phrases

  • A phrase is one or more words working together meaningfully.  (most people call a phrase two or more words)
  • Phrases have many grammatical functions in the clause. For example, in the sentence “They call this place their home.” The noun phrase ‘their home‘ is an object predicate.
  • There are five types of phrases:
    • Noun phrases have a noun, pronoun, nominal adjective (‘the elderly’) or a numeral as the ‘head’ (main word) which can be joined with modifiers, determiners, and complements.
    • A verb phrase consists of one or more auxiliaries plus the main ‘head‘ verb. For example, “has been used
    • Adverb phrases have an adverb as the ‘head’.  For example, “more frequently
    • Prepositional…
    • Adjective phrases.  For example: “far more attractive.”  Here ‘attractive’ is the head and has been pre-modified.
  • Phrases can be premodified and/or postmodified.  Here’s an example of a pre and post modified adverb: ‘very luckily for me’
  • Noun phrases can post be modified by a clause: ‘the house which we lived in
  • Phrases can contain one or more other phrases inside them.  For example:
  1. The name of the story = noun phrase with ‘name’ as the head noun.
  2. of the story = prepositional phrase
  3. the story = noun phrase
  • phrases can be extended with co-ordinating conjunctions or with apposition.

noun + preposition + MIND

Here are the search results in the iWeb corpus for: _NN _I mind 1 PEACE OF MIND 92742 C2 “Peace of mind” is a noun phrase that means a feeling of being safe or protected, or a mental state of calmness or tranquility. For example: And it‘s peace of mind for me, you know? listen 2 STATE OF MIND 30565 It is my opinion that  Senior Chief Kelly is […]

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the mouth of the

The mouth of something can mean the place where a river flows into the sea or a larger body of water. For example: We‘ve got to get our hero, Captain Willard, to the mouth of the Nung River  so he can go pursue Colonel Kurtz. TED It was here that Homer described the Greek encampment  at the mouth of the Scamander River. TED   Located at the mouth of the Bay of Bengal,  this coastal village was built on top of the Meghna River delta. TED It

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or other

The phrase “or other” is a type of ellipsis, which is a grammatical omission of words that are understood from the context. In this case, the omitted words are the specific details about something that are not important or have been forgotten. The phrase “or other” serves as a placeholder for those details, allowing the speaker or writer to communicate the general idea without having to be specific.

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ALL + preposition + noun phrase

At A2 level in the Oxford learner’s dictionary, ‘All’ as an adverb can mean ‘completely’.
Adverbs pre-modifying prepositions are found at A2, B1, and C1 levels in the English Grammar Profile.
The iWeb corpus was searched for ALL + prepositional phrases using the pattern _DB _II _A _NN. However, not every result represents ‘all’ as an adverb.
Some of the most common phrases include ‘All around the world’, ‘All across the country’, and ‘All along the way’, among others.
Each phrase is used in a unique context. For example, ‘All around the world’ is often used when referring to a global phenomenon or distribution, as in “Television rights have been sold all around the world”. Similarly, ‘All along the way’ can be used to indicate a consistent pattern or presence across a process or journey, as in “Black girls are overrepresented all along the way”.

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verb + WITH

Here are advanced examples of verbs + ‘WITH phrases‘: You hope for the best,  then make do with what you get. listen A man threatens you with a gun,  you break his neck,  we can’t call the police,  but it‘s nothing to do with me. listen DO WITH 796814 To find out which lexical verbs are most often followed by a ‘with PHRASE‘, we do a search in the iWeb corpus for: _VV with 1 WORK WITH 976989 A1 verb

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lexical verb + possessive determiner + noun + TO prepositional phrase

C2 example: Our country owes its creation to a man  they declared insane. listen C1 example: And he will do his damndest  to put your mind at rest. listen An iWeb search for: _VV _APPGE _NN to_II 1 MAKE YOUR WAY TO 9604 B2 Please make your way to the nearest exits. listen 2 MAKE THEIR WAY TO 6953 3 MADE THEIR WAY TO 6103 4 CHANGED ITS NAME TO 5283 B2 possessive determiner

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preposition + article + noun

In this post, we are looking at more advanced uses of the ‘preposition + article + noun phrase‘ structure.  For example: I just came on the spur of the moment. listen I was just in the mood for a little conversation. Even Money   My life has been extraordinarily blessed  with marriage and children and certainly interesting work to do,  whether it be at the University of Sydney Law School,  where I served a term as dean,  or now as I sit on the United Nations Committee  on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,  in Geneva. TED Someone‘s in a mood. listen Your mother will be over the

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noun + OF

A search in iWeb corpus for: _NN of 1 PART OF 4885158 _VV part of 1 BECOME PART OF 45393 Adele has become part of the country’s psyche. listen 2 FORM PART OF 18038 When on duty, you will form part of the armed forces. listen 3 BECAME PART OF 16702 4 FORMS PART OF 13260 5 BECOMES PART OF 8361 6 CONSIDERED PART OF 7249 7 BECOMING

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lexical verb + article + noun (+ prepositon)

A phrase is a group of words that functions as a unit in a sentence. A phrase can have different types depending on the word that heads it. A phrase that includes the word order lexical verb + article + noun + preposition is called a verb phrase. A lexical verb is a verb that has meaning by itself, such as run, eat, or sleep. An article is a word that modifies a noun, such as the, a, or an. A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word in the sentence, such as in, on, or to.

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preposition + possessive determiner + noun

A search in the iWeb corpus for: at _APPGE _NN 1 AT HIS HOME 25665 *Although this is basic grammar, it often reports the locations of crimes such as murder.  For example: A man has been shot dead  at his home  in Sydney’s eastern suburbs last night. listen   2 AT YOUR FINGERTIPS 24481 C2 What’s it like to have such power  at your fingertips? listen 3 AT YOUR DISPOSAL 17599

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possessive determiner + OWN

At A2 level in the English Vocabulary Profile, the adjective ‘own’ is used with a possessive to emphasize ownership or belonging. This usage is common in advanced phrases, sometimes in C1 adverbial phrases describing the manner in which something is done. ‘Own’ can also function as a pronoun, referring back to a noun phrase. Additionally, ‘own’ can mean ‘alone’ at B1 level.

Examples of usage include sentences like “The least you could do is allow me to live here in my own way,” emphasizing personal ownership, and “Feel free to use our pool, but use it at your own risk,” indicating individual responsibility. Moreover, phrases like “on their own” and “of their own” are frequently used to express independence and ownership.

Furthermore, ‘own’ can be part of idiomatic expressions such as “mind your own business,” which means to tell someone in a rude way not to inquire about something private.

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article * CLASS

A search in iWeb corpus for: _A * CLASS 1 THE WORKING CLASS 20916 Public education is a way to improve and equalize educational opportunity, and a way to bring order and discipline to the working class. PELIC STUDENT: Chinese Male Level 5 Reading class 2 THE MIDDLE CLASS 20686 The Mirabal sisters and their husbands formed the June 14th movement along with many others from the middle class. TED 3 A WORLD CLASS 14222 (*this should probably be a hyphenated adjective) = A WORLD-CLASS + NOUN 4 THE FIRST

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at face value

In the English Vocabulary Profile: at face value = C1 If you accept something at face value because of the way it first looks or seems, you do so without thinking carefully about it. A search for the top 10 collocations in COCA: 1 TAKE 232 For example: We cannot afford to take mythology at face value. listen 2 TAKEN

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