The Great Eight Phrases and Clauses

The Great Eight ▪ The Fabulous Four do not always work alone. – Master writers and accomplished students use the Fab Four, punctuation, phrases, and clauses to create complex writing. “There was once a little girl who was very pretty and delicate, but in summer she was forced to run about with bare feet, she was so poor, and in winter wear very large wooden shoes, which made her little insteps quite red, and that looked so dangerous!” –Hans Christian Anderson The Red Shoes

Phrases and Clauses ▪ A phrase is a group of words, without a working subject and verb, working together as a single part of speech. Ex. “after the party” or “will be attending”. ▪ A clause is a group of words with a working subject and verb. It can stand on its own as a sentence OR it can work as a single part of speech. Ex. “He attended the party” or “after he attended the party”.

Tier One ▪ Prepositional Phrases: On his way to the stadium before the game, Simon bought a Gatorade. ▪ Infinitive Phrases: Simon, to test his mother’s patience, gave the dog a spoonful of peanut butter. ▪ Appositive Phrases: Simon, the boy with the fair hair and slight smile, sat down beside him.

Tier Two ▪ Participial Phrases: Spinning the dog round and round on its back, Simon made him dizzy. ▪ Past Participial Phrases: Simon, irritated by his mother’s criticism, decided to do even worse next semester. ▪ Adjective Clauses: The test, which had seemed simple upon taking it, now looked difficult. ▪ Adverb Clauses: Since the class had not expected the quiz, many in the class had failed it miserably.

Tier Three ▪ Absolute Phrase: Simon, his head throbbing with the pain of the blow, eventually crumbled to the ground crying.

The Great Eight Group Practice

Practice One After this terrible traffic accident, Simon drove more carefully when he had to drive himself to work. Each group of words is working together to answer one of the specific questions to identify the part of speech. What question must we answer first? Which question does each boxed group of words answer? Does it meet the definition for a phrase or clause ?

Practice Two ▪ Directions: Identify the part of speech and job for each clause or phrase. Treat the boxed groups of words as a single unit. 1.On Wednesday, we will visit the Museum of Modern Art. 2.After he fell down the stairs, his back ached for days. 3.On the way to the surprise party, Simon smashed his car into the guardrail and plummeted off the cliff.

Practice Three 1.To complete the assignment, Simon worked past midnight. 2.The stranger offered to help change the flat. 3.Studying with so much focus had given him an excruciating headache.