PHRASE: TYPES AND
FUNCTIONS
What is a Phrase?
• A phrase is a group of words that forms part of a sentence, does not have a
subject and a predicate and has no complete meaning.
• Examples:
• …in the garden
• Eating rice
• To err
• …very good
• …quite nice
• There are different types of phrases in English such as noun phrase, verb phrase,
gerundive phrase, infinitival phrase, adjective phrase, adverb phrase,
prepositional phrase, and so on. The main word or head word in a phrase helps
to the identify the type of phrase it is.
Noun Phrase
• This is a phrase that has a noun as its head word.
• Examples:
• The man
• Some young Hausa men
• My mother
• The words in bold print are the head words of each of the phrases above.
They are nouns, hence each of the phrases above is a noun phrase.
• A pronoun can also be the head word of a noun phrase, e.g:
• He that is down need not be afraid. (Subject of the verb, ‘need’)
• (Noun phrase)
• ‘He’ is the head word and ‘that is down’ is an embedded clause (adjectival
The structure of a Noun Phrase
• The structure of a noun phrase is indicated thus:
• M(h)q
• M – modifier (items that come before the head word)
• H – head word
• q – qualifier
• The obligatory item or element in a noun phrase is the head word.
Modifiers in a Noun Phrase
• These are items that come before the head word. They are:
• 1. Determiners, e.g: an, the, some, many, few, my, etc.
• My mother – My mother is a teacher. (subject of the verb ‘is’.)
• Her house – she bought her house. (object of the verb ‘bought’.)
• 2. Adjective, e.g. red, nice, beautiful, etc.
• Nice girl – Bola likes a nice girl. (object of the verb ‘likes’.)
• Beautiful family – we have a beautiful family. (object of the verb ‘have’.)
• 3. Ordinals/Cardinals, e.g: ten, tenth, six, seventh, etc.
• Sixth station – She has reached the sixth station.
• 4. Another noun, e.g: wedding, Hausa, etc.
• It is a wedding ceremony. (subject complement)
Qualifiers in a Noun Phrase
• Qualifiers in a noun phrase are items that come after the head word. They
include:
• 1. Prepositional Phrase, e.g: in the garden, on the table
• The pen on the table is mine. (subject of the verb ‘is’)
• That man in the garden prays a lot. (subject of the verb ‘prays’)
• 2. Adjectival clause: this is an embedded clause that shifts its rank to that
of a phrase, e.g.
• The lady that I love cares for me.
• She is the woman who lost her daughter last year. (subject complement)
• 3. Non-finite clauses: these are embedded clauses that represent a state or event the
same way notwithstanding when it happened. Non-finite clauses are in form of
gerunds, participles and infinitives.
• a. Gerunds are verbs formed from nouns – dancing, eating, etc.
• Gerunds act like nouns and can function as subjects or objects of sentences.
• I like eating.
• They do not mind going out.
• b. Participles are forms of verbs used to modify a noun, noun phrase, verb or verb
phrase. There is the present participle (writing, sitting, etc.) and the past participle
(written, sung, arisen, etc.)
• C. Infinitive – This is the normal form of a verb with ‘to’ preceding it. If nothing comes
before it, it is called the ‘bare infinitive’. (to eat, he saw me eat it)
• Examples: (of noun phrases with a non-finite clause as qualifier)
• The man eating rice is my father. (subject of the verb ‘is’)
Functions of a Noun Phrase
• 1. Subject of a verb
• The young Hausa men in the car smoke a lot.
• 2. Object of a verb
• We ate the cold rice she gave us.
• 3. Subject complement
• Bolanle is a caring nurse.
• 4. Object complement
• We made Tunde a good man.
• 5. Appositive: this gives additional, unnecessary information about the
noun to explain it better.
• The man, a gold digger, arrived late.
Gerundive Phrase
• A Gerundive phrase performs the functions of a noun/noun phrase in a
sentence.
• Its head word is a gerund.
• It usually begins with a gerund.
• Examples:
• Dancing everyday makes one happy. (Subject of the verb, ‘makes’)
• Eating good food is good habit. (Subject complement)
• My daily exercise involves jumping the school fence. (Object of the verb,
‘involves’)
Infinitival Phrase
• This is a phrase that begins with an infinitive and is followed by modifiers.
• It can function as a noun phrase or as an adjective.
• Examples:
• To err is human. (subject of the verb, ‘is’)
• The way to heaven is narrow. (It functions here as an adjective that
modifies the noun phrase, ‘the way’.)
Verb Phrase
• This consists of the main verb or the group of verbs/verbal group that
perform the action in a sentence.
• The function of a verb phrase is that it shows or indicates the action
performed in a sentence or the state of being in that sentence.
• We can eat at night.
• They will love this.
• The mother of God has been praying since she was in the earth.
• I would wish you a Merry Christmas.
Adjective Phrase
• This is a phrase that qualifies or gives additional information about a noun
or a pronoun.
• It usually has an adjective as its head word and an adverb as a modifier.
• An adjective phrase qualifies a pronoun, a noun or a noun phrase.
• She is really cute. (It qualifies the pronoun, ‘she’.)
• The child seems very happy. (It qualifies the noun phrase, ‘the child’.)
• The cost of a car is too expensive. (It qualifies the noun phrase, ‘a car’.)
Adverbial Phrase
• An adverbial phrase describes how, when, where, to what extent, etc. an
action was done.
• An adverbial phrase qualifies a verb.
• Types of Adverbial Phrase
• 1. Adverbial Phrase of Manner (It answers the question, ‘how?’)
• She danced like a good dancer.
• 2. Adverbial Phrase of Place (It answers the question, ‘where?’)
• She wrote the examination in the church.
• They danced at home.
• 3. Adverbial Phrase of Time (It answers the question, ‘when?’)
• She left in the morning.
Prepositional Phrase
• This is a phrase that has a preposition as its head word.
• Its structure is described as: preposition + object/complement of the
preposition.
• The object or complement of the preposition in the prepositional phrase
could be a pronoun, a noun, a noun phrase or a noun clause.
• We met in the garden.
• He sat above them.
• A Prepositional Phrase can function as a aadverbial/dverbial phrase
sometimes.
• She stayed at home (Prepositional Phrase/Adverbial phrase of place)
