Phrases

1. The Phrase

    1. The Noun Phrase (NP)

    2. The Adjective Phrase (AdjP) and Adverb Phrase 

(AdvP)

    3. The Verb Phrase (VP)

    4. The Prepositional Phrase (PP)

2. Phrases in the Sentence

3. Coordination of Phrases

4. Finding Phrases

5. Building Trees

Phrase Structure

• A phrase is a syntactic unit headed by a 

lexical category such as Noun, Adjective, 

Adverb, Verb, or Preposition.

• Phrases are named for their heads:

• NP (ex : 

The new student from Hungary)

• VP (ex: ate the cake, sat in the yard, seemed very quiet)

• AdjP (ex :so beautiful)

• AdvP : (ex: quite happily)

• PP (ex:in the yard,  with glasses, under the apple tree)

Phrase Structure Rules

are Generative

• Use a finite set of rules and elements to

produce an infinite set of grammatical

sentences. E.g.,

  • NP → (D) N (PP)

  • PP → P NP (PP)

• Routine, family, fishing

• The president, a member, the contenders

• Time with family, the University of Wisconsin, a budget for the State of Wisconsin

Phrase Structure

and Ambiguity

1. The journalist interviewed the actor in a tuxedo.

2. The journalist interviewed

    [NP the actor in a tuxedo].

3. The journalist interviewed

    [NP the actor] [PP in a tuxedo].

4. The journalist interviewed

    [NP the actor [PP in a tuxedo]].

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