ABSTRACT
In grammar, the technical term phrase is used even if there is only one word – the main word alone; for example, both very pleasant and pleasant are adjective phrases. This may seem strange at first, since in everyday use the word phrase applies to a sequence of at least two words. There is a good reason for the wider use of the term in grammar. Many rules that apply to an adjective phrase apply equally to an adjective. For example, the same rules apply to the positions of very pleasant and pleasant in these sentences:
Instead of specifying each time ‘adjective phrase or adjective’, it is simpler to specify ‘adjective phrase’ and thereby include adjectives.
