Comprehensive Study Guide: Sentence-Composing Tools and Phrase Structures
Sentence-Composing Tools & Reference Materials
Primary Source References:
Killgallon, Don and Jenny. Grammar for Middle School: A Sentence-Composing Approach. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2006. Print.
Killgallon, Don and Jenny. Grammar for High School: A Sentence-Composing Approach. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2007. Print.
Absolute Phrases
Definition: An absolute phrase is a sentence part describing the rest of the sentence in which it appears. Absolute phrases are almost complete sentences on their own.
The Was/Were Test: An absolute phrase can be converted into a complete sentence by adding was or were.
Example: "He sat down at the table, the cup in both hands, and tried to drink." — Hal Borland, When the Legends Die
Test: The cup was in both hands.
Identification via Possessive Pronouns: Absolute phrases frequently begin with possessive pronouns (my, his, her, its, our, their). These pronouns can be explicitly stated or implied.
Visible Possessive Pronoun (Stated): "The old willow tree was enormous, its sprawling branches going up like reaching arms with many long-fingered hands." — J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (The word its is visible before sprawling branches).
Invisible Possessive Pronoun (Implied): "An old man was standing before them, wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop." — J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (The possessive pronoun his is implied before wide, pale eyes).
Structural Variations:
Single Absolutes:
"Radley had been leaning against the wall when I came into the room, his arms folded across his chest." — Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
"His heart beating very fast, Harry stood listening to the chilly silence." — J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Multiple Absolutes:
"The newcomers so forlorn, and the old dog team so worn out, the outlook was anything but bright." — Jack London, The Call of the Wild
"Mr. Barnett, his face red and eyes bulging, immediately pounced on her." — Mildred D. Taylor, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Practice Exercises: Absolute Phrases:
Practice 1: Matching Absolute Phrases
Sentences:
^, Billy laid the peanut-butter-and-fried-worm sandwich down on the table. — Thomas Rockwell, How to Eat Fried Worms
Calvin, ^, did not relax his hold. — Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time
At last, ^, she got up in an apologetic sort of way, and moved toward the better protected rear of the car, feeling the empty seats as she went in search for hot pipes. — Henry Sydnor Harrison, "Miss Hinch"
^, the young dog gave chase, swerving and turning in pursuit, but always the rabbit was just out of reach of his hungry jaws. — Sheila Burnford, The Incredible Journey
Soon, the crowd of gnomes in the field started walking away in a staggering line, ^. — J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Matching Options:
a. their little shoulders hunched.
b. head down, tail flying
c. his hand trembling
d. face screwed up with grim determination
e. her teeth chattering
Practice 2: Unscrambling to Imitate
Model: "The motorcycle on the sidewalk speeded up and skidded obliquely into a plate-glass window, the front wheel bucking and climbing the brick base beneath the window." — Frank Rooney, "Cyclist's Raid"
Scrambled List:
a. and ended the dance on the final beat
b. Stepped quickly
c. the couple spinning
d. the last pair in the dance contest
e. and swirled rhythmically to the Latin song.
Practice 3: Combining to Imitate
Model: "Gerard, his elbows spread wide on the arms of his chair, stretched his legs further under the table and looked at the fire." — Elizabeth Bowen, "Foothold"
Sentence list to combine:
a. This sentence is about Liam.
b. He had his pants hiked up above the surface of the water.
c. He moved his feet further into the lake.
d. And he waded toward his dog.
Practice 4: Imitating
Model 1: "Washed and refreshed, the hobbits were seated at the table, two on each side." — J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
Sample Imitation: "Coached and conditioned, the finalists were standing at the high diving board, Albert at the head."
Model 2: "The dragon came crashing and blundering out of the underbrush, its scales glowing a greenish copper color, its soot-caked nostrils venting smoke." — Stephen King, The Eyes of the Dragon
Sample Imitation: "The toddler went bobbing and weaving across the room, her voice gurgling a sweet rhythmic coo, her candy-covered fingers feeling sticky."
Practice 5: Expanding
Complete by adding absolute phrases at each caret mark (^):
The dead man's face was coated with mud, ^, ^. — George Orwell, "Shooting an Elephant"
Ted Munday perched like a giant grasshopper on the balcony, ^, ^. — John Le Carré, Absolute Friends
^, ^, I made it to the hotel desk. — Wallace Stegner, Crossing to Safety
Appositive Phrases
Definition: A noun phrase identifying a person, place, or thing named in a sentence. Appositives often begin with a, an, or the.
Diagnostic Questions Answered by Appositives:
People: Who is he? Who is she? Who are they?
Places or Things: What is it? What are they?
Categories of Identification:
Identifying People: "Don Gross was a tough guy, an ex-Marine who had never lost his military manner." — Michael Crichton, Prey
Identifying Places: "Once they were in her office, a small room with a large, welcoming fire, Professor McGonagall motioned to Harry and Hermione to sit down." — J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Identifying Things: "When it was quite late, he murmured something, went to a closet, and drew forth an evil weapon, a long yellowish tube ending in bellows and a trigger." — Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles
Structural Variations:
Single Appositives:
"A balding, smooth-faced man, he could have been anywhere between forty and sixty." — Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
"Lou Epstein, the oldest, shortest, and baldest of the three Epstein brothers, barely looked up from the cash register when Alfred entered the store." — Robert Lipsyte, The Contender
Multiple Appositives:
"In New York, the most important state in any Presidential race, and a state where politics were particularly sensitive to the views of various nationality and minority groups, Democrats were joyous and Republicans angry and gloomy." — John F. Kennedy, Profiles in Courage
"The dawn came quickly now, a wash, a glow, a lightness, and then an explosion of fire, as the sun arose out of the Gulf." — John Steinbeck, The Pearl
Practice Exercises: Appositive Phrases:
Practice 1: Matching Appositive Phrases
Sentences:
^, he reminded me of a baby bird.
Tom Grieves, ^, named the birds Peter Soil and Maggie Mess. — Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, Cheaper by the Dozen
From every hill slope came the trickle of running water, ^.
^, the North Star would soon be visible and would point the way when the birds had all gone South. — Jean Craighead George, Julie of the Wolves
What attracted Mrs. Frisby's attention the most was a box in one corner of the room, ^. — Robert C. O'Brien, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Matching Options:
A. a box with dials and a small light shining on the front
B. the music of unseen fountains
C. the guidepost of her ancestors
D. a bald little man
E. the handyman who had to clean up the cage.
Practice 2: Unscrambling to Imitate
Model: "Fudge, a portly little man in a long, pinstriped cloak, looked cold and exhausted." — J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Scrambled List:
a. Nora was a sickly gray-haired woman in a shabby blue blouse.
b. She seemed surprised.
c. But she was grateful.
Practice 3: Combining to Imitate
Model: "A veteran bronc rider, Tom Black has ridden nine horses to death in the rodeo arena, and at every performance the spectators expect him to kill another one." — Hal Borland, When the Legends Die
Sentence list to combine:
a. This sentence is about a fascinating historical speaker, Professor Southwick.
b. He has visited many museums.
c. He visits them for study of the medieval period.
d. And at every visit the curators want him to give another lecture.
Practice 4: Imitating
Model 1: "Fred Stewart, a thin, wiry little man with sunken cheeks and red-rimmed eyes, met them." — Laurence E. Stotz, "Fire"
Sample Imitation: "Erin O'Connor, a surprised, overjoyed eighth grader, with bright eyes and cornstalk hair, won the contest."
Model 2: "From every hill slope came the trickle of running water, the music of unseen fountains." — Jack London, The Call of the Wild
Practice 5: Expanding
"Finally he found what he was looking for, ^." — Hal Borland, When the Legends Die
"^, William T. Stead seemed almost to have planned his arrival on deck later that night when the Titanic hit the iceberg." — Walter Lord, A Night to Remember
"He could see the furniture in his room, ^, and he got up and went downstairs in his pajamas to see if he was right about what would be waiting there." — Lois Duncan, A Gift of Magic
Practice 6: Creative Writing Paragraph Revision ("Her World")
Plain Paragraph Sentences:
She looked around her room, the ^, at what she owned.
A ^, the oversized stuffed animal was one of her favorite possessions.
On the wall was a large poster, one that ^.
Her book bag, the ^, was on a shelf.
On a hook on the back of her door hung her party dress, a ^.
She knew that her favorite party shoes, a pair of ^, were under the bed.
Revision Strategy: Add appositive phrases and other sentence-composing tools at the caret marks (^) to transform the plain sentences into a single, flowing, detailed paragraph.
Participial Phrases
Definition: A verbal ending in -ing (present participle) or -ed (past participle) used as an adjective to describe. Verbals retain verb characteristics (showing action) while functioning as adjectives (describing nouns).
Present Participles: Always end in -ing. Unlike main verbs ending in -ing, present participles can be removed from a sentence without making it ungrammatical.
Main Verb (Non-removable): Harry was feeling slightly more cheerful.
Present Participle Verbal (Removable): "Feeling slightly more cheerful, Harry helped himself to sausages and fried tomatoes." — J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Past Participles: Typically end in -ed (others end in -en like forgiven, or irregularly like sung). They are removable from the main sentence structure.
Main Verb (Non-removable): The bats were wrapped in their brown wings.
Past Participle Verbal (Removable): "High up under the roof, in the farthest corner of the barn, the bats were hanging upside down, wrapped in their brown wings." — Randall Jarrell, The Bat Poet
Multiple Participles:
Three Present Participles: "The men within the door stared at one another, shifting on their boots, twiddling their fingers, and holding onto their hip belts." — Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles
Two Past Participles: "The master, throned on high in his splint-bottomed armchair, was dozing, lulled by the drowsy hum of study." — Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Combined Past and Present Participles: "Curled up inside a big one-meter drainage pipe that ran under the road, she had her baseball glove in her mouth, and she was rocking back and forth, banging her head repeatedly against the back of the pipe." — Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park
Comparative Impact of Participial Phrases:
Base Sentence: He stepped out from behind the bookshelves.
Enhanced Sentence: Clearing his throat loudly, he stepped out from behind the bookshelves.
Base Sentence: Around her waist was a wide pink ribbon.
Enhanced Sentence: Around her waist was a wide pink ribbon, tied in back with a bow.
Practice Exercises: Participial Phrases:
Practice 1: Matching Participial Phrases
Sentences:
Many birds and crocodiles swallowed small stones, which collected in a muscular pouch in the digestive tract, ^. — Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park
She was trying to teach me to smile, ^. — J.D. Salinger, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters
Grampa, ^, had succeeded in buttoning the buttons of his blue shirt into the buttonholes of his underwear. — John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
^, Harry blinked and looked down at the floor. — J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
His tutor, ^, listened to George's violin with a radio earplug in place. — Kenneth Brower, The Starship and the Canoe
Matching Options:
a. addicted to baseball
b. blinded by the blaze of the spells that had blasted from every direction, deafened by a series of bangs
c. called the gizzard
d. spreading the muscles around my mouth with her fingers
e. fumbling with his chest
Practice 2: Unscrambling to Imitate
Model: "The dinosaur had spit into his eye with acidy foam, and as he realized it, the pain overwhelmed him, and he dropped to his knees, disoriented completely, wheezing breathlessly."
Scrambled List:
a. and when he saw this
b. intensely focused, breathing hard
c. his determination took over
d. and he picked up his pace
e. the runner had passed him on his left with surprising speed
Practice 3: Combining to Imitate
Model: "Hating himself, repulsed by what he was doing, Harry forced the goblet back toward Dumbledore's mouth and tipped it for Dumbledore to drink the remainder of the horrible potion inside." — J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Sentence list to combine:
a. He was gripping his dog's head.
b. He was concerned about what the dog was feeling.
c. Don opened Lucky's mouth wide for the medicine.
d. And Don lowered the bottle.
e. Don lowered it for his dog to take the last of the remaining dose within.
Practice 4: Imitating
Model 1: "Blinded and confused, the mouse was running straight away from his field." — Loren Eiseley, "The Brown Wasps"
Sample Imitation: "Dejected and disheartened, the girl was backing slowly away from this challenge."
Model 2: "The sun was coming over the ridge now, glaring on the whitewash of the houses and barns, making the wet grass blaze softly." — John Steinbeck, The Red Pony
Sample Imitation: "The child was peeking around the door silently, looking at the smiles on the teachers and parents, hearing their gentle laughter sound quietly."
Model 3: "For a long time, he just stood there, defeated, listening to the hammer, hoping the chopper would come back, but knowing that it would not." — Robb White, Deathwatch
Sample Imitation: "During the entire morning, she just stayed at home, worried, waiting for the call, hoping the phone would ring, but fearing that it would not."
Practice 5: Expanding
"My teachers wished me to write accurately, ^ and ^." — Kurt Vonnegut, "How to Write with Style"
"Children love to play in piles of leaves, ^, ^." — Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses
"Hours of wintertime had found me in the treehouse, ^, ^, ^, ^, ^." — Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
Gerund Phrases
Definition: A verbal ending in -ing that acts as a noun to name activities.
Grammatical Functions of Gerunds:
Subject:
\_\_\_\_\_ is fun.(e.g., Playing chess is fun.)Direct Object:
We like \_\_\_\_\_.(e.g., We like learning new things.)Object of Preposition:
They talked about \_\_\_\_\_\_.(e.g., They talked about climbing mountains in distant lands.)Predicate Noun:
A great leisure activity is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.(e.g., A great leisure activity is building sand castles on the beach.)Appositive:
Their favorite pastime, \_\_\_\_\_\_\_, is enjoyed by many.(e.g., Their favorite pastime, taking a computer apart to investigate its guts, is enjoyed by many.)
Distinguishing Present Participles from Gerunds:
Present participles function as adjectives and are removable.
Gerunds function as nouns naming activities and are non-removable.
Comparisons:
1a. (Present Participle - Removable): Feeling so much better after the nap, Gunster dressed and went out.
1b. (Gerund - Non-removable): Feeling so much better after the nap relieved Gunster.
2a. (Present Participle - Removable): Ralston, going down the staircase backward, was very unsteady.
2b. (Gerund - Non-removable): The cause of Ralston's fall was going down the staircase backward.
3a. (Present Participle - Removable): The damaged plane landed poorly, skidding left and right with sparks flying everywhere.
3b. (Gerund - Non-removable): The captain during touchdown worried about skidding left and right with sparks flying everywhere.
Structural Variations:
Single Gerund: "Making new friends didn't come easily, but in time he developed a skill at that." — Robert Ludlum, The Prometheus Deception
Multiple Gerunds: "He kept slipping into deep drifts of snow, and skidding on frozen puddles, and tripping over fallen tree trunks, and sliding down steep banks, and barking his shins against rocks until he was wet and cold and bruised all over." — C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia
Practice Exercises: Gerund Phrases:
Part 1: Matching Gerund Phrases
Sentences:
Before ^, I always closed the closet door. — Mercer Mayer, There's a Nightmare in My Closet
Eventually, Mr. Kato fired a shot into the dark one night, after ^. — John Steinbeck, The Red Pony
^ was a specialty of Hermione's. — J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
For ^, John used a bucket. — Joseph Krumgold, Onion John
By ^, Omri had the power to recall them to life. — Lynne Reid Banks, The Return of the Indian
Matching Options:
A. Conjuring up portable, waterproof fires.
B. Putting their plastic figures into the magic cupboard, by turning the magic key.
C. Bathing
D. Seeing a face looking in his window
E. Going to sleep
Part 2: Unscrambling to Imitate
Model: "We had to pray without ceasing and work without tiring." — Maya Angelou, The Heart of a Woman
Scrambled List:
a. and
b. to study without tiring
c. we had
d. listen without daydreaming
Part 3: Combining to Imitate
Model: "Saddling the pony the first time was a ticklish job." — John Steinbeck, The Red Pony
Sentence list to combine:
a. each morning
b. is a pleasant routine
c. bathing the baby
Part 4: Imitating
Model 1: "After untangling himself, he ran to the wall." — Mark Bowden, Black Hawk Down
Sample Imitation: "For preparing herself, she listened to the music."
Model 2: "He remembered seeing the blood bursting through that man's fingers in a flood, drenching his uniform." — Stephen King, Hearts in Atlantis
Sample Imitation: "He anticipated hearing the applause filling up the entire theater in a wave, fulfilling his dream."
Part 5: Expanding
"Some parents, upon ^, had their hair turn white overnight, were stunned into catatonia, heart attacks, or sudden death." — Keith Donohue, The Stolen Child
"At the thought of ^ and of ^, he shuddered." — Elliot Merrick, "Without Words"
"He started ^, and ^, ^, ^, ^." — Robb White, Deathwatch
Part 6: Creative Writing Assignment
Prompt: Write a paragraph about any character from Romeo and Juliet using at least 4 gerunds and/or gerund phrases (highlighted, underlined, or bolded), marking their specific grammatical function.
Infinitive Phrases
Definition: A verbal that begins with to plus a verb base form (to sing, to read, to linger, to laugh, to sigh, to study).
Grammatical Functions:
Noun Infinitives: Name something.
Example: "To make it to the final round of the playoffs was the team's goal." (Names the goal).
Adjective Infinitives: Describe something.
Example: "The coach emphasized the need to make it to the final round of the playoffs." (Describes the need).
Adverb Infinitives: State a reason for an action.
Example: "The team from Western High School worked overtime to make it to the final round of the playoffs." (States the reason for working overtime).
Structural Variations:
Single Noun Infinitive: "To get his feet wet in such a freezing temperature meant trouble and danger." — Jack London, "To Build a Fire"
Single Adjective Infinitive: "Suddenly, she had an almost overwhelming desire to see what was behind the other doors and down the other corridors." — Hal Borland, When the Legends Die
Multiple Adverb Infinitives: "She lingered a moment or two to bathe her own face with the cool water and to smooth her hair." — Gaston Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera
Multiple Noun Infinitives: "At nine o'clock earth started to explode, to catch fire, and to burn." — Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles
Practice Exercises: Infinitive Phrases:
Practice 1: Matching Infinitive Phrases
Sentences:
^, Aunt Petunia had insisted that the whole family follow the same diet, too. — J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to ^. — George Bernard Shaw (saying)
All Old Yeller did was come bounding in ^. — Fred Gipson, Old Yeller
^, Stuart had to climb a tiny rope ladder which his father had fixed for him. — E.B. White, Stuart Little
Hours later, walking home, my boots crunching on the snow, I bent my head backward ^. — Katherine Paterson, Jacob Have I Loved
Matching Options:
a. To get to the washbasin
b. To make Dudley feel better about eating “rabbit food”
c. To like what you get
d. To drink in the crystal stars
e. To jump on us and lick us in the face and bark so loud that there, inside the cabin, the noise nearly made us deaf
Practice 2: Unscrambling to Imitate
Model: "I wanted to explain that I'd hunted for him in the evening and to apologize for not having known him in the garden."
Scrambled List:
a. to lie that she'd waited for the letter for a month
b. for not having opened it during her vacation
c. and to rationalize
d. Fredericka began
Practice 3: Combining to Imitate
Model: "To avoid embarrassment and to make the job easier, all students quickly learned certain interviewing tricks." — Michael Crichton, Travels
Sentence list to combine:
a. The first purpose was to garner respect.
b. And the second purpose was to make his employees happier.
c. To achieve those two purposes, the box periodically distributed compliments.
d. The compliments were appropriate, and they were earned.
Practice 4: Imitating
Model 1: "To lose one's name is the beginning of forgetting." — Keith Donohue, The Stolen Child
Sample Imitation: "To dance a samba is the epitome of rhythm."
Model 2: "We need to involve more citizens in the fight against drugs, to increase pressure on drug criminals, and to build on anti-drug programs that have proved to work." — William Bennett, "Should Drugs Be Legalized"
Sample Imitation: "We need to encourage our children in the process of living, to acknowledge growth in moral development, and to reward those productive behaviors that have led to success."
Practice 5: Expanding
"^ was wonderful, and a little terrifying." — Arthur C. Clarke, Dolphin Island
"Tim wanted ^ and ^, but he didn't dare move." — Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park
"He must be up early in the morning, ^, ^, and ^." — Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, The Yearling
Practice 6: Creative Writing Paragraph Revision ("The Old House")
Plain Paragraph Sentences:
To ^, the kids approached the abandoned old house, ^.
On its front porch, ^, were rickety chairs and boxes and dusty empty bottles to ^.
The door, ^, was hanging off its hinges, ^.
^, they did not know if they should go inside to ^.
After discussing their fear, ^, they made a decision to ^.
To ^, they opened the dilapidated door and entered ^.
Revision Strategy: Integrate infinitive phrases alongside other sentence-composing tools to craft a full narrative paragraph.
Comprehensive Phrase Identification Review
Review Legend & Key Abbreviations:
AB: Absolute phraseAP: Appositive phrasePREP: Prepositional phraseP: Participial phrase (past or present)G: Gerund phraseINF: Infinitive phrase
Review Section 1: Identifying Underlined Tools:
George, sitting on the bunk beside Lennie, frowned as he thought.
In the stable buck's room, a small electric globe threw a meager yellow light.
A water snake slipped along on the pool, its head held up like a little periscope.
Curley's wife lay on her back, covered with hay.
For a moment, Crooks did not see him, but on raising his eyes he stiffened, and a scowl came on his face.
George stacked the scattered cards and began to lay out his solitaire hand.
At that moment a young man came into the bunk house, a thin young man with a brown face, brown eyes, and a head of tightly curled hair.
Review Section 2: Identifying Underlined Tools in Literature:
As the hideous Balrog fell, it swung its whip, and the thongs lashed and curled about Gandalf's knees, dragging him to the brink of the pit, where the wizard staggered, fell, and slid into the abyss.
Down the face of a precipice, sheer and almost smooth in the pale moonlight, the small black shape of Gollum was moving with his thin limbs splayed out.
Behind him came Gimli, his eyes glinting in the dim light as he turned his head from side to side.
The black horses, filled with madness, leapt forward in terror and bore their riders into the rushing flood.
After Sam unroped him, the Gollum got up and began prancing about like a whipped dog whose master then petted it.
There is a power in Rivendell to resist the might of Mordor, for a while.
This is the Master-ring, the One Ring to rule them all.