This is a word or group of words that modifies a noun and is linked to that noun by a verb.

Traditional grammar classifies words based on eight parts of speech: the verb, the noun, the pronoun, the adjective, the adverb, the preposition, the conjunction, and the interjection.

Each part of speech explains not what the word is, but how the word is used. In fact, the same word can be a noun in one sentence and a verb or adjective in the next. The next few examples show how a word's part of speech can change from one sentence to the next, and following them is a series of sections on the individual parts of speech, followed by an exercise.

In this sentence, "books" is a noun, the subject of the sentence.

Here "books" is a verb, and its subject is "Bridget."

In this sentence, "walk" is a verb, and its subject is the pronoun "we."

In this example, "walk" is a noun, which is part of a prepositional phrase describing where the mail carrier stood.

Here "jail" is a noun, which is the object of the infinitive phrase "to build."

Here "jail" is part of the compound verb "would jail."

In this sentence, "cries" is a noun acting as the direct object of the verb "heard."

But here "cries" is a verb that describes the actions of the subject of the sentence, the baby.

The next few sections explain each of the parts of speech in detail. When you have finished, you might want to test yourself by trying the exercise.

Written by Heather MacFadyen

A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase (this noun, pronoun, or noun phrase is the object of the preposition).

Prepositional phrases modify or describe nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs. They say something about the relationship between their object and the word they describe/modify. Prepositional phrases can tell us when [time] or where [location] something is or something happened. They can tell us the direction something is or is moving/going. They can tell us something about the word or words they describe.

In the phrase "the girl with the long hair" the prepositional phrase is "with the long hair." It tells us something about "the girl."

In the phrase "the book on the table" the prepositional phrase is "on the table." It tells us the location of  "the book."

In the sentence "I run in the morning" the prepositional phrase is "in the morning" and it modifies the verb "run" [it tells us when I run].

In the sentence "the keys are under the table" the prepositional phrase "under the table" tells us where they keys are.

In the sentence "the play starts at five o'clock" the prepositional phrase "at five o'clock" tells us when the play starts."

In the phrase "they keys to the house" the prepositional phrase "to the house" tells us about the keys [it tells us which keys they are/what the keys are for].

In the sentence "she looked around the living room for the cat" the prepositional phrase "around the living room" tells us where she looked" and the prepositional phrase "for the cat" tells us why she looked.

Below are more sentences with their prepositional phrases in italics and the word the prepositional phrase describes in bold:

• I left the house before noon
• He walked through the park.
• She sat beneath the tree.
• The dog under the bed was scared.
• She lost the book with the red cover.
• They loved the gift from their cousin.
• We watched the people from afar.
• The teen slept until 1 pm.

Some common prepositions are above, across, after, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, by, for, from, in, inside, into, near, of, off, on, on top of, onto, outside, over, past, through, to, toward, under, until, up, upon, with, within, and without. Look up each of these words at https://www.britannica.com/dictionary to see their meanings and examples of how they are used.

I hope this helps.

Have you ever wondered why we use particular words to communicate things and how we make them make sense? Grammar refers to the structure of a language, particularly how words are put together in different ways to express meaning. Words don't stand alone; they are combined to form phrases (then clauses and then sentences). But what are the different types of phrases?

Types of phrases in grammar

There are several types of phrases in English grammar. A phrase is a group of words that form what the dictionary calls 'a conceptual unit' (an idea contained in a few words). Phrases normally form parts of clauses. A phrase is not a sentence on its own. The important thing to not is that phrases do not make sense on their own as they do not have a subject and predicate.

What are the different types of phrases?

Some different types of grammatical phrases are as follows:

• Noun phrase

• Adjective phrase

• Adverb phrase

• Verb phrase

• Prepositional phrase

It is helpful to remember that phrasescaninclude other phrases within them. There can also be more than one of the same phrases in a single sentence.

Let's take a closer look at each of these types of phrases. But, before we do that, and in case you need a reminder…

A noun = a word that is used to name something, such as an object, place, person, idea etc. For example, ‘desk’, ‘city’, ‘woman’, ‘love’.

An adjective = a word that describes a noun or pronoun. For example, in the sentence “the cat is grey”, the adjective is ‘grey’ and it is used to describe the noun (the cat).

A verb = a word that describes an action or state. For example, in the sentence “the teacher writes on the board” the verb is ‘writes’ as it indicates the action. In the sentence “the ball is rolling down the hill”, the auxiliary verb ‘is’ indicates the tense of the sentence, and the main verb ‘rolling’ expresses the action.

An adverb = a word that describes a verb, adjective, another adverb or a whole sentence. For example, in the sentence “she walks slowly” the adverb is ‘slowly’ as it adds information about the verb. In the sentence “he is really tall”, the adverb is ‘really’ as it adds information about the adjective.

A preposition = a word or group of words that indicate where things are in relation to one another. This can refer to direction, time, location and spatial relationships. For example, words like ‘on’, ‘in’, ‘under’, ‘over’, ‘before’, ‘after’.

Okay, let's continue to look at the different types of phrases...

Examples of the different types of phrases

Below you will see some examples along with the different types of phrases so you can easily make sense of a sentence in the future.

Noun phrase

A noun phrase is a group of words that consists of a noun (or pronoun eg. he, she, it) and other words that modify the noun. Modifiers can refer to articles (a/an/the), quantifiers (some, a lot, a little), demonstratives (this, that, those), possessives (his, her, their), adjectives or adverbs. Noun phrases are used to give more information about a noun. They can function as the subject, object or complement of a sentence.

Noun phrase examples

Here are some examples of the types of phrases known as noun phrases.

In the sentence:

“Your black cat is always outside.”

The noun phrase is

“Your black cat.”

It is used to add detail to the sentence, by indicating the subject (cat) and describing it (a cat that is black and belongs to someone).

In the sentence:

“I saw a scary movie at midnight.”

The noun phrase is:

“A scary movie.”

It is used to indicate the object of the sentence (a movie) and provide a description of it (scary).

It has been argued that a noun phrase CAN consist of only one word, which would be either a noun or pronoun.

“Beth is walking home from school”.

Here, Beth is the only noun in the sentence, so it can be considered a one-word noun phrase.

Adjective phrase

An adjective phrase (also known as an adjectival phrase) is a type of phrase which is a group of words that consists of an adjective and other words that modify or complement it. Adjective phrases have the purpose of an adjective and are used to describe or add more detail to a noun/pronoun. They can come before or after a noun.

Adjective phrase examples

Here are some examples of adjective phrases.

In the sentence

“The man with short hair is running in the park.”

The adjective phrase is

“Short hair.”

It appears after the noun and is used to provide more detail about the noun (the man).

In the sentence:

“I ate some sugar-coated

doughnuts.”

The adjective phrase is:

“Sugar-coated.”

It appears before the noun and is used to provide more information about the noun (doughnut) - it describes what they were like (sugar-coated).

Adverb phrase

An adverb phrase (also known as an adverbial phrase) is a group of words that consists of an adverb and often other modifiers. They have the function of an adverb in a sentence and are used to modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. They can appear before or after the elements they modify.

Adverb phrase examples

Here are some examples of adverb phrases.

In the sentence:

“I go to the gym every weekend.”

The adverb phrase is:

“Every weekend.”

It gives more information about how often the action takes place.

In the sentence:

“He very carefully lifted the trophy.”

The adverb phrase is:

“Very carefully.”

It gives more detail about how the action (lifted) is carried out.

Verb phrase

A verb phrase is a group of words that consists of a head (main) verb and other verbs such as copular verbs (verbs that join the subject to the subject complement ie., seems, appears, tastes) and auxiliaries (helping verbs ie., be, do, have). It can also include other modifiers. A verb phrase has the function of a verb in a sentence.

Verb phrase examples

Here are some examples of verb phrases.

In the sentence:

“Dave was walking his dog.”

The verb phrase is:

“Was walking.”

It consists of the auxiliary verb ‘was’, which indicates the tense of the sentence, and the main verb ‘walking’, which indicates the action.

In the sentence:

“She will go to the party tonight.”

The verb phrase is:

“Will go.”

It consists of the modal verb ‘will’, which indicates a degree of certainty, and the main verb ‘go’ which indicates the future action.

Prepositional phrase

A prepositional phrase is a group of words that consists of a preposition and an object. It can also include other modifiers, but these are not essential. A prepositional phrase can either act as an adjective or adverb in a sentence. It is used to modify nouns and verbs and gives information about the relationships between subjects and verbs.

Prepositional phrase examples

Here are some examples of prepositional phrases.

In the sentence:

“The rat runs into the box.”

The prepositional phrase is:

“Into the box.”

It gives information about where the subject (the rat) goes.

In the sentence:

“The cut on my leg is painful.”

The prepositional phrase is:

“On my leg.”

It gives information about where the subject (the cut) is situated.

Types of Phrases - Key takeaways

• A phrase is a group of words that add meaning to a sentence. The different types of phrases include: noun phrase, adjective phrase, adverb phrase, verb phrase, and prepositional phrase.
• A noun phrase is a group of words that consists of a noun (or pronoun) and other words that modify the noun. It adds information about the noun.
• An adjective phrase is a group of words that consists of an adjective and other words that modify or complement it. It is used to add detail to a noun.
• An adverb phrase is a group of words that consists of an adverb and often its modifiers. It functions as an adverb in a sentence, with the purpose of modifying verbs, adjectives or other adverbs.
• A verb phrase is a group of words that consists of the main verb and other verbs (such as copulas and auxiliaries). It can also include other modifiers.
• A prepositional phrase is a group of words that acts as either an adjective or adverb in a sentence. It consists of a preposition and an object, and can also include other modifiers.

What is a word or group of words that modify a noun and is linked to that noun by a verb?

What is it called when a verb modifies a noun?

Is a word that modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent?

What is the word that modify nouns pronouns and group of words functioning as nouns?