Download ch 3 Phrases

The Phrase
Kinds of Phrases and Their Functions
What Is a Phrase?

A phrase is a group of related words that is used as a
single part of speech and that does not contain both
a verb and its subject
Type of phrase
Verb phrase
Prepositional
phrase
Infinitive phrase
Example
Has been invited
After school
What’s missing
No subject
No subject or verb
To do homework
No subject or verb
A Phrase or a Clause?

A phrase is a group of related words that is
used as a single part of speech and that does
not contain both a verb and its subject

A clause is a group of words that has both a
subject and a verb:


Independent clause: the field trip has been
canceled
Dependent clause: before the party started
Prepositions
A
preposition shows the
relationship of a noun or
pronoun, called the object
of the preposition, to
another word.
Common Prepositions
About
Above
Across
After
Against
Along
Among
Around
As
At
Before
Behind
Below
Beneath
Beside(s)
Between
Beyond
But (meaning
By
Down
“except”)
During
Except
For
From
In
Inside
Into
Like
Near
Of
Off
On
Out
Outside
Over
Past
Since
Through
Throughout
To
Toward
Under
Underneath
Until
Unto
Up
Upon
With
Within
Without
Compound Prepositions

A preposition that consists of two or more words is a
compound preposition. Examples:
According
to
Along with
Apart from
Aside from
As of
Because of
By means
of
In addition
to
In front of
In place of
In spite of
Instead of
Next to
On account
of
Out of
Prepositional Phrases
 Prepositional
phrases are good
for adding descriptive
information to writing.
A
prepositional phrase includes
a preposition,
 the object of the preposition,
 the object may be compound
 any modifiers of that object.

Prepositional Phrases


A prepositional phrase that modifies a noun or a
pronoun is called an adjective phrase.

Tells what kind(s) or which one(s)

Generally follows the word it modifies, which may be
the object of another preposition
A prepositional phrase that modifies a verb, an
adjective, or an adverb is called an adverb phrase.

Tells how, when, where, why, or to what extent (how long or
how far)

Can come before or after the word it modifies
Prepositional Phrase or
Compound Noun?

If the adjective phrase is combined with a noun to
form a compound noun, the entire group of words is
considered a noun. Like these:

Work of art

Hole in one

Board of education

Habitat for Humanity

Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan
Verbals and Verbal Phrases

Verbals are formed from verbs but are used
as nouns, adjectives, and adverbs.

There are three kinds of verbals:




Participle
Gerund
Infinitive
A verbal phrase is made up of a verbal + its
modifiers and complements.
The Participle

Is a verb form that can be used as an adjective

Present participles end in –ing

Past participles end in –d or –ed, if they are not
irregular

Be careful not to confuse a participle used as an
adjective with one used as a part of a verb phrase.


The Smithsonian Institute, located in Washington,
D.C., is the largest museum in the world.
The Smithsonian Institute, which is located in
Washington, D.C., is the largest museum in the world.
The Participial Phrase

Is made up of a participle and any modifiers or
complements the participle has.

Is used as an adjective.

Should be as close to the word or words you intend
to modify as possible.

Climbing the hill, they were delighted to see a field of
daffodils.

See how confusing it is if they are not together?

They were delighted to see a field of daffodils
climbing up the hill. (What? Daffodils climbing? No!)
The Participial Phrase

The stone steps, having been worn down by
generations of students, needed to be
replaced. [modifies "steps"]

Working around the clock, the firefighters
finally put out the last of the California
brush fires. [modifies "firefighters"]

The pond, frozen over since early
December, is now safe for ice-skating.
[modifies "pond"]
The Absolute Phrase

The entire word group is used as an adverb to modify
an independent clause of a sentence.

Does not have a direct grammatical connection to
any word in the independent clause it modifies, but
modifies the entire clause by telling when, why, or
how.

An absolute phrase consists of



A participle or participle phrase,
A noun or pronoun that the participle or participle
phrase modifies, and
Any other modifiers of that noun or pronoun.
The Absolute Phrase

They are always treated as parenthetical elements
and are set off from the rest of the sentence with a
comma or a pair of commas (sometimes by a dash or
a pair of dashes).

Their reputation as winners secured by victory, the
New York Liberty charged into the semifinals.

The season nearly finished, Rebecca Lobo and
Sophie Witherspoon emerged as true leaders.

The two superstars signed autographs into the night,
their faces beaming happily.
The Gerund

A gerund is a verbal ending in –ing that is used as a
noun.

The term verbal indicates that a gerund, like the
other two kinds of verbals, is based on a verb and
therefore expresses action or a state of being.

However, since a gerund functions as a noun, it
occupies some positions in a sentence that a noun
ordinarily would, for example: subject, direct object,
subject complement, and object of preposition.
The Gerund

Gerund as subject:



Traveling might satisfy your desire for new
experiences. (Traveling is the gerund.)
The study abroad program might satisfy your
desire for new experiences. (The gerund has been
removed.)
Gerund as direct object:


They do not appreciate my singing. (The gerund is
singing.)
They do not appreciate my assistance. (The
gerund has been removed)
The Gerund

Gerund as subject complement:



My cat's favorite activity is sleeping. (The gerund
is sleeping.)
My cat's favorite food is salmon. (The gerund has
been removed.)
Gerund as object of preposition:


The police arrested him for speeding. (The gerund
is speeding.)
The police arrested him for criminal activity. (The
gerund has been removed.)
The Gerund Phrase

These phrases function as units and can do anything
that a noun can do.

Notice that other phrases, especially prepositional
phrases, are frequently part of the gerund phrase.

Cramming for tests is not a good study strategy.
[gerund phrase as subject]

John enjoyed swimming in the lake after dark. [gerund
phrase as object]

I'm really not interested in studying biochemistry for
the rest of my life. [gerund phrase as object of the
preposition in ]
The Gerund Phrase

The gerund phrase functions as the
subject of the sentence.

Finding a needle in a haystack would be
easier than what we're trying to do.
 Finding (gerund)
 a needle (direct object of action
expressed in gerund)
 in a haystack (prepositional phrase as
adverb)
The Gerund Phrase

The gerund phrase functions as the direct
object of the verb appreciate.

I hope that you appreciate my offering you
this opportunity.




my (possessive pronoun adjective form, modifying
the gerund)
offering (gerund)
you (indirect object of action expressed in gerund)
this opportunity (direct object of action expressed
in gerund)
The Gerund Phrase

The gerund phrase functions as the
subject complement.

Tom's favorite tactic has been
jabbering away to his constituents.


jabbering away to (gerund)
his constituents (direct object of action
expressed in gerund)
The Gerund Phrase

The gerund phrase functions as the
object of the preposition for.

You might get in trouble for faking an
illness to avoid work.



faking (gerund)
an illness (direct object of action
expressed in gerund)
to avoid work (infinitive phrase as adverb)
The Infinitive

Most infinitives begin with to.

An infinitive is a verbal consisting of
the word to plus a verb (in its simplest
"stem" form) and functioning as a
noun, adjective, or adverb.

Don’t confuse an infinitive with a
prepositional phrase that begins with
to.
Infinitives

The term verbal indicates that an infinitive, like the other two kinds of
verbals, is based on a verb and therefore expresses action or a state of
being.

However, the infinitive may function as a subject, direct object, subject
complement, adjective, or adverb in a sentence.

Although an infinitive is easy to locate because of the to + verb form,
deciding what function it has in a sentence can sometimes be confusing.

To wait seemed foolish when decisive action was required. (subject)

Everyone wanted to go. (direct object)

His ambition is to fly. (subject complement)

He lacked the strength to resist. (adjective)

We must study to learn. (adverb)
The Infinitive Phrase

An infinitive phrase consists of an infinitive — the root
of the verb preceded by to — and any modifiers or
complements associated with it.

Infinitive phrases can act as adjectives, adverbs, and
nouns.




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Her plan to subsidize child care won wide acceptance
among urban politicians. [modifies plan, functions as an
adjective]
She wanted to raise taxes. [noun-object of the sentence]
To watch Uncle Billy tell this story is an eye-opening
experience. [noun-subject of the sentence]
To know her is to love her. [noun, predicate nominative]
Juan went to college to study veterinary medicine. [tells us
why he went, so it's an adverb]
Appositives

An appositive is a noun or pronoun
placed beside another noun or
pronoun to identify or describe it.



My sister, Christine, is my best friend.
Our baseball team has won its first two
games, one by three runs and the other by
six.
Greg, a cautious driver, has never had an
accident.
Appositive Phrases

An appositive phrase consists of an appositive and
any modifiers it has.

An appositive phrase may contain a second phrase
such as a prepositional phrase.

The Millers live on Magnolia Lane, a wide street lined
with beech trees.

Mount Kosciusko, a part of the Australian Alps, is the
highest peak in Australia.

Diligent and quick-witted students, Nicholas and
Coco always get good grades.
Appositive Phrases

Appositives and appositive phrases that are not
essential to the meaning of the sentence are set off by
commas.


Does Mrs. Bieltz’s sister, Christine, also have brown
eyes?
 Not essential because I only have one sister.
An appositive that tells which one of two or more is
essential to the meaning of the sentence and should
not be set off by commas.


Mike’s friend Tony is a manager.
Mike’s friend Kevin is a police officer.
 Essential because Mike has more than one friend.