A phrase is a group of words that express a concept and is used as a unit within a sentence. Eight common types of phrases are: noun, verb, gerund, infinitive, appositive, participial, prepositional, and absolute. Take a look at our selection of phrase examples below.

Noun-a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. Noun Phrase-a noun and any words in the sentence that modify it; words that can modify nouns include articles (a, an, the); adjectives; participles; and possessive pronouns. A noun phrase can be a single word-just the noun-or more than one word. Noun phrases can function in several different ways in a sentence.

Reviewing appositive examples can give you clarity on what these phrases are. Check out these examples and master how to use appositives correctly.

Because the noun phrase is a quintessential part of every sentence (even if it doesn't appear in the surface structure of a sentence as in "stop!"), it is potentially infinite in length, and it can include any number of other phrases (e.g. noun, adjective, adverb) within its structure.