1. Learning about Phrases
Things That Make Ya Go, Hmmm!
Learning about Phrases

2. Phrases
A phrase is a group of words that acts as a part of speech rather than as a complete sentence. You already know the function of a noun, adjective, or adverb—a phrase simply takes on one of those functions. A phrase does not have a subject or a verb. The two main kinds of phrases are prepositional phrases and verbal phrases.

3. !Adios!

4. Learning about Phrases
Things That Make Ya Go, Hmmm!
Learning about Phrases

5. Verbals
Another kind of phrase is the verbal—infinitive, gerunds, & participles As you can tell from the name, they are related to verbs. They look verby—yes, that’s a word —but never act as verbs Instead they act as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. There are three types of verbals we’ll study: participial phrases, infinitive phrases, and gerund phrases.

6. I’m outta here!

7. Learning about Participial Phrases
Things That Make Ya Go, Hmmm!
Learning about Participial Phrases

8. screaming participle verb fallen screaming had fallen was screaming
Participial Phrases
These are simply phrases that seem to have verbs but not subjects. A participle is really half a verb.
participle
verb
fallen screaming
had fallen
was screaming
screaming

9. See the difference? A participle can’t take a subject, because it’s missing part of the verb. A participle looks like a verb, but it isn’t complete. A form of the verb to be + a participle = a verb.

10. With the verb to be, you only have a participle
With the verb to be, you only have a participle. The function of a participial phrase is to modify a noun—in other words, a participial phrase acts as an adjective. Whoa!

11. !Hasta la vista, baby!

12. Learning about Participial Phrases
Things That Make Ya Go, Hmmm!
Learning about Participial Phrases

13. Lying on her bed, Shanna ordered Chinese food.
Participial Examples
Lying on her bed, Shanna ordered Chinese food.
The socks lost in the dryer were her favorites.

14. Screaming with laughter, the students hid under their desks.
Participial Examples
Screaming with laughter, the students hid under their desks.
Kolby, left behind at school, wept over his homework.

15. See how each participial phrase tells us something about a noun
See how each participial phrase tells us something about a noun? Lying on her bed describes Shanna and lost in the dryer describes the socks Notice that Shanna is the subject of the verb ordered; socks is the subject of were So lying, screaming, left, and lost have no subject; instead

16. of acting as verbs, they are describing the subject of the sentence
of acting as verbs, they are describing the subject of the sentence. Recognizing participial phrases is crucial in avoiding the dreaded misplaced modifier or dangling participle. Hey, that’s pretty simple.

17. Well, that’s it!

18. Learning about Dangling Modifiers
Things That Make Ya Go, Hmmm!
Learning about Dangling Modifiers

19. Misplaced Modifiers
A modifier is a word or group of words that describes another.
Modifiers can be adjectives:
Keng made a brilliant statement
(adjective) (noun)
Modifiers can be adverbs:
Alex bowled wonderfully
(verb) (adverb)
Modifiers can be clauses or phrases:
The girl who snuck out her window was my date.
(noun) (Clause modifies noun = adjective clause)

20. I’m ghost!

21. Learning about Misplaced Modifiers
Things That Make Ya Go, Hmmm!
Learning about Misplaced Modifiers

22. Misplaced Modifiers
Funny things happen when modifiers appear too far away from the words they modify.
Example: Carolyn soaked the foot she sprained in ice water.
An odd injury—Carolyn sprained her ankle in ice water?

23. Misplaced Modifiers
Example: Brandon hit a homerun to left field, which flew over the fence.
Left field flew over the fence? Doesn’t that sound a bit strange?

24. 3 Tips for Avoiding Misplaced Modifiers
Keep modifiers close to the words modified.
Keep the subject and verb together.
Be clear about which noun a pronoun stands for.

25. !Dicho y hecho!

26. Learning about Dangling Participial Phrases
Things That Make Ya Go, Hmmm!
Learning about Dangling Participial Phrases

27. Misplaced Modifiers
Another type of misplaced modifier is the dangling participial phrase Participles, as you recall, are verb forms ending with ing in the present tense and d or -ed in the past tense. A few participles end in -t or have irregular forms.
Participle examples: dribbling, skating, scaled, burned or burnt

28. Review of Participial Phrases
Combine a participle with other words to create a participial phrase Remember, participial phrases act as adjectives because they modify a noun in a sentence.
Participle Phrase examples:
filled with hope
cleaning the bathroom
jumping overboard

29. That’s it!

30. Learning about Verbals (Infinitives)
Things That Make Ya Go, Hmmm!
Learning about Verbals (Infinitives)

31. Infinitives
When the preposition to is followed by a noun, it is a prepositional phrase: to the beach. When to is followed by a verb—to run, to see, to feel —it is an infinitive. Why does this matter? The rules that govern infinitives are different from rules that govern prepositional phrases; since infinitives are closely related to verbs, they can have a passive or active voice as well as present or perfect tense.

32. !Hasta mañana!

33. Learning about Other Types of Phrases
Things That Make Ya Go, Hmmm!
Learning about Other Types of Phrases

34. Ask yourself: “What did Emily want?”
Find the Infinitive
Emily wanted to leave.
Ask yourself: “What did Emily want?”
Answer: “To leave,” which is an infinitive phrase acting as a noun.

35. Kenny works hard to make money. Ask yourself: “Why does Kenny work?”
Find the Infinitive
Kenny works hard to make money.
Ask yourself: “Why does Kenny work?”
Answer: “To make money,” an infinitive phrase acting as an adverb, modifying work.

36. Woo hoo!

37. Learning about Other Types of Phrases
Things That Make Ya Go, Hmmm!
Learning about Other Types of Phrases

38. Ask yourself: “What did Emily want?”
Find the Infinitive
Emily wanted to leave.
Ask yourself: “What did Emily want?”
Answer: “To leave,” which is an infinitive phrase acting as a noun.

39. To read is to be transported to another world.
Find the Infinitive
To read is to be transported to another world.
Answer: to another world is a prepositional phrase acting as an adverb, telling where transported.

40. Let’s do more!

41. Learning about Other Types of Phrases
Things That Make Ya Go, Hmmm!
Learning about Other Types of Phrases

42. Liz wanted to know why her so-called boyfriend thought he was a pimp.
Find the Infinitive
Liz wanted to know why her so-called boyfriend thought he was a pimp.
Answer: to know is an infinitive

43. To have been in love is to have suffered.
Find the Infinitive
To have been in love is to have suffered.
Answer: To have been is the subject of the sentence; to have suffered is an infinitive acting as an adverbial phrase.

44. To have been in love is to have suffered.
Find the Infinitive
To have been in love is to have suffered.
Answer: To have been is the subject of the sentence; to have suffered is an infinitive acting as an adverbial phrase.

45. Alrighty then!

46. Learning about Gerund Phrases
Things That Make Ya Go, Hmmm!
Learning about Gerund Phrases

47. Gerund Phrases
A gerund is an –ing verb that acts as a noun Since it acts as a noun, it can be the subject of a sentence or the object of a verb or preposition.

48. Gerund Phrase Examples
Daydreaming was her favorite pastime.
Winning the lottery is my only hope.
She loved eating pastries and staying up all night.

49. Partying and e-mailing his friends took up most of his homework time.
Find Gerund Phrase
Dante hated studying.
Partying and ing his friends took up most of his homework time.
He was thinking of hiring someone to upgrade his computer, but unfortunately, spending money appalled him.

50. !Basta!