Levels 3 & 4: Phrases & Clauses

The Magic Lens

by Michael Clay Thompson

A phrase is like a flying formation of birds: it is something made of some things. It is a part of speech made of some words. A phrase is NOT a complete idea because it is . . .

. . . a group of words without a subject and its predicate, that acts like a

single part of speech.

The PHRASE vs. The CLAUSE

• Both phrases and clauses are groups of words, but a clause contains a subject and a predicate, and a phrase does not.

Example (s):I jumped is a clause.In the boat is only a phrase.

Phrases are found (inside) clauses;

they are a part of clauses.

Clauses have subjects and predicates.

Phrases don’t.

1. Attracting AppositivesDo you want to say something twice? Use an

APPOSITIVE!

• Typically, an appositive is a noun or a pronoun that is exactly the same as the noun or the pronoun that precedes it in the sentence.

• It provides further information about the noun or pronoun.

• The appositive can be referred to as a noun renamer.

• An appositive may consist of only one word, or it may consist of an entire phrase.

• An appositive usually begins with an article (a, an, the).

Stop! Identify the APPOSITIVE PHRASES in the sentences below.

1. Raven, the girl whose hair matches her name, is thinking of changing her name to Goldie.

2. Tee Rex, holder of the coveted Dinosaur of the Year trophy, has signed an endorsement deal with a company that makes extra-large sneakers.

3. Lochness, the Spy of the Month, will hold a press conference tomorrow at 10 a.m.

4. Lola, a fan of motorcycles, acknowledges that life in the fast lane is sometimes hard on the complexion.

2. The Objects of My Affection: Prepositional Phrases and their Objects

• Prepositions never travel alone. They are always with an object.

• The preposition relates its object to another word in the sentence.

• Prepositional phrases are modifiers. They act like BIG adjectives or BIG adverbs.

• The object of the preposition is always a noun or a pronoun, or perhaps one or two of each.

Example:The empanadas by the stove are mighty

tasty.• The prepositional

phrase by the stove modifies empanadas.

• Which empanadas?• The ones by the

stove.• This particular

prepositional phrase is acting like a BIG ADJECTIVE.

Stop! Identify the PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES in the sentences below.

1. In the afternoon, the snow pelted Eggworthy on his little bald head.

2. Marilyn thought that the election of the aardvark to the senate was quite unfair.

3. The heroic teacher pounded the grammar rules into her students’ tired brains.

3. Getting VERBAL• A verbal is a verb form used

as a different part of speech.• A verbal is NOT a verb! It is

a former verb now doing something else.

• A verbal can be a single word, or it can join other words to make a phrase.

• There are three types of verbals:1. Gerunds2. Participles

3. Infinitives

Verbal #1: Gerunds• The noun and the verb get

married, move into a little house on the prairie, and pretty soon the pitter-patter of little syllables hits the airwaves.

• The children of this happy marriage are gerunds, which inherit some characteristics from both their mother, the verb, and their father, the noun.

Characteristics of GERUNDS

• They end in -ing and look like verbs.Example(s): swimming, dripping, being, bopping, bribing, etc.

• They act like nouns.Example(s): Swimming is fun.

• They can be the subject of the sentence or a direct object - anything a noun can be.

Stop! Identify the GERUND PHRASES in the sentences below.

1. Swimming the Atlantic Ocean was not exactly what Ludmilla had in mind when she married Ludwig.

2. Analivia, a neat person in every possible way, hates my dripping ice cream on the rug.

3. The importance of being earnest in one’s playwriting cannot be over-emphasized.

4. After bopping Lochness on the nose, Legghorn took off at about 100 m.p.h.

5. Felonia gave bribing the umpire serious consideration when her team lost its 450th game in a row.

Verbal #2: PARTICIPIAL PHRASES

• Participles are verbals that always act like adjectives.

• Participles can end in various verby endings such as -ing or -ed or -en, but they will always modify a noun or a pronoun.

Example: Walking the dog, the girl enjoyed a stroll.

• The participial phrase consists of the participle walking + an object (the dog).

• Which girl? • The girl walking the dog.• The phrase is acting like

a BIG ADJECTIVE modifying girl.

Notice how the participial phrase can be in either present or past form.

• At the beginning with present participle form:1. Hanging out on the street corner, I break dance like a freak!2. Running the class like a drill sergeant, Mrs. Joiner pounded grammar into our brains.3. Eating a five-course meal in class, the student tried to be inconspicuous.

• At the beginning with a past participle form:1. Abandoned in the 1940s, the house on Kensington is said to be haunted.2. Shattered into a million pieces, my heart aches without the presence of grammar.3. Used to transport oil across the ocean, the ship no longer passes government inspections.

Stop! Underline the PARTICIPLES and PARTICIPIAL PHRASES in the sentences

below.1. Ludmilla is exhausted.2. Felonia’s concerto sounds enchanting.3. Someone, having angered the herd of

cattle, is running for the fence at the speed of light.

4. I want to read the new anti-bubble gum law passed by the senate.

5. Poked in the tummy, the baby doll immediately said, “Watch it, Buster!”

6. Smashed against the picture window, Lola’s nose looked sore.

Verbal #3: INFINITIVES• The INFINITIVE is

another happy child of two different parts of speech.

• An infinitive is a noun, adjective, or adverb made from the to- form of the verb.

• An infinitive is viewed as one word.

We want to party until dawn.-Infinitive phrase as a noun

(DO).

We live to party until dawn.-Infinitive phrase as an ADV modifying live.

The desire to party until dawn is too much.

-Infinitive phrase as ADJ modifying desire.

Stop! Underline the INFINITIVE PHRASES in the sentences below.

1. To dance on Broadway is Lola’s lifelong dream.

2. During cabinet meetings, Ludwig likes to dream with his eyes open.

3. Lulu’s lifelong goal is to be silly when everyone else is serious.

4. Ludmilla went to that nightclub just to dally.

5. The case to prosecute is the one about the exploding donut.

Level 4: All You Need to Know (and May Have

Forgotten) about CLAUSES• A CLAUSE is a group of words that

contains a subject and its predicate.• Two kinds of CLAUSES exist -

1. Independent Clause (I):Makes sense independently.

2. Dependent Clause (D):Does NOT make sense unless it can

“HANG ON TO” an independent clause.

Types of Dependent [Subordinate] Clauses

1. ADJECTIVE DEPENDENT CLAUSE

• Also called a RELATIVE CLAUSE• Used as an ADJECTIVE• A short, dependent clause which follows a

noun or pronoun and modifies it• Often interrupts the main clause by

dividing the subject and the predicate• Begins with a RELATIVE PRONOUN

who, whom, whose, which, that

Types of Dependent [Subordinate] Clauses

1. ADJECTIVE DEPENDENT CLAUSE

Examples:• The man who followed you turned

left.• We watched the man who turned

left.

Types of Dependent [Subordinate] Clauses 2. ESSENTIAL/NONESSENTIAL

ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

• ESSENTIAL = Necessary to the meaning of the sentence.

• No commas are needed around an essential clause– Ex. The man who followed you turned

left.

Types of Dependent [Subordinate] Clauses 2. ESSENTIAL/NONESSENTIAL

ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

• NON-ESSENTIAL = Unnecessary to the meaning of the sentence

• Place commas around nonessential clauses- Ex. The man, who happened to know Mr. Schnell, turned left.

Types of Dependent [Subordinate] Clauses

That vs. Which• The relative pronoun THAT often

indicates an essential adjective clause.Ex. The book that you lost is on the shelf.

• The relative pronoun WHICH often indicates a non-essential adjective clause.Ex. The book, which I enjoyed too, is on the shelf.

Types of Dependent [Subordinate] Clauses3. Adverb Dependent Clause

• Dependent clause which acts as a “BIG” Adverb

• Usually begins with a subordinating conjunctionEx. I jumped when the shark attacked.

Types of Dependent [Subordinate] Clauses

4. Noun Dependent Clause

• Dependent clause which acts as a NOUN

• Noun clause acts as a Direct Object in the following exampleEx. I wish that I liked music.

Where Dependent [Subordinate] Clauses Go

• Cannot be used as sentences by themselves

• Depend on an independent clause for meaning

• May be placed before, after, or even in the middle of an independent clause