D. V. Demidov

2. Structural types of phrases. Phrase vs. Sentence. 
Defining the phrase as a polynominative lingual unit helps
reveal the status of notional phrases, semantically independent 
(―autosemantic‖) combinations of notional words, as the basic 
type of phrasemes. Besides notional phrases, two other structural 
types of syntagmatic groupings of words can be distinguished, 
which can be defined as phrases or word-combinations only in 
form: formative phrases and functional phrases. The formative 
phrase is a combination of a notional word with a functional word, 
which is contextually dependent and functionally similar to 
separate notional words used in various grammatical forms, e.g.: 
of Peter (= Peter‟s); in a moment, without doubt, etc. Functional 
phrases are combinations of functional words similar to regular 
functional words, e.g.: apart from, as soon as, with reference to, 
must be able, etc. 
The basic difference between the phrase and the sentence 
is as follows: the phrase cannot express full predication, even if it 
denotes a situation; this becomes obvious in their mutual 
transformations, for example, in the so-called phrasalization, or 
nominalization of the sentence, e.g.: They considered the 

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problem. – their consideration of the problem; for them to 
consider the problem; their considering of the problem. Thus, the 
phrase enters speech only as a constituent of a sentence, as
contrasted with the word. The grammatical description of the 
phrase is seen as a separate part of syntax, the syntax of the 
phrase; it is sometimes called ―minor syntax‖, in distinction to 
―major syntax‖, studying the sentence and its textual connections.
Besides the classification of word groupings on the basis 
of the major syntagmatic connections outlined above, there are 
further subdivisions and generalizations, and other approaches 
possible in the description of the phrase. The traditional 
classification of phrases is based on the part-of-speech 
characteristics of their constituents. There are noun phrases (NP), 
e.g.: a beautiful girl; men, women and children; verbal phrases 
(VP), e.g.: went home; came and went; adjective phrases (AP), 
e.g.: quite unexpected; nice and quiet; adverbial phrases (DP), 
e.g.: quite unexpectedly. On the base of kernel-adjunct relations, 
subordinative phrases can be divided into those with objective 
connections (direct objective and indirect objective) and 
qualifying connections (attributive and adverbial), e.g.: to see a 
child (direct objective); put on the table (indirect objective); a 
beautiful girl (attributive); came soon (adverbial). On the base of 
the position of the adjunct in relation to the kernel, subordinative 
phrases are characterized as regressive or progressive: in 
regressive phrases, the adjunct precedes the kernel, e.g.: a 
beautiful girl; in progressive phrases, the adjunct follows the 
kernel, e.g.: came home.