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.

On the + contrary | other hand | one hand

B1 Point 4 in the category of discourse markers is defined: in writing ORGANISING – range of phrases to introduce contrasting statements. The English Grammar Profile uses two examples, both of which clash against the English Vocabulary Profile: *’on the (other|one) hand’.   ‘On the contrary’ We have accidentally double posted this topic.  The other page

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MY | YOUR + superlative + noun

The formation of noun phrases using ‘my’ or ‘your’ + superlative adjective + noun in English grammar.

A noun phrase acts as a noun and describes a noun, while a superlative adjective compares a noun to the rest of a group and indicates the highest degree of a quality.

For instance, in the sentence “That’s your biggest mistake,” ‘your biggest mistake’ is a noun phrase where ‘biggest’ is the superlative adjective and ‘mistake’ is the noun.

The text also provides examples of such phrases commonly used in English, such as “your best bet,” “my best friend,” “your best friend,” and so on. It mentions that using A2 vocabulary or higher in this structure will probably be considered B1 context.

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THOSE

In the English Grammar Profile, there are two almost identical B1 grammar points for ‘those’ in the category of PRONOUNS/demonstratives Point 46 is defined as: ‘those’ as a pronoun with plural reference. Point 62: ‘those’ as a pronoun to refer to things which have already been mentioned. An iWeb search for: * * * those

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or something else?

Point 15 in the category of QUESTIONs is defined as: VAGUE alternative question with ‘or something else’ as the second alternative to a noun phrase, to refer to something non-specific. FOR EXAMPLE: Ultimately, does longer life as we know it come down to diet, exercise, medicine, or something else? A search in iWeb for: _N or something else ? 1 ISSUE OR SOMETHING ELSE ?

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Many are the + NOUN + RELATIVE CLAUSE

In the English Grammar Profile, C2 point 117 in the category of PRONOUNS/quantity is defined as: complex noun phrases using an inverted form ‘Many’ + ‘are’ + noun phrase, followed by a relative clause, as a focusing device. FOR EXAMPLE:   NBC News Covid is having a devastating impact on children — and the vaccine won’t

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far away | downstairs | nearby | upstairs

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 48 in ADVERBS/as modifiers is defined as: an increasing range of adverbs and adverb phrases (‘near’, ‘far away’, ‘upstairs’, ‘downstairs’) to indicate place An iWeb search for: _VV far away 1 STAY FAR AWAY 1252 I suggest you stay far away from me. (covered by B2 grammar when followed by a prepositional phrase)   You want some free advice about this one? Stay far

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adverb + adjective (emphasis)

An adjective phrase can consist of an adverb + adjective.  In the following examples: ‘obvious‘ and ‘unlikely‘ are the head of the adjective phrases. Needless to say, Ares’ negotiating position was hugely strengthened when it became painfully obvious to everyone  that the giant US asset manager was the only bidder that had bothered to turn up at the auction. traveller.com.au   Therefore, all 42 Sinn Fein candidates would likely have to be elected to the 160-seat chamber  to give it a shot at emerging as the largest party, an outcome which remains highly unlikely. express.co.uk   The adverbs ‘painfully’ and ‘highly’ are used here to emphasize. C1

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neither | either + of + PLURAL NOUN PHRASE

‘Either’ can mean “the one or the other.” ‘Neither’ can mean “not the one and not the other” or “not either.” C1 English Grammar Profile point 63 in DETERMINERS/quantity is defined as: ‘either’ and ‘neither’ + ‘of’ with plural noun phrases or pronouns. For example: Neither of these men is Chaney. (note the subject-verb agreement!) listen I don’t think

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(one of | some of | among ) the + SUPERLATIVE + PLURAL NOUN

The grammar “one | some + of the + SUPERLATIVE + PLURAL NOUN” is used to describe something that is among the best or most extreme of its kind. The word “one” or “some” can be used to indicate that the thing being described is only one of a few, while the word “of” indicates that the thing is part of a larger group. The superlative adjective is used to compare the thing being described to all other things of its kind, and the plural noun indicates that the thing is more than one.

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quite a + ADJECTIVE

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 36 in the category of ADJECTIVES/modifying is defined as: adjective phrases ‘quite a’ + adjective For example: The game was quite a simple one. listen An iWeb search for: quite a|an _JJ _NN 1 QUITE A LONG TIME 7672 2 QUITE A LONG WAY 914 3 QUITE A LARGE NUMBER 603 4 QUITE A

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adjective + noun (range)

Here is a nonliteral example of using an adjective before a noun that might be considered A2: It‘s been too long my old friend. listen   Here are examples of academic collocation: It’s a pretty accurate description. (listen to this expert example)   He can ask for additional information. (listen to this expert example)   During my school years,  I started reading to get some information  because I was an active participant  in almost all the literary competitions. TLC female India

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