Phrase

Phrase

In grammar, a phrase — called an expression in some contexts — is a group of one or more words acting as a grammatical unit. It can be used within a sentence, so this means that a phrase can be treated as a unit within a larger structure. For instance, the English sentence "the squirrel is very happy" is a clause phrase which contains the noun phrase "the squirrel" and the verb phrase "is very happy". Additionally, "very happy" is an adjective phrase. Phrases can consist of a single word or a complete sentence. In theoretical linguistics, phrases are often analyzed as units of syntactic structure such as a constituent. There is a difference between the common use of the term phrase and its technical use in linguistics. In common usage, a phrase is usually a group of words with some special idiomatic meaning or other significance, such as "all rights reserved", "economical with the truth", or "kick the bucket".

Data Source : Wikipedia

• Related Topics:  Clause - In Language, A Clause Is A Constituent Or Phrase That Comprises A Semantic Predicand And A Semantic Predicate. A Typical Clause Consists Of A Subject And A Syntactic Predicate, The Latter Typically A Verb Phrase Composed Of A Verb With Or Without Any Objects And Other Modifiers., Constituent (Linguistics) - In Syntactic Analysis, A Constituent Is A Word Or A Group Of Words That Function As A Single Unit Within A Hierarchical Structure. The Constituent Structure Of Sentences Is Identified Using Tests For Constituents., Dependency Grammar - Dependency Grammar Is A Class Of Modern Grammatical Theories That Are All Based On The Dependency Relation And That Can Be Traced Back Primarily To The Work Of Lucien Tesnière. Dependency Is The Notion That Linguistic Units, E.g. Words, Are Connected To Each Other By Directed Links., Finite Verb - A Finite Verb Is A Verb That Contextually Complements A Subject, Which Can Be Either Explicit Or Implicit. A Finite Transitive Verb Or A Finite Intransitive Verb Can Function As The Root Of An Independent Clause., Head (Linguistics) - In Linguistics, The Head Or Nucleus Of A Phrase Is The Word That Determines The Syntactic Category Of That Phrase. For Example, The Head Of The Noun Phrase "Boiling Hot Water" Is The Noun "Water". Analogously, The Head Of A Compound Is The Stem That Determines The Semantic Category Of That Compound., Non-Finite Verb - Nonfinite Verbs Are Verb Forms That Do Not Show Tense, Person, Or Number. They Include: 1. Infinitives, Which Are The Base Forms Of Verbs, And May Also Function As Nouns Or Adverbs; 2. Gerunds, Which Act As Nouns, But Are Derived From Verbs; 3., Phrases