Types and role of phrases

What is Phrases?

A phrase is a group of words (or sometimes a single word) that form a constituent and so function as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence. Phrases are like the building blocks of sentences. They cannot stand alone as a sentence but act as a single part of speech. Phrases can funtion as nouns,verbs, adjectives, or adverbs.

Phrase also can be define as a constituent that has one key word (its head) and the modifier (extention of the head). 

We have 5 types of phrases which includes:

1. Noun Phrase

2. Verb Phrase

3. Adjective Phrase

4. Adverb Phrase

5. Prepositional Phrase

Noun Phrase

A word group with a noun or pronoun as its head.It is a phrase which includes:

     1. a noun (also called head)

             2.optionally modifiers

noun phrase = noun/pronoun (head) + modifiers (optional,either come before/after noun)

Before we look at the example of noun phrase in sentences, we have to know what in modifiers.

What is modifiers?

Modification/modifiers is a term in linguistics. It does not mean to chage something, as we modify a car or dress. To modify means to limit,restrict,characterize or otherwise focus meaning. Modifiers used to make a noun more specific to it reference.

Modifiers are divided into 2 which are pre-modifiers (placed before the head of noun phrase) and postmodifiers (placed after the head of noun phrase ).

Example:

In [ his social history of venereal disease ](1), [ No Magic Bullet ](2), [ Allan M.   Brandt ](3)describes[ the controversy in the US military about preventing venereal disease among soldiers during World War I ](4).   [ More than 383,000 soldiers ](5)were diagnosed with[ venereal diseases ](6)between April 1917 and December 1919 and lost [seven million days of active duty ](7).  [ Only influenza ](8), which struck in [ an epidemic ](9), was [ a more common illness among servicemen ](10). 

Pink = premodifiers

Blue = head (noun/pronoun)

Green = postmodifiers

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