Phrases

Can contain other phrases.
The crucial subpart: The head.

NP (subject) + VP (predicate) = Sentence

Noun phrase

• Most noun phrases appear with determiners

• Headword may be preceded by an adjective or a modifier

• Proper nouns (Mary, London) and plurals with general meaning (cameras) are among the most common that appear without determiners

Adjective phrases

• Attributive modifier in an NP

very attractive design

• Predicative complement in a VP

looked very attractive

• Postpositive modifier, in an NP

Try to create something really attractive

• External modifier, of an NP with indefinite article

I’d never seen so attractive a design

Common types of adjective phrases

Type of Adjective Phrase	Structure / Form	Example Before Noun (Prepositive)	Example After Noun (Postpositive)
Simple adjective	Single adjective	a happy child	a child happy again (poetic/literary)
Adjective + prepositional phrase	Adj + PP	afraid of spiders	the people afraid of spiders
Adjective + infinitive clause	Adj + to + verb	eager to learn	students eager to learn
Adjective + participle	Adj + -ing / -ed	busy working	workers busy working
Participle phrase (present)	-ing phrase	a glowing review	a review glowing with praise
Participle phrase (past)	-ed phrase	a broken window	a window broken by vandals
Adjective + that-clause	Adj + that…	sure that he’s right	people sure that he’s right
Adverb + adjective	Adv + Adj	deeply unhappy man	a man deeply unhappy
Compound adjective	Adj + hyphen + Adj/Noun	a long-term plan	a plan long-term (rare, formal)
Comparative / superlative phrase	Adj-er / Adj-est + than/of…	a better option	the option better than expected
Postpositive-only adjectives	Fixed-position adjectives	❌ a general elect → incorrect	✅ the general elect

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Complements in AdjPs

Adjectives form phrases with complements following the head. The complements are nearly always PPs

proud of her achievements content with his present job aghast at the prospect of moving glad that no one had seen us (full clause complement) eager to assist you (subjectless clause complement)

Note: Different adjectives take different prepositions.

Adverb phrases

Typically, an AdbP has a head adverb modified by another adverb:

very carefully (carefully is head) quite sufficiently (sufficiently is head) almost completely (completely is head)

Adverbs immediately after the VP

In non standard or informal English, people do say

Hit that nail hard T

Complements

A few adverbs take PP complements of particular types

… independently of the rest of the company Fortunately for you …

Common roles of prepositional phrases

Preposition plus its complement makes a PP

PP Role / Semantic Function	Typical Prepositions	Function / Description	Example	Grammatical Role
Agent (doer)	by	Performer of action in passive clauses	The book was written by the author.	Adverbial (agentive adjunct)
Patient / Theme complement	of / about / for	Completes the meaning of the verb; required	She is aware of the problem.	Complement
Instrument	with / by	Tool used to perform action	He opened the door with a key.	Adverbial (instrumental adjunct)
Locative (place)	in / on / at / under / over	Location where action occurs	She waited at the station.	Adverbial (locative adjunct)
Temporal (time)	on / in / at / during	Time of the action	He left in the morning.	Adverbial (temporal adjunct)
Manner / method	by / with / in	How the action is done	She solved the problem by reasoning carefully.	Adverbial (manner adjunct)
Cause / reason	because of / due to / from	Explains why the action occurs	He trembled because of fear.	Adverbial (causal adjunct)
Beneficiary / recipient	for / to	For whom the action is done	She baked a cake for her friend.	Adverbial (benefactive adjunct)
Source / origin/ cause / reason	from / out of	Origin of action or material	The news came from the newspaper.	Adverbial (source adjunct)
Purpose / goal	for / to	Intended outcome	He studies for the exam.	Adverbial (purpose adjunct)

Verb phrase