Grammar Focus: Phrases
I.
Key Concepts:
A. Phrase: a group of words that serves as a part of speech and often as a subject or an object
B. Subject: a word or phrase that controls a verb within a clause
C. Object: a word or phrase that receives the action of a verb
II.
Common Types of Phrases
A. Prepositional phrase: a phrase that begins with a preposition and ends with an object (noun/pronoun)
1. Examples:
a. They walked into the grocery store.
b. Around the corner, the bees flew with fierce determination.
c. Before school, we studied for the test.
2. Common prepositions: about, above, amid, around, below, beyond behind, before, between,
down, in, into, inside, for, of, off, on, onto, over, to, toward, until, under, underneath, unto,
with, without
B. Participial phrase: a phrase that begins with a word that ends in a verbal ending (usually –ed or –ing)
and as a whole, acts as an adjective
1. Participles: words that have common verbal endings (-ed/-ing) that also may serve as adjectives. All
participial phrases will begin with a participle.
2. Examples of participial phrases:
a. Saddened by the death of Freak, Max hid in the down under.
b. Confused by the question, the student asked the teacher for help.
c. Johan, running faster than a cheetah, captured the first-place finish at the conference meet.
C. Gerund phrase: a phrase that begins with a word that ends in –ing, and this entire group of words acts
as a noun (subject or object)
1. Gerund: a word that ends in –ing and serves as a noun; all gerund phrases begin with a gerund.
2. Examples of gerund phrases:
a. Running a marathon presents a difficult challenge.
b. Writing a good essay requires much practice.
c. Many people have a phobia of speaking in front of large crowds.
D. Infinitive phrase: a phrase that begins with the word to and is followed by a verb; the phrase itself will
serve as a part of speech.
1. Infinitive: the word to plus a verb; all infinitive phrases begin with an infinitive.
2. Examples of infinitive phrases:
a. To run a marathon, one must train with much perseverance.
b. Sometimes, one must be cruel to be kind.
c. To finish the book by tomorrow is a good goal.
E. Appositive phrase: a phrase that begins with an appositive and renames another noun
1. Appositive: a noun that renames another noun
2. Examples:
a. Max, the character from Freak the Mighty, is a big dude.
b. An extraordinary book, Freak the Mighty tells the tale of Max and Freak.