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Chapter 20 Grammar Exercises EWS pp. 490-508 (Odds Only)
Exercise 1-Identifying Prepositional Phrases: (Pg. 492-493)
Underline the prepositional phrase and write above it Adj. for adjective and Adv.
for adverb phrase. Then draw an arrow from the prepositional phrase to the word
or words it modifies.
1. The classical physics of Isaac Newton went unchallenged for two centuries.
3. The unicorn is a horselike beast of mythology with a horn in the center of its
forehead.
5. The bottom of the skillet was covered with burnt chili; we had to soak it for several
hours and scour it with sand.
7. Birdcage Walk and Constitution Hill are two London streets near Buckingham
Palace; Victoria Street leads to Victoria Station, which is close to Westminster
Cathedral.
9. The hurricane moved across the Gulf of Mexico toward the Texas coastal towns, and
weather forecasters warned residents about the potential dangers.
Exercise 2-Identifying Participial Phrases: (Pg. 494-495)
Underline the participial phrases and draw an arrow to the word each phrase
modifies.
1. The diamond, seriously flawed, was not worth such a high price.
3. The Truck, not having been used for two years, surprised us by starting immediately.
5. Finnegan’s Wake, written over a period of thirty years, is one of the world’s most
complex novels.
7. We had to throw out the flower ruined by the mice and the corn meal infested with
weevils.
9. Determined to get the best from his students, Mr. Boseman never settles for a
mediocre performance.
Exercise 3-Identifying Gerund Phrases: (Pg. 496)
Underline the gerund phrases. (Some sentences contain more then one gerund
phrase.)
1. An example of ESP would be a dog’s finding its way across many miles to be
reunited with its owner.
3. Many people claim they first become aware of a supernatural event or a UFO by an
animal’s acting strangely.
5. Horses have been credited with refusing to cross a bridge or stretch of road that
offered some unseen danger.
7. Duke University is one of the most famous institutions involved in experimented with
ESP.
9. Serious Russian experimenting with ESP indicates that the Soviet Union considers it
an important phenomenon.
Exercise 4-Identifying Infinitive Phrases: (Pg. 498-499)
Underline the infinitive phrases. (Be sure to include any subject an infinitive
phrase may have.) Then beneath sentence write how each phrase is used: subject,
object, predicate nominative, adjective, or adverb.
1. A water-squirting alarm clock certainly persuades a person to wake up on time.
3. For those who like to fly in balloons, there was a perfectly amazing invention, a
balloon to be guided by eagles or vultures.
5. Then there are suspenders designed to be turned into a rope to help you escape from a
burning building.
7. For the person who wants to work while relaxing there is a rocking chair designed to
churn butter.
9. It might be easy to convince people you are mannerly if you wear a hat designed to
tip itself.
Exercise 5-Identifying Appositive Phrases: (Pg. 500)
Underline the appositive phrases. Then Draw an arrow from the phrase to the
noun or pronoun that it modifies.
1. The tomato, a fruit often mistakenly classified as a vegetable, contains vitamin C.
3. Alpha Centauri, the star that is nearest to our own sun, often figures in science fiction
stories.
Exercise 5-Identifying Appositive Phrases: (Pg. 500) cont.
5. Paradise Lost, an epic poem by John Milton, is about the fall of Lucifer from heaven
and his temptation of Adam and Eve.
7. One of Agatha Christie’s most beguiling detectives is Miss Jane Marpel, a
deceptively innocent-seeming elderly woman who often knits while thinking out a
murder case.
9. Phrenology, a pseudoscience that claimed a person’s character was indicated by the
bumps of the skull, flourished in the nineteenth century.
Review: Understanding Phrases: (Pg. 501-502)
Underline the prepositional, participial, infinitive and appositive phrases. Above
each phrase write one of the following abbreviations
Ad j. adjective phrase
Adv. adverb phrase
Part. participial phrase
Gre. gerund phrase
Inf. infinitive phrase
App. appositive phrase
1. Edward, Henry’s only son, took the throne at the age of nine.
3. Before his death he had singed a will forbidding his two half-sisters to rule.
5. He left the crown to his cousin, Lady Jane Grey, who became one of England’s most
pathetic victims in the long power struggle.
7. Edward’s eldest half-sister, Marry of Scotland, seized the throne, accusing Jane Grey
and her relatives of treason against the rightful heir.
9. In addition, Mary, a religious fanatic, ordered 200 “heretics” to be burned at the stake.
11. Elizabeth, Bloody Mary’s half-sister and next queen, was no stranger to intrigue and
violence.
13. During Bloody Mary’s brief reign, she sent Elizabeth to prison, and Elizabeth
narrowly escaped the fatal walk to the headsman’s block.
15. Her subjects loved her, her ministers respected her, and her political enemies learned,
to their sorrow, that they should not have tried to plot against her.
Review: Understanding Phrases: (Pg. 501-502) cont.
17. Seeing her power menaced by her cousin, Marry Queen of Scots, Elizabeth signed
that unfortunate lady’s death warrant.
19. Essex committed the unpardonable sin, treason against the queen, attempting to seize
power from her.
Exercise 6-Correcting Phrases: (Pg. 505)
Correct these phrase fragments. Also correct any punctuation errors. If the
sentence is written correctly the write C next to it. Circle the punctuation that you
insert.
1. The novel the story of a polish girl who survived a Nazi concentration camp was
nominated for the national book Award.
3. The vegetable marrow, a type of large squash, is a favorite crop of British
gardeners.
5. Pedro trained for his ambitious goal. To compete in the next Olympics.
Exercise 7-Correcting Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers (Pg. 506-507)
Rewrite each of the following sentences, correcting misplaced and dangling
modifiers.
1. In order to provide the new students with essential information, a news sheet is
sent to each one.
3. Lying ear deep in mud and contentedly chewing garbage, I watched hogs.
Exercise 7-Correcting Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers (Pg. 506-507)
cont.
5. By not reading the instructions on the box, the bicycle was put together
incorrectly.
Review: Using Phrases (Pg. 507)
Rewrite the following sentences, correcting phrase fragments, errors in
punctuation, misplaced modifiers and dangling modifiers. If a sentence is correct
as written, write C.
1. A large snapping turtle, nearly a foot across, sat hissing and shaking its head back
and forth. Right in our path.
3. Up until the very last second of the game with Texas A. & M. our team remained
within one point of winning.
5. At the high point of the third act in the school play, I suddenly forgot my lines
completely.
7. I saw several ancient mummies touring the museum.
9. Completely upsetting the sportscasters’ predictions, the tournament was won by
Marcia Redhawk.