phrase
(noun)
A group of words that cannot stand on its own because it does not have both a subject and a verb.
Examples of phrase in the following topics:
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Avoiding Repetitiveness
- Although repeating key terms and phrases brings continuity to your writing, you must avoid being overly repetitive.
- Repeating key terms and phrases brings continuity to your writing.
- Avoid starting sentences with the same words or phrases.
- If you choose to repeat a key phrase, try to alter the structure of rest of the sentence in order to provide some variety.
- Repeat key terms and phrases for continuity in your writing, but avoid becoming repetitive
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Adjectives
- Examples include phrases such as "that novel," "this writer," or "those students."
- The phrase a heavy-metal detector refers to a detector of heavy metals.
- The phrase man eating shark refers to a man who is eating a shark.
- The phrase man-eating shark refers to a shark that eats men.
- Lastly, in addition to single words, you can use adjectival phrases.
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Repeating Key Terms and Phrases
- Repeating key terms and phrases helps readers keep track of your ideas.
- Repetition of key words and phrases is especially important when transitioning from one paragraph to another.
- Repeating keywords and phrases is one of many keys to successful writing!
- Repeating keywords and phrases also helps to provide a sense of continuity throughout your writing.
- Use repetition of key terms and phrases to give your paper a sense of flow and continuity
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Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers
- A modifier is a word or phrase that describes another word or phrase.
- Many modifiers are entire phrases.
- [This phrasing makes it seem like the illustration covers most of Minnesota!]
- [Here, the modifying phrase clearly refers to glacier as it is intended.]
- Most misplaced modifiers can be corrected by placing the modifying phrase next to the subject it refers to.
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Components of a Sentence
- But just remember: the simple predicate is the action (verb or verb phrase) of a sentence.
- Modifying phrases (e.g., prepositional, participial, infinitive, and appositive phrases): Barry Goldwater, the junior senator from Arizona, received the Republican nomination in 1964.
- (appositive phrase)
- The following are examples of phrases:
- They are all phrases.
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Incorporating Your Sources Into Your Paper
- Direct quotations are words and phrases that are taken directly from another source, and then used word-for-word in your paper.
- If you incorporate a direct quotation from another author's text, you must put that quotation or phrase in quotation marks to indicate that it is not your language.
- You should then include the page number or other relevant information in parentheses at the end of the phrase (the exact format will depend on the formatting style of your essay).
- When paraphrasing, you may put any part of a source (such as a phrase, sentence, paragraph, or chapter) into your own words.
- It is common to use a mixture of paraphrased text and quoted words or phrases, as long as the direct quotations are inside of quotation marks.
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Introduction to Commas
- Put a comma after introductory words, phrases, or clauses in a sentence.
- Put a comma after introductory words, phrases, or clauses that introduce a sentence.
- To do so, writers can use introductory words or introductory phrases.
- In this sentence, "Alice Smith" is an appositive modifying the noun phrase "my sister."
- As in this example, accumulative phrases should be separated by commas.
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Adverbs
- You can use prepositional phrases as adverbs if they modify a verb, adjective, or adverb.
- [The phrase "by its cover" describes the verb "judge."]
- If the hyphen was removed from any of these examples the phrase would take on a different meaning.
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Using Signal Verbs that Fit the Action
- Within the body of an essay, deploying specific phrases can assist the reader in tracking the movement of your argument.
- Within the body of an essay, deploying specific phrases can assist the reader in tracking the movement of your argument.
- Including phrases such "to begin" or "in conclusion" signal larger argumentative transitions, while phrases such as "in other words" or "it is worth noting that" tend to be used to elaborate smaller, more local claims.
- Use signal verbs and phrases to point your reader in the right direction.
- List phrases you can use to assist the reader in tracking the movement of your argument
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MLA: In-Text Citations and Parentheticals
- If you choose, you can integrate the author’s name into the sentence itself—this is known as a "signal phrase"—and provide just the page number in parentheses:
- If an author has multiple publications that you want to cite in the same sentence, include the author's name in a signal phrase and the titles of the referenced sources instead in the parentheticals: