“A phrase is a small group of words that form a meaningful unit within a clause.” -Oxford Dictionary A phrase is a group of words that express a concept and is used as a unit within a sentence. Verb phrases - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary Phrase definition: A phrase is a grammatical term referring to a group of words that does not include a subject and verb. What are phrases? A verb phrase consists of a main verb and one or more helping verbs linked together. The helping verb always precedes the main verb. In general, a mental verb refers to a cognitive state. What Is a Verb Phrase? In other words, a verb is a word that informs about an action, an existence of something or an occurrence. In English a verb phrase combines with a noun or noun phrase acting as subject to form a simple sentence. A finite verb is something you've probably used in a sentence many times today! A verb phrase consists of an auxiliary, or helping, verb and a main verb. An infinitive is a verb that functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb in order to express an opinion, purpose of an object or action, or answer the questions who, what, or why.. An infinitive usually begins with the word “to” and is followed by the base form of a verb (the simple form of the verb that you would find in the dictionary).. I am feeling well today. I know the answer. Mental verbs have meanings that are related to concepts such as discovering, understanding, thinking, or planning. Mental Verb Examples. Examples: She is hungry. A verb is a doing word that shows an action, an event or a state. Verbs Definition. Look at the following examples and try to identify the verb phrase. An independent clause is a simple sentence. Most people chose this as the best definition of verb-phrases: Plural form of verb phras... See the dictionary meaning, pronunciation, and sentence examples. Some examples of phrases include: Verb phrase definition, a group of words including a verb and its complements, objects, or other modifiers that functions syntactically as a verb. An infinitive is the form of a verb before it is conjugated.. Infinitive example: to swim An infinitive phrase is a group of words that starts with the infinitive. It needs an independent clause to complete a sentence. The verb is the main word in a sentence. A dependent clause cannot stand on its own. Eight common types of phrases are: noun, verb, gerund, infinitive, appositive, participial, prepositional, and absolute. See more. What is an Infinitive Phrase? Infinitive phrase definition: An infinitive phrase is a group of words that begins with an infinitive and functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb. A phrase, therefore, is a group of words which has no finite verb in it and acts to complete the sentence for making it meaningful. 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