CHAPTER

4
SYNTACTIC STRUCTURES

“Words are precious vessels that carry within them meaning sufficiently stalwart to
transform lives and alter the course of nations. And because of the commanding power that
is housed within them, I prefer to say one word filled with its meaning than utter a
thousand others that I have emptied of their meaning.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough
 Lesson 1
The Structure of Modification

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
In linguistics, syntax (/ˈsɪntæks/) is the set of rules, principles, and processes that govern the structure of
sentences (sentence structure) in a given language, usually including word order.   The purpose of syntax is to
study sentence structure and formation. It involves setting rules for creating coherent and grammatically correct
sentences by focusing on word order, phrases, clauses, and the relationships among them. It was Noam Chomsky
who introduced the theory.

The structure of modification is composed of Head and Modifier. This structure may enlarge,
choose, change, or even describe the Head. Both the Head and Modifier are not always single words. They
may be structures with more or less complexities.

HEAD

In Linguistics, the head of a phrase is the word that determines the syntactic type of that phrase. In
this example: “cold ice”, the head of the noun phrase is the noun “ice”. Since the head is a noun, then the
syntactic feature of the phrase is noun phrase.

Similarly, in a compound word, the head is the stem that determines the syntactic category of that
compound word. In this example, “midnight”, the stem is the word “night”, hence it’s syntactic category is
noun phrase.

Grammatically, most phrases contain a key word that identifies the type of linguistic feature of the
phrase known as head word or head.

MODIFIER

A modifier is an optional element in a phrase or clause structure. It is used to modify or change the
meaning of another element in the structure, on which it is dependent.

A modifier could be categorized in three levels as single word, phrase or clause structure.
For example:

Word Level

Ana is a beautiful lady. (Beautiful is an adjective modifier to the head word, lady).

Shella listens attentively to the discussion. (The adverb, attentively is used to modify the verb or the head
word, listens.)

Phrase Level

The children playing in the garden are my relatives. (The phrase, “playing in the garden”, modifies the
headword, the noun “children”.)

My grandmother loves to stroll along the beach. ( The phrase “along the beach” modifies the infinitive
phrase “to stroll”.
Clause Level

Ivan saw the man who killed the dog in the park. The dependent clause “who killed the dog” modifies the
head word, “man”.

I sold the house that Jack built on top of the mountain that I inherited from my grandfather. (The
prepositional phrase, “that Jack built” modifies the head word, “house.”

Head words or heads may be nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives or adverbs while modifiers could be
adjectives, adverbs, or other function words that act as modifiers.

Listed below are the nouns used as head with its modifiers.

1. Noun as Head

Noun very frequently can be found as Head of Structure of Modification. There are five parts of
speech, including noun itself, that can modify the noun.

a. Adjective as Noun Modifier

Adjective precedes the noun (Head) constantly except if the adjective is not a single word but
structure.

Single Word Modifier

E.g.      Modifier           Head

            Fried              chicken is my son’s favorite dish.

            A great           calamity happened in the province.

In the examples above, fried is the modifier to the word chicken and great to the head word, calamity.

Phrase/Clause Modifier

             Head Modifier

My little child loves to draw a figure         vague and shadow.

Phrase modifier

Last night, I dreamt of the house           bigger than I thought

  Clause modifier
b. Noun as Noun Modifier

This modifier also precedes the Head (noun) constantly.  It can be a possessive form or basic
form (Noun Adjunct)

E.g.      Possessive        Noun

Modifier Head
             Kid’s               playmate

            A week’s         vacation

            The man’s    bestfriend
 
            Noun-Adjunct     Noun

Modifier Head

             Make up           artist

            
Chinese garter

Noun adjunct is noun that has a function like an adjective (to modify noun). It is always in a
singular form, not plural form.

E.g.      Book shops (not ‘Books Shop’)

Noun as Noun Modifier can be from appositive words. The position still keeps preceding the
Head. Appositive form never follows the Head.

E.g.      Noun                  Appositive

Modifier Head

            My Uncle         Zakki
            The disease      influenza

The River        Gangga

c. Verb as Noun Modifier

It can be from Present Participle (V-ing), Past Participle (V-ed/en), or to-infinitive. These verb
positions may precede or follow the Head if they are parts of larger   structures, though there
are many exceptions to both these generalizations but to-infinitives always follow the noun-
Head.

E.g.      Verb                Noun             Noun               Verb

Modifier Head Head Modifier

            Running          water             Water               running in the street

            Baked            potatoes           Potatoes          baked slowly

Since verbs in (-ing), Nouns in (-ing), and Adjective in (-ing) can all modify nouns and all
appear in the position between noun determiners and noun, ambiguity is a strong possibility to
such cases.

E.g.      (1) A pleasing table

             (2) A dining table
             (3) A rotting table
 Pleasing in the example (1) is an adjective because a qualifier like ‘very’ can precede it, and
the phrase means ‘a table that is pleasing’. Rotting in the example (2) is a verb because it
cannot be preceded by a qualifier ‘very’ while it also does not have a meaning ‘a table for
rotting’. Dining in the example (3) is noun because it has a meaning ‘a table for dining’

d. Adverb as Noun Modifier

Adverb rarely functions as noun modifier. The position is always after noun (Head).

E.g.      Head                           Modifier
Noun Adverb

            The temperature          inside

            Heavens                      above

            The conversations       afterwards

e. Prepositional Phrases (Functional Words) as Noun Modifier

Prepositional phrases consist of preposition and its object. The preposition can be in a simple,
compound or phrasal form.

e.g.      Simple Prepositions                 Compound Prepositions

Modifier Head Modifier Head

After         lunch                     according to the news

As            an artist                 because of his decision

Against       all odds                 different from my opinion

Phrasal Prepositions

Modifier Head

as far as Batanes

in addition to the issue

in front of my house
Object of preposition usually is a noun. Sometimes it also can be pronoun, or structure of
modification with noun as the Head.

            E.g.      Above suspicion (Noun)

                        Because of that (pronoun)

                         In actual practice (Structure of modification)

2. Verb as Head

Verb has a function repeatedly as Head

 a. Adverb as Verb Modifier

All of the adverb kinds can modify the verb. The position may be after or before verb; or
between the verb auxiliaries.

E.g.      After the Verb                                         

            Hesta arrived home successfully.                        

Herod walks rapidly.                                

Between Auxiliary-Verb

He has sometimes seen.

                  
It may even rain.

Before the Verb

       
Herman successfully tried. Helen slowly drove.
                                   
b. Adjective as Verb Modifier

There are some kinds of adjective that have purpose to modify a verb and give a special
expression.

E.g.  The water runs deep.

        The dog went crazy.

        The show fell flat.

The same verb can be followed by adjective if they are intransitive verb.

d. Verb as Verb Modifier

Some structure of Modification with verb as the Head can be followed by another verb as
modifier. The verb modifier can be present participle or infinitive form.

E.g.  The children came running.

         Cherry eats to live.

In some cases, it can be found an ambiguity between verb as modifier and verb as object.
E.g.      As modifier                       As Object

He works to succeed.        He wants to succeed.

Verb as Object can be changed by ‘it’ while verb as modifier cannot be changed by ‘it’.
However, some structure of modification may have verb which can be both modifier and
object.

E.g.            Raven loves to swim (it).

                  My son studies to succeed (it).

 e. Prepositional Phrases as Verb Modifier

It is frequent for the prepositional phrases to modify the verb.

E.g.            Aldrin spoke about his adventures.

                  The policeman came rapidly down the street.

3. Adjective as Head

Adjective that habitually modify noun or verb also become the Head of structure of modification.

a. Qualifier as Adjective Modifier

The word that is mostly used as modifier of Adjective is Qualifier such as very, rather, pretty,
etc.

E.g.  Shella is very gorgeous.

         The sound was loud enough.

b. Adverb as Adjective Modifier

Adverb that can modify the adjective is adverb that is ended by {-ly}

E.g.   The widely famous singer arrived yesterday.

If adjective comes after the linking verb, adverb does not modify the adjective anymore. The
function is as the modifier of the structure of complementation.

E.g.    The house seems clean everywhere.

c. Noun as Adjective Modifier

In some special expression, noun can modify the adjective.

E.g.     Without hesitation, Loren drank the stone cold coffee offered her.

           Ivan loves to wear a sea green    wardrobe.

d. Verb as Adjective Modifier

Adjective can be modified by the verb in present participle form (-ing) that usually precedes
the adjective, or by to-infinitive that follows adjective.

E.g.  I saw a little a little girl freezing cold  behind the building.                 

hard to get

         boiling hot                       

good to see
 e. Adjective as Adjective Modifier

For special expression, adjective can modify the other adjective

E.g.   icy cold             dark blue         plain white

f. Prepositional Phrases as Adjective Modifier

The position of the prepositional phrases as adjective modifier is after the adjective.

      E.g.   easy on the eyes             good for nothing         stronger than ever

4. Adverb as Head

There are four class words that can modify the adverb

a. Qualifiers as Adverb Modifier

E.g.            very easily                   rather slowly               happily enough

b. Adverbs as Adverb Modifier

E.g.            far away                      sometimes below

c. Noun/Pronoun as Adverb Modifier

E.g.            a meter away               some way up

d. Prepositional Phrases as Adverb Modifier

E.g.            away for a week          behind in his work      outside in the cold

 Lesson 2
The Structure of Predication

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
According to Bloomfield (1933), every structure may be divided into its immediate constituent
almost always in two ways. Each of which may in turn be divided and subdivided until the ultimate
constituents are reached. This is explained in this example:
“The man sent a letter”. Using binary cutting, the sentence may be divided into two, noun phrase
(NP) and verb phrase (VP). The NP contains the noun while the VP contains the verb used in the sentence.
Hence, the sentence could be divided into “the man”, acting as NP with man as the noun and “sent a letter”
acting as VP with sent as the verb. This is illustrated in the following diagram:
The man sente a letter.
S
The man sent a letter.
NP (Subject) VP (Predicate)

It could be subdivided to reach the ultimate constituents, words.

The man (NP) sent a letter (VP)

The (Det) man (N) sent (V) a letter (NP)

a (Det) letter (N)

where:
NP Noun Phrase, VP Verb Phrase, Det Determiner, N Noun

Hence, every complete sentence may be divided into its immediate constituent, the noun phrase
(subject) and the verb phrase (predicate).

STRUCTURE OF PREDICATION

In structure of predication, we are concerned with the properties or features of the verb which acts as
the predicate and with the features of the noun which serves as the subject of the sentence. This is illustrated
in this example:

My bestfriend is an architect. Where the word “bestfriend” acts as the noun and the word “is” acts as
the verb of the sentence. Therefore, the phrase which contains the noun called noun phrase (NP) is “my
bestfriend” is the subject of the sentence while the phrase that contains the verb called verb phrase (VP) is
“is an architect” is the predicate of the sentence. It is illustrated below:
My bestfriend is an architect.
Subject Predicate

In this example, the verb phrase contains a noun phrase (NP) as illustrated in the diagram below.

NP VP
My bestfriend is an architect

The noun phrase can still be divided into smaller unit, just like the verb phrase

NP Det + N; VP V + NP

My bestfriend is an architect

NP VP

Det N V NP
My bestfriend is an architect

Det N
an architect

THE SUBJECT

A subject is a part of a sentence that contains the person or thing performing the action (or verb)
in a sentence. A subject in a sentence is a noun, pronoun, person, thing or place who is doing the task
or is being asked/instructed/suggested to do it. In other words, a 'subject' in a sentence performs the
verb.

Four Types of Subjects

There are three main types of subjects. They are: simple subjects, compound subjects, and complete
subjects / noun phrases.

1. Simple Subjects

The dog chased the cat.

In the example above, “the dog” is a simple subject. It’s one person or thing, or one word (in addition
to the article “the”). Here’s another example:

Tonette sat by the fire.

Can you identify the verb? It’s “sat.” Who sat? Tonette. Simple subjects are just that. They’re simple
and singular. This also includes singular nouns that describe a group as a whole, like "the team" or
"the committee."
2. Compound Subjects

The next type of subject is a compound subject. These subjects contain two or more nouns or
pronouns. The easiest example is this:

Tonette and Lumen sat by the fire.

Clearly, we have two people sitting by the fire, and they’re both the subject of the sentence. You
might also see something like this:

Tonette and her brother sat by the fire.

Here, we have a mix of nouns and pronouns, but they’re all part of the sentence. Who or what sat by
the fire? Both Tonette and her brother.

3. Noun Phrases/Complete Subjects

A noun phrase is a group of words that function together like a noun. They provide more
detail than a singular - or even compound - subject. Here’s an example:
The lady dressed in red looks very elegant and honorable.

Here, we have a noun phrase. Who is dressed in red? You might be tempted to single out the
word "lady," but the subject is not just any lady; it's "the lady dressed in red."

4. Noun Clauses

A noun clause is a dependent clause that takes the place of any noun in the sentence,

whether they are subjects, objects, or subject complements. For example: That the ball is round
is true.

In this example, the noun clause is “that the ball is round” that acts as the complete
subject of the sentence. To prove that the clause is the subject is when the whole cause can be
substituted by a pronoun like in this example: It (that the ball is round) is true.

Here are some words that can act as the subject of the sentence in different levels.

1. Noun
A noun is a word that identifies a person, place or thing, or names one of them
(proper noun). Here are some examples: person: man, woman, teacher, John, Mary. place:
home, office, town, countryside, America, things: books, slippers, pencil.

Simple Subject: Manila is experiencing economic problems nowadays.

Compound Subject: Anita and Nora lost their jobs due to Covid 19.
Noun Phrase: The boy overrun by a car is very helpless.
Noun Clause: That my dream will come true remains untrue.

In the examples above, Manila is a simple subject of the sentence; Anita and Nora acts as the
compound subject; the boy overrun by a car is a noun phrase and that my dream will come
true is a noun clause. All of which act as the subjects of the sentences.
2. Pronoun
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. Examples: he, she, it, they, someone,
who. Pronouns can do all of the things that nouns can do. They can be subjects, direct
objects, indirect objects, object of the preposition, and more.

Pronouns in the nominative-case forms are normally used as subjects

Simple Subject: We experiencing economic problems nowadays.

Compound Subject: She and He lost their jobs due to Covid 19.
Noun Phrase: She overrun by a car is very helpless.
Noun Clause: It remains untrue.

Like the noun, the pronoun can do all the things that a noun can do. Hence, it is used as a
noun substitute.

3. Verbals

The three verbals— gerunds, infinitives, and participles—are formed from verbs, but are
never used alone as action words in sentences. Instead, verbals function as nouns, adjectives,
or adverbs. These verbals are important in phrases. The gerund ends in -ing and functions as
a noun.

Gerunds
A gerund is the –ing form of a verb that functions the same as a noun. For  example,
“Running is enjoyable.” In this sentence, “running” is the gerund. It acts as a noun.

Simple Subject: Collecting friends is my favorite past time.

Compound Subject: Dancing and exercising early make my body healthy.
Noun Phrase: John’s winning in the contest made his life better.
Noun Clause: Eating fruits before meals is healthy was proven to be true.

In the above examples, the italicized words/phrase/clause are the subjects of the sentences.
They are verbs in form, but they function as nouns for they are used as the subjects of the
sentences.

Infinitives

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). Examples of infinitives include to read, to run, to jump, to play, to sing, to
laugh, to cry, to eat, and to go.

Simple Subject: To collect friends is my favorite past time.

Compound Subject: To dance and to exercise early make my body healthy.
Noun Phrase: John’s desire to win in the contest made him work harder.
Noun Clause: To live is to die is a reality.

Just like the gerund, the infinitive could also act as the subject of the sentence in all types as
expressed in the given examples.

4. Adjectives
Adjectives are words that describe or modify other words, like nouns and adverbs. Words
like small, blue, and sharp are descriptive words, and they are all  examples of adjectives.
 However, when these adjectives are used as subjects of sentences, they act as nouns. Here
are some examples.

Simple Subject: The poor remain to be poor due to Covid 19.

Compound Subject: The poor and the oppressed are victims of injustices.
Noun Phrase: The poor living in slum areas need to be relocated.
Noun Clause: Knowing that the poor are starving makes me sick.

Generally, the word “poor” is a descriptive adjective used to modify nouns like in the phrase,
“the poor man” where poor describes the man. However, In the above examples, “poor” was
not used as adjective. Instead, it was used as a noun for it acts as the subject of the sentence.

5. “There” fills the subject position in place of the true subject. It is a special type of subject
called temporary subject. For example: “There are many problems schools are facing
today.” The word there fills the position of the true subject “problems”.

THE PREDICATE

The predicate provides information about the subject, such as what the subject is, what the
subject is doing, or what the subject is like.
In English grammar, a predicate is one of two main parts of a sentence or clause. (The other main
part is the subject.) It is usually defined as a word group that comes after the subject to complete the
meaning of the sentence or clause. The predicate is the portion of the sentence that contains the verb (or verb
phrase); in very short, simple sentences, it might be only a verb.
The predicate tells what happened to the subject or what state it's in. In the case of verbs that aren't
actions, those that describe states of being are called stative verbs. Examples include is or believe.
Types of Predicates
1. Simple Predicate
A predicate may be many words or just a single word: the verb. In this first example, the
verb laughs is the predicate of the sentence:

 Felisa laughs.

A predicate may be a word group made up of a main verb and helping verbs. In the next
example, will sing is the predicate. Notice that the helping verb (will) comes before the main verb
(sing).

 Winniefreda will sing a beautiful song.

2. Complete Predicate
A predicate may also be a complete verb phrase—that is, the main verb and all the words related to
that verb except the subject. (This construction is called the complete predicate.) In this last example,
the predicate is the verb phrase are resting on a plateau:

 The mountain climbers are resting on a plateau.

3. Compound Predicates
We also have compound predicates. A predicate is compound if one subject has more than one verb
associated with it, joined with a conjunction. In this example, the subject Sally has two predicates
joined by and. She prefers to dance and listen to her favorite song than to watch a movie.

 Sally prefers to dance and listen to her favorite song than to watch a movie.
 Whether it's just one word or many words, the predicate usually follows the subject and tells us
something about it.

Finding the Predicate

Finding predicates isn't difficult; it just takes some examination of the sentence. You just have to
understand who is doing what. First, find the subject and then the verb (or verbs). Anything that isn't the
subject of the sentence is the predicate.

 After the long hike up the peak, the mountaineers rested and enjoyed the fresh air.

The mountaineers is the subject, the verbs are rested and enjoyed, and everything but the subject is the
predicate. Even though the dependent clause comes at the start of the sentence, it still tells something
about when the group rested, making it an adverbial phrase. It's not the subject of the sentence and thus
belongs in the predicate.
If you are asked to find the simple predicate, it's just the verb or verb plus a helper. If you are asked to
find the complete predicate, it consists of all the words besides the subject.

Lesson 3
The Structure of Complementation

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The study of complementation has received considerable attention in generative studies. Following
Rosenbaum's (1967) pioneering study of the English complement system, there are extensive studies by
Lakoff (1965), Ross (1967), Perlmutter (1971) and a large number of publications. More recent detailed
studies are Emonds (1970) and Bresnan (1972). These studies have increased enormously the body of
factual knowledge about the complement system of English, and about the phenomenon of complementation
in general.

COMPLEMENT
A complement is a part of a sentence that completes the meaning of the verb. There are five
kinds of complements. Three of them are used with action verbs only: direct objects, indirect objects, and
object complements. Two others, called subject complements, are predicate nominatives and predicate
adjectives.
In grammar, a complement is a word or word group that completes the predicate in a sentence.
Subject complements follow a linking verb and provide additional information about the subject of the
sentence. The subject complement is normally a noun or an adjective that defines or renames the subject in
some way.
KINDS OF COMPLEMENTS
A. Complements of the Subject / Subjective Complement

a. Predicate Nominative/Predicate Noun

A predicate noun refers to a noun or a phrase that provide more information about the subject of
the sentence.
A predicate noun, also called the predicate nominative, is a noun that comes after a linking verb.
It renames or re-identifies the subject and it only exists after a linking verb.
It is found after the linking verb in the predicate of the sentence. A predicate nominative is also
called a predicate noun because it is always a noun. To find the predicate nominative, find the
word after the linking verb that can replace the subject.

Example 1: Sally is a singer. (noun)

Example 2: My favorite hobby is singing. (gerund used as noun)

Example 3: To see is to believe. (infinitive used as noun)

Example 4: The linguistics book is out of stock. (Prepositional Phrase)

Example 5: Darna's excuse for being late was that she forgot to set her alarm. (Noun Clause)

b. Predicate Adjective

Predicate adjectives complete the linking verb by describing the subject of a sentence.

Basically, predicate adjectives modify the subject of the sentence. 

Example 1: Lina is beautiful.

Example 2: The flower is attractive.

Example 3: The students are futuristic.

B. Complement of the Verb / Objective Complement

a. Direct Object
 An object is the part of a sentence that gives meaning to the subject's action of the verb. A direct
object answers the question of who(m) or what. A direct object may appear as a noun, pronoun,
or a compound noun in a sentence.

Example 1: Nouns as Direct Object

Alexa brought the basket.

Subject = Alexa
Verb = brought 
Object = basket

Example 2: Pronoun as Direct Object

Allan loves her.

Subject = Allan
Verb = loves
Object = her

Example 3. Compound Nouns as Direct Object

The dog ate the meat and drank some water. 
Subject = Dog
Verb = ate/drank
Object = meat/water

Example 4. Gerund (verb + ing) as Direct Object

Roanne hates walking alone in the dark.

Subject = Roanne
Verb = hates
Object = walking

Example 5. Infinitive (to + verb) as Direct Object

Lovely called to check on me.

Subject = Lovely
Verb = called
Object = to check

b. Indirect Object
The indirect object always comes between the verb and the direct object. 
To have an indirect object in a sentence there must first be a direct object. That also means that
only transitive verbs can have an indirect object (because only transitive verbs can have a direct
object).

Example: Shella gave me a gift.

Subject Ver Indirect Object Direct Object

b

Shella gave me a gift.

 Shella gave me a gift.

Note that the indirect object comes between the verb and the direct object.

Look at some more example sentences:

Subject Verb Indirect Object Direct Object

The professor gave the class some activities.

Ivan read Shella the letter.

Johnny bought Maryjane a necklace.

John Mark brought Maricris some chocolates.

An indirect object can be one word or several words. It is usually:

 noun (The government normally give evacuees shelter.)
 proper noun (The merchant sold Johnny a bicycle.)
 noun phrase (My Dad bought my eldest sister a house and lot.)
 pronoun (Please buy her a new car.)

In general, an indirect object can be rephrased and repositioned as a prepositional phrase starting with "to"
or "for". The examples above would then become:

Subject Verb Direct Object Prepositional Phrase

The professor gave some activities to the class.

Ivan read the letter to Shella.

Johnny bought a necklace for Maryjane.

John Mark brought some chocolates for Maricris.

Note that the prepositional phrase is NOT the indirect object—it is just a prepositional
phrase.

c. Objective Complement

An objective complement is a noun or adjective that completes the meaning of the verb and
modifies, names, or renames the direct object. Since these modify, name, or rename direct
objects, you'll only find them in sentences that have direct objects. An objective
complement can be a noun, pronoun, or adjective or any word acting as a noun or adjective. 

Example 1: Noun
 Marion elected Susan treasurer.

Lorna sings to satisfy the audience.

Example 2. Proper Noun

The child named the dog Benjo.

The architect named his dreamhouse Pam.

Example 3. Adjective

Marianne painted her fingernails blue.

Herondio made Hera hopeful.

Example 4. Infinitive Phrase

Conchita daily eats an apple to satisfy her.

The columnist wrote an exposé to solve the case.

Example 5. Participial Phrase

I pitty the child overrun by a car this morning.

Annie found the cat hiding behind the cabinet.

Example 6: Noun Clause
I hate the man who was wearing a brown jacket.
The teacher disclosed the news that I failed in her subject.

Lesson 4

The Structure of Coordination

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
 In linguistics, coordination is a complex syntactic structure that links together two or more
elements; these elements are called conjuncts or conjoins. ... The totality of coordinator(s) and conjuncts
forming an instance of coordination is called a coordinate structure.
It consists of two or more syntactically equivalent units joined by connectors to form a structure
which acts as a single unit.
Connectors/coordinators like for, and, nor, but, or, yet and so or (fanboys), or phrasal like as well as,
rather than, together with and as well as, may be single words.

1. Coordinators can join

A. Words
a. Over and above (prepositions)
b. simple but attractive (adjectives)
c. Ben and Nora (nouns)
d. She or I (pronouns)
e. Sing nor dance (verb)

B. Phrases
a. Good looks as well as good breeding (noun phrase)
b. Very alarming but more manageable (adjective phrase)
c. To sing and dance (infinitive phrases)
d. Collecting stamps and surfing the internet (gerund phrase)
e. By the people and for the people (prepositional phrase)

C. Clauses
a. To err is human and to forgive is divine.
b. I love music, but music doesn’t love me.
c. I could not see the board so I went nearer.
d. My husband hates to waste a drop of gas, for it is very expensive these days.
e. You can eat your cake with a spoon or fork.

2. Correlative conjunctions come in pairs. They still serve the purpose of joining or linking things in a
sentence, but they are a special types of conjunction pair that work together ("co") to link things or
ideas that correlate to each other.
Here are the Examples of Correlative Conjunction Pairs

either / or neither / nor

both / and rather / than
such / that not only / but also
as / as hardly / when
if / then just as / so
no sooner / than not / but
scarcely / when what with / and
whether / or

Correlatives can also join

A. Words
a. Either you or I (pronouns)
b. Annie or Joy (nouns)
 c. Not only books but also magazines (nouns)
d. Both sing and dance (verb)

B. Phrases
a. Both the cake and the cookies (noun phrase)
b. Listening to mellow music and collecting stamps (gerund phrase)
c. Either in the room or in the garden (prepositional phrases)

C. Clauses
a. The young boy would eat neither the soup nor the vegetables for lunch.
b. There was such a thunderstorm that we could not go on the field trip.
c. I would rather take an hour to walk three miles than run them in less time.