1. Sentence Composing
Participial Phrase

2. Prepositional Phrase
Here’s a list of sentences, all written by professional writers, but with some parts missing.
1. All children grow up.
2. They have no memory.
3. He groped out and began to sob.

3. Prepositional Phrase Now compare those sentences with the originals.
1. All children, except one, grow up.
-J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
2. They have no memory, of tears or laughter, of sorrow or loving kindness.
-Lloyd Alexander, The Book of Three
3. He groped out for me with both of his own arms, like a drowning man, and began to sob against my stomach.
-Stephen King, “The Mouse on the Mile”

4. Characteristics of the Prepositional Phrase
Prepositional phrases are sentence parts that describe people, things, or actions.
Most prepositions are easy to identify because they are difficult to define.
Sentences can contain single or consecutive prepositional phrases anywhere in the sentence.

5. Single Prepositional Phrases
1. In that place, the wind prevailed.
-Glendon Swarthout
2. Profesor Kazan, wearing a spotlessly white tropical suit and wide brimmed hat, was the first ashore.

6. Past Participles
1. The tent, illumined by candle, glowed warmly in the midst of the plain.
-Jack London, The Call of the Wild
2. Enchanted and enthralled, I stopped her constantly for details.
-Richard Wright, Black Boy

7. Sentence openers
1. Whistling, he let the escalator waft him into the still night air.
-Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
2. Looking over their own troops, they saw mixed masses slowly getting into regular form.
-Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage

8. Subject-Verb Splits
1. My father, cautioning me not to work a horse till he had fed fully, said I had plenty of time to eat by myself.
-Lincoln Steffens, “A Boy on Horseback”
2. Eckels, balanced on the narrow path, aimed his rifle playfully.
-Ray Bradbury, “A Sound of Thunder”

9. Sentence Closers
1. The entire crowd in the saloon gathered about me now, urging me to drink.
-Richard Wright, Black Boy
2. The magician patted the hand, holding it quietly with a thumb on its blue veins, waiting for life to revive.
-T.S. White, Book of Merlyn