What is Appositive?

Appositive is a word or group of words which adds extra information to a noun or pronoun. The appositive does not change the meaning of the sentence in case it is removed from the sentence. Look at the pair of examples (The first one of the pair has no appositive.). 

• You should study hard. 
• You students should study hard. ('student' is an appositive.)

• Thida is very smart. ('student' is an appositive.)
• Thida, our team leader, is very smart. ('our team leader' is an appositive.)

Be careful!

• You are students should study hard. 

It is a wrong sentence because you have two main verbs in this sentence. Instead, you can make it an adjective clause.

•  You who are students should study hard.

Appositive Phrases

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An appositive is a noun or pronoun placed beside another noun or pronoun to identify or describe it. it always appears after the word it explains or identifies. The appositive is always a noun or a pronoun, and the word it explains is also a noun or pronoun. Look at the examples,

  •  You students should study hard.
  •  Our teacher, Mr. Stone, is very strict.

An appositive phrase consists of the appositive and its modifiers.

Appositive phrase = Modifier(s) + Appositive

Appositive phrase is usually placed after the noun which it modifies. However, is sometimes placed at the beginning of a sentence for emphasis. Look at these examples,

  •  My friend, a university teacher, won a scholarship to study abroad.
  •  English, my favorite subject, is not difficult to study.
  •  Angkor Wat, an ancient temple in Cambodia, is very famous.
  •  He is going to visit Siem Reap, an old capital city of Cambodia during the Angkorian time.
  •  Tom Teav, a Khmer love tragedy, has been studied and rewritten in English.
  •  Our class monitor, Mona will make a presentation today.


Note: COMMAS

The appositive is essential if the noun is too general without it; in this case, do not place commas around the appositive.

  •  Your friend Samnang is genius.
  •  We Cambodian should work harder in a more efficient way.

If the sentence would be clear and complete without the appositive, then commas are necessary; place one before and one after the appositive.

  •  Samdech Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of Cambodia, is going to win another election.
  •  Wat Phnom, the symbol of Phnom Penh, is a man-made hill.

Participle Phrases

Participle is a verbal which is formed by adding -ing or -ed to the verb. Participle is used as adjectives in sentences. Present participle is formed by adding –ing to the verb; past participle is formed by adding -ed to the verb. Look at the examples,

  •  The film was boring.
  •  I am reading an interesting book.
  •  The audience was bored.
  •  The teacher was talking to a frustrated student.

If you need to details of when to use -ing or -ed adjectives, click here.


Participle phrase is a group of related words that begins with a participle and ends with its modifiers.

Participle phrase = Participle + Modifiers

Participle is used as adjective in sentences. It doesn’t tell the action, but modifies noun or pronoun (same as adjective). Look at the examples,

  •  The newspaper publishing the tycoon's story has been sued.
  •  Do you know the man running this shop? 
  •  The students coming from countryside find it hard to live in city.
  •  He was disappointed with the news.
  •  I've finally found the key lost yesterday.
  •  She bought the book written by Robert Kiyosaki.

Gerund Phrases

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Gerund   is a verbal that is formed by adding -ing to a verb. Gerund is used as a noun or adverb. Look at the examples,

  •  Reading may broaden your thinking. ("Reading" is used as noun, subject.)
  •  My favorite hobby is sleeping. ("Sleeping" is used as noun, subject complement.)
  •  I thanked him for helping. ("Helping" is used as noun, object of preposition.)
  •  He goes skiing every winter. ("Skiing" is used as an adverb telling place.)


Gerund phrase is a group of related words that begins with a gerund and ends with its object or modifiers.

Gerund phrase = Gerund + Object /Modifiers

Gerund phrase is used as noun or adverb.

AS NOUN

  •  Driving a car needs concentration. (Subject)
  •  Staying updated with technology is a key to success in job. (Subject)
  •  Thida has finished painting his room. (Direct object)
  •  My nephew loves playing computer games. (Direct object)
  •  She gives studying English her best effort. (Indirect object)
  •  Some people give playing chess their attention. (Indirect object)
  •  I am tired of waiting for him. (Object of preposition)
  •  The man has been accused of stealing the money. (Object of preposition)
  •  Success is not only earning a lot of money. (Subject complement)
  •  Our dream is owning a small shop.(Subject complement)
  •  Her favorite exercise, swimming in the pool, makes her body strong.  (Appositive)
  •  His tough job, dealing with difficult customers, makes him tired. (Appositive)

AS ADVERB

  •  He usually goes camping in summer. (Adverb)
  •  Who did you go dancing with? (Adverb)

Infinitive Phrases

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Infinitive is a verbal (verb form usually preceded by to) that is used as a noun, adjective or adverb. For examples,

  •  To think helps us understand things better. ("To think" is used as noun subject.)
  •  I want to read. ("to read" is used as noun object.)
  •  It is the time to study. ("to study" is used as adjective modifying noun "time".)
  •  It is easy to blame. ("to blame" is used as adverb modifying adjective "easy".)
  •  We come to study. ("to blame" is used as adverb modifying verb "come".)


Infinitive phrase is a group of words that begins with an infinitive (to + verb) and ends with its object or modifiers.

Infinitive phrase = Infinitive + Object / Complement

Infinitive phrase is used as a noun, adjective, or adverb.

As noun

  •  To exercise everyday is a good habit. (Subject)
  •  To be a millionaire is my dream. (Subject)
  •  We've planned to buy a house. (Direct object)
  •  I expect to finish my project. (Direct object)
  •  He has no choice except to leave the company. (Object of preposition)
  •  The woman was about to leave the shop. (Object of preposition)
  •  His goal is to become a sale consultant. (Subject complement)
  •  His hobby is to run early in the morning.(Subject complement)
  •  I saw a man run out of the shop. (Object complement)
  •  She feels the rain fall on her face. (Object complement)
  •  His proposal, to merge the two companies, was rejected. (Appositive)
  •  His habits, to tell jokes, will hurt him. (Appositive)

As adjective

  •  She will reserve time to answer your questions. (Modifying noun)
  •  The company has got the license to import its products. (Modifying noun)
  •  Find someone to design our company website. (Modifying pronoun)
  •  Something to do at this moment is researching. (Modifying pronoun)

As adverb

  •  A student comes to see his teacher. (Modifying verb)
  •  The teachers met to discuss the course development plan. (Modifying verb)
  •  We are glad to meet all of you. (Modifying adjective)
  •  She is not confident to deal with the problem. (Modifying adjective)
  •  He came too late to join the meeting. (Modifying adverb)
  •  The company responded too slowly to please its angry customers. (Modifying adverb)
  •  To tell in advance, I will not accept late submission. (Modifying whole sentence)
  •  To be honest, you have performed quite well. (Modifying whole sentence)

Adverb Phrases

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Adverb phrase is a group of related words that includes an adverb as its head and its modifiers.

Adverb phrase = Modifier(s) + Adverb(s)

In sentences, adverb phrase takes the role of an adverb modifying a verb, or the whole sentence.

Modifying verb

   •  The man runs very fast.
   •  The rice transplanter works extremely well.
   •  The situations change so quickly these days.
   •  We hardly ever go the cinema.

Modifying the whole sentence

   •  Very honestly, I am tired.
   •  Fortunately enough, we managed to get at the meeting on time.
   •  Her parents disagreed. Even so, she chose to study abroad.
   •  He could accept our proposal. Then again, he refused.

Adjective Phrases

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Adjective phrase is a group of related words that contains adjectives and their modifiers.

Adjective phrase = Modifier(s) + Adjective(s)

In sentences, adjective phrase takes the role of an adjective modifying a noun or pronoun.

Modifying noun

   •  Her story was absolutely unbelievable.
   •  Thida was genius and hard-working.
   •  He runs a lucrative business.
   •  A long and lonely evening finally passed.

Modifying pronoun

   •  He is very smart.
   •  We are satisfied with our performance this year.
   •  Can you find someone more skillful?
   •  Her boyfriend made her so disappointed.
   •  The film was the most interesting one.

Besides the form above, the prepositional phrase and participle phrase are also adjectives. Click each link to learn more.

Verb Phrases

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Verb phrase is a group of words that shows action or state of being. It normally contains auxiliary verb(s) and a main verb. Thus,

Verb phrase = Auxiliary verb(s) + Main verb

Look at the examples; the verb phrases are in italic.

With two or more main verbs

  •  They sing and dance.
  •  She uploaded, tagged, and shared her photo.

With auxiliary verb "be"

  •  They are spraying pesticides.
  •  The email is sent by my colleague.
  •  I was watching TV at midnight last night.
  •  The road was built by a Chinese company.

With auxiliary verb "do"

  •  Do you like tea?
  •  I don't see it important.
  •  Did he go to the party yesterday?
  •  He did insist on borrowing the money.

With auxiliary verb "have"

  •  She has not finished her homework yet.
  •  We have discussed some worse scenario of our project.
  •  They had made a million before coming here.
  •  He had not read the lessons when his teacher asked him.

With modal auxiliary verb

  •  Everyone should not be too greedy.
  •  What will you do with this vegetables?
  •  He must make an apology.
  •  They will be traveling this time next year.

What is Phrase?

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Phrase is a small group of related words standing together as a single unit. This unit functions in the same way as a single word in a sentence.

Look at the examples below.

• The man has bought a very expensive car.

Explanation:
- "The man" is a noun phrase functioning as subject.
- "has bought" is a verb phrase containing main verb and auxiliary verb.
- "a very expensive car" is a noun phrase functioning as object.

• The exam was very long and difficult.

Explanation:
- "The exam" is a noun phrase functioning as subject.
- "very long and difficult" is an adjective functioning as subject complement.

• You university students should be involved in more research.

Explanation:
- "university students" is a appositive phrase adding more information to subject "You".
- "should be" is a verb phrase.
- "in more research" is a prepositional phrase functioning as adverb.

• She is working very hard.

Explanation:
- "is working" is a verb phrase.
- "very hard" is an adverb phrase.

• He is studying in the library.

Explanation:
- "is studying" is a verb phrase.
- "in the library" is a prepositional phrase functioning as adverb.

• The woman with blonde hair is an actress.

Explanation:
- "The woman" is a noun phrase functioning as subject.
- "with blonde hair" is a prepositional phrase functioning as adjective.
- "an actress" is a noun phrase functioning as subject complement.

• He decided to run a small business.

Explanation:
- "to run a small business" is an infinitive phrase functioning as object.

• My teacher suggested finishing the assignment.

Explanation:
- "My teacher" is a noun phrase functioning as subject.
- "finishing the assignment" is a gerund phrase functioning as object.

• The book written by Woods was interesting.

Explanation:
-  "The book" is a noun phrase functioning as subject.
-  "written by Woods" is a participle phrase functioning as adjective.

• We have realized the problems affecting our business.

Explanation:
- "have realized" is a verb phrase.
- "the problems" is a noun phrase functioning as object.
- "affecting our business" is a participle phrase functioning as adjective.

TYPES OF PHRASES

Phrases are classified according to either their forms or functions. They common types of phrases are: noun phrase, appositive phrase, verb phrase, adjective phrase,  adverb phrase, prepositional phrase, gerund phrase,  infinitive phrase, and participle phrase.

Prepositional Phrases

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Prepositional phrase is a group of words which begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or noun phrase. The noun or noun phrase that follows the preposition is called object of preposition.

Prepositional phrase = Preposition + Noun / Noun phrase

Look at the examples below:

  •  At school
  •  Near the shop
  •  With his brother
  •  On the table


FUNCTIONS OF PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE

Prepositional phrase can functions either as adjective or adverb.

[1]  Functioning as adjective

When it functions as adjective, it modifies noun or pronoun. Look at the examples,

  •  Do you know the man with red T-shirt?
  •  The expense on daily living tends to increase.
  •  He took several courses in personal development.
  •  The courses will put him on the path of success.

[2] Functioning as adverb

When it functions as adverb, it modifies verb, adjective, or adverb. Look at the examples below,

Modifying verb

  •  They are waiting outside the shop.
  •  A baby bird has fallen out of the nest.
  •  No one was born with all needed skills without training.
  •  He is behaving in a strange way.

Modifying adjective 

  •  He is afraid of dog.
  •  Some customers are not satisfied with our services.
  •  Thida is interested in career growth.
  •  They are crazy about football.

Modifying adverb

  •  He works late during high tourist season.
  •  She quickly moved away from the dog.

Noun Phrases

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Noun phrase is a group of words that has a noun as a head (or ends with a noun) preceded by all of its modifiers. In short, we can say:

Noun phrase = Modifier(s) + Noun

The modifiers can be modifying adjectives, modifying adverbs, determiners (articles, quantifiers, or possessives), or complements (prepositional phrase functioning as adjective).  Look at the examples below:

  • man (noun)
  • a man (noun phrase; the modifiers are in italic.)
  • a rich man (noun phrase; the modifiers are in italic.)
  • a very rich man (noun phrase; the modifiers are in italic.)
  • a very rich and clever man (noun phrase; the modifiers are in italic.)

  • house (noun)
  • his house (noun phrase; the modifiers are in italic.)
  • his beautiful house (noun phrase; the modifiers are in italic.)
  • his beautiful and expensive house (noun phrase; the modifiers are in italic.)
  • his very beautiful and expensive house (noun phrase; the modifiers are in italic.)

FUNCTIONS OF NOUN PHRASE

The same as noun, a noun phrase can function as subject, objects, complements, and appositives.

[1] Functioning as subject

  •  An experienced salesman is presenting his product.
  •  The high-end products suits his customers need.

[2] Functioning as direct object

  •  He is writing a long love story.
  •  They bought an expensive phone.

[3] Functioning as indirect object

  •  I've owed him some money.
  •  Can you do me a favor?

[4] Functioning as object of preposition

  •  I have known the man with black T-shirt.
  •  She left her shoes beside the pool.

[5] Functioning as subject complement

  •  They are hard-working employee.
  •  Angkor Wat is a marvelous building.

[6] Functioning as object complement

  •  We consider him a genius man.
  •  He appointed Thida his personal assistant.

[7] Functioning as appositive

  •  You young people should be involved in some social work.
  •  Kolab, the GM's secretary, is taking the meeting minute.
  •  I have talked to Robert, a business consultant.