Two word phrase definition

At this stage, toddlers continue to develop their vocabulary and the range of sounds that they can produce. They are able to use two-word phrases that are dense in content words (words that hold and convey meaning); however, function words (words that hold sentences together) are beyond the ability of toddlers at this age so are rarely used.

The Two-Word Stage in Child Language Acquisition

It is undeniable that toddlers at the two-word stage can produce meaningful utterances that make sense grammatically, however, their speech is still clearly unlike adult speakers. They still have a limited vocabulary as they haven’t developed the ability to use function words such as articles, auxiliary verbs and subject pronouns.

A toddler’s development of syntax can be observed at this stage from the increasingly complex words that they put together to communicate with adults. They begin to learn how to express semantic relations with actions, objects, entities, and locations, and also start forming commands and questions.

Two-word stage examples

Word type	Two-word phrase	Possible meaning	Semantic relation expressed
Verb + noun	«Read book.»	Can you read the book?	Action + Object
Pronoun + verb	«He run.»	He is running.	Agent + Action
Pronoun + noun	«My cookie.»	That’s my cookie.	Possessor + Object
Noun + adjective	«Mummy busy.»	Mummy is busy.	Agent + Action
Noun + verb	«Daddy sleep.»	Daddy is sleeping.	Agent + Action
Noun + Noun	«Toy floor.»	The toy is on the floor.	Entity + Location
Noun + adjective	«Car shiny.»	The car is shiny.	Entity + attributes

A major component of language development comes from toddlers repeating words or phrases that they hear adults use. In this process, they will negate the function words that adults use and only use the keywords.

Children learn increasingly complex words at the two-word stage — Pixabay

Their phrases are built around ‘pivot’ words and open words. Pivot words are high-frequency words that are typically determiners or prepositions and are always in a fixed position (either the first or second word). They can be used in conjunction with a wide variety of words, making them a useful part of a child’s vocabulary. ²

Open words make up the content of the two-word phrase and are often a noun or a verb. These words can be interchanged as the first or second word of a phrase and may also be used in isolation.

First-word pivot — All gone.

The example word ‘all gone’ represents a pivot that’s used as a first word. A toddler may use the word in a variety of situations: ‘all gone sweets’, ‘all gone bread’ or ‘all gone toy’. It is unlikely for the toddler to use the pivot word as the second word of a phrase, which is composed of an open word.

Second-word pivot — Off.

Second-word pivots are used less frequently than first-word pivots. The word ‘off’ can be used in a variety of ways: ‘TV off’, ‘light off’ or ‘shoe off ‘. Similarly to first-word pivots, a child is unlikely to use a second-word pivot as the first word in a phrase.

A word referring to a whole object.

A word that a child uses will refer to the entire object, not to any of the constituent parts.

A child may learn the word ‘flower’, and then use it to name any plant that it sees.

Considering the context

It can be difficult to figure out what a toddler is trying to say without considering the broader context. Adults must pay close attention to the child’s body language when they are trying to speak as they may provide clues by looking or pointing to a relevant object.

Assimilation

The pronunciation of a word is affected by a particular sound in the word. A toddler will replace a difficult sound with a sound that is more familiar with.

Toddlers often struggle with bilabials, which are consonant sounds made by pressing the lips together, such as p, b, and m sounds. They find it much easier to produce the same sounds in a word so they tend to assimilate when they come across difficult words to pronounce. If there’s a bilabial sound in a word, a toddler may use the same bilabial in another part of the word since it’s easier to pronounce.

The word ‘rubber’ may be articulated as ‘bubber’.

Gliding

Gliding is when liquid sounds (l and r) are replaced with glide sounds (w and y). It’s a normal part of a child’s language development process and usually disappears at 5 years old.

The word ‘red’ may be articulated as ‘wed ‘.

Cluster reduction

A child may have difficulty pronouncing a cluster of consonants in a word and reduce it by one or more consonants.

The word ‘spoon‘ may be articulated as ‘poon‘.

The word ‘banana‘ may be articulated as ‘nana’.

Stops

Consonant sounds that have a long airflow are replaced by sounds that have a stopped airflow.

Within
the domain of syntax two levels should be distinguished: that of
phrases and that of sentences.

The
phrase can generally be defined as a combination of two or more words
which is a grammatical unit but is not an analytical form of some
word. The constituent elements of a phrase may belong to any part of
speech. A word-combination can also be defined as a compound
nominative unit of speech which is semantically global and
articulated.

The
difference between a phrase and a sentence is a fundamental one. A
phrase is a means of naming some phenomena or processes, just as a
word is. Each component of a phrase can undergo grammatical changes
while a sentence is a unit with every word having its definite form.
A change in the form of one or more words would produce a new
sentence.

Grammar
has to study the
aspects of phrases which spring from the grammatical peculiarities of
the words making up the phrase, and of the syntactical functions
of the phrase as a whole, while lexicology has to deal with the
lexical meaning of the words and their semantic groupings. For
example from
the grammatical point of view the two phrases
read
letters and
invite
friends are
identical (the
same pattern verb +
noun
indicating the object of the
action).

Phrases
can be divided according
to their function in the sentence into:

(1)
those
which
perform the function of one or more parts of the sentence (predicate,
or predicate and object, or predicate and adverbial
modifier, etc.)

(2)
those
which do not perform any such function
but whose function is equivalent to that of a preposition, or
conjunction, and which are equivalents
of those parts of speech.

1.3. Syntagmatic Connections of Words.

Words
in an utterance form various syntagmatic connections with one
another:

1. syntagmatic
   groupings of notional words alone,

Such
groups (notional phrases) have self-dependent nominative destination,
they denote complex phenomena and their properties (semi-predicative
combinations): a
sudden trembling; a soul in pain; hurrying along the stream;
strangely familiar; so sure of their aims.

1. syntagmatic
   groupings of notional words with functional words,

Such
combinations (formative phrases) are equivalent to separate words by
their nominative function: with
difficulty; must finish; but a moment; and Jimmy; too cold; so
unexpectedly.
They are contextually dependent (synsemantism).

1. syntagmatic
   groupings of functional words alone.

They
are analogous to separate functional words and are used as connectors
and specifiers of notional elements:
from out of; up to; so that; such as; must be able; don’t let’s.

Combinations
of notional
words
fall into two mutually opposite types:

1)
combinations of words related to one another on an equal rank
(equipotent
combinations)

2)
combinations of words which are syntactically unequal (dominational
combinations)

Equipotent
connection
is realised with the help of conjunctions (syndetically), or without
the help of conjunctions (asyndetically):
prose and poetry; came and went; on the beach or in the water; quick
but not careless; —
no
sun, no moon; playing, chatting, laughing; silent, immovable, gloomy;
Mary’s, not John’s.

The
constituents of such combinations form coordinative consecutive
connections.

Alongside
of these, there exist equipotent connections of a non-consecutive
type. In such combinations a sequential element is unequal to the
foregoing element in its character of nomination connections is
classed as (cumulative connections): agreed,
but reluctantly; satisfied, or nearly so.

Dominational
connection
is effected in such a way that one of the constituents of the
combination is principal (dominating/headword) and the other is
subordinate (dominated/adjunct, adjunct-word, expansion).

Dominational
connection can be both consecutive
and cumulative:
a
careful observer; an observer, seemingly careful; definitely out of
the point;
out
of the point, definitely; will be helpful in any case will be
helpful;
at
least, in some cases.

The
two basic types of dominational connection are:

1. bilateral
   (reciprocal, two-way) domination (in predicative connection of
   words);

2. monolateral
   (one-way) domination (in completive connection of words).

The
predicative connection
of words, uniting the subject and the predicate, builds up the basis
of the sentence. The nature of this connections is reciprocal (the
subject dominates the predicate and vice versa).

Such
word combinations are divided into:

1. complete
   predicative combinations (the subject + the finite verb-predicate);

2. incomplete
   predicative/semi-predicative/potentially-predicative combinations (a
   non-finite verbal form + a substantive element): for
   the pupil to understand his mistake; the pupil’s understanding his
   mistake;
   the
   pupil understanding his mistake.

Monolateral
domination is considered as subordinative since the syntactic status
of the whole combination is determined by the head-word:
a nervous wreck. astonishingly beautiful.

The
completive connections fall into two main divisions:

1. objective
   connections

2. qualifying
   connections.

Objective
connections
reflect the relation of the object to the process. By their form
these connections are subdivided into:

1. non-prepositional;

2. prepositional.

From
the semantico-syntactic point of view they are classed as:

1. direct
   (the immediate transition of the action to the object);

2. indirect
   or oblique (the indirect relation of the object to the process).

Direct
objective connections are non-prepositional, the preposition serving
as an intermediary of combining words by its functional nature.
Indirect objective connections may be both prepositional and
non-prepositional.

Further
subdivision of objective connections is realised on the basis of
subcategorising the elements of objective combinations, and first of
all the verbs; thus, we recognise objects of immediate action, of
perception, of speaking, etc.

Qualifying
completive connections
are divided into

1. attributive
   (an
   enormous appetite; an emerald ring; a woman of strong character, the
   case for the prosecution);

They
unite a substance with its attribute expressed by an adjective or a
noun.

1. adverbial:

   1. primary
      (the verb + its adverbial modifiers):
      to talk glibly, to come nowhere; to receive (a letter) with
      surprise; to throw (one’s arms) round a person’s neck; etc

   2. secondary
      (the non-verbal headword expressing a quality + its adverbial
      modifiers):
      marvellously becoming; very much at ease; strikingly alike; no
      longer oppressive; unpleasantly querulous; etc.

Completive
noun combinations are directly related to whole sentences
(predicative combinations of words): The
arrival of the train → The train arrived. The baked potatoes →
The potatoes are baked. The gifted pupil → The pupil has a gift.

Completive
combinations of adjectives and adverbs (adjective-phrases and
adverb-phrases) are indirectly related to predicative constructions:
utterly
neglected — utter neglect — The neglect is utter; very carefully
— great carefulness — The carefulness is great; speechlessly
reproachful — speechless reproach
— The reproach is speechless.

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What Is a Phrase? Definition and Examples in Grammar

Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms

Updated on August 09, 2019

In English grammar, a phrase is a group of two or more words functioning as a meaningful unit within a sentence or clause. A phrase is commonly characterized as a grammatical unit at a level between a word and a clause.

A phrase is made up of a head (or headword)—which determines the grammatical nature of the unit—and one or more optional modifiers. Phrases may contain other phrases inside them.

Common types of phrases include noun phrases (such as a good friend), verb phrases (drives carefully), adjective phrases (very cold and dark), adverb phrases (quite slowly), and prepositional phrases (in first place).

Pronunciation: FRAZE
Etymology: From the Greek, «explain, tell»
Adjective: phrasal.

Examples and Observations

«Sentences can be divided into groups of words that belong together. For instance, in the nice unicorn ate a delicious meal, the, nice, and unicorn form one such group, and a, delicious, and meal form another. (We all know this intuitively.) The group of words is called a phrase.

«If the most important part of the phrase, i.e. the head, is an adjective, the phrase is an Adjective Phrase; if the most important part of the phrase is a noun, the phrase is a Noun Phrase, and so on.» — Elly van Gelderen

Types of Phrases With Examples

• Noun Phrase
  «Buy a big bright green pleasure machine!» — Paul Simon, «The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine,» 1966
• Verb Phrase
  «Your father may be going away for a little while.» — Ellen Griswold in the movie «Vacation,» 1983
• Adjective Phrase
  «It is always the best policy to speak the truth—unless, of course, you are an exceptionally good liar.» — Jerome K. Jerome, «The Idler,» February 1892
• Adverb Phrase
  «Movements born in hatred very quickly take on the characteristics of the thing they oppose.» — J. S. Habgood, «The Observer,» May 4, 1986
• Prepositional Phrase
  «I could dance with you till the cows come home. On second thought, I’d rather dance with the cows till you come home.» —Groucho Marx in «Duck Soup,» 1933

«Prepositional phrases differ from the other four types of phrase in that a preposition cannot stand alone as the head word of a phrase. Although a preposition is still the head word in a prepositional phrase, it has to be accompanied by another element—or prepositional complement—if the phrase is to be complete. Most typically, the prepositional complement will be a noun phrase.» — Kim Ballard

An Expanded Definition of Phrase

A prototypical phrase is a group of words forming a unit and consisting of a head or «nucleus» together with other words or word groups clustering around it. If the head of the phrase is a noun, we speak of a noun phrase (NP) (e.g. all those beautiful houses built in the sixties). If the head is a verb, the phrase is a verb phrase (VP). In the following sentence, the VP is in italics and the verb head is in bold:

Jill prepared us a couple of sandwiches.

«A phrase is only potentially complex. In other words, the term is also used to refer to ‘one-word phrases,’ i.e. non-prototypical phrases that consist of a head only. Thus the sentence Jill smokes is a combination of a noun phrase and a verb phrase.»
— Renaat Declerck, Susan Reed, and Bert Cappelle

Phrases, Nesting Phrases, and Clauses

«Phrases contrast with clauses, which they do, however, resemble. … The main feature of a clause is that it has all the components of a potentially independent sentence, namely a verb and usually a subject, and perhaps objects, too. A part of a sentence with just these components would be called a clause rather than a phrase. A phrase can contain a verb, without its subject, or it may itself be the subject of some verb.» —James R. Hurford

Hurford notes two ways that phrases can appear inside other phrases:

• Conjoining smaller phrases by a conjunction, such as and, but or or
• Nesting a smaller phrase inside a larger one

Hurford’s examples of nesting a smaller phrase inside a larger one as an integral part of it [the nested phrase is in italics]:

• Might in all probability be coming
• Ran away home quickly to his mother
• Five extremely tall basketball players
• Out from under the kitchen table
• Is not very convincingly established

Complex Structures

«Noun phrases and prepositional phrases can have particularly complex structure in written texts, with several layers of phrase embedding. In fact, the complexity of phrases is a very striking measure for comparing the complexity of syntax in different registers of English. The simplest structures occur in conversation and the complexity increases through fiction and newspaper writing, with academic writing showing the greatest complexity of phrase structure.» — Douglas Biber, Susan Conrad, and Geoffrey Leech

Sources

• Van Gelderen, Elly. «An Introduction to the Grammar of English: Syntactic Arguments and Socio-Historical Background.» John Benjamins, 2002, Amsterdam.
• Ballard, Kim. «The Frameworks of English: Introducing Language Structures,» 3rd ed. Palgrave Macmillan, 2012, Basingstoke, UK, New York.
• Declerck, Renaat; Reed, Susan, and Cappelle, Bert. «The Grammar of the English Tense System: A Comprehensive Analysis.» Mouton de Gruyter, 2006, Berlin, New York.
• Hurford, James R. «Grammar: A Student’s Guide.» Cambridge University Press, 1994, Cambridge.
• Biber, Douglas; Conrad, Susan; and Leech, Geoffrey. «Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English.» Longman, 2002, London.

Phrase definition: A phrase is a grammatical term referring to a group of words that does not include a subject and verb.

What is a Phrase? Examples, Definitions

What are phrases? A phrase is a group (or pairing) of words in English. A phrase can be short or long, but it does not include the subject-verb pairing necessary to make a clause.

Some examples of phrases include:

• after the meal (prepositional phrase)
• the nice neighbor (noun phrase)
• were waiting for the movie (verb phrase)

None of these examples contains a subject doing an action (subject-verb). Therefore, each example is merely a group of words called a phrase.

A phrase will always be more than one word.

Phrases vs. Clauses: a Hierarchy of Word Units

A phrase is any group of words that does not contain a subject completing an action.

When a group of words contains a subject doing an action (subject-verb), it becomes a clause.

Phrases can be added to sentences to make them more complex.

Concepts can begin with a single word and develop into a compound sentence.

Example:

• meal (word)
• after the meal (phrase)
• that mom prepared (clause)
• After the meal that mom prepared I felt full. (sentence)
• After the meal that mom prepared, I felt full because I ate too much. (complex sentence)
• After the meal that mom prepared I felt full, but my brother was still hungry. (compound sentence)

Before we go into different types of grammatical phrases, let’s look at a few more examples of phrases.

• In the air (prepositional phrase)
• Beside the bed (prepositional phrase)
• Along the road (prepositional phrase)
• To live and breathe (infinitive phrase)
• Looking stunning (participle phrase)

As you can see, English phrases can be just about any combination of words so long as they do not contain a subject-verb pairing.

Different Types of Phrase

What is a noun phrase? Noun phrases consist of a noun and its modifiers.

• the nice neighbor
• a soft, comfortable bed

What is a verb phrase? Verb phrases consist of a verb and its modifiers.

• were waiting for the movie
• felt a prick on his arm

What is an adverbial phrase? Adverbial phrases are phrases that act as adverbs. They modify verbs, adverbs, or adjectives.

• around the block (modifying where)
• after the meal (modifying when)
• in silence (modifying how)

What is a gerund phrase? Gerund phrases are essentially noun phrases that begin with a gerund.

• running through the woods
• jumping like a kangaroo

What is an infinitive phrase? Infinitive phrases begin with a verb infinitive and include any modifiers. Infinitive phrases function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.

• to run out of food
• to visit to the countryside

What is an appositive phrase? An appositive is essentially a noun phrase but one that renames another noun in the sentence.

• The tree, a tall redwood, was beautiful.
• The curtains were made of lace, a beautiful and delicate fabric.

What is a participle phrase? A participle phrase begins with a present (-ing) or past (-ed) participle. A participle phrase includes the participle and its modifiers. Participle phrases function as adjectives.

• The girls giggling and playing in the park never seemed to tire.
• Fatigued and dehydrated in the desert the men traveled on.

What is a prepositional phrase? A prepositional phrase is a group of words that includes a preposition and a noun. A prepositional phrase will function as either an adjective or an adverb.

• before church
• under the stairs

What is an absolute phrase? An absolute phrase includes a noun and a participle and any modifiers.

• the flag flying at half-mast
• her hair streaked with sunlight

Summary: What are Phrases?

Define phrase: The definition of phrase is any grouping of words that does not contain a subject and a verb. A phrase is a very basic word unit in English.

• Phrases Examples:
  • Reading a book
  • The tall basketball player

Contents

• 1 What is a Phrase? Examples, Definitions
• 2 Phrases vs. Clauses: a Hierarchy of Word Units
• 3 More Phrase Examples
• 4 Different Types of Phrase
• 5 Summary: What are Phrases?

In the English Language, a phrase is simply a union of two or more than two words that also functions as a noun, that does not have any finite verb or a subject.

It does not contain any clause elements like subject, verb, and object of a preposition and a noun, pronoun, verb, or adverb.

What is a Phrase?

Phrases can act as a part of speech as the words of a phrase act together as a single grammatical unit to function in a sentence, but it does not stand alone as a sentence.

The length of the phrase can be at least two words. It combines to make some clauses and sentences.

Types of Phrases:

Generally, there are eight types of phrases,

1. Noun Phrase
2. Verb Phrase
3. Prepositional Phrase
4. Gerund Phrase
5. Infinitive Phrase
6. Participle Phrase
7. Appositive Phrase and
8. Absolute Phrase.

Out of which there are three types of Verbal Phrases:

1. Gerund Phrase
2. Infinitive Phrase and
3. Participle Phrase.

Noun Phrase:

A phrase is called a noun phrase where it consists of a noun (head noun) or a pronoun along with its modifiers.

Nouns like people, places, things, animals, or ideas come in a sentence with a single modifier or more modifiers.

We can understand by the help of examples,

• The teacher is coming to the classroom.
  • Here, “the teacher” and “to the classroom” are noun phrases, where “the” and “to the” are modifiers, and “teacher” and “classroom” are head nouns respectively.
• This was a movie as old as time.
• Her husband is a public servant.
• Split some water on the flowerpots.
• I always wanted to buy a car.

Verb Phrase:

A verb phrase is a combination of verbs (main verb and helping verbs) that may be in numbers that are together working in a sentence.

It also contains its modifiers and adverbs, which are used to change the meaning of the verb phrase.

Examples:

• Was running behind.
• Has caught.
• Had gone.
• Will have forgotten.

Examples of verb phrases with the sentence:

• We had not played any games since yesterday.

Here, “had not played” is a verb phrase where “had” is a modifier and “played” is the main verb.

• The car is blowing away very far away in the tornado. 
• She has left her puppy on the road.
• The cloth will have been flying high in the sky. 
• I have been coming to your wedding anniversary.

Prepositional Phrase:

The prepositional phrase is a combination of words that contain words like a preposition; the rest part called the object of a sentence includes a noun or a pronoun.

This phrase begins with a prepositional word, and the word can also perform functions like a noun, adjective, or adverb respectively.

An adjective can also be used in between the preposition and the object in prepositional phrases and then it modifies a noun or a pronoun of a sentence.

Examples:

• The computer is placed on the table.
  • Here, “on the table” is a prepositional phrase that starts with a prepositional word “on”, and rest is the object of a sentence.
• We are about to reach our destination.
• The man is running against the train.
• The train was left before its time
• He is swimming below the surface.

Gerund Phrase:

The gerund phrase is a type of verbal phrase or a noun phrase that begins with a gerund (functions as a noun).

It contains a gerund, modifiers, and the object of a sentence.

Simply, we can say that a gerund is a verbal word that ends with -ing (the present participle), and acts as a subject, object, a noun, or a complement too in a sentence.

Examples:

• Crawling down the stairs is dangerous.
  • Here, “Crawling down the stairs” is a gerund phrase where, “crawling” is a gerund that functions as a noun, and “down the stairs” is an object.
• Shining of the sun is like a pearl up from the ocean.
• Falling from the bicycle makes him injured.
• Unboxing the gift wrapper quickly without damaging it is also an art.
• Playing cards on the train is a real fun while travelling.

Infinitive Phrase:

An infinitive phrase is a phrase of the noun which starts with an infinitive verb and also consist

Modifiers.

An infinitive phrase is a type of verbal phrase.

Examples:

• To crawl in the whole room.
  • Here, “to crawl” is an infinitive verb in an infinitive phrase and rest is a modifier or an object.
• To work in the middle of something.
• To donate some charity is a good thing. (subject)
• They have decided to go for a long drive at night. (direct object)
• She took leave to complete her assignments at home.

Participle Phrase:

A participle phrase is a type of verbal phrase that begins with a verb and that verb is either in past participle form or in a present participle form along with a modifier.

Examples:

• Traveling on the bus.
• Something is fishy.
• Stood on a chair.

Examples of Participle phrases with the sentence:

• Washed nicely, the entire room is shining.
  • Here, “washed nicely” is a participle phrase where washed is a participle in past participle form and nicely is a modifier.
• The frog, hidden over all summer, finally came up in the rainy season.
• We keep moving forward till we reach our destination.
• Around a couple of minutes, the police chasing the thief were out of sight from the highway.
• The coach is coaching continuously the same move to their students.

Appositive Phrase:

An Appositive phrase is a better option to provide any additional data in any sentence.

It is a phrase that changes the name of a noun or a pronoun and defines it in another way.

This phrase contains one or more than one word in it.

Examples:

• My favorite bike, Harley Davidson, has an awesome sound.
  • Here, “my favorite bike” is an Appositive phrase that gives additive details of the bike of the speaker/subject.
• He owned a supercar car, an Austin Martin, which is very costly.
• Our major project, a renewable energy resource machine, has successfully registered.
• My girlfriend, the soulmate of my life, is going to be my wife very soon.
• His grandfather, Sir Don Bradman, is a well-known industrialist in Asia.

Absolute Phrase:

An absolute phrase is a phrase where the subject is present, but there is an absence of the verb, and hence this phrase is not stand alone.

An absolute phrase contains a subject and a modifier (most probably a participle), but the absence of a verb in it.

An absolute phrase is very difficult to recognize from any sentence.

Sometimes, it requires adding conjunction and rebuilding the participle to the finite verb.

Examples:

• The bike slipped down, most of the people frightened away.
  • Here, “the bike slipping down” is an absolute phrase.
• The race finished, my friend came first.
• Let us enjoy the movie. The movie started finally.
• Each student, their faces relieved, and looking happy, enjoyed after the exams.
• The book inside the bag, he reached in the library.