Random Phrase Generator

Generate Random Phrases, Clauses, and Idioms to boost your creativity and let the ideas flow!


How Does a Random Phrase Generator Work?

Our phrase generator could not be any easier to use, but please don't let the simple interface trick you! This clause and phrase generator is an invaluable tool for generating random ideas.

Choose the number of words you want to appear in your phrase or clause, and then click "generate." That is all it takes!

Random Phrases

  • Dicky Dirt
    Cockney rhyming slang for shirt.
  • Bring your A game
    Perform to the best of your ability.
  • A bad hair day
    A day on which everything seems to go wrong.
  • Run out of steam
    Completely out of energy.
  • Sit tight
    Wait and take do nothing until the time is right for action.
  • It takes two to tango
    It takes two people to cause a problem between them.

What is a Phrase?

A phrase is a selection of words that happen to stand together as a unit. It is normally part of a sentence or a clause. A phrase doesn’t include a verb or subject, and therefore it is unable to convey a full thought. A phrase also contrasts with a clause. The main reason for this is because a clause contains both a subject and a verb, and it can convey a full idea.

Types of Phrases

Here is a breakdown of the most common types of phrases along with example usage.

Noun Phrases

Phrases like this usually focus on one noun and work as an object, subject, or complement. An example would be "I love to swing the golf club very hard" or "reading books is a good habit." You also have "we are sorry to hear about her departure. As you can see, it doesn’t always have to be an object, and there are many ways for you to incorporate a noun phrase into your writing.

Adjective Phrase

Phrases like this usually consist of an adjective, which works in a sentence. An example of this would be "Janet is a very well-behaved woman" or "he has a very friendly nature." Another would be "so many people don’t sleep well at night."

Adverbial Phrase

This phrase modifies the current verb or adjective, working as an adverb when part of a sentence. An example is, "I sprinted as fast as possible." You also have "she works very slowly."

Propositional Phrase

If you were to use a propositional phrase , then this would connect the noun. So you could have "she is on the way." You could also have "despite trying his best, he was still put down by his boss." These types of phrases can include any other kind of phrase.

Conjunctional Phrase

With a conjunctional phrase, you should include a conjunction in the sentence. This could be "I will go to the concert, provided that James comes too." You also have "as soon as you arrived, he left." Finally, "John began work early so that he could leave sooner."

Interjectional Phrase

It’s important to know that an interjectional phrase has more than one word. It could be, "What a shame! He’s dead." or "Oh, for goodness’ sake! Don’t say that again".

Absolute Phrase

If you have a phrase that includes a pronoun or a noun with a participle with modifiers, then this is an absolute phrase. An example would be, "I will attend the party, weather permitting." You also have "God willing; he will finally pass his test."

Appositive Phrase

This is a pronoun or a noun that modifiers have accompanied. They sit next to another pronoun or noun. This kind of phrase is a set of words containing an appositive and preceding the noun that it happens to explain. An example would be "his good friend Brooke always skipped class" or "Kyle, the police officer on duty at the time, filed the ticket."

Participle Phrase

This type of phrase is made up of a modifier and a participle. An example would be "walking fast, I kept looking to the left and right" or "I turned back, starting the engine."

Gerund Phrase

If you were to use this kind of phrase, you would use a Gerund. You would also have the required elements and modifiers. This type of phrase functions as a noun as well. Want an example? "Doing the dishes makes me miserable," or "I hate rushing right before the deadline."

A gerund is a verbal that ends in -ing and functions as a noun.

Infinitive Phrase

An infinitive phrase is the infinitive form of a verb, such as, "to cook," plus any complements and modifiers. Some examples would be "We really love to cook breakfast together" or "Patrick always runs as fast as he can to be there on time."

  • The infinitive form of a verb refers to its base form. i.e. "cook"
  • A complement is the direct object of the infinitive verb. i.e. "breakfast"
  • The modifier in our example is "together."

Phrases vs. Clauses

It’s important to know that phrases and clauses are not the same. A clause has to contain a subject and a predicate. A phrase cannot work as its own sentence because it doesn’t contain a predicate and subject. An example of a phrase would be "barks so loudly," and an example of a clause would be "that dog barks so loudly." If you have a clause, this would contain a phrase; if you have a sentence, this would include a clause . The term "phrase" can be understood as being two different things. You have a sentence part, and you also have a common expression. Types of phrases such as this are known as common phrases and grammatical phrases.

Phrases vs. Clauses

Grammatical

A grammatical phrase is a series of words that work well together as a unit; This type of phrase will add a lot of meaning to a sentence and give some detail about how the parts of the speech are used. With this type of phrase, you can clarify part of the speech. The main thing to note here is that the phrase provides detail, but it doesn't have to have a clause of its own. It doesn't have the structure to. Sentences do not need to have a phrase for them to be grammatically correct. Sometimes, you may have a sentence that consists of only working words. An example of this would be "Vicky skated yesterday."

This is a very short and simple sentence. That being said, the picture is clear. If you expand a few of the words into a phrase, then you will be able to get a way more detailed image of how Vicky spent her time. It may be that "Vicky skated in the park yesterday." You could also have "Vicky skated on her brand-new skateboard yesterday." At the end of the day, a grammatical phrase can come in a variety of types, and often, you may find a few of them in any given sentence. Each type is named after a part of speech, and it also modifies the role that it plays within a sentence.

Grammatical phrases are just a broad category of phrases. The other category would be common phrases. This is a piece of figurative language, and usually, you need to utilize your listening familiarity so you can understand them. When you, as a listener, are not familiar with a certain phrase, you could well misconstrue the message. It is imperative that you keep this in mind when the time comes for you to write. A huge part of this would be for you to be mindful of the audience you are targeting.

Common

A common phrase can easily be a euphemism. This is a phrase that is able to communicate a certain idea. This is done through softer and much more polite language. This type of phrase is normally used to try and avoid speaking about the subject directly if it is going to evoke an unpleasant image. One example of this would be to say that you are using the restroom as opposed to using the toilet. You might also say that someone passed away rather than that they died.

Another example would be a saying. This is a pithy phrase that happens to use figurative language. Some of the top ones here would be "in a nutshell" or "it’s a piece of cake." Sayings that convey a general observation would be an adage . "the early bird gets the worm" would be a prime example here. You also have "a rolling stone gathers no moss."

At the end of the day, there really are so many phrases out there, and if you take the time to understand them, then you will soon see that it is more than possible for you to include them in your own writing. If you want to get the best result out of your writing, then it is a good idea for you to first understand your audience and then build your writing style around them. It may be that you use some types of phrases and not others, for example. By enhancing your level of awareness regarding your audience, you can then make sure that your writing style is fluent and coherent. Although you don’t need to remember the names of the phrases mentioned here, if you can have a solid understanding of the way that each one is used and the context that it can be put, then this will help you to enhance your skills.

Why not see if you can use any of the top types of phrases the next time you construct a piece of writing? It’s a great way for you to really grasp the attention of your reader so they can be drawn more into the world you’re trying to create.