Page 72 - Perfect English Grammar: The Indispensable Guide to Excellent Writing and Speaking

than one word.
Noun phrases start with nouns and pronouns, to which adjectives, verbs,

determiners, and other parts of speech are added.

■ People who have cars spend less time walking.

■ We found the source of the water leaking into the closet.

One type of noun phrase is an appositive phrase, where the subject is defined
or restated, usually right after it.

■ Guthrie, my son, imagines going to space.
■ My son Guthrie imagines going to space.

In the first sentence, the aside set off by commas adds a bit of nonessential
information about Guthrie. In the second sentence, we are naming him, as I have

more than one son and it is a way of specifying which son I mean.
Another type of noun phrase is a gerund phrase, which is made from a verb

but behaves like a noun.

■ Running is the only exercise I enjoy.

There are also infinitive phrases, which use an unconjugated form of the

verb.

■ I love to run before dawn.

5.6.2 VERB PHRASES

Verb phrases start with a verb and may include a direct or indirect object, or a

complement (see section 5.7).
They do not include the subject. Verb phrases can sometimes behave like

adjectives or adverbs.

■ It may be time for new snow tires.