phrases

o   Phrases

v  Prep Phrases:

·       Begins with preposition (Tell you about time, location, position, duration, direction)

·       Ends with noun, pronoun

·       Can be Adjective or Adverbs

·       Ex: The tall building with the red tower is our new library

Ø  Louisa May Alcott wrote with great care

§  Adjective Phrases:

v  Modifies nouns/pronouns --- usually directly in front of it

v  Answers q’s: What kind? Or Which one?

v  Ex: The house across the street has been painted a strange shade of green

v  Can be object of preposition of different phrase

v  Ex: Some of the tickets to the game have been lost.

·       The tepee of buffalo hide was sturdy.

·       Native American tribes in the Northwest were numerous.

§  Adverb Phrases

v  Modifies verbs, adjs, advs

v  Answer q’s: Where, When, how, to what extent, how often, how much, why

v  Do not always appear next to words they modify

v  Ex: Abstract animal figures were carved in totem poles. (Where?)

·       The forest was quiet before dawn.(To what extent)

·       Mumps is common during childhood but may also strike adults

·       Nearsighted people can see distant objects with eyeglasses or contact lenses

o   Appositives and Appositive Phrases

v  Noun/pronoun that identifies or explains another noun or pronoun

v  Ex: Raymond wrote his report on the Greek hero, Hercules

v  Can contain prep phrase

v  Ex: The movie, a thriller with special effects, is exciting but scary

o   Verbals

v  Participles

·       Verb that can be used as an adjective

·       Most of the time, has commas

·       Present end in -ing, past end with -d or -ed

·       Can be used as a verb phrase

·       Ex: The workers were digging a tunnel under the river

·       Ex: The graded papers are on the teacher’s desk, next to her laptop

·       Phrases: should be placed as close to word it modifies

Ø  Entire phrase acts as adjective

Ø  Ex: Writing from personal experience, Thon created a report about his life

Ø  From the plan we could see Lake Erie, shining brightly below us

v  Gerunds

·       A verb form ending in -ing that is used as a noun

·       Subjects, predicate nominative, direct objects, or op

·       Tip: Can be replaced by “it”

·       Ex: Skiing is a popular sport (subject)

·       My favorite activity is writing (predicate nominative)

·       Marsha loves skating. (direct object)

·       Hector signed up for a class in cooking (op)

·       Phrases: Entire phrase acts as a noun

·       Ex: Working at the teen center has been fun

·       My dog’s favorite activity is chewing on old shoes.

v  Infinitives

·       Key word: to

·       Always starts with to

·       Ex: To dance, to skate, etc.