English phrase

(n phrase) [freiz] is a small group of words

(usually without a finite verb) which forms
part of an actual or implied sentence
He arrived after dinner .

 Clauses and phrases are the building

blocks of sentences. A phrase is a group
of words that act as a part of speech but
cannot stand alone as a sentence.
Clauses are groups of words that have a
subject and a predicate. Independent
clauses express a complete thought and
can stand alone as a sentence but
subordinate clauses depend on other parts
of the sentence to express a complete
thought.

 A sentence expresses a complete

thought and contains a subject, a
noun or pronoun, and a predicate,
a verb or verb phrase. The four
basic types of sentencessimple,
compound, complex, and
compound-complexuse
phrases and clauses in varying
degrees of complexity.

 phrase - an expression consisting of one

or more words forming a grammatical
constituent of a sentence head word,
headword - a content word that can be
qualified by a modifier
grammatical construction, construction,
expression - a group of words that form a
constituent of a sentence and are
considered as a single unit; nominal,
nominal phrase, noun phrase - a phrase
that can function as the subject or object
of a verb

 verb phrase, predicate - one of the two

main constituents of a sentence; the
predicate contains the verb and its
complements
prepositional phrase - a phrase beginning
with a preposition
pronominal, pronominal phrase - a phrase
that functions as a pronoun
modifier, qualifier - a content word that
qualifies the meaning of a noun or verb

 A phrase is a small group of words that

adds meaning to a word. A phrase is not a
sentence because it is not a complete idea
with a subject and a predicate.
In English there are five different kinds of
phrases, one for each of the main parts of
speech. In a phrase, the main word, or the
word that is what the phrase is about, is
called the head. In these examples, it is
printed in cyan. The words which make up
the rest of the phrase and do the work of
changing, or modifying the head, are
printed in green.

 In a noun phrase, one or more words

work together to give more information
about a noun.
all my dear children
the information age
seventeen hungry lions in the rocks
In an adjective phrase, one or more
words work together to give more
information about an adjective.

Examples:.
so very sweet
earnest in her desire
very happy with his work
In a verb phrase, one or more words work together to
give more meaning to a verb. In English, the verb phrase
is very complex, but a good description of its many forms
can be found here.
In an adverb phrase, one or more words work together
to give more information about an adverb.
especially softly
formerly of the city of Perth
much too quickly to see clearly

 In a prepositional phrase, one or more

words work together to give information
about time, location, or possession, or
condition. The preposition always appears
at the front of the phrase.
after a very long walk
behind the old building
for all the hungry children
in case it should happen again

Prepositional Phrases
Like adjectives and adverbs, prepositional
phrases add meaning to the nouns and
verbs in sentences. A prepositional phrase
has two basic parts: a preposition plus a
noun or a pronoun that serves as the
object of the preposition.

 The Prepositional Phrase

The most common phrase is the prepositional
phrase. You'll find these phrases everywhere
in sentences, clauses, and even in other
phrases. Each prepositional phrase begins with
a preposition (in, of, by, from, for, etc.) and
includes a noun or pronoun that is the object of
the preposition.
in the room
of the people
by the river
from the teacher
for the party

 The object of a preposition can have its

own modifiers, which also are part of the
prepositional phrase.
in the smoky, crowded room
of the remaining few people
by the rushing river
from the tired and frustrated teacher
for the midnight victory party

 Prepositional phrases function as either

adjectives or adverbs.
The woman in the trench coat pulled out
her cellular phone.
The prepositional phrase here acts as an
adjective describing the noun woman.
Most of the audience snoozed during the
tedious performance.
The prepositional phrase here acts as an
adverb modifying the verb snoozed.

 A spaceship from Venus landed in my back

yard. However, like adverbs, prepositional
phrases that modify verbs can also be found at
the very beginning or very end of a sentence:
In the morning, the Venusians mowed my lawn.
The Venusians mowed my lawn in the morning.
In both versions, the prepositional phrase in the
morning modifies the verb mowed.
The Venusians swam for two hours after lunch in
my pool. This arrangement gives the idea that
the visitors from Venus enjoyed lunch in the
pool. If this is not the case, shift the prepositional
phrase:

 After lunch, the Venusians swam for two hours

in my pool. The best arrangement is one that is
both clear and uncluttered.
On a rickety stool in one corner of the crowded
honky tonk, the folk singer sits playing lonesome
songs on his battered old guitar about warm
beer, cold women, and long nights on the road.
In this case, the best way to break up the string
of phrases is to make two sentences:
On a rickety stool in one corner of the crowded
honky tonk, the folk singer sits hunched over his
battered old guitar. He plays lonesome songs
about warm beer, cold women, and long nights
on the road.