25 Examples of Phrases in English

English phrases

There are different types of phrases in English, which follow certain relatively flexible structures.

Structure of the affirmative sentence

Active voice: Subject + verb (+ object).

Example: I knock the door. / I knock on the door.

Passive voice: Patient subject (object of the verb) + verb (+ subject of the action / complement)

Example: The door is knocked by me. / The door is hit by me.

In addition, these structures can branch, adding subjects, verbs or objects. For example:

Subject + verb + object + subject + verb.

Example: I knock the door but nobody answers. / I knock on the door but no one answers.

Negative sentence structure.

Subject + auxiliary + not + verb (+ object)

Example: I do not knock the door. / I don't knock on the door.

Auxiliary verbs allow you to construct questions and negations in English.

Auxiliary verbs and negation construction:

1. Be: I am not a child. / I am not a child.
2. Do: I do not believe that. / I do not believe that.
3. Have: I have not lost my keys. / I haven't lost my keys.
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4. Dog: You can't open the door. / You can't open the door.
5. Will: They will not buy the car. / They won't compare the car.

Structure of the interrogation

Auxiliary + subject + verb (+ object)

Auxiliary verbs and question mark construction:

1. Be: Are you Mr. Smith? / Are you Mr. Smith?
2. Do: Do you like coffee? / Do you like coffee?
3. Have: Have you seen him? / You've seen?
4. Dog: Can you build the house before January? / Can you build the house before January?
5. Will: Will you stay for dinner? / Will you stay for dinner?

The sets of words that make up the different parts of speech are also called phrases. Depending on the function they fulfill, they can be:

Noun phrase: Set of nouns that can occupy the function of

• Subject: The boy and the girl became friends. / The boy and the girl became friends.
• Direct Object: They bought shoes, trousers and shirts. / They bought shoes, pants and shirts.
• Indirect Object: They gave flower to girls and women. / They gave flowers to girls and women.

Adverbial phrase: Set of words that function as adverbs, that is, that modify a verb, an adjective or another adverb.

• With great regret we inform that the program will not continue next year. / It is with great sorrow that we inform that the program will not continue next year.
• They stayed with him in silence. / They stayed with him in silence.

Verbal phrase: Set of verbs.

• They are trying to tell us something. / They are trying to tell us something.
• I have invited them to visit next fall. / I invited them to visit him next fall.

Specific types of verb phrases are:

• Infinitive phrase: He is ready to start training. / He is ready to start training.
• Phrase participle: The roof was blown away and lost.
• Gerund phrase: He spent the evening eating and drinking. / He spent the night eating and drinking.

Adjective phrase: It is a set of words that characterize a noun, that is, they provide information about its characteristics.

• The house is not very cheap. / The house is not very cheap.

See also: Examples of Sentences in English and Spanish

Andrea is a language teacher, and in her instagram account offers private lessons by video call so that you learn to speak English.