COMMUNICATION SKILLS

WEEK 4:
PHRASES AND CLAUSES
 Phrases

What is a phrase?
• A phrase is a group of words that is used as a single
part of speech and does not contain a verb and its
subject at the same time.

• In other words, it is a single part of speech (noun,

adjective, adverb, etc.)
• It is also defined as group of words that function
together as a single unit.
 Parts of a phrase

There are three main parts of the phrase

namely;
a) the head

b) the pre-modifier

c) the post-modifier
 Parts of a phrase

Phrase

Pre-modifier HEAD Post-modifier

(optional) (obligatory) (optional)
 Parts of a Phrase: the head

• The head is the most important element in a phrase.

• It is the only obligatory part of the phrase. This
means that without the head, there is no phrase.

• The word class of the head determines the name of

the phrase. This is because the head carries the core
meaning of the phrase.
• So, if the head is a noun, it is a noun phrase;
however, if the head is a verb, then the phrase is a
verb phrase.
 Parts of a Phrase: The pre-modifier

•“Pre” means ‘before’, and a modifier is simply another

word(s) that describes another word .

•Therefore, pre-modifier is a word(s) that modifies the

head of a phrase and also comes before the head.

•By modifyng the head, it gives more information about

the head. The pre-modifier is an optional element of a
phrase.

•This means that not all phrases have pre-modifiers.

 Parts of a Post-modifier

•‘Post’ means ‘after’. So as the name suggests, a post-

modifier comes after the head.

•Therefore, any word(s) that come after the head and

gives more information about the head is a post
modifier.

•Just like the pre-modifier, the post modifier is also an

optional element of the phrase.
From the foregoing, we can say that there are
three main arts of the phrase;
• The head is the obligatory member.
• The pre-modifer comes before the head;
• and the post modifier comes after the head.
 Phrase: Combinations
There are four main combinations of phrases:
1. The head only as in “Amina”, “Book”, and “Elephant”

2. Pre-modifier and Head as in “ The Man”, “An Elephant”

and “These boys”

3. Head + Post-modifier =. Eg. “Dogs from the North

Africa” “Men of today” and “ Ladies of today”

4. Pre-modifier + Head + Post-modifier as in “all good

Books”, “ The Lady in white” and “All men of today”
 Phrase: Combinations

This means that the key word and all the words
around it constitute a phrase; however, sometimes,
the key word may not have other words before and/or
after it.
 Types of Phrases
• Phrases are named after the key/main/head
word within the phrase. The key word may be a
noun, an adjective, an adverb, a preposition,
etc.

• This means that if the key word is a noun, then

the phrase is a noun phrase (NP). If it as a verb,
then it is a verb phrase.
 Types of Phrases

• Based on the key words and its associates,

below are some of the types of phrases we
have in English:
–Noun or nominal phrases
–Prepositional Phrases
–Adjectival Phrases
–Adverbial phrases
–Verb phrases
Types of Phrases: Noun or Nominal Phrase (NP)

•A noun phrase consists of a noun as a key word

and all other words that either come before it
or after it.

•It may consist of just the noun or it may have

several words in it. A noun phrase has the
following characteristics:
 Types of Phrases: Noun or Nominal Phrase (NP)

• A noun alone as in
– boy, tree, bottle, she, it

•A noun with a word/words before it as in

– my boy, the tree, her bottle, my best friend

•A noun with a word/words after it as in

– boy standing in the corner, friend in primary school

•A noun with a word/words before and after it as in

– my best friend in primary school
– The woman in the white dress
 Types of Phrases: Noun or Nominal Phrase (NP)

My three best friends in primary schools

•In this example, friends is the most important word in the phrase
because all the other words depend on it. The pre-modifier:
•We can say, my friends
my three friends
my best friends

•Therefore, we can say that friends is the head and the pre-
modifiers my, three and best provide more information about
friends.
 Types of Phrases: Prepositional Phrase (PP)

A prepositional phrase is called so because the obligatory element is the phrase is

a preposition. Unlike the other types of phrases, a prepositional phrase lacks a pre-
modifier.

A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with a noun phrase, a
noun, a pronoun or a gerund.

The structure looks like this:

Preposition + post-modifier= Prepositional Phrase.

Noun Phrase
Gerund
Noun
Preposition + Pronoun = Prepositional Phrase
 Types of Phrases: Prepositional Phrase (PP)

Examples:
a. I was served over the counter.
b. The book is for him.
C. Give the book to Kofi.
D. We opened it with a knife.
Identify the prepositional phrases in the following sentences and break it into its component parts:

•Rebecca sleeps on this bed.

•The poor woman has lived under the footbridge all
these years.
•In the morning, I visited the woman in the hospital.
•The students cannot register without their ID cards.
•The President visited the flood victims after
launching the new policy for flood victims.
 Types of Phrases: Adjectival/ Adjective Phrase (AP)

An adjectival phrase is a phrase that has an adjective as a headword and it is used to

qualify a noun or a pronoun. The possible structures of the Adjectival Phrase are listed
in the examples below:

a. Head only Example frank, beautiful, honest

b. Pre-modifier + Head Example, too frank, very beautiful, strikingly

handsome very honest

c. Head + Post-modifier Example beautiful indeed, honest indeed,

beautiful enough

d. Pre-modifier + Head + Post-modifier Example really beautiful

indeed, very honest indeed
 Types of Phrases: Adjectival/ Adjective Phrase (AP)

•The pre-modifiers in adjectival phrases are usually adverbs.

Examples of these adverbs are: extremely, quite, fairly,
considerably, etc. These adverbs are also referred to as DEGREE
ADVERBS and they function as either intensifiers or as
minimizers.

•Furthermore, only a few words can occur after the adjective in

an adjectival phrase. Examples of these adverbs are indeed
and enough. These adverbs are intensifiers.

•This structure of the Adjectival Phrase in English will,

accordingly, be:
 Types of Phrases: Adverbial Phrase (AdvP)
•In this phrase the adverb in the phrase is what is compulsory. This means
it cannot be left out.

•Like the adjectival phrase, only degree adverbs can occur before the
adverb in an adverbial phrase. Some examples of these degree words are
very fast, fast, rarely, sorely, fairly and hardly.

•Also, like the Adjectival Phrase, only the intensifiers – enough and indeed
– can occur after the obligatory adverb. So, we can have examples like:
•a. Very fast enough
degree adverb Intensifier

•b. Slowly indeed

adverb intensifier
 Types of Phrases: Verb Phrase (VP)

•This phrase derives its name from the fact that it is

the main verb (rather than an auxiliary verb) which is
obligatory.

•The structure of the verb phrase is as follows:

(a) main verb only
(b) pre-modifier + main verb
(c) main verb +post-modifier
(d) pre-modifier + main verb + post modifier
 Types of Phrases: Verb Phrase (VP)

•That is, in the sentence below:

Matilda will eat the food
•The verb phrase is :
will eat the food
•But, while it is possible to omit the word ‘will’,
Matilda eats the food.
•It is not possible to leave out the main verb ‘eat’:
* Matilda will the food.
•In other words, whereas the main verb is obligatory,
the auxiliary verb is optional.
 Types of Phrases: Verb Phrase (VP)

•Also, there can be a series of auxiliary verbs

•From the examples, we see that a Verbal Phrase can
be made up of the following items:
•(a) a main verb alone
•(b) a series of auxiliary verbs + one main verb
•(c) a single negator after an auxiliary verb + one main
verb
 Types of Phrases: Verb Phrase (VP)

•In the verb phrase, the auxiliary and the negator unlike the
main verb, are optional elements.

•In a situation where we have an auxiliary, a negator, and a

main verb, the order is as follows:
Auxiliary verb + negator + main verb

•The auxiliary is always the first, followed by the negator

and the main verb as illustrated below:
– Ken will not travel, Prince will not sleep
Auxiliary negator main verb
 Types of Phrases: Verb Phrase (VP)

•Again, where as there can be several auxiliary verbs

in a verb phrase, there can be only one negator which
always comes immediately after the first auxiliary
verb.
–Prince will not sleep.
–Prince will not have slept.
–Prince will not have been sleeping.
The verb phrase can simply be said to be a verb plus
its helping verbs.
QUESTIONS
 Next:
Clauses