Finding other key phrases

In speech and writing, a phrase is a group of words that functions

as a single unit in a sentence. For speed-reading purposes, a phrase

is a natural word group that provides the context in a sentence.

General phrases are a bit harder to recognize than prepositional

phrases because you don’t necessarily have words such as at, by,

from, on, and toward to clue you in. But if you can develop the abil-

ity to see phrases as you read, you can read that much faster.

Roughly speaking, phrases fall into these four groups:

 ✓ Adjectival phrase: A group of words that begins with an

adjective and modifies a noun. Example: The day empty of all

hope has arrived.

 ✓ Adverbial phrase: A group of words that functions like an

adverb to modify the rest of the sentence. Example: I’ll wash

the car when I’m good and ready.

 ✓ Noun phrase: A group of words that that begins with a noun

or pronoun and, taken together, forms the subject or object

of a sentence. Example: The day the horses were freed was a

happy day.

 ✓ Verb phrase: A group of words that begins with a verb and

modifies the subject or object of the sentence. Example: The

runner crossed the finish line to take first place