* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download LEVEL THREE: PHRASES A phrase is a group of words that does
Comparison (grammar) wikipedia , lookup
Udmurt grammar wikipedia , lookup
Navajo grammar wikipedia , lookup
Ukrainian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Lithuanian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Macedonian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Arabic grammar wikipedia , lookup
Georgian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Old Irish grammar wikipedia , lookup
Compound (linguistics) wikipedia , lookup
Swedish grammar wikipedia , lookup
Kannada grammar wikipedia , lookup
Lexical semantics wikipedia , lookup
Zulu grammar wikipedia , lookup
Japanese grammar wikipedia , lookup
English clause syntax wikipedia , lookup
Serbo-Croatian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Malay grammar wikipedia , lookup
Modern Hebrew grammar wikipedia , lookup
Portuguese grammar wikipedia , lookup
Romanian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Italian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Ancient Greek grammar wikipedia , lookup
French grammar wikipedia , lookup
Scottish Gaelic grammar wikipedia , lookup
Spanish grammar wikipedia , lookup
Russian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Chinese grammar wikipedia , lookup
Determiner phrase wikipedia , lookup
Turkish grammar wikipedia , lookup
Yiddish grammar wikipedia , lookup
Latin syntax wikipedia , lookup
Preposition and postposition wikipedia , lookup
Polish grammar wikipedia , lookup
Esperanto grammar wikipedia , lookup
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.