The PhraseThe Phrase

Phrase or Clause?in the classroomshould have askedwhen I told her noaround the cornerthat towers above me

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PC

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Phrase

a group of related wordsused as a part of speechdoes not contain a

subject and verb

PrepositionsShow how one word

relates to another in a sentence

Help identify location

Commonly Used Prep.

Above Beneath OfAgainst Beyond OntoAround Down OutsideBefore During Near

Between Except Under

Behind In(side) With(in)

Compound Prepositions

According to Instead ofApart from In view ofBecause of Next toIn addition to On account of

In back of On top of

In spite of Out of

Prepositional PhraseIncludes

…preposition…object of the prep.

(noun or pronoun)…any modifiers

Prepositional PhraseExamples…

during the night

with peas and carrots

behind the tree

in spite of the darkness

The Adjective Phrase

A prepositional phrase that modifies a noun or pronoun

The principal of Palmer Middle School is Mrs. Ray. Which one?

The Adjective Phrase

The band played songs with a Caribbean beat.

The well-used book on the scarred desk was replaced .

The Adverb Phrase

A prepositional phrase that modifies a verb, an adjective, or an adverb

The team played with a vengeance to beat the other team. How?

The Adverb Phrase

They walked in the rain and got soaked.

Peter was angry about the canceled game.

Verbals

A form of a verb used as a noun, an adjective or

an adverb

participles

gerunds

infinitives

3 types

The Participle

A verb form that can be used as an adjective

There are two kinds:

present (-ing)

past (-d or –ed)

The Participle

running startwrecked carburning logpanting doglaughing clown

The Participle

The runaways slept in the abandoned building.

I don’t like crying babies in movie theaters.

He is a known thief.

The ParticipleParticiples used as adjectives

and participles used as part of a verb phrase can be confusing, so be careful!

Tim had buried the treasure. Tim searched for buried

treasure.

Participle or Verb?The one-year-old boy was

taking steps. We have an increasing

population in Atlanta. Technology will increase

in the coming decade.

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In order to prevent confusion, a participial phrase must be placed as close to the noun it modifies as possible, and the noun must be clearly stated.

Placement:

Carrying a heavy pile of books, his foot caught on a step.

Carrying a heavy pile of books, he caught his foot on a step.

Punctuation

Arriving at the store, I found that it was closed.

Washing and polishing the car, Frank developed sore muscles.

When a participial phrase begins a sentence, a comma is placed after the phrase.

Punctuation:

Sid, watching an old movie, drifted in and out of sleep.

The church, destroyed by a fire, was never rebuilt.

If the participle or participial phrase comes in the middle of a sentence, it should be set off with commas only if the information is not essential to the meaning of the sentence.

Punctuation:

The student earning the highest grade point average will receive a special award.

The guy wearing the chicken costume is my cousin.

Note that if the participial phrase is essential to the meaning of the sentence, no commas should be used.

Punctuation:

The local residents often saw Ken wandering through the streets.

Tom nervously watched the woman, alarmed by her silence.

If a participial phrase comes at the end of a sentence, a comma usually precedes the phrase if it modifies an earlier word in the sentence but not if the phrase directly follows the word it modifies.

 

Points to remember… Participles and participial phrases must

be placed as close to the nouns or pronouns they modify as possible, and those nouns or pronouns must be clearly stated.

A participial phrase is set off with commas when it:

a) comes at the beginning of a sentence b) interrupts a sentence as a nonessential

elementc) comes at the end of a sentence and is

separated from the word it modifies.