What Is a Phrase? Definition and Examples in Grammar

In English grammar, a phrase is a group of two or more words functioning as a meaningful unit within a sentence or clause. A phrase is commonly characterized as a grammatical unit at a level between a word and a clause.

A phrase (from the Greek phrasis, meaning "declare" or "tell") is made up of a head, or headword, which determines the grammatical nature of the phrase, and one or more optional modifiers. Phrases may contain other phrases inside them.

Common types of phrases include noun phrases (such as a good friend), verb phrases (drives carefully), adjective phrases (very cold and dark), adverb phrases (quite slowly), and prepositional phrases (in the first place).

What Are Phrases and How Are They Classified?

Sentences consist of clusters of words that naturally belong together. For example, in the sentence "the nice unicorn ate a delicious meal," the words "the," "nice," and "unicorn" form one cluster, while "a," "delicious," and "meal" form another. Intuitively, we recognize these clusters, which are known as phrases.

A phrase is identified by its head, the most central word of the group. If the head is an adjective, the phrase is termed an adjective phrase. Similarly, if the head is a noun, the phrase is called a noun phrase. There are also verb phrases, adverb phrases, and prepositional phrases.

Types of Phrases With Examples

• Noun Phrase: "Buy a big bright green pleasure machine!" — Paul Simon, "The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine," 1966
• Verb Phrase: "Your father may be going away for a little while." — Ellen Griswold in the movie "Vacation," 1983
• Adjective Phrase: "It is always the best policy to speak the truth—unless, of course, you are an exceptionally good liar." — Jerome K. Jerome, "The Idler," February 1892
• Adverb Phrase: "Movements born in hatred very quickly take on the characteristics of the thing they oppose." — J. S. Habgood, "The Observer," May 4, 1986
• Prepositional Phrase: "I could dance with you till the cows come home. On second thought, I'd rather dance with the cows till you come home." —Groucho Marx in "Duck Soup," 1933

Prepositional phrases are unique compared to other types of phrases because a preposition cannot function as the head of the phrase by itself. While a preposition acts as the head in a prepositional phrase, it requires an additional component (often a noun phrase), known as a prepositional complement, to form a complete phrase. For example, in the prepositional phrase "on the table," "on" is the preposition (head), and "the table" is the prepositional complement.

An Expanded Definition of Phrase

A prototypical phrase is a group of words forming a unit and consisting of a head or "nucleus" together with other words or word groups clustering around it. If the head of the phrase is a noun, we speak of a noun phrase (e.g. all those beautiful houses built in the sixties). If the head is a verb, the phrase is a verb phrase. In the following sentence, the verb phrase is in italics and the verb head is in bold:

Jill prepared us a couple of sandwiches.

Phrases don't have to be complex. One-word phrases also exist. For example, in the sentence "Jill prepared," there are two phrases each consisting of only a head: a noun phrase (Jill) and a verb phrase (prepared).

Phrases, Nesting Phrases, and Clauses

Though phrases and clauses are similar, they have crucial differences. According to linguist James R. Hurford, clauses have all the elements necessary to form an independent sentence, including a verb, usually a subject, and possibly objects. In contrast, a phrase lacks one or more of these components, such as the subject, and can include a verb without its subject.

Hurford notes two ways that phrases can appear inside other phrases:

• Conjoining smaller phrases by a conjunction, such as and, but, or or
• Nesting a smaller phrase inside a larger one

Hurford's examples of nesting a smaller phrase inside a larger one as an integral part of it (the nested phrase is in italics):

• Might in all probability be coming
• Ran away home quickly to his mother
• Five extremely tall basketball players
• Out from under the kitchen table
• Is not very convincingly established

Complex Phrase Structures

Phrases can also be incredibly complex. Conversational English, for example, can employ the most simple structures, whereas fiction and newspaper writing may embed several phrases into each other. This complexity becomes increasingly apparent in academic writing.