Phrases

Let’s review: The nucleus of a sentence is its subject and predicate. The subject tells what the sentence is about.

The predicate tells what the subject does or what is done to the subject. To build a sentence, we will need something more.

To build sentences, we will need some building blocks. We will need some phrases. We will need some clauses.

A phrase is a group of related words that lacks a subject or predicate. Without a subject or predicate, a phrase cannot express a complete idea. Two types of phrases are used to build sentences. Prepositional phrases Verbal phrases.

Prepositional phrases Prepositional phrases include a preposition and a noun or pronoun. The noun/pronoun is the object of the preposition.

Prepositional phrases Prepositional phrases function as adjectives or adverbs in a sentence. Adjectives tell What kind Which one Adverbs tell Why When Where

Prepositional phrases Adjective: Our house in Maine is a cabin. “in Maine” tells which house is a cabin. Adverb: From Cadillac Mountain, you can see the northern lights. “From Cadillac Mountain” tells where you can see the northern lights. In the morning, I will get some coffee. “In the morning” tells when I will get some coffee.