Phrases & Clauses

Ohio Department of Education Standards addressed in this lesson include: Writing Conventions 4. Use clauses (e.g., main, subordinate) and phrases (e.g., gerund, infinitive, participial). Introduction: In quarter 1, we learned about the different parts of speech found in sentences: noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. (To review these, look at Quarter 1, Week 10 Wednesday DPL) We also began learning about different words and parts of sentences: subjects and predicates. (Quarter 1, Week 6, Thursday DPL) We are now ready to learn about some more parts of sentences: phrases and clauses. Ohio Department of Education Standards addressed in this lesson include: Writing Conventions 4. Use clauses (e.g., main, subordinate) and phrases (e.g., gerund, infinitive, participial).

Phrases A phrase is a group of related words which lacks either a subject or a predicate (or both). In other words... A phrase is a little part of the sentence with words that seem to fit together, but don't make up a complete sentence by themselves because they lack a subject, predicate, or both.

For example: This guy's desk (has a subject, but no predicate) has nothing on it (has a predicate, but no subject) except two dead plants. (has no subject and no predicate) This guy's desk has nothing on it except two dead plants. (Together, the three phrases present a complete thought and a complete sentence.)

Read the sentence below. How many phrases can you identify? The ancient oak tree with crooked old limbs has stood its guard, very determined, protecting the little house.

This sentence is made up of five different phrases: 1.The ancient oak tree 2.with crooked old limbs 3.has stood its guard, 4.very determined, 5.protecting the little house.

Notice how each phrase is a little group of words that seem to go together. Also notice how each phrase is NOT a complete sentence by itself. Many times, when you read a sentence aloud, you might make a natural pause in between phrases. Sometimes phrases will be easy to identify because some phrases are set apart using commas. Click on the Brainpop link above to review a movie about prepositional phrases. Choose English. Choose Prepositional Phrases. Choose Click here to view the movie.

Types of Phrases There are many different types of phrases. Phrases usually are identified by the main words which introduce them (prepositional phrase, verb phrase, noun phrase, etc....) They can also be named or identified for the function they serve in a sentence (gerund phrase, participial phrase, infinitive phrase, etc....)

Let's look at our sample sentence again: The ancient oak tree with crooked old limbs has stood its guard, very determined, protecting the little house. 1. The ancient oak tree (noun phrase) 2. with crooked old limbs (prepositional phrase) 3. has stood its guard, (verb phrase) 4. very determined, (adverb phrase) 5. protecting the little house. (verbal phrase) Look at #5 again. It is called a verbal phrase. There are three types of verbals.

Verbal A verbal is a word which is made from a verb, has the power of a verb, but acts as another part of speech. Verbals can be gerunds, participles, and infinitives.

Verbals Gerund A gerund is a verb form which ends in -ing and is used as a noun. Smoking tobacco products rots your lungs. (The noun smoking is the subject of the sentence.) You should quit smoking. (The noun smoking is the direct object.) Participle A participle is a verb form ending with -ing or -ed. A participle functions as an adjective. Those kids digging for China are already tired. Those tired kids will probably lose interest before they make it. (Digging and tired modify kids.)

Infinitive An infinitive is a verb form introduced by to; it may be used as a noun, adjective, or adverb. Be careful not to confuse with an infinitive phrase with prepositional phrase which might also begin with to, but will function as a preposition. To scream in class was her secret wish. (The noun, to scream, is the subject.) But the last student to scream was sent away. (To scream is an adjective modifying student.)

To review the differences between prepositional phrases and infinitive phrases, review the following Compass Learning Odyssey lessons: 8214 and 8215 Remember that phrases are a little part of the sentence with words that seem to fit together, but don't make up a complete sentence by themselves because they lack a subject, predicate, or both.

Appositive Phrases An appositive phrase is a specific kind of explanatory phrase which identifies or renames a noun or pronoun. Acid rain, a form of pollution caused by burning coal, affects most of North America. (The appositive phrase, a form of pollution caused by burning coal, is set off by commas.) Example:

Using Phrases in your Writing Improve your writing! Ideas from shorter sentences can be combined into one sentence using, prepositional, participial, infinitive, and appositive phrases. Shorter sentences: The laser satellite guards the space fortress. The space fortress is on asteroid X-7. Combined sentence using a prepositional phrase: The laser satellite guards the space fortress on asteroid X-7. Shorter sentences: Our best basketball player scored fifty points. The player is Biggy Small. Combined sentence using an appositive phrase: Our best basketball player, Biggy Small, scored fifty points.

Using Phrases in your Writing Shorter sentences: The maid gave the detective a clue. She offered the clue to help him solve the mystery. Combined sentence using an infinitive phrase: The maid gave the detective a clue to help him solve the mystery. Shorter sentences: Billy walked through the dark woods. He was whistling a nervous tune. Combined sentence using a participial phrase: Billy, whistling a nervous tune, walked through the dark woods.

Clauses A clause is a group of related words which has both a subject and a predicate. Example: The principal closed the school after the flood. Clause - HAS a subject AND a predicate Phrase- Does NOT HAVE a subject, predicate or both. We will be learning more about different types of clauses in another lesson.

Quiz Preview

Directions: Using the pages from this lesson, preview the quiz questions below BEFORE taking the quiz on the next page. You might want to print out this page or write down your answers before starting the quiz. Once you start the quiz,you will not be able to return to the lesson to help you find your answers. 1. How many phrases are in the following sentence This guy's desk has nothing on it except for a few dead plants. A. None B. One C. Two D. Three E. Four 2. In the following sentence, which description fits for the phrase, "This guy's desk?" This guy's desk has nothing on it except for a few dead plants. A. Has no subject B. Has no predicate C. Has neither a subject nor a predicate.

3. In the following sentence, which description fits for the phrase, "without its collar?" The frisky puppy escaped yesterday without its collar. A. Has no subject B. Has no predicate C. Has neither a subject nor a predicate 4. In the following sentence, which type of phrase is "with crooked old limbs?" The ancient oak tree with crooked old limbs has stood its guard, very determined, protecting the little house. A. noun phrase B. adjective phrase C. verb phrase D. adverb phrase E. verbal phrase

. 5. In the following sentence, which type of phrase is "exercising daily?" Exercising daily improves your health. A. participial phrase B. gerund phrase C. infinitive phrase D. appositive phrase 6. In the following sentence, which type of phrase is "crying for his toy?" That baby crying for his toy is my nephew. A. infinitive phrase B. gerund phrase C. prepositional phrase D. participial phrase

7. In the following sentence, which type of phrase is "to help him solve the mystery?" The maid gave the detective a clue to help him solve the mystery. A. participial phrase B. gerund phrase C. prepositional phrase D. infinitive phrase E. appositive phrase 8. In the following sentence which type of phrase is "the craziest kid in our class?" Gloria Jones, the craziest kid in our class, received the most points on the quiz. A. appositive phrase B. participial phrase C. prepositional phrase D. gerund phrase E. infinitive phrase

9. In the following sentence, is "The puppy barked loudly" a phrase or a clause? The puppy barked loudly during the storm. A. a phrase B. a clause 10. In the following sentence is "during the storm" a phrase or a clause? The puppy barked loudly during the storm. A. a phrase B. a clause