PHRASES

Prepositional phrases always begin with a preposition and ends with an object (a noun or pronoun). A prepositional phrase may have a compound object. All modifiers of the object(s) are part of the prepositional phrase.

under the green couch Prep. Adj. Obj. to her and me Prep. Obj. Obj.

A prepositional phrase adds information to a sentence by modifying another word in the sentence. The gorilla ran. (Which gorilla? Where did it run?) The gorilla near the fence ran to the zookeeper. Sometimes, as in the sentence above, a prepositional phrase modifies the object in a proceeding prepositional phrase. Also, more than on prepositional phrase may modify a word.

For several minutes the gorilla stared at me. Both phrases modify the verb stared.

An adjective phrase is a group of words (more than one) that describe a noun or pronoun in a sentence. The adjective phrase can be placed before, or after, the noun or pronoun in the sentence. For example in the sentence, “Sally is a nice girl,” there is one adjective, namely, nice. However, in the sentence, “Sally is a nice, intelligent, beautiful, and kind girl,” an adjectival phrase is employed in order to come together and describe Sally. The movie was not too terribly long. This pie is very delicious and extremely expensive. Faster than a speeding bullet, Superman was finished in no time.

A Verbal is a verb form that functions as a different part of speech. Three kinds of verbals that you will learn are participles, gerunds, and infinitives. A Participle is a verb form that acts as in adjective, modifying a noun or a pronoun. There are two kinds of participles: present and past. Present Participles always have an –ing ending. (is) Past Participles usually end in –d or –ed. The past participles of irregular verbs have different endings. (has, had, have) Examples: ridden, rung, run, seen, shaken…

A gerund, ending in –ing, is a verb form that acts as a noun. Gerunds in a sentence can do anything that nouns can do. Skiing is her favorite sport. They do not appreciate my singing. The police arrested him for speeding. Waiting a long time in a restaurant annoys him.

An Infinitive is a verb form that is almost always preceded by the word to. An infinitive is a verbal consisting of the word to plus a verb. Anne-Marie likes to paint. We were among the first people to leave He is quick to anger. An infinitive phrase is a phrase made up of an infinitive and may contain one or more prepositional phrases. Infinitive: The toddler likes to sing. Infinitive Phrase: The toddler likes to sing in the shower.