Phrases A word or group of words that act together as a unit but don’t usually contain a finite verb

Function of words within a phrase Head word: main word Pre-modifiers: words which come before the head word and modify it in some way Post-modifiers: words that provide extra information after the head word

Noun phrases Usually begins with a determiner and has a noun (or pronoun)as its head word Can act as a subject, object or complement Eg. The girls are picking the flowers The beautiful sky of blue

Adjective phrases Has an adjective as its head word Can precede or follow a noun The sky grew black He was very bold

Verb phrases Generally has a lexical verb as the head word Can include auxiliary verbs I saw the horses I have seen the horses

Prepositional Phrases Has a preposition as its main word Normally followed by a noun phrase Often used to post modify other phrases Eg. the boys from the town