A group of words that behaves as a single unit inside a sentence.
In precise terms
A constituent is a syntactic unit that behaves as a whole with respect to movement, substitution, coordination and ellipsis. Phrases are constituents named for their head — noun phrase, verb phrase, prepositional phrase.
An example
The woman in the red coat left early.
What is going on here
'The woman in the red coat' is one noun phrase: it can be replaced by 'she', moved as a unit, and coordinated with another noun phrase. 'Woman in the' cannot do any of those things, which is the evidence that it is not a constituent.
Why this matters when you are learning a language
Constituency is what the standard tests actually test, and it underpins how grammar books describe every rule. It also explains why some word sequences can be moved or omitted and others cannot.
Across languages
Some languages have much freer constituent order than English, and a few have been argued to allow discontinuous constituents, where parts of one phrase are separated by unrelated material.
Related terms
- ClauseBeginner — A unit built around one verb, with its subject and any objects — the building block of a sentence.
- Prepositional phraseIntermediate — A preposition plus the noun phrase it governs — 'on the table', 'after lunch'.
- Constituent structureAdvanced — The hierarchical grouping of words into nested phrases.
- Modifier and complementIntermediate — A modifier adds optional information; a complement is required to complete the meaning.
Where to go next
- Language guides — See grammatical and lexical categories used in context.
- Terminology quiz — Test the terms on this page.