The Phrase A phrase is a group of related words, used as a single part of speech, that never contains a verb and a subject. It does NOT create a sentence.

I. Verb Phrase Every word in a verb phrase is a verb. Examples: –A storm is approaching. –Thunder could be heard in the distance.

II. The Prepositional Phrase A prepositional phrase (P A N) –begins with a preposition, –it may have adjectives –it ends with a noun or pronoun (obj. of the prep.) Example: in that picture It acts like an adjective OR adverb.

Two kinds of prepositional phrases: –1. Adjective phrase - a prepositional phrase used as an adjective. It tells what kind or which one. It follows the noun or pronoun it modifies. Examples: A book of jokes might make a good gift. The girl in the blue shirt won the contest.

2.Adverb phrase - a prepositional phrase used as an adverb. It tells when, where, how, why. It modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb. It comes anywhere in the sentence except after the subject. Examples: Later in the afternoon, the storm brought high winds and rain. We played for hours.

III. Verbal phrase A phrase that is centered around a verb form. This verb form is NOT used as a verb in the sentence. It is used as a noun, adj. Or adv.

3 Kinds of Verbal Phrases Participial Phrase Gerund Phrase Infinitive Phrase

A. Participles/Participial Phrases - Any verb forms used as adjectives - Can be taken out of the sentence - Have several forms Note: A participle is always used as an adjective, therefore it comes close to a noun. They can come BEFORE or AFTER the noun

Some participial verb forms: -ing as in “The pouring rain…” -edas in “The soiled carpet…” -n or – enas in “The broken arrow…” -tas in “The bent tree…”

Examples of Participles: The falling snow is beautiful. The bucking bronco… The running stream…

Examples of Participles: * The participial phrase usually needs commas. The snow, falling on the trees, is beautiful.

Examples of Participles: The fallen snow was beautiful. Having fallen, the boy slid into the teacher. Having fallen on the ice, the boy slid into the teacher. If the participial phrase comes first in the sentence, it is separated from the sentence with a comma.

Examples of Participles: The boy, having fallen on the snow, slid into the teacher.

Caution: If a participle is not close to the noun it modifies, it can become misplaced. The boy slid into the teacher having fallen on the ice. **problem – so far from “boy” – did the boy fall or the teacher ??? Called a misplaced participle.

B. Gerund Phrase A gerund is a verbal, or verb form, that ends in -ing and is used as a noun. A gerund always ends in ing and is always used as a noun. Never surrounded by commas except for appositives Be careful of –ING verb forms that ARE used as verbs in a sentence (these are not gerunds) Positions: subject, direct object, predicate nominative, object of the preposition

Not all –ING words are Gerunds: Morning Evening Something Nothing Anything Everything She is driving to school today.

Examples of gerunds/gerund phrases: As subject: Kissing is fun. Kissing my dog is fun. As predicate nominative: My hobby is kissing. My hobby is kissing my dog. As direct object: I like kissing. I like kissing my dog.

Examples of gerunds/gerund phrases con’t.: As object of the prep.: I am good at kissing. I am good at kissing my dog. >Kissing can still be a verb phrase and not a gerund: I am kissing my dog.

Find the gerund phrase Swimming the mile is my best event. I gave swimming the mile a try. He lectured us about swimming the mile. My best event is swimming the mile. His sister was dancing in the show.

C. Infinitives/Infinitive Phrases An infinitive is a verbal, or verb form, that can be used as a noun, adjective, or an adverb. An infinitive usually begins with to + a plain verb form ( no endings; no -s, -ing) – Example: to walk, to talk, to go, to see –Don’t confuse with prep. phrase - a prep. phrase has no verb.

Infinitives as nouns: To succeed is my goal. (subj.) My ambition is to teach Spanish. (p.n.) She tried to win. (D.O.) Noun will appear in a noun position. Which two are not used????

Infinitives as adjectives: The place to meet tomorrow is the library. She is the one to call. Adjective will come directly after a noun and modify it by telling which or what kind.

Infinitives as adverbs: To get into Harvard, you must study. Tamara claims she was born to surf. This math problem will be hard to solve without a calculator. Adverb will come first with comma, or answer adv. question, or come after an adjective.

Some famous Infinitives: “To be or not to be, that is the question.” “To know me is to love me.” “You’ve got to live a little.” “I vant to drink your blooooooood.” “I wanna hold your hand.” “I’ve only just begun to fight.” “To boldly go where no man has gone before…” (split infinitive)

Note: To plus a noun or a pronoun (to Washington, to her) is a prepositional phrase, not an infinitive. –Prep. Phrase: I am going to the mall today. –Infinitive: I am going to shop for new shoes.

IV. The Appositive Phrase… Is centered around a noun Bob, a boy in my class, sits next to me. Renames another noun in the main sentence. Bob is renamed with boy. Can be removed from the sentence. Bob sits next to me.

The Appositive Phrase… Will be surrounded by commas 99% of the time. Bob, my friend, is nice. My friend Bob is nice. MOST appositive phrases come AFTER the noun it renames. Bob, my friend, is nice. A friend at all times, Bob is always there.

The Appositive Phrase… Will not begin with a pronoun like “who,” “which,” “that,” etc. + a verb The boy who sits next to me is Bob. –No appositive in the above sentence. May have a pronoun + verb later in the phrase

The Appositive Phrase… Will not begin with a verb form. The boy calling out my name is Bob.