Download Level III Phrases

Levels 3 & 4:
Phrases & Clauses
The Magic Lens
by Michael Clay Thompson
A phrase is like a flying
formation of birds: it is
something made of
some things. It is a
part of speech made of
some words. A phrase
is NOT a complete idea
because it is . . .
. . . a group of words without a
subject and its predicate, that
acts like a single part of
speech.
The PHRASE vs. The CLAUSE
• Both phrases and clauses are groups of
words, but a clause contains a subject
and a predicate, and a phrase does not.
Example (s):
I jumped is a clause.
In the boat is only a phrase.
Phrases are found (inside) clauses;
they are a part of clauses.
Clauses have subjects and
predicates.
Phrases don’t.
1. Attracting Appositives
Do you want to say something twice? Use an
APPOSITIVE!
• Typically, an appositive is a noun or a pronoun that is
exactly the same as the noun or the pronoun that
precedes it in the sentence.
• It provides further information about the noun or
pronoun.
• The appositive can be referred to as a noun renamer.
• An appositive may consist of only one word, or it may
consist of an entire phrase.
• An appositive usually begins with an article (a, an, the).
Stop! Identify the APPOSITIVE
PHRASES in the sentences below.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Raven, the girl whose hair matches
her name, is thinking of changing her
name to Goldie.
Tee Rex, holder of the coveted
Dinosaur of the Year trophy, has
signed an endorsement deal with a
company that makes extra-large
sneakers.
Lochness, the Spy of the Month, will
hold a press conference tomorrow at
10 a.m.
Lola, a fan of motorcycles,
acknowledges that life in the fast lane
is sometimes hard on the complexion.
2. The Objects of My Affection: Prepositional
Phrases and their Objects
• Prepositions never travel alone. They are
always with an object.
• The preposition relates its object to another
word in the sentence.
• Prepositional phrases are modifiers. They act
like BIG adjectives or BIG adverbs.
• The object of the preposition is always a noun
or a pronoun, or perhaps one or two of each.
Example:The empanadas by
the stove are mighty tasty.
• The prepositional
phrase by the stove
modifies empanadas.
• Which empanadas?
• The ones by the stove.
• This particular
prepositional phrase is
acting like a BIG
ADJECTIVE.
Stop! Identify the PREPOSITIONAL
PHRASES in the sentences below.
1.
2.
3.
In the afternoon, the
snow pelted Eggworthy
on his little bald head.
Marilyn thought that the
election of the aardvark
to the senate was quite
unfair.
The heroic teacher
pounded the grammar
rules into her students’
tired brains.
3. Getting VERBAL
• A verbal is a verb form used as
a different part of speech.
• A verbal is NOT a verb! It is a
former verb now doing
something else.
• A verbal can be a single word,
or it can join other words to
make a phrase.
• There are three types of verbals:
1. Gerunds
2. Participles
3. Infinitives
Verbal #1: Gerunds
• The noun and the verb get
married, move into a little house
on the prairie, and pretty soon the
pitter-patter of little syllables hits
the airwaves.
• The children of this happy
marriage are gerunds, which
inherit some characteristics from
both their mother, the verb, and
their father, the noun.
Characteristics of GERUNDS
• They end in -ing and look like
verbs.
Example(s): swimming,
dripping, being, bopping,
bribing, etc.
• They act like nouns.
Example(s): Swimming is fun.
• They can be the subject of the
sentence or a direct object anything a noun can be.
Stop! Identify the GERUND PHRASES in
the sentences below.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Swimming the Atlantic Ocean was not
exactly what Ludmilla had in mind
when she married Ludwig.
Analivia, a neat person in every
possible way, hates my dripping ice
cream on the rug.
The importance of being earnest in
one’s playwriting cannot be overemphasized.
After bopping Lochness on the nose,
Legghorn took off at about 100 m.p.h.
Felonia gave bribing the umpire
serious consideration when her team
lost its 450th game in a row.
Verbal #2: PARTICIPIAL
PHRASES
• Participles are verbals that always act
like adjectives.
• Participles can end in various verby
endings such as -ing or -ed or -en, but
they will always modify a noun or a
pronoun.
Example: Walking the dog, the
girl enjoyed a stroll.
• The participial phrase
consists of the participle
walking + an object (the
dog).
• Which girl?
• The girl walking the dog.
• The phrase is acting like a
BIG ADJECTIVE modifying
girl.
Notice how the participial phrase can be in
either present or past form.
• At the beginning with present participle form:
1. Hanging out on the street corner, I break dance like a freak!
2. Running the class like a drill sergeant, Mrs. Joiner pounded
grammar into our brains.
3. Eating a five-course meal in class, the student tried to be
inconspicuous.
• At the beginning with a past participle form:
1. Abandoned in the 1940s, the house on Kensington is said to
be haunted.
2. Shattered into a million pieces, my heart aches without the
presence of grammar.
3. Used to transport oil across the ocean, the ship no longer
passes government inspections.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Stop! Underline the PARTICIPLES and
PARTICIPIAL PHRASES in the sentences
below.
Ludmilla is exhausted.
Felonia’s concerto sounds enchanting.
Someone, having angered the herd of
cattle, is running for the fence at the speed
of light.
I want to read the new anti-bubble gum law
passed by the senate.
Poked in the tummy, the baby doll
immediately said, “Watch it, Buster!”
Smashed against the picture window, Lola’s
nose looked sore.
Verbal #3: INFINITIVES
• The INFINITIVE is
another happy child of
two different parts of
speech.
• An infinitive is a noun,
adjective, or adverb
made from the to- form of
the verb.
• An infinitive is viewed as
one word.
We want to party until dawn.
-Infinitive phrase as a noun (DO).
We live to party until dawn.
-Infinitive phrase as an ADV
modifying live.
The desire to party until dawn is too much.
-Infinitive phrase as ADJ
modifying desire.
Stop! Underline the INFINITIVE
PHRASES in the sentences below.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
To dance on Broadway is
Lola’s lifelong dream.
During cabinet meetings,
Ludwig likes to dream with
his eyes open.
Lulu’s lifelong goal is to be
silly when everyone else is
serious.
Ludmilla went to that
nightclub just to dally.
The case to prosecute is
the one about the exploding
donut.
Level 4: All You Need to Know
(and May Have Forgotten) about
CLAUSES
• A CLAUSE is a group of words that contains
a subject and its predicate.
• Two kinds of CLAUSES exist 1. Independent Clause (I):
Makes sense independently.
2. Dependent Clause (D):
Does NOT make sense unless it can
“HANG ON TO” an independent
clause.
Types of Dependent
[Subordinate] Clauses
1. ADJECTIVE DEPENDENT CLAUSE
•
•
•
•
•
Also called a RELATIVE CLAUSE
Used as an ADJECTIVE
A short, dependent clause which follows a
noun or pronoun and modifies it
Often interrupts the main clause by dividing
the subject and the predicate
Begins with a RELATIVE PRONOUN
who, whom, whose, which, that
Types of Dependent
[Subordinate] Clauses
1. ADJECTIVE DEPENDENT CLAUSE
Examples:
• The man who followed you turned left.
• We watched the man who turned left.
Types of Dependent
[Subordinate] Clauses
2. ESSENTIAL/NONESSENTIAL
ADJECTIVE CLAUSES
• ESSENTIAL = Necessary to the
meaning of the sentence.
• No commas are needed around an
essential clause
– Ex. The man who followed you turned left.
Types of Dependent
[Subordinate] Clauses
2. ESSENTIAL/NONESSENTIAL
ADJECTIVE CLAUSES
• NON-ESSENTIAL = Unnecessary to the
meaning of the sentence
• Place commas around nonessential clauses
- Ex. The man, who happened to know Mr.
Schnell, turned left.
Types of Dependent
[Subordinate] Clauses
That vs. Which
• The relative pronoun THAT often indicates an
essential adjective clause.
Ex. The book that you lost is on the shelf.
• The relative pronoun WHICH often indicates
a non-essential adjective clause.
Ex. The book, which I enjoyed too, is on the
shelf.
Types of Dependent
[Subordinate] Clauses
3. Adverb Dependent Clause
• Dependent clause which acts as a “BIG”
Adverb
• Usually begins with a subordinating
conjunction
Ex. I jumped when the shark attacked.
Types of Dependent
[Subordinate] Clauses
4. Noun Dependent Clause
• Dependent clause which acts as a
NOUN
• Noun clause acts as a Direct Object in
the following example
Ex. I wish that I liked music.
Where Dependent
[Subordinate] Clauses Go
• Cannot be used as sentences by
themselves
• Depend on an independent clause for
meaning
• May be placed before, after, or even in
the middle of an independent clause