PHRASES Prepositional Appositive Verbals

Syntax and Diction Syntax-the arrangement of words and the order of grammatical elements in a sentence or the way in which words are put together to make meaningful elements, such as phrases, clauses, and sentences Diction-word choice

Why is this important? As a reader, it is important to note how writers are playing around with words to create a stylistic effect. As a writer, it is important to know how to use a variety of sentences to enhance your writing and how to punctuate correctly.

Do You Remember the Parts of Speech? Nouns Verbs Adjectives Adverbs Prepositions Conjunctions Interjections

Phrase: a group of words that acts in a sentence as a single part of speech; it will be missing either a subject or a verb—or both; not a complete sentence; clarify meaning by adding information or by describing the subject, the actions, or other nouns in a sentence

Prepositional Phrase: group of words that begins with a preposition and usually ends with a noun or pronoun called the object of the preposition This was a day for singing, a warm winter day, when the touch of the sun upon the back belied the snow high on the distant mountains. Objects of Prepositions: for singing of the sun upon the back on the distant mountains

Appositive : noun or pronoun that is placed next to another noun or pronoun to identify or give additional information Appositive Phrase: appositive plus any words that modify it Susan, my best friend, told me about her favorite vacation place. A talented artist, Miles would like to become an illustrator of children’s books.

Where do I put the comma in an appositive? In some cases, the noun being explained is too general without the appositive; the information is essential to the meaning of the sentence. When this is the case, do not place commas around the appositive; just leave it alone. If the sentence would be clear and complete without the appositive, then commas are necessary; place one before and one after the appositive.

Examples My cousin Johnny likes to swim. – General to Specific with no comma Johnny, my cousin, likes to swim. – Specific to General with comma The girl with the brown hair, Lydia, has a crush on Johnny. – General to Specific but needs comma for understanding

Verbals : verb form that functions in a sentence as a noun, adjective, or adverb Verbal Phrase: verbal plus any complements and modifiers (stops after the verb or at the end of the sentence) Participles and Participial Phrases Gerunds and Gerund Phrases Infinitives and Infinitive Phrases

Participle: verb form that acts as an adjective Participial Phrase: contains participle plus any complements and modifiers (Present Participles always end in –ing) The freezing rain slowly turned to hail. The heated argument occurred among the losing players. The married couple finally took a vacation after 12 years. Pete Sampras, playing tennis, draws large crowds. Sitting quietly during one of his games, Pete’s fans watch him intently.

Identify the participle or participial phrase: Americans, looking for more variety, often adopt the fashions of other countries. 1.Americans often adopt 2.looking for more variety 3.often adopt the fashions 4.of other countries

Identify the participle or participial phrase: Chinese textile mills export silk decorated by hand. 1.silk decorated by hand 2.Chinese textile mills 3.decorated by hand 4.mills export silk

Gerund: verb form that acts as a noun Gerund Phrase: contains gerund plus any complements and modifiers Note: gerunds always end in -ing Gerund as Subject: Reading is my favorite pastime. Gerund as Direct Object: I enjoy reading. Gerund as Object of Prep: I devote hours to reading. Gerund as Predicate Nominative: My favorite pastime is reading. Gerund as Appositive: My favorite hobby, reading, is extremely relaxing.

Gerund: verb form that acts as a noun Gerund Phrase: contains gerund plus any complements and modifiers Note: gerunds always end in -ing Gerund Phrase as Subject: Reading murder mysteries is one of my favorite pastimes. Gerund Phrase as Direct Object: I enjoy reading murder mysteries. Gerund Phrase as Object of Prep: I devote hours to reading murder mysteries. Gerund Phrase as Predicate Nominative: My favorite pastime is reading murder mysteries. Gerund Phrase as Appositive: My favorite hobby, reading murder mysteries, is extremely relaxing.

Identify the gerund or gerund phrase: Surviving is a challenge for the Yanomamo, a people from the tropical forests of South America. 1.Surviving is a challenge 2.Surviving 3.for the Yanomamo 4.from the tropical forests

Identify the gerund or gerund phrase: Contracting unfamiliar illnesses is becoming all too common among the Yanomamo. 1.Contracting unfamiliar illnesses 2.is becoming all too common 3.among the Yanomamo 4.becoming all too common

Infinitive: verb form that is usually preceded by to acts as a noun, adjective, or adverb (to is part of the infinitive) Infinitive Phrase: contains infinitive plus any complements and modifiers Infinitives as Nouns: Infinitive as Subject: To sleep is relaxing. Infinitive as Direct Object: Everyone needs to sleep. Infinitive as Predicate Nominative: Her wish is to travel. Infinitives as Adjectives: He has a tendency to doze. Infinitives as Adverbs: Stella was eager to rest. Infinitives Phrases: To hike the Appalachian Trail is my dream. (noun) The committee decided to appoint Amber president. (noun)

Identify the infinitive phrase: One of the most remarkable figures to join the American labor movement was Mary Harris Jones. 1.of the most remarkable figures 2.to join 3.to join the American labor movement 4.join the American labor movement

Identify the infinitive: Her custom was to travel from place to place in a black gown and bonnet. 1.was to travel 2.to travel from place to place 3.to travel 4.to place 5.to travel; to place

Parenthetical Expressions add voice to writing as they add editorial comments to the text always need commas placed around them – The headmistress has been in India, I suppose, fifteen years or so, but she still smiled her helpless inability to cope with Indian names. – I tell you, I had to go to the dictionary.