DON’T PHRASE ME, BRO! When you have words, but not full thoughts

PHRASE A group of related words used as a single part of speech and does not contain both a predicate and its subject

PREPOSITIONAL Begins with a preposition, ends with a noun/pronoun (object) 1.Adjective Immediately follows the noun The horse in the trailer with the rusted latch broke loose. The man in the yellow hat drove the blue car with the purple seats.

PREPOSITIONAL 2.Adverb Tells when, where, how, why, to what extent May appear anywhere in the sentence During January break, my sister works at a diner for book money. We’ve been waiting since yesterday for a ride.

VERBALS They look like verbs but act like other parts of speech

Participle – looks like a verb, acts as an adjective Modifies nouns/pronouns Can be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence 1.Present participles end in –ing 2.Past participles end in –d, -ed, or are irregularly formed.

Wearing purple boxer shorts, the flying squirrel attacked the dancing moose. Driving down the road, I saw an unidentified flying object.

Gerund – looks like a verb, acts as a noun Functions as a subject, direct object, predicate nominative, or object of a preposition Can be replaced with it, that, or what and still make sense Always ends in –ing

Running is good exercise. I love listening to the rain. My brain hurts from memorizing.

FINDING PARTICIPLES AND GERUNDS 1.Find the real verb Picture the action in the sentence. 2.What else looks like a verb? These are your gerunds and participles. 3.Does it describe a noun? Can it be removed completely without changing the meaning? It’s a participle. 4.Is it a noun? Is it a subject, direct object, predicate nominative, or object of a preposition? Can you replace it with it, this, that, or what and still have the sentence make sense? It’s a gerund.

Infinitive – to + a verb Functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb I plan to go to the store to buy books.

Appositive – a noun/pronoun that identifies or explains another noun/pronoun Placed beside the noun/pronoun it describes Usually set off by commas Eric, a talented musician, plans to study in Europe My neighbor, Dr. Jackson, got her degree in entomology, the scientific study of insects