A phrase is a group of words that function in a sentence as a single part of speech.
over the top
with my special friend
at the farm
to give openly
Phrases do not have subjects or predicates. As a result, phrases do not stand alone as an independent unit. You use phrases in your writing to make your meaning more precise by describing, limiting, and expanding ideas.
Contents
Appositives and Appositive Phrases
An appositive is a noun or pronoun that follows another noun or pronoun to identify or explain it. It renames a noun or pronoun.
My friend, Harold, will visit me nest Tuesday, the most boring day of the week. (Harold is an appositive which renames friend. Day is an appositive which renames Tuesday.)
I took a trip to Louisville, the Derby City. (Derby City is an appositive which renames Louisville.)
My fiance, Nick, was involved in community theater. (Nick is an appositive which renames fiance.)
Appositive Phrase
An appositive phrase is made up of an appositive and its modifiers.
Mrs. Johnson, the well-known former businesswoman, is a novelist of great ability. (The well-known former businesswoman is the appositive phrase. Businesswoman is the appositive and it renames Mrs. Johnson.)
Chris, the founder of the local chapter of Pyromaniacs Anonymous, had a morbid fear of fire. (The founder of the local chapter of Pyromaniacs Anonymous is the appositive phrase. Founder is the appositive which renames Chris.)
All appositives can be switched with the words to which they refer.
Elaine borrowed To Kill a Mockingbird, my favorite classic novel. (Novel is an appositive which renames To Kill a Mockingbird.)
Elaine borrowed my favorite classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. (To Kill a Mockingbird is now the appositive which renames novel.)
Appositives are often introduced by words and phrases like or, that is, such as, for example or in other words.
H2O, or water, is a common element on planet earth.
Andrew, or Drew for short, is my new neighbor.
Anthropomorphism, that is the giving of human characteristics to animals or objects, is also known as personification.
A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun. The noun or pronoun is referred to as the object of the preposition. Prepositional phrases are handy for showing the relationship of the noun or pronoun (the object of the prepositon) to the rest of the sentence.
We sat next to the garden.(To the garden is the prepositional phrase. To is the preposition. Garden is the object of the preposition.)
Terri is the girl in the red shirt. (In the red shirt is the prepositional phrase. In is the preposition. Shirt is the object of the preposition.)
Charlene sang for him. (For him is the prepositional phrase. For is the preposition. Him is the object of the preposition.)
Prepositional phrases can be classified into two types: Adjective phrases and adverb phrase.
Prepositional phrases that
act like adjectives
An adjective phrase is a prepositional phrase that functions as an adjective.
An adjective phrase describes a noun
or a pronoun, just like an adjective
does. To determine whether or not a prepositional phrase is functioning
as an adjective phrase, decide whether it answers the traditional adjective
questions: Which one? What kind? How much? How many?
June ate the apple with yellow
skin. (With yellow skin is an adjective phrase that modifies
the noun apple.)
The toaster with the automatic setting delighted every member of the
family. (With the automatic setting is an adjective phrase
that modifies the noun toaster. Of the family is an
adjective phrase that modifies the noun member.)
Prepositional phrases that
act like adverbs
An adverb phrase is a prepositional phrase that functions as an adverb.
An adverb phrase describes a verb,
an adjective, or another adverb.
To determine whether or not a prepositional phrase is functioning as an
adverb phrase, decide whether it answers these questions: Where? When?
In what manner? To what extent?
She sang like a bird. (Like a bird is an adverb phrase
that modifies the verb sang.)
Her face was pale with fright. (With fright is an adverb
phrase that modifies the adjective pale.)
The plane arrived late in the afternoon. (In the afternoon
is an adverb phrase that modifies the adverb late.)
Verbals are words which combine some of the characteristics of two parts of speech. One of those parts of speech is the verb. All verbals have the traits of verbs as well as one other part of speech. Verbals are not used as verbs in a sentence. They act like other parts of speech. There are three types of verbals: participles, gerunds and infinitives.
Participles
A participle is a word which acts as both a verb
and an adjective. Present
participles end in -ing and past participles end in -ed,
-d, or -t.
The fighting team went down to defeat. (Fighting is a present participle that modifies team.)
The red deer, surprised, ran away. (Surprised is a past participle that modifies deer.)
Participial Phrase
A participial phrase is a group of related words introduced by
a participle.
Grasping his gun firmly, Jason aimed for the lion. (Grasping his gun firmly is a participial phrase. Grasping is the participle that modifies Jason.)
Turning toward the class, she asked for silence. (Turning toward the class is a participial phrase. Turning is the participle that modifies she.)
Gerunds
A gerund is a word ending in -ing which acts as both a verb
and a noun.
Fencing is good exercise. (Fencing is a gerund acting
as the subject of the sentence.)
By running, he caught the train. (Running is a gerund
acting like the object of the preposition
in the prepositional phrase by running.)
We admired his playing. (Playing is a gerund acting like the direct object of the sentence.)
Gerund Phrase
A gerund phrase is a phrase containing a gerund.
Camping outdoors is practiced by millions of people. (Camping
outdoors is a gerund phrase. Camping is the gerund acting
like the subject
of the sentence. )
John acknowledged winning the contest. (Winning the contest is a gerund phrase. Winning is the gerund acting like the direct object.)
Infinitive
An infinitive consists of the preposition
to and a verb. They serve
as nouns, adjectives
or adverbs.
To forgive is admirable. (To forgive is an infinitive
acting like a noun which is the subject
of the sentence.)
She wants to study. (To study is an infinitive acting
like a noun which is the direct
object).
I don't have time to waste. (To
waste is an infinitive acting like an adjective
which modifies the noun time.)
He was invited to speak. (To speak is an infinitive
acting like an adverb which modifies
the adjective invited.)
Infinitive Phrase
An infinitive phrase is a phrase containting an infinitive.
To win an argument is seldom completely satisfying. (To win an argument is an infinitive phrase. To win is the infinitive acting like a noun which is the subject of the sentence.)
I wish to stress my point.
(To stress my point is an infinitive phrase. To stress
is the infinitive acting like an adverb
which modifies the verb wish.)
Everyone had questions to ask the teacher. (To ask the teacher
is an infinitive phrase. To ask is the infinitive acting like
an adjective modifying the noun
questions.)
They struggled to win the game. (To win the game is
an infinitive phrase. To win is the infinitive acting like an
adverb modifying the verb
struggled.)