Inchoateknowledge  +  257068 Fri, 18 Aug 06 09:02 AM Am I right in thinking that words that synactically linked somehow form a phrase. He was dead, which suprised me. Is this statement correct factually: 'dead, which' in the above sentence is a group of words, but not a phrase, because syntactically they are not related? Is it true that all clauses and sentences are phrases? He opened my suitcase. Is it also a phrase? If so, how can I decide without relying on my subjective common sense, but on an objective rule, what the head is, that is, what phrase it is: noun, adjectival, verb, etc.? I think the head is suitcase, but why? I just feel it but I do not know it. thanks Inchoateknowledge Joined on Wed, May 3 2006 Senior Member 2,549 Beep! Beep! :) Verbs, Clauses, Nouns

	Inchoateknowledge  +  257070 Fri, 18 Aug 06 09:14 AM I mean this: Look at the diagram. that lovely old pub by the bridge over the river 'by the' is not a phrase because there is no direct connection between them Inchoateknowledge

	CalifJim  +  257204 Fri, 18 Aug 06 08:15 PM Nobody wants to touch this one!  It's too hard! I just feel it but I do not know it. Same with everyone else, I'm afraid.  Many of these things are based on pure intuition.  What you call a phrase is usually called a constituent in transformational grammar.  I think a whole sentence may also be called a constituent, but only in a rather vacuous way. And certainly word groups like "dead, which" are not constituents. Another factor which makes such discussions difficult is that the terminology from traditional grammar and the terminology from transformational grammar, more used in linguistics, is not always exactly the same.  In transformational grammar, a single word can be a phrase, for example.  This is not the meaning of 'phrase' in traditional grammar. CJ CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,463 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche Grammar

	Alienvoord  +  257206 Fri, 18 Aug 06 08:28 PM Traditionally you are supposed to be able to replace a phrase with a single word. This method can be useful. He opened my suitcase. He opened it. "my suitcase" is a noun phrase, with the noun "suitcase" as the head. that lovely old pub by the bridge over the river that lovely old pub there "by the bridge over the river"is an preposition phrase with the preposition "by" as its head. So "by the" is not a phrase because you cannot replace it with one word. Alienvoord Joined on Tue, Jul 25 2006 Toronto Full Member 345 Prepositions, Nouns, Noun Phrases

	Inchoateknowledge  +  257312 Sat, 19 Aug 06 07:57 AM Hello Alienvoord Thanks "Traditionally you are supposed to be able to replace a phrase with a single word. This method can be useful." Very So it means a sentence is not a phrase (can you substitute a verb and a noun with one word -- I cannot) 'that lovely old pub by the bridge over the river' I can replace it with that. That refers to the bridge, so bridge is the head and this is a NP. I seeeeee Thanks in love with the dj where? in -- PP. Inchoateknowledge Verbs, Nouns

	Inchoateknowledge  +  257324 Sat, 19 Aug 06 10:35 AM As is a conjunction and is followed by a verb phrase: They get up early every morning, as I do. I do is a verb phrase. why? Inchoateknowledge Verbs

	Inchoateknowledge  +  257331 Sat, 19 Aug 06 10:57 AM  CalifJim wrote: Nobody wants to touch this one!  It's too hard! I just feel it but I do not know it. Same with everyone else, I'm afraid.  Many of these things are based on pure intuition.  What you call a phrase is usually called a constituent in transformational grammar.  I think a whole sentence may also be called a constituent, but only in a rather vacuous way. And certainly word groups like "dead, which" are not constituents. Another factor which makes such discussions difficult is that the terminology from traditional grammar and the terminology from transformational grammar, more used in linguistics, is not always exactly the same.  In transformational grammar, a single word can be a phrase, for example.  This is not the meaning of 'phrase' in traditional grammar. CJ Hello CJ Sorry, your post I have just realized. Which grammar should I keep to do you think? traditional or transformational? This distinction is killing me.  I have come across a sentence analysys in my grammar book. "They get up early every morning, as I do." 'I do', they say, is a verb phrase. Why? Inchoateknowledge Grammar, Verbs