Review of the linguistic literature on the problems of Phrase Theory in Modern Linguistics

Conclusion

Having analyzed the structural-functional features of Phrases and their structural varieties we have come to the following conclusion:

A phrase is a group of related words that lacks both a subject and predicate it cannot act as a sentence.
A phrase typically functions as a single part of speech in a sentence (e.g., noun adjective, adverb). There are four types of phrases:
1. Prepositional phrases, which begin with a preposition and include the object of the preposition.
2. Participial phrases, which begin with the participle and include the object of the participle or other words that are connected to the noun by the participle.
3. Gerund phrases, which begin with the gerund and include the object of the gerund or other words that are acting the complete subject or complete object.
4. Infinitive phrases, which begin with an infinitive and include the object of the infinitive or other words that are acting as part of the phrase.
Noun phrases, either basic or complex are potentially very complicated. Most simply, basic noun phrases consist of just one overt element, pronouns of different types or numerals. Basic noun phrases, more complicatedly, comprise pre-determiners, determiners, post-determiners and the head nouns, the order of which is fixed. Complex noun phrases, as their names imply, are the most difficult of all. They consist of pre-modification includes closed-system items and open-class items which are in the given order. Post-modification can be finite or non-finite clauses and adjective, noun, prepositional and adverbial phrases. Though noun phrases are complicatedly constructed, hopefully, by now enough has been presented to help learners of English find it easy in learning noun phrases in English, both basic and complex.
Like all phrases, the constituents of the English noun phrase can be analyzed into both functional constituents. From a functional point of view, the noun phrase has four major components, occuring in a fixed order.
Depending on the context of situation, we choose determiners and modifiers according to our needs in identifying and specifying the referent the NP. Sometimes we need several determiners and modifiers to clarify the referent (all my books in that box); sometimes we need none at all (Liz).
That diagram is one way to represent the dual nature of a phrase.

1. 
   the determinative, that contituent which determiners the reference of the noun phrase in its linguistic or situational context;
   
2. 
   premodification, which comprises all the modifying or describing constituents before the head, other than the determiners;
   
3. 
   the/ lead, around which the other constituents cluster;
   
4. 
   postmodification, those which comprise all the modifying constituents placed after the head.
   

Each phrase, remember, is a merger of both form and function and as complex as it looks, the diagram illustrates only some of the complexities of the noun phrase in English. Another way to illustrate some of the possible arrangements of from and function in the noun phrase is presented in the table below.
Phrases and even whole clauses can be “recycled” into the noun phrase. This process of placing a phrase of clause is called embedding. It is through the process of recursion and embedding that we are able to take a finite number of forms and construct an infinitive number of expressions. Furthermore, embedding also allows us to construct an infinitely long structure, in theory anyway.