9. The Theory of Phrase(Ph)

The W-group (phrase) is a gramm-cal unit formed by a combination of 2 or more notional Ws,which doesn’t constitute a sentence.The theory of phrase or W-combination in Linguistics has a long tradition going back to the 18-th century.According to Russian scholars the term ‘W-combination’(словосочетание)can be applied only to such groups of Ws which contain at least 2notional Ws forming a gramm-cal unit.Thus Soviet linguists restrict the use of the term ‘W-combination’ to combination of notional Ws.

Western scholars hold a diff-nt view of the problem.They consider that every combination of 2 or more Ws constitutes a unit which they term ‘phrase’.In other words,western linguists do not limit the term ‘phrase’ to combination of notional Ws & do not draw a sharp distinction b/n the 2 types of W-groups such as ‘wise men’ & ‘to the lighthouse’.The 1st & the most important difference of opinion on the question b/n soviet & western scholars concerns the constituents of the W groups forming gramm-cal units.

Another debatable problem in soviet linguistics was whether a predicative combination of Ws forms a W combination.

It is generally known that a sentence is based on predication & its purpose in communication.A W-combination has no such aim.W-combinations are more like Ws because they are employed for naming things,actions,qualities & so on.

In contrast with soviet linguists some western scholars make no difference b/n subject – predicate combinations of Ws & other word combinations,though some western theories bear considerable resemblance to Russian ideas.

There’s no traditional terminology in the works of English & American scholars discussing combinations of Ws;& diff-nt terms are used to express the same idea(phrase,combination of Ws,cluster of Ws,W-group).

The Phrase

The word-group (phrase) is a grammatical unit formed by a combination of two or more notional words, which doesn’t constitute a sentence. The notional words are connected syntactically within the structure of the sentence (cold water, reads a book). They may belong to any part of speech. A word group as such has no intonation, as it is one of the most important features of the sentence. As to syntactical connection English phrases are classed as follows:

1. subordinate word-groups (fine weather, to write a letter, fond of reading)

2. co-ordinate word-groups (brother and sister, neither here nor there, king dear)

3. predicative word-groups (weather permitting, for u to go)

Subordinate word-groups fall into two parts: the head (an independent component) and the adjunct (a dependent component)

A good [adjunct] book [head]

Subordinate word-groups can be classified:

1. According to the head-word

   1. nouns groups: a sleeping night

   2. verb groups: to work hard

   3. adjective groups: extremely clever, rich in oil

   4. adverb groups: quite near, very quickly

   5. pronoun groups: some of the students.

2. According to the structure

   1. simple [unextended] word-groups consisting of two notional words: a good book, fond of reading.

   2. Complex [extended] word-groups consisting of more than two notional words: a very good book.

The grammatical relations between words in a word-group are primarily expressed by means of word order, prepositions (a good book, the cover of the book).

The structure of a word-group in English must be grammatically complete because of the absence of inflexions. In noun groups the prog-words one (ones), that (those) are extensively used in English: He is a doctor, and a great one.

In verb groups after a transitive verb the formal ‘it’ often occurs in English: I like it here. He found it impossible to utter the next word.

The grammatical characters of the word is determined by the structure of the word-group: Watch me carefully – verb. He was on duty during the morning watch (noun).

Coordinate phrases may be

1) syndetic and 2) asyndetic

3) copulative and 4) appositive

e.g. harsh and loud (1,3), the city of Rome (2,4), they all (2,4).

Appositive phrases may be close and loose 1) Wilson the writer; 2) Tolstoy, the great Russian writer, is dead.