There are different types of phrases in English, which follow certain relatively flexible structures.
Structure of the affirmative sentence
Active voice: Subject + verb (+ object).
Example: I knock the door. / I knock on the door.
Passive voice: Patient subject (object of the verb) + verb (+ subject of the action / complement)
Example: The door is knocked by me. / The door is hit by me.
In addition, these structures can be branched, adding subjects, verbs or objects. For example:
Subject + verb + object + subject + verb.
Example: I knock the door but nobody answers. / I knock on the door but no one answers.
Structure of the negative sentence.
Subject + auxiliary + not + verb (+ object)
Example: I do not knock the door. / I don't knock on the door.
Auxiliary verbs allow you to construct questions and negations in English.
Auxiliary verbs and negation construction:
- Be: I am not a child. / I am not a child.
- Do: I do not believe that. / I do not believe that.
- Have: I have not lost my keys. / I haven't lost my keys.
- Dog: You can't open the door. / You can't open the door.
- Will: They will not buy the car. / They will not compare the car.
Structure of the interrogation
Auxiliary + subject + verb (+ object)
Auxiliary verbs and question mark construction:
- Be: Are you Mr. Smith? / Are you Mr. Smith?
- Do: Do you like coffee? / Do you like coffee?
- Have: Have you seen him? / You've seen?
- Dog: Can you build the house before January? / Can you build the house before January?
- Will: Will you stay for dinner? / Will you stay for dinner?
The sets of words that make up the different parts of speech are also called phrases. Depending on the function they fulfill, they can be:
Noun phrase: Set of nouns that can occupy the function of
- Subject:The boy and the girl became friends. / The boy and the girl became friends.
- Direct Object: They bought shoes, trousers and shirts. / They bought shoes, pants and shirts.
- Indirect Object: They gave flower to girls and women. / They gave flowers to girls and women.
Adverbial phrase: Set of words that function as adverbs, that is, that modify a verb, an adjective or another adverb.
- With great regret we inform that the program will not continue next year. / It is with great pain that we inform that the program will not continue next year.
- They stayed with him in silence. / They stayed with him in silence.
Verbal phrase: Set of verbs.
- They are trying to tell us something. / They are trying to tell us something.
- I have invited them to visit next fall. / I invited them to visit him next fall.
Specific types of verb phrases are:
- Infinitive phrase: He is ready to start training. / You are ready to start training.
- Phrase participle: The roof was blown away and lost.
- Gerund phrase: He spent the evening eating and drinking. / He spent the night eating and drinking.
Adjective phrase: It is a set of words that characterize a noun, that is, they provide information about its characteristics.
- The house is not very cheap. / The house is not very cheap.
See also: Examples of Sentences in English and Spanish
Andrea is a language teacher, and on her Instagram account she offers private lessons by video call so that you can learn to speak English.
