What is a Phrase?
Phrases are groupings of two or more words that are missing a subject, a predicate, or both. There are many types of phrases, but some common phrases include noun phrases, verb phrases, and prepositional phrases.
Examples of Phrases
Some examples of phrases would be the following:
Noun Phrase Definition: A noun phrase consists of a noun and any other words that modify it.
– a brand new coffee mug
– the sparkly blue dress
– an energetic, playful kitten
Verb Phrase Definition: A verb phrase consists of a main verb and any helping verbs attached to it.
– was reading
– had been practicing
– could have studied
Prepositional Phrase Definition: A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition, the object of the preposition, and any other words between them.
– on the sandy beach
– inside the mailbox
– behind a velvet curtain
What to Know About Phrases
Be sure not to confuse phrases with clauses. Phrases are missing a subject, a verb, or both. Clauses, on the other hand, contain both a subject and a verb. Depending on whether they are independent clauses or dependent clauses, some clauses can stand alone as a sentence (independent) while some clauses cannot stand alone (dependent).
As mentioned in the examples above, there can be many types of phrases such as appositive phrases (a type of noun phrase), verb phrases, prepositional phrases, and more. Be sure to take a minute to understand the differences among them and recognize that in each of them, there is something missing, be it a subject, a verb, or both.
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