This document contains detailed discussion of the types of phrases in English with elucidating examples.

2. LECTURE # 2
SPEAKER:
MUHAMMAD SHAKEEL MANSHA
M.A. ENGLISH (LITERATURE)
M.A. ELTL
M.PHIL APPLIED LINGUSITICS
DISCUSSION ON BASICS:
“PHRASES”

3. PHRASE:
 A group of words, which makes sense, but not
complete sense is called a Phrase.
 Look at the composition “in a corner”
 Does it make sense clear?
 Conveying complete information?
 Structure is ok?
“in a corner”
SUBJECT? PREDICATE?

4. EXAMPLES
 The sun rises in the east.
 Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall.
 There came a giant to my door.
 It was a sunset of great beauty.
 Show me how to do it.
 He has a chain of gold.

5. KINDS OF PHRASES:
 Noun Phrases
 Adjective Phrases
 Adverb Phrases
 Preposition Phrases
 Gerund Phrases
 Infinitive Phrases

6. NOUN PHRASES
 A Noun Phrase is a group of words that does the
work of a Noun.
“THE BOY WANTS SOMETHING.”
SUBJECT VERB OBJECT

7. “THE BOY WANTS TO GO HOME.”
SUBJECT VERB OBJECT

8. CONSTRUCTION OF NP
 A noun phrase can be one word.
Dew is expensive (uncountable noun).
Planes take off from here. (plural noun).
They landed at Berlin (name).
She alerted the pilot (pronoun).
 A noun phrase can also be more than one word.
Someone was stealing the Pepsi.
A lot of planes take off from here.
Security guards set a trap.

9. A NOUN PHRASE CAN HAVE:
1: Determiners
Articles Demonstratives Possessives
Indefinite
Definite

10. 2: QUANTIFIERS
Tell about the quantity or measurement
 A lot of money
 Two people
 Every photo
 Half the passengers
Examples: a lot of, many, much, a few, every, each, all, most,
both, half, some, any, no etc.

11. 3: MODIFIERS
 A noun can be modified by an adjective or by
another noun.
Adjective Noun
Modifiers
Small bottles
The exact time
Glass bottles
An emergency landing

12.  A prepositional phrase or adverb phrase can come
after the noun and modify it.
Modifiers
Prep. Phrase Adverb phrase
The people inside
The summer of 1980

13. SOME EXAMPLES
 Early to bed is a good maxim.
 He hopes to win the first prize.
 He loves to issue harsh orders.
 We enjoy playing cricket.
 To win a prize is my ambition.

14. MORE ON NPS:
 A quantifier can be more than one word.
 A lot of money, two hundred and fifty passengers
 We sometimes use both a quantifier and a determiner
 All that whisky, both the doors
 We can do this with all, both and half
 We can also use a determiner after a quantifier + of
 Each of the doors, a lot of my time, one of these magazines
 Sometimes a quantifier comes after a determiner.
 We can use many, few or a number after the, these, those or a
possessive
 The many rooms of the house, those few people left

15. CONT….
 There can be more than one adjective or noun modifier
 A lovely hot meal, china soup dishes
 The modifier can be a gerund or participle
 Gerund: some cooking oil, a flying lesson
 Participle: a ticking clock, some stolen bottles of Dew
 After a noun we can use a clause as a modifier
 A plan to catch a thief
 A clock hidden inside the drinks cabinet
 The waiter who was serving drinks

16. OVERVIEW OF NP
Quantifier (of) Determiner Adjective
modifier
Noun
modifier
Noun Other
modifiers
A Bomb
A Hot Meal For two
The Door
All These Empty bottles here
A lot of Her rich friends
Enough milk
some Nice Soup dishes
Each of the heavy Glass doors Of the
building

17. SAMAJ AI?
 His father wished to speak to the headmaster.
 Horses prefer living in dark stables.
 I should hate to do such a thing.
 Promise to come again.
 He denies stealing the money.
 Your doing such a thing surprises me.
 Thinking good thoughts precedes good actions.

18. ADJECTIVE PHRASE:
 An adjective phrase is a group of words that does
the work of an Adjective.
 For example:
“The magistrate was a man with a kindly nature.”
“The magistrate was a kind man.”

19. COMPARE:
 A crown made of gold.
 A cloak of purple color.
 An elephant with a white skin.
 A track through the jungle.
 A load of great weight.
 A golden crown.
 A purple cloak.
 A white elephant.
 A jungle track.
 A heavy load.
ADJECTIVE PHRASES
ADJECTIVES

20. PRACTICE!
 A man in great difficulty came to me for help.
 He is a person of very considerable renown.
 Wild beasts in small cages are a sorry sight.
 A friend in need is a friend indeed.
 He was a lad of great promise.
 He bore a banner with a strange device.
 A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.
 He tells a tale with the ring of truth in it.

21. ADVERB PHRASE
 An adverb phrase is a group of words that does the
work of an adverb.
He answered rudely
He answered in a very rude manner

22. COMPARE!
 Adverbs
 Bravely
 Unwisely
 Swiftly
 Beautifully
 Formerly
 Recently
 Soon
 Adverb Phrases
 In a brave manner
 In an unwise manner
 In a swift manner
 In a beautiful style
 In former times
 Just now
 before very long

23. SPOT OUT!
 She lived in the middle of a great wood.
 Nothing can live on the moon.
 They sat for a while on the bank.
 Honesty is written on his face.
 Come into the garden, dear!
 O’er her hangs the great dark bell.
 On your concession this will lie.
 To the northward stretched the desert.

24. PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES
 When a phrase has a preposition as the head word,
that phrase is called Prepositional phrase.
 They are playing under the bridge.
 I am walking in the park.
 Many slept beside the lake.
The book lies on the table

25. FIND OUT!
 He is in the room.
 I left him behind the door.
 She sat by the cottage door.
 The path leads through the woods.
 We cannot live without water.

26. GERUND PHRASE
 A gerund phrase is created when a gerund – a verb
that takes an –ing form and functions as a noun –
has a modifier, object or both.
 Eating a slice of pie quickly is a recipe for disaster.
 The gerund in the sentence is eating. (Remember, a gerund
is a noun that is formed by adding the -ing suffix to a verb.)
 The Gerund phrase object in the sentence (the thing being
acted upon, in this case by eating) is a slice of pie.
 The modifier in the sentence is quickly.

27. HOW TO RECOGNIZE A GERUND PHRASE?
 A gerund phrase will follow these rules, which can
help you identify a gerund phrase in a sentence:
 The phrase will always start with a gerund.
 The gerund phrase will either have a modifier, an object or
both.
 The entire phrase will function as a noun.
 The phrase will have singular agreement with a verb.

28. EXAMPLE:
 Reading books quietly is my favorite pastime.
 My favorite pastime is reading books quietly
 I recommend reading books quietly to pass the
time.

29. INFINITIVE PHRASE
 An infinitive phrase is the infinitive form of a verb
plus any complements and modifiers.
The complement of an infinitive verb will often be
its direct object, and the modifier will often be
an adverb.
 For example:
• He likes to knead the dough slowly.
 (The infinitive verb is to knead. The complement is its direct
object (the dough). The modifier is the adverb (slowly). They all
make up the infinitive phrase.

30. EXAMPLES:
 He helped to build the roof.
 The officer returned to help the inspectors.
 Let me show you the best way to fit a door quickly.
 She tells you to dance like no one is watching.

31. INFINITIVE PHRASES USED AS NOUNS
 Here are some infinitive phrases used as nouns:
 He helped to build the roof.
 The only solution is to lower the standards.

32. INFINITIVE PHRASES USED AS ADJECTIVES
 Here are some infinitive phrases used as adjectives:
 Let him show you the best way to paint the door.
 I need a book to read on holiday.

33. INFINITIVE PHRASES USED AS ADVERBS
 Here are some infinitive phrases used as adverbs:
 The officer returned to help the inspectors
 He opened the box to reveal a huge bullfrog.