Definition
 A
phrase is a part of a
sentence which does not contain a finite verb.
[This
feature distinguishes it from a clause which
does have a finite verb.]
It
is a group of words which acts as a noun, adjective,
or an adverb. Examples
| up the street |
my father's dog |
| to hunt the killer |
the house with big windows |
| strawberries and cream |
having a wonderful time |
Use
Phrases
are sequences of meaning and are used in both speech and writing.
A
grammatically complete sentence requires
a finite verb. However,
in some contexts phrases
can convey as much meaning as is required.
In
these cases the verb may not be expressed but will be implied
by the speaker and understood by the listener.
In
writing, the phrase would only be punctuated as a sentence in
special cases and for special effects.
The
term 'phrase' is used generally to suggest a saying or a brief
statement.
The
most interesting thing regarding phrases is that when uttered
in isolation they have a verb which is
understood or implied.
If
we say to a child 'Up those stairs!' it usually means something
like, 'It's time you went up those stairs to bed'. In the more
complete utterance 'you went' is a finite verb.
Similarly,
the question 'Where are the glasses?' may be answered by 'Inside
the cabinet'. The semantic implication is 'The glasses are inside
the cabinet' in which 'are' is the finite verb whose subject
is 'the glasses'.
Many
proverbs are expressed as phrases but with the finite verb understood.
For
instance 'More haste less speed', suggests that, 'more haste
results in less speed'. However, this addition of the finite
verb 'results' makes the saying less succinct and epigrammatic.
A
very unscientific but efficient way to test whether an utterance
is a sentence or a phrase is to imagine
addressing a stranger with the statement. The response to a phrase
would be 'What on earth are you talking about?'
For
example, imagine making any of the following statements to someone.
They would not know what you meant.
'The green book'
'A lovely surprise'
'Over there'
On
the other hand, even a stranger would make some sense of the
following sentences:
'That's the green book I left in the park.'
'The bus stops over there.'
'I have a lovely surprise for you.'
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