Download LEVEL THREE: PHRASES A phrase is a group of words that does

LEVEL THREE: PHRASES
 A phrase is a group of words that does not contain a subject and its
predicate and that acts as a single part of speech. It can act like an
adjective, adverb, or noun!
 THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PHRASES AND CLAUSES: Both phrases and
clauses are groups of words, but a clause contains both a subject and its
predicate, and a phrase does not. (I jumped is a clause but in the boat is
only a phrase. Phrases are inside clauses; they are part of clauses.
 THREE KINDS OF PHRASES:
1. Prepositional Phrases – Prepositional phrases always begin with
prepositions, and they act like modifiers (like adjectives or
adverbs).
Like an adjective: The ship in the canal was ready to sail.
Like an adverb: It sailed after sunset.
Like an adjective: We have a letter for him and her.
2. Appositive Phrases – Appositive phrases are interrupting
definitions. Using commas, they are put (pos) beside (apo) what
they define. They act like adjectives.
Robert, the new sailor, came on board early.
The canal, an old lake system, was still used by ships.
The equator, an imaginary line, separates the Northern and
Southern Hemispheres.
James Madison, our fourth president, was the first to live in
the White House.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain’s most
famous novel, was published in 1884.
3. Verbal Phrases – Verbals are verby forms that are not used as
verbs! It is a former verb doing a different job. In other words,
when we change a verb into a different part of speech, we call it a
verbal.
Verbals are nouns, adjectives, or adverbs made out of
verbs. There are three kinds: gerunds, participles, and infinitives.
GERUNDS: nouns made out of –ing verbs.
Sailing is fun.
Thinking is fun.
Expanding the empire was Alexander’s dream. (The
entire gerund phrase is the subject because it acts like a
single part of speech. This is a common pattern.)
Socrates enjoyed debating difficult problems. (The
entire gerund phrase is the direct object because it acts as a
single noun.)
PARTICIPLES: adjectives made out of verbs. Note that
gerunds always end in –ing, but participles can end in –ing, ed,, -en, or any verb form. A participle might be by itself, or it
might join with other words to make a participial phrase. A
participial phrase is a participle that has its own modifiers or
its own object.
Sailing well, the rusty ship headed for the island.
Completely broken, the mast fell over into the sea.
Badly cracked, the red paint peeled off the hull.
Approaching the camp, Eugene moved quickly.
Below he saw the mob waiting patiently.
Malcom, climbing rapidly, ascended the cliff.
The introductory participial phrase is a participial phrase that
comes at the beginning of the sentence, that modifies the
subject, and that is set off by commas.
Composing the concerto, Mozart seemed lost in
harmony.
INFINITIVES: a noun or modifier made from the to verb form.
To sail is fun. To read is always a pleasure. (noun)
The man to see is John. The book to read is And Then
There Were None. (adjective)
He lived to sail. I live to read. (adverb)
NOTE: we think of an infinitive as one word.
To think is fun. (To think is considered one word.)
Hamlet’s To be or not to be is four words.
IMPORTANT PHRASE DETAILS
 Prepositional Phrases - A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition
that shows the relationship between its object, which will be a noun or
object pronoun, and some other word in the sentence. Prepositional
phrases are always modifiers. If a prepositional phrase is acting as an
adjective, it must come immediately after the noun or pronoun it
modifies:
The main hold of the ship needed repairs.
The shops in the mall are still open.
The manager wants someone with experience.
Notice how of the ship modifies the noun hold, just like an adjective
would. The phrase begins with the preposition of, and relates its object ship to
another word in the sentence, hold. Also, in the mall modifies a noun and with
experience modifies the pronoun someone.
If a prepositional phrase acts as an adverb, it may come in a number of
different places, including at the beginning of the sentence:
From the start, the trawler led the fleet.
Camera club meets on Wednesdays.
Paul was happy about his home run.
He arrived too late for dinner.
Notice how from the start, modifies the verb led. Also, on Wednesdays
modifies a verb, about his home run modifies an adjective, and for dinner
modifies an adverb. Notice that prepositional phrases do not have subjects and
predicates. No phrases do. Many prepositional phrases will start with a
preposition, then have an adjective that modifies a noun: on the deck
(preposition, adjective, noun).
PUNCTUATING PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES: We generally do not put a
comma after a single short introductory prepositional phrase, but we do put a
comma after a long introductory phrase or after multiple introductory phrases.
We always put a comma if not doing so would be misleading.
From the beginning Churchill suspected Stalin.
Like the nation’s true leader, Churchill was blunt.
From the start of the war, Churchill suspected Stalin.
AVOID SPLITTING THE SUBJECT AND VERB WITH A PREPOSITIONAL
PHRASE.
Wrong: The collection of rare artifacts were stolen.
Right: The collection of rare artifacts was stolen.
Better: Thieves stole the collection of rare artifacts.
 Appositive Phrases - Appositive phrases are called appositives because
they are apposed. Apposed means put beside, from pos (put) and apo
(beside). An appositive phrase is a graceful way of inserting a quick
explanation or definition so that your reader is not confused for the rest
of the sentence. An appositive phrase renames, identifies, or explains the
noun or pronoun with which it appears. The idea of an appositive is, “WE
INTERRUPT THIS SENTENCE TO BRING YOU A DEFINITION.”
The Franca C, a vintage passenger liner, was in port.
Because appositive phrases are interruptions, there is a comma rule for
them; there must be commas before and after the appositive or appositive
phrase: Calle del Cristo, the street by the plaza, is very beautiful.
Notice that appositive phrases do not have subjects and predicates. Also,
there can be a one-word appositive; it isn’t always a phrase (group of words)
and it still needs two commas:
My old friend, Hank, arrived on the afternoon feery.
On March 10, 1837, the harbor was sunny and calm.
Veracruz, Mexico, is a seaside town.
New Orleans, Louisiana, is on the Gulf of Mexico.
 Verbal Phrases – Verbal phrases show how creative our minds are. If we
can take an action verb, and make a noun out of it somehow, then we can
make ideas not just about things, but also about actions! Verbals are not
words in sentences, but they are still verby enough to do some very verby
things.
Loading the cargo would take at least three days. (The gerund
phrase Loading the cargo acts as the subject of the verb would take.
Notice that the noun cargo is almost like a direct object of some
kind. It is receiving the action of the gerund Loading, just as if the
gerund were still a verb! When this happens, we call it the object of
the gerund.
You can also have objects of participles and objects of infinitives:
Loading the cargo, the crew worked into the late afternoon.
To load the cargo, is a good day’s work.
Because a subject is a subject and an object is an object, the objects of
verbals have to use object pronouns. Remember, everything called an object
must use an object pronoun (me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them):
Finding him and her was the best part of the voyage.
To find him and her is one of the goals of the voyage.
LEVEL THREE ANALYSIS SENTENCES
1. Launching the lifeboat was easy.
2. The Franca C, an Italian liner, arrived in Santo Domingo.
3. Yes, to be frank, I am he.
4. To leave the harbor in this storm is unwise.
5. Taking the wheel, the captain whispered to the seaman.
6. Jones gave Smith, his shipmate, a map to study.
7. Johnson liked giving orders to the crew.
8. The old ship passing northward left a long wake over the sea.
9. Learning grammar is a voyage into the mind.
10. The rusty freighter slowly approached the dock.
11. Yes, the old port was a safe harbor for the fleet.
12. The captain gave him and her a list of regulations.
13. They reached Apia, the Samoan capital, in two days.
14. The pelicans circled overhead, and Vasquez cast the line out.
15. Rowing so rapidly, James was a funny sight to see.