Heads

The head is the most important word in a phrase. All the other words in a phrase depend on the head. Words which are part of the phrase and which come before the head are called the pre-head. Words which are part of the phrase and which come after the head are called the post-head.

In a noun phrase, the head is a noun, and there may be pre-head and post-head items, also called premodifiers and postmodifiers.

← – – – – – – – – – – – – – – noun phrase – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – →
pre-head	noun head	post-head
My favourite	band
The	woman	in the red dress

In a verb phrase, the head is a verb. There may be pre-head items such as modal or auxiliary verbs and post-head items such as particles.

	← – – – – – – – – – – verb phrase – – – – – – – – – – – →
	pre-head	verb head	post-head
She		laughed.
My mother	can’t	swim.
The plane	has	taken	off.

In an adjective phrase, the head is an adjective, and there may be pre-head and post-head items, also called premodifiers and postmodifiers.

	← – – – – – – adjective phrase – – – – – – – →
	pre-head	adjective head	post-head
The food was		wonderful.
We saw a	very	big		fish.
Is this		good	enough?

In an adverb phrase, the head is an adverb, and there may be pre-head and post-head items, also called premodifiers and postmodifiers.

	← – – – – – – – – adverb phrase – – – – – – – – – →
	pre-head	adverb head	post-head
She dances		beautifully.
We studied	really	intensively.
The machine seemed to work		well	enough.

In a prepositional phrase, the head is a preposition, and there may be pre-head items, also called premodifiers. The post-head item, which is a noun phrase, or a verb phrase with a verb in the -ing form, is always present.

	← – – – – – – – prepositional phrase – – – – – – – – – →
	pre-head	preposition head	post-head
Your dinner is		on	the table.
I’m not used		to	getting up early.
The shop is	right	by	the bus station.

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