“GRAMMAR IS A PIANO I PLAY BY EAR. ALL I KNOW ABOUT

GRAMMAR IS ITS POWER.” ~JOAN DIDION

The Wonderful World of Phrases and Clauses

General Definitions

Phrase-is a group of words that contains a subject OR a predicate (NOT BOTH)

Clause-is a group of words that contains a subject and predicate

Independent clauses express complete thoughts (can be sentences)

Dependent clauses cannot be sentences on their own

Identify the (P)phrases, (DC) dependent clauses, and (IC) independent clauses

Rita packed a sandwich for lunch.

Although she is not a vegetarian, Rita prefers peanut butter sandwiches.

Rita reached in her bag for the sandwich when she realized she accidentally brought her dad’s tuna fish sandwich.

Prepositional Phrases

Prepositional phrases begin with a preposition and end with a noun (in pinks below)

The bee buzzed with his bee friends from the beehive, around the garden, then to the tree and over it.

The monkey swung from branch to branch through the forest under the sunny sky.

Appositive Phrase

Is noun or pronoun that restates the noun in the sentence (in blue below)

Johnny Depp, a handsome actor, starred in Pirates of the Caribbean.

Kiera Knightly costarred in the movie, a huge box office success.

Gerunds-Nouns

Infinitives- Nouns

Participles-Adjectives

Verbal phrases-are verbs used as a different part of speech

Kevin Spacey as “Verbal” Kint in The Usual Suspects

Gerunds

Take the progressive form of the verbEnd in –ingAre used as nouns (subjects, objects of

prepositions, direct objects)

Crawling to the lake, the snake cooled himself from the hot sun.

Sam won the game by hitting the game-ending home run.

Talking while chewing gum can lead to accidents.

Infinitives

Take the infinitive verb formsStart with the word “to”Are used as nouns (subjects, objects of

prepositions, direct objects)

To be or not to be: that is the question. I want to learn to speak Japanese.

CAUTION!

Sometimes certain prepositional phrase look like infinitives. If a “to” is followed by a noun, it is being used as

a preposition. If it is followed by a verb, then it is an infinitive.

I went to the store to buy chocolate milk.

Participles and Participial Phrases

Take on the progressive form of the verb OR past tense form of the verb

End in –ing OR –ed (or sometimes -en/-n/-t)

Are used as adjectives (sometimes adverbs)

Present Participles

End in –ing; used as adj. or adv.

The grinning Chesire Cat slowly disappeared from Alice’s view.

The losing team ran off the field, crying and moping on the way toward the locker rooms.

Don’t get these mixed up with gerunds that end in –ing but are used as nouns!

Past Participles

End in –Ed, –En , -D, -N, or TUsed as Adjectives or Adverbs

Covered in slime, the Chemist adjusted his adjusts his formula so to not create a second explosion.

The binder, worn from years of misuse, finally lost its

cover.

Now, you try it… Label (PP) Prepositional Phrase, (A) Appositive, (G) Gerund, (PA)-Participle, or (I)

Infinitive

Sliding down the banister, Joel Goodson, Tom Cruise’s character in Risky Business, sings along to “Old Time Rock and Roll”.

“Writing is a socially accepted form of schizophrenia.” ~Doctrow

To write a clear composition, the goal of any AP student, takes time, practice, and a love of words.

“With public sentiment, nothing can fail.”~ Abraham Lincoln

Prepositional Phrase, Appositive, Gerund, Infinitive, or Participle

Sliding down the banister, Joel Goodson, Tom Cruise’s character in Risky Business, sings along to “Old Time Rock and Roll”.

“Writing is a socially accepted form of schizophrenia.” ~Doctrow

To write a clear composition, the goal of any AP student, takes time, practice, and a love of words.

“With public sentiment, nothing can fail.”~ Abraham Lincoln

Assignment…

Review your “Losing its Grip” paragraph. To help you combine sentences and transition, use and label at least one of each type of phrase:

PrepositionalAppositiveGerundInfinitiveParticipial