A phrase is a group of words that does not have a subject or a predicate.

 Aboutbeforedownofthroughout  Above behindduringoffto  Across belowexceptontoward  Afterbeneathforontounder  Againstbesidefromoutunderneath  Alongbetweeninoutside until  Amongbeyondinsideoverup  Aroundbutintopastupon  Asbylikesincewith  Atdespitenearthrough within

 According toin place of  Aside fromin spite of  Because ofinstead of  By means ofon account of  In addition toout of  In front ofprior to

 A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition, its object, and any modifiers of the object.

 Beside a roaring river, Thomas tripped and fell.  His ankle started to swell in the afternoon.  The shoe on his left foot no longer fits.  The group traveled by boat to the clinic.  A nurse at the clinic put a bandage around Thomas’s ankle.  From time to time during the day, Thomas complained.

 An adjective prepositional phrase is a prepositional phrase that describes a noun or a pronoun.  It answers the questions which one or what kind.

 Did you read the letter on the table?  The horse in the first stall is Morgan.  Millions of acres are still unused today.  Put away the bag of groceries on the counter.  The plane on the left is mine.

 An adverb prepositional phrase is a prepositional phrase that describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb.  An adverb phrase tells how, when, where, to what extent.

 I left my sneakers in my locker.  The rehearsal lasted until ten o’clock.  I planted the shrubs according to his instructions.

 For three days all the flags were at half mast.  Over the weekend I put my records into the cabinet.

 An appositive is a noun or pronoun that identifies or renames another noun or pronoun.  Passengers in a hot-air balloon ride in the gondola, a small basket beneath the balloon.

 An essential or restrictive appositive is needed to make the meaning of the sentence complete.  The British tycoon Richard Branson has made several attempts to circle the world nonstop in a balloon.

 A nonessential or nonrestrictive appositive adds extra information to a sentence. It is not needed to make the meaning of the sentence clear.  Steve Fossett, an American financier, is another dedicated competitor in around-the-world ballooning.

 A verbal is a verb form that acts as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.  There are three types of verbals: ◦ participles ◦ gerunds ◦ infinitives

 A participle is a verb form that functions as an adjective.  There are two kinds of participles: present participles and past participles.  Present participles end in –ing.  Past participles usually end in –d or -ed. Others are irregularly formed.

 Examples: ◦ The falling prices were good news for prospective buyers. ◦ The improved designs made the automobiles cheaper and more reliable.

 Helping verbs can be added to past participles: ◦ Having improved ◦ Being improved ◦ Having been improved

 A participial phrase consists of a participle plus its modifiers and complements.

 Examples: ◦ Launching the first moving assembly line, Henry Ford revolutionized the automobile industry. ◦ Driving their own automobiles, middle-class Americans enjoyed a spirit of freedom and prosperity.

 Visiting gardens, the butterflies flit among the flowers.  Pollinating at the same time, the butterflies help the flowers.  Picking up pollen dust on their feet, they move from flower to flower.

 The trip to Venus was cancelled.  Another passenger filled the cancelled appointment.

 A gerund is a verb form that ends in –ing and as a noun.  A gerund can be used as a subject, an object of a preposition, a direct object, an indirect object, or a predicate nominative (noun).

 Examples: ◦ Skiing is a winter sport. ◦ Thank you for listening. ◦ Jerry likes fishing as a pastime. ◦ He wanted to give flying a chance. ◦ His mistake was thinking he needed to cheat.

 A gerund phrase consists of a gerund plus its modifiers and complements.  Because a gerund is formed from a verb, it may have an object. If it does, the object and any modifiers of the object are part of the gerund phrases.

 Examples: ◦ Tim Berners-Lee is known for inventing the World Wide Web. ◦ Flying an airplane while tired can be dangerous.

 Note: Both gerunds and present participles end in –ing, but they function as different parts of speech.  Present participles function as adjectives, while gerunds function as nouns.

 Examples: ◦ What does a blinking cursor mean? ◦ Blinking can be a sign of eye strain.

 An infinitive is a verb form that usually begins with the word to and functions as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.  Example: ◦ Eileen Collins had a goal to pursue.

 An infinitive phrase consists of an infinitive plus its modifiers and complements.

 Her lifelong dream was to fly in space.  The first American woman to fly in space was Dr. Sally Ride.  She endured rigorous training to fly in space.

 A modifier placed between the word to and the verb of an infinitive is said to “split” the infinitive.

 Astronauts need to rigorously train for space missions.  Astronauts need to train rigorously for space missions.

 A misplaced modifier is a word or phrase that is placed so far away from the word it describes that the meaning of the sentence is unclear or incorrect.

 The school district is issuing new desks to students made of molded plastic.  The school district is issuing new desks made of molded plastic to students.

 A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that does not clearly describe any noun or pronoun in a sentence.  To correct a dangling modifier, you will need to supply the word being described.  You may need to do some rearranging.

 Looking around, objects made of plastic fill our home, our offices, and our schools.  Looking around, we realized that objects made of plastic fill our homes, our offices, and our schools.