| phrase |
| Definition -
Any group of words that function together as a single part of speech.
Notes: 1. As opposed to a clause, which is a group of words that has both a predicate and a (sometimes implied) subject. |
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Example - In the sentence I didn't know that the dog ran through the yard (a) that the dog ran through the yard is a clause, as is the sentence as a whole, and (b) the yard, through the yard, ran through the yard, and the dog are all phrases (c) the store across the street is a noun phrase because it starts with a noun, (d) across the street is a prepositional phrase because it begins with the preposition across, (e) run fast is a verb phrase because it starts with a verb, (f) green grass is an adjectival phrase because it starts with an adjective; and (g) very carefully is an adverbial phrase because it starts with the adverb very. |
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Etymology - The word derives via Late Latin from the Greek phrasis, speech or way of speaking. |
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Oxford English Dictionary - Its first citation in this sense is from 1852: "The predicate may be extended in various ways:—1. By an adverb, or an adverbial phrase." (Morell Anal. Sent. §17) |
