Chapter 5: Phrases

English	Spanish	French	Latin	German	Greek
phrase	sintagma, frase	syntagme	Phrase, Satzglied	—	σύνταγμα (syntagma)

What Is a Phrase?

A phrase is a group of words that functions as a single grammatical unit. A phrase: - Contains a head word that determines its type - May contain modifiers and complements of the head - Does NOT contain both a subject and a finite verb (that would be a clause)

Terminology note: Modern linguistics distinguishes lexical categories (parts of speech: noun, verb, adjective, etc.) from phrasal categories (NP, VP, AP, etc.). The phrase types in this chapter are phrasal categories — each named for its head word’s lexical category.

Examples: - the old king — phrase (noun phrase; head = king) - very quickly — phrase (adverb phrase; head = quickly) - in the garden — phrase (prepositional phrase; head = in) - the king rules — NOT a phrase; this is a clause (has subject + finite verb)

Phrase Types

Every phrase is named for its head — the word that determines what kind of phrase it is.

Phrase Type	Abbreviation	Head	Example
Noun phrase	NP	noun	the tall soldier
Verb phrase	VP	verb	has been carefully considering
Adjective phrase	AP / AdjP	adjective	very fond of music
Adverb phrase	AdvP	adverb	quite remarkably quickly
Prepositional phrase	PP	preposition	in the old garden

The Noun Phrase (NP)

English	Spanish	French	Latin	German	Greek
noun phrase	sintagma nominal	syntagme nominal	Nominalphrase	—	ὀνοματικὸ σύνταγμα

Definition

A noun phrase is a phrase with a noun (or pronoun) as its head. It can function as a subject, object, or complement.

Structure of the English Noun Phrase

The English NP has a regular structure:

(Determiner) + (Pre-modifiers) + HEAD NOUN + (Post-modifiers)

Position	Elements	Examples
Determiner	articles, demonstratives, possessives, quantifiers	the, a, this, my, some, three
Pre-modifiers	adjectives, nouns used as modifiers	tall, old, stone (wall)
HEAD	noun or pronoun	soldier, house, freedom
Post-modifiers	prepositional phrases, relative clauses, participle phrases	of Rome, who came, standing there

English NP Examples — Fully Parsed

Example 1: the tall soldier

Element	Function
the	determiner (definite article)
tall	pre-modifier (adjective)
soldier	HEAD (noun)

Example 2: my three favourite old French wine glasses

Element	Function
my	determiner (possessive)
three	determiner (numeral)
favourite	pre-modifier (adjective)
old	pre-modifier (adjective)
French	pre-modifier (adjective)
wine	pre-modifier (noun used as adjective)
glasses	HEAD (noun)

Note: English pre-modifiers have a preferred order: opinion → size → age → shape → colour → origin → material → purpose. Hence “favourite old French” not “French old favourite.”

Example 3: the book on the table

Element	Function
the	determiner
book	HEAD
on the table	post-modifier (prepositional phrase)

Example 4: the soldier who fought bravely

Element	Function
the	determiner
soldier	HEAD
who fought bravely	post-modifier (relative clause)

NP Functions in the Sentence

Function	Example	NP
Subject	The dog bit the man.	The dog
Direct object	The dog bit the man.	the man
Indirect object	I gave her* a book.*	her
Subject complement	He is a doctor.	a doctor
Object complement	They elected him president.	president
Object of preposition	She sat on the chair.	the chair

NP in Other Languages

Latin: The NP consists of noun + agreeing adjectives/participles + genitive phrases. No articles.

Latin NP	Analysis
magnus mīles Rōmānus	great Roman soldier
	mīles = head (nom. sg. masc.)
	magnus = adjective (nom. sg. masc.)
	Rōmānus = adjective (nom. sg. masc.)

German: Articles decline for case, number, gender. Adjective endings depend on article presence.

German NP	Analysis
der große Soldat	the tall soldier (nom.)
den großen Soldaten	the tall soldier (acc.)
	Article and adjective change to show case

Greek: Article essential for marking attributive position. Repeated article signals attributive.

Greek NP	Analysis
ὁ ἀγαθὸς στρατιώτης	the good soldier (article + adj + noun)
ὁ στρατιώτης ὁ ἀγαθός	the good soldier (article + noun + article + adj)
	Both are attributive; second emphasises adjective

The Verb Phrase (VP)

English	Spanish	French	Latin	German	Greek
verb phrase	sintagma verbal	syntagme verbal	Verbalphrase	—	ῥηματικὸ σύνταγμα

Definition

A verb phrase is a phrase with a verb as its head. It includes the main verb and any auxiliaries, modifiers, and complements.

Structure of the English Verb Phrase

(Auxiliaries) + HEAD VERB + (Complements) + (Modifiers)

Element	Examples
Auxiliaries	has, is, will, have been, might have been
HEAD	write, go, seem, eat
Complements	objects, subject complements
Modifiers	adverbs, adverb phrases

English VP Examples — Fully Parsed

Example 1: writes

Element	Function
writes	HEAD (main verb, present, 3sg)

Example 2: has been carefully considering the proposal

Element	Function
has	auxiliary (perfect)
been	auxiliary (progressive)
carefully	modifier (adverb)
considering	HEAD (main verb, present participle)
the proposal	complement (direct object NP)

Example 3: will have been being watched

Element	Function
will	auxiliary (future)
have	auxiliary (perfect)
been	auxiliary (progressive)
being	auxiliary (passive progressive)
watched	HEAD (past participle, passive)

Auxiliary Order in English

English auxiliaries follow a strict order:

MODAL + PERFECT (have) + PROGRESSIVE (be) + PASSIVE (be) + MAIN VERB

Construction	Example
Modal	She will* write.*
Modal + Perfect	She will have* written.*
Modal + Progressive	She will be* writing.*
Modal + Passive	She will be* helped.*
Modal + Perfect + Progressive	She will have been* writing.*
Modal + Perfect + Passive	She will have been* helped.*
Modal + Perfect + Progressive + Passive	She will have been being* watched.* (rare)

The Adjective Phrase (AP)

English	Spanish	French	Latin	German	Greek
adjective phrase	sintagma adjetival	syntagme adjectival	Adjektivphrase	—	ἐπιθετικὸ σύνταγμα

Definition

An adjective phrase has an adjective as its head. It modifies nouns or serves as a complement.

Structure

(Degree modifier) + (Pre-modifiers) + HEAD ADJECTIVE + (Complements)

English AP Examples

Example 1: very tall

Element	Function
very	degree modifier (intensifier)
tall	HEAD (adjective)

Example 2: extremely fond of chocolate

Element	Function
extremely	degree modifier
fond	HEAD
of chocolate	complement (prepositional phrase)

Example 3: much taller than his brother

Element	Function
much	degree modifier
taller	HEAD (comparative adjective)
than his brother	complement (comparative phrase)

AP Functions

Function	Example
Attributive (before noun)	a very tall* man*
Predicative (after copula)	The man is very tall.
Post-positive (after noun, rare)	something quite different

The Adverb Phrase (AdvP)

English	Spanish	French	Latin	German	Greek
adverb phrase	sintagma adverbial	syntagme adverbial	Adverbialphrase	—	ἐπιρρηματικὸ σύνταγμα

Definition

An adverb phrase has an adverb as its head. It modifies verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or entire sentences.

Structure

(Degree modifier) + HEAD ADVERB + (Complements)

English AdvP Examples

Example 1: very quickly

Element	Function
very	degree modifier
quickly	HEAD

Example 2: quite remarkably fast

Element	Function
quite	degree modifier
remarkably	HEAD (or second modifier)
fast	HEAD (or first = modifier of second)

Example 3: fortunately for us

Element	Function
fortunately	HEAD
for us	complement (prepositional phrase)

AdvP Functions

Function	Example
Modifying verb	He ran very quickly.
Modifying adjective	She is extremely* tall.*
Modifying adverb	He ran very* quickly.*
Modifying sentence	Fortunately, we arrived on time.

The Prepositional Phrase (PP)

English	Spanish	French	Latin	German	Greek
prepositional phrase	sintagma preposicional	syntagme prépositionnel	Präpositionalphrase	—	προθετικὸ σύνταγμα

Definition

A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition followed by its object (usually an NP).

Structure

PREPOSITION + OBJECT (NP)

English PP Examples

Example 1: in the garden

Element	Function
in	HEAD (preposition)
the garden	object (NP)

Example 2: from under the old wooden bridge

Element	Function
from	HEAD (preposition)
under the old wooden bridge	object (PP — yes, PPs can nest)

Within the nested PP:

Element	Function
under	preposition
the old wooden bridge	object (NP)

PP Functions

Function	Example
Adverbial (modifying verb)	She sat in the chair.
Adjectival (modifying noun)	The book on the table* is mine.*
Complement	He is in trouble.

PP in Case Languages

In Latin, Greek, and German, the preposition governs a specific case:

Language	Preposition	Case	Example
Latin	in + accusative	motion into	in urbem (into the city)
Latin	in + ablative	location	in urbe (in the city)
German	in + accusative	motion into	in die Stadt
German	in + dative	location	in der Stadt
Greek	εἰς + accusative	motion into	εἰς τὴν πόλιν
Greek	ἐν + dative	location	ἐν τῇ πόλει

Phrase Structure Analysis: Worked Examples

Example 1: English

Sentence: The young student from Paris has been reading a very interesting book about ancient history in the library.

Step 1: Identify the main clause structure

Function	Element
Subject	The young student from Paris
Verb phrase	has been reading
Direct object	a very interesting book about ancient history
Adverbial	in the library

Step 2: Parse each phrase

Subject NP: The young student from Paris

Element	Function
The	determiner
young	pre-modifier (adjective)
student	HEAD
from Paris	post-modifier (PP)

VP: has been reading

Element	Function
has	auxiliary (perfect)
been	auxiliary (progressive)
reading	HEAD

Object NP: a very interesting book about ancient history

Element	Function
a	determiner
very interesting	pre-modifier (AP)
book	HEAD
about ancient history	post-modifier (PP)

Adverbial PP: in the library

Element	Function
in	preposition
the library	object NP

Example 2: Latin

Sentence: Magnus mīles Rōmānus in urbe pulchrā habitat. (The great Roman soldier lives in the beautiful city.)

Function	Element	Analysis
Subject NP	magnus mīles Rōmānus	nom. sg. masc. throughout
	magnus	adjective (pre-position)
	mīles	HEAD
	Rōmānus	adjective (post-position)
VP	habitat	3sg present active indicative
Adverbial PP	in urbe pulchrā	preposition + ablative (location)
	in	preposition
	urbe	noun, abl. sg. fem.
	pulchrā	adjective, abl. sg. fem. (agreeing)

Summary

Phrase Type	Head	Key Function
NP	noun/pronoun	subject, object, complement
VP	verb	predicate core
AP	adjective	noun modification, predication
AdvP	adverb	modification of V, Adj, Adv, sentence
PP	preposition	adverbial, adjectival functions

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Next: Chapter 6: Clauses