EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A word is a unit of language 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 that
lacks 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 are
formed 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 or verb phrase, which can be decomposed into smaller
syntactic categories, or a lexical category, such as noun or verb, 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 and
Minimalism 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.
 Words & Phrases

Introduction
Background of the problem

A word is a unit of language 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 create phrases, clauses and
sentences. 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 regulations
which 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 note
that 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 doesn’t discuss the ways of
transformation of words into phases but let me clear one thing that the lexical categories
are included because it is used as a back hand of the phrasal categories.
Procedures to collect and analyze the data

Procedures to collect the desired data are used by us such that we have searched the
whole 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 a
desired 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 Loam
Chomsky 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 smaller
units (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 the
whole?’ 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 kinds
of 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.
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 of
construction 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 also
expresses some type of conceptual content, be it specific or abstract.

For example prepositional phrases express a figure-ground (figure-ground refers to

humans' 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 formal
configuration, but is also characterized by a recognizable (abstract or specific) semantic
content.

A Syntactic Category:-

A syntactic category is either a phrasal category, such as noun phrase or verb phrase,
which can be decomposed into smaller syntactic categories, or a lexical category, such as
noun or verb, which cannot be further decomposed.

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

The lexical categories are traditionally called the parts 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 structure
grammar (GPSG) and transformational-generative grammar

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

by Gerald Gazdar and described the syntax and semantics of natural languages. One of
the 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
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 a
sentence from its syntactic derivation tree.

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

is represented by phrase structure trees, otherwise known as phrase markers or tree
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 systematic
application 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 the
former.Dependency grammar is 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 (aka parts of speech). Phrasal categories
include the noun phrase, verb phrase, and prepositional phrase; lexical categories include
noun, verb, adjective, adverb, and many others. Phrase structure rules were not an
invention of TGG; rather, early TGG's defining characteristics were those systems which
it 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 constituent A is separated into the two subconstituents
B and C. Some examples are:

The first rule reads: An S consists of an NP followed by a VP. This means A sentence
consists 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

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

where S represents a grammatical sentence.

Phrasal Category

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES

The prepositional phrase includes the preposition 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 adverb
phrase.

• Crystal could hear her sister snoring across the room.

Objects usually answer the question what. Therefore, we can ask across what? to
determine the object of the preposition.
 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 the participle and the object of the
participle or any words modified by or related to the participle.

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

• Cameron spotted his brother throwing rocks at 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.
 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

elections
o 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
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 walk
on 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 being
contiguous 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 red­colored 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 something 
away 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,
water commission. But when we create a long string of such attributive nouns or
modifiers, we create difficulties:

• People who author web­pages 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 keeps
expecting 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 beginning
of 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 web­pages as. . . .

APPOSITIVE PHRASE

An appositive is a re­naming 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 several 
state­level tournaments. [Noun phrase as appositive] 
• The best exercise, walking briskly, is also the least expensive. [Gerund
phrase as appositive] 
• Tatiana’s goal in life, to become an occupational therapist, is within her 
grasp this year, at last. [Infinitive phrase as appositive]
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 author Stephen 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 
dashes). Notice that absolute phrases contain a subject (which is often modified by a 
participle), but not a true finite verb.

• Their reputation as winners secured by victory, the New York Liberty 
charged into the semifinals. 
• The season nearly finished, Rebecca Lobo and Sophie Witherspoon 
emerged as true leaders. 
• The two superstars signed autographs into the night, their faces beaming 
happily.

When the participle of an absolute phrase is a form of to be, such as being or having  
been, the participle is often left out but understood.

• The season [being] over, they were mobbed by fans in Times Square. 
• [Having been] Stars all their adult lives, they seemed used to the 
attention.

Another kind of absolute phrase is found after a modified noun; it adds a focusing detail 
or point of focus to the idea of the main clause. This kind of absolute phrase can take the 
form of a prepositional phrase, an adjective phrase, or a noun phrase.

• The old firefighter stood over the smoking ruins, his senses alert to any 
sign of another flare­up. 
• His subordinates, their faces sweat­streaked and smudged with ash, 
leaned heavily against the fire truck. 
• They knew all too well how all their hard work could be undone — in an 
instant.

It is not unusual for the information supplied in the absolute phrase to be the most 
important element in the sentence. In fact, in descriptive prose, the telling details will 
often be wrapped into a sentence in the form of an absolute phrase:
 • 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 of auxiliaries, and many languages infinitive markers and other verbal praticles.

Examples:

• John gave Mary a

book.
• They were being
eaten alive.
• She kept screaming
like a maniac.
• Thou must not kill.
• Eat lead, sucker!

Adjectival Phrase

An adjectival phrase is a phrase with an adjective as its head (e.g. full of toys).
Adjectival phrases may occur as premodifiers to a noun (a bin full of toys), or as
predicatives to a verb (the bin is full of toys).
An adverbial phrase is a linguistic term for a phrase 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 are
called 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 a phrase 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 are
called 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
 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 of
words 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 to
make English a beautiful language.