Download Sophomore Grammar

Sophomore Grammar
2010
Five Different Types of Phrases

what does a prepositional phrase not
have?
5 Types of Phrases

Prepositional phrases do not have a
subject and/or verb pair. Prepositional
phrases are the same as any phrase,
and a phrase by definition does not
contain a subject and/or verb pair.
Five Different Phrase Types
1.
Prepositional Phrase See Grammar Made
2.
Appositive Phrase
Infinitive Phrase
Gerund Phrase
Participial Phrase (Participle)
3.
4.
5.
Easy Part I
*Note: Other phrases may not fit these five types. A
group of words without a subject-verb pair, not
satisfying any of the above criteria can be
considered a “generic” phrase.
Appositives and Appositive Phrases

Appositive: (Not part of a phrase) My
sister Sylvia has a pet salamander.
 Appositive Phrase: My brother, the
one eating the meal, teaches history.
appositive phrase

An appositive phrase contains an appositive
noun that provides information about the
preceding noun. They do not begin with a
definite type of word like the other phrases
(prepositions, infinitives, participles, and
gerunds). Appositive phrases are useful in
sentence combining. It allows the writer to
take two simple sentences, eliminate weak
verbs, and bury information from one
sentence inside the other.
Example

Most appositive phrases are set off by commas
at the beginning and at the end of the phrase:
 John is a carpenter during the day. John
spends his evenings recuperating.
 John, a carpenter during the day, spends his
evenings recuperating.
Example
However, an appositive should not be set off by
commas if the information is deemed essential:
 My sister lives in Columbus, Ohio. Jenny is a
doctor.
 My sister Jenny, a doctor, lives in Columbus,
Ohio.**
**Jenny is an appositive noun, considered essential to
identify which sister, so it is not set off by commas.
A doctor, on the other hand, is not essential
information, and is set of by commas.
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