The Phrase

Phrase or Clause?  in the classroom  should have asked  when I told her no  around the corner  that towers above me P P P C C

Phrase  a group of related words  used as a part of speech  does not contain a subject and verb

Prepositions  Show how one word relates to another in a sentence  Help identify location

Commonly Used Prep. AboveBeneathOf AgainstBeyondOnto AroundDownOutside BeforeDuringNear BetweenExceptUnder BehindIn(side)With(in)

Compound Prepositions According toInstead of Apart fromIn view of Because ofNext to In addition toOn account of In back ofOn top of In spite ofOut of

Prepositional Phrase  Includes …preposition …object of the prep. (noun or pronoun) …any modifiers

Prepositional Phrase Examples… 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A prepositional phrase that modifies a verb, an adjective, or an adverb TT he 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 start  wrecked car  burning log  panting dog  laughing 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 Participle PP articiples used as adjectives and participles used as part of a verb phrase can be confusing, so be careful! TT im had buried the treasure. TT im 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. V P P

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 element c) comes at the end of a sentence and is separated from the word it modifies.