English grammar)
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