Phi features are like secret agents for words. They help words do things they couldn't do on their own by bringing in other words to help out.
Imagine you have a word, let's call it "cat." Normally, a word like "cat" can't do much by itself. But if we add a phi feature to "cat," it becomes like an undercover agent for the word "that." Now, instead of just "cat," we have "cat-that."
This spy-like addition allows us to make sentences that we couldn't make with just "cat." For example, we could say "the cat that chased the mouse," which wouldn't make sense without the phi feature.
Basically, phi features work like secret agents to help words team up and do more complex things in sentences.