CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>Phrase - Wikipedia</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikimwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy", "wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"9f4e634b-ff1d-4df5-9737-a8a8f4728137","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Phrase","wgTitle":"Phrase","wgCurRevisionId":1254902168,"wgRevisionId":1254902168,"wgArticleId":44975,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Articles with short description","Short description is different from Wikidata","Articles needing additional references from May 2023","All articles needing additional references","Syntactic categories","Phrases"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Phrase","wgRelevantArticleId":44975,"wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgNoticeProject":"wikipedia", "wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":false,"wgFlaggedRevsParams":{"tags":{"status":{"levels":1}}},"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgPopupsFlags":0,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":false,"nearby":true},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":10000,"wgRelatedArticlesCompat":[],"wgCentralAuthMobileDomain":false,"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgULSPosition":"interlanguage","wgULSisCompactLinksEnabled":false,"wgVector2022LanguageInHeader":true,"wgULSisLanguageSelectorEmpty":false,"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q187931","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness","fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform","platformVersion"],"GEHomepageSuggestedEditsEnableTopics":true,"wgGETopicsMatchModeEnabled":false,"wgGEStructuredTaskRejectionReasonTextInputEnabled":false, "wgGELevelingUpEnabledForUser":false};RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","skins.vector.search.codex.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","skins.vector.icons":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.interlanguage":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready","ext.wikimediaBadges":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","site","mediawiki.page.ready","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.js","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","ext.gadget.switcher","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.bootstrap","ext.popups","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init","ext.visualEditor.targetLoader","ext.echo.centralauth","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming", "ext.uls.interface","ext.cx.eventlogging.campaigns","ext.cx.uls.quick.actions","wikibase.client.vector-2022","ext.checkUser.clientHints","ext.growthExperiments.SuggestedEditSession","wikibase.sidebar.tracking"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cskins.vector.icons%2Cstyles%7Cskins.vector.search.codex.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector-2022"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.4"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1120"> <meta property="og:title" content="Phrase - Wikipedia"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrase"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit this page" href="/w/index.php?title=Phrase&action=edit"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikipedia (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrase"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikipedia Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Phrase rootpage-Phrase skin-vector-2022 action-view"><a class="mw-jump-link" href="#bodyContent">Jump to content</a> <div class="vector-header-container"> <header class="vector-header mw-header"> <div class="vector-header-start"> <nav class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-main-menu-dropdown vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Main menu" > <label id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-label" for="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-menu mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-menu"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Main menu</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-main-menu" class="vector-main-menu vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-main-menu-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="main-menu-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-main-menu" data-pinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Main menu</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-navigation" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Navigation </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-mainpage-description" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main page</span></a></li><li id="n-contents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents" title="Guides to browsing Wikipedia"><span>Contents</span></a></li><li id="n-currentevents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Current_events" title="Articles related to current events"><span>Current events</span></a></li><li id="n-randompage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Visit a randomly selected article [x]" accesskey="x"><span>Random article</span></a></li><li id="n-aboutsite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About" title="Learn about Wikipedia and how it works"><span>About Wikipedia</span></a></li><li id="n-contactpage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us" title="How to contact Wikipedia"><span>Contact us</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-interaction" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-interaction" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Contribute </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-help" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia"><span>Help</span></a></li><li id="n-introduction" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" title="Learn how to edit Wikipedia"><span>Learn to edit</span></a></li><li id="n-portal" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal" title="The hub for editors"><span>Community portal</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes to Wikipedia [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_upload_wizard" title="Add images or other media for use on Wikipedia"><span>Upload file</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page" class="mw-logo"> <img class="mw-logo-icon" src="/static/images/icons/wikipedia.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" height="50" width="50"> <span class="mw-logo-container skin-invert"> <img class="mw-logo-wordmark" alt="Wikipedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.125em;"> <img class="mw-logo-tagline" alt="The Free Encyclopedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-tagline-en.svg" width="117" height="13" style="width: 7.3125em; height: 0.8125em;"> </span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-header-end"> <div id="p-search" role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-collapses vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box-auto-expand-width vector-search-box"> <a href="/wiki/Special:Search" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only search-toggle" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </a> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail cdx-typeahead-search--auto-expand-width"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div id="simpleSearch" class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia" aria-label="Search Wikipedia" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput" > <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-user-links vector-user-links-wide" aria-label="Personal tools"> <div class="vector-user-links-main"> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-preferences" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-userpage" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown " title="Change the appearance of the page's font size, width, and color" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Appearance" > <label id="vector-appearance-dropdown-label" for="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-appearance mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-appearance"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Appearance</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-notifications" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-overflow" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donate</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Phrase" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Phrase" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o" class=""><span>Log in</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-user-menu vector-button-flush-right vector-user-menu-logged-out" title="Log in and more options" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Personal tools" > <label id="vector-user-links-dropdown-label" for="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-ellipsis mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-ellipsis"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Personal tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-personal" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal user-links-collapsible-item" title="User menu" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en"><span>Donate</span></a></li><li id="pt-createaccount" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Phrase" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-userAdd mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-userAdd"></span> <span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Phrase" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-logIn mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-logIn"></span> <span>Log in</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-user-menu-anon-editor" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-user-menu-anon-editor" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Pages for logged out editors <a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" aria-label="Learn more about editing"><span>learn more</span></a> </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-anoncontribs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y"><span>Contributions</span></a></li><li id="pt-anontalk" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div class="mw-page-container"> <div class="mw-page-container-inner"> <div class="vector-sitenotice-container"> <div id="siteNotice"></div> </div> <div class="vector-column-start"> <div class="vector-main-menu-container"> <div id="mw-navigation"> <nav id="mw-panel" class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav id="mw-panel-toc" aria-label="Contents" data-event-name="ui.sidebar-toc" class="mw-table-of-contents-container vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-toc-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-toc" class="vector-toc vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-toc-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="toc-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-toc" > <h2 class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Contents</h2> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Phrase_trees" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Phrase_trees"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Phrase trees</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Phrase_trees-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Heads_and_dependents" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Heads_and_dependents"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Heads and dependents</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Heads_and_dependents-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Heads and dependents subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Heads_and_dependents-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Functional_categories" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Functional_categories"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.1</span> <span>Functional categories</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Functional_categories-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Variation_among_theories_of_syntax" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Variation_among_theories_of_syntax"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Variation among theories of syntax</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Variation_among_theories_of_syntax-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Notes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Notes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Notes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Notes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Phrase</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 56 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-56" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">56 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-af mw-list-item"><a href="https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frase" title="Frase – Afrikaans" lang="af" hreflang="af" data-title="Frase" data-language-autonym="Afrikaans" data-language-local-name="Afrikaans" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Afrikaans</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-am mw-list-item"><a href="https://am.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%88%90%E1%88%A8%E1%8C%8D_(%E1%88%B5%E1%8B%8B%E1%88%B0%E1%8B%8D)" title="ሐረግ (ስዋሰው) – Amharic" lang="am" hreflang="am" data-title="ሐረግ (ስዋሰው)" data-language-autonym="አማርኛ" data-language-local-name="Amharic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>አማርኛ</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-smn mw-list-item"><a href="https://smn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ci%C3%A4lh%C3%A1st%C3%A2h" title="Ciälhástâh – Inari Sami" lang="smn" hreflang="smn" data-title="Ciälhástâh" data-language-autonym="Anarâškielâ" data-language-local-name="Inari Sami" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Anarâškielâ</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A9_(%D9%84%D8%BA%D8%A9)" title="عبارة (لغة) – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="عبارة (لغة)" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-az mw-list-item"><a href="https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraza" title="Fraza – Azerbaijani" lang="az" hreflang="az" data-title="Fraza" data-language-autonym="Azərbaycanca" data-language-local-name="Azerbaijani" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Azərbaycanca</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-min-nan mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh-min-nan.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phi%C3%A0n-g%C3%AD" title="Phiàn-gí – Minnan" lang="nan" hreflang="nan" data-title="Phiàn-gí" data-language-autonym="閩南語 / Bân-lâm-gú" data-language-local-name="Minnan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>閩南語 / Bân-lâm-gú</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ba mw-list-item"><a href="https://ba.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D2%BA%D2%AF%D2%99%D0%B1%D3%99%D0%B9%D0%BB%D3%99%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%88" title="Һүҙбәйләнеш – Bashkir" lang="ba" hreflang="ba" data-title="Һүҙбәйләнеш" data-language-autonym="Башҡортса" data-language-local-name="Bashkir" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Башҡортса</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bh mw-list-item"><a href="https://bh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AB%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%9C" title="फ्रेज – Bhojpuri" lang="bh" hreflang="bh" data-title="फ्रेज" data-language-autonym="भोजपुरी" data-language-local-name="Bhojpuri" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>भोजपुरी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-br mw-list-item"><a href="https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rannfrazenn" title="Rannfrazenn – Breton" lang="br" hreflang="br" data-title="Rannfrazenn" data-language-autonym="Brezhoneg" data-language-local-name="Breton" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Brezhoneg</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A1ze_(syntax)" title="Fráze (syntax) – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Fráze (syntax)" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrase_(Linguistik)" title="Phrase (Linguistik) – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Phrase (Linguistik)" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-et mw-list-item"><a href="https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraas" title="Fraas – Estonian" lang="et" hreflang="et" data-title="Fraas" data-language-autonym="Eesti" data-language-local-name="Estonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Eesti</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%DA%AF%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%87_(%D8%AF%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B1_%D8%B2%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%86)" title="گروه (دستور زبان) – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="گروه (دستور زبان)" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expression_(linguistique)" title="Expression (linguistique) – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Expression (linguistique)" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EA%B5%AC_(%EC%96%B8%EC%96%B4%ED%95%99)" title="구 (언어학) – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="구 (언어학)" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frasa" title="Frasa – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Frasa" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-is mw-list-item"><a href="https://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setningarli%C3%B0ur" title="Setningarliður – Icelandic" lang="is" hreflang="is" data-title="Setningarliður" data-language-autonym="Íslenska" data-language-local-name="Icelandic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Íslenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A6%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A3_(%D7%91%D7%9C%D7%A9%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%AA)" title="צירוף (בלשנות) – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="צירוף (בלשנות)" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-jv mw-list-item"><a href="https://jv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frasa" title="Frasa – Javanese" lang="jv" hreflang="jv" data-title="Frasa" data-language-autonym="Jawa" data-language-local-name="Javanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Jawa</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-kn mw-list-item"><a href="https://kn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B2%A8%E0%B3%81%E0%B2%A1%E0%B2%BF%E0%B2%97%E0%B2%9F%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%9F%E0%B3%81" title="ನುಡಿಗಟ್ಟು – Kannada" lang="kn" hreflang="kn" data-title="ನುಡಿಗಟ್ಟು" data-language-autonym="ಕನ್ನಡ" data-language-local-name="Kannada" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ಕನ್ನಡ</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-kk mw-list-item"><a href="https://kk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%B0" title="Фраза – Kazakh" lang="kk" hreflang="kk" data-title="Фраза" data-language-autonym="Қазақша" data-language-local-name="Kazakh" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Қазақша</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sw mw-list-item"><a href="https://sw.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tungo_kirai" title="Tungo kirai – Swahili" lang="sw" hreflang="sw" data-title="Tungo kirai" data-language-autonym="Kiswahili" data-language-local-name="Swahili" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Kiswahili</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ky mw-list-item"><a href="https://ky.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%B0" title="Фраза – Kyrgyz" lang="ky" hreflang="ky" data-title="Фраза" data-language-autonym="Кыргызча" data-language-local-name="Kyrgyz" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Кыргызча</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lt mw-list-item"><a href="https://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraz%C4%97" title="Frazė – Lithuanian" lang="lt" hreflang="lt" data-title="Frazė" data-language-autonym="Lietuvių" data-language-local-name="Lithuanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Lietuvių</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-li mw-list-item"><a href="https://li.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinsdeil" title="Zinsdeil – Limburgish" lang="li" hreflang="li" data-title="Zinsdeil" data-language-autonym="Limburgs" data-language-local-name="Limburgish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Limburgs</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lfn mw-list-item"><a href="https://lfn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_(gramatica)" title="Formula (gramatica) – Lingua Franca Nova" lang="lfn" hreflang="lfn" data-title="Formula (gramatica)" data-language-autonym="Lingua Franca Nova" data-language-local-name="Lingua Franca Nova" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Lingua Franca Nova</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ms mw-list-item"><a href="https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frasa" title="Frasa – Malay" lang="ms" hreflang="ms" data-title="Frasa" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Melayu" data-language-local-name="Malay" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Melayu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinsdeel" title="Zinsdeel – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Zinsdeel" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%8F%A5" title="句 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="句" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ce mw-list-item"><a href="https://ce.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BC" title="Алам – Chechen" lang="ce" hreflang="ce" data-title="Алам" data-language-autonym="Нохчийн" data-language-local-name="Chechen" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Нохчийн</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frase_(grammatikk)" title="Frase (grammatikk) – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Frase (grammatikk)" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mhr mw-list-item"><a href="https://mhr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D1%83%D1%82%D0%BA%D1%8B%D0%BB%D0%B4%D1%8B%D1%88" title="Муткылдыш – Eastern Mari" lang="mhr" hreflang="mhr" data-title="Муткылдыш" data-language-autonym="Олык марий" data-language-local-name="Eastern Mari" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Олык марий</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pa mw-list-item"><a href="https://pa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A8%B5%E0%A8%BE%E0%A8%95%E0%A9%B0%E0%A8%B8%E0%A8%BC" title="ਵਾਕੰਸ਼ – Punjabi" lang="pa" hreflang="pa" data-title="ਵਾਕੰਸ਼" data-language-autonym="ਪੰਜਾਬੀ" data-language-local-name="Punjabi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ਪੰਜਾਬੀ</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraza_(j%C4%99zykoznawstwo)" title="Fraza (językoznawstwo) – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Fraza (językoznawstwo)" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frase" title="Frase – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Frase" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%B0" title="Фраза – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Фраза" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sco mw-list-item"><a href="https://sco.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrase" title="Phrase – Scots" lang="sco" hreflang="sco" data-title="Phrase" data-language-autonym="Scots" data-language-local-name="Scots" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Scots</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sq mw-list-item"><a href="https://sq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraza" title="Fraza – Albanian" lang="sq" hreflang="sq" data-title="Fraza" data-language-autonym="Shqip" data-language-local-name="Albanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Shqip</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-simple mw-list-item"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrase" title="Phrase – Simple English" lang="en-simple" hreflang="en-simple" data-title="Phrase" data-language-autonym="Simple English" data-language-local-name="Simple English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Simple English</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ckb mw-list-item"><a href="https://ckb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%DA%AF%D8%B1%DB%8E_(%DA%95%DB%8E%D8%B2%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86)" title="گرێ (ڕێزمان) – Central Kurdish" lang="ckb" hreflang="ckb" data-title="گرێ (ڕێزمان)" data-language-autonym="کوردی" data-language-local-name="Central Kurdish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>کوردی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%B0_(%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0)" title="Фраза (лингвистика) – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Фраза (лингвистика)" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Српски / srpski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-su mw-list-item"><a href="https://su.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frasa" title="Frasa – Sundanese" lang="su" hreflang="su" data-title="Frasa" data-language-autonym="Sunda" data-language-local-name="Sundanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Sunda</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauseke_(kielitiede)" title="Lauseke (kielitiede) – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Lauseke (kielitiede)" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Suomi</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fras_(grammatik)" title="Fras (grammatik) – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Fras (grammatik)" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tl mw-list-item"><a href="https://tl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parirala" title="Parirala – Tagalog" lang="tl" hreflang="tl" data-title="Parirala" data-language-autonym="Tagalog" data-language-local-name="Tagalog" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Tagalog</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tt mw-list-item"><a href="https://tt.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D2%AF%D0%B7%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%BC%D3%99" title="Сүзтезмә – Tatar" lang="tt" hreflang="tt" data-title="Сүзтезмә" data-language-autonym="Татарча / tatarça" data-language-local-name="Tatar" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Татарча / tatarça</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-th mw-list-item"><a href="https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%B5" title="วลี – Thai" lang="th" hreflang="th" data-title="วลี" data-language-autonym="ไทย" data-language-local-name="Thai" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ไทย</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ti mw-list-item"><a href="https://ti.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%88%93%E1%88%A8%E1%8C%8B%E1%89%B5" title="ሓረጋት – Tigrinya" lang="ti" hreflang="ti" data-title="ሓረጋት" data-language-autonym="ትግርኛ" data-language-local-name="Tigrinya" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ትግርኛ</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%B6zc%C3%BCk_%C3%B6be%C4%9Fi" title="Sözcük öbeği – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Sözcük öbeği" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%B0" title="Фраза – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Фраза" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ur mw-list-item"><a href="https://ur.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D8%B1%DA%A9%D8%A8_%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%B5_%DB%8C%D8%A7_%DA%A9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85_%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%B5_%DA%A9%DB%8C_%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%85" title="مرکب ناقص یا کلام ناقص کی اقسام – Urdu" lang="ur" hreflang="ur" data-title="مرکب ناقص یا کلام ناقص کی اقسام" data-language-autonym="اردو" data-language-local-name="Urdu" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>اردو</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vi mw-list-item"><a href="https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ng%E1%BB%AF_%C4%91o%E1%BA%A1n" title="Ngữ đoạn – Vietnamese" lang="vi" hreflang="vi" data-title="Ngữ đoạn" data-language-autonym="Tiếng Việt" data-language-local-name="Vietnamese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Tiếng Việt</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-classical mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh-classical.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%89%87%E8%AA%9E" title="片語 – Literary Chinese" lang="lzh" hreflang="lzh" data-title="片語" data-language-autonym="文言" data-language-local-name="Literary Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>文言</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-yi mw-list-item"><a href="https://yi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A4%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%96%D7%A2_(%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%92%D7%95%D7%95%D7%99%D7%A1%D7%98%D7%99%D7%A7)" title="פראזע (לינגוויסטיק) – Yiddish" lang="yi" hreflang="yi" data-title="פראזע (לינגוויסטיק)" data-language-autonym="ייִדיש" data-language-local-name="Yiddish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ייִדיש</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-yue mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh-yue.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%9F%AD%E8%AA%9E" title="短語 – Cantonese" lang="yue" hreflang="yue" data-title="短語" data-language-autonym="粵語" data-language-local-name="Cantonese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>粵語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%9F%AD%E8%AF%AD" title="短语 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="短语" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q187931#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Phrase" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Article</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Talk:Phrase" rel="discussion" title="Discuss improvements to the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Phrase"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phrase&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phrase&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Phrase"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-edit" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phrase&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phrase&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Phrase" title="List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Phrase" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q"><span>Special pages</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phrase&oldid=1254902168" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phrase&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=Phrase&id=1254902168&wpFormIdentifier=titleform" title="Information on how to cite this page"><span>Cite this page</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FPhrase"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FPhrase"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=Phrase&action=show-download-screen" title="Download this page as a PDF file"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phrase&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-commons mw-list-item"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Phrases" hreflang="en"><span>Wikimedia Commons</span></a></li><li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q187931" title="Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Group of (one or more) words</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1251242444">.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-Unreferenced_section plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Unreferenced" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section <b>does not <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">cite</a> any <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">sources</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Phrase" title="Special:EditPage/Phrase">improve this section</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a>. Unsourced material may be challenged and <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability#Burden_of_evidence" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">removed</a>.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">May 2023</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Grammar" title="Grammar">grammar</a>, a <b>phrase</b>—called <b>expression</b> in some contexts—is a group of words or singular word acting as a grammatical unit. For instance, the <a href="/wiki/English_language" title="English language">English</a> expression "the very happy squirrel" is a <a href="/wiki/Noun_phrase" title="Noun phrase">noun phrase</a> which contains the <a href="/wiki/Adjective_phrase" title="Adjective phrase">adjective phrase</a> "very happy". Phrases can consist of a single word or a complete sentence. In <a href="/wiki/Theoretical_linguistics" title="Theoretical linguistics">theoretical linguistics</a>, phrases are often analyzed as units of syntactic structure such as a <a href="/wiki/Constituent_(linguistics)" title="Constituent (linguistics)">constituent</a>. There is a difference between the common use of the term <i>phrase</i> and its technical use in linguistics. In common usage, a phrase is usually a group of words with some special <a href="/wiki/Idiom" title="Idiom">idiomatic</a> meaning or other significance, such as "<a href="/wiki/All_rights_reserved" title="All rights reserved">all rights reserved</a>", "<a href="/wiki/Economical_with_the_truth" title="Economical with the truth">economical with the truth</a>", "<a href="/wiki/Kick_the_bucket" title="Kick the bucket">kick the bucket</a>", and the like. It may be a <a href="/wiki/Euphemism" title="Euphemism">euphemism</a>, a <a href="/wiki/Saying" title="Saying">saying</a> or <a href="/wiki/Proverb" title="Proverb">proverb</a>, a <a href="/wiki/Fixed_expression" class="mw-redirect" title="Fixed expression">fixed expression</a>, a <a href="/wiki/Figure_of_speech" title="Figure of speech">figure of speech</a>, etc.. In <a href="/wiki/Linguistics" title="Linguistics">linguistics</a>, these are known as <a href="/wiki/Phraseme" title="Phraseme">phrasemes</a>. </p><p>In theories of <a href="/wiki/Syntax" title="Syntax">syntax</a>, a phrase is any group of words, or sometimes a single word, which plays a particular role within the syntactic structure of a <a href="/wiki/Sentence_(linguistics)" title="Sentence (linguistics)">sentence</a>. It does not have to have any special meaning or significance, or even exist anywhere outside of the sentence being analyzed, but it must function there as a complete grammatical unit. For example, in the sentence <i>Yesterday I saw an orange bird with a white neck</i>, the words <i>an orange bird with a white neck</i> form a <a href="/wiki/Noun_phrase" title="Noun phrase">noun phrase</a>, or a <a href="/wiki/Determiner_phrase" title="Determiner phrase">determiner phrase</a> in some theories, which functions as the <a href="/wiki/Object_(grammar)" title="Object (grammar)">object</a> of the sentence. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Phrase_trees">Phrase trees</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phrase&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Phrase trees"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Many theories of syntax and grammar illustrate sentence structure using phrase '<a href="/wiki/Parse_tree" title="Parse tree">trees</a>', which provide schematics of how the words in a sentence are grouped and relate to each other. A tree shows the words, phrases, and clauses that make up a sentence. Any word combination that corresponds to a complete subtree can be seen as a phrase. </p><p>There are two competing principles for constructing trees; they produce 'constituency' and 'dependency' trees and both are illustrated here using an example sentence. The constituency-based tree is on the left and the dependency-based tree is on the right: </p> <dl><dd><dl><dd><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:The_house_at_the_end_of_the_street.jpg" class="mw-file-description" title="Trees illustrating phrases"><img alt="Trees illustrating phrases" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/The_house_at_the_end_of_the_street.jpg" decoding="async" width="736" height="385" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="736" data-file-height="385" /></a></span></dd></dl></dd></dl> <p>The tree on the left is of the constituency-based, <a href="/wiki/Phrase_structure_grammar" title="Phrase structure grammar">phrase structure grammar</a>, and the tree on the right is of the <a href="/wiki/Dependency_grammar" title="Dependency grammar">dependency grammar</a>. The node labels in the two trees mark the <a href="/wiki/Syntactic_category" title="Syntactic category">syntactic category</a> of the different <a href="/wiki/Constituent_(linguistics)" title="Constituent (linguistics)">constituents</a>, or word elements, of the sentence. </p><p>In the constituency tree each phrase is marked by a phrasal node (NP, PP, VP); and there are eight phrases identified by phrase structure analysis in the example sentence. On the other hand, the dependency tree identifies a phrase by any node that exerts dependency upon, or dominates, another node. And, using dependency analysis, there are six phrases in the sentence. </p><p>The trees and phrase-counts demonstrate that different theories of syntax differ in the word combinations they qualify as a phrase. Here the constituency tree identifies three phrases that the dependency trees does not, namely: <i>house at the end of the street</i>, <i>end of the street</i>, and <i>the end</i>. More analysis, including about the plausibilities of both grammars, can be made empirically by applying <a href="/wiki/Constituent_(linguistics)" title="Constituent (linguistics)">constituency tests</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Heads_and_dependents">Heads and dependents</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phrase&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Heads and dependents"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In grammatical analysis, most phrases contain a <a href="/wiki/Head_(linguistics)" title="Head (linguistics)">head</a>, which identifies the type and linguistic features of the phrase. The <a href="/wiki/Syntactic_category" title="Syntactic category">syntactic category</a> of the head is used to name the category of the phrase;<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> for example, a phrase whose head is a <a href="/wiki/Noun" title="Noun">noun</a> is called a <a href="/wiki/Noun_phrase" title="Noun phrase">noun phrase</a>. The remaining words in a phrase are called the dependents of the head. </p><p>In the following phrases the head-word, or head, is bolded: </p> <dl><dd><dl><dd>too <b>slowly</b> — <small><a href="/wiki/Adverb_phrase" class="mw-redirect" title="Adverb phrase">Adverb phrase</a> (AdvP); the head is an adverb</small></dd> <dd>very <b>happy</b> — <small><a href="/wiki/Adjective_phrase" title="Adjective phrase">Adjective phrase</a> (AP); the head is an adjective</small></dd> <dd>the massive <b>dinosaur</b> — <small><a href="/wiki/Noun_phrase" title="Noun phrase">Noun phrase</a> (NP); the head is a noun (but see <a href="#Functional_categories">below</a> for the <i>determiner phrase</i> analysis)</small></dd> <dd><b>at</b> lunch — <small><a href="/wiki/Preposition_phrase" class="mw-redirect" title="Preposition phrase">Preposition phrase</a> (PP); the head is a preposition</small></dd> <dd><b>watch</b> TV — <small><a href="/wiki/Verb_phrase" title="Verb phrase">Verb phrase</a> (VP); the head is a verb</small></dd></dl></dd></dl> <p>The above five examples are the most common of phrase types; but, by the logic of heads and dependents, others can be routinely produced. For instance, the <a href="/wiki/Subordination_(linguistics)" title="Subordination (linguistics)">subordinator</a> phrase: </p> <dl><dd><dl><dd><b>before</b> that happened — <small>Subordinator phrase (SP); the head is a <a href="/wiki/Subordinating_conjunction" class="mw-redirect" title="Subordinating conjunction">subordinating conjunction</a>—it subordinates the independent clause</small></dd></dl></dd></dl> <p>By linguistic analysis this is a group of words that qualifies as a phrase, and the head-word gives its syntactic name, "subordinator", to the grammatical category of the entire phrase. But this phrase, "<b>before</b> that happened", is more commonly classified in other grammars, including traditional English grammars, as a <a href="/wiki/Subordinate_clause" class="mw-redirect" title="Subordinate clause">subordinate clause</a> (or <a href="/wiki/Dependent_clause" title="Dependent clause">dependent clause</a>); and it is then labelled <i>not</i> as a phrase, but as a <a href="/wiki/Clause" title="Clause">clause</a>. </p><p>Most theories of syntax view most phrases as having a head, but some non-headed phrases are acknowledged. A phrase lacking a head is known as <a href="/wiki/Exocentric" class="mw-redirect" title="Exocentric">exocentric</a>, and phrases with heads are <a href="/wiki/Endocentric" class="mw-redirect" title="Endocentric">endocentric</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Functional_categories">Functional categories</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phrase&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Functional categories"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Some modern theories of syntax introduce <a href="/wiki/Functional_category" class="mw-redirect" title="Functional category">functional categories</a> in which the head of a phrase is a functional lexical item. Some functional heads in some languages are not pronounced, but are rather <a href="/wiki/Covert_(linguistics)" title="Covert (linguistics)">covert</a>. For example, in order to explain certain syntactic patterns which correlate with the <a href="/wiki/Speech_act" title="Speech act">speech act</a> a sentence performs, some researchers have posited <i>force phrases</i> (ForceP), whose heads are not pronounced in many languages including English. Similarly, many frameworks assume that covert <a href="/wiki/Determiners" class="mw-redirect" title="Determiners">determiners</a> are present in bare noun phrases such as <a href="/wiki/Proper_name" class="mw-redirect" title="Proper name">proper names</a>. </p><p>Another type is the <a href="/wiki/Inflectional_phrase" class="mw-redirect" title="Inflectional phrase">inflectional phrase</a>, where (for example) a <a href="/wiki/Finite_verb" title="Finite verb">finite verb</a> phrase is taken to be the complement of a functional, possibly covert head (denoted INFL) which is supposed to encode the requirements for the verb to <a href="/wiki/Inflection" title="Inflection">inflect</a> – for <a href="/wiki/Agreement_(grammar)" class="mw-redirect" title="Agreement (grammar)">agreement</a> with its subject (which is the <a href="/wiki/Specifier_(linguistics)" class="mw-redirect" title="Specifier (linguistics)">specifier</a> of INFL), for <a href="/wiki/Grammatical_tense" title="Grammatical tense">tense</a> and <a href="/wiki/Grammatical_aspect" title="Grammatical aspect">aspect</a>, etc. If these factors are treated separately, then more specific categories may be considered: <i>tense phrase</i> (TP), where the verb phrase is the complement of an abstract "tense" element; <i>aspect phrase</i>; <i>agreement phrase</i> and so on. </p><p>Further examples of such proposed categories include <i>topic phrase</i> and <i>focus phrase</i>, which are argued to be headed by elements that encode the need for a constituent of the sentence to be marked as the <a href="/wiki/Topic_(linguistics)" class="mw-redirect" title="Topic (linguistics)">topic</a> or <a href="/wiki/Focus_(linguistics)" title="Focus (linguistics)">focus</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Variation_among_theories_of_syntax">Variation among theories of syntax</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phrase&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Variation among theories of syntax"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Theories of syntax differ in what they regard as a phrase. For instance, while most if not all theories of syntax acknowledge the existence of <a href="/wiki/Verb_phrase" title="Verb phrase">verb phrases</a> (VPs), <a href="/wiki/Phrase_structure_grammar" title="Phrase structure grammar">Phrase structure grammars</a> acknowledge both <a href="/wiki/Finite_verb" title="Finite verb">finite verb</a> phrases and <a href="/wiki/Non-finite_verb" class="mw-redirect" title="Non-finite verb">non-finite verb</a> phrases while <a href="/wiki/Dependency_grammar" title="Dependency grammar">dependency grammars</a> only acknowledge non-finite verb phrases. The split between these views persists due to conflicting results from the standard empirical diagnostics of phrasehood such as <a href="/wiki/Constituent_(linguistics)" title="Constituent (linguistics)">constituency tests</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The distinction is illustrated with the following examples: </p> <dl><dd><dl><dd>The Republicans <b>may nominate Newt</b>. <small>- Finite VP in bold</small></dd> <dd>The Republicans may <b>nominate Newt</b>. <small>- Non-finite VP in bold</small></dd></dl></dd></dl> <p>The syntax trees of this sentence are next: </p> <dl><dd><dl><dd><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Phrase_2.jpg" class="mw-file-description" title="Phrase picture 2"><img alt="Phrase picture 2" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Phrase_2.jpg" decoding="async" width="723" height="200" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="723" data-file-height="200" /></a></span></dd></dl></dd></dl> <p>The constituency tree on the left shows the finite verb string <i>may nominate Newt</i> as a constituent; it corresponds to VP<sub>1</sub>. In contrast, this same string is not shown as a phrase in the dependency tree on the right. However, both trees, take the non-finite VP string <i>nominate Newt</i> to be a constituent. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phrase&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1184024115">.mw-parser-output .div-col{margin-top:0.3em;column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .div-col-small{font-size:90%}.mw-parser-output .div-col-rules{column-rule:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .div-col dl,.mw-parser-output .div-col ol,.mw-parser-output .div-col ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .div-col li,.mw-parser-output .div-col dd{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}</style><div class="div-col" style="column-width: 22em;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Clause" title="Clause">Clause</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Constituent_(linguistics)" title="Constituent (linguistics)">Constituent (linguistics)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dependency_grammar" title="Dependency grammar">Dependency grammar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Finite_verb" title="Finite verb">Finite verb</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Head_(linguistics)" title="Head (linguistics)">Head (linguistics)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Non-finite_verb" class="mw-redirect" title="Non-finite verb">Non-finite verb</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phrase_structure_grammar" title="Phrase structure grammar">Phrase structure grammar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sentence_(linguistics)" title="Sentence (linguistics)">Sentence (linguistics)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Syntactic_category" title="Syntactic category">Syntactic category</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Verb_phrase" title="Verb phrase">Verb phrase</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phraseme" title="Phraseme">Phraseme</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/X-bar_theory" title="X-bar theory">X-bar theory</a></li></ul> </div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phrase&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Kroeger 2005:37</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">For empirical arguments against finite VP's, see Miller (2011:54f.) and Osborne (2011:323f.).</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phrase&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1184024115"><div class="div-col" style="column-width: 30em;"> <ul><li>Finch, G. 2000. Linguistic terms and concepts. New York: St. Martin's Press.</li> <li>Kroeger, Paul 2005. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=rSglHbBaNyAC">Analyzing grammar: An introduction</a>. Cambridge University Press.</li> <li>Miller, J. 2011. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=a0UQHXUzR9AC">A critical introduction to syntax</a>. London: continuum.</li> <li>Osborne, Timothy, Michael Putnam, and Thomas Gross 2011. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/tlir.2011.28.issue-3/tlir.2011.009/tlir.2011.009.xml">Bare phrase structure, label-less structures, and specifier-less syntax: Is Minimalism becoming a dependency grammar?</a> The Linguistic Review 28: 315–364.</li> <li>Sobin, N. 2011. Syntactic analysis: The basics. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.</li></ul> </div> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-image,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-list{border-top:2px solid #fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title{background-color:#ccf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1038841319">.mw-parser-output .tooltip-dotted{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox authority-control" aria-label="Navbox" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Help:Authority_control" title="Help:Authority control">Authority control databases</a>: National <span class="mw-valign-text-top noprint" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q187931#identifiers" title="Edit this at Wikidata"><img alt="Edit this at Wikidata" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png" decoding="async" width="10" height="10" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/15px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/20px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="20" data-file-height="20" /></a></span></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><ul><li><span class="uid"><span class="rt-commentedText tooltip tooltip-dotted" title="fráze"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://aleph.nkp.cz/F/?func=find-c&local_base=aut&ccl_term=ica=ph135256&CON_LNG=ENG">Czech Republic</a></span></span></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phrase&oldid=1254902168">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phrase&oldid=1254902168</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Syntactic_categories" title="Category:Syntactic categories">Syntactic categories</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Phrases" title="Category:Phrases">Phrases</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_is_different_from_Wikidata" title="Category:Short description is different from Wikidata">Short description is different from Wikidata</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_needing_additional_references_from_May_2023" title="Category:Articles needing additional references from May 2023">Articles needing additional references from May 2023</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:All_articles_needing_additional_references" title="Category:All articles needing additional references">All articles needing additional references</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 2 November 2024, at 06:54<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms of Use">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy policy">Privacy Policy</a>. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/">Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.</a>, a non-profit organization.</li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About">About Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-contact"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us">Contact Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-mobileview"><a href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phrase&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile" class="noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle">Mobile view</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg" width="84" height="29" alt="Wikimedia Foundation" loading="lazy"></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"></a></li> </ul> </footer> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-settings" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul></ul> </div><script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.codfw.main-f69cdc8f6-f6w29","wgBackendResponseTime":165,"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.275","walltime":"0.346","ppvisitednodes":{"value":724,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":10911,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":894,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":12,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":1,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":0,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":9095,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":1,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 301.894 1 -total"," 41.52% 125.355 1 Template:Authority_control"," 25.50% 76.983 1 Template:Short_description"," 21.30% 64.300 1 Template:Unreferenced_section"," 19.50% 58.881 1 Template:Unreferenced"," 18.43% 55.642 1 Template:Ambox"," 16.03% 48.401 2 Template:Pagetype"," 5.44% 16.436 6 Template:Main_other"," 4.62% 13.942 1 Template:Reflist"," 4.42% 13.353 1 Template:SDcat"]},"scribunto":{"limitreport-timeusage":{"value":"0.172","limit":"10.000"},"limitreport-memusage":{"value":2497206,"limit":52428800}},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-api-ext.codfw.main-7556f8b5dd-h5kst","timestamp":"20241122140711","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"Phrase","url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Phrase","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q187931","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q187931","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2002-03-19T08:29:35Z","dateModified":"2024-11-02T06:54:25Z","headline":"sequence of at least two words"}</script> </body> </html>