The phrase (so‘z birikmasi) is the "brick" of sentence building. A sentence is built not directly from words but from phrases: first words are linked in pairs, and then these pairs form the sentence. So, to analyse a sentence, identify its parts and punctuate it correctly, you first need to understand how words are linked. The exam requirements state it explicitly: you must be able to tell a phrase from a combination with a function word, a compound word, an idiom and a sentence. This topic opens syntax: all the following topics — parts of the sentence, homogeneous parts, complex sentences — rely on the ideas learnt here.
§1. How words are linked
In a sentence words are linked in two ways:
Coordination — the words are equal; neither depends on the other: ota va ona (father and mother), olma, nok, anor (apples, pears, pomegranates). Such words become homogeneous parts and answer the same question.
Subordination — one word is the head, the other is dependent: yashil daraxt (a green tree; qanday daraxt? — what kind of tree?). Only subordination forms a phrase.
Phrase = head word + dependent word (at least two independent words linked by subordination)
The question is asked from the head to the dependent: kitobni o‘qimoq → nimani o‘qimoq? (read what?). So the easiest way to find the head is to check which word the question can be asked from. The head keeps the core meaning of the phrase, while the dependent specifies, completes or explains it: yashil daraxt is still a tree; only its quality is specified.
§2. Types of subordinate link
The dependent word is linked to the head in three ways. Agreement (moslashuv) — the dependent is in the genitive, the head has a possessive suffix, and they agree in person and number: mening kitobim (my book), sening kitobing (your book), bizning maktabimiz (our school), maktab(ning) hovlisi (the school yard).
How to spot agreement: the head has a possessive suffix, the dependent is in the genitive (marked or unmarked).
Government (boshqaruv) — the head (usually a verb) requires the dependent to be in a certain case or to take a postposition: kitobni o‘qimoq (to read the book), uyga bormoq (to go home), maktabdan qaytmoq (to return from school), do‘st bilan gaplashmoq (to talk with a friend), vatan uchun kurashmoq (to fight for one’s homeland). Adjunction (bitishuv) — the dependent is linked without any grammatical marker, only by word order and intonation: yaxshi bola (a good boy), besh kitob (five books), tez yurmoq (to walk fast), piyoda bormoq (to go on foot), oltin uzuk (a gold ring).
In adjunction the dependent word does not change: adjectives, numerals, adverbs and sometimes nouns and converbs are linked this way.
Be careful with unmarked cases: in maktab hovlisi the genitive has no suffix, but the head has a possessive, so it is agreement; in kitob o‘qimoq the accusative has no suffix, but the verb requires it, so it is government.
Worked example
Find the phrases in Do‘stimning ukasi chiroyli rasm chizdi ("My friend’s younger brother drew a beautiful picture") and state the type of link.
do‘stimning ukasi — the dependent is genitive, the head has a possessive → agreement.
chiroyli rasm — the dependent has no suffix and is linked by word order → adjunction.
rasm chizdi — an unmarked accusative (nimani chizdi? — drew what?) required by the verb → government.
ukasi chizdi — subject and predicate, not a phrase.
Answer: agreement, adjunction, government.
§3. Types of phrases
By the word class of the head:
Nominal phrases — the head is a noun, adjective, numeral or pronoun: yangi kitob (a new book), juda chiroyli (very beautiful), besh o‘quvchi (five pupils), har birimiz (each of us).
Verbal phrases — the head is a verb or one of its non-finite forms: kitob o‘qimoq (to read a book), tez yugurmoq (to run fast), maktabga bormoq (to go to school), xat yozgan in xat yozgan bola (the boy who wrote a letter).
By structure:
simple — two independent words: qizil olma (a red apple);
complex — containing another phrase: mening eng yaqin do‘stim (my closest friend; the phrase eng yaqin depends on do‘stim).
By the meaning relation between head and dependent there are three kinds, and this later helps you identify parts of the sentence:
attributive: yangi kitob, do‘stimning ukasi — the dependent will be an attribute;
objective: kitob o‘qimoq, do‘st bilan gaplashmoq — the dependent will be an object;
adverbial: tez yurmoq, ertaga kelmoq, uyda o‘tirmoq — the dependent will be an adverbial.
When analysing a complex phrase, first find the head of the whole phrase, then separate the words linked to it step by step.
Worked example
Find the verbal phrases in Kecha kutubxonadan qiziqarli kitob oldim ("Yesterday I borrowed an interesting book from the library").
The predicate oldim is the head.
kecha oldim — qachon oldim? (when?), the adverb is linked by adjunction.
kitob oldim — nimani oldim? (what?), unmarked accusative → government.
qiziqarli kitob — a nominal phrase, adjunction.
Answer: three verbal phrases (kecha oldim, kutubxonadan oldim, kitob oldim) and one nominal phrase.
§4. What is not a phrase
Tests often give several word groups and ask which one is a phrase. The following look like phrases but are not:
Subject + predicate (Bola keldi — the boy came) — a predicative link that forms a sentence, not a phrase.
A combination with a function word (so‘zlar qo‘shilmasi) — an independent word + a function word: men bilan (with me), uy uchun (for the house), kelgan edi (had come). The function word is not a separate member, but such a combination as a whole can be the dependent part of a phrase: do‘st bilan gaplashmoq.
A compound word — a single word: kungaboqar (sunflower), belbog‘ (belt), toshbaqa (tortoise).
An idiom — a fixed unit with a single figurative meaning: qo‘li ochiq (generous, literally "his hand is open"), ko‘ngli joyiga tushdi (he calmed down).
Homogeneous parts — coordination: ota va ona, kitob va daftar.
An idiom and a compound word are single lexical units; in a sentence each is analysed as one part.
Worked example
Which is a phrase: men bilan, kungaboqar, qizil olma, Qor yog‘di?
men bilan — a combination with a function word: bilan is a function word and there is no second independent word.
kungaboqar — a compound word, one word.
Qor yog‘di (It snowed) — subject and predicate, a sentence.
qizil olma — two independent words linked by subordination (qanday olma?).
Answer: only qizil olma (adjunction).
§5. Phrases and punctuation
No comma is placed between the words inside a phrase, because they are linked by subordination: katta qizil olma (a big red apple) — katta and qizil are not equal; both depend on olma but name different kinds of quality. If two adjectives name qualities of the same kind and are coordinated, they are homogeneous and separated by a comma: Qizil, sariq, yashil olmalar (red, yellow, green apples).
Test: put va between the attributes. If the meaning holds, they are homogeneous and need a comma; if it breaks, no comma is needed.
This rule matters especially for attributes, since the exam often gives exactly such sentences.
Check yourself
Which type of link is in sening daftaring?
Which type of link is in daryoga tushmoq?
Which type of link is in uch kitob?
Is olma va nok a phrase?
What is the head word in tez yugurmoq?
Why is qo‘li ochiq not analysed as a phrase?
Which type of link is in maktab hovlisi?
How is the dependent part expressed in vatan uchun kurashmoq?
Common mistakes
Treating subject and predicate as a phrase: Bola keldi is a sentence.
Confusing agreement and government: agreement always has genitive + possessive.
Calling a lone postpositional combination (men bilan) a phrase.
Swapping head and dependent: the question is always asked from the head.
Taking a phrase with an unmarked genitive for adjunction: maktab hovlisi is agreement.
Putting a comma between non-homogeneous attributes: ✗ katta, qizil olma.