Phrase facts for kids

A phrase is a group of words that adds meaning to a sentence. Think of a phrase as a team of words working together. A phrase is not a complete sentence on its own because it doesn't have a full idea with a subject (who or what is doing something) and a verb (the action). It's like a puzzle piece that fits into a bigger picture.

What is a Phrase?

A phrase is a collection of words that acts as a single unit in a sentence. It helps to describe things, actions, or places more clearly. For example, in the sentence "The very tall tree stood proudly," the words "very tall tree" form a phrase that tells us more about the tree. Even though it has more than one word, it works as one idea.

Parts of a Phrase

Every phrase has a main word, which is called the head. This head word is what the phrase is mostly about. Other words in the phrase are called modifiers. They change or add more details to the head word. Imagine the head word is the leader, and the modifiers are its helpers, giving more information. In the examples below, the head word is shown in bold.

Different Kinds of Phrases

In English, there are five main types of phrases. Each type is named after the main part of speech that acts as its head word. Learning about these phrases helps you understand how sentences are built and how words work together.

Noun Phrases

A Noun phrase is a group of words that describes or gives more information about a noun. The head word in a noun phrase is always a noun. These phrases can act like a single noun in a sentence.

• all my dear children (Here, "children" is the noun, and "all my dear" tells us more about them.)
• the information age (Here, "age" is the noun, and "the information" describes what kind of age.)
• seventeen hungry lions in the rocks (Here, "lions" is the noun, and "seventeen hungry" describes them.)

Adjective Phrases

An Adjective phrase is a group of words that works together to give more information about an adjective. The head word in an adjective phrase is always an adjective. These phrases help to make descriptions more detailed.

• so very sweet (Here, "sweet" is the adjective, and "so very" makes the description stronger.)
• earnest in her desire (Here, "earnest" is the adjective, and "in her desire" explains why she is earnest.)
• very happy with his work (Here, "happy" is the adjective, and "very" and "with his work" add more detail.)

Verb Phrases

A Verb phrase is made of one or more words that work together to give more meaning to a verb. This phrase includes the main verb and any helping verbs (like "is," "has," "will," "can"). It shows the action or state of being in a sentence.

• has been running (Here, "running" is the main verb, and "has been" are helping verbs.)
• will go (Here, "go" is the main verb, and "will" is a helping verb.)
• might have seen (Here, "seen" is the main verb, and "might have" are helping verbs.)

Adverb Phrases

An Adverb phrase is a group of words that works together to give more information about an adverb. It can also modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adverb phrases tell us how, when, where, or to what extent something happens. The head word is usually an adverb.

• especially softly (Here, "softly" is the adverb, and "especially" tells us how softly.)
• formerly of the city of Perth (Here, "formerly" is the adverb, and "of the city of Perth" adds more detail about the past.)
• much too quickly to see clearly (Here, "quickly" is the adverb, and "much too" tells us how quickly.)

Prepositional Phrases

A Prepositional phrase is a group of words that starts with a preposition and includes a noun or pronoun (called the object of the preposition) and any words that describe it. These phrases often tell us about time, location, direction, or how something is done. The preposition always comes at the beginning of the phrase.

• after a very long walk (Here, "after" is the preposition, and "a very long walk" is its object.)
• behind the old building (Here, "behind" is the preposition, and "the old building" is its object.)
• for all the hungry children (Here, "for" is the preposition, and "all the hungry children" is its object.)
• in case it should happen again (Here, "in case" is the preposition, and "it should happen again" is its object.)