Download wonderful world of phrases and clauses

The Wonderful World of Phrases
and Clauses
“GRAMMAR IS A PIANO I PLAY
BY EAR. ALL I KNOW ABOUT
GRAMMAR IS ITS POWER.”
~JOAN DIDION
General Definitions
 Phrase-is a group of words that contains a subject
OR a predicate (NOT BOTH)
 Clause-is a group of words that contains a subject
and predicate
Independent clauses express complete thoughts (can be
sentences)
 Dependent clauses cannot be sentences on their own

Identify the (P)phrases, (DC) dependent
clauses, and (IC) independent clauses
Rita packed a sandwich for lunch.
Although she is not a vegetarian, Rita prefers peanut
butter sandwiches.
Rita reached in her bag for the sandwich when she
realized she accidentally brought her dad’s tuna fish
sandwich.
Prepositional Phrases
 Prepositional phrases begin with a preposition and
end with a noun (in pinks below)
The bee buzzed with his bee friends from the beehive,
around the garden, then to the tree and over it.
The monkey swung from branch to branch through the
forest under the sunny sky.
Appositive Phrase
 Is noun or pronoun that restates the noun in the
sentence (in blue below)
Johnny Depp, a handsome actor, starred in Pirates of
the Caribbean.
Kiera Knightly costarred in the
movie, a huge box office success.
Verbal phrases-are verbs used as a different part
of speech
 Gerunds-Nouns
 Infinitives- Nouns
 Participles-Adjectives
Kevin Spacey as “Verbal”
Kint in The Usual Suspects
Gerunds
 Take the progressive form of the verb
 End in –ing
 Are used as nouns (subjects, objects of
prepositions, direct objects)
Crawling to the lake, the snake cooled himself from
the hot sun.
Sam won the game by hitting the game-ending home
run.
Talking while chewing gum can lead to accidents.
Infinitives
 Take the infinitive verb forms
 Start with the word “to”
 Are used as nouns (subjects, objects of prepositions,
direct objects)
To be or not to be: that is the question.
I want to learn to speak Japanese.
CAUTION!
 Sometimes certain prepositional phrase look like
infinitives.
If a “to” is followed by a noun, it is being used as a
preposition.
 If it is followed by a verb, then it is an infinitive.

I went to the store to buy chocolate milk.
Participles and Participial Phrases
 Take on the progressive form of the verb OR
past tense form of the verb
 End in –ing OR –ed (or sometimes -en/-n/-t)
 Are used as adjectives (sometimes adverbs)
Present Participles
End in –ing; used as adj. or adv.
The grinning Chesire Cat slowly
disappeared from Alice’s view.
The losing team ran off the field, crying and moping on
the way toward the locker rooms.
Don’t get these mixed up with gerunds that end in –ing
but are used as nouns!
Past Participles
End in –Ed, –En , -D, -N, or T
Used as Adjectives or Adverbs
Covered in slime, the Chemist adjusted his adjusts
his formula so to not create a second explosion.
The binder, worn from years
of misuse, finally lost its
cover.
Now, you try it… Label (PP) Prepositional Phrase, (A)
Appositive, (G) Gerund, (PA)-Participle, or (I) Infinitive
 Sliding down the banister, Joel Goodson, Tom
Cruise’s character in Risky Business, sings along to
“Old Time Rock and Roll”.
 “Writing is a socially accepted form of
schizophrenia.” ~Doctrow
 To write a clear composition, the goal of any AP
student, takes time, practice, and a love of words.
 “With public sentiment, nothing can fail.”~ Abraham
Lincoln
Prepositional Phrase, Appositive, Gerund, Infinitive,
or Participle
 Sliding down the banister, Joel Goodson, Tom
Cruise’s character in Risky Business, sings along to
“Old Time Rock and Roll”.
 “Writing is a socially accepted form of
schizophrenia.” ~Doctrow
 To write a clear composition, the goal of any AP
student, takes time, practice, and a love of words.
 “With public sentiment, nothing can fail.”~ Abraham
Lincoln
Assignment…
 Review your “Losing its Grip” paragraph. To help
you combine sentences and transition, use and label
at least one of each type of phrase:
Prepositional
Appositive
Gerund
Infinitive
Participial