term paper report words&phrases

8/14/2019 Term Paper Report Words&Phrases

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A word is a unit oflanguage that carries meaning and consists of one or more morphemes

which are linked more or less tightly together.A phrase is a group of related words thatlacks both a subject and a predicate. Because it lacks a subject and a predicate it cannot

act as a sentence. Grammer is traditionally subdivided into two different but inte-related

areas of study morphology and syntax. Morphology is the study of how words areformed out of smaller units. Syntax is concerned with the ways in which words can be

combined together to form phrases and sentences. A syntactic category is either a phrasal

category, such as noun phrase orverb phrase, which can be decomposed into smallersyntactic categories, or a lexical category, such as noun orverb, which cannot be further

decomposed. Generalised phrase structure grammar (GPSG) is a framework for

describing the syntax and semantics of natural languages In the framework of

transformational-generative grammar(of which Government and Binding Theory andMinimalism are recent developments), the structure of a sentence is represented by

phrase structure trees, otherwise known as phrase markers or tree diagrams. There are

total ten types of phrases.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphemehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phrasal_category&action=edithttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phrasal_category&action=edithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noun_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexical_categoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nounhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntaxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semanticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformational-generative_grammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_and_bindinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphemehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phrasal_category&action=edithttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phrasal_category&action=edithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noun_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexical_categoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nounhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntaxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semanticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformational-generative_grammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_and_bindinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_(linguistics)


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Words & Phrases

Introduction

Background of the problem

A word is a unit oflanguage that carries meaning and consists of one or more morphemes

which are linked more or less tightly together. Typically a word will consist of a root or

stem and zero or more affixes. Words can be combined to createphrases, clauses andsentences. A word consisting of two or more stems joined together is called a

compound.A phrase is a group of related words that lacks both a subject and a predicate.

Because it lacks a subject and a predicate it cannot act as a sentence.A phrase typically functions as a single part of speech in a sentence (e.g., noun, adjective,

and adverb).Each phrase has a word called its head which links it to the rest of the

sentence. In English the head is often the first word of the phrase.

Need for the study

The study of words and phrases will help us to get insight into ways towards deep

understanding. This topic is given by our teacher as a research project. This project has

helped us to understand the real meaning words and phrases and rules n regulationswhich are governed by the different grammatical frameworks developed by the famous

grammaticians. The need for the study of this topic emerges from the fact that a deep

understanding of words and phrases is critical for better understanding of English.

Problem statement

What are the different ways words can be combined into phrases? It is important to notethat dependency grammar is not included as phrasal categories are not included in it. The

X-bar theory is also not included in it because it doesnt discuss the ways of

transformation of words into phases but let me clear one thing that the lexical categoriesare included because it is used as a back hand of the phrasal categories.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphemehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stem_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affixhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clausehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compound_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphemehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stem_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affixhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clausehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compound_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_(linguistics)


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Procedures to collect and analyze the data

Procedures to collect the desired data are used by us such that we have searched thewhole internet and books are also consulted with details.Internet searching includes hours

of searching and consulting online students who have already worked on these kinds of

researches and it also includes the online libraries which creates a great hindrance in front

of us because there are huge amount of data online and it is very much difficult to get adesired information.

Books have been consulted to collect and analyze the data. Books like Generalized phrase

structure grammar developed by Gerald Gazdar and some others books of LoamChomsky have helped us a lot.

Findings

Grammar is traditionally subdivided into two different but inte-related areas of study

morphology and syntax. Morphology is the study of how words are formed out of smallerunits (traditionally called morphemes), and so addresses question such as What are the

various component parts of a word like antidisestablishmentarianism, and what kinds of

principles determine the ways in which the parts are combined together to form thewhole? Syntax is concerned with the ways in which words can be combined together to

form phrases and sentences, and so addresses question like Why is it OK in English to

say Who did you see Ali with?, but not OK to say Who did you see Ali and ? What kindsof principal determined the ways in which we can and cannot combine words together to

form phrases and sentences?

Syntax:-

Syntax in linguistics be described as the study of the rules, or "patterned relations" that

govern the way the words in a sentence come together. It concerns how different words(categorized as nouns, adjectives, verbs, etc.) are combined into phrases, which, in turn,

are combined into sentences.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nounhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjectivehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clausehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nounhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjectivehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clause


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Semiotic Approaches to the Concept of Phrase:-

In more semiotic (It includes the study of how meaning is made and understood).

approaches to language, such, as for instance, the more cognitivist versions ofconstruction grammar, a phrasal structure is not only a certain formal combination of

word types whose features are inherited from the head. Here each phrasal structure alsoexpresses some type ofconceptual content, be it specific or abstract.

For exampleprepositional phrases express a figure-ground (figure-ground refers tohumans' ability to separate elements based upon contrast). relation in which the

prepositional complement is the ground, the preposition itself specifies the relation, and

the precedent element is the figure.

Thus, in semiotic approaches to phrasal structure, a phrase not only has a specific formalconfiguration, but is also characterized by a recognizable (abstract or specific) semantic

content.

A Syntactic Category:-

A syntactic category is either aphrasal category, such as noun phrase orverb phrase,

which can be decomposed into smaller syntactic categories, or a lexical category, such asnoun orverb, which cannot be further decomposed.

In terms ofphrase structure rules, phrasal categories can occur to the left side of thearrow while lexical categories cannot.

The lexical categories are traditionally called theparts of speech. They include nouns,

verbs, adjectives, and so on.

GRAMMATICAL FRAMEWORKS

There are many frameworks which are developed by the famous Grammaticians. We

have discussed the most commonly used frameworks like Generalized phrase structuregrammar (GPSG) and transformational-generative grammar

Generalized phrase structure grammar (GPSG) is a framework developed in 1970s

by Gerald Gazdar and described the syntax and semantics of natural languages. One ofthe chief goals of GPSG is to show that the syntax of natural languages can be described

by context-free grammars , with some suitable conventions intended to make writing

such grammars easier for syntacticians. Among these conventions are a sophisticated
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Understandinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Construction_grammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Conceptual_content&action=edithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepositional_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure-groundhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phrasal_category&action=edithttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phrasal_category&action=edithttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phrasal_category&action=edithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noun_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexical_categoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nounhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrase_structure_ruleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Part_of_speechhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjectivehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformational-generative_grammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntaxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semanticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Context-free_grammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Understandinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Construction_grammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Conceptual_content&action=edithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepositional_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure-groundhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phrasal_category&action=edithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noun_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexical_categoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nounhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrase_structure_ruleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Part_of_speechhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjectivehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformational-generative_grammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntaxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semanticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Context-free_grammar


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feature structure system and so-called "meta-rules", which are rules generating the

productions of a context-free grammar. GPSG further augments syntactic descriptions

with semantic annotations that can be used to compute the compositional meaning of asentence from its syntactic derivation tree.

In the framework oftransformational-generative grammar, the structure of a sentence

is represented byphrase structure trees, otherwise known asphrase markers ortree

diagrams. Such trees provide information about the sentences they represent by showing

how, starting from an initial category S, the various syntactic categories (e.g. noun phrase,

verb phrase, etc.) are formed.

There are various theories as to how best to make grammars such that by systematicapplication of the rules, one can arrive at every phrase marker in a language (and hence

every sentence in the language). The most common are Phrase structure grammars and

ID/LP grammars, the latter having a slight explanatory advantage over theformer.Dependency grammaris a class of syntactic theories separate from generative

grammar in which structure is determined by the relation between a word (a head) and its

dependents. One difference from phrase structure grammar is that dependency grammar

does not have phrasal categories. Algebraic syntax is a type of dependency grammar.

Phrase-structure rules were used in early transformational generative grammar(TGG)

to describe a given language's syntax. They were used to break a natural language

sentence down into its constituent parts (also known as syntactic categories) namely

phrasal categories and lexical categories (akaparts of speech). Phrasal categories

include the noun phrase,verb phrase, andprepositional phrase; lexical categories include

noun, verb, adjective, adverb, and many others. Phrase structure rules were not aninvention of TGG; rather, early TGG's defining characteristics were those systems whichit had in addition to phrase structure rules. A grammar which uses phrase structure rules is

called a phrase structure grammar.Phrase structure rules are usually of the form

, meaning that the constituentA is separated into the two subconstituentsB and C. Some examples are:

The first rule reads: An S consists of an NP followed by a VP. This meansA sentenceconsists of a noun phrase followed by a verb phrase . The next one:A noun phrase

consists of a determiner followed by a noun.

Further explanations of the constituents: S, Det, NP, VP, AP

.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feature_structurehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformational-generative_grammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntactic_categorieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noun_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrase_structure_grammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ID/LP_grammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependency_grammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algebraic_syntaxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformational_grammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntaxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntactic_categorieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Part_of_speechhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noun_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepositional_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nounhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjectivehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Determinerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noun_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjectival_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feature_structurehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformational-generative_grammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntactic_categorieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noun_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrase_structure_grammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ID/LP_grammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependency_grammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algebraic_syntaxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformational_grammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntaxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntactic_categorieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Part_of_speechhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noun_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepositional_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nounhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjectivehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Determinerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noun_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjectival_phrase


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Colorless green ideas sleep furiously can be diagrammed as a phrase tree, as below:

where Srepresents a grammatical sentence.

Phrasal Category

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES

The prepositional phrase includes thepreposition and the object of the

preposition as well as any modifiers related to either.

The flying saucer appeared above the lake before it disappeared into

space.o ABOVE is not an adverb because it has an object to complete its meaning;

therefore, ABOVE is a preposition and the entire phrase is an adverbphrase.

Crystal could hear her sister snoring across the room.

Objects usually answer the question what. Therefore, we can ask across what? todetermine the object of the preposition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorless_green_ideas_sleep_furiouslyhttp://grammar.uoregon.edu/prepositions/prepositions.htmlhttp://grammar.uoregon.edu/nouns/objectP.htmlhttp://grammar.uoregon.edu/nouns/objectP.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cgisf-tgg.pnghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorless_green_ideas_sleep_furiouslyhttp://grammar.uoregon.edu/prepositions/prepositions.htmlhttp://grammar.uoregon.edu/nouns/objectP.htmlhttp://grammar.uoregon.edu/nouns/objectP.html


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PARTICIPIAL PHRASE

Present participles, verbals ending in -ing, and past participles, verbals that end in

-ed(for regular verbs) or other forms (for irregular verbs), are combined with

complements and modifiers and become part of important phrasal structures.

Participial phrases always act as adjectives. When they begin a sentence, they are

often set off by a comma (as an introductory modifier); otherwise, participial

phrases will be set off by commas if they are parenthetical elements.

Or

In easy words the participial phrase includes theparticiple and the object of the

participle or any words modified by or related to the participle.

The carsliding out of control toward building is going to hit the window.o SLIDING modifies the CAR. The verb is IS GOING.

Cameron spotted his brotherthrowing rocksat the passing cars.o THROWING is not a verb in this sentence. It describes the brother.

Without an auxiliary verb, it cannot function as a verb.

GERUND PHRASE

Gerunds, verbals that end in -ing and that act as nouns, frequently are associated with

modifiers and complements in a gerund phrase. These phrases function as units and can

do anything that a noun can do. Notice that other phrases, especially prepositional

phrases, are frequently part of the gerund phrase.

Examples:

Flying above the lake at this time of night seems a little dangerous.o FLYING is the subject of the sentence. A subject is a noun. A form of the

verb ending in ING and used as a noun is a gerund. FLYING is a gerund.

Bill decided that scrambling over the pile of debris was not safe.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adjectives.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm#3http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm#4http://grammar.uoregon.edu/verbals/participle.htmlhttp://grammar.uoregon.edu/nouns/objectV.htmlhttp://grammar.uoregon.edu/nouns/objectV.htmlhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adjectives.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm#3http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm#4http://grammar.uoregon.edu/verbals/participle.htmlhttp://grammar.uoregon.edu/nouns/objectV.htmlhttp://grammar.uoregon.edu/nouns/objectV.html


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o SCRAMBLING is the subject of the dependent clause. A subject is a noun.

A form of the verb ending in ING and used as a noun is a gerund.

SCRAMBLING is a gerund.

INFINITIVE PHRASE

An infinitive phrase consists of an infinitive the root of the verb preceded by to and

any modifiers or complements associated with it. Infinitive phrases can act as adjectives,

adverbs, and nouns.

Even in New York, fans did not manage to buy the hype.o TO BUY is the direct object of the verb DID MANAGE. THE HYPE is

the object of the infinitive.

The seemingly simple decision to appoint a Democrat caused

controversy.o TO APPOINT is an adjective modifying DECISION. A DEMOCRAT is

the object of the infinitive.

The gap provides a way to give Democratic candidates an edge in close

electionso TO GIVE is an adjective modifying WAY. The object of the infinitive is

CANDIDATES.

The respondents believe their neighbors are willing to vote for a woman.o TO VOTE is an adverb modifying the predicate adjective WILLING. In

other words, it tells us the degree to which they are willing.

NOUN PHRASE

A noun phrase comprises a noun (obviously) and any associated modifiers:

The long and winding road

A noun phrase

any associated modifiers
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/nouns.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/nouns.htm


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The modifiers that accompany a noun can take any number of forms and combination of

forms: adjectives, of course ("the tall and brilliant professor"); a participial phrase ("the

road following the edge of the frozen lake"); an infinitive phrase ("the first man to walkon the moon"); a modifying clause ("the presentation that he had made the day before");

and prepositional phrases ("the building next to the lodge, over by the highway").

Usually, a noun phrase will be all of a piece, all the words that compose it beingcontiguous with the noun itself. It is possible, however, for a noun phrase to be broken, to

become what we call discontinuous. Sometimes part of the noun phrase is delayed until

the end of the sentence so that portion of the phrase (usually modifying phrases participial or prepositional) can receive end weight or focus. In our first example, for

instance

Several accidents have been reported involving passengers falling from

trains.

We could have put the entire noun phrase together: "Several accidents involving

passengers falling from trains have been reported recently." Shifting the modifying

phrases of the red-colored part of the phrase to the end puts additional emphasis on that

part. Here are some other examples:

A rumor circulated among the staff that he was being promoted to Vice

President. (instead of "A rumor that he was being promoted to Vice

President circulated among the staff.")

The time had come to stop spending money foolishly and to put somethingaway for the future. (instead of "The time to stop spending money foolishly

and to put something away for the future had come.")

That hard drive was faulty that you sold me . (instead of "That hard drive

that you sold me was faulty.")

What business is it of yours? (instead of "What business of yours is it? ")

Clearly, there is nothing inherently wrong with a discontinuous noun phrase. One very

good reason for a discontinuous noun phrase is to achieve a balance between a subject

and its predicate:

The story is told that he was once a soldier in French Foreign Legion.

One thing you want to watch out for with noun phrases is the long compound noun

phrase.* This is sometimes called the "stacked noun phrase" or"packed noun

phrase." It is common to find one noun modifying another: student body, book cover,


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water commission. But when we create a long string of such attributive nouns or

modifiers, we create difficulties:

People who author web-pages have become aware of what is now known

as the uniform resource locator protocol problem.

The difficulty we have here is knowing what is modifying what. Also, the reader keepsexpecting the string to end, so the energy of the sentence (and our attention) dwindles

into a series of false endings. Such phrases are a particular temptation in technical

writing. Usually, the solution to an overly extended compound noun phrase is to take the

last noun of the series and liberate it from the rest of the string (putting it at the beginningof the sentence) and then to turn at least one of the modifying nouns into a prepositional

phrase:

The problem with the protocol of uniform resource locators is now

recognized by people who author web-pages as. . . .

APPOSITIVE PHRASE

An appositive is a re-naming or amplification of a word that immediately precedes it. (An

appositive, then is the opposite of an oppositive.) Frequently another kind of phrase will

serve in apposition.

Or

A word, phrase or clause that means the same thing as (i.e., synonym) or further

explains another noun (pronoun).

My favorite teacher, a fine chess player in her own right, has won severalstate-level tournaments. [Noun phrase as appositive]

The best exercise, walking briskly, is also the least expensive. [Gerund

phraseas appositive]

Tatianas goal in life, to become an occupational therapist, is within her

grasp this year, at last. [Infinitive phrase as appositive]
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrases.htm#nounhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrases.htm#gerundhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrases.htm#gerundhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrases.htm#gerundhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrases.htm#infinitivehttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrases.htm#nounhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrases.htm#gerundhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrases.htm#gerundhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrases.htm#infinitive


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Non-restrictive appositives are not essential to the meaning of the sentence.

Restrictive appositives are essential to the meaning of the sentence.

1. NON-RESTRICTIVE:

Her husband, Fritz, is a nice guy.o We assume she has only one husband. Thus, commas are used.

The firm chose Mary, vice president of public affairs, as its chief

executive officer.o Because we have identified the person by name, her title is additional

information. It can be set off by commas. In other words, we could take it

out and the meaning would not change.

2. RESTRICTIVE:

Evan's friend John cheated on the test.o EVAN has more than one friend; therefore, no commas are used to set off

JOHN. We need the name to know which friend we're talking about.

We students are happy with good grades.o STUDENTS identify who WE [subj.] are. If we remove it, WE does not

have the same meaning.

She waited patiently for the famous authorStephen King.o STEPHEN KING identifies which famous author. There is no comma

after AUTHOR because there are many famous authors.

ABSOLUTE PHRASE (Nominative Phrase)

Usually (but not always, as we shall see), an absolute phrase (also called a nominative

absolute) is a group of words consisting of a noun or pronoun and a participle as well as

any related modifiers. Absolute phrases do not directly connect to or modify any specific

word in the rest of the sentence; instead, they modify the entire sentence, adding

information. They are always treated as parenthetical elements and are set off from the

rest of the sentence with a comma or a pair of commas (sometimes by a dash or pair of
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/nouns.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/pronouns1.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm#participlehttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/modifiers.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm#4http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/nouns.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/pronouns1.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm#participlehttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/modifiers.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm#4


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Coach Alex strolled onto the court, her arms akimbo and a large silver

whistle clenched between her teeth.

The new recruits stood in one corner of the gym, their uniforms stiff and

ill fitting, their faces betraying their anxiety.

A noun phrase can also exist as an absolute phrase:

Your best friends, where are they now, when you need them?

And then there was my best friend Sally the dear girl who has

certainly fallen on hard times.

Verb Phrase

A narrower definition of 'verb phrase' is that it is the sentence constituent only that

contains verbal elements. On this definition, VPs contain a main verb (which is the head),

a number ofauxiliaries, and many languages infinitive markers and other verbal praticles.

Examples:

Johngave Mary a

book.

They were beingeaten alive.

She kept screaming

like a maniac.

Thou mustnotkill.

Eatlead, sucker!

Adjectival Phrase

An adjectival phrase is aphrase with an adjective as its head (e.g.full of toys).

Adjectival phrases may occur aspremodifiers to a noun (a bin full of toys), or aspredicatives to a verb (the bin is full of toys).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_verbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auxiliarieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinitivehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjectivehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_verbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auxiliarieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinitivehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjectivehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bin


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An adverbial phrase is a linguistic term for aphrase with an adverb as head. The term is

used in syntax.

Adverbial phrases can consist of a single adverb or more than one. Extra adverbs arecalled intensifiers. An adverbial phrase can modify a verb phrase, an adjectival phrase or

an entire clause.

Examples of adverbial phrases in English:

oddly enough

very nicely

quickly

Adverbial Phrase

An adverbial phrase is a linguistic term for aphrase with an adverb as head. The term is

used in syntax.

Adverbial phrases can consist of a single adverb or more than one. Extra adverbs arecalled intensifiers. An adverbial phrase can modify a verb phrase, an adjectival phrase or

an entire clause.

Examples of adverbial phrases in English:

oddly enough

very nicely

quickly
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntaxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjectival_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clausehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntaxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjectival_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clausehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntaxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjectival_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clausehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntaxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjectival_phrasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clausehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language


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Conclusion

It is concluded that the rules of combining words into phrases are used in the different

grammatical frameworks and are very much reliable to understand the transformation ofwords into phrases. These ways revolutionized the phrasal structure grammars and

developed different types of phrases which are further transformed into sentences. This

makes the scope of phrasal categories and makes it as a important category of English tomake English a beautiful language.

term paper report words&phrases

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