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PHRASE TYPES
Critically important information…
No, but seriously
Parts of speech
• Noun:
• People, places, things or ideas
• Adjective:
• Words that describe (or modify) nouns
• Verb:
• Express action
• Adverb:
• Modify verbs (and adjectives & other adverbs) by answering
the questions, “How?” “When?” “Where?” and “Why?”
• Preposition:
• Indicate location (physical locations or locations in time)
New parts of speech
• Gerund
• An –ing word (ALWAYS) that functions as a noun
• Participle
• Forms of verbs that can function as adjectives or
nouns, and often have an –ed or –ing ending
• Appositive
• A noun or noun phrase that renames another noun
right beside it
• Infinitive
• Will almost always begin with the word TO followed by
the simple form of the verb
Gerund
• An –ing word (ALWAYS) that functions as a noun
• Easy to confuse with participles, because those can
also end in –ing, but remember, a gerund functions
as a noun
• Since Pi was young, swimming has always been
one of his true loves.
• Pi’s first love is swimming.
• Pi enjoys swimming more than almost anything else.
Participle
• Forms of verbs that can function as adjectives or
nouns; almost always have an –ed or –ing ending
• Verb: Giggle
• Past participle: Giggled
• Present participle: Giggling
• The sloth was happy to see the rising sun.
• The man throwing him in the pool was Mamaji.
Appositives
• Appositives: Rename nouns, are usually placed
beside what they rename, and are frequently offset
by paired commas
• Francie, a little girl from Brooklyn, had big dreams.
• The quarterback, No. 6, threw the football for a
touchdown.
• Adam, a student who hates depressing books, will
probably still be unhappy this term.
Infinitives
• Will almost always begin with the word TO followed by
the simple form of the verb
• TIP: Because an infinitive is not a verb, you cannot
add s, es, ed, or ing to the end — EVER
• To find his way to land is the only thing Pi wants.
• Whenever Pi is bored, he always finds something to
look at.
• The students braved the rain and cold to go to school.
AND NOW…
Putting them into phrases…
Noun phrase
• Noun phrase: Consists of a noun and
its modifiers (aka “nominal phrase”)
• The silent, misty, spooky night cast a
spell on us all.
• I would love a nice, cold, vanilla shake.
• The slow-moving sloth seemed to wave
at us.
Prepositional phrase
• Prepositional phrases: Consists of a preposition
followed by its object and its object’s modifiers
• Time & space words  stops when it hits an object
• The zombie went _________ the desk.
• Pi and his family lived in India.
• The mindful practice of religion helped Pi come
back to life after his ordeal.
Gerund phrase
• Gerund phrases: Consist of a gerund and any
objects and/or modifiers
• Virtually never require punctuation
• Bella likes jumping on the trampoline.
• Bernard hates buttering toast with a fork.
• I enjoy riding my bike in the evening.
• Eating ice cream on a windy day can be a messy
experience if you have long, untamed hair.
Gerund phrases
Finding a needle in a haystack would be
easier than what we’re trying to do.
I hope that you appreciate my offering
you this opportunity.
Tom’s favorite activity has been
jabbering away with his friends.
Being the boss made Jeff feel uneasy.
Participle phrases
• Participle phrases: Consist of either a past or
present participle and any objects and/or modifiers
• Participle phrases always function as adjectives
• Participle phrases can be taken out of a
sentence, and the sentence will still make sense
• The sloth staring at the scholar didn’t mind being
studied.
• Exhausted out by his trials, Pi wished for tranquility.
• Jumping from the boat, Richard Parker vanished.
Participle phrases
• Arriving at the store, I found that it was
closed.
• The church, destroyed by the fire, was
never rebuilt.
• The guy wearing the gorilla costume is
my cousin.
• Children interested in music early
develop strong intellectual skills.
Gerund vs. participle
• Walking on the beach, Richard Parker was
unsteady after so many months at sea.
• Walking on the beach is difficult when
you’ve been on water for too long.
• Jamming too much clothing into a washing
machine will result in disaster.
• Last night I found the dog named Icarus
hogging the middle of the bed.
Gerund vs. participle
1. Do you see an –ing word?
• Yes = Gerund or participle
2. Is the –ing word acting like a noun?
• Yes = Probably gerund
3. Do you see punctuation near the –ing word?
• Yes = Probably participle
4. Will the sentence makes sense if you remove that
word and the rest of the phrase surrounding it?
• Yes = Definitely participle
Infinitive phrases
• Infinitive phrases: Starts with an infinitive (to + simple
form of the verb) and its objects and/or modifiers
• Pi went to Brazil to study sloths.
• To study sloths was the only goal of Pi’s trip to Brazil.
• Pi hopes to study sloths during his time in Brazil.
• The best way to study sloths is to go to Brazil.
• Pi, a student, is studying sloths to soothe his
shattered self.
Absolute phrase
• Combines a noun and a participle with any accompanying
modifiers or objects
• Rather than modifying a specific word, an absolute phrase
will describe the whole clause:
• Legs quivering, our old dog Gizmo dreamed of chasing
squirrels.
• Her arms folded across her chest, the teacher warned
the class about the noise level.
• We devoured the cookie dough, our fingers pulling the
leftover bits from the inside of the bowl.
Absolute phrase
• Think of it like a collapsed sentence that modifies a different
(complete) sentence
• The pattern: His (noun) was _________
• The pattern: His brain was aching
• To create an absolute phrase, drop the was
• His brain aching
• AND THEN attach that to a complete sentence
• His brain aching, he wished the grammar lesson would end.