PHRASE

PHRASE

A phrase is a group of words that works together to do one job in a sentence.

Examples:

• the tall boy
• under the table
• very happy
• has been reading

These groups do not normally express a complete message on their own.

Compare:

Phrase	Complete sentence
under the table	The cat is under the table.
a very clever student	A very clever student answered the question.
after the examination	We will visit Pokhara after the examination.

What is a prepositional phrase?

A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and includes the person, place, thing, or idea that follows it.

Preposition + object of the preposition

The object may include words that describe or identify it.

Preposition	Object, including its accompanying words	Prepositional phrase
in	the classroom	in the classroom
under	the old wooden table	under the old wooden table
near	our school	near our school
after	lunch	after lunch
with	her	with her
because of	the heavy rain	because of the heavy rain

Common prepositions include in, on, at, under, over, beside, between, behind, near, before, after, during, with, without, from, to, and for.

Some prepositions consist of more than one word, such as in front of and because of.

What information does a prepositional phrase give?

Prepositional phrases often tell us about place, time, direction, manner, or reason.

Information	Example	Prepositional phrase
Place: Where?	The students are sitting in the classroom.	in the classroom
Time: When?	We play football after school.	after school
Direction: Where to?	Sita walked to the library.	to the library
Manner: How?	He answered with confidence.	with confidence
Reason: Why?	The match was cancelled because of the rain.	because of the rain

Two important jobs of prepositional phrases

A prepositional phrase can describe a noun or give more information about an action.

1. Describing a noun

The girl with the blue bag is my sister.

Ask: Which girl?

Answer: The girl with the blue bag.

The phrase describes the noun girl, so it has an adjectival function.

Another example:

The books on the shelf belong to our teacher.

On the shelf tells us which books.

1. Giving information about an action

The girl waited near the gate.

Ask: Where did she wait?
Answer: Near the gate.

The phrase tells us more about waited, so it functions adverbially.

Another example:

We will meet after lunch.

After lunch tells us when we will meet.

Other important types of phrases

• Noun phrase

A noun phrase is built around a noun or pronoun. It can act as the subject or object of a sentence.

The hardworking student won a prize.

I bought a new English dictionary.

In the first example, student is the main word. In the second, dictionary is the main word.

students → the students → the hardworking students → the hardworking students in our class

The last example also shows that one phrase can contain another phrase: the noun phrase includes the prepositional phrase in our class.

• Verb phrase

She is reading.

They have finished their homework.

We will be travelling tomorrow.

Helping verb(s)	Main verb	Verb phrase
is	reading	is reading
have	finished	have finished
will be	travelling	will be travelling

• Adjective phrase

An adjective phrase is built around an adjective. It describes a person or thing.

The students are very excited.

This exercise is quite easy.

Her answer was clear enough.

The main words are excited, easy, and clear.

Compare:

• Adjective: The question is difficult.
• Expanded adjective phrase: The question is extremely difficult.
• Adverb phrase

An adverb phrase is built around an adverb. It can tell us more about an action, an adjective, or another adverb.

He spoke very softly.

She completed the work quite quickly.

They arrived rather late.

The main words are softly, quickly, and late.

Expression	Phrase type	Job in the sentence
She spoke very softly.	Adverb phrase	Tells how she spoke
She spoke in a soft voice.	Prepositional phrase	Also tells how she spoke

Both expressions function as adverbs, but their structures differ.

Traditional name	Simple explanation	Example
Infinitive phrase	Begins with to + base form of a verb	She hopes to pass the examination.
Gerund phrase	An -ing verb group used in a noun-like role	Reading English stories improves vocabulary.
Participial phrase	A verb-based group that describes a noun	The boy carrying a heavy bag is my neighbour.

• “ To pass the examination” tells us what she hopes to do.
• “Reading English stories” names an activity and acts as the subject.
• “Carrying a heavy bag” describes the boy.

Phrase and clause: a useful comparison

Phrase	Clause
after lunch	after we ate lunch
during the rain	while it was raining
near the school	where our school stands

Explaination:

“In ‘after lunch’, nobody is doing anything. In ‘after we ate lunch’, we have a subject, ‘we’, and a verb, ‘ate’.”

A clause is not always a complete sentence:

• We ate lunch. — a complete sentence
• After we ate lunch … — a dependent clause; it needs more information

Common Mistakes 

Mistake 1: Identifying only the preposition

The cat is under the wooden chair.

• Preposition: under
• Whole prepositional phrase: under the wooden chair

Mistake 2: Assuming every expression beginning with “to” is prepositional

• We went to Kathmandu. — prepositional phrase
• We want to study English. — infinitive phrase

For these examples, to + noun indicates a prepositional phrase; to + base verb indicates an infinitive.

Mistake 3: Assuming a phrase must always contain several words

A phrase can consist of one word: Students is a noun phrase in “Students learn.”