Download Name: Date: Phrases A phrase is a group of words without a subject

Name:
Date:
Phrases
A phrase is a group of words without a subject or verb that functions as ONE part of speech.
Included in this class are prepositional phrases, appositive phrases, and verbal phrases.
***You will need to be able to identify, classify, and create each***
Prepositional Phrases (p434)
A group of words that begins with a preposition and includes at least an object.
Draw brackets around the prepositional phrases that follow:
Near the table, the dog was chewing on something.
I left my lunch on the counter.
Within his mouth, my dog had an entire sandwich wrapped in plastic.
Prepositional Phrases can act as Adjective Phrases like: The tree in my yard was dead.
Remember, an adjective describes a noun by telling ‘which one?’ or ‘what kind?’!
Prepositional Phrases can act as Adverb Phrases like: It had been dead in 2004 when I moved in.
Remember, adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs by telling the reader ‘where, when,
in what way, or to what extent’ about the word they modify.
Appositive Phrases
A group of words that renames another noun.
Chris Cornell, the lead singer from Soundgarden, plays this Friday.
Note: Appositives containing nonessential material (material that can be removed without changing
the meaning of the sentence) need to be set off from the rest of the sentence with commas.
Essential/Restrictive
vs.
Nonessential/Nonrestrictive
Verbal Phrases
As you know, verbals are verbs that act as other parts of speech in a sentence. Phrases are groups
of words that function as one part of speech in the sentence.Verbal Phrases are launched by
verbals and include modifiers and also objects.
Gerund Phrases (p446) are launched by a gerund—a verb acting like a noun.
Gerund Phrases can function like:
1 Subject, Appositive
2 Direct and Indirect object
3 Predicate Nominative
4 Object of the Preposition
Example: My mother always hated swimming after dark.
Infinitive Phrases (p 448)are launched by the infinitive form of the verb. It is usually set off by
the word ‘to’, and can act as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.
Infinitive phrases can function as:
1 Subject, Appositive
2 Direct Object
3 Predicate Nominative
4 Adjective
5 Adverb
Example: As children, we loved to swim at all times of the day.
Participial Phrases (p442) are launched by the present, past, or perfect participle. They act like
adjectives in the sentence. It includes the participle plus whatever modifies it.
Refer to your “verbals” notes to recognize participles.
Participial phrases can function as:
1 Adjectives
Example: Having eaten already, the children waited to jump in the pool.
What you need to know: You will need to be able to identify different kinds of phrases in
sentences. You will need to know what part of speech they are acting like in the sentence, and what
function it assumes.
Review: Verbal Phrases
Participles
Directions: find the participial phrase in each of the following sentences. Since they always function
as adjectives, draw an arrow to the noun or pronoun that it modifies.
1. Ecotourism is now attracting world travelers to Mexico.
2. Mexico’s beaches have always delighted tourists.
3. Tourists worried about global warming have taken ‘ecotours’ to the Maya Riviera.
4. Accommodations include recycled water and solar generated electicity.
5. Tourists feel good about the trip even after using fossil fuel burning jets to get there.
Gerunds
Directions: In each sentence, circle the gerund. Then underline the gerund phrase. How does it
function in the sentence?
1. Getting to Tulum from Cancun took an hour.
2. Renting the car was an experience in itself.
3. We drove off with a VW bug, so traveling south was a hot ride.
4. Once there, we stank from sweating.
5. To cool off, jumping in the ocean was all we could do.
Infinitives
Directions: Underline the infinitive phrase. On the line, identify which part of speech the infinitive
is acting like in the sentence.
1. My dream is to study at an ashram in India. __________
2. I wanted to meditate on a stone temple floor. __________
3. Do you wonder what it’s like to wake up in a strange place? __________
4. Time zone changes always mess me up when I try to sleep. __________
5. The last plane I was on passed through three time zones to cross the ocean. ______
Review
Prepositional and Appositive Phrases
Prepositional
Directions: Use brackets to identify the prepositional phrases in each sentence. Note after the
sentence whether the phrase acts as an adjective or adverb.
1. A student from Palmer died in a fire at East Stroudsburg University last week.
2. The off campus apartment fire was started by an eight year old boy who was playing with a
cigarette lighter.
3. Jef Dailey died that morning from smoke inhalation.
4. No one in the original apartment was injured by the fire.
5. Services for Dailey will be held today in the Lehigh Valley.
Appositive
Directions: Circle the appositive phrases in each sentence.
1. Donovan McNabb, quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, created a stir last Wednesday
when he tried to fend off criticism by noting that he is "a piece of the puzzle" that is the team's
performance.
2. McNabb, known to his teammates as "the captain of the ship", might be trying to change his
public image.
3. The "puzzle" comment , McNabb's sound byte, was validated by the decisive play of
yesterday's game.
4. The play, a screen pass, subverted blocks and the speed of the Skins.
5. La Ron Landy, the Redskins safety, was eluded by Brian Westerbrook.