Intro to Phrases: Prepositional, Appositive, Participial, Gerund, & Absolute English I

Phrases Groups of words that do not contain both a subject and a verb. Phrases do not express a complete thought.

Prepositional Phrase What does it do? – Answer the question: What kind? Which one? Where? Why? When? In what way? What is it? – A group of words that begins with a preposition – Prepositions tell: direction, time, space, or place – May describe any other part of the sentence

Prepositional Phrase Examples: The store is around the corner. – (Where?) The girl with the blue hair is funny. (Which one?) We text our friends between classes. (When?) Common Prepositions: about, above, across, after, around, before, behind, between, during, for, from, in, inside, into, near, of, off, on, outside, over, past, since, toward, under, up, upon, with, within, without

Appositive Phrases What is it? A word or group of words that identify, rename, or explain more about a noun or pronoun What does it do? Always follow a noun or pronoun Always include a noun Usually include descriptive words (adjectives)

Appositive Phrase Examples: Football, my favorite sport, is exciting. Rambo, the three legged dog, is very mean. My favorite class, English, is so fun! (What do you notice about the punctuation in all 3 examples?) Appositive phrases are always set off by commas.

Participial Phrases What is it? A group of words that begins with a past or present tense verb. Past tense verbs end in: – “ed” “en” “d” “t” Present tense verbs end in: – “ing” What does it do? Even though they look like verbs, participial phrases act as ADJECTIVES by describing nouns or pronouns.

Participial Phrase Examples: The crying baby wanted to be held. Ruined by the rain, the parade ended early. Jack, swimming for his life, won the gold medal.

Gerund Phrases: What is it? A verb ending in “ing” What does it do? Even though it looks like a verb, a gerund acts a NOUN in a sentence – often the subject.

Gerund Phrase Examples: Speeding is dangerous. Sleeping late on Saturdays is such a treat. Standing in line was no fun. Speeding, Sleeping, and Standing are all gerunds = “ing” verbs acting as a noun.

Absolute Phrases: What is it? A group of words containing a NOUN or a PRONOUN + a PARTICIPIAL (a “ing” or “ed” verb) What does it do? Absolute phrases: – describe the whole sentence – are always set off by commas – usually begin with: my, his, her, its, our, their

Absolute Phrase Examples: Her hands shaking, she began her speech. His mouth drooling, the dog begged for the bone. The thunder crashing, we knew the storm was close.

Review: Identify the phrases used in these sentences: 1.Riding a roller coaster is a big thrill. 2.My tires spinning from the wet road, I drove slowly. 3.My best friend lives across the street from me. 4.The Yankees are playing the best team in baseball, The Red Sox. 5.Feeling sick, the student went to the nurse’s office. 1.Riding a roller coaster is a big thrill. 2.My tires spinning from the wet road, I drove slowly. 3.My best friend lives across the street from me. 4.The Yankees are playing the best team in baseball, The Red Sox. 5.Feeling sick, the student went to the nurse’s office.