Phrases
A phrase is a group of related words which does not contain a subject and a verb.
to the store from the book going to school to see to go home
I.
Prepositional phrases begin with a preposition and end with a noun or pronoun; they function as an adverb (tells when, where, how, how often, to what extent , or an adjective (tells which one, how much, how many, whose).
The rat ran (through the log). adv ( Where did it run? )
My house is the one (with pink brick). adj ( Which one ? It’s the one with pink brick.)
(After the game), the team celebrated. adv ( When ? It tells when the team celebrated)
II.
Appositive phrases is a noun and its modifiers that comes after a noun and renames or identifies it. It is often set off by commas, as in the following:
Charles Dickens, my favorite author , wrote A Tale of Two Cities.
III.
Verbal phrases include the verbal (a verb used as another part of speech) any its modifiers and complements. Remember that verbs ending in ing must have a helping verb if the are to be considered as a verb .
S V
i.e. The boy is running to school.
1) Participle : present (ing) or past (ed,-d,-t -n) participial form of the verb used as an adjective.
Running down the left field line, Sergio broke open to receive a pass and to score a goal.
Sergio, running down the left field line, broke open to receive a pass and to score a goal.
Exhausted from the heat, the team faded in the second half.
The vase, broken in two pieces, is unsalvageable.
2) Infinitive: to + verb
S V
The candidate (to carry the election) is decidedly Senator John Feldman.
S V
Sam runs (to maintain his weight).
2) Gerund: a verb ending in –ing used as a noun:
s. d.o.
Selling is often very difficult. Mr. Carter enjoys selling cars.
op
Taylor looked at many homes (before selecting the beach bungalow).

Clauses and Sentence Types
Clause - a group of words that contains a subject and a verb. It is used as part of a sentence.
There are two types of clauses.
Independent clause (I)- a clause that expresses a complete thought. It can stand alone as a sentence (it can stand independent of another clause) and can contain any number of phrases.
Dependant clause (D)- a clause that does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone as a sentence. It is dependant upon and subordinate to an independent clause, which completes it.
Sentence Variety
Add sentence variety to your writing through coordination and subordination of clauses.
Coordination is used to join equal parts of a sentence, in this case, equal clauses.

Two independent clauses may be joined with a semicolon.
S V : S V
I was thrown out of college for cheating on the metaphysics exam ; I looked into the soul of the boy next to me. –Woody Allen

Two independent clauses may be joined with a comma and a coordinating conjunction.
Coordinating conjunctions : and, but, or, for, nor, yet, so
S V , CC S V
He came to class on time , but he forgot his assignment.

Two independent clauses may be joined with a semicolon and a conjunctive adverb.
Conjunctive adverbs (Transitional expressions): for example, for instance, that is, accordingly, besides, consequently, furthermore, hence, however, instead, moreover, nevertheless, otherwise, therefore, thus
Note: Use a comma after the conjunctive adverbs if it is more than one syllable.
S V ; CA , S V
He missed classes and assignments ; therefore, he failed the class.

Subordination is used to join unequal clauses, one of primary importance (the independent clause) and one of secondary importance (the dependent clause). Dependent clauses are signaled by introductory words, such as subordinating conjunctions.
Subordinating Conjunctions: after, although, as, as if, as though, as much as, as soon as, as long as, because, before, if, in order that, lest, since, so that, than, that, though, unless, until, when, whenever, where, wherever, whether, while
SC S V S V
After we left the game, we went to dinner.
Dependant clause (DC), Independent clause (IC)
Note: A comma is required when the dependant clause comes at the beginning of the sentence.
S V SC S V V
I went to the Learning Lab so that we could do more exercises with clauses.
Independent clause (IC) Dependant clause (DC)
Note: No comma is required if the clause is at the end of the sentence.
Other signal words: who, whom, whose, which, what, that (Relative pronouns) whoever, whomever, whichever, whatever, why, how.
S RP/S V V
The player who scored the goal is my brother. [The player is my brother.]
DC IC
noun clause (PN)
Painting portraits is what she does best.
Sentence Types
I- independent clause D-dependent (subordinate) clause
I simple sentence
I + I compound sentence
I+ D complex sentence
I+I+D compound complex sentence
I
I+I
Civilization is a race between education and catastrophe.
–H.G.Wells
Airplanes are twentieth-century invention; however, man has attempted flight throughout history.
I+D Although the Wright brothers suffered many failures, they were finally successful with the first manned fight of an airplane.
I+I+D A wise man knows his own ignorance, but a fool thinks that he knows everything.
I+D+I+D We judge ourselves by what we are capable of doing; others judge us by what we have done. –Longfellow

Common Errors in Coordination and Subordination
1. Avoid excessive coordination, which results from stringing too many sentences together with and and so. Either separate or subordinate the clauses.
>Sue wanted to save money and so she bought an economy car. (incorrect)
> Sue wanted to save money , so she bought an economy car. (correct)
>Because Sue wanted to save money, she bought an economy car. (better)
>>I went to England at the end of June and the weather was cold and rainy and so we had to wear coats. (incorrect)
>>I went to England at the end of June. We had to wear coats because the weather was cold and rainy. (better)
>>While we were in England, the rainy days with forty-five degree temperatures induced us to wear wool jackets, even though it was June. (better)
2.
Avoid illogical subordination. (Avoid using “is because” or “was because.”)
> The reason that she won the scholarship is because she was valedictorian. ( incorrect ; adverb clause used as a subject)
>She won the scholarship because she was the valedictorian. (correct)
or Because she was valedictorian, she won the scholarship. (correct)
Practice
I.
Identifying phrases, dependant clauses, and independent clauses.
1.
After I finish my paper, I will help you proofread your paragraph.
2.
After the game, we will go out for pizza.
3.
Joseph speaks English as a second language, so he has to study a lot for his tests.
4.
He could locate clauses because he had memorized the subordinate conjunctions.
5.
Mary helped John even though his was from another class.
6.
Having already earned all of the lines for Juliet, Maria easily read the lines for the part
7.
After he has finished the A.A. program at PJC,. Kevin wants to go to the University of
Florida for a medical degree. well.

II.
Locating subjects and verbs
8.
The truck stalled on the highway.
9.
The small Toyota truck was hit in the Pensacola Junior College lot.
10.
The professional baseball player had once played with me in high school.
11.
There are a bakery and a pharmacy down the street.
12.
With the heavy rain came flooding and tornados.
13.
Do you like pizza?
14.
Some of the players will soon be going to the national championships.
15.
Some students, parents, and other family members will be gathered in the hall.
16.
After the game, the football players celebrated their victory and thanked their coaches and supporters.
17.
My brother has not wanted to wait for me, so he went home with our parents.
ANSWERS
1.
Dependant clause (adverb)
2.
Prepositional phrase (adverb)
3.
Dependant clause (adverb)
4.
Independent clause
5.
Dependant clause (adverb)
6.
Participial phrase
7.
Infinitive phrase
-------
8.
Truck / stalled
9.
Truck / was hit
10.
Player/ had played
11.
Bakery / pharmacy
12.
Flooding, tornados / came
13.
You / do like

14.
Some / will be going [Some of the players will soon be going to the national championships Note: eliminate prepositional phrases.]
15.
students, parents, members [note: some, other family are adjectives and cannot be subjects; pick the last word in the phrase because adjective precede the noun.]
16.
players/ celebrated , thanked
17.
brother / has wanted; he / went