Clauses/Phrases

Clauses vs. Phrases -Clause has its own subject and verb and a phrase doesn’t.

-Sentences must be formed from clauses but phrases are not necessary.

Prepositional Phrases

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Preposition + object of the preposition Object of the preposition = noun/pronoun Includes all the words in between the preposition and its object Used as adjective or adverb

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adj = which one; what kind; how much; how many

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Adv = where, when, why, how, to what degree

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I will meet you at the movie.

My skis sped down the hill over the cliff into the river.

That bird in the garden tweets loudly on rainy days.

Prepositional Phrases

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prepositional phrase can never contain any one of the following elements: subject verb object

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Mentally cross off prep phrases to help recognize if sent includes a subject and a verb; this will help tell if you wrote a sentence or a fragment.

Infinitives

“To ” verb Uses subject Adjective Adverb Predicate nominative Direct object

Infinitives

To stand can be uncomfortable.

Infants first learn to crawl.

Her aim is to walk.

Birds have an instinct to fly.

I am happy to run.

Infinitives

The audience was waiting to applaud.

Infinitives

That would be a fun cave to explore.

Infinitives

To lie is dishonorable.

Infinitives

Everyone needs to study.

Infinitives

Their orders were to retreat.

Infinitives

We decided to sail across the lake.

They wanted to drive slowly around the park.

To run in a marathon someday is my secret ambition.

A triathlon requires athletes to train diligently.

To complete a triathlon is a success in itself.

Infinitives

We hope to climb the mountain by nightfall.

Do you have to play your music so loudly?

To study after the test is a little backwards.

Participles

Ends in –ing (present) or –ed (past) Functions as an adjective A traveling carnival came to our town.

I took the less used path.

Our invited guests are here.

Participles

A torn handkerchief was the only clue to the puzzling crime.

Whimpering in his crib, the baby kept himself awake.

The baby, screaming furiously for two hours , kept me busy.

Walking puts less stress on your legs than running.

Lacy won fame by running the mile in less than four minutes.

Gerunds •

Subject

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Object of prep

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Indirect object

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Direct object

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PN

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This is an -ING PHRASE that is USED as a NOUN.

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Gerunds can be one word or a many word phrase. S S -Vi -Vt DO S -LV SC (PA/ PN ) S -Vt IO DO S -Vt DO -OC PREP + NOUN =PREPOSITION AL PHRASE

Walking is my favorite exercise.

My favorite exercise is walking.

I control my weight by walking a mile each day.

I enjoy walking.

You should give walking a try.

Appositives

  

Noun/pronoun placed next to another noun/pronoun Identifies or gives additional information May be one word



May be a phrase -The appositive plus any of its modifiers

Appositives

Notice the punctuation of the appositive.

He is living and working in Brasilia, the capital city.

Paulo’s brother Ernest also lives there.

Dora, Paulo’s only sister, lives in New York.

Absolutes

• Noun / Pronoun modified by a participle or participial phrase • No grammatical relationship to the rest of the sentence • Purpose is to describe (modify) the entire sentence.

Its wings being damaged by the storm, the aircraft crashed.

We took off on schedule, the weather perfect.

We took off on schedule, the weather [being] perfect.

Absolutes

• The adventurer having just climbed Mt. Everest, his book became a best seller.

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Mike’s salary was lower, but his take-home pay was higher than at his old job, the insurance premium being paid by his new employer.

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The game over, we gathered for a party at Coach’s home.

Absolutes

• A group of words that modifies a sentence as a whole.

• Made up of a noun and its modifiers • Can precede, interrupt or follow a sentence.

Their slender bodies sleek and black against the orange sky,

the storks circled high above us.

The storks circled high above us,

their slender bodies sleek and black against the orange sky.

The storks,

their slender bodies sleek and black against the orange sky

, circled high above us.

ADJECTIVE CLAUSES -describes a noun or pronoun -usually follows noun or pronoun - answers: which one, what kind, how much or how many starts with a relative pronoun: who, whom, whose, that , which starts with relative adverbs: when, where, why

Clauses

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Main / Independent Has subject Has verb Has complete thought Can stand alone

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Subordinate / Dependent Has subject Has verb DOES NOT have a complete thought Cannot stand alone

Subordinate / Dependent Clauses

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Adjective Adverb Noun

ADVERB CLAUSES -describes a VERB, ADVERB, ADJECTIVE -usually describes what it follows - answers: where, why, how, when, or to what degree starts with a subordinating conjunctions: after Although as long as as soon as before so even though than As As if Until Wherever as though because when while if since whenever so that though unless where

Although the days are cool, the sun is visible longer.

Small parachutes carry the instruments down until they are safely on the ground.

The person (who, whom) is climbing the hill is my mother.

No one knows (who, whom) invented the wheel.

She spoke more enthusiastically than she ever had before.

The animal that she researched is the horse.

As she rode the horse, the judges evaluated her.

The library where she did her research is open on Sundays.

Noun clauses

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Subject Object of prep Indirect object Direct object PN

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S -Vi S -Vt DO S -LV SC (PA/ PN ) S -Vt IO DO S -Vt DO -OC

• •

This is a CLAUSE that is USED as a NOUN.

You can recognize it if the clause can be replaced in the sentence by someone or

something.

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PREP + NOUN =PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE

Whether the defendant is guilty is the question.

The truth may be what she says.

The plaintiff claims that her landlord cheated her.

Don’t be swayed by how tearful she becomes.

She gives whoever listens a long, sad story.

Infinitives

To stand can be uncomfortable.

Infants first learn to crawl.

Her aim is to walk.

Birds have an instinct to fly.

I am happy to run.

Infinitives

We decided to sail across the lake.

They wanted to drive slowly around the park.

To run in a marathon someday is my secret ambition.

A triathlon requires athletes to train diligently.

To complete a triathlon is a success in itself.