"I was reading the dictionary. I thought
it was a poem about everything."
                     --Steven Wright

Phrases : Definition, Types, & Examples

Phrases Definition:

A phrase is a group of words having no subject and finite verb which gives meaning to a sentence.

Phrase একটি শব্দগুচ্ছ যাতে কোন subject এবং finite verb থাকে না ও যা একটি sentence কে অর্থপূর্ণ করে তোলে। 

Example:

  • He is indeed a man of parts.
  • Life is not a bed of roses.
  • She has no kith and kin

The words in bold letters don’t have any subject and finite verb but still giving the sentence a meaning. They are phrases.

Bold অক্ষরের শব্দগুলোর কোন subject এবং finite verb নেই কিন্তু তাও sentenceটিকে একটি অর্থ দিচ্ছে। এগুলো phrase।

Types of Phrases:

There are generally nine types of phrases (Phrase সাধারণত: নয় ধরনের):

  1. Noun Phrase.
  2. Verb Phrase
  3. Adverbial Phrase
  4. Adjective Phrase
  5. Prepositional Phrase
  6. Conjunctional Phrase
  7. Interjectional Phrase
  8. Participial Phrase
  9. Absolute Phrase

Noun phrase তিন ধরনের হয়:

  1. Appositive Phrase
  2. Gerund Phrase
  3. Infinitive Phrase.

Noun Phrase:

The group of words that perform the task of a noun is called Noun Phrase. Noun phrases are of three types:

যে শব্দগুচ্ছ noun এর কাজ করে তাকে Noun Phrase বলে। Noun phrase তিন ধরনের হয়:

i. Appositive Phrase:

A noun phrase that renames another noun, not technically modifies it is called an appositive phrase.

যে noun phrase অন্য একটি nounকে নতুন করে নাম দেয়, কৌশলগতভাবে বর্ণনা করে না তাকে appositive phrase বলে।

Example:

  • Nachiketa, my favorite singer, is coming to Dhaka.

ii. Gerund Phrase:

A noun phrase with a gerund as its head is called a gerund phrase.

যে noun phrase এর শুরুতে gerund যুক্ত থাকে তাকে gerund phrase বলে।

Example:

  • I love listening to music.

iii. Infinitive Phrase:

An infinitive phrase refers to a noun phrase containing an infinitive at the beginning.

যে noun phrase এর শুরুতে একটি infinitive থাকে তাকে infinitive phrase বলে।

Example:

  • I love to listen to music.

Verb Phrase:

The group of words that perform the task of the verb is called Verb Phrase. A verb phrase has more than one verbs, one is a principal verb, and others are auxiliary verbs, such as am, is, are, was, were, be, being, have, had, has, shall, should, etc.

যে শব্দগুচ্ছ verb এর কাজ করে তাকে Verb Phrase বলে। একটি verb phrase এ একাধিক verb থাকে, একটি মূল verb এবং অপরগুলো সাহায্যকারী verb, যেমন, am, is, are, was, were, be, being, have, had has, shall, should, প্রভৃতি।

Example:

  • I was reading my favorite book yesterday.
  • They were going to the concert.

Adverbial Phrase:

The group of words that perform the task of the adverb is called Adverbial Phrase. An adverbial phrase also has other words apart from adverbs such as noun, verb, preposition, and modifiers which function like an adverb in the sentence.

যে শব্দগুচ্ছ adverb এর কাজ করে তাকে Adverbial Phrase বলে। একটি adverbial phrase এ adverb ছাড়াও অন্যান্য শব্দ যেমন: noun, verb, preposition এবং modifiers থাকে যা sentence এ adverb এর কাজ করে।

Example:

  • I came here
  • Once upon a time, he lived here.
  • She said it in a polite way.

Adjective Phrase:

The phrase that performs the function of an adjective is called Adjective Phrase.

যে phrase adjective এর কাজ করে তাকে Adjective Phrase বলে।

Example:

  • The girl is always full of life.
  • She is slow and steady.
  • This rule is now null and void.

Prepositional Phrase:

The phrase which has a preposition as its head and functions as an adjective, adverb or noun in a sentence is called a prepositional phrase. Generally, a prepositional phrase starts with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun.

যে phrase এর শুরুতে একটি preposition থাকে এবং যা একটি sentence এ adjective, adverb বা noun এর কাজ করে তাকে prepositional phrase বলে। সাধারণত: একটি prepositional phrase একটি preposition দিয়ে শুরু হয় এবং একটি noun বা pronoun দিয়ে শেষ হয়।

Example:

  • The students with whom I met at the varsity were friendly.
  • The salesman sells from door to door.
  • We are on the way to Dhaka.

Conjunctional Phrase:

The phrase which functions as a conjunction is called a conjunctional phrase.

যে phrase একটি conjunction এর মত কাজ করে তাকে conjunctional phrase বলে।

Example:

  • We started our journey as soon as the rain stopped.
  • Please come as quickly as you can.
  • She is not only magnificently gorgeous but also brilliantly intellectual.

Interjectional Phrase:

The phrase which functions like an interjection is called an interjectional phrase.

যে phrase একটি interjection এর মত কাজ করে তাকে interjectional phrase বলে।

Example:

  • What a miracle! She has come to the program.
  • My goodness! What have you done?
  • For heaven’s sake! Don’t go there.

Participial Phrase:

A phrase which has a present or past participle as its head is called a participial phrase.

যে phrase এর শুরুতে একটি present বা past participle থাকে তাকে participial phrase বলে।

Example:

  • The women sitting by the river were gossiping.
  • Coming home, I came to know the truth.
  • She was drinking water in a glass made of stone.

Absolute Phrase:

The phrase which has a subject but no finite verb and modifies the whole sentence, not a noun is called an absolute phrase.

যে phrase এর একটি subject আছে কিন্তু কোন finite verb নেই এবং যা সম্পূর্ণ sentenceটিকে মূল্যায়ন করে শুধু একটি noun কে নয়, তাকে absolute phrase বলে।

Example:

  • My friend finally coming back to this country, I will be able to share my thoughts and idea with her.
  • Her arrival at the last moment, we all were relieved from tension.