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ENGL 384: Syntax
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Chapter 23: Sentence and Logical Form
Chapter 24: Children's Sentences
Chapter 25: Sentence Processing
Chapter 26: Syntactic Disorders
Chapter 27: Using Sentences
Logical Form
Introduction
The interpretation of a sentence is determined by the interpretation of the
words the sentence contains.
Example:
The dog chases the rabbit.
The rabbit chased the dog.
Logical Form is the level of representation that affects the semantic
interpretation of a sentence. LF is sometimes referred to as a hidden level of
representation, because the output of this level is not actually pronounced by
the speaker. Therefore, many theories of syntax do not acknowledge Logical
Form.
We can summarize this in the following points:



The representation of meaning in the absence of context is
called logical form. In other words, it is possible to consider meaning
in the absence of context.
The interpretation of a sentence is determined by the interpretation of
the words the sentence contains and the syntactic structure of the
sentence.
In syntax, LF(Logical Form) exists to give a structural account of certain kinds
of semantic ambiguities.
Example:
Everyone loves someone.
At LF, the sentence above would have two possible structural representations, one for
each possible scope-reading, in order to account for the ambiguity by structural
differentiation.
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Quantifier Raising (QR), which explains that movement operations of whmovement continue to operate on the level of LF, and each phrase continues to possess
the quantifier in its domain. May suggested that QR applies to all quantifier phrases with
no exception.
Quantificational Noun Phrases
In linguistics and grammar, a quantifier is a type of determiner, such
as all, some, many, few, a lot, and no, (but not numerals: one, two, five, etc.)that
indicates quantity.
Quantification is also used in logic, where it is a formula constructor that produces new
formulas from old ones. Natural languages' determiners have been argued[citation needed] to
correspond to logical quantifiers at the semantic level.
In linguistics, a determiner phrase (DP) is a type of phrase. The head of a DP is
a determiner, as opposed to a noun.
For example in the phrase "the
car", "the" is a determiner and "car" is a noun;
the two combine to form a phrase, and on the DP-analysis, the determiner "the" is
head over the noun "car".
Danny Fox discusses syntactic positions of QNPs (Quantificational Noun
Phrases) as a way of introducing and illustrating the basic semantic and syntactic
relations found in LF.[15] By looking at the meaning of QNPs in relation to the property
they are given, or their predicate, we can derive the meaning of the whole sentence.
a. A girl is tall.
b. Many girls are tall.
c. Every girl is tall.
d. No girl is tall.[15]
To understand the logical form of these examples, it is important to identify what the
basic predicate is and which segments make up the QNPs. In these examples, the
predicate is tall and the QNPs are a girl, many girls, every girl and no girl. The logical
meaning of these sentences indicates that the property of being tall is attributed to some
form of the QNP referring to girl. Along with the QNP and the predicate, there is also an
inference of truth value. Either the truth value is True for a person who is tall, otherwise
the truth value is False.[15]
Each of the examples above will have different conditions that make the statement true
according to the quantifier that precedes girl.[15]
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Truth Value conditions:
Example a. A girl has a truth value of true if and only if (iff) at least one girl is tall.
This quantifier is satisfied with 1 instance of a girl being tall.
Example b. Many girls has a truth value of true iff there are many girls who are tall.
This quantifier is satisfied with more than 1 instance of a girl being tall.
Example c. Every girl has a truth value of true iff every girl is tall.
This quantifier requires for all girls, that every instance of a person being female, she
must be tall.
Example d. No girl has a truth value of true iff no girl is tall.
This quantifier requires for all girls, that for all instances of a person being female, she
must not be tall.[15]
In a syntactic tree, the structure is represented as such: "the argument of a QNP is
always the sister of the QNP.
WH-Movement
In linguistics, wh-phrases are operators binding variables at LF, like other quantifier noun
phrases. Scope interpretations can be constrained by syntactic constraints as shown in
LF when regarding the scope of wh-phrases and quantifiers. When wh-movement is from
the subject position it is unambiguous, but when wh-movement is from the object position
it is ambiguous.[10]
Examples
Study these two "Wh-questions" and see the difference. This will lead
you to understand the "LF" logical form again more clearly.
1) What did everyone buy for Max?
[S’ what [S everyone3 [S e3 bought e2 for max]
Here are:(Two possible interpretations: what did everyone
collectively buy, versus individually buy)
2) Who bought everything for Max?
[S’ who3 [S everything2 [S e3 bought e2 for max]
Here is:(Only one possible interpretation.)
Ambiguity
What is ambiguity?
A word, phrase, or sentence is ambiguous if it has more than one meaning.
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Lexical and Structure Ambiguity
1. Lexical Ambiguity: A singlewordin a sentence with two
interpretations
2. Structure Ambiguity: A single sequenceofwordsin a sentence with
two interpretations
Types of ambiguity
What are the types of ambiguity?
There are two types of ambiguity, lexical and structural.
a. Structural
b. Lexical
A. Structural Ambiguity
Example:
1. The police killed the man with a gun.
a. [Does the underlined phrase refer to the man or to the police?]
b. [The man had a gun or the police killed the man by gun]
Examples:


The chicken is ready to eat.

Is the chicken ready to eat something?

Is the chicken ready for people to eat it?
The burglar threatened the student with the knife.


Who is having the knife, the burglar or the student?
Visiting relatives can be boring.

Is visiting relatives boring?

Do we feel boring when we visit relatives?
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B. Lexical Ambiguity
Words like bank&light are lexically ambiguous. They encourage ambiguity
in phrases or sentences in which they occur:

The man is going to the bank. = [river bank] [place where people
deposit & withdraw money at]
Question
Ambiguity can have both a lexical and a structural basis. Study the
following sentences and decide if the underlined word(s) in each sentence
make it lexical or structure ambiguous?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
"He visited his friend with two boys."
"She is looking for a match.
The fisherman went to the bank.
The mansaw the wood..
The policekilled the man with a gun.
[structural]
[lexical]
[lexical]
[lexical]
[structural]
What is a constituent?
In syntactic analysis, a constituent is a word or a group of words that functions as a
single unit within a hierarchical structure.
The analysis ofconstituent structure is associated mainly with phrase structure
grammars.
Phrase structure grammar
The term phrase structure grammar was originally introduced by Chomsky as the term for
grammarsas defined by phrase structure rules, i.e. rewriting rules of the type studied previously
S
NP
VP
Art.
N
V
N
The
man
went
home
Adjunct (grammar)
What is an "adjunct" in linguistics (syntax or grammar)?
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In linguistics, an adjunct is an optional, or structurally expendable/
unnecessary, part of a sentence, clause, or phrase that, when removed, will
not affect the remaining parts of the sentence. It usually comes with adverbial
structure.
Examples
John killed Bill in Central Park on Sunday
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
John is the subject argument.
killed is the predicate.
Bill is the object argument.
in Central Park is the first adjunct.
on Sunday is the second adjunct.[3]
The following sentence uses adjuncts of time (yesterday) and place (in the garden):
Yesterday, Lorna saw the dog in the garden.
Lorna saw the dog in
the gardenyesterday,
In the garden,Lorna saw the dog yesterday,
Chapter 24: Page 349: Children's Language
Here we are only concerned with how children acquire their native language not
foreign language. This approach examines the acquisition of wordorder.
Children acquire their native language implicitly or silently not explicitly. Children
often start producing two or three word sentences like:
Want water, See mummy cat. To mummy. On carpet
A. Heads
Heads are the most important category of a sentence and must
belong to the same category, i.e.:





Every NP must have an N head,
Every VP must have a V head, etc.
In the NP "the big red boat", boat is the head.
In the VP "went home alone", went is the head.
In the AP "most extraordinarily awesome", awesome is
the head.
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Note: Heads and phrases may be used interchangeably (switched –
swapped- substituted) in phrase structures.
In linguistics, the head of a phrase is the word that determines the syntactic type of that
phrase.
For example,

the head of the noun phrase "boiling hot water" is the noun "water".

the head of a compound is the stem that determines the semantic category of
that compound. For example, the head of the compound noun "handbag" is bag,
since a handbag is a bag, not a hand.
Head PHRASES
For each of the first six of the word classes in [3] there is a corresponding
class of phrases whose Head belongs to that class. In the following examples,
the phrase is enclosed in [brackets] and the Head underlined:
[4]
i
Verb phrase
She [wrote some letters].
He [is still in London].
ii
Noun phrase
[The new lodger] is here.
[The boss] wants to see [you].
iii
Adjective phrase
t's getting [rather late].
I'm [glad you could come].
Iv Adverb phrase
I spoke [too soon].
It's [quite extraordinarily] good.
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v
Determinative phrase
I saw [almost every] card.
We've [very little] money left.
vi
Preposition phrase
They're [in the garden].
He wrote a book [on sharks].
Complements
Complements have the closest relation with the head and usually must occur
adjacent to/head-to-head / next to it and do not allow any category to occur
between it and the head.
For example, in the sentence:
They decided on the boat in the kitchen.
,"on the boat" is the complement and
"in the kitchen" is an adjunct.
This is proved by the fact that They decided in the kitchen on
the boatsounds bad (ungrammatical).
Consider the bracketed verb phrase in the following sentence:
David [VP plays the piano]
In formal terms, we can analyze this VP using the familiar three-part
structure:
pre-Head string Head post-Head string
--
plays the piano
Let us now consider the functions of each of these three parts.
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Actually, we already know the function of one of the parts -- the
word plays functions as the Head of this VP.
Turning now to the post-Head string "the piano", we can see that it
completes the meaning of the Head plays. In functional terms, we
refer to this string as the COMPLEMENT of the Head. Here are some
more examples of Complements in verb phrases:
pre-Head string Head
Never
Complement
needs Money
--
eat
Vegetables
Not
say
what he is doing
In each case, the Complement completes the meaning of the Head,
so there is a strong syntactic link between these two strings.
The string which completes the meaning of the Head is not always a
Direct Object. Consider the following:
She [VP told me]
Here the post-Head string (the Complement) is an Indirect Object.
With intransitive verbs, two Objects appear:
We [VP gave James a present]
Here, the meaning of the Head "gave" is completed by two strings -James and a present. Each string is a complement of the Head
"gave".
Finally, consider verb phrases in which the Head is a form of the
verb be:
David [VP is a musician]
Amy [VP is clever]
Our car [VP is in the carpark]
The post-Head strings here are neither Direct Objects nor Indirect
Objects.
The verb be is known as a COPULAR verb = [linking verb].
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A "copular verb is:
1. a verb, such as a form of ”b"e or "seem", that identifies the predicate of a sentence with a
subject. Also called linking verb.
2. Logic The word or set of words that serves as a link between the subject and predicate of
a proposition.]
It takes a special type of Complement which we will refer to generally as a
COPULAR COMPLEMENT. There is a small number of other copular verbs. In the
following examples, we have highlighted the Head, and italicised the Complement:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Our teacher [VP became angry]
Your sister [VP seems upset]
All the players [VP felt very tired] after the game
That [VP sounds great]
It is clear that there is a strong syntactic link between the
Complement and the Head. The Complement is that part of the VP
which is required to complete the meaning of the Head.
We will look further at Complements in the next subsection. As for
Adjuncts, they are usually realised by adverb phrases, preposition phrases,
subordinate clauses, or a very narrow range of noun phrases. They can be
divided into various semantic subtypes, such as Adjuncts of time, place,
manner, etc., as illustrated in [9]:
i
She spoke very clearly.
ii
[adverb phrase as Adjunct of manner]
As a result of his action, he was fired. [prep phrase as Adjunct of
reason]
iii
We cycle to work to save the busfare. [subordinate clause as
Adjunct of purpose]
iv
They left the country last week.
time]
Object and Predicative Complement
[noun phrase as Adjunct of
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Two important subtypes of Complement are the Object and the Predicative
Complement:
a.
Object: Ed blamed the minister.
b. Predicative Comp: Ed was a minister..
While thousands of verbs license an Object, only a fairly small number license
a Predicative Complement, and of these be is by far the most common: others
include become, remain, appear, seem,
etc.
The
term
`Predicative
Complement' is most easily understood by reference to the construction
with be: the verb has little meaning here (it is often called just a `linking verb'),
so that the main semantic content of the Predicate is expressed by the
Complement.
There are several grammatical properties that distinguish Objects from
Predicative Complements.
i
a.
Ed blamed the minister. [Object]
b. The minister was blamed by Ed.
ii
a.
Ed was a minister. [Pred Comp]
b. *A minister was been by Ed.
iii
a.
Ed was innocent. [Pred Comp]
b. *Ed blamed innocent.
Page 351: Null subjects in early child English
Null = useless / worthless
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Along with missing inflections, researchers have long noted that children acquiring English
often produce incomplete sentences, e.g.,
a) ah, ___ fell down.
b)
___ need one toy now deda.
c) yeah, ___ need help.
Children use the null nominative pronoun where adults use the overt
nominative pronoun [I].
Children
a) Her didn't come.
She didn't come.
Adults
b) My put the book on the table.
I put the book on the table.
c) Can't find it.
I can't find it.
d) Know anything about it?
Do you know anything about it?
e) Time is it?
What time is it?
f) Nice day, isn't it?
It's a nice day, isn't it?
g) Dogs doing?
What are the dogs doing?
h) This go?
Where does this go?
i)
Where girl go?
Where does the girl do?
j)
What the dog doing?
What's the dog doing?
a) What doing?
What are you doing?
b) Where go?
Where did it go?
Page 354: Non-finite clauses in child English
What is a finite clause?

A finite clause may function as a main ("independent") clause.
Example:
Charlie raised his hand.
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
Or a finite clause may function as a prepositional complement in a
prepositional phrase. (because)
Example:
The teacher called on Charlie because he raised his hand.

A finite clause has a primary verb that is marked for tense,person(raise,
raises, raised) and in some cases, number (is, was, were).
A finite clause may stand alone as a complete sentence. The clause has
a subject and a verb that can be inflected (suffixed) for tense or 3rd person.
The clause can be coordinated with or subordinated to another clause.
Charlie raises his hand constantly.
He raises his hand constantly and he talks in class. (coordinated with
"and")
He does his homework.
Charlie knows the answers because he does his homework. (subordinated
with "because")
Charlie is doing well in kindergarten.
Charlie is doing well in kindergarten, so his parents are happy with him.
What is a nonfinite clause?

A nonfinite clause cannot function as a main clause and cannot stand on
its own. It is sometimes described as a reduced clause. It may serve as a
subject, or a complement to a verb, a noun or a preposition.
Example:
a) He likes to ask questions.
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b) The boy located in the back got the teacher's attention.
c) He sat quietly after asking his question.

A nonfinite clause has a secondary verb form that is not marked for
person ([to] see, seeing, seen)

A nonfinite clause cannot stand on its own. It rarely includes a subject
and the verb cannot be inflected for tense or person.

A nonfinite clause may serve as a subject or a complement to a verb,
or preposition or noun (as a modifier).
a) To speak in class is difficult for some children. (subject)
b) He loves to participate in class discussions. (verb complement)
c) Speaking in class is what he does best. (subject)
d) He dislikes sitting quietly. (verb complement)
e) Charlie smiled after answering the question. (prep complement)
f) Prepared students excel in class. (modifier to head subject noun)
g) Students encouraged by their teachers do well. (modifier to head
subject noun)
Children
Adults
a. Me going make a castle.
Adult structure has a finite clause (headed
by the infinite auxiliaryare) with a
nominative you subject.
I am going to make a castle.
b. Her climbing up the ladder.
She is climbing up the ladder.
c. Me driving.
I am driving.
Child structure has a non-finite clause
with a nullPRO subject.
Identify the verb clause category in each
sentence.
A. [primary (finite clause)]
B. [secondary (nonfinite clause]
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1.
The weather
is strange this year.
Answer: Primary. The verb "is" is marked for person and number (3rd
singular) and tense (present). [The clause is finite.]
2.
In the South, weather marked by exceptionally high temperatures and exceptionally
little precipitation has destroyed crops.
Answer:Secondary. The past participle "marked" is head of the nonfinite
clause that modifies "weather" → "weather [that is] marked by…".
3.
In the East, rain falling endlessly has flooded city streets.
Answer: Secondary. The gerund-participle "falling" is head of the nonfinite
clause that modifies "rain" → "rain [that is] falling endlessly".
4.
It is unusual for us to have so much rain in the East and none in the South.
Answer: Secondary. The infinitival "have" is head of the nonfinite clause that
completes the "It + be" expression. → "have so much rain…" (The marker "to"
is analyzed as a subordinator and not an actual part of the nonfinite clause.)
5.
In the West, temperatures remain about the same.
Answer:Primary. The verb
"remain" is marked for person and number (3rd
plural) and tense (present). [The clause is finite.]
Page 358: Children's Nominals
The word "nominal" means "in name."
Children of 2 years old start to produce both definite determiners like [ this/ the/

that] and indefinite determiners like [a/ another/some]
Children also produce bare nominal which contain a noun but no determiner( in

contexts) while adults use a determiner
Children
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
There is the hat.
? Baby drink the milk.
Daddy sitting in the chair.
Daddy sit in ? chair.
It's a girl.
I want me duck.
What's him name?
Where ?Daddy? car?
Adults
There is a hat.
The baby drinks the milk.
Daddy is sitting/ sitsin the chair.
Daddy sit in the / achair.
She a girl.
I want my duck.
What's his name?
Where 'sDaddy's car?
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How can we interpret / understand this sentence?
1. “Mary kissed the children in the kitchen.”
It can be interpreted / understood as either:
a.
Mary kissed the children who happened to be in the kitchen or as
b. Mary kissed the children while she (Mary) was in the kitchen:
2. Choose the best syntax.

The pen the author the editor liked used was new.

The pen which the author whom the editor liked used was new.

The editor liked the author who used the pen which was new.
Ambiguity and sentence comprehension
Sentence comprehension has to deal with ambiguityin spoken and written utterances, for
example lexical, structural, and semantic ambiguities.
Ambiguity is universal, but people usually resolve it so naturally and easily that they don't
even notice it. For example, the sentence:

Time flies like an arrow has (at least) the interpretations:
1. Time moves as quickly as an arrow.
Usually, readers will be only aware of the interpretation.
A sentence is globallyambiguous if it has two distinct interpretations. Examples are
sentences like:
i.
Someone shot the servant of the actress who was on the balcony.
(was it the servant or the actress who was on the balcony?)
ii.
The cop chased the criminal with a fast car
(did the cop or the criminal have a fast car?).
Localambiguities persist only for a short amount of time as an utterance is heard or
written and are resolved during the course of the utterance, so that the complete
utterance has only one interpretation. Examples include sentences like
1. The critic wrote the book was helpful.
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This sentence is ambiguous stating that:
a.
the critic is the author of the book, or
b.
the critic wrote something about a book.
The ambiguity ends at was helpful, which determines that the second alternative is
correct.
Indefinite Pronouns& Understanding Sentences
An indefinite pronoun does not refer to any specific person, thing or amount. It is
indefinite/unclear and "not definite". Some typical indefinite pronouns are:
[all, another, any, anybody/anyone, anything, each, everybody/everyone,
everything, few, many, nobody, none, one, several, some, somebody/someone]
Note that many indefinite pronouns also function as other parts of speech. Look at
"another" in the following sentences:

He has one job in the day and another at night. (pronoun)

I'd like another drink, please. (adjective)
Most indefinite pronouns are eithersingularorplural. However, some of them can be
singular in one context and plural in another.
Notice that a singular pronoun takes a singular verb AND that any personal pronoun
should also agree (in number and gender). Look at these examples:


Each of the players has a doctor.
I met two girls. One has given me her phone number.
Similarly, plural pronouns need plural agreement:

s
i
n
g
u
Many have expressed their views.
Pronoun
Example
Another
That ice-cream was good. Can I have another?
anybody/ anyone
Can anyone answer this question?
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l
a
r
Pronoun
Example
Anything
The doctor needs to know if you have eatenanything in the last two
hours.
Each
Each has his own thoughts.
Either
Do you want tea or coffee? / I don't mind. Either is good for me.
Enough
Enough is enough.
everybody/
everyone
We can start the meeting because everybody has arrived.
everything
They have no house or possessions. They losteverything in the
earthquake.
Less
"Less is more" (Mies van der Rohe)
Little
Little is known about his early life.
Much
Much has happened since we met.
Neither
I keep telling Jack and Jill but neither believes me.
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p
l
u
r
a
l
Pronoun
Example
nobody/ no-one
I phoned many times butnobody answered.
Nothing
If you don't know the answer it's best to saynothing.
One
Can one smoke here? | All the students arrived but now one is
missing.
Other
One was tall and theother was short.
somebody/
someone
Clearly somebodymurdered him. It was not suicide.
something
Listen! I just heardsomething! What could it be?
You
And you can see why.
Both
John likes coffee but not tea. I think both are good.
Few
Few have ever disobeyed him and lived.
Fewer
Fewer are smoking these days.
Many
Many have come already.
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Pronoun
Example
Others
I'm sure that othershave tried before us.
Several
They all complained andseveral left the meeting.
They
They say that vegetables are good for you.
s
i
n
g
u
l
a
r
All
All is forgiven.
All have arrived.
Any
Is any left?
Are any coming?
/
More
There is more over there.
More are coming.
Most
Most is lost.
Most have refused.
None
They fixed the water so why is none coming out of the tap?
I invited five friends butnone have come.*
Some
Here is some.
Some have arrived.
p
l
u
r
a
l
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Pronoun
Example
Such
He was a foreigner and he felt that he was treated as such.
* Some people say that "none" should always take a singular verb, even when talking
about countable nouns (e.g. five friends). They argue that "none" means "no one", and
"one" is obviously singular.
They say that "I invited five friends but none has come" is correct and "I invited five
friends but none have come" is incorrect.
Historically and grammatically there is little to support this view. "None" has been
used for hundreds of years with both a singular and a plural verb, according to the
context and the emphasis required.
Pronouns Quiz
1) Pronouns take the place of
a. a noun
b. a verb
c. an adjective
2) What do pronounshelpusadd to our speech and writing?
a. personality
b. variety
c. detail
3) What sort of pronouns are the words "he", "me" and "you"?
a. interrogative
b. possessive
c. personal
4) What sort of pronoun is the word "we"?
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a. singular
b. subject
c. object
5) Which personal pronoun is almost always used for a thing?
a. he
b. it
c. they
6) To refer to something that is farfromyou, use the pronoun
a. this
b. that
c. these
7) "This is Lisa speaking." In this sentence, what sort of the
pronoun is the word "This"?
a. reciprocal
b. demonstrative
c. personal
8) Possessive pronouns can be subject pronouns or
a. object pronouns
b. interrogative pronouns
c. indefinite pronouns
9) With a singular pronoun the verb should be
a. singular
b. plural
c. singular or plural
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10) What sort of pronoun are the words "eachother" and
"oneanother"?
a. interrogative
b. reciprocal (mutual – shared – equal)
c. indefinite
Types of Phrases
A phrase is a group of related words (within a sentence) without both subject and verb.
For example, He is laughing at the joker.
A phrase functions as a noun, verb, adverb, adjective or preposition in a sentence. The
function of a phrase depends on its construction (words it contains). On the basis of their
functions and constructions, phrases are divided into various types i.e. noun phrase,
verb phrase, adverb phrase, adjective phrase, appositive phrase, infinite phrase,
participle phrase and gerund phrase.
1. Noun Phrase
A noun phrase consists of a noun and other related words (usually modifiers and
determiners)
which
modify
the
noun.
It
functions
like
a
noun
in
a
sentence.
A noun phrase consists of a noun as the head word and other words (usually modifiers and
determiners) which come after or before the noun. The whole phrase works as a noun in a
sentence.
Noun Phrase = noun + modifiers
(the modifiers can be after or before noun)
Examples.
He is wearing a nice red shirt.
(as noun/object)
She brought a glass full of water.
(as noun/object)
The boy with brown hair is laughing.
(as noun/subject)
A man on the roof was shouting.
(as noun/subject)
A sentence can also contain more noun phrases.
For example. The girl with blue eyes bought a beautiful chair.
2. Prepositional phrase.
A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition, object of preposition(noun or
pronoun) and may also consist of other modifiers.
e.g. on a table, near a wall, in the room, at the door, under a tree
A prepositional phrase starts with a preposition and mostly ends with a noun or pronoun.
Whatever prepositional phrase ends with is called object of preposition. A prepositional
phrase functions as an adjective or adverb in a sentence.
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Examples.
A boy on the roof is singing a song.
(As adjective)
The man in the room is our teacher.
(As adjective)
She is shouting in a loud voice.
(As adverb)
He always behaves in a good manner.
(As adverb)
3. Adjective Phrase.
An adjective phrase is a group of words that functions like an adjective in a sentence. It
consists of adjectives, modifier and any word that modifies a noun or pronoun.
An adjective phrase functions like an adjective to modify (or tell about) a noun or a
pronoun in a sentence.
Examples.
He is wearing a nice red shirt.
(modifies shirt)
The girl with brown hair is singing a song. (modifies girl)
He gave me a glass full of water.
(modifies glass)
A boy from America won the race.
(modifies boy)
Prepositional phrases and participle phrases also function as adjectives so we can also call
them adjective phrases when they function as adjective. In the above sentence “The
girlwith brown hair is singing a song”, the phrase “with brown hair” is a prepositional
phrase but it functions as an adjective.
4. Adverb Phrase
An adverb phrase is a group of words that functions as an adverb in a sentence. It consists
of adverbs or other words (preposition, noun, verb, modifiers) that make a group with
works like an adverb in a sentence.
An adverb phrase functions like an adverb to modify a verb, an adjective or another
adverb.
Examples
He always behaves in a good manner.
They were shouting in a loud voice.
She always drives with care.
He sat in a corner of the room.
He returned in a short while.
(modifies verb behave)
(modifies verb shout)
(modifies verb drive)
(modifies verb sit)
(modifies verb return)
A prepositional phrase can also act as an adverb phrase. For example in above sentence
“He always behaves in a good manner”, the phrase “in a good manner” is a prepositional
phrase but it acts as adverb phrase here.
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5. Verb Phrase
A verb phrase is a combination of main verb and its auxiliaries (helping verbs) in a
sentence.
Examples.
He is eating an apple.
She has finished her work.
You should study for the exam.
She has been sleeping for two hours.
According to generative grammar, a verb phrase can consist of main verb, its auxiliaries,
its complements and other modifiers. Hence it can refer to the whole predicate of a
sentence.
Example. You should study for the exam.
6. Infinitive Phrase
An infinitive phrase consist of an infinitive(to + simple form of verb) and modifiers or other
words associated to the infinitive. An infinitive phrase always functions as an adjective,
adverb or a noun in a sentence.
Examples.
He likes to read books.
To earn money is a desire of everyone.
He shouted to inform people about fire.
He made a plan to buy a car.
(As noun/object)
(As noun/subject)
(As adverb, modifies verb shout)
(As adjective, modifies noun plan)
7. Gerund Phrase
A gerund phrase consists of a gerund(verb + ing) and modifiers or other words associated
with the gerund. A gerund phrase acts as a noun in a sentence.
Examples
I like writing good essays.
She started thinking about the problem.
Sleeping late in night is not a good habit.
Weeping of a baby woke him up.
(As noun/object)
(As noun/object)
(As noun/subject)
(As noun/subject)
8. Participle Phrase
A participle phrase consists of a present participle (verb + ing), a past participle
(verb ending in -ed or other form in case of irregular verbs) and modifiers or other
associate words. A participle phrase is separated by commas. It always acts as an
adjective in a sentence.
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Examples
The kids, making a noise, need food.
I received a letter, mentioning about my exam.
The table, made of steel, is too expensive.
We saw a car, damaged in an accident.
(modifies kids)
(modifies letter)
(modifies table)
(modifies car)
9. Absolute / Nominative Phrase
Absolute phrase (also called nominative phrase) is a group of words including a noun or
pronoun and a participle as well as any associated modifiers. Absolute phrase modifies
(give information about) the entire sentence. It resembles a clause but it lack a true finite
verb. It is separated by a comma or pairs of commas from the rest sentence.
Examples
He looks sad, his face expressing worry.
She was waiting for her friend, her eyes on the clock.
John is painting a wall, his shirt dirty with paint.