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Panda blue 483 Posted 8 years ago
Grammar

Phrase

Online/text definition of a phrase.

A phrase is a related group of words. The words work together as a "unit," but they do not have a subject and a verb.


the frightened boy on the bus (noun phrase)


What does this definition mean in English. The noun phrase and most (alot of) phrases have subjects and verbs. All I can see is they don't necessarily work as a complete idea.

The sentence could say:

I'll never forget/ the frightened boy on the bus.


Now I've just added an extra subject (I) and it's a clearer idea.

  

Top answer

panda blue 483 A phrase is a related group of words. It seems to me that they're defining a phrase as any word group shorter than a full clause that makes some kind of sense. We can use this sentence to illustrate: The words work together as a unit, but they do not have a subject and a verb.

— CalifJim

  • panda blue 483 A phrase is a related group of words.
  • It seems to me that they're defining a phrase as any word group shorter than a full clause that makes some kind of sense.
  • We can use this sentence to illustrate: The words work together as a unit, but they do not have a subject and a verb.
  • In the example sentence, 'work together as a unit' can be a phrase, but not 'a unit, but they'.
  • That's the sort of thing they mean by 'related' and 'work together as a unit'.
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2 Answers
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panda blue 483A phrase is a related group of words. ...

It seems to me that they're defining a phrase as any word group shorter than a full clause that makes some kind of sense. We can use this sentence to illustrate:

The words work together as a unit, but they do not have a subject and a verb.

In the example sentence, 'work together as

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A group of words that do not have a subject- verb combination is called a phrase. Here, the absence of subject- verb combination is vital. A phrase can have a subject or a verb, but it won't have both simultaneously. Let's take some examples:

  • The brown dog.( An adjective phrase)
  • On the table.( A prepositional phrase)
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