☀Talitha's World☀: Phrase Structure Rules

Phrase Structure Rules

A.Definition Of Phrase

Before explain phrase structure rules,let us see what the definition of phrase is.Phrase is sequence of word or a group of word arranged in a grammatical construction and function as a unit in a sentence.

They are five types of phrase,they are :

1. Noun Phrase (NP)

2. Adjective Phrase (AdjP)

3. Verb Phrase (VP)

4. Adverb Phrase (AdvP)

5. Preposition Phrase (PP)

1.Noun Phrase (NP)

Noun phrase refers to a phrase that built upon a noun which functions as the headword of the phrase.Example :

-A young man threw the old dog a bone

(NP) (NP) (NP)

-Pretty girl whispered softly

(NP)

2.Adjective Phrase (AdjP)

An adjective phrase refers to a phrase that modifies a noun. It built upon an adjective which functions as the headword of the phrase.Example :

-She seemed extremely pleasant

(AdjP)

-You are much quicker than I

(AdjP)

3.Verb Phrase (VP)

A verb phrase refers to a phrase that composed of at least one verb and the dependents of the verb, in which the verb functions as the headword of the phrase.

Example :

- He has been singing

(VP)

-The child found the puppy

(VP)

4.Adverb Phrase (AdvP)

Adverb phrase refers to a phrase that often plays the role of telling us when, where, why, or how an event occurred, in which the adverb functions as the headword of the phrase. Examples:

-We are expecting him to come next year

(AdvP)

- He ran very quickly

(AdvP)

5.Preposition Phrase (PP)

A preposition phrase refers to a phrase that begins with a preposition, in which the preposition functions as the headword of the phrase. Examples:

-He arrived by plane

(PP)

- Do you know that man with the scar?

(PP)

B.Definition of Phrase Sructure Rule

Phrase-structure rules are a way to describe a given language's syntax. They are used to break a natural language sentence down into its constituent parts (also known as syntactic categories) namely phrasal categories and lexical categories (parts of speech). Phrasal categories include the noun phrase, verb phrase, and prepositional phrase; lexical categories include noun, verb, adjective, adverb, and many others. Phrase structure rules are usually of the form $A \to B \quad C$ , meaning that the constituent A is separated into the two subconstituents B and C.

C.Basic Phrase Structure Rules